AUSTIN, Texas - Alabama's governor said four people were killed in a building in an area hit by severe weather as a heavy storm system pounded the US South with rain, hail and strong winds on Monday. Governor Robert Bentley said in a message on Twitter the four fatalities occurred in a building in the area of Rehobeth, in southeast Alabama just outside the city of Dothan. The federal Storm Prediction Center listed the incident on its website as a possible tornado. Dothan-based television station WTVY said in a report citing local officials the four people were killed inside a home that was struck by a falling tree and power lines. Emergency officials in the area declined to comment immediately. Strong winds snapped power lines in several US states along the Gulf of Mexico coast on Monday, with tornadoes reportedly touching down in Mississippi. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued tornado watches stretching from Louisiana to Florida and flash flood watches for several states in that area. "All severe hazards will be possible including damaging winds and tornadoes, especially across portions of southeast Louisiana and central and southern Mississippi through southern Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle," the NWS said. There were reports of tornadoes touching down in three places in Mississippi, the service said. "There has been no widespread damage," said Ray Coleman, a spokesman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, which said there were nearly 20,000 customers without electricity in the state due to the storm system. High winds also knocked down power lines and trees in Texas, including in the Houston area, as well as in Louisiana, the NWS said. Hail fell in several states, including Alabama and Arkansas, it said. More than 11,000 customers were without power on Monday evening in Texas and Louisiana because of the storm, utility companies reported. The storms had limited impact on air travel, with 32 flights canceled at Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport, one of the country's busiest, by 6 p.m. (midnight GMT), according to tracking firm flightaware.com. As the world continues to mourn Carrie Fisher, two very important people in the late Star Wars actress' life penned separate columns for The Hollywood Reporter, honoring her memory. Star Wars actor Mark Hamill shared his thoughts on Fisher, whom he's known since she was 19 and first cast for her now-iconic role as Princess Leia. WATCH: Billie Lourd Breaks Silence on Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds: 'Your Love and Support Means the World to Me' "I was just bowled over. I mean she was just so instantly ingratiating and funny and outspoken," he said of his first impression. "She had a way of just being so brutally candid. I'd just met her but it was like talking to a person you'd known for 10 years." The star, who famously portrays Luke Skywalker in the franchise, went on to reference the new resurgence of Star Wars films in the past two years, saying, "I'm grateful that we stayed friends and got to have this second act with the new movies. I think it was reassuring to her that I was there, the same person, that she could trust me, as critical as we could sometimes be with each other." He noted that their friendship had its share of ups and downs, explaining, "She was a handful. She was high maintenance. But my life would have been so much drabber and less interesting if she hadn't been the friend that she was." Carrie's half-sister, Joely Fisher, who is also the daughter of Carrie's late father, Eddie Fisher, also wrote a touching tribute to the actress, praising her as "my hero, my mentor, my mirror." "My sister would have wanted a dramatic exit; she just might have wished for another couple of decades before making one She would have wanted us to celebrate her life, her words and for Billie to be whole," Joely said of Carrie's daughter. "In time she will be. She is smart and soulful and magic." MORE: Ryan Gosling Tributes Debbie Reynolds at Palm Springs Film Festival: 'She Was an Inspiration to Us Every Day' Joely also teased that Carrie would find the almost immediate passing of her mother, Debbie Reynolds, comical. Story continues "Debbie loved nothing more than the spotlight. And I can imagine Carrie is having a laugh right now, rolling her eyes at the kind of crazy ending that only happens in Shakespearian tragedies and Fisher novels," she wrote. "Carrie's mom has once again stolen the show." Joely and her mother, Connie Stevens, lived next door to Carrie and Debbie growing up, and they all developed a close bond. "There is no universe where these ladies are not due their appropriate pedestals, and both will be memorialized in separate ceremonies in coming weeks," she wrote. "My sister Tricia Leigh and I vow to be whatever our niece Billie needs us to be. We will pick up the saber, use the force ... whatever. We will honor these two magical people who have left the tribe in the way they lived, with grandeur and grace." WATCH: Private Memorial for Carrie Fisher Planned for Thursday Carrie died after going into cardiac arrest while aboard an airplane from London to Los Angeles at the age of 60 and her mother Debbie suffered a stroke the day after her daughter's death, dying at age 84. For more on the sudden passing of Carrie and Debbie, watch the clip below. Related Articles Mark Zuckerberg Mark Zuckerberg is known for making bold, sometimes outlandish new year resolutions. In previous years, Facebook's founder and CEO has committed to only eating meat he kills personally, learning to speak Mandarin, and more recently, building an artificially intelligent assistant for his home. For 2017, Zuckerberg has a more statesman-like personal goal: to tour the U.S. and meet people in every state. "My personal challenge for 2017 is to have visited and met people in every state in the US by the end of the year," he wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday. "I've spent significant time in many states already, so I'll need to travel to about 30 states this year to complete this challenge." Zuckerberg said he plans to take road trips with his wife Priscilla Chan and make "stops in small towns and universities" and visit his company's offices throughout the country. "After a tumultuous last year, my hope for this challenge is to get out and talk to more people about how they're living, working and thinking about the future," he said. "My work is about connecting the world and giving everyone a voice. I want to personally hear more of those voices this year." Zuckerberg grew up in Dobbs Ferry, New York, studied at Harvard, and moved to San Francisco to start Facebook, where he lives now with his wife Priscilla and daughter Max. NOW WATCH: Here's the first thing Mark Zuckerberg does every morning More From Business Insider On the ever-contentious issue of Russia and its aggression in Eastern Europe, the one-two Senate punch that is Republican hawks Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have staked out their ground and signaled last weekend theyre prepared to stand firm on it. McCain and Graham, along with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), spent New Years Eve in Ukraine with the countrys marines at a forward combat outpost. They were joined by Ukraines president, Petro Poroshenko. McCain tweeted, we stand w/ them in their fight against #Putins aggression. The three Americans then journeyed to Georgia, where McCain delivered a gift to a man displaced by #Russias aggression against #Georgia. The unidentified local man was on the other side of the fence that separates unoccupied Georgia from South Ossetia, which, like Abkhazia, is recognized as autonomous and backed by Russia. Less provocatively, the three senators also spoke at a technology center. The trip was likely meant not only to signal that American support of Ukraine and Georgia specifically, and Eastern Europe more broadly, will continue. It also served as a warning to President-elect Donald Trump that congressional condemnation of Russia should be expected to continue. That could happen, perhaps, in the confirmation hearing for Trumps pick for secretary of state, former ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson, an acquaintance of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Or it could come when Trump tries to lift U.S. sanctions against Russia. It could also happen if Trump tries to cut funding to Ukraine; indeed, and unrelatedly, the U.S. Agency for International Development ended funding for a customs reform project in Odessa. Earlier, Trump tweeted the praises of Putins intelligence; the Russian president responded to the latest round of sanctions by saying he looked forward to working with the incoming administration. The incoming American president also appeared to walk back on his weekend pledge to share information that might suggest Russia was not behind the hacking into, and leaking of, Democratic emails during the 2016 American presidential election. On Monday, Trump spokesman Sean Spicer told CNN that the president-elect would not reveal anything privileged or classified that he would not, in other words, make public this information he possesses despite U.S. intelligence to the contrary- that presumably exonerates Russia. Story continues Trump, meanwhile, continued tweeting to remind Americans that he won the Nov. 8 election despite pundits predicting he would lose. He will be sworn in 10 days after outgoing President Barack Obama will deliver a final presidential address in Chicago on Jan. 10. One issue central to Trumps campaign that is very much still in the news: ISIS, which claimed credit for an attack the New Years Eve attack on an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39. Authorities have not yet found the killer. The United States and Turkey have both condemned the attack. How both governments will deal with its aftermath remains to be seen. Photo credit: MYKOLA LAZARENKO/AFP/Getty Images Rome (AFP) - McDonald's is dishing up "hallowed" hamburgers after the Vatican backed it in a fight with cardinals over a new outlet at the foot of the tiny city state in Rome. Big Macs were being scoffed with glee Tuesday at the US fast food giant a stone's throw from Saint Peter's Square. Cardinals had warned the Vatican against supping with that symbol of Western consumerism, including a group of the red-hatted "Princes of the Church" who live above the Vatican-owned site. One even wrote to the pope slamming a commercial decision which is reportedly to bring 30,000 euros ($33,000) a month into the Vatican's coffers, but which locals fear will ruin a historical area. Their protests fell on deaf ears and the new McDonald's branch opened Friday after the site, which covers 538 square metres (5,800 square foot), was rented to the restaurant chain by ASPA, the authority in charge of the Vatican's real estate. While it lies outside the Holy See's walls, those popping in for a burger and chips have a good view of the papal apartment windows. It's a panorama Angelo Tosti used to show off to tourists at his restaurant "Da Marcella", which has been in his family for three generations -- and now sits directly across the street from the fast food behemoth. "What amazes me most is that the pope rises up against the multinationals, and then they give a Vatican property for rent" to McDonald's, Tosti said sadly. "It will ruin the whole area". - 'Enough traditional restaurants' - Pope Francis has criticised multinationals in the past for food waste, poor nutrition and financial speculation. Others had argued that the space near the heart of the Roman Catholic Church should go to entities which help the needy, not the Golden Arches. "When you come to Rome you should eat Roman food," Tosti told AFP, showing off a menu with specialities of the capital, from Carbonara to fried artichokes. Story continues Fellow critics had decried as madness a move to pack more people into an area considered at high risk of a terror attack. But not all were turning their backs on a "Big Vac" calorie fest after a lengthy trek around the Sistine Chapel and museums. "It's next to the monuments, the service is fast and it's more convenient," said one young Australian tourist named Brooke. And it got the seal of approval from passing Italian nun Sister Francesca, who said there were "enough traditional restaurants in the area" to satisfy pasta-happy gourmands. It is not McDonald's first run-in over a branch location in Italy. It made headlines in November after filing a $20-million lawsuit against Florence for blocking a proposed outlet in the city's most revered square. The chain wanted to open a branch in the historic Piazza del Duomo, one of the most visited places in Europe. Florence's centre-left mayor Dario Nardella said while McDonald's "has the right to submit an application... we also have the right to say no". VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - McDonald's has opened a franchise just steps away from the gleaming white marble dome of St. Peter's Basilica, giving indigestion to some cardinals and local business owners. There was no fanfare for the Dec. 30 opening of the U.S. fast food giant's new venue behind a subdued exterior on the picturesque Borgo Pio, just outside the spiritual home of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics. When the plan emerged last year, one of its most strident critics was Cardinal Elio Sgreccia, who said McDonald's fare was far removed from Roman gastronomic traditions and not the healthiest of foods. "The mega sandwich shop on Borgo Pio is a disgrace," Sgreccia told La Repubblica newspaper at the time. "It would be better to use those spaces to help the needy of the area, spaces for hospitality, shelter and help for those who suffer, as the Holy Father teaches," Sgreccia said. Despite the holy outrage in some quarters, two nuns were spotted on Tuesday lunchtime going inside the fast food joint. In a statement, McDonald's emphasized that the new restaurant was in a popular tourist area outside the Vatican, although the building itself is Holy See property. "As is the case whenever McDonald's operates near historic sites anywhere in Italy, this restaurant has been fully adapted with respect to the historical environment," the company said. Some local business owners had written to Pope Francis to ask him to keep the chain out, for fear it would upset the artistic, culture and social identity of the neighborhood. In the letter, consumer group Codacons and a committee set up to protect Borgo Pio said the area, full of restaurants and shops selling religious articles, was already "saturated" and bringing in more tourists could be a security risk. But some people who frequent the area welcomed the new arrival, including Raffaella Scarano, an Italian woman who works nearby. "Anything that is good for the economy of our country is fine by me," she said. Cities across Italy have been turning up the heat on fast food restaurants. McDonald's filed a $20 million lawsuit against Florence after the mayor of the Renaissance city turned down an application to open one of its restaurants there. (Reporting by Isla Binnie, additional reporting by Gabriele Pileri; editing by Philip Pullella and Mark Trevelyan) By Jessica Toonkel and Tim Baysinger (Reuters) - Fox News Channel anchor Megyn Kelly, a star of the U.S. cable network's highly rated prime-time lineup, has decided to leave to join NBC News in a broad role that includes hosting a one-hour daytime news show, NBC announced on Tuesday. Kelly also will anchor a Sunday night news show and take part in the networks special political programing and other big-event coverage, NBC News said in a statement. The departure is a potential blow to Fox News, the top-rated cable news network, owned by Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox . Just months ago, its founding chairman, Roger Ailes, left following sexual harassment allegations by several women. Kelly was one of the accusers and detailed Ailes' behavior in her best-selling book, "Settle for More." Ailes has denied the allegations. Fox News, which is known for a roster of conservative commentators such as Bill O'Reilly, remained at the top of cable news ratings amid the Ailes turmoil. The network delivered its highest annual viewership in its 20-year history in 2016. Kelly, 46, played a large role in that success, with 2.7 million viewers on average for her prime-time show, "The Kelly File," second on Fox only to O'Reilly's program, "The O'Reilly Factor." "I have decided to end my time at FNC, incredibly enriched for the experiences I've had," Kelly wrote on Facebook. She became a subject of news stories after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attacked her as unfair for her questioning of him at a primary debate during the 2016 election campaign. Fox made a bid to keep Kelly, offering her more than $20 million per year, according to an October report in Vanity Fair. In a statement on Tuesday, Murdoch thanked Kelly for "her 12 years of contributions" to the network. "We hope she enjoys tremendous success in her career and wish her and her family all the best," Murdoch said. Kelly will host her prime-time show on Fox News through Friday. While her departure leaves a hole in the Fox News lineup, it comes at a time when the network needs to reinvent itself to appeal to younger viewers, said Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser. Fox News, like many of its peers, has an older audience, with a median age of over 65, higher than MSNBC and CNN, whose viewers' median ages are 64 and 60, respectively, according to Nielsen data. Advertisers generally seek a much younger market. "Their audience is aging," Wieser said. "The question now for investors is, What will Fox put in Kellys place?" Some media buyers said they expected Fox to maintain strong ratings given interest in the White House transition and the network's other popular hosts. Barry Lowenthal, president of agency The Media Kitchen, called Kelly's departure "neutral" for the network. "Given Foxs ratings dominance, theyve shown that theyre bigger than any one anchor," he said. Kelly joined Fox in 2004 as a Washington-based correspondent. Her decision to move to NBC News, a unit of Comcast Corp , was first reported by The New York Times. While details about Kellys upcoming shows were scarce, she will be trying to succeed where high-profile news anchors have struggled. In recent years, Katie Couric and Anderson Cooper lasted just two seasons with syndicated daytime talk shows. Kellys new NBC News colleague Brian Williams, meanwhile, saw his low-rated prime-time news magazine show, "Rock Center," end after only two years. (Reporting by Jessica Toonkel and Tim Baysinger in New York; Additional reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Leslie Adler) The departure of Megyn Kelly from Fox News to head over to network news at NBC really shakes things up in the media world. Its nothing less than a catastrophe for Fox News, where Kellys 9 p.m. show is key to the channels primetime success the glue necessary to hold together the increasingly unhinged histrionics of Bill OReilly at 8 p.m. and Sean Hannity at 10 p.m. Furthermore, Kelly is that channels only prominent female anchor in primetime. At first glance, that may matter less than it would at other channels most of the Fox News audience doesnt care about the optics of an all-male primetime lineup. But put aside for a moment the fact that Kelly is/was Foxs most prominent woman. Its the tone of The Kelly File superficially more reasoned than that of OReillys Factor, Hannity, and, more recently, Tucker Carlsons 7 p.m. insult-a-thon that is most valuable for Fox. Without her, Fox News nights grow much more dark, grim, and bullying. Expect the channel to take a ratings hit while it gropes for a replacement. Related: Bill OReilly Goes Crazy Over White Privilege Meanwhile, Kellys shift to network news is a major gamble for NBC. Kellys May 2016 broadcast special on Fox the one where she did her Barbara Walters impersonation, interviewing Laverne Cox, Michael Douglas, and her faux-nemesis Donald Trump was a ratings disappointment and pointed up a chink in Kellys steely armor: namely, she always seems to be wearing an invisible coating of steely armor. Its being reported that her NBC deal will probably include hosting a daily daytime news show, and as much as Kelly idolizes Dr. Phil, daytime TV requires the kind of warmth and ability to relate to a mostly female, middle-American audience that Kelly has rarely evinced on Fox News. Its also reported that shell anchor a Sunday night news show. Will this go up against CBSs 60 Minutes? If so, shell need a strong team of other correspondents with her to go up against that hoary behemoth. If its a primetime gig, good luck to her, trying to compete against all the big-time Sunday-night network and cable offerings in what will have to be a show thats somehow different from Dateline. Story continues As much as Kellys fame and prominence suggest that its time for her to leave Fox News, her on-air image and performance suggests shes going to be a problematic celebrity to place in the constellations of stars that comprise the galaxy of news and showbiz personalities. In the context of Fox, shes the foxiest in two senses: in on-air shrewdness, and in appeal to that channels demographic. (The median age of Fox News viewers is around 68, according to Nielsen.) Emerging from the slew of women that Fox News guru Roger Ailes created to deliver his message, she was a skyrocketing success. In the context of NBC, however, shell be forced to compete with everyone from Lester Holt to Savannah-and-Matt to Andrea Mitchell to fellow rising star Hallie Jackson. Related: Settle For More: Megyn Kelly on Trump, OReilly, Inspiration and Revenge Kelly is excellent at her best, actually during breaking-news events, as she proved during two presidential election coverage cycles, when her lawyers mind and preternatural calm make her someone to attend to. Thats a gaping hole Fox will have to fill when she departs, and the only part of her NBC arrangement that seems like a sure thing. Megyn Kellys last day at Fox News will be Jan. 6. A new beginning. Megyn Kelly took to Facebook Tuesday, January 3, to share her feelings about leaving Fox News after more than 12 years to join competing network NBC. PHOTOS: Celebrities' Political Affiliations Over a dozen years ago I started at Fox News in a job that would change my life. Now, I have decided to end my time at FNC, incredibly enriched for the experiences I've had, the TV personality, 46, wrote. I have agreed to join NBC News, where I will be launching a new daytime show Monday through Friday, along with a Sunday evening news magazine program. I will also participate in NBC's breaking news coverage and its political and special events coverage. Kelly continued: While I will greatly miss my colleagues at Fox, I am delighted to be joining the NBC News family and taking on a new challenge. I remain deeply grateful to Fox News, to Rupert, Lachlan and James Murdoch, and especially to all of the FNC viewers, who have taught me so much about what really matters. More to come soon. Happy New Year, and God bless. PHOTOS: Stars They're Just Like Us! As previously reported, Andrew Lack, chairman of NBC News, announced on Tuesday morning that the former Kelly File host would be stepping down from her post at Fox. Megyn is an exceptional journalist and news anchor, who has had an extraordinary career, Lack said in a statement. Shes demonstrated tremendous skill and poise, and were lucky to have her. Kellys contract with Fox News officially ends in June 2017. The amount of her multiyear deal with NBC has yet to be disclosed. Fox News parent company, 21st Century Fox, previously offered Kelly who has become the second-most-watched anchor on cable news after Bill OReilly more than $20 million per year to extend her contract and remain at the network. PHOTOS: Celebs Fight Back on Twitter! Kelly has had her eyes on a new gig for quite some time. The Syracuse, New York, native told Variety in April 2016 that she would rather host a daytime show so that she could spend more time her with three kids, Edward, 7, Yardley, 5, and Thatcher, 3, whom she shares with husband Douglas Brunt. Story continues I really like my show, and I love my team. But you know, theres a lot of brain damage that comes from the job. There was probably less brain damage when I worked in the afternoon. I was less well known. I had far less conflict in my life," she told the outlet. "I also have three kids who are soon going to be in school from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. I come to work at 3:30. I like to see my children. PHOTOS: Hot Pics The journalist has also had a difficult few months with Fox News after she alleged in her memoir, Settle for More, that the networks founder and former CEO, Roger Ailes, had sexually harassed her. However, Ailes denied the claims in a statement to Deadline back in November. I categorically deny the allegations Megyn Kelly makes about me, Ailes said in a statement released through his lawyer Susan Estrich. I worked tirelessly to promote and advance her career, as Megyn herself admitted to Charlie Rose. Watch that interview and then decide for yourself. My attorneys have restricted me from commenting further so suffice it to say that no good deed goes unpunished. More details about both of Kelly's upcoming NBC programs will be revealed in coming months. Related Content: First-lady-to-be Melania Trump isn't succumbing to pressure to boost American fashion - at least not yet. For the New Year's Eve party held at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., she chose a black cocktail dress, with jeweled bow details on either shoulder, not by an American designer, but by Italian fashion powerhouse Dolce & Gabbana. The sleeveless scoop-neck style sells for $2,995 at Neiman Marcus, and all sizes are still available, per the retailer's website. Many American designers who supported Trump rival Hillary Clinton during the election have refused to dress the wife of the divisive president-elect, including Sophie Theallet, Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford. But a handful have said they would be proud to support the democratic process and dress the new first lady, including Tommy Hilfiger. Diane Von Furstenberg and Calvin Klein. On Sunday, Italian designer Stefano Gabbana joined the chorus of supporters, posting a photo on his Instagram account of Melania Trump with the hashtag #DGWoman and #MadeInItaly. The post garnered more than 13,000 likes and more than 1,100 comments. A photo posted by stefanogabbana (@stefanogabbana) on Jan 1, 2017 at 4:44pm PST "She looked stunning and kudos to you, Stefano, for standing up for yourself with all the backlash from these ignorant crybabies," wrote one commenter. "You should know stefano that OUR election has torn apart our@country. Many gays, minorities and others fear legislation that will take away freedoms. If it were Mrs Reagan, Bush or Obama (either party) no one on either side would mind. But this is offensive to the core. So glad I didn't buy your Capri bag b4 going to Capri this year," wrote another. All eyes will be on the incoming FLOTUS on Jan. 20 to see what she wears on Inauguration Day, as well as on the new administration's other fashion plate, first daughter and fashion branding juggernaut Ivanka Trump, who spent New Year's Eve out of the limelight in Hawaii with her family. Its a testament to the strange contours of Germanys political landscape that, while the physical effects of the Dec. 19 attack on a Berlin Christmas market have been based in the German capital, the center of the political fallout has been located some 360 miles southward. Its too early to know whether the vicious attack, committed by a Tunisian asylum-seeker, will change the trajectory of Germanys anti-immigrant far-right movements. But the attacks aftermath has already produced a consequential divide between northern Germany and the south, whose respective political elites have been engaged in a rivalry that long predates the present migration crisis. In other words, anyone who wants to understand the political fights that loom in Germanys immediate future should probably spend less time studying the populist Alternative for Germany Party (AfD) than the entrenched political establishment of the southern German state of Bavaria familiar to foreigners as the home of Oktoberfest and lederhosen and the idiosyncratic culture that sustains its heightening feud with Chancellor Angela Merkel. That feud has been taking place within Germanys decades-old center-right alliance, between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party, the Munich-based Christian Social Union (CSU), which fields candidates exclusively in Bavaria. In the immediate wake of the Berlin attack, before the assailant was even identified (much less killed by vigilant Italian police), Bavarian CSU boss Horst Seehofer declared, We owe it to the victims and the entire population to rethink and re-justify our entire immigration and security policy. Merkels CDU associates, by contrast, warned against jumping to conclusions and taking rash actions. Merkel herself expressed faith in the investigation and promised, We will find the strength to maintain the kind of Germany we want: free, together, and open. The CSU-CDU standoff, however, is not merely the product of disagreements over immigration policy or sharp divergences in personality between the leading contenders. It is the latest manifestation in a two-century-old battle over leadership of the German region between North and South or, more specifically, between Prussian Berlin and Bavarian Munich. This modern-era rivalry traces back to the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, when Bavaria fought on the side of France against Prussia; as a reward for its help in Napoleons initial victories, the emperor made Bavaria a kingdom in 1806, a designation that survived until 1918. Sixty years later, Bavaria again went to war against Prussia, this time as an ally of Austria in a contest among German-speaking rivals over which power would determine the political future of the region. Bismarcks Prussia prevailed in this confrontation, allowing Berlin, not Munich, to take the lead in the 1870-71 war against France that produced a unified German empire under Prussian domination. Bavaria had joined Prussia and the other German states in this epic conflict, but only after its unstable king, Ludwig II, received handsome bribes from Bismarck. Germanys unification papered over, but did not diminish, the socio-political and cultural divide between the largely Protestant north and the heavily Catholic south. That divide was heightened (literally) by a mountainous wooded terrain that in earlier times impeded access and fostered distinct Alpine folkloric costumes and traditions: tracht, lederhosen, alpen-horns, the knee-and-shoe-slapping Schuhplattler dance, and so on. The kingdoms ruling Wittelsbach dynasty explicitly encouraged the perpetuation of these traditions as a way of increasing a feeling of national cohesion among Bavarians, enabling them to hold their heads high in the face of Prussian self-confidence. Bavarians also spoke a distinct language (Bayerisch) that was totally incomprehensible to other Germans; even their rendition of standardized High German baffled northerners, who, like their counterparts in the United States, tended not to think rocket scientist when they heard Southern accents. Finally, the Catholic Church in Bavaria played, and continues to play, an outsize role in public life, fielding a church-based political party (the Bavarian Peoples Party from 1870 to 1933; the CSU in the post-World War II era), and exerting considerable influence in education, culture, and social policy. In the world of fiction, Thomas Manns great novel Buddenbrooks (1901) brilliantly caricatures this rift in its 19th-century variety. Hoping to aid her financially strapped family, Toni Buddenbrook, a dutiful daughter from far-northern Lubeck, marries a putatively wealthy Bavarian beer-belly who promptly reveals himself as a southern slacker par excellence. When Toni calls out her husband for his fecklessness and philandering, he curses her as a sprat-eating slut. The world war into which Wilhelmian Germany so avidly plunged in 1914 exacerbated these internal divisions. At the outset, Bavaria fielded its own royal army (this was the outfit young Adolf Hitler joined). When Bavarian units later fell under a centralized command dominated by Prussians, Bavarian officials complained that their boys were being used as cannon fodder by Saupreuss (pig-Prussian) officers and, even worse, that the quality of their beer was being undermined by confiscations of raw materials mandated by Berlin. With the German empires defeat and destruction in 1918, some Bavarians agitated for the creation of a separate southern state. Instead, Bavaria became a state within the new Weimar Republic, whose highly progressive constitution and avant-garde culture occasioned considerable hostility among more conservative Bavarians, steeped as they were in regional royalism, political Catholicism, and rustic rural values. It was in malcontented Munich that the Nazi Party was born in 1919, and from there, in 1923, that Hitler launched his ill-starred Beer Hall Putsch to topple the republic. Although the putsch failed, Bavaria remained a haven for far-right opponents of Berlins experiment in liberal democracy. When, 10 years after the abortive coup, Hitler assumed power in Germany legally, many of his Bavarian followers registered dismay over his decision to keep the national capital in Berlin rather than moving it to Munich. They could, however, take consolation in Munichs ongoing status as Capital of the [Nazi] Movement and Capital of German Art (that is, the kind of conventional, homey, literalist art that the Nazis considered German as opposed to the experimental modernism they denounced as degenerate). The post-World War II era also brought its consolations along with more of that unique combination of Bavarian particularism and wider nationalist ambitions. The old Bavarian Peoples Party morphed into the modern CSU, which dominated state politics from 1949 on through a potent combination of traditional religious conservatism and dynamic business-friendly policies. On the one hand, the CSU cozied up to Bavarian-based corporations like BMW, Siemens, Mann, Puma, and Adidas; on the other hand, it sought to promote Leitkultur (lead culture), a program to instill immigrants with core values considered by its proponents to be quintessentially German and European. Meanwhile, within the Bonn-based West German Federal Republic, Munich went on to garner another new moniker: Germanys Secret Capital. With Prussia wiped off the map by order of the Allies, Berlin divided and isolated, and little Bonn totally unprepossessing, Munich and Bavaria which were booming culturally and, to an unprecedented degree, economically seemed finally to have achieved the dominance within Germany that most Bavarians believed was their due. It was thus all the more frustrating for Bavarians that none of their leaders, even the imposing Franz Josef Strauss, ever managed to claim the top spot in Bonn. German reunification in 1990, and the Bundestags subsequent decision to move the capital back to Berlin, seemed to swing the pendulum of power once again from south to north. Yet even after reunification Bavaria remained Germanys wealthiest and most robust state, while Berlin and its northern hinterlands struggled to regain their footing. One of the mayors of the capital bragged that his hometown was poor, but sexy. However, Bavarians saw little to admire in that description not least because they were obliged to finance the citys deficits. For years, Munich has been poised to call the shots in Berlin, to provide guidance in a time of manifold challenges and crises and it has aimed to do just that during its 11-year coalition with Merkel, who depends on the CSU to maintain power. That has become especially evident amid the immigration crisis that reached its peak in September 2015, when Merkel suddenly threw open Germanys borders to masses of Syrians and other refugees trapped in Budapest, Austria, and the Balkans. Desperate asylum-seekers, mostly Muslim, streamed into Germany by the tens of thousands, reaching almost 1 million by the end of the year. Most came through Bavaria, where they initially found a warm and helpful welcome. But Bavarian premier Seehofer soon sounded the loudest voice in a chorus of complaint from German regional leaders: Bavaria hadnt been consulted, he protested, and Berlin was producing little support beyond Merkels nice words of welcome. Worse, from the CSUs perspective, Merkel seemed uninterested in doing anything to bolster the idealized German (and Christian) Leitkultur that Bavarians are taught to cherish, and which the refugees seemed to threaten. Those concerns fed more general anxieties about the threat that migrants posed to law and order. At a 2016 New Years gathering in Cologne, bands of young men from North Africa groped and robbed hundreds of women. Near Wurzburg (Bavaria) a 17-year-old Afghan refugee, allegedly shouting Allahu Akbar, attacked passengers on a train with a knife, injuring four. A few days later, a 27-year-old Syrian asylum-seeker, who had declared loyalty to the Islamic State, detonated a bomb outside a wine bar in Ansbach (Bavaria), killing himself and wounding 15. In a much bloodier episode that week, an 18-year-old German-Iranian killed nine people and injured 15 during a shooting spree in a Munich shopping center. As Merkel struggled to project calm, Seehofer declared, Bavaria is experiencing days of terror! But the terror affected all of Germany and naturally proved grist to the mill for the AfD, whose popularity rose sharply as Merkels fell. On Sept. 4, 2016, exactly one year after Merkel opened Germanys borders, the AfD surged past the CDU to claim second place behind the Social Democrats in Landtag elections in Mecklenburg-Pomerania, Merkels home state. This was the first time in German history that the CDU had been overtaken on the right. Two weeks later, the AfD helped push the CDU out of power in the city-state of Berlin. The far-right party now had representatives in 10 of the 16 German state parliaments. The CSUs rule in Bavaria had not yet been affected but perhaps only because no state election was scheduled there until 2018. Merkel duly apologized for these embarrassing setbacks. Seehofer, by contrast, went on a rampage, issuing a statement demanding an annual 200,000-person cap on immigration as well as a preference for emigres from our own Christian-Western cultural heritage. If Berlin did not abide by Munichs demands, the CSU threatened to field candidates across the entire Federal Republic in the 2017 general election rather than exclusively in Bavaria. Our land must not change; Germany must remain Germany, Seehofer blustered. Revealingly, this CSU gauntlet throw-down came after Merkel, under pressure from Seehofer and others, had already walked back Germanys immigration policy to a significant degree, imposing border controls, and initiating a deal with Turkey, that reduced the refugee flood to a trickle. The Seehofer-Merkel standoff was less about immigration per se than about power power to shape federal policy along CSU lines, with childcare allowances for stay-at-home mothers, greater surveillance over the citizenry, no marriage benefits to same-sex couples, and an end to bailouts for struggling European Union partners like Greece. The stakes in this rivalry are thus quite high. The battle is not just over the soul of the union [alliance], as one commentator suggested, but over Merkels ability to retain control in Berlin and, more broadly, over the nature of the German body-politic as it enters a crucial election year full of urgent challenges from within and without. It is highly unlikely that we are going to see a shift in capital location from Berlin to Munich anytime soon, but it may be possible, just possible, that if Merkel and the liberal-democratic policies she upholds fade from the scene, Germans could wake up one fine morning to find themselves governed by a far more folksy, and potentially far more conservative, chancellor, decked out in lederhosen. Photo credit: JOERG KOCH/Getty Images MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexican environmental authorities seized a Bengal tiger after a man took it for a walk on a leash in a neighborhood of the border city of Tijuana. The attorney general's office for environmental protection said Tuesday the 4-month-old tiger had been living in a private home with children. The man had papers showing he recently bought the tiger, which was found to be in good health but lacking its claws. But officials say the animal was seized and placed temporarily at a local zoo because the owner did not take appropriate security and animal-welfare measures. A resident called police to complain there was a man walking a tiger on a dog leash. Authorities caught the man outside the home, which is on Lion Street in a low-income neighborhood of Tijuana. The family that gets inked together stays together. At least thats what two of Michael Jacksons kids did to ring in 2017. Siblings Paris and Prince Jackson shared their recent field trip to a tattoo shop with their fans, thanks to Instagram. Prince got a very intricate dragon design on his arm. His little sister, Paris, documented her brothers 8-hour-long process. At one point, Prince paid tribute to his dad as he made the oh-so-popular Michael Jackson sounds. 8hrs today and still goin???????????????????????? A photo posted by Prince Jackson (@princejackson) on Jan 2, 2017 at 9:26pm PST Meanwhile, Paris was cool as a cucumber when it was her turn under the needle. The 18-year-old is known to have a number of tattoos that all have meanings behind them. She took to Instagram to share, My scars and past of self-hatred have been covered by loving marks, creativity and ingenuity and depth They represent strength for me. Ryan Gosling paid tribute to Debbie Reynolds at the Palm Springs Film Festival. Tell us what you think! Share your comments with us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Julissa Bermudez, on Twitter. A man who witnessed a mother and her two daughters falling out of a chairlift at a Colorado ski resort, killing the woman, says he saw their chair swinging before the incident and worried for the family because their safety bar was not down. Allen McGirl, 44, was three chairs behind the family at the Granby Ranch Ski Resort in Granby, Colorado, on Thursday when he noticed their chair swinging forward and backward as it traveled up the lift, and then side to side, he tells PEOPLE. We were all like, why are they swinging so much? Whats going on? Why isnt their safety bar down? Are they screwing around? McGirl says. City officials confirm to PEOPLE that the familys safety bar was not down during the ride. At about the halfway point in the 10-minute ride, McGirl says, It looked like the chair hit the pole or the sign and then it ejected them. Kelly Huber, 40, of San Antonio, Texas, and her two daughters, aged 12 and 9, fell about 25 feet to the snow below. Huber was taken to Middle Park Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 10:46 a.m., Granby Police Chief Jim Kraker tells PEOPLE. She died of traumatic separation of the aorta from the heart, and also suffered trauma to her upper torso, he said. Hubers 12-year-old daughter was treated at the hospital and released, Schelly Olson, public information officer for Granby incident command, tells PEOPLE. The 9-year-old was flown to Childrens Hospital Colorado in Aurora. Her condition has not been released and the family is not commenting, according to the hospital. Olson confirmed that the safety bar on the familys chairlift was not down. The bar is optional for riders, she said. Granby Ranch closed the Quickdraw Lift after the accident and it will remain closed until an inspection by the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board and lift manufacturer is complete, according to a statement on its Facebook page. Story continues Granby Ranch is deeply saddened by yesterdays tragic incident at our resort, the post read. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of our guest. Granby Ranch places the highest value on the health and safety of our guests. Granby Ranch and the Safety Board did not return PEOPLEs calls for comment. Huber was a long-time employee at Aetna health insurance company, most recently serving as vice president, director of National Producer Programs, according to her LinkedIn page. She was engaged to be married, according to her fiances Facebook page. He declined PEOPLEs request for comment. McGirl said after the family plunged to the ground, they lay motionless as he and other passengers screamed and shouted for the operators to stop the chairlift. I got a deep sad feeling inside, he says. I said a bunch of prayers. It was devastating. McGirl, an experienced skier and snowboarder, was on his first visit to the Granby resort with his two sons, 8 and 4, and said he wished the Huber family had lowered the bar on the chairlift. This all could have prevented Im sure if they had their safety bar down, he says. If the bar was down, they would have had a chance to hang on. Colorado and most other states do not require that chairlifts have restraint bars and only one, Vermont, requires that passengers lower the bar, according to the National Ski Areas Association, a trade group for ski operators. Fatal chairlift falls are rare; since 2004, there have been three deaths after people fell from chairlifts in instances unrelated to mechanical malfunctions, the Ski Areas Association says. Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation MNR has shelled out $21.0 million for the acquisition of a new industrial building in Fort Myers, FL. With this acquisition, the companys tally of owned properties reached 100, which are strategically positioned across 30 states. Net-leased for 10 years to FedEx Ground Packaging System, this 213,672 square foot building placed on around 22.49 acres in the vicinity of the Southwest Florida International Airport seems a solid buy. This is because the land parcel offers the company ample room for expansion. In fact, in the industrial real estate market, demand for space remains fairly strong. This is because amid economic expansion, an e-commerce boom and heightened urbanization, companies are shifting their strategy toward services like same-day delivery and other such options; propelling demand for warehouse distribution facilities, in turn. Also, with a broader customer base, companies are opting for supply-chain consolidation, resulting in greater demand for logistics infrastructure and efficient distribution networks. This is expected to provide enough scope to Monmouth Real Estate to grow. Monmouth Real Estate currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Shares of Monmouth Real Estate have outperformed the Zacks categorized REIT and Equity Trust Other industry for the past one year. The companys shares logged in a return of 47.0% against the 5.8% booked by the industry. Investors interested in the REIT industry may also consider stocks like Prologis Inc. PLD, Urban Edge Properties UE and Seritage Growth Properties SRG. All these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Prologis has been a steady performer, having beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average positive surprise of 3.15%. Its share price is also up 26.0% in the past one year. For Urban Edge Properties, the projected growth rate for FFO per share is 37.6% for 2016 and 6.3% for 2017. In addition, over the past one year, its share price climbed 19.2%. Seritage Growth Properties current-year FFO per share estimates inched up 0.9% to $2.34 per share, over the past 60 days. Further, its share price advanced 7.4%, over the past one year. Note: Funds from operations (FFO) a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income. Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017 In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest tickers for the entirety of 2017? Who wouldn't? These 10 are painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. They are our primary picks to buy and hold. Be among the very first to see them >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report PROLOGIS INC (PLD): Free Stock Analysis Report MONMOUTH RE CLA (MNR): Free Stock Analysis Report URBAN EDGE PROP (UE): Free Stock Analysis Report SERITAGE GROWTH (SRG): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Moonlight has won a leading four awards from the Online Film Critics Society, it was announced Tuesday. The coming-of-age drama, which was nominated for seven honors, won for best picture, director (Barry Jenkins), supporting actor (Mahershala Ali) and supporting actress (Naomie Harris). La La Land - which also was nominated for seven awards, including best picture - won two for best editing and cinematography. Manchester by the Sea's Casey Affleck earned best actor honors; Jackie's Natalie Portman was named best actress. The best original screenplay prize went to Taylor Sheridan for Hell or High Water, while Arrival's Eric Heisserer won for best adapted screenplay. The award for best animated feature went to Kubo and the Two Strings, beating out Finding Dory, Moana, Zootopia and The Red Turtle. Read more: 'Moonlight' Named Best Film of 2016 by Black Film Critics Circle O.J.: Made in America was tapped as best documentary. The Handmaiden, from South Korean director Park Chan-wook, was named best film not in the English language. The OFCS also recognized Carrie Fisher, Alan Rickman and Gene Wilder via three memorial awards. A full list of the winners and the other nominees in every category can be found here. Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough wrote a Washington Post column to defend his New Years Eve meeting with President-elect Donald Trump, and blasted modern journalism in the process. Facts are stubborn things. Unfortunately in the age of Twitter journalism, too many reporters find such details to be both onerous and optional, the MSNBC personality wrote in the op-ed published Monday evening. Scarborough was not happy that incoming New York Times reporter Sopan Deb and the papers current reporter, Maggie Haberman, continued to imply that he partied with President-elect Donald Trump on New Years Eve and even called on Times editors to take action before finally writing his explanation in the Post. Scarborough explained the situation: This past week, I met twice with President-elect Donald Trump attempting to secure an interview for inauguration week. Judging from the snide reaction of some in the press, you would have thought I offered to sketch the outline of his inaugural speech. Also Read: 'Morning Joe' Scarborough Wants You to Know He Never 'Partied' With Donald Trump on New Year's The Morning Joe co-host admitted to having dinner with Trump to discuss topics ranging from Mexico to Cabinet nominees to Russia. Scarborough then explained the difference between his meetings with Trump and various meetings that President Obama has had with reporters. The dinner conversation was much like what I have heard the countless off-the-record discussions Obama hosted were like over his two terms in the White House with media figures such as Thomas Friedman, Fareed Zakaria, David Ignatius, Jeffrey Goldberg, David Brooks, and even Mika Brzezinski and myself having a 90-minute Oval Office meeting. The main difference between Obamas numerous off-the-record powwows with reporters and the one I had with Trump on Saturday night was that ours was not on deep background, Scarborough wrote. On a more bizarre note, it was also different because I was introduced to Fabio while walking to dinner. Im not sure who Fabio is or what he does, but I suspect we were at Mar-a-Lago for different reasons. Story continues He continued: Mika was not able to attend Saturday, so Trump asked that she come by the next night for a few minutes before his annual New Years Eve party. We walked through the metal detectors and straight into the start of a black-tie function where we were dramatically underdressed. Also Read: 'Morning Joe' Scarborough Lashes Out at CBS Reporter Over Trump New Year's Party The Morning Joe duo was apparently there to discuss an interview with Trump, but they ended up catching up on each others families, according to Scarborough. I do not know whether we will end up with an interview with the incoming president next month, but I do know that the reaction from some media reporters has been an equal dose of hyperventilation and hypocrisy that such a meeting ever took place, Scarborough wrote. Never mind the inconvenient fact that a passel of reporters and media types has had more meetings with the current president than Mika and I have ever had with Trump. Also dont bother yourself with boring details of history that show how Washington Post legend Ben Bradlee was extraordinarily close with JFK, or how New York Times legend Joseph Alsop practically kicked down John Kennedys door at the 1960 Democratic convention to demand that Lyndon Johnson be his vice-presidential pick. On Sunday, Scarborough lashed out at Deb for saying he partied with Trump. Scarborough said he and co-host Brzezinski were at the president-elects Mar a Lago estate to set up an interview before any partying began. But on Monday, Haberman tweeted an image of Scarborough, which appears to have been taken during the party. Also Read: 'Morning Joe' Slams Bill Clinton for 'Angry White Men' Comment: 'He Has No Shame' (Video) Deb jabbed Scarborough, tweeting, This sure looks like an ideal location to have a journalistic meeting about an interview on NYE. The Morning Joe co-host didnt appreciate the comment, and took to Twitter to express his contempt. He was upset that he was referred to as a reveler when he made it clear he was there for business. Haberman eventually went on to tweet that attendees told her the photo was taken poolside and that Scarborough was not in formal wear, having left early. But it didnt stop Scarborough from sending a series of tweets on the matter. His column ended with the following theory: So why has there been such an avalanche of outrage on Twitter and sneering in some press rooms whenever Mika and I find ourselves in the same area code as Donald J. Trump? Is it because of media bias against Republican reporters such as myself? Related stories from TheWrap: 'Morning Joe' Scarborough Wants You to Know He Never 'Partied' With Donald Trump on New Year's 'Morning Joe' Scarborough Lashes Out at CBS Reporter Over Trump New Year's Party 'Morning Joe' Blasts Mayor Bill de Blasio's Team for 'Pathetic' Trump Tweet After Bomb Scare By Aziz El Yaakoubi RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco's Central Bank has approved five requests to open Islamic banks in the country and allowed three French banks to sell Islamic products, it said on Monday. Islamic banks and insurers are setting up in Morocco after new legislation allowed them into the market, and the central bank has set up a central sharia board with a body of Islamic scholars to oversee the new sector. The North African country had long rejected Islamic banking due to concerns about Islamist movements, but its financial market lacks liquidity and foreign investors, both of which Islamic finance could attract. The central bank had said it received seven requests to open Islamic banks. The regulatory approvals concern the three major Moroccan banks Attijariwafa Bank, BMCE of Africa and Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP), and two smaller lenders Credit Agricole (CAM) and Credit Immobilier et Hotelier (CIH). Morocco's biggest private bank Attijariwafa won the approval while it is still in talks with a partner, the central bank said. The bank's managing director, Ismail Douiri, told Reuters in October that Attijariwafa was in advanced talks with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). Douiri said IDB would be a technical partner with a minority stake of between 10 and 20 percent. Morocco's BCP has chosen Guidance Financial Group, BMCE has picked Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group, while CIH is partnering with Qatar International Islamic Bank. Moroccan state-owned bank Credit Agricole (CAM) has also won regulatory approval to create a unit with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a subsidiary of the Saudi-based IDB. The two parners have said they would inject 200 million dirhams ($19.70 million) of capital into the offshoot and raise that to 400 million dirhams later. Subsidiaries of French banks Societe Generale, Credit du Maroc and BMCI won permission to sell Islamic products. Islamic finance, based on principles that ban interest and pure monetary speculation, has grown rapidly over the past decade. Morocco will issue its first ever Islamic bond (sukuk) in the domestic market in the first half of 2017, the finance minister said last month. However, parliament has yet to to approve a bill regulating Islamic insurance, or takaful. ($1 = 10.1540 Moroccan dirham) (Reporting By Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) About a week before the presidential election, NASA invited reporters to its facility in Greenbelt, Maryland to look at the observatory it hopes to launch in two years, to a point far beyond Hubbles orbit, where it will continue that telescopes search for distant stars and galaxies. Charlie Bolden, the head of the space agency, took questions, including one from a reporter for The Guardian, who asked Bolden whether the program was safe, regardless of the elections outcome. Bolden cracked up immediately, and the rest of the room followed. He explained that most of the billions of dollars in funding the James Webb Space Telescope received was spent early on in its years-long development. He wasnt worried now, but I think anybody would be crazy to tell you that anything survives over a transition." Bolden, along with many in the room, believed back then what the polls and the pundits did: Donald Trump wasnt going to be elected president. Recommended: The Republicans Who Want Trump to Fight Climate Change A week later, few were laughing. The day after the election, Bolden sent a memo to NASA employees that likely wouldn't have been necessary had the country elected Hillary Clinton. After all, Clinton had vowed to continue the work NASA did under the Obama administration. In times when there has been much news about all the things that divide our nation, there has been noticeable bipartisan support for this work, Bolden wrote. Because of that, I think we can all be confident that the new Trump administration and future administrations after that will continue the visionary course on which President Barack Obama has set us. Some projects, like the James Webb Space Telescope, are safer than others under a Trump administration. Webb, an $8.8 billion enterprise, has been in the works for two decades and employs hundreds of people. Trump, like most presidential candidates, said little about space policy on the campaign trail. Most voters want to hear about the economy, not Europa. Right now, we have bigger problemsyou understand that? Trump told a 10-year-old boy at a campaign event in New Hampshire last November, when the child asked about NASA. Weve got to fix our potholes. You know, we dont exactly have a lot of money. Story continues For now, imagining space policy under a Trump administration is akin to reading tea leaves. The same goes for future funding for NASA, which could be sapped to help pay for completely unrelated programs, like large tax cuts or expensive infrastructure repairs. A new NASA administrator wont be named until next year, and, barring any foreshadowing tweets, Trump could wait, as Obama did, until his second year in office before formally announcing his space-policy agenda. But Trumps space policy has already begun to take shape, and theres plenty to divine. His team for NASA began meeting with agency employees at the start of this month. His picks for top administration jobs so far, combined with his biggest pro-space allies in Congress, suggest a future thats good for solar-system exploration, but bad for climate research. Recommended: Trump Might Be Thinking About a Moon Base The NASAs earth sciences division, which studies climate change and environmental conditions on Earth, is perhaps at greatest risk. In an October op-ed in SpaceNews, a pair of Trump advisers wrote that NASA should be focused primarily on deep-space activities rather than Earth-centric work that is better handled by other agencies. The agency, they said, focuses too much on politically correct environmental monitoring. The division has seen increases in funding in the last eight years, but Republicans in Congress have proposed cuts at every turn. With both the White House and Congress in Republican hands, space-policy experts are bracing for significant losses. One of the authors of the op-ed, Bob Walker, a former chairman of the House committee on science, space and technology, said last month Trump's decisions surrounding NASA will be based upon solid science, not politicized science, like climate change. The same op-ed dismissed the concept of rocket launch systems that are completely bankrolled by the taxpayer money, arguing instead for the investment of reusable systems developed by private companies like SpaceX and Orbital ATK. The authors were referring to the Space Launch System (SLS), the rocket Congress instructed NASA to build in 2011 to someday launch astronauts to Mars. Greg Autry, a professor at the University of Southern California and one of the members of Trump's transition team for NASA, has criticized the SLS, saying it lacks "both innovation and a mission." He has proposed cutting funding for the program altogether and supporting private-sector developers. Many scientists and the Obama administration agree, and the president has proposed cuts to the program. The SLS is a young project, with construction starting in 2014. But the system has staunch supporters in Congress, especially among Republicans who represent states where the system is being developed. Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions, the Republican senators from Alabama, have fought cuts proposed by the Obama administration. Sessions is also Trumps pick for attorney general. Recommended: Millennials Can Smell Christian 'B.S. From a Mile Away' Trump advisers are also skeptical of the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), an Obama-proposed program to send astronauts to visit an asteroid by the 2020s and test technology that could be beneficial for a Mars trip. The program has lackluster support among scientists and even less in Congress, where Republican lawmakers have tried to block its funding. Last month, Texas congressman Lamar Smith, chairman of the House committee on science, space, and technology and an early Trump ally, asked NASA to show lawmakers the merits of ARM. If Trump wanted the program gone, he wouldnt have to try too hard. Smith supports other solar-system missions, like sending spacecraft to search for signs of life in the subsurface ocean of Europa, Jupiters icy moon. There is one Obama-era policy that Trump could preserveand even expand. Each year, Obama has requested from Congress more funds for NASA's commercial spaceflight program, which invests in private companies designing launch systems. Trumps advisers have described such public-private partnerships as the foundation for space-exploration efforts. Trump recently named Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, to an economic advisory team, and has met with Jeff Bezos, the founder of spaceflight company Blue Origin, despite their contentious relationship over The Washington Post. Some programs could be tougher to amend than others. NASA has been on a very public trajectory to Mars for nearly seven yearsand Congress, in an unusual show of bipartisanship, wants to keep it that way. Earlier this month, the Senate unanimously passed legislation that amends current law by adding human exploration of Mars to one of NASA's objectives. The billwhich is not expected to become law this year but could come up again in the next Congressis intended to make it politically difficult for future administrations to drastically alter NASAs plans to send astronauts to Mars by the 2030s. The legislation is sponsored by Republican Senator Ted Cruz, a supporter of deep-space exploration. The bill wouldnt stop Trump, if he wanted to, from switching NASA's main goal to a return to the moon first before Marsa move that would likely be welcomed by his adviser, Newt Gingrich, a lunar-mission advocate. It would mark a radical shift in NASAs mission, but such change wouldnt be unprecedented. In 2008, presidential candidate Barack Obama said NASA had lost focus. When he entered office, he quickly canceled the Constellation program, created under George W. Bush to return humans to the moon by 2020. When Trump takes office, some programs could disappear like Constellation did. Like Bolden said last month, itd be crazy to think anything survives a transition. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. By Fergus Jensen JAKARTA, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Indonesian driver Rio Haryanto has suffered a major setback in his bid to return to Formula One this season after state-owned energy company Pertamina announced it was ending its sponsorship. "This year there will not be a continuation of participation by Pertamina in F1," spokeswoman Wianda Pusponegoro said in a statement on Tuesday, noting that Pertamina could not meet a sponsorship deadline. "Of course we regret this very much, but we have already made maximal efforts for Rio and Indonesia," she said. Haryanto, the first Indonesian to race in Formula One and only Asian driver on the grid last season, said in a text message that he had "not yet confirmed" his position and hoped to reach a decision as soon as possible. "We are still working on a plan to keep Rio in Formula One," Haryanto's manager, Piers Hunnisett, told Reuters. "People in the Formula One world felt he did a good job and he deserves to be there," Hunnisett said, adding that it would be a "great shame" if Haryanto missed out on a seat in 2017. The only likely vacancies still open are the two Manor seats and there is lingering uncertainty about that team's future ownership. Swiss-based Sauber, who like Manor expect their drivers to bring financial backing, are expected to sign German driver Pascal Wehrlein, who is backed by Mercedes, alongside Sweden's Marcus Ericsson. "Obviously, we were hoping to move into a team like Sauber - that was the plan but things are going to slow down a little bit," said Hunnisett. Haryanto started 12 races for Manor in 2016, alongside Wehrlein, before being replaced by French rookie Esteban Ocon after the German Grand Prix in July. Ocon has since moved on to Force India. Pertamina have been Haryanto's constant backers in the costly sport, and Hunnisett said last month that while he was looking for other non-government backers he was confident that Pertamina would continue to sponsor Haryanto. The oil and gas company's chief executive Dwi Soetjipto told a news conference last February that they were contributing five million euros ($5.6 million) to help secure Haryanto's 2016 seat at Manor. (Addtional reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe, editing by Alan Baldwin) Maputo (AFP) - Rebels in Mozambique announced Tuesday a two-month extension to a truce with the government, raising hopes for peace after a spike in violence last year that claimed scores of lives. The country's president said the truce by Afonso Dhlakama, leader of Renamo, which is both an armed insurgent group and an elected opposition party, showed that the two sides were beginning to rebuild confidence in each other. Worsening clashes between the Frelimo government and Renamo had revived the spectre of Mozambique's civil war that ended more than 20 years ago. But Dhlakama told reporters: "There have been some minor incidents, but the seven-day truce went well, so I announce the extension of the truce for 60 days, until March 4." "The truce is intended to build an atmosphere conducive to advancing talks in Maputo in peace and tranquility for both sides." Dhlakama, who lives in hiding in the Gorongosa mountains in central Mozambique, said Renamo forces would not attack government troops or positions. Last year saw a sharp escalation in violence, and more than 15,000 people have been forced to flee to government-run camps, relatives' homes or across the border to Malawi and Zimbabwe. The truce announcement came after tentative moves towards a peace process were suspended indefinitely last year due to setbacks including the killing of a Renamo negotiator. President Filipe Nyusi said on Monday the truce was "productive", according to the private STV television channel. Trust "is being created," he said, adding that government forces did not launch offensive attacks on Renamo. - Rebels weakened? - One diplomatic source told AFP that Dhlakama was weakened and had been forced into a truce to try to revive the chance of peace talks, which could be held under international mediation coordinated by the European Union. "Dhlakama was cornered and it seems that this is the solution he found to save international mediation," the source said. Story continues The rebel leader announced the truce after a series of telephone calls with the president. The fighting has often focused on Mozambique's main roads, with Renamo attacking government convoys and civilian vehicles, and soldiers accused of ruthlessly targeting suspected rebels in nearby villagers. Many displaced people say that government soldiers often treat local villagers in the central region as rebel sympathisers. The death toll is unknown but scores of people are reported to have been killed in 2016, with both the Frelimo and Renamo parties also suffering assassinations of local politicians by so-called "death squads". Despite the truce, one Renamo official was gunned down outside his house in Nampula city last week. Mozambique is still recovering from its bloody 1976-1992 civil war when one million people died during years of sporadic fighting between Frelimo and Renamo. Tensions have resurfaced since 2013, with Renamo fighters again taking up arms against Frelimo, accusing the ruling party of enriching itself at the expense of the southern African country. Authorities say 3,100 people now live in government camps after fleeing the conflict, and several thousand more have escaped the conflict zone to stay with relatives elsewhere. Another 8,600 people have been forced into neighbouring Malawi and Zimbabwe, according to the UN refugee agency. Renamo refused to accept the results of 2014 elections when it was beaten once more by the ruling Frelimo party -- in power since the former Portuguese colony's independence 40 years ago. By Manuel Mucari MAPUTO (Reuters) - Mozambique's Renamo opposition party said on Tuesday it had extended a ceasefire by two months to allow talks with President Filipe Nyusi's government, raising hopes for a nascent peace process. Both sides have clashed sporadically since Renamo challenged the results of the southern African nation's 2014 elections. Analysts say competition over natural resources could also be exacerbating unrest - Mozambique is on the verge of developing huge offshore gas reserves which could transform one of the world's poorest countries into a middle-income state. Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama announced a seven-day truce a week ago after what he described as a long and constructive telephone conversation with Nyusi. The ceasefire extension followed another call between the two rivals. "It is reassuring that both sides (agreed to ceasefire) so things can go well and provide peace for Mozambicans," Dhlakama, who is in hiding, told reporters in a teleconference. "I am the head of the family. I am Mozambican and we are really doing this to reduce the deaths in Mozambique." Members of the current government and Renamo fought on opposing sides in a civil war from 1976 to 1992 that killed an estimated 1 million people. Dhlakama and Nyusi have not met face-to-face since February 2015 and distrust between the two has led to several ceasefires collapsing since Nyusi won the disputed 2014 vote. Since the poll, Renamo has demanded it rule in the six provinces where it won the most votes, while the government has called for the opposition to disarm before opening discussions. Fighting between the two sides usually takes place in the remote interior, making it difficult to assess the extent of the conflict. Early last year, tens of thousands of Mozambicans fled across the border into Malawi to escape violence and alleged human rights abuses. (Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Andrew Heavens) MAPUTO (Reuters) - Mozambique's Renamo opposition party has extended a ceasefire for two months to allow dialogue with President Filipe Nyusi's government and reduce civilian deaths, its leader Afonso Dhlakama said on Tuesday. Rights groups estimate dozens of people were killed last year in tit-for-tat attacks between Renamo fighters and government forces. The two fought on opposing sides in a civil war from 1976 to 1992 in which 1 million people are thought to have died. (Reporting by Manuel Mucari; Writing by Joe Brock; editing by John Stonestreet) SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) El Salvador's national police director says homicides dropped more than 20 percent in 2016, though the rate of 81.2 for every 100,000 residents kept the Central American country among the world's deadliest. Commissioner Howard Cotto said at a news conference Monday that there were at least 5,278 killings in 2016, down from 6,665 in 2015, when the homicide rate hit 104 per 100,000 residents. The country has been fighting to retake territory from its powerful street gangs. Criminologist Ricardo Sosa called it an "important achievement" and noted that it was really only nine months since the government changed its strategy. The government isolated imprisoned gang leaders and employed the military to take on the gangs. Cotto said security forces killed 603 alleged criminals who attacked them. (Reuters) - African-American civil rights activists staged a sit-in at the Alabama office of U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions on Tuesday to protest his nomination as the nation's next Attorney General, criticizing his record on voting rights and race relations. Members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) vowed to occupy Sessions' Mobile, Alabama office until the conservative Republican lawmaker either withdrew as a candidate or they were arrested. Sessions, 70, has a history of controversial positions on race, immigration and criminal justice reform and the NAACP also held demonstrations at his other offices in Alabama. "Senator Sessions has callously ignored the reality of voter suppression but zealously prosecuted innocent civil rights leaders on trumped-up charges of voter fraud," NAACP President and CEO Cornell William Brooks said in a news release. "As an opponent of the vote, he cant be trusted to be the chief law enforcement officer for voting rights. Brooks posted a photo on Twitter of protesters in suits occupying the senator's Mobile office. A spokeswoman for Sessions called the NAACP's criticisms "false portrayals ... that have been thoroughly rebuked and discredited." "Jeff Sessions has dedicated his career to upholding the rule of law, ensuring public safety and prosecuting government corruption," spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said in a statement. "Many African-American leaders who've known him for decades attest to this and have welcomed his nomination to be the next Attorney General." President-elect Donald Trump in November named Sessions to lead the Justice Department and the FBI, and his history could see scrutiny during a confirmation process before his fellow senators. Sessions was a federal prosecutor in 1986 when he became only the second nominee in 50 years to be denied confirmation as a federal judge. This came after allegations that he made racist remarks, including testimony that he had called an African-American prosecutor "boy," an allegation Sessions denied. Sessions denied he was a racist and said at his hearing that groups such as the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union could be considered "un-American." He also acknowledged that he had called the Voting Rights Act of 1965 a "piece of intrusive legislation." (Reporting by Letitia Stein; Editing by Andrew Hay) Comet C/2016/U1 NEOWISE NASAs NEOWISE mission has announced the discovery of two new space objects passing close to Earths orbit. One of the celestial objects is a comet, but astronomers are uncertain whether the second object is a comet or an asteroid. The first of the space objects currently passing through our inner solar system, according to NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), is a rare comet known as C/2016 U1 NEOWISE. It was discovered by NEOWISE, NASAs asteroid hunting mission, in October 2016. C/2016 U1 NEOWISE reached its close point to Earth on December 13, 2016 at a distance of about 66 million miles (106 million kilometers). It is expected to be at its closest point to the Sun inside Mercurys orbit on January 14, 2017. This is the first time in recorded history that the orbit of C/2016 U1 NEOWISE around the Sun has brought it close to Earth, according to astronomers. The comet is expected to be sufficiently bright until January 14 to be seen in the night sky using a good pair of binoculars or telescope. According to Paul Chodas, manager at NASAs Center for Near-Earth Object (NEO) Studies at JPL in Pasadena, California, C/2016 U1 NEOWISE has a good chance of becoming visible through a good pair of binoculars, although we cant be sure because a comets brightness is notoriously unpredictable. If visible it would be best observed from the Northern Hemisphere, shortly before dawn in the southern sky. It should remain visible, moving a little farther south each day until January 14 when it reaches its closest point to the Sun inside the orbit of Mercury. Click here to continue and read more... NASA Discovers Two New Space Objects Passing Close To Earth: C/2016 U1 NEOWISE Is A Comet But Experts Unsure If 2016 WF9 Is Comet Or Asteroid is an article from: The Inquisitr News Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a married man! The 42-year-old NASCAR driver tied the knot with longtime girlfriend Amy Reimann at a picture-perfect wedding on New Years Eve. The ceremony took place at Childress Vineyards in Lexington, North Carolina a venue owned by fellow racer Richard Childress. Happily married!!! What an amazing experience. Looking forward to the rest of our lives @Amy_Reimann. #honeymooners, Earnhardt tweeted on Sunday. @dalejr and I are beginning 2017 as Mr. & Mrs.! Thank you for loving me and making me your wife. My heart is truly filled with love and joy, Reimann said on social media. Happily married!!! What an amazing experience. Looking forward to the rest of our lives @Amy_Reimann. #honeymooners pic.twitter.com/jepHaBiOGA Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) January 1, 2017 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js @dalejr and I are beginning 2017 as Mr. & Mrs.! Thank you for loving me and making me your wife. My heart is truly filled with love and joy. pic.twitter.com/wAmtYuqtBd Amy Earnhardt (@Amy_Reimann) January 1, 2017 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js The morning after the fun-filled night of lavish celebration (and lots of New Years Eve dancing and glitter!), Reimann took to social media to poke fun at her new hubbys exhaustion. I sure wish my husband would wake up! @DaleJr, she tweeted the next day. I sure wish my husband would wake up! @DaleJr Amy Earnhardt (@Amy_Reimann) January 1, 2017 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Earnhardt proposed to Reimann while on vacation in Germany, the pair confirmed in 2015. The engagement was celebrated by the popular NASCAR racers many fans, who had been goading him to get down on one knee for years. The pair started dating in 2009. Story continues Im completely overwhelmed with love & joy. Happiest girl in the world! I love you so much @DaleJr, Reimann posted on Twitter, alongside a glowing photo of the couple in what appears to be a church, at the time. He added: Looking forward to the rest of my life with this amazing girl. Looking forward to the rest of my life with this amazing girl. https://t.co/EuGZbCVynM Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) June 17, 2015 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js I'm completely overwhelmed with love & joy. Happiest girl in the world! I love you so much @DaleJr pic.twitter.com/lBxbFLJ4xf Amy Earnhardt (@Amy_Reimann) June 17, 2015 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Congrats to the happy couple! On Monday, after months of clamor from the opposition and amid an ongoing inquiry, the Israeli police questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over allegations of corruption, marking the beginning of a criminal investigation. Details of the probe have not been made public, but the general understanding is that there are two separate issues at stake. First, the prime minister allegedly received favors from Israeli (and, perhaps more problematically, foreign) businessmen. Second, there was a seemingly unsavory defense deal in 2015 with German company ThyssenKrupp over submarines and warships. The police fraud investigation and prosecution unit spoke to Netanyahu with the authorization of the Israeli attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit. Erel Margalit, who is gunning for leadership of Israels opposition center-left Zionist Union Party, told Foreign Policy that these potential scandals are much more important than other alleged peccadillos committed by Netanyahu over the years, from overpaying for flights to spending $2,700 a year on ice cream (his favorite flavor is pistachio). It needs to be clear that you have the largest things at stake, he said. The deal with ThyssenKrupp, Margalit said, should not have been made under pressure from the prime ministers office. But, though there was a tender in 2014 for a contract for which several companies (including the United States) made offers, the legal counsel for the ministry of defense reportedly got a call from Bibis lawyer saying that Israel was going with the Germans. Margalit says that Netanyahu, along with his personal attorney/cousin, pushed through a deal with the shipyard for the construction of naval vessels. Though the contract variously said to be worth half a billion dollars or more than a billion was with German company ThyssenKrupp, it was subcontracted to a shipyard then known as Abu Dhabi MAR and now renamed German Naval Yards Kiel. The major owner of the shipyard is the family of Lebanons former defense minister, Samir Moqbel. Margalit says he has worked with both Iran and Hezbollah. Netanyahus lawyer, according to Israels Channel 10, also works for the Israeli agent of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. Story continues Netanyahu, speaking to members of his right-wing Likud party in parliament on Monday, said, We hear the celebratory spirit and winds blowing through the television studios and in the corridors of the opposition. Hold off the celebrations; dont rush. His office also issued a statement, which read, Try to replace the prime minister at the ballot boxes, as is accepted in democracies. Margalit said he hopes any investigation of the prime minister focuses on the big things. Israel has a tradition of taking down prime ministers in corruption probes. Ehud Olmert, Netanyahus predecessor, was undone by corruption accusations in 2008 (he remained as caretaker prime minister until Netanyahu returned to power in 2009). Even if he is suspected of criminal activity, Netanyahu does not necessarily need to step down. He would only have to resign if convicted, and with the conviction upheld by Israels High Court. Margalit worries that Netanyahu may be trying to shield himself. He is apparently trying to pass a law that would come into effect in the next parliament that the sitting prime minister cannot be interrogated. But if Bibi calls elections, during which by law he could not be interrogated, hed be safe and clear in the next parliament after the elections conclude provided he wins. Photo credit: GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images The 2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards are set to have too much tuna. On Tuesday, Film Independent announced that comedians and the creators and stars of Broadways Oh, Hello, Nick Kroll and John Mulaney will co-host the 32nd Independent Spirit Awards, which recognizes the years best independent films. From film to television to Broadway, Nick Kroll and John Mulaney have been almost everywhere and now their world domination will be complete when they host the 2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards, said Film Independent president Josh Welsh in a statement. We couldnt think of two smarter, funnier people to host our show, and look forward to having them on the beach on Saturday, February 25. The duo recently found success on Broadway with Oh, Hello, playing the curmudgeonly characters they originated on Comedy Centrals The Kroll Show. While best known for playing Ruxin on The League, Kroll can currently be seen and heard on the big screen in the critically acclaimed Loving and the animated musical Sing. An Emmy-nominated comedian, Mulaney released a Netflix special, The Comeback Kid, in 2015 and co-created Bill Haders wildly popular Stefon character during his time on Saturday Night Live. American Honey and Moonlight scored the most nominations for the upcoming awards show, which will air Feb. 25 at 5 pm. ET on IFC. Nigel Farage, the mastermind behind Britains decision to leave the European Union, has shrugged off rumors that the Brexit story will be turned into a comedy movie, with Warner Bros. and Netflix spoken of as potential partners. Asked about the movie by Piers Morgan, co-host of ITV chat-show Good Morning Britain, Farage rolled his eyes and said he would believe it when it happened. Farage added that every week brought fresh rumors about him, including that he would appear on reality shows like the local version of Dancing With the Stars or Im a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. When pressed, he said that if there were a movie based on his life he would have liked Oliver Reed to play him if the actor hadnt been dead already. Rumors of a Brexit movie first appeared in the Telegraph, which claimed Warner Bros. was circling film rights for the book The Bad Boys of Brexit. The book, written by Arron Banks, a multi-millionaire who helped bankroll the Brexit campaign, is based on the diary Banks kept during the period. Andy Wigmore, a spokesman for Banks, said: We have had some very serious Hollywood people in touch with us who are going to buy the rights to the book. They want to buy the option on it. Wigmore claimed the book is like a screenplay so half the work has been done for them. Wigmore told Reuters that three parties were interested in buying the rights, including Netflix, and they would be holding talks with the bidders when Farage, Banks and Wigmore attended the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump later this month. The book is described on Amazon.com as an honest, uncensored and highly entertaining diary of the campaign that changed the course of history. It adds: From a David Brent-style office on an industrial estate in the southwest [of England], Banks masterminded an extraordinary social media campaign against the tyrannies of Brussels that became a mass movement for Brexit. Related stories Story continues TV Review: Netflix and Norman Lear's Rebooted 'One Day at a Time' Netflix, Spanish Pubcaster RTVE Pact on TV Series 'The Department of Time' Amazon Prime Video's Global Launch Looks Soft, but It's Just a First Step LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigerian anti-drug officers found 9.15 kg (20 pounds) of cocaine worth $4.7 million "factory-packed" inside a new pair of shoes that arrived at Abuja airport on a flight from Brazil, authorities said on Tuesday. It was Nigeria's biggest drug seizure of 2016. West African nations are often used as transit points by gangs moving drugs between South America and Europe. Nigeria's NDLEA drug enforcement agency said a 34-year-old Nigerian motorcycle parts dealer was arrested after the discovery of the cocaine during a screening of passengers and luggage arriving on a flight from Sao Paulo. "It is our single biggest seizure of cocaine in the last year. We have had bigger seizures of methamphetamine but for cocaine this is a big seizure. And the mode of containment was ingenious. It was a factory-packed concealment because they were brand new footwear," NDLEA spokesman Ofoyeju Mitchell said. (Reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram) LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigerian anti-drug officers found 9.15 kg (20 pounds) of cocaine worth $4.7 million "factory-packed" inside a new pair of shoes that arrived at Abuja airport on a flight from Brazil, authorities said on Tuesday. It was Nigeria's biggest drug seizure of 2016. West African nations are often used as transit points by gangs moving drugs between South America and Europe. Nigeria's NDLEA drug enforcement agency said a 34-year-old Nigerian motorcycle parts dealer was arrested after the discovery of the cocaine during a screening of passengers and luggage arriving on a flight from Sao Paulo. "It is our single biggest seizure of cocaine in the last year. We have had bigger seizures of methamphetamine but for cocaine this is a big seizure. And the mode of containment was ingenious. It was a factory-packed concealment because they were brand new footwear," NDLEA spokesman Ofoyeju Mitchell said. ($1 = 312.0000 naira) (Reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram) No New MV Agusta Superbikes for 2017 MV Agusta CEO Giovanni Castiglioni has been quoted in Australian Motorcycle News that the company will offer no new superbikes for 2017. Development will continue on the new 1200cc 4-cylinder Brutale, which had been expected at the Milan show, but not for 2017. The new model will likely have the F4 super bike engine. Struggling with a debt load of 50 million (US $52.13 million), MV has again gone looking for outside financial investors. The company recently sold a rumored 30-40 percent of its shares to the Anglo-Russian investment group Black Ocean, and Mercedes-AMG had previously purchased a 25 -percent share in MV. But numerous ownership changes over the past decade, and a constricting market have cut production drastically and brought layoffs to the labor force. Nonetheless, just last week MV signed a deal with DNC Asiatic Holdings of Malaysia for an assembly plant in the region. The DNC subsidiary Moto Varese will distribute machines in the Asia-Pacific market, which accounted for nearly 20 percent of MV sales volume in 2016. The company incurred substantial expense with the recent upgrades to the 3-cylinder Brutale 800 RR, but its future is now uncertain. However, just to throw yet another wrench into the works, MV now claims it's receiving a new investment from a private equity firm, and that they are returning to full production. Its Italy, after all. One never knows. (Adds U.S. comment, background) WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - North Korea continues to pursue nuclear and ballistic missile technologies but the United States does not believe it is in a position to "tip" one of them with a nuclear warhead, State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday. North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, said on Sunday his nuclear-capable country was close to test-launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), raising the prospect of putting parts of the United States within range. "We do not believe that at this point in time he has the capability to tip one of these with a nuclear warhead ... but we do know that he continues to want to have those capabilities and the programs continue to march in that direction," Kirby told reporters. Asked whether he would agree with President-elect Donald Trump's assessment that China was not helping to contain North Korea's nuclear ambitions, Kirby said: "We would not agree with that assessment." Trump, who will take office on Jan. 20, tweeted on Monday that North Korea would not be allowed to complete a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the United States, although he did not say how he would stop it. "It won't happen!" he said on Twitter. Trump's transition spokesman, Sean Spicer, said the tweet spoke for itself but added that it meant, "Under his watch he's going to make sure that that doesn't happen." Pyongyang's action will be discussed at a meeting in Washington on Thursday between the United States, Japan and South Korea, led by Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Kirby said. "No question that tensions on the Korean peninsula will be a topic of discussion (but) where that is going to take us, especially in light of Kim Jong Un's speech, I don't know," Kirby said. Asked about the possibility of more sanctions against Pyongyang, he added: "We haven't ruled out the possibility of additional sanctions." (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by James Dalgleish and Alan Crosby) Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f32261%2f6a536131-834c-4f0f-b318-dcb7500fa931 If there's one thing more frightening than a large venomous snake, it's a snake eating another snake. Gross. But unfortunately in Australia, it happens. Snake catchers Norman and Sally Hill caught sight of this eastern brown snake just helping itself to a carpet python, when they were called to a home near Ipswich in Queensland on Monday. SEE ALSO: Guy documents a 9-foot python eating a grazing wallaby "We've never seen something like this before, it's very rare any snake catcher gets an opportunity to witness something like this," Norman Hill told AAP. It was a few more hours until the snake was caught and removed from the house. The snake catchers politely waited for the reptile finish its meal. If they're disturbed while eating, they could regurgitate their food, you see. Even more gross. Brown snakes are typically known to eat frogs, other reptiles, birds and mammals. But they're known to have a cannibalistic side too, especially when in captivity, according to the Australian Museum. They're also responsible for causing the most deaths in Australia, many of which have been a direct result of bites to people trying to kill them. So, once again, let the professionals handle the snakes. Heading into the New Year, both oil and natural gas futures surged to multi-month highs after gaining handsomely in 2016. On the news front, British energy giant BP plc BP agreed to buy a chain of petrol stations from Australian retailer Woolworths Ltd., while supermajor ExxonMobil Corp. XOM declared a new natural gas discovery in Papua New Guinea. Overall, the sector ended 2016 on a bullish note. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures added around 3% for the week to close at $53.72 per barrel, while natural gas prices jumped 6.2% to $3.724 per million Btu (MMBtu). (See the last Oil & Gas Stock Roundup here: Chevron's Asset Sale, Petrobras' TOTAL Deal and More.) Posting its biggest annual gain since 2009, oil prices closed 2016 up 45%. The bullish momentum continued during last weeks trading, with the commodity attaining its highest closing in 17 months as investors and analysts grow more confidant that producers will adhere to their agreed output cut quotas, which will reduce the global inventory glut next year. Oils-Energy Sector 5YR % Return Oils-Energy Sector 5YR % Return Meanwhile, natural gas was 2016s best-performing commodity, gaining 60% during the period. The heating fuel surged to a 2-year high last week following a massive withdrawal that sent storage into a deficit versus the five-year average. The commodity was further buoyed by predictions of abnormally frigid weather over the entire U.S that is set to translate into strong demand. Recap of the Weeks Most Important Stories 1. BP plc has agreed to shell out A$1.785 billion ($1.3 billion) for Woolworths Ltd.s portfolio of Australian gas stations in a deal that will likely make the London-based oil company one of the nations biggest fuel providers. Per the deal, the British energy company will acquire 527 fuel outlets as well as 16 development sites. The Woolworths fuel outlets are supplied by rival Caltex Australia Ltd. Currently, BP owns 350 retail locations across Australia and supplies fuel to an additional 1,000 outlets owned by independent business partners. BP and Woolworths partnership also includes the continuation and expansion of a scheme offering fuel discounts for supermarket customers. Story continues The purchase by BP marks a deviation from the trend of the recent years that has seen a smaller share of Australias retail fuel operators being owned by the major oil companies. There are about 6,400 outlets Down Under, while 52% of them were associated with one of the four major oil companies operating in Australia as of Jan 2016, only 9% were directly controlled by them. Subject to regulatory approvals, the transaction is not expected to conclude before Jan 2, 2018. (Read more: BP to Buy Woolworths Australian Gas Stations for $1.3B.) 2. Worlds largest publicly traded oil company ExxonMobil Corp. announced that it has made a new natural gas discovery in the Papua New Guinea North Highlands. Located 13 miles (21 kilometers) northwest of the Hides Gas Field, the Muruk-1 well came across similar high-quality sandstone reservoirs as the Hides field, same as the pre-drill expectations. The well was drilled to a depth of 10,630 feet (3,130 meters). Located in petroleum prospecting license 402, the well spans across an acreage of 126,000 acres (510 square kilometers). The size of the discovery is currently being assessed. Oil Search Limited is the operator of the well with a holding of 37.5%. ExxonMobil holds 42.5% and the remaining 20% is owned by Barracuda Limited, a subsidiary of Santos Limited. Oil Search started drilling the Muruk-1 well on Nov 2. ExxonMobils involvement in exploration in Papua New Guinea dates back to the 1930s. Moreover, the Muruk exploration success validates the strength of ExxonMobils long-term investment approach and reiterates its commitment to Papua New Guinea. (Read more: ExxonMobil Hits Natural Gas in Onshore Papua New Guinea.) 3. Hamilton, Bermuda-based offshore drilling firm SeaDrill Ltd. SDRL reported that it has entered into a three-year agreement extension with Saudi Aramco for the AOD III jackup rig at a rate of $102,740 per day. The contract will now expire in Dec 2019. SeaDrill currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. The extension of this agreement is expected to add approximately $112.5 million in contract backlog. Also, this follows the three-year contracts extensions of two sister rigs AOD I and AOD II that are set to expire in Jun 2019 and Jul 2019, respectively. The three units have been working for Saudi Aramco since 2013. The ownership of these rigs lie with Asia Offshore Drilling a partnership venture between Seadrill and Mermaid Maritime that own 66.24% and 33.76% equity interest, respectively. (Read more: Seadrill Signs 3-Year Rig Extension for AOD III Jackup.) 4. Brazil's state-run energy giant Petrobras PBR reported that it has signed an agreement to divest non-core business assets worth $587 million. This move is to reduce its debts and revive investor confidence shattered by a corruption scandal. Under the terms of the agreement, Petrobras has agreed to offload its 45.97% stake in sugar and ethanol producer Guarani SA. The buyer, Frances Tereos Internacional, is slated to pay $202 million for the buyout. In a separate arrangement, Petrobras has agreed to divest certain petrochemical assets worth $385 million to Mexican petrochemical company Alpek S.A.B. de C.V. The petrochemical units, namely Petroquimica Suape and Citepe, are located in the state of Pernambuco and can produce 700,000 tons of purified terephthalic acid per year. The units also churn out 450,000 tons of polyethylene terephthalate per year. Petrobras asset sale plan is in sync with its efforts to lower its huge debt burden. In fact, the company with a debt of $122.65 billion at the end of third-quarter 2016 is the most indebted in the world. As a result, Petrobras intends to divest assets worth $21 billion over 20172018. (Read more: Petrobras to Divest Non-Core Assets worth $587 Million.) 5. Italian energy company Eni SpA E recently gained two exploration blocks offshore Cyprus, in the competitive international bid round 3rd Licensing Round. Eni will be the operator of Block 6 with 50% interest, while the balance will be held by partner, Frances TOTAL SA. Eni will acquire a 100% stake in Block 8. Enis successfully explored areas in the neighboring Egyptian offshore, including the Zohr massive gas field, which have geological similarities with these newly awarded areas. These awards further strengthen Enis strategic position in the area. Notably, the company was awarded the blocks 9, 3 and 2 in the 2nd international bid round in 2012. The company also holds three exploration blocks on the Egyptian side Shorouk (where the Zohr field is located), Karawan and North Leil. Eni holds 50% stake and 100% stake in Karawan and North Leil, respectively. Eni has been enjoying a strong foothold in Cyprus since 2013, where it holds and operates the offshore exploration blocks 2, 3 and 9. (Read more: Eni Wins Twin Exploration Block License in Offshore Cyprus.) Price Performance The following table shows the price movement of some the major oil and gas players over the past week and during the last 6 months. Company Last Week Last 6 Months XOM -0.61% -3.71% CVX -0.22% +12.28% COP -2.54% +15.00% OXY -1.37% -5.73% SLB -2.21% +6.16% RIG -3.03% +23.97% VLO +1.12% +33.96% TSO -1.19% +16.72% Notwithstanding the past weeks increase in oil prices, the reaction in energy stocks was negative. As a result, over the course of last week, The Energy Select Sector SPDR was down 1.12%. The worst performer was offshore drilling giant Transocean Ltd. RIG whose stock price fell 3.03%. But longer-term, over the last 6 months, the sector tracker gained 10.38%. Downstream operator Valero Energy Corp. VLO was one of the major beneficiaries during this period, experiencing a 33.96% price increase. Whats Next in the Energy World? In this holiday-shortened week, market participants will be closely tracking the regular releases i.e. the U.S. government data on oil and natural gas. Energy traders will also be focusing on the Baker Hughes data on rig count. Zacks' Best Investment Ideas for Long-Term Profit Today you can gain access to long-term trades with double and triple-digit profit potential rarely available to the public. Starting now, you can look inside our stocks under $10, home run and value stock portfolios, plus more. Want a peek at this private information? Click here >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report PETROBRAS-ADR C (PBR): Free Stock Analysis Report VALERO ENERGY (VLO): Free Stock Analysis Report BP PLC (BP): Free Stock Analysis Report ENI SPA-ADR (E): Free Stock Analysis Report EXXON MOBIL CRP (XOM): Free Stock Analysis Report TRANSOCEAN LTD (RIG): Free Stock Analysis Report SEADRILL LTD (SDRL): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices slid more than 2 percent on the first trading day of 2017, knocked off 18-month highs hit in early trade as the U.S. dollar rallied to its highest level since 2002 and traders took profits. Brent futures fell $1.35, or 2.4 percent, to settle at $55.47 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude lost $1.39, or 2.6 percent, to settle at $52.33, its lowest close in two weeks. Before the slide began, both contracts hit their highest levels since July 2015 on hopes that a deal between OPEC and other big oil exporters to cut production, which kicked in on Sunday, will drain a global supply glut. Brent reached as high as $58.37 and WTI $55.24. The volatility pushed the spread between the high and low price for the day for both contracts to their widest since Nov. 30 with WTI at $3.13 and Brent at $3.07 per barrel. "It's hard to justify a swing that big in a single day. The strong dollar certainly played a part in the decline and so did WTI hitting $55 a barrel, which must have triggered a lot of profit taking," said James Williams, president of energy consultant WTRG Economics in Arkansas. The dollar hit a 14-year high against a basket of currencies after data showed U.S. manufacturing activity grew more than expected in November. A stronger greenback pressures demand for dollar-denominated crude, making barrels more expensive for users of other currencies. "WTI was off to a strong start to this New Year with some support developing off of reports that Kuwait and Oman are already...enacting agreed upon cuts of about 175,000 barrels per day combined," Jim Ritterbusch, president of Chicago-based energy advisory firm Ritterbusch & Associates, said in a note about the reasons for oil's early gains. Jan. 1 marked the official start of a deal agreed by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other exporters such as Russia to reduce output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd). Non-OPEC Middle Eastern oil producer Oman told customers last week that it would cut its crude oil term allocation volumes by 5 percent in March. Elsewhere, Libya, one of two OPEC countries exempt from the output cuts, has increased its production to 685,000 bpd, from around 600,000 bpd in December, an official at the National Oil Corp said on Sunday. Non-OPEC Russia's oil production in December remained unchanged at 11.21 million bpd, near a 30-year high, but it was preparing to cut output by 300,000 bpd in the first half of 2017 in its contribution to the accord. (Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson in London and Jane Chung in Seoul; Editing by David Gregorio and Marguerita Choy) The Daily Beast Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesDonald Trumps desperate attempts to escape the wrath of the New York Attorney General were halted Thursday when a state judge there took the remarkable step of putting the former presidents company under court supervisionand preventing the billionaire from quietly shifting his money to avoid paying millions in fines.Justice Arthur F. Engoron intervened at the AGs request, ordering the appointment of an independent monitor to ensure that the company cant sec FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. (AP) The oldest member of the small population of endangered Puget Sound orcas has been missing for months and is now likely dead, bringing the toll of dead or missing whales to seven in 2016, researchers in Washington state reported. The orca labeled J2 and nicknamed Granny had been spotted thousands of times over 40 years of orca surveys but has not been seen since October, according to the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island, a nonprofit group that keeps the federal government's annual census of the whales. "With regret we now consider her deceased," researcher Ken Balcomb wrote in a post on the center's website Saturday. She was typically seen at the head of the J pod, one of three family groups of whales that travel with their mothers or grandmothers, but has not been spotted for weeks. Other members of her family have been photographed and counted. Individual southern resident killer whales that spend time in the inland waters of Washington state are identified by unique black and white markings or variations in their fin shapes. Each whale is given a number and a name. A 1987 published study estimated that J2 was born in 1911, putting her age at 105. There is a 12-year margin of error so she could be older or younger, Howard Garrett of the Orca Network said in an email. Despite a birth boom in 2015 that saw eight orca babies born, the intensely tracked population of southern resident killer whales is down to 78 as of Dec. 31, the center said. Despite a decade of research, protection and recovery efforts, the orcas continue to struggle primarily due to a lack of food, pollution and disturbances by marine vessels. They were listed as endangered in 2005. There were more than 140 animals decades ago. That number declined to a low of 71 in the 1970s when dozens of the mammals were captured to be displayed at marine parks and aquariums across the country. The numbers have fluctuated in recent years. Story continues Seven were declared missing or dead in 2016, including an 18-year-old male whale found dead off the coast of British Columbia last month. Canadian officials say the preliminary necropsy found that the 22-foot long whale was likely struck. It is unclear whether it was hit by a boat or another animal. The agency is investigating the cause and conducting more blood and tissue tests on the animal. Omarosa Manigault, a contestant on the first season of The Apprentice who took an active role in Donald Trumps presidential campaign, will join his administration in a role focused on public engagement, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday. Manigault had said in a recent interview with Fox News that she expected to take a role in the White House. During the campaign, she was involved in voter outreach, and more recently was named to be a member of Trumps transition team. She also worked in Bill Clintons administration in the office of then-Vice President Al Gore. She wont be the first celebrity to take a spot in the White House of their chosen candidate. Kal Penn, who worked on the campaign of Barack Obama in 2008, ended up working for his administration, also in the Office of Public Engagement. Related stories Hillary and Bill Clinton to Attend Donald Trump's Inauguration A New Celebrity Video Urges Congress to Obstruct Donald Trump Rebecca Ferguson Says She'll Perform at Donald Trump's Inauguration on One Condition A single breath into a newfangled breathalyzer is all doctors need to diagnose 17 different diseases, including lung cancer, irritable bowel syndrome and multiple sclerosis, a new study found. Researchers invited about 1,400 people from five different countries to breathe into the device, which is still in its testing phases. The breathalyzer could identify each person's disease with 86 percent accuracy, the researchers said. The technology works because "each disease has its own unique breathprint," the researchers wrote in the study. [10 Crazy New Skills That Robots Picked Up in 2016] The breathalyzer analyzes microscopic compounds called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to detect each condition. Testing for VOCs isn't a new approach; in 400 B.C., physicians learned that smelling a patient's bodily emissions could help with diagnoses. For instance, doctors used to smell the stools and urine of infant noblemen daily, the researchers said. But while excrement and other bodily substances, such as blood, contain VOCs, examining exhaled breath is the cheapest, easiest and least invasive way to test for the compounds, the researchers said. Breath evaluation To investigate using breath for diagnosis, the researchers developed a breathalyzer that had two nanolayers, one with carbon and the other without. The carbon-free layer contained modified gold nanoparticles and a network of nanotubes, both of which provide electrical conductivity, the researchers said. Meanwhile, the carbon layer worked as a sensing layer to hold the exhaled VOCs, the scientists said. When a person breathed into the breathalyzer, that individual's VOCs interacted with the organic sensing layer, which in turn changed the electrical resistance of the inorganic sensors. By measuring this resistance, the researchers could determine which VOCs were present, the scientists said. There are hundreds of known VOCs in exhaled breath, but the researchers needed only 13 to distinguish among the 17 different diseases. For instance, the VOC nonanal is linked to several disorders, including ovarian cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and breast cancer, whereas the VOC isoprene is associated with chronic liver disease, kidney disease and diabetes, the researchers said. Story continues Because each VOC is tied to several conditions, "These results support our finding that no single VOC can discriminate between different diseases," the researchers wrote in the study. Exhale here Once the breathalyzer was built, researchers administered it to 813 people who were diagnosed with one of the 17 diseases, as well as 591 controls. These were people from the same locations who did not have those diseases. All of the participants were in China, Israel, France, Latvia or the United States, the researchers said. Next, the scientists used artificial intelligence to tally up the VOCs in each breath, search a database for diseases showing the same VOC concentration patterns and deliver a diagnosis. [Gallery: The BioDigital Human] Researchers took breath samples from about 1,400 people from five different countries, and tested them for 17 different diseases with a breathalyzer-like device. Then, they verified the results using another method, called GC-MS. Nakhleh, M.K. et al. ACS Nano (2016) The results were blinded, meaning that, during the analysis, the researchers did not know which condition the participants had. Moreover, the research team verified its results with another method that measured the VOCs in each sample. The new breathalyzer isn't ready for the market yet further testing and better accuracy are needed first but the study is an encouraging development, the researchers said. If it's made available to doctors, the device could be an "affordable, easy-to-use, inexpensive and miniaturized [tool] for personalized screening, diagnosis and follow-up," the researchers wrote in the study, which was published online Dec. 21 in the journal ACS Nano. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations This commentary originally appeared on The Hill. Democrats grappling with the shock of Hillary Clinton's loss to Donald Trump are also beginning to turn their attention to 2020, and pondering who could defeat Trump as he vies for reelection. Here are The Hill's initial rankings of where the potential candidates stand. 1. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) How would the 2016 election have panned out had Warren challenged Clinton in the primary? That's one of the great unknowables of Democratic politics. But now, there is little doubt that the Massachusetts senator is the leading contender for the 2020 nomination. Warren, a former Harvard Law School professor, has been beloved by the left throughout her late-blooming political career, largely because of her no-punches-pulled attacks on banks and the financial industry. She got under Trump's skin via Twitter during the 2016 campaign too. The recent news that Warren will join the Senate Armed Services Committee in January has stoked speculation that she is looking to bolster her foreign policy and national security credentials in advance of a presidential run. Warren would be 71 by the time of the next election, but she is three years younger than Trump. 2. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Sanders came from semi-obscurity in the Senate to give Clinton a serious run for her money in the battle for the Democratic nomination this year. He won 23 contests and amassed more than 13 million votes. He also fired the enthusiasm of young voters and progressives, two pillars of the Democratic base that Clinton struggled to charm. The Vermonter's focus on income inequality and his broader point that the system is rigged against working Americans resonated. Sanders's main problem when it comes to a 2020 run could be his age. He will be 79 next Election Day. Still, Sanders might well be tempted to try one more time especially if Warren stood aside. 3. Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.) Booker raised eyebrows earlier this month when it emerged that he would join the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when the new Congress convenes. As with Warren and the Armed Services panel, his decision was interpreted as an effort to burnish his resume for a potential presidential run. Story continues Booker is just 47, and he is one of only two African-Americans in the Senate for now. (That number will rise to three in January when California's Kamala Harris will be sworn in.) He is also one of the most media-savvy members in the upper chamber a trait that has been apparent since the start of his career, when his first, failed bid to become mayor of Newark was captured in a sympathetic documentary, "Street Fight." Booker is far from the most liberal member of the caucus. During the 2012 presidential campaign, he criticized an Obama campaign ad that hit Mitt Romney's business record, insisting on NBC's "Meet the Press", "I'm not about to sit here and indict private equity." An optimistic view is that he could bridge the gap between the progressive and center-left strands of the party. Skeptics will question whether he is a little too corporate-friendly for the tastes of Democratic primary voters. 4. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) Klobuchar has already appeared on several shortlists of likely contenders for the nomination, and it's not hard to see why. The New Yorker called her, "popular, practical, appealing [and] progressive." She is from a state where the currents of labor and progressivism run strong. But the no-nonsense, affable Klobuchar could also plausibly appeal to Rust Belt voters whom her party needs to win over. One issue for Klobuchar right now is that she does not have a high profile outside of her native state and the Beltway. There is plenty of time to change that if she wants to run and win in 2020. But she could be eclipsed by higher-wattage candidates. 5. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y) Gillibrand followed in Clinton's footsteps when she replaced her as a New York senator in 2009. Could she do the same at the presidential level but actually win the White House? It's certainly possible. Gillibrand's profile has risen in tandem with her making the prevention of sexual assaults in the military a signature issue. Representing New York, she has easy access to the national media and to powerful Democratic fundraising networks. But Gillibrand's similarities with Clinton, superficial though they may be, could go against her. It's just not clear Democrats would roll the dice again, as soon as 2020, on another prominent female nominee from New York. Critics also charge that Gillibrand emphasized more centrist positions as a congresswoman from a somewhat conservative district than she does as a senator from a liberal state. 6. First lady Michelle Obama If the first lady exhibited even a slight inclination to run, she would be ranked near the top of this list. There is no figure in public life, with the possible exception of her husband, who has so strong a hold on liberal hearts and minds. Obama has become more comfortable with her public role over the years. Her two major speeches during the 2016 campaign one at the Democratic convention, another excoriating Trump for "hurtful, hateful language about women" were among the most powerful delivered during the cycle. The first lady insists that she won't run, citing the effect such an effort would have on her two daughters among other factors. But Malia and Sasha Obama will be 22 and 19, respectively, by the time of the next election. When it comes to the first lady's future plans, many Democrats still cling to the audacity of hope. 7. Gov. John Hickenlooper (Colo.) Hickenlooper presides over a state that is considered a key battleground, even though it has become more solidly Democratic in recent years. Colorado has gone for the Democratic nominee in the past three presidential elections and Clinton won the state by five points. Hickenlooper, who has a politically effective down-to-earth persona, could potentially boost the party's appeal in the heartlands. He has enjoyed solid approval ratings during his time in office. One problem? While his chances are talked up among Beltway pundits, he is almost unknown in the nation at large. 8. Sen. Chris Murphy (Conn.) Murphy has come to the fore on the issue of gun control. He can speak with moral authority on the issue: In his state, a gunman killed 20 young children, as well as six adults, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012. President Obama has called that moment the worst day of his presidency. Politically speaking, Murphy would need to display more policy breadth and heighten his national profile if he is to be a genuine contender. For the moment, he's one to watch. 9. Vice President Joe Biden The vice president could have definitively ruled himself out of the running, but hasn't. He joked with reporters about the possibility earlier this month, and then sought to clarify by saying he had "no intention" of running. Biden would clearly have loved to run in 2016, were it not for the fact that he was still grieving the loss of his son, Beau. Biden's age is a real issue, however. He would be 77 by next Election Day. If he won, he would turn 78 before being inaugurated. For all his political skills, his two previous runs for the presidency, in 1988 and 2008, ended in failure. 10. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (N.Y.) On paper, Cuomo looks like a strong candidate. He is the governor of a huge, liberal state and hails from a well-established political family. Cuomo's late father, Mario, served as governor of the Empire State for three terms. No one doubts the younger Cuomo's ambition, but whether he is the right fit for the times is a tougher question. In a party where the left is ascendant, he has positioned himself as a centrist foil to New York City's liberal mayor, Bill de Blasio. It's not clear what Cuomo's power base would be for a primary fight. 11. Sen.-elect Kamala Harris (Calif.) Harris is one of the bright spots for Democrats who are dismayed by their failure to retake the Senate. She will succeed the retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer in January. Harris has been seen as a rising star in the party for some time, her fans including President Obama, who once praised her in imprudent terms. Harris, a leading lawyer before shifting into politics, is the daughter of an Indian-American mother and a Jamaican-American father. It's not clear she has any presidential ambitions and, if she ran in 2020, she would face criticism about her relative lack of political experience. But she would be as experienced as then-Sen. Obama was when he began his 2008 White House run. 12. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Could she run again? It's possible. Many people thought Clinton's electoral ambitions had ended in 2008, with her devastating loss to Obama in the Democratic primary. That turned out not to be the case. There is still a large, wealthy circle of Clinton loyalists, who would back any future run. But, even if she had the appetite for a 2020 bid, she would have enormous hurdles to overcome. One of the biggest would be the question of how she lost the presidency to Donald Trump. Beyond the hardline Clintonistas, there aren't many Democratic insiders who were wowed by her campaign. In a USA Today/Suffolk University poll released earlier this month, 62 percent of Democrats and independents said Clinton should not run again. 13. Former Gov. Deval Patrick (Mass.) Patrick has considerable political skills and was once talked up as a potential inheritor of President Obama's mantle. David Axelrod, one of the aides closest to Obama, worked with Patrick as well, and both Patrick and Obama adopted "Yes We Can!" as a campaign slogan. But Patrick left office in 2015, and it's just not clear whether he could or would want to come off the sidelines for 2020. He also joined Bain Capital, which is hardly the ideal launching pad for a quest to win over liberal activists. 14. Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.) Kaine achieved a new national prominence when Clinton named him as her 2016 running mate. But his performance was a mixed bag. The Virginia senator gave some energetic speeches on the campaign trail, defying his reputation for dullness. On the other hand, his showing in his sole debate with his counterpart, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, was uneven at best. 15. Oprah Winfrey Trump proved how powerful a currency celebrity can be and there may be no more trusted celebrity in America than Oprah. Having steered largely clear of partisan politics for most of her career, Winfrey became an enthusiastic backer of Obama when he looked a long shot to beat Hillary Clinton to the 2008 nomination. Winfrey has said she "couldn't breathe" after Trump won in November. She softened her stance later, but could she be tempted into a race to defeat the president-elect? Commentary by Niall Stanage, associate editor of The Hill. Follow him on Twitter @NiallStanage. For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter. Investors in Vanguard Natural Resources, LLC VNR need to pay close attention to the stock based on moves in the options market lately. That is because the April 21st, 2017 $1 Call had some of the highest implied volatility of all equity options today. What is Implied Volatility? Implied volatility shows how much movement the market is expecting in the future. Options with high levels of implied volatility suggest that investors in the underlying stocks are expecting a big move in one direction or the other. It could also mean there is an event coming up soon that may cause a big rally or a huge sell off. However, implied volatility is only one piece of the puzzle when putting together an options trading strategy. What do the Analysts Think? Clearly, options traders are pricing in a big move for Vanguard Natural Resources shares, but what is the fundamental picture for the company? Currently, Vanguard Natural Resourcesis a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) in the Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry that ranks in the Top 22% of our Zacks Industry Rank. Over the last 60 days, no analyst has increased earnings estimates for the current quarter, while one has dropped estimates. The net effect has taken our Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current quarter from 21 cents per share to 2 cents in that period. Given the way analysts feel about Vanguard Natural Resources right now, this huge implied volatility could mean theres a trade developing. Often times, options traders look for options with high levels of implied volatility to sell premium. This is a strategy many seasoned traders use because it captures decay. At expiration, the hope for these traders is that the underlying stock does not move as much as originally expected. Looking to Trade Options? Each week, our very own Dave Bartosiak gives his top options trades. Check out his recent live analysis and options trade for the LULU earnings report completely free. See it here: Bartosiak: Trading Lululemon (LULU) Earnings with Options or check out the embedded video below for more details: Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report VANGUARD NATURL (VNR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. 3 Jan - Paolo Ballesteroes, who was unable to attend the award ceremony of the Metro Manila Film Festival, recently shared his speech online to express his gratitude for winning Best Actor. As reported on Sunstar, the actor, who won another Best Actor for his role in "Die Beautiful", posted, "Winning [two] acting awards internationally is quite overwhelming. But being recognised as the Best Actor in your own country gives a different kind of joy". Ballesteros thanked the MMFF for awarding him the coveted trophy and congratulated the festival for a successful event. "It is only the beginning and we will continue making movies that will be competent both locally and internationally," he added. The actor also thanked the whole "Die Beautiful" team, especially director Jun Robles Lana for trusting him to play the role of Trisha. Ballesteros previously won similar awards at the 29th Tokyo International Film Festival in Japan and the 21st Kerala International Film Festival in India. (Photo Source: Paolo Ballesteroes Instagram) PARIS (AP) Germany midfielder Julian Draxler has officially joined Paris Saint-Germain. The French club confirmed Draxler's signing from Wolfsburg on Tuesday in a deal reportedly worth up to 47 million euros (about $49 million). The 23-year-old attacking midfielder signed a deal through June 2021 on Monday, the French club said. Wolfsburg already announced the transfer subject to a medical examination on Dec. 24. "For the first time in my career, I'm going to discover a new country, a new league, and I'm very proud to take this new step at a club which has become a benchmark in Europe," Draxler was quoted as saying on PSG's website. Both sides agreed not to disclose the transfer fee. However, German news agency dpa reported a fee of 42 million euros ($43.9 million) with bonuses of up to 5 million euros ($5.2 million). "The transfer of this highly sought-after Germany international reconfirms just how attractive our club is to the world's most talented players. He has all the qualities to play a major role in the club's project," PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi said. Draxler joined Wolfsburg from Bundesliga rival Schalke for about 36 million euros in August 2015, but he never really settled in at the club. His fortunes mirrored that of Wolfsburg. Bundesliga runner-up and German Cup winner in 2015, Wolfsburg is fighting relegation this season, with coach Dieter Hecking and general manager Klaus Allofs both losing their jobs. Draxler had previously looked for a move resisted by Allofs and below-par performances saw him whistled at times by the club's own fans. Draxler scored five goals in 34 league games for Wolfsburg. Altogether, he has 23 goals in 153 Bundesliga games, and three in 27 games for Germany. "I think this step is the right one for all parties," Wolfsburg coach Valerien Ismael said. EXCLUSIVE: Even before Sony Pictures secured a January 13 release date to open Passengers in China, the cast and producers barnstormed the film in Beijing. After opening just OK domestically in the teeth of stiff holiday film competition, Passengers hopes for profitability might well now rest on China. Producer Stephen Hamel told Deadline that beyond the Morten Tyldum-directed Jennifer Lawrence/Chris Pratt sci-fi film, Company Films is betting large on the Middle Kingdom, stacking up numerous projects all geared to be shot in China. Hamel, who hatched most of these projects, partners in Company Films with Keanu Reeves, for whom the Jon Spaihts Passengers script was originally developed. LOS ANGELES - DEC 14: Stephen Hamel at the "Passengers" Premiere at Village Theater on December 14, 2016 in Westwood, CA Hamel, a still photographer when he first met Reeves on the film Rivers Edge, said he spent a third of 2016 in Beijing and that Company will soon open an office there to press a slate of English- and Mandarin-language film and TV projects. The Company partners began their creative relationship with Passengers. Even though Reeves didnt take producing credit after exiting as star, Hamel said Reeves had an enormous hand in developing what everyone considers to be one of the best scripts in Hollywood of the past decade. Reeves will be the star of Companys next effort, the Cannonball Run-in-China road movie Rally Car, which Hamel said will shoot this summer from Jeremy Lotts script. Olivier Megaton is now set to direct. The film, which like Passengers percolated for years, now has backing from China-based Fundamental Films, and they are in the final throes of securing U.S. distribution, with Lionsgate is in pole position. Hamel produces with Mark Gao. The film goes from Shanghai to the Gobi Desert to the Himalayas, featuring Chinas most compelling landscapes and most beautiful places to shoot, Hamel said. Keanu plays the star driver, matched with a 19-year-old Chinese girl, whos his co-pilot. There are Mexican, Chinese, German, Italian and Australian teams and we were in the process of assembling that cast. Story continues Tim Webber, the Oscar-winning VFX wiz behind Gravity, is set to direct Unmanned, a sci-fi film Hamel said will soon secure commitments from a major Chinese studio, U.S. distributor, director and star. It will shoot on Wandas sound stages, and on locations in Hong Kong and Mainland China. The film had been fodder for a New Yorker article on STX last year that implied the distributor was moving toward a deal; Hamel said that while that company is a contender, so are several other distributors vying for a film Hamel said will shoot in the fall. Its a mission movie revolving around human soldiers teamed with the robotic drones that will soon render the human soldiers obsolete. Hamel said Company is also in business with Lost In Thailand writer Shu Huan on an untitled Chinese-language science fiction film; Company is partnered with Vice Films on Parischina, a drama about a young Chinese girl and an American man who dont speak the same language and get stuck together in the middle of nowhere, in China; and there is also the Chinese-language Looking For Aladdin, an adventure quest to find the lost lamp of Aladdin, set with FangJin Media. On the TV side, there is New Shanghai, a sci-fi Chinese language TV drama Hamel is producing with Jacky Pang and Wong Kar Wai; and The Bruce Lee Project, a Chinese-language reality TV series based on competitions that weave in the teachings of the famed martial artist. Hamel is producing with Lees daughter Shannon Lee, Larry Namer and Michael Benaroya. While all Hollywood hustles to find footing in China, Hamel said the straightest path is to connect with financiers and filmmakers on strong stories. You learn that you have to be there, first of all, because emails only go so far, Hamel said. China is filled with dreamers who are open to new potential, new ideas and ways of doing things, if the approach is through stories and finding ways to communicate and build connective tissue through narratives. That is the way Ive been able to create relationships and opportunities for collaboration. WME reps the Company Films partners in its charge into China. Related stories The Bart & Fleming Podcast Episode #9: New Year, New Beginning Alibaba Pictures, Tencent Lead $360M Investment In Bona Film Group Voltage Pictures Sale To China's Xinke Scrapped; Metals Firm Invests In Pegasus Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f334155%2f7aa4b202-5d95-4575-b963-a0feb80f954d Social media users were quick to mock Apple's AirPods when they were first unveiled back in September, calling them electric toothbrush heads and their containers, dental floss dispensers. But who's laughing now, huh? AirPods enthusiasts, that's who. It seems that the dental hygiene similarities have an upside: Disguise. Yep, some AirPod users have begun creating stickers to deter would-be thieves from rolling them for their expensive wireless headphones. SEE ALSO: Teardown might just reveal why the AirPods were delayed for so long Just look at these innovative DIY jobs, made to look like dental floss packaging. Theft proof your Apple Airpods pic.twitter.com/FW495FdevL Georgia (@Georgia_Dow) December 31, 2016 Made my AirPods theft-proof! pic.twitter.com/w67daBdjAx Chris Siglos (@ChrisYourWords) December 31, 2016 Pre-designed stickers are even being sold on Etsy for $7.10, which is a bargain considering if you lose them, they're $69 each to replace. Ouch. But with great ideas come great risk. In this case, the risk of losing your AirPods altogether, because you thought they were old dental floss and throw them in the trash. Has anyone seen my white dental floss case...aka...AirPods? I can't find them. Seriously. Brian Tong (@briantong) December 21, 2016 Not to mention the fact that now thieves may become extra vigilant when it comes to checking those floss dispensers. Story continues Well, it was good while it lasted. [h/t Gizmodo] By Fergus Jensen JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian driver Rio Haryanto has suffered a major setback in his bid to return to Formula One this season after state-owned energy company Pertamina announced it was ending its sponsorship. "This year there will not be a continuation of participation by Pertamina in F1," spokeswoman Wianda Pusponegoro said in a statement on Tuesday, noting that Pertamina could not meet a sponsorship deadline. "Of course we regret this very much, but we have already made maximal efforts for Rio and Indonesia," she said. Haryanto, the first Indonesian to race in Formula One and only Asian driver on the grid last season, said in a text message that he had "not yet confirmed" his position and hoped to reach a decision as soon as possible. "We are still working on a plan to keep Rio in Formula One," Haryanto's manager, Piers Hunnisett, told Reuters. "People in the Formula One world felt he did a good job and he deserves to be there," Hunnisett said, adding that it would be a "great shame" if Haryanto missed out on a seat in 2017. The only likely vacancies still open are the two Manor seats and there is lingering uncertainty about that team's future ownership. Swiss-based Sauber, who like Manor expect their drivers to bring financial backing, are expected to sign German driver Pascal Wehrlein, who is backed by Mercedes, alongside Sweden's Marcus Ericsson. "Obviously, we were hoping to move into a team like Sauber - that was the plan but things are going to slow down a little bit," said Hunnisett. Haryanto started 12 races for Manor in 2016, alongside Wehrlein, before being replaced by French rookie Esteban Ocon after the German Grand Prix in July. Ocon has since moved on to Force India. Pertamina have been Haryanto's constant backers in the costly sport, and Hunnisett said last month that while he was looking for other non-government backers he was confident that Pertamina would continue to sponsor Haryanto. The oil and gas company's chief executive Dwi Soetjipto told a news conference last February that they were contributing five million euros ($5.6 million) to help secure Haryanto's 2016 seat at Manor. (Addtional reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe, editing by Alan Baldwin) LIMA (Reuters) - Peru has demanded a "significant sum" of cash from Brazilian builder Odebrecht before starting talks toward a plea deal that would reveal the names of officials it bribed over a period spanning three presidencies, the attorney general's office said Monday. Hamilton Castro, lead prosecutor investigating the company, declined to specify how much Peru was seeking initially, but said Odebrecht would have to pay a bigger sum later in a final agreement after it provides details on crimes it committed in Peru. Last month Odebrecht, a family-owned conglomerate at the center of Brazil's biggest ever graft scandal, signed a plea deal in the United States. It acknowledged distributing hundreds of millions in bribes across Latin America, including $29 million in Peru from which it got more than $143 million in benefits. "The illegal earnings the company obtained must be returned to the Peruvian state, that's why we're negotiating a significant sum of cash that must be deposited in public coffers as prepayment," Castro told a news conference, describing the requirement as "unprecedented" in the Andean country. Castro said his team would uncover Odebrecht's kickback schemes in Peru with or without its help, but that direct talks would expedite the investigation he started in November based on Swiss intelligence reports. Odebrecht said in a statement that it would cooperate with prosecutors and was carrying out internal reforms to prevent corruption. The company declined further comment. A plea deal with Peru would be the second outside Brazil for the company, which faces mounting debt, financing troubles and criminal probes from Ecuador to Panama. Odebrecht and an affiliated company agreed to pay a record $3.5 billion in a settlement last month with U.S., Brazilian and Swiss authorities. Odebrecht operated a sophisticated network of corruption and had encrypted details on its bribes that Swiss prosecutors were still working on decoding, said Castro. Castro said Peruvian prosecutors had made several trips abroad and established strong ties with their foreign counterparts that were yielding important results. "We've already secured the fundamental information" Castro said. Peru was the first country outside Brazil where Odebrecht ventured nearly four decades ago, and is home to some of its most ambitious projects, from an irrigation tunnel through the Andes to a highway that crosses the Amazon. Last week the government of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said Odebrecht would be barred from bidding on public contracts thanks to new anti-graft rules and that it might sue the company for damages. (Reporting By Mitra Taj, Additional reporting By Bruno Federowski in Sao Paulo; Editing by Tom Brown and David Gregorio) These pics of Shay Mitchells island vacation are so gorgeous, theyre giving us major FOMO We survived 2016, so were feeling like we need some major self care, and what better form of self care than a tropical adventure? Luckily, we have Shay Mitchell to give us MAJOR travel inspo. These pics of Shay Mitchells island vacation are ridiculously beautiful, and they have us craving an escape of our own. We were already SO envious of Shays killer trip to Fiji, but this is on a whole new level. For a much needed vacay, Shay went to Azulik Tulum, an eco resort with adult-style treehouse villas in Tulum, a Mayan city serving as a major port for Coba in Mexico. Um, adult tree houses? Well take it! Honestly, these pics of Shay Mitchells island vacation adventure look more glorious than we ever couldve imagined. Just look at this! Its so, so stunning. A photo posted by Shay Mitchell (@shaym) on Jan 1, 2017 at 8:35am PST We wanna go there! Oh, Shay, take us with you!! Were not sure whats more gorgeous, Shay, or her surroundings. Its a serious tie in the *best* way. A photo posted by Shay Mitchell (@shaym) on Dec 31, 2016 at 10:52am PST Ugh, what an absolute dream. Is this Heaven or what?! Sandy shores, a clear sky, oh the FOMO! A photo posted by Shay Mitchell (@shaym) on Jan 1, 2017 at 9:49pm PST She captioned this amazing scenery shot, Not a bad view to wake up to on the first day of the year! Um, definitely not a bad view! Wed kill to be living large like this, but a gal can only dream. Its safe to say that Shay Mitchell is having an ah-mazing vacation, and she definitely deserves it. A photo posted by Shay Mitchell (@shaym) on Jan 2, 2017 at 8:20am PST This is so trippy, but look at that view! How in the world did she nab this shot?! A photo posted by Shay Mitchell (@shaym) on Jan 3, 2017 at 12:04pm PST TG for these pics of Shay Mitchells island vacation. We have so much inspo, and well definitely be searching for some tree houses of our own! Sunwing Airlines Boeing 737 800 On Saturday, the Captain of Sunwing Airlines Flight 595 was found unconscious in the cockpit of his Boeing 737-800. The Captain 37 year-old Miroslav Gronych was escorted off the plane and taken into police custody. The aircraft, bound for Cancun, Mexico, was parked at Calgary International Airport when gate agents and members of the flight crew found Capt. Gronych behaving oddly before passing out in the cockpit. According to Calgary Police, initial tests found the Captain, a native of Slovakia, to be "severely impaired by alcohol." Police claim Gronych had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system, the Huffington Post reported. "The pilot has been charged with the following: 1) Having care and control of an aircraft while impaired 2)Having care and control of an aircraft over .08 (or exceeding 80 mgs of alcohol per 100mL of blood)," The Calgary Police Service announced in a statement. The incident, which took place shortly before 7 a.m. local time, caused a delay while Sunwing Airlines worked to procure a replacement captain. There were 99 passengers and six crew members (including Gronych) on board the aircraft at the time of the incident. In a statement posted to Facebook, Sunwing Airlines, a Canadian low-cost, leisure carrier, apologized to customers and praised the crew for their "diligence in handling this very unfortunate matter in accordance with procedures". Here's the complete statement from the Calgary Police Service: "The Calgary Police Service has charged a pilot that was found to be impaired prior to an aircraft departure. Shortly before 7 a.m., on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016, a male pilot for Sunwing Airlines boarded an aircraft with flight legs scheduled to Regina and Winnipeg, with a final destination of Cancun, Mexico. The 737 800 Series aircraft had 99 passengers aboard with six flight crew, including the pilot. Prior to departure, gate crew and crew aboard the flight noticed that the pilot was behaving oddly before he became unconscious in the cockpit. The pilot was escorted from the aircraft at which point he was taken into custody by Calgary police. Initial tests conducted by police indicate the pilot was severely impaired by alcohol. The pilot has been charged with the following: Having care and control of an aircraft while impaired Having care and control of an aircraft over .08 (or exceeding 80 mgs of alcohol per 100mL of blood)." Story continues NOW WATCH: The US is $19.9 trillion in debt here are the countries we owe the most More From Business Insider BENGALURU, India (Reuters) - Reports of sexual assaults on women revelers at New Year's Eve celebrations in India's southern information technology hub of Bengaluru have spurred women's rights activists to demand that police investigate. The attacks, reminiscent of those blamed on migrants in German cities last year, shocked many Indians, since Bengaluru, home to many well-educated professionals, is regarded as safer for women than the capital, New Delhi. Several women were groped and assaulted by a mob in the city's central business district on Dec. 31 as they celebrated, according to a Reuters witness and a report in the Bangalore Mirror newspaper. "I saw groups of boys deliberately falling over girls," said the Reuters witness, who was in the area with his family, as he described the screams and attempts of some women to push men away. Sex crimes are common in India, where the National Crime Record Bureau says more than 34,000 rapes were reported in all in 2015, although women sometimes do not report assaults for fear of the associated social stigma. Authorities face criticism for not doing enough to tackle a weak system of law enforcement and policing that leaves women vulnerable. "The image of the city has been tarnished," said Mathews Philip, an executive director for Human Rights Education and Monitoring. Police have said they are looking at surveillance footage but had not received any complaints of sexual assault. The Karnataka State Commission for Women on Tuesday said it had asked the city's police commissioner for a detailed report, although it, too, said it not received any complaints. Bangalore Police Commissioner Praveen Sood could not be reached for comment. Police would investigate "if we are given coordinates of any lady molested," he said on social network Twitter earlier on Tuesday. Every year, hundreds of people flock to pubs and restaurants in Bengaluru's M.G. Road and Brigade Road to ring in the New Year, with traffic barred for the celebrations, which turned chaotic this time, witnesses said. "Many girls were molested, abused or groped," said Anantha Subramanyam, chief photographer of the Bangalore Mirror, who took photographs that were published in the newspaper. He took pictures of women fleeing without their shoes, begging for help and weeping, he added. (Reporting by Hezron Selvi, Aby Jose Koilparambil, Samantha Kareen Nair, Darshana Sankararaman, Tanvi Mehta; Editing by Paritosh Bansal and Clarence Fernandez) To be HIV positive in Russia is to be stigmatized. Though roughly 1 percent of Russians are HIV positive, Moscow refuses to acknowledge that an epidemic. Hundreds of thousands of cases go undiagnosed. Non-government organizations that accept foreign funds to fight AIDS must, per Russian law, declare themselves foreign agents. Needle exchange programs receive next-to-no funding. And so the rate of HIV is rising in Russia between 10 and 15 percent annually. Russia eschews more modern tactics of fighting HIV and instead favors of a zero-tolerance policy for drug use and moral education, the preferred cure of the Orthodox Church. Now, however, it has added a third tactic: a national registry of HIV patients, launched with the new year. Health Ministry Spokesman Oleg Salagai told TASS, the Russian news agency, Any individual diagnosed with HIV should be interested in being included in this register since he or she will receive medicine on this basis. Salagai stressed that registration is not compulsory. However, Yelena Maksimkina, director of the Medication Support Department of Russias Health Ministry, explained that we dont order any medicine without having in mind a certain patient. This could be understood as saying that patients need to be on the registry to receive much-needed medication. But it is possible and perhaps, given Russias track record of treatment of HIV patients, perhaps even likely the registry will bring with it its own ailments. It could be used to crack down further still against Russias LGBTQ community even though it is heterosexual sex that is expected to pull past intravenous drug use as the primary passage of HIV infection. Gay men and transgender people are at particular risk of HIV, and Russian laws criminalize gay propaganda that is, any material that suggests that to be homosexual is the same as being heterosexual. Additionally, LGBTQ Russians are regularly discriminated against. Story continues In June 2016, Russia led the charge to remove language from a U.N. resolution that would have decriminalized homosexuality and drug use. A draft of the resolution said homosexuality and drug use were to be treated as human rights issues. But the final version was watered down to only stress the importance of helping intravenous drug users and gay and transgender men. Governments, said Russian health official Dilyara Ravilova-Borovik, had a sovereign right to decide how to pursue public health. On the first day of 2017, it was a right they seemed to exercise. Photo credit: NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP/Getty Images Jan 3 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. The Times Shopper numbers plunged dramatically at the weekend in a sign that experts said augured badly for the new year. Visits to shopping centres were down by a half on New Year's Day compared with the same day in 2016, according to Springboard retail intelligence. http://bit.ly/2iwJgiK KPMG has emerged as the government's favourite accountant, earning more than half the money spent on accounting advisers from the Big Four firms in the past year. http://bit.ly/2hLwSws The Guardian The liquidators of BHS are conducting a detailed investigation into property transactions that took place during the regimes of Philip Green and Dominic Chappell, including whether the directors of the retailer breached their duties. FRP Advisory is undertaking a "massive exercise in data collation", according to one source close to the winding up of BHS. http://bit.ly/2iwKEBS Harrods has been accused of shortchanging its restaurant staff in the latest row over how service charges added to diners' bills are shared among workers. The union representing Harrods waiters and kitchen staff believes the Qatari owner of the upmarket London department store retains up to 75 percent of the service charge. http://bit.ly/2iwNqas The Telegraph Scottish islanders are exploring ways of loosening ties with Scotland and the U.K. following the Brexit vote including full independence, it has emerged. More than half of Orkney's councillors have forced through a motion demanding an investigation into "greater autonomy or self-determination" amid the vote to leave the European Union and a possible second independence referendum. http://bit.ly/2hLFdR2 Thousands of new homes to help first-time buyers on to the property ladder will be built on brownfield land, Prime Minister Theresa May will announce on Tuesday, her second big housing pledge in as many days. http://bit.ly/2hLz876 Story continues Sky News Len McCluskey has insisted he still backs Jeremy Corbyn, despite appearing to distance himself from the Labour leader in a newspaper interview. The Unite leader suggested in a Daily Mirror interview that if opinion polls are "still awful" by 2019 Corbyn and Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell may quit. http://bit.ly/2hLwA95 The Independent Theresa May's New Year's message pledging to be mindful of both Leave and Remain voters during Brexit negotiations has been dismissed as "utterly meaningless" by leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron. http://ind.pn/2hLHAU1 Labour is on course to retain as few as 150 MPs at the next general election as it sheds voters to all other parties, a stark new report warns. Support for Jeremy Corbyn's party could plunge as low as 20 percent at the election in 2020 based on its current poll ratings, the Fabian Society has calculated. http://ind.pn/2hLFW4x (Compiled by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru) Jan 3 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - Anshu Jain, who was forced to step down from the top job at Deutsche Bank after a series of regulatory mishaps, will join the private trading firm Cantor Fitzgerald this month as group president. http://nyti.ms/2ixkuis - After the explosion in September of one of its rockets, SpaceX is now ready to get back into the business of sending payloads to space, the company announced on Monday, with its next rocket headed to orbit as soon as Sunday. In a statement, SpaceX said that an investigation had determined the likely cause: an unexpected interplay of supercold helium and oxygen with carbon fibers and aluminum. http://nyti.ms/2iske6h - F. Ross Johnson, who as chief executive of RJR Nabisco instigated an era-defining takeover struggle that was chronicled in film and a best-selling book and made him a symbol of corporate greed, died on Thursday at his home in Jupiter, Florida. He was 85. http://nyti.ms/2iCQrsh (Compiled by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru) Tucuman (Argentina) (AFP) - Decorated Frenchman Sebastien Loeb scorched to victory in the second stage of the Dakar Rally on Tuesday to send the nine-time rally world champion clear in the overall standings. Loeb completed the 275km timed section between Resistencia and San Miguel de Tucuman in northern Argentina in 2hr 06min 55sec for his fifth career stage victory in the gruelling race. Last year he finished ninth overall. Tuesday's performance on day two of the race was enough to lift him clear in the overall classification as he saw off Qatari opening-day winner Nasser Al Attiyah by 1min 23sec and fellow Peugeot man Carlos Sainz of Spain by 2min 18sec. That gave Loeb a 28sec overall lead over Attiyah and he leads Sainz by 1min 56sec. Australia's KTM rider and defending champion Toby Price meanwhile took the overall race lead on the motorbikes as he landed the day's stage honours. Price, 29, covered the 275km in 2hr 37min 32sec, ahead of Austrian Matthias Walkner and Spaniard Paulo Goncalves. Both of the Aussie's pursuers are now more than two-and-a-half minutes adrift in the overall standings. Price finished the opening day in 17th position. This year's Dakar Rally takes competitors into high altitudes during 9,000 km of racing, culminating in a grandstand finish at Buenos Aires on January 14. Prince Harry is the cover star of Town & Countrys February issue. (Photo: Town & Country) Prince Harrys personal affairs have commanded major media attention within the last few months, so its refreshing to start 2017 with the royal being depicted in a totally different light. For its February issue, Prince Harry allowed Town & Country to accompany him for a portion of his journey through Malawi, in southeastern Africa, with the nonprofit conservation organization African Parks to rescue 500 elephants. #NEWPHOTOGRAPHS of His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales for the Town & Country Magazine UK's February 2017 issue. The exclusive photoshoot with the royal was done in July 2016 while Prince Harry was in Malawi helping out the 500 Elephants Initiative, which aim is to move 500 elephants to safety in a wildlife reserve where they can thrive without the threat of poachers. The magazine will be in stores in January. Credit to @cambridges_princeharryupdates. A photo posted by THE PRINCE HARRY SITE (@hrhprinceharryofengland) on Dec 30, 2016 at 11:36am PST The prince spent three weeks in Africa this past summer, working to relocate elephants to safer areas and decrease overcrowding. This, in turn, helps prevent starvation and disease among the elephant population. In the T&C spread, the prince traveled with reporter Klara Glowczewska for six days to bring the elephants to safety and speak about his work with the conservation organization. The prince also spoke at length about his passion for saving endangered species and the fight against poachers in Africa. Everyone has a different opinion; every country has a different way of doing things, he told Glowczewska. But I do believe that we need a regulatory body so that everyone who owns or manages wildlife is subject to inspection and rated on how well they look after the animals and how the communities benefit. I know Im going to get criticized for this, but we have to come together. You know what Stevie Wonder said: You need teamwork to make the dream work. I use that a lot. Story continues Within the issue, the royal also shared that his first trip to the continent occurred just after the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997. My dad told my brother and me to pack our bags we were going to Africa to get away from it all, he said. #NewPhotographs of His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales for the Town & Country Magazine UK's February 2017 issue. The exclusive photoshoot with the royal was done in July 2016 while Prince Harry was in Malawi helping out the 500 Elephants Initiative, which aim is to move 500 elephants to safety in a wildlife reserve where they can thrive without the threat of poachers. The magazine will be in stores in January. Credit to @cambridges_princeharryupdates. A photo posted by THE PRINCE HARRY SITE (@hrhprinceharryofengland) on Dec 30, 2016 at 11:50am PST After visiting and working on the continent many times in the past, Prince Harry has now found a sense of peace and normalcy there. This is where I feel more like myself than anywhere else in the world, he told Glowczewska. I wish I could spend more time in Africa. I have this intense sense of complete relaxation and normality here. To not get recognized, to lose myself in the bush with what I would call the most down-to-earth people on the planet, people [dedicated to conservation] with no ulterior motives, no agendas, who would sacrifice everything for the betterment of nature I talk to them about their jobs, about what they do. And I learn so much. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. The little-known Republic Pictures musical BRAZIL (1944) has just been released by Olive Films Though I'd never heard of BRAZIL, I was fascinated to learn it had been nominated for three Oscars, including Best Song ("Rio de Janeiro" by Washington and Barroso) and Best Scoring of a Motion Picture.BRAZIL is a fun little romantic comedy from the WWII "Good Neighbor policy" era, with some engaging musical numbers. (You'd never know there was a war on watching this movie, other than a tour guide office is "closed for the duration," and it takes days to book a flight out of the country.) I found it a pleasant surprise.Virginia Bruce plays American writer Nicky Henderson, who arrives in Brazil to do research for her latest book. She intends to learn everything possible about the country -- in just two weeks! Popular composer Miguel Soares (Tito Guizar) sees Nicky on a street and is quite taken with her; not telling her who he really is, he convinces her to hire him as her tour guide.It gets more complicated, with Miguel taking on a second identity as his identical twin brother who can't speak English...well, I'll just stop there as far as trying to explain it!Edward Everett Horton, a regular in the Fred & Ginger movies of the '30s, here plays a similar role as Miguel's friend. Robert Livingston plays the embassy employee who regularly escorts Nicky to Rio's nightclubs, and Richard Lane is Miguel's music publisher. The cast also includes Henry Da Silva, Frank Puglia, Aurora Miranda, and dancers Veloz and Yolanda.Oh, and did I mention Roy Rogers? He's in Brazil for a personal appearance tour and shows up at a nightclub during Carnival to sing "Hands Across the Border."Suffice it to say that I didn't have much in the way of expectations for this film, and I quite enjoyed it. While it's nothing particularly unique or special, it's smoothly done, moves along well, has a pretty good script, nice production values, and pleasing music. My husband was in the next room when I was watching it and commented he could tell it was good just from what he could hear of the soundtrack! BRAZIL was directed by Joseph Santley . It was filmed in black and white by Jack Marta . The running time is 91 minutes.The film's reissue title, seen on a poster here, was STARS AND GUITARS.Olive's DVD is a great-looking print with excellent sound. There are no extras.The movie is also available from Olive in a Blu-ray edition.Kudos to Olive Films for making this movie available on such a nice DVD. Those who enjoy musicals or '40s romantic comedies will want to snap it up. Prince Harry may be a British royal, but he feels most at home at a location a little further south. That place is Africa, a continent Harry has traveled to (and worked in) multiple times over the past 20 years. His first visit came just after his mothers death in 1997, when his father, Prince Charles, took him and his brother, Prince William, to clear their heads after tragedy. Now, he makes the trek annually. My dad told my brother and me to pack our bagswe were going to Africa to get away from it all, he told Town & Country in their February cover story. My brother and I were brought up outdoors. We appreciate nature and everything about it. This is where I feel more like myself than anywhere else in the world. His most recent trip to Africa came this past August, when he visited Malawi to participate in the 500 Elephants relocation project with non-profit conservation group Africa Parks. Town & Country documented Harrys time in Malawi over six days of his three week trip in the thick of the animals migration one of the largest human-led relocations in history. The 500 elephants and 2,000 other animals a mixture of buffaloes, zebras, warthogs and others were relocated from an area where theyre in high supply to another park, Nkhotakota, where the population has diminished due to poaching. Harry became acquainted with African Parks in the summer of 2015, but this is his first time working with them on-site. The organization works not only with animal conservation, but with preserving Africas wildlife habitats many of which cannot be sustained without a wildlife population. I completely fell in love with African Parks, because they get things done, he said. They make tough decisions, and they stick to principles. In the group, Harry is just one of the crew people even address him as such, by his first name! He sleeps in the same tents, and wakes up with the sun like the rest of them. I love spending time with these guys, he told T&C of the experience. Night after night, chewing the fat around the fire, about the pros and cons of the legalization of rhino horn, or the historic migratory paths of elephants, or the population explosion on the African continent. And also conservation back home, which is hugely important. Story continues Harrys passion for conservation isnt the only thing that keeps him coming back to Africa. He says when hes there, his mood shifts, his worries float away in particular, due to the anonymity hes able to have there. I wish I could spend more time in Africa, he said. I have this intense sense of complete relaxation and normality here. To not get recognized, to lose myself in the bush with what I would call the most down-to-earth people on the planet, people with no ulterior motives, no agendas, who would sacrifice everything for the betterment of nature I talk to them about their jobs, about what they do. And I learn so much. And of course, he takes what he does in Africa and brings it back to Britian, too. I go home and bang the drum. So that we can all try to make a difference. BERLIN (Reuters) - Sales of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" have soared since a special edition of the Nazi leader's political treatise went on sale in Germany a year ago, the German publisher has said. The book outlines Hitler's ideology that formed the basis for Nazism and sets out his hatred of Jews, which led to the Holocaust. The new edition is the first reprint since World War Two, released last January after a 70-year copyright on the text expired at the end of 2015. It includes explanatory sections and some 3,500 annotations, and has sold 85,000 copies to the surprise of its publishers. "These sales figures have taken us by storm," Andreas Wirsching, who heads up the publishers, the Institute for Contemporary History (IfZ) told German news agency dpa. "No-one could really have expected them," he added. Hitler wrote "Mein Kampf", which translates as "My Struggle" in English, between 1924 and 1926. It was banned by the Allies at the end of World War Two. Hitler wrote most of the first, highly autobiographical, volume while incarcerated in Landsberg prison after his failed Munich coup attempt in 1923. After his release, he wrote much of the second volume at his mountain retreat near Berchtesgaden. A bestseller after he became chancellor in 1933, "Mein Kampf" had by 1945 sold 12 million copies and been translated into 18 languages. (Writing by Paul Carrel; editing by Richard Lough) A private, small memorial will be held Thursday for Carrie Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds, in Beverly Hills, a source close to the family who is attending the gathering told The Hollywood Reporter. The movie-star mother-and-daughter duo died a day apart last month in Los Angeles. Fisher, best known for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars saga, was 60. Reynolds, a beloved Hollywood icon who made a name for herself with her first starring role in Singin' in the Rain, was 84. Reynolds and Fisher lived on the same compound. The memorial event will be for family and close friends only, said the source. "I'm not sure what they're calling it - a funeral or a wake - but it will be Thursday at the house," said the source. "It will be exactly what they both wanted, to be together." Todd Fisher, Reynolds' son, told THR last week the two actresses would have a joint funeral. "We're brokenhearted, those of us that are left behind," Fisher said Dec. 30 on ABC News. "We also are happy that they're together. It's horrible, it's beautiful, it's magical they are together. It's beyond words, it's beyond understanding." It is unclear if there will be a public memorial for either actress. Fisher did not respond to a Tuesday request for additional information. Read more: Critic's Notebook: Carrie Fisher, Child of Hollywood and Droll Observer of Celebrity SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) A woman is for the first time serving as Puerto Rico's representative in U.S. Congress. Jenniffer Gonzalez, who was sworn in on Tuesday, has said she plans to submit a statehood bill shortly afterward. She says she also plans to submit measures to give Puerto Rico obtain the same Medicaid and Medicare benefits as U.S. states. The measures are aimed in part at alleviating the U.S. territory's decade-long economic slump that has prompted more than 200,000 people to leave for the U.S. mainland. Gonzalez is allowed to serve on U.S. House committees but has limited voting powers as Puerto Rico's resident commissioner. She is a Republican and once served as speaker of Puerto Rico's House of Representatives. Quito (AFP) - Campaigning opened Tuesday for Ecuador's February 19 general elections, which will decide who succeeds leftist President Rafael Correa after a decade in power. Eight candidates are vying to replace Correa, a radical economist and one of the last of a generation of leftist leaders who dominated Latin American politics for more than a decade. The race comes at a time when the region's politics have shifted firmly to the right amid an economic downturn. Center-right leaders have replaced leftists in Argentina, Brazil and Peru in just over a year. The opposition hopes to match that in Ecuador, where Correa has set a new record as the country's longest-serving leader. The president took office in January 2007, ending 11 years of instability in which Ecuador saw seven heads of state ousted. Correa, 53, has announced he will stand down when his third term ends, citing family reasons. His socialist party Alianza PAIS (AP) is facing its first real threat in a decade after losing key cities in local elections in 2014, including the capital Quito. But with the opposition divided, the AP candidate, Lenin Moreno, remains the favorite. Opinion polls give him between 29 and 36 percent of the vote. Moreno, 63, served as vice president from 2007 to 2013. A paraplegic, he uses a wheelchair and could become one of the world's few disabled leaders. His top rivals are right-wing former banker Guillermo Lasso with 18 to 22 percent of voter support, according to polls; leftist ex-lawmaker Cynthia Viteri with 11 to 19 percent, and center-left retired general Paco Moncayo, a former Quito mayor, with seven to 15 percent. To win in the first round, the top candidate must get at least 40 percent of the vote and finish at least 10 percentage points ahead of the runner-up. Otherwise, the race will go to a run-off on April 2. - Decorated Frenchman Sebastien Loeb scorched to victory in the second stage of the Dakar Rally to send the nine-time rally world champion clear in the overall standings. Loeb completed the 275km timed section between Resistencia and San Miguel de Tucuman in northern Argentina in 2hr 06min 55sec for his fifth career stage victory in the gruelling race. Last year he finished ninth overall. His performance on day two was enough to lift him 28sec clear in the overall standings of Qatari Nasser Al Attiyah. Australia's KTM rider and defending champion Toby Price took the overall race lead on the motorbikes as he landed the day's stage honours. Price, 29, clocked 2hr 37min 32sec, ahead of Austrian Matthias Walkner and Spaniard Paulo Goncalves. AFP - Australian KTM motorbike rider and defending champion Toby Price won the second stage of the Dakar Rally to take the overall race lead. Price, 29, covered the 275km special in 2hr 37min 32sec ahead of Austrian Matthias Walkner and Spaniard Paulo Goncalves, who are now more than two-and-a-half minutes adrift of the leader in the overall standings. Price had finished the opening day in 17th position. The 800km second stage was raced between Resistencia to San Miguel de Tucuman in Argentina. AFP Monday, January 2, 2017 This week, Mali returned two deportees to France for failure to establish that they were, in fact, Malian. The deportees, flown to the capitol city of Bamako, did not travel on Malian passports but European travel permits (fancily called "laissez-passer"). Mali has an agreement with the EU under which Mali is supposed to assist in "identifying irregular Malian migrants in Europe and providing them with the documents needed to return to their country of origin." In return, Mali has received significant financial benefits in the neighborhood of $150 million. Mali has warned airlines not to let people using traveling under European travel permits to fly to Mali. -KitJ https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2017/01/mali-returns-deportees-to-france.html On Jan 3, we upgraded Red Robin Gourmet Burgers & Restaurants, Inc. RRGB by a notch to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Year 2016 was a tough one for Red Robin as the stock plunged drastically after weak first-quarter results in May. Since then shares of the company had been underperforming the Zacks categorized Retail-Restaurants industry. A number of reasons were responsible for such a dismal performance - the impact of acquiring lower-margin franchise restaurants and higher labor cost that hurt margins; higher pre-opening and remodeling costs coupled with expenses related to aggressive domestic expansion strategies and soft industry trends. However, in the recent months, the various initiatives undertaken by Red Robin have begun to show signs of improvement in the form of increased investor confidence. Initiatives To boost revenues, the company is looking to improve its seating efficiency and lower the guest waiting times. It is also looking to perk up its alcohol and beverage mix as well as its to-go business compared with the industry. The company has rolled out its Kitchen Display System, which is linked to table management software. This is expected to result in annual sales growth of approximately $50 million, as kitchens can handle higher peak volumes. Moreover, the company is set on growing its off-premise, online-ordering business via carry-out, delivery and catering. It has new packaging under tests along with a large party carry-out and catering menu, which is developed and ready for selective implementation. On the expense front, the company plans to introduce a new supply chain management software, which will replace its older manual system. This would result in a 30-bps opportunity in margin improvement starting 2017. Management also expects to reduce expenses by about 20 bps annually, as part of the five-year strategic plan. In addition the company plans to deploy more capital to shareholders once it completes its brand transformation remodeling in all the restaurants. It has remodeled seven restaurants during the third quarter, totaling to over 400 remodeled restaurants in its chain. The closing of not-so-profitable Burger Works restaurants is expected to help the company grow its earnings, as these newer concept outlets were not generating sufficient profits. Apart from boosting revenues and lowering expenses, all these initiatives would also accelerate earnings growth at Red Robin in the coming quarters. Investors have already started noticing this potential of the company as shares have started to move in the positive territory, outpacing the industrys growth at large. Over the past three months, the stock has gained 27.5% while the industry grew just 2.7%. Reasonably Valued Shares of Red Robin look reasonably valued to us. Stock of the company is currently trading at a trailing 12-month P/E metric of 17.3 while the industrys average stands at 24.81. This means it is reasonably undervalued compared to its peers and the current level could prove to be a good entry point. The company is also undervalued in terms of P/S ratio. While Red Robins P/S ratio stands at just 0.56, the industrys average is 1.27. Moreover, the company generated a return on equity (in the last 12 months) of 12.35% while the industrys average was 8.6%. All of these reasons are why the company has a Value Style score of A and Growth grade of A. This works towards giving RRGB a Zacks VGM scoreor its overarching fundamental gradeof A. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>) Our VGM Score identifies stocks that have the most attractive value, growth, and momentum characteristics, and a good VGM score can increase your odds of success. Bottom Line Red Robin is faced with numerous headwinds including a sluggish sales environment and limited international presence as compared to some peers. However, efficient menu innovation, focus on increasing speed of service, effective marketing strategy, unit expansion and remodeling programs to reinvigorate brands are likely to boost growth significantly. Meanwhile, when some restaurateurs like YUM! Brands, Inc. YUM and McDonalds Corporation MCD are moving to a franchised business model to reduce capital requirement, companies like Red Robin and Brinker International, Inc. EAT are focusing on company-owned restaurants. This would allow Red Robin to have full control over operations and also keep the profits. Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017 In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest tickers for the entirety of 2017? Who wouldn't? These 10 are painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. They are our primary picks to buy and hold. Be among the very first to see them >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report YUM! BRANDS INC (YUM): Free Stock Analysis Report MCDONALDS CORP (MCD): Free Stock Analysis Report RED ROBIN GOURM (RRGB): Free Stock Analysis Report BRINKER INTL (EAT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Carrie Fishers grieving sisters have spoken out for the first time about the death of the beloved Star Wars actress. Read: Together Forever: Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher to Have Joint Funeral Joely and Tricia Leigh Fisher sat down with ABC News to talk about the family's heartbreaking four-day Christmas vigil together with the When Harry Met Sally actress mom, Debbie Reynolds, as they prayed for Carries recovery. "Getting to have her one-on-one and not have to share her, that is what I will think of and what I will miss," Joely said. "I sat with Debbie and she said she was praying for more time. She said she was praying for more time. I knew that if Carrie was not going to survive this, neither was Debbie. Reynolds was died of a fatal stroke, one day after Carrie's death. Carrie, Joely and Tricia Leigh share the same father Eddie Fisher, who was Debbie Reynolds first husband. Their mother is 60s sex symbol Connie Stevens Joely added: "You could feel it in her tiny little beautiful body. You could see it in her face. She would not last without her on the planet. She wouldn't, and she didn't." Carrie's daughter, actress Billie Lourd, has also broken her silence, posting a touching photo of herself as a little girl with her famous mom and grandmother. Read: Debbie Reynolds Talks Death in Final Inside Edition Interview: 'I'm Going to Act Silly Until I Kick It' Receiving all of your prayers and kind words over the past week has given me strength during a time i thought strength could not exist, she wrote. Receiving all of your prayers and kind words over the past week has given me strength during a time I thought strength could not exist. There are no words to express how much I will miss my Abadaba and my one and only Momby. Your love and support means the world to me. Story continues A photo posted by Billie Lourd (@praisethelourd) on Jan 2, 2017 at 10:09am PST Fishers Star Wars co-star Mark Hamill wrote a touching but honest tribute in The Hollywood Reporter about their relationship. He penned: She was a handful. She was high maintenance. But my life would have been so much drabber and less interesting if she hadn't been the friend that she was. Watch: The Illustrious Career of Debbie Reynolds That Spanned 7 Decades Related Articles: NBC After months of speculation peppered with all kinds of rumors and unconfirmed stories, a new report by the New York Times suggests Fox News personality Megyn Kelly is leaving the network that made her a star for NBC. Whats more, the alleged deal struck by the news anchor and the broadcast channel involves a massive triple role that would practically give Kelly free reign at her new home. NYT media columnist Jim Rutenberg initially broke the news on Twitter, saying Kelly had [decided] to leave Fox News for broad new role at NBC News. He followed up the instantaneously viral tweet with a larger article that, among other things, revealed just how NBC News chairman Andrew Lack wooed Kelly away from the 24-hour cable news network shes called home for 12 years: [Lack offered] her a triple role in which she will host her own daytime news and discussion program, anchor an in-depth Sunday night news show and take regular part in the networks special political programming and other big-event coverage. At the time of its publication, neither Kelly, NBC nor Fox News had confirmed the report, though Rutenberg suggests NBC will announce its deal with Kelly imminently. Sure enough, NBC News released an official statement detailing its multi-year agreement with its latest hire: Kelly will become anchor of a new one hour daytime program that she will develop closely with NBC News colleagues. The show will air Monday through Friday at a time to be announced in the coming months. As part of the multi-year agreement, Kelly will also anchor a new Sunday evening news magazine show and will become an important contributor to NBCs breaking news coverage as well as the networks political and special events coverage. Kellys departure from Fox for her new home at NBC finally brings to a close one of the most followed television news contract negotiations in recent history. Not to mention the most pricey, as Foxs parent company reportedly offered Kelly a whopping $20 million in October to keep her around despite the networks ongoing debacle with outgoing CEO Roger Ailes. Story continues UPDATE: Kelly issued a statement on Twitter following NBCs press release. She said she was incredibly enriched for the experiences shes had at Fox News, but was delighted to be joining the NBC News family. An ending, and a new beginning pic.twitter.com/clyKaDpQTW Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) January 3, 2017 (Via New York Times and NBC) By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-led U.S. Congress had a rough start to its first session of the Donald Trump era on Tuesday when a public outcry that included a dressing-down from the president-elect prompted the House of Representatives to backtrack on its plans to defang an ethics watchdog. It was supposed to have been a ceremonious beginning in which lawmakers set plans to enact Trump's agenda of cutting taxes, repealing Obamacare and rolling back financial and environmental regulations. With Trump set to be sworn in as president on Jan. 20, Republicans will control both the White House and Congress for the first time since 2007. The moment was overshadowed, however, by a an uproar over a surprise move by Republicans in the House of Representatives in a closed-door meeting late on Monday to weaken the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, which is in charge of investigating ethics accusations against lawmakers. Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to "drain the swamp" and bring ethics reform to Washington, was not pleased by the timing. "With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority," he said on Twitter on Tuesday. "Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance!" The ethics office was created in 2008 following several corruption scandals. Some lawmakers have charged in recent years that it has been too quick to investigate complaints from outside partisan groups. Lawmakers wanted to have greater control of the watchdog, and inserted changes into a broader rules package, set to pass when the House convened on Tuesday. Even before Trump's tweet, many House Republicans, including top leaders, had opposed the measure and worried about its ramifications. Trump's tweet prompted an emergency meeting and a quick change of course by Republicans. "It was taken out by unanimous consent ... and the House Ethics Committee will now examine those issues," said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan. OBAMACARE IN SIGHTS As expected, Ryan was re-elected speaker on a vote of 239-189. He was first elected speaker in October 2015 after predecessor John Boehner retired following repeated revolts by House conservatives. The speaker election was part of the ceremony involved in the first meeting of the 115th Congress, as the 435 members of the House of Representatives and a third of the 100-member Senate were sworn in. Ryan, who kept his distance from Trump during his campaign only to embrace him after his Nov. 8 victory, said Republicans understood from the 2016 election that Americans were dissatisfied with Washington. "We hear you. We will do right by you and we will deliver," Ryan said. Trump has made clear he wants to move swiftly to enact proposals he outlined during the campaign such as simplifying the tax code and slashing corporate tax rates. He also promised to make good on a Republican pledge to repeal and replace Democratic President Barack Obamas 2010 signature Affordable Care Act - a law better known as Obamacare. "People must remember that ObamaCare just doesn't work, and it is not affordable," Trump said on Twitter on Tuesday, adding: "It is lousy healthcare." In the first step of a process that could take years, Republican Senator Mike Enzi introduced a resolution on Tuesday to provide for repeal of the law. House Republicans also took a step to clear the decks later for Obamacare repeal by approving a procedural rule making it harder for Democrats to impede progress on such legislation. But Republicans face a dilemma on a replacement program to provide health insurance to people who do not have a plan at work or cannot afford private coverage. The White House says the law has expanded coverage for 20 million Americans, including an estimated 13.8 million people who buy insurance on exchanges, many who receive tax credits to make it affordable. "If Republicans repeal the Affordable Care Act they'll be hastening the demise of Medicare that millions of seniors rely upon for their basic healthcare needs," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not address Obamacare in remarks on the Senate floor on Tuesday. He has said his top priorities for the new Congress were dealing with the "massive overregulation" he said had been a brake on the U.S. economy and making changes in the tax code to stop companies from moving jobs out of the country. Republicans might use upcoming spending bills funding government agencies to try to kill some environmental and banking regulations. Trump also is expected to try to use his executive powers toward that end. OBAMACARE DEFENSE Leading Democrats warned of a fierce battle over Obamacare and said they planned to mobilize grassroots support for it. Obama is scheduled to meet on Wednesday with congressional Democrats to discuss strategies for fending off the Republican attacks on Obamacare. But Senator Charles Schumer, in his first floor speech as the top Democrat in the Senate, said he was ready to work on some issues with Trump. "If the president-elect proposes legislation that achieves that - on issues like infrastructure, trade, and closing the carried interest loophole, for instance - we will work in good faith to perfect and, potentially, enact it," Schumer said. "When he doesnt, we will resist." House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told a packed House chamber that Democrats would work with Trump wherever we can, including reforming taxes and trade deals. Pelosi also warned that Democrats would stand our ground and fight Trump and Republicans if they attempt to weaken environmental regulations or civil rights protections. (Additional reporting by Doina Chaicu, Jeff Mason and Steve Holland in Washington and Gina Cherulus in New York; Writing by Richard Cowan and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Bill Trott and Peter Cooney) As appearances can be deceptive, things which seem unappealing might have a solid inside story. Well, that seems to be the case with major drug-store retailer, Rite Aid Corporation RAD, which has seen its shares slide 2.4% since it released dismal third-quarter fiscal 2017 results. Rite Aid recently posted miserable third-quarter fiscal 2017 results, wherein both top and bottom line fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Moreover, results declined year over year, mainly attributed to lower Retail Pharmacy segment revenues and a fall in adjusted EBITDA. Moreover, challenges related to the pharmacy reimbursement rate, which have been affecting the results in recent quarters, is expected to linger throughout fiscal 2017. This, in turn has been weighing upon the estimates. RITE AID CORP Price and Consensus RITE AID CORP Price and Consensus | RITE AID CORP Quote However, we must note that Rite Aids stock still has enough reasons to draw investors attention. In spite of the recent disappointing price trend, it may interest investors to know that this Pennsylvania based company has largely outperformed the Zacks categorized Retail Drugstores industry in the last six months. Evidently, Rite Aids shares have grown 12.7% in the last six months, when the broader industry was actually down 9.7%. The primary reason behind this bullish sentiment is Rite Aids long-awaited merger with Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. WBA. Announced in Oct 2015, Rite Aid is finally expected to be acquired by Walgreens on Jan 27. In fact, the two companies recently inked a deal to sell 865 Rite Aid stores and some assets to Fred's, Inc. FRED, to satisfy antitrust concerns related to this pending union. In this regard, Freds agreed to buy Rite Aids stores and assets for $950 million in cash. Also, per the deal, if the Federal Trade Commission demands any more divestitures, Freds will have to buy additional Rite Aid stores. Rite Aid and Walgreens expect the merger to create a drugstore behemoth with a superior network that will cater to additional health and wellness solutions both in stores and online. Also, the combined company formed from the Walgreens-Rite Aid merger will operate over 12,000 stores in the U.S. and fill over one billion prescription drugs every day. Apart from this, Rite Aids other growth drivers have been boosting the investors spirit, in turn keeping the stock in the green zone. The company has been undertaking a number of strategies to drive growth such as the expansion of its pharmacy and clinical services, and the reduction of its costs. In this regard, Rite Aid has utilized additional resources, such as the addition of RediClinics to its stores and its Wellness+ with Plenti program, among others to stimulate customer demand amid a soft macroeconomic scenario. On the cost front, the company is focusing on generating cost savings through centralized indirect procurement of drugs and reduction in supply chain costs. We believe that these programs, store expansions and initiatives will enable the company to increase its customer base and facilitate the generation of long-term profitability as well. Though the near term headwinds cannot be ignored for the company, the aforementioned factors clearly hint at a bright future for Rite Aid. Meanwhile, investors can count on another retailer, Burlington Stores, Inc. BURL that boasts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Burlington has an average positive earnings surprise of 25.6% in the trailing four quarters. The stock, with a long-term growth rate of 19.9%, has seen positive estimate revisions in the last 30 days. Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017 In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest tickers for the entirety of 2017? Who wouldn't? These 10 are painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. They are our primary picks to buy and hold. Be among the very first to see them >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report FREDS INC (FRED): Free Stock Analysis Report RITE AID CORP (RAD): Free Stock Analysis Report WALGREENS BAI (WBA): Free Stock Analysis Report BURLINGTON STRS (BURL): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research * Parliament vote to approve government on Weds * Coalition controls outright majority in legislature * Cabinet has four-year term (Adds quotes, details) BUCHAREST, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Romania's ruling Social Democrat Party (PSD), winner of a Dec. 11 parliamentary election, named government ministers on Tuesday, including veteran lawmaker Viorel Stefan for the finance ministry portfolio. The line-up will be rubber-stamped in a vote on Wednesday in parliament, where the PSD and its junior coalition party ALDE have an overall majority. ALDE has four porfolios, including energy. "It is a government made of people with experience, with the expertise and work ethic needed to implement our government programme," PSD leader Liviu Dragnea told reporters. "It was also very important that each cabinet member be compatible with the prime minister. The prime minister is very interested that government activity be less political and ... more focused towards administration," Dragnea added. On Dec. 30, Romania's president accepted PSD's Sorin Grindeanu, a 43-year-old former deputy mayor of the city of Timisoara, for the post of prime minister. Would-be finance minister Stefan, 62, has a PhD in economics and has been the head of the parliament's lower house budget and finance committee for years. For the justice portfolio, the party named senior leftist MP Florin Iordache who together with other deputies has backed several legislative initiatives to weaken a drive against graft. Romania, which joined the European Union ten years ago, is seen as one of the bloc's most corrupt states and. Along with neighbouring Bulgaria, its justice system is under special monitoring by Brussels. The PSD returns to power after being ousted just over a year ago when a deadly fire in a Bucharest nightclub brought anger and protests over graft and public administration failings. Run by an official convicted of electoral fraud, which he denies, the PSD appears to have won the support of many Romanians with promises of increased social spending and economic security. Story continues Dragnea has remained in his post as party chief despite being convicted earlier last year in a 2012 referendum rigging case for which he received a two-year suspended jail sentence. Romania's EU partners will likely closely monitor government activity, as the leftists are perceived as being soft on high-level corruption, while their electoral promises point to high budget spending. (Reporting by Radu Marinas and Luiza Ilie; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Duchess of Cambridge, whose pictures of her children Prince George and Princess Charlotte have graced the front pages of newspapers and magazines worldwide, was commended on Tuesday by the Royal Photographic Society for her family snapshots. Kate, the wife of Queen Elizabeth's grandson Prince William, was given honorary lifetime membership of the charity in recognition of her "talent and enthusiasm". Her photographs, the first official portraits to be taken by a member of the royal family, have included shots of George holding his younger sister and of the young prince on his first day at nursery school. "The Duchess of Cambridge has had a long-standing interest in photography and its history," said Michael Pritchard, chief executive of the society which was formed in 1853 and counts Elizabeth's great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert among its early patrons. "She is latest in a long line of royal photographers and the Society is pleased to recognise her talent and enthusiasm through honorary membership," Pritchard added. (Reporting by Ritvik Carvalho; editing by Michael Holden) Russia sent its anti-submarine destroyer and a replenishment oiler to the Philippines in a bid to hold maritime exercises with the latter, according to reports Tuesday. The two ships are expected to leave on Jan. 7. The anti-submarine destroyer Admiral Tributs and the large sea tanker Boris Butoma docked in Manila late Monday. The crew of the ships is expected to show anti-terrorism capability and hold talks, according to Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhailov, head of the Flotilla of the Russian Navy Pacific Fleet. Our governments will maybe discuss in some period of time the possibilities of our maritime exercises, Mikhailov said Tuesday. The biggest problem now in the world is terrorism and piracy, and all our exercises we have, for example, with you we will have to fight these problems and we will show you what we can do and we will see what you can do and show us. This is the first visit by Russian navy ships since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office last June. He is also seeking to develop a diplomatic alliance with Moscow. Philippine navy officials welcomed the Russian vessels. There will be courtesy calls, tour of historical places within Manila and nearby Cavite province, capability demonstration, goodwill games, wreath laying, shipboard tour and send-off ceremony among others, Capt. Lued Lincuna, a spokesman for the Philippine navy, said. According to Mikhailov, the Russian navy is willing to help train the Philippines to battle piracy and terrorism in a bid to strengthen security in the region. The Southeast Asian country is grappling with the problem of Islamist militants. The latest development comes after relations between the Philippines and the United States strained after Washington criticized Dutertes ongoing war against illegal drugs. Related Articles A number of Hollywood stars and public figures have joined forces to ask members of Congress to stand up to Donald Trump if he does anything to violate America's core values. Sally Field, Jeffrey Wright, Lea DeLaria, Keegan-Michael Key, Rosie Perez, Steve Buscemi and Janet Mock are among the participants in a new video, directed by documentarian Liz Garbus (What Happened, Miss Simone?). The video, titled #StandUpForUS, is produced by Humanity for Progress, the organization formerly known as Humanity for Hillary. The group addresses members of Congress, saying that the majority of Americans, regardless of who they voted for, did not vote for racism, sexism or xenophobia. "To the extent that Trump pursues racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, anti-worker, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, anti-environmental policies, we demand that you vigorously oppose him," says the cast of actors, faith leaders and activists. "We demand that you block nominees who threaten the rights of women, the LGBT community, people of color, immigrants and the poor." At the end of the video, viewers are asked to email the video to members of Congress, as well as to sign a petition on MoveOn.org. "After Trump's surprise victory in November, many of us were angry, scared and searching for a path forward that would safeguard our collective values as diverse Americans," said Garbus in a statement accompanying the video's release. "We need our elected officials to stand up for us and have our backs and use their congressional powers to resist change that could reverse decades of progress and growth. We know the majority of the American people, regardless of who they voted for, do not want a regime that permits hate and monied interests to run rampant." Read more: Meryl Streep, Amy Schumer and Rose McGowan Speak Out in Video Criticizing Trump Tape Tuesday, January 3, 2017 Sarah Lopez is a professor in the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture. Her work focuses on architectural history within the context of migration. Of late, Lopez has been examining the architecture of immigrant detention facilities in Texas. It's not an easy project. As Lopez told the Texas Observer, Studying the architecture of detention is hard... Unless youre incarcerated or detained, or a warden or a food provider or medical assistant, basically, they dont want you there. Lopez and her UT students participated in a nationwide project of the Humanities Action Lab called States of Incarceration. For their part of this project, they: mapped the locations of detention centers throughout the state and used Google Earth to create silhouettes of each buildings footprint. The researchers even gained hard-won access to one county-run detention center and built a 3-D model from sketches. Their work marks an important step forward in understanding the physical reality of a clandestine and growing carceral system that prefers to exist just out of reach of the American imagination. Her class contribution to the exhibition is titled Spatial Stories of Migration and Detention. Check out this drawing of the La Salle Detention Center by Katie Slusher: Her drawing is accompanying by these notes: This layout is drafted from quick sketches and notations created during a tour of La Salle detention center. From an architectural point of view, the detainee living quarters, medical ward, segregation units, and outdoor space were particularly arresting. Aside from outdoor recreation time and voluntary work shifts (for which detainees earn 1 dollar per day), the remainder of a detainees average day is spent in a group cell. People with gang affiliations and/or individuals with disabilities are typically placed in smaller capacity or single occupancy rooms. The group cell has exposed bathrooms. Up to 48 men witness each-others every move throughout the day. The medical facilities within the detention center contain quarantine cells and a suicide watch room. The suicide watch room is particularly depressing, simply because such a room is necessary. Although used to detain migrants, La Salle has segregation units otherwise known as solitary confinement. Outdoor time for detainees in solitary is restricted to one of the three roof-less rooms extending off the segregation unit cellblock. The segregation unit is equal in size and quality of construction to the suicide watch room, and it is not unlikely that a person may be moved from one to the other. For all detainees, time spent outside is limited to the federally mandated minimum of one hour per day. Massive barbed wire walls enclose the otherwise barren space. An excellent project, and a great teaching resource for those of us who are geographically removed from immigration detention facilities. -KitJ https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2017/01/states-of-incarceration.html Just three days into 2017 and less than three weeks before Donald Trump takes office, the president-elect took to Twitter to launch his feelings on everything from Chicago violence to repealing Obamacare and international diplomacy. Read: Donald Trump Takes First-Ever Trip to the White House, Meets With President Obama On Monday, Trump tweeted: North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen! North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017 China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017 He also took aim at the city of Chicago's soaring murder rate, targeting the Windy City's mayor and former chief of staff to President Obama, Rahm Emanuel. Chicago murder rate is record setting - 4,331 shooting victims with 762 murders in 2016. If Mayor can't do it he must ask for Federal help! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017 He also blasted the medias bias against him during the election. Various media outlets and pundits say that I thought I was going to lose the election. Wrong, it all came together in the last week and..... Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017 I thought and felt I would win big, easily over the fabled 270 (306). When they cancelled fireworks, they knew, and so did I. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017 On Tuesday, the attacks continued as he slammed General Motors for sending jobs across the border to Mexico. Story continues General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A.or pay big border tax! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 Since Trump's tweet, General Motors hit back at the president-elect in a statement, saying: "GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, with a small number sold in the U.S." Trump also lambasted Obamacare. People must remember that ObamaCare just doesn't work, and it is not affordable - 116% increases (Arizona). Bill Clinton called it "CRAZY" Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 The Democrat Governor.of Minnesota said "The Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) is no longer affordable!" - And, it is lousy healthcare. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 On Monday, House Republicans voted to gut the Independent Ethics Office, a move Trump expressed his disapproval of on Tuesday morning. With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 ........may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 Read: Tempers Flare Over Tenor: Andrea Bocelli Reportedly Bails on Trump Inauguration Over Backlash His longtime foe, Rosie ODonnell, launched her own Twitter attack on the president-elect, posting, Donald Trump unfit to be president and less than 3 weeks to stop him, America." The president-elect celebrated the New Year at a formal bash at Mar-A-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida. Watch: Fighting City Hall: Donald's Aides Feud with NYC Mayor's Office After Trump Tower Evacuation Related Articles: The Obama family departing Air Force One. (Photo: AP) The Obama women may be getting ready to pack up their wardrobes to leave the White House, but their fashion is still fresh. On Monday, the first family landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland after a family vacation to Hawaii, trading in their swimsuits and sundresses for coats and boots. Malia, 18, was wrapped up in a maroon hooded parka and lace-up ankle boots. Under her jacket, she wore a black turtleneck dress with an empire waist and billowing skirt. Her carry-on was a tan leather weekender from Madewell. Her sister Sasha, 15, kept warm in a shearling-lined denim jacket and knee-high boots over ripped black jeans and a beige sweater. While the girls definitely brought their A-game to disembark the Air Force One, their mom took the cake unsurprisingly. The first ladys gray velvet knee-length flared topper was the definition of regal chic. A hood made it practical, which is consistent with the rest of Michelles wardrobe. Underneath she wore black pants and a matching shirt. She added a little edge with a pair of Jimmy Choo biker boots. The $1,050 leather shoes feature gold buckles. Oh, and, the man of the family was looking pretty good, too. In fact, he mirrored his wifes color scheme: his pants matched her coat and his cool jacket matched her pants. Oh the Obamas; always complimenting each other. While there are only a few weeks left in their reign, this surely isnt the last time the Obamas stylish sides will be on display. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Paris (AFP) - Fashion label Schiaparelli completed its remarkable resurrection Tuesday when it was inducted into the elite ranks of Paris haute couture houses. The historic brand founded by the Elsa Schiaparelli, the great rival of Coco Chanel in the 1930s, closed its doors in 1954, the year that Chanel returned to the business after her wartime hiatus. It only returned to the podiums three years ago after the name was bought and revived by the the boss of the Italian brand Tod, Diego Della Valle. The French Couture Federation said it was also adding the 41-year-old French designer Julien Fournie to its highly-prized register. The designation is protected by French law and attributed exclusively by the ministry of industry to selected houses whose clothes are tailored to each client. With its handmade pieces solely within the price range of the world's richest women, haute couture exists only in Paris and is regarded as the pinnacle of fashion. Only 15 fashion houses have the right to call themselves haute couture. The others are Chanel, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, Maison Margiela, Giambattista Valli, Franck Sorbier, Adeline Andre, Alexandre Vauthier, Alexis Mabille, Maurizio Galante, Stephane Rolland and Yiqing Yin. Another 20 are regarded as "guest members" of the club. Arnold Schwarzenegger has made his debut on The New Celebrity Apprentice NBC, revealing the show's new signature catchphrase that would replace predecessor Donald Trump's famed, "you're fired." Read: Arnold Schwarzenegger Says Trump Will Have No Involvement in His 'Celebrity Apprentice' As many expected, the slogan was revealed to be "You're terminated" but he had a different follow-up phrase for each of his castoffs on Monday night's show. When "terminating" actress and TV personality Carrie Keagan in the first hour of the show, the former California governor gestured off-screen and added: "Now get to the chopper." Keagan then boarded a waiting helicopter. The quip is a reference to a popular Schwarzenegger line in the 1987 film Predator. When dismissing musician Carnie Wilson in the second hour of the premiere, he laid out the bad news with: "Youre terminated... Hasta la vista, baby," combining his two famous lines from The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. While the Austrian-born actor settles into his new role as reality TVs favorite boss, Donald Trump is still signed on as executive producer of the show. Read: Kellyanne Conway Defends Trump in 'Celebrity Apprentice' Role: He Can Do What He Wants in His Spare Time In December, Trumps senior advisor defended her boss decision to stay on board as the executive producer while he is president. Kellyanne Conway told CNN: Presidents have a right to do things in their spare time or their leisure time. Watch: Passenger Removed From JetBlue Flight for Berating Ivanka Trump: 'Your Father Is Ruining the Country' Related Articles: SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) Authorities are searching near Puerto Rico for a French citizen suspected of going overboard from a cruise ship north of the U.S. island territory. The U.S. Coast Guard says the 74-year-old was reported missing by his wife while the MSC Divina was en route to San Juan. Lt. Leah Roach says a Coast Guard plane and cutter were searching a wide area Tuesday about 24 nautical miles north of Puerto Rico. Roach says Jean Pierre Knorr awoke before dawn Monday and told his wife he was stepping outside for some fresh air. She got up several hours later and realized he had not returned. MSC Cruises said company officials are working with the Coast Guard to determine the circumstances that led to his apparent disappearance. Photo: Singapore Business Review Nine Singapore armoured personnel carriers seized by Hong Kong custom authorities in November are still being held, said the territorys Customs and Excise Department. According to the South China Morning Post, a department spokesman said, As the case is still under investigation, no further information is available. The suspected controlled items are still kept at a customs storage place in Tuen Mun. They have been stored indoors since December 6. The department issued the statement in the wake of an Apple Daily report, which said that the vehicles had been missing since Monday (2 January). The vehicles were stored in the outdoor storage yard of the Tuen Mun storage facility after being confiscated on 23 November. The Terrex infantry carrier vehicles were taken at the Kwai Chung Container Terminal from a vessel that had arrived from Taiwan, where Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel regularly carry out military exercises, as the vehicles did not have the required permits. In the wake of the vehicles seizure, Chinas Foreign Ministry lodged an official protest against the military exercises, which have been held since the 1970s. China is against any official exchanges between Taiwan and countries that have diplomatic ties with Beijing. Last week, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen acknowledged that the detention of the vehicles had been a low point for Singapore. But he stressed that the incident does not pose an existential threat or a potential threat. The SAF will learn from this episode and has already changed its practices to better protect our assets We have been working at all levels of Government these past two months to effect their return, quietly and out of the limelight where it is more effective. SEATTLE, WA / ACCESSWIRE / January 3, 2017 / SinglePoint, Inc. (OTC PINK: SING) today voices its support for a congressional push that validates the mission of its SingleSeed (www.singleseed.com) subsidiary to provide much-needed payment processing solutions to the burgeoning legal cannabis industry. Though a total of 28 states have legalized marijuana in some form of consumption/use, marijuana is still federally illegal, which hinders licensed marijuana businesses from opening an account with most national banks. Cannabis businesses must instead deal in cash, which puts them at risk of break-ins, theft and other threats, as well as creates space for tax fraud. However, for smaller banks, credit unions and companies like SingleSeed, the lack of banking solutions creates the opportunity to fill increasing demand. A group of 10 senators recently penned a letter (http://nnw.fm/0Kbvs) to the U.S. Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) encouraging guidance and changes that could ultimately open the door for banking services for legal cannabis businesses. Among other key points, the letter explains that banking products and services to the cannabis industry will hedge businesses against unnecessary risks while benefiting the federal government. "The fledgling legal market for marijuana is around $7 billion, a figure that's dwarfed by the overall billion US market, most of which remains illegal. This business environment is an invitation to tax fraud, robberies, money laundering, and organized crime With tens of millions of Americans soon gaining legal access to marijuana under state laws, new guidance is necessary in order to allow banks to enhance the availability of financial services for indirect businesses that service the marijuana industry. This will not only bolster the safety of our communities, but it will also help to spur economic growth across the country," the three-page letter reads. Story continues As one of the first merchant service providers in the marijuana industry, SingleSeed applauds the senators' efforts and will offer marketing solutions and credit card processing to help cannabis dispensaries safely and successfully grow their businesses. "We are witnessing exciting, groundbreaking advances in the marijuana industry, and are encouraged to see congressional-level support for banking measures that would further revolutionize the way cannabis companies do business," says SinglePoint CEO Greg Lambrecht. "The regulatory environment is rapidly changing and SingleSeed is gearing up to provide dispensaries with payment processing solutions specifically tailored to their needs." About SinglePoint, Inc. SinglePoint, Inc. is a full-service mobile technology and marketing provider. We provide solutions that allow our clients to conduct business transactions, accept donations, and engage in targeted communication through mobile devices. Our products connect small to mid-size companies to their target markets by providing innovative mobile technology at reasonable rates. SinglePoint recognized the strength in acquiring interest in undervalued subsidiaries in other markets, such as Daily Fantasy Sports, to create a diversified holding base. For more information visit www.SinglePoint.com. Connect on social media at: www.facebook.com/SinglePointMobile, www.twitter.com/_SinglePoint_, www.linkedin.com/company/SinglePoint and www.youtube.com/user/SinglePointMobile. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, other than statements of fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential future plans and objectives of the Company, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Technical complications, which may arise, could prevent the prompt implementation of any strategically significant plan(s) outlined above. The Company undertakes no duty to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release. Contact: SinglePoint, Inc. Greg Lambrecht 602-481-1544 QualityStocks Scottsdale, Arizona www.QualityStocks.com 480.374.1336 Office Editor@QualityStocks.net SOURCE: SinglePoint, Inc. Mariah Brown struggled with her sexuality for years, but when she finally told her parents she was gay, the Sister Wives stars gave her their full support. I remember thinking right before I told them, If I dont spit it out now, Im not going to be able to, Mariah says in the latest issue of PEOPLE. Like when you go cliff jumping: If I dont jump now, Im not going to jump at all. It was one of those things, and I just blurted it out. While homosexuality isnt accepted in Browns Mormon fundamentalist faith, the moment she told her family the news, Mariah was embraced by all five of her parents; father, Kody, biological mother, Meri, and her mothers through polygamy, Janelle, Christine and Robyn. Were just happy shes figured out who she is, says Janelle. Its tremendous when you see a kid do that. For Kody, he knew as a father of 18 children (who all star on the familys TLC series Sister Wives) there was a good possibility one or more of his kids would be gay. You come from an Old Testament religion, you are not excited that your child comes out, Kody explains of his faiths stance on homosexuality. I thought about this years ago, and I made a decision, Kody says. My job as a dad is to love and respect and not to judge. For more on Mariah Browns exclusive interview, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday The rest of her family couldnt agree more. Everyone jumped up and hugged her and congratulated her, Christine recalls of when Mariah came out. She is so radiant just so beautiful that when she tells people I feel like most of them will be ok because she is so confident and so secure with being gay. Its wonderful. When Mariah made the decision to tell her family she was gay, she also decided to let TLC cameras capture the moment in the hopes of helping others. I dont want people to feel how I felt, she says. Not everyone will accept you, but you deserve to be happy, and I want them to know its okay. Sister Wives airs Sundays (8 p.m. ET) on TLC. Antonio Guterres became the ninth United Nations Secretary-General on Sunday. The term of former U.N. leader Ban Ki-Moon ended at midnight, December 31. Guterres is a former prime minister of Portugal. At the U.N., he served as the High Commissioner for Refugees. He told the U.N. in his speech that the question of how to help millions of people caught in conflict and war weighs heavily on his heart. Guterres said that civilians are faced with deadly force, killed and injured, forced from their homes, and put into poverty. He also said that unfortunately, even hospitals and aid groups are not safe from violence. Putting peace first Guterres called on the U.N. to make one shared New Years resolution: Let us resolve to put peace first. In support of the goal of peace, Guterres called for measures from solidarity and kindness in peoples daily lives, to dialogue and respect for political differences. He said peace should be a guide when seeking cease-fires or compromise while negotiating solutions to problems. Guterres has promised to bring people together at a time when the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has voiced concerns about the effectiveness of the U.N. The new secretary-general promised to work with the Trump administration to seek cooperation on the challenges facing the U.S. and U.N. in the coming years. Never give up Outgoing secretary-general Ban told the U.N. in his final speech Friday that he is so very proud to have worked with them for the past 10 years. He asked U.N. members to set goals and pay attention to important issues facing the world. These issues, he said, include sustainable development, climate change, womens empowerment, youth empowerment and others. Ban urged members to never give up. To keep dreaming. To keep believing, and to keep working hard until we achieve progress. He asked the U.N. to place importance on rights, and to stand up for those who are left behind, including those who do not get attention from the world community but still need help. He said he felt a bit like Cinderella because of the quick change at midnight. But he promised always to be a global citizen and said his heart will always be with the people he worked with at the United Nations. Im Phil Dierking This story was originally written for VOAnews.com. Phil Dierking adapted this story for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. What goals do you think the U.N. should have this year? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story challenge n. a difficult task or problem Cinderella n. the name of a girl in a fairy tale who is treated badly by her stepmother and stepsisters but who marries a prince in the end. dialogue - n. a discussion or series of discussions that two groups or countries have in order to end a disagreement empowerment n. power that has been given to someone or something resolve v. to find an answer or solution to solidarity n. a feeling of unity between people who have the same interests, goals, etc. sustainable development n. economic development that is done without depletion of natural resources Sure shot. A day after North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un boasted his country was making final preparations to conduct its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, President-elect Donald Trump fired off a tweet promising, It wont happen! Trump slightly exaggerated Kims comments, writing that Kim claimed North Korea is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S., when the despotic leader actually was bragging about his long-range missiles. Now, theres little doubt that Pyongyang wants long-range nukes, but the country has only managed to test nuclear weapons underground up to this point. After Kims latest nuke test last September, FP dove deep on the Norths missile capabilities and what Washington is doing to counter them. Experts told Reuters Monday that while Kims boasts are plausible, the North is still likely years away from a reliable ICBM capability. China shrugs it off. Three weeks out from Trumps inauguration, and the betting pools are heating up over what will be the new administrations first international crisis. These things tend to happen quickly, and in a place that few expect, but this North Korea business is just beginning. Hours after his North Korea tweet, Trump again poked China, which is emerging has his favorite punching bag, writing, China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade, but wont help with North Korea. Nice! Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters Monday that Chinas efforts to bring North Korea into the realm of the global political system are clear for all to see, and relations between the U.S. and China should be properly addressed through dialogue and consultation. He added, we dont pay attention to the features of foreign leaders behavior. We focus more on their policies. Problem is, no one quite knows if Trumps tweets are policy, or simply behavior. Story continues IS ISIS running out of juice in Mosul? Since kicking off its offensive against ISIS fighters holding Mosul in October, Baghdads troops have only been able to retake about a quarter of the city. But with a new offensive underway, the U.S. general in charge of American and coalition ground troops in Iraq told Reuters over the weekend that the terrorists capability is waning and their resources are starting to dwindle. U.S. Army Major General Joseph Martin said his assessment is based in part on the smaller explosive yields that ISIS suicide bombers are throwing at Iraqi forces, which tells him the enemys capacity is diminishing over time. We see that as a positive indicator. But that only means so much. A day after Martins comments on Sunday, ISIS suicide bombers delivered five car bombs to Baghdad which killed at least 64 people. Not just numbers. In other ISIS news, the U.S. Central Command announced Monday it is more likely than not, at least 188 civilians have been unintentionally killed by coalition strikes since the start of the U.S.-led bombing campaign in August 2014. Overall, the Washington and its coalition partners have conducted over 17,000 strikes against Islamic State as of Dec. 30, according to figures provided by the U.S. military. Those casualty numbers are far lower that those arrived at by independent groups such as AirWars, which estimates at least 2,100 civilian deaths since the campaign began. Must read. FPs David Kenner has a harrowing interview with Omar al-Jubory, an Iraqi journalist and former resident of Mosul, who recounts his struggles reporting under the nose of Islamic State fighters, his arrest, torture, and escape from an ISIS prison. Good morning and as always, if you have any thoughts, announcements, tips, or national security-related events to share, please pass them along to SitRep HQ. Best way is to send them to: paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or on Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley Baltics The Defense Department has been sending American special operations forces to the Baltics in order to calm nerves there, recently frazzled by a more aggressive Russia and the election of the famously Putin-friendly Donald Trump. The New York Times reports that Special Operations Command chief Gen. Raymond Thomas says that U.S. operators now have a persistent footprint in the Baltics, and that Russia has taken note. The U.S. has sent around a dozen troops to each of the three Baltic countries in order to assist with intelligence gathering. Germany Germany says it foiled an Islamic State-linked terrorist attack plotted by a Syrian refugee in contact with the group. Agence France Presse reports that authorities claim the man reached out to the group via the social media messaging app Telegram, requesting $188,000 for an attack involving multiple vehicles stuffed with hundreds of pounds of explosives. Germany has been on edge after a Tunisian man attacked a Christmas market with a truck, killing a dozen people. Turkey The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a New Years Eve nightclub attack in Turkey which killed 39 people. The Islamic State-linked propaganda mouthpiece, the Amaq news agency, issued a statement calling the suspected attacker a heroic soldier of the caliphate. The attacker, believed by Turkish authorities to be of either Uzbek or Kyrgyz nationality, has yet to be apprehended but Turkish police arrested eight people they claim were linked to the attack. Syria Syrian rebel groups are saying theyre going to boycott Russian-led peace talks, Reuters reports. The Free Syrian Army cited what it says were repeated violations of a ceasefire by Assad regime-aligned Iranian militias looking to claw back more territory from rebels. In particular, they say the Assad regime is trying to recapture rebel-held areas outside Damascus which supply water to the capital. Russia and Turkey negotiated the ceasefire and had planned for rebel groups to head to Kazakhstan for negotiations to end the conflict. Photo Credit: JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images By Roli Srivastava MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Six migrant workers who had been locked inside a bakery by their employer in western India suffocated to death in a fire, triggering calls for decades-old labor laws to be implemented to crack down on worker exploitation and abuse. A short circuit caused a fire in a bakery in Pune in western Maharashtra state last Friday when the workers were asleep on the mezzanine floor where they also baked cakes and cookies. They were unable to escape as the bakery owner had locked the shutter door from outside to prevent theft. When firemen broke into the bakery, they found the workers' bodies on the mezzanine floor. The workers died of suffocation and burns, officials said. "When such cases occur, the law enforcement agencies look at the more obvious crime and ignore other sections" of the law, said Chandan Kumar, a core group member on bonded labor with the National Human Rights Commission. The employer was arrested and charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, keeping the workers locked up, constructing an illegal mezzanine where the workers lived and worked, and operating the bakery without government approval. Activists say the employer should also have been charged with violating labor laws. More than 90 percent of India's workforce - an estimated 400 million people - are in informal employment. This includes laborers on farms and construction sites, as well as in shops, hotels and restaurants. Many work in conditions that violate Indian laws enacted decades ago to protect labor rights. One law that is not enforced requires migrant workers' data to be recorded in their home state and their destination of employment, said Umi Daniel, South Asia regional head of the non-governmental organisation Aide et Action International. "It is important to record this data as it would not only enumerate migrant workers from each state, but also identify where they are working and help in better regulation of their work conditions," Daniel told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. In the Pune bakery fire, neither the employer nor the government had home addresses of the six workers who had migrated from northern Uttar Pradesh state. Police inspector Varsharani Patil said their relatives working in bakeries nearby helped contact their families back home. Officials said bonded labor laws were not applicable in the case because the workers chose to live in the bakery to save money. Experts called for improved understanding of bonded labor. "Any person working on nominal wages is forced labor, and that is bonded labor," said Nirmal Gorana who heads a national campaign to end bonded labor. Experts say an Indian law to protect minimum wage and ensure compensation to families in the event of a worker's death on the job also is not implemented. "We are not remotely close to implementing this law. There is no mechanism to cater to the informal sector," said Kumar, of the National Human Rights Commission. India is home to an estimated 16 million of the world's 36 million slaves, according to the Walk Free Foundation, an Australia-based human rights group. (Reporting by Roli Srivastava, editing by Alisa Tang. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, womens rights, trafficking and climate change. Visit news.trust.org) For the longest time, dinosaurs dominated Earth. Then, 66 million years ago, catastrophe struck most likely in the form of a giant asteroid that sounded the death knell for these giant, and some not-so-giant, warm-blooded creatures, eventually wiping them off the face of the planet. Yet, not all dinosaurs vanished. Some of them survived and still exist among us in the form of birds. The question, then, is, what enabled birds to survive when their ancestors could not? A new study, published in the latest edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, describes a finding that its authors believe may have played a role in dinosaurs extinction. Their work, based on analysis of fossilized dinosaur embryos, suggests that prolonged incubation of eggs may have affected dinosaurs ability to compete with the rapidly reproducing populations of birds, mammals and reptiles following the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago. Some of the greatest riddles about dinosaurs pertain to their embryology virtually nothing is known, study lead author Gregory Erickson from Florida State University said in a statement released Monday. Did their eggs incubate slowly like their reptilian cousins crocodilians and lizards? Or rapidly like living dinosaurs the birds? To find the answers to these questions, the researchers studied fossilized teeth of two types of dinosaur embryos one from Protoceratops, which was a sheep-sized dinosaur found in the Mongolian Gobi Desert, and the other from Hypacrosaurus, a giant duck-billed dinosaur found in Alberta, Canada. dino2 Photo: AMNH/M. Ellison Specifically, the researchers studied whats called the von Ebner lines growth lines present in the teeth of all animals. These are the lines that are laid down when any animal's teeth develops, Erickson said. Theyre kind of like tree rings, but theyre put down daily. We could literally count them to see how long each dinosaur had been developing. Story continues dino1 Photo: G.M. Erickson Their analysis showed that even the relatively tiny Protoceratops embryos took three months to develop. The giant Hypacrosaurus embryo took six months. These incubation periods are much longer than those of birds, and places non-avian dinosaur incubation periods more in line with those of their reptilian cousins. The authors of the study believe its findings can provide answers to why dinosaurs would have had a hard time adapting to Earths rapidly changing conditions, unlike other species at the time that had shorter incubation periods. Given that even the smallest dinosaurs would have needed at least an year to mature including the time after hatching they would have, during this period, been vulnerable to predators, starvation, and environmental disruptions such as flooding. Moreover, these creatures must have required considerably more resources than their avian, mammalian and reptilian cohabitants to reach adult size, and resources would have been scarce in a world devastated by an asteroid strike. The dinosaurs found themselves holding some bad cards, Erickson told the New York Times. They had a dead mans hand. Related Articles By Isabel Coles HASSAN SHAM, Iraq, Jan 3 (Reuters) - They wait for nightfall before attempting the perilous escape across bombed-out bridges and front lines between Islamic State militants and Iraqi forces. Some cross the Tigris River by boat, after the U.S.-led coalition bombed the five bridges connecting the city's two halves to restrict Islamic State movements. Others scale what remains of the bridges using a rope. Most of the 116,000 civilians who have fled Mosul since Iraqi forces launched their campaign to recapture Islamic State's biggest stronghold came from the eastern half of the city, where government troops have gradually gained ground. But as the biggest battle in Iraq since 2003 enters its 12th week, a growing number of people are escaping from the besieged west bank of the Tigris, a half of the city that is still fully under the militants' control. "Only the lucky ones get out," said Jamal, who crossed the river using a rope to climb over the remnants of one bridge and is now at a camp for civilians displaced from Mosul with his wife and three children. "If they opened a route for a quarter of an hour, not a single person would remain on the western side." Although there is no fighting yet in the west, food is scarcer than ever since government-backed Shi'ite militias advanced through desert terrain southwest of Mosul in November, sealing Islamic State's only access route to the city. Civilians who fled the west in recent days said the militants had announced they would soon distribute food and break the siege in an attempt to placate their increasingly desperate subjects and convince them to stay. "HAVE TO EXECUTE THE WHOLE OF MOSUL" In the run-up to the campaign, aid agencies were preparing for a mass exodus from Mosul. So far most of the city's residents -- numbering as many as 1.5 million -- either have chosen to stay or have been unable to escape. That has worked in Islamic State's favour, slowing the progress of Iraqi forces seeking to avoid civilian casualties. Story continues Twenty year old Abu Mohsen, whose was ferried across the Tigris by his friend, a fisherman, said when the operation began, most people in the west had planned to wait it out. But as advances slowed last month, their calculations were changing. "When the operations stopped people said the army will not reach us. They said it will take a year or two," he said. Iraqi forces renewed their push to retake the city last week, making progress in several eastern districts. Until recently, the militants punished anyone caught fleeing their self-styled caliphate with execution, but recent arrivals at the camp said the sheer volume of people trying to escape had forced them to lessen the penalty. "They would have to execute the whole of Mosul, so they started to flog people and send them back home instead," said 22 year old Abu Abd, who crossed the river three days ago when Islamic State militants were distracted. Some of the bridges can still be crossed on foot, but Islamic State forbids passage to those they suspect of fleeing to the government side, especially those with women and children. Most of the boats crossing the Tigris are controlled by Islamic State. Those who make it across the river must then find a way through the frontline between the militants and Iraqi forces, who are fighting street to street. "When we saw the army it was as though we were dreaming. We couldn't believe our own eyes," said Abu Abdullah, who fled from the 17 Tomuz neighbourhood in the west. The camp is safer, but brings a new kind of hardship. The displaced are not allowed out for security reasons and have no work. For some, it proves too much. Camp workers and displaced people said a displaced man had cut his own throat in a bathroom cubicle on Sunday. (Editing by Peter Graff) By Isabel Coles HASSAN SHAM, Iraq (Reuters) - They wait for nightfall before attempting the perilous escape across bombed-out bridges and front lines between Islamic State militants and Iraqi forces. Some cross the Tigris River by boat, after the U.S.-led coalition bombed the five bridges connecting the city's two halves to restrict Islamic State movements. Others scale what remains of the bridges using a rope. Most of the 116,000 civilians who have fled Mosul since Iraqi forces launched their campaign to recapture Islamic State's biggest stronghold came from the eastern half of the city, where government troops have gradually gained ground. But as the biggest battle in Iraq since 2003 enters its 12th week, a growing number of people are escaping from the besieged west bank of the Tigris, a half of the city that is still fully under the militants' control. "Only the lucky ones get out," said Jamal, who crossed the river using a rope to climb over the remnants of one bridge and is now at a camp for civilians displaced from Mosul with his wife and three children. "If they opened a route for a quarter of an hour, not a single person would remain on the western side." Although there is no fighting yet in the west, food is scarcer than ever since government-backed Shi'ite militias advanced through desert terrain southwest of Mosul in November, sealing Islamic State's only access route to the city. Civilians who fled the west in recent days said the militants had announced they would soon distribute food and break the siege in an attempt to placate their increasingly desperate subjects and convince them to stay. "HAVE TO EXECUTE THE WHOLE OF MOSUL" In the run-up to the campaign, aid agencies were preparing for a mass exodus from Mosul. So far most of the city's residents -- numbering as many as 1.5 million -- either have chosen to stay or have been unable to escape. That has worked in Islamic State's favor, slowing the progress of Iraqi forces seeking to avoid civilian casualties. Twenty year old Abu Mohsen, whose was ferried across the Tigris by his friend, a fisherman, said when the operation began, most people in the west had planned to wait it out. But as advances slowed last month, their calculations were changing. "When the operations stopped people said the army will not reach us. They said it will take a year or two," he said. Iraqi forces renewed their push to retake the city last week, making progress in several eastern districts. Until recently, the militants punished anyone caught fleeing their self-styled caliphate with execution, but recent arrivals at the camp said the sheer volume of people trying to escape had forced them to lessen the penalty. "They would have to execute the whole of Mosul, so they started to flog people and send them back home instead," said 22 year old Abu Abd, who crossed the river three days ago when Islamic State militants were distracted. Some of the bridges can still be crossed on foot, but Islamic State forbids passage to those they suspect of fleeing to the government side, especially those with women and children. Most of the boats crossing the Tigris are controlled by Islamic State. Those who make it across the river must then find a way through the frontline between the militants and Iraqi forces, who are fighting street to street. "When we saw the army it was as though we were dreaming. We couldnt believe our own eyes," said Abu Abdullah, who fled from the 17 Tomuz neighbourhood in the west. The camp is safer, but brings a new kind of hardship. The displaced are not allowed out for security reasons and have no work. For some, it proves too much. Camp workers and displaced people said a displaced man had cut his own throat in a bathroom cubicle on Sunday. (Editing by Peter Graff) JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's ruling ANC party rebuked the opposition mayor of Pretoria for visiting Taiwan last month in what it called a violation of its foreign policy that recognizes only the People's Republic of China. The ANC said any officials making trips at odds with South Africa's foreign relationships should be stripped of their passports. China is South Africa's biggest trading partner. Africa's part in the long-running global diplomatic row over Taiwan's disputed independence from China drew new attention last month after the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe reversed its position and recognized only Beijing. Relations between Africa and Beijing are important in part because China is a major investor in many African economies. The mayor of Pretoria, Solly Msimanga, traveled to Taipei last month to woo investors, the country's main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party, which governs the South African capital, said late on Monday. The South African government, which was an ally of Taiwan during the era of white minority rule but which has recognized only Beijing since 1997, described the Msimanga's visit as "highly regrettable". "(We were) made aware of the visit and advised Mayor Msimanga not to undertake it as it would constitute a breach of our One China Policy," the foreign ministry said in a statement issued late on Monday. The ANC called on the Foreign Ministry to "confiscate all official and diplomatic passports from officials who are found to be wilfully undermining our foreign policy". The ANC also urged the ministry to issue a strong protest over Msimanga's Taipei invitation to Taiwan's liaison office in South Africa. But the Democratic Alliance rejected pressure not to have contacts with Taiwan. A DA statement said that "neither the ANC nor the national government it runs can dictate who DA mayors meet with in order to obtain job-creating investment". The ANC suffered its worst election results since the 1994 end of apartheid in an August vote that swept DA candidates including Msimanga to power as mayors in three major cities. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump put in question the "one-China" policy followed for decades by Washington and Beijing when he accepted a congratulatory phone call from Taiwan's leader shortly after his Nov. 8 victory. (Reporting by TJ Strydom; editing by Mark Heinrich) As an apparent tornado bore down on them, seven people in a mobile home in southeast Alabama made a life-or-death decision: Three ran into one bathroom for shelter and four ran in the opposite direction to another room seeking safety. The three, including Lawana Henrich, survived without a scratch, according to Coroner Robert Byrd. But a big hardwood tree that slammed into the mobile home killed the four others, including Henrich's daughter and sister, Byrd said. The tree toppled over during a wave of severe weather that brought heavy rain and strong winds to the Southeast, and it couldn't have hit in a worse spot when it fell Monday night near Rehobeth, Alabama. "It was dead center," Byrd said. "You think, 'What's the chance of four people being so close in one area?' But they were." Those four, a woman in Georgia, and a man who drowned in the Florida Panhandle died as a line of severe thunderstorms moved across the Southeastern United States from Texas. Teams of surveyors were headed out Tuesday to assess apparent tornado damage at three sites in southeastern Alabama and southwestern Georgia, said Mark Wool, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, Florida. Wool said authorities believe a tornado is responsible for damage that left the four people dead in Alabama, but he said the weather service won't be able to say for sure until experts visit the site. Byrd, coroner in Houston County, Alabama, said Michelle Lewis, 53, died along with her niece, 27-year-old Amanda Blair. Lewis was Henrich's sister and Blair was Henrich's daughter, Byrd said; both victims lived in the trailer where they died, he said. Byrd said the storm also killed two family friends, Terina Brookshire, 51, of Hartford, Alabama, and Carla Lambart, 53, who was originally from Opp, Alabama. Byrd said Henrich, her husband and another man survived without injuries. Lawana Henrich saw a weather alert on television and heard the roar of a storm, and then told the others to seek shelter, he said. Story continues "She said it was just a matter of seconds when that tree fell," Byrd said. In Florida, the Walton County Sheriff's Office said the body of William Patrick Corley, 70, was found Monday afternoon following flooding near the Shoal River in Mossy Head. Authorities said Corley's car was partially submerged and his body was floating face-down nearby. The sheriff's office said Corley's death was under investigation, but no foul play was suspected. In Georgia, Albany Fire Chief Ron Rowe said one woman died as the result of an approximately 1-mile-wide "violent" storm that swept through the area about 11 p.m. Monday, 30 minutes or so after a tornado warning had been issued. Rowe said he did not have details on her death, and her identity has not been released. In addition to the death, Rowe said more than 1,000 homes were damaged, including four that caught fire. He says the storm also knocked down multiple trees and that it may take four or five days to remove all of the debris. It was the second episode of heavy rain within days for some areas. An area stretching from coastal Mississippi through eastern Georgia received more than 4 inches of rain Monday, according to radar estimates. Parts of southern Mississippi and southwest Alabama have received more than 8 inches of rain since Saturday. Though rivers along the Gulf Coast were rising rapidly Monday, only minor flooding was predicted. Rains in recent weeks have eased drought conditions across parts of the Southeast, according to reports from the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. Despite the rain and storms, large parts of north Alabama and north Georgia remain in "exceptional drought" the most severe category according to the center's most recent report on the drought issued last week. A new report is due out Thursday. By Christine Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean authorities said on Tuesday they will proceed with steps to extradite Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of a central figure in a South Korean political scandal that has led to a parliamentary vote to impeach President Park Geun-hye. Chung is being held in Denmark after police there arrested her on Sunday in the northern city of Aalborg. Denmark's public prosecutor told Reuters on Tuesday it was still awaiting a formal request from Seoul to extradite Chung and that it would take up to 30 days to address the issue. The prosecutor said on Monday Chung would remain in custody for four weeks after having been charged with committing economic crime in South Korea, but said on Tuesday that she had appealed against her detention to a higher court. Chung is the 20-year-old daughter of Choi Soon-sil, a long-time friend of Park accused of colluding with the president to pressure businesses to contribute to non-profit organisations. Both have denied wrongdoing. Choi is in detention as she undergoes trial in Seoul. "Chung has said she is willing to return to South Korea in three days if she is set free upon entry, which the government has declined to accept," South Korea's special prosecutor's office said in a statement on Tuesday. It added there was a chance Chung, an equestrian competitor who trained in Germany, may choose to return to South Korea voluntarily. The scandal has drawn hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets of Seoul for weekly demonstrations and could result in Park, 64, becoming the first democratically elected South Korean leader to leave office early. Park was impeached by parliament late last year, a decision that must be upheld or rejected by the Constitutional Court. Arguments were set to begin on Tuesday in a court process that could take several months. BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS Chung's state-appointed lawyer in Denmark, Jan Schneider, said he was likely to appeal any decision to extradite her. "I think it is disappointing Danish police and the Danish court has been drawn into a South Korean political conflict, which has nothing to do with Denmark," he said outside the courthouse in Aalborg in video carried by Danish TV. Chung told Korean reporters at the courthouse she had come to Denmark in late September and denied having knowledge about her mother's business transactions, and said the last time she saw Park was when she was in elementary school. Denmark's public prosecutor told Reuters on Tuesday that the extradition process may drag on for more than 30 days, because Chung can appeal a decision to extradite her to the courts. "I have been advising her, as her lawyer, that it would be better for her to be investigated in South Korea," Chung's Korean lawyer Lee Kyung-jae told Yonhap News Agency. "She is most concerned about where her baby will be if she comes back to South Korea and is detained," said Lee, who also represents Chung's mother, Choi. Chung has an infant son who was among those with her when she was detained. Reuters was not immediately able to reach Lee. South Korean authorities have sought Chung for alleged criminal interference related to her academic record and other unspecified charges. As part of their investigation, South Korean prosecutors are trying to ascertain whether Samsung Electronics sought favours from Choi and Park in return for funding some of their initiatives. An element of the investigation has been Samsung's sponsorship of Chung's riding career. None of Samsung's officials have been accused of wrongdoing. Meanwhile, South Korea's ambassador to Denmark delivered a letter of intent to Chung to cancel her passport, Yonhap reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed diplomatic sources. As a result, Chung's passport will no longer be valid after Jan. 10, Yonhap said. In addition to cancelling her passport, South Korean authorities had requested Interpol place Chung on their red notice list. The request was put on hold, South Korea's police agency said on Tuesday, as Chung has been detained. (Reporting by Christine Kim; additional reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Michael Perry, Tony Munroe and Alison Williams) By Neha Dasgupta and Mayank Bhardwaj NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's steel ministry wants lower import taxes on a number of key steelmaking raw materials, including nickel, to protect the domestic industry from the rising costs of basic resources, a senior government official said on Tuesday. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley could announce some of these measures when he presents his annual budget for the 2017/18 fiscal year on Feb. 1. The finance ministry could even scrap the current 5 percent import duty on nickel, largely used in stainless steel production, Aruna Sharma, the top civil servant at the steel ministry, told Reuters. "Nickel is not present in India at all, so our argument is there is no point in having the customs import duty on it. There is a case to do away with it," Sharma said. The ministry has also sounded out the government about lower dividend payouts by state-owned companies, including Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), the biggest steel producer, due to their poor financial health, Sharma said. India's steel sector, which accounts for 1.3 trillion rupees ($19.06 billion) of bad debt in the banking sector, is likely to get some relief from banks working on a proposal, Sharma said, without giving details. "A formula has been worked out by the banking system. Now, it is between individual banks and companies engaged in the talks. This will help relieve the stress a little bit," she said. Sharma ruled out an earlier proposal from banks that involved SAIL taking over the assets of a debt-laden company. Also, the steel ministry has sought an allocation of about 400 million rupees in the budget for the 2017/18 fiscal year, more than double than in the previous fiscal year. "We need the modern, latest technology. And that's why next year we'll spend almost the entire budgetary allocation for research," Sharma said. Separately, Sharma said South Korean steel maker Hyundai Steel had shown interest in investing in India. Story continues "Hyundai Steel is also looking at us, (for) investing here. We've told them that there will be a preference to manufacture in India," Sharma said alluding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pledge to establish industries in India. Last month Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh told Reuters Japan and South Korea were keen to invest in India's steel sector and their officials had already met with him. ($1 = 68.18 rupees) (Reporting by Neha Dasgupta, editing by David Evans) Melania Trump will become the first foreign-born wife of an American president in almost 200 years. On January 20, her husband, Donald Trump, will be inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States. Most Americans do not know much about 46-year-old Melania Trump. She was born in the former Yugoslav republic of Slovenia. It is a small country surrounded by Austria, Hungary, Italy and Croatia. It has a small coastline on the Adriatic Sea. Slovenia also has castles that are hundreds of years old, large forests and clear rivers. VOA recently traveled to the country to learn about Melania Trumps life before she came to the United States. Jakob Susteric operates a medical company in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. He knows his country is not well-known. But he believes Melania Trump will change that. Slovenia. What is Slovenia? Is that a food? Is that a car? Nobody knows its a country. Nobody knows its a nation, and nobody knows that Melania is from Slovenia. So this is a big opportunity that our two million-nation basically gets its place in Europe, in the world. Susteric says having a Slovenian in the White House says good things about the United States. It expresses the message that America is sending from past years which is that America is a land of opportunities, so anybody that lives (in) and comes to America can achieve great things. Stane Jerko is a photographer. He says he was one of the first people to see Melania Trumps talent at a fashion show in Melania Trumps hometown of Sevnica in 1987. Jerko says she was a quiet 17-year-old. He said she was notable for her beauty and her energy. Melania Trump was born April 26, 1970. She has said that when she is first lady she will work to fight cyber bullying. Petra Sedej, a friend and high school classmate, says Trump dealt with the difficult behavior that can be common with girls in high school. Because she was beautiful, she was a model, a lot of girls talked about this and they were also jealous. But she didnt react to this and I think this is something strong inside of her, because she knew that she was good. And if you know that you are good, you dont need to prove this with words. Sedej says Communism and Yugoslavia were collapsing in Slovenia when she and Trump were in school together. She says they wondered how that would affect their future. We talked about studying, about how to see the world, and she, like a model, she knew that Slovenia was too small for her. Melania Trump left Sevnica when she was still a teenager and went to live with her sister in the city of Ljubljana. She began working as a model there. Later, she traveled to Milan, Italy and Paris, France. Then she went to New York where she met Donald Trump at a fashion event in 1999. They dated for about a year. They restarted their relationship a few years later. In April, 2004, Donald Trump asked Melania to marry him. Melania was first named Melanija Knavs. She then changed her name to Melania Knauss. She became Melania Trump when she married Donald Trump in Florida on January 22, 2005. He was 58 years old. She was 34. It was her first marriage and his third. There were 500 guests at the wedding, including Oprah Winfrey, Prince Charles of Britain, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Muhammad Ali. Donald and Melania Trump have one child: a son named Barron William Trump. He was born in 2006. In Sevnica, friends of Melania Trumps family say her father Viktor Knavs was a lot like Donald Trump. Zdravko Mastnak says Knavs was ambitious and a good businessman. He says he always looked for a way to improve his life beyond the money he could earn selling cars at a state-owned company. Only about 5,000 people live in Sevnica, which was affected by World War II. After the war, many mass graves were found there. When communists took control of Sevnica after the war, it became a center of furniture manufacturing. In the town, graffiti-covered trains speed past large apartment buildings built when the Communist Party ruled Yugoslavia. Some large buildings, like Communism, have collapsed. It is easy to understand why someone would want to leave the town although some parts of it are beautiful. Nusa Vidmar owns a cake shop in Sevnica near the apartment building where Melania Trump grew up. We were very proud of Melanias success. She used to be one of us and we are really happy for her, so everything what we do is making cakes, so we create simple but luxury cake that was, we wanted to have a beautiful cake like she is. Zdravko Mastnak is a family friend who makes wine. He says he hopes Melania Trump and her husband will visit Sevnica. Im Lucija Millonig. VOA Europe Correspondent Luis Ramirez reported this story from Sevnica and Ljubljana, Slovenia. Phil Dierking and Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the report for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story inaugurate v. to introduce (someone, such as a newly elected official) into a job or position with a formal ceremony express v. to talk or write about (something that you are thinking or feeling) achieve v. to get or reach (something) by working hard talent n. a special ability that allows someone to do something well fashion show n. an event at which new clothing designs are displayed model n. someone who is paid to wear clothing, jewelry, etc., in photographs, fashion shows, etc., so that people will see and want to buy what is being worn first lady n. the wife of the American president cyber bullying v. to frighten, hurt, or threaten (a smaller or weaker person) on the internet or through social media jealous adj. feeling or showing an unhappy or angry desire to have what someone else has graffiti n. pictures or words painted or drawn on a wall, building, etc. luxury adj. of high quality or high cost or both Photo credit: undefined From Good Housekeeping Inviting Grandma over for dinner may actually extend her life - and increase its quality - a new study shows. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco found that loneliness plays a large role in the decline so often associated with old age. The study followed 1,600 adults, with an average age of 71 - despite controlling for socioeconomic status and health, the lonely consistently held higher mortality rates. Nearly 23% of lonely participants died within six years of the study, as opposed to only 14% of those that reported adequate companionship. "The need we've had our entire lives - people who know us, value us, who bring us joy - that never goes away," Barbara Moscowitz, senior geriatric social worker at Massachusetts General Hospital, explained to The New York Times. The elderly place great value in those relationships, so much so that they often overlook a great deal more than their children or even their grandchildren do. It comes down to important relational skills, Rosemary Blieszner, a professor of human development at Virginia Tech, told The New York Times - skills that our grandparents have had a lifetime to hone. "They're pretty tolerant of friends' imperfections and idiosyncrasies, more than young adults," she said. "You bring a lot more experience to your friendships when you're older. You know what's worth fighting about and not worth fighting about." Beyond inviting our older relatives and friends into our homes, it's important to encourage elderly relationships - which is why, despite popular belief, older folks tend to thrive in independent or assisted living environments. These living arrangements provide more ways to mingle, to connect, to thrive. Spending quality time with Grandma and Grandpa helps them, but it benefits us, as well - the symbiotic relationship is undeniable. They get the companionship and conversation so crucial to every day life, and we get their stories, their hugs and, best of all, those famous, secret recipe cookies. Story continues [h/t The New York Times] You Might Also Like A piece of Winns (Jeremy Jordan) personal life was disclosed in Season 1 of Supergirl when the CW series explored his strained relationship with his father, Winslow Schott Sr. (Henry Czerny), a.k.a. Toyman. Winns love life also became a part of his storyline in the freshman run when he briefly dated Siobhan Smythe (Italia Ricci), who eventually became the villain known as Silver Banshee. Since then, Winns background story has taken a backseat. But will Supergirl start exploring Winns personal life again in the second half of Season 2? At this point, theres not a whole lot that we see of Winns personal life, but I certainly cant discount it in the future, Jordan said in a recent interview with Comicbook.com. Although fans probably wont see an episode focusing on Winns personal life in the current season, the actor said that viewers are still going to know more about Winns personality through his vigilante work with James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks), a.k.a. Guardian. I think were seeing Winn as a person through how he handles his business and his confrontations with James, Jordan said. We see that while being the sort of irrational fanboy, hes actually one of the more rational characters around. Hes trying to think of everybodys well being and how things work out. The 32-year-old actor added that theres a lot of fun stuff coming up that involves the D.E.O. and adventures that Winn gets to go on. One of these adventures is probably Winns first outdoor mission as a D.E.O agent. In the trailer for Season 2, episode 9, titled Supergirl Lives, Alex (Chyler Leigh) tries to boost Winns confidence before he goes out for a field operation. Im scared, the former CatCo employee tells Alex in the preview clip. You dont think I wasnt afraid the first time I went out in the field? Alex replies. I believe you keep fighting, so suit up. Supergirl Season 2, episode 9 airs on Monday, Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. EST on The CW. Watch the trailer below: Story continues Jeremy Jordan as Winn Photo: The CW Related Articles Bringing Winn (Jeremy Jordan) to the D.E.O. is probably one of the best decisions that Supergirl writers have made for Season 2 of the CW series. Not only because the former CatCo employee gets to realize his true potential, but also because Winns new work environment gives the viewers an opportunity to see the character in a new light. Its been really fun, Jordan recently told Comicbook.com of playing Winn as a D.E.O. agent. Developing Winns relationship with Alex (Chyler Leigh) and Hank (David Harewood) [a.k.a. Jonn Jonzz] has been really exciting. Hank is that reluctantly proud father figure but at the same time very stern and firm, so Winn has a lot of fun dealing with Hank, the 32-year-old actor said of his characters dynamic with the head of the D.E.O. I think he knows that hes not actually anybody to really be scared of in terms of he's not ever going to hurt him or anything and hes also very excited that he gets to hang out and work with a Martian on a daily basis. Harewood is also pleased with Winns move to the D.E.O. I think its wonderful having his sense of humor and his wit around the D.E.O, and having that rub up against Jonn who doesnt quite have very much of a sense of humor, Harewood said. Winns new job at the D.E.O. has also been instrumental in developing his friendship with Alex. Even though shes Karas big sister and a little bit older than Winn, Winn sort of becomes a little bit more of a sounding board for Alex, Jordan said. She has someone that she trusts that she can talk to, while at the same time constantly rolling her eyes at. Supergirl returns from its midseason hiatus on Monday, Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. EST on The CW. Watch the trailer for Season 2 episode 9, titled Supergirl Lives, below: Chyler Leigh as Alex, Melissa Benoist as Supergirl, Jeremy Jordan as Winn Photo: The CW Related Articles Surprise! Sam Hunt has a fiancee and the song he wrote for her is #couplegoals Our dearly departed 2016 brought a whole lot of heartbreak to a whole lot of people. But not to Sam Hunt, who became engaged to Hannah Lee Fowler and celebrated this milestone the best way he knows how with a gorgeous country song that is actually a heartbreaking apology for Fowler having to grapple with his fame, of course! Hunts surprise engagement was confirmed to PEOPLE on January 2nd, though signs that the two had gotten really, really serious became clear when he released his new song Drinkin Too Much, which details the couples ups and downs, midnight on New Years Eve. Im sorry I named the album Montevallo / Im sorry people know your name now and strangers hit you up on social media / Im sorry you cant listen to the radio / And drive out to the place we used to get peaches down in Pelham, Hunt sings. I know you want your privacy / Youve got nothing to say to me / But I wish youd let me pay off your student loans with these songs you gave to me. Redemption. New music - Drinkin' Too Much (link in bio) A video posted by Sam Hunt (@samhuntmusic) on Dec 31, 2016 at 10:02pm PST These songs you gave to me refer to his Montevallo album, which propelled Hunt to country stardom in 2014. Hunt told E! back in 2014 that he named his debut after a girl he met in the Alabama town, saying, I had never visited Montevallo, but right before I left to go to Nashville I met a girl from there. A lot of the experiences I had with her and the relationship I had with her, that inspired a lot of the songwriting on the album. Apparently things went south after Hunt got famous, as Drinkin Too Much chronicles Fowler dumping him due the pitfalls of fame and alcohol abuse. She took him back, obviously, and the song ends on a hopeful note as Hunt sings You changed your number and moved and this is the only way I can reach you Hannah Lee, Im on my way to you / Nobody can love you like I do. Story continues Based on Hunts Instagram account, hes right the couple is seriously adorable. Mohaler! A photo posted by Sam Hunt (@samhuntmusic) on Oct 29, 2016 at 1:47pm PDT And even though Fowler herself doesnt appear to have an Instagram of her own, her sister sure does, and she posted a sweet tribute to the couple after their news went public. So happy for my sister and Sam. Go check out his amazing new song. (Link in bio) A photo posted by rebekah (fowler) miller (@bekslee) on Jan 1, 2017 at 4:02pm PST She can also be found on Hunts Insta, of course, doing rad things like vacationing with the country crooner in exotic locales. It seems overall like Fowler is someone who values her privacy though thanks to her sister, we learned that she is a nurse (rad) who loves working out (also rad) and eating entire pies (very, very rad). Congrats to the happy couple just make sure to respect their wishes and not hit up Fowler on social media. Los Angeles (AFP) - It's an all-too-familiar Hollywood story: the out-of-work actor eking out an existence in cheap housing, earning minimum wage delivering pizzas, desperate for his big break. But for Jay Abdo -- one of the Arab world's biggest stars before the conflict in Syria made him just another anonymous refugee on the mean streets of Los Angeles -- it has been particularly tough. Just a few years ago, the 54-year-old actor could not walk the streets in any Middle Eastern country without being mobbed by fans or dine out without being offered free meals. A household name and a veteran of 43 movies and more than 1,000 TV episodes, Abdo was admired not just for his acting skills but his willingness to speak his mind in public. "I had a pretty beautiful life," he told AFP. "People loved me, on screen and on talk shows when I spoke to people and expressed my culture and points of view." Known in Syria by his real first name, Jihad, Abdo is best known for his role in "Bab al-Hara" ("The Neighborhood Gate"), one of the biggest soap operas in history, with up to 50 million viewers per episode. His path to Hollywood started in 2011 as tensions in Syria were escalating in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. His wife, painter and human rights lawyer Fadia Afashe, was a senior official in Syria's department of culture, and found herself having to flee Bashar al-Assad's brutal regime after being caught meeting opposition activists during a trip to France. - Torture - She went to study public policy at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, intending to return to Syria after graduating. But Abdo himself was beginning to become a major annoyance to Assad's crumbling regime after turning down numerous invitations to back the president at rallies and TV talk shows. Matters came to a head when he gave an interview to the Los Angeles Times during a trip to Beirut in which he accused Syria's secret service of torture and corruption. Story continues Strangers threatened him on his return to Syria, his car windows were smashed and he faced repeated demands to apologize to Assad on television. Having seen friends arrested or disappear -- some are still missing -- he uprooted in October 2011, leaving behind almost all his wealth and property, to join his wife in Minneapolis. The couple applied for asylum and drove for three days to Los Angeles with everything they owned so Abdo could find work. "I met so many people who were shocked that my name was Jihad," he says, explaining why he became Jay. "They didn't know it was Christian and I was named after a Christian lawyer in Damascus -- a very good friend to my family." Even with a more palatable name, more than 100 failed auditions followed as the couple lived a desperate existence on just $3 a day. It took more than a year to find work with a florist and delivering pizzas for Domino's, earning up to $300 a week. - 'Destiny brought me' - Abdo's break finally came when he landed a part alongside Nicole Kidman and James Franco in "Queen of the Desert," Werner Herzog's biopic of the British archeologist Gertrude Bell, due for release in spring. "All my scenes were with Nicole," Abdo says. "I can't praise her enough. She's very sweet, extremely professional, a very good hearted woman -- very smart and sharp. Above all, she supported me from the first minute." Herzog has since described in interviews finally grasping how famous his Syrian hire was when they visited a souk in Marrakesh during filming in Morocco. "Everyone wanted a photo with him. The merchants in the souk gave us everything for half price," the filmmaker told The Wall Street Journal. In a sign that Tinseltown really does like its happy endings, the actor's career is finally back on track. He has a part in the Amazon television series "The Patriot" and "Bon Voyage," a short film he made with Swiss director Marc Raymond Wilkins, has just been shortlisted for an Oscar. Last year, he appeared alongside Tom Hanks in "A Hologram for the King," a comedy about a failed corporate salesman trying to do business in Saudi Arabia. Devastated by the worsening plight of the Syrian people in the five years since he escaped the Assad regime, Abdo is unsure whether he'll ever return. But he believes he couldn't be in a better place. "From the beginning, Hollywood wasn't my objective," he said. "I didn't plan to come here. It's destiny that brought me." KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) Afghan officials say a Taliban ambush in the northeastern Badakhshan province has killed at least four police. Deputy Provincial Police Chief Mohammed Nabi Bayhan says the attack took place late Monday and that security forces have launched a clearing operation in the area. Ahmad Bashir Musamum, a provincial council member, confirmed the attack and said seven police were killed. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement Tuesday. Elsewhere in Afghanistan, Sanatullah Timor, a spokesman for the governor of Takhar province, said a Taliban fighter was killed Monday while planting a mine. The Taliban has been at war with Afghanistan's U.S.-backed government since 2001. The teen boy who fatally shot a 16-year-old girl and injured her mother in their Maryland home early New Years Day before turning the gun on himself died Tuesday after being on life support, PEOPLE confirms. The 15-year-old boy died of a self inflicted gunshot wound, Howard County police announced in a press release Tuesday. (PEOPLE has withheld the shooters name because he was a minor.) On New Years Eve, Charlotte Zamberas parents picked her up from a party, the release states. Shortly after returning home, Jim and Suzanne Zambera heard a scuffle in their daughters bedroom, according to the release. When Suzanne entered the room, the boy who police say was wearing a mask fired a shot at Suzanne and then at Charlotte before turning the gun on himself, the release states. Authorities allege the Ellicott City teen carried out a string of home burglaries in the weeks leading up to the shooting: Two homes in the same neighborhood of the Zamberas were broken into, and the gun the shooter used the night of Charlottes death had been stolen from one of the homes, according to the release. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Charlotte was taken to Howard County General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead early New Years Day. Suzanne was treated and released. The shooter was taken to University of Maryland Medical Centers Shock Trauma Center, where he died. Police are still investigating the motive, Howard County police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn tells PEOPLE. Police have not found a connection between the shooter and victim. According to the press release, they lived in the same neighborhood and attended the same school but it is unclear if they knew each other. Pick up PEOPLEs special edition True Crime Stories: Cases That Shocked America, on sale now, for the latest on Casey Anthony, JonBenet Ramsey and more. She was just really sweet, and a good friend, Isabella Kushner, a friend of the victim, told WJZ. Story continues Kushner added, The entire community of Howard County is just trying to support everybody, and her family. A GoFundMe page has been started by a family friend to help pay for Charlottes funeral expenses. The United States will continue to investigate unsolved murders of black people during the civil rights period. President Barack Obama recently signed into law a bill that continues a 2008 law requiring the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the crimes. The bills sponsor is Congressman John Lewis of Georgia. Lewis, a civil rights leader during the 1960s, suffered a skull fracture when he was beaten by police in 1965 during a civil rights march in Alabama. When the bill was first approved in 2008, Lewis hoped it would provide a full accounting of murders and other violence during Americas civil rights era. Most victims were African-Americans, but non-black supporters of civil rights also were targeted. Progress Has Been Slow In a 2015 report, the Justice Department said little progress had been made. The department said it investigated 113 unsolved cases dating from 1934 to 1967. The department said it completed 105 of the investigations. The department reported that bringing criminal charges in any of the cases is unlikely. The Justice Department report said federal power is limited. It said federal hate crime laws took effect too late to apply to murders during the civil rights period. It also said investigating old cases is difficult because witnesses die or can no longer be located, people forget what they saw, and evidence is destroyed or lost." One Successful Prosecution The Justice Department pointed to its successful criminal case against James Ford Seale. He was found guilty of federal kidnapping charges 42 years after prosecutors said he tortured and killed two black teenagers near the Mississippi-Louisiana border in 1964. Seale died in 2011. But that case was filed before the 2008 law took effect. The department points to a successful state prosecution of a civil rights murder case after the laws passage. Lewis said the new law passed by Congress and approved by President Obama improves the 2008 law. It requires the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI, to work with civil rights groups and universities to find evidence. The new law directs federal officials to work together with state and local law enforcement offices. As supporters of the law point out, many crimes targeting blacks and other civil rights workers in the 1950s and 1960s were not investigated by local police agencies. Investigators can now work to discover the truth and to seek justice under our legal system for the families of these victims, said Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina. Every American is worthy of the protection of our laws. The bill is named for Emmett Till. Till was a 14-year-old African-American from Chicago. He was brutally murdered in 1955 while visiting family in Mississippi. Reports at the time said some whites were angry over reports he had flirted with a white woman. An all-white jury in Mississippi found the two white men charged with Tills murder not guilty. Dark Period in Modern American History Congressman John Conyers of Michigan said the Emmett Till Act is an effort to bring to justice people responsible for crimes from one of the darkest periods in modern American history. Law students at Syracuse University in New York have joined the investigations. Led by two professors, Paula Johnson and Janis McDonald, Syracuse law students found 196 possible cases for criminal charges. McDonald is disappointed that the Justice Department has not moved on any of the 196 cases. She said the new law extends the time in which crimes can be investigated past the original deadline of 1969 by 10 years. Her hope is that the new Trump administration will want to show the public its willingness to fight racial injustice by bringing charges against people who escaped charges in the past. Johnson said that, when she and McDonald travel, they often hear from relatives who believed they lost loved ones due to racial violence. We take their claims seriously and conduct our own investigations and well continue to do so, Johnson said. I'm Alice Bryant. And I'm Bruce Alpert. Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page. _______________________________________________________ Words in This Story skull fracture - n. a blow to the head strong enough to break a bone in the cranial portion of the skull accounting - n. a report of what happened locate - v. to find file v. to give a document to an official for consideration brutally - adv. done in an extremely cruel or harsh way flirt - v. to behave in a way that shows an attraction for someone but is not meant to be taken seriously due - v. required or expected to happen conduct - v. to do something By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The president of an abortion provider told a federal court on Tuesday a proposed Texas regulation requiring facilities to dispose of aborted fetal tissue through burial or cremation is unnecessary and "offensive." Women's health providers, which provide abortions, among other services, argue the rules are part of a nationwide agenda to place restrictions on abortions and make it harder for women to get the procedure. But officials in Texas have argued it would afford dignity to the tissue. Texas is the most populous state in the country with a Republican-dominated government and viewed as a powerful force in shaping the U.S. conservative political agenda. "I find the interference by the government into women's personal health decisions to be morally offensive," Amy Hagstrom Miller, a plaintiff and president of Whole Woman's Health, which runs three facilities in Texas, told U.S. District Court Judge Sam Sparks in Austin. She said it would require the tissue to be treated differently than other human tissue, increase costs and require the fetal tissue to be buried whether or not the woman wants it. Sparks, who last month put the regulation on hold before it was to take effect on Dec. 19, also issued a temporary restraining order then to delay enactment until at least Jan. 6. Reverend Debra Haffner, called as a witness for Whole Woman's Health, said the regulation enshrines into law one particular religious view on fetal tissue disposal when there is a diversity of religious views on the matter. The Texas limitations would be more stringent than regulations in almost every other state, which allow aborted fetal tissue to be disposed of the same as other human tissue, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights group. Craig Warner, a Texas Attorney General's office lawyer, told the court "there is no language on individual cremations or individual burials" in the regulation. He also said the measure would not greatly add to costs. During his questioning of Warner, Sparks said the measure appeared to offer "more respect" to fetal tissue than other tissue yielded from the reproductive process. Anti-abortion Republicans proposed new restrictions in several states after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down some Texas regulations in June. The Supreme Court said provisions of the Texas law requiring abortion doctors to have difficult-to-obtain "admitting privileges" at local hospitals and requiring clinics to have costly hospital-grade facilities violated a woman's right to an abortion. (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Dan Grebler) Armando Martinez (center) poses with constituents. (Photo: mandomartinez.com) A Texas lawmaker who was struck in the head by a stray bullet on New Years Eve plans to introduce a bill aimed at preventing celebratory gunfire. If my legislation could help save a life, you know, then definitely thats what were gonna be looking at doing, Rep. Armando Martinez, a Democrat from Weslaco, Texas, told the Texas Tribune on Monday in a phone interview from the Valley Baptist Medical Center, where he was recovering. The longtime representative, who was re-elected for a seventh term in November, was released later Monday. Martinez was watching New Years Eve fireworks with family and friends in a residential neighborhood when he was struck. At the stroke of midnight, my wife comes over and gives me a hug and a kiss, Martinez told the Monitor, a newspaper based in McAllen, Texas. And right after that, I felt like a sledgehammer hitting the back of my head. According to KGBT-TV, the bullet punctured his skull, and Martinez underwent a 45-minute surgical procedure to remove it. The Hidalgo County Sheriffs Office is investigating the shooting. We have reason to believe that he was hit by a bullet that was fired into the air, Hidalgo County Sheriff Sgt. J.P. Rodriguez said in a statement. Earlier on New Years Eve, Martinez said the family had actually sought shelter in a garage because they heard gunfire a common sound during celebrations, particularly in the South. I think thats something that definitely needs to change. Martinez told the Tribune, adding that he plans to consult with local officials before proposing legislation. Growing up, we grew up around guns, he said. Im a hunter. But everybody knows better than to get a gun and fire it up in the air, because what goes up must come down. Photo credit: undefined From Town & Country Tinsley Mortimer was arrested last April for allegedly trespassing at the home of ex-boyfriend Nico Fanjul in Palm Beach. As of Friday, those charges have officially been dismissed. Mortimer's legal team struck a deal with the district attorney's office in July that stipulated that if no contact was made "by any means directly or indirectly" between Mortimer, 40, and Fanjul, the charges would be dismissed at a hearing on December 30. A source close to the situation tells T&C that Mortimer's lawyers attended the hearing in Palm Beach on Friday at which "it was confirmed that she abided by all of the terms of the agreement, [and] as a result, the trespassing charges have been officially dropped." [contentlinks align="center" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related%20Story" customtitles="Inside%20the%20Downfall%20of%20Tinsley%20Mortimer" customimages="" content="article.5858"] As T&C has previously reported, Mortimer and Fanjul had a volatile relationship, though the same source says that the "false allegation that Tinsley Mortimer trespassed was outrageous and defamatory." "Tinsley has moved on with her life and is finally back to living in New York City where she is happy, healthy, and looking forward to a sensational 2017," says the source. Mortimer has reportedly joined the cast of Bravo's Real Housewives of New York and has moved into Sonja Morgan's Upper East Side townhouse. You Might Also Like donald trump Few words issued by President-elect Donald Trump could matter more than his recent rhetoric on nuclear weapons. "The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes," Trump posted to Twitter on December 22, 2016. The next day, he bucked his aides' dismissive spin: "Let it be an arms race. We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all," Trump allegedly told MSNBC "Morning Joe" host Mika Brzezinski over the phone. Trump is worried about the nuclear weapons modernization efforts of Russia, which in 2014 violated a key arms reduction treaty, plus the emerging threat of North Korea. His tough-guy attitude echoes Cold War-era logic: outmatch your adversaries, or risk a nation-destroying preemptive strike. But this line of thinking is exceedingly dangerous in a future US president. It not only ignores disquieting facts about nuclear weapons and threatens to further implode a global half-century-long effort to reduce nuclear armaments, it also increases the risk of a nuclear catastrophe. Trump's push for nuclear proliferation is the worst possible option, not even worthy of being a last resort. Here's why. Enough nukes already exist to destroy both the US and Russia Russia currently possesses 7,300 nuclear weapons. The United States has 7,100. Together, these armaments comprise about 93% of all nuclear weapons on Earth. By contrast, China has about 260 warheads. Less than a quarter of these weapons are actually deployed in the air, on land, or at sea the so-called "triad" of defense. Also, an uncertain number are smaller, "tactical" devices meant for the battlefield. (Such devices are their own can of worms, as we'll show shortly.) But such caveats make little difference. Most US and Russian arms are officially deemed as "strategic," such as the submarine-launched W88 thermonuclear warhead, and they tend to be many times more powerful than the bombs the US dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Those unprecedented attacks leveled cities and killed more than 100,000 people. Story continues Purely looking at the known numbers of strategic warheads, the US has deployed and stockpiled enough to destroy every Russian city with a population greater than 50,000 (about 300 cities altogether) many times over. Similarly, Russia likely has enough to decimate every US city larger than 100,000 people (also about 300 cities) multiple times. This is the raw essence behind nuclear deterrence: You won't destroy us because we can destroy you. If establishing such a stalemate is still the guiding principle behind the existence of nuclear weapons, then the current US arsenal is more than adequate psychological warfare. Adding more weapons, as Trump suggests, would do little to enhance or change this perceived advantage. In fact, it'd make a terrifying situation even worse. Weapons systems and people are flawed the bomb film tribeca nuclear weapon out of controll Right now, hundreds of strategic US nuclear weapons are on "hair-trigger alert," also called "on alert" or "launch-on-warning". This dangerous Cold War-era policy means such weapons can be launched within a few minutes of detecting an adversary's preemptive nuclear strike or a false signal of one. Many strategic weapons, like Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) deployed across middle America, can't be disabled once they leave a silo. Yet no human creation is perfect. You can build the world's smartest, most seemingly foolproof machine, and it will still contain flaws. In the case of nuclear weapons systems, such flaws run the risk of accidental launch, detonation, and incredible loss of life. Tallying up nuclear weapons accidents is exceedingly difficult, especially due to their classified nature, but information that has been released is alarming. "[M]any dozens of incidents involving nuclear warheads are known to have occurred in the United States and likely many more that have not been made public," according to a 2015 fact sheet by the Union of Concerned Scientists. It continued: "[T]he more of these incidents that occur, the greater is the chance that one of them will lead to a nuclear detonation." Thirty-two known incidents were "broken arrows," or when a nuclear weapon was accidentally launched, fired, detonated, stolen, or lost. Eleven are weapons the US military never recovered, including one of two powerful thermonuclear bombs it accidentally dropped and nearly detonated over North Carolina. A uranium pit from one of the weapons is still somewhere at the bottom of a swamp. titan ii 2 missile usaf.JPG Writer Eric Schlosser has chronicled some of these all-too-common misadventures in "Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety". The 2014 book closely follows the story of a Titan II ICBM that exploded in its silo, nearly setting off a powerful warhead that could have laid waste to Arkansas and nearby states. (The cause? A maintenance worker who accidentally dropped a tool.) In light of Trump's recent statements, Schlosser revisited some of his book's material in a recent piece for The New Yorker, in which he described alarming, ongoing technical problems with "aging and obsolete" nuclear weapons and their command-and-control systems. Schlosser also highlighted the risks of being human. Using Minuteman III system as one example, he wrote for The New Yorker: "[In 2014], almost a hundred Minuteman launch officers were disciplined for cheating on their proficiency exams. In 2015, three launch officers at Malmstrom Air Force Base, in Montana, were dismissed for using illegal drugs, including ecstasy, cocaine, and amphetamines. That same year, a launch officer at Minot Air Force Base, in North Dakota, was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison for heading a violent street gang, distributing drugs, sexually assaulting a girl under the age of sixteen, and using psilocybin, a powerful hallucinogen. As the job title implies, launch officers are entrusted with the keys for launching intercontinental ballistic missiles." National leaders who can order nuclear strikes are also fallible humans. Take Pakistan's defense minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, for example. Asif publicly rattled his nation's nuclear sabers in late December after reading (and apparently believing) a fake news article about Israel threatening his country with nuclear weapons. More nukes would increase the chances that a weapons system and the people behind their operation would fail. It would also heighten the risk of a weapon, especially small tactical ones, falling into the hands of terrorists. Luckily, the US is actively working to reduce the chance of disaster. The US is already spending $1 trillion on nuclear weapons nuclear modernization During the first presidential debate, Trump claimed that "Russia has been expanding their they have a much newer [nuclear weapons] capability than we do. We have not been updating from the new standpoint. [...] We are not we are not keeping up with other countries." While it's true that Russia is upgrading its weapons, partly in response to sanctions and partly in response to US nuclear weapons advancements, Trump's assertion that the US "has not been updating" and is "not keeping up" is either a bold lie or fallacious. For example, Russia does not currently have a working early-warning satellite system; it went offline 2 years ago, Schlosser said. This means the US gets 30 minutes of warning with an ICBM launch. Russia's land-based radar systems, meanwhile, can give only a few minutes' notice before a warhead lands. Trump's oft-repeated statements on nuclear weapons also suggest that he does not understand the truly bewildering amount of taxpayer dollars the US has spent maintaining and improving its nuclear weapons systems. In his book "Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Since 1940", Stephen Schwartz, a professor at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, calculated how much the US government spent on nuclear weapons through 1996. His conservative estimate is that the country spent, at minimum, $5.8 trillion on nuclear weapons. That's in 1996-adjusted dollars, though; in 2016 dollars, this amounts to more than $8.9 trillion. Putting this titanic amount of money into perspective, Schwartz told an audience during a 1998 presentation at the Brookings Institution: "[N]uclear weapons spending over this 56-year period exceeded the combined total federal spending for education; training, employment, and social services; agriculture; natural resources and the environment; general science, space, and technology; community and regional development (including disaster relief); law enforcement; and energy production and regulation. On average, the United States has spent $98 billion a year [$150 billion in 2016 dollars] on nuclear weapons." Today, a similar spending trend continues. Obama nuclear summit "The current and planned U.S. investment in nuclear forces is unrivaled by any other nuclear power," stated a December 2016 report by the Arms Control Association. Business Insider has called Trump's attention to the fact that the US plans to spend more than $1 trillion in taxes over the next 30 years to modernize its nuclear arsenal. (The government pegged the cost at about $450 billion over 20 years, but these estimates aren't realistic, according to several independent reports.) The nuclear triad modernization program, requested by President Barack Obama, endeavors to refurbish aging weapons systems, improve reliability, narrow targeting, lower the risk of malfunctions, and actually reduce the number of deployed, ready-to-go weapons. Any call to expand the US nuclear arsenal while failing to address this controversial program, as Trump did throughout the 2016 election, and continues to as president-elect, belies a vast government expenditure and suggests a worrisome ignorance or dishonesty. The effects of this program could extend well beyond US and Russian borders, too. Expanding nuclear weapons capabilities endangers the whole planet nuclear bomb Proliferation can occur even when the total number of nuclear weapons decreases. Despite both the US and Russia taking thousands of warheads offline since 2010 (as part of the New START treaty), some experts believe the arms race Trump seeks is already happening under Obama's watch. A primary concern surrounds two new tactical weapons the US military plans to build. The first is a new land-launched nuclear cruise missile. Former UK defense secretary Philip Hammond has said such weapons look like non-nuclear cruise missiles to enemies and adversaries, so their existence could lead to confusion that ends in nuclear war. The second the US military's B61-12 gravity bomb design is perhaps more troubling, in that it might lead to routine use of nuclear weapons. While billed as an upgrade, many experts say it's effectively a new weapon with new capabilities. The B61-12 will recycle four older-style bombs that simply fell to target with a precision of about 300-550 feet. The rebuilt bombs, however, will have new pop-out fins and thrusters to guide them to a target with a precision of less than 100 feet. Their explosions will be adjustable, too, so the military can detonate them at yields several times greater down to several times less than the first atomic bombs. The Federation of American Scientists and former US military leaders say such features make tactical weapons imminently more usable in battle. And if tactical weapons are used in a future conflict, the taboo against use of any nuclear weapons is likely to fall apart. Some experts even argue that tactical weapons use could lead to a nuclear holocaust. (Of note: As late as August 2016, one of Trump's foreign policy advisors said the incoming president asked at least "three times" why the US couldn't use its nuclear arsenal.) US development of advanced tactical weapons also sends a signal to other countries: Namely, that it's ok to develop them, too. pakistan surface missile nasr tactical nuclear weapons AP_579907917930 The most worrisome country for this to happen is not Russia or even Iran or North Korea, but Pakistan (which has 140 nuclear weapons) in its longstanding and bitter feud with India (which has 110 nuclear weapons). "Pakistan is outnumbered by India in terms of conventional forces and is growing increasingly reliant on the threat of the early use of tactical weapons to deter an attack," journalist Julian Borger wrote at The Guardian in 2016. If that does happen, a small-scale nuclear war could ensue and wreck the planet. Simulations show that in a war where India and Pakistan each detonate 50 Hiroshima-size nuclear bombs over cities, more than a quarter of the Earth's ozone layer would disappear within 2 years. The surge of incoming ultraviolet light would wreck ocean ecosystems, increase the rate of skin cancers, stunt plant growth, and more. Also, all the carbon from burning cities would partially blot out the sun, plummet average surface temperatures to 1,000-year lows, and lead to a nuclear winter scenario that'd trigger global famine due to food shortages. Adding weapons and increasing their capabilities is a surer path toward such a catastrophe. There are, however, ways to steer humanity away from this alarming risk. What is the solution? nasa apollo 11 earth africa 1969 AS11 36 5352HR The more nuclear weapons exist and are upgraded, the more likely they are to be used either intentionally or accidentally and expose our species to the risk of an unprecedented nuclear calamity and possibly a horrifying extinction. The solution is not easy but straightforward: Do not expand any nuclear arsenals. Instead, continue to reduce weapons stockpiles, ideally until they are all gone. The US can't ignore ongoing threats from Putin to modernize and expand Russia's nuclear arsenal. Nor should we idly sit by while North Korea works toward its first fully functional nuclear weapons system, including an ICBM capable of reaching the US, or as Pakistan develops tactical weapons and endeavors to give commanders the authority to use them on the battlefield. Fortunately, plenty of non-nuclear alternatives exist to keep adversarial countries in check. Take cyberwarfare, for instance. Given the cleverness and scope of Stuxnet, a computer virus that took down Iran's uranium-enriching centrifuges, it's not unreasonable to suggest covert and preemptive attacks on nuclear weapons systems themselves are possible or even ongoing. "You've either been hacked and not admitting it, or you're being hacked and don't know it," retired general James Cartwright told journalist Joe Cirincione at the San Francisco Chronicle. Diplomacy, sanctions, embargoes, and treaties may not always be popular, but they have so far effectively prevented countries like Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. They've also helped reduce weapons stockpiles by more than a factor of 10. Conventional warfare can also help strip a nation of its nuclear weapons facilities. Most importantly, however, as Schlosser and others argue, it's past time that we stop assuming nuclear weapons are safe or ignorable relics of the Cold War. Instead, we all need to have frank and honest discussions in our homes, at work, and with elected officials about the reality of nuclear weapons, including their numbers, risks, cost, and imminent threat to the future of humanity. Every weapon we dismantle is one step farther away from the worst kind of mishap imaginable. Trump is known to change his mind, and for the sake of my daughter's future and the rest of America's, I certainly hope that he comes to his own senses on this issue. His peculiar fondness for Putin and report with Russia places him a unique position to lead potentially powerful, bilateral diplomacy and arms reductions efforts. If he can pull it off, there'd almost certainly be a Nobel Peace Prize and at least one indelibly positive historical legacy waiting for him. NOW WATCH: Animated map shows every nuclear-bomb explosion in history More From Business Insider Savannah Guthrie is extending a big welcome to Megyn Kelly as she makes her move to NBC News. Following the announcement Tuesday morning that the Kelly File anchor would be leaving her post at Fox News for a new role at NBC, the Today co-host congratulated the Settle for More author on her new position and welcomed her to the network where Kelly will soon soon join her as a colleague. Big welcome to @megynkelly awesome get for @NBCNews!! May I not be nine months pregnant in the next picture we take side-by-side! Guthrie, 45, tweeted alongside a photo of Kelly and herself prior to leaving the Today show on maternity leave. Big welcome to @megynkelly awesome get for @NBCNews!! May I not be nine months pregnant in the next picture we take side-by-side! pic.twitter.com/Sg63G6Y2wE Savannah Guthrie (@SavannahGuthrie) January 3, 2017 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js NBCs Chuck Todd, Foxs Janice Dean and Mindy Finn also joined in on extending congratulatory messages to Kelly on her move to the new network. Welcome @megynkelly! No disrespect to others, but hope you are already realizing, there's no place like NBC. Can't wait to work together Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) January 3, 2017 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Congrats to @megynkelly. I admire her grit and willingness to go against the grain. Look forward to watching her on NBC. Mindy Finn (@mindyfinn) January 3, 2017 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Story continues As first reported by The New York Times, NBC News chairman Andrew Lack offered Kelly a chance to host her own daytime news and discussion program, anchor an in-depth Sunday night news show and also a role taking part in the networks special political programming and other big event coverage. In a memo to the NBC News team obtained by PEOPLE, Lack wrote, Megyn is an exceptional journalist and news anchor, who has had an extraordinary career. Shes demonstrated tremendous skill and poise, and were lucky to have her. After news broke of her departure, Kelly took to social media. I have agreed to join NBC News, where I will be launching a new daytime show Monday through Friday, along with a Sunday evening news magazine program. I will also participate in NBCs breaking news coverage and its political and special events coverage, she wrote in a Facebook post. While I will greatly miss my colleagues at Fox, I am delighted to be joining the NBC News family and taking on a new challenge. Kellys last day on Fox will be Friday, Jan. 7, her spokeswoman Leslee Dart told CNNMoney. Sydney (AFP) - Australia's rookie opening batsman Matt Renshaw made a huge statement to selectors for next month's India series with a resolute maiden Test century against Pakistan on Tuesday. The Yorkshire-born 20-year-old watched his opening batting partner David Warner blast a 78-ball century in the first session of the third Test in Sydney before he blossomed into his maiden Test century. At the close with Australia at 365 for three, Renshaw had batted through the entire day to be unconquered on 167 off 275 balls with 18 fours after Warner was dismissed for 113 after lunch. Renshaw has the chance on Wednesday's second day to further add to his tally and make an undeniable case for inclusion in the challenging four-Test series in India next month. Former Test captain Michael Clarke said during the match commentary on the Nine Network: "There's been talk that Australia aren't going to take him to India, that Shaun Marsh will open in place of him. I think it'd be a terrible move." The negative chatter didn't seem to have fazed Renshaw, who said: "I felt pretty good coming in. I didn't really know that I was going to miss out on India so it didn't really come into my head too much. "You go into every game and try to do as well as you can, but I probably wasn't expecting to be this score tonight. "It should be a good experience if I'm selected (for India), but we've got a Test match to win and I've got to keep batting tomorrow morning. I'm trying to concentrate on that at the moment." Renshaw had to cope with the unique situation of farming the strike to the rampant Warner, who became only the fifth player to score a century before lunch in Test history. "That's probably the first time I've been booed and cheered for blocking a ball in the same over," Renshaw said. "He (Warner) told me to not change my game and just keep batting and try to get to lunch. I just tried to run as fast as I could when he was on 99." Story continues He added: "I knew I was running to the danger end, so I just tried to put the burners on and try and get there." Renshaw said he did not try to copy Warner's audacious shot-making as the team vice-captain ripped apart the tourists bowling attack. "That first session was all just a bit of a whirlwind," he said. "Davey was absolutely smoking them and I was just trudging along on not many. "I was trying not to keep up with him, like I have done in the past apparently. "He keeps telling me that I'm not going to keep up with him too much, and I didn't try at all today." Renshaw also overcame a fearsome Mohammed Amir bouncer to his helmet grill on 91. He was cleared of concussion by team doctor Peter Brukner and then went on to scamper through for a single to bring up his 201-ball century. Too Faced is celebrating the Sweet Peach collection even more with special events around the world As if the much-anticipated Too Faced Sweet Peach collection launch wasnt exciting enough, the brand is celebrating with seven special beauty parties in select cities around the world. Weve been talking about Too Faceds Sweet Peach collection for months now, and its finally here. The company really knows how to get a buzz going, and this latest announcement just adds to the frenzy. The events will go down in seven cities on January 7th, 2017! Is there numerological significance to this? Either way, it sure feels lucky. According to the official word from the companys Instagram, the celebrations promise: makeovers, giveaways, and a special peachy surprise. WHAT COULD THE SURPRISE BE????? Youll have to head to one of these locations to find out: Sephora Disney Springs, Florida from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., Sephora West Edmonton, Canada from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sephora Champs-Elysees, France from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., Ulta San Jose, California from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Ulta Midtown, Los Angeles from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Mecca Highpoint Shopping Center, Australia from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Debenhams Oxford Street, London from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Jerrod and the giant Sweet Peach products! #toofaced #tfsweetpeach A photo posted by Jerrod Blandino (@jerrodblandino) on Dec 10, 2016 at 3:58pm PST Cant make the trek? Follow the #toofaced and #tfsweetpeach hashtags on Instagram for a glimpse of the fun with possible FOMO side-effects. Story continues Behold the long-awaited collection in its juicy glory! What do you think of the package update for Papa Dont Peach? Double tap if you're loving the new and improved Papa Don't Peach Blush! #toofaced #tfsweetpeach A photo posted by Too Faced Cosmetics (@toofaced) on Dec 27, 2016 at 8:02pm PST Look at these creamy lip oils, keeping things succulent. Our NEW Sweet Peach Lip Oils are available in 8 creamy, peach-infused shades. Which shade do you want to try? #regram @trendmood1 #toofaced #tfsweetpeach A photo posted by Too Faced Cosmetics (@toofaced) on Dec 18, 2016 at 8:11am PST Instagram is ripe with peachy giveawayskeep your eyes peeled. Bathe in the most ethereal peachy glow with our NEW Sweet Peach Glow Kit. Available on toofaced.com on December 14th at 12 am EST. #toofaced #tfsweetpeach A photo posted by Jerrod Blandino (@jerrodblandino) on Dec 3, 2016 at 12:44pm PST If you cant make it to any of the parties, you can grab the collection at Sephora, Ulta, and Too Faced online. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) U.S. President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter to vow that North Korea won't develop a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the United States. But it might already have done so. Views vary, sometimes wildly, on the exact state of North Korea's closely guarded nuclear and missile programs, but after five atomic test explosions and a rising number of ballistic missile test launches, some experts believe North Korea can arm short- and mid-range missiles with atomic warheads. That would allow Pyongyang to threaten U.S. forces stationed in Asia and add teeth to its threat last year to use nuclear weapons to "sweep Guam, the base of provocations, from the surface of the earth." Guam is a strategically important U.S. KIDAPAWAN, Philippines (AP) Nearly 160 inmates escaped after suspected Muslim rebels attacked a jail in the southern Philippines before dawn Wednesday, and at least six people were shot dead as pursuing government forces traded fire with gunmen, officials said. Acting Provincial Jail Warden Supt. Peter John Bongngat Jr. said a guard was killed and an inmate was wounded in an initial gunbattle when dozens of gunmen stormed the North Cotabato District Jail in Kidapawan in one of the country's largest jailbreaks in recent years. Kidapawan city in Cotabato Province is about 930 kilometers (580 miles) southeast of the capital Manila. SYDNEY (AP) A powerful earthquake struck off the coast of Fiji on Wednesday, prompting a brief tsunami warning for the Pacific island nation. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The magnitude 7.2 quake, which hit at 9:52 a.m. local time, struck about 220 kilometers (135 miles) southwest of the tourist hub of Nadi, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake was a relatively shallow 15 kilometers (9 miles) deep. Shallower quakes generally cause more damage than ones that strike deeper. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for coastlines within 300 kilometers (190 miles) of the epicenter, then lifted the warning about an hour later. Story continues YANGON, Myanmar (AP) Newly revealed video of Myanmar police beating Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine state has weakened months of government claims that its forces have not committed abuses in the tense and isolated region it has largely closed off to foreigners since a deadly insurgent attack in October. The footage has made it more difficult for the government to say at least some abuses are not happening, and sown doubts into its dismissals of more grievous allegations such as rape, arson and murder. Authorities quickly verified the video and detained the officers who were seen beating and kicking residents in a large-scale roundup. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) South Korean President Park Geun-hye refused to testify Tuesday in the impeachment trial that will decide her future, prompting the prosecutors to question why she has publicly denied the charges of corruption but will not do so before the court. After Park's refusal, the Constitutional Court delayed the start of oral arguments and asked her to testify on Thursday, when some of her current and former aides are also scheduled to testify. The court cannot force her to appear but can proceed without her if she refuses twice to appear at the hearings. Lawmaker Kweon Seong Dong, the chief prosecutor in the trial, questioned why Park (pronounced Bahk) cannot defend herself in court when just two days ago she vehemently rejected the accusations of corruption in a hastily arranged meeting with reporters at Seoul's presidential Blue House. BEIJING (AP) China confirmed that its aircraft carrier has for the first time conducted drills in the South China Sea with a formation of other warships and fighter jets, a move that could raise concerns among its neighbors. The Defense Ministry said several J-15 fighter jets took off and landed from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Liaoning on Monday. The Liaoning, China's first and only aircraft carrier, sailed into the South China Sea last week. The confirmation late Monday came days after Taiwan's Defense Ministry said the carrier and five other warships had passed south of Taiwan. The self-ruled island deployed fighter jets to monitor the fleet. BEIJING (AP) China's environmental ministry said Tuesday that an unspecified number of companies had violated measures meant to reduce smog during a period of particularly noxious pollution in the country. The Ministry of Environmental Protection said that 10 inspection teams found companies resuming production despite a government ban and not complying with emission reduction measures. The announcement came as 24 cities were under a pollution "red alert," the highest warning level in China's four-tiered system. When authorities issue red alerts, some manufacturing companies are required to cut production and heavily polluting vehicles are banned from the roads. The official Xinhua News Agency said the ministry had given out punishments after finding that more than 500 construction sites and enterprises, including metallurgy, agricultural chemical and steel plants, and 10,000 vehicles had breached pollution response plans. ISLAMABAD (AP) The son of a Pakistani politician killed for opposing the country's harsh blasphemy laws says he is now receiving death threats for supporting a Christian woman on death row for insulting Islam. Human rights activist Shan Taseer called on Twitter this week called for supporters to pray for Asia Bibi, who has been on death row for years. His call drew a strong reaction from Islamists who have been rallying in the eastern city of Lahore to demand action against him. His father Salman Taseer was governor of Punjab province and provoked the anger of Islamists for also supporting Bibi. KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) Afghan officials say a Taliban ambush in the northeastern Badakhshan province has killed at least four police. Deputy Provincial Police Chief Mohammed Nabi Bayhan says the attack took place late Monday and that security forces have launched a clearing operation in the area. Ahmad Bashir Musamum, a provincial council member, confirmed the attack and said seven police were killed. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement Tuesday. Elsewhere in Afghanistan, Sanatullah Timor, a spokesman for the governor of Takhar province, said a Taliban fighter was killed Monday while planting a mine. The Taliban has been at war with Afghanistan's U.S.-backed government since 2001. MANILA, Philippines (AP) Russia is eyeing naval exercises with the Philippines and deployed two navy ships for a goodwill visit to Manila on Tuesday as Moscow moves to expand defense ties with a Filipino president known for being hostile to the U.S. Rear Adm. Eduard Mikhailov, deputy commander of Russia's Pacific Fleet, led the five-day visit of vessels including an anti-submarine ship and showcased what his country can offer to a Southeast Asian nation that's long been a staunch American treaty ally. "You can choose ... to cooperate with United States of America or to cooperate with Russia," Mikhailov told reporters through an interpreter at the Manila harbor after a welcoming ceremony. Paris (AFP) - A leading French newspaper said Tuesday it had decided to stop using polling groups in a journalistic experiment that follows wide criticism of how voter surveys have failed to forecast recent political shocks. Le Parisien daily said it would stop commissioning polling group Ipsos and would base its stories in the run-up to this year's presidential election on reporting by its own journalists. "We have decided, and it was the subject of a lot of debate, to return to the heart of our profession which is working on the ground," the paper's editorial director Stephane Albouy told France Inter radio. Most media routinely rely on polls -- surveys of hundreds, sometimes thousands of voters by phone or online -- to flag up political trends and tip the leading candidates. But their credibility suffered in 2016 after pollsters failed to forecast Britain's vote to leave the European Union, Donald Trump's triumph in the US presidential election or the victory of Francois Fillon in a French rightwing primary. Albouy said newspapers needed to listen to critics who see journalists as being "cut off from reality" while denying that Le Parisien had made errors in frequently publishing polls on its front-page in recent months. "It's not a question of defying the pollsters but another way of working which we want to test for the rest of the campaign," he told AFP, while not ruling out occasionally reporting polls commissioned by other publications. - Analysts wrongfooted - Polling groups say turbulence and technological change in Western democracies, which have been buffeted by mass migration and economic woes, have made their job more difficult. Late swings in sentiment can also wrongfoot analysts. In November, the bosses of major polling groups wrote a joint column in Le Monde newspaper defending their business after almost all surveys forecast a victory for Hillary Clinton in November's US election. Story continues They admitted that polling was an inexact science, but stressed that the experts responsible for carrying out surveys were always improving their methods. "Criticism of them (polls) is nothing new and questioning their role in a democracy is legitimate and healthy," they wrote. "From our point of view, we are convinced of the strong link between polls and democracy and we note that conversely there are no free polls in a totalitarian state or under an authoritarian regime," they added. French voters will cast ballots in April and in May in a two-round presidential election, followed by parliamentary elections in June. Polls currently tip the rightwing Republicans candidate Fillon to become president, but he faces fierce competition from the far-right National Front as well as a range of independents and an as-yet-unknown Socialist party challenger. Manuel Valls, prime minister under unpopular President Francois Hollande until December, unveiled his programme on Tuesday in his bid to clinch the nomination for the Socialist party which will hold its own primary later this month. The centre-left Valls faces competition from more leftwing opponents, including made-in-France champion, former industry minister Arnaud Montebourg. On Jan 2, we issued an updated research report on TOTAL S.A. TOT. A strong production portfolio, focus on lowering operating costs and initiation of new projects will boost TOTALs performance. However, business operations in politically troubled regions and increasing competition could hamper the companys profitability. TOTAL has one of the best production growth profiles among the oil majors, characterized by an upstream portfolio with above industry-average exposure to the faster growing hydrocarbon producing regions of the world. With the least exposure among its peers to the mature North American and North Sea regions, the companys upstream assets have lower natural decline rates and longer productive lives, which render TOTAL a significant competitive advantage. To cope with the sluggish oil and gas prices, TOTAL has taken initiatives to lower its overall expenditure. Its cost savings initiatives should be able to provide ample support to margins. The company aims to achieve savings of $4 billion by 2018 on the back of these ongoing initiatives. On the flip side, TOTALs global presence exposes the company to competition from national and international oil and gas majors. The company has to compete with the likes of Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM, Royal Dutch Shell plc RDS-A and Chevron Corporation CVX for acquiring assets and licenses for the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, as well as for the sale of manufactured products based on crude and refined oil. An increase in competitive pressure from its peers could impact sales, in turn hurting TOTALs margins and market share in the global business. Price Movement Shares of TOTAL have gained 5.81% in the last one month, outperforming the Zacks categorized Oil and Gas - Integrated International industrys gain of 4.38%. Its outperformance can be attributed to the recent pact of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to curb crude oil output to tackle the looming supply glut. Notably, this agreement led to a surge in crude oil prices, also benefiting TOTAL in the process. Story continues Zacks Rank TOTAL carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017 In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest tickers for the entirety of 2017? Who wouldn't? These 10 are painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. They are our primary picks to buy and hold. Be among the very first to see them>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CHEVRON CORP (CVX): Free Stock Analysis Report TOTAL FINA SA (TOT): Free Stock Analysis Report EXXON MOBIL CRP (XOM): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. The AroundTown section of the Clipper-Herald is to notify the public of upcoming events and to publicize pertinent information from individuals, groups or organizations that are not for profit. PEOPLE Former Lexington resident Bill Skinner is hospitalized in Lincoln, recovering from a leg amputation. Cards may be sent to him at Holmes Lake Manor Recovery Center, Room 29, 6101 Normal Blvd, Lincoln, NE 68506, 402-489-7175. HAPPENINGS The City of Lexington will be picking up fresh Christmas trees again this year. Please remove all Christmas decorations and tree stands and place the tree along the curb. If your tree has not been picked up in a couple of days, please give the service building a call at 324-5995 and it will be picked up as soon as possible. Undecorated trees may also be taken to the East yard waste site on Walnut St. Miller Dances: All Dances start at 7 p.m. Bring finger food and snacks. Questions? Call 308-325-2909. Jan. 7: "Lead Me Home," Mark Liljehorn; Jan. 14: "Diamonds and Dust; Jan. 21: "Sundowners; Jan. 28: "Top Shelf Country," Doug Powers. Auxiliary of VFW Post 5136 will meet Jan. 10, 2017 at 9:15 a.m. in the Pinnacle Bank meeting room. Plans to start the New Year will be discussed. WIC Clinics for Dawson County for January, February and March are scheduled as follows: In Lexington, 931 West 7th, Tuesday through Thursday the first four full weeks for each month. Call 308-324-6212 for an appointment. In Cozad, 120 East 9th, Monday, Jan. 9, Feb. 3, March 13. In Gothenburg, 1512 Ave. G, Monday, Jan. 9, Friday, Feb. 3 and Monday, March 6. Events at the Lexington Grand Generation Center - Public Bingo on Mondays at 7 p.m. Must be 18 to play. For questions call 308-324-2498. Homemade Pretzel Baking on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 1 p.m. Cost to purchase pretzels is .50/pretzel, $6.00/dozen. Purchase and/or come help roll! Love in Action Outreach, 907 West 8th St., Lexington, is open Monday through Thursday, 12:30 4 p.m. For assistance go to 909 West 8th St. Donations of clothes, furniture and other items any time back of store or contact 308-651-0925 for further assistance. Monetary donations are accepted as well. Urgent needs are medium and large shoe boxes, dressers, all sizes and styles, beds of all sizes, appliances such as stoves, washer, dryers, refrigerators, etc. Are you a person with compassion and good listening skills? Parent-Child Center would like to give you the opportunity to put those feelings and abilities into practice. The Parent-Child Center needs volunteers to answer our lines after office hours. If you are interested please call for more information at 308-324-2336. If you visit the grave of a veteran and the flag holder is missing or damaged, please notify the Dawson County Veteran Service Office by calling 308-324-3041. Volunteers needed for Adult Education ESL and GED classes offered through Central Community College. To volunteer contact Marge Bader, volunteer coordinator at 308-785-2111 or 324-8483 or email mbader57@msn.com. Lexington Area Parkinsons Disease Support Group Meetings are held the second Thursday each month at 2 p.m. in the education room at the Community Health & Fitness Center (1600 W. 13th, Lexington) For more information contact Dixie Menke at 308-325-5350 or 308-784-4022 or Brenda Bierman at 308-324-2523. RYDE Transit - Public Transportation is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. To schedule a ride in Dawson County or Lexington call 308-324-3670. Public Transportation is easy to ride and open to everyone. MEETINGS American Legion in Lexington meets the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at Heartland Musuem of Military Vehicles. Bingo Night at Lexington Regional Health Center will be held Thursday evenings from 6 - 7:30 p.m. at The Corner Cafe (LRHC dining room). Come and enjoy FREE soup and an evening of BINGO. Survivors of Suicide Suppport Group meets every second Monday of the month from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 1616 W. 39th St., in Kearney. For more information contact Carol Rowedder at 308-237-2635. LEXINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY Check out our new "Can't wait to read it" display in the new book section. The display shows book covers of books the library is waiting to receive. You can place a hold on these titles at the circulation desk. The Lexington Public Library will closed Sunday, Jan. 1 and Monday, Jan. 2 for the New Year Holiday. The Library will re-open on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 9:00 a.m. We wish everyone a safe, fun, and relaxing holiday break! The Lexington Public Librarys Gently Used Booksale is now! We have a variety of books available for you to choose from. Hardback books are now $1.00 each, everything else is $0.50 per item. Shop for yourself, for your family and friendsand support the Lexington Public Library. All proceeds go to the Library Memorial Fund and are used to support Library programs. The Lexington Public Librarys Monday Afternoon Book Club will meet at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, January 9, 2017. We will discuss The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans. You can check out a copy of the book at the Library, then join us to discuss this Christmas love story. We look forward to seeing you. Novel Stitchers meets on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m. If you enjoy stitching--knitting, crocheting, quilting, cross stitch, needlepoint, or have another portable stitching project--join us at the library for two hours of stitching and visiting. We will meet on Tuesdays, January 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Lexington Public Library Board Room. We would love to have you join us. Storytime at the Lexington Public Library will begin Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 10:30 a.m. and continue on Wednesday mornings through the spring. Pre-readers and their caregivers are invited to join us for stories, songs, and activities. Make time in your week for this fun and educational pre-school activity. LEXINGTON GRAND GENERATION CENTER Exercise room is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Every Sunday Center available for rent Wednesday 9:15 a.m. - Go3Life 9:30 a.m. - Coffee/Crafts 12:45 p.m. - Cards 1:30 p.m. - FROG 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. - Hot cookies 3 p.m. - Strength Training Thursday 9:15 a.m. - Tai Chi 9:45 a.m. - Dancercise 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. - BP/BS Testing 1 p.m. - Wii Bowling Friday 9:15 a.m. - Go4Life 12:45 p.m. - Cards 1 p.m. - FROG LEXINGTON GRAND GENERATION CENTER MENU Homemade bread everyday. Choice of skim, 2% or chocolate milk. No reservations needed except for large groups. Serving time: 11:30 a.m. Wednesday Baked ham, buttered yams, mixed veggies, pineapple chunks Thursday Sweet and sour chicken, baked potaoes, wax beans, oranges, peanut butter cake Friday Taco bar, tator tots, candy corn, peaches COZAD COMMUNITY SCHOOLS MENU Breakfast Wednesday Pop tart, yogurt, cereal, fruit, fruit juice, milk Thursday Scrambled eggs, sausage, cereal, fruit, fruit juice, milk Friday Biscut and gravy, cereal, fruit, fruit juice, milk Lunch Wednesday Pizza, garden bar, peaches, brownie, milk Thursday Chili, carrots, celery, pears, cinnamon roll, milk Friday Beef sliders, chips, broccoli/cheese, mix fruit, milk LEXINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS MENU Breakfast Wednesday Pop tart, cheese stick, fruit cup, 100 percent fruit juice Thursday Pancake on a stick, applesauce cup, apple at MS/HS, 100 percent frui juice Friday Cinnamon waffles, orange wedges, 100 percent fruit juice Lunch Wednesday Beef hot dog, hamburger or burrito, yogurt/cheese/banana bread, tater tots, mandarin oranges Thursday Beef quesadilla, hamburger or burrito, yogurt/cheese/banana bread, corn, spanish rice, peaches Friday Breaded chicken sandwich, hamburger or burrito, yogurt/cheese/banana bread, mashed potato/gravy, green beans, pears OVERTON PUBLIC SCHOOL MENU Breakfast Wednesday Breakfast pizza Thursday French toast sticks and sausage Friday Flatbread breakfast sandwich Lunch Wednesday Spaghetti and meat sauce, green beans. cottage cheese, peaches, pears, garlic toast Thursday Chicken noodles, mashed potatoes, roll, grapes, peas, applesauce Friday Hot dog bar, tri-taters, baked beans, jello, mandarin oranges ORGANIZATIONS Al-Anon (Day Time) meets Thursday noon to 1 p.m. at Grace Lutheran Church. Use office door. For more information call 308-324-5301. NA group, "A Way Out," meets every Sunday night, 7 p.m. at the Lexington Christian Church, 1206 N. Erie. NA group - A Way Out - "Letting Go," meets Tuesdays, 7 p.m. at Plum Creek Mall, Suite 3, use north doors. NA group also meets Sundays and Thursdays at 7 p.m. at First Christian Church, located at 13th and Erie Street, use north doors. Al-Anon & AA - Lexington: at 8 p.m. on Mondays at First Christian Church, 13th and Erie, south door. Al-Anon at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays at the Lexington Regional Health Center Board Room; AA at 8 p.m. at Fitness Center Education Room. Contact: 324-5301, 324-2288, 858-4582, or 991-8246. AA Elwood: at 8 p.m. on Sundays at United Methodist Church, 601 Rush in Elwood. Contact: 785-3567 (Tom). Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings, non-smoking: at noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at St. Anns Catholic Church basement, 301 E. Sixth St. Contact: 320-2564, or 858-4821. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings, non-smoking - Smithfield: At 8 p.m. on Thursdays at Hope Lutheran Church, 74098 Road 436 in Smithfield. Call 785-3567 or 472-3376. Celebrate Recovery: a 12-step, anonymous program helping participants overcome any hurts, habits, addictions or hang-ups. Meets twice: 1) at 7 p.m. on Thursdays at Lexington Evangelical Free Church, 810 S. Washington Street. Contact: 308-324-3825 or 308-238-1298. 2) at 6:30 p.m. on Fridays at Parkview Baptist Churchs Y.A.C., 1105 Park St.. Contact: 308-324-4410. Central Community College Adult Basic Education and English as Second Language in Lexington. Basic reading, writing, math and spelling. Citizenship classes, preparation for the high school equivalency (GED) exam. All classes open to individuals 16 years or older not enrolled in secondary school. Contact Marilynn Hersh at 324-8483 or 324-8480. An annual fee applies to all students. Central Health Center at 1308 N. Adams: provides pap test, free HIV/AIDS counseling and testing, sexually transmitted infection screening, pregnancy testing, emergency contraception. Hours: Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesdays 1-7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Services available by appointment or walk-in. Sliding scale fees charged. Insurance accepted, donations welcome. Contact 324-6944 for information. The Compassionate Friends, Lexington Area Chapter (a support group for parents who have lost a child), meets the third Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m., at the Great Western Drive-In bank meeting room, corner of 6th and Lincoln. For more information call 308-320-1483. Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska Public Immunization Clinic, 1st & 3rd Mondays every month: Open 10 a.m.-noon and 2-4 p.m. by appointment at 931 West 7th St., Lexington. Clinics serve ages 2 months - 18 years. Children must be accompanied by an adult, previous vaccination records required. Contact 308-865-1352 ext. 143. Dawson/Gosper County CASA: seeking Volunteers. CASA Volunteers are everyday people from all walks of life, who advocate through the court system in the interests of children. Contact 324-7364 for more information. Double Trouble in Recovery: starts June 4 on Mondays from 12 to 1 p.m. at Heartland Counseling, 307 5th St., Lexington. For more information contact Heartland Counseling at 308-324-6754. Gamblers Anonymous: at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays at Richard Young Hospital, 1755 Prairie View Place, Kearney. n Lexington Area Grief Support Group: meets at 4:30 p.m. on the first Mondays of each month at Fitness Center, 1600 W. 13th Street. Open to anyone experiencing the death of a loved one. Contact Lexington Regional Health Center Home Health office, 324-8300. Lexington Genealogical Society: at 2 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month at Lexington Public Library. Visitors welcome. Lexington Kiwanis: meets at noon every Wednesday at Grand Generation Center. Lexington Lions Club: meets at 6:30 p.m. on the fourth Monday of every month at Grand Generation Center. Contact any member or attend any meeting to join. Lexington MS Group: meets at 7 p.m. on the first Monday of each month in the Community Education Room at the Lexington Regional Health Center Fitness Center. Lexington Optimist Club: meets at noon on Thursdays at Kirks Restaurant. Lexington Rotary Club: meets at noon every Wednesdays at the Grand Generation Center. Love In Action Outreach Ministry: Located at 907 W. 8th Street in Lexington, is in need of mens clothing, all sizes and styles; pots pans, serving dishes and utensils; bedding, crib sheets, twin size, reg. size, queen and king size, pillows, blankets, beds; winter coats and jackets. Bring to 907 W. 8th during our regular operating hours, Monday through Friday, 1 - 4 p.m. Monday to Friday we have bag sales, small bag $10.00 and large bag $15.00 dollars. Closed Saturdays, Sundays & all Federal Holidays. MOMS (Making Our Mothering Significant): resources and relationships to encourage for mothers of all ages. Meets from 8:45-11 a.m. every other Thursday at Parkview Baptist Church, 803 W. 18th, Lexington. Narcotic Anonymous (New) A Way Out: at 7 p.m. on Sunday nights at First Christian Church at 1206 N. Erie, use South door, Contact: Don, 651-9294. Overeaters Anonymous: meets at 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays at Cozad Hospital meeting room and at 10 a.m. on Saturdays at the Fitness Centers conference room in Lexington. Contact 308-785-2064 or 308-537-3063. Parkinsons Support Group: meets at 7 p.m. on the first Monday of the month at United Methodist Church, E and McDonald, North Platte. Contact 534-7404. Phoenix Group for divorce recovery: meets at 7 p.m. on Mondays in the Friendship Room at First United Methodist Church Kearney, 46th Street and Linden Drive. Contact Julie, 234-9986. Recovery Education for persons who have a family member or loved one dealing with abused substances. This free program is at 5 p.m. every Tuesday at Heartland Counseling, 307 East 5th St., Lexington. For questions, call Jennifer Sand at 324-6754. The Riverdale Rounders Country and Bluegrass Jam Session: second Thursdays, Riverdale Community Center. Bring instrument or come and enjoy. Contact: John Shafer, 236-6559 after 5 p.m. Many of President-elect Trumps top-level cabinet appointments Donald Trump make the future direction of public policy in some areas less clear. His nominee for Defense Secretary has openly contradicted Trumps claims about the efficacy of torture for extracting information from suspected terrorists. His nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services has advocated a massive overhaul of Medicare, a program Trump has vowed not to touch. But on trade policy, Trumps appointments have been consistent with his repeated promises to push hard against China and other nations that sell their goods into the United States. That continued Tuesday morning, with the announcement that Robert Lighthizer has been named the Trump administrations U.S. Trade Representative. Related: It Looks Like Trump Is Serious About Starting a Trade War With China Lighthizer, who served as a deputy United States Trade Representative during the Reagan administration, has been chair of the international trade law practice at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom for more than 30 years. In that capacity, he has represented U.S. firms in suits alleging unfair trade practices by foreign firms. According to the Trump transition team, He has worked on scores of successful cases that resulted in reducing unfair imports and helping thousands of American workers and numerous businesses. Trump touted Lighthizers dealmaking skills in announcing the appointment, saying, Ambassador Lighthizer is going to do an outstanding job representing the United States as we fight for good trade deals that put the American worker first. He has extensive experience striking agreements that protect some of the most important sectors of our economy and has repeatedly fought in the private sector to prevent bad deals from hurting Americans. He will do an amazing job helping turn around the failed trade policies which have robbed so many Americans of prosperity. Lighthizer joins a team that has already signaled that Trumps promise to get confrontational on international trade issues was not an idle one. Story continues Related: Conservative Economists Mock Trump Campaigns Trade Proposals Last month, Trump named university of California-Irvine economist Peter Navarro to head the newly created White House National Trade Council. A noted trade hawk, Navarro has been highly critical of China over the years, authoring a book in 2011 called Death by China: One Job at a Time. When it was turned into a movie, as though the title wasnt clear enough, it was advertised with a poster showing a knife inscribed Made in China plunged into a flag-draped United States of America with blood pouring out of it. The third leg of the Trump trade stool is venture capital billionaire Wilbur Ross, who Trump tapped to head the Commerce Department. Ross, an adviser to Trump during the presidential campaign, has a long history of doing business with and even praising China. However, during the campaign, he locked arms with Trump and Navarro, co-authoring op-eds and white papers with the economist that counseled strong protectionist trade policies. It is a very high honor to represent our nation and to serve in President-elect Trumps administration as the U.S. Trade Representative, said Lighthizer in a statement. I am fully committed to President-elect Trumps mission to level the playing field for American workers and forge better trade policies, which will benefit all Americans. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: President-elect Donald Trump sent out a tweet Tuesday morning threatening to tax General Motors for manufacturing abroad. "General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border," Trump tweeted. "Make in U.S.A. or pay big border tax!" In a statement, however, GM said most Chevy Cruze vehicles sold in the US were manufactured in Ohio. It added that the company produced an international version of the Cruze, the model to which Trump was most likely referring, in Mexico and did sell some of those vehicles in the US. "GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, with a small number sold in the US," GM said. Shares of the automaker slipped by about 1% in premarket trading after the tweet. Since his election, Trump has used Twitter to encourage several large companies to keep production and jobs in the US. Indiana said it would provide up to $7 million in tax incentives to the air-conditioner maker Carrier to persuade it to keep hundreds of jobs in Indiana that were originally planned to be sent to Mexico. Late last year, several of Trump's tweets about public companies moved the markets. He said the cost of Boeing's contract to develop a new Air Force One was "exorbitant," sending the company's shares lower. His tweet calling for the US to expand its nuclear capability until the "world comes to its senses regarding nukes" spiked a uranium exchange-traded fund. Trump also commented that the cost of the F-35 fighter-jet program was out of control, sending shares of Lockheed Martin down 4%. Trump said last month that he had sold all of his stocks in June. General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A.or pay big border tax! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 NOW WATCH: Watch Yellen explain why the Federal Reserve decides to raise rates More From Business Insider Donald Trump said Tuesday that House Republicans should focus on more important policy than their surprise effort to weaken an independent ethics office. But in his tweeted statement, Trump held back any serious criticism of their action, calling the ethics watchdog "unfair" to lawmakers. In a closed-door meeting Monday, a day before the start of the 115th Congress, the House GOP adopted a rules package amendment to put the Office of Congressional Ethics under the jurisdiction of the House Ethics Committee. The move effectively gives the lawmakers themselves oversight over investigations into misconduct by lawmakers and staff. It will also prevent more information from being released to the public. The plan sparked immediate outrage, with House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi calling ethics "the first casualty of the new Republican Congress." Some Democrats tied Trump to the move and said that it showed his campaign pledges to rid Washington of corruption were already getting abandoned. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., who introduced the amendment, argued that it would increase due process protection for House members. The GOP will vote on the package later Tuesday. Trump's statement also pits him against GOP lawmakers on only the first day of a new Congress. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who helped to craft the Office of Congressional Ethics while a congressman, slammed Trump for calling it "unfair" to lawmakers. House Speaker Paul Ryan, who initially opposed the amendment, defended it on Tuesday. He argued in a statement that "this House will hold its members to the highest ethical standards and the office will continue to operate independently to provide public accountability to Congress." Story continues "The Office will continue to be governed by a bipartisan independent outside board with ultimate decision-making authority. The Office is still expected to take in complaints of wrongdoing from the public," Ryan said. "It will still investigate them thoroughly and independently. And the outside board will still decide whether or not evidence exists to warrant a full investigation by the House Ethics Committee." Under the GOP move, ethics complaints from anonymous accusers would no longer be accepted. The proposed rule also says that "the office shall be subject to the authority and direction of the Committee on Ethics." Top Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway also defended the House GOP's action. In a CNBC interview Tuesday, she said Americans should not get "the impression, somehow, that ethics is gone now." By Steve Holland WASHINGTON, Jan 2 (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to pick Robert Lighthizer to serve as his U.S. Trade Representative, tapping a seasoned trade negotiator to enact a key aspect of his agenda, senior transition officials said on Monday. Lighthizer served as a deputy U.S. trade representative with the rank of ambassador under Republican President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, according to a biography posted on the web site of Skadden Arps, the law firm where he is currently a partner. In the decades since he has represented U.S. clients in antidumping cases and pushed to open access to foreign markets, the biography says. As Trump's trade representative, Lighthizer would play a key role in enacting a get-tough policy that could heighten tensions with China and other key U.S. trading partners. However, he likely will not serve as the main architect of Trump's trade policy. According to a transition spokesman, that role will go to billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, who Trump has picked to serve as Commerce Secretary. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to renegotiate international trade deals like NAFTA and punish companies that ship work overseas. Trump has kept up the rhetoric since his surprise November election. He criticized China on Twitter on Monday for "taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade" while refusing to rein in nuclear-armed North Korea. (Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Michael Perry) Americans are feeling uneasy about President-elect Donald Trumps ability to deal with international challenges and use military force wisely, and the real estate mogul is providing them with plenty of provocations to worry about. A new Gallup survey finds that only 46 percent of Americans are confident in Trumps ability to handle an international crisis, and only 47 percent believe he would use U.S. military force wisely. By contrast, at least seven in ten Americans had confidence in Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton before each of them took office. Related: Trumps Nuke Talk Could Break the Budget or Much, Much Worse In the run-up to his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump has repeatedly rattled Chinas cage with sharp criticism of its trade and geopolitical policies, and his phone conversation with the Taiwan president disrupted decades of diplomatic protocol barring such communications. Trump has virtually sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin against the U.S. intelligence community by questioning whether Russian hackers meddled in the U.S. election. He declared that the U.S. must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability, all but inviting a renewal of the nuclear arms race. And faced with the threat from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that his rogue nation might soon test an intercontinental ballistic missile that potentially could reach the United States, Trump flatly declared It wont happen in a tweet on Monday, without providing a sense of what the diplomatic or military consequences for North Korea might be. Related: Trump Doubles Down on the Threat of a Nuclear Arms Race Trump has refused to relinquish his Twitter account since his surprise victory in November, despite mounting criticism from Democrats, public policy experts and others that it is a highly imprecise and reckless way to set policy and interact with foreign leaders. This is especially true since his national security, defense and foreign affairs team is still a work in progress and many of this top nominees are awaiting Senate confirmation. Story continues Bruce Klingner, a Heritage Foundation senior research fellow and specialist on North and South Korea, said in an interview on Tuesday that I would hope once Mr. Trump becomes president hell stop using a Twitter account to send signals about U.S. policy. Statements during the campaign as well as subsequent post-election tweets have generated questions and concerns amongst our allies, because they raise questions of what U.S. policy will be under Mr. Trump, said Klingner, a one-time CIA deputy division chief. Things that raise questions about U.S. commitment or resolve to support our allies, or conversely, suggestions of military action are catching allies by surprise. Related: Russian State Media Warns that Trump Is Facing a Coup dEtat And while unpredictability may be good in business negotiations, its less than optimal for alliance management, he added. Every word, every nuance issued by a U.S. president is parsed and analyzed and over-analyzed for suggestions of any policy change And Twitter, with its 140-character limit, is extremely constrained in conveying nuance. Michael OHanlon, a defense and foreign policy expert with the Brookings Institution, agrees with Klingner that Twitter is not a good tool for diplomacy. The reason is NOT for its lack of politesse, OHanlon said in an email. The Chinese dont deserve polite words on the subject of North Korea and certainly North Koreas leadership deserves no soft words. However, once Trump fails to stop the ICBM launch (as he will, even if he decides to shoot it down after launch), his words will have rung hollow, and that will weaken him and hurt his credibility. Related: Was Trumps Nuclear Tweet a Poke at Putin? So for the good of his own reputation and that of the US, he shouldnt promise to stop things that he may well fail to prevent, OHanlon added. Trump followed his warning to Kim with another potshot at China, North Koreas main patron and trading partner. Trump complained that while China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S., it wont help with North Korea in tamping down Kims fast expanding nuclear program. Nice! Trump added sarcastically. China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017 Some experts agree with Trump that China could have brought more pressure on North Korea to rein in its nuclear program, although that carried risks of retaliation or heightened tensions between China and its neighbor. The United States and South Korea have responded to North Korean nuclear and missile tests with escalating economic sanctions. Last month, the UN Security Council imposed new sanctions on North Korea designed to cut its annual export revenue by a quarter, after Pyongyang carried out is fifth and largest nuclear test in September. China went along with the sanctions, but complained that the United States and its ally South Korea were intensifying confrontation with North Korea through military exercises. Related: The Pentagon Must Now Reveal the True Cost of War to All Americans In response to Trumps latest tweets, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that China had been pressing for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, according to media reports. "China's efforts in this regard are perfectly obvious," Geng told reporters. Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway was asked on ABCs Good Morning America on Tuesday what Trump intended to do to stop North Korea's nuclear expansion. "He's not stated that publicly, and he won't before he's inaugurated," Conway said. "But we do know that there are sanctions that are possible They have not always worked. I think China would have to have a significant role here as well. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Donald Trump President-elect Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that no more detainees should be released from Guantanamo Bay. "There should be no further releases from Gitmo," Trump said in the tweet, using an alternate name for the US detention camp in Cuba. "These are extremely dangerous people and should not be allowed back onto the battlefield." President Barack Obama vowed to close the detention camp at the beginning of his presidency. Detainees at Guantanamo Bay are held indefinitely. The military prison opened after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the US to hold suspects captured in the fight against Al Qaeda. Sixty detainees are left at Guantanamo, about a third of whom have been cleared for release, according to the Associated Press. NOW WATCH: 'They haven't played by the rules': Trump accuses China of 'massive theft of intellectual property' and unfairly taxing US companies More From Business Insider Updated 1:15 p.m. ET President-elect Donald Trump threatened to tax any vehicles shipped from Mexico to the U.S. by General Motors (NYSE:GM), continuing his criticism of car production south of the border. Trump, who has heavily criticized Ford (NYSE:F) for planning a new factory in Mexico, on Tuesday slammed GM for making Chevrolet Cruze compact cars in the country. General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A. or pay big border tax! Trump wrote on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR). GM, the largest U.S. automaker, responded later Tuesday by saying that all of its Cruze sedans sold in the U.S. are built in an assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio. The company builds the new Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, and a small number of those hatchbacks are sold in America, GM said in a statement. The hatchback version of the Cruze went on sale in the fall. Glenn Johnson, president of a United Auto Workers union local at GMs Lordstown factory, dismissed the criticism, telling the Associated Press that the Ohio plant isnt equipped to build the hatchback Cruze. He said hatchback production amounts to less than a days worth of output for the Ohio plant. It makes for news, thats all, Johnson said of Trumps tweet, according to the AP. In 2016, GM sold 171,552 units of the Chevrolet Cruze through November. GM does not break down sales of the sedan versus the hatchback. Cruze sales were down 18% year-over-year with one month of sales to go. Still, the entry-level vehicle was the fourth-best selling model for Chevrolet during that period behind the Silverado truck, Malibu midsize sedan and Equinox crossover. This isnt the first time an automaker has come under fire from Trump. Ford planned on building a $1.6 billion factory in Mexico, where the company would move production of small cars beginning in 2018. CEO Mark Fields announced on Tuesday that Ford has dropped those plans, citing slow sales and Trumps pro-growth policy proposals. Story continues Trump also made headlines following a conversation with Ford Chairman Bill Ford, who promised Trump that Lincoln MKC production would remain in Louisville, Ky. The MKC was originally destined for Mexico. Mexico has become a hotbed of automotive production over the last two decades, attracting GM, Ford and import brands including Honda (NYSE:HMC). Companies have sought Mexicos lower labor costs in the production of small cars, which are less profitable than hot-selling trucks and sport-utility vehicles. Automakers have been under additional pressure from weak demand for cars like the Cruze. Sales of SUVs and pickup trucks far outpaced passenger cars in 2016, forcing GM, Ford and others to cut production of small cars. GM announced in November that it would cut a third shift and lay off 1,250 workers at the Ohio plant because of sagging demand for cars. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (NYSE:FCAU) even pulled its Chrysler 200 off assembly lines. The industry sold 8.4% fewer passenger cars in the U.S. through November of last year, according to Autodata. Sales of light trucks, including SUVs, crossovers and vans, were up 7%. Automakers are due to report December and full-year 2016 sales on Wednesday. Related Articles Donald Trump In an abrupt reversal Tuesday afternoon, House Republicans dropped a proposal to gut an ethics office overseeing them, after coming under intense criticism from President-elect Donald Trump and others. The reversal came just hours after Trump criticized the House GOP for making the ethics rules change an initial priority of the new Congress. "With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority," Trump posted in two tweets. "Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS" Incoming White House press secretary and communications director Sean Spicer later added in a conference call with reporters that Trump's tweets were a "question of priorities." "He says their focus should be on tax reform and healthcare," he said. "It's not a question of strengthening or weakening it's a question of priorities." House Republicans had voted Monday night to weaken the Office of Congressional Ethics, a nonpartisan ethics watchdog, in a closed-door meeting. The lawmakers voted to place the office under the oversight of the House Ethics Committee, which gives them more control over the independent body tasked with investigating their behavior. It was a measure that was added to a larger rules package expected to pass on Tuesday. The proposal to gut the ethics office was withdrawn Tuesday afternoon by unanimous consent. The new rules would have eliminated the office's spokesperson, its ability to investigate anonymous tips, its ability to alert law enforcement if has identified a crime, and its authority to publicly release allegations of wrongdoing, a mandate that the formal House Ethics Committee does not have. House Republicans said this was because the public releases had undermined their own due process in investigations. OCE was created in 2008 after a series of House corruption scandals. Story continues "The OCE has a serious and important role in the House, and this amendment does nothing to impede their work," said Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, who sponsored the measure. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who created the office, expressed dismay with the decision. "Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress," the California Democrat said in a statement. House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy were reportedly against the measure. "After eight years of operation, many members believe the Office of Congressional Ethics is in need of reform to protect due process and ensure it is operating according to its stated mission," Ryan said in a Tuesday statement. "I want to make clear that this House will hold its members to the highest ethical standards and the Office will continue to operate independently to provide public accountability to Congress. The Office will continue to be governed by a bipartisan independent outside board with ultimate decision-making authority." "I have made clear to the new chair of the House Ethics Committee that it is not to interfere with the Office's investigations or prevent it from doing its job," he later added. "All members of Congress are required to earn the public's trust every single day, and this House will hold members accountable to the people." MSNBC host and former GOP congressman Joe Scarborough on Tuesday also lashed out at the Republican lawmakers who voted to gut the office. "Dudes, dudettes, what's wrong with you?" Scarborough asked on "Morning Joe." He suggested Trump should oppose the measure, with which he later expressed dismay. "This seems like a great opportunity for the incoming president to show his independence, show he wants to drain the swamp, and immediately start hammering them on this," Scarborough said. "This is ridiculous. This is what happens. Time and time again, a party takes control of power, and Republicans have complete power, and their first act out of the gate it's just complete arrogance. It's a horrific misstep." "This needs to be reversed," he later added. "Paul Ryan needs to take charge, and say 'You guys are looking like idiots and like you have something to hide. This is not how we're supposed to start our new Republican era.'" Maxwell Tani and Reuters contributed to this story. NOW WATCH: This is what it's really like at Trump Tower which is disrupting life in New York More From Business Insider Trumps Inaugural Rabbi, Marvin Hier, is outraged that the U.S. snubbed Israel at the United Nations. Not only was it outrageous but imagine, just a few weeks before a new president takes office to pull a stunt like that? he told the FOX Business Networks Stuart Varney. Last month, the U.S. refused to veto a resolution passed by the United Nations Security County demanding an end to Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory. The resolution called Israeli settlements in the West Bank a violation of international law. What we have before us now is a three-state solution. Its like an accordion. You have Ramallah on one side the Hamas terrorists in Gaza and you have Israel in the middle, he said. To say that settlements [are] the reason that, that is the only obstacle for a two-state solution is untrue, ridiculous and prejudicial. Related Articles WASHINGTON (AP) -- Donald Trump says he is confident North Korea won't develop a nuclear-tipped missile that could strike the United States. But his options for stopping the reclusive communist country are slim: diplomacy that would reward Pyongyang, sanctions which haven't worked, and military action that no one wants. For more than two decades, Republican and Democratic administrations have tried carrots and sticks to steer North Korea away from nuclear weapons. Each has failed. And as Trump prepares to take office Jan. 20, the stakes are rising. Pyongyang may already be able to arm short-range and mid-range missiles with atomic warheads, threatening U.S. allies South Korea and Japan, and American forces in each country. On Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said preparations for launching an intercontinental ballistic missile "reached the final stage." Trump tweeted the following day: "It won't happen!" Some experts believe the North is likely to have the capability to strike the U.S. mainland before Trump's four-year term is up. The president-elect has given conflicting signals about what he plans to do, while stressing that China, North Korea's traditional ally, must exert greater pressure on its unpredictable neighbor. Some of his options: ___ DIPLOMACY In June, Trump called for dialogue with North Korea and suggested a talk with Kim over a hamburger. If only talking with the secretive, hereditary rulers in Pyongyang were so simple. No sitting U.S. president has ever done so. Diplomacy with the North is a delicate dance and agreements have proved temporary. Three U.S. administrations, going back to President Bill Clinton, have persuaded the North to disarm in exchange for aid. Each effort eventually failed, and there is deep skepticism in Congress about trying again. A 1994 deal would have given North Korea nuclear power reactors and normalized ties with Washington. North Korea's plutonium production paused for several years. But after it emerged the North also was seeking to use uranium for weapons, the arrangement collapsed. Story continues Six-nation nuclear negotiations hosted by China have been on ice since North Korea withdrew in 2009. The Obama administration attempted to restart them in 2012, early in Kim's rule, by offering food aid for a nuclear and missile freeze. Within weeks, the North tried to launch a long-range rocket. The effort was abandoned. Since then, the U.S. has resorted to "strategic patience" demanding North Korea recommit to denuclearization before holding talks. Pyongyang has refused, demanding the U.S. end military exercises with South Korea and negotiate a peace treaty to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War. American officials fear the North only would want talks to ease its isolation, and not to resolve the nuclear question. ___ SANCTIONS International sanctions have tightened since North Korea conducted its first of five nuclear tests in 2006. But the country has adeptly circumvented restrictions on sensitive technology and money flows, and used its own capabilities to develop weapons. Additional U.S. sanctions, beefed up last year, punish foreign companies and banks dealing with North Korea. They, too, haven't been effective because the North's international isolation makes it less susceptible to such pressure than a major economy like Iran, which curbed its nuclear program in 2015 after being battered by oil, trade and financial sanctions. China's role is critical. It dominates trade with the North and has resisted sanctions that could destabilize Pyongyang, fearing the possibility of a U.S.-allied, unified Korea emerging. When the U.N. Security Council punished Pyongyang for another nuclear test in September, the primary goal was closing a loophole that enabled China to import North Korean coal at record levels. The last several U.S. administrations entered office determined to break Beijing's partnership with Pyongyang. None succeeded. ___ MILITARY Using military force against North Korea is extremely risky. Even before it developed nuclear weapons, the North maintained the ability to strike Seoul, South Korea's capital, with a potentially devastating artillery barrage. Although doing so would invite a blistering U.S. response, it's hardly a scenario any American commander-in-chief wants to contemplate. The military option has been considered before. Clinton considered a strike on the North's nuclear facilities after it announced it would reprocess fuel from a nuclear reactor, providing it plutonium for bombs. Diplomacy appeared to win out that time with the 1994 agreement. A military strike would be harder to pull off now. North Korea has expanded its nuclear and missile programs significantly, meaning more targets would have to be hit. And regional support would be questionable. In a recent paper, former U.S. negotiator Joel Wit said the escalation risk meant neither South Korea nor Japan would likely support a military strike. It could also draw into the conflict China, which fought on North Korea's side against U.S.-led forces six decades ago. (Updates with parliamentary vote, adds more background) ANKARA, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Turkey's parliament voted on Tuesday in favour of extending emergency rule by a further three months, effective from January 19, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported. Emergency rule, first imposed in Turkey after an abortive military coup on July 15 and then extended in October, enables the government to bypass parliament in enacting new laws and to limit or suspend rights and freedoms when deemed necessary. Turkey has formally arrested more than 40,000 people during the investigation of the coup, which it has blamed on Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers. Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the United States, denies any involvement. More than 100,000 people in total, including soldiers, police officers, teachers, judges and journalists, have been suspended from their jobs over suspected links to Gulen and his movement. The extension of emergency rule comes as Turkey reels from a series of deadly attacks by Islamist or Kurdish militants, most recently on Sunday when a lone gunman shot dead 39 people in a packed Istanbul nightclub during New Year celebrations. (Reporting by Ercan Gurses; Writing by Daren Butler and Ece Toksabay; Editing by Gareth Jones) Istanbul (AFP) - Turkey's parliament on Tuesday approved a government-backed motion to extend by another three months the state of emergency imposed in the wake of the July 15 failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The state of emergency -- which has seen tens of thousands lose their jobs or be arrested on suspicion of links to the putsch -- had already been prolonged once before and was due to expire on January 19. Ankara argues the state of emergency is needed to eradicate the influence in Turkish institutions of the US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, who it blames for the failed coup. Gulen denies the charges. However, the state of emergency -- which is now set to last at least nine months -- has troubled the European Union which fears it has been used for a broad crackdown against Erdogan critics and not just suspected coup plotters. According to the latest figures published by the state-run Anadolu news agency, over 41,000 people have been arrested over suspected links to Gulen in the investigation. Meanwhile, over 103,000 people have been investigated as part of the probe, it added. The state of emergency gives the government special powers to fire state employees and close down associations, including media groups. It also extends the time that suspects can be held in jail without being charged. Erdogan had in November already hinted that the state of emergency would be extended, lashing out at the European Parliament which had backed freezing membership talks with Turkey over the emergency powers. "What's it to you?" he said in comments directed at the European Parliament. "Is the European Parliament in charge of this country or is the government in charge of this country?" "Know your place!" he added, in an angry tirade. He noted that France had also put in place a state of emergency after it was hit by a string of Islamist attacks in 2015. Turkish police have released photographs of the suspected attacker that opened fire at Istanbuls Reina nightclub early on New Years Day, killing 39 people and wounding close to 70 others. The publication of the images come as Turkeys Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus confirmed that eight people had been arrested by special forces in connection with the attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State (ISIS) on Monday. A further four people were arrested in separate operations, the BBC reports. According to the BBC, none of the detained are thought to be the gunman. Information about the fingerprints and basic appearance of the terrorist have been found, Kurtulmus told reporters. The next step will be to try to identify him as quickly as we can. We hope we will not only find the terrorist but also his connections and those people who gave him support inside and outside the club, he added. Read More: Istanbul Nightclub Shooting Heralds a New Year of Bloodshed in Turkey Police gave no information on when or where the new images were taken. In addition, video footage has surfaced purporting to show the attacker pointing his gun as he approaches the club. Turkish media also showed video purported to be of the suspect. It features a man in an undisclosed location handing over documents to an official. It is not clear when the video was recorded, and according to the BBC it could not be independently verified. Police sources quoted by Turkish media said that the attacker may have been from Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan. A statement from ISIS described him as a heroic soldier who carried out attacks against Turkey, which the terrorist group described as the servant of the cross. [BBC] ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) The energy-rich Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan said Tuesday that it has restricted natural gas deliveries to Iran over unpaid debts. Turkmenistan's foreign ministry said that its ability to maintain its gas transportation infrastructure has been compromised by Iran's failure to continue paying off old debts since 2013. Officials say gas deliveries were restricted on Jan. 1, but did not specify if they have been halted altogether. The Turkmen government has not specified the size of Iran's outstanding debts, although Iranian state media have put the figure demanded by Turkmenistan at around $2 billion. Turkmenistan says it pleaded with Iran for the past year to resolve the debt arrears but received no response. A gas pipeline was built between Turkmenistan and Iran in 1997. Another route was completed in 2010, bringing Turkmenistan's annual gas export potential to Iran to 12 billion cubic meters. Turkmenistan has been exporting gas to Iran under a 1997 agreement, but occasionally raises its prices during the winter. In 2006, it suspended shipments and demanded a nine-fold price increase. Iran eventually accepted the higher prices for a short period. In 2016, Russia stopped buying gas from Turkmenistan, which is now left with China as its sole customer. Turkmenistan hopes to broaden its client base by building a new gas pipeline passing through Afghanistan, Pakistan and reaching India, although the feasibility of this project is cast into doubt by security concerns and lack of financing. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S.-led coalition carried out flights in support of Turkish forces near the Islamic State-controlled Syrian town of al-Bab last week but did not carry out air strikes, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said on Tuesday. The flights were meant as a "visible show of force," Cook said, "My understanding is that last week there was a request when some Turkish forces came under fire for air support and there... were flights conducted by the coalition at that time," Cook said. The U.S.-led coalition has been reluctant to provide support to NATO member Turkey for its advance towards al-Bab. Turkey recently called on the coalition to provide air support for Turkish-backed troops besieging the town. Rebels supported by Turkish troops have laid siege to al-Bab for weeks under the "Euphrates Shield" operation launched by Turkey nearly four months ago to sweep the Sunni Muslim hardliners and Kurdish fighters from its Syrian border. A U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the flights took place on Thursday. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Alistair Bell) LONDON (Reuters) - British manufacturing growth climbed to a two-and-a-half-year high last month, fuelled by new orders from both home and abroad and adding to signs the economy ended 2016 strongly, a survey showed on Tuesday. The Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 56.1, the strongest reading since June 2014, from 53.6 in November. That exceeded all forecasts in a Reuters poll, which pointed to a decline to 53.1. Britain's economy has fared much better than many economists predicted in the aftermath of June's vote to leave the European Union, with consumer spending strong and companies continuing to perform well. The manufacturing PMI showed domestic and export order books grew, but so did cost pressures facing factories - something that will increasingly feed into consumer prices next year. Survey compiler IHS Markit said the survey was consistent with manufacturing output rising at a quarterly pace of around 1.5 percent. "The boost to competitiveness from the weak exchange rate has undoubtedly been a key driver of the recent turnaround, while the domestic market has remained a strong contributor to new business wins," said Rob Dobson, senior economist at IHS Markit. Dobson added that higher costs were the flip side of the pound's fall since June's Brexit vote, which has left it down around 10 percent on a trade-weighted basis. "Of the companies citing a cause of higher costs, 75 percent linked the increase to the exchange rate," Dobson said. A separate survey of financial officers last week showed business morale has recovered completely its plunge after the Brexit vote. However, companies are reluctant to spend more because of uncertainty about the economic outlook. IHS Markit said investment and intermediate goods manufacturers performed particularly well in December, which could augur well for investment more broadly. Manufacturers hired staff at the fastest rate since October 2015. Britain's economy looks on track to expand by more than 2 percent this year - faster than almost all other big advanced economies except perhaps the United States. Economists polled by Reuters expect Britain's growth rate to more than halve in 2017 to 1.1 percent [ECILT/GB]. * Detailed PMI data are only available under licence from Markit and customers need to apply to Markit for a licence. To subscribe to the full data, click on the link below: http://www.markit.com/Contact-Us For further information, please phone Markit on +44 20 7260 2454 or email economics@markit.com (This story corrects last paragraph to show 2017, not next year.) (Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Larry King) By Kylie MacLellan LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour Party is too weak to win a national election and should look to form an alliance with other smaller parties in order to have a chance of regaining power, a Labour-supporting think tank said on Tuesday. Beset by internal rifts, the party has struggled to articulate a clear position on Brexit which it had campaigned against, giving Prime Minister Theresa May's ruling Conservatives a freer ride as she plots Britain's divorce from the EU. Opinion polls consistently put Labour about 10 percentage points behind the Conservatives and if replicated at the next election due in 2020, Labour would win less than 200 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons for the first time since 1935, the left-wing Fabian Society said. With polling in the past overstating Labour's popularity, it could actually win as few as 140 seats, the think tank, one of Labour's original founders, said in an analysis paper entitled "Stuck". "For the time being Labour has no realistic chance of winning an election outright," said Fabian Society General Secretary Andrew Harrop. "It is much more plausible to imagine a group of anti-Conservative parties securing sufficient votes to form a governing alliance ... although even this would still require a very large reversal in Labour's present fortunes." Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran socialist, was re-elected in September after a challenge from one of his lawmakers that exposed sharp divisions between the party's elected representatives and grassroots supporters. On Monday, the head of Britain's biggest trade union and Labour's largest financial backer was reported as saying he did not think Corbyn would seek to cling on to power if the party's opinion poll ratings were "still awful" in 2019. Commentators say Labour's weakness is giving May breathing space on her plans for Brexit about which she has so far given few details. It has also meant her attention has been on addressing divisions in her own party between those who want a "hard Brexit" with a focus on curbing immigration and those who want Britain to remain in the EU's single market. However, despite its problems and the fact only half of those who voted for the party in 2015 say they support it today, the quirks of Britain's first-past-the-post electoral system mean Labour will not die out, Harrop said. "Labour is too strong to be supplanted by another opposition party; and too weak to have any realistic chance of governing alone ... The question now is whether the party can move forward, not back?" he said. BREXIT DILEMMA Labour's poor ratings and a court battle over whether parliament's approval is needed to begin EU divorce talks have increased speculation that May, appointed prime minister after June's Brexit vote, could seek to boost her slim parliamentary majority by calling a snap vote. Labour already face an upcoming electoral test after lawmaker and vocal Corbyn critic Jamie Reed, whose northern English constituency voted strongly in favor of Brexit, said he would step down this month. In a December election for a vacant Conservative-held parliamentary seat, Labour slipped from second to fourth place. The Fabian Society said Labour faced a "Brexit dilemma" with leave supporters flocking to May's Conservatives and remainers to the pro-EU Liberal Democrats. "Labour needs to be the party for the millions of voters who were neither die-hard remainers nor leavers," said Harrop. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; editing by Michael Holden) Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f335181%2f562cafe1-202b-4ee4-a8c5-254906b6cc0a Its not a new concept. In the late 1790s, American statesman Thomas Paine called for a universal payment of 15 per year to all his countrymen in exchange for the right to hold private property. First suggested over 200 years ago, the idea of universal basic income never quite went away, and in many circles, its actually picking up steam. Progressive Finland is officially the first sovereign nation to put it to the test. Two-thousand Finnish citizens, who were selected randomly from those currently receiving unemployment benefits or an income subsidy, will now receive 560 ($587) a month. Everyone gets the same amount of money whether they work or not. The pilot will run for the next two years, and may eventually expand to include all Finns. Why the renewed interest in universal basic income now? Stagnant wages since the early aughts is one major reason, as is the declining share of total income earned by workers compared with companies. In the private sector, though, the attraction is based on the fear that in the near future, many human jobs will be automated or otherwise taken over by machine intelligence. This notion has been gaining traction since 2013, when a paper by Oxford economists Frey and Osborne predicted that nearly 50 percent of modern jobs were at risk of computerization. To many, this isnt necessarily a bad thing. Albert Wenger, a partner at the venture capital firm Union Square Ventures, shared insights from his book World After Capital with the website fivethirtyeight.com. We should spend less time on tasks that could be automated and more time on issues that are insufficiently addressed: fighting climate change, exploring space, preventing the next global pandemic, he said. With a basic income, youll have 100 percent of your time available to you and innovation will flourish. In a speech about basic income covered by Fivethirtyeight, Werner posed a pair of simple questions to his audience: What do you really want to do with your life? Are you doing what you really want to do? Whatever the answers, Werner said, basic income is the means to achieve those goals. If people no longer had to worry about making ends meet, they could pursue the lives they want to live. Story continues It sounds noble, but is there any evidence that universal basic income actually works? Surprisingly, there is. According to The Economist, the best research we have comes from a small town in Canada. From 1974 to 1979, the Canadian government partnered with the province of Manitoba to run an experiment. The result was MINCOME, a guaranteed annual income offered to every eligible family in Dauphin and a few other rural communities. The program brought most recipients above Canadas poverty line. A majority of primary earners with full-time jobs did not quit those jobs. Rather, diminished economic anxiety allowed participants to live healthier lives and sensibly plan for their futures. In the same article exploring MINCOME, The Economist reported the results of four negative income tax experiments conducted in the U.S. between 1968 and 1980. Families from Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Washington State were assigned into treatment and control groups, given cash and tracked over several years. Called the NIT experiments, these pilots did show a small decline in work effort (five to seven percent for primary earners and slightly more for secondary earners). But as in MINCOME, no one quit outright, and if participants did cut back their work hours, they used them productively usually in the service of education and professional development. Although the universal basic income movement was temporarily stalled when Switzerland voted down its proposed implementation this summer, it shows no signs of going away. More countries, including Canada, France, and the Netherlands are planning limited implementations, and U.S.-based startup investor Y Combinator will shortly launch a study of basic incomes effectiveness." So, if you are relatively young, theres a decent chance that some form of basic income will become a reality in your lifetime. And as to the question of whether you will quit your job, I think it depends on two factors: How much you enjoy it, and how much it contributes to society in a world where most simple tasks will be automated. If your job does both, youll probably keep it with some added benefits. Basic income will provide a leg up in your negotiations with employers, freedom to innovate without fear of negative employment consequences, and a cushion that allows you to adjust your circumstances if necessary. I realize that to some, basic income sounds like a Black Mirror episode with millions of people sitting on their couches all day, bored, listless, and up to no good. But based on what Ive read so far, I believe that if its handled correctly, it could be a positive step forward in the age-old journey to realize our true human potential. Alexandra Levit is a partner at PeopleResults, where she studies the future of work and helps build relationships between organizations and top talent. A former nationally syndicated columnist for the Wall Street Journal and a current writer for the New York Times, Alexandra has authored several books, including the bestselling They Don't Teach Corporate in College, How'd You Score That Gig?, Success for Hire, MillennialTweet, New Job, New You, and Blind Spots. The United States is certain it can defend itself from an attack by North Korea, the Defense Department said Tuesday after Pyongyang warned it was close to test launching a ballistic missile. "We remain confident in our ballistic missile defense and in our defense of our allies and our defense of the homeland," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said at a news briefing. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, in a New Year's speech Sunday, said the country was "in the final stages of test-launching the intercontinental ballistic missile." In 2016, North Korea conducted two nuclear tests and numerous missile launches last year alone in its quest to develop a nuclear weapons system capable of hitting the US mainland. "We would once again call on the North Koreans to refrain from provocative actions," Cook said. Analysts are divided over how close Pyongyang is to realizing its full nuclear ambitions, especially since it has never successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). US President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office on January 20, dismissed Pyongyang's missile claims late Monday. "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US," Trump tweeted. "It won't happen!" North Korea's drive to develop nuclear ballistic missiles capable of striking the United States and its allies has prompted Washington to reinforce its antimissile defenses in the region. The defense strategy is based notably on the AEGIS system, powerful TPY-2 radars and the antiballistic missile system THAAD that Washington is relocating to South Korea, a move that has provoked China, North Korea's main ally. The Pentagon spokesman declined to comment to reporters on whether the US had prepared scenarios on deterrent military actions to stop North Korea from developing nuclear missiles. "We're constantly adjusting to the threat North Korea poses," Cook said. Pyongyang "has shown disregard to the international community for its international obligations," he said. "And we're watching this very, very carefully." Washington (AFP) - Republicans in the US House of Representatives on Monday backed a proposal to take ethics oversight away from an independent group and give the authority to the lawmakers themselves. The proposal by Republican congressman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia would gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics -- which already does not punish lawmakers -- was approved 119-74. House speaker Paul Ryan opposed changing ethics rules but legislators disregarded his leadership on the issue. Goodlatte maintains that altering the ethics review process "strengthens the mission" of the office. "It also improves upon due process rights for individuals under investigation, as well as witnesses called to testify. The (ethics office) has a serious and important role in the House, and this amendment does nothing to impede their work," he said in a written statement Monday. Democrat Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Minority Leader, voiced dismay. "Republicans claim they want to 'drain the swamp,' but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions. "Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress," she said in a statement. "The amendment Republicans approved tonight would functionally destroy this office," she added. President-elect Donald Trump will have a Republican-led House and Senate, when he is sworn in January 20. "Trump's cabinet of billionaires & CEOs have ignored gov ethics rules & dragged their feet on FBI background checks & financial disclosure," Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren said on Twitter. You dont often see Donald Trump pull a punch, but he did it last week. Trump spent his entire campaign deeply angered by how the government treats veterans, particularly regarding their medical care. He promised to overhaul the Veterans Administration (VA) health care system and take care of the vets. Everyone has interpreted this as code for privatizing the VA, a long-awaited conservative goal. But last week at Mar-a-Lago, after a meeting with health care executives about his VA plans, Trump told reporters this: We think we have to have kind of a public-private option, because some vets love the VA. Definitely an option on the table to have a system where potentially vets can choose either/or or all private. If the current VA system is so reviled, so horrific, so offensive in its unfair treatment of veterans, why do some vets love it? Why must it be preserved as a choice? Related: The Pentagon Must Now Reveal the True Cost of War to All Americans Trump appears to be running up against a typical problem for those favoring total overhaul to tweaks along the edges, especially in health care: People fear change over what they have. In the case of the VA, thats certainly true for veterans, who like the current arrangement. And its also true of the privatization-friendly group of experts who looked at the VA just last year. Lets back up: The VA is a unique feature of the U.S. health care system, more reminiscent of Britains National Health Service. Doctors and medical personnel work directly for the VA, and it owns the facilities where they operate. The rationale is that veterans experience several common combat ailments, from traumatic brain injuries to PTSD to amputations requiring prosthetics. Centralizing care at the VA allows for specialization on the unique needs of veterans, which private hospitals lack. The VA serves more than 8.9 million veterans a year at 1,233 facilities. Trump bases his stance on the VA mostly on a 2014 scandal about backlogs for patient care and falsifications of waiting periods, which led to the dismissal of several top officials. But as The Fiscal Times Rob Garver explained, the VAs new leadership has already acted to reform the system and change the agencys culture. Pending claims are way down, virtually all VA facilities extend same-day access to care and performance exceeds the private sector by nearly every measure. Story continues Related: Most Veterans Say They Are Not Treated Well by the Government On top of that, Trumps preferred option of giving veterans the choice of VA or private care has already been implemented, with interesting lessons. After the backlog scandal, Congress passed a reform bill co-authored by Bernie Sanders, and as part of it, a pilot program gave veterans a Choice Card to use at private facilities if their local VA hospital is more than 40 miles away, or if the wait time is over 30 days. This theoretically ensures that no veteran has to wait for or be inconvenienced by seeking medical care. The rollout has been shaky, mainly because the 90-day deadline Congress demanded for setting up the system meant that the VA had to turn to private contractors with a history of botching health care management. This has led to a secondary waitlist for those seeking difficult-to-access private care, along with numerous billing errors and questions of eligibility. There was also no setup for integrating care between VA and non-VA providers, which meant veterans skipping between the two could get duplicative or substandard care. While some have predictably used this to label the VA as incompetent, it says more about the hurdles to delivering a public/private hybrid. Republicans have responded by advocating for a permanent Choice Card, allowing veterans to go to anywhere they want (oddly, they havent offered the same kind of single-payer card for the nations other 300 million-odd citizens to present at any medical facility). That mirrors the Trump plan of a public/private option. But that would further strain a hobbled scheme private contractors couldnt figure out for a much smaller universe of patients. It would also double the costs of the current VA. Related: Two Years After VA Scandal, System Still Stacked Against Vets Its clear that conservatives expect the private market to deliver better service than any public agency. The VA, they expect, would obviously wither on the vine if challenged by the free market. These true believers have perhaps never had to navigate the private health care system and its even longer wait times; comparatively the VA looks like a dream. Republicans tried to lay the groundwork for back-door privatization. The 2014 VA reform legislation mandated a report from a bipartisan Commisson on Care on how to best redesign the VA. This was a stacked deck, widely expected to give Republicans a blue-ribbon pro-privatization report to prove their case. Three of the 15 commissioners were CEOs of health care companies that would financially benefit from breaking up VA hospitals; two others had ties to the Koch Brothers, who have bankrolled the privatization front group Concerned Veterans for America for years. But a funny thing happened. The final report of the Commission on Care did not endorse privatization. It recommended enlisting credentialed community provider networks to increase capacity for veterans care, integrated with the VAs electronic medical records system. The 18 recommendations largely tracked with what VA Secretary Robert McDonald has already been implementing. Related: Obamacare Repeal Could Provide a Huge Tax Break to the 1 Percent When considering privatization, the commission sought feedback from the veterans themselves. Consistent with recent polling, the vets didnt want the VA privatized. They preferred the quality of care at the VA and had problems with outsourcing treatment to non-VA providers. Veterans groups also prefer the current system. Transition officials reportedly met with 30 organizations last month, finding that they held near-unanimous opposition to privatization. American Legion Executive Director Verna Jones said of the VA recently, there is no better care or value available anywhere in the United States period. So like Trump, the Commission on Care pulled its punch. When you cant even get a commission seeded with conservative ideologues to sign off on VA privatization, it shows the formidable nature of the task. The VA continues to be demonized and maligned in conservative media, for the reading benefit of the large numbers of Americans who have no military experience. (Blaming the VA for over-prescription of opioids rather than the drug companies who relentlessly pushed them on patients as a miracle cure is just one example). But those who know and study the system find it indispensable. Maybe when Donald Trump names a VA secretary, theyll figure that out too. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: * Palm sees second session of gains * Boost from lower output, strong soy, weak ringgit - traders (Updates latest prices) By Emily Chow KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures opened the year strongly on Tuesday, rising to a two-week high on weak output and a firm performance by fellow oilseed soy. Palm was also supported by a weaker ringgit, palm's traded currency, which made it cheaper for holders of foreign currencies. Benchmark palm oil futures for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 1.7 percent to 3,163 ringgit ($704) a tonne at the close of trade, its strongest daily gain in a week. The ringgit fell 0.1 percent against the dollar. Palm earlier touched 3,172 ringgit, its highest level since Dec. 19. Traded volumes stood at 43,665 lots of 25 tonnes each at the end of the trading session. "Production is not picking up, we have more shortfall than normal," said a trader from Kuala Lumpur, adding that he expects a double-digit fall in December output compared with November. A second trader said the market was up on a weaker ringgit and strong sentiment rival soy. Palm prices track the movements of soyoil, as they both compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market. Palm oil output in Malaysia, the world's second-largest producer, fell 6.1 percent to 1.57 million tonnes in November from a month earlier. End-stocks rose 5.2 percent to 1.66 million tonnes. Year-end rains from the monsoon season have also disrupted the fruit-harvesting process, causing tight supplies in the market, say traders, who expect to see declines in December output. In related edible oils, the March soybean oil contract on the CBOT rose 0.9 percent, while the May soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was down 0.6 percent. The May contract for Dalian palm olein gained 0.3 percent. Palm, soy and crude oil prices at 1037 GMT Contract Month Last Change Low High Volume MY PALM OIL JAN7 3250 +32.00 3237 3250 200 MY PALM OIL FEB7 3213 +55.00 3180 3227 1537 Story continues MY PALM OIL MAR7 3165 +54.00 3133 3172 18668 CHINA PALM OLEIN MAY7 6240 +20.00 6188 6328 587462 CHINA SOYOIL MAY7 6950 -42.00 6940 7058 365268 CBOT SOY OIL MAR7 34.96 +0.11 34.62 35 7411 INDIA PALM OIL JAN7 582.60 +3.80 575.50 583.7 1641 INDIA SOYOIL JAN7 728.1 +1.30 723.5 731 17460 NYMEX CRUDE FEB7 54.89 +1.17 53.91 55.24 109109 Palm oil prices in Malaysian ringgit per tonne CBOT soy oil in U.S. cents per pound Dalian soy oil and RBD palm olein in Chinese yuan per tonne India soy oil in Indian rupee per 10 kg Crude in U.S. dollars per barrel ($1 = 4.4900 ringgit) ($1 = 68.3099 Indian rupees) ($1 = 6.9581 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Richard Pullin and Louise Heavens) Vice President Joe Biden was in full Uncle Joe mode for his final swearing-in of new and re-elected senators on Tuesday. Compliments, dad jokes and baby kisses (and snubs!) abounded as Biden held ceremonial swearing-ins for all Senate members of the new 115th Congress inside the old Senate chamber at the Capitol. Here are some of Bidens best lines of the day: To Sen. Chuck Schumers mother, after she told Biden how proud she was of her son: I dont think he knows how to do anything else. To Schumers daughter, who greeted the vice president right behind her grandmother: Grandma can do whatever she wants, whenever she wants to do it. To Schumers mother, after Schumer cracked that shed like to make a 10-minute speech: Mom, in my house, mothers rule. If you want to make a 10-minute speech, Ill listen. To the wife of Sen. Johnny Isakson, after greeting her with a kiss: Diane, my sympathies. I dont know how in the hell he got you. After meeting Isaksons young grandsons and granddaughters, Biden addressed the grandsons: You have the hardest job. There are too many beautiful girls in this family. Keep the boys away from your sisters. You guys are going to have a real hard time. It was a running theme. To another senators young son, Biden said: Jasper, youre going to have a hard job keeping the boys away from your sister. In another recurring Bidenism on Tuesday, the vice president told kids to be patient with their dads, because dads are hard to raise. To Sen. Roy Blunts children: Youve got to be very patient. Fathers are hard to raise. To Sen. Marco Rubios children: Dads are very hard to raise so be patient with him. To Rubio himself: Can I have a picture with just the kids? Forget you! Biden also told Rubio: Best of luck pal, best of luck. Over a farewell handshake, Rubio told the vice president, We have a good chance to do some good things here, to which Biden genially responded, Keep the faith, man. Story continues To the wife of Sen. Jerry Moran, after she gave her husband a congratulatory kiss: Why dont you give me a kiss? (She did.) But some, like these babies, were less obliging when it came to showing Biden some affection: Also this baby totally snubbed Biden pic.twitter.com/4lzdw2AIaB Sarah Parnass (@WordsOfSarah) January 3, 2017 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js This baby's all like, dude, don't tickle me. pic.twitter.com/QMdvuYKaOx Sarah Parnass (@WordsOfSarah) January 3, 2017 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js To Sen. Rob Portmans wife: Cmon. Its official already. Theres no way out. No way out. To Portmans daughter: Youve got a smile that lights up the whole city. It wasnt all jokes and flattery. Biden also had a touching exchange with Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, asking after Blumenthals son who is in the Navy. Where is he? Biden asked. I dont know, hes a Seal, the senator replied. Keep the faith, Richard, and thanks for always being so good to my Beau, Biden said, referencing his late son, Beau Biden. Said Blumenthal, Ill always remember him and thank you for your service. Back to Bidening: Asking Blumenthals 23-year-old daughter for a selfie, the vice president told her his granddaughters enjoy teasing him with Snapchat filters: My granddaughter puts ears on me. Thats what granddaughters do. RELATED VIDEO: The Bromance Is Real: Barack Obama and Joe Biden Really Love One Another, Their Wives Say Even during a break in the steady parade of senators, Biden was in full-schtick mode: They say theres a bit of a lull. We dont have anybody named Lull, Biden deadpanned. To the assembly of waiting photographers, he asked: Anyone else want to be sworn in? Replied one of the cameramen: Too much work. Asking an aide how many more senators were yet to stream through the chamber to take the oath, Biden cracked: After our Christmas parties, we had over 5,500 people through, in the line to have a picture taken. At least I wasnt in high heels this time. Things are changing, man! On Jan 3, we issued an updated report on VIVUS, Inc. VVUS. VIVUS three-month share price movement shows that the stock has significantly outperformed the Zacks classified Medical-Biomed/Genetics industry. Specifically, the company gained 3.6% during this period, while the industry lost 8.2%. The company's portfolio comprises two drugs Qsymia for chronic weight management and Stendra (EU trade name: Spedra) for erectile dysfunction (ED). Qsymia, VIVUS key drug, is the first weight loss product to be approved by the FDA in 13 years. However, sales of the drug have been lackluster so far. Its uptake has been slow due to high out-of-pocket costs for patients owing to the lack of reimbursement for the product. Healthcare providers are often hesitant to treat obesity proactively despite the presence of evidence related to cardiometabolic benefits of weight loss among overweight and obese individuals. Qsymia faces intense competition too. The branded obesity market has quite a few established players including Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.s ARNA Belviq, Novo Nordisks Saxenda and Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc.s OREX Contrave. VIVUS is working on ramping up Qsymia sales through the expansion of reimbursement payments and promotional initiatives. The company is also striving to improve patient access while reducing out-of-pocket costs for Qsymia. Moreover, the company is pursuing several programs to increase the utilization of the drug for the eligible patient population. In Jun 2016, the company upgraded a Qsymia Patient Savings Offer in order to attract new patients and offer long-term support related to weight management. Another marketed product in the companys portfolio is Stendra, approved for the treatment of ED. VIVUS has collaborations with several companies for the commercialization of Stendra. It has inked a licensing and commercialization deal with Sanofi SNY for the approval and commercialization of the drug in Africa, the Middle East, Turkey and the Commonwealth of Independent States, including Russia. Moreover, it has a deal with Italy-based privately held pharmaceutical company Menarini in over 40 European countries, Australia and New Zealand. Story continues VIVUS INC Price and Consensus VIVUS INC Price and Consensus | VIVUS INC Quote Zacks Rank VIVUS currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017 In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest tickers for the entirety of 2017? Who wouldn't? These 10 are painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. They are our primary picks to buy and hold. Be among the very first to see them >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SANOFI-AVENTIS (SNY): Free Stock Analysis Report VIVUS INC (VVUS): Free Stock Analysis Report OREXIGEN THERAP (OREX): Free Stock Analysis Report ARENA PHARMA (ARNA): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research In the days before Christmas, Iraqi ground forces entered what a US official called an "operational refit," temporarily pausing their ground operations against ISIS' last Iraqi stronghold in Mosul. But while Iraqi ground forces took a breather, the US-led coalition air campaign against the terror group continued. In a December 23 strike, coalition air forces knocked out an ISIS weapons cache near Mosul, which is Iraq's second-largest city. Three airstrikes on December 23 targeted ISIS tactical units, ISIS buildings, fighting positions, a vehicle and a vehicle-borne improvised-explosive-device factory, and weapons systems. The offensive against Mosul was paused after a little more than two months of fighting a period during which Iraqi forces, aided by Kurdish peshmerga and Shiite militias, had recaptured just one-quarter of the city. The campaign was renewed on December 29, when Iraqi army, counterterrorism forces, and police moved forward on the north, east, and south of the city. US soldiers gather near military vehicles at an army base in Karamless town, east of Mosul. Iraqi forces have since retaken several more neighborhoods in eastern Mosul. The top commander of Iraq's elite Counter-Terrorism Service, which has spearheaded the fight against ISIS in Mosul, said Iraqi forces had retaken "more than 60%" of the eastern side of the city. Iraqi forces have yet to enter the western side of the city. And, according to a US official, ISIS forces were beginning to show the strain of the fight. "They've got a finite amount of resource that are on the eastern side and the fact that their capability is waning indicates that those resources are starting to dwindle," US Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Martin, head of ground forces for the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State, told Reuters on January 2, citing the decreased sophistication of ISIS suicide bombs and the lower yield of the group's improvised explosive devices as a sign "the enemy's capacity is diminishing over time." Story continues "We see that as a positive indicator," he added. The suffering faced by the 900,000 or so Iraqis stuck in and around the city is unlikely to diminish as long as there is fighting going on, however. Many residents of the city have elected to shelter in their homes, staying indoors for days at a time. Others have the arduous trip out of the city, dodging running battles between Iraqi forces and ISIS militants punctuated by artillery fire and ongoing airstrikes. iraqi civilians mosul On January 1, US-led strikes against ISIS targeted an ISIS mortar position next to two empty school buildings. Though the coalition said no civilians were in the area during that strike, two days prior a van carrying ISIS fighters was hit by a coalition strike while in the parking lot of a hospital compound. The coalition said it was investigating possible civilian casualties. Iraqis in the western half of Mosul have started to flee across the Tigris River, which bisects the city. The two halves of the city were once connected by five bridges, but those spans have all been destroyed, and Iraqis now wait until nightfall to cross by boat or to scale the remains of the bridges with rope. "Only the lucky ones get out," Jamal, who crossed the remnants of one bridge using a rope and is now at a camp for civilians displaced from Mosul with his wife and three children, told Reuters. "If they opened a route for a quarter of an hour, not a single person would remain on the western side." While thousands of ISIS fighters remained hunkered down in Mosul in northern Iraq, the terror group has been able to strike farther south. At least seven people were killed by an ISIS attack on a police checkpoint on Sunday, and a suicide car-bomb attack in Baghdad parts of which are regularly targeted by ISIS killed at least 17 people on Monday. NOW WATCH: Footage reveals ISIS' secret underground tunnels near Mosul More From Business Insider Donald Trump could have picked a better car to bash. The incoming president lashed General Motors (GM) on Twitter recently for making its Chevrolet Cruze subcompact in Mexico. Whoops. The Cruze sedanwhich accounts for 97.6% of all US Cruze salesis actually built in Lordstown, Ohio. The slow-selling Cruze hatchback is built in Mexico, but annual sales of just 4,400 units are virtually negligible. General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A.or pay big border tax! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 Trump went after GM just as cross-town rival Ford announced it was canceling plans to build a $1.6 billion factory in Mexico, as Trump has been urging the company to do since campaigning last year. Ford will still move production of its Focus subcompact from Michigan to Mexico, by ramping up production at another plant instead of building a new one. But it will also invest a fresh $700 million in Michigan, helping create 700 new jobs. Trump tweeted his approval. The Ford news overshadowed Trumps blunder regarding the Chevy Cruze, but Trumps confusion on that is understandable. Automobiles are complex products that typically include components from all over the world. And most automakers sell their cars in dozens of countries, which means they have to base production decisions on a multitude of factors including consumer tastes, labor and material costs, exchange rates, transportation efficiency and where a given model is likely to sell the most. Hatchbacks arent popular in the United States, for example, but European drivers love them, which is part of the reason GM builds the Cruze hatch in Mexicoit can export from there to Europe with no tariffs, while the same car shipped from the United States would face a 10% levy. Trumps crusade to protect American manufacturing jobs has nonetheless put GM and Ford (F) in the crosshairs, and other automakers might be next. Trump targeted Ford during last years campaign because of news the company was opening a new factory in Mexico, to build the Focus subcompact. On another matter, Trump took credit for persuading Fords Lincoln division to keep producing its MKC crossover at a plant in Kentucky instead of moving it to Mexico, although Ford had merely been planning to adjust production, not move work permanently out of the country. Story continues The most American cars Trump has now extended his campaign against the automakers to GM, though he could just as easily have targeted Fiat Chrysler, Honda, Toyota or Volkswagen. Virtually every global automaker assembles cars in Mexico, as this map from the Center for Automotive Research shows: Source: Center for Automotive Research While GM has three factories in Mexico, Trump may not be aware that it also builds some of the most American cars on US roads. In an annual made in America index calculated by American Universitys Kogod School of Business, 9 of the 10 vehicles with the most American content are GM models, including the Buick Enclave, Chevy Corvette and Chevy Equinox. The Ford F-150 pickup is the only non-GM vehicle in the top 10. The Kogod rankings are meant to capture the value that accrues to the US economy from all aspects of automotive production, including not just manufacturing but also things like research and development and where the automakers profits are likely to be spent. A few other American models would have been better targets for Trump than the Cruze, which is tied for 24th place in the Kogod rankings. The Ford Fusion ranks 39th on the Kogod scale; the Dodge Journey 43rd, the Jeep Renegade 49th, the Cadillac SRX is 53rd, and the Chevy Trax 59th. Its tricky, though. The Fusion, for instance, is assembled in Mexico with a transmission built in the United States. The Journey is also assembled in Mexico, with major components from America, Mexico and Italy, depending on which variant you get. Foreign automakers assemble some cars in the United States, but theyve been flocking to Mexico as well. The majority of Volkswagens sold here are imported from Mexico, along with the Honda Fit, the Nissan Sentra and some Mazda 3s. Toyota is building a Mexican factory that will produce the Corolla. In general, automakers build the smallest vehicles with the lowest profit margins in low-cost countries such as Mexico, because labor costs are a larger portion of overall expenses on such models. An interesting question is whether Trump will go after foreign automakers that ship cars to America from low-cost countries, or limit his attacks to domestic automakers. GM and Ford are easy targets in a few ways, since theyve both reduced their American manufacturing workforce over time as theyve spread out globally and embraced automation. GM became unpopular when it declared bankruptcy in 2009 and required a federal bailout to survive. Chrysler did the same thing and ended up married to Italian automaker Fiat as part of its own bailout. Since Trump hasnt yet targeted Chrysler, it could be next. But the three automakers are still among the biggest employers in the United States. GM and Ford each employ more than 50,000 unionized blue-collar workers here, and the tally at Fiat Chrysler is nearly 40,000. Those are generally the type of decent-paying jobs, not requiring a college degree, Trump says he wants more of. GM CEO Mary Barra is one of the business leaders Trump has enlisted for an elite advisory council, so she can press the automakers case with him directly. Or, she could just tweet him. Rick Newman is the author of four books, including Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman. Julian Assange WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told Fox News in an interview set to air Tuesday that hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman did not come from a Russian state source. Fox News host Sean Hannity asked Assange whether he could "tell the American people 1,000%" that WikiLeaks did not get the hacked material that it published from Russia. "Yes. We can say, we have said, repeatedly that over the last two months that our source is not the Russian government and it is not a state party," Assange said. Assange's reliability on this matter is questionable. Former United Nations ambassador John Bolton, for instance, told Fox News on Tuesday that he wouldn't trust Assange. Assange also accused the Obama administration of trying to undermine the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump. "They're trying to delegitimize the Trump administration as it goes into the White House," Assange said. "They are trying to say that President-elect Trump is not a legitimate president." The Obama administration has strongly condemned the hacks and increased sanctions on Russia. US intelligence agencies have blamed Russia for leaking emails from DNC officials and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta in the weeks and months leading up to the election. US officials have said Russia was attempting to sway the election in Trump's favor. "Did it (WikiLeaks) change the outcome of the election? Who knows, it's impossible to tell," Assange told Fox. "But if it did, the accusation is that the true statements of Hillary Clinton and her campaign manager, John Podesta, and the DNC head Debbie Wasserman Schultz, their true statements is what changed the election." Emails showed DNC officials seeming to favor Clinton over her Democratic primary challenger Sen. Bernie Sanders. The Podesta emails contained excerpts of Clinton's controversial speeches to the financial firm Goldman Sachs and also showed campaign officials speaking candidly about the election. Story continues Trump has refused to pin blame on Russia for the hacks, and last week he said he had information others didn't on who was responsible. "I also know things that other people don't know, and so they cannot be sure of the situation," he told reporters. Asked what he knew that others did not, Trump replied: "You'll find out Tuesday or Wednesday." It's unclear whether Trump was referring to the interview with Assange. NOW WATCH: Trump answers reporters' questions in his longest news conference since winning the election More From Business Insider The New York woman known for being walked in public on a leash by her boyfriend as a form of roleplaying took to social media after being reported missing to assure everyone she left to be with her "husband" and is "doing well." "This is to prove I am alive and breathing and well, and not harmed at all," Anna Teshu, 23, said in a Facebook Live video shared Tuesday night, repeatedly noting that she is "fine." Read: Man Allegedly Seen Driving Missing Woman's Car Charged After Her Body is Found in Vehicle Teshu, who had last been seen at her mothers Bronx apartment on Christmas Eve before her disappearance, did not reveal her location, but had previously written on social media that she wanted to move to North Carolina. A man Teshu identified as her "husband" also appeared in the video, and she had taken on his last name on Facebook. "I couldn't be happier being married," Teshu said. "It's the life I always wanted but never been able to have because my mom has been so damn controlling." The woman, who has been described as having a developmental disability, gained online notoriety for wearing a dog collar and leash while her then-boyfriend Nathan Riely "walked her" at a Staten Island mall in May 2015. Ladies and gentlemen, the Staten Island Mall pic.twitter.com/KTv5m0kG5X Ben (@BennyD13) May 19, 2015 A month later, she was arrested on animal cruelty charges after she allegedly left the couples German shepherd to die in a hot car outside the Staten Island group home where she lived. The charges were dismissed after a judge found her mentally unfit to stand trial. A friend reported her missing on December 27, and there was a possibility she had voluntarily gone out of a state with a boyfriend, a police source said. Story continues Police were seeking the publics help in locating the woman. Anyone with information is asked to visit the NYPD's Crime Stoppers website. Read: 71-Year-Old Woman and Great-Granddaughter, 5, Found Alive Days After They Were Reported Missing But Teshu urged viewers to not worry, saying she is doing well. "I am fine! I couldnt be happier right now! she said. And if I wasnt alright, youd all know Id be dead: Oh, dog girl, shooting, blah, blah, blah, she continued. InsideEdition.com has reached out to Teshu and the man who appeared with her in the video for comment. Watch: Could Abduction of Jogger Sherri Papini be Linked to Other Missing Woman's Case? Related Articles: Woman Leaves $1.2 Million Estate to Tennessees Dogs and Cats as Everlasting Gift On an online tribute wall, those who knew Glenda Taylor DeLawder called her a very good neighbor, the best landlord I ever had, and thank her for her meaningful friendship. But what really tugs at the heartstrings are the messages from complete strangers. I dont know you. What you did with deciding to donate your money to the animal shelter is beyond words. It had my eyes watering up, reads a post written by a man named Jeremy. I am an avid animal lover myself. I am probably the biggest dog lover on the planet. The best people in the whole wide world are people like you. I dont even know the proper adjective I can use to describe your act of generosity. Im sure your family will keep your animals just as happy as I know you made them. Nothing more to say. DeLawder, who died on Nov. 13, 2016, left her $1.2 million estate to be used exclusively to help care for Carter County Tennessees cats and dogs, according to a message from Leon Humphrey, Carter County Mayor, which he shared on Christmas Day. Mrs. DeLawders family asked me to share with you that she loved her cats and dogs so very much and wanted her love and care of them to be her everlasting gift, Humphrey wrote. I think Mrs. DeLawder would be very pleased that her gift will be able to provide for future cats and dogs at the shelter for as long as the shelter exists. DeLawders gift is already doing good. The message says that the administrators of her estate have bestowed a gift of $540,000 to the Elizabethton Carter County Animal Shelter to expand the dog and cat holding areas and to purchase a van to transport the shelters cats and dogs to off-site adoption events and to spay and neuter clinics. It is believed that the tremendous gift is one of the largest private gifts ever given to the county for our citizens (human, feline and canine), Humphrey wrote, adding that construction on the shelters expansion will begin on Jan. 9 and the new van will arrive by March 1. Story continues Mrs. DeLawders gift will allow us to do far more for the animals than we could ever have done otherwise, Mayor Humphrey told PEOPLE in an email. It is our intent to ensure Mrs. DeLawders wishes are met. The director of the Elizabethton Carter County Animal Shelter tells PEOPLE that the gift has left the shelter staff and beyond in awe. Its amazing, people are like Wow, its just so shocking to everyone here, says Shannon Posada, who never met DeLawder. She left everything she had, and she wanted her gift to provide. She truly loved dogs and cats. The worlds oldest known killer whale is missing and presumed dead. The whalenamed J2, though she was affectionally nicknamed Grannywas estimated to be more than 100 years old, BBC News reported. She was the star of a recent BBC documentary that chronicled biologists study of her family of orcas, in order to look into female whales menopause. Only three mammals experience menopause: orcas, short-finned pilot whales and humans. The orcas, including Granny, have been the subject of a four-decades long study from the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, Wash. The center said Granny was last seen on Oct. 12, 2016, as she swam north ahead of others in her clan. As of the end of the year, she was considered missing from the areas killer whale population and is now officially considered deceased. The research will continue, though without the studys most famous participant. It was inevitable that this day was going to come, but it is very sad news, researcher Darren Croft of the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom told BBC News. The number of whales in the population is estimated to be just 78 orcas, as of the end of 2016, according to the BBC. Thats in part due to the fact that the number of salmon, which the whales feed on, is shrinking in the region. SANAA, Yemen (AP) Pro-government forces attacked al-Qaida militants in southern Yemen on Tuesday, killing 15 jihadis but losing 11 of their own troops, security officials said. The fighting began when troops backed by a Saudi-led coalition attacked an al-Qaida stronghold in the Marakasha mountains in Abyan province, east of the southern city of Aden. The area has long been a militant haven, attracting fighters in the 1990s returning from Afghanistan after fighting the Soviets. Al-Qaida later said in a statement circulated online that it had "ambushed" the troops and fought them off, the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group said. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to reporters, said more than 60 military vehicles were involved in the operation, firing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades before they were repulsed. Yemen has been in the grip of a civil war since 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels and allied forces swept down from the north and captured the capital, Sanaa. A Saudi-led coalition has been helping government forces battle the rebels for nearly two years. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, long seen by Washington as among the most dangerous branches of the global terror network, has exploited the chaos, seizing territory in southern and eastern Yemen. President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the coalition have failed to bring stability to the southern territories that his government controls. Aden, Yemen's second largest city and onetime commercial hub, was intended to be a model for Hadi's rule, but has grown increasingly chaotic in recent months, with multiple armed groups competing for influence in the area. By Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed free tuition at the state's public colleges for students from low- and middle-income families on Tuesday, seizing on an idea that became a rallying cry for many Democrats in last year's presidential election. Under Cuomo's plan, which he called the first of its kind in the nation, the state would cover tuition for any student from a family earning less than $125,000 a year by 2019, a means-tested benchmark that coincided with one proposed by Hillary Clinton in her failed presidential bid. "College is a mandatory step if you really want to be a success," the Democratic governor said as he announced the plan, which requires approval by the state's legislature. Cuomo is widely seen as a potential future presidential candidate. About 70 percent of jobs in the state now required a college education, he said. He described graduating with thousands of dollars of debt as "like a starting a race with an anchor tied to your leg." The cost of higher education and the burden of student debt emerged as a major issue in the race between Clinton and Bernie Sanders to become the Democratic Party's presidential candidate in 2016. Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont and a Brooklyn native, joined Cuomo for the announcement at the LaGuardia Community College in the New York City borough of Queens, and he repurposed familiar talking points from his campaign. "The Democrats and Republicans and independents understand that technology has changed, the global economy has changed," he said to a crowd of Queens students who had been chanting his name minutes earlier. He said a college degree was virtually mandatory in a way that a high-school diploma had been in previous decades. From the start of his presidential campaign in 2015, Sanders promised to make tuition free for everyone who attends state colleges. The promise helped draw huge crowds of young people to his campaign rallies and pressured Clinton, who was promising in less sweeping terms only to reduce student debt, from the left. Story continues After Clinton had all but secured the party's nomination last summer, she announced a means-tested variant of the Sanders plan last July in what was seen in part as a gesture toward bringing the party's more liberal, left-leaning flank back into the fold. For undergraduate students who hail from New York, tuition for a bachelor's degree costs $6,470 per year at the State University of New York's colleges, and $6,330 per year at the City University of New York's four-year colleges. Other expenses such as room and board, which can cost up to $12,590 at SUNY colleges, would not be covered under the plan. Cuomo said his proposed Excelsior Scholarship would cost about $163 million a year, although he did not specify how the state would cover this cost. He said it would potentially benefit some 940,000 families with college-age children in the state. (Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Andrew Hay) New York (AFP) - New York's governor unveiled a proposal Tuesday to make public colleges tuition free for low and middle-income students, an idea championed by US Senator Bernie Sanders during his White House run. "Today, college is a mandatory step if you really want to be a success," Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo said, noting that the average American student carries $30,000 in debt. "New York state is going to start this year the Excelsior scholarship: if you come from any family earning $125,000 or less, you are going to get free tuition," he said during a news conference at a university in Queens. "It's the first program like it in the US... and it should be a wake up call to this nation," Cuomo said. The governor, who is said to have his eye on an eventual White House run, was joined at the news conference by Sanders, who offered his congratulations. Sanders, of Vermont, garnered passionate support from young voters during the Democratic primary contest against Hillary Clinton, in part because of his impassioned calls for tuition-free college. Although he ultimately lost to Clinton, his free-college proposal was so popular that she added it to her White House platform. New York's most prestigious universities -- including Cornell, Columbia and New York University -- are private and presumably would not be involved in the free tuition plan. Tuition in the well-regarded State University of New York and City University of New York systems can reach $6,500 a year. Cuomo did not give details on the financing for the proposal, which has yet to be approved by lawmakers in this state of 20 million people. It has estimated to cost $163 million per year, and could benefit as many as one million households. Cuomo said he aims to have the program start at the beginning of 2017, covering families with an annual income of less than $100,000, before expanding to cover students from families with an annual income of up to $125,000 at the beginning of 2018. By David Ingram NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thieves in New York broke into a jewelry wholesaler and made off with $6 million in valuables on New Year's Eve, just blocks from the nationally televised and highly secured Times Square street party celebrating the holiday, police said on Tuesday. Three men broke in to a building on Manhattan's 36th Street at 10 p.m. on Saturday, police said. A surveillance video released by police showed a bearded man wearing a hooded jacket and looking into the camera. Another man, wearing what looks like a mask, was shown lunging toward the camera and the video ends. Police asked for assistance in identifying the suspects. They did not say how they determined a third thief was involved. The break-in at the Gregg Ruth jewelry company occurred a few blocks from where hundreds of thousands of people protected by thousands of officers gathered in Times Square to mark the start of 2017 by watching a crystal ball drop. The thieves used a pry-bar and a hammer to get into the wholesaler on the sixth floor of the building. They left through a stairwell, the police said. The jewelry company specializes in colored stones such as yellow and pink diamonds, according to its website. Representatives for the company, which is owned by KGK Holdings, could not immediately be reached on Tuesday. (Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Bill Trott) FILE - In this July 25, 2006, file photo, Oklahoma energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens, right, with his wife, Madeleine, appear at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. A federal lawsuit accuses Madeleine Pickens, the ex-wife Pickens, of racial discrimination at her rural Nevada dude ranch. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook, File) RENO, Nev. (AP) Madeleine Pickens wanted the African-American chef she recruited from the country club she owns in Southern California to cook "black people food" not "white people food" at her rural Nevada dude ranch and wild horse sanctuary, according to a federal lawsuit accusing her of racial discrimination. Armand Appling says the wealthy philanthropist and ex-wife of Oklahoma energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens told him fried chicken, BBQ ribs and corn bread would be perfect for the tourists who pay nearly $2,000 a night to stay in plush cottages, ride horses and take Wild West "safaris" on ATVs at her Mustang Monument Wild Horse Eco-Resort. Appling alleges he was fired 2014 in retaliation for complaining about a hostile work environment. He says Pickens' stereotypical references were commonplace at the Elko County ranch stretching across 900 square miles on the edge of the Ruby Mountains about 50 miles west of the Utah line. Among other things, he says Pickens, who is white, instructed him to terminate two other black kitchen staffers one she referred to as her "bull" or "ox" and another who had "too much personality." He says she told him they didn't "look like people we have working at the country club" and didn't "fit the image" of the staff she wanted at the ranch. Pickens' lawyers argue that even if all the allegations are true, none of her comments were racially motivated. At worst, Pickens' remarks "reflect a non-racial personality conflict and amount to discourtesy, rudeness or lack of sensitivity," they wrote in recent court filings. U.S. District Judge Miranda Du said during a hearing in Reno last week that Appling's lawyers have failed so far to prove the sort of racial hostility needed to win such a civil rights claim. She dismissed the original lawsuit that was filed in February but gave them until Jan. 13 to refile an amended complaint seeking unspecified damages from Pickens' nonprofit, Save America's Mustangs. Story continues "It takes a lot to prove these allegations," Du told California attorney Willie Williams on Thursday. Du agreed with Pickens' lawyer, Dora Lane of Reno, that the only comment that specifically referred to race was the reference to "black people food." Lane said categorizing foods by ethnicity is commonplace in the restaurant industry. Some restaurants serve Mexican food, others Chinese or Thai food, she said. "The suggestion that such categorizations are inherently offensive is nonsense," Lane argued in earlier court documents. "This is especially true here, given that Pickens' alleged comments actually reflect a preference for 'black people food' rather than a racial animas against 'black people' or 'black people food.'" Williams said Pickens' comments about the fired employees "not fitting in" reinforces a long history of African-Americans not being allowed into elite, private-club settings. Pickens owns the exclusive Del Mar Country Club north of San Diego where Appling worked before she hired him for a 5-month stint in Nevada. "In many cases, the people fighting to keep African-Americans out of these private clubs would use code phrases like 'they do not fit the image,'" Williams said in court documents. He added the use of the words "ox" and "bull" implies ownership of property, given "America's long history of slavery where they were considered personal property of their owners." Lane argued it was a complimentary reference to physical strength and "was not accompanied by any overtly racial slurs." "Indeed, Appling does not allege that he ever heard any overtly racial epithets, such as the 'N-word,'" she wrote in court documents. But Williams told the judge last week the comments must be viewed in the context of racial stereotypes. Du agreed that Lane's arguments focus on the "plain meaning of words" while seemingly ignoring the context of comments made about "African-Americans in history and stereotypes that could give rise to racial animas." "If the alleged comments were not directed at him, but others who look like him, it may affect his work environment," the judge said. Melania Trump set the tone for a fashion-forward 2017 when she stepped out on New Years Eve in a seriously chic Dolce & Gabbana dress. The future first lady of the United States wore the scoop-neck cocktail dress in one of her favorite colors trusty black. Melania Trump arrives at a New Years Eve party at Mar-a-Lago looking ravishing in a black Dolce & Gabbana dress. (Photo: Getty Images) The elegant piece, which retails for $2,995, was made of virgin wool and spandex and had bejeweled bows on each strap and a fitted silhouette with a hemline that hit a few inches below the knee. Accompanied by her husband, President-elect Donald Trump, Melania wore the dress to a party at Trumps Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla. She accessorized simply with a sparkly cuff bracelet. Trump has worn Dolce & Gabbana before, most notably when she showed up to the 83rd Academy Awards in a strapless, mermaid-style, floor-length number, also in black. In fact, the former models affinity for the color black is well-documented. In November, she arrived at the White House to meet Michelle Obama in a sleeveless, fitted black dress. Melania Trump in a black Dolce & Gabbana jumper at the third debate. (Photo: Getty Images) And in October, the 46-year-old dazzled in a black, belted Ralph Lauren jumpsuit. This time, though, Trumps daughter Ivanka and daughter-in-law Vanessa Trump also wore the funereal color in what looked like a coordinated appearance. Though many designers have said they would refuse to dress the future first lady, on Sunday, designer Stefano Gabbana proudly posted an image of Melania in her NYE dress. Melania Trump #DGwoman thank you #madeinitaly, he wrote in the caption. The post received more than 12,000 likes and congratulatory comments, including, Congratulations, Stefano! You do wonderful clothes that we are proud to buy and put on!!!! No matter the religion, politic opinion or color of the skin. We love you and Wonderful dress on a wonderful lady grande Stefano! There were, of course, critics too. Melania Trump #DGwoman thank you ???????? #madeinitaly???????? A photo posted by stefanogabbana (@stefanogabbana) on Jan 1, 2017 at 4:44pm PST And while many designers have publicly taken stands against dressing Melania such as Sophie Theallet, Tom Ford, and Marc Jacobs there are companies apart from Dolce & Gabbana that are game to dress her. Of course I would, said Calvin Klein, when asked if hed consider designing a garment for the future first lady, according to TMZ. Story continues Donald Trump was elected, and he will be our president. Melania deserves the respect of any first lady before her, Diane von Furstenberg said. Our role as part of the fashion industry is to promote beauty, inclusiveness, diversity. We should each be the best we can be and influence by our example. And Tommy Hilfiger chimed in, I think Melania is a very beautiful woman, and I think any designer should be proud to dress her. No doubt well be keeping an eagle eye out for all of Melanias fashion moments as soon-to-be FLOTUS. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Obama had the most uplifting tweetstorm to kick off 2017, and you dont want to miss it After 8 years as our president, Obama is looking back on the remarkable progress weve made in honor of the New Year. Its hard to deny that its been a rough 8 years for the president. He inherited war, pretty awful economic damage, and an extremely partisan government. And thats not even to speak of the racism the Obamas have faced throughout his presidency. And yet, as FLOTUS Michelle said at the DNC, When they go low, we go high. And they did go high, every single year. In honor of the new year, our president wanted to take a minute to reflect on everything accomplished in the 8 years of his presidency. As we look ahead to the future, I wanted to take a moment to look back on the remarkable progress that you made possible these past 8 years. President Obama (@POTUS) January 1, 2017 He shared this incredible chart showing the current state of jobs, and how much better things are looking than when he became president. Facing the worst financial crisis in 80 years, you delivered the longest streak of job growth in our history. pic.twitter.com/Vk3PfRgZqF President Obama (@POTUS) January 1, 2017 And how much healthcare has changed. After decades of rising health care costs, today nearly every American now has access to the financial security of affordable health care. pic.twitter.com/5e4nEcCxIM President Obama (@POTUS) January 1, 2017 He reminded us of the progress weve made to strengthen our country. We traded foreign oil for clean energy, we doubled fuel efficiency standards, & we acted on a global scale to save the one planet we've got. pic.twitter.com/7alrOtHNIr President Obama (@POTUS) January 1, 2017 And how we brought home our troops. We brought home more of our troops & strengthened U.S. leadershipleading with diplomacy & partnering with nations to meet global problems. President Obama (@POTUS) January 1, 2017 Too, he highlighted the importance of justice, and equality, not just for any one group, but for all of us. From realizing marriage equality to removing barriers to opportunity, we've made history in our work to reaffirm that all are created equal. President Obama (@POTUS) January 1, 2017 And, finally, he thanked us. All of us. And let us know hes looking forward to being a citizen, just like we are. Its been the privilege of my life to serve as your President. I look forward to standing with you as a citizen. Happy New Year everybody. President Obama (@POTUS) January 1, 2017 We feel so much better imagining that hell be at our side in the coming years, and that well have someone as well educated, as thoughtful, and as deeply aware of how politics works at our side. All we can say, honestly, is thanks, Obama. The post Obama had the most uplifting tweetstorm to kick off 2017, and you dont want to miss it appeared first on HelloGiggles. Credit: Tim Roney/Getty Things are looking up for 2017! At Gordon Ramsay's Maldives New Year's Eve Bash, Victoria Beckham and former Spice Girls band mate Melanie Chisolm (that's Mel C aka Sporty Spice for those who didn't know) reunited on stage to perform their smash hit, "2 Become 1" for the lucky party goers. As Mel C belted out the vocals, "Posh Spice" appeared on stage in a gorgeous red dress and wrapped her arms around her friend as a surprise. Beckham had a hand in organizing the party and wanted to get her former band mate in the mix. Now we can all let out a collective cheer that that former Spice Girls creed definitely still rings true, "Friendship never ends." RELATED: Victoria Beckham Is Receiving a Special Honor from the Queen Mel C even shared an Instagram of her and Beckham to show their forever love and admiration for one another. She captioned the pic from their time on stage together, "candle light and soul forever A wonderful start to 2017 xxx". Good thing someone took a video of this sweet performance as Beckham and Chisolm will not be joining the rest of their band mates for the Spice Girls Reunion concert in 2017. VisuCaller scans and calls printed phone numbers. It feels like a QR code scanner except it works with printed phone numbers. A viewfinder is used to enclose data to be scanned and phone numbers detected from the data are displayed in a list. If a number is detected multiple times in succession, the App will highlite it in blue and automatically call it (if enabled in settings). Sometimes, multiple numbers will be detected that differ by a digit or two. This is where you can double tap the correct phone number in the list to call it. You can also edit phone numbers in the list to add prefix codes or correct errors by holding the phone number in the list and then editing. After a number is called, you get back to VisuCaller by pressing the home button and re-tapping the VisuCaller App icon. The most helpful advice when using this App is to ensure you get familiar with tap to focus and swiping across the screen to clear answers while detecting. Best results are obtained when the data is focused tap the viewfinder to focus achieves this. As you move the viewfinder rectangle over data, it is possible that errors could happen. Generally, after swiping to clear, the phone number will be read again instantly and in most cases correctly. If you like the way VisuCaller makes it easy to call phone numbers, you will also like VisuSurfer and VisuMapper, other Apps in our Apps With Vision lineup that allow you to browse printed web addresses and get directions to street locations. Star Wars: A New Hope is the movie that started it all, and this summer fans will celebrate its 40th anniversary. Disney and Lucasfilm may have a special treat in store for Star Wars fans, a new 4K version of A New Hope that could be shown in select theaters. In fact, Rogue One director Gareth Edwards revealed in an interview that he has already seen a 4K cut of the movie, which apparently existed while he was preparing for the first Star Wars spinoff movie. Don't Miss: Heres what a Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus looks like after 3 months without a case On day one, we were in Lucasfilm in San Francisco with Industrial Light and Magic and John Knoll, our supervisor, he said that theyve got a brand new 4K restoration print of A New Hope it had literally just been finished, Edwards said in an interview with Little White Lies while explaining how he prepared for the work ahead in Rogue One. He suggested we sit and watch it. Obviously, I was up for that. Me, the writer, lots of the story people and John all sat down, we all had our little notepads, we were all ready for this. Ill add that Ive seen A New Hope hundreds of times, the director said. So I was sat there, ready to take notes and really delve under the surface of the film. You have the Fox fanfare, then scrolling text with A long time ago, and then the main music begins. Next thing we knew it had ended, and we looked around to one another and just thought shit, we didnt take any notes. You cant watch it without getting carried away. Its really hard to get into an analytical filmmaker headspace with this film. It just turns you into a child. As exciting as watching the original movie in 4K may sound, Edwards did not say anything about the film actually being prepared for a summer 2017 limited release. Thats just speculation, for the time being. Even if Disney doesnt end up releasing a 4K version of A New Hope this summer, 2017 is still going to be a very exciting year for the Force. Episode VIII is set to debut this December, which means were going to see plenty of trailers in the months ahead. Story continues Trending right now: See the original version of this article on BGR.com Back in October, Microsoft held an event in New York City to make several major announcements, including the unveiling of the Creators Update for Windows 10. While the company provided a vague release window of early 2017 at the time, sources are telling MSPoweruser that the update will begin rolling out in April. Don't Miss: This rumored Galaxy S8 feature would be like nothing youve ever seen on an iPhone As MSPoweruser explains, the update was originally expected to hit in March, but the final version number of 1704 appears to suggest that the Creators Update will be made available in April instead. In this case, the 17 in the version number refers to the year (2017) and the 04 refers to the month (April). Much like it did with the Anniversary Update in 2016, Microsoft will roll out the Creators Update in waves. That said, Windows 10 users will be able to manually download the update as soon as it goes live. Theres still a great deal we dont know about the update, but Microsoft is expected to finalize the additional features and bug fixes before the end of January, according to MSPoweruser. As for what we do know, Microsoft has said that the Creators Update will include the Windows Holographic user interface, which will serve as built-in support for the various Windows 10 VR headsets coming from Dell, HP, Asus and other hardware manufacturers in 2017. Users will also be able to create and edit 3D objects in a new version of Paint, broadcast video games in 4K with Beam and interact with friends straight from the taskbar with MyPeople. More features will likely be revealed later this month. Trending right now: See the original version of this article on BGR.com People walk through the Las Vegas Convention Center during setup for CES International, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, in Las Vegas. The show runs from January 5-8. (AP Photo/John Locher) LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Tomorrow's retail stores want to take a page from their online rivals by embracing advanced technology everything from helpful robots to interactive mirrors to shelves embedded with sensors. The goal: Use these real-world store features to lure shoppers back from the internet, and maybe even nudge them to spend more in the process. Amazon's new experimental grocery store in Seattle, opening in early 2017, will let shoppers buy goods without needing to stop at a checkout line. Sensors track items as shoppers put them into baskets or return them to the shelf. The shopper's Amazon account gets automatically charged. "Amazon, for good or bad, has been setting the path," said Robert Hetu, research director at Gartner Research. "Each retailer is going to have to respond in some way. But it's not one-size-fits-all." Kroger, Neiman Marcus and Lowe's are among the companies already experimenting with futuristic retail stores. Robots, for instance, could help guide shoppers to the right aisle, while augmented reality apps could help you see how a particular shade of paint will look in the living room or how you might look in a pair of jeans. Many of these technologies will be unveiled or demonstrated at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas, which begins Tuesday with media previews. Plenty of retailers have learned through trial and error that technology can't get too far ahead of shoppers. It has to be easy to use and beneficial to shoppers in some way, whether it's to save time or money. If retailers get it right, they might succeed in boosting spending at retail stores at a time when consumers increasingly prefer to shop online. Here are five technologies coming to a store near you. ___ SMART SHELVES Web retailers have plenty of data on their customers. Some of these online technologies can even track shoppers from site to site to lure them back with what's known as retargeting ads promos targeted to what that shopper has looked at before, but didn't actually buy. Smart shelves with sensors promise the same kind of in-depth consumer behavior analytics at retail stores. Story continues At a Kroger store in Cold Spring, Ohio, shelves currently show digitized price tags and information about the products. The next step is to tie that to individual shoppers. For example, for a shopper who prefers gluten-free products, the price tags could light up in the aisle where all the gluten-free options are. The company says this will all be done with the customer's permission. Perch Interactive, a startup that is working with chains like Sunglass Hut and fragrance maker Jo Malone, uses laser and motion sensors to detect when a product is picked up. Perch monitors the interactions and lets retailers know what people pick up but don't buy. It also offers recommendations: When a shopper picks up a Jo Malone product, an interactive display pops up to show a complementary fragrance. ___ ROBOTS Amazon and other retailers have long used robots in warehouses to help package and ship orders. But what about interacting with shoppers? Home improvement retailer Lowe's is testing robots in one of its San Jose, California, store, and plans to roll them out to 10 more stores in the state this year. Besides scanning shelves for inventory, the robots can guide customers to specific products in both English and Spanish. Shoppers will also start seeing robots that interact with them more deeply. Japanese joint venture SoftBank Robotics is testing a 4-foot humanoid robot called Pepper at two Westfield Malls in California. They greet shoppers and can do a little dance, but have the potential to send messages geared to people's age and gender through facial recognition. SoftBank Robotics says it's working with clothing retailers to help suggest outfits to shoppers. ___ INTERACTIVE MIRRORS High-end clothing stores are testing interactive mirrors in dressing areas, a key place where shoppers decide whether to buy or not. Neiman Marcus has installed these outside fitting rooms at 20 stores to offer shoppers a 360-degree view of what an outfit looks like. Shoppers can make side-by-side comparisons without having to try them all on. They can also share video with friends for feedback. Variations include capturing a customer's session at the beauty counter and emailing a video to help the person recreate the look at home. Rent the Runway, an online retailer that lets people rent high-end clothing, teamed up with Samsung to have digital displays highlight its online inventory for shoppers at a new location in New York. A mirror in the store is planned to recommend items that go with what the customer is wearing. ___ VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY Home improvement retailers have been embracing virtual reality and augmented reality to help shoppers figure out ways to decorate homes or apartments. With such technologies, shoppers wear a headset to picture how something might look in 3-D, in some cases overlaid on top of their real kitchen or living room. Home Depot's augmented reality app lets customers upload a picture of the room on their phone and thumb through thousands of paint and stain colors until they arrive at one that's right. These tools should become more pervasive. At CES, a major clothing chain is expected to announce a tool for shoppers to virtually try on jeans and other items. ___ SELF-CHECKOUT Stores have been pushing self-service kiosks for years to lower labor costs and speed up checkout lines. It hasn't always been smooth, though. Two years ago, Wal-Mart offered a Scan & Go app for shoppers to scan items as they grabbed them from the shelves. At the checkout counter, the customer merely had to scan a code to complete the transaction. But Wal-Mart scrapped the project after customers found the app difficult to use. Despite Wal-Mart's hiccups, plenty of stores believe they can avoid the pitfalls. Andy Wong, partner at Accenture's Kurt Salmon Digital, said Wal-Mart had a tougher time because its customers are diverse and less techy overall. By contrast, Amazon is trying out its store in Seattle, a tech center, and has a customer base already comfortable with digital shopping. Wong also said Amazon is smart to focus just on groceries, and he expects other retailers to follow Amazon's lead and also focus on certain products. In fact, shortly after Amazon announced its checkout-less store, Panasonic Corp. unveiled an unstaffed bagging system at a Lawson convenience store in Japan. Shoppers place a "smart" basket with their items on a machine at checkout. The system calculates the bill and automatically bags the items. Shoppers now have to scan items they put into the basket, though wireless tags coming in February will eliminate that step. Shoppers still have to manually pay using cash or card. As retailers consider automated self-checkout and other technologies, they have to look beyond the tech wizardry. "It all has to go back to the consumer," Gartner's Hetu said. "For each environment, you have to assess what the consumer will interpret as value." ___ AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report. ____ Follow Anne D'Innocenzio: http//twitter.com/ADInnocenzio Some said that Samsung might ditch the Galaxy Note brand following the unprecedented Galaxy Note 7 recall that may have tarnished the phablet line for good, but it looks like Samsung will still churn out new Note models. A Galaxy Note 8 is planned for later this year and it will be released on schedule, a new report indicates. Don't Miss: This rumored Galaxy S8 feature would be like nothing youve ever seen on an iPhone The Galaxy Note 7 was very popular before user reports began circulating about devices that exploded or caught on fire while charging, a Samsung exec said, according to Business Korea. As the phablet market, which was developed by Samsung Electronics, has been growing, the company will release the Note series this year again. The Galaxy Note 8 should be released in the second half of the year, following the Galaxy S8 series thats set to be released in April the site notes the same April launch window for the upcoming Galaxy S flagship. Its too early to know what novel features the Galaxy Note 8 will have to offer, but an official from a Samsung Electronics partner company seems to think a 4K display is in the cards for the phablet. Samsung will introduce 2K resolution displays in the Galaxy S8, but it will use 4K resolution displays in the Galaxy Note 8 to realize improved virtual reality (VR) functions. I heard that it will connect with new Gear VR wearable, the person said. That said, Samsung still has to explain the Galaxy Note 7 explosions, before even considering the launch of a successor. An official explanation is coming anywhere from January 10th to the end of the month, according to a report from earlier this week. Trending right now: See the original version of this article on BGR.com Alphabet-owned Google has teamed up with Fiat Chrysler to create an in-car infotainment system based on the U.S. search giant's Android OS. Alphabet (GOOGL)-owned Google has teamed up with Fiat Chrysler (FCA-IT) to create an in-car infotainment system with apps based on the U.S. search giant's Android operating system (OS). The 8.4 inch connected vehicle system called Uconnect will be featured in the Chrysler 300 sedan during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Vegas this week. Android on mobile allows device makers to customize the look and feel of the OS. Google wants to allow carmakers to do the same with their own in-car system. Android is the world's dominant mobile operating system and Google is hoping it could become as strong in the auto industry. "Google is committed to building Android as a turn-key automotive platform that integrates deeply with the vehicle in a safe and seamless way," Patrick Brady, director of Android engineering at Google, said in a press release on Monday. The Uconnect system will allow popular Google apps such as Maps or the voice assistant as well as other popular ones like Spotify, to be integrated with the car. This product differs from Android Auto which is also produced by Google. Android Auto is an in-car software that brings the functionality of a smartphone to the screen in the vehicle. It's not an operating system however. Instead, it's a user interface that sits on top of an OS. Google's latest venture with Fiat is a full-blown OS that powers the in-car experience and will allow the U.S. technology giant to embed itself deeper in the dashboard. "This collaboration with Google has been an extremely beneficial opportunity for both companies to explore how in-vehicle infotainment and connectivity technology continues to evolve, and what it takes to meet consumers' increasing desire for innovation of information with minimal distraction," Chris Barman, head of electrical engineering at Fiat Chrysler, said in a press release. "With Android, we are able to maintain our unique and intuitive Uconnect user interface, all while integrating our easy-to-use systems with Android's features and ecosystem of applications." Story continues It's an important step for Google as technology companies battle for a leading position in the auto market. Technology giants see the car as the next big mobile platform and many carmakers are willing to work with these firms to boost the connectivity of their vehicles. Google and Fiat have been working together for the past few months. The two companies collaborated to create the Chrysler Pacifica minivan a hybrid vehicle that's part of Google's autonomous car test fleet. Ah, the refrigerator: lifeblood of the kitchen. At last years CES, Samsung decided that big box you use to store leftovers and hunks of American cheese needed a modern upgrade by way of its touch-screen and Wi-Fi-enabled Family Hub refrigerator. This year, the company is back with its Family Hub 2.0 line of fridge and in addition to new apps like Spotify the humble rectangle that keeps your probiotic yogurt fresh is also getting voice-recognition capabilities. Thats right. Now you can talk to your refrigerator without alarming your family members. Family Hub 2.0, which will be available on four different Samsung refrigerator models, features a new interface thats more akin to Samsungs smartphones. You can rearrange app widgets, organize your screen to your liking and add compatible apps at your leisure. The biggest update to Family Hub 2.0 is the inclusion of Samsungs S Voice voice recognition technology. Similar to the S Voice app on Samsungs Galaxy S7 handset, S Voice for Family Hub 2.0 lets you ask your fridge if its going to rain, tell it to play music, add something to your shopping list and check your agenda. Samsung says its also working on a feature that lets you make purchases with your voice. Currently Family Hub lets you add items from your shopping list to an e-commerce app where you can purchase them and have them delivered to your home. Unfortunately, Family Hub wont connect with smart home devices like Amazons popular Echo or Google Home. And while I like the idea of being able to add groceries to my grocery shopping list on Family Hub with my phone, I can do the same thing with Alexa and order directly through Amazon. Beyond voice recognition, Family Hub 2.0 is bringing back the original Family Hubs built-in camera so you can see what youve got inside your fridge. For its second-generation smart refrigerator, Samsung is also adding a slew of new apps to including Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube and GrubHub. Those are in addition to existing apps like Pandora, TuneIn and the fridges built-in web browser. Story continues Then there is the updated Family Hub calendar that allows you to set avatars for each of your family members to make checking your schedules more intuitive. Naturally, Family Hub 2.0 fridges will do normal refrigerator things like keep your food cool and, in some cases, even freeze it! I kid, but, in reality, the Family Hub 2.0 is a natural extension of our connected lives. Adding a touch screen and calendar to our refrigerators is just a way of digitizing our old magnetic calendars. Except now we can buy groceries, get the weather, browse the web and sync them with our smartphones to get a better idea of where our family members are during the day. And being able to blast Sisqos Thong Song while making a ham sandwich isnt all that bad, either. More from Dan: Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley. (Photo: Fox) Kaitlin Olson, so essential to the genial vulgarity of FXs Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, has taken on the lead in a network sitcom, Foxs The Mick. The reasons for doing this are sensible: Why wouldnt the co-star of a long-running cable comedy welcome the chance to star in her own show? And why wouldnt she feel comfortable doing this when shes accompanied by a couple of writer-producers (Dave and John Chernin) who helped make her first series a success? And, not to be discounted: network money, baby. For about half of The Micks first episode, which aired on New Years Day, the show was pretty funny. Olson stars as Mackenzie, aka Mickey and hence the Mick title a slacker neer-do-well who becomes the guardian of her niece and nephews when their parents are nabbed by law enforcement for fraud and tax evasion. At first, the prospect of the penniless, larcenous Mickey sprawling around a huge Greenwich, Conn., house seems promising, especially after we see her deal sharply with her spoiled, entitled young charges. But once the concept is established, The Mick has one of only two ways to go. The show either leaves Mickey constantly at odds with a nephew or a niece (Sophia Black DElia, all sullen scheming, is easily the most formidable of the kids), or reverses that gimmick, uniting Mickey and the kids against outside forces, such as authority figures who might want to break up this new, half-baked family unit. The result, as it settles into its regular time period on Tuesday, is a much more conventional show than Its Always Sunny, even as Olson tries valiantly to distinguish Mickey from that shows Sweet Dee character. The problem is, this Fox show cant go as far in its comic crudity as Sunny can on basic cable, yet if The Mick is intentionally conceived of as a crazy-but-warm family sitcom, in the tradition of Malcolm in the Middle or The Middle, thats not how it comes across in the three episodes Ive seen. Its just an OK sitcom with a frequently charming performance by Olson, which may be enough for a while, wedged in between New Girl and Bones. But it also seems like the kind of project that could leave Olson feeling trapped. The Mick airs Tuesday nights at 8:30 p.m. on Fox. Watch clips and full episodes of The Mick for free on Yahoo View. Here are all the top pastors who made several widely-publicised prophecies in 2016, but all of which pathetically failed to materialise. Get the latest Ghana news here. 1. Prophet TB Joshua The Nigerian prophet claimed that he had received a revelation from God which indicated that Hilary Clinton of the Democratic Party would win the US presidential election. He said clearly that the person he saw winning the election was a woman. When the results were declared, however, Donald Trump of the Republican Party won the election. READ ALSO: 6 Ghanaian presidents and the hilarious nicknames given to them 2. Prophet Joshua Iginla The General Overseer of Champions Royal Assembly in Abuja, Nigeria, predicted that John Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would win the December election. "I see a robust economy and the Democrats still holding on to the seat in the election. The ruling party will retain the power," he said. But his prophecy was a failure, as Nana Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) won the election. PAY ATTENTION: Get all the latest news on the go with the YEN.com.gh app right here 3. Prophet Doctor Emmanuel Kofi Enim In a very explicit vision, I saw the president seated on a presidential seat and clad in a white wear with an inscription, 2016. I asked God the meaning of the vision and He told me President Mahama is destined to win the 2016 general election and would be enthroned for the second time as president, the founder and general overseer of Word Victory Chapel International said. The prophecy did not happen. 4. Prophet Jerry Asalu The prophet predicted that Obuobia Darko-Opoku would win the parliamentary election at the Gbawe-Weija Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, but the prophecy failed. The NPP's Tina Mensah won the election in that constituency. READ MORE: NPP, NDC supporters clash in Suhum leaving several persons severely injured 5. Prophet Emmanuel Badu Kobi The prophet predicted that the opposition NPP would reject the results of the December elections on the grounds of rigging. But that did not happen. The NPP won by a wide margin of over one million votes. What do you make of these failed prophecies? Share your views with us in the comments section. Source: YEN.com.gh Even as the 31 March deadline approaches, the Delhi health department got busy in filing replies to the queries on its flagship project of setting up of 1,000 Mohalla clinics, presently stalled due to objections from various offices. The Mohalla clinics project that was declared in the year 2015 by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hit a road block after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi objected to the opening up of Mohalla clinics on roads and footpaths, leading to a standstill in the project implementation. Later, the then L-G Najeeb Jungs office also held objection in opening the primary health care clinics in 300 schools. Mohalla clinics even planned in the Health Ministers constituency have not seen the light of the day given the objections, said a source in the health department. The source also said that 105 Mohalla clinics have been opened till now in the capital city and 895 more to be opened to meet the target of setting up of 1,000 such primary health care clinics. The L-G's office cited legal reasons for not clearing the proposal to open up dispensaries in government school premises, saying that the Delhi School Education Act does not allow such provision. A source in the L-Gs office told the media that if Mohalla clinics are allowed in government school premises, private schools also might follow suit. Moreover, the source also cited the reason of childrens safety for the L-Gs aversion to opening up of Mohalla Clinics. Ashok Agarwal, an activist and a lawyer, told Firstpost that there is a clear verdict by the Delhi High Court which instructs not to open any dispensary in schools. In 2002, the Delhi High Court had ordered to remove a dispensary from a school in Bawana. It was also observed that dispensary employees used to throw medical wastes including used syringes in the playground, he said. All India Parents Association also filed a petition in the chief ministers office requesting him not to open the dispensaries in schools. Objections came on the Mohalla clinics already built, from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and notices were slapped on the Delhi Government for allegedly violating laws by constructing Mohalla Clinics on the pavements. Dr Sanjeev Nayyar, Mayor North Delhi Municipal Corporation, told Firstpost, Structures are built blocking footpaths in the name of Mohalla Clinics. What do they want to prove? He added that Mohalla clinics are built even where no need for such clinics exist. In Paschim Vihar, a Mohalla Clinic was proposed where three other dispensaries, one run by the MCD and the other two by the central government and the Delhi government respectively exist within half a kilometers distance, he complained. Does the Delhi government wants to close down its own dispensary to run the Mohalla Clinic, he asked mockingly. Abhishek Kumar, an AAP functionary, told Firstpost that a Mohalla Clinic is set up with due consultation with the residents of the mohalla or neighbourhood. It is the people who directs us whether to start a Mohalla clinic or not. Do you think people would accept the idea of opening up of Mohalla clinic blocking a public road? he asked. He also asserted that no such clinic existed on road. Nevertheless, the Delhi government was bound to seek permission from the MCD for construction of the Mohalla clinics, which remain uncleared. Dr Sanjeev Nayyar told Firstpost that the MCD has no objection in opening up of Mohalla Clinics unless it violates laws related to building construction. The source in the Delhi Health department said that after the MCD, the Delhi Development Authority raised objection in construction of Mohalla Clinics in its land. It also said that the Delhi Health department cannot move ahead with the project without permissions. We are trying our best to reply to the objections raised, the source said. Ajay Dutta, an AAP MLA told Firstpost that Mohalla clinics are low cost dispensaries of the present age. So he hopes that the new L-G will understand their necessity and will soon take up initiative to clear the files seeking permission for such clinics. In June 2015, the Delhi chief minister declared the decision to open 1,000 Mohalla clinics in various neighbourhood in Delhi, while inaugurating the first one in Punjabi Bagh Colony by December. Mohalla clinic is a revolutionary initiative by the Delhi government that aims at providing free primary healthcare to the masses in their neighbourhood. In December 2016, the chief minister extended the deadline of setting up of 1,000 Mohalla Clinics up to 31 March 2017, given the complications in permission. AAP intends to use free primary health care as its main election plank in the MCD election to be held in the month of May. But whether the party will be able to fulfil its promise still remains a question. Anil Bokil is an engineer by profession and the founder of Arthkranti NGO. He has been working for and propagating cashless transactions for the past 20 years. Bokil had met Narendra Modi when he was the chief minister of Gujarat in August 2013 and had spoken to him on demonetisation. He has come to the limelight again after Modi announced the demonetisation policy on 8 November. The idea of demonetisation is widely believed to be Bokil's brainchild and on the topic of the country completing 50 days of the exercise, Bokil spoke to Firstpost. Edited excerpts follow: There are talks of demonetisation being a failure. What are your thoughts? How can something that's still ongoing be a failure? Demonetisation is a process that's on and to call it a failure would be wrong. Politicians may gave it various tags, some party will claim it's a success, others may declare it a failure. But I am not a politician, I am an economist. According to me, demonetisation was a much-needed move. Opposition parties have claimed that only the common man can be seen in the long queues and that no big businessmen or politicians have ever been seen in the queues. What do you think has led to this perception? It's not about rich men or poor men standing in queues. The important thing is that the money that was earned through unfair means has to get into the banks. All the unaccounted cash has to enter the economy and only that will help the poor. As far as standing in queues is concerned, I agree that some rich people could have invented ways to get their money deposited or old notes exchanged, but I can tell you that if they have done anything wrong, they will get caught. It's not as easy to cheat the system as you think. How do you think demonetisation has or will help the economy? The economy had excess cash and most of that cash was unaccounted-for money. This extra cash in the economy was of no help to either the government or the people. Demonetisation is an effective decision because it has reduced the black money from the cash in circulation. Demonetisation is what you call a dynamic balancing of an economy. I have been a supporter of a cashless economy for the past 16 years. RBI issued a number of notification in the 50 days period since 8 November. Do you think RBI was completely prepared for demonetisation? Economics is not material science or rocket science, it's social science. When one is dealing with society and social science, changes have to be brought in keeping in mind the current state of affairs. The RBI kept introducing new notifications to ease the pain of masses and to make demonetisation more effective. I read in an interview (given by you) that the government did not implement all your recommendations on demonetisation. Do you think that your advice should have been taken by the government? I haven't advised anyone and I don't think I need to. The problem is that people stashed cash in their homes and that money never got into the economy. This money was of no use to anyone. What demonetisation will do is that it will encourage digital payment and that would encourage people to keep the cash in banks instead of hiding it in their homes. That money would be of use to everyone as there can be transparency in the economy through digital payments. Some eminent economists and politicians like Dr Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram have said that demonetisation will wreak havoc on the country's GDP? What's your view on it? People must understand that demonetisation is not a tonic but a remedy. The purpose of demonetisation is not to boost the economy. It's objective is to right the wrong that has been plaguing the the economy for a long time. But people, even tax-paying and law-abiding citizens have had to face hardships to get their own cash, what do you have to say on this? Look at it this way. Now that the 50-day period is over, the government has increased the withdrawal limit to Rs 4,500 a day from Rs 2,500. India is a country, where 70 percent of the population survives on Rs 150 a day. And I am not the one giving these numbers, it's the figure released by the World Bank. So I don't really see how the problem should continue now that the withdrawal limit has been increased. Do you really think that demonetisation can really curb corruption? If yes, how? As I mentioned earlier, demonetisation will encourage transparency. Let me tell you that, this is the beginning of the cleaning up of the economy. It's an initial step. More steps are required but this is a good beginning. Demonetisation will also help to end trafficking and of all kinds. The benefits are long lasting and deep. Will Rs 2,000 notes be banned in the future? The Rs 2000 note is only a stopgap arrangement and it will be withdrawn after the availability of cash in banks and ATMs. But nobody can predict when in the future the Rs 2000 notes will be withdrawn. Speaking of the relevance of higher denomination notes, in the future, notes of Rs 500 and 1,000 will also not be required. Rs 50 notes will be enough to fulfil the role of cash in the economy. But as I said earlier, nobody is sure when will that day come. There are reports of 80 deaths caused due to demonetisation, some of which are attributed to the long queues. Do you think that demonetisation can be blamed for claiming these lives? There needs to be an inquiry into the deaths attributed to demonetisation. It's very unfortunate that some people died while waiting in the queues, but to blame demonetisation for these deaths would be wrong. There can be many reasons for the deaths, some might have died due to old age, however, it's very unfortunate. What's your view on the prime minister? This prime minister (Narendra Modi) is taking responsibility, he told the nation about demonetisation and said that he needs the help of the nation for 50 days. Now that the 50 days are over, he has taken the responsibility to improve the situation and I am sure he will. Have you met the prime minister after the demonetisation decision was announced by him? No, not at all. I have neither spoken to the prime minister nor has anybody from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has had any dialogue with us. Everything we want to say on demonetisation, we say it through media and I have observed that they are taking notes of our opinion. We are happy. Arthkranti is non political NGO and our interest area is the welfare of 125 crore citizens of India. But in the last 50 days, the media has played a crucial role. They have gone to every sector to find their view on demonetisation. But yes, Mera desh badal raha hai (my country is changing) cash se digital Tirupati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday advocated scientific social responsibility (SSR) for leading scientific institutions on the lines of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to promote scientific excellence in all stakeholders, including educational institutions. Modi also exhorted scientists to keep an eye on the rise of disruptive technologies and leverage them for the country's growth, as he pledged government's commitment to supporting different scientific streams with emphasis on innovations. Noting that the rapid rise of Cyber Physical Systems has the potential to pose unprecedented challenges and stresses to India's demographic dividend, Modi emphasised on the need to develop an inter-ministerial mission in this area to secure the nation by creating basic R&D infrastructure, man power and skills. "On the lines of Corporate Social Responsibility, the concept of Scientific Social Responsibility needs to be inculcated to connect our leading institutions to all stakeholders, including schools and colleges. We must create an environment for sharing of ideas and resources," the prime minister said in his inaugural address at the 104th session of the Indian Science Congress in Tirupati. Noting that the brightest and best in every corner of India should have the opportunity to excel in science, Modi said this will ensure that our youth get high-end training exposure to the best of science and technology to make them job-ready in a competitive world. "To this end, I would exhort the National Laboratories to connect with schools and colleges to develop appropriate training programmes. This will also help with the effective use and maintenance of our vast scientific and technological infrastructure. "Laboratories, Research Institutions and Universities in each major city region, should be interlinked to function on a hub and spoke model. The hubs will share major infrastructure, drive our national science missions and be the engines that link discovery to application," he said. The prime minister said college teachers with background in research can be connected to the neighbouring universities and R&D institutions. "Outreach activities from the institutions of eminence to schools, colleges and polytechnics will activate the latent Science and Technology manpower from the educational institutions in your neighbourhoods." "Seeding the power of ideas and innovation in schoolchildren will broaden the base of our innovation pyramid and secure the future of our nation. As a step in this direction, Ministry of Science & Technology is initiating a programme focused on students of classes six to ten," Modi said, adding, "The programme will scout, mentor, reward and showcase ten lakh top innovative ideas focused on local needs from five lakh schools." Referring to the rise of disruptive technologies, Modi said there is equally a need for the scientists to keep an eye on them and be prepared to leverage them for growth. "One important area that needs to be addressed is the rapid global rise of Cyber-Physical Systems. This has the potential to pose unprecedented challenges and stresses to our demographic dividend. But we can turn it into a huge opportunity by research,training and skilling in (fields like) robotics, artificial intelligence, digital manufacturing, big data analysis, deep learning, quantum communication and Internet-of-Things." Modi emphasised on the need to develop and exploit these technologies in services and manufacturing sectors, in agriculture, water, energy and traffic management; health, environment, infrastructure and Geo Information Systems; security; financial systems and in combating crime. Noting that tomorrow's experts will come from investments made today in our people and infrastructure, Modi said his government is committed to supporting different streams of scientific knowledge; ranging from fundamental science to applied science with emphasis on innovations. "We are leveraging strategic international partnerships and collaborations based on the principles of mutuality, parity and reciprocity, to make Indian Science globally competitive. We are also placing special emphasis on building strong relationships with our neighbouring countries and multilateral fora such as BRICS," he said. Modi said the Technology Vision 2035 document released in last years Science Congress, is now developing into a detailed roadmap for twelve key technology sectors and even the NITI Aayog is evolving a holistic science and technology vision for the country. The prime minister also emphasised on ease of doing science, and said Indias ability to execute large transformational national missions required effective partnerships, which can only be ensured by getting out of deep rooted silos and adopting a collaborative approach. "Our ministries, our scientists, R&D institutions, industries, start-ups, universities and IITs, all should work together seamlessly. In particular, our infrastructure and socio-economic ministries must make appropriate use of science and technology. Another empowering factor for scientific delivery is the Ease of Doing Science. If we want science to deliver, we must not constrain it," Modi said. Asserting that building a strong science and technology infrastructure accessible to academia, start-ups, industry and R&D labs tops is a priority of the government, Modi said it was important to address issues like the problems of ease of access, maintenance, redundancy and duplication of expensive equipment in scientific institutions. Modi said establishing professionally managed large regional centers with high value scientific equipment in PPP mode should also be examined. He said Indian institutions could consider inviting outstanding scientists from abroad including NRIs for long term research associations and should also involve foreign and NRI PhD students in post-doctoral research in our projects. By 2030 India will be among the top three countries in science and technology and will be among the most attractive destinations for the best talent in the world. The wheels we set in motion today will achieve this goal, Modi said, adding that SCOPUS database indicates that India now ranks sixth in the world with respect to scientific publications, growing at a rate of about fourteen percent as against the world average growth rate of about four percent. Science must meet the rising aspirations of our people, he said, asserting that problems of urban-rural divide and work for inclusive development, economic growth and employment generation must be addressed through it. Seeking to make science and technology a strong tool of inclusive development and betterment of the weakest and poorest segments of our society, he said ministries, scientists, R&D institutions, industries, start-ups, universities and IITs, all should work together seamlessly. "In particular, our infrastructure and socio-economic ministries must make appropriate use of science and technology," he said. Tirupati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the five-day annual Indian Science Congress at the Sri Venkateswara University here on Tuesday. 'Science and Technology for National Development' will be the focal theme of the Indian Science Congress, Professor D Narayana Rao, general president of Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA), said. Minister of Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan tweeted: PM Modi to address104th #IndianScienceCongress at Sri Venkateswara UnivTirupati 3Jan17 at11 am-Science & technology for National Development Dr. Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) January 2, 2017 The main venue for the Science Congress is the Tarakarama Stadium in the university where the prime minister will address the gathering of eminent scientists including Nobel laureates, he said. Six Nobel Prize winners from different countries such as the US, Japan, Israel, France and Bangladesh will also take part in the event besides about 14,000 scientists and scholars from across the country, he said. The Nobel laureates would also be felicitated with gold medals by the prime minister at the ISC venue, he said. After his inaugural address, Modi, at a tea ceremony at the varsity, will hold a brief conference with about 50 people, including the Nobel laureates, eminent Indian scientists, other dignitaries and top officials, he said. It is the second time that Tirupati is hosting the Indian Science Congress, the first being in 1983 when the 70th ISC was held. This is the 104th conference, he said. Later in the afternoon, Modi will offer prayers at the Lord Venkateswara shrine atop Tirumala hills near here, temple sources said. Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Governor ESL Narasimhan will receive and accompany Modi during his six-hour visit here. A thick security blanket has been thrown over Tirupati and Tirumala in view of the prime minister's visit and the Science Congress. A team of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was attacked on Tuesday by terrorists in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, according to news reports. Assistant Sub-Inspector BN Thakur was on duty in Muran Chowk, 32 kms from Srinagar, when he was shot at by unidentified militants from a close range, the officials said. They said the injured officer was immediately evacuated to hospital and a hunt has been launched to nab the assailants. Times Now also reported that additional troops have been rushed to the area. This attack took place on a day when an unidentified militant was killed in an encounter with security forces in Sopore area of North Kashmir's Baramulla district, police had said. Security forces had laid an ambush at Haritar in Sopore during the intervening night following information about movement of militants through the area, a police official had said. He said security forces on noticing suspicious movement in the wee hours challenged the persons who opened fire. "In the retaliatory firing, one militant was killed. Further details are awaited," the official had said. With inputs from PTI Bhubaneswar: A CBI court extended the remand period of arrested Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Tapas Pal by three more days on a petition filed by the investigating agency. Pal, who was arrested by the CBI for his alleged involvement in the multi-crore Rose Valley chit fund scam, was on Tuesday produced before the Special Chief Judicial Magistrate court, designated as the CBI court, after the expiry of his three-day remand. He was remanded to CBI custody for three days on 31 December. Special Judge PK Mishra admitted CBI's petition and extended Pal's remand by three days against the investigating agency's appeal for a four-day extension. The CBI counsel argued in the court that the investigating agency could not interrogate Pal as the TMC MP kept sleeping most of the time and complaining about his health. Therefore, the agency could not extract facts from him, the CBI counsel contended. The court extended the TMC MP's remand period by three more days. During his earlier remand period, Pal had complained about his health and spent most of the time at Capital Hospital where he had to be taken twice, the CBI counsel told the court. He added that the actor-turned-politician was arrested for his alleged links with Rose Valley Group which cheated the people to the tune of about Rs 17,000 crore in different states, including Odisha and West Bengal. Rose Valley had allegedly taken Rs 450 crore from its poor investors in Odisha, a chargesheet filed by the CBI in January 2016 had said. Meanwhile, Pal's daughter Sohini Pal appeared before the CBI here for the second consecutive day. The CBI sources said she was quizzed on the designation she had held in Rose Valley Group and monetary transactions by her during her tenure in the company. Tapas Pal, while working as a director of Rose Valley Group in 2010, had allegedly appointed his wife, daughter and niece in different positions. He was arrested from Kolkata by the CBI on 30 December and brought to Bhubaneswar on 31 December. There is no end to the ongoing drama in Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party. While former general secretary of the party Ram Gopal Yadav met Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi to stake claim on the Samajwadi Party's election symbol 'cycle', reports said that Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is reaching out to party patriarch and former party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav for a possible truce. UP CM Akhilesh Yadav reaches Mulayam Singh Yadav's residence in Lucknow to meet him. pic.twitter.com/un76ZAWBJH ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 3, 2017 UP CM Akhilesh Yadav reaches Mulayam Singh Yadav's residence in Lucknow to meet him. ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 3, 2017 Ram Gopal, reported IANS, is expected to present the videos of the party's convention on Sunday to prove that the decision to announce Akhilesh as its new National Working President was approved by most party workers. On Monday, flanked by his trusted advisor and younger brother Shivpal Yadav, Mulayam met with the Election Commission to claim the cycle. "We have informed the Election Commission that 90 percent of MLAs are supporting Akhilesh and hence party, led by him, must be considered as the Samajwadi Party," Ram Gopal told the press on Tuesday. Naresh Agarwal accompanied by Ram Gopal. Meanwhile, sources told news agency ANI that its most probable that the symbol would go to Mulayam "only party president can call convention and not disqualified members." "Akhilesh and Ram Gopal's disqualification was never taken back on papers. Revoking their disqualification was conditional and it ws decided that they won't conduct the convention on Sunday. Only then the disqualification can be cancelled but they went ahead and hence disqualification wasn't revoked," sources told ANI. Sources close to Mulayam Singh Yadav to ANI: Akhilesh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav's disqualification was never taken back on papers 1/3 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 3, 2017 Sources close to Mulayam Singh Yadav: Revoking their disqualification was conditional,it ws decided that they won't conduct convention 2/3 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 3, 2017 Sources close to Mulayam Singh Yadav-Only then disqualification can b cancelled bt they went ahead,hence disqualification wasn't revoked 3/3 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 3, 2017 Sources close to Mulayam Yadav to ANI: Their case in EC is strong as only party president can call convention and not disqualified members. ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 3, 2017 According to constitutional experts, in all likelihood, the poll panel could freeze the party symbol and allot new symbols to both the factions to contest the assembly elections scheduled this year. This might come as a blow to both sides as the symbol "cycle" is a well established brand. At a convention held in Lucknow on Sunday, Akhilesh annointed himself the Samajwadi Party President and said Mulayam would remain a "Marg Darshak". The Akhilesh camp also named a new state unit chief in place of Shivpal Yadav and sacked Amar Singh, whom the Uttar Pradesh chief minister has repeatedly dubbed a "dalal". The open rebellion prompted Mulayam to again sack Ram Gopal Yadav from the Samajwadi Party. Both Ram Gopal and Akhilesh had been sacked on Friday too but were taken back a day later. Azam Khan tries to broker peace Amid the ongoing stalemate and a possible cleaving of the ruling party, Azam Khan on Tuesday tried to broker a truce between the father and the son. "Anything is possible," Azam Khan said when asked about any possibility of rapprochement between the two warring factions. "I have a limit and I should think how much I can go within that limit. Yahan wafaa... bewafai ki baat nahi hai (It's not about trust)," Azam said in New Delhi. A bitter critic of Mulayam's close aide Amar Singh, Khan is seen as the party's Muslims face and has maintained a neutral profile in public during the ongoing feud. Regarding reports of forged signatures, one is in short form & other is in full form: Azam Khan, SP pic.twitter.com/Fmlh7lTJyt ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 3, 2017 Only experts can ascertain if they are forged or not but Netaji hasn't condemned the letter yet: Azam Khan, SP pic.twitter.com/bG3whkPhr1 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 3, 2017 The truce process started with a phone call between the father and son after which Mulayam was flown back to Lucknow where he met Akhilesh, according to a report in NDTV. The duo was joined by Shivpal two hours later, however, no word has come out on the possible outcomes of the meeting. Even if the Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll dates are announced it will not mean that all doors on their unity are closed, he said. Asked if the fight will adversely impact Muslim voters, a durable support base of the party, he said they would never want the SP government to go and will work to prevent the BJP from coming to power. "There are upset and worried but there is still time left," he said. To questions about removal of Mulayam by the rival faction, Khan claimed he was not informed much about the recent developments. With inputs from agencies By Madeline Chambers | BERLIN BERLIN Germany must grant federal police more powers to counter threats like terrorism and cyber attacks, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Tuesday, two weeks after a failed asylum seeker rammed a truck into a Christmas market and killed 12 people.In his most detailed response yet to the Dec. 19 attack, de Maiziere said Germany lacks laws that other countries have, and police and intelligence bodies are too fragmented."Our state must be better prepared for difficult times than it has been," de Maiziere said at the start of an election year in which immigration and security will be at the top of the political agenda."The federal government needs to be able to steer all security authorities where central government and the states work together on national security," he wrote in a full-page newspaper article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.Each of the 16 federal states has its own police force and intelligence agency, and the country's worst attack in more than 35 years has reignited debate about how best to prevent information from falling between the cracks.After the Christmas market attack, it emerged that Tunisian suspect Anis Amri had spent nearly a year and a half in Germany, using various names and moving between different parts of the country despite being identified as a security threat. For several days he evaded an intensive search, crossing three international borders before being shot dead in Italy. De Maiziere said the federal police agency should lead national manhunts, and a discussion about centralising intelligence agencies was needed. Better coordination was also required to monitor several hundred individuals believed to pose a threat, including many who have returned from Syria and Iraq. The minister said Germans should not fear installing more video cameras in public places to help prevent and solve crime. Germans have an aversion to such measures after mass snooping under the communist East German Stasi and the Nazis.He also said failed asylum seekers who are viewed as a danger should be held until they can be deported. Amri, whose attack was claimed by Islamic State, was due to be sent home after his asylum application was rejected but Tunisia refused to take him because of missing papers. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is seeking a fourth term this year, is under growing pressure for allowing more than a million migrants into Germany over the past two years, which critics say has made the country more vulnerable to an attack.In the latest twist in a sensitive national debate, police in Cologne are coming under fire for alleged racial profiling and the coining of a new acronym, Nafri, meaning North African Repeat Offenders. Political parties are divided over immigration and security. Sigmar Gabriel, leader of the Social Democrats who are part of a grand coalition with Merkel's conservatives, voiced scepticism about de Maiziere's comments."Mr de Maiziere is making a proposal that means nothing more than a big commission on federalism where the federal government and states sit together and discuss authorities," he said. The anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has gained support at Merkel's expense, said the conservatives lacked credibility on security. "The party has promised too much in the last few years and not enough has been done," said senior AfD member Georg Pazderski. Germany is also concerned that it could be open to a cyber attack in the months leading to the election. The website of the federal police was hacked one day after the Christmas market attack. (Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. TAIPEI Taiwan on Tuesday strongly objected to the deportation from Vietnam to China of four Taiwanese nationals suspected of telecommunications fraud, saying the move was carried out under pressure from Beijing. The latest deportation followed a series of similar cases this year where Taiwanese nationals in Kenya, Malaysia, Armenia and Cambodia have been arrested for alleged involvement in cross-border telecom scam groups and sent to China.The deportations arose from the "one-China" policy of most countries under which they maintain formal relations only with the People's Republic of China rather than Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing regards as a renegade province.The four suspects, along with one Chinese national, were arrested in the northern Vietnamese city of Haiphong in December. Despite repeated requests from Taiwan envoys in Vietnam to have the four deported to Taiwan, they were "forcibly" sent to China, Taiwan's foreign ministry said. "China said that in this case the victims were mostly in China and demanded Vietnam to repatriate all of the suspects to China (based on a bilateral legal treaty), obstructing our efforts to understand the case and visit the Taiwanese suspects," it said in a statement. Taiwan's China policymaker, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), urged Beijing on Tuesday to open dialogue as soon as possible, saying its actions were unhelpful in tracing the source of the cross-border fraud groups and affected mutual trust in joint Chinese-Taiwanese crime-fighting efforts.China has suspended dialogue with Taipei since June, a month after pro-independence Thai Ing-wen took office as Taiwan's president, because Tsai has refused to accept Beijing's "one China" principle that deems Taiwan a part of China. According to MAC officials, there are over 200 Taiwanese suspected of telecom fraud who have been deported from third countries to China this year.Chinese authorities have sought to contain an explosion of telecom crime it says has led to huge financial losses, with callers often impersonating officials or authority figures and preying on the elderly, students or the unemployed. The fraud has spread overseas, with Chinese speakers recruited in neighbouring self-ruled Taiwan increasingly setting up operations in East Africa or Southeast Asia. (Reporting by J.R. Wu; editing by Mark Heinrich) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. GET OUR APP Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Download it here. Macau International Airport (MIA) reported yesterday a record of 6.6 million passenger traffic volume in 2016, with over 56,000 aircraft movements, representing a 14 percent and 2 percent increase respectively compared with 2015. The latest report also said MIA increased three new international routes in 2016 namely Guiyang of China, Manado of Indonesia and Fukuoka of Japan, adding MIA destinations to 41 cities in Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and North Asia. MIA also attracted seven new airlines flying to Macau, including AirExplore SRO, Vietjet Air, Far Eastern Air Transport, Air Seoul, PT Lion Mentari Airlines, JSC Royal Flight Airlines and Nok Air. The report said in 2016 Chinese mainland market increased by 4 percent, Taiwan region and Southeast Asia market increased by 15 percent and 20 percent respectively. Passengers taking regular and low cost airlines increased by 16 percent and 9 percent respectively. MIA added that it will complete some infrastructure projects such as the north terminal building expansion project which will increase airport capacity to 7.5 million passengers per year, a business jets hangar construction project, and an update project to enhance the carrying capacity and safety performance of the airport runway. Xinhua The University of Macaus (UM) Faculty of Business Administration (FBA) and the Asia-Pacific Academy of Economics and Management (APAEM) recently organized a seminar themed Bridging the Gap Between Academia and Macaus Hospitality and Gaming Industry. According to a press release issued by UM, during the event, five FBA students presented their research thesis to more than 100 local industry executive leaders, educators, professionals and students. The inaugural seminar aimed to provide greater insight and postgraduate scientific research related to issues and challenges surrounding the development of the Cotai Strip and Macao as a tourism destination. Mainland man robbed of MOP80,000 Last Sunday, a 58-year-old mainland male was robbed of MOP80,000 near the Macau International Center located at the Zona de Aterros do Porto Exterior. The victim received a neck injury from a cut while fighting with the robber. According to a report by Jornal Va Kio, the suspect is still on the run. The mainland victim says that he was threatened by a man armed with a knife, who had asked him to hand over all of his possessions. The suspect left the scene with MOP80,000 after an attempted fight with the victim. Police have said that the male suspect, assumed to be in his 40s, had spoken Mandarin while robbing the victim. Former HK lawmaker rejected entry in Macau Former Hong Kong lawmaker Frederick Fung Kin-kee was rejected from entering Macau last Saturday because he poses threats to Macaus internal security. According to reports from Hong Kong media, Fung and his family intended to visit his friends from Macau but he was denied entry by Macaus customs for the aforementioned reason. Fung had to return to Hong Kong after being refused entry. Fung said that he had been allowed entry into Macau approximately one year ago. Fung had questioned the reason given by Macau authority: [I] came with my family, how can [I] represent threats to the internal security? Two Public Open Days on Cotai Ecological Zones The Environment Protection Bureau (DSPA) will organize two Public Open Days, one scheduled on January 7 and another on January 21, which will allow the public to visit the Cotai Ecological Zones. A total of 100 entrances will be arranged for visitors. The tour will be two hours long, and a tour guide will lead visitors to the different zones. According to a report by Macao Daily News, 45 Black-faced Spoonbills have already been spotted inhabiting the Cotai ecological zone since last October, when the new migratory birds season started. China should set a more flexible 2017 economic growth target to give policy makers more room to enact reform, according to Huang Yiping, an adviser to the Peoples Bank of China. He proposed a range of 6 percent to 7 percent for this year, compared with the 6.5 percent to 7 percent objective in 2016, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Last years target, the first range in two decades, was down from 7 percent for 2015. The countrys leaders also have a longer-term objective. President Xi Jinping has said he wants expansion to average at least 6.5 percent in the five years through 2020 to achieve the Communist Party promise of building a moderately prosperous society by that year with gross domestic product and income levels double those of 2010. The 6.5 percent target is just an average rate, Huang, an economics professor at Peking University, told Xinhua in an interview published late Sunday. As long as employment is stable, a slightly wider growth target range in the short term will reduce the need for pro-growth efforts and give policy makers more room to focus on reforms. Huang said a large number of zombie companies remain economically inviable yet still manage to survive on government and bank assistance, bringing down the overall efficiency of resource allocation in the economy. In addition to slowing growth and rising debt, top officials are also trying to manage a smooth re-balancing from the old growth drivers such as manufacturing and construction as new ones like consumption struggle to compensate. Meanwhile, policy makers are focusing more on safeguarding the financial system. Preventing and controlling financial risk to avoid asset bubbles will be a priority for 2017, along with deepening supply-side structural reform, top party officials said recently after their annual gathering of the Central Economic Work Conference to decide on policy goals. Xi is open to growth below the 6.5 percent target due to rising debt and concern about an uncertain global environment after Donald Trumps U.S. election win, a person familiar with the situation told Bloomberg News last month. Hitting the target isnt needed if doing so is too risky, said the person, who asked not to be named because the discussions were private. China is poised to abandon its longer-term growth target in the next two years as leaders push to contain asset bubbles and financial leverage, Yao Wei, chief China economist at Societe Generale SA in Paris, wrote in a report last week. She said the 6.5 percent goal will likely be lowered to a range of 6 percent to 6.5 percent, or even 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent. Bloomberg Sands Resorts Cotai Strip Macao amassed over 20,000 visitors who were entertained by the countdown celebrations at The Venetian Macaos outdoor lagoon and The Parisian Macao. According to a statement from Sands China, the New Year Eve (NYE) countdown celebration, which involved an Electronic Dance Music (EDM) party, had thrilled the crowd. At Sands Cotai Central, families experienced an early New Year countdown as part of King Juliens New Years Eve Party with The DreamWorks All-Stars. At The Venetian Macao, free performances included the Lucky 5 band, while an NYE dance crew performed up-tempo moves to the latest hits along with U.S. funk-rock band Andy Frasco & The U.N. A specially created New Years Eve countdown projection wrapped up the evening by transforming the entire facade of The Venetian Macao into a clock for the final 10 minutes of 2016. At the stroke of midnight, the crowd saw a fireworks display which welcomed 2017 in. Meanwhile, inside The Venetian Macao, revelers were also celebrating two events, namely the Ministry of Sound New Years Eve Countdown After Party with Shaun Frank and Delaney Jane and the 17 Happy Gathering LEXUS 2017 JSTV New Years Eve Concert. The new president of Afghanistan, Babrak Karmal, has made his first public appearance since the Soviet-backed coup last week. Speaking in Kabul, Karmal told foreign journalists that Soviet troops are defending his country against outside threats. The former leader of the Peoples Democratic Republic of Afghanistans (PDPA) Parcham faction went on to accuse the US of provocation and lies. Today, President Carter has announced further US sanctions against the USSR including a reduction of Soviet embassy staff and restricted landing rights for the Russian airline Aeroflot. Mr Carter has also imposed an embargo on grain sales to the USSR that will see US exports fall from 25 million to eight million tones. The President described the Soviet incursions into Afghanistan as, an extremely serious threat to peace and a callous violation of international law and the United Nations charter. He warned that, A Soviet occupied Afghanistan threatens both Iran and Pakistan and is a stepping stone to possible control over much of the worlds oil supplies. Russian forces were airlifted into Afghanistan on Christmas day under the pretext of upholding the Soviet-Afghan Friendship Treaty of 1978. By 27 December 1979 Hafizullah Amin had been executed and replaced as head of state by Karmal. In Moscow the new Afghan foreign minister, Shah Mohammed Dost, has been in talks with his Soviet counterpart, Andrei Gromyko. The UN Security Council is expected to meet in New York at the weekend to discuss the situation. UN secretary general, Kurt Waldheim, has returned from the hostage crisis in Iran to attend. Courtesy BBC News In context This was the first Soviet military expedition beyond the Eastern bloc since 1945. It signaled an end to the period of detente in the Cold War and the SALT II treaty was shelved as the US began to re-arm. The USSR was under internal and external pressure to act. The US and 12 other members of the UN Security Council defined their actions as an invasion. Only East Germany and Afghanistan joined with the USSR in favor of their military presence. Afghanistan became a key battleground of the Cold War as both superpowers flooded the country with arms through their various clients. The Afghan war lasted until 1989, cost one million lives (out of a total population of 13 million) and produced five million Afghan refugees. A search resumed yesterday for 17 people reported missing after a ferry fire off the coast of Indonesias capital that left at least 23 dead, officials said. The victims died Sunday when the vessel, Zahro Express, carrying more than 260 people from a port near Jakarta to Tidung, a resort island in the Kepulauan Seribu chain, caught fire, officials said. Most of the passengers were Indonesians celebrating the New Year holiday, according to local media reports. Dito, an official from the Jakarta Search and Rescue Agency, said at least five ships and a number of speedboats and rubber boats were deployed in the search. Of the 224 passengers who were rescued, 32 were being treated at three hospitals, said Dito, who uses a single name. Seply Madreta, an official from the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency, said the fire gutted about half the vessel, and that 23 bodies had been recovered. Twenty bodies that were found inside the vessel were burned beyond recognition and were transferred to a police hospital for identification, said Col. Umar Shahab of the Jakarta police health department. Witnesses told MetroTV that the fire broke out about 15 minutes after the ferry left the port of Muara Angke. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. Some passengers told local media that they first saw smoke coming from the ferrys engine. The director for sea transportation, Tonny Budiono, said the initial suspicion was that the fire was most probably caused by a short circuit in the engine room. He told a news conference the short circuit might have led to the fuel tank exploding. TV footage showed people in the water with the ferry in flames in the background. A woman in the water can be heard screaming Ya Allah! Ya Allah! or Oh God! Oh God! Another woman told the TV station that she and other passengers were rescued by a small boat. Despite the high number of people who were rescued, the ferrys manifest showed that only 100 were registered as passengers, along with six crewmen, said Denny Wahyu Haryanto, head of the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency. He said the vessels captain was under police investigation over the incident. Ferry accidents are common in Indonesia, the worlds largest archipelagic nation, with more than 17,000 islands. Many accidents are blamed on lax regulation of boat services. Ali Kotarumalos, Jakarta, AP Chief Executive Chui Sai On delivered his New Year message on Saturday, noting that the MSAR would continue to give priority to policies concerning economic development, enhancement of social wellbeing and lawful and effective administration. Under a plan approved by the Central Government, Macau will have opportunities to make further contributions to Chinas development of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, Chui said. To coordinate that work, the government has established a committee, led by the Chief Executives Office, to find ways to boost cooperation with other countries and neighboring areas. In particular, with mainlands Guangdong and Fujian provinces covered by the Belt and Road initiative; and to link to national strategies the SAR development goals such as being a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. Reviewing 2016s achievements, Chui claimed that the region has been able to maintain its economic stability, its strong fiscal reserves and its high rate of employment, in a period of economic adjustment. Chui highlighted that the local government had formulated the regions first-ever Five-Year Development Plan, a blueprint for the citys socio-economic development spanning the period between 2016 to 2020 inclusive. The Plan also aims to better align the MSAR with the countrys 13th Five-Year Plan. Chui also stated that in October, the local government successfully held the 5th Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macau), which was attended by Premier Li Keqiang. An Indonesian budget airline has fired a pilot suspected of trying to fly a plane while he was drunk, and two of its executives are resigning. Citilink President Director Albert Burhan announced Friday that he and the airlines production director would resign over the impropriety. Citilink is a subsidiary of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia. Passengers became suspicious when they heard slurred words and unclear announcements from the cockpit. Some of them left the plane and asked for a replacement of the pilot they believed to be either drunk or under drug influence. Citilink assigned a new pilot to fly the Airbus A320 about an hour behind schedule. The flight had 154 passengers but a number reportedly decided to cancel. The flight on Wednesday was heading from Surabaya, Indonesias second-largest city, to the capital, Jakarta. Aviation is a main mode of travel in the sprawling nation of 17,000 islands, and the incident has raised safety concerns. YouTube footage showed the pilot appeared to stagger through a metal detector at a security checkpoint and security guards picked up his belongings that were falling on the floor as he seemed out of control. The pilot had committed serious violation of standard operation procedure that endangered passengers, Burhan said. We apologize for the discomfort. I have to be responsible for that and therefore I and my production director resign. The airline previously had dismissed reports that the 32-year-old pilot Tekad Purna was drunk, saying initial tests of drug and alcohol were negative. Director General of Air Transportation Suprasetyo has asked Citilink to make sure the pilot underwent a medical check. Purna is under investigation for possible drunkenness or drug use. Minister of Transportation Budi Karya has banned him from flying pending the outcome of the investigation. If proven, his license would be revoked. In December last year, three crew members a pilot and two flight attendants were arrested for allegedly consuming crystal methamphetamine, known locally as shabu-shabu, at a hotel. AP South Korean prosecutors said yesterday the daughter of the confidante of disgraced President Park Geun-hye has been arrested in Denmark and authorities are working to get her returned home in connection with a huge corruption scandal. Park was impeached last month by lawmakers amid public fury over prosecutors allegations that the president conspired to allow her longtime friend, Choi Soon-sil, to extort companies and control the government. Denmark police arrested Chois daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, on the weekend on charges of staying their illegally. South Korea had asked Interpol to search for Chung because she didnt return home to answer questions about the scandal. South Koreas Yonhap news agency reports that Chung, a former member of the national equestrian team, allegedly took advantage of her mothers relationship with Park to get unwarranted favors from Seouls Ewha Womans University. AP State broadcaster Central China Television has rebranded its international networks and digital presence under the name China Global Television Network as part of a push to consolidate its worldwide reach. CCTV on Friday unveiled several new mobile apps under the CGTN brand, and visitors to CCTVs non-Chinese language websites are directed to a new site. The broadcaster says it made the move to integrate resources and to adapt to the trend of media convergence, with foreign language channels, video content and digital media falling under the new group. The broadcaster published a congratulatory letter from President Xi Jinping on Saturday urging the newly launched CGTN to tell Chinas story well, spread Chinas voice well, let the world know a three-dimensional, colorful China, and showcase Chinas role as a builder of world peace. The government has long grumbled about the Western news medias hold on international discourse and has spent vast sums in recent years to enhance its own influence and shape global opinion, with CCTV as one of its spearheads. The broadcaster has channels in English, Arabic, French, Spanish and Russian, and production centers in Washington and Nairobi. The international-facing makeover will be extensive. CCTVs international newscasts will now carry CGTN logos, while CGTN has unveiled two new smartphone apps: one that contains mostly news articles and one for live broadcasts. CCTVs social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Tumblr all of which are aimed at international audiences, because the platforms are all blocked inside China have all been rebranded as CGTN. In the past year, Xi has tightened the ruling Communist Partys control over state media outlets while re-articulating their core mission to serve as the governments mouthpiece. Xi memorably sat in the evening news anchors chair himself during a high-profile tour of CCTVs Beijing headquarters in February when he urged journalists to ramp up their coverage of positive news and pledge complete loyalty to the party. Major state media including CCTV and the official Xinhua News Agency have expanded aggressively in recent years with dual missions of becoming globally credible media heavyweights while sustaining their roles as vital propaganda organs of the Communist Party. According to a 2009 South China Morning Post report, Chinas government planned to earmark 45 billion yuan (USD6.5 billion) to help spread its message abroad. The spending was never officially confirmed, but in recent years CCTV and Xinhua have invested heavily in newsgathering and broadcasting and raising their international visibility. In 2011, Xinhua leased a giant display in New Yorks Times Square that has, among other things, broadcast videos arguing Chinas position on the South China Sea territorial dispute. The outlets have also deployed vast numbers of journalists to produce extensive daily reports from around the world, including from countries in the Middle East, Latin America and Africa where Western media presences are shrinking amid vanishing budgets. Their swift inroads have at times raised concerns among some domestic media in Australia and politicians in the U.S. In early December, President Barack Obama signed into law a counter-propaganda bill that its sponsor, Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, said was aimed at propaganda from Russia, China and other nations. Gerry Shih, AP Nearly 5,000 people in Hong Kong marched in a New Years Day protest against an attempt by the semi-autonomous Chinese citys government to disqualify four pro-democracy lawmakers, police said. Hong Kongs government has started legal proceedings against the four recently elected legislators, who altered their swearing-in oaths to stage apparent protests against the Chinese government in Beijing. In November, the Hong Kong government won a similar challenge against two newly elected separatist lawmakers after Beijing said that anyone who doesnt properly take their oath should be barred from office. Beijings intervention fueled growing concern among many Hong Kong residents that Chinas government is eroding the citys wide autonomy. Some protesters on Sunday held flags reading Hong Kong independence and placards in support of the four lawmakers. One of the legislators, Edward Yiu, added phrases about democracy during his oath-taking. Yiu said that the Hong Kong governments legal move was destroying the citys democratic system, and that lawmakers must be protected because they are elected by hundreds of thousands of voters. Its not just about injustice; its about protecting our democratic system, Yiu said. Police said around 4,800 people took part in the march. Organizers said 9,100 participated. AP It pays to be an expatriate in Switzerland. Expats living in the home of UBS Group AG, drug maker Novartis AG and commodity trader Glencore Plc earn an average salary of USD188,275 a year. Thats the highest in the world and almost twice the global average, according to data published Monday by HSBC Holdings Plc. Switzerland also tops the banks expat career ranking for a second year. Expats ranked Switzerland highly for both financial and personal well-being criteria, said Dean Blackburn, head of HSBC Expat. The combination of high salaries and excellent work culture has placed Switzerland at the top of the careers league table. It isnt just big paychecks that make Switzerland, which also hosts the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, the best all-round destination for a career abroad. Of those surveyed by HSBC, 69 percent said their work-life balance had improved in Switzerland and 61 percent said the work culture was better than their home country. Germany and Sweden ranked second and third overall, despite salaries that were at or below the global average, according to HSBC. European countries took six of the top 10 spots. Expats in Sweden and Germany enjoy benefits outside the financial side of work, said Blackburn. Germany offers the best job security for expats. Sweden, as well as topping the tables for work culture, is praised by 79 percent of expats for its excellent work-life balance. Money, of course, cant buy happiness. Previous data released by HSBC showed that while Switzerland ranks first in financial well-being for those working abroad, it ranks close to last in cultivating relationships and social life. The cost of living in Switzerland is also notoriously high, with Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung last month reporting that the price of food is 70 percent higher than the European average, while health-care expenses are more than double. The best employment packages including health benefits, accommodation allowances and trips home are found in Middle East countries such as Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, according to HSBC, which surveyed 26,871 expats in more than 100 countries. Hong Kong and Singapore topped the ranking for career development with 68 percent and 62 percent respectively of respondents agreeing that these were good places to improve their careers. Lifestyle, however, suffered for some upon moving to Asia as 30 percent of expats in Singapore and 50 percent in Hong Kong reported a decline in work-life balance. Andy Hoffman, Zoe Schneeweiss, Bloomberg TWIN FALLS If its something you enjoy, it doesnt require patience. Thats how John Boyer sees his job after 25 years of making custom jewelry in his Twin Falls store. And its a passion for his work thats kept him going staying late at the shop until 3 a.m. and working on Christmas gifts up to 11 p.m. Christmas Eve. For Boyer, his craft has never been a hobby, but a lifelong career and a business. As soon as I entered this world of gold and diamonds and jewelry it felt so comfortable, he said. It was where I belong. Its not what I do, its who I am. He takes pride in his creative expression, embracing the inner artist. At Boyer Jewelry, 1838 Addison Ave. E., customers usually come in with an inkling of what they want for a piece. Boyer tries to take himself out of the thought process, and focus on what the customer wants. He sketches a design, then improves on it. This can take only a couple of minutes, he said. Once an idea is formed, Boyer carves it into wax or metal, depending his plans for the project. Intricately carved figurines of pheasants, elk and mythical beasts are among some of the molds hes created. Boyer uses a jeweler saw to cut out the original carving. An OptiVisor helps him see what hes doing, and his hands are steady muscle memory he developed years ago. Once you master the tools, then the artist just takes over, he said. Boyer grew up in Hagerman and studied art in college before he apprenticed with a goldsmith in Las Vegas in 1972. He later returned to the Magic Valley and opened his store in 1991. Boyer, 65, says he has no plans to retire anytime soon. Today, it may take as short as four or six weeks to complete a piece. Sometimes, I get too busy, Boyer said. It doesnt take a great segment of the population to do what I do and still make a living. His wife of 34 years, Chris, helps by taking over the bookkeeping a job she began in 1994. We work really well together, she said. It gives me a lot of flexibility because I have a very nice boss. I enjoy the people. Boyer said he has fun watching a piece evolve from start to finish whether its an elk horn ring from a hunters prize kill, a wedding ring for a local couple, or a family heirloom remade into something its owner can wear. People who enjoy it as a hobby, they would burn out and leave in tears, he said. All the same, its an intense passion for his work and not the money that keeps him going. TWIN FALLS Chris Jones learned to read Braille at age 5. He was blinded at birth when he was diagnosed with retinopathy of premature, a disease that occurs in premature babies. It causes abnormal blood vessels to grow in the retina, the layer of nerve tissue in the eye that enables people to see. This growth causes the retina to detach from the back of the eye, leading to blindness. Jones is the president of the Central Idaho Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind. He aims to help other blind people by connecting them with resources available through the group. They have about 10 members in the Magic Valley and Jones is recruiting more, both sighted and blind. We pride ourselves on doing stuff for the blind, Jones said. Its blind people changing what it means to be blind. The National Federation for the Blind was established in 1940 and is the oldest and largest organization of blind people. To let more people know about the group, the Central Idaho Chapter is throwing a party in honor of Louie Braille, the creator of Braille. The celebration starts at 6 p.m. Jan. 6 at Idaho Pizza. This event is free and open to the public. This is the first time the local chapter has held a celebration to honor Braille. A lot of people dont know how important Braille is, Jones said. There is still a need for blind people to use Braille. If youre using your sight, you need to learn Braille. Braille is a system of raised dots that convey to the reader the letter, word, number or symbol. There are three different grades of Braille to meet the different needs of Braille readers. Louis Braille created the system and first presented it in 1824. Jones wife, Judy, is also blind and was also diagnosed with retinopathy of prematurity as a baby. Theyve been married for 36 years and have two adult daughters. The couple met in Frankfurt, Germany as children, but didnt reconnect until they were adults. Their fathers were both in the military, and each family moved often. Growing up, Jones attended both public schools where he was one of a few blind children and schools for the blind. Hes lived in Orlando, Fla., Atlanta, Ga. and San Fransico to name a few. He has a bachelors degree in social work from Florida State University and used to work at a technical college in Washington state. He was living in Cheyenne, Wyo. when he ran into someone who knew Judy. At the time, she was teaching Spanish and German at a public school in Kansas. He reached out to her and they rekindled their friendship. He proposed to her on the phone. She said she had to pray about it but eventually said yes. The Joneses have lived in Twin Falls since 2008 and been members of the local National Federation of the Blind chapter since 2011. A lot of people dont know there is help out there, Jones said. There is a lot you can do if youve seen before. Besides resources to help people find jobs or a mentor, there are also tools to help people obtain higher education. For instance, NFB awards more than $120,000 in national scholarships to blind university and college students. In mid-December, Jones demonstrated how he operates his Braille Sensory U2 to read. The machine hung around his neck by a strap. He read minutes from the chapters last meeting by moving his fingers over the Braille keyboard on the device. Technology has grown leaps and bounds, he said. He also uses Web-Braille a web-based service that provides Braille books and magazines in an electronic format. Back in the day all you had was a library, and theyd send you books in Braille, but technology makes it so much easier, he said. Jones encouraged people to attend the Jan. 6 event to learn more about NFB. Anyone can join, but the president and vice-president have to be blind. Its important for the blind to run what we are doing, Jones said. Im just concerned about helping people. Blindness is real but you dont to let it stop you. For more information, visit nfb.org. Its blind people changing what it means to be blind. Chris Jones, president of the Central Idaho Chapter, National Federation of the Blind TWIN FALLS The Twin Falls Police Department is asking for the communitys help finding suspects in an armed robbery early Sunday. Officers were dispatched to Idaho Joes restaurant at 12:44 a.m. on Blue Lakes Boulevard North, police said in a statement Tuesday. The victim a restaurant employee was walking out to her vehicle in the restaurants parking lot after finishing her shift, according to the statement. Two men in a four-door charcoal gray Toyota drove up. One of the men robbed the woman at knife-point, police said. The man was wearing a gray sweater and mask. The other man, who remained inside the car, was wearing a red jacket. Detectives obtained surveillance video from a nearby business showing the suspects vehicle leaving north on Blue Lakes Boulevard North. Police ask anyone with information about the incident to contact Detective Javier Paredez at 208-735-4357. TWIN FALLS Prosecutors say a Twin Falls man set for trial later this month murdered his girlfriends 2-year-old son in 2014, inflicting a blow to the back of the boys head that an autopsy later revealed caused brain swelling, a skull fracture and bleeding in the childs retinas. Brian James Wagner, 34, was charged with first-degree murder in November 2015 through an indictment. Hes accused of killing Jeff Singleton, his girlfriends 2-year-old son who died Nov. 2, 2014, days after he suffered a traumatic injury to the back of his head. Prosecutors took the case in front of a Twin Falls grand jury Oct. 28, 2015, after which the grand jury handed down the first-degree murder indictment. Wagner was never arrested, never booked into jail, never subject to a bond and his arraignment was held in a special hearing apart from the other daily arraignments, meaning that while his case has been open to the public, it has remained hidden in plain-sight in the court system for more than a year. According to the indictment and other details from court documents, Wagner was alone and caring for Singleton on Oct. 31, 2014, when the boy suffered the fatal injury to the back base of his skull. The states medical expert believes that the injury was non-accidental, 5th District Judge Richard Bevan wrote in a memorandum and order last year. Paramedics were called to a home Oct. 31, 2014, in the 900 block of Borah Avenue West for the report of an unresponsive child, court documents said. When they arrived, they began treating Singleton, who was taken to St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center in Twin Falls, and then to St. Alphonsus Medical Center in Boise, and finally to the pediatric intensive care unit at St. Lukes in Boise, where he died. Police detectives began their investigation into the case almost immediately, but the boys mother at the time was adamant then that he fell and nobody was at fault for her sons death. It was an accident that ended in the worst possible way, Benicia Rush, 20 at the time, told the Times-News. But a year later, the grand jury disagreed, and Wagner is set for a trial in the case later this month. On Tuesday, several dozen potential jurors were asked to fill out long questionnaires that attorneys will use to whittle down the pool ahead of jury selection. Wagner was also in court for a pretrial conference. The indictment charges Wagner with murder but doesnt include a specific act. It says Wagner did kill and murder (Singleton) while committing an aggravated battery by willfully and unlawfully using force or violence upon (Singleton) thus causing a traumatic head injury from which (Singleton) died. Wagner and his private defense attorney, Doug Nelson, challenged the indictment early last year, saying they couldnt prepare a proper defense because they dont know the specific act Wagner is accused of committing. The indictment in Mr. Wagners case only contains adverbs but not verbs, Nelson argued in a memorandum while seeking to have the case dismissed. There is no statement telling us what Mr. Wagner is actually alleged to have done. Did he punch the child? Did he drop the child on his head? Did he slam the childs head into a wall? Did he put the childs head into a vice? The list of these questions could go on for 10 pages, but the point is made. Nelson went on to argue that, without a specific act being alleged, he cant consult and ask experts the million-dollar question: The state is saying that Mr. Wagner did [fill in the blank] to the child. Does the medical evidence support that theory or is the state way off base? Without knowing what act with which to fill in the blank, the question cannot be asked and therefor Mr. Wagner is deprived of mounting a meaningful defense. Bevan denied the challenge to the indictment while acknowledging that it lacks wording on the specific act Wagner is accused of while committing the murder. Although the exact manner of force or violence used be it a kick, a punch, a shove, or a blow with a blunt object (the possibilities are endless) is uncharged, the indictment contains sufficient specificity, beyond merely naming the offense, to ensure the defendant a meaningful opportunity to prepare his defense and to protect the defendant from a subsequent prosecution for the same act, Bevan wrote in his decision to uphold the indictment. Even without knowing the act Wagner is accused of, Nelsons defense strategy appears to be arguing Singletons fall was indeed accidental. While prosecutors might call up to 17 witnesses, including police, paramedics and doctors from St. Lukes and St. Alphonsus, Nelson plans to call just two witnesses, both doctors from out of state, including one who specializes in the recreation of injuries. Both will testify that (Singletons) injuries could have been caused by a fall like the one described by Mr. Wagner to the police, Nelson wrote while submitting his witness list. An expert who testified to the grand jury, according to Bevans written order, said the injury was not an accident but the result of a forceful blow to the back of the head, which was caused by a blunt instrument. In their own memorandum in the case, prosecutors said that in front of a grand jury, Dr. Paul McPherson testified that (Singleton) had swelling of the brain, a skull fracture and bleeding in his retinas, and that these injuries were caused by a severe, forceful blow to the back of the head, with an acceleration, de-acceleration component. A jury is expected to be selected Jan. 17, and testimony will begin the next day, with the trial expected to last eight or nine days. Wagner faces up to life in prison and a $50,000 fine if convicted. What they do: La Posada has been approved by the Immigration and Naturalization Service to provide a variety of services dealing with immigration. It also has been approved by the Internal Revenue Service as a low income tax clinic to assist with taxes for its clients. Whats changing? The organization is seeing more single men than women and children. Other clients include victims of domestic violence, farm workers and other individuals not in legal immigration status. Whats the biggest difference the organization made in 2016? Meeting the needs of its clients. Among the help it providesAssistance with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, employment authorization, family-based petitions, naturalization and citizenship assistance, U visas and Violence Against Women Act petitions. It also helps with completing forms and representation before Immigration Court and the Board of Immigration Appeals. God always seems to find money for those who really need it, said Sister Rosemary Boessen, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. This is a hand up so our clients can get on their two feet. What are their hopes for 2017? La Posada wants to continue its work with other agencies to expand awareness about what La Posada does and to assist its clients with a broader range of services, including job training. Its working, for instance, with other agencies to secure small units for singles to live in for a few months until they can build up enough capital to secure their own housing. How can people help? The biggest need is cash donations to help people with housing and paying bills. The organization goes after grants but can always use more financial assistance. Id like to see more in the way of emotional and other support, too, Boessen said. There are a lot of people who have never been affirmedthey have no one to pat them on the back. We need to figure out how we can encourage them. Contact: La Posada is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at 355 4th Ave. W. in Twin Falls. The phone number is 208-734-8700. TWIN FALLS A Twin Falls man has been arrested after police received a report of shots fired at a residence New Years Day. Twin Falls police responded to the call at just before 8 p.m. Sunday and headed to 1311 Eighth Ave. E. When they arrived, police offers set up a perimeter, Sgt. Lou Coronado said. Jason Stockton, 46, of Twin Falls was inside the house. Mr. Stockton was later arrested for aggravated assault, Coronado said. Police said Stockton was in an argument with another man inside the house and Stockton had a gun. The two began wrestling and the gun went off. No one was injured. Amy Yvonne Haycock Starry Thiebert February 20, 1937 - December 25, 2016 TWIN FALLS - Amy Yvonne Haycock Starry Thiebert, aged 79, of Twin Falls, passed away at home on December 25, 2016, of a long term illness. Amy was born in Burley, Idaho on February 20, 1937 to Cecil and Orthella Haycock. She graduated from Burley High School and attended Stevens-Henager College. She later graduated from Magic Valley Institute of Massage in Twin Falls. She was married to John E. Starry in 1956 in Burley, Idaho. They had four sons and divorced in 1974. She then married John Thiebert in 1978 and later divorced in 1990. Amy loved to travel, fondly remembering her many trips throughout the United States, Canada, England and Mexico. She also loved being with friends and family and considered her close friends part of her family. She was self-employed for many years as a massage therapist, as well as the owner of the Less Stress center in Twin Falls. Well known for her infectious laugh, she loved helping people and gave many massages as gifts to the terminally ill. Amy was predeceased by both of her parents and her brother Clair Haycock. She is survived by her sister Jean Hickman of Burley, brother Larry Haycock (Bonnie) of Twin Falls, son Kirk Starry (Pam) of Boise, son Ace Starry of Nashville, Tennessee, son Stuart Starry (Shannon) of Albuquerque, New Mexico and Carl Starry (Steffani) of Plano, Texas. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Melissa Starry-Smith (Shawn), Colin Starry (Kelly Ann), Natalie Starry, Ryanne Starry, Jack Starry, and her great grandchildren Cooper Smith and Cameron Smith. She is also survived by her many friends who helped care for her during her illness and also the doctors and caretakers of Visions Hospice. Cremation to be performed by Parke's Magic Valley Funeral Home, a celebration of life service to be held in her honor in the spring, when the flowers bloom. Time and date to be announced. Those who wish may share memories and condolences on her memorial page at www.magicvalleyfuneralhome.com. Calvin Graybeal October 8, 1925 - January 1, 2017 CASTLEFORD - Long time resident Ed Calvin Graybeal, 91, passed peacefully on January 1, 2017, at Grace Assisted Living Center in Twin Falls, Idaho. Calvin was born the second son of Henry and Lula (Bolton) Graybeal on October 8, 1925 in Castleford on the same site he and Lola lived and raised their family for 67 years. After Calvin graduated from Castleford High School, he served in the army for two years in the Philippines and Japan during World War II. Shortly after he returned from the army, he met Lola Fields and they were married in the Castleford First Baptist Church on April 4, 1947. Calvin and Lola worked together on their dairy farm until he retired. They were Arizona snowbirds for 21 years. They were active in their church and the community their entire lives. Calvin moved to Grace Assisted Living Center after his wife Lola passed away. He loved his family, friends, and fishing. Calvin never knew a stranger and always had a joke or story to tell. Survivors include his five children: Don (Silvia) Graybeal and Mike (Cheryl) Graybeal of Castleford; Karen (Bill) Garrison of Filer; Lisa (Kirk) Ihander of Bend, OR; Debbie (Steve) Pugh of McMinnville, OR. He also leaves 11 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife Lola and his brother David. The Graybeal family would like to express their heartfelt thanks to the Idaho Home Health and Hospice staff and to his Grace Assisted Living Center family. Memorial contributions can be made in Calvin's name to Castleford First Baptist Church or a charity of your choice. Funeral services will be held at 12:00 noon Friday, January 6, 2017 at the Castleford First Baptist Church. A viewing will be from 4 7:00 p.m. Thursday, January 5, 2017 at Farmer Funeral Chapel in Buhl. Caryl McClymonds August 25, 1924 - December 28, 2016 TWIN FALLS - Caryl McClymonds, 92 of Twin Falls passed gently into that good night on December 28, 2016. Caryl was born to Joseph and Adelia Reinarz in Walker, Minnesota on August 25, 1924. Caryl's early years were spent living in Minnesota with her father after the untimely deaths of her sister in 1928 and her mother mother in 1929. Caryl and her father moved to Klamath Falls, Oregon in 1942 and later to Crescent City, California. Caryl married William C. (Bill) McClymonds on January 19, 1944 in Reno, Nevada. She followed Bill to Kentucky where he was stationed until his deployment to Germany. Caryl returned to California while her husband was deployed. The happy couple farmed in Tule Lake, California after the war. In 1947 Bill and Caryl homesteaded at the Hunt Project near Eden, Idaho. They lived on the farm until 1957 when they moved to Twin Falls, Idaho where Caryl resided for the rest of her life. Caryl and Bill had four sons during their marriage. Caryl loved her kids and grandkids and her happiest times were those spent with them. Caryl maintained her sense of humor and love of shopping until the end. Caryl worked as an auction clerk, an Avon Lady and at the Kellwood hosiery factory; but her favorite position was serving as a Campground Host for the Forest Service in the South Hills for 4 years after Bill's retirement. Caryl was preceded in death by her husband Bill, her daughter in law Vickie McClymonds (David), her parents, and her sister Gwendolyn. Caryl is survived by her sons William (Linda), Michael, David, and Rocky (Lori). She is also survived by 11 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. Caryl resided at the Brookdale Assisted Living Facility in Twin Falls for five years preceding her death and the family would like to thank the staff at Brookdale for the loving care that they provided for her. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Parke's Magic Valley Funeral home in Twin Falls, Idaho. Messages can be left on the Parke's website at www.magicvalleyfuneralhome.com. A family memorial service will be held at a later date. BURLEY Briana Leon got a surprise for her birthday this year: A baby girl. In 1993, Leon was the seventh baby to be born on New Years Day in Burley. On Sunday, her daughter was the first and only New Years Day baby born at Cassia Regional Hospital in Burley. Cataleya Sia Alvarez arrived 10 days earlier than expected, delivered at 12:35 p.m. Sunday to Briana Leon and Samuel Alvarez of Oakley. I wasnt worried, Leon said. It was unexpected, but everything was OK. Weighing 7 pounds, 5 ounces, Cataleya was one of six babies born in the Magic Valley on Sunday. And besides sharing the same birthday, theres something else Cataleya has in common with the first New Years babies in Twin Falls and Ketchum: All three were girls measuring 19 inches long. Leon had come into the hospital on New Years Eve, concerned when she couldnt feel the baby move. She found out she was having contractions, but the birth was delayed when she stopped dilating. It was a New Years surprise, Leon said. Her parents didnt know the sex of their baby before she arrived. They received gifts of baskets, blankets, clothing and diapers from the hospital. Cataleya has two older siblings. First in Twin Falls: Elma Marisol Salas St. Lukes Magic Valley Regional Medical Center in Twin Falls delivered four babies throughout the day two boys and two girls. The first of these was Elma Marisol Salas, born at 3:05 a.m. to Deanna Miller and Arturo Salas. She weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces and came a day before her due date. Miller, who was in labor for about 12 hours, said shed been told that another woman was in the delivery room around the same time. I guess the nurses were betting (which would come first), Miller recounted. With only one doctor available, her labor came on harder and faster than the other patient, so her baby was delivered first. Miller said she didnt even notice at first when one year changed to the next. Elma got to meet her 14-month-old sister later that day. Her great-grandfather also has a Jan. 1 birthday, Miller said. Its neat for a kid, she said. She gets to have a special birthday. Elma received a car seat, a onesie and some blankets from St. Lukes. Information was not available on the other three babies born Sunday at the Twin Falls hospital. First in Ketchum: Galena Margaret McCann At St. Lukes Wood River Medical Center, Galena Margaret McCann was born to Megan and Luc McCann of Ketchum at 3:48 a.m. She weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces and was 19 inches long. As a gift, the McCann family received a baby hamper with toys and clothes, a nurse in obstetrics said. North Canyon Medical Center in Gooding and Minidoka Memorial Hospital in Rupert dont deliver babies unless its an emergency. Keep companies in America, with a stick President-elect Donald Trump has a proposed 35 percent tax on businesses that want to leave our country for another, and I believe it is something that we should all whole-heartedly support. American companies need to have incentive to keep jobs, and business in America. If patriotic sentiment doesnt work, and the thought of increased profit at the detriment of our workers wont keep American business here, then we should penalize them. Opponents of the policy argue that our government shouldnt be able to interfere with a businesses decision. I say why not? When a company leaves American soil, it is to the detriment of the American worker. While it is a pick-and-choose tax, the only businesses that need to worry about it are the ones who continue to ship jobs offshore. Businesses with American interests at heart have nothing to fear. So for once I agree with Trump. Lets hit them with a stick. Eli Dunn Rupert The following editorial appears in Mondays Washington Post: Why dont you give up? That was one readers suggestion after voters ignored our advice and elected Donald Trump president. Other readers proffered contrary counsel for the Trump era. We should oppose him at every turn, some say. Others, citing Trumps hunger for approval, think we should jolly him along, ignore his more objectionable tweets and give plenty of positive reinforcement when he does something commendable. None of those strategies strike us as quite right. But what should be the approach toward the coming Trump administration for those who saw his candidacy as not just unsupportable but dangerous? Our argument that Trump was unfit to be president was based less on differences with his political views, as far as they could be discerned, than with the threat we feared he posed to democratic norms and civility: his celebration of violence at rallies, his scapegoating of entire religions and nationalities, his trading in lies and personal insults. We saw thoseand continue to see themas a challenge to a democratic system that has held the country together since the Civil War. We understood his appeal to people frustrated with gridlock in Washington or convinced that a well-fed establishment is oblivious to their struggles. But channeling the pain of the left-behinds in Scranton, Pa., is not enough. It matters whether the remedies put forward will help or hurt. Voters may like to believe that Washington can improve their lives by slapping a tariff on foreign goods; that they can pay less in taxes and still keep all their government benefits; or that a corrupt elite is the source of all their problems. But wishing does not make it so. That a plurality of voters were not sufficiently tempted by Trumps nostrums offers some comfort, but only some; Trump won the vote that counts, for the electoral college. Therefore, the job is to evaluate him going forward. In practice, that means monitoring to what extent Trump fulfills his promise to help those who have been bypassed by economic recovery. It means continuing to advocate policies that are essential to keep America safe and to promote peace and liberty overseas. Above all, the task for those who opposed Trump will be to stand up for the democratic norms that he seemed to threaten during his campaign. The early returns on that score are mixed. Reassuringly, Trump promised on election night to be a uniter, and since then he has met with people who did not support him during the campaign. Less encouragingly, he continues to conceal his tax returns and other business information. He threatened to take citizenship away from anyone who burned an American flag, a constitutionally protected act of protest. His frequent insults to the media, the Clintons, the casts of Hamilton and Saturday Night Live, Vanity Fair and so on seem beneath the dignity of the office he will soon inherit. Those who opposed Trump should continue to call attention to these thingsnot to claim vindication, but to press for a different approach. The goal should be accountability, not automatic opposition. We do not root for Trump to fail; we root for the nation to succeed and prosper. THE Russian Navy said Tuesday it was planning to hold war games with the Philippines, as two of its ships made a rare stop in Manila following Filipino President Rodrigo Dutertes pivot from the United States. Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhailov, the deputy commander of the Russian Navys Pacific fleet, said the joint military exercises would focus on maritime piracy and terrorism, which he described as the regions two top security concerns. Were very sure that in the future well get such exercises with you, maybe just the maneuvering or maybe use some combat systems and so on, Mikhailov told reporters beside the docked Russian destroyer Admiral Tributs. Mikhailov also raised the prospect of joint exercises with China and Malaysia in the South China Sea, where competing territorial claims have been a major source of tension and potential conflict for decades. PIVOTAL ANCHOR. Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhailov (center), deputy commander of the Russian Navys Pacific Fleet, speaks during a press briefing with Philippine Navy officers following the arrival of the Admiral Tributs anti-submarine ship in Manila Tuesday. The Russian Navy plans to hold war games with the Philippines following President Rodrigo Dutertes pivot to Russia. AFP We really hope that in a few years, the military exercises for example in your region, in the South China Sea, will [involve] for example, not only Russia-Philippines, but Russia, Philippines, China and maybe Malaysia together. ADVERTISEMENT The visit was only the third ever by Russian military vessels to the Philippines, according to the Filipino Navys Commodore Francisco Cabudao, who led the welcoming ceremony for the Russian ships. The Philippines, a former American colony, had for decades been one of the United States most important and loyal allies in Asia. The two are bound by a mutual defense pact. But Duterte, a self-described socialist, has during his six months in power sought to dramatically shift his nations foreign and military alliances towards China and Russia. Duterte has made repeated threats to downgrade or even end military and diplomatic ties with Washington. He has put on hold the dozens of war games held annually with the United States, and said he wants all American troops to leave the Philippines. The animosity followed US President Barack Obamas criticism of Dutertes brutal war on drug crime that has left thousands of people dead in the Philippines. During a trip to Beijing in October last year, Duterte enthused about his plans to forge closer ties with Russia and China. America has lost. Ive realigned myself in your [Chinese] ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to (President Vladimir) Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world: China, Philippines and Russia. Its the only way, he said. Philippine officials have said Duterte is expected to visit Russia in April or May. Duterte has said he is open to the Philippine military holding joint exercises with Russia and China. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. HONG KONGS Yazhou Zhoukan, the Time Magazine of the Chinese-Speaking World, has named President Rodrigo Duterte Person of the Year 2016, Malacanang said Tuesday. The magazine included a six-page cover story on Rodrigo Dutertes journey as the new President of the Philippines and his controversial decisions that allegedly changed the balance of power in Asia in just six months. The Hong Kong-based magazine gave the award to Duterte following the announcement of his independent foreign policy, his distancing away from the US, and forging closer ties with China, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said. PERSON OF THE YEAR. President Rodrigo Duterte has been named 2016 Person of the Year by Yazhou Zhoukan, a weekly magazine which claims to be the only international affairs magazine in Chinese circulated in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, on its January 1st issue, citing his role in the change of power balance in Asia. [The] article also praises Dutertes good governance and anti-corruption campaign as the reason for his popularity among Filipinos. Dutertes brutal war on drugs has attracted world headlines and made him land on the 70th spot in Forbes magazines Most Powerful People of 2016 who make the world turn, and become the Philippines Most Googled Person in Each Country in 2016 as reported by Time magazine. ADVERTISEMENT Forbes cited his election to the Philippine presidency on the strength of a campaign that promised the swift execution of drug users and other criminals. The magazine also said his ongoing bloody war on crime and drugs had already resulted in thousands of deaths since taking over the presidency last June. Duterte had earlier said he was preparing a dramatic change in the Philippines foreign policy and that he planned to cancel a defense cooperation deal with the US. I will break up with America, Duterte declared in a speech last year, adding that he would rather go to Russia and to China. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. San Juan City Mayor Guia G. Gomez joins her constituents for the countdown to the new year in front of the City of San Juan Government Center beside the Sabado Mercado, the weekend market bazaar for San Juanenos, on Saturday as predominantly Christian Philippines awaited midnight to welcome the Year of the Red Rooster. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Today, I digress from the usual topics of politics and foreign affairs. I will dwell on a major problem that is of equal significance to our national life. The downside of a burgeoning population contributes to unemployment and poverty. Any government plan to solve the problem would be at best palliative and overtaken by a runaway population. The Philippines population is at a point of no return to manageable levels. This could hit 105.7 million by the end of the year 2017. This was according to the Population Commission which projected the increase from its present 100.3 million. PopCom blamed the shortage of available contraceptives and the Supreme Court taking its time to rule on pending petition to block the implementation of the Reproductive Health Law passed by Congress in 2013. The Catholic Church and the Pro-Life advocates are staunchly opposing the RH Law. But lets stop blaming the High Court and the Pro-Life groups for the countrys runaway population. The culprit is the Filipino culture that encapsulates the non-use of condoms. Filipino men are obsessed with the macho mentality to prove their virility in raw form sans the use of condoms that capture the seeds of their manhood. This prevalent macho culture transcends no matter the men folks station in life. The poor, many of them living in ambulant, makeshift caritons (carts) continue to add to the population making you wonder how they are able to proliferate in such cramped space and abysmal living quarters. We can only presume the citys darkness when night falls plus their and their partners libido defy space and prying eyes. Rich men, on the other hand, are even proud to show off their power and their prowess, often parading in public their multiple wives and households. One such public official even made it to Malacanang when he was voted president by a public inured to immorality. Hence we see so many children born out of wedlock. So many young girls become mothers even before the usual child-bearing age. This is the sad state of our society. Is this blight in the Philippine social milieu a reflection on the failure of the Church to do its moral responsibility ? Id better stop here lest the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, Pro-Lifers and the Taliban of morality gang up on me. ADVERTISEMENT Hungarian population In Hungary, the countrys small population is even going down. When I was first posted as Philippine ambassador to Budapest in 2002, Hungarys population was at its peak at 10 million. But when I was transferred in 2009 to reopen the Philippine embassy in Warsaw, Poland, the population of Hungary even went down further to 9.7 million. So no one can trace to and blame me even a slight rise in the countrys population. While a small population makes governance more manageable, it also, on the other hand, poses a problem for Hungarys social security state. As anyone knows, a countrys social security is shaped like a pyramid with the wide base supporting the retirees and pensioners at the top. Without a base support from a new crop of workers, the beneficiaries at the top of the pyramid could topple. This is the dilemma facing a socialist state like Hungary which is xenophobic in its state policy that bars migrants like the recent wave that flooded Europe. The migrants, evacuees fleeing the brutal civil war in Syria and the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, merely used Hungary as transit point and continued their trek to Austria and other parts of Western Europe like Germany and France. Now, dont think Hungarians are a disciplined lot and abstain from sex the whole year around. Disciplined they are, but certainly do not practiced abstention. The women are beautifultall, blonde and statuesque. The men, most of them anyway, are proud of their bodies and more often than not are gym rats. Budapest is not known for just the River Danube and the classical music of composers Bela Bartok (1881-1945), Liszt Ference (1811-1886) and Erkel Ferenc (1810-1897). Against this cultural backdrop, Budapest is also known as the porno film capital of the world! If so, why the declining population? The best source of the reason for this is the largest manufacturer of condoms in Europe. The German firms sales figures the last two decades show that it is in Hungary where its condom product sells the most across Europe. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Wael Shalaby who resigned from his post as Secretary General of Egypts State Council on Saturday before being arrested a day later killed himself on Monday while in custody. His lawyer Sayed Beheiry claimed his client hanged himself using a scarf he was wearing. A terrible psychological state during his questioning which has deprived him of sleep for nearly 40 hours contributed to the act, the lawyer said. An autopsy has been ordered by the public prosecutor. Shalaby was arrested as part of a corruption probe and was placed under a 44-day detention pending investigation but his lawyer argued that the arrest was illegal because there was no arrest warrant. The circumstances surrounding his death are still blurry and authorities have issued a gag order on the local media from reporting the details. The former Secretary Generals involvement in corruption is yet to be determined. His lawyer Beheiry nevertheless explained that it is very hard to be a big important judge and suddenly you lose everything and sit in front of an investigator being accused of taking a bribe. Shalabys resignation came days after a procurement manager at the State Council, Gamal El-Laban, was arrested and charged with receiving bribes worth millions of Egyptian pounds. Local media reported that police found millions in Egyptian pounds, euros and dollars when they took El-Laban into custody. The public prosecutor said the two arrests are part of the anti-corruption Administrative Control Authoritys investigations. The number of deaths while in custody has increased in Egypt over the years. Activists claim that it is common for law enforcement authorities to deflect responsibility for the deaths of detained individuals. They claim that independent investigations should be encouraged to ensure the safety of detainees. Iraqi first vice president Nuri al-Maliki who is on a working visit to Iran expressed his countrys readiness to form a strong front against the enemies to confront possible plots after the ISIL. Maliki met with Ali Akbar Velayati, a top aide of Ayatollah Khamenei, on Tuesday to discuss possible dangers that could emerge in a post-ISIL era. Shia militia groups are engaged in fighting against the extremist group in Iraq and are playing an important role in the offensive to retake Mosul. His visit is also geared towards strengthening the close and strategic relations between the two countries. Maliki noted that Iraq has been able to attain success through efforts and jihad and our presence in Iran is aimed at using these victories in a way that we can do something against the groups which want to defeat the resistance front. He applauded Tehrans support by equipping the Iraqi army. At the end of 2016, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi said the extremist group will be eliminated within three months but French President Francois Hollande said that objective could be attained during the spring, in any case before summer. Hollande was speaking in Erbil, semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, after meeting with Haider in Baghdad. The visiting president equaled Iraqs security and safety to that of France stating that everything that contributed to reconstructing Iraq is an additional step to avoiding Daesh strikes on our own territory as he recalls the numerous attacks carried out by militants of the group in France. Although hopes continue to be high that ISIL is on the brink of being defeated in Iraq, several setbacks have further prolonged the battle for Mosul; the extremist groups de facto capital. NAIROBI -- China's latest ban on processing and sale of ivory products marked a historic milestone in efforts to save African elephants from poaching, Kenyan wildlife officials said on Tuesday. Richard Leakey, chairman of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), hailed the Chinese government's decision, saying it will revitalize global action on illegal trade in trophies. "I was pleased to learn about China's action that will sound a death knell to ivory trade. I hope other nations will follow China's example," Leakey told Xinhua. The Chinese government on Dec. 30 announced it will phase out processing and sale of ivory by the end of 2017. Beijing had previously imposed a three-year ban on ivory imports in a bid to strengthen global war against illegal trade in critical wildlife species. Leakey said China's landmark ban on trade in ivory products had inspired the international community at a time efforts had gathered steam to halt loss of African elephants due to poaching and climatic stresses. "The ban is a positive move that reinforces the urgency to save the remaining herd of elephants," said Leakey, adding that China's role was crucial to intensifying public awareness on elephant protection. Kenya and China are in partnership in wildlife protection through technology and skills transfer. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, during his visit to Kenya in 2014, announced assistance to enhance protection of iconic wildlife species. Leakey said that China's stewardship was crucial to re-energize wildlife protection initiatives in Kenya and across the region. He said closure of the ivory market in many parts of the globe would deal a fatal blow to poaching of giant mammals. On their part, Kenyan conservationists welcomed China's decision to ban ivory trade, saying it injected fresh vitality in policy and legislative interventions to save elephants. Munira Bashir, the Kenya Program Director at The Nature Conservancy, described China's ban on ivory trade as a giant step towards elimination of wildlife crimes. "We would like China to sensitize everyone that illegal ivory trade is a threat to elephants," Bashir said. Peter Knights, Executive Director of WildAid, a US-based conservation lobby, also applauded China for the ban. "This is probably the greatest single measure that could be taken to reduce poaching and help elephants," Knights said. Chicken will be the best-positioned protein due to its low price position in times of pressure on consumer spending power but rises in production costs and the long-term impact of COVID-19 threaten to disrupt the sector, according to Rabobank. (HealthDay)A telephone-delivered psychosocial intervention for dementia caregivers increases use of community resources and reduces caregiver use of hospital-based health care resources, according to a study published online Dec. 23 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Geoffrey Tremont, Ph.D., from Brown University in Providence, R.I., and colleagues randomly assigned informal dementia caregivers to receive either the Family Intervention: Telephone Tracking-Caregiver (FITT-C; 133 participants) or telephone support (TS; 117 participants). TS provided supportive therapeutic strategies, while the FITT-C intervention provided psychoeducation, problem solving, and other directive approaches based on assessment of critical areas (e.g., mood, behavior, family functioning, social support). Over six months, both groups received 16 telephone contacts from a master's level therapist. The researchers found that at baseline the groups did not differ in the use of support services, or use of health care resources. At the end of treatment, caregivers who received the FITT-C used community support services significantly more than those receiving TS (P = 0.02). Over the course of the intervention, FITT-C caregivers had a significantly lower rate of emergency department visits (rate difference, 9.5 percent; P = 0.048) and hospital stays (rate difference, 11.4 percent; P = 0.01) versus TS caregivers. "Results highlight the potential effect of FITT-C on health care use," the authors write. Copyright 2016 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Greece's justice minister on Tuesday promised a "swift and thorough" investigation into suspected corruption by civil servants and Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis. Stavos Kontonis ordered an inquiry after "denunciations concerning bribes paid to functionaries by Novartis" appeared in the press, a ministerial statement said. "The judicial investigation will be swift and thorough," it added. According to a judicial source, a preliminary investigation has been going on for two months and around 178 people in Greece have been questioned. The source said anti-corruption prosecutors had visited Novartis's premises near Athens to gather evidence. The case gained attention in recent days following a suicide attempt in Athens on Sunday, New Year's Day, by a Novartis manager. That attempt was thwarted by police and according to the judicial source, the manager was one of those questioned over corruption. For its part Novartis issued a statement saying it was "aware of the media reports about our business practices" in Greece and that it was seeking more information and was cooperating with the authorities. "Novartis is committed to the highest standards of ethical business conduct and regulatory compliance in all aspects of its work and takes any allegation of misconduct extremely seriously," the company said in the statement. The judicial source also claimed American FBI agents were in Athens to help Greek authorities investigate Novartis. The Swiss pharmaceutical giant was investigated by US authorities in 2014, accused of paying bribes in order to boost sales of some of its medicines, and was later fined $390 million by the US Justice Department. 2017 AFP (HealthDay)To predict someone's risk of becoming a victim of gun violence, a new study offers a suggestion: Look at the company they keep. Researchers report that gun violence may actually be "contagious," with social networks acting as a breeding ground for the spread of gun exposure and violence. "Those at the highest risk of gun violence are the individuals with the most associates who have recently been shot," said study author Ben Green, a doctoral candidate at Harvard Law School, in Cambridge, Mass. But that risk is also a function of timing and the nature of the relationships, Green added. "When someone gets shot, his influence on [his] associates decreases over time," he explained. "Additionally, the strength of the contagion risk depends on how close one's relationship is with that person. For example, a friend being shot creates more risk for you than does a friend of a friend," Green said. "So, the set of individuals at highest risk changes over time, as gun violence spreads over the [social] network." However, the study did not prove definitively that gun violence is "contagious." While an average of more than 200 Americans end up shot each day, gun violence is not evenly spread across the country, the researchers noted. Most shootings take place in poor, urban neighborhoods. And gun fatalities are roughly 10 times higher among young black men than among their white peers. The research team set out to see whether gun violence is contagious based on the beliefs, attitudes and behaviors of one's immediate network of friends and peers. The investigators focused on more than 138,000 Chicago residents who had been arrested at some point between 2006 and 2014. More than 80 percent were male, and three-quarters were black, with an average age of 27, the findings showed. Roughly one-quarter included members of a gang, and just shy of 10,000 were involved in more than 11,000 incidents of gun violence. Almost 18 percent of people who had a close friend who had been shot were themselves victims of gun violence, the researchers revealed. The study authors concluded that 63 percent of the 11,000-plus incidents of both fatal and non-fatal gun violence could clearly be attributed to aspects of a "social contagion." For example, on average, individuals ended up being shot just 125 days after the shooting of their friend or peer who had been most directly associated with gun violence. But study co-author Andrew Papachristos, an associate professor in the department of sociology at Yale University, in New Haven, Conn., noted that the impact of social networks on gun violence risk isn't just about whether friends are shot, but also on their level of access to guns, whether or not they carry a gun, and/or whether they are involved in the kind of risky behavior that might involve guns. Still, the research team found that the most accurate way to predict any individual's personal risk for gun violence was actually by looking at both who they had been hanging out with and where that individual lived. Papachristos noted that "such data analytics can, and should, be used to direct services to those at most immediate risk to reduce the trauma associated with gun violence, to potentially stop the 'spread' of gun violence victimization, and to help address the epidemic more broadly." That point was strongly seconded by Charles Branas, author of an editorial that accompanied the study. He is a professor of epidemiology in the department of biostatistics and epidemiology with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. "We have now successfully used [computer] models that have been applied to diseases like measles or Ebola for decades to better understand gun violence," he noted. Ultimately, such an approach could help public health officials craft "some very inexpensive and straightforward interventions" that focus on how and why gun violence moves not just from person-to-person, but also from group-to-group and place-to-place. The findings were published online Jan. 3 in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. More information: There's more on gun violence prevention at the Journal information: JAMA Internal Medicine There's more on gun violence prevention at the American Psychological Association Copyright 2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved. (HealthDay)Even though the United States has the highest death rate from firearms of any developed country, gun violence gets short shrift in government research compared to other leading causes of death, a new study reveals. Guns cause more than 30,000 fatalities a year in the United States. Yet, "gun violence had less funding and fewer publications than comparable injury-related causes of death including motor vehicle accidents and poisonings," said researchers led by Dr. David Stark of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Critics say foes of gun control have limited federally funded research into gun violence. For instance, the study authors noted that a 1996 congressional appropriations bill mandated that funds made available for injury prevention and control at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "could not be used to advocate or promote gun control." For the new study, Stark and Dr. Nigam Shah of Stanford University School of Medicine looked at national death statistics from 2004 to 2014 to determine the top 30 causes of death. They then examined federal funding for research for the same period. The researchers said they found that gun violence gets far less research funding than the prevalence of firearm deaths would suggest, receiving just $22 million instead of the predicted $1.4 billion. Funding of research on gun violence was less than 1 percent of that awarded for sepsis (blood poisoning), which causes a similar number of deaths, the study found. The results appear Jan. 3 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Injury research, in general, is under-supported, "a finding replicated in the present study," the authors noted. However, "given that gun violence disproportionately affects the young and inflicts many more nonfatal injuries than deaths, it is likely that the true magnitude of research funding disparity, when considering years of potential life lost or lived with disability, is even greater," the researchers added in a journal news release. Copyright 2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved. The first hint came in a grainy black and white ultrasound in a doctor's office in West Texas. Elizabeth Chacon, 35 weeks pregnant, reclined on the exam table and stared at the screen. The doctor pointed to the blotches and began to explain what he saw, but Elizabeth thought he was most likely worried for nothing. This was her fourth baby, and nothing about the pregnancy had seemed alarming or even unusual. On the screen, she remembers thinking, the baby looked fine. Still, the doctor insisted she drive to Fort Worth to see a specialist. Less than a week later, Elizabeth and her husband, Efren, each packed a change of clothes into a small overnight bag, hugged their children goodbye and headed east from Odessa. Ivy Celeste Chacon was born in the afternoon on June 9, 2015, a Tuesday. So many doctors and nurses and specialists crowded into the delivery room at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth that Elizabeth realized then something was indeed wrong. "I was in denial until she was born," Elizabeth says. "But there were so many people in that room. It was packed, and I knew." 'GOT VERY QUIET' Elizabeth can no longer remember whether Ivy cried immediately or even how much she weighed. She remembers only this: a tiny baby, surrounded by people in scrubs and gloves and masks. Someone, maybe a nurse, told Elizabeth that her daughter was OK, just before they whisked the baby next door to Cook Children's Medical Center, connected to the hospital by a special corridor. In an instant, the noise in the delivery room stopped. "Quiet," Elizabeth says. "I remember it suddenly got very quiet." Ivy was born with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries, an exceedingly rare heart defect in which the heart's lower two chambers are reversed. In a normal heart, the right side pumps blood to the lungs to pick up oxygen, while the left side then pumps that oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body. In Ivy's heart, however, her weaker ventricle formed on the left side, pumping blood to her body, while her stronger ventricle pumped blood to the lungs. Cook Children's has surgically corrected about a dozen congenitally corrected transposition cases, says Dr. Lisa Roten, a pediatric cardiologist at Cook's who treated Ivy. "This is a very rare, random occurrence," Roten says. About 1 percent of all babies are born with a congenital heart defect. Of those babies, less than 1 percent has the same condition as Ivy. Doctors estimate only 5,000 to 10,000 people in the entire United States have congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries, or CCTGA. Frequently, babies with CCTGA have additional heart defects. Physicians at Cook Children's soon learned the full extent of Ivy's heart complications. She also had dextrocardia, a rare condition in which the heart points toward the right side of the chest rather than left. Her heart had an atrial septal defect, a hole in the wall that separates the top two chambers of the heart, and a ventricular septal defect, a hole in the wall that separates the bottom two chambers. She had pulmonary valve stenosis, a deformity on the pulmonary valve that limits the blood flow. "I would say Ivy had the most complicated heart we have ever seen," Roten says. "We have never seen quite this combination of issues." Babies with CCGTA are often born with a blue skin tone because their blood is not fully oxygenated. Until the 1980s, Roten says, little could be done to help so-called blue babies. "Where we are in 2016 is far from where we used to be," she says. 'SHE LOOKED PERFECT' After Ivy was born, a nurse wheeled Elizabeth to Cook Children's to see her. Ivy, tiny with a smattering of dark hair, lay in an incubator, a tangle of tubes monitoring her heart and delivering medication to increase her blood flow. "I thought she looked perfect," Elizabeth says. Days then weeks passed in a blur of doctor's appointments and video chats with Elizabeth's children at home in Odessa. At 23 days old, Ivy underwent her first surgery to insert a shunt, or a small tube made of Gore-Tex, into her heart to increase the flow of blood to the lungs. It was a temporary fix, but it would allow Ivy and her family to return to Odessa. On Aug. 1, Elizabeth and Efren loaded their suitcases into the SUV and tucked Ivy into a car seat. For most of the drive home, Ivy wailed. "I was scared," Elizabeth says. "I didn't know if I would know how to take care of her." Doctors at Cook Children's were considering how to repair Ivy's heart. Because her heart was so complex, most hospitals would have reduced the organ to a single ventricle. Doing so would represent the lowest risks, but patients often suffer early heart failure, requiring a heart transplant to survive. Dr. Vincent Tam, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Cook's, had an idea. What if physicians could combine two difficult procedures that would correct the anatomical structure of her heart? Tam would perform a complex switch operation, known as the Senning procedure, along with an aortic translocation, called the Nikaidoh procedure. First, the Senning procedure would create a baffle, or conduit, at the top of Ivy's heart that would reroute the flow of blood. Second, the Nikaidoh procedure would correct the rare combination of transposition of the great arteries, pulmonary stenosis and a ventricular septal defect, moving the aortic root to her left ventricle. First performed in 1983, the Nikaidoh procedure is named for Dr. Hisashi Nikaidoh, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Cook's who pioneered the operation. Together, Drs. Tam and Nikaidoh have performed more of these procedures at Cook's than any hospital in the country. Surgery was scheduled for Oct. 3, 2016, a Monday. Physicians at Cook Children's did not believe this exact procedure had ever been performed. To prepare, Tam turned to one of the newest frontiers of medicine - 3-D printing. 'IT WAS LIKE A PIECE OF HER' Dr. Steve Muyskens held a 3-D plastic model of Ivy's heart in his hand and pointed to the transposed arteries, demonstrating how the blood flowed. Muyskens, a cardiologist at Cook Children's, developed the hospital's cardiac MRI program, which offers advanced imaging techniques. It is among the few pediatric laboratories of its kind in the country. But MRIs have limits. They create two-dimensional images, so doctors study the scans and then try to imagine what the heart would actually look like. Enter 3-D printing. Using MRI scans, Muyskens created a digital image of Ivy's heart and uploaded it to a 3-D printer. A few hours later, Cook's had an enlarged three-dimensional model of Ivy's heart. "I could hold her heart in my hand, rotate it, look inside and figure out how to repair it," Tam says. "This advancement absolutely facilitates better discussion and planning." This marked the first time Cook Children's used 3-D printing to plan for a surgery. The hospital will open a new 3-D laboratory in January to support pre-surgical planning and education for patients and their families. Before the operation, doctors showed Elizabeth and Efren their daughter's heart and walked them through the procedures. Elizabeth remembers holding the piece of plastic in her hand. "It was amazing," she says. "It was like a piece of her." In Odessa, Ivy was turning into a toddler, with the help of heart medication and A surgical shunt. Small for her age, she still managed to climb on top of the dining room table to swipe fruit sitting in a bowl. She adored Mickey Mouse, loved to scribble with markers and followed her siblings - Iris, Sandy, Ely and Efren Jr. - everywhere they went. Seeing Ivy growing stronger, Elizabeth and Efren began to wonder if the surgery was necessary. "After we brought her home from the hospital, we never thought of her as sick," Elizabeth says. "She never got colds. She slept through the night. She was a normal kid." Doctors told them the medicine and shunt were only temporary. Ivy, they said, needed surgery to survive. But Elizabeth and Efren worried about the consequences. What if their daughter never fully recovered from the operation? Or worse, what if she did not make it? The day before the surgery, the three drove from Odessa to Fort Worth. The couple wept most of the drive. They imagined turning around, returning home in time for dinner and tucking Ivy into her own bed. But they kept going. On surgery day, a Monday, the Chacons arrived at Cook's at 6:30 in the morning to prepare. Three hours later, they kissed Ivy goodbye and collapsed in seats in the waiting room. At 1:30 the next morning, Elizabeth and Efren met Ivy in recovery. Sedated, she was covered beneath a blanket of tubes and an oxygen mask, her tiny chest still open. She wore a mint-colored bow in her hair. Elizabeth cried. "We're still here," she told her daughter. "We love you so much." For a week, Ivy's fever soared, then plummeted, again and again. She remained sedated. Elizabeth thought she looked tired and uncomfortable. They prayed. At night, one parent slept with Ivy in the recovery room, while the other stayed at the nearby Ronald McDonald House. "I was worried she would never wake up or be the same," Elizabeth says. "I don't really know how we got through it. We just did what we had to." Day by day, Ivy regained strength, and the surgery appeared successful. On Nov. 4, a Friday, Ivy and her parents returned home. 'HER HEART IS WONDERFUL' Ivy is now 18 months old with a sly, mischievous smile and a shock of wavy, dark brown hair. A bright red scar starts at the top of her chest and snakes down toward her stomach. Ivy's sister, Iris, calls it her zipper. At a recent doctor appointment in Fort Worth, Roten told Elizabeth that Ivy's heart is working perfectly. "Her chest X-ray looks great. Her heart is wonderful. Every valve is functioning. It looks fabulous." "It's like y'all put a new battery in her," Elizabeth joked. "She is nonstop." At home, Ivy often pushes a stool to the front door, trying to escape to the front yard to play on the swing set. She recently discovered cookies are tucked into the pantry, and she sneaks in when she thinks no one is looking. She loves to eat pizza, pasta and enchiladas with green sauce. "When she's being bad," Elizabeth says, "I just remember her lying in the hospital, and I feel happy she gets to be bad." Sometimes, people call Ivy a miracle baby. Relatives call her la nina guerrera, the girl warrior. During a recent checkup, Ivy lay on an exam table, while Kim Hill, an echocardiographer at Cook Children's, hooked her up to the ultrasound machine. An echocardiogram, Hill explained, uses sound waves to produce images of the heart. Fussy at first, Ivy settled in to watch Mickey Mouse on her mom's cellphone. Blotches of blue and red appeared on the monitor, showing a clear image of Ivy's heart and blood flow. In a moment, the sound of her heartbeat filled the quiet room. 2016 Fort Worth Star-Telegram Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Syria resolution causes dispute among Georgian MPs By Messenger Staff The presentation of the draft resolution on the recent developments of Syria prepared by the main opposition party United National Movement (UNM) led to disagreement and disputes among Georgian MPs.The parliamentary minority demanded an immediate discussion of the draft resolution entitled as The difficult humanitarian situation in Aleppo", while the majority members stated that the adoption of such a resolution was not necessary.Majority MP Irakli Sesiashvili asked if any European country had adopted a similar resolution or a statement, to which minority MP Gigi Tsereteli answered that all leading countries and international organizations had expressed their positions on Syria.Tsereteli underlined that the adoption of the resolution was necessary, as Georgia should express its position over the issue.The MPs of the Alliance of patriots of Georgia (APG) opposition party, often accused of harboring Russian sympathies, stated the initiative was provocative.APG MP Irma Inashvili stressed that the adoption of the resolution would provoke Russia into carrying out aggressive actions against Georgia. She expressed the suspicion that the initiative might be ordered by the Russian special services.Some time ago Gigi Tsereteli stated that the position of Georgian government towards Russia, which aims not to irritate occupant neighbor, has not brought any positive results as of yet.Trying not to irritate Russia and putting up with its activities is not correct. The last four years showed us that even without having conflict with Russia, it perfectly manages to annex Georgias territories, Tsereteli stressed.The UNM resolution condemns the military and political interference of the Russian Federation in the Syrian war, and calls on the Government of Georgia to render humanitarian aid to the population of Syria, accept refugees from that country and actively express its position on the Syria issue on the international arena.The UNM document also condemns the destructive role of the Russian Federation in the United Nations (UN) Security Council, which impedes the effective involvement of the international community in the humanitarian crisis. The News in Brief Court deprives Ilia Kakabadze of Maestro TV logo The court has satisfied Gia Gachechiladzes lawsuit and deprived Ilia Kakabadze of Maestro TV?s logo. The judge decided that the agreement signed between studio Maestro TV and Maestro Studio, according to which Ilia Kakabadzes company received the logo free of charge, was illegal. The protocol approving the mentioned agreement was also declared void. As the judge said at the trial, Baia Gadabadze, the then director of Maestro Studio was not authorized to alienate the TV companys logo without informing of it the companys shareholders and partners. Ilia Kakabadzese plans to appeal against the court decision. As for Gia Gachechiladze, he is satisfied with todays decision. The legal owner has been deprived of the intellectual property, Maestro TV founder Mamuka Ghlonti said after todays trial. According to Ghlonti, when the process began, he knew they would lose the case in all Georgian courts, but, most likely, they would win it almost everyone in the European courts. "It is not a court. They are trying to subordinate the media to the Georgian Dream. Very soon we will see very interesting processes. In particular, the whole media will appear in the hands of the Georgian Dream. However, sooner or later, justice will prevail, "- Ghlonti says. The court satisfied Gia Gachechiladzes suit concerning the Maestro TV logo today and deprived Ilia Kakabadze of the logo. By the judges decision, the agreement signed between studio Maestro TV and Maestro Studio, according to which Ilia Kakabadzes company received the logo free of charge, was canceled. The protocol approving the mentioned agreement was also declared void. (IPN) Saakashvili: UNM Congress Will Be Held on January 20 Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president and the founder of the United National Movement, rejected calls for postponing the contested party congress, scheduled for January 20, 2017. Davit Bakradze, who was number one on UNMs party list for October 8 Parliamentary Elections, spoke on the need to reschedule the party congress in his interview with Rustavi 2 TV station on December 24. I would like to propose to the political council [referring to the partys 60-member governing body] to postpone the congress lets postpone [the congress] and try to maintain the future and our integrity, Bakradze said. Bakradze also criticized the establishment of the committee for organizing the party congress in circumvention of the political council. The six-member organizational committee, which has been holding meetings with party activists across the country in the last few days, does not enjoy the approval of the political council. [The organizational committee] says that it requires neither consent nor legitimization of the political council, and that it will organize the congress alone, including the selection of delegates, vote counting procedures, regulations, agenda. In other words, the six-member group was created bypassing the 60-member elected political council, Bakradze told Rustavi 2. Mikheil Saakashvili, who responded to Bakradzes statement with a Facebook post, rejected the proposal. The party congress should be held on January 20 and the party management should be returned to its membership. Any attempts of postponing the congress from those, who were rushing to convene the congress for December 27, are unfounded, Saakashvili stated. I am joining thousands of our activists across Georgia [referring to his video conferences at meetings organized by the congress organizational committee] and I know full well that they are ready for conducting the congress with the highest of standards, Saakashvili added. The inter-party crisis emerged in the aftermath of the October 8 Parliamentary Elections, with Georgias former president and the founder of the UNM, Mikheil Saakashvili - who at that time was also the governor of Odessa region in Ukraine - questioned the overall legitimacy of the elections and calling for a boycott of the results. However, most political council members and future MPs under the leadership of Davit Bakradze and Giga Bokeria chose to enter Parliament. The disagreement resurfaced after the majoritarian runoffs over the decision of the political council to elect a new chairperson. A majority of the UNMs lawmakers were in favor of electing a new chairperson, while some backbenchers, linked to Mikheil Saakashvili and commanding strong loyalty of the partys mobilized grassroots, demanded that the post be left vacant. After losing his Georgian citizenship, Saakashvili was deprived of the right to be a chairperson of a political party in Georgia, and so the party decided not to elect a new chairperson. The political councils November 30 decision to hold the congress with yjr participation of 7,000 delegates, as ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili desired, did not end the dispute. The confrontation has been particularly acute in social networks, with Saakashvilis supporters confronting those members of the party who spoke in favor of electing a new chairperson and backed a more modest party congress with participation of 2158 delegates, accusing them of severing the party from Mikheil Saakashvili and its grassroots. (civil.ge) Georgia establishes tax free relations with Liechtenstein Georgia and Liechtenstein are increasing economic cooperation by avoiding double taxation, meaning that people or businesses working between the two countries will be free from income and capital taxes.The deal was signed in May 2015 in Georgias capital Tbilisi but entered into force today.Double taxation is the levying of tax by two or more jurisdictions on the same declared income (income taxes), assets (capital taxes), or financial transaction (sales taxes). This double liability is often mitigated by tax treaties between countries.The main goal of signing the agreement was to increase economic cooperation between Georgia and Liechtenstein and attract more foreign investments, said Georgias Finance Ministry.Currently, Georgia has treaties with 54 countries to prevent double taxation.Recently, Georgia signed the same agreement with Kyrgyzstan, South Korea and Iceland. Government buys 144 waste-disposal vehicles with support of EBRD The Municipal Development Fund of Georgia purchased 144 waste disposal vehicles and 7209 waste disposal containers for municipalities throughout Georgia with the financial support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).The vehicles and containers will be distributed to 66 different municipalities across the country.The first waste-disposal vehicle has been assigned to the Borjomi municipality. According to the Ministry, this region has many tourists and requires especially diligent work on waste-disposal. In addition to the vehicle, the municipality of Borjomi was given 100 waste disposal containers.The overall sum of the project is 12 million euros. The vehicles are manufactured by Mercedes Benz and are assembled in Turkey.Tbilisis auto park renewal was also financed and technically supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). This loan from the EBRD was worth a total o 27 million euros. The News in Brief Lado Bedukadze, who leaked prison videos in 2012, to become TV host DFWatch Lado Bedukadze, a former prison guard who has caused controversy in several of Georgias elections, will become a TV host on a newly established broadcaster. Bedukadze will host a short segment on a completely new channel called Tbilisi 24. Georgias Communications Commission decided on Monday to issue a broadcasting license to the company. Bedukadze is a former guard at Prison No 8 in Gldani, northern Tbilisi. In 2012, he leaked a handful of videos showing prisoner mistreatment which created popular outrage and may have tipped the election in favor of the Georgian Dream coalition. Bedukadze was also in hot water during the election campaign this year, for making statements on behalf of the Centrist party. In a short TV ad the newly created party promised Russian pensions and to legalize the military bases established by Russia inside the two breakaway regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia after the war in 2008. Officially, Tbilisi considers the two territories occupied by Russia. The ad caused a strong negative reaction which got the Centrists party thrown out of the parliamentary election. CEO and 50 percent owner of Tbilisi 24 is Gocha Nachkebia, a friend of Bedukadze. According to the Public Registry, Nachkebia is also a board member of the Public Monitoring Centre and Free Civil Society together with Bedukadze. Nachkebia said Bedukadze offered him to host a 5 minute segment, but will not be involved in the management of the company. THe TV director emphasized that the new channel will have neither a pro-Russian nor a pro-Western perspective. We will broadcast only news programs. Before we were an online news agency, now we are developing and launching a new TV channel. What is bad in this? Nachkebia said, and maintained that there are no sponsors behind the new creation and no funding from outside sources. Tbilisi 24 will start broadcasting on New Years Eve. (DFWatch) GDDG Submits Parliamentary Resolution on Foreign Policy The draft parliamentary resolution on Georgias foreign policy, proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream Democratic Georgia on December 26, lists EU and NATO membership as Georgias top foreign policy priorities, stressing that the two priorities have no alternatives, but points out that the country will continue pursuing a rational policy with Russia for the purpose of minimizing threats and restoring territorial integrity. The key task of Georgias foreign policy is strengthening the countrys sovereignty, de-occupation and restoration of its territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders, in a peaceful manner, through reconciliation and confidence-building of the populations divided by occupation lines, as well as through consolidation of the international communitys support, the 12-point draft resolution reads. The Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee is expected to discuss the document this week before putting it to vote in the plenary session. The aim of this document is to reiterate the countrys foreign orientation and confirm it in the new parliament, Sopo Katsarava, Foreign Relations Committee chair, explained. She also expressed hope that the document would garner the parliamentary support. A similar resolution was adopted in March 2013 with bipartisan support. Unlike the previous resolution, the new draft makes reference to Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union and states that Georgia aspires towards EU membership. A similar statement was made by the EU-Georgia Parliamentary Association Committee at its meeting in Tbilisi last week. The draft resolution reads that Georgia will continue consistent institutional approximation with the European Union, will deepen bilateral and multilateral strategic partnership with European countries and will continue the implementation of the Association Agreement; it, however, notes that the Association Agreement is not the final goal in the EU-Georgia relations and the country will continue moving towards full integration into the European Union. With respect to NATO, the draft resolution states that Georgia will continue its determined work to implement the decision made by the allies at NATOs 2008 Bucharest Summit that Georgia will become a NATO member and will use all available practical tools for this purpose NATO-Georgia Commission, the Annual National Program and the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package. Georgia will also continue strengthening its defense capabilities and increasing NATO interoperability within the Substantial Package. According to the draft resolution, Georgia will deepen relations with the United States, Georgias main strategic partner and ally, within the U.S-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership signed in 2009. The draft resolution also notes that Georgia will fully share the commitments in the struggle against the challenges facing the civilized world and will focus on making important contributions to ongoing military operations aimed at strengthening international security and stability, as well as on fighting terrorism and organized crime. In regards to the Russian Federation, the draft resolution reads: Using international mechanisms, Georgia will continue to pursue a rational policy towards Russia aimed at minimizing foreign political threats, strengthening Georgias sovereignty and restoring its territorial integrity. Georgia will continue to ensure stability in the region with its efficient and balanced policy; it will also focus on developing relations within international formats, use its favorable geopolitical location for trans-national projects and expand economic ties with eastern countries, according to the draft resolution. The draft resolution also notes that the government will spare no efforts to present Georgia on the international arena as a stable and secure country, as well as a regional leader in democratic development and successful reforms. The resolution also mentions the necessity of active strategic communication on Georgias European and Euro-Atlantic integration for the purpose of ensuring high and conscious societal support towards the countrys Western integration. Strengthening of relations with the Georgian Diaspora, protection of their rights and promoting their dignified return and reintegration is among the resolutions priorities as well. (civil.ge) @PatriciaMazzei UPDATE: In an emergency meeting Tuesday, House Republicans agreed to reverse their decision to curtail the powers of the Office of Congressional Ethics, after facing public backlash and skepticism from President-elect Donald Trump. Here's an updated statement from Curbelo: "The House ethics process needs to be reformed in order to better investigate allegations of misconduct. I support referring this matter to the House Ethics committee where Republicans and Democrats can work together on bipartisan reforms that would ensure Members of Congress are held accountable while given due process to address accusations." A full, updated story has been posted here. ORIGINAL POST: U.S. Reps. Carlos Curbelo and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said Tuesday they backed the Republican conference's move to gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics. The OCE, created eight years ago after a series of congressional scandals, would be renamed the Office of Congressional Complaint Review and, instead of being independent, report to the GOP-controlled House Ethics Committee. Republicans' decision, proposed by U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and made without notice in a private party meeting on Monday, a federal holiday, prompted immediate rebuke from Democrats, government watchdog groups and even some Republicans. But don't count Ros-Lehtinen and Curbelo among them. "I voted for Rep. Goodlatte's amendment to improve and reorganize the renamed Office of Congressional Complaint Review (OCCR) because it includes much needed oversight and accountability from the House Ethics Committee," Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement to the Miami Herald. "The reforms will allow for due process rights for all parties involved and will ensure a fair hearing as Members of Congress seek to better serve our constituents." Curbelo spokeswoman Joanna Rodriguez said in a statement to the Herald that Curbelo also backs the changes. "Coming from a district that knows firsthand the impact corruption has on a community, Congressman Curbelo has always been committed to ensuring members of Congress are held accountable and allegations of misconduct are investigated seriously<" she said. "The Office of Congressional Ethics has not lived up to its stated mission and reforms are long overdue to strengthen its ability to take complaints from the public, complete independent investigations, and provide due process for those facing allegations of misconduct. The Congressman supports Speaker [Paul] Ryan's commitment to protect the Office's independence and he is dedicated to making sure that commitment is honored. "The Congressman will be supporting H.Res. 5, the complete Rules Package for the 115th Congress on the House Floor later today." Ryan opposed the ethics amendment, which the GOP conference agreed to with a 119-74 vote. Because the vote took place in a private party meeting, there is no public disclosure of how each member voted. The third Miami Republican in Congress, U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, told the Herald in a statement that while the ethics office needs an overhaul, he doesn't think the rules legislation is the way to change things. "The Office of Congressional Ethics is in dire need of reform," Diaz-Balart said. "Members of Congress must be held accountable to the highest standard in a process that is fair and just. I strongly believe the way to do this is in a bipartisan, open discussion through legislation, not through the rules package." President-elect Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday morning that dealing with the ethics office shouldn't be Congress' first priority, though he still called the office "unfair." He used the hashtag "#DTS," from his campaign mantra to "drain the swamp." With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 ........may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 This post has been updated to include Diaz-Balart. @amysherman1 With the race for Florida Democratic Party chair less than two weeks away, activists are fighting over who is eligible to remain in the running. An activist filed a challenge with the party alleging that Alan Clendenin, who moved counties to keep his chair bid alive, is ineligible to run. When Clendenin lost a race for state committeeman in Hillsborough, he then rented a mobile home in Bradford County and won a similar position there. Patricia Byrd, a state committeewoman in Bay County, wrote in the Dec. 30 complaint that Clendenin has homestead exemptions in Hillsborough and Manatee counties and doesn't actually live in Bradford. "It appears that Mr. Clendenin has disengenuously played a shell game with residences and homestead exemptions in total violation of state election laws and state homestead laws for the sole purpose of positioning himself to be eligible to run for the state party chairman," Byrd wrote. "However, despite his best efforts, it is clear that he was not, and is not, a resident of Bradford County." Clendenin called the complaint "petty gamesmanship." Property records show that Clendenin and John Pecchio are co-owners of the two homesteaded properties. Clendenin said he takes the homestead exemption on the Tampa home and Pecchio, his partner, takes it on the Manatee home. Scott Tussing, director of public service and exemptions for Manatee County, confirmed that Pecchio is the only one who has the homestead exemption for the Manatee property and Clendenin has it for the Hillsborough county. (If they were a married couple, the situation would be different and then only one home could be homesteaded. The couple is not married.) Richard Boylan, chair of the party's rules committee, said he hadn't yet received the complaint. Clendenin wasn't the only candidate to move counties in the hopes of keeping his candidacy alive. Former state Sen. Dwight Bullard moved to Gadsden County where he won a state committeeman position after he lost a similar election in Miami-Dade to Coconut Grove developer/donor Stephen Bittel. Voter registration records show that on Dec. 27th Bullard changed his address for voting purposes to 36 Lanier Lane, Gretna but listed his address in Miami-Dade for mailing purposes. The Gretna address doesn't exist in records on the Gadsden property appraiser website. Bullard, a teacher at Coral Reef Senior High in Miami, hasn't responded to text messages or an email about his move. Winning a county position is a requirement to run for chair. In addition to Clendenin, Bullard and Bittel, Duval County's Lisa King and Osceola County Democratic Chair Leah Carius are also running. All five candidates will appear at a forum in Pompano Beach Jan. 11th and they face off in the election Orlando Jan. 14th. This blog has been updated with comments from the Manatee County property appraiser's office. For picture posts from 2010 and earlier, see the Earlier Picture Posts Page Coming soon Red Cross blood drives The American Red Cross encourages eligible donors to give blood to help ensure a readily available blood supply for emergencies. Donors of all blood types are needed. To make an appointment to give blood, download the Red Cross Blood Donor app, visit redcrossblood.org or call 800-733-2767. Donors are encouraged to make appointments and complete the RapidPass online health history questionnaire at redcrossblood.org/rapidpass to help reduce wait times. Upcoming blood drives: Missoula: Thursday, Jan. 5, 9:30 a.m.-1:45 p.m., Public House, 130 E. Broadway (sponsor code publichouse). Thursday, Jan. 5, 9:30 a.m.-1:45 p.m., Public House, 130 E. Broadway (sponsor code publichouse). Florence: Tuesday, Jan. 3, 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Florence Volunteer Fire Department, 234 Halloway (sponsor code civicclub). Red Willow Center For more information on the following classes at the learning center, 825 W. Kent, call 406-721-0033 or visit redwillowlearning.org: Ongoing classes include "Yoga for Wellness" at noon Mondays, $12 or $40 for four weeks; "Mindfulness Meditation" at 12:10 p.m. Tuesdays, $12 or $40 for four weeks; "Yoga Beyond Cancer" at 4 p.m. Tuesdays, $40 for four weeks; "Yoga for Wellness" at 10 a.m. Wednesdays, $12 or $40 for four weeks; "Yoga for Chronic Pain" at 5 p.m. Wednesdays, $40 for four weeks plus $50 for prerequisite screening' "Meditation for Veterans" at 1:15 p.m. Thursdays at Missoula Vet Center, 910 Brooks, free. Ongoing programs AA and Al-Anon For the latest Alcoholics Anonymous meetings list, visit aa-montana.org or call the Missoula hotline at 406-543-0011. For more information on Al-Anon and Alateen, which are 12-step recovery programs for relatives and friends whose lives have been affected by alcoholism, visit mt.al-anon.alateen.org. Acupuncture for cancer caregivers Missoula Community Acupuncture, located in the Radio Central Building, 127 E Main St., Suite 314, offers free acupuncture treatments for friends, family, nurses, doctors or anyone who takes care of cancer patients 5-7 p.m. Wednesdays. No appointment is necessary. For more information, call Michael Peluso at 406-926-1611. Adult Asperger's support group An open meeting for those with Asperger's as well as their family and friends is held 6-7:30 p.m. every Thursday at the University Center, Room 215, on campus. Contact Monique Casbeer at 406-721-3947 or Cindy Bacon Janego at cjanego@communitymed.org for more information. Alzheimers support Meets the second Wednesday of each month at noon at the Summit Independent Living conference room, 700 S.W. Higgins Ave. Another group meets the fourth Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the Missoula Senior Center, 705 S. Higgins Ave. For more information, contact Jackie Johnson at 406-549-3433 or jackiej45@yahoo.com. Alzheimers caregivers support group Meets the fourth Monday at 6:30 p.m. of each month at the Missoula Senior Center, 705 S. Higgins Ave. For more information, call Jackie Johnson at 406-549-3433. Arthritis programs The Montana Arthritis Program offers physical activity and self-management education programs, such as the Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program, Walk with Ease and Stanfords Chronic Disease Self-Management Program. Classes are available in several communities including Florence, Hamilton, Kalispell, Libby, Missoula, Plains and Polson. To find a class or for more information, visit dphhs.mt.gov/publichealth/arthritis. Bereavement support groups Frontier Hospice offers open door meetings 6-7 p.m. Thursdays at the following locations: The Springs at Whitefish on the first Thursday; Rising Mountains Assisted Living Community in Bigfork on the third Thursday; and Frontier Hospice in Kalispell on the second and fourth Thursdays. Call 406-755-4923 for more information. Breast cancer support group Meets the first and third Wednesday of the month from 11 a.m. to noon at the Montana Cancer Center, St. Patrick Hospital Broadway Building, second floor. Call 406-329-5656. Cancer Center support group Meets noon-1:30 p.m. the second Thursday of each month at the Montana Cancer Center, 500 W. Broadway. For more information, call Bonnie at 406-240-0996. Cancer Resource Guide The online guide covers resources including support groups, treatment centers, camps and retreats, in Missoula, Mineral and Ravalli counties. It is available at cancerresourcesMT.org. Cancer support group A support group for anyone affected by cancer meets noon-1 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays at the Polson United Methodist Church, 301 16th Ave. For more information, call Tammy at 406-883-7284 or 406-824-2868. Celebrate Recovery The Christian-based 12-step recovery program meets 6-9:30 p.m. every Friday at Christian Assembly Foursquare Church, 1001 Cleveland St. Dinner is available from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and child care is provided for ages birth to 11. For more information, call 406-721-6884 or email cafc@4bible.com. Cheerful Heart Lake County cancer patients in treatment can receive a massage and help with hair and skin problems, free of charge, from local therapists and cosmetologists. Other non-medical services include transportation to treatment and doctor appointments, running errands, yard work and meal preparation. Appointments may be scheduled by calling 406-883-3070. Colorectal Cancer Support Group Meets 1-2 p.m. the third Friday of every month through March 20, Community Cancer Care Conference Room, 2827 Fort Missoula Road. "Coping, Education & Support for Women with All Cancer Types" The support group for women in all stages of cancer treatment or survivorship will be held noon-1:30 p.m. the second Monday of every month through March 14, 2016, at the Community Cancer Care Conference Room, 2837 Fort Missoula Road. For more information, call Deb Rivey at 327-3912, Terri Paxinos at 406-327-3957 or Kimberly Hardwick at 406-327-3906. Diabetes program At 6:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month, there will be a short presentation on a topic related to the management of Type 1 diabetes at the YMCA, 3000 S. Russell St. It will be followed by the option for socializing in the foyer or being active together at the Y. A fee of $5 per person will be collected at the door for those choosing to use the facility. Designed for ages 14 and older, children are welcome but must be accompanied by a parent/caregiver. Double Trouble in Recovery The 12-step program for people with mental health and addiction issues meets 3-4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Winds of Change Recovery Mall, 2685 Palmer St., No. C (second floor). Coffee is provided. For more information, call Veronica at 406-721-2038. Epilepsy support group Meets the first Monday of the month from 2-3:30 p.m. at the Summit Independent Living Center, 700 S.W. Higgins Ave., Suite 101. Patients, friends, family and caregivers welcome. Call Debbie at 406-721-0707 for more information. Free health exams Women ages 30 to 64 who meet necessary income guidelines and either have no health insurance or have insurance that will not pay for breast and cervical health exams can receive free exams through Partnership Health Centers Montana Cancer Screening Program. Call 406-258-4162 for more information. Gentle yoga class The Missoula Senior Citizen Center, 705 S. Higgins Ave., offers a class that focuses on balance training, back strength and core conditioning through gentle yoga matwork every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 9 a.m. Fee is $4 per class. All ages welcome. For more information, call 406-543-7154. Health Insurance Assistance Service Montana cancer patients can call the American Cancer Societys 24-hour toll-free number to be connected to a health insurance specialist to ask about coverage and insurance programs specific to the state. The number is 800-227-2345. Mens cancer support group Open to men in all phases of testing, treatment and followup, the group meets the fourth Tuesday of the month from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Montana Cancer Center, 500 W. Broadway. It is facilitated by Gary Weisbrich and Tom King. Call 406-329-5628 or email gary.weisbrich@providence.org for more information. Narcotics Anonymous Meets at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Alano Club, 8 Third Ave. W., Polson. Call 406-883-4135. National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI Missoula meets every Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon in the lower level (behind the cafeteria) of the Providence Center. It is open to anyone affected by mental illness or interested in learning more about the group. The NAMI Connection group for adults living with mental illness meets 1:30-3 p.m. Thursdays at the NAMI offices, 202 Brooks St., Room 210. Call 406-880-1013 with questions. NAMI Family Support Group National Alliance on Mental Illness Missoula meets Wednesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 202 Brooks St., in Room 210. The peer-led support for adult family members, caregivers and loved ones of individuals with mental illness is free. For more information, call 406-880-1013 or email namimissoula@gmail.com. My No-Nonsense Nutrition Program A seven-week webinar course to improve your nutrition and fitness. Faith-based approach to better health. Free initial consult with Judy Gilman, registered nurse, diabetes and wellness educator. mynononsensenutrition.com or 406-546-7819. Overeaters Anonymous Local meetings include 7 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. Saturday at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 202 Brooks St. A meeting for newcomers is at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday followed by a "Back to Basics" meeting at 7 p.m. at St. Paul's. Everyone who wants to stop eating compulsively is welcome. There are no dues, weigh-ins or lectures. For more meeting information, visit oa.org. SAA For the latest Sex Addicts Anonymous meeting list visit saa-recovery.org, call the Missoula hotline at 406-241-4005 or email MissoulaBetterway@yahoo.com. SAA is a 12-step fellowship of men and women who share experience, strength and hope for the purpose of finding freedom from addictive sexual behavior and helping others recover from sex addiction. S-Anon Local meetings are held weekly for this recovery program for people affected by another persons sexual behavior. Visit sanonmontana.org or call 406-544-1271 to learn more. Stroke and Brain Injury Support Group Meets the second Thursday of each month from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Providence Center, 902 N. Orange St., in the dining area on the fourth floor. For details, call 406-329-5784. Tai Chi for Arthritis Class offered 9:15 a.m. Mondays at the Missoula Senior Citizens Center, 705 S. Higgins Ave. $4 per class. All ages welcome. Tai Chi Chih Classes are offered at the following locations: Missoula Senior Citizens Center, 705 S. Higgins Ave., 9:15 a.m. Wednesdays, $4 per class; PEAK Health & Wellness Center, 5000 Blue Mountain Road, 11 a.m. Tuesdays, call 251-3344; and The Womens Club, 2105 Bow St., 9 a.m. Fridays, call 406-728-4410. TOPS Take Off Pounds Sensibly, an affordable, nonprofit, weight-loss support and wellness organization, meets at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the First Christian Church, 2701 S. Russell St. Another TOPS meeting is 6:30 p.m. Monday at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 2512 Sunset Lane. For additional meetings, go to tops.org, click on "Find a Meeting" and enter your ZIP code or call 800-932-8677. HILTON HEAD, S.C. For two weeks now, Ive worn a two-inch bandage across my forehead to cover the gash where skin cancer had put down its ugly roots. Im 26, so the bandage and the cancer beneath it prompted a lot of awkward conversations with strangers who asked me what happened. Some of them expected to hear a drunken tale about how I wiped out at the bar. The conversation almost always ends there, because most people, especially those my age, dont want to talk about skin cancer or any of the bad things that could happen to them. But we need to talk about it because this didnt have to happen to me at such a young age, and it doesnt have to happen to other people. I didnt know how emotionally, financially and physically exhausting such a diagnosis is, even when it is a non-melanoma cancer. The moment my doctor told me I had it, my heart sank and my world spun. I had never felt fear like that before in my life, and I wouldnt wish it on anyone. And I was one of the lucky ones, in the grand scheme of things. I was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, the less serious form of skin cancer. That diagnosis came two years after my mom beat melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, and just a year after a rare melanoma claimed the life of my beautiful and brilliant friend Kelly. She was 25 and had more passion and grit than 99 percent of the human race she actually passed the bar exam while battling cancer. She deserved every minute of the next 75 years, but didnt get a second of it. Her death was shocking and devastating. I think of her all the time, but especially so over the past few weeks. Though her story is rare, its becoming more common. The number of young women getting skin cancer has increased eight-fold since the 1970s, according to a New York Times report. So youre really young; howd you get this? my dermatologist asked as he dug the cancer out of my forehead last Wednesday. He usually does this surgery on older people. Not someone my age. I wanted to scream. Why me? But I knew why. This was my fault. I was a stupid teenager who tanned a lot, I told him. I got skin cancer because I didnt think being a fair-skinned redhead was good enough. I wasnt confident in my natural skin, so I crawled into a tanning bed to cook my pale skin brown. I got skin cancer because I listened to the messages from advertising and womens magazines that told me I needed that healthy glow to be considered beautiful. I got skin cancer because in high school all the popular girls hit the tanning beds hard before every dance three times each school year in Kansas. And in college, most of the girls in my sorority tanned regularly, especially before date parties basically all of the time. Sure, not everyone tanned, but when youre young, just a few girls and a few media sources hold a great power to shape and distort any idea of normal. Im sure there were skin cancer warnings in the magazines I flipped through as a teenager, but the messages telling me I needed to be tan were so much louder. So it didnt click, and I continued tanning until I was in my early 20s and really started piling on the sunscreen. And by then it was too late. There is so much I didnt know then that, unfortunately, I know now. I cant change any of it, of course, but I can tell you things that might make young people think twice: Skin cancer is not an old persons disease. It can strike and kill someone in their 20s. Like it did with Kelly. Non-melanoma skin cancer is not something you have zapped off like a mole and it goes away. The process is painful. The wounds shocking. And none of it is pretty. Once you get skin cancer in your 20s, its likely youre going to get it again or some other kind of cancer. Skin cancer changes you. It means a lifetime in fear of and worry about the sun. It means expensive creams, dermatologist appointments and ugly scars. The sun that used to serve as a sparkling, steady source of endorphins, energy and delight is now something to constantly worry about and protect yourself against. All it takes is a scab. My skin cancer looked like a zit that wouldnt heal. Check every part of your body and demand a biopsy if you dont feel right about a mark (another doctor looked at my skin cancer a year ago and said it was nothing to worry about). You regret every minute you spent in a tanning bed or in the sun with no protection. That tan that seemed so important then had no real impact on my memories or my experience. It hurts even more when you know it was your fault, when you realize youre paying a heavy price for being a self-absorbed teenager. I still see that were a tanning-obsessed culture. I live on an island in South Carolina a place with nearly 12 months of sunshine. Yet there are more than a dozen tanning salons in Beaufort County. Several apartment complexes offer free tanning as a lure to young people. Even my gym has a tanning booth. More than 30 million Americans use indoor tanning beds each year, including 2.3 million teens, according to the Food and Drug Administration. A year ago, the FDA proposed a ban on the use of tanning beds by minors. It should have become law. The proposal has been dead in the water for a year now, but earlier this month, a study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found the ban would save thousands of lives and millions of dollars. As much as I want my story, Kellys story, and the stories of other young womens to be heard and shared used to scare teenagers out of tanning beds I dont think that will stop them. Teenagers are too young to process risks and rewards. And young girls will always be helplessly vulnerable to things that make them feel beautiful, even if theyre dangerous. I certainly was. And that will never change. But we can change the conversation. We dont have to live in total fear of the sun. But we need to see the light. Forest fire destroys homes above Chilean port SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) Fire driven by strong winds swept over forest land in the hills outside the Chilean port of Valparaiso on Monday, destroying dozens of homes, injuring at least 19 people and sending a pall of heavy smoke down onto the city. Authorities said the blaze started Monday afternoon in the Laguna Verde area and spread to Playa Ancha hill, where many wooden houses are located. About 400 people were ordered to evacuate as a precaution, officials said. Interior Undersecretary Mahmud Aleuy said about 100 homes had been damaged, and regional Gov. Gabriel Aldoney said 500 more houses were "at risk." Aleuy said 16 of those injured had respiratory problems. Fire brigades, soldiers and forest workers were in the hills combating the fire, which was fueled by winds up to 25 miles per hour (30 kph), low humidity and high temperatures. The fight was complicated because the area is crisscrossed by many ravines, the roads are narrow and water mains are scarce. People in Valparaiso wore masks if they ventured into the streets trying to protect themselves against the smoke and fumes. Mexicans block roads to protest gas hikes MEXICO CITY (AP) Small groups of protesters blockaded some roads and gasoline stations in Mexico on Monday to protest a government price deregulation that sent the price of fuel up by as much as 20 percent over the weekend. One group blockaded a privately owned gasoline station on Mexico City's main boulevard, shouting: "The people, united, will never be defeated!" "This will increase the cost of living for all Mexicans. It will make more expensive transportation, basic food stuffs, food, and it will ultimately hit Mexican families," said Rafael Sotocruz, a nurse who was protesting at the station. On a busy highway leading into the capital from the west, another group blocked traffic and held up a banner reading "Enough already!" Reports on social media and local newspaper sites suggested small, intermittent protests popped up at a half dozen other sites across the country. The Mexican government said the deregulation had long been planned, but unfortunately coincided with rising world oil prices. The deregulation is aimed at ending subsidies that the government says largely benefit wealthier Mexicans and at attracting interest in private participation in the newly opened fuel market. Gambia opposition warns ex-ruler against 'rebel' moves DAKAR, Senegal (AP) Gambia's political opposition says long-time ruler Yahya Jammeh could be considered a rebel leader if he takes up arms and doesn't step down later this month. Halifa Sallah, spokesman for Gambia's opposition coalition, gave the firm warning Monday, days after the president railed against the West African regional bloc that has urged him to step down. Jammeh vowed that any presence of foreign troops in the tiny West African nation would be tantamount to an act of war. The president's party is challenging the results in the Dec. 1 election won by opposition coalition candidate Adama Barrow. Meanwhile, President-elect Barrow says he is planning a Jan. 19 inauguration. He has urged Jammeh to open communication channels and peacefully relinquish power after 22 years in office. 56 inmates killed in Brazil prison riot RIO DE JANEIRO Fifty-six inmates were killed in a prison riot in Brazil, security authorities in the northwestern state of Amazonas said Monday. Several of the victims were decapitated, said the security secretary for Amazonas, Sergio Fontes, according to news portal G1. The rebellion began on Sunday in the Anisio Jobim prison in the northern city of Manaus when rival groups of prisoners attacked each other. In a separate riot in a prison located about 100 yards away, 87 inmates managed to escape and in a third prison in the immediate vicinity, security authorities were able to quickly suppress another uprising. Authorities said the riots were coordinated. Fontes told a news conference the riot began late Sunday and lasted until Monday around 7 a.m. when security forces regained control of the prison. The suspected cause was control of drug dealing within the facility. Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH Venezuela searches for missing helicopter in Amazon CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Venezuelan teams are searching in the Amazon rain forest for a military helicopter that went missing with as many as 13 people on board. Communications Minister Ernesto Villegas says the Russian-built aircraft was supposed to have landed in the tiny settlement of La Esmeralda on Friday. He didn't say how many people were on board, but local media reported the army helicopter was carrying 13 people, including five civilians. Villegas said eight military airplanes were in the area and would continue their search until the aircraft was located. Cody Marble starts the new year as a free man. On Tuesday retired District Court Judge Ed McLean issued an order overturning Marble's conviction in a 2002 rape case involving a 13-year-old boy who was in juvenile detention with Marble in Missoula. Marble said his attorney, Colin Stephens, called him Tuesday morning, but he didnt pick up the phone. Then he heard Stephens on the line with his father Jerry, who has spent the years since Marbles conviction working to prove his son is innocent. I heard him telling my dad, 'Its over, we won,' Marble said. Im just speechless. I dont think Ive seen him that relieved in 15 years. In his order, McLean wrote that the testimony provided at a Dec. 12 evidence hearing "undermines the confidence the Court has in Mr. Marble's criminal conviction" and ordered it vacated, setting the stage for a new trial. Stephens, who for the last eight years has worked as Marble's attorney in his quest to have his conviction overturned, said he thinks it's unlikely the case will go to trial, given the county attorney's view of the allegations. Missoula County Attorney Kirsten Pabst "has always been on board with putting an end to this," Stephens said. Deputy County Attorney Matt Jennings confirmed Tuesday that prosecutors have filed a motion asking for the charge against Marble to be dismissed. They expect the request to be granted within the next few days, removing the need for another trial. Marble, now 32, has maintained his innocence since being charged. In August 2015 the Montana Supreme Court sent his case back to Missoula County District Court, asking it to re-examine a decision to deny Marble a new trial, instructing the lower court to use a broader interpretation of how new evidence that has come out since his conviction should be viewed. After the case was remanded, Pabst reviewed it and last spring filed a motion asking for the conviction to be dismissed, saying it "lacked integrity." The county attorney cited a recantation by Marble's since-deceased accuser, as well as testimony from others as casting doubt that the alleged rape ever occurred. Former county attorney Fred Van Valkenburg, who was in office during Marbles conviction, objected to Pabsts motion, and was eventually invited by McLean to act as an adviser to the court while the judge considered the matter. Marble has been living in Conrad since McLean released him from custody in April, pending the ruling in the case. He said Tuesday that after he and his dad celebrated the news, he left the house for a bit and took a drive. I went out and got some coffee. I just wanted to clear my head. Finally, after all this, its over, he said. Now free of any probation restrictions from the case, Marble said he wanted to thank his attorney and the Montana Innocence Project, which has likewise championed his case, for years of fighting in court for him. Im hoping to be able to go back to school, stay away from drugs and make my life worth the work they put in on my behalf, he said. He also thanked Missoula County Attorney Pabst for conducting a thorough review of his case when it was sent back down by the high court. Im not sure this would be happening without her. Thank God for Kirsten, he said. Jennings, the deputy county attorney, acknowledged that while a push to overturn a conviction and exonerate someone was an interesting and unusual position for their office to take, it fell under their responsibility as prosecutors. After a year of fundraising, Free Cycles community bike shop has secured enough money to stay in its current home. The shop, which offers classes on bike maintenance and a free facility to build a bike, is now the owner of the 2-acre property on South First Street West where it's been based for the last 12 years. "We feel blessed this worked out. There was a point we didn't know if we were going to hang on," said Bob Giordano, Free Cycles executive director. Free Cycles raised $200,000 in cash since the start of their campaign in December 2015. A community development loan from Missoula County provided another $105,000. And finally, an anonymous private investor supplied the remaining money for the $1.15 million property. "One person came forward and we worked with them for several weeks, and they loaned the balance of what we needed," Giordano said. Under a contract-for-deed arrangement, the investor holds the title, and Free Cycles has all the rights and responsibilities of an owner. "We can say we're the owner just like a person with a mortgage on their house says they own it," he said. He thanked all of the campaign's hundreds of volunteers and the 50-some businesses who let them put out "Cycles for Change" collection jars. He also said David Bell of ALPS Corp. and Bank of Montana provided crucial support in creating extra time to find a private investor. "They stuck with us and put a lot of time in this. They were that transition, that stopgap, that kept the project alive," Giordano said. In five years, Free Cycles will face a balloon payment, but hope they'll have enough money raised by then to buy the property outright. "The social investor at five years could say, 'Oh, everything's going well, just keeping making your payments. Or they could say, 'I'm ready to move on, I'm calling in my note.' So we have to be prepared to pay off the balance, around $950,000 at that point, or refinance with someone else or a bank," he said. For now, though, the nonprofit is breathing a sigh of relief. The shop will continue to operate out of its facilities and collect rent from the four other tenants, which will cover the monthly payments. The property has room for more tenants or more of its own programs. "We have five vacant offices next door and a section of the warehouse that's empty. We could either rent those and our payment comes down, or we could implement new programs," he said. More fundraising lies ahead as well. The previous owner of the property gave the nonprofit time to raise money, but it proved difficult in the tight deadlines they faced. They have a list of at least 30 foundations that are a good fit with Free Cycles' mission, and can begin efforts at grant-writing. A local supporter has also offered to match any donations from through Jan. 31, up to $10,000. *** Now that Free Cycles owns the property, they can look at expanding their offerings. "There's a lot of untapped potential there," said shop manager John Bonewitz. They'd like to build a fabrication shop, where they can build three- and four-wheeled bicycles for those who can't ride a two-wheeler, or build bike trailers and carts. Plus, they can begin improving the circa-1940s buildings. "We can keep the charm of the older wood buildings, but make them more modern and more efficient," Giordano said. The core of its programs are the open shop and the Bike Well classes. In exchange for volunteer hours and sweat equity, residents can walk away with a bicycle and the skills to maintain it. They estimate 18,000 people have built bikes since 1996. The number of people who come through the open shop varies by season, but even a Tuesday with record cold two people were working on their bikes. "It greatly spikes in the summer at 200 a day. And in the coldest days, today, maybe 12 people," he said. The nonprofit has a social justice aspect: providing sustainable, cheap transportation. "I think maybe even in Missoula some politicians forget that there are people who rely on their bicycle year-round. They don't have a car. They can't afford a car. They don't want to drive," Giordano said. Another new addition could be a dedicated bike-sharing program, an innovation with which other cities have experimented. "For Missoula to become the best bike city possible, we estimate you need a fleet of at least 200 standard bikes that would be free, very affordable or membership-based. Like a library, people can just check the bike out and go," Giordano said. There's also potential for a city design center, where residents can learn about planning. "A place where people can come together and talk about traffic, talk about safe biking, safe walking, better driving systems, how to design a roundabout. There are a lot of neighborhood groups and people who I think they do engage at the city level, but I think they could use more resources and advice and guidance, and we've got a lot of that we can offer and we want to learn from people," he said. Since it was founded in 1996 at a house on Sussex Street, the nonprofit has drawn healthy numbers of bicycle donations. After their first call for bikes to create a "free cycle" program, they received 300 bicycles in three days. That program ran until 1999, when they shifted to their new model with community opinions. "That naturally led to a community shop, classes, advocacy, design," he said. It's since moved around at least 10 times before landing in the city center on South First Street West, where cyclists can access it via the trail system. "We're tired of changing our home. This has been a good space," he said. Bonewitz said some days in the summer can draw a dozen donated bicycles. In 2016, they got somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 bikes. About half of them are sturdy enough to be repaired in a four-hour session. The other half will go into the "boneyard," the extension collection in the back of the property. People will just walkout into the bone-yard, grab a seat and a chain and go, as long as they drop in a donation on the way out. Bonewitz said the Bike Well classes are a unique slice of Missoula. "Free Cycles is such an amazing community space to have all these different people that don't interact every day," he said. At one session, there might be men from the pre-release center, college students and kids with their families. Bonewitz said he'd "encourage people to come down and see what's going on. Everybody can help," he said. They always want to hear community members' ideas as well. "We're willing to deviate from that path if there's good support for it," Giordano said. In November, Salim Matt Gras hauled a load of donated food, clothing and other gear to the water protectors at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Next week, the Hamilton man will join with others from Missoula and the Bitterroot who made the same pilgrimage to share their stories and thoughts about the continuing protest in North Dakota. A panel discussion is scheduled 6-8 p.m Tuesday at the Ravalli County Museum. The event was initially planned to be hosted by the Bitterroot Library, but was moved after people worried there wouldnt be enough room there to accommodate the crowd. When Gras returned to Hamilton from Standing Rock, he heard from a lot of people who wanted to know what he had seen and learned during his two-and-a-half week stay at the makeshift camp. Initially, he thought he would host a small gathering to tell folks about his experiences there. But when he started to spread the word about that idea, he discovered there were a fair number of other people who had gone or were going to Standing Rock to offer their own support to people gathered there. I started putting out feelers, he said. We got connected with each other. I found that there are a lot of people here who care passionately about whats happening there. Most recently, Dustin Monroe of Missoula has offered to take part in the panel. An enrolled member of the Assiniboine Tribe of Montana and an Iraq War veteran, Monroe served as the Montana United Indian Association executive director and outreach coordinator for Wounded Warriors Brigade at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. Monroe made the 11-hour trip to Standing Rock several times to bring supplies to the thousands protesting the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline. He was also part of the 4,000-strong contingent of military veterans who converged on Standing Rock to support the protesters. Other panel members include Saladin Frank Pelfrey, a Hamilton resident who delivered supplies during one of the recent blizzards and Victor resident Bill Lacroix who brought a truckload of donated supplies to the camp. Panel members will share their experiences of spending time in the camp. Its a complex issue, Gras said. The primary goal of Standing Rock is to defeat this particular pipeline. A secondary goal is to defeat all pipelines. Gras expects there may be discussion of the issue of Native American sovereignty and treaty rights. We may talk about how those are being violated, he said. Many, many Native Americans told me that whats going on now isnt new for them. They have been dealing with this for 500 years. Gras expects that the panel will accept written questions. We want to keep this civil, he said. Parenting is back in the news. The current buzz is about what the media and researchers refer to as "parenting style." Parenting style is hot. President Obama recently talked about his mothers parenting style on a broadcast media CNN podcast. Parenting style is frequently a focus of print media. The National Register just recently ran a story related to free range parenting and last month the Wall Street Journal summarized an academic research article on parenting styles and childrens health. All this begs several questions: What is parenting style? What parenting style is linked to the best child outcomes? And can you follow the guidelines and do it all perfectly? Parenting style research began with Diana Baumrind of the University of California-Berkeley researching and writing about parenting styles in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She identified three styles: authoritarian, authoritative and permissive. Authoritarian parents are high on control, low on warmth, and minimally receptive to their childrens viewpoints. Permissive parents are the opposite: low on control, high on warmth, and receptive to what their children want. Authoritative parents are in the middle: high on control, high on warmth, goal-oriented and demanding, but also receptive to their childrens emotions and opinions. Baumrind was passionate about authoritative parenting. Even though the term can be confused with authoritarian, she didnt want to take the authority out of parenting. Barbara Coloroso, a Seattle-based parenting educator, has described Baumrinds parenting styles using more memorable language. Authoritarian parents are brickwall parents; permissive parents are jellyfish; and authoritative parents are backbone parents. Research consistently affirms that children with authoritative or "backbone" parents do best. They have greater self-control and self-reliance. They have higher achievement motivation, are more cheerful, have reduced alcohol and drug use, and display fewer delinquent behaviors. But nothing in life is simple, including parenting. Many parents struggle to avoid the brickwall or jellyfish parenting traps. Also, President Obamas recent statements on CNN illustrate how perfection isnt necessary. He said: ... by the time I was 12, 13, shes (President Obamas mother) interacting with me almost like a friend as well as a parent... I didnt always necessarily handle that well. Its not ... a recipe for ideal parenting. But what I did learn was that unconditional love makes up for an awful lot, and I got that from her. A childs perception of being unconditionally loved can buffer less-than-optimal parenting. Obamas mother employed a permissive or "jellyfish" style. She acted like she wanted to be her sons friend. Its likely that Obama obtained control and structure from other authority figures in his life (perhaps his grandparents). Obamas situation reflects real-world parenting, where various adults take on different roles and employ different parenting strategies. Theres also a fourth parenting style, the neglectful or uninvolved parent, which may be worst of all. Compared to authoritative parents, uninvolved parents usually have children who do more poorly in school, experience greater internalized distress, and have more problem behaviors. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, a recent study linked uninvolved or disengaged parenting to childrens activated immune systems and physical inflammationboth signs of poor health. The conclusions are simple and complex. Be authoritative and involved. Set limits and actively provide guidance; supervise your children, but dont act like a helicopter. Listen to your children and respond to their emotional needs, but dont let them call the shots. Set goals for your children (and with your children), hold them responsible for their behaviors, while actively expressing love and showing affection. One obvious takeaway is that no parent can balance everything and do all this perfectly. This is why involving uncles, aunts, grandmothers, grandfathers and other interested kin and friends in your childrens lives can be so important. These interested parties from your personal village can fill in the gaps, complement your weaknesses, and help you raise happy, healthy and successful children in 2017 and beyond. As someone who voted in a populous state (Texas) just before moving to Montana this fall, I was especially interested in Glen Wheelers letter (Dec. 29) about how the Electoral College affects the influence of large and small states. After comparing electoral votes with popular votes in the 10 most populous states, Wheeler concluded that the impact on the election of these 10 largest states is greater for the Electoral College than for popular vote. I have two complaints about Wheelers conclusion. First, comparison of electoral and popular vote percentages within populous states fails to support any conclusion about the relative influence of small and large states. The victor typically receives all the electoral votes for a state even if the popular vote margin is small. Accordingly its tautological that the proportion of electoral votes for the winning candidate exceeds the proportion of popular votes for that candidate in any particular state. My second complaint is thatWheeler dismisses the Electoral College myth for the wrong reason. The influence of small states actually is enhanced by the Electoral College system. A parallel argument can be made with respect to a states representation in the U.S. Congress. However, the relevant question in a presidential election is not the influence of a state but, rather, the influence of each voter. The Electoral College system gave Montanas 494,526 voters three electoral votes whereas the 8,969,226 voters of Texas had 38 electoral votes. Each Montana voter had nearly 1.5 times the determining power of each Texas voter. Democracy would be better served if each Montana voter had the same determining power as each Texas voter. Paradoxically, despite my doubts about his specific argument, I join Wheeler in advocating a presidential election system based on the popular vote. Merrill Hiscock, Lolo Ed Saunders, a retired Army veteran and Laurel resident, was decorating veterans graves at Mountview Cemetery in Billings for Memorial Day several years ago when a white marble headstone caught his eye. The Veterans Administration marker was for Florence Ames, a nurse in the Army Nurse Corps, in World War I. Born Feb. 12, 1882. Died Nov. 22, 1957. Engraved on the headstone were the lyrics to taps, something the VA doesnt do. Saunders was captivated. Who was Florence Ames? Where did she serve? Why was there no military rank on her headstone? A Gulf War veteran and genealogist with a keen interest in making sure military servicemen and -women are remembered and honored, Saunders began wondering about other women veterans who served in WWI. Thats what got it started. Its been a very interesting project, he said. After more than five years of research that included scouring military and medical records in Montana and Washington, D.C., and searching for headstones in cemeteries, Saunders has documented the service of 23 Yellowstone County women veterans of WWI. Saunders, along with the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 10, of which he is a member, is seeking permission from the Yellowstone County commission to install a bronze plaque bearing the names of the 23 women veterans on the courthouse lawn. Saunders will be making a presentation to the commission at its Tuesday meeting. During a recent briefing of the memorial plans, Saunders showed commissioners a life-size replica of the proposed plaque. The goal is to dedicate the plaque on April 6, 2017, which is the 100th anniversary of the United States entering WWI. Saunders said women served in U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps, with the majority of women serving in the Army Nurse Corps. Many of those women served in France and in evacuation hospitals near the front lines. Twenty-three women with ties to Yellowstone County served in the war, he said, yet there is no monument or memorial to honor their service. The women either were born in Yellowstone County, entered military service from the county or are buried in the county. Saunders also said he believes Yellowstone Countys memorial would be the first of its kind in the state. Saunderss research documented 21 women who served in the Army Nurse Corps. Two women who served in the Navy as yeomen in administrative support. I can personally and professionally vouch for these women. If I have missed a woman, it is not because I didnt try, Saunders said. The research project took Saunders to the National Archives and Records Administration in a Washington, D.C., suburb, where he had requested to view actual reports from the American Expeditionary Force about the Army nurses. A clerk rolled out 26 boxes of records. She looks at me like, you dummy, he said. Saunders didnt really know what he was looking for, only that he would know it when he saw it. I found it in the first box, he said. Saunders found a typed report by Sigrid M. Jorgensen, a member of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, with information on a unit in which one of the Yellowstone County veterans, Harriet ODay Nielsen, served. Jorgensen wrote a historical appendix to an official report by Julia Stimson, who was the chief Red Cross nurse in France and the AEFs chief nurse, he said. Saunders spent several days digitally scanning the records. Saunders also went through archives in the basement of St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings, which had the only nursing school in the region at that time. He reviewed the archives from the Montana State Library where he found records for 169 Montana women who entered the nursing corps. He transcribed all of those records and created his own database, a task that took about three weeks. Other resources included the U.S. Army and Navy historical centers, federal census records, cemetery interment records and the Red Cross. Though all of the research, the women were no longer names of long-dead veterans. These women really came alive, Saunders said. Getting to know them As he reviews the list of names, Saunders offers comments about various women, as if he knew each personally. She worked in a front-line unit, Saunders noted about Nielsen, who served in France and was cited for heroism under fire. Born in Iowa in 1890, Harriet ODay moved to Billings as a child, graduated from high school in Billings, went to nursing school in Minnesota and returned to Billings, where she worked as a Red Cross nurse. ODay entered the U.S. Army Nurse Corps on Nov. 14, 1917 and was sent in 1918 to France where she was assigned to Evacuation Hospital 4 about 2.5 miles west of the human cauldron of Verdun, Saunders wrote in a profile of Nielsen. On Nov. 3, 1918, the Germans shelled the hospital for four straight hours, killing two sergeants and wounding others, Saunders wrote. The head nurse, knocked down by the explosives, ordered all available nurses, including ODay, to evacuate the patients. General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force, officially recognized the nurses, including ODay, for heroic conduct when Evacuation Hospital 4 was shelled by enemy artillery. ODay, Saunders said, remained in France for a while after WWI to care for wounded American soldiers who could not yet be moved. She eventually returned to Billings and served in 1924 in Panama. She also was a nursing instructor at Billings Polytechnic Institute, the predecessor of Rocky Mountain College, and was active in the Montana Nursing Association. ODay married Jens C. Nielsen, also a WWI veteran, in 1936 in Hardin. They had no children. He died in 1973, while Harriet ODay Nielsen died in 1976. The husband and wife are buried next to each other at the Laurel City Cemetery. Ames, whose headstone launched the project, was born in 1882 in Nebraska. In 1910, she was living in Billings. She entered the Army Nurse Corps in 1918 and was deployed to France, where she served in various hospitals. Saunders research noted that in an Army report for Base Hospital 61, in Beaune, France, in October 1918, after Ames arrived, the surgical ward had only three empty beds of the 500 beds available. The influx of wounded soldiers, the report continued, increased the hospital to 1,600 beds with almost half being surgical cases. Ames was demobilized and relieved of active duty in 1919 but apparently remained in the reserves, Saunders wrote. Ames returned to Billings for a short time, then moved to California where she became a Public Health Service nurse. Ames traveled extensively, going to Hawaii, Panama and Guatemala, and eventually retired to San Francisco in 1953. She remained single and had no children. Ames died of cancer in 1957 and her sister, Emma, returned her body to Billings for burial in the Mountview Cemetery. Emma, who died two years later, is buried next to Florence. 'Won't be forgotten' All of the women, Saunders said, were in their early 20s when they volunteered for service. There was no draft. And the women had to be single, he said. The American Red Cross provided the training for the Armys nursing needs and the majority of nurses in the Army Nurse Corps started as Red Cross nurses, Saunders said. The Army did not start a nursing school until 1918. Except for the Navy, the women did not get equal pay, rank or recognition for military service as men until 1947, Saunders said. While they served their country in WWI, women still were not allowed to vote in federal elections. Saunders attributes the culture of the day for why WWI military women went unrecognized for their service. A lot of the women veterans faded into history, he said. And that, Saunders continued, is the greatest tragedy that can happen to an American serviceman or woman. The greatest tragedy is they are forgotten; forgotten in life and in death by the very same nation, people and constitution they swore an oath to defend, he said. Having himself served 22 years in the Army and in combat service in the Gulf War, Saunders said he believes in not leaving any serviceman or -woman behind, in body, spirit or memory. Thats why I do this. They wont be forgotten on my watch, he said. HELENA A bill that removes the requirement of force from the definition of a nonconsensual sexual act is set for a Senate committee hearing later this week, along with three other Senate bills aimed at modernizing Montanas laws concerning rape. Senate Bill 29, a bill from the Law and Justice Interim Committee and carried by Sen. Diane Sands, D-Missoula, would change the definition of consent in Montana to remove a requirement of force. We want people to know very clearly what is required for consensual sexual relationships and to help people, both men and women, avoid getting into situations that could cost someone their freedom, Sands said. She added that through reaching out to prosecutors around the state, the interim committee found obstacles to prosecute cases which are clearly a sexual assault but do not comply with the archaic provisions of the current sexual assault law. Many people who are sexually assaulted freeze instead of fighting back, Sands said. Its a trauma-based response hoping either the assault will go away or or at least they wont get further hurt or killed. Force in the traditional sense most people understand it is not usually present. Current state law says that a sex act is without consent if the victim is compelled to submit by force. The bill removes that text and instead says an expression of lack of consent through words or conduct means there is no consent or that the consent has been withdrawn. Sands stressed the changes do not alter the burden of requirement of proof to convince a jury a rape occurred; but change the factors that allow for a prosecution of rape. The bill also creates the crime of aggravated sexual assault, which would include rape committed with force. That crime would carry a more severe sentence of from 10-100 years in prison and fines of up to $50,000. Currently the minimum a person convicted of sexual intercourse without consent in Montana could serve is two years if the victim is over the age of 16. The Law and Justice Interim Committee passed seven bills that will make appearances this session. Another bill, Senate Bill 22, carried by Sen. Sue Malek, D-Missoula, would allow for a district court to terminate the parental rights of a person who fathers a child by rape if a fact-finding hearing shows there is clear and convincing evidence that a rape was committed. Currently, parental rights can only be terminated if a case goes to trial and results in a conviction. Sands said that many cases of rape never make it to a courtroom, whether its because of a victim chooses not to pursue it or a prosecutor does not believe theres enough to bring a case. It would allow a judge to hear the evidence and to make a decision as to whether those parental rights should be terminated, Sands said. Another bill, Senate Bill 26, carried by Malek would lower the penalty for when an offender is 18 or younger and the victim is 14 or older and not require the offender to register as a sex offender if force was not used. The lower punishment would be not more than five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Senate Bill 17, carried by Sen. Nels Swandal, R-Wilsall, deals with young people who have been convicted of sexual offense who have been been released from incarceration, gone through treatment and been evaluated as unlikely to re-offend and placed at a level one or two on the states Sexual or Violent Offender Registry. We need to put our energy and attention into keeping the public safe and putting resources into offenders who are likely to re-offend, not labeling a younger person who is not going to re-offend as a sex offender the rest of their lives where they cant get a job, where they cant get a place to live, Sands said. We need to get them to be rehabilitated and have a place in the community. Sands said the bill may be difficult for some who dont believe sexual offenders can be rehabilitated. Senate Bills 17 and 26 will be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in room 303 of the Capitol. Senate Bills 22 and 29 will be heard by the same committee at 8 a.m. Friday. RIDDLE, Ore. John Redfield watches with pride as his son moves a laser-guided precision saw the size of a semi-truck wheel into place over a massive panel of wood. Redfield's fingers are scarred from a lifetime of cutting wood and now, after decades of decline in the logging business, he has new hope that his son, too, can make a career shaping the timber felled in southern Oregon's forests. That's because Redfield and his son work at D.R. Johnson Lumber Co., one of two U.S. timber mills making a new wood product that's the buzz of the construction industry. It's called cross-laminated timber, or CLT, and it's made like it sounds: rafts of 2-by-4 beams aligned in perpendicular layers, then glued or laminated together like a giant sandwich. Columbia Falls' SmartLam also produces CLT panels for a wide range of uses, including oil and gas development, maritime decking, civil construction, bridge components and modular structures. Since it opened in 2012, it has expanded to become the largest manufacturer of CLT panels in the world. The resulting panels are lighter and less energy-intensive than concrete and steel and much faster to assemble on-site than regular timber, proponents say. Because the grain in each layer is at a right angle to the one below and above it, there's a counter-tension built into the panels that supporters say makes them strong enough to build even the tallest skyscrapers. "We believe that two to five years out, down the road, we could be seeing this grow from just 20 percent of our business to potentially 60 percent of our business," said Redfield, D.R. Johnson's chief operating officer. "We're seeing some major growth factors." From Maine to Arkansas to the Pacific Northwest, the material is sparking interest among architects, engineers and researchers. Many say it could infuse struggling forest communities like Riddle with new economic growth while reducing the carbon footprint of urban construction with a renewable building material. Visually blemished wood that currently goes to waste can be used in the middle layers of a CLT panel without sacrificing strength or look. Supporters say it could bring sawmills back online while improving forest health through thinning dense stands and making use of low-value wood and local tree species. Trees as small as 5 inches in diameter at the top and those damaged by pests and wildfire are prime candidates. But challenges remain before CLT becomes as common in the United States as it is in Europe and Canada, and not all builders are sold. U.S. building codes generally place height limits on all-wood buildings for safety reasons, though a special committee of the International Code Council is investigating potential changes to address the use of CLT in such structures. And research is still underway on critical questions of how these buildings withstand fire and earthquakes in high-seismic regions. Building codes in Oregon allow cutting-edge designs using new technology like CLT in some cases, but only after rigorous testing and an intensive approval process. That can make such projects cost-prohibitive, said Peter Dusicka, an engineering professor at Portland State University who's been researching the strength of CLT panels. "The early adopters are looking at it and seeing it as a good opportunity," but before CLT can take off, there will have to be more examples to get people excited and more mills producing it, said Thomas DeLuca, professor and director of University of Washington's School of Environmental and Forest Sciences. This spring, cross-laminated timber will get its ultimate test in the United States when a Portland architectural firm breaks ground on a 12-story wood building in the city's trendy Pearl District. It would be the tallest all-wood building in the world constructed in a seismic zone and the tallest all-wood building in North America. An all-wood building in Norway is taller, but is not in a seismic zone. An 18-story wood building in British Columbia is also taller, but rests on a traditional concrete core. *** Lever Architecture is using $1.5 million it won in a tall wood building competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the softwood industry that's intended to promote CLT as a domestic building material. A 10-story residential tower in New York City also got $1.5 million. The Portland firm has been working with scientists at Portland State University and Oregon State University to test the panels' strength by subjecting them to hundreds of thousands of pounds of pressure. They are also testing various methods for joining the massive panels together. "We're looking at creating a resilient design, a design that could withstand a major earthquake basically the earthquake that we all worry about and be repaired," said Thomas Robinson, founder of Lever Architecture. The results of the structural testing in Oregon will be made public for other U.S. designers, bringing the material one step closer to the mainstream, Dusicka said. *** Back in Riddle, a tiny town tucked in the mist-shrouded forests of Douglas County, Redfield is once more excited about timber in a place where logging used to be king. The 125-employee company has been inundated with visitors from around country interested in touring their new CLT business expansion. Watching as layers of beams whirred through a glue machine, Redfield said: "We're able to take wood that may be turned into chips or pulp and turn it into a product that's pretty exciting." Copyright 2022 HT Digital Streams Ltd All Right Reserved Forget about the honeymoon being over. There won't be any honeymoon. If you're thinking my outburst came because I had a bad reaction to all the sugar in my Froot Loops this morning, that's always possible. But in this case, I'm merely expressing the dismal reality that Donald Trump will face when he becomes the 45th president of the United States. Usually, when someone is inaugurated as the new chief executive, he starts out with a bit of goodwill, at least for a few weeks while his administration gets its bearings. That certainly will not be the case here. The truth is that most of the nation dislikes Trump. That is actual fact, not fake news, if you believe the numbers. The Real Clear Politics composite of the latest significant polls shows that the Trumpster's favorable numbers are in the garbage can, averaging out at nearly 5 percent net negative. In addition, a greater number of voters chose Hillary Rodham Clinton over him; he won because of the national quirk known as the Electoral College. His dreary personal ratings are a remarkably weak starting point. Even if they're not enthusiastic, people are usually willing to cut the newbie some slack. Even after George W. Bush required a Supreme Court decision to propel him to office -- or, as the Democrats like to say, allowed him to steal the election -- Bush began his term if not with wild enthusiasm, then at least with an otherwise clean slate. That won't happen this time. Donald Trump's slate is as unclean as a toxic-waste dump, flooded over with the poison of his campaign, which managed to unleash all the hatred snarling in the U.S., even as the malice he directed at everyone else was giving his followers hope. He ran a campaign of anger, and now faces a wall of resentment as he looks to begin his term. From the moment he was declared the winner, the platitudes about a smooth transition were being floated; masses of his opponents began talking of resistance and for a few days were taking to the streets. They were sore losers, and they promise to continue to be. Every move the new administration makes will be viewed with suspicion. While everyone agrees on only one thing -- that change in our system is needed -- millions of Trump's fellow citizens believe to their core that Donald Trump represents a change for the worse. A widely popular question that exploded among the masses who were stunned, then horrified that he had won was: "What is going to happen now?" It reflects a great apprehension that this wild man with so little in his mind but a showman's flair is going to inflict great harm through malice or disastrous and simple-minded blunders. In spite of subsequent efforts to gloss over his continuing impetuousness, his compulsive tweeting and some strikingly terrible appointments have reinforced the hard feelings that show no sign of softening. The national mood is hostility. Critics of Trump are showered with vicious invective on social media. Meanwhile, as a demonstration of how alienated his adversaries are, inauguration planners have had trouble finding entertainers to perform at what usually is a national celebration. This show might be dominated by protest, with people chanting "Not my president!" It will be interesting to watch the face of Barack Obama as Donald Trump takes over. Chances are he will sit stone-faced, hung up as he is on a smooth, gracious transition. Considering how No. 45 has promised to undo so much of what No. 44 accomplished, we can marvel at his self-control as he resumes the role of private citizen Obama. Honeymoon? Don't be silly. The opening ceremonies will, at best, mask the nation's deep rancor as it ventures into 2017's darkness. Speaking of which: Happy New Year. (c) 2016 Bob Franken Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc. Money is short this year. Many agencies are stressed and revenues are down. Please, Legislators, dont take it out on the Parks. We have 55 great State Parks. Many are real gems such as Lewis and Clark Caverns an underground wonderland, Bannack the best ghost town in America, Makoshika one of the 10 most under rated parks in America, and Rosebud Battlefield the largest commitment of American troops to an Indian battle. If you havent been to First Peoples Buffalo Jump or Medicine Rocks you should go; you are in for a real treat. Our Park system has 9 National Heritage Landmarks and 10 sites on the National Register of Historic Places plus 16 more sites that are eligible. That is more than any State but California. Montanans must and should look on our State Parks with pride. They are real jewels. Outdoor recreation is on the increase. We will close 2016 with over 2.65 million visitors to our State Parks. That is up 42% since 2011. Yet our available funding does not reflect that kind of an increase. Our annual operating budget is slightly over $10 million. It is the smallest budget of any State in the Pacific Northwest, except North Dakota and they only have 13 State Parks to our 55. Staffing is at 68% of peer States. Montana Parks receive no General Fund monies and no hunting or fishing license fee monies. Thus, the Parks Division was not asked to cut their budget this year. But funding is simply insufficient. Our largest source of funding ($3.8 million) is from a $6.00 fee people pay at the same time they register their car in exchange for free visitation to all 55 Montana State Parks, provided they do not opt out. We also receive a little money from a small coal tax trust fund ($730,000), some help from the bed tax ($1.8 million), Motorboat fuel tax ($1.3 million), and some revenue from camping fees and other earned revenue ($2.3 million). We have increased the camping and other fees but earned revenue covers less than 20% of our budget. People expect Parks that are clean, well kept, well maintained and informative. A recent facility condition inventory found that we have a huge backlog of maintenance and infrastructure needs. Great West Engineering concluded we will need $22.5 million in the next 10 years just to continue providing the present level of service. We have a good reputation to uphold. But if visitation increases by 42% in the next 6 years, we simply will not be able to accommodate everyone. Something has to give. We are going to ask the legislature to increase our annual visitation fee paid by the car registration fee from $6 to $8. Eight dollars for an annual free pass to 55 State Parks does not seem unreasonable. Everyone is given the option to opt out and not pay the fee if they wish. The people of Montana do love their parks; 77% of the people do not opt out. In addition, we are going to propose a local option. Counties who want more money for parks in their county can put an additional $2 increase in the car registration fee on the ballot in their county. If approved by the voters, 3/4ths of the additional revenue collected in that county would stay in that county to help develop and pay for county and city parks. Finally, Governor Bullocks infrastructure bill will authorize badly needed fire protection in Bannack, a new lighting system for Lewis and Clark Caverns, and improvements at Makoshika. We hope to add some more of the backlog infrastructure projects to that list, all out of our own ending fund balance. We hope enough people who appreciate the value of our parks in Montana will support this modest request. It will go a long way to meeting the demands of 2.65 million visitors each year. We have some of the greatest State Parks in the country; now we need to maintain them so visitors can appreciate them. Once we get this funding stabilized, we then can work on developing our parks so they are even more accessible, attractive and informative for all Montanans to enjoy. -- Tom Towe, of Billings, is chairman of the Montana Parks and Recreation Board and is a former legislator. I see where Mr. Netanyahu and other right-wing Israelis are really mad at the Obama administration for abstaining on the Security Council resolution that condemned Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. Actually, the U.S. shouldn't have abstained. It should have voted to condemn those settlements, too. Simply put, they're illegal. They violate Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which forbids a conquering power to transfer members of its civilian population to the territory it occupies. Of course, this doesn't bother Netanyahu or others on the Israeli right. In their view, God's "Chosen People" are entitled to take whatever they want of their "Promised Land," Palestinian rights and international law be damned. BILLINGS A woman died Saturday night from a self-inflicted gunshot wound during a traffic stop conducted by a Columbus Police Department officer. The traffic stop occurred at about 11:30 p.m. in an alley between East First Avenue North and East Second Avenue North in Columbus, according to Stillwater County Sheriff's Office dispatch logs. The identities of the driver and the police officer have not yet been released. The officer was not injured and, under department policy, was placed on administrative leave. A Columbus officer pulled over a woman driving a 2007 Chevrolet Colorado with Yellowstone County license plates. The woman refused to exit the vehicle before shots were fired. She was reported dead on scene. Police Chief Jacob Ward said that because the woman was pulled over and not allowed to leave the scene at the time, she is considered to have been in custody. In-custody deaths require investigation by outside law enforcement agencies. The Montana Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation has been asked to investigate. Ward said he did not immediately have the woman's age or place of residence available Monday afternoon. Billings Gazette staff MUSCATINE, Iowa A Columbus Junction man will face marijuana-related charges following a pursuit in Muscatine County. Jakob Bloomer, 19, has been charged with possession of a controlled substance, a serious misdemeanor, and felony eluding, a class D felony. A Muscatine County Sheriff's Deputy stopped Bloomer on the night of Dec. 30, after Bloomer was allegedly seen speeding southbound on Highway 61. Bloomer then fled westbound on Mittman Road, and was reportedly going 84 mph in a 50 mph zone, according to the criminal complaint. After Bloomer stopped, the deputy found marijuana wax, marijuana, and paraphernalia, which Bloomer allegedly admitted to smoking and possessing. According to online court records, a preliminary hearing has not been set. Emily Wenger of the Muscatine Journal MUSCATINE, Iowa A Muscatine firefighter will soon be deployed with the U.S. Air Force Reserve, and says he is looking forward to the experience. Roy Patterson has been part of the reserves as a fire protection specialist for five years, focusing on aircraft rescue, fighting structure fires and medical training. Patterson grew up in Oakville, and as soon as he was old enough he joined the volunteer fire department. Turned out I really enjoyed it, he said. After working elsewhere for several years, he received training as a paramedic and began working for an ambulance service. Like Muscatine's fire department, Patterson said, many fire departments require their employees to be paramedics as well as firefighters, so he decided to pursue training. I had always wanted to join the military, he said. So I talked to a recruiter with the Air Force Reserve at that time and told him I was interested in being a firefighter. Patterson received more certifications and gained experience through the Department of Defenses fire academy. That got me a lot of certifications and stuff and better prepared me for a career in the fire service, he said. Now, after three years with the Muscatine Fire Department, Patterson will be heading to the Middle East as a firefighter with the Air Force Reserve. The whole experience is going to be pretty interesting to me when you bring a bunch of firefighters together from different countries, let alone different parts of the state or United States, youre bound to learn something and see some different things, he said. So Im really looking forward to that probably most of all. His wife and three sons, 8, 6 and 2 years old, will be waiting for him at home in Oakville as he is deployed for the first time. Working with the Muscatine Fire Department, Patterson said, has allowed him to hone his skills daily, rather than relying on his monthly and summer training with the Reserve. When you work for a department like Muscatine we have a pretty high call volume in relation to our size and the citys size so were pretty busy and any time youre out running calls and staying busy youre keeping up on your skills, he said. Mike Hartman, assistant chief and fire marshal with the Muscatine Fire Department, said the training Patterson received with the Air Force Reserve has also added to the department. Patterson, Hartman said, wrote the standard operating procedure for aircraft accidents for the Muscatine Fire Department. He was able to bring a lot of thoughts and ideas and procedures into our department as quite honestly people around here dont have that training and experience, our department, and by extension the community, has been able to reap some benefits, he said. Gary Ronzheimer, also with the Muscatine Fire Department, has served with the U.S. Navy Reserve overseas as well, and Hartman said while it is a downside for the city to lose men who serve for a time, their experience adds to the department as a whole. They really do bring a lot to our organization, he said. We are sad to see Roy ship out and we will be thinking of him often. Les emplois a Rennes sont abondants et varies. Il y a quelque chose pour tout le monde. Que vous soyez a la recherche dun emploi [] Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes [] From land deals to science-based land management programs to partnerships with groups big and small, Land Trust of Napa County had a busy and effective 40th year in local land protection. In keeping with the best of list tradition you find this time of year, here are the highlights from the year gone by. The top 5 Land Trust stories of 2016 5. Turleys preserve third property with the Land Trust Larry Turley and Suzanne Chambers Turley worked with Land Trust to create a conservation easement that protects the Olive House property on Highway 29 between St. Helena and Calistoga. The property includes a 100-year-old olive grove and was once owned by W.W. Lyman, who at one point also owned the Bale Grist Mill. The full St. Helena Star story can be found at http://bit.ly/2aGoASB. 4. Land Trust protects water source for St. Helena Thanks to the generosity of longtime landowner Jens Dimmick, the Land Trust was able to acquire a property near Angwin that includes over one-quarter of a mile of Bell Creek, the stream that supplies Bell Canyon Reservoir and is the main source of water for the city of St. Helena. Using a bargain sale transaction, Dimmick agreed to sell below market value and donated the remaining value in order to keep it permanently protected. The full St. Helena Star story can be found at http://bit.ly/2dCPuKu. 3. Pacific Union College and Land Trust working together The Land Trust and Pacific Union College are working together to permanently protect, preserve and manage one of the most significant forests in the county 856 acres of forestland in Angwin next to the colleges campus. The partnership has raised $6.4 million of the $9 million needed for the project already. Once completed, the forests protection would create over 1,600 acres of contiguous forest when combined with the 800-acre Las Posadas State Forest next to it. The full Napa Valley Register story can be found at http://bit.ly/2cwQpxr. 2. More than 1,500 acres of Berryessa ranchland protected The Land Trust received grants from the California Department of Conservation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to protect more than 1,500 acres on two adjacent ranches. These conservation easements are the first completed under Californias new Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC) Program that supports the states efforts to reduce emissions through agricultural land preservation. The full Napa Valley Register story can be found at http://bit.ly/2axusvn. 1. Nearly 800-year-old redwood found on Land Trust preserve During a scientific research visit by Humboldt State University professor Stephen Sillett, core samples from roughly 20 redwood trees in a remote grove revealed one to be about 800 years old. This would make the tree about as old as the Magna Carta, the historic peace treaty signed in 1215 by King John of England. The full Napa Valley Register story can be found at http://bit.ly/2fxty7L. As the Land Trust celebrates 40 years of land preservation, a number of exciting projects are on the horizon. We look forward to reporting on more of conservation progress in the new year. Information about supporting Land Trust projects may be found on the donation page on the Land Trust website at http://bit.ly/2dphFC2. One of the enduring mysteries of the fake-news epidemic is why it's happening now, when it's easier than ever for readers to fact-check stories with a few quick keystrokes. A Google search and a little common sense should be enough to cast doubt on stories that the Clintons are running a child sex ring from a pizza parlor, that Sharia law has been instituted in Florida or that CNN accidentally aired 30 minutes of pornography. And yet, fake news was rampant in 2016. No, busloads of paid protesters didn't descend on Texas in November, but more than 350,000 people shared 'news' that they did. Made-up stories outperformed the real stuff on Facebook, with dozens of dubious websites springing up to meet the demand. Pakistan's defense minister fell for fake news. So did America's next national security adviser. No wonder PolitiFact named fake news its "Lie of the Year." It's not that people are getting dumber, psychologists say. Humans have always had blind spots. But one in particular is causing trouble now: People are ignorant of their own ignorance. In order to realize you should look something up, you have to recognize that you don't already know the answer. Brown University psychology professor Steven Sloman has been investigating this tendency. In one 2013 study, he asked subjects how much they know about complex policies such as unilateral sanctions on Iran. Most people reported knowing a lot -- but when asked to explain how the policies worked, they couldn't. Shattering what Sloman calls "the knowledge illusion" leads people to downgrade their self-assessment -- but then their overconfidence returns. More recently, Sloman has been researching the way people overestimate their understanding of everything from glue to coffee-makers to toilets for his forthcoming book "The Knowledge Illusion: Why We Never Think Alone." Not everyone is equally self-deluded, of course. As a test, Sloman asks a simple math question: A bat costs $1 more than a ball, and together they cost $1.10. What does the ball cost? About 20 percent of people get this right, he said, and they are not as vulnerable to the knowledge illusion. (The ball 5 costs cents. If you were sure it cost 10 cents, you are among the majority of people, and you could stand to improve your reflective thinking skills.) But what about content knowledge -- knowing facts about the world? You might think that would arm people against fake news, but experiments show that's not necessarily the case. Education professor Joseph Kahne of the University of California Riverside gave young subjects, age 15 to 27, a short test for political literacy and then showed them a mix of fake and real news stories presented as Facebook posts. He found high scorers were no better than the rest at separating fake stories from evidence-based ones. What did matter was whether a news story bolstered the subjects' existing beliefs. "The judgments people make are heavily influenced by whether or not information aligns with a policy position they already hold," Kahne said. People who identify as liberals have no trouble pooh-poohing the rumor that Barack Obama was born in Kenya, for example, while those on the conservative end were more likely to believe it. Likewise, liberals were more likely than conservatives to swallow a false claim that 90 percent of rich Americans pay no taxes. The results are slated to be published in American Educational Research Journal. Kahne says the powerful influence of pre-existing political beliefs may explain why a little knowledge doesn't shield people from being fooled. The people who know more about politics, he said, are better equipped to understand the political implications of a story, and therefore quicker to know whether it reinforces or challenges their beliefs. You have to know a little about politics to know if a given story makes liberals or conservative look bad. And false stories are easier than ever to generate and spread. In decades past, Kahne said, people trusted established newspapers, magazines and TV news programs. But trust in the mainstream media has declined massively over the past 20 years, while a majority of Americans now get news from Facebook. Many younger people simply read what Facebook feeds them, Kahne said. They may not pay attention to whether a story came from a legitimate news site. What's more, they may not care if it's true. People are no longer just consumers of news but producers and circulators, he said. Few young people in 20th century went around photocopying newspaper stories and distributing them, but millions do this on Facebook today. Spreading accurate stories isn't necessarily rewarded with likes and shares. Kahne, like a number of other experts, doesn't think the answer lies in making Facebook's executives the arbiters of truth. Better, he says, to help readers and social media users think more critically. The question is: How? One factor that makes a difference is education. In the study, Kahne asked his subjects whether they had any sort of media literacy instruction in high school. Those who were least vulnerable to fake news were most likely to have remembered teachers explaining how to evaluate news stories for credibility. Some teachers also discussed what many of us take for granted: that the difference between truth and falsehood actually matters. As Kahne and his co-authors say in their paper: "The belief that accurate information will bolster democratic decision-making and enable societal improvement is deeply embedded in the enlightenment paradigm, pragmatist beliefs, deliberative ideals and other prominent conceptions of a strong, just, and productive democracy." But people aren't born knowing this. In fact, most may not know it -- though they probably think they do. Faye Flam is a Bloomberg View columnist. She was a staff writer for Science magazine and a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and she is the author of "The Score: How the Quest for Sex Has Shaped the Modern Man." The St. Helena Chamber of Commerce announced its annual Community Service Award winners last week. The awards went to Clif Family Winery for Business of the Year, Stacey Bressler for Citizen of the Year, Jimmy Adams of Sunshine Foods for Employee of the Year, and Soroptimist International of St. Helena for Nonprofit of the Year. Each year we have a great number of worthy candidates and this year was no different. In looking over the nominees, I found that once again St. Helena is a town filled with exceptional businesses and individuals. Their collective accomplishments should make us all feel proud, said Chamber President and CEO Pam Simpson. The winners will be honored at an event in early spring. Details will be announced soon. Business of the Year Clif Family Winery was a great choice, I cant think of a nonprofit in town who didnt benefit from a Sip and Savor this year, Simpson said. The Bruschetteria food truck was truly innovative on its own but the quality of food and the hospitable service makes it St. Helenas newest treasure. The culture at Clif is also what really impresses people. The staff energy and comradery can be felt everyday and they know how to make customers feel like family. Businesses are chosen based on how well they consistently model best practices, are innovative, provide outstanding customer service, and are environmentally progressive. But the Chambers criteria also includes giving back to the community. In 2016, Clif held about 15 fundraising events for local community groups like Nimbus Arts, Girls on the Run, St. Helena Food Pantry, St. Helena Public School Foundation, Napa Bike Coalition, Napa Valley Land Trust, and Soroptimist Sunrise Club. On Jan. 18, Clif kicks off its 2017 Sip & Support program with a volunteer rally at Clif Family Winery from 4 to 7 p.m. This event at the Clif Family tasting room, Velo Vino, will gather together community partners for an evening of socializing and learning about numerous volunteer opportunities. Community groups in attendance will be the Center for Volunteer & Nonprofit Leadership Marin-Napa, Girls on the Run Napa & Solano County, Jameson Animal Rescue Ranch, Land Trust of Napa County, Napa Bike Coalition, Napa Valley Vine Trail, Nimbus Arts, St. Helena Farmers Market and Sunrise Horse Rescue. Guests will be encouraged to find new ways to get involved and give back in 2017. The Bruschetteria Food Truck and Velo Vino also will be open for dinner service during the event. Citizen of the Year Stacey Bressler is a behind-the-scenes powerhouse with energy and diplomacy to get results, the Chamber said. Some of her accomplishments include serving as boardmember of the St. Helena Hospital Foundation, St. Helena Farmers Market, and current board president of Friends of the Cameo Cinema and Planned Parenthood. Stacey does everything from the high-level planning to the meanest chore with equal enthusiasm. St. Helena is richer because she is here, said Piper Cole, fellow Friends of the Cameo boardmember. As a resident of St. Helena for close to 20 years, I have met and worked with many people deserving of the award of Citizen of the Year, but in thinking of Stacey Bressler and all that she does for so many different organizations and nonprofits that we all care so deeply for, and there are MANY, with her dedication and consistent commitment she is clearly my very first choice, said nominator Christy Palmisano. Employee of the Year Jimmy Adams is the quintessential example of excellent hospitality always smiling and welcoming. He goes out of his way to make everyone feels comfortable and important, the Chamber said. He is the ambassador for St. Helena we all should aspire to be. Nominator Heidi Holzhauer wrote, Jimmy is the best because he has such a great attitude and he always remembers something from our last conversation. He has a great work ethic and sense of humor. And he is fast and efficient at his job! Nonprofit of the Year Small but mighty, is how current Soroptimist International of St. Helena president Yvonne Vosti describes the 62-year-old club. Since its establishment in 1954, the St. Helena chapter of Soroptimist International has given away more than a million dollars in local scholarships and grants. These monies, raised by the clubs volunteer members most of whom still work full-time have helped send countless St. Helena students to college and summer camp, as well as on educational trips to Yosemite, Sonora, and Washington D.C. There are dozens of single and/or widowed mothers throughout the Napa Valley and beyond who have gone back to school or completed vocational training with the help of Soroptimist in St. Helena and its annual professional grants, including the Live Your Dream Award. Kristi Trebotich, winner of the clubs 2015 Live Your Dream Award, exemplifies the sort of woman lifted up by Soroptimist International. Trebotich, a former stay-at-home mother of four, went back to both work and school when her husband Yuri was diagnosed with cancer. That was six years ago. Working against the clock and her husbands terminal illness, Trebotich, with ongoing help from Soroptimist of St. Helena, completed her nursing degree last month not quite a year after Yuris passing. As Trebotich admitted the week she completed her degree, I honestly couldnt have done this without the support and encouragement of Soroptimist of St. Helena. South Africa growth weak, but stronger than 2016 South African asset prices should perform "ok", but mainly because there are more negative peers to compare to - especially Turkey - emerging markets economist Peter Attard Montalto of Nomura said on Thursday. "South Africa will see an overarching political narrative as the ANC moves to its elective conference in December and shocks within government can occur, Montalto said in a 2017 outlook for Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EEMEA). "All this should keep growth weak, albeit slightly stronger than in 2016. We see this having little impact on the SA Reserve Bank (Sarb) unless the currency weakens, though downgrade risk will be an important secondary narrative." In his view, 2017 could be "a year of two halves". Turkey could be "noisy and negative" in the first half with South Africa quiet. "The reverse could be the case in the second half of 2017, as Turkey passes the constitutional hurdle and South African politics heat up without much growth," said Montalto. "We view EEMEA as an asset class likely outperforming Latin America or Asia given lower degrees of connectivity to US rate hikes or Trump policy, including protectionism. However, the region and especially its higher beta markets like Turkey and South Africa to a lesser degree, should drive quite differentiated returns within global emerging markets benchmarks - as quantative easing flow-related support from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank ceases and reverses." According to Montalto countries that offer yield and are "quiet" on the narrative front may outperform. This would include South Africa and Russia in the first half of the New Year. "However, shocks and a focus on idiosyncratics can then mean gains are quickly given back. Overall, it looks like a volatile year to come," said Montalto. "While it is difficult to find region-wide domestic themes for 2017, we see a challenging external environment from the Trump Presidency and related policy changes. We see higher US rates, and to a lesser degree the eurozone and its monetary policy and politics, sharply magnifying domestic issues in EEMEA countries." www.fin24.com Tuesday, Dec. 27 1111 -- Medical aid for a woman having trouble breathing on Hunt Avenue. 1143 -- Report of a reckless driver in a small red car on Main Street. 1610 -- The owner of a broken-down Porsche told police he was parked in a red zone near Oak/Spring while waiting for a tow truck. 1646 -- Police cited a silver car parked in a red zone on Main Street. 1826 -- Report of a car swerving and almost causing an accident on Highway 29. Police arrested a 27-year-old Sacramento man on suspicion of DUI. Wednesday, Dec. 28 0024 -- PG&E warned that power would be going down temporarily at 1 a.m. PG&E provided traffic control while the lights were out. 1009 -- Report of a red SUV parked on Hunt Avenue for over three days. 1254 -- Someone lost their wallet on Tuesday during a bike ride. It contained identification and cash. 1542 -- Report of possible financial elder abuse. Thursday, Dec. 29 0537 -- An off-duty officer asked for help stopping a vehicle that had been going over 100 mph on Highway 29. The driver got cited. 1047 -- An officer reported that the shoulder of the roadway near Silverado Trail and Madrone Knoll Way was badly rutted, causing cars to bottom out when they tried to yield onto the turnout. 1252 -- A black wallet was reported lost. 1312 -- The southbound and northbound traffic signals at Main/Pope were stuck on red. Police provided traffic control until the problem was fixed. 1553 -- Non-injury accident at Main/Dowdell. 1742 -- A caller heard someone screaming, possibly in pain, on Pope Street. Police checked the area. 1939 -- Medical aid on Laguna Seca Court. 2338 -- Police responded to a noise complaint on Pope Street. Friday, Dec. 30 0929 -- Medical aid for a person whod collapsed in an elevator at a Main Street hotel. 1140 -- A semi was parked in the center lane of Main Street near Spring Street. 1202 -- A German shepherd wearing a San Francisco Giants tag was found on Hudson Avenue. The person who found it will try to return it to its owner. 1427 -- Medical aid for an unresponsive man on San Juan Court. 1439 -- A car was pulled over for erratic driving on Adams Street. 1442 -- Report of a possible fraud involving a Craigslist listing. A resident tried to buy tickets from the other person using Chase QuickPay. The funds had been sent a few hours ago, but the tickets were never received. Police took a report. 1615 -- Report of dogs barking on and off for the last hour on Spring Mountain Road. 1622 -- A large white and gray cat named Curtis was reported missing from Pine Street. 1731 -- Report of a man riding in the bed of a pickup on Main Street near Grayson Avenue. 1823 -- Report of a man walking in the middle of Main Street near the elm tunnel. Saturday, Dec. 31 0713 -- The bathroom at Lewis Station Park was reportedly flooding. Public Works was notified. 1145 -- Report of a possible drunk driver weaving and traveling at erratic speeds on Silverado Trail near Pope Street. Police checked the area. 1224 -- A person reported receiving harassing emails from a person who lives in St. Helena. Police determined it was a civil problem. 1226 -- A caller asked for extra patrol near Madrona Avenue because vehicles had been off-roading on private property during the last storm, leaving ruts behind. 1229 -- Two dogs were found near Howell Mountain Road and Silverado Trail. One is white and one is black. They might be labs. 1348 -- A small white dog with brown ears was found on Main Street. 1533 -- A wallet was reported lost. 1546 -- Medical aid for a possible stroke victim on Charter Oak Avenue. Sunday, Jan. 1 0849 -- Report of bums sleeping in front of a building across the street from the police department. 1428 -- Medical aid for an elderly woman feeling ill on Hunt Avenue. 1834 -- A woman reported that she and her family were being verbally harassed by a man and his wife. No threats had been made. Police took a report. Monday, Jan. 2 1203 -- Report of someone ranting and raving at Lewis Station Park. 1218 -- Report of a man yelling at a woman in a white Ford Focus on Main Street. 1444 -- The railroad police asked St. Helena police to respond to White Lane for a vehicle vs. train. Nobody was hurt. 1634 -- A wallet was reported lost. 2320 -- A cell phone case was found near Adams/Main. When he was a child, doctors predicted that Bob Harris would die as a teenager. Despite the fact that his blood didn't clot normally, however, his parents refused to coddle him. They also actively advocated for more resources for hemophilia patients in Georgia. Aging was new territory for hemophiliacs, and as Harris embraced marriage, traveling, and hobbies (including, ironically, knife collecting) as a young man, he met Sidney Stein, a hematologist at Emory University Hospital. At that time, in the early 1980s, Stein was becoming the point person for Georgia families seeking the latest discoveries in benign blood disorder research. Sidney Stein Harris, Stein said, would need to make some long-term changes, starting with no more nail biting. As the years went by and Harris continued to push his limits, Stein remained blunt and always thorough. Stein's dedication to clinical care, research, and education helped lead to longer lives for hemophilia patients treated at Emory and to Emory's adoption of a national model for the care and treatment of people with hemophilia."The passion in his tone has grown over the years, despite the risky things I've done, like two knee replacements and several surgeries," says Harris. "I've probably given him heart failure, and he's challenged me." Harris, 66, is alive because of the surge in research and knowledge around hemophilia. And his grandson, Mason, who also has the disease, can expect a brighter future in part due to his family's advocacy. The Emory/Children's Healthcare Hemophilia Treatment Center is one of the largest of its kind in the country. Its director, Christine Kempton, is a national leader in the treatment of bleeding disorders, and four Emory researchers have gone on to direct hemophilia centers in other cities. Because patients with blood disorders who see a broad spectrum of specialists lived longer than those treated by a hematologist in a private setting, Stein set up Emory's clinic for holistic care. Because so many patients did not know they needed comprehensive care, he advised Hemophilia of Georgia on hiring outreach nurses, who visited patients at home. This made Emory's bleeding disorder program the first in the country with a public health outreach component. "We have been very fortunate to have what we have," says Patricia Dominic, retired CEO of Hemophilia of Georgia. The clinic's establishment in the 1980s coincided with the beginning of the HIV epidemic, which devastated the nation's blood supply. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was instrumental in the first successful techniques to treat clotting factor to prevent the spread of HIV. Stein worked with the CDC and reviewed the techniques and products that promised to scrub the blood clean of HIV and hepatitis C. Through this scrutiny, countless recalls of blood were avoided and lives were saved. Stein helped create the Hemophilia Hotline, a 24-hour physician-to-physician service for Georgia doctors who need emergency treatment information. Nine hematologists across Georgia staff the hotline. "We've been able to take the management, treatment, and cure for hemophilia forward in ways that I personally could never have done without Hemophilia of Georgia," Stein says. "Its focus is Georgia, but the difference it makes is national." To prevent bleeding, people with hemophilia inject a protein (factor VIII or factor IX) into their blood; the clotting factor is obtained through for-profit specialty pharmacies or nonprofits such as Hemophilia of Georgia. About 30 percent of people with severe hemophilia A develop antibodies to factor VIII and keep it from working correctly. Pete Lollar, the Hemophilia of Georgia Chair in Hemostasis, has worked for more than 25 years to understand the basic mechanisms of this type of bleeding and to develop a genetically modified factor VIII. Lollar's team developed and received FDA approval for a synthetic factor VIII product called Obizur, which helps patients who have developed antibodies to factor VIII. Emory research led by H. Trent Spencer and Christopher Doering could lead to the development of gene therapy for patients with hemophilia and the end of daily injections. "Before, patients would wait to bleed before they injected themselves with clotting factor," Stein says. "Now they inject before they bleed. National data shows that there is much less joint destruction, and they are able to lead more normal lives. When you couple that with other new treatments, patients may soon be injecting only once a week instead of three times, and that's big. One day patients may rarely have to inject themselves at all." 23:22 "Ford today announced it is canceling plans for the new plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico," the company said in a statement. At the same time, Ford is adding 700 US jobs and investing $700 million from the funds earmarked for the Mexico plant during the next four years to expand its Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan so that it can build self-driving and electric vehicles. Ford CEO Mark Fields told CNN the company looked at all the factors before making the decision "including what we view as a more positive US manufacturing business environment under President-elect Trump." He said company chairman Bill Ford spoke this morning to Trump, who has been critical of Ford in the past, and just hours earlier slammed General Motors for importing some cars into the US market from Mexico. Ford announced today it is canceling plans to build a $1.6 billion plant in Mexico and will boost US production of electric vehicles, in part due to a better business environment under President-elect Donald Trump. After the December 29 coal mine cave-in in Jharkhand, that left over a dozen dead, Union Mines Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday ordered a safety audit of all mines in the country. "I have ordered a safety audit of all the mines on a priority basis," the minister said. "We have made three lots of mines. We are taking those which have five million cubic metres of composite production annually, first. There are 58 such mines," he said. "Then, we take those with one to five million cubic metres of annual composite production and then take those which have less than one million cubic metres...," he added. "We look at safety audit from all aspects -- fire, gas, inundation, etc," Goyal said, after reviewing safety measures with the officials of Coal India and its subsidiaries here in the light of the recent Jharkhand accident. "I was explained various causes for the unfortunate incident and we have drawn up a roadmap of what could be done going forward so that the standards of safety can be taken to the highest level to ensure as far as possible zero accident in coal mining activities in India," he said. Goyal said the Centre and Coal India officials have taken several decisions in terms of strengthening safety infrastructure and safety audits. "We are committed to spending on the most modern equipment which will help us in terms of forewarning to prevent accidents," he said. Goyal said all the safety audits will be conducted by the Director General of Mines Safety (DGMS). "If any third-party expert assistance is required, I am open to it. We are taking up (safety) measures immediately for the larger mines first and then go down to each (mines)," he said. The minister said in the Jharkhand mine that caved in, 18 bodies were recovered so far and rescue operations were still going on. "I have ordered a detailed investigation through the DGMS as well as a team of experts will be studying the accidents and causes of it," he said. In Jharkhand, mining operations were stopped a few weeks back. The accumulated overburden was being moved to make the land more stable and at that stage there was some fault line in the solid strata, he said trying to explain the cave-in. Goyal, who is in charge of Power Ministry, said two states were also joining UDAY (Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojna) scheme on Wednesday and a week after one more state would be joining it. --IANS bdc/in/vt ( 426 Words) 2017-01-03-16:28:08 (IANS) Calling for a collective and concerted effort to address the socio-economic concerns of youth and contain the increasing alienation, Jammu and Kashmir Governor, N. N. Vohra on Monday urged the government ensure that the new generation are made the vanguard for reducing the ethnic and ideological differences which have adversely affected the state. The Governor said that the state has a very high potential for being among the developed states in the country. "To achieve our goals we need to resolve all our disagreements, such as they may be, work collectively and strive very hard to put our State on the path of rapid development on all fronts," he said. "The disturbances and violent conflicts which we have gone through have engendered a worrisome decline in our social norms, relations and hierarchies and standards of political discourse. These regressive changes need to be addressed and reversed and the political agenda, the economic roadmap and the social framework must all emanate from here," the Governor said in his address to the joint sitting of the State Legislature here today at the beginning of the Budget Session 2017-18. Vohra said that it is in the larger interest of the State and its people to urgently embark on the mission of protecting the psyche of the future generation from being fractured by the unprecedented civil strife, political disruption and chaos, while enormous progress is taking place in other parts of our country. Commenting on the recent unrest in the valley, Vohra said the loss of lives in the past six months is most unfortunate and regrettable. "The irreparable pain of losing someone we love is not unknown to us. While the political rhetoric may result in keeping us at odds, our grief brings us together - whether of a mother who has lost her young soldier son on duty at the line of control or of a mother whose child has been killed by a tear gas shell or blinded by pellets," he said. "We must admit our shortcomings and lift ourselves out from the unfortunate syndrome that has involved us in a cycle of violence which has affected almost every arena of activity. While hundreds were injured, civilians, police and paramilitary forces personnel lost their lives" he added. Vohra also raised the issue of disturbances on the borders, adversely affecting cross-LOC Trade has continued unabated and up to end of March 2016, at an aggregate, this trade has recorded import worth about Rs 4000 crore of Pakistani currency and export worth about Rs 2600 crore of Indian currency. "A list of 21 more tradable items has been submitted to the Government of India for taking up this matter with the Government of Pakistan," he said adding that the confidence building measures of opening additional trade routes is being pursued. Vohra also raised the issue of Displaced Persons of PoK (1947) as well as the Displaced Persons of Chhamb (1965 and 1971) and said an immediate settlement of Rs. 5.50 lakh must be provided in favour of each of the 36, 384 families who have been found eligible through the laid down procedure. Mr Vohra said yet another issue that is being played up is the issue of West Pakistan Refugees. As a part of the Agenda of Alliance, it was decided to sympathetically deal with this humanitarian issue. The State Government has facilitated their identification to enable them to get work in the paramilitary forces and other central government establishments. This identification does not change the status of the West Pakistan Refugees; they continue to be non-state subjects. Vohra said land has been identified for the establishment of two AIIMS in the State, one each in Kashmir and Jammu. The Government has also secured funding of Rs 120 crore for a State Cancer Institute at SKIMS, Soura. "Of the five new Medical Colleges sanctioned by the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, construction work is in progress at Anantnag, Baramulla and Rajouri. For the other two colleges, work is expected to start soon," he said. Vohra said work has begun for the drawdown of World Bank assistance of USD 250 million for Disaster Management. To start with, land measuring 50 kanals is being transferred to Relief & Rehabilitation Department for establishment of an Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) in Budgam. (ANI) "I think he is going to be the best president of USA for India so far in the history of world he has shown the support to us. In New Jerssey event he came back on the stage and said I love Hindu I love India, he is very vocal about it," Manasvi told ANI. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's transition team, Shalab Kumar, also said that the incoming President will not tolerate dual role from India's neighbor, an apparent reference to Pakistan. "The President-elect has made that policy very very clear that he is not going to tolerate dual role from India's neighbours," Kumar told ANI. He added that the prime objective during the first year of Trump's presidency is to increase trade between Washington and New Delhi to 300 billion from 100 billion USD a year. (ANI) The Minister said this at the 19th State Consumer Protection Council (SCPC) meeting, held at Udyog Bhawan here. The Minister said the government intends to present Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Legal Metrology Bill 2017, J&K Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill 2017 and J&K Hoarding and Profiteering Prevention Bill, 2017 in the present Budget Session. The meeting was informed that while J&K Legal Metrology Bill 2017 would repeal J&K Weights and Measures Act 1997, the amendment to J&K Consumer Protection Bill 2017 would amend J&K Consumer Protection Bill 1987 by incorporating new provisions like State Consumer Protection Authority, Alternative Dispute Redressal Mechanism and Product Liability. It was further informed that introduction of J&K Hoarding and Profiteering Prevention Bill 2017 would repeal J&K Hoarding and Profiteering Ordinance SMVT 2000 (1942 AD). The Minister asked the members of the Council to provide their feedback at an earliest to make the bills more effective. Appreciating the members for their support, the Minister said that the Department's focus is to do more for ensuring that consumer rights are protected and upheld in their true spirit. Reciprocating the Minister's gesture, the members appreciated the Minister in return for the good work carried out since he held the chair. The members said the Minister has far off excelled in delivering his duties. They added he did far more than what people could not do in past decades. Later, the Minister also releases the departmental calendar for 2017. (ANI) The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a head constable posted at Police Station, Sector-31, Chandigarh for demanding and accepting bribe of Rs.5,000 from the complainant. A case was registered under Section 7 of PC Act, 1988 against head constable on the allegations that a complaint was lodged against complainant & his friend in the said police station and the head constable visited the house of the complainant on several times. During meeting with complainant, the head constable demanded Rs.20,000 for not taking any action against them and threatened that in case of non-payment of the bribe, he would arrest them. After negotiation, the accused agreed to accept Rs.5, 000 as first installment. The CBI laid a trap and caught Head constable red handed while demanding and accepting bribe of Rs.5,000 from the complainant. Searches were conducted in the office and residence of the accused which led to recovery of incriminating documents. (ANI) Speaking on the occasion, the President congratulated the Indian Defence Accounts Service Officers for having succeeded in the civil services exam, one of the toughest examinations in the country. He said that established 267 years ago, the defence account department back then, was known as the military accounts department. This department remained under the administrative control of the Ministry of Finance till 1983. On the introduction of the integrated financial advice scheme, it came under the control of the Defence Ministry. President Mukherjee said that the Indian armed forces have a huge responsibility to defend the nation. To achieve this objective, our armed forces should modernise. He said that the responsibility of the defence account cadre has always been onerous. In the scenario of ever increasing defence outlay, their responsibilities are only bound to increase. "Their focus should not be only on the financial aspects but also on the overall defence scenario. Their role while rendering financial advice should be to facilitate the process. As watchdogs they need to be careful in discharging their duty of scrutinizing financial expenditure," he said. (ANI) The CCPA meeting has been convened to decide the date for the commencement of the Budget Session. Home Minister Rajnath Singh will chair the meeting. Apart from Singh, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar will also be present at the CCPA meeting. The budget is expected to be presented on February 1 by Jaitley. The Budget Session is being advanced as the government wants early allocation of funds for various schemes-- from April 1, the beginning of the financial year. The 2017 Budget is going to a historic one as the government, for the first time in 92 years, will present a budget that would be merged with the rail budget. (ANI) Arms and ammunitions were recovered from the slain terrorist. The encounter broke out between the security forces and terrorists in Haritar Tarzoo area in Baramulla. This comes less than a week after a similar encounter took place in Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora. (ANI) Sixty-four-year-old Bandyopadhyay arrived around 1100 hrs at the CGO Complex at Salt Lake forinterrogation by IPS rank CBI officials in two phases for his alleged connection with the Rose Valley group. He is accused of collecting Rs 60,000 crore from the market under micro finance schemes. Mr Bandopadhyay, before going inside the CBI office, told reporters that he was there to know the reason behind CBI summoning him. The three-time MP from north Kolkata has been summoned several times by the Central investigating agency to appear before them due to his alleged involvement in the scam which involves money of lakhs of poor people. The Supreme Court has asked the CBI to probe all the micro finance scams, including Saradha chit fund cases. The senior TMC MP was called exactly five days after actor-turned-TMC MP Tapas Pal was arrested by the CBI for his alleged connection in the scandal. The CBI after grilling Paul, an MP from Krishnanagar constituency, for four hours arrested and taken him to Bhubaneswar and kept him in its custody. The party alleged that the Union government led by the BJP was pursuing vendetta politics.UNI PC AD1228 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0108-1091795.Xml Dejected with his arrest, he tried to commit suicide by trying to cut the veins of his hands with the edge of an iron bar inside the police lock up at Mufassil police station in the district. He had to be rushed to the Sadar hospital here. Additional Superintendent of police Manish said the escaped prisoner, Deo Dhari, was arrested from his hideout in Muffasil police station area in the district following a tip off. When he was put in the lock up he tried to commit suicide in a fit of rage, he added. The escaped prisoner was a resident of Dariyapur village and was serving life sentence in a rape case. He was shifted to Buxar Central Jail from Motihari Central jail recently. On the fateful night of December 31, he escaped with four other convicts from the high security Buxar Central after scaling the wall. The other convicts are still at large and raids are being conducted to nab them, police added.UNI XC IS DH AD -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0108-1091818.Xml The advocates from six districts -- Sangli, Satara, Solapur, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Kolhapur-- are on strike. The Kolhapur Bench Joint Action Committee (JAC) has decided to intensify the agitation, as the state government was not fulfilling its demand.UNI SSS NV SV RJ 1242 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-1091752.Xml The battleground is all set for Uttar Pradesh, with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav going all out to make his mark on the biggest stage with a combination, which is a sure recipe for success in the state, known for caste-based politics. In a bid to give a new look to the party, the CM has backward combination of Yadav and Kurmi, the new national president and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has appointed another Backward, other than a Yadav as the state party president, replacing his uncle Shivpal Yadav. MLC Naresh Uttam, also a former UP minister, is the ultimate choice of the CM, trying to keep the family away from the post, besides trying to woo other categories, before the crucial Assembly polls. Dharmendra Yadav, Member of Parliament from Budaun and cousin of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, was expected to be selected for the job, but was dropped at the last moment. The Chief Minister, however, selected Naresh Uttam, an OBC leader of the dominant Kurmi caste from Fatehpur district. Uttam has already taken charge and was busy in reconstituting the party. Sources in the SP said that Akhilesh appointed Naresh Uttam as party's state chief to escape the charge that he was promoting the family. The CM also wanted to give a signal to the first family of the ruling party that he would no longer follow the policy of his father of promoting the Saifai family in politics. At present, all five members of the Lok Sabha of SP are from Saifai family. Moreover, ahead of the crucial Assembly elections, giving a prominent position in the party organisation to a leader of the dominant Kurmi community would send a positive signal to the community. The sources said that Akhilesh was in search of a leader from the Kanpur-Fatehpur region to counter Rajya Sabha member Sukhram Yadav, who is close to Shivpal Yadav. Sukhram Yadav, a former Chairman of the UP Legislative Council and a native of Kanpur, was a key person of Shivpal Yadav and had spearheaded the campaign against Akhilesh Yadav ever since the crisis gripped the party in September last year. Significantly, when Akhilesh Yadav was the SP state president, Naresh Uttam was his deputy. He was removed from the post soon after Shivpal Yadav replaced Akhilesh as SP state chief. Uttam is an old confidant of Mulayam Singh Yadav and was elected to the state Assembly for the first time from Jehanabad in Fatehpur district in 1989. He was also inducted as Minister of State in the then Janata Dal government headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav. He joined politics in 1980 when he came in contact with Mulayam Singh Yadav and is associated with the Samajwadi Party since its inception in 1992. Uttam is also a member of the Janeshwar Mishra Trust headed by Akhilesh Yadav. He also heads the party's OBC cell. When the feud between Akhilesh and Shivpal broke out, he chose to be with the chief minister. During the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party coalition government headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav in 1993, he was appointed member of the UP Backward Classes Commission with the rank of Minister of State. During the previous regime of Mulayam Singh Yadav in 2003-07, he was nominated to the Legislative Council. He was again nominated to the Council in 2012 by the Samajwadi Party.UNI MB RJ 1302 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-1091662.Xml Rajender Rane has been misappropriating the school fees submitted by the students since 2008, police said. When the audit of the school accounts was conducted, irregularities were noticed and an explanation was sought from the Headmaster for the non-tally of the accounts and shortage of the sums. Police yesterday booked him under Section 409 of the IPC and further probe into the case was in progress.UNI XR NV SV RJ 1321 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-1091810.Xml Claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah have accepted defeat in the coming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, BSP supremo Mayawati today released her party's caste combination in the Assembly elections, reiterating that her party will not forge any pre-poll alliance. Welcoming the Supreme Court's decision to restrict political parties from using religion or caste during the elections, Ms Mayawati said the move was good and she accepts it. Claiming her sarva samaj ideology in the distribution of Assembly tickets and ridiculing the charges of the Opposition parties that BSP is a Dalit-based party, Ms Mayawati has given the highest ticket to upper caste, followed by backwards, Muslims and Dalits. "Noor (glow) of the face of both Modi and Shah was missing during yesterday's BJP rally in Lucknow and by announcing that UP elections would not be an issue of win or defeat, but it would be a poll for responsibility, shows that they have accepted the defeat before the elections," she said. "Could the responsibility given by the people in 2014 Lok Sabha elections have been fulfilled by Modi and his team. It is a big question and now, they are again trying to confuse the people in UP. Not a single promise was fulfilled after BJP came to power at the Centre, and now they are again talking about responsibility of UP," she added. Addressing her first press conference in 2017, Ms Mayawati though, did not announce the party's candidates for the Assembly elections, but gave the details of the caste, who would be fielded in the elections in all 403 seats, thus ruling out any pre-poll alliances. According to Ms Mayawati, of the total 403 Assembly seats in UP, the major chunk of 113 seats will go to the upper caste with Brahmins getting the major share of 66 seats, Thakur 36 and rest 11 will go to Kayasth, Vaishya and others. The Other Backward Caste (OBCs) would get 106 seats, while there would be 97 Muslim candidates in the fray. Dalits will have 87 seats, 85 in the reserved seats and two from the general seat. In her one-hour long press meet, the former UP CM said that candidates have been fixed in all 403 seats and none will be changed now. But, the names would be announced after the declaration of poll dates by EC, she added.MORE UNI MB RJ SHK 1448 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-1091880.Xml The Tamil Nadu government today informed the Madras High court that the statue of late actorSivaji Ganesan on the Marina Beach road would be shifted and relocated at his memorial before May 18. When the contempt petition came up for hearing beforethe First Bench comprising Chief Justice S K Kaul andJustice Mahadevan, the government said work on the memorial was on and the statue would be relocated by May 18 once the works were completed. The bronze statue of the late actor was erected at the junction of Dr Radhakrishnan Salai and Kamaraj Salai in 2006. A PIL filed by one P N Srinivasan sought the removal of the statue. The court had earlier ordered the statue to be removedfrom the spot. However, since no action was taken by the Highways Department, a contempt of court petition was filedagainst the department secretary. In response to the petition, the government had said that the statue would be removed after the completion of the Manimandapam, to be built ona 65-cent land allotted on the banks of the Adyar river, as announced by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The State appealed against this in the Supreme Court and said the Manimandapam will be completed by September 2017 and the statue will be removed after that. The Supreme Court agreed to this and asked thestate government to convey this to the High Court. When the case came up for hearing today, the government submitted that the statue would be removed before May 18 following which the petition was treated as closed.UNI GV CS 1558 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-1092134.Xml The Supreme Court today dismissed a plea filed by a lawyers' group challenging appointment of Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar as the next Chief Justice of India (CJI). A bench of the apex court, headed by Justice N V Ramanna, said there was no merit in the petition filed by the NLCJTR (National Lawyers Campaign for Judicial Transparency and Reforms). The apex court said the petition had already been dismissed twice. The lawyers' body had moved the apex court seeking a stay on the appointment of Justice Khehar as next CJI.The top court had earlier also said that the plea filed by the association was infructuous after the notification was issued by the President of India on December 19. The apex court had earlier said there was no question of Justice Khehar usurping power through the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) judgment."No question of Justice Khehar being ineligible for appointment as CJI," the Apex Court had said. There was no merit in the plea filed by the lawyers' body seeking quashing of the CJI appointment, the top court had ruled and dismissed the plea filed by the NLCJTR.UNI XC RSA SHK 1500 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-1091938.Xml The city-based religious leaders, groups and organisations today welcomed the Supreme Court's verdict which outlawed seeking votes in the name of religion, caste, race, community or language. In the verdict, a seven-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur, observed that the secular ethos of the Constitution had to be maintained by keeping elections a secular exercise. Advocate Archie Sodder of the Association of Concerned Catholics (AOCC) said, ''This judgement is a well timed order and I support it. No candidate should be allowed to solicit votes in the name of religion, otherwise minorities will be targeted and exploited. Votes should be completely on the basis of secularism.'' Gulzar Azmi, secretary of the legal cell of Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind, said even though this order is welcomed, the Supreme Court should also revisit its earlier order which had said that Hindutva is a culture and not religion. ''Our country is a secular state. So we support the Supreme Court's verdict which correctly says that no one should seek votes in the name of religion or religious activities. Rather, the candidate should seek votes on his development agenda. However, while this court has given this judgment, we also appeal that the court should revisit its earlier five-judge bench order which stated that Hindutva is not a religion, but a culture,'' Mr Azmi added. Sunil Ghanwat of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti said this verdict should not be limited only to elections. ''We welcome the verdict. However, this verdict seems to be limited to the elections and candidates. We feel it should be extended to other events and functions where the unity of our country gets disturbed. Also, it is very important that the implementation of this order is done strictly so that no one misuses his powers in the name of religion, caste or language,'' he added.UNI AAA SS SW SHK 1720 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0171-1092243.Xml The 3-day show will have four concurrent exhibitions Clean India Show (14th edition), Laundrex India ( 2nd edition), Waste Technology India Expo (2nd edition and Car Cae Expo ( 2nd edition), said VIS Group, the organizer of specialized trade shows, in a statement here today. For the first time, there will be separate section for Pest Management as well. Supported by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Show targets will attract over 8,000 potential trade and industrial visitors. The single largest platform for networking with leading players of the industry and enhancing business opportunities, Clean India Technology Week 2017 (CTW), with over 150 exhibitors, is gearing up to showcase cleaning solutions for a gamut of industries, including manufacturing, engineering, pharma, automobile, textile, IT and other industries, besides hotels, hospitals, malls, education institutions, commercial and institutional spaces, auto showrooms, garages, laundries, railways, aviation, municipal corporations and government bodies. There will be parallel seminar sessions and workshops catering to Facility Service providers, hospitality and laundry professionals, civic authorities and Corporate sustainability heads. Industry experts and municipal corporations will be participating. One of the highlights of CTW is live demos of products/systems for better understanding of various applications and suitability to specific requirements. UNI KNR SHS SHK 1858 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1092465.Xml ENC spokesperson today said that during the visit, Mr Lanba will be briefed on the activities of the Command. He will also interact with the Flag Officers. Later, the Admiral would address officers, sailors, defence civilians and personnel from Defence Security Corps separately. In addition, the CNS will be visiting some of the naval establishments at Visakhapatnam Smart City. Ms Lanba will be briefed on the activities of NWWA (Eastern Region) and later inaugurate the Assisted Reproductory Treatment (ART) Centre at INHS Kalyani. Mr and Ms Lanba will depart from Visakhapatnam on Friday.UNI BSR SHS SNU 1912 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1092603.Xml Another effort of reconciliation between the warring ruling Samajwadi Party between Mulayam Singh Yadav and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has failed and the deadlock still persists. Over three-hour-long one-to-one meeting between Mulayam and Akhilesh did not yield any results with both faction sticking to their ground. The meeting started around 1230 hrs after the SP chief arrived from New Delhi and the Chief Minister rushed to his father's residence, at Vikramaditya Marg. Later, Shivpal Singh Yadav too joined the meeting around 1500 hrs. The Chief Minister came out of the meeting at 1535 hrs but refused to say anything to the media outside. For a brief period he also went to his adjoining residence for five minutes and then left for his official residence at 5 Kalidas Marg. However, when the meeting ended in Lucknow, Ram Gopal Yadav, in New Delhi told reporters that ''no compromise will be made in SP and they will fight the UP elections under the leadership of Mr Akhilesh Yadav.'' Mr Ram Gopal had said,"Election Commission was deciding on the fate of the election symbol." He ruled out any compromise at this juncture. Meanwhile, sources here said, ''very senior SP leader and member of Rajya Sabha, today met Akhilesh this morning and raised this concern that party is on the verge of losing the symbol. This will be disastrous.'' Mr Akhilesh Yadav has reportedly replied that he wants only two things--first he should be made the CM's face and secondly he should have a say in candidate selection. Later, Mr Akhilesh Yadav came to his father's place and told him the same thing. The SP chief had heard him and expressed his annoyance on how the national convention was held. The Chief Minister had made his proposals but no assurance from Mr Mulayam Singh so far. Mr Mulayam Singh, had met the EC yesterday and placed their points that the meeting, in which Akhilesh was declared the party national president was illegal, today reached here. Sources said the meeting between the father and the son was an effort for a compromise after the EC has given enough indication that the party symbol bicycle could be seized. Several leaders, including UP Minister Mohammad Azam Khan, who had rushed to Delhi today, were making all out efforts for a compromise. The outcome of the meeting between Mr Mulayam Singh and Mr Akhilesh was yet to be known. Ram Gopal Yadav, the chanakaya of Akhilesh, had met the EC and placed their points before them, demanding that the election symbol of bicycle be given to them. Now, the ball is in the EC's court, but the sudden meeting between Mr Mulayam Singh and Mr Akhilesh Yadav could be another effort of reconciliation.UNI MB AE SHK 1811 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-1092301.Xml Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha Member Pramod Tiwari, demanding resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on moral grounds for allegedly not ending the problem of public arising due to demonetisation after 50 days have passed, said the BJP should issue a white paper on the expenditure made for his rally in Lucknow. Cashless transactions were turning out to be a big scam, Mr Tiwari said, adding that the BJP should disclose how it made the payments of the buses and other expenditure for yesterday's rally, which they claimed was a historic one attended by more than one million people. Addressing a press conference here, the RS member said Mr Modi has lost his moral authority to rule the country as his promise to end the problem of the people after 50 days was just a farce. "Mr Modi was asking people to go cashless and even promoting a Chinese company Paytm for his vested interests but he should first disclose the details of yesterday's rally and how much and how the payments were made," he questioned. He also further questioned Mr Modi for saying yesterday that the Kalyan Singh government in UP was the most efficient and honest. "But did he know that there were 19 criminals, history-sheeters and absconders in Kalyan's cabinet besides that the BJP government gave rise to politician-criminal nexus in UP politics," he stated. The Congress leader refused to speak on the ongoing infighting in the ruling Samajwadi Party in UP but said that he was saddened by the way the things a happening. "It is the internal matter of the SP and thus no one should intervene," he stated.UNI MB RSA SHK 1844 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-1092354.Xml Karnataka Janarogya Chalawali (KJC), apublic health advocacy group working in the field of Health inremote rural areas in this District, today demanded that thegovernment make public the K. Neela Committee report on unwantedhysterectomy surgeries performed in various hospitals in Kalaburagidistrict in the recent past and implement its recommendations thatincluded punitive and preventive measures. Talking to the presspersons here, Teena Xavier and AkhilaVasan, the District Coordinator and State Associate Coordinator ofthe institution respectively, alleged that higher-ups in thegovernment departments kept the public document confidential as itcontained crimes committed by reputed hospitals in the district. They alleged that the report was gathering dust at the office ofDepartment of Health and Family Welfare for the last eight months. K. Neela headed six-member committee constituted by the KarnatakaState Commission for Women in September 2015 and investigated the issueof unwanted hysterectomy surgeries performed in Kalaburagi district.The Committee visited 25 Tandas (tribal hamlets inhabited by Banjaracommunity) and 35 villages in the district and two slums inKalaburagi city and interviewed 66 women who underwent hysterectomy.It also took information from hospitals where the surgeries wereperformed. It submitted a 105-page report in April 2016. The reportis kept confidential even eight months after its submission, Ms.Xavier said. The RTI filing to get the report too was not entertained. Shesaid that her organisation somehow managed to get a copy of the report. Ms Vasan said that the report named two hospitals that illegallyperformed such surgeries and recommended that criminal cases bebooked against them But, no action has been taken against thehospitals so far. We have been approaching State Women Commission,Health Department and other government agencies. But none hasresponded positively. They are deliberately hiding the report tosafeguard the interests of errant hospitals. We are left with nooption, but to taking to the streets. We will reach out to everyvillages and Tanda with the report and build a mass movement againstthe government if it does not initiate action and implement therecommendations within one month, she said.UNI SD MSP CS 1903 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0286-1092530.Xml A Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant was killed in a fierce encounter with the security forces in North Kashmir district of Baramulla early this morning. A police spokesperson here this evening said that following specific information about presence of militants in the area, Army and state police personnel launched a joint search operation at Tarzoo, Sopore, in Baramulla. However, when the security forces were sealing the area, militants opened fire, he said, adding in the retaliatory fire a militant was killed. The slain militant was identified as Umar Khatab, a resident of Pakistan. One AK-47, three AK-47 Magazines, 70 rounds, one grenade, one compass and one wireless set were recovered from the encounter site, the spokesperson said. ''The slain militant was active in Sopore for last four years and was involved in a number of firing and grenade attack incidents,'' he said. He said a number of cases were registered against him in the police stations of Sopore and Tarzoo. ''Khatab took active part in the 2016 unrest and remained a part of protests, during which he resorted to firing on many occasions,'' he added.UNI ABS AE SNU 1939 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-1092652.Xml The All India Brahmin Mahasangh today demanded that stringent action be taken against the activists of Sambhaji Bridgade who allegedly destroyed a bust of Marathi playwright Ram Ganesh Gadkari in Pune and threw it into the Mutha river. Mahasangh's Marathwada Division Chief Anil Mule told UNI that a delegation of Mahasangh, led by him, today met Aurangabad City Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar and submitted a memorandum of their demands including stern action against the accused and said that they would install a new statue of Gadkari if the Government failed to reinstall the same within ten days. He warned that the Government would be responsible for any law and order problem. Mr Kumar assured the delegation that he would convey their sentiments to the high-level officials as well as his counterpart in Pune, Mr Mule added. It may noted that Sambhaji Bridgade activists uprooted the bust of Mr Gadkari and threw it into the Mutha river early this morning and accepted the responsibility for executing this act.UNI VKB SS VS SDR SNU 2301 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0171-1092957.Xml Speaking at the inauguration of the Indian Science Congress, the Prime Minister also said that research needed to be strenghtneded in line with international standards. "On the lines of Corporate Social Responsibility, concept of Scientific Social Responsibility needs to be inculcated to connect our leading institutions to all stake holders, including schools and colleges," Modi said. "Our best science and technology institutions should further strengthen their basic research in line with leading global standards... Translating this basic knowledge into innovations, start-ups and industry will help us achieve inclusive and sustainable growth," he said. The Prime Minister said that by 2030, India would be among the top three countries in science and technology. "Science must meet the rising aspirations of the people." --IANS ao/mr ( 159 Words) 2017-01-03-13:22:07 (IANS) Earlier in September, the National Assembly had passed the Hindu Marriage Bill 2016, paving way for the adoption of a comprehensive and widely-acceptable family law for Hindus living in Pakistan, reports the Dawn. The bill will enable the Hindu community to get their marriages registered and to appeal in courts of law in cases of separation. Also, there are penalties for violating the provisions of the bill, which allows Hindus to finally have a proof of marriage document. The bill also allows separated Hindu persons to remarry. Clause 17 of the bill states that a Hindu widow "shall have the right to re-marry of her own will and consent after the death of her husband provided a period of six months has lapsed after the husband's death".(ANI) After weeks of speculation, Perdue had become the favourite to take over the agriculture portfolio, according to members of the presidential transition team cited by the news web site politico.com. Perdue, 70, governed Georgia from 2003-2001, and two weeks after Trump's victory in the November 8 election, he travelled to New York to be interviewed by the President-elect at Trump Tower, EFE news cited CNN. Anticipation of Perdue's nomination had been rising in recent days, despite the increase in voices calling for Trump to appoint a Latino to the agriculture post to quell criticism over the lack of diversity in his picks for his Cabinet and other top government posts so far. --IANS lok/ ( 148 Words) 2017-01-03-06:18:06 (IANS) The Admiral Tributs, a 7,480-tonne Udaloy-class anti-submarine destroyer, will remain in Filipino waters till Saturday and participate in several joint naval drills, the Filipino navy said. The Russian warship's visit - the third ever in history and the first in four years - seeks to promote goodwill and cement ties between Manila and Moscow, Efe news reported. The move has confirmed a shift in the Philippines' defence and foreign policy after the election of Rodrigo Duterte as the President in June. He promised to do away with the traditional military alliance with the US. Duterte, 71, has threatened to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement, in force since 1999, that permits, among other things, the use of Filipino bases by US troops and regular joint military drills. The estrangement between Duterte and Obama comes after the US severely criticised an ongoing anti-drugs movement in the Philippines that has over the past six months claimed more than 6,100 lives of alleged drug traffickers and addicts. Manila has also been working towards developing better defence ties with Beijing - with whom it is also embroiled in territorial disputes in the South China Sea - and Moscow. --IANS ksk/mr ( 224 Words) 2017-01-03-13:42:06 (IANS) The team of US President-elect Donald Trump has said there was no evidence to suggest that Russian hacking had influenced the 2016 US election. "The way the mainstream media is playing this up is that they (Russia) had an influence in the election. There is zero evidence that they actually influenced the election," Xinhua news agency quoted Trump's spokesman Sean Spicer as saying. Spicer accused the Obama administration of "jumping to conclusions before we have a final report", calling the behaviour "irresponsible". The Obama administration last October officially blamed Russia for hacking US political institutions and persons to interfere with the November 8 poll process, an accusation Moscow immediately dismissed as "nonsense". The episode reached its climax last December when the US daily Washington Post uncovered a secret Central Intelligence Agency assessment report in which it claimed that Russia's meddling in the US election was aimed at helping Republican Trump win the White House. According to the CIA, Russians were believed to have hacked both Republican and Democratic organisations, though only damaging documents from Democrats were leaked to the public. Russia had for long repeatedly denied being behind the cyber attacks which led to the leaking of damaging material which dogged Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton till the election day. Three weeks before leaving office, President Barack Obama on Thursday struck back at Russia over alleged election hacking, with nine entities and individuals, including two intelligence services, being slapped with sanctions for their alleged interference. The US State Department on Thursday announced expulsion of 35 Russian government officials and diplomats, calling them "acting in a manner inconsistent with their diplomatic status". Two Russian government-owned compounds, one in Maryland and the other in New York, would also soon be shuttered, according to the State Department. --IANS py/vt ( 308 Words) 2017-01-03-13:50:07 (IANS) Indonesia plans to prosecute the captain of a tourist boat for negligence after a fire ripped through the vessel on New Year's Day, killing at least 23 people and injuring dozens, police said today.The boat was carrying about 250 people before it was engulfed by flames shortly after leaving Jakarta.Authorities were still searching the waters around the port for victims, while bodies retrieved from the charred ship were still being identified, said Hendra Sudirman, head of Jakarta's Search and Rescue agency.After questioning, the captain had been named a suspect, police said."We have detained the captain of the boat since the incident. His status is now a suspect based on information from the crew, the passengers," Argo Yuwono, a spokesman for Jakarta's Metro Police, said today.Under the shipping law, if a captain causes deaths by sailing a ship knowing it is not seaworthy he can be jailed for up to 10 years. Negligence causing death under the criminal code is punishable by up to five years in jail.Sea accidents are frequent in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago, with vessels often overloaded, poorly maintained or having too few life jackets. REUTERS AKC PR1341 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1091861.Xml The Chinese capital was on the second-highest orange smog alert in the depth of winter today but city officials said the air quality was improving overall, citing data for last year.Hundreds of flights were cancelled and highways closed across northern China over the new year holiday as average concentrations of small breathable particles known as PM2.5 soared above 500 micrograms per cubic metre in Beijing and surrounding regions.Pollution alerts are common in northern China, especially during bitterly cold winters when energy demand, much of it met by coal, soars.But the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau told state media that PM2.5 concentrations dropped 9.9 per cent on the year to an average of 73 micrograms per cubic metre in the Chinese capital in 2016.The total number of "blue sky days" reached 198 last year, up 12 from 2015. However, the average PM2.5 measure still exceeded national air quality standards by 109 per cent, the bureau said.Beijing also cut total coal consumption to below 10 million tonnes in 2016, down from 23 million in 2013. It closed 335 polluting factories and ordered 424,000 obsolete high-emitting vehicles off the road last year, state news agency Xinhua said.Despite a brief respite on Monday, smog returned to the Chinese capital today, with PM2.5 readings again at "hazardous" levels. Smog is expected to persist in the region until a cold front arrives on January 8, Xinhua said.China's weather bureau also issued its first ever fog red alert today, saying that visibility could fall below 50 metres across northern China.Poor visibility prompted three major northern ports to suspend the loading of ships today, maritime safety agencies said.China is in the third year of a "war on pollution" aimed at reversing the damage done to its skies, soil and water after decades of untrammelled economic growth.It has created emergency response systems to curb traffic and shut down factories and construction sites during periods of heavy smog, and has also vowed to punish local officials and enterprises that break rules.During a bout of smog in December, inspectors identified 21 enterprises that had violated regulations.Over the new year, 10 more inspection teams went to cities across the region and more than 500 enterprises and construction sites, as well as 10,000 drivers, were punished for breaches, Xinhua said.On Tuesday, the smoggiest province, Hebei, said six local enterprises had violated emergency restrictions during the latest alerts, with one refusing entry to inspectors. REUTERS SHS VP1639 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1092224.Xml Mozambique's Renamo opposition party has extended a ceasefire for two months to allow dialogue with President Filipe Nyusi's government and reduce civilian deaths, its leader Afonso Dhlakama said Today.Rights groups estimate dozens of people were killed last year in tit-for-tat attacks between Renamo fighters and government forces.The two fought on opposing sides in a civil war from 1976 to 1992 in which 1 million people are thought to have died. REUTERS SHS VP1641 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1092230.Xml The day he left the Damascus suburb of Daraya, Mohamad Abu Ammar took a photo in the graveyard to remember relatives he would be leaving behind, not knowing if he would ever return to his hometown."I packed a keepsake for each of my siblings and friends who were killed, to remember them," said Abu Ammar, an opposition activist who had worked on a town council in the rebel-run area. "We went to the graveyard to say goodbye."He left Daraya by bus in August - when the town was surrendered to President Bashar al-Assad after years of government siege and bombardment - under a deal that gave civilians and fighters safe passage to the rebel-held province of Idlib in northwest Syria.Syrians have poured into Idlib at an accelerating rate over the last year, forced to abandon their homes in other parts of western Syria that the government and its foreign military allies have recaptured from rebels.Sheltering in camps or in the homes of friends and relatives, they are struggling to start over in dire conditions as Idlib becomes ever more crowded with people displaced from Damascus, Homs, and most recently Aleppo.The latest to arrive are from eastern Aleppo, captured from rebels last month in Assad's most important gain of the war. Convoys shuttled more than 35,000 people - rebel fighters, their families, and civilians who fear Assad's rule, out of the city's last rebel-held pocket. Many of them went to Idlib.For many, the initial relief of escaping siege was quickly replaced by the realisation they may never be able to go home.Idlib is no safe haven. It remains the focus of fierce air strikes by the Syrian and Russian air forces. Some of the Islamist groups that hold sway there are not covered by a new nationwide ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey."The area has become overcrowded," said Ahmad al-Dbis, a medical aid worker in northern Syria. "It has displaced people from all over Syria, and it's lacking in services, whether it's medical, humanitarian, or housing."Most people displaced from Aleppo spread out across camps and shelters or went to stay with relatives, al-Dbis said."Everybody here is sympathetic to us, because most of them are displaced from other areas," said Hassan Kattan, 25, who was evacuated from Aleppo in December. He left behind a rebel enclave that had been besieged for several months, with large areas reduced to rubble by air strikes and artillery. But finding a new place to live was proving difficult, he said.The UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) puts Idlib's population at around two million, including 700,000 internally displaced people. It is bordered to the northwest by Turkey, which has set up a new camp for the displaced in Idlib province.Rebels captured most of the province at the height of their advances in western Syria in 2015. Jihadist groups including Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, are powerful players there, eclipsing Free Syrian Army groups that also have a presence in the area.Although Idlib is a secondary priority to the main population centres of western Syria - Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Hama and the coast - the army and its allies will want to recover it sooner or later, raising the prospect of yet further displacement.Abu Taleb, a medic who came to Idlib with his wife, in-laws, and baby daughter, recalls people weeping on the journey from Daraya aboard green state-owned buses that the government has provided for such evacuations."I came here, and it's like I started my life all over again," he told Reuters in an interview from the area, declining to give his full name. "Some people didn't want to go," he said. "But the siege was suffocating us, and we left out of fear."Abu Taleb sought refuge in a camp for people uprooted by the war, amid more than 5,000 huts stretched out across the town of Atmeh, planted near the Syrian-Turkish border.Thousands of tents also cover a hill in the town, near Abu Taleb's small flat, where he lives with his wife and 5-month-old daughter. "It's like a village here. It's better than the tents of course," he said."This camp section was empty when we first arrived. We were among the first to come to it," he added. "Now there are people from Aleppo, Hama, Homs, Moadamiya. People came from all over Syria."Local aid groups provide water, bread on a daily basis, and sometimes clothes. But his area still had no electricity. "We use solar-powered batteries. The power runs for about an hour or two a day, so we charge the phones," he said.The government has sought to conclude local agreements with rebels one area at a time, calling this a "workable model to bring security and peace" after nearly six years of war.The conflict has killed hundreds of thousands of people since 2011 and made nearly 11 million Syrians homeless.The opposition to Assad has however said the deals amount to a policy of forced displacement, or demographic changes aimed at shoring up Assad's rule.The United Nations aid chief, Stephen O'Brien, voiced "extreme concern" over the Daraya evacuation at the time it went ahead. But since its conclusion, similar deals have been struck with rebel groups in other areas near Damascus.The United Nations has also said the displaced should be allowed to "return voluntarily, in safety and in dignity".Many of the displaced feel stranded in Idlib after leaving their close-knit communities, and they were soon hit by the painful reality that they may never return."When you have your own house, your own place to sleep, you have stability in it," said Kattan, who has been staying with a friend since he arrived from Aleppo. He hopes to send his pregnant wife to Turkey for her safety. "But right now, we have to start from scratch", he said.While some people had managed to open small shops, find work, or rent apartments, many say they are far from settling in.Tammam Abu al-Kheir, an opposition activist from Daraya who now lives in Idlib, said more people were flooding into the area than aid groups could handle. "Everybody did all they could. The people of Idlib opened up their homes," he added.Months after arriving from Daraya, Abu Ammar is now trying to find a job. "We still haven't fully absorbed what happened," he said. Idlib relieved people from the siege, he said, "but it's still a war zone here.""Emotionally, we all have hope that we will return home," Abu Ammar added. "But rationally, when I try to think about it, it seems impossible." REUTERS SDR AN1907 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1092610.Xml Yildirim made the comments in front of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentary group in reference to Washington's backing of Kurdish-Syrian militias fighting against the Islamic State militants in Syria, Efe news agency reported. He said the Obama administration was supporting terror by trying "to defeat one terrorist group (the IS) with another one," in reference to the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) - considered part of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) by Turkey, which it sees as a terrorist organisation. The US was openly supplying weapons to the YPG and the Democratic Union Party (PYD) to support terrorism in the country, the minister said. The PM said he hoped the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump would change this policy once sworn-in on January 20. --IANS soni/bg ( 161 Words) 2017-01-03-19:56:07 (IANS) Germany's chief prosecutor has charged a 28-year-old German citizen with murder, belonging to a terrorist group and committing war crimes for his role in the execution of six detainees by Islamic State militants in Syria in 2015.The man, identified as Harry S in court documents, has been in custody since returning to Germany in July 2015, shortly after prosecutors said he took part in the executions in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra.A spokeswoman for the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe said today the man had travelled to Syria in early April 2015 to join Islamic State."In mid-June 2015 members of Islamic State publicly shot dead six detainees at the market place in the Syrian city of Palmyra," the statement said. "The accused, who was armed with a pistol, personally took one of the detainees to the execution spot and prevented the others from escaping."Last year the man was sentenced to three years in jail after being found guilty by a regional court of belonging to a foreign terrorist organisation and breaching laws on weapons of war.An estimated 820 people have left Germany to fight alongside militants in Syria and other war zones in the Middle East.REUTERS SDR NS2040 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1092841.Xml 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. South Korean President Park Geun-hye bows during her speech to the nation at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 29, 2016. (Xinhua/Blue House) COPENHAGEN, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- A Danish court announced on Monday that the daughter of impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye's longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil would be in custody for four weeks after her arrest on Sunday. Chung Yoo-Ra, 20, was arrested by the North Jutland Police at 7:54 p.m. local time on Sunday after a tip from a journalist said that the woman wanted by the police of South Korea for economic crime was staying at a certain address in Aalborg, Denmark. Chung attended a court hearing at the Court of Aalborgon on Monday afternoon, and the court has decided that she was to remain in custody for four weeks before her extradition. The prosecutor at the North Jutland Police has forwarded the extradition case of Chung to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the authority in Denmark that deals with extradition requests from other countries. The office is now handling the case of Chung. "We are already in dialogue with the South Korean Ministry of Justice, and we have asked them to send a formal extradition request, which will then be assessed," said Mohammad Ahsan, deputy director from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, in a press release. "Naturally, we treat this case with the same thoroughness as any other case," Ahsan said. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions will assess a formal extradition request from the South Korean authorities and decide whether the request for extradition can be met. Upon her arrest, Chung confessed that she was aware that the South Korean authorities wanted her for questioning, according to the police, adding that she was in Denmark for horse racing. Three other adults and a child were also at the address where Chung was arrested, but none of them was wanted by the police. Chung's mother Choi is charged with using her friendship with President Park to extort funds from large businesses and meddling in state affairs though she has no government position and security clearance. Chung is alleged to have received illegal favors when entering a prestigious university. RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- At least 60 people were killed in a prison riot which lasted 17 hours in the northern city of Manaus, authorities said on Monday. The riot occurred in the Anisio Jobim Prison Complex, the largest prison in the state of Amazonas. State Public Security Secretary, Sergio Fontes, said in a press conference that the death toll was "between 50 and 60" . This was later revised to at least 60. Twelve prison wardens were taken hostage, but all of them were released uninjured, according to Epitacio Almeida, representative of the local barrister association's Human Rights Commission. Authorities did not release the names of any victims. At least 25 bodies were already taken to the local morgue. A judge in Amazonas, Luis Carlos Valois, who accompanied the negotiations with inmates to end the riot, told the press that many of the 60 dead were executed on Sunday. Daily O Globo quoted him as saying that "piles of bodies were scattered along the corridors, severed limbs in the corners and decapitated heads around the place. The floor was awash with blood." In the beginning of the riot, on Sunday afternoon, inmates threw six headless bodies out of the prison. Brazil's prison system is notoriously overcrowded, which has led to several deadly riots in the past. The Anisio Jobim prison was reportedly overcrowded, with the daily Folha de Sao Paulo reporting in October 2016 that the prison had 585 inmates, but capacity for only 454. This time, the riot seemingly began as a fight between members of two rival crime organizations: Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) -- a drug gang from Sao Paulo, which expanded to other states, and Familia do Norte. According to a statement by public security officials, most of the dead appeared to be PCC members. "This was yet another chapter of the silent and merciless war of drug trafficking that is scattered all over the country," said Fontes. There have also been reports of inmates breaking free of the prison but these remain unconfirmed so far. TIKRIT, Iraq, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Four suicide bombers on Monday attacked two police stations in the city of Samarra in Iraq's northern central province of Salahudin, leaving at least two police officers killed, a provincial security source told Xinhua. The attacks occurred in the evening when two suicide bombers stormed the al-Imam police station and two others attacked the al-Mutawakil police station, both located in al-Mu'tasim neighborhood in the city of Samarra, some 120 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the source from Salahudin provincial police said on condition of anonymity. After heavy fire exchange and massive explosions, the police forces backed by helicopter gunships managed to retake control of the two police stations after killing the four attackers, the source said. The is no immediate report about the exact casualties, but initial reports said that two police officers were killed by the attacks, the source added. Authorities of the city immediately imposed curfew and blocked the entrances of the city, as reinforcement troops arrived to deploy in the main streets and around the nearby holy Shiite shrine of Imam Hassan al-Askari in central Samarra. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State (IS) militant group, in most cases, is responsible for such suicide bombings targeting Iraqi security forces as well as crowded areas, including markets, cafes and mosques across the country. The attacks came as the Iraqi security forces backed by anti-IS international coalition are carrying out a major offensive to drive out the IS militants from its last major stronghold in and around Mosul. Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the IS, on the U.S., which invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu folds his statement after speaking during a Likud faction meeting at the Knesset (Israel's Parliament) in Jerusalem on January 2, 2017. (AFP/Xinhua) JERUSALEM, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Israeli police investigators interrogated on Monday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over corruption suspicions, Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit confirmed in a statement. The interrogation ended at around 23:00 local time (2100 GMT), after at least three hours, a police spokesperson said. It was the first time the General Attorney and the police officially acknowledged the investigation, which has been conducted for months with dozens of unconfirmed reports in the local media. Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit said in a special statement that Netanyahu was interrogated over suspicions that he received "benefits" from businessmen. He confirmed that the investigation was conducted under caution, meaning Netanyahu was investigated as a suspect. The investigation involves "a slew of allegations that the prime minister allegedly committed offenses in the field of integrity," Mendelblit said, without elaborating. The initial investigation led to several other affairs, Mendelblit said. The probe has been conducted for several months but in December the investigators found evidence that "changed the evidential situation of the case," leading to Monday's questioning under caution of Netanyahu. Earlier on Monday, black screens were placed outside the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem to block the view of journalists seeking to photograph the police investigators. Netanyahu's office rejected the suspicions against him as "baseless." In a meeting of ministers from his Likud party, he said "They won't come to anything because there isn't anything." Israel's Channel 2 TV news said that Netanyahu is under criminal investigation over suspicion that he and members of his family received "favors," including gifts and money, from Israeli and foreigner businessmen. Media said the police are investigating a second graft affair under complete secrecy. Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper reported that Ron Lauder, an American billionaire, was linked to the case. Lauder was Netanyahu's close friend until their relations reportedly soured. According to the Ha'aretz, Lauder was investigated by the police when he arrived in Israel for the funeral of the late president, Shimon Peres, in September. During his questioning, Lauder confirmed that he had given Netanyahu "various gifts, including a suit, and that he had also financed a trip abroad for the prime minister's son, Yair," Ha'aretz reported. RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- At least 56 people were killed in a brutal prison riot in Manaus, the largest city in northern Brazil, and another four were killed in a separate riot in the same prison, authorities said on Monday. The riot, which broke out Sunday afternoon and lasted 17 hours through the night, resulted from a fight in the Anisio Jobim Penitentiary Complex between members of two rival crime organizations -- Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), a drug gang based in Sao Paulo and having expanded to other states, and Familia do Norte. According to a statement by public security officials, the 56 dead appeared to be PCC members. Meanwhile, 184 prisoners were confirmed to have escaped, while around 40 have been caught under an operation, according to the state penitentiary secretariat. The riot was brought under control by around 7 a.m. AMT (1100 GMT) on Monday, Amazonas' Public Security Secretary Sergio Fontes told a press conference. Fontes said several decapitated bodies were thrown over the prison wall, and most of those killed came from one gang. "This was another chapter in the silent and ruthless war of drug trafficking," he said. During the riot, 12 prison wardens were taken hostage, but all of them were released uninjured, according to Epitacio Almeida, representative of the local bar association's Human Rights Commission. Luis Carlos Valois, judge in Amazonas, who led negotiations with the inmates to end the riot, told Daily O Globo that many of those killed were executed on Sunday. The daily quoted him as saying that "piles of bodies were scattered along the corridors, severed limbs in the corners and decapitated heads around the place. The floor was awash with blood." Just as the riot began in one unit, dozens of prisoners in the second unit started a mass escape in what authorities said was a coordinated effort to distract guards. The situation was quickly brought under control. Brazil's prison system is notoriously overcrowded, which has led to several deadly riots in the past. The Anisio Jobim prison had a capacity of 592 people but actually housed 1,224 prisoners, according to Fontes. The Amazonas government has decided to move around 130 inmates in order to protect them. A file photo taken on July 21, 2016 shows Donald Trump takes the stage on the last day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, the United States. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- The team of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Monday there was no evidence to suggest that Russian hacking had influenced the 2016 U.S. election. "The way the mainstream media is playing this up is that they (Russia) had an influence in the election. There is zero evidence that they actually influenced the election," said Trump's spokesman Sean Spicer in an interview with FOX News. In another interview with CNN, Spicer accused the Obama administration of "jumping to conclusions before we have a final report," calling the behavior "irresponsible." The Obama administration last October officially blamed Russia for hacking U.S. political institutions and persons to interfere with the U.S. election process, an accusation immediately dismissed as "nonsense" by Moscow. The episode reached its climax last December when the U.S. daily Washington Post uncovered a secret Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) assessment report in which the agency claimed that Russia's meddling in the U.S. election was aimed at helping Republican Donald Trump win the White House. According to the CIA assessment, Russians were believed to have hacked both Republican and Democratic organizations, though only damaging documents from Democrats were leaked to the public. Russia had for long repeatedly denied being behind the cyber attacks which led to the leaking of damaging material which dogged Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton till the Election Day. Three weeks before leaving office, U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday struck back at Russia over alleged election hacking. Nine Russian entities and individuals, including two Russian intelligence services, were sanctioned for their alleged interfering with the U.S. election, Obama said in a statement. In addition, the U.S. State Department on Thursday announced expelling of 35 Russian government officials from the United States, calling them "acting in a manner inconsistent with their diplomatic status." Two Russian government-owned compounds, one in the U.S. State of Maryland and the other in New York, would also soon be shuttered, according to the State Department. South Korean President Park Geun-hye bows during her speech to the nation at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 29, 2016. (Xinhua/Blue House) SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- The first trial on a parliamentary motion to impeach South Korean President Park Geun-hye ended just in nine minutes on Tuesday with Park, the principal of the trial, not in attendance. The first hearing, which kicked off at 2 p.m. local time (0500 GMT), was wrapped up at 2:09 p.m. as President Park refused to appear in the constitutional court, according to local media reports. The second date for pleading was set on Thursday and the third was scheduled for next Tuesday. By law, the court is allowed to continue the legal proceedings in the next hearing if the principal refuses to appear. Four former presidential secretaries will appear as witnesses on Thursday, while two senior presidential advisors as well as Choi Soon-sil, President Park's longtime confidante at the center of the influence-peddling scandal, will be summoned in next week's third trial. Attending the first trial were nine justices on the bench, three lawmakers of the National Assembly's impeachment committee and nine defense counsels for Park. The three lawmakers, assisted by 11 counsels, have played prosecutors' role as the impeachment bill is on trial in the constitutional court, not in a court of law. Park was impeached in the unicameral assembly on Dec. 9. The court has up to 180 days to deliberate, but the judges are widely forecast to rule as early as late February to shorten the period of power vacuum. Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn temporarily assumed presidential power, acting as a caretaker president. PHNOM PENH, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia deported 3,376 illegal foreigners, including 738 females, to their birth countries in 2016, a senior immigration police official said Tuesday. The illegal immigrants of 63 nationalities had been arrested and expelled from Cambodia last year after they lived and worked here without passports or valid visas, Major General Uk Heisela, chief of the investigation department of the General Department of Immigration (GDI), told Xinhua. "Some 2,453 (or 72 percent) of them are Vietnamese," he said. According to the official, since the establishment of the GDI in April 2014 until the end of 2016, Cambodia had deported a total of 11,661 illegal immigrants of 72 nationalities, 84 percent of them are Vietnamese. Under the kingdom's immigration law, any alien living in the country without valid documents such as passports, visas, or work permits are subject to deportation. DAMASCUS, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Several rebel groups announced on Monday that they were freezing talks on planned negotiations with the Syrian government, casting a shadow over the struggling peace process of the war-torn Middle Eastern country. FREEZING TALKS In a joint statement issued on Monday evening, the rebels said they were freezing talks on the peace negotiations in response to what it called "major violations" by the government forces in a four-day long ceasefire. "Due to the worsening situation and the continuation of the breaches, the (rebel) factions declare freezing any talks related to the Astana negotiations...until the full implementation of the ceasefire deal," said the statement. The truce was brokered by Russia and Turkey and agreed upon by the Syrian government and major opposition and rebel groups, while terrorist organizations such as the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and the Islamic State (IS), were excluded. The ceasefire went into force at midnight Friday, with opposition activists saying it was still holding on Monday, despite the "breaches." The talks between the government and rebels are due to take place in the Kazakh capital of Astana in late January before the rebels' latest statement. The rebels claimed that the government forces repeatedly breached the truce, including the escalation of military offensives on the rebel-held town of Wadi Barada in northwestern Damascus, and Rastan area in the central province of Homs. However, for the government forces, Wadi Barada is controlled by the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously known as the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front. The government refused to acknowledge its attacks as breaches to the ceasefire, saying it's fighting the Nusra Front and the Islamic State (IS) group, which were excluded from the ceasefire and have both been declared as terrorist organizations by the United Nations (UN). PEOPLE WITHOUT WATER Moreover, the rebels in Wadi Barada have cut off the main water supply line to Damascus since Dec. 22, leaving the government with few options to restore the water source in that area, which feeds the capital's over 5 million inhabitants. The UN said at least 4 million people in Damascus have been without water since then. A report said around 1,000 women and children fled the area over the weekend. The recent ceasefire is the third in Syria after two previous failing ones. The first was reached last February, which lasted for three months before collapsing, and the second one was established in September, which was observed for only a week. The ceasefire deal, and the plan for peace talks, received the unanimous backing of the UN Security Council on Saturday. Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said the unanimous adoption of the resolution reflects the support of the UN and the international community for a comprehensive ceasefire in Syria and a political settlement of the Syrian issue. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said in an interview last week that the new ceasefire is more promising than its predecessors, as the Russian guarantees were stronger. "We trust the Russian guarantor," he said, adding that the new ceasefire constitutes a chance for establishing a political solution and bring the bloodletting to a curb in Syria. The nearly six-year-old civil war in Syria has killed more than 300,000 people and displaced nearly 11 million others. ISTANBUL, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish police have detained the wife of the Istanbul nightclub attacker who is still on the run two days after he shot dead 39 people, local media reported on Tuesday. IHA news agency said the gunman came to Turkey from Kyrgyzstan on Nov. 20 with his wife and two children, and the wife was detained in the central Anatolian city of Konya. According to IHA report, the wife told the police that she learned the attack from television reports and she had no information about his husband being an Islamic State sympathizer. The militant group claimed responsibility for the assault on Reina nightclub in central Istanbul, in which the gunman opened fire at hundreds of people celebrating the New Year, killing 39, 25 of whom have been identified as foreign nationals, and injuring 69 others, with four discharged from hospital now. As the manhunt was continuing, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus, following a cabinet meeting in Ankara on Monday, said police had got the fingerprints and descriptions of the attacker. Kurtulmus claimed that the Turkish authorities would soon be able to identify the attacker and "reveal the power behind him." A total of 12 suspects have been detained in Istanbul over their suspected links to the nightclub attack, press reports said. SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- A militant was killed by Indian troops in crossfire in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Tuesday, local officials said. The gunfight broke out at village Tarzoo in Baramulla district, about 55 km northwest of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. The identity of the slain militant was being examined, said police officials, adding that another militant escaped from the spot. In a separate incident in the southern village of Pulwama, a junior officer of India's Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was wounded in a militant attack. The attack created panic in the village. So far no militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the attack. A guerrilla war is going on between militants and Indian troops stationed in the region since 1989. Photo taken on Jan. 3, 2017 shows the trial site in Seoul, South Korea. The first trial on a parliamentary motion to impeach South Korean President Park Geun-hye ended just in nine minutes on Tuesday with Park, the principal of the trial, not in attendance. (Xinhua/Newsis) SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye refused to appear in the first hearing of the constitutional court on Tuesday to determine her fate as the country's leader. Given that the scandal-scarred president has refuted all charges against her, a stiff court battle is forecast to come about. Park's legal team said she will not attend any of the remaining pleading sessions. With Park's refusal to testify, the first hearing ended just 9 minutes after kicking off at 2:00 p.m. local time. All of the nine justices sat on the bench, with the plaintiff and the defense showing up on either side of the courtroom, TV footage showed. By law, the constitutional court is allowed to continue legal proceedings in the next session unless the principal of a trial appears. The second date for pleading was set on Thursday to question four former secretaries to President Park. The third will be held next Tuesday to grill two senior presidential advisors and Choi Soon-sil, Park's longtime confidante at the center of the influence-peddling scandal, as witnesses. The trial to deliberate the impeachment can last up to 180 days, but it is expected to reach a final conclusion as early as late February. A majority of South Koreans are pressing the court to make a quick ruling. The motion to impeach President Park was passed in the National Assembly by an overwhelming majority on Dec. 9. If the court upholds it, an election must be held within 60 days to replace the impeached leader. Park Han-chul, the court's chief justice, issued his unusual comments in the courtroom, saying he and his fellow judges will make their best endeavors to "sternly and fairly" deliberate on it. The judges have duly recognized the graveness of this case, he said, as well as the crisis of power vacuum caused by the suspended president, indicating the fast proceedings in the court. The chief justice, who is set to end his tenure in late January, is expected to speed up the proceedings given that judges taking honor seriously are highly likely to want deliberation on the historic case during their terms. However, a fierce legal battle will come about in the courtroom as President Park and her legal team flatly refute all charges against her. Park held a rare meeting with local journalists on Sunday, the first day of the year, denying all allegations on her involvement in the scandal. It was viewed by some as a strategy to turn public opinion into favor of her. The presidential Blue House told some media outlets that President Park plans to have such press meetings at an appropriate time, heralding her counterattack through the press as well as via her counsels on the court. Some domestic newspapers condemned the meeting by the suspended president, who is only allowed to defend herself in the court as an individual. Rep. Kwon Seong-dong, who leads the assembly's judiciary committee, rapped Park for the press meeting, urging the impeached chief executive to appear in the court to prove her innocence. Kwon and two other lawmakers of the committee, assisted by 11 attorneys, are playing a role as the prosecution office because the parliament has the right to impeach a president and the impeachment motion is on trial in the constitutional court, not in a court of law. President Park's legal team, composed of 9 lawyers, claimed no breach of law in such press meetings, saying Park would not appear in the courtroom under normal situations. Before the impeachment, Park had repeatedly refused calls for the direct interrogation of herself by prosecutors despite her previous promise in her address to the nation. It enraged the general public further along with Park's confession to no wrongdoings. Park said she would actively cooperate with investigations by an independent counsel team, which she appointed for herself, but it remained to be seen whether she would accept the questioning by the team which is dedicating to the presidential scandal. COLOMBO, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Over 270,000 Chinese tourists arrived in Sri Lanka in 2016, with China recording the strongest growth of 26.4 percent compared to the previous year, statistics from the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau showed here on Tuesday. 19,318 tourists from China arrived in Sri Lanka in December while the whole year recorded 271,577 tourists. In 2015, 214,783 Chinese tourists arrived in Sri Lanka, making China the second largest country with the most number of tourist arrivals. India recorded a 12.8 percent growth, with 356,729 tourists arriving in Sri Lanka in 2016. In 2015, over 300,000 Indian tourists arrived in Sri Lanka. India remains the largest market with the most number of tourist arrivals. In total 2.05 million tourists arrived in Sri Lanka last year, falling short of the expected 2.2 million tourists. On Monday, Tourism Minister, John Amaratunga said that in 2017, Sri Lanka was expecting 2.5 million tourists. However due to the closure of the Bandranaike International Airport, for certain hours from January to April, Amaratunga said that the number of tourist arrivals was expected to be affected. BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- The nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula prompted an aggressive response from incoming U.S. President Donald Trump at the onset of 2017, suggesting a zero-sum mentality that may increase uncertainties in the year ahead. Pyongyang "just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen!" Trump tweeted the remark one day after Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), said Sunday in his New Year's address that the DPRK's preparations for launching an intercontinental ballistic missile have "reached the final stage." Once again, Trump's response suggests that a zero-sum mentality will likely guide Washington's future foreign policies. Without moves to address the security concerns of Pyongyang, the Korean Peninsula's denuclearization will never happen. It should be remembered that military provocations have repeatedly incited it to do just the opposite. For example, in April 2009, due in part to the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercise, it quit the denuclearization promises it made in talks with Washington, Beijing, Moscow, Seoul and Tokyo, as well as the six-party talks. Pyongyang also blamed U.S. hostilities toward it for its withdrawal at the time. As maintaining regional and global stability calls for efforts from every country, a zero-sum game with one winner at the expense of the other party will in the end produce no real winner. Such a mentality on Washington's part will not only kill any chance for reopening the stalled six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula's denuclearization, but also jeopardize its relations with other parties, for example, Beijing. It is expected to lead to a "one-sided" way for Washington, exactly what Trump criticized Beijing for, collaterally in his Monday response to Pyongyang. "China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade," he tweeted, adding that China would not help with the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. This is a comment that ignores the fact that the world's two largest economies are each other's major trade partner, with an annual 7 percent growth in bilateral trade. U.S. exports to China of products and services help create nearly a million jobs at home, while investments from Chinese enterprises bring some 100,000 jobs in total to more than 40 U.S. states. Meanwhile, it is also a fact that the China-proposed six-party talks have proved so far to be the only way out as regards to the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. Insight and vision, not a zero-sum mentality, are needed for Washington to seek a healthy development of its ties with Beijing, currently the world's most important bilateral relationship. Cooperation never rules out competition. Both parties should work together to constructively control their differences, which are far less than the interests they share. Win-win cooperation between them marked by mutual trust and benefits will also serve regional and global security and stability, as well as common development and prosperity for all. Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang (Source:fmprc.gov.cn) BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- China firmly opposes any form of terrorism and is ready to work with Turkey and the international community to prevent and respond to the threat of terrorism, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Tuesday. Geng made the remarks at a daily press briefing when asked to respond to an attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey in the early hours of the new year that killed at least 39 people. Some media reports said the suspects in the New Year's attack may belong to East Turkistan terrorist forces. In response, Geng said the result of the investigation is yet to be confirmed by Turkey. However, he stressed that East Turkistan terrorist forces, led by the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), are moving around Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, constituting a grave security menace to many countries and regions, including China. China is ready to enhance coordination and cooperation with Turkey and the international community to jointly prevent and cope with the threats of terrorism to safeguard regional and world peace and security, said Geng. After the attack, the Chinese Consulate General in Istanbul began an emergency mechanism and issued safety alerts on its website, warning overseas Chinese nationals about security hazards, he said. There have been no reports of deaths or injuries of Chinese nationals in Istanbul so far, said Geng. A gunman stormed into Reina nightclub early Sunday morning and shot at hundreds of people who had gathered there for New Year celebrations, leaving at least 39 dead and over 60 injured. Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin described the shooting spree as an act of terrorism. A total of 12 suspects have been detained in Istanbul over their suspected links to the nightclub attack, press reports said. Related: IS claims responsibility for Istanbul nightclub attack ISTANBUL, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic State (IS) on Monday claimed responsibility for an attack early Sunday that killed 39 and injured 69 others in an Istanbul nightclub, Turkish media reported. South Korean President Park Geun-hye bows during her speech to the nation at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 29, 2016. (Xinhua/Blue House) COPENHAGEN, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- A Danish court announced on Monday that the daughter of impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye's longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil would be in custody for four weeks after her arrest on Sunday. Chung Yoo-Ra, 20, was arrested by the North Jutland Police at 7:54 p.m. local time on Sunday after a tip from a journalist said that the woman wanted by the police of South Korea for economic crime was staying at a certain address in Aalborg, Denmark. Chung attended a court hearing at the Court of Aalborgon on Monday afternoon, and the court has decided that she was to remain in custody for four weeks before her extradition. The prosecutor at the North Jutland Police has forwarded the extradition case of Chung to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the authority in Denmark that deals with extradition requests from other countries. The office is now handling the case of Chung. "We are already in dialogue with the South Korean Ministry of Justice, and we have asked them to send a formal extradition request, which will then be assessed," said Mohammad Ahsan, deputy director from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, in a press release. "Naturally, we treat this case with the same thoroughness as any other case," Ahsan said. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions will assess a formal extradition request from the South Korean authorities and decide whether the request for extradition can be met. Upon her arrest, Chung confessed that she was aware that the South Korean authorities wanted her for questioning, according to the police, adding that she was in Denmark for horse racing. Three other adults and a child were also at the address where Chung was arrested, but none of them was wanted by the police. Chung's mother Choi is charged with using her friendship with President Park to extort funds from large businesses and meddling in state affairs though she has no government position and security clearance. Chung is alleged to have received illegal favors when entering a prestigious university. Image provided by A Critica journal on Jan. 2, 2017 shows family members of prisoners standing outside the Anisio Jobim Prison Complex, in Manaus, northern Brazil. (Xinhua/A CRITICA) RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- At least 56 people were killed in a brutal prison riot in Manaus, the largest city in northern Brazil, and another four were killed in a separate riot in the same prison, authorities said on Monday. The riot, which broke out Sunday afternoon and lasted 17 hours through the night, resulted from a fight in the Anisio Jobim Penitentiary Complex between members of two rival crime organizations -- Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), a drug gang based in Sao Paulo and having expanded to other states, and Familia do Norte. According to a statement by public security officials, the 56 dead appeared to be PCC members. Meanwhile, 184 prisoners were confirmed to have escaped, while around 40 have been caught under an operation, according to the state penitentiary secretariat. The riot was brought under control by around 7 a.m. AMT (1100 GMT) on Monday, Amazonas' Public Security Secretary Sergio Fontes told a press conference. Fontes said several decapitated bodies were thrown over the prison wall, and most of those killed came from one gang. "This was another chapter in the silent and ruthless war of drug trafficking," he said. A woman reacts outside a legal medical institute, where bodies of the riot victims at the Anisio Jobim Prison Complex are placed, in Manaus, northern Brazil, on Jan. 2, 2017. (Xinhua/AGENCIA ESTADO) During the riot, 12 prison wardens were taken hostage, but all of them were released uninjured, according to Epitacio Almeida, representative of the local bar association's Human Rights Commission. Luis Carlos Valois, judge in Amazonas, who led negotiations with the inmates to end the riot, told Daily O Globo that many of those killed were executed on Sunday. The daily quoted him as saying that "piles of bodies were scattered along the corridors, severed limbs in the corners and decapitated heads around the place. The floor was awash with blood." Just as the riot began in one unit, dozens of prisoners in the second unit started a mass escape in what authorities said was a coordinated effort to distract guards. The situation was quickly brought under control. Brazil's prison system is notoriously overcrowded, which has led to several deadly riots in the past. The Anisio Jobim prison had a capacity of 592 people but actually housed 1,224 prisoners, according to Fontes. The Amazonas government has decided to move around 130 inmates in order to protect them. Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with his Argentine counterpart Mauricio Macri who came to Hangzhou to attend the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 3, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Tao) BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- The relationship between China and Argentina, which will celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties in 2017, will reach a new high this year. Yang Wanming, the Chinese ambassador to Argentina, told Xinhua "Both sides will organize a series of activities to celebrate (the anniversary), as a Chinese proverb goes: The relationship between two countries is based on the affection between two countries' civilians." The occasion of the 45th anniversary "should be taken as a new opportunity ... to help all types of exchanges and mutual visits to deepen knowledge and friendship between our societies," the ambassador said. Yang also said that Argentine President Mauricio Macri will make an official visit to China in the first quarter of 2017. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties on Feb. 19, 1972, the relations between Beijing and Buenos Aires have been enjoying a healthy development. China and Argentina have forged a comprehensive strategic partnership. Currently, China is Argentina's second-largest trading partner. China is also involved in a series of emblematic projects in the South American country, ranging from hydroelectric, nuclear and clean energy, to railway and housing. In an interview with Xinhua, Macri mentioned the "enormous importance" and "complementarity" of Argentina's links with China. Macri said Argentina is committed to deepening its friendship with China and is ready to closely communicate and coordinate with China in global affairs, while meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in September last year in eastern China's Hangzhou city ahead of the Group of 20 (G20) Hangzhou Summit. "The countries are good partners. They maintain fruitful political dialogues in many aspects, the commercial agenda has also grown significantly. Economic and social actors have benefited financially, with the quantity of treaties and bilateral agreements being evidence of this," said Sergio Cesarin, an Argentine expert on Chinese affairs. The national flags of China and Argentina wave during the closing ceremony of Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, capital of east Chinas Jiangsu Province, Aug. 28, 2014. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang) Cesarin, the coordinator of the Center for Asia-Pacific and India Studies at the National University of Tres de Febrero, said that the last 45 years have seen "permanent growth" in the relationship between the two countries. Meanwhile, Yang said that "for over half a century, Chinese immigrants to Argentina carried traditional values with them, such as being hardworking, generosity, honesty and trustworthiness." Yang said Chinese immigration "has helped social and economic development in Argentina, as well as civil, economic and commercial cooperation, which have become an integral part of the local society." For Maria Cecilia Peralta and Nadia Radulovich, co-founders of the Asia Viewers consultancy, the interaction between China and Argentina is becoming ever more diverse in various fields. They said that China "is a very important strategic partner for our country" due to "the cooperation in multiple fields, including the economy, production, innovation in science and technology, tourism and education, among others." "The coming years are very promising for China and Argentina to build more concrete, mature and ordered cooperation and active ties," they said. Soldiers march during a military parade at the Jose Marti Revolution Square in Havana, Cuba, on Jan. 2, 2017. (Xinhua/Joaquin Hernandez) by Raimundo Urrechaga HAVANA, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of thousands of Havana residents marched through the emblematic Revolution Square Monday to mark the 58th anniversary of their socialist project and to commemorate former leader Fidel Castro. Chaired by President Raul Castro, this civic-military parade was also dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Revolutionary Armed Forces(FAR). A replica of the yacht Granma, which brought Fidel Castro along with 82 followers from Mexico to Cuba to start the revolution in 1956, was surrounded by schoolchildren dressed in red and white young pioneer uniforms. The younger generations participated in the parade as a sign of continuity in the revolution and in the legacy of Fidel Castro. Also present at the parade were surviving founders of the Cuban Revolution, despite their advanced ages. "It's the most important day for us because we're celebrating the 58th anniversary of the Revolution. Fidel will always be remembered by the people and we'll continue supporting Raul for our entire life," Luis Domingo, an 82-year-old retired army officer, told Xinhua. Many carried images of the former Cuban president or banners with slogans such as "Thank you Fidel", "Fidel is Cuba." People participate in a military parade at the Jose Marti Revolution Square in Havana, Cuba, on Jan. 2, 2017. (Xinhua/Joaquin Hernandez) "This is the first time we celebrate the anniversary of the revolution without our Commander Fidel, but he'll always be with us. All of us are Fidel and he will be present at all times as we are the result of his struggle," assured Juana Salazar, a teacher who took her 8-year-old daughter to the parade. "We'll never forget Fidel, he is in our hearts and the hearts of many around the world," Luisa Martinez, a Havana housewife, told Xinhua. Many supported the message issued on behalf of the Cuban government by Jennifer Bello, president of the Federation of University Students, to continue the normalization of relations with the United States, despite the recent threats by President-elect Donald Trump to reverse this progress. "Cuba is not going to give up one of its principles, we are a free and independent people," said Marina Gonzalez, a psychology student at the University of Havana. The civic march was preceded by a military parade to mark the FAR's 60th birthday, during which no military equipment was featured, unlike the similar parades in 2006 and 2011. The parade was initially scheduled for Dec. 2, but postponed due to the death of Fidel Castro on Nov. 25 and the nine-day national mourning. Choi Soon-Sil (2nd R), the jailed confidante of impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye, arrives for her first court hearing in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 19, 2016. (Xinhua/POOL) COPENHAGEN, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Western High Court of Denmark on Tuesday rejected an appeal made by Chung Yoo-ra, daughter of impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye's longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil, against a local court's decision to remand her in custody for four weeks. Western High Court decided that the 20-year-old, wanted by the South Korean police for alleged economic crime, should remain in custody for four weeks after her arrest by Danish police on Sunday, a prosecutor's office said in a statement. Chung was arrested by police in the northern Danish city of Aalborg after a tip from a South Korean journalist said that she was staying at a certain address in the city. After a hearing on Monday, the Court of Aalborg decided to remand Chung in custody for four weeks. The case has since been forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the authority in Denmark that deals with extradition requests from other countries. The Office said that it is still awaiting the formal extradition request from the South Korean authorities. When the Office receives this request, the extradition case proceedings can begin, according to the statement. "How long it takes us to reach a decision in the extradition case is partly dependent on when we receive the necessary documents from South Korea," said Mohammad Ahsan, deputy director from the Office, noting that a decision will be made within a few weeks after receiving all required documents. "The case is being treated with the same respect for Danish law as in any other extradition case. There are procedures that we must follow, but of course we are processing the case as efficiently as possible," Ahsan added. Chung's mother Choi is charged with using her friendship with President Park to extort funds from large businesses and meddling in state affairs though she has no government position and security clearance. Chung is alleged to have received illegal favors when entering a prestigious university. People lay flowers in front of the Reina nightclub on January 3, 2017 in Istanbul days after a gunman killed 39 people during New Year celebrations. (AFP/Xinhua) ANKARA, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish parliament will vote this week to extend the state of emergency for another three months starting from Jan. 19, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Tuesday. The announcement came during a parliamentary group meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party, private broadcaster NTV reported. The upcoming parliamentary vote will be for the third term of the state of emergency. Turkey declared a state of emergency on July 20, 2016, days after a failed military coup, which Ankara blames on the U.S.-based exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen. Under emergency rule, the government can bypass the parliament to enact new laws and limit or suspend rights and freedoms. Yildirim also confirmed that debates on a bill to change the Turkey's constitution will start in parliament next week. According to the report, the draft will be submitted to the General Assembly on Jan. 9 and is expected to be approved by the end of the month. The bill grants extended power to the president and allows the president to remain the head of his or her political party. The Turkish government has said it would put the constitutional changes to a referendum, even if the proposals had gained enough support from lawmakers to pass through the parliament. Sorry, this news has been deleted. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to UN staff on the first working day of 2017 at the UN headquarters in New York, Jan. 3, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Muzi) UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told UN staff members here on Tuesday that the UN needs their collective engagement to make changes to achieve the goals of the organization on peace, security and development. Guterres took reins of the UN on New Year's Day. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres greets with UN staff on the first working day of 2017 at the UN headquarters in New York, Jan. 3, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Muzi) In his speech at UN headquarters, Guterres encouraged his staff members to be proud of the organization and to recognize its achievements though there is doubt about the role that UN can play in world affairs. He said due to the work of the UN, many people have been rescued, many people have suffered less, and many people have seen their living conditions improved through international cooperation in different parts of the world. Guterres also asked the staff members to recognize the shortcomings of the UN as it had failed to prevent and resolve conflicts in some parts of the world. He urged them to be collectively engaged in UN system reform to get rid of bureaucracy, to facilitate dialogues and discussions, and to work for peace, security, sustainable development and human rights for all people around the world. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lays a wreath to honor UN staff fallen in the line of duty at the UN headquarters in New York, Jan. 3, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Muzi) Before giving the speech, Guterres laid a wreath at the UN headquarters to honor UN staff fallen in the line of duty. Guterres, a 67-year-old politician, served as UN High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015. He was the prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002. He was selected as the 9th secretary-general of the UN to succeed Ban Ki-moon who stepped down at the end of 2016. BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- With political and economic uncertainties ahead, the world may encounter more black swan events in 2017, said Chinese experts on international relations here recently. The year of 2016 has been marked by incessant black swan events, with unexpected Brexit in June followed by Donald Trump winning the United States presidential election and the surprising resignation of former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi after losing in a referendum on constitutional reforms. Those unexpected events reflected the rising tide of anti-globalization sentiments, said Yang Xiyu, a senior fellow at China Institute of International Studies, at a forum held recently by Xinhuanet.com, the website of Xinhua News Agency. The black swan events may have laid impact on conventional thinking mode concerning international relations, observed Wang Yizhou, deputy director of School of International Studies at Peking University. Referring to the year of 2017, experts said the world would face up to risk of more turmoil. The world may see more changes, especially with the unpredictable elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany, said Ni Feng, deputy director of the Institute of American Studies at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Echoing Nis views, Wang Yiwei, director of the Center for International Studies at China's Renmin University, said that people may expect more black swan events in 2017. In Yangs opinion, what really matters was not the events themselves, but an effective mechanism to cope with them. For governments, a crisis management system is vital and necessary. Tourists visit the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 2, 2017. The number of visitors to the Palace Museum in Beijing for 2016 hit 16 million. The record number of visitors is an increase of 6.19 percent from 2015. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Panmen to march tomorrow From noon, the players are expected to head to Pan Trinbagos office at Park Street, opposite Victoria Square in Port-of-Spain to express their dissatisfaction with the organisation and its handling of money and other administrative issues. Pannist Dane Gulston called a meeting, via Facebook, to discuss the way forward for Panorama following an extra ordinary meeting held on December 28. At that meeting the panmen called for a boycott of the annual Panorama competition saying, No money, no Panorama. At yesterdays meeting held at Trinidad All Stars Steel Orchestra pan yard in Port-of-Spain, Gulston said, I called the meeting because we had a heated discussion in our meeting last Wednesday. I called the meeting for panmen and the executive of bands to decide where we heading from now. It is 2017. Promises have been made for a number of time and I have just called panmen to unite really and truly. The meeting saw a turn-out of approximately 50 panmen and women. Gulston added that difficulties within the pan fraternity have been happening for 50 years and, we still cant get it right and no one stands up for panmen. He said that the meeting was not about personal gain nor money but rather the disrespect shown to pan players. I am saying let us come together and go to Pan Trinbago and seriously say how we feel, collectively and in a united way. Gulston said many of the players did not want to go to Panorama under the same regime because they were, poorly represented. No real transparency and (no one) even coming to us and sharing information. So we have figured out of this meeting, we deciding if we going Panorama under the same regime or dont go Panorama at all, he said. While the majority were in agreement with Gulston, other pan players such as Cary Codrington of the Codrington Pan Family said the boycott of Panorama should occur for the right reasons. He said, I think changes have to be made in Pan Trinbago. The whole culture of the movement needs to changepan is a business and we have to look at it as a business. Codrington said hundreds of millions of dollars was spent on the national instrument and the annual event over the years, and the returns to pan people is minimal or none. For Codrington, the entire Panorama effort no longer made sense. He said the entire relationship between pan and pan players needed to be changed. In 1980 they had the boycott and out of the boycott we got Pan Trinbago. Yes Pan Trinbago took it to another level. Now I am hoping we could have another boycott which would take it another level where the steelband could become a viable industry that could support us, he said. For Richard Gordon of Revelation Institute for Performing Education (RIPE) his visit at yesterdays meeting was an information-seeking one. He said any action by pan players had to be thought through and he was against any boycotting of the Panorama as, it does not make sense. He said the country was going through a recession and that needed to be understood. Panmen with or without Keith Diaz need to decide what they want and once they decide what they want, they can decide how they can raise funds, he said. There were discussions at the meeting of starting a Pan Man Union which Gordon is in agreement with. Notable pan players such as Len Boogsie Sharpe and Clive Telemaque were among those who spoke at the meeting. Nelson Street residents call for fire extinguishers, sprinklers It is believed that the fire was started during a war of fireworks. In De Coteaus hands were two plastic bags containing articles of clothing and other personal items which she managed to salvage from the ruins. The mother of four said it was devastating to start the new year like that but also praised, along with other members of the community, Governments prompt response to the tragic event. The fire claimed the life of 37-year-old Jameel Allamby and left 15 people homeless. Residents of the apartment complex including De Coteau have called for fire extinguishers or sprinklers to be placed in the apartments to avoid such future occurrences. When Newsday visited, yesterday, some of the residents sat around discussing the misfortune which befell the community. De Coteau said her greatest concern at the moment was not the things lost in the fire, but rather her childrens school books. However, she too praised Governments response saying she has already been temporarily relocated to another apartment and received mattresses from the Portof- Spain City Corporation. They need to put more safety precautions in place to crack down on the sale of fireworks, she said. De Coteau also called for the building to be renovated and beautified. A similar call was made by Atiba Gorkin who has spent his entire life at 55- 57 Nelson Street. He said fire extinguishers should be placed in each apartment to avoid such problems in the future. But Gorkin sang high praises for Port-of- Spain South MP Marlene McDonald and Southern Portof- Spain Councillor, Charlene De Peza who, he said, promptly visited the affected residents and spent all day into night with them. The residents, he said, tried to save Allamby and extinguish the fire with little children throwing buckets of water but their attempts were futile. We hooked up hose and everything but it was too much for us to handle, he said. Gorkin said fire officials also responded quickly as well as the Hosing Development Corporation (HDC) officials. Kern Jemmott said he jumped up when he heard his mother, Ingrid Jemmott shouting, fire on the building. He then ran outside with only a side of slipper on, barebacked and in his boxers. He has lost all of his clothing and items as his apartment is now water logged. His only wish is to have somewhere to stay although, he said, that is being actively worked upon by Mc- Donald. But Jemmott, his mother, Kathy-Ann Lynch and Nijm Reyes say that there was no war really as both residents of the Nelson Street apartment and Mango Rose were playing with the fireworks. This, however, goes contrary to claims by another resident, Sheldon Green, who accused Mango Rose residents of throwing the scratch bombs and Roman Candles at the apartments. He has called for a police post to be placed 24/7 in the area. Fire destroys house in Diamond Village Police said Grant was not at home at the time of the fire. Residents were alerted to thick black smoke coming from the premises and they contacted fire officers of the San Fernando Fire Headquarters based at Mon Repos. The report stated that the blaze spread rapidly throughout the house and by the time fire officers arrived on the scene, the house was already engulfed in flames. Up to late yesterday, the cause of the fire was not determined. Investigations are continuing. More New Years Day babies Groome-Duke presented hampers to the mothers in celebration of their babies birth. Ricia Julien from John Dial was first to give birth at 6.34 am. The baby, a girl which is Juliens third child, weighed in at 3.15 kilogrammes. The shy Julien said that she was happy that she had a safe delivery. The second baby, a boy, was born to Shanique Alexander-Sharpe from Canaan at 8.22am and weighed four kilogrammes. The third baby was born to Catrice Sobers from Patience Hill. The child, a boy, was born at 12 pm and is Sobers first child weighing 3.53 kilogrammes. The fourth baby was delivered to Renee Solomon of Castara Road, Mount Saint George at 3.37pm. Other mothers on the ward were also wished continued blessings and well-being for the new year and beyond. The Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA) also celebrated the safe delivery of a baby boy born to Precious Williams at the Sangre Grande Hospital at 12.30 am. Esme Rawlins-Charles, Chairman of the ERHAs Board of Directors, and director Gloria Andrews, were on hand to congratulate Williams and presented her with a hamper filled with baby products. Williams, who resides in Guayaguayare, thanked the staff at the hospital for the safe delivery of her baby. Suruj: Judiciary must do more I think that justice is too slow in the country, and there are too many delays in the administration of justice, he said. I believe the Judiciary must take a long and hard look at itself and begin to examine where it has fallen short. I think there are things the Judiciary can do to improve the speed of justice, but that must come from the desire to be self-critical and to accept criticism from the public. That is very important. He said it is time to speak freely and honestly about the state of the Judiciary. What has been happening in my view is that every year we get the Judiciary, at the opening of the Law Term, the Chief Justice in particular, with all respect to him, making statements about marginal improvements and treating that as excellent, when in fact it is not. Rambachan said the Judiciary must do more than merely blame the Government and the parliamentarians. The Judiciary has to accept that in the management of the Judiciary there are things that they can change and they must focus on where those changes can take place. People must not wait 20 years for justice. That is wrong by all counts. So the Judiciary has to play a role. He said the Magistrates court postpones too many cases, therefore leaving offenders who are awaiting their hearing to commit more crimes. Rambachan, in addition, called for better leadership of the TT Police Service, whose leader, he said, must display operational skills so as to get results and end the chaos now in the country. Rambachan was shocked at the brazenness of bandits who no longer bother to wear masks to hide their identities. Further, he described Governments current leadership as uninspiring, even as the citizenry is becoming more and more hopeless and is throwing up their collective arms in the air. The Government is not in touch with the feelings and the plight of the people, he opined. Rambachan said too many people are romanticising crime, by trying to find all kinds of explanations for criminality, but which in fact he said is just an excuse for inaction. While borderline criminals might be redeemable, hardcore criminals can only be stopped by a Government that has decided to fight back aggressively. However if the authorities fail to act, sooner or later the people will have to lead the fight back, he predicted. Soon it will be the people versus the criminals. There is breakdown everywhere - the homes, school and street. A strong dose of discipline has to be injected into this country, concluded Rambachan. Newsday was unable to contact Minister of National Security, Edmund Dillon, for his views on stemming murder. 18 major scandals in Obamas scandal-free presidency President Obama and his mouthpieces have embarked on a bizarre scheme to hypnotize America into forgetting the many scandals of his presidency. They seem to think that intoning this administration hasnt had a scandal over and over again will make history disappear. Its the lamest Jedi Mind Trick ever, and is being pushed on people who know Star Wars is just a movie. Article by John Hayward Heres a short list of the many scandals Team Obama thinks it can make America forget: The great stimulus heist: Obama seems to think nobody will remember he grabbed almost a trillion dollars for stimulus spending, created virtually zero private-sector jobs with it, allowed a great deal of the money to vanish into thin air, and spent the rest of his presidency complaining that he needed hundreds of billions more to repair roads and bridges. Vast sums of taxpayer money were wasted on foolish projects that came close to the Keynesian economic satire of hiring some people to dig holes, and others to fill them in. Obama added insult to injury by appointing Vice President Joe Biden as the sheriff who would supposedly find all that missing stimulus loot. Americans mostly ended up footing the bill for was an army of government jobs, and a lavish network of slush funds for the Democratic Party and its union allies. Were supposed to forget about all that because years later, Obamas weak economy finally dragged itself to something like normal official employment levels with the U.S. national debt doubled, and our workforce rate reduced to Carter-era lows. Sorry, Democrats, but thats more than just failed policy. Its one of the worst government-spending scandals in our history. Democrats will howl to the moon over far, far smaller abuses of taxpayer money during the Trump administration, should any occur. Operation Fast and Furious: Obama partisans seem to think any given example of abuse or ineptitude by their man stopped being a scandal the moment it seemed clear he wouldnt be impeached over it. Operation Fast and Furious, the Obama administrations insane program to use American gun dealers and straw purchasers to arm Mexican drug lords, is a scandal with a huge body count, prominently including Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jamie Zapata, plus hundreds of Mexican citizens. Agent Terrys family certainly thinks it qualifies as a scandal. It is difficult to imagine any Republican administration surviving anything remotely close to Fast and Furious. The media would have dogged a Republican president without respite, especially when it became clear his Attorney General was putting political spin ahead of accountability and the safety of the American people. Remember, AG Eric Holder escaped perjury charges by claiming he didnt know what his own subordinates were doing a pioneering, but sadly not unique, example of an Obama official using his or her incompetence as a defense. For years afterward, we would hear some version of Im not a crook, Im just completely inept everywhere from the Department of Health and Human Services to the Department of Veterans Affairs. But this was Barack Obama, so the media downplayed Fast and Furious news to the point where viewers of NBC News learned about the scandal for the first time when Holder was on the verge of being held in contempt by Congress for it. The relatively benign explanation for the astounding Fast and Furious scandal is that Obamas Justice Department wanted to release guns into the Mexican wild, like so many radio-tagged antelope on a nature show, and follow them to arrest the big fish of organized crime. (In case you were wondering, no, the guns didnt actually have radio tags in them that was tried in the much smaller, and utterly disastrous, Bush-era program Obamas team used as a model for their vastly larger and more careless program.) This explanation becomes more difficult to believe, the more you know about how careless the program was, and how abruptly it was shut down after Agent Terrys death. The more sinister take on Fast and Furious is that the Obama administration wanted to create gun crimes in Mexico so they could complain about lax regulations on American gun sales for the purposes of creating a narrative that they could use in America to try and thwart our Second Amendment constitutional rights, as Andrew Breitbart put it during a 2012 interview. No matter which interpretation you subscribe to, or how much you think Barack Obama knew about the program when he made scurrilous claims of executive privilege to shut down investigations, its an insult to a large number of murder victims to claim it wasnt a scandal. Unfortunately, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives hasnt learned as much from the OFF debacle as we might have hoped. Incidentally, the Border Patrol named a station in southern Arizona in Agent Brian Terrys honor. On New Years Eve, persons unknown fired rifle shots at a Border Patrol vehicle near the station. Eric Holder held in contempt of Congress: This was a result of Operation Fast and Furious, but it merits distinction as a separate scandal in its own right. Holder was the first sitting member of a presidents cabinet in the history of the United States to be held in contempt of Congress. Of course, Democrats closed ranks behind Holder, the White House protected him, and the media allowed Holder to spin the contempt vote as mere political theater. In reality, it was a difficult step that responsible members of Congress didnt want to take, and it was fully justified by Holders disgraceful conduct in the Fast and Furious investigation. No reasonable person could possibly review the way OFF was handled and conclude it was an example of transparency and accountability. ObamaCare: Everything about ObamaCare is a scandal, from the Presidents incessant lies about keeping your old plan if you liked it, to Rep. Nancy Pelosis we need to pass it to find out whats in it dereliction of Congressional duty. ObamaCare is a scam, pure and simple sold on false pretenses by people who knew it wasnt going to work the way they promised. It doesnt feel right to dismiss it as a failed scheme when so much of the failure was intentional. The bill was so sloppily crafted that Democrats were basically signing blank sheets of paper when they rushed it through Congress in a foul-smelling cloud of back-room deals. ObamaCares designers precipitated a constitutional crisis by forgetting they left in a provision to cut subsidies for states that didnt set up health-care exchanges a provision that would have killed the entire program stone-dead two years ago, if it had been enforced as written. The Supreme Court rewrote ObamaCare on the fly twice to keep it alive, which is a scandal in and of itself. President Obama delayed and rewrote the law so often it was impossible to keep track of the changes, cutting Congress out of the loop completely. (Actually, someone did keep careful track of them, and the tally was up to 70 distinct changes by January 2016.) That made some of Obamas rewritten mandates and deadlines blatantly illegal but then, the Affordable Care Act isnt really a law in the sense American government understood the term. In practice it became something entirely new, an enabling act that gave the executive unlimited power to do whatever it thought necessary to keep the system running. If subverting the American system of government isnt a scandal, what is? And lets not forget the scandal of ObamaCares disastrous launch, foisted on the American people even though its designers knew it had severe flaws the billion-dollar website that cost another billion dollars to fix after it crashed, accompanied by a constellation of state exchanges that blew up like Roman candles of bureaucratic incompetence. Let us not forget the absolute zero accountability for this disaster, mismanaged by everyone from President Obama to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who treated the biggest new government program in several generations as though it were a minor side project that could be handled by subordinates with minimal supervision. Spying on journalists: Establishment media came about as close to falling out of love with Barack Obama as ever when his administration was caught spying on journalists. Why, if the reporter subjected to the most egregious surveillance, James Rosen, didnt work for Fox News, the mainstream media might have started treating Obama like a (shudder) Republican. Rosen was treated so badly that even Attorney General Eric Holder eventually admitted feeling a bit of remorse about it. Apparently he felt so much anguish that he suffered temporary amnesia and forgot to tell Congress that he signed off on the request to wiretap Rosen while he was testifying under oath. The IRS scandal: The selective targeting of conservative groups by a politicized Internal Revenue Service was a scandal grenade Democrats and their media pals somehow managed to smother, even though the story began with the IRS admitting wrongdoing. Democrats suffocated the scandal by acting like circus clowns during congressional hearings, but at no point were the actual facts of the case truly obscured: yes, pro-life and Tea Party groups were deliberately targeted for extra scrutiny, their tax exemption applications outrageously delayed until after the 2012 election without actually being refused. If anything remotely comparable had been done to, say, environmentalist and minority activist groups by the IRS under a Republican administration, the results would have been apocalyptic. Theres also no question about the facts of the follow-up scandal, in which IRS officials brazenly lied about having backups of relevant computer data. The American people were expected to believe that multiple state-of-the-art hard drives failed, and were instantly shredded instead of being subjected to data recovery procedures. Luckily for the politicized IRS, the Justice Department was hyper-politicized under Obama too, so no charges were filed, and scandal kingpin Lois Lerner got to enjoy her taxpayer-funded retirement after taking the Fifth to thwart lawful congressional investigation. Benghazi: This is the clearest example of Obama and his supporters thinking all of his pre-2012 scandals ceased to exist the moment he won re-election. Benghazi has been investigated extensively, and argued about passionately, since the night of September 11, 2012. Nothing can change the absolute fact that the Obama administrations story for the first few weeks after the attack was false, and they knew it was false. They spun a phony story to buy themselves a little time during a presidential election campaign, and it worked. Nothing can change the fact that Libya was a disaster after Obamas unlawful military operation. Nothing can obscure the truth that Ambassador Christopher Stevens was sent into a known terrorist hot zone without a backup plan to ensure his safety. Everything else from Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and their defenders is pure political spin. They dragged the story out for years, until they thought it couldnt hurt them any more. That doesnt erase its status as a scandal. (And they were evidently incorrect in their belief that it couldnt hurt them any more!) Hillary Clintons secret server: While were on the subject of Hillary Clinton, her secret email server is an Obama scandal, too. She perpetrated her email offenses while working as his Secretary of State, and contrary to Obamas false assertions, he knew about it. Plenty of Obama officials other than Clinton played email games, most infamously EPA administrator Lisa Jackson, who created a false identity for herself named Richard Windsor to get around government transparency rules. The Pigford scandal: Named after a landmark lawsuit from the Bill Clinton era, the abuse of a program meant to compensate minority farmers for racial discrimination exploded under Obama. After years of left-wing attacks on Andrew Breitbart for daring to speak up about the scandal, the mainstream media no less than the New York Times finally admitted his critique of the program was accurate in 2013. Once again: if careless mishandling (or deliberate politicized misuse) of huge sums of taxpayer money isnt a scandal, what is? NSA spying scandal: Opinions about the nature and intensity of this scandal vary wildly across the political spectrum, but theres no doubt that Edward Snowdens pilfering of sensitive National Security Agency data was a debacle that damaged national security. We had the ghastly spectacle of Attorney General Holder thanking Snowden for performing a public service by exposing surveillance programs Holders own administration didnt want to talk about. President Obama and his administration made many false statements as they tried to contain the political damage. The fallout included significant losses for U.S. companies, and diplomatic problems for the United States. Just about everything Obama did before, during, and after the Snowden saga damaged the relationship between American citizens and their government. Bowe Bergdahl: Bergdahls ultimate fate rests in the hands of a military court (unless Obama pardons him) but no verdict can erase the scandalous way this administration conducted the prisoner swap that freed him from the Taliban and its allies. Many lies were told, the law was flouted, a deal of questionable wisdom was struck with his captors, and outraged Americans demanded recognition for the soldiers who died searching for Bergdahl after he abandoned his post. Iran nuclear deal and ransom payment: Everything about Obamas dealings with Iran has been scandalous, beginning with his silence while the Green Revolution was brutally put down by the mullahs in 2009. The Iran nuclear deal was pushed with lies and media manipulation. The infamous pallet of cash that wasnt a ransom has become symbolic of Obamas mendacity and penchant for breaking the rules, when he thinks following them is too much trouble. Polluting the Colorado river: The Environmental Protection Agency managed to turn the Colorado River orange under this greenest of green Presidents. Of course there was a cover-up. Would you expect anything less from this transparent administration? The GSA scandal: The General Services Administration was caught wasting ridiculous amounts of taxpayer money on lavish parties and silly projects. Heroic efforts to resist accountability were made, leaving puzzled observers to ask what it took to get fired from government employment under Barack Obama. (Alas, it was hardly the last time that question would be asked.) Oh, and of course there was a cover-up from the Most Scandal-Free Administration Ever. The VA death-list scandal: The Department of Veterans Affairs has long been troubled, but the big scandals broke on Obamas watch, most infamously the secret death lists veterans were put on while executives handed in phony status reports and signed themselves up for big bonuses. Obama was more interested in spinning the news and minimizing his political exposure than addressing problems; in few areas outside ObamaCare has his rhetoric been more hollow, his promises more meaningless. Solyndra: The marquee green energy scandal wrote crony capitalism into the American political lexicon, as corners were cut and protocols ignored to shovel billions of taxpayer dollars at companies with absurdly unrealistic business models. President Obamas ability to pick bad investments was remarkable. Luckily for him, American taxpayers covered his losses. Secret Service gone wild: The Obama years saw one scandal after another hit the Secret Service, from agents going wild with hookers in Columbia, to a fence jumper penetrating the White House, and tipsy Secret Service officials driving their car into a security barrier. Shutdown theater: Obama hit the American people hard during the great government shutdown crisis of 2013, doing everything he could to make American citizens feel maximum pain from using Barry-cades to keep war veterans away from their memorials, to releasing illegal alien criminals from detention centers. It was an infuriating lesson for voters in how every dollar they get from government is a dollar that can be used against them, when they are impudent enough to demand spending restraint. Read more at: breitbart.com Submit a correction >> President greets Myanmar on Independence Day Delhi,National,Politics,Diplomacy, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS New Delhi, Jan 3 (IANS) President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday greeted the people and the government of Myanmar on the eve of the country's Independence Day. Extending warm greetings and felicitation to the people of Myanmar and President U Htin Kyaw, Mukherjee in a message said: "India and Myanmar cherish our long standing close and friendly relations." "I warmly recall your visit to India in August 2016 when we reviewed our bilateral relationship and jointly identified the areas of shared interest where we would like to strengthen our cooperation to our mutual benefit." The President said he was confident that their "efforts will meet with success and contribute to the realisation of our respective developmental goals". Myanmar attained freedom from the British colonial rule on January 4, 1948 and became an independent republic. --IANS rs/py/vt Restoring production in Syria's Aleppo top government priority: PM Syrian Arab Republic,Politics,Business/Economy, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Damascus, Jan 3 (IANS) Restoring the production wheel in Syria's Aleppo city is a top priority for the Syrian government after the forces wrested control over the key city last month, said Prime Minister Imad Khamis on Monday, according to state news agency SANA. "Aleppo has never been absent from the government's concern," Xinhua news agency quoted Khamis as saying during a ministerial meeting held in Aleppo on Monday following its recapture. The delegation of 15 ministers was dispatched to Aleppo upon the directives of President Bashar al-Assad to evaluate the service and economic situation in the city. Khamis said the top priority of the government is the restoration of production in the city, by rehabilitating the industrial city of Sheikh Najjar all the way to the smallest workshop in Aleppo. He said that a work team will be formed to review the status of damaged factories and provide facilitation to its owners, as well as providing loans to those who wish to begin production. Following a month-long military offensive, the Syrian Army and allied fighters succeeded to wrest control on the rebel-held part east of Aleppo, after dislodging the rebels out of the city last month. Since then, thousands of people started returning to check on their homes to see what can be fixed and what needs to be rebuilt from scratch. Aleppo is Syria's largest city and was the economic capital of Syria ahead of the rebel attacks on the eastern part of the city in 2012. --IANS lok/ Indian couple delivers Britain's first baby of 2017 United Kingdom,Diaspora,Human Interest/Society, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS London, Jan 3 (IANS) An Indian woman in Britain gave birth to the country's first baby of 2017 at 12.01 a.m., just a minute into the New Year, the media reported. Bharti Devi, 35, gave birth to baby girl Ellina Kumari just seconds after the Big Ben on the Westminster stopped chiming, said a report in the Daily Mail on Monday. Speaking from her hospital bed, the housewife, who also has a two-year-old son with husband Ashwani Kumar, 26, said: "She is doing well and is healthy." The mother-of-two arrived at City Hospital in Birmingham on December 31 and was induced later in the evening. The couple is from Handsworth in Birmingham. "I was five days overdue so we expected her to be born in 2016 but the longer the labour went on I thought it might go into 2017," said Bharti Devi. "It is really exciting to think she is the first baby born in Britain in 2017, it is definitely something special to tell her when she is grown up," she said. Her husband Ashwani, who works as a sales assistant here, added: "I am an extremely proud dad... it is incredible to think she is the first baby of the whole year. New Year will be extra special from now on." --IANS soni/vt Scots against new independence referendum this year: poll United Kingdom,Politics,Business/Economy, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS London, Jan 3 (IANS) Almost two thirds of people in Scotland oppose holding another independence referendum during 2017, a poll revealed on Monday. The Scottish government, led by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, is currently consulting on a draft referendum bill after Britain as a whole voted to leave the European Union by a margin of 52-48. In contrast the people of Scotland voted 62-38 in favour of staying in the EU, Xinhua news agency reported. Sturgeon backs the idea of a Scottish Independence vote if a Brexit deal negotiated by Prime Minister Theresa May's government is unacceptable to Scotland. An exclusive poll by research company BMG for Scotland's Herald newspaper showed that, when "don't knows" are excluded, more than six in 10 Scots, 61.5 per cent to 38.5 per cent, said they were against a new independence vote in 2017. Even when the "don't knows" are removed altogether the poll revealed support for Scotland leaving Britain was 45.5 per cent, virtually the same result of the first independence referendum in 2014. In that vote the majority 54.5 per cent voting stay, meant that Scotland continued as part of Britain. Sturgeon's Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) responded to the new poll, saying its focus is to protect Scots from the impact of a hard Brexit. "Given that Scotland has gone to the polls on no less than five occasions in the past two-and-a-half years it is perhaps unsurprising that our latest poll shows a clear majority of Scots are against another independence referendum being held within the next year," Michael Turner, head of polling at BMG Research, said. He said the results showed Scotland remains as divided as it has been in recent years, with support for independence strongest among the young. Just over 50 per cent of those aged between 16 and 34 favour compared to just 25 per cent, of independence supporters aged 65. Labour's shadow Scottish Secretary Dave Anderson said the EU referendum result should not be used as a mandate for another referendum on Scottish independence. The Scottish Conservative's John Lamont said the poll results were another clear message to the SNP to ditch its plans for another referendum. "The decision was made in 2014, and the public has no appetite to revisit it," he said. --IANS lok/ Vin Diesel to visit India, confirms Deepika Padukone Maharashtra,Cinema/Showbiz,Bollywood, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Mumbai, Jan 3 (IANS) Hollywood star Vin Diesel will visit India later this month to promote the forthcoming film "xXx: Return of Xander Cage". Indian actress Deepika Padukone, who features in a key role in the movie, confirmed his visit with a tweet in Hindi. In the tweet, Deepika said: "Vin, India is waiting for you with bated breath. Will meet you soon on January 12 and January 13. Lots of love from us." The movie, a new instalment in the "xXX" series after the 2002 film "xXx" and the 2005 entertainer "xXx: State of the Union", is releasing in India on January 4, before anywhere else in the world. The movie marks Deepika's foray into Hollywood, and given that the trailer features a lot of her, the actress' fans are looking forward to the movie even more. Deepika is currently on a tour with the film's team and her first stop was Mexico. "Vin will be coming with Deepika to India, and a couple of other people associated with the movie might come too," a source in the know of developments, told IANS. Which cities in India will they visit? "Vin's itinerary is yet to be fixed, but he will make sure the movie is well-promoted for the Indian fans as it is releasing here first," the source added. The action movie is directed by DJ Caruso. --IANS rb/vm Billie Lourd breaks silence on Fisher, Reynolds's deaths United States,Cinema/Showbiz,Hollywood, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Los Angeles, Jan 3 (IANS) Billie Lourd has broken her silence on the death of her mother Carrie Fisher and grandmother Debbie Reynolds. She has thanked their fans for support. Lourd returned to Instagram for the first time since losing Fisher and Reynolds, sharing a throwback photograph with her mother and grandmother, reports aceshowbiz.com. On Monday, the "Scream Queens" actress took to the photo-sharing site and posted the image with a caption that read: "Receiving all of your prayers and kind words over the past week has given me strength during a time I thought strength could not exist. "There are no words to express how much I will miss my Abadaba and my one and only Momby. Your love and support means the world to me," she added. Fisher passed away at 60 on December 27 last year after she suffered a massive heart attack on a flight. Reynolds, 84, was rushed to the hospital due to possible stroke before she died the next day. After news of the two actresses' passing broke, fans took to social media not only to pay tribute to the late stars, but also to show support for Lourd. Their family is planning a joint funeral on Thursday. Fisher and Reynolds will be buried next to each other at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in California. --IANS ks/nn/vm Chinese transgender man wins landmark wrongful dismissal case China,Immigration/Law/Rights, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS null Beijing, Jan 3 (IANS) A transgender man in China has won a landmark legal challenge against wrongful dismissal in what has been described as the countrys first such discrimination case, a media report said on Tuesday. The man, who would only be identified as Chen, was illegally fired after just a week on the job at a medical clinic in south-west China, a court ruled. But the judge stopped short of forcing the company to apologise and did not say Chen's dismissal was related to his gender identity, the Guardian reported. He was also awarded 2,000 yuan ($287), a month's wages. "I have always said this case was never about the money," Chen told the Guardian on Tuesday. "This lawsuit was about three things: dignity, raising awareness of transgender and other sexual minorities, and pushing for anti-discrimination legislation." Although satisfied with the ruling, Chen vowed to continue legal challenges to force an apology. He said he hoped the case would spark renewed efforts towards enacting anti-discrimination legislation to protect more people like him. China remains deeply conservative when it comes to gender and sexuality. Being gay was only decriminalised in 1997 and it was still considered a mental illness until 2001 by the Chinese Society of Psychiatry. --IANS ksk/vm null Rs 21,400 cr raised via stake sale, 60% of fiscal target Delhi,Business/Economy, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS New Delhi, Jan 3 (IANS) The government has garnered over Rs 21,432 crore ($3 billion) through selling its stake in central public sector entreprises (CPSEs) during the first eight months of the current fiscal, representing nearly 60 per cent of the union budget's target, an official statement said on Tuesday. "The total realization of Rs 21,432.38 crore, by end-November 2016 through CPSEs' disinvestment receipts, constitutes around 59.53 per cent of the budgeted target of Rs 36,000 crore (CPSEs' disinvestment)," a Finance Ministry release here said. "During the current financial year 2016-17, the Government has so far realized Rs 23,528.73 crore, which includes Rs 21,432.38 crore through minority stake sale in 14 CPSEs and Rs 2096.35 crore through strategic disinvestment," which involves reducing government shareholding in the company to below 50 per cent, transferring, thereby, management control, the statement said. "The disinvestment target for the current financial year has been estimated at Rs 56,500 crore, comprising Rs 36,000 crore from disinvestment of CPSEs and Rs 20,500 crore from strategic disinvestment," it added. In October last year, the union cabinet gave in-principle approval to a proposal mooted by the NITI Aayog for strategic sale in public sector undertakings, including those that are making profits. During 2015-16, the government could manage to meet less than half the budget estimates of divestment at Rs 25,312 crore, as against the target of Rs 69,500 crore. The major divestments during the ongoing fiscal include the 15 per cent stake in National Buildings Construction Corp, which realised over Rs 2201 crore, the NHPC offer of sale (OFS) that yielded more than Rs.2,717 crore, NMDC buyback realising over Rs 7,519 crore and the buyback of shares by Coal India that earned the government Rs 2638.24 crore. --IANS bc/vm Bribery lands former Chinese city party chief in prison China,Politics,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Beijing, Jan 3 (IANS) A former party chief of Zhumadian city in China was on Tuesday sentenced to life in prison for taking bribes. A Chinese court convicted Liu Guoqing of accepting 67.99 million yuan ($9.8 million) and 100,000 Hong Kong dollars in bribes when he held the posts of deputy head of the provincial public security department as well as mayor and Communist Party chief of the city, Xinhua news agency reported. Liu accepted the bribes to help people with promotions and construction projects, the court said. He was deprived of his political rights for the rest of his life, and all his personal property was confiscated. Liu said he will appeal the verdict. --IANS py/bg Mamata denounces Trinamool leader's arrest, to protest West Bengal,National,Politics,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Kolkata, Jan 3 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday dubbed the arrest of Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay as "vendetta politics" by the Centre and announced nationwide protests against the Modi government's "vindictive attitude". Bandyopadhyay was earlier arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the Rose Valley Chit Fund scam. Banerjee demanded the arrest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah instead. "We strongly condemn the politically vindictive attitude of Modi and Amit Shah. They have arrested our Parliamentary Party leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay. He is a veteran politician and senior leader of our party. "It is all because of our fight against NoteBandi (note ban). We are and will be with the people. Nothing can stop us from being with the people and we will continue with our protest against NoteBandi," she added. "We condemn, condemn and condemn this," she said in a Facebook post. Banerjee said her party will launch pan-India protests against the Centre's vindictive attitude. "We will hold a demonstration in front of Kolkata RBI on January 9 and there will be dharnas in 10 different states including Delhi, Assam, Odisha and Tripura on January 10 and 11," she said. "I also run a government and I also have the power to arrest certain people who are thieves, hooligans and extortionists. This arrest has been made under pressure from the PMO. "This is vendetta politics because the Trinamool is fighting against the Centre over demonetisation," she told the media earlier. --IANS sgh/mr/sar Address regional kidney ailments in 2 days, Pawan Kalyan tells AP Andhra Pradesh,National,Health/Medicine, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Visakhapatnam, Jan 3 (IANS) Popular Telugu actor and Jana Sena party chief Pawan Kalyan on Tuesday asked the Andhra Pradesh government to address the high prevalence of kidney-related diseases in Uddanam region of Srikakulam district in north coastal Andhra in 48 hours. He visited the region and interacted with patients, including women and children. Moved by their plight, he asked the government to spell out within 48 hours how it proposes to help the victims. Pawan said the party had formed a committee to study the problems, and he would meet the Chief Minister with the committee's report within 15 days. The actor said if the government and public representatives failed to respond, the Jana Sena will launch a public movement on the issue. He said successive government failed to address the issue despite large number of people dying of kidney-related ailments in one region. Pawan said now that the banks have a lot of money following demonetisation, it should be spent to solve the serious problem in Uddanam. He demanded that the government allocates at least Rs 100 crore for the cause. "Thousands of crore are being spent for building the state capital, but nothing is being spent in a region where people are dying," said the Jana Sena founder. Stating that setting up dialysis centres is not a solution, he said efforts should be made to find out the causes and prevent the disease. Pawan visited the area a day after tweeting that over 20,000 people of all age groups have died of chronic kidney diseases in the region during the last two decades. "Currently lakhs are affected with this chronic kidney disease known as 'Uddanam Nephropathy'. Successive governments and honourable legislative members of the last two decades could not address this issue effectively," he tweeted. The party's media team documented sufferings of the people. According to the World Health Organization, Uddanam is one of the three regions in the world with the highest concentration of chronic kidney diseases. Just before Pawan's visit, state Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas in a statement said the government has identified kidney patients in eight mandals of the district. According to the statement, a team of experts from the US visited the region for an in-depth analysis, but could not identify the causes for the problem. He said water samples from the region were sent to a research organisation at Mumbai, which is also studying the food habits of the people and the environment. The government expects the results soon. The minister said two dialysis centres were already functioning in Srikakulam and Tekkali while another centre will be opened in Palakonda on January 5. The Health Minister said if necessary, the government was ready to set up another dialysis centre in the region. --IANS ms/rb/vt Militant killed in Army ambush in Kashmir Jammu And Kashmir,National,Defence/Security,Terrorism, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Srinagar, Jan 3 (IANS) A militant was killed by the Indian Army in an ambush near Sopore town of Kashmir on Tuesday. "Following information about the movement of militants in the area, the army laid an ambush in Haritar Tarzoo village during the night (Monday night)," a police official said here. The militants opened fire as they were passing through the area early on Tuesday. But one of them was killed in the operation. "The identity of the slain militant is being established." --IANS py/ Syrian rebels announce peace talks with government Syrian Arab Republic,Defence/Security,Terrorism,Diplomacy, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Damascus, Jan 3 (IANS) Several rebel groups have said they were freezing talks on planned peace negotiations with the Syrian government, citing "major violations" by the government forces to an ongoing ceasefire. The rebels on Monday said they were freezing talks on the peace negotiations that were planned to take place soon in Kazakhstan capital Astana, Xinhua news agency reported. They claimed it was a response to the "major violations" by the government forces to the ceasefire that was reached in an agreement under the shepherd of Russia and Turkey. "Due to the worsening situation and the continuation of the violations, the (rebel) factions declare freezing any talks related to the Astana negotiations... until the full implementation of the cease-fire deal," a statement from the rebels said. They called it repeated violations by the government forces, including the escalation of military offensives on the rebel-held town of Wadi Barada in Damascus, and Rastan area in the central province of Homs. The Syrian government refused to acknowledge its attacks as breaches to the ceasefire, saying it was fighting the Nusra Front and the Islamic State militant group, both excluded from the ceasefire as both have been designated as terrorist organisations by the UN. Moreover, for the government forces, Wadi Barada is controlled by the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously known as the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which has already been excluded from the truce. The rebels in Wadi Barada has cut off the main water supply line into Damascus since December 22, leaving the government with few options to restore the water source in that area, which feeds the capital's over five million inhabitants. The ceasefire went into force at midnight on Friday, with opposition activists saying it was still holding on Monday, despite the "breaches". The recent ceasefire is the third in Syria after two previous failing ones. The first was reached last February, which lasted for three months before collapsing, and the second one was established in September, which was observed for only a week. --IANS py/ Accept responsibility for Kashmir unrest deaths: Omar tells CM Jammu And Kashmir,National,Politics, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Jammu, Jan 3 (IANS) National Conference chief Omar Abdullah on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and asked her to accept responsibility for the civilian deaths during the six-month unrest in the Kashmir Valley last year the way he did when he was heading the state government in 2010. After Speaker Kavinder Gupta allowed an adjournment motion moved by the opposition, the former Chief Minister said there was unrest in the valley also in 2008 and 2010 but "we did not blame the opposition" for that. "The situation in 2010 cannot be compared with that of 2016," he told the house. "We did not blame Pakistan or the opposition for the situation. I did not blame my officials in 2010. In 2016, the media was attacked and newspaper offices were raided. We made mistakes and I accepted making mistakes while handling the situation." Taking a dig at Mehbooba, Abdullah said: "You blamed Jawaharlal Nehru, my father, my grandfather and police for militancy in the state." "Did you ever blame yourself for your failure to restore normalcy in Kashmir?" Abdullah said the state government had completely failed in dealing with the situation after the killing of militant Burhan Wani on July 8 last year. Instead of blaming the opposition, the Chief Minister should accept the responsibility for the failure of her administration and the killings of nearly 100 civilians during the unrest, he said. Abdullah later lashed out at Mehbooba for not participating in the debate. "Rather than reply to the discussion, she preferred to fly out so she could lay a handful of foundation stones in the valley tomorrow," the former chief minister tweeted. "It shows her complete lack of concern for the victims, her uncaring attitude and her total disdain for the sanctity of the assembly of J&K." "She used the state's plane and could've flown out later this evening or early tomorrow morning. She chose to dodge the house and run away." Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party legislators continued to seek an apology from the National Conference and the Congress for allegedly disrespecting the national anthem on Monday during the joint sitting of the bi-cameral legislature which Governor N.N. Vohra addressed to mark the opening of the budget session. Earlier, the opposition disrupted proceedings in both the assembly and the council seeking discussion on the valley's unrest. The Speaker allowed the discussion after the treasury benches said they had no objection to discussing it. --IANS sq/sar/vt Samsung announces new campaign for customer service Delhi,Business/Economy,Technology, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS New Delhi, Jan 3 (IANS) Samsung India on Tuesday launched a nationwide television and digital campaign named "Wherever You Are, We'll Take Care of You", showcasing its initiative to take customer service to the doorsteps of users. "Our new initiative of expanding to rural India, right up to the taluka level, helps us in taking care of our valued customers, wherever they are," said Ranjivjit Singh, Chief Marketing Officer, Samsung India, in a statement. With this, Samsung's reach will extend to customers in over 6,000 talukas - or sub-districts -- across 29 states and seven Union Territories. The campaign film "#SamsungCares", which has gone viral, showcases the journey of a young Samsung engineer on his way to provide the services in a remote village in India. In October 2016, Samsung launched 535 service vans, to ensure timely service to customers in the remotest corners across the country. --IANS vc/sm/vt Lalu Prasad prays at Patna Sahib Bihar,National,Politics,Religion, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Patna, Jan 3 (IANS) Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad on Tuesday prayed at the Takht Sri Harmandir Sahib, the birthplace of the 10th Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh. "We have welcomed all the devotees and our government has been doing everything possible to ensure their comfortable visit," Lalu Prasad told the media. Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh also offered prayers at the shrine. On Monday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the shrine. The main function will be held on January 5, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Guru Gobind Singh was born on December 22, 1666. He was annointed the supreme leader of the Sikhs at the age of nine, becoming the last of the living Sikh gurus. --IANS ik/mr Japan seeks to speed up free trade talks with EU Japan,Politics, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Tokyo, Jan 3 (IANS) Japan wants to speed up negotiations for an early signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union, official sources said on Tuesday. The aim is to achieve such an agreement as early as possible, before 2017 ends, added the sources. The Prime Minister Shinzo Abe-led administration had pinned great hopes on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), a deal between 12 Pacific Rim nations -- including the US -- that would have created a free trade zone accounting for 40 per cent of world GDP and a third of global commerce, Efe news reported. However, its future looks uncertain, considering rejection of the accord by US President-elect Donald Trump on several occasions. Tokyo is, therefore, keen to accelerate talks with Brussels to expedite signing of their mutual FTA, which both sides have been negotiating since 2013. However, the persistence of significant differences between the two sides is making it difficult to conclude the deal. For instance, Japan still wants the EU to waive import duties for the automobile sector, while the EU insists Tokyo must lower tariffs on agricultural produce and processed foods. --IANS ksk/vt TMC MP arrested in chit fund scam West Bengal,National,Politics,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Kolkata, Jan 3 (IANS) Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay was on Tuesday arrested by the CBI in the Rose Valley Chit Fund scam, an official said. He was summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and was arrested at the agency's regional office after questioning, an agency official said. According to CBI sources, this was the Trinamool leader's third summoning for questioning in connection with his alleged role in the scam. Bandyopadhyay, who was summoned twice in December last year by the CBI, skipped the meeting, pleading his engagement at the parliamentary session. The agency that is investigating the ponzi scheme scam has already interrogated another Trinamool Congress MP, Tapas Paul for his alleged involvement in the case. Paul was arrested on December 30 and later shifted to Bhubaneswar for further interrogation. TMC national spokesperson Derek O'Brien said Trinamool MPs will protest against the Centre in New Delhi on Wednesday. "Some MPs will reach Delhi Parliamentary Party Office tomorrow (on Wednesday) at 2.30 p.m. to protest against this financial emergency, this complete emergency and political vendetta started by the central government," Derek said. --IANS sgh/ahm/vt Indian businessman held for fraud in Dubai Togo,Crime/Disaster/Accident,Diaspora, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Abu Dhabi, Jan 3 (IANS) An Indian chief executive of a forex trading company in Dubai who promised to double investors' money was arrested for suspected fraud, authorities said. Sydney Lemos, 36, from Goa was the owner of Exential, a forex trading company here and was behind the failed Dh50 million ($13.6 million) foreign exchange scheme, the National daily reported. His company was closed by the Department for Economic Development in July last year. The daily said his clients lost money after his firm failed to pay out after promising 100 per cent returns on a Dh91,800 ($25,000) investment. Legal experts issued new warnings to potential investors after Lemos circulated an email encouraging new investment in an "advisory service", trading under the Exential banner. Lemos was arrested on December 21, said a spokesman for Carlton Huxley, British fraud investigation specialists who were working with a law firm to recover funds. "We are working with various authorities both inside and outside Dubai, and looking at the alleged laundering of more than Dh50 million by one individual," the daily quoted a Carlton Huxley spokesman as saying. Exential has earlier claimed that delays in processing investors' funds were due to anti-money laundering and compliance investigations in Australia, according to the report. John Rynne, a Carlton Huxley director and former senior officer with the Metropolitan Police in London, warned people about investing in schemes they know little about. --IANS soni/mr CBI to take over Ranchi gangrape-murder probe Bihar,National,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS null Ranchi, Jan 3 (IANS) The Jharkhand government on Tuesday ordered the Cntral Bureau of Investigation to probe the incident of gangrape and murder of an engineering student on December 16 last year, an official said. The probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation has been ordered by Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das, a government statement said, adding the victim's family has demanded the case should be probed by the CBI. The 19-year-old engineering student was gangraped and burnt to death on December 16. No arrest has been made so far. Ranchi police formed a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to probe the gory incident but any positive result is yet to come out. The police also announced Rs 1 lakh reward for anyone who would provide any information related to the rape and murder. However, forensic experts have maintained that many evidences were lost in the fire and even if any remained, they were washed away by the water thrown to douse the flames. Ranchi police came under severe criticism for failing to solve the case. --IANS ns/pgh/vt null Trinamool MP arrest: BJP office attacked, RAF deployed West Bengal,National,Politics, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Kolkata, Jan 3 (IANS) Agitated Trinamool Congress activists attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters in the city following party MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay's arrest here on Tuesday. The Rapid Action Force has been deployed to control the situation, the city police said. As the news of the MP's arrest spread, hundreds of Trinamool activists took to the street. Traffic had to be diverted from the Central Avenue in the heart of the city, close to the BJP headquarters in Muralidhar Sen Lane, due to the resulting chaos, the police said. The Trinamool supporters shouted slogans and blocked the entrances of the BJP office. A few BJP workers bled from the head as they spoke to the media. Some cars parked in the alley leading to the office were vandalised and stones were pelted at the building. The police said no one has been arrested yet in connection with the violence. The BJP workers present in the party office during the alleged attack said the assault was "pre-planned and unprovoked". "We were sitting inside the party office when some Trinamool goons attacked our party office and hurled bricks at us without any provocation. Around 15 of our party workers got injured in the incident," a BJP worker claimed. State BJP heavy-weights strongly condemned the attack, saying: "Trinamool Congress is becoming violent after the arrest of their leaders in serious corruption charges." "This attack was expected. The Trinamool Congress has become scared after the arrest of their Lok Sabha leader and is resorting to violence. This shows who is doing 'vendetta politics' in the country," BJP state President Dilip Ghosh said. --IANS mgr-sgh/nir/vt Turkey accuses US of supporting terrorism in Syria Turkey,Politics,Terrorism, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Ankara, Jan 3 (IANS) Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Tuesday accused the United States government led by President Barack Obama of supporting terrorism in Syria. Yildirim made the comments in front of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentary group in reference to Washington's backing of Kurdish-Syrian militias fighting against the Islamic State militants in Syria, Efe news agency reported. He said the Obama administration was supporting terror by trying "to defeat one terrorist group (the IS) with another one," in reference to the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) - considered part of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) by Turkey, which it sees as a terrorist organisation. The US was openly supplying weapons to the YPG and the Democratic Union Party (PYD) to support terrorism in the country, the minister said. The PM said he hoped the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump would change this policy once sworn-in on January 20. --IANS soni/bg Doctors remove scissors from man's stomach after 18 years United States,Health/Medicine,Human Interest/Society, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Hanoi, Jan 3 (IANS) Vietnamese doctors removed a pair of scissors lodged in a man's stomach for 18 years, authorities said. The Vietnamese man was completely oblivious to the scissors until December, when he suffered a road accident and was given an x-ray which revealed their presence, Efe news agency reported. Doctors retrieved the rusty 15 centimetre (6 inches) long scissors from his stomach on Saturday at a hospital in Thai Nguyen province, northern Vietnam, in a three-hour surgery. The scissors were broken and found on the left side of his torso, showed the reports. The patient, 54, had never felt any discomfort due to the scissors, which had been left inside him when he underwent an operation at the Bac Kan General Hospital in June 1998, said the doctors. The Ministry of Health has ordered an investigation into the case. --IANS soni/bg Another line of single engine aircraft to be made in India: Parrikar Delhi,National,Religion,Defence/Security,Business/Economy, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS New Delhi, Jan 3 (IANS) Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said a new line of production for single engine fighter jets will be started in India under the Strategic Partnership model. At a press conference on Tuesday, the minister said that discussions on Strategic Partnership are in the final stage and are likely to be concluded by the end of January. "The second line of single engine aircraft is also required for which we are thinking of using the Strategic Partnership soon once the chapter is finalised. During the current year, the decision, tendering and closure should tentatively be over," Parrikar said on Tuesday. Asked about the Strategic Partnership, the minister said: "I think it is in final stage... There are few issues that need to properly recorded. I think we have done a good job and I think the strategic partner is likely to be done by the end of this month. We are meeting sometime next week and expect results very soon." Parrikar dismissed reports of India thinking of buying more Rafale fighter jets apart from the 36 aircraft that India bought from France under a government to government deal. This comes shortly after former Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, at a press conference days before his retirement said the 36 Rafale jets bought by India were not enough and more aircraft were needed in the medium weight category. Raha had also said that India needs at least 200 more fighter aircraft in the next ten years. Talking about the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Parrikar said one line of production is presently operational and the capacity will be increased to produce 16 aircraft a year. --IANS rs-ao/vgu/bg Hindustan Coca-Cola ties-up with SBI for digital transactions Delhi,Business/Economy, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS New Delhi, Jan 3 (IANS) Bottling partner of Coca-Cola India, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages on Tuesday said it has joined hands with the State Bank of India to enable over 2.6 million retailers and 5,000 distributors conduct business transactions digitally. The company said it will provide training to the retailers on new and evolving digital business transaction solutions, in collaboration with SBI authorised trainers. "To bridge the digital gap for small retailers we have partnered with State Bank of India. This will empower and equip small retailer businesses move from cash based to digital transactions which has the potential benefit of making payments more secure and transparent," said Venkatesh Kini, President Coca-Cola India and South West Asia. According to the company, it will leverage "Coca-Cola University on Wheels" along with CCPIL under its "Parivartan" programme to train the retailers and distributors in handling digital payments. "The inclusion of this new module in our ongoing Parivartan training programme will help retailers to acclimate to digital payments effectively to increase their money management and business skills while establishing a strong foundation for economic development," Kini added. "The training will integrate SBI's developed digital payments module into the training capsule," the company said in a statement. --IANS ppg/ahm/bg Woman drugged, robbed inside RML hospital Delhi,National,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS New Delhi, Jan 3 (IANS) An elderly woman who came for a check-up at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital was robbed after being drugged by an unidentified person who she had befriended, police said on Tuesday. The accused person reportedly fled with the victim's jewellery, cash and other belongings. The incident took place on Sunday and was reported to police on Tuesday after the victim regained consciousness and filed a complaint, police said. According to police, the victim has been identified as Rekha Rani, 58, a resident of Budh Vihar Phase-I in North Avenue area. Rani who had come to meet a doctor in the OPD was being treated for the last three months in the same hospital. The victim told police that a man befriended her by saying he knew her and had visited her residence many times, police said. "The woman was admitted in the hospital the day after the incident. She regained consciousness today (Tuesday) and shared her ordeal with police and hospital staff. We have registered a case and are examining the CCTV footage of the hospital to identify the accused person" the officer said. --IANS sp/ahm/bg Delhi Police apprehend eight juveniles for robbery Delhi,National,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS New Delhi, Jan 3 (IANS) Delhi Police apprehended eight juveniles on charges of robbery here, a senior officer said on Tuesday. Police said all the juveniles were involved in robbing Shambhu Kumar, a resident of Shakurpur, on Monday night. "The juveniles looted Kumar while he was going to his residence. They overpowered Kumar at Britania Chowk and escaped with his cash and other belongings," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Milind Mahadeo Dumbere said. While the juveniles were fleeing from the spot, Kumar caught one of them and raised an alarm for help, following which some people gathered at the spot, Dumbere said. "Kumar later informed local police. On the basis of information from the captured juvenile, police then apprehended seven other juvenile gang members by raiding various places," the DCP added. The officer said that police is looking for one of their associates, who is still at large. --IANS sp/vgu/bg Uphold judiciary's independence, says outgoing Chief Justice Delhi,National,Immigration/Law/Rights, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS New Delhi, Jan 3 (IANS) Outgoing Chief Justice T.S. Thakur on Tuesday said it was incumbent on the legal fraternity to uphold the independence of judiciary as he pointed to pendency of three crore cases, poor judge-population ratio and problems of infrastructure. Chief Justice Thakur, who had a long battle with the Modi government on the appointment of judges, said: "This country can't progress unless judiciary prepares itself to handle challenges it would face in cases relating to cyber laws and medico legal cases." Supreme Court Bar Association Vice President Ajit Sinha assured the outgoing Chief Justice: "We will not allow any unjustified entry into judiciary. We as a bar will take a first blow." Addressing an overwhelming gathering of lawyers, sitting and retired judges, the Chief Justice, who had his last working day in the top court on Tuesday, said: "I will continue to work for upholding the prestige of the sanctum santorum of the Supreme Court." Chief Justice Thakur, who appeared emotional, said that in his retirement he would be a "spectator, observer and contributor to pay back what the institution has given to him". Thanking God, his parents, teachers, colleagues and everybody in what he could become in his life, Chief Justice Thakur urged the lawyers to desist from being in the race to be a judge or designated as senior lawyer. Telling the legal eagles to let these recognitions - becoming a judge or designated as senior counsel - "come uninvited", he said every case was a new challenge for the lawyers and they had to live up to the expectations of their clients. "Why should a lawyer want to be a judge when he is saturated with work?" he asked. "You have to raise yourself to a level where destiny itself beacons you." He told young lawyers that by taking every case as a challenge and preparing it well would earn them the respect of the bench (judges) and even their opponents. The farewell organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association saw everyone -- Chief Justice Thakur, Chief Justice designate Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, SCBA president R.S. Suri, its Vice President Ajit Sinha and Secretary Gaurav Bhati -- reciting couplets from Urdu poets. However, it were legendry Urdu poets Allama Iqbal and Mirza Ghalib that dominated the proceedings, with everyone reciting a couplet in praise of the outgoing Chief Justice. --IANS pk/mr Turkish nightclub attack 'suspect' denies involvement Kyrgyzstan,Terrorism, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Bishkek, Jan 3 (IANS/AKI) A Kyrgyz citizen named by Turkish state broadcaster Trt as the suspected gunman in the deadly New Year Eve attack on an Istanbul nightclub pleaded his innocence on Tuesday after he flew home from an alleged two-day business trip to the city. Iakhe Mashrapov, 28, was cited as telling Kyrgyz news agency Turmush that he was a market trader who travelled to Turkey on business and had nothing to do with the attack at Istanbul's popular Reina club on December 31. The suspect in Saturday's attack killed 39 people at the Reina, at least 27 of them foreigners, and injured 70 more in a seven-minute shooting spree during which he fired some 180 bullets at New Year's Eve revellers. The Islamic State jihadist group claimed the attack. Mashrapov's passport photo was posted and retweeted on social networks on Tuesday as the alleged gunman after Turkish security officials removed him from a flight from Istanbul to the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek and quizzed him for an hour, Mashrapov told Turmush. "I departed from Bishkek to Istanbul on January 1. I finished my business related to trade there. I came to the airport in Istanbul (on Monday) and right after I boarded the plane. Turkish law enforcers took me from the plane for questioning," he told Turmush. "The plane bound to Bishkek was delayed for one hour in this regard," he added. "They (Turkish police) explained that I was questioned because I slightly resembled the suspect in the photo. They apologized and let me board my plane," he said. Turkish investigators have released CCTV images of a man of Asiatic appearance taken inside the Reina club on the night of the attack and from a bureau de change where the suspect earlier changed money as well as a selfie-style video of him walking around Istanbul's Taksim Square. Mashrapov said he arrived in Manas airport in Bishkek early on Tuesday from Turkey. He then travelled from Bishkek to Osh city. As soon as he reached his home in the Osh region's Kara-Suu district, Kyrgyz security officials took him in for questioning, he told Turmusch. "When the terrorist attack took place December 31, I was in Kyrgyzstan. I have no relation to the terrorist attack in Turkey. I've been visiting Istanbul since 2011 on business purposes," Mashrapov told Turmush. "I have no idea who the suspect is and have no idea how my passport photo got onto the social networks. I am from Kara-Suu. I have been trading at the Kara-Suu market (Turatali) since 2011," he stated. Mashrapov said he flew from Kyrgyzstan to Istanbul last Wednesday and returned home on Friday. He then flew back to Istanbul on Sunday before returning to Bishkek on Tuesday. --IANS/AKI mr/ Trinamool MP arrest: BJP office attacked, CRPF-RAF deployed West Bengal,National,Politics, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Kolkata, Jan 3 (IANS) Central Reserve Police Force personnel were posted in large numbers near the BJP state headquarters here as an agitation and stone pelting by enraged Trinamool Congress activists continued for over three hours over the arrest of party MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay on Tuesday. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Secretary Rahul Sinha said the presence of the troopers, who provide security to him, was bolstered after his party's state headquarters was attacked by the Trinamool activists. "The Chief Minister has instigated the agitation with her comments after the Trinamool MP's arrest. In this situation, we do not feel secure under the surveillance of state police. "I get CRPF protection. For my security, more CRPF personnel have been deputed in view of the ongoing violence," Sinha told IANS. "Our workers, who got injured in the initial attack, have still not been shifted to the hospital. Trinamool is trying to terrorise us, but their tactics would not work," he added. Rapid Action Force personnel were also deployed to control the situation, city police said. As the news of the MP's arrest spread, hundreds of Trinamool activists took to the streets. Traffic had to be diverted from the Central Avenue in the heart of the city, close to the BJP headquarters in Muralidhar Sen Lane, due to the resultant chaos, police said. The Trinamool supporters shouted slogans and blocked the entrances to the BJP office. A few BJP workers bled from the head as they spoke to the media. Some cars parked in the alley leading to the office were vandalised and stones pelted at the building. The situation became worse in the evening as thousands of Trinamool supporters broke police barricades and jostled with police personnel posted in front of the BJP office. Police said no one had been arrested yet in connection with the violence. The BJP workers present in the office during the alleged attack said the assault was "pre-planned and unprovoked". "We were sitting inside the party office when some Trinamool goons attacked our party office and hurled bricks at us without any provocation. Around 15 of our party workers got injured in the incident," a BJP worker claimed. State BJP President Dilip Ghosh strongly condemned the attack. "This attack was expected. The Trinamool Congress has become scared after the arrest of their Lok Sabha leader and is resorting to violence. This shows who is doing 'vendetta politics' in the country," Ghosh said. BJP MP Roopa Ganguly accused the city police of not taking action against the Trinamool supporters involved in the violence. "Police could have easily arrested the people who were hurling bricks at our party office. But no action was taken as they were related to the ruling party," Ganguly said. --IANS mgr/ssp/nir/bg Set procedures followed in appointment of Army Chief: Parrikar Delhi,National,Politics,Defence/Security, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS New Delhi, Jan 3 (IANS) Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said set procedures were followed in the appointment of Army Chief General Bipin Rawat and all candidates were equally good. The Defence Minister told media if seniority and date of birth were the only criteria, computers could have selected the service chief and there would be no need to have a cabinet process. Parrikar also said all candidates for the post were equally good. General Rawat was selected as the new Army Chief superseding Eastern Army Commander Lt. Gen. Praveen Bakshi and Southern Army Commander Lt. Gen. P. M. Hariz, both of whom have been in service longer than General Rawat. The Defence Ministry justified General Rawat's appointment saying he was found to be the "best suited among the eligible Lt. Generals to deal with emerging challenges, including a reorganised and restructured military force in the north, continuing terrorism and proxy war from the west, and the situation in the north-east". --IANS ao-rs/ahm/bg Britain's top EU diplomat in Brussels resigns United Kingdom,Politics,Diplomacy, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS London, Jan 3 (IANS) Britain's ambassador to the European Union, Ivan Rogers has quit his job in Brussels, according to a media report on Tuesday. A spokesman with the British government also said in a brief statement that "Sir Ivan Rogers has resigned a few months early as UK Permanent Representative to the European Union," Xinhua reported. The sudden decision came just weeks after Rogers was accused of damaging Britain's Brexit negotiations. Rogers warned that it would take a decade to forge a new trade deal with Europe, saying that was the view of the other 27 member states with the bloc. Political commentators said the relationship between Rogers and the government had become strained over the grim warning of a prolonged Brexit. Rogers was appointed to the role of permanent representative in 2013 by former Prime Minister David Cameron. He had been expected to play a key role in Brexit talks expected to start within months after Cameron's successor at 10 Downing Street Theresa May triggers the exiting process in March. Rogers was due to quit his job in Brussels towards the end of this year, but has decided to go earlier "after tensions with Downing Street," according to the Financial Times report. Rogers' resignation triggered mixed reactions in political circles with some expressing dismay and others delighted. The Daily Telegraph said news of the resignation prompted concerns that Britain would get a worse Brexit deal than it would have done if he was part of the team. At the think-tank, the Centre for European Reform, director Charles Grant, said "Ivan Rogers' resignation makes a good deal on Brexit less likely. One of the very few people at top of British government who understands EU." But the campaign group Leave. EU was delighted over Rogers' leaving. The pro-Brexit campaign group said on its website: "Pessimist Rogers, who warned Brexit would take 10 years, is to leave his post as UK Ambassador to the EU. Good - time for some optimism!" Meanwhile, some, including Labour MP Hilary Benn who chairs the Brexit select committee in the House of Commons, are urging for a quick appointment of a new ambassador to replace Rogers. "It couldn't be a more difficult time to organise a handover," Benn told local media in London. Oxford-educated Rogers, as Britain's Permanent Representative to the EU, has overall responsibility for the work of the mission and represents the British government at weekly meetings of the Committee of Permanent Representatives in the Council of the European Union. The committee deals largely with political, financial, justice, policing and foreign policy issues. So far the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London has not commented on the resignation. --IANS ahm/bg Vamshi Paidipally won't budge to allegations made by PVP Tamil Nadu,Cinema/Showbiz,Southern Cinema, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Chennai, Jan 3 (IANS) Filmmaker Vamshi Paidipally, who has announced that he is teaming up with superstar Mahesh Babu for a yet-untitled Telugu project next, has been allegedly accused of dishonoring an agreement to make a film for PVP productions. Producer Prasad V Potluri, in his compliant to Producer's Council, claims that Vamshi has breached their contract and is now making his next film with other producers. Reportedly, Potluri is planning to press charges in the court against Vamshi, who had directed last year's bilingual drama "Oopiri" in his production. "Vamshi is aware of the allegations and he's not making any comments because they are baseless. PVP claims that they incurred losses of Rs. 20 crore on 'Oopiri', as the budget shot up to Rs. 70 crore which is not true. 'Oopiri' is a very special film for Vamshi, and they are simply trying the malign it," a source close to Paidipally told IANS. Vamshi, who was unavailable for comment, will go on to direct Mahesh Babu for yet to titled film that will be produced by Ashwini Dutt and Dil Raju. It will be Mahesh Babu's 25th film. "There'll be no change of plans in Mahesh's project. More information regarding the commencement of shoot will be made official by the production team soon," the source added. --IANS hp/nv/vm Maoist killed in Jharkhand gunfire Bihar,National,Defence/Security,Terrorism, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Ranchi, Jan 3 (IANS) A CPI-Maoist group guerrilla was killed and his wife arrested in a gunfire with the security forces in Jharkhand's East Singhbhum district on Tuesday, police said. Supai Mund, a commander of the banned group, was killed during a search operation at Gudabanda jungle, around 145 km from here, police said. The search operation continues in the area. --IANS ns/py/ap The surreal stop-motion of Joey Foster Ellis Delhi,National,Art/Culture/Books, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS New Delhi, Jan 3 (IANS) Art can be elusive, hard to grasp, not only because of the solid craft that one is required to possess to make something look good, but for most part simply for want of basic tools. This is where Joey Foster Ellis, an artist who likes to describe himself as a 'digital sculptor', arrives on the scene and shows the way, as he turns the 'gifs', that mundane file format, into spellbinding stop-motion art. "I find gifs the most transcending of art forms. You can take an everyday object and turn it into art. All one needs to do is to just observe things for longer than usual and to possess a slight knack for narration," Ellis told IANS at the recently held TEDx Delhi, where he was invited as one of the speakers. Gif (Graphics Interchange Format), pronounced as 'jif', is a file format used to create images and low-resolution animated clips. But gifs, however commonplace, did not captivate Ellis in the early part of his career, when he made sculptures using solid substance, including ice, like all other artists do. "I was a chef in New York, when I decided that I'd rather be making something which people eat off, than what they eat. And I landed up in China in 2009 and enrolled myself in CAFA (Central Academy of Fine Arts)," he said. Ellis did pottery in China for three years, exhibited an underwater sculpture-artwork in Indonesia, and showed his work at the Smithsonian Museum back home in New York, for an exhibition titled "40 under 40", before it dawned upon him tha,t just like clay, he too was "malleable". He next ended up in Qatar for a conservation science course, "an artist wanting to become a chemist". He found his scientist peers too unaccommodating there and the country too expensive. "Luckily, while doing the course there, I found myself a bit stretched financially. I had nothing to work with, but objects in my room and a computer. This hardship led to my dabbling in stop-motion art," he said. "This is when I started making real cool ghetto art, birthday cards, sorry-notes, in the form of stop-motion, till I got a call from this man who asked me if I would do a video for one of his electronic songs," he recounted. This proved to be a turning point in Ellis's career, which came at a time when he had started finding usual sculpting too static and lifeless. "Although, I am not a musician, I'm very passionate about music. When you go out at night you don't want to end up staring at a sculpture. There's something very static about sculptures, and I didn't like it," Ellis explained. The music video which Ellis worked on is a brilliant patchwork of narrative images, with an O.J. Simpson here (guilty, not guilty) and a Sridevi there (from the "Mr. India" song "Hawa Hawaaii") thrown into the mix, contributing to one trippy, psychedellic whole. As in his art-form, in his philosophy, too, Ellis is democratic. He emphasises that stop-motion art, such as his, can be created by anyone, provided that one is "true, honest and vulnerable", he says in a Hemingwayesque trip of tongue. "Vulnerability is very important to create art, so is trust and being honest to yourself. When you are vulnerable and honest, you are not forced to conceal anything from anyone, and you keep yourself away from fake reality," he expounded. Apart from these traits, there's one more aspect to Ellis's personality to which he attributes the manic nature of his work, that is, his condition of being a bipolar. "During the Beijing Olympics (2008) I worked on a project commissioned by the Chinese government, which demanded of me sculpting 100 statues of children from ice. I ended up making 150, and then fell to pneumonia. I worked ceaselessly during project, and I think I was going through one of my bipolar episodes where one gets an immense rush of restless creativity," he said. Despite the downside of such bipolar episodes -- a prolonged feeling of despondence -- Ellis covets these periods of hyper-mania (which is also a clinical term), which can have the potency to out-rush all other episodes which he's experienced so far, but can be devastating once it's subsided. Ellis, who likes to be called a "professional tourist", resists going back to his home in upstate New York, until he can see it with the eyes of a tourist. This unlearning he deems a part of work, which demands of him seeing objects always with a fresh pair of eyes. And it's this very ability that enables Ellis to enliven a stick of butter or a worn out pair of shoes, by turning them into gif art. (Vishal Narayan can be contacted at vishal.n@ians.in) --IANS vn/vm/sac Briton killed fighting IS in Syria United Kingdom,Defence/Security,Terrorism, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS null London, Jan 3 (IANS) A British man has been killed fighting the Islamic State (IS) terror group in Syria, according to officials. Ryan Lock, 20, from Chichester, West Sussex, travelled to join Kurdish forces known as the YPG in August 2016. The YPG told the BBC that he was killed on December 21 in Jaeber village in the battle for the Syrian city of Raqqa. The letter offered condolences to Lock's family, saying his loss had "affected us deeply". His family said Lock, a chef who had no military experience, was a "very caring and loving boy". --IANS ksk/mr null Must develop Scientific Social Responsibility: PM Andhra Pradesh,National,Politics,Science/Tech, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Tirupati, Jan 3 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said there was a need to develop the concept of "scientific social responsibility" to connect leading institutions to all stake holders. Speaking at the inauguration of the Indian Science Congress, the Prime Minister also said that research needed to be strenghtneded in line with international standards. "On the lines of Corporate Social Responsibility, concept of Scientific Social Responsibility needs to be inculcated to connect our leading institutions to all stake holders, including schools and colleges," Modi said. "Our best science and technology institutions should further strengthen their basic research in line with leading global standards... Translating this basic knowledge into innovations, start-ups and industry will help us achieve inclusive and sustainable growth," he said. The Prime Minister said that by 2030, India would be among the top three countries in science and technology. "Science must meet the rising aspirations of the people." --IANS ao/mr Danielle Lloyd regrets plastic surgery United Kingdom,Cinema/Showbiz,Hollywood, Wed, 04 Jan 2017 IANS London, Jan 4 (IANS) Model Danielle Lloyd says she is "disgusted" by her body and wishes someone had warned her about the "horrors of plastic surgery". The 33-year-old spoke about it to Closer magazine, reports mirror.co.uk. "I wish I'd never messed with my body in the first place. I feel disgusted at the thought that I've done this to myself. I know it's my fault, but I wish someone had warned me about the horrors of plastic surgery when I was in my 20s," Lloyd said. The mother-of-three, who was crowned Miss England before competing for Miss World in 2004, was left "absolutely devastated" after one of her breast implants exploded in 2012. She was rushed to a hospital where doctors discovered that a blood clot had formed beneath her muscle, forcing them to remove the implants completely. Lloyd, who had taken her breasts from a B cup to a D cup with her first breast enlargement surgery, was then left with AA cup. --IANS nn/rb Naga Council picketing paralyses Manipur offices Manipur,National,Politics,Terrorism, Wed, 04 Jan 2017 IANS Imphal, Jan 3 (IANS) The United Naga Council (UNC) has intensified picketing at the government offices in the hill districts dominated by the Nagas demanding unconditional release of two arrested leaders. But Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh said: "First the UNC must call off the economic blockade. We will consider holding talks with it and setting free the arrested leaders after that." All the government offices are completely paralysed as no employee is allowed to enter. However, essential services like power, water supply and educational institutions have allowed to function normally. Some employees said that there is no security arrangement in and around the offices. "Under these circumstances, we cannot stick out our necks. Volunteers of the UNC are squatting at all approach roads to prevent us from entering the office premises," one of them said. There is not enough police and paramilitary forces in the hill districts. An official said: "The additional paramilitary personnel rushed by the central government are used in escorting the trucks and maintaining law and order along the highways." Some time back, the government had deployed police commandos in Ukhrul district. But people made a hue and cry about it, following which these commandos had to be recalled from the district. --IANS Il/nir Containers of Tibetan bottled water were loaded on the first train from Lhasa, capital of Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, heading for the East China city of Ningbo, Zhejiang province on Dec 28. It is the first regular set of charter trains to bring Tibet-made commodities to China's inland areas. Carrying 1,890 tons of bottled water in 35 carriages from Tibet, the one-way train will travel 4,500 kilometers to its destination: Ningbo Zhoushan Port. Comparatively expensive highway logistics are more convenient in Tibet, confined to the region's varied geographic conditions. The new freight train will help reduce the logistics cost and increase the speed of the carriage of goods. Ningbo Zhoushan Port, the world's largest cargo handling port, will also help Tibet shift its resources into economic zones. The first freight train service linking Lhasa, capital of Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, with Ningbo, Zhejiang province begins operations on Dec 28. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn] We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Click the photo to write a caption and have a chance to win a free subscription to the Norfolk Daily News. Tunisian Justice Minister Monday sounded the alarm over the catastrophic conditions of inmates in the countrys prisons. Detention centers in Tunisia are extremely overpopulated, Ghazi Jeribi told a parliament committee on Monday. Over 20,000 people have been locked up in the countrys few prisons, exceeding the capacities of these centers. The overpopulation has been estimated at 217 per cent of the centers capacity. The degradation of conditions has been traced back to 2011 revolution marked by acts of vandalism and arson attacks, Jeribi noted. Out of the over 20,000 inmates, 14,343 are first-time offenders while 9,200 are recidivists. 50 per cent of the inmates are waiting for their conviction. The minister noted that 11,868 people including 358 women were arrested last year. 6,662 people among them have been arrested for drug use. 3,982 of them have been charged while 2,680 are still waiting for court ruling. 1,647 people have been arrested for terrorism and money laundring related acts. 1,464 of them have been found guilty. Speaking to local radio Mosaique FM, Jeribi proposed that the country should review and reform its judicial and penal system. For him the period of arrest should be reduced along with creation of alternative sentences. When Turkish Was Written in the Greek, Armenian and Assyrian Script The Syriac-script, trilingual (Syriac-Arabic-Turkish) biweekly Leshono d'Umtho, or Tongue of the Nation. Beirut, 1928. ( British Library) For those who have learnt foreign languages, the presence of a loanword can be both comforting and surreal. In languages written in non-Roman scripts, a borrowed word -- take computer as an example -- greatly eases the task of building vocabulary; it is far simpler to remember the Japanese konpyutaa than the Hungarian szamitogep. However, such loanwords can also be disorienting, triggering memories of one's mother tongue while confronting it with the sight of a totally foreign representation. Now imagine that nearly every word in a text was much the same. This phenomenon is referred to as allography, and, in the period before standardised orthographies, state-sponsored schooling and the mass media, it was an exceptionally common occurrence. Among the most famous of cases are the Jewish languages of Yiddish and Ladino, but in the Ottoman Empire, where secular, state-directed education was not enforced until the 20th century, Turkish in scripts other than Arabic was a matter of routine business. The two largest allographic communities were the Armenians and the Greeks. Armeno-Turkish -- a rendering of Ottoman Turkish in Armenian letters -- gave rise to a vibrant publishing industry and cultural community. The orthography was largely phonetic and based upon Western Armenian readings of the letters. It was in Armeno-Turkish that many French and other Western European works came into Turkish. This was a situation assisted by the reticence of the Sublime Porte to authorise Ottoman Turkish printing presses, despite the expansion of Armenian, Greek and Jewish ones. Many volumes printed were religious works, for example BL 14400.c.4, shown above, a copy of the Old Testament. The growth of an Armenian middle class gradually permitted the flourishing of secular publication as well, allowing for the appearance of translations, adaptations and original works. A case in point is the collection of sarklar, or folksongs, in Armeno-Turkish shown below, BL 14499.a.14(5). That the Armeno-Turkish cultural sphere was a world in its own right is attested to by an Armeno-Turkish guide to the works of Professor Bezjian published in Aleppo in 1932, four years after the introduction of a Latin script for Turkish, and more than a decade and a half after the tragic events of 1915. Turkish written in Greek characters also laid the foundation for a vibrant publishing industry, with a heavy emphasis on religious materials. The language, known as Karamanlidika in Greek and Karamanlca in Turkish, was the everyday idiom of the Turkish-speaking Greek Orthodox Christians of Anatolia. Despite being ethnically and linguistically Turkish, their religion required them to be classified as Rum or Greek Orthodox under the Ottoman system. The Orthodox clergy controlled education, and a tradition of literacy in Greek letters, rather than modified Arabic script. Although many of the Library's holdings in Karamanlidika are translations of the New Testament -- usually published by British missionaries, for example BL 14400.a.28 below -- there are also a few non-scriptual examples. One is a play based on the story of Abraham's sacrifice, a story that is revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims alike (BL 14469.c.4). The final example of allography from the Ottoman Empire is a much less common one, but no less interesting. It is of the newspaper Leshana d'umtha, Syriac for Voice of the Nation (BL 753.k.35). This bi-weekly was produced in Beirut, Lebanon from 1927 until 1946 and had articles in Syriac, Arabic and Turkish. Arabic written in Syriac script is a common occurrence throughout the Christian Orient, and is referred to as Garshuni. Turkish written in Syriac characters, however, is far rarer, and represents a unique view into the linguistic, political and cultural identity of Beirut's Christian communities decades after the end of Ottoman sovereignty. Unlike Armeno-Turkish, the author of the Ottoman Turkish articles in this periodical adhered to Ottoman orthography as much as possible, even when it did not conform to the spoken language. This indicates that the compiler of the articles was educated in Ottoman Turkish, yet opted to write in Syriac script; a reminder of just how powerful the visual aspects of language were and are in the Middle East. Questions of script, orthography and language were not limited to the minority communities. Indeed, perhaps the most vibrant discussions were held about the majority language itself. Ottoman intellectuals frequently debated script and grammar reforms in discussions that impinged on issues of identity, power and connectivity. The edition of the Islamic theological tract, Ilm-i Hal, produced by the Society for the Teaching of a New Script in the second decade of the 20th century, exemplifies this latter push for change (BL ITA.1994.a.128). One of only three publications by the Society, it sought to reconcile orthographic efficiency with tradition by adding vowel characters to the Arabic script, some of which were based on Old Turkic runes. Like the allographies of the Armenians, Greeks and Syriac Christians, this attempt would fall victim to the drive for standardisation and generalisation of the new age of nations ushered in by the end of the First World War. Today, these publications remain as memorials to the colourful and pluralistic cultural milieus of the age of empires. UN-backed Libyan unity government received a major blow Monday as Musa al-Koni, a deputy Prime Minister of the Presidency Council (PC) left the boat citing the councils inability to address pressing needs of Libyans. I announce my resignation due the failure of the Presidency Council, because it holds responsibility for the killing, kidnapping, and rape that happened over the past year, Koni told a press conference in Tripoli. I dont think we are unaware of what the citizens are suffering, but we are incapable, and I admit that we are failures because we didnt solve the problems, which are many. The PC borne in December 2015 along with the Government of National Accord (GNA) arrived in capital Tripoli nearly one year ago. Led by businessman Faiez Serraj, the PC and associate GNA have been unable to address security, power, financial issues of millions of Libyans who have to queue for hours in front of banks to get their money. The December victory over the Islamic State group (IS) in Sirte which was expected to boost the confidence of the unity government seems to have no effect. Internal rivalries within the PC have given also reasons to the internationally recognized House of Representatives (HoR) in Tobruk to back away from approving the GNA line-up proposed by Serraj. The HoR twice last year rejected Serrajs proposed cabinets. The PC in September lost control of the countrys main oil terminals after Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar aligned with HoR snatched them from pro-GNA forces. The move further weakened the PCs financial resources. The UN-backed GNA in need of financial resources, expected to control the oil production which still remains the main source of income of the North African country. Libya descended into chaos following the death of former ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 in a NATO-backed revolution. Air travel got even more hellish for international passengers trying to enter the U.S. when computer systems used by United States Customs and Border Protection went down across the country on Monday evening. CBP officials said the outage, which lasted from about 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., was not malicious, but they have yet to explain what happened in detail. All airports are back on line after a temporary outage of #CBPs processing systems. No indication the disruption was malicious in nature. CBP (@CBP) January 3, 2017 CBP still had access to national-security-related databases and continued to process international travelers using alternative procedures at airports experiencing the disruption, according to a statement from the agency. Travelers at some ports of entry experienced longer than usual wait times as CBP officers processed travelers as quickly as possible while maintaining the highest levels of security. It wasnt fast enough for the thousands of people who were trapped in cramped airport hallways, waiting to be processed. Naturally, they shared their plight on social media: @wsvn immigration @ M.I.A. Hundreds waiting, system has been down for hours pic.twitter.com/kuyR9u7boO Reza (@EGerami) January 3, 2017 Customs line at Atlanta airport snaking around multiple wings of building. Supposedly homeland security system down pic.twitter.com/EtSMhWHQgV Jordana Merran (@JordanaMerran) January 3, 2017 At one point in Miami International Airport, passengers from more than 30 international flights were waiting to be processed. Travelers had to deal with high heat and vomit on the floor. Seven passengers were treated for minor medical emergencies at the airport. People started to pass out, people were screaming, shoving each other with luggage, Michelle Sencibaugh, one of the trapped travelers, told USA Today. People were scared, absolutely. Vomit on the floor and passports being turned into fans as temperatures and tempers rise at marathon Miami @CustomsBorder line. pic.twitter.com/zyb48nSVhr Peter Gartrell (@runptg11) January 3, 2017 Letting children and elderly through. Getting HOT. Many people haven't slept. Customs system shutdown. pic.twitter.com/WjpUaFH0RU John M. Phillips (@JohnPhillips) January 3, 2017 There were also lengthy delays in Chicago, Boston, New York, Baltimore, and Atlanta. According to FlightAware, there were 4,491 delays nationwide yesterday, including 694 in Atlanta and 395 at LAX. There is meant to be a clear line within this mess A photo posted by SCSV (@simonverrill) on Jan 2, 2017 at 4:52pm PST ATL Hartsfield-Jackson International airport experienced a nightmare scenario when US Customs experienced a computer outage. More @ 11PM pic.twitter.com/lv6RrBp7F1 Nefertiti Jaquez (@nefertitijaquez) January 3, 2017 Some passengers reported that their flights were held on the tarmac for more than an hour, which was probably preferable to being packed into the airport. Update from pilot....because customs computers are down...we are the 20th plane in line for a gate. Kristin Klingshirn (@KrisKling) January 3, 2017 Congressman Goodlatte at a tea party rally outside at the Capitol on April 6, 2011. Photo: Bill OLeary/The Washington Post/Getty Images If youre anxious to see how federal ethics standards will be eroded in 2017, you dont have to hold your breath until January 20. On Monday night, House Republicans voted behind closed doors to gut an independent ethics office, which was established eight years ago after bribery and corruption scandals landed several members of Congress in jail. The measure would transform the Office of Congressional Ethics a six-member board of private citizens into the Office of Congressional Complaint Review, and put it under the control of the House Ethics Committee, which is comprised of sitting members of Congress. The move is expected to be approved on Tuesday when the full House votes on a package of rules changes for the incoming 115th Congress. Republican congressman Robert Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, announced on Monday evening that the House Republican Conference approved the change by a vote of 119 to 74, according to the Washington Post. There was no public notice that the effort to weaken the ethics office was under consideration, and Republicans reportedly approved the measure even though House Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy spoke out against it during the conference meeting. Goodlatte said in a statement that the amendment merely builds upon and strengthens the existing Office of Congressional Ethics by maintaining its primary area of focus of accepting and reviewing complaints from the public and referring them, if appropriate, to the Committee on Ethics. But the proposed changes would significantly curtail the ethics watchdogs activities. Currently, the Office of Congressional Ethics can investigate anonymous tips or news stories accusing lawmakers of wrongdoing by conducting confidential interviews and collecting documents. According to the New York Times, the board votes on whether the incident should be referred to the House Ethics Committee, which then conducts its own investigation. The House Ethics Committee can ignore the recommendation, but it must release the boards report on the allegation. Under the new rules pushed by Goodlatte, members of Congress would oversee all investigations by the Office of Congressional Ethics. The ethics board could not accept anonymous tips, make its findings public, investigate incidents that took place before January 3, 2011, or refer criminal acts to law enforcement. Per Goodlattes statement, Any matter that may involve a violation of criminal law must be referred to the Committee on Ethics for potential referral to law enforcement agencies after an affirmative vote by the Members. This is huge, Bryson Morgan, a lawyer who worked for the Office of Congressional Ethics from 2013 until 2015, told the Times. It effectively allows the committee to shut down any independent investigation into member misconduct. As the Washington Post notes, for decades, the House Ethics Committee was accused of protecting members of Congress, acting only when lawmakers committed egregious acts of misconduct. The Office of Congressional Ethics was created by Democrats in 2008 after Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe public officials. Investigations conducted by the ethics board were generally considered more robust than those carried out by the House committee. Both Republicans and Democrats targeted by the board have complained that it was too aggressive, but watchdog groups have dismissed those complaints. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said the move is actually risky for lawmakers. If the 115th Congress begins with rules amendments undermining OCE, it is setting itself up to be dogged by scandals and ethics issues for years and is returning the House to dark days when ethics violations were rampant and far too often tolerated, the watchdog group said. The current effort to remove the boards independence was orchestrated by several Republican lawmakers who felt they had been wrongly accused of ethical misconduct, according to Politico. Democrats were already opposed to the package of rules changes, which includes measures introduced by Ryan in an apparent attempt to prevent protests from the House floor, like the Democrats sit-in against gun violence last year. Many said hobbling the ethics board shows Republicans actually have no intention of following one of Donald Trumps key campaign promises. Republicans claim they want to drain the swamp, but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress. Other Democrats echoed her sentiments on Twitter: And now the @HouseGOP is gutting its ethics office in the middle of the night hours before the new Congress is sworn in. Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 3, 2017 Tell us, @GOP: Who, exactly, thinks that the problem with Washington is that we have too many rules requiring the gov to act ethically? Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 3, 2017 Want proof that the GOP cares more about protecting billionaires than you? Here's the 1st thing they did in office.https://t.co/n5QBy7VgLM Tom Perez (@TomPerez) January 3, 2017 115th Congress doesn't begin for hours but in a shocking pre-game accomplishment score is now: Swamp 1, House GOP 0: https://t.co/wqJtw8ThR6 Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) January 3, 2017 House GOP votes to turn independent ethics office into an unread complaint box. Why won't GOP keep their party promise to #DraintheSwamp ? Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 3, 2017 Gutting the independent and nonpartisan ethics office should not be acceptable to anyone of any political party. https://t.co/HRFTJ51fgI Rep. Ted Deutch (@RepTedDeutch) January 3, 2017 Total Republican control of federal government looks like this. Cozy for DC politicians/bad for you and your family. https://t.co/a5aORzQCvD Julian Castro (@JulianCastro) January 3, 2017 It should be clear by now that Donald Trump already the most corrupt and conflicted President-elect in history is betraying his promise to drain the swamp, said Democratic National Committee spokesman Eric Walker. Now Republicans in the House are following his example, attempting to cripple the independent entity that deals with ethics in Congress. To be clear, Trump has no direct role in the House GOPs effort to curtail ethics investigations of its members. The president-elect recently insisted that his effort to drain the swamp is still on, and he could prove it by calling on members of his party to leave the Office of Congressional Ethics alone. On the other hand, Trump probably doesnt want to start a war with the body thats supposed to hold him accountable for ethics violations. #AreYouKiddingMe Photo: KNS/AFP/Getty Images In his annual New Years Day speech, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un made another frightening claim about the countrys nuclear capabilities, saying, We have reached the final stage in preparations to test-launch an intercontinental ballistic rocket. North Korea regularly threatens to attack the United States with nuclear weapons, and experts say its possible theyre making progress on their long-stated goal of developing that capability. North Korea has never flight-tested an intercontinental ballistic missile, but they have conducted five nuclear tests in the past ten years, as well as more than 20 ballistic-missile tests in the past year. The Obama administration condemned this latest bit of saber-rattling. We call on all states to use every available channel and means of influence to make clear to the [Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea] and its enablers that launches using ballistic-missile technology are unacceptable, and take steps to show there are consequences to the DPRKs unlawful conduct, State Department spokesman John Kirby said. Perhaps recognizing that cold, diplomatic language wont calm anyones nerves, the president-elect offered his own assessment of this delicate situation on Monday evening: North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017 Thats not exactly what Kim Jong-un said (he claimed theyre close to testing an ICBM, not a nuclear-tipped ICBM). But Americans dont need to sweat the details because that simply wont happen. The tweet did not elaborate on Trumps plan to prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons that can reach the U.S., and during the campaign he wasnt very clear on his policy toward the rogue state. Trump has called Kim Jong-un a bad dude and a maniac, but he also said you have to give him credit for his brutal rise to power, and that hed be willing to meet with him. At other points, Trump said South Korea should pay more for U.S. protection, and suggested that hed be open to South Korea and Japan having their own nuclear weapons. Trump has also claimed that China could make the North Korea problem disappear, a point that he reiterated Monday on Twitter: China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017 China disputed this, saying in a state-run tabloid that Trump is pandering to irresponsible attitudes. The Global Times newspaper also said Pyongyangs nuclear program stokes the anxieties of some Americans who blame China rather than examining their own nations actions. Still, theres no denying that this is pretty encouraging news about the global threat posed by North Korea (if you get all your information from the president-elects tweets). If youre like us, youve probably wondered what famous people add to their carts. Not the JAR brooch and Louis XV chair, but the ground coffee and the bathroom rug. We asked Barneys New York creative-ambassador-at-large Simon Doonan which items he cant live without. Eden Foods Genmaicha $18 As far as liquid essentials go, I do not drink alcohol, but I couldnt face the day without genmaicha tea. Unlike regular green tea or even matcha (which is the ground-up leaves), genmaicha includes toasted brown rice for an additional aroma it has a lovely, nutty taste. I picked up the habit while working a bit in Japan. Arigato. $18 at Amazon Buy $18 at Amazon Buy The Strategist is a new site designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best notebook, black T-shirts, fashion-editor-approved jeans, toothbrush, and apartment decor. Note that all prices are subject to change. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission. Actress and activist Rosie Perez addresses Congress. At last count, Hillary Clinton was ahead in the popular vote by almost 2.9 million, winning 48 percent to President-elect Donald Trumps 46. And while for some this fact has raised concerns about the function of the Electoral College, for others its leverage. On Monday, Humanity for Progress released a video demanding that Congress hold Trumps administration accountable especially because the majority of the American people oppose it. In the video, which is called #StandUpForUs, celebrities and activists including Rosie Perez, Keegan-Michael Key, Tavi Gevinson, Lea Delaria, Sally Field, and Janet Mock speak to members of Congress directly, demanding they fight Trumps administration should it seek to do harm to marginalized groups. Its accompanied by a petition addressed to the House of Representatives and the Senate. The old adage is silence equals death, said Liz Garbus, who directed the video. We need to show lawmakers and representatives that we wont be silent. Ultimately, we gave those in Congress their jobs. And were watching. Actress and activist Rosie Perez said that when she was approached to do the video, her response was Hell yeah. I think that a lot of Americans dont understand the power of our elected officials, she said. They think the only effective way to protest [is] against the White House, and thats not the case. She added that shes long taken advantage of her right to protest policy she disagrees with. I was born into the system as a ward of the state, and every time there was a policy change it either affected my life for the better or for the worse, she said. So I understand what it means to really fight to have effective policy in the United States. Both Perez and Garbus agree that Trumps election has a silver lining: Its galvanized people to speak up. Were going to rise to the top, Perez said. We have it in us to do so, weve done it before, and we can do it again. Kaitlin Olson. Photo: FOX When Kaitlin Olson was first pitched the role of Dee Sweet Dee Reynolds on Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia back in 2004, she turned it down. While the three male leads played by Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, and her future husband, Rob McElhenney, who co-wrote and produced the show were fully fleshed-out, Dee was written as the bland voice of reason to contrast the guys antics. Eventually, Olson came back to them with a suggestion: Maybe Dee could be funny too? I was like, heres the honest truth: You guys are so talented at writing these ridiculous crazy characters. I would love to do that if you wrote a character like that for me as well, Olson recalls. I dont just want to be a girl character, the voice of reason. I want to be the crazy one. So if you write something like that for me, Ill do it. And to their credit, they wanted to. Over the course of Its Always Sunnys 11 seasons (the 12th premieres tomorrow), Olson has gone on to establish herself as one of TVs most brilliant and underappreciated comic talents. Each week, Dee has disgraced, debased, and degraded herself, committing all manner of offenses (adopting a dumpster baby, digging up a dead body, her attempts at acting) and ingesting all manner of substances (angel dust, crack, MDMA, bath salts, human flesh), while using her long-limbed, Kramer-esque physicality to perform some of the best physical comedy on TV (breaking most of the bones in her body, all the fake-vomiting). In a show about terrible people, Dee was consistently as outrageous as her male co-stars, long before the foul-mouthed female narcissist became a mainstay of TV comedy. [Playing the straight woman] really was the landscape for women in comedy then, across the board, she says. You had Elaine from Seinfeld, who I loved, and is still a big motivator for me, but mostly the women in comedies were the wives or the ones who were like, Honey, youre being crazy! In breaking that mold, Olson helped pave the way for TVs current crop of unruly women, from Girls to Inside Amy Schumer to Fleabag. Since then, Ive seen a lot of really interesting female comedic characters pop up, and its awesome, she adds. Now, after 12 years as Dee Reynolds, Olson is stepping into the shoes of another interesting character: Mickey Murphy, the protagonist of Foxs new sitcom The Mick (which premiered last night, but will air on Tuesdays going forward). Mickey a deadbeat hustler without a care in the world is forced to shape up and take care of her rich sisters three spoiled kids after their parents are arrested for some sort of white-collar crime. While weve seen this sort of fish-out-of-water bad-parent premise a million times before, the show is elevated by Olsons performance (and her willingness to suffer grievous bodily harm) as well as her natural chemistry with the three kids, Thomas Barbusca (13), Jack Stanton (8), and Sofia Black DElia (25, but playing 17). The Mick also veers into much more risque territory than your typical network comedy, which was a must for Olson when she agreed to do the show. Just like in Sunny, sometimes the characters have the opposite beliefs than we do, but thats by design, she said. While Olson acknowledges the similarities between Mickey and Dee, it was essential for her to make the two characters different from one another. Dee, everything that motivates her is out of fear of failure and wanting to be accepted and liked, Olson explains. Mickey is just the opposite. She doesnt care at all what anyone thinks and is perfectly comfortable doing anything she wants at any time. While you probably wouldnt invite either of them to your parents house for dinner, Olson brings a vulnerability to all her performances that makes us relate to them, even at their worst. They can be ridiculous but I dont ever want them to go over into cartoon land, she says. It still has to be a grounded character who believes in the choices shes making. They just happen to be ridiculous choices. Olson never sought a production credit on Its Always Sunny, but she knew that she wanted to have creative control over the next thing she did. (As she puts it, echoing a common refrain of women in Hollywood: If the contents not there, you cant complain about it youve got to create it.) Yet when Sunny veterans Dave Chernin and John Chernin brought her the script for The Mick, she couldnt help falling in love with it. I didnt want to do somebody elses show. So when I loved it I was like: Oh no! But it was just really good and thought I could make it special. So she went back to them with a proposal: She would do the show, but only if she could produce it. I didnt want to work for someone else, I wanted it to be my project. And they said absolutely, thats what they wanted. Above all, it was important for Olson to be able to choose the people she was going to work with. Coming off a show where we just work so well together and the chemistry really works, I really needed to cast actors [who could make] the show what I wanted it to be, she explains. That extended to the crew behind-the-scenes. We have an amazing diverse crew, lots and lots of women, lots of gay women with families, which makes me very proud, lots of female directors, female ADs, she says. Its really important for me, having a female-driven show, to have a bunch of strong driven women around me. With The Mick, Olson stands to gain the mainstream recognition that many of her fans feel she has been denied. I think that as a show, we were underrated, so I kind of felt like I fell into that category, she acknowledges. While her male co-stars have all received attention beyond Sunny, The Mick will be Olsons first real opportunity to introduce herself to a new audience. Yet she also says that keeping a low profile was a conscious choice. I had two boys, 18 months apart, and theyre very competitive for my attention. It was really important for me to be there for the first five years of their lives, she explains. I only shoot Sunny two months of the year, so I was really like a full-time mom. I have just kind of come out of that, and I think thats why I decided it was okay to take this other show. No matter what, a part of her heart will always remain inside Paddys Pub. I love Dee, she says with a laugh. Im pretty sure Im going to be Golden Girls age and still doing the show. Ill still be working in the bar and nothing will have changed at all. Sportsgambler.com - The Ultimate Sports Betting Guide Sportsgambler.com is a leading sports betting information website brought to you by a team of industry professionals. Our mission statement has always been simple. To provide you with all the information you need to place informed bets across a wide range of sports and hopefully make a good return on your investment. The website specialises in free betting tips, predictions, match previews, odds, stats, team news, lineups, injuries, bonus and free bet information. Weve been shortlisted twice for an EGR Operator Award and more recognition is sure to come considering that we provide readers with a first-class service. Sportsgambler.com has the most popular sports and leagues covered irrespective of where you are based. This includes Premier League and Champions League football, Indian Premier League cricket, while we showcase ATP and WTA tennis all year round. We also focus on American sports including NFL, NBA basketball, NHL ice hockey and MLB Baseball. Responsible Gambling is Very Important It nearly goes without saying that Sportsgambler.com is committed to responsible gambling. Several of our team have worked for various bookmakers and understand that sportsbook customers should only bet with money that they can afford to lose. Readers should also know that when the fun stops, they should stop betting. Every online bookie is now obliged to give bettors the chance to set deposit limits when they open an account. Existing customers can also log into their account and set these limits at any stage, with daily, weekly or monthly limits available and we recommend everyone doing so. We believe that online gambling should be a fun and entertaining experience. No bettor is going to win with every bet they place, although by following the advice on this website and using the various information and tools at your disposal, you will give yourself a stronger chance of doing well with your online bets. As youll see from the bottom of our website, we are Gamble Aware and encourage anyone experiencing gambling problems to seek immediate help and ensure that they become self-excluded with any betting site where they hold an account. she has so many iconic hits to choose from Reply Thread Link she has so many iconic hits to choose from that she stole. Reply Parent Thread Link Seriously. For those who don't know: Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I don't know her Reply Thread Link same Reply Parent Thread Link Well, she's lucky it's pre-taped. And it's funny how her 1st and 2nd outfits with the white fur coats are eerily similar to Mariah's NYE first outfit. Although JLo's is more grandiose. Lol i'm surprised there aren't ME vs YOU type of memes about this yet. Edited at 2017-01-03 02:06 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link soon Reply Parent Thread Link And 5th Harmony dresses like them...it's the whole sexy, heels/leotard thing and tbh, I'm tired of it. I think that's why I like Tinashe so much. Reply Parent Thread Link that waiting for tonight and on the floor performance slayed so hard... you should post it. she killed it. Reply Thread Link Edited Reply Parent Thread Link Does she sing live? I can never tell. If she doesn't, it sounds super believable. Reply Thread Link It's a mixture of both Beyonce does the same thing. They just rehearse like crazy and know exactly which parts to sing live to make it believe Reply Parent Thread Link You also have a little bit more leeway when you're known to have intensive choreo Reply Parent Thread Link The second half of the video seems live, with the beginning being lip sync. Reply Parent Thread Link She usually sings along to the track Reply Parent Thread Link I don't think she physically could (neither could anyone when they're dancing like this). Reply Parent Thread Link ouch but true. Reply Parent Thread Link the camera work made it way more fun to watch tbh Reply Parent Thread Link she literally slayed this so hard. mariah carey needs to stop playing the diva when she can't even hold it together for one performance. Reply Thread Link i mean, jlo is also quite the diva but at least she seems to put work into rehearsals Reply Parent Thread Link i also feel like jlo knows no one is checking for her voice lol. so she has to put in more effort in her choreo/performance, b/c that's why we watch her/pay attention to her. it's not her voice... Reply Parent Thread Expand Link i see how it is Reply Thread Link lmao Reply Parent Thread Link When I saw her and Mariah were wearing almost the same thing, I literally LOLed. Reply Thread Link This is how Mariah thought she would look like in that leotard but she looked like badly stuffed sausage Reply Parent Thread Link Poor alcoholic mess pigRiah Reply Thread Link Mariah wasn't singing live either so what's her excuse? Those pre-recorded whistle notes she's been using for the last 15 years Girl Reply Parent Thread Link She looks amazing! She's a fun performer to watch too Reply Thread Link she's so iconic Reply Thread Link I'd like to thank the Quintanilla family for this little gem. Reply Thread Link Thank Gregory Nava, he already had her picked to play Selena. Edited at 2017-01-03 02:43 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link i mean... Reply Parent Thread Link lol ouchhh Reply Parent Thread Link Another tidbit of news on Irans emerging oil and gas bid round this week. With that countrys oil ministry saying yesterday that 29 E&Ps from 12 countries have been pre-qualified to bid, including Shell, Total, Eni, Petronas, Gazprom and Lukoil. One surprise in that list was the omission of BP. With that company reportedly deciding to pull out of the bidding over concerns about Iran sanctions. And in BPs backyard, the North Sea, there was another big petro-development this week. With one of the regions largest natural gas fields facing a sudden closure. Thats the Tyra field, located in the sliver of the North Sea owned by Denmark. Which represents the largest source of natural gas for the Danish market in fact, almost the entirety of national supply. Tyras owner and operator Maersk Oil said over the weekend that aging infrastructure at Tyra is becoming a critical issue. With management having been unable to come up with an economically-viable solution for modernizing the development. Maersk is therefore planning to shutter this mega-field. With the company saying it has begun to notify relevant authorities of the decision to move toward decommissioning and that, starting next month, it will begin channeling financial resources toward the shutdown. Related: 2017 The Year Of The Drone This is a huge development for the Danish energy sector, given that Tyra provides a full 90% of national natgas production. And it could have some important implications for the European energy picture beyond Danish borders. With Denmark being a relatively small gas consumer, the nation also sends pipeline exports to neighbors including Sweden and northern Germany. Sweden particularly has few other suppliers, while Germanys other import points are mainly in the south and west of the country. That could mean a reorganization of gas flows and potentially some local shortages as Tyra winds down. Maersk said it plans to have the field fully shut by October of next year watch for subtle but important shifts in European gas flows over the coming 22 months. Heres to retiring a giant. By Dave Forest More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: In the days leading up to the implementation of the OPEC deal, investors continue to remain bullish on oil prices. Hedge funds and money managers have snapped up bets on higher oil prices at a torrid pace, wagering that crude will rise as OPEC slashes production. The net-long positions are now at their highest level in more than two and a half years, with investors repeatedly breaking new net-long highs in the waning days of December. For the week ending on December 27, investors added more bullish positions, marking the seventh consecutive week of increases, the longest streak since early 2014. "We have a very confident positioning here," Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective told Bloomberg in an interview. "Theres plenty of hope that prices are supported and move higher and very little fear that compliance will be poor and prices will drop." WTI closed out the year above $53 per barrel and Brent ended close to $57. But while the markets are highly optimistic about rising oil prices, they risk overplaying their hand. Net-long bets have built up to such a degree that traders have increased the danger of a snap back in the other direction. Bets on oil futures tend to go in waves, with trading patterns resembling a roller coaster. A bout of good news causes long bets to rise. Once they are overdone or the market gets slapped with some bearish news, investors liquidate long positions and scramble for the exit. Shorts then come out in full force. A run of shorts builds up until that trend also looks like it has gone too far, with the emergence of market tightness or some geopolitical risk ending the bear run. Related: U.S. Exports Record Level Of Refined Products In other words, net-long bets could be on the crest of a wave, with the risk of a return to a more net-short market structure rising by the day. And each weekly build up in net-long positions only increases those odds. All that is needed is a spark, such as news that U.S. shale production is surging faster than expected or that OPEC is not complying with the November deal as closely as promised. That puts the month of February in the spotlight, as that will be when the first bits of production data are published from OPEC. The data wont paint a full picture, however, as OPEC members are only required to cut their six-month average down to the targeted levels. They are not required to cut to the full extent immediately this month. As such, the data may not reflect sharp decreases in output. That should not be taken as a sign of cheating, since they can cut deeper in subsequent months and still adhere to the deal. Nevertheless, headline figures about OPEC production exceeding the promised levels could spark a downturn in prices. Media hype and market psychology are always at play. For now though, investors remain optimistic about a bullish 2017, and not just for oil, but for a wide cross section of commodities. You began to see stimulus spending in China, along with monetary policy designed to bolster demand and growth. And also, you began to see pickup in economic activity in the U.S., suggesting that commodity prices would be bottoming and gaining, Quincy Krosby, a market strategist with Prudential Financial Inc., told Bloomberg. Krosby says that commodities are now a very attractive asset class. That is a remarkable turnaround from the past several years, which saw falling prices for most commodities, including coal, copper, nickel, and of course, oil and gas. The decade-long commodity super-cycle, fueled by explosive growth in China and loose monetary policy from the Federal Reserve, ended more or less in 2011, leading to several years of oversupply and weak prices. Oil defied that downturn, with prices remaining at high levels. That is, until 2014. Since then there have been few bright spots anywhere in the commodity space. Related: Oil Ends 2016 On A Bullish Note The year did close out in positive territory for commodities, however, raising speculation that commodity prices are once again on the upswing. The Bloomberg Commodity Index, which tracks prices for 22 different commodities, gained 11 percent in 2016. Oil posted the largest prices gains in seven years, rising 52 percent, although, that figure is not as impressive as it seems at first glance, given that the baseline used to calculate such a number was the sub-$30 oil hit early on in the year. Nevertheless, investors are more optimistic than they have been in years that prices will continue to rise. "What a difference a year makes," Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group, said in an interview with Bloomberg. The market is now "probably the most optimistic we are looking going into a new year in energy in many, many years," he added. But being too optimistic on oil, which has been notoriously fickle, could carry risk. Speculative bets could unwind just as fast as they accumulated. By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Shakira performed for Pope Francis at the UN today (Friday), Shakira - Imagine (Live at the UN's General Assembly 2015) : The text a... Intel Network Graph (Image by George Eliason) Details DMCA In the wake of the JAR-16-20296 dated December 29, 2016, about hacking and influencing the 2016 election, the need for real evidence is clear. The joint report adds nothing substantial to the October 7th report. It relies on proofs provided by the cyber-security firm Crowdstrike that is clearly not on par with intelligence findings or evidence. At the top of the report is an "as is" statement showing this. The difference between Dmitri Alperovitch's claims, which are reflected in JAR-1620296, and this article is that enough evidence is provided to warrant an investigation of specific parties for the DNC hacks. The real story involves specific anti-American actors that need to be investigated for real crimes. For instance, the malware used was an out-dated version just waiting to be found. It makes it easier when it's an old known version. Another interesting point is that the Russian malware called Grizzly Steppe is from Ukraine . How did Crowdstrike miss this when it's their business to know Later in this article, you'll meet and know a little more about the real "Fancy Bear and Cozy Bear." The bar for identification set by has never been able to get beyond words like probably, may be, could be, or should be in their attribution. The article is lengthy because the facts need to be in one place. The bar Dimitri Alperovitch set for identifying the hackers involved is that low. Other than asking America to trust them, how many solid facts has Alperovitch provided to back his claim of Russian involvement? The December 29th JAR adds a flowchart that shows how a basic phishing hack is performed. It doesn't add anything substantial beyond that. Noticeably, they use both their designation APT 28 and APT 29 as well as the CrowdStrike labels of Fancy Bear and Cozy Bear separately. This is important because information from outside intelligence agencies has the value of rumor or unsubstantiated information at best according to policy. Usable intelligence needs to be free from partisan politics and verifiable. Intel agencies noted back in the early '90s that every private actor in the information game was radically political. The Hill.com article about Russia hacking the electric grid is a perfect example of why this intelligence is political and not taken seriously. If any proof of Russian involvement existed, the US would be at war. Under current laws of war, there would be no difference between an attack on the power grid or a missile strike. According to the Hill, "Private security firms provided more detailed forensic analysis, which the FBI and DHS said Thursday correlated with the IC's findings. "The Joint Analysis Report recognizes the excellent work undertaken by security companies and private-sector network owners and operators, and provides new indicators of compromise and malicious infrastructure identified during the course of investigations and incident response," read a statement. The report identifies two Russian intelligence groups already named by CrowdStrike and other private security firms. In an interview with Washington's blog, William Binney, the creator of the NSA global surveillance system, said, "I expected to see the IPs or other signatures of APT's 28/29 [the entities which the U.S. claims hacked the Democratic emails] and where they were located and how/when the data got transferred to them from DNC/HRC [i.e., Hillary Rodham Clinton]/etc. They seem to have been following APT 28/29 since at least 2015, so, where are they?" According to the latest Washington Post story, CrowdStrike's CTO tied a group his company dubbed "Fancy Bear" to targeting Ukrainian artillery positions in Debaltsevo as well as across the Ukrainian civil war front for the past 2 years. Alperovitch states in many articles the Ukrainians were using an Android app to target the self-proclaimed Republics' positions and that hacking this app was what gave targeting data to the armies in Donbass instead. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Articles Listed By Date List By Popularity Search Title Date Between Any 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 Any 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 and Any 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 Any 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 (1 comments) SHARE On "Fake News here are the reasons I find the term "fake news" to be counterproductive, even aside from the way Washington Post magnified it with the PropOrNot campaign amidst a series of badly reported articles on Russia that failed WaPo's own standards of "fake news." Most people who use the term "fake news" seem to be fetishizing something they call "news." By that, they usually mean the pursuit of "the truth"... Monday, January 16, 2017here are the reasons I find the term "fake news" to be counterproductive, even aside from the way Washington Post magnified it with the PropOrNot campaign amidst a series of badly reported articles on Russia that failed WaPo's own standards of "fake news." Most people who use the term "fake news" seem to be fetishizing something they call "news." By that, they usually mean the pursuit of "the truth"... (5 comments) SHARE Is Trump's Revelation The Same As Craig Murray's Revelation: An American Cut-Out? Craig Murray, in his description of his own role in getting the Podesta files to Wikileaks, at least, revealed a detail that needs greater attention. He believes he received something (perhaps the documents themselves, perhaps something else) from a person with ties to US national security. Monday, January 2, 2017Craig Murray, in his description of his own role in getting the Podesta files to Wikileaks, at least, revealed a detail that needs greater attention. He believes he received something (perhaps the documents themselves, perhaps something else) from a person with ties to US national security. SHARE DOD's Inspector General Investigating Administration Propaganda Again In the last few weeks, there have been reports that senior intelligence officials were skewing the intelligence on how (un)successful the military campaign against ISIS has been. "Officials at US Central Command -- the military headquarters overseeing the American bombing campaign and other efforts against the Islamic State -- were improperly reworking the conclusions of intelligence assessments prepared for policy makers... Wednesday, September 2, 2015In the last few weeks, there have been reports that senior intelligence officials were skewing the intelligence on how (un)successful the military campaign against ISIS has been. "Officials at US Central Command -- the military headquarters overseeing the American bombing campaign and other efforts against the Islamic State -- were improperly reworking the conclusions of intelligence assessments prepared for policy makers... (1 comments) SHARE Is the Intelligence Community Inspector General Trying to Give Contractors Whistleblower Protections? ast week, McClatchy's Marisa Taylor reported on two cases showing the new appeals process for whistleblower retaliation claims ordered by President Obama is now operational; in the cases of Army whistleblower Michael Helms and CIA whistleblower John Reidy, the Intelligence Community Inspector General, Charles McCullough, has bounced the appeals back to the agencies in question for re-review. Wednesday, August 5, 2015ast week, McClatchy's Marisa Taylor reported on two cases showing the new appeals process for whistleblower retaliation claims ordered by President Obama is now operational; in the cases of Army whistleblower Michael Helms and CIA whistleblower John Reidy, the Intelligence Community Inspector General, Charles McCullough, has bounced the appeals back to the agencies in question for re-review. SHARE The Sixth Circuit Upholds Journalist's Right to Invoke the Fifth Amendment An appellate decision on the long-running dispute between a former prosecutor and the Department of Justice may provide a new way for journalists to protect their government sources. Monday, August 3, 2015An appellate decision on the long-running dispute between a former prosecutor and the Department of Justice may provide a new way for journalists to protect their government sources. SHARE Roll Call Embarrasses Congress into Considering Whistleblower Protections for Its Staff When Congress passes good governance laws -- most notably FOIA -- they tend to exempt themselves. They've done the same with a series of Whistleblower Protection laws. While they've amended the Whistleblower Protection Act and added protections to employees in the private finance industry, they have not offered the same protections to their employees. Sunday, August 2, 2015When Congress passes good governance laws -- most notably FOIA -- they tend to exempt themselves. They've done the same with a series of Whistleblower Protection laws. While they've amended the Whistleblower Protection Act and added protections to employees in the private finance industry, they have not offered the same protections to their employees. SHARE In Political Press, Hillary Clinton Gets Subjected to the Thomas Drake and Jeffrey Sterling Standard The clearest article yet on new the NY Times broke about possible legality issues regarding release of Hillary Clinton's emails Friday, July 24, 2015The clearest article yet on new the NY Times broke about possible legality issues regarding release of Hillary Clinton's emails SHARE The Section 215 Rap Sheet Marco Rubio, who is running for President as an authoritarian, claims that "There is not a single documented case of abuse of this program." He's not alone. One after another defender of the dragnet make such claims. Here's what we actually know about the abuses, illegality, and unconstitutionality of Section 215, both the phone dragnet program and Section 215 more generally. Monday, May 25, 2015Marco Rubio, who is running for President as an authoritarian, claims that "There is not a single documented case of abuse of this program." He's not alone. One after another defender of the dragnet make such claims. Here's what we actually know about the abuses, illegality, and unconstitutionality of Section 215, both the phone dragnet program and Section 215 more generally. (2 comments) SHARE To Send a Message, Judge Sentences David Petraeus to 75% of One Speaking Fee Former CIA Director David Petraeus just got sentenced to two years of probation for leaking highly sensitive information to his mistress and then lying to the FBI about it. Friday, April 24, 2015Former CIA Director David Petraeus just got sentenced to two years of probation for leaking highly sensitive information to his mistress and then lying to the FBI about it. (1 comments) SHARE DOJ Claims Grossly Disparate Treatment Will "Promote Respect for the Law" The same DOJ that recommends Petraeus should go virtually unpunished for sharing far more sensitive information with Paula Broadwell says that Sterling should go to prison for decades to set an example. Tuesday, April 21, 2015The same DOJ that recommends Petraeus should go virtually unpunished for sharing far more sensitive information with Paula Broadwell says that Sterling should go to prison for decades to set an example. (2 comments) SHARE Official Leaks: "These Senior People Do Whatever They Want" Leaks become far less serious, it seems, when they're pushed by top officials. Monday, April 20, 2015Leaks become far less serious, it seems, when they're pushed by top officials. (6 comments) SHARE David Petraeus Gets Hand-Slap for Leaking, Two Point Enhancement for Obstruction of Justice As a supine Congress sitting inside a scaffolded dome applauded Benjamin Netanyahu calling to reject a peace deal with Iran, DOJ quietly announced it had reached a plea deal with former CIA Director David Petraeus for leaking Top Secret/Secure Compartmented Information materials to his mistress, Paula Broadwell. Tuesday, March 3, 2015As a supine Congress sitting inside a scaffolded dome applauded Benjamin Netanyahu calling to reject a peace deal with Iran, DOJ quietly announced it had reached a plea deal with former CIA Director David Petraeus for leaking Top Secret/Secure Compartmented Information materials to his mistress, Paula Broadwell. SHARE Introducing Mrs. Merlin: To Prosecute Jeffrey Sterling, CIA Exposed an Asset The govt engaged in a great deal of security theater during the Jeffrey Sterling trial, most notably by having some CIA witnesses -- including ones whose identities weren't, technically, secret -- testify behind a big office divider so the general public couldn't see the witness. But along the way, the govt revealed a great number of secrets, including a number of secrets about how its counterproliferation programs work. Sunday, January 25, 2015The govt engaged in a great deal of security theater during the Jeffrey Sterling trial, most notably by having some CIA witnesses -- including ones whose identities weren't, technically, secret -- testify behind a big office divider so the general public couldn't see the witness. But along the way, the govt revealed a great number of secrets, including a number of secrets about how its counterproliferation programs work. (1 comments) SHARE The Sterling Closing Arguments: Who Is the Hero, Who Is the Storyteller? closing argument narrative changes the story on who Jeffrey Sterling is, was Friday, January 23, 2015closing argument narrative changes the story on who Jeffrey Sterling is, was SHARE CIA's Small World at the Jeffrey Sterling Trial: Racial Profiling and Leaked Identities While the jury will likely neither note nor learn of them, there were details from last week's testimony in the Jeffrey Sterling trial that resonated with two other notable cases involving the CIA: the New York Police Department's spying on Muslims and the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson's identity. Tuesday, January 20, 2015While the jury will likely neither note nor learn of them, there were details from last week's testimony in the Jeffrey Sterling trial that resonated with two other notable cases involving the CIA: the New York Police Department's spying on Muslims and the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson's identity. (1 comments) SHARE The Government's Single-Source Theory of Investigative Journalism By proceeding as if journalists reported stories relying on a single source, the government facilitates witch hunts against single individuals, all while dismissing other possible sources and presenting the illusion that the trade in secrets is not widespread in government. Thursday, December 4, 2014By proceeding as if journalists reported stories relying on a single source, the government facilitates witch hunts against single individuals, all while dismissing other possible sources and presenting the illusion that the trade in secrets is not widespread in government. (1 comments) SHARE President Who Had Yemeni Journalist Jailed Criticizes Impunity for Mistreatment of Journalists Today, November 2, 2014, is the first annual International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists. ... as Jeremy Scahill reported several years ago, President Obama personally intervened to ensure that Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye would remain in prison after having been tortured and subjected to a trumped up trial. Sunday, November 2, 2014Today, November 2, 2014, is the first annual International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists. ... as Jeremy Scahill reported several years ago, President Obama personally intervened to ensure that Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye would remain in prison after having been tortured and subjected to a trumped up trial. (1 comments) SHARE A Tale of Two Alleged Iran Nuke Leakers James Risen and Jeffrey Sterling remain in limbo, one a reporter, the other a whistleblower-- both, apparently enemies of Obama, already known for prosecuting more whistleblowers than all past presidents combined, now, called by NY Times reporter James Risen "the greatest enemy to press freedom in a generation." Tuesday, August 19, 2014James Risen and Jeffrey Sterling remain in limbo, one a reporter, the other a whistleblower-- both, apparently enemies of Obama, already known for prosecuting more whistleblowers than all past presidents combined, now, called by NY Times reporter James Risen "the greatest enemy to press freedom in a generation." Indigenous digital payments app BHIM has been downloaded 3 million times and enabled over 5 lakh transactions since its launch, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said today. "Bhim App - 3 million download since launch, No 1 on Playstore in India amongst all apps, over 500,000 transactions since launch. #MakeinIndia," Kant said in a tweet. In a bid to further push adoption of e-payments in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 30 launched the BHIM app that will enable fast and secure cashless transactions using mobile phones. Named after the architect of the Indian Constitution, Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar, the Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) is a simplified payment platform designed to make Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and USSD payment modes simpler and usable across feature phones and smart phones. Developed by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), BHIM is supported by host of banks, including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Punjab National Bank, among others. The app, which can be downloaded from Google Playstore, is currently available in Hindi and English, and support for more languages is expected soon. BHIM is inter-operable with other Unified Payment Interface (UPI) applications and bank accounts. Apps to find working ATMs around you: Safoora Goth bus carnage convicts challenge their death sentence KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday issued notices to the defence and interior secretaries on the appeals of five convicts challenging their death sentence handed down in the Safoora Goth bus carnage and murder of prominent social activist, Sabeen Mahmud. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had announced in May the confirmation of the death sentences of five hardcore terrorists Tahir Minhas, Saad Aziz, Asadur Rehman, Mohammad Azhar Ishrat and Hafiz Nasir Ahmed by the military courts in a number of cases of terrorism, including the Safoora Goth carnage and Ms Mahmuds murder. The five convicts, through their counsel, filed as many identical appeals and submitted that they were tried by the military court, set-up at the Malir cantonment, adding that they were kept in the Karachi central prison, where they were provided with the appeal format to file the same before the registrar, court of appeals, Judge Advocate-General of the General Headquarters of Army. They further said that in August they were informed that their appeals had been turned down on July 25, 2016, and capital punishment upheld. Then, they moved the Lahore High Court against the conviction, but their appeals were rejected for not being maintainable since the offence was committed and trial was conducted within the jurisdictions of SHC. The lawyer for appellants argued that the conviction order passed by the military court was not maintainable in the eyes of the law as they were tried under the Protection of Pakistan Act, 2014, which now stood expired, and the petitioners did not belong to any terrorist organisation, terrorist group using the name of religion, sect or raised arms, waged war against Pakistan as decided by the joint investigation team. He contended that the appellants were illegally tried and that too in the absence of counsel in violation of Article 10 of the Constitution, as they were also kept in communicado during their trial and investigation. The counsel claimed that the appellants right to fair trial under Article 10-A has also been violated since the apex court had also held in a case that an accused cannot be denied meeting with family under Note-7 appended to Section 73 of the Pakistan Army Act. He maintained that the Supreme Court had also remanded back the petitions of many convicts who had challenged their conviction and sentences by the military courts, to the high courts concerned on the same questions. Therefore, he pleaded to the court to call for the record and proceedings of the military court trial for its perusal and set aside the conviction. A two-judge appellant bench of SHC headed by Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput put the defence and interior secretaries, as well as federal and provincial law officers on notice with directions to file their comments till Jan 16. The prosecution said that 47 people of Shia Ismaili community, including 18 women, were killed in an armed attack on their bus near Safoora Goth in May 2015. Sabeen Mahmud, social media campaigner and human rights activist who founded the social forum T2F, was gunned down in April 2015 in Defence Housing Authority when returning home with her mother after organising a seminar on Balochistan. Police in the investigation report had contended that all the accused of Safoora Goth carnage remained associated with Al Qaeda and following its split, they became part of the self-styled Islamic State group. Besides convicting five accused, the military court had acquitted three others former Fishermen Cooperative Society vice-chairman Sultan Qamar Siddiqui, his brother Hussain Qamar Siddiqui and Sajid Naeem from the charges of allegedly facilitating the main accused. If You Enjoy My Articles, Please Consider Supporting My Writing By Giving A Donation Of Any Amount. Thank you! The mathematical (and other) thoughts of a (now retired) math teacher, Abdulai Naaba, younger brother of Collins Dauda outgoing Minister of Local Government and Rural Development has fled Ghana into neighbouring Burkina Faso. Controversial man of God and Founder of the International Godsway Church Bishop Daniel Obinim who revealed this to his congregation on the 31st December watch night service, disclosed that the wife of the runaway Naaba is also a member of his church. He failed to state exactly when Naaba left Ghana but said he has been weeping ever since he left the shores of the country for fear that the incoming government may hunt him down for comments he purportedly made. Bishop Obinim also revealed that the wife of Naaba is heavily pregnant for which reason he is appealing to the president-elect Nana Akufo-Addo and his vice to forgive Abdulai Naaba who is alleged to have made comments that he has killed people and he can kill again He is my church member, the wife who is pregnant is currently at this programme, please am on knees, he was just bragging, he cannot even hurt a fly. Forgive him, please forgive him he pleaded in a very sober voice. It would be recalled that Abdulai Naaba on an Accra-based radio station, mentioned that they will beat Kennedy mercilessly should he step foot in Asutifi South describing Kennedy as a mad man who only rants unnecessarily. Who is Kennedy Agyapong to threaten me with death, we have been killing before he was born. I have killed human beings and I will finish anybody with bad intentions before his time he concluded. Source: ultimatefmonline.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 images of UKIDSS-J185318.36+012454.5 in different wavelengths: Ks band from Varricatt et al (2010) (left top), Ks band from DR6 UKIDSS GPS (right top), [3.6] m band from GLIMPSE I survey (left bottom) and [5.8] m band from GLIMPSE I survey (right bottom). The position of IRAS 18507+0121 source from IRAS PSC and IRAS PSC/FSC Combined Catalogue (Abrahamyan et al., 2015) marked by black and white crosses respectively. On DR6 UKIDSS GPS Ks image are marked three stellar sources (#43, 49 and 54, Shepherd et al., 2004). Credit: Nikoghosyan et al., 2016. (Phys.org)Astronomers from the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory in Armenia have discovered a strong outburst of the embedded young stellar object (YSO) designated UKIDSS-J185318.36+012454.5. This newly detected event could provide important insights for the understanding of eruptive variability of young stars. The researchers presented their discovery in a paper published Dec. 30 on the arXiv preprint server. UKIDSS-J185318.36+012454.5 is located in the vicinity of the IRAS 18507+0121 source and probably belongs to the massive star-forming region associated with GAL 034.4+00.23 HII region. The object is at least 5,000 light years away from the Earth and its neighborhood contains massive protostars with an age of about 100,000 years, as well as a low-mass stellar population approximately 1 million years old. The stellar object was classified as an intermediate mass YSO less than 100,000 years old. Recently, a team of researchers led by Elena Nikoghosyan has combed through the data and images provided by the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) in Hawaii to search for evidence of outbursts in star-forming regions. They used the archival infrared and submillimeter data from UKIRT Galactic Plane Survey (UKIDSS GPS) and found that an outburst occurred in UKIDSS-J185318.36+012454.5 in the period of 2004-2006. "UKIRT Galactic Plane Survey is a deep survey with good space resolution. Therefore, it provides very useful information for researchers who study star forming regions. In particular, for detection of UKIDSS-J185318.36+012454.5 outburst, UKIRT Galactic Plane Survey was the basic source of information," Nikoghosyan told Phys.org. According to the paper, the amplitude of brightness of the detected outburst is at least five mag. The object remained at this level of brightness until 2014. The results of the research allowed the scientists to re-classify UKIDSS-J185318.36+012454.5 as an eruptive variable with mixed characteristics, namely a MNor-type object, and Nikoghosyan emphasized the significance of the study. "Eruptions of pre-main sequence stellar objects are rare events, thus a new outburst is always noteworthy. And I think that the discovery of a new eruptive variable UKIDSS-J185318.36+012454.5 with a so strong outburst (delta K > 5 mag) was a big success," she said. The authors of the paper also sought the most plausible explanation for eruptive variability of young stars. They noted that several physical mechanisms, such as rotation, cool or hot spots, accretion-driven wind and outflow can explain the near-infrared variability, but these mechanisms often produce short-term variability with amplitude that is not expected to exceed one mag in the K band. "In our opinion, all of the proposed explanations of this phenomena to date (eruptive variability of young stars) do not explain it completely, most likely due to lack of information. With respect to this object, we can only assume that this outburst corresponds to the transition between two evolution stages: Class 0 (no optical and near-infrared emission) and Class I (generally optically obscured). But this is only an assumption," Nikoghosyan concluded. The researchers now plan further observations of UKIDSS-J185318.36+012454.5. However, these studies could only be conducted in collaboration with scientists from other countries due to the fact that in Armenia, there is no opportunity to observe this object in the infrared range. More information: New eruptive variable in the massive star-forming region associated with IRAS 18507+0121 source, arXiv:1612.09190 [astro-ph.SR] arxiv.org/abs/1612.09190 Abstract Aims. We report the discovery of a strong outburst of the embedded young stellar object (YSO), namely UKIDSS-J185318.36+012454.5, located in the star-forming region associated with IRAS 18507+0121 source and GAL 034.4+00.23 HII region. Methods. Using the archival photometric data and images we determined the amplitude and the epoch of the outburst, as well as the evolution stage and the basic parameters of the object. Results. According to the near and mid-infrared colors and spectral energy distribution, we classify the object as an intermediate-mass young stellar object (YSO) with Class 0/I evolution stage. The outburst occurred in the period of 2004-2006. The amplitude of brightness is as least Ks = 5.0 mag. The summation of the photometric and spectral data does not allow to classify UKIDSS-J185318.36+012454.5 as FUor or EXor. We can consider it as an eruptive variable with mixed characteristics or MNor type object. 2017 Phys.org Diners waste far less food when they're schooled on the harm their leftovers can inflict on the environment. But if they know the food is going to be composted instead of dumped in a landfill, the educational benefit disappears. When composting enters the picture, educated diners waste just as much as those who haven't learned about shrinking landfill space, dangerous greenhouse gas emissions and water and soil pollution, a new study found. This presents a tricky situation for policymakers figuring out how to manage food waste, because the top tactics are prevention (through education) and diversion (through composting), said lead researcher Danyi Qi, a graduate student in agricultural economics at The Ohio State University. "When you do both, they cancel each other out - they work at cross purposes," said Qi, who is presenting the findings this week at the annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations in Chicago. The discovery could help shape decisions by government, businesses and others looking to chip away at the vast amount of food that lands in trashcans instead of on the tables of those in need, said Qi and co-author Brian Roe, a professor of agricultural, environmental and developmental economics and a member of Ohio State's Food Waste Collaborative, which is exploring ways to reduce waste and create a more sustainable food system. Qi and Roe recruited 266 students, staff, faculty and Columbus residents to participate in the study, which took place over two months in the summer of 2016. The participants were monitored during a meal provided by the researchers. The diners didn't know what the study was about, specifically, just that the research team was examining eating behavior. Participants were given information cards with either education on food waste harms or on financial literacy. About half of both of those groups were told that leftovers would be composted, and that it would reduce methane emissions and provide nourishment for plants. The other half were told that their uneaten food was destined for a landfill. The participants could take as much food as they wanted, in a single trip. They chose from sandwiches, chips and apple slices. Neither sharing nor doggy bags were permitted. The researchers weighed the diners' trays after the meal to determine how much food the study subjects left behind. Education in the absence of composting had a marked effect. The diners who'd read about the harm related to waste left behind almost 77 percent less as a group than those who'd received the financial literacy material. The educated diners were 39 percent more likely to clean their plates. But the benefits of food-waste awareness vanished when the study participants knew their uneaten food was going to a "good" place. "We were very curious if these common policies work in harmony or in conflict," Qi said. "It seems that if they feel that the social and environmental cost is lower, they may feel less guilty and that may cause them to waste more." The trouble is that composting comes at a financial and societal cost and policymakers are striving to find ways to limit waste regardless of where it will end up, Qi said. Roe said this work is likely to be most useful to food service institutions seeking ways to address waste. "There are many new and innovative approaches being proposed to reduce food waste and to minimize its environmental impact. However, there exists little thought about whether various approaches are complementary or competitive," he said. "This study is one of the few to consider how various approaches might interact." For individuals looking to be good environmental stewards, the study highlights the importance of first attempting to limit waste. Composting or donating unused food is great, but buying and preparing only what you'll eat is better, Roe said. "And if someone else says they will do something positive with food scraps, it shouldn't diminish your own good intentions and efforts to reduce food waste," he said. Credit: University of Leeds Holidaymakers concerned about fresh volcanic eruptions causing flight-disrupting ash clouds might be reassured by a study setting out the first reliable estimates of their frequency. While the University of Leeds-led research suggests that ash clouds are more common over northern Europe than previously thought, it puts the average gap between them at about 44 years. It also reveals that these types of ash clouds have about a 20 per cent chance of occurring in northern Europe in any one decade. Lead author Dr Liz Watson, from the School of Geography at Leeds, said: "Reliable estimates of the frequency of volcanic ash events could help airlines, insurance companies and the travelling public mitigate the economic losses and disruption caused by ash clouds in the future." The work began soon after 2010's explosive eruption of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull, which caused more than 10 million air passengers to be stranded and cost the European economy an estimated 4 billion. A team of researchers, which included academics from the universities of St Andrews and South Florida, compared records of volcanic ash fallout (also known as tephra) during the last 1,000 years. Focusing on northern Europe which is downwind of Iceland, one of the world's most active volcanic regions, they examined samples taken from peatlands and lake beds in mainland northern Europe, Great Britain, Ireland and the Faroe Islands, alongside previously existing samples taken from other sites across northern Europe. The samples cores up to seven metres long were taken from peat and lake sediment where geological records are particularly well preserved. Using electron microscopy and chemical analysis, the team identified tiny shards of preserved volcanic ash, called cryptotephra - about the width of a human hair - which enabled them to pinpoint at what point volcanic ash clouds had spread across the continent. For many of the occurrences, the researchers were also able to match sample data to historical records or to existing geological data which charted specific eruptions. The work found evidence of 84 ash clouds during the last 7,000 years, most of which could be traced to eruptions from Icelandic volcanoes. More incidences of volcanic ash are recorded over the past 1,000 years, because evidence is better preserved and historical records are more complete, leading the team to estimate an average recurrence of 44 years. Co-author Dr Graeme Swindles is Associate Professor of Earth System Dynamics in the School of Earth and Environment at Leeds. He said: "In 2010, when Eyjafjallajokull erupted, people were really shocked it seemed to come completely out of the blue, but the eruption of Grimsvotn, the following year, was an extraordinary coincidence. "Although it is possible that ash clouds can occur on an annual basis, the average return interval for the last 1,000 years is around 44 years. "The last time volcanic ash clouds affected northern Europe before the recent event was in 1947, 69 years ago but aviation was much less intense at that time and it simply didn't have the same sort of impact. "Our research shows that, over thousands of years, these sorts of incidents are not that rare but people wondering how likely it is that the 2010 chaos will be repeated in the next few years can feel somewhat reassured." The researchers also looked at the intensity of the eruptions responsible for producing volcanic ash clouds. They found that volcanic activity likely to produce ashfall in northern Europe would typically measure four or above on the internationally-recognised Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI). "Eruptions can't always be indexed rapidly," explained co-author Dr Ivan Savov, also of Leeds' School of Earth and Environment. "But in cases where that calculation can be made early on, it will give a good indication of the likelihood of volcanic ash causing a major problem. "The 2010 eruption cost billions in terms of lost revenues and there was an effect on the global economy, so the work we've been able to do to quantify the risk will be of interest to insurance companies trying to make sense of the potential for future air traffic disruptions." More information: E.J. Watson et al. Estimating the frequency of volcanic ash clouds over northern Europe, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2016.11.054 Journal information: Earth and Planetary Science Letters Credit: NASA It has long been suspected that humans and the urban areas we create are having an importantand surprisingly current and ongoingeffect on evolution, which may have significant implications for the sustainability of global ecosystems. A new multi-institution study led by the University of Washington that examines 1,600 global instances of phenotypic changealterations to species' observable traits such as size, development or behaviorshows more clearly than ever that urbanization is affecting the genetic makeup of species that are crucial to ecosystem health and success. Their paper was published Jan. 2 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Lead author is Marina Alberti, professor of urban design and planning and director of the Urban Ecology Research Lab in the UW College of Built Environments. "We found a clear urban signal of phenotypic changeand greater phenotypic change in urbanizing systems compared to natural and non-urban anthropogenic, or human-created systems," Alberti said. She said the findings open new opportunities for advancing our understanding of the role of humans in Earth's evolution: "By explicitly linking urban development to heritable traits that affect ecosystem function, we can begin to map the implications of human-induced trait changes for ecological and human well-being." Rapid urbanization, the researchers write, poses new challenges for species, some of which will adapt or relocate while others go extinct. With this study, they sought to learn whether signs of human-caused change could be detected across species in urban ecosystems worldwide, and to what extent humans and our cities and societies might be speeding up these changes. They analyzed 1,600 observations of phenotypic change across multiple regions and ecosystems worldwide, in a geo-referenced database, looking to discriminate between such human-caused signals and natural baselines and "non-urban drivers." They also assessed the relative impact of several human-caused "urban disturbances," including the acidification and pollution of lake habitats, the relocation of animals, heat and effluent associated with a power plant, long-term harvesting of certain medicinal plantseven the apparent effects of global warming on the reproductive patterns of birds. They propose that "urban-driven contemporary evolution" will affect sustainability from the level of the urban ecosystem to the planetary scale. "The significance of these changes is that they affect the functioning of ecosystems," Alberti said. "They may inhibit the ability of seeds to disperse, cause exposure to infectious diseases, or even change the migratory patterns of some species." Some examples of this include: human-caused global warming is prompting the seasonal onset of reproduction to occur earlier in 65 species of migratory birds in Western Europe the use of galvanized (zinc-coated) transmission towers creates "novel habitats" characterized by high zinc tolerance in multiple plant species the size of brown trout is being affected by fish ladders, which subsequently affects predators and prey Alberti's UW co-authors are John Marzluff, professor of environmental and forest sciences, and Victoria Hunt of the Department of Urban Design and Planning. Marzluff said, "Our findings of rapid and substantial adjustment by many plants and animals to the challenges of living in an increasingly urban world demonstrate the power of natural selection where we live, work, worship and play." But he added that the research also offers hope to those interested in conserving biological diversity: "Certainly many species have been, and will continue to be, extinguished by human action, but we reveal how others are evolving the necessary strategies and physical characteristics to coexist with humanity." The research, Alberti concluded, calls for a new collaboration among evolutionary biologists, conservation biologists and urban scientists to better understand how humans may affect evolutionary processes and to inform conservation strategies to steer such changes toward a desirable future. Other co-authors are Cristian Correa of the Universidad Austral de Chile; Andrew Hendry of McGill University; Eric Palkovacs and Travis Apgar of the University of California, Santa Cruz; Kiyoko Gotanda of the University of Cambridge; and Yuyu Zhou of Iowa State University. The research was funded by the MacArthur Foundation as well as the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research and National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development, in Chile. Members of this research team published a review paper in an issue of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B on the theme of human influences on evolution. The summary to that series recalls Charles Darwin's century-old comment on evolution that "we see nothing of these slow changes in progress, until the hand of time has marked the long lapse of ages." The authors of the series added: "Now, however, we have a completely different view. Rapid evolution is occurring all around us all the time. Many of the most extreme examples of rapid evolution are associated with human influences, leading to the oft-repeated assertion that humans are 'the world's greatest evolutionary force.'" It reads like a Hollywood movie. Elite hackers, allegedly sponsored by the Russian government, infiltrate the computer systems of the Democratic National Committee. Thousands of emails are stolen and published by WikiLeaks. And then, suspected Russian hackers attack the voter registration systems of more than 20 American states. Up to 200,000 voter records are stolen from one system. These seemingly far-fetched cyberattacks actually happened in the lead-up to the US presidential election. The country's intelligence community believes these attacks were "intended to interfere with the US election process", or perhaps even to influence the election outcome. While there is as-yet no evidence of cyberattacks during the election itself, several states used insecure electronic election systems. This has resulted in many voters losing trust in the electoral process and petitions for recounts. But would recounts be sufficient to rebuild trust? And what can Australia learn about maintaining trust in the electoral process as technology becomes widespread? Recounts in the US Green Party candidate Jill Stein and election security experts called for full manual recounts of the original paper ballots for the presidential election in the states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Doing it manually would have eliminated the potential for compromised or defective systems to affect the recount. However, legal action stopped the recounts from going ahead in Pennsylvania and Michigan. And Donald Trump's margin of victory increased in Wisconsin following the recount there. Each county in Wisconsin decided separately on which recount method it used. This depended on whether voting was by voting machines with audit printouts or by paper with automated scanning and counting. Voting machines in Wisconsin produced paper audit trails as voters voted. For these systems the paper audit trail is manually counted. In optical scan voting, voters filled out their votes on optical scan paper ballots, which were then automatically scanned and computer-counted. To recount those, a county must choose to either switch to manually counting the paper ballots, or repeat the automated scan and computer count process. Simply repeating the automated scan and count process has fundamental problems; fraud and error in the initial count might simply be repeated in the recount. A compromised scanner could make the same fraudulent changes to the tally. A defective scanner could experience the same software or hardware errors say, by systematically misinterpreting particular ballots. A reliable recount in Pennsylvania would have been even more difficult. Its voting machines don't print audit trails, and so there is no way to recount or audit the votes cast using them. Stein's legal action called for the Pennsylvania recount attempt to include a forensic audit to examine voting machines for evidence of tampering. But such an audit could still fail to detect many attacks that hide their tracks. Consequently, had they been allowed to do a recount, electoral officials would have faced considerable difficulty in providing strong public reassurance that fraud and error can be detected and rectified. Lessons for Australia Elections worldwide are becoming increasingly dependent on technology. But, typically, the electronic systems adopted suffer from weak transparency and scrutiny even when the outcome is challenged. This is creating serious risks that citizen trust in electoral processes will be damaged. Australia also faces these risks. The Senate vote capture system used in the 2016 federal election shares many of the same vulnerabilities as the optical scan voting systems used in US elections. These risks could be more serious in Australia, because manual recounts would likely be insurmountably costly and slow for complex Senate elections. Electronic data capture and counting are necessary to carry out large-scale preferential counting in Australia. So, although Australian handwritten ballots provide a paper trail, there is no practical manual fallback alternative for counting them. Despite these risks, technology also offers the potential to increase accuracy and so actually improve trust. In elections that use simpler preferential counting methods than the Senate and are much smaller in scale, manual counting has traditionally been found to be error-prone. For example, the recent manual count for the byelection in the NSW seat of Orange (a total of about 50,000 votes) was found to have an error of 75 votes in the "final count" versus the recount. Significantly, this error was larger than the losing margin. These manual errors had continued even after another error in an earlier count had a different candidate winning by 66 votes. What's missing for elections using technology are careful transparency and scrutiny measures to help mitigate these risks and build trust. A first step to building trust is to convincingly demonstrate that election systems satisfy the high level of security, reliability and quality appropriate for failure-critical national infrastructure. This is particularly crucial when there can be no practical manual fallback as a Plan B. For example, a basic transparency measure is to make the design, implementation, testing, operation and auditing of the system and procedures available for broad scrutiny. A basic scrutiny measure is to engage a wide range of experts to rigorously examine the system and procedures before, during and after the election to detect defects, vulnerabilities and other problems. Building trust also requires the system and procedures to be designed to make fraud and error evident not just to assert they are unlikely. One practical scrutiny measure for Senate elections would be to check a random sample of the paper ballots against the output of the scanning machines used in the counting. This would help expose failures in the vote capture system. A transparency measure already used in Senate elections is to publish the electronic votes so anyone can check the output of the electronic counting program. Implementing both measures would provide stronger public assurance for the entire Senate electronic vote capture and counting process. The lesson for Australia is the importance of carefully considering what are the appropriate transparency and scrutiny safeguards to build into our systems, in advance of scandals, to ensure continued public trust in the electoral process. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. The oldest member of the small population of endangered Puget Sound orcas has been missing for months and is now likely dead, bringing the toll of dead or missing whales to seven in 2016, researchers in Washington state reported. The orca labeled J2 and nicknamed Granny had been spotted thousands of times over 40 years of orca surveys but has not been seen since October, according to the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island, a nonprofit group that keeps the federal government's annual census of the whales. "With regret we now consider her deceased," researcher Ken Balcomb wrote in a post on the center's website Saturday. She was typically seen at the head of the J pod, one of three family groups of whales that travel with their mothers or grandmothers, but has not been spotted for weeks. Other members of her family have been photographed and counted. Individual southern resident killer whales that spend time in the inland waters of Washington state are identified by unique black and white markings or variations in their fin shapes. Each whale is given a number and a name. A 1987 published study estimated that J2 was born in 1911, putting her age at 105. There is a 12-year margin of error so she could be older or younger, Howard Garrett of the Orca Network said in an email. Despite a birth boom in 2015 that saw eight orca babies born, the intensely tracked population of southern resident killer whales is down to 78 as of Dec. 31, the center said. Despite a decade of research, protection and recovery efforts, the orcas continue to struggle primarily due to a lack of food, pollution and disturbances by marine vessels. They were listed as endangered in 2005. There were more than 140 animals decades ago. That number declined to a low of 71 in the 1970s when dozens of the mammals were captured to be displayed at marine parks and aquariums across the country. The numbers have fluctuated in recent years. Seven were declared missing or dead in 2016, including an 18-year-old male whale found dead off the coast of British Columbia last month. Canadian officials say the preliminary necropsy found that the 22-foot long whale was likely struck. It is unclear whether it was hit by a boat or another animal. The agency is investigating the cause and conducting more blood and tissue tests on the animal. 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Douglas V. Gibbs is a proud member of the American Authors Association Douglas V. Gibbs is a proud member of the Military Writers Society of America. FORT EDWARD A man who is in the country illegally from Mexico faces a felony and numerous misdemeanors after he allegedly choked and injured a woman who had an order of protection against him early Monday, police said. Rodrigo Cabrera, 27, was arrested after a 4 a.m. attack at a home on Summit Street, Fort Edward Police Chief Justin Derway said. The victim suffered cuts and bruises to her neck but did not appear seriously hurt, he said. He was charged with first-degree criminal contempt, a felony, and misdemeanor counts of assault, criminal obstruction of breathing, menacing and unlawful imprisonment and was arraigned and sent to Washington County Jail for lack of bail, Derway said. Cabrera is in the country illegally from Mexico, and the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement has placed a detainer warrant on him, Derway said. He had been staying recently at the Summit Street home. Fort Edward Police officers Andy Bluman and Corbett Sullivan made the arrest. ARGYLE An Argyle man died early Sunday after he hit a rock and trees while snowmobiling on frozen Cossayuna Lake, according to State Police. Joshua J. Bemis, 35, of Mye Way, was pronounced dead at Glens Falls Hospital about 90 minutes after the crash on the lake's east side, authorities said. Police said Bemis was believed to have been traveling at high speed when he hit a rock protruding from the lake's ice, throwing the snowmobile into trees just off shore of Tall Pines Way, State Police said. Bemis was thrown from the Arctic Cat snowmobile he was riding, and the sled was destroyed by the impact. His brother, John Bemis, had been riding with him on a separate snowmobile when Joshua Bemis accelerated away from him, and John Bemis came upon the crash scene moments later, State Police Investigator Joseph Bearor said. Police received a 911 call about the crash at 1:41 a.m. Joshua Bemis suffered serious head and internal injuries, officials said. It was unclear whether he was wearing a helmet. Police said it was not known as of late Monday whether an autopsy or routine toxicology tests would be performed. Argyle Emergency Medical Services and the Cossayuna Fire Department assisted troopers Daryl Winslow and Kara Moak at the scene. Calling hours for Joshua Bemis have been scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at M.B. Kilmer Funeral Home in Fort Edward, with a funeral service to follow. Snowmobile trails and frozen waterways across the region were very active in recent days with last week's snow. Many trails and lakes never opened for snowmobiling last winter because of the mild, relatively snowless weather, but numerous local clubs opened their trail systems for New Year's weekend. FORT EDWARD Washington County, the state and some towns are looking for ways to share their highway garages, in hopes of saving money. The state awarded the idea with a $37,500 grant. Washington County will use the funds to study exactly where money can be saved through sharing. Not every town supervisor is confident its worth exploring. Only 10 of the 17 towns agreed to participate in the study. The main issues are location and price. Its likely some parts of the county are too remote for sharing, said DPW Superintendent Steve Haskins. But in other areas, DOT and the county Department of Public Works could likely share a new, larger facility with one or more towns, he said. Location is key. If you build regional facilities, they may not be as close to the work, Haskins said. The study will also consider what it would cost to repair existing buildings, versus building a new, larger shared facility. There are some highway garages that are nearing or at the end of their useful life, he said. New buildings could bring modern efficiencies, but at a cost. We can build a nicer building that serves the needs better, but we cant necessarily afford to do it for all the separate entities, Haskins said. The county has 10 barns. Then theres the barns for the 17 towns, plus DOT. They could probably build better shared facilities that would be within everyones budgets, he said. But the cost benefit has to make it worth it. Id like to think it will be possible, Haskins said. Whether it makes financial sense for all 17 towns and the county, I dont know. Still, hes sure the county could reduce its 10 barns. Thats how this whole thing started, he said. Were fairly well spread out. I have wanted to combine facilities since soon after I started here. All 10 barns are staffed, and he reasons that it would surely be cheaper, and possibly more efficient, to staff fewer buildings. But right not, its a gut feeling, he said. Hes hoping the study will show him which barns can be eliminated in favor of shared facilities. Even some of the supervisors who joined the study have questioned whether it would be useful. Hartford Supervisor Dana Haff said it was unlikely that DOT would ever share with the county or the towns. Any idea of state DOT cooperation is a pipe dream. Too much of a bureaucracy, he said. Hes hoping for out of the box ideas from the study. For instance, could we have a regional storage depot for sand and salt that could be accessed by the surrounding towns? Haff said. But he emphasized that the study would fail if a consultant tried to find a way for every town to share. The towns and the county could do something in a particular town, but to try a one-size-fits-all would be a waste of money once again, he said. Participating towns are Cambridge, Dresden, Fort Ann, Granville, Greenwich, Hartford, Hebron, Jackson, Salem and Whitehall. GRANVILLE The drive to complete the D&H Rail Trail from Middle Granville to the Vermont state line is picking up steam, thanks to a $22,500 state grant from Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Were very happy. This is huge, said Dan Boone, the Granville town assessor and a member of the rail trail committee. Now we can finally get some momentum going. The grant, which is being coordinated by the Chazen Companies, could include compensating landowners who have fought the trail to consent to recreational use or rerouting it around their land. Boone said there are three landowners in the hamlets of Middle Granville and Raceville who have opposed the trail, though one indicated last year he would be willing to allow the trail to cross. The main thing to do is to get an agreement with the landowners, Boone said. We may be looking at a land exchange. We are not sure. A meeting is scheduled for next week that will involve Chazen staff members, as well as town and village officials. We will know better after that what Chazens timeline is, Boone said. We are ready to go. We are champing at the bit. Once the details are worked out, Boone said, the next task will be to clean up the trail, which has not been used in more than 25 years. The 19.8 miles of the trail run in two separate sections, with a gap that begins at the old train station in Middle Granville and ends just west of the Vermont line before the trail runs to Castleton, Vermont. Once a solution is found, the trail will run from West Rupert, Vermont, through Granville, to Castleton, Vermont. The trail was converted from an abandoned Delaware & Hudson Railway corridor known as the Washington Branch, which ran from Eagle Bridge to Castleton, Vermont. In 1980, the D&H suspended the line. The portion from Eagle Bridge to Salem was purchased with a grant from Urban Development Corp. and was rebuilt. The trail through Granville includes a $200,000 bridge over the Mettowee River. Parks and Rec did step up to plate there, but now we need to finish this off, Boone said. Chazen Companies donated $3,500 to the trail fund, and a local fundraiser has led to a $2,000 donation, Boone said. In the grant approval, state officials said, The resulting trail network will connect New York and Vermont communities, provide alternative transportation and healthy recreation opportunities, and support economic development and tourism. Once the Granville trail is connected, Boone said, the trail committee will set its sights on another part of the trail, a stretch in Salem. Chazen is looking into that as well, he said. CAMBRIDGE For village trustees, the Jan. 1 deadline for deciding whether to take over the former Mary McClellan Hospital property demanded too quick a decision. It boils down to we just didnt have enough time to say yes or a definite no, so there was no action taken, said Mayor Carman Bogle. They wanted an answer by Jan. 1, and we could not do that. We will have to see what happens, Bogle added, From my end, I am still doing research on the property. We need to be prepared for what comes next. Her assumption is that the owners of the nearly 125-acre property will follow through on their plans to give the property to a nonprofit organization, because the village did not accept it by the deadline. The former hospital complex, which is on a hill, includes 11 buildings. Almost all of the land is within the village, but a small section is in the town of Cambridge. The hospital opened in 1918 and closed in 2003. The property was sold in 2006 and the new owner opened an adult home in the newest wing of the hospital. The home closed in early 2008 and the owner eventually lost the property to foreclosure. A Virginia couple with ties to Cambridge, Frank and Nicole Klebieko, paid $300,000 for the property in 2010. They had ideas of reopening the buildings for a medical facility, school, or offices, but nothing came of it. A month ago, the Kliebkos contacted Bogle to offer the property to the village, but with the Jan. 1 deadline. A village meeting in mid-December made it clear most residents did not want the property. Some were concerned about the cleanup cost or what the village could do with it, and others pointed out the site generates about $17,000 annually in taxes. Still, Bogle said it is important for the village to know as much as it can about the property and has hired an environmental firm to assess the hospital complex. People talk about the possibility of environmental issues up there, but we dont really know if anything was mitigated, she said. In talking to the environmental company, they said that contamination is not a project-killer as long as you know where it is, she said. I think its important to pull that piece together. If it does go to a nonprofit, they will probably want help from the village, and you never now, down the road it may come back to the village. Bogle said she sees planning as a key for the coming year. I see 2017 as a year where strategic planning will be really important, she said. Weve got the hospital property to keep an eye on and the new owners of Varak Park. We really need to start pulling things together. Its a new year, and our free e-book for January is Dori Katzs Looking for Strangers: The True Story of My Hidden Wartime Childhood. Download your copy here. *** Dori Katz is a Jewish Holocaust survivor who thought that her lost memories of her childhood years in Belgium were irrecoverable. But after a chance viewing of a documentary about hidden children in German-occupied Belgium, she realized that she might, in fact, be able to unearth those years. Looking for Strangers is the deeply honest record of her attempt to do so, a detective story that unfolds through one of the most horrifying periods in history in an attempt to understand ones place within it. In alternating chapters, Katz journeys into multiple pasts, setting details from her mothers stories that have captivated her throughout her life alongside an account of her own return to Belgium forty years lateragainst her mothers urgingsin search of greater clarity. She reconnects her sharp but fragmented memories: being sent by her mother in 1943, at the age of three, to live with a Catholic family under a Christian identity; then being given up, inexplicably, to an orphanage in the years immediately following the war. Only after that, amid postwar confusion, was she able to reconnect with her mother. Following this trail through Belgium to her past places of hiding, Katz eventually finds herself in San Francisco, speaking with a man who claimed to have known her father in Auschwitzand thus known his end. Weighing many other stories from the people she meets along her wayall of whom seem to hold something backshe attempts to stitch thread after thread into a unified truth, to understand the countless motivations and circumstances that determined her remarkable life. A story at once about self-discovery, the transformation of memory, a fraught mother-daughter relationship, and the oppression of millions, Looking for Strangers is a book of both historical insight and imaginative grasp. It is a book in which the past, through its very mystery, becomes alive, immediateof the most urgent importance. *** Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East READ ALSO: Feeding Grants This was shortly after the TTAG tried picketing at the Ministry on December 28, 2016, for the non-payment of the grant. But TTAG in a statement dated 2 January 2017 said the Ministry of Educations claim was deceptive, not trustworthy and unreliable and above all a cover up. It said the Ministrys press statement is only a cover up to divert the publics attention from the truth, since after the release we [leaders of teacher trainees]have done all the necessary checks from the appropriate quarters and the money has since not gotten to the colleges accounts. The teacher trainees believe that the statement is only a repetition of claims the Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur made on 19 October 2016 that the money will be paid. Meanwhile, her pictures have also been posted on the Facebook timeline of Stanbic Bank. A message attached to the picture indicates that she was a Personal Solutions Consultant at the Tema Community 1 branch in Accra. But many social media users say it serves the bank right since they outsource for some staff so they can pay less. This person describes it as 'banks cheating labour' This other social media user hopes Amakye is found and brought to book but also hopes this generates a conversation on how contract staff are treated especially in banks. This gentleman shares his own experience as a contract staff with another bank. The Medical Center is an ultra-modern facility for service delivery, training and research. It will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for trauma and emergency services with a heliport and internal medicine, including surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, cardiology, heart surgery and medicinal imaging. Construction of the facility started on March 12, 2011, with a sod-cutting ceremony by the then president Professor John Evans Atta Mills. READ ALSO: President Mahama cuts sod for 5 new hospitals In June 2011, Cabinet gave approval for a loan facility from Israel for the design, construction, and installation of medical equipment for the 617-bed Hospital facility for the University of Ghana. It is expected that phase 1 will have 650 beds and Phase 2 will add 350 beds to increase the total number of beds to 1000. The facilty is expected to be a self-financing. It will be opened to the public. READ ALSO: Victims receive support from government The Sheba Medical Centre in Israel will assist the facility to provide the most efficient health care that would measure up to global standards. Sheba Medical Centre is the largest in Israel and UGMC was modelled after the Israel health facility. Mr Yeboah speaking on Accra-based Joy FM asked, "If you are an MP and then you take your ex gratia, your retirement benefits, it means that you are now out of parliament, thats the essence of retirement. Who in Ghana has gone on retirement three, four, five or six times?". He explained, "If that was the intention of Article 71, then that will mean that all superior court judges will have to retire every four years, take their benefits and come back. A judge will take his retirement benefit when he gets to his retirement [age] either he is 65 or 70. But MPs, every four years they take [retirement benefits], I think its unconscionable." In his suit, he is also challenging a 10% raise for the president, vice president, judges, and other Article 71 office holders. The Presidential Committee on Emoluments has recommended that all article 71 office holders in the country enjoy a 10% annual increase in their salaries. The increase is expected to start in January 2017. It will, however, be backdated to start from 2013. The report, signed by Prof. Dora Francisca Edua-Buandoh stated that recommendations were based on the committees guiding principles of fairness, equity, motivation and ability of government to pay. Other offices and their respective increased earnings are: Vice President GH 20,529 Chief Justice GH17,107 Speaker of Parliament GH 17,791 Cabinet Minister (MP) GH16,423 Cabinet Minster (Non-MP) GH 16,195 Minister of State (MP) GH 15,967 Minister of State (Non-MP) GH 15,739 Regional Minister (MP) GH 15,967 Regional Minister (Non-MP) GH15,511 Deputy Minster (MP) GH 14,826 Deputy Regional Minister (MP) GH14,598 Deputy Minister (Non-MP) GH 14,369 Dep. Regional Minster (Non-MP) GH 142,142 Chairman, Council of State GH 14,826 READ ALSO: It will be recalled that prior to the 7 December 2016 elections, there were similar clashes between supporters of the two parties. The two parties condemned those clashes, with the police vowing to arrest those involved. But it appears that the conflicts between the two are far from over, as the two parties clashed again on Monday. Baba Musah, a member of the NDC who claimed he was also attacked during the incident has accused the retained MP, Opare Ansah, of allegedly masterminding the attacks. But a member of the communications team of the NPP in Suhum, Opare Albert, has denied the allegations. He told Accra FM that it was rather the youth of the NDC who carried out an attack in a nearby village, resulting in a reprisal attack from the youth of the village. Her personal assistant Egypt Komla Kudoto in a Facebook post on his timeline said the reports were untrue and must be disregarded. My attention has again been drawn to another fabricated story on Facebook, claiming my boss, the former Transport Minister of the Republic of Ghana, Madam Dzifa Aku Attivor, has been denied an entry VISA into the United Kingdom. The story is the work of faceless people who are very determined to damage the reputation of the former Minister. READ ALSO: Dzifa Ativor visits Montie trio with goodies He further explained that the last time Attivor travelled to the United Kingdom was in November 2014, when she led the delegation from Ghana to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), meeting. I would want to put on record that my boss has never applied for VISA from the UK High Commission here in Accra since she left office in December 2015, he added. Reports on social media on Tuesday (January 3) suggested that Dzifa Attivor has been denied a Visa into the United Kingdom (UK). READ ALSO: Dzifa Attivor should not take Voltarians for fools But Kudoto has asked for such rumours to be disregarded. Attivor was criticised by some section of Ghanaians after she made an ethnocentric comment. She is reported to have called on all people of the Volta Region to vote massively for the NDC to prevent an NPP government jailing them. Speaking on Accra-based Joy FM Prof Adei said from the few names he has heard so far he was optimistic he [Akufo-Addo] is on his way to put in place one of the most excellent cabinets Ghana has ever hadWe await the full list. He said he was particularly happy for the appointment of Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng as Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation. When I heard yesterday the mentioning of the name of Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng as the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, this morning my wife and I, in our devotion, said: Thank God for his appointment. Im not going to get anything from Kwabena but I know Kwabena is not going there to take bribe. The president-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo must appoint more experienced hands as ministers in his government rather than young people who lack experience, a former rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Professor Stephen Adei, has advised. READ ALSO: Joe Anokye is Communications Minister Earlier before names of proposed ministers started making the rounds Prof Adei urged Nana Addo to appoint experienced persons to handle affairs and not babies with sharp teeth. I think that there is plenty of room for youth in technical work, but much of the cabinet type of level requires a lot of wisdom. I wouldnt expect too many young people there. Im talking about those below 45. Many of them will not be in cabinet position, but they will be in very relevant technical positions. I expect one or two of them but at this stage of Ghanas development, I dont expect a lot of them. They should be there as the technical advisers and not the decision makers. We saw these babies with sharp teeth and other things and they nearly ruined our country and destroyed our culture with impunity and disrespect. The Presidential transition, which was established by an Act of Parliament, has President John Mahama and President-elect Nana Akufo Addo as co-chair with an advisory council team made up of the Speaker of Parliament Edward Doe-Adjaho, Dr Kwesi Botchwey and Professor Mike Ocquaye. Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM said, "We are done with about 80 percent of everything we need to do." We will brief the entire nation and we will be able to provide final details to every question that everybody may have and also provide channels through which, on a regular basis people can get information," he said. He earlier said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has presented an interim report to the President-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo. Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah said, "the interim report that we have provided for the president-elect essentially cover the basic bits of information we have received currently and most importantly some national security briefings between himself and his representative on the team responsible for national security, Mr. Albert Kan Dapaah." He noted that that the inaugural committee of the Transition team was putting final preparations for the day of the inauguration adding that about 6,000 guests are expected at the swearing-in ceremony of Nana Akufo-Addo come January 7, 2017. The move, initiated by the Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, is to thank the Almighty God for honouring Nana Akufo-Addo, an Akyem-Abuakwa royal, with the victory crown in the December 7 presidential poll. READ MORE: Gabby defends appointment of Abu Jinapor as Deputy Chief of Staff The first expected public durbar to be attended by Nana Akufo-Addo as president will take place at the forecourt of the Ofori Panin Fie at Kyebi, in the East Akim municipality of the Eastern Region, where the paramount chiefs of the Okyeman Traditional Council, natives in the Diaspora, the bigwigs of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and party supporters will welcome the new president. Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori, who made these known during the last 'Akwasidae' celebration to all his sub-chiefs, asked them to join the proposed ceremony in a grand style to render thanksgiving to God and offer prayers for Nana Akufo-Addo to serve the nation better in the next four years. The Electoral Commission (EC), on 9th December, 2016, declared the New Patriotic Party presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the winner of the 2016 election after a third attempt at the slot, beating incumbent President John Mahama with 53.85 percent of the valid votes cast as against Mahama's 44.40 percent. Background Of Presidential Bid In October 1998, Nana Akufo-Addo competed for the presidential candidacy of the NPP and lost to John Agyekum Kufuor, the man who eventually won the presidential election in December 2000 on the ticket of the NPP and assumed office as president on January 7, 2001. Akufo-Addo campaiged for candidate Kufuor in the 2000 and became the first Attorney General and Minister for Justice under Kufuor's administration. He later became the Foreign Affairs Minister. Nana Addo contested for the position of presidential candidate of his party the NPP the then ruling party of Ghana, for the 2008 election. Competing against 16 others, he won 48% of the votes in the first round of the party's primary, but was given a unanimous endorsement in the second round, making him the presidential candidate. In the 7 December 2008 presidential race, he received in the first round, more votes than John Atta Mills, but the latter became the eventual winner. In the first round, Akufo-Addo garnered 4,159,439 votes, representing 49.13%, placing him first, but not the constitutional 50% plus 1 needed for an outright victory. In the run-off, Mills received 4,521,032 votes, representing 50.23%. Akufo-Addo again contested in the 2012 national elections against the then NDC candidate, John Mahama, and lost. That election generated considerable controversy, and was finally decided by the Supreme Court in a narrow 5/4 decision in favour of John Mahama. This was contained in a letter signed by the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), George Blankson and copied to the Telecommunication chamber and telecom companies. This is coming into the public domain with barely a week for the NDC government to handover to the NPP administration. READ ALSO: ACEP kicks against relocation of GNPC to Western Region The letter said, we wish to inform you that Subah Infosolutions Ghana Limited has been granted approval to continue its role of monitoring revenue from the telecommunication companies on behalf of the Ghana Revenue Authority. Further to the above, we wish to request that you continue to grant access to Messrs Subah Infosolutions Ghana limited to your physical network nodes in accordance with the provisions of the Communications Service Tax (Amendment) Act, 2013 (Act 864), it added. The management of Subah earlier indicated that over the last five years, their operations have saved the nation 70 million dollars annually. Additionally, its operations has helped increase Value Added Tax (VAT) collection from GH25 million annually on average to about GH60 million cumulatively, amounting to GH3 billion over the years. Below is the letter from the GRA CONTINUE GRANTING OF ACCESS TO YOUR PHYSICAL NETWORK NODES PURSUANT TO THE COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE TAX (AMENDMENT), ACT, 2013 (ACT 864) This has reference to a letter with reference number MoF/RPD/GRA/016 dated 11th November, 2016 from the Hon. Minister of Finance on the above subject. We wish to inform you that Subah Infosolutions Ghana Limited has been granted approval to continue its role of monitoring revenue from the telecommunication companies on behalf of the Ghana Revenue Authority. Further to the above, we wish to request that you continue to grant access to Messrs Subah Infosolutions Ghana limited to your physical network nodes in accordance with the provisions of the Communications Service Tax (Amendment) Act, 2013 (Act 864). Counting on your cooperation. Yours faithfully George Blankson Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Youre sitting anxiously in front of your computer. Florida weather is looking great, but theres a storm raging in your mind. Your new email icon pops, and you rush to check. Spam. Another pop, a newsletter. Its been over a week and still no word from him. You dial his number again, the one youd called almost everyday for over six months. Switched off. You start to ask yourself what you did wrong. Why did he disappear? You playback the last few months, thinking whether its something you said or did. You remember the conversations. You remember the afternoon he first told you he loved you. You think of all these things and your heart races, because theres another lingering question youve shoved into the dark recesses of your mind. What if he never loved you? You read his last mail from nine days ago, the doctors say if we dont pay for treatment, my father will die. Do this for me if you love me. You start to wonder why he always avoided your questions, like the true nature of his dads sickness. You remember all the next-months and very-soons he said about coming to visit you so you can both plan the happily-ever-after. It takes another week of radio silence for you to admit that your heart has been broken, and your account emptied. But hes not yours alone. To someone else, hes a bank officer. To another, hes Nigerian Prince looking to give a percentage of his inheritance if only you send a few thousand dollars for processing. Again, he could be someone elses lover, depending on how the scam leads him. The thousands of dollars you sent over the past few months is just a tiny piece of the multi-million dollar scam cake. Back in Nigeria, the story is different. Its 7:30 in the morning and youre trying to make a quick withdrawal at the ATM before heading to the office. Your name is Wilfred and you write for a fashion website. Using the ATM shouldnt be difficult, except theres a guy standing closely behind you, with his gun pressed to your side. Oya withdraw. You have about seventy two thousand naira left in your account after paying all the debts you incurred while waiting for your salary. You can only withdraw twenty thousand at a time, and thats what this gunman asks you to withdraw. You want to shout thief, so people can hold him down, and beat him up. But what if the gun is loaded? What if the shock makes him pull the trigger? In your head, your own blood is running down your back, people are trying to rush you to the Lagos Island Hospital, which is just about 15 minutes away without the traffic. By the time you get to the hospital, the nurses will chew gum and act like theyre doing you a favour, walking back and forth while you lose blood. Then you die, because you screamed thief. Not worth it. You withdraw the first twenty thousand and pass it to him. He presses the gun harder against your side till you feel the coldness of the muzzle through your shirt. Again. So you withdraw again, and again. As the machine counts the money, youre counting in your head how much youd have to borrow again to get by this month. Its only the first week. By the time hes done, he walks into a waiting tricycle or keke, and off he goes. There are people walking around, oblivious of the fact that you just lost all your money, and you feel so alone. As you start to head to the office with the little money you have left, you spot a policeman. Good. You walk up to him, feeling a sense of hope you cant explain, you tell him what just happened. He looks at you from head to toe, assessing you, and the first thing he says is, you sure say you no be Yahoo Boy like this? You just turn around, frustrated, as he orders you to come back, threatening to arrest you. Bring your bag make I see your laptop! A market woman nearby consoles you as you walk away. She says youre dressed like a Yahoo Boy, and that Yahoo Boys always withdraw early in the morning. You look at yourself. You have on a plain white T-shirt, ripped jeans, dreadlocks sitting on your head. Wilfred is one of many young men in Nigeria, trying to make a honest living even when it doesnt look so rewarding, but instead of getting encouraged, he gets profiled like a common criminal. Being twenty-something and driving an SUV that doesnt belong to your daddy automatically makes you a suspect. A foreign phone number on your phones contact list might earn you harassment. And that is on a good day. Bad days have nights in a tiny dark cell where you get to pee in a corner of the cell floor. Remember that Nigerian Prince? Hes built a palace now, and he lives side by side with the filthy rich, and sometimes corrupt. He pays 30% security money to his friends at EFCC. But you see the one who gets harassed every other day because of how he appears? Hes one of a majority of young Nigerians; hardworking, smart and trying hard to make a living in a country that makes it even harder. The states Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Ebere Amaraizu, made this known in a statement given to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Enugu on Tuesday. He said the assailant hit the victim on the head with a stick. Ohabuike suffered injury in the attack and was rushed to the nearby Health Centre in Oduma and later to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku/Ozalla where he was confirmed dead, he said. Amaraizu said the corpse had been deposited at the mortuary in Awgu District Hospital awaiting autopsy. In a disturbing photo, Nando looked emaciated and a shadow of his former self. Apparently, the once lively Nando is now a drug addict. Nando who competed in BBA: The Chase, was expelled from the contest after fighting with his fellow housemate and Ghanaian contestant, Elikem. Nando, known for his good looks and smooth ways during the contest, making him a chic magnet, is reported to have become hooked on drugs, leaving him wretched. The story of Nando's fall from grace to grass is one of many in the drug epidemic in Tanzania, the country he is from. The east African country has a serious drug problem specifically heroin use. According to figures the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), almost 60 percent of 500,000 heroin users in East Africa are from Tanzania. The country is close to the Indian Ocean which is a route for the drug trade in that part of the continent. Heroin which entered the streets of Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania in the 1990s is popularly called 'brownie' because of its brown colour. White heroin is known as 'Obama'. According to a report on heroin use in Tanzania by Al Jazeera, the price for heroin is one of the lowest in the world making it easy for the poor and middle-income earners to afford it. Koktelin a mixture of heroin and marijuana is also quite common among drug users in the country. The rise of heroin has also led to the increase of HIV/AIDS in the country. According to the Al Jazeera story 'Strung Out In Tanzania' "an estimated 40 percent of Tanzanians who inject drugs are HIV-positive compared with 5 percent of the general population." In this haze of numbers and heroin use is Nando- a once promising young man who is now lost because of the poison on the streets of Tanzania. He and countless others have been gripped by addiction. Is there any hope for him and drug users. In Dar es Salaam there is a methadone clinic at the Muhimbili National Hospital which is the first clinic in Sub-Saharan Africa that deals with this type of drug addiction. This is commendable because not many non-governmental organisations (NGO) give funds to treat Africans with heroin addiction. While treatment of heroin users is a struggle in almost all African countries, Tanzania is bucking the trend. The Tanzanian Ministry of Health has a good plan to prevent and treat heroin addiction in the country. The suspects, Muhammed Abubakar, aged 58, and Ali Garba, aged 45, both of Hotoro Quaters, Kano, were brought before a Magistrates court on charges of rape. Punch reports that the prosecutor, Suleiman Danladi, told the court that the elder brother of the victim, Murtala Aminu, reported the case at the Hotoro Police Division on September 11, 2016. The court heard that the accused committed the crime in May 2016 in Hotoro Quaters. He said, "The pair decieved and lured the 13-year-old girl to different locations to rape her. As a result, the victim became pregnant." According to the prosecutor, the victim was taken to Muhammad Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital for examination, where she was confirmed to be pregnant. The offense reportedly contravenes section 283 of the penal code, but the accused pleaded not guilty to the charge. Kurds Block Aid to Assyrian Militia The Christian town of Qaraqosh, Iraq, located on the Nineveh Plain, is in ruins. It is far worse than its appearance, which is bad enough. Other than a handful of volunteers to clean up the streets, and the 300 or so members of the Nineveh Protection Unit, or NPU, the town is deserted. The Christian town has enemies other than the ruthless Islamic State, or ISIS, which left it in ruins. Currently the Kurdish militia, the Peshmerga, is blocking aid to the NPU that guards the town, because the NPU is the Assyrian Christian militia. It is the only armed Christian group in Iraq. The Kurds and some Shia have territorial claims on the Nineveh Plain. While for appearance and funding from Washington, the Kurdish support Christian interests for now, the historical relationship between the two groups includes participation in the slaughter of Christians by the tens of thousands. There is no room for a Christian enclave, particularly one that is armed, in the future of an independent state of Kurdistan, which the Kurds are foolish enough to believe that Washington will support. On a recent day, I personally was escorting three trucks of supplies to the NPU, one two-ton truck with food and two pickups filled with bottled water, when the Peshmerga stopped us at their main checkpoint between Erbil and Qaraqosh. I had authorized the aid, which amounted to a 20-day supply of food for the 300-man NPU garrison guarding Qaraqosh. For more than two hours, solutions of varying kinds were explored. Taking certain measures that cannot be discussed here, we were finally able to deliver the aid to Qaraqosh. When we arrived at the NPU warehouse in Qaraqosh, the supplies for the day consisted of two bags of onions -- that was all. There, we unloaded 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of rice and other supplies. During my time in Qaraqosh, I should have felt somewhat surprised by the evil done by the Islamic State, but knowing the master it serves, I was not. Before its destruction, the entire town was looted of everything, from simple home furnishings to heavy machinery. All looted materials from Iraq, and Syria as well, have been taken to Turkey for resale to fund the ongoing operations of the Islamic State. Of course, the Turkish government is aware that such an enormous amount of looted material is being sold at huge discounts in its nation, but it does nothing about it. The machinery from factories in Aleppo, for example, is adding value to the Turkish state. Until the snake bit one of its masters, Turkey was a patron of the various Islamist groups in Syria and Iraq. I spoke with the NPU commander in charge of the guard and the cleanup. I learned that 25 percent of the buildings in Qaraqosh were completely destroyed and another 50 percent burned out. Only about 25 percent of the buildings remain intact enough for use once glass is replaced and power, water and sewage disposal are restored. In the case of buildings burned by the Islamic State, chemicals were used to produce high enough temperatures to melt the steel supports inside the concrete. Most of the burned buildings must be demolished. Even the pews in the churches have been taken, probably for firewood. Burned prayer books and Bibles litter the grounds. Every cross was destroyed, even decorative crosses on outside walls that did not resemble the Cross of Christ. I stood at the very point where an Islamic State suicide bomber blew up his car bomb and killed advancing Iraqi and NPU forces during the battle to liberate Qaraqosh. Islamic State fighters prefer death, with 72 imaginary perpetual virgins, to life. Before death, their religious leaders give them permission to steal, enslave, rape and kill other human beings they view as infidels. The arming of the NPU in the Nineveh Plain was a new development in Iraq. President George W. Bush had made the decision after the second Gulf War that Shia and Sunni militias could remain armed, but in order to avoid the appearance that the U.S. was "supporting Crusaders," no Christian militia could exist. Christian majority towns were not even allowed to have Christian police units in their areas. Christian neighborhoods in Baghdad were soon victimized by both Sunni and Shia gangs of thieves and kidnappers, as well as dedicated Sunni terror groups bound on running off both Christians and Shia. The predicable result was a decrease in the Christian population of between 60 percent and 75 percent. An integral part of Iraq's population was lost, a part that contributed greatly to the harmony of the nation before 2004. Christians were the moderating force in both Iraq and Syria. After the retreat of the Islamic State from Qaraqosh toward Syria, their flag emblazoned with the phrase "Allah Akbar" was removed from the Church of Immaculate Conception. The black Islamic flag was replaced by the Iraqi Army, as they raised the national flag of Iraq. Yet this flag has written in black in its center the phrase "Allah Akbar." This one symbolic act illustrates why the Christians of Iraq cannot expect equality and justice. The Islamists who destroyed the town of Qaraqosh used explosives that could have been of use in battle, but instead were used to blow up bell towers and destroy large crosses and statues of Jesus and Mary. The zeal of the Islamists to destroy all traces of "infidels" was so great that not even the dead were spared their places of rest, as graves were desecrated in Christian cemeteries. Qaraqosh is symbolic of the condition of Christians in the Middle East. They are under attack by radical enemies and under siege by those who should be their friends. Saudi Arabia continues to pour billions of dollars into Syria to establish a Sunni Caliphate, and Shia majority Iran works with the Iraqi army to defeat the Sunni uprising as the Christian minority suffers. Their suffering has been ignored for the past eight years by the White House. Those desiring to immigrate to the United States have been pushed to the back of the line by a president who prefers Sunni Muslim immigrants from the Middle East. It would seem natural for the Christians to have a friend in Old Testament Israel, but that is not the case. The Israeli high command prefers a state of chaos on its northern border rather than having unified Arab states with standing armies. Israel has backed up this stance with missile strikes against Syrian government targets over the past six years, although those actions have assisted the Islamic State, al-Nusra and al-Qaida at times. For different reasons, known only in the mind of President Barack Obama, the official policy of the United States has been a state of chaos in the entire Middle East. The White House has at some points assisted one Islamist group in one nation, while fighting that same group in another area. Several battles have erupted between militias backed by the CIA and the Pentagon, and at least once the United States switched sides in the middle of a battle. Christians have never fared well during states of war in the Middle East. But the agendas of powerful nations such as the United Kingdom, the United States and Russia are better advanced during periods of chaos than during times of peace. What can be done to help the Christians of Qaraqosh and the rest of the Nineveh Plain? Prayer and assistance from a church in the West, which is now mostly silent, is the request I hear most often from the Christians of Iraq and Syria. According to Nigerian social worker based in New York City, Aremo Ariola who posted the sad incident on his Facebook page, the couple who were based in Minnesota, had been sending money home for the brother to build them a house but when they got home for the Christmas, they realized that the brother had embezzled the money with nothing to show for they huge amount they had been sending home. The incident was said to have generated a lot of bad blood between the man and his brother which had to be settled by other family members. Thinking the issue had been solved, the couple settled down to enjoy the celebrations not knowing the mans brother had another plan for them as he prepared food laced with poison and served the man and his wife. After eating the meal, the couple was found dead the next day on their bed. This is what Oriola posted on his wall: I just got this someone who knows the wife personally just inboxed me to confirm the story. According to him, they were Liberians based in Minnesota. The couple went home for Christmas. They had been sending monies home for the husbands brother to build them houses. While at home this Christmas, this brother cooked food and sent over to his brother and wife. They died after eating the food. The popular explanation that ran for decades is that The Titanic sank because it collided with 100,000 year old iceberg on Sunday, April 14, 1912. New findings from British journalist and Titanic expert, Senan Molony disputes this. According to Molony who has dedicated 30 years of his life to the events that led to the unfortunate event, a fire in the ship was the reason The Titanic went under. Apparently, there was a fire in the Titanic during its construction which weakened the ship enough for the iceberg to crack it open. Molony looked closely at the old photos of the doomed ship which were taken by chief electrical engineers before the ship left Belfast Shipyards. The journalist noticed thirty feet long black streaks on the right of the hull of the ship, at the front. This was the same place the iceberg struck. Experts have agreed with his theory. Indeed there was a fire in the ship that started at a fuel stock. "The official Titanic inquiry branded [the sinking] as an act of God. This isnt a simple story of colliding with an iceberg and sinking. Its a perfect storm of extraordinary factors coming together: fire, ice and criminal negligence" says Senan Molony. Chairman of Madagali Local Government, Alhaji Yusuf Mohammed, said the attack was contained by the prompt response of security operatives in the areas. He lauded the efforts of security agencies and local vigilantes, and urged for more support to secure the area. Also confirming the development, spokesman of 28 Task-Force Battalion, Mubi, Maj. Akintoye Badare, said the attack was successfully repelled with no casualty on the military side. All I can confirmed to you now is that there was attack on Dar village but we successfully repelled it; no casualty on our side, Badare said. He said that the situation in the area had since normalized while soldiers remain on full alert. The denial was made via a statement released by spokesman, DSP Bala Elkalla on Monday, January 2, 2017. The statement reads: The attention of Niger State Police Command has been drawn to online reports on alleged invasion of some villages in Rafi LGA, of Niger by fleeing Boko Haram from the recaptured Sambisa forest. The report is not only false but malicious and calculated at causing fear and panic among the peace loving people of Niger State. The report is clearly a fiction emanating from the writers imagination. For the avoidance of doubt, Niger State is among the few states in the country that has conquered cattle rustling, kidnapping and armed banditry. It is on record that within the past few months, the command, in its aggressive operations arrested over 40 armed bandits and recovered over 1,000 cattle and various types of assorted weapons. In Rafi LGA alone, being a boundary community with Kaduna State, Zamfara and Kebbi states, the command has over 500 mobile policemen and special anti-robbery squads patrolling the villages. Members of the public are enjoined to remain calm and go about their lawful businesses. The command has put in place sensitive security measures to guarantee adequate protection of lives and properties of the people. The Federal Government has warned Nigerians to be on the lookout for terrorists who might be fleeing from recently conquered stronghold, Sambisa Forest. Happy New Year to all Nigerians, at these dark hours of terror, where everything seems odd and against everyone, we bring you a message of hope. We are assuring that we shall continue to defend you against any and every bad Government, and continue to demand peace, justice and equity for you. We wish all you a happy and prosperous 2017. This past year hasHoliday been so eventful in ways that do not please the people. It has come and gone with its numerous challenges. But, our desired great year 2017 shall come through. The group went further to lament on the economic and security state of Nigeria, and the non- challant attitude of the Buharis administration towards the suffering of the ordinary man. We are aware that Buharis government has failed repeatedly in discharging its responsibilities to Nigerians. The Security situation in the country has worsened. Added to Boko Haram Bombing are the Niger Delta Bombing of oil facilities, Fulani herdsmen killing innocent Nigerians unstopped and ravaging their farmlands. The Economy of the country has been on a recession and heading for depression. Yet, the Buharis government is not paying any attention to the suffering of the ordinary Nigerian masses. Our collective pursuit for a better Nigeria has been jettisoned as the government prefers to lie and continue to deceive Nigerians. The group said. The Wailers further urged Nigerians to be strong and hopeful for the New Year. In this hopefulness, you should not be weaker in the body, spirit, and soul: for the Nigerian Wailers will continue to stand tall and speak for your defense in any and every matter that will bring peace, progress, and prosperity to you. Buhari had reportedly said: "It will be a pity to waste his energy by him retiring. I hope there will be a higher assignment for him to do more for the nation. I congratulate the governor for his hard work; Oshiomhole is a hard working governor. We will need his services in Abuja."Thank you for inviting me, most especially during this time in the country. You have served two terms and you are about to leave. You deserve a place in history. I hope the APC will look for a place for you because your service for the country is far from over, President Buhari noted, According to Leadership newspaper, which cited 'impeccable sources', the President is no longer keen on the idea of reshuffling his cabinet so soon despite pressures from within and outside the government, including the First Lady, Aisha Buhari. Buhari is said to have been convinced to delay the cabinet shake-up until May as part of a mid-term review mechanism. The report cited a source at the National Assembly who said Buhari was advised to wait till the second anniversary of his inauguration, with the hope that it will help him to fix round pegs in round holes and avoid the "mistakes of the past." It was also gathered that the minister of environment, Hajiya Amina Mohammed, will resign from her position to take up her new job as the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations. However, the presidency on Monday, January 2, had denied any planned cabinet reshuffle now or later, describing media reports about it as "rubbish." "The president jokingly raised the issue at a recent cabinet meeting, saying he didnt know where the stories were coming from. So, since you said you want the truth, that is the truth. It's just rubbish," Buhari's spokesman, Garba Shehu told Leadership in a telephone interview. ALSO READ: Buhari has failed - The Nigerian Wailers The President had On Wednesday, November 11, 2015, sworn in 36 ministers, but one of them, Barrister James Ocholi, from Kogi State, died in a ghastly road accident on Sunday, March 6, 2016. The Chairman of NGF and Borno Gov. Kashim Shettima said this when he led a delegation on a courtesy call on Sen. George Akume; Tor Tiv V, His Royal Majesty Prof. James Ayatse, and Gov. Samuel Ortom in Makurdi. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that other governors on the delegation were Mohammed Abubakar and Abdullahi Gunduje of of Bauchi and Kano states, respectively. Shettima described the outcome of the 2015 general election as the watershed in the Nigerian political history and commended Benue people for their continuous support of Northern agenda. He noted that the PDP-led administration was at the verge of destroying the basic component that bonded Nigeria, adding that Buharis victory saved the country. Had President Buhari not win the election in 2015, Nigeria would have gone into extinction and as it is now, the PDP need to be proscribed. The North had moral duty to support Benue state following her continuous support of presidential candidates from the region, said the NGF chairman. He also explained that they were in the state to celebrate with the Tiv people for the peaceful selection of the Tor Tiv V, His Royal Majesty Prof. James Ayatse. Shettima sympathised with Tiv people over the incessant attacks on their communities by suspected herdsmen, adding that the NGF would never abandon the state. He also noted that Benue and Kano states were only the states in the North with a large heart to accommodate non-indigenes over the years as exemplified in appointments and elective positions. He announced a donation of 100 cows as his personal contribution for the coronation of the Tor Tiv V. Ayatse had earlier commended the NGF for identifying with the Tiv people during their moment of sadness and joy, adding that he cherished the Tor Tiv thrown he had ascended. Akume urged the NGF to support Ortom to actualize his vision and invited the forum to attend the coronation of the fifth Tor Tiv. On his part, Ortom commended the NGF members for their sustained support of his proposals that led to the end of herdsmen/farmers crisis in the state. According to a report by Daily Trust, the redeployment was approved by the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Col. Hammed Ibrahim Ali (rtd) with an order of immediate effect. Affected is Wale Adeniyi, a Deputy Comptrollers of Customs and Service Public Relations Officer, who is now posted to Apapa Customs Area Command, Lagos. In a statement signed by the Deputy Public Relations Officer, Joseph Attah on Tuesday, the Nigeria Customs Service reportedly explained that the move is meant to strengthen operations and reposition the Service to meet the challenges of the New Year 2017. It further pointed out that the ACGs affected include Charles Edike who was moved from Zone A to the Human Resource Development (HRD), Ahmed Mohammed from HRD to Zone B, Aminu Dangaladima from Zone B to Enforcement, and Francis Dosumu from Enforcement to Zone D. Others include Augustine Chidi from Zone D to Excise, Free Trade Zone and Industrial Incentives (Ex, FTZ, & I I), Monday Abueh from Excise, FTZ, & I.I. to Zone A, Umar Sanusi from the Headquarter (HQ) to Zone C, and Abdulkadir Azerema from Zone C to HQ. ALSO READ: Nigerian Customs sacks 29 senior officers for alleged corrupt practices Meanwhile the Customs boss has charged the officers who are reporting in their new Zones and Commands as well as all officers and men of the Service to ensure maximum collection of revenue and strict implementation of government's fiscal policy. The accused, Malam Sule Saulawa, is alleged to have committed the offence while serving in the office of the State Deputy Governor. Saulawa was arraigned before Justice Sanusi Tukur of the Katsina High Court on a one-count charge of obtaining money by false pretense. He pleaded not guilty, according to a statement issued by the Spokesman of EFCC, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, in Abuja. The offence, according to the prosecution, is contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006. Counsel to the EFCC, Mr Saad Hanafi Saad, told the court that the accused perpetrated the crime through a fertiliser contract scam while attached to the deputy governors office. He was said to have obtained the N2.5 million from an unidentified complainant under the pretext that it was required for bidding documents that would enable the office to award the contract to the complainant. Following Saulawas plea, the prosecution counsel asked the court for a trial date in addition to the accused persons remand in prison custody. However, the defense counsel, Bashir Mohammed, prayed the court to admit his client to bail pending the determination of the case. But Hanafi opposed the application on the grounds that the accused person would likely jump bail having violated the terms of an administrative bail earlier granted him by the commission. Achuja was reportedly kidnapped on Sunday, January 1, on his way to his kingdom from Lokoja, the state capital. His vehicle was intercepted on the Lokoja-Ajaokuta road. It was gathered that the gunmen have demanded N20 million in exchange for his release. According to a family, source to spoke to journalists, the monarch's driver and another aide narrowly escaped being shot by the kidnappers. ALSO READ: Lagos landlords abducted by unknown gunmen In its new year message, the Union's President, Ayuba Wabba also asked President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle unemployment affecting young Nigerians. Wabba charged the President to deal with the challenge of the power sector through "either reversal of the privatization of the sector or ensuring that those who run the sector provide electricity on regular basis and at rates consumer can afford." According to him, labour will continue its campaign to ensure that the incidence of delayed payment of salaries is no longer a feature of our national life. The labour leader also lamented that the APC-led government is yet to fulfill its campaign promises. "How many jobs has the federal government and the 23 states controlled by the ruling party created in the course of the last 20 or so months, in furtherance of its pledge to Nigerians during the electioneering campaign?" he queried. ALSO READ: Nigerians are getting tired of Buhari NLC says Wabba recalled that NLC had during the past May Day and new year messages, as well as other policy pronouncements, made it known that it had some ideas on how, Nigeria can create new and sustainable jobs. "Unfortunately, no one in government has thought it necessary to give us a hearing on what these ideas are, and what they entail. Presently, we are not even sure which ministry or agency of the government is the focal point on job creation," he said. Chukwuma made the appeal in Enugu on Tuesday while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). The archbishop assured the government that leaders and elders in the South East were ready to contain Kanu and his group to bring lasting peace to the country. We continue to say it that Mr President should grant amnesty to Nnamdi Kanu at this time around for peace to reign. The continual detention of Kanu will continue to bring agitations and tension in Nigeria; I have said it before that this must be doused by releasing Kanu. We, Igbos and we Christians are ready to put him under control. There should be no fear at all. The President and people in government should not be afraid. We have said it even to the Sultan when he visited Enugu that it is injustice for a court to declare him innocent and still detain him. Nnamdi Kanu is not a threat to Nigeria, rather they should use his ideas to develop Nigeria, he said. Chukwuma, a member of the South East Elders Forum, also urged the Federal Government to continue to create an all-inclusive government. The General Secretary of the association, Musa Asake said this in a statement. The body berated President Muhammadu Buhari for keeping mute on such a heinous crime committed against the body christ, adding that his silence is an endorsement of the killings. "The ongoing silence over the ongoing genocide in Kaduna in the last few weeks speaks volume over perceived official endorsement of the dastardly and ungodly acts," the statement said. "In view of the present predicament, the president of CAN has directed that Sunday, January 8, 2017, should be declared a national day of mourning by Christians including those in the Diaspora. "We are to pray fervently for our southern Kaduna brothers and sisters who are victims of these wanton killings and also for the peace of our dear country, Nigeria. Therefore all Christians are to dress in the mourning attire black dresses in all our church services on January 8, 2017. "We are to pray that God who delivered the Jews from Haman should deliver Christians from the Hamans in Nigeria. An injustice to one is an injustice to all." CAN also urged Nigerians to speak up against the "ethnic and religious cleansing to wake up the Nigerian security agencies from their deliberate slumber to carry out their responsibility." ALSO READ: Southern Kaduna Killings - Senator expresses joy over presence of troops It said Nigerian Christians have been persecuted since 2009. The statement further said: "Though the church in Nigeria, since 2009, has been subjected to a systematic genocide and persecution through the instrumentality of the Islamic fundamentalist sect, Boko Haram, leading to the killings of thousands of Christians and destruction of hundreds of churches, and over 50,000 houses, the current unprecedented onslaught against Christians by Islamic fundamentalists disguising as Fulani herdsmen under the watch of Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and President Muhammadu Buhari has reached an alarming stage. "While we commend President Buhari for waging war against Boko Haram since his assumption of office, his silence over the ongoing genocide in the last few weeks speaks volume over the perceived official endorsement of the dastardly and ungodly acts." Tinubu who said this in a statement issued by his Media Office, claimed that the efforts of the Buhari-led government will begin yield fruit in 2017. The last year witnessed a lot of sacrifices on the part of Nigerians. The government of APC is mindful. It is the necessary pain before the gain. As we move into a new year the pains will ease off in certain areas as the policies and initiatives of the Buhari-led government begin to yield, needed relief and dividends." Tinubu also encouraged Nigerians to be patient for the path to success is not smooth. Now that we have a leadership that is committed, focused and people oriented, we must align to make Nigeria work. We are a people blessed by God and destined to be great. The path to greatness is often not smooth. But I am confident that Nigeria will arrive and fulfill her manifest destiny. Let us all in 2017 pray and hope for a new county where feeding and shelter will not be a challenge and more of our people will find work to do. Happy new year and God bless our nation. Quoting the Governor, Let me first of all sincerely thank you, our father, the Sultan, for what you are doing for this country, working tirelessly to bring peace and to bring unity to the people. So, for all of us, this is what is meant by one Nigeria. We cannot run away from this country. The unity of this country is very paramount. The unity of this country is non-negotiable. I am from the Niger Delta, from Rivers State to be specific so I cannot see us in a divided country. No way. We stand for the unity of this country. In Rivers State, you hardly find instances of pipeline vandalism. We are working at all times to protect national assets in our state. In my state, I am governor for all the people living in the state. I am not a governor of a particular political party, but a governor for all the people of Rivers State. He said. Furthermore, Wike stated that another reason for his being in Sokoto was to felicitate with his longtime friend, Governor Aminu Tambuwal on the marriage of his (Tambuwals) daughter while reiterating that his friendship with Tambuwal has no political undertone. Tambuwal has been my friend for a long time. If anything affects him, it affects me also. If he gives out his daughter in marriage, I have to be here to support him. If any problem happens to him, it affects me as well. Your Eminence, I am here to seek your royal blessing. You have blessed me before, that is why I am growing. So let me wish you a prosperous New Year ahead, Wike said. They also warned Tinubu not to impose James Faleke as a replacement for late Minister of State for Labour, James Ocholi. The Kogi West APC leaders made the comments via a statement released by Alhaji Suleiman Ejibunu and Chief Richard Asaje. The statement reads: Faleke and his godfather, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu do not deserve any ministerial slot in Kogi State. Such a move may lead to the exit of every prominent, loyal and committed member of the party, while aggravating the fractionalization of the party along many divides. We are also unequivocally resolute to stop Tinubus expansion into Kogi State or any state in the North-Central; we are determined to push out all his cohorts from Kogi come 2018/2019. It is a task that must be done through all legal/political means. They have failed and they will continue to fail. This generated a lot of discomfort to the founding members of APC who built the party, fought the then sitting government in all national elections and won. Giving him such an appointment will amount to providing him fuel to the breakup of APC in the state. Faleke alongside Honourable Buba Jibril in the West Senatorial Area of Kogi State have formed illegal party structures and lay claim to stakeholder structure for which a petition is already before the national leadership of the party. ALSO READ: I have no issue with Tinubu - Akeredolu The head of Muslims and Islam's most influential leader in Nigeria has appealed to these assemblies not to pass anti-Islam bills, The Guardian reports. He made this appeal at the closing ceremony of the 20th Zamfara State Annual Quranic Recitation Competition organized by the state Quranic Memorisation and Tajweed board. According to him, the rights of Nigerian Muslims must be protected, thus he encouraged the relevant authorities and stakeholders not to go against the teaching of the Qu'ran and Islamic religion. He said this would avert a religious crisis and ensure sustainable peace and harmony in the country. The Sultan called on all Muslims not to accept any law that was against the teachings of the Holy Qur'an. Alhaji Abubakar also made reference to the recent bill on gender equity that was brought before the National Assembly and rejected by the Senate. Our religion is our total way of life; therefore, we will not accept any move to change what Allah permitted us to do. Islam is a peaceful religion; we have been living peacefully with Christians and followers of other religions in this country. Therefore, we should be allowed to perform our religion effectively, the Sultan said. He rejected this particular bill, which was meant to ensure that both women and men get equal rights to inheritance, because he said it contradicted Islamic teachings. Alhaji Muhammad recently celebrated his 10th year anniversary as the Sultan of Sokoto. In a letter, written by the Pontiff to mark Innocents' Day on December 28 and made public on January 2, 2016, he announces his desire to expel sexual abuse from the church, "Today, as we commemorate the feast of the Holy Innocents, I want us to renew our full commitment to preventing these atrocities happening again in our midst. Let us find the courage needed to take all necessary measures and to protect in every way the lives of our children, so that such crimes may never be repeated. In this area, let us adhere, clearly and faithfully, to zero tolerance, the pontiff told bishops. ALSO READ: Vatican cardinal denies attempts to cover up child sex abuse Pope Francis also begged for forgiveness of the numerous sins of paedophile priests, promising to do better. "We hear these children and their cries of pain; we also hear the cry of the Church our Mother, who weeps not only for the pain caused to her youngest sons and daughters, but also because she recognizes the sins of some of her members: the sufferings, the experiences and the pain of minors who were abused sexually by priests. It is a sin that shames us. Persons responsible for the protection of those children destroyed their dignity. We regret this deeply and we beg forgiveness. We join in the pain of the victims and weep for this sin. The sin of what happened, the sin of failing to help, the sin of covering up and denial, the sin of the abuse of power. The Church also weeps bitterly over this sin of her sons and she asks forgiveness", he wrote. This is not the first time the Pope has openly attacked sexual abuse in the church. DailyMail reports that the Pontiff called child abuse a 'leprosy' that infected the church, adding that around one in every 50 Catholic priests is a paedophile. In an interview with Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, he said, "The Church is fighting for the eradication of the habit and for education that rehabilitates. But this leprosy is also present in our house. Many of my colleagues who are working against it tell me that paedophilia inside the Church is at the level of 2 per cent. Among the 2 per cent who are paedophiles are even bishops and cardinals." That year, he also begged for forgiveness for these sins, which have been described by British abuse victim, Peter Saunders, 57, who was molested for more than five years by two priests, a teacher and a member of his family from the age of eight, as life-changing. He called on members of the Catholic Church to weep for "the execrable acts of abuse which have left life-long scars". ALSO READ: Pope Francis apologises to catholics on recent sex scandals The Catholic church has been rocked with many accusations by boys and girls, as young as 3 years old, with majority between the ages of 11 and 14. Its National President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, made the call in Lagos on Tuesday during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). Ogunyemi said the constitution required the Federal government to make education accessible to all Nigerians by making it free at all levels. To have a development agenda for education in Nigeria, we have to go back to what the constitution says. Section 18 has made it clear. Government must fund public education in the country free at all levels. Just like we also have the UBEC Law of 2004. We have extant laws that should guide us in education in the country, Ogunyemi told NAN. He said that government must be able to provide effective structures for the management of the education sector. The ASUU president said that lack of political will, policy inconsistency and neglect by successive administrations were some of the issues plaguing education. The procedure for actualising the development agenda for education has been hampered. What we have been seeing over the years are ad-hoc arrangements. On New Years Day, when people were making resolutions, and partying and doing whatever it is people do on that day, a man was plotting something different. Under the cover of darkness, the anonymous prankster crept up the mountain, Then covered the letter two letter Os with tarpaulins. Sergeant Guy Juneau from the Los Angeles Police Departments Security Services branch said told reporters that the prankster was dressed in tactical-style gear. What do people think about it? Well, it looks like Twitter is in high spirits. Like Snoop Dogg African ivory is highly sought after in China, where it is seen as a status symbol, with prices for a kilo (2.2 pounds) reaching as high as $1,100. "To better protect elephants and better tackle the illegal trade... China will gradually stop the processing and sale of ivory for commercial purposes" by the end of 2017, the State Council, China's cabinet, said in a statement late Friday. "Before then, law enforcement agencies will continue to clamp down on illegality associated with elephant tusks," the official Xinhua news agency said, quoting a government official as saying. A first batch of workshops and retailers would be forced to close by the end of March. The move comes after Beijing said in March it would widen a ban on imports of all ivory and ivory products acquired before 1975, after pressure to restrict a trade that sees thousands of elephants slaughtered every year. Xinhua said the complete ban would affect "34 processing enterprises and 143 designated trading venues, with dozens to be closed by the end of March 2017". "This is great news that will shut down the world's largest market for elephant ivory," Aili Kang, executive director of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Asia, said in a statement. "I am very proud of my country for showing this leadership that will help ensure that elephants have a fighting chance to beat extinction. This is a game changer for Africa's elephants." 20,000 elephants killed each year jpegMpeg4-1280x720Conservationists estimate that more than 20,000 elephants were killed for their ivory last year, with similar tolls in previous years. The WWF campaign group says 415,000 of the animals remain. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which took effect in 1975, banned the ivory trade in 1989. China permits the resale of ivory bought before the 1989 ban -- and also has a stockpile purchased with CITES approval in 2008, which it releases for sale with certification. Beijing would continue to allow auctions of ivory antiques deemed to have come from legitimate sources, under strict supervision, the government added. WWF also praised China's move to a complete ban but called on the Chinese territory of Hong Kong to bring forward a plan to end its ivory trade by 2021. WWF said legal research published by the conservation group shows an ivory ban could be imposed "much sooner under current Hong Kong law". "With China's market closed, Hong Kong can become a preferred market for traffickers to launder illegal ivory under cover of the legal ivory trade," said Cheryl Lo, senior wildlife crime officer at WWF. Between 800 and 900 cases of ivory smuggling are uncovered in mainland China each year, according to customs figures. And more than half of legitimate ivory businesses are implicated in the illegal trade. The United States -- the world's second-largest consumer of illegal ivory after China -- announced in June a near-total ban on the trade of African elephant ivory but with notable exemptions including antiques. The protesters gathered in front of an asylum seekers centre where they are housed, carrying banners saying "Refugees are not criminals" and "We came for peace." The migrants claimed that several of them were attacked in the city at the weekend, and accused the police of failing to respond to their reports of violence. According to Zagreb police, two incidents were reported on Saturday, involving a total of five migrants, and that police were now looking for the alleged assailants. The nature of the attacks was not disclosed. One of the migrants, whose nationalities were not revealed, was taken to a hospital while the remaining four declined medical help, the police statement said. Croatia lies on the so-called Balkan route taken by hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa since mid-2015 on their way to western Europe. The route was effectively shut down in March, but migrants have continued to cross the region in smaller numbers -- a few hundred a day -- often brought there by traffickers. The first blast occurred at the Medina Gate entrance to Mogadishu airport, home to the UN, aid agencies and foreign missions and contractors as well as the headquarters of the African Union military mission, AMISOM. The blasts left a scene of destruction with rubble strewn across the road and some nearby villas all but collapsed, however there were no immediate reports of fatalities other than the bombers. "The number of casualties was very minimal compared to the magnitude of the blast," said Abudkadir Mohamed, a security officer, adding that "at least nine people were wounded" including two of the hotel's security guards. The Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement issued by its Anadalus Radio media arm. "The Mujahedeen fighters carried out two suicide attacks one of them targeting a checkpoint alongside the road to Halane," the statement said using the local name for the airport compound. "This was to clear the way for another bomber who was driving a truck which targeted Peace Hotel." The Shabaab is fighting to overthrow the internationally backed government in Mogadishu and regularly uses suicide bombers against government, military and civilians. Mogadishu airport is a regular target but this is the first time the well-known and popular Peace Hotel has been attacked. The shooting happened on Sunday in Nertiti in the Jabal Marra area, where sporadic clashes between the army and rebels have continued despite a government-announced unilateral ceasefire. Ashafih al-Saleh, who heads an association that supports displaced people in Darfur, said: "Eight people, mostly women, were killed inside their homes." Resident Faisal Ashaq said his 13-year-old daughter was killed in the attack. "Gunmen in military uniforms appeared suddenly in their four-wheel-drives, shooting with guns and machine guns screwed on to their vehicles," he said. A medical source said around 60 people were wounded. The Sudan Liberation Army - Minni Minnawi rebel group accused pro-government forces of conducting the attack. A statement said "the attack contradicts" President Omar al-Bashir's decision on December 31 to extend by a month a unilateral ceasefire in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan regions. "Bashir's decision is aimed at covering up the crimes committed by his militias, under his instructions," it added. The conflict in Darfur -- a region of the size of France -- erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Bashir's Arab-dominated government, accusing it of marginalising the region. At least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in Darfur since the conflict first erupted in 2003, the UN says. Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes and genocide charges related to Darfur, which he denies. "We will carry on our cross-border operations and Euphrates Shield and with determination." Thirty-nine people were killed and dozens wounded on Sunday when a gunman stormed a popular Istanbul nightclub and sprayed bullets at revellers celebrating the New Year. The shooting was claimed by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, which said it was in response to Turkey's intervention in Syria. Kurtulmus made no comment on the claim. Turkish troops entered northern Syria on August 24 in support of pro-Ankara Syrian rebels, with the aim of ousting IS jihadists as well as Kurdish militia from the border area. After a lightning successful start to the operation recapturing towns from IS including Jarabulus, the Turkish military has taken dozens of casualties as it tries to capture Al Bab where IS has put up a stronger fight to remain in control. After Al Bab, the military intends to head west to Manbij. "In Jarabulus, Al Bab, Manbij or wherever it needs to go, we will continue these operations until these terror organisations no longer remain a threat to Turkey," Kurtulmus said during a televised press conference in Ankara. He said the attack was also because of Turkey's attempts to create peace in the region, after Ankara teamed up with Moscow to agree a ceasefire for Syria. Former President Bush and former first lady Laura Bushs attendance of Trumps inauguration was announced by the 43rd presidents office in a statement on Tuesday, quoted by CNN. The statement said the couple is pleased to be able to witness the peaceful transfer of power a hallmark of American democracy and swearing-in of President Trump and Vice President Pence. Aides to the Clintons Bill and Hillary also confirmed that the couple will attend the President-elects inauguration later this month. The sources were quoted as saying that over the past few weeks, Hillary Clinton discussed with trusted advisers and friends whether or not she should attend the inaugural. She and President Clinton, the sources said, decided to do so out of a sense of duty and respect for the American democratic process. President and Mrs. George W. Bush will attend the 58th Presidential Inauguration Ceremony on January 20, 2017, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., the Bushs statement read. They are pleased to be able to witness the peaceful transfer of power a hallmark of American democracy and swearing-in of President Trump and Vice President Pence. Until Tuesday, Jimmy Carter was the only former president to RSVP to President-elect Donald Trumps inauguration. Bushs father, President George H.W. Bush, will not be attending due to his health, a spokesman reportedly said. Former presidents traditionally attend the ceremonial transfer of power at the US Capitol. In spite of being a fellow Republican, Bush did not vote for Trump on Nov. 8 election, a decision Trump later described as sad. Bushs father voted for Clinton, according to sources. During the primaries, both Bushes supported their family member, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who was a fierce challenger of Trumps. Just a week after the election, George W. Bush lamented the role that anger played in politics today. I understand anger, and some people may have been angry when I was president. But anger shouldnt drive policy, Bush said in Dallas in a rare public speech. What needs to drive policy is whats best for the people who are angry. Turning the ship before it hits the iceberg ALBERTO EL PATRON ARRESTED OVER THE WEEKEND Austrian website KRONE reported today that former WWE champion Alberto El Patron/Del Rio was arrested on Friday 12/30 after wrestling in Leoben, Austria as a result of a brawl he and his brother, El Hijo del Dos Cara got into a nightclub. The article claimed that the person they got into the brawl with ended up hospitalized. There was no indication as to what sparked the brawl and who was at fault for instigating it. PWInsider.com has confirmed that the arrest did indeed take place and that the situation led to Alberto being delayed at least 24 hours from leaving the country. The article (based on Google translation from German to English) states that authorities needed to use ankle cuffs as handcuffs on Alberto after Alberto easily broke wire ties that were initially used to restrain him. The article also reported that after he and his brother were brought to the police headquarters, they themselves got into a fistfight with each other that required 10 police officers to get involved. The article noted that after that fight, there was blood on the walls of the station that would need to be re-painted and that furniture in the station was destroyed during the melee. It also noted that Hijo del Dos Cara required a hospital visit after his fight with Alberto. Obviously, Alberto is now back in the United States as he was in Tampa earlier today, seen by fans picking Paige up from Monday Night Raw in Tampa, Florida. The arrest was the third incident involving Alberto in as many months. Several weeks ago, Alberto got into a backstage brawl at a lucha libre event in Mexico after lucha star Rafy allegedly spoke or touched Paige in an inappropriate manner backstage. Back in October, Alberto missed a major AAA event after he claimed he had been attacked and stabbed by a homeless man in San Antonio, Texas. No police report of the incident was ever found. There is no word whether Alberto and Hijo will need to return to Austria to face legal proceedings. Thanks to Marvin Weyer. If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here! A Muscatine man was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years in prison for the hit-and-run deaths of a Muscatine couple in Rock Island County in May 2015. Robert P. Darrow pleaded guilty in October to charges that he hit and killed the couple on a motorcycle in Illinois City before fleeing the scene. Darrow was sentenced in Rock Island County Circuit Court on two counts of failure to report an accident, a Class 1 felony. BREAKING: Robert Darrow sentenced to 25 years in prison for the hit and run deaths of a Muscatine couple in Rock Island Co in May 2015. Tara Becker (@TaraBecker_QCT) January 3, 2017 About 8:30 p.m. May 17, 2015, a silver 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix was headed east in the 26000 block of 124th Avenue near Illinois City when it crossed the center line, striking a 2013 Harley Davidson motorcycle traveling west, according to the Rock Island County Sheriff's Office. The driver of the motorcycle, Kevin D. Diehl, 42, and his passenger, Dawn A. Korch, 37, were thrown from the motorcycle. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. According to the testimony of Sheriffs Detective Jason Patterson at Darrows preliminary hearing in late May 2015: An Illinois City firefighter who lives three-quarters of a mile away from the accident site responded to the area after hearing the crash. The firefighter saw a man standing on the passenger side of the car looking through paperwork. The firefighter told deputies that the man told him he had not had a chance to call 911. To the left of the car, the firefighter saw a motorcycle and a male nearby who appeared to be dead. When he made his way back to the car, the firefighter saw the man run south across a field. That man matched the description of Darrow. His cellphone and clothing were found inside the car. Deputies discovered that the Grand Prix was registered to a relative of Darrows girlfriend, who told investigators that she sold the car to Darrow on May 15, 2015, for $800. Darrows girlfriend, who lives more than two miles from the accident, told deputies that she had spoken to him on the phone about 8:32 p.m. the night of the crash. The two had gotten into a fight, and she told him to just go home. He went to her house later and had on wet, muddy clothes and scratches all over his body. She told deputies that Darrow told her that he was an accident and didnt know what happened. He said he thought he lost consciousness and ran from the scene when he saw people there. There were no witnesses to the crash, according to Pattersons testimony. House Republicans may have backed off their plan to curtail the independence of the Office of Congressional Ethics, but Democratic lawmakers from the Quad-Cities said Tuesday the episode proves the GOP has no intent to "drain the swamp" of corruption in Washington, D.C. The swirl of events came as lawmakers from both parties were sworn in to the House and Senate and as the nation's capital prepares for life under GOP control. House Republicans voted Monday night to shift control over the privately governed office to the House Ethics Committee, a move critics said would gut its independence. The outcry prompted House Republicans to back off about mid-day Tuesday, but the political fallout was already evident as news coverage was widespread. Rep. Dave Loebsack, the only Democrat from Iowa, said he was "dismayed that one of the first actions taken by House Republicans in the middle of the night was to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics." He said the move proves the GOP "has already forgotten who they work for the American people." Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Illinois, said: "While I am pleased that they bowed to pressure and withdrew this provision, by voting to gut ethics rules, the Republican majority clearly demonstrated that they have no intent of actually trying to 'drain the swamp' despite their promises." The vote in the GOP caucus Monday night was 119-74, according to national news reports, but there was not a public record of how individual lawmakers voted. Rep. Rod Blum, R-Iowa, posted to Facebook on Tuesday that he did not support the move. "I was opposed to the measure that would have reduced the authority of the Office of Congressional Ethics, and am glad to see the provision removed from the Rules of the 115th Congress," he said. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said he backed the change. He said on MSNBC on Tuesday morning that the office takes anonymous complaints and then leaks information to the news media. He said members in both parties have been damaged by the office. "I havent seen any good things come from them, and Ive seen many, many bad things come from them," King said in the interview, which was held before the House reversed course. A spokesperson for Rep. David Young, R-Iowa, sent a statement from his office saying, Congressman Young opposed moving forward with a vote on a Rules package with the proposed changes to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). He believes reforms are needed, but the process needs to be done in a bipartisan way, and must be debated in an open and honest process not behind closed doors." The committee was created in 2008 after complaints that the House Ethics Committee was not aggressive enough in policing members. The office can refer matters to the House Ethics Committee, but it is governed by a board of private citizens. The committee has been the target of criticism, including from some Democrats, over the years. One North Carolina Democrat, who was investigated by the panel, sought to significantly cut its funding. He was not successful. The House GOP leadership opposed the change Monday, and President-elect Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday morning that it shouldn't be a priority. The proposed change was part of a larger package of rules to be enacted by the full House Tuesday. Congressional Republicans voted to strike the change from its package of proposed rules. BETTENDORF Mary M. Gordon, of Bettendorf, passed away at Clarissa C. Cook Hospice, Jan. 1, 2017. A celebration of life services will be 10:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 6, at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 2136 Brady St., Davenport. The family will greet friends from 3-7 p.m. Thursday at Weerts Funeral Home, Kimberly Road at Jersey Ridge Road, Davenport. Burial will be at Pine Hill Cemetery, Davenport. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House or The Alzheimers Foundation of America. Mary was born Oct. 5, 1932, in Davenport, to Carl and Esther Kreiter. She graduated from the Lutheran Hospital School for Nurses and was deeply dedicated to her profession for more than 40 years. Soon after her marriage to Wayne Gordon, April 18, 1957, she began her RN career at Veterans Hospital, Iowa City. After several years at home with her young children, she took a position as a charge nurse at Friendship Manor. She entered private nursing when she joined her brothers orthopedic practice in Davenport and worked with him until her retirement. Mary spent many hours in service to others both modeling and stressing that value to her children. For much of her life, she was dedicated to the care and welfare of seniors in our community. She was an active member of St. Paul Lutheran Church and held offices in Senior Voice, where she proudly contributed to File of Life efforts in the Iowa Quad-Cities. She served as a board member of the Lutheran Home Society in Muscatine. Marys work ethic and personal interests kept her busy and were frequently the same. Whether volunteering her time, tending her lawn and flowers, or putting things in order at Deer Lake, she believed in productivity. Her devotion to her family never faltered; she inspired respect, cultivated compassion, and generated devotion among family and friends alike. Mary is survived by her loving children and their spouses, Mike and Linda Gordon, of Goose Lake, Iowa, Mark and Chris Gordon, of Springdale, Arkansas, Ann Gordon and Lee Jividen, of St. Petersburg, Florida, and Sara Snyder-Karns of Bettendorf; 14 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. She will also be missed by brother and sister-in-laws, Richard Kreiter (Judy) of Davenport, and Jerry Kreiter (Georgeann) of Moline. She is preceded in death by her parents, Carl and Esther Kreiter, her husband, Wayne J. Gordon, and brother, Robert Kreiter. Online condolences may be expressed to the family by visiting Marys obituary at www.weertsfh.com. Hamilton helped elect his rival to keep an 'unruly Tyrant' from the presidency I came to Virginia during the holidays to visit an old friend who's fallen on hard times. Amid the cultural sensation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton" on Broadway, the protagonist's arch-rival, Thomas Jefferson, has momentarily lost his place of honor in the founding narrative. If Alexander Hamilton is the hero, the Sage of Monticello, though not the villain (that's Aaron Burr) is an impediment. In truth, Jefferson and Hamilton were indispensable, the yin and yang of American democracy: Jefferson's love of liberty and Hamilton's taste for centralized power created the balance that built the world's economic and military superpower. And they had common cause in defending their creation. Their system was under threat in 1800, when a quirk in the electoral college left the federalist-controlled House of Representatives to award the presidency to one of two republicans, Jefferson and Burr. Miranda portrayed Hamilton as reluctantly drawn out of retirement to endorse Jefferson, but Hamilton's letters show he was zealous in persuading fellow federalists to choose Jefferson -- a man with whom he had more ideological differences than with Burr. The danger to the new country, Hamilton argued, wasn't ideological disputes, but the possibility that an unprincipled man would exploit public passions. Hamilton's letters from 216 winters ago, which I re-read this week, provide much relevance to this moment, as our 45th president assumes office. Hamilton was no apologist for Jefferson, whose politics were "tinctured with fanaticism," and who was "a contemptible hypocrite." But, Hamilton wrote to Federalist James Bayard of Delaware, Jefferson is not "zealot enough to do anything in pursuance of his principles which will contravene his popularity, or his interest. He is as likely as any man I know to temporize -- to calculate what will be likely to promote his own reputation and advantage; and the probable result of such a temper is the preservation of systems, though originally opposed, which being once established, could not be overturned without danger to the person who did it. Add to this that there is no fair reason to suppose him capable of being corrupted, which is a security that he will not go beyond certain limits." Some Federalists thought the non-ideological Burr would be more malleable. But, Hamilton countered, a man without theory cannot be "a systematic or able statesman." Burr is "more cunning than wise ... inferior in real ability to Jefferson," Hamilton wrote. "Great Ambition unchecked by principle ... is an unruly Tyrant." The former Treasury secretary warned that Burr's trafficking in "the floating passions of the multitude" would lead him to "endeavour to disorganize both parties & to form out of them a third composed of men fitted by their characters to be conspirators." Hamilton recounted that when Burr was told something wasn't permissible under the American system, Burr replied "les grands ames se soucient peu des petits morceaux" -- great souls care little about small things. This led Hamilton to conclude that "Burr would consider a scheme of usurpation as visionary." Hamilton issued similar warnings in the winter of 1800-01 to James Ross of Pennsylvania, John Rutledge Jr. of South Carolina, Oliver Wolcott Jr. of Connecticut and Gouverneur Morris of New York. Certainly there was personal enmity between Hamilton and the bankrupt "voluptuary" he called Burr. But underlying Hamilton's aggressive campaign for Jefferson was a fear that America's democracy was too fragile to survive Burr's ambition. "He is of a temper to undertake the most hazardous enterprises because he is sanguine enough to think nothing impracticable, and of an ambition which will be content with nothing less than permanent power in his own hands," he wrote Bayard. "The maintenance of the existing institutions will not suit him, because under them his power will be too narrow & too precarious; yet the innovations he may attempt will not offer the substitute of a system durable & safe, calculated to give lasting prosperity, & to unite liberty with strength. It will be the system of the day, sufficient to serve his own turn, & not looking beyond himself." "The truth," Hamilton wrote, "is that under forms of Government like ours, too much is practicable to men who will without scruple avail themselves of the bad passions of human nature." Hamilton's view of Burr would later become universal. Jefferson would come to see his former running mate as "one of the most flagitious [villainous] of which history will ever furnish an example." Hamilton's intervention gave the country the triumphant presidency of Jefferson, sparing the young nation an unscrupulous man exploiting public passion to usurp power. Will we be as lucky in 2017? CEDAR RAPIDS At least 400 people died from crashes on the states roadways in 2016, nearly a 27 percent increase over the year before and the most since 2008, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. The spike in traffic deaths breaks a four-year downward movement in Iowa road fatalities, adding urgency to efforts to reverse it. The scary thing for us is, as you take a look, Iowa really had been trending the right way and then 2016 comes along, said Patrick Hoye, chief of the Iowa Governors Traffic Safety Bureau. Moreover, the 2016 spike comes just three years after Iowa had 317 fatal crashes the lowest number in 70 years. Hoye said the increase in traffic fatalities was consistent throughout most of the year. Only one month August saw a decrease from 2015. February had an equal amount of fatalities, but the other months increased from 2015, Hoye said. It wasnt like we had one bad month we had 10 bad months, he said. This normally never happens, where you see month after month after month with increased fatalities. The 2016 tally of 400 traffic fatalities on Iowa roads could still increase. The Iowa DOT has not yet taken into account any fatalities that may have occurred Saturday, the last day of the year. The agency also adjusts the total to add crash-related deaths that occurs within 30 days of the incident. Finding the primary causes of 2016s spike is difficult, but Hoye said ongoing concerns remain about distracted driving, impaired driving and driving at excessive speeds. Deaths from alcohol-related crashes in Iowa have hovered around 30 percent, and 2016 was no exception, Hoye said. Last summer, Gov. Terry Branstad asked for the creation of a task force to study ways to combat distracted, drunken and drowsy driving that could include cellphone restrictions and increased public awareness. The group in November identified 66 proposals aimed at getting drunken and impaired drivers off the road through stepped-up enforcement, prevention, education and adjudication. Hoye said efforts to reduce the number of Iowa traffic deaths could run the gamut everything from drivers education to the Legislature, he said. The last time Iowas annual highway traffic fatalities surpassed 400 was in 2008 when it reached 412 deaths. The highest annual record was 912 in 1970, while the lowest on record was 261 in 1925 the last time state roadway deaths dropped below 300, according to Iowa DOT data. While the number of traffic-related deaths in 2016 is discouraging, Hoye said it has officials taking a serious look at the issue. If there can possibly be anything positive that comes out of a higher fatality count, maybe that would be that we take a stronger look at what we could be doing to reduce crashes, Hoye said. Were taking 2017 month by month, and our goal is that every month is less than where we were in 2016. Of the 400 traffic fatalities reported so far for 2016, 99 involved motorcycles, pedestrians or others. Of the 301 people killed while riding in cars or trucks, 123 of them nearly 41 percent were not wearing seat belts. Yet with Iowas seat belt compliance rate at about 93 percent, Iowa State Patrol spokesman Sgt. Nathan Ludwig said the majority of Iowans do buckle up. Iowa law, however, does not enforce seat-belt use for individuals in the back seat who are age 18 or older. In high-speed incidents, a seat belt can be the difference between life and death, no matter where you are sitting, Ludwig said. The 7 percent that are not buckling up are 40 percent of the fatalities, Ludwig said. No matter where you are in the car, put your seat belt on. Hoye said the states seat-belt compliance rate last year appears to have climbed 1 percentage point, to 94 percent. To me that really is a testament to how successful those belts are. If youre not buckled, your chances of surviving the crash are severely hampered. People acquitted of crimes or whose charges are dropped will have their Nebraska court records automatically sealed beginning in 2017. The sweeping change, which will affect tens of thousands of cases each year, was approved by the Legislature in April 2016 at the request of an association representing the states criminal defense attorneys. Under the law, which took effect Jan. 1, state courts will begin immediately sealing records of cases that end with a not guilty verdict or are dismissed for other reasons, unless they are the subject of an ongoing appeal. Anyone whose record is sealed may also answer no on job applications when asked if theyve ever been charged with a crime, assuming they dont have other charges that arent sealed. Its as if it never happened, which is exactly what it should be, said Muirne Heaney, an attorney with Legal Aid of Nebraska. The change is a huge deal for low-income people, Heaney said. Because, No. 1, theyre policed more, and more likely to be arrested for things that dont stick. And yet theyve got this record which would interfere with entry-level employment. Allowing job seekers to omit the charges from applications will help them get work, she said. The change applies to cases that end in acquittal, are dropped by prosecutors, resolved through drug court or another problem-solving court or dismissed following a hearing and not the subject of a pending appeal. Cases dismissed before 2017 wont be expunged automatically. But Heaney believes judges may apply the new law to older records on an individual, as-requested basis. She is working on self-help forms for people seeking to have past cases removed from the public record, citing the new law as justification. Its unclear exactly how many people will be affected, but the number is significant. Nebraska courts take on more than 300,000 new cases per year, although state Supreme Court officials couldnt immediately provide data on how many end without convictions. Police arrest records must already be withheld from the public if a person is never charged or has his or her case dismissed, under a 2007 bill by State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha. The new law expands to include records found in the states online court database, known as Justice, as well as printed copies in courthouses across Nebraska, said Omaha Sen. Bob Krist, who sponsored the more recent legislation (LB505). The court records will still exist, but once they are sealed, they cant be shared with the public unless the subject allows it, is being prosecuted, jailed or imprisoned or is an announced candidate or holder of public office. Information also may be used for research or statistical purposes as long as the individual isnt publicly identified. Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said that prosecutors and law enforcement agencies are waiting to see how the law affects their investigations. Even without a conviction, a persons court records can be valuable to investigators, for example, when charges are dropped against cooperating witnesses, he said. While prosecutors can still request that information, its unclear how difficult the process will be. Well just see how it works, Kleine said. Other concerns were raised when the change was proposed in 2015. Alan Peterson, a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska, called a majority of the bill terrific but worried about letting people who have been accused of crimes swear they never were. Employers and other officials are prohibited from asking about sealed records during an application process, but if the question is asked anyway, the person may respond as if the offense never occurred, the law says. I dont know of any place where federal or state law tells somebody they can directly lie about something, Peterson told members of the Legislatures Judiciary Committee. Media of Nebraska, which represents news outlets, was neutral on the bill. There might be public interest in knowing about cases even if they end in acquittal, said Korby Gilbertson, a Media of Nebraska lobbyist. To some extent, the law allows people to rewrite history, she said. Its a balancing of interests, theres no question about that, said Kim Dunovan, a retired Omaha attorney who crafted the bill with the Nebraska Criminal Defense Attorneys Association. But the stigma from an arrest record weighs heavily on peoples ability to get a job or find a rental home, she said, especially now that the internet has made those records easier to find. A majority of states offer some privacy protection for people who are legally innocent of a crime, Dunovan said. Some even allow for sealing records of convictions in nonviolent cases, including certain felonies. Said Heaney: I think Nebraska is late to this game. Other law changes that took effect Sunday include: Gas tax increase Nebraskas tax on motor fuels will go up 1.5 cents, to 27.2 cents per gallon, because of a 2015 legislative bill that increases the tax 6 cents over a four-year period. The bill, LB610, was sponsored by Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion. Homestead exemptions Veterans surviving spouses can keep their homestead exemptions even if they remarry after age 57 under a bill (LB683) sponsored by Omaha Sen. Joni Craighead. Surgical first assistants Trained assistants who are not surgeons can become licensed to help with surgeries under a bill (LB721) sponsored by Sen. Roy Baker of Lincoln. Online accounts upon death A process is now in place for Nebraskans to designate how their old online accounts (Facebook, email, etc.) should be handled when they die under a bill (LB829) sponsored by Omaha Sen. Burke Harr. Consumer protection Minors will be better protected from identity theft with new requirements for consumer reporting agencies under a bill (LB835) sponsored by Omaha Sen. Heath Mello at the request of Attorney General Doug Peterson. State rules and regulations A bill (LB867) sponsored by the Legislatures Performance Audit Committee ensures state agencies follow the formal rules and regulations process, which includes public notice and a hearing, when adopting policies that affect peoples lives. Powertech head says ignoring the science behind the effort is a scare tactic, but others worry about the county becoming a toxic waste dump site HOT SPRINGS Lindsey McLean, a biochemist and Rapid City businesswoman who has given seminars on health here in Hot Springs, says that if people against using Fall River County as a toxic waste disposal site can thwart Azarga Uraniums effort to permit in-situ uranium mining and using deep injection wells to store what she calls toxic waste at the Dewey-Burdock project site in Fall River and Custer counties, they can probably keep toxic waste out of the Black Hills altogether. Meanwhile, Edgemonts Mark Hollenbeck, of Powertech (an Azarga subsidiary and the company that will take the Dewey Burdock project forward if federal and state agencies give it the go-ahead), says that those fighting against the Dewey Burdock project are using scare tactics to frighten people, that they arent listening to a decades worth of science behind what Powertech intends on doing at the site. On Wednesday, Dec. 28, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) appeared to agree at least in part with Hollenbeck. The NRCs Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) issued a partial initial decision that dismissed five of seven contentions those against the Dewey Burdock project said where valid reasons not to grant Azarga and Powertech a license to proceed, but it granted two other conditions. In-situ mining In-situ uranium mining involves injecting a solution -- called a lixiviant into an underground uranium ore deposit using a high-pressure injection well. As the solution flows through the ore, the lixiviant dissolves leaches uranium into the solution. This solution is then pumped out of the ore deposit, where a separate well extracts the uranium from the solution, in an ion exchange process. After the uranium is extracted, the lixiviant is recycled and reinjected into the ore body to dissolve more uranium. The process is similar to the fracking process used to gather oil or natural gas from underground deposits. In-situ uranium mining is used widely throughout South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska and New Mexico to recover uranium for enrichment and later use in nuclear power plants. Waste problems? The waste left over from in-situ mining Hollenbeck says this is half a percent of all the solution used to dissolve the uranium is injected back into the ground, into what he described as isolated saltwater- and oil-filled aquifers that also contain water not fit for anything like irrigation, livestock and certainly not for drinking water for people. Hollenbeck described this waste as a salty solution, much like brine, a by-product of fracking and oil and natural gas production, which is also pumped back underground by deep injection wells. Hollenbeck said this waste solution is not radioactive. It has radio nuclides in it, but it is not classified as a radioactive waste. Again, he said the same sort of waste occurs in fracking oil production methods. He called the deep injection wells a modern disposal method, one of two potentials to dispose of this waste: using deep injection wells or applying it to land. Weve done exhaustive science studies on this, he said, geology tests, hydrologic tests, pressure tests, other tests. Weve tested the aquifers above and below it. We have confidence in this. Im extremely frustrated, he said, the detractors (those against the Dewey Burdock project) have nothing at stake, nothing to lose, and they are usually misrepresenting the facts. My family has been here (in Edgemont) for several generations, we have a stake in this. You wouldnt just drill a hole and pump waste into it. McLean and others heartily disagree with Hollenbecks characterization of the waste going back into the ground. McLean says that the Black Hills is one of the last sources of basically pure aquifers available between the Rocky Mountain front and the more stable underground structures of the Great Plains and prairie further east. She and other groups fighting against bringing toxic waste into the Black Hills including Hot Springs Its All About The Water are embarking on a massive public education campaign about what is intended by Azarga at the Dewey Burdock site , and how this will affect the Black Hills and its precious water supplies. She says there are four basic aquifers that encircle the Black Hills at different depths: The Inyan Kara aquifer, the shallowest often used for irrigation and livestock use. The Deadwood Aquifer, below Inyan Kara, is a supply of unusable water. The Madison Aquifer is the main drinking water supply in the Black Hills. The Minnelusa Aquifer, the deepest aquifer, also used for irrigation, livestock and human use. McClean and others believe deep injection wells will cause trouble for a variety of reasons: One issue is the nature of Black Hills geology. The hills formed through an uplift of the Earths crust, and as a result, underlying rock structures are broken, bent and fractured. This allows connectivity between aquifers on different levels, she said. McLean and others worry that what gets dumped into one aquifer could very well make it into other aquifers into drinking water. In particular, McLean worries about how the Madison Aquifer, the major drinking water source for the Black Hills, lies in between the Deadwood and Minnelusa aquifers, and how what is dumped into Deadwood or Minnelusa could find its way into the Madison because it is under pressure from both above and below. Related to this is how deep injection wells work. Deep injection wells use high pressure to force the waste and water into the aquifer. This pressure, says McLean, works exactly like the fracking technique used by the oil and natural gas industry to drive pockets of oil or natural gas out of shale. It breaks rocks, creates additional fissures for waste to reach another aquifer. Related t this is how fracking, considered to be the cause of numerous recent Oklahoma earthquakes, is a concern. Since the Black Hills is already in an earthquake-prone area, high pressure injection of waste, causing rock strata to break, could result in more shifting of bedrock, more fissures and breaks, more of a chance of contaminating clean water with toxic chemicals, said McLean. The pipes and well casings that carry the waste into the underground aquifers are also suspect, McLean says. Injection wells use steel well pipes, encased in concrete, to punch down through rock and sediment layers of the Earth. This journey takes the pipe through the Inyan Kara and the Madison aquifers to reach either the Deadwood or Minnelusa levels. The corrosive nature of salty waste being injected into them will cause them to break down faster than predicted and the protection the pipes and concrete offer will then be lost, resulting in potential contamination of aquifers like the Madison, she says. Also, McLean worries about the impact of more than 7,600 uncovered bore holes, the result of uranium exploration in the past. Azarga was supposed to cover these, but has not completed this effort, according to McLean although the company claims otherwise. This could leach toxic waste into the Inyan Kara aquifer, she said. By NRC rules these holes are to be identified and properly closed before any mining activity would be permitted. If there is contamination of drinking water from in-situ waste water, McLean said, heavy metals like thorium, vanadium, strontium and others could become even twice as toxic due to their being part of a radioactive slurry of chemicals. Also, salts and other chemicals used in the in-situ process and injected into the Earth contain salts that can dissolve rock like sandstone, potentially opening up more ways for a clean aquifer to become contaminated. McLean says that eight of the 12 deep injection wells to be used in Dewey Burdock are Class No. 5 wells, four are Class No. 3 wells. The Class No. 3 wells would shoot in-situ waste down into the Deadwood Aquifer, already bad water, not fit for even livestock, according to McLean. The Class No. 5 wells would pump a far less polluted level of waste into the Minnelusa Aquifer which is a source of drinking water for many in the Black Hills, including McLean. She would like an exact description of the kinds and concentrations of all wastes to be injected in both Class No. 3 and No. 5 injection wells, with the exact locations and depths of these wells. According to McLean, there are more than 700 leases for in-situ type projects currently located across the Black Hills, plenty of cause for concern, she noted. ASLB decision The NRC and its ASLB must comply with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) obligations when permitting in-situ mining. As a result, the ASLB prepared a generic environmental impact statement (GEIS) to address certain aspects of the environmental analysis for the Dewey Burdcok project. The GElS identified resource areas that require site-specific information to fully analyze the environmental impacts. Back in 2009, Powertech filed an application to permit the Dewey Burdock project. Responding to this, the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Consolidated Interveners including several environmental groups, challenged this license application. Various hearings took place, with ASLB issuing draft and final environmental impact statements, and a safety evaluation report, with the NRC issuing a license to proceed to Azarga/Powertech in 2014. This was opposed by the interveners as well. On Wednesday, Dec. 28, ASLB resolved five of seven contentions put forth by those against Dewey Burdock in favor of Powertech. ASLB also found deficiencies in the NRCs NEPA analysis and National Historic Preservation Act consultation with the Oglala Sioux Tribe, particularly regarding tribal cultural resources. Plus, ASLB requires Azaraga to address the uncovered bore holes issue. Still, ASLB upheld Powertechs license. This appears to be a big win for Azarga/Powertech, because ASLB said the EIS did contain enough background information about groundwater resources, about geological and manmade features that could permit groundwater migration. McLean, who has testified against Azaraga in hearings held in Rapid City and elsewhere, says that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are looking at Dewey Burdock as a test case. If Azarga can be stopped with its plans here, people can keep toxic, radioactive waste out of the Black Hills in general. She claims the NRC, due to budget cuts, must now survive as a federal agency from money acquired during the permitting process, which is why so many decisions by NRC favor corporations and industry groups like Azarga. She is looking forward to the EPAs decisions on this. Money problems Still, one of Azargas biggest problems in moving forward at Dewey Burdock is the price of uranium. It has plummeted in recent years. Uranium currently fetches about $18 per pound. To make in-situ mining break even, Azargas Chief Operating Officer John Mays has admitted that uranium needs to sell for at least $63 per pound. With nuclear power declining in favor of cleaner solar and wind energy, the demand for uranium is not likely to skyrocket any time soon. The economics are not possible right now, Hollenbeck agreed. At $18 per pound, no investors are going to get involved. But with the phenomenal time it takes to go through the permitting process, we have to stay with this. McLean claims Azarga is looking at alternative ways to make Dewey Burdock profitable and keep uranium mining permits alive, just in case prices increase again that Azarga wants to use its deep injection wells to pump wastewater from other in-situ uranium mining efforts in Nebraska and Wyoming into Fall River County aquifers. Hollenbeck disputed that. He said the deep injection wells are part of the on-site in-situ process. Weve spent 10 years doing this and poured an obscene amount of money into this, he said. Everything points to our science being right. Every time the interveners have gone up against us, theyve lost on the science of this. As an example, Hollenback pointed out how a map showing uranium deposits on the eastern flank of the Black Hills is blown out of proportion. Even when uranium was getting $130 per pound 10 years ago, no one leased these sites, he said. Its not recoverable. They just want to get people scared. Rapid City has the largest open pit mine in South Dakota. Yet Azargas financial dealings have been increasingly questioned. Not too long ago, Azarga sold stock for $10 - 12 per share to raise about $435 million. This summer it embarked on another stock-selling effort, to raise another couple million to get funding for NRC-required amendments the company proposed to the NRC Source and Byproduct Materials License for the Dewey Burdock project. This, according to Azarga completes certain NRC license conditions for the Project, including the finalization of the financial assurance amount required for construction of the Project and completion of other initial pre-operational NRC license conditions. The Amendment also completes one of the necessary steps for resuming the South Dakota state permitting process. While stock values rise and fall sometimes precipitously Azargas once valuable shares are now trading for pennies after seven executives of Platinum Partners who owned 20 percent of Azarga, the companys largest stockholder, were charged with investment and security fraud, also conspiracy, last week in a $1 billion case that federal prosecutors describe as a Ponzi scheme. Platinum, led by Mark Nordlicht, was known for high stock returns, the result of aggressive investing and fund management. However, Brooklyn-based U.S. Attorney Robert Capers alleges that Nordlicht and his cohorts engaged in one of the largest and most brazen investment frauds perpetrated on the investing public. The charges include exaggerating the value of their investments, paying some clients ahead of others and rigging a bond vote in their favor. Will this play a role in the required bonding to mitigate potential damages caused by Azargas plans? Hollenbeck said he couldnt comment on Azargas other financial dealings because he works for Powertech, and a call to John Mays, Azargas Chief Operating Officer, went unanswered. The Craigslist ad got right down to business. Medieval Astrologer, it said. Advice of any kind, missing persons, or things. Guaranteed. "Guaranteed," it said. As a naturally curious person, I responded to the ad. Then I sat in a coffee shop in Rapid City and waited for the medieval astrologer to arrive. I tapped my pen and thought about Carrie Fisher. I had grown up watching her as Princess Leia from the Star Wars films. She had died the day before. It was a Wednesday, and 2016 still had us in its sadistic clutches for another four days. From the ugliness of the presidential election, to the passing of dozens of beloved celebrity icons, to the senseless carnage in Aleppo, Orlando and elsewhere, it had been a ridiculous and heartbreaking year. Which is why I was fidgeting in my seat at a Starbucks in downtown Rapid City. Soon the medieval astrologer would appear, panda bears and an orange flower on his mint green tie. A small, bespectacled man, he slid his business card across the table past a stack of books hed brought with him: Lillys Christian Astrology and Predictive Astrology by Bernadette Brady, a colleague of his, he said, whom hed studied with in Australia. A yin and yang encircled in a wheel of alchemic glyphs adorned his business card, and the letters QHP next to his name: Gary Price. What do those letters mean? I asked. Qualified Horary Practitioner, he said. I blinked, then leaned forward and asked him in a deadly serious voice: Is 2017 going to be any better? Price gave a warm and gracious smile. Opening his notebook, he explained he would focus on the United States, starting from what he called the Capricorn ingress, with one disclaimer: His prediction would only be good for the first three months of 2017, until the next ingress in March. I nodded my assent, and he got to work deciphering. Zero degrees Aries rising he mumbled as he began scratching symbols in the margins of a hand drawn horoscope wheel. Venus is on the border of the Eleventh and Twelfth House Often associated with magic and the occult, astrology is the study of how the movement of celestial bodies affects human affairs. Using star charts and horoscopes, astrologists claim to be able to offer insight into a persons life, even the future. The type of astrology he practices is distinct, Price explained, in that it is based on ancient rules from Babylonian, Chinese and Hindu tradition that have been either tweaked or abandoned in some types of modern day astrology. Knowing how to draw up a horoscope is only a small piece of what he does, Price said. Its his ability to accurately interpret the signs that he has had to cultivate over a lifetime of experience. 15 Aquarius, what we call an intercepted sign, he continued to mutter in a low, soft voice. Jupiter is in Libra at 19 Price is 60 years old. Born in New Jersey, he has lived all over the world. His father was in the Army, and was stationed at a base in Germany, where Price says he met President John F. Kennedy as a child. He went on to join the military, and spent 10 years in the United Kingdom, where he met his second wife, an Irish woman whose family, he said with a mischievous grin, was deeply involved in the Irish Republican Army. It is she he credits for sparking his enduring fascination with medieval astrology. A pagan and wiccan, she introduced him to covens, and took him with to seances to commune with the spirit world. Ive seen those circles, he said. Ive been in those circles. During his time in Great Britain, he joined a group of fellow astrologers. In London, very often we helped the police with their cases, he said. Later in life, he studied Buddhism and herbal medicine in the mountains of China and Taiwan. He spent 20 years there, met his third wife, and learned to speak the language. Sipping his coffee cream, no sugar he spoke the name of a Chinese village where he used to live, then wrote it down in Chinese characters with an unfaltering hand. Saturn is a sign of tradition, Price said, continuing to work through his prophecy. Americans are frustrated, and wanting to go back to family values and traditional democracy. Price came to Rapid City three years ago, and hasnt had too many clients since. He knows how people see him. Eccentric, at best. A practitioner of the dark arts at worst. He doesnt see himself that way. He has a ouija board in his closet, but refuses to touch it. Those things are dangerous, he said. Price practices astrology, he said, to help himself and other people figure out their problems. I dont know why people have this awe about it, he said. It just works. I wouldnt keep doing it if it didnt. With all his tabulations complete, Price finished scrawling in his notepad and looked up. This is a house clearly divided, he said. If I were looking for glad tidings to ring in the New Year, he didnt have much for me. Other countries will suffer financially, he said. They will have to deal on American terms if they want to deal at all. What that does to us is, it isolates us, because our ruler, our people, are here. The medieval astrologer stabbed a finger into a quadrant on the wheel. Youve got Mars in the Twelfth House, he said, The House of Sorrow and Isolation. Underground. Underwater. These are the words he used. Its the gestapo, the secret police, he said. Even against the American people. There will be a return of American toughness at home as well as abroad, he said. The world will see us in a new and diminished light. And of course, a glimpse beyond the veil into the year 2017 would be incomplete without an appearance by President-elect Donald Trump. Empty vessels make the most noise, Price said with a smile. Before shutting his notebook, Price repeated that his forecast is only good for the first three months of the year. Until the stars move again, the rest of the new year will remain a blank slate. So thats how it starts out, he said. I drained my coffee, shook his hand and walked back out into the street. The sun was shining, and the snow was beginning to melt. The weathermen say it will be warm for a few days over the weekend, but another blizzard will come again soon. Terrific, I thought, bounding over a puddle. Something to look forward to. The swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 3 marks the official start of the 115th Congress, but our work to prepare for these next two years has been ongoing for months. Last summer, House Republicans introduced a once-in-a-generation blueprint for the reforms we feel are necessary to move this country forward. In late December after most of Congress had gone home for the holidays, I along with just 23 other members of the House Ways and Means Committee came back to Washington to hammer out two critical sections of this blueprint: tax reform and healthcare reform. On tax reform, we worked on a framework for a simpler, flatter and fairer tax code. Coming from a state that has zero income tax, I wanted to share a real-world example of the economic benefits of a lower tax rate. As a busy mom, I wanted to speak to the importance of a simpler tax return one that may even be simple enough to fit on a postcard. As an experienced small business owner, farmer and rancher, I wanted the tax code to incentivize growth in the American economy. And as a taxpayer, I wanted the loopholes to be closed and the IRS to be held accountable. Our work continues, but Im glad we were able to communicate this vision from the onset. On healthcare reform, we plan to take immediate steps to repeal Obamacare. While were still navigating the best legislative path from that point, we are committed to protecting the healthcare needs of all Americans. At our meeting in December, we worked through a number of ideas for creating a system that no longer relies on mandates, but instead ensures affordable access so families can choose what works best for them. This plan would deliver unprecedented freedom, empowering Americans to purchase the healthcare plan of their choice, manage how they spend their healthcare dollars, and access their electronic health records. Moreover, it would include tools that drive down the actual cost for delivering healthcare, an expense that is higher per person in the U.S. than almost any nation in the world. The only way health insurance is going to be affordable is if the delivery of healthcare becomes less expensive too. With so much at stake, it was important to get a seat at the table for South Dakota during these debates. After all, there are challenges that come with having just one representative in the House. Places like Texas, for instance, have dozens of congressmen who can represent the states interests on any given issue. A state like South Dakota, however, occupies just one of 435 seats, so making our perspective known requires a deliberate effort. Getting in on these types of conversations is one of the reasons I fought for a seat on the House Ways and Means Committee last Congress. Our state might be small, but weve already had a major impact on whats expected to be an aggressive 2017 agenda. Whats more, those contributions have helped establish the tone for the 115th Congress and set the legislative branch up to hit the ground running on Day 1. HELENA -- Just after noon on Monday, Montanas 150 legislators were sworn in as leaders in both the House and Senate made a call for Democrats and Republicans to work together and handle disagreements with civility. At 11:58, a House clerk cut through the crowd of legislators and their family members, imploring everyone to take a seat so the 65th Montana Legislature could officially begin. At a few minutes past noon in both chambers, the gavel hit the lectern and legislators were asked to please come to order. Legislators and their guests recited the pledge of allegiance, bowed their heads in prayer and began roll call, each replying, Here. Mr. Secretary, 100 members are present, the House Clerk said. Outstanding, replied Secretary of State Corey Stapleton. Montana Supreme Court Justice Jim Rice swore in House members en masse, 100 right hands raised as they took their oath in unison. Stapleton welcomed legislators and recounted the story of the Christmas truce, an unofficial ceasefire in World War I when enemy soldiers met in the battlefield between their trenches to celebrate what they had in common: the holiday, hobbies and sometimes hometowns. "You all have been elected to Montana's house of conflict," Stapleton said, calling the session an opportunity to show your dignity, your integrity, your humanity" in the wake of a divisive election cycle. Speaker of the House Austin Knudsen, R-Culbertson, likewise implored his colleagues to be civil and professional. "We can disagree, and believe me we're going to disagree on this floor and in committee, but I expect those disagreements to be civil and professional," he said, noting legislators one constitutional requirement is to balance the budget. We have tough decisions ahead of us. House Minority Leader Jenny Eck, D-Helena, also called for her colleagues to be honest and courageous to bridge the divide. I appreciate we share a mutual commitment to uphold the dignity and decorum of this great institution, she said. In the Senate, Justice Laurie McKinnon swore in new senators just after noon in the Senate chamber as holdover senators watched. Sen. Diane Sands, D-Missoula, took photos. State Sen. Mary Sheehy Moe, D-Great Falls, was in attendance, though she announced last week she would resign to help her daughter care for newborn triplets. In the Senate, leadership stressed a message of working together while acknowledging that issues such as the state budget could be divisive. After being named Senate president, Scott Sales, R-Bozeman, said he was deeply humbled. He told senators he was committed to getting the Senate's business done in an orderly, timely and efficient manner. He pledged to treat all senators with the fairness you deserve. Minority Leader Sen. Jon Sesso, D-Butte, spoke after Sales and delivered a message of unity. The 50 individuals that sit in the Senate today each represent 20,000 Montanans in a district of constituents that we are here to represent, our bosses, Sesso said. Sesso pledged cooperation with Sales and other Republicans, who picked up three Senate seats in the November election to to make it 32-18 and kept their majority in the House, 59-41. Sesso looked around the room, saying that many senators know each other and have served together before. Of the 50, 16 Senators are new to the body, but of that number only five have not served in the Legislature before. Sesso touched on the state budget, saying things are not as dire as some Republicans have indicated. Gov. Steve Bullocks $4.7 billion budget, presented before the start of the session, makes more than $124 million in cuts and raises taxes on some groups. I urge the body to set aside our campaign rhetoric, set aside the ideology, set aside the notion that Montana is broke and widespread changes are needed and focus on whats right in our state, Sesso said. The tone was different from House Republican leadership, who see their majority, along with additional senate seats and wins in statewide races, as a mandate from voters. Stand proud in this session, Majority Leader Ron Ehli said. While acknowledging his party must work with Democrats to serve the state, he urged them to challenge the status quo and to pressure the governor more so than in the past not to use his veto pen to undo policies that are set by a true representation of Montana. Senate Majority Leader Fred Thomas, R-Stevensville, said Montana has an accessible, transparent Legislature and vowed to uphold that. Theres on issue of cooperation, we know that there. Theyll be some discussion on some of those issues, but well figure that out. Well deal with things like the budget. The budget will come up, but weve got talent to deal with that, Thomas said, looking at Sales and Sen. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, who chairs the Senate Finance and Claims Committee, of which Sesso is a member. Thomas also said the Senate expects to deal with issues around health care and the Affordable Care Act given changes at the federal level. Issues will be aplenty and well debate those, Thomas said. As we debate those, let us work together to find the right solution. In the end we want to look to make Montana better. You have my commitment, you have our caucus commitment to working together, Thomas said. Privacy Policy RealChoice is a BlogSpot blog. You get whatever privacy you get when you post on a blog. As Blogmistress of RealChoice, I do not collect information on my users or those who post comments. I will delete spam and offensive comments, and thoroughly cooperate with law enforcement, as I did in the case of Ted "Operation Counterstrike" Schulman, if people make terroristic threats on my blog. So fight nice, kids. Kathmandu, Nepal: The verdict of the Supreme Court (SC) has paved the way not only resume the stalled meeting of the legislative parliament but also brought the political parties into a negotiation table for consensus. As the SC verdict on Monday had stated that provincial boundaries cant be altered without approval from federal assemblies, the government and the opposition parties have agreed to seek every solution from the parliament. A meeting held between the three major political parties on Tuesday has reached an agreement to resume the parliament meeting after the main opposition UML had agreed to let the constitution amendment bill enter the House. Likewise the government allies- Nepali Congress and the CPN Maoist Center have agreed to take out the issue of changes in provincial boundaries from the constitution bill registered in the parliament. Following the agreement between the major three parties, the Parliament Secretariat had postponed the House meeting till next Sunday, January 8. The opposition parties had bought the time as nine political parties including the UML has scheduled to hold a protest assembly in the Capital City on Friday. Blog Archive June (1) May (16) April (23) March (20) February (17) January (13) December (22) November (40) October (57) September (45) August (55) July (52) June (165) May (121) April (141) March (32) February (76) January (141) December (85) November (130) October (146) September (96) August (89) July (82) June (64) May (99) April (41) March (98) February (61) January (64) December (67) November (51) October (70) September (75) August (52) July (66) June (76) May (104) April (93) March (151) February (168) January (107) December (42) November (56) October (69) September (103) August (75) July (191) June (171) May (207) April (302) March (490) February (155) January (138) December (135) November (226) October (146) September (107) August (160) July (292) June (316) May (361) April (460) March (327) February (49) January (2) November (13) October (3) September (37) August (43) July (6) June (12) May (1) April (29) March (30) February (58) January (27) December (11) November (16) October (34) September (81) August (81) July (93) June (12) May (1) February (1) November (3) October (2) September (6) August (1) July (2) June (14) May (10) April (8) March (13) February (1) January (5) Defense Minister, Chief of Staff discuss developing army trainings SANA'A, Jan. 02 (Saba) Defense Minister Maj. Gen Mohammed Nasser al-Atefi discussed on Monday with the Chief of Staff Maj. Gen Mohammed al-Aghmari the role of the military colleges in the aspects of rehabilitation and training. The meeting also discussed the role of the military colleges in developing fields of military science and other fields. The defense minister said that the next stage would experience more attention, especially in qualitative field for the higher military academic and military colleges as being a core of the future work of the armed forces. " Our country will get out from conflict and disorder; and the wheel of construction and development will be launched forward so that the military academic, colleges, and educational and military institutes would play their roles in rehabilitating young and qualified cadres in various military specialties'', the defense minister said. He hailed the role of the Command Military Academy, departments of the war college, Air defense and maritime college for their military discipline and their maintaining on the infrastructure. The minister also praised their role in providing programs, training plans and rehabilitation in this sensitive stage that Yemen undergoes due to the aggression and blockade against the country. On the other hand, deputy director of the Supreme Military Academy and directors of the military colleges said that the academy and military colleges have preserved their distinctive performance on the basis of the material, equipment, training programs and rehabilitation. Monday's meeting chaired by Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Mohammed Nasser al-Atefi, Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Mohammed Alghmri, Deputy Chief of Maj. Gen. Ali al-Mawshaki, director of the Higher Military Academy and directors of military colleges at the Ministry of Defense. HA Saba Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp Telegram Telegram Email Email Print Print [02/January/2017] Pakistan - India Peoplesa Forum for Peace and Democracy Press Statement January 3, 2017 Pakistan-India Peoplesa Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) expresses its deep concern about the case of a prisoner in Jammu who belongs to Pakistan. Rubeena is in prison even after the completion of her sentence since her nationality is not yet verified by Pakistan. Rubeena, a resident of Musa Colony, Hyderabad, Pakistan had visited Delhi in November 2012 for medical treatment for asthma. She was accompanied by her husband and four-month-old daughter who has been with her all these years. According to reports in the media, she has said that her husband abandoned her and disappeared with her documents and money. Rubeena was arrested on 6th November 2012 and her sentence was completed on 7th Oct 2013. Consular access was given on 26th February 2013 in Amritsar. Nearly four years have passed and her nationality has still not been verified. Chaudhry Nisar, Interior Minister, Pakistan took note of this case and enquired last Sunday about the details. He has directed the government authorities to take action within 48 hours. In a similar case, Rashid Mallah, a Pakistani fisherman, has been in jail in Kutch as his nationality is also not confirmed. Last year 14 Indian prisoners returned to India from Pakistan much after their sentences were over since the Indian government took very long to confirm their nationality. It is to be noted that this is one of the prominent reasons for many prisoners to be languishing in jails since years. It is also important to note that there have been cases in recent years when even in case of death of a prisoner, the body is not sent to the family for months because the nationality verification is not done. PIPFPD demands that the nationality verification of prisoners must be done within a fixed time limit notified by both the countries which should not be more than 90 days. Also, the verification must definitely be done before the completion of the sentence of any prisoner in either of the two countries. We also demand that once the sentence is complete, a person should not be kept in prison and until the time that the nationality verification has not been conducted, adequate measures should be ensured towards right to safe and secure life within the premises, the breach of which should be considered the gravest of human right violation. No prisoner a be they Indian or Pakistani a should suffer because of delay in Nationality verification. For Further Details Contact: pipfpd.india[at]gmail.com | Ph: 09869077718 Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. If the first half of 2016 seemed ripe with cinemtic gems from across Asia, the second half of the year proved even more bountiful. South Korea continued its incredible run of exceptional releases, while even China had a few surprises tucked up its sleeves. Even Hong Kong unveiled a few genre highlights to distract from its dwindling numbers, while even less-established areas like Singapore delivered gems to stand proudly alongside the region's heavyweights. While there were plenty of duds, I would like to offer special mentions to some of the other notable releases from 2016, including Hirokazu Kore-eda's After the Storm, Chan Chi Fat's Weeds on Fire, Adam Tsuei's The Tenants Downstairs, Michael Dudok de Wit's Ghibli-produced The Red Turtle, Isao Yukisada's Aroused by Gymnopedies, Ryota Nakano's Her Love Boils Bathwater and Takashi Miike's The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio. However, I had to draw the line somewhere, and so this is it. Below you will find a gallery of my favourite Asian films from the second half of 2016. To see my picks from the first half of the year, click here. Seguin, TX (78155) Today Partly to mostly cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms. High near 85F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms in the evening, with mostly clear skies overnight. Low 53F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Great report on Texas justice reviewing why Lone Star State is a "leader in criminal justice reform" | Main | Latest SCOTUS short-list speculations and suggested nomination timeline Unless and until the newly enacted reform ballot initiative magically fixes a whole bunch of problems, California will still be able to lay claim to having the most dysfunctional death penalty system in the United States. But this new local article, headlined "Three years late, seminal death penalty report still unfinished," highlights why Pennsylvania come in a pretty close second. Here are excerpts: Already three years behind schedule, a committee studying flaws in Pennsylvania's death penalty is still a long way away from issuing its much-anticipated report. The stakes for the Senate's Advisory Committee on Capital Punishment are high, ever since Gov. Tom Wolf vowed nearly two years ago to block executions until its recommendations are issued and acted upon. But elevated from obscurity by Wolf's moratorium, the all-volunteer committee has no individual budget and no dedicated staff members, and has consistently seen its time line pushed further and further into the future, much to the unhappiness of death-penalty backers. The new year will see "meaningful, significant progress" in the panel's work, said Steve Hoenstine, a spokesman for state Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery, a point man in the effort. But Hoenstine wouldn't commit to the report being completed this year, given the scope of the questions being tackled. "The goal isn't to produce something as quickly as possible that may or may not be correct," said Hoenstine, whose boss is a staunch opponent of capital punishment. "Studying bias in Pennsylvania's death penalty, it is just an enormous undertaking." Wolf, a Democrat, announced his moratorium in February 2015, when he called the death penalty "error prone, expensive and anything but infallible." He has since issued reprieves to five inmates facing the death chamber, including Lehigh Valley mass murderer Michael Eric Ballard, who stabbed to death four people in a Northampton home in 2010 while on parole for a prior killing. Even without issuing findings, the advisory committee has proven controversial to death-penalty supporters, who charge the makeup of its 27 members is weighted against capital punishment. Given the moratorium, it is no surprise that the report continues to be delayed, said Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli, a Democrat who is a vocal death penalty backer. With executions halted, there's no incentive for the committee to finish its work, he said. "I don't think it is ever going to come," Morganelli said. "Why would they release it?" The committee, approved by the Senate in 2011, is looking into 17 aspects of capital punishment, including its cost, its impact on public safety, its potential for racial or economic bias, and whether there are sufficient safeguards against the innocent being executed. The report originally was due in December 2013. The panel includes judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors, clergy members, college professors, a relative of a murder victim, victims advocates, officials from the American Civil Liberties Union and two other nonprofits, and police and corrections representatives. Hoenstine said delays have nothing to do with the moratorium. He noted the committee was established while Wolf's predecessor, Tom Corbett, a Republican former prosecutor, was governor. "This is something that happened long before Gov. Wolf took office and, therefore, long before this moratorium took place," Hoenstine said. "It is a bipartisan search for the truth. It is nothing but that." Like much of the nation, the state has contentiously debated capital punishment, under which scores of Pennsylvania inmates have seen their sentences reversed. None have been executed here against their will since John F. Kennedy was president. The committee's work is spearheaded by the Joint State Government Commission, a research wing of the Legislature, with assistance from a state commission on fairness in the courts and by researchers from Penn State University. Glenn Pasewicz, executive director of the Joint State Government Commission, has said research has proven laborious, given the need for data collectors to go from county courthouse to county courthouse gathering statistics about homicide cases, when the death penalty is sought and when it is imposed. According to Hoenstine, that work is ongoing. "We want it to be data driven and based on clean data, reliable data," Hoenstine said. "That's a time-consuming process."... Pennsylvania has 175 prisoners on death row, but it rarely performs an execution, going back well before Wolf's moratorium. Just three men have been put to death in the modern era of capital punishment, and all were volunteers who abandoned legal challenges to their sentences. The last was Philadelphia "house of horrors" murderer Gary Heidnik, who was lethally injected in 1999. Latest SCOTUS short-list speculations and suggested nomination timeline | Main | Eleventh Circuit Judge, and SCOTUS short-lister, William Pryor named Acting Chair of the (now hobbled) US Sentencing Commission January 3, 2017 Eighth Circuit panel reverses district court findings of substantive due process problems with Minnesota's sex offender commitment program As reported in this local article, a "federal appeals court in St. Louis has reversed a lower-court ruling that Minnesota's sex-offender treatment program is unconstitutional a major victory for the Minnesota Department of Human Services and a decision that could delay long-awaited reforms to the state's system of indefinite detention for sex offenders." Here is more about the ruling and its context: In a decision Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals found that a class of sex offenders who sued the state failed to prove that the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) violated their due process rights under the U.S. Constitution. "We conclude that the class plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate that any of the identified actions of the state defendants or arguable shortcomings in the MSOP were egregious, malicious, or sadistic as is necessary to meet the conscience-shocking standard," the court ruled. In response, the lead attorney for a class of offenders who sued the state said he is considering an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which must be filed within 90 days. "Justice was not done today," said Dan Gustafson, the attorney for the plaintiffs. "We're still considering what we are going to do but, as Governor Dayton said the other day, we are not going quietly into the night." Minnesota confines more offenders per capita, and has the lowest release rate, among the 20 states that use civil commitment to confine sex offenders in treatment programs. Only 14 offenders have been conditionally discharged from the program in its more than 20-year history. Of those, seven are currently living in the community. Just one offender has been unconditionally discharged, and that did not occur until August. In June 2015, federal Judge Donovan Frank in St. Paul, ruling in a lawsuit brought by a group of sex offenders, declared the program unconstitutional for confining offenders indefinitely, after they have already completed their prison terms, without a clear path toward release. The judge ordered state officials to conduct independent evaluations of the roughly 720 offenders confined at secure treatment centers in Moose Lake and St. Peter to determine if they still pose a public safety risk. He also ordered the state to develop less restrictive options for housing offenders in the community. The unanimous Eighth Circuit panel ruling in this case is available at this link, and it gets started this way: Class plaintiffs, civilly committed sex offenders, bring a facial and as applied challenge under 42 U.S.C. 1983, claiming their substantive due process rights have been violated by Minnesotas Civil Commitment and Treatment Act and by the actions and practices of the managers of the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP). The Minnesota state defendants in this action are managers of MSOP Emily Johnson Piper, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services; Kevin Moser, MSOP Facilities Director at Moose Lake; Peter Puffer, MSOP Clinical Director; Nancy Johnston, MSOP Executive Director; Jannine Herbert, MSOP Executive Clinical Director; and Ann Zimmerman, MSOP Security Director (collectively state defendants). After several months of litigation, including a six-week bench trial, the district court found for plaintiffs and entered an expansive injunctive order. The district court applied incorrect standards of scrutiny when considering plaintiffs claims, thus we reverse the finding of substantive due process violations and vacate the injunctive relief order. We remand to the district court for further proceedings to address the remaining claims. January 3, 2017 at 02:35 PM | Permalink Comments Hmmmm. Let's see---evaluations are supposed to happen, but don't, and that's not egregious? Posted by: federalist | Jan 3, 2017 2:43:34 PM and the rational basis scrutiny analysis is, um, weak. Posted by: federalist | Jan 3, 2017 3:17:16 PM I take back everything that I have ever said about the federal judiciary, particularly the Supremes, being baboons in black pajamas. That is the ultimate insult to baboons and for that, I apologize. Baboons seem to understand simple declarative language much better than these educated trolls. One does not need to pretend to understand law and legal reasoning, to realize the truly ridiculous mental gymnastics and self-deceit that these idiots had to mentally m-st-rb-te to deny the obvious. They are delusional! And to think they steal their salary and pensions from the US public. The appeal will fail and confirm the extreme cowardice of the federal judiciary. Posted by: albeed | Jan 3, 2017 3:23:14 PM The issue was not whether evaluations are supposed to happen, but whether the statutory framework as to when they are supposed to happen was adequate. The trial court thought that these sexual sociopaths needed more frequent evaluations than the statute provides. (The statute only requires a formal reevaluation when the inmate requests a reduction in custody). The district court thought that process was inadequate. Posted by: tmm | Jan 3, 2017 3:50:16 PM What happens if civilly committed inmates at Minnesota's Civil Commitment Center finally rise up and say: Enough is enough! What would civilly committed inmates there now have to lose by having it out with corrections officers and staff? They are already serving de-facto life sentences under maximum security prison-like conditions. What's the worst that could happen to them if they assault or murder staff or guards--get a de jure life sentences under exactly the same prison-like conditions? You call that a deterrent to any inmate uprising at Moose Lake? Maybe they will join in the nation-wide prison strike that started at Alabama's Atmore Prison this last September. Posted by: william r. delzell | Jan 4, 2017 8:18:57 AM Gee, I always thought that the purpose of civil committment and sex offender treatment programs was so that they could get treatment, be rehabilitated and move on with their lives. Why would anyone bother to participate in the program now knowing the likelyhood of rehabilitation and release is nil? Posted by: kat | Jan 4, 2017 11:30:34 AM I respect kat's sarcasm but the devil advocate position is that we are dealing with a situation where many (most?) people won't be totally "rehabilitated" given their particular condition (granting the problem of overclassification). So, we are left with a long term practice of oversight, few people leaving the program totally. If this is the case -- see the enemy combatant context -- special concerns do arise even if it is okay. Posted by: Joe | Jan 4, 2017 1:08:48 PM Joe- I see your point, some can never be rehabilitated and those are the people who should be on civil committment. Not long ago we used to lock people up on civil committments in mental institutions and basically throw away the key, people who really didn't need to be locked up forever. Fast forward, federal and state funding tanks, mental institutions close and all of a sudden we find that we can only because we have to, let these people out and that with appropriate meds, treatment, case management and social services many, but not all, did ok outside of an institution. Each situation should be looked at on an individual basis. No psychiatrist wants to be "the one responsible" for letting someone go who may act out in a violent manner, but there's no way of knowing and history has shown that the funding isn't there to keep large populations of people locked away forever. Posted by: kat | Jan 4, 2017 3:55:40 PM If these people pose a danger, then charge them with something where you have evidence in a court of law with due process instead of resorting to the Stalinist practice of civil commitment. Civil commitment is a totalitarian practice that has no place in a country like the U.S. which always gives lip service to the principle of due process and the rule of law. One final note: If I were a staff member or corrections officer assigned to the Moose Lake Civil Commitment center, I would not celebrate the recent decision upholding civil commitment. Instead, I would be monitoring the morale of the detainees to see if the outcome of this decision could lead to major radicalized unrest by detainees. Detainees may no longer have any incentive to behave themselves towards their jailors if they ever did in the first place. If one can keep a person who has served his or her sentence indefinitely under maximum security prison like conditions, what does that detainee have to lose anymore by physically lashing out at the powers that be that could result in assault, murder, or hostage taking against officers and staff. I would be scare to show my uniform to the detainees and maybe call in sick as several correctional officers did in Santa Fe just before that prison's 1980 riot. What happens if Moose Lake detainees decide to support the nationwide prison inmate strike that began last September to comemorate the 45th anniversary of the Attica uprising and to protest slave-like work conditions in many U.S. prisons? I advise Moose Lake's correction officers and staff to watch new developments carefully for their own safety. Posted by: william r. delzell | Jan 5, 2017 5:59:48 AM Post a comment Death penalty in Pennsylvania so dysfunctional that it cannot complete long-overdue report on its dysfunction | Main | Eighth Circuit panel reverses district court findings of substantive due process problems with Minnesota's sex offender commitment program January 3, 2017 Latest SCOTUS short-list speculations and suggested nomination timeline SCOTUS junkies will want to be sure to check out this latest lengthy Politico article headlined "Inside Trump's strategy to remodel the Supreme Court: The president-elect is narrowing his short list while his advisers look beyond the current opening." Here are snippets that struck me as especially new or noteworthy: Donald Trump has narrowed his short list for his first Supreme Court pick down to roughly a half-dozen finalists but the president-elect and his top advisers are already thinking about a second selection, as they seek to quickly remodel the high court with a reliably conservative bent. Trumps team wants to make filling the seat held by the late Justice Antonin Scalia one of the earliest acts of his presidency, according to multiple transition officials, in hopes of scoring an energizing and unifying victory for the conservative movement. And as Trump weighs perhaps the most enduring personnel decision hell make as president-elect filing one of only nine lifetime seats on the high court he has sought input from an array of friends, former rivals, and legal and TV personalities. He clearly understands he may have a chance to define the court for a generation or more and he is taking it very seriously, said former Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Trump confidante. While Scalias seat is the only current opening, Trumps advisers are plotting how to fill that vacancy in tandem with the next one a slot if vacated by a liberal justice like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 83, or swing-vote Justice Anthony Kennedy, 80, could far more dramatically move the courts political center of gravity to the right. The thinking inside the transition, according to multiple people involved in the internal deliberations, is that Scalias replacement offers Trump and the conservative movement the best chance for an unabashedly rock-ribbed replacement because it would not fundamentally shift the courts balance of power.... But in the current search process, Trumps team is also hoping to identify a conservative candidate possibly a woman who could be more politically palatable, or at least harder for Senate Democrats to oppose, if Kennedy or Ginsburg leave the court.... Two of the most-discussed names are Diane Sykes of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit federal appeals court and William Pryor of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit, in part because Trump himself name-dropped them at a primary debate last February.... Trump, besides promising to appoint justices in the mold of Scalia, is looking for some distinctly Trumpian qualities. He has repeatedly told his advisers, for instance, I want someone who is not weak. That is especially appealing to legal conservative hardliners who are still scarred by former Justices David Souter and Sandra Day OConnor, two Republican appointees who often sided with the courts liberal bloc, and to a lesser extent Chief Justice John Roberts, an appointee of President George W. Bush, who upheld the constitutionality of President Obamas health care law.... Those close to Trumps search process say that the list now under more serious consideration is closer to a half-dozen, including Pryor and Sykes, as well as 3rd Circuit Judge Thomas Hardiman, 6th Circuit Judge Raymond Kethledge, 8th Circuit Judges Steve Colloton and Raymond Gruender, 10th Circuit Judge Neil Gorsuch and Michigan Supreme Court Justice Joan Larsen. Trump released two lists of potential justices during the campaign, but most of the candidates under serious consideration are on the initial list of 11. The only two women in the current top tier, Larsen, who is only 48, and Sykes, 59, are among those who could be held back for a second opening. Going with a woman or a minority does get you some brownie points, so in terms of picking the hardest to confirm now, that would argue for a man, Levey said. Also the symbolic value, if Ginsburg does leave the court, of replacing her with a woman WOULD be important. Trumps advisers want his Supreme Court pick to be one of his earliest acts as president, though the plan has been not to announce a choice until after Sen. Jeff Sessions is confirmed as attorney general. Both Sessions and any high court pick must pass through the same Senate Judiciary Committee. The two men spearheading Trumps search are Don McGahn, Trumps incoming White House counsel, and Leonard Leo, the Federalist Societys executive vice president. Incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, and top Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway are also involved, as are Vice President-elect Mike Pence and Sessions. Leo said on Fox News Sunday that Trumps team wants the Scalia vacancy filled in time for the new justice to be seated for the final sitting of this term in late April. That could allow the new justice to weigh in on important pending cases, including the detention of immigrants and transgender rights. Ideally, you would have someone who could be seated on the court at least by then to hear those final round of cases, perhaps even have some of the 4-4 decisions, if there are any, reheard by the court, Leo said. He noted that Ginsburg one of the most liberal justices was confirmed in just 50 days at the start of President Clintons first term.... As he often does ahead of big decisions, Trump has sought opinions from far and wide, including Fox News legal analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano, former rivals Ted Cruz and Rick Santorum and at least one person on his longer list: Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, who is not considered to be in serious contention for a high court seat. While Trump promised his public list of 21 was definitive when it was announced, he could still expand it for a second pick. After the first nominee he may add some new possibilities, Gingrich said, a view confirmed by another transition official. A few prior related Trumpian SCOTUS posts: January 3, 2017 at 11:25 AM | Permalink Comments One question is how the current pick alters the odds of a second or third pick? While the Scalia pick allows Trump some freedom to pick a far right nominee, such a choice might make it less likely that Justice Kennedy would voluntarily retire. While Justice Kennedy has tended to be a conservative, he has also -- most of the time -- supported slow incremental change. If Justice Kennedy had confidence that his replacement would follow the same path, he might decide that thirty years on the court is enough and that it's time to retire. If Justice Kennedy thinks that Trump intends to revolutionize the Supreme Court, he might decide to wait Trump out. Picking someone somewhere between Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Scalia might be the better strategic move to lock up a conservative-leaning majority for the next twenty years (by increasing the chances that Justice Kennedy and Justice Thomas opt to retire). Posted by: tmm | Jan 3, 2017 12:07:52 PM To me the biggest danger in all of this is the way the discourse has shifted. Once upon a time people argued that there was an unstated rule for a "Jewish" slot on the court. These days it is all about partisan seats on the court. The problem with such a discourse is that it inevitably undermines the court's legitimacy and the need for an independent judiciary dissipates. Posted by: Daniel | Jan 3, 2017 7:02:12 PM Ideology was long an issue in Supreme Court appointments. Brandeis being Jewish wasn't the core reason why his nomination was so controversial. etc. Posted by: Joe | Jan 4, 2017 10:56:24 AM "Ideology was long an issue in Supreme Court appointments." Partisanship and ideology are not the same things. The current objection on the right to Kennedy as it was to Souter is not that they failed an ideological test, it is that they failed a politically partisan test. Posted by: Daniel | Jan 4, 2017 11:37:35 AM There is much overlap and Jeffersonians objected to "Federalists" both as an ideology and partisan brand. The separation is rather unclear in actual practice. The current battles go back over forty years at least (Nixon made the Supreme Court a partisan battle) but they were but the most recent. The issue goes back to the beginning & once you make appointment and confirmation a product of politicians who break down into parties, it is rather hard to avoid. Posted by: Joe | Jan 4, 2017 12:54:10 PM "The current objection on the right to Kennedy as it was to Souter is not that they failed an ideological test, it is that they failed a politically partisan test." I'd directly ask what "political partisan test" did Kennedy, e.g., violate? He repeatedly violated the current ideological brand of the Republican Party though Democrats are upset at him about various things too. Why? Ideology. There is of course overlap. Posted by: Joe | Jan 4, 2017 12:57:18 PM @Joe DOMA. Same sex marriage may have been an ideological issue generally but Windsor was a purely partisan attack by Kennedy. It had been passed by a Republican Congress and signed into law by a Democratic president. In other words, Obergefell did not undo any act of Republican political power whereas DOMA did. It's that kind of toeing the line that the alt-right wants to see. A Republican Justice should not undo what a Republican Congress did. Posted by: Daniel | Jan 4, 2017 7:00:07 PM Post a comment In a matter decided by the Ethics Commission in December, San Francisco media personality Broke-Ass Stuart (whose real name is Stuart Schuffman) will be fined $2,552 for a violation of the San Francisco Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code that was committed during his 2015 run for Mayor. True to his moniker, he'll pay the fine in installments. Campaigning in protest against incumbent Ed Lee and allying himself with other unestablished or stunt candidates Amy Farah Weiss and Francisco Herrera, Broke-Ass Stuart, received 9.6 percent of the final vote tally. The trio, whose slogan was "Vote 1-2-3 to Replace Ed Lee," a reference to the ranked choice ballot, received a collective 31 percent of votes. In the end, Lee won with 55 percent of the vote. Schuffman tells the Examiner, who reported on the violation, that his action was "not malicious. Per that paper, for whom Schuffman is also a columnist, the media personality "was speaking on the phone [to the Examiner] amidst New Years celebrations at a wilderness ranch in Fresno" that Schuffman described to the Examiner as a "summer camp for adults." According to the SF Ethics Commission, the problem was that Schuffman used funds from his candidate-controlled committee "for purposes other than his candidacy for Mayor." Money he had raised for one cause, his mayoral campaign, ended up funding another unsuccessful bid, this one 2015's Proposition F, which would have tightened rules surrounding Airbnb. That video is below. As the Ethics Commission writes, "In the pre-election campaign statement covering the reporting period from September 2015 through October 17, 2015, Mr. Schuffman's candidate committee reported a $1,000 expense relating to the production of a video. Staff has confirmed this expense relates to the video advertisement in support of Proposition F." As for the rest of the money: "In addition, [Schuffman] spent $276 for t-shirts used in the video for a total of $1,276 in expenditures made to support Prop F." The fine is double that expense, $2,552, paid in two equal installments of $1,276, the first before January 31, 2017 and the second before March 31, 2017. Profiting, as is his schtick, from his status as perpetually cash-strapped, Stuart was able to raise $32,385 in total for his Mayoral campaign, although the Ethics Commission didn't characterize the rest of it as misspent. Originally, Schuffman's campaign was to be a "journalistic experiment:" He was hoping to write about the experience of running for Mayor from his post as a columnist for the San Francisco Examiner. That was a nonstarter. As Schuffman later wrote to his website, "I was supposed to be writing about my campaign in the SF Examiner.... The SF Ethics Commission but the kibosh on that since they said it would break campaign finance laws (for reasons that are too long to go into now)." Those are, briefly, that writing about his mayoral campaign would amount to free press for him. Related: Writer Broke-Ass Stuart Running For Mayor In 'Journalistic Experiment' Italian art historian Elisa Barbari just wanted to promote her work. With a focus on Bologna, Italy, her Facebook page titled "Stories, curiosities and views of Bologna was in need of a promotional photo, and so the writer selected an image of the 1560s statue of the god Neptune which graces the city's Piazza del Nettuno. As The Telegraph reports, Facebook blocked her ad calling the statue of the nude god holding a trident "explicitly sexual." "The statue is shown from behind, not even as a close up, it's in the distance," Barbari told CNN of the picture she selected. "It's ridiculous. At first I was angry. Then I was surprised, I couldn't understand why they don't want to clarify. It's absurd." The bronze statue is the work of Jean Boulogne, also known as Giambologna, and is a symbol of the Italian city. However, according to a Facebook statement, it's still too risque for the platform. "The use of the image was not approved because it violates Facebooks guidelines on advertising." This is not the first bit of overzealous prudishness on the part of Facebook to make the news. In September the company was on the receiving end of an international backlash following its decision to ban an iconic Vietnam war photograph colloquially known as "Napalm Girl." And just last month Facebook officials banned a local San Francisco writer after he called supporters of Donald Trump "fascistic." In both cases, Facebook officials reversed their decisions and later apologized a pattern that seems to be repeating itself in the case of the nude ocean god. "Our team processes millions of advertising images each week, and in some instances we incorrectly prohibit ads," a company spokesperson told CNN. "This image does not violate our ad policies. We apologise for the error and have let the advertiser know we are approving their ad." Which is good news for Facebook's 1.79 billion monthly active users next time the company, helmed by god-fearing Mark Zuckerberg, tries to censor your content based on poorly defined criteria all you have to do is generate international outrage and you'll be allowed to publish as you see fit. Related: Norwegians' Outcry Over Facebook Censoring An Iconic Vietnam War Photo Leads To Company's Reversal The man who made many headlines and local news stories Monday for causing 252 passengers to get stuck for 24 hours in Auckland, New Zealand all because he allegedly launched into a racist and homophobic rant on a New Year's Day flight from Sydney to SFO and refused to back down when confronted by flight attendants will not be facing charges, apparently. That's at least according to the New Zealand Herald, which reports he's been detained in Auckland since Sunday evening until he can be put on a plane back to the US. The as-yet unidentified 42-year-old American nonetheless caused all the passengers on the plane to be delayed getting home, or to their destinations, by more than a day. And now we have new cellphone footage, shown above, of the man speaking into his own phone on the ground in Auckland saying, "Tell my dad to get his law firm ready because United Airlines just diverted the fucking plane because I complained to some fat fuck who got in my fucking face." Clearly he's a lot of fun at parties. The incident began over the Pacific, about 40 minutes into the flight according to one account, when the man became incensed that he was seated between two people of Indian or Pakistani descent who appeared to know each other, and were talking over him. Rather than attempt to resolve the issue with his seatmates, the man apparently went to loudly complain to flight attendants, including the use of racist language and subsequently referred to flight attendants as "faggots" and "fatasses." NBC Bay Area spoke to the couple whose cellphone footage was first circulated Monday, Neil Kay and his wife Anjou Ahlborn Kay, who describe the situation as unfolding over many hours other passengers had described the unruly man as grabbing beverages from the service cart as it passed, and continuing to make loud remarks. (An SFist commenter on board the flight says, "After he was given an aisle seat, he continued to get aggressive with flight attendants, and started forcefully raiding the bar cart once they refused him a beer.") "Once the flight attendant came over, he turned to using gay slurs toward flight attendants," Anjou Kay tells the station. "Every 15 minutes [there was] an incident for six hours. Everyone was concerned what's the next one gonna be. ... I felt tense; I had tears in my eyes because it was such a tense situation for so long." The flight was near Tonga, about four and a half hours in, when the pilot decided to divert the plane to Auckland, well over an hour south. The Daily Mail reports that the plane was refused landing in American Samoa or Fiji. Another passenger, Peter Barrett, suggests that the man seemed mentally off somehow. He tells the NZ Herald, "He seemed agitated, scribbling in a dog-eared copy of Catcher in the Rye. At one point he went to the bathroom for 20 minutes which raised more than a few eyebrows." Barrett add, in polite form that he doesn't believe the man was drunk. "The behavior seemed more like a pharmacological excess or deficit than simple alcohol," he told the paper. The Kays praised the United Airlines crew for keeping everything as "calm and cool" as they could throughout the incident. It's estimated that the diversion cost the airline about $150,000. Previously: SFO-Bound United Flight From Sydney Grounded Over Middle-Seat Rage, Racism Of One Passenger Ignorant trolls who neither keep up with the news nor have enough to occupy them in life continue to send harassing messages to Denise Huskins, the woman at the center of the so-called Gone Girl kidnapping case in Vallejo that happened nearly two years ago, and calling her a liar. Huskins revealed in a Facebook post New Year's Day one such message from a man named Jeffrey McFadden, a complete stranger who, all this time later, is calling her an "ignorant slut," telling her she's "not as pretty as u think" and threatening violence against her, because he assumes her story remains a falsehood. "I don't post this for pity," she writes. "I post this to increase awareness," and she goes on to describe how this message sent her into a physical PTSD response, and "I am thoroughly exhausted, every inch of my body is tired from the fit of terror it was battling." "All I did was survive, and I was criminalized for it." The case from March 2015 was bizarre enough to make national headlines, and Vallejo's own police department was quick to dismiss it as a hoax. Huskins was kidnapped, her boyfriend Aaron Quinn sedated and tied up in their home, and she was then returned to her parents in southern California when the kidnapper had a change of heart, after demanding a strangely small ransom and writing a manifesto to the San Francisco Chronicle. But in fact there was one very mentally ill man, Matthew Muller, who has pleaded guilty in the case, and we've known since July of 2015 that the kidnapping was very much real, and that this same man was suspected of committing similar, sexually charged, home-invasion crimes against other Bay Area women. As ABC 7 reports, Muller was scheduled to be sentenced this month, but his sentencing has been postponed to March, exactly two years after the kidnapping. Huskins and Quinn are expected to deliver victims' impact statements in court. Muller previously pleaded no contest in a botched home invasion robbery in Dublin in which he was confronted by a husband while his wife called 911 from another room, and was soon arrested after dropping his cellphone in the house. After her Sunday post, Huskins posted again to Facebook on Monday thanking people for the outpouring of support. "There is a much greater cause that goes way beyond [this one man's attack], and way beyond us as victims. ... But what I can say wholeheartedly and confidently is that because of you all and your support, we are constantly empowered and reenergized, and we will not give up under any circumstance. We must meet hate with love. We must meet ignorance with empathy. So thank you, all of you, for allowing us to do that. We love you all. 2017 will be a year of great changes, I feel it." All previous coverage of the Denise Huskins case on SFist. Two hours after San Francisco ended 2016 with one of the highest homicide counts in years, the city's cycle of violent deaths began anew, as New Year's Day was host to the city's first slayings of 2017. According to San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Officer Grace Gatpandan, police were called to the intersection of 26th and Shotwell Streets at 2:13 a.m. on January 1, "on reports of a shooting victim found." When they arrived, they discovered a man identified by the San Francisco Medical Examiner's Office as 21-year-old San Francisco resident Ernesto Rosales suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. Rosales was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital, "where he later succumbed to his injuries," Gatpandan says. The second fatal shooting occurred at around 11:25, Gatpandan says, at Third and Oakdale Streets. According to Gatpandan, a man identified by the ME as 35-year-old SF resident Michell Smith "sustained a gunshot wound to the face and was transported to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries." Gatpandan says that there's "no indication that these two homicides are related to each other and they are being investigated separately." She also says that "there is no indication of gang related ties" in either case, but "it is standard protocol that SFPD's Gang Task Force will also investigate the incident." In both cases, Gatpandan says, "we do not have suspect descriptions to release at this time due to the sensitive nature of these cases." Rosales and Smith's deaths are the first homicides San Francisco has seen since Thursday, when 39-year-old Mathew Fiame was shot to death on the 200 block of Valencia Street and 39-year-old Laurice Barrett was gunned down on the 200 block of Golden Gate Avenue. Those deaths sent the city's homicide count for 2016 to 59 total slayings marking the highest number of homicides in four years and an a significant increase over last year's count of 53. As of Tuesday morning, SFPD's homicide count for SF in 2017 holds steady at 2. Related: Men Shot To Death In The Mission, Tenderloin Thursday Night To read "Greaser Redux: The 1970s Revival of the 'Greaser' in Milwaukee" click here. One of the great joys of researching and writing local history stories is that sometimes an idea or an event will take you to a completely different place than you imagined. For example, last week, when I took a look at 1970s greasers in Milwaukee. I stumbled onto the story trying to find out what kind of local reaction there was to the show Happy Days when it first aired. From Happy Days I found Fonzie, and from Fonzie I found the greasers. And from the greasers, I found an ugly story about the integration of Milwaukees public schools. After the initial burst of attention paid to Milwaukee greasers in 1975, a new batch of stories began to appear in 1976 the year that Milwaukees busing program began moving large numbers of African American students from the northside to schools like Hamilton, on the citys southside. That school, Hamilton Highs African American student population increased five-fold, prompting anger and resentment among many of the schools whites, especially among those of the greaser set. The Journal reported on the greaser problem in September, shortly after a bus carrying black students was pelted with rocks by locals. The greasers dont want us here, one black student told the paper. White students interviewed shared rumors that black students were carrying guns at the school. One black student responded to the claim, Thats a lie. I didnt seen anyone with a gun. Referring to the stoning of the bus, he said, If we had had guns on the bus yesterday, they would have been wasted. Stay on top of the news of the day Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays. SIGN UP James K. Nelsen, author of Educating Milwaukee: How One Citys History of Segregation and Struggle Shaped Its Schools, said that whiter the school, the greater the objection to integration and that Hamilton High was the districts whitest school. Washington [High] and Hamilton were there first two high schools to have busing, Nelsen told me via email. Not much happened at Washington, but the situation at Hamilton was volatile. Nelsen said that during a spring 1976 meeting on the integration plan at Hamilton, over 1,300 people showed up including uniformed members of the local Nazi Party. Greasers were largely the children of working class families, many having worked their way into the middle class. This was the set of Milwaukeeans most likely to object to busing and integration. Some were blatantly racists, Nelsen said. Others felt that they had worked themselves up from poverty to move to a good neighborhood and that African Americans should do the same. They, of course, did not understand that the legacy of racism in Milwaukee prevented African Americans from moving into those working class neighborhoods. The resentment of the greasers was clear in the Journals 1976 coverage of the situation. The greasers door at Hamilton was a primary example. Unaware of the greasers claim to the door, many black students who used it found themselves the victims of the greasers wrath. They think theyre better than us, one white greaser told the paper. Others spoke openly in the hallways that the niggers [were] running the school. African American students, in turn, grew hostile towards the greasers, some even using the term Fonzie as a slur. One white student plainly admitted trading slurs with the black students. Theyll be walking down the hall and yell, Hey Fonzie. He told the paper, I just say, Hey, nigger. Many black students felt that the bulk of the problems were being caused by the greasers. Relations between African Americans and the so-called freaks at Hamilton the anti-establishment, marijuana-smoking, love and peace crowd were reportedly much better. Some black students did not even classify the greasers with the other, less troublesome, white students. The greasers? one told the paper. Theyre their own color. Through the 1970s and into the 80s, racial issues at Hamilton remained, but the less consequential trends of dress, lingo, and hairstyle changed with the normal tides. Although documented racial problems continued at Hamilton for several years after the introduction of busing, mentions of greasers had disappeared from the newspapers by the 1980s. ST. PAUL, Minn. (January 3, 2017) Summit Brewing Company's India-Style Black Ale is scheduled for release January 12 on draught and as part of a IPA sampler 12-pack. The ale features roasted wheat and roasted pearl barley, creating notes of espresso, dark chocolate, toffee and black cherry. U.S. hop varieties Denali and Equinox produce big pineapple and lemon-lime flavors, along with traces of grapefruit, spicy pepper and pine. Finally, a Yorkshire yeast strain provides a distinct stone fruit profile think apricot and peach and a hint of minerality to balance out those malts and hops. With IBA, were trying to showcase the integration of roasted malt flavors with spicy, citrus-forward hops, said Summit head brewer Damian McConn. Summit India-Style Black Ale finds inspiration among the porters and stouts exported from the UK in the 19th Century beers that were often heavily kettle-hopped and then dry-hopped in the cask. "Were aiming more toward that concept, McConn added, but with less of the scorched, dry, acrid notes often associated with export stouts. India-Style Black Ale is available for a limited time on draught and exclusively within the Summit IPA Collection, a 12-pack of 12-oz. bottles offering up A World of Hops All in One Box. In addition to the Black Ale, the IPA collection contains Saga IPA, Horizon Red IPA and True Brit IPA. Summit has also released its Double IPA. Blending a number of New Zealand hops with new and experimental varieties from the U.S. and Germany, Double IPA is supported by a heritage barley variety and offers up a toasted malt background. Brewed with highly aromatic New Zealand hop varieties Wakatu, Orbit and Motueka, Summit Double IPA has distinct passionfruit, mango and lemon-lime flavors. Azacca, an exciting new U.S. hop, brings strong pineapple elements, too, and a new German variety, Mandarina Bavaria, provides notes of mandarin orange. Weyermann Barke Vienna malt provides support with honey and graham cracker elements, boosting the beers toasted nature. Were aiming for a clean, assertive citrus hop bitterness that relies heavily on Weyermann Barke Vienna malt for support, says head brewer McConn. With its slight caramel and bready notes, it adds some color and flavor complexity. Made with English ale yeast and pouring sunrise gold in color, Double IPA boasts 105 IBU and 8.5% ABV. Its available now in 4-packs of 16-oz. cans and on draught. Stayed tuned for a February announcement regarding promotions and events in support of Double IPA, India-Style Black Ale and the rest of the IPA Collection. Visit Summit online for more information about these and other events. Double IPA Vital Statistics ABV: 8.5% IBU: 105 Color: Sunrise gold Malts: US Pale, German Vienna, US Caramel Hops: Experimental 07270, Orbit, Wakatu, Motueka, Azacca Yeast: UK Ale Food Pairings: Barbeque, baked ham, sausages, Stilton, aged cheddar, cheesecake India-Style Black Ale Vital Statistics ABV: 6.8% IBU: 60 Color: Boot Polish Black Malts: US Pale, UK Pale, Midnight Wheat, Caramel, Perla Negra, Chocolate Rye Hops: Bravo, Chinook, Equinox, Denali Yeast: UK Ale Food Pairings: Vintage cheddar, beef brisket, spare ribs, buffalo burgers, smoked salmon, creme brulee. Summit Brewing Company Founded in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1986, Summit Brewing Company has remained close to its roots, refreshing thirsty folks throughout the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions. Currently available in 11 states, Summit now produces six year-round premium craft beers, seven occasionals, four seasonal brews, and the limited-release Unchained Series and Union Series. Since our inception, weve been a consistent pioneer in the craft beer movement. SIOUX CITY | Completely true yet still improbable, the seed for a run for elective office for Rocky De Witt was planted on his cruise ship honeymoon in the late 1990s. De Witt in November won the District 5 seat on the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors in November, and on Tuesday he will be sworn in for a four-year term that will run through 2020. That will be more than 20 years removed from the evening cruise meals that he and Vicki De Witt had with a semi-retired judge from Connecticut. Over the suppers, De Witt fleshed out some political thoughts. The judge became impressed and eventually offered up, "My wife and I think you should get into politics." De Witt had a succinct response: "I don't know if I should be offended or flattered." De Witt, 57, in a Journal interview marveled about his 2016, when he rose from a little-known Lawton, Iowa, resident to one of three new supervisors on the county board. De Witt had a difficult path to victory, after originally being one of seven Republican candidates seeking the District 5 position in a year there was an open spot, since 34-year Supervisor Larry Clausen did not seek re-election. In the June 7 Republican primary, Gary Niles led the voting with 23 percent of the total cast. De Witt, who works as a courthouse security deputy for the County Sheriff's Office, finished second with 21 percent. But none of the GOP candidates for the District 5 seat met the 35 percent threshold required by state law for nominees to advance to November. That triggered a late June special convention. The candidates had a chance to lobby individual delegates to gain their support. Ultimately, De Witt got 65 percent of the vote. "I think I just worked harder than the rest of them," De Witt said. In November, De Witt won the seat over Bruce Garbe, a Democrat, and Niles, who ran again as an independent. De Witt said he will be a strong voice for keeping property taxes low and repairing aging county buildings in a way that will keep costs as low as possible. De Witt said he understands what it takes to repair buildings well, after a 22-year career with MidAmerican Energy, also formerly known as Iowa Public Service. He retired from the utility business as a journeyman electrician, then spent years working for Federal Express and selling motorcycles at Rooster's Harley-Davidson in Sioux City. That period in the 2000s also marked the time De Witt got more dialed into politics. He said he was fortunate to eventually run in a year when political outsiders such as President-elect Donald Trump caught fire with the populace. "What I am hearing from people, they are just ready for new faces," De Witt asserted. Now, years after the direction heard on the cruise, he's ready to assume office. "I am going in with an open mind, eyes open and ready to listen...I want to do what is right for Woodbury County," De Witt said. SIOUX CITY | Jaret Schnee told the judge he wasn't sure how he wound up in front of him, pleading guilty to assaulting and threatening his fiancee and shooting a Hard Rock Hotel & Casino security guard. Schnee also said he realized he had had a lot going for him up until that point and that he hoped saying he was sorry was enough to make up for his crimes. "I realize I made a very poor decision. I'm truly sorry," Schnee said Tuesday after pleading guilty in Woodbury County District Court to going armed with intent, intimidation with a dangerous weapon and domestic abuse assault. District Judge John Ackerman followed terms of a plea agreement and sentenced Schnee to 12 years in prison, a sentence that was well-deserved, Ackerman said. "I understand you may be sorry, but what you did is crazy," Ackerman said. Schnee, 26, admitted that on Oct. 4 he went to the Hard Rock, where his fiancee, Esfeidy Santos, worked, to confront her in the parking lot before she started her shift. During the confrontation, Schnee pulled out a gun he was licensed to carry and fired a shot in the air, then chased Santos and a co-worker toward the casino, where security guards attempted to disarm him. During that struggle, Schnee fired two shots, one of them hitting Anthony Henderson in the right leg. Henderson was treated and released from a local hospital. Schnee fled the area and was located on Oct. 5 inside Mercy Medical Center. The incident concluded a three-day ordeal in which Schnee had been charged with assaulting Santos two days earlier during an argument about their Halloween plans, then harassing and threatening her for a day before confronting her. As part of a plea agreement, two counts of aggravated assault and single counts of domestic abuse assault, first-degree harassment, willful injury causing serious injury and assault while participating in a felony causing serious injury were dismissed. Ackerman also modified Schnee's no-contact order that had been filed against Santos, who had asked that it be dismissed so that she and their children could visit him and speak to him on the phone. "I am not in fear of him and would like to drop the no-contact order," Santos told Ackerman before Schnee was sentenced. Ackerman said Santos and her children can visit Schnee in prison and talk to him on the phone, but if he is released from prison in less than five years, when the no-contact order expires, Schnee is not to see or contact her. Nationally syndicated columnists Cal Thomas and Charles Krauthammer each in their own way deride the decision of the Obama administration to abstain from the vote protesting Israel's continued expansion of illegal settlements on disputed territory. Their arguments fail to note that the U.S. has always raised objections to what is essentially an attempt on the part of Israel to expand her borders at the expense of Palestinians who have seen their territory shrink to an almost uninhabitable extent, living as they always have under an illegal military occupation. Among them are hundreds of thousands of people who were driven out of their homes in 1948 and again in 1967 who have now been made to stand by helplessly as what little land they have left is slowly taken from them by illegal land grabs and outright theft. The better response to what the Obama administration did in abstaining from this vote is to say: "It' s about time." The value we otherwise place as a nation on justice and fairness demands no less. - John Hubers, Orange City, Iowa OMAHA | An 88-year-old man who was hospitalized with severe injuries after his rural Winnebago, Nebraska, home exploded in mid-December has died. According to a death notice submitted to the Sioux City Journal Tuesday, Antone "Tony" Pycha, 88, of Winnebago, died Friday at an Omaha hospital due to medical complications suffered in the explosion, which occurred Dec. 19. The Thurston County Sheriff's Office confirmed his death Tuesday afternoon. Pycha was being treated for severe injuries at an Omaha hospital burn unit, according to the sheriff's office. The explosion had occurred at Pycha's home on Highway 75 near the Winnebago Indian Reservation at approximately 10 a.m. Monday morning. The home was left in pieces. Pycha was found by authorities in the wreckage. Adam Matzner, a chief investigator with the office of the Nebraska State Fire Marshal, said at the time that an on-site investigation had determined the explosion was a result of a propane leak. Secretary of State John Kerry made clear last week that the Obama administration has reached the limits of its patience regarding Jewish settlements in the West Bank. His 70-minute speech was extraordinary not just for its deep assessment of how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict became so intractable but also for its frankness about the obstacles Kerry believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government poses to peace. Kerry outlined the years of intensive efforts the Obama administration and its predecessors, Republican and Democrat alike, have devoted to ensuring Israels security while prodding Palestinian leaders toward ending the overtly hostile acts that made peace impossible. The speech left no question, however, that Kerry and President Barack Obama hold Israel equally responsible, particularly because of Jewish settlement activity in West Bank territory where Palestinians envision a future state. This kind of blunt talk typically occurs away from public view. Kerrys speech was televised live from the State Department auditorium and singled out Netanyahus government for criticism. Netanyahu predictably labeled the speech unbalanced. By accelerating the pace of settlement expansion, Kerry said, Netanyahu is working against his stated support of a two-state solution. Despite our best efforts over the years, the two-state solution is now in serious jeopardy, Kerry warned. The status quo is leading toward one state, or perpetual occupation. If Netanyahu continues down that path, he will create a situation far more intractable and dangerous for Israels security than the current one, Kerry suggested, because Israel would have to impose rule over all Palestinians, denying them the right of self-determination. All hope of peace with Israels Arab neighbors would evaporate. The network of settlements risks creating a Swiss cheese pattern that disrupts territorial contiguity and renders a future Palestinian state unviable. That appears to be the goal of a government Kerry described as the most right wing in Israels history. Middle East analysts say one-state rule would quickly lead to the Jewish states undoing because Palestinian population growth rates far exceed those of Israeli Jews. Given that demographic reality, Kerry said, Israel will have to choose between being a Jewish state or a democratic state, but it cannot be both. The onus is now on Netanyahu to explain how settlements are consistent with the two-state goal. Kerry went to great lengths to describe the hardships faced by Palestinians in Gaza, where the terrorist group Hamas dominates. Hamas remains committed to Israels annihilation, and Palestinians themselves are far from united in support of a two-state solution that guarantees Israels right to exist. The onus is on them as well. For all of the discomfort Kerrys blunt talk is causing in Israel, Netanyahu merely has to wait another three weeks to hear a Trump administration tune far more to his liking. The tune may change, but the dangerous realities Kerry described wont. St. Louis Post-Dispatch The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless. The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well. By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism. PIKESVILLE, Md. (January 3, 2017)Traffic enforcement efforts by Maryland state troopers during the six-week holiday period resulted in more than 47,000 traffic stops that led to more than 1,300 criminal arrests and almost 700 arrests of impaired drivers. Maryland State Police patrol troopers began increased holiday traffic enforcement efforts on November 23, 2016 that continued through January 2, 2017. During that period, troopers arrested 699 impaired drivers, arrested 623 for criminal offenses and arrested another 724 people who were found to be wanted on warrants. The arrests occurred during 47,555 traffic stops made by troopers working traffic safety initiatives that included additional patrols, sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols, and speed enforcement. Troopers issued 27,149 citations, 31,906 warnings and 6,871 safety equipment repair orders. Troopers also wrote 388 civil citations for a variety of offenses. Troopers at each of the 23 Maryland State Police barracks were involved in special enforcement operations during the holiday period. During this period, troopers responded to 21 fatal crashes. Of those, preliminary investigations indicate two are alcohol-related, two involved unrestrained individuals, and four involved pedestrians. Troopers responded to a total of 106 crashes that preliminary investigations indicate were alcohol related. (NOTE: This data is for crashes the Maryland State Police responded to and does NOT include total statewide data for all police agencies.) Some of the increased enforcement included troopers working overtime initiatives. Funding for overtime enforcement was provided by the Maryland Department of Transportation Highway Safety Office. (CNN) Milo Yiannopoulos, a self-proclaimed internet "super-villain," has struck up a book deal with a conservative imprint of Simon & Schuster. News of the deal quickly triggered a backlash and put Simon & Schuster, the publishing house owned by CBS Corporation, in the hot seat. Yiannopoulos is the tech editor at the conservative website Breitbart, and is best known for his unapologetic, politically incorrect, and provocative online persona. Twitter kicked him off the platform in July after he started a barrage of hateful Tweets directed at Ghostbusters actor Leslie Jones. Yiannopoulos has said that trans people suffer from a mental illness, professed that feminism is cancer, and called Black Lives Matter the "last socially acceptable hate group in America." On Thursday, Yiannopoulos announced his book deal with Threshold Editions, the part of Simon & Schuster that has published books from Donald Trump, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. The book is called "Dangerous," and will seek to explain the rise of the "populist, nationalist Trump phenomenon," according to a press release from Yiannopoulos, a British conservative who has been vocal in his support of Trump. "Readers can expect a string of waspish one-liners and bitchy put-downs from America's favorite mischievous gay conservative," said the release, which states the book deal is worth a "mid-six figure sum." Publishers do not typically release book deal prices. The backlash on Twitter was swift, with people upset that an imprint of Simon & Schuster would do business with Yiannopoulos. Others argued in favor of free speech, saying that publishing companies shouldn't be criticized for publishing books by authors you disagree with. "Milo" became a trending topic on Twitter on Thursday afternoon. Yiannopoulos did not immediately return request for comment about the backlash. Threshold Editions and Simon & Schuster did not respond to CNNMoney's request for comment. The book is slated to be published on March 14, 2017. Nominations for the 2016 Caretaker of the Year must be received or postmarked by Monday (Jan. 9). The award, in its second year of sponsorship by Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park in conjunction with the United States Harness Writers Association, recognizes the unsung heroes of the sport the caretakers who maintain the health and welfare of the horses on a daily basis. Any caretaker working for any stable in North America is eligible. All that is needed to nominate is a letter or email, 200 words minimum, from an individual or group detailing the skills and special qualities of the caretaker. Initially titled the Groom of the Year Award when first presented in 1982, the honour was instituted as a result of a suggestion made by Delvin Miller at the annual Harness Tracks of America meeting when he received HTAs Stanley F. Bergstein Messenger Award. Previously sponsored annually by HTA and Hanover Shoe Farms, the tradition lapsed in 2014 but was re-established in 2015 by HRRNP and USHWA. The HRRNP Caretaker of the Year will receive a cash prize of $500, a trophy, and transportation costs to the USHWA Dan Patch Awards Banquet in Las Vegas, on Feb. 26, where he or she will be recognized for the achievement. The winner also will enjoy a two-night stay at the Planet Hollywood, host hotel for the USHWA activities, as well as two complimentary dinner tickets. The United States Harness Writers Association is proud to join with Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park in presenting this prestigious honour, said USHWA President Tim Bojarski. The caretakers of our sport and the role they play in the success of our animals are many times sorely overlooked. This award gives everyone a way to honour those who work in your stable so they can be recognized by everyone else in our industry for what they do. The winner will be chosen by a seven-person selection committee comprised of USHWA members, all of whom are former caretakers: Tim Bojarski (chair), Tom Charters, Moira Fanning, Dean Hoffman, Rob Pennington, Kim Rinker and Shawn Wiles. All nomination letters and emails must be received and/or postmarked by Jan. 9 and sent to Chair Bojarski at [email protected] or mailed to Tim Bojarski, 7523 Maple Road, Akron, NY 14001. (USHWA) Ruby S. Cook, 81, of McDonald, Pa., passed away on Saturday, Dec. 31, surrounded by her family. She enjoyed 40 years as switchboard operator at The Meadows, with the racing community there a second family to her. She took pride in her role and valued the friendships she made. Cook was born Oct. 26, 1935, in McDonald. She was a 1953 graduate of McDonald High School. She loved her family beyond measure. In her spare time she was a shopping fanatic and loved eating out. She was always on the go. Cook is survived by her children, Bobby (JoAnn) Cook and Darcy (John) Kelly, both of McDonald; five grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; a sister, Fern Gedman; and a nephew, nieces, great-nieces and great-nephews. Her husband, Robert Carson Cook, passed away in 1988. Friends will be received from 4-6 p.m., the time of the service, on Thursday, Jan. 5, at Thomas-Little Funeral Service, 314 W. Lincoln Ave., McDonald. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Pittsburghcuresarcoma.org. Sign a guest book at thomas-littlefuneralservice.com. Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Ruby Cook. (Harnessracing.com) The essential component of totalitarian propaganda is artifice (het toepassen van kunstgrepen. svh) . The ruling elites, like celebritie... For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser Despite abundant sunshine, frigid weather is expected to continue gripping the Lower Columbia River region, with overnight lows in the mid-teens through most of the week. The remains of a snowstorm that dumped nearly a foot of snow in the hills around the Kelso-Longview area on Sunday morning is continuing to vex travelers, and area school districts are modifying bus routes this morning. (See sidebar on A4) The Weather Service expects lows of 16, 14 and 16 degrees for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. Skies will be clear. By the weekend, however, warming temperatures and increasing clouds will collide with the cold air and cause freezing rain and treacherous driving conditions, the agency warns. Temperatures will stay below freezing evem in the lowlands until Friday afternoon, and theyre not expected to get much warmer than that until creeping up to about 40 degrees Sunday or Monday afternoon, the Weather Service said. The big picture for the weekend is messy with details yet to come, said Andy Bryant, a hydrologist for the Weather Service in Portland. I expect some snow Saturday and at some point that will switch to freezing rain and eventually to rain, but not until some time on Sunday. The area is getting its first serious cold snap since December 2013. It has dropped temperatures to single digits in Eastern Washington and Oregon, and easterly winds are pushing that cold air into the Lower Columbia River area, Bryant said. We have cold air coming from through the Columbia Gorge and and spreading through Southwest Washington. There is nothing that is forcing the air out of here until we get to the weekend, Bryant said. So far this winter has been much colder than average. Decembers average in Portland was three degrees below normal. The good news: Mountain snowpack has been building steadily. A 28-year-old Longview man has suffered life-threatening injuries after a train struck him near Kalama on New Years Day. He was the first person hit by a train in Washington state in 2017, according to BNSF Railway officials. Shortly before noon on Sunday, the man, who has been identified as Eric A. Garoutte, was walking northbound on the BNSF main line track. The crew on the approaching train hit the emergency brake, but the train was unable to stop before hitting Garoutte from behind, according to Gus Melonas, spokesperson for BNSF. Garoutte was knocked clear of the railroad tracks and sustained severe neck injuries, according to Kalama Police Chief Randy Gibson. Garoutte was sent by ambulance to PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center in Longview and then transferred to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver. He was in critical condition late Tuesday afternoon. The track Garoutte was walking on is the busiest rail route in Washington. On average, 60 trains travel the route each day, Melonas said. BNSF and Kalama police were unsure why Garoutte was on the railroad tracks. He was not at a crossing zone, officials said. Over the last two years, 30 trespass rail fatalities have occurred in Washington, with the majority happening on the route between Everett and Tacoma, Melonas said. Kalama police were the first responding agency on scene and were assisted by the Cowlitz County Sheriffs Office. BNSF Police have taken the lead on investigating the incident. Anyone walking on the train tracks is considered a trespasser on BNSF property. Motivated by a desire to get out of the house and meet new people, Angela Nelson opened 2nd Look Thrift Store in downtown Longview just over two months ago. The store is her way of connecting with and giving back to the community. A string of Christmas lights and puffy paint decorate the outside windows advertising the business. Inside the dim, small space, there are several long racks packed with clothes. Most are for younger children, with some for adults. Behind the counter where Nelson, 51, sits, there are piles of recently-washed clothes yet to be hung up and put out on the racks. Nelson, of Longview, said the idea for opening a thrift store has been in the works for about a year. She said she received a loan from her fiancee to open the business. Nelson said many of the items in the store are things her grandchildren have grown out of. Because it rains in Longview quite often, she joked, she couldnt hold a garage sale, so she opened the store instead. My favorite thing about the store is the people I meet. Im a Christian and I believe in Jesus and I have a special connection with all the people that Ive made friends with in here. Thats my favorite part, Nelson said. Anybody can sell clothes, anybody can sell things, but the companionship, the customer service is my favorite part. Nelson is the only employee. She works six days a week. She said working alone, at her own pace, is good for her mental health. The business allows her to get out into the community and interact with people, Nelson said. Most of the items in Nelsons store are priced in the $2-$5 range. Nelson said she wants to keep her store clean and affordable so that a child or family can come in and find new clothes or shoes or a toy for under $5. All thrift stores are the same. I feel that my prices are reasonable for clean goods. For nice things that they can be proud to take and put on their children and themselves, Nelson said. Nelson also accepts donations. People who come in and donate items to the store receive a 10-percent off coupon that doesnt expire. Nelson also donates 10 percent of her monthly earnings to the Emergency Support Shelter, as theyve helped her family members in times of need, she said. Nelson said the first few months of business have been slow, with mostly repeat customers. She said the timing of opening her business around the holidays might have something to do with it and hopes business picks up. Nelson hopes to expand her thrift store one day to include furniture and tools. Everybody needs a second look, everybody. Regardless of (whether) its a nice shirt or jewelry or shoes even kids, theyve got to look different, Nelson said. Theres always a sad story somewhere, and everybody always needs a light at the end of the tunnel. And I feel that if I could make one persons minute, be happy just for a minute, that it was worth it. Last year, when Apple CEO Tim Cook visited India, it was leaked into the air that, Mr. Tim Cook is visiting India, on his voyage to start Apples outsourcing unit in Indias IT hub city, Bengaluru. On his voyage to India, he even met Mr. Narendra Modi to discuss the same. However, no news of Apples subsidiary was in the air after Mr. Tim Cook left India, until last year when he again Mr. Narendra Modi on the context to discuss the same. It is again well heard that Mr. Tim Cook has visited India to finalise his subsidiary unit in Bengaluru. However, the question still stays, Apple is an international company, will it help with Mr. Narendra Modis Make in India plan and meet the demands of the Indian local market? According to The Economic Times, the way Apple has planned to chart its business in India, according to the Make in India plan is quite different than that of other smartphones. Apple, keeping in mind the Make in India movement has promised Indian government to design and embed iPhones in India, which will be appropriate for Indian customers, these iPhones will only be made in India and will be sold in Indian local markets. Unlike Samsung, which is Apples biggest rival, who only launched dual SIM smartphones, Apple has refused to change their configuration and has been unison to stick with single SIM iPhones. Though Indian market is pressurized Apple to launch Dual SIM iPhones, the Company CEO still refuses to the same. Apples business plan, outsourced to India has an esteem to generate $3 billion in two years, with Modijis Make in India movement. Apple though has agreed to mold its assembling plans, according to Modijis Make in India movement, still, it will be importing internal components to India, from other countries. This is, however, logical because, India is still a developing country. Unlike China and Taiwan, India has to go a long way before it starts producing its own parts. Most of Indias Make in India smartphone brands is only assembling and packaging the products, the internal parts are all imported from countries like China, Taiwan, and America. The most shocking part about Apples approach to Make in India plan is its refusal to dual SIM phone. Indian market demands dual SIM phones because they are used to this kind of configuration. Its quite notable to point out China and Japans Make in India approach, where they have kept in mind the dual SIM feature of the Indian local market. If Apple doesnt agree with multi-SIM facility and sticks to their earlier configuration, its quite clear that Indian consumers will buy iPhones in Make in India movement, but only because of its brand name and not because of basic utility. Keeping in mind Apples biggest rivals, Google and Samsung, its high time that Apple pulls up its socks and start charting out his business. With Narendra Modis Make in India movement, international smartphone brands have agreed that India is the future driver of revenue. In fact, brands like Google and Samsung, have utilised Modijis Make in India movement in a positive way to generate more revenue. Samsung has been producing its models in India, long before Make in India movement was declared. Google continuously keeps Indian consumers engaged and interacts regularly. Apple is planning to set up Wistrons unit Bengaluru to assemble its parts. But, if Apple wants to generate $3 billion revenue in two years, its high time, that Apple should agree with Make in India movement, keeping in mind the ambience of Indian local market. As the new year struck the clock, the scientists disclose their discovery of new terrestrial lives on Europa. It seems that the long search for new terrestrial lives has finally brought some fresh air to the research project, with the discovery of alien life on Enceladus or preferably known as Europa. Ever since Humans took over the planet, the scientists are searching for the traces of alien lives and the search is ever ending. 2016 didnt bring any discovery of new terrestrial lives, but 2017 surely has brought some already. A physicist from the United Kingdom named Simon Foster have suggested that traces of new terrestrial lives may not be discovered on Mars or Jupiter, but certainly some can be found on the moon of Saturn, Enceladus or moon of Jupiter, Europa. According to Professor Simon Foster, with the end of spacecraft Cassinis mission this year, the mission is most likely to come up with an incredible discovery of some rough traces of new terrestrial lives, in far away celestial bodies. The main reason for considering Enceladus and Europa to conduct new space missions to search for new terrestrial lives is because NASA scientists have discovered that Enceladus and Europa are icy moons and that it can have a subsurface of the ocean beyond its thick layer of ice. However, many times in past, certain unknown radio signals were considered as the traces of new terrestrial lives on some other planets, but soon after, it was discovered that it either happened due to a new type of star or old neutrons, which caused Radio signals bursts. Lots of research and spacecraft missions were carried out to find out traces of new terrestrial lives, but everything ruled out the other and nothing was found till date. But Professor of Imperial college London, have some strong faiths that this year will bring home some good news. Ever since Mukesh Ambani has stormed the Indian cellular market with the launch of Jio sim, every now and then, we are hearing jaw-dropping offers from other cellular players too. Among them, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has also rolled out its roadmap for 2017 by coming out with plans of unlimited calls and 4,400 Wi-Fi hot spots. Unlimited call just at Rs. 144 With a new tariff of Rs. 144 rupees, BSNL has planned to offer unlimited local and STD calls for one month from BSNL to any other network. The plan will be valid for six months and not only that, it will also come with a 300MB data on per month basis. The plan is applicable for both prepaid and postpaid customers. Earlier under the same franchise, two plans were rolled out at a tariff of Rs 99 and Rs 339. Plan 99 offers unlimited call from BSNL to BSNL with 300MB data, while the latter offers unlimited calling feature from BSNL to any other network with an allowance of 1GB data. However, Rs. 144 plan seems to have a cutting edge over the previous two plans. BSNL to roll out Wi-Fi hot spots to take on competition in 4G space BSNL Managing director and Chairman Anupam Shrivastava has also expressed the aim of installing 40,000 Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the country by the end of 2017. He told the till now success story of BSNL on installing 4,400 successfully operating Wi-Fi hotspots. Srivastava also highlighted the presence of similar hotspot near the Mahabalipuram area of Chennai and expressed their immediate strategy to expand the existing one. With this BSNL is planning to unveil the spectrum of LTE (Long Term Evolution) across the country but in a sequential manner. Seems like, BSNL is pulling its socks up to give a cut throat completion to its rivalry Reliance Jio. Aditya Madanapalle The Bharat Interface for Money (Bhim) app was launched on 30 December by Prime Minister Modi. The app is developed by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) and uses Unified Payment Interface (UPI) for the transactions. The app is very simple to use, has a clean interface and incorporates multiple security features. Industry stakeholders have called the app a gamechanger when it comes to the ease of making cashless payments in India. The application faced extremely high server loads on launch day, leading to some problems because of the spike in traffic. The app is the top free app on the Google Play store, because of three million plus downloads since launch. How to use Bhim Step 1: Open the play store app and search for "Bhim", or click on the link. The developer of the application is the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), and the developer has no other listed applications. Install the application, it is a download that is less than 2 MB. Step 2: The application automatically pairs with the device, and sends an sms for verification. Grant permissions to the app for accessing the sms on the phone. Set up the passcode for unlocking the application. There is a toggle to hide or view the passcode. Step 3: Select a bank from the list. 31 banks are supported as of now, and there are plans to add more banks to the list. The phone number you are using has to be linked to the bank account, and mobile banking has to be enabled on the bank account. The application automatically retrieves the account information in a secure way, and it is a feature of UPI. Step 4: Set up a payment address. The default address generated for you is your phone number @UPI. Tap on the add payment address in the Profile section to configure an additional payment address. There is a list of generated suggestions provided by the application, but users can feed in their own text strings. Multiple UPI addresses can be generated for a single user. Users can choose one of the UPI addresses as their primary UPI address. Step 5: The profile page also has the QR code automatically generated. This QR code can be saved to the file, shared directly through applications, or printed out. The feature is particularly useful for merchants. The scan and pay option to transfer money can be used by customers to scan the QR code and make payments. Every UPI address has its own unique QR code. https://twitter.com/NPCI_BHIM/status/815928273834151937 Step 6: Transactions can also be conducted using a secure QR code, which is different from the QR code linked to the account. This QR code is meant for one time transactions. The amount has to be entered, along with details on what the money is for. This QR code can be sent over electronic means, or even printed. Anyone who scans the QR code, gets the money credited to his or her account. Step 7: For making transactions using IFSC, there is an interface available in the top right corner of the payment menu. Users have to fill in details such as beneficiary name, their account number and the IFSC code. The security features A team known as Lucideus Tech conducted a thorough security audit of the application. There are multiple levels of security features on the device. The application binds to the mobile number and the device id. At set up, the app binds to the device using a device id. After binding with the device, an sms is sent and verified by the application. Then, the application asks for a pin number, that has to be used every time the app is started, or when the screen gets locked. The account details are retrieved directly from the bank, and the user does not need to feed these into the system. The retrieval of account information is a feature built into UPI. The information is transmitted in a masked manner over secure banking networks, and Bhim does not save or use the information. Users can set the UPI pin using any other banking app that supports UPI as well. In case the phone is lost, the UPI pin prevents third parties from using Bhim to transfer funds, even if the device is not secured by a device pin or a fingerprint scanner. The binding and verification process is repeated if users get a new phone. The application can continued to be operated as usual if the user ports their number to another service provider. Just a word of warning, there is a timeout period before the application expires when minimised. The application does not ask for a registration code if the screen is unlocked a few seconds after it has been locked. The advantages When it works, the setup is very simple and straightforward. The application is up and running in a matter of seconds. Payments are instantaneous. The account fetching feature in UPI is particularly convenient, as users do not have to feed in information when setting up a new account, or switching accounts. There are stories from many users who are conducting transactions without facing any problems. https://twitter.com/ShareefTashreef/status/815944059617300481 There is no need for installing multiple applications from various banks, the single application conducts transactions through all the banks. Bhim offers an advantage over mobile wallets, as the money is not first loaded into the app before transactions. The transactions are conducted directly through the banks that support UPI. The Bhim app by the NPCI is better than any potential mobile wallet by the government. https://twitter.com/siddarthpaim/status/815944350886752256 The transactions are instantaneous, when conducted over UPI. The interface is clean, uncluttered and without distractions. It is easy for new users to find their way around the application pretty easily. https://twitter.com/haritashtamvada/status/815919894445182976 However, not everyone is having a great experience. Things can, and have gone wrong. The faults can lie with the app itself, the bank through which it fetches the account information, or local factors such as connectivity. The Problems When the application was launched, it was easy and smooth to set up. Verifying the number and pairing the device with the service happened instantaneously and rapidly. Now, new users signing up to the service are getting a screen that says device binding failed. After the device binding stage, there is the sms verification stage, which also fails at times. There are SMS charges associated with the verification, and the problem persists even after repeated attempts. It is a good idea to try device binding and phone number verification at odd hours, or to wait for a few days till the loads on the server reduces. We were able to set up the application by just repeatedly trying till it worked. The device binding occurs only once when the app is started, and it is not needed to go through the procedure repeatedly. However, you have to bind the device if the application is uninstalled and re-installed. Some users are facing a binding issue, even after registering the number with the application. An update is coming soon to resolve this issue. https://twitter.com/NPCI_BHIM/status/816069143866707968 A few features are tucked away in unlikely locations, and it is not immediately apparent how to navigate to these functionalities. For example, paying by IFSC is on the top right corner within the payment menu. It is the only option in a hamburger icon. The FAQs redirect you to a web page and is not included within the application itself. Saving the QR code to the device is referred to as "Download," which can be a little misleading. Some problems are specific to certain banks. IDBI bank requires a new MPIN to be generated every time the bank account is changed. Bank of Baroda users are facing errors when the application tries to fetch the details of the accounts. If there is an error generating the one time password, that is a problem with the infrastructure of the bank. Not all banks are supported at the moment, but more banks are being added. There are also intermittant issues with certain banks. https://twitter.com/NPCI_BHIM/status/815926250904567808 There are problems where the transaction is not going through. The beneficiary has to have a bank account linked to a mobile number. Some users are facing problems making transactions even at odd hours. It is unknown at this point of time if the problem is because of server issues, or some other reason. https://twitter.com/sri_adiga/status/816067975409041409 Bhim restricts single transactions to Rs 10,000, and has a 24 hour limit of Rs 20,000. This means that the app cannot be used to make high value transactions, or multiple transactions that exceed the daily limit of Rs 20,000. Users of the application have called for relaxation of the limits. https://twitter.com/hirenamin/status/815847463395479552 The application is available only in Hindi and English now. Multi-lingual support is coming soon, according to the Bhim team. The app is not available on Windows Mobile, BlackBerry OS devices, iOS or feature phones. There is support for other operating systems coming soon, which means that a version of the application for Windows Mobile is expected. The CEO of Niti Aayog, Amitabh Kant has indicated that an iOS version of the application will be landing before January 10. https://twitter.com/amitabhk87/status/815850322396520448 As of now, the application allows users to link to only one bank account at a time. The account can be changed at any time, but it would be convinient to have a list of commonly used accounts, that allows for quick swapping. Designating one of the bank accounts as the default account, can be implemented in a manner similar to the UPI interface, where one of several addresses can be designated as the default address. There is a partial solution for users facing these problems. NUUP banking services can be availed on any phone, irrespective of operating system, by dialing *99# on the device. Note that the service is geared towards feature phones, but can be used on Windows Mobile or iOS devices in a pinch. The bank has to be selected through a multimodal code on smartphones. The NUUP is available in eleven Indian languages, although the functionality offered is a reduced version of the interface for Hindi and English. The NUUP service can also be buggy at times. Every new application is bound to have some teething troubles. The Bhim team is quickly responding to all queries and problems through their twitter handle @NPCI_BHIM. tech2 News Staff The Bharat Interface for Money or the Bhim app was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 30 December 2016. It has already crossed over 3mn downloads and is the top rated app under the 'Top Free Apps' category on the Google Play Store. According to Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, the iOS variant of the Bhim app is expected to drop on the Apple store on 10 January. The Bhim app is based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the security for which is handled by a New Delhi-based cybersecurity company called Lucideus Tech. According to a report in The Economic Times, the cybersecurity company had around a dozen people working relentlessly for close to two months on the security of the Bhim app. The teams mandate was to ensure that all the security loopholes were plugged and the app was safe, before it went live. The app is developed by the National Payments Council of India (NPCI). According to Saket Modi, the CEO of Lucideus Tech, around a dozen people were working exclusively on the Bhim app security. The company has in the past worked for organisations such as ICICI Bank, Standard Chartered, IndiGo and KFC. He added that Lucideus was considered to work on the security of the Bhim app because it has also worked on the cybersecurity assessment for the UPI common library, which is embedded in all the net banking apps offering UPI. Three levels of security The Bhim app has three levels of security going in. You come across the first level when you open the app that is when it gets bound to the device ID and your phone number. You are quickly prompted to enter a PIN number to unlock and open the app. The second level of security is when the authentication takes place between the bank and the users mobile number registered with the bank. That is basically the one-time password. The third-level of security is the UPI PIN which is set by you and which will be required for every transaction you do through the Bhim app. The authorisation of the transaction happens via the UPI servers. Other security measures The Lucideus team also simulated multiple scenarios where they tried to breach the app. For instance, getting a call while you are in the middle of a transaction, and handing the phone over to another person. Post the call it will not be easy for the other person to manipulate the transation, as the UPI PIN needs to be re-entered after disconnecting the call. Even if someone manages to duplicate your SIM or steals your phone, doing transactions wull not be possible without the UPI PIN said Lucideus' Modi. He acknowledges that although they will try to create multiple scenarios to make the security robust, nothing can be 100 per cent secure. "But what can be done is to ensure that all known controls are tested for and to have an incident response strategy ready in case of a breach," said Modi. According to Modi, Bhim could turn out to be more convenient than mobile wallets because it is superior from a technology standpoint and easier to use as compared to mobile wallets. The need to have a third-party wallet is bypassed as you are able to transact directly using your bank account details without any need to fill your digital wallet with money. tech2 News Staff The Consumer Electronics Show will officially begin on 5 January, but companies have already started off with their announcements. Samsung announced its refresh to the A-series devices on 2 Jan. LG has already made announcements. Now, Taiwanese component and smartphone maker Asus seems to be releasing a new phone - the ZenFone AR. Asus' Zennovation event is scheduled to take place on 4 January at 11.30AM Pacific Time, which is around 1AM on 5 Jan, according to IST. But looks like one of its star products may already have been leaked. In a Qualcomm blog accessed by GSMArena (taken down since), the details of the second Tango smartphone have been revealed. The Asus ZenFone AR will be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 821 chipset and it will support Project Tango as well as Google Daydream. This makes the ZenFone AR the second Tango smartphone after Lenovo Phab2 Pro and the first phone outside the Pixel lineup to support Daydream VR platform. https://twitter.com/evleaks/status/815973578906730497 Prolific tipster Evan Blass also tweeted the images of the ZenFone AR. Project Tango lets you map the 3D space around you by using a combination of cameras such as a regular camera, an integrated depth sensing camera and a motion tracking camera. The 3D space mapping is done in real time and can help out with navigating within shopping malls and other internal locations. It also lets you interact with your real surroundings thereby adding a layer of augmented reality to the mix. Daydream is far more than a plain ol VR headset and controller. Googles plan with Daydream is to offer a VR platform, a VR ecosystem of sorts. With Daydream, Google wants a platform where the hardware, software, viewers and controllers are all working in concert, says Clay Bavor the head of Googles VR platform. If the leak is true, the Asus ZenFone AR will be the first smartphone to offer both Tango and Daydream support on once device. We will find out soon. Nimish Sawant Intel has started off 2017 with the announcement of the high end laptop and desktop parts for its Kaby Lake series of processors. The 7th generation Intel processors are built on the 14nm+ process node, and bring some added functionality to the processor family covering a range of form factors from 2-in-1s to detachables to thin and light laptops to mobile workstations to performance AIOs. We have so far seen Kaby Lake only on thin ultraportables and convertibles, but this larger release takes care of most other form factors as well. Intel announced new parts in the Y-series which will include low power Core m3, Core i5, Core i7 and vPro supporting Core i5 and Core i7 parts which will be used in 2-in-1s, detachables and compute sticks. The U-series is expected to come with 15W and 28W parts with Intel Iris Plus integrated graphics, expected to power thin and light laptops, 2-in-1s, convertibles as well as mini PCs. On the desktop front, you will get the S-Series parts which will cover a wide range going from value to performance to enthusiast desktops, all-in-ones as well as mini PCs. This will include the Intel Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 parts as well as vPro supporting Core i5 and Core i7 parts. Intel also announced two Intel Xeon 45W parts for mobile workstations along with H-series unlocked Intel Core processors for enthusiast and VR capable notebooks. In all there are 42 processor SKUs that have been announced across the various series mentioned above. Majority of the SKUs are updates of the Skylake chips with changes in clock speeds. New Chipsets for the 7th gen Intel Core family With new processors come the new chipsets. Intel is introducing eight new 200-series chipsets across desktop and mobile parts. For Desktop Intel Q270 and Q250 chipsets enhance Manageability and Security Intel Z270 chipset for tuning capabilities with unlocked Intel Core processors (supports 6th gen Skylake processors) Intel H270 chipset for improving visual display and performance for media creation (supports 6th gen Skylake processors) Intel B250 chipset to enable performance, manageability and security features useful for small and medium business For Mobile Intel CM238, Intel HM175 and Intel QM175 chipsets with fast I/O and other performance benefits as well as sensor support for mobile 7thGen Intel Core and Intel Xeon processors. Intel Iris Plus graphics Intel Iris Plus graphics is touted as the major upgrade in the latest generation of processors. The focus is on improved 3D graphics performance, better Quick Sync video and ability to playback and stream 4K content. Intel wants to make virtual reality and augmented reality more mainstream and is focussed on delivering a good experience through Intel 7th gen processor-powered laptops and desktops. Intel also says that it has improved its media engines with support for power-efficient VP9 and HEVC 10-bit hardware acceleration as well as improved 4K viewing and content creation. Intel has also claimed a seamless 1080p graphics experience with Iris Plus graphics on some games. Intel Optane Memory Intel Optane memory is the latest feature that is aimed at systems still using hard disk drives or slower SSDs. Storage bottleneck is real and Optane memory aims to resolve that issue by accelerating the HDD seamlessly for the end user. Optane memory uses an intelligent way to manage the files that people use more often. The idea is to improve application load times, startup times and so on. The idea here is similar to using a flash memory component along with mechanical HDDs to improve caching times and in effect overall performance in terms of load times and startup times. It has been done with using cache SSDs as well as with SSHDs. Optane Memory takes that concept to the next level. Intels Optane technology (a.k.a 3D Xpoint) is a 3D transistor technology that is claimed to be up to 1000x faster than regular NAND memory that is employed in SSDs. Optane Memory cannot be used as a separate SSD however, but as a faster caching element in the equation. Desktop motherboard partners can also add in an Optane Ready module on the M.2 connector. With Intel Optane Memory Ready motherboards and systems one can add Intel Optane memory purchased aftermarket for a snappy PC experience with short boot times, fast application launches, and to help accelerate day-to-day compute tasks, says the release. Security - Intel Authenticate Technology and more Intel stressed a lot on the security aspect of its processors as well. The 7th gen Intel Core vPro processors come with hardware level security features. For instance, Intel Authenticate Technology provides a robust multifactor solution that is protected in hardware, reducing users exposure to identity theft attacks such as phishing and screen scraping. With fingerprint, Bluetooth proximity, protected PIN, location, and facial recognition, there are plenty of options for policy customisation on PCs. There will be a push towards having a combination of biometric and hardware based security features to ensure identity protection. Intel is also working with vendors to enable secure-fingerprint touch to pay and Secure Guest Checkout which comes with underlying hardware level data security for verification purposes. Intel also spoke about having hardened password managers, which means that all passwords could be managed by one master password which would be stored in hardware. Intel Authenticate will also be paired with Windows Hello. It is also working with applications to offer two factor authentication. Dropbox is one company it mentioned in its address. Project EVO Intel spoke about Project Evo where it is working with partners such as Microsoft to develop technologies that touch on multiple aspects. This will incorporate features such as immersive gaming experiences, artificial intelligence powered assistants such as Cortana, improved security features and improved radio connectivity - stressing on the transition from LTE to 5G. hidden Maharashtra government would hold 'Digi Dhan Mela' on January 3 to promote digital payment. There would be over 50 stalls with variety of products such as electronic goods, foodstuffs, textiles, handicrafts, fashion accessories, etc, on sale. "Only digital payments will be accepted (at these stalls)," said Finance Secretary Vandana Krishna. MTNL and Reliance Jio will offer free Wi-Fi at the venue. Krishna said objective behind the event was to create awareness about various digital payment systems available and to handhold users in installing and using them. "The event will witness participation from sectors such as banking, agriculture, telecom, mobile wallet operators, transport, merchants associations, Aaple Sarkar Seva Kendra operators, Fair Price shop owners, etc. Banks like ICICI, Axis bank, SBI, IDFC will participate," she said. Citizens would be offered help for opening bank account, linking mobile number to account, Aadhar enrolment, Aadhar updates, seeding Aadhar with bank account number, etc. The visitors to the Mela who want to enrol for Aadhar should carry identity proof with name and photo, proof of address and proof of date of birth, the official said. Similar Melas will be held in Pune on January 7 and Nagpur. PTI tech2 News Staff Google Doodle is paying homage to Savitribai Phule with a Google Doodle showing the social activist urging a group of women towards a school. Savitribai Phule was an educator and a social worker who urged for the education of women, during British India. Phule founded India's first women's school in Pune, and was also India's first woman teacher. Every year, January 3 is celebrated as Savitribai Phule Jayanti, with programs held for women's empowerment in her honour. Savitribai Phule was born in Naingaon in 1831. She was only nine years old when she was married to her husband, Jyotirao Phule, who was then fourteen years old. Jyotirao Phule encouraged Savitribai Phule to study. Later on, both husband and wife became social activists who fought for the rights of the downtrodden in Indian society, including those facing discrimination based on caste, women, widows and farmers. Savitribai Phule wrote a number of poems for the upliftment of dalits and women. Some of her poems can be read online here. This is a graphic novel illustrating the life of Savitribai Phule. The adopted son of Savitribai Phule and Jyotirao Phule, Yashwantrao opened up a clinic to care for patients affected by the third pandemic of bubonic plague, that raged for a hundred years. She was personally taking people to the clinic and caring for them, and contracted the deadly disease in the process. She died on 10 March 1897, because of the plague. hidden A boom in consumer drone sales has spawned a counter-industry of start-ups aiming to stop drones flying where they shouldn't, by disabling them or knocking them out of the sky. Dozens of start-up firms are developing techniques - from deploying birds of prey to firing gas through a bazooka - to take on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are being used to smuggle drugs, drop bombs, spy on enemy lines or buzz public spaces. The arms race is fed in part by the slow pace of government regulation for drones. In Australia, for example, different agencies regulate drones and counter-drone technologies. "There are potential privacy issues in operating remotely piloted aircraft, but the Civil Aviation Safety Authority's role is restricted to safety. Privacy is not in our remit," the CASA told Reuters. "There's a bit of a fear factor here," says Kyle Landry, an analyst at Lux Research. "The high volume of drones, plus regulations that can't quite keep pace, equals a need for personal counter-drone technology." The consumer drone market is expected to be worth $5 billion by 2021, according to market researcher Tractica, with the average drone in the United States costing more than $500 and packing a range of features from high-definition cameras to built-in GPS, predicts NPD Group, a consultancy. Australian authorities relaxed drone regulations in September, allowing anyone to fly drones weighing up to 2kg without training, insurance, registration or certification. Elsewhere, millions of consumers can fly high-end devices - and so can drug traffickers, criminal gangs and insurgents. Drones have been used to smuggle mobile phones, drugs and weapons into prisons, in one case triggering a riot. One U.S. prison governor has converted a bookshelf into an impromptu display of drones his officers have confiscated. Armed groups in Iraq, Ukraine, Syria and Turkey are increasingly using off-the-shelf drones for reconnaissance or as improvised explosive devices, says Nic Jenzen-Jones, director of Armament Research Services, a consultancy on weapons. A booby-trapped drone launched by Islamic State militants killed two Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and wounded two French soldiers in October near Mosul. The use of drones by such groups is likely to spread, says Jenzen-Jones. "There's an understanding that the threat can migrate beyond existing conflict zones," he told Reuters. Anti-Drones This is feeding demand for increasingly advanced technology to bring down or disable unwanted drones. At one end of the scale, the Dutch national police recently bought several birds of prey from a start-up called Guard From Above to pluck unwanted drones from the sky, its CEO and founder Sjoerd Hoogendoorn said in an email. Other approaches focus on netting drones, either via bigger drones or by guns firing a net and a parachute via compressed gas. Some, like Germany's DeDrone, take a less intrusive approach by using a combination of sensors - camera, acoustic, Wi-Fi signal detectors and radio frequency (RF) scanners - to passively monitor drones within designated areas. Newer start-ups, however, are focusing on cracking the radio wireless protocols used to control a drone's direction and payload to then take it over and block its video transmission. Singapore's TeleRadio Engineering uses RF signals in its SkyDroner device to track and control drones and a video feed to confirm targets visually. DroneVision Inc of Taiwan, meanwhile, says it is the first to anticipate the frequency hopping many drones use. Founder Kason Shih says his anti-drone gun - resembling a rifle with two oversized barrels, coupled with a backpack - blocks the drone's GPS signals and video transmission, forcing it back to where it took off via the drone's own failsafe features. Varied Clientele Clients, the start-up companies say, range from intelligence agencies to hotels. DroneVision, for example, helped local police down 40 drones flying around Taipei 101, one of the world's tallest buildings and a magnet for drone users, in a single day. In the Middle East, upscale hotels are talking to at least two companies about blocking drones from taking shots of their celebrity guests longing poolside or in the privacy of their bathrooms. And even while the military, Jenzen-Jones says, may have the capability to bring down drones, demand is shifting to nimbler, more agile devices to cope with attacks using smaller off-the-shelf devices. "The key is looking for systems that are scalable, lightweight and easily deployable," he said. DroneShield, an Australian-listed company, says it has sold its drone detection equipment to an Asian national security agency it declined to identify, and the Turkish prime minister's office. Hey, Regulators The problem, such companies say, is that regulations on the use of drones - and about countering them - are still in their infancy. In countries like the United States and Australia, for example, drones are considered private property, and they can only be jammed by government agencies. "Mitigation capabilities," says Jonathan Hunter, CEO of Department 13, "are therefore limited." Oleg Vornik, chief financial officer of DroneShield, however, says: "This is expected to change shortly as governments start to recognise that critical infrastructure facilities such as airports need to be able to defend themselves against drones." In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration is testing various counter-drone technologies at several airports. Interest in the space will only grow. London will next year host the world's first two conferences on counter-drone technologies, says Jenzen-Jones. But there will also likely be consolidation. DroneShield's Vornik says the company has counted 100 counter-drone start-ups, and is talking to more than a dozen of them as potential acquisition targets. It's too early, Vornik says, to see evidence of moves to get around anti-drone technology. But Amazon.com last month tested deliveries in the UK via drones, and published a patent describing how it might defend drones from threats, ranging from a bow and arrow to signal jammers. Reuters tech2 News Staff Lenovo India has yet again teased a new smartphone that could be launched very soon. After announcing the K6 series, the company will be launching a battery focused smartphone called the P2. The information was revealed via the company's Twitter account on Monday. The P series from Lenovo has been around ever since the company started selling smartphones and the P2 is the latest product falling under the series. It was unveiled last year at IFA and is already selling in China. https://twitter.com/Lenovo_in/status/815897946340278274 The smartphone was announced with a 5.5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display and a 2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor. It was announced with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, however Lenovo is speculated to announce 3GB RAM and 4GB RAM variants with 32GB of storage in India. Rest of the features include a 13MP rear camera, a 5MP front facing camera, dual SIM support, a microSD card to expand the storage, 4G LTE support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM Radio and of course the highlight, a 5,100mAh battery with fast charge support. The handset will arrive with Android 6.0 Marshmallow out-of-the box. The smartphone was announced in China at CNY 2,499 (Rs 25,000 approx) however it could be priced lower than Rs 20,000 in India since the company might announce a lower storage variant. No confirmed launch date has been confirmed as of now, but we will keep you updated on the launch. hidden Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Monday launched the Haj Committee of India's mobile app here. The app would bring all Haj related information to the fingertips of users. People can apply for Haj, seek relevant information, news and updates and can make e-payment through the app, the Minister said. The app can be downloaded from Google Playstore. "The central government has been encouraging online applications to ensure fair opportunity for the pilgrimage with complete transparency and comfort. For the first time, Haj application process is going to be digital," Naqvi said. "Applying for Haj, enquiry and information, news and updates and e-payment are the main features of this mobile app. Five adults and two infants can apply together as a group. A PDF copy of the form will go to the applicant's email," he added. However, after online application, the printout with documents is to be sent to the state Haj committees. Last month, the Ministry had launched a new trilingual website of Haj. During Haj 2016, as many as 45,843 people had applied online for Haj which was about 11 percent of the total applications from across the country. Naqvi said that efforts are on to make the process of online application simple and easy so that more and more people can apply online for the next Haj pilgrimage. Maharashtra topped in online applications for Haj 2016 with a total of 10,960 people applying online followed by Kerala with 9,257 online applications and Uttar Pradesh with 5,407. IANS tech2 News Staff Wipro Chairman Azim Premji and Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka have sent out letters to their respective employees cautioning them about serious dangers facing the world and the IT industry. Globalised industries like IT services, are at risk due to the recent political and social developments pose huge risks. Premji suggests that the following four principles should be taken into consideration in the quest for a better world: finding a common ground; having concern and respect for others; staying connected as a society; and committing to values such as integrity and honesty. "It's not that only people in public life can play a part, but each one of us in our own roles can make a difference, and we as a company can make a substantial difference," Premji said in his letter. Recalling a recent visit to a school in Sirohi in Rajasthan, he spoke about a young girl who had asked him about his achievements. Premji said the question made him feel really happy and fulfilled. "It is not as though this question has not been asked of me before. But that moment and the question, was suffused with the child's genuine curiosity and pure heart, and so became a moment of great clarity and insight for me. The greatest fulfilment is in knowing that the work that we are doing at the Foundation has some role in shaping confident, thinking, caring and ethical human beings like her." On the other hand Sikka wants his employees to embrace automation and be innovative to survive the fast changes in the world of technology. He believes that difficult times lie ahead for the Indian IT industry if it continues to depend only on costs and work as reactive problem-solvers. "We will not survive if we remain in the constricted space of doing as we are told. By standing still instead of moving forward decisively, we will face the brunt of the disruptive forces, as our industry has already started to see," Sikka said. He also said that a majority of work that came to Infosys and to others in the IT industry can be done with AI (artificial intelligence) systems. "So as I think about all this...we need to harness the dual forces of automation and innovation," he said. Like Premji, Sikka also mentioned about political and social issues like Brexit, Donald Trump's victory, demonetisation, terrorism and the migrant crisis. However, he believes the biggest disruption is the one that has been proceeding irreversibly and unstoppably in our times, the accelerating force of technology and digitisation. Congressional Republicans are moving quickly to denounce the United Nations for its recent Security Council resolution deeming all Israeli settlements flagrant violation[s] of international law. More than 100 members of Congress have formally condemned the resolution, the Times of Israel reported. GOP lawmakers in both chambers have decided to introduce resolutions targeted at the UN once Congress reconvenes. Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran and Florida Rep. Dennis Ross are both slated to introduce disapproval resolutions against the international body. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) indicated that he did not know whether the chamber would vote on Morans resolution or a similar one. However, despite the Republican lead on the resolution, several aides have said anti-UN action will receive bipartisan support. With the US Congress now convening for the new sessions, they'll be issuing a special condemnation of the UN for taking such an anti-Israel/settlment stance:They also intend to advance motions to defund the UN, but are uncertain it'll get bipartisan support in the Senate. I think it's a good idea to start lobbying at the Senate to make sure they take the wish to defund the UN seriously. Labels: anti-americanism, anti-semitism, dhimmitude, islam, Israel, Jerusalem, UN corruption, United States, US Congress Laid to rest at village home UNB, Gaibandha : Awami League MP Manjurul Islam Liton, who was shot dead by some miscreants on Saturday, was laid to rest at his village home at Masterpara in Sundarganj upazila on Monday afternoon. He was buried at his family graveyard around 4.10 pm following a namaz-e-janaza after Asar prayers. The helicopter carrying his body reached his village home around 1pm. Earlier, another namaz-e-janaza of the slain MP was held at the South Plaza of Jatiya Sangsad in the morning. Ministers, Prime Minister's Advisers, Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Mia, Prime Minister's Special Envoy and Jatiya Party Chief HM Ershad, Whips of the Jatiya Sangsad, MPs attended the janaza. Besides, leaders of different political parties, family members and relatives of Manjurul Islam Liton as well as officials and employees of parliament joined the janaza. After the janaza, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid tributes to slain Liton by placing wreaths on his coffin that was draped with the national flag. The Prime Minister stood in solemn silence there for some time as a mark of respect to the late MP. Hasina along with her party's senior leaders also placed another wreath on behalf of the party. On behalf of the President, his military secretary Major General Sarwar Hossain placed a wreath on his coffin to pay homage to him. Besides, Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury also placed a wreath on the coffin and paid her respect to the late MP. A munajat was offered on the occasion, seeking the eternal peace of the departed soul. Liton was shot at point blank range by some miscreants at his village home at Masterpara of Sundarganj Upazila on Saturday evening. He was admitted to RangpurMedicalCollegeHospital where attending doctors declared him dead. After ISIS, What's Next for Iraqi Assyrians? Christmas has been a dangerous time for Christians in Iraq. In 2013, three bombings targeted Christians in Baghdad, killing 38. Two days before Christmas 2016, there were reports that at least two Christian men were assassinated in Baghdad's Ghadeer neighborhood. The attack targeted shops alleged to sell alcohol. Vian Dakhil, a Yazidi member of parliament, tweeted a condemnation. In October, the Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga launched an offensive to liberate Mosul from the grip of Islamic State. They also liberated Christian towns and villages on the Nineveh plains. Bakhdida, once home to fifty thousand people, was retaken on October 21st and the Christian town of Bartella was liberated the same day. In addition, areas where Christians lived in Bashiqa, and monasteries and church in Tel Keppe were retaken. But what the Assyrian Christian community found left behind was destruction by ISIS. Romeo Hakkari told Kurdistan 24 that "in some parts 80 to 90 percent had been destroyed." He is the Secretary General of the Bat al-Nahrain party, one of several Christian political groupings that emerged after the 2003 war. As Christmas came to Iraq, the remaining Christians attended mass throughout the country. Most Iraqi Christians are Catholic and observe the holiday on the 25th. An estimated two hundred thousand became refugees from ISIS persecution in 2014. According to Juliana Taimoorazy of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council there were 1.6 million Christians in Iraq before 2003 and around 150 thousand today. These remaining faithful live on a land of ancient Christian presence. Taimoorazy, who is a Christian from Iran, says that Christianity is reputed to have come to Iraq with St. Thomas the Apostle. In 2015, ISIS destroyed St. Elijah's monastery, razing 1,400 years of history to the ground. Yet secure behind the Kurdish and Iraqi army frontlines, Christian monasteries survived the onslaught and communities, such as those in Ainkawa, Irbil, and Baghdad. They also took up arms to fight ISIS, forming several Christian militias. These militias are allied with different political parties in Iraq. For instance, the Nineveh Plains Forces (NPF) in the Christian village of Telskop are closer to the Peshmerga, whereas the Nineveh Plains Units (NPU) are closer to the Popular Mobilization Forces or Hashd al-Sha'abi. As the Nineveh plains have been liberated, these differing forces have worked hard to show off their credentials. Kurdish Peshmerga paraded in a church in Kirkuk and the Kurdistan Regional Government has broadcasted itself as a protector of the area's Christians. However Assyrians also want support for rebuilding in Nineveh plains and greater autonomy. Athre Kado, media spokesperson for the NPU says that his organization was started out of the Assyrian Democratic Movement in August 2014. This was after ISIS had expelled Christians from Mosul. "The number of men who registered reached two thousand and ADM worked to get permission from the Iraqi government in September." They eventually set up a training camp near Sulaimaniya, Kado says in an email. By January 2015, around 750 men were housed there and supported financially by the Assyrian diaspora and other supporters. They deployed in several places, including Alqosh, a Christian town near Duhok that overlooks the Nineveh plains and where the tomb of the Prophet Nahum is located. "The coordination for making the [training] camp with the Peshmerga, which are the force that controlled the Nineveh Plains militarily, took more than nine months," he says. By November 2015 men were completing basic military training and living in caravans without electricity. They lacked proper equipment. Through October 2016 an additional group of three hundred and then two hundred militia members received permission to train. "The Assyrian people are suffering a disastrous life, inhuman, far from their homes which were mostly burned, damaged and looted, their decades of hard work disappeared," Kado says. After the Mosul offensive began the NPU joined the Iraqi army and its Counter-Terror Forces in Bakhdida. They also entered the nearby villages Karemlesh and Bartella, just a few kilometers from the outskirts of Mosul city. "The international community has been helping rebuild the town [of Bakhdida]." The local Assyrian community lacks the financial resources to support the rebuilding. For the NPU, military operations related to retaking Mosul have ceased and they are concentrating on working and guarding the liberated villages in Nineveh. Kado says that after Mosul city is liberated it may be difficult to return after ISIS because "ISIS is not the only problem for Assyrians there." Prior to 2014, Mosul was a center of Islamist insurgency against the United States after 2003 and then against the Iraqi central government. It was the last place to be retaken from insurgents after the U.S. troop "surge" in Iraq in 2007. In June 2007 Father Ragheed Ganni was murdered alongside two of his aides in front of the Holy Spirit Church in Mosul. Archbishop Pauls Faraj Rahho was kidnapped in the Al-Nur district of Mosul and murdered in February 2008. In November 2008, the Associated Press noted that attacks in Mosul were down to seventy a week from a peak of 130 or more earlier in the year. Many of these attacks also targeted Christians. Throughout Iraq the instability caused Assyrians to emigrate and Christian institutions were relocated to the more secure Erbil in the KRG. This included St. Peter's Major Seminary, which moved from Baghdad to the Kurdish region. The NPU supported creating a "Nineveh plains province for the original and historical nations in it and the management and military should be controlled by the Nineveh plains people themselves." This is a form of autonomy, more similar to what the KRG has. "Assyrian politicians in and out of Iraq have lobbied for years to give Christian's autonomy there," wrote Judit Neurink in Rudaw in 2014. She wrote that Christians were 40 percent of the proposed province. There was even talk of an independent Assyrian state in the diaspora. However the ISIS invasion changed all that. Now these demands are back because local groups, such as the NPU, think that they are best placed to provide security and their own administration for Assyrians. These desires overlap with policies of the KRG and Sunni leaders from Mosul such as Atheel Nujaifi who also want Sunni Arab autonomy. The Assyrians are caught between larger groups. "Any policies that are with our peoples we are with it, otherwise we will try with all our abilities to stop it," says the NPU spokesman. They describe their relations with the PMU as one of many relations with groups in Iraq that are fighting ISIS. He says that to change the extremism that caused ISIS it was important to tackle education and Islamist propaganda that has spread in the country. Taimoorazy also supports a province for minorities in Nineveh. "The only way it will be done is where our boys and girls protect our own, and we have the observation of the international community and the Iraqi government equips and trains these soldiers." Her organization has adopted Telskop to support children during Christmas. This is the third Christmas many Assyrians will spend away from their homes, and lack of support for rebuilding infrastructure and clearing improvised explosive devices and tunnels left behind by ISIS may mean the better part of another year. The bells in churches across northern Iraq may have been rung again during Christmas, but the future is unclear. The rise of Christian militias such as the NPU or NPF are part of the patchwork of other militias that arose to fight ISIS. However the demographic changes on the ground and the need to repopulate Christian areas will be key to any attempt to carve out elements of autonomy. Massive fire tears through Dhaka market, causes partial collapse The massive fire that ravaged the DCC Market in Dhaka's Gulshan-1 is yet to be put out, ten hours after it erupted in the wee hours of Tuesday. The raging flames led to the collapse of a third of the two-storey shopping mall early in the morning. As many as 22 firefighting units are on the spot since 2:30am to fight the fire. But until 12pm, authorities were not yet sure how long it would take them to completely tame the fire. No deaths have been reported in the incident so far, Dhaka North Mayor Anisul Huq told the media on Tuesday morning. Though some shop owners suspect it to be an act of sabotage, the Mayor said an electrical malfunction may have caused it. The fire service is yet to comment on the cause of the fire. "Can't say how this massive fire broke out," Gulshan police's Deputy Commissioner Mustak Ahmed told bdnews24.com around 3:45am from the spot. The fire service said the flames started from the eastern part of the mall and later spread. Firefighters arrived on the spot around 2:30am, Fire Service Control Room's Duty Officer Palash Chandra Mondal told bdnewsw24.com. A shop owner told bdnews24.com that the two-storey mall has almost 250 shops. Furniture shops occupy a large portion of the ground floor along with some eateries. The kitchen market portion on the eastern side has been burnt down. The four-storey Gulshan Shopping Centre adjacent to it, however, remained unaffected. The businesses on the first floor traded in food products, apparels, cosmetics, ornaments, toys and electronics. bdnews24.com Chief News Photographer Mostafigur Rahman reported from the spot that around 4:15am , the south-eastern portion of the market collapsed and then another portion caved in. The sobbing shop owners and keepers, who rushed to the spot on hearing the news, were seen helping the firefighters. Abu Taleb Babul, the market committee president, told the media that it was an act of sabotage. Another shop trader had earlier said the fire was started deliberately. "Some people came and took down the numbers of shops around 2am yesterday (Monday)...They might have set fire to the market by exploding a power transformer," Babul said. Angry traders, counting the cost of terrifying blaze, attacked the fire crew at around 4:40am after they said they had run out of water. Several firefighters were injured in the incident, leaving the operation momentarily suspended. The fire service said unavailability of a nearby water source has made it hard for them to work. Firefighters had to connect their hoses to as far as the Gulshan Lake. bdnews24.com's Mostafigur said from the spot at 7:45am that flames were still tearing through the portion that mainly houses food, cosmetics, and crockeries shops. Around 8:30am, Dhaka North Mayor Anisul Huq arrived on the spot. "It seems to be the fire has been caused by an electrical malfunction. We are yet to receive any reports on casualties," he told the media. Replying a query on allegations of sabotage, he said, "The mayor cannot say it; the mayor is no sabotage expert. But I think the possibility of not being a sabotage is 99 percent." Source : bdnews24.com Bomb-like object found under train in Gaibandha UNB, Gaibandha : A bomb-like object was found under a train stationed at Bamandanga railway station in Sundarganj upazila on Monday morning. Atiar Rahman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Sundarganj Police Station, said local people found the object under 'Padmarag Express' train at the station around 10 am and informed police. "A bomb deposal unit is going to the spot for examining the object," added the OC. Trafficked boy returns home after serving jail in India UNB, Chaudanga : A trafficked Bangladeshi boy returned home through Darshana border point in Damurhuda upazila on Monday noon after serving 16-month jail in India. The victim was identified as Ajgar Ali, son of Lalchand Ali of Parhafania village of Sapahar upazila in Naogaon district. BGB sources said Murshidabad police arrested Ajgar on September 18, 2015 on charge of intrusion. Later, a court there sentenced him to 16-month jail. Upon completion of the jail term, he was kept in a Shelter Home there. Later, he was handed over to BGB at noon through a flag meeting. S Korea president shuns impeachment hearing AFP, Seoul : South Korea's Constitutional Court on Tuesday held its first full hearing on whether to confirm the impeachment of President Park Geun-Hye but she stayed away from the session. The nine-judge court must decide whether to affirm parliament's vote on December 9 to impeach Park over a corruption scandal which has brought hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets every week. Tuesday's hearing, which followed three preparatory court sessions last month, lasted only nine minutes. The court last week ruled that Park was not required to appear for questioning. "We will do our best to conduct a fair and thorough review of the case," said Judge Park Han-Chul. Regardless of whether Park shows up when the hearing resumes Thursday, the case will go ahead. Her lawyers said she was unlikely to attend future hearings. Park has been suspended from executive duties and the country is being temporarily led by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn. The Constitutional Court has up to six months to decide whether to confirm Park's impeachment. If it does, a presidential election must be held within two months. Park is accused of colluding with close friend Choi Soon-Sil to coerce big companies into handing over nearly $70 million to dubious foundations which Choi controlled and allegedly plundered. Choi-dubbed South Korea's "Rasputin" due to her influence over the president-is now on trial for coercion and abuse of power and her daughter has been detained in Denmark as the scandal spreads. Park has repeatedly denied the corruption allegations in sometimes tearful televised addresses, while apologising for lapses. She allegedly ordered aides to leak state documents to Choi, who has no official title or security clearance, and let her meddle in state affairs including the appointment of top officials. BSc (Hons) in Oceanography at BSMRMU Newly enrolled students into BSc (Hons) in Oceanography at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University, Bangladesh are seen at the orientation programme at the University campus in the city on Tuesday. Campus Report : Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University, Bangladesh (BSMRMU) has started undergraduate course. The university organized an orientation program for the 1st batch of "BSc (Hons) in Oceanography" under "the Faculty of Earth and Ocean Science" at the temporary campus at Pallabi in the capital on Tuesday. The Vice-Chancellor of the university Rear Admiral ASM Abdul Baten graced the occasion as Chief Guest while the Dean of that faculty Commodore M Khurshid Malik presided over the occasion. Other faculty members, new students and their guardians and officers of the university were present on the program. The students of the discipline and their guardians expressed their deep satisfaction to be the part of the university history. After achieving degrees the students will build their career as skilled maritime professional at home and abroad. The Vice-Chancellor welcomes the students and said that the university is determined to contribute and play an important role for the development of maritime human resource of the nation and uplift the nation's economy to 'Blue Economy' by the creation of higher educated, professional and technically skilled manpower. Nepalese artists call on DU VC A two-member delegation led by Rajendra Shrestha, Director of Institute of Classical Nepalese Performing Arts (Kalamandapa) of Nepal on Monday called on Dhaka University (DU) Vice-Chancellor Professor AAMS Arefin Siddique at the latter's office on the campus. During the meeting, they exchanged views on arts and other related issues. Childhood development before formal education emphasized Before entering into formal education, child's concentration is needed to be nurtured towards study and school. To this end, one-year-long pre-primary education system has been introduced in the country, which is also emphasized to take care of child's latent talent, develop relation build up ability as well as give lesson about discipline. Any child would be admitted at the school after completing the age of five years. In the school, child is given lesson with different education materials, picture book, song, toys etc. Now, the country has 22,833 government primary schools while 7506 registered primary schools and 869 community primary schools. Meanwhile, training has been provided to a teacher of 9200 government primary schools each for pre-primary education. In addition, more posts of teacher are being created as part of expansion of the programme. The government is working to make the "digital Bangladesh" campaign successful and already announced "Vision-2021" to turn Bangladesh into a middle income country. To attain the goal, people of all strata have to play active role. And country's education system has concentrated to develop skilled human resources. Earlier, children of poor families in rural areas were used to lag behind or drop out for not getting book in the beginning of year. But, the present government after assuming in power has moved to distribute books free of cost among the students of primary and secondary levels that has reduced the drop out number significantly. Now, Book Festival is being celebrated across the country on January 1 and the children are become joyous getting book in the very first day of year. Bangladesh has attained the target of parity of boys and girls in primary and secondary levels set by the millennium development goals (MDGs) and still it is being maintained. Now, the higher education among the female student is being increased gradually while cent percent enrollment of children in school has been ensured in 2016. Besides, drop out number in primary education has been reduced to 21 percent from 48 percent. The achievement of MDGs in this indication has been lauded internationally. Like the last seven years, the government observed "Textbook Festival Day" in January 1. The first day of 2017, children dressed up and rushed to their schools braving the morning chill to receive New Year gifts. With a new set of textbooks in hand, they cheered at primary and secondary schools across the country after the education ministry distributed them for free marking the start of a new academic year. Elated, some held those up in the air, some began flipping through the pages. The refreshing smell of new books hung in the air of the premises. There was, however, a unique move this time to distribute more than 77,000 copies of pre-primary textbooks, written in five ethnic languages, to children from the ethnic minorities. Besides, around 9,000 braille books were distributed to visually impaired students. Receiving free books, Ashik Ahmed, a class-V student of a government primary school in city said, "We got gifts from our parents on New Year's occasion. But getting the books on the very first day at school is the best gift. This year, 36.21 crore copies of textbooks will be given to 4.26 crore students of pre-primary, primary, secondary and technical education schools and ebtedai and dakhil madrasas, according to a government estimate. Ton-up Renshaw states case for India tour Matt Renshaw is all smiles after his maiden Test century against Pakistan on the first day of the 3rd Test at Sydney in Australia on Tuesday. Australia's rookie opening batsman Matt Renshaw made a huge statement to selectors for next month's India series with a resolute maiden Test century against Pakistan on Tuesday. The Yorkshire-born 20-year-old watched his opening batting partner David Warner blast a 78-ball century in the first session of the third Test in Sydney before he blossomed into his maiden Test century. At the close with Australia at 365 for three, Renshaw had batted through the entire day to be unconquered on 167 off 275 balls with 18 fours after Warner was dismissed for 113 after lunch. Renshaw has the chance on Wednesday's second day to further add to his tally and make an undeniable case for inclusion in the challenging four-Test series in India next month. Former Test captain Michael Clarke said during the match commentary on the Nine Network: "There's been talk that Australia aren't going to take him to India, that Shaun Marsh will open in place of him. I think it'd be a terrible move." The negative chatter didn't seem to have fazed Renshaw, who said: "I felt pretty good coming in. I didn't really know that I was going to miss out on India so it didn't really come into my head too much. "You go into every game and try to do as well as you can, but I probably wasn't expecting to be this score tonight. "It should be a good experience if I'm selected (for India), but we've got a Test match to win and I've got to keep batting tomorrow morning. I'm trying to concentrate on that at the moment." Renshaw had to cope with the unique situation of farming the strike to the rampant Warner, who became only the fifth player to score a century before lunch in Test history. "That's probably the first time I've been booed and cheered for blocking a ball in the same over," Renshaw said. "He (Warner) told me to not change my game and just keep batting and try to get to lunch. I just tried to run as fast as I could when he was on 99." He added: "I knew I was running to the danger end, so I just tried to put the burners on and try and get there." Renshaw said he did not try to copy Warner's audacious shot-making as the team vice-captain ripped apart the tourists bowling attack. "That first session was all just a bit of a whirlwind," he said. "Davey was absolutely smoking them and I was just trudging along on not many. "I was trying not to keep up with him, like I have done in the past apparently. "He keeps telling me that I'm not going to keep up with him too much, and I didn't try at all today." Renshaw also overcame a fearsome Mohammed Amir bouncer to his helmet grill on 91. He was cleared of concussion by team doctor Peter Brukner and then went on to scamper through for a single to bring up his 201-ball century. Stop worrying about Doing Business ranking Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame : Without any hint of irony, the World Bank's most recent Doing Business Report 2017 promises 'Equal Opportunity for All'. Bangladesh ranked 176th among 190 economies, below civil war-ravaged Iraq and Syria! Bangladesh even slipped two places from 174 in the 2016 ranking and is three places below its 2015 ranking. Malaysia, too, slipped five places. The Doing Business Report (DBR) 2017 ranked Malaysia at 23, down from 18 in the previous two reports for 2015 and 2016. Incredibly, this had nothing to do with news of the biggest scandal ever in the country's history. Malaysia seems to have slipped because, it had "made starting a business more difficult by requiring that companies with an annual revenue of more than MYR 500,000 register as a GST payer," and made tax payments more complex "by replacing sales tax with GST". Previously, Malaysia was recognized in DBR 2016 for reducing the property tax rate from 12% to 10% of the annual rental value for commercial properties in 2014, even though this contributed negatively to overall government revenue or public finance. Thus, 'be damned if you do, and be damned if you don't'. Countries are asked to raise domestic revenue, but stand to slip in their rankings if they act to raise tax revenues. Taxation may reduce the incentive to invest, but low tax revenue would also hurt the business environment if it reduces government revenue needed to finance public infrastructure, education, healthcare and business services. Should Bangladeshis, Malaysians and others worry about their countries' downward slide in the 'Doing Business' ranking? Should those doing better be elated about their elevation in the rankings? The simple answer is 'no', but it really depends. What do the rankings imply? How does the World Bank compare countries with very different economic structures at different stages of development and with varied capabilities address very diverse problems? By ranking countries, the DBR ignores their heterogeneity and essentially treats them as comparable on a single scale. This serious methodological problem was pointed out by an independent panel in 2013, headed by South Africa's Vice President and former finance minister Trevor Manuel. It concluded that "The Doing Business report has the potential to be misinterpreted. It should not be viewed as providing a one-size-fits-all template for development. The evidence in favour of specific country reforms is contingent on many auxiliary factors not captured by Doing Business report topics." By ranking countries, the DBR ignores their heterogeneity and essentially treats them as comparable on a single scale. This serious methodological problem was pointed out by an independent panel in 2013, headed by South Africa's Vice President and former finance minister Trevor Manuel. The panel also noted that "the act of ranking countries may appear devoid of value judgement, but it is, in reality, an arbitrary method of summarising vast amounts of complex information as a single number." It recommended dropping the overall aggregate ranking from the report. The independent panel had been set up by the Bank in response to heavy criticism of the DBR. Yet, the Bank has chosen to ignore most of the independent panel's recommendations, especially to drop overall country rankings. In response to criticisms of overall country ranking, the Bank added a 'distance to frontier' measure. Thus, instead of the ordinal measures used for ranking, the ostensible (cardinal) 'distance' from the best performance measure for each indicator became the new basis for ranking. Yet, it does not address the main concern - heterogeneous countries cannot be ranked mechanically. Thus, not surprisingly, the best performers are rich, developed countries. Besides the external panel, the World Bank also ignored much of its own internal review. For example, its legal unit has been uneasy about the DBR process and findings. The unit's September 2012 internal review of the 2013 DBR questioned the ranking's 'manipulation' and noted the 'embedded policy preferences' underlying some indicators. It went so far as to accuse the DBR of bias as it 'tends to ignore the positive effects of regulation'. For example, the 'starting a business' indicator uses the limited liability corporate form as the only 'proxy' for business creation. The legal unit considered this approach 'deceptive' as there is no evidence that easing "company formation rules leads to increases in business creation". The Bank's legal unit also argued that the DBR methodology is seriously flawed, highlighting 'black box' data gaps, 'cherry picking' background papers, and 'double counting'. The legal team even asked, "are high income the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries placed higher in the Doing Business rankings because they have implemented the (types of) reforms advocated by the report?" In its 26 September 2015 issue, The Economist, usually a cheerleader for pro-business reforms, argued that the DBR ranking did not provide a reliable guide to investors. Countries have perversely amended regulations to try to improve their ranking in order to impress donors or prospective foreign investors, rather than to actually increase investments and growth. Countries are also likely to do more to favour foreign investments, rather than domestic investments, which are generally more likely to contribute to sustainable development. The DBR survey is generally biased against regulations and taxes. Following earlier criticisms, ease of hiring and firing workers and flexibility of working hours are no longer used in the overall ranking, but nonetheless remain in the report, highlighting the authors' appreciation of such regulations. Conversely, the DBR continues to look unfavourably on a country which seeks to enhance workplace regulations by improving wages, working conditions or occupational safety, or by allowing workers in export processing zones to unionize. Surprisingly, the DBR does not cover security, corruption, market size, financial stability, infrastructure, skills and other important elements often deemed important for attracting business investments. Moreover, many DBR indicators are considered to be quite superficial. For example, the survey's credit market indicator does not reflect how well credit is allocated. Similarly, the DBR survey focuses on how difficult it is to get electricity connected without taking into account the state of electricity generation or distribution, which often depends on a country's level of development. The DBR approach is very 'legalistic' as it mainly looks at formal regulations without considering how such regulations affect SMEs or other investors besides the stereotypical foreign investor. It also ignores, norms and other institutions including extra-legal processes. For example, Mary Hallward-Driemeier of the World Bank and Lant Pritchett of Harvard compared the DBR with the Bank's firm surveys. They found large gaps between the DBR report and reality. They also found 'almost zero correlation' between DB findings and other Bank surveys of business enterprises. For instance, the average amount of time that companies report spending on three tasks - obtaining construction permits, getting operating licenses and importing goods - is 'much, much less' than those cited in the DBR. [http://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.29.3.121] Pritchett, who once worked for the Bank, has argued that developing country policy makers focusing on improving their DBR rankings could divert scarce resources away from more important and urgent reforms, e.g., to help the government better administer, implement and enforce business regulations. "The pretense that Doing Business measures the real rules, and that if we just modestly improve these Doing Business indicators, they would somehow become the reality of what the rules are and how business is really done - I think that's a very dangerous fiction." [http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/08/04/is-the-world-banks-doing-business-report-at-odds-with-how-business-is-done-in-the-developing-world/]. In sum, the DBR assumes that there are universally 'good' and 'bad' policies regardless of context. This approach clearly misses the need for concrete analysis in specific contexts. Not surprisingly, the DBR continues to promote deregulation as the best strategy for promoting economic growth. To be fair, the Bank acknowledges that the DBR should not be seen as advocating a one-size-fits-all model, but the Bank's own promotion and coverage of the report suggests otherwise. (Anis Chowdhury, a former professor of economics at the University of Western Sydney, held senior United Nations positions during 2008-2015 in New York and Bangkok. Jomo Kwame Sundaram, a former economics professor and United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, received the Wassily Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought in 2007). Army test-fires anti-aircraft missile Chief of Army Staff General Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq witnessing the test-firing of Air Defence Missile FM-90 at Nidania Firing Range in Cox\'s Bazar district on Tuesday. BSS, Dhaka : The Test firing of Air Defence Missile FM-90 was held at Nidania Ad Firing Range in Cox's Bazar yesterday. The firing was conducted under the arrangement of Adhoc Air Defence Artillery Regiment. In the process of modernization, the incorporation of the missile in Bangladesh Army is a remarkable step, an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) release said here. Chief of Army Staff General Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq witnessed the firing as the chief guest. High military officials were also present at that time. FM-90 is a sophisticated anti-aircraft weapon of present time which will further strengthen the Bangladesh Army's air defence system. uch missile has the capability to shoot down and destroy all sorts of aircraft, drone and cruise missile. It is equally effective at day and night in adverse weather condition. This missile enhanced the capability of Army to a great extent specially in providing air defence protection to key installation of the state, the release added. Vegetables production creates new hope Local, Int'l demand increased Reza Mahmud : Vegetables production creates new hopes in the agriculture sector of Bangladesh. It has helped farmers reduce their poverty, as vegetable cultivations turns profitable, insiders said. They said, demands for vegetables are expanding day by day in both local and international markets leading the farmers to be increasingly involved in vegetables farming. But the production and marketing of vegetables in Bangladesh are facing major challenges due to scarcity of cold storages and production of vegetables without toxic chemicals and pesticides. Shortage of cold storage leads to damage huge quantity of vegetables in every season. Demand for organic vegetables is rising in overseas markets. But the local producers have failed to cater their demands due to lack of sufficient knowledge in technology regarding the organic farming. "Farmers are now conscious about their profit through farming. They are now increasingly transforming to various kinds of vegetable cultivation. Increasing vegetables cultivation contributes to reducing poverty of farmers. It also contributes our export sectors and solving unemployment problems," Qudrat-E-Ghani, director of Horticulture Wing of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE). According to data of DAE, there are 8.5 million hectares of lands under total cultivations. Of the total, 75 per cent of lands are used in grain farming and around 10 per cent are under vegetable cultivations. "But lands under vegetables cultivation is increasing every year due to farmers' growing interest in vegetable farming," said the official. About 21.41 million metric tones of vegetables were produced in over 9.91 lakh hectares of lands in the fiscal year of 2015-16. The production was 19.39 million metric tones in 9.68 lakh hectares of lands in 2014-15. There were huge potentials to export vegetables in different countries in Europe, Middle East, South and North Americas and the other Asian countries like Malaysia, Japan and Singapore. According to official data of DAE, 38,000 metric tones of vegetables were exported to different countries in 2914-15 fiscal year, while it was only 17, 000 metric tones in previous fiscal year. But it declined by 25.5 thousand metric tones in 2015-16 fiscal years because of the European Union's stringent compliant rules imposed on Bangladeshi vegetables. The officials said, though the raw vegetables declined last fiscal, the processed products from vegetables like Sauce, Juice, Ketchup, conserve (Morobba) and Squash, Chutney exports increased. "We hope that the vegetables farming opened a new horizon of our economy as the educated youths are becoming self-employed by producing vegetables. They are farming vegetables commercially and being benefitted," the officials said. The fruits and vegetable exporters association said, a team of delegations from European Union visited Bangladesh last November to monitor the vegetables production and processing systems. They also met with DAE officials. Qudrat-E-Ghani said that they assured the European delegations that all productions and processing of vegetables for exporting in European markets would be free from using harmful chemicals and pesticides. Officials said, to make people conscious and encouraging in vegetable cultivation, DAE has arranged a vegetable fair on January 5 in an auditorium in Khamarbari, farmgate in the capital. "There will be 70 to 72 stalls to exhibit total 112 species of vegetables," the officials said. In the exhibition the farmers will show different types of vegetables and their production processing. The experts, officials and the experienced farmers will put ahead the potentials, problems and challenges of vegetable farming. Illegal gas links create crisis Anisul Islam Noor : The illegal gas connections have created sufferings for registered consumers of Titas Gas Distribution Company. The authority of Titas now emphasized to sever the illegal gas connections in order to restore the usual gas pressure in the gas distribution pipe lines. Titas Savar gas distribution areas disconnected 10 thousand gas lines from five villages in Savar and Ashulia areas on Tuesday, said Engineer Siddiqur Rahman, Manager (Sale) of Savar. Titas also seized riser and hundreds of metres of gas pipes at Rostampur, Mostapur, Sadhupara, Changaon and Saipara villages, he said. However, genuine consumers of Titas become deprived of usual gas pressure at day and evening time as thousands of illegal consumers consumed most of gas. Illegal gas lines are active at the same time in different parts of Dhaka city and its adjacent areas, sources said. In 2014, Titas found the existence of thousands of illegal gas connections in the populated area like Mothertake, Basabo, Old Dhaka, Badda, Muhammadpur, Mirpur, Tongi, Ashulia and Savar areas. Talking with the reporter, many illegal gas consumers claimed that they took the gas line in exchange of Tk 30,000 to 40,000 with the help of brokers and gas office employees. However, the housewives in the city's different areas complained that they had to cook their family's lunch and dinner at night. They try their best to finish cooking by midnight before going to bed since she has to go to work in the morning. Shahida Akter of Mirpur- 10 said, she wakes up long before sunrise to prepare breakfast for her three-member family as the gas supply stops around 7:00am. The supply in Shahida's neighbourhood resumes after 3:00pm and ceases again at 7:00pm only to resume around 11:00pm. Preparing food for her eight-month-old baby is tough, as the baby needs to be fed more frequently, she said. Like Shahida, thousands of city dwellers are facing an acute crisis of gas this winter. The residents of Dhanmondi, Lalmatia, Sheorapara, Agargaon, Taltola, Pashchim Kafrul, Uttara, Gandaria, Ulan and Rampura have complained of either very low gas pressure or no gas supply at all for the better part of the day. Although the supply of gas usually drops in winter, the crisis is worse this year. A drop in production, an increase in demand, faulty supply lines and illegal connections are the major reasons for this, according to officials concerned. Seeking anonymity, an official said the city's gas supply and distribution network is old and needs replacement. Leakages are affecting gas pressure and supply at many places. "Besides, in recent times, some people are using home gas compressors to forcibly draw gas into their home burners. This means others are not getting whatever gas is available in the line, while many are being able to keep their stoves performing just fine," the official said. Another Titas official said they had ripped out 820km of illegal gas lines in different areas, including Narayanganj, Sonargaon, Narsingdi, Gazipur, Chandra, Tongi, Tangail, Manikganj and Savar, Kamrangirchar, Basila and Mohammadpur of Dhaka. He said that they had disconnected 4.5 lakh illegal domestic gas connections during their drives between 2014 and November 2016. 3 more held over MP Liton murder UNB, Gaibandha : Law enforcers arrested three people from separate places of Gaibandha district in connection with the killing of Gaibandha-1 lawmaker Manjurul Islam Liton. The three suspects were held in several drives conducted from Monday night to Tuesday morning. With the latest addition, the number of suspects arrested in this connection stands at 30.Liton was shot at point blank range by some miscreants at his village home at Masterpara in Bamandanga union of Sundarganj Upazila on Saturday evening. The MP was admitted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead. MP Liton was laid to rest at his village home on Monday afternoon. Distorted picture stored, edited: PBI report Staff Reporter : Two investigation reports, prepared by Police Bureau of Investigation [PBI] over the synchronized attacks on Hindus in Brahmanbaria's Nasirnagar, have find out that the "distorted photo" of Kaaba Sharif was stored and edited in the cellular phone of Zahangir Alam. The prime suspect Zahangir Alam, 30, owner of Al-Amin cyber-cafe, arrested on November 28, is now in the jail. The picture was deleted after sometime. The two inquiry reports also said. Another arrested fisherman Rasraj Das was not involved in the incident by any means. The PBI cyber crime experts did not find any evidence of storing or editing the "distorted photo" in Rasraj's mobile phone, sources said. The Detective Branch of Brahmanbaria District on Monday submitted the investigation reports to the District and Session Judge Court. Earlier, the PBI sent the investigation reports to Detective Branch of Brahmanbaria District asking to take necessary action. Rasraj Das, however, did not get bail on Tuesday and the District and Session Judge Md Ismail Mia fixed January 16 for additional hearing of the case. "The cellular phone and memory card of Rasraj Das were seized and sent to the Inspector of PBI Cyber Crime Unit on December 16 for verification along with evidence and distorted picture. After examination, the PBI have submitted the reports," said Mizanur Rahman, Officer-in-Charge of Brahmanbaria District Detective Branch of Police. Expressing the same view, the forensic experts of PBI on November 28 in another report, submitted to the district police, also mentioned that the "distorted photo" was not uploaded from Rasraj Das's mobile phone. From the very beginning, the arrestee Zahangir Alam, son of Benu Mia, resident of Harinber village of Haripur union under Nasirnagar Upazila, is believed to be the uploader of a distorted picture of Kaaba Sharif in a facebook page with an ill-intention to instigate communal clash. Police also believed that he uploaded the distorted picture hacking the facebook ID of local fisherman Rasraj. A group of religious zealots on October 30 had carried out a synchronised attack on the Hindus in Brahmanbaria's Nasirnagar upazila, vandalising around 100 homes and at least five temples and looting valuables over a Facebook post. The attackers also beat up over 100 people of the minority community, which went on through eight Hindu localities, including Kashipara, Daspara, Ghoshpara, Duttapara and Nomoshudropara, said Abdul Quader, officer-in-charge of Nasirnagar Police Station. Tremor jolts country Panic costs two lives Staff Reporter : A schoolgirl and an old man died in Sunamganj district when an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter Scale jolted different parts of the country, including capital Dhaka, on Tuesday afternoon. It caused panic among the people. The epicentre of the earthquake was in Bangladesh-India border area, near Khagrachhari and 176 km east of Dhaka's Agargaon Seismic Centre. The quake was felt at 3:09pm, an official of Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said. According to the U.S. Geological Service, the tremor took place at a depth of 36 kilometres and 19 kilometres northeast of Ambasa region of neighbouring Tripura State of India. The schoolgirl fell down from stair as she desperately tried to rush out of her home in Chhatak Upazila of Sunamganj district during the quake. An old man also died of a heart attack during the tremor in Jagannathpur Upazila of the district. The deceased girl was identified as Saima Akhter, 12, a student of Class eight of Chhatak Cement Factory High School and daughter of Shamsul Haque, a resident of the factory area. Police said Saima fell down from stair of a four storied building and injured critically while she was coming out of the building desperately. Saima was rushed to Chhatak Upazila Sadar Hospital where on the duty doctors declared her dead. Hiron Mia, 60, died of a heart attack during the earthquake at village Hashampur of Jagannathpur Upazila of the district. Besides, three people, injured in panic rush in different areas of the district, were admitted to Osmani Medical College and Hospital yesterday. Meanwhile, the U.S. Geological Service said 99 percent of the people in and around the region should be safe after the 5.5 magnitude earthquake. Witnesses said windows were trembling and there was panic among the residents. Dhaka city dwellers felt the tremor around 3:09pm. The tremors initially felt were dim, followed by some strong ones before dying out. The tremors lasted for about a minute. In capital Dhaka, people were seen running out on to the street in panic. People living in high-rise buildings came out of their respective apartments or offices in panic following the earthquake. Salma Huq, a resident of city's Uttara area said she with her husband and wailing children moved to a nearby open space following the tremor. "It terrified me. I was having difficulty breathing or walking," she said, adding her husband carried her out of the house. MPs must make the govt to be competent for safety of all REFERRING to the killing of ruling party MP from Gaibandha-1 Constituency Manzurul Islam Liton, lawmakers from both the Treasury and Opposition Benches on Monday demanded urgent foolproof security for them similar to Cabinet Members. Our lawmakers are important if they act as public representatives. The point is MPs as people's representatives are to hold the government accountable for creating conditions for safety and security of the general people. Instead the situation in the country is such that everybody's life is unsafe. In fact, the government is missing in addressing the key issue regarding safety and security. The answer has to be found how and why, safety situation in our country has so gravely deteriorated. Before separating the lawmakers from general citizens, we need clear understanding about the role they have been playing for the good of the people. If MPs call for added security protection in the wake of killing one of them then the general public be also provided with security for killing them and disappearances in hundreds. The Prime Minister has reportedly mentioned of a 'vested quarter, not believing in the country's Liberation War and Independence to be hatching conspiracy to kill the Awami League lawmakers.' It is forgotten that 'non-Awami League freedom fighters' staying in the country gave lives in thousands for the liberation of this country. So it is painful to hear that our people are being blamed of conspiring against independence. The crux of the problem lies here. The Awami League freedom fighters are thinking they and they alone are freedom fighters and secured independence of the country. That way a serious division has been created among the united people. A grave situation of enmity and suspicion has been spread among the people. Awami League has to accept for their own good that the Liberation War was not of any particular party but of the whole nation. We do not want the government to follow the wrong path and make things uncertain for all. Our people inspired by Bangabandhu freed Bangladesh and they do not want that their patriotism to be questioned every now and then. The question should be asked what the government as the government of all the people has done for the safety and security in public life. The problem with government, it thinks it knows best. It only listens to its own bureaucratic special advisers and not to others about what is right for the country. The government is out of touch of the people. The government is depending on police power and court cases for running the government. This is not governance. They must listen to the opposition and members of civil society to stop political antagonism and police oppression. The police must not be allowed to act as party loyalists but as law enforcers. 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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United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe If you are looking for the new Immoral Minority posts, you should know that they can be found here at our new home Please stop by to get caught up on politics, join the conversations, or simply check out the new digs. We live in silos in Lafayette Parish: six municipalities with separate budgets, separate public works and, oftentimes, separate priorities. But in between the city limits of Broussard, Carencro, Duson, Lafayette, Scott and Youngsville is a huge swath of real estate the unincorporated parish where roughly 70,000 people reside. Thats nearly 30 percent of the population of Lafayette Parish living in that nether place between city limits, an unincorporated redheaded stepchild that relies upon a woefully under-funded government the parish side of city-parish consolidated government. I cast consolidated in quotes because Lafayette Parish is consolidated more or less in name only. Many in Lafayette Parish, whether they live in one of the small towns surrounding Lafayette, within the city of Lafayette or the unincorporated parish, still dont get that Lafayette Consolidated Government is two governments the city of Lafayette and the parish, i.e., unincorporated Lafayette Parish and the charter, our parish wide constitution, prohibits spending city money on parish needs and vice versa, although the city of Lafayette has, since consolidation came into being 20 years ago, financially underwritten the parish part of LCG in one way or another. Just a few years ago and the figures have probably changed little the population of unincorporated Lafayette Parish was greater than the combined populations of Broussard, Carencro, Duson, Scott and Youngsville. Yet there isnt enough money in the parish side of the LCG budget for the parish things were required by the charter to do together through our tax dollars: the parish courthouse and jail, the district attorney and sheriff, road and bridge maintenance and, glaringly of recent, drainage. So it seemed inevitable following a round of heavy rains the first weekend in December that a figurative dam would burst. Enter Ken Ritter. His community still reeling from the historic rain and flooding of mid-August and constituents freaking out anew after the December downfalls had water lapping at their doors again, the mayor of Youngsville lashed out at LCG: I along with the citizens of Youngsville are tired of hearing that the parish does not have the funds to maintain their channels, Ritter said in a press conference. Our residents demand better, and I am no longer willing to be the singular scapegoat for the inability to properly maintain the channels and the coulees that are the responsibility of our parish government. Ritters frustration is understandable, but its misplaced. It casts our parish government as an other, yet everyone who lives in Lafayette Parish, whether they live in one of the towns or in unincorporated Lafayette Parish, is a resident of the parish and a stakeholder in our parish government. Moreover, our parish government really is teetering on insolvency. Lagging sales tax collections are a recent phenomenon of the drop in oil prices, but parish revenue has always been an exercise in diminishing returns; towns in the parish including Lafayette have, since the advent of consolidation, raced to annex any parcel of unincorporated Lafayette Parish where businesses and the sales taxes they generate are located, diverting those sales taxes to a city budget and away from the parish side of city-parish government, leaving the parish continually starved for revenue. Mayor Ritters frustration with ineffective parish government is shared by many in Lafayette Parish, especially and understandably by those thousands of folks who live in unincorporated Lafayette Parish and see in their daily lives the potholes going unfilled and the bridges settling into dangerous disrepair. Photo by Robin May Drainage is a glaring example of parish governments funding crisis because its been in the front of everyones mind for the last several months. Property owners across Lafayette Parish pay a 3.34 mills tax to maintain and keep clear hundreds of miles of coulees, canals and other drainage infrastructure to move water, mainly to the Vermilion River and out to sea. It generated $6.8 million in the 2015-16 budget year (that ended Oct. 30), yet the parish spent $7.7 million just for maintenance, not capital improvements. The difference between what the parish collected for drainage and what it spent, $884,500, came out of the parish general fund, which is financed by sales taxes. But sales tax collections in unincorporated Lafayette Parish are down 20 percent, and the shortfall has to be made up elsewhere in the budget. Most recently, social service agencies and arts/culture nonprofits, which traditionally receive a small amount of financial help from LCG, had their appropriations cut. And council members in late December warned of more budget slashing on the parish side of city-parish government. The big festivals Acadiens and International, which generate millions in sales taxes took big hits and, in the case of Festivals Acadiens et Creoles, fared better than it would have otherwise at the expense of other arts/culture agencies, which had their allocations cut even further in an effort to soften the blow to Acadiens. Some of the parish reps on the City- Parish Council, those four council members who mainly represent the smaller towns and unincorporated parish and who have traditionally been a parochial bunch, have come around to the idea that parish is what we do together, and that what were doing together just isnt cutting it. At the final City-Parish Council meeting of 2016, on Dec. 20, council members broached the idea of asking voters next fall to approve a tax to support parish operations. Councilman Jay Castille, one of the parish reps who understands the dire straits the council is trying to navigate, referred to the possible tax referendum as, to paraphrase, saving the parish. Soon, he and three other councilmen, fellow parish rep Kevin Naquin and city reps Kenneth Boudreaux and Bruce Conque, will host a series of public meetings after pouring through the recommendations released earlier this year by a citizen committee, the Future Needs/Funding Sources Committee. Its May report recommended new tax revenue to keep parish operations afloat. Thats easier said than done. Voters parish wide soundly rejected a tax proposal in 2006 that would have funded capital improvements such as roads and drainage. Convincing them next fall, when the local economy is likely to still be much worse than it was in 2006, before the Great Recession and drop in oil prices, is a tall order. Add to that a virulent no new taxes! sentiment ascendant for the last several years, in many cases from folks who live in rural, unincorporated Lafayette Parish or in the small towns yet clog our roads with traffic heading into Lafayette for work and shopping the very reason were in this pickle today. It is what it is, as they say. Lafayette, the city and the parish, embraced sprawl in the 20th century. Now we have hundreds of miles of drainage canals, roads and other infrastructure servicing all those far-flung subdivisions to maintain, but not enough money to do it. We built ourselves a Pandoras box when a majority of voters parishwide approved consolidation in 1994. (It went into effect in 1996.) The box has been open for years, and what has issued forth rancor among the towns over annexations, the district attorney filing suit against LCG over funding, competing lawsuits between Lafayette and Broussard over water, a lack of funds for critical infrastructure, the blame game over localized flooding, all of it is a result of the imperfect form of consolidation we as a parish chose. In Greek mythology, Pandora managed to get the box closed in time to keep hope inside. Thats what we in Lafayette Parish will have to rely on in the near term: hope that we find the resolve to fix parish government before were all under water, figuratively or otherwise. Save When Brother Abdalla opened his clothing shop on Arnould Boulevard more than four decades ago, he was a 24-year-old newlywed following in what seemed like the natural footsteps of a family long attached to retail in Lafayette. Forty years later, that way of business is radically different in many ways. But hes not slowing down. Or giving up in spite of the challenges. Instead, he has enlisted his daughter Alicia and his son Adam to join the fray and make another 40 years possible. You gotta change constantly, Abdalla says in the midst of the holiday shopping season. The thing in fashion is change. If you dont change youll die. Change was something Abdalla expected when he and wife, Catherine, entered into the fashion business. They expected style to change and change again. What they could never have seen coming was the radically different way many people shop today. Its less brick and mortar. The trend is going to online where you can shop from your couch or lounge chair, he says. Alicia started online, and now were employing five people to handle online [orders]. When Abdalla describes the approach to meeting customer needs he points to two extremes online shopping with little interaction and the one-on-one customized personal experience in the store. In fact, he often describes them as two stores, rather than one store with two sides. This is the toughest weve ever had it because of the oil downturn and the flood and the competition, Abdalla says. This is the most challenging time weve come across. Online helped us. I dont know what people do who arent selling online. Online put us in the black [when] we were in the red. Its the most challenging year weve ever had. But, now weve been busy. He continues, If it wasnt for Alicia I wouldnt have embraced online. You can go to anyones website. But she did it in a way that its working and growing every year. Im 64. If she wouldnt have been here, it wouldnt have happened no way would I have taken that leap. Abdalla is thankful for the push and says the online efforts combined with customized service will cover the spectrum of shoppers. In the 1980s at the height of the mall experience, Brothers had a store in Acadiana Mall. But today he says moving forward means less store and more customer focus. Im glad theres only one brick and mortar now. You gotta change, and who knows whats around the next corner. If you dont change and make all these little turns, you will fall by the wayside, he says. You have to have a passion for this. Catherine is the brains, and I thank God for her. She is smarter than me. Without her we couldnt do it. Its also been the most satisfying year. Son Adam helps with research that keeps the business on track, and the shop local mindset has also helped keep them moving forward. This is not just a job, Catherine Abdalla says. Its about reaching our customer. We go to market and we network with other stores and see whats working where. Everything changes. Once clothing was designed and then in New York six months later, and then in Louisiana two years later. Business changes rapidly. You can find Brother's on the Blvd. online at brothersontheblvd.com. Save Paris, TX (75460) Today Increasing winds with strong thunderstorms likely. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. High 74F. Winds SSE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near an inch.. Tonight Thunderstorms, some strong in the evening will give way to clear skies overnight. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low 44F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now. Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market. In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender. India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex. Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted. But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted? Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner. If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems. I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now. I want more variation in masturbation I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own. If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end. What is sex toys for Indian? Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation. It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms. They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable. Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner. The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner. It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past. In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping. Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order. In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing. Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome. Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own. But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance. More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around. Sextoy situation in India Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years. In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India. Mumbai Kolkata Bangalore Delhi Chennai Hyderabad These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India. In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well. If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too. If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it. What are Sextoys for beginner? Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms. Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy. I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion. I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy. If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma. Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it. Advantages of using sextoy for Indians There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways. Can have stimulating sex Can develop new sexual zones If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern. However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways. You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation. Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever. There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure. This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it. When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems. It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms). For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles [Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou... Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India. Sextoy for beginner men in India So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners. For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men! The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men Masturbator Cock rings Love Doll Sex Lubricants Toys for the prostate Lets check each one in detail. Masturbator The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products. It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands. Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands. They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.) Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much. Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! ! Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa SEXToys India PR (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018 Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood. If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ... [For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien... Cock Ring A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis. It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow. It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber. In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection. Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction. It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it. Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time. Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function. Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy. You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect. [Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat... Love Doll Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex. There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women. Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price. The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true. You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste. There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice. You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls. If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to... Sex lubricants Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules. It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution. Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse. There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent. Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent. If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here. What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many... Toys for the Prostate Another sextoy for men is prostate toys. The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line. Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men. Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men. What is the prostate? The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm. You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus. By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms. Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.) The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation. Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure. sextoy for beinner women in India The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy. The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy. Vibrator. Dildo Electric Masserger Lets check out what each one is in detail. If you want to check out womens toys, click here. [BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm... Vibrators A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator. Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy. It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy. Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women. For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators. Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex. Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself. This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual. Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men. When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons. Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most... Dildo A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis. It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass. A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it. They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well. It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device. A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo. Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands. For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis. This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one. To learn more about dildo, please click here. What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th... Electric Masserger A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores. It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low. Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels. Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation. It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure. For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm. It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out. If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager? To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here. What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th... How to choose a sextoy for Indian Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one. Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points: Does the size fit you (the partner)? Does the size fit you (your partner)? Is the environment able to produce sound without problems? Price range First of all, the choice of size is quite important. Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women. For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage. Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems. Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise. If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level. Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it. Finally, there is the price range. The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest. Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy. Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy? I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance. For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics. If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out. How to buy sextoys in India The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping. For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below. Sextoy is one of them. Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping. SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India. They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry. Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card. To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy. ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal. Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on. Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture. Cautions for Indians using sextoy When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind Keep sex toys clean Watch out for electrical leakage Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone. Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there. It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case. In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness. Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful. If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it. You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly. Summary What did you think? In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India. The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future. As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values. However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health. If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try? Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women. I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it. After betraying Israel with abstention in the unfair U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry attacked Israel directly. In addition to a number of cutting slights, Kerry admonished Israel, stating the country can be either a "democracy or a Jewish state, but not both." This was wrong on a number of levels, but particularly in the patronizing rhetoric directed at Israeli democracy. Having spent time on peacekeeping duties in the region from 1996 to 1997 (Multinational Forces and Observers based in the Sinai) I had the opportunity to see the reality of democracy between Israel and its Arab neighbors. During that time, I went from being skeptical of Israel to becoming a lifelong supporter of Israel, particularly Israeli commitment to western values of freedom and respect for human rights. Let me explain, and make clear the real obstacle to peace in the region. The first thing I noted while visiting Israel was the large number (more than 1.5 million at the time) of Arab-Muslim Israeli citizens living inside the pre-1967 Israeli borders. These Muslim citizens had all rights, and even representatives in the Israeli Knesset (parliament). In sensitivity to their background, this was the only ethnic/religious group of citizens not "required" to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces. They were free to criticize the Israeli government and even praise anti-Israel groups like Fatah, Hamas and Hezbollah. The Israeli newspapers ran the spectrum of opinion, including those against Israeli leaders, expected of a free and democratic society. Most Israeli citizens I spoke with wanted peace, and almost all were willing to relinquish land for peace. They respected the legitimacy of their Arab neighbors. In contrast, the neighboring Arab states (this includes the West Bank and Gaza, minus Israeli settlements) were "Jew free." Jews had lived throughout the Arab world in communities going back 2,000 years. However, after Israel accepted the U.N. partition plan in 1947, then attacked almost all surrounding Arab states during the Israeli War of Independence, Jews were expelled from throughout the Arab world. Spending the majority of my time in Arab-Muslim land, I could see the effects. I sensed the pervasive hatred against not only Israel, but Jews. At that time, anti-Jewish books like "Protocols of the Elders of Zion," even Hitler's "Mein Kampf," were bestsellers in surrounding nations. Children were being taught to hate Jews as the sons of monkeys and pigs. Maps in places like Jordan did not even recognize the existence of Israel. Most of Israels Arab neighbors did not recognize the legitimacy of Israel in any part of its land, let alone the West Bank and Gaza. The Palestinians generally were not willing to accept Israel's existence, regardless of the land they received in exchange for peace. The only way for Israelis to live in the West Bank, land they call Judea and Samaria and sacred to their history, was and is in protected settlements which are always under threat of terror. Something to understand is the tiny size of the Jewish State. Taking away the uninhabitable Negev desert, Israel proper is a fraction of the size of South Carolina. Just north of the main Israeli population center of Tel Aviv, the distance between the Mediterranean Sea and the West Bank is under 10 miles. The full pre-1967 West Bank cannot go back to a future Palestinian state if Israel is to survive. When the Israelis unilaterally gave back Gaza in 2005, they were rewarded with rocket attacks. While I was there, Israel was in the process of giving back control of critical parts of the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority. In particular, this was when the ancient and sacred city of Hebron home of the tombs of the Israel patriarchs Abraham (and matriarch Sarah), Isaac, and Jacob (Israel) was transferred to Palestinian control. Almost immediately, violence against Jewish pilgrims prevented their access to Abrahams tomb. The Israelis told me this was reminiscent of the period between 1949 and 1967 when Arab Muslims controlled the Old City of Jerusalem, which is claimed as the future capital of the a Palestinian state. Before 1967, Jews were prevented from visiting their holiest spot on Earth, the Western Wall. They were expelled from the ancient Jewish Quarter of the formerly Jewish capital. (Note: In contrast, the holiest spots to Muslims, Mecca and Medina, are off-limits to non-Muslims on pain of death. The legal discrimination against non-Muslims under Sharia law is demanded by Hamas in a future Muslim Palestinian state, and they claim the Old City as Muslim holy ground). The time viewing the truth on the ground in the region made a profound impact on me, and from that experience, Kerry's statements against Israel seem incomprehensible. The United States is good, and that goodness makes us great. We are respected for defending what's right, not purely short-term self-interest, in international affairs. In the case of Israel, we have stood up against much of the world by defending the Jewish state as a solid ally. This is because Israel has stood up as a beacon of democratic light in a dark region of the world, and Israel stood by us throughout the Cold War. We should lecture Israel's neighbors about their treatment of Jews and other non-Muslims before any criticism of Israel. Peace will not come with the end of settlements, but when Israel's neighbors stop generating hatred. That's what Kerry should be declaring on our behalf. WASHINGTON -- The opportunity for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may already have expired. The question going forward, then, is what kind of democracy Israel intends to be. The Obama administration's frustration with the situation is understandable. The continued building of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is indeed unhelpful, and the decision to abstain on a U.N. Security Council resolution declaring the settlements illegal brought renewed focus and urgency to the problem. To what end, however, is unclear. When everyone stops shouting, Israel will remain one of the United States' closest allies -- and, courtesy of President Barack Obama, the recipient of a $38 billion aid package that will ensure the Jewish state's military dominance over its neighbors. Palestinian leaders in the West Bank will remain wary of negotiating any sort of two-state deal from a position of weakness. And the passage of time will make facts on the ground -- expanding settlements and the ongoing security threat -- ever more stubbornly entrenched. Secretary of State John Kerry's speech Wednesday on the conflict reflected his and Obama's annoyance with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has stayed in power by indulging the Israeli far right and the settler movement. But why would Netanyahu listen to Kerry's advice when Donald Trump is about to be inaugurated as president? "Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!" Trump tweeted this week. Kerry argued that Israel would never be able to improve relations with Arab states until it made peace with the Palestinians. But Israel and key nations such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt now have a common enemy in Iran, which is growing in power and confidence. The proverb about the enemy of my enemy being my friend is always relevant in the Middle East. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he would restart peace negotiations if Netanyahu, in the wake of the Security Council vote, declared a freeze on further settlements. I see no reason to expect Netanyahu to comply, especially since doing so would cost him vital political support -- and since the next American president is already encouraging him to "stay strong." So the bitter stalemate continues. What vexes Obama -- and increasingly angers leaders in Europe -- is that the map of a two-state solution was drawn years ago and is gathering dust on disappointed diplomats' shelves. It involves swaps in which Israel annexes parts of the West Bank that are heavily populated by settlers and the Palestinians receive slices of Israeli land in return. Israel insists that a Palestinian state be essentially demilitarized, which would make it less than fully sovereign. Netanyahu also demands that the Palestinians recognize Israel not just as a state, but as a Jewish state. Which raises the question of what Israel becomes in the absence of a two-state deal. "Today, there are ... a similar number of Jews and Palestinians living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea," Kerry said. "They have a choice. They can choose to live together in one state, or they can separate into two states. But here is a fundamental reality: If the choice is one state, Israel can either be Jewish or democratic -- it cannot be both -- and it won't ever really be at peace." In several interviews with me over the years, Netanyahu has essentially countered that it is easy to make such observations from the comforts of Foggy Bottom, Whitehall or the Elysee Palace, far beyond the range of the deadly rockets that too often fall on Israeli towns and cities. He is right in this. But Kerry was also right when he said that "the status quo is leading towards one state and perpetual occupation." And Netanyahu is dreaming if he does not think this has profound long-term implications for Israel. How long will it take for the world to conclude that a de facto one-state solution exists? Another year? Five? Ten? The moment will eventually come, and focus will shift to the political rights of the 2.8 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. With Arabs constituting about 35 percent of the population living under Israeli government control (including 1.7 million who already live in Israel proper), how can such a huge minority be permanently denied full participation in the nation's civic life? Israel is a vibrant democracy that takes seriously the moral and ethical requirements of Judaism. These are incompatible with perpetual occupation of the West Bank and the denial of basic rights to those who live there. There is no way around this contradiction. Something has to give. Amazon I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. While it is distressing to think South Carolina might have unethical or even criminal legislators, it's a relief to know the process of ferreting out such behavior is underway using the state grand jury the best vehicle for producing results. And it's good to know 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe won't be deterred from investigating legislative activities, despite intense pressure applied from a most unlikely source S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson. Two years after Pascoe began his investigation into reports of ethical lapses in the Legislature, a grand jury indicted Rep. Jim Merrill, R-Daniel Island, on 30 counts of ethics violations alleging he or his company took in more than $1 million by soliciting or accepting cash from groups with Statehouse legislation at stake. As required by state law, House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Hartsville, suspended Merrill from office. And Merrill might not be the only one who will face indictments in the near term. Pascoe should leave no stone unturned. After House Speaker Bobby Harrell was forced to retire in 2014 because of unethical behavior, the question has been what other malfeasance might be occurring. Wilson only fueled the flames when he did his best to discredit Pascoe and limit his ability to conduct a thorough, meaningful investigation. Wilson lined up support from former attorneys general in trying to force Pascoe off the case. Pascoe thankfully was not intimidated and persevered as far as the S.C. Supreme Court, which took his side and allowed him to present his work to the grand jury, so far resulting in Merrill's indictments. However that case proceeds, the air needs to be cleared, and Wilson owes Pascoe an apology. Additionally, the grand jury's action offers more evidence underscoring the need to reform the state's ethics laws. The Post and Courier's "Capitol Gains" series last year revealed that the state's Ethics, Government Accountability and Campaign Reform Act of 1991 hasn't stopped lawmakers from using their campaign war chests like personal ATM machines. Merrills lawyers contend his activities are legal. If indeed that is the case, it should spur additional ethics reform. For example, the indictment says Merrill's advertising, direct mail and public relations business, Geechie Communications, received $35,000 from InfiLaw and that he tried to use his influence on behalf of the company's proposed purchase of the Charleston School of Law. He was chairing a House higher education budget panel at the time in 2014. The indictment further contends that in the years from 2008 to 2012, his business received $391,175 from the S.C. Association of Realtors and that he sponsored two association-supported property tax bills during that period. And from 2012 to 2016, Geechie is alleged to have received $283,700 from the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau while Merrill chaired a budget panel overseeing state tourism funding. The indictment contends it was "laundered" because half of it was first sent through his brother's business. Merrill also is charged with failing to report work done by his company as the state requires. The grand jury's findings contend Merrill has been operating similarly almost from the time he took office in 2001. Meanwhile, Pascoe has said the investigation is ongoing. And so it should be if there is an inkling that any elected officials are using their public offices illegally for personal gain. The S.C. Legislature has a well-earned reputation for spending a lot of time getting little of substance done. It did, after years of failed efforts, approve two ethics reforms in June requiring them to disclose the sources of their independent income and to create an independent investigation commission to oversee lawmaker conduct. That represented some progress. But elected officials still are not required to disclose how much money they make. And the bills did not regulate campaign spending by outside groups, so-called "dark money." The Merrill indictment underscores the need for more reform. The Legislature should be prepared to do what is needed to ensure that government is honorable and that the public doesn't lose faith in its elected representatives. The Rotary Club of Orangeburg-Morning has again this year donated a dictionary to every third-grader in Orangeburg Consolidated School Districts Four and Five, Orangeburg Christian Academy, Felton Laboratory and Orangeburg Preparatory Schools. Club President Dr. David Staten, who is also the program director of the Rehabilitation Counseling Program at South Carolina State University, said this year Rotarians delivered more than 1,000 dictionaries in the area. The Dictionary Project is a timeless project that will never get old. No matter how technologically advanced society becomes, reading will always serve as the foundation of success," Staten said. "Thus, the Dictionary Project allows the Rotary Club of Orangeburg-Morning to enhance literacy by providing every third-grader in our area with a dictionary. Typically one or two Rotarians will deliver the dictionaries to the third-graders and discuss what Rotary is about and the many benefits of a dictionary to assist the young people in their studies and academic growth. It serves as a great way to instill in young people not only the value of education, but also of helping others. The Rotary Club of Orangeburg-Morning is in its 21st year of existence. Since its inception, the club has donated more than 19,000 dictionaries to area youths. Locally and worldwide, Rotary has an emphasis on enhancing educational opportunities for individuals, improving health and wellness and promoting peace in local communities and countries. For more information about the Rotary Club of Orangeburg-Morning, visit its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RotaryOrangeburgMorning/ or contact Public Relations Chair Mike Dennis at 803-536-4900, ext. 113. For more information on Rotary International, visit https://www.rotary.org/en. Congressman Joe Wilson says he will focus on dismantling the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, in the upcoming year. We have so many regulations, and a majority of them have been due to Obamacare, the 2nd District congressman said. Many small businesses have had to stop employing people because they couldnt afford the skyrocketing premiums, he said. Wilson recently toured his district to update voters on his agenda for the upcoming year, including repealing and replacing Obamacare. One of the first things well do is replace Obamacare with a patient-centered health care system, Wilson said. We have an alternative and that reduces the involvement of government and its been really developed by Congressman Tom Price. Price, a Georgia physician, has been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be the new secretary of Health and Human Services. Dr. Price for the last eight years has had an alternative and now hes going to have the extraordinary opportunity to put it into effect, Wilson said. Strategies include expanding choice through consumer-directed health care and allowing people to purchase coverage across state lines, which Wilson said will encourage competition. He said the plan also allows for association health plans where people can pool together and have reduced premiums. One of the goals will be reducing government involvement so the doctor-patient relationship determines care, not a doctor with a government official intermediary, Wilson said. We need to be proactive in having a health care system that provides that people do not fall through the cracks, Wilson said. I want doctors to be in charge and determine what kind of care. He believes the Affordable Care Act will be repealed in January with overwhelming support in the House. If there's a delay, it will come in the Senate, Wilson said. Its going to be very quick, he said. The challenge is trying to get sufficient votes in the Senate. Also on Wilsons agenda is strengthening the military. I want to promote a strong military and Im really grateful that Mr. Trump has said that he wants to strengthen the military, he said. A strong military, in my view, is peace through strength. Wilson said rebuilding the military will serve as a deterrent to expansionism, whether by China in the South China Sea, Russia sending troops to Syria or Iran building intercontinental ballistic missiles. The way to handle that is through a strong military, the congressman said. As to Trumps selections of Gen. James Mattis as secretary of state and Gen. John Kelly as secretary of homeland security, Wilson said theyre terrific. Were in a global war on terrorists, he said. Gen. Mattis knows that well have to defeat them overseas. Wilson said wherever there is a safe haven for terrorists overseas, the American people are at risk. Now theyve got safe havens across the world, he said. Weve just got to be ever vigilant (and) detect and stop them." Wilson believes Kelly's role will be important in securing the borders. Hell be a very strong advocate. ... As we see people coming across the borders, we really dont know who they are, where theyre from, Wilson said. Its not directed at any one country or being negative, he noted. Every country maintains their border. Wilson also agrees with Trumps cabinet picks of South Carolinians Gov. Nikki Haley for United Nations ambassador and Mick Mulvaney for director of the Office of Management and Budget. Haley is going to be going to the U.N. at an incredibly sad time, he said. Shes a strong-willed lady with a strong-willed president, and Im confident that she can make a difference. Wilson said Mulvaney will face a challenge because of the size of the U.S. debt. The money thats being borrowed now to be paid back by somebody else, he said. He said he has "a lot of faith" in Mulvaney and believes he will work toward trying to achieve a balanced budget in conjunction with a six-year plan proposed by House Speaker Paul Ryan. Its going to be very difficult, but it needs to be done for the future of our country, Wilson said. He said he still needs to have a full explanation of Trumps proposed infrastructure legislation. Im concerned that we found out when President Obama tried to do this, he admitted that there werent shovel-ready projects, Wilson said. I would want to make sure the money was spent wisely. He added that the money should not be borrowed. A way to do that is by reducing corporate taxes, Wilson said. There could be a repatriation of hundreds of billions of dollars by American companies around the world that are parked there. Wilson said the U.S. currently has the highest corporate taxes in the world at 35 percent, but he believes a flat tax could help. The flat tax could be identified as being beneficial to rich people. No, its beneficial to everybody, he said. I also believe in trickle-down economics, Wilson said. If it helps everybody, thats good. When did that become bad? Though he does not agree with many of Obamas actions in office, Wilson said he was glad to see a push toward nuclear power. It was under his administration that there was licensing of the first nuclear reactors in 30 years, he said. It directly relates to all of us. Wilson said the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station in Jenkinsville and the Vogtle Plant on the Savannah River in Georgia will both enhance South Carolina's and Georgias ability to lower utility costs. Mr. Obama did help with some nuclear power, but not as much as I would like. But still, he did more, he said. We can compete around the world, but I want it to be competing on low-cost energy instead of low-cost wages. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. The international shipping organization said 2017 will be another die-hard year of competition and it projects the container shipping segment to see a net fleet growth of around 3.1 percent in 2017 compared with an estimated 1.1 percent in 2016. The Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), a Denmark-based international shipping organization, said the shipping industry will face rough seas going forward in 2017 as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is anticipating the lowest level of global GDP growth since 2009. In 2016, the container shipping industry bit the bullet in terms of demolition and consolidation to help the market to recover, BIMCO said in the market outlook section of its yearly Reflections publication. The dry bulk sector needs to copy that approach. 2017 will see another year of die-hard competition, including the tanker industry, BIMCO said. For eight years, the world has struggled to cope with huge changes and challenges brought around by the crash of the financial market in 2008, the organization said. The resulting issues have not always been dealt with in the best way, leaving many large economies still in recovery mode. The full restoration of shipping markets will need several years of solid improvements to lift fleet utilization rates. Sector overcapacity almost everywhere must be reduced. Government support for any industry including shipping which is feeling the heat of global competition, might seem like a good thing. But direct subsidies from governments in fact have a negative impact on the global shipping industry as they affect free trade and undermine the level playing field for businesses. BIMCO added, In pure economic terms, 2016 has seen Europe improving, the U.S. stagnating and Japan at a standstill. So, we have not seen much global change aside from some interregional trade flows, and there has been no real growth of demand on a broader scale. BIMCO said it believes the world is unlikely to grow its GDP in 2017 in a way that will benefit the shipping industry, noting the global GDP growth is driven by service sectors and developing/emerging economies, resulting in a lower GDP-to-trade multiplier, and therefore generating a lower level of shipping demand. In the container industry, BIMCO said, After deteriorating market conditions in 2015, with a very high fleet growth and a sensationally high number of new orders for future delivery, 2016 got off to a bad start. The need to match the supply of container shipping capacity with global demand for containerized goods became even more urgent. Many operational tools have been successfully applied in the market already (slow-steaming and idling), leaving the non-operational tools to be put into action in 2016 (limiting new orders, scrapping and consolidation). 2016 has been a momentous year for consolidation in the container shipping industry, with mergers, the planning of new alliances, and Hanjin filing for bankruptcy. Additionally, the very low number of newbuilding orders was backed up by an all-time high of demolition capacity reducing the harmful effects of new ships being delivered. Panamax ships went out of fashion, resulting in further value erosion of the ship size that turned out to be the one which was squeezed out between the feeders and the very large ships, BIMCO said. Generally, the container shipping industry has found it difficult to adapt to the new normal where demand grows by a multiple of global GDP growth of one or even below, unlike the multiplier of two or more experienced year on year in the past, the organization added. Nevertheless, market conditions ended up improving in 2016 as fleet growth was lower than demand growth, the first time since 2010. BIMCO said it expects the container shipping segment to see a net fleet growth of around 3.1 percent in 2017 compared with an estimated 1.1 percent in 2016. If the multiplier gets back to one, and the IMF forecast of 3.4 percent becomes reality, the market will neither improve or worsen in 2017, it concluded. Eight people suspected in the New Year eves terrorist attack at Reina night club in Istanbul have been detained by Turkish police, TASS reported. At least 39 people, including 16 foreign nationals, were killed in the attack. A Russian woman is among the victims. The Islamic State terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the night club shooting, Reuters reported earlier. Among those killed are also the citizens of Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Lebanon, Jordan, Libya and Israel. Gabina VOA is designed to be an infotainment youth radio show broadcasting to Ethiopia and Eritrea in the Amharic language. The show brings varied perspectives on issues concerning young people in the Horn of Africa region. Gabina in the Amharic language is a front row taxi ridesymbolic of the shows content as a fun ride that takes audiences from point A to point B. Gabina VOAs main goal is Enlightening young people, introducing them to cutting-edge technological innovations, exposing them to new processes and ideas so they can be productive, informed and self-governing citizens. Ithmaar Bank, a Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank, announced today that it has obtained final approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) for its reorganisation plan, on the completion of all requirements. The reorganisation aims to further develop the growth achieved in Ithmaar Banks core retail banking business, the strategic focus of the bank. The new structure was proposed by the banks board of directors and approved by shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in March 2016. This resulted in the conversion of the existing commercial registration into Ithmaar Holding, which is licensed and regulated by the CBB and continues to be listed on the Bahrain Bourse and Boursa Kuwait. Ithmaar Holding retains 100 percent ownership of all assets owned by Ithmaar Bank, through its two wholly-owned subsidiaries: Ithmaar Bank, an Islamic retail bank subsidiary which holds the core retail banking business, and IB Capital, an investment subsidiary, which holds investments and other non-core assets. The two subsidiaries are licensed and regulated by the CBB. Following final regulatory and other necessary approvals and the required procedures, the shares will be traded in the name of Ithmaar Holding with the ticker ITHMR. Ithmaar Bank chief executive officer Ahmed Abdul Rahim, who expressed his thanks and appreciation to the CBB and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, as well as the Bahrain Bourse and Boursa Kuwait for their continued guidance and support, said the new group structure will further consolidate Ithmaar Banks position as a strong retail-focussed premier Islamic retail bank under the Ithmaar brand, allowing the bank to take advantage of new growth opportunities, and help to generate greater value to our shareholders. The reorganisation is designed to assist in realising our long-term strategy for growth by providing greater insight into the strength of our core retail banking operations and further facilitating the focussed management of the Groups investment assets, said Abdul Rahim. The new structure will help lower the risk profile of the new banking entity and enhance shareholder value through growth and improved performance in the core business, he said. Ithmaar Banks mailing address, call centre number, main office telephone number and all other telephone numbers will remain unchanged, said Abdul Rahim. Customers can continue to use existing cheque books, debit cards, credit cards, and eCards that bear the trademark of Ithmaar Bank, he said. The financial results consistently show that our efforts to significantly transform the groups operations and focus on developing our core business are paying off, and that we are on the right track, said Abdul Rahim. The decision to reorganise the group is the logical step in this process, and underlines our commitment to become one of the regions leading Islamic retail banks, he said. By allocating our assets into separate subsidiaries, we will be able to better focus on our core retail banking businesses held in Ithmaar Bank, which includes Faysal Bank Limited, Pakistan, a retail and corporate banking subsidiary of Ithmaar Bank. At the same time, we will be able to facilitate dedicated and focussed management of investment and other assets held by IB Capital, said Abdul Rahim. - TradeArabia News Service Bahrain-based Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) exported 1.23 million tonnes during 2016, as against 1.01 million tonnes exported in the previous year, marking an increase of 11 per cent despite the challenges of global markets. Company president Dr Abdulrahman Jawahery said explained that market fluctuations; challenges of Chinese exports and the instability of balance of supply and demand were not able to affect GPICs performance. The company, which is an equal stakes joint venture of Bahrains nogaholding, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) and the Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) of Kuwait, uses locally available natural gas to produce ammonia, urea and methanol. The company also exported 348,472 tonnes of urea to the emerging Brazilian market, which is the largest amount to be exported since the start of production. This was a significant achievement since this requires a lot of effort and work due to the intense competition to grab a share, said Dr Jawahery. Brazil also accounted for the largest share of the company's total exports at 49 per cent, followed by the US a share of 19 per cent and Taiwan which had a share of 15 per cent. GPIC made use of 65 vessels to export its products. Dr Jawahery revealed the last quarter of the year achieved a record production of 206,000 tonnes of urea, of which 179,000 tonnes was exported, exceeding the 170,000 tonnes exported in 2015 by 5 per cent. The company produced 117,000 tonnes of ammonia during the last quarter of the year, of which 17,900 tonnes was exported, exceeding the 2015 figure of 12,354 thousand tonnes. Another milestone represented the production of 113,000 tonnes of methanol during the same period. Throughout the year, the company exported 712,179 tons of urea, 443,729 tons of methanol and 78,218 tonnes of Ammonia. Dr Jawahery said in spite of all the challenges faced by the company during the last quarter of this year due to oversupply of urea and the emerging Chinese market, there was no obstacle to the company in continuing its operations and exports to alternative markets. GPIC was able to achieve approximately 5,364 working days without a lost time accident, which is equivalent to more than 24.9 million hours. He said this is a significant challenge not only in numbers but also in keeping the workers, who are the backbone of sustainable development, safe. He said GPIC also showed great interest in the growth and development of Bahraini human resources, who were provided special training courses at home and abroad and through workshops on all aspects of the petrochemical industry. He said employees were involved in the forums and gatherings organised by other relevant agencies. He said GPIC also organises comprehensive training programmes for Bahraini nationals and co-ordinates regularly with other companies to identify training needs and find the best ways to achieve them, with a focus on the quality of training. TradeArabia News Service The Dubai Future Accelerators, an intensive 12-week programme that pairs top companies and entrepreneurs with powerful partners in Dubai to create breakthrough solutions together, has launched its second cycle with 11 new global challenges in vital sectors for innovative enterprises. Mohammed Al Gergawi, vice chairman of the board of trustees, and managing director of Dubai Future Foundation, emphasised that a positive innovative approach to address future challenges, is the most important learning from HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. Al Gergawi said that HH Sheikh Mohammed believes that the future does not wait for people, and the race of foreseeing the future is a challenge, where winning is for the stronger and more prepared ones. Under the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed, Dubai Future Accelerators has become a platform to anticipate and create opportunities and solutions ahead of time. It serves as a scientific path to meet the challenges facing human societies, and convert them to opportunities for the better future for the coming generations. Al Gergawi announced that submissions for the second cycle are open from today (January 2), said a statement from the organisation. He said: Coinciding with the success of the first cycle of the programme that attracted some of the world's leading innovative companies and achieved cooperation with them to develop innovations for the future, Dubai Future Accelerators has now been expanded with its second cycle. It will harness a wider range of modern technology and innovation to find effective solutions to the challenges in key sectors for achieving the prosperity of the society, he stated. We seek to build partnerships between government and private sector companies globally that will help create well-developed technological models that lay strong foundations for the future of the UAE as a hub for innovative ideas, he added. Al Gergawi further said: The success achieved by the first Dubai Future Accelerators emphasised the competency of the UAE and Dubai to play a pivotal role in exploring and shaping the future of vital sectors by utilising modern technology under the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which can bring radical and positive change for the future. There are 11 challenges cover vital sectors in the second cycle of the Dubai future Accelerators programme, participated by 11 entities from government and private sectors, as follows: Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) - Mobility in the future: Mattar Al Tayer, director general and chairman of the board of executive directors of the RTA, said: RTA encourages commuters to use public transport services, and provides enablers supporting this direction, such as technology solutions and transport policies. Through the second round of Dubai Future Accelerators, we aim to launch innovative solutions for payment and ticketing. Moreover, RTA aims to study the readiness of the public to futuristic transport modes such as autonomous vehicles, he added. Dubai Police - Air Police: Major General Dr Abdul Quddos Abdul Razzaq Al Obaidly, assistant commandant for quality and excellence affairs at Dubai Police, assured that they are ready to participate in the second cycle of the Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA). Dubai Municipality - Environment friendly solutions: Eng Hussain Nasser Lootah, director general of Dubai Municipality, confirmed the municipality's commitment to promoting and strengthening the identity of Dubai in the field of creativity and innovation locally, regionally and globally. Dubai Health Authority (DHA) - Self management system for patients: Humaid Al Qatami, chairman of the board and director-general of DHA confirmed that the programme, which was launched, by HH Sheikh Mohammad has reshaped the sustainability and developmental map in the world. He added that DHA will focus on qualitative outcomes in the second phase of the Dubai Future Accelerators Programme which targets having a comprehensive and exceptional model for patients and different types of customers of DHA. Knowledge and Human Development Authority - 21st Century skills: Dr Abdulla Al Karam, chairman of the board of directors and director general of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), said: Dubai Future Accelerators has provided an important platform to boost innovation and create a futuristic city where new ideas are encouraged. With the launch of the second cycle of the programme, we will witness further innovative ideas that can help solve future challenges and potentially have a significant impact on the economy and society, he added. Dubai Holding - Smart technology in project management: As part of the second cycle, Dubai Holding will focus on the development of new methods, intelligent technologies and innovative business models across all its business segments, and operations, so that it can anticipate the current and future needs of its customers, employees, and its partners, proactively and independently, to improve the performance of the sectors. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority - Changing traditional method of operations: Saeed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), said: We implement initiatives, strategies and new technologies enabling us to become a pioneering energy utility that leverage on disruptive technologies to generate, transmit and distribute world -class electricity and water services, with a focus on the quality of life for citizens and residents and the sustainability of our resources. Etisalat Digital - Communication technologies to serve humans and the preservation of health: Eng Saleh Alabdooli, group CEO of Etisalat, said: Our digital's partnership with Dubai Future Accelerator is a commitment to the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed to transform the UAE into the global capital for creating technology advancements that define the future of humanity. Etisalat Digital aims at partnering with global startups to solve critical business challenges within different segments, such as health, education, smart cities and others. Department of Economic Development - Futuristic services: Sami Al Qamzi, director general, Department of Economic Development of Dubai (DED), said: Dubai has emerged as a major player in the world economy and its role in the global market place cannot be overstated. The Future Accelerators program is one of the vehicles that Dubais DED is using to contribute to the Emirates transition into a knowledge-based economy driven by innovation, he said. DEDs accelerators aim to achieve quantitative and qualitative improvements in the ease of doing business, and harness smart technologies to consolidate government services for the benefit of a happier investor, he added. Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du) - Digital techniques for customer service Osman Sultan, CEO of Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du), said: "The UAE leadership has put customer centricity centre stage, envisioning the Emirates as a global benchmark for management practices in the service industry. DNRD: Digital transactions and Electronic Gates: Major General Mohammed Al Marri, director of DNRD, said: The programme is a foundation to proactively face development challenges before they arise, invest in opportunities, and create the future. DFA will contribute effectively in transforming creative ideas to reality in order to achieve the government's objectives in various sectors. It will provide distinct space for co-working to develop and implement innovative ideas and projects that will benefit all segments of society. Saif Al Aleeli, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation, said: "By combining innovative enterprises and the government sector in Dubai, the second cycle of Dubai Future Accelerators will be a perfect opportunity to find solutions for the challenges that face vital sectors and provide innovative models to upgrade its services. Over 12 weeks, the programme will bring together companies and government agencies in Dubai to explore the technologies of the future, and using them find solutions to the challenges facing cities, he said. The Dubai Future Accelerators explores the opportunities offered by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We will examine the impact of science and technology to make radical changes through artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology, biotechnology, 3D printing, genomics and other technologies, he added. The innovative projects and businesses will be selected based on their ability to find solutions for these challenges, and translate them into models and pilot projects to build economic value, enhance investment attractiveness and bring positive change to create a universal model in Dubai that can benefit the rest of the world, Al Aleeli concluded. TradeArabia News Service Saudi Aramco, the biggest oil company in world, has signed two engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contracts with Indias L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE) in consortium with Emas Chiyoda Subsea. The contract is awarded to supply and install four wellhead decks in the Safaniya field and another award to upgrade on 17 platforms in various offshore fields in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Saudi Arabia. The Long Term Agreement awarded by Saudi Aramco to the LTHE Emas Chiyoda Subsea Consortium in June last year has been very successful and the consortium is poised to remain a substantial service provider to Aramco and participate in the development of capabilities in Kingdom over the long term, a statement said. Subramanian Sarma, L&T Hydrocarbon Engineerings MD & CEO, said, We are delighted with the new awards. It is an opportunity for Aramco to benefit from our flagship facility at Hazira as the centre of fabrication of the four decks in one of the contracts. It is also an opportunity for our consortium to build in-Kingdom skills and capabilities to deliver the Brownfield work in the other project. Hasbah Offshore Gas Increment Project, which is a part of the Fadhili Gas Plant is progressing well and in accordance with the plan. The consortium with our strong teams - delivering excellence in execution and bespoke EPCI services with the state-of-the-art facilities is committed to a long term participation in Aramcos projects, he said. TradeArabia News Service A total of 120 lucky customers won valuable prizes at the first draw of Adnoc Distributions Oasis of Surprises promotional campaign hosted recently in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Launched in early December 2016, the Oasis of Surprises campaign is being held across two phases anddistributing295 prizes worth Dh1 million ($272,000) in total to customers of Adnoc Oasis convenience stores. The first draw took place at Adnoc Distributions Abu Dhabi Corniche service station for customers based in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Western Region and at Ras Al Khaimahs Al Bawaba 2 service station for customers based in the Northern Emirates. As part of the campaign, shoppers spending a minimum of AED25 at the 149 participating Adnoc Oasis convenience stores across the UAE receive raffle coupons. The more customers spend, the more raffle coupons they are eligible for, increasing their chances of winning valuable prizes. The first phase of the campaign awarded 100 Etihad Airways travel vouchers, 100 vouchers from Etihad Holidays, 10 iPhone 7 smart devices and 10 gold bars to 120 lucky winners. Representatives of the Departments of Economic Development in Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah attended the raffle draws. Saeed Mubarak Al Rashdi, acting chief executive officer of Adnoc Distribution, said: "Adnoc Distribution launched this promotional campaign as part of our continued efforts to strengthen ties with our loyal customers and thank them for their confidence in our high quality products and services. Adnoc Oasis convenience stores enjoy a special place in the hearts of all UAE residents for their outstanding customer service and wide product range. "At Adnoc Distribution, we are committed to exceeding the expectations of our customers through offering them best-in-class products and services, and giving them opportunities to win valuable prizes when they shop at our stores, he added. The Oasis of Surprises campaign partners include Etihad Airways, Etihad Holidays, Agthia Group PJSC, Nescafe Alegria, Al Sorour Bakeries, Galaxy and ADMMIs Mister Potato. The second and final draw of the promotion will take place on February 27 again at the same service stations, giving customers the chance to win 175 prizes including the campaigns grand prize - two BMW 318i cars, two LG 65-inch UHD TV sets and one Etihad Holidays luxury package to Seychelles for two people. Prizes also include 150 Etihad Airways travel vouchers, 150 vouchers from Etihad Holidays, 10 gold bars, and 10 iPhone 7 smart devices. TradeArabia News Service French President Francois Hollande points towards Islamic State-held territory as he visits a military outpost on the outskirts of Mosul, outside the Kurdish city of Erbil, Iraq on January 2. Hollande is in Iraq on a one-day visit. EPA/Christophe Ena Is the promise of Cloud still just a bit foggy? Run it in the cloud. Move to the cloud. Cloud-enable your apps! If youve worked in IT (and often even if you havent) for the last 10 years, you cant fail to have heard the increasing drum-beat of the clouderati. The promise of the cloud they hold out, is one of infinite scale, microscopic cost and everlasting reliability, but these messages come round with every new technology, so what is the reality behind the marketing? Looking at these promises in more detail gives a clearer view of the type of environment we are being driven to adopt, in order to deliver a modern infrastructure that is able to support development and delivery of applications for the 21st century. Harps and clouds? Scalability has always been an ever-increasing factor for any business which planned for growth. The advent of the internet obviously piled on even more pressure in its need for an always-on approach to our service delivery. However, a growing awareness of spiralling costs has forced businesses to look again at the price of scalability; doing more for less has never been a more repeated phrase. The promise of cloud deployment is that power can be added when needed, particularly when public cloud resources are effectively unlimited and are individually priced very competitively. The cost of services from the public cloud providers is often quoted as a reason for companies to start building applications using those vendors specific toolsets. Since the charging model is tied directly to usage, this feels like a very cost-effective way to handle the problems of scale, while at the same time allowing for costs to be lowered during periods of less demand. Flexibility is a third key benefit of a cloud approach to development and deployment. The ability to deliver power exactly where and when it is needed brings most companies better control over how they meet the demands of the business, as it balances the running of the organization with the needs of internal development teams. This flexibility is even more important when public cloud infrastructure is not available, as the constrained resources of internal datacenters need careful allocation to meet the needs of the whole business rather than one small segment. Storms on the horizon All of these seem like good reasons to believe that moving into the cloud will have immediate benefit, but each one throws up its own challenge for companies: Scalability without control tends to lead to wasteful overuse of resources, projects grow in scope very quickly and are left consuming resources, long after testing is complete. Cloud creep needs measurement to bring it back under control. That same measurement very quickly shows that without planning, public cloud usage can be more expensive than originally believed. Not only that, but comparisons of potential costs between public cloud vendors is a difficult task and any idea of finding some kind of cloud resource brokerage is impossible to achieve when the best prices come from longer contracts. Finally, flexibility is non-trivial thing to deliver. Applications vary wildly in their needs. What may run fine in the controlled environment of a more monolithic style datacenter, could raise different configuration issues for every public cloud vendor, effectively preventing easy, flexible migration. Not only that, but green field applications written specifically for the public cloud, can quickly become as locked in to the APIs of an individual cloud vendor as they would have been in the days of proprietary software stacks. Is there hope for a silver lining? Fortunately, we are at a point where a combination of technologies can start to solve some of the bigger questions posed by cloud infrastructure. First, cloud management. For this to be successful it needs to be able to encompass both the public cloud vendors and also any in-house private clouds, whether built from raw VM infrastructure or using something more sophisticated like OpenStack. To deliver wide value, it needs to be able to be implemented without invasive changes to existing infrastructure and should be able to interrogate and control any existing management layers where desired (and permitted). While the term single pane of glass is much overused, it should provide visibility of all elements of a companys cloud and expose the full deployment of any apps across these elements. Secondly, some form of automation tool can help to ensure that applications are deployed in a repeatable manner, no matter where in the cloud they physically run. Like the management tool, it should understand the needs of all the different public clouds and should be extensible to handle new situations as they arise. It should work alongside the management tool as the delivery arm of the combined toolset. Finally, we should look to build software architectures that transcend the APIs of any one vendor. The rise of containers as an app development and delivery mechanism is a promising direction. In particular, the use of Kubernetes as the orchestration engine for those containers is a very successful cloud vendor-neutral way to ensure the flexibility that businesses need. With these pieces in place, we can finally start to realise the broader promises of a truly hybrid cloud environment, that we can both measure and control to meet the needs of any kind of business application. Martin Percival is a senior solutions architect with Red Hat, a multinational software company providing open-source software products to the enterprise community. Dubai International airports received 105, 326 passengers in one day for the first time on New Years Eve a top official said. Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, director-general of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners' Affairs in Dubai, said this reflects UAEs vision to make of Dubai a place where the worlds cultures meet and interact. Major General Al Marri made this statement as he presented statistics about the numbers of passengers coming and travelling from Dubai on new years eve. He stated that the total number of passengers during the period from December 28 to December 31 2016 reached 669,093 passengers, noting that the numbers of travellers coming to Dubai reached 389,290 while the travellers from Dubai reached 288,803. He said that Dubai seeks to accomplish the entry and departure procedures for travellers according to the best standards to guarantee their satisfaction. He also noted that a special team was assigned to facilitate these procedures during holiday's period to guarantee speeding the process. - TradeArabia News Service A few weeks ago, the city of Cheyenne was courting a company. The advantages that businesses consider transportation, cost of living and infrastructure were all sufficiently appealing. However, the company eventually pulled out, citing one reason: Wyomings capital city didnt have the workforce. A national publication recently ranked Wyomings economy last in the U.S. due to its heavy reliance on energy. But the state also took a hit because of its lack of a metropolitan hub. Cities have experienced the bulk of the nations economic growth in recent years. The Bloomberg Economic Evaluation of States Index ranked the economies of the 50 states since the beginning and the end of the recession: 2007 and 2009, respectively. The index considers home values, employment and income as well as the stock prices of state companies. Aside from a Bloomberg columnists tongue-in-cheek reference to Wyomingites as Wyomans, the details of the index will ring true to most in the state. Wyoming has a lot of strengths, and our natural resources obviously is at the top of that list, said Randy Bruns, CEO of Cheyenne LEADS, an economic development organization. But population, or the lack thereof, definitely presents some real challenges to us in diversifying the economy. In recent years the downturn in oil, gas and coal has had a devastating effect on the states revenue. Taxes from those sectors provide the lions share of the state budget. Lawmakers made widespread cuts last year as a result of the downturn. Further reductions followed the session, and recently Gov. Matt Mead warned of the likelihood of further declines in revenue for years to come. However, the Bloomberg index shows the importance of metropolitan areas to overall economic health. As in the case of the company that ditched Cheyenne for northern Colorado, workforce is a big part of the challenge for Wyoming, said Anja Bendel, director of business development for LEADS. It comes down to a sheer numbers factor, she said. When you look at what our unemployment rate is and you figure out how many people that means, youre just talking about 2,000 people in the greater Cheyenne community that are actively seeking work, and Cheyenne is the largest city in the state. Demographics also challenge Wyoming. The trend that is happening in a lot of metropolitan areas is their populations are starting to turn around and get younger, while rural populations (like those of Wyoming) continue to age, Bruns said. Its also about the appeal of city living and amenities. About 20 percent of Cheyennes labor force lives in the two Colorado counties across the border, where cities like Fort Collins offer the lifestyle that many young professionals desire, he added. Of course, the people of Wyoming are likely to say they prefer to avoid crowded areas in favor of swaths of public land, sagebrush-speckled ranches and the serenity of the mountains. But if economic diversity is important to the future of the states economy, people need to have a discussion about what they value, Bruns said. Wyoming has good schools, safety and quality of life in its corner. Retaining those virtues while creating an environment for business development a culture that helps young people want to stay in the state will be the challenge. An example for how to foment that growth is nearby. Years ago the business leaders of Denver focused on turning their city into a place where a young workforce could thrive, on the assumption that businesses would follow people, Bruns said. It worked. However, the pendulum swings both ways. The massive increase in population, congestion and traffic in areas like Denver have started to lose their appeal in some cases, he said. Help Yourself Stuff to help you. Learn password management The Natrona County Library will offer a Password Management class at noon on Friday. Save time, increase security, and reduce stress by learning how to store and retrieve password and identity information securely using a password manager. Call 577-READ ext. 2 or email reference@natronacountylibrary.org for more information. Self-help classes set Conscious Co-Creation/Self-Transformation & Healing will be taught Jan. 21 and 22 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., in person at the Agricultural Learning Resources building on Fairgrounds Road in Casper and also via live webinar. Regular tuition pricing goes into effect on Jan. 7. Early bird and "bring a friend" discounts are available. Conscious Co-Creation, Part Two: Field Play, Feb. 18, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., offered in person at the Agricultural Learning Resources building on Fairgrounds Road in Casper and also via live webinar. Prerequisite: Conscious Co-Creation/Self-Transformation & Healing Living from the Heart: The Key to Peace, Freedom & Creative Empowerment, Feb. 26, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., offered in person at the Agricultural Learning Resources building on Fairgrounds Road in Casper and also via live webinar. For full description and registration information for all classes, visit: www.cathyhazeladams.com/pp/classes-webinars-event/ Chronic pain/illness group starting Highland Park Community Church and The Healing Place are starting HopeKeepers. HopeKeepers is a support group designed to meet the emotional and spiritual needs of the person who lives with chronic illness or pain. The group will meet Mondays from noon to 1:30 p.m., Highland Park Community Church, Rm #1327-The Prayer Room. This is an ongoing group. Call The Healing Place at 265-3977 to enroll. Parenting classes available Mercer Family Resource Center offers three classes in 2017 designed to help parents become more effective. Strengthening Families for parents and their children ages 9 to 14 will be held Jan. 11, 18 and 25 and Feb. 1, 8, 15, and 22 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. This is a seven-week, evidence-based program with onsite childcare available. Dinner is provided. Fee is $50 per family. Parenting the Love and Logic Way is for parents and caregivers with children of any age. Onsite childcare is available. Class is Jan. 23 and 30, Feb. 6, 13, 27 and March 6 and 13 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Cost is $35 for individuals and $50 for couples. Make Parenting a Pleasure is for parents and caregivers with children ages 0 to 8. Class meets March 1, 8, 15, and 22 and April 5, 12, and 19 from 6 to 8 p.m. Onsite childcare available, meets once a week for seven weeks. Cost is $35 individuals and $50 a couple. For more information or to enroll, call Lisa Brown at 233-4276. Teen Challenge offers fall classes Teen Challenge Wyoming offers classes this fall at local churches, True Care and the Link (Youth for Christ). For more information on these groups or on other Teen Challenge programs, please call 258-5397. Peacemaking: Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. In this world of division and conflict, it is important for Christians to stay grounded in what the Bible teaches about resolving our differences with orders in a God-honoring way. For more information, call Pat at 258-5397. Save One: A group for post-abortion healing. For more information, call Judy at 251-5644. Single & Parenting: Sundays at 6:30 p.m. Covers major challenges single parents face in raising their children, and offers tools to help them meet these challenges. Enter anytime, each lesson stands alone. Call Cathie at 258-6119. Professionals in Recovery: An ongoing Christian recovery group. For more information, call Gary at 267-7777. Insight: Discovering the path to Christian character, especially in the midst of stress. Time to be announced. For more information, call Teen Challenge Wyoming at 258-5397. Possible offering: Committed Couples and/or the Smart Stepfamily (groups designed to strengthen marriages for both married couples and those anticipating marriage) may be offered later this year. For more information on these possibilities, please call Teen Challenge Wyoming at 258-5397. Caregiver support meets monthly Are you caring for a loved one with a debilitating condition? Confusing and conflicting feelings are likely to come up-anger, sadness, hopelessness, resentment and guilt for having those feelings. Please join us on the second Thursday of the each month to talk about your feelings and learn effective ways to release difficult emotions by joining a support group. Meetings will be held at Rocky Mountain Therapy, 2546 E. Second St. #500, at 5:30 p.m. Different topics will be discussed each month. Coffee and lemonade will be served. We will be meeting on Dec. 15. To RSVP please call 577-5204 and ask for Jerri or Shannon. Seedling trees, shrubs and perennials on sale Premium quality seedling trees, shrubs and perennials are available for windbreaks and wildlife habitat enhancement from the UW/Natrona County Extension. Order forms are available at the Ag Resource and Learning Center, 2011 Fairgrounds Road. There are 41 species available. Order now for best selection with May 2017 delivery. For more information, call Rose Jones at 235-9400. Caregiver support Wyoming Dementia Care offers five Alzheimers caregiver support groups each month. Caregivers of those with dementia-related illnesses and the loved ones they care for are welcome at any of the group sessions. Professional staff from Intermountain Home Companions will be on hand to offer separate activities and snacks for those who need care. There is no charge for Wyoming Dementia Cares support groups or for the respite care provided during the approximately one hour long sessions. The morning support group sessions meet on the first and third Thursday of each month at 10 a.m. at Central Wyoming Senior Services, 1831 E. Fourth St. The afternoon support groups meet at 1 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at Life Care Center of Casper, 4041 S. Poplar. The evening groups meet on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at Meadow Wind Assisted Living, 3955 E. 12th St. For information, email wyodementia@casperseniorcenter.com or call Dani Guerttman at 265-4678. Family continues suicide support Good Grief, Support will continue at 5:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at the 12-24 Club, 500 S. Wolcott, by request of attendees. The family of J.R. Hunter, who died from suicide in June 2015 began the support before the especially tough holiday season. Anyone who is grieving a suicide, death, or considering suicide is encouraged to attend. Attendance at the meeting, as well as the content, will be strictly confidential. The Fresh Start Cafe will be open, and you can eat during the meetings. This meeting place was offered by Dan Cantine of the 12-24 Club. You need not be a member to attend. For more information, email jlh35@hotmailcom New depression group begins J.R.s Hunt for Life is offering See it Clearly, a free peer support group for persons suffering from depression and other mental conditions that lead to suicidal thoughts and actions. We are not professionals but rather a group of like-minded peers wishing to support each other in these struggles. We offer anonymity and confidentiality to all attending. Our meetings are at 6:45 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at 500 South Wolcott in the conference room on the second floor, (12-24 Club). If you have ever considered or attempted taking your life or are struggling, please come. You are important to us. For more information, email jlh35@hotmailcom Family offers faith-based groups The family of J.R. Hunter, who committed suicide, is going to begin two more support groups, these faith-based, in addition to the groups they run on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at the 12-24 Club. Those continue. For more information, email jlh35@hotmailcom. "J.R.s Hunt; for life" presents faith-based grief and depression peer to peer support groups at 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. at Restoration Church, 411 S. Walsh. Grief support group, "Good Grief:" A faith-based grief support group that our family hosts on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 5:30 p.m. at Restoration Church. Depression Support Group, "See It Clearly:" A faith-based free peer to peer support group for persons suffering from depression and other mental conditions that may lead to suicidal thoughts and actions. We are not professionals but rather a group of like-minded peers wishing to support each other in these struggles. We offer anonymity and confidentiality to all attending. Our meetings are at 6:30 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at the Restoration Church. Parkinson's exercise Rocky Mountain Therapy is offering a Parkinson's exercise program. Join us from noon to 1 p.m. Thursdays at Rocky Mountain Therapy, 2546 E. Second St., Building 500. These classes are open to anyone with Parkinson's or caring for someone with Parkinson's. Thursday's class is tailored for the individual with more advanced Parkinson's and focuses on improving endurance, safety and managing symptoms. We are open to all ages and can tailor the class to meet varying exercise needs. The cost of the class is $5. To RSVP, call 577-5204 and ask for Jerri or Shannon. Celebrate Recovery every Friday Celebrate Recovery meets at 5:30 p.m. every Friday at Highland Park Community Church, just south of Elkhorn Valley Rehabilitation Hospital on East Second Street. We start with a family meal, followed by praise and worship. At 7 p.m., there's either a lesson from Celebrate Recovery's planned curriculum or a testimony by a person who has found recovery through Christ. Then, people go to gender-specific small groups until 8:30 p.m., when dessert and fellowship conclude the evening. Child care is available at no cost. For more information, contact Chris at 265-4073. Here and Now: Dementia-focused monthly art class Classes are every third Tuesday of the month from 1 to 3 p.m. There is no charge. Here and Now is a program made possible through a collaboration between Wyoming Dementia Care and the Nicolaysen Art Museum. It is designed to provide a supportive environment for people with dementia and Alzheimers and their loved ones. To register, contact Dani with Wyoming Dementia Care 265-4678, ext. 106, or at wyodementia@casperseniorcenter.com or Zhanna Gallegos at 235-5247 or at zgallegos@thenic.org. Latin Club meets Wish you had taken Latin in school or had paid better attention when you did? You are welcome to join the Latin Study Club at Mount Hope Lutheran School, 2300 Hickory. This friendly group of language enthusiasts meets on Tuesday nights at 7 p.m., to study Latin, free of charge. We will pick up where we left off last year, Chapter 4 of Wheelocks Latin, 7th edition. Noli timere! They might be teaching a college class for free, but old friends Dave Park and Nick Murdock still think theyre coming out ahead. It didnt occur to me that it was a big deal, Park, a retired Seventh Judicial District judge, said, laughing. We thought we were getting a pretty good deal. I mean, we probably would pay something to have that experience, said Murdock, a Casper-based attorney whos practiced since the late 1970s. It might sound like false modesty. But with Park and Murdock, it rings true. Murdock gushed about his admiration for his students, many of whom face challenges like working other jobs or raising families but still make it to class, prepared and engaged. Park talked about how much he enjoys working with his old friend again. They teach their class, which is about politics and the judicial system, from 7 to 10 p.m. on Monday nights. Before that, the two former law partners have dinner and talk. Wed been friends for probably 30 or more years, and we did practice together before he went to the district court, Murdock said. Partners and good friends. That friendship had frayed when Park became a judge. Judges and attorneys socializing is awkward, Murdock said, so a distance bubbled between them. Then, around 2000, Murdocks wife, Maggi Murdock, then the dean of UW-Casper, told Murdock that the course needed instructors. They jumped at the idea. Thats exactly the way to see each other and catch up and kind of have a common endeavor that doesnt get us cross-ways with how judges and lawyers are supposed to socialize, Murdock said. But they were both worried about conflicts of interest: Park was a sitting judge and worried about taking money from the state. Murdocks wife was a high-ranking official at the University of Wyoming whod asked them about taking the job. So they decided to do it for free, rather than fiddle with any of that, Park said. It wasnt about the money anyway, they insist. It was about socializing with each other, rebuilding a relationship between old lawyer friends whod been split by the judges bench. It was about teaching students, whom Murdock described as admirable and outstanding. Park, who as a judge had recent law school graduates to work with as clerks, missed having younger minds to untangle legal issues with. Now adjunct professors, they taught the class for several years, bringing in guest speakers that ranged from state lawmakers to Wyoming Supreme Court justices. They shied away from lecturing and instead embraced a seminar-type teaching style, working to bring students into the conversation. We dont like to lecture; we like to get involved with students, Park explained. What do you think about issues like Bush v. Gore, or the ruling on gay marriage and things like that. Then the university started using a video system, where the students gathered in a classroom in front of a video camera, and Murdock and Park taught from elsewhere. Park quickly chafed at the limitations. The video was so grainy that it was difficult to tell how students were reacting to the material. You couldnt see facial expressions or even differentiate gender, Park said. A large part of their motivation for teaching the class was interacting with students. Their ability to do that was now limited. That wasnt as rewarding, he lamented. On top of that, Murdock, who runs a civil litigation firm, was taking a number of cases to trial while also teaching another class at the universitys law school. So after more than five years of teaching, we sort of fell out of it then, he said. But about a year ago, Park got in touch with Murdock. What did he think about taking up that class again? The old video software was gone, replaced with a Skype-like program that would show every students face on a large television screen, like a deck of cards spread out. Its like Hollywood Squares, Park added, laughing about the dated reference. Still, they felt awkward talking to a TV. They went to Laramie over the summer for lessons on how to teach. They may have been teaching the class for free, but they were treating it like it was their livelihood. They were ready. But changing university policies kept them in limbo, not knowing whether theyd teach, for the summer. Finally, on the day they were supposed to begin teaching, they got the green light. So now they go to dinner every Monday night. They eat and talk and plan their lessons. They go to Murdocks downtown office, sit next to each other and look into the faces of students that theyve come to admire. But Murdocks admiration extends beyond the faces on the screen. Honestly, I had a great amount of excitement about teaching this class (again), Murdock said. I enjoy it for the students, but I also enjoy it because Judge Park is one of the most best-read people I know. Because theyre lawyers and professors, Murdock and Park place an emphasis on books. The textbook they previously used for the class (an excellent textbook, Murdock declares) wasnt available. So the two of them bought around 30 copies to hand out to their students. When we saw that it cost $200 or $300 to buy a textbook, I think that made us more concerned for students in general, Murdock said. The cost of education is pretty reasonable in Wyoming, but people dont understand that students in Wyoming still struggle. They try to keep in touch with their former pupils. One student went to law school and worked for Park as a clerk when he was a judge. At the end of this year, after some of their students have graduated, Park and Murdock plan on getting lunch with them and catching up. Theyre just a very, very impressive group of students, Murdock said. It truly is a privilege to have been able to associate with them and discuss the state of affairs and the history of our judicial system. A Casper man serving a six-year federal prison sentence for possession of child pornography pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Natrona County District Court to a separate charge alleging he sexually abused a young girl. Federal agents arrested Rick Olsen in May on suspicion of possessing pornographic images of children after they found explicit images on his phone. He admitted to having the images and told the agents that he had been interested in child porn for several years, according to court documents. During the investigation of the porn, agents with the FBI and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation found a message that said Olsen had been hands on with a young girl, court documents state. The federal agents contacted the Casper Police Department to investigate the allegations of sexual abuse. The girl, who is now 8, told investigators that Olsen once forced her to touch his penis when she was younger, according to the documents. The girl estimated the abuse had happened sometime between May 2014 and June 2015. When investigators asked Olsen about what the girl said, he refused to answer their questions and asked for his attorney. Prosecutors with the Natrona County District Attorneys Office charged Olsen with second-degree sexual abuse of a minor in June. If convicted, he could be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison. Olsen was sentenced to six years in federal prison in November after he pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. He was also required to complete counseling for sex offenders in the Englewood, Colorado, facility. Liz Cheney was sworn in as Wyomings U.S. representative Tuesday afternoon as the 115th Congress convened in a year in which Republicans promise a course change for the nation. Cheney said her husband, five children and parents were present. Her father, Dick Cheney, is the former Vice President under President George W. Bush. Shortly after the ceremony, Cheney said the House began voting. Were voting on a series of procedural votes right now, she said late Tuesday afternoon from the U.S. Capitol. Well be adopting the rules for the way the Congress can operate in the session. Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin asked Cheney to serve on the House Rules Committee, she said. The committee decides the terms of debate for bills that proceed to the House floor, such as lengths of debate and amendments that will be allowed. As a freshman, Cheney said she is excited to serve on the committee. She will be able to get an up-close view of the legislative process and will have an early influence on bills, she said. Additional committee assignments will be announced next week. She hopes to serve on the House Natural Resources Committee. Cheney, a Republican, said shes met colleagues in Congress and U.S. Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, also Republicans from Wyoming. She said shes met with Enzi and Barrasso a number of times since her Nov. 8 victory. Im really looking forward to working with both of them, she said. They both have important seats on the Senate side. Its going to be a historic session. I think were going to get a lot done. On Jan. 20, President-elect Donald Trump, also a Republican, will be sworn into office. With both chambers of Congress and the presidency, the GOP plans to enact sweeping changes to business regulations, the tax code and health care. JAM Culinary Concepts is adding Creole cuisine to its expanding world view. On Jan. 16, the family-owned restaurant company whose stable includes a pair of Vero Amore pizzerias and Oro Valleys gastropub-inspired Noble Hops Craft Beer + Fine Fare will open Sazerac Creole Kitchen & Cocktails in St. Philips Plaza, 4280 N. Campbell Ave. We wanted to do a New Orleans restaurant and this looks like New Orleans, owner Suzanne Kaiser said last week, looking around the 2,700-square-foot restaurant that was most recently home to Amalour Revival Lounge. Sazerac is one of two restaurants Kaisers JAM Culinary Concepts which she owns and runs with sons Aric and Joshua Mussman will open in the coming months. They also have teamed up with Roop Singh to open Twisted Tandoor in the former Relish Kitchen & Wine Bar at 4660 E. Camp Lowell Drive. That restaurant, born out of Singhs and her late husband Mukhis popular food truck of the same name, is expected to open in March, Josh Mussman said. Sazerac started as an idea from Mussmans wife, Tiffany Eldredge, a classically trained mixologist who runs the 2-year-old modern-day speakeasy, The Still, tucked inside Vero Amore, 2920 N. Swan Road. We wanted to do a cocktail bar, but we also know that food is our passion, said Eldredge. Sazerac is named after the classic New Orleans cognac and absinthe drink largely believed to be the countrys first real cocktail. It dates back to the mid-19th century, but lost favor early in the 20th century after absinthe was banned in the U.S. in 1912. Eldredge said her Sazerac menu will include several variations on the drink, drawing back to its origins and including Sazeracs made with rye and Scotch. All of the drinks on the menu will adhere to Eldredges old-school philosophy: Keep it simple. We bartend under the principle that less is more, she said, adding that drinks will be made from three to five ingredients. Syrups will be made in-house with real fruits, vegetables and sugars; no pouring pre-made mixes out of a bottle. I want people to come in not knowing what a Sazerac is and leave as an aficionado, said Eldredge, who trained under her sister Amy, who trained under the late Sasha Petraske, founder of the seminal New York City cocktail bar Milk & Honey. Amy and her husband have a bar in Salt Lake City and help run the Mussmans Salt Lake venture Tinwell bar. The primary goal of JAM is authenticity going back to the start of Vero Amore in 2006, said Kaiser, who joined her sons to form JAM Culinary Concepts a couple years after they started. The brothers, both in their early 20s, were certified in Naples, Italy, in the Neopolitan style of pizza-making. They imported their ovens from Italy and prepare pizza in accordance with the Neopolitan standards. If were going to do something, its going to be authentic, Kaiser said, then introduced Sazeracs New Orleans-born-and-trained executive chef Robert Iaccarino, who trained under Paul Prudhomme at the legendary NOLA chefs K-Pauls Louisiana Kitchen. Iaccarino, who also worked for years in Italy and in restaurants along the U.S. East Coast, said his goal goes much further than creating handcrafted Creole specialties, including several variations of gumbo. I dont just want to bring the Creole dishes here. I want to bring the culture with it, he said. One of those cultural touches will be special-occasion reveillon dinners, lavish feasts of at least 12 courses from soups to meats and fowl entrees, vegetables, sweets and aromatic coffees, to crafted cocktails. The menu also will include the classic and much-loved beignets. Gumbos will go from the classic Lenten sausage gumbo to vegan gumbo, smoked duck and oyster gumbo, and shrimp and oyster gumbo. There are people still crying in New Orleans because my gumbo is not there, joked Iaccarino, who relocated to Tucson six months ago. The levels of flavors and the diversity of that one dish is going to be an eye-opener for Tucson. Tom Walbank is releasing his 18th full-length album on Tucsons Lonesome Desert Records. The English bluesman recorded the CD Dust + Stone in the namesake studio of Tucson musician Gabriel Sullivan. Ive had a desire to record with Gabriel for awhile, said Walbank, the 47-year-old father of a young daughter. I had heard good things about his recording studio and I played some harmonica on his album. Walbank and Sullivan struck a musical kinship on the project, which Walbank will celebrate at a CD release party Thursday, Jan. 5, at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. Sullivan also contributed percussion and guitar on the album. We draw from the same place musically the blues, Walbank said. Its nice having an engineer who knows references. Were going for a Jimmy Reed drum sound on this or More of a Bo Diddley drum sound on this, and they can implement those techniques quickly. Walbank opens Dust + Stone with Bittersweet Blues, which borrows the lyrics from 1990s Brit-pop band The Verves Bittersweet Symphony and puts them in a blues blender. He looks back on his Delta blues days with a cover of Ambassador Breakdown, which he and his band The Ambassadors performed on Arizona Public Media in 2006. A much-feted harmonica player, Walbank turns to one of his mid-20th-century heroes Sonny Boy Williamson on Tamp It Down Solid. Rather than borrow Williamsons style, Walbank employs a tremolo harmonica to channel Williamsons actual voice. The album closes with instrumental tracks. Walbank said he pushed the blues in directions he hadnt imagined before Dust + Stone, drawing links and lines between blues and folk and rock and country and symphonic. It was really exploring where we can take us in the moment, he said. Thats the thing with recording; its a moment in time. PHOENIX The mother of one of the firefighters killed in the Yarnell Hill blaze has no right to sue the state for her sons death, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled last week. In a unanimous opinion, the judges said Marcia McKee presented no evidence the actions of the state that day in 2013 amounted to willful misconduct by anyone involved. Appellate Judge Andrew Gould acknowledged McKees allegations show a series of negligent and grossly negligent acts that, if proven, culminated in the death of her son, Grant, and 18 other members of the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew. But he said McKee provided no evidence these acts were done knowingly and purposely with the direct object of injuring the firefighters. That distinction is critical . Gould said McKee and his fellow firefighters, who were employees of the city of Prescott, were effectively working that day as employees for the state. And workers killed on the job are not entitled to sue but instead get only those benefits provided under the states workers compensation system, meaning a set percentage of what the person was earning. Arizona law, however, does permit lawsuits against employers in cases of willful misconduct. Attorney David Abney said he has evidence that a ground supervisor and an air tactical supervisor, both state employees, went home in the middle of the blaze, leaving their duties to less-experienced underlings. And that, he said, amounts to dereliction of duty. But Gould said none of that matters unless Abney can show the supervisors acted with the deliberate intention of harming McKee or any member of the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew. Abney told Capitol Media Services he will seek a Supreme Court review. The firefighters were killed when the wind changed direction and they became trapped in an unburned area. McKees lawsuit was one of several filed against the state. Last year, a dozen of the families agreed to settle for payments of $50,000 each; seven other families that did not sue got $10,000 apiece in a settlement approved between the state Forestry Division and the Industrial Commission of Arizona, which regulates worker safety. But the commission left in place its findings that there had been violations of worker-safety rules. One was that, at the time of the blaze, the state agency had vacancies in the positions of both safety officer and planning section chief. Marshall Krotenberg, the lead investigator for the commissions Division of Occupational Safety and Health, said that meant no one was available to pay attention primarily to the safety of the firefighters versus simply battling the blaze. Commission members also said there was a failure to properly plan how to battle the blaze, especially after initial efforts failed. But the most egregious violation, Krotenberg said, essentially came down to the Forestry Division having the wrong priorities. Folks were put in positions, overly hazardous positions, to protect property that was unprotectable under the current conditions of the extreme fuel, dryness, the drought and wind conditions, he told the commission. The employer implemented (fire) suppression strategies that prioritized protection of nondefensible structures and pastureland over firefighter safety. In presenting his findings to the commission, Krotenberg said that was a willful violation of worker-safety laws. But he stressed that, under state labor laws, that did not mean anyone at the Forestry Division intended to harm the firefighters or acted with malicious intent. It is that distinction the Court of Appeals concluded bars McKee from being able to sue. Abney said the normal cases of willful misconduct occur in situations where an employer who does not like a worker consciously gives that person poor safety equipment with the expectation that the employee is going to get hurt. But he insisted that what happened that day still rises amounts to willful misconduct. There was a lot that happened that you could say was so far over the edge that it would amount to willful and wanton misconduct, he said. For instance, there was one of the ground division supervisors who simply abandoned his post, the command post, and failed to provide any sort of support for the hotshots, Abney said. And he said the air tactical commander went home just as the hotshots needed aerial support. Abney said one reason McKee pursued her lawsuit and did not settle is she believes a trial would bring out all that information. Gould said there was nothing in the claims Abney presented to support that contention. Seven of eight senior executives at the University of Arizona are taking home more money this school year, as is most of the UA workforce, public records show. President Ann Weaver Hart approved pay raises of 4 to 5 percent for every member of her senior leadership team except for the top earner, the records show. The highest paid, Joe G.N. Skip Garcia, who recently announced hes about to step down as senior vice president for health sciences, is drawing the same $870,000 salary this school year as last. University spokesman Chris Sigurdson couldnt immediately say why Garcia didnt get a raise. This school year marks the first time since 2013 and the second time since 2007 that the UAs overall workforce Southern Arizonas largest saw pay raises. The percentage increases varied and were based on individual merit and market demand, said Sigurdson, who received a 5 percent raise and now earns more than $194,000 a year. In most cases, faculty members saw raises of 3 to 6 percent while staff members saw increases of 1 to 5 percent, he said. Allison Vaillancourt, the UAs head of human resources, said some employees such as those deemed underpaid or in high-demand fields received raises of more than 10 percent. Each of those cases were reviewed by the schools provost and finance chief, she said. Kendal Washington White, the UAs dean of students, had one of the highest percentage increases at 20.3 percent, the records show. Her new salary is $180,500, up from $150,000. The university is a people-intensive business, and we have to have regular salary increases to stay competitive or we lose brilliant people, said Vaillancourt, who received a 4.5 percent raise and now earns more than $258,000 annually. We also need to recognize the great work by all our employees, which is why President Hart has made compensation increases part of the annual budgeting process for all units, she said. Harts $665,500 pay package is set separately by her bosses at the Arizona Board of Regents. Pay raises for the presidents inner circle are as follows: Andrew Comrie, provost: 5 percent raise. New salary: $434,120. Jon Dudas, secretary of the university: 5.1 percent raise. New salary: $368,000 Kimberly Espy, senior vice president for research: 4.8 percent raise. New salary: $393,000. Joe G.N Skip Garcia, senior vice president for health sciences: 0 percent raise. Same salary: $870,000. Gregg Goldman, senior vice president for business affairs: 4.9 percent raise. New salary: $425,000. Laura Todd Johnson, general counsel: 5.6 percent raise. New salary: $299,250. Amy Taczanowsky, director of the presidents office: 4.6 percent raise. New salary: $161, 697. Melissa Vito, senior vice president for student affairs: raise 3.9 percent. New salary: $327,500. 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Founded by a graduate of the Deoband madrasa, Maulana Muhammad Rahmatullah, it currently has more than a thousand students on its rolls. Patterned on the Deoband model, it is one of the few madrasas in the state that provide Islamic education till the takhasus or specialization level. Support TwoCircles The Trust that runs the madrasa also runs several other institutions, spread over three separate campuses. These include the Faiz-e Aam school for girls (till the fifth grade) and a similar school for boys (till the tenth grade). Both these institutions follow the curriculum prescribed by the Jammu and Kashmir State Board for Education, besides providing students with religious education. The madrasa is located on a separate plot of land, donated by a pious elderly woman, the late Aziz un-Nisa, who is said to have taught the Quran to hundreds of boys and girls in and around Bandipora. Adjacent to the madrasa is a four-storey technical institute which is scheduled to be opened this year, offering courses in computers, tailoring, painting and book-binding to students of the madrasa and others. Work on a mosque that can accommodate some six thousand worshippers is almost complete. A new library is coming up, whose collection includes numerous handwritten manuscripts in Persian and Arabic, some several centuries old. In addition, the Dar ul-Uloom runs some sixty part-time maktabs in and around Bandipora, most of whose teachers are senior students of the madrasa. Mufti Nazeer Ahmed, aged 40, one of the elders at the madrasa, is known as a specialist in Islamic jurisprudence. His principal task is to dispense fatwas and hear disputes in the dar ul-qaza or house of justice that is attached to the madrasa. Till date, the madrasa has received several thousand requests for fatwas. When I enter his cell to meet the Mufti, I find him sitting in a corner on a carpet, surrounded by men and women who have come to him for advice. He asks an old woman, who cannot speak, to explain her problem. It relates, like many other cases that he daily hears, to marital and inheritance squabbles. He then hears out the others who are party to the dispute and eventually gives an opinion in the womans favour. As the crowd shuffles out of the room, he beckons me to sit next to him. I ask him if his madrasas acceptance of modern education, as represented in the two schools that it runs, in addition to the madrasa itself, is unusual for the Kashmiri ulema community. Not at all, he replies. Many of our ulema believe that we need to have both modern as well as Islamic education, including even for girls. Students with knowledge of both, he adds, can effectively communicate Islam, by their words and deeds, in a whole range of spheres, and not simply as religious specialists. A pious Muslim engineer or doctor is best suited for preaching Islam to engineers or doctors. Mufti Nazir offers added justification for this approach to education. If ulema acquire law degrees, they will be in a better position to offer fatwas. Or, if you want to establish an economic institution or system run on Islamic lines, a degree in economics can be useful. Or, if a madrasa graduate studies journalism, he can use his skills to present a proper understanding of Islam to others and to counter anti-Muslim media propaganda. And for this, madrasa graduates must also study English and other languages, so that they can communicate with people who do not know Urdu. The Mufti also refers to the need for technical training for madrasa students. This is important for those students who will not take up careers as ulema, he explains. I ask the mufti about the Kashmir dispute, but he brushes aside my question politely. We have nothing to do with politics, he says. He stresses, however, that allegations about madrasas in Kashmir being allegedly involved in promoting terrorism are false. We are completely transparent, an open book, and have nothing to hide. Anyone can come and visit us and sit in our classrooms, he replies. Not a single madrasa in Kashmir has been identified by intelligence sources as engaged in that sort of activity. To brand the madrasas as a whole as factories of terror on the basis of the activities of a few stray students is unfair, he stresses. We talk about inter-community relations and what Islam has to say about them. It is wrong, the Mufti tells me, to equate all non-Muslims as enemies of Islam, as some fringe elements believe. You cannot generalize like this about any community. There are good people in other communities, just as there are bad people among Muslims. Our duty as Muslims is to approach others with kind words and a good heart and tell them about Islam and impress them with our good example. For that, the Mufti says, peace is a must, so that others would be willing to listen to what Muslims say about their faith. Moreover, he adds, we must learn about each others religions, not to condemn and denounce others, but to understand them. He tells me about a Hindu whom he met some days ago who had read about Islam and the stress it lays on ethical values. He told me that he appreciated Islam because of these values that it stands for, and not because of Muslims behaviour. So, Islam must not be judged on the basis of the wrong actions of some Muslims, he says. The call for the evening prayer comes floating in. As I get up to leave, the Mufti hands me a bunch of booklets that the madrasa has published, including its monthly magazine, Al-Noor, which is published in both Urdu and English. He asks me to spend the night if I want as it is getting late and I might miss the last bus to Srinagar. I would certainly have loved toahis cheerfulness, simplicity and hospitality have been so endearing, but I really must leave. I promise him that Ill try to return soon and spend a few days with him, to get a better understanding of madrasas from within, something that few writers on this much talked-about subject have actually attempted. For more details, contact: The Manager, Dar ul-Uloom Raheemiyyah, Bandipora, Jammu and Kashmir, 193502. Help India! By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net, New Delhi: There has been no mosque in the Hindu-dominated remote village of Kalalati Thakurpura in the Ambala district in Indias Punjab province. Muslims 10-12 homes out of the 150 homes in the village wanted to build one just before this Ramazan. Haji Sabir Ali of the village had bought a piece of land for the purpose. On July 22 the Muslim villagers invited a local Tablighee Jamaat ameer to outline the mosque and set its direction. And then began their ordeal fierce protest by the Hindus in the village against the mosque, mobilization of other Hindus from neighbouring villages and ultimately a bloody attack on Muslims on August 22. Support TwoCircles To collect facts about the incident All India Muslim Majlise Mushawarat president Dr Zafrul Islam Khan sent a team to the village on August 28. As the area is still tense the team could not reach the village. They, however, visited hospitals in Ambala city where the injured Muslim villagers are being treated, and talked to the victims. Kalalati village-28-8-09-team leader AR Agwan meeting some villagers Giving details to this correspondent, Mahtab Alam, national coordinator of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights who was member of the team, said the attack on Muslims on August 22 was fierce. About half a dozen people were injured, one severely who is now in coma in the PGI Hospital. Others are being treated at MM Mulana Hospital in Mulana area of the district. The fanatics ransacked Muslim homes and destroyed properties worth several lakhs of rupees. Muslims were forced to flee their homes to save their lives. Even a week after the attack they are frightened to return as the police have failed to ensure their safety. Many are staying with their relatives in other villages. The problem started a day after the Muslims meeting to set direction of the mosque on July 22. The news about the proposed mosque first in the village spread like a wildfire. The Hindus of the village gathered on July 23 and decided to protest building of the mosque. Peace prevailed only after Muslims agreed to start building only after Hindu co-villagers permission. As the Ramazan neared they sought permission but they were denied, leading to tension again engulfing the area. Meanwhile a rumor was spread that Muslims will use cow head and blood in the foudation of the mosque. This further heightened the tension. Kalalati village-28-8-09-a wounded person showing his injuries On August 12, three Muslims were beaten up. On August 13 Hindus again gathered not only to reiterate their opposition of the mosque but also to give an ultimatum to the Muslims. Either leave the plan to build the mosque and remove all your Muslim identity like beard or leave the village by August 18. Muslims met the police officials. They assured them to look into the case and provide protection. A team of seven policemen was deployed in the village to maintain peace but to no avail. Tension continued mounting. Kalalati village-28-8-09-a wounded person showing his injuries On August 18 the Hindus organized a big meeting wherein people from 45 villages were invited and they all opposed the mosque. On August 22 an incident ocurred in a neighbouring village which was used as an excuse by the Hindus of Kalalati Thakurpura to attack on Muslims. A Hindu youth of a neighbouring village was beaten up by someone but he alleged that Haji Sabir Ali was behind the attack on him. As soon as this news reached the village the Hindus gathered and attacked Muslim homes with swords and lathis. This all happened, the vicitms alleged, in the presence of the police team deployed days back. Kalalati village-28-8-09-a wounded person showing his injuries FIR was lodged by the Muslims in the Mulana Police Station but little action was taken against the culprits. Only when the news of the attack on Muslims was covered widely in the media that the adiminstration took action and arrested 11 Hindus of the village. Fear still looms large and Muslims are not returning to their homes. The Mushawarat team was headed by Abdur Rasheed Agwan, secretary of the Mushawarat. Help India! By TCN News, New Delhi: On the eve of World Ozone Day, a painting competition was organised for school students of Trilokpuri. It was organised as a part of a larger initiative known as Tree For Harmony, an initiative of Mission Bhartiyam, that seeks to address two issues Environment and Peace & Harmony. Support TwoCircles Organised between 16th September i.e. World Ozone Day and 21st September i.e. World Peace day, in this initiative, a symbolic plant or tree labeled it as Harmony tree is planted and a discussion on environment and/or a cause for harmony is organised. Tree for Harmony 2013 began with this painting competition jointly organised by SPWD: Paryavaran Jagriti Abhiyan Committee and Mission Bhartiyam. Co-ordinated by Ms. Rakhi of Rachna Kendra, the painting competition was organised in Nagar Nigam Prathamik Vidyalaya in block 15 of Trilokpuri. The students hailing from different schools both Government and public schools were divided in two groups according to their class. The junior group had students upto VIth standard. The senior group had students from classes VIIth to IXth standard. The theme was Paryavaran mein aapka yogdaan (Our role for a sustainable environment). The competition began with a little discussion on the theme. Ravi Nitesh, founder of Mission Bhartiyam, informed the students about the significance and need of celebrating World Ozone Day. He talked about the causes and consequences of the depletion of ozone layer and the steps that we can take. Within an hour, the students expressed their concern and appealed to save the environment in colour. They painted about the causes massive deforestation, increased use of vehicles, pollution from factories and these vehicles, about the consequences and the steps that can be taken. Both the groups had followed the theme. The creations were not only informative but aesthetically-pleasing making it difficult to decide the winners. After much discussion, three people from each group were considered for First, Second and Third prize. In the senior group, the painting that won the first prize showed the role and importance of ozone layer in protecting our planet. The first prize in the junior group focused on the cause of ozone layer depletion i.e. massive deforestation. It won the prize not just because it was informative and also aesthetically-pleasing but because it was a creation of a student of IInd class. The chief guest of the programme was Ms. Gurmeet Kaur who is the counselor of the area. She had awarded the winners with the prize. An important highlight of the programme was a nukkat natak by some students. They had raised the issue of poor infrastructure conditions in Government school. They raised the problems of poor drinking water, sanitation, the scary mid-day meal and incompetent teachers. We consider the programme to be a successful effort in terms of being able to spread the awareness for the urgent need to work for a sustainable environment. The programme was a commendable effort and co-ordination of Ms. Rakhi, members of SPWD namely, Ms. Anita Sood, Ms. Alpna Sharma, Ms. Saroj, Mr. Reyaz and members of Mission Bhartiyam namely Mr. Ravi Nitesh, Mr. Prashant Nautiyal, Ms. Devika Mittal and Mr. Mukesh. Help India! By Anurag Dey, Kolkata : The legal woes of West Bengals Mamata Banerjee government seem to be unending. Constantly embroiled in legal battles, it has now been reprimanded by the courts, prompting the opposition to question the existence of rule of law in the state. Support TwoCircles In a blow to the ruling Trinamool Congress, the Calcutta High Court, in two different cases, ordered CID and CBI probes respectively against two its prominent leaders infamous for making hate speeches. The verdicts bring forth all the pervasive partycracy. Under this regime the administration and the police have become synonymous to the Trinamool. While the courts repeatedly are slamming the whimsical ways of the government, the ruling party has refused to learn from its mistakes, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told IANS. Birbhum district Trinamool president Anubrata Mondal, who gained notoriety for his hate speeches, is facing a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), while Lok Sabha member Tapas Paul is facing arrest and a CID probe for threatening to kill and rape rival political activists. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had sought to defend both her leaders. If a mere apology was enough to condone Paul, Mondal whose inflammatory speech is blamed for the murder of an independent panchayat member has been receiving rave reviews by the party chief for his organisational skills. While ordering the CBI probe into the murder of panchayat member Sagar Ghosh, a High Court bench came down hard on the Banerjee administrations inaction in apprehending the culprits and said its confidence in state police chief G.M.P. Reddy had been shattered. Cornered over the multi-million rupee Saradha scam in which several of its leaders have been arrested or grilled by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate, the latest court indictment has prompted the opposition to point fingers firmly at Banerjee and her Trinamool. Chowdhury slammed the state government over its decision to go in appeal in the Sagar Ghosh case. Its a shame that the DGP has been defending Mondal who had called for bombing the police and now the government too has joined hands by appealing against the CBI probe. This proves that this government has no respect for rule of law, added Chowdhury. Ever since the Banerjee-led Trinamool came to power in the state in 2011, legal battles have proved to be its Achilles heel. If its ambitious legislation to return land to farmers from whom it was forcibly acquired for an industrial unit in Hooghly district was declared unconstitutional and void, the court struck down another law that allowed levying a one percent tax on the entry of certain goods into the state. The state government suffered a similar fate in several other legal battles including its futile attempt to prevent a CBI probe into the Saradha scam which was eventually ordered by the apex court. This government has repeatedly refused to learn its lessons. Having spent millions of rupees in its futile bid to thwart the CBI probe, it is yet again trying to do the same. Despite being repeatedly humiliated by the court, the government continues to brazenly flout rules and laws, BJP state president Rahul Sinha said. As a feisty opposition leader, Banerjee would often clamour for CBI probes against the acts of the erstwhile Left Front regime. Ironically, now her administration as well as her party are facing the agencys heat. Having arrested and interrogated several Trinamool leaders including former IPS officer Rajat Majumdar and MPs Suvendu Adhikari and Srinjoy Bose, the agency now has named seven police officers in its charge sheet while probing a custodial death in Hooghly district. The Banerjee administration, especially the police, have been repeatedly coming under the fire by the Calcutta High Court. Earlier, expressing severe displeasure over the incompetency of the police, a bench headed by Justice Nadira Patherya ordered a CID probe into the disappearance of a minor girl in Murshidabad district. The Trinamool, however, is reluctant to admit it has been at the receiving end in court battles. State Law Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya told IANS: It is completely incorrect to say that the government has suffered setbacks or is losing cases in court. In Pauls case, we had asked for a CID inquiry without court monitoring which is what the court has decreed. The court has actually expressed confidence in the government. The government does not win or lose a case. The governments only intention is to ensure the laws are interpreted properly, added Bhattacharya who is now facing action for contempt of court for leading an agitation against CBI over its probe in the Saradha scam. Congress leader Abdul Mannan, instrumental in filing the petition which eventually led the Supreme Court to order the CBI probe in the Saradha scam, has again moved the apex court against Bhattacharya. By agitating against the CBI, Bhattacharya has committed contempt of court. So we have approached the Supreme Court seeking action against her, Mannan told IANS. (Anurag Dey can be contacted at [email protected]) Less than 12 months away from the Bundestag election in September 2017, Angela merkel is facing headwind within her political party CDU (Christian Democratic Union), within Germany as well as the EU. Especially her handling of the refugee crisis has caused controversies. Despite the criticism many fancy her chances of running for a fourth term of office also because of her moderate and steady style of leadership. Similar to other European countries, Germany also faces low turnouts as a symptom of political apathy. Furthermore, there are relatively new political movements, mostly far right, that cause outrage and division among the nation and last but not least there is the ongoing threat of terrorism that recently hit Berlin. So let's take a look at the status quo in Germany, particularly at three different political movements. The AfD - An actual alternative for Germany and Merkel? The political party AfD (Alternative fur Deutschland), founded in 2013, was mainly focused on opposing the German position regarding the Greek crisis and the rescue of the Euro. From there on it has evolved into a right wing populist party with a growing number of members. In the regional elections in 2016, the AfD was usually the third strongest, in the case of Sachsen-Anhalt (one of the five East-German federal states) the AfD achieved a staggering 24,2% and came second. The AfD is known for strongly disapproving of Merkel's policy and her political party and they would like to see her resign. PEGIDA - spotlight Dresden This registered voluntary association was formed in 2014 and is based in the East German City of Dresden where between 1989 and 1991 the famous Monday demosntrations took place that contributed to the downfall of the GDR. The Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the West (abbreviated PEGIDA in German) exploit the meaning of this location for their own purposes. The heads of the demonstration promote xenophobia and islamophobia. In January and October 2015 the demonstrations reached a peak with 20.000 - 25.000 participants while the numbers now have gone down to a stable weekly number of 2.000 - 9.000 demonstrators. The movement has spread to several other cities, e.g. Leipzig (the city, where Merkel used to study in the 70s) where it is called LEGIDA with an even more radical and violent approach. Reichsburger As if the AfD and PEGIDA wasn't worrying enough, there is another movement summarized under the term "Reichsburger" which means citizens (Burger) of the Reich (empire). The number of those citizens started to rise over the last six years and there is no certainty about the actual number of so-called Reichsburger but there are at least 12 active groups or self-proclaimed states in Germany. They are all united by the fact that they reject the legitimacy of the Federal Republic of Germany and instead are convinced that the Constitution of the Weimar Republic still applies as well as the German borders of 1914 or 1937 (depending on the group). Trends indicate that more men and especially those who are socially or economically disadvantaged tend to be attracted by those groups. With their selfmade passports and driving licenses, even with own currencies they are often regarded as conspiracy theorists but their racist, antidemocratic and sometimes Holocaust-denying mindset is highly dangerous. And since they don't regard Germany and its institutions as legitimate, they don't obey the law, refuse to pay taxes but use the jurisdiction they consider illegitimate to bring legal actions against Germany. After the country overcame its division into East and West Germany, there has been a dangerously growing ideological division or splitting going on, especially in the right wing as shown by the three given examples above. The disapproving attitude towards the press - in Germany often called "Lugenpresse" (lie-press) is symptomatic for our postfactual times where populists easily lure people with their simple and promising slogans. aluminum phosphide could be a killer in your home and the simple application of water to it has killed four children and resulted in others being hospitalized in Texas. The toxic gas generated by the chemical accidentally resulted in the death of the children and emergency responders were sent to hospital for treatment. The incident happened when the Aluminum phosphide, which formed part of a pesticide placed under a trailer home was exposed to water. CNN reported that officials in Amarillo, Texas, explained how "a family member used water to try to wash off the aluminum phosphide, which had been administered before by someone beneath the residence." There were ten people in the mobile home at the time and four of them died. The children were aged between seven and 17. Aluminum phosphide is extremely toxic when water is applied to it According to the US government EPA regulations, the chemical is used as a fumigant to control insects and rodents. Red Fact data states that the use by "certified pesticide applicators with respect to rodent control for burrows at least fifteen feet from a residential structure is considered a residential use." In this incident, the chemical was applied underneath the residence. The application of water on the chemical produces phosphine gas which can be fatal to humans. The chemical aluminum phosphide has killed people across the globe Across the globe, many people have been killed by the pesticide. It is considered a major killer of people in India where "The Journal of the Association of Physicians of India" produced studies on it in 1995. In 2009, the BBC reported that two Danish children had died accidentally from the gas in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The tragedy of these deaths was made even worse when it was discovered that the source of the phosphine gas was from a neighbor's house - where the occupants had gone away and left the tablets out on saucers to fumigate the apartment. Two years ago, a family in Spain died after they tried to recycle containers that held aluminum phosphide. They had stashed them in the bathroom. According to Agencia EPE, they died after moisture in the bathroom created the toxic gas. The Australians are extremely concerned about it as it is used across many farming activities. Watch to see how dangerous this stuff is in a video by Wild Warrior Bill on Youtube. Death by Aluminum Phosphide! It's on your breakfast cereal Watch how to handle aluminum phosphide safely I don't know how many young women come to this blog or how many are parents of teenage or young adult women, but here are some safety tips from Kelsey's Army: T I P S 1. Trust your instincts - If something feels wrong then something probably is wrong.2. Know your surroundings - know who and what is around you.3. Always have a plan for where you would go and what you would do if a situation arises.4. Be willing to make a scene in order to be noticed.5. Let someone know where you are going and when you will be back.Remember the acronym TIPS:ake Chargenform others of your whereaboutsrepare for any situationurvival Mentality (role play situations so you will respond should they happen)For more information, go to Kelsey's Army A blood clot is a health condition that many people do not think about too often. It is quickly brushed aside as something that will go away over time. However, with the recent deaths of Carrie Fisher, Gary Shandling, and other famous celebrities who have died after long plane trips: it is time to take a look at the dangers of developing a blood clot while traveling. On December 27th, 2016, Famed Actress Debbie Reynolds tweeted an update about Carrie Fisher's hospitalization. Reynolds stated that her daughter was in stable condition, and thanked all her fans for their prayers. She had also promised to give future updates as her condition gets better. But on December 29th, the world received the terrible news that Debbie Reynolds had died a day after her daughter, Carrie Fisher had passed away. Actress Carrie Fisher was on a flight from London to Los Angeles, California when she experienced severe pain in her chest. The Star Wars actress later went into full cardiac arrest while still on board the flight. She was met at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) by a medical team that rushed her to UCLA, where she died a few days later. Shortly, after Carrie Fisher's death; the just released autopsy report of Gary Shandling, who died on March 24th, 2016, highlighted that he had died from a blood clot. The actor-comedian had previously traveled to Hawaii and complained of not feeling well a few days after returning home. Additionally, the popular rapper, Heavy D had also died from a blood clot he developed on a long flight from London to the United States. While a blood clot or pulmonary distress is the main factor that linked all these famous people deaths together. It can also happen to regular individuals who takes long trips on commercial vehicles. What is a blood clot? A blood clot, also known as Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), develops from blood collected in your feet. Sitting immobile with your feet hanging down for an extended period are the main cause. Additionally, if your blood cannot flow back upwards throughout your body if will thicken in the deep veins found in the calf and thigh muscles. What are the symptoms of DVT? Swelling in your ankle and calf area as well as numbness in your feet is some of the signs you will experience from a blood clot. Once you have experienced these symptoms you should visit your physician who will prescribe medication that will break down the hardened area. How to prevent blood clots during travel simple drugs such as Bayer's aspirin and other blood thinners taken before your trip can help your blood flow freely throughout your body. Keeping your feet elevated should also help alleviate the problem. Take frequent rest stop breaks and walk around a little before resuming your journey. If you are on an airplane get up and move around the isle if possible, or take frequent bathroom breaks. Finally, take all necessary precautions to prevent a deep vein thrombosis. You can also visit your doctor before going on long trips. Additionally, there are prescribed medications as well as over the counter drugs that will keep your blood flowing until your feet are on land again! Benjamin Netanyahu, who took office as Israels Prime Minister in 2009, spent three hours being grilled by police at his office Monday for suspicion of improperly receiving expensive gifts. Although Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing, questioning by the national fraud squad indicates the matter is indeed serious enough to warrant an investigation. Police spokeswoman Luba Samri stated that Netanyahu was being questioned under caution and there will be no further details released at this time. In order to obstruct journalists view of the investigators arrival, a black screen had been set in front of the building. While the police did not speak with journalists, the Israeli media did report that the police are looking into whether or not Netanyahu inappropriately received favors from two businessmen. Israels Channel 2 TV reports that one of the men is allegedly from Israel while the other is supposed to be living abroad. The 67-year-old leader is also a suspect in another investigation involving relatives. The prime minister calls the reports baseless and politically motivated. Trouble of a different kind in the Holy Land The Haaretz newspaper is linking Netanyahus longtime billionaire friend Ronald Lauder to the possible sordid mess and the countrys Channel 10 TV states that Netanyahus son, Yair, fully accepted free trips and presents from Australian billionaire James Packer. Born in Tel Aviv, Benjamin Netanyahu has long established himself as a cognac-drinking, cigar-smoking socialite. His wife Sara has often been accused of mistreating the staff and opponents consistently accuse the couple of being out of touch with the plight of average Israelis. Complaints surrounding the Netanyahus household expenses are nothing new. Benjamin Netanyahu once spent $127,000 of public funds for a special sleeping cabin on an airplane. Crime and punishment For now, Benjamin Netanyahu does not have to step down from his position. However, if convicted and if the conviction is upheld in court, he will be required to step down. Netanyahu is not the first Israeli prime minister to face corruption charges. Former prime minister Ehud Olmert is currently in prison serving a two-year sentence. Two aquariums from two different regions are joining together to provide a coral nursery to combat coral bleaching that appears in the Caribbean and within the Barrier Reef outside Australia and Tasmania. The National Aquarium of Cuba and the Florida Aquarium are shaking hands to save and preserve species of coral native to the Caribbean and off the Floridian coast. Two nations, one goal The Tampa and Havana aquariums and joining hands and studying the types of corals that can be found around the 90 mile trek between Cuba and Florida. So far, the research talks ended last year between Florida and Cuba and the advancement will begin the establishment of a Cuban-Floridian joint research operation within the new year. The greenhouse and research facility will be designed in Cuba and the research and study of corals native to Florida and Cuba will take place within Havana. The benefit outweighs the fact that Cuba's country is still mourning Fidel Castro's death and that talks of trading and establishing tourism with the Communist island have yet to reach a final discussion. But studying coral and preventing future incidents of coral bleaching like those in the Great Barrier Reef, there is great potential for saving any natural oceanic wildlife around the Caribbean. Reversing coral death So far the study is about the dying Staghorn coral native to Florida and Cuba. Researchers have already had success freezing the Staghorn coral sperm and then using the frozen coral sperm on wild Staghorn coral. By creating a sperm or egg bank of coral within the research facility, scientists have been able to help the coral population overcome bleaching or dying off from pollution and other environmental effects. Cuban and Floridian scientists are hoping that this process could stretch into other areas affected by pollution or coral bleaching like the Great Barrier Reef. So far the research was approved by the Smithsonian Institution to help with the Staghorn coral population because of its importance in helping the development of future reef systems within the Caribbean. "The goal is to bank viable coral from all of the Caribbean, including Cuba," Margo McKnight from the Florida Aquarium said in an interview with Tampa Bay Times. McKnight is the Vice President of biological operations at the Florida Aquarium. She will work with the scientists and other facility members who will try to construct sperm and egg banks for native coral, with the hope to continue more research to help repopulate the coral population. Since 1970, the coral population around Florida has begun to die, this is likely due to the overpopulation and increase in pollution off Florida's coast, which includes fertilizer and hazardous materials. Cuba's coral have not shown any death, most likely due to the delayed development of Cuba, as they lived through the embargo act. Whatever the reason and results of coral research, hopefully we can save our ocean wildlife for future generations to come. Kim Jung Un, the corpulent dictator of North Korea, has promised that a test of an ICBM capable of delivering a nuclear weapon to the American homeland is forthcoming soon. President-Elect Donald Trump tweeted, "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen!" The folks at the Resurgent newsletter are now afraid that Trump, known for his provocative tweets, is daring Kim, known for being and acting insane, to try to lob a nuclear weapon on say California. Of course, as we have seen since Trump launched the worlds most deadly Twitter account, stratagem usually exists behind his forays into social media. We also know that the president in waiting is being kept up to speed with top secret intelligence briefings and thus knows what North Koreas real nuclear capabilities are and American efforts to counter them. To be sure, during the campaign, Trump has both threatened to cut Japan and South Korea loose and has also suggested that they get their own nuclear arsenal. But that was then, and this is now. Trump is now being advised by adults such as his nominee for secretary of defense, James Mattis. Rest assure that Trump is already working a strategy to contain Kim and make sure that he does not develop a way to deliver nukes against anyone. Part of that plan will be to augment missile defense, which will include reviving the Reagan-era idea of deploying weapons in space. Technology has significantly advanced since the 1980s, so well see how threatening rogue states such as North Korea are when ringed by laser platforms that can shoot down anything that flies out of the Hermit Kingdom known for its incapacity to feed its people as much as threatening its neighbors with nuclear war. Another part of a strategy toward North Korea will be to apply pressure on China to bring Kim to heel. China has been content to allow North Korea to be a problem for the West. But an insane dictator having nukes on their border is not a situation that will be in Beijings interests either. How Trump will try to make that happen will be fascinating to watch. When it comes to international issues and foreign affairs, North Korea and their ability to build a nuclear weapon is always a top priority for the United States. After North Korea announced it was close to testing out their own nukes that could possibly reach the United States, Donald Trump responded on Twitter. Trump on Twitter North Korea might be a small country in size, but their leadership under Kim Jong Un makes them an unstable global powerhouse. During his speech on New Year's Day, Kim elaborated on where the country stands on the issue of nuclear weapons. "Research and development of cutting edge arms equipment is actively progressing and ICBM rocket test launch preparation is in its last stage," the North Korean leader said. Over the last decade, North Korea has been under tight sanctions and restrictions by the United Nations, which were made even more crippling last September. In response, President-elect Donald Trump voiced his thoughts with a threat on Twitter on January 2. North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017 "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S." Donald Trump tweeted out Monday night, concluding with a threat that read, "It won't happen!" Trump has been controversial in his views on nuclear weapons, starting with comments made while speaking to MSNBC's Chris Matthews during the election where he said he would be OK with Japan using nukes to defend themselves. Kim Jong Un's boast about a missile powerful enough to reach the US puts North Korea threat on Trump's front burner https://t.co/gAGwZqh9sy pic.twitter.com/NJ3bSgz8t7 CNN (@CNN) January 2, 2017 Though Donald Trump is talking tough on North Korea now, he has made more favorable comments in the past. During a rally last January, Trump praised Kim Jong Un for how he runs his country. "You've got to give him credit," Trump said, in regards to how the dictator handles his duties as leader. "It's incredible. He wiped out the uncle, he wiped out this one, that one," Trump pointed out, before adding, "This guy doesn't play games." Moving forward While it's unknown how Donald Trump will handle North Korea and other countries once he is sworn into office, critics warn that his inflammatory rhetoric couldn't be a negative for the United States on the world stage. In addition, Trump's unpredictable use of Twitter, which is expected to continue when he's in the White House, also hangs a cloud of uncertainty over the presidency. Everyone remembers the tremendous amount of property damage Hurricane Katrina caused during the summer of 2005. But one thing that had gotten swept aside was the unjust police violence. More than a decade later, families of those killed and those injured by New Orleans police officers before the storm and after it passed are winning Lawsuit battles as the city of New Orleans pays a total amount of $13.3 million to resolve the disputes. Mayor of New Orleans Mitch Landrieu spoke in a press conference to apologize for the incidents. Danziger Bridge On the Danziger Bridge, police officers shot six people who didnt have any weapons on them, killing two of them, and injuring four, six days after the storm. A CBS news article says that officers shot and killed 17-year-old James Brissette and a 40-year-old, mentally disabled man named Ronald Madison on the bridge. The officers planted a weapon after the shooting and utilized uninvolved witnesses to prevent getting blamed. Madisons brother, Lance Madison was also walking on the bridge when the police shot and killed Ronald Madison. He was stuck behind bars for several days after being wrongfully accused of firing gunshots at the officers. The truth was revealed about the police violence after his release from jail. After a federal judge dismissed the court case against five officers convicted in the bridge shootings in 2013, U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt discovered that government attorneys wrote questionable, disturbing responses on an online site for a New Orleans publication, which influenced the judge to bring proper closure to the incidents. As the case resurfaced, the five officers admitted to the bridge shooting in April. One of the officers was ordered to six years in jail for not divulging what he knew of the incident. Brutality In another occurrence that happened before the storm hit, training officer Melvin Williams kicked and beat Raymond Robair, who was in his late 40s, with his baton until he was lifeless, but told a doctor that a drug overdose was the cause of Robairs death. Williams has been given 21+ years in prison. His trainee at the time, received 5+years for giving an untrue account about what happened, to the FBI. A third instance of police violence occurred at a shopping center after the hurricane. An officer working as security repeatedly shot and killed Henry Glover, 31. 20 officers in all were examined in civil rights investigations conducted over crimes that happened after Hurricane Katrina. Amid perilous claims by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un that his nation is nearly done with nuclear testing that will allow the rogue nation to wage a nuclear attack against "any part" of the United States, President-elect Donald Trump stated emphatically in a tweet, that "It won't happen," (CNN.com, 1/3/2017). Although Trump did not specify exactly how he will be able to prevent North Korea from completing its nuclear tests and posing a threat to the United States, he expressed undeniable confidence that Jong-un would not be successful in his efforts to spread fear and terror throughout the world. The Korean War and its aftermath In the early 1950's, both Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower presided over America's Korean War effort. In that war, which was dubbed a "police action" by both presidents, South Korea was defending itself from North Korea, a Communist nation, after it was invaded by North Korea in June of 1950. China supported North Korea in the war effort after the Soviet Union liberated Korea from Japanese control in 1945. In 1948, Korea was divided into two nations, North and South Korea. The "hot war" lasted three years and ended in July of 1953. The two nations are still "technically" at war. No peace treaty ever has been signed and occasional clashes between the two nations do flare up. Jong-un, who took over as dictator of North Korea after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, has been threatening to create nuclear missiles that are capable of reaching "any part" of the United States. Trump's 'head on' response to Jong-Un Trump has taken a decidedly "head on" approach to Jong-Un's nuclear testing and threats against the United States. The President-elect, who has hinted recently that he may reverse President Barack Obama's sanctions against Russia for its involvement in the hacking of DNC (Democratic National Committee) emails during the 2016 Presidential election, answered Jong-un's nuclear threat by tweeting: "It won't happen," (CNN.com, 1/3/17). North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017 John McCain's support of NATO Meanwhile, veteran Senator John McCain, (R, Ariz.), has promised that the United States will unquestionably support NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the Baltic States that currently are being threatened and overrun by Vladimir Putin and the Russians. Trump has offered to support only those Baltic States that are current in their dues payments to NATO. President Barack Obama offered the carrot to Cuba by normalizing relations and calling for an end to the economic embargo. Despite the fact that Fidel Castro has finally passed beyond this mortal coil, his brother Raul is continuing the repressive ways of the communist government with savage abandon. The carrot is about to be replaced by the stick, according to the Washington Times, when Donald Trump becomes president. President Obama was able to argue that decades of hostility and isolation had not brought Cuba to heel. The soon to be President Trump will be able to counter that the Obama policy of openness and friendly relations have not stopped Raul Castro from filling jail cells and crushing dissent. One of the issues that Trump is expected to address is the roughly $8 billion in assets that the Cuban government stole from American businesses and individuals. The new president will have his hand out for repayment, arguing that the United States can hardly do business in Cuba if its government can just expropriate assets at will. Another looming factor is Raul Castros age. He is in his eighties and therefore will likely pass on to the afterlife during Trumps presidency. What may follow is uncertain. The new regime may be in the mood to reform because it will be in Cubas best interests. Or it could be a military junta jealously guarding the privileges it has gained under the Castro regime. Either case could present a challenge for the new Trump administration. Cubas communist dictatorship has seen better days. It survived for a long time as a colony of the Soviet Union, a dagger planted 90 miles from the United State. For a while, it was propped up by cheap oil from Venezuela. But that country is in the process of imploding and cannot help itself not to mention any fraternal revolutionary allies. Cuba stands alone and is faced with a stark choice. It can follow the path it is on now and likely suffer the fate of Venezuela. Or it can make nice with Donald Trump and remake itself. There is no other way. The prisoners were taken out of the captured city and lined up in front of the conquering army. They had been the subject of ransom negotiations that failed and the victorious commander had decided that the prisoners would serve as a lesson for their enemy. Then, in full view of the enemy forces, his soldiers fell upon the hapless prisoners and so more than 2,700 were killed to satisfy the misplaced honour of the commander. The language of terror This massacre happened at Acre in the Middle East of August 20th, 1191 and the prisoners were Moslems, the victorious and impatient commander who ordered their death was King Richard the Lion Heart of England and that act is still remembered in the region. This is the reason that the words used by the ISIS and many other terrorist groups are carefully chosen and why, beginning with Osama Bin Laden, the western and mainly Christian forces acting in the Middle East are called Crusaders in their announcements. What makes the scene of the Acre Massacre so powerful is that it reminds us of the films of the prisoners executed by ISIS over the last few years. Like ISIS and making allowances for the modern technology, the massacre was a display of strength by the ruthless commander intended to cower the Moslem forces then led by Saladin. Ultimately these tactics failed and the region became a Moslem stronghold once more. Although some in the West believe that history should remain in the past, the language and the behaviour of the terrorist groups make deliberate use of these memories to tell their faithful that they are fighting an old and evil enemy. Unfortunately the fanatics do not need to use only examples that go back 900 years to find examples to use for their propaganda. Colonialism and the Great Game It would be sufficient for someone to look up a senior school history book that deals with Colonialism to understand that many of the worlds trouble spots were for long periods under the domination of European powers. Iraq, Syria, Libya and Afghanistan were pieces in the diplomatic chess game that is now called The Great Game and they are still important battle fields in international politics as we see every day on the television. The difference now is that the traditional Colonial Powers of Great Britain and France have been replaced by the United States which is now the central target of the fanatic groups that wave the banner of a return of a glorious Caliphate that had been destroyed by the Christian countries. The New Year attack in Istanbul when a gunman opened fire inTurkey was seen as part of this battle due to its collaboration with the struggle in Syria beside the Russians and the other foreign forces and thus to be considered as traitors to their Moslem brethren. The new Great Game What now makes the new Great Game fascinating is the repeated role of Russia in Afghanistan in the 19th Century, then as the USSR in 1979 and now in Syria. The country had always sought access to the Indian Ocean and now its intervention in the Middle East looks like finally achieving this centuries old ambition. The battle to find solutions to the problems that led to the rise of ISIS and the waves of terrorist attacks we have seen over the last few years cannot succeed without taking into account the memories that the fanatics are trying to raise. Worse still, in the eyes of many in the region the Western interventions have only reinforced the impression amongst part of the population that there is a core of truth to the accusations of new Crusaders looking to conquer their lands once more. Any long term solution to the current situation in the Middle East will only come about when these foreign interventions are no longer required and the region will be able to govern itself without risking further intrusions on their sovereignty. Sadly this will not be easy and will take time with many more lives will be lost in the meantime. The adversary violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between the Karabakh and Azerbaijani opposing forces around 50 times, from late Monday night to early Tuesday morning. January 3, 2017, 09:40 Azerbaijan fired over 400 shots at night STEPANAKERT, JANUARY 3, ARTSAKHPRESS: During this time the Azerbaijani armed forces fired more than 400 shots toward the Armenian military positions, and with different-caliber shooting weapons, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Defense Army informed. The NKR Defense Army vanguard units, however, continued maintaining vigilance and confidently carrying out the military task set before them, all along the frontline. Christmas is a time for sharing gifts, and spreading love to everyone around you. It is also the time when we draw close to celebrating the fast approaching New Year. While some of us traverse for miles across the ocean, or from the neighborhood around the way to be with our friends and relatives; there are others who did not get the chance to enjoy the festive season with their loved ones. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Billie Lourd, the only child of actress Carrie Fisher. The 24-year-old took to her social media account and penned a thank you note to everyone that had supported her family during their time of grief. Billie Lourd: "thank you everyone" Carrie Fisher's daughter wrote on Instagram thanking everyone who had prayed and offered their support to the grieving family as well as giving her the strength she needs to help her get through the rough time. Also stating that not even a million words could express how much she had already missed her dear mother and beloved grandmother. She ended her post by letting everyone knows she was very grateful for their love and continued support. Lourd first lost her mother, Carrie Fisher on December 27th, 2016, who had died from a massive heart attack four days after being admitted to the Ronald Reagan UCLA hospital in Los Angeles, California. As reported earlier by various news outlets, Fisher was returning from London on December 23rd, when she disclosed to a close friend that she was experiencing severe pain in her chest area. Fisher, who was met by medical doctors at the airport, and transported to UCLA did not regain consciousness and was pronounced dead a few days later. The news of the actress passing took the world by surprise, because her "Singing in the Rain" mother, Debbie Reynolds had taken to social media a day before and announced that the Star Wars actress condition was now stable. However, her passing had left the famous actress distraught with the death of her only daughter. A day after Carrie Fisher's death, her mother, Debbie Reynolds also died after being rushed to Cedars-Sinai medical center. Funeral for Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher Carrie Fisher's daughter Billie Lourd and the only son of Debbie Reynolds, Todd Fisher are currently making funeral arrangements to have both mother and daughter lives celebrated at the same funeral service. This story is very heart wrenching to say the least. Please join in the conversation by sharing your thoughts in the comment section below. According to the Iraqi News website, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the Istanbul attack. An ISIS spokesman made a chilling statement about the motive. Yet it's not their usual motive, experts say. The motive is one of their most spine-tingling motives to date. According to Iraqi News, the spokesman had this to say: In continuation of the blessed operations that Islamic State is conducting against the protector of the cross, Turkey, a heroic soldier of the caliphate struck one of the most famous nightclubs where the Christians celebrate their apostate holiday. The shocking yet predictable words can only come from a group like ISIS. 39 people lost their lives in the attack, and the world continues to mourn in the aftermath. Turkish Prime Minister denies truth #ISIS Claims Responsibility for Istanbul Nightclub #Attack Say Shooter Targeted Christians https://t.co/PkARFbnRuq Agenda Of Evil (@AgendaOfEvil) January 2, 2017 According to the same article, the Turkish Prime Minister denies the suspect wore a "Santa suit." Despite every article covering the story, Binali Yildirim says the suspect was not wearing one. There is no truth to this. He is an armed terrorist as we know it, Mr. Yildirim said. According to the NY Post, and the NY Times, he was, in fact, wearing a Santa costume. The Independent News website also confirms the assailant was wearing the Santa suit. ISIS called for these kinds of holiday attacks In an article I wrote before Christmas, ISIS called for these kinds of attacks. The Islamic State asked its followers to make the marketplaces and churches a "bloody mess." So ISIS claiming the Istanbul attack comes as no surprise to many. The call to "Jihad," came from the terror group, for the whole world. However, the call was a command for the West. The acts in Istanbul and Berlin were acts of terrorism and will continue until the Islamic State ends. ISIS is calling for the same style of attacks from all "Lone Wolf" ISIS supporters. According to reports, coalition fighters from many nations are working tirelessly to stop ISIS. According to PBS Frontline, the death toll since February is a staggering 470,000. Yet that is not counting the number that have died in these lone wolf attacks across the globe. US President Barack Obama listens as he participates in his last news conference of the year at the White House in Washington, US, December 16, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] HONOLULU - US President Barack Obama will deliver a farewell address on Jan 10 to reflect on his time in office and say thank you to his supporters, he said in an email statement released on Monday. Obama, noting that the first president of the United States, George Washington, had penned a farewell address in 1796, said he would deliver his speech in his hometown of Chicago. "I'm thinking about (the remarks) as a chance to say thank you for this amazing journey, to celebrate the ways you've changed this country for the better these past eight years, and to offer some thoughts on where we all go from here," he said. Republican Donald Trump will be sworn in to office on Jan 20. During his campaign for the White House, Trump pledged to undo many of Obama's signature policy measures, including his healthcare law. Obama, who campaigned hard for Trump's Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, has sought to ensure a smooth transition of power despite major policy differences with his successor. He also leaves his party without a clear figurehead as he leaves the White House. "Since 2009, we've faced our fair share of challenges, and come through them stronger," Obama said in the email, likely foreshadowing a theme for his speech. "That's because we have never let go of a belief that has guided us ever since our founding - our conviction that, together, we can change this country for the better." A potential buyer seeks information about property projects at a real estate expo in Shanghai. [Photo/China Daily] BEIJING - China will strengthen housing market supervision to ensure healthy development of the sector, an official statement has said. The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development reported violations of 21 real estate developers, which in hopes of boosting sales, spread rumors, published false information, operated without licenses, or hoarded unsold homes. The companies will face administrative penalties ranging from business suspensions to fines, with serious cases being transferred to the police. The ministry said it will continue to act tough on such activities to expel "black sheep" from the market. It is the latest move by the central government to improve market order in the property sector after irregularities were highlighted when the sector was booming. The housing market in major cities has shown signs of cooling as a spate of measures were rolled out by local authorities. Policymakers have called for varied approaches to regulate the property market in the next year, damping speculation and building a long-term housing mechanism. With Donald Trump poised to become president later this month, the head of ZTE Corp's US business is optimistic about the US economy and his company's ability to grow in the mobile phone market. "We have confidence in the US system. The country and the people made a choice, and at the end of the day, it's about people," Lixin Cheng, chairman and CEO of ZTE USA Inc said in an interview in New York on Monday night. "The key is the consumer, and our products are well received by consumers in the US." Despite occasional Trump rhetoric on China and the US, Cheng said ZTE intends to increase its relationship with US partners and anticipates 20 percent growth annually over the next four years. "In the last four years, we have purchased about $25 billion in goods and licensed technology from US companies, which has generated a lot of jobs in the US," he said. ZTE, a Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and systems company based in Shenzhen, in South China's Guangdong province, brought its businesses to the US in 1998. In 2015, ZTE was fourth in US smartphone market share, behind Apple, Samsung Electronics and its Korean rival LG, according to IDC and Counterpoint Research. While ZTE's mainland rivals like Huawei and Xiaomi are expanding into emerging markets such as Brazil and India, ZTE maintains its focus on the US market. Cheng said ZTE continues to expand its relationship with carriers in the US market. Cheng said 2016 was a good year for the company and its flagship smartphone the Axon. "Our market share is about 20 percent in the no-contract space and in overall (phones with an) Android (operating system) we are number three," he said. Last summer, ZTE introduced its newest smartphone, the 6-inch Zmax Pro, in the US; it features a 13-megapixel camera, a fingerprint sensor and sells for $99. Last March, the US Commerce Department placed restrictions on ZTE and three affiliated enterprises for allegedly violating American export controls on Iran. The move required ZTE's suppliers to apply for an export license before shipping any American-made equipment or parts to ZTE. The sanctions could have hindered the company's ability to procure US components and software. However, two weeks later, the US granted ZTE a temporary reprieve. "They (sanctions) have been suspended until the end of February (2017)," Cheng said. "We are committed to working with the US government to find a permanent solution as soon as possible. We are doing a lot of compliance improvement." paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com CAPE TOWN - The recent trip to Taiwan by Solly Msimanga, Executive Mayor of Tshwane (Pretoria) was in breach of South Africa's foreign policy and is highly regretted, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said on Monday. DIRCO was made aware of the visit and advised Msimanga not to undertake the visit as it would constitute a breach of South Africa's "One China" policy, DIRCO spokesperson Clayson Monyela said. "In a move that is highly regrettable, Mayor Msimanga disregarded DIRCO's advice and proceeded with the visit," said Monyela. Msimanga, a member of the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), visited Taipei, Taiwan during the Christmas holiday, in defiance of the one-China policy pursued by the central government. The visit has drawn wide criticism. Taiwan is not recognized as a sovereign state by South Africa and the United Nations, DIRCO said in a statement. South Africa maintains a Liaison Office in Taipei as does the Taiwanese in Pretoria. The Liaison Office does not enjoy the status of an Embassy. The Liaison offices arrangement was agreed upon to facilitate people to people contact. It has no political mandate and therefore interaction between political office bearers is not allowed, DIRCO said. "Cabinet has in the past decided that representatives of government across all three spheres coordinate all their foreign engagements with DIRCO so as to ensure synergy and maintain a cohesive approach in dealing with any international entity or government," said Monyela. Representatives of any sphere of government must ensure that their engagements with international entities are aligned to existing mechanism and programmed and that such relations are coordinated in a manner that advances South Africa's foreign policy and national interests, he said. Earlier on Monday, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) also slammed Msimanga's visit to Taiwan, saying the visit is in disrespect of the Constitution. As Mayor of the City of Tshwane, Msimanga is a senior government official and therefore bound by existing government policy which de-recognizes Taiwan, the ANC said in a statement emailed to Xinhua. The City of Tshwane "is not an autonomous state which acts on a frolic of its own outside of government policy", the ANC said. The ANC called on DIRCO to urgently confiscate all official and diplomatic passports from officials who are found to be wilfully undermining the foreign policy. CAI MENG/CHINA DAILY The year 2016 will be remembered for many things, not least of which is how the old world order got tossed out and a new world order got established. It will be remembered for Syria constantly hogging the headlines for bombardments, destruction and the death of thousands of civilians, while the world continued to go about its business as usual. It will be remembered for how climate change fuelled one of the longest-lasting, strongest hurricanes of its kindHurricane Matthew that battered the United States and Haitiand how reckless human activities continued to perpetuate the vicious circle, with tens of millions of people in northern China breathing in polluted air. It will be remembered for a controversial figure who won a landslide presidential victory, and it is not Donald Trump. It will be remembered for small-headed babies as the Zika virus continued to take hold of the world, from the Americas to Asia. Elsewhere in Asia, it will be remembered for political and economic crises that saw the downfall of a country's first female president, and a cash crunch in the second-most-populous country in the world. It will also be remembered for what could be a low in race relations in the US, as at least four high-profile shootings by police of black men sent protesters onto the streets across the country. Most people, however, will remember 2016 as the year populism wonwhen people defiantly eschewed globalization and what it has to offer, in favor of greater sovereignty of their country. The world watched in shock as Trump defied all polls and predictions to beat political old hand Hillary Clinton to the White House. Months before, more than half of Britons voted in a referendum to leave the European Union after 43 years of membership. Political turmoil also swept the Republic of Korea, as millions protested demanding that President Park Geun-hye resign over a corruption scandal. India's troubles were over moneyliterallyafter its citizens realized the 500-rupee ($7.35) and 1,000-rupee ($14.7) notes that were most prevalent in the cash-dominant nation had become useless when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that he was scrapping them from Nov 9 to stem corruption. As Davao City mayor, Rodrigo Duterte rode to worldwide fame after Filipinos voted for him based on his campaign promise of tackling crime, specifically the illegal drug trade in the Philippines. Thailand was sent into mourning after its revered monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, lost his battle to a long bout of ill health. As these events continue to play out in the new year, the hope at least is that 2017 will be a better year for humankind. The author is the assistant foreign editor of the Straits Times published in Singapore. Courtesy: The Straits Times/Asia News Network This was revealed to me by the director of secondary curriculum unit at the Education Secondary Curriculum Division at Waigani in September and has been further affirmed by Simbu educator Roslyn Tony. Starting from 2017 or 2018, reading will become part of classroom instruction under the reformed education system. THERE is a light at the end of the tunnel for struggling PNG authors to sell their books in large quantities when reading becomes part of the classroom instruction under the reformed Standard Base Education system. While I was in Port Moresby last September to fix my Aussie visa-medicals, I visited the secondary curriculum director Alex Magun to discuss the possibility of his division assessing my novel Paradise in Peril and also my reading comprehension text book with the objective of including them as school curriculum texts. During our brief discussion in his office at Waigani, Alex hinted that this was part of the agenda the department was considering for educational reform and, if it became a reality, there was a possibility the department would buy suitable locally-authored books for students to read. At the time, I must admit I did not take the message seriously. While checking in at Jacksons Airport to return to Simbu after my Brisbane visit, I met a member of Simbu Writers Association and PNG Attitude and Crocodile Prize contributor Roslyn Tony. Roslyn is an English teacher at Rosary Kondiu Secondary School and she was a member of the Grade 8 reading comprehension examination marking team on her way back to Simbu. When she saw me she gave me her trademark sparkling smile and I took it as normal and smiled back. But she shouted to me, Mr Nii, Ive got good news but Ill tell you later. Immediately she aroused my curiosity but because so many people were competing to secure a seat, I let her go. Since then I hadnt had the chance to talk to her until the distribution of the Towoong Rotary Club books for Simbu schools. At that time Roslyn told me the book project was very timely because the education department was going to introduce reading instruction in schools in 2017. Is that what you were going to tell me at the Jacksons Airport? I asked her, which she affirmed. Roslyn added that, while in Waigani for the marking of the Grade 8 reading comprehension examination, the standards and measurement unit of the department told her and her co-markers that next year (2017), the department will introduce reading as an instructional subject in schools. This means that the department and the schools will buy lots of books and I believe Papua New Guinean authors are going to benefit immensely from this initiative. This means our labour of love and long struggles will not have been in vain. It looks like they are going to pay us dividends. It is important to emphasise that the department is not going to blindly buy any locally authored book. Their screening committee will evaluate all books and will accept only those they think are relevant and suitable for students learning. It is now up to authors to polish up their published books and produce suitable literature that will attract the departments attention. Former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue III, who has visited China several times, has emerged as the leading candidate for US secretary of agriculture in President-elect Donald Trump's administration, US news media reported on Monday. If nominated and confirmed, Perdue, who turned 70 on Dec 20, would succeed secretary Tom Vilsack, who has been in the position since 2009 and who had served as governor of Iowa. The current Iowa governor Terry Branstad has been tapped by Trump to be the next US ambassador to China. Perdue, who is not related to the family with the same name that owns chicken producer Perdue Farms Inc, met with Trump on Nov 30 and told reporters they talked about agricultural commodities traded domestically and internationally. While Perdue is the front-runner, the decision isn't final, Bloomberg News reported on Monday. It described Perdue as emerging from a broad pack of candidates, which included former Texas A&M University President Elsa Murano, former Texas US Representative Henry Bonilla, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, former Texas Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs, former California Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado, Idaho Governor Butch Otter, and North Dakota US Senator Heidi Heitkamp. Perdue was born in Perry, Georgia. His mother was a teacher and his father was a farmer. He earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine in 1971 and worked as a veterinarian before becoming a small-business owner. Perdue served as governor of Georgia from 2003 to 2011, during which he made several trips to China, including two in 2008 alone. In a trip in early August 2008 during the Beijing Olympics, Perdue participated in a Regional Leaders Conference held in Ji'nan, capital of Shandong province, when he also built relationships with provincial leaders. "What we are finding is when people want to go out of their country and locate in the US market, they depend on prior existing relationships that have been fruitful," Georgia's newspaper Ledger Enquirer quoted him as saying at the time. In a trip to China in April 2008, Perdue praised PAX Technology Ltd of China, a global leader in providing secure card electronic payment systems and point-of-sale software, for its plan to locate its US headquarters in Georgia. "PAX joins an ever-growing number of Chinese companies who are locating in our state thanks to Georgia's business friendly environment," Perdue said. China is Georgia's second-largest export market after Canada. Agricultural crops are among its major exports to China, along with paper products, transportation and equipment, machinery, waste and scrap, according to the US-China Business Council. China and the US have been major partners in agriculture for the past decades. At the 27th China-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) held in Washington in November, Vice-Premier Wang Yang described the huge potential for agriculture cooperation between China, the world's largest agriculture producer, consumer and importer, and the US, the world's top agriculture giant and the largest agriculture exporter. "The two sides are natural partners for agriculture cooperation, and the potential is enormous," Wang told a meeting attended also by Vilsack and US Trade Representative Michael Froman. In the last 15 years since China joined the World Trade Organization, agricultural trade between the two countries has grown at an average annual rate of 17 percent to reach $32.1 billion, according to Wang. He said that agriculture is one of the areas in China with the fastest-growing investment. "China and the US can strengthen their cooperation in agricultural technology, management, internet and farming and exploring the third country market," he said. Wang welcomes more US agriculture businesses to invest in China, as well as more high-quality and safe US agricultural products and foods into the Chinese market. He also hoped that the US side will create a good environment for the exports of Chinese poultry, aquatic products and other farm products into the US market. From 2000 to 2015, US agriculture exports to China increased 11-fold, and China's agriculture exports to the US grew seven-fold, Froman said at the meeting. "China has been one of our top export markets for our food and agriculture exports for some time," he said. chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com (China Daily USA 01/03/2017 page1) Image provided by A Critica journal on Jan. 2, 2017 shows smoke rising from the Anisio Jobim Prison Complex during a riot, in Manaus, northern Brazil. Over 50 people were killed in a prison riot which lasted 17 hours in Manaus, northern Brazil, authorities said on Monday. [Photo/Xinhua] BRASILIA - Around 60 people were killed in a prison riot in the Amazon jungle city of Manaus, with decapitated bodies of drug gang members thrown over prison walls, officials said on Monday. It was the bloodiest violence in more than two decades in Brazil's overcrowded penitentiary system. The security chief for Amazonas state, Sergio Fontes, told a news conference the death toll could rise as authorities get a clearer idea of the scale of the rebellion sparked by a fight between rival drug gangs. Fontes told reporters several decapitated bodies were thrown over the prison wall, and most of those killed came from one gang. "This was another chapter in the silent and ruthless war of drug trafficking," he said. Pedro Florencio, the Amazonas state prison secretary, said the massacre was a "revenge killing" in a feud between criminal gangs in Brazil. The riot began late Sunday and was brought under control by around 7 a.m. AMT (1100 GMT) on Monday, Fontes said. Authorities were still counting prisoners to determine how many had escaped, he added, with reports that up to 300 fled. Just as the riot began in one unit of the Anisio Jobim prison complex, dozens of prisoners in the second unit started a mass escape in what authorities said was a coordinated effort to distract guards. Overcrowding is extremely common in Brazil's prisons, which suffer endemic violence and what rights groups call medieval conditions with food scarce and cells so packed that prisoners have no space to lie down. The Anisio Jobim prison complex currently houses 2,230 inmates despite having a capacity of only 590. Hours after the Anisio Jobim prison revolt ended, prisoners at in an adjoining detention center began a riot and attempted to escape. Authorities said the situation was quickly brought under control. Watchdog groups sharply criticize Brazil for its prisons where deadly riots routinely break out. "These massacres occur almost daily in Brazil," said Father Valdir Silveira, director of Pastoral Carceraria, a Catholic center that monitors prison conditions in Brazil. "Our prisons were built to annihilate, torture and kill." The violence was the latest clash between inmates aligned with the Sao Paulo-based First Capital Command (PCC) drug gang, Brazil's most powerful, and a local Manaus criminal group known as the North Family. The Manaus-based gang is widely believed to be attacking PCC inmates at the behest of the Rio de Janeiro-based Red Command (CV) drug gang, Brazil's second largest. Police work outside a legal medical institute, where bodies of the riot victims at the Anisio Jobim Prison Complex are placed, in Manaus, northern Brazil, on Jan. 2, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua] BROKEN TRUCE Security analysts have said that a truce that held for years between the PCC and CV was broken last year, resulting in months of deadly prison battles between the gangs and sparking fears that chaos will spread to other prisons. In the latest riot, a group of inmates exchanged gunfire with police and held 12 prison guards hostage late on Sunday in the largest prison in Manaus, an industrial city on the banks of the Amazon River, Globo TV reported. Fontes said 74 prisoners were taken hostage during the riot, with some executed and some released. A video posted on the website of the Manaus-based newspaper Em Tempo showed dozens of bloodied and mutilated bodies piled on the prison floor as other inmates milled about. Sunday's riot was the deadliest in years. A 1992 rebellion at the Carandiru prison in Sao Paulo state saw 111 inmates killed, nearly all of them by police retaking the jail. Maria Canineu, director of Human Rights Watch for Brazil, said the most recent violence was the result of "no government in 20 years giving much attention to the penitentiary system." Canineu said that for years it has been difficult for states to receive any funding help from the federal government for prisons. President Michel Temer announced last week that the federal government would furnish states with 1.2 billion reais ($366 million), mostly to improve infrastructure and security in existing prisons and to build new ones. Despite the sudden fall in the nationwide foreclosure activity, 21 states published a monthly rise in overall foreclosure activity, and 11 states published an annual rise in the foreclosure activity in the U.S. Bank of America According to the most up to date mortgage information released by Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) on June 10, 2014, the benchmark 30 year fixed rate mortgage home loan plans are coming out at an interest price of 4.125% and an annual percentage rate of 4.256%. In the short term home loan section, the 15 year fixed rate mortgage home loans are traded at an interest rate of 4.000% and an APR yield of 4.210% today. When it comes to flexible home loan packages, 5 year adjustable rate home loans are coming out at a starting interest rate of 3.375% and an APR yield of 3.559% to start with. In the refinancing home loan section, the popular 30 year fixed rate mortgage home loan packages are coming out at an interest rate of 4.250% and an APR yield of 4.350% today. This Tuesday, the 15 year refinancing fixed rate mortgage loans are coming out at an interest rate of 4.125% and an annual return rate of 4.303%. For the seekers of flexible refinancing options, 5 year adjustable rate mortgage deals can be locked in at an interest rate of 3.500% and an APR yield of 3.645% today. Wells Fargo This Tuesday at the major U.S. based mortgage lender Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), the benchmark 30 year fixed rate long term mortgage home loans are published in the banks books at an interest rate of 4.500% and are backed by an annual percentage rate of 4.670%. The shorter 15 year counterparts of the standard 30 year fixed rate mortgage options are up for grabs at an interest rate of 3.625% and an APR yield of 3.853% on June 10, 2014. In the refinancing section, the mortgage lender offers its popular 30 year fixed rate mortgage home loan schemes at an interest price of 4.250% and an APR yield of 4.335% today. The relatively shorter, 15 year refinancing FRM loans are now listed at an interest rate of 3.500% and an APR yield of 3.647% this Tuesday. SunTrust As per the most up to date mortgage information released by SunTrust Bank (NYSE:STI) on June 10, 2014, the 30 year fixed rate mortgage home loans are coming out at an interest price of 4.375% and are backed by an annual percentage rate of 4.4853%. In the short term financing section, the 15 year fixed rate mortgage home loans are quoted at an interest rate of 3.300% and are carrying an APR yield of 3.5109% this Tuesday. In the adjustable rate mortgage section, potential home buyers can spot the 5 year variable rate home loans being traded at a starting interest rate of 3.200% and an APR yield of 3.0908% to start with. The more flexible 7 year adjustable rate mortgage plans are now up for grabs at an interest rate of 3.750% and an annual percentage rate of 3.3954% today. Disclaimer: The rates quoted above are basically the average advertised by a particular lending company. No guarantee of taken from the lender aspect whether the borrower will qualify for the mortgage rates mentioned in the article. The lenders dole out interest depending upon various facets, some of which may be unique to the borrower. This website does not engage in the sale or promotion of financial products and makes no claims as to the accuracy of the quotation of interest rates. Public Policy Polling, a Democratic pollster, recently released its annual survey of the most and least trusted news networks in America. MSNBC tied NBC as the least trusted news outlets in the country, each receiving 3% support in the poll. Fox News on the other hand is once again the most trusted network in America with 35% of respondents choosing it. PBS came in second with 14%, ABC in third with 11%, and CNN and CBS each won 9% and 6% respectively. Comedy Central tied MSNBC and NBC with 3% support. MSNBC and NBCs poor showing in the poll this year represents a drop in public support for the two networks. Last year MSNBC garnered 8% of the vote and NBC received 5%, tying it with Comedy Central. It is not surprising that the trust that the public puts in MSNBC has falling since last year, as the network had an abysmal 2013 and has gotten off to a bad start in 2014. Two days ago the network tweeted that right wing conservatives would dislike a commercial that included a biracial family. This absurd claim is something right out of 1950, and is ironic considering the network backs a political party with a less-than-stellar racial track record. MSNBC president Phil Griffin was forced to release a public apology, and the network claims to have fired the person responsible for composing the tweet. Looking back at 2013, MSNBC had its fair share of journalistic scandals. For example, MSNBC had to fire host Alec Baldwin for screaming anti-gay slurs in public, which happened only a few weeks after he made homophobic comments and threats towards an openly gay journalist. MSNBC anchor Martin Bashir was forced to resign for making the argument that someone should defecate in Sarah Palins mouth. MSNBC anchor Melissa Harris-Perry had to apologize for mocking Mitt Romneys adopted Grandson for being black and belonging to a white family. MSNBC anchor Toure was called out for attacking CNNs Don Lemon, calling the black anchor a white leader. The network was criticized for improperly editing the 911 call made by George Zimmerman on the night he shot Trayvon Martin. Since MSNBC has a history of employing people who use gay slurs, people who taunt black infants, people who encourage violence against women, people who fabricate evidence, and people who think it is okay to call half of the country racist, it is not surprising at all that the network is the least trusted in the nation. Should the Income-Tax Act have been simultaneously amended to exclude Sikhs and Jains from the definition of HUF once they were declared a minority by the government? Sanjeev Nayyar discusses the curious dichotomies in our laws. According to a Business Standard report of December 22, Decoding the business empire of the Badals, there exists a Badal HUF and Sukhbir Singh HUF with the latter being the largest shareholder in Metro Eco Green Resorts. The author wondered how the Badals, followers of Sikh religion, have a Hindu Undivided Family that as the name suggests should be applicable to Hindus only. After all, notwithstanding the very close social and cultural relations between Hindus and Sikhs, government and courts consider Sikhs to be a minority today. Therefore, can a non-Hindu community claim tax benefits under the provisions of Hindu Undivided Family? But first, what is an HUF? An HUF is a separate entity (person under section 2 (31) the Income-Tax Act). "Under Hindu Law an HUF is a family which consists of all persons lineally descended from a common ancestor and includes their wives and unmarried daughters". Read here (external link) It comes into effect only after a person gets married. Children born thereafter automatically become members of the HUF. The HUF is recognised by the income-tax department only when there is an income-generating asset. Once recognised, it gets a separate Permanent Account Number and is taxed separately. They too can avail of tax deductions under the Income-tax Act. If structured sensibly HUF can become an efficient tax planning tool. Who can form an HUF? According to the income-tax department, Hindus, Jain and Sikh families are treated (external link) as HUF under the Act. How can one be declared a minority otherwise, and a Hindu for tax purposes? While drafting the Indian Constitution and for decades thereafter, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains, belonging to religions of Indian origin, were considered part of the wider Hindu community. Article 25 (Right to Freedom of Religion) reads, "In sub-clause (b) of clause (2), the reference to Hindus shall be construed as including a reference to persons professing the Sikh, Jain or Buddhist religion, and the reference to Hindu religious institutions shall be construed accordingly." It was then implied that minority meant Muslims, Christians and Parsis while Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs were considered to be part of the larger Hindu community. Therefore, the Income-tax Act allows Sikh and Jain families to be treated as HUF. As a consequence, the Hindu Marriage Act is also applicable to the four communities. However, during the United Progressive Alliance rule, Sikhs got the right to have their marriages registered under the Anand Marriage Act 1908 instead of the Hindu Marriage Act. When were Sikhs and Jains declared a minority? Prior to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections the Congress party declared Jains a minority. Buddhists and Sikhs probably became one after the National Commission for Minorities Act was passed in 1992. Note that when Akali leaders approached the then Prime Minister, Morarji Desai (PM from 1977 to 1979) and Deputy PM Charan Singh to declare Sikhs a minority community, both turned down the request on the grounds that they regarded Sikhs as a part of the Hindu community. A History of Sikhs, Volume II by Khushwant Singh. According to a Reserve Bank of India circular (external link) on priority sector lending, dated July 1, 2015, "minority communities considered are Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, Zoroastrians, Buddhists and Jains. Sufficient care may be taken to ensure that the minority communities also receive an equitable portion of the credit." In this way Sikhs and Jains are considered as Hindus for the purposes of HUF but minorities to avail of government subsidies, constitutional benefits under Articles 29 and 30 and bank loans to these communities are considered as priority sector lending by the RBI. A similar situation exists in Punjab where Sikhs are in a majority at the state level but a minority at the national level. The Supreme Court recently asked, "Are Sikhs a minority in Punjab?" while hearing a petition from the state government seeking minority rights for Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee-run institutions. The question that needs to be asked is, should the Income-Tax Act have been simultaneously amended to exclude Sikhs and Jains from the definition of HUF once they were declared a minority by the government? Such dichotomies arise because terms are left undefined in the Constitution, for eg, the word minority. A similar anomaly exists in the case of Scheduled Tribes who convert. According to section 10 (26) of the Income-Tax Act, "A member of a Scheduled Tribe, as defined under clause 25 of Article 366 of the Constitution, who resides in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura is exempt from paying income-tax on any income which accrues or arises to him in these states". However, when an ST converts to Christianity he continues to be considered as ST for the purposes of income-tax exemption and government subsidies. Is it not time that: Tax laws should be the same for all Indian citizens. Religion, caste or tribe should not be the basis for giving benefits. Discrimination on account of religion, caste or tribe should be prohibited. Benefits should be given on the basis of backwardness measured by income and educational deficiency only. This thought was reiterated by the Supreme Court in its order of January 2 where CJI T S Thakur said, "The State being secular in character will not identify itself with any one of the religions or religious denominations. This necessarily implies that religion will not play any role in the governance of the country which must at all times be secular in nature." It is a different matter that the word 'secular' is not defined in the Constitution. Read 'Why Secularism is not an Indian concept? Sanjeev Nayyar is an independent columnist and chartered accountant. He tweets @sanjeev1927. Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Loading... Checking your browser before accessing the website. This process is automatic. Your browser will redirect to your requested content shortly. Please wait a few seconds. There isn't a lot known about Gov. Andrew Cuomo's regional State of the State addresses, but more information was provided about the speeches he will deliver next week. The governor's office announced that Cuomo will deliver addresses Monday in Buffalo and New York City. On Tuesday, he'll be on Long Island and in Westchester County. And on Wednesday, he'll speak in Albany and Syracuse. The specific dates, times and venues for the addresses weren't disclosed. Registration is now open to attend the addresses. To register, visit governor.ny.gov/content/2017-state-state-address. Seating is limited and tickets are non-transferable. The deadline to register is noon Friday. The individuals selected to receive tickets will be notified by email no later than Monday. No bags, backpacks, briefcases, luggage, parcels and similar articles will be allowed in any of the venues. Photography and videography devices will not be permitted. Cuomo's office announced late last month that he would take a break from tradition and hold regional State of the State addresses instead of delivering one larger presentation in Albany. It's not the first time Cuomo has gone against State of the State tradition. Since 2011, when he first took office, he's delivered the annual address at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center instead of the state Assembly chambers, which had hosted the speech under previous governors. The Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in Auburn is one signature away from being formally established. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer announced Tuesday that the Department of the Interior has finalized a land transfer agreement between the Harriet Tubman Home and the National Park Service to allow for the establishment of the park. The final step in the process is for the interior secretary to sign off on the formal establishment of the park. "As a New Yorker and an American, I'm deeply proud to see Tubman Park finally become a reality," Schumer said in a statement. "The Tubman Historic Park in Auburn, New York will be a magnet for visitors that will tell the amazing story of Harriet Tubman's life, an extraordinary American whose story deserves to be shared with our children and grandchildren. This park will serve that solemn purpose and preserve her legacy for countless generations to come." Schumer's announcement caps off two years of work on the land transfer agreement. The deal will allow the Harriet Tubman Home and the National Park Service to jointly manage the main properties on South Street in Auburn Tubman's former residence and the Home for the Aged. The National Park Service acquired the Thompson Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church on Parker Street in the city. The church and its rectory will be part of the park. Tubman, an abolitionist and civil rights icon, spent the latter part of her life in Auburn and attended the A.M.E. Zion Church. She died in Auburn in 1913. She is buried in Fort Hill Cemetery. Karen Hill, executive director of the Harriet Tubman Home, said she's "very happy" with the latest developments in the push to establish the park. "We got the legislation passed in December 2014 and it has literally taken every day in the ensuing two years to get us to this point," she said in a phone interview. "I think it's historic. It's a great thing for Auburn, it's a great thing for central New York and we're looking forward to the next 100 years of Tubman." The Harriet Tubman Home, Hill said, will continue to exist. Because it's a partnership park, the Harriet Tubman Home will continue to own the South Street property and jointly manage the facilities with the National Park Service. A provision in the National Defense Authorization Act that was passed in 2014 allowed for the creation of the Tubman park in Auburn and another, the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park, on Maryland's Eastern Shore. The passage of the measure came after years of lobbying and the efforts of several elected officials, including Schumer. In a letter sent Tuesday to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, Schumer urged her to move forward with formal establishment of the Tubman park in Auburn. "Once Harriet Tubman National Historical Park is established, it will be eligible for National Park Service funding for operational and capital improvements to be undertaken that are necessary for the unit to be open to the public as a national park," Schumer wrote. "This is why it is imperative that you finalize the establishment, so we can celebrate another huge milestone in the opening of this important historical park and provide it the necessary resources to expedite its availability to the public." Once Jewell signs off on the park's establishment, a ceremony will be held likely in Washington. A similar event could be held in Auburn to mark the establishment of the park. A date hasn't been announced for the Washington ceremony, but Hill expects it to be held soon. Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue addresses the forum__Photo: Internet , , , , , , , The Government looks forward to receiving feedback on revaluation of economic institutions and stimulating start-ups, especially those by women or in agriculture, said Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue.Addressing the national forum entitled Womens economic empowerment in agribusiness to promote gender equality in Hanoi on December 26, Deputy PM Hue highlighted a project Supporting female business start-up in the 2017-2027 period of the Vietnam Womens Union under which over 110,000 firms were founded in 2016 and the number of firms resuming their business operation increased by 43 percent over the last year.Hue said the Government had submitted to the National Assembly a draft law on support for small- and medium-sized enterprises under which SME support programs will be formulated to support micro-enterprises that encounter difficulties in accessing capital, credit facilities, labor and other input elements without the States support.The Government would support start-up and innovative businesses that were eager for scientific and technological advances and information technology application and promote the development of a start-up ecosystem, he said, adding that the Government would encourage business households to be transformed into companies.According to the Deputy PM, in addition to existing public relation consultancy, vocational training and human resources development assistance, the Government will issue two resolutions on creation of capital sources for enterprises. For start-up and innovative businesses, the Government will develop venture investment funds and formulate mechanisms to promote venture investment. For SMEs, the Government will provide for bank guarantee for all of their loans (from the current 75 percent of their loans) in order to effectively support fund-lacking enterprises that have effective business plans.Hue said the Government would revise existing economic regulations in order to attractive more investment in agriculture and rural economy toward facilitating land accumulation, land planning and stabilization of the business environment.He suggested the Womens Union further create favorable conditions for womens business start-ups and agricultural production. by Thien Ly According to statistics from the General Customs Department, as of December 15 Viet Nam had imported a total 13 million tonnes of coal worth US$860 million during the year, more than four times the targeted 3 million tonnes. Why did coal purchases increase so sharply? Market observers said global coal prices fell strongly due to a sharp fall in demand caused by the prolonged economic downturn and general switch to less polluting fuel. But coal production in many countries remains unchanged. In the event, the prices have dropped by than 10 per cent. In August alone the price in Australias Newcastle Port dropped from US$84 per tonne to $74. In Viet Nam, the price of coal 11A sold by TKV was $69 per tonne while China sold the same variety for $45-$56 exploited from open-cash mine. Worse still, costs for domestically exploiting coal have also been increasing by 3 or 4 per cent per year due to difficult exploitation conditions. Analysts said domestic prices are high because taxes and charges on coal products have been rising relentlessly in recent years. A 12 per cent natural resource tax is slapped on coal mining, and the rate goes up to 14 per cent in case of open-cast mines. The comparable taxes are 7 per cent and 6 per cent in Australia and 3 per cent and 7 per cent in Indonesia. In China, they range from from zero to 4 per cent. Not surprisingly, many electricity companies have switched from domestic to imported coal. Since the beginning of this year, many of Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN)s subsidiaries have sought permission to import coal. EVN itself plans to import around 10 milion tonnes for its three thermal power plants, namely the 600MW expanded Duyen Hai Project No.3, the 1,200MW Vinh Tan Project No.4, and the 3,000MW Duyen Hai Project. PetroVietnam is seeking coal for five thermal electricity plants with a combined capacity of 6000MW. The company intends to use imported coal for Long Phu 1, Quang Trach 1 and Song Hau 1 plants. In February PVN signed an agreement in principle with an Australian company to import around 3 million tonnes a year. The downside is that, with Viet Nam itself being a large producer of coal, the rising imports mean the domestic coal industry is saddled with increasingly large inventories. According to the Ministry of Industry, at the end of April the inventory was 11 million tonnes as only three million tonnes were exported. Experts said the quality of coal is affected severely if left unused for a long time after being mined, making exports even harder. UPCoM listing by firms sees major shareholders sell out The Southern General Import-Export Joint Stock Company (SGIEC), a strategic shareholder in the Viet Nam Seafood Corporation (SEA), made the decision to sell its stakes immediately after the latter listed on UPCoM on December 23. SGIEC has registered for selling 18.75 million shares of SEA, equivalent to 15 per cent of the companys prescribed capital. If the transaction goes through, SGIEC would no longer be a SEA shareholder. The main reason for the separation is believed to be a difference of opinion between SGIEC and SEAs state shareholder over developing a real estate project in downtown HCM City. Similarly, the Pacific Petroleum Transportation Joint Stock Company listed its shares on UPCoM on December 12. Immediately afterwards a major shareholder with a 10.13 per cent stake, PVI Asset Management Joint Stock Company, announced it would sell all its shares in Pacific. Not only are some big stakeholders selling out their shares but even parent companies are doing so from their subsidiaries. For instance, the Song a 5 Joint Stock Company has decided to sell 13.2 million shares, or 88 per cent of the legal capital of its subsidiary, Song Chay Hydro Power Company, after the later listed on UPCoM. Some State agencies too are doing this. The Peoples Committee of the northern mountainous province of Lang Son recently registered for a second time to sell more than 2.2 million shares of the Lang Son Water Drainage and Supply Joint Stock Company, which will reduce its ownership from 95.05 per cent to 51 per cent. After the company listed on UPCoM in late July the Peoples Committee had once tried to sell its shares, but in vain. Analysts said the rush to disinvest is caused by a desire to restructure investments to improve their effectiveness. Besides, many investors looking to pull out are simply taking advantage of the fact that many companies are listing on UPCoM and hoping to get better prices for their shares. It is benefiting the market by increasing liquidity and its sheer size by increasing the free float of shares. Bad debts continue to squeeze banks profits In the third quarter of the year Kienlongbanks gross profit decreased by nearly 12 per cent. As a result, in the first nine months of the year Kienlongbanks pre-tax profits were worth only VN19.8 billion (US$88,000). The bank management attributed the profit drop to increasing operation costs and risk provision for bad debts. The lenders bad debts ratio increased from 1.12 per cent at the beginning of the year to 1.46 per cent. Significantly, irrecoverable debts increased by 54 per cent to VN187 billion ($381,111). Kienlongbank will thus find it difficult to achieve the years pre-tax profit target of VN300 billion. Eximbank, quickly recognising the difficult business situation, has tweaked its business plans. By late second quarter the banks bad debts had increased sharply to 5.3 per cent despite the fact its credit growth rate was minus 4.62 per cent. Consequently, its first half pre-tax profit was only VN80 billion. In the first nine months of the year Eximbank had a pre-tax profit of VN202 billion but an after-tax loss of VN43 billion. Its bad debts were 3.35 per cent of total outstanding loans. In the face of the downbeat situation, Eximbanks executive board slashed the full-year profit target by 44 per cent to VN400 billion. State giant BIDV had to make risk provision of nearly VN7 trillion in the first nine months of 2016, an 80 per cent rise over the same period last year. According to the HCM City Banking University, in 2016 the banking sector had to set aside VN91.374 trillion as bad debts provisions, much higher than the VN74.828 trillion in 2015 and VN59.287 trillion in 2014. Of this figure, provision for bad debts amounted to VN53.098 trillion, and bonds issued by the Viet Nam Asset Management Company against bad debts were worth VN38.276 trillion. These ate into the profits of banks, including major ones, and as a result shareholders did not get dividends.VNS HA NOI Bank stocks are expected to stage a comeback this year after experiencing one of its worst performing years in 2016, driven by cheap valuation as well as positive growth forecast. While the benchmark VN-Index climbed 16 per cent in 2016, all of the nine listed banks saw their prices decrease last year. Lender BIDV (BID), the third biggest bank by market value, was the largest loser with the stock price declining by over 31 per cent for the year. The two biggest banks, Vietcombank (VCB) and Vietinbank (CTG), both slipped 19 per cent. Others, including Military Bank (MBB), Eximbank (EIB), Sacombank (STB), Asia Commercial bank (ACB), in addition to Sai Gon-Ha Noi Bank (SHB) and Nam Viet Bank (NVB), decreased between 10 per cent and 28 per cent. The most expensive price for a bank stock was just around VN35,000 (US$1.54) for a share of Vietcombank. Prices of BIDV, Military Bank, Vietinbank and ACB were around VN14,000-VN17,000 each, while others were traded below VN10,000. After leading the stock market rally two years ago, prices of bank stocks have gradually reduced to the lowest range since 2015 despite positive business results in nine months of 2016 that implied a good year, Lam Nguyen, a stock analyst at Viet Dragon Securities Company, wrote in a sectors report. According to the report, valuations of banking stocks, which are illustrated in the Price-to-Book (P/B) ratio and Price to Profit Prior Provisions (P/PPOP) ratio, have decreased to levels of 2011-2012 period when the banking sector was more volatile and began to implement restructuring. Explaining the cold shoulder of investors to bank stocks, Lam attributed it to strict supervision of the central bank to the cash dividend policy of banks as well as their pressure to deal with bad debts and increased capital efficiency and profitability. However, the market seemed to underrate the prospect for bank stocks compared to their actual performance and bank stocks are expected to make a comeback this year thanks to positive growth forecast. Except Sacombank and Eximbank, the other six banks saw their nine-month net profits in 2016 grew over the same period of the previous year, of which net profits of Vietcombank rose most by 36 per cent, ACB up 14 per cent, and Vietinbank over 13 per cent. Excluding Eximbank, the non-performing loan ratio of the other seven banks was less than 3 per cent as stipulated by law. According to Ngo Hoang Long, stock analyst at Viet Capital Securities Co, asset quality of banks in the long term will gradually improve while credit growth is forecast to remain relatively high this year which presents an opportunity for the recovery of bank stocks. The State Bank of Viet Nams estimated credit possibly expanded by 18.5 per cent for the whole of 2016. Some to have better opportunity Both reports, of the Viet Dragon Securities Co (VDSC) and Vietcombank Securities Co (VCBS), have rated higher growth potential for Vietcombank and ACB thanks to their good asset quality and high profitability. The VDSC report showed that the PB valuation of Vietcombank and ACB is about 30 per cent higher than that of similar banks in the region with the same profitability of Return on Equity (ROE), while that of BIDV, Vietinbank and Military Bank is slightly lower than the regional banks. Meanwhile, VCBS estimates high growth for both banks with pre-tax profits of Vietcombank likely to rise e 36.8 per cent year-on-year to almost VN12.1 trillion in 2017, while that of ACB likely to grow 21.6 per cent to VN1.95 trillion. Viet Capital Securities has raised its rating on Vietinbank and Military Bank to positive status and said these banks are trading below their fair value. VNS HA NOI Vietnamese producers must improve product quality and make the most of their advantages so that imported goods dont take over the market, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry said. Currently, the chances of imported goods taking over the market are low. Foreign retailers in Viet Nam are fighting for market share within modern retail models, while domestic retailers continue to dominate traditional retail mediums, Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, Director of the World Trade Organisation Centre of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said. Modern retail models such as shopping malls, supermarkets and convenience stores, which largely incorporate mixed-use retailing, account for 25 to 30 per cent of the Vietnamese retail market, whereas 70 to 75 per cent are traditional retail models such as wet markets, box stores and grocery stores. The main supply source for domestic retailers is local producers, who have advantages such as lower logistical cost because of smaller distances, cost benefits owing to the absence of import tariffs, and the opportunity to sell fresher products. So the chances of imported consumption goods overthrowing domestic products in the retail market is slim in the near future. However, there are worrying signs within the agricultural products and household goods sectors. For example, as of the end of 2016, Viet Nam had spent US$365 million on import of vegetables and fruits from Thailand, almost twice the amount compared to the same period in 2015 ($189 million). These imported Thai products are available both in large supermarkets and small retail stores all over Ha Noi. Despite being sold at higher price than their Vietnamese and even Chinese counterparts, Vietnamese consumers are choosing Thai products. An employee of a fresh fruit store on Ba Trieu Street, Ha Noi, said that it could be because the imported products look better and are packaged better, coupled with consumer xenophilia. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has amended several laws related to taxes, such as value added tax and special consumption tax, to help domestic businesses cope with price competition and work to improve product quality and their distribution network. These laws, however, also ensure that domestic producers are subject to the same taxes as foreign businesses importing products, to establish a fair ground. The ministry had also issued directions on the distribution of goods before the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year), urging local authorities, businesses and agencies to actively monitor demands for goods and ready a steady supply before the shopping rush begins, in addition to careful selection of imports and close watch on frauds, with help from the agriculture and rural development ministry. VNS On January 1 every year, Sudanese in their homeland and abroad celebrate their Independence Day. Freedom was achieved in 1956 after 60 years of colonial rule. The struggle against the colonial powers was led by leaders and masses that made great sacrifices for the noble cause. They were inspired in part by the teachings of late President Ho Chi Minh: nothing is more precious than independence and liberty. This year, the commemoration of our Independence Day takes place at a time when the world at large and the region in particular is witnessing a number of political and economic challenges and changes, Sudan is not exception. Sudan witnessed important developments during 2016. Domestically, the positive conclusion of the National Dialogue encompassed vast political parties and civil society organisations as well. Diplomatically, Sudan continued to strengthen ties with regional and international partners, and play a positive and constructive role in the region to maintain peace, stability and prosperity. 2016 has also witnessed great strides in the enhancement of bilateral relations with the Socialist republic of Viet Nam. The two countries confirmed the principle of exchange of support in international organisations. Testament to that is the exchange of support in many international organisations and fora during the last year. In order to facilitate the movement of officials between the two states, the Agreement on the Abolition of visa for holders of Diplomatic, special or official passport entered into force effective 6 September 2016. A number of official visits took place last year involving ministers and other officials. Those include the visit by H.E. the State Minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Sudan and his delegation to participate in the 2nd Meeting of the Joint Government Commission, Ha Noi 10-12 October. On the enhancement of the Academic sphere, a delegation from Sudan headed by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Gezira visited Viet Nam during the period 12-17 April 2016. The visit culminated in the signing of 5 MoU with the University of Industry, Hanoi Medical University, Hue University for Agriculture and Forestry, Vietnam National University and the Aquaculture Institute No. I. In December 2016, Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Special Representative of the Prime Minister to the Affairs of UNESCO Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau visited Sudan and has a fruitful meeting with MOFA. The Embassy for its part strives to expand and deepen bilateral relations in all fields, especially trade, economy, commerce and culture. We believe that without people to people contacts, bilateral relations cannot flourish. Several Sudanese businessmen visited Viet Nam last year and the number is on the rise. Another three agreements have already been concluded and are awaiting final signatures: Avoidance of Double Taxation, Co-operation in Culture and Encouragement and Protection of Investments, in addition to the MoU between the two central banks. The Embassy is also looking to boost co-operation in the field of education and is working with authorities in Viet Nam and Sudan to materialise scholarships for Vietnamese students to study Arabic in Sudan in addition to two scholarships in the field of eye treatment for three years in Khartoum. We are working closely with the Ministry of Education and Training in Vietnam and the Ministry of Higher Education in Sudan to expedite the process of the 5 scholarships granted by Viet Nam for Sudanese undergraduate students in Vietnamese universities. The two countries continued their co-operation in agriculture and oil sectors in 2015. On the political and diplomatic front, the two countries enjoy a good relationship, and Sudanese authorities have consistently benefited from Vietnamese technical and practical expertise. We are confident that next year will see a strengthening of co-operation, especially in the agricultural sector. In 2017, the 5th Round of the Political Consultations between the two countries will be held in Khartoum Lastly, I would like to extend my best wishes to both Vietnamese and Sudanese people, especially those who live here in Vietnam, for a pleasant and prosperous year full of happiness, heath and wealth. For the New Year, I hope the relationship between Viet Nam and Sudan will be enhanced in all fields of co-operation. VNS AUBURN The Auburn Police Department has asked the public to help locate a teenage girl who ran away from Cayuga Centers. On Dec. 26, 14-year-old Abigail McInnes was reported missing at 202 Franklin St. in Auburn. Although her whereabouts are currently unknown, police said information indicates McInnes was in Ithaca Friday and is likely heading to Elmira. McInnes is 5'2" tall and weighs 118 pounds. A white female, she also has red hair and brown eyes. Police said she was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt, gray Cornell sweatpants and gray and white Nike sneakers. Anyone with information is asked to contact Auburn police at (315) 253-3231 or Det. Blanchfield at (315) 255-4703. Callers can remain anonymous. A NANG The first 2017 group of tourists in the central city of a Nang were 150 passengers on a Silk Air flight from Singapore on January 1, 2017. Ross Parker and his wife Corrine from Australia were welcomed with gifts as the first foreign tourists visiting the city this year. Also on the first day of the New Year, the city hosted flights from Incheon, South Korea. Thai Airways, budget VietJetAir and AirAsia will operate more flights from Bangkok and Chiang Mai to a Nang in 2017. a Nang is now the destination of 20 international air routes, of which 11 are of regular flights and nine of chartered ones. New Year in Hoi An Thousands of local and foreign tourists celebrated New Year at Hoi An citys old quarter. Quang Nam Province hosted 4.1 million tourists in 2016, 2 million of them foreign visitors, bringing in total revenues of over VN6.7 trillion (nearly $300 million). The province is home to two world heritage the city of Hoi An and the My Son Sanctuary, and the World Biosphere Reserve of Cham Island-Hoi An. VNS HA NOI A talk titled The Story of Water Puppetry, hosted by artist Ngo Thanh Bac and puppet artisan/performance artist Phan Thanh Liem, will be held on January 8 in Ha Noi. The talk, which is part of the project Reimagine Artist/Artisan, will introduce audiences to mini water puppetry and its value in the field of visual art. After various field trips to traditional craft villages, artist Ngo Thanh Bac, as a member of the research project, chose water puppets as the main materials for his work Do I Need to Introduce My Name Here?, which will be exhibited along with another four art works in Six Space from January 5 to 12, 2017. He has learned from and worked together with artisan/artist Ngo Thanh Liem to make the puppets, and then incorporated them into his installment of a mini communal house and pond built in a small crate. The two artists will share their personal journey in art, talk about the value and structure of water puppets as a mini version, as well as their coordination and roles within the scope of the Reimagine Artist/Artisan project. Bac graduated from the Fine Art University in 2008. He participated in numerous exhibitions with visual and performance work. He is one of the six members of the Annex Group a performance art group that uses daily objects as analogical tools to demonstrate repetitive and somewhat unreasonable behavior over an extended period of time in order to reflect social issues or personal preoccupations. Liem was born to a family of seven generations that have been preserving water puppetry in the northern provinces of Viet Nam. His granfather, Phan Van Huyen, was a puppet craftman and artisan and his father, the famous puppeteer Phan Van Ngai, created the mobile water puppetry stage. He also made chu Teu (a humorous farmer) puppet, which is displayed in Frances Louvre Museum. Phan Thanh Liem is the very first artisan who created mini water puppetry and has been performing both in Vietnam and overseas. The Reimagine The Artist/Artisan project is created and run by a group of multidisciplinary artists and art researchers who are inspired, nostalgic and passionate about the history, knowledge, aesthetics and possibilities of art craftsmanship and craft villages in Viet Nam. Launched in 2016, this participatory art-based research project aims to foster learning, dialogue and collaboration among artists, artisans and the wider public to openly converse on various matters including cultural, aesthetic and social functions of the artist/artisan in the creative process and production, and shared influence between artists and artisans. The talk wil start at 4pm at Six Space, 94B Tran Hung ao, Ha Noi. VNS BINH PHUOC - Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has chosen the two southern provinces of Binh Phuoc and Binh Duong among his first working visits of the new year. In Binh Phuoc, Prime Minister Phuc yesterday broke ground for the construction of the Minh Tam Cement Factory in Hon Quan District. Speaking at the ceremony, he highlighted the importance of the factory and praised business entrepreneurs for their decision to invest in this remote area. He also noted that the project will benefit from advanced technology imported from Germany. The plant, with a total capacity of about 4-5 million tonnes per year and a total investment worth VN12 trillion (US$527 million), was expected to produce thousands of jobs for local people and revenues for the local budget. In his remarks, the PM also urged investors to use local land and water resources in the most effective and safe way in order to protect the natural environment of the region. The project should strive for a long-term sustainable operation by focusing on protecting the environment rather than exploiting it for a short time. Prime Minister Phuc stressed that environmental projection should be regarded as a key target beside the goal of socio-economic development. The project will not help improve local life conditions if it causes a negative impact on the environment, said Phuc. Phuc also asked investors to complete the project within 18 and 24 months. He asked Binh Phuoc Province to create favourable conditions for the investors during construction and to ensure the safe relocation of local residents for the projects land clearance. Binh Phuoc is Viet Nams largest province but also one of its poorest in the southeastern region. The province serves as a bridge to connect the region with the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) and areas bordering Cambodia. It three main products are rubber, pepper and cashew. Last year, a volatility of prices and a slow recovery from damages due to prolonged drought significantly impacted the growth of local agriculture. Speaking with provincial officials at the meeting, the Prime Minister pointed out that although the land of the province is fertile, and it has vast natural resources, per capita income in 2016 was just 42.1 million ($1,850), lower than the national average of VN50 million ($2,190). He urged the province to focus more on the development of smart agriculture. The province should mobilise all forces in expanding a smart model of vegetable growing in order to make prestigious export products branded as a representive of Viet Nam on the world market. On Sunday Phuc said at a working session with Binh Duong provincial leaders that the Government expected the province to become a strong driving force for the national and regional economy. In the future, Binh Duong should become a federal city and an industrial hub, a smart city and a leading investment destination, he said. The PM said he was impressed with Binh Duongs speedy socio-economic growth. The province was one of the leading localities in administrative reform and one of the few having an effective administration centre. He lauded Binh Duongs policy to promote immigrants contributions to local socio-economic development. He asked the province to address several shortcomings, saying Binh Duong has yet to fully tap its advantage as the gateway of HCM City to develop high quality service and support industries. Binh Duongs provincial competitiveness index remains low at 25th, among 63 localities nationwide and fourth in the Southeastern region, he said. The province needs more hi-tech firms and high-quality products and it should reduce the risk of environmental pollution, the PM advised. Binh Duong should also create breakthroughs in the business and investment environment, while improving the quality of human resources and fostering urban infrastructure links with the whole region, he added. Expressing his hope that the province will become a startup centre for the region and the country, the PM said it should have 50,000 enterprises by 2020, double the current number. The province should also boost the growth of support industries and encourage local firms to upgrade their technologies to protect the environment, he said. He asked local authorities to enhance administrative efficiency and submit a project on setting up a smart city. Re-established on January 1, 1997, Binh Duong is located in the southern key economic region. It has acquired the status of a leading industrial locality in the country and one of 13 highest localities in terms of budget collection. In 2016, the provinces total gross domestic product (GDP) grew 8.5 per cent, while its per capita income reached VN108.6 million. Currently, industry makes up 63 per cent of the localitys economic structure, followed by services at 23.5 per cent. Agriculture accounts for just 4.3 per cent of the local economy. Over the past five years, the industrial production index of Binh Duong has increased by 11 per cent each year. Its budget collection in 2016 exceeded the set target by 3 per cent to hit VN40 trillion, a year on year rise of 9 per cent. Thanks to its improved investment environment, Binh Duong has attracted US$25.7 billion in foreign investment, with $2.4 billion in 2016 alone. So far, the province has built 28 industrial parks and 10 industrial clusters. Also on Sunday, PM Phuc attended a ceremony to mark 20 years of the provinces development, during which he presented it with the Independence Order, First Class. VNS Thirty-two public hospitals in HCM City carried out their own bids for the first time last year, helping reduce shortages of medicine. Photo tuoitre.vn HCM CITY Thirty-two public hospitals in HCM City carried out their own bids for the first time last year, helping reduce shortages of medicine. The remaining 27 hospitals in the city cannot carry out their own bids because they do not have a council of experts. These hospitals will fix prices based on the 32 hospitals bidding results and then sign contracts with pharmaceutical companies. At a press meeting last week, Pham Khanh Phong Lan, the Health Departments deputy head, said that although concentrated bidding carried out by the department had helped save costs, there was no need for it because there was a large market of pharmaceutical companies and hospitals in the city. In concentrated bidding, only some companies win a contract, Lan said, adding that, in this case, the companies have problems in providing medicine. The hospitals that carry out their own bids have more choices of medicine, she said. To limit the difference between the price of medicine paid by the hospitals bidding councils, the city Peoples Committee allows only a 5 per cent difference. The results of the first bidding are expected in the first quarter. o Van Dung, head of the departments medicine management division, said at least 163 bidding packages, at a cost of nearly 9.5 trillion (US$416.7 million), were finalised this year. This represented an increase of nearly VN400 billion compared to last year. While waiting for the bidding results, hospitals are allowed to extend contracts with companies which had earlier won contracts in the concentrated bidding last year. The Health Department has asked for a list of medicine bids at hospitals to ensure proper treatment guidelines and financing, giving priority to Vietnamese-made medicine. In the city, the proportion of Vietnamese-manufactured medicine at hospitals is 48 per cent on average. Grassroots-level health facilities have a higher proportion of 60 per cent. VNS Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved construction of a bypass and road that will connect with National Highway No. 91. Photo baodautu.vn HCM CITY Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved construction of a bypass and road that will connect with National Highway No. 91. The 15.3-km long bypass, which will go around Long Xuyen City, will extend from National Highway No. 80 and the Lo Te intersection to an intersection of National Highway No. 91 in An Giang Province. The 2-km long road will connect the bypass with National Highway No. 91 in Can Tho City. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Australian Government have provided funding for the bypass and road. The road and bypass, which will cost US$94.58 million, is expected to be built in the first quarter of 2018 and will be completed within 28 months. The road and bypass are part of transport infrastructure plans that aim to reduce poverty and contribute to economic growth in the (Cuu Long) Mekong Delta, particularly in the provinces of An Giang and ong Thap and surrounding areas. The new roadways will also help reduce traffic congestion and improve traffic safety. The bypass and road are part of the Central Mekong Delta Region Connectivity Project, which began in 2013. VNS THANH HOA -- Chilli prices in central province of Thanh Hoa have reached a record high. In many local markets, consumers have had to fork out VN1,000 (US$0.04) for just two chillies. In some markets, the price is VN5,000 ($0.2) for four chillies. Hoang Thi Hue, resident of Thanh Hoa City, said shed never paid so much ever for chillies. "Usually, I only spent VN500 for several pods, but it is as at least VN2,000 for that number, four times as much," she said. If the chilli was a bit bigger, just one pod costs VN1,000, she said. "Its incredibly high,"Hue said, adding, "the vendor told me to buy a kilogramme to get a better price - about VN100,000-150,000 ($4-). This is totally not a good price in any way." Some vegetable sellers at the ong Thanh and Tay Thanh markets said they did not purchase chilli as much as they used to because of the surprisingly high prices. Le Xuan Man, chairman of the Agricultural Services Corporative in Yen inh Districts inh Lien Commune, where chillies are a main crop, said that the price spike was real. He said the reason was that the chilly supply for both the domestic market and export to China was mainly from the south-central provinces. This year, these provinces were heavily flooded, and their crops, including chillies, submerged and ruined. Thus, the price of fresh chillies had been rising since October, he said. Man also said the prices are not likely to decrease in the coming months. The commune has about 40 hectares of fresh chilli at the moment. When they are harvested, big chillies will be sold for between VN15,000-27,000 per kilo, and small red hot chillies at VN80,000-100,000 ($3.2-4) per kilo. Le Thi Ha, farmer in Village No1, said that her family earns VN16 million ($702) from a sao (0.036ha) of chillies, not including extra costs like fertiliser and seedlings. -- VNS TAY NINH Tobacco smuggling continues to get more complex in southern Tay Ninh Province and has increased remarkably during the year end, the Voice of Viet Nam (VOV) online newspaper reported. The provincial border guard has been seizing some 1,000 packages of cigarettes each day. Tay Ninh has a 240km border with Cambodia with even and flat terrain, creating favourable conditions for smugglers to operate, according to local authorities. The transportation, storage and trade of smuggled cigarettes have, however, become more elaborate and smugglers have started using more complicated tactics, making it harder for authorised agencies to detect the illegal activities. Smugglers use motorcycles, motorboats and high-speed cars to transport large shipments. The transportation of contraband cigarettes often takes place at night. The cigarettes are then shipped mainly via river routes in large quantities. Smugglers often use ingenious methods to hide the tobacco, scattering it at many places or storing some 15 to 20 packs in each persons house. Tobacco is not kept indoors for a long time, usually about an hour, and is then transported by motorcycles, cars or boats with the assistance of locals along the border. Many smuggling gangs and organisations also co-operate with each other to fight against authorised forces on duty. Nguyen Hoai Phuong, head of the Tay Ninh Border Guard, said apart from fixed stations, nine more mobile stations have been set up to inspect and crack down on tobacco smuggling. Preventive measures have also been implemented, focusing on ensuring that locals do not lend a hand to smugglers, by increasing information dissemination to raise awareness and by working with local authorities to create jobs so that they do not need to assist in smuggling activities, he said. In the future, the local border guard will continue launching campaigns against smuggling. However, the lack of anti-smuggling forces has made the war more difficult, he said. Southern localities are considered the smuggling hub of the country. The Ministry of Public Security noted that smuggled cigarettes account for 24-25 per cent of the domestic market, while the confiscated amount accounts for only 6-7 per cent. Smuggling causes a range of issues -- from potential consumer health problems and failure of tax collection, to public disorder and corruption among officials. VNS AK NONG Illegal stone mining activities have been going on since April in ak Nong Provinces ak Kut Quarry, but no action has been taken against violators. Last month, after Vietnam News Agency (VNA) published multiple reports on illegal quarrying at ak Kut Quarry in Gia Nghia Towns ak Tan Village, the provincial Peoples Committee set up a special working group to look into the issue. A decision signed by Truong Thanh Tung, Vice Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee, said the group would include leaders of the provincial natural resources and environment department, the provincial police and the peoples committees of Gia Nghia Town and ak Nia Commune. am Quang Trung, Director of the provincial Natural Resources and Environment Department, was appointed head of the group. The group was asked to inspect the quarry and figure out what illegal mining was being done, those involved in the activity as well as the responsibilities of the various State agencies in the incident. It was to hand over its report to the Peoples Committee before December 20. On December 20, however, when the working group held a meeting to share its assessment and offer solutions, representatives of the provincial police department and Gia Nghia Towns Peoples Committee were absent. At the meeting, the working group asked related authorities to work with representatives of Duy Quang Commerce JSC, the alleged violator, before December 30 to define the companys illegal mining activity and come up with appropriate punishments. It also asked Gia Nghia and ak Nia authorities to report on the responsibilities of those involved in the case before December 26, and asked the provincial police department to report on the two trucks carrying stones that were seized in September. However, so far, the group has received no responses. The working group has also asked the provincial authority to postpone the deadline of the final report to January 15, saying that the incident was complicated and needed time to be resolved. Last October, the VNA reported illegal mining in ak Tan Village, which is around a kilometre from ak Nia Communes Peoples Committee office. Stones were piled up two to three metres high and spread over 0.5m in the quarry. A group of five workers were seen working with machines and loading stones in trucks. Hoang Van Ten, head of ak Tan Village, said that stone quarrying had been going on since last April, making the area noisy and dusty, and damaging the village roads. When VNA reporters asked ong Quang Huy, chairman of the Peoples Committee, he said the committee had no idea who was behind the illegal quarrying. VNS HA NOI An influx of residents has returned to big cities, particularly Ha Noi and HCM City, after enjoying a three-day holiday, causing some congestion but less serious than last years. The improved situation has raised hopes of a brighter future for city traffic in 2017. Travellers, especially office workers or children visiting their families in different provinces, tried to reach the city on time to begin their working day or school yesterday, and many were forced to scramble to find an available city-bound bus. The bus stations of My inh and Giap Bat in Ha Noi, for example, were chaotic due to thousands of passengers arriving at the same time on Monday and early yesterday. The National Highway 1 running from north to south, experienced the most serious traffic jams at its Phap Van-Cau Gie crossroads heading towards Ha Noi, but there was only one hour-long holdup on Monday afternoon. Meanwhile, some streets in central Ha Noi, including Nguyen Trai, Nguyen Xien and Khuat Duy Tien, were jammed as crowds thronged the center of town for New Years eve street events, but a massive traffic police presence averted chaos, the Dan Tri online newspaper reported. Yesterday was also the debut of Ha Nois first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). But despite an order issued by the Ha Noi Transport Department banning all vehicles from the special BRT lanes, many cars, motorbikes and even other kinds of buses violated the ban. City traffic police said they would not impose fines during the first days of the BRT operation, but would be stricter in the future, according to 24h.com.vn. In HCM City, earlier on Monday, Dan Tri reported that entrance roads, including the citys southwestern Tan Tuc in Binh Chanh District and the Nguyen Van Linh and Nguyen Huu Tri roundabouts, were more crowded than usual but no traffic jams were recorded. However, at the western entrance to the southern hub, vehicles of all types were stuck in congestion as people dashed back to the city from the Mekong Delta region, while the eastern entrance to the city was also clogged by a large number of commuters who had just concluded their trips to the southern beach city of Vung Tau, the resort town of a Lat in the Central Highlands, and the southcentral beach city of Nha Trang, according to the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. The congestion was exacerbated by a road collision between two cars on the HCM City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway, which connects the city with neighboring ong Nai Province, the paper reported. The volume of vehicles on the expressway rose by 1.5 times during the holiday. According to the National Committee for Traffic Safety, traffic jams were less severe than those in the past thanks to thorough preparations. However, there have been reports that buses overcharged passengers and carried more people than allowed, Tuoi tre reported. Ninety-three accidents occured over the three-day weekend, killing 79 people and injuring 54, the committee said. Two of the accidents that resulted in two fatalities were related to train traffic. VNS MANAUS , Brazil Rioting inmates decapitated their rivals in brutal fighting between two gangs in a Brazilian jail that left 56 dead, while 144 prisoners escaped, officials said on Monday (local time). The riot broke out Sunday afternoon and lasted through the night at a prison on the outskirts of Manaus , the capital of Amazonas state, state public security secretary Sergio Fontes said. Bloodied and burned bodies were stacked in a concrete prison yard and piled in carts, an AFP photographer at the scene said. Fontess department later lowered the death toll to 56 from an earlier count of 60. The fighting ranks among the most deadly of numerous prison riots across Latin America in the past decade. Fontes called it "the biggest massacre" ever committed at a prison in the state. Outside, heavily armed police hunted for dozens of inmates who escaped through a series of tunnels discovered at the Anisio Jobim penitentiary complex. Fontess department later said that 112 prisoners escaped from that prison and another 72 from the nearby Antonio Trindade Penal Institute. Just 40 of the escapees were captured, it added. Decapitations Police finally restored order at the prison on Monday morning, freeing 12 guards who had been taken hostage, Fontes said. They found a horrific scene inside. "Many (victims) were decapitated, and they all suffered a lot of violence," he told a news conference. He said the gruesome scene appeared aimed at sending a message from the Family of the North (FDN), a powerful local gang, to rivals from the First Capital Command (PCC), one of Brazil s largest gangs. The PCCs base is in Sao Paulo , some 2,700km to the southeast. "During the negotiations (to end the riot), the prisoners had almost no demands," Fontes told local radio network Tiradentes. "We think they had already done what they wanted: kill members of the rival organisation." Silent war It was the latest eruption of horrific violence to hit Brazil s underfunded and overcrowded prisons. In October, deadly riots broke out at three prisons, blamed on fighting between members of the countrys two largest gangs, the PCC and the Red Command (CV). During that episode, rioting inmates took visitors hostage, beheaded rivals and burned others alive, killing 33 people in all, the authorities said. In 1992, a riot in Sao Paulo s Carandiru prison left 111 people dead. Brazil s prisons are often controlled by drug gangs, whose turf wars on the outside are also fought out among inmates. "There is a silent war of drug trafficking, and the state needs to intervene," Fontes said. "What did we see in this case? One faction fighting another because each wants more money. The fight is for money and space." NEW YORK Defending poor people accused of crimes will remain largely a county-by-county expense in New York, after Gov. Andrew Cuomo vetoed a proposal for the state to foot the bill. The Democratic governor nixed the measure Saturday night, saying it went too far in shifting the costs of providing lawyers for people who can't afford them. "I cannot increase the taxes of every taxpayer in this state to fund existing and future legal defense work in counties" that goes beyond criminal cases, he wrote. Cuomo said he'd work with lawmakers on a new plan this year. But public defenders and other supporters of the legislation said the governor had spurned legislation that would have helped ensure New Yorkers have equal access to justice. "He has rejected a groundbreaking and bipartisan fix to our deeply flawed public defense system," said Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, which had sued the state over the issue. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in 1963 that state courts were required to provide legal counsel to criminal defendants who could not afford to hire an attorney on their own. But New York and other states have grappled with the implications of that guarantee in recent years. Multiple states, including New York, have left the funding of indigent defense to counties. The NYCLU and defense lawyers say the county-paid framework has led to a problematic, patchwork system. "In many areas of New York, low-income defendants can get short shrift, because their lawyers, due to crushing caseloads, don't have the time or resources to meet meaningfully with their clients, investigate charges and develop an adequate defense," said Jonathan E. Gradess, the executive director of the New York State Defenders Association. As some of New York's chief judges raised concerns in recent years about indigent defense, the state took some steps to try to address it. Then a 2014 settlement between the Cuomo administration and the NYCLU required improvements including a promise that all poor defendants would have lawyers at their first court appearances in Suffolk, Washington, Ontario, Onondaga and Schuyler counties. The now-vetoed legislation aimed to build on the settlement by gradually transferring responsibility for paying for public defenders from local counties to the state. Cuomo said he supported that goal, but he argued the legislation went too far by including legal services in family court and other settings besides criminal defense, with no mechanism to pay the ultimately $800-million-a-year cost. One of the measure's sponsors, state Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy, said she was committed to working with the governor and others to address the issue. "We want to get this right for the sake of all New Yorkers," the Albany Democrat said in a statement. BEIRUT Syrias ceasefire has appeared under threat as government forces intensified their attacks near Damascus and around 10 rebel groups said they were suspending talks about planned peace negotiations this month. The talks are due to take place in the Kazakh capital Astana in late January but the rebels said they were pulling out of discussions due to "violations" by Damascus of a four-day old truce. The talks are being organised by Russia, which supports the Syrian regime, and Turkey and Iran, which back the rebels. "As these violations are continuing, the rebel factions announce... the freezing of all discussion linked to the Astana negotiations," they said in a joint statement. The rebels said they "respected the ceasefire across the whole of Syria... but the regime and its allies have not stopped shooting and have launched major and frequent violations, notably in the (rebel) regions of Wadi Barada and Eastern Ghouta", near Damascus, they said. For the past two weeks, even before the start of a nationwide truce brokered by Ankara and Moscow, Syrias air force has launched almost daily bombing raids on Wadi Barada, some 15km from Damascus. "Any (advance) on the ground goes against the (ceasefire) agreement and if things dont return to how they were before, the accord will be considered null and void," the rebel statement added. On Monday, the Syrian army backed by air strikes and artillery fire advanced as it battles to capture the area, which is key to the capitals water supply, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "Regime forces and fighters from Lebanons Hezbollah group are advancing in the region and are now on the outskirts of Ain al-Fijeh, the primary water source in the area," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the monitoring group. He said government troops and allied fighters were engaged in fierce clashes with rebels, including former al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front, a claim denied by opposition fighters. Two civilians were shot dead by snipers and two other civilians were killed in regime bombardment of the town of Rastan in central Homs province, the Observatory added. Government forces have surrounded Wadi Barada since mid-2015, but the siege was tightened in December as the army piled on the pressure. Four million without water The Syrian government says rebels have targeted key water infrastructure, causing leaking fuel to poison water supplies and then cutting it off altogether. The United Nations says at least four million people in Damascus have been without water since December 22. The Observatory said around 1,000 women and children fled the area over the weekend. The ceasefire deal, and the plan for new talks, received the unanimous backing of the UN Security Council on Saturday, despite offering a competing track to UN-sponsored negotiations. Turkey and Russia say the talks are intended to supplement, not replace, UN-backed negotiations scheduled to resume in February. AFP JERUSALEM Police have grilled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for three hours on suspicion of receiving gifts from businessmen, as part of a graft probe that has shaken the countrys politics. Investigators on Monday quizzed Netanyahu at his residence in central Jerusalem under caution "on suspicion of receiving benefits", a police spokesman said afterwards, adding there were no further details to give. Ahead of the questioning, Netanyahu denied any wrongdoing and told his political opponents to put any "celebrations" on hold. The justice ministry said in a statement that officers from a police anti-corruption unit carried out the questioning, adding that Netanyahu was "suspected of having received gifts from businessmen". The long-running graft inquiry has looked into whether wealthy Israeli and foreign businessmen have offered gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars as well as another unspecified issue, according to media reports. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has reportedly decided to upgrade the inquiry to a criminal probe, although he has yet to confirm this. Earlier on Monday, screens were mounted at the entrance to the compound in central Jerusalem in an apparent bid to shield the investigators arrival. "We hear all the media reports. We see and hear the festive spirit and atmosphere in television studios and in the corridors of the opposition," Netanyahu told lawmakers from his Likud party on Monday, according to a video posted to his Facebook page. "I want to tell them to wait for the celebrations. Do not rush. I told you and I repeat: There will be nothing because there is nothing. You will continue to inflate hot air balloons and we will continue to lead the state of Israel ." Months-long inquiry Police have carried out the probe in secret over some eight months and recently made an important breakthrough, reports said. About 50 witnesses are said to have been questioned. In July, Mandelblit said he had ordered a preliminary examination into an unspecified affair involving Netanyahu, with no details given. US billionaire and World Jewish Congress president Ronald Lauder has been among those questioned in the probe over gifts he allegedly gave Netanyahu and alleged spending on trips for him, Israeli media reported. Lauder, whose family founded the Estee Lauder cosmetics giant, has long been seen as an ally of Netanyahu, who in the late 1990s put him in charge of negotiating with then Syrian president Hafez al-Assad. Netanyahu has acknowledged receiving money from French tycoon Arnaud Mimran, who was sentenced to eight years in prison over a scam amounting to 283 million euros involving the trade of carbon emissions permits and taxes on them. Netanyahus office said he had received $40,000 in contributions from Mimran in 2001, when he was not in office, as part of a fund for public activities, including appearances abroad to promote Israel . He has also come under scrutiny over an alleged conflict of interest in the purchase of submarines from a German firm. Media reports have alleged a conflict of interest over the role played by the Netanyahu family lawyer, David Shimron, who also acts for the Israeli agent of Germany s ThyssenKrupp. Beyond those issues, Israel s state comptroller released a critical report in May about Netanyahus foreign trips, some with his wife and children, between 2003 and 2005 when he was finance minister. Campaign of provocation Netanyahu, 67, is in his fourth term as prime minister and currently heads what is seen as the most right-wing government in Israeli history. Widely known by his nickname Bibi, he has served as premier for a total of nearly 11 years, fast approaching revered founding father David Ben-Gurions 13 years. Polls have shown that if elections were held now, his Likud party would finish behind the centrist Yesh Atid, but that voters still prefer Netanyahu as prime minister. The inquiry has led to fierce debate in Israeli politics, with Netanyahus allies accusing opposition politicians and some in the media of unfairly pressuring the attorney general. Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, in comments on army radio on Monday, denounced what he called a "campaign of provocation and incitement" against Mandelblit. However, others have accused Mandelblit of moving too slowly in the highly charged case. Netanyahus predecessor as prime minister, Ehud Olmert, was forced to resign while dogged by corruption allegations. ARBIL, Iraq Western support for military action against the Islamic State group is key to preventing attacks at home, French President Francois Hollande said on Monday in Iraq, where yet another bombing killed dozens. A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden car on a square in Baghdad s Sadr City neighbourhood, killing at least 32 people in the latest attack on the Iraqi capital claimed by IS. Later the interior ministry said jihadist gunmen wearing suicide vests stormed a police station in the city of Samarra north of Baghdad , sparking clashes. There were no immediate reports of casualties, but IS said it was also behind the Samarra attack. France, one of the most active members of the US-led coalition fighting the Sunni extremist group, is particularly concerned over the return of a large contingent of French jihadists from Syria and Iraq . "Taking action against terrorism here in Iraq is also preventing acts of terrorism on our own soil," he said at a base where French soldiers have been training elite Iraqi forces. Hollande, the only major Western head of state to have visited Baghdad since the coalition was set up in 2014, stressed that supporting Iraq was one of the surest ways of securing Europe. Of European countries targeted by attacks claimed or inspired by IS, France has been the worst hit, but there have also been attacks in Belgium and Germany . Besides the defeated jihadists expected to return to Europe , radicalised children who grew up in the "caliphate" IS proclaimed in 2014 are also seen as ticking bombs. "We will have to deal with the issue of the return of foreign fighters... who committed crimes, who brought their families with them, including in some cases very young children," Hollande said. Since it joined the United States in the coalition in September 2014, France says its warplanes have conducted 5,700 sorties, around 1,000 strikes and destroyed more than 1,700 targets. Before summer France has 14 Rafale warplanes taking part in coalition operations from Jordan and the United Arab Emirates . It also has 500 soldiers training and advising elite Iraqi forces and CAESAR artillery vehicles stationed south of Mosul to support ongoing operations to retake the city. Hollande met Iraqi President Fuad Masum, a Kurd, and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, from the largest Shiite political bloc, and called for reconciliation and unity after IS is defeated. He then flew to the northern city of Arbil , capital of Iraq s autonomous Kurdish region, where he met local leader Massud Barzani. He said just before leaving Iraq that he was told that the battle to retake Mosul , the last major jihadist stronghold in the country, could last several more months. "It was confirmed to us that we could possibly achieve this goal in spring, in any case before summer," he said. Hollande added that the focus would then move to Raqa, ISs other major bastion, in neighbouring Syria . Closing Gibraltars World Heritage Year and Looking Forward to 2017 2016 marked the successful inscription of Gibraltars first World Heritage Site. The Gorhams Cave Complex became the United Kingdoms 30th World Heritage Site, significantly in the year that marked the 30th anniversary of the first United Kingdom sites to be inscribed. To commemorate the landmark, Historic England recently organised a reception in the House of Lords which was hosted by Baroness Young of Hornsey OBE. The reception brought together the 30 World Heritage Sites, including Gibraltar, and was well attended by members of both houses. Among the highlights of the evening, in which Gibraltar was represented by Professor Clive Finlayson and Dr Geraldine Finlayson, was the screening of a video showing the wide range of heritage encompassed by the United Kingdom sites. The Gorhams Cave Complex featured alongside such emblematic sites as the Tower of London and Stonehenge. Later, on the 15th December, Professor Finlayson gave the ICOMOS-UK Christmas Lecture, also in London. This was an opportunity to present the new World Heritage Site to an audience of heritage specialists, decisions makers, managers and a wider public. Overall, these events have served to project Gibraltars heritage to a wide audience as well as establishing new contacts within the United Kingdoms community of World Heritage Sites. Commenting at the start of 2017, new heritage Minister Dr John Cortes said that he looked forward to a fruitful 2017 in the field of heritage. Although the success of 2016 would be hard to match, he saw the coming year as one of consolidation and of taking the opportunity that World Heritage presented for Gibraltar. Having Heritage in the same Ministry as the Environment and Education also offered great scope in a variety of fields for the benefit of society. Dr Cortes said that Urban renewal, environmental regeneration and heritage education are examples of how quality of life can be improved and the sense of identity strengthened, particularly significant in the year which commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the 1967 Referendum. WATERLOO In recent years, business leaders, colleagues and others quickly discovered a valuable young resource: Laura Folkerts. Folkerts is an attorney at Dutton, Braun, Staack & Hellman with expertise in employment law a rarity for the region, said colleague Mike Young. Laura is an exceptional attorney who is deeply committed to volunteer efforts that help the Cedar Valley and the entire state, he noted. Despite her age, Folkerts is known to possess distinct poise and wisdom, Young added. As a result, she is frequently asked by employers to give informational presentations to individuals and businesses throughout the region. Folkerts, a Nashua native, said her motivation is a desire to help and help others. I love to be involved in the community, she explained. I love to work with other individuals; thats what inspires me. And I love it when people work together to make the community the best place possible. This love of serving others and community involvement came early, recalled Folkerts. My mom was involved in various community organizations and boards, Folkerts said. She got my siblings and me involved through leading by example. Leadership and volunteering have been a part of my life since elementary school. I never gave much thought as to why. It was just something we did. A family connection led her to merge her desire to serve with practicing law. Her aunt was an attorney in Florida. I loved hearing her stories, and it sounded like she was really making a difference in her clients lives, Folkerts said. Thats why I went to law school. Folkerts makes a difference in the lives of clients and other attorneys, Young noted. She has dedicated herself to helping new attorneys acclimate themselves to practicing law through her work as district representative for the Executive Council of the Young Lawyers Division of the Iowa Bar Association. She is an active volunteer in community organizations who gives generously of her time, Young said. DES MOINES Iowa Soybean Association President Rolland Schnell puts it simply when talking about the upcoming 2017 session of the Iowa Legislature. I think the biggest issue is water, water, water, Schnell said. Its an attitude shared by many other agricultural leaders. As lawmakers return to Des Moines for the next legislative session this month, water quality and the idea of finding a large and dedicated funding stream for those efforts is front and center on the legislative to-do list. It takes a lot of investment, said Iowa Farm Bureau Federation President Craig Hill. Were talking hundreds of millions of dollars. Farmers are willing to make a big investment in water quality, Hill stressed. But he says the state needs to step up and invest in the idea as well. Last year, Gov. Terry Branstad proposed a 1-cent sales tax earmarked for school infrastructure be extended 20 years, but the revenue be shared with water quality efforts instead of going entirely to schools. That idea went nowhere in the Legislature. Republicans in the House countered with a proposal that would have taken money from a number of existing programs and channeled it toward water quality. Many Democrats in the Legislature, and a few Republicans as well, supported the idea of raising the state sales tax by a penny, pointing toward a 2010 state referendum in which more than 60 percent of Iowans voted to earmark the first 3/8 cent of any sales tax increase for a natural resources fund. No consensus was reached before the end of the session. Some momentum seemed to be building over the summer and fall for the sales tax idea, but a big Republican win in the fall election could potentially change the shape of the debate. The election could make last years House proposal the leading possibility. Hill and Schnell both said they are flexible on the best approach as long as a reliable funding stream is established. While money is important, it isnt the only factor necessary to make the water quality effort work, according to Iowa Farmers Union President Aaron Heley Lehman. We need to make sure the money is being used efficiently, Lehman said. That means things like water quality monitoring and measurements need to be a part of the picture as well as funding. That accountability is going to be important, he said. The IFU favors the idea of raising the sales tax to finance the trust fund as a way of paying for water quality. The election is changing things under the gold dome in multiple ways. First and foremost, Republicans took control of the Senate, meaning they now control the House, the Senate and the governorship. Democrats will be unable to block many Republican initiatives. Whats more, Branstad, the longest-serving governor in United States history, has been named by President-elect Donald Trump as the next ambassador to China. Assuming Branstad is approved by the U.S. Senate, he will then resign sometime this spring and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds will become governor. Meanwhile, lawmakers will have other issues to consider. The first on the priority list for both Hill and Schnell is the Section 179 depreciation rule. A year ago, federal officials renewed that item in federal law, but Iowa lawmakers did not pair the state law with the federal one. Hill hopes lawmakers address that issue and do so early in the session. Mental health funding is another important item, he says. There are problems with present funding, and it would be helpful if lawmakers addressed the way mental health care is funded. This years legislative session is scheduled to begin Jan. 9. 4 Iowans die in Illinois crash VIENNA, Ill. (AP) Authorities in southern Illinois have identified the four Iowans who died after a single-engine plane crashed in stormy weather in a wooded area on New Years Eve. The Johnson County Coroner said Curt Terpstra, 34, Krista Green, 37, Jordan Linder, 35, and his sister, Jasmine Linder, 26, died in the crash. All four were from Iowa. Johnson County is about 130 miles southeast of St. Louis, near the Shawnee National Forest. Traffic deaths jumped in 2016 AMES (AP) Traffic deaths jumped to at least 400 last year in Iowa. The Iowa Transportation Department says the figure is nearly 27 percent higher than the 316 traffic deaths recorded in 2015. Its also the highest figure since the 411 in 2008. The department said the 2016 month with the most deaths was October, with 40. The total of 400 could rise because the department has not added any fatalities that happened Saturday, the last day of 2016. Branstad backs voter ID law DES MOINES (AP) Gov. Terry Branstad says it makes sense for Iowa to consider legislation that would require voters to show identification when casting an election ballot. The Republican governor told reporters Tuesday such a requirement would ensure voters are valid and arent voting in more than one state. State officials do not track voter fraud statewide, but cases of fraudulent voting are exceedingly rare. Branstad said the state Secretary of States Office is working with members of the Legislature to introduce legislation that could make changes to Iowas voting system. Its still unclear if voter identification will be included in any proposed legislation. Man dies while fixing tractor DURANGO (AP) A man was killed and another injured while repairing a tractor in Dubuque County. The accident occurred around 2 p.m. Monday at a farm near Durango. The Dubuque County Sheriffs Office said the tractor slipped into gear during repairs and ran over the men. One man was pronounced dead at the scene. The other man has been taken to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. Their names havent been released. Des Moines man fatally stabbed DES MOINES (AP) A man died at a hospital after he was stabbed at a house in Des Moines. Officers were sent to the scene around 2:30 p.m. Monday. Police said the 55-year-old man died about an hour after he was taken to the hospital. His name hasnt been released. Investigators have identified a suspect, but no arrest has been reported. Care center exec charged with theft DANVILLE (AP) A partial owner of a nursing home in southeast Iowa has been accused of misusing a residents money. Court records say Marc Johnson, of Hamilton, 46, Illinois, is charged with felony dependent adult abuse-exploitation. Authorities say Johnson took about $1,700 from a resident of the Danville Care Center in Danville to buy a television and other items for the facility. Ledges Park fall kills man BOONE (AP) A man has been killed in a fall at Ledges State Park in central Iowas Boone County. The Iowa Natural Resources Department said the man fell about 60 feet from an overlook off Lost Lake Trail around 11:15 a.m. Sunday. He was pronounced dead at a Des Moines hospital. The 63-year-old Ames man was one of several people participating in an annual group hike. His name hasnt been released. Burned woman found at fire DES MOINES (AP) Des Moines firefighters are investigating what caused a house fire and possible explosion that injured a woman. Fire crews were sent to the scene north of Lincoln High School around 1:30 a.m. Monday. The burned woman was found outside the house. Her name hasnt been released. Do you "like"? Do you "tweet"? Do you tube? Does your business do any or all of these things and, if so, does it really ... MARCELLUS Marcellus Senior High School student Zach Haggett is the man to know at the Finally Ours diner. Haggett, 16, is at the front door as the greeter from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. He was recently named the diner's Employee of the Month and recognized at a Marcellus Board of Education meeting for the honor. He is wonderful, Lisa Laffin said. He is like a ray of sunshine. We just all adore him. Laffin owns Finally Ours with her husband, Dave both longtime workers in the hospitality industry who aptly named their own restaurant Finally Ours. Their luncheon greeter, Zach, has a rare disease called mucolipidosis that has prevented him from developing physically to full stature as a matter of fact, he is quite diminutive. He is one in a million, literally one in a million, his mother, Brenda Haggett said, noting Zach is one of three boys with the rarest form of this disease in the United States. "There are about 30 children and young adults in the U.S. with ML." Brenda said they really had no idea anything was wrong with Zach until he was born, and then it took three long years to diagnose a condition that was deemed terminal. The 16-year-old has already passed his life expectancy, and he has surpassed everything his family thought they wouldn't get a chance to see, as he wasn't expected to make it to middle school. Zach's body doesn't process waste, and instead it is sent to attack his organs and bones. His bones are extremely fragile, and he takes medicine once a month to help with the severe, chronic pain. He has had numerous surgeries because of his fragile bones, spending a lot of time in Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital in Syracuse. It took him until he was three before he could walk," Brenda said. "He's always been little and tiny and had to survive in a world bigger than him. But he did. But, he started to break bones, so finally at the age of 12, he had to stop walking and instead uses a wheelchair. Yet, with all the physical challenges of his every day life, his spirit has always been incredibly positive. I get knocked down, and I get back up, Zach said. He is super funny, and his heart is so big, Brenda said. He is so wise beyond his years, a firecracker with a great wit but also compassionate and empathetic. Being in and out of the hospital his whole life, Zach became a Children's Miracle Network ambassador and was sent to Costco to represent. He loved the experience of being out with the public and set his sights on being a Costco greeter. The manager was on board, too, Brenda said, but the corporate company said it doesn't allow school-age, part-time workers even volunteers. Brenda and John Haggett, who met while working in a restaurant, were regulars at Finally Ours. It occurred to Brenda to ask the Laffins, who were immediately on board with the idea. The Marcellus Central School District has a School to Work Program in which students with disabilities go out into the community to work. Zach has long been assisted in school by his teacher's aide, Penny Poorman. It's been going on 10 years now, Poorman said. When you are with someone that long, a trust develops. We have a lot of fun. ... He's very, very charming and very witty." She accompanies him on his work study and has found the experience to be enriching and the staff at Finally Ours to be great, from the dishwashers to the owners. She added that the high school principal, John Durkee, is also phenomenal with Zach. Finally Ours has just gone above and beyond for him because all the workers there are like family. Dave and Lisa are just genuine, honest, good people it's a pleasure for me to be there with Zach, Poorman said. He loves being around people, and they are wonderful to him. Brenda said it's also great as a bridge to the community for when Zach is out of school. The Haggetts are authorities on dealing with a rare disease at present, but it took them 13 years working alongside 30 other families with children who have mucolipidosis. They are one of many small international communities that hound the National Institutes of Health and pharmaceutical companies. The companies will never make millions on drugs or procedures for these diseases, but there are 8,000 rare diseases known to date, so it adds up Brenda said. She is hopeful with the recent passing of the Cure Act. This is the bill Vice President Joe Biden helped to push through on his quest to find a cure for cancer. The act includes fast-tracking drugs that can be used in combination with other drugs. The bill also encourages researchers to share their information. Several diseases, children were dying within three years," Brenda said. "They don't have the time to wait for the FDA's wait time. They had to fix it and had to change the rules. When Zach was five years old, a group of parents, including the Haggetts, brought their sick children to the NIH and sat the kids in front of the actual researchers who normally never saw the sick. This changed their way of thinking. Now, researchers and families are working together to find ways to further research the disease. But, they needed a natural history of mucolipidosis. For six years, they noted all the changes that were occurring in the children. After this, researchers started studies with zebra fish, which are most like humans, although they didn't have great results. Researchers have just now moved to larger animals, with hope for human trials soon. As time has gone on, Zach has gotten sick more often. But, he did get better faster this last time as he was on a trial preventive drug. We are not trying to be know-it-alls, but it is the one thing we know about, as he is our world, Brenda said. To this end, she was also involved in a book, "Diagnosis: Rare Diseases," by Denise Crompton. Haggett credits her husband, John, who has had to be the sole provider for their family, for his strength and support, while she has devoted herself to Zach's care. They both feel pretty much the same about Zach. He is small but so mighty and a huge blessing," Brenda said. According to police, Shavonna Dufauchard, 28, and her brother were leaving a home on Western Avenue at about 5:20 p.m. Monday when her brother yelled to get down as a vehicle passed. GREEN MOUNTAIN A young Grundy County man died following a crash early Sunday in Marshall County. The crash was reported about 12:30 a.m. in the 1700 mile of Wallace Avenue in Green Mountain. The driver, Devon Erickson, 18, of Grundy Center, was the only occupant, according to the Marshall County Sheriffs Office. He had been ejected from and pinned by the vehicle during the crash resulting in serious injury. He was transported by ambulance to Central Iowa Healthcare and transferred by air ambulance to a Des Moines hospital where he later died from his injuries. Deputies said Erickson was southbound on Wallace Avenue from Grundy County, failed to reduce speed entering the 35-mph zone at Green Mountain, lost control while avoiding a rear-end collision with a turning vehicle ahead, left the roadway, struck a pole and overturned. As part of the investigation, the Sheriffs Office is attempting to determine the whereabouts of Erickson earlier in the evening and whom he may have had contact with. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Communications Center at (641) 754-5725. Gunfire hits car, house, business WATERLOO An occupied car, a home and a funeral home were hit by gunfire during a New Years Eve shooting in Waterloo. No serious injuries were reported, and no arrests have been made. Patrol officers heard several gunshots in the 700 block of Logan Avenue about 2:15 a.m. Sunday. Bullets struck a vehicle parked in the area, a house and Greer Funeral Home at 710 Logan Ave. About an hour later, at 3:30 a.m., police were called back to the 700 block of Logan for two people preparing to fight. Robert Fedrick, 42, and Lorenzo Daveon Thompson, 33, both of Sioux City, were arrested for disorderly conduct and interference. It wasnt known if the fight was related to the earlier shooting. Waterloo police also are investigating a second incident of gunfire from the same night. Neighbors in the 300 block of Conger Street called police about 3:25 a.m. Sunday after hearing gunshots. No injuries or damage were discovered, but officers found spent shell casings in the area, according to the police report. Robbery under investigation WATERLOO Waterloo police are investigating a weekend robbery where a woman was struck with a handgun. According to the police report, three people were in a truck that pulled up to 136 Smith St. about 3:20 a.m. Saturday when they were approached by two people. One of the suspects pulled out a handgun and demanded the occupants hand over their phones. A 27-year-old woman in the truck was struck, according to police. The assailants fled without taking anything, police said.No arrests have been made. WATERLOO Waterloo police have arrested a Wisconsin woman for allegedly leaving her children alone in a car in a Waterloo hospital parking lot in December. Kristy Kay Waedekin, 29, and her sons, ages 3 and 6 years, had been reported missing by Wisconsin authorities. On Dec. 19, the children were found in a parked car at Covenant Medical Center, but Waedekin was nowhere to be found. On Dec. 24, three days after Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers posted Waedekins photo online, Waedekin turned herself in at the Waterloo Police Station and was arrested on two counts of misdemeanor child endangerment. She was taken to the Black Hawk County Jail, and her bond has been set at $5,000. Waedekin and her children had been the subject of alerts put out by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the North Fond du Lac, Wis., Police Department in mid-December. At the time, officials said they had been returning to Wisconsin from Colorado. Authorities confirmed Waedekin had contact with Colorado State Police on the morning of Dec. 15. At first she appeared disoriented but became more coherent and was allowed to continue traveling, according to the alert. On Dec. 17, she told relatives she ran out of gas somewhere outside Wisconsin, and her phone was turned off that day, the alert states. Then on Dec. 19, Waedekin allegedly parked her Mercury Sable in Covenants parking lot around 2:10 p.m. and walked away from the vehicle, leaving it running with the children inside, according to court records. The temperature at the time was 20 degrees with a wind chill of 7 degrees, said Capt. David Mohlis with the Waterloo Police Department. About two hours later, the older son left the vehicle to search for his mother, and he was found by hospital security staff, Mohlis said. He said after officers were unable to locate Waedekin, relatives from Wisconsin traveled to Waterloo for the children. NEW HAMPTON A New Hampton couple has pleaded guilty to allegations they used fake identities to obtain jobs and obtained more than $35,000 in food and medical benefits by not disclosing their income. Yeraldo Osvaldo Alejandre, also known as Patrick Olvera, 40, and Maria de la Luz Santoyo, also known as Annie Rincon, 37, both citizens of Mexico, pleaded guilty to misuse of a Social Security number and theft of U.S. government funds in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. Alejandre entered his guilty plea on Dec. 5, and Santoyo pleaded on Dec. 15. Sentencing will be at a later date. Santoyo was released pending sentencing, and Alejandre was detained. According to court records, Santoyo was hired by Sparboe Foods of New Hampton in December 2003 suing a fake Social Security card and a fake California ID card with the Rincon name, according to court records. Alejandre began working for Sparboe Foods in June 2009 using a fake Social Security card and a fake Arizona ID card with the Olvera name, records state. They again used the Social Security numbers and other documents with the aliass names when they applied for employment again in January 2013, records state. Between August 2010 and June 2015, the two used $23,001 worth of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, $5,372 worth of Medicaid benefits and $6,714 worth of Family Independence Program benefits they werent entitled to because they failed to disclose their marital status and their Sparboe income to the state, court records allege. Santoyo told welfare offcials she was living with her brother-in-law and not the father of her children, and they didnt report the income they earned under their aliases, records state. In November 2015, the State of Colorado garnished Alejandres wages to pay back child support owed by the real Olvera, court records state. The couple was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2016. WATERLOO Two people have been sentenced in connection with a theft ring that hit a Waterloo home improvement store in addition to stores in four other states. Judge Linda Reade sentenced Lamont Hall, 25, to 16 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Jatoya West, 28, was sentenced to eight months in prison with three years of supervised release. Both Hall and West, Chicago natives who had been living in Dubuque, were sentenced Dec. 14 in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. Hall was ordered to pay $20,632 in restitution, and West was ordered to pay $42,002. They pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute stolen property in July. Authorities said the two were part of a group that took $815 worth of items from Lowes in Waterloo in March 2016 during a spree that hit numerous Lowes stores in Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin between February and May. During the pass through Iowa, the ring also took $2,563 in property from the Dubuque Lowe's store, records state. In all, the group took more than $40,000 worth of merchandise, court records state. Cases remain pending against three others charged in the case - Paris Lawrence, Megan Ware and Devin Dawson. WATERLOO U.S. Rep. Rod Blum, R-1st District, spent much of his first term introducing bills to reform Congress. Predictably, he had little luck in getting fellow lawmakers to, say, reduce their pay to the amount the average American makes or end their ability to travel first-class on the taxpayer dime. But he shows no signs of giving up. The Dubuque businessman said reforming Congress will remain his top priority in his second term when he is sworn in today. First of all, drain the swamp, Blum said of his top priority in heading back to Congress. All those issues sadly are still there. Blum said he hopes he has an ally in President-elect Donald Trump, who made drain the swamp a key campaign slogan. Trump specifically started using the phrase on the campaign trail when he called for congressional ethics reforms to make our government honest again. Aside from tying Congress pay to that of average Americans and ending taxpayer-funded first-class air travel, Blum said he will focus on ending the congressional pension program, ending taxpayer-funded luxury car leases, passing a lifetime pan on lobbying for former members of Congress and enacting congressional term limits. If we can just vote on one, I want it to be term limits. We need term limits, Blum said. Blum supports legislation to amend the U.S. Constitution to impose a limit of three, two-year terms in the House and two, six-year terms in the Senate. The most any politician could serve in Congress would be 18 years. Trump also has favored a constitutional amendment to limit congressional terms. It was one of his campaign promises, so Im hopeful on that for sure, Blum said. Blum and his staff also noted term limits are supported by most people they encounter, regardless of party, in Iowas 1st District. Another of Blums personal priorities is to reform the welfare system. He was a part of a working committee in 2016 to reform welfare programs and would like to continue that work. Blum did not outline specifics, but said there is merit to the idea of drug testing people before they can get public help. He said hed be fine with requiring members of Congress, also supported by taxpayer dollars, to take drug tests as well. People need help, but Americans want to make sure that the help is short-term, that help isnt multi-generational, and they want to make sure that theres not fraud and abuse, and I would agree with that as well, Blum said. Im not talking about elderly here; Im not talking about people who are mentally and physically disabled. Thats different. Blum noted Trump has not had much to say about welfare or public assistance, though he hopes to find an ally in Trump. While Blums first priority would be congressional reform, there are a number of things hed like to see under the new Trump administration: securing the nations borders, repealing the Affordable Care Act, reducing regulations, amending the tax code and balancing the federal budget. Blum said when Congress returns today the first orders of business will likely be voting on a House speaker he expects Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan to be re-elected and naming members to their respective committee assignments. WATERLOO Frank Magsamen has been tapped to lead the Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors through what could be a difficult year. Board members voted unanimously Tuesday to appoint Magsamen as their chairman for the next 12 months, replacing lasts years chair Linda Laylin. Supervisor Craig White will serve as chair pro tem. It will be challenging, Magsamen said. But I feel confident we will be able to address issues in a way that will benefit the citizens of Black Hawk County. It will be Magsamens third time leading the board during his tenure, which began in 2007. The meeting gavel generally rotates among the five-member board with the chair having more responsibilities for setting the agenda and running the meetings. Newly elected Supervisor Chris Schwartz joined the board this week, replacing John Miller, who did not seek re-election to a fourth term. The inaugural 2017 board meeting served notice county government faces several challenges, including decisions about how to resolve annual budget deficits at the county-run Country View nursing care facility. That would be my number one priority this year: taking care of the people at Country View, White said. Its going to be a tough year all the way around. Those people out there deserve a fair shake, and hopefully the people of Black Hawk County understand that. Magsamen said he did not believe their was support to close Country View. Were looking at making it more efficient and getting the proper reimbursement for the services we provide there, he said. County government also faces significant challenges maintaining the 20-year-old jail, which is slated to receive a new $2 million security system this year and still needs to fix a failing parking lot. Another costly issue could involve repairs to the Cedar Valley Nature Trail, including a decision on whether to replace the bridge over Wolf Creek or reroute cyclists through La Porte City. A trail user group is lobbying for the repair option, although no funding has been identified to date. A changing of the guard in the Iowa Senate and federal government, which now puts all branches of state government in Republican hands, also could play a role in county government, which is heavily dependent on state and federal funding for many services. Theres some uncertainties in those areas, Magsamen said. The Board of Supervisors also may be dealing with whats shaping up to be a zoning battle over a possible wind energy farm in the countys south central townships, as opponents of the project have been showing up weekly to protest the plans by RPM Access. But it is the Board of Adjustment, not the supervisors, who ultimately would vote on whether to approve special permits required for the project. CEDAR FALLS A Persian Gulf War veteran is trying to raise funds to bring a traveling Vietnam War memorial wall to Cedar Falls in May. Wayne R. Heiselman of Fredericksburg, second vice commander of Cedar Falls AMVETS Post 49, is trying to raise funds to bring The Wall That Heals to the post May 18-21. The Wall that Heals is a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., supported by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, founders of the larger memorial. The Wall that Heals is marking its 20th anniversary this year, according to the VVMF website. It previously appeared locally in Jesup in 1998, Waverly in 2002 and Vinton in 2008. I think this is something good for the Cedar Valley area and Northeast Iowa to have the Wall back here, said Helselman, who had a cousin, John Gerald Heiselman of New Hampton, killed in Vietnam on March 6, 1968, during the Tet offensive at age 23. The Wall that Heals is accompanied by a mobile education center with exhibits and information about the Vietnam War. Im doing this for the Vietnam veterans, said Heiselman, who served a combined 12 years in the military, including during the Gulf War in 1990-91 and a stint on the demilitarized zone in Korea. It was a project I was thinking about. The Vietnam War was kind of like the forgotten war. When they came back they didnt get that other veterans did, like I did. When I came back from Desert Storm (the Gulf War), we had parades and everything. When the Vietnam veterans came back, they maybe had family waiting but they didnt have the parades or the recognition. They were kind of pushed away or shunned by the public. For me, we dont just quit serving our country when were retired from military service. This is kind of one way, I thought, to give back to the community, and it would be good for the Cedar Valley area. Hed seen The Wall that Heals previously when serving as a Veterans of Foreign Wars district commander in southwest Minnesota and how it affected those who saw it. I think it was the memories, the memories of serving in Vietnam, the camaraderie of the Vietnam veterans and how they feel when they come back to seeing the Wall. It bring them back to when they served in Vietnam, he said. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation raises part of the funds to bring The Wall that Heals to a community, with local funds making up the rest. Local costs are about $7,000; Heiselman said hes raised about $4,000 already. Many local Waterloo-Cedar Falls area veterans posts already have contributed. Well take donations all the way up to maybe the first week of May, but would like to get the funds raised as soon as possible. He envisions an opening and closing ceremony for the exhibit and a big turnout over the several days it will be here. Im hoping 3,000 to 4,000, he said. A 12-person committee of members of different organizations is working on the project. Hes anticipating AMVETS Riders and other veterans motorcycle groups will escort it into town. Ive been trying to get more of the businesses involved in this, Heiselman said. Korean War veteran Sid Morris, who works on publicity for the Cedar Falls AMVETS, the largest AMVETS post in the state with about 1,100 members, said Cedar Falls and the Cedar Valley in general supports veterans of all eras, as evidenced by the Grout Museum Districts yearlong recent Vietnam and upcoming Korean War exhibits and Veterans Park in Cedar Falls.Information on contributing to bringing The Wall that Heals to Cedar Falls may be directed to Heiselman at (641) 229-1742 or heiselmw@uni.edu. Checks may be made to AMVETS Post 49 with a notation for The Wall that Heals. A separate account has been set up for the project. VIENNA, Ill. -- A New Year's Eve flight headed from Iowa to Nashville narrowly missed the power lines in David Oliver's backyard Saturday night. Commented to my wife that, you know, he shouldnt be that low on a night like tonight and probably 10, 15 seconds later, heard the crash, Oliver said. Authorities began searching and found the plane a half mile into a field off East Crossroads Road just south of Vienna, in Johnson County, Ill. Johnson County Coroner David Rockwell found four people dead on the scene Saturday night. They are Curt R. Terpstra, 34, Jordan Linder, 35, Jasmine Linder, 26, and Krista Green, 37. All victims are from Iowa. An autopsy was performed Monday on the presumed pilot, Terpstra. The plane was a Piper PA28. According the Federal Aviation Administration registry, the plane is registered to Terpstra in Pella. The flying history will be a vital tool for the National Transportation Safety Board, according to their lead investigator Ed Malinowski. Were looking for the log books. The log books were not found in the aircraft so well have to develop the history otherwise, Malinowski said. WASHINGTON Of five states with recreational marijuana on the ballot this fall, Arizona was the only state where the initiative failed, after supporters ran into a well-funded opposition campaign backed by political heavyweights. But that hasnt stopped marijuana advocates from looking ahead and predicting legalization either through a rematch at the polls or a push through the Legislature. We expected that the political elite would be against legalizing marijuana, said Carlos Alfaro, Arizona political director for the Marijuana Policy Project. Those people won over millions who saw the proposition as counterproductive and people who thought money was not being made from legalization. Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, the organization behind the No on 205 campaign, raised more than $5.6 million, according to campaign filings, more than the opponents in the four other states California, Maine, Massachusetts and Montana combined. The group recruited nearly 50 state lawmakers who opposed marijuana legalization, including Gov. Doug Ducey, Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, Rep. Trent Franks, R-Glendale, and Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Mesa, among others. Officials at Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy did not return multiple requests for comment. But their efforts appeared to pay off on Election Day, when voters rejected Proposition 205 by a 51.3 to 48.7 percent margin or 1.3 million against to 1.23 million for, according to the Arizona Secretary of States office. The Marijuana Policy Project raised more than $5.2 million for the Yes on 205 campaign, according to campaign filings with the secretary of state. But observers said supporters in Arizona could not gather the momentum necessary to overcome the opposition. Arizona is a much smaller state (than California), so its much easier to communicate to the entire population, said Scott Chipman, Southern California chair for the political action committee Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana. Its not as liberal as California. The momentum in California was much stronger to legalize. California and Montana had the widest margins of victory for their recreational marijuana initiatives, with 57 percent of voters approving. The measure won in Massachusetts with 53.6 percent of the vote and squeaked by in Maine with 50.2 percent. Despite the fundraising by opponents in Arizona, National Cannabis Industry Association co-founder Steve Fox said he does not believe there was one specific factor that brought down the initiative in the state. It was very close, it didnt lose by a wide margin, Fox said of the Yes on 205 campaign. It certainly had significant opposition in both a political and financial sense, with both Ducey and (Maricopa County Attorney) Bill Montgomery strongly campaigning against it. Sheldon Adelson, a billionaire casino owner from Las Vegas, was one of the top donors to the opposition in Arizona. The $500,000 he donated to Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy just weeks before the election was well above amounts he gave to opposition campaigns in the other states. Fox said the opposition was apparently able to convince voters that taxes raised by legalizing marijuana wouldnt come through as supporters claimed, even though he said Colorado has generated millions in taxes through recreational marijuana. Alfaro accused the opponents of what he called unfounded fear mongering, but remained hopeful for the future. The industry is growing in Arizona, he said. Over 100,000 patients are using medical marijuana they have a voice. We are taking steps to lobby, we are taking steps to put propositions on the ballot, we will see it legalized. Its only a matter of time. Mikel Weisser, Arizona director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said the movement is coalescing behind several ideas to move forward, including working with state lawmakers to get a bill passed in the Legislature. I believe that the national movement is going to win in Arizona, Weisser said. The appetite is strong and nationally, the trend is going toward legalization. The calendar may have changed, but the numbers all U.S. farmers will work with this new year are little different from the numbers everyone worked with last year. For example, 2016s corn production was baked-in last fall and so too are most of 2017s options. We grew a staggering 15.3 billion bushels last year, will use 11.0 billion bushels here this year, will export 2.2 billion bushels, and will still have 2.4 billion bushels in the bin when the new harvest begins. Which means, forecasts the U.S. Department of Agriculture, cash corn prices will average a thin $3.30 per bushel during the current marketing year. The numbers for the coming 2017/18 crop year, according to USDA forecasts, improve only slightly: 1.1 billion bushels less production, 1 billion bushels less domestic usage, a relatively small (300 million bushels) drop in exports, and an average projected price of $3.60 per bushel. Thats what 2.4 billion bushels of 2016 carryover does to the 2017/18 market; its long, long tail irritates prices for a long, long time. Soybean forecasts for 2016/17 are equally bland: 4.3 billion bushels production, 1.9 billion bushels crushed domestically, and 2.0 billion bushels exported. As such, cash prices are forecasted to average a very modest $9.20 per bushel for the year. And thats the good news. The bad news is the relatively big, 480-million bushel carryover into the new crop year added to above-normal 2017 acres and back-to-normal yields will drain market prices. USDA sees little chance of a price breakout; it forecasts 2017/18 beans to average a dismal $8.75 per bushel. Wheats coming year will be marginally better. Market forecasters see this years average price climbing from a bleak $3.90 per bushel to a little less bleak $4.50 per bushel next year. But it could get worse, cautioned USDA in its Nov. 30 issue of Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade. The election of Donald Trump as U.S. president has introduced an element of uncertainty as the emphasis of the next administrations economic policy agenda is unknown, it explained. A month later, it remains unknown. Christmas brought no farm and ranch news from the Trump team no national economic plan, no secretary of agriculture, no global trade plan. Moreover, USDA sees President-elect Trumps better-known views just as troubling as his unknown ones: A change in the U.S. trade relationship with China and Mexico is of particular concern for agricultural competitiveness. Together, these two countries were the destination for an average of almost one-third of total U.S. agricultural exports from 2013-2015. In fact, USDAs analysts add, China alone was the destination for roughly 60 percent of U.S. soybean exports, on average, during this period. How do U.S. farmers and farm groups reconcile what appears to be a growing breach between one of their biggest, best food customers and their about-to-be inaugurated president? Two ways. First, most write off Trumps tough China talk as campaign-fueled overstatement that will become, they hope, more diplomatic once he assumes the presidency. Maybe, but two-thirds through the transition he continues to confirm (most recently through a tweet on a submersible U.S. drone China already had said it would return) his hard China line isnt softening. Indeed, the word still used to explain his China policy is reset, not return. The second way, again hopefully, is Trumps apprentice ambassador, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, will keep the grocery pipeline to China open and full no matter his bosss rhetoric because of Branstads extensive ties to China and a personal friendship with Chinese President Xi Jinping that dates back decades, noted the Dec. 7 Washington Post. Thats the way its supposed to work, sure. Given the earth-rattling, precedent-shattering politics of 2016, however, anyone willing to bet that it will work like that in the new year? Either way, American agriculture has a lot riding on Donald Trump in an already tough-looking 2017. Any hiccup, stumble or tweet either intentional or accidental will carry a steep cost for everyone. Editorial Cartoon JIM HORTON WATERLOO I read the editorial Athletes demand clean competitions Dec. 21 and found it interesting. I then reviewed the Russian doping cartoon in the middle of the article and was disappointed to find a reference to Donald Trump. Nothing in the editorial indicated Donald Trumps involvement. Since he has yet to become president, has never held a U.S. government representative position and has not held a position of power or decision making within the Olympic organization, it seems editorially cheap to attempt to make a connection to Donald Trump with the doping scandal. It seems unfortunate how desperate we are to delegitimize our new president. Unfortunately, I believe this cartoon is representative of fake news. I know we can try to laugh it off as a cartoon or joke, but I find it to have very low journalistic integrity for The Courier or any other paper attempting to serve the public. Contact representatives KENT GUILD WATERLOO Immediately after the election, I started writing an email or two a week to our two senators and the 1st District congressman. Here are their nine-week grades. Representative Blum, F. He has not responded to any of my questions, mostly about health care. Sen. Charles Grassley, D. He sent two form letters, which did not answer any of my questions. Sen. Joni Ernst, C-. She sent two responses, which did not answer those questions and one response that provided a vague answer. That question was in regard to Medicare. Ernst said she wants to change Medicare to a voucher program with no specifics about how it would work. I think vouchers would be difficult for people to navigate, would be a monetary benefit for insurance companies and require more paperwork and work for the government. People would have to compare competing policies, apply for and purchase entirely new insurance programs as retired citizens. There could be hundreds of different policies. Then the retired citizens would need to apply to the government to receive reimbursement from the government in the form of vouchers. Then the government would send the payment back to the retired citizens. Who wants this? Letter response JANICE NOLTING CEDAR FALLS In response to Dick Smiths letter to the editor (Nov. 22) accusing Hillary Clinton of being an outright criminal: To quote from Wikipedia, Hillary Clinton co-founded Arkansas first Advocate for Children. She was appointed first female chair of the Legal Services Corp. in 1978. As first lady, she led a task force whose recommendations worked for the problems of adoptive and family safety and foster care, took a leading role in investigating health issues faced by 911 first responders, voted against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and helped in organizing a diplomatic isolation and international sanctions against Iran in an effort to curtail that countrys nuclear program. Hillary Clinton doesnt sound much like a criminal to me. These are just a few accomplishments she created that will leave an impressive legacy of her service for many years to come. People who voted for Donald Trump voted for a wealthy business executive whose primary goal was to further his belligerence by seeking the presidency of the United States while molesting innocent woman on the way up. 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must read http://www.b.dk/globalt/farvel-til-den-amerikanske-verdensorden (Original in Danish) These days the world is witnessing a strange, unprecedented phenomenon. In the US, the two presidents, they dive in front of the whole society and expose the strongest power in the world to ridicule. US President-elect Donald Trump appoints ambassador to Israel, supporter of settlement building and promised to translate embassy in Jerusalem, while Barack Obama is not the first time the Security Council vetoes resolution condemning Israeli settlement. And it is the most recent example, which yesterday led Uri Friedman (Uri Friedman) of the magazine the The Atlantic: Barack Obama promises to take revenge for the intervention of the Russian government in the election campaign in the US, while Donald Trump doubts of meddling in Russia and Vladimir Putin thanks for very friendly Christmas greetings.Obamas Pentagon demands that China returned underwater drone, seized in the South China Sea, while Trump describes the episode as unprecedented, but then suddenly changes its position and offering the Chinese leave the machine itself, - says Uri Friedman. Facts The Pax The Americana which translates from Latin as American world the designation of the post-World War II until today, when the United States because of its power of ensuring peace and prosperity in much of the Western world. The name arose under the influence of Pax Romana, used in relation to the 206-year history of the Roman Empire from 27 BC 180 of the new era, when the reign of Rome and the Roman law provided the harmony even in those regions, which are usually at odds with each other. It is hard to imagine a more convincing evidence that the Pax Americana era passed. Because it represents the era of Pax Americana since the end of World War II, when the United States was the standard to which his attitude positive or negative were required to identify all of the world: both friends and enemies. This was the order of the world, which has led to the fact that all clearly understand what he meant President George W. Bush when he said after September 11:. Either you are with us or against us No one asked, Who is this we ? Today it had to be done. Because who is the we today? This Trump? Or Obama? The collapse of the old order of The answer to this question is of no interest in many countries of the world, because there have long ceased to be guided by the United States. Here are just three very eloquent example. On Tuesday, Turkey, Iran and Russia held a meeting in Moscow to work out a peace plan in Syria. No representative of the United Nations for a peaceful solution to the Syrian problem, Staffan de Mistura, nor anyone from the US were not even invited. It was a shame, and it was done on purpose. In the Philippines, which from 1950 were US allies, the new president Rodrigo Duterte in November said that if China and Russia will decide to establish a new world order, it will be the first to join him. There is no doubt that the military junta in Thailand, another traditional ally of the Americans, might well think the same thing here in recent years, too, have changed the US on Russia as a partner. If anyone still doubts that you can remember and that so-called tripartite working group recently held a meeting on Afghanistan in Moscow. And from whom did the group consist of? In her senior officials from Russia, China and Pakistan. Afghans themselves are not invited to that, according to Deutsche Welle, is a consequence of the fact that between Afghanistan and India, there has been some convergence, leading to the fact that Pakistan, a longtime enemy India now wants to unite with Russia and China to prevent the growth of the influence of the New Delhi to Kabul. And what about the US? The US, which in Afghanistan are still 8,000 servicemen? Well, they at that meeting was not. And as far as we know, can not say that to someone they did not have much there. In Europe, most notably that the old order collapsed. In March, an American journalist Anne Applebaum (Anne Applebaum) predicted that by the collapse of the liberal world order can cause the triad of events: Breksa, Trump election and the election of the French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen. Today Breksa and Trump have become a reality, all eyes are on the upcoming presidential elections in France. But Applebaum has not understood that the change does not depend on these three events. The change has already occurred. Putin a natural ally Because if the presidential election did not win Marine Le Pen in France, we can expect that it will make the Republican candidate Francois Fillon. It also means a change of the political system. He, too, with pride and warmth talking about the nation-state, the border is closed, and the French identity. We have to minimize immigration. Our country is not a conglomeration of different societies, there is one national identity , he said recently at a meeting with voters. According to the New York Times, he also described the radical Islam totalitarianism, the same as Nazism. Like Le Pen, to address NATO had only harsh words, because, in his opinion, the alliance has become a tool of the American expansionism. And just like Le Pen, on Putin, he can only say good, because it believes that Putin a natural ally in the war on terror. The fight for the presidency in France will not go between globalist and nationalist, here the choice between left and right nationalism, and Francois Fillon, with its requirement of large-scale public sector cuts right. The claim that a liberal world order can resist or fail depending on the choice of certain individuals Geert Wilders in Holland, Marine Le Pen in France, Frauke Petry from the Alternative for Germany in Germany or Heinz-Christian Strache of the Freedom Party in Austria surface. It is a consequence of policies that excessive attention to personalities. Geert Wilders is not even necessary to be elected because the Dutch government is already actively pursuing its policy. The maximum that can offer Heinz-Christian Strache of the Freedom Party in Austria this is a cosmetic change social-democratic coalition government policy, because it is an exact copy of what acts of his own party. And if Merkel next autumn will be re-elected Chancellor of Germany, it will be more experienced and mature alter ego Frauke Petry from the Alternative for Germany. Transformation Merkel has already begun: when it recently re-elected to the presidency of HDZ, she responded to the fact that befell those who covers her face (hijab ed..) And want to prevent it wherever possible. This, of course, can be explained by the fact that the protest movement in the West contrary to widespread belief not what leads to change. They themselves are the result of changes: in a world where collapsed Pax Americana, and which can no longer distribute their values on others outside the EU, but where you have to use all their strength in order to prevent them to spread their values on us. The protest movement a reaction to the fact that we did not make decisions, and that decisions are made about us. Some time ago, we fought with the pirates in the Gulf of Aden and introduced democracy in Iraq; Now we cover the sculpture in Rome when traveling by the president of Iran, and breaks out of the hands of the demonstrators Tibetan flags when coming to Copenhagen Chinese leader. In this world, the supporters of the old order would have to be overcome: because the old order collapsed. The new order has not yet come to replace the old politics has turned into a big battle: how can we protect ourselves from threats looming over us. Incompatible civilization Roughly speaking, the struggle for a future world order is being kulturalistami between the left and the liberals. According kulturalistov, the world consists of various civilizations that are incompatible with each other. During the Cold War was a struggle between the Christian West and the atheistic Soviet Union. Now we are talking about the struggle between the Christian West and Islamism which threatens to destroy us. For liberals, the world looks different. According to them, the struggle is not between civilizations but between freedom and unfreedom: between democracy and dictatorship. These different outlook stem from different views about who is a major player on the world stage. Naturally, for kulturalistov nation-state is the alpha and omega. It is a cultural product, enhanced with the help of the special geographical, historical, religious, and political circumstances. Otherwise, with the liberals who believe that democracy and state of law based on the principles and values, which must all join in the free world, and Muslims too. Therefore, the Liberals want to keep the EU, NATO and other key western forums where democracy all together fighting for the preservation and promotion of these values. In the past 25 years, these two areas make common cause: because the West was strong enough to dominate, and what it was justified, it was equally important. But the West is not the same. Now paths diverged as recently wrote another writer in the Atlantic, Peter Beinart (Peter Beinart): Ideological and civilizing (in this material liberals and kulturalisty Ed.). Forces were united in the struggle with the Soviet Union. But they disagree on whether the Russian totalitarian enemy or protector of the Christian West. Pax Americana collapsed. We are not fighting for the others to become like us: we must now fight for something, not to be like them. But the worst thing, in fact, that the first time we can not possibly after the end of World War II, to agree on who are our enemies. The following editorial appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Thursday, Dec. 29: The oil that continues to bubble up from the remains of the USS Arizona is an apt metaphor for how the nation feels about Japans bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Seventy-five years later, Americans still well with emotion at the thought of the 2,400 killed and 19 ships damaged or destroyed in the sneak attack, launched before Japan had declared war on the United States. A visit to Pearl Harbor only makes the emotion sharper. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday laid wreaths at a memorial over the Arizona and spoke with aging veterans of the Pearl Harbor attack. The first Japanese leader to visit the memorial, Abe did not apologize for the bombing something that will rankle some Americans but expressed sincere and everlasting condolences for those lost there and during the nearly four years of World War II that followed. From the memorial, the Arizona is visible beneath the water, the surface discolored from the two to nine quarts of oil that ooze from the battleship each day. Nearly half of those lost at Pearl Harbor were aboard the Arizona, hit with a bomb of nearly 1,800 pounds that tore through the forward deck, igniting fuel stores and powder magazines. Many crew members were incinerated; the remains of some remain aboard. Abes visit followed Obamas trip in May to Hiroshima, one of two cities on which America dropped atomic bombs in August 1945. The bombings caused mass civilian casualties but ended a war of Japans making without the invasion that would have cost untold American lives. Obama did not offer an apology at Hiroshima, but some critics complained that his remarks sounded too much like one. The reciprocal visits underscored how far U.S.-Japanese relations have come and the importance of confronting the past in order to move forward. But its OK for Americans to be of two minds to be grateful for Japans friendship today while still feeling hurt about Pearl Harbor. The oil cant be put back in the ship. More family planning access The following editorial appeared in the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday, Dec. 27: A new rule from the Department of Health and Human Services makes it clear that state agencies should not be determining how to distribute millions of dollars of federal Title X family planning funds based on anything other than a health clinics ability to provide those services. This is a provocative but smart move that aims to restore federal funding for health care centers serving lower-income populations that have been disqualified by some states simply because they also provide abortions. This regulation does not suddenly fund abortions. By statute, no federal funds can be used to pay for such services. Instead, it bars recipients of federal family planning dollars usually state health departments from refusing to pass that money along to health care providers for reasons unrelated to their ability to deliver Title X services. According to HHS, more than 4 million people get these services, which include contraception, pregnancy testing, preconception health services, screening and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, basic infertility services, and screenings for cervical and breast cancer. Planned Parenthood officials estimate that about a third of the people getting Title X services are getting them at their clinics. However, a dozen states set irrelevant criteria for eligibility, effectively cutting off funding for private clinics that also offer abortions. Those restrictive laws have eroded services, especially for low-income women. As a result, HHS says, the number of people receiving Title X services has decreased in those areas. Often, the clinics that are best able to reach a large swath of lower-income people end up hamstrung by state regulations. For example, after Kansas passed a law prohibiting private family planning clinics from getting Title X funds, HHS reported, the number of clients served under Title X dropped more than 37 percent from 2011 to 2015. The rule wont take effect until Jan. 18, and it could be blocked by a GOP Congress primed to reverse regulations adopted in the waning months of the Obama administration. Or states could decide to forgo federal family planning dollars, to the detriment of the clinics that millions of lower-income people have come to rely on for basic health care. Some congressional Republicans are even talking about killing the entire Title X program. But lawmakers shouldnt hold womens health services hostage to their crusade against abortion, which women have a legal right to seek. The HHS rule will help more lower-income women get the reproductive-health and screening services they need. Thats a goal both parties should embrace. Kerry puts focus on West Bank settlements The following editorial appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Thursday, Dec. 29: Secretary of State John Kerry made clear Wednesday that the Obama administration has reached the limits of its patience regarding Jewish settlements in the West Bank. His 70-minute speech was extraordinary not just for its deep assessment of how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict became so intractable but also for its frankness about the obstacles Kerry believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government poses to peace. Kerry outlined the years of intensive efforts the Obama administration and its predecessors, Republican and Democrat alike, have devoted to ensuring Israels security while prodding Palestinian leaders toward ending the overtly hostile acts that made peace impossible. The speech left no question, however, that Kerry and President Barack Obama hold Israel equally responsible, particularly because of Jewish settlement activity in West Bank territory where Palestinians envision a future state. This kind of blunt talk typically occurs away from public view. Kerrys speech was televised live from the State Department auditorium and singled out Netanyahus government for criticism. Netanyahu predictably labeled the speech unbalanced. By accelerating the pace of settlement expansion, Kerry said, Netanyahu is working against his stated support of a two-state solution. Despite our best efforts over the years, the two-state solution is now in serious jeopardy, Kerry warned. The status quo is leading toward one state, or perpetual occupation. If Netanyahu continues down that path, he will create a situation far more intractable and dangerous for Israels security than the current one, Kerry suggested, because Israel would have to impose rule over all Palestinians, denying them the right of self-determination. All hope of peace with Israels Arab neighbors would evaporate. The network of settlements risks creating a Swiss cheese pattern that disrupts territorial contiguity and renders a future Palestinian state unviable. That appears to be the goal of a government Kerry described as the most right wing in Israels history. Middle East analysts say one-state rule would quickly lead to the Jewish states undoing because Palestinian population growth rates far exceed those of Israeli Jews. Given that demographic reality, Kerry said, Israel will have to choose between being a Jewish state or a democratic state, but it cannot be both. The onus is now on Netanyahu to explain how settlements are consistent with the two-state goal. Kerry went to great lengths to describe the hardships faced by Palestinians in Gaza, where the terrorist group Hamas dominates. Hamas remains committed to Israels annihilation, and Palestinians themselves are far from united in support of a two-state solution that guarantees Israels right to exist. The onus is on them as well. For all of the discomfort Kerrys blunt talk is causing in Israel, Netanyahu merely has to wait another three weeks to hear a Trump administration tune far more to his liking. The tune may change, but the dangerous realities Kerry described wont. Screen every peacekeeper The following editorial appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Tuesday, Dec. 27: After more than two years of searching for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, officials now doubt they even have been looking in the right part of the vast Indian Ocean. There is the likelihood of suspending the enormously expensive search unless fresh evidence gives a better indication of the planes resting place. If they do give up the search, officials never should stop seeking new evidence that could jump-start it again. Thats the least that can be done for the families of the 239 people on board. They have had no answers of any kind. While the planes fate remains unknown, one point is clear: All international airliners should be required to carry sophisticated location monitoring and recording equipment so theres a better chance of finding them if something goes awry. Malaysia Airlines has been criticized for having less sophisticated equipment than some other airlines. Flight 370 It veered off of its flight path and traveled for hours after its last contact with air traffic controllers, then vanished without hint of a mechanical problem or other trouble on board. Theories about the planes fate abound, with some speculating that the captain intentionally crashed the plane into the ocean. At a cost of $160 million, Australia, Malaysia and China have been scouring a 46,000-square-foot area west of Australia, a search area based on an analysis of satellite data. However, last week, officials said a re-examination of that data and an analysis of new ocean drift data indicated that the planes location might be farther north instead. Without more precise information, however, they are reluctant to begin a new phase of the search. Families previously have expressed concern that suspending the search essentially would mean throwing in the towel. That must not be the case. Investigators should continue seeking clues that might prompt a new search and crack what has been called one of aviations grimmest secrets. UN credibility depends on keeping its forces clean The following editorial appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Wednesday, Dec. 28: The United Nations primary weapon is credibility global recognition that it stands for peace, humanitarianism and the protection of innocents. That is why the world body must take steps to ensure that its blue-helmeted peacekeepers, sent into trouble spots around the globe, have clean records. The U.S., a key financier of U.N. peacekeeping operations, should push for an improved recruitment process that weeds out the bad apples before theyre deployed and have the opportunity to make a countrys bad situation worse. The U.N. has struggled to keep pace with the need for peacekeepers about 100,000 from various nations are deployed in 16 hotspots and its screening process has lagged, too. That sometimes has led to the deployment of thugs, including three men with checkered histories who were recruited from Burundi for service in the Central African Republic. About 13,000 peacekeepers and other U.N. personnel have been authorized for work in the CAR, beset for years with internal strife, because of the world bodys concern about extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, sexual violence against women and children, rape and other offenses in recent years. The last thing the CAR needed was more people predisposed to human-rights abuses, but the U.N. sent in the three Burundians, part of a contingent of several hundred peacekeepers from that country, which has drawn U.N. scrutiny for its own human-rights record. According to The Washington Post, one operated a Burundian military jail accused of human-rights abuses, a second was tied to a crackdown on government critics and a third had publicly defended the armys reputed abuses. When the U.N. learned about the trios backgrounds, it sent them home. In recent years, the U.N. has faced a growing clamor over sexual abuse and other crimes perpetrated by its officers. A better screening process could identify not only those with bad records but also those with a potential for going astray. The U.N. claims it lacks the resources to screen every prospective peacekeeper or even access each ones records. But if it expects impoverished, war-torn countries such as the CAR to get its act together, the U.N. must be capable of improvement itself. Its credibility is on the line. Hello, Today finds the winds blowing in little swirls in the USA Government as the U.S. Senate finds itself asking why? After a month since the war in Georgia, the Senate has gotten around to actually questioning the motives of Americans involvement in the Caucasus.. U.S. officials split over Caucasus conflict: U.S. officials are divided over the recent violence in South Ossetia. The U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing has cast Moscow as an aggressor but members of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs have sided with Russia. And making a decision will require from them assessing the U.S. foreign policy objectives, including those that have to do with Iran and the global war on terror. At last, some U.S. voices have been raised against labeling Russia as the aggressor during the conflict in the Caucasus. The recent fighting in Georgia and its breakaway region was started by Georgia. The Georgians broke the truce, not the Russians! And no talk of provocation can change that fact, said Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. Congressman Ron Paul added the U.S. is in Georgia not for democracy. We are not for democracy there we are there to protect a pipeline. And that is tragic for me, he said. Nevertheless, no concrete proposals came except one Senator Hillary Clinton called for the creation of a special commission to get the facts straight before judging Russia. Rather than seeking to isolate them which I think is not a smart proposal we should be more strategic. We have to answer for ourselves: Did we embolden the Georgians in any way? Did we send mixed signals to the Russians? Hillary Clinton said. The answer of U.S. Military Officials was a no. For many months my colleagues and Secretary Rice had been telling the Georgians clearly and unequivocally that any military action initiated by them would be a mistake and would lead to a disaster, Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman said. (Link) And a denial came after Senator John Warner asked: Were there any requests from the President of Georgia or other high-ranking officials for the U.S. to provide active military support for the Georgia military? Some also insisted that Georgia had not been promised membership in NATO. Others though were quick to question that statement. That is inconsistent with the 2008 Bucharest Summit statement. It also seems to be inconsistent with the statement of Vice President Dick Cheney. Those sound like promises to me, said Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. Oh I hear the breeze blowing through the leaves now, whispering the questions.. Kyle & Svet comments always welcome. Hello, The USA continues to debate the Russian Georgia conflict.. U.S. Intelligence Sees It Russias Way: American intelligence confirms that the latest military actions in South Ossetia were started by Georgia and Russias position in the conflict was correct, says Republican California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. He said the situation reminded him of the Bay of Tonkin incident, which the U.S. used as a pretext for beginning the war in Vietnam. The Russians are right! Were wrong! Georgia started it, the Russians ended it, Rohrabacher said at a hearing in the House of Representatives. Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried said U.S. intelligence was still working on an exact chronology of the events of August 7 to verify Georgian claims that Russian forces were in Roki Tunnel, linking Russia to South Ossetia, before Georgia attacked. Fried said that the Bush administration had forcefully and repeatedly warned the Georgians against beginning military actions against Russia, and he was unable to say why Georgia chose to ignore that advice. Nonetheless, Fried acknowledged that supporting Georgia was in U.S. interests, even if it considers the countries actions foolish. Russia acknowledged the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia on August 26. Those republics requested that recognition after Georgian forces almost completely ruined Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, in the course of the event of August 8-12. More than 1500 civilians were killed in that time, according to South Ossetian authorities. (Link) I think the wind is talking not whispering, in the tree leaves now! Kyle & Svet comments always welcome. Ever wondered who owns NATO first two guesses do not count! Hello, When Gorbachev was asked if the former U.S. Secretary of State, James Baker, really promised him that NATO would not expand eastward if the Soviet Union supported the unification of Germany and united Germanys NATO membership, Gorbachev answers: He didnt promise it to me. He promised it to the whole World! (Link) This seems to be one of the most serious mistakes by the USA, the fact that they did not uphold their end of the bargain about NATO. Background: In February 1990, after talks with West Germanys foreign minister, Secretary of State James Baker had assured Gorbachev and [then Soviet Foreign Minister, later Georgian President Eduard] Shevardnadze that NATOs jurisdiction would not shift one inch eastward from its present position. The [first] Bush administration began backing away from that pledge almost immediately. The Clinton administration reneged on that commitment altogether when it decided to expand NATO to Eastern Europe. The issue is not just whether Czechs, Hungarians and Poles join NATO. The problem is more serious: the rejection of the strategy for a new, common European system agreed to by myself and all the Western leaders when we ended the Cold War, Mikhail Gorbachev wrote in March 1999. I feel betrayed by the West. The opportunity we seized on behalf of peace has been lost. The whole idea of a new world order has been completely abandoned.' * *- From the book Hang Separately: Cooperative Security Between the United States and Russia, 1985-1994 by Leon V. Sigal, The Century Foundation Press, 2000. Could Russia hold some deep resentment? Seems the Wind is picking up speed now and the leaves are falling.. Kyle & Svet comments always welcome. Could a storm be brewing? A little tid-bit of information that I posted a couple of weeks ago. Update on Story: Ukraine says that the tanks were bond for Kenya and there was 33 tanks and parts and ammo. (Hmmmmm oh OK!) The United States and Israel have consistently refused to rule out the possibility of military action against Iran over its refusal to halt its uranium enrichment and Georgia would be an ideal bridgehead for a U.S. invasion of Iran. Then NATO proceeds to comment on the fact that it will rebuild the NATO class airport that was destroyed in Georgia. It will be better than it was and all the latest updated equipment. Russia seems to be getting the picture also, that Ukraine is shipping Soviet T-72 Tanks to Afghanistan for NATO (USA). Seems if I remember correctly (Soviet Times), Tanks are worthless in Afghanistan due to the terrain but they are great in the plains area of Iran.(Link) This Ukraine is shipping Tanks is confirmed today with the CNN article: KIEV, Ukraine (AP) The Foreign Ministry says pirates have seized a Ukrainian-operated ship off Somalia. The ministry says the Faina was sailing with 21 people on board under the Belize flag, though it is operated by Ukrainian managing company Tomax Team Inc. The ministry says in a statement that the ships captain reported being surrounded by three boats of armed men Thursday afternoon. The ships passengers include 17 Ukrainian citizens including the captain, as well as three Russians and one Latvian citizen. The ministry had no information on the ships cargo. But the Interfax news agency cited an unnamed source as saying the ship was loaded with about 30 T-72 tanks and spare parts for them. (Link) Opps looks like it is cover up time for Ukraine, NATO and the USA! Update seems that Ukraine first gave out information that the tanks were going to South Sudan, then hours later they changed the story to Kenya. Well wait and see what the next story says. They also where caught very far from the normal shipping route. The explanation was: We were trying to avoid pirates so that is why we are so far off course. So before anyone jumps up and down and says NATO dont have Russian made T-72s, think again, Iraq has 77 to 120 of these tanks which some Western sources refer to as the T-74 but NATO refers to as the T-80. Many of these tanks are in action as they are upgraded by NATO to NATO standards. Czech is upgrading all their T-72s to NATO standards right now. In fact allot of Russian equipment is used in NATO, from Migs to tanks. As the Wind Blows it has de-leafed a tree and exposed some interesting things. Kyle & Svet comments always welcome. PS: The yellow area on the world map is Somalia, They only had a little ways to travel before they were home free. The sources are reporting several hundred tanks have already been delivered. Windows to Russia! All of the materials used here are copyright Doug Stowe. Photos of our students at work are published solely for the promotion of the Wisdom of the Hands program and Other uses are strictly prohibited and copyright will be enforced. Questions about Wisdom of the Hands can be addressed to Work starts on Brazil's Engenho uranium mine 03 January 2017 Share Industrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB) has started work on its Engenho mine in Brazil's Bahia state. The company said the move was a "decisive step" towards resumption of domestic uranium production. In a statement on 29 December, INB said it expects to have produced 73 tonnes of uranium concentrate - also known as yellow cake - within the next ten months. Work started on 22 December, two days after INB received a licence from nuclear energy commission CNEN. INB says the Engenho site, consisting of three open-pit mines, has an estimated annual production capacity of 280-300 tonnes of uranium concentrate. Laercio Aguiar da Rocha, INB's mineral resource director, said in the company statement that mining is scheduled to start in October. This is a first step, he added, towards making Brazil self-sufficient in uranium production. This goal includes, he said, the start-up in 2020 of the planned underground mine at Caetite, also in Bahia, and Santa Quiteria, in Ceara state. INB announced in June last year that it expects to export its first enriched uranium under a contract signed with Argentine state company Combustibles Nuclear Argentinos SA. The agreement will see the export of four tonnes of uranium dioxide powder for use in the first fuel load for the Carem modular reactor. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics Lucas K Doolan revealed new images of the most-antipicated building of Taiwan designed by Japanese architect Toyo Ito. The Taichung Metropolitan Opera House opened in the Taiwanese city Taichung in late September 2016. The building is comprised of curved, cavernous forms with its giant cave-like appearance. After a seven-year construction period, the Taichung Metropolitan Opera House is now ready to discover for its folded interiors, unexpected corners and uncommon shape resolved into a rectangular form. The building creates an introverted section using deep and elegantly drawn concave on the facade. Lucas K Doolan, a New Zealand architecture photographer, visited the building last year and took a series of exterior and interior photographs showing fluid, curvaceous and impressive internal spaces. Doolan's shots show unexpected space design, flexible meeting points, sculptural white-painted staircases and curvilinear details inside the building. The Taichung Metropolitan Opera House encompasses 58,000-square-metre space at site and includes three theatres-one of its capacity for 2,000 while another consists of 800 seats. The smallest room of the building includes 200 seats. The six-storey building also comprises rehearsal rooms, restaurant, lobbies, auditoriums. ''I aimed to create the architecture of this opera house in such a way that the inside and outside are continuous in a like manner to how bodies are connected to nature through organs such as the mouth, nose, and ears,'' said Toyo Ito. The overall building is made of white walls and variable bright hollows inside, which are all carved out like an internal small caves. The buildings acts as a living organism connecting all body parts to each other in a fluid way. All images Lucas K. Doolan > via Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects 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 Bruce Babbitt was right when he was Secretary of the Interior during the Clinton Administration. You should be proud of your contribution. You have contributed a total of $207,450,108.38 for the benefit of wildlife. And that is just for the second quarter of 2016. But that pride only applies if you are a shooter of firearms. It is a fact that most state wildlife departments do not receive any state tax dollars for wildlife management. That is certainly true in Arizona yet the 2016 budget for the Arizona Game and Fish Department is $42million, which is used to manage the states 800 wildlife species. Where does that money come from? It comes from the hunters, fishers, archers, boaters, shooters, grants and donations. In 1937 hunters and in 1950 fishermen lobbied for legislation that added an 11 percent excise tax on all the things they buy to enjoy their outdoor activities. This amounted to $1.1 billion for 2016 on a national basis. This money is then given to the states on a share based on the excise tax raised in each state. If you are a bird watcher, kayaker, cross country skier, mountain biker, hiker or just a general wildlife lover, you have not stepped up to the plate. When Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt floated his idea of a similar excise tax program on items like binoculars, backpacks, hiking boots, and other outdoor related items he knew the average outdoor lover was not paying their fair share and he knew that our wildlife was facing incredible pressures from habitat loss but his idea gained little traction. The other outdoor enthusiasts were not supportive of the idea back then but has the time come for them to step up? I would say yes. Will they? Not likely. The other outdoor user groups have no real leadership in this area and would likely see such a boost to the Arizona Game and Fish Department and other state wildlife agencies as counter to their own fundraising. Lets face it, fundraising for these groups is often based on dramatic claims of gloom and doom because wildlife conservation is based on healthy populations of wildlife whereas the preservation groups like Southwest Center for Biological Diversity use the removal of a single animal as a crisis worthy of soliciting you for your money. But, there are two simple things you non-hunter/fisher/boater types can do. The first is to buy a Federal Duck Stamp each year. The Wildlife Refuge system depends on this money and 98 percent of it goes to conserve wetland habitat. You can buy a duck stamp at any U.S. Post Office or Game and Fish office. The second is join the Arizona Game and Fish Departments I Support Wildlife program. You get access to a pretty cool mapping application, a subscription to Arizona Wildlife Views magazine, a window decal and more. https://www.azgfd.com/ISupportWildlife Each would cost you $25 per year and do good things for our wildlife. Pick one or really step up and do both. Seems like an easy New Years Resolution to keep. NEW YORK, NY, January 03, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Soul Science Lab 2-night concert leads Brooklyn's 2017 Dr. Martin Luther King celebration lineup at BAM on January 13th and January 14th at BAMcafe at 9pm. The 2017 Brooklyn Martin Luther King, Jr. tribute brings together Civil Rights activists, musicians, and civic leaders to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. King. Music duo Chen Lo and Asante' Amin, known as Soul Science Lab, are tapped to launch this year's celebration with their "innovative, afro, futuristic" sound (http://www.bam.org/music/2017/soul-science-lab). Their big band performance blends Hip-Hop, Jazz, Soul and Afrobeat rhythms with spiritually positive and affirmative messages making for a culturally immersive and interactive experience. "We're humbled and excited to be a part of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration at BAM this year. It's an honor that we have been asked to share our art as a part of this great legacy." - Chen Lo of Soul Science Lab On Martin Luther King, Jr. day (January 16th), the celebration continues with a full day program of readings, music performances, film, art and speeches at BAM with Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams as the Master of Ceremony and keynote address to by Black Lives Matter co-founder Opal Tometi. Other events include music performances by The Campbell Brothers and The Institutional Radio Choir; a free film screening of Ava DuVernay's acclaimed 13th will be screened at BAM Rose Cinemas; a reading from the new book Frederick Douglass in Brooklyn by Carl Hancock Rux and commentary by Theodore Hamm; and the annual community art exhibition, "Picture the Dream," featuring works by students from the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Atlantic Terminal Community Center will be on view in Dyker Gallery (on view from January 13th-February 9th,2017). Soul Science Lab's concert will be held at BAMcafe, located in BAM's Peter J. Sharp Building at 30 Lafayette Avenue New York, NY. Doors open at 8pm. Show begins at 9pm. The event is FREE and open to the public. Space is limited. Early arrival is strongly suggested; first come first serve. Collectors edition CD's, t-shirt and Plan for Paradise inspired multimedia enhanced merchandise will be available for sale. To learn more about Soul Science Lab, visit http://soulsciencelab.com. To connect with Soul Science Lab, visit the Soul Science Lab Facebook page, follow Soul Science Lab on Twitter @SoulScienceLab and on Instagram @SoulScienceLab. To watch Soul Science Lab interviews, music videos and performances, visit http://youtube.com/Soulsciencelab. Follow the online conversation on the track with the hashtag #PlanforParadise. For images, bios and other Soul Science Lab press assets in consideration of their BAMcafe Live performance, please visit https://www.dropbox.com/sh/483kbklpf8fb80h/AACzZf_Sk6ix5AwfGTG4EJlTa?dl=0. For all Soul Science Lab media and booking inquiries, please contact Jasu Sims at [email protected] or at (646) 820.9859. ABOUT SOUL SCIENCE LAB Innovative. Afro. Futuristic. Griots. Soul Science Lab (SSL), is a Brooklyn, NY based music and multimedia duo that translates stories into soul stirring sounds and dynamic visuals. SSL was formed by artist, educator and creative director, Chen Lo, and multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer, Asante' Amin. With a focus on high quality, timeless music, SSL designs innovative arts education models and creates culturally responsive interactive experiences. In addition to international touring, SSL's current projects include Chen Lo's 2013 album Footprints, Amin's 2014 album The Visitor: Alter Destiny, the orchestral, interactive documentary Soundtrack '63 and their newly released interactive album, Plan for Paradise. Co-founder Chen Lo is a seasoned artist, educator and creative director. This visionary mind has toured the globe, performing and leading master classes with a number of cultural arts institutions, including Jazz at Lincoln Center on the Rhythym Road, the August Wilson Center, 651 ARTS and others. Co-founder Asante' Amin is a gifted multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer. A MetLife Meet the Composer award winner, Amin is a musical director ahead of his time. Chen and Asante's music have been featured on several popular Black & Sexy TV web series. Most recently, the duo was featured in TheRoot.com's Black History Month series, celebrating the music and legacy of music of the African diaspora. Soul Science Lab released their debut album, Plan for Paradise, in September 2016. To learn more about Soul Science Lab, visit http://www.soulsciencelab.com. # # # Jan 3, 2017 | By Tess A New York family has had a happy 2016 holiday largely in part to a team of dedicated doctors and their innovative use of 3D printing technologies. The holidays are a time to come together, to celebrate, and to be grateful for the things in life you have and love. For one family, this Christmas was particularly poignant, as it marked their sons first Christmas, something that they are not taking for granted. Seven months ago, Nicole Bono gave birth to a son, Vincent, who was born with a severe type of craniosynostosis, a rare skull defect that results in babies being born with cranial deformities and ridges that can severely impede the childs learning capabilities, seeing, and overall developmental health. For babies born with craniosynostosis, early treatment can be crucial to the childs development. Treatment of course, involves cranial surgery, a risky, complicated operation. As Dr. Michael Egnor, a professor of neurosurgery at New Yorks Stony Brook Medicine explained to the press, If [craniosynostosis] is not fixed in infancy, it becomes a deformity that really limits their ability. Fortunately, Dr. Egnor and his team had 3D printing technologies at their disposal, and like for many complex surgical preparations, they were able to use the technology to help better prepare for the operation. Essentially, the doctors used the technology to 3D print a skull model that was based on Vincents own head. More specifically, the models were based on CAT scans of Vincents skull, which they were then able to digitally reconstruct, and study from all possible angles and view points. Importantly, the 3D printed skulls allowed the team of surgeons to actually practice the surgery beforehand, by taking the 3D printed skull apart, fixing the deformity, and reconstructing the pieces. Dr. Egnor commented: The 3D modeling technique makes the operation considerably safer. In addition to prepping the surgeons for the patient-specific procedure, 3D printed surgical models have also tended to help reduce the overall time of surgical procedures, largely because the surgeons know what they are in for. In Vincents case, the surgery lasted a (still quite long) five hours, though in the end, the procedure was a success. Now, having celebrated their first Christmas with their young son, the Bono family are saying thanks to the doctors that made it possible. The surgery went well, so we are very thankful for that, said the father, Mark Bono. On a larger scale, 3D printed surgical guides have had an increasing importance within hospitals, as they have helped surgeons to study a particular patients condition or anatomy in a much more detailed tangible way than before. In addition to that, having patient-specific models can help to reassure patients and help them to understand exactly what is happening with their body. Posted in 3D Printing Application Maybe you also like: Kate Phillips wrote at 3/5/2017 3:59:13 AM:I would like to use the photograph of the baby skull display about the use of 3D printing in medicine at Scienceworks museum in Melbourne. Could you provide a link or contact for the photographer? Thanks, Kate Phillips kphillips@museum.vic.gov.au Jan 3, 2017 | By Tess As 2017 kicks off, we at 3Ders are more than eager to see what exciting advancements in additive manufacturing are realized. Already, within the first few days of 2017, there are stirrings from the 3D printing industry indicating that this will be a good year for the technology. Tokyo-based printing giant Fuji Xerox, for instance, has announced that it is setting its sights towards China and plans to launch its 3D printing business and cloud services there later this year. Currently the largest supplier of office printers and document management solutions in the Asia Pacific region, Fuji Xerox is hoping to expand its claim and focus its resources towards increasingly advanced tech products and services. A big part of achieving this will come from the companys plan to enter into Chinas growing 3D printer market. The announcement was made by Fuji Xerox executive vice-president Masataka Jo, who explained: What we are trying to do is create a sustainable business model in China by enhancing our solutions development capability there. So our strategy will increasingly focus on the higher end of the market. Last year, Fuji Xerox announced it had developed a new 3D printing data format in partnership with the Keio University in Japan. The new data format is meant to overcome existing limitations that exist within 3D printing, such as retaining a 3D models colors, materials, and internal structures. The format, called FAV (or FAbricatable Voxel) is capable of storing detailed information at a voxel level, which allows users to control every aspect of their 3D model. Now, Fuji Xerox is reportedly preparing to enter mainland Chinas 3D printer market, which is growing at astonishing rates. According to an IDC report, total 3D printer shipment forecasts for mainland China are expected to go up to 440,000 units by 2020 (up from 77,000 in 2015). The company is expecting its expansion into the new market to come with challenges, however, as Jo explained that Fuji Xerox would need to first establish strategic partnerships before breaking into the 3D printer marketin part because most 3D printing intellectual property is controlled by American companies. In addition to its 3D printing expansion, the company is also planning to launch its cloud services (called Smart Work Gateway) on mainland China. Just a few months ago, the Japanese company launched its services in Hong Kong, which has so far proven to be an exceptionally profitable market. Hong Kong is one of the most profitable markets for Fuji Xerox as more than 50 per cent of its revenue now come from services, Jo commented. Fuji Xeroxs cloud services include an array of useful components, including a new smart device, app-based automated document workflow, XpressGateway, and technical support. Before expanding into China, however, it is likely that the Tokyo-based company will need to establish or partner with a data centre based in China in order to provide local cloud services. If all goes according to plan, Fuji Xerox is hoping to begin the launch mid-2017, specifically in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Fuji Xerox, a joint venture partnership between Japanese photographic firm Fujifilm Holdings and American document management company Xerox, is also planning to further its standard printing business within China. According to the company, it has already invested around $150 million in China since first initiating business with the country in 1987. Masataka Jo Posted in 3D Printer Company Maybe you also like: Jan 3, 2017 | By Benedict Engineers at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory have performed flight tests on 3D printed drones that could be used to assist soldiers. Using mission planning software, the engineers can fabricate and deliver a mission-specific 3D printed UAV in just 24 hours. ARL engineer John Gerdes presents a 3D printed drone to Army personnel The U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL), part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, is responsible for carrying out innovative research that can provide the Army with a competitive edge over enemy forces. In its efforts to assist the Army using modern resources, ARL has recently been making use of two of this decades most iconic technologies3D printing and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)to create mission-specific 3D printed drones that can be automatically configured and optimized for any task. According to ARL researchers, these 3D printed drones could have many uses within the Army, helping soldiers on missions that require aerial surveillance, communication, or delivery. And thanks to special mission planning software, these 3D printed UAVs can be designed, flight tested, and delivered over a period of just 24 hours. Weve created a process for converting soldier mission needs into a 3D printed On-Demand Small Unmanned Aircraft System, or ODSUAS, as we've been calling it, said Eric Spero, team leader and project manager. Over the first three days of December, ARL engineers were invited to Fort Benning, Georgia, to demonstrate the adaptable 3D printed drones at the Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiments, or AEWE. Determined to showcase the drones to their best ability on game day, the engineers launched the drones and had them flying up to 55 miles per hour, impressing many military personnel in attendance. The 3D printed Army drone in flight The ARL team subsequently explained to Army chiefs about how the 3D printed flying vehicles could be created in just a daya fact that wowed the top brass as much as the drones themselves did. We thought they're not going to think that's fast enough, but, actually it was the opposite, Spero said. The timeline of 24 hours to receive a mission-custom unmanned aircraft system fits right in line with the way they plan and execute their missions. The engineers spent several hours flight testing and verifying the 3D printed drones prior to AEWE, but also received lots of key feedback during the event itself. Based on comments from Army leaders, the ARL team will now focus on reducing the noise of the 3D printed UAV, increasing its standoff distance, increasing its payload capacity, and improving its agility. During the Army event, the ARL researchers also demonstrated how 3D printers can be used in other ways that could benefit the military. The team 3D printed a Picatinny Rail, a bracket used to mount accessories on a small arms weapon such as an M4 carbine. In about two and a half hours, they had printed a rail that fit the soldiers weapons perfectly. Although 3D printing is being used to develop a range of technologies at ARL, the focus at present is on perfecting the 3D printed Army drones, which can either fly autonomously or be operated via remote control. Although mostly 3D printed, the drones also contain off-the-shelf parts, such as motors and propellers. Drones or quadcopters are really getting big right nowI mean, in particular, just the commercial and hobby markets have shown what can be done with a small amount of money, said John Gerdes, an engineer on the project. Additive manufacturing or 3D printing has become huge and everybody knows all the great things that can be done with 3D printers. So we figured let's assemble these two new technologies and provide a solution to soldiers that need something right now and don't want to wait for it. ARL has been collaborating with Georgia Tech's Aerospace Systems Design Lab during its efforts to develop the 3D printed drones. Posted in 3D Printing Application Maybe you also like: PRASAD wrote at 1/9/2017 10:42:11 AM:ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TREND HAS CHANGED THE ENTIRE WORLD TOWARDS ACCURACY, SPEED AND PROTOTYPE. THANKS TO THEINNOVATION Mike Jay at the LRB: In October 2013 a Time magazine article entitled Syrias Breaking Bad alerted Western media to the prevalence across the region of a little-known stimulant drug, Captagon. Lebanese police had found five million locally produced tablets, embossed with a roughly stamped yin-yang symbol, sealed inside a Syrian-made water heater in transit to Dubai. In October 2015 Captagon made global headlines when the Saudi prince Abdel Mohsen was intercepted at Beirut airport with 32 shrink-wrapped boxes and eight leather suitcases containing two tons of top-grade pills, valued at 190 million. By this time rumours abounded on all sides in the Syrian war that Captagon was fuelling a grim cult of battlefield atrocities. An investigation by Vanity Fair in France last April uncovered a trail of testimonies and video images of pumped-up soldiers and zombies roaming, all smiles, across fields of ruins and severed heads. Caches of pills in ports and abandoned villages supplied the evidence. Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds takes a free-form approach to its subjects, mostly asking them simply to talk about their storied lives. Reynolds recalls her days as a 1950s Hollywood starlet whose every move became tabloid fodder; Fisher revisits her very public childhood, her days as a 1970s Star Wars superstar, and her struggles with bipolar disorder and addiction. Together, under the off-camera guidance of codirectors Alexis Bloom (PBSs Frontline) and Fisher Stevens (The Cove), they explore how each womans individual trials and triumphs profoundly affected the other. Fisher died of a massive heart attack at age 60 on Dec. 27. The next day, while planning her daughters funeral, Reynolds died of a stroke at age 84. The latter-day closeness of the two is heartbreakingly evident in the film as the two putter around in their two houses situated on the same Beverly Hills estate, linked by a winding brick sidewalk. Fretting about her mothers fragile health, Fisher in one scene confides that she tried to talk Reynolds out of traveling to Connecticut to do a show: But that is like throwing yourself in front of a tsunami. Shes tsu-Mommy. HBOs Sheila Nevins, president for documentary and family programming, told The Hollywood Reporter she sees the film as a testament of love. The love of a mother for a child, especially an aging mother and a wounded child, is incredibly touching, Nevins said. Central, Herreid-Selby, Warner just 1 win away from state title games Aberdeen Central, Warner, Herreid-Selby and Hitchcock-Tulare are all just one win away from high school football championship games. Andromeda Metals Ltd (ASX:ADN) is an Australian Securities Exchange listed company focusing on mineral exploration for gold, copper and lithium deposits. The company has built a highly prospective exploration portfolio of projects covering 7,969 sq kms within 21 exploration licences located in South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Andromeda Metals was incorporated on 23 December 1993 and subsequently listed on the ASX on 11 September 1996. The company's head office is in Adelaide, South Australia. Andromeda Metals' vision is to be a sustainable minerals exploration company providing shareholders with risk managed discovery, development and mining opportunities. Appoints Fiona Pak-Poy as Non-Executive Director Sydney, Jan 3, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - MYOB Group Limited ("MYOB") ( ASX:MYO ) is pleased to announce the appointment of a new, independent non-executive Director. Fiona Pak-Poy has joined the MYOB Board with effect from 1 January 2017. Ms Pak-Poy is a professional non-executive director. She has been an executive, advisor and investor in companies from high tech start-ups to ASX 50 and Fortune 500 companies in a wide array of industries including financial services, healthcare, telecom and manufacturing. She is already a non-executive Director of several leading companies, all with a focus on technology and innovation, as well as being a committee member of the Biomedical Translational Fund (BTF). The BTF is part of the Governments "National Science and Innovation Agenda". She has an Honours Degree in Engineering from the University of Adelaide and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. She will sit alongside fellow directors Craig Boyce, Paul Edgerley, Andrew Stevens and Anne Ward as well as Executive Director and MYOB CEO, Tim Reed and Board Chairman Justin Milne. "It is extremely exciting to welcome Fiona to the MYOB Group Board. She has remarkable combined experience and is extremely well placed to work with her fellow Board members on the innovation and strategic development aims of the business." said Justin Milne. "In addition to the experience she brings, her appointment will enhance the strong innovation culture of MYOB". On the appointment, Director Fiona Pak-Poy said, "I am very pleased to be joining the board of MYOB, a business that has strong credentials in tech innovation. I look forward to being part of steering the business through the next phase of its innovation and growth journey." About Myob Group Ltd MYOB Group Ltd (ASX:MYO) is a leading provider of online business management solutions. It makes business life easier for approximately 1.2 million businesses and accountants across Australia and New Zealand by simplifying accounting, payroll, tax, practice management, CRM, job costing, inventory and more. MYOB operates across three core segments Clients and Partners (business solutions to SMEs and Advisers); Enterprise Solutions (larger businesses) and Payment Solutions. It provides ongoing support through client service channels including a network of over 40,000 accountants, bookkeepers and other consultants. It is committed to ongoing innovation, particularly through its Connected Practice Strategy and through the development of the MYOB Platform. For more information, follow @MYOB on Twitter or visit https://investors.myob.com.au/Investors With close to Rs 4,500 crore in billings for the year 2016, spurred by big ticket account wins and a slew of acquisitions in digital, creative and public relations segments, Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) is on a roll. DAN has managed to beat American and British advertising conglomerates like Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG) and WPP in rapid acquisition. Ashish Bhasin, Chairman and Chief Executive, DAN South Asia, is upbeat about his ambitious target of dethroning IPG from the No. 2 spot by 2017. We are definitely meeting the target well before time. In the last three years, we have been the fastest growing group in the country with our growth rate being three times higher than the market, said Bhasin, who took over the operations of Dentsu India in June last year. The Indian advertising industry stands at Rs 48,000 crore growing at the rate of 12 per cent. A senior leader from the fraternity remarked that while DAN has managed to beat American and British advertising conglomerates like IPG and WPP in rapid acquisition, its real challenge will be to ensure integration of acquired companies in its network. For instance, what will happen when Dileep Cherian leaves Perfect Relations? he said. Perfect Relations, the public relations firm owned by Dileep Cherian, was acquired by DAN in September for estimated Rs 200-250 crore. This was followed by creative marketing agency Happy Creative Services acquisition for estimated Rs 300 crore. It recently acquired experiential design studio Fractal Ink for Rs 250 crore. In the last five years, the network has acquired companies such as WATConsult (social media), Milestone Brandcom (outdoor), Fountainhead-MKTG (event and experiential), Taproot (creative) and Webchutney (digital). These companies have filled the gaps in Dentsus capabilities, brought talent and also a host of non-Japanese clients reducing the business from Japanese clients to 11-12 per cent. BAE Systems has received a 575 million SEK ($68 million) contract for the installation of vehicle mounted mortar systems on Swedish Army CV90 Infantry Fighting Vehicles. The installation of the companys mortar system, known as Mjolner, on 40 CV90s will considerably increase the indirect fire capability of the vehicles to support mechanized battalions. The delivery of the Mjolner solution to the Swedish Army allows it to field a capability well adapted for the CV90 while enhancing the fleets firepower, said Tommy Gustafsson-Rask, managing director of BAE Systems Hagglunds. Mjolner is the hammer of Thor in Norse mythology. The contract was issued by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), with first deliveries scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2019. CV90 is a family of Swedish tracked combat vehicles designed for FMV by BAE Systems Hagglunds and BAE Systems Bofors, which provides the vehicles turrets. More than 4.5 million engineering hours has contributed to the development of this advanced vehicle. The Swedish version is outfitted with a turret equipped with a 40 mm autocannon. The Swedish Army has more than 500 CV90s. Earlier this year, BAE Systems was awarded a contract to refurbish 262 of the vehicles, including survivability, turret, and combat system performance upgrades. Adding the mounted mortar systems addresses another priority that helps increase the vehicles lifespan in support of Army capabilities. Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland also operate CV90s. Budapest Airport - having already confirmed 11 new operations for this year - will welcome Flybe's three times weekly service to London Southend from May, the airport's fifth link to the UK capital. Above: Budapest Airport announces its first new airline partner for 2017, welcoming Flybes three times weekly service to London Southend from May. As of this summer Budapest will directly serve 41 country markets, the UK being one of the largest market flown (in terms of weekly seats) from Hungarys capital city airport. The London market is by far the largest city pair from Budapest with the airport expecting to serve 1.5 million round-trip passengers to and from the UK capital this year, a notable 14% year-on-year increase. Joining existing links to London Gatwick, London Heathrow, London Luton and London Stansted, Flybes new service to London Southend means Budapest will offer 14 daily flights consisting of over 34,000 two-way weekly seats to London in S17. Commenting on the latest addition to Budapests route network, the airports CCO, Kam Jandu said: Announcing the arrival of a new airline partner to the Hungarian market is a great way to start the year. Flybe was looking for a first-class European city-break destination and were certain Budapest will meet all expectations, in fact were extremely confident it wont be long before we will be seeing a frequency increase on this route. Id like to take this opportunity to thank all of our airline partners for their support throughout 2016 exceeding the 11.4 million passenger mark could only be reached through the continued teamwork and strong partnerships were fortunate to have here at Budapest. Iran Air and Airbus have signed a firm contract for 100 aircraft, building on an initial commitment signed in January 2016 in Paris. The agreement signed by Farhad Parvaresh, Iran Air Chairman and CEO and Fabrice Bregier, Airbus President and CEO, covers 46 A320 Family, 38 A330 Family and 16 A350 XWB aircraft. The 16 Airbus A350 XWBs are powered exclusively by Rolls-Royce's Trent XWB engine. I am delighted that we have reached an agreement to go to the next decisive phase and start taking delivery of new aircraft. I am gratified that this new round of cooperation with Airbus has come to fruition and brought us closer with more practical steps to follow for Iran Airs fleet renewal. Iran Air considers this agreement an important step towards a stronger international presence in civil aviation. We hope this success signals to the world that the commercial goals of Iran and its counterparts are better achieved with international cooperation and collaboration, said Mr Farhad Parvaresh, Iran Air Chairman and CEO. This is a landmark agreement not only because it paves the way for Iran Airs fleet renewal, said Fabrice Bregier, Airbus President and CEO. Our overall accord includes pilot training, airport operations and air traffic management so this agreement is also a significant first step in the overall modernisation of Irans commercial aviation sector. The agreement is subject to US government Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) export licences which were granted in September and November 2016. These licenses are required for products containing 10 per cent or more US technology content. The agreement follows the implementation of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action), its associated rules and guidance and included new commercial aircraft orders as well as a comprehensive civil aviation package. The package includes pilot and maintenance training, supporting the development of air navigation services (ATM), airport and aircraft operations and regulatory harmonisation. Deliveries will begin in early 2017. American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC) and Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center (Bronx-Lebanon) have signed a 10-year affiliation agreement to enable AUC medical students to complete clinical training in the hospital. This agreement builds on a six-year collaboration that has enabled more than 1,000 AUC students to train at Bronx-Lebanon, the largest voluntary not-for-profit healthcare system serving the South and Central Bronx areas of New York. Bronx-Lebanon provides critically-needed care for an ethnically diverse and medically-underserved patient population. Students who rotate there develop clinical skills while being exposed to how socioeconomic conditions and situations impact patients health, said Heidi Chumley, M.D., executive dean and chief academic officer at AUC. This is an excellent training opportunity for our students, and a major component of the pipeline of new doctors to address New Yorks physician shortage. Through the agreement, each year 48 AUC students will be able to complete 48 weeks of core clinical rotations with Bronx-Lebanons departments of family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, general surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, and psychiatry. Another 52 elective rotations will be available each year of the agreement. Under the supervision of Bronx-Lebanon physicians and residents, AUC students will take patient histories, conduct physical examinations, present cases and assist with medical procedures. As part of the agreement, AUC will provide financial and technical support for the development of an onsite medical simulation center. The center will include six exam bays, adult and adolescent simulation rooms, and a learning facilityall of which will be available to rotating medical students. AUC has clinical training affiliations with 21 U.S. hospitals and health systems, and Bronx-Lebanon is the universitys largest. In 2016, 268 AUC students trained at the hospital. Nearly 200 AUC graduates currently practice in the state of New York. About American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine Founded in 1978, American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC) is one of the oldest medical schools in the Caribbean. Dedicated to developing physicians with a lifelong commitment to patient-centered care, AUC embraces collaboration, inclusion, and community service. With a campus in St. Maarten, affiliated teaching hospitals in the United States and the United Kingdom, and internationally-recognized faculty, AUC has a diverse medical education program for todays globally-minded physician. More than 6,000 graduates of AUC are providing care around the world. AUC is part of DeVry Education Group (NYSE:DV). For more information visit aucmed.edu or follow AUC on Twitter (@aucmed). View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170103005332/en/ Media For AUC Shannon Toher, 305-569-8834 stoher@aucmed.edu DALLAS, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- First Marblehead has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for certiorari1 for the opinion rendered in First Marblehead Corp. v. Massachusetts Commissioner of Revenue, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, No. SJC-11609, August 12, 2016 ("the 2016 decision"). The question at issue was whether Massachusetts could source student loans to Massachusetts under the financial excise tax apportionment provisions, when the taxpayer had its commercial domicile in Massachusetts and no other physical location. Prior to the 2016 decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, id., the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court had previously ruled in favor of the state2, in 2015 ("the 2015 decision"). The U.S. Supreme Court reviewed the 2015 decision and remanded the case to Massachusetts, with the instructions that the case must be analyzed in light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Comptroller of the Treasury of Md. v. Wynne, 135 S. Ct. 1787 (2015). Wynne examined the "internal consistency" test found under the dormant commerce clause. Under Massachusetts law, G. L. c. 63, 2A (e) (vi) (B), if a loan is assigned by the taxpayer to a place outside the Commonwealth that is not a "regular place of business," the statute creates a presumption, rebuttable by the taxpayer, that the loan is properly assigned to the Commonwealth if, at the time the loan was made, the taxpayer's "commercial domicile" was in Massachusetts. The 2016 decision held that this provision did not violate the internal consistency test as defined by Wynne. First Marblehead has once again petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to examine the 2016 decision and answer the following questions. One, whether the application of the Massachusetts apportionment formula passes the "external consistency" test, as it related to the question does the tax fairly relate to the activities undertaken by the taxpayer in the taxing state. Two, whether the Massachusetts statute fails the "internal consistency" test, as double taxation could exist if the taxpayer were to source property to other states in which it did not have a regular place of business, and to Massachusetts under the "commercial domicile" provision. This case is important to watch as it gives the U.S. Supreme Court the opportunity to evaluate whether the Massachusetts court correctly interpreted and applied its decision in Wynne. 1 Petition for certiorari filed December 15, 2016. 2 First Marblehead Corp. v. Commissioner of Revenue, 470 Mass. 497, 498 (2015). TECHNICAL INFORMATION CONTACTS: Mark Nachbar Principal Ryan 630.515.0477 mark.nachbar@ryan.com Mary Bernard Director Ryan 401.272.3363 mary.bernard@ryan.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-marblehead-appeals-its-adverse-massachusetts-apportionment-decision-to-the-us-supreme-court-300384767.html SOURCE Ryan Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "US Ethane Export Report 2016-2020" report to their offering. U.S. Market Innovations in oil and gas drilling have led to lower production costs for crude oil and natural gas in the US, leading to surpluses of ethane and ethylene supplies. Surplus ethane output is expected to reach nearly 700,000 barrels per day by 2020, even after the commissioning of new ethylene production capacity. The new additional ethylene production capacity planned by 2020 is projected atmore than 10 million metric tons. The supply of ethane is tight outside the U.S., particularly in the Middle East, and no ethane export projects have been announced outside the U.S. The North Sea gas production volume is declining, and gas production in the Norway region will begin to follow suit, declining by an aggregated 6% by 2019. Output in the U.K. is in decline with total oil and gas output currently at a third of 2009's output. The U.K. petrochemical industry imports close to 600,000 tons of ethane/year from Norway and has already contracted ethane supply from the new U.S. terminals. To enable import of U.S. ethane, infrastructure upgrades and expansion of sea terminals at Grangemouth and Tees have occurred. This study projects the logistics costs for the U.S. ethane supply. Beginning in 2016, INEOS and SABIC will commence import of U.S. ethane into northwest Europe. Both INEOS and SABIC are converting steam crackers from naphtha to ethane feedstock. Borealis is continuing with ethane crackers, but installing ethane import terminals to support their ethane supply versus the decline in ethane production from the North Sea production. Reliance Industries is establishing U.S. ethane supply capability to steam crackers in India. INEOS, SABIC, and Reliance will be primary shippers out of Enterprise Products' Morgan's Point facility. An estimated 85% of Enterprises' announced capacity is reported as already under firm take or pay contracts. Companies Mentioned - Axiall/Lotte - Braskem - Chevron Phillips - Dow Chemical - ExxonMobil - Formosa - Oxichem/Mexichem - PTT/Marubeni - Sasol - Shell - Shin-Etsu - Total - Williams For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/m898qb/us_ethane_export View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170103005892/en/ Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Related Topics: Chemicals During his 30-year Air Force career, Keith Mondloch spent much of his time on the flightline as an aircraft maintainer, but he also devoted many hours as a senior NCO helping young Airmen with personnel, financial and legal issues.If I couldnt help them myself, I made sure I found the right person or office for them to contact, Mondloch said.Although he hung up his blues in 2011, the retired chief master sergeant continues to be an advocate for Airmen by serving as a recovery care coordinator for the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.Mondloch is one of 42 RCCs who are strategically placed at bases throughout the Air Force to help wounded, ill, and injured service members, their caregivers and their families navigate the recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration process.Assisting wounded warriors in recovery requires a team effort involving the commander, medical and non-medical community all operating together to provide the best possible support to wounded warriors and their families.RCCs provide face-to-face care and assistance for wounded warriors by serving as the focal point for coordinating medical and non-medical care and services. They develop comprehensive recovery plans and have an extensive knowledge of support programs and processes.Being an RCC is really an extension of what I did on active duty, Mondloch said. I am here to help people. As RCCs, were basically considered boots on the ground and meet regularly with recovering service members to discuss their concerns.While not in all cases, most RCCs work in military treatment facilities so they can work closely and collaborate with the medical team. RCCs brief members on eligibility benefits and compensation, cultivate contacts in the local community with a number of helping agencies, assist with various applications (Traumatic Servicemembers Group Life Insurance, Social Security Disability Insurance, etc.), research answers on members medical evaluation board status, help guide members through the Air Forces Integrated Disability Evaluation System, along with a variety of other tasks.Once service members are enrolled in the program, they are each assigned an RCC and one of the 27 non-medical recovery care managers at the Air Force Personnel Centers Warrior Care Division here.One of those managers, Cynthia Iniguez, said the main part of her job is to make sure the RCCs have the resources and tools they need to help members at the base level.We assist with a variety of personnel and career issues, whether it is help in updating and correcting military records or help with promotion or pay issues, Iniguez said. Were here to help in any way we can.Clinical case managers, physical evaluation board liaison officers, commanders, first sergeants and caregivers are also key components of the care management team and all play an integral part in the recovery process.Although each of us bring our own expertise, we all work together as a team for the benefit of the service member, Mondloch said.Recently, Mondloch helped a service member complete, submit and staff an application for Special Compensation for Assistance with Activities of Daily Living. This allowed the family to receive financial compensation for the wifes work with her husband after he had been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. After the accident, she had to take a leave of absence without pay from her job to assist her husband.The AFW2s care management team helps families receive compensation they are entitled to, but may not be aware they are eligible for. In fiscal year 2016, the programs staff helped wounded, ill, and injured Airmen and their families receive about $13.5 million in needed benefits.I am an advocate for the member and their interests, Mondloch said. It can be extremely chaotic and stressful for service members after an illness or injury. Many times, returning to active duty is not an option for the recovering service member, so I am there to assist with their next life transition and to make it as smooth as possible.For more information about AFW2 and how to enroll, visit their website . For more information about Air Force personnel programs, go to myPers . Individuals who do not have a myPers account can request one by following these instructions Women can wear what they want and its their choice says netizens condemning Abu Azmis sexist remark made after Bengaluru molestation incident. Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi received flak from netizens and renowned personalities for remarks made by him in the aftermath of Bengaluru molestation incident. Azmi blamed women for wearing short dresses which was responsible for rising molestation cases. He appealed to women to follow Indian culture and urged them to refrain from stepping out of the house without male family members. Netizens condemned the statements made by Azmi and said that at a time when women are considered at par with men and are also doing well in professional lives such remarks will only take India a step backward. They added that today women are doing better than men in several sectors and many of them have already broken the glass ceiling to become successful. Azmi is not the lone leader to blame women for the incident. Even Karnataka Home Minister G Parmeshwar issued a controversial statement and said, Such incidents do happen on New Year day and on Christmas. We take a lot of precautions. Actor Farhan Akhtar said, Women should not dress like westerners because men dressed like westerners are molesters, says the man in the shirt.#oxy(deprived)morons. Suhel Seth Managing Partner, Counselage said, I worry for the women in Abu Azmis family. Can you imagine living with a chauvinistic pig? Music composer Vishal Dadlani said, Abu Azmi, another politician in a line-up of the extremely stupid, regressive and misogynistic. These are our LEADERS? I think not!! Actor Varun Dhawan posted, Argggh how this angers me. Sir punish the criminals not the victims. Women can wear what they want its their choice. Sudip Singh said, Waiting for the day when Abu Azmi justifies child rape by saying itna revealing diaper pehna tha toh ye hoga hi Mohan Sinha said, Idiot Abu Azmi wants girls to stay home, only go out with their brothers, dress decently. If SP was power wed be Islamic State of India. Sonam Mahajan said, Abu Azmi, SP MLA blames Bengalurus mass molestation incident. Shame on women wearing short dresses. How does Ayesha Takia bear this scumbag? Swati Mahiwal said, Abu Azmi says to avoid rape, women shouldnt go out alone like in Saudi. Instead of making India Saudi, better Abu goes off 2 Saudi. No loss. On the other hand, Abu Azmi defended himself and blamed the media for blowing the issue out of proportion. He said,Media is just making an issue out of it. All crime against women is condemnable. Our culture should be strictly followed is my firm opinion. Earlier, Azmi had said though it was the duty of police to ensure safety of women on the New Years eve, women should not forget that security starts at home, and partying late night is not in the Indian culture. I am saying what happened is very unfortunate. Undoubtedly, making security arrangement to thwart any eventuality is polices job. But, as far as Bengaluru molestation is concerned, women and their guardians must also take precautions and think that security starts at home. Our women must think about their own security themselves, Azmi said. Eyewitness accounts suggest that women were molested and groped and lewd remarks were also passed by miscreants late night on December 31 in a posh area of Bengaluru even as it was claimed that 1,500 police personnel had been deployed to control the crowds. [dropcap]M[/dropcap]ulayam Singh Yadav and his son Akhilesh Yadav played divide and unite drama very strategically by making headlines on national media but voters seems to be smarter to understand the comedy played by father-son duo. They are bent upon out beating even the top most celluloid jokers. Do you think UP will be in safe hand, when within the party fighting is on for power? It is boosting itself as the national party. Is the party their family property? It is an insult to the self-respect of the people, who voted them. If you do not learn lesson now, you will never be. This drama was purely to establish Akhilesh as supreme and strong leader. It was pure divisionary tactics by Yadav clan to divert mind of UP residents from the failed governance from past several years. SP has done only dynasty politics in UP and voters remained poor illiterate and backward or migrated to other states. Mulayam pretended to expel top CM backers from SP. This was a race to seek your attention. Its not about Akhilesh Mulayam gang, believe me, its about you and your attention. A day after Akhilesh was expelled from the party; he summoned a meeting of SP legislators where over 200 of the 229 party MLAs turned up expressing their loyalty to him. Some SP MLCs and senior party functionaries loyal to junior Yadav also attended the meeting at the Chief Ministers official residence at 5-Kalidas Marg. Outside his residence, high drama was witnessed with youth supporters of Akhilesh assembling in large numbers to vent their fury over his expulsion and that of his uncle Ramgopal Yadav. On 30th December 2016, Mulayam Singh Yadav expelled him too from the party again for six years, but on the following day the expulsion was revoked by the party on constitutional grounds. The open rebellion prompted Mulayam to again sack Ram Gopal Yadav from the Samajwadi Party. Amid the on-going stalemate and a possible division of the ruling party, Azam Khan tried to broker a truce between the father and the son. The ceasefire started with a phone call between the father and son after which Mulayam was flown back to Lucknow where he met Akhilesh. The duo was joined by Shivpal two hours later; however, no word has come out on the possible outcomes of the meeting. According to constitutional experts, in all likelihood, the poll panel could freeze the party symbol and allot new symbols to both the factions to contest the assembly elections scheduled this year. This might come as a blow to both sides as the symbol cycle is a well-established brand. At a convention held in Lucknow, Akhilesh anointed himself as the Samajwadi Party President and said Mulayam would remain a Marg Darshak. The Akhilesh camp also named a new state unit chief in place of Shivpal Yadav and sacked Amar Singh, whom the Uttar Pradesh chief minister has repeatedly dubbed as a dalal. Amar Singh, the Trojan-horse has been slipped into the SP camp by those who are out to capture power at any costs. Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav are making a renewed effort at a truce to keep their Samajwadi Party from splitting just ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. After a meeting that lasted beyond two hours, sources said a peace treaty was discussed with these compromises: Mulayam Singh, who was replaced as party president on the weekend by his son, will reassume top boss role; Akhilesh Yadav will help decide the partys candidates; and Shivpal Yadav, who is Mulayam Singhs brother and a long-standing red flag for Akhilesh Yadav, will be granted a national role in party affairs, allowing the Chief Minister some more breathing space in Lucknow. However, as with all things Yadav recently, the health warning is that compromises have come unstuck with surprising alacrity. Ram Gopal Yadav, who is the main mentor to Akhilesh, announced to the media saying that their claim to use the party symbol of the cycle remains valid. Ram Gopal Yadav met with the Election Commission to file ownership rights. On Monday, it was Mulayam Singh who made the same claim before the Election Commission. The symbol, familiar to voters for decades, is an incredibly valuable asset. The Election Commission could choose to suspend or freeze the party symbol and not allot it to either side if the Samajwadi Party splits. To conclude entire drama, father and son met privately, floating the hope that in the absence of aides with vested interests, they would be able to reconcile their differences. Shivpal Yadav joined the meeting after nearly two hours. The meeting where these changes were made was attended by thousands of workers, making it clear that Akhilesh Yadav and not his father is the partys preferred choice. The show of strength coerced Mulayam Singh into seeking a compromise. For his part, Akhilesh Yadav has repeatedly and emotionally said he has no wish to undermine his father. Many believe that Akhilesh Yadav has emerged as a winner in the bitter Samajwadi family feud. But the leader is certainly pained at the way things have gone from bad to worse within the Samajwadi clan with his uncle Shivpal openly expressing displeasure over the young leaders style of working. Whatsoever, history teaches us every transition of crown and winning the hard battle involves feud, betrayal, scapegoat, bloodbath, deceit, conceit, favouritism, bribe and much more rather than war tactics or bravery without bothering nations property and peoples welfare. Modern politicians adept in those skills and implement it at apt time making mockery of people and party workers, wasting valuable administrations time and asset. Unfortunately, people failed to learn and these opportunistic politicians are quite wise and never allow people to find options or become intelligent. (Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com) The Centre termed as premature the plea by telecom major Vodafone challenging TRAIs recommendation to impose Rs 1,050 crore penalty on it for not providing interconnectivity to Reliance Jio. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain, appearing for the Centre, argued before Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva that Vodafones plea was a complete abuse of process of court as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had only made a recommendation and the government was yet to form an opinion. The ASG opposed the maintainability of the petition, saying once the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) of the Ministry of Communication takes a decision, then it is an appealable order. He also questioned whether the telecom major had any material with it to show that the government would be influenced by TRAIs recommendation. The court, thereafter, gave the Ministry and TRAI two weeks time to file their reply on the issue of maintainability of the petition and listed it for hearing on February 6. During the brief arguments, the court suggested that before forming an opinion the DoT may also consider objections raised by Vodafone in its plea along with the recommendation of TRAI. However, senior advocate Rajiv Nayar, appearing for Vodafone, did not agree with the suggestion and urged the court to decide whether TRAI exceeded its jurisdiction by giving the recommendation. On December 22, 2016, the court had refrained from directing the Centre or any other authority not to act upon TRAIs recommendation as no one except the regulator was a party in the case. The court had, thereafter, made DoT a respondent in the matter. By Teresa Conrick Here in Chicago, they have been reporting on the SPARK Autism, national database. This from our local ABC, channel 7 Chicago: RESEARCHERS AT RUSH MEDICAL CENTER CREATING NATIONAL DATABASE TO STUDY AUTISM Sunday, December 18, 2016 Some highlights- Autism is one of the fastest growing developmental disorders in the United States. It now affects one in every 68 children and on in every 42 boys. That's one reason why there is an intense push to try to find treatment and a possible cure. There is a major research study taking place at Rush Medical Center in Chicago. a ground-breaking research study, which is now gathering genetic information on autistic individuals. They're creating a national database. Every day we struggle with it and every day we hope that, in the back of your mind, that studies like this are going to help us," said Tony Belmonte, Jack's father. Nation-wide they are hoping to register 50,000 individuals on all levels of the autism spectrum. There is a concentrated effort now to get more minorities to sign up for this research. At the bottom of the article, you'll read this: For more information about the Rush autism study, visit www.sparkforautism.org/rush. There you will go to a website which is not RUSH Hospital. To find out more, click on About SPARK on the bottom of that page. There you will see that, SPARK stands for Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research for Knowledge, and the mission is simple: we want to speed up research and advance our understanding of autism to help improve lives. If you or your child has a professional diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, learn more about SPARK here . If we keep following them, we can read even more about this plan - SPARK aims to build a research community of tens of thousands of individuals with autism and their families, who will be asked to share medical and genetic information with scientists and to agree to be contacted about future research studies. For the person who knows little about the who, what, when, where and why of AUTISM, this could look to be promising BUT for most of the rest of the world, people are not accepting this approach anymore. The search for genes is NOT, nor has it EVER been helpful "to find treatment and a possible cure." Autism Speaks did this same thing, came up with a gene depository to look like they are using their money for something helpful. Sadly, this approach has done NOTHING for the tens of thousands of families who have children and now, young adults, who suffer with painful GI disease; seizures; inability to speak or communicate in a meaningful manner or, at all; extreme sensory disturbance; executive functioning disability; debilitating obsessions, compulsions and tics; heartbreaking self-injurious behaviors; and the daily struggles with social cues. This type of genetic research is going in the WRONG direction. Aiken, SC (29801) Today Except for a few afternoon clouds, mainly sunny. High 77F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. North Augusta Middle School students on team Sting work on Lego robots preparing for the next phase of the competition recently held at Chukker Creek Elementary school, part of this years First Lego League Qualifier. Dentists say cake culture celebrating success or special occasions with sweet treats has made the workplace a main site of sugar consumption for many Brits. The Faculty of Dental Surgery (FDS), part of the Royal College of Surgeons, is urging employers and employees to take action to cut back on sugar consumption in the office. The FDS, which supports the soft drinks industry levy, set to be introduced next April, has also called for restrictions on price promotions on sugary goods. Citing NHS data, the faculty said 64,000 over-18s had been admitted to hospital because of tooth decay in 2015-16. It is advising businesses to take action, such as keeping sugary products out of sight and marking a number of birthdays with a single cake (see below). The faculty also suggested substituting sugary products in meetings, such as biscuits, for lower-sugar alternatives, such as plain nuts and fruit. Celebrating success with colleagues is a fundamental part of modern office culture, and treating ourselves once in a while to mark something significant can play an important part in this, said the FDS. However, with the rise of cake culture the workplace is becoming one of the main places we consume sugar, so we must find the right balance and think carefully about the impact of what we eat at work on our wider health. Employers should also signpost to staff government advice about maintaining a healthy lifestyle and good oral health, and promote public health messages such as the importance of exercising regularly and staying active. With many people likely to start 2017 with new determination to eat more healthily and lose weight, it is important to remember that there are small but significant things employees and employers can do to reduce sugar consumption in the office, added the FDS. Tighter rules on price promotions and the in-store location of sugary products would help to reduce sugar purchases, said the FDS. The government should work with supermarkets and other food retailers to restrict price promotions on sugary products, and replace high-sugar foods at the point of sale with healthier alternatives, it added. If necessary, legislation should be introduced in future to address this. FDS tips for reducing sugar consumption at work Assyrians Living in US Reflect on Their Homeland The Assyrian Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary. ( Paul Gadalla/Middle East Eye) New Jersey -- On Christmas morning, a choir sung on the second floor of a wooden church in New Jersey. But instead of singing the usual Christmas carols, the women of the choir chanted in Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, believed to be the language spoken by Jesus Christ. At St. Mark's Syriac Orthodox Cathedral here, families from Iraq and Syria come to celebrate and remember the tragedies that have beset their homelands. "We pray that they and all other kidnapped and abducted may return to Aleppo so that our joy of its liberation is completed," read Bishop Johb Kawak, the Syriac Orthodox Bishop of the Northeast Diocese of America, as he led the liturgy in Syriac, Arabic, and English. Although most of the congregation lives in the United States, all of their chatter was about the region. "We're so excited about what's happening in Aleppo," said one parishioner after he wished the bishop a Merry Christmas. The church was abuzz with talks of the battle for Aleppo coming to a close. "Of course we're happy for the victory in Aleppo. And now we pray for the city's kidnapped bishops to be released," said Bishop Kawak. Christians from Iraq and Syria are divided among a number of denominations, and their traditions and how they celebrate Christmas can vary but the main constant is their attachment to their church. "Once any of them immigrate here, the first thing they do is find a church. From this they can establish connections," said Martin Youmaran of the Chaldean Foundation, which helps recently immigrated Iraqi Christian families resettle in the US. "Our Christmas traditions here mainly focus on replicating traditional foods and donning our traditional garb," Youmaran added. In recent years, the Iraqi and Syrian Christian diaspora has swelled since as many continue to flee ongoing violence in the region. They, along with other ethnic and religious minorities, have bore the brunt of the Islamic State group's violent takeover of vast swathes of territory in both countries. Many were forced to leave overnight, and their houses and places of worship were seized or destroyed. St. Mark's Cathedral in Teaneck, New Jersey. ( Paul Gadalla/Middle East Eye) Despite being a vulnerable population that has suffered immensely in the regional conflict, Christians in the Middle East are finding it difficult to seek asylum in the US. "It wasn't easy to come over," said Sipya, a 19-year-old Assyrian Iraqi hailing from the Nineveh Plain village of Al-Qosh, who came to the US in 2014. "I managed to get asylum because my father had received political asylum here in 2012." "I was able to get here through a UN agency which helped me get asylum but it still took 2 to 3 years," said S. Ghabreel, a Syriac Christian in his 50s, who came to the US three years ago from Baghdad. "I know for Syrians it's very tough to get visas. For Iraqis it's a bit easier, we can go through UN agencies. They (the US) took our country, we should be allowed to come, " Ghibreel added. "We didn't receive many families from Syria recently," lamented Bishop Kawak. "It was easier for them to get asylum in Canada or Europe." Tough restrictions fort Syrian refugees Syrians have had a tougher time immigrating to the US, as the quota was set for only 10,000 Syrian refugees, which was fulfilled in August 2016. On top of the quota, Syrians have to go through a barrage of tough restrictions and processes to apply for asylum. Currently, the process for Syrians applying to the US takes around 18-24 months and involves several government departments, including the State and Defense departments, the National Counterterrorism Center, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. Syrians looking for US visas have to be fingerprinted, screened medically and extensively interviewed, all of which requires several different forms of paperwork and could cost a fair amount of money. "Unless they (Syrian families) have family sponsorship it's very hard to get here. Many left Syria or Iraq with just a few belongings," said one of St. Mark's Syriac Church's council members. "They're in a dire situation. They have little money and it's hard for the older ones to learn the language and acclimate to life in the America." George, an Aleppo native and a member of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary in New Jersey, told Middle East Eye: "I worked in commerce in Syria and I had come to America before on a tourist visa. Thanks to that I was able to obtain a visa to the US a year ago and started the process of obtaining asylum here but my wife was only able to get asylum in Canada and I cannot go visit her there." Samir, a member of the same congregation and an Aleppo native as well, has also faced similar hurdles. "I was thankfully able to obtain a visa to US. In Syria I was a civil engineer and was quite successful. I had many clients and my own office in Aleppo. Now all of that is gone and I have to start all over again and I have a wife and kids. My engineering license isn't accepted here and now I work in construction but thankfully I am working." "It's a new life for me. New places, new system, different people. Back home I feel it's Christmas," said Sipya when asked about adjusting to life in America. "Here I don't feel it. In my village we are all Assyrian Christians so we celebrate Christmas together in church. Not like here. Here it's just a break from school and same for work." Inability to return Although IS is being pushed back and the war in Syria could be coming to a close, there is the growing recognition that returning is no easy option. "At first I was wary of settling down in the US knowing it wouldn't be easy but I lost everything I had in Aleppo. Now my kids are going to school here and are adapting. It would be tough to put them back in the Syrian system which is all in standard Arabic," noted Samir. "I'd love to return to Aleppo but who knows what will happen. I could be kidnapped or killed. Things won't go back to normal there for another 10 to 15 years," George said. Ghibreel echoed the same sentiment. "There's no future for me in Baghdad, it's simply not safe." Iran's Mostly Forgotten Christian Heritage Mar Yohannan, Assyrian, near Gawilan. ( Heleen Murre-van den Berg) Unknown to most visitors to Iran, unknown also to many Iranians, the country harbors a rich heritage of Christian sites. Except for a few notable exceptions, these churches and graveyards so far have attracted relatively little attention and most are not included in the standard tourist trajectories. Assyrian and Armenian churches throughout the country witness to the varied and complex history of Christianity in Iran, but many of these churches are in bad repair, with little opportunities for the Christians who take care of them to find the necessary funds. Among the exceptions are a few Armenian churches and monastic complexes in the northwest of the country, which in 2008 have been included in the UNESCO world heritage list: Kara Kilisi or St. Thaddeus near Chaldiran, Saint Stepanos near Julfa, and the Chapel of Dzordzor (or Mary Mother of God) on the Zangmar River. While there is more to wish for, these are generally in a good state, with the necessary repairs and more fundamental renovations going on. These churches mostly have their origin the Middle Ages, and constitute an impressive witness to Armenian religious culture throughout the centuries. Until today, these churches are part of the Armenian religious landscape, with visitors coming not only to admire the beautiful sculptures and architectural harmonies of the complexes, but also to venerate the places as witnesses to the Armenian religious tradition and as wellsprings of religious blessing. Interior Mar Thoma, Assyrian Church, Balulan. ( Heleen Murre-van den Berg) Best known among the Armenian sites of course is the Vank Cathedral complex in New Julfa, Isfahan, that is open to all visitors as part of the Armenian museum complex. Its spectacular interior, with its wonderful mix of western and eastern styles, oil paintings and ceramics, was designed and executed mostly by local Armenian artists in the second half of the seventeenth century, being inspired by a wide range of local, regional and European esthetics. This complex, like those in the north, is fairly well endowed and in good repair. The majority of Armenian churches throughout the country, however, struggle to make ends meet. Over the last century and into the twenty-first, the traditional Christian communities gradually diminished through emigration, its tempo accelerating after the Islamic Revolution. Though Armenian communities are still present in most major Iranian cities, with vibrant centers in Tehran and Isfahan, especially the maintenance of historic churches is difficult, the more so because of strict regulations that make it near impossible for emigrants outside the country to contribute substantially. Mart Maryam, Catholic Assyrian/Chaldean, Gawilan. ( Heleen Murre-van den Berg) The Assyrian churches of Azerbaijan make a much more humble witnesses to a long history of Christian presence in the region. While there is a number of larger and more modern Chaldean and Assyrian churches in Tehran and Isfahan, mostly built in the 1950s and 1960s, the older Assyrian churches of the Urmia region testify to this church long history in Iran, even if the churches of the Iranian center (which we know of from written sources) have all disappeared. Though for most churches it is impossible to say when exactly they were built, it is likely that they go back at least to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries but may well be much older. Most of the churches do not have dedicatory inscriptions -- if they have, they usually refer to a renewal rather than establishment of the church. Over the centuries, the Assyrian Church of the East became restrained (up to the point of being aniconic at times) in using icons in church, and usually are modest and sober in their interiors. Today, they are no longer regularly used for worship, but with the help of local gatekeepers, mostly members of Kurdish families, sometimes of the last remaining Christians in a village, the churches are often visited and maintained as good as possible. Graveyards, sometimes also the gravestones in the church yards, constitute yet another moving testimony to the history of the Assyrian, Chaldean and Armenian churches in the region. Ginsters owner Samworth Brothers has acquired West Cornwall Pasty Co (WCPC) from private equity investor Endless LLP, British Baker has learned. According to a Samworth spokesperson: The acquisition includes West Cornwall Pasty Cos 33 wholly-owned outlets in UK rail stations and high street locations, a further 19 franchised outlets in Moto service stations and the companys head office and distribution centre in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Samworths consumer brands include pasty business Ginsters and malt loaf brand Soreen. Samworth Brothers group chief executive Alex Knight told British Baker: Samworth Brothers already has a considerable experience and presence in both the food-to-go and savoury pastry market through our existing brands and own-label operations. We see the hot food-to-go sector as one area of real opportunity. This acquisition provides a great extension to our hot food-to-go capabilities and gives us another outstanding platform to develop our offer in this area. He added that WCPCs franchised outlets "will continue to operate in the same way as they do today", and that WCPC "has some strong supplier partnerships and we do not expect any changes in these arrangements in the foreseeable future." When asked whether Samworth will turn WCPC into a retail brand in terms of forecourts and c stores, he said "The acquisition has just happened. It is too early to talk about this but the acquisition will provide a great extension to our savoury pastry and hot food to go capabilities and gives us an additional outstanding platform and brand to develop in this area. This is a business and a brand which are growing strongly and we intend to invest further to extend this success." In October, Leicestershire-based Samworth Brothers said in a trading statement its investment in staff and facilities had paid off, with revenues topping 900m. December 29, 2016 Few people are aware that Kazakhstan played a major role in ending the diplomatic crisis that followed Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane last year. Now Kazakhstan is taking a much more public mediator role in strategic talks among Moscow, Ankara, Tehran and Damascus on Syrias future. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to hold Syrian peace talks in Kazakhstan's capital of Astana. On Dec. 18, after talking to Putin by phone, Erdogan said positive steps have been taken for the future of Syria and the situation in Aleppo, and that talks hosted by Kazakhstan will continue. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said he welcomes the proposal and his country is ready to fill the mediator role. And so, Kazakhstan, which was the discreet facilitator of the Russia-Turkey normalization, has emerged as the active mediator in the Syria issue. Kazakhstan's relations with Russia are mainly military- and security-oriented, while its ties with Turkey are more about trade and other economic considerations. Kazakhstan has deftly managed a balanced approach to both countries. Both Ankara and Moscow have been pleased with Astana's constructive and risk-averse attitude. How did Kazakh diplomacy emerge as a successful endeavor in recent months? Political science doctoral student Kerim Has of Moscow State University believes that in addition to Astanas tactful handling of Ankara-Moscow issues, Nazarbayev is considered a wise man by Turkish and especially Russian political leaders. Among the former Soviet republics, Nazarbayev has never lost his standing as the one who has the best relations with Putin based on mutual trust. No one can question Putins respect for him. When I was in Moscow during the first days of the crisis, Russia experts had already told me that the only person who could be a mediator was Nazarbayev, Has told Al-Monitor. Kazakh diplomats made efforts to display their neutrality to the international community during the country's successful bid in June for UN Security Council non-permanent membership and also during its dealings with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. For Astana to become the venue of Syria negotiations complementing the Geneva talks is yet another success for Kazakh diplomacy. Has said those who follow developments in Syria will be hearing plenty about Kazakhstan in the coming days. Has added that shifting the talks to Astana, the capital of a strong Turkish ally, has another significant aspect not readily apparent to many people, which is to restrain the emerging dominant role of Iran in the region. Therefore, for Russia to initiate Astana talks goes beyond promoting Kazakhstan as a neutral venue, by using it to manage the sensitive Iran-Turkey balances. Now Iran is expected to come up with gestures that would appeal to Moscow. For example, it could reopen its air bases to Russian aircraft, which Moscow would definitely appreciate. In a way, the results of Syria talks in Astana will be best observed not in the diplomatic arena, but by changes that could occur on the ground. It is clear that Moscow is pursuing serious diplomatic moves on critical issues such as the future of Syria, balancing Turkish-Iranian interests and engaging allies, while the decision-making mechanisms of the United States are practically paralyzed until Jan. 20, when President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in. Russia will try to institutionalize the Astana talks before Trump takes over. Will Trump be pleased with this fait accompli, or will he try to wreck it? Washington would do well to gear itself up for Russia's rising influence in the coming days. The United States should not forget how Russia has cleverly scored world diplomacy points in working to resolve the Syrian crisis. Russia also improved its relations with Turkey following the attempted coup, while Turkey believes that instead of helping, the European Union and NATO rather criticized Turkey for its mass arrests. If Turkey decides to push the idea that US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen was an accomplice in the recent assassination of Russia's ambassador (as well as the coup attempt), how deeply will Moscow get involved in the Gulen controversy between Ankara and Washington? Will Washington, which refused to extradite Gulen to Ankara after the failed coup, do so now if Moscow requests it? December 29, 2016 RAMALLAH, West Bank Palestinians are calling for the European Union to put its muscle where its money is by increasing pressure on Israel to stop destroying EU-funded facilities. Israel is preparing legislation to forbid EU states from aiding Palestinian building projects in the West Bank's Area C. The aid the EU gives Palestinians in Area C often ends up wasted. Despite the EU's long-running complaints that Israel's settlements are illegal, not much has been done about it, as the abuses continue. In some recent examples, inhabited EU-funded facilities north of Jericho were destroyed Dec. 6, and on Dec. 7, solar panels and electrical appliances were confiscated from Hebron and farms were destroyed in the village of Nabi Samwil, northwest of Jerusalem. All these locations are in Area C. The destruction sparked the anger of EU delegations in Jerusalem and Ramallah, and they voiced their ire in a Dec. 13 press statement that read, Since early 2016, Israel has destroyed around 866 facilities funded by the EU and affected the lives of 5,704 Palestinians, including 1,221 who have become homeless and 586 children. It has cost the EU around 536,000 euros [$558,096]. Area C, which covers more than 60% of the West Bank, is under Israels administrative and security control under the Oslo Accord signed on Sept. 13, 1993. About 150,000 Palestinians currently reside in Area C. EU media official Shadi Othman told Al-Monitor, The European aid, whether humanitarian or developmental, is directed to Area C in order to maintain the Palestinian presence there and keep the two-state solution viable. Depriving Palestinians of their existence and conducting [Israeli] construction and development works in these areas is the biggest challenge for this solution. Israel claims it is demolishing houses that were built without permits in Area C. But Israel is in charge of issuing such permits. The EU has been asking Israel during its meetings to change its policies in these areas and to agree to structural planning of compounds in Area C, thus allowing permits for the development of facilities and houses and to stop the demolition," Othman said. He added, "The EU, along with Palestinian ministries, is contributing to preparing structural maps of compounds in Area C, as this is the first step to solve the problem of destroying facilities. The EU is using this issue to pressure Israel to more quickly approve these maps. The EU is constantly asking Israel to respect its aid and projects in Area C to fulfill the basic needs of citizens. Structural maps determine the type of land used in each compound, whether it is designated agricultural, for construction or nature reserve. Permits are supposed to be granted accordingly. But Israel cites the absence of such maps as justification for not granting construction permits and continuing the demolition. On Nov. 2, Palestinian Minister of Local Government Hussein al-Araj and Ralph Tarraf, an EU representative in Jerusalem, launched a series of social infrastructure projects in Area C with EU funding to develop the region and provide services to 300 Palestinian families. The projects include the expansion and rehabilitation of a water-supply system and the construction of a kindergarten with a playground. Othman said the EU will continue working in Area C. "In the past two years, development aid worth 15 million euros [$15.6 million] was offered, as well as humanitarian aid worth 11 million euros [$11.4 million]. In the coming phase, we will keep implementing projects and offering aid based on the EUs political vision of the two-state solution," he said. The undersecretary of the Ministry of Local Government, Mohammad al-Jabarin, told Al-Monitor, The Palestinian government places a lot of importance on Area C by offering it basic and infrastructural services through its ministries. It pairs with international partners like the EU to fund development and humanitarian projects in Area C. The EU must defend the projects it funds. Area C is mostly agricultural land, rich in natural resources that Palestinians say Israel exploits for the benefit of settlements. Israel has increased settlement construction in this area and restricted some of it for military training. It forbids the architectural planning of Palestinian compounds and construction on the land and restricts basic services for Palestinians there like water and power. "The EU funds projects because it realizes that Area C is marginalized and needs basic services and infrastructure. But donors and world countries must pressure Israel to stop abusing these projects through expropriating them or demolishing them," Jabarin said. He noted that in the past few years, the Palestinian government has presented Israel with more than 100 structural maps of compounds in Area C, but Israel approved only four. He said that Israels intention to impede any development plan or any natural extension of one is clear. Walid Assaf, the chairman of the Palestinian Authority's Commission Against the Wall and Settlements, told Al-Monitor, European aid is important for the support and resilience of Palestinians in Area C. But it is not enough. Israel must face international pressure from the EU and the United Nations to halt its demolition policy. On Dec. 23, a majority of the UN Security Council voted in favor of Resolution 2334, which condemns Israeli settlements and demands they be halted in the occupied Palestinian territories. PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said in a statement that day that the resolution constitutes a huge blow for Israeli politics, an international condemnation of settlements and strong support for the two-state solution. Although the EU did not comment on the UN Security Councils decision, its stance regarding settlements is known. On Dec. 9, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said in a press statement that Israel is seeking to legitimize settlements in the West Bank and called that effort a violation of Israeli and international laws through expropriating Palestinians rights of ownership." She said, "Israeli settlements are illegal as per international law and constitute a hurdle to the peace process and the two-state solution." Assaf said, Israel will not stop its policy in Area C if it is not punished and does not face real pressure that affects its interests. He noted, International aid is keeping the flame of hope for the two-state solution burning in Palestinians hearts. But Israeli policies [of] expropriating lands, building settlements, demolishing facilities and forbidding the establishment of projects in Area C are killing this hope. Assaf said international aid for Area C is insignificant compared with the billions of shekels Israel spends to develop settlement projects in the area. This imbalance calls for a serious stance and action plan from international parties, he added. The demolition of EU-supported facilities and projects in the West Bank has long angered the EU and pushed it to explore the possibility of prosecuting Israel and demanding that it pay compensation. On Nov. 7, Israel's Yisrael Beitenu party announced it was preparing a bill to submit to the Israeli Knesset to forbid EU states from helping Palestinians with Area C construction operations. The bill has not been submitted yet, but Oded Forer, a Knesset member for the party, said the plan is justified. The European [support] for Palestinian building operations in Area C makes it difficult for concerned parties in Israel to destroy the buildings that are constructed without permits," he said. Although the EU reaffirmed its commitment to the two-state solution in a Dec. 20 statement by Mogherini, Palestinians believe the EU can and should exert more effective pressure on Israel. January 3, 2017 The tensions and clashes between conservative judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani and moderate President Hassan Rouhani have entered a new phase, with Larijani saying Rouhani has been accused of taking money from jailed tycoon Babak Zanjani. On Dec. 2, at the specialized meeting of the community of supervision and inspection of the government, ministries, organizations and local governments, Rouhani brought up the issue of Zanjani, who has been sentenced to death for corruption. Is it possible for a person to steal $3 billion alone? Whom was he connected to? Who helped him? Whom were his partners? What position do they have? How was the oil given to this person? How was the money handed to this person? The judiciary has pursued this [matter], and has issued a verdict. But peoples questions remain. Now they want to execute him [Zanjani]. [Suppose that] he is executed, [but] what happened to the [missing] money? What happened to the money that was in the hands of this man, and where did it go? the president said. Zanjani, one of Irans richest men, was arrested in December 2013 after accusations that he withheld billions in oil revenue belonging to the Oil Ministry. During the years Iran was under tough US-led sanctions over its nuclear program, he arranged oil deals worth billions of dollars through a network of companies stretching from Turkey to Malaysia to the United Arab Emirates. He amassed a fortune of $10 billion along with debts of a similar scale, the tycoon once told Aseman magazine. Rouhani continued at the meeting, As the representative of the Iranian nation and the person in charge of enforcing the constitution, I state here that in important cases in which billions of [dollars worth of] public assets have been embezzled, peoples questions should be answered, because if they are not answered, we lose a more important thing than $3 billion and that is the publics trust and social capital. The judiciary chief has adopted a harsh stance in response to the presidents remarks. In a meeting with high-ranking judicial officials Jan. 2, Larijani said, We have saved face for some [people], because Mr. Babak Zanjani has said a lot of things. Of note, Larijani and Rouhani particularly in recent months have repeatedly traded barbs over various issues such as the cancellation of music concerts and speeches of politicians. Larijani added in his address Jan. 2, Babak Zanjani has said that he aided the presidents campaign [in the 2013 presidential election] with millions of dollars [in contributions]. We dont consider his words as completely true. He says a lot of things and discusses a lot of claims. If we wanted to pursue these [things], we should have summoned the persons who were related [to these issues]. Larijani continued, Now that you [Rouhani] are saying we should pursue the behind-the-curtains [issues], I have no problem: We will summon all those [persons] who were named by him [Zanjani], and if necessary, we will detain them to find out what the issue was. He added, They say that people should know where the money was spent? We're incidentally looking for the same thing to find out where the money was spent. Where is the presidential offices money spent? We have no problem with finding out who allowed them to take the highly technical security equipment to the presidential office without informing the security forces. Where did the money [for buying the equipment] come from? One day later, on Jan. 3, in an interview with the Jamaran news site, presidential adviser Akbar Torkan denied the allegations about Zanjani having financially backed Rouhanis presidential campaign, saying, We are ready to announce our expenses in the presidential election providing that other candidates announce whom they got money from and where they spent it. On the same day, in a meeting with members of the parliamentary planning and budget commission, Rouhani reacted to Larijanis words, Peoples interests cant be protected by beating around the bush and imprudence. Everybody must act within his power and duties and respond to public opinion. The judiciary also bears a very heavy responsibility in this regard and should be responsive." January 2, 2017 France's Dec. 22 announcement of a second Paris Middle East peace conference to take place Jan. 15 hardly surprised Israelis. With the adoption the next day of UN Security Council Resolution 2334 affirming the illegality of West Bank settlements, however, they could not help but wonder whether the two steps had been coordinated. Regardless of this and a disagreement over whether the conference had been rescheduled to guarantee the participation and input of US Secretary of State John Kerry, Israel had already made up its mind. The prime ministers office declined the invitation even before Paris confirmed the date, reiterating that Israel will only engage in direct negotiations with the Palestinians. Many Israelis agree with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his refusal to take part in the conference, but what exactly is the conference expected to produce? A declaration? A working plan? The basis for another Security Council resolution? It seems that much has been written about Netanyahu's rejection, but little about the actual conference. To clarify, Netanyahu did not turn down an invitation to the conference per se, but declined an invitation to meet in Paris with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas immediately after the gathering. The French had hoped that a double-track approach first a conference and then a separate meeting between the Israelis and Palestinians to present them with the conference recommendations in a discrete setting and away from cameras might convince the Israeli premier to participate. Alas, it did not work. According to the French plan, a double-track approach made perfect sense, because the aim of the conference is to prepare a benefits package, which can be assembled without the two opposing sides being present. The idea behind the package is to entice the Israelis and Palestinians into eventually reopening negotiations. A source at the French Foreign Ministry, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, Our goal was never to open talks immediately or to propose a comprehensive peace plan. What we set out to do was to put the Israeli-Palestinian conflict back on the international agenda and to bring the two sides closer to reopening talks. And this is what we did. To prepare the benefits package, 28 states and organizations had met in Paris at a conference June 3 to identify domains where the international community could be of use. They settled on three areas: civil society, institution and state capacity building and economic assistance. The civil society component would be aimed at both Israelis and Palestinians, while capacity building, and especially economic assistance, would target the Palestinians. From the start, France avoided creating a formal mechanism for preparing the package, given that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has seen plenty of peace-making mechanisms, protocols and frameworks, to no avail. Instead, the idea was to constitute very loose and flexible working groups for the three domains. Each conference participant could join whichever group it preferred, and the composition of the groups was kept as discrete as possible. Sweden, for instance, initiated and led within the civil society group, the Germans took the lead on capacity building, and the Norwegians together with the European Union focused on economic aid. Official Israel declined the offer to participate, and made no suggestions, a senior EU official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. The Palestinians were mostly involved with the second [capacity-building] group, and made some suggestions. They brought several constructive ideas about border crossing and infrastructure. The EU official explained that the dynamics of each working group were different. The civil society group started from scratch, interviewing stakeholders and building an inventory of perceptions and situations on the ground, while the financial aid group based its work on structures already in place. Our work [in the civil society group] focused on examining the level of dialogue between the two sides, a Swedish diplomat told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. We met in Stockholm several times and phrased a set of questions, which we addressed to Israelis and Palestinians in an effort to create a snapshot of the reality on the ground. We mainly wanted to know how the two-state solution was perceived by the societies of the two sides. We spoke to NGOs, associations, bloggers and other actors. Everyone apart from politicians. The results of our survey are by no means scientific, but I believe they reflect well the situation at hand, of a deep divide on both sides between the pre-Oslo generation and the post-Oslo generation. The youngsters have lost hope in the two-state solution, but offer little [in its place]. Groups like [the] ultra-Orthodox or women are excluded from the debate over the issue, and so they do not feel responsible in any way toward the situation. According to the diplomat, the civil society group's recommendations to the January conference will focus on communication from two different angles: better communicating to the two sides what the two-state solution means, including what life will be like absent such a solution, and connecting Israelis and Palestinians by proposing channels for dialogue. On the practical level, a conference could take place at a later stage to bring civil society stakeholders together, but it is too early to talk about a realistic working plan. The international community can offer the Palestinians a series of development and financial incentives, so the capacity-building and economic aid groups intend to present more specific projects at the January conference. Sources from the latter group explained that Norway had been reluctant to integrate the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), which it sponsors, into the list of proposals and recommendations by the group. As they see things, the AHLC, established after the Olso Accord to coordinate development assistance to the Palestinians, is practically the only meeting framework for Israeli and Palestinian officials that actually functions. Since it works, it shouldnt be disturbed. Israeli diplomats who recently spoke to Al-Monitor are skeptical about the various incentives, claiming that most of the proposals resemble projects that are already in progress or are ideas that have been floated in the past, of particular note, offering Israel and the future Palestinian state an upgrade in their relations with the EU. Paris is aware that such an upgrade would be a difficult sell to the Israeli public. Israel would welcome such an upgrade, of course, but what we really need is political will to reopen negotiations and achieve a compromise, not incentives, said the senior EU official. The Palestinians would be onboard in any case, as they can only gain here, but Netanyahu wont play along, if all he can gain is an agreement with Europe. January 3, 2017 The campaign against the Islamic State (IS) in Mosul has diverted attention from simmering problems inside the Kurdistan Region of Iraq that will affect post-conflict stabilization. Within the last several months alone, there has been another assassination of a Kurdish journalist, an "honor" killing of a university student, death threats against a female Kurdish parliamentarian, bombing of an Iranian Kurdish party office that killed seven people and a string of foiled terrorist attacks in Sulaimaniyah province. These incidents have occurred alongside ongoing demonstrations by civil servants for unpaid salaries, a nonfunctioning Kurdish parliament, swelling numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons, an expanded Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Turkish airstrikes on PKK bases in northern Iraq. They have not only reversed most gains the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has realized since 2011, but also leave the Kurdistan Region increasingly vulnerable to financial collapse and internal conflict. Instead of "inevitable Kurdish statehood" after the defeat of IS, a more realistic scenario is weakened autonomy, political entropy and armed conflicts. The KRG launched "independent" exports in 2014, but the Kurdish economy is now in tatters. KRG debt exceeds $22 billion. The availability of electricity has decreased to 2005 levels, or about four hours a day in many areas without private generators. Tens of thousands of youths continue to migrate from the region. The once-touted Kurdish energy sector is being undermined legally and politically. Although the KRG exports about 600,000 barrels of oil per day to Ceyhan, these exports remain contentious, are dependent on Turkey and are largely sourced from Kirkuk still a disputed territory and not the Kurdistan Region. International oil companies have thus far abandoned 19 oil fields in the Kurdistan Region, including ExxonMobils withdrawal from three of its six fields. Emails between the KRG Ministry of Natural Resources and Turkish officials released by WikiLeaks reveal the depth of the KRGs financial crisis and the political fallout. In the eyes of some Kurds, the ministry's attempt to secure an additional $5 billion in loans from Ankara and offer Turkey a larger stake in Kurdish-controlled oil fields may help protect the economic interests of the Kurdistan Region. Others, however, including parliamentarians in Erbil, see things differently and oppose the ministry's proposal as the selling of the Kurdish land to Turkey. Iraqi officials in Baghdad have also reacted critically, arguing that the KRG does not have the legal right to sell oil fields to Turkey. Expanded PKK influence in northern Iraq is feeding off these crises and reinforcing intra-Kurdish power struggles. In addition to its base in the Qandil Mountains, PKK groups are now embedded in the Sinjar Mountains to protect the Yazidis against future incursions by IS and to control this strategic territory. While the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Gorran support or tolerate the PKK, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) officials have threatened to potentially use force to eject the PKK from Sinjar. Ankara has also warned that it will intervene in Sinjar in the spring if the peshmerga fail to drive out the PKK. Although acting PKK leader Murat Karayilan has recently said that PKK forces are prepared to withdraw from the Yazidi district of Sinjar, it is unlikely that PKK-affiliated groups will depart entirely. Divisions between those that support the KDP and those against it in northern Iraq are also palpable. Concerns have emerged about the possibility of another birakuji, Kurdish civil war. Indeed, the idea of armed conflict between the Kurds or internal instability may be difficult to imagine. Much has improved since their four-year Kurdish civil war (1994-98). The Kurdistan Region has developed economically, matured politically, gained international recognition as part of a federal Iraqi state and has become a key local partner in the battle against IS. Although the Kurdish parties are bickering, the risks of sustained violence are too high for leading KRG officials, who are deeply vested financially in the region. Iraqi Kurdish parties are also too fractured and reliant on President Massoud Barzani to effectively challenge the KDP, even if they oppose it politically. Still, part of the current crises is beyond the KRGs control and is not so different from what led to the Kurdish civil war. At that time, Iraqi Kurdistan was politically and economically unstable, despite its international safe haven status. Baghdads withdrawal from the Kurdish north after the 1990 Gulf War and international sanctions against Iraq had left the newly created KRG unable to pay civil servant salaries, provide services, resettle hundreds of thousands of Kurdish refugees and reconstruct the villages destroyed by President Saddam Husseins Anfal campaign, which involved chemical attacks. Although individual traders tied to Kurdish political parties found creative ways to break sanctions and profit, the majority of Kurds were poor and reliant on international aid. Power struggles were also salient between the KDP and PUK over leadership and access to revenues and resources. These tensions drew in Turkey, Iran and rival Kurdish parties, including the PKK, much like what has happened today. Back then, for instance, to check the PKK insurgency raging in southeastern Turkey and to secure smuggling revenue at the Habur border, the KDP negotiated commercial and security arrangements with Turkey. Ankara, in turn, launched a series of cross-border military campaigns from 1992 to 1997 Operation Steel-1 and Operation Hammer to pursue the PKK across the border. At one point, Turkish interventions involved 35,000 troops penetrating 37 miles inside the Kurdistan Region. The PUK gained support from Iran and backed the PKK. Islamic groups also took advantage of the instability to form and radicalize, including the precursors to Ansar al-Islam. These patterns are repeating themselves in the Kurdistan Region. Even if the KRG and Kurdish party officials have much to lose from internal conflict, other groups may not and could benefit from the weak Iraqi state, angry populations and managed instability. In addition, as the KRG becomes increasingly dependent on Ankara, the Kurdish problem in Turkey remains unresolved, the Kurds in Syria demand autonomy and the PKK expands its influence, the KRG will inherit the transborder PKK problem. The PKK in turn will attempt to benefit from the political void growing in the Iraqi Kurdish street, where many see it as an authentic Kurdish nationalist party. The PKK and other radicalized groups are also useful to regional states, including Iran, that seek to counter Barzani-KDP power and Turkey. Left unchecked, these tensions will continue to undermine the economic growth and internal stability of the Kurdistan Region even after Mosul's liberation and the KRGs ability to act as an effective local partner to defeat IS. More serious attention should be paid to strengthening Iraqi state institutions, including the KRG and provincial administrations, economic diversification, revenue-sharing between Baghdad and Erbil, border security and relations between Ankara, Baghdad and the KRG. The PKK issue inside northern Iraq also needs to be addressed by including ways to reinstate a cease-fire with Ankara and resolve the Kurdish issues in Turkey and Syria. January 3, 2017 The hunt for the unknown assailant who shot his way though security and into the heart of one of Istanbuls most popular nightclubs, Reina, continues amid confusion over his identity. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in response to Turkish military operations against it in northern Syria. The move marks the first time the group has formally acknowledged its role in a series of suicide bombings and other lethal attacks in Turkey thought to have been conducted by the jihadis. But the pictures circulated of the man who was originally thought to be the perpetrator proved to be of an innocent Kazakh. Today, a Kyrgyz site published an interview with a second central Asian-looking man whose picture was also circulated as the likely assailant. The man denied all involvement with the shooting spree that left at least 39 people, many of them Arab holidaymakers, dead. At least 16 people, two of them foreign nationals, have been detained in connection with the slayings so far. In a now familiar pattern, authorities are denying any responsibility for the intelligence lapses linked to the stream of terror attacks that have shaken the country in recent weeks. Not a single official head has rolled so far, and government toadies in the media are spinning tired conspiracy theories about how the United States and its supposed accomplices are the real perpetrators. The sole purpose, according to their argument, is to weaken and divide Turkey. Yet there is hardly any debate over what Western security officials have been warning against for some time: the growing threat of homegrown Islamic extremism and how it may be infecting members of Turkeys own security services. In a related development, a police officer said to have supported IS in a series of tweets was detained in the southeastern province of Siirt today. Scapegoating others and whipping up fury against them via social media is a favored tactic to deflect blame and attention away from Turkeys ballooning problems, including a weakening economy. Turkeys Prime Minister Binali Yildirim claimed today that only Turkey was really combating IS. The others are engaged in a fake struggle. America isnt doing a damn thing, nor are the others, he fumed in a parliamentary address. He added that 1,270 jihadis had been neutralized since Turkish troops launched Operation Euphrates Shield in northern Syria 133 days ago. Yildirim also blasted the United States for arming the Syrian Kurdish militia called the Peoples Protection Units (YPG), the US-led coalitions top ally against the jihadis in Syria. They are doing this to sow more terror, more anarchy in Turkey, he charged. Turkey has long campaigned for Washington to ditch the YPG because of its close links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has escalated its terror attacks inside Turkey in recent months. As expected, the parliament extended the state of emergency that was declared after the July 15 coup attempt for a further three months. The Barack Obama administration is still weighing whether to authorize the Pentagon to train and equip the Syrian Defense Forces (SDF), a coalition of Kurds and Arabs dominated by the YPG. Turkish pressure and the PKKs bloody actions make it unlikely to do that. Ankara hopes that the incoming Donald Trump administration will go with Turkeys proposal to liberate Raqqa from IS with Syrian opposition rebels instead of the SDF. Turkeys ongoing campaign to liberate IS-held al-Bab is partly calculated to demonstrate that it is capable of doing so. This is probably one of the biggest reasons IS has decided to declare war against Turkey and match its words with action. Meanwhile, Turkish fashion designer Barbaros Sansal became the first victim of the wave of mob hysteria gripping the country. Sansal was thrust to the ground and kicked around by an angry crowd that was allowed to gather on the tarmac at Istanbul's airport as his flight neared. Sansal was flying in from northern Cyprus, from which he had been deported after posting a controversial video lambasting Turks for celebrating the new year during such dark times. Drown in your own shit, Turkey, he said. He remains under police detention on charges of insulting Turkey and the Turkish people and inciting enmity and hatred. The semi-official Anatolia news agency had provided Sansals flight information prior to his arrival. January 3, 2017 Late last February, after six world powers and Iran wrapped up nuclear talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan (Feb.26-27), two members of the U.S. nuclear negotiating team secretly flew to Oman where they rendezvoused at a beach-front villa with two American officials who had arrived from Washington. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and Jake Sullivan, Vice President Bidens national security advisor, flew to the Arabian Sea port of Muscat from Washington. White House Iran advisor Puneet Talwar and State Department arms control advisor Robert Einhorn flew to Oman from the Almaty nuclear talks. For the first days of March, the American officials, accompanied by some administrative and logistical support staff, stayed at a beach-side villa owned by Omans Sultan Qaboos bin Said, whose government had regularly offered to discreetly host US-Iran talks safely away from the media spotlight. In Oman, the US officials met with an Iranian delegation led by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Asghar Khaji, Al-Monitor has learned. Khaji, then Irans Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American affairs, had previously served as Irans envoy to the European Union in Brussels from 2008 to 2012. In Brussels, in January 2008, Khaji accompanied Irans new nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili to a dinner hosted by then EU High Rep and chief nuclear negotiator Javier Solana, a US cable published by Wikileaks notes. In March 2009, Khaji became the first Iranian official to meet with NATO in almost three decades, to discuss Afghanistan, NATO officials said. After he became Deputy Foreign Minister in 2012, in his capacity as the Iranian diplomat who oversaw Europe and American issues, Khaji regularly liaised with Swiss officials who servein the absence of official US-Iran relationsas the U.S. protecting power in Iran. But Khaji wasnt a figure particularly well known to western Iran watchers. In Oman in March, both Khajis and Burns teams, as well as their Omani hosts, went to some lengths to keep the unusual meeting off the radar. Burns, the second highest diplomat in the United States, did not appear on the State Department public schedules at all the first four days in March, without explanation. Similarly, Irans Foreign Ministry and media published nothing about Khajis trip to Muscat, although his March 7 trip to Switzerland, a few days after the secret talks with the Americans, was announced by his Swiss Foreign Ministry hosts and received press coverage. The next week in March, Omani media also extensively covered the visit of Irans Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast to Oman, including his visit to the Omani New Agency and with Omans Information minister, complete with photos, almost as if it were a decoy mission to draw attention away from the earlier one. On every visit to Oman, the U.S. delegation stayed in a beach-side villa controlled by the Omani government, a source familiar with the meetings told Al-Monitor. All of the meetings with Iran occurred at this site, so as to ensure U.S. officials would never have to leave the villa and risk detection by journalists or others. Both US and Iranian sources briefed on the US-Iran March meeting in Oman say that while it allowed for more candid, direct exchanges than at the seven nation P5+1/Iran talks, that it did not show an opening for real movement in positions on either side before the Iran presidential elections in June. It was a useful engagement, but not much progress was made, because the Iran leadership was not really interested, a former US official, speaking not for attribution, said. It helped provide some basis [for understanding] It was clear that while there could be more intensive and candid discussions bilaterally, the real progress wasnt going to be possible before the Iranian elections. Another meeting was tentatively planned to be held in May, another former official told Al-Monitor, but the Iranians apparently backed out. Oman to US: Iran is ready to begin a quiet dialogue The Omanis had encouraged the U.S., from before President Barack Obama came into office, to pursue prospects for direct dialogue with Iran, and regularly offered US envoys updates on the current mood in Iran officialdom on the matter. Omans Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi offered Oman as both an organizer and a venue for any meeting the U.S. would want with Iran if kept quiet, US Ambassador to Oman Richard Schmierer wrote in a December 7, 2009 US cable to Washington, released by Wikileaks. Iran is ready to begin a quiet dialogue at a lower level with the U.S., Sultan Qaboos long-time special Iran envoy and Culture Minister Abdul `Aziz al-Rowas told the previous US ambassador Gary Grappo, according to an April 2009 cable he wrote to Washington. They are ready and want to start, and you should not wait, al-Rowas told the US envoy. You have many more bargaining tools with them than they have against you; use all of them, he advised, adding that the US and Iran also share interests, too, including in fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan and countering narcotics in Central Asia. They dont like to admit these things, but they need you in the region. But efforts by the Obama administration to get direct talks going with Iran were frustrated by domestic turmoil in the wake of Irans disputed June 2009 presidential polls. In October 2009, Burns and Irans Jallili met one-on-one, on the sidelines of P5+1 Iran nuclear talks in Geneva, at which a nuclear fuel swap deal was announced. But Iran later backed away from the agreement, after it came under domestic criticism. Increasingly convinced that Iran was paralyzed by domestic political infighting from moving forward on a nuclear compromise, the U.S. and Europeans moved in late 2009 and 2010 to persuade international partners that it was time to increase economic pressure on Iran to try to bring it to seriously negotiate. No U.S. president in the last 30 years had gone to as much effort as President Obama to engage Iran, Burns told Chinas Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi at a December 2009 meeting, according to a US cable summarizing the meeting. The United States was frustrated, Burns explained, that the Iranians had walked back from the fuel swap agreement reached in Geneva. Washington had sought creative solutions to build confidence with Iran[but] Irans failure to follow throughhad been disappointing. P5+1 talks with Iran ground to a halt at a gloomy January 2011 meeting in Istanbul attended by a grim-faced Burns. Irans Jalili, complaining of a headache, had avoided attending most of the meeting, and had refused to meet with Burns. Nuclear talks between the six world powers and Iran would not resume for over a year, until April 2012. The bilat channel gains pace after Rouhanis election But the Omanis persisted, throughout the diplomatic stalemate, with their quiet efforts to forge US-Iran dialogue, and their patience eventually paid off. In 2011 and 2012, Talwar and Sullivanthen serving as deputy chief of staff and policy planning chief to Secretary of State Hillary Clintonparticipated in at least two lower-level, preparatory meetings with the Iranians, facilitated by the Omanis, to see about the prospect of a bilateral channel to be led on the US side by Burns, a former US official, speaking not for attribution, told Al-Monitor. Those preparatory talks included a July 7, 2012 meeting in Oman attended by Sullivan and Talwar, but not Burns, the AP reported. I was a member of a preparatory exploratory team that met with the Iranians on a couple of occasions to see if we could get talks going on the nuclear program, Talwar told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at his confirmation hearing to become Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military affairs last month. We met with the Iranians in Oman last summer. We had another meeting in March of this year. It turned out the Iranians could not move forward with the talks at that point, Talwar said, referring to the March 2013 meeting in Oman led by Burns and Khaji. But the US-Iran back channel got traction after the election of Hassan Rouhani, and gained rapid pace after an exchange of letters in August between Presidents Obama and Rouhani. President Rouhani and the Iranians agreed to move forward with the talks at that time, Talwar said. We then had an accelerating pace of discussions bilaterally with the Iranians, Talwar said, stressing that the one-on-one talks with the Iranians were tied from the get-go to the P5+1 process [and] . . . focused exclusively on the nuclear issue. Since Rouhanis inauguration in August, there have been at least five rounds of bilateral talks between the U.S. and Iran, in Oman, New York and Geneva. On the U.S. side, theyve been led by Burns, and on the Iran side, by Khajjis successor, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American affairs Majid Ravanchi, sometimes joined by his colleague, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araghchi. Both Araghchi and Ravanchi are members of Irans nuclear negotiating team, led by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Burns, Ravanchi and their teams first met in Oman in August; then at least twice in New York in September helping make way for the historic Obama-Rouhani phone call and the meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry and Zarif at the UN. They met again in Oman immediately before resumed P5+1 Iran talks in Geneva in October. Then there were two further rounds of bilateral meetings in Geneva in November, ahead of and alongside the P5+1 Iran talks that produced an interim nuclear accord, the Joint Plan of Action, November 24th. Bilat and P5+1 channels merge and emerge from the shadows? Increasingly, what Obama administration officials call the P5+1 channel led by Under Secretary of State Wendy Shermanand the bilat channelled by Burnshave merged, according to US officials. And what is its future? Former US negotiators say they think it will be critical for negotiating the comprehensive nuclear agreement that Kerry, Zarif and the P5+1 have pledged to try to reach within the year. I continue to believe that direct US-Iran discussions [are] essential to resolve [the] nuclear issue, especially now that we have entered the critical phase, former White House WMD coordinator Gary Samore said by email. And so far at least, even in the wake of reports revealing its existence, first broken by Al-Monitor, the AP and Wall Street Journal in November, the US-Iran diplomatic channel seems to be resilient. On Wednesday, the State Department was expected to announce that Sherman will travel to Geneva later this week for meetings on implementing the Iran nuclear deal signed in Geneva Nov. 24. Her meetings with Irans Deputy Foreign Minister Araghchi will apparently be conducted bilaterally and evidently, without the usual veil of extreme secrecy that accompanied earlier rounds of US Iran direct talks. (Araghchi is also due to hold bilateral talks Thursday and Friday in Geneva with EU deputy foreign policy chief Helga Schmid, an EU spokesperson said.) While Iranian diplomats, like their U.S. counterparts, tend to cautiously downplay the US-Iran talks as merely on the sidelines of the P5+1 and only on the nuclear issue, Iran media reports of late frequently cite high-level official rationales for the discussions. We arent on the right path if we dont have one-on-one talks with the six countries, Ali Akbar Velayati, longtime top foreign policy advisor to Supreme Leader Khamenei, told Iranian television December 27th. I think the Iranians have gotten over their hang-up on bilateral talks, Einhorn, now at the Brookings Institution, told Al-Monitor.in an interview this month (Eiinhorn declined to comment when asked if he was at the March Oman meeting, but Al-Monitor has confirmed that he attended). I think the Iranians at this point have become comfortable about the discussions with the U.S., Einhorn said. And they are skillful, he added, at making the case domestically that talking with the U.S. on the nuclear issue is in their self-interest. Can't find the Sugar Bowl using AT&T? That's probably because of an outage affecting large parts of the southeast, midwest and Southern California. Reports of outages have been registered from Atlanta to Houston, Dallas, Chicago and out west in Oakland, Calif., according to downdetector.com. Y'all let me know how the Barn plays tonight. AT&T is out. #SugarBowl JoNathan (@BammerJH) January 3, 2017 Of course, it wasn't good news for west coast viewers, who missed one of the most exciting Rose Bowl finishes in history. @ATTCares my Uverse service is out - router says "connection to AT&T" is down. It's my birthday & we're trying to watch the rose bowl. Help! Brian Johnston (@brianjohnston) January 3, 2017 If you'd like to keep up with the action, you can always consult AL.com for updates. In a week when the world lost George Michael, Carrie Fisher, and Debbie Reynolds, Wilcox County lost several long-time residents too, including Chrissy Gaston. The news came out from River Bluff like rising water. It rippled out in waves. One neighbor called. Then I called another, who called yet another who also lives in River Bluff. She said it was true, that the sheriff's department and other authorities had been there earlier. She said it had happened around Christmas, and that he had just stayed there with her, waiting on someone to come. Initial reports from the Progressive Era soon followed, verifying that on New Year's Eve morning, long-time boyfriend, Steve Stacey, had called 911. Her body had been there for days, and he was taken into custody for questioning. He had recently been released after a stint in prison for physically abusing her, again. He was why she was paralyzed from the waist down. River Bluff is just that, a community built on a bluff overlooking the Alabama River. Through inheritance, Chrissy owned a good portion of it. Once it was well-maintained and beautiful, once it was thriving, not unlike Chrissy herself, once upon a time. I met Chrissy shortly after moving to Wilcox County just over 20 years ago. She was fit and strong. There was intention in every step she took. She was confident and pretty. She had long brown curls. Southern hospitality had been steeped into her all of her life. She was nice. She was genuinely open and friendly. She was sweet, as we tend to say around here. Though 10 years my senior, she was expecting her son at the same time I was expecting a second daughter. We would see each other every few weeks at the Piggly Wiggly. She shared many common life parallels and friendships throughout the area. She had classmates who liked her and loved ones who cared. One of her friends from years ago commented with a picture of a younger, beautiful Chrissy - "No one could hold a candle." I wasn't close enough to know when her drug issues started. It escalated into such a problem that everyone knew. Addiction is a disease, but it is also a thief. It robbed her of everything she had. She lost her assets, her land, her pride, her boundaries, her confidence, her beauty, the ability to choose wisely for herself, and ultimately the ability to take care of herself. She loved her son Westley. He is a young man now, and he will likely read this. I remember seeing Chrissy out in town one day when he was a little boy. She was preparing for his birthday, getting wrapping paper and candles. She was happy and excited, hoping to make him happy and excited. She loved him. She just lost her fight with substance abuse. Autopsy results will find drugs had nothing to do with her untimely death at the age of 55. Just over 48 hours after calling authorities, Stacey confessed to killing her with his bare hands on Christmas Day. But those of us who knew her know ultimately, drugs were a prelude. This sad loss is being played out all over our country. Not just in cities, but on the outskirts of quiet little country Alabama towns. Drugs are fueling domestic violence and stealing lives every day. People like Chrissy, like the old Chrissy, to whom no one could hold a candle. I think she would have been touched by how many of us shared her story with warm thoughts and memories. We shared it...because there was nothing more we could do. Amanda Walker is a columnist and contributor with AL.com, The Thomasville Times, West Alabama Watchman, and Wilcox Progressive Era. Contact her at Walkerworld77@msn.com or at https://www.facebook.com/AmandaWalker.Columnist. Two people have been arrested for heroin trafficking in Etowah County. Etowah County Drug Enforcement Unit Commander Randall Johnson said Jonathan Mark Baxter, 42, of Guntersville, and Joanna Rhea Wilabay, 36, of Albertville, have been charged with trafficking in heroin and possession of methamphetamine. Deputy Commander Phil Sims said agents received information on Dec. 28, 2016 that Baxter and Wilabay were in the Gadsden area purchasing heroin. Agents located Baxter in his vehicle along with Wilabay ina parking lot on Rainbow Drive in Gadsden. Joanna Rhea Wilabay Baxter was arrested on an outstanding drug warrant from Marshall County. During a search, about five grams of heroin was seized along with a small amount of methamphetamine, digital scales and paraphernalia items, Sims said. Baxter and Wilabay were arrested and transported to the Etowah County Detention Center where they are being held on bonds of $50,000 each. Additional charges may follow. The Marshall County Drug Task Force, Gadsden Police, Etowah County Sheriff's Office, Alabama National Guard Counterdrug Program and the FBI North Alabama Safe Streets Task Force participated in the case. Beatrice Public Schools employees went to school to learn about health and wellness on Tuesday morning. The district hosted the second annual Wellness Fair at Beatrice High School with a goal of promoting healthy bodies, minds and spirits. Teachers and staff split into groups and attended sessions that included a lecture by Mike Southwick about stress, a short body flow class and visits with representatives of local businesses and organizations that gave messages about healthy living. "This is a nice way to move back into the semester and get charged up and get ready to go and encourage our teachers to continue to do well and to help our students do well," said BPS Director of Curriculum Jackie Nielsen, who organized the event with BPS Director of Business Affairs John Brazell and community members. The Wellness Fair started last year when the district revised its district-wide wellness plan, which encourages healthy environments and lifestyles for all students and staff and cites suggestions like healthy food options for classroom parties and the importance of physical activity. "We know wellness is important," Nielsen said. "If we don't do anything to put the wellness plan into action, it's not going to make any difference." Healthy choices by teachers transfers beneficially into their classrooms and to their students, Nielsen said. "We've had pretty positive feedback today," Nielsen said. "All of the staff can take something out of it...and implement it into their lives and classrooms." Last year in the high school gym during the Wellness Fair, staff members stretched as a group and were reminded that they can do so during their work day, in their work clothes, between classes. This year in the gym, staff participated in a body flow class, which is new at the YMCA of Beatrice. Part-time fitness instructor Jaci Baxa taught the group and will teach the class at the Y. "This gives people an opportunity to try a new class that's coming to the Y," said YMCA of Beatrice CEO Alison Leonard. "A lot of people are hesitant to join the Y or sign up for a class without knowing what it's like." Body flow is a combination of yoga, Pilates and tai chi. It will be available three times a week at the YMCA, and more frequently starting in March. Another session of the Wellness Fair was focused on the total solar eclipse which will happen on Aug. 21 of this year and will be optimally experienced in Beatrice. "Mad scientist educator" Dan Glomski educated teachers about the once-in-a-lifetime event and how they and their students can watch it safely. US president-elect doubts security of computers for communication, while ignoring job losses caused by automated replacements. Donald Trump revealed some insight into his psyche and perhaps a focus of his administration on New Years Eve. If you have something really important, he told reporters, write it out and have it delivered by courier, the old fashioned way because, Ill tell you what, no computer is safe. Trump made his observation to help explain why he remains sceptical that Russia was behind the hacking of embarrassing Democratic campaign e-mails, which his fellow Republicans have nevertheless accepted as fact and condemned as an assault on the US electoral process. No doubt Hillary Clintons fortunes would have turned out differently if she had conducted state department business by communicating via courier and attached instructions with her correspondence to burn after reading. Trumps reliance on computers for his business, of course, is essential even if he personally does not use a computer other than to send out proclamations via Twitter at all hours. But the president-elect has yet to explain how he would make America great again in the face of technological disruption. OPINION: Whos conning who in Donald Trumps America? After Trump claimed credit for blocking the transfer of some 500 American jobs to Mexico by arranging taxpayer-funded incentives to Carrier Corporation, the company followed up by warning its employees that it still planned to outsource more jobs this year. The CEO of its parent company (and prominent Pentagon contractor) warned that the money with which Carrier was bought off would help pay for improvements that will doom other jobs. Were going toautomate, to drive the cost down, so that we can continue to be competitive, he said. Is it as cheap as moving to Mexico with lower cost labour? No. But we will make that plant competitive just because well make the capital investments there. But what that ultimately means is there will be fewer jobs. America has lost some six million manufacturing jobs in the past 15 years. READ MORE: Americans dream of Canada after Trump But according to a study by Ball State Universitys Center for Business and Economic Research, 85 percent of them were victim to technological change largely automation and not to international trade. The operating cost of a computer-programmed robot is around $8 an hour, about one-third the hourly wages with benefits paid to a human American welder for the same work. No matter which candidate had won this election, the challenge to the government would have been the same: coping with the pace of technological change without the further hollowing-out of a middle class once raised on manufacturing employment. Trump never addressed himself to that reality during his campaign, nor have any of his designated Commerce, Treasury, Energy or Education secretaries given any indication of how they might tackle it. But somehow they are not likely to be using couriers. Saved from grips of being trafficked into modern-day slavery, victims suffer severe trauma and struggle to move on. England, United Kingdom In a safe house in North West England, 19-year-old Lukas* is reliving his own personal hell over and over again. Over the two years, I was given accommodation, but often I wouldnt be paid at all and couldnt afford to eat, he recalls, unable to keep eye-contact or seemingly comprehend his experience. Originally from Lithuania, he is one of the thousands of victims of the modern-day slave trade who suffer from severe mental illness, including experiencing intense paranoia that his one-time tormentors will come and take him back. Forced to work 12 hours a day across the United Kingdom delivering packages, Lukas was paid as little as 20 British pounds, or $24, a week if he was paid at all. He recalls having to live in a van for a number of weeks. If other people asked where their money was, theyd be beaten, Lukas says. The British government estimates that there are around 13,000 people in modern-day slavery in the UK in 2014. And its on the rise: Police and other authorities identified 3,266 people last year thought to have been the victims of modern-day slavery, up from 946 in 2011, 46 percent of whom were identified as male, and many had mental health issues. At the safe house, victims are given a 45-day minimum reflection and recovery period, which is often extended to over 90 days, to help them consider their next step. During this time, they are offered financial, legal, medical support and counselling, as well as help finding a job and accommodation. While many people manage to move on successfully and turn their lives around during the period, mental illness in others puts them at a severe disadvantage, often leading them to destitution and a risk of re-trafficking. INTERACTIVE: Britains modern slave trade Dealing with PTSD In the safe house, Lukas, who remains positive, is applying for a university course, while a Greek victim, Giorgos, who was homeless before being forced to work producing cannabis, has saved up a deposit, got a job and is ready to move on into society since living in the house. Yet, in the same house, Matthew, a British victim, lies traumatised. He was kept in a caravan and fed cocaine and alcohol to control him by his traffickers, forced to engage in sex parties and homosexual activities despite being heterosexual. He now frequently misses counselling appointments after self-medicating on drugs and alcohol. Sam Baxendale, who runs the house for the Medaille Trust, an organisation helping victims recover from human trafficking, told Al Jazeera of another victim, who was sectioned admitted to a hospital after repeatedly running into the street naked and lying there, often approaching women and children and trying to talk to them. Hes a lovely man, Baxendale explains, but he had to be sectioned; he was a threat to himself and others. In other cases, safe house workers have had to leave medical kits in victims bedrooms, so that if they self-harm, they can bandage themselves up. At the lower end of the spectrum, some victims simply cant get out of bed, experiencing a deep malaise. They often stay because they're threatened, their families are threatened at home, because they're told they can't trust the authorities and police... by Major Anne Read, The Salvation Army Symptoms vary from case to case, but typically there is a sense of hopelessness, anxiety, fear, fear of the future and what will happen, suicidal tendencies and self-harming, says Phillipa Roberts, legal director at Hope for Justice, a charity which helps victims from rescue to recovery. A report published this year by Kings College London backs her up, finding some 40 percent of male victims reported high levels of depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD ). Our clients often present with complex forms of PTSD, says Rachel Witkin, head of counter-trafficking at the Helen Bamber Foundation, which supports people who have experienced human rights violations and extreme interpersonal violence. They may experience flashbacks, which means that they are seeing and re-experiencing traumatic things happening all over again, says Witkin. I find that clients can become exhausted and withdrawn from having recurrent panic attacks, nightmares and intrusive thoughts and memories. Their PTSD is complex because it is a reaction to prolonged and repeated interpersonal violence which is inflicted over a period of time. For Witkin, this is exemplified in victims of trafficking who have suffered sexual abuse. In my experience, physical ill-treatment, including sexual abuse and rape, is often a central component at various stages or throughout the trafficking experience, for men, as well as for women. Trafficking is a form of obtaining complete control over a person, and the use of rape as a weapon is a powerful method of control, Witkin says. Men who have been trafficked primarily for other reasons no matter what the trade or industry have often also suffered sexual abuse and rape. Psychological captivity, conditioning and subjugation of victims can significantly affect victims future mental health, Witkin adds. Major Anne Read, director of modern slavery at The Salvation Army, which has the government contract to support victims, explains that modern slaves are not often chained up any more, but still suffer from deep psychological abuse while living among the rest of the population. They often stay because theyre threatened, their families are threatened at home, because theyre told they cant trust the authorities and police, [or] trust the immigration system that may deport them, and if they try and escape, not only might they be victim of some kind of physical abuse, but their families could be as well, and if they went to the police, the police would also abuse them, Read says. Furthermore, Roberts explains that there is often psychological control through threats and verbal abuse, or additionally we see commonly grooming youll get paid eventually, so people think theyll get paid at some point or conditions will improve. INTERACTIVE: Modern-day slavery The numbers Cycle of exploitation Nicolae, a 29-year-old Romanian, continued working under the difficult conditions because he hoped hed eventually get what he was promised. He recalls how man pulled up on the street near his home city one day, and offered him a job in the UK for 700 pounds, or around $860, a month. His family was living in extreme poverty and some days unable to feed themselves, so he jumped at the opportunity. I ended up being paid just 300 pounds [$370] per month for almost a year, working 12-hour night shifts daily in a factory. I needed that money, so I stayed, he explains to Al Jazeera with tears in his eyes. Initially, I was told I would be given food, but for three months, I had to buy my own food. I thought I shouldnt spend too much on food, so I drank a lot of coffee. Before coming here, I didnt look like this. Im so thin now. Accommodated under the watchful eye of his captor, his trafficker confiscated his documents in an effort to keep him there, but also to exploit him further. SLAVERY: A 21st-Century Evil He took my ID card. He used these documents to apply for bank accounts and many other things. We would go out together. He said, Come with me, I will help you get some documents, but hed take me to banks or shops to take mobile phone contracts, all sorts of cunning techniques to exploit me, Nicolae recalls. In the end, he beat me up, really bruising my face. I couldnt stay there any more, so I slept on the streets because I didnt know where to go. Now, without his documents, Nicolae cannot work and has to return to Romania to reapply for them before attempting to come back to the UK. The staff at the safe house say he is deeply unhappy and losing all hope, drinking to excess to cope with his trauma. You see an incredible amount of alcohol use as a coping mechanism or after effect, Mike Emberson, chief executive of the Medaille Trust, says. People want to block out awful experiences, deaden the pain and the memories with alcohol. Some feel they have nothing else to do in their life, so [they] turn to self-medication, lying in bed and drinking themselves to sleep. It is extremely debilitating, Baxendale says. Some people are generally beyond the help on offer, and will go back homeless, many of whom are thought to fall straight back into the hands of the people who tricked them. This often happens because, after the reflection and recovery period, many men end up homeless or in poor accommodation very quickly as they have no special right to accommodation above and beyond what other homeless people are entitled to. Beyond help People who are already suffering from mental health problems are even more likely to find themselves in these situations. They make more attractive targets for traffickers who look out for the vulnerableon the streets, shelters and other places they are likely to be, leading to a devastating cycle. Even if victims find housing, one of the biggest challenges for victims afterwards, is living in poverty or suffering destitution, Witkin explains. Poor housing and accommodation shared with strangers can put victims of trafficking, who are already traumatised by their experiences, at risk of further harm due to their vulnerability and the fragility of their mental health, says Witkins. While some charities in the sector believe steps are being taken to solve problems leading to destitution and help victims with mental health, for now, many remain at risk, with traffickers ready to pounce once again. Benedek, 57, is one that could be at particular risk. An older Hungarian man, he was told he would be interpreting when he came to the UK, as he speaks English. However, he ended up at a carwash,and was provided with alcohol to keep him complicit. He now grapples with mental health issues, violence and aggression, symptomatic of PTSD, often after drinking heavily. Struggling with memory, Benedek appears to wonder why he is there: I just want to get a job. I just want to work and get on, buy a house, live and work. If you are someone you know in the UK is a victim of human trafficking, call the Salvation Armys 24-hour referral line at 0300 3038151. *Names of victims have been changed for privacy and security purposes Israeli forces killed 32 Palestinian children in the West Bank in 2016, the highest number in 10 years. Israeli forces have killed more Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 2016 than any other year in the last decade, rights group Defence for Children International (DCI) has said. The organisations chapter in the occupied Palestinian territories recorded the killings of 32 Palestinian children (under 18), making 2016 the deadliest year of the past decade for them, the group said in a recent report. Many of those killings happened during Israeli military raids on Palestinian towns in the occupied West Bank, confrontations with the Israeli army or during unarmed protests. Israeli soldiers employ a shoot-to-kill policy. They have the green light to kill Palestinians, and the fact that they can do so with impunity and no consequences builds the foundation for such shootings to take place, Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Accountability Programme Director at DCI-Palestine, told Al Jazeera. Since October 2015, Israeli soldiers and settlers have been responsible for the killing of at least 244 Palestinians, including unarmed demonstrators, bystanders and alleged attackers in what has been termed the Jerusalem intifada or Jerusalem uprising. Thirty-six Israelis have also been killed in stabbing and shooting incidents carried out by Palestinians. Due to the political situation, especially the Jerusalem uprising since October 2015, the numbers have gone up with tension and clashes between the Israeli army and Palestinians increasing, said Abu Eqtaish. Out of the 32, 19 were between the ages of 16 and 17, while 13 were in the age group of 13 to 15 years old, according to DCI-Palestine. In 2015, the total number of civilians under the age of 18 killed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, stood at 28. In 2014, 13 Palestinian children were killed, while four were killed in 2013. READ MORE: Jerusalem: 19-year-old shot protesting home demolition It is very rare that any investigations are opened on the killings. There has only been one incident in 2014 that of Nadim Nuwara in which a soldier was charged, said Abu Eqtaish. On May 15, 2014, video footage showed Israeli forces firing live bullets at two unarmed Palestinian boys, Nadim Nuwara, 17 and Mahmoud Abu Thaher, 16, who were attending a protest outside Israels Ofer prison, killing them. The Israeli was charged with manslaughter, but his lawyers recently told Israeli media the charges may be dropped. Fifteen-year-old Faris al-Bayed from the Jalazone refugee camp north of Ramallah in the West Bank was another victim of Israeli army aggression. Al-Bayed was killed on October 15 last year when Israeli soldiers shot a rubber-coated metal bullet at his head, which eventually resulted in his death. Regulations for the use of rubber-coated metal bullets, also known as rubber bullets, stipulate that the projectiles are meant for dispersing crowds, must be fired from at least 40 metres away at the lower body, and not at children. Al-Bayed was attending a march near the camp to commemorate the killing of 14-year-old Ahmad Sharaka when he was shot. He remained in intensive care for 67 days in a coma before he passed away. You cannot imagine the pain that his mother experienced, al-Bayeds uncle, Abu Mohammad, told Al Jazeera. Abu Mohammad believes the upcoming generations are now more aware than their parents and are thus being increasingly targeted by Israeli forces. There are killings, raids and detentions every day. It never used to be like this. With the coming of the internet and more awareness, the children are becoming more nationalistic and are aware of what is happening, said Abu Mohammad. West Bank-based activist Hazem Abu Helal, says the killings are part of Israels policy. This is the states racist culture that tells the Israeli army it is ok to kill Palestinians because theyre getting rid of terrorists whether it be a man, woman, or child, Abu Helal told Al Jazeera from his Ramallah home. According to a poll conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute in August, about 47 percent of Jewish Israelis said they supported the killing of Palestinians who carry out an attack on Israelis, even if he or she had been captured and no longer posed a threat. A group of human rights NGOs including Amnesty International found that in at least 150 of the cases since October 2015, Israeli forces killed Palestinians after they no longer posed a threat, killed Palestinians who did not appear to be carrying out an attack at all, or used lethal force to subdue attackers when non-lethal force would have sufficed. Rights organisations have repeatedly condemned such killings, which they describe as an excessive use of force whereby Israeli forces violate international human rights law. We know that even if we tried to get the soldier to court, nothing will happen to him. Whats the point? There have been thousands of Palestinians killed over the years, and no soldier has been punished, said Abu Mohammad. UN mission in Iraq says the figure does not include casualties from western Anbar for May, July, August and December. At least 6,878 civilians were killed in Iraq last year, as the Iraqi government struggled to maintain security and dislodge fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group from areas under its control. The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, known as UNAMI, said on Tuesday that its numbers have to be considered as the absolute minimum, as it was not able to verify casualties among civilians in conflict areas. It added that last years figures did not include casualties among civilians in Iraqs western Anbar province for the months of May, July, August and December. According to UNAMI figures, at least 12,388 civilians were wounded in 2016. The monthly UN casualty report for December 2016 showed that a total of 386 civilians were killed and another 1,066 were wounded. The worst affected area was the northern province of Nineveh, where government forces are fighting to retake the ISIL-held city of Mosul, with 208 civilians killed and 511 injured. The capital, Baghdad, came next with 109 civilians killed and 523 injured. In the last week alone, ISIL claimed responsibility for a string of bombings in Baghdad that killed more than 50 people. The deadliest ISIL attack was in July, when a massive suicide bombing in a bustling market area in central Baghdad killed almost 300 people, the bloodiest single attack in the capital in 13 years of war. This is, no doubt, an attempt by [ISIL] to divert attention from their losses in Mosul and, unfortunately, it is the innocent civilians who are paying the price, Jan Kubis, the special representative of the UN secretary-general for Iraq, said in a statement. US-backed Iraqi forces are currently fighting to push ISIL fighters from Mosul, the armed groups last major stronghold in the country, but are facing fierce resistance. Unlike other reports, last months report did not include casualties among security forces. The UN came under criticism from the Iraqi military last month after reporting that nearly 2,000 members of the Iraqi forces had been killed in November. The Iraqi government has not publicised the casualty figures for government troops and paramilitary forces fighting in Mosul and elsewhere in northern Iraq. Brazilian government to relocate drug gang leaders involved in deadliest prison riot since 1992 that left 56 dead. The Brazilian government will relocate the inmates responsible for a bloody riot in a prison in the northern Amazon city of Manaus to high security federal institutions, and will prosecute them. Justice minister, Alexandre de Moraes said on Tuesday that authorities would move quickly to identify and transfer the gang bosses out of the crowded jail in the remote jungle state of Amazonas where the fighting between rival drug gangs left 56 dead on Sunday. The riot lasted for 17 hours in the Anisio Jobim complex in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state. Many of those slain were beheaded or dismembered in the worst bloodshed at a Brazilian prison since 1992. The killings occurred over a feud between rival criminal factions, the Sao Paulo-based First Capital Command (PCC) and a local Amazonian crime group Family of the North (FDN), who are engaged in a long-term dispute over controlling prisons, drug trafficking routes, and territory in the region reeling from drug violence. Machete-wielding gangs decapitated inmates and threw their bodies over a wall of the prison, which houses more than three times as many prisoners as it was built for in 1982. Police hunted for more than 100 inmates who escaped from the prison during the riot. One group is trying to eliminate the other so they can dominate the prison system, said Marluce da Costa Sousa, coordinator of the Amazonas state branch of Pastoral Carceraria a prisoner advocate group linked to the Catholic church. Its about profit, she told Al Jazeera on Monday. Meanwhile on Tuesday, dozens of people stood outside the coroners office in Manaus to find if their relatives were among the dead. Sara Santos, 36, said she was seeking news of her 23-year-old brother, who had been in prison for drug trafficking. Nobody knows who is alive or dead, Santos told the Associated Press news agency. Amazonas authorities said families would be paid a compensation for the killings of their relatives in prison. Public security secretary Sergio Fontes said the first bodies of the victims will be handed to their families starting Tuesday evening. With more than 600,000 inmates, Brazil has the fourth largest prison population in the world after the United States, China, and Russia, and its prisons have long been denounced by human rights groups for violence and serious overcrowding. The riot led to the biggest number of prison deaths in Brazil since the 1992 Carandiru massacre in Sao Paulo when 111 prisoners, many unarmed, were killed almost all by military police when they stormed the prison following a riot. Four inmates were found dead in another prison in the rural area of Manaus on Monday. State officials were not able to say whether there had been a riot there. Report by think-tank Fabian Society closely linked to the opposition party warns Labour could lose badly in a new vote. An influential centre-left think-tank has warned that the UKs opposition Labour party has no chance of winning a majority in the next general election, which is scheduled to be held in 2020. The report published on Tuesday by the Fabian Society, which is closely associated with Labour, said the party could at best hope for a coalition with other left-leaning parties. Supporters of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had succeeded in winning internal battles but have made little progress in winning back lost voters, the think-tank said. Corbyns Labour was criticised for its quietude, passivity and resignation and its purportedly confused response to Brexit, in the report, titled Apocalypse Soon? On Brexit, the greatest political question for two generations, the partys position is muffled and inconsistent, wrote Andrew Harrop, the general secretary of the society, in a blog post accompanying the report. This is the calm of stalemate, of insignificance, even of looming death, he added. READ MORE: The roots of Jeremy Corbyns success Labour currently holds 232 seats in parliament, with one up for by-election after an MP resignation, but the number could fall to as low as 140 if current trends persist, the report warned. A total collapse of seats in England, similar to the near wipeout in Scotland in 2015, was unlikely due to the UKs first-past-the-post electoral system and the way likely Labour voters are concentrated in certain areas, the report said. The Fabian Society is one of the UKs oldest left-wing think-tanks, with many senior Labour leaders having come through its ranks, including former prime minister Tony Blair, who has been a divisive figure within the party. Poor communicator Since his election as leader, Corbyn has faced a leadership challenge and has failed to secure the support of many of his MPs, who have publicly broken ranks with him over issues like Brexit, nuclear weapons, and military intervention. However, the partys problems go beyond Corbyn, according to Oxford Brookes University academic Glen OHara. This is not a Left-Right issue, but about an instinctive feeling for the countrys core, OHara said. Corbyn himself, though a very poor communicator makes this much worse, but the problem was there before him and will be there after him. (Labour) thinks, speaks and feels and thus seems nothing like how voters think, speak and feel themselves. OHara also cast doubt on the effect that building electoral alliances with other parties would have. Smaller parties like the Greens and the Welsh nationalist Plaid Cymru could only deliver a few seats, and the Scottish National Party (SNP) has little incentive in building an alliance with the party given its success in 2015, he said. An alliance with the Liberal Democrats might work better, but British voters dont and wont like the idea that elections are being stitched up decided behind closed doors and might react against being told who to vote for. A new leader and a coherent stance on Brexit could help the party, but the large pro-Corbyn base within Labour and a potential backlash from Eurosceptics over the latter would make each difficult, according to OHara. For Corbyns supporters, Labours poor poll numbers were less to do with its leader and more to do with negative media coverage of the man and lack of support from his own MPs. Many expressed anger at the British tabloids for their attacks on Corbyn after the report was published. When Murdoch media & right wing biased press go all out to discredit #Corbyn you know you're backing the right man #Corbynfightback #Labour Jo (@Jobaker46) January 3, 2017 Next election Prime Minister Theresa Mays Conservative party currently has a 15 point lead over Labour, according to pollsters, YouGov. May has ruled out an election before 2020 but currently only has a slim majority of 14. Since the Brexit vote, the prime minister has faced pressure to call for a new election and obtain a new mandate to push forward with negotiations with the EU. Plan hopes to create incentive for more Finns to work since fear of losing welfare benefits make many act picky on jobs. Finland has become the first country in the world to pay a basic income to randomly picked citizens on a national level in an experiment aiming at dismissing poverty, motivate people to join the workforce and decrease unemployment. The experiment is conducted with 2,000 randomly picked unemployed participants between the ages of 25 and 58. For two years, participants from different parts of the country will receive an unconditional monthly tax-free basic income of 560 euros ($586). The plan aims to find ways to reshape the social security system in response to changes in the labour market, according to the website of the Social Insurance Institution or Kela, which manages the project. It also seeks to reduce the bureaucracy and simplify the complicated benefits system, Kela says. The scheme, which was launched on January 1, hopes to create an incentive for more Finns to work, since the fear of losing welfare benefits make many citizens act picky about the job they would accept. Many Finns stay out of the job market for years as they do not want to lose their welfare benefits. Professor Olli Kangas from Kela says that there are many incentive traps in the present system that are caused by a number of income-tested benefits paid on top of each other. In the current system, with many strictly income-tested benefits, people may end up in situations where work does not pay enough, making them reluctant to get back to the job market with short-term or low-income jobs, he told Al Jazeera. There is also the bureaucratic hassle that makes people afraid to take short-term jobs. They are afraid that they might not be able to claim again their benefits after their contract is terminated and their employment is over. Kangas said that the participants will be monitored on to what extent, if any, they will change their labour market behaviour when they get unconditional income: Will they stay unemployed or use it as an incentive to start working? Not income-based According to the plan, the 560-euro basic income will be part of the general unemployment benefit the participant receives when he or she is unemployed. However, the participants will continue to receive the basic income even if they start working, although they will lose the rest of their unemployment benefit at that point. Consequently, when the participant gets a job, he or she will receive both the salary and the basic income. And he or she will continue to claim other income-based benefits, such as housing or childcare in line with his or her income, like every other citizen. Daniel Wallenius, a 27-year-old student from Oulu, believes the basic income is a good initiative and it is likely to create incentive for more employment in Finland, but the way it is implemented is not efficient to achieve this goal. It will certainly act as an incentive for people to accept low-income jobs and part-time jobs. It will increase the amount of money people have available while working in such jobs, he told Al Jazeera. However, I am critical how this experiment is tested because the participants still have to claim other social benefits, such as housing income. And that pretty much cancels the principle of basic income. The fact that it is only tested on the unemployed also cancels the very same principle. Jere Ranta, a game programmer from Helsinki, believes that the basic income is beneficial particularly for people who intend to become entrepreneurs. This ensures a basic level of income, even on uncertain times, while people begin their careers as young entrepreneurs, 35-year-old Ranta told Al Jazeera. He added: Since there are other social security benefits for unemployed people anyway, the overall result of this initiative would be to motivate people towards working or starting new businesses using this money rather than not working at all. It will also reduce the overall bureaucratic paperwork and expenses for citizens. Less humiliating According to Heta Muurinen, there is large public support for the scheme, but the current model has been heavily criticised because its budget is small and the target group is limited. The group that would really benefit from basic income are small scale entrepreneurs, freelancers and others in precarious positions as they do not often get social benefits or are afraid to lose them. For them, basic income would be a safety net that could encourage them to take risks, be more creative and go for start-ups, the 41-year-old information officer told Al Jazeera. Ethically, sufficient basic income system would be more humane and less humiliating than the current benefit system. Swiss voters reject basic income grant for all The basic income experiment is one of the key projects formulated in the programme of Finnish prime minister Juha Sipilas government. The plan will be implemented through 2017 and 2018 and the results will be evaluated in 2019. Finland had an unemployment level of 9.4 in 2015, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU. The basic income has been an issue of discussion in recent years. Swiss people rejected a basic income plan in a referendum last year. Scotland plans to test basic income at a local level in Fife and Glasgow later this year. Follow Umut Uras on Twitter: @Um_Uras Democrats decry proposal to be voted on as the first casualty of the new Republican Congress. Republicans in the US House of Representatives have backed a proposal to take ethics oversight away from an independent group and give the authority to the legislators themselves. The ethics change, which prompted an outcry from Democrats and government watchdog groups, is part of a rules package that the full House will vote on on Tuesday. The proposal by Republican Congressman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia to gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, which already does not punish lawmakers, was approved 119-74. House speaker Paul Ryan opposed changing ethics rules, but legislators disregarded his leadership on the issue. OPINION: A dismal day for human rights in the US Goodlatte maintains that altering the ethics review process strengthens the mission of the office. It also improves upon due process rights for individuals under investigation, as well as witnesses called to testify. The [ethics office] has a serious and important role in the House, and this amendment does nothing to impede their work, he said in a written statement on Monday. First casualty of new Congress Democrat Nancy Pelosi of California, the House minority leader, voiced dismay. Republicans claim they want to drain the swamp, but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions. Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress, she said in a statement. The amendment Republicans approved tonight would functionally destroy this office. President-elect Donald Trump has used the expression drain the swamp in a pledge to fight corruption in Washington. He will have a Republican-led House and Senate, when he is sworn in January 20. Trumps cabinet of billionaires & CEOs have ignored gov ethics rules & dragged their feet on FBI background checks & financial disclosure, Democratic senator, Elizabeth Warren, said on Twitter. North Carolina Mining Commission Oil and Gas Commission Environmental Advisory Board from 2006-2010. State Board of Community Colleges Golden LEAF Contact: McCrory Communications McCrory Communications govpress@nc.gov Raleigh, N.C. The Office of North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory announced the following appointments:North currently is the Division Environmental/GIS Land Manager for Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. North has worked for Martin Marietta Materials since 1994. He has previously worked as Manager of Engineering Services and Senior Environmental Engineer. North worked at the North Carolina Department of Environmental, Health and Natural Resources from 1986 to 1994. North received his BS in Civil Engineering Technology and Master of Science in Engineering Management from UNC-Charlotte.Conner is the Corporate Environmental Director of Hedrick Industries. Conner is responsible for all geology, environmental, and fixed assets for all Divisions of Hedrick Industries. Conner previously worked as the Western Division Environmental Director; and Land Resource Assistant. Connor received his Bachelor of Science in Geology from UNC-Chapel Hill. He currently serves on the NCAA Environmental Committee (Chairman) and the North Carolina State University Minerals Research Lab Board.Bratton is the President of Wake Stone Corporation. They own and operate 5 quarries in North Carolina and one in South Carolina. Bratton has served as the Past President of the North Carolina Aggregates Association and has worked in the mining industry practically his whole life. Bratton's company has received awards such as the North Carolina Land Trust - Conservation Award of the Year; NC Wildlife Federation - Governor's Conservation Achievement Award and the Land Conservationist of the Year (1997); and the National Stone Association Lifetime Achievement Award.Viers serves as the District Operations Manager for Vulcan Materials Company. Viers received his Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering from Virginia Tech University in 2001. Under his leadership, Vulcan Materials has gone seven years without an accident at East Forsyth and Stokesdale Quarries. Also, they have received zero environmental citations in his 12 years as Plant Manager for all three operations.Gaglio is a Senior Vice President for Piedmont Natural Gas. He has been with the company since February 2012 and previously worked as the Senior VP of Operations for Nisource Gas Transmission and Storage. Gaglio has a Engineering Science and Mechanics degree from Virginia Tech.Williams is an obstetrician/gynecologist from Raleigh Gynecology and Wellness and Deputy Secretary of Health Services for the Department of Health and Human Services. Williams has been engaged in both taking care of patients in North Carolina and in public health for the last 26 years. A native North Carolinian, he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with honors with a double major in History and Zoology, and went on to the UNC School of Medicine where he was a Holderness Fellow and co-founded the Students Teaching Early Prevention initiative. He then served as Administrative Chief Resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology at North Carolina Memorial Hospital.Baird is a partner in the Raleigh office of K&L Gates and focuses his practice on environmental matters, including litigation and regulatory matters, and environmental aspects of real estate, lending, and mergers and acquisitions transactions. Baird regularly advises manufacturing clients regarding environmental regulatory and compliance matters. He routinely negotiates with state and federal environmental agencies on behalf of private parties, handles administrative appeals, enforcement defense, and permitting matters, and oversees environmental due diligence and clean-up activities. Baird also counsels stakeholders regarding the development of shale gas resources. He is also honored as one of Environmental Law's Best Lawyers from 2007-2014. He serves on the North Carolina Bar Association (Environmental Law Section Council) was the City of Raleigh Environmental Awards, Chair from 2008-2010 and the City of Raleigh.Taylor is a Global Market Manager at 3M in Sanford and also serves on the Sanford City Council. He was first elected to the council in 2007. In addition to his service on the council, Taylor is also involved with various local community groups in the Lee County area.Jones is the owner of Aboutface Electrology in Kernersville which has been in business for over 20 years. She also serves on the Stokes County Board of Commissioners. Jones is a graduate of NC A&T University.Brown is the President and CEO of Rex Hospitality in Greenville. He has been with the company since it started in June 2007. He also served one term in the NC House from 2013-2015 and was a chairman of the Health Committee.Stephens served Chief Legal Counsel for the North Carolina Governor's Office from 2013-2016. Prior to taking that role he was a senior partner at HSSM law firm in Charlotte. He has spent his entire professional career in Charlotte after serving as a first lieutenant in the United States Army, Judge Advocate General Corp, 1970 - 1972.Roberts is the Managing Director of SharpVue Capital. He has also held that title for Piedmont Community Bank Holdings (2010-2014), Coley Capital/Oaklane Capital (2008-2010), and Cherokee Investment Partners (2006-2008). Roberts also served as the State Budget Director for North Carolina from 2014-2016.Stith has served as Chief of Staff for Governor McCrory since January 2013. Prior to serving North Carolina in this role, Stith was the Economic Development Program Director for the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprises. He earned his MBA from NC Central University. The Republican-led US Congress began its first session in turmoil on Tuesday as the House of Representatives backed away from a decision to defang an ethics watchdog after a public outcry, including a dressing-down from the president-elect. With Donald Trump, set to be sworn in as president on January 20, Republicans will control both the White House and Congress for the first time since 2007, and they were set to begin laying plans for enacting his agenda of cutting taxes, repealing Obamacare and rolling back financial and environmental regulations. But the moment was overshadowed by a surprise move by Republicans in the House of Representatives in a closed-door meeting late on Monday to weaken the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, which is in charge of investigating ethics accusations against legislators. Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to drain the swamp and bring ethics reforms to Washington, was not pleased. With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority, he said on Twitter on Tuesday. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! Change of course The ethics office was created in 2008, following several corruption scandals, but some legislators have charged in recent years that it has been too quick to investigate complaints from outside partisan groups. With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 Legislators wanted to have greater control of the watchdog, and inserted changes into a broader rules package, set to pass when the House convened on Tuesday. Even before Trumps tweet, many House Republicans, including top leaders, opposed the measure and worried about its ramifications. Trumps tweet prompted an emergency meeting and a quick change of course by Republicans. It was taken out by unanimous consent and the House Ethics Committee will now examine those issues, said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan, who was re-elected as speaker on Tuesday. Since his election on November 8, Trump has made clear he wants to move swiftly to enact proposals he outlined during the campaign such as simplifying the tax code, slashing corporate tax rates and repealing and replacing President Barack Obamas signature health insurance programme, known as Obamacare. Lousy healthcare Republicans have long sought to dismantle Obamacare, insisting it was unworkable and hampered job growth. But they face a dilemma over how to provide health insurance for the 13.8 million people enrolled in Obamacare who could lose their coverage. The law aims to provide health insurance to economically disadvantaged people and expand coverage for others. Trump kept up his attack on Tuesday, tweeting: People must remember that Obamacare just doesnt work, and it is not affordable, and adding, It is lousy healthcare. Supreme Court rules elections must be secular as it warns parties which select candidates based on their backgrounds. Indias top court has banned the use of religion and caste in political activities in the run-up to state polls, where such affiliations often determine the fate of campaigns. Most political parties select candidates in various districts based on caste and religious considerations. Mondays Supreme Court ruling warned politicians who disqualify election candidates based on these two factors. The court ruling said: Religion has no role in electoral process which is a secular activity. Mixing state with religion is not constitutionally permissible. The ruling came in response to a wave of petitions and a plea that dates back to 1990, as politicians such as Indian prime minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has allegedly used religion and caste as a tool to garner votes and thrive to power. It by Kancha cannot be used as an instrument to fight back] But the ruling has also drawn criticism. Kancha Ilaiah, a prominent writer and political scientist based in Hyderabad, told Al Jazeera that the inclusion of caste in the judgement was unfortunate. The judgement said mobilising voters on the basis of caste, race, language and religion amounted to corruption, he said. Ilaiah, who belongs to the low-caste Dalit community, said the judgement undermines the ability of his social class to use politics as a means for their betterment. The Supreme Court now says we cannot use the caste issue for our liberation, for our equality. If they say that, then how do we achieve our liberation? What about the right to speak about my oppression? Ilaiah said. It is as if the Supreme Court has said [our enslavement] cannot be used as an instrument to fight back, he added. They cant intimidate Muslims However, Ilaiah believes the judgement means that parties like the BJP could no longer openly intimidate minorities or use Babri [a demolished mosque] or beef as part of their electioneering. Whether they will be held accountable, that is a separate issue. They cant openly intimidate Muslims, for instance, he said. Politicians in both the BJP and the Indian National Congress party the two biggest parties in India have long used the demolition of the Babri mosque in 1992 as a means to rally Hindus and Muslims around their respective parties. Likewise, cows are sacred in Hinduism and the move to ban beef in a number of states has also been used an instrument to drive voters. Badal Saroj, a central committee member of the Communist Party of India (CPM), supported the Supreme Court ruling and blamed Indias mainstream political party for exploiting religion and caste. He told Firstpost the verdict has once again strengthened the secular stand of Indias founding principles. In light of the court ruling, Prime Minister Modi visited Uttar Pradesh on Monday the most populated and one of the most religiously polarised states in the country. The BJP is set on winning the upcoming elections in the state, but faces scrutiny by those who doubt its commitment towards the new ruling. Hindus comprise nearly 80 percent of Indias 1.23 billion people, while Muslims comprise 14.2 percent and the remaining six percent adhere to other religions, such as Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism. Politician under scrutiny after blaming victims clothing for alleged mass molestation incident on New Years Eve. An Indian minister has come under fire for suggesting the Western way women dress was the cause of a series of alleged sex assaults on the streets of Bangalore on New Years Eve. Witnesses, including journalists from Bangalore Mirror, said they saw mass molestations of women during celebrations in the city centre. Reacting to the incident, G Parameshwara, Karnatakas state home minister, blamed the victims for dressing in Western clothing. They try to copy westerners not only in mindset but even the dressing some girls are harassed, these kinds of things do happen. Irresponsible Police have not yet charged anyone in connection with the alleged assaults, but are searching through CCTV footage with hopes to identify the attackers. The Bangalore Mirror published a series of photos that show chaotic scenes from the night. One journalist narrated her experience in a Facebook post that has been circulated widely. The police have claimed that they did not receive a single case of molestation or harassment. Malini Krishnamoorthy, a senior Bangalore police officer, has urged the public to come forward if they possess evidence in any form. The central governments junior home minister Kiren Rijiju described Parameshwaras claims as irresponsible and said they marginalised the fight against sexual assault. Lalitha Kumaramangalam, head of Indias national commission for women, told local news that Parameshwara should apologise to the victims and step down as minister. She questioned when Indian men will start to respect women. I want to ask this minister: are Indian men so pathetic and weak that when they see a woman in Western clothes on a day of revelry, they get out of control?, she said. Sexual violence against women in India rose to the forefront internationally following the death of a young woman who was gang-raped on a bus in New Delhi in December 2012. https://twitter.com/link2rohitrao/status/815867784613785600 The attack left various senior Indian politicians accused of casual misogyny. One politician, Mulayam Singh Yadav, head of Uttar Pradeshs governing Samajwadi Party, excused the incident by saying boys will be boys and that they make mistakes. In recent years, and after a wave of national protests, legislators have worked to implement anti-rape laws to protect women and children alike. State of emergency to be extended for as long as needed, deputy PM says, as victims of Reina shooting are laid to rest. Turkish police have released a photo of the main suspect in the New Years Eve attack on a popular nightclub in Istanbul that killed 39 people. The release of the image on Monday came as Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said that the countrys state of emergency which was already in place at the time of the attack would be extended for as long as needed. Kurtulmus also said authorities were close to identifying the gunman after obtaining his fingerprints and a description of his appearance. The attack, claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), also wounded dozens. TIMELINE: Attacks in Turkey Information about the fingerprints and basic appearance of the terrorist have been found. In the process after this, work to identify him swiftly will be carried out, Kurtulmus told a news conference. He said it was clear that Turkeys military incursion into Syria, launched in August, had annoyed armed groups and those behind them, but said the offensive would continue until all threats to Turkey were removed. Turkey sent tanks and special forces into Syria just over four months ago to push back ISIL fighters from its border and prevent Kurdish fighters from taking ground in their wake. Kurtulmus also said Sundays attack bore significant differences to previous attacks in Turkey and that it had been carried out to create divisions within Turkish society. The assailant slipped from the scene of the attack at the Reina club early on Sunday, taking advantage of the chaos that ensued after he opened fire. Newspaper reports said the attacker was thought to be from a Central Asian nation. Turkish media ran on Tuesday a selfie-style video of a man they say is the gunman. Broadcast on Turkish television, the footage shows the alleged attacker filming himself at Taksim square. It was not immediately clear if it was filmed before the attack. Foreigners killed As the operation to close in on the suspect continued, Turkish victims were laid to rest as families of those from other countries arrived in the country to take their loved ones remains back home. The majority of those killed were foreigners, include many Arab nationals. The victims included citizens of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, France, Tunisia, India, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, Canada, Israel, Syria, Belgium, Germany and Russia. Restaurant owners/staff march in #Istanbul in solidarity w #Reina Nightclub. 1 man told me there is fear more attacks will happen in #Turkey pic.twitter.com/XFQGAaPnme Mohammed Jamjoom (@MIJamjoom) January 3, 2017 Among them was a police officer and a security guard employed to keep partygoers safe, a tour guide escorting visitors during a night on the town and young adults who had travelled to Turkey for the holidays. Tuvana Tugsavul, who worked at the nightclub, witnessed the attack. I saw the gun shootings, the flames, and then I went to the toilet. There was about eight or nine people in one small cabin. Im just thinking, it could be me too. It could be me, she told Al Jazeera as she attended the funeral of 23-year-old Yunus Gormek, who had gone to Reina to help his uncle with work. Mehmet Kocarslan, who owns Reina, also attended the funeral as a gesture of solidarity. I wanted to show my respect and show we care for them. I will visit the hospitals after the funeral. It is really so painful, he said. Investigators question Netanyahu over whether he was offered gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars from businessmen. Police have grilled Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for three hours on suspicion of receiving gifts from businessmen, as part of a corruption probe that has shaken the countrys politics. Investigators questioned Netanyahu on Monday at his residence in central Jerusalem on suspicion of receiving benefits, a police spokesman said afterwards, adding there were no further details to give. In advance of the questioning, Netanyahu denied any wrongdoing and told his political opponents to put any celebrations on hold. The justice ministry said in a statement that officers from a police anti-corruption unit carried out the questioning, adding that Netanyahu was suspected of having received gifts from businessmen. The long-running corruption inquiry has looked into whether wealthy Israeli and foreign businessmen have offered gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars, as well as another unspecified issue, according to media reports. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has reportedly decided to upgrade the inquiry to a criminal probe, although he has yet to confirm this. Months-long inquiry Earlier on Monday, screens were mounted at the entrance to the compound in central Jerusalem in an apparent bid to shield the investigators arrival. We hear all the media reports. We see and hear the festive spirit and atmosphere in television studios and in the corridors of the opposition, Netanyahu told legislators from his Likud party on Monday, according to a video posted to his Facebook page. I want to tell them to wait for the celebrations. Do not rush. I told you and I repeat: There will be nothing because there is nothing. You will continue to inflate hot air balloons and we will continue to lead the state of Israel. THE LISTENING POST: Benjamin Netanyahu Israels media manipulator (8:57) Police have carried out the probe in secret over some eight months and recently made an important breakthrough, reports said. About 50 witnesses are said to have been questioned. In July, Mandelblit said he had ordered a preliminary examination into an unspecified affair involving Netanyahu, with no details given. US billionaire and World Jewish Congress president Ronald Lauder has been among those questioned in the probe over gifts he allegedly gave Netanyahu and alleged spending on trips for him, Israeli media reported. Lauder, whose family founded the Estee Lauder cosmetics giant, has long been seen as an ally of Netanyahu, who in the late 1990s put Lauder in charge of negotiating with then Syrian president Hafez al-Assad. Netanyahu has acknowledged receiving money from French tycoon Arnaud Mimran, who was sentenced to eight years in prison over a scam amounting to 283 million euros ($297m) involving the trade of carbon emissions permits and the taxes on them. Netanyahus office said he had received $40,000 in contributions from Mimran in 2001, when he was not in office, as part of a fund for public activities, including appearances abroad to promote Israel. He has also come under scrutiny over an alleged conflict of interest in the purchase of submarines from a German firm. Media reports have alleged a conflict of interest over the role played by the Netanyahu family lawyer, David Shimron, who also represents the Israeli agent of Germanys ThyssenKrupp. Beyond those issues, Israels state comptroller released a critical report in May about Netanyahus foreign trips, some with his wife and children, between 2003 and 2005, when he was finance minister. Rebels blame government forces for killings of civilians at a camp for displaced people. A Sudanese official and rebels have traded blame over civilian deaths in central Darfur, an area that has seen sporadic clashes between the army and armed groups despite a government-announced ceasefire. The Darfur Union UK, an activist group, reported on Tuesday that gunmen, reportedly in military uniforms, killed 11 at a camp for displaced people in the Jabal Marra area. Jaafar Abdelhakam, the governor of central Darfur and member of Sudans ruling National Congress Party, accused the SPM Abdelwahed movement of perpetrating Sundays attack. SPM Abdelwahed is one of the main rebel groups in Darfur that has refused to enter into dialogue with the government. However, locals blamed government forces for the deaths in what they described as an apparent revenge attack for the murder of a soldier. Abdallah Saleh al-Shafie, who heads an association that supports displaced people in Darfur, said Sudanese forces carried out the barbaric and savage attack after a soldiers body was found lying in a street. He told the Sudan Tribune that nine people were killed and around 60 were wounded. He also said the men used heavy and light weapons. A rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Army, led by Suliman Minni Minnawi, also accused pro-government forces of conducting the attack. It released a statement saying the attack contradicts President Omar al-Bashirs decision on December 31 to extend by a month a unilateral ceasefire in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan regions. Bashirs decision is aimed at covering up the crimes committed by his militias, under his instructions, it added. TALK TO AL JAZEERA: Sudans foreign minister Bashir is the only person trusted to govern (24:59) Darfur has been engulfed in a deadly conflict since 2003, when ethnic minority black tribes took up arms against Bashirs government, accusing it of marginalising the region. Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes and genocide charges related to Darfur, which he denies. According to the United Nations, at least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced by the fighting. Free Syrian Army and other groups pull out of discussions about Kazakhstan peace talks due to assault on Wadi Barada. Syrias main rebel groups say they have frozen their participation in preliminary peace talks planned for Kazakhstan later this month due to several violations by the regime of a five-day-old truce. Sources told Al Jazeera the groups were freezing their participation in negotiations being prepared by Russia, due to a government-led assault on Wadi Barada, a rebel-held area near Damascus that is key to the capitals water supply. The groups suspending their participation included the Free Syrian Army, one of the biggest coalitions fighting against President Bashar al-Assad, and the Army of Conquest, another coalition of anti-government groups. Freezing all discussions regarding the Astana or any other consultations regarding the ceasefire agreement until it is fully implemented pic.twitter.com/hLugie8yqU Osama Abo Zayd (@oabozayd) January 2, 2017 As these violations are continuing, the rebel factions announce the freezing of all discussion linked to the Astana negotiations, they said in a joint statement. The regime and its allies have not stopped shooting and have launched major and frequent violations, notably in the regions of Wadi Barada and Eastern Ghouta. Any [advance] on the ground goes against the [ceasefire] agreement and if things dont return to how they were before, the accord will be considered null and void, the statement added. OPINION: The Assad conundrum Al Jazeeras Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from the Turkish city of Gaziantep near the Syria border, called the FSAs announcement a significant setback. The rebels say they signed the ceasefire in good faith but that the Syrian regime and its ally Russia have failed to live up to their end of the deal, he said. They say fighter jets have continued to pound rebel-held areas across the country with barrel bombs, particularly Wadi Barada. For the last two weeks, Syrias air force, backed by Hezbollah and Shia militias, have launched almost daily bombing raids on Wadi Barada, some 15km from Damascus. The Assad government is trying to seize control of the region, which supplies the main drinking water for roughly four million inhabitants of the capital and surrounding areas. The UNs Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said supplies had been cut since December 22 because infrastructure was deliberately targeted and damaged, without saying who was responsible. Water is now being rationed in Damascus as the government is relying on reserves. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said about 1,000 civilians all of them women and children fled the fighting in Wadi Barada over the weekend, moving to other parts of the province. Wadi Barada has been surrounded by government forces since mid-2015, but the siege was tightened in late December as the army piled on pressure seeking to secure a reconciliation deal. It has won several of these deals in opposition areas around the capital, offering safe passage to surrendering rebels in return for retaking territory. The opposition criticises them as a starve or surrender tactic. OPINION: Whitewashing Assad and his allies must be challenged The violence threatens the delicate ceasefire, which has been in force since midnight Thursday, and is intended to pave the way for new peace talks in Astana later this month. Turkey and Russia are organising the talks in Astana along with ally Iran, and say they are intended to supplement, not replace, UN-backed negotiations scheduled to resume in February. Despite backing opposite sides in Syrias conflict, Ankara and Moscow have worked closely in recent months on the war, brokering a deal to evacuate civilians and surrendering rebels from Aleppo last month, before government forces recaptured the northern city in full. The truce excludes the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the group former known as the al-Nusra Front. The son of Equatorial Guineas president is on trial in France for misusing state funds. The son of Equatorial Guineas president has been accused of widespread corruption and money laundering, but he is not being tried for it in his home country of Equatorial Guinea. Instead, Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue has been prosecuted in the US, is being investigated in Switzerland, and was tried in absentia in France on Monday. Obiang is known for his taste for luxury cars, mansions, and expensive works of art. French prosecutors say the items were bought using illegal money most of it in cash. They say Obiang stole $115m from the government while he was agriculture minister from 2004 to 2011. They are specifically trying him for property he bought in France, including a Parisian villa worth more than $100m. Obiang has always said he earned his money legally. The trial is a major shift in French policy, which has long ignored corrupt African leaders who buy property in France. So whats behind the crackdown? Presenter: Laura Kyle Guests: Florent Geel Africa Director at the International Federation for Human Rights Aly-Khan Satchu Emerging markets economist Antony Goldman African affairs specialist and former Senior Africa analyst with the Economist Intelligence Unit A look back at Rageh Omaars journey into the tribal heartlands to investigate Pakistans role in the war on terror. Ten years ago , in November 2006, Al Jazeera English was launched. To mark that anniversary, weve created REWIND, which updates some of the channels most memorable and award-winning documentaries of the past decade. We find out what happened to some of the characters in those films and ask how the stories have developed in the years since our cameras left. In 2009, Al Jazeeras Rageh Omaar travelled to the frontline of the Pakistani Armys campaign against the insurgents in the Bajaur Agency, codenamed Operation Sherdil (or Lionheart). This is where al-Qaeda, Osama bin Ladens deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, and their foreign fighters were thought to be based. The army believed that defeating the insurgents here would be crucial to success in the rest of the country because Bajaur borders Kunha in Afghanistan, a key point of entry for Taliban crossing into Pakistan from Afghanistan. During his investigation Rageh Omaar learned that Pakistans efforts to crush the insurgents in the tribal areas were compromised by US cross-border drone strikes, violating Pakistans fragile sovereignty. In the three months before Al Jazeeras crew arrived, 20 US drone strikes had killed more than 100 people. REWIND spoke to Al Jazeeras correspondent Kamal Hyder about the situation today in Pakistan. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Pakistan. Weve been covering the conflict for many years, but there is a marked improvement after the final push by the military to dislocate various groups who were using North Waziristan as their base But serious challenges still remain despite an improvement of the security situation in Pakistan. 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? No, not the snowflakes that fall gently from the sky and then sparkle in the moonlight as they cover the ground. I've had it with human snowflakes. That word may be forever tainted for me now that it's being used to refer to the sensitive creatures who attend our nation's colleges and universities. (Disclaimer: I'm sure that not every single college student is a snowflake, but apparently, many are!)Since election day, I've been astonished by the special treatment these delicate young adults consider their due, and, in many cases, receive. Distraught Yale students asked their econ professor to cancel the midterm exam, and their professor responded by making it optional. Some Harvard professors also delayed or canceled exams. Cornell students held a cry-in. Professors at the University of Connecticut, University of Rochester and Iowa State University canceled classes. The University of Washington held a "gathering of healing." And I think, "Seriously?"And there's more. Reason.com reported that "Loyola University and Byrn Mawr College students demanded the cancelling of classes, citing exhaustion, depression, and safety concerns, Campus Reform reported:a signee of the Bryn Mawr petition claimed.How is it that the rest of America managed to get up and go to work and take care of themselves and their families? Could it be that colleges have created a new breed of young people, so coddled and sheltered from the real world, that they simply cannot cope? Is this what results when campuses provide safe spaces, uninvite any speaker who might present a "threatening" point of view, fire those who share unpopular perspectives, and chastise those who advocate for students being able to wear Halloween costumes?Someone needs to let the snowflakes know that this is notBut, then again, those words may be trigger warnings, and cause these softies to feel violated and run straight away to their safe spaces.What finally prompted me to rant about this phenomenon was a humorous yet disturbing video on snowflakes that detailed more of the special treatment they received immediately following the trauma of the election. My astonishment has turned to outrage. I'm having an increasingly difficult time seeing society relying on these snowflakes to have a sense of responsibility , to do what's right in the face of adversity, or to defend those less fortunate instead of covering their ears when they're in danger of hearing something they disagree with.For some reason, I keep thinking of an inspiring gentleman I met a few years ago. He graduated from West Point, served his country and then built a successful career as a mortgage broker before the 9/11 attacks. What did he do? He re-enlisted, went off to fight for his country and never looked back. I cannot imagine a snowflake making that kind of sacrifice The video,pretty much says it all. The narrator makes a disquieting point: "This nation is running a dangerous and very real chance of being handed over to a generation who thinks the best way to handle your differences is to scream, whine and pout."If something doesn't change soon, it may indeed bejust not in the way R.E.M. imagined.Kathy Manos Penn is a Sandy Springs resident now happily retired from a corporate career in communications. Find her book, "The Ink Penn: Celebrating the Magic in the Everyday," on her website at. Contact her at For the past five years, BBVA Compass has been a poster child for modern technology and innovation. It spent an estimated $400 million implementing Accenture's Alnova, a modern, real-time core banking system. It created a well-regarded mobile app. It bought the neobank Simple. It partnered with Dwolla to be the first U.S. bank to offer real-time payments to businesses. It partnered with FutureAdvisor to build a customized robo-adviser for clients. It's building a marketplace for third parties to build innovative products and services through its application program interfaces. Yet, in a course of events you could categorize as "no good deed goes unpunished," the results have been disappointing. The bank's return on assets and return on equity have hovered below average. Its net income for the first nine months of 2016 was $282 million, down 32.2% from a year earlier. The bank announced last week that its CEO of the past eight years, Manolo Sanchez, will shift to a new role of nonexecutive chairman. Taking his place will be Onur Genc, deputy CEO of Garanti Bank, a Turkish bank BBVA partially owns. It is not clear what role if any the company's performance played in the executive shuffle. The company declined to make Sanchez, Genc or any other executive available to comment on this story. In a press release, the company referred to the moves as strengthening the management structure in the U.S. operations. Still, the moves raise questions about the value of innovation in the U.S. Also, will Genc be able bring innovation and performance in lockstep? New CEO's Road Ahead The clearest challenge for the incoming CEO is to find a reward for the bank's many technology investments while continuing the innovation mandate. Garanti, under the partial direction of Genc, seemed to do well in this arena. In the press release announcing his appointment to BBVA Compass, the company referred to the Turkish bank as its most advanced franchise in digital sales. For the past five years, its return on assets has exceeded 1.5% and return on equity has exceeded 12%. Genc also led several digital projects at Garanti. In one, Garanti partnered with the design firm Fjord to create a mobile app that customers can use to manage their credit cards, savings, loans and offers. It lets users send payments to friends through Facebook, it facilitates cardless ATM transactions, and it's integrated with Nuance's Nina virtual assistant so customers can bank by voice. "After success and traction with Garanti, they want to apply [Genc's] experience and learnings and double down with BBVA Compass, to get it to the next level," said an executive at a competing bank who did not want to be quoted. BBVA Compass will need to focus on revenue-based innovation, said David Kucera, who previously was director of business innovation for BBVA Compass. He is currently a managing director at FinTech Forge, a managed service provider to banks. "There have been so many years of, how do we cut, cut, cut, how do we reduce this, we want to streamline the back office, we want to reduce expenses here with a technology solution, and we haven't had a breakout of a revenue-focused product," he said. "We haven't seen the emergence of any truly new banking product in quite some time." Why Didn't Innovation Translate into Results? The question is and it's relevant to any bank investing in technology improvements and innovative offerings why haven't the investments BBVA Compass made in its core infrastructure and innovation showed up on the bottom line? One answer is that modern technology can be hard to sell. Despite the hundreds of millions invested in it, the average customer may not understand or feel the difference between real-time and batch processing of transactions. It's hard to get them to care. "Most customers will say, 'My money is real time when I make a deposit it shows up in my account,' " Kucera said. Francisco Gonzalez Rodriguez has been declaring in speeches for years that BBVA is more a technology company than a bank. But again, that message doesn't seem to resonate with customers. "If I'm an oil and gas borrower, I don't know that I care that you think you're an IT company," said Rick Claypoole, senior principal of Vertical Views Consulting in Birmingham, Ala. and a former BBVA Compass executive vice president in retail banking. He left the bank in 2011. "If I'm a third grade school teacher, I don't think I care. Because I'm not going to you for IT services, I'm going to you for banking services." Even the technology that customers see the most its mobile app has failed to drive hordes of new customers. "The mobile banking app is great, it's won a number of awards," Kucera said. "But how far can you advance on just having an awesome mobile app? I think BBVA is realizing not nearly as far as expected." BBVA Compass suffers from a "peloton problem," said Mark Schwanhausser, director of omnichannel financial Services at Javelin Strategy & Research. It can't break free from the pack despite its diligent efforts to be innovative, partly because consumers tend to figure one bank is the same as another. Schwanhausser noted that BBVA Compass consistently scores well in Javelin's online and mobile scorecards as measured by features related to ease of use, money movement, customer service, financial fitness and security empowerment. "But when it comes to customer satisfaction in those categories, BBVA Compass customers tend to grade the bank with satisfaction scores that hover right at the industry average," he said. The bank also needs to improve its share of wallet. BBVA Compass has one of the highest rates of "silent churn" because customers say it's their primary financial institution, but actually buy most of their financial products from secondary financial institutions, according to Javelin's research. "Genc's mission should be to change that so that BBVA will be first in line when customers shop for financial products," Schwanhausser said. Also, technology investments can take a long time to pay off. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said at a recent conference organized by The Clearing House that it may be more than a decade before banks see substantial benefits from investments they are now making in new payments technologies. Moynihan drew a parallel to ATMs, noting that it took decades for consumers to adapt to the technology, and for banks to begin collecting a "meaningful" volume of deposits at the machines. "This may take us 10 or 15 years to actually get the transformation, where the real, hard benefits come through," Moynihan said. Bad Timing and Headwinds At 51, Manolo Sanchez would not be considered of retirement age by American banking standards. But he has been with the bank for 25 years and in the Spanish culture, people tend to retire around 50. An exception is Francisco Gonzalez Rodriguez, who is 72 and has been BBVA Group's chairman and CEO for 16 years. There's a recent precedent: in 2015, BBVA Group replaced its president and COO, 53-year-old Angel Cano, with its head of digital banking, 49-year-old Carlos Torres Vila. "It is common to put folks out to pasture in their mid-50s and get some new blood in," Kucera said. "It's a natural changing of the guard." Despite the bank's ambition to be an innovator, BBVA Compass and Sanchez have faced multiple challenges in the U.S. since the Spanish bank bought Compass Bank six months before the U.S. financial crisis hit. It's possible that no amount of innovation could have outweighed the economic and financial difficulties the bank has faced. For starters, at $9.1 billion, or more than three times Compass' book value, BBVA bought at the top of the market. "No one could have gotten the cash out of that enterprise that they paid for it," Claypoole said. "Everything changed: the regulatory environment changed, the economic environment changed." The low interest rate environment in particular has been a headwind. "With a fairly balanced loan portfolio, a commercial loan portfolio, a great mortgage portfolio, in that low interest rate environment you just can't make revenue," Kucera said. The bank's energy loan portfolio has been another problem as the price of crude oil has fluctuated wildly over the past 18 months. Energy troubles have also depressed some of the Southern region in which BBVA Compass operates, affecting people's ability to make their mortgage and credit card payments. The bank also struggles with a challenge shared by most large banks being a heavily matrixed organization in which every decision has to be approved by dozens of people. "There were so many opportunities, but it's a slow-moving organization, like any large bank," Kucera said. On top of all this, the entire BBVA organization is controlled out of Spain. Decisions and direction are handed down from headquarters. "When we were doing the Dwolla deal, I had to present to Carlos Torres Vila," Kucera recalled. "I was grilled on all the what-ifs. It was crazy how long it took. That still exists. Manolo was never able to eliminate or reduce the impact of the Spanish culture on the U.S. businesses." Still, several observers referred to Sanchez's new role as a plum assignment, rather than a rebuke of the company's performance. "If he wants, Manolo has a great career ahead of him," Kucera said. "He's a brilliant guy." Kristin Broughton contributed to this article. Editor at Large Penny Crosman welcomes feedback at penny.crosman@sourcemedia.com. The most significant data breach of 2016 was arguably the one that didn't matter at all. What makes it so significant is not what the hackers took, but the takeaway for the rest of us. The hackers were unable to get any customer data, because there was none to steal. ShapeShift, a digital currency exchange, lost about $230,000 in a series of thefts discovered in March and April. But no customers' funds were taken, nor any of their personal information. Unlike most exchanges, the company holds neither. It simply arranges transfers from one cryptocurrency to another (bitcoin to ether, Dash to Dogecoin, Monero to Zcash, etc.). All users provide is an address to deposit their new coins. "The only thing we need to know is their wallet address, where to send their asset and which asset they want," said Erik Voorhees, founder and CEO of ShapeShift, based in Zug, Switzerland. "That's basically it." As a result, all the hackers could steal was money from the company stash. ShapeShift's no-questions-asked model is an extreme example (and a compliance risk). But the fact that its users were unharmed by a data breach underscores a harsh reality that mainstream financial institutions should recognize: Customer data might be a valuable asset, but it is also a huge liability. You could even call it radioactive. Banks know so much about their customers not just how much money they have but where and how often they spend it so they are uniquely positioned to craft targeted offers and advice, the thinking goes. But it is painfully clear that the more information a company has about its customers, the bigger the prize for hackers. The year 2016 set a record for data breaches. There were more than 900 nationwide as of late November, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center, up from the previous peak of 783 in 2014. The financial services sector had the smallest share of breaches, 4.5%, compared with 7% for government and military, 8.5% for educational institutions, 36.2% for medical and health care and 43.9% for all other businesses. The toll for businesses goes well beyond paying for a year of credit monitoring. A company can get fined by regulators and sued when customer information is compromised, and a 2015 federal appeal court ruling made it easier for consumers to bring class actions. Estimates of the average cost of getting breached range from $200,000 to $4 million, and that's to say nothing of the blow to a company's reputation. "I don't think people have seen yet what the implications can be for a bank of a massive data theft," said Andrew Waxman, an associate partner in the financial markets risk and compliance practice at IBM's global business services unit. "People have been lucky so far." While there have been a lot of small incidents and some significant ones, he said, "I don't think the cost is transparent to people, to the bank or to the economy." Even if a bank successfully wards off attackers, there's the risk of insiders abusing the precious information they hold. The thousands of Wells Fargo salespeople who created unsolicited accounts for customers, which in some cases entailed accessing the bank's systems to obtain their personally identifiable information, are an example. Of course, banks have important reasons to collect and hold much of this information. If you're lending money, for instance, you need to know the borrower's income, assets and credit history, and where to find the collateral. On the deposit side, customer information such as a Social Security number, mobile number or IP address helps authenticate the person accessing the account, thus guarding against fraud. Not least of all, financial institutions are required under anti-money-laundering laws to conduct due diligence on applicants before opening accounts. While ShapeShift may not be gathering information on its customers to the extent that a bank or even a money transmitter does, Voorhees points out that it publishes every transaction, which the authorities can use to trace funds through the blockchains of various currencies. "We don't pull in data we don't need," he said. But "we don't hide anything, we don't obscure. We've tried to meet the noble goals of regulation but in a way that's appropriate for a digital economy, versus how banks worked in the 1950s." Apart from tightening up cybersecurity which regulators are also demanding this environment calls for a new mindset. A simple option would be to collect only what you absolutely have to in order to run the business and be compliant, and dispose of it as soon as you safely and legally can. And for heaven's sake, encrypt it all, no matter how strong your vendors tell you their security software is. Waxman suggests that companies think about their strengths and weaknesses in managing various types of data (not only customer information), just as they would look at their financial assets and liabilities. A liability on a "data balance sheet" could be a poorly maintained list of who can access back-office systems, or a manual process involving spreadsheets (easily doctored by rogue traders). These vulnerabilities would be netted against data assets, such as well-guarded and well-leveraged trade secrets, and companies should aim to come out ahead. If the results were reported to investors, regulators and consumers, such an exercise would create a stronger motivation for banks to make investments in data quality and protection, Waxman argues. What if companies took the idea even further by recognizing customer data, with all its risks and rewards, on both sides of the actual balance sheet? Court rulings since the 1970s have treated bank records as the bank's property under the "third party doctrine" that justifies U.S. government snooping. But as Europe's regulators push banks to make data portability easier, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau makes similar rumblings here, it's plausible to imagine data as something owed to the customer like money in a CD. "It would freak banks out to realize that some of that data they're about to monetize is not purely their own," said Pascal Bouvier, a partner at Santander InnoVentures, the Spanish banking giant's venture capital arm. Perhaps, but that's how many customers already feel. Three years ago, U.S. Bank tested a virtual assistant within its mobile app. Customers could search their transactions and pay bills using their voice. The bank decided to forgo any rollout after the test because of reliability issues the system sometimes returned false or irrelevant information when it failed to understand a request, said Dominic Venturo, U.S. Bank's chief innovation officer. Today, reliability is much better with voice recognition technology, as Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft are all investing heavily in their Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa and Cortana voice-based assistants. Banks are grappling with new challenges in trying to work with these voice assistants and securing transactions conducted through them. Some are debating whether to work with them at all. "We still must be thoughtful about what data will be passed into these third-party systems," Venturo said. "Right now we have to evaluate these one by one." Such challenges mean that 2017 won't be the year that voice banking takes off. Significant customer adoption of voice banking is three to five years away, said Emmett Higdon, director of mobile for Javelin Strategy & Research. Still, banks can't afford to stall their efforts around voice, given growing consumer use of the technology in everyday situations. Consumers will be using voice assistants across an increasingly varied array of devices: on smartphones, in connected cars, on wearable devices and on smart home devices like Amazon's Echo, the new Google Home or Apple's rumored Echo competitor. A recent Citigroup survey of general consumers with bank accounts found that 74% of the respondents were already using voice functionality to check weather, send messages and get directions. Growing adoption of voice assistants with these new types of devices will drive banks to explore new customer experiences that leverage touch, voice and other interfaces. Most major banks have rolled out some voice capabilities in their mobile apps, such as allowing customers to log in via a spoken phrase or password. The next important step for voice banking will be bringing voice assistants to mobile banking apps, Higdon said. In a Javelin survey this summer, half of the respondents in this case, consumers who have used mobile banking said they would be interested in using voice control within their mobile banking apps. "The problem is on the supply side banks are not wading in," Higdon said. However, more banks will be experimenting in the coming year with developing their own voice assistants, he said. Bank of America announced in October that it planned to roll out Erica in 2017. The virtual assistant will be available within its mobile app and, when activated by a customer, will use artificial intelligence to offer basic financial advice via voice or text message. The bank has said that it wants to use Erica to bring some of the one-on-one personal service and advice normally reserved for its premier clients to the rest of its customers. Other banks will follow suit, with most likely to partner with companies like Nuance, Kasisto and Personetics that specialize in providing voice assistants, Higdon said. Such technology is a lot mature than when U.S. Bank tested it a few years ago. But U.S. Bank isn't saying whether it has plans to reconsider voice anytime soon. As for the step beyond that letting customers use voice assistants from the tech giants to do banking tasks banks have been even more hesitant. So far, Capital One is the only major bank that allows customers to check balances and pay bills through Amazon's Echo. Making payments, checking balances and transferring funds with these systems requires sharing account information through them. The technology underpinning virtual assistants such as Alexa in Amazon's Echo is all exclusively owned and tightly controlled by the tech companies that created them. So banks have to resolve the complex challenge of integrating their own applications with each one of these systems individually, Venturo said. And though Amazon, for one, encrypts all the data passing through Alexa, bankers like Venturo say an industry standard around tokenizing or encrypting data that passes through such systems would be helpful. Despite the challenges banks have in working with third-party assistants like Alexa, Carey Kolaja, global chief product officer for the Citi FinTech unit, expects such assistants will play a big role in helping customers make payments and online purchases going forward. "Not every transaction will be optimal on every device, and an experience that's optimal for one customer might not be optimal for another," she acknowledged. As an example, Kolaja recounted overhearing a woman at a Starbucks pulling out an iPhone and telling Siri to set a reminder to pay her phone bill. "I do not believe that woman would have been comfortable in a public forum asking Siri to move $1,000 from her account to another person's," she said. "So we need to build our products and services on a flexible open architecture that allows us to be responsive [to customer preferences]," Kolaja said. This adoption of voice commands means that customers will intuitively understand the value proposition behind voice banking it will make routine banking tasks far easier. For example, banks have struggled for years with making their various products and services easy to discover on mobile devices through menu bars and other tools. With voice recognition technology, a simple spoken query could bring up the bank's relevant products and services, said Patrick Kelly, assistant vice president of emerging technologies at USAA. This would eliminate the need for the clunky menu option classically represented by stacked lines that are often referred to as a "hamburger" in banking apps altogether. Voice also could create entirely new customer experiences, Kelly added. For example, customers could conduct banking and shopping transactions using multiple devices simultaneously. A customer could ask their Echo to pull up their investment portfolio on their smart TV, prompt the Echo to make some transactions, and see the impact on their portfolio's balance displayed on the TV screen. This would be much faster than tapping or swiping on a touchscreen or TV remote to individually find each asset that the customer wants to buy or sell, allowing the customer to get back to their Netflix binge more quickly. "This is something that we've been thinking about as omnichannel 2.0," Kelly said. "We can already allow a customer to start a transaction in one channel and then finish it in another. That was the first stage. But doing it across multiple devices simultaneously, that's the next step." USAA happens to be ahead of most of the industry when it comes to voice. Besides allowing customers to log into its app via voice, it also uses Nina, the virtual assistant from Nuance. As virtual assistants become "smarter" and more context-aware, their conversational capabilities will present new opportunities for delivering financial advice and education. The Swiss bank UBS recently announced a customer pilot using the Echo to answer customers' questions about investments and the economy. However, banks' initial efforts with voice assistants need to stay grounded in simple, repetitive tasks like checking balances or searching for a transaction, Javelin's Higdon said. This will help acclimate customers to routinely using voice, so they will eventually feel more comfortable doing so for more complex transactions. "It's important to keep it simple and straightforward," Higdon said. "You don't want to throw too much at the consumer too quickly." On April 18, 2014, the day Umpqua Holdings closed a $2 billion deal to acquire Sterling Financial in Spokane, Washington, Ray Davis, Umpqua's longtime chief executive, called a meeting for all Sterling employees. He announced that the sales quotas on which the newly acquired company had prided itself would be ending, effective immediately. A collective sigh went up from the assembled staff, Davis recalled. Throughout his 22 years as Umpqua's CEO, Davis has forbidden sales quotas. "I'm more interested in how the customer feels," he said. "If they feel really good about us, they're going to tell everybody. If they don't feel good about us, then we need to figure out what the hell we're doing wrong." His approach has special resonance at a time when the industry is questioning its use of performance metrics. In September, Wells Fargo had to pay $185 million in fines for setting up a few million unauthorized customer accounts actions taken by 5,300 salespeople to meet or exceed sales quotas and earn bonuses. Under fire from Congress and with Wells' stock price suffering, its then-chairman and CEO, John Stumpf, resigned a month later. At the same time, leaders inside and outside the financial industry have expressed concern over what they see a plague of short-term thinking in C-suites, driven largely by the eternal need to meet quarterly earnings projections. In July, a group of CEOs that included JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon and Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett put out a proposed list of corporate governance principles, one of which called for an end to earnings guidance. Buffett argues that guidance can lead to corporate malpractice. "If the CEO goes out and says, 'We're going to earn $1.06 next quarter,' I think that if they're going to come in at $1.04, there's a lot of attempts to find a couple extra pennies some places," he told CNBC this past summer. Just as quotas pressure employees to produce numbers that look good even to the detriment of customer satisfaction so all kinds of metrics can have unintended consequences. Then the numbers stop being meaningful and instead just warp reality. Relying on them can turn a once-healthy company into a "cargo cult," a term originating in anthropology that refers to mimicking something's outward form while having none of its function. "If you pay someone to produce numbers, then they will produce those numbers," said Peter Conti-Brown, a professor of legal studies and business ethics at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. "And they may produce those numbers in a way that is fraudulent or in a way you don't like." With metrics, a healthy dose of skepticism is required. "Never forget that the metrics are proxies," Conti-Brown said. "They are not the underlying reality. The underlying economic reality is very slippery." Banks need "the belt and the suspenders," as Conti-Brown puts it. When drilling down on a single metric, they should use as many different means to evaluate it as possible. At Umpqua, Davis doesn't eschew metrics altogether. Since the mid-'90s, the bank has been running a program designed to measure the performance of its branches called "stores" using several weighted criteria, including the results of customer surveys and churn ratios. "What I want to measure is how well we do in delivering a customer experience they can't get anywhere else," said Davis, who is stepping down as Umpqua's CEO effective Jan. 1 to serve as executive chairman of its board of directors. In his new role, Davis will focus more on overseeing Umpqua's innovation unit, Pivotus Ventures. Jason Goldberg, an analyst at Barclays, recommends employing outside consultants as "mystery shoppers" who can report back about their experience in the branches. Another good idea, he said, is to set up an independent quality-assurance department that follows up with customers to make sure they are having their needs met. "You can't become over-reliant on numbers," Goldberg said. "You have to look not only at the performance metrics but at how they're achieved." He quotes an old saying: "You get what you inspect, not what you expect." Davis, for his part, has found mystery shoppers insufficient. "Hiring someone from the outside is hard," he said, "because your people are damn smart. They figure it out real fast." So he came up with a creative and some might say crazy way to keep his finger directly on the pulse of customer sentiment. "This sounds really corny, but it works," he said. "In all of our locations 300-plus we have a phone in the lobby that's available to our customers, and if they pick up that phone and hit the number 8, that phone rings on my desk. And I pick it up. I take those calls." Davis said he receives two or three such calls a day. Half of the callers hang up; they just want to see whether he will really answer. The other half are useful calls either thank-you's for good service or complaints. "Sometimes there's a problem," Davis admits. "And I like to hear about it." The American presidency has historically been accorded a unique place in national and international politics. The office combines the head of state with the head of government, which no other major nation has done. Moreover, we have retained the "Lame Duck" period between national elections, again something that no other major nation has done. Finally, Congress has granted (I would argue beyond its power to grant) effective quasi-legislative powers to the president through a variety of means. Americans today see, in the hands of an infantile and dumb man like Barack Obama, just how dangerous that can be. His recent designation of various areas as protected from exploration for energy and other mineral wealth after his party lost all power in Washington is evidence of the need for immediate change. While it would be best to simply remove all quasi-legislative power from all federal independent regulatory agencies, all executive agencies, and the president and to require, instead, that actions with the force of law be made only by Congress and no one else, that may not be possible until the political power of constitutionalism is stronger. One reform, however, that Congress clearly should pass as soon as President Trump is sworn into office is the Lame Duck Restraint Act. This statute should repeal all quasi-legislative actions, like designating areas as national monuments, if taken by a president between a presidential election and the new president being sworn into office. This should explicitly repeal all actions taken by President Obama between the November election and Obama leaving office. Republicans should note in passing this new reform that it will also bind all future presidents from using the "Lame Duck" period to do things which would have been dared if before an election. This new law should strip completely all of those powers given to any president by Congress during this "Lame Duck" period. What about emergencies? Well, an easy answer would be to provide that a "Lame Duck" president could issue emergency orders whose effect ended the day that the new president took office. That new president could extend the emergency order for a limited period of time to review the matter or he could reaffirm the emergency order or he could allow it to automatically lapse. How, exactly, would the left fight this reform? The actions of Obama are, of course, unconscionable and indefensible. Because all of Obama's "Lame Duck" quasi-legislative actions, including exercising powers resting wholly upon an Act of Congress like the Antiquities Act of 1906, come solely from Congress through statutes, Congress could simply and specifically nullify all of the "Lame Duck" actions by Obama with a single, detailed federal statue. This reform would be nonpartisan in nature and would resemble, in some ways, the reforms that Speaker Gingrich had the new Republican House enact on its very first day in power that is to say, this reform, like Gingrich's House reforms, were so clearly advancing good and responsible government that Democrats in Congress would find it tough to oppose the reform (just as Democrats in the House in 1995 overwhelmingly supported the Gingrich House reforms). If that happened, and if significant numbers of Democrat senators from energy-producing states facing re-election like Joe Manchin (West Virginia), Heidi Heitkamp (North Dakota), Jon Tester (Montana), and Claire McCaskill (Missouri) supported this reform, as well as Democrat House members from these states, then the Lame Duck Restraint Act would become one of those recognized beneficial reforms of government that became law only when Republicans gained the power to pass this reform. One final, delicious, ironic twist of the passage of the Lame Duck Restraint Act by clear and bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress comfortably would be this: Obama would have that "legacy" in American political history which he so desperately craves, but it would not be the sort of "legacy" he would want. Obama would be "responsible," by his petulant and childish behavior, with a major reform in how American government operates. Donald Trump gets what John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and a bevy of hidebound American elites -- Republicans and Democrats -- refuse to get. America's relationship to, and military involvement in, Europe is long overdue for a big overhaul. World War II ended in 1945. The Berlin Wall fell in 1989. The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Yet nearly a generation after the USSR went away, the U.S. is still, broadly, non-Russian Europe's principal defender. Why? The nations of Western Europe, primarily, affluent for decades, have benefited from American protection at American taxpayers' expense. All this time, Western Europe's progressive leaders enjoyed the luxury of diverting untold treasure into their social welfare systems. Cradle to grave, they call it. Americans provide a disproportionate share of NATO's hardware and soldiers, while the French, for instance, practically give workers every August at the beach. Lose your job? No worries. In Denmark, you can live off the public teat for up to 104 weeks at 90% your previous salary. The USSR had global ambitions. It was meddlesome and scheming, aiding and abetting bad players across the planet. Russia was then infected with communism, which dovetailed smartly with the historic Russian desire to expand its empire. Communist Russia posed multiple threats to the U.S. But Putin and the Russians no longer promote or even speak off world revolution and domination. Putin is attempting to reclaim some turf, namely in the Ukraine and Georgia. He has a covetous eye on the Baltic States. Yes, Putin's in Syria angling to gain a lasting foothold in the Eastern Mediterranean. But that's thanks to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Kerry, who in the name of promoting "democratic reform" succeeded in destabilizing much of the Middle East, engendering chaos and bloody conflict. And lest we forget the presidents appeasement of Iran, which is a real enemy of the U.S. Why, though, are Putin's machinations and gambits in Europe a U.S. concern? Democrats are using Putin and Russia as convenient fall guys for their election debacle, but what real threat is Putin posing to vital U.S. interests? Europe needs to be Europe's concern. That's not to excuse Putin's aggression in the Ukraine or any designs he may have on the Baltic States. It's to say that theres no fundamental American stake in outcomes. That's realpolitik. Its respect for George Washington's warning: avoid entangling -- and harmful -- alliances. Europe's angst about Russia's aims, it's determination to pushback and punish Putin, is happening with the U.S. sharing the risk -- a risk minus hard benefits to itself. Of course, its hoped that among Europeans, differences and disputes can be settled peaceably. NATO is a relic. It shouldn't be transformed into a roving globalist military machine, as seems the intent, in the quest for a new mission. The U.S. needs to sunset its NATO membership. NATO needs to become the "European Union Treaty Organization" or some such. It's high time for Europeans to reorder their priorities. Or not. Europe's fate belongs to Europeans. No more free rides compliments of the U.S. Not only should President-elect Trump serve notice that the U.S. will transition out of NATO, but he needs to discard the Wilsonian notion that America's role is to make the world safe for democracy. America's role is to make the world safe for itself. America isn't the worlds nanny-cop. There's a heaping spoonful of folly in the proposition that the U.S. is somehow charged with remaking miscreant governments and societies into benign democratic neighbors. George W. Bush and the neo-cons were very much about democratizing Iraq. This effort, well intended though it was, was doomed to fail. Iraq wasnt post-war Germany, which was a success story in nation-transformation. Germany isn't Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, or any number of places that are dramatically different in many critical aspects. Even if nation-transforming has a ghost of a chance to succeed, it means decades of involvement in the target nations. That's militarily and economically. How many 19-year-old American soldiers would die, and isn't a $19.5 trillion national debt -- and growing -- enough? If others can reform their countries into peaceful, law-abiding, democratic bastions, wonderful, but not at great American expense. The U.S. is unexceptional in this regard: its a nation with practical interests that need to be clearly defined and prioritized, and national security concerns that require a robust defense; that's diplomatic, economic, and military action (conventional and non) against hostiles when they menace critical U.S. interests aboard and/or the homeland. The PRCs increasing militarization of the South and East China Seas (international waters) are moving toward a threat to U.S. vital interests. The U.S. has coexisted with nondemocratic countries since its founding. Bad players there have been and always will be in the world. Americans don't need to like or trust Putin. Realpolitik mandates no blinkers. Putin is, after all, a thug and murderer, and, first and foremost, hes cold-bloodedly about advancing Russian interests and his (the two are very much entwined). But Russia's czars were a bloody lot; yet Americans had no beef with them as long as they left the U.S. alone. President Trump will be steely in advancing American interests. Where U.S. interests coincide by cooperating with Putin, so be it. Certainly, a rapprochement that permits the Russians and Americans to defeat Islamic insurgencies (jihads) that threaten both homelands is very good. This will entail tradeoffs. Agreements between or among nations do. A guy like Trump, who gets The Art of the Deal, appreciates that successful deals are about securing advantages, but, finally, need to be win-wins. How many good deals are a zero-sum games? Putin will require advantages, too. For instance, in dealing with growing and, perhaps, restive Muslim populations within Russias borders. American interests take precedent. Trump shouldnt let NATO get in the way of a smart deal with Putin. Back to John McCain, poster boy for the barnacled-encrusted Cold War and Wilsonian mindsets. Regarding Russia, McCains doing the very thing a military man shouldnt: fight the last war. This from McCain via Reuters: "I think the presence of the American troops here in Estonia is a signal that we believe in what Ronald Reagan believed, and that is peace through strength," McCain told reporters in the Estonian capital. "And the best way to prevent Russian misbehaviour by having a credible, strong military and a strong NATO alliance." This isnt the 1980s. No longer is the world bipolar, split roughly between U.S. and Soviet spheres. The PRC is the coming military power in Asia. Its desire is to supplant the U.S. as the worlds preeminent power. Militant Islam is a ideological-religious and practical threat to nations and worldviews across the globe. Refugee crises are burgeoning in the Old and New Worlds. NATO members (sans the U.S.) have the wealth to attend their own collective security. What Europeans may lack is the will to contain the Russians, relying on the U.S. to furnish that as well. We dont need any more American military cemeteries in Europe. What Trump needs to say to McCain and Europe: Enough done. No more. In an otherwise observant Politico article, The Death of Clintonism, Todd Purdum unwittingly reminded conservative readers why they distrust the major media. For the article, Purdum interviewed Elaine Kamarck, a senior domestic policy adviser under Bill Clinton whose White House Purdum covered as a reporter. Having been around long enough to remember George W. H. Bushs 1988 campaign against Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis, Purdum and Kamarck have no excuse for misrepresenting the campaigns most decisive ad. The subject of the ad was Dukakiss support of his states insane furlough program for convicted killers as a form of criminal rehabilitation. The most notorious example of this insanity was the furlough of a thug named Willie Horton. To merit his life in prison, Horton robbed a 17-year-old gas station attendant, fatally stabbed him 19 times, and dumped him in a trash can to die. Twelve years later, despite a life term without parole, Horton received a weekend furlough, during which he knifed, blinded, and gagged a man in Maryland, raped his fiancee, and stole their car. Dukakis supported the furlough program even after this incident. So perversely liberal was the idea that Al Gore cited the Horton incident in his primary campaign against Dukakis. The Bush campaign did not show or name Willie Horton in the ad it produced on this subject. The ad showed prisoners passing through a revolving door while telling how liberal Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis had supported this program. Of the thirty prisoners shown in the Bush ad, only three were black. In fact, during the general campaign Hortons name rarely, if ever, came up. In November 1988, the great majority of voters had no idea who Horton was. That changed soon after the election. Anxious to explain their defeat, Democrat leaders laid it off to the implicit racism of the Bush campaign. Sound familiar? To prove their point, Democratic operatives unearthed an ad featuring the mug shot of Horton, an African American, that an independent group had run in New England for two weeks. In the subsequent months and years, in order to paint the new president and his cronies as racist dirty tricksters, a bitter punditry would repeatedly show the Horton mug shot ad and attribute it to Bush. The lefts reimagining of the Willie Horton incident reached its demented apogee in Michael Moores 2002 film, Bowling For Columbine. While scolding whites for their fear of the black man, Moore showed an ad with Hortons mug shot that he attributed to Bushs campaign. A sloppy propagandist, Moore inserted the Willie Horton released. Then kills again caption into the ad indifferent to the fact that Horton did not kill upon his infamous weekend leave. Moore assumed, as did the media, that the Bush ad worked by playing on Americas chronic anxiety about the black man. The implication, of course, is that the public would have welcomed Dukakiss furlough program had it freed only white killers to rape and plunder. Moores film, by the way, received a special prize and a standing ovation at Cannes and won an Academy Award for best documentary. And the Horton bait and switch was just one of the films many conscious deceptions. In discussing the Clintons, Kamarck and Purdum recall the Horton incident the way they want it remembered. According to Purdum, Bill Clinton emerged as a new style Southern Democrat when memories of Republicans disemboweling of Michael Dukakis with the infamous Willie Horton ad, were still painful and fresh. Disemboweling? Infamous? Yes, that is the way the media roll. Democratic agitprop morphs into news. News hardens into history. A lie becomes legend. Said the late Christopher Hitchens of Moores cinematic style, If you leave out absolutely everything that might give your narrative a problem and throw in any old rubbish that might support it, and you dont even care that one bit of rubbish flatly contradicts the next bit, and you give no chance to those who might differ, then you have betrayed your craft. Hitchens might as well have been speaking about the major media in general. ISIS took responsibility for an attack in Istanbul where a man dressed as Santa Claus, yelling "God is Great!" in Arabic, slaughtered 39 people and wounded scores more, most of them Muslims. It seems extremely likely that the attackers were radical Islamists, so this is a clear case of Muslim-on-Muslim violence. The question is, how did the rest of the Muslim world respond? Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev urged "a resolute fight against any kind of terrorism[.]" What kind was that? Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he and the citizens of his country were saddened by the incident, while the country's foreign minister warned "those who want to undermine the unity of Turkey will never succeed." Who are those who want to do that? The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned the bomb attacks in Istanbul "in the strongest terms." What terms? Saudi Arabia also condemned the "unacceptable" attack. According to a statement published by the state-run SPA news Agency, Saudi Arabia said it stood by fellow countries against terror attacks. Terror from whom? More: Lebanon's Future political movement, known also as Al-Mustaqbal and led by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, condemned the attack in a statement on Sunday. "Terror is killing people without discriminating between Muslims and Christians and trying to destroy communities by dividing them," Hariri said. What? Is he saying killing people while discriminating between Muslims and Christians is not terrorism? As for American Muslims, CAIR, the most quoted Muslim organization, says nothing about the attack on its website, though it does have a press release protesting an "Obama & other Muslims not welcome here" sign in a New Mexico convenience store. Obviously, the people at CAIR have their priorities. So what do all these "condemnations" have in common? They fail to make mention of the attackers: radical Muslims. And something else they have in common: they fail to show very much outrage. Imagine if an American dressed as Santa killed 39 Muslims while yelling, "Merry Christmas!" Or imagine if an Israeli dressed as Moses killed 39 Muslims while yelling, "Happy Hanukkah!" The Muslim world would be outraged. There would be mass demonstrations. There were no demonstrations at all here. Aside from the passive statements from foreign ministries, the Islamic world is silent. Why? There are either two possibilities: 1) Either they approve of the killing of fellow Muslims, or 2) they don't care about the killing of fellow Muslims (unless at the hands of Americans and Israelis). We are now talking about mainstream Islamic culture, the culture of 1.6 billion people. There is something fundamentally wrong with the mainstream Muslim religion that, by its silence, is either unconcerned by radical Islam or unconcerned by the murder of even its own coreligionists, effectively showing a lack of value for any human life. This is a big problem for the mainstream Islamic movement. You know that if Israel had murdered people, every synagogue would be up in arms. If radical Christians had murdered people in the name of Christianity, churches everywhere would speak out. We can no longer hide from the fact that there is a fundamental problem with Islam not merely the people doing the killing, but the hundreds of millions more who stay silent about it. What are they thinking? Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com. The head of Twitter in China, Kathy Chen, has announced her resignation. This is remarkable for two reasons. The first is that Ms. Chen is closely affiliated with the Chinese People's Liberation Army. The second is that Twitter is banned in China. Yes, Twitter has a head of its China division even though it has no service in China. All of this will make sense in a moment. First of all, Twitter is banned in China. The Chinese can't tolerate any form of free speech. And yet Twitter has a branch in China and hired Ms. Chen to run it: Twitter Inc.s controversial China chief has departed after only eight months, the latest executive to leave amid a global reorganization. Ms. Chen, a former executive of Microsoft and Cisco, had raised eyebrows due to her former work for China government-related entities. Early in her career, she was as an engineer for a research institute attached to the Chinese armys Second Artillery Corps. She also served for five years as CEO of an antivirus company backed by an arm of Chinas Ministry of Public Security. Twitter actually has a relatively small number of Chinese users who use the service illegally, but Ms. Chen's primary role was to get big spending Chinese companies to advertise on the American version of Twitter. That's where her ties to the government come in. Presumably, those ties would help her get ad buyers from government-affiliated companies. The fact that she worked for a hostile military, and perhaps even the Chinese intelligence service, didn't seem to faze Twitter. In fact, Microsoft and Cisco saw no security risk in hiring Ms. Chen, either. The irony of Twitter, which has been accused of censoring conservative voices, of aligning itself with a country that censors its own citizens, cannot be lost on anyone. No one knows why Ms. Chen is suddenly resigning. Perhaps she has already downloaded the database of Twitter users or created enough "backdoor" openings for her real employer. The funniest part of this is that all the reporting on this subject is not about Twitter employing a Chinese potential spy, not that Twitter has a China division when it is banned in China, but the fact that Ms. Chen resigned after eight months...in other words, treating this as a routine personnel story while missing all the big issues. Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com. Obama has used agency regulations and executive orders to bypass Congress because he knew that Congress would not pass the measures he imposed unilaterally by executive orders and agency regulations. Obama bragged about doing this by saying, "I've got a pen, and I've got a phone." Bill Clinton's aide, Paul Begala, referred to this as "stroke of the pen 'Law of the land. Kind of cool." To correct this, the Republican Congress plans to enact measures to limit the power of agencies to issue regulations. The Washington Post reported on January 2, 2017: GOP leaders have cited the 21-year old Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to cast simple majority votes of disapproval for regulations, as a way to block anything the administration has ordered since June 2016. the CRA has been used only once. But in December, the conservative House Freedom Caucus began compiling a list of more than 200 regulations it views as vulnerable to a disapproval vote. They include "burdensome" school lunch standards, tobacco regulations, laws that set higher wages for contractors and elements of the Paris climate-change agreement[.] ... Republicans intend to supplement the CRA by enacting a law that would subject any regulation with an economic impact greater than $100 million to a vote of Congress, a change that would have prevented nearly every climate or employment rule change of the Obama years. The measure, called the Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act, or Reins, is a conservative priority that passed the Republican House in 2011, 2013 and 2015[.] ... Republican aides now hope for a vote on Reins in the coming days so it can be sent for Trump's signature immediately after he is sworn in on Jan. 20. Article 1, Section 1 of the Constitution states: All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives. While this is clear, Congress created numerous agencies with the power to issue regulations to administer, interpret, and enforce laws. For example, the IRS issues numerous regulations on the meaning of income, credits, and deductions. The agencies have also been busy with Obamacare, issuing regulations such as those forcing the Little Sisters of the Poor to offer abortion coverage as part of their medical insurance. The president has enormous power because he appoints the Cabinet and the heads of the agencies. But voters have no check or balance on the actions of the agencies because while we elect Congress, we have no vote to select the agency chiefs. An agency regulation can be rejected by a majority vote of Congress, but this rarely happens. A regulation may also be challenged in federal court by an aggrieved party. But the judicial standard to overturn a regulation favors the agency. In Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, 467 U.S. 837 (1984), the Supreme Court stated a two-step test for whether a court should defer to an agency's interpretation of the law: (1) did Congress directly address the precise question at issue? And (2) if not, is the administrative agency's answer based on a reasonable construction of the statute? This puts the burden of proof on the person challenging the regulation. Most regulations are upheld by the courts, and most regulations are not challenged because it is expensive to litigate. The result is that Congress has given away to agencies much of its power to legislate. Congress passes a broadly worded statute and tells the agency to fill in the blanks. The proposed congressional reforms to curb agency regulations are necessary to restore the balance of power between the president and Congress. Even though we have a Republican president who may issue executive orders that we approve of, and appoint agency chiefs who would issue regulations that we favor, it is important to our federal system of separation of powers to restore the balance of power between the presidency and Congress. One element of Obama's legacy will be that Congress restricts the power of the presidency because it was abused by Obama. Thanks for nothing, North Carolina.To be more precise: Thanks for doing nothing.No, you haven't stumbled upon a screed about current-day political debates. Instead this column offers genuine praise for one instance of inaction - more than two centuries ago - that helped lead to one of the most important developments in American constitutional history.With less fanfare than it deserves, the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights recently marked its 225th anniversary . Ratified on Dec. 15, 1791, the first 10 amendments to the nation's newly established governing document spelled out protections of free speech and religion, the right to bear arms, due process of law, and more.It's such an integral part of the Constitution, adopted during the earliest years of government under that document, that few people ponder the prospect of a constitution without a Bill of Rights.But the Bill's omission from the original document was no oversight. Many of the nation's brightest political minds saw no need to spell out a list of protected rights. Alexander Hamilton wrote in the 84th Federalist essay.Most delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia subscribed to the same basic idea. The document they crafted included no mention of a Bill of Rights.Here's where North Carolina's inaction comes into play.As the N.C. History Project reminds us, initial reaction to the new Constitution ranged from unanimous support in the ratification conventions of Georgia and New Jersey to "widespread criticism and skepticism" in a handful of key states. (Though viewed today as historical text, the essays that constituted the Federalist Papers were designed originally to win over reluctant New Yorkers during that state's ratification debates.)Skepticism proved especially powerful in North Carolina. Important Tar Heels such as James Iredell and William Davie argued that the new national, or "general," government needed more "energy," such as taxing authority and an army. They represented what became known as the Federalist cause.according to the N.C. History Project.Those objections dominated North Carolina's initial formal attempt to ratify the Constitution. Meeting in Hillsborough over two weeks in the summer of 1788 - nearly a year after the document had first circulated from Philadelphia - the state ratifying convention refused to make a yes-or-no choice.according to the N.C. History Project.delegates essentially punted. Voting 184-84, North Carolina's leaders refused either to ratify or reject the Constitution.In other words, they did nothing.But their objections, along with those from dissenting voices in states that already had ratified the Constitution, helped convince some key Federalists to change their stances on a Bill of Rights.Virginia's James Madison, a key constitutional architect and an early opponent of a Bill of Rights, ended up leading the push for the Bill in the earliest days of the newly designed Congress.North Carolina had endorsed the Constitution by the time of the Bill of Rights' eventual ratification in 1791.It was their decision to do nothing three years earlier that deserves our thanks. Vermonters are eager to get themselves some Syrian refugees. Really eager. So eager, in fact, that one town, Rutland, repeatedly requested to get some Syrians sent their way! And not only that, but locals are learning Arabic (in a church, heh-heh) to communicate with their soon to be new neighbors! They hustled into the church on a biting winter evening, unburdened themselves of scarves and gloves, and settled into pews to sound out words in Arabic. "Ahlan fii Rutland," said Fran Knapp, a retiree who lives about 20 minutes away, one of two or three dozen people who have attended a class here on rudimentary Arabic. Welcome to Rutland. It was one of many preparations this remote city in central Vermont is making before 100 refugees from Syria and Iraq arrive here over the next year, with the first expected to come later this month. Do you think the church also offers classes on how to dress modestly and how to point your prayer rug to Mecca? [T]he mayor of Rutland, Christopher Louras ... [says] Syrian refugees ... are an opportunity[.] ... Syrian refugees, business leaders say, could become an integral part of that effort, both by adding to the population if only slightly and bringing cultural diversity that they hope will attract younger residents. Isn't it great to have cultural diversity to attract younger residents? Imagine young Syrian men, age 18-30, roaming the streets of Rutland, bringing a new kind of explosive vitality to the downtown! Peter Shumlin, the departing Democratic governor, said Vermont would welcome Syrian refugees, and Mr. Louras texted the governor to see whether they could bring refugees to Rutland. Do you think Louras also made a special request that they not be vetted or put through metal detectors? "I saw that as an opportunity to grow our population, bring in individuals, families, new Americans from Syria who have a strong work ethic, who were fleeing for their lives and looking to rebuild those shattered lives," Mr. Louras said. A strong worth ethic? Was Syria the secret Singapore of the Middle East? Has Syria ever produced anything besides war? I think the "work" that Syrians are most known for is killing, with honorable mentions in slavery, rape, and intolerance. But the Rutlanders are welcoming them with open arms. As Will Rogers might have said, a stranger is just a friend who might or might not detonate near you. Questions for discussion: 1) Are the people of Rutland dupes or active Islamophiles? 2) Can we expect Rutland to sign up to be a sister city with Aleppo any time soon? 3) Do you think any of them will reconsider their position when burkas roam the streets and the call to prayer in Arabic is heard over loudspeakers at 4 A.M.? Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com. Julian Assange, the darling of the left when WikiLeaks was embarrassing the Bush administration, has stated on camera and for the record that Russia was not the source of the WikiLeaks documents that embarrassed the DNC and its toady media conspirators, who colluded to sabotage the Sanders campaign and then the Trump effort. HANNITY: Can you say to the American people, unequivocally, that you did not get this information about the DNC, John Podesta's emails, can you tell the American people 1,000 percent that you did not get it from Russia or anybody associated with Russia? JULIAN ASSANGE: Yes. We can say, we have said, repeatedly that over the last two months that our source is not the Russian government and it is not a state party. It is important to note that Assange has never been caught in a lie about WikiLeaks. All he has is his credibility, which makes it less likely that he is misrepresenting the source of the documents. Were there hard evidence (there is none so far) that Russia actually was the source of the leaked emails, WikiLeaks would forever be discredited as merely the cats paw of the Russian intelligence services. Sean Hannity of Fox News flew to London and interviewed Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he is sheltered in the face of a rape accusation from a woman in Sweden who reportedly consented to sex and changed her mind afterward. Such fickleness can constitute rape as the Swedes currently define it in law. The full interview will air tonight on Hannitys 10 PM FNC program. Real Clear Politics reports that Assange also told Hannity: ASSANGE: Our publications had wide uptake by the American people, they're all true. But that's not the allegation thats being presented by the Obama White House. So, why such a dramatic response? Well, the reason is obvious. Theyre trying to delegitimize the Trump administration as it goes into the White House. They are trying to say that President-elect Trump is not a legitimate President... ASSANGE: Our source is not a state party, so the answer for our interactions is no. But if we look at our most recent statement from the US government, which is on the 29th of December, OK, we had five different branches of government, Treasury, DHS, FBI, White House presenting their accusations to underpin Obamas throwing out 29 Russian diplomats. What was missing from all of those statements? The word WikiLeaks. Its very strange. Here he is getting to the anomalies of the charge of Russian hacking the election and the political motives of the Obama administration. This story is far from over, and the days are over when unsourced, evidence-free assertions from the intelligence community will be accepted at face value. Once President-Elect Trump is inaugurated, there will be ample opportunity to fully reveal the evidence or lack thereof that went into these allegations of Russia somehow changing the election result. Hey, all you root cause fans! Guess whos been teaching black kids that violence is acceptable! Writing in City Journal, Heather Mac Donald provides good insight into the rash of mall violence over Christmastime. In her very first sentence, she impolitely notes that the overwhelming majority of the perpetrators were black. This fact was airbrushed out of most news accounts of the legacy media for the usual reason: to be politically correct. That particular revelation of Ms. Mac Donald's is not the real value of her article, although it is pertinent to the point she makes. Specifically, she sees a clear connection between this gratuitous mall violence and the lack of discipline in the public schools. And she goes on to explain how the policies of the Obama administration have greatly exacerbated this problem as it relates to blacks. As MacDonald writes: The Obama Justice and Education Departments have strong-armed schools across the country to all but eliminate the suspension and expulsion of insubordinate students. The reason? Because black students are disciplined at higher rates than whites. According to Washington bureaucrats, such disproportionate suspensions can mean only one thing: teachers and administrators are racist. The Obama administration rejects the proposition that black students are more likely to assault teachers or fight with other students in class. The so-called school to prison pipeline is a function of bias, not of behavior, they say. Objective evidence does not enter into the Obama administration's thinking. ... the Obama administration would have us believe that in the classroom, black students are no more likely to disrupt order than white students. Equally preposterous is the claim that teachers and administrators are bigots. There is no more liberal a profession than teaching; education schools are one long indoctrination in white-privilege theory. And yet when these social-justice warriors get in the classroom, according to the Obama civil rights lawyers, they start wielding invidious double standards in discipline. Keeping disruptive minority students in the classroom instead of removing them is done under a flimsy pretext known as "restorative justice." This cockamamie policy, when applied to the classroom, fuels school violence. How could it do otherwise? And worse yet, as any teachers will tell you, the ensuing chaos makes it nearly impossible for the students that may actually want to learn to do so. Mac Donald notes that when the Obama administration sees a school district where black students are disciplined at a rate significantly greater than that of whites or Hispanics, federal litigation can follow. Given this threat of lawsuits, its no wonder that district superintendents dismiss the rising violence and announce that restorative justice is working. Its certainly worked to reduce expulsions and suspensionsin Seattle, by a whopping 77 percent from 2013 to 2016. Never mind that students arent learning and teachers are at risk. This has been happening nationwide under President Obama and his politicized justice and education departments. Policies have consequences. The destructive dynamic that Obama's race-centered restorative justice has set loose in the schools is this. Students see teachers and administrators as authority figures. This need is particularly keen for underprivileged kids from broken or single-parent homes. So when these youths see those who are supposed to be their role models turning what is essentially a blind eye to their antisocial behavior and/or that of others, a message is sent. And that message is that acting up badly, even violently, is acceptable. Among the root causes for violence and criminal behavior is surely lack of discipline and self-control. This problem begins in the homes and, if not addressed in the schools, soon makes its way out into the streets. It is a pity that the Obama administration makes a bad situation worse. In this case, it is true what Ronald Reagan observed: "Government is not the solution; government is the problem." Obama's hyper-race-orientated policies on school discipline ripple through society, increasing the general level of violence and criminality. They are also a tremendous drag on the ability of earnest minority students to learn. If nothing else, the K-12 schools should have a civilizing effect on those in their care, and even this President Obama has taken away from those who most need it. Barack Obama is a man who was elected to a position far beyond his level of competence. He and those he has brought into government have degraded almost everything they have touched during his eight years in office. With the election of Donald Trump, America has a golden opportunity to set things right across the entire policy spectrum of governance. In many areas, it will not take genius to make great improvements; just the application of some common sense will do wonders. It appears that President Obama is staking his legacy on a narrative that shows all the signs of being phony: fact-free appeals to authority (the intelligence community is unanimous better than 97%!), near universal media complicity (the very expression hacked the election is misleading), and an obvious political motive to explain away electoral rejection (after other narratives failed). Evidently, the effort to blame Vladimir Putin for Trumps election serves two purposes: A gift to Team Hillary, offering a shred of dignity to her losing effort. After all, the Clintons and their coterie of wealthy and powerful allies are not going away. The lust for a political dynasty runs deep among the Democrats, and like scorpions in a bottle, the Clinton wannabe dynasty has to deal with the Obama wannabe dynasty for the indefinite future, what with Chelsea and Michelle waiting in the wings. And the Center for American Progress is not about to shut down in disgrace. Cripple the Trump administration. The Democrats are making it crystal-clear that they will do everything in their power to obstruct Trump. As he will tweet in his own cut-to-the-essence manner, preventing America from restoring its greatness. If Trump were to achieve American economic growth, greater military strength, enhanced international standing, diplomatic victories, and the like, it would be the worst possible outcome for the Democrats. Andrew Malcolm this morning very effectively mocked Obamas retaliation for election hacking in a must-read column for McClatchy that gets to the corrupt heart of Obamas exit from the presidency. You better stop stealing money from your mothers purse, young man, or I will punish you late this year or perhaps sometime in 2018, said no parent who was serious about punishment. Yet thats pretty much what President Obama did with his old-fashioned expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats over alleged political hacking by Moscow interests going back 18 months. This is not a serious penalty, and it can be reversed. Putin has alrready mocked his ineffectiveness by refusing to retaliate. As Malcolm points out and documents, Obamas handling of cyber-security has been disgraceful. He let China steal the biggest ever known trove of sensitive data from federal personnel records. This was a catastrophe on his watch that went unpunished as far as anyone can see. And now he is raising the issue of cyber-security? It is a shortsighted focus, given that the intended target is about to be in control of the federal government. Nevertheless, as Malcolm explains, Obama has been leaving IEDs for the Trump administration all over the place. I am not sure he realizes that Trump will fight back very hard. For a guy who supposedly is concerned about his legacy, Obama is certainly playing with fire in these disgraceful efforts to harm America for political advantage. Obama is not known for underestimating his own political appeal, and he is dealing with the most underestimated politician in American history. Donald Trump blasted General Motors, warning them that he would impose a huge "border tax" unless they moved some of their Mexican operations back to the United States. Washington Times: General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A.or pay big border tax! Mr. Trump tweeted. Mr. Trump has also called out other corporate giants like Boeing and Lockheed Martin in recent weeks over the cost or projected cost of their products. He said frequently during the campaign that hed eye imposing tariffs if companies moved their operations outside of the United States and then tried to sell the products back to the U.S. The Founders deliberately made the powers of the chief executive vague and ill defined. This was largely because they knew that the first president would be George Washington, a man considered least likely to become a tyrant. Washington's modest exercise of presidential power vindicated the Founders' faith in him. But as presidents came and went, a large source of their power not even mentioned in the Constitution became a primary weapon: the bully pulpit. Many presidents have failed to grasp the power of presidential jawboning. Most of them were failed presidents. Perhaps no president used the bully pulpit quite as effectively as Theodore Roosevelt, who jawboned Congress to rein in the trusts that were killing the economy. In recent history, Ronald Reagan was a master of the bully pulpit, constantly going over the heads of Congress and the press to reach the American people directly, who then flooded Capitol Hill with phone calls, letters, and telegrams. But recent presidents like Carter and Obama completely failed in their efforts to use the bully pulpit to their political advantage. Both men preferred to lecture rather than cajole and thus failed to persuade. Donald Trump's use of the bully pulpit to persuade General Motors and other corporations to build American is an interesting start. The threat of imposing a "border tax" probably won't be enough to make GM bring some of their operations back to the U.S. But it may be enough to prevent GM and other companies from moving other plants out of the country. In that sense, it would be a huge win for President Trump if more jobs stayed in the U.S. as a result of his jawboning. The Russian city of Tomsk is home to the smallest public monument in the world a tiny bronze frog, sitting on top of a smooth rock. The sculpture is just 44 millimeters tall. The curious attraction, titled the monument to the frog-traveler, was installed in 2013 near the front entrance of a hotel. Its creator, Oleg Kislitsky, wanted to create a monument dedicated to travelers and decided that the frog-traveler would be a fitting representation to his idea. The story of the frog traveler the one who goes flying with the storks hanging from a twig by his teeth, but couldnt keep his mouth shut when people on the ground, seeing the unusual spectacle, began praising the storks instead, eventually leading to his death is well known in Russia, having been penned by the famous Russian author Vsevolod Garshin. Photo credit: ngs.ru Photo credit: travel-tomsk.ru Before the frog sculpture was unveiled, the honor for the smallest monument in the world belonged to another Russian city, St. Petersburg. Its a 11 centimeter tall bronze statue of a bird, known to locals as Chizhik-Pyzhik based on a Russian folk song, perched on a ledge in the embankment of the Fontanka River. Dwarfed by the grand statues all around St. Petersburg, the tiny bird often goes undeservedly unnoticed by tourists. Local tradition suggests that anyone who can toss a coin so that it lands on the ledge without falling into the water is on for some good luck. Ironically, the statue itself has not been so fortunate, and has been stolen at least three times. Photo credit: interesniy-spb.livejournal.com Photo credit: Dmitry Alexeenko/Flickr Photo credit: tisisbossi/Flickr Outside of Russia, perhaps the smallest statue is the 15 centimeter tall Jarnpojke, or the Iron Boy, located in the backyard of a Finnish church in Stockholm, Sweden. The sculpture of a small boy wrapping his arms around his knees was created Swedish artist Liss Eriksson in 1967, and is actually named "Little boy who looks at the moon", but people just call it Jarnpojke. The iron boy gets all kinds of witty gifts throughout the year. Sometimes he is seen wearing a cap or a scarf. Visitors also leave coins, fruits and sushi on the stone bench on which he sits. Photo credit: Joakim Karlsson/Flickr Photo credit: Annette Bouvain/Flickr Photo credit: rchappo2002/Flickr Photo credit: Marcy Leigh/Flickr Another tiny monument, the smallest in London, is that of two mice fighting over a piece of cheese. It is located high up on the cornice against the side of a building on the corner of Philpot Lane at Eastcheap. The memorial dates back to the statues construction in 1862. The story goes that two construction workers had an argument when one accused another of stealing his lunch, leading to a scuffle atop the scaffolding, and a tragic fall to death. Later, mice were discovered to have been the culprits. The remaining workmen is then said to have left this diminutive sculpture on the building, in their honor. Photo credit: Donna Rutherford/Flickr Photo credit: Matt Brown/Flickr Sources: vsuete.com / GB Times / www.saint-petersburg.com / Sweden Tips / Londonist The LG G6 flagship will be at least 20% cheaper to manufacture than the LG G5, industry experts believe. Kim Dong-won, a market analyst at KB Securities, told The Investor that a reduced cost of smartphone components is bound to increase the companys profit margin on the LG G6, which should help LGs mobile division to start turning its fortunes around. The Seoul-based tech giants shares hit a record low last month as its mobile unit continued to struggle. Neither the LG G5 nor the LG V20 achieved significant commercial success over the course of 2016, which is why the South Korean company posted some disappointing financials last year. Namely, LGs mobile division posted a $389.4 million loss in the third quarter of 2016. The South Korean conglomerate is now looking to recoup or at least reduce these losses with the LG G6. As the company is unlikely to pass on manufacturing savings to the consumers, it should achieve better results once its next flagship hits the market even if it doesnt sell any better than the LG G5. Naturally, the tech giant is expecting that the LG G6 will outperform its predecessor in every aspect, sales included. Recent rumors suggest that the device will be priced at between $600 and $700. The LG G6 is expected to be revealed at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona which is scheduled to start on February 27th. The company is reportedly looking to launch its next flagship as soon as possible as its adamant to capitalize on the fact that its main competitor Samsung pushed back the release of the Galaxy S8 to April. Due to that state of affairs, its believed that the LG G6 will hit the market by early March. The smartphone is rumored to sport a non-modular, waterproof design, a removable battery, and an iris scanner. Its likely that the LG G6 will be powered by the new Snapdragon 835 system-on-chip and between 6GB and 8GB of RAM. Finally, the device will almost certainly ship with Android Nougat out of the box. More information on the LG G6 is expected to follow in the coming weeks. Lenovo India has just released a new teaser, and more or less confirmed that the Lenovo P2 will launch in the country soon. The Lenovo P2 is a smartphone that was originally announced in China back in September last year, and it seems like this big battery smartphone is on its way to India. If you take a look at the provided GIF animated image which is embedded down below, youll get to see the companys full teaser which is obviously putting a huge focus on the phones battery life. Lenovo is describing their Lenovo P2 handset as the powerhouse with longest lasting battery, though do keep in mind this is a mid-range smartphone. Truth be told its specifications are quite compelling, and its a solid smartphone for sure, but its still a mid-ranger, so dont let the companys promo materials confuse you. The Lenovo P2 comes with a 5,100mAh battery (+fast charging) which is more than enough to keep you going through the day and more than that, as this smartphone comes with a mid-range Snapdragon 625 64-bit octa-core processor, a chip that is not as power hungry as some other, higher-end offerings out there. The Lenovo P2 features a 5.5-inch fullHD (1920 x 1080) Super AMOLED display, while it comes with 3GB / 4GB of RAM and 32GB / 64GB of expandable internal storage. The device features a 13-megapixel snapper on its back, while a 5-megapixel camera can be found on its front side. Were, of course, talking about the Chinese version of the device here, but that very same phone will be introduced in India, or at least thats what were expecting to happen. Android 6.0 Marshmallow comes pre-installed on the Lenovo P2, and on top of it, youll find some additions by Lenovo, of course. The Lenovo P2 is actually available in two SIM variants in China, both single SIM, and dual SIM models are available. The Lenovo P2 is made out of metal, and its home button is placed below the display, it also doubles as a fingerprint scanner. The phone comes with on-screen buttons, and is available in Graphite Gray and Champagne Gold color variants in China, so chances are both of those models will be available in India as well. We dont know when exactly will this smartphone get launched in India, but you can expect that to happen soon. Advertisement How often do you your way be cause of low phone battery? Travel fearlessly with the longest lasting battery #LenovoP2 #Powerhouse coming soon pic.twitter.com/d4LZ3Thfut Lenovo India (@Lenovo_in) January 2, 2017 Hyundais Blue Link, which allows owners to control some parts of their car through a compatible smartphone or smartwatch, is gaining Google Home integration, with additional features for it becoming available after launch. For now, the service allows a number of basic functions like beaming directions to your car, starting or turning off the car, controlling the music, or messing with the air conditioner through Blue Link. These functions can be accessed through a smartphone or smartwatch, and even through voice-based digital assistants like Siri, Google Now, Cortana, and Google Assistant. The latter is present in Google Home, so it isnt that big of a logical leap to be able to ask your Google Home unit to start your car up and turn on the heat before you head out on a wintry adventure, for example. Thus, Hyundai announced that they were working hand in hand with Google to get their Blue Link features onto Googles digital home assistant. In order to trigger the functionality, all somebody has to do is link up their Blue Link account to their Google account through Google Home, then just ask Google Home to Talk to Blue Link. From there, they can issue most of the normal voice commands that they could give to Blue Link through any other device. Hyundai provided a few example exchanges that a user could go through with Google Home and Blue Link, such as finding a restaurant and sending the address to a specific vehicle, or asking Google the weather, then starting a car and setting the air conditioning accordingly. Charging or stopping charging an electric vehicle is also fair game in the initial version of Blue Link for Google Home. On top of that, Hyundai says that some new features will be coming to the Google Home version of the service, thanks to Googles launch of Actions For Google Home, completely opening up the ecosystem to developers. This development will essentially allow Hyundai to access the full capabilities of Google Home, and even add in their own, which could end up as permanent mainstays of Google Assistant. Hyundai have not announced exactly when they will be rolling out the new platform, or gone into detail about what other new features users could be seeing by the time launch rolls around and beyond. Samsung unveiled its latest Galaxy A series smartphones earlier this week with the latest additions being the Galaxy A3 (2017), the Galaxy A5 (2017) and the Galaxy A7 (2017). While all three devices are set to go on sale later this month, beginning in Asia, followed by Europe in early February, it seems that the smaller Galaxy A3 (2017) and Galaxy A5 (2017), are already available for pre-order in the UK, through online retailer Mobile Fun. Mobile Fun currently lists both the Galaxy A3 (2017) and Galaxy A5 (2017) on its website for pre-order and the devices are retailing for $366.99 and $489.99 respectively. However, the online retailer hasnt set a shipping date for either device and the Galaxy A7 (2017) isnt listed yet, possibly due to the fact that Samsung hasnt released the official European pricing for the said device. It should also be noted that both devices listed on the online store are currently only available in black. In terms of the specs and the differences between the different models, the Galaxy A3 (2017) is the smallest device in the series and comes with a 4.7-inch HD 720p AMOLED display. Under the hood, it packs an octa-core processor clocked at 1.6GHz, along with 2GB of RAM coupled with 16GB of internal storage. For optics, it comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel shooter can be found on the front, while the device comes powered by a decently sized 2,350 mAh battery. Moving on to the Galaxy A5 (2017), which packs better specs and a larger screen, this one comes in the form of a 5.2-inch Full HD AMOLED display. It is fueled by an octa-core processor clocked at 1.9 GHz, along with 3GB of RAM coupled with 32GB of internal storage. For imaging, it comes with 16-megapixel shooters for both the front and back, while the lights are kept on through the employment of a 3,000 mAh battery with support for fast charging. This one also comes equipped with a fingerprint scanner embedded in the home button. Both devices come with Android 6.0.1 (Marshmallow) and it is also worth noting that the 2017 Galaxy A series comes with an IP68 rating for water and dust-resistance. Earlier today, a San Francisco-based wearable maker Motiv announced the Motiv Ring, a smart ring designed to serve as a fitness tracker with a focus on active minutes. While many competing devices already measure users active minutes, this wearable is centered around this metric which it uses to motivate people to be more active. The Californian firm revealed how the Motiv Rings primary goal is to get its owners to spend 150 active minutes per week. The device will be showcased at CES 2017 this week and is slated to hit the market by spring, priced at $199.99. Motivs official website is already accepting pre-orders. In addition to tracking active minutes, sleeping patterns, and individual activities, the Motiv Ring is also equipped with a heart rate monitor which Motiv managed to squeeze into the device despite its small form factor. The ring measures users progress on a weekly basis, but also adjusts their daily goals to make sure they hit the 150-minute mark every week. The iOS companion app communicates with the Motiv Ring via a Bluetooth connection and an Android app is said to be on the way. The companys first wearable was in development for over three years and was designed to be both stylish and functional. Motiv believes most contemporary wearables arent fashionable enough for users to wear them all the time, which is an issue that its hoping to resolve with the Motiv Ring. The device boasts a waterproof titanium body and looks like an ordinary ring that will fit on any finger as the San Francisco-based company is manufacturing the Motiv Ring in seven sizes. People who pre-order the wearable will receive a kit for measuring their ideal ring size which theyll use before contacting the company over their preferred variant of the product. The Motiv Ring is currently available in Slate Gray and Rose Gold. Beneath the surface, this wearable boasts an integrated accelerometer, optical heart rate monitor, and a Bluetooth sensor. Its powered by a conventional lithium-ion battery which allows up to five days of standard usage on a single charge. The ring is capable of preserving battery power by only activating its heart rate monitor when it detects intense activity. The Motiv Ring charges in less than 90 minutes with a magnetic keychain charger which the company designed to be as portable as the ring itself. The wearable also ships with an extra USB magnetic charger. Samsung Electronics Q4 2016 earnings could beat market forecasts thanks to the companys strong chip sales, sources from South Korea revealed on Monday. Industry analysts initially expected Samsung to post approximately $6.66 billion in operating revenue for the last quarter of 2016, but that forecast may now be beaten by a significant margin. A securities firm IBK Securities recently told clients that it expects Samsung to reach at least $7.2 billion in operating income in Q4 2016, 68% more than it posted in the previous quarter. The company backed this forecast by pointing out a recent surge in demand for various memory chips, adding that Samsung Electronics is the largest chip manufacturer in the world and that it surely stands to benefit from this new trend. Following these expectations, IBK Securities assumes Samsung will achieve over $3.3 billion in Q4 2016 operating profit from chip sales alone. Analysts also believe that the Seoul-based tech giant will post around $1.7 billion in operating income from sales generated by its mobile and IT division. Samsungs mobile division logged a disappointing Q3 operating profit of approximately $83 million following the discontinuation of the Galaxy Note 7. Looking at the broader picture, the conglomerates market performance is expected to suffer due to the weakening of the Korean won. While this trend was mostly based on increasing uncertainties in the global economy, it was also related to the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco seeing how 15% of South Koreas GDP is dependent on Samsung to some degree. Even if Samsung doesnt beat market forecasts with its Q4 2016 earnings report, the company is still expected to post an operating income amounting to at least $6.66 billion, which is a significant increase on $4.4 billion achieved during the previous quarter. In overall, while the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco certainly impacted the companys financials, it seems that Samsung is bouncing back sooner than expected. The South Korean conglomerate is expected to have a quieter first quarter of 2017 as its next flagship, the Galaxy S8, was reportedly pushed back to April while the aforementioned demand for memory chips isnt likely to remain high in the following months. More information should follow soon as Samsung is scheduled to release its latest earnings guidance on Friday, January 6th. According to latest rumors doing the rounds of the Indian tech media, the upcoming Nokia D1C mid-range smartphone may be priced at Rs. 9,999 (around $150) in the country. The device is expected to be launched in two different versions, though, and while the base version with 2GB RAM will reportedly come with the aforementioned price tag, the more premium version with 3GB RAM is being rumored to cost Rs. 12,999 (around $200). The device has been heavily rumored over the past few weeks, and is expected to be one of the several Android smartphones to launch under the hallowed Nokia brand in the months to come. Alongside the D1C, some of the other Nokia phones expected to hit the market this year include a premium flagship powered by the Snapdragon 835, as also an entry-level device with 1GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 200-series chip under the hood. As for the latest news regarding the alleged pricing of the Nokia D1C, it is still a rumor at this stage, but the device has been leaked so often in the recent past that many of its key hardware specs are now in public domain. Taking a quick look at the rumored tech specs of the Nokia D1C, the device is expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 430 SoC, and sport a 5-inch 1080p display. Both the variants mentioned earlier will also reportedly come with a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a 13-megapixel front-facing shooter. While these specs are along expected lines for the price range, whats really impressive is that it is expected to come with Android Nougat pre-installed. Nokia as a phone brand evokes quite a bit of nostalgia, and in spite of not being in the smartphone industry for the past few years, the company still has many loyalists around the world, including many in India. While the upcoming Nokia-branded smartphones will herald a new chapter in the history of the 150-year old Finnish brand, the devices will actually be designed, developed and marketed by a company called HMD Global Oy, which was formed last year by former Nokia and Microsoft executives. The newly-formed company is expected to bring its entire range to India as per earlier reports, with the companys CEO, Mr. Arto Nummela recently describing the country as one of its focus markets, thanks to the immense goodwill the brand continues to enjoy in the worlds third-largest smartphone market. Samsung SDI, Samsung Electronics battery-making division is looking to make safety a priority from now on, the companys Chief Executive Officer Cho Nam-seong revealed on Monday. While speaking at a meeting in Samsung SDIs research facility in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, Cho said how everyone at the company should be looking to establish a corporate culture that puts safety first. The firms CEO also pointed out how this change has already started last year after Samsung SDI adopted numerous transparency policies and simplified the process of reporting issues and communicating with its parent company and the general public. Cho said he believes this new corporate culture will serve as a foundation for Samsungs future endeavors. As for the specifics of Samsung SDIs new corporate culture, the company will reportedly put a larger focus on advancing its research and development operations with the goal of manufacturing safer products. Samsung Electronics battery-making unit is also planning to make some changes to its corporate structure for the same reasons. Ultimately, the firm is striving to find new ways to gain a competitive edge over other battery manufacturers without making any compromises on product safety, Cho said. In the long-term, this means Samsung SDI will invest in developing new materials and manufacturing methods which should be safer, more scalable, and generally cheaper than existing solutions. The companys CEO specifically mentioned improved cylindrical batteries and polymer technologies while speaking about this endeavor, but he revealed no further details on the thereof. In other words, he didnt reveal much given how cylindrical and polymer solutions account for everything from portable smartphone batteries to high-capacity car batteries. Chos announcement comes shortly after Samsung Electronics promised to overhaul its quality assurance practices following the discontinuation of the Galaxy Note 7. While the company initially believed its latest flagship shipped with faulty batteries, that notion was dispelled after many replacement units of the device also started catching fire. Given how these units were equipped with batteries that werent manufactured by Samsung SDI, the South Korean tech giant opened a more thorough investigation into the matter which was recently concluded, and Samsung is expected to go public with its results by the end of the month. Sonys Xperia X Performance and Xperia XZ flagships both recently caught their updates to Android Nougat, but there were apparently a few more things that Sony needed to do to make the new software into the best experience possible for users, because they have gone ahead and issued a new, much smaller update for both devices. The new updates for each device are extremely lightweight, and dont bring much in the way of a changelog, making it seem as though they are minor smoothness and security fixes, if nothing else. Small tweaks to the build.prop file or blocking off a root exploit or two are common examples of things that find their way into nondescript updates like this. Most likely, the updates are simply small tweaks for software optimization that their testing teams didnt catch until now, or that their development teams didnt manage to build out in time for the promised timeline of the Nougat updates. In any case, todays updates for the two Sony flagships will bring the firmware version of your device up to version number 39.2.A.0.374. As with any other update, you can check for it manually through your settings menu by going to About Phone, then System Update. If the update doesnt appear for you, a reboot may do the trick. If not, just wait for Sony to roll the update out in your neck of the woods, or download the FTF file from the source link, if youre feeling adventurous and know what to do with the file. Sonys Xperia X Performance and Xperia XZ, the strongest two phones in their lineup for the moment, were only updated to Nougat about a month ago, with the Xperia X Performance picking up its update on November 29 and the Xperia XZ catching it on the first of December. Given the timeline of the small update here, it could conceivably have contained Googles January security updates for Android, but the small file size and inclusion of the December update make that seem unlikely, as does the fact that the Pixel phones reportedly wont be getting those updates until January 3. Not a single email is stored in the state archives, even though Montana leaders have used them to conduct state business for decades and state law requires emails of importance to be preserved. The mass and routine deletion of emails gained attention in campaigns nationwide this fall. In Montana, Republicans centered attacks on the realization that no emails existed from Democrat Gov. Steve Bullocks term as attorney general. But the problem is more widespread. Its all over the place, Senate Majority Leader Fred Thomas, R-Stevensville, said of the way the state currently manages records. State law is being violated. The state archives are supposed to be the final destination for the most important records about state government and how leaders made their decisions. The fact no emails have made it that far despite being the modern equivalent of letters and memos that stock archival shelves is a sign something is wrong. Experts describe a two-pronged problem: Agencies are deleting emails too soon and the archives do not have the storage or equipment to accept them. As a result, Montanans have lost decades of public information. Records managers, journalists and historians say improvements to rules, funding and culture are needed to prevent further losses that violate the publics constitutional right to know what government is doing. National experts say a failure to manage electronic records properly can cause many problems, including opening up states to lawsuits, risking the release of personal information about residents, losing critical insights about past decisions or operations, weakening public trust in government, and driving up bills for digital storage that would not be needed with smarter management. We live in a Google society. People go onto the Internet, Google something and get an instantaneous result. They expect the same from their government. When they dont get it, they think government is hiding something, said Mary Beth Herkert, Oregons state archivist, who has worked with national organizations to develop best practices for electronic public records. Government needs to be transparent, accountable and accessible. Joe DeFilippis, who leads records management for Montanas executive branch, agreed but said: For some things, our retention practices might be out of touch. Unlike some states that merge archival and records management functions, the responsibility to maintain public records is divided in Montana between the records manager at the Secretary of State's office and the archivist who works under the governor. Legislative and judicial records are overseen separately. In practice, retention decisions are made by individual state agencies, and few of them have preserved emails consistently, if at all, according to dozens of interviews and results of records requests made by the Gazette State Bureau. Montana is not alone in struggling to provide transparency in the digital age. Because email is used by government employees for so many different purposes, it has been a particular challenge for states to manage. Its like the old-fashioned desk inbox, but no box to sort it. Its the largest record-holding system in any state but its not a records management system, said Vermont State Archivist Tanya Marshall, spokeswoman for the National Association of Government Archives and Record Administrators. Most states are sitting on terabytes of data that hasnt been managed. Email is only part of Montanas ongoing struggle to preserve electronic files as public records. State officials still must develop or update strategies for other formats, such as text messages, social media posts, digital maps and data collected by license-plate readers. Some officials point to a cleanup of the states public records law in 2015 as a first step toward improvement. The rewrite clarified the definition of public information to be flexible enough to adapt to new technologies. It also expanded membership on the State Records Committee, which writes guidelines, in an effort to increase awareness among a broader group of state employees. But the rewrite did not provide practical solutions for fulfilling open-government duties. In broad terms, any record created by a Montana government employee in any format is public unless the law explicitly exempts it, such as some confidential records involving personnel and private information such as Social Security numbers. Some records, such as an email asking a co-worker to lunch, are considered transitory and can be deleted in 30 days without review. Other records, such as the governor discussing policy ideas with an industry lobbyist, must be retained for at least three years and even then cannot be destroyed without the permission of the State Records Committee. And the law requires some records to be preserved permanently. But interviews and records reveal that many state agencies assume all emails are transitory and that none of the content would trigger longer retention. As a result, public records requests for emails routinely produce the response that none exist. Such dead-end requests often involve employees who no longer work for the state. One month after a public employee changes agencies or leaves office, a state software system deletes all of that persons emails. The automated system operates independently from records managers, typically meaning no one reviews the emails for preservation before they are destroyed. The most high-profile example is the deletion of emails sent from 2009 to 2012 by Bullock and other Department of Justice staffers. It was discovered that no emails had been preserved when Yellowstone Club Founder Timothy Blixseth requested them as part of a lawsuit against the state. The governor's office did not respond to repeated requests for the name of the department's records manager at the time. Another Gazette State Bureau request for emails between members of the Protect Montana Kids Commission and Child and Family Services Administrator Sarah Corbally came up empty. Department of Public Health and Human Services Spokesman Jon Ebelt said her emails were deleted after her departure in April even though she was a central voice during the commissions discussions about how to reform child protective services and many of the groups recommendations will be reviewed by the 2017 Legislature. When emails no longer exist, their content is not available for review, making it impossible to know how many would have legally required longer retention. Nonetheless, open-government watchdogs and historians argue it is highly likely that at least a few emails among those sent by top officials would have been important enough to trigger such retention. If those arent being captured and stored then that really takes the legs out from underneath the public records law, said Adam Marshall, an attorney for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. "The public records law can only provide access to what exists. John MacDonald, a lobbyist for the Montana Newspaper Association who previously worked as a reporter and editor for the Associated Press, agreed it is an important duty of government to preserve records. The departure of an elected official from office does not mean information created, used or maintained by that official is suddenly no longer subject to our public information and public records laws, he said. We recognize that how information and public records are created and shared also creates challenges for how they are maintained, but that function is critical to how our government operates. DeFilippis said he currently recommends important emails be printed out for preservation. The practice of printing out emails for retention has been used by some states since the 1980s, said former Kentucky Archivist Barbara Teague. But nobody would do that anymore, said Teague, who leads the Council of State Archivists' State Electronic Records Initiative. That's because the practice frequently misses messages that must be retained and does not leverage search tools native to digital formats. Current best practices promote preserving records in their original form or using archival software to convert them to other types of digital files, as well as classifying electronic documents as they are created rather than waiting until they reach archives. You cant manage electronic information manually. It just doesnt work that way, Herkert said. Its a huge change in philosophy to manage information on the front end. Were so afraid of deleting anything, our systems are so crowded with junk its just not manageable or accessible. Montana Archivist Jodie Foley noted that the revitalized State Records Committee has improved discussions about records management in IT decisions and might someday lead the state to adopt software tools that make it easier to sort records according to legal requirements. The ultimate goal is for a lot of this to be automated to whatever extent we can afford so people arent overwhelmed by the vast amount of information were talking about, Foley said, noting some agencies are testing a new file management system with some of those abilities. The cost of an electronic records system for Montana would depend on the rules the state puts in place. But Oregon has adopted a system that they offer to other governments for $37 per employee per month, including installation, year-round support, and storage. In Montana, a champion to lead improvements has not emerged. Several elected leaders, including Bullock and Secretary of State Linda McCulloch, expressed uncertainty about whether the current email management and broader digital records practices need to be fixed at all. A handful of legislators have proposed modest changes that do not line up with the priorities of state records managers and IT professionals. Legislators have failed to fund some improvements that have been requested and governors have killed others with line-item vetoes. Thomas said the discovery that Bullock emails had been destroyed was a wake-up call. He has requested a bill draft to add an enforcement provision to state public records law. Currently, when records are not retained or released as required, there is no recourse except a lawsuit. Incoming Secretary of State Corey Stapleton said he supports adding teeth to public records law or beefing up training, although he admits still having much to learn about how the current system works. Weve got a lot of agencies doing their own thing, which isnt bad. Everybody wants autonomy. I get that, Stapleton said. But the problem is that we have a lot of inconsistency and the public probably deserves a certain baseline of compliance and of expertise. He also suggested that limiting the focus to emails is misguided. If Im going to bribe you for $100,000, Im not going to email you. Im going to text you, he said. The ways people communicate to avoid communicating publicly are well ahead of our policies. McCulloch called enforcement premature. We havent decided whats important yet, she said. If (records managers) are only doing a job a couple hours a month, things are going to slip through the cracks. Then who do you blame? The records manager? I mean, is that fair? ... They take this very seriously. They do as good a job as theyre allowed to do depending on the time they have to spend on it. Its something we need to address, House Minority Leader Jenny Eck, D-Helena, said. I just hope we approach it with a problem-solving mentality, not as a gotcha. Eck wondered whether the email issue might just be a convenient political target for Republicans. Bullock said the topic came up because they want me to atone for or defend what the practices have always been. When I left the office of AG, my email account, just like everybody else's that left, was closed, Bullock said in October. Yes, that effectively means those emails are no longer available. And thats exactly what happened for every other employee there. Thats what happened also with Attorney General McGrath, Attorney General Mazurek, Attorney General Racicot, Governor Martz and Governor Schweitzer. When asked if it would be a mistake to continue to delete all emails of elected officials, Bullock repeatedly said it was not on his priority list to make changes. Public officials in Montana and nationwide have routinely expressed concerns about the cost to preserve emails and other digital records as required by law, said Doug Robinson, executive director of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. How do you get attention and resources for something that doesnt seem particularly exciting to legislators and the general public? he said. Herkert argued the investments are worth it. Its one of those things you have to spend a little bit up front because in the long run youre going to get huge cost savings, Herkert said. In the electronic world, whats happening is that agencies are spending an inordinate amount of money storing information they dont need to store and they are settling lawsuits out of court because they cant be sure they have everything theyre supposed to have. Thomas dismissed cost as an excuse not to act and suggested public records are important enough that some funding could be found even in a tight year. These things need to be brought to the Legislature, he said, calling public records critically important to efficient and transparent government. Foley agreed. The records we preserve, preserve the rights of individual citizens, Foley said. If they dont know what their government is doing and why theyre doing it, theyve lost some of their right to know and the right to understand. HELENA -- Just after noon on Monday morning, Montanas 150 state Legislators were sworn in as leadership in both the House and Senate made a call for Democrats and Republicans to work together and handle disagreements with civility. Billings experienced one of its warmest years on record in 2016. But the New Year brought an arctic blast and high temps in the single digits. The National Weather Service measured an average temperature of 50.7 in 2016, high enough to tie the second-warmest year on record. The warmest was in 2012 with an average temperature of 51.1 degrees. The record likely would have been broken had it not been for the cold air that moved into the area the final weeks of December. Meteorologist Wright Dobbs said frigid air originating in northern Canada is responsible for the harsh conditions. Weve had storm systems come through that have just dragged it south through Montana and North Dakota, Dobbs said. He said the same air movement is responsible for the drop in temperatures this week. Temperatures as low as 14 below zero were expected overnight Monday and into Tuesday morning, likely the coldest temperature of the week. Dobbs said low-lying areas in Billings could see temperatures even colder, possibly in the negative 20s. During the last cold snap in December a weather observer in Molt reported a temperature of 30 below zero. Tuesday wont bring much reprieve to folks averse to the cold. The high temperature is expected to be near zero and could possibly be in the negatives. Even with wind speeds only expected to reach about 8 mph, the wind chill values could be as cold as 30 below zero. Hazardous weather will persist through the work week. The National Weather Service is cautioning people to be aware of low temperatures and blowing snow that could cause dangerous road conditions along the Interstate 90 corridor through Saturday. (ANSAmed) - Rome, January 3 - The interior ministry has ordered a clampdown on irregular migrants in Italy with heightened controls and more expulsions, sources said on Tuesday. The new provisions come as the government considers establishing identification and expulsion centres (CIE) in every region. Italy currently has 10 CIEs, of which only four are operating. The plan is to speed up rennovations already underway and use military barracks when necessary. The Italian authorities also aim to reach new bilateral agreements with African countries. To this end Interior Minister Marco Minniti is to travel to Tunisia on Wednesday before transferring to Malta in order to obtain a rapid green light for repatriations. There are also plans to alter the crime of illegal immigration in order to avoid suspects remaining in Italy until the end of legal proceedings against them. (ANSAmed). Germany gets more asylum requests than rest of EU combined Eurostat puts Italy and France respectively in 2nd and 3rd place (ANSAmed) - BERLIN, JANUARY 3 - Germany received and processed more asylum requests in the first nine months of 2016 than the rest of the European Union combined, Die Welt reported on Tuesday citing Eurostat figures. In total, 756,000 asylum requests were processed in the EU between January and September 2016. Of these, 420,000 were handled in Germany. Further, of the overall 988,000 asylum requests made in the EU over the same period, around two-thirds were presented in Germany. Italy came in second place with 85,000 asylum applications and 68,000 decisions made, followed by France with 62,000 applications and 63,000 decisions. (ANSAmed). Italian Interior Minister in Tunisia and Malta Security and illegal immigration at centre of talks (ANSAmed) - ROME, JANUARY 3 - Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti is to discuss security in the Mediterranean and relations with Europe particularly in regards to combating illegal immigration and terrorism and strengthening cooperation in police training during meetings with institutional representatives in Tunisia and Malta on Tuesday and Wednesday. In Tunisia Minniti is to meet with his counterpart Hedi Majdoub, Premier Youssef Chahed and Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui. He is also expected to meet with President Beji Caid Essebsi at the presidential palace in Carthage. On Wednesday in Malta Minniti will meet with his counterpart Carmelo Abela in what will be the first working session between the new holder of the rotating European Council presidency and another EU member state. (ANSAmed). ROME - Iakhe Mashrapov, the 28-year-old man from Kyrgystan reported by Turkish state broadcaster TRT to have been behind the terrorist attack on an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people on New Year's Eve, denied all involvement in an interview with Kyrgyz news agency Akipress on Tuesday. Mashrapov said he was mistaken for the terrorist due to a resemblance, but that he was subsequently released following checks at Istanbul airport. Akipress said the man was in Turkey on business from December 28-30 and then again from January 1, but that he was in Kyrgystan on the night of the attack. (ANSAmed). (ANSAmed) - MILAN, JANUARY 3 - Berlin Christmas market attacker Anis Amri had over 1,000 euros on him when he was shot dead outside Milan on December 23, sources said Tuesday. Investigators are now trying to track the money trail, the sources said. The money, in 50 and 20-euro notes, are believed to have been gout out of a cashpoint by Amri or someone for him. Amri killed 12 including an Italian young woman in the truck attack in the German capital on December 19. He was a Tunisian citizen and came to Europe as an irregular migrant a few years ago. (ANSAmed). ROME - The man thought to be behind the terrorist attack on an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people on New Year's Eve has been identified as 28-year-old Iakhe Mashrapov, Turkish state broadcaster TRT said on Tuesday. The suspect is reportedly a citizen of Kyrgystan. His passport was issued on October 21, a month before he moved to Turkey with his wife and two children. Also on Tuesday Mashrapov's wife was detained in Konya province, daily newspaper Haberturk reports. "I heard about the attack on TV," the woman allegedly told police. "I didn't know my husband was a sympathiser of Daesh," she added. Ihake Mashrapov received training from ISIS in Syria before moving to Turkey at the end of November, Haberturk newspaper reported on Tuesday citing annymous investigative sources. Mashrapov allegedly also fought for the jihadists in Syria. (By Denis Greenan). ROME - A revolt by migrants in a centre near Venice ended Tuesday but a political row erupted about the reception of migrants in Italy. The revolt at the centre at Cona near Venice ended after migrants protested overnight by holing up in some containers, setting fires and barricading 25 volunteers, after the sudden death of a young Ivorian woman, Sandrine Bakayoko. The migrants said the emergency services were slow in responding, a charge the services rejected. The young Ivorian woman proved to have died of a thrombosis, the autopsy said Tuesday. Venice prosecutor Lucia D'Alessandro said "the cause of the young woman's death has been established. It was a bilateral pulmonary thrombo-embolism". Violence or contagious disease have been "totally" ruled out, she said. "I want to stress," D'Alessandro said, "that it is in the prosecutors' interest to divulge the cause of death to avert concern spreading about possible diseases believed to be dangerous for others. "For that reason we are carrying out all possible checks relating to the health conditions of the guests of the facility". Il Sole-24 Ore radio said that before the protest, the centre's management was being investigated after allegations of fraud and maltreatment. Also Tuesday migrants protesting against conditions in a hostel blocked a street in Verona by turning over rubbish containers. Police re-routed traffic including buses until the protest ended. The protest focused essentially on the allegedly poor quality of food. Meanwhile the political row fuelled by the Cona revolt continued. Anti-immigrant Northern League leader Matteo Salvini said Tuesday there would be "mass expulsions" of migrants when the League gained power, after the most recent revolt. Speaking after volunteers were briefly seized at the centre near Venice, Salvini said "we will carry out mass expulsions, Italy has had enough of such cases". "2017 will be the year we take our country back" Salvini criticised the migrants for "setting fire to furniture and abducting operators including doctors and nurses all night". The revolt shows how "uncontrollable" such large centres are, Catholic migrant charity Migrantes said. "These maxi-centres risk becoming uncontrollable and therefore explosive places," said Migrantes Director-General Msgr Giancarlo Perego. Msgr Perego called for a "more spread-out reception in the local community, with smaller numbers of migrants, under the control of the local communities, that is the individual municipalities". The Migrantes Foundation is a pastoral association of the Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI). Ruling centre-left Democratic Party (PD) MP Federico Gelli, chair of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into migrants, said "if all Italian municipalities agreed to take in migrants there would be just 20 of them each". Italy currently has 175,485 migrants in temporary accommodation, hot spots, first-reception centres and asylum seeker and refugee centres (SPRARs), according to the latest data from the interior ministry. There are 14,669 migrants in first-reception centre, which are present in only seven regions, the largest being at Crotone, Mineo near Catania, Cona near Venice, and Bagnoli di Sopra near Padua. The breakdown by regions is as follows: Lazio (824), Veneto (3032), Sicily (4530), Emilia Romagna (652), Calabria (3254), Liguria (1218) and Friuli Venezia Giulia (1159). There are 136,706 migrants in temporary accommodation; 547 in hot spots; and 25,563 in SPRARs. The interior ministry has just ordered a clampdown on irregular migrants in Italy with heightened controls and more expulsions. The new provisions come as the government considers establishing identification and expulsion centres (CIE) in every region. Italy currently has 10 CIEs, of which only four are operating. The plan is to speed up renovations already underway and use military barracks when necessary. The Italian authorities also aim to reach new bilateral agreements with African countries. To this end Interior Minister Marco Minniti travelled to Tunisia on Tuesday before transferring to Malta in order to obtain a rapid green light for repatriations. There are also plans to alter the crime of illegal immigration in order to avoid suspects remaining in Italy until the end of legal proceedings against them. Yellowstone County commissioners on Tuesday approved Montana contractor Swank Enterprises Inc. to be its construction manager for its $18.3 million jail expansion project. The commission voted unanimously to approve a recommendation for Swank by a selection committee that reviewed and scored proposals from seven Montana and Wyoming contractors. The boards action will be on the consent agenda for final approval at its Jan. 10 meeting. Swank, which has offices in Billings and Kalispell and its corporate office in Valier, north of Great Falls, where the company formed in 1960, has more than 200 employees. The firm has broad construction experience that includes commercial, school, health care, industrial and governmental projects. Projects listed on Swanks website include the new Old Faithful Visitors Education Center in Yellowstone National Park, Montana Tech in Butte, the START Adult Detention center in Anaconda and the Sportsman Ski Haus in Kalispell. James Matteson, the countys purchasing agent and committee secretary, said Swank was the committees unanimous choice. The group, along with the countys consultant for selecting a contractor manager, Hulteng CCM Inc., reviewed, scored and interviewed the contractors. Swank Enterprises fully understands the complexities of scheduling a project of this nature. In their presentation, they were clear and concise in presenting their proposed schedule, project approach and methodology to meet the ultimate needs and goals for this project, the recommendation stated. The company also provided a complete, detailed pricing response that was found to be extremely competitive and was judged to be in the best interests of the county, the recommendation continued. The jail expansion will add a 148-bed womens unit, expand existing kitchen and laundry services and make other improvements. The construction manager has a guaranteed price and risks having to pay the difference if the project exceeds the price. School District 2 has used the construction manager approach on numerous building projects. The county is funding the expansion through a combination of bonds and existing revenue. The selection committee was comprised of Kevan Bryan, county finance director; Greg Erpenbach, county facilities superintendent; Sheriffs Capt. Sam Bofto, jail commander; Kevin Gillen, deputy county attorney; and Lew Anderson, School District 2 bond project manager. Matteson did not vote. Also submitting proposals were Groathouse Construction, Inc., of Cody, Wyo.; Martel Construction, Inc., of Bozeman; Langlas Construction, of Billings; Dick Anderson Construction, of Billings; Sletten Construction of Great Falls and Hardy Construction, of Billings. ROME - A revolt in a migrant centre near Venice last night shows how "uncontrollable" such large centres are, Catholic migrant charity Migrantes said Tuesday. "These maxi-centres risk becoming uncontrollable and therefore explosive places," said Migrantes Director-General Msgr Giancarlo Perego. Msgr Perego called for a "more spread-out reception in the local community, with smaller numbers of migrants, under the control of the local communities, that is the individual municipalities". The Migrantes Foundation is a pastoral association of the Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI). A revolt in a migrant centre at Conetta near Venice ended Tuesday. The migrants protested overnight by holing up in some containers and barricading 25 volunteers, after the sudden death of a young Ivorian woman, Sandrine Bakayoko. The migrants said the emergency services were slow in responding, a charge the services rejected. ROME - Syrian rebel groups said on Monday they would not participate in peace talks promoted by Russia and Turkey due to alleged violations by the regime of a recent truce. The latest ceasefire agreement - the third in six years - was signed on December 29 under the auspices of Russia and Turkey and with the backing of Iran, but without the participation of the United States or United Nations. Under the agreement Damascus and a dozen rebel formations pledged to cease hostilities and begin political negotiations at the end of January in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The UN Security Council eventually gave its backing to the plan. However, on Monday the rebels said they were "freezing all discussions regarding the Astana negotiations" due to alleged "big breaches" of the ceasefire agreement especially in the Wadi Barada and Ghouta regions. ROME- The interior ministry has ordered a clampdown on irregular migrants in Italy with heightened controls and more expulsions in the new year. The new provisions come as the government considers establishing identification and expulsion centres (CIE) in every region. Italy currently has 10 CIEs, of which only four are operating. The plan is to speed up rennovations already underway and use military barracks when necessary. The Italian authorities also aim to reach new bilateral agreements with African countries. To this end Interior Minister Marco Minniti is to travel to Tunisia on Wednesday before transferring to Malta in order to obtain a rapid green light for repatriations. There are also plans to alter the crime of illegal immigration in order to avoid suspects remaining in Italy until the end of legal proceedings against them. If youre considering a subscription to the Disney Plus streaming service, you may be wondering how much it costs. The service is available on both Maurita Johnson is the new leader of the agency responsible for protecting Montana children from abuse and neglect. That job has never been more challenging. The number of abused and neglected children coming into the state system continues to grow. Recently, Montana reached an all-time high number of children in foster care with 3,369 children placed statewide. On Friday, the Yellowstone County attorney's office filed its 531st civil child abuse/neglect case of the year. That was an significant increase over 2015 when the office filed for court orders to protect 454 local kids. Agency officials "have the ability to solve a lot of problems for families," Johnson told the Associated Press in an interview last month. "Having a kid home with a parent is what we want." Those comments reflect the solution-oriented leadership that Montanas child protection agency so desperately needs. Johnson, former deputy director of Child Welfare Programs in Oregon, told AP that she 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. Thats a good start. Child and Family Services Division has been criticized from all sides over the past several years. Some criticism is justified, some isnt. The CFSD has changed course, again and again, retraining overworked, underpaid front-line staff. The solution must start with stabilizing the workforce that has had tremendous turnover. Small wonder that caseworkers average tenure has been less than two years as they are required to carry three or four times the number of cases recommended by independent child welfare organizations. The Protect Montana Kids Commission appointed by Gov. Steve Bullock last summer recommended changes in how the agency trains and supervises staff. CFSD also is hindered by its outdated 20-year-old computer system. The commissions most urgent recommendations are to recruit more caseworkers, to better support caseworkers, foster parents and parents to give each family the best chance of safely reuniting. With too few workers, children are in the system longer, and parents take longer to get on track to being safe parents. For most, getting on track includes addiction treatment. Parental drug abuse has become the most common factor in child abuse and neglect cases in Montana. Johnson said her plans include more worker training, getting more foster children into permanent homes, connecting with more community services and giving parents clear and reasonable conditions for the return of their children. Johnson and Sheila Hogan, the new director of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, will be held accountable for improving services to Montana's must vulnerable children. We call on the Bullock administration and the Montana Legislature to ensure that CFSD has the resources needed to protect children from continued abuse and from languishing in the child protection system. Montana has made progress in recent years, but we need to continue to work hard this legislative session to shore up our economy and create good paying jobs across our state. We know that in 2017, well face some serious challenges. Weak oil and gas prices led to a drop in revenue, so money is tight. And unpredictability in the federal government threatens to reverse much of the progress weve made. At the same time, we are facing increasing needs for infrastructure improvements across the state. Montana Democrats have a plan to rebuild our crumbling roads, bridges, sewer systems and community buildings. We are putting forward bills to address these needs and create good paying construction jobs in the process. These projects will ensure that we have the foundation to attract new businesses to Montana and keep our economy growing. We also know that better education means a better economy down the road. In 2017, Montana Democrats are committed to crafting a responsible state budget that properly funds our public K-12 schools, supports our public safety workers, cares for our most vulnerable, protects good-paying jobs, and helps us train for the jobs of the future. Montana Democrats have always fought for working and middle-class families, and we will continue to do so. Well fight for a fair tax code in which everyone pays their fair share and hardworking families arent unjustly burdened. Theres no reason a millionaire should pay the same tax rate as a janitor or a nursing home attendant; but right now, thats what our tax code says. Equal work, equal pay Well fight for legislation to provide equal pay for equal work, so women arent paid less than men for the same jobs. We're working toward a system of paid leave, so workers dont have to decide between earning a paycheck and taking time off to care for a sick loved one. Our values mean keeping our air, land and water clean so future generations will continue to enjoy public access to our world-class outdoors. Were working to establish early education. Montana is one of just five states that does not support pre-kindergarten education, which has proven to be one of the smartest investments a state can make. It would help free young families from the incredible costs of childcare, and give children the best chance to succeed in an ever-changing economy. To craft laws and a budget that reflect our values requires compromise and a willingness in both parties to make tough decisions. It wont work if one side digs in, issues ultimatums and insists it cant be done. Montana values In just the past few weeks, faced with a surprise threat of violence from mostly out-of-state white supremacists, Montanans across the political spectrum showed that we can come together. Democrats and Republicans let these agitators know that their un-American ideology is not welcome here. We made clear to the world: Hate is not a Montana value. That hate movement, we hope, will fade away. But exercising our Montana values continues, and what we do at the Legislature will have lasting impact on our entire state. So as we make decisions over the next 90 days, we call on all lawmakers to remember what unites us, not what divides us. Thats how well make Montana even greater in 2017 and beyond. The biannual Exercise Cerberus is taking place in Germany this year. It is the largest British Army Field exercise of the year and the largest to take place in central Europe for more than a decade. Best Technology Products and Services Would you like to submit an article in the Technology category or any of the sub-category below? Click here to submit your article. Would you like to have your product or service listed on this page? Contact us. Ohios Cuyahoga County voters approved a cigarette tax to fund artists. So the question was how to allocate those funds. The countrys arts commission decided that the program would emphasize community engagement over studio practice. Originally, the proposal was to have a Washington DC-based nonprofit organization replace the Cleveland-based group that had administered the individual artist grant program since its inception in 2008. But artists got upset that criteria emphasized change over artistic merit. Artists who work at making art in their studios and exhibiting it in galleriesas opposed to creating community engagement programs, seeking partners, and other social practicesfeel like that kind of guideline writes them out. It pits one type of artist against another. And it feels not like public support, but like government direction. The protests led to a community meeting at which there seemed to be broad agreement that the arts should advance racial equity and be a force for reflecting and improving the community. But where does the quality of art factor in, and who defines it? With voter-approved money on the table and a need to show that the money is being spent effectively, agreeing on how that happens is both a practical question but also a philosophical debate about the role of art and artists in their community. He was a pioneer in the Canadian film industry, said TIFF director and CEO Piers Handling, in a press release announcing Marshalls death. His vision of creating a public festival that would bring the world to Toronto through the transformative power of cinema stands today as one of his most significant legacies. The extra money will go the Expo fund, which is available to the 12 key Edinburgh festivals to help Scottish artists create and showcase their work on an international stage. It takes the total sum given by the government to support the festivals in 2017/18 to 2.3 million. The cabinet secretary for culture, tourism and external affairs, Fiona Hyslop, noted that the combined festivals attract 4.5 million attendees and contribute 313 million to the Scottish economy. And they may just have a point, at least with respect to some visitors. In the modern world, a trip to Disney has become a rite of passage that transforms those who make the trek Disney World resembles a medieval pilgrimage center, designed to connect pilgrims with the supernatural. The public lands in Wyoming do not belong to the federal government, they belong to the people, we the people. But a constitutional amendment is being fast tracked with limited public input by a few legislators to facilitate the transfer our lands to the state of Wyoming. The American Legislative Council, funded by billionaires and big corporations, is behind this effort. They have but one goal; get our public lands into state ownership, and then sell it off to, yes, billionaires and big corporations. Oh, this amendment doesnt say that. In fact, the amendment is laced with phrases like no net loss and public access for hunting and fishing. There will in fact be hunting and fishing access (for billionaires and their cronies). This constitutional amendment is likely the first of several, the result will be to separate us from our land. Some of our state legislators attend seminars hosted by ALEC where they can rub elbows with corporate lobbyists and big shots at posh resorts free of charge where they are taught how to take our land away from us. The Wyoming Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, an organization of average men and women scattered across the state, is steadfastly opposed to this amendment. Management of our public lands by the feds is certainly not perfect, but at least we know where we stand, and we have a say in how these lands are managed. Folks, beware of state legislators bearing amendments that promise a pot of gold at the end of the state lands takeover rainbow. This has happened before, ask any Native American. Barry Reiswig Wyoming Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Cody, Wyo. By Harry Handley Southeast Asia is one of the four key target regions for international expansion in the consumer foodservice industry for 2017, according to Euromonitor research. ASEAN boasts a well-developed food culture, as well as a consumer preference for dining-out and a young, curious, and experimental population. To support the development of the regions foodservice industry, the ASEAN secretariat introduced a new food safety policy in 2016. The policy sets out 10 principles aimed at harmonizing food safety regulations and advancing regional integration in the industry. ASEAN leaders hope that a more closely integrated and transparently regulated market will lead to further interest from international companies. As ASEANs foodservice industry gradually becomes more integrated, opportunities for regional expansion are rife. However, catering to local tastes in the foodservice industry is crucial, and though they share commonalities, each Southeast Asian country also boasts their own unique consumer preferences. Consequently, both identifying the preferences of the target market and choosing the appropriate entry model is instrumental to achieving success in the region. RELATED: Pre-Investment and Market Entry Advisory from Dezan Shira & Associates The state of ASEANs foodservice market Regional restaurant sales totaled more than US$100 billion in 2015, a market size equivalent to that of India or Brazil. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of sales value in the six leading ASEAN economies from 2010 to 2015 was 2.65 percent; with Vietnam having the highest (6.5 percent), and Singapore the lowest (0.3 percent). The early stage of development of the Vietnamese market and high rent prices in Singapore, which stifle growth in the industry, explain this difference. In spite of this modest growth, as the increased integration of the ASEAN economic community begins to have an effect, the market as a whole is expected to grow more rapidly. In general, the ASEAN foodservice industry is led by established international brands, mainly through joint ventures or franchising agreements with local companies. This dominance is due to the economies of scale and aggressive marketing campaigns of these global players. Vietnam is the exception; international brands have struggled to gain market share and independent local sellers control the market with their low-priced offerings. However, independent operators are also gaining traction in the other ASEAN markets; young entrepreneurs are challenging the market and creating offerings that capture the imaginations of local consumers. Consumer trends Despite the diversity of these six ASEAN countries, there are a number of common trends developing across the whole region. Firstly, dining out is becoming a lifestyle choice for many consumers in Southeast Asia, so it is becoming as much about the experience of dining out as it is about the food itself. Food courts and modern food halls are thriving across ASEAN. The selection of food on offer, as well as the bustling atmosphere reminiscent of the regions traditional hawker centers are cited by Euromonitor as the reasons for this preference. Due to the experiential element of dining out, it is still eat-in sales that make up the majority of the revenue of ASEANs foodservice providers (see graph below). In Indonesia, 91.6 percent of foodservice revenue comes from eat-in sales, the highest in the region; Thailand has the lowest at 63.5 percent. Although less than one percent of food orders were made online in 2015, revenue for online food orders in the region is expected to exceed US$1 billion in 2016 and to grow by almost 35 percent annually over the next five years. The increasingly digital nature of consumers lifestyles is prompting foodservice companies in Southeast Asia to alter their marketing and service delivery strategies. As such, many restaurants have partnered with local online ordering and delivery service providers in an attempt to expand their sales channels. Another important factor to take into consideration in Southeast Asia is tourists. In 2015, over 100 million tourists visited ASEAN countries and 10 percent of tourist receipts were food and beverage purchases. Tourists typically wish to experience the local cuisine when travelling, but are also often willing to pay a premium for home comforts. This presents opportunities for both local vendors and international brands in the heavily touristic areas that ASEAN has to offer. RELATED: IP Protection in Malaysias Food & Beverage Industry Strategic considerations By far the most common entry mode for foodservice in ASEAN is franchising. This is advantageous for the local franchisee who can exploit the existing marketing and brand recognition of the franchisor. Conversely, the relatively small capital requirements (compared to joint venture or wholly owned subsidiary entry) make this an attractive choice for foreign foodservice companies. However, the shift in control from the franchisor to the franchisee means that franchise agreements must be properly monitored in order to maintain a strong brand image. Another popular method of entry for foreign foodservice companies are joint ventures with local partners, before offering franchise opportunities to local entrepreneurs. Particularly in an industry where local preference is so important, local partners give indispensable insights into their respective markets. Partner selection can make or break a joint venture; therefore, rigorous due diligence must be conducted prior to establishing a one. As well as financial due diligence, the size, ambitions, and cultural fit of the potential partner should be evaluated. Increasingly, international brands are using joint ventures to implement a glocalisation strategy adapting a global offering to meet local needs. Such a strategy can be seen in many fast-food chains that offer country-specific products, for example, the substitution of bacon for a beef alternative by Burger King in Malaysia due to the Muslim population and their beliefs. It is these fine tweaks that can propel an international brand from outsider to challenger, and it is often a local partner that provides the insights to make these changes. As a whole, the ASEAN market presents significant opportunities for international foodservice companies. The local preference for dining out as well as the constant flow of tourists offer a large target market. The high propensity for franchises and joint ventures also means there are countless local partners ready to bring international brands to their market. Having said that, as with any expansion project, it is vital to choose the correct location and partner for ones company. About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email asean@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight. Annual Audit and Compliance in ASEAN For the first issue of our ASEAN Briefing Magazine, we look at the different audit and compliance regulations of five of the main economies in ASEAN. We firstly focus on the accounting standards, filing processes, and requirements for Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. We then provide similar information on Singapore, and offer a closer examination of the city-states generous audit exemptions for small-and-medium sized enterprises. The Trans-Pacific Partnership and its Impact on Asian Markets The United States backed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) includes six Asian economies Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, while Indonesia has expressed a keen willingness to join. However, the agreements potential impact will affect many others, not least of all China. In this issue of Asia Briefing magazine, we examine where the TPP agreement stands right now, look at the potential impact of the participating nations, as well as examine how it will affect Asian economies that have not been included. An Introduction to Tax Treaties Throughout Asia In this issue of Asia Briefing Magazine, we take a look at the various types of trade and tax treaties that exist between Asian nations. These include bilateral investment treaties, double tax treaties and free trade agreements all of which directly affect businesses operating in Asia. I want to acknowledge Dennis Walter, the manager of your local Slumberland. Earlier, I learned of a situation where two young children were removed from their home in Billings by the Department of Social Services. Their grandparents were immediately contacted and stepped up to take responsibility for their care, but they did not have beds for these children. Back here in South Dakota, we have what is known as the 40 Winks program, where beds are donated to children in need. I called your Slumberland and inquired about the program in Billings. Dennis Walter, the store manager, assured me that there was such a program, however, it was run through a particular agency and that those requests come from the agency on a case-by-case basis. However, he asked why I was calling, so I explained the situation and even offered to purchase the beds myself if something couldn't be worked out. Walters said to not worry about it and he would figure it out. He took down the information of the family, and within an hour, called me back to tell me that he had two twin beds on their way to their home! The BMC issued a notice to the actor earlier last week, asking for permission to enter the premises of his building. Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished an illegal extension on the terrace of actor Arjun Kapoors house on Monday afternoon, and will now charge him Rs 8,000 as reimbursement for the demolition. A bunch of civic officials went to the actors Juhu home on Monday afternoon to pull down the unauthorised 30x16 sq ft brick room that houses a gym on the terrace of his seventh-floor apartment in Raheja Orchird. Parag Masurkar, assistant municipal commissioner of H-West ward, under whose jurisdiction Mr Kapoors house falls, said, About five or six civic body officials went to demolish the place, along with policemen. The demolition charges include the fees of the police, cost of hiring machines and the number of man hours put in by the BMC to demolish the place. Despite attempts to contact Mr Kapoor, he remained unavailable. The BMC issued a notice to the actor earlier last week, asking for permission to enter the premises of his building, following complaints from a local activist that the actor had still not pulled down the structure even after the BMCs primary notice issued in March. The BMC first issued a show-cause notice to the actor in March, giving him seven days to produce the documents to prove the legality of the gym. Mr Masurkar said the actor did not reply within the stipulated time. It would have taken the civic body another month to verify the papers, and inspect the place, before taking any action. Recently, the actors manager approached the BMC asking for more time to legalise the structure. However, after he overstepped the time limit, the BMC then sent Mr Kapoor another notice asking for permission to enter his premises to demolish the place. Deepika posted a Hindi tweet to Vin Disel as he is reportedly set to visit India on January 12. One of the pictures of Deepika and Vin Diesel while shooting for 'xXx: Return of Xander Cage' shared on social media. Mumbai: We have already the seen the bonding between Deepika Padukone and Vin Diesel in stills from their upcoming Hollywood film 'xXx: Return of Xander Cage' and numerous of their videos on social media. Deepika, who is nervous but excited about her big Hollywood debut, has yet again raised the level of curiosity among her fans by tweeting a special message to Vin Diesel. Posting a promotional poster of the film, the actress captioned the picture in Hindi: Vin, India is frantically waiting for you. We'll meet soon - on January 12 and 13. With lots of love.) Now we all know the film is releasing in India on January 14, five days ahead of its international release. So why did Deepika say that we will see you on January 12 and 13? It is no secret that Miss Padukone, who considers Vin family, has been trying her best to get the international superstar to bring home to meet his Indian fans, does this tweet mean that plan has finally materialised? While fans of this vivacious actress cannot wait to see her on the silver screen, Vins visit to India will prove to be a dream come true moment for many. Deepika, if you have managed to pull this off, Indian fans of the Hollywood hunk will forever be indebted to you. Bring him home! After tasting success with his clothing line Being Human, the superstar will now launch his own collection of bikes. Salman will next be seen in 'Tubelight'. Mumbai: Salman Khan's brand Being Human has acquired immense popularity over the years. The brand which started out as a charitable organisation, ventured into the clothing line business and later launched its jewellery line. After tasting success with the endeavours, the superstar will now launch his own collection of bikes. We have learnt from a well-placed source that the Bajrangi Bhaijaan star is all set to launch his own range of motorcycles and will call them Being Human bikes. Headed by Salman Khan and family, Being Human foundation is a non-profit organisation committed to the upliftment of under-privileged children. Education and healthcare are some of the issues Salmans NGO is closely working on. The actor, who turned 51 on December 27, launched his own line of jewellery a few months back. The trailer of the new Jackie Chan starrer that aimed to be an Indo-Chinese effort shows little scope for the Indian stars. If the trailer of the new Jackie Chan starrer, Kung Fu Yoga, is anything to go by, then the Indian cast that had been bragging about the movie all through 2016 has much to be embarrassed about. Throughout the duration of the trailer, we can see Jackie Chan with a male Chinese co-star and a lion in a car. Disha Patani shows up as an Indian princess or the way Indian royalty is seen by foreign cinema in boutique-borrowed exotica. And poor Amyra Dastur makes but a fleeting appearance in a lions cage. Sonu Sood, whos been giving out best buddies vibe when it comes to his camaraderie with Jackie, busts the myth with his two-shot appearance in the trailer. His villainous role is pretty evident in the clip, a fact that was revealed by the films erstwhile producers, but was denied by Sonu himself. Its interesting to note that the movie, promoted as an Indo-China co-production is not quite what it appears to be, as the Indian production partners, Eros International, pulled out of the partnership citing serious creative differences with their Chinese counterparts. Apparently, the Chinese producers, Taihe, were unilaterally changing the script and production set up, as soon as Jackie came on board. Kung Fu Yoga had been signed as the first official co-production between India and China during the prestigious 1st International Silk Road film festival in Xian, China in 2014. As a result of this, the first official co-production between the two countries, the official co-operation treaty between India and China was signed when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China to meet President Xi Jinping. Says an informed source, The film produced by the Chinese company Taihe was to have Eros as the Indian partner. It was supposed to be a two-hero action film with Jackie Chan and Hrithik Roshan in parallel roles. As soon as Jackie Chan signed the contract, the Chinese producers began making arbitrary changes in the production plan and the script, to the extent that Hrithiks role became marginalised. As a result, Hrithik opted out of the movie, and Eros followed soon after. While this year will see Bollywood actors trying to make their presence felt in international cinema, it doesnt look like Kung Fu Yoga has much room for Indian contribution. 9-10 Bhagalpur-like incidents recorded every year since 2012, says documentary maker. The film aims to depict the fact that such blinding of petty criminals and accused did not ever stop. (Representational image) New Delhi: Mob justice, in the form of blindings, depicted in the much acclaimed film Gangaajal, has not stopped in Bihar. A short film, depicting the rise of such incidents after the infamous Bhagalpur blinding case of 1980-81, has been issued a U/A certificate by the censor board last month. The film titled, The Eyes Of Darkness, is based on stories of many such victims of forcible blindings who are struggling to get justice but with no success so far. The film aims to depict the fact that such blinding of petty criminals and accused did not ever stop. In fact, the documentary claims that ever since the Bhagalpur incidents, enacted under the supervision of Bihar policemen, there has been a spurt in these. Despite the Central and state governments acting against the policemen, who were accused in these cases, it seems that the local population has taken upon itself to give summary mob justice to accused, said director and producer of the film Amitabh Parashar. The Bhagalpur incident shook the nations conscience in 1980s with barbaric tales of blinding by injecting acid, infamously called Gangajal, in the eyes of the undertrials. Some policemen allegedly took the law into their hands by pouring acid in the eyes of 33 undertrials. However, 36 years and an Ajay Devgn-starred blockbuster, named Gangaajal, later, street justice remains a reality in the state. The documentary shows many cases of blinding, including a bizarre case of Shahid Khan who was blinded about 22 years ago in left eye after being accused of cow theft, and was made to undergo similar punishment and blinded in the right eye after he was accused of the same charge. The film also shows a case of dalit labourer Ranjeet Sada, who was blinded because he demanded his wages from his employer. This character-driven film has Munna Thakur, a former criminal as its main protagonist who was blinded in November 2012 when he returned to his village after serving three years in Araria prison. The filmmaker claims he recorded an average 9-10 blinding cases every year in the interiors of the state since 2012. Though the 53-minute film, Parashar also aims to depict that several victims of these blindings were innocent and they had to undergo such torture due to their low social status or attempts by some people to settle personal scores. The filmmaker claimed that during his two years of research for the film, he has discovered that most of the victims of such blindings were still awaiting justice and compensation from the government while the perpetrators of such crimes were roaming free. The counsel alleged that the government was trying to scuttle the transfers effected by the collegium. New Delhi: The rift between the Narendra Modi government and the judiciary escalated on Monday with the Centre informing the Supreme Court that it had sought reconsideration of 13 names of judges recommended by the collegium for the Allahabad high court. During the last hearing in November last, a bench headed by the Chief Jusitce T.S. Thakur had told attorney-general Mukul Rohatgi that the collegium had reiterated the recommendations in respect of 37 names and wanted the government to process their appointments. Despite the Supreme Court collegiums earlier reiteration, the Centre stood its ground and said it wanted the collegium to reconsider its decision in respect of 13 names. On Monday, the bench was also upset with Centres inordinate delay in giving effect to the transfer of judges as recommended by the collegium as early as in February 2016. Mr Rohatgi told the top court bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur that Centre had found certain inconsistencies in the recommendations made for 13 new judges for the Allahabad high court in the 37 names, reiterated by the collegium on November 18 and had sent them back for reconsideration. However, senior counsel Ram Jethmalani and Gujarat Bar Association president Yatin Ozha accused the government of deliberately sitting over the files with regard to transfer of a particular judge from the Gujarat high court since April 2016, despite the collegiums recommendation. The two advocates alleged that while the name of the particular judge cleared for transfer by the Supreme Court collegium in April has been kept pending till date, several other judges whose names were recommended prior to April 2016 and also post 2016 have been cleared by the Centre. The counsel alleged that the government was trying to scuttle the transfers effected by the collegium. Mr Jethmalani, who was appearing for Mr Ozha argued that when the collegium had transferred the judge, the Centre was duty bound to implement the directive. Failure to do so would lead to reasonable apprehensions in the minds of the people even if they are unfounded apprehensions as to why is the government keeping a matter pending. Mr Ozha also referred to the case of the Uttarakhand high court Chief Justice K.M. Joseph, who was transferred to the Hyderabad high court (for AP and Telangana) in April last, but the Centre is yet to clear his transfer till date. He alleged that the Gujarat judiciary has virtually gone to dogs. CJI Thakur then told Mr Rohatgi, There are processes for appointing judges, there are processes for transferring high court judges which have been pending for seven months. You need to tell us the reason for the delay. You need to have some plausible explanation for the delay. Why are you sitting over the files? If the recommendations are not agreeable you can send back the files to us. The files cant be kept languishing. There should be some reasonable explanation. The CJI observed that Mr Jethmalani was right that public perception would definitely be affected if a judge is transferred but continues to hear a case. The Bench, however, granted three weeks time to the AG to file an affidavit giving reasons for the delay in giving effect to the transfer. Banerjee said the party will hold protest on Wednesday in Kolkata over the arrest of Bandhopadhyay. Kolkata: Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday lashed out at the Centre over the arrest of party MP Sudip Bandhopadhyay in connection with Rose Valley chit fund scam on Tuesday. She accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using CBI, ED and Income Tax department against those who raised voice against demonetisation and dared him to arrest her and all TMC MPs. "I just can't think that Sudip Bandopadhyay, who is our party's leader in the Lok Sabha will be arrested. I also have information that Modi wants to arrest many other TMC leaders like Abhishek Banerjee, Sovan Chatterjee (city mayor) and Firhad Hakim (minister)," she told reporters immediately after Sudip's arrest by the CBI in connection with the alleged Rose Valley chit fund scam. "I am shocked, but not scared. Let him arrest all of us. I openly challenge him to arrest me. Let me see his guts. He may silence others, but not me. He can't suppress our voice. He can't bulldoze people's voice," she said. "We will fight legal battle in every case," she added. Banerjee said she will take the legal battle forward and seek justice from the court. If they think that after the arrest (of TMC MP Sudip Bandhopadhyay) we wont protest, they are wrong, Banerjee said. She alleged that Bandopadhyay was arrested due to "pressure from the PMO" and asked "why should Narendra Modi and Amit Shah not be arrested? "The party is behind Sudip. He has not done anything wrong. Even if he is in jail, the people of Bengal will keep him in their heart," she said. The TMC chief also said that it was the duty of the Centre, the Sebi and the RBI to keep a check on ponzi schemes in which they have "failed completely". "I challenge Modi directly. You cannot do anything because Trinamool Congress is right and you are wrong. You cannot suppress the voice of the people. you have to withdraw restrictions (on withdrawal of cash)... Modi has no clue where this political vidictiveness will take him. We are not scared and will continue our demonstration against demonetisation," she said. Mamata said, "He (Modi) has got a government... Even I also have a government in my hand. I can also arrest people here who are involved in riots. But I have not done so because I believe in political courtesy." Reacting to Sudip Bandopadhyay's arrest Union Coal and Power minister Piyush Goyal said if someone did any wrong he would get caught. "If someone has done any wrong, he will get caught. If someone tries to cover his or her own wrongdoing by baseless allegations.....We never interfered in investigative affairs," Goyal, who is in the city, said. Banerjee said the party will hold protest on Wednesday in Kolkata over the arrest of Bandhopadhyay. The Chief Minister will hold a meeting with the party MPs at 5 pm at TMC headquarters. Also Read: TMC MP Sudip Bandopadhyay held in Rose Valley scam Bandhopadhyays arrest, second in the case after TMC MP Tapas Pal's, came as a big blow to Banerjee. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Bandhopadhyay on Tuesday after questioning him about his association with Rose Valley Group and its owner Goutam Kundu. Bandopadhyay appeared before the special investigation team (SIT) of the CBI at CGO Complex in Salt Lake around 10.55 am, responding to the summons to face questioning. An SP rank officer led the interrogation that lasted for more than four hours. While probing the scam for the last one and a half years, the CBI found that Bandopadhyay took favours from Rose Valley, such as foreign trips and receipt of hefty amount of money, sources said. The sources added that in exchange, the Trinamool MP helped Kundu to run his business smoothly. Bandopadhyay, however, could not give satisfactory replies when he was asked about the favours, leading to his arrest, sources said. He also said that Kashmiris will continue to cross to the other side of the Line of Control (LoC) till the issue of Kashmir is resolved. Srinagar: In September last year, Pakistans Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, sought to glorify slain Hizbul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by calling him a freedom fighter during his speech at the UN General Assembly, the rant he continued with at his party meet back home later. India was prompt to react strongly to his comment, accusing the neighbouring country of sponsoring terrorism on Indian soil. On Tuesday, a lawmaker of opposition National Conference (NC) lawmaker chose to make a similar averment on the floor of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council, now in its budget session in winter capital Jammu, facing ire of ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members. NCs Showkat Hussain Ganie said that Wani was a freedom fighter, who died a martyr. He also said that Kashmiris will continue to cross to the other side of the Line of Control (LoC) till the issue of Kashmir is resolved. He while continuing with his diatribe said that even the Hizb chief Syed Salahuddin crossed over to Pakistan not to contest election but for the resolution of long-pending Kashmir dispute. PDPs Firdous Tak while interrupting Ganie asked him to clarify before the House if it was his personal view or that of his party. Without answering the query, the NC member said he stood by what he had said and again called Wani a freedom fighter. This led to a verbal dual between him and the PDP members who alleged that the NC paid money to its workers to fuel street protests across the Valley following Wanis killing during a security forces operation in July last year. The PDP member Saifuddin Bhat charged that the NC tried to topple the PDP-BJP government by inciting violence in Kashmir. The killing of Wani and resultant unrest in the Valley dominated proceedings of the State Assembly as well. Soon after the House assembled for the day, the opposition members were on their feet and began chanting slogans against the PDP-BJP government. As the House witnessed intense uproar with opposition NC and Congress continuing their protest over the civilian deaths on the second consecutive day, Speaker Kavinder Gupta allowed the opposition members to move the motion for a discussion on the unrest. Former chief minister and NC working president, Omar Abdullah, initiated the discussion and said that the government mishandled the situation. He also said that there was confusion whether the Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, was aware of the encounter in which Wani was killed or not. He said that the then additional director general of police (CID) S.M. Sahai had in his press conference said that the Chief Minister was briefed about such encounters but later the government contradicted him by saying she is not told about every incident. Mufti had surprised all by saying on July 28 that had the security forces who raided a militant hideout in Kokernag area of southern Anantnag on July 8 and subsequently killed three Hizb cadres known beforehand that Wani was among them they may have given him a second chance. She termed the killing of Wani as a coincidence. She also said that she was not aware of the operation carried out jointly by J&K polices counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) and Armys 19 Rashtriya Rifles at Bamdoora Kokernag. How would you know that, she had asked. She was responding to a report appearing in a national daily that the Chief Minister was informed, in writing, of the July 8 raid as well as an operation targeting Wani in March. The Chief Minister, as home minister, is informed of all the activities, S.M. Sahai, had said earlier, on being asked if the Chief Minister knew about the operation beforehand. During the discussion in the Assembly on Tuesday, Abdullah said that the unrest witnessed in the Valley in 2010 cannot be compared with that of 2016. He termed the PDP-BJP alliance as unholy. But BJP ally and minister for science and technology, Sajad Gani Lone, while reacting to it accused Abdullah of resorting to theatrics and said that the opposition was on a score settling mission. He called the youth slain during the unrest as aazadi ke matwale (the freedom seekers) and asked the members to show some respect for the dead. Responding to Abdullahs cant compare 2010 with 2016 remark, Lone said, We cannot delink 2016 from 2010. He alleged, For every killing that takes place in Jammu and Kashmir, historically you have a role. He asserted that the protests in Kashmir are about aspirations and not about grievances. Reacting to former Chief Ministers terming the PDP-BJP alliance as unholy, Lone said that the alliances by different parties in the past were unholy too and that My history is bad but their (opposition) is worse. CPI (M)s Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami urged Chief Minister, Mufti to initiate a process of sustainable and credible dialogue on Kashmir issue towards developing trust in people. He said, We need a permanent solution or the situation like this (post-Wani killing unrest) can erupt again. He asserted that politicians are no more trusted by the people of Kashmir. Congress Nawang Rigzin Jora said that over 800 persons have been slapped with the States stringent Public safety Act (PSA) and dozens were blinded during the uprising. The government earlier acknowledged in the House that Wanis killing had given impetus to militancy in Kashmir. It informed that a total of 59 youths in the Valley joined militant ranks after the Hizb commanders death. "As reported by CID headquarters, 59 youth have joined militant ranks after 8th July, 2016", Chief Minister Mufti said in a written reply to the question by NCs Mubarak Gul. She also said that the State government has notified a surrender policy which was superseded by rehabilitation policy to encourage the "misguided" youths and militants to abjure violence and "accept the integrity of India and the Constitution". Mufti who holds also the home portfolio added that the policy was notified in 2004 so that they can join the national mainstream and lead a normal life. Elaborating, the Chief Minister said that under the policy the State government will provide them incentives including fixed deposits of Rs 1.50 lakh, payment of monetary incentive for surrender of weapons and stipend for a period of 3 years at the rate of Rs 2,000 per month from the date of surrender. She further said that under the policy, 437 cases of surrendered militants were received from 2004 till date and that out of these 216 cases have been finalised and monthly incentives of Rs 2.68 cores have been paid whereas 219 cases were rejected. Meanwhile, the government sources have corroborated that militancy related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir increased last year in comparison to 2015. The sources said that against 151 incidents in 2014, there were 143 incidents in 2015 which jumped to 243 in 2016. Also, there were as many as 16 cases of weapon snatching reported across the Valley in 2016 and only in one of these the snatched weapons could be recovered. The other incidents included two major attacks at Army camps in Uri and Nagrota in which 27 soldiers and officers were killed and about two dozen others were injured on September 30 and November 29, respectively. Both these incidents are being investigated by the NIA and in order to prevent the reoccurrence of such or similar attacks, the security forces have initiated a series of measures including maintaining greater synergy amongst various security and intelligence agencies and strengthening the counter-insurgency grid. The government also said that in the post Wani killing 76 civilians and two policemen were killed in firing and other actions by security forces and mob violence. As many as 2,632 cases were registered by the police across Kashmir whereas 463 persons were arrested under the PSA. However, 145 of them were set free by courts, normally by quashing the PSA, and 318 are still in various jails across Kashmir, the sources said. BOZEMAN A Bozeman man is charged with deliberate homicide after confessing to killing his wife by hitting her on the head with a cast iron frying pan during a drunken argument after a New Year's Eve party. Bail was set at $750,000 for Jake William Collins, 32, who made an initial appearance in Justice Court on Tuesday. He is charged in the Jan. 1 death of Crystal Collins, 32. Crystal Collins' mother had reported her missing Monday, the Gallatin County sheriff's office said. Deputies interviewed Jake Collins twice Monday, according to court records. During the second interview, deputies obtained a confession and information about the location of his wife's body. Jake Collins told officers that he punched his wife then killed her by hitting her in the head with a cast iron frying pan while she laid on their bed, court records said. He also described cleaning up the crime scene and attempting to dispose of the victim's body. Collins told officers that "it wasn't self-defense. She deserves justice," court records said. Defense attorney Nick Miller had asked for Collins' bail to be set at $85,000, citing his ties to the community. Court records did not say where Crystal Collins' body was located. New Delhi: Pakistan's statement criticising India's bid to get Pathankot attack mastermind Masood Azhar designated as global terrorist by the UN reflected Islamabad's "tacit support" to terror networks and its uneasiness in talking about it, official sources said in New Delhi on Monday. Referring to Pakistan's comment calling India's move as "politically motivated" and "replete with frivolous information", they said the establishment was even scared of taking the name of Masood in its statement. "They are even scared of taking Azhar's name," the sources said, referring to the kind of support terror outfits including JeM get from the Pakistani establishment. Talking about India's move against the JeM chief, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria in his statement did not take name of Azhar. Pakistan's criticism of India on the issue came two days after its close ally China blocked New Delhi's proposal to get Azhar listed as a global terrorist. "The 1267 Sanctions Committee related to ISIS/Al-Qaeda has rejected a politically motivated proposal by India. Replete with frivolous information and baseless allegations, the Indian proposal had no merit and was primarily aimed at advancing its narrow national agenda. "The dismissal of this proposal is also a rejection of the Indian attempts to politicise and undermine the work of this important Committee of the Security Council," Zakaria had said the statement. China had blocked India's proposal to get Pakistan-based Azhar listed as global terrorist by the UN, citing lack of "consensus" on the issue. In the last nine months, China has twice put technical hold on listing Azhar as designated terrorist which would have forced imposition of asset freeze and travel ban on him. Shivpal Yadav may also again become SP's UP chief, provided Akhilesh's chosen candidates are given UP poll tickets. Lucknow: It is still touch and go between father Mulayam Singh Yadav and defiant son and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav though they met for two hours Tuesday to hammer out a compromise formula on power-sharing. Amid the intense power tussle, Akhilesh met his father at his Lucknow home, leading to speculation that efforts were being made for a patch-up. However, some senior party leaders close to Akhilesh denied any such effort, saying it was "too late". After the meeting, a senior party leader close to Akhilesh told PTI that "it was too late. There is no scope for any settlement. The Election Commission will decide who will get SP's cycle". Sources said the compromise formula could have been this: Akhilesh Yadav would step down from his new post as Samajwadi Party president if the Mulayam-Shivpal camp allowed him to choose poll candidates. According to reports, Akhilesh is also said to be ready to restore presidentship of the partys state unit to Shivpal Yadav. On Sunday, Shivpals nameplate was forcibly removed from the party state headquarters by the chief ministers supporters. But it was reinstalled on Monday, said the reports. Earlier, Akhilesh Yadav visited Mulayam Singhs house after the SP patriarch had returned to Lucknow from New Delhi. This was following a phone call between the UP CM and his father, brokered by party leader Azam Khan. Mulayam Singh Yadav took a chartered flight from Delhi to Lucknow, reportedly accompanied by Gayatri Prajapati, a minister from Akhilesh Yadav's government. Earlier in the day, Akhilesh Yadav's mentor and uncle, Ram Gopal Yadav met the Election Commission to stake claim to the party symbol. Akhilesh confidante Ram Gopal Yadav asserted before the Election Commission that the party was "actually" headed by the UP CM and not its founder Mulayam Singh. On Monday, Mulayam drove down to Nirvachan Sadan, the EC headquarters, to inform the poll watchdog that he continued to head the party and the decision to anoint his son Akhilesh as its president by the rival faction was unconstitutional as per the SP constitution. Leaders loyal to Akhilesh Ram Gopal Yadav, Naresh Agarwal and Kiranmoy Nanda met the Commission this morning to stake claim over SP and its election symbol. All these leaders stand expelled from the SP by Mulayam Singh. The Akhilesh Yadav camp in the Samajwadi Party on Monday claimed that it has the support of 90 per cent of the partys members. According to reports, UP Chief Minister Akhilesh's supporters in the party also claimed they were not unduly worried about the prospect of the EC freezing the partys cycle symbol. Party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav is scheduled to visit the Election Commission Tuesday to submit Akhileshs claim as the new national president of the party. MLC Rajpal Kashyap said that over 90 per cent of delegates put their signatures on the proposals taken up at the national convention called by Ram Gopal Yadav, including on Akhileshs appointment as the party chief. There was a rush among party leaders to put their signatures. Most MLAs, MPs, zila panchayat chairpersons did so, he was quoted as saying. We will keep the cycle as our symbol. But let it be known that Akhilesh himself is the symbol of the election, he added. Akhilesh is keen to avoid further confrontation, now that the party leadership is in his hands, said reports. Sixteen of 20 Congress MLAs in the state spoke in favour of a pre-poll pact with the SP under the Chief Minister on Monday, breaking with the party leadership which has ruled out such an alliance. The MLAs claimed that Akhilesh is popular, has a clean image and secular credentials. As many as ten MLAs said the party should enter into an alliance with Akhilesh. Though Sri Lanka has periodically freed Indian fishermen caught by its naval authorities, their boats are often not returned. An understanding was also reached between the two countries to ensure that there would be no physical harm or loss of life while apprehending fishermen by the Navy and Coast Guard of the two countries. (Photo: PTI/File) New Delhi: Sri Lanka has agreed to immediately release 51 Indian fishermen from its custody and has also agreed to consider returning a large number of fishing boats while India will free three Sri Lankan fishermen. This was decided after ministerial-level talks between the two countries on the contentious fishermens issue in Colombo on Monday. An understanding was also reached between the two countries to ensure that there would be no physical harm or loss of life while apprehending fishermen by the Navy and Coast Guard of the two countries. As result of the ministerial meeting, Sri Lanka is releasing 51 Indian fishermen and we are releasing three Sri Lankan fishermen. Significantly, Sri Lanka has also agreed to consider our request for release of fishing boats, ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. During the meeting, both sides agreed to a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to expedite the release and handing over of fishermen in each others custody on completion of respective legal and procedural formalities. As part of the Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) agreed to by both sides, it was also decided to intensify cooperation on patrolling and to institute periodic interaction between the Coast Guard of the two countries. Sri Lankas assurance to consider release of fishing boats is significant as a large number of such expensive vessels of Indian fishermen were in custody of the authorities of the island nation. Though Sri Lanka has periodically freed Indian fishermen caught by its naval authorities, their boats are often not returned. A joint press communique issued said, India and Sri Lanka held Ministerial level talks on fishermen issues today, 2 January 2017 in Colombo. Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare of India Mr. Radha Mohan Singh met with Minister for Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development of Sri Lanka Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera. The talks followed the first meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on fisheries held in New Delhi on 31 December 2016. The JWG, constituted in pursuance of the decision taken at the Ministerial meeting held in New Delhi on 5 November 2016, was co-chaired by Secretary (Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries), India and Secretary (Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development), Sri Lanka. The Ministers exchanged views on possible mechanisms to help find a permanent solution to the fishermen issues. The co-chairs of the JWG briefed the Ministers on the outcome of the first JWG meeting for consideration of the Ministers and further directions to take the process forward. It added, Both sides agreed to a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to expedite the release and handing over of fishermen in each others custody on completion of respective legal and procedural formalities. The immediate release of the fishermen presently in custody was announced following the ministerial level talks. As part of the Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) agreed to by both sides, it was decided to intensify cooperation on patrolling and to institute periodic interaction between the Coast Guard of the two countries. An understanding was reached to ensure that there was no physical harm or loss of life while apprehending fishermen by Navy and Coast Guard of the two countries. It was agreed to explore the possibility of introducing effective tracking systems for the fishing vessels and making the use of onboard communication equipment mandatory. The Ministers appreciated the efforts taken by the JWG in operationalising the Hotline between the Indian and Sri Lankan Coast Guard, which would ensure quick decision making and response. Both sides discussed the issue of releasing fishing vessels in each others custody. The Indian side requested for the immediate release of Indian fishing vessels. The Sri Lankan side agreed to consider the request in view of the progress being made by the JWG. It also said, The Sri Lankan side reiterated that the practice of bottom trawling needs to end at the earliest. The Indian side assured that bottom trawling would be phased out in a graded time-bound manner within a practicable timeframe keeping in mind the capacity building of the fishermen who have to be diversified into deep sea fishing as well as other coastal fisheries activities including mariculture, pearl farming, seaweed culture, etc. The Sri Lankan side was briefed about the measures already instituted including the decision to construct a new fishing harbour at Mookaiyur in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu, and the capacity building programme for Indian fishermen on deep sea fishing that commences tomorrow at Chennai and Kochi. The next JWG meeting will be held in Colombo in April 2017 to review the progress made in addressing the fishermen issues in a comprehensive manner. He also said the Indian culture does not allow women to party at night without their husband or brother. New Delhi: Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi sparked a controversy on Tuesday while commenting on the mass molestation of women, who had gathered on Bengalurus MG Road to celebrate the New Year, as he purportedly put the blame on the victims. "In these modern times, the more women are naked, the more fashionable, modern and educated they are considered. And this is increasing in the country. This is a blot on our culture," he said, according to a report in NDTV. He went on to compare women with petrol and sugar, and said that the Indian culture does not allow women to party at night with men other than husband or brother. "It is not right for my sister or daughter to go for New Year parties with another man at night, when her brother or husband is not with her," Azmi said. If there is petrol, there will be fire. Where there is sugar, there are ants, he added. Drunken hooligans posing as revellers ran riot at Bengaluru's MG Road and Brigade Road, molesting and harassing women who had assembled to usher in the New Year. Commenting on the incident on Monday, Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwar blamed the "Western ways" of the youngsters for such incidents. The chief of the National Commission for Women (NCW), Lalitha Kumaramangalam, on Tuesday said that summons have been issued to both Azmi and Karnataka Home Minister. Few men across parties have made disgusting statements. If men at this level say such things, where is nation heading, NCW chief said. Row in J&K Assembly as NC MLA calls militant martyr. Srinagar: The Jammu & Kashmir government said on Tuesday that Hizbul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wanis killing six months ago gave impetus to militancy and, since then, 59 youths in the Valley joined terror outfits. Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said in the Assembly that the government has notified a policy to encourage misguided youths and militants to abjure violence and accept the integrity of India and its Constitution. There was ruckus in the House as lawmaker of Opposition National Conference (NC) Showkat Hussain Ganie called Wani a freedom fighter who died a martyr. Ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members alleged that the NC paid money to its workers to fuel street protests across the Valley following Wanis killing by ecurity forces in July last year. In September last year, Pakistans Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had sought to glorify Wani by calling him a freedom fighter during his speech at the UN General Assembly, prompting India to react strongly, accusing the neighbouring country of sponsoring terrorism on Indian soil. Mr Ganie also said that Kashmiris would continue to cross over to the other side of the Line of Control (LoC) till the issue of Kashmir was resolved. PDPs Firdous Tak asked him to clarify before the House if it was his personal view or that of his party. Without answering the query, the NC member said he stood by what he had said and again called Wani a freedom fighter. PDP member Saifuddin Bhat charged that the NC tried to topple the PDP-BJP government by inciting violence in Kashmir. The government also said that after Wanis killing, 76 civilians and two policemen were killed in firing and other actions by security forces and mob violence. As many as 2,632 cases were registered by the police across Kashmir, and 463 persons arrested under the Public Safety Act (PSA). However, 145 of them were set free by courts, while 318 are still in various jails across Kashmir, sources said. Wanis killing and the resultant unrest in the Valley dominated proceedings of the Assembly on the second consecutive day, leading to an intense uproar with Opposition NC and Congress members continuing their protest over civilian deaths. Former chief minister and NC working president Omar Abdullah said that the government mishandled the situation. He termed the PDP-BJP alliance unholy. BJP ally and minister for science and technology Sajad Gani Lone accused Mr Abdullah of resorting to theatrics, and said that the Opposition was on a score-settling mission. CPI(M)s Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami urged Ms. Mufti to initiate a process of sustainable and credible dialogue on the Kashmir issue towards developing trust in people. The CM said that the government would provide misguided youths and militants fixed deposits of `1.50 lakh, payment of monetary incentive for surrender of weapons and stipend for a period of 3 years at the rate of `2,000 per month from the date of surrender. She further said that under the policy, 437 cases of surrendered militants were received from 2004 till date, and that out of these 216 cases have been finalised and monthly incentives of `2.68 core have been paid, whereas 219 cases were rejected. Meanwhile, government sources corroborated that militancy-related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir increased last year in comparison to 2015. Sources said that against 151 incidents in 2014, there were 143 in 2015, which jumped to 243 in 2016. Also, there were as many as 16 cases of weapon snatching reported across the Valley in 2016, and only in one of these the snatched weapons could be recovered. The other incidents included two major attacks at Army camps in Uri and Nagrota in which 27 soldiers and officers were killed and about two dozen others injured on September 30 and November 29, respectively. Both these incidents are being investigated by the NIA and in order to prevent the reoccurrence of such or similar attacks, security forces have initiated a series of measures including maintaining greater synergy amongst various security and intelligence agencies, and strengthening the counter-insurgency grid. The petitioner said he is filing the petition strictly in the public interest since grave issues of national security. New Delhi: A journalist has moved the Supreme Court for a probe into corruption in media in a case of the AugustaWestland chopper deal with Italy. A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Arun Mishra asked the petitioner, Hari Jaisingh, to serve a copy of the petition to the counsel for the CBI and Enforcement Directorate, which are already probing the irregularities in the deal. The Bench directed that this petition be heard along with a PIL on which the notice had already been ordered to the CBI and others. In his writ petition, Mr Jaisingh sought a direction for a probe relating to national security and instances of corruption among certain members of the Indian press. The present petition is filed with the purpose of obtaining directions from the court to monitor the ongoing investigations in the AgustaWestland Chopper Acquisition scam. The petitioner said he is filing the petition strictly in the public interest since grave issues of national security, the right to life and the freedom of press are at stake as rights under Article 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution have been infringed. He said as per Italian investigative report, it was admitted in the Milan Court of Appeals decision, the amounts agreed between AgustaWestland representatives, Giuseppe Orsi and Spagnolini Bruno, with the mediators, Haschke Guido, Gerosa Carlo and Christian Michel, were also inclusive of bribes to be paid to Indian public officials to perform deeds which were against their office duties. The report also highlights the role of Christ-ian Michel that around Rs 217 crore (Euros 30m) was allocated to him by Giuseppe Orsi (the CEO of Finmeccanica) and Bruno Spaglioni (the CEO of AgustaWestland) for managing different government officials in India. Of this, around Rs 50 crore was set aside specifically to manage the Indian Media. The apex courts judgment will also impact the Akali Dal in Punjab, which too goes to elections soon, alongwith Uttarakhand, Goa & Manipur. New Delhi: The Supreme Courts landmark ruling, directing politicians not to seek votes in the name of religion, caste or creed, close on the heels of Assembly elections, including in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, is likely to deal a severe blow to the poll prospects of major political parties, especially the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party. The campaigns of these three parties, in the fray in UP, are targeted at retaining and enhancing their main vote base of upper caste Hindus, dalits and Muslims, respectively. The apex courts judgment will also impact the Akali Dal in Punjab, which too goes to elections soon, alongwith Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. The Akali Dal enjoys a formidable support of Jat Sikhs, particularly in the rural belt. But with the Supreme Courts ruling, it will find it difficult to rake up the panthik agenda to garner votes. A seven judge bench on Monday, increasing the ambit of the Representation of People Act, ordered that any appeal by anyone connected to the candidate in the name or religion, race, caste, community or language would amount to corrupt practice and could result in disqualification. The countrys political system, however, is sharply divided on religious and caste lines, particularly in a state like UP where votebank polarisation has been the norm. For instance, the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, in which 60 lives were lost, led to massive polarisation of voters, particularly in western UP, and was an important factor that led the BJPs massive win in the state during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. On Tuesday, however, the BJP was quick to distance itself from religious polarisation, with home minister Rajnath Singh clarifying that the party never did it, nor will it indulge in it. When asked whether the BJP would rake up the Ram temple issue in UP, Mr Singh said the matter was sub-judice. BJP neither did politics of polarisation nor will it do in future. I feel if it was doing politics of polarisation, it would not have got a clear majority in Parliament I fully agree with whatever the apex court has said. Politics should not be on the lines of caste, cult or religion. Politics should be only in the name of humanity and justice, he said, while cautioning the so-called secular parties not to seek votes in the name of religion, caste or creed. The fact, however, is that in UP, both the BSP and SP are already making extra efforts to woo their tradition support base, starting with sizeable representation from these communities in their list of candidates. There is already discussion among political circles in UP as to which way the Muslim votes will swing in the wake of the crisis in the Samajwadi Party. Trying to cash in, BSP president Mayawati on Tuesday announced that her party would give tickets to 97 Muslims and 87 dalits. A former senior functionary of the Election Commission, adopting a cautious approach to the courts order, said, Since legal process in India are extremely lengthy and tedious, I feel political parties will find a way out to influence voters in the name of religion and caste. The Supreme Court will have to ensure that all complaints of violations are dispensed in a time bound manner so that it acts as a strong deterrent. Senior AIMIM leader and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi said, The Supreme Court has added a few things under Section 123 of the RP Act, but the judgment may clash with the Hindutva verdict as saffron parties can contend they are not seeking votes in the name of religion. Azam Khan mediated a phone conversation between Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam, said reports. Lucknow: In a possible bid to unite the warring factions in the Samajwadi Party (SP), party leader Azam Khan on Tuesday mediated a phone conversation between Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav. Soon after the phone call, the CM reached his father's residence in Lucknow to meet him. According to media reports, party circles are abuzz with talk of a fresh attempt at peace between the warring father and son. Mulayam Singh Yadav was also reported to have taken a chartered flight to Delhi after the call. The party has been embroiled in chaos as the father-son duo are fighting a public war to claim control over the party. Earlier, the Akhilesh Yadav camp in the Samajwadi Party (SP) had claimed that it has the support of 90 per cent of the partys members. According to reports, UP Chief Minister Akhilesh's supporters in the party also claimed they are not unduly worried about the prospect of the EC freezing the partys cycle symbol. Party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav is scheduled to visit the Election Commission Tuesday to submit Akhileshs claim as the new national president of the party. MLC Rajpal Kashyap said that over 90 per cent of the delegates put their signatures on the proposals taken up at the national convention called by Ram Gopal Yadav, including on Akhileshs appointment as the party chief. There was a rush among party leaders to put their signatures. Most MLAs, MPs, zila panchayat chairpersons did so, he was quoted as saying. We will keep the cycle as our symbol. But let it be known that Akhilesh himself is the symbol of the election, he added. Akhilesh is keen to avoid further confrontation, now that the party leadership is in his hands, said the report. Meanwhile, 16 of the 20 Congress MLAs in the state spoke in favour of a pre-poll pact with the SP under the Chief Minister on Monday, breaking with the party leadership which has ruled out such an alliance. The MLAs claimed that Akhilesh is popular, has a clean image and secular credentials. As many as ten MLAs said the party should enter into an alliance with Akhilesh. Akhileshs father Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was ousted as the party chief at his sons convention and made a mentor, rushed to Delhi on Monday to meet Election Commission officials and stake claim to the cycle symbol of the party for the upcoming elections. He also postponed a national convention called by him which was to be held on January 5. The day began with senior leader Ram Gopal Yadav reaching Delhi and staking claim to the crucial cycle symbol at the EC. New Delhi/Lucknow: The battleground in the Samajwadi Party family feud kept shifting between Delhi and Lucknow on Tuesday, with the Akhilesh Yadav faction, represented by the partys Rajya Sabha MP Ram Gopal Yadav, staking claim to the cycle symbol at the Election Commission, even as another attempt for truce between party patriach Mulayam Singh Yadav and his rebel son in the Uttar Pradesh capital came to naught. The reason for the reconciliatory meeting between father and son failing, sources said, were the tough demands put forward by Akhilesh Yadav, which included banishing his uncle Shivpal Yadav to Delhi, purportedly to play a national role, and the chief minister having a say in the final list of candidates for the coming Assembly polls in the state. This would mean that candidates with criminal records would be dropped. The chief minister reportedly agreed to step down from the national presidents post if his conditions were accepted. Mulayam Singh Yadav apparently did not concede any ground on these issues. The day began with senior leader Ram Gopal Yadav reaching Delhi and staking claim to the crucial cycle symbol at the EC. He is understood to have told the Election Commissioner that since Akhilesh Yadav has the support of 90 per cent of the MLAs and MPs and is the party president, the faction led by him should be considered the real Samajwadi Party. Ram Gopal Yadav later remained closeted with his core team of SP leaders Naresh Agrawal and Kiranmoy Nanda at his Lodhi Road residence. His confidante Mr Agrawal was seen going to meet the EC again later in the day. Mr Mulayan Singh Yadav, who had met the EC on Monday, flew to Lucknow on a chartered flight after senior leader Azam Khan made an effort to broker peace. The SP patriarch left for the state capital after a telephonic conversation with his son. Shivpal Yadav joined the meeting after about an hour and a half. In Lucknow, the three-hour-long meeting between Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav failed to achieve a breakthrough with both sides remaining firm on their demands. Party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav said in Delhi that there would be no reconciliation and the matter would finally be decided by the EC. However, Azam Khan, who has remained neutral, said the possibility of a patch-up between the two factions remains, asserting that anything is possible. Mr Khan had prevailed upon Mulayam Singh Yadav to revoke the expulsion of Akhilesh and cousin Ram Gopal Yadav before they removed him from the party presidents post. He said he would do what he can to bring about a rapprochement. Meanwhile, two controversies emerged within the party, adding a new angle to the ongoing strife. The Mulayam faction has claimed that the expulsion of CM Akhilesh Yadav and party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav was not taken back on paper and, hence, they remained expelled when they convened the emergency national convention. The revocation of their expulsion was conditional and it was decided that if they cancelled the national convention, the expulsion would be revoked. However, soon after talks, Akhilesh and Ram Gopal announced that they were going ahead with the convention and, hence, the letter revoking their expulsion was never actually issued, said a former minister close to Mulayam. He added that the expelled leaders did not have the authority to convene any meeting or convention and hence the January 1 event, in which Akhilesh Yadav was elected national president, was unconstitutional and illegal. The Akhilesh faction, on the other hand, has claimed that the signatures of Mulayam Singh Yadav on two letters issued on January 1 did not match. The first letter, issued on the morning of January 1, declared that the SP convention was unconstitutional and party leaders were asked not to attend the same. The second letter was addressed to party vice-president Kiranmoy Nanda, sacking him from the party. Mr Nanda claims that both the signatures are different. It was only on Sunday that the L-G office made its official Twitter debut with the handle being @LtGov-Delhi. New Delhi: The lieutenant-governors office on Monday asked the police to act against fake Twitter handles in the name of Anil Baijal putting out misleading posts critical of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and the elected government. In fact, two such accounts @AnilBaijal_LG and @AnilBaijal_ have garnered a substantial following since December 28, the day the former Home Secretary was appointed to the post. It was only on Sunday that the L-G office made its official Twitter debut with the handle being @LtGov-Delhi. Over 2,000 people are following it as of now. The L-G office has asked the Delhi police to look into the matter and initiate strict action against those who are running fake accounts of the lieutenant-governor, sources said, addi-ng the matter will also be taken up with the authorities of the site, if needed. Going by the posts, including on the Najeeb Jung-appointed Shunglu Committee to look into the decisions of the AAP government, the virtual imposters seem well aware of the tussle between the city government and Mr Baijals predecessor. Mr Jung has left behind 400 files of the Delhi government. Now I am in a dilemma as to whether to approve or return them, reads one tweet by fake handle @AnilBaijal_. Another fake handle, @AnilBaijal_LG, taunted Mr Kejriwal saying, Sir, using such language does not behove you irrespective of differences of opinion, referring to the CMs criticism of PM Narendra Modi. Mr Jung did not have any social media presence. Meanwhile, Mr Baijal held its first meeting with principal secretaries of the Delhi government and exhorted them to come up with innovative ideas and ensure timely delivery of services to people of Delhi. He asked the officers to make all efforts so that the city is clean and green. He directed all the officers to attend to the grievances of citizens and address their issues promptly. He assured them that the Raj Niwas would extend all cooperation to the government in this regard, a statement said. CASCADE The community of Cascade is helping one resident fulfill her dream of seeing "Wheel of Fortune" in person. More than 300 Cascade residents gathered Sunday to help honor and reward the city's Public Works Director Joe Voss. The event was billed as a way to help Voss defray some of the expenses of his wife Judy's health issues, but also raised money for a surprise. Judy Voss has long wanted to see Vanna White in person so Cascade came together to achieve her dream. One family donated the money for the Judy and Joe Voss's plane tickets later this month and another family pledged money to pay for their hotel. The community donation will go toward meals and transportation in Los Angeles. CRPF at BJP office after attack Kolkata: The CBI arrested senior TMC MP Sudip Bandopadhyay for his alleged role in the Rose Valley chit fund scam on Tuesday, prompting party chief Mamata Banerjee to accuse the Centre of vendetta politics. She called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a dangabaaj (rioter) and demanded his arrest. Members of the TMCs student wing also attacked a BJP office in Kolkata to protest the arrest. After Tapas Paul, Mr Bandopadhyay, TMCs leader in Lok Sabha, is the second party MP to be arrested in less than a week in connection with the Rs 15,000-crore scam. West Bengal-based Rose Valley group allegedly robbed millions of investors in several states by promising exaggerated returns. Why cannot Modi be arrested? He flaunts a suit worth Rs 4 crore. Why should Amit Shah not be arrested? Hes involved in a cooperative bank scam, the TMC chief said, adding that people have not forgotten the 2002 Gujarat riots. Mr Bandopadhyay was arrested after four hours of questioning about his alleged association with Rose Valley group and its owner Goutam Kundu. The CBI said that Mr Bandopadhyay took from the group favours such as foreign trips, hefty amounts of money and a car, and helped Mr Kundu expand his businesses of real estate, films, media, jewellery, hotels and resorts. The MP denied the allegations. It (the arrest) is the result of good performance in Parliament, he said. CBI officers, later in the night, took Mr Bandopadhyay to Bhubaneswar for cross-examination. Many shell firms involved in the scam are located in Odisha. A mob attacked a BJP office in Kolkata with stones. The BJP said 15 activists were injured. A few bled from the head as they spoke to the media. Ms Banerjee said when the PM could not fight his opponents politically, he used the CBI to intimidate them. She threatened to launch nationwide protests against the Modi governments vindictive attitude. We strongly condemn the politically vindictive attitude of Modi and Amit Shah. They have arrested our Parliamentary party leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay. He is a veteran politician and senior leader of our party. It is all because of our fight against note ban, she said. BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh questioned why only TMC leaders were being found to be involved in all the chit fund scams. She should stop making these baseless allegations. The rule of law is the same for everybody, he said. The Congress also termed the arrest a political vendetta launched by the government against its opponents. From the day Mamata Banerjee held a joint press conference with Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders, a new wave of vendetta has been unleashed by Modiji, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said. Sources also said that the Rizvi group of institutions would not remain shut for more than a day. Mumbai: A day after Abis Rizvi (48) was shot dead at an Istanbul nightclub by a lone gun man, his Bandra-based family and friends are still coming to terms with the loss and are trying to piece together details of his last hours. Sources close to the family have said that Akhtar Rizvi reached Istanbul on Monday morning to take the mortal remains of Abis and bring them back to India for the final rites, which will be held on January 4 at Rehmatabad cemetery at Mazgaon. Sources also said that the Rizvi group of institutions would not remain shut for more than a day, as their slain patron would not want it to stop for any reason. According to the source, the Rizvi family is yet to come to terms with the death of Abis and have requested privacy in their hour of grief. Family members have been receiving calls from friends and well-wishers asking questions about the incident, but they are also unaware of the same, said the source adding that Abis had left for Turkey on December 29 with a view to check out locations for his upcoming movie as well as usher in the New Year. He may have gone to Reina club as it is known to be frequented by well-known personalities, said the source. Meanwhile, the ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack through an unverified Twitter handle and said, In continuation of the blessed operations which ISIS carries out against Turkey, a soldier of the brave caliphate attacked one of the most popular nightclubs while Christians were celebrating their holiday. Researchers have found that this is the wrong date and that the Bard did not produce the finished version for another two years. Washington: William Shakespeares popular play Hamlet was dated wrongly causing scholars to overlook a message hidden in plain sight for centuries, new research has claimed. Until recently, academics believed that Shakespeare wrote Hamlet in early 1601, when Elizabeth I was still on the throne after more than 42 years. Researchers have found that this is the wrong date and that the Bard did not produce the finished version for another two years. According to them, Shakespeare may have used the play to win the favour of the newly crowned James I in 1603. In 1603, Shakespeare would have been working on his play immediately after the coronation of James I and after the death of his own father, John, in late 1601. The story of an old regime giving way to a new ruler from a neighbouring country seems to be an intentional reference to James VI of Scotland, assuming power in England after Elizabeths death, Gary Taylor, a professor at Florida State University, told The Times. Fortinbras, the Norwegian king who takes power in Denmark after the death of Claudius and Hamlet at the end of the play, was intended as a direct parallel to James I, Taylor said. The need to flatter the king would have been especially important because one of Jamess first acts was to appoint Shakespeares acting company, the Lord Chamberlains Men, as his own official players. Jihad Abdo was a popular actor in Syria before the war forced him to leave the country The actor and his wife lived on a meagre 3 dollars a day till he found the acting job in a movie with Nicole Kidman and James Franco. (Photo: Facebook) It is an all-too-familiar Hollywood story: The out-of-work actor eking out an existence in cheap housing, earning minimum wage delivering pizzas, desperate for his big break. But for Jay Abdo -- one of the Arab worlds biggest stars before the conflict in Syria made him just another anonymous refugee on the mean streets of Los Angeles -- it has been particularly tough. Just a few years ago, the 54-year-old actor could not walk the streets in any Middle Eastern country without being mobbed by fans or dine out without being offered free meals. A household name and a veteran of 43 movies and more than 1,000 TV episodes, Abdo was admired not just for his acting skills but his willingness to speak his mind in public.I had a pretty beautiful life, he told AFP. People loved me, on screen and on talk shows when I spoke to people and expressed my culture and points of view. Known in Syria by his real first name, Jihad, Abdo is best known for his role in Bab al-Hara (The Neighborhood Gate), one of the biggest soap operas in history, with up to 50 million viewers per episode.His path to Hollywood started in 2011 as tensions in Syria were escalating in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. His wife, painter and human rights lawyer Fadia Afashe, was a senior official in Syrias department of culture, and found herself having to flee Bashar al-Assads brutal regime after being caught meeting opposition activists during a trip to France. Torture She went to study public policy at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, intending to return to Syria after graduating. But Abdo himself was beginning to become a major annoyance to Assads crumbling regime after turning down numerous invitations to back the president at rallies and TV talk shows. Matters came to a head when he gave an interview to the Los Angeles Times during a trip to Beirut in which he accused Syrias secret service of torture and corruption. Strangers threatened him on his return to Syria, his car windows were smashed and he faced repeated demands to apologise to Assad on television. Having seen friends arrested or disappear -- some are still missing -- he uprooted in October 2011, leaving behind almost all his wealth and property, to join his wife in Minneapolis. The couple applied for asylum and drove for three days to Los Angeles with everything they owned so Abdo could find work. I met so many people who were shocked that my name was Jihad, he says, explaining why he became Jay. They didnt know it was Christian and I was named after a Christian lawyer in Damascus -- a very good friend to my family. Even with a more palatable name, more than 100 failed auditions followed as the couple lived a desperate existence on just $3 a day. It took more than a year to find work with a florist and delivering pizzas for Dominos, earning up to $300 a week. Destiny brought me Abdos break finally came when he landed a part alongside Nicole Kidman and James Franco in Queen of the Desert -- Werner Herzogs biopic of the British archeologist Gertrude Bell, due for release in spring. All my scenes were with Nicole, Abdo says. I cant praise her enough. Shes very sweet, extremely professional, a very good hearted woman -- very smart and sharp. Above all, she supported me from the first minute. Herzog has since described in interviews finally grasping how famous his Syrian hire was when they visited a souk in Marrakesh during filming in Morocco. Everyone wanted a photo with him. The merchants in the souk gave us everything for half price, the filmmaker told The Wall Street Journal. In a sign that Tinseltown really does like its happy endings, the actors career is finally back on track. He has a part in the Amazon television series The Patriot and Bon Voyage -- a short film he made with Swiss director Marc Raymond Wilkins -- has just been shortlisted for an Oscar. Last year, he appeared alongside Tom Hanks in A Hologram for the King, a comedy about a failed corporate salesman trying to do business in Saudi Arabia. Devastated by the worsening plight of the Syrian people in the five years since he escaped the Assad regime, Abdo is unsure whether he will ever return. But he believes he could not be in a better place. From the beginning, Hollywood was not my objective, he said. I did not plan to come here. Its destiny that brought me. The challenges of 2017 will have to be tackled by the civilian administration, solved by diplomacy not might. Happy New Year, everyone. The world has bid good riddance to 2016 with its political upheavals, civil war, mass displacement and celebrity deaths, and is wondering what 2017 holds (though little suggests the months ahead will be any different). For Pakistan, 2017 is the year in between. We are past the military transition of 2016 much anticipated, smoothly survived and we are not yet into election year, which will no doubt bring its own shocks and surprises. A little respite for business as usual. Or is it? Seen differently, 2017 is a crucial year for Pakistans democratic prospects. Nawazs third term has been a time of making peace with the new normal, a hybrid form of governance in which the security establishment calls the shots on all that matters while the government backs up its policies with appropriate theatrical flourish in parliament. The hybridity is working if you define working as circumventing a political collapse with occasional disruptions in the forms of dharnas and media leaks. All sides seem increasingly resigned to the status quo. But such resignation is unwarranted for the government. The challenges of 2017 will have to be tackled by the civilian administration, solved by diplomacy not might. Indian efforts to isolate Pakistan; an erratic US-administration tilting towards Delhi; shifting post-Aleppo dynamics in West Asia that will require Pakistan to refine its balancing act with Saudi Arabia and Iran; a regionally assertive Russia; an even more regionally assertive China potentially nothing less than a reordering of the world order. These challenges will require deft politicking to manage relationships while prioritising Pakistans interests (for example, no more clumsy brown-nosing that defined the governments handling of Turkish President Erdogans visit). The challenges on the domestic front are even greater. Phase two counterterrorism initiatives, expanding to include madrasas reform and improved civilian law-enforcement; implementation of CPEC; preparations for the elections, including holding a census and debating electoral reforms; managing the continuing energy crisis; financial planning to juggle mounting debt obligations with the hoped for CPEC windfalls. This is all the stuff of civilian governance. To manage these challenges Pakistan needs a highly functioning government, comprising both visionary, effective politicians and competent, honest bureaucrats at all levels of civilian administration. More importantly, we need a government that is not perceived as puppet-like or irrelevant, and that is trusted both by the public and the countrys other power centres to shoulder its mounting responsibilities. The stakes are high, and if the government botches it all up, there will be little hope for Pakistan to complete the stop-and-start transition to democracy that it has undergone since independence. But there is little evidence to suggest that our political class or civilian administration see themselves at a crucial juncture. The government remains bogged down in corruption dramas reminiscent of the 1990s, choosing to finagle out of the mess rather than establish precedents for accountability or transparency. Opposition parties are also weak, embroiled in vanity projects or internal power tussles. We sought solace in 2016 by celebrating the small victories of the National Assembly and provincial assemblies, which have passed progressive womens and minorities rights legislation. In what other country would the renaming of a physics centre after the countrys first Nobel laureate be perceived as a stride forward for human rights? As welcome as they are, they signal a growing disconnect between the political elite and the public they serve. This is still a country where Ahmadis are violently persecuted, Mumtaz Qadris grave is becoming a shrine, and Masroor Nawaz Jhangvi can win a provincial by-election. The continued reliance on patronage politics and election rigging (in the broadest sense) means that little continuity is required between policymaking and public appeal. But this is the fastest path to irrelevance if it is not accompanied by holistic and visionary policies aimed at facilitating social change, whether in the form of education and electoral reform, judicial capacity building, improved civilian law enforcement and a revival of grassroots politics that put community outreach at the forefront. Rather than see 2017 as a breather, our political class and bureaucracy should see it as a crucial year in which to reassert their role and relevance in Pakistans political structure. They should acknowledge this by taking their mandate seriously, reverting to serious political activism and engagement, and introducing major civil service reforms to help prepare Pakistan to tackle an increasingly unfamiliar and unpredictable world. The question is whether they still have it in them to rise to the challenge. By arrangement with Dawn Bloodied and burned bodies were stacked in a concrete prison yard and piled in carts, a photographer at the scene said. Manaus: Rioting inmates decapitated their rivals in brutal fighting between two gangs in a Brazilian jail that left 56 dead, while 144 prisoners escaped, officials said Monday. The riot broke out Sunday afternoon and lasted through the night at a prison on the outskirts of Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, state public security secretary Sergio Fontes said. Bloodied and burned bodies were stacked in a concrete prison yard and piled in carts, a photographer at the scene said. Fontes's department later lowered the death toll to 56 from an earlier count of 60. The fighting ranks among the most deadly of numerous prison riots across Latin America in the past decade. Fontes called it "the biggest massacre" ever committed at a prison in the state. Outside, heavily armed police hunted for dozens of inmates who escaped through a series of tunnels discovered at the Anisio Jobim penitentiary complex. Fontes's department later said that 112 prisoners escaped from that prison and another 72 from the nearby Antonio Trindade Penal Institute. Just 40 of the escapees were captured, it added. Decapitations Police finally restored order at the prison on Monday morning, freeing 12 guards who had been taken hostage, Fontes said. They found a horrific scene inside. "Many (victims) were decapitated, and they all suffered a lot of violence," he told a news conference. He said the gruesome scene appeared aimed at sending a message from the Family of the North (FDN), a powerful local gang, to rivals from the First Capital Command (PCC), one of Brazil's largest gangs. The PCC's base is in Sao Paulo, some 2,700 kilometers (1,650 miles) to the southeast. "During the negotiations (to end the riot), the prisoners had almost no demands," Fontes told local radio network Tiradentes. "We think they had already done what they wanted: kill members of the rival organization." 'Silent war' It was the latest eruption of horrific violence to hit Brazil's underfunded and overcrowded prisons. In October, deadly riots broke out at three prisons, blamed on fighting between members of the country's two largest gangs, the PCC and the Red Command (CV). During that episode, rioting inmates took visitors hostage, beheaded rivals and burned others alive, killing 33 people in all, the authorities said. In 1992, a riot in Sao Paulo's Carandiru prison left 111 people dead. Brazil's prisons are often controlled by drug gangs, whose turf wars on the outside are also fought out among inmates. "There is a silent war of drug trafficking, and the state needs to intervene," Fontes said. "What did we see in this case? One faction fighting another because each wants more money. The fight is for money and space." Brazil has struggled for years against a lucrative and violent drug trade. But jailing drug traffickers has done little to solve the problem. It may even fuel it, critics say. Overcrowding Human rights groups have long complained about the conditions in Brazilian prisons. "The problem starts with overcrowding," lawyer and activist Marcos Fuchs said. "When you put inmates from rival factions in the same prison unit, the state has no control over what happens inside." Some 622,000 people were imprisoned in Brazil as of the end of 2014, most of them black males, according to a justice ministry report. That makes it the world's fourth-largest prison population, the report said, after the United States, China and Russia. Brazil's prisons need 50 percent more capacity to handle the current number of inmates, the justice ministry report found. There were 1.67 prisoners for every available space, it said. In Amazonas state, the figure was 2.59 prisoners for every space. Springfield: Former Bishop Thomas Dupre, the first Roman Catholic bishop in the United States to be indicted on a sexual-abuse claim during the flood of abuse accusations against church officials, has died. He was 83. Dupre died on Friday, the Diocese of Springfield said. He died outside the diocese, but the location and the cause of his death weren't disclosed. Dupre, who became bishop in the mid-1990s, cited health reasons for his sudden retirement in 2004. Months later he was indicted on charges he raped two boys in the 1970s, but the case was dropped because prosecutors determined the statute of limitations had expired. Before Dupre became bishop he had been an aide of Bishop Joseph Maguire, who led the diocese from 1977 to 1992 and faced allegations following retirement that clergy sex abuse and a cover-up of that abuse had happened on his watch. In 2009, a man alleged in a lawsuit a known pedophile priest molested him at St. Patrick's Parish in Williamstown in the early 1980s, when he was a boy. He said Maguire and Dupre knew the priest had abused other boys but assigned him to the church anyway. Dupre testified for a deposition in the man's lawsuit but repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Dupre's lawyer tried unsuccessfully to have the judge impound a videotape of the deposition, saying the accuser merely wanted to use it to embarrass Dupre and embarrass the church. In 2012, the man reached a $500,000 settlement. Maguire apologized for the man's suffering, saying, "I only wish that in 1976, as a new bishop, I could have foreseen the true nature of one who violated our trust with such devastating harm to his victims." Dupre was defrocked by the Vatican in 2006. The priest also was defrocked. Maguire died in 2014 at age 95. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, which covers western Massachusetts and has more than 200,000 members, has paid more than $12 million to sex abuse victims since 2004. It said in 2008 it had paid $4.5 million to 59 victims in a settlement that included a personal donation from Dupre. Three people who said they were abused by Dupre were included in the settlement, and the prelate gave his own money to fund a portion of payments to two victims, diocese spokesman Mark Dupont said. Dupre's funeral arrangements will be private, Dupont said on Monday. The hardliners have called for protests if police do not charge activist Shaan Taseer with blasphemy against Islam, punishable by death. Islamabad: A Christmas message calling for prayers for those charged under Pakistan's blasphemy laws has led to death threats against the son of a provincial governor killed five years ago for criticising the same laws. The case highlights the continuing influence in Pakistan of Muslim hardliners who praise violence in the name of defending Islam, despite a government vow to crack down on religious extremism. The hardliners have called for mass protests if police do not charge activist Shaan Taseer with blasphemy against Islam - a crime punishable by death. Taseer's father, Punjab governor Salman Taseer, was gunned down by his bodyguard for championing the case of a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was sentenced to death under the blasphemy laws, which he said needed to be reformed. In a video message posted on his Facebook page, Taseer, a Muslim, wishes a happy holiday to Christians, in solidarity, and also asked for prayers for the woman and others victimised by what he called "inhumane" blasphemy laws. Taseer said on Monday that he had received "very credible death threats" from supporters of the hardline Muslim philosophy that inspired his father's killer, bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri. "They are sending me Mumtaz Qadri's photos with messages that there are several Mumtaz Qadris waiting for me," he told Reuters late on Monday. Tens of thousands people attended Qadri's funeral last March after he was put to death for killing the governor because they considered him a hero - showing the potential for this case to become another flashpoint. More than 200 people in Pakistan were charged under blasphemy laws in 2015 - many of them minorities such as Christians, who make up 1 percent of the population. Critics say the laws are often used to settle personal scores, and pressure for convictions is often applied on police and courts from religious groups and lawyers dedicated to pushing the harshest blasphemy punishments. At least 65 people, including lawyers, defendants and judges, have been murdered over blasphemy allegations since 1990, according to figures from a Center for Research and Security Studies report and local media. A spokesman for the hardline Islamist movement Sunni Tehreek said it was demanding police in Lahore charge Shaan Taseer with blasphemy against Islam. Police declined to comment, and a copy of the police report on the complaint did not mention Shaan Taseer by name. The police report did reference the Christmas message and opened an investigation the blasphemy laws' Section 295-A, which bans hate speech against any religion. However, Sunni Tehreek has threatened mass street protests unless the younger Taseer is charged under Section 295-C - blasphemy against Islam or the Prophet Mohammad. Sunni Tehreek figure Mujahid Abdur Rasool told Reuters the group was in negotiations with the government over the case. "When we gave them a warning for protests, a delegation of Punjab government met us today," Rasool said, adding they had set a deadline of Tuesday for police to meet their demands. He said Sunni Tehreek was not calling for Taseer's murder, only his prosecution and eventual execution. Punjab government officials could not be reached for comment. by Loula Lahham Wael Shalaby, secretary general of the State Council, hanged himself with a scarf. He had recently been arrested in connection with a major financial scandal involving Jamal al-Din al-Laban. The judges lawyer slams prison guards for poor supervision. An autopsy has been ordered. Cairo (AsiaNews) Wael Shalaby, an Egyptian judge and former secretary general of the State Council, Egypts administrative court system that monitors the exercise of government power, hanged himself in prison with a scarf yesterday morning. He had been detained on charges of corruption. Mr Shalaby's lawyer, Sayed Beheiry said that "He was going through a terrible psychological state during his questioning". "It is very hard to be a big important judge and suddenly you lose everything and sit in front of an investigator being accused of taking a bribe," Beheiry explained. Slamming the negligence shown by the guards in the prison where the judge was held, the lawyer added that Shalaby went to the bathroom, attached his scarf to the water-heater and hanged himself. A few hours after the suicide, the public prosecutor imposed a gag order on information or documents pertaining to the ongoing investigation. Judge Wael Shalabys arrest followed a huge scandal involving Jamal al-Din al-Laban, who was arrested on 26 December. Police seized millions in Egyptian pounds and foreign currencies at the latters home. The scandal is unprecedented in the countrys political and institutional life. Labans arrest led to Shalabys resignation from the State Council, which outranks the Justice Ministry, and eventually to his arrest. Observers and experts were expecting dozens of arrests, but the suicide brought everything to a halt. For his part, the public prosecutor has ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of Shalabys death. Results are expected in the coming days. Egyptian authorities have recently launched a campaign against corruption, stressing that "no one can be above the law." According to Transparency Internationals 2016 report, Egypt ranks 88th out of 168 among the most corrupt nations in the world. by Christopher Sharma The apostolic vicar proposes to focus on family spirituality, making families "active in the Gospel." The Himalayan nation has many mixed couples and hundreds of conversions to Christianity. The 2016 Plenary of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences also focused on the family. Kathmandu (AsiaNews) Mgr Paul Simick, apostolic vicar of Nepal, has announced that 2017 will be a year dedicated to the family and to stronger spirituality among Catholics. For the prelate, the aim is to make families "active in the Gospel" and highlight the need for greater spirituality among Nepali families. "When the family is strong in faith, he said, we are stronger in announcing the Good News." According to Mgr Simick, "in Nepal we have to take care of families in a special way because many Catholics have different experiences." For instance, "dozens of Catholics are born into Hindu families, which leads to the sharing of cultures. Indeed, Hundreds have converted to Christianity from other religions and many have a spouse from a different faith." Given the large number of mixed marriages, "We have decided that 2017 will be the year of the family, during which we will help them rediscover Gods presence among family members." The apostolic vicar noted that that the topic of the family is a key issue for all Asian Bishops' Conferences. In 2016 at the Plenary Assembly of the Federation of Bishops (in Sri Lanka), the bishops dealt with the challenges that the modern world poses to family ties. Speaking to the faithful gathered in Kathmandu's Assumption Cathedral, Mgr Simick said, "May you experience the loving presence of Jesus in the joy and sorrows of your life." Robin, a Catholic man married to a Hindu woman, was thrilled by the apostolic vicars appeal. Even though his wife practices a different religion, every day she goes along with him to the prayers. "Sometimes I feel God's grace upon me," she told AsiaNews. Angel Tamang is in the reverse situation. She is Catholic and her husband is Hindu. For her, "To create the Kingdom of God, we must first create Gods family. Mgr Simicks initiative will be really useful, she noted. In my family, my two children were imbued with a love for Jesus. Despite his different faith, my husband is happy that our children are Catholic and he helps me raise them as children of God." U.S. District Judge Susan Watters on Tuesday vacated the Jan. 9 trial of a Wyoming man accused of murdering a couple on the Crow Reservation. In a one-page order, Watters granted a defense motion to continue the trial for Jesus Deniz Mendoza, 19, of Worland. The judge also set a scheduling conference for Thursday to determine a new trial date. Mendoza is charged with two counts of first degree murder, attempted murder and other crimes in the July 2015 deaths of Jason and Tana Shane and wounding of their daughter. The family had stopped to help Mendoza on a road near Pryor. Assistant Federal Defender Dave Merchant had asked to continue the trial because experts needed for testimony were not available on Jan. 9. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Suek objected to further delay, saying the case had been pending for 16 months. Police have released a photo of the attacker, saying he might be from Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan. Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said that the state of emergency in force at the time of the attack will continue as long as necessary. Istanbul (AsiaNews/Agencies) Turkish police have released a photo of the main suspect (pictured) in the New Years Eve attack in Istanbul, claiming they have his fingerprints. Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said that the country's state of emergency which was already in place at the time of the attack would be extended for as long as necessary. Kurtulmus also said authorities were close to identifying the gunman after obtaining his fingerprints and a description of his appearance. "Information about the fingerprints and basic appearance of the terrorist have been found. In the process after this, work to identify him swiftly will be carried out," Kurtulmus said. Turkish police have already arrested 12 people. Turkish media reports quote police sources as saying the attacker might be from Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan. For the deputy prime minister, the military operation Turkey launched in Syria against terrorist groups and those behind them is behind the terror attack, but he added that the offensive would continue until all threats to Turkey have been removed. Kurtulmus also said Sunday's attack bore significant differences to previous attacks in Turkey and that it had been carried out to create divisions within Turkish society. by Nirmala Carvalho Judges rule that politicians can no longer appeal to confessional, linguistic or caste sentiments. The first ever challenge to another judgment that called Hindutva "a way of life and not a religion". "The paradox is that it is the party of Prime Minister which uses religion to attract" consensus. New Delhi (AsiaNews) - The Supreme Court of India has ruled that no politician can ever use religion to win votes. The sentence - four votes to three - was issued yesterday and could determine the fate of the next local elections, which are scheduled in 2017 in five states. The opinion of the judges challenge - but do not reverse - another judgment of 1995, which had defined the Hindutva [Hindu ideology that considers ethnic identity, cultural and political life, in the name of extremist groups who perpetrate acts of violence and discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities - ed] "a way of life and not a religion". Commenting to AsiaNews some Indian activists, secularists and Christians, emphasize the importance of the judgment and are enthusiastic about the opinion of the Court led by President TS Thakur. Indias highest court ruled that those who try to solicit votes on the basis of religion, caste, ethnic or linguistic affiliation commit an offense under Section 123 (3) of the Representation of People's Act. The judges also stress that "the exercise of vote is a secular practice "and that" the relationship between man and God is an individual choice. The state is not allowed to ask for loyalty in such activities". Ram Puniyani, president of the Center for Study of Society and Secularism in Mumbai, says that "the Hindutva judgment created the political precedent for the abuse of religion in the electoral arena." The activist also recalls that in the general election of 2014, those won by the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was the Prime Minister who "emphasized the fact that he was Hindu. These statements have weakened the secular social fabric of our republic". Puniyani reports that the largest party that exploits confessional sentiments to attract consensus is the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party, the current ruling Hindu nationalist party], "polarizing the communities along religious lines." To this, he adds, "the court ruling could be a great relief." Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), said: "It is ironic because, after all, Modi's politics is deeply rooted in the Hindutva movement. His election victory was attained with promises of development and growth for a young India. But India sees a resurgence of Hindutva agenda in all walks of life. On the basis of this judgement all who one on Hidutva agenda need to quit their parliament positions". Lenin Raghuvanshi, an activist for the rights of Dalits and founder of the People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (Pvchr), believes that yesterday's decision "may disqualify fascist political parties. The latter use religion to promote their racist agendas and create "conflicts. Fr. Lourdu Raj, Dean of Xavier School of Communication at Bhubaneshwar (Orissa Xavier University), warns: "Perhaps the judgement will do some good to the society if it is implemented well and if the civil society becomes vigilant". (Santosh Digal collaborated) It will require a lengthy registration process. The final decision will be taken in 2018 Seoul (AsiaNews) - The South Korean government is working on the registration of seven mountain Buddhist temples on the UNESCO world heritage list. An administration official of the cultural heritage (Cha) department announced the move yesterday. The request will be presented later this month, and according to the official will include the temple on Mount Beopju Songni, the temple on Mount Tongdo Yeongchuk, the temple on Mount Buseok Bonghwang, the temple on Mount Bongjeong Cheondeung, the temple on Mount Magok Taehwa, the temple Seonam on Mount Jogye and the temple on Mount Daehung Suryun. The official also said that the final decision on the status of the temples will be taken in 2018 following a review process lasting 18 months. Before the request, the Administration has submitted sites in seminars and conservation projects, by inserting the temples in the provisional list of UNESCO World Heritage in 2013. The anti-Assad front threatens to suspend participation in preparatory talks. Rebel militias speak of "many serious violations" of the cease-fire. Accusations rejected by the government who say they respect all points. Contested areas include the rebel bastion of Wadi Barada, essential for Damascus water supply. Damascus (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The "fragile" national truce in Syria is at risk, signed on December 30 last by the Syrian government and rebel militias. The anti-Assad front is ready to suspend participation in the preparations for peace talks promoted by Russia and Turkey, scheduled for later this month in Astana, Kazakhstan. In a note the militias denounce "many serious violations" of the cease-fire by the army loyalist. The truce, which, at first, seemed to hold on several fronts now appears increasingly endangered, and with it emerges the prospect of further escalation of violence. The ceasefire excludes the Islamic State and other jihadist groups, including former Nusra Front (offshoot of al Qaeda in the country). Russian President Vladimir Putin however, says the truce is fragile. Meanwhile, the future aims of the Iranian Russian axis in Syria after the recent recapture of Aleppo remain unclear. In an official statement published yesterday, signed by various rebel groups, there is a denunciation of "the regime and its allies" who continue "to shoot and commit numerous and serious violations" of the cease-fire. "Given that these violations continue - continues the statement - the rebel factions announce ... the freezing of all discussions related to the Astana negotiations". Among the disputed points, the ongoing fighting in the rebel bastion of Wadi Barada, near Damascus; according to the opposition the area would be subject to daily bombardments by government. In recent weeks the rebels have accused the army of Assad and allies of trying to take the area in every way, strategic for the water supply of the capital. And the water, as pointed out recently by Card. Mario Zenari in an interview with AsiaNews, is one of the major emergencies in Damascus. In response, the government army denies any wrongdoing and claims to respect all the points provided for in the agreement on a national cease-fire. The UN Security Council unanimously voted its support for the joint efforts of Moscow and Ankara to end the Syrian conflict and revive the peace talks. In almost six years of war more than 300 thousand people have been killed - according to some sources up to 450 thousand - and millions displaced, creating the worst humanitarian disaster in recent history. On a nominal level the truce is on a national scale; in reality it only covers western Syria, where government troops and rebel militias involved in the agreement have a marked presence. No news of Gam Seng and Dumdaw Nawng Lat since Christmas Eve. Lay people active in the parish, the two had reported to press about a Burmese army attack early December. Sources tell AsiaNews: "Family and friends concerned about their fate." Yangon (AsiaNews) There has been no news of Gam Seng and Dumdaw Nawng Lat for days now, the two Catholic who disappeared on Christmas Eve after helping some journalists to investigate the bombing of a Catholic church in Shan State, in early December . These are two faithful of the community of Saint Francis Xavier - hit during a Burmese army raid - in Mongkoe town, not far from the border between Myanmar and China. Local sources contacted by AsiaNews confirm the disappearance, explaining that these are two "lay figures" related to the local Church and active for some time "in the life of the community", and not two "priests" as at first reported by some International media. "Family and friends - says the source - are concerned and are doing everything they can to track them down. However, there is no reliable information about their fate. On December 3 last year a government army attack destroyed the St. Francis Xavier church in Mung Koe, Shan State (northeastern Myanmar). In the days following the attack Msgr. Philip Za Hawng, bishop of the Diocese of Lashio, where the parish is located, confirmed the destruction of the place of worship "with the exception of the bell tower." The parish priest, the nuns and the approximately one thousand Catholics who formed the community had abandoned the area earlier, finding refuge across the border in China. The escalation of tension between Burmese military and ethnic militias Shan had foreshadowed a possible attack, and this is why Catholics had fled and no one was injured in the bombing. The two men were last seen on December 24, near an army base called Byuha Gon [the strategic hill, ed] in Mongkoe. Previously the two Catholics had met with three journalists for the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), The Irrawaddy and Kumudra Journal, who were following an investigation into the demolition of the church. Questioned on the matter, one of the reporters said that "Gam Sen helped us with everything," regarding the situation with the fighting" and how the Burmese fighter jets "bombed the church and the city." He confirmed that it was "rockets and projectiles launched by the army". The two disappeared "after the publication of the photos" [of damaged churches and schools] concludes the chronicler, and "I think this is because they helped us and talked with us." For several weeks the advance of the Tatmadaw in the north-eastern territories has intensified. The Naypyidaw troops are using air and land attacks to target positions of ethnic militias, causing an unknown number of dead and arresting civilians indiscriminately. The Archbishop of Yangon, Card. Charles Bo, has repeatedly appealed to the whole country for peace. Christmas Eve service at the historic St. Olaf Church was canceled as law enforcement was called to investigate two break-ins at the remote building. The Carbon County Sheriff's Office was first called to the church, a lone structure in the hills west of the Cooney Reservoir, on Dec. 23. Vandals entered through a window and discharged a fire extinguisher but couldn't reach the sanctuary due to a locked door, according to a release from Deputy Quentin Thompson. Then overnight on Dec. 24, someone pushed out a window to enter the church and discharged fire extinguishers inside the chapel. There was also damage to at least one pew in the sanctuary, said Sheila Hildebrand, who manages communications for the church. Hildebrand said her father arrived to light the woodstove for the Christmas Eve service and discovered the damage. "He went to start the fire and realized that the basement had been broken into," she said. Thompson said that citizens in the area have put up a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the vandal or vandals. Carbon County Sheriff Josh McQuillan said Tuesday that there were no suspects at the time. The St. Olaf Church has been a labor of love for those involved in its upkeep and events. Terry Indreland, secretary and treasurer for the church board, said it was built in 1921 primarily for the Norwegian residents of the area. The church's first preacher is buried in the adjoining cemetery with his wife. After the church shut down in 1969, it was abandoned for about a decade before community members began to look after it. Indreland said his father was a founding board member. We all either went to the church or we have family buried in the cemetery there," he said. "About 15 years ago, they started having services again. That includes services on Easter Sunday and a few during the summer. It's also a popular place for weddings and music events. But Christmas Eve usually draws a crowd. Its become quite a tradition on Christmas Eve," Indreland said. "Standing room only is how Id describe it. Anyone with information on the break-ins can call the Carbon County Sheriff's Office at 406-446-1234. Courtney Petersen has stepped down as managing director and CEO of Shine Corporate, the listed law firm she joined in April 2015.In a statement to the ASX, the companys Board revealed that co-founder Simon Morrison will take back the reins as managing director while co-founder Stephen Roche will become more active as a senior management consultant.The Board said that it recognises Petersens valuable achievements during her stint. She has been at the helm of Shine for just five months.The Board is pleased to see the return of the founders to the Company to lead it through the next phase of its growth, the beleaguered firm said.The firm has had a rough year. In January, the firms shares were trading at $2 apiece before plummeting to just over 53 cents per share before the start of February.The companys shares have been edging up from February to October when it reached a high of nearly $1.50 per share before trending down again to 69 cents per share last month December. Year-to-date, the companys shares have slumped more than 62%.Statutory profits for the 2016 fiscal year were $14.8 million, down 50%. The firm has also warned that for fiscal 2017, statutory EBITDA are expected to be between $36 million and $40 million, up to $8 million below consensus.Petersens resignation comes after Jim Holding s departure after only three months into his tenure as Shines chief legal officer. The Western Australia Family Court is in danger of being overrun by so many cases that wait times for trials may be lengthened to two years.Several new developments are expected to weigh on the court, a report from ABC notes, most notably the reduced ability of two judges to take on some cases.Health issues has left one acting judge unable to tackle the backlog they were specifically employed to deal with. Moreover, the Courts chief judge will no longer be available to deal with trials in Perth, the report notes.Chief judge Stephen Thackray, who will increase his workload as senior judge in the Appeal Division of the federal Family Court in March, has written to the Family Law Practitioners' Association to warn of a "serious problem" for the court, ABC, which has seen the letter, reports.The pressures created by this unexpected turn of events will be exacerbated by other significant listing changes that have become necessary in the first half of 2017, some of which will affect trials already listed in January and February," he is quoted writing.The new developments has left family law practitioners fearing more delays in court.Michael Berry SC, president of the Family Law Practitioners' Association, told ABC that wait times for trials could be lenghtened from the already long one-and-a-half years revealed by official government data to two years.He also says that the government knows there is a lack of resources which is why it had in the past allotted several acting positions for registrars, magistrates and judges. However, more than stopgap solutions are needed, he insists, because those that suffer are families and most specially children who are already in disputes. By Michael J. I. Brown, Associate professor, Monash University NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, CC BY I havent got time for science, or at least not all of it. I cannot read 9,000 astrophysics papers every year. No way. And I have little patience for bad science, which gets more media attention than it deserves. Even the bad science is overwhelming. 700 papers are retracted annually, and thats a gross underestimate of the bad science in circulation. I, like most scientists, filter what I read using a few tricks for quickly rejecting bad science. Each trick isnt foolproof, but in combination theyre rather useful. They can help identify bad science in just minutes rather than hours. Okay, this looks bad Good science is often meticulous and somewhat anxious. You discover something new or find something unexpected, and frankly you worry a lot about screwing up. Identifying and addressing what could plausibly go wrong, and then writing that up succinctly, takes time. Lots of time. Months. Even years. If youre taking the time to do meticulous science, why not take the time to prepare a good manuscript? Make nice-looking figures, proofread it a couple of times, and the like. It seems obvious enough, which is why a sloppy manuscript or poor grammar can be a warning sign of bad science. Recently, Ermanno Borra and Eric Trottier claimed to have detected signals probably from extraterrestrial intelligence. I thought this was far-fetched, but still worth looking at the paper preprint. An immediate red flag for me was some blurry graphs, and figures with captions that werent on the same page. Was my caution justified? Well, as I dug into the paper more there were other warning signs. For example, the results relied on Fourier analysis, a mathematical method that can be powerful but is also notorious for picking up artefacts from scientific instruments and data processing. Furthermore, the surprising conclusions relied on a tiny subset of data, and there was no attempt to confirm the conclusions with additional observations. If they were being meticulous, wouldnt they have taken the time to collect more data and properly format their manuscript? Im very sceptical of Borra and Trottiers aliens, as are many of my colleagues. Of course, there are exceptions to good-looking good science. The announcement of the Higgs boson, which featured fantastic science, included slide designs that did not impress Vincent Connare, the creator of Comic Sans. To be honest, Im with Connare on the slides. However, this is a reminder that tricks for quickly flagging bad science are imperfect shortcuts, not absolute rules. Obviously Thats obvious, why didnt someone think of that before? Well, perhaps someone did. It has recently been claimed that the expansion of the universe may not be accelerating, which seems at odds with some Nobel Prizewinning research. That claim relies on a statistical analysis of supernova data. However, such analyses are nothing new. Enter keywords into a search engine, and you find many previous studies, but without the unexpected conclusions. Thats a red flag right there. So what happened? Well, one can study up on supernovae or cosmology, but there are experts on Twitter providing succinct explanations and informed responses. In plain English, you can only claim that evidence for the accelerating expansion of the universe is marginal if you make make incorrect assumptions about supernova properties and brush aside other key observations. And thus facepalm. Cosmologist Tamara Davis has noted that such omissions, accompanied by emphasis on a contrarian conclusion, tend to be misleading spin. Unfortunately, such omissions and erroneous assumptions turn up elsewhere too. Paramout Rank Journals You may be aware that some scientific journals come with a certain prestige. There are journal rankings, which typically place the journals Nature and Science near the top, and university rankings often use papers in prestigious journals as a proxy for quality. I dont care much for journal rankings myself. Nature and Science chase blockbuster results, but this leads to them publishing a few too many wrong and even fraudulent results. For example, the contrarian supernova paper was published in Natures Scientific Reports, which is an online, open access, multidisciplinary journal that is published by the same group as Nature. Shutterstock While I dont care for journal rankings, I do care about rank journals. If you submit your research to a decent journal, you have to assume you will (or could) get a meticulous editor and referee. That should force you to take some care with your research. However, if you know your paper will be accepted without proper peer review, then anything goes. University of Colorado librarian Jeffrey Beall maintains a list of predatory publishers (archived version here if site is offline), which includes vanity academic publishers that provide a veneer of peer review. Effectively, it is Bealls list of rank journals, and I treat papers in those journals with suspicion. So I wasnt too surprised when a journal on Bealls list published a paper promoting the chemtrails conspiracy theory. And I wasnt surprised to find that the paper had serious failings. For better and worse, my cynicism is justified all too often. Michael J. I. Brown receives research funding from the Australian Research Council and Monash University, and has developed space-related titles for Monash University's MWorld educational app. Originally published in The Conversation. Hi! I've worked in IT in Sydney for quite a while now. From what I've seen, it's possible to get hired in Australia even if you don't have much work experience. The secret is to work on your own projects in your spare time, and basically create a portfolio of things you've created to present to potential employers. It'll show that you are knowledgeable and passionate about IT! Try to create websites, applications etc. by yourself to show your skills. Hello, My girlfriend & I are really hoping to make the move to Australia this year. She is a CIMA qualified management accountant with 8 years experience, we were hoping that we could get a 189 visa. However, today we were dealt some bad news as we were told that due to her only being awarded her letters last year that all of her work experience doesn't count! So the 189 visa is a no-go now with only 60 points and a long waiting list. We were told we could apply for a 190 visa. I believe this is the same as a 189 but requires you to work in a specific state? This is very frustrating and disheartening but would like to pursue this option. Do we need to apply to a state directly? Thank you Patrick My father in law is writing his Form 888 evidence, can my sister in law, his daughter, witness it as she's from one of the listed professions? I can't see it prohibited on the form as they're related, but just wanted to check and see if it would be better to have someone who's not family witness it? Hello!My family are looking at the prospect of emigrating from the UK, and heading to Western Australia late this year/early next, by which time I will be 18 years old. Hugely enthusiastic about driving, one of my main thoughts in the process is how the move will affect my ability to drive.Should we move, I will have held my UK driving license for around 14 months. Reading on the DoT website, it says that if you are not 25 and have not driven for at least 2 years, you must retake your practical and theory test, and if under 19, receive a provisional WA license rather than a full one.My question is - would this be a stage 1 or stage 2 provisional license - red or green? Looking at the Novice Drivers page of the DoT website, it says that you must drive red provisionals for the first 6 months - but does this take into account my UK driving experience, or is it purely on my Australian driving experience?Many thanks! PARADISE A small twin-engine airplane made an emergency landing just west of Paradise on Tuesday morning, with both occupants taken to the hospital. Sanders County Sheriff Tom Rummel said the plane went down just before 9:30 a.m. between the railroad tracks and the Clark Fork River just west of town. The pilot and passenger, the only occupants of the plane, were able to walk away from the crash, but were taken to Clark Fork Valley Hospital in Plains. This was a good ending to a bad deal, Rummel said. The plane itself is trashed. Rummel said the site of the crash was secured by deputies, and an investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board was called in to determine the cause of the crash. Marlin Cooper, assistant chief of the Plains-Paradise Rural Fire Department, said as a pilot himself, he knows most of the other pilots in the area but didnt recognize the brand of the plane. The cabin area and wings remained intact but the plane appears to be totaled, he said. Rummel said he believed the plane was on its way from Missoula to Seattle. The Federal Aviation Administrations records show the aircraft, a Softex-Aero V-24L, is registered to Summit International American Ltd. in Bellevue, Washington. Missoulian reporter Dillon Kato contributed to this story. The hybrid versions of the new Honda Accord and Toyota Camry may be green but the rivalry between them is as mean as ever. Even a few years ago, youd have to be a) very rich and b) very committed to the green cause to consider a hybrid. Yes, there were some micro hybrids with start-stop tech in the mainstream segments, but the few proper hybrids with battery packs and electric motor assist were prohibitively expensive. And with fuel-efficient whisper it diesel-powered options available for much less money, the case for going hybrid was weakened further. But things have changed today. For one, hybrid technology has trickled down to lower segments, so its possible to do your bit for the environment without having to break the bank. Then theres the growing anti-diesel sentiment in India which is only getting louder. The uncertainty over future regulations on diesel cars has also got buyers thinking of alternatives and in the premium executive sedan segment; there are no greener and more efficient alternatives than the Toyota Camry Hybrid and new Honda Accord Hybrid. The Hybrid marks the return of the Accord to India and also serves as a technological showcase for Honda well get to the details in a bit. Built in Japan and shipped here, the fully imported Accord Hybrid unfortunately and perhaps unfairly is subject to the full spectrum of Indian taxes and duties though and what that means is it costs a hefty Rs 37 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Toyota, on the other hand, assembles the Camry Hybrid at its plant in Karnataka which qualifies the sedan for incentives under the governments Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles in India or FAME India scheme. Resultantly, its available for a far more reasonable Rs 30.9 lakh. On price alone, the Camry has the Accord beat. But it would be a grave injustice to reach a final conclusion without seeing the entire picture. Could the Accord Hybrid have some surprises in store? Or is the Camry Hybrid all the hybrid premium executive sedan youd need? Hybrid theory Lets begin by delving into what makes these cars special to begin with their powertrains. Both the Accord and the Camry hybrids have internal combustion engines and electric motors that combine to form single drive systems; so at one level, they are similar. Both also use piston engines that run the more efficient Atkinson cycle. But get into the details and both systems are very different. The Toyota system on the Camry comprises a 160hp 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol and 105kW (143hp) electric motor. The Camry can run in full electric mode only at low speeds and on mild throttle inputs. Up the pace and the system switches to a combination of electric and engine power (for a total output of 205hp), both sources driving the front wheels via a CVT gearbox. The 6.5Ah battery pack gets its power via regeneration, that is when the car is slowing down or cruising. The Accord has the stronger electric motor, the Toyota the more powerful engine. The Accords system is quite radical. It uses a lower-powered 145hp 2.0-litre petrol but a more peppy 135kW (184hp) electric motor. The real talking points, however, are the cars three drive modes. The first, EV mode has the Accord running solely on electric power drawn from the battery. As the battery depletes and/or speeds increase, the system switches to Hybrid mode. Here, the engine steps in, but not to drive the front wheels directly but to power a generator for the electric motor. So, in effect, in this mode the Accord functions as a range extender with motive power still supplied by the electric motor. Where the Honda also differs is how it uses its petrol motor. The latter only connects with the front wheels at around 80kph or so when the system switches to the third, Engine mode. When this happens, a clutch locks the engine to the front wheels. The electric motor is only used to add power in extreme circumstances, such as when you go flat on the throttle. And then you get a total of 215hp. Since the engine only directly powers the driven wheels at cruising speeds and above, Honda has uniquely opted to use only a single-speed transmission with the gear (ratio) in question equivalent to a regular gearboxs fifth or sixth gear. The advantage of this arrangement is minimal mechanical losses vis-a-vis a traditional transmission. Thats the tech. But how are they from behind the wheel? Expectantly, both cars run silently on electric power but its the Honda that is clearly quicker to replenish its batteries in average city driving. As a result, its also the car that goes longer in full EV mode. The caveat here is you have to be very gentle with throttle inputs to keep the Accord running as an electric vehicle. Press down any harder on the throttle pedal and the engine comes to life with the system switching to Hybrid mode. Also, when the Honda engine does kick in, you can tell its the noisier one here. It also tends to groan when extended. While you will rarely have the Accord go into Engine mode in city conditions, whats remarkable is how seamless the transition is from Hybrid to Engine mode. So much so that you cant pinpoint the moment when the engine takes over as the primary source of propulsion from the electric motor. The Camry may not have the Accords electric range but its EV mode does allow you to be a bit more liberal with throttle inputs before it hands over the reins to the engine. The Toyota engine itself runs quietly for the most part but get the Camry excited and theres no escaping that theres a CVT in the picture revs rise faster than a corresponding rise in speed. Both cars offer more than adequate performance in town but its the Accord that always feels a little bit more eager on the move. The Honda is also the only one here with a Sport mode that quickens up responses. Against the clock too, it was the Accord that was faster with a 0-100kph time of 8.32sec to the Camrys time of 9.2sec. However, acceleration figures dont help sell hybrid cars. Fuel economy figures do. And its here more than anywhere else that the Accord really shines. Its 17.4kpl city fuel efficiency not only significantly betters the Camrys respectable 14.1kpl figure, but is also among the best weve ever recorded for a petrol car! The Accords exceptional fuel economy is all thanks to the engine playing no more than a supporting role to the electric motor in typical city driving conditions. Both cars did well on our highway cycle too, but once again the Accord, whose electric motor chips in during steady cruising, proved far more efficient. The Accord feels peppier than the Camry in town and is the quicker of the two cars. Efficient, green and powerful as these cars are, they are not exciting. They dont change direction with particular gusto and their steerings dont offer enough to excite the keen driver. There isnt all that much between the duo in ride comfort either. The Accord has the marginally nicer low-speed ride and also feels a touch more planted at higher speeds. Luxury quotient As premium executive sedans, these cars better offer comfort and space in abundance. And they do. The Honda has the nicer back seat and offers the sofa-like comfort Accords of the past were famous for. Sure, seat cushioning is on the softer side but the seating position is better than what you get in the Camry and the ambience inside is nicer too. The Camry seats rear occupants lower resulting in a slightly knees-up seating position. There is, however, more headroom on offer, a far more usable middle seat and also the option to electrically recline the outer seats backrests by up to eight degrees. The Camry and the Accord do give the option to adjust the front passenger seat from the back to free up more legroom. Camry's seating position isnt perfect but electric backrest angle adjust a boon. What both cars also offer are comfortable and rather generous-sized front seats. Still, youll have a higher opinion of the Accords cabin. It is far better finished and the multi-layer dash, replete with dual screens, also has a more modern air about it. Like the Camry theres no tachometer on the Accord. But unlike the Camry, it doesnt really need one. Remember, the engine only comes into play to drive the wheels at higher speeds. The speedo dial and information displays do add to the look. Theres also a certain feeling of solidity that the thunk on door shut imparts. The Camry is well built too, but the cabin just doesnt feel special enough for the price. The dash isnt anything out of the ordinary, the touchscreen looks like an aftermarket add-on and theres way too much shiny faux wood and too many plain buttons in what should be a premium cabin. The old-school shift gate is also at odds with the modern instrument cluster that houses a colour display that tells the source of propulsion in real time. What Toyota has done is equipped the Camry Hybrid rather well. In addition to the adjustable rear-seat backrests mentioned earlier, theres also three-zone climate control, audio controls in the rear armrest, electric rear sun shade, ventilated front seats and powered steering adjust. The Accord has some highlights of its own too. Its drivers seat gets a memory function, theres a sunroof, satellite navigation is standard, and the infotainment system also comes with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Both cars get seven airbags and a whole host of electronic safety aids. The Accord additionally features what Honda calls LaneWatch. Here, the centre screen relays images from the left side mirror thus giving a visual of any blind spots. Dashs layered look and twin screens are very contemporary Honda touches. Overall cabin ambience is nicer. An important point to bring in is that only the Camry features a full-size spare tyre. Honda only supplies a puncture repair kit with the Accord Hybrid. Even so, its the Accord that has the marginally smaller boot with the battery pack eating into luggage space. The final countdown Before we tally the scores, a word on the way these cars look. The Camry is smart but some of us think the cuts and creases at the front are unnecessary. The Accord on the other hand has the sleeker look and generally sportier stance. Truth is, the Accord Hybrid is also the more desirable car. It feels newer, its got the nicer interior and its got the sort of technology under its attractive skin that other hybrids will only receive in the years to come. And for what its worth, its also the more fuel-efficient car. But good as the Accord Hybrid is, its not good enough to justify the Rs 7 lakh premium over the Camry. The Camry Hybrid may be down on appeal but it works well as a hybrid and theres just no arguing the financial case it makes. It really is the more sensible buy and our pick of this duo. Could local assembly and a subsequent lower price tag have changed the outcome of this comparison in favour of the Honda? Most definitely, yes. SUV The Spanish brand's next SUV is going to be named Arona , and it is set to be released late this year. According to multiple reports, it will be based on a platform developed by the Volkswagen Group.Most likely, we are talking about a smaller version of the MQB , which is expected to come to the Mk5 Ibiza . The Volkswagen Polo will also share the said platform, and the German hatchback will get a crossover derivative.The Arona name comes from a city on the Island of Tenerife, which is located in the Canary Islands, but the same name is used for a place in Italys Piedmont region. Regardless of the inspiration for the name of this crossover from SEAT, reports claim that its platform will not be the same as the one used on Audis smallest, the Q2.The Aronas prototype was spotted by both of our collaborators in the field of spyshots, and we can provide you with a massive gallery of the latest creation from SEAT. As you can discern from the images in the gallery, the camouflaged vehicle was being tested at a particular facility.The location is a test center for prototypes, and it came with a handling track, an off-road track, and many other human-made creations in the landscape to put the latest crossover from SEAT to the ultimate test in winter conditions.The upcoming Arona is expected to be inspired from the Ibiza, with a few touches from the Ateca . The interior should bear inspiration from both models, but with a larger accent on Ibiza-based components.A close look trough the photo gallery also reveals an Audi Q7 and a Lamborghini Aventador SV. Both vehicles mentioned were probably there for reasons that were not linked to the Spanish car.Regardless, these images of an Aventador should make hypercar owners think twice about hiding their precious possessions in a garage over the winter, because it is evident that those cars were designed to withstand most of what nature can cast at an automobile. HP TDI The first rumors on the topic spoke of a 2.5-liter inline-five-cylinder engine, which was supposed to be based on Audis signature unit. However, it appears that the Ingolstadt brand has ditched those plans for something more conventional, in the form of a V6 engine. The latter would probably be shared with the next RS4, which is also projected to get a 2.9-liter V6 unit.The configuration might sound familiar to you, because Porsche has launched a 2.9-liter V6 engine with twin turbochargers for its all-new Panamera. However, Audi will not get a carbon copy of the Porsche mill. Instead, the German brand is expected to develop the unit in two directions, one for the R8, and another for the RS4. The latter should get the unit in a state of tune that would provide about 450Meanwhile, the base model R8 should come with around 500 HP. The difference in power would appear from an electric supercharger. Audi has launched one of those in production on the SQ7, which features a 48-Volt hybrid setup that is designed to feed the electric compressor.The goal of that electric compressor was to eliminate lag on the Q7s V8 TDI engine, and Audi might do the same trick with the next twin-turbo V6 that it plans to fit in the R8.As you surely know by now, Audi has discontinued the V8 version of the R8 . While that is a loss for petrolheads, it leaves room for a new entry-level version in the R8 range. Back when the first R8 was launched, it did share its engine with the RS4 that was in dealerships at the time, but the unit came with a few changes to make it more suitable for its new task.The idea with the new engine in the R8 range would be to provide an experience as close as possible to a naturally aspirated unit, and mating that with a respectable power figure. Expect to see the V6 variant of the R8 on the market in about three years time. Now available to order from 13,750 euros in its country of origin, the refreshed Citroen C-Elysee is described as a tri-body sedan with an international vocation. What the French automaker fails to say in the adjacent press release is exactly what the label reads: this is a cheap vehicle designed with fleet operators in mind.Doug DeMuro once rented a pre-facelift C-Elysee, which he described as the worst car Ive ever driven. Thats not exactly high praise, but then again, businesses throughout Europe sure love the C-Elysee as a company car. The cheap-but-not-exactly-cheerful sedan is also sold in the Peoples Republic of China as a Dongfeng-Citroen, where it kicks off from 83,800 yuan.At first instance, the Euro-spec 2017 Citroen C-Elysee will be available in one version only. Christened Live, this trim level offers a PureTech 82 BVM petrol-chugging engine, a 7-inch Connect Radio auto system with a capacitive touchscreen, and Mirror Screen for iOS and Android users. A turbo diesel engine ( BlueHDi 100 BVM ) is also available, as is Connect Nav navigation, parking sensors, and a rearview camera.The facelift also brings forward a more modern grille, new headlights, a slightly redesigned interior, as well as two new exterior colors: the pictured Lazuli Blue, as well as a finish called Aluminum Grey.PSA Groupe also offers the 2017 C-Elysee as a Peugeot in the form of the facelifted 301 . Minus the front grille, lights, and badge, theres nothing much to separate the two siblings from one another. On an ending note, the Skoda Rapid is a better alternative in this particular car segment. For the past month - even though it feels like it was longer - Faraday Future has been releasing teaser after teaser hoping to build up the excitement ahead of the official presentation of its first production vehicle. For those interested in electric vehicles, having another important player on the market is big news, but FF's efforts have been marred by a few backstage stories.While the team has plenty of tried and tested talents - a lot of whom came from Tesla , so they know a thing or two about building a more than decent electric vehicle - the financial situation of the Californian company came into question late last fall.It was no secret Faraday Future was largely financed by Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, the man behind the LeEco brand and its upcoming electric sedan, the LeSee. After news of FF falling behind on its bills for the contractor building the $1 billion factory in Nevada broke out, the situation was all but confirmed by a Jia Yueting statement saying the mother-company was short on cash.However, Faraday Future insists everything is on course and going to plan, but you do get the feeling that it all hangs on the success of this unveiling now. From what we've seen so far, the vehicle seems to tick all the right boxes, with the biggest question remaining whether FF will gather the capital to go ahead and build it.After seeing its overall shape, its innovative exterior details, and its impressive performance , Faraday Future is now giving us a further glimpse at the interior. In what should be the final teaser, the car's connectivity capability is shown using Tron-like graphics.The images are sketchy, but we do get to see a large, vertical screen in the center of the console similar to those found in Tesla's Models S and X, as well as a digital instrument cluster - not that we were expecting analog dials. There also appears to be slightly smaller display facing the front passenger, a feat that would make the FF vehicle quite unique.More intriguing are the two controllers on the steering wheel, which might suggest Faraday Future plans to offer a new driver interface than the buttons we've seen so far. Whatever the case, it's worth bearing in mind that while the car to be shown at CES is close to production, it is still a prototype. One that we'll get to see in full in just a little over 14 hours. EV customers will be gifted with an, which will offer a driving range of 300 miles, coming as a global vehicle, but the company didn't offer any other details on the newcomer.The Fordthat will also work as a mobile generator. Destined for North America and the Middle East, the greener pickup truck is scheduled to land by 2020. Interestingly, the carmaker had announced it would introduce a diesel-animated F-150 in 2019.The company's North American market plans will see the Mustang receiving a gas-electric version. Scheduled to debut in 2020, thewill "deliver V8 power and even more low-end torque," which should mean a turbocharged V6 aided by electric muscle.Moving into the autonomous vehicle area of the industry, Ford is planning adestined for commercial ride sharing or ride hailing services. Using hybrid propulsion, the vehicle could spread to other markets if it proves successful.The Old Continent hasn't been overlooked, with Ford being determined to deliver ain 2019. It's worth noting that the automaker's gas-electric workhorses will provide serious emission reductions, since Ford explained its global utility range would mix electric motors with downsized EcoBoost engines, not naturally aspirated units.The five green models mention above will be built at the company's Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan, where the company is set to invest $700 million over the next four years. A new Manufacturing Innovation Center will be built, thus creating 700 new jobs.At the same time, Ford is canceling the plans to build a $1.6 billion site in Mexico, for building the Focus and Fusion. It's worth noting the policy switch come after President-elect Donald Trump criticized the Blue Oval's plans to make investments across the border. Instead of coming up with a new production side, Ford is planing to increase the Focus production capacity of its Mexican plant in Hermosillo.Ford's Chicago operations are also included in the announcement, as the company plans to introduce two new pursuit-rated hybrids. While just one of them will be built in the city, both will receive their law-enforcement hardware at the company's Chicago-based police modification center.The Blue Oval thus manages to deliver enough news to keep us busy until the 2017 Detroit Motor Show takes over the global automotive scene next week. Fiat Chrysler declined to comment on the information provided by Mr. Bruce Baumhowever of UAW Local 12, but then again, what did you expect FCA US LLC to say? Yes, that guy is spot on! According to the report, the Cherokee will move to Belvidere, Illinois to make way for the JL Wrangler. The pickup truck version of the 2018 Wrangler, meanwhile, is expected to debut in late 2018 for model year 2019.The plants going to continue to run the current Wrangler just like they always have, working six or seven days a week, added the UAW official, meaning that the JK and JL will coexist for a small portion of time. The 2019 Wrangler Pickup, known as the JT, is expected to expand the lineup no later than September 2018.Still body-on-frame like a proper off-road vehicle, the 2018 Jeep Wrangler will make use of aluminum in its construction. Modern touches also include the advent of a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine internally referred to as Hurricane. The turbod powerplant is confirmed to ship with an 8-speed auto (850RE).The best-selling engine will come in the form of an upgraded version of the Pentastar V6. The current iteration of the 3.6-liter powerplant is prone to cylinder head failure . In other news, a 3.0-liter turbo diesel developed by VM Motori could also make the cut. Just like the 2.0- and 3.6-liter gas engines, the oil-chugging mill is said to be paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission. Namely, the ZF 8HP75.Theres also been talk about a mild-hybrid and hybrid configurations of the JL Wrangler. On that note, the JL Wrangler could boast a 3-piece hardtop, an optional hardtop glass panel, and a power soft-top roof, depending on what the customer wants. OHV Say, doesnt Europe and South America have the Ranger T6 on sale? They do, dearest buddy, chiefly because only the United States has a 25 percent tariff on light trucks. A vestige of Cold War politics, the Chicken Tax should be abolished as a whole. Its loopholes make it somewhat irrelevant anyway, as proven by the Subaru Brat . Fitting rear-facing jumpseats in the Ranger, however, is not doable in this day and age for pretty obvious reasons.For all its good points and bad points, the one and only Mr. Regular of Regular Car Reviews would love to see Ford get back on track in the mid-size pickup segment. Minus the Vulcan V6, that is. The two-valve per cylinderdesign was bad then and its worse now, especially when compared to newcomers such as the EcoBoost V6 in the F-150 and the LGZ V6 in the Chevy Colorado.Other than Mr. Regulars teasing remarks about the U.S.-spec Ranger with the shockingly awful Vulcan V6, it should be noted that mid-size pickups are gaining ground in North America. From the Tacoma to the Colorado, everyone wants a piece of the action as consumers swarm to smaller workhorses instead of full-size behemoths such as the F-150. In this regard, FoMoCo is committed to reviving the Ranger for the U.S. market in the near future.Sources knowledgeable about the subject told autoevolution that Ford would relaunch the Ranger stateside no later than the calendar year 2018. Slated to be manufactured at the Wayne plant in Michigan, the first Ranger units will arrive in dealer showrooms for the 2019 model year. The next-gen Mazda BT-50 , meanwhile, will migrate from the T6 platform to Isuzu underpinnings. SUV Even though its biggest manufacturing facility is located in Mlada Boleslav, the municipality of Kvasiny is a very important place for the Skoda brand. Here, the Czech automaker produces models that include the Yeti, Superb, Kodiaq, and the SEAT take on the Volkswagen Tiguan, the Ateca.The production milestone Skoda wants you to know about is pretty straightforward: the historical plant of Kvasiny in the Czech Republic recently built its 2nd millionth car in the form of a white Kodiaq. As SUVs get more popular in the EU, the Kodiaq fits in this picture like a hand in glove.Kvasiny is a state-of-the-art production facility with a great tradition and an outstanding team, explains Michael Oeljeklaus, Skodas board member for production and logistics. The sites annual production volume will continue to increase over the coming years. To this end, we will be investing heavily into the location, expanding Kvasiny into a competence center for the production of SUV vehicles among other things. By other things, Oeljeklaus refers to a plug-in hybrid version of the Kodiaq and a similarly eco-friendly Superb.The craze for electrification is not a new subject for the Volkswagen Group. In the aftermath of the Dieselgate scandal, plug-in hybrids and battery-powered electric vehicles are the German companys biggest focus points for the coming years. Audi, for its part, plans to up the ante with the Q8, whereas Porsche is certain to offer the next-generation Cayenne as a plug-in hybrid.In related news, Skoda is pondering about a new model. Word has it the brand has to choose between a four-door coupe and anwith the allure of a coupe. If I were to bet my two cents on one of those two, Id say its the coupe-styled SUV that will see the light of day as a production model. HELENA Senate Republicans who oppose giving Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl a full six-year term in office want to intervene in a lawsuit that aims to do just that. Senate Majority Leader Fred Thomas, R-Stevensville, told his GOP caucus Tuesday that a resolution will be introduced as early as Wednesday defending the Senate's confirmation process, which set Jan. 1 as the expiration of Motl's term. "We're the party that's offended," Thomas told his Republican colleagues in the Montana Capitol after the Senate floor session. Republicans have repeatedly accused Motl of bias against them in his decisions, an accusation that Motl denies. Motl was appointed by Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock in 2013 and confirmed in 2015 when eight Republican senators broke ranks to vote with 21 Democrats. The commissioner of political practices regulates the state's campaign, ethics and lobbying laws, and is appointed to a six-year term. However, the position has been plagued by partisan wrangling that led to three commissioners being appointed and departing between 2010 and 2013. When Bullock appointed Motl in 2013, he set the end of the term as Jan. 1, 2017, which would have been the expiration of that first appointment in 2010. The Senate resolution confirming Motl's appointment also includes the Jan. 1 termination date. The lawsuit filed earlier this month argues that Motl's appointment and confirmation creates a new six-year term that should expire in mid-2019. The plaintiffs are Democratic Sen. Christine Kaufmann, departing Secretary of State Linda McCulloch, former Republican Rep. Jesse O'Hara, Al Smith of the Montana Trial Lawyers Association and a group called Montanans for Experienced Judges. District Judge Kathy Seeley agreed late last month to let Motl stay in office until the case is heard. A draft of the Senate Republicans' resolution seeks to intervene in the case in order to "vigorously defend and protect in all court proceedings the legal integrity of (the) Senate's constitutional confirmation authority." If the resolution passes, the Senate would assert that Motl's term ended on Jan. 1. Motl said Tuesday that having the Senate step into the lawsuit would be a good thing. "The more participants in the action, the better it is for the court," he said. Photo of the Google Home, which utilizes Google Assistant features, and the 2017 Hyundai IONIQ Electric, courtesy of Hyundai. FCA and Hyundai are collaborating with Google to implement connected car technologies in their vehicles, which includes both automakers utilizing Googles virtual assistant. FCA and Googles collaboration focuses on integrating the Android open-source platform with the Uconnect 8.4-inch connected system. The Uconnect and Android integration enables a system that is built for connectivity and compatibility with Google Assistant and the universe of popular Android applications, according to FCA. This collaboration with Google has been an extremely beneficial opportunity for both companies to explore how in-vehicle infotainment and connectivity technology continues to evolve, and what it takes to meet consumers increasing desire for innovation of information with minimal distraction, said Chris Barman, head of electrical engineering, FCA. With Android, we are able to maintain our unique and intuitive Uconnect user interface, all while integrating our easy-to-use systems with Androids features and ecosystem of applications. Hyundais Blue Link, which provides connected car services that drivers can access in vehicle or via a smartphone app, will be made compatible with Google Assistants voice activated service, according to Hyundai. "Our customers are finding smart home integrations like the one we are showcasing with Google Home to be very useful and convenient, said Manish Mehrotra, director, digital business planning and connected operations, Hyundai Motor America. We will continue to add layers of convenience to the Blue Link connected car system and our cars, making features like remote EV charge management, remote locking, temperature and remote start easier than ever while sitting on the couch and saying Ok Google. These technologies will be available for demonstration at CES 2017 in Las Vegas Jan. 58. Honda's concept car, dubbed "NeuV", will apparently be able to react to a passenger's emotions. The goal is to form an even deeper bond between the owner and the car. The Honda NeuV. The hype around Honda's concept car, NeuV, is all about it having emotions and being able to interact with passengers. Honda describes the Neuv as an automated EV commuter vehicle that revolutionized owner-car relationships. The NeuV will be equipped with artificial intelligence that Honda is calling an "emotion engine" which it collaborated with Cocoro SB, a Japanese artificial intelligence technology company. It is expected to create new human interaction possibilities and bring to the table a sort of new value for customers. The NeuV looks a lot like how a techno cube would. Its design draws inspiration from the Google Car. The NeuV's pod design is expected to change how commuter vehicles look and is based on the recent technological trend that most car manufacturers have ride on. In a press statement from Honda, the NeuV is designed for "harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, robotics, and big data to transform the mobility experience" and that its theme for its 2017 CES participation is Cooperative Mobility Ecosystem. The idea of a car with artificial intelligence and emotions can either be exciting or unsettling. Having your very own "K.I.T.T." to show off to friends and to talk to while in a traffic jam or a long ride would be awesome. However, it's admittedly scary to drive around with "HAL 9000", too. What the NeuV will bring to consumers will just have to be something we will have to wait for. Honda is scheduled to reveal more details about the NeuV at the 2017 CES in Las Vegas, NV from January 5 to January 8. It has been assigned as Exhibit A for the electronics trade show and should start the convention with much enthusiasm. A baggage handler was trapped inside the baggage area of a United Express Embraer 175 regional jet on Sunday while the jet flew from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Dulles Airport, in Washington, D.C., according to various news reports on Tuesday. The flight took off about 3 p.m. and landed on schedule about 90 minutes later. An employee of the airlines ground-handling vendor was found unharmed in the aircrafts cargo hold, United Express said in a statement to Charlottes local Fox news station. The airline said it is investigating the incident. The baggage handler, identified as Reginald Gaskin, 45, told a Washington Post reporter his lawyer advised him not to discuss the matter, adding, I thank God. He was with me. The jet flew to 27,000 feet, according to the Post. United officials told the Charlotte Observer the cargo hold was temperature-controlled and pressurized. Crews became aware the handler might be aboard, and emergency crews were ready after landing and immediately accessed the hold to release him. Similar incidents have occurred at least four times since 2005, according to the Observer; all of the handlers survived. The flight was operated by Mesa Airlines. 3 January 2017 11:00 (UTC+04:00) The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) is interested in the acquisition of high-quality real estate assets in European, Asia-Pacific and the US markets, SOFAZ Executive Director Shahmar Movsumov said in an exclusive interview with Trend. He said that creation of a portfolio, in which the developed markets, as well as various types of real estate will be widely represented, is one of the main directions of the strategy in this area, which means the continuation of investments in this sphere. "The purpose of investing into real estate is making a profit through consistently high payments for rent and purchase of high-quality assets with a huge potential of the price growth in the long run," said Movsumov. "At the moment, the Fund owns commercial, industrial and hotel real estate in central business districts of major cities, and our immediate plans include building up our presence in the above mentioned areas." He also noted that the SOFAZ began investing in real estate funds, which also suggest an increase in diversification along with high profitability. "Thus, SOFAZ gets a chance to enter new markets by covering more countries and regions," the head of the fund said. "At the same time, in addition to the expansion of possibilities from a geographical point of view, a portfolio diversification according to the strategy of property (ready, under construction, etc.) and by its type (residential, logistics, etc.) is taking place." SOFAZ was established in 1999 with assets of $271 million. Based on SOFAZs regulations, its funds may be used for construction and reconstruction of strategically important infrastructure facilities, as well as solving important national problems. The main goals of the State Oil Fund are accumulation of resources and placement of the Funds assets abroad in order to minimize the negative effect on the economy, prevention of "Dutch disease" to some extent, promotion of resource accumulation for future generations, and supporting current social and economic processes in Azerbaijan. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 3 January 2017 10:17 (UTC+04:00) By Trend The body of the Russian woman killed in a terrorist attack in the Turkish city of Istanbul will be sent to her last place of residence - Azerbaijan - on Monday evening, Russias Consulate General told "RIA Novosti" news agency Jan. 2. Earlier in the day, the Consulate General confirmed that Russian citizen Nurana Hasanova was killed in the attack. It was initially alleged that the deceased woman was a citizen of Azerbaijan. Yes, the victim is actually a Russian citizen, relatives have identified her, a death certificate has been issued and, as far as we know, the body will be sent to homeland tonight. Since in recent years she lived in Azerbaijan, it will be sent there, the press service told RIA Novosti. He added that there were no other Russian citizens among those killed or wounded in the terrorist attack. An attacker killed at least 39 people, including a police officer, in a gun attack on Reina, a popular night club in Istanbul, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu announced on Jan. 1. Sixty-nine people were also wounded in the attack that was carried out before 1:30 a.m. ---- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz KALISPELL Faith Blackaby, 13, and Jillian Wynne, 12, of Kalispell spent last summer brainstorming a project to help the community. What the girls learned through the process affected them in a way they didn't anticipate. They wanted to write stories, inspired by Wynne's older sister, Julia, who had written and sold the booklet "Shelter Tails" in 2015, donating all proceeds to Flathead County Animal Shelter. So far, that project has raised $1,287. "We wanted to do something different," Blackaby said. The Stillwater Christian School seventh-graders landed on an idea to feature veterans in a desktop calendar to sell with proceeds benefiting the Northwest Montana Veterans Food Pantry. Blackaby and Wynne interviewed veterans living in the Flathead and wrote stories that encapsulated the personal experiences of military life and war and how that impacted family life and created opportunities. "We ended up learning a lot more than we ever expected. We had more insight on everything that you can't really learn in a history book," Blackaby said. They wrote about 10 veterans, collected photos and compiled them into a calendar they are selling for $15. "We were writing three stories over the weekend and during school," Wynne said. "It was more fun than work." The men and women depicted represent the Air Force, Marines and Navy, serving in wars such as World War II, the Vietnam War, Gulf War and the war in Afghanistan. One of the surprising things the two girls learned about the veterans was how limited communication was between loved ones at home and abroad. Blackaby recalled World War II veteran Don Taylor's account that sometimes he and his wife had to wait months at a time before hearing from each other through letters and telegrams. Miscommunication was also an issue. "That makes me think of (Vietnam veteran) Lou Heidel," Wynne said. "His wife thought he was dead in the Battle of Hue City." The battle was one of the bloodiest of the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War in particular wasn't popular among Americans and the girls learned that returning soldiers weren't always greeted with parades. "Especially with Lou Heidel," Wynne said, noting he almost lost a leg in the war and received two Purple Hearts. "I've heard stories of people coming back from the Vietnam War and being treated horribly. (Heidel) went into depth about that. He was refused drinks at bars and they had to ride in a bulletproof bus coming home because college students were throwing bricks at them." The interviews were an emotional experience for both subject and interviewer. Blackaby and Wynne went to interviews with some prepared questions and were nervous as to whether the veterans would be comfortable opening up. "When we started asking them what they wanted people to know about their service they just did most of the talking and we didn't have to," Wynne said. The difficult part was condensing hours of notes into stories that would fit on desktop calendar pages, Blackaby and Wynne said. "They had many little stories we'd love to put in, but we had to focus on the main points," Wynne said. Both were grateful for the opportunity. "It definitely gave me a lot more respect for them and just appreciation for all they gave up for their country," Wynne added. To purchase a calendar email wynnefamily999@msn.com or call 406-471-1177. As the National Weather Service in Bismarck issued a wind chill warning on Tuesday afternoon, members of a Bismarck family cringe as they search for their lost dog, Mocha, who escaped from their north Bismarck home on New Year's Day. Blaine Clooten put out a call for help Monday on Facebook, asking anyone who has seen the 18-month-old German short-haired pointer to call with his whereabouts. Mocha was last spotted early Tuesday morning on Century Avenue, heading toward 19th Street, Clooten said. So hes still alive, surviving the cold, said Clooten, who was driving around with his daughter Tuesday morning looking for Mocha. Hes up-to-date on all his shots, hes friendly, hes not going to harm anyone." Mocha escaped from his home at 1826 N. Fourth St. when a door was left open. He just took off," Clooten said. Mocha, who is naturally a hunting dog, loves to run. He's a "spoiled rotten lapdog" and a bit "skittish," Clooten said. Mocha has been seen in the general area between Fairview Cemetery and Mr. B's mobile home park, 2500 Centennial Road. Clooten said they saw Mocha near the cemetery Monday, but the snow was "so deep we sunk up to our necks trying to get to him." By the time they returned with snowmobiles, he was gone. Mocha also has been seen running along Century Avenue. Clooten said he thinks Mocha is going to try to avoid the noisy streets as much as possible and may try to find some place warm. Clooten said said he's worried about the extreme cold in the next several days, with high temperatures dipping below zero Tuesday and Wednesday. Wind chills are dangerously cold, expected to range from 40 to 45 below zero, according to a warning issued by the National Weather Service in Bismarck. Clooten said since posting on Facebook he's received four calls from people who have spotted him, and several more people commented on his post saying they are looking for him. Theres lots of people looking, he said. Clooten said Mocha may only respond to him and asks that anyone who sees him call 701-426-6459. Burleigh County Detention Center is focusing on addressing mental illness and addiction seen in a large percentage of jail admissions. The jail hired Mark Kemmet as behavioral health specialist as part of the current administration's broader effort at reform, which includes looking at the incarceration of people with mental illnesses and addiction. Kemmet, a native of Napoleon, has spent 19 years with the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, working as a correctional officer and, most recently, a probation officer for the Bismarck-Mandan DUI Drug Court. Upon booking an inmate, jail employees screen inmates using an eight-question form related to mental health, said Maj. Steve Hall of the Burleigh County Sheriff's Department. Kemmet is flagged to do further assessments based on an inmates answers. "What we see a lot with these people with behavioral health issues, they end up spending more time in jail than someone who doesn't have those issues," Kemmet said. "Unfortunately, sometimes jail gets to be the default location for them." Hall said, although most people are able to get through the court system and out of jail within five days, it's people with problems navigating the system who end up staying longer. "(Kemmet's) going to have the opportunity to look and say, 'Why is this person here?'" Hall said. "If it's something related to behavioral health -- that they're stuck in the system and they need assistance -- that gives us an opportunity to find them the help they need, whether it's a court-appointed attorney, an advocate, whatever they need." In addition to hiring Kemmet, the jail received a federal grant to look at incarceration rates of people with mental health and addiction. It partnered with the Heartview Foundation to create a Web-based portal inmates can use that directs them to services, including treatment programs. "It's a nationwide epidemic that people with mental health (issues) and addiction are ending up in the criminal justice system in very high rates. It's not just in North Dakota, Hall said. "(Burleigh County Sheriff Pat Heinert) decided early on that we are missing the mark on what our obligations are to the people that are in our care We wanted to get back into doing more than warehousing people. Burleigh County, in partnership with Morton County, is due to open a new, $69 million, 475-bed jail this spring. With the new facility Kemmet hopes to offer more programs and hire another staff member. The jail also will consider implementing new plans, to include risk assessments for bond conditions, establishing a mental health court and adding more rehabilitation programs at the new jail. More behavioral health professionals Kemmets position isn't novel. In fact, many jails across the country have or are considering placing similar mental health or behavioral health professionals in their facilities. Ayesha Delany-Brumsey, director of the substance abuse and mental health program at the Vera Institute of Justice, said, New York City has similar staffing across the various boroughs of the city. In Manhattan, the jail hired a nurse and social worker to screen for behavioral and physical health needs. "The purpose of those individuals is to help triage very quickly if there are any immediate health concerns," Delany-Brumsey said. "But to also to try to identify any behavioral health needs the person would have. Then they would let that person's lawyer know so they can help connect them with care." Other jails are looking at Transitions Clinics, which exists in states such as Connecticut and California. A nationwide network of community health workers who go into the jails and meet with people who are incarcerated to determine what their needs are, Delany-Brumsey said. Research shows that there have been better outcomes, including lowering the use of emergency services, she said. Nancy Fishman, a project director at Vera Institute, is working in Philadelphia where there's a jail that received a grant from a national non-profit to staff a mental health professional who works for the public defender's office. The jail is planning to add another position at its adult probation or parole department to do screening and link people to services. While many jails across the U.S. are placing more focus on identifying, screening, assessing and treating people with mental illnesses who are incarcerated, jail diversion needs to be part of it, too, Fishman said. "I think what we're seeing ... is that too many people are going to jail because they're not being diverted to community resources that could address the root cause of whatever behavior may have brought them to the attention of law enforcement," she said. Mental illness, addiction and homelessness is prevalent in many jails. The Burleigh County Detention Center conducted a voluntary survey for a week in October, which found 48 percent of inmates had perceived behavioral health issues upon intake. Fifty-two percent of those with behavioral health issues had been to the jail before, with 72 percent having been at the jail within the past six months. 'We've come a long way' Cass County has offered these services at its jail since 2008. Lynette Tastad is a licensed independent clinical social worker and mental health coordinator at the jail. Her job is to refer people to a mental health diversion program. To get into the program, an inmate has to meet a certain diagnostic criteria, as well certain legal criteria. Tastad then makes a recommendation to the judge for referral to the program. Once in the program, she monitors inmates and acts as liaison between the court and treatment provider. When the program started, some opposed having a mental health professional at the jail, Tastad said. "I think the hardest thing is being a mental health professional coming into law enforcement's world -- it was just kind of difficult in the sense that law enforcement and mental health providers have a very different outlook. Our training is a lot different," she said. Now, county jail employees and local law enforcement officers are eager to learn how identifying inmates with mental illnesses and ways to help them. Officers screen inmates using the same eight-question form Burleigh County uses. In addition to the questions, jail employees are trained in what to look for and ask additional questions based on the person's answers. Tastad said officers have made a lot more referrals to her and more and more officers are signing up for crisis intervention training. "It's taken a lot of education and time, but we've come a long way since when I started," she said. Gov. Doug Burgum called on lawmakers to join him in his quest to reinvent state government Tuesday during his first State of the State Address before a joint session of the Legislature. Burgum kicked off the 2017 session by calling on North Dakotans to adapt to a changing world and economy. Anything being done simply because thats the way we have always done it should be and must be rigorously and respectfully questioned, Burgum said. And no matter what, we must have the courage to admit that we can always do better. Burgums speech was short on details. However, he said hell be finalizing his budget proposals and introducing them during the first few weeks of the session. Burgum said the budget has grown sharply in the past decade and, with declines in the energy and agricultural industries creating a revenue shortfall over the past year, a correction is needed. Right now is the time to right-size government, to balance our budget without raising taxes, to fund our priorities and do more with less, Burgum said. A nearly $1.4 billion budget shortfall required two rounds of budget cuts last year. Former Gov. Jack Dalrymple outlined a $13.475 billion budget proposal during the December organizational session. His budget includes a balancing act between cuts to hundreds of state employee positions, replenishing state rainy day funds and a state takeover of county social services to make a 12 percent state-paid property tax credit permanent. We must begin the long, hard process of reforming property taxes and were open to any and all ideas to reform our current system, Burgum said. True long-term reform requires that we reduce the cost of local government. Burgum also addressed the Dakota Access Pipeline protests and the impact on relations between the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the state. The Dakota Access Pipeline protests began with a debate concerning legitimate issues raised by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, including protecting our valuable water resources and a desire for genuine government-to-government consultation, Burgum said. Those original concerns have been hijacked by those with alternative agendas. Protesters have been camping in southern Morton County and opposition to the $3.8 billion, four-state project has led to more than 570 arrests and millions in law enforcement response costs since August. Burgum said local, tribal, state and federal agencies will need to work together to clean up the protest camp site when the protests have ended. Vacating the unauthorized main camp on Army Corps land cleaning up the abandoned cars, illegal structures and human waste from months of occupation will be a costly and time-consuming effort, Burgum said. He told lawmakers relationships between the state and the tribes have been frayed since the protests began and theyll take time to repair. I pledge my administration to a fresh start in our relations with all tribal nations who live with and among us, Burgum said. Our goal is to understand each tribes individual issues and circumstances so that we may move forward together. Burgum will hold meetings with leaders of each of the states tribes this week. Legislative leadership also has a separate series of meetings this week. A Tennessee man is charged with child abuse after he reportedly admitted to hitting and choking his daughter when he found out she was posting nude photos to Snapchat. Hamilton County deputies arrested Christian Amason, 45, on Sunday after his daughter reported the abuse to the police, according to WTVC. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Students attending almost 40 schools in Region 5, including 13 in Beaumont ISD and five in Port Arthur ISD, are eligible to apply to transfer to other schools or districts due to poor academic performance over the past three years, the Texas Education Agency recently announced. The state's Public Education Grant (PEG) program identified campuses with "improvement required" ratings in 2014, 2015 or 2016, or with failing rates of 50 percent or higher on STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) tests in any subject for two of the last three years. Parents whose children attend schools identified in the PEG program can apply to transfer to another school within the district or in other districts for the 2017-18 school year. >> Take a look at the schools where students are eligible to apply for transfer by district in the slideshow above. The state provides additional funds to districts who accept PEG transfers - about 10 percent more than the typical per-student allotment, TEA spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said. Transportation is not provided for students who choose to transfer, and districts are not required to accept PEG transfers. The number of students participating in the program, which began in 1995, has increased in recent years. In 2009-10, about 460 students were attending schools as PEG-transfers; by 2013-14, the most recent data provided by the TEA, there were more than 2,200. Just five districts in Southeast Texas had PEG transfers attending during those four years, according to TEA data. In 2014, about 130 PEG transfers attended Region 5 schools, with almost all in Kirbyville ISD, which accepted about 115 that year. Fewer schools made the PEG list this year, with 39 identified from Region 5 for 2017-18, down from 42 for the current school year. Statewide, 1,379 schools were identified, a 10 percent decrease from last year. In Beaumont, Amelia Elementary was the only school from last year's list to not be named this year, while Vincent Middle School was added. The other 12 BISD schools on the list remained the same from last year. Five Port Arthur ISD schools were identified as PEG-eligible, down from seven last year. All schools in Burkeville ISD, Chester ISD and High Island ISD made the list. Because the program identifies schools based on three years of academic performance, schools can remain on the list even after they improve their ratings and passing rates. That was the case for five of the schools, which remain on the list due to poor performance in 2014 despite two years of improved results. PEG-designated schools are required to notify current students that they are eligible to request to transfer under the program by Feb. 1, 2017. LTeitz@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/LizTeitz Secretary of State John Kerry used the word conscience over and over again as he attempted to explain and justify the Obama administration's decision not to veto a one-sided U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israel. He added that the U.S. could not stand idly by while Israel torpedoed any hope for a two-state solution. The Obama administration knows all about standing idly by that was its all-but-explicit policy toward other troubles in the Middle East. Obama came into office with one foreign policy lodestar Not George Bush and has stuck with it mulishly no matter how much the facts on the ground demanded flexibility. An Obama official dubbed it leading from behind. And so, when Syrian strongman Bashar Assad massacred up to 400,000 people by dropping barrel bombs on civilian neighborhoods, shelling hospitals and imposing sieges on cities to starve out the inhabitants, the Obama administration stood very, very idly by. Even after warning Assad that the use of chemical weapons would trigger a U.S. response, Obama did nothing when Assad called his bluff. When ISIS was rampaging through northern Iraq and southern Syria, beheading, crucifying and burning people alive, the Obama administration stood idly by. There are 2.75 million Palestinians living in the West Bank, Kerry thundered, without explaining why their misfortune is more urgent than that of 4.8 million Syrian refugees who are living in Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq and various European countries. An additional 6.6 million Syrians are internally displaced and desperately in need of assistance. The Palestinian refugees (the term is absurd after 68 years) are the only refugees in the world who have a United Nations program devoted exclusively to them (UNRWA) which may be one reason they remain stateless. Just about every single one of Kerry's assumptions about the Palestinian-Israeli dispute is erroneous. Start with his assertion that the Palestinians want an independent state on the West Bank. They have been offered such a state at least twice. In 2000, at Camp David, Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered a generous settlement including land swaps. Yasser Arafat not only rejected it; he started a new intifada. In 2008, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered Mahmoud Abbas a state comprising nearly all of the West Bank (Israel would have kept about 5 percent), with East Jerusalem as the capital. Abbas rejected it. Obama administration assertions to the contrary notwithstanding, the Palestinian Authority has not recognized that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state. Palestinian propaganda ceaselessly depicts Palestine as comprising all of the territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. They continue, as Kerry himself acknowledged, to glorify terrorists. Kerry suggests that solving the Israel-Palestinian conflict is the key to stabilizing a volatile region. Has he been asleep for the past 50 years? The region is roiled by Islamic extremism in both Sunni and Shiite guises. The Obama administration has heightened tensions in the region with its embrace of Iran. Civil wars, revolutions, attempted coups and terrorism are destabilizing Libya, Iraq, Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, Yemen and others. For an Arab, the West Bank is one of the safest (not to mention freest) places to live in the Middle East. Kerry said the administration could not in good conscience let Israel build new settlements in occupied Palestinian land and thereby sabotage the peace process. 1) The land in question was never Palestinian, as Kerry surely knows. It was grabbed by Jordan in 1948 and then, reluctantly, taken by Israel in a defensive war in 1967. 2) Israel, bowing to Obama's wishes, imposed a ban on settlements for 10 months in 2009. There was no response from the Palestinians. 3) Kerry certainly also knows that the Palestinian strategy for years has been to end-run direct talks with the Israelis and force a recognition of maximal Palestinian demands through international pressure. This failure to veto, far more than a few Israeli apartments, is the true obstacle to peace, because it encourages the Palestinians' unrealistic expectations and despicable tactics. These have lately included stabbings, shootings and driving cars into random pedestrians. The world is aflame with threats and instability, yet Kerry and Obama, petulant leftists with an Israel fixation, could not resist this last kick in the teeth to the region's sole democracy. They knew it would harm Israel's moral standing now the delegitimizers can claim that Israel is in violation of Security Council resolutions and give an unmerited win to the Palestinians. Perhaps most infuriating of all, they claim to be doing it all for Israel's own good. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Joanna Moore asked for playground equipment, Malia Gutierrez for iPad minis, and Marissa Phillips for phonics lessons. These weren't wish lists for Santa. They are requests from local teachers posted to the crowd-funding website, DonorsChoose.org, which teachers across the country often turn to to raise money for extra materials and supplies for their students. More than a dozen teachers in at least six Southeast Texas school districts had campaigns running on the site throughout December, asking supporters to donate money for things that district administrators can't or won't buy. Local requests cover everything from technology - iPads and tablets are particularly popular - to books and basic school supplies, depending on teachers' needs. "My students are in need of books and materials for an effective reading center! My current classroom library is lacking in books for grades 3, 4, and 5," a China Elementary teacher wrote on her page, while a Nederland teacher asked for iPads to help her English Language Learner students. On the site, which launched in 2000, teachers submit proposals that are reviewed by staff. If the projects are approved and the campaigns are funded, employees order and ship the supplies, so the money never passes through teachers' or districts' hands. "Each teacher has their own preference as to what they feel like they need," said Phillips, who has successfully funded two of the three projects she's posted on the site. "And so basically, when you walk into a classroom, the things you would necessarily use to teach with may or may not be there, and when that occurs, you have to be creative." That's how she bought paints, brushes and magnetic easels and letters for her kindergartners. "There's so many skills you can develop using art, so the first project I did and got funded was to be able to get some paint, paper, and paintbrushes, so we could do art projects in here," Phillips said. The magnets were to make spelling and writing a tactile experience. While some of the support for her campaigns came from friends, most of it was from people across the country who she'd never met. In most districts, including BISD and PAISD, teachers are given a set amount of money or supplies from the district, and can request additional materials or reimbursement as needed from their principal or campus administration. Phyllis Geans, PAISD's Chief Financial Officer, said the district has tried to add money for classroom supplies in recent years, "but you have to take it with a grain of salt," she said. "Nobody ever says (what they're given) is more than enough." When teachers want to go beyond what is provided, especially for expensive items like tablets, they'll reach into their own pockets or ask others to chip in. A 2016 survey by education companies Agile and SheerID found that teachers nationally spend an average of $487 of their own money each year. Dawn Clary, who teaches at BISD's Bingman Head Start, said teachers she knows spend that much "easily, if not more," and more than 75 percent of the survey's respondents said they spend at least $200 each. That's why she's turned to crowd-funding to add more technology to her classroom, seeking just over $500 for three tablets for her preschoolers. Joanna Moore, who teaches pre-K at Dowling, said she spends at least $500 in the summer preparing her classroom, and around $100 each month on everything from safety gloves to "manipulatives," hands-on learning aides. She said teachers are given $100 at the beginning of the school year to supply their classroom, which doesn't reach far enough. The school's playground has been closed this year, and Moore hoped to buy ropes, cones and balls for her students. That project was not fully funded before the deadline, but some donors who had already contributed chose to give Moore gift cards for the site to purchase some of the requested items. In her 19 years of teaching, "it's always been ... that there's just not enough funding for everything that is needed," Moore said. "I want these children to be able to have everything that some other school districts have." Teachers can apply for grants from organizations like the Beaumont Public Schools Foundation or the Port Arthur Education Foundation, but crowd-funding's appeal is the scope of the donors it can reach. "I had one person fund from me sharing on my Facebook page, but it was anonymous, and the rest came from people that I didn't know," Phillips said. Aja Baise, who used the site to order a carpet for her room at Dowling and is now fundraising for tablets, said her students were excited that people they'd never met wanted to support them. "They felt so special, it was such a blessing," she said. "Don't be afraid to reach out, because a lot of the stuff, you're not going to get it in the public school system." LTeitz@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/LizTeitz Here are seven things for ASC leaders to know on Jan. 3, 2017. Trump floats ideas to transform VA, focusing on a private option President-elect Donald J. Trump could make big changes to the Veterans Affairs medical care. Mr. Trump made it known that he wanted to change medical care options for veterans, who traditionally received care at VA hospitals. One of Mr. Trump's officials described the potential changes, which would allow veterans to seek care at a VA facility or private physician in a "public-private option." President-elect Donald Trump meets with leading healthcare executives from Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic & more Donald Trump met with some of the nation's leading healthcare executives on Dec. 28, 2016, in Palm Beach, Fla., including Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic President and CEO John Noseworthy, MD; Baltimore-based The Johns Hopkins Medicine CEO Paul Rothman, MD; Boston-based Partners HealthCare President and CEO David Torchiana, MD; and Cleveland Clinic President and CEO Toby Cosgrove. Wills Eye Hospital files suit for classification as ASC CMS and Philadelphia-based Wills Eye Hospital are at odds over the agency classifying Wills Eye as an ASC. Wills Eye re-established inpatient care services at its main building in 2013 and then applied for Medicare enrollment as a hospital. Prior to adding these serves, the eye center fell under ASC classification. Google, Boston Scientific 2017 New Year's Resolutions: Jumpstart digital health startups Marlborough, Mass.-based Boston Scientific's annual Connected Patient Challenge co-sponsored by Mountain View-Calif.-based Google aims to revolutionize data analytics in healthcare by awarding a $50,000 prize to an analytic-based start-up. Physicians rate top 5 patient privacy threats from EHRs The "Medscape EHR Report" asked physicians to rank the top five patient privacy threats. The top patient privacy concerns among physicians in relationship to EHRs are: 1. Hacking and misusing information: 60 percent 2. Loss of patient information through a malfunction: 57 percent 3. Unauthorized access to patient information: 57 percent 4. HIPAA compliance: 35 percent 5. Internal sabotage of records: 24 percent The Joint Commission, CMS ban secure text messaging use for care orders After allowing physicians to use secure text messaging to send care orders, The Joint Commission and CMS are revising their position and are banning the practice. The Joint Commission originally banned the practice in 2011. In May 2016, The Joint Commission released a statement stating that technology was fully able to allow for the secure texting of patient care orders. How social risk factors will affect value-based care HHS released a report on how social risk factors like income, education, race and ethnicity could have profound effects on value-based care. If low-quality care yields poor outcomes for patients with social risk factors, value-based care may drive change for this population. However, if risk factors themselves cause poor outcomes for patients, value-based care could be detrimental. With an incoming Republican administration, the healthcare industry will likely continue to see massive changes. But whatever is to come in 2017 and beyond, Carl Armato, CEO of Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health, says Novant Health is ready to "reinvent the healthcare experience to be more convenient, easier to access and more affordable." Novant Health offers medical centers, hospitals, physician clinics, imaging centers, surgery centers, rehabilitation centers, sleep centers and other healthcare services across the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia. ACA As a supporter of the ACA, Mr. Armato notes it's been difficult operating in a state that opted out of Medicaid expansion. If North Carolina chose to expand Medicaid coverage, Mr. Armato says an additional 244,000 residents would have gained eligibility for coverage. Even so, Novant Health did its part in encouraging patients to sign up for care through community forums, education and town hall meetings. "Our national imperative was clear: improve the patient experience, improve population health and reduce costs," says Mr. Armato. "The ACA truly got us focused at Novant Health to deliver on those three objectives." With President-elect Donald Trump's recent win, Mr. Armato stresses the importance of maintaining coverage for the people who gained insurance under the ACA. "I've heard a lot about 'repeal and replace,'" Mr. Armato says. "We would advocate for a replacement if it ensures 21 million-plus people still have the coverage they need." Policy reform In the first 100 days, Mr. Armato hopes President-elect Trump's cabinet serves up short-term and long-term objectives, focused on: Changing the Medicare physician payment schedule Curbing the prescription pharmaceutical price spikes Investing more in public health improvement Decreasing healthcare disparities Further, Mr. Armato believes the industry stands to benefit from more consolidation, resulting in affordable and accessible care. He views the anti-trust law as a great barrier to moving forward with coordinated care. "When I look at two large healthcare systems [in North Carolina] and look at the infrastructure, we duplicated so many efforts, not only in the back office, but in the clinical areas," he explains. By consolidating efforts, Mr. Armato thinks the industry can expand healthcare to zip codes without access. "Allowing for new partnerships and mergers to occur could result in savings and synergies that could meet unmet healthcare needs," he says. Mr. Armato is currently drafting a proposal with the American Hospital Association for the new administration to reevaluate anti-trust and Stark laws. In regards to the anti-kickback statute, Mr. Armato says more safe harbor regulations would prove useful as the industry moves from fee-for-service to value-based care. He argues the policies don't apply to the current healthcare landscape, as new incentives will be needed to align with physicians and other clinicians to deliver value. Additional safe harbors will also allow hospitals to collaborate on alternative payment models, says Mr. Armato. Information technology Novant has leveraged HIT to its benefit, implementing an EHR system across 14 hospitals, 500 clinics and surgery centers. Any physician within the system can access data on every patient, regardless of the initial point of contact within the system. "It's a very safe environment for patients to access healthcare, because every provider sees all physician notes," adds Mr. Armato. Novant's patients have also joined in, using the EHR for e-visits; viewing lab tests; and scheduling appointments. "I look at how we're opening up access to care through the technology, and the patients have more of a voice and a choice in their care," notes Mr. Armato. Recent articles: 7 things for ASC leaders to know Jan. 3, 2016 Google, Boston Scientific 2017 New Year's Resolutions: Jumpstart digital health startups 3 takeaways Physicians rate top 5 patient privacy threats from EHRs San Angelo, Texas-based Shannon Medical Center tapped Shane Plymell to serve as president and CEO, according to a San Angelo Standard-Times report. Here are five takeaways: 1. Mr. Plymell has worked at Shannon Medical Center for 18 years, most recently serving as COO. 2. He has previously served as accounting group supervisor for Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock and staff accountant and funds manager for City Bank of Lubbock. 3. Current CNO Pam Bradshaw will take on the additional role of COO. 4. Mr. Plymell replaces Bryan Horner, who is retiring. 5. Mr. Plymell earned his master's degree in business administration from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Dr. Michael Ugwueke led Memphis, Tenn.-based Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare as president and COO since May 2014, and on Jan. 1 he assumed the role of president and CEO of the system. The six-hospital system recruited Dr. Ugwueke in 2007 from what was then Provena Health in Joliet, Ill., where he served as vice president of operations. (Provena later merged to become Chicago-based Presence Health.) After he arrived in Memphis, Dr. Ugwueke spent a couple years as administrator/CEO of Methodist South Hospital, roughly four years as senior vice president for Methodist North and South Hospitals and one year as COO of the system before taking on the role of president as well. Dr. Ugwueke's story spans far beyond Memphis or Joliet. He was born in Nigeria and immigrated to the United States when he was 21 with aspirations to work in healthcare after seeing illness, death and turmoil during Nigeria's civil war. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in biology from Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C. He earned his master's of public health from Emory University in Atlanta and a doctorate in health administration and leadership from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Today he oversees Methodist Le Bonheur the second largest private employer in Memphis, a 2016 Best Workplace for Diversity and ranked No. 1 for African Americans by Fortune and Great Place to Work, and a 1,725 bed system that accommodates nearly 65,000 inpatient admissions per year. Becker's Hospital Review caught up with Dr. Ugwueke to discuss leadership his personal style, the leader he admires most and traits he seeks in others that aren't commonly discussed in business or management literature. The following interview was edited lightly for style and clarity. Question: How would others describe your leadership style? Dr. Michael Ugwueke: For the most part, folks would probably describe my style as one of pursuing excellence. I am a goal-oriented and results-driven leader. I have a bias toward action with a sense of urgency. I'm very decisive. I am very collaborative and consider others' input, but ultimately one has to make the decision and carry out the initiative. I keep my focus on priorities and goals and am not easily distracted by activities. Basically my style is working with the team to decide what needs to be done and marshalling the resources for the folks who get it done. It's a matter of just trying to get things accomplished quicker. Q: What do you consider an underrated virtue in leadership today? MU: Having the right attitude, being reliable and having a sense of pride in what you do. Those things are rarely talked about as much as other traits, but I think they're important. . The other thing I think about, and I'm not sure how to measure it but I look for it, is people who are really persistent and unafraid to fail. I always believe if people are not comfortable with some level of failure, they will not try hard or make tough decisions. Q: Can you share some advice to up-and-coming leaders about becoming authentic on the job? MU: Try not to believe your own press clippings. The accolades and positive things you hear can be intoxicating. It's easy to be lured into thinking you're this and that. Instead, stay hungry and humble as my mentor says. It's also important to have clarity of goals and know what people expect of you as a young leader. I tell folks, 'Don't just settle for meeting the goals.' One has to always try to exceed expectations. Meeting goals is just par for the course. It's the ticket to the event, but you have to always strive to exceed expectations. Oftentimes meeting goals gets you to average. Who wants to be average, especially when lives are on the line? Henry Ward Beecher [a 19th century American Congregationalist clergyman] said, "Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you." The other part is the importance of team collaboration and the willingness to give credit to those who support and help you along the way. That encourages them to continue to support you. Be true to who you are and always remember that there is no 'I' in a 'TEAM.' Q: What are some of your preferred methods for staying engaged with your team, especially those on the front lines? MU: We have over 13,000 associates at Methodist Le Bonheur. When I was the CEO of Methodist South hospital with 700 associates one of my goals was to know everyone by name and know their story. Back in those days, I did it by personally hand delivering a birthday card to every associate. We'd exchange words, and I really began to remember them. By the end of my first year I knew them all. These days, with 13,000 associates, it is a little challenging. I do a lot of executive rounding. We have executive-patient rounds, where I sit down with front-line associates to hear about their challenges and what they need help with. We have meetings with all associates after their orientation and again after they've been with Methodist Le Bonheur for 90 days. We talk about their time here so far and what they've noticed, how their experience compares to their initial impressions and feedback in terms of what they see with a fresh set of eyes. I also attend associate functions we have throughout the system and present at orientations. That gives me an opportunity to meet new employees. Q: Which leader, living or past, do you most admire? Why? MU: Martin Luther King Jr. I know a lot of people admire him. A reminder for me is thinking about how young he was at the time while leading this huge movement that truly made difference worldwide. He died before he was 40. For him to be able to participate, mobilize and motivate people to accomplish some of the things they accomplished in the 1960s is phenomenal. Some of my favorite MLK Jr. quotes include: "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy," and, "If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward." Those two sum it up for me in terms of his leadership abilities. Q: If you could eliminate one of the healthcare industry's problems overnight, which would you target first? MU: If I had a magic wand that would eradicate something in the industry overnight, it'd be cancer. It's a dreadful disease we struggle with. It is no coincidence that when you see the word cancer, even in ads for organizations, there is always a fight behind it. Fighting cancer. It's become a battle, so to speak, and it's one I would really love to see eliminated. In a more practical sense, I'd love to eliminate what I would call poor compliance. Dismal patient compliance with regimens is baffling. More people could be saved if they complied with physicians' orders, regimens, medications and things of that nature. Very few patients listen to doctors when they say they need to change their lifestyle or lose weight. And speaking of change, one of the things we've embarked on at Methodist Le Bonheur is zero harm to patients. We started our journey as a high reliability organization in June. Several years ago, we started tracking hospital-acquired conditions and things of that nature. We've made progress in some areas but not in all categories. There is now a much more intentional effort to achieve these goals. It's bad enough that patients have issues they are seeking care for; to compound it with unnecessary harm in the hospital there is no excuse for it. Culture. Productivity. Strategy. Execution. These ideas will never go out of style for hospital and health system leaders. The following leadership articles were published by Becker's Hospital Review in the last week. 1. Hospital, health system CEOs share their memorable reads The busy lives of hospital and health system CEOs are full of time constraints. Therefore, when these leaders do find the time to sit down and read, a discerning choice is key. In 2016, four CEOs told Becker's Hospital Review about the last memorable thing they read. 2. As health systems take on more risk, how does executive recruiting change? 4 thoughts The growing momentum behind the transition from volume- to value-based healthcare has put certain leadership traits and competencies in greater demand for executives to successfully guide their organizations forward. 3. Going on vacation? 4 keys to make it truly restorative The idea that a long, leisurely vacation is required to fully recover from the stress and demands of work is precisely the notion that prevents so many from taking time off. The idea of being out of the office for a week or more and the daunting task of making up missed work is more stressful than never leaving, according to an article on Ideas.Ted.com. 4. Viewpoint: 3 reasons the best hospitals are led by physicians Healthcare organizations need extraordinary leaders to guide them through the complex regulatory, technological and consumer challenges that characterize the healthcare industry today. While physicians have not always been viewed as qualified to serve as healthcare CEOs, this is changing, according to an op-ed published in the Harvard Business Review. 5. 4 paradoxes of healthcare ratings, rankings and data on the web Few consumers trust the internet for health information and few are aware they can exercise choice in picking a surgeon or hospital, according to results from CMS-commissioned surveys and focus groups. 6. Viewpoint: How Aya Healthcare's CEO defines leadership The CEO of San Diego-based Aya Healthcare a provider of staffing for travel nurses in the U.S. said leadership is about developing other people on a company's path from one point to another, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports. 7. 6 reasons why health system innovation fails Today, health systems require an increased focus on innovation to achieve their strategic goals. With major forces of change at play including consumerism, retail healthcare, risk-shifting, new entrants, and uncertainty resulting from a new administration hospitals and other providers have begun evaluating new business models, diversifying their business, and searching for new revenue streams to stay relevant and competitive in their markets. 8. Hospital for Special Surgery CEO Louis Shapiro on going global, healthcare consolidation and more Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City is the nation's oldest orthopedic hospital and the No. 1 orthopedic hospital in the U.S., according to U.S. News & World Report's most recent rankings. In November, the hospital announced the launch of its global initiative, which seeks to spread its decades of knowledge and expertise in the musculoskeletal specialty to provider organizations across the world. The emergency room at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle in Columbus, Miss., will impose a limit on the pain medication clinicians can provide patients with complaints of chronic pain, effective Jan. 3, The Dispatch reports. Joel Butler, MD, an ER physician at Baptist Memorial, said the new policy aligns with guidelines from the CDC. "The [CDC's] recommendation is that the medications are best given by a patient's regular physician who sees the [patient] on a regular basis ... like any other regular medicine the patient takes," Dr. Butler said, according to the report. "Because the physician needs to monitor their response to the medication ... and we just cannot do that adequately in an episodic care situation." Baptist Memorial ER physicians see between 175 and 190 patients per day, with about 90 percent indicating they are experiencing some pain, Lauri Sansing, RN, nurse director of the ER, told The Dispatch. While patients who come to the ER with acute pain, such as from broken bones or stab wounds, will receive appropriate pain medication, the new policy reflects the hospital's aim to help combat the nationwide opioid epidemic. MountainView Hospital in Las Vegas was locked down early Sunday morning after a man believed to be armed entered the emergency room and barricaded himself inside a restroom, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Police arrived at the hospital shortly after 1:00 a.m. Sunday after receiving a report of an armed individual on the first floor of MountainView Hospital. The man, whose name has not been released, entered the hospital's ER and holed up inside a restroom. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police brought in special weapons, tactics negotiators and crisis management personnel who attempted to persuade the man to surrender. However, the man hanged himself inside the bathroom and died at the scene, Metropolitan Police Lt. David Gordon told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The west side of MountainView Hospital's first floor was evacuated during the incident and the hospital was placed on lockdown. The lockdown was lifted around 10:00 a.m. Sunday, and the ER was reopened about an hour later. In a Facebook post Sunday, MountainView Hospital officials expressed gratitude to those who responded to the incident. "Thank you to our wonderful MountainView team and Metro during this difficult situation. Everyone was responsive, proactive, cooperative, safe." More articles on healthcare news: OIG tags 2 Mississippi hospitals for incorrect billing Flu activity on the rise in the US, CDC says: 6 thing to know UHS closes $464M deal for 81 UK behavioral health facilities To continue following the latest news and information for Bedfordshire and surrounding areas, simply enter your full postcode below Addison Lee CEO Andy Boland said this was an important moment for the executive car industry Taxi firm Addison Lee has snapped up US rival Flyte Tyme in a deal understood to be valued at 25 million US dollars (20 million). The private equity-owned company said the move would bolster global sales to nearly 400 million and cement its position as one of the world's biggest chauffeur firms. Flyte Tyme is based in New Jersey and has a turnover of 65 million US dollars (53 million), with 525 staff and 375 drivers. It comes after Addison Lee boosted its global footprint in June last year by buying Tristar Worldwide, which has operations in 80 countries. The London-based taxi firm has been looking to keep pace with the astronomical rise of Uber, which has radically shaken up the industry with its ride-hailing smartphone app. Andy Boland, chief executive of Addison Lee, said the Flyte Tyme deal was an important moment for the executive car industry. "Flyte Tyme has deep expertise and an extensive affiliate network in the United States," he said. "By combining Flyte Tyme's North American presence with Tristar's global operations and Addison Lee's digital booking platforms, we can now truly lead the ground transportation industry providing, for the first time, global managed ground transportation services through a single platform." The tie-up will hand Addison Lee a combined US fleet of 400 premium vehicles and more than 17,000 executive cars through "affiliate partners". It will boost annual American revenues to more than 100 million US dollars (82 million) per year. As part of the move, Flyte Tyme Worldwide Transportation's CEO, Timothy Rose, will become the CEO of Addison Lee North America. He added: "Through this acquisition, we will be able to leverage our combined technology and client service capabilities to deliver a truly global service for our clients." Addison Lee, which is owned by US private equity firm The Carlyle Group, was founded in Battersea in 1975 and has grown to become Europe's largest private hire car service company, carrying out 10 million journeys per year. Fans of Belfasts historic St Georges Market are rallying to help have it lift the title of Britains Favourite Market. There is just one week to go in voting for the annual award, organised by the National Association of British Market Authorities. Votes are cast by members of the public www.nabma.com/britainsfavouritemarket. St Georges won the Best Large Indoor Market title in 2014, and was voted Best Market at the Observer Food Monthly Awards in October. Premium Margaret Canning Opinion Conservatives have gone back to traditional territory with a mini-budget that just might cost the party the next election Many of the measures in Kwasi Kwartengs first big statement as Chancellor had been trailed in advance changes to stamp duty, the cancellation of both the rise in National Insurance and the rise in corporation tax, and bringing forward a cut in the basic rate of income tax to 19 pence. Tourism chiefs are planning to cash in on an EastEnders spin-off that was filmed in Ireland. Redwater, which centres on Albert Square favourites Kat and Alfie Moon, was shot in Dunmore East in Co Waterford when the Republic was bathed in weeks of near unbroken sunshine last June. Tourism Ireland is lining up a publicity blitz to capitalise on the expected millions of soap fans in Britain who will tune in for the latest twists in the couple's rollercoaster lives. The agency's half-a-million social media followers over the Irish Sea will also be targeted, as the six-part series shows the sunny south-east of Ireland living up to its name. "It's another great way to highlight the beautiful scenery of Ireland to millions of people across Britain, inspiring them to put Ireland on their holiday 'wish-list' for 2017," a spokeswoman for Tourism Ireland said. BBC One's Redwater tells the story of Kat and Alfie, played by Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie, after they arrive in the tiny, fictional seaside village in Ireland to search of Kat's long lost son. It is due to air in the spring. While the producers have remained tightlipped over the storyline, it is billed as a quest for truth that the locals would rather remained buried. Dane Jesper Nielsen, whose credits include Borgen, is directing the cameras, while the series was written by former EastEnders boss Dominic Treadwell-Collins. Redwater also stars homegrown stars such as Maria Doyle Kennedy, Fionnula Flanagan, Ian McElhinney, Angeline Ball, Peter Campion and Stanley Townsend. And the producers are understood to be conscious not to portray Ireland as a backwater, after a mistake almost 20 years ago on one of the few occasions when EastEnders was taken out of Albert Square. Three episodes were based in the Republic in 1997, and led to hundreds of complaints and a near diplomatic fall-out over images of wild animals on the streets and drunk and disorderly behaviour by the locals. Shifts in the partisan composition of state legislatures during the recent election has made it likely that several states will be passing right-to-work bills in 2017. As Melissa Quinn of The Daily Signal notes, in Kentucky, Missouri, and New Hampshire, last months election resulted in a flip in party leadership in either governors mansions or state legislatures, which put previously defeated right-to-work legislation back on the table. Here is what you should know this issue which, as Quinn says, pits the business community against labor unions, and has proved to be a contentious one for both parties. What is a right-to-work law? Right-to-work laws are state laws that guarantee a person cannot be compelled to join or pay dues to a labor union as a condition of employment. Why are right-to-work laws considered a matter of economic freedom? Economic freedom exists when people have the liberty to produce, trade, and consume legitimate goods and services that are acquired without the use of force, fraud, or theft. Mandatory unionism violates a persons economic freedom since it forces them to pay a portion of their income, as a condition of employment, to a third-party representativeeven if they disagree with the aims, goals, or principles of the representative group. Whats wrong with being forced to pay for union representation? In many countries that have a state religion citizens are forced to pay a portion of their income to support the activities of the state-approved church. Most Americans recognize that being required to directly finance the sectarian and dogmatic activities of a religious organization they may not wish to be associated with is a violation of their freedom of association. Similarly, Americans should not be forced to financially support unions that claim to represent their economic interest if they believe such organizations are engaging in activities (such as political campaigning) they disapprove of or do not want to be associated with. Arent right-to-work law anti-union? Right-to-work laws do not impede workers from forming or joining unions. Several federal laws, especially the National Labor Relations Act, ensure that private sector workers have the right to choose whether they wish to be represented by a union. Right-to-work laws merely protect the individuals right to free association within the sphere of employment. A union that is serving the best interest of its constituents should have no problem attracting and keeping members. Dont right-to-work laws cause free rider problems? There is no free rider problem unless a union explicitly chooses to create free riders. As James Sherk explains: Unions and their supporters argue that this unfairly forces them to represent workers who do not pay their share of collective-bargaining costs. They argue that right-to-work allows workers to enjoy the benefits of a union contract without paying for it. As Michigan state representative Tim Greimel told the Detroit News, This really is not about so-called right-to-work or so-called freedom to work, its about freedom to freeload. That would be a fair point, if it were true. But it is not. The NLRA does not require unions to bargain as exclusive representatives. It enables them to do so an important difference. Unions may bargain on behalf of every worker in the company. But the Supreme Court has ruled that the NLRAs protections are not limited to labor organizations which are entitled to recognition as exclusive bargaining agents of employees . . . Members only contracts have long been recognized (Retail Clerks v. Lion Dry Goods, 1962). Unions can negotiate contracts that apply only to dues-paying members and exclude non-dues-paying members. Their argument against right-to-work is untrue. What states currently have right-to-work laws? The states that currently have right-to-work laws are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Which states are likely to pass right-to-work laws in 2017? Kentucky, Missouri, and New Hampshire. Why should people that dont work in companies with unions care about this issue? Even those who arent concerned about their neighbors economic freedom should care about job creation. And the evidence is clear that right-to-work states create jobs at a faster rate than states without such laws. As Mark J. Perry of the American Enterprise Institute explains, since the recession ended in June 2009, more than two jobs have been created in right-to-work (RTW) states for every one job created in forced unionism states (2.16 million jobs in RTW states vs. 1.05 million jobs in forced unionism states). And when you consider that the population of forced unionism states (141.4 million) is 1.38 times larger than the population of RTW states (102.6 million), that means that RTW states are creating jobs at almost three times ((2.16m / 1.05m) x 1.38) the pace as in forced unionism states. We could also say that forced unionism states would have created close to three million jobs (2.16 m x 1.38) if those states had added new jobs at the same rate as RTW states over the last three years, instead of the 1.05 million increase. In other words, there are about 2 million missing jobs in forced unionism states that have much to do with the politics of forced unionism. The reason everyone should care about right-to-work laws is because they increase economic freedom, which in turn, increases employment and the quality of life of all Americans. Police at the scene of a stabbing incident on the Limestone Road in north Belfast. A man is to stand trial accused of trying to murder two cousins in Belfast, a judge has ordered. James Bell was allegedly involved in stabbings at an apartment block on the Limestone Road in October 2015. The 39-year-old, with a previous address at Parkend Street in the city, is charged with the attempted murders of Michael and Edward Rosbotham. He also faces three counts of threats to kill connected to the same incident. A previous court was told the Rosbothams sustained multiple knife wounds in the alleged attack at the Delaware Building. Bell has denied the offences, with claims of self-defence being raised. He appeared before Belfast Magistrates' Court on Tuesday for a preliminary enquiry hearing. District Judge Fiona Bagnall backed prosecution submissions that he has a case to answer. She granted an application to have him sent for trial at Belfast Crown Court. Bell will now return to court for arraignment on a date to be fixed. Sun sets over Lough Neagh in County Antrim on Tuesday 29 September. Photo: Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Friends of the Earth is renewing its legal bid to force a halt to sand dredging from Lough Neagh, it emerged on Tuesday. The environmental group wants an urgent hearing at the Court of Appeal amid claims that the extraction of up to 1.5m tonnes a year is harming the UK's largest fresh water body. Last year the body failed in a judicial review challenge to how a former Stormont Minister dealt with the situation. The case centres on the decision to issue an enforcement notice rather than order an immediate stop to the dredging. The move in 2015 by Mark H Durkan during his tenure as Environment Minister enabled sand companies to continue pending a challenge with the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC). In November a judge rejected claims that the decision amounted to Mr Durkan effectively giving consent by "turning a blind eye" to the practice. Mr Justice Maguire held there was legal authority for the conclusion reached after consideration of the issue. But Friends of the Earth has now lodged appeal papers in a bid to have his ruling overturned. James Orr, the group's Northern Ireland Director, said: "We believe the judge erred in law and didn't take into account the significance of this major nature reserve. "The decision gives any operator very dangerous rights to destroy a designated site like Lough Neagh without any sanction." Mr Orr added: "We are seeking an expedited hearing given there is ongoing unauthorised extraction, and we hope the Court of Appeal recognises this is an urgent situation that requires a remedy." Sand traders have been carrying out extraction work on the Lough, a designated Special Protection Area due to its wintering population of birds, since the 1930s. No planning permission for dredging has ever been sought or obtained. However, firms have been able to continue activities pending the outcome of their appeal to the PAC on the enforcement notice. Friends of the Earth mounted a judicial review challenge, claiming the failure to halt extraction brought planning laws in Northern Ireland into ridicule. Counsel for the group likened the alleged breach to something from a primitive dictatorship. The court heard Lough Neagh has internationally recognised environmental significance, and been classed as an area of special scientific interest. It was contended that under Environmental Impact Assessment law the Minister acted unlawfully. But lawyers representing the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs contended that the environmental group had "grossly overstated" the impact of dredging on Lough Neagh. The court also heard sand dredging firms have spent 500,000 on studies to back their case that they are causing no environmental harm to Lough Neagh. Steps have been taken to ensure they have authority for both retrospective and future extractions, the companies' legal representatives submitted. Dismissing the judicial review challenge in November, Mr Justice Maguire held that the Minister's objective was to secure a situation where steps were taken to ensure the situation had to be confronted by the dredging firms. Acknowledging that his determination will not settle the issue, the judge pointed out that the Minister has not ruled out the option of serving a stop notice in future. His ruling is now set to come under further scrutiny when the case goes before the Court of Appeal. Naomi Long wrote UK Government ministers asking for a public inquiry to held into the Renewable Heat Incentive debacle The Government has rejected a call to instigate a public inquiry into a botched green energy scheme that is set to cost Stormont around 500 million. It made clear the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) controversy was a devolved issue for the administration in Belfast to deal with. Alliance party leader Naomi Long had written to Secretary of State James Brokenshire and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke demanding intervention from London on a furore that has left Stormont facing a 490 million overspend bill. In response, a Government spokesman said: "The operation of the RHI scheme is a matter for the NI Executive. So it is right for the Executive and the Assembly to decide the form of any investigation or inquiry." The development comes amid an escalating political row that has edged the powersharing institutions towards implosion. The state funded RHI was supposed to offer a proportion of the cost businesses had to pay to run eco-friendly boilers, but the subsidy tariffs were set too high, and without a cap, so it ended up paying out significantly more than the price of fuel. This enabled applicants to "burn to earn" - getting free heat and making a profit as they did it. Claims of widespread abuse include a farmer allegedly set to pocket around 1 million in the next two decades for heating an empty shed. Sinn Fein has made clear it will collapse Stormont's ruling executive, triggering fresh elections, if Democratic Unionist First Minister Arlene Foster, who oversaw the inception of the scheme during her time as economy minister, does not stand aside to enable an investigation to take place. With Mrs Foster steadfastly refusing to step down, the administration is on a course to hit the rocks in mid January when a Sinn Fein motion comes to the floor of the Assembly. Sinn Fein itself has faced claims of flip-flopping on the question of whether a full scale public inquiry should be launched. Confusion reigned on Monday when Sinn Fein chairman Declan Kearney issued a statement calling for a public inquiry, only for his comments to be withdraw and reissued by the party two hours later with the demand altered to a call for an independent investigation. The party blamed a "typo" for the content of the original statement. Mrs Long wrote to the UK government ministers, claiming DUP resistance to a public inquiry should prompt action from Whitehall. She said it was vital an inquiry was triggered, as it would have the powers to compel evidence and witnesses. "In light of such serious allegations and the failure of the Executive to address them, I would ask that Treasury step in and set up such a fully independent, judge-led inquiry into this matter as a matter of urgency as I am increasingly of the view that the NI Executive will not be capable of overcoming political differences to do so," she wrote. Ulster Unionist Party leader Mike Nesbitt said the affair demonstrated that the DUP and Sinn Fein were incapable of working together. "What is required now is a collective effort to start the process of restoring public confidence in the integrity of the devolved institutions," he said. "That requires leadership, and as our First Minister, Mrs Foster should lead the way by accepting the principle of Ministerial Responsibility and resigning. "We also need a judge-led, time-bound public inquiry under the terms of the 2005 Inquiries Act. "It is high time personal careers played second fiddle to saving Stormont." Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister said only a full public inquiry would suffice. "Sinn Fein's bluster on RHI will prove only that without commitment to a full public inquiry," he said. "Anything less provides a soft landing for its DUP partner, which, I suspect, is Sinn Fein's real intent. "As yet unseen concessions have probably been extracted, or are being negotiated, as the price of blocking a proper public inquiry." It was originally envisaged that the Treasury would foot the bill for the RHI, but the costs spiralled well beyond London's financial commitment. The total RHI spend in Northern Ireland is estimated at 1,150 million over the next 20 years. The Treasury is set to cover 660 million of that, with Stormont landed with the remaining 490 million. Sinn Fein Health minister Michelle O'Neill again called on Mrs Foster to step aside. She said her party wanted a time-limited independent investigation that could compel witnesses. "Arlene Foster needs to step aside to allow that to happen and to begin to rebuild confidence in the political institutions," she said. "If Arlene Foster has any sense of the outrage and anger in the public then she will step aside." DUP MP for East Londonderry Gregory Campbell insisted his party leader would be going nowhere. "I don't think Arlene Foster really has any pressure on her from within the party or the unionist community," he told UTV. "The more Sinn Fein press for her to go the more unionists will be saying we need a strong woman and a strong first minister." A move to introduce a redesigned scheme, with tiered payments, in the autumn of 2015 was met by a flurry of applicants trying to get on to the old system before the date set for the changes. Almost 1,000 applied in three months - around the same number from over the previous three years. The deluge of new applications was a key factor in the massive overspend. On Tuesday there was a renewed focus on a statement from the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU), issued when the scheme was finally closed in February 2016, which said it had warned Stormont of the risks of a spike months before it happened. The February statement from the UFU said that in July 2015 it met with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (a department then headed by DUP minister Jonathan Bell) and "warned of an imminent spike in demand". In response, the Department for the Economy (DETI's new name) said t he outcome of the meeting with the UFU was an agreed paper setting out the heat demands of a typical poultry house. "This paper and discussions at the meeting helped to inform the changes to the RHI scheme that were introduced in November 2015 and the introduction of a 400,000 kwh cap," said a departmental spokeswoman. "The department recognises, with hindsight, that earlier introduction of cost controls and disincentives to excess use of the scheme might well have reduced or prevented the spike in applications which forced the sudden suspension of the RHI in February 2016. "Full understanding of why this happened will be the subject of the forthcoming independent investigation." Meanwhile, Belfast City Council has agreed to call for a full public inquiry into the botched RHI scheme. Following a lengthy debate on Tuesday night, 23 councillors voted in favour of a motion for a public inquiry, 12 voted against and 18 abstained. Political parties in Northern Ireland are facing fresh calls to reveal where their money comes from. Tonight, at a meeting of Belfast City Council, Alliance will put forward a motion calling for parties to reveal the names of those who make financial donations to them. Alliance councillor Kate Nicholl, who is bringing the motion to the council, said that given the furore surrounding the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal at Stormont, now was the time for full transparency. "The public's confidence in local politics is at an all-time low, which is quite the feat considering some of the scandals which have mired it previously," she said. "One of the major problems is people do not know who is funding our political parties and potentially influencing decision-making. "Alliance voluntarily publishes our large donor information and we believe other parties should follow our example. Now, more than ever, is the time for full transparency. We once again have disturbing allegations of corruption but other parties continue to give excuses as to why they will not publish their information." Unlike other regions in the UK, single donors in Northern Ireland who make contributions of more than 7,500 have been allowed to remain anonymous due to security concerns. Alliance leader Naomi Long has called on Secretary of State James Brokenshire to lift the exemption that keeps the names of large donors private. Former DUP councillor Ruth Patterson - who is also introducing a council motion this evening calling for First Minister Arlene Foster to step aside over RHI - said she backed the naming of political donors. "I think it's good for people to know where political parties' money comes from and there are no underhand dealings going on behind the scenes," she said. "Are there outsiders funding their political status, for example? It's good for us to know." Gina Kidd who had breast augmentation surgery that went horribly wrong pictured at her Ballymoney home. A Ballymoney mother has warned about the potential risks of cosmetic surgery after a ruptured breast implant left her screaming in pain at night for months. Gina Kidd (36) opted to have silicone implants in Northern Ireland in 2011, experiencing no ill-effects at first. But in June this year she said a nightmare of pain and ill-health began, leaving her unable to work or care for her 17-year-old son, who has Asperger's. Doctors here could not identify the problem at first, and after months of pain she was told the earliest she could have the implant removed was February of next year. The ordeal also caused gastrointestinal problems, resulting in the loss of two stone. "I was up every night screaming in pain in my stomach and chest," she explained. "At three in the morning this was happening, and I've a wee boy with autism and it hasn't been nice for him to be around and witness it. "My mother came up one day and found me listless in bed, I couldn't do anything for myself. "She had to be here to help me with housework and even help me take a bath, because I was too out of it. "She had to look after me like a child, which was very debilitating, and took away my dignity." Expand Close Gina Kidd before the operation / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gina Kidd before the operation By the start of December she said she'd reached breaking point, and flew to the Czech Republic for corrective surgery. She was also determined to enjoy Christmas with her son without the agony. "I thought I can't go through this anymore, I'm lying in pain every night crying," she said. "I couldn't drive or look after my son, it's ridiculous." She was astounded when her doctor in the Perfect Clinic in Prague told her the implant in one of her breasts was "completely destroyed". It was leaking silicone into her body, with the other implant expanding and heading the same way. "I was so relieved to have everything out," she said. "I was extremely tired when I got home on Christmas Eve. It was a big rush, but I was able to sit up with my son and watch him open his presents without any pain or worry." Although the pain in her chest, shoulder and arm has now subsided, she still suffers from the gastrointestinal problems as a result of the rupture. "I'm still really thin and finding it hard to put on weight. "I think I had some poisoning in my body, so it will take me some time to get rid of that," she said. She now wants to warn others of the potential risks of some cosmetic surgeries. "If I could go back, I would say to myself: 'Be happy with what you have'. "To others who want to get it, I would say do your homework and pick people who are good at aftercare and considerate for your wellbeing, instead of somebody who will just have you in and out and not be very caring towards you afterwards." Police have charged the man with a number of offences. A man has been arrested in Londonderry following an incident which led to part of the Foyle Road being closed by police. The 48-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of several offences including criminal damage and possession of an offensive weapon. He is currently in custody assisting police with their enquiries. The road had been closed between it's junctions with Lone Moor Road and Bishop Street while officers dealt with the incident. Belfast councillors have backed a motion calling for a full public inquiry into the botched Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme that is set to cost Stormont around 500 million. The development comes amid an escalating political row that has edged the powersharing institutions towards implosion. Independent unionist councillor Ruth Patterson proposed the motion and following a lengthy debate, 23 councillors voted in favour, 12 voted against and 18 abstained. DUP voted against while Sinn Fein councillors abstained. The motion calls for Belfast City Council to write to the Secretary of State James Brokenshire and request a full public inquiry. The motion also called for the council to write to formally request that First Minister Arlene Foster steps aside pending an inquiry. Cllr Patterson said: "There is a little girl in the Royal Victoria Hospital who is terminally ill and she's not going to last much longer, and whenever I look at us sitting here squabbling and 400m gone up in smoke, just think of what that 400m could have done for the health service. It really puts everything into perspective this evening." Councillors also voted in support of a call to reveal the names of those who make large donations to Northern Ireland parties. The Alliance Party motion was passed by 38 votes in favour to 13 against. It was supported by councillors from Sinn Fein, the SDLP, Green Party, the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) and the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV). It was opposed by DUP and the Ulster Unionist Party councillors. Expand Close Alliance Party leader Naomi Long PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Alliance Party leader Naomi Long 'Devolved matter' Earlier on Tuesday the British Government rejected a call by Alliance party leader Naomi Long to instigate a public inquiry into the scheme. However the Government made clear the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) controversy was a devolved issue for the administration in Belfast to deal with. Ms Long had written to Mr Brokenshire and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke demanding intervention from London. In response, a Government spokesman said: "The operation of the RHI scheme is a matter for the NI Executive. So it is right for the Executive and the Assembly to decide the form of any investigation or inquiry." The state funded RHI was supposed to offer a proportion of the cost businesses had to pay to run eco-friendly boilers, but the subsidy tariffs were set too high, and without a cap, so it ended up paying out significantly more than the price of fuel. This enabled applicants to "burn to earn" - getting free heat and making a profit as they did it. Claims of widespread abuse include a farmer allegedly set to pocket around 1 million in the next two decades for heating an empty shed. Sinn Fein has made clear it will collapse Stormont's ruling executive, triggering fresh elections, if Democratic Unionist First Minister Arlene Foster, who oversaw the inception of the scheme during her time as economy minister, does not stand aside to enable an investigation to take place. With Mrs Foster steadfastly refusing to step down, the administration is on a course to hit the rocks in mid January when a Sinn Fein motion comes to the floor of the Assembly. Sinn Fein itself has faced claims of flip-flopping on the question of whether a full scale public inquiry should be launched. Confusion reigned on Monday when Sinn Fein chairman Declan Kearney issued a statement calling for a public inquiry, only for his comments to be withdraw and reissued by the party two hours later with the demand altered to a call for an independent investigation. The party blamed a "typo" for the content of the original statement. Mrs Long wrote to the UK government ministers, claiming DUP resistance to a public inquiry should prompt action from Whitehall. She said it was vital an inquiry was triggered, as it would have the powers to compel evidence and witnesses. "In light of such serious allegations and the failure of the Executive to address them, I would ask that Treasury step in and set up such a fully independent, judge-led inquiry into this matter as a matter of urgency as I am increasingly of the view that the NI Executive will not be capable of overcoming political differences to do so," she wrote. Ulster Unionist Party leader Mike Nesbitt said the affair demonstrated that the DUP and Sinn Fein were incapable of working together. "What is required now is a collective effort to start the process of restoring public confidence in the integrity of the devolved institutions," he said. "That requires leadership, and as our First Minister, Mrs Foster should lead the way by accepting the principle of Ministerial Responsibility and resigning. "We also need a judge-led, time-bound public inquiry under the terms of the 2005 Inquiries Act. "It is high time personal careers played second fiddle to saving Stormont." Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister said only a full public inquiry would suffice. "Sinn Fein's bluster on RHI will prove only that without commitment to a full public inquiry," he said. "Anything less provides a soft landing for its DUP partner, which, I suspect, is Sinn Fein's real intent. "As yet unseen concessions have probably been extracted, or are being negotiated, as the price of blocking a proper public inquiry." RHI spend estimated to be more than 1 billion It was originally envisaged that the Treasury would foot the bill for the RHI, but the costs spiralled well beyond London's financial commitment. The total RHI spend in Northern Ireland is estimated to be more than 1 billion over the next 20 years. The Treasury is set to cover 660 million of that, with Stormont landed with the remaining 490 million. Sinn Fein Health minister Michelle O'Neill again called on Mrs Foster to step aside. She said her party wanted a time-limited independent investigation that could compel witnesses. "Arlene Foster needs to step aside to allow that to happen and to begin to rebuild confidence in the political institutions," she said. "If Arlene Foster has any sense of the outrage and anger in the public then she will step aside." DUP MP for East Londonderry Gregory Campbell insisted his party leader would be going nowhere. "I don't think Arlene Foster really has any pressure on her from within the party or the unionist community," he told UTV. "The more Sinn Fein press for her to go the more unionists will be saying we need a strong woman and a strong first minister." A move to introduce a redesigned scheme, with tiered payments, in the autumn of 2015 was met by a flurry of applicants trying to get on to the old system before the date set for the changes. Almost 1,000 applied in three months - around the same number from over the previous three years. The deluge of new applications was a key factor in the massive overspend. Ulster Farmers' Union warned of spike On Tuesday there was a renewed focus on a statement from the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU), issued when the scheme was finally closed in February 2016, which said it had warned Stormont of the risks of a spike months before it happened. The February statement from the UFU said that in July 2015 it met with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (a department then headed by DUP minister Jonathan Bell) and "warned of an imminent spike in demand". In response, the Department for the Economy (DETI's new name) said t he outcome of the meeting with the UFU was an agreed paper setting out the heat demands of a typical poultry house. "This paper and discussions at the meeting helped to inform the changes to the RHI scheme that were introduced in November 2015 and the introduction of a 400,000 kwh cap," said a departmental spokeswoman. "The department recognises, with hindsight, that earlier introduction of cost controls and disincentives to excess use of the scheme might well have reduced or prevented the spike in applications which forced the sudden suspension of the RHI in February 2016. "Full understanding of why this happened will be the subject of the forthcoming independent investigation." Pressure last night continued to mount on Arlene Foster to stand down as republicans suggested the scandal over a botched energy scheme could collapse Stormont. Sinn Fein's national chairman Declan Kearney warned that the continuing fallout over the Renewable Heating Incentive (RHI) scheme could see power-sharing crumble. Writing in republican newspaper An Phoblacht, he said: "Political institutions cease to have value when they do not reflect equality, mutual respect and parity of esteem, and have become detached from the lives of the citizens they are meant to serve. "Political parties and leaders in the north need to be above scandal and corruption. They should be above reproach, not continuously reproachful towards political opponents. The political process has now been dragged recklessly by the DUP, culminating with the RHI crisis, towards an unprecedented tipping point." His comments echoed a hard-line assessment from Sinn Fein MEP Matt Carthy, who told a republican commemoration on Sunday that the institutions at Stormont were facing their greatest challenge in a decade. Opponents, however, claimed that Sinn Fein may have softened its position in order to strike a deal that would see the crisis defused. A Press release on Mr Kearney's article originally called for a full public inquiry into RHI. But within hours he backtracked to demand a "time-framed, comprehensive, independent investigation - led by an international jurist - to be established". The party dismissed the change as a mistake, but SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone accused Mr Kearney of "rolling over". He said: "Sinn Fein are in complete disarray on how to respond to the biggest financial scandal in the history of devolution. At a time when the public needs strong leadership, they have met DUP arrogance with equivocation, confusion and weakness." Mr McGlone said only a judge-led public inquiry would bring out the truth of RHI. "The public are wise to the Sinn Fein two-step," he stated. "They know the difference between a transparent, independent inquiry and an internal probe carried out behind closed doors and vulnerable to interference from interested parties. They know now that Sinn Fein are in Arlene Foster's pocket and they will not tolerate a repeat of Nama or Charter NI, where again Sinn Fein gave the DUP a soft landing." The botched RHI green energy scheme could cost the taxpayer 490m over 20 years. Mrs Foster originally approved the scheme in a previous ministerial role in 2011, but has blamed the mishandling of the initiative on officials. She told the Assembly before Christmas that her involvement was the biggest regret of her political career, but refused to step down. Tonight the fallout over RHI is expected to continue on Belfast City Council. A motion from former DUP member Ruth Patterson calls for Mrs Foster to step down during a full public inquiry. But a Sinn Fein amendment calls for a time-limited investigation. The amendment also states that Attorney General John Larkin should appoint an independent judicial figure from outside to conduct the probe. Ms Patterson said Sinn Fein was airbrushing a public inquiry out of the whole motion. "They're really caught between a rock and a hard place on this one," she said. "We hear Martin McGuinness call for Arlene Foster to stand aside, which in my book is the right thing to do, and yet we hear Sinn Fein calling for an investigation into this and nothing more. "I will not be accepting the amendment to my motion. I sincerely hope all my other councillor colleagues will do the right thing and vote for the motion as it stands. "There would be no admission of guilt if Arlene Foster were to step aside, it's purely to allow the inquiry to take place and let the public know the truth." Later this month Sinn Fein will raise the matter of RHI in Stormont in what could be a defining moment for the future of the Executive. In an interview with The Times newspaper, DUP MLA Jim Wells said that any attempt to make Mrs Foster step down would be blocked by a petition of concern. Sinn Fein Health Minister Michelle O'Neill responded: "Any abuse of a petition of concern by the DUP to block the reasonable motion put forward by Sinn Fein will only further damage public confidence in the political institutions and accentuate the political crisis." PUP leader Billy Hutchinson said he would reject anything less than a full judge-led public inquiry. "The people of Northern Ireland deserve much, much better," he said. "If the First Minister truly wishes to work for her country, she will put their needs before hers, stand aside, and permit a full, public, independent and judge-led inquiry to establish the facts of RHI. "We can accept no less. The public deserve no less." The chairman of the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) has challenged the Executive over its lack of progress following the Fresh Start Agreement. Dr Adrian Johnston said the IFI launched a peace consolidation strategy last year - around the same time as Fresh Start was signed - and since then can show results. He also said he was aware of paramilitaries still targeting young people for recruitment. The IFI has invested in a number of projects aimed at enabling communities to reverse the severe effects of division and divert young people away from the influence of armed gangs. While these have been a success, he claimed the lack of progress from Stormont had stymied his ability to create change, and was alienating local communities which were trying to move forward. "Community appetite for these initiatives is much greater than the resources we alone can assign to it," Dr Johnston said. "The Fresh Start Agreement was unveiled at the same time as our strategy and showed an ambition to advance on areas where the Fund made the first successful interventions. "Community groups are taking risks and generating momentum for change, but for progress to be sustainable support from statutory authorities is critically needed. "The time is right for others to adopt and support Fund interventions and deliver on the promise of a shared society that is free from sectarianism and the shadow of paramilitaries." Of the IFI's 32 projects, 17 involved working with marginalised young people at risk of paramilitary activity, signposting them to the organisation's Personal Youth Development Programme. It also supports the Peace Walls Programme, which helps build confidence and relationships in interface communities. It aims to help residents reach the point where they feel it is safe to remove peace walls in their area. Last month the IFI announced its latest round of funding - 3.6m committed to 32 community projects across Northern Ireland. This latest package brought total funding to more than 6.5m in 2016. Dr Johnston added: "Since our Community Consolidation - Peace Consolidation Strategy launched last year, we've invested with confidence in bold projects that have enabled communities to reverse the severe effects of division and divert young people away from the influence of armed gangs." A spokesperson for the Executive Office responded, saying: "Good progress has been made on a range of Fresh Start commitments by the Executive, British Government and the Irish Government." Sinn Fein chairman Declan Kearney hit out at "juvenile journalists" over the confusion surrounding the type of investigation needed into the Renewable Heating Incentive scandal - confusion which was generated by his own party. The senior republican also said if Arlene Foster does not stand aside for an investigation her position will be "untenable". The party generated confusion over how it wants to see the multi-million pound seriously flawed RHI scheme investigated. Sinn Fein deputy leader, Mary Lou McDonald, MLA Conor Murphy and Belfast councillor JJ Magee have all called for a public enquiry. However, the party and its leader Gerry Adams have rowed back from this, instead calling for a "robust and thorough investigation". It said it did not support a public enquiry given the length of time it could take to complete and the added cost to the taxpayer. However, chairman and South Antrim MLA Declan Kearney further muddied the waters on Monday. A statement was sent out in his name by the party that morning repeating the call for a "public enquiry". It was withdrawn and reissued with the word "public" omitted at lunch time. Sinn Fein blamed a "typo", however, Mr Kearney again reissued the original statement personally, late on Monday night. Read More Speaking on the BBC's Stephen Nolan show, Mr Kearney again rowed back from calling for a public inquiry saying there was a need for a "independent time-framed robust and transparent investigation overseen by an international jurist appointed by the attorney general". He again repeated that his party wanted to avoid the potentially high costs and time needed for a public enquiry. "The danger of a prolonged public inquiry is that it will let the people involved off the hook who have questions to answer that are absolutely central to getting to the bottom of this scandal," he said. On the confusion generated by his party, the Sinn Fein leader said: "I know there are some sections of the media, maybe even a few juvenile journalists who are trying to frantically make some issue over Sinn Fein's stance on this issue. "But the position is clear, it is consistent and it is a sole position in relation to the need for an independent time-framed and robust investigation." He added: "This is not about Sinn Fein and journalists like Sam McBride dancing on the head of a pin over a public enquiry, let's set that to the side and get the focus on where it needs to be on the restoration of public confidence in the institutions." News Letter political editor Sam McBride in response said the confusion had been of Sinn Fein's own making. Mr Kearney also said there was a serious crisis at the heart of the institutions that he said where at the "tipping point". He said if First Minister Arlene Foster did not step aside her position would be "untenable". He said it would be the "second time she will have compromised the joint nature of her office" and elections could follow. "There's a distinct possibility that if the DUP leader does not follow Sinn Fein's advice and step aside to allow for a robust independent investigation in order to restore public confidence in the political institutions, we are arguably into a situation where we will see an Assembly election," he said. He said his party was ready to go to the polls, "if necessary". The Renewable Heating Incentive is expected to cost the taxpayer over 400m. Government departments have been at odds over the full cost with the DUP Department of Economy saying it will be a maximum of 490m over 20 years, while the Sinn Fein led Department of Finance says that figure is over 600m. The scandal arose after caps were not put in place to restrict tariffs on cash paid out to businesses who used the scheme to install and run biomass boilers. When the cost of the wood pellets fuel used by the boilers plummeted, the fees paid out remained at a higher level meaning for every pound spent, businesses were receiving 1.60. Some businesses were found just to use the heating in order to rake in as much money as they could. One empty barn was found to be heated in order to generate profit from the scheme. The scheme was set up by Arlene Foster who was Enterprise Minister at the time. Last month in a special sitting of the Assembly she apologised for the lack of controls but defended her role. On New Years Day, the Nobel Prize-winning economist Vernon Smith turned 90. To mark the occasion, Samuel Gregg wrote an essay for the Stream about Smith and the significance of his work. Gregg explains Smiths most famous contribution to economics: Smith is best known for pioneering experimental economics. This involves behavioral experiments in which people are placed in a particular micro-economy in which they can engage in trade, but without knowing the conditions driving supply and demand. Those running the experiments can thus test the validity of particular economic theories, thereby gaining greater knowledge of how economic exchanges actually work. Over time, experimental economics has established the importance of what Smith and others call economic institutions, the formal and informal rules which shape economic life in a given society. Economic institutions, it turns out, really do shape economic outcomes. From laws and regulations to customs and property arrangements, any set of rules will affect (1) the information people have and (2) the incentives that drive them. Smiths experiments have also provided considerable evidence that, as he wrote in a 1994 paper, economic agents can achieve efficient outcomes which are not part of their intention. So Adam Smith was right. He asserted that in The Wealth of Nations more than 240 years ago. Adam Smiths ideas werent something Vernon Smith started out eager to prove, since he was, in his words, raised by a socialist mother, and further handicapped (in this regard) by a Harvard education. Given, however, what his experiments revealed about what he called the error in my thinking, Smith changed his mind. Truth was what mattered not ego. Another reason to celebrate Smiths work: His understanding of how faith and reason work together. [I]n a lecture entitled Faith and the Compatibility of Science and Reason delivered at the Acton Institutes 2016 summer university, Smith began by describing how he had been raised in a Unitarian household before, during, and after the Great Depression. Eventually and very gradually, Smith stated, he was re-born and baptized a Christian. Smith then argued for the essential harmony between religious faith, science and reason. Drawing on the discoveries of twentieth-century physicists such as Albert Einstein and his colleague the Catholic priest Georges Lemaitre (father of the Big Bang theory), Smith noted that the basic claims of materialist philosophy have been disproved by reason and scientific inquiry. He also highlighted similarities between (1) the insights attained via modern physics and (2) the language and logic deployed in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures to describe God as First Cause and the origin of Creation. Certainly, Smith said, Einstein was right to claim that the theories designed by humans are important tools for comprehending reality. Yet before there is theory, Smith added, there is thought and reason: a logical sequence which, he said, finds its parallel in the Gospel of Johns opening verse, In the beginning there was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Jn. 1.1). Put another way: human reason cannot emerge from unreason. Ultimately it comes from and reflects the light of the Logos himself.We can be confident, Smith concluded, that life is no accident. We Christians, he said, believe it proceeds from a loving act of our God and our Savior, a faith that is compatible with the engineering discoveries we call science. Read Redeeming Economics: The Achievement of Vernon Smith at the Stream. See also last years R&L interview between Victor Claar and Vernon Smith. Hospitals face a deepening overcrowding crisis with more than 600 patients on trolleys waiting for a proper bed, a union says Health chiefs have blamed flu, winter vomiting bugs and chest infections for a new record overcrowding crisis in the country's hospitals. As the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) reported 612 patients waiting on trolleys in emergency units, wards and in corridors, the Health Service Executive (HSE) warned the unprecedented demand may run for weeks. HSE bosses also disputed the nurses' head count, claiming that its records showed 487 patients waiting for a bed at 8am on Tuesday morning. The HSE said the problem is being compounded by 2 1 outbreaks of respiratory infections and flu this season in hospitals, nursing homes and residential centres. It also said there has been a significant increase in the number of over 75s seeking hospital care. They are twice as likely to be admitted and commonly stay twice as long. The HSE claimed beds were being closed to stop infections spreading and to minimise staff illness. Amid explanations from hospital managers, the INMO records show trolley waits now dwarf the figure of 495 when the crisis was declared a national emergency by then health minister Mary Harney. It also beats another record set in January 2015 when trolley waits on a single day last topped 600. The INMO said its head counts over the course of last year showed it was the most severe year on record for overcrowding. Some 93,621 patients were admitted to hospitals while on trolleys over the 12 months. The union's general secretary Liam Doran said nurses and medics were genuinely concerned that overcrowding would worsen in coming days as the flu virus spreads. "612 patients, admitted for care, for whom there is no bed, is a truly shocking figure," Mr Doran said. "The compromising of care, not to mention the loss of privacy and dignity, cannot go unchallenged and must be acknowledged and addressed by health management." The HSE said all hospitals are opening additional beds where they can, c ancelling scheduled admissions and p rioritising diagnostics while also focusing on treating the oldest patients. The record trolley wait figures were released as the HSE reissued its appeal for at-risk people to get the flu vaccination and for anyone with symptoms of the winter vomiting bug to stay away from health care centres. Reports from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre said the reported rates of flu had almost doubled in recent days and they are expected to increase further in the coming weeks. The worst overcrowding conditions were in University Hospital Limerick, where 46 people were waiting for beds on wards. That was followed by the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise where 42 people were on trolleys or in corridors, or waiting in wards, and there were 41 patients in the same position in the sister hospital in the region, the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore and in St Luke's Hospital, Kilkenny. In University Hospital Galway 40 people were waiting for full admission. Health Minister Simon Harris met HSE chiefs as part of the the "winter initiative" response planning and called on hospital managers to redouble efforts to tackle increased patient numbers. "There's very much a management piece to this," he said. "It's a job for management and it's a job of the HSE to get on and make sure absolutely everything possible that can be done is being done." A second meeting to discuss the winter initiative has been planned for Thursday. Fianna Fail health spokesman Billy Kelleher said Health Minister Simon Harris had "failed miserably" on his commitments to tackle chronic overcrowding. Sinn Fein health spokeswoman Louise O'Reilly said some hospitals were in a near-constant state of crisis, adding: "Far from being the exception, overcrowding is now the rule." Sources said Sir Ivan Rogers has resigned as the UK's ambassador to the EU Britain's outgoing EU ambassador has hit out at the "ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking" of politicians in his shock resignation letter. Sir Ivan Rogers unexpectedly quit just months after he sparked controversy by warning the Government that a post-Brexit trade deal could take a decade to finalise, and even then may fail to get ratified by member states. In a lengthy farewell email to his staff posted on The Times website, Sir Ivan revealed that civil servants still do not know the Government's Brexit priorities and that "serious multilateral negotiating experience is in short supply in Whitehall" - unlike in Brussels. And he criticised politicians and urged his civil servants to continue to challenge ministers and "speak the truth to those in power". Sir Ivan wrote: "I hope you will continue to challenge ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking and that you will never be afraid to speak the truth to those in power. "I hope that you will support each other in those difficult moments where you have to deliver messages that are disagreeable to those who need to hear them. "I hope that you will continue to be interested in the views of others, even where you disagree with them, and in understanding why others act and think in the way that they do. "I hope that you will always provide the best advice and counsel you can to the politicians that our people have elected, and be proud of the essential role we play in the service of a great democracy." In the email, sent just before 1pm on Tuesday, Sir Ivan said he decided to step down early so his replacement can be in place when Article 50 is triggered in March and formal negotiations commence. But it comes amid reports of tension between the senior diplomat and ministers, with the Daily Telegraph reporting that Theresa May and her senior team had "lost confidence" in him over his "pessimistic" view over Brexit. Sir Ivan stressed the need for expert civil servants to play a central role in the negotiations and urged his staff to tell ministers the true opinions of the other 27 member states "even where this is uncomfortable". He wrote that "we do not yet know what the Government will set as negotiating objectives for the UK's relationship with the EU after exit" but the UK's Permanent Representation to the EU (UKREP) must be "centrally involved in the negotiations if the UK is to achieve the best possible outcomes". He added: "Serious multilateral negotiating experience is in short supply in Whitehall, and that is not the case in the Commission or in the Council. "The Government will only achieve the best for the country if it harnesses the best experience we have - a large proportion of which is concentrated in UKREP - and negotiates resolutely. "Senior ministers, who will decide on our positions, issue by issue, also need from you detailed, unvarnished - even where this is uncomfortable - and nuanced understanding of the views, interests and incentives of the other 27." Sir Ivan also said the allocation of roles in the UK's negotiating team needs "rapid resolution" and hit out at assertions by some politicians that a free trade deal will be easy to negotiate. He said: "Contrary to the beliefs of some, free trade does not just happen when it is not thwarted by authorities: increasing market access to other markets and consumer choice in our own, depends on the deals, multilateral, plurilateral and bilateral that we strike, and the terms that we agree. "I shall advise my successor to continue to make these points." Sir Ivan said being Britain's EU ambassador has been the highlight of his career and leaving will be a "tremendous wrench". The email, which was also obtained by the BBC, was made public after some MPs warned that Sir Ivan's resignation showed that those who challenge Brexiteers are being increasingly frozen out. Nick Clegg, the former deputy prime minister, said that "the trend seems to be for people who haven't drunk the Brexit Kool-Aid, they are increasingly being pushed to the margins. "And that's not good for the country, it's not good for a workable negotiation on Brexit, and nor is it actually good for the informal checks and balances that exist in a mature democracy such as ours." And in a highly unusual move, Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court, the former Treasury permanent secretary, tweeted: "Ivan Rogers huge loss. Can't understand wilful & total destruction of EU expertise, with Cunliffe, Ellam & Scholar also out of loop. #amateurism." He was citing Sir Ivan's predecessor Sir Jon Cunliffe, Tom Scholar, who was previously an adviser to the prime minister on European issues and is now Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, and Michael Ellam, a former Treasury official who now works for HSBC. But former minister and Conservative MP Dominic Raab told the BBC's Radio 4 PM Programme that Sir Ivan's "heart hasn't really been in Brexit" and his resignation will be "quietly, cautiously and respectfully welcomed at the top of Government". Responding to the letter, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, said: "It is damning when our own top people are slamming this Conservative Brexit Government for using ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking. "This is the biggest decision by the UK Government in modern times and Theresa May is marching ahead without a plan or even a clue. "We need our top people around the table if we are going to avoid wrecking the country with Brexit. It is shameful that vital, talented people like Ivan Rogers are instead being driven away." The Obama administration has been accused of trying to "delegitimise" Donald Trump's impending US presidency over the alleged hacking of election emails. WikiLeads founder Julian Assange, who has been living at the Ecuadorian embassy in London since the summer of 2012 for fear of being extradited to the US, was speaking to the Fox News channel's Sean Hannity after Barack Obama identified Russia as almost certainly being responsible for hacking the Democratic National Committee (DNC). WikiLeaks subsequently published more than 19,000 internal emails stolen from the DNC, days before the Democratic convention was starting. The emails showed DNC staffers actively supporting Mrs Clinton when they were publicly promising to remain neutral during the primary elections between Mrs Clinton and her then-rival for the candidacy, Bernie Sanders. The head of the DNC, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, resigned over the disclosures. Mr Trump at the time said blaming Russia was deflecting attention from the embarrassing material in the emails - although he had previously challenged Russia to "find the 30,000 emails that are missing" from Mrs Clinton's private server. In an interview due to be broadcast on Fox at 10pm on Tuesday (Wednesday 3am GMT), Mr Assange said: "Our publications had wide uptake by the American people, they're all true. But that's not the allegation that's being presented by the Obama White House. "So, why such a dramatic response? Well, the reason is obvious. They're trying to delegitimise the Trump administration as it goes into the White House. "They are trying to say that President-elect Trump is not a legitimate president." Mr Assange denied the information from the emails was obtained by Russia. He said: " Our source is not a state party, so the answer for our interactions is no. "But if we look at our most recent statement from the US government, which is on December 29, OK, we had five different branches of government, Treasury, DHS, FBI, White House, presenting their accusations to underpin Obama's throwing out 29 Russian diplomats. "What was missing from all of those statements? The word WikiLeaks. It's very strange." Asked if he thought WikiLeaks had changed the course of the US election, Mr Assange told Fox News channel: " Who knows? It's impossible to tell. "But if it did, the accusation is that the true statements of Hillary Clinton and her campaign manager, John Podesta, and the DNC head Debbie Wasserman Schultz, their true statements is what changed the election." Mr Trump's inauguration as US President is due to take place on January 20. Sir John Sawers said pencil and paper systems were the most secure. Image: Shutterstock.com Adopting electronic voting systems could leave British elections vulnerable to cyber attack by other countries, the former head of MI6 has said. Sir John Sawers said traditional pencil and paper approaches to voting were actually much more secure following allegations that the recent US presidential election was subject to hacking. The more things that go online, the more susceptible you are to cyber attacks, the former spook, who stepped down in 2014, told the BBC. We need to have systems which are robust, he said in an interview for the documentary The New World: Axis of Power. The only trouble is, the younger generation of people expect to be able to do things remotely and through electronic devices. Bizarrely the stubby pencil and piece of paper that you put your cross on in the ballot box is actually much more secure than anything which is electronic. The Electoral Commission has called for radical changes to the voting system while the House of Commons Speaker John Bercow said secure online voting should be an option for all voters by the 2020 general election. A 2014 report by the House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee called for pilots on online voting to be conducting during this Parliament. Read more Read More Campaigners in favour of the change have suggested allowing people to vote online could boost turnout, especially amongst the young. Areeq Chowdhury, chief executive of WebRoots Democracy, said voter engagement would "only falter and decline" without online voting and dismissed Sir John's claim. "There is no evidence to show that online voting is more susceptible to fraud than the paper alternative," he said. "There have been more instances of fraud across the world with paper votes than electronic ones, and the recent recounts of electronic votes in the US showed no evidence of hacking." The organisation said its researched showed an additional 1.2 million young voters would have participated in the EU referendum had online voting been an option. The US does not allow online voting but electronic voting machines are used instead of traditional methods in some polling stations to count votes. Allegations by US government agencies, including the CIA, that Russian hackers intervened in the 2016 Presidential Election were not related to the counting of votes. Instead, it is alleged that hackers obtained and released sensitive information, including emails from the Democratic National Committee, to help Donald Trump. The Clintons will attend Donald Trump's inauguration as President of the United States, according to their aides. Despite losing a bitter election campaign to Mr Trump, Hillary Clinton has decided to attend the event on 20 January out of respect for the US democratic process, according to New York Magazine. Two "well-placed" sources told the magazine Ms Clinton and former US President Bill Clinton planned to attend the country's 58th presidential inauguration. This was also confirmed to CNN by the Clintons' aides, following news that former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush would be present at the event. In a statement, Mr and Mrs Bush said they were "pleased to be able to witness the peaceful transfer of power," reported the broadcaster. Read more Read More Jimmy Carter, the US head of state from 1977 to 1981, was the first to confirm his attendance at Mr Trump's inauguration an event usually attended by all living former presidents. Ms Clinton lost the election to Mr Trump in November with 232 Electoral College votes to the billionaire's 306. However, the Democratic presidential nominee won nearly three million more votes overall, with 65.8 million votes compared to 63 million for Mr Trump. The inaugural swearing-in ceremony of the new President and his Vice President, Mike Pence, will take place on the west front of the United States Capitol. Mr Trump will take the Oath of Office, after which he will give the inaugural address. After the ceremony, an inaugural parade will take place with more than 8,000 people taking part from more than 40 organisations. High school and university marching bands, equestrian corps, first responders and veteran groups from across America will parade down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC. Former Americas Got Talent star Jackie Evancho, who has also performed for President Obama, will sing the national anthem at the swearing-in ceremony. Mr Trump is reportedly finding it hard to get big name stars to perform at the inaugural ball after a controversial campaign, but the President-elects advisor, Boris Epshsteyn, has said its not about celebrities. Julian Assange has accused the Obama administration of trying to "delegitimise" Donald Trump's impending US presidency over the alleged hacking of election emails. WikiLeaks editor Assange, who has been living at the Ecuadorian embassy in London since the summer of 2012 for fear of being extradited to the US, was speaking to the Fox News channel's Sean Hannity after Barack Obama identified Russia as almost certainly being responsible for hacking the Democratic National Committee (DNC). WikiLeaks subsequently published more than 19,000 internal emails from the DNC, days before the Democratic convention was starting. In one thread of correspondence from August 2014 Mrs Clinton sent an eight-point plan to Mr Podesta, at the time a counsellor to President Barack Obama, outlining a strategy on how to defeat terror group Isis which involved supporting Kurdish forces in Syria and Iraq with military advisers. The Obama administration ended up taking similar action to that described as desirable by Mrs Clinton. The exchange also showed the presidential candidate identify the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia and Qatar as clandestine financial and logistic supporters of the terrorist group Isis. Both countries have donated to the Clinton Foundation. While this military/para-military operation is moving forward, we need to use our diplomatic and more traditional intelligence assets to bring pressure on the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL [Isis] and other radical Sunni groups in the region, Clinton reportedly wrote. This effort will be enhanced by the stepped up commitment in the [Kurdish Regional Government]. The Qataris and Saudis will be put in a position of balancing policy between their ongoing competition to dominate the Sunni world and the consequences of serious US pressure. The emails also showed DNC staffers actively supporting Mrs Clinton when they were publicly promising to remain neutral during the primary elections between Mrs Clinton and her then-rival for the candidacy, Bernie Sanders. The head of the DNC, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, resigned over the disclosures. CNN also severed ties with Donna Brazile, a paid commentator and a top DNC official, after leaked emails revealed she shared debate questions with Clintons campaign. Read more Read More Mr Trump at the time said blaming Russia was deflecting attention from the embarrassing material contained in the emails - although he had previously challenged Russia to "find the 30,000 emails that are missing" from Mrs Clinton's private server. In an interview due to be broadcast on Fox at 10pm on Tuesday (Wednesday 3am GMT), Mr Assange said: "Our publications had wide uptake by the American people, they're all true. But that's not the allegation that's being presented by the Obama White House. "So, why such a dramatic response? Well, the reason is obvious. They're trying to delegitimise the Trump administration as it goes into the White House. "They are trying to say that President-elect Trump is not a legitimate president." Mr Assange denied the information from the emails was obtained by Russia. He said: " Our source is not a state party, so the answer for our interactions is no. "But if we look at our most recent statement from the US government, which is on December 29, OK, we had five different branches of government, Treasury, DHS, FBI, White House, presenting their accusations to underpin Obama's throwing out 29 Russian diplomats. "What was missing from all of those statements? The word WikiLeaks. It's very strange." Asked if he thought WikiLeaks had changed the course of the US election, Mr Assange told Fox News channel: " Who knows? It's impossible to tell. "But if it did, the accusation is that the true statements of Hillary Clinton and her campaign manager, John Podesta, and the DNC head Debbie Wasserman Schultz, their true statements is what changed the election." Craig Murray, the former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, who is a close associate of Assange, has already dismissed the CIA's claims that Russia was the source of the emails as "bulls***". The accounts by Murray also contradict the story advanced by the CIA. The Washington Post reported on a 'secret assessment' by the CIA, which concluded that Russian intelligence hacked the Democratic National Committee's servers and that of Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta, specifically to help Trump win the presidency. Mr Murray said: "I know who leaked them. Ive met the person who leaked them, and they are certainly not Russian and it's an insider. Its a leak, not a hack; the two are different things. If what the CIA are saying is true, and the CIAs statement refers to people who are known to be linked to the Russian state, they would have arrested someone if it was someone inside the United States. America has not been shy about arresting whistleblowers and its not been shy about extraditing hackers. They plainly have no knowledge whatsoever. Mr Trump's inauguration as US President is due to take place on January 20. Sean Hannity's latest interview with Assange is broadcast on Fox News Tuesday at 10pm (ET) in the US and 3am in the UK Study suggests if men performed as well as women approximately 32,000 lives would be saved. Female doctors offer better patient care than their male counterparts, according to a new study. The research looked at four years of data and 1.5 million hospital visits and found patients who are seen by female doctors had significantly lower mortality and readmission rates. The findings, published in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal, suggests if male doctors performed as well as their female counterparts approximately 32,000 lives would be saved. Literature has shown that female physicians may be more likely to adhere to clinical guidelines, provide preventive care more often, use more patient-centred communication, perform as well or better on standardized examinations, and provide more psychosocial counselling to their patients than do their male peers. "It could be something the doctor is doing. It could be something about how the patient is reacting to the doctor," she told the Washington Post. Having a female physician is an asset. The study helps to disprove the claim that women underperform compared to males and has been approved by the Harvard Medical School Institutional Review Board, the Cosmopolitan reported. Old Father Time has torn the last sheet off the 2016 desk calendar and so we stare at a fresh pack of days. And, of course, this year will be oh-so-different. So much so that it's time for a few resolutions: 1. No longer will I pretend to know what people are talking about when they talk technology. No longer will I stand nodding when people talk about saving things automatically to the Cloud. No more. 2. No more 'Br-' (as in Brexit) in front of ordinary words to suggest a phenomenon - or Brenomenon. Or just to jazz up every social intercourse (Brintercourse?). So no more 'I'm not breeling well. I brink I've got a brold.' 3. No more using the term 'populism' as a way of sneering at the alleged simplicity of those who have the sheer nerve to disagree with them. Sneering never wins any hearts - or minds come to that. 4. Time also to face people down who talk about 'Post-Truth' culture or politics and so on. More self-aggrandising waffle from those who would have you believe they are still mystically At One With Truth while those who disagree with them aren't. 5. I'm all for getting out for a daily walk even if it's at night, in fact especially if it's at night which has its own beauty. It's just that given the appallingly poor quality of street lighting in many areas of Northern Ireland (are the lights literally going out here?), I can no longer see any of its charming features and landmarks. Note to whoever is in charge: it's not the 19th century, you know 6. ... and I vow to master the dog poo slalom that is our pavements (see above). Or - the new version of dog poo - little plastic bags of it left under trees and bushes in parks, when the owners are too dainty to be seen carrying the bulging bags to the bin. Has anyone ever actually been charged with allowing their mutt to soil at will? Either there is more than one offender in my locale, or there is just one mega-serious machine for depositing poo on the loose ... 7. Talking of dark alleyways, let's treat the internet with a bit more contempt. The web is, of course, one of our greatest inventions but between trolls, false news and no-news, the romance has worn thin. Being able to talk to people instantly on the other side of the world is great (though all our friends live within a 10-mile radius!) but the cyberbullies who threaten, abuse and harangue should be called out. 8. I will stop having heated debates with people about whether series three of The Fall was genius or guff. As far as I'm concerned the slow burn showcased the formidable talent of Gillian Anderson, plus stellar performances from Stuart Graham and Chris Patrick-Simpson. And anyway it also gave us more time to keep shouting 'I know that place, so-and-so lives just round the corner and up a bit'. 9. No more Fox Watching on TV. By which I mean the habit of spending literally days watching Laurence, James, Emilia and Edward pout their way through Serious Drama. In British TV Land, you don't have to be related to each other to get on - I don't know if Dawn French, Martin Shaw, Olivia Colman or Ken Stott are related - but, given that starring roles seem to go to the same handful of thesps, it can only help. 10. In fact, having read the last few resolutions, I will watch a lot less TV which funnily enough I started over Christmas when the offering was so dire I didn't watch a single programme. In any case, having watched an episode of Bargain Hunt where a stall-holder reduced an item from 92 to 49, I finally realised that if the cameras hadn't been there, some poor sod would have forked out the original hugely-inflated price, which was, in fact, based on nothing at all other than greed. Enough of that, thanks. 11. I will - finally - simplify my coffee world. No more mochas, frappuccinos, Kenyan blends, three shot cappuccinos, no more debates about the merits and demerits of coco and cinnamon sprinkles. From now on, I will order a 'black coffee' (not an Americano) or 'a coffee with milk' (not a flat white). If it's good enough for NYPD's finest on stakeouts, then it's good enough for yours truly. 12. I will photograph as many of Belfast's old buildings on my trusty mobile while out and about. At least I'll have pictures of them when, a day later, developers tear them down in the name of quick bucks. The terminal damage to central Belfast over the last 20 years can't be blamed on the Fritz blitz or the IRA ... 13. Basically I will basically not get annoyed with people who basically say basically a lot. Basically I will take a deep breath and remember the old Zen mantra 'This too will basically pass.' 14. I will not get het up by the Nolan radio show. Compulsive listening it may be but getting into a raging one-sided argument with an unsuspecting 'Walter from Dundonald' just isn't a good start to the day ... especially when neither Nolan nor Walter can hear me. 15. I will go to the cinema and watch a DC/Marvel comic movie all the way through and not say to myself 'That could never happen in real life' or 'I wonder who makes Superman's or Batman's outfits?' I mean, Peter Parker, Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne can't surely do it themselves, can they? Time to get with the programme and treat these films as serious investigations into the human condition that also deal with the great political/ethical issues of our time ... Yeah. Sure. 16. After the 2010 and 2015 general elections, IndyRef, Brexit and Trump, we finally know that pollsters seek to find their own prejudices reflected in the surveys they conduct. I vow to apply a metaphorical bucket of salt when reading their results. It's always their opinion, rather than the public's. Fool me once shame on you, fool me thirty six times 17. Keep hoping that Jimmy Nesbitt gets due recognition. His performance as Colin Howell in last year's The Secret was wonderful, on the back of traumatic The Missing. Even from the early days of Hear My Song, Nesbitt has always more than delivered the goods. 18. Stop focusing on famous people who happen to die in 2017 and pay more attention to the legends who survive. Surely this is a better way to recognise the greatness that is Emerson Fittipaldi, Olympia Dukakis, The Fonz, Mary Peters, Fats Domino, Sheena Easton, Harry Gregg, Katie Boyle, Lester Piggott, Mary Hopkin, Noddy Holder, Suzi Quatro - hey, just type 'Suzi' into Google! ... Macca, Olivia de Havilland, Ringo, Vera Lynn, Catweazle ... You get the drift. 19. To learn to love Belfast's gridlock and enjoy low level road rage while listening to War and Peace (unabridged). 20. Finally, because 20 resolutions are enough for anyone and the idea of breaking them all is too depressing, I will insist on not taking anything except serious things seriously in 2017. That's family, friends and furry animals to you and not at all in that order. Starting right now. Where's my CD of Can The Can? We in Northern Ireland know from long and bitter experience that the advantage always lies with the terrorists. They can plot and pick their target, choose a time to attack and then melt back into the general population to make their escape. As the IRA infamously said after the attack on Mrs Thatcher and her Cabinet in Brighton in 1984, the terrorists only have to be lucky once, their would-be targets have to be lucky all the time. It is the same with international terrorism. The new year had scarcely begun when an Islamic State gunman murdered 39 people and wounded many more in a Turkish nightclub. This particular band of fanatics - who are all the more dangerous because they do not fear dying themselves - have spread their terror tactics throughout the Middle East and in parts of Europe, especially France, Germany and Turkey. Not only do the targets vary, but so do the tactics - murder by gun or suicide bomb or by simply driving a lorry into a crowded area, as in Berlin or Nice. The template for mass murder was set by the Middle Eastern terrorists who flew planes into New York's Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, killing almost 3,000 people. Can anything be done to halt the terrorists? The intelligence war against terrorists of whatever hue is the most vital weapon in the armoury of democratic countries. While the West may be engaged in bombing Islamic State strongholds in Iraq and Syria, such is the fanaticism of IS members that they almost welcome the blood sacrifice that entails. It confirms their belief that they are a just cause under attack from infidels. There is no doubt that concerted military action against IS can weaken it, but it cannot halt attacks such as that carried out in Turkey. The best defence against the terrorists is continued vigilance by the intelligence services and security forces, and the passing on of information by members of the public. We don't know how many acts of terrorism are disrupted by the security forces across Europe. Sadly we usually only learn of those that succeed. But just as we did during the Troubles, people must refuse to be cowed by the terrorists. Certainly, they must be attuned to possible dangers, but if they allow life to be disrupted unduly then the terrorists have won. Terrorists, by definition, depend on spreading fear. Theresa May is right to criticise US Secretary of State John Kerry for his belated criticism of Israel. Israel did little to achieve the desired goal of a two-State solution based on the consensus legitimacy of the international community. However, why did it take Mr Kerry so long to acknowledge and grasp fundamental Palestinian grievances? We are always being presented with an unprecedented opportunity to re-imagine the future and break with the grim past and for Jerusalem to symbolise a united city for followers of the three monotheistic faiths. As King Abdullah II of Jordan previously put it: "The solution to the conflict lies in an end of the occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State on national Palestinian soil." DR MUNJED FARID AL QUTOB By email Michail Antonio was at an event to showcase the new Oculus Touch controllers from the Facebook-owned virtual reality company, in London. Oculus Touch controllers go on general sale at selected retailers in the UK on 6th December. CES 2017 begins in Las Vegas on January 4 and will set the technology agenda for the year. The four-day convention brings together some of the biggest names in the industry, including Sony and Samsung, alongside hundreds of start-ups to display and discuss the next generation of products and previewing them to the public. These are some of the key areas that will receive plenty of attention during the show TVs A tradition for many of the big name brands is to reveal their latest TV line-ups at CES, and 2017 is expected to continue that trend. Sony, Samsung, LG and Panasonic will all be present at CES and each is expected to push their own version of ultra high definition and the latest smart TV set-ups. Though some more futuristic concepts could also be on display - last year LG demonstrated a screen that could be rolled up like a newspaper. Driverless cars Following a year where Uber began trialling self-driving rides on streets in US cities while Google and others continue to test autonomous cars, driverless technology is expected to be a prominent talking point at CES. Start-up Faraday Future, who first appeared at the event last year with their concept driverless electric super car are due to return in 2017 with their first production vehicle. While Hyundai is believed to be planning driverless test rides down the Las Vegas Strip during the show. Other big name manufacturers, including Honda, BMW and Toyota are also hosting events during the week. Artificial intelligence and robotics Given the success of the Amazon Echo, CES 2017 is likely to see a huge number of new products that can be paired with the smart home hub and integrated into the voice-controlled home of the future that is slowly becoming a reality. While robotics should once again be a popular as another means of taking advantage of improving AI, particularly in the field of education. Virtual reality 2016 was the year VR went mainstream, as HTC, Oculus and Sony all released high-end systems to consumers for the first time. It's been predicted that 2017 will see the software begin to catch up, with more everyday users of the headsets sparking new ideas and creations. However, reports suggest HTC may use CES to introduce a new version of their Vive system as well as some new experiences coming to the platform. People with the right qualifications and experience in cyber security can write their own ticket with employers In 2016 there was rarely a day that went by when there wasn't a story in the news about a cyber security breach or a hack on a high profile organisation. Whether it was the allegations of state-sponsored Russian hackers influencing the US presidential elections by targeting the Democratic Party, or the teenager convicted of hacking mobile phone company Talk Talk - cyber security was rarely far from the headlines. Yahoo's data breaches alone could potentially affect one in seven of the world's population and projections are that it is likely to get worse in 2017. While the prevalence of cyber threats is worrying to many people, the ubiquity of stories on information security also provides a perfect illustration of why cyber security should be the number one area of interest for anyone looking to forge a career in the tech sector in the next few years. The global demand for instant access to everything, the widespread adoption of the Internet of Things, even more data shared online and ongoing government tension between privacy and security all mean that cyber is an area that will grow exponentially in the year ahead. There is currently 100% employment in the cyber security sector here in Northern Ireland. Job roles such as security engineers, penetration testers and security architects are in high demand and people with the right qualifications and experience can write their own ticket with global employers and indigenous companies alike. A strong cyber cluster is developing here, driven by QUB's highly regarded Centre for Secure Information Technology (CSIT), the UK's Innovation and Knowledge Centre for secure information technologies. Last year Northern Ireland topped the rankings for US foreign direct investment in cyber, with companies like Rapid 7, Proofpoint, Alert Logic and Whitehat all setting up operations here. Their expertise adds to a growing cadre of local companies that are also making waves, such as Titan IC Systems, Repknight, Cyberlytic, B-Secur and SaltDNA. These companies have supported the development of an enviable talent pool in cyber - but we can't rest on our laurels. There is huge demand for talent in the sector globally and if we want to stay competitive, cyber security must continue to be a priority sector promoted by the government. In fact, the UK Chancellor Philip Hammond launched the National Cyber Security Strategy in November 2015, committing 1.9bn to the UK's cyber security field over the next five years. A Cisco report from a year ago (January 2, 2016) estimated the global figure at one million cybersecurity job openings and Symantec, the security software vendor, has predicted that will rise to six million globally by 2019, with a projected shortfall of 1.5 million. The cyber security field is broad and expanding, and as well as attracting new graduates, it also offers a lot of career options for IT professionals considering a move from building code to defending it. The demand for jobs within the cyber security industry is varied. Many companies are in need of security engineers and coders to build secure web sites and products, as well as ethical hackers and testers who ensure those systems cannot be breached. Skilled security researchers are also in high demand. In industries such as finance, the need for security administrators and IT auditors is always growing. The Open Web Application Security Project - or OWASP - is a worldwide organisation made up of volunteers from the industry who are experiencing this rapid change sector on a daily basis. Part of OWASP's mission is to create freely-available articles, methodologies, tools and technologies in web application security that can be used to the benefit of all. OWASP's AppSec EU conference is coming to Belfast in May. This will be one of the biggest European cyber security conferences in 2017. It is a major coup to bring this event to the city and reflects Belfast's status as a rising star as a worldwide cyber security centre. Over five days we will have a superb opportunity to show more than 800 delegates from across Europe what Belfast has to offer and also to get fresh insight into the key trends in the sector. There are still opportunities to get involved or attend the conference. You can find more information at 2017.appsec.eu. Given just how topical cyber is today, it will be well worth your while. The fake news epidemic continues to spread. And it has now affected even the most powerful of news organizationsCNN. On December 29th, the Obama administration, in a rare and provocative act, publicly expelled 35 Russian diplomats from the U.S. in retaliation for alleged Russian cyber-activity that may have interfered with the 2016 presidential election. The diplomats and their families were given 72 hours to leave the country. This is the largest expulsion of Russian diplomats since President Ronald Reagan put out 80 Soviet diplomats in 1986. Russian officials vowed to respond in kind, with the official representative for the ministry stating that Russia will react to any hostile steps that the U.S. might take in response to election hacking allegations. CNN covered the range of Russias reactions, including the closing of the U.S. embassy vacation house in Serebryany Bor. Also included in CNNs list of reprisals is the closing of a certain Russian school. It is this latter claim that is the problem. In a December 30th report, CNN claimed that Russian authorities ordered the closure of the Anglo-American School of Moscow, a US official briefed on the matter said. The order from the Russian government closes the school, which serves children of US, British and Canadian embassy personnel, to US and foreign nationals. If this were true, it would mark an unusually cruel move by Russian authoritiesan act which would expel the children of American diplomats from their place of learning. The news of the schools closing has raced across social media, igniting outrage. But theres one problem. The school was never closed. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has stated that the CNN report is undeniably false, and that Putin is taking a wait-and-see approach to any retaliation as Trump takes power in January. On the schools own Facebook page, a post dated December 30th, 2016 reads, Message from the Director regarding media reports of the closure of the Anglo American School Moscow campus. You may have heard and seen reports coming through the media stating that the Russian authorities have closed the Anglo American School, Moscow campus. Senior Russian officials have refuted this story. The school is planning to open as scheduled following the New Year break. We will keep you updated through e-mails, postings on our website and if it is urgent through SMS. CNNs source on this story remains a mystery, as their article does not cite a call to the school, nor communication with Russian officials. Profiting on Outrage Fake news is dangerous. But its also profitable. In this case, its likely that CNN simply shot out of the starting gate a bit too early, seizing on an unreliable source in an effort to be the first to cover a hot story. The more sinister alternative, though, is that CNN deliberately created a piece of fake news in order to garner clicks, and by extension, profit. Unfortunately, well likely never know which is true. Regardless of the reason behind its creation, fake news preys on our current culture of outrage. Were all mad. Were all ready to fight. Culturally, were more divided into warring tribes than ever before, and news that confirms that our side is the correct side gets clicks. And in the news industry, clicks, for better or for worse, mean revenue. And conflict sells far more than peace. In this case, CNN was overeager to capture the conflict between Russia and America, focusing on an issue involving childrena sure way of generating maximum emotionusing the small truth of the schools closure for the holidays to tell the larger untruth that the school had been shut down by the Russian government. CNN has not retracted or amended the article in which this bit of fake news is embedded, and so thousands of readers have likely adjusted their views of the world based on something that simply isnt true. And therein lies the danger. The news influences the way we think. The way we think influences the way we vote. The way we vote influences how we react to the rest of the world. So before you accept that next sensational piece of news without a second thought, consider one question. Do you want the direction of the most powerful country in the world to be decided by lies? Is there a war against the aging? The answer is yes, and it is not subtle. Whether it is through the media, our culture or our conversationsthe aging population are rarely respected in our society. They are ridiculed as being ineffective and are often the butt of jokes. You know the wisecracks. "Don't drive like a grandma" or other remarks criticizing elders as being technically unsavvy. Outside of the jokes, prejudice against the aging is a real problem and it has a name. It is described as "ageism." Ageism is a stereotyping of groups of people based on age and is just as odious as racism and sexism. Dr. Robert N. Butler coined the term to define bias against the aging in 1969. He explained even then how ageism is not just encountered at the personal level, but at the corporate level. Ageism is a form of prejudice encountered by seniors and sometimes people in their 40s as it is often believed that once you exit your 30s that you are not as fruitful. Older people are greatly marginalized and are made to feel unaccepted since they are rarely portrayed in the media in a positive light. Assisted Living Federation of America President and CEO Richard P. Grimes said that ageism needs to be eliminated on all levels. Prejudicial attitudes towards seniors deny them the independence, dignity, choice, and quality of life that these individuals deserve." "We need to transform on how we view people in general and this comes from transforming the mind." Start changing your own views on aging. To combat the stereotypes, many seniors are teaching classes, taking dance lessons and getting their advanced degrees. They are starting new businesses and expanding their horizons beyond the retirement label. The concept of the aging is linked to being decrepit and this is an absolute absurdity. Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you dont mind, it doesnt matter," Mark Twain wrote. We need to transform on how we view people in general and this comes from transforming the mind. Here are ways you can fight the negative stereotypes when it comes to aging. People have contradictory views on aging since many adults believe getting old is a bad thing. An associate professor at Yale School of Public Health said negative stereotypes regarding aging comes down to a public health issue. "What people arent aware of is that they have the ability to overcome and resist negative stereotypes," Becca Levy told the Wall Street Journal. Most of the Western society views aging in a bad light, so we need to resist the temptation to fall into this trap. Education is key in avoiding these common pitfalls because older people actually experience more life satisfaction and a greater sense of well-being. Rather than listening to the media--start talking with other people who are retired. They will give you a better sense of what is going on. Believing in negative stereotypes may affect health. Maintaining cynical stereotypes regarding getting older may impact your memory performance. There is emerging evidence that negative stereotypes exist about aging within our culture that might not just affect others' perceptions about the abilities of older adults, but also the performance of those being stereotyped, the Oxford Journal found. People with negative views were also more at risk for hypertension, stress, depression, were less productive and were less likely to inquire about preventive care. Recognize where discrimination comes from. When we are more aware of discrimination we can filter out how marketers pigeon hole people who are in a certain age bracket. Take notice of the commercials, the television shows and the movies that you watch. Notice how older people are portrayed. Once we all become more aware of the messages from the media, we can sort through what is fact and fiction when it comes to aging universality. Have a positive outlook. Let's face it, we all will get older. As we are more bombarded by certain views every day, we need to have a more positive view of ourselves. The more positive your perception is on becoming older, the healthier you will be. Have a positive mindset towards aging before it begins and your prognosis will be better. Take more interest in the activities and the things you enjoy as this gives you a sense of hope. Find interests that extend beyond your career so you have something to look forward to in retirement. Some things you can look forward to is not worrying what other people think, being more comfortable in your own skin and being more authentic. Get connected. If you are hitting retirement age, get involved in the community and with your family. Don't sit on the sidelines anymore and speak up. Just because you are older doesn't mean you can't participate. If there is a gathering, force yourself to take part in it. Show people that you are a vital member of society and that you are independent. Go on trips, volunteer and reach out to others who might not be as ambitious as you! Take action. Take a night class at the local college and learn something new like a language or brush up on history with a class. Look into a civic association where you can volunteer to clean up the park or help out at a hospital. If you want to make a difference donate time to a local political campaign. You can offer to host a party and invite community leaders and neighbors to discuss ways to enhance the neighborhood. Remember that you can have control over your decisions and don't have to wither away on the vine. Having information is not enough to fight ageism--you need to acquire knowledge to combat the issue. Many of the comments and forecasts regarding the aging are unfounded and mean-spirited. By making yourself understand ageism and its origins, you can arm yourself with the ammunition to stand up for yourself and for others when the time comes. When we act corporately, we can effect change against this pervasive problem in America. 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. Bahujan Samaj Party activists block a rod to protest against the Indian governments policies toward the Dalit caste, in Nagpur, Maharashtra state, Oct. 9, 2016. In the wake of a court order that prohibits politicians from pandering for votes in the name of caste or religion, political observers are accusing Indias ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of polarizing a caste-conscious society for electoral gain. On Monday the Indian Supreme Court barred political parties and independent electoral candidates from using religion, caste, race, community or language to attract voters. In the ruling, which is widely expected to dent rampant election campaigns run along caste and communal agendas, the Supreme Court said any candidate or campaigner found garnering votes on such grounds would face disqualification. The court said it made its decision to maintain the purity of the electoral process. But government critics and political analysts blamed the nations governing coalition led by Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist BJP of exploiting a centuries-old caste and religious divide that underpins Indian society for political mileage. They gave examples of recent announcements by the ruling party in Maharashtra state, where elections are due in April. New ministry Last week, the BJP announced it would set up an independent ministry in Maharashtra to look after the welfare of members of the states Other Backward Class (OBC), a collective term used to classify castes that are socially and educationally disadvantaged. The decision to establish the new ministry expected to happen within three months was taken considering the large OBC population in Maharashtra, state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said. OBC members make up more than 40 percent of the states 114 million people. Although officially secular, Hindu-majority India is socio-economically stratified along classifications by caste, with Brahmin (priest) communities figuring at the top and Dalits (manual workers) at the bottom of Hinduisms caste hierarchy. Dalits, a historically marginalized community also referred to as Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and OBCs has been given quotas for government jobs and admission to schools. Just days before announcing the new OBC ministry, the BJP placated the states dominant Maratha caste community, which had taken to the streets to demand inclusion in the OBC category, by laying the foundation of a multi-billion rupee statue of Maratha warrior king Shivaji in the Arabian Sea. These are all tactics an eyewash a case of stoking identity politics, Mumbai-based political commentator Rakshit Sonawane told BenarNews. There was no need for a special ministry [for the OBCs]. There already exists an independent government body to look into socio-economic issues of the OBCs, he said. Hari Narke, a Pune-based political analyst, said that although the setting up of a ministry ostensibly to look into the welfare of OBC members was not surprising since many other states have similar departments, it drew suspicion. The timing of BJPs announcement of the new ministry clearly indicates that it is trying to sharpen divisions in an already vitiated caste-riven atmosphere, Narke told BenarNews. The agitations carried out by the politically powerful Maratha community had sparked counter-protests by the states OBC community, which complained that the category was already overcrowded with more than 355 castes. The BJP is trying to cash in on this anger of the OBC community as this group is the biggest vote bank in the state. And it would not be wrong to state that this vote bank is veering toward BJP, Narke said. But Shravan Deore, founder of the Maharashtra Other Backward Class Organization, denied that the OBC community was falling prey to BJPs electoral tactics. We all know the announcement of the new ministry has been made to grab a major chunk of the vote bank. I will not be surprised if more such announcements are lined up and if Modi himself lands here for campaigning, Deore told BenarNews. Nothing to do with polls The BJP, however, denied that its politicians were playing the caste card. Our party has been concentrating on the OBC section for the past several decades. And we have a good base among backward communities. So the question of trying to appease this section does not arise, Maharashtras BJP spokesman Madhav Bhandari told BenarNews. The ministry is being instituted so as to centralize the implementation of welfare schemes for the OBC community effectively. It has nothing to do with forthcoming polls, he said. People lay flowers in front of the Reina nightclub in Istanbul after 39 people were killed in a shooting claimed by Islamic State in the early hours of New Years Day, Jan. 1, 2017. The bodies of an Indian filmmaker and budding fashion designer from Gujarat who were gunned down in a New Years Day massacre at a nightclub in Istanbul will arrive in Mumbai on Wednesday, Indias foreign minister said. Abis Rizvi, a 49-year-old Mumbai-based film producer and builder, and Khushi Shah, a 27-year- old fashion designer, were among 39 people killed when a lone gunman sprayed a salvo of bullets at the crowded Reina nightclub in the early hours of Jan. 1 as hundreds were celebrating the new year. The extremist group Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the attack, which Turkish officials have declared a terrorist act. The assailant fled the scene after the assault, which also left about 70 people wounded. The dead included 12 Turks and 27 foreigners, Agence France-Press reported. In Mumbai, Rizvis mother and wife havent uttered a word since learning of his death while he was on a vacation in Turkey, a close family friend told BenarNews. Both Abiss mother and wife have become totally silent after they came to know. His 6-year-old son hasnt yet been told about his fathers death, he said, requesting anonymity. Abiss sister, who is settled in the U.S., has also flown to Turkey and will be accompanying the body along with her father, he said. In neighboring Gujarat state, Nishant Ramani, one of Shahs closest friends, said he couldnt believe that his childhood pal was no more. She was always brilliant. Anyone who met her believed that she was meant for greatness, Ramani told BenarNews from Vadodara, his and Shahs hometown. Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said she had spoken to Rizvis father and Shahs brother in Turkey, and all arrangements were in place for them to repatriate the bodies of their slain relatives. Indian Ambassador Rahul Kulshreshth has made all arrangements. They are returning with mortal remains by Turkish Airlines flight leaving Istanbul tomorrow and reach Mumbai next morning, Swaraj said in a Twitter post late Monday. Turkish authorities have arrested a total of 16 suspects, including two foreign nationals, in connection with the nightclub attack, state-run Anadolu news agency reported. But, as of Tuesday, the suspected lone gunman remained at-large. According to CNN, IS claimed responsibility in a statement disseminated via Twitter. In continuation of the blessed operations which ISIS carries out against Turkey, a soldier of the brave caliphate attacked one of the most popular nightclubs while Christians were celebrating their holiday, the statement said, referring to IS by a different acronym. A lovely unassuming man Besides being the CEO of a building firm and secretary of the Rizvi Education Society, a charitable organization, Rizvi also produced and co-wrote a Hindi film titled Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans, which was released in 2014. Rizvi, who was also producing a forthcoming Hindi movie called He-Man, will be buried in a south Mumbai cemetery on Wednesday, his friend told Benar. The films director, Puneet Issar, told reporters he had spoken with Rizvi by phone just hours before he was killed. I last spoke to him on Dec. 31, at around 10:45 p.m. He sounded as cheerful as ever, Issar said, adding that he and Rizvi had gone through the rough cut of their film barely a day before the producer left for Turkey. He was a fantastic person and a lovely unassuming man, Issar said. Javed Rizvi, one of the trustees of Rizvi Education Society, issued a statement requesting the media respect the privacy of Rizvis family. Rizvi Education Society mourns the death of its secretary Abis Rizvi in a terrorist attack on Sunday. Abis Rizvi was vacationing in Turkey when he fell victim to the heinous act. He is survived by his son, wife and parents, the statement said. RIP@Khushi Shah, a fashion design graduate from the American InterContinental Universitys internet-based online campus, moved to Mumbai, home of the Hindi film industry, in 2011 to open her own store. In a very short span of time her boutique had become popular among actors and celebrities, Ramani said. Shahs clients expressed shock at the news of the designers sudden death. Well-known businessman Raj Kundra, one of Shahs clients, said on Twitter: Shocked to hear my dear friend and designer Khushi died in Istanbul attack. RIP. What horrible news to start the year! Condolences. Kundras actor-wife, Shilpa Shetty, also paid her respects to those killed via Twitter: Life is so unpredictable. My heart goes out to the families that have lost their near and dear ones. RIP@ Khushi. A Malaysian lawyer holds a sign outside parliament during a rally to repeal the Sedition Act, in Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 16, 2014. Leaders of Malaysian civil society and non-governmental organizations expressed their wishes that 2017 would bring a return of integrity among government leaders, respect for workers and the opportunity for dissenting voices to be heard unimpeded. Akhbar Satar, president of the Malaysian chapter of Transparency International and one of several local NGO leaders who gave BenarNews their wish list for the new year, said he wanted to see leadership by example at the government and non-government level. I wish to see leaders with a sincere political will to fight corruption, he told BenarNews. For Lawyers of Liberty (LFL) Executive Director Eric Paulsen, it is important that state institutions, including the judiciary, police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Attorney Generals Office, remain free and independent in 2017 as the only way to ensure good governance, he said. 1MDB Paulsens new years wish is that a corruption and financial mismanagement scandal linked to state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and that has overshadowed Prime Minister Najib Razak for 17 months be settled once and for all. 1MDB will be the prime target as billions and billions of state funds were plundered but yet not a single person (in Malaysia) has been charged or held liable, Paulsen told BenarNews. The United States Department of Justice is seeking to recover more than U.S. $1 billion (4.49 billion ringgit) in money allegedly stolen through 1MDB. Neighboring Singapore has sentenced three bankers to jail for their involvement. To date, no individual in Malaysia has been named nor charged for any form of wrongdoing pertaining to 1MDB. We are still investigating, Inspector General Police Khalid Abu Bakar told BenarNews on Dec. 21. Najib has maintained his innocence over 1MDB since the Wall Street Journal reported in July 2015 that about $700 million was transferred from the state fund to his personal bank accounts. While Najib was not named in the U.S. lawsuits, which were announced in July 2016, news organizations have identified him as Malaysian Official 1 in court documents. On July 21, a day after U.S. Justice officials publicized the suits, Najib said that the Malaysian government was serious about good governance. He urged people to not jump to any conclusions, saying that no criminal charges had been filed. Meaningful debate Shamini Darshni, executive director of Amnesty International Malaysia, said she wished to see no laws being used and misused against dissenting voices, pointing to disturbing actions in 2016. Im waiting for the day that the civil society space will be expanded to include various points of view, that meaningful, healthy and intelligent debates and discussions may take place without fear of reprisal, Shamini told BenarNews. She pointed to the case of Maria Chin Abdullah, leader of the Bersih grassroots coalition that advocates clean government. On Nov. 18, Maria Chin was arrested on the eve of a massive good government rally that Bersih was organizing in Kuala Lumpur. She was held for 10 days under Malaysias strict Security Offenses (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA). Activists protested her detention, claiming the government had trampled on her right to free speech. Another public figure and government critic, Zunar, has been arrested twice since November and faces a travel ban. The winner of the 2016 Cartooning for Peace Award and BenarNews contributor is known for cartoons that lampoon Malaysias ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and Najib while highlighting themes such as corruption. Zunar also faces nine counts under the Sedition Act for allegedly insulting the judiciary in tweets made regarding the conviction of former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in a sodomy case in February 2015. If convicted on all counts, he could be sentenced to 43 years in jail. A workers perspective: Treated as tools For J. Solomon, the secretary general of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), the government in 2017 must address a lack of respect for workers, suppressed wages along with insufficient job opportunities, among other things. Workers are being treated as tools and not as living souls with families and a life to live. A genuine and constructive collaboration and cooperation between the tripartite organs MTUC, Malaysian Employers Federation and the Malaysian government will be able to uplift the morale of the workers by putting in place the necessary international standards to improve their livelihoods, he told BenarNews. Meanwhile, leaders of migrant workers are calling on the government to give refugees and asylum seekers the opportunity to contribute to the countrys growth by giving them jobs. We have at least 90,000 Rohingya Muslims in the country and we are ready to work. Please allow us, Faisal Islam Muhammad Kassim, president of the Rohingya Society in Malaysia (RSM), told BenarNews recently. ein Google-Unternehmen Google-Dienste anzubieten und zu betreiben Ausfalle zu prufen und Manahmen gegen Spam, Betrug und Missbrauch zu ergreifen Daten zu Zielgruppeninteraktionen und Websitestatistiken zu erheben. 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Sofern relevant, verwenden wir Cookies und Daten auerdem, um Inhalte und Werbung altersgerecht zu gestalten. Wir verwenden Cookies und Daten, umWenn Sie Alle akzeptieren auswahlen, verwenden wir Cookies und Daten auch, umWahlen Sie Weitere Optionen aus, um sich zusatzliche Informationen anzusehen, einschlielich Details zum Verwalten Ihrer Datenschutzeinstellungen. Sie konnen auch jederzeit g.co/privacytools besuchen. * Smith v. Alphabet Inc., 2016 WL 3660725 (S.D. Ala. May 23, 2016): plaintiffs citation to (and discussion of) 230 of the CDA in no manner advances his arguments against the corporate defendants inasmuch as it is clear that the Communications Decency Act (CDA), 47 U.S.C. 223, does not provide Smith with a private right of action. Doe v. Egea, 2015 WL 3917112, *2 (S.D. Fla. Jun. 25, 2015). * General Steel Domestic Sales LLC v. Chumley, 2016 WL 6441028 (10th Cir. Nov. 1, 2016). Section 230 isnt an immunity from being sued. * Porter v. City of Port Orange, 2016 WL 7243095 (M.D. Fla. Dec. 15, 2016): the Complaint seeks to hold Bodner liable for the publication of the Sanchez Response due to her status as owner of the VCM office. However, the CDA grants immunity to a provider or user of an interactive computer service for any information provided by another information content providerthat is, information posted by someone else. See 47 U.S.C. 230(c)(1). In support of her MTD, Bodner maintains that courts have routinely immunized owners of web sites from liability for third-party postings under 230(c)(1). Plaintiff counters that Bodner is not a passive host; instead she is a content provider due to her collaboration with Defendants to further the Sanchez Response and, therefore, destroyed her 230 immunity. The Court disagrees with Plaintiff. Even liberally construed, the Complaint fails to allege facts supporting Plaintiffs contention. Indeed, nothing in the Complaint can be read to ensnare Bodner in a scheme to perpetuate the Sanchez Response. Importantly, because Sanchez, not Bodner, posted the Sanchez Response, the Court finds that the policy behind the CDA warrants blanketing Bodner with immunity under the CDA at least as to Plaintiffs defamation claim. See Almeida v. Amazon.com, Inc., 456 F.3d 1316, 1321 (11th Cir. 2006) (interpreting the CDA as having established broad federal immunity); see also Regions Bank v. Kaplan, No. 8:12-cv-1837-T-17MAP, 2013 WL 1193831, at *18 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 22, 2013) (stating that [a] provider of an interactive computer service includes websites that host third-party generated content). As such, Bodners MTD with respect to the defamation claim is due to be granted. * Pagan v. Google Corp., 2016 WL 7187645 (D.N.H. Nov. 15, 2016). Pagans complaint names Google Corporation as the defendant and asserts that Google defamed him by publishing false information regarding his criminal record. Specifically, he states that Google published false information labeling him as a convicted sex offender for three counts of rape in New Hampshire. Pagan asserts that the information is incorrect, and he attributes the error to a communication problem in the New Hampshire courts. Case dismissed per Section 230. * Peters v. LifeLock Incorporated, 2014 WL 12544495 (D. Ariz. Sept. 19, 2014) (Just showed up in my Westlaw alerts). Section 230 protects email forwarding: The sole basis for Peters defamation claim against Schaan is her forwarding of Jones email. Schaan argues the Communications Decency Act (CDA), 47 U.S.C. 230, prevents her from being held liable for forwarding that email. Schaan is correct. Passed in 1996, the CDA has been widely and consistently interpreted to confer broad immunity against defamation liability for those who use the Internet to publish information that originated from another source. Barrett v. Rosenthal, 146 P.3d 510, 513 (Cal. 2006). The portion of the CDA conferring that immunity provides [n]o user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider. 47 U.S.C. 230(c)(1). Based on the definition in the CDA, there is no question Jones qualified as an information content provider. 47 U.S.C. 23(f)(3) (defining information content provider as any person that is responsible for the creation or development of information). And while user is not defined in the CDA, it plainly refers to someone who uses something, and the statutory context makes it clear that Congress simply meant someone who uses an interactive computer service. Barrett, 146 P.3d at 526. In light of this, Schaan was a user of an interactive computer service when she forwarded Jones email. See 47 U.S.C. 230(f)(2) (defining interactive computer service). Put together, these definitions mean Schaan cannot be treated as the publisher or speaker of the information contained in Jones email. 47 U.S.C. 230(c)(1). And that means Schaan cannot be liable for defamation based on forwarding Jones email. See Peagler v. Phoenix Newspapers, Inc., 560 P.2d 1216, 1222 (Ariz. 1977) (individual liable for defamation if she publishes a false and defamatory communication) (emphasis added); 47 U.S.C. 230(e)(3) (preempting state law inconsistent with CDA). Peters attempts to avoid this straightforward conclusion by arguing it would frustrate a central purpose of the CDA to read its immunity provision as protecting individuals. But the CDAs immunity provision explicitly covers any user of an interactive computer system. 47 U.S.C. 230(c)(1) (emphasis added). Peters offers no argument that Schaan does not qualify as a user as that term is used in the CDA. Therefore, his policy arguments are unconvincing. See United States v. Aerojet Gen. Corp., 606 F.3d 1142, 1151 (9th Cir. 2010) (rejecting policy argument in light of unambiguous statutory language). Peters also argues the CDA immunity provision should not apply because Schaan instigat[ed] the defamation and committed a targeted move by forwarding the email to the one person she thought could cause the most harm to Peters. Peters does not explain how, assuming Schaans behavior can be described in these terms, that behavior takes her outside the CDAs immunity. The CDAs immunity provision does not carve out exceptions for content instigat[ed] by another or content that is forwarded in a targeted move. To be clear, under the facts alleged in the complaint, Schaan did not generate any defamatory statements herself when she first contacted Jones. Rather, she solicited an email from Jones and then forwarded that email without adding any defamatory statements of her own. If Schaan had added her own defamatory comments, the situation would be different. But she did not. Thus, the CDA immunity provision applies and the defamation claim against Schaan must be dismissed. * Western Sugar Coop. v. Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., 2015 WL 12683192 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 21, 2015) [this also just showed up in Westlaw]: SAI argues that even if the Articles constitute commercial speech, SAI is still immune from liability pursuant to the Communications Decency Act (CDA), 47 U.S.C. 230(c). Section 230 of the CDA immunizes providers of interactive computer services against liability arising from content created by third parties, but only if they passively display[ ] content that is created entirely by third parties. Fair Hous. Council of San Fernando Valley v. Roommates.Com, LLC, 521 F.3d 1157, 1162 (9th Cir. 2008). If the information is not provided by another information content provider, then 230(c) does not confer immunity on the publisher of the information. See Batzel v. Smith, 333 F.3d 1018, 1032 (9th Cir. 2003). The question is whether under the circumstances, a reasonable person would conclude that the information was sent [to them] for internet publication. Id. An interactive computer service is defined as any information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system that provides access to the Internet. 47 U.S.C. 230(f)(2). SAI does not provide evidence that its website or electronic distribution qualifies as a provider[ ] or user[ ] of an interactive computer service within the meaning of the CDA. See, e.g., Batzel, 333 F.3d at 1030 (explaining to benefit from 230(c) immunity, [the defendant] must first demonstrate that his [n]etwork website and listserv qualify as provider[s] or user[s] of an interactive computer service ) (emphasis in original). Even if SAI established that it qualifies as a provider or user of an interactive computer service, [i]f information is provided to [SAI] in a capacity unrelated to [its] function as a provider or user of interactive computer services, then there is no reason to protect [it] with the special statutory immunity. Id. at 1033. The Ninth Circuit has explained that the term provided suggests, at least, some active role by the provider in supplying the material to a provider or user of an interactive computer service. See id. at 1032. SAI provides evidence that it obtained permission to republish the Articles on its website and Newsletter. Evidence that SAI obtained permission to republish the Articles, is not evidence that SAI passively displayed Articles from third parties who actively provided them to SAI in its capacity as a user or provider of interactive computer services. See, e.g., Roommates.Com, 521 F.3d at 1162; Batzel, 333 F.3d at 1032; F.T.C. v. Accusearch Inc., 570 F.3d 1187, 1201 (10th Cir. 2009). The Court therefore finds that SAI is not entitled to immunity under the Communications Decency Act for its republication and dissemination of the Bonvie and McElligott Articles. UghSection 230 does NOT require passive display. [sad face emoji] The parties stipulated a dismissal in November 2015, so this judicial error wont be fixed. * Google dropped its lawsuit against Miss. AG Jim Hood and will collaborate in addressing the harmful consequences of unlawful &/or dangerous online content. Wendy Davis article. Prior blog post. So who won? Hood withdrew the subpoena, but Google apparently is undertaking new efforts because of the AGs cajoling. * Search Engine Land: A number of attorneys who specialize in online defamation/libel cases have reported to me that Google has recently suspended its longstanding, informal policy of removing URLs from US search results that are specified in duly executed court orders. MARRAKESH, Morocco - The Holmes Group is partnering with the African Public Relations Association to launch its first ever African SABRE Awards. The competition is now open for entries, and the winners will be recognised at a gala dinner during the 2017 APRA conference, which will take place in Marrakesh, Morocco, in May. The SABRE Awards The SABRE Awards, which recognise superior achievement in branding, reputation and engagement, have a 25-year heritage, with separate competitions in North America, EMEA, the Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and South Asia. The winners from those regional competitions are eligible for the Global SABRE Awards, which recognise the best PR campaigns from more than 5,000 entries around the world. In addition, the winners from the African SABREs will be entered automatically into consideration for the EMEA awards, which will continue to include an African categoryand to accept African entries in all categories. According to Paul Holmes, who chairs the SABRE judges: We have seen some exceptional public relations work from Africa in our EMEA SABRE competition in recent years, proving that the best African campaigns are just as strategic, just as creative, and just as effective as work from Europes largest and most sophisticated markets. Now is the time for Africa to have its own competition so that we can see even more of that great work. APRA president Yomi Badejo-Okusanya adds: "The African Public Relations Association is delighted to have partnered with The Holmes Report to launch the SABRE Awards Africa. Recognition of the quality of work being produced across the continent is important, not only to industry players, but also to clients. We are firm believers that recognition inspires continuous improvement and encourages a continued focus on skills development which is a main driver for APRA." A dedicated SABRE site is now open and accepting entries. The deadline is January 9, 2017, although late entries will be accepted until February 6, 2017, with payment of an additional fee. A complete list of categories for the African competition can be found here, with tips for successful entries here. APO has been named the official newswire of the first African SABRE Awards and will be offering a discount to nominated and winning entrants on all press releases relating to the SABRE competition. SA's shipping market is expected to remain under pressure in 2017, with import figures likely to be weaker after low third-quarter import numbers despite a strengthened rand. MichaelGaida via pixabay After dismal first-quarter figures, the market had stabilised. But despite this, low growth figures were expected for the rest of 2016 and 2017, Maersk Line Southern Africa trade manager Matthew Conroy told Business Day in a recent interview. Maersk's Trade Report for the third quarter of 2016 indicated a strengthened rand did not trigger an increase in imports, linked to South African consumers buying fewer auto, retail, and electronic goods. Maersk is the world's largest shipping company, moving about 15% of freight. The main decline was in container imports, which dropped 9%, specifically imports from the country's largest trade lane, Asia, which declined 14%. Fruit exports, which represent about 25% of SA's total exports, declined 5% on the back of the drought, which limited citrus output. SA's main exports - about 60% commodities - are dependent on global demand, while imports, petroleum, and manufactured goods rely on economic growth and currency levels. The picture for export container trade was slightly more positive, with the market only having declined 2% year on year - parallel to the decline in the previous quarter. "We will likely see a market decline for imports in the 7% to 8% range, unless the rand was to strengthen considerably," said Conroy. Regarding exports, he said it was likely the market would continue within its stable trend and fall in the -2% to 0% growth range for 2016. "I think the negative trend we have seen will continue for the rest of the year [2016] and continue into 2017, although with a lesser extent," he said. SA's flat growth and Asian demand for commodities - although stabilising - were also flagged by Transnet when presenting its interim results for six months to September 2016. "What we are experiencing at the moment in growth is becoming mediocre - we are seeing a new mediocre normal," Transnet CEO Siyabonga Gama said earlier in November. Source: Business Day One third of more than 700 health facilities in the conflict-ridden Borno State, north-eastern Nigeria, have been completely destroyed, a World Health Organisation (WHO) report says. "High insecurity, difficult terrain and lack of health workers, medicines, equipment and basic amenities such as safe water are making access to essential, lifesaving healthcare extremely difficult," says Dr Wondi Alemu, WHO representative in Nigeria. Photo: WHO/Clements-Hunt WHO has been working with the Borno State ministry of health to set up a health resources availability monitoring system (known as HeRAMS) to collect information on the availability of health resources and services in this humanitarian crisis. The first report from this new system has identified 743 health facilities in Borno State, of which 35% are completely destroyed, another 29% partially damaged and only 34% intact. About 100 temporary health facilities have been set up to support the response, of which 49 are emergency clinics for displaced people living in camps. Of the 481 health facilities that have not been destroyed, 31% of them are not functioning, mostly as a result of lack of access due to insecurity. Almost 60% of health facilities have no access to safe water (32% have no access to any water at all) and three out of four (73%) facilities do not have enough chlorine stocks to decontaminate the water used in the facility. "The information from this system is critical to identify gaps that need to be addressed urgently," says Kadai Baba Gana, deputy director for planning, research and statistics in the Borno State ministry of health and the HeRAMS task team chairman. "This will help us to better coordinate and monitor the response and guide the allocation of scarce resources." HeRAMS is a rapid online system used to monitor which health facilities, services and resources are available and accessible in emergency settings. Health workers are trained by WHO to enter key information into the system about the clinic or hospital where they work. This information includes the kind of services the facility can provide, whether the infrastructure has essential resources like electricity and water, the skills of health workers, and the type of services, equipment and medicines available as well as support received from external partners. Information is updated regularly to help monitor improvements or new gaps in services. Around 60% of the health facilities in north-eastern Nigeria are currently being supported by one or more of the 18 health partners responding to the crisis. However, more resources are needed. The United Nations and partners need $94m to provide health services to 6m people, more than half of them children, in this crisis. Of this share, WHO needs $31m to deliver on its response plans in 2017. The Cape Wine Auction has supported education in the South African Winelands, raising R33m since inception. The proceeds, without offset or deduction, are allocated to the 22 beneficiaries who are actively involved in offering education, meals, aftercare, counselling services, career placements and training. This generosity has not gone unnoticed with the support of two financial giants throwing their support behind this truly amazing initiative, which takes place on 10 and 11 February 2017. Friday Barrel Auction American Express is, for the third year running, sponsoring the Friday Barrel Auction, which will take place at La Motte Wine Estate in Franschhoek. Perfect for wine aficionados, the auction lures avid collectors to bid on and taste directly from the barrels and in the company of the winemakers - once off, specially curated and limited release wines. We are delighted to continue our support of the Cape Wine Auction, and return as the Friday Barrel Auction sponsor. The Cape Wine Auction has gained well deserved recognition for being an outstanding event that not only casts the South African wine industry into the international spotlight, but also invests back into the local community. American Express is committed to providing its Cardmembers with access to premium events and world class experiences, and we look forward to the Cape Wine Auction being as exceptional as ever in 2017, says Andrew Stewart, VP and GM, Bank Partnerships EMEA, American Express. Influential business people and personalities Nedbank Private Wealth has been announced as the headline sponsor for the Saturday auction. The luncheon, which takes place at the spectacular Anthonij Rupert Wyne estate in Franschhoek, is attended by a significant number of local and international influential business people and personalities bidding to take ownership of one of the 35 bespoke lots up for auction. This is the perfect collaboration as it is in line with Nedbank Private Wealths ethos of supporting initiatives aimed at doing good. We believe that education is a critical cornerstone for the countrys collective future, and our expertise in wealth management and philanthropy provides invaluable tools to ensure that these kinds of projects have a sustainable long-term impact, says Noxolo Hlongwane, head of Philanthropy at Nedbank Private Wealth. For more info, go to www.capewineauction.co.za. Ghana's financial sector is currently struggling to recover from a major financial crisis involving Ponzi investment schemes.Millions of Ghanaians have been denied access to their savings after investing in microfinance companies. They had been promised huge returns on their capital over a short period of time, but now they're pleading with Ghanaian president John Mahama for a refund of their investments. These schemes were at the centre of the presidential election campaign in Ghana. The incoming New Patriotic Party government has promised to reimburse all who have lost money with these investments. Ghana's central bank has also revised its rules to discourage such Ponzi schemes in future. Its deputy governor Johnson Asiamah said they were also receiving help from Germany on how to better protect small investors. "With the passage of the Ghana deposit protection bill, I am happy to inform you that the Bank of Ghana in collaboration with the German government will soon establish a deposit protection system in Ghana for the first time in our history. This will ensure protection for small depositors and enhance the safety of the financial system," said Asiamah. New scheme Reports of a new investment scheme called the Mavrodi Mondial Movement have recently emerged, under which clients are promised a return of 30% in less than a month. The Russian-owned scheme has been banned in some African countries including Nigeria. "The bank of Ghana shouldn't allow this to escalate. Obviously, if it was bad for Nigeria, it's not going to be any good for Ghana," financial analyst, Osei Amankwah said. The Mavrodi Mondial Movement said on Twitter that their scheme in Ghana was a simple system in which a community of voluntary members provide and receive help. However, some Ghanaians are wary of these schemes. "I would not be interested in it because I am afraid of losing my money at the end," said Bernice Asiedu, a resident of Accra. The Mavrodi Mondial Movement isn't officially licensed to operate in Ghana, and officials have said that they will launch a probe into the group. The Independent Examinations Board (IEB) National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations were written in October and November 2016 by 11022 full-time and 703 part-time candidates from 237 examination venues across Southern Africa. The increase in the number of examination venues to 237 from 209 in 2015 is due to 10 new schools joining the IEB, as well as the fact that some institutions operate nationally with multiple examination venues to accommodate learners around the country. These are predominantly distance education institutions and operate in a manner similar to UNISA. Umalusi monitored all aspects of the 2016 examination process and declared the results as fair and valid. The 2016 IEB examinations have been conducted without any incidents that challenge the integrity of the process or the credibility of the results. Protecting the integrity of education The incidence of dishonesty across many education systems is on the increase. In South Africa, the past few years have exposed schools whose interest in cheating far exceeds their desire to equip learners with the skills and knowledge they need. The IEB has prioritised the protection of its examinations from breaches of security as far as possible, using sophisticated technology and emphasising the ethical role that educators must play in building an ethical society. The IEB is conscious that any examination system is only as strong at the weakest link in the integrity chain, and is fortunate to have a strong record in the absolute protection of its examination process. Parents should be vigilant that the school they choose for their children upholds the highest ethical values that they would want their children to subscribe to. There are a number of associations to which independent schools may belong that assure the public of the bona fides of their member schools. Such associations include the Independent Schools Association of South Africa (ISASA), the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) as well as a number of religious school associations such as the Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Muslim and Jewish schools. Groups of schools committed to quality education, associated with the IEB, include the Curro schools, some brands in the Advtech group as well as the REDDAM schools. Furthermore parents should check the registration status of the school with the relevant provincial department of education, and should the school be offering the NSC examination, it is critical for parents to check the accreditation status of the school with Umalusi, advises Anne Oberholzer, CEO of the IEB. Advanced Programmes The Advanced Programme courses are extension courses in Mathematics, English and Afrikaans. They are available to any learner in South Africa attending either state or IEB schools, who chooses to participate. The assessment has been benchmarked by UK NARIC, the UK equivalent of the South African Qualifications Authority, and are considered equivalent to the UK A-levels. The performance of the class of 2016 in AP Mathematics, consisting of 1407 learners from IEB schools and 1275 learners in state schools has been very pleasing with 87,9% achieving a pass above 40%, compared to 87,7% in 2015. From a total of 652 learners offering AP English, 98,12% achieved a pass mark of 40% and above, while all learners offering AP Afrikaans achieved a mark of 40% and above. Combined Abitur-NSC 2016 The Combined Abitur-NSC is a qualification offered by the German Schools in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria. The qualification consists of five subjects assessed by the IEB and seven subjects assessed by the German Education authorities. Through this government-to-government agreement, successful learners in the Combined Abitur-NSC are recognised by German education authorities for entry to German universities and by the South African education authorities for entry to South African universities. Of the 66 candidates who offered this qualification, all passed with entry to degree study. Re-marks The closing date for the application for re-marks is 10 January 2017 and the results from re-marking will be released on 1 February 2017. The closing date for learners who qualify to enroll for the supplementary examination to do so, is 6 February 2017. MONTREAL, CANADA: Worldwide passenger air traffic grew again last year, albeit, at a slightly slower pace, led by the dynamic growth of low-cost air carriers, the International Civil Aviation Organization reported on Monday. Unsplash via pixabay A total of 3.7 billion passengers were transported by the world's airlines last year, a 6 percent increase from 2015. That was just under the previous year's 7.1 percent rise, the United Nations agency said. Growth was most pronounced in the Middle East (11.2 percent), Asia (8 percent), Latin America (6.5 percent) and Africa (5.7 percent), while it was slower in Europe (4.3 percent) and North America (3.5 percent). "Over half of the world's tourists who travel across international border-search year were transported by air," the Montreal-based agency noted in a statement. Low-cost carriers accounted for 28 percent of all passenger air traffic. Passing a milestone, they transported more than 1 billion passengers for the first time. In Europe, low-cost carriers transported nearly a third of all passengers, slightly more than the 31 percent in Asia or North America's 25 percent. "The increasing presence of low-cost carriers notably in emerging economies contributed to the overall growth of passenger traffic," the ICAO said. As for scheduled domestic flights, North America accounted for 43 percent of the total, up 4.3 percent from the previous year, while domestic traffic in Asia was up 10 percent, largely due to growth in India and China. Increased traffic and significantly lower fuel costs helped boost airlines' operating profits, which the ICAO put at $60 billion for last year, some $2 billion more than in 2015. "More than a third of the profits are expected to come from the carriers of North America, whose domestic market represents 66 per cent of their total operations," the agency reported. BEIJING: Twitter's manager for China, whose appointment just eight months ago sparked controversy, has announced her resignation but welcomed the growing number of Chinese advertisers even though the service is blocked by Beijing. Kathy Chen, appointed in April as general manager for the China region comprising mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, made the announcement Saturday evening on her own Twitter account. "Now that the Twitter APAC team (Asia-Pacific team in Singapore) is working directly with Chinese advertisers, this is the right time for me to leave the company," she said. Like other Western platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, Twitter is inaccessible in mainland China, blocked by the communist regime's vast system of internet censorship. Unable to reach local users, Twitter has tried to persuade Chinese companies and media to open accounts to reach a global audience. Large groups such as the telecoms giant Huawei and state media have made their appearance on the platform. Chen said that over the past two years, Twitter's advertising base in the China region had grown almost 400 percent. Her resignation comes two months after the announcement of nine percent cuts in the global workforce of Twitter, which is struggling to attract new users. Human rights activists and NGOs had taken issue with Chen's resume when she was appointed. In the 1980s and 1990s she worked as a computer engineer for the Chinese army. Dissident Hu Jia had described the appointment as a "painful betrayal". Critics were also dismayed by Chen's call on her appointment for "closer partnership" with Communist Party-backed state media. Twitter is home to a very active community of Chinese intellectuals and dissidents posting from abroad and also from within the country through the use of virtual private networks (VPN). Source: AFP Africa conjures up images of adventure, danger and to a certain degree romanticism. This is because it is one of the last untamed places on earth. Scenery from the rolling sand dunes of the Sahara to the lush forests of the Congo invites one to explore fascinating natural and culturally rich destinations. bluerain22 via 123RF - Simien National Park in Ethiopia Africas beauty spots should be on the bucket list of every traveller. For the adventurous, I have chosen seven lesser-known and out-of-the ordinary eco-destinations. 1. Mount Nimba Mount Nimba is on the borders of Guinea, Liberia and Cote dIvoire. The slopes of the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve are covered by dense forest. The foothills consist of grassy mountain pastures. It harbours rich flora and fauna, with native and threatened species like the viviparous toad and chimpanzees that use stones as tools. The park is part of Guinea and Cote dIvoire. It is home to the most remarkable animal and plant populations on the continent. It is an isolated refuge covered with montane forests, which are more elevated than other forests, making the landscape of the Gulf of Guinea an exceptional ecological site. Access is highly controlled and is only possible for organised groups with the proper permits. 2. The Sangha River The Sangha Trinational is in the north-western Congo Basin where Cameroon, the Central African Republic and Congo meet. Shutterstock Much of the site is unaffected by human activity and features a broad range of humid tropical forest ecosystems with rich flora and fauna. This includes Nile crocodiles and the goliath tigerfish. Sangha is home to large populations of forest elephants, the critically endangered western lowland gorilla and endangered chimpanzee. Shutterstock The sites environment has preserved ecological and evolutionary processes on a huge scale as well as great biodiversity, including many endangered animals. 3. Cape Verde Cape Verde is a chain of islands off the coast of West Africa. The idyllic, uncrowded beaches and attractive and familiar Portuguese/Creole culture are big draws. Reuters It is a naturally beautiful country with landscapes ranging from volcanoes and mountains to lush valleys and barren, arid flatlands. This geographic diversity is ideal for trekkers and nature tourists. Nesting sea turtles and other wildlife bring another dimension to the countrys eco-tourism industry. The tiny Spinguera Eco-Resort, on the island of Boa Vista, is the most overtly green spot in Cape Verde. The use of water and electricity is restricted, solar power is used to heat water and there are no TVs or air conditioners. Hiking, horseback riding, diving and bushwalking tours are all available. 4. The Gambia The Gambia is surrounded by Senegal, with a narrow Atlantic coastline. It is known for its diverse ecosystems around the central Gambia River. Wildlife in the Kiang West National Park and Bao Bolong Wetland Reserve includes monkeys, hippos and rare birds. The Gambia hosts Africas longest running chimpanzee rehabilitation project. Established in 1979, the project is now home to over 100 chimps. Wild chimps disappeared from the country in the early 1900s but four separate social groups can now be found on Baboon Islands where the project is based. Gambia has taken steps to develop ecotourism such as Makasutu, a privately owned ecotourist reserve set within lush bush mangroves. It was voted the best world eco-lodge by Britains Sunday Times. Shutterstock Visiting groups are deliberately kept small to reduce their impact on the forests fragile ecosystem. Solar power provides energy, and local people play a vital role in running the reserve. Another lodge, the Sandele Eco Retreat was winner of The Guardians Ethical Travel Award. 5. Nigers giant reserve Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, supports one of the largest conservation areas in Africa, the Air and Tenere Natural Reserves. The area considered a protected sanctuary makes up only one-sixth of the total reserve. It includes the volcanic rock mass of the Air, a small Sahelian pocket situated in the Saharan desert of Tenere. The reserve boasts an outstanding variety of landscapes, plant species and wild animals. The region contains the blue marble mountains which are aesthetically stunning. The Reserve of Air and Tenere is the last bastion of Saharo-Sahlien wildlife in Niger. The isolation of the Air and the fact that very few people live there account for the survival of numerous species that have been eliminated from other regions in the Sahara and Sahel. Habitats range from fixed dunes to stoney gravel desert, cliff valleys, canyons, high plateaus and water holes. 6. Salonga rain forests Salonga National Park is Africas largest tropical rain forest reserve. The park, situated at the heart of the central basin of the Congo River, is isolated and accessible only by water. It contains the remarkable evolution of both species and communities in a forest area. The park plays a vital role in climate regulation and the capture of carbon. It also hosts numerous threatened species like the pygmy chimpanzee, the bush elephant and the Congo peacock. Shutterstock Salonga National Park represents one of the very rare existing uniform environmental areas catering to specific biodiversity in central Africa. It is made up of vast marshland areas and practically inaccessible gallery forests. Some have never been explored and may still be considered as practically virgin. 7. Simien National Park, Ethiopia The Simien National Park in northern Ethiopia is spectacular. Massive erosion over millions of years has created jagged mountain peaks, deep valleys and sharp precipices dropping some 1,500m. The park holds global significance for biodiversity conservation because it is home to globally threatened species. These include, the iconic Walia ibex, a wild mountain goat found nowhere else in the world, the Gelada baboon and the Ethiopian wolf. The parks spectacular landscape is part of the Simien Mountain range, which includes Ras Dejen, the highest point in Ethiopia. Shutterstock The wave-like plateau of the Simien Mountains is exceptional and a feature of natural beauty at its best. The spectacular scenery is considered to rival Colorados Grand Canyon. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Even if Anthony had a year to analyze and dissect each piece...(he couldn't tell if it would)... stand the harsh light of public exposure. WUWT insider Willis Eschenbach tells you all you need to know about Anthony Watts and his blog, WattsUpWithThat (WUWT). As part of his scathing commentary , Wondering Willis accuses Anthony Watts of being clueless about the blog articles he posts. To paraphrase: Click here to read more. Implement contextual commerce capabilities Now is the time to make all content commerce-able. Through embedding transactional capabilities directly into editorial and video content, advertisements, and other mediums, brands and retailers can capture consumers attention at the very moment of inspiration and open new channels of revenue. Capitalizing on consumers eagerness to seamlessly discover, save, and/or purchase items allows companies to make content more persuasive, which in turn drives sales and increases ROI, said Brian Marvin, COO and Co-Founder of Bringhub. Invest in a holistic UX Its not just about desktop or mobile anymore. Retailers must establish a holistic digital strategy in 2017 and ensure that their user experience (UX) is cohesive across all digital channels, which must now include zero UI. Technology has made commerce interactions possible practically anywhere. A smartwatch, Amazon Echo or Google Home can become the point of sale in an instant, which has lead to a shift in consumers expectations of their brand experience. Retailers who dont invest in a holistic UX that integrates every customer touch points risk losing ground to the competition, said Stephanie Trunzo, Chief Digital Officer & COO of PointSource. Focus on your product information strategy While many retailers are overwhelmed with the bells and whistles of advanced e-commerce technology, retailers that focus on a robust product information strategy will have a strong foundation for cross-channel commerce success in 2017. Retailers that provide trusted, consistent and authentic product information will gain consumer trust and market share to compete with e-commerce giants now and in the future, said Nihat Arkan, CEO of 1WorldSync. Embrace phygital experiences As the commerce experience continues to grow and evolve, people are becoming increasingly intolerant to perceived disconnects and discrepancies from brands across channels. Brands that operate different strategies across their physical and digital operations are at risk of losing customers who want a holistic approach. Many companies want to invest in next-gen commerce capabilities like virtual reality, voice assistants, and more, but the brands that will win consumers over in 2017 will be ones that bring their digital and physical strategies into one contiguous whole, said Roman Martynenko, COO of Astound Commerce. For his article Rolling Stone reporter Paul Solotaroff piggybacked on a puppy mill raid that the HSUS Animal Rescue Team carried out with the Cabarrus County Sheriffs Office in North Carolina. Above, a dog in a crate at the puppy mill. Photo by Meredith Lee/The HSUS 26.4K shares Of the entire dizzying array of animal cruelty concerns, theres not one more top of mind for the American public than puppy mills. Its a term weve all been hearing for decades and weve lamented the presence of the industry for at least as long. Yet, amazingly, theres still so much confusion about puppy mills, and theres been very little in-depth reporting about the state of the industry. That changes today with Paul Solotaroffs remarkable feature in this months Rolling Stone magazine entitled The Dog Factory: Inside the Sickening World of Puppy Mills. This is Solotaroffs second deep dive into animal issues; he first took on the efforts by agribusiness interests to pass ag-gag measures and to wall off Americas factory farms and slaughter plants from inquiring minds. What Solotaroff learned in his original reporting was that ag-gag measures might even apply to puppy mills. That led him to his second investigative report, where he decided to take a first-hand look into the puppy mill business. He piggybacked on a raid that the HSUS Animal Rescue Team carried out with the Cabarrus County Sheriffs Office in North Carolina. As with all puppy mill rescues, the sight that greeted our Animal Rescue Team inside the puppy mill was appalling. It was pitch-black inside, and the smell was a hammer, wrote Solotaroff, in describing the house where the dogs were confined. Here were the parent dogs in desperate shape: blinded by cataracts and corneal ulcers, their jaws gone or missing entirely after their teeth had rotted away. Some were so feeble, they couldnt stand erect; their paws were urine-scalded and their wrists were deformed from squatting on wire their entire lives. Solotaroff saw our rescue team carry 105 dogs to safety from filthy, dark wire cages surrounded by cobwebs and trash. Altogether, we delivered 150 animals from this hell-hole, including numerous cats, kittens, and goats. For anyone who sees this kind of menace first-hand, it forever changes your perceptions. It was perhaps our 25th raid in recent years just in North Carolina. Astonishingly, the North Carolina legislature despite having an immense volume of photographic and video evidence, and testimonials from law enforcement personnel from rural counties throughout the state about the severity and scale of the problem hasnt taken action to root out the industry. In fact, its done nothing. North Carolina remains deregulated when it comes to puppy mills, and thats why interventions wait until the living conditions are so bad for the animals that the average puppy mill morphs into an animal cruelty crime scene. Only then, when there is an active case of cruelty and neglect, can we work with law enforcement to pull animals from life-threatening, life-denying, and accursed conditions. My colleague John Goodwin, who directs our puppy mills campaign, also took Solotaroff to a dog auction this one in Missouri. The auction was held inside a hangar-size warehouse, and one by one 300 dogs were placed on a table on a dais and sold. Two auctioneers called out bids while touting the dogs untapped value, Solortaroff wrote. Shes a 2012 model and showin a belly; shell work hard for you! This is what is extraordinary about this piece of journalism: the piece touches each vertebra in the spine of this grisly trade, from the puppy mill breeders and the auctioneers to state and federal regulators and other enforcement agencies who have so little to work with, because the agribusiness lobby and the puppy mill trade have teamed up to thwart progress in so many ways. In North Carolina, the hog industry fights rules to crack down on puppy mills. And, shockingly and shamefully, the American Kennel Club, which is headquartered in North Carolina, has also joined the opponents of legal reform to crack down on mills. Hard to believe. But indisputably true. Solotaroff wrote not just about the plight of the dogs, but also about the burden placed on law enforcement and animal welfare groups who get saddled with the costs of picking up the pieces. The HSUS expects to spend at least $100,000 on the raid most of it for medical care which is actually on the low side, he observed. Indeed, we spend millions caring for animals who never should have been placed in this kind of misery. Agribusiness groups and the AKC stand in the way, but then we pay the bills. Solotaroff also wrote about the deficiencies at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the very rare circumstances when the agency shuts down a mill. As Solotaroff found in his research, Randy Stoen of Dows, Iowa, received a slap on the wrist from the USDA even though he shot one of his dogs and repeatedly threatened inspectors. What does it take to shut down a mill if those arent disqualifying actions? Steve Kruse of Stonehenge Kennel, another Iowa-based, USDA-licensed breeder, received only a 21-day suspension for throwing a bag of dead puppies at a USDA inspector. Both men appeared on our 2016 Horrible Hundred report due to their terrible mistreatment of dogs, yet they remain federally licensed to this day. Solotaroffs story will help us pressure the USDA to shut down more puppy mills like Stoens and Kruses. Online sellers pose an especially insidious threat, because they are an easy way for breeders to sell puppies. As Solotaroff writes, online dog sales is the perfect crime. Courts dont care about out-of-state victims, and the feds dont even fine breeders, much less arrest them, for selling sick pups on bogus sites. Any amateur can do this out of his or her basement and make good, steady money for years. Nevertheless, The HSUS has had some success bringing lawsuits against irresponsible and deceptive actors in this industry. HSUS attorneys are currently assisting with litigation against PuppyFind.com, an online puppy marketplace supporting many irresponsible breeders. I hope youll share this piece with other people of conscience. Its time to engage the animal-loving American public at a new and deeper level on this problem. Theres no excuse for more delays, inaction, and obstructionism. And it will be up to the incoming Trump Administration and Congress to address Americas dirty little secret of puppy mills. We can start a renewed campaign against the mills by making sure that Solotaroffs work is widely read. Tom Brady New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) talks to offensive players on the field, during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (Lynne Sladky) Former New England Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, currently playing with the Houston Texans, says he might retire after this season. Brian Smith of the Houston Chronicle reported that Wilfork hinted at retirement on Tuesday, two days after the Texans' regular-season finale. Houston finished 9-7 and first in the AFC South. They will play the Raiders on Saturday. Wilfork joined the Texans as a free agent in 2015 after 11 seasons in New England. In 15 games this season, he had nine tackles and 12 assists. The Most Extensive and Reliable Source of Information Related to the Mexican Drugs Cartels. You will not find this level of coverage anywhere else, join us! WARNING: Posts may contain strong violent material, discretion is advised. COMMENTS: We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately. Happy New Year! Its officially time to start writing 2017 on your checks. The presidential transition means an especially busy start to the year. President-elect Donald Trump may not have talked much about education on the campaign trail, but the first part of the year will tell us a lot about the direction he wants to go and how much of a priority he places on the issue. Whats more, well get a glimpse of how well hes able to work with Congress on K-12, not to mention early and higher education. Here are five things to watch in the months ahead: Betsy DeVos confirmation process Trumps education secretary-designate and school choice advocate Betsy DeVos still needs to get the seal of approval from the U.S. Senate before she can start her new job. Ultimately, the GOP megadonor will probably get confirmed. She has donated to a number of Republicans on the Senate education committee, which will oversee her confirmation. Plus, she only needs a majority of the Republican-controlled Senate to sign off on her appointment. But dont expect her confirmation hearing, which could be held on or around Jan. 11, to be smooth sailing. Democrats told the Washington Post that DeVos is one of four cabinet nominees they intend to oppose most vehemently. Expect scrutiny around the $5.3 million in unpaid fines and late fees that All Children Matter, DeVos now-shuttered political action committee, owes Ohio . There will also likely be a close examination of her controversial record on school choice in Michigan, as well as opposition to her nomination in the civil rights community and among educators . And she could be asked about whether she has a plan to end the Common Core State Standards, something shes not legally able to do under the new Every Student Succeeds Act. Education Department Staffing DeVos may head up the U.S. Department of Education, but it will be just as important to see who ends up in other key positions, especially because the focus of DeVos K-12 work has been so singularly on school choice. Picks like the deputy secretary, assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education, assistant secretary for planning evaluation and policy, and even chief of staff could matter a lot. Look to see if DeVoswho, unlike most of her predecessors has never worked in a school district or at a collegebrings in folks with hands-on experience. For now, Rob Goad, an aide to Rep. Luke Messer, R-Ind., who took leave to serve on the Trump campaign , is at the helm of the departments transition. And other folks, including some with ties to both former President George W. Bush and his brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, are also helping out with transition efforts . Every Student Succeeds Act Implementation The Trump administration gets to make some early decisions that are important for implementation of ESSA. For instance, the new folks will get to decide whether to revise or simply toss some of the Obama administrations regulations for the law, including on accountability and a wonky spending issue called supplement-not-supplant. Both sets of regulations are on the hit list for Republican members of Congress . The Obama administration set the first deadline for state ESSA plans as early April, but the Trump team could shift that. The new administration will also get to approve state plans and could use ESSA to further its school choice agenda . First Big Policy Proposal The only major K-12 policy Trump talked about on the campaign trail was school choice, and his selection of DeVos shows hes serious about pursuing the issue. But will his first big education policy proposal be the $20 billion voucher program he pitched on the campaign trail , or something more modest and easier to pass, like tax credits for K-12 education ? The timing of the proposal will also be important. Is education one of the first domestic policy areas to get attention, or does it take a back seat to issues that got more play during the campaign, like immigration and health care? And when education does come up, where will the new administration put its focus? Does Trump get started on K-12 right out of the gate, like Bush and President Barack Obama did, or does his administration tackle higher education, child care, or something else first? There are signs that child care may be ahead of K-12. Trumps daughter Ivanka, who is expected to play a key role in the administration, is reportedly already making calls to lawmakers on the issue . Trumps First Budget Request Trumps first budget proposal, which will cover federal fiscal year 2018, is likely to come out sometime in late winter or even spring. That will give us a sense of which Education Department programs the president wants to keep, shrink, or ditch. It will also provide key insight into how Trump and Company plan to deal with across-the-board cuts known as sequestration that are slated to be in place through the incoming presidents first term. President-elect Donald Trump gives his acceptance speech during his election night rally on Nov. 9 in New York. --John Locher/AP President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with his pick for Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, during a rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Dec. 9. Paul Sancya/AP Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 . LAPD Takes on 'Nightlife Crime' in Hollywood During the 1990s and into the early 2000's, sections of Hollywood were more well-known for easy access to drugs than for clubs, bars, and music scenes. And while the neighborhood's recent renaissance into a lively nightlife scene has been a welcome sight for locals, it's also made visitors and patrons targets of crime both petty and serious. With the former "nightlife wasteland" now booming with both business and crime, police are now trying to curb the criminal elements feeding off of Hollywood's revived nightlife. Crime & Culture Where some see a bustling sidewalk or club entrance, criminals see opportunity. Inebriated partiers make for easy targets on their way home, when spirits are up and guards are down. "The robberies are traditionally related to nightlife culture," Los Angeles Police Department Hollywood Division Capt. Cory Palka told LA Weekly. "It brings out more pedestrians and gives robbers with pistols and bodily force opportunity. We know who the suspects are." Although assaults in Hollywood are down nine percent since last year, they're still up almost 39 percent from two years ago. Robberies are up 26 percent over last year and Palka said the number of robberies in Hollywood totaled over 500 in 2016. Cops & Clubs In response, the LAPD has been increasing its street presence and cracking down on revelry-related crimes like drinking outside clubs and bars operating after hours. It's not surprising that a majority of crime occurs around or after closing time, and the focus from law enforcement will fall on both proprietors and patrons. LAPD Capt. Peter Zarcone told the Los Angeles Times that intoxicated partygoers are responsible for many of Hollywood's recent violent episodes, but City Councilman Mitch O'Farrell has also warned club owners and operators that city officials would be cracking down on businesses that violate operating permits. "Hollywood must be a neighborhood that is safe, clean and hospitable to its residents," O'Farrell said. Related Resources: Police Cleared of Wrongdoing for Killing Two Dogs During Search of Home Police officers from Battle Creek, Michigan were recently cleared of wrongdoing for killing two dogs that barked at officers during the execution of a search warrant. The owners of the two dogs were living with a known drug dealer who had recently been released from prison and was suspected to be selling drugs. The owners filed a civil lawsuit against the officers and police department, which was dismissed on summary judgment. The case went up to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the judgment of the Michigan Federal Court. What Happened? Warning: The details of this case, described below, may be rather upsetting for dog and animal lovers. Despite the fact that one of the dog owners was just exiting the residence when police arrived to conduct the search, and that he informed an officer on the scene that the residence was empty except for his two dogs, the officers actually conducting search never received that information. When the officers broke down the front door, one officer claimed that one dog lunged towards him. That is when the first shot was fired. The pair of dogs then ran down to the basement. When officers attempted to clear the basement, one dog started barking at the officers. Then, the officer shot and killed that dog. The second dog started barking soon after and was shot twice, but did not die. When an officer thought the second dog lunged, he fired a third round into the dog, which then retreated while bleeding profusely. The officer then fired a fatal round into the dog to end the dog's suffering. Court Finds No Wrongdoing While the court ruled that the officers acted reasonably, the ruling does not provide officers with a blanket protection for shooting dogs that bark at them while executing a search warrant. The fear of injury must be reasonable to justify shooting, however, the standard for reasonableness is lower than what is required for shooting a person. Unfortunately, one factor that did not favor the slain animals was that they were Pit Bulls, which have an unfortunate reputation for being vicious attack dogs (though most are sweet as can be). Related Resources: Over one hundred years ago, the New York City area (its five boroughs, along with areas inA New Jersey and Westchester County) was the undisputed center of the American film industry. The invention of the movie camera and celluloid film processing revolutionized by Thomas Edison and many others seamlessly collided with the citys thriving vaudeville and burlesque circuits. By 1910 audiences were enjoying short films at nickelodeons, vaudeville theaters and film parlors, most of them filmed in studios scattered throughout the area. (We break it all down in our 2011 show New York City and the Birth of the Film Industry.) There are a few vestiges of this old industry that still remain in New York City, most notably Kaufman Astoria Studios in Astoria, Queens. But many of these old spaces have vanished for more terrifying reasons fire. Film companies were always burning down a century ago due toA the flammability of film stock and chemicals then. One such fire occurred one hundred years ago today, endangering dozens of people including one of the leading film actresses of the era. Popular Plays and Players Film Company was a production arm of Metro Pictures, formed in February 1915, filming both in New York and Hollywood. Among its employees was Louis B. Meyer, a film icon to be who would laterA head a revamped version of the company under the name Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer (or MGM). Popular Plays had a film production studio in New York at 226-230 West 35th StreetA set up in a former brick church,A just a block north of Pennsylvania Station. It is one of the most complete laboratories in a New York studio, claimed a movie magazine the prior year. A On the third floor, actors were busily at work making a movie called A Waiting Soul, including its starA Olga Petrova, an English actress who had made a handful of films positioning her a true cinematic femme fatale, including The Vampire and, prophetically, Playing With Fire. On the floor below was a film cutting and storage room. According to the Evening World, aA fire suddenly erupted supposedly from spontaneous combustion. (Thats probably the case as unwashed nitrocellulose may spontaneously ignite and explode at room temperature. A Yikes.) Immediately at risk were two young women who were working in the room as film editors. The newspapers later praised the two women, who were slightly burned in the blaze, for their quick thinking in closing the fireproof doors on their way out of the burning room. The actors on the third floor heard the explosions and screams of the young film editors, now inA the stairway.A The films director ordered the cast and crew to follow them down the stairs. Petrova, instead, raced to her dressing room to rescue a leopard skin coat valued at $15,000 and a string of pigeon blood rubies worth $12,000. As absurd as this quick detour sounds, Petrova later claimed that she lost $25,000 in costumes and jewelry to the fire including a variety of fur coats. Fortunately her maid rescued Petrovas canary Richard. [Petrova] reached the street hatless, remarked the New York Tribune under the headline ACTRESS STARS IN STUDIO BLAZE, in a Palm Beach suit and a leopard skin coat. Below: Petrova from January 1922A PhotoplayA magazine wearing her signature outer wear.A The firemen hadA a dramatic battle in store for them. A According to the World, A big galvanized iron ventilator on the peak of the roof was dislodged from its fastenings by a stream of water and rolled down among the firemen. A But [they] saw the ventilator coming. Those in the way grabbed hold of the hose line and hung on like acrobats, dangling over the fiery pit. Producers later claimed that over a quarter of a million dollars worth of equipment and work went up in the blaze, including several completed film. Sadly all of Petrovas film work would be lost to these sorts of tragedies. None of her movies are known to survive. But perhaps those pigeon blood rubies are sitting around somewhere.. Picture at top: A Olga Petrova inA The Light Within,A A made a couple years later after the fire. Ikea to Pay $50M After Dressers Kill 3 Children Ikea, the company known for affordable, flat-pack furniture that buyers must assemble themselves, has agreed to settle three wrongful death cases filed against it for $50 million. The three cases, filed in the state court in Pennsylvania, claim that the furniture maker was negligent in not manufacturing their dressers to meet industry standards, which resulted in the death of three toddlers (in three separate incidents) who were crushed when the dressers toppled over onto them. Ikea has settled a few other lawsuits with similar claims over the last decade, and reports indicate that this may have been a known issue dating all the way back to 1989. All in all, there have been seven reported deaths due to unstable Ikea furniture. Product Liability for Consumer Assembled Furniture In the recently settled case, Ikea had argued that the parents were to blame because they had failed to anchor the dressers to the wall, per their assembly instructions and warnings. However, it is a very common practice that people ignore the last step of anchoring furniture to the wall. The large settlement payout, according to the attorney for the plaintiffs, reflects that the company knows the parents were not to blame. Generally, a company can insulate some, but not all, liability as a result of user error when assembling or using a product. Additionally, liability may be avoided if adequate warnings are provided to warn consumers of the dangers of using (or misusing) their product. However, in this case, it was expected that Ikea would struggle to convince a jury that the parents were at fault for their children's deaths because they failed to anchor the dressers to the wall. Ikea Dresser Recall This past June, Ikea issued a recall on several models of their dressers because they did not meet the voluntary safety and stability standards in the USA. Nearly 30 million Ikea dressers are subject to the recall. In addition to the monetary portion of the settlement, Ikea has agreed to stop selling all dressers that do not meet the voluntary safety and stability standards in the USA. Additionally, they have agreed to ramp-up and increase funding for its "Secure It" program, which is designed to educate consumers about the importance of anchoring furniture to prevent injuries. Related Resources: NEW DELHI (PTI): Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Monday said his force is prepared for a two-front war involving Pakistan and China simultaneously but emphasised on the need to look at cooperation and not confrontation with Beijing. His remarks came days after Beijing raised eyebrows over India testing 5000 km-range Agni 5 missile which has entire China within its reach. "As far as armed forces are concerned, we are tasked to be prepared for a two-front war and I think we are capable of carrying out our task in whatever manner that we may be asked to do by the political hierarchy," Gen Rawat told NewsX channel. General Rawat said as far as the northern border is concerned, army has adopted certain mechanism to ensure that a harmonious relationship is maintained along the Line of Actual Control. He said that on Monday four border personnel meetings took place at the LAC. "This is to ensure that while we may be competing with each other for space, economic development, prosperity, there are also areas of cooperation. And I think that should be our focus area. Rather than looking at confrontation, we need to look at cooperation with China," he said. Just before his retirement last month, Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, who was also the Chairman, Chief of Staff Committee, had said India was only building its deterrent capability. Referring to large-scale modernisation activities along the borders with China, purchase of Rafale fighter aircraft, new vessels and submarines, Raha had said India is "obviously building up" capability not to actually fight a conflict as it believes in peace and tranquility. In a candid admission in March last year, Raha had said that given the IAF's depleting strength, it does not have the adequate numbers to "fully execute" an air campaign in case of a two-front war involving Pakistan and China simultaneously. Is It Legal to Spy on Your Spouse's Email? When it comes to infidelity, married couples can begin acting like secret spy agencies. There's the spouse that may or may not be cheating, hiding his or her tracks; and the spouse trying to catch the other, trying to catch them in a lie. But how much spousal surveillance is too much? According to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, auto-forwarding your husband's emails to your address might cross the line. The court ruled that this could violate the federal Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act even if "Congress probably didn't anticipate its use as a tactical weapon in a divorce proceeding." Serial Surveillance Divorces get nasty, and Paula and Barry Epstein's divorce sounds especially contentious. Paula accused Barry of "serial infidelity," and when Barry's attorney asked for proof, Paula's lawyer handed over emails between Barry and several women other than his wife. Believing that Paula must've been forwarding his emails without his knowledge, he sued her under the part of the Wiretap Act that allows for civil lawsuits against people that violate the law. Paula tried to dismiss the case, but the 7th Circuit allowed it to go forward, saying the "allegations against Paula ... technically fall within the language of the act." The only problem for Barry, it seems, is proving when the emails were intercepted. The Wiretap Act "covers only contemporaneous interceptions," according to the court, so if Paula and her attorney somehow found the emails long after they were sent and received, it wouldn't be illegal. Legal Limits As the Epstein divorce shows, there are legal limits to spying on your spouse. And installing monitoring software on your spouse's computer or mobile device allowing you to intercept and download his or her text messages, call logs, emails, browsing history, photos, or GPS information almost definitely crosses that line. Playing spy games with a cheating spouse may seem tempting, especially when you think evidence of adultery will help in court. But that's not always the case, and stealing your spouse's email messages might land you in even more legal trouble than a standard divorce. Related Resources: 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. A network has been launched to strengthen trading ties between British and Irish businesses as they confront the challenges of Brexit. The British Irish Chamber of Commerce (BICC) has created the British Irish Gateway for Trade to bring together companies on either side of the Irish Sea. John McGrane, the BICC's director general, said 2017 will "focus the mind" on the importance of the trade relationship between Britain and Ireland, which supports more than 400,000 jobs. He said: "At a time when businesses are preparing for Brexit, they appreciate a resource like BIG, which helps them to grow their business by being introduced to more customers and suppliers across the UK and Ireland. "Firms on both sides of the Irish Sea are looking for more trading opportunities and this new service supports the work of chambers and the various state agencies to make those connections easier to find for businesses north, south, east and west." The move comes as the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) begins laying the groundwork to accommodate a significant number of London-based financial services firms looking to move their operations to Dublin in the wake of Brexit. Gerry Cross, the CBI's director of policy and risk, said the Bank is poised to help businesses "think constructively" about relocation and would take a practical approach as firms look to get their business models approved and their company authorised. London's financial firms are waiting with bated breath to discover whether the UK can hold on to passporting rights, which allow them to trade freely across Europe, once Britain exits the EU. The cost of a so-called "hard Brexit" to revenues in Britain's financial services sector has been estimated to be as high as 38 billion, with up to 75,000 jobs in the firing line. This is on top of a 10 billion hit to the Treasury's tax revenue, according to a study commissioned by TheCityUK. Last week, Ireland's Industrial Development Agency (IDA) said more than 100 companies, many currently based in the City, have inquired about relocating to the country after Brexit. Toyota was the top-selling manufacturer of 2016, according to new figures released today. The Society of the Irish Motor Industry says over 146,000 new cars were sold last year, the highest in eight years. The leader of the Alliance Party in the North is calling for a judge-led inquiry into the 'Cash-for-Ash' controversy. It is thought taxpayers in the North could have to foot the bill worth hundreds of millions of pounds arising out of the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme. Police have carried out a series of raids and arrested 12 people as they hunt the gunman behind an attack in Istanbul. 39 people were killed in a nightclub in the Turkish city on New Year's Eve. Donald Trump has threatened to slap a tax on General Motors for importing compact cars to the US from Mexico. The US president-elect tweeted that GM is sending Mexican-made Chevrolet Cruzes to the US tax-free, and ordered the firm to make the cars in the US "or pay big border tax". However, GM makes the vast majority of Cruzes in Lordstown, near Cleveland, Ohio. The firm only imports the hatchback version from a factory in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, which represents a small percentage of the 172,000 Cruzes sold by GM in the US, spokesman Patrick Morrissey said. The hatchback is built in Mexico for global distribution, Mr Morrissey added. Cruze hatchback production is equivalent to less than a day of output at the Lordstown plant, said Glenn Johnson, president of a United Auto Workers union branch at the factory. The union, he said, is not protesting against the move to build the hatchback in Mexico. "It makes for news, that's all," Mr Johnson said of Mr Trump's tweet. The Lordstown factory, he said, is not equipped to build the hatchback. GM did import some Cruze saloons from Mexico last year to meet demand as it was rolling out a new version, Mr Morrissey said, but that has stopped and all saloons sold in the US are now made in Ohio. The hatchback version just went on sale in the autumn. The tweet was the latest threat by Mr Trump to tax car makers that move production to Mexico and ship products back to the US under the North American Free Trade agreement. Last year he went after Ford for plans to shift production of the compact Focus to Mexico. Jobs at the Detroit-area factory that now makes the Focus would be preserved because the plant is to get a new small pick-up truck and SUV. Mr Trump's targets have ranged from US retailers and defence contractors, to tech companies. Amazon, Boeing and Macy's have been the subject of his tweets in the past. AP At least five people have been killed as severe storms moved across the south-eastern US, bringing heavy rain and strong winds. The line of severe thunderstorms spawned several possible tornadoes as the threat moved into southern Alabama, south-west Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. Four people were killed on Monday evening when a tree fell on their mobile home in Rehobeth, Alabama, said Kris Ware, a spokeswoman for Dothan Houston County Emergency Management Agency. Alabama governor Robert Bentley said in a statement that the Houston County sheriff had told him about the deaths and he offered "prayers for those impacted". In Florida, Walton County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that 70-year-old William Patrick Corley's body had been found on Monday afternoon after flooding near the Shoal River in Mossy Head. Authorities said Mr Corley's car was partially submerged and his body was floating face-down nearby. The sheriff's office said the death is being investigated but no foul play is suspected. State emergency officials reported no injuries or deaths in Louisiana and Mississippi, but a trip to Walmart was memorable for some shoppers in Marksville, Louisiana, as severe weather blew out skylights in the store, sending water and glass cascading on to shoppers. Marksville Fire Chief Jerry Bordelon said a fireworks stand in the Walmart car park was thrown 30 or 40 yards and mangled. The storm also knocked over 18-wheel truck trailers and punched holes in the store's roof. The fire department ordered shoppers to leave the store, but some did not want to leave even as managers closed it. "Believe it or not, we had some people in there who were still trying to shop," Mr Bordelon said. Storms in central Mississippi, near Mendenhall and Mount Olive, were preliminarily identified as tornadoes by the National Weather Service, based in part on radar signatures. Both storms damaged farm buildings and homes. Other possible tornadoes will be surveyed later. In Louisiana, there was also relatively serious damage in the south-western parishes of Beauregard and Allen, including the town of Reeves. Some wind damage was reported in Houston and throughout east Texas. Although Arkansas was included in warnings, there was only a stray report of hail in Jackson County in the north east of the state. Tens of thousands lost power in Louisiana and Mississippi at the height of the storm, according to utilities. Freddie Zeigler, a meteorologist in the Weather Service's New Orleans office, said heavy winds were preceding the squall line, possibly contributing to power outages. It was the second episode of heavy rain within days for some areas. An area stretching from Biloxi, Mississippi, through Alabama and across Macon and Augusta, Georgia, had more than 4in of rain on Monday, according to radar estimates. Parts of southern Mississippi and south-west Alabama have had more than 8in of rain since Saturday. AP The inmates responsible for the killings of 56 rivals at a prison in the Amazon will be transferred to high-security federal institutions as well as being prosecuted, according to authorities in Brazil. Many of the victims were beheaded or dismembered in the worst bloodshed at a Brazilian prison since 1992. Three other prisons in the state of Amazonas also saw riots on Sunday and Monday. In total, 60 inmates died and 184 escaped. Only 48 have been recaptured, according to police. Amazonas governor Jose Melo said the transfers to federal prisons are likely to focus on members of the local Family of the North gang who attacked those of Sao Paulo-based First Command, Brazil's biggest criminal organisation. The two are clashing over the control of prisons and drug routes in northern Brazil. "They are fighting for space outside the prisons, and this time it was inside the penitentiary," Mr Melo said in a press conference after meeting federal authorities. "This is part of a national movement that happened in prisons of Roraima, Acre and Rondonia states. Now it is with us. What shocked us was the aggressive way it was done." Transfers of gang leaders to federal prisons have often been followed by more violence and Amazonas authorities said they are worried that the First Command may retaliate in the coming days. The Anisio Jobim Penitentiary Complex in Manaus held 1,224 inmates when the riot began, although it is designed for only 592, the state public security office said. The prison is run by a private company that is paid according to the number of inmates. The governor also announced a public-private partnership to invest millions in a new penitentiary with capacity of 3,200 inmates to address the state's growing problem of crowded prisons - an issue all over Brazil. Late on Monday, Mr Melo ordered that 130 prisoners linked to the First Command be transferred to a prison built in 1907 that had been deactivated in October due to poor conditions. Justice minister Alexandre de Moraes said the federal government is sending 17 million dollars extra to help Amazonas. Part of that will go to help forensic experts who are having difficulties identifying the bodies due to the brutality of the killings. The incident was the most deadly in a Brazilian prison since at least 111 inmates were killed by police during a 1992 riot at the Carandiru prison in Sao Paulo. AP There are reports that two men have been arrested in connection with the Istanbul nightclub attack. Authorities believe 28-year-old Lakhe Mashrapov killed 39 people when he opened fire in the nightclub on New Year's Eve. United Nations observers are in hot water in Colombia over a video showing them dancing with leftist rebels while deployed to watch over the guerrillas as part of a peace deal. The short video was shot by Spanish news agency EFE from inside a jungle camp in northern Colombia during a New Year's Eve party. It shows two men wearing blue vests with UN insignia dancing hip-to-hip with female guerrillas. The images, dismissed by some as a display of Colombians' love for revelry in even the most adverse circumstances, drew a sharp rebuke from opponents of the peace deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Conservative legislator Maria Fernanda Cabal tweeted: "What a joke. How can we trust in the UN delegates' impartiality when they go partying with the Farc?" The UN mission said in a statement that it would take appropriate measures. "This behaviour is inappropriate and doesn't reflect the values of professionalism and impartiality of the mission," it said without identifying the officials by name or nationality. As part of a peace deal ratified last month, hundreds of UN-sponsored observers, mostly from Latin American nations, are being deployed across the country to 20-plus camps where guerrillas will soon begin turning over their weapons. The UN mission is charged with receiving the weapons and providing periodic reports on the two sides' adherence to the peace deal that seeks to bring to an end decades of bloody fighting. AP Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Thursday, as the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled it was not close to a... The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has won a victory in court overturning an earlier decision that it had acted unfairly towards its customers over a property development collapse during the GFC. Marija Kojic and her husband Dragutin Kojic took the bank to court over claims it acted unconscionably by allowing them to invest in a property controlled by development group Southern Constructions Services in 2009. Justice Edelman has upheld an appeal by CBA saying the bank did not act unconscionably. Credit:Glenn Hunt SCS collapsed in 2011 after the Kojics gave its director, close friend Smelisha Blanusa, a payment of $436,161. The payment was for a 50 per cent stake in the Adelaide property but the Kojics were never formally registered as owners. The Kojics argued CBA knew that in making the payment, they would simply become an unsecured lender to the failing SCS business, rather than a registered owner of half the property. For the first time since the battery hens boom, the share of caged egg sales in Australia has fallen below 50 per cent, according to the latest industry figures. The Australian Egg Corporation Limited's annual report shows caged eggs now account for 49.5 per cent of all grocery egg sales by volume, down from 74.9 per cent a decade ago. Reflecting the growing consumer demand for ethically produced eggs, the share of free range eggs has jumped from 20.3 per cent to 40.7 per cent in that time. Barn-laid continues to be a relatively unpopular choice, with its share of sales hovering between 5 and 10 per cent. The unprecedented number of drownings over this Christmas holiday period is a wake-up call to the federal government to make a national water safety education program for our children an urgent priority. In this water-worshipping nation, with our countless beaches and ubiquitous backyard pools, it is unbelievable that many children will never have early exposure to water safety education. There simply aren't any nationally recognised or mandated programs for children under four, and swimming lessons aren't mandatory. Yes, parents and carers certainly have a responsibility to ensure children are safe around water. But the reality is that for many families, swimming lessons are not accessible due to cost or locality. According to the Royal Life Saving Society's National Drowning Report 2016, 11 children aged between 5-14 died in Australian waterways over a 12-month period to July this is two more than in the previous year. Since this report was released, there have been more. Given we are less than halfway through the summer, the thought that this death toll could rise further is staggering. Astonishingly, it's thought that three out of five Australian children leave primary school without basic swimming skills. This means that more than half of all Australian 12-year-olds don't have any training to draw upon to save their lives if they come into danger in the water. The Turnbull government may be looking at ways to get more regional and rural Australians into private health cover, but the nation's peak medical body says the priority should be more access to medical services, and more support and infrastructure for bush doctors. A proposal floated at a roundtable with rural and regional stakeholders last month would see health fund members living outside cities paid larger insurance subsidies in a bid to counterbalance the lack of easy access to specialist services. The government is considering a proposal which would see private health insurance rebates increased for patients in rural and regional areas. Credit:Nicolas Walker The Australian reported the meeting found "some support" for higher private health insurance for those in the bush. A spokeswoman for Health Minister Sussan Ley said it was one proposal under consideration by the Private Health Ministerial Advisory Committee. Billie Lourd, the only daughter of Carrie Fisher, and granddaughter of Debbie Reynolds has broken her silence on their deaths. "Receiving all of your prayers and kind words over the past week has given me strength during a time I thought strength could not exist. There are no words to express how much I will miss my Abadaba and my one and only Momby. Your love and support means the world to me," she wrote on Instagram alongside a picture of the three of them together. Fisher, best known for playing Princess Leia in Star Wars, died unexpectedly last Tuesday at the age of 60 after suffering what has been described as a massive heart attack four days earlier while on a flight from London to Los Angeles. Her mother, Singin' in the Rain star, Reynolds, 84, passed away the next day from a stroke. Leslie Jones has spoken out after the man who bullied her off Twitter (and was subsequently banned from the website) received a book deal. White nationalist and alt-right poster boy Milo Yiannopoulos has landed a massive book deal with a reported US$250,000 ($346,000) advance, prompting many to criticise publisher Simon & Schuster for elevating the voice of the notorious Breitbart editor. Leslie Jones temporarily left Twitter after being targeted by torrents of vile abuse. Credit:Michael Tran Yiannopoulos made headlines last year when he was permanently banned from Twitter for organising a targeted racist and sexist harassment campaign against Ghostbusters and Saturday Night Live star Leslie Jones. The website's technology editor was responsible for drumming up hatred against the star, with his followers sending in tweets comparing her to a gorilla and insulting her appearance in mid-July. Each Australian Army regiment and Air Force squadron will have its own social media channel in the coming years, according to Defence Department documents. They will join nearly every vessel in the Royal Australian Navy, which already have Facebook pages, as the Australian Defence Force steps up its mass assault on social media. A screengrab of the Facebook page of HMAS Parramatta IV, a long-range frigate in the Australian Navy. Almost all navy vessels have their own Facebook pages. Credit:Facebook/HMASParramattaIV But the giant Defence Department is starting at the top, looking to hire a private sector training outfit to put the top brass and senior civilian public servants through a social media boot camp to ensure they know how to "stay on message". Defence has been working hard to maximise the power of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other channels to boost recruitment and enhance its image since the Hudson Review of 2011. A snorkeller is in hospital after the ninth suspected irukandji jellyfish sting at Queensland's Fraser Island in under a week. The 19-year-old man was stung on the lip while swimming in Coongul Creek on the western side of the island about 11am on Tuesday. He was treated at the scene by paramedics before being airlifted to Bundaberg Base Hospital. Paramedic Phillip Switzer said the man didn't see the jellyfish but experienced severe nausea, vomiting and pain within 10 minutes of being stung. The incident is the ninth suspected irukandji sting at Fraser Island since Wednesday, with the venomous jellyfish positively identified as being responsible for at least one of the incidents. Looking at the world through the eyes of the Web After 15 years of development, an Israeli tech firm hopes it will finally get its 1500 kg passenger-carrying drone off the ground and into the market by 2020. The Cormorant, billed as a flying car, is capable of transporting 500kg of weight and travelling at 185 km/h. Rafi Yoeli, founder and CEO of Urban Aeronautics, stands next to a prototype of the Cormorant, a drone, at the company's workshop in Yavne, Israel. Credit:Reuters It completed its first automated solo flight over terrain in November. Its total price is estimated at $US14 million ($19.4 million). Developers Urban Aeronautics believe the dark green drone, which uses internal rotors rather than helicopter propellers, could evacuate people from hostile environments and/or allow military forces safe access. Beijing: Health authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guizhou have confirmed a new human case of H7N9 avian influenza, state radio said, bringing the total number of human infections of the highly pathogenic strain to 19 this winter. The 49-year old man, who is a chicken trader, was being treated in hospital in Qiannan prefecture, the report said on Sunday. The local authorities were taking precautions to try to prevent the infection from spreading. Health officials wearing protective suits carry a sack containing killed chickens after they were slaughtered at a chicken farm where a suspected case of bird flu was reported in Incheon, South Korea. Credit:AP A total of 19 people have been infected with bird flu in China so far this winter, all with the H7N9 strain, killing at least three of them. Washington: Faced with a threat from North Korea that it might soon test an intercontinental ballistic missile, President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter on Monday night to declare bluntly, "It won't happen!" Trump made his post on Twitter, where he often tests out his first thoughts on developing issues in the United States and abroad, a day after North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un, declared that the "final stage in preparations" was underway for a test of such a missile. Kim offered no time frame. Donald Trump lobbied hard to get on to lists of the wealthy, like the Forbes 400; Charles Feeney has tried to stay off them. Credit:AP North Korea has routinely tested short- and medium-range missiles, with some successes and many failures, but it has so far stopped short of testing a long-range missile, which could reach Guam or the West Coast of the United States. Latest News Expect another interest rate increase before Christmas And one more in February, says economist New way to own a slice of paradise Platform provides co-ownership model for holiday homes City Change in value (YOY) Median price Sydney 15.5% $852,000 Melbourne 13.7% $641,200 Brisbane 3.6% $486,000 Adelaide 4.2% $425,000 Perth -4.3% $490,000 Hobart 11.2% $345,000 Darwin 0.9% $495,500 Canberra 9.3% $595,000 The number of dwellings sold across Australia in the 12 months prior to 31 December was approximately 465,500, according to the latest data from CoreLogic One of the key figures in the firms December Hedonic Home Value Index, it signified a drop of 8.7% from the previous year and an amount 3.8% lower than the ten year average.However, CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless warned not to view these results too negatively, saying that lower sales did not necessarily mean there was lower demand for property.In most markets, the slowdown in turnover is more attributable to a shortage of stock available for sale rather than a lack of buyer demand. Low stock levels have fueled a sense of urgency amongst buyers and contributed to short selling times and minimal discounting from vendors.For 2017, the Australian housing market was likely to face headwinds which may slow down rates of growth across the sector, Lawless said.Mortgage rates were already trending higher towards the end of 2016, despite any movements in the Reserve Bank cash rate; higher mortgage rates have the potential to quell housing demand, especially considering the record-high levels of household debt which implies consumers are highly sensitive to changes in the cost of debt.CoreLogics Index also found that the average value of dwellings in Australias capital cities in December had also increased by 10.9% year-on-year. This put the median dwelling price at $615,000.Broken down by capital city, Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart experienced the highest rates of growth overall.However, growth rates in capital cities showed a significant split between houses and units, Lawless said. The average house value had grown by 11.6% over the 12 months prior to 31 December while unit values had only increased by 5.9%.The divergence in growth rates is the most distinct in Melbourne and Brisbane, where concerns around unit oversupply have eroded buyer confidence. Melbourne house values are up 15.1% over the year compared with a 1.7% rise in unit values, while Brisbane house values are 4.0% higher over the year, with unit values falling by -0.2%. Latest News Expect another interest rate increase before Christmas And one more in February, says economist New way to own a slice of paradise Platform provides co-ownership model for holiday homes The chairman of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has warned that Australias banks have not gone far enough to eliminate harmful subcultures that led to scandals such the ongoing bank bill swap rate allegations.Stop saying its a few bad apples, Greg Medcraft said in an interview with the Australian Financial Review. At some point you've got to look at the damn tree and say, what's wrong with us as an organisation? That's what I am saying to these guys.In the midst of the troubling list of issues targeted by ASIC last year, some banking subcultures were failing to get the message about living up to the publics expectations, Medcraft said.While there had been a push to improve culture from the top, this was not moving from the boards and executive teams down to the lower levels of management, he added.I think the problem is that by the time it gets to the middle its white noise. Many big banks have subcultures and the problem is breaking through, he told the paper.Every single board is focused now on culture. They now know that getting a good culture is not about employing an army of compliance people, it's actually about making sure you've got the right people and setting the tone from the top.But the hardest thing for many of them is to recognise if you've got a subculture that is in conflict with the values you want to drive as an organisation.Medcraft warned that in the age of fintech, the price could be high for the banks if customers continue to be disappointed with their performance.These days, the bigger that gap in trust the more prone you are to being disrupted. Nailbiter: Astros survive in Game 5, take control of World Series in 3-2 win The Astros are one win away from the second World Series title in their history because of the greatest bullpen in postseason history. Yardley Friends Meeting at 65 N. Main Street in Yardley will host the documentary Organic Roots on Friday, November 18 at 7 p.m. Join director Al Johnson for a showing of this film followed by a discussion of the last 50 years of this movement. Organic foods are part of our life today and a tool in our concern for... Campus News Companies can hire UB students and have their salaries paid, too Rachel Killion, an intern in UBs Career Experience Program at Dimien, a company in the UB Technology Incubator. Photo: Douglas Levere, University at Buffalo. By GROVE POTTER We want the companies to learn how great our students are and to have that long-term on-site interview with the hope that they hire them at the end. Sandra Small, science education manager UB's New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences Hire UB students to work in your company part time and have their salaries paid by UBs New York State Centers of Excellence. Too good to be true, right? Thats the reaction Sandra Small gets from companies. Small, a science education manager at the Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences (CBLS), has to convince some firms that its true. Theres no hitch. The students undergraduate or graduate are no-cost labor for those companies that have appropriate jobs for them. The idea behind the Career Experience Program is to let students see the breadth of opportunities in Western New York and to let companies see the quality and talent of UB students. We want the companies to learn how great our students are and to have that long-term on-site interview with the hope that they hire them at the end, Small says. We also want to give our students an opportunity to learn about the companies in our region. A quarter of the students get hired Life sciences and advanced manufacturing companies are eligible, but the types of jobs they can offer are wide open. In addition to science and engineering students, others from the business school and elsewhere have helped with accounting, marketing, information technology, web design and other business needs. The program was designed to accept 20 life sciences companies and 20 materials science and advanced manufacturing firms, and that number has been growing. Since its inception four years ago, the program has expanded to 44 companies offering 54 positions this spring semester. Companies do the interviewing and hiring of students, who are paid $13 an hour for 144 to 180 hours of work per semester, which is 12 to 15 hours weekly. Some companies supplement the school subsidy so students can work more hours. Since the program started, 25 percent of the students have been hired either full or part time. Students can apply for the program more than once, but they are not allowed to work for the same company more than once. At ZeptoMetrix, a biosciences company on Main Street in Buffalo, students hired through the program have surpassed expectations. The three students weve had have been amazing, says Kelly Cycon, director of the companys virology department. Theyve learned so quickly. Theyve picked up things in a couple of weeks. ZeptoMetrix works with dangerous viruses and bacteria, so superb laboratory techniques are a must. Were training them how to pipette, how to work in a hood, how to work in a biosafety cabinet safely. They learn how to garb up to work in a bio-level 3 lab space, Cycon says. Securing an internship is not easy. The number of resumes that come in has increased exponentially. We started with a handful and that grew to maybe 10 last year, and this year we received more than 30, she says. Sharing and spreading knowledge Builders' Merchant Co (BMCO) is pleased to welcome Alex Torkington into its working family. Due to recent and future expansion of BMCO, the North Lincolnshire-based builders merchant has appointed Mr Torkington as an external sales executive. Mr Torkington will be operating out of both the Scunthorpe and Hull areas, leading to the next area where the companys third branch will open this year. Appointed to increase BMCOs presence within the Lincolnshire and Yorkshire region, Mr Torkington will boost the companys merchant customer database, while maintaining the traditional values the merchant is known for. News / Local by Alice Dube Prophet Walter Magaya has bragged that his arrest over rape charges last year made him more wiser and strong.He described his court appearances as persecution which however brought him more breakthroughs."The persecution sharpened me. The persecution made me a better person hence the breakthrough of being shifted to a better level," he told the media on Sunday.He added that "To be honest, as a ministry we are satisfied with 2016".In August, Magaya was arrested after a 32 year old congregant, a Midlands State University student accused him of rape.At the time, the woman said she went to Magaya's house at his invitation whereupon she was shown around the house.Later, Magaya had allegedly left her in one of the rooms, before returning naked.The State claimed that Magaya had proceeded to force himself on her once, and allegedly doing so without using protection.After the alleged rape , Magaya gave her $200 after which she later reported the matter to her boyfriend, Elliot Kudakwashe, in July 2015.However, in late December, she wrote an affidavit withdrawing the allegations saying she had misled authorities. chief executive Vishal Sikka (pictured) has cautioned that the tidal wave of automation and technology-fuelled transformation could make the traditional information technology services obsolete. And, asked employees to shift their behaviour to adopt to shifts in technology. The GMR Group and Tata Realty will not bid for the project, citing onerous bid conditions, among other reasons. We are not bidding on account of project implementation and execution challenges as well as onerous timelines and bid conditions, a GMR Group spokesperson said. This means there will be only two GVK-led Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) and Hiranandani Developers-Zurich Airport consortium in the race for the Rs 16,000-crore project. This is the second recent instance of qualified not participating in financial bids. Last August, GVK Group and Hiranandani Developers did not submit financial offers for the Goa airport and the GMR Group won the bid. Financial bids for the much-delayed project will open next Monday. The will be developed through a public-private partnership and the planning authority, City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco), will hold 26% stake in the project. MIAL, which operates the airport, has the right of first refusal and it can revise its bid if it is 10% below the highest offer. Waiting in the wings Four shortlisted bidders included GMR Delhi, GVK-led Mumbai International Airport, Tata Realty and Hiranandani-Zurich Airport consortium The airport project in various phases will cost Rs 16,704 crore The project requires 2,268 hectares, of which 1,160 hectares will be utilised for aeronautical purposes To be developed through public-private partnership by way of setting up a special purpose vehicle wherein the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra and its nominees would have 26% stake First phase to have capacity of 10 million passengers annually The airport will be able to host new-generation aircraft like the A380 and Boeing 747-8 While the GVK Group declined to comment, sources at Tata Realty said the company would not participate in the bids unless there was a revision of bid terms or submission deadlines. It could not ascertain whether the Hiranandani Group will participate in the bid. Cidco Vice-Chairperson Bhushan Gagrani said the agency was expecting financial offers from all the . In case only one company submits bid, the state Cabinet will have to take a decision on the award of the bid. In their submission to the government last month, the GMR Group pointed out the challenges in pre-development work, delay in land acquisition and rehabilitation, and absence of stage-II environmental clearance as key concerns for meeting project deadlines. GMR also raised issues regarding conflict of interest in award of pre-development work. Tata Realty is said to have raised concerns in a letter to the government. There is a conflict of interest situation, as the agencies appointed for two pre-development works packages are associates of MIAL, GMR Airports President Sidharath Kapur wrote in a letter to the Maharashtra government last month. The GMR Group runs Delhi and Hyderabad airports. Last August, it won the bid for a second airport in Goa and has participated in a dozen airport bids around the world. The group has a total debt of Rs 49,000 crore and it is divesting stakes in its road and energy projects to pare down its debt. The groups financials, too, have been impacted due to stress in their road and energy business. In his letter, Kapur also raised the issue of capping Cidcos equity contribution at Rs 430 crore irrespective of the project cost, saying it will complicate the financing of project and impact long-term viability. The company has also raised issues regarding the terms of repayment of soft loan for the pre-development work. Funds spent by Cidco on pre-development work will be deemed as soft loan according to bid conditions. The main issue of the bidders pertains to project timeline and bidders think the completion date of December 2019 is unrealistic, a government official said. All the issues that bidders have raised were discussed with them before finalisation of the concession agreement, the official added. The Maharashtra governments project monitoring and implementation committee will have to take a call whether to amend the bid conditions and that would mean further delays in the project. Airtel and Vodafone subscribers in India have begun seeing an option to pay for apps, games, books and movies on Googles Play Store through their carriers, allowing them to buy services on their Android devices without a credit/debit card or net banking. Combined, the countrys two largest mobile service providers have around 450 million subscribers, giving a massive base of customers who will now be able to buy services on its store more easily. The companys Android operating system powers nine out of 10 smartphones in the country. has not officially announced the launch of carrier billing for Airtel and Vodafone users in the country, but both prepaid and postpaid users have begun seeing the option. Upon initiating a payment however, users are shown an error message suggesting the integration isnt yet complete. Were continually looking at ways to enhance user experience, including payment options available on our Play Store, said a spokesperson. Google began carrier billing in partnership with Idea Cellular in May last year. The company also introduced the option to pay through net banking late last year as it tried to get more Indians to buy content and services on its Play Store. With carrier billing, Google will be able to tap users without credit/debit cards or those that have them but do not use them to make online purchases. Indias 250-300-mn strong smartphone user base is predominantly on Android. However, the firms earnings from selling apps, books, movies and games still remain minuscule. Google has tried to change this by promoting developers to sell their apps for as low as ~10 in the country. Carrier billing will either deduct the amount for an app bought on Googles Play Store from a users currency balance in case of a prepaid connection and add it to their bill for postpaid users. The method will also allow users to navigate the tedious two-factor authentication process that comes along with paying using a card or net banking. While digital payments might have got a recent push, its unlikely Google will integrate any third-party wallets into its own store. Globally, the firm has Android Pay, its own digital wallet where users can add credit/debit cards and easily authenticate payments on their smartphones. Google has not indicated if it would bring Android Pay to India anytime soon. Bharti Airtels proposed buyout of Telenor is a step towards consolidation in the telecom sector, which is currently grappling with Reliance Jio the newest rival on the block. After the India visit of Travis Kalanick, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of US-based taxi aggregator Uber, Google CEO would be in New Delhi for an event on small and medium businesses (SMB) one of the new focus areas of the global technology major. According to sources, Pichai could possibly meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant as well. Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad is likely to meet Pichai at the event where he has been invited to speak. Sources say Pichai is already in India. He would end his trip with an event in Delhi and then go to Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur his alma mater where he would be felicitated and then have a fireside chat at the venue. This is Pichais third official visit to India since he took over as Google CEO. Pichai has a BTech degree from IIT Kharagpur. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and distinguished alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, has expressed his desire to visit the campus in the first week of January 2017, its director P P Chakrabarti said, according to a few reports. Pichai graduated in 1993 with a BTech in metallurgical and materials engineering. According to sources, Google is planning to launch a series of products for the SMB segment. The company is looking at small businesses as a major source of revenue in the near future. With products such as Google for Business and a new Cloud region, the company wants to tap into the multi-million dollar opportunity in India. Its products compete with those from the stables of global giants like Microsoft and Amazon Web Services. As it opens its first data centre in India this year, the technology major is looking for major expansion in the region, with plans to hire thrice the number of people, as well as reach out to start-ups and small and medium enterprises. Google controls a majority market share in India in search, email and on smartphones through its Android operating system. It also has a significant presence in offering enterprise applications such as mail and other services, but lags Microsoft and Amazon in its cloud business. In addition to its focus on Indian customers, Google is continuing to build its partner ecosystem to support customers as they move to the cloud. The company is trying to expand more in tier-II and tier-III towns and bring in more small entreprises into the fold. News / Local by Staff Reporter A no-nonsense 30-year-old Epworth tenant stabbed his landlord with an Okapi knife on the stomach for poking his noise on his marital affairs.Archiford Chikwanda stabbed Robert Muzanenhamo once on the stomach earning himself an effective three years in jail.According to reports, prosecutor Valerie Ngoma said the incident happened on September 27 last year at around 11am.When Muzanenhamo was unlocking his door, Chikwanda approached him and started accusing him of foul mouthing him at the shopping centre.Muzanenhamo denied the accusation, but Chikwanda started assaulting him.Takudzwa Mudarikwa intervened to quell the scuffle after realizing that Chikwanda was wielding a knife.Chikwanda said it was over and his landlord went to his room.Chikwanda followed Muzanenhamo and stabbed him with an Okapi knife once in the stomach.People started screaming upon seeing Muzanenhamo's protruding intestines and Chikwanda was apprehended.Muzanenhamo was rushed to Harare Hospital where he was treated. Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app. Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006. Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more. Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them. 26 years of website archives. India is hopeful that China will agree with its position on getting Jaish-e-Mohammed chief designated as a terrorist by the United Nations, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today. Interacting with the media here, Singh said, "We still expect China to support our stand." On December 30 last year, China had blocked India's proposal to list JeM chief and Pathankot mastermind as a designated terrorist by the UN, triggering a sharp reaction from New Delhi which termed it as "unfortunate blow" and a step that confirms prevalence of double standards in the fight against terrorism. India's proposal was submitted in February to the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council. A fresh listing request will be required for Azhar to be banned by the UN, officials had said. However, India had said it will continue to push forward with resolute determination "through the use of all options available with us to bring perpetrators of terrorist violence to justice". China had blocked India's proposal citing lack of "consensus" on the issue. The ban would have forced imposition of asset freeze and travel ban on him by countries, including Pakistan. China was the only member in the 15-nation UN body to put a hold on India's application with all other 14 members of the Council supporting New Delhi's bid to place Azhar on the sanctions list. Betsy Broder, who tracks international fraud at the Federal Trade Commission, was in her office in Washington last summer when she got a call from two Indian teenagers. January 2, 2017 is likely to be remembered as another Kesavanand Bharati moment in the history of the Indian both for the significance of the judgment prohibiting communal appeals for votes and the manner in which the judges split. The has referred to a bench of nine judges the contentious issue pertaining to the interpretation of the definition of word 'industry' under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 considering its "wide-ranging implications". A seven-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur said it was of the opinion that the appeals before it be placed before a bench comprising nine judges keeping in view the "serious and wide-ranging implications" of the issue. "Having given our anxious consideration to the contentions urged at the Bar and the serious and wide-ranging implications of the issue that fall for determination as also the fact that serious doubts have been expressed in the reference order about the correctness of the view taken in the Bangalore Water Supply's case, we are of the opinion that these appeals need to be placed before a bench comprising nine judges to be constituted by the chief justice," it said. "We order accordingly. The papers be now placed before the chief justice for constituting an appropriate nine-judge bench to answer the questions raised in the reference order of 2005 passed by the five-judge bench," the bench, also comprising Justices M B Lokur, S A Bobde, A K Goel, U U Lalit, D Y Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao, said in its order on Monday. In May 2005, a five-judge bench of the apex court had referred the matter to a larger bench on the interpretation of the definition of word 'industry' in section 2(j) of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. It had said the larger bench would have to necessarily go into all legal questions in all dimensions and depth. "We do not consider it necessary to say anything more and leave it to the larger bench to give such meaning and effect to the definition clause in the present context with the experience of all these years and keeping in view the amended definition of 'industry' kept dormant" for many years, the five-judge bench had said in its 2005 verdict. "Pressing demands of the competing sectors of employers and employees and the helplessness of legislature and executive in bringing into force the Amendment Act compel us to make this reference," it had said while referring the issue to a larger bench. First, the matter had reached the five-judge bench after a three-judge bench had found an "apparent conflict" between the two decisions passed by the apex court in 1996 and 2001 on the issue. Earlier, a three-judge bench, in its 1996 judgement, had relied on a 1978 seven-judge bench verdict and had held that social forestry department was covered by the definition of 'industry'. Later, in 2001, a two-judge bench took a different view on the issue after which the matter was referred to a five-judge bench. Defence Minister on Tuesday asserted that a set procedure was followed in General Bipin Rawat's appointment as the Army Chief. "A set procedure was followed. There was no seniority principal or it would've merely been a date based computer job," said Parrikar while speaking at Ministry of Defence's 'Swachhta Pakhwada' here in the capital. General Rawat took over as the 27th Chief of Army Staff (COAS) last Saturday on December 31. An inevitable controversy had erupted after the government's announcement of General Rawat as the army chief with opposition parties accusing the government of politicising the appointment by abandoning the traditional criterion of seniority. General Rawat, who took over as Vice-Chief of Army Staff in September 2016, bypassed Eastern Commander Lt. Gen Praveen Bakshi (Armoured Corps) and Southern Commander Lieutenant General P M Hariz (Mechanised Infantry) to bag the coveted post. General Rawat has remarkable experience of serving in combat areas and at various functional levels in the Indian Army over the last three decades. Two persons hailing from Kasaragod district in Kerala were arrested near Panaji late on Monday while canvassing for a convention of Salafi Muslims scheduled to be held in Karnataka's Mangalore district later this month. A police official said that the two persons identified as Ilyas U, 34 and Abdul Nazir, 24, were arrested from the Dona Paula suburb of Panaji, after local residents complained to the police that they were distributing Kannada-language pamphlets which had the IS symbol and a message titled " Shaitan". "They have been booked under sections 107 (breach of peace) and 151 (preventive arrest) of the Criminal Procedure Code. They have been sent for medical examination at the Goa Medical College," the police official said, adding that the duo would be questioned in presence of top officials on Tuesday. Police sources said, that the pamphlet was being analysed by top police officials and that the content of the pamphlet canvasses for a convention of Salafi Muslims due to be held in Mangalore from January 9-16. News / Local by Stephen Jakes A man from Nkulumane has been sapped with three months jail term wholly suspended for three years on condition of good behavior after he pounced at his former wife's home and threatened to kill her if she did not allow him to see their children despite having been ordered by the court never to intimidate the woman.Enerst Chamba (60) pleaded guilty to the charge when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Tinashe Tashaya. The magistrate convicted and sentenced him to three months wholly suspended on stated conditions.The court was told that on December 6 2016 Chamba breached the court order when he visited his former wife, Fadziso Chamba (50)'s place where he found her at home. He then threatened to kill her if she did not allow him to see his children.He forcefully opened the doors using the iron bar before assaulting the child. A report made to the police led to his arrest. Apples India plans have hit a sticking point over concessions the company is making a pitch for. Amid reports that the California-based firm is in advanced stages of talks with the government for setting up a manufacturing facility in India, a senior commerce ministry source said on Tuesday that Apples growing demand for concessions could be a dampener. Apple is apparently demanding concessions that no other company is asking for, the source said. While not specifying the latest demands made by the company, the source said these included its earlier demand of exemption from a local sourcing of products. The other demands include concessions on tax and the creation of a suitable ecosystem, the source added. While the finance ministry is looking at the tax demand, the local sourcing norms as well as other things the firm has asked for will be examined by an inter-governmental panel comprising senior officials of the departments of industrial policy and promotion, revenue and electronics and information technology at a meeting slated to take place later this week. According to the current foreign direct investment(FDI) norms notified by the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) in June 2016, 100% FDI is allowed in single-brand retail although foreign retailers must obtain the approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) if the FDI limit exceeds 49%. Also, foreign entities that have state-of-the-art and cutting-edge technology will get an exemption from the annual mandatory 30% sourcing rule for the initial three years. Thereafter, in the next five years, the company will have to meet the domestic sourcing norm at an annualised average rate of 30%. While Apple had been identified as such a company, it wants an indefinite exemption from domestic sourcing, as was the case under the earlier norm, a senior DIPP official said. Last year, the finance ministry had rejected its proposal to set up wholly-owned outlets in the country under such conditions. The company had earlier stated its difficulties in sourcing locally, saying it did not have any manufacturing units in India and its products had sophisticated parts not easily available. It had earlier been reported that Apple had asked the government to relax its mandatory rules regarding labelling on products, saying it would go against the minimalist look of the devices. However, while the earlier focus of negotiations was the opening of retail stores in the country, other issues had now taken hold, the source added. Apple has also been keen on getting permission to import and sell refurbished phones in India. On this, Apple CEO Tim Cook had also visited India and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year. The proposal was rejected by the environment ministry in 2015 with and telecommunications ministries also reportedly having some reservations about it. Apple currently sells its products in India through arrangements with local retail outlets. Among the six countries where it manufactures products, most of the companys items are assembled in China, usually by Foxconn Technology. The value of its sales in India crossed $1 billion for the first time last year, according to filings with the registrar of . The goods and services tax (GST) Council will take up the tricky issue of division of administrative turf between the Centre and states in the proposed indirect taxation system on Wednesday, even as many states signalled sticking to their stance of having a control over small dealers. The goods and services tax (GST) Council will take up the tricky issue of division of administrative turf between the Centre and states in the proposed indirect taxation system on Wednesday, even as many states signalled sticking to their stance of having a control over small dealers. The states are also digging in their heels to ask for more compensation, as they are hit by demonetisation, clearly giving signals that the April 1 deadline is likely to be missed. India may make allocation of airport slots for its airlines an essential part of any bilateral signed in future. This is after hectic lobbying and repeated complaints by airlines that they were being overlooked in terms of peak-time slots. According to sources, the civil aviation and external affairs ministries agree that countries showing interest in increasing seat allocations will be asked to provide slots to Indian airlines of their choice. We are a big market in terms of passengers. Many foreign airlines want to expand in India. We intend to play to our strength, a civil aviation ministry official said. There is a consensus in the ministry that we need to be more vocal about our carriers, the official added. Indian airlines complain lack of slots in foreign airports hampers scheduling and curbs the viability of their overseas operations. Another official, however, said slot allocation, usually handled by airport operators, could not be part of bilaterals. Most major airports are private. Allocation of slots is the airport operators prerogative, he said. India recently allowed Saudi Arabia to increase weekly seats by 8,000 from 20,000 now so long as Indian airlines use 80% of their current flying rights. Saudi Arabia is a case in point how other countries can gain from an increase in allocations. Carriers from Saudi Arabia can now directly tap into traffic from India that was being diverted to Oman and Qatar, the second official said. Indian airlines are rapidly expanding operations to the Middle East. IndiGo and SpiceJet have been adding flights to cities like Dubai. Finally, our efforts are showing results. It becomes unprofitable to operate flights at unearthly hours. There should be an equitable allocation of slots, said an executive with a private airline. Air India, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and IndiGo offer nearly 50% fewer seats than foreign airlines operating in India. Till June, Indian airlines were offering 242,365 seats on flights to and from India, compared with 432,456 seats offered by foreign airlines. has named 29 companies from more than a dozen countries as being allowed to bid for oil and gas projects using the new, less restrictive Petroleum Contract (IPC) model, the oil ministry website SHANA reported on Monday. The list of pre-qualified firms included Shell, France's Total, Italy's Eni, Malaysia's Petronas and Russia's Gazprom and Lukoil, as well as companies from China, Austria, Japan and other countries. hopes its new IPC, part of an effort to sweeten the terms it offers on oil development deals, will attract foreign investors and boost production after years of sanctions. The list did not include oil major BP. The Financial Times said BP had opted out of the bidding because of concerns over possible renewed U.S.-Iran tensions after President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. Trump has said he will scrap the deal between Iran and world powers that imposed curbs on Tehran's nuclear projects and lifted sanctions on the Iranian economy last January. State-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) signed the first oil output contract under the IPC model in October with an Iranian firm identified by the United States as part of a conglomerate controlled by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The IPC model has been delayed several times due to opposition from hardline rivals of President Hassan Rouhani. It ends a buy-back system dating back more than 20 years under which Iran did not allow foreign firms to book reserves or take equity stakes in Iranian companies. The new IPC has more flexible terms that take into account oil price fluctuations and investment risks, a senior Iranian oil official told Reuters in November. Oil majors have said they would only go back to Iran if it makes major changes to the buy-back contracts, which companies such as France's Total or Italy's Eni said made them no money or even incurred losses. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel, finance secretary Ashok Lavasa and economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das will brief the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament on January 20 on the impact of demonetisation on Indian economy and the amount of black money unearthed since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the move on November 8. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested Sudip Bandyopadhyay, a Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP, after interrogating him for over three hours at its headquarters in the city. took the country by storm and disrupted normal life for most people. The key word here is "most" because it seems that black money launderers have continued their operations; which is nothing to brush off given that the government's justification for the suddenness of the measure was that it did not want black money hoarders to escape. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has said the state's tax and non-tax revenues would be hit due to exercise, which had scrapped the high value currency notes from circulation in the country. News / National by Stephen Jakes The usual rumours that President Robert Mugabe has either been hospitalised or died in the East where he is on annual leave holiday have started making rounds as the 92 year old leader took his annual leave on December and left the country to the Far East.A Facebook post that has gone viral claim the president fell sick on January 1 2017 and got hospitalised in the Far East."Reports coming from the far east is that the president of the republic of Zimbabwe was hospitalized on new year's eve evening after falling on his head and suffering a concussion in the hotel bathroom," reads the post."Sources from the secret service have confirmed it by saying HE is serious but stable in hospital. Their worry is that his mouth has shifted to the side and now it is almost under his ear lob which could be a sign of a severe stroke since he has lost his speech too. Wishing Gushungo a speedy recovery."Each time Mugabe goes for his annual leave in the East, rumours have been made that he has died. At some point he had to joke about it saying Jesus died once and resurrected once but he has died many times and resurrected many times. The Ministry of Minority Affairs celebrated Swachchhata Pakhwada beginning from 16th December, 2017. Five teams each led by a Joint Secretary/ Dy Director General level officer were formed to spearhead the efforts. In coordination with New Delhi municipal Corporation and Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the teams undertook activities for cleanliness drive wherever required. The Swachhta Pakhwada kick started by Shri Ameising Luikham, Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs(MoMA) on 16 December 2016 at the Pt. Deen Dayal Antyodaya Bhawan, CGO Complex. The officials divided into different teams took up the cleaning of different areas surrounding the Office Block. The Secretary also addressed officials encouraging them to continue the cleanliness drive even after the Pakhwada is over. The Ministry team lead by Shri S K Dev Verman, Joint Secretary, visited the Gurudwara Rakab Ganj on 19 December 2016 and along with the Management members and others took up the cleaning of the areas around the Gurudwara. NDMC staff was also roped in for the purpose. The Ministry team later interacted with the Gurudwara officials who appreciated the initiative and requested that more such campaigns may be taken up. The Ministry also handed over four Trash bins to the Gurudwara. A half Day workshop on Swachhta, inaugurated by Shri Luikham, Secretary, Minority Affairs, was organised by the Ministry on 19 December at Scope Complex to create awareness on the program. Officials from the Ministry and from the attached offices of the Ministry attended the Workshop along with special invitees from Buddhist Monastery and Rakab Ganj Gurudwara. Professor Warsi, ex-CLM and presently VC of Maulana Azad University, Jodhpur also attended the workshop. The speakers highlighted the importance of cleanliness in everyday life and its general positive effect. A team of 28 officials and staff of the Ministry of Minority Affairs led by Smt. Rakhee Gupta Bhandari, Joint Secretary conducted Cleanliness Drive at Lakshmi Narayan Mandir (Birla Mandir), Mandir Marg, New Delhi on 20th December 2016. The team reached at Mandir premises early in the morning at 7:45 AM and in about two hours completely cleaned the Mandir premises removing all the dust and other rubbish. A team from New Delhi Municipal Corporation has also rendered necessary help in this endeavour. A team of 30 officials and staff of the Ministry of Minority Affairs led by Sh. Mukat Singh, Deputy Director General conducted Cleanliness Drive at Hanuman Mandir at Baba Kharak Singh Marg, New Delhi on 21st December 2016. The team reached at Mandir premises early in the morning at 7.45 AM and in about two hours completely cleaned the Mandir premises removing all the dust and other rubbish. A team from New Delhi Municipal Corporation has also rendered necessary help in this endeavour. 26 persons took part in the Slogan writing competition organised by the Ministry held on 22nd December, 2016, and 26 competitors participated in the poster drawing completion organized by the Ministry held on 23rd December, 2016. A team of 24 officials and staff of the Ministry of Minority Affairs conducted Cleanliness Drive at Shri K.C. Samria, Joint Secretary at Sri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir, Chandni Chowk, Opposite Red, Fort, New Delhi on 26th December 2016. The team reached at Mandir premises early in the morning at and in about two hours completely cleaned the Mandir premises in coordination with a team from Municipal Corporation of Delhi. A team of 28 officials and staff of the Ministry of Minority Affairs led by Sh. Jaan-e-Alam, Joint Secretary conducted Cleanliness Drive at Monastery Buddha temple (Ladakh Buddhist Vihara), Bela Road, ISBT Kashmere Gate, Railway Colony, Civil Lines, New Delhi on 26th December 2016. The Ministry is also compiling a collection of essays on Swachhta and its importance as enshrined in different religions. Once completed & reviewed, this may be released at on appropriate time. The different organization of the Ministry such as Central Waqf Board, National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation, NAWADCO, NCM, CLM also observed the Swachhta Pakhwada in their respective offices & branches. Officials from the Ministry also visited the Delhi based organizations to interact with their officials on the occasion. President-elect criticised General Motors for building a version of the Chevrolet Cruze compact in Mexico, saying the largest US automaker should build the car at home or face a hefty tariff. For years, mergers and acquisitions in technology were fairly straightforward: Every investment bank kept a list of a dozen or so like Google and IBM that had a track record of acquisitions and cash to deploy. When the time and price were right, bankers would seek to match the tech giants with a start-up, and a deal would be hatched. Israel's premier today denounced the Middle East conference in Paris on January 15 as "futile", saying he feared decisions taken there could spark a new UN resolution against . The Paris-organised conference to be attended by some 70 countries but not by Israeli or Palestinian representatives is being held to reiterate support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "This is a futile conference, but there are signs that there will be attempts to use decisions that are taken to vote a new UN resolution against Israel," Benjamin Netanyahu said. The prime minister, who also holds the foreign affairs portfolio, was speaking to an annual meeting of Israeli ambassadors to European countries. "That's why the main political effort we are currently working on is to avoid a vote for a new resolution at the UN Security Council," he said in televised remarks. On December 23, the Security Council for the first time since 1979 condemned Israeli settlement of occupied Palestinian territory when the United States did not use its veto and abstained in the vote. Netanyahu rejected the resolution at the time as a "shameful blow against Israel". He also claimed that outgoing US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry were behind it. More than 400,000 Israelis live in the West Bank in settlements that the community considers to be illegal and a major obstacle to peace. Turkey will press on with its military operation in Syria despite the deadly attack on an Istanbul nightclub that was a "message" against the campaign, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said today. "This was a message for our cross-border operations, above all the Euphrates Shield," he said, using the mission name of Turkey's campaign inside Syria. "We will carry on our cross-border operations and Euphrates Shield and with determination." Thirty-nine people were killed and dozens wounded on January 1 when a gunman stormed a popular Istanbul nightclub and sprayed bullets at revellers celebrating the New Year. The shooting was claimed by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, which said it was in response to Turkey's intervention in Syria. Kurtulmus made no comment on the claim. Turkish troops entered northern Syria on August 24 in support of pro-Ankara Syrian rebels, with the aim of ousting IS jihadists as well as Kurdish militia from the border area. After a lightning successful start to the operation recapturing towns from IS including Jarabulus, the Turkish military has taken dozens of casualties as it tries to capture Al Bab where IS has put up a stronger fight to remain in control. After Al Bab, the military intends to head west to Manbij. "In Jarabulus, Al Bab, Manbij or wherever it needs to go, we will continue these operations until these terror organisations no longer remain a threat to Turkey," Kurtulmus said during a televised press conference in Ankara. He said the attack was also because of Turkey's attempts to create peace in the region after Ankara teamed up with Moscow to agree on a ceasefire for Syria. But he vowed: "Our initiatives for new peace in the Middle East will be realised. has rallied 12% to Rs 163 on the BSE in intra-day trade, extending its previous days gain, after the company on Monday announced preferential issue plan to promoters. Shares of state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) were trading higher on the bourses in early morning trade after these companies on Saturday hiked the price of subsidised cooking gas, or LPG, along with kerosene and aviation turbine fuel (ATF). Benchmark indices recouped early losses with Sensex rising over 100 points and Nifty reclaiming 8,200 levels as investors eye the 2-day GST Council meet which starts later in the day. The council will meet the representatives of six crucial sectors, including IT, telecom, banking and insurance, to assess the implementation hurdles under the new GST regime. Amid a bitter family feud and simmering power tussle, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's mentor and uncle Ram Gopal Yadav will visit the Election Commission's office at around 11 "Akhilesh Yadav is our president. We are going to the Election Commission today and say that we are Samajwadi Party and the symbol 'cycle' must be given to us. We will put forward our proposal to the Election Commission," expelled leader Naresh Agarwal told the media here. This comes a day after Akhilesh's father and party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav staked claim to the same while asserting that the Samajwadi Party's "election symbol is my signature". Amid a bitter family feud that has torn apart Uttar Pradesh's ruling party, Mulayam earlier said that election symbol is his signature. Mulayam yesterday claimed that the symbol - with its easy and established recall - should be considered his political property. The 77-year-old veteran visited the Election Commission's office last evening, accompanied by his trusted advisor and younger brother Shivpal Yadav. "I have done no wrong, nobody can accuse me of corruption or any other wrongdoing," Mulayam said, adding the party's symbol is "my signature." At a party gathering on Sunday in Lucknow, Akhilesh was named president of the Samajwadi Party. He then pushed his father into retirement by declaring he would now function as patron and mentor. Mulayam and his aides like Shivpal Yadav and Amar Singh have insisted his faction is the legit Samajwadi Party. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As the nation expresses outrage over the mass molestation incident that took place in India's IT capital Bengaluru on New Year's eve, some of our representatives triggered controversy with their comments. Bengaluru was shamed when hooligans virtually took over the most prominent streets in the city where restaurants and hotels had stayed open till past midnight on December 31 and started molesting and groping women. The distraught women were virtually held captive as the mobs went berserk. It was reported that no one came to their rescue despite the fact that the state government had deployed almost 1,500 policemen in the area apprehending incidents of violence. However, with cops standing as mute spectators to the sexual abuse, the crowd behaved in an even more boorish manner. Even as women rushed towards cops and tried to seek safety, the hooligans still chased them down and tried to drag them away. Let us look at some of the comments made about the heinous incident. "Such incidents do happen on New Year day and on Christmas. We take a lot of precautions," said Karnataka's Home Minister G. Parameshwara. "It's unfortunate, things like this has happened earlier also. We had installed more than 25 CCTVs, will examine. Bengaluru is safe, just an incident like this does not mean it is not safe. All our officers are working to nab the culprit. Efforts are on to see that such incidents are not repeated again. Such incidents do happen on New Year day and on Christmas. We take a lot of precautions," he added. Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi went one step further and said, "In this modern era, more a girl exposes the more she will be called fashionable. I believe if my daughter or sister is celebrating 31st night after sunset and she doesn't have her father or husband with her and is with other men, then she can't be treated with respect." Azmi further said that the women need to be cautious and should take care of their own security. "The women from rich family also used to cover themselves before appearing before men, that is our nation's culture. In western culture, the parents don't care about their girl but we do care. We should take precaution about our girls' security so that she doesn't get involved in some wrongdoings. We shouldn't give chance to anyone," Azmi added. However, the Commission for Women (NCW) has issued summons to both Parameshwara and Azmi for their 'disgusting' assertions. NCW chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam said, "Politicising any issue leads to issue being covered up and politics becomes more important. It does not matter whether Abu Azmi belongs to one particular party or other party. To be brutally frank, there are men across all parties who make such disgusting statements and they are all to be condemned equally. In this case, it is Abu Azmi and Karnataka Home Minister." "When you have a Home Minister, who makes such irresponsible statements and doesn't want to take any sort of responsibility for it and doesn't even seem to care and is offending millions of women across the country then what do you expect the police to do. They are going to take cover behind the Home Minister and say even the Home Minister has said that nothing is going to happen," she said. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh voiced his support for the cause and asked the Karnataka Government to take this matter seriously. "Protecting the modesty of women is duty of state government and any state government must take it seriously," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) News / Regional by Staff reporter Zimbabwe's controversial prophet and leader of the Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries Walter Magaya has predicted "political and economic turmoil" in four countries in southern Africa, a report said on Tuesday.According to News Day, Magaya urged South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo governments to "brace for sporadic outbreaks of public anger".Magaya said this during a New Year's Eve prayer session in Harare."The Lord showed me death, but I can't talk about it here, there are so many journalists here. I will just tell gold plus and platinum partners so that when it happens they may be witnesses to the matter," Magaya was quoted as saying.He went on to say: "We need to pray for Zimbabwe, DRC, Mozambique and South Africa. It seems there is stability in South Africa, but it is not peaceful at all. There will be instability from one country to the other. We need to be vigilant."High levels of corruptionMagaya said the instability was going to be propelled by the deterioration of social, political and economic environment as well as high levels of corruption in the public sector.A number of demonstrations were staged in South Africa last year, as calls for President Jacob Zuma grew over a number of scandals.Zimbabwe also witnessed widespread protests, as Zimbabweans demonstrated against President Mugabe's rule.In DRC, on the other hand, President Joseph Kabila refused to step down, resulting in deadly protests taking place.Meanwhile, in Mozambique, fighting between the government and Renamo continued, resulting in many seeking refuge in neighbouring countries.Magaya himself was last year arrested and appeared in court for allegedly raping a university student who belonged to his church.He told the state-owned Herald newspaper in an article published on Tuesday that his arrest had opened his eyes and made him wiser."The persecution sharpened me. The persecution made me a better person," Magaya was quoted as saying. Housing, auto and corporate loans are all set to become cheaper as many PSUs and private banks on Tuesday steeply reduced the benchmark lending rate by up to 1.48 percent after spurt in deposits following demonetisation. Taking a cue from the State Bank of India (SBI), other lenders including largest private sector lender ICICI Bank and state-owned Oriental Bank of Commerce and Andhra Bank announced cut in marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR). However, SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya has hinted that the mega merger of its five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank could be pushed to the next financial year as it is still awaiting the government's notification. The SBI along with PNB and Union Bank of India earlier on Monday reduced the lending rate by 0.9 percent after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his New Year eve address urged the banks to focus on the needs of poor and lower middle class and middle class. The reduction in lending rates may prompt increase in credit off take which has moderated substantially putting burden on the balance sheet of banks. Highlighting the insights of the merger process in the last quarter, Bhattacharya yesterday said the government notifies the merger immediately, adding it will not be wise on the part of banks as there are a lot of IT system changes during the annual closing. She added that the government's stake in these banks would stand at around 59 percent post the merger of five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Farmers in Chhattisgarh staged a unique protest against the Narendra Modi-led government's demonetisation move by giving away vegetables for free. Scores of farmers of the Pragatisheel Kisan Sangh (Farmers' Union) distributed vegetables for free in state capital Raipur as they were not finding any buyers for their produce. "Vegetables are not being sold as the rates are very low. Vegetables sold for high prices in November and on lower rates in March, but this time the pattern was observed in November. We are not able to recover our expenses," said a farmer, Arvind. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 abolished 500 and 1,000 rupee notes that accounted for 86 percent of cash in circulation. The government's sudden move has caused disruption to daily life. India's 263 million farmers mostly live in the cash economy, exposing them to the full impact of the move. Jayesh Varu, a farmers' union member said lack of transportation facilities further added to their woes. "The farmers are forced to sell vegetables for free because if the prices of tomatoes fall, prices of other vegetables also decrease automatically. Also, transportation has been badly affected after the demonetisation move. Earlier, tomatoes of Chhattisgarh were not only exported to other parts of India but to other nations as well. But this time, the vegetable could not be exported out of the state due to lack of transportation. Today, the farmers of Durg region and people from nearby the Kharun river were forced to distribute the vegetables for free," said Varu. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that efforts are on to bring India's most wanted fugitive Dawood Ibrahim. "The efforts to bring Dawood Ibrahim are on," Singh said. Earlier last year, the Union Home Minister had asserted that Dawood would be nabbed soon and brought to India. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had earlier reiterated that it will continue to pursue Pakistan to handover Dawood after a television channel claimed that it has tracked his location. The designated global terrorist's presence in Pakistan was confirmed by the United Nations last year. Six of nine addresses provided by India were found to be correct by a UN committee. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Around five Pakistani nationals have been reportedly kidnapped for ransom by suspected Kurd miscreants near Turkey border. The victims, hailing from Gujranwala and Wazirabad, were travelling to Europe, when they were intercepted and abducted by suspected Kurd miscreants, reports the Dawn. The armed kidnappers reportedly subjected the captives to inhuman torture and sent the footage of torture to the relatives of the victims and demanded a sum of Rs. two million each. The affected families have demanded the government to recover their relatives from captivity, while expressing their inability to pay the ransom amount. The Foreign Office (FO), while reacting to the news, said that the government was "well aware of the media reports regarding kidnapping of Pakistani young men for ransom" in Turkey. "The diplomatic missions of Pakistan in Ankara and Istanbul have taken necessary measures to apprise the Turkish authorities, who are extending cooperation," the FO said in its statement. The FO further said that it is in touch with the concerned quarters in Pakistan "to gather further details in the matter with the view to address the issue". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Goa Police have detained two suspects after they were being spotted distributing pamphlets. The police said the suspects are associated with a Salafi organisation. The suspects are taken to Goa Medical College for medical examination and are subjected to a series of questions by the authorities. It is also said that the pamphlets were having some reference to a banned outfit. Further details are awaited. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Immediate release of the fishermen presently in custody has been announced following the ministerial level talks between Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of India Radha Mohan Singh and Minister for Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development of Sri Lanka Mahinda Amaraweera in Colombo. The talks were held on Monday following the first meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on fisheries held in New Delhi on December 31. During the discussion, the ministers exchanged views on possible mechanisms to help find a permanent solution to the fishermen issues, said a joint press statement. The statement added, "Both sides agreed to a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to expedite the release and handing over of fishermen in each other's custody on completion of respective legal and procedural formalities. The immediate release of the fishermen presently in custody was announced following the ministerial level talks." As part of the Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) agreed to by both sides, it was decided to intensify cooperation on patrolling and to institute periodic interaction between the Coast Guard of the two countries. Both sides also discussed the issue of releasing fishing vessels in each other's custody. The Indian side requested for the immediate release of Indian fishing vessels, which Colombo agreed to consider. The Sri Lankan side reiterated that the practice of bottom trawling needs to end at the earliest. The Indian side assured that bottom trawling would be phased out in a graded time-bound manner within a practicable time frame. Colombo was also briefed about the measures already instituted including the decision to construct a new fishing harbour at Mookaiyur in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu. The next JWG meeting will be held in Colombo in April this year to review the progress made in addressing the fishermen issues in a comprehensive manner. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar will today assume the office of Chief Justice of India (CJI), as the tenure of Justice T S Thakur ended yesterday. On December 19, President Pranab Mukherjee had cleared the name of Justice Khehar. Justice Khehar, 64, who will be sworn in by President Mukherjee, will be the 44th Chief Justice of India and will hold the post of seven months. The Supreme Court yesterday once again dismissed a plea challenging the appointment of Justice Khehar as the next CJI, saying, it is in the public interest that the 'curtain should be brought down'. The apex court had dismissed two similar pleas filed in the past fortnight, challenging the appointment of Justice Khehar. On December 30, the apex court had dismissed a plea. filed by a group of lawyers, challenging the elevation of Justice Khehar as next CJI, saying there was "no question" of him being considered ineligible for the post. The SC had on December 23 termed a petition filed by the lawyers' body as "virtually infructuous" that opposed the elevation of Justice Khehar, and observed that the President has already issued a notification in this regard. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Delhi Court on Tuesday re-issued production warrant against Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) terrorist Harminder Singh Mintoo after the Punjab Police failed to produce him before it in connection with the Nabha jail-break case. The matter will be next heard on January 27. The court yesterday issued a production warrant against Mintoo and directed the police that he be produced before it on January 3. The Patiala House Court has also extended his judicial custody till January 9. Mintoo was nabbed on November 28 last year from New Delhi railway station, a day after he escaped with five other inmates from Punjab's Narbha Jail. He has been in custody since November 29 last year. Mintoo has reportedly told his interrogators about the KLF's expansion plans with the help of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence. Days before the Nabha jailbreak, he had his last Skype chat with his Pakistan handler Harmeet, a KLF militant who managed to flee to Pakistan, and is living in a safe house under protection of the ISI at Dera Chall village in Lahore. The ISI had, reportedly, plans to restart militancy in Punjab through the KLF under the leadership of Mintoo, who has bases in countries like Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. Germany and U.K. based KLF sympathisers were also sending money to Mintoo through Western Union Money Transfer. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Condemning the opposition protest in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Deputy Speaker Kavinder Gupta today said that the Conference and Congress should not have disrespected the anthem, adding that a lesson has to be learnt so that the same is not repeated in future. "I think this is very unfortunate. Senior leaders of the Conference and Congress should not have behaved in that manner. Every citizen of India respects the national anthem and a lesson has to be learnt so that it does not happen ever again," Gupta told ANI. Expressing similar sentiments, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravinder Raina demanded an apology from Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi for the disrespect shown towards the national anthem by the grand old party legislators. "This is not only disrespect towards the national anthem, but towards the nation. The Congress and National Conference need to apologise to the nation. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the nation for the behaviour of their legislators," Raina told ANI. Raina also demanded an apology from Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra for walking out of the House even when the national anthem was being played. "The most unfortunate act has been done by the Jammu and Kashmir Governor. He has to give reasons. He also has to apologise and if he doesn't do that, we will go to the Union Home Minister and ask him to remove the Governor," he added. Opposition-generated chaos in Jammu and Kashmir assembly forced Governor N.N. Vohra to cut short his address and walk out of the house today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Tuesday asked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to accept responsibility for the killing of civilians during the last six-month unrest in the valley. Speaking on the second day of the Budget Session in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, the former chief minister said there had also been unrest in the valley in 2008 and 2010 but the opposition was not blamed for that. "The situation in 2010 cannot be compared with that of 2016. We did not blame Pakistan or the opposition for the situation. I did not blame my officials in 2010. We made mistakes and I accepted making mistakes while handling the situation," he said. He further said that the state government completely failed in dealing with the situation after the killing of militant Burhan Wani on July 8 last year and added that the Chief Minister should accept the responsibility for the failure of her administration. "Mehbooba Mufti ji you blamed Jawharlal Nehru , Sheikh Abdullah , Indira Gandhi but never have you said that it was your fault , the people of the state want to know that for the first time in history that such a long curfew was imposed," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) News / Religion by Staff Reporter An unnamed prominent personality will die this year in Zimbabwe, Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries leader Walter Magaya has declared.Magaya said God revealed the tragic incident to him in a vision."The Lord showed me death, but I can't talk about it here, there are so many journalists here" he narrated."I will just tell gold plus and platinum partners so that when it happens they may be witnesses to the matter,".It is not clear whether the prominent person is in politics or business, male or female.However, every year several prominent people die.According to reports, Magaya told his followers during a News Year's Eve prayer session that Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique and South Africa would be rocked by massive protests."We need to pray for Zimbabwe, DRC, Mozambique and South Africa." It seems there is stability in South Africa, but it is not peaceful at all. There will be instability from one country to the other. We need to be vigilant." Pakistan Federal Law Minister Zahid Hamid has said that the government is in the process of forming a parliamentary committee to review the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance, keeping in view the growing criticism regarding plea bargain and voluntary return. On Monday, even the Supreme Court expressed its concern over the voluntary return power of the NAB while stating that the institution has become a facilitator of corruption. Justice Azmat Saeed said that the NAB had become a facilitator for corruption as it resumed hearing a case regarding voluntary return of funds-which allows an individual pay back the amount he has embezzled to the public kitty and gets cleared of all charges. While speaking before a Senate's standing committee on Monday, the law minister said following intense deliberations, that the NAB Ordinance of 1999 should be reviewed, reports the Dawn. The committee members had a detailed discussion on Section 25 of the NAB law that deals with voluntary return and plea bargain. Meanwhile, NAB deputy chairman Imtiaz Tajwar, DG operations Zahir Shah and other officials defended the powers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has decided to challenge the findings of the Quetta Commission report. Dawn quoted a source in the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), which says that "responses" and "arguments" will be presented in the Supreme Court, in response to a report probing the Quetta Civil Hospital carnage. The source said that the authority has sent its response regarding the report to the interior minister. "Hopefully, he will submit the response to the Supreme Court in a day or two," a senior NACTA official said. A NACTA official said the interior minister was advised by the top ministry officials against challenging the report of the Supreme Court, but he was adamant on challenging the report. The official added that the authority was directed by the minister to prepare strong arguments in response to the allegations labelled against the interior ministry and Chaudhary Nisar. Advocate Makhdoom Ali Khan will represent the interior minister, who is the petitioner in the case, in the Supreme Court. At least 74 people were killed and many others were injured in a suicide attack, in the Government Hospital of Quetta on August 8, last year. Based on investigations into the Quetta incident, the report of the commission, headed by Justice Qazi Faez Isa, said Nisar "displayed little sense of ministerial responsibility" and that there was a continued delay on part of his ministry to take steps against militant groups and proscribed organisations. . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A two-member bench of the Pakistan Supreme Court has sought a reply from the government over National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) power of voluntary return while stating that the institution has become a facilitator of corruption. Justice Azmat Saeed said on Monday that the NAB had become a facilitator for corruption as it resumed hearing a case regarding voluntary return of funds-which allows an individual pay back the amount he has embezzled to the public kitty and gets cleared of all charges, reports Geo News. During the proceeding, Justice Saeed said that a peon who takes Rs. 250 as bribe is sent to jail while a person who takes Rs25 million as bribe is let go. Reprimanding the NAB for corruption, he said, "Why doesn't NAB place advertisements of "do corruption, get corruption done" in the paper?" An NAB prosecutor replied that the voluntary return law had not been formulated by NAB. To this, Justice Amir Hani Muslim said that the NAB was misusing the law. "Why doesn't NAB lay its hands on the big fish?" The hearing of the case was adjourned for two weeks. The Supreme Court took away powers of voluntary return from the NAB chairman in October. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A district and session court here has sent a ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Islamabad chapter's office bearer on a 14-day judicial remand to Adiala Jail in an alleged gang-rape case. A woman was allegedly gang-raped in Islamabad on New Year's Eve by four men, reports the Dawn. Sihala police arrested one accused and produced him before the court on Monday and sought arrest warrants for three others in connection with the case. The court issued arrest warrants for the other three accused and sent the arrested accused, who is PML-N's Islamabad chapter office bearer. He will be presented before the court on January 16, 2017. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz office bearers in the federal capital and police officials further confirmed that the arrested accused is PML-N's general secretary in Islamabad. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On his first day in office, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for teamwork, telling staff at the body's New York Headquarters that it is not enough to the "do the right thing, we need to earn the right to do the right thing." "It is very important for us to recognize our achievements [...] but we also need to recognize our shortcomings, to recognize our failures and where we are not able to deliver as we should," he said, outlining the multitude of challenges, ranging from complex conflicts to global terrorism confronting the . Guterres called on the entire Organisation for a collective effort to address the shortcomings and underlined the need to reform the UN development system, as well as address bureaucratic constraints that hamper its performance, saying the body must try and get rid of its "bureaucratic straight jacket." "There are no miracles [...] and the only way for us to achieve our goals is to work as a team," he said. In his remarks, the UN chief also recalled the selection process that culminated with the UN General Assembly, appointing him as the ninth chief of the global body in October, last year. "I know that the way this selection process has been developed has raised a lot of expectations," he noted. "This requires a lot of efforts from us but also a lot of dialogue with UN Members States and to overcome the divides that still exist in the Organization," he added. Guterres' first day at UN Headquarters as Secretary General began with the laying of a wreath at the Memorial Wall in the Visitors' lobby. Shortly after taking office two days ago, he made an appeal for peace. "Let us make 2017 a year in which we all - citizens, governments, leaders - strive to overcome our differences," Guterres said Sunday morning, urging people to share his New Year's resolution, "Let us resolve to put peace first." He will serve for a five-year period until December 31, 2021. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015. He succeeds Ban Ki-moon, who served as the Secretary-General from 2007 until December 31, 2016. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On the pretext of alleged growing atrocities on women and rampant corruption that has been prevailing at all levels of the administration in Tripura, the youth wing of Trinamool Congress (TMC) organised a protest torch rally on Tuesday evening in Agartala. TMC youth leader Sushanta Choudhury said, "Under this Left regime for the last 24 years there has been complete atrocity on women, rampant corruption has been prevailing at all levels of the administration. The utter failure of the Left Front government to deliver the goods to the people, deprivation of the employees and the unemployed youths all these has become burning issues in the state of Tripura under the Left The rally started from the TMC state headquarters here and went through the streets with the protesters raising anti CPIM and anti-Chief Minister Manik Sarkar slogans. Choudhury added that similar torch rallies are also being organing throughout the state for the same cause and protest will continue until the corrupt Left Front government is uprooted. He said, "Youth TMC is taking out this flaming torch procession across the state to bring out the people of the state out of the complete darkness that has been prevailing since long in Tripura, and in search of light in order to give justice to the people of Tripura." The protest rally organised by the youth wing of the TMC hinted at the growing number of rape and women atrocity cases in the state including allegation even against elected Left Front public representatives. The TMC alleged that the real voice of the people against the ruling CPIM led Left Front is unheard as the opposition parties like Congress and BJP has mutual understanding with the ruling party and does not raise the real issues. The TMC leader added that the ruling party has politicised the police and using them to save their party cadres who allegedly are mainly involved in most of the rape and women atrocity cases and corruption. Tripura records among top among the states with highest record of women atrocities and lowest conviction rate. The flaming torch rally was also part of observation of the 20th foundation day of the All India TMC party. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Aiming to provide employment and improving the ailing tea industry through better management and increased production, a ten-day workshop on development of skill of small tea growers was organised in Brahmakunda of West Tripura. The Tripura Tea Development Corporation Ltd (TTDCL) organised the workshop with financial support of the Directorate of Skill Development Tripura. Tripura which is among the few tea producing state in India has been chosen for training so that the small growers or farmers of this state, who are very new in the field get the maximum benefit out of it by acquiring hands-on scientific knowledge. The training programme is expected to encourage the tea growers to acquire skills so that they right from preparation of nurseries, choosing the best saplings, grow the best trees with high yield and thus increase their production and income. At present 14,092 square hectares are earmarked for tea cultivation in 58 estates and out of which 52 are operational. But the average tea yield of Tripura is just 1,043 kg per square hectare compared to the average of 1658 kg, which is a matter of concern for the tea producers who have to face tough competition in the global auction market. Some 12,000 families are directly employed in the tea estates and since 1994 around 4,346 small tea growers including 2,483 tribal are cultivating tea in 3,406 square hectare area. The first batch consisting of 20 trainees of small tea growers, most of them from the tribal section expressed that the training will be a boon for them and not only help in providing employment with quality and quantity improvement for the produces but also for increased profit. Samal Debbarma, a small tea grower said, "Here in the ten day training we learned how to plant a tea sapling and how we can increase our production. Along with classroom we also got practical demonstrations in the field. I will start a small tea plantation in a 5 hector plot next to my house to get self-employed." Another trainee Sanjib Debbarma said: "I have learned how to create nursery, plant sapling and other activities. I have learned all these here now I shall start growing tea in a small plot of two hector.This will help towards improving our family condition and so that we can live better. What was taught here, if we follow that then we can surely get prosper and live better." Moreover, the classroom knowledge along with the practical demonstration at the ground aimed at disseminating basic scientific knowledge for better management of their work for improved quality, productivity, effect cost-reduction through adoption of better management practices and most important start production of quality tea, including organic tea, as demand for it is on rise. The Directorate of Skill Development in collaboration with the Tea Board of India also has plans to boost production by new plantations, rejuvenation, skill development, providing better irrigation and technical facilities. The Directorate of Skill Development has taken several initiative to scale up skill development activities in the state and to create conducive environment for creation of skilled manpower in the state. Tripura is the fifth largest among 14 tea-producing states after Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala but the state suffers from shortage of skill labour in the sector and which also hampers the production. Tea plantation started in Tripura a century back from the year 1916 under the Royal Administration at Hiracherra Tea Estate in Kailasahar by hiring workers from East Bengal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The U.S. administration has initiated the process for peacefully resolving the current Indus water dispute between India and Pakistan, according to official sources. The latest dispute concerns two hydroelectric power plants - Kishanganga and Ratle - that India is building on the Indus rivers system. Pakistan believes that the projects violate the design parameters of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), which provides specific criteria for such plants. According to a report by Dawn, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar earlier this week to discuss different options for an amicable settlement of the dispute. After the call, US Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale also met Dar at the Finance Ministry in Islamabad for further talks. The initiative stems from the fear the US administration shares with the Bank that the dispute may harm the treaty that has effectively resolved water disputes between India and Pakistan for more than half a century. Earlier, Bank President Jim Yong Kim wrote to the Finance Ministers of India and Pakistan, informing them that he has 'paused' the requested arbitration and asked them to decide by the end of January how they wanted to settle the dispute. Pakistan has asked the Bank to appoint chairman of the court of arbitration while India has demanded the appointment of a neutral expert. However on December 23, Dar told the bank that Pakistan was not withdrawing its request and since the process had already been "inordinately delayed," the bank should appoint chairman of the court of arbitration as soon as possible. Two days later, Kim called Dar for further talks, followed by Secretary Kerry who called the Finance Minister during the Christmas holidays. It is unusual for a US official to do so, particularly because the Obama administration completes its final tenure on January 20. Usually, the outgoing administration leaves such issues for the incoming administration to tackle. "But seriousness of this dispute, particularly the fear that it may harm the treaty, forced Mr. Kerry to make this call," said an official source. Diplomatic observers in Washington say that since the United States has facilitated the Indus Waters Treaty, it feels obliged to take a proactive role in this matter. Pakistan took its case to the World Bank in September last year, after the differences on the designs of the two plants were discussed but could not be resolved in the 108th, 109th, 110th, 111th and 112th meetings of the Permanent Commission for Indus Waters, comprising one commissioner from each country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In what may irk Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and his loyalists amid the simmering power tussle in the party, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's mentor and uncle Ram Gopal Yadav on Tuesday staked claim to the party's symbol 'cycle' before the Election Commission while stating that 90 per cent of the MLAs are backing Akhilesh. "We have told the Election Commission that 90 per cent of the MLAs are supporting Akhilesh Yadav ji and hence the party led by him must be considered as the Samajwadi Party," he told the media outside the Election Commission office in the capital. This comes a day after Akhilesh's father and party patron Mulayam staked claim to the same while asserting that the SP's "election symbol is my signature". Amid a bitter family feud that has torn apart Uttar Pradesh's ruling party, Mulayam earlier said that election symbol is his signature. Mulayam on Monday claimed that the symbol - with its easy and established recall - should be considered his political property. The 77-year-old veteran visited the Election Commission's office on Monday evening, accompanied by his trusted advisor and younger brother Shivpal Yadav. At a party gathering on Sunday in Lucknow, Akhilesh was named president of the Samajwadi Party. He then pushed his father into retirement by declaring he would now function as patron and mentor. Mulayam and his aides like Shivpal Yadav and Amar Singh have insisted his faction is the legit . Catholic Priest Accused Of Organizing Orgies In Rectory, Pimping Out 15 Women Trending News: Pervy Priest Reportedly Hosted Orgies, Pimped Women In Church Long Story Short An Italian priest is under investigation after allegations that he set up orgies in the rectory of his church in Padua and acted as a pimp for 15 women. Long Story A Catholic priest is being accused of running sex parties in his church and making "immoral earnings" by selling sex with women parishioners. Father Andrea Contin, who has a parish in the northern Italian city of Padua, is set to be questioned by police after accusations that he ran sex parties from the San Lazzaro church rectory were splashed all over the newspapers in Italy. It has been reported that Contin pimped out as many as 15 of his parishioners who were also his lovers via Italian wife-swapping websites Scambiomoglie.it, Annunci69.it and Bakeka.it. Reports from The Times state that sex toys and videos showing orgies taking place in the rectory have been confiscated by the authorities, who are keen to talk to Contin. It has even been suggested that the 48-year-olds collection of homemade porno videos were hidden in cases containing the names of the Popes. Other stories state that Contin used to take groups of female friends to swinging and naturist resorts in France for holidays. The first complaints reached the bishop last summer but the church did not want to contact the police until conducting their own internal investigation. As of yet, Contin hasnt been arrested but the police are looking at data on his parish computers and personal iPad to see whether they can find any evidence of wrongdoing. A church volunteer claims she had sex with Father Contin and paints a picture of the priest as something of a player, telling Il Mattino di Padova: There were a lot of women hovering around him. I only understood that later. Another ex-lover is quoted by the same newspaper saying: They [Orgies] happened in the rectory and in various houses. When? At all hours: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the middle of the night. All the time. The Italian press are reporting that Contin has gone away to Croatia, but it seems the trip may just be an annual family holiday, possibly timed to let the heat die down a little before returning. Contin has become something of a celebrity in Italy, which is a passionately Catholic country, and he could be in for a rough ride when he returns. It may be that he opts to head straight for the confessional when he gets back home. Own The Conversation Ask The Big Question Should priests be allowed to have sex, and would that help prevent abuse in the long term? Drop This Fact The rule of clerical celibacy in the Catholic church is a law and not doctrine so the Pope could in theory change it at any time. India bond yield declined to 6.37% at 1.10 pm on 3 January 2017, after the government unexpectedly lowered its borrowing target for the financial year. After reviewing the cash position of the Central Government, Government of India, in consultation with Reserve Bank of India, has revised the auction calendar for the issuance of Government dated securities for the remaining part of H2 of 2016-17. The administration will sell notes worth Rs 66000 crore through six equal weekly auctions between 02 January 2017 to 10 February 2017. That's Rs 18000 crore less than what was planned earlier in the borrowing calendar released in September. The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper, 6.97% GS 2026, dipped 7 basis points to 6.33% at 10.11 IST, compared with 6.40% at close in the previous trading session. A close at this level will be the lowest since 05 December 2016, when yield eased to 6.20%. The yield sank 11 basis points, the most in six weeks, on 02 January 2017 after banks slashed their key lending rates, boosting speculation that cash conditions in the financial system will stay benign and support demand for debt. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Under bonus issue Engineers India announced that the Committee of the Board of Directors - Bonus Issue of the Company in its meeting held on 03 January 2017, has approved the issue and allotment of 33,69,36,600 Bonus Equity Shares in the ratio of 1:1 (i.e. 1 (one) new equity bonus share of Rs. 5/- each for every 1 (one) existing fully paid equity share of Rs. 5/- each held) to the existing shareholders of the Company holding shares at the close of business hours on the Record date i.e. 02 January 2017. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With effect from 02 January 2017 Gokak Textiles announced that due to his personal commitments, Mohan Ketkar has resigned as Company Secretary and Compliance Officer of the Company with effect from 02 January 2017. Further, the Company has informed that Vikram Nagar, Chief Financial Officer is appointed as the Compliance Officer, for the interim period, till the appointment of a qualified Company Secretary. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Following are the major reform measures, policy initiatives and achievements of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), Ministry of Finance: A. Disinvestment Target and Achievements during 2016-17 The disinvestment target for the Current Financial Year 2016-17 has been estimated at Rs.56,500 crore comprising Rs.36,000 crore from disinvestment of CPSEs and Rs.20,500 crore from strategic disinvestment. During the current financial year 2016-17, the Government has so far realized Rs.23528.73 crore, which include Rs.21,432.38 crore through minority stake sale in 14 CPSEs and Rs. 2096.35 crore through strategic disinvestment. The total realization of Rs. 21,432.38 crore, by end-November 2016 through CPSEs' disinvestment receipts, constitutes around 59.53 per cent of the Budgeted Target of Rs. 36,000 crore (CPSEs' disinvestment). B. Reform Measures and Policy Initiatives: (a) Steps taken to accelerate the disinvestment process: The Department has taken following measures to accelerate the disinvestment process: (i) Replacing annual plan with rolling plans. (ii) Creating a pipeline of proposals for CPSEs to take advantage of better market condition without any loss of time. (iii) Fast tracking of approval process. (iv) Disinvestment programme made more inclusive by following an approach to reserve 20 per cent of shares on PSUs-OFS transactions for retail investors on a case to case basis. (v) Based on the suggestion made by the Department, SEBI has reduced the notice period for an OFS transaction from T-2 to T-1 (T being the transaction day). This will help in minimizing the possibility of price hammering between the notice day and the transaction day and suitably protecting the interest of retail investors by providing them sufficient time to participate in the OFS transaction. (b) Restructuring and re-naming the Department to comprehensively manage the Government's investment in PSUs as DIPAM (i) The Union Finance Minister has underlined the need for adopting a comprehensive approach to efficiently manage its investment in CPSEs as highlighted in Para 89 of his Budget Speech of 2016-17 as below: We will adopt a comprehensive approach for efficient management of Government investment in CPSEs by addressing issues such as capital restructuring, dividend, bonus shares, etc. The Department of Disinvestment is being re-named as the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) (ii) In the light of the announcement made, the Department has been re-named as Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) which is in line with focus of the Government on management of its investment in Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) for accelerating economic development as well as augmenting the Government resources for higher expenditure. It also underlines the Government's recognition of its investment in CPSEs as an important asset for accelerating economic growth and commitment to efficient use of its resources to achieve a better return on its investment in CPSEs. (iii) As announced in the Budget, guidelines on Capital Restructuring of CPSEs have also been issued by this Department on 27th May, 2016. These guidelines supersede all previously issued guidelines by various Ministries/Departments from time to time and comprehensively deal with the inter-related issues on payment of dividend, buy back of shares, issue of bonus shares and splitting of shares. The focus of these guidelines is on optimum utilization of funds by CPSEs/Government to spur economic growth. C. The major achievements/highlights in respect of disinvestment of CPSEs are as under: (i) NHPC OFS CCEA in its meeting held on 10.09.2014 approved 11.36 per cent disinvestment in NHPC out of GoI shareholding of 85.96% per cent, through an OFS. The OFS took place on 27.04.2016 & 28.04.2016. The Government realised an amount of Rs.2,716.55 crore. (ii) MOIL Buyback The Alternative Mechanism in its meeting held on 07.06.2016 approved participation of Government in Buyback of shares by MOIL. The MOIL buyback offer opened on 19.09.2016 and closed on 30.09.2016. The Government realised an amount of Rs.793.87 crore. (iii) NMDC Buyback The Alternative Mechanism in its meeting held on 07.06.2016 approved participation of Government in Buyback of shares by NMDC. The NMDC buyback offer opened on 19.09.2016 and closed on 30.09.2016. The Government realised an amount of Rs.7,519.15 crore. (iv) BEL Buyback The Alternative Mechanism in its meeting held on 05.08.2016 approved participation of Government in Buyback of shares by BEL. The BEL buyback offer opened on 06.10.2016 and closed on 21.10.2016. The Government realised an amount of Rs.1,802.60 crore. (v) NTPC Employee OFS - NTPC Employee OFS was opened on 27.06.2016 and closed on 05.07.2016. The Government realised an amount of Rs.203.78 crore. (vi) NHPC Employee OFS NHPC Employee OFS was opened on 04.11.2016 and closed on 11.11.2016. The Government realised an amount of Rs.21.27 crore. (vii) DCIL Employee OFS DCIL Employee OFS was opened on 31.10.2016 and closed on 15.11.2016. The Government realised an amount of Rs.0.93 crore. (viii) NALCO OFS CCEA in its meeting held on 19/02/2015 approved disinvestment of 10 per cent paid up equity of National Aluminium (NALCO) out of Government of India's shareholding of 80.93 per cent through Offer for Sale (OFS). The Legal Advisers and Merchant Bankers have been appointed and non deal road shows are being conducted. (ix) Buyback of shares by NALCO Board of NALCO in its meeting held on 25th May, 2016 recommended buyback of fully paid equity shares not exceeding 64,43,09,628 (of face value Rs. 5 each) at price of Rs. 44/- per share. Government of India also participated in said buyback. On this account, GoI received an amount of Rs. 2831.71 crore and its share holding came down to 74.57 per cent, from 80.93 per cent prior to buyback. (x) HCL OFS CCEA in its meeting held on 13/05/2015 had approved disinvestment of 15 per cent paid-up equity of Hindustan Copper (HCL) out of Government of India's shareholding of 89.95 per cent through Offer for Sale (OFS). In first tranche, disinvestment of 7 per cent paid-up equity capital of HCL through OFS method was held on 29/09/2016 & 30/09/2016. A total number of 6,47,65,260 equity shares were offered for sale at floor price of Rs. 62/- per share. The issue was over-subscribed and GoI received an amount of Rs. 399.93 crores as disinvestment proceeds from the said transaction. (xi) Buyback of shares by CIL The Board of Coal India in its meeting held on 11th July, 2016 recommended buyback of fully paid equity shares not exceeding 10,89,55,223 ( Face value Rs. 10) at Rs. 335/- per equity share. GoI participated in said buyback. On this account, Government of India received an amount of Rs. 2638.24 crore. Post buyback, the GoI shareholding in CIL has slightly increased to 79.78 per cent from 79.65 per cent prior to buyback. (xii) CONCOR Employees OFS Government has received an amount of Rs. 9.34 crore on account of transfer of shares to the employees of CONCOR held in September, 2016 post OFS of the Company. (xiii) IOCL Employees OFS Government has received an amount of Rs. 262 crore on account of transfer of shares to the employees of IOCL held in May, 2016 post OFS of the Company. (xiv) NBCC OFS OFS of 15 per cent Government of India shareholding in NBCC was launched on 20th October, and completed on 21st October, 2016. The OFS's sale proceeds was Rs. 2201.14 crore. (xv) Disinvestment of SUUTI holdings 1,48,23,702 shares of Larsen & Toubro (1.62 per cent of the equity capital of the company) was sold out of SUUTI's strategic shareholding by bulk trades on 4th November, 2016. Government received an amount of Rs. 2096,34,65,993/- from this sale. Strategic holding of SUUTI comprise shares of Axis Bank, ITC and L&T shares. D. Strategic Disinvestment Procedure and mechanism for strategic disinvestment of CPSEs was approved by CCEA in February, 2016. The CCEA Note seeking in-principle approval on First and Second tranche recommendations of NITI Aayog on strategic disinvestment of CPSEs, incorporating the recommendations of CGD, thereon has been approved by CCEA in its meeting held on 27th October, 2016. Action has been initiated on the process of strategic disinvestment of the CPSEs accordingly. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hero MotoCorp announced before market hours today, 3 January 2017 that sales fell 33.91% to 3.3 lakh units in December 2016 over December 2015. The company's manufacturing facilities at Gurgaon, Neemrana and Haridwar were closed from 26-31 December 2016 on account of annual maintainence. ICICI Bank announced that it has reduced Marginal Cost of funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) by 0.7% across various maturities with effect from 3 January 2017. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 2 January 2017. HDFC announced the addendum - issue of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures of Rs 1 crore each under shelf disclosure document dated 5 August 2016 aggregating to Rs 35000 crore prepared as per the provisions of SEBI (Issue and Listing of Debt Securities) Regulations, 2008. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 2 January 2017. Tata Motors said its passenger and commercial vehicle total sales rose 2% to 40,944 units in December 2016 over December 2015. The company's domestic sales of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles rose 1% to 35,825 units in December 2016 over December 2015. Exports surged 12% to 5,119 units in December 2016 over December 2015. The sales figures were announced after market hours yesterday, 2 January 2017. SML Isuzu's total sales rose 16.4% to 1,021 units in December 2016 over December 2015. The sales figures were announced after market hours yesterday, 2 January 2017. Power Grid Corporation of India announced that in terms of Government of India communication on 23 September 2016, on receipt of purchase consideration of Rs 81.21 crore, the company has transferred 3.06 crore equity shares of Rs 10 each of Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO) to Government of India. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 2 January 2017. Insilco after market hours yesterday, 2 January 2017, said that the company will continue plant shut down due to high inventory and low sales volume and restart in the evening of 4 January 2017. The company had on 19 December 2016, announced shut down of its plant from 19 December 2016 to 2 January 2017. Great Eastern Shipping Company (G E Shipping) has signed contracts to buy two Suezmax Crude Carriers of about 157,000 dwt each. The 2010 and 2011 built vessels are expected to join the company's fleet in Q4 FY 17. The company's current fleet stands at 38 vessels, comprising 24 tankers (7 crude carriers, 15 product tankers, 2 LPG carriers) and 14 dry bulk carriers (1 Capesize, 7 Kamsarmaxes, 6 Supramaxes) with an average age of 9.89 years aggregating 2.94 million dwt. Additionally, the company has 2 Secondhand Aframaxes, 1 Secondhand Suezmax and 1 Newbuilding Kamsarmax on order. After delivery of these 6 contracted vessels, the company will have a fleet of 44 vessels. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 2 January 2017. Aban Offshore announced that it has completed the sale of 59% equity shares held by Aban Offshore in Aban Green Power Private Limited and Radhapuram Wintech Private Limited - subsidiaries of Aban Offshore Limited. The company also completed the acquisition of 49% equity shares in Aban Drilling Services Private Limited. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 2 January 2017. Lakshmi Vilas Bank announced that the bank has launched Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme, 2016 pursuant to the RBI notification dated 16 December 2016. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 2 January 2017. TVS Motor Company's sales fell 8.47% to 1.84 lakh units in December 2016 over December 2015. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 2 January 2017. Zicom Electronic Security Systems announced that Zicom SaaS Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, has launched managed security services in Hyderabad under 'Make Hyderabad Safe' Initiative. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 2 January 2017. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With effect from 04 January 2017 Punjab & Sind Bank has revised the Marginal Cost of Fund Based Lending Rate (MCLR) for different tenor and the same will be effective from 04 January 2017. Overnight - 8.60% One month - 8.60% Three month - 8.65% Six month - 8.70% One year - 8.75% Three year - 8.95% Five year - 9.10% The Base Rate and BPLR has been revised from 9.75% and 14.75% to 9.70% and 14% respectively with effect from 04 January 2017. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sugar production up 0.4% in SS2016-17 over SS2015-16 The sugar production for 462 sugar mills in the country has touched 80.90 lakh tonnes of sugar, which is 0.4% higher as compared to last season's production for the corresponding period. In 2015-16 SS, there were 481 sugar mills in operation on 31 December 2015 and they had produced 80.56 lakh tonnes of sugar till that date. In Maharashtra, 147 sugar mills commenced crushing operations. As was generally expected, 25 of the mills have stopped crushing. These mills are mostly in the drought affected areas of Marathwada, Sholapur and Ahmednagar. As on 31 December 2016, 25.25 lakh tonnes of sugar have been produced in the State as against 33.70 lakh tonnes produced during the corresponding period last season when 169 mills were running. It is important to note that the mills in Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara and Pune, which were not as adversely impacted by drought, are crushing at almost similar levels like last year. The mills in these four regions generally contribute for almost 55-60% of Maharashtra's production. Barring some sugar mills in Marathwada and Solapur region where sugar recovery during the current season was low as compared to last season, sugar recovery % till 31 December 2016 was 10.52% as against 10.43% as on same date last year. In Uttar Pradesh, 116 sugar mills are in operation and they have crushed 278 lakh tonnes of sugarcane and produced 27.40 lakh tonnes as on 31 December 2016, with an average recovery of 9.86%. Last year i.e. in 2015-16 SS, 113 sugar mills were in operation on 31 December 2015 and they crushed around 178 lakh tonnes of cane to produce 17.97 lakh tonnes of sugar at an average recovery of 10%. Sugar production this year in UP is higher by 52% as compared to last year same time. 56 sugar mills in Karnataka are in operation on 31 December 2016, who have produced 15.60 lakh tonnes of sugar, as compared to 15.94 lakh tonnes produced by 63 sugar mills in 2015-16 SS on 31 December 2015. As was expected, 5 mills have shut down operations in Karnataka on 31 December 2016. As compared to 40.5 lakh tonnes produced by Karnataka in last season, ISMA expects 31 lakh tonnes of sugar to be produced in the State this year. In Gujarat, 20 sugar mills are operating during 2016-17 SS and they have produced 3.50 lakh tonnes of sugar till 31 December 2016. In 2015-16 SS, 19 sugar mills were in operation on 31 December 2015, who had produced 4.61 lakh tonnes of sugar till that date. In Tamil Nadu, 25 sugar mills are in operation as on 31 December 2016 which has produced 1.25 lakh tonnes as compared to 1.01 lakh tonnes of sugar production by 25 mills as on 31 December 2015. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, 24 sugar mills have produced 1.80 lakh tonnes of sugar till 31 December 2016 and this is 0.18 lakh tonnes less than the sugar produced by 25 mills in 2015-16 SS till 31 December 2015. 11 mills in Bihar have produced 1.50 lakh tonnes of sugar till 31 December 2016 as against 1.37 lakh tonnes produced by 11 mills in 2015-16 season as on 31 December 2015. Similarly, 14 mills in Haryana, 16 in Punjab, 17 mills in Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh and 8 mills in Uttarakhand have together produced 4.45 lakh tonnes, as compared to 3.85 lakh tonnes produced on the corresponding date last year. As per information gathered from the main sugar belt of Maharashtra viz. Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara, most of the sugar mills in these regions will continue their operations till end of March 2017, whereas mills in Pune and Ahmednagar are likely to operate till later part of February 2017. Average sugar recovery achieved by the mills of Maharashtra so far is more or less same as that of last year till December 2016. Early closures are mainly because of lower sugarcane production in some parts of Maharashtra, which have been accounted for while estimating sugar production from the State in the current year. Ex-mill sugar prices which dropped by Rs. 2 to 3 per kilo since second week of November, 2016 have started improving and are now at the levels seen a couple of months back. These prices are just enough to cover the costs of production. With lower offtake and sugar consumption in 2016-17, the sugar stocks at the end of the current season may be more, than being estimated earlier, by 5-10 lakh tonnes. However, one needs to do more analysis to arrive at the figure of estimated consumption. ISMA will carry out its second advance estimate for sugar production in 2016-17, in later part of January, 2017, which will be based on satellite images. Trend of yields and recoveries up to January, 2017 would be considered. ISMA will review the same in its Committee Meeting on 25 January, 2017, and release its second advance estimate for 2016-17 sugar production on that date. With higher cane price announced by State Governments like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, low sugar recovery being achieved in the States like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh etc. and lower capacity utilization in the drought affected States like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana etc. the all India average cost of production of sugar during the current 2016-17 SS, will roughly be higher at around Rs. 35 to 36 per kilo (Rs. 2 per kilo higher than the previous year's cost of production). Sugar mills should be allowed to recover at least their costs during the current season, otherwise, they would not be in a position to make payments to farmers on time and would also not be in a position to repay the loans taken from Government of India including under SEFASU and soft loans, which are due to be repaid this year. The first 3 months of the current season i.e. October-December 2016, has seen a big fall in sugar offtake. With weddings and family celebrations being at low key, and consumption of sugar sweetened products like biscuits, chocolates, beverages, ice creams etc. being lower due to lower availability of currency, there has been a demand destruction of almost 5 lakh tonnes of sugar. The offtake in October-December 2017 has therefore been significantly lower than last year. Therefore, the sugar consumption in 2016-17 SS, earlier estimated to grow at 2% over last year, to 255 lakh tonnes, will be much lower. The offtake may thus be lower to even last year's consumption of 248 lakh tonnes. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two persons, who were arrested in Goa for distributing pamphlets with IS written on them, were released by the district administration on Tuesday. Addressing a press conference here, Superintendent of Police (North Goa) Umesh Gaonkar also said that verification of their antecedents had not revealed any terror links. He added that the content of the pamphlets seized from them on Monday night was in fact anti-Islamic State. "They are closely involved in Salafi activities and believe in true Islam. The pamphlet in Kannada language, in fact condemns IS. Because it was in Kannada, we did not realize it immediately. It was later verified by a Kannada translator," Gaonkar said. The duo, Ilyas U (34) and Abdul Nazir (24) hail from Kasargod in Kerala and were arrested by the police on Monday after residents of Panaji suburb Dona Paula saw them carrying pamphlets with the words 'IS' on them, along with text in Kannada language. Gaonkar said that the duo were canvassing for a Salafi conclave due to be held in Mangalore later in January. He added that Ilyas has been living in South Goa's Margao town for some years and has been a regular at the state's only Salafi mosque, also located in the same town. "They are both brother in-laws and they were travelling along with their family in Goa. They had gone to Dona Paula for sight-seeing, when they were apprehended by the locals, who saw them with the pamphlets," Gaonkar also said. --IANS maya/vgu/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Twenty-five Chinese cities are on red alert due to severe air pollution, officials said on Tuesday. This is the first red alert issued in the new year in China, following similar warnings in late 2016 in the northeastern region of the country, including capital Beijing, Efe news reported. Beijing, along with 20 other cities, have been under an orange alert for days while 16 others, including Xian, have been under the yellow alert. In total, 72 Chinese cities are under some sort of pollution alert at present. Meanwhile, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has extended its alert until Saturday night, the Ministry of Environmental Protection announced on Tuesday. In some parts of the region pollution is expected to reach very serious levels with concentrations of PM 2.5 (the most dangerous) particles of up to 300 micrograms per cubic meter, while the World Health Organization recommends a maximum level of 25. However, according to forecast for the northeast region, a cold front on Sunday is likely to disperse the thick layer of smog. The declaration of pollution alerts are accompanied by different levels of restrictions on traffic, schools, activities of polluting industries and the construction sector. But a ministry report released Monday acknowledged many companies were ignoring these measures and continuing with their activities as usual leading it to probe the worst affected areas for non-compliance. The smog has reduced visibility to less than 50 metres, leading to various problems at airports and highways in large cities such as Chengdu and Tianjin, the National Meteorological Centre said on Tuesday. --IANS ksk/ap (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Popular Telugu actor and Jana Sena party chief Pawan Kalyan on Tuesday asked the Andhra Pradesh government to address the high prevalence of kidney-related diseases in Uddanam region of Srikakulam district in north coastal Andhra in 48 hours. He visited the region and interacted with patients, including women and children. Moved by their plight, he asked the government to spell out within 48 hours how it proposes to help the victims. Pawan said the party had formed a committee to study the problems, and he would meet the Chief Minister with the committee's report within 15 days. The actor said if the government and public representatives failed to respond, the Jana Sena will launch a public movement on the issue. He said successive government failed to address the issue despite large number of people dying of kidney-related ailments in one region. Pawan said now that the banks have a lot of money following demonetisation, it should be spent to solve the serious problem in Uddanam. He demanded that the government allocates at least Rs 100 crore for the cause. "Thousands of crore are being spent for building the state capital, but nothing is being spent in a region where people are dying," said the Jana Sena founder. Stating that setting up dialysis centres is not a solution, he said efforts should be made to find out the causes and prevent the disease. Pawan visited the area a day after tweeting that over 20,000 people of all age groups have died of chronic kidney diseases in the region during the last two decades. "Currently lakhs are affected with this chronic kidney disease known as 'Uddanam Nephropathy'. Successive governments and honourable legislative members of the last two decades could not address this issue effectively," he tweeted. The party's media team documented sufferings of the people. According to the World Health Organization, Uddanam is one of the three regions in the world with the highest concentration of chronic kidney diseases. Just before Pawan's visit, state Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas in a statement said the government has identified kidney patients in eight mandals of the district. According to the statement, a team of experts from the US visited the region for an in-depth analysis, but could not identify the causes for the problem. He said water samples from the region were sent to a research organisation at Mumbai, which is also studying the food habits of the people and the environment. The government expects the results soon. The minister said two dialysis centres were already functioning in Srikakulam and Tekkali while another centre will be opened in Palakonda on January 5. The Health Minister said if necessary, the government was ready to set up another dialysis centre in the region. --IANS ms/rb/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A former Melkite Greek Catholic archbishop of Jerusalem who was convicted of smuggling arms for Palestinian militants has died aged 94, a media report said on Tuesday. Monsignor Hilarion Capucci, who served two years of a 12-year sentence in Israel before the Vatican helped secure his release, has died, the Vatican has confirmed in a statement on Monday. Capucci had a history of activism linked to Middle East conflicts. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas offered his condolences and described him as a great "freedom fighter", the BBC reported. The Vatican, however, did not exactly confirm when Capucci died or give any more details. Capucci was born in the Syrian city of Aleppo, in 1922. He was ordained a priest of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in 1947 and was appointed Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem and Archbishop of Caesarea in 1965. In 1974, he was travelling from Beirut to Jerusalem in a car bearing Vatican diplomatic plates when it was stopped by Israeli security forces. Inside were four Kalashnikov rifles, two pistols, ammunition and grenades intended for members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Capucci insisted he had been forced to transport the weapons, but an Israeli court convicted him of smuggling and sentenced him to 12 years in prison. He was freed in 1977, following a personal appeal by Pope Paul VI. Capucci remained in the headlines following his release, attempting to mediate in the Iran hostage crisis. --IANS in/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After garnering critical acclaim for his film "Neerja", Ram Madhvani is working on a web series titled "Bodhidharma: Master of Shaolin". The director feels going digital is the future, and says that audience is no longer stifled by the practice of setting time aside to watch particular content. Madhvani along with lyricist, screenwriter and ad guru Prasoon Joshi, is working on the action series, based on the story of a warrior prince of the sixth century who became the founder of the Shaolin Temple in China and the founder of martial arts. The show -- which is one of the Indian original shows for Amazon Prime Video -- is expected to be a visual spectacle with martial arts, music backed by great storytelling. Madhvani says he wanted to make a film on the same story initially. "Prasoon Joshi and I have been working on a feature film called 'Bodhi Dharma Master of Shaolin'. And as Prasoon kept writing, we realised that it was becoming longer than what a feature film length normally is," Madhvani told IANS over an email from Mumbai. Talking about his decision to go digital, he said: "Digital is the future and content viewing on the digital platform is where the world and India is going and we are very excited to be at the forefront of this." Madhvani said: "The audience is no longer hand cuffed by appointment viewing and have the freedom to see what they want, when they want, at a very reasonable cost". He explained that this "not only expands the audience base but is very liberating for both the audience and the creators". Many people see Hollywood as a threat to Bollywood. But for Madhvani it doesn't hold true. "India is a pluralistic society and our past has told us that we somehow can invite, assimilate and yet be our own. We as Indians see no contradictions in that idea of being rooted in our culture, yet embracing the best of any other. That's true whether it's for food or films. We know that we need to speak to our audience in our ways within our culture," he said. For now, Madhvani is busy with the ten-episode web series. --IANS sug/rb/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) President Sudesh Mahto, an ally of the ruling BJP and Jharkhand State Development Council Deputy Chairperson, on Tuesday skipped a council meeting here along with opposition Jharkhand Mukti Morcha members. The Development Council meet was however attended by Chief Minister Raghubar Das, who heads the body, his ministers and senior state government officials to discuss various issues. Mahto is said to be unhappy with the Raghubar Das government over amendments to two land laws -- Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) and Santhal Pargana Act (SPT) -- in the winter session of the assembly in November last year despite objections from a united opposition and the alliance partner. Mahto is one of the many state leaders opposed to the land amendments. After the amendment, agricultural land in the tribal-dominated state can be used for non-agricultural purposes. Jharkhand Water Resources Minister and AJSU legislator Chandra Prakash Chaudhary said: "Mahto has gone out of the state and may not be aware of the meeting." However, government sources said the meeting of the council -- headed by the Chief Minister -- was fixed in December. "The term of council members is for one year. Our term is ending on January 4. Why should we attend the meeting at the fag end of our tenure? The state government is not serious about the state's development. There should have been three meetings in the last one year," JMM legislator Kunal Sarangi told reporters. --IANS ns/tsb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP has summoned its lone MLA in Manipur along with other leaders of its state wing to apprise the party leadership about the tension in the northeastern state. According to Bharatiya Janata Party sources, MLA T. Biswajit Singh and other party leaders have been told to meet the top party leaders on Wednesday at the party headquarters. Manipur is simmering due to an economic blockade called by the Nagas under the banner of UNC in Manipur. NH-37 and NH-2 have been badly affected due to the blockade. Though the blockade started on November 1 when the state government was planning to create new districts bifurcating existing Naga dominated districts, it intensified after the government ignored the agitation and went ahead to declare Jirbam as a full fledged district. The state government also created new districts of Kangpokpi, Tengoupal, Pharzol, Kakching, Noney and Kamjongin. According to the UNC -- apex representative of Nagas living in Manipur -- the creation of new districts out of Naga territory without their consent is a deliberate act to suppress the rights of the Nagas in the state. Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, along with his 49 Congress MLAs reached Delhi on Tuesday to meet President Pranab Mukherjee over the prevailing tension in Manipur. The Union Home Ministry has also submitted a detailed report on Manipur to the Election Commission, mentioning the untoward incidents before the state assembly elections, due in February. --IANS il-rup/pgh/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A former party chief of Zhumadian city in China was on Tuesday sentenced to life in prison for taking bribes. A Chinese court convicted Liu Guoqing of accepting 67.99 million yuan ($9.8 million) and 100,000 Hong Kong dollars in bribes when he held the posts of deputy head of the provincial public security department as well as mayor and Communist Party chief of the city, Xinhua news agency reported. Liu accepted the bribes to help people with promotions and construction projects, the court said. He was deprived of his political rights for the rest of his life, and all his personal property was confiscated. Liu said he will appeal the verdict. --IANS py/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A transgender man in China has won a landmark legal challenge against wrongful dismissal in what has been described as the countrys first such discrimination case, a media report said on Tuesday. The man, who would only be identified as Chen, was illegally fired after just a week on the job at a medical clinic in south-west China, a court ruled. But the judge stopped short of forcing the company to apologise and did not say Chen's dismissal was related to his gender identity, the Guardian reported. He was also awarded 2,000 yuan ($287), a month's wages. "I have always said this case was never about the money," Chen told the Guardian on Tuesday. "This lawsuit was about three things: dignity, raising awareness of transgender and other sexual minorities, and pushing for anti-discrimination legislation." Although satisfied with the ruling, Chen vowed to continue legal challenges to force an apology. He said he hoped the case would spark renewed efforts towards enacting anti-discrimination legislation to protect more people like him. China remains deeply conservative when it comes to gender and sexuality. Being gay was only decriminalised in 1997 and it was still considered a mental illness until 2001 by the Chinese Society of Psychiatry. --IANS ksk/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Police apprehended eight juveniles on charges of robbery here, a senior officer said on Tuesday. Police said all the juveniles were involved in robbing Shambhu Kumar, a resident of Shakurpur, on Monday night. "The juveniles looted Kumar while he was going to his residence. They overpowered Kumar at Britania Chowk and escaped with his cash and other belongings," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Milind Mahadeo Dumbere said. While the juveniles were fleeing from the spot, Kumar caught one of them and raised an alarm for help, following which some people gathered at the spot, Dumbere said. "Kumar later informed local police. On the basis of information from the captured juvenile, police then apprehended seven other juvenile gang members by raiding various places," the DCP added. The officer said that police is looking for one of their associates, who is still at large. --IANS sp/vgu/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) From a waiter and pickpocket to a goon, gangster and a reporter -- in a career spanning over 15 years, Nawazuddin Siddiqui has showcased his versatility. Now soon to be seen as a school teacher in "Haraamkhor", he says he has never focused on building a set image for himself in Bollywood. And that's what gives him a chance to experiment with every project in an age of digitisation. "I have never thought about creating an image for myself in Bollywood. I am an actor and just want to experiment with roles. I am ready to do all type of roles," Nawazuddin told IANS in an interview. "I don't want to build any image for myself. I don't want people to say, 'He does only a certain type of role'. I don't want only to be the hero of the story. An actor's weakness is the different roles that he can't do. But I am keen to grab only those roles as I am here to challenge myself," added the critically-acclaimed talent. He credits his acting skills to his training at the National School of Drama. "You gain a lot through training," said the 42-year-old, who is endorsing social commerce platform addsbook.com. The National Award-winning actor said he is happy with the digital world, but he does not like it when people use social media platforms to troll each other. "It's bad that people waste most of their time on various social media platforms looking through and commenting on others' posts. That's what we call the wrong use of digitalisation," said the actor, best known for his roles in films like "Dekh Indian Circus", "Gangs of Wasseypur ", "Talaash", "The Lunchbox" and "Manjhi - The Mountain Man". "One negative impact of digital media is that people have the liberty to say what they want to. There aren't any restrictions. "I understand that people have freedom of speech, but people should have some sense while saying anything. People nowadays give reviews of films on social media. But are they capable enough to do that; do they have those kind of skills," Nawazuddin questioned. Looking at the positive aspect of the digital boom, he said: "Digital media is bringing out hidden talent which was unapproachable for the industry people." Nawazuddin's first release for the new year is debut director Shlok Sharma's "Haraamkhor", which hits screens on January 13. After that, he will be seen with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan in the much-awaited "Raees". "I have huge expectations from 'Raees'. It's an entertaining film, and I enjoyed shooting for it," Nawazuddin said. How was it working with Shah Rukh? "Shah Rukh Khan is the best co-actor. The response that he gives to you while performing scenes is terrific. (Otherwise) I have seen most of the times that while shooting, actors don't listen to your dialogues or see your expressions, and are mainly concerned about their lines," he said. Nawazuddin also said: "Whatever appreciation I get for my role in 'Raees' will be just because of Shah Rukh Khan. He has respected his character a lot. Also, the chemistry between us is good". Nawazuddin has also been roped in to star in the film adaptation of Sujit Saraf's novel "The Confession of Sultana Daku". "I have signed on to play Sultana Daku in the film adaptation. The film's story is beyond dacoity," said the actor, who also has "Munna Michael" in the pipeline. (Sandeep Sharma can be contacted at sandeep.s@ians.in) --IANS sas/rb/vm/tb/sac (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Google dedicated a Doodle on Tuesday to mark the 186th birth anniversary of India's 19th century social reformer Savitribai Jyotirao Phule, considered the first feminist of the country. Savitribai K Patil was born on January 3, 1831, in a rich and influential farming family and at the age of nine was married off to the 13-year old Jyotirao Phule. She was taught to read and write by her husband and when she turned 17, the couple founded India's first school for girls and women in Bhidewada, Pune. It started with just nine girls from different castes enrolled as students but it became a historic step when female education was considered taboo in the orthodox Indian society prevalent then. The Phule couple, who had no children of their own, launched a crusade against social discrimination based on caste and gender, and sparked the flame for women's equal rights during the British ruled India. At a time when women had no say in anything, Savitribai's campaign covered child marriages, child widows, rape victims becoming pregnant, the practice of 'Sati', educating women and fighting for equal rights for all women. The colourful Doodle shows Savitribai spreading her sari 'pallu' wide to encompass women from all sections of society for education and empowerment. The 'Goodle' (Google Doodle) shows a group of women assembled outside what could be a school for education in a skyblue starry background which also doubles as her blouse. Over the next few years, the Phules set up 18 more schools across the state, of which Savitribai became the teacher, headmistress and principal. Nearly 18 decades later, the Maharashtra government renamed the Pune University as 'Savitribai Phule University' as a tribute to the Phule's sheer courage and pioneering efforts in the field of education, women empowerment, social reform and gender equality. Google dedicated a doodle on Tuesday to mark the 186th birth anniversary of India's 19th century social reformer Savitribai Jyotirao Phule, among the country's first to speak up for the rights of women. Savitribai K. Patil was born on January 3, 1831, in a rich and influential farming family and at the age of nine was married off to the 13-year old Jyotirao Phule. She was taught to read and write by her husband and when she turned 17, the couple founded India's first school for girls and women in Bhidewada, Pune. It started with just nine girls from different castes enrolled as students - but it became a historic step when female education was considered taboo in the orthodox Indian society prevalent then. The Phule couple - who had no children of their own - launched a crusade against social discrimination based on caste and gender, and sparked the flame for women's equal rights during the British rule in India. At a time when women had no say in anything, Savitribai's campaign covered child marriages, child widows, rape victims becoming pregnant, the practice of 'Sati', educating women and fighting for equal rights for all women. The colourful Doodle shows a simple Savitribai spreading her sari 'pallu' wide to encompass women from all sections of society for education and empowerment. The simple 'Goodle' (Google Doodle) shows a group of demure women assembled outside what could be a school for education in a skyblue starry background which also doubles as her blouse. It has a narration by New Delhi-based NGO Zubaan, with colourful paintings by Malvika Asher on the different historical aspects of Savitribai's life starting as a toddler, a child bride, her love for knowledge and learning, opening the first girls school, (1848), and other social institutions, adopting Yeshwant, the son of a Brahmin widow, and honoured by the British government as the Best Teacher in the state in 1852. It continues onto the death of Jyotirao Phule in 1890, when defying all prevalent social norms, she lit his funeral pyre and carried on the legacy of his Satyashodhak Samaj, and finally her social work during the bubonic plague in Maharashtra which claimed her life in 1897. The Phules had set up 18 more schools across the state of which Savitribai was the teacher, headmistress and principal. Nearly 18 decades later, the Maharashtra government renamed the Pune University as 'Savitribai Phule University' as a tribute to Phule's sheer courage and pioneering efforts in the field of education, women empowerment, social reform and gender equality. Since the past few years, several social-political organisations have been demanding that the Phule couple be conferred India's highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna, which was supported by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. --IANS qn/in/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Secretary of State John Kerrys attack on Israel last week represents a vain attempt to deflect attention from the Obama administrations failed foreign policy. Kerrys fixation on the Palestinian issue explains why Russia, with one-tenth the GDP of the US, has emerged as the winner in Syria against both US and Israeli interests and why Iran, its ally, has come to control two more Arab capitals by proxy. Instead of promoting core US interests, Kerry has squandered efforts on promoting a two-state solution that has failed to materialize since it was first proposed by the Peel Commission eighty years ago. Hopefully, the next administration will give core US interests their due and find creative ways to deal with the fallout of a Palestinian national movement that has failed for 100 years. Prof. Hillel Frisch, a senior research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, is a professor of political studies and Middle East studies at Bar-Ilan University. BESA Center Perspectives Papers are published through the generosity of the Greg Rosshandler Family Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blog spot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. . ..BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 390..02 January '17..In US Secretary of State John Kerrys recent speech, in which he attempted to defend Washingtons abstention on the UNSCR resolution against Israeli settlements, he sounded more similar than ever before to the European leaders who reflexively condemn Israel. The similarity is rooted in a predicament shared by both the US under Obama and the EU a weak and ineffectual foreign policy. Obamas and Kerrys European orientation has reduced American influence in world affairs to its lowest point since WWII and most certainly since the Vietnam War.Just as the Europeans cover up their geostrategic weakness by ganging up on Israel, so too have Obama and Kerry zeroed in on Israel and the Palestinian issue as a means of covering up the abysmal failures of their foreign policy. Unfortunately, Israel is saddled with the costs of those foreign policy failures.Kerry noted that the US concluded an historic $38 billion memorandum of understanding that exceeds any military assistance package the United States has provided to any country, at any time, and that will invest in cutting-edge missile defense and sustain Israels qualitative military edge for years to come. True, but he neglected to mention that most of those funds will go to meet the dangers of an aggressive Iranian policy.Tehran has been emboldened by a $50-100 billion windfall resulting from the unfreezing of its assets in Western capitals, a bonanza orchestrated by Obama and Kerry. Israel knows full well that much of that windfall will be used to buy Russian state-of-the-art anti-air defense systems. This will make it much more difficult for Israel to attack Iran when it goes nuclear (which it inevitably will). Those systems will also be used to augment Hezbollahs massive missile inventory in southern Lebanon, which is aimed at Israels major population centers.Israel is also paying dearly for Obamas debacle in Syria. For the first time since the 1980s, Israel is severely constrained in its mastery over the skies by a strong Russian air force presence in Syria, a state of affairs the Obama administration did nothing to prevent. Incredibly, President Vladimir Putin, the leader of a country with less than half the population of the US and one tenth its GDP, has led a winning Russian-Iranian-Syrian coalition against an ineffectual US. Tensions have only increased among Arabs, Kurds, Turkey, and the US. The Arab-Kurd standoff in Syria runs the risk of driving many Arabs into an alliance with IS.Kerrys speech might have inadvertently explained why the US failed in Syria. We have committed our influence and our resources to trying to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict because, yes, it would serve American interests to stabilize a volatile region, he said. But consider the state of the region in 2011 and beyond. How could the Obama administration justify committing so much effort to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict when the bloodletting and instability in Syria were one hundred times worse? Or when Iranian allies took over Beirut, where the Iranian/Hezbollah candidate became president? Or when pro-Iranian Houthis took over Sana? Wasnt the formation of an Arab coalition to wage a destructive air war in Yemen the product of an American policy failure?Kerry naively believes it is Israels obligation to take incredible risks to appease a failed national movement, which, in 1936, 1947, 1979, 2000, 2007, and 2009, rejected every opportunity it was offered to make peace with the Zionist movement and later the State of Israel.But he must know through his advisors that the Palestinians have been going through their own civil war for the past ten years. The only reason it is not as bloody as its Syrian counterpart is the presence of Israel, which separates the Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbass dictatorial rule from Hamass Islamist theocracy in Gaza. Both governments excel at brutally suppressing one anothers supporters in their respective territories.In shedding tears over the Palestinians plight, Kerry cannot dispel the truth that life expectancy in Gaza is a respectable 75 years and electricity is available in almost 100% of homes a far higher economic welfare rate than that enjoyed by one-third of humanity, including most of tropical Africa. Fifteen thousand Gazans have received critical medical care in Israels hospitals, just as they receive Israeli electricity (for which they rarely pay).Kerry informs us that the Arab states are committed to the two-state solution. If so, why did Jordan annex the West Bank when it ruled over the area between 1948 and 1967? Why did Egypt maintain military rule over Gaza during that period? Are they really committed to a Palestinian state, which their mutual nemesis, Hamas, is likely to take over, just as it took Gaza from the PA in 2007?In 2017, the world will be commemorating 80 years of failure to bring a two-state solution to fruition. Four generations have passed since the Peel Commission, and numerous opportunities have been missed due to Palestinian and Arab intransigence.It is time to lay the idea of a two-state solution to rest. The US and the international community should be thinking of new solutions. The Palestinian Authoritys billions can be diverted, for example, toward the creation of a transnational space linking the West Bank to Jordan and Gaza as well as to the greater Arab world. That is but one avenue worthy of exploration. A world that invented the smartphone and the internet should be able to come up with others.No amount of doting on the Palestinians can hide the fact that the Obama administrations foreign policy pursuits have been a failure, and no amount of scapegoating Israel will hide the growing force of this assessment in the years to come. An Indian chief executive of a forex trading company in Dubai who promised to double investors' money was arrested for suspected fraud, authorities said. Sydney Lemos, 36, from Goa was the owner of Exential, a forex trading company here and was behind the failed Dh50 million ($13.6 million) foreign exchange scheme, the National daily reported. His company was closed by the Department for Economic Development in July last year. The daily said his clients lost money after his firm failed to pay out after promising 100 per cent returns on a Dh91,800 ($25,000) investment. Legal experts issued new warnings to potential investors after Lemos circulated an email encouraging new investment in an "advisory service", trading under the Exential banner. Lemos was arrested on December 21, said a spokesman for Carlton Huxley, British fraud investigation specialists who were working with a law firm to recover funds. "We are working with various authorities both inside and outside Dubai, and looking at the alleged laundering of more than Dh50 million by one individual," the daily quoted a Carlton Huxley spokesman as saying. Exential has earlier claimed that delays in processing investors' funds were due to anti-money laundering and compliance investigations in Australia, according to the report. John Rynne, a Carlton Huxley director and former senior officer with the Metropolitan Police in London, warned people about investing in schemes they know little about. --IANS soni/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Karnataka's Cooperation and Sugar Minister H.S. Mahadeva Prasad died on early Tuesday in sleep after a massive cardiac arrest at a resort near Chikkamagaluru. Prasad was 58 and leaves behind his wife Gita and son Ganesh Prasad. "Prasad went to Chikkamagaluru on Monday evening to attend the golden jubilee of a cooperative society on Tuesday. When he did not wake up even till 8 a.m., a doctor was summoned to the guest house who declared him dead," an official told IANS here. Koppa is about 30 km from Chikkamagaluru, which is located 280 km from Bengaluru. The state government declared a public holiday for Tuesday in all offices, schools, colleges and banks and a three-day mourning. A lawmaker from Gundulpete, about 250 km from Bengaluru, Prasad was elected for the fifth consecutive term on a Congress ticket in May 2013. He was also a lawmaker and minister in the erstwhile Janata Dal-Secular and BJP coalition governments in 2005-07. "I am shocked at the sudden demise of Prasad, who was my close friend and a long-term associate in the Janata parivar," said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Prasad, who had a bypass surgery four or five years ago, had not shown any sign of illness before he left for Chikkamagaluru, an official said. --IANS fb/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and the state Congress legislators reached Delhi on Tuesday to meet President Pranab Mukherjee over the ongoing tensions, caused due to the economic blockade by Naga groups. The blockade started soon after creation of seven new districts in the state. "The Chief Minister and all the Congress MLAs have reached Delhi. They have sought an appointment to meet the President tomorrow (Wednesday)," said a senior officer at Delhi's Manipur Bhawan. The Manipur legislative assembly has 49 Congress members in the house of 60. Informed sources told IANS: "The CM may talk against the imposition of President's Rule demanded by the United Naga Council and also about postponement of upcoming elections in the state." The Imphal Valley is simmering after violent protests broke out following the creation of seven new districts -- Jiribam, Kangpokpi, Tengoupal, Pharzol, Kakching, Noney and Kamjongin. A blockade was called by Naga groups to oppose the state's decision to create Sadar Hills and Jiribam as full-fledged districts. The United Naga Council -- the representative group of all the Nagas in Manipur -- said creation of new districts would bifurcate the ancestral lands of the Nagas living in Manipur. Although Jiribam was made a district, the same could not be done with Sadar Hills due to strong opposition from the Nagas. --IANS rup-il/nir/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Manipur Governor Najma Heptullah on Tuesday met DoNER Minister Jitendra Singh here, and said that she is personally interacting with different sections -- political and social -- to ensure peace and amity in the state. During the meeting, Heptullah also shared the written chronological record of various meetings held by her and the deputations received by her during the last two to three months over the development works in the state. According to an official statement, Heptulla was told that the central government is not only keeping a close watch on the recent developments in the state but also constantly offering all kinds of possible cooperation and assistance to the state government. --IANS rup/vgu/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian Police Service officer Abhijit Saptarshi has been adjudged 'Policeman of the Year' in Tripura for his outstanding performance in dealing with crime and other law and order situation, the state police announced. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on Tuesday conferred the award to 37-year-old Saptarshi at a function here on the occasion of the 'Police Week -- 2017'. According to a senior police official, Saptarshi as district police chief of West and North Tripura districts has done brilliantly to curb inter-state and domestic crimes, besides successfully dealing with many political troubles and agitations. Saptarshi is an IPS officer of the 2008 batch and hails from Mumbai. The official said Saptarshi, who holds a Master's degree in Science for Urban Policy, took some innovative steps bringing down the number of crime cases sharply in West Tripura in 2015 compared to 2014. The second battalion of Tripura State Rifles was awarded for being the best TSR battalion, while Kalyanpur police station in Khowai district was adjudged the best police station. Budhu Debbarma, a sub-inspector of police in Unakoti district, got the best investigator's award. The police week is observed in Tripura every year to evaluate the performance of the police administration and to bring the people-police relation closer. While addressing the police here, Sarkar asked all ranks of the state police to remain alert for possible terror situation in the state. "We have tamed the decades-old militancy in our state but the terrorists are not yet finished. They have hideouts and camps in Bangladesh. We should not be complacent in our success," Sarkar said. "Though the state government is trying hard to modernise the state police forces, the central government did not help the state appropriately," Sarkar said, asking the policemen here to deepen their friendship with the people. --IANS sc/in/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said there was a need to develop the concept of "scientific social responsibility" to connect leading institutions to all stake holders. Speaking at the inauguration of the 104th Indian Science Congress, the Prime Minister said that research needed to be strengthened in line with international standards. "On the lines of Corporate Social Responsibility, concept of Scientific Social Responsibility needs to be inculcated to connect our leading institutions to all stake holders, including schools and colleges," Modi said. "Our best science and technology institutions should further strengthen their basic research in line with leading global standards... Translating this basic knowledge into innovations, start-ups and industry will help us achieve inclusive and sustainable growth," he said. The Prime Minister said that by 2030, India would be among the top three countries in science and technology. "Science must meet the rising aspirations of the people." "We must address the problems of urban-rural divide and work for inclusive development, economic growth and employment generation. To enable this, there is a need for a new overarching structure that will coordinate with all the relevant stakeholders," he added. He said some of the important challenges for the nation were in the key sectors of clean water and energy, food, environment, climate, security and healthcare. "We equally need to keep an eye on the rise of disruptive technologies and be prepared to leverage them for growth. We need to clearly assess the challenges and opportunities for our technology readiness and competitiveness," he said. Modi noted that the Technology Vision 2035 document released at last year's Science Congress, was now developing into a detailed roadmap for 12 key technology sectors. Further, the NITI Aayog was evolving a holistic science and technology vision for the country. Union Minister for Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan, Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and others were present at the inaugural session. "Science & Technology for National Development" is the theme of the five-day Congress being held at Sri Venkateswara University. Six Nobel Prize winners from different countries such as the US, Japan, Israel, France and Bangladesh are attending the event besides about 14,000 scientists and scholars from across the country. It is the second time that Tirupati is hosting the Indian Science Congress, the first being in 1983 when the 70th ISC was held at the famous temple town in Andhra Pradesh. --IANS ms/ahm/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Myanmar government on Tuesday blamed fabricated stories and incorrectly captioned pictures for creating misunderstanding about Rakhine state to the rest of the world. The Information Committee of the State Counsellor's Office said the fake news posted on social of events purporting to have occurred in the country but actually happening in other places began to circulate in earnest after the October 9 armed attacks in Maungtaw. It brought criticism and condemnation to Myanmar by some countries and rights groups across the world. The Office said: "Such intentionally fabricated news and photos were sent to international media, human rights organisations and governments in an attempt to cause misunderstanding about Myanmar." --IANS py/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Israeli police have interrogated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over corruption allegations, a statement said. Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit said the interrogation ended at around 23.00 (local time) on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported. It was the first time the Attorney and the police officially acknowledged the probe conducted for months. Mendelblit said Netanyahu was interrogated over suspicions that he received "benefits" from businessmen. He confirmed that Netanyahu was investigated as a suspect, with "a slew of allegations that the Prime Minister allegedly committed offences in the field of integrity". The investigation led to several other affairs, Mendelblit said. The probe has been conducted for several months but in December the investigators found evidence that "changed the situation of the case", leading to Monday's questioning. Black screens were placed outside the Prime Minister's official residence here on Monday to keep the media out. Netanyahu's office rejected the allegations as "baseless". In a meeting of his Likud party ministers, he said: "They won't come to anything because there is not anything." Netanyahu is under criminal investigation over suspicion that he and his family received "favours", including gifts and money, from businessmen. According to local media, Ron Lauder, an American billionaire, was linked with the case. Lauder was Netanyahu's close friend until their relation soured. Lauder was investigated by the police when he arrived in Israel for the funeral of the late President Shimon Peres in September. Lauder then confirmed that he had given Netanyahu "various gifts and also financed a trip abroad for the Prime Minister's son Yair". --IANS py/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hopes of truce after days of crisis in the warring Samajwadi Party remained grim on Tuesday despite a last minute effort to broker peace between the factions led by Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son and Chief Minister amid a battle over the party's symbol, the cycle. On his return from New Delhi, a day after he claimed his right over the party before the Election Commission, SP chief Mulayam Singh was closeted with his son at his residence for more than three hours. Party veterans had hoped that the two sides would shake hands, two days after the son dethroned his father as the President of the ruling party in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. But they stuck to their guns, a party source told IANS in Lucknow. In middle of the meeting, Mulayam Singh called his younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav and the meeting concluded without making much headway, the source said. The source said conditions for the "peace deal" deliberated upon by the first family were the return of Mulayam Singh as the party chief but with a new nomenclature - founder President. would, however, hold sway over the decision making process of ticket distribution for the assembly polls due this year. It was also proposed that Shivpal Yadav, one of the nagging problems between the father and son, would be given a "larger role" nationally. reportedly stuck to his non-negotiable demands. Mulayam Singh was not ready for the "package" and soon it became evident that hopes of peace had dashed. Earlier, state Urban Development Minister Azam Khan went to Delhi to meet Mulayam Singh but was snubbed as the Yadav chiefian left for Lucknow in a chartered plane. Ram Gopal Yadav, who has stood firmly behind the Chief Minister and is considered the mentor of the Akhilesh camp, also made it clear that chances of rapprochement were very dim. He said not much importance should be attached to the Mulayam-Akhilesh meetings. In Delhi, Ram Gopal Yadav told reporters that Akhilesh Yadav commanded most of the Samajwadi lawmakers' support and that they deserved to get the party election symbol. "We told the Election Commission that most party MPs, MLAs and MLCs are with Akhilesh. So the party led by him is the real Samajwadi Party and it should get the party symbol." Meanwhile, former Chief Election Commissioner B.B. Tandon told IANS: "The EC will take a view on the evidence produced and both the parties will be given a hearing. "After that, the EC will take a final decision on allotting the symbol... It is likely one of the factions will loose the symbol, it can be frozen and they will be asked to choose fresh symbols." The number of North Koreans who defected to South Korea in 2016 rose by 10.9 percent as compared to the previous year, according to figures published on Tuesday by Seoul's Ministry of Unification. A total of 1,414 North Koreans had defected to the South last year, up from 1,275 in 2015, Efe news reported. The ministry attributes the increase to tough economic sanctions imposed by the international community and the United Nations on the Kim Jong-un regime for conducting nuclear missile tests. Moreover, a greater number of North Korean diplomats and labourers working overseas have defected to the South, including Thae Yong-ho, a top diplomat in the North Korean embassy in London and 13 employees of a Pyongyang-run restaurant in China, in the summer. This is the first time that the number of deserters has risen since 2011, the year when Kim Jong-un came to power and imposed strict control along the border with China, the main escape route of North Koreans seeking to defect to the South. In 2009, a record 2,914 North Koreans had fled the country and so far, a total 30,258 North Koreans have defected to the South. The two countries are technically still "at war" because the Korean Conflict (1950-1953) had ended with a ceasefire that was never replaced by a definitive peace treaty. --IANS ksk/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's camp on Tuesday told the poll panel to allocate it the election symbol 'cycle', a day after party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav made the same claim. Akhilesh confidant Ram Gopal Yadav met Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi to stake the claim. Ram Gopal Yadav later said: "We told the Election Commission that most party MPs, MLAs and MLCs are with Akhilesh. So the party led by him is the real Samajwadi Party and it should get the party symbol." Ram Gopal Yadav was accompanied by party leaders Kiranmoy Nanda, Abhishek Mishra, Rajya Sabha member Naresh Agrawal and Lok Sabha member and Ram Goapl's son Akshay Yadav to the Election Commission. According to informed sources, the Akhilesh faction showed videos of the national convention of Sunday in Lucknow with a large number of party workers electing the Chief Minister as the National Working President. The Akhilesh faction on Sunday dislodged Mulayam Singh as the party president. The meeting was termed unconstitutional and illegal by Mulayam Singh. Meanwhile, former Chief Election Commissioner B.B. Tandon told IANS: "The EC will take a view on the evidence produced and both the parties will be given a hearing. "After that, the EC will take a final decision on allotting the symbol... It is quite likely the one of the factions will loose the symbol, it can be frozen and they will be asked to choose fresh symbols," Tandon said. With Uttar Pradesh elections expected to take place this year, it may end up in both factions getting fresh party names and symbols, a source said. Meanwhile, party leader Azam Khan, who on Saturday brokered peace between the warring father and the son, arrived in New Delhi to meet Mulayam Singh, who apparently returned to Lucknow without meeting him. "He came to Delhi to meet Mulayam and try to bring the warring factions to the discussion table. But Mulayam unfortunately left before he could meet him," a party source said. --IANS aks-and/ahm/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Parliamentarians from Europe and North America along with speakers from Jammu and Kashmir will attend a seminar in Islamabad to discuss the Kashmir issue, an official said on Tuesday. The two-day International Parliamentary Seminar organised by 'Young Parliamentarians Forum' of Pakistan's National Assembly will commence from January 5, a Foreign Office statement said. The seminar is scheduled to be held in Islamabad in which guests from various countries including top Hurriyat leaders from Jammu and Kashmir, Syed Ali Shah Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik have been invited. Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, the National Assembly Speaker, Advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi are also expected to address the seminar. The seminar would analyze "various dimensions of the Kashmir dispute with a particular focus on its humanitarian aspect". It will also look into the "prospects of its resolution in the larger interest of the global security," the statement said. --IANS ahm/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam on Tuesday assured farmers that the government would pay compensation for crops damaged in drought on receipt of reports by different groups. He also said the government would provide a bag containing rice, sugar, cardamom, cashew and sugarcane as a Pongal gift to ration card holders to celebrate the festival. In a statement issued here, Panneerselvam said the government would form different groups comprising of ministers and officials who would tour the districts and submit their reports. Panneerselvam said based on the extent of the damage outlined in the reports, compensation would be given to the farmers. He said as per the central government's guidelines the state government could announce a district as drought affected only after a survey of crops in 10 per cent of the villages in each district. Paddy farmers could obtain a maximum insurance compensation of Rs 25,000 per acre while compensation for other crops would be based on the extent of damage, Panneerselvam said. --IANS vj/in/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Patients coming to the government health facilities here in Punjab no longer require to pay a registration fee, the Health Department said on Tuesday. A Health Department spokesperson said OPD (Out-Patient Department) registration will be free in the government multi-specialty hospital, civil hospital in Manimajra, Sector 22 and Sector 45 as well as dispensaries. "The registration has been made free in order to support the project 'Cashless City'," director of health services Rakesh Kashyap said here. The hospitals and dispensaries are visited by hundreds of patients daily. "This step will not only support the project, but also save the time of the patients who now stand in queues for getting the registrations done," Kashyap said. --IANS js/py/ap (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday greeted the people and the government of Myanmar on the eve of the country's Independence Day. Extending warm greetings and felicitation to the people of Myanmar and President U Htin Kyaw, Mukherjee in a message said: "India and Myanmar cherish our long standing close and friendly relations." "I warmly recall your visit to India in August 2016 when we reviewed our bilateral relationship and jointly identified the areas of shared interest where we would like to strengthen our cooperation to our mutual benefit." The President said he was confident that their "efforts will meet with success and contribute to the realisation of our respective developmental goals". Myanmar attained freedom from the British colonial rule on January 4, 1948 and became an independent republic. --IANS rs/py/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) House Republicans on Tuesday shelved their plan to weaken the independent ethics entity -- known as the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) -- that investigates accusations of inappropriate conduct by congressmen and other personnel just two hours after President-elect Donald Trump questioned the move. According to EFE news, to question the original motives of the lawmakers in his party, Trump wrote on twitter: "With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority." "Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance," the President-elect urged GOP lawmakers. The magnate signed his latest tweet with the letters "DTS", an abbreviation for his campaign slogan of "Drain the swamp", a reference to rooting out corruption in Washington political circles. In an urgent meeting behind closed doors, Republican House leaders -- Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy -- managed to impose their will on their fellow lawmakers and postpone the debate on the measure scheduled for Tuesday, a move that quells the mini-rebellion launched on Monday night by House Republicans in another closed-door meeting. In that Monday evening meeting, GOP lawmakers had voted to significantly restrict the power of the ethics office. The vote, taken behind closed doors and with no prior announcement, came during a meeting at which Ryan and McCarthy opposed the measure. On Tuesday, the newly-installed Congress goes back into session, with the Republicans having maintained its majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the November 8 elections. The measure to "gut" the OCE adopted by Republicans at the Monday meeting was proposed by lawmaker Bob Goodlatte and would have placed the independent entity under the jurisdiction of the House Ethics Committee, EFE news added. In that way, GOP lawmakers were apparently seeking to gain control over the OCE's monitoring role, ostensibly because the office in the past has ignored credible accusations of improper practices by certain lawmakers. The OCE was established as a non-partisan and independent entity within Congress in 2008 under the leadership of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, after several corruption and other scandals involving congressmen. In a statement on Tuesday, Pelosi had denounced the vote to weaken the office's power, saying that it indicates that "ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress." Goodlatte, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, meanwhile, had defended the move, saying that it is not intended to "impede" the work of the OCE. --IANS lok/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Restoring the production wheel in Syria's Aleppo city is a top priority for the Syrian government after the forces wrested control over the key city last month, said Prime Minister Imad Khamis on Monday, according to state news agency SANA. "Aleppo has never been absent from the government's concern," Xinhua news agency quoted Khamis as saying during a ministerial meeting held in Aleppo on Monday following its recapture. The delegation of 15 ministers was dispatched to Aleppo upon the directives of President Bashar al-Assad to evaluate the service and economic situation in the city. Khamis said the top priority of the government is the restoration of production in the city, by rehabilitating the industrial city of Sheikh Najjar all the way to the smallest workshop in Aleppo. He said that a work team will be formed to review the status of damaged factories and provide facilitation to its owners, as well as providing loans to those who wish to begin production. Following a month-long military offensive, the Syrian Army and allied fighters succeeded to wrest control on the rebel-held part east of Aleppo, after dislodging the rebels out of the city last month. Since then, thousands of people started returning to check on their homes to see what can be fixed and what needs to be rebuilt from scratch. Aleppo is Syria's largest city and was the economic capital of Syria ahead of the rebel attacks on the eastern part of the city in 2012. --IANS lok/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government has garnered over Rs 21,432 crore ($3 billion) through selling its stake in central public sector entreprises (CPSEs) during the first eight months of the current fiscal, representing nearly 60 per cent of the union budget's target, an official statement said on Tuesday. "The total realization of Rs 21,432.38 crore, by end-November 2016 through CPSEs' disinvestment receipts, constitutes around 59.53 per cent of the budgeted target of Rs 36,000 crore (CPSEs' disinvestment)," a Finance Ministry release here said. "During the current financial year 2016-17, the Government has so far realized Rs 23,528.73 crore, which includes Rs 21,432.38 crore through minority in 14 CPSEs and Rs 2096.35 crore through strategic disinvestment," which involves reducing government shareholding in the company to below 50 per cent, transferring, thereby, management control, the statement said. "The disinvestment target for the current financial year has been estimated at Rs 56,500 crore, comprising Rs 36,000 crore from disinvestment of CPSEs and Rs 20,500 crore from strategic disinvestment," it added. In October last year, the union cabinet gave in-principle approval to a proposal mooted by the NITI Aayog for strategic sale in public sector undertakings, including those that are making profits. During 2015-16, the government could manage to meet less than half the budget estimates of divestment at Rs 25,312 crore, as against the target of Rs 69,500 crore. The major divestments during the ongoing fiscal include the 15 per cent stake in National Buildings Construction Corp, which realised over Rs 2201 crore, the NHPC offer of sale (OFS) that yielded more than Rs.2,717 crore, NMDC buyback realising over Rs 7,519 crore and the buyback of shares by Coal India that earned the government Rs 2638.24 crore. South Korean police on Tuesday issued an extradition order to get back the daughter of the so-called "female Rasputin", the woman at the centre of the country's biggest corruption scandal, after she was arrested in the Danish city of Aalborg. The National Police Agency confirmed that it sent the request to Danish authorities through Interpol, Efe news reported. A Danish court has extended the detention of 20-year-old Chung Yoo-ra until January 30, pending her extradition. Chung was arrested in Aalborg on Sunday on charges of illegal residence in Denmark, after local police received information from a South Korean journalist about her whereabouts. She told the Danish authorities that she is willing to return voluntarily to her home country if she is allowed to be with her one-year-old son, Yonhap news agency reported. The prosecutors investigating the case asked Interpol on December 27, 2016, to place Chung on its red notice list after she was called to testify in court in South Korea. Chung's mother, Choi Soon-il, is believed to be at the centre of the corruption plot and influence-peddling that led to the impeachment in December of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who is now waiting for the constitutional court to decide whether the impeachment vote is valid. Choi, a close friend of Park, is accused of involvement in state affairs despite not holding any official government role, and of using her influence with the president to extort large sums from Korean companies, among other charges. The prosecution believes that the Samsung group, the country's largest conglomerate, signed a contract worth some 22 billion won ($17.4 million) with a company based in Germany owned by Choi, and also provided financial support for the equestrian training of her 20-year-old daughter. Choi, her daughter and her grandson were in Germany when the scandal erupted. She returned to South Korea on October 30, 2016, and has since been held in custody. --IANS ksk/ap (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Seoul, Jan 3 (IANS/Yonhap) South Korea reaffirmed on Tuesday that the planned deployment of an advanced US anti-missile system on its soil is a matter of national security, dismissing China's concerns that the deployment could target it. South Korea and the United States announced a plan in July to install a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (Thaad) battery in a bid to better defend against threats from North Korea. China strongly opposed the plan, saying that its strong radar system could hurt its strategic security interest. "Thaad deployment is a sovereign and self-defence action aimed at protecting our people's safety and lives from the evolving nuclear and missile threats from the North," foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-hyck said. "This is a grave matter of national security for which the government and the ruling and opposition parties should share a consensus and responsibility," he added. His remarks came in response to a question about a visit by eight South Korean lawmakers to China this week to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. They are expected to talk about the Thaad issue during the three-day visit which starts from Wednesday. The spokesman said that the ministry is keeping a close eye on the lawmakers' trip and having necessary communication with them. --IANS soni/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said set procedures were followed in the appointment of Army Chief General Bipin Rawat and all candidates were equally good. The Defence Minister told media if seniority and date of birth were the only criteria, computers could have selected the service chief and there would be no need to have a cabinet process. Parrikar also said all candidates for the post were equally good. General Rawat was selected as the new Army Chief superseding Eastern Army Commander Lt. Gen. Praveen Bakshi and Southern Army Commander Lt. Gen. P. M. Hariz, both of whom have been in service longer than General Rawat. The Defence Ministry justified General Rawat's appointment saying he was found to be the "best suited among the eligible Lt. Generals to deal with emerging challenges, including a reorganised and restructured military force in the north, continuing terrorism and proxy war from the west, and the situation in the north-east". --IANS ao-rs/ahm/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Art can be elusive, hard to grasp, not only because of the solid craft that one is required to possess to make something look good, but for most part simply for want of basic tools. This is where Joey Foster Ellis, an artist who likes to describe himself as a 'digital sculptor', arrives on the scene and shows the way, as he turns the 'gifs', that mundane file format, into spellbinding stop-motion art. "I find gifs the most transcending of art forms. You can take an everyday object and turn it into art. All one needs to do is to just observe things for longer than usual and to possess a slight knack for narration," Ellis told IANS at the recently held TEDx Delhi, where he was invited as one of the speakers. Gif (Graphics Interchange Format), pronounced as 'jif', is a file format used to create images and low-resolution animated clips. But gifs, however commonplace, did not captivate Ellis in the early part of his career, when he made sculptures using solid substance, including ice, like all other artists do. "I was a chef in New York, when I decided that I'd rather be making something which people eat off, than what they eat. And I landed up in China in 2009 and enrolled myself in CAFA (Central Academy of Fine Arts)," he said. Ellis did pottery in China for three years, exhibited an underwater sculpture-artwork in Indonesia, and showed his work at the Smithsonian Museum back home in New York, for an exhibition titled "40 under 40", before it dawned upon him tha,t just like clay, he too was "malleable". He next ended up in Qatar for a conservation science course, "an artist wanting to become a chemist". He found his scientist peers too unaccommodating there and the country too expensive. "Luckily, while doing the course there, I found myself a bit stretched financially. I had nothing to work with, but objects in my room and a computer. This hardship led to my dabbling in stop-motion art," he said. "This is when I started making real cool ghetto art, birthday cards, sorry-notes, in the form of stop-motion, till I got a call from this man who asked me if I would do a video for one of his electronic songs," he recounted. This proved to be a turning point in Ellis's career, which came at a time when he had started finding usual sculpting too static and lifeless. "Although, I am not a musician, I'm very passionate about music. When you go out at night you don't want to end up staring at a sculpture. There's something very static about sculptures, and I didn't like it," Ellis explained. The music video which Ellis worked on is a brilliant patchwork of narrative images, with an O.J. Simpson here (guilty, not guilty) and a Sridevi there (from the "Mr. India" song "Hawa Hawaaii") thrown into the mix, contributing to one trippy, psychedellic whole. As in his art-form, in his philosophy, too, Ellis is democratic. He emphasises that stop-motion art, such as his, can be created by anyone, provided that one is "true, honest and vulnerable", he says in a Hemingwayesque trip of tongue. "Vulnerability is very important to create art, so is trust and being honest to yourself. When you are vulnerable and honest, you are not forced to conceal anything from anyone, and you keep yourself away from fake reality," he expounded. Apart from these traits, there's one more aspect to Ellis's personality to which he attributes the manic nature of his work, that is, his condition of being a bipolar. "During the Beijing Olympics (2008) I worked on a project commissioned by the Chinese government, which demanded of me sculpting 100 statues of children from ice. I ended up making 150, and then fell to pneumonia. I worked ceaselessly during project, and I think I was going through one of my bipolar episodes where one gets an immense rush of restless creativity," he said. Despite the downside of such bipolar episodes -- a prolonged feeling of despondence -- Ellis covets these periods of hyper-mania (which is also a clinical term), which can have the potency to out-rush all other episodes which he's experienced so far, but can be devastating once it's subsided. Ellis, who likes to be called a "professional tourist", resists going back to his home in upstate New York, until he can see it with the eyes of a tourist. This unlearning he deems a part of work, which demands of him seeing objects always with a fresh pair of eyes. And it's this very ability that enables Ellis to enliven a stick of butter or a worn out pair of shoes, by turning them into gif art. (Vishal Narayan can be contacted at vishal.n@ians.in) --IANS vn/vm/sac (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a fresh blow to West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress, its Lok Sabha leader and former union minister Sudip Bandyopadhyay was on Tuesday arrested in the Rose Valley Chit Fund scam, its second MP to be taken into custody by the CBI in five days. The move, coming after the December 30 arrest of Trinamool MP Tapas Paul in the scam, sent political temperatures soaring, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee calling nationwide protests against the Modi government's "vindictive attitude". A crowd believed to be made up of Trinamool supporters attacked the BJP state headquarters here, leaving 15 activists injured in stone pelting. A few cards were vandalized. The Rapid Action Force was later deployed at the BJP office. Heavyweight Trinamool leaders, including ministers, MPs and state lawmakers, also marched to the Central Bureau of Investigation's regional office at Salt Lake demanding to meet their arrested leader. Bandyopadhyay, 64, a four-time Lok Sabha member and a minister of state in the Manmohan Singh government, was summoned by the CBI and arrested after questioning, the agency said. CBI sources said Bandyopadhyay failed to give satisfactory answers to many questions and was found to be uncooperative. He was being flown to Bhubaneswar for further questioning. He would be produced before a court on Wednesday. Bandyopadhyay went to the CBI office during the day after the agency issued the third summons to him for questioning in connection with his alleged role in the scam. Earlier, he was summoned twice in December but he skipped the meeting, pleading his engagements in Parliament. On learning about Bandyopadhyay's arrest, a fuming Chief Minister and Trinamool supremo Banerjee lashed out at the Centre and sought the arrest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah instead. She alleged the involvement of BJP and Akali Dal leaders with a chit fund company. She also claimed that Bandyopadhyay was arrested under pressure from the PMO and announced pan-India protests. "We strongly condemn the politically vindictive attitude of Modi and Amit Shah. They have arrested our Parliamentary Party leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay. He is a veteran politician and senior leader of our party. "It is all because of our fight against NoteBandi (note ban). Nothing can stop us from being with the people and we will continue with our protest against NoteBandi," she said. Banerjee also demanded the arrest of other leaders including BJP MP Babul Supriyo and CPI-M's Md. Salim and Sujan Chakraborty. "We will hold a demonstration in front of Kolkata RBI on January 9 and there will be dharnas in 10 states including Delhi, Assam, Odisha and Tripura on January 10 and 11," she said. "I also run a government and I also have the power to arrest certain people who are thieves, hooligans and extortionists," she said. TMC spokesperson Derek O'Brien said its MPs will protest against the Centre in New Delhi on Wednesday. As news of the arrest spread, hundreds of Trinamool activists took to the streets. BJP leader Piyush Goyal said the central government "never interferes" in any investigation process. But Congress spokesman Randeep Surjewala said the arrest was "nothing but vendetta". CPI-M leader Md Salim said Bandyopadhyay's arrest was "much awaited" and accused the Modi government of delaying it. The CBI had earlier arrested former Trinamool Rajya Sabha member Srinjoy Bose and suspended Rajya Sabha member Kunal Ghosh besides then West Bengal Transport Minister Madan Mitra for their alleged involvement in the multi-crore rupee Saradha group scam. Having cast its net across West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Odisha, Jharkhand and Maharashtra among others, the Rose Valley Group is alleged to have illegally raised around Rs 17,000 crore from the public after wooing them with false promises of paying high rates of interest. The group is also being investigated by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and the Enforcement Directorate which had arrested Kundu in 2015 and in September this year attached assets worth Rs 1,250 crore of the company. Central Reserve Police Force personnel were posted in large numbers near the BJP state headquarters here as an agitation and stone pelting by enraged Trinamool Congress activists continued for over three hours over the arrest of party MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay on Tuesday. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Secretary Rahul Sinha said the presence of the troopers, who provide security to him, was bolstered after his party's state headquarters was attacked by the Trinamool activists. "The Chief Minister has instigated the agitation with her comments after the Trinamool MP's arrest. In this situation, we do not feel secure under the surveillance of state police. "I get CRPF protection. For my security, more CRPF personnel have been deputed in view of the ongoing violence," Sinha told IANS. "Our workers, who got injured in the initial attack, have still not been shifted to the hospital. Trinamool is trying to terrorise us, but their tactics would not work," he added. Rapid Action Force personnel were also deployed to control the situation, city police said. As the news of the MP's arrest spread, hundreds of Trinamool activists took to the streets. Traffic had to be diverted from the Central Avenue in the heart of the city, close to the BJP headquarters in Muralidhar Sen Lane, due to the resultant chaos, police said. The Trinamool supporters shouted slogans and blocked the entrances to the BJP office. A few BJP workers bled from the head as they spoke to the media. Some cars parked in the alley leading to the office were vandalised and stones pelted at the building. The situation became worse in the evening as thousands of Trinamool supporters broke police barricades and jostled with police personnel posted in front of the BJP office. Police said no one had been arrested yet in connection with the violence. The BJP workers present in the office during the alleged attack said the assault was "pre-planned and unprovoked". "We were sitting inside the party office when some Trinamool goons attacked our party office and hurled bricks at us without any provocation. Around 15 of our party workers got injured in the incident," a BJP worker claimed. State BJP President Dilip Ghosh strongly condemned the attack. "This attack was expected. The Trinamool Congress has become scared after the arrest of their Lok Sabha leader and is resorting to violence. This shows who is doing 'vendetta politics' in the country," Ghosh said. BJP MP Roopa Ganguly accused the city police of not taking action against the Trinamool supporters involved in the violence. "Police could have easily arrested the people who were hurling bricks at our party office. But no action was taken as they were related to the ruling party," Ganguly said. --IANS mgr/ssp/nir/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Central Bureau Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday took Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Paul in custody for three more days for further interrogation in the Rose Valley chit fund scam. A special CBI court here granted the investigating agency the custody of Paul for the second time. Earlier, the court granted three-day remand. Sohini Paul, daughter of Tapas Paul, also appeared before the CBI here. She appeared before the agency for the second time. Sources said the central investigating agency quizzed Sohini on the designation she held at Rose Valley Group and monetary transactions by her. Notably, Tapas Paul was a director at Rose Valley Group. The Trinamool MP was arrested from Kolkata by the CBI on December 30. He was brought to Bhubaneswar by the CBI on December 31. CBI sources said the agency will bring another arrested Trinamool Congress MP, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, to Bhubaneswar for further interrogation. Bandyopadhyay was arrested on Tuesday by the CBI for his alleged involvement in the Rose Valley Group chit fund scam. --IANS cd/ahm/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President-elect Donald Trump's controversial tweet on the 193-member UN comes at a time when former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres has assumed office as its ninth Secretary General. Trump questioned the United Nations' efficacy, calling it a "club of people to get together, talk and have a good time". In a previous tweet, Trump also cautioned that when he takes office, "things will be different at UN". This tweet has brought out in open the vulnerability of the UN. It also speaks volumes of how one powerful nation, through its funding, can direct the functioning of the global body. There is widespread speculation that the Trump administration may defund the UN in whole or partially. The US contributes the highest share of 22 per cent to the UN budget. Of the 193 member nations, the top 20 countries contributed a whopping 83.78 per cent, while 173 countries contribute 16.22 per cent of the $5.6 billion budget for 2016-17. Of these, the contribution of 135 countries is as low as 0.1 per cent. Interestingly, the top 10 contributors account for 68.89 per cent of the total funds received. This proves how badly placed financially the UN today is. It is clearly an important area for the new Secretary General to free the UN from the supremacy of a superpower and build consensus to make every country equal at the UN table through an equal funding mechanism. The fundamental principle behind the global body is to ensure world peace. Unfortunately, people across the globe are facing serious issues of terrorism and human rights violations. Where does the UN stand today to address these basic issues affecting global peace? Critics are asking one question: Is the UN behaving more as a NGO today than as a global peace broker? According to these critics, instead of focusing its attention on terrorism and rights violations, the UN's scattered humanitarian development engagement in different countries is weakening its position as an acceptable global body. There are specialised agencies, NGOs, who are closer to the communities and with better local development solutions to address local problems. So, why should the UN enter these areas, the critics ask. While the UN's developmental budget is measured in billions of dollars, its Counter-Terrorism Centre has an annual budget of only $20 million. Statistics show that the total cost of terrorism amounted to $106 billion last year. This reflects how badly the world is affected by terrorism and is a reminder of the UN's basic mandate of maintaining world peace. The seriousness of the UN on terrorism can be explained with one recent example. The whole world knows that Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar is a global terrorist and operates from Pakistan to spread his terror activities in South Asia, particularly in India. But the global body failed to ban this person as a terrorist on the behest of China. The reason China has made every effort to hold back India's move is to please Pakistan for geostrategic reasons at the cost peace in the region. This move by China is helping terrorism to grow in the South Asian region. This is an area the new Secretary General should focus on. Another daunting task for the new Secretary General is to take open criticism positively and implement reforms to make the UN more relevant as a global peace broker. Today there are about 1,200 country offices of the UN around the globe in 100 nations with more than 10 UN country offices in each country. At these country offices, with a budget of $8-9 million and a staff of 5-6, 60 per cent of the resources go for operational expenses, leaving a small budget for programmes. Furthermore, many organisations within UN bodies have overlapping mandates. There are sectors such as water and energy and health in which more than 20 UN agencies are engaged and compete among themselves to tap the limited resources available. Ten years ago, the UN had formed a panel co-chaired by the then Prime Ministers of Mozambique and Norway and Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer to suggest reforms. The report was very critical of the way "UN officials had to almost beg for money from national governments, making it difficult for the organisation to do any meaningful intervention". The report also pointed out how large numbers of support staff doing ill-defined jobs account for 2/3rd or more of many UN agencies' outgoings. This is another area the new UN chief needs to focus on and take a call on something that is affecting the UN's efficiency. On the positive side, be it the Haiti earthquake, the Ebola outbreak or the Indonesian tsunami, the UN has delivered its services efficiently. But will the new Secretary General look beyond an NGO prism and build up a structure to make the UN a vibrant body for combating natural disasters and a specialised body as a peace broker as it is doing so well in Central African Republic Mali and Lebanon? (Sachi Satapathy is an international development practitioner. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at sachisatpathy@yahoo.com) --IANS sachi/vm/sac (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Turkish police have detained the wife of the Istanbul nightclub attacker who is still on the run two days after he killed 39 persons, media reported on Tuesday. The gunman came to Turkey from Kyrgyzstan on November 20 with his wife and two children. His wife was detained in the central Anatolian city of Konya, Xinhua news agency reported. The wife told the police that she learned of the attack from television reports and had no information about her husband being an Islamic State sympathiser. The IS claimed responsibility for the assault on Reina nightclub here in which the gunman opened fire at about 600 people celebrating the new year. As many as 69 persons were injured in the attack, with four being in critical condition. As the manhunt continues, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus on Monday said police had got the fingerprints and description of the attacker. He said authorities would soon be able to identify the attacker and "reveal the power behind him". Twelve suspects have been detained here over their suspected links to the attack. --IANS py/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The man suspected of shooting dead 39 people and injuring 70 at an Istanbul nightclub on New Year Eve before escaping is 28-year-old Kyrgyz citizen Iakhe Mashrapov, Turkish state broadcaster Trt said on Tuesday. Turkish Twitter users posted and retweeted a photo from Mashrapov's passport whose validity authorities in Kyrgyzistan were not immediately able to confirm, Kyrgyz news site AKIpress reported. Mashrapov's date of birth shown on the passport is August 2, 1988 and the document was issued on October 21, 2016, a month before he arrived in Turkey, according to Trt. The Islamic State jihadist group claimed the attack during which a gunman opened fire from an assault rifle inside the Reina nightclub, which was packed with around 600 New Year revellers. At least 27 of the dead were foreigners, Turkish officials said. A manhunt is underway for Mashrapov. His wife was arrested in the central Turkish province of Konya early on Tuesday and said she did not know Mashrapov belonged to IS, according to police sources sited by Britain's ITV channel. Filmmaker Vamshi Paidipally, who has announced that he is teaming up with superstar Mahesh Babu for a yet-untitled Telugu project next, has been allegedly accused of dishonoring an agreement to make a film for PVP productions. Producer Prasad V Potluri, in his compliant to Producer's Council, claims that Vamshi has breached their contract and is now making his next film with other producers. Reportedly, Potluri is planning to press charges in the court against Vamshi, who had directed last year's bilingual drama "Oopiri" in his production. "Vamshi is aware of the allegations and he's not making any comments because they are baseless. PVP claims that they incurred losses of Rs. 20 crore on 'Oopiri', as the budget shot up to Rs. 70 crore which is not true. 'Oopiri' is a very special film for Vamshi, and they are simply trying the malign it," a source close to Paidipally told IANS. Vamshi, who was unavailable for comment, will go on to direct Mahesh Babu for yet to titled film that will be produced by Ashwini Dutt and Dil Raju. It will be Mahesh Babu's 25th film. "There'll be no change of plans in Mahesh's project. More information regarding the commencement of shoot will be made official by the production team soon," the source added. --IANS hp/nv/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid a battle over the party symbol 'cycle', Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav went into a huddle here on Tuesday afternoon. The development surprised many as the two factions of the Samajwadi Party appeared headed for a split after the dramatic happenings of the past few days. Mulayam Singh flew into the state capital and within an hour Akhilesh Yadav drove to his bungalow. They were closeted for more than three hours, said an informed source. Midway, Mulayam confidant Shivpal Yadav, who the Akhilesh camp dethroned as the state unit chief on Sunday, was also told to attend the meeting. No further details were immediately available but the source said a "formula acceptable to all" was being worked out. The source said the prospect of the party symbol being frozen by the Election Commission had brought the two warring factions to the drawing board again. With assembly elections imminent, a division in the party and a freeze on the party symbol could render a body blow to the Samajwadi Party. Earlier, a delegation of the Akhilesh camp - Ram Gopal Yadav, Kironmoy Nanda, Naresh Agarwal and state minister Abhishek Misra - met Election Commission officials in Delhi and staked claim over the 'cycle' symbol. --IANS md/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid growing chorus within the party urging her to become the Chief Minister, AIADMK chief VK Sasikala on Monday announced consultative meetings with party functionaries, MLAs, and MPs from January 4 to 9 here, the first such exercise to be undertaken by her after being named the party General Secretary. The slew of meetings with functionaries comes against the background of several party units having already adopted resolutions asking Sasikala to assume the leadership in both the party and governance as general secretary and chief minister respectively. The brainstorming exercise assumes significance in view of growing chorus urging her to become the Chief Minister immediately. A senior party functionary told PTI that "it will be a kind of introductory, interactive meet," adding other matters may be taken up with the nod of the chair, an apparent reference to the growing "Chinnamma for CM," chorus. Sasikala will deliberate with constituency wise general council members, district office-bearers, MPs, MLAs, and functionaries at the levels of town, town panchayat and panchayat union. She will also chair meetings with district secretaries of party wings and allied bodies. In a party release, Sasikala said she will hold consultative meetings on "party activities," at the AIADMK headquarters here. On January 4, functionaries from Chennai, Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur, Vellore, and Tiruvannamalai will take part in the meetings. Notably, the DMK had already announced that its general council meeting will be held on January 4 wherein party treasurer MK Stalin is set to be given a larger role and is likely to be named as DMK's working president. While no meeting has been scheduled by AIADMK on January 5, functionaries from districts including Theni and Dindigul will meet Sasikala on January 6. Similar meetings have been scheduled for January 7, 8 and 9. Sasikala was appointed general secretary on Dec 29 by the AIADMK general council meeting here. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today reached out to his father and patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, but sources close to him said a rapproachment was possible only on Akhileshs terms, which include Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh be sacked from the party, that his list of candidates is accepted and his uncle Shivpal Yadav shifted to Delhi. In mid-October, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar offered his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Akhilesh Yadav, who is over 20-years his junior, a talisman: implement prohibition in Uttar Pradesh, just as he had in Bihar, and win the UP Assembly polls. The feud reached the Election Commissions door on Monday with party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav meeting officials to lay claim over partys election symbol bicycle. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his supporters are likely to knock at the doors of the EC on Tuesday with a similar request, which could then lead to the freezing of the symbol and the dispute likely to be decided after the state Assembly polls. 2016 was a mixed bag for the Culture Ministry as three sites made it to the World Heritage List and some stolen antiquities were brought back from abroad while appointment of Nehru Memorial director and government's stand on the Kohinoor issue created controversy. There was widespread cheer as the 40th session of World Heritage Committee meeting in Istanbul accorded world heritage tag to all the three nominations from India linked to the session -- Chandigarh's Capitol Compex, Sikkim's Khangchendzonga National Park and the ancient university of Nalanda in Bihar. It was the first time that a country got three sites inscribed in the Word Heritage List at a single session of the committee meeting. The year gone by also witnessed controversy erupting over the appointment of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library's (NMML) director after a prominent member of its Executive Council (EC) Pratap Bhanu Mehta quit allegedly over shortlisting of Shakti Sinha, who reportedly was a director in India Foundation, a think tank aligned to RSS. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US gave momentum to bringing back of 17 antiquities smuggled out of India with eight of them finding its way into country while the remaining are in the process. Three objects, including seated images of Buddha, are also in the process of returning from Australia. 2016 also saw government making a U-turn on the Kohinoor issue saying it will make all efforts to bring back the valued diamond after it had said in the Supreme Court that the diamond was "neither stolen nor forcibly" taken by British rulers, but given to it by erstwhile rulers of Punjab. Besides reconstitution of the Central Advisory Board on Culture (CABC), the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) Board was revamped with veteran journalist and former ABVP general secretary Ram Bahadur Rai coming in as its president in place of Chinmaya Gharekhan, a former diplomat who was appointed during the UPA-I rule. The government also released online 303 declassified files related to Subash Chandra Bose in 2016, a year when assembly elections were held in West Bengal. An intergovernmental committee of the United Nations also inscribed yoga in UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during 2016. A digital exhibition 'Uniting India: Sardar Patel' was organised by the ministry on the occasion of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas- the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Various commemorations, including those of Lala Lajpat Rai, Maharana Pratap, Tatya Tope, among others, were observed during the year. In a major initiative towards cleanliness, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) declared all its protected monuments and archaeological sites, over 3,680 in number, as polythene free zones. Culture Ministry sanctioned Rs 350 crore for providing facilities like protected boundaries, toilets and disabled- friendly access in all ASI-protected monuments. With tourists, specially foreigners, facing problems while purchasing tickets at various monuments after the November 8 demonetisation announcement, the ASI also initiated the process of installing point of sale (POS) machines, beginning with Red Fort and Qutub Minar, to ease hardships. An ancient camping site dating 9245 BC was discovered by ASI near Saser La Pass in Ladakh at an altitude of about 13,500-14,000 feet. The year witnessed National Monuments Authority (NMA) launching a portal that would help applicants get no-objection certificates within six working days for construction-related works near the 3,686 protected monuments in the country, a move aimed to improve ease of doing business. ASI also entered into an agreement with National Remote Sensing Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for preparation of satellite-based maps indicating prohibited and regulated areas of all centrally-protected monuments. It also ranked top 25 Adarsh monuments on the basis of cleanliness parameters such as amenities like toilets, green lawns, polythene free zone, drinking water and provision for garbage bins with 'Rani ki Vav (Gujarat)', a World Heritage Site, being announced as the cleanest iconic place in the country. Home Minister Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone of Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology of ASI at Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh. Besides holding Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav in various locations, including the national capital, during the year, the ministry also organised 'Festivals of India Abroad' in various countries, including Hungary, Morocco, Italy and Egypt. Festivals of India, are currently going on in Spain and Australia. A 40-year-old man was killed and his son injured after their bicycle was allegedly hit by a speeding erickshaw in outer Delhi's Aman Vihar area, police said today. The deceased has been identified as Charanjeet. The accident took place yesterday around 9:30 pm when Charanjeet was returning home from Nangloi along with his son Rohit (18). The erickshaw allegedly dragged the father-son duo for nearly 20 metres and when the locals heard the cries of the victims, they rushed out. The e-rickshaw driver has been identified as Shahrukh. Shahrukh, along with the locals, rushed Charanjeet and Rohit to a hospital where Charanjeet was declared brought dead while Rohit was discharged after treatment. A case has been registered against the erickshaw driver under relevant sections of the IPC at the Aman Vihar police station. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Aam Aadmi Party today released videos purportedly showing e-wallet company Paytm being promoted at a slum cluster by Delhi BJP leaders, who however maintained that they were "explaining the functionings" of government app BHIM. AAP spokesperson Richa Pandey Mishra alleged that BJP was playing the role of a "sales team" for the e-wallet company that has a Chinese company as its "biggest investor". "Paytm is sponsoring BJP rallies and BJP leaders are in turn promoting the company. Has BJP turned into a sales team of Paytm? BJP must be aware that a Chinese company is the biggest investor in that company," Mishra told a press conference. She was referring to an event organised by the BJP in Rajinder Nagar constituency's Inder Puri slum cluster, which was also attended by the party's Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari. "Our leaders were sharing the nitty-gritty of BHIM (Bharat Interface for Moneyapp) launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There is nothing wrong if Paytm had a presence as well as the company is well-recognised by the government. But it was not promoted by us," Delhi BJP media in-charge Praveen Kapoor said. At the presser, Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj also took a dig at Modi saying the scale of his rally in Lucknow did not reflect any impact of demonetisation, which has "crippled the lives of the masses". Another MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi hit out at Tiwari for "having proposed" that charity shows would be held for the development of unorganised colonies. "The BJP should rather get the files on unauthorised colonies passed which are stuck at the Centre," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Aam Aadmi Party National Convener Arvind Kejriwal today said the party has not yet decided about its chief ministerial candidate in Punjab. "We have not decided about the chief ministerial candidate in Punjab as the important issue right now is to liberate the common people from the clutches of Akalis", Kejriwal said "I will now personally stay here and look after the elections process in the state. The common people of Punjab are going to win this time," the Delhi Chief Minister said. He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lowered the significance of constitutional institutions set up under the provisions constitution of India and it is unhealthy for the future of largest democracy of the world. "Modi has lowered the significance of constitutional institutions which is unhealthy for democracy," he said. Kejriwal claimed that the mood of the people of Punjab is predictable now and they are going to "uproot the corrupt" Akali and Congress from state. "The model code of conduct will be announced in day or two then the people will come out in open in support of AAP. The Badal family is using state machinery against common people to curb their voice so there are waiting for the right time to react," he said in a statement here. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A group of activists, including some advocates, today announced launching of an anti-Manu campaign and demanded removal of Manu idol installed in the premises of Rajasthan High Court. "The Manusmriti has anti-women and anti-Dalit verses. With such scriptures, discrimination against women and Dalits cannot be eradicated. Hence, the decision to launch a campaign against Manusmirti was taken," advocate Premkrishna Sharma said. The anti-Manu campaign was announced in a meeting of activists here, which was attended by Dalit activists. The activists demanded that the idol of Manu installed in the High Court premises be removed. It was decided that a delegation would meet the Chief Justice of the High Court with this demand, Sharma said. Manusmriti is an ancient legal text. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid intense power tussle, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today met his father Mulayam Singh Yadav at his residence, leading to speculation that efforts were being made for a patch-up which the faction led by the Chief Minister discounted. Though there was no official word from either faction on the meeting, there were speculation about patch-up effort. However, some senior party leaders close to Akhilesh denied any such thing, saying it was "too late". Akhilesh reached Mualyam's residence here after the latter returned from New Delhi where he had knocked at the doors of the Election Commission to claim the 'cycle' symbol. The father and son were together for over two hours. Shivpal Yadav, Mulayam's brother who is at loggerheads with Akhilesh, also joined them after coming back from Delhi. At the airport when asked about the meeting, Shivpal said, "I dont have any information about the meeting. If 'netaji' (Mulayam) calls me I will go". After the meeting, a senior party leader close to Akhilesh told PTI that "it too late. There is no scope for any settlement. EC will decide who will have SP's cycle". Earlier in the day, Akhilesh, who was anointed by his faction as the SP president on Sunday, reportedly spoke to Mulayam over phone. Both Mulayam and Akhilesh factions of SP have staked claim over the party and its cycle symbol before Election Commission. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A wheelchair-bound Algerian terror suspect linked to Osama Bin Laden has won his 21-year legal battle to live in the UK, with the judge saying the threat of deportation has affected his mental health, it emerged today. The man, who can only be referred to as 'G' due to legal reasons, has defeated repeated UK government attempts to deport him despite being accused of helping to send young British Muslims to terror training camps abroad, according to British media reports. The wheelchair-bound man came to the UK to claim asylum in August, 1995 using a false French passport. But in 2001, the UK government decided to deport him after evidence emerged that he was a suspected terrorist and a risk to national security. The UK Home Office claimed he was an active supporter of the Algerian terrorist group Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC), which has links to Osama's terrorist network. "Your activities on behalf of the group and of extremist fighters in Chechnya include sponsoring young Muslims in the UK to go to Afghanistan to train for Jihad," the government told him in the court. In his long-running legal battle, G twice lost appeals to his deportation but because of human rights laws, the UK government has been unable to remove him to Algeria. Now in a ruling last month by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, Justice Collins said that G no longer poses a risk to national security and that limiting his right to live in the UK threatened his mental health. "I am satisfied as is shown by the history that there is now no reasonable need for limited leave. The possibility of removal is remote in the extreme," he said. A spokesperson for the UK Home Office said the government had received the judgement and was considering its options. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As prepares to take oath on January 20, he is having a much lower favourable rating among Americans than prior US President-elects in his ability to handle an crisis, use military force wisely and prevent major scandals in his administration, according to a new poll. At least seven in 10 Americans were confident in US President Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton in these areas before they took office. Forty-six per cent of respondents are confident Trump can handle an crisis, 47 per cent believe he will use military force wisely, while 44 per cent think he can prevent major scandals in his administration, Gallup poll said. However, Americans express somewhat more confidence in Trump to work effectively with Congress (60 per cent), to handle the economy effectively (59 per cent), to defend US interests abroad as President (55 per cent), and to manage the executive branch effectively (53 per cent), said Jeffrey M. Jones, a poll analyst with the Gallup. But even in these areas, Americans are far less confident in Trump than they were in his predecessors, when comparisons are available, Jones said. The results for Trump are based on a December 7-11 Gallup poll conducted via telephone interviews, with a random sample of 1,028 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia. The poll results are consistent with prior Gallup polling showing Trump having a much lower favourable rating than prior President-elects and a much lower approval rating for how he has handled his presidential transition, Gallup said. IPS officer Anil Paliwal, who took charge as BSF Inspector General, Rajasthan Frontier today, said his focus would be on best coordination of man and technology for stepped up and effective surveillance along the Pakistan border in the desert state. "I would focus on leveraging modern surveillance technology with better human resource utilisation for guarding the border," he said at the forces's frontier headquarter here. He also emphasised on better coordination among the intelligence agencies along with proper and timely assessment and steps based on the inputs provided by the agencies to ensure strengthened surveillance on border and adjacent areas. Referring to the scarcity of drinking water at the border out posts (BoPs) in Rajasthan Frontier, he said BSF will now resort to rain water harvesting to deal with the situation. For this maximum utilisation of various government-run schemes for water conservation will be done, he said. While talking to media, Paliwal said some work has been done to ensure availability of drinking water to the BoPs but still there are some parts on the border, where availability of drinking water is a big issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shares of Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar rose by over 2 per cent today after the company said it will seek shareholders' approval for the proposed sale of its co-generation power business to group firm Lalitpur Power Generation Company Ltd (LPGCL) for about Rs 1,800 crore. The stock gained 2.17 per cent to end at Rs 15.10 on BSE. During the day, the it surged 4.12 per cent to Rs 15.39. At NSE, shares of the company went up by 2.37 per cent to close at Rs 15.10. On the volume front, 11.54 lakh shares of the company were traded on BSE and over 46 lakh shares changed hands at NSE during the day. In a filing to the BSE yesterday, the company said that its board considered seeking necessary approval of shareholders by way of postal ballot "for sale of co-generation business comprising of power generation facility aggregating to 449 MW." Approval would also be sought for "entering into contracts/arrangements in respect of the aforesaid transaction with related party for sale of co-generation power business and also transactions of purchase of power and steam, sale of bagasse, bio-gas and water, right to use agreement for use of common facilities," it added. Last month, Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar had announced plans to sell its co-generation power business to LPGCL for about Rs 1,800 crore. Bajaj Hindusthan has 14 sugar mills with cane crushing capacity of 1.36 lakh tonnes per day and alcohol distillation capacity of 800 kilo litres per day. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP MP Ananth Kumar Hegde has landed in a controversy for allegedly thrashing two doctors and a staff member of a private hospital at Sirsi after claiming that they were not responding properly to his ailing mother. The CCTV footage of the purported incident broadcast by TV channels today showed Hegde holding a person by his neck and manhandling him, even as a nurse tries to intervene in vain. Images of two doctors who were reportedly injured during the incident were also aired but no complaint has been lodged by them with police. Hegde was reportedly agitated that the doctors were not responding properly to his mother who had fractured her legs and was taken to the hospital by his brother before he visited there last night. Neither the MP, who represents Uttara Kannada, nor doctors have offered their version of the purported incident. According to sources, initially both sides had planned to file a police complaint, but later came to a compromise, after the MP reportedly offered an apology. The local branch of the Indian Medical Association has submitted a memorandum to the District Assistant Commissioner seeking protection for doctors and hospital staff. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ruling BJP will field candidates in 37 out of total 40 constituencies in upcoming Goa Assembly elections and will support contestants in remaining three seats in Catholic-dominated Salcette taluka. "BJP will contest 37 seats and support others in Vellim, Benaulim and Nuvem," BJP state unit president Vinay Tendulkar told reporters here today. The party has already begun the process to shortlist nominees in various constituencies. Tendulkar said 22 candidates will be announced this week and rest later. He said the selection committee, also including Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, is meeting party cadres in each constituency before deciding about the contestant. "Till now the core committee of the party has met cadres from 22 constituencies. Entire process of meeting cadres would be over by January 9. The core committee will hand over the names to election committee before forwarding it to party's central election committee," the BJP leader added. BJP had won the 2012 Assembly elections in the alliance with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu has said party will fight election in Uttar Pradesh on developmental agenda and not on issues like Ram Temple and ruled out projecting any chief ministerial face. The "real alignment" is in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who he described as the "mascot of development" and a "bigger face". The Information and Broadcasting Minister said the anti-black money campaign has attracted people, specially from the lower sections of the society, towards BJP and it will further get momentum with the "fruits" of the ban getting "visible". "We have reports coming from UP, newer sections and people who were keeping a distance from BJP earlier, particularly sections of the lowest strata, they are all moving towards BJP after the demonetisation or remonetisation. "This will I am sure gain further momentum as the fruits of anti-corruption vaccine administered by Modi become visible," he told PTI. To a query about the party's strategy in Uttar Pradesh, he said, "There is no separate strategy for UP. You only have to convince people that they have seen SP, BSP and Congress for long. They have voted for Modi in the Lok Sabha overwhelmingly, and seeing the results at the Centre. But the fruits of development are not reaching UP, its villages, because of the delivery system of Uttar Pradesh is totally corrupt or incapable of delivery. So elect BJP, so that UP also can develop. That is the development agenda," he said. Asked whether the Ram Temple issue would be part of BJP's poll plank, an issue which earlier had played a key factor in Uttar Pradesh polls, Naidu said the subject is "dear" to the party but it will not be part of "electoral" strategy. "Temple was never an election issue. It is an aspiration of the people. But you (media) people ask questions ...And then we people respond.Temple construction is very dear to us. But that is not the electoral issue. Issue is development, development, development," he asserted. Asked about talk of rivals coming together to take on BJP, he said, "Mulayam Singh and son are falling apart, the son is coming close to the Congress party.....Let us see how it goes. But real realignment (is that) people are going with Modi...People of UP are looking to PM as mascot of development." To a query on the party's chief ministerial face party in Uttar Pradesh, he said, "We have a bigger face. We succeeded in Maharashtra without announcing a CM candidate, we seceded in Haryana, without a CM candidate. We seceded in Jharkhand without a CM candidate. "We have found that people are willing to vote for development and vote for party. The strategy differs from state to state. But in UP, we have decided not to project anybody as CM candidate." Alleging that Uttar Pradesh is not coming forthright in participating in the Centre's development schemes, he cited the state's lack of enthusiasm in sending proposals under his ministry's housing scheme for urban poor. After Centre wrote 14 letters asking the Uttar Pradesh government to send proposals under the housing mission,new proposals have been received. "Without standing in the path of the state", the Centre sanctioned whatever was asked for, Naidu said. "If I go to UP and tell this story, people will be up in arms against the ruling party. I never made it an election issue. But now I have to tell people that if you have a BJP government at the Centre and then have the same government in the state, then you will get benefit directly," he said. Striking a contrast between the NDA and UPA regimes, he said the previous Congress-led government could approve only 12.50 lakh houses in the 10 year period, while BJP government approved 14.70 lakh houses within a year of launch the scheme. "UP is a big state. Housing for All scheme has no meaning if it is not there in UP," he said, adding state's participation is important in the mission as houses the Central government sanction "requires land" which is a state subject. Stating that Delhi is the other state that has not shown in the scheme, he listed out names of various states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, that have shown interest in the housing scheme. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nusli Wadia's 137-year-old flagship and Manufacturing Company has drawn up a major strategy to revive its textile retail business and is looking for a turnaround in 2017-18. "We are reinventing and major investments are lined up," Nagesh Rajanna, the company CEO for its retail segment, said here today while announcing the company's revival strategy. The reinvention started more than a decade ago, soon after the company decided to exit textile manufacturing. "Manufacturing will be outsourced. From now till 2020, the Wadia group-owned company plans to invest more than Rs 100 crore in the brand, double its multibrand outlets to 10,000, more than double its franchise stores to 500 and introduce 3-4 new products every year," Rajanna said. Rajanna said these measures would help the segment more than treble its revenues to Rs 1,000 crore by fiscal 2020 from Rs 305 crore last year. "The retail in textile segment currently contributes 17 per cent to the company's overall revenue. It will expand to 33 per cent by 2020," he added. Stating that eastern India had a huge potential in the sector, Rajanna said that market share in this region could be enhanced from 12 per cent at present to over 20 per cent. Admitting that competition from cheap imports from China and the unorganised sector had rendered its factories unviable, Rajanna said is aiming at revamping the loss making flagship textile business by investing in the brand, expanding store network, growing product portfolio and tying up with international designers. The company is also setting up its in-house design studio and system for high-tech digital print to boost production in premium segment, Rajanna said. Adding tie-up was also being made with e-commerce like Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal to reach the product at the customer's doorstep. With its manufacturing plants divested, the company is attempting a makeover in the textile segment with a young team at the helm. "So, opportunity for bed and bath category is good for Bombay Dyeing, as people would become more conscious of their home decor," he said. Rajanna also said that the aim of the transformation of the textile business was "to reach millennials" with a change in product portfolio, wider reach and a change in the look and feel of the brand. The company has decided to outsource the entire merchandise to give itself flexibility in its production and products, Rajanna said. " retail primarily concentrates on the home textile segment which constitutes bed and bath linen," he said, adding "The organised industry in this business is worth Rs 1,000 crore but the unorganised players are worth more than Rs 45,000 crore." However, Bombay Dyeing would remain present in all price points focusing on the youth and infant category, besides maintaining its positioning in premium segment, Rajanna said. To attract customers, the company would have products from Rs 799 onwards in the bed linen category and Rs 199 in the bath linen segment, he said adding price of the premium category would start from Rs 7,000. A 20-year-old British chef who had gone to Syria to fight against dreaded Islamic State terrorists has died in the war zone. Ryan Lock from Chichester in West Sussex had travelled to join the People's Defence Units (YPG), the Kurdish military force fighting in northern Syria in August last year. The chef had no military experience. In a letter seen by the BBC, the YPG said he was killed on December 21 2016 in Jaeber village in the battle for the Syrian city of Raqqa. The letter offered condolences to the family of Ryan, given the Kurdish name Berxwedan Givara. "Ryan was not only a fighter providing additional force to our struggle. In fact, with his experience and knowledge he has been an example for younger fighters," the letter said. It added that while Ryan's family had lost "their beloved son" and "we the YPG lost our daring and courageous companion". "Ryan was a very caring and loving boy who would do anything to help anyone. He had a heart of gold. We ask for privacy to allow our family to grieve," his father John Lock said. Lock is believed to have joined Kurdish militia after telling his family he was going on holiday to Turkey. "The UK has advised for some time against all travel to Syria. Anyone who does travel to these areas, for whatever reason, is putting themselves in danger," a UK Foreign Office spokesperson said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The belief that one can continue to work without Internet and not having prior experience of using the web have emerged as some of the top barriers that stop people from going online, according to a survey. The survey -- conducted by ICT policy and regulation think tank LIRNEasia -- found barriers to adoption like respondents saying 'they can continue work without Internet' (75 per cent), not having required connectivity devices (73 per cent) and not having prior experience of using the Internet (52 per cent). The other barriers included respondents saying they believe using Internet is too complicated. Interestingly, India has close to 350 million Internet users, making it the world's second largest population online after China. However, this is under 30 per cent of the country's population and much lower than China's penetration rate of over 50 per cent. The LIRNEasia survey includes response from 1,329 people in Arain (Rajasthan) and Parvada (Andhra Pradesh) blocks. It was conducted to assess the interest and capacity of the users to use and access Internet in gram panchayats. P Vigneswara Ilavarasan of IIT Delhi, who led the survey, said, "The survey reveals that only one-third of them use Internet and nearly 70 per cent of non-users do not have any intention to use Internet in near future". The use of BharatNet is in single digit, which is a challenge as well as an opportunity for Bharat Broadband Network Ltd (BBNL) and the government as more institutional users are required to experience the benefits of Internet for demonstration effects, he added. For respondents using Internet, mobile Internet emerged as the predominant form of access with median spends of Rs 300. The top three activities done by individual users was reading information Online, listening to music and radio online and watching videos, the survey said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) IT firm Capillary Technologies today said it has appointed Ankur Saigal as its Chief Revenues Officer. In his new role, Saigal will be responsible for transforming the global sales and marketing organisation for the company's next leg of targeted growth. "I look forward to utilise my expertise and contribute to hyper growth scale through strategic planning, new vertical entry and sales process optimisation," Saigal said. Prior to this, Saigal was the Chief Business Officer at Funtoot, an edu-tech startup. He has also served as the Director and Head of Platform solutions for SAP in the Indian subcontinent. He is an alumnus of Indian School of Business (ISB) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. ***** Usha appoints Jayati Singh as VP-Mktg for Cooking Appliances * Consumer durables firm Usha International has appointed Jayati Singh as its Vice President-Marketing for Cooking Appliances and Sewing Machines. "At Usha, Jayati Singh will manage end to end marketing, product roadmap and portfolio development for the two categories. Her appointment will strengthen the marketing team in Usha and we are confident that she will infuse new energy into the system," Usha International said in a statement. "Jayati brings with her over 16 years of industry experience across FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) and FMCD (fast moving consumer durables) sectors with expertise in customer business development, market strategy and new category launches," it added. Singh has worked with Procter and Gamble and Philips India. ***** Terrorist activities decline due to demonetisation: Economist * Demonetisation has led to a decline in terrorist and Naxal activities in the country, JagdishShittigar, former member of Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister, has said. "Since national securityis an important concern, demonetisation wouldhelp in improving the security scenario in the country as is reflected 50 days after demonetisation," Shittigar said while speaking at the annual conference of Indian Economics Associationheld at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Veterinary University in Mathura recently. Noted economists Jagdish Bhagwati and Kirit Parekh stressed on providing better infrastructure for the success of demonetisation. Intellect Design Arena Q3 net loss widens to Rs 15.56 cr * IT firm Intellect Design Arena today posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 15.56 crore in the October-December quarter compared to a net loss of Rs 11.91 crore in the year-ago period. Its income from software product licence and related services, however, grew 17 per cent to Rs 226.4 crore, from Rs 193.7 crore registered during the year-ago period, it said in a statement. In dollar terms, the company's revenue stood at USD 33.57 million as against USD 29.39 million in the same period last year, representing 14 per cent rise year-on-year. The company said its Audit Committee Chairman and Independent Director Ashok Jhunjhunwala is likely to take up certain assignments with Government of India in the near future and has consequently, resigned from the board with immediate effect. In the said quarter, Europe accounted for 40 per cent of Intellect's revenues, IMEA 36 per cent, APAC 11 per cent and the Americas 13 per cent. ********* Sonata Software Q3 net profit dips 4 pc to Rs 38.7 cr * IT firm Sonata Software today posted 4 per cent dip in net profit at Rs 38.7 crore for the quarter ended December compared to Rs 40.2 crore in the year-ago period. Its consolidated revenues, however, grew 17 per cent to Rs 612.6 crore, from Rs 522 crore during the year-ago period, Sonata said in a statement. "Revenues continued to grow driven by growth in existing clients and acquisitions of new clients. It is a reflection of our strategy forward on key vertical offerings and digital platformation strategy based on IP and differentiated services," Sonata MD and CEO Srikar Reddy said. Punjab Congress President and former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh today offered prayer at Takht Harmandir Sahib here during the ongoing 'Prakash Parv'and praised Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for taking personal interest in making elaborate arrangements for it. With Assembly elections in Punjab round the corner, Singh accompanied by party in-charge for Punjab Asha Kumari, Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan and state minister Ashok Choudhary, reached Takht Harmandir Sahib connected with the 10th Guru Govind Singh and paid obeisance. He later arrived at the tent city at Gandhi Maidan and mingled with devotees who have thronged the place from across the world. He also served food to devotees at the langer there. Talking to reporters, Singh praised Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the arrangements for celebration of the 350th 'Prakash Parva' on the birth anniversary of Guru Govind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru. "Such congregations are organised in Punjab also by the Akalis, but I have never seen a wonderful and elaborate arrangement like in Patna," he told reporters. The Punjab Congress chief later visited the residence of Nitish Kumar and complimented him for taking personal interest in making elaborate arrangements for the Parva. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Central Bureau of Investigation remained in news in 2016 for some of the big arrests it made -- of ex-Indian Air Force chief SP Tyagi, Arvind Kejriwal's then Principal Secretary and judge Rachna Lakhanpal -- though it also had to do some firefighting over the apprehension of a senior bureaucrat who along with his family members committed suicide later alleging torture by it. 2016 was also supposed to be a year of leadership change but it did not happen with speculation doing the rounds that the government wanted to avoid selection of CBI chief during the tenure of Chief Justice TS Thakur, whose term came to an end on Tuesday. The federal agency hogged media headlines with the surprise arrest of SP Tyagi in the AgustaWestland helicopter purchase scam. The probe which was going on for last three years gathered steam with Rakesh Asthana, who was heading the Special Investigation Team probing the case, given additional charge of CBI director after incumbent Anil Sinha hung his boots on December 3. It was the first-ever arrest of a former chief of IAF by CBI. Tyagi was given bail by the special court with some tough questions for the agency to ponder over. Another major arrest was that of IAS officer Rajendra Kumar, principal secretary to the Delhi chief minister, in connection with allegations of graft against him. The high-profile arrest in the capital triggered a slugfest between Bharatiya Janata Party and Aam Aadmi Party with the latter accusing the Centre of targeting its government because of huge support the party was garnering in Punjab and Goa. BJP retorted saying Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia were "allowing corruption to take place under their nose". In a surprise, Congress too joined BJP in attacking AAP accusing it of indulging in corruption. In a rare action against a sitting judge, CBI also arrested Lakhanpal, a civil judge in Tis Hazari court in the capital, accusing her of allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 20 lakh in a case adjudicated by her. It was alleged that Rs 5 lakh was paid to her husband, who is a practicing advocate here, as one of the installments for the alleged bribe. The agency failed to arrest former liquor baron Vijay Mallya as he escaped to London taking advantage of change in lookout circular against him by it. The CBI continued to act in corruption cases against officials with over 500 of them at various levels booked by the agency. It filed chargesheets in 124 cases till October 31, as per latest data. However, the arrest of BK Bansal, former Director General in Corporate Affairs, in a corruption case brought a public relations crisis for the agency as the official and his family members -- wife, daughter and son -- committed suicide accusing CBI officials of torturing them. Bansal, who was arrested for allegedly receiving bribe from Mumbai-based Elder Pharma for favouring it in an inquiry, in his suicide letter accused CBI DIG Sanjeev Gautam of torturing him and his wife and daughter which forced them to take the extreme action. The letter, which carried the name of a top BJP functionary, sent the agency into a tizzy with inquiry being set in the episode and the officer asked to recuse from the probe of the case. Human Rights Commission also took note of the case and asked CBI to explain the conduct of the officials as alleged. CBI filed some important chargesheets during the year including one against Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his family members in a case of disproportionate assets against them. The agency alleged that Singh and his family members amassed Rs 10 crore of ill-gotten assets during his stint as Union minister. It also filed a chargesheet against former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi Maran and others in the illegal telephone exchange case. The CBI alleged that during June 2004 to December 2006, about 364 telephone numbers/lines were installed at Maran's residence at Gopalapuram, Chennai causing a loss of Rs 1.78 crore to the exchequer. The agency also filed chargesheet against Rajendra Kumar. The 1989-batch IAS officer was charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery under Indian Penal Code besides provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act along with eight others and Endeavour Systems private Limited. A CBI court today issued a prisoner transit warrant enabling the Enforcement Directorate to bring Paras Mal Lodha, who is jailed in Delhi after being arrested for alleged illegal conversion of over Rs 25 crore in old currency, and produce him in court here for remand. Lodha (62) was arrested by the ED on December 21 in "connection with the recovery of large amount in new currency notes from a company belonging to Advocate Rohit Tandon of T and T law firm (in Delhi) and J Shekhar Reddy of Chennai". The Enforcement Directorate today filed a petition before the CBI court Judge Venkataswamy here seeking Prisoner Transit (PT) warrant to question Lodha who allegedly helped Reddy in conversion of currency. Lodha is now lodged in a Delhi Prison. The judge issued the PT warrant enabling the ED to bring Lodha to Chennai and produce him before the court. Reddy and his associates were arrested by CBI on December 21 following the "seizure" of 127 kg gold and over Rs 170 crore in cash, including new currency notes, from their premises by the Income-Tax department in coordinated searches. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A CBI court here today extended the remand period of arrested Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Tapas Pal by three more days on a petition filed by the investigating agency. Pal, who was arrested by the CBI for his alleged involvement in the multi-crore Rose Valley chit fund scam, was today produced before the Special Chief Judicial Magistrate court, designated as the CBI court, after the expiry of his three-day remand. He was remanded to CBI custody for three days on December 31. Special Judge PK Mishra admitted CBI's petition and extended Pal's remand by three days against the investigating agency's appeal for a four-day extension. The CBI counsel argued in the court that the investigating agency could not interrogate Pal as the TMC MP kept sleeping most of the time and complaining about his health. Therefore, the agency could not extract facts from him, the CBI counsel contended. The court extended the TMC MP's remand period by three more days. During his earlier remand period, Pal had complained about his health and spent most of the time at Capital Hospital where he had to be taken twice, the CBI counsel told the court. He added that the actor-turned-politician was arrested for his alleged links with Rose Valley Group which cheated the people to the tune of about Rs 17,000 crore in different states, including Odisha and West Bengal. Rose Valley had allegedly taken Rs 450 crore from its poor investors in Odisha, a chargesheet filed by the CBI in January 2016 had said. Meanwhile, Pal's daughter Sohini Pal appeared before the CBI here for the second consecutive day. CBI sources said she was quizzed on the designation she had held in Rose Valley Group and monetary transactions by her during her tenure in the company. Tapas Pal, while working as a director of Rose Valley Group in 2010, had allegedly appointed his wife, daughter and niece in different positions. He was arrested from Kolkata by the CBI on December 30 and brought to Bhubaneswar on December 31. China has started an overhaul of its salt industry, easing a monopoly that has existed in some form for more than 2,000 years and predates the Great Wall. New regulations went into effect at the start of this year. Under a plan published by China's State Council last year, government regulators will allow private companies to enter the salt market. Existing wholesalers will be allowed to operate outside their previously designated areas, run marketing campaigns and introduce "modern ways of distribution." Government planners will retain supervision over retail pricing to "prevent abnormal fluctuations," but prices will otherwise be set by the market, according to the State Council. Dynasties dating back more than 2,000 years have tightly controlled how salt is manufactured and sold. Under Communist Party rule, government planners and salt manufacturers have worked hand in hand to set production targets and prices, with a special police force sniffing out and shutting down private producers. State media reported in 2013 that Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group's online marketplace, Taobao, cracked down on unauthorised salt vendors. But China has pledged in recent years to open up its economy to more private and foreign competition and make government-run companies more competitive. Its handling of salt, a tiny segment of the economy compared to other state-dominated industries, could be a test of those promises. Store managers and observers of the market told state media that they are hopeful that salt prices will soon fall and that new salt products will arrive on shelves. But Zou Jialai, a Shanghai lawyer who has represented private companies in salt-related cases, cautioned against trumpeting an end to the monopoly. Zou said he expects state-owned firms to continue to control how salt is sold here, but with more competition than before. "I want to say that it is not reform; it is just an improvement," Zou said. "The monopoly is still on, and it is improper. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Chinese government has imposed travel restrictions on Tibetans in Tibet in a bid to block their travel to India to attend the Kalachakra teachings, sources in Tibetan 'government-in-exile' claimed today. emanating from Tibet reported that the Chinese government began confiscating passports from Tibetans in Tibet since November this year, they said. Nepali media reported that "China has reportedly issued a temporary travel restriction on its citizens visiting Nepal and asked its travel agencies and airlines to cancel all travel plans and bookings made until January 10 with immediate effect." According to these sources, Chinese authorities have instructed the family members of the pilgrims to inform them to return to Tibet by January 3 before the Dalai Lama begins his teachings. Kalachakra means wheel of time or "time-cycles" and it is usually used to refer to a complex teaching and practice in Buddhism. The sources quoted a Tibetan pilgrim who chose to remain anonymous as saying that the authorities had taken signatures from their family members to make sure that the pilgrims have been informed and that they must return to Tibet. In the light of these developments, the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama addressed the Tibetan pilgrims in Dharamsala, Delhi and Bodh Gaya advising them not to be disheartened. He said that during the Kalachakra initiation, which runs for three days -from January 11-13 - Tibetans in Tibet whose faith and devotion remain invincible and stands undefeated, can pray from inside Tibet. "From the Kalachakra ground, I will keep the Tibetans inside Tibet in my deepest prayers." The Dalai Lama said there is a substantial number of Chinese Buddhists in mainland China wishing to attend the Kalachakra and that he will remember them in his prayers. "Distance cannot dampen the sacred ties between a lama and a disciple. You can all pray from the far-flung areas in Tibet and I assure you that you will receive the Kalachakra empowerment," said the Dalai Lama who arrived in Bodhgaya on December 28. The Kalachakra initiation began with a ritual preparation on January 2 and will end with a life-long prayer ceremony on January 14 and is streamed live on Tibet TV's youtube (www.Tibetonline.Tv) and facebook page. The 34th Kalachakra initiation is being organized by Central Tibetan Administration for the first time in Tibet's history. The 13-day religious gathering will draw over 200,000 devotees from across the globe, officials in the Tibetan 'government-in-exile' said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China continued to flex its muscles in the (SCS), with its first aircraft carrier conducting exercises in the disputed area with a flotilla of naval ships amid tensions with the US following President-elect Donald Trump's telephone call to the Taiwanese President. A naval formation consisting of aircraft carrier Liaoning has conducted take-off and landing drills in the SCS on Monday, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted an official as saying. The formation, which is on a "cross-sea area" training exercise, involved J-15 fighter jets, as well as several ship-borne helicopters, the official said without mentioning specific numbers. Complex hydrological and meteorological conditions in the SCS, as well as a cold front in the area, have posed some challenges, but the drill provided important experience in the build-up of combat capability of the aircraft carrier formation, he said. Chinese officials also say that the carrier is conducting a series of exercises to test its systems and to work out an appropriate formation of ships and submarines to move along with it. Liaoning, a refit of a Soviet-era warship, has been pressed into exercises in the middle of last month during which it conducted maiden live fire drills on a massive scale along with a host of naval ships, aircraft and submarines, four years after it was commissioned. China is currently building its second aircraft carrier. The Chinese navy said the drills conducted in the Bohai Sea involved dozens of ships and aircraft as well as several air-to-air, air-to-ship and ship-to-air missiles. Liaoning has been conducting exercises since then and even travelled close to Taiwan in a show of strength. The exercises followed as China struck a more aggressive posture over the disputed SCS issue amid Trump's rhetoric over One China policy. Trump made an unprecedented phone call to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, drawing strong diplomatic protests from Beijing. Subsequently, the Chinese navy also seized an unmanned underwater vehicle of the US in the SCS and returned it about a week later, saying that it picked the unidentified drone to ensure safety of navigation. China has become more assertive over the SCS after an tribunal struck down its claim over almost all of the area. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have counter claims over the SCS. China has tightened border rules in Tibet, extending the already stringent rules to ports, trade zones and scenic spots, citing growing incidence of "separatist and terrorist activities" amid efforts to make the remote Himalayan region South Asia's trade hub. The designated border areas under Sunday's new regulation now include land ports, trade zones and scenic spots, expanding the scope of the old regulation that has been in effect since 2000, state-run Global Times reported late yesterday. As Tibet further opens up with fast economic development, border areas have witnessed more disputes and diverse criminal activities, including those involving separatism, illegal migration and terrorism, the report quoted Badro, deputy head of the Tibet border police, as saying. It also quoted Wang Chunhuan, deputy director of the Theoretical Marxism Institute of the Tibet Academy of Social Sciences (TASS) who backed the amendment, explaining what the update in rules meant. "The update of border regulation provides a legal foundation to combat potential terrorist activities in the future brought by the further opening-up of Tibet as the Belt and Road initiative has positioned Tibet as a gateway to South Asia, even though the border areas do not face severe terrorist challenges at present in general," Wang said. The new regulations came as China is trying to make Tibet a hub for trade and transport to South Asia through Nepal with road and rail connectivity. While the previous pro-China Nepalese Prime Minister, K P Sharma Oli, had signed a transit trade deal with Beijing in March last year to counter Nepal's dependence on India, his successor Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda is under pressure to implement the deals. China also agreed his request to build a strategic railway link between the two countries from Gyirong, the last Tibetan county which shares border with Nepal. China plans to extend the railway later to India and other South Asian countries to promote trade. Last month, China formally launched a rail and road cargo service linking Tibet and Nepal with dozens of trucks carrying USD 2.8 million worth of goods. Tibetan refugees have been alleging that Nepal is cracking down hard on the Tibetans leaving the Himalayan region to visit the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala. Official reports say that Tibet economy is booming. Tibet reported a total trade volume of more than 5.66 billion yuan (USD 815 million) in 2015, engaging in bilateral trade with 77 countries and regions including with India through the border point in Sikkim, the Global Times report said. It also received more than 23 million tourists last year, a 15 per cent year on year increase, state-run Xinhua agency reported today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Chinese court today commuted the death sentence of a businesswoman, who was found guilty of fraudulent fundraising, to life imprisonment. Su Yenyu, 45, was sentenced to death by the Erdos Intermediate People's Court and the higher people's court in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in 2013 for cheating investors out of 1.23 billion yuan (USD 177 million). However, the Supreme People's Court remanded the case in March 2015, upon consideration that Su had surrendered herself to the police. Erdos Intermediate People's Court retried the case publicly in July 2016 and commuted the sentence to life in prison today. She was also deprived of political rights for life, and all her personal property was confiscated. Su began illegally raising money in 2006 and cheated investors out of 1.23 billion yuan, luring them with promises of high returns, and personally misappropriated 552 million yuan. She used the funds to invest in restaurants, health clubs, coal mines and farms, as well as to buy property, cars, lottery tickets and jewelry for herself, state-run Xinhua agency reported. She burned all documents related to her business between 2006 and October 2009 out of fear her illegal acts would be exposed. She surrendered to police on September 20, 2011. Ren Wenxiang, who supported Su's endeavours, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison and fined 500,000 yuan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A former official of China's Food and Drug Administration has been jailed for taking bribes from vaccine manufacturers, reports said today, in a case with echoes of a major scandal that rocked the Asian country last year. Yin Hongzhang, the former deputy director of the administration's drug testing centre, received a 10-year sentence and was fined 500,000 yuan for taking bribes to help vaccine manufacturers gain approval for their drugs, China's Legal Evening newspaper said. His wife and son earlier received prison sentences for participating in the scheme and accepting property and bribes worth 3.56 million yuan (USD 510,000), including ivory products worth 180,000 yuan, it said. Yin was taken into custody in April 2015 and charged with taking payouts in relation to four biotech firms' efforts to obtain government permits for a variety of vaccines, including for SARS and avian flu. The sentence follows the March revelation of a massive vaccine scandal that enraged the Chinese public. That case involved the improper storage, transport and sale of tens of millions of dollars' worth of vaccines -- many of them expired. No one was believed to have been harmed, but the story still provoked outrage in a country where families, who were long limited to one child by government policy, fiercely protect their offspring. Public fury erupted after a report revealed that information about the case had been suppressed by authorities, who had arrested two key suspects nearly a year earlier. From 2010, the pair, a mother and daughter from Shandong province in eastern China, sold 25 different kinds of expired or improperly stored vaccines worth more than 570 million yuan (USD 88 million), the official Xinhua agency reported at the time. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CBI's petition challenging the bail granted to former IAF chief S P Tyagi in AgustaWestland chopper scam case on the ground that he could allegedly "hamper" the probe will be heard on January 9, the Delhi High Court today said. The plea filed by the probe agency came up before Justice I S Mehta, who fixed it for hearing on next Monday after Tyagi's counsel said they would file a reply on the petition. Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, told the court that their plea challenges the bail granted by a trial court to Tyagi on December 26. "This is a petition challenging grant of bail. On the last date, the high court had issued notice on the petition and had observed that today the endeavour will be to finish the matter. There is some urgency," Mehta told the court. To this, the court said, "renotify the matter for Monday for reply, if any, and disposal". On December 30, the high court had sought Tyagi's response on CBI's plea challenging his bail in the case. The agency had alleged that he could "hamper" its probe and "alert" other accused if he remained out of custody. 71-year old Tyagi, who was arrested by CBI on December 9 along with Sanjeev Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan in the case relating to alleged irregularities in procurement of 12 VVIP choppers from UK-based AgustaWestland during the UPA-2 regime, was granted bail by a trial court on December 26. During the earlier hearing, the agency had claimed in the high court that if Tyagi remained out on bail, he could "alert other potential accused". The agency had also said that its probe was "multi-layered" as it was spread across several countries since various companies were allegedly used to "camouflage the bribe money". CBI had admitted before the high court that though FIR was registered in 2013, the "real core investigation started only a few months back" and therefore, it did not want Tyagi to be out on bail till the charge sheet is filed. A trial court had granted bail to Tyagi, who had retired as IAF chief in 2007, saying CBI has failed to state the alleged bribe amount and when it was paid. While granting the relief, the trial court also took note of Tyagi's advancing age and his health conditions and said no purpose would be served by keeping him behind the bars. CBI had earlier argued before the trial court that Tyagi had allegedly "abused his official position" and during his tenure as the air chief, he had made huge investments in land and other properties and not disclosed the source of his income. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Alleging phenomenal rise in the fortunes of a London-based company during former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna's tenure, Chief Minister Harish Rawat's media advisor and spokesman Surendra Kumar today asked the Centre to institute a Enforcement Directorate probe into the matter. Kumar alleged that the London-based subsidiary of an Indian firm that was worth just 50,000 pounds in 2011 became worth 250 million pounds in 2012-13 when Bahuguna was the chief minister of Uttarakhand. "Now that Bahuguna is with the BJP which claims about crusading against corruption, it is the party's moral responsibility to ask the Centre to have the dramatic rise in the company's earnings investigated by the Enforcement Directorate," he demanded. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Commerce Ministry today said it has convened a meeting of senior Indian officials from Geneva to discuss all WTO related issues, including the proposed trade facilitation pact in services. "I am having a review this month. Calling all WTO people from Geneva to talk about what is actually happening (in WTO) and where are we post-Nairobi," Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters here. She said that the proposal floated by India in WTO to start negotiations for a trade facilitation agreement in services will also be deliberated upon in the meeting, which is expected to be held by mid-January. "Geneva team is called so that it becomes part of the Argentina Ministerial meeting in December this year," she added. India is pushing for a trade agreement (TFA) on services as members of the global trade body WTO have concluded a similar pact for the goods sector. The proposal aims at easing movement of professionals and cut transaction costs. On the proposed mega trade deal RCEP, she said talks are progressing. The 16-member bloc Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) comprises 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam) and their six free trade agreement partners -- India, China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. RCEP negotiations were launched in Phnom Penh in November 2012. The 16 countries account for over a quarter of the world's economy, estimated to be more than USD 75 trillion. Asked whether the negotiations could be concluded this year, she said "All are keen but we have lot of work to do". Talking about continuation of interest subsidy scheme for exporters in the forthcoming Budget, the minister said it is a successful programme and her ministry is telling the Finance Ministry that the "momentum has to be kept up". "So even in the coming Budget, I do not see an issue about interest subvention," she said. She also said that all export related issues will be discussed in the Board of Trade meeting on January 5 here. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Communist party official in China was today sentenced to life for accepting bribes worth over USD 9.8 million. Liu Guoqing, a former Communist Party chief of Zhumadian city in central China's Henan Province was sentenced to life in prison, state-run Xinhua agency reported. Xuchang City Intermediate People's Court in Henan Province convicted Guoqing of accepting bribes totalling 67.99 million yuan (USD 9.8 million) and 100,000 Hong Kong dollars when he held the posts of deputy head of the provincial public security department, as well as mayor and Communist Party chief of Zhumadian. Liu accepted the bribes to help others with promotion and construction projects, the court said. He was deprived of his political rights for the rest of his life, and all his personal property was confiscated. Liu said he will appeal the verdict. Thousands of officials were punished for corruption in China in the anti-graft campaign initiated by Chinese President Xi Jinping in the last four years. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress today appointed Himachal Pradesh Transport Minister G S Bali as its observer for the the state Assembly elections. "A letter of Madhusudan Mistry, AICC general secretary, has been received after clearance from Congress president Sonia Gandhi in this regard," a spokesman at Bali's office said. Meanwhile, Bali, after laying the foundation stone for a bus stand in Nupur, said if the state government can provide crores in subsidy for electricity and food grains every month then it can also provide the unemployment allowance. "I, Vidya Stokes and Mukesh Agnihotri were there in committee to find out feasibilities to gather money for unemployment allowance, and the report has already been given to the CM," he claimed. On talks of relations between him and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh being "tense" on the umemployment allowance issue, the Minister said, " I have good personal relations with the CM, and these will remain till death." Earlier too, during a December 24 rally of Rahul Gandhi, Bali had attacked his government on the issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jammu and Kashmir Minister Sajjad Gani Lone, former separatist leader, today tore into Congress in the Assembly, accusing it of being responsible for killings in the Valley for decades and now "indulging in theatrics" over deaths that took place during unrest last summer. Sajjad also countered opposition attack over use of pellet guns which have been responsible for widespread injuries, saying it was the National Conference government which had introduced these weapons for mob control in the Valley. "Nawag Rigzin Jora (CLP Leader) has started a new term of unholy alliance and those whom you (Congress) mug down in last 40 or 50 years where holy. Do you have any account how many people have you killed, if there is any political party which is number one in terms of killings, is Congress", he said in J&K Assembly on the debate on Kashmir situation here. Taking a dig at the opposition NC and Congress, Sajjad said, "I don't think that the opposition has a bit of sorrow for those who were killed instead they are score settling." He said "My only request to the opposition is let us not treat those killed as ornaments, ... Who likeskilling their own people. We are not security experts, it is they (Opposition) who brought the pellet guns and in an emergency they were issued and police had to used them". "The point is that if pellets were brought why did you bring it, did you bring it to play holi", he added. Hitting out at Congress for denial of passport and visas to him and his children, Sajjad said "I will tell you a personal thing, I am thankful to the BJP, I am saying it personally, I am thankful that they (Congress) did not give me passport for 10 years, they did not give Visa to my children, you come here and talk about human rights, you don't have". "The BJP government came, God bless them, they not only gave me passport but visa to my children. You talk of communal riots but ...One thing I will tell you about Congress, that be it corruption or communal riots you top in both", he said. He blamed the opposition of "indulging in theatrics over the killings in Kashmir." "The NC and Omar Abdullah had to cross thousands of dead bodies to reach here, be it 1987 or 1996. Are you saying that those killed when NC is not in power are more sacred then the ones killed when NC was in power," Sajjad said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress has been conducting a survey across the country to figure out the number of people who lost their jobs after demonetisation, a senior party leader said. "Party has told all its district presidents across the country to collect information about the jobs lost due to demonetisation," former Delhi minister and Congress leader Arvinder Singh Lovely told reporters here. Lovely was here to review the preparations of the party's proposed countrywide agitation on January 6 against demonetisation. "Along with the job lost, the party's district chiefs and leaders will also gather information about various problems being faced by people due to this move," he added. He informed that the party would hold a conference of its leaders in Delhi on January 11. Lovely said that the ruling BJP regime at the Centre has not only put restrictions on money withdrawal but is also telling people how to spend their money. "This is an attack on the people's freedom provided by the Constitution. The Centre is telling people how to spend their money," he added. Ex-Delhi Minister alleged that the government has handed over the control of Indian economy to Chinese companies involved in the digital transactions business. "Before Diwali, they were giving call to boycott Chinese crackers. Now, they are handing over the control of Indian economy to Chinese digital companies," he said, adding, demonetisation has failed across the world leaving behind the country into the trap of long-term economic slump. MP Congress Committee Chief Arun Yadav said that the party would continue to hold programme to create awareness against the demonetisation throughout the month. "We have scheduled programmes throughout the month of January. The party leaders would go to public and hold interactions, launch mass contact programmes among others to raise awareness among them on the issue," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The accused in sexual assault cases can be convicted even in the absence of any medical evidence if the testimony of the victim is found "truthful and trustworthy", a sessions court here has said while upholding the conviction of a juvenile for sodomising a 10-year-old boy. "Forensic evidence in sexual assault cases is only a piece of corroborative evidence and if the testimony of the victim is found truthful and trustworthy even in the absence of any medical evidence, the accused can be convicted," Additional Sessions Judge Gautam Manan observed. The court, while dismissing the appeal of the juvenile, a north Delhi resident, against a Juvenile Justice Board's 2015 order by which he was sent to a special home for two years for the offence of sodomy, relied on the victim's testimony, saying it was consistent. "It would be seen that court has over the years attributed testimony of child witnesses same kind of credibility that it attached to statement of any other witness if the testimony is consistent. In the present case, the victim is consistent on material particulars with regard to incident of sexual assault on him," the judge said. The juvenile offender was held guilty of offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and section 377 (unnatural offences) of IPC. According to the compliant, on March 21, 2014, the victim was sodomised by the convict and his adult associate. It was alleged that the duo tied his hands and gagged his mouth before sodomising him. In his appeal before the sessions court, the juvenile had contended that there is no forensic evidence to connect him with the crime. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A three-day crucial central committee meeting of CPI(M) will convene here from January 6 to work out the political strategy to be adopted in the upcoming Assembly polls to be held later this year and deliberate on national issues. It is for the first time that the Kerala capital is playing host for the party's high-level meeting, though it had been the venue for several significant party events, including special party meeting and Party Congress. The three-day meeting, which will conclude on January 8, will be attended by all central committee members of the party from across the country. It is significant that the central committee is being held in Kerala, seven months after the party-led LDF, headed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, assumed the office. As a prelude to the central committee, the Politburo meeting would be held at the AKG Centre, the party headquarters here, on January 5, CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told reporters here today. "It is a usual practise to hold central committee meetings in places outside Delhi during the months of January and February. It was held in Hyderabad, Chennai and Calcutta before. It is for the first time that the central committee is convened in Thiruvananthapuram," he said. The central committee was convened in Kerala, Kochi and Kozhikode cities before, he said. The meeting would discuss various national issues, the present political scenario at the national level and the stand to be taken by respective state leaderships of CPI(M) in the coming Assembly elections in states, including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab,he said. "A public meeting will be held on January 7, the second day of the central committee, at Putharikkandam maidan here. Senior party leaders, including General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and veterans like Prakash Karat, Manik Sarkar and Brinda Karat will attend the programme," he said. Meanwhile, when asked about the quick verification ordered by vigilance against state Minister for Cashew Development J Mercy Kutty, Balakrishnan said there was nothing unusual in conducting an enquiry when a complaint was received. He also dismissed the opposition's demand for the resignation of the minister in view of the QV. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Social activist Anjali Damania today met Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray and sought his intervention in ensuring that employees of Cambata Aviation are paid their salaries, pending since February last year. "There are three unions - Bhartiya Kamgar Sena, led by Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut, Kiran Pawaskar of NCP, Congress leader Nitesh Rane's union for employees of Cambata Aviation. Around 2,100 employees have not got their bonus, salary hike from 2014 and not even their basic salary from February 2016 but none of these unions were fighting against the injustice," Damania told PTI. She said that the employees had earlier approached the Court which had ordered that recovery procedures be initiated and later ruled that a report be submitted to it. "Yet, no action was taken," she said. Damania said that she, along with the workers then approached Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who immediately called a meeting of all stakeholders and gave a 10-day period to clear the dues of employees. "Later he got busy with local bodies elections and winter session of legislature. So work was held up again," she said. "Today, we met Uddhavji, showed him all the documents. He took responsibility of ensuring that the workers get paid," she said. Damania said that Thackeray has called a meeting of all stakeholders at his residence 'Matoshree' on January 5 and has promised that he will see that the workers get their dues. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Residents of Damascus are scrambling for clean water after the government attacked rebels holding the city's main source in a nearby valley, producing an outage that has stretched on for nearly two weeks. The cut-off is a major challenge to the government's effort throughout the nearly 6-year-old civil war to keep the capital as insulated as possible from the effects of the conflict tearing apart much of the country. The battle for resources has always been an undercurrent to the war. The government, in particular, has advertised its efforts to keep electricity and water flowing to areas under its control, while it blocks the UN and other relief agencies from supplying opposition zones. But rarely has that struggle been so starkly felt inside the capital. "I have stopped cleaning the house, washing dishes or clothes. We no longer take showers," said Mona Maqssoud, a 50-year-old resident of Damascus. She said residents have relied on water tankers that come by occasionally and give 20 liters (5 gallons) of water to each house, but that hasn't been enough. "We begged the drivers (to return) to our neighborhood, but they refused." The opposition has long controlled Wadi Barada, the valley northwest of Damascus through which the river of the same name flows to the capital. The government and the opposition had previously had an understanding to keep water services running. But that modus vivendi ended when forces of President Bashar Assad and his allies, the Lebanon Hezbollah guerrilla force, attacked the valley, home to some 100,000 people. The cut-off, since December 22, is the longest Damascus has seen, say residents, who are accustomed to intermittent outages. The Barada River and its source, the Ain al-Fijeh spring, supply 70 per cent of the water for Damascus and its environs. An activist-run media collective in the Barada Valley said government and Russian aircraft had bombed the Ain el-Fijeh water processing facility, puncturing its fuel depots and contaminating the water stream. The collective said the plant's electrical control systems had been destroyed as well. Images showed the roof of the facility collapsed into its main water basin. An activist with the group, Abu Mohammed al-Bardawi, said it would take at least two months to get the facilities working again. Damascus officials said they shut off the water after opposition forces poured gasoline into the river. The government denied attacking the water processing facility, saying it would not set out to harm its own population. Still, it would not be the first time it strikes its own facilities: government strikes hit pumping stations in the northern city of Aleppo in April, September, and November. Damascus, the seat of Assad's power, has been spared from the widespread destruction in other parts of the country, though rebels on the outskirts occasionally fire mortar rounds into the city. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said has increased problems for Naxals, underlining that intelligence inputs suggest that they have weakened. The Minister refused to give any specific estimates about the damage inflicted on the guerillas but said the information suggests that massive problems are being faced by them post note-ban. "It is correct that Naxals have weakened post- ... The intelligence information received by us shows their problems have increased. Their strength has reduced," Singh said. On November 8, the government had announced that Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes ceased to be legal tender. When asked about the attack on women in Bengaluru on New Year's eve, Singh said, "It is not possible to keeping seeking reports from the state on every issue. I believe that protecting the modesty of women is the duty of every state government and they should take it seriously." On the issue of recent riots in West Bengal, Singh said the Ministry is in the know of every big problem. "We don't do politics of confrontation. We will talk it out," he said when asked about reports of a rift between the West Bengal government and the Centre. He also refused to give any clear response whether his views were taken on the issue of . Singh said efforts are going on to bring back Dawood Ibrahim but those cannot be disclosed in public. Congress candidate from Dera Baba Nanak Assembly segment Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa's elder brother today resigned from the party after his son was denied ticket to contest polls. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa's elder brother and Permanent Invitee of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee Inderjeet Singh Randhawa resigned from the party. Inderjeet's son Deepinder Randhawa, who was holding the post of Secretary Punjab Youth Congress, along with office bearers also resigned from their posts. Inderjeet alongwith his supporters held a meeting at a local resort where they announced their mass resignations from the party. Addressing the gathering, Inderjeet said that he would fight the elections from Dera Baba Nanak constituency. "I am in touch with third front parties and within couple of days, I will make formal announcement of joining any political front," he said. Youth leader Deepinder said that he applied for Congress ticket from Fatehgrah Churrian and Dera Baba Nanak constituencies. He had fulfilled all the condition defined by the PPCC but in both the constituencies the Congress ticket was denied to him. "If the party high command did not consider the working of the Congress workers, it will meet same fate in Punjab as it is facing in rest of the country. Being a fourth generation Congressmen, I fulfilled all the criteria and condition for party ticket," he said. Randwahas are well known politically influenced family of the area as Sukhjinder's father late Santok Singh Randhawa had remained MLA for three times. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A District Reserve Group (DRG) jawan was injured in an exchange of fire with Maoists in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bijapur district today, police said. The incident occurred in evening in Basaguda police station area when a joint team of security forces was out on a anti-naxal operation, a senior police official told PTI. A composite squad of DRG, Special Task Force (STF) and CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) had launched the operation to the interiors of Basaguda, around 450 kms away from here, he said. While the security forces were cordoning off a forested patch close to Tarrem area, they came under heavy fire from a group of ultras that led to the gun-battle, he said. "A DRG jawan sustained bullet injuries on his leg in the incident. However, ultras soon escaped from the spot," he added. Reinforcement was rushed to the place and the injured jawan was being evacuated from the forest, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam today said that the state was staring at a drought due to failure of the North East monsoon and assured farmers that they would be given appropriate relief. He said all the Collectors, barring Chennai, have been directed to submit reports to the government on the status of crops and drought in their respective districts by conducting field inspections. High-level committees comprising top bureaucrats and Ministers would be immediately set up to supervise inspections in the districts, Panneerselvam said, adding the panels would tour districts and submit their reports on January 10. Based on field reports of the panels and Collectors, an announcement will be made on the drought situation and all necessary relief will be given, he said in an official release. "Apart from financial relief for affected crops (by the State), farmers who had insured crops will also be able to get compensation from insurance companies," he said. Against the backdrop of recent deaths of farmers in parts of Tamil Nadu, some of which were suicides due to agrarian distress, the Chief Minister said they need not be apprehensive about the present drought condition as they would be provided appropriate relief. "It is the duty of the Tamil Nadu government, which follows Amma (as late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was called by party cadres) to protect farmers in these despairing circumstances," he said, adding government would fulfil its duty. Stating that 86 per cent crops were insured in Cauvery Delta areas, the Chief Minister said it would be possible for paddy farmers to get up to Rs 25,000 as compensation per acre based on the extent of losses. He said between October 1 and December 1 period of the North East monsoon, Tamil Nadu expected to get an average 440 mm precipitation. However, it got only 168.3 mm of rain and 21 of 32 districts witnessed over 60 per cent deficit rainfall. "In the rest of the 11 districts, the deficit is from 35 to 59 per cent," he said. Of the total inflow of 66.60 tmc ft of Cauvery water, 30.10 tmc ft was due to the directives of the Supreme Court based on the State's plea, he said, adding, however, the water was insufficient. He said a Rs 64.30 crore special scheme for cultivation of samba crop as announced by Jayalalithaa in August last year was implemented. Panneerselvam said that according to the Centre's new guidelines, drought could be declared in districts only after a field inspection on crop status in at least 10 per cent of villages in every district. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The European Union has lifted its three-year ban on import of some vegetables from India, an Agriculture Ministry official said here today. The Union Government received communication from EU ending the three-year ban on import of some vegetables, including bitter gourd, snake gourd and aubergines, said a Cochin International Airport Limited release, quoting R S Arora, Assistant Director of the Agriculture Ministry's export/import section. He was speaking at a seminar organised by CIAL Air Cargo Department. In May 2014, a ban was imposed by the European Commission on import of mangoes, bitter gourd, egg plant, snake gourd and taro leaves from India on grounds of interceptions of harmful organisms leading to fears on account of bio-security of the region. The decision had led to adverse impact on farmers and exporters in India. The European Commission after conducting field surveys and audit in its meeting in Brussels in January last year had decided to lift the ban on import of mangoes from India. Earlier, the Union government had said it was taking all diplomatic steps to help get the European Union ban on some of Indian vegetables lifted. Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman had taken up the issue with EU officials and had also discussed with various European nations, including the United Kingdom. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Alleging that the AAP government has failed on water and sanitation fronts, Delhi BJP has written a letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, asking him to face the "ground realities" of Delhi instead of resorting to "accusatory politics". BJP's Delhi unit president Manoj Tiwari also hit out at the city government over alleged delay in finalising the delimitation of the municipal wards. "This government is about to complete two years in office now, and Kejriwal, wherever he is travelling, Goa or Punjab, must at least go and see the civic condition of people in the city, which voted it to power, especially the unauthorised colonies where people are living in hellish condition," Tiwari told a press conference. After assuming the reins of the party's state unit, he has been meeting people and networking with them, a move that also assumes significance as the municipal elections are due this year, and a sizeable chunk of voters reside in unauthorised colonies. "We are not asking for Kejriwal's resignation, but just want him to face the ground realities and address them. I went to Indrapuri area, where a community space has been lying locked up for last over two years. Also, toilets have been choked and DJB water supply line has run dry and drains are in bad shape at several places," Tiwari alleged. "So, we have written a letter to him in this regard. I have also emphasised that all agencies, the Centre, city and the civic bodies must work together to bring relief to people from such poor conditions," he said. "I have been meeting farmers, traders in Chandni Chowk, and later in the day I will visit Nangloi and stay with people there tonight. And, at 7 PM today, I will go live on Facebook to interact with people," he added. Municipal elections are due this year and the delimitation of the wards is likely to affect the outcome of the polls. Delhi has 272 wards in total with 104 each under north and south corporations and 64 under east corporation. The erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was trifurcated in 2012 into NDMC, SDMC and EDMC. BJP has been ruling the MCD and subsequent civic bodies for nearly 10 years now. "I don't understand the reason behind the delay in finalisation of the delimitation by the city government. Is there something in the survey that the government is hiding? It should finalise it as soon as possible," Tiwari said. "We are only doing a reality check and later we would also release a white paper on it," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Farmers will seek a reply from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "ignoring" their plight when he approaches them next to seek votes, Swabhiman Paksh MP Raju Shetti said today. "Names of industrialists who defaulted on loans of thousands of crores of rupees are not declared because it will defame the country. Increased wages of Rs 1.15 lakh crore are given to (government) staff towards seventh pay commission. Swabhimani Paksha has a minister in the BJP-led Maharashtra government. "However, when Modi, who avoids making farmers debt-free, comes to seek votes the next time around, farmers, who constitute 62 per cent population in India, will seek answers (from him)," said Shetti, an MP from Hatkanangle in western Maharashtra. "If Modi has to come (to farmers) to seek votes, then he should make farmers debt-free," he said, addressing a farmers rally in Solapur district. "Modi has ignored farmers' plight. We are ready to fight against anyone to make farmers debt-free," Shetti said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A dozen Syrian rebel factions have suspended talks on new peace negotiations, accusing President Bashar al-Assad's regime of violating a four-day-old ceasefire with attacks near Damascus that continued today. The decision threatens the process sponsored by regime ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey, which began with a truce and is meant to lead to negotiations in the Kazakh capital Astana this month. The ceasefire has brought quiet to large parts of the country but has been undermined by sporadic violence, particularly fighting in the Wadi Barada region north of Damascus that supplies the capital's water. Government forces backed by fighters from Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah continue to press a two-week offensive there despite the ceasefire which began on December 30. A dozen rebel groups announced late yesterday the "freezing of all discussion linked to the Astana negotiations." They said they had respected the ceasefire, but accused the regime of "major and frequent violations, notably in the (rebel) regions of Wadi Barada and Eastern Ghouta", near Damascus. "If things don't return to how they were before, the accord will be considered null and void," they said. It was signed by a dozen groups, including the Army of Islam, Faylaq al-Sham, and the Sultan Murad Brigade, which is close to Turkey. Fierce fighting in Wadi Barada continued today, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said. Government forces used barrel bombs and artillery after advancing yesterday to the outskirts of the Ain al-Fijeh spring, the area's main water source, it said. The regime accuses rebels of deliberately damaging infrastructure there, poisoning the water supply with fuel then cutting the flow to Damascus altogether. Rebels say government strikes caused the damage, which has left four million people in Damascus without water since December 22. The regime says former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front is in the area, a claim opposition fighters deny. Fateh al-Sham, along with the Islamic State (IS) group, is excluded from the truce. Syrian state media has been conspicuously quiet on the Wadi Barada battle, but Damascus governor Alaa Ibrahim told the Al-Watan daily that the army was progressing. "Military operations are under way, and God willing there will be happy soon," he told the newspaper, which is close to the government. Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman warned the truce was in a "critical phase" and faced "collapse" if sponsors Russia and Turkey did not intervene to save it. The monitor reported violations elsewhere in the country today, including air strikes on the town of Khan Sheikhun in the northwestern province of Idlib that killed a pregnant woman and wounded three other civilians. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Filing of nomination for the February 1 election to the urban local bodies (ULBs) in Nagaland commenced today, amidst protest against the conduct of election. Filing of nomination will continue till January 7. Even as the tribal organisations like Naga Hoho and Eastern Nagaland Public Organisation (ENPO) and village councils in the state have called for boycott and appealed to their community members not to participate in the electioneering process, altogether 13 nominations were filed for Phek Town Council under Phek district. State Election Commissioner, Sentiyanger Imchen through a text message confirmed that filing of nomination. Ten nominations are from the ruling Naga People's Front (NPF) while three are Independent Candidates. However, nominations in other districts were nil. In Kohima district, under the directives of the Angami Public Organisation (APO), its Youth Organisation deployed volunteers at the entry points leading to the Additional Deputy Commissioner and Returning Officer's office restricting intending candidates from filing nominations. However, the ruling NPF party today issued tickets to its party candidates for Kohima Municipal Council, including women candidates for the reserved seats at the NPF Central Office here. In Mokokchung district too, Ao Senden officials along with volunteers and representatives from the Landowners (Lika board), All Ward Union Mokokchung Town guarded the Additional Deputy Commissioner and Returning Officer's office checking the passage of candidates to file nomination. Meanwhile, concerned over the boycott call, the State Cabinet today held a threadbare meeting at the residence of the Chief Minister in Dimapur wherein several issues pertaining to the ongoing holding elections to the ULBs were discussed. According to statement issued by Principal Secretary, Department of Municipal Affairs, Menukhol John, the cabinet decided that it would be in the best interest of the people and the state to go ahead with the elections to the ULBs with 33 per cent reservation for women as passed by the state government in 2006. This was also in conformity with Article 243 T which, as it is, has already been in force since 1993, and since it has been found in the last more than two decades that Article 243 T has never infringed on the rights of the Nagas as enshrined in Article 371(A) and that holding of elections to the ULBs with 33% reservation for women too, would not infringe on Article 371(A) of the Constitution, the cabinet observed. Non holding of elections to the ULBs, as experienced for the last ten years or so, have had adverse effects on the towns and municipalities in matters of development and local self-Governance, and to further keep the elections in abeyance would do more harm than good to these ULBs. However, for better understanding, it has been decided to have more dialogue and consultations with the tribal organizations in the days to come. Therefore, the Cabinet has decided that the process of election to the ULBs as notified should be completed. Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned those who indulged in malpractices during the 50-day drive, the Finance Ministry has asked public sector banks to submit a report on the involvement of officials illegally changing currency notes. Banks will give details of officials those who violated law or government and RBI direction during the period, sources in the Finance Ministry said. Although vigilance proceeding against directors are carried out by the Finance Ministry, the department proceedings or criminal proceedings against officials are carried out by bank itself. Some of the officials tried to subvert the system during the . For example, the CBI registered case against a Bank of Baroda official in Kolkata for converting old currency in violation of rules. Some officials of State Bank of India, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur and State Bank of Mysore along with other banks was also mentioned in one of the FIRs filed by investigative agency during the demonetisation period. The Prime Minister in his address to the nation on the New Year eve had said, "Amid this herculean effort, some grave crimes by some officers in some banks have come to light. Some government officers have also committed serious offences, and tried to take advantage of the situation. They will not be spared." Meanwhile, senior bankers also feel that there could be RBI inspection also to check whether there were any lapses at branches on banks' side. During the demonetisation period, the Enforcement Directorate had done random check of select branches to check the money laundering activity. American Airlines says seven flight attendants were treated at a Florida hospital after complaining that a strange odor on their plane gave them headaches. An airline spokeswoman said today that the employees were treated and released. Alexis Aran Coello said none of the passengers on the flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Orlando, Florida, complained of symptoms. In a separate incident, a Southwest Airlines plane flying on last night from San Antonio, Texas, to Orlando made an emergency landing in Jacksonville, Florida, after oxygen masks in the cabin dropped from the ceiling. A Southwest spokesman told media in Florida that the flight was diverted because of an issue with cabin pressure but that the plane with 133 passengers made a safe landing. American Airlines said an Airbus A330 with 89 passengers and a crew of 10 landed safely just before midnight last night in Orlando. According to the airline, medical personnel checked the crew members at the airport and cleared them, but the employees asked to be taken to the hospital early morning today. A message left with the flight attendants' union was not immediately returned. American said the plane was being checked by maintenance workers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Puducherry Agriculture Minister VMC Sivakumar was hacked to death by an unidentified gang here today, police said. Sivakumar was on his way to inspect construction work when his car was blocked by the gang at Neravy-TR Pattinam near Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district and attacked with sickles, police said. He was rushed to government hospital, where he was declared brought dead, they said. 67-year-old Sivakumar is survived by wife, two sons and two daughters. He was the speaker of Puducherry Assembly from 1996 to 2000. Sivakumar was MLA for five terms - four times on DMK ticket and once as independent - since 1980 representing Neravy-TR Pattinam constituency.He is now with AIADMK. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) German police have searched two locations in Berlin linked to the man suspected of carrying out a deadly truck attack on a Christmas market in the capital last month. Federal prosecutors said today that police conducted one of the searches at a refugee shelter where a 26-year-old Tunisian man lived. The unnamed man allegedly knew Anis Amri, the 24-year-old Tunisian suspect who was shot dead by police in Milan days after the attack. Prosecutors say the other man was in contact with Amri until shortly before the December 19 attack. They suspect he knew about plans for the attack and may have helped him. A separate search was conducted at an apartment where a former roommate of Amri's once lived. The attack killed 12 people and left dozens more injured. The latest Google Doodle paid tribute to social reformer Savitribai Phule on the occasion of her 186th birth anniversary today. The doodle that showcases Savitribai embracing her surroundings, indicative of the social work she undertook during her lifetime. Clicking on the doodle further displays some of the important events in the life of Savitribai, created by Muscat/Mumbai-based illustrator and graphic designer Malvika Asher. Having many firsts to her credit- Savitribai along with her husband Jyotirao Phule played an important role in improving women's rights during the British rule. A pioneer in Marathi poetry, the reformer was a trailblazer in providing education for girls and for ostracised portions of society. Savitribai became the first woman teacher in India and taught in the school which she and her husband, Jyotirao Phule, started in 1848 with just nine students on the rolls. The couple were felicitated by the colonial government of Bombay Presidency in 1850s for providing education to girls and untouchables during those days. Often referred to as the mother of Indian feminism, she went on to establish a shelter in 1864 for destitute women and played a crucial role in grooming her husband's pioneering institution, Satyashodhak Samaj, that fought for equality of all classes. She also penned many poems against discrimination and encouraged people to get educated. Her books 'Kavya Phule' (1934) and 'Bavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar' (1982) were published posthumously. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Greece's justice minister today promised a "swift and thorough" investigation into suspected corruption by civil servants and Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis. Stavos Kontonis ordered an inquiry after "denunciations concerning bribes paid to functionaries by Novartis" appeared in the press, a ministerial statement said. "The judicial investigation will be swift and thorough," it added. According to a judicial source, a preliminary investigation has been going on for two months and around 178 people in Greece have been questioned. The source said anti-corruption prosecutors had visited Novartis's premises near Athens to gather evidence. The case gained attention in recent days following a suicide attempt in Athens on Sunday, New Year's Day, by a Novartis manager. That attempt was thwarted by police and according to the judicial source, the manager was one of those questioned over corruption. For its part Novartis issued a statement saying it was "aware of the media reports about our business practices" in Greece and that it was seeking more information and was cooperating with the authorities. "Novartis is committed to the highest standards of ethical business conduct and regulatory compliance in all aspects of its work and takes any allegation of misconduct extremely seriously," the company said in the statement. The judicial source also claimed American FBI agents were in Athens to help Greek authorities investigate Novartis. The Swiss pharmaceutical giant was investigated by US authorities in 2014, accused of paying bribes in order to boost sales of some of its medicines, and was later fined $390 million by the US Justice Department. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) To improve road connectivity, an expert panel of the Union Environment Ministry has cleared the terms of reference (ToR) for the Rs 224 crore state highway upgradation project from Kollegal in Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district to Tamil Nadu border. State-run implementing agency Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project (KSHIP) has proposed improvement of 95 km length of state highway-79 from Hanur to Tamil Nadu border, including connectivity from Palar to Hoganakkal falls. The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Union Environment Ministry recently examined the Karnataka government's proposal. "The Committee, after detailed deliberations, recommended the proposal for grant of ToRs for the said road project and for preparation of EIA/EMP reports after public consultation," a senior government official said. ToRs are guidelines for conducting environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies of projects, based on which EAC recommends or rejects environment clearances to the project. After EAC's recommendation, the Environment Ministry grants or rejects green clearance to a project. As per the proposal, the KSHIP has reduced total length of the project road from 119 km to 95 km. Out of it, 81.78 km of road stretch passes via two wildlife sanctuaries--Malai Mahadeshwara and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. The cost of the proposed road project is estimated to be Rs 224 crore. The state government has informed the EAC that it wants to first develop existing road from Kollegal to Hannur covering a length of 24 km on a priority basis because of public pressure for development of this stretch which is located outside the forest and wildlife sanctuary area. Haryana government today approved a proposal which will facilitate re-engagement of the law officers by bringing an amendment to the Haryana Law Officers (Engagement) Act. The significant decision was taken at a meeting of the State Cabinet here, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. "Haryana Cabinet today approved the proposal of the Administration of Justice Department to make an enabling provision by amending the Haryana Law Officers (Engagement) Act, 2016 so as to facilitate re-engagement of Law Officers, whose term has expired after the commencement of the Act and who fulfil the eligibility criteria," an official release said. It said that the decision to make this amendment was taken "because there is an acute shortage of Law Officers in the office of Advocate General and there is an urgent need to re-engage the Law Officers, whose term is to expire in near future". "There is a sanctioned strength of only 196 Law Officers. The term of only those Law Officers will be extended whose work and conduct during earlier engagement has been found satisfactory," it said. "As the session of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha is not likely to be summoned in the immediate future and the matter is of emergent nature, it was decided to give effect to the amendment through an Ordinance," it further said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Haryana government is mulling to transfer development works of various departments to panchayti raj institutions (PRIs) for their effective implementation and monitoring to further strengthen them by ensuring their active participation in the development process, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said today. "Strengthening of the PRIs is in true spirit of the Constitution," Khattar, who was presiding over a meeting of the administrative secretaries here, said. The CM exhorted the administrative secretaries to fix Wednesday of every week as 'No Meeting Day' to remain present in office and redress grievances of the people concerning their respective departments. He also sought from them the list of projects concerning their departments that could be transferred to the PRIs for their implementation. These lists are to be submitted before holding a 'Sammelan' of the PRIs on January 20, he added. Khattar said besides the administrative secretaries, the head of departments of the offices located in Chandigarh and Panchkula and the ministers would also observe 'no meeting day' to redress grievances of the people. He said the "CM Window" has been set up to redress the grievances of the people, yet he himself personally meets the people on first Monday of every month at his residence in Chandigarh. He also directed the administrative secretaries to hold video conferences with deputy commissioners, additional deputy commissioners and sub-divisional magistrates concerning important issues once or twice in a week from 9 AM to 11 AM, according to an official release. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Haryana State Nurses and Nurse Midwives Council Bill, 2017 which aims to make the council the sole body governing nursing education in the state, has been approved by the state Cabinet here today. The council will replace the existing Haryana Nurses Registration Council (HNRC) and will look after admission, curriculum, examination and registration process in nursing education. Also, the Punjab Nurses Registration Act, 1932 as applicable to Haryana shall stand repealed. "The council will work under the supervision of Department of Medical Education and Research," an official release said. Director General or Director of Medical Education and Research Department will be the ex-officio president, while the additional director will be the ex-officio vice president of the council. It shall fix the criteria for establishment of nursing institutes and recognise such institutes. It will also fix the criteria to recognise degrees, diplomas, certificates in nursing training, the release said. The council will frame regulations, delegate powers to the executive committee, conduct inspection of nursing institutes and fix fee to be levied and revision thereon from time to time. The council will also fix criteria to conduct admissions to various nursing institutes and prescribe facilities, syllabi, entry criteria to maintain proper standards in nursing course, it said. The cabinet, which met here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, also decided to change the name of Industrial Training Department to Skill Development and Industrial Training Department and include it in the business of Haryana Government (Allocation) Rules, 1974. The cabinet also approved the proposal to enhance the authorised share capital of Haryana Backward Classes and Economically Weaker Section Kalyan Nigam from Rs 40 crore to Rs 60 crore, the release said. With an aim to strengthen the checking of vehicles and curtail the number of accidents due to overloading, over speeding and drunken driving, it was decided in the Cabinet meeting that the field staff of the Regulatory Wing of Transport Department shall wear proper uniform. The cabinet also approved a proposal to amend Haryana Motor Vehicles Rules, 1993 through a notification. It will be known as Haryana Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Rules, 2016. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Activist Anna Hazare has moved the Bombay High Court seeking a CBI inquiry into what he termed as "Rs 25,000 crore sugar cooperative factories scam". Hazare filed two civil PILs and a criminal PIL asking a CBI probe. The criminal PIL is listed for hearing on January 6 before a bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka. The petitions alleged that fraud had been committed in governance by first burdening sugar cooperative factories with debts and thereafter selling these sick units at a throwaway price, causing loss of Rs 25,000 crore to the government, cooperative sector and members of public. The petitions also prayed for appointment of a court receiver to take possession of all the properties held by people against whom a prima facie case exists in the alleged scam. The petitions also demanded an inquiry by a Special Investigating Team (SIT) into the alleged role of "politicians into the sugar cooperative scam, including NCP President and former Union Agriculture Sharad Pawar and his nephew and former Irrigation Minister Ajit Pawar". The petitions name both members of the Pawar family as respondents. The petitions also demanded setting up of a Commission of Inquiry to probe into the alleged illegal sale of sugar cooperative factories in Maharashtra either by the government or the cooperative banks. The petitions further demanded an inquiry by CBI into the allegations of corruption and misuse of government and cooperative funds in the scam involving lease and sale of cooperative sugar factories in Maharashtra which caused a loss of Rs 25,000 crore to the exchequer. The petitioner stated that the statistics and facts mentioned in the petition have been collected from authorities through Right to Information Act. Hazare pleaded that "the scam" had engulfed the entire state and pulled it back by nearly 50 years causing losses to the government and putting the state under financial debts to the tune of hundreds of crores of rupees. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A high court can interfere with disciplinary inquiry or orders passed by the competent authority if the probe itself is vitiated on account of violation of principles of natural justice, the has said. The apex court said that in a case where the disciplinary authority arrives at a finding that is unsupported by evidence or records a finding which no reasonable person could have arrived at, then the writ court is justified in examining the matter. "It is true that a writ court is very slow in interfering with the findings of facts recorded by a departmental authority on the basis of evidence available on record. But it is equally true that in a case where the disciplinary authority records a finding that is unsupported by evidence whatsoever or a finding which no reasonable person could have arrived at, the writ court would be justified, if not duty bound, to examine the matter and grant relief in appropriate cases," a bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur said. The bench also comprising Justice A M Khanwilkar said, "Non-application of mind by the inquiry officer or authority, non-recording of reasons in support of the conclusion arrived at by them are also grounds on which the writ courts are justified in interfering with the orders of punishment. "The writ court will certainly interfere with the disciplinary inquiry or the resultant orders passed by the competent authority on that basis if the inquiry itself was vitiated on account of violation of principles of natural justice, as is alleged to be the position in the present case," the bench said. The apex court made the observation while quashing the order of departmental authority against a former Allahabad Bank employee whose services were terminated in 2005 following an inquiry against him, saying that "the inquiry officer, the disciplinary authority and the appellate authority have faltered in the discharge of their duties resulting in the miscarriage of justice". It had also noted that the bank employee Krishan Narayan Tewari's claim that he was not given a fair chance to lead evidence in his defence was not rebutted effectively by the bank. The bank had challenged the order of the Allahabad High Court which had held Tewari not guilty saying the departmental as well as appellate authority did not apply mind while deciding the matter. It had contended that the high court had exceeded its jurisdiction in re-appreciating the evidence and holding the respondent not guilty. The bank in its appeal had said that so long as there was some evidence on which the disciplinary authority could rest its findings, sufficiency or insufficiency of such evidence could not be gone into by a writ court. It had further said that even if there was any infirmity in the orders passed by the disciplinary authority or the appellate authority, the proper course for the high court was to remand the matter back to either of the authorities for doing the needful afresh. "The respondent's case that the inquiry was conducted without giving a fair and reasonable opportunity for leading evidence in defence has not been effectively rebutted by the appellant. More importantly the disciplinary authority does not appear to have properly appreciated the evidence nor recorded reasons in support of his conclusion. "To add insult to injury the appellate authority instead of recording its own reasons and independently appreciating the material on record, simply reproduced the findings of the disciplinary authority," the bench said, adding that the high court was right in interfering with the orders passed by the authorities. The bench, however, refused to grant full salary arrears to Tewari, the former officer-in-charge of bank's Sultanpur branch in Uttar Pradesh, and directed the bank to release 50 per cent salary and retirement benefits to him. The apex court also noted that it could not order fresh inquiry or send the matter back to the disciplinary authority as Tewari, now 65, suffered many ailments, and ordering any probe would be "very harsh" on him. The first reprint of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" in Germany since World War II has proved a surprise bestseller, heading for its sixth print run, its publisher said today. The Institute of Contemporary History of Munich (IfZ) said around 85,000 copies of the new annotated version of the Nazi leader's anti-Semitic manifesto had flown off the shelves since its release last January. However the respected institute said that far from promoting far-right ideology, the publication had enriched a debate on the renewed rise of "authoritarian political views" in contemporary Western society. It had initially planned to print only 4,000 copies but boosted production immediately based on intense demand. The sixth print run will hit bookstores in late January. The two-volume work had figured on the non-fiction bestseller list in weekly magazine Der Spiegel over much of the last year, and even topped the list for two weeks in April. The institute also organised a successful series of presentations and debates around "Mein Kampf" across Germany and in other European cities, which it said allowed it to measure the impact of the new edition. "It turned out that the fear the publication would promote Hitler's ideology or even make it socially acceptable and give neo-Nazis a new propaganda platform was totally unfounded," IfZ director Andreas Wirsching said in a statement. "To the contrary, the debate about Hitler's worldview and his approach to propaganda offered a chance to look at the causes and consequences of totalitarian ideologies, at a time in which authoritarian political views and rightwing slogans are gaining ground." The institute said the data collected about buyers by regional bookstores showed that they tended to be "customers interested in politics and history as well as educators" and not "reactionaries or rightwing radicals". Nevertheless, the IfZ said it would maintain a restrictive policy on international rights. For now, only English and French editions are planned despite strong interest from many countries. The institute released the annotated version of "Mein Kampf" last January, just days after the copyright of the manifesto expired. Bavaria was handed the rights to the book in 1945 when the Allies gave it control of the main Nazi publishing house following Hitler's defeat. For 70 years, it refused to allow the inflammatory tract to be republished out of respect for victims of the Nazis and to prevent incitement of hatred. But "Mein Kampf" - which means "My Struggle" - fell into the public domain on January 1 and the institute said it feared a version without critical commentary could hit the market. Partly autobiographical, "Mein Kampf" outlines Hitler's ideology that formed the basis for Nazism. He wrote it in 1924 while he was imprisoned in Bavaria for treason after his failed Beer Hall Putsch. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actress Deepika Padukone today confirmed that her "xXx: Return of the Xander Cage" co-star Vin Diesel will visit India on January 12. The 30-year-old star, who will mark her Hollywood debut with "xXx: Return of the Xander Cage", shared the on Twitter, by posting a special message to Diesel in Hindi. "Vin, India is eagerly waiting for you. See you soon on January 12 and 13. Lots of love," she wrote alongside the poster of the film. Directed by D J Caruso, the action-thriller will hit Indian theatres on January 14. Deepika is in the role of a huntress, Serena Unger in the film, that also stars Donnie Yen, Nina Dobrev, Ruby Rose and Samuel L Jackson. The actress earlier said that she was proud to represent her country in the Hollywood franchise. "I am very excited. This is my Hollywood debut. I am very, very nervous, but also excited. Today is the beginning of that journey. I feel very proud that I get to represent my country especially in this kind of an action franchise film. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hong Kong's former leader Donald Tsang, who ended his term in disgrace after accepting favours from tycoons, pleaded not guilty to bribery charges today at his high-profile corruption trial. Tsang, 72, held the leadership post of chief executive for seven years from 2005 and is the highest-ranking Hong Kong official to face a corruption trial. The case is set to send shockwaves through a city that has earned a reputation as one of the world's most open and transparent markets. Wearing his customary suit and bow-tie, a somber-looking Tsang arrived hand-in-hand with his wife at the city's High Court over an hour before the hearing was scheduled to begin yesterday morning. He pleaded "not guilty" to three charges of misconduct and bribery. Each charge carries a maximum jail sentence of seven years. The charges pertain to the period when Tsang was chief executive. He is accused of failing to disclose his plans to lease a luxury penthouse in the neighbouring city of Shenzhen from a major investor in a broadcaster - which at the time was seeking a licence from the Hong Kong government. Tsang allegedly approved the company's application for the licence, and also failed to declare that an architect he proposed for a government award had been employed as an interior designer on the flat. The hearing is expected to last 20 days. He has previously said that he had "every confidence" he would be exonerated. In 2012 he apologised for separate allegations that he accepted inappropriate gifts from business friends in the form of trips on luxury yachts and private jets. The trial comes at a time when residents are losing faith in Hong Kong's leaders, as a string of high-profile corruption cases fuel public suspicions over cosy links between authorities and business leaders. Critics blame the city's method of electing its leader - who is selected by a 1,200-strong electoral committee made up of representatives of special interest groups weighted towards Beijing. "I strongly believe that the chief executive has to (maintain) close relations with special interest groups and tycoons," pro-democracy lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting told AFP. "It is very dangerous and very difficult to remain independent from those... Groups," said Lam, a former investigator for the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the city's anti-graft agency. "Tsang's case is just the tip of the iceberg," he added. Hong Kong's unpopular current leader Leung Chun-ying also faces allegations of corruption over receiving a reported payment of USD 6.5 million from Australian engineering firm UGL before he took office. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A wildfire ravaged 50 hectares of woodland and destroyed homes in the tourist city of Valparaiso in western Chile, driving the authorities to evacuate hundreds of people. At least one person was reported hurt after the fire broke out on the outskirts of the historic port city, the National Emergencies Office (ONEMI) said in a statement. Television pictures showed thick grey smoke filling the streets in the Laguna Verde district, where the blaze struck, and flames devouring green hillsides. Hundreds of firefighters along with water-dumping airplanes and helicopters were battling the blaze, officials said. "Emergency protocol have been activated," the country's President Michelle Bachelet said on Twitter. She expressed "solidarity with the people affected." Located 120 kilometres northwest of the capital Santiago, Valparaiso is home to Chile's national Congress. The flames destroyed five homes and 50 hectares of woodland, ONEMI said yesterday evening. It reported no fatalities for the time being. Some 200 people were evacuated from their homes as a precaution, the agency added. Electricity providers said they had cut power to nearly 48,000 customers also as a precaution. Fanned by strong winds in hot summer weather, the fire broke out in the wooded, hilly region that makes Valparaiso a picturesque tourist destination. The authorities issued a maximum red alert. Laguna Verde lies on the southern outskirts of Valparaiso, a sprawling city built on 40 hills with stunning views over the sea. Dubbed the "jewel of the Pacific," the picturesque colonial city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Thousands of tourists come every year to stroll its narrow cobbled streets and ride cable cars up the steep hills. Wildfires killed 15 people in 2014 and destroyed thousands of homes in the area, particularly in the city's poorer neighbourhoods. The wooden structures with their tin roofs, perched on tinder-dry hillsides, were quickly engulfed. More blazes in March 2015 killed one woman and forced thousands of people from their homes. The city is home to 270,000 people overall, many living in brightly coloured houses on the hillsides. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For the I&B ministry, 2016 was a year in which it set the ball rolling for key policy changes - film certification process, a new Information and Communication policy - which it hopes will fructify this year. Asked about his priorities for 2017, I&B Minister M said that bringing in a communication and information policy and working on the film certification bill would be his major priorities. The ministry also brought in a new print media policy to increase transparency and accountability in release of government ads through DAVP. The ministry witnessed a change at the helm in the mid year when Naidu took over from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. 2016 began with Jaitley announcing the formation of a committee under ace director Shyam Benegal, to review the film certification process. The committee submitted its report, favouring a system which would have more categories and less of censorship after which the ministry is working on a bill, which is likely to be placed before Parliament this year. Like previous years, film certification was a contentious issue and there was a full blown controversy over cuts in the movie "Udta Punjab". The ministry is also expected to hold consultations on the Information and Communication policy this year before it finalises a policy in this regard, an aspect which has found strong support from Naidu. 2016 also saw a massive debate on an aspect related to regulation of television media especially in the backdrop of an I&B ministry order to take off Hindi news channel NDTV India for a day over its coverage of the Pathankot terror attack. The order was later put on hold as the channel sought the order be relooked at after representatives from the broadcaster met ministry functionaries. During the year, the ministry also organised a state information ministers' conference after a gap of seven years. It also increased subsidy for setting up of community radio stations from 50 per cent to 90 per cent in the northeastern states and 75 per cent in other states, subject to a maximum limit of Rs 7.5 lakh. It also worked on simplifying the annual renewal process for existing TV channels as part of 'Ease of Doing Business'. A total of 170 channels were given licences from June 2014 till December 2016 and of these, with 25 of these being news channels and 145 licences non-news channels. The process of second batch of FM radio channels under Phase III expansion was also completed and it is expected that the results would be announced in this year. The auctions for the second batch were held recently for 266 channels in 92 cities. The deadline for implementation of Phase IV was December, 2016 but it has been extended till March 31, 2017. An exclusive service for Bangladeshi and Bengali diaspora was launched by All India Radio so was a Baluchi multimedia website and a mobile app for greater people-to-people contact. A new Doordarshan channel for the northeast is also expected in the new year. Cutting down competition as of now to just two fighters - F-16 by Lockheed Martin and Gripen by Saab - Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today said India will select one more single engine aircraft other than Tejas for indigenous manufacture under 'Make in India' route. His making it clear that the aircraft would be single engine means that double engine aircraft like F/A 18 by Boeing and Rafale by Dassault Aviation, both preparing for India's next round of multi-billion deal for fighters, are out of the race. Just-retired IAF chief Arup Raha had said India required about 200 medium weight category aircraft besides the 36 Rafale fighters. Parrikar also made it clear that navy will continue supporting the development of naval version of Tejas but the current one will be just a technology demonstrator. He said that the navy is seeking a double engine aircraft. He said when India decides to go for a twin-engine fighter to be made here, the government will also consider the Rafale. But as of now there are no plans to procure any additional aircraft, he added. Talking about the next fighter competition of India, Parrikar said the need for a second production line for single engine aircraft is felt besides the one for Tejas. "The second line of single engine requirement is also felt for which we are thinking of using the strategic partnership route," he said. The Defence Minister said once the chapter on strategic partnership is finalised this month, his ministry will start moving in the direction of single engine fighter aircraft. He said by the end of this year, decisions on the next aircraft should be tentatively finished. Parrikar said few of the initial aircraft may come off the shelf by the "rest would be made in India increasing the Indian capability in aviation". He said the process for the next fighter aircraft will include both selection through normal process and government- to-government contract. "Selection of the local partner would be through a transparent and well defined process," he said, adding that capabilities and financial strength would also be looked into. "Once you select the local partner, the OEM obviously will be selected through a process of the way we do it. It means who gives the best offer, Transfer of Technology and many other things and price. There will be weightage to both to both," he said. Parrikar added that once the company is selected, there will be a government-to-government contract to ensure that the other government stands guarantee to the promises made by the firm in terms of technology transfer and other issues. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 36-year-old Indian businessman has been arrested here on "criminal allegations" for running a fake investment scheme worth over USD 13 millions that promised to double investors' money. Sydney Lemos, who hails from Goa was chief executive of Exential, a forex trading company in Dubai Media City, and man behind a Dh50 million (USD 13.6 million) foreign-exchange scheme that promised to double investors' money, investigators said. Investors lost millions of dirhams when Dubai authorities in July last year closed Exential which had promised 100 per cent returns on a USD 25,000 investment. Lemos was arrested last month after the allegations were laid at Al Barsha police station, said a spokesman for Carlton Huxley, the UK fraud investigation specialists who are working with the law firm Abdul Rahman Naseeb Advocates to recover funds. "We are working with various authorities both inside and outside Dubai, and looking at the alleged laundering of more than Dh50m by one individual, the spokesman was quoted as saying by a UAE-based portal. "We have raised the question of how he could legally set up and run another investment fund when he was apparently never licensed to do this in the first place, is under investigation for illegal trading by the DED and has judgements against him from the civil courts. He has now been arrested on criminal allegations," Exential claimed last February that delays in processing investors' funds were related to anti-money laundering and compliance investigations in Australia. The polic have not confirmed Lemos' legal status, the report said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An imprisoned Iranian human rights activist ended a 71-day hunger strike today as his detained wife won a temporary release from prison, a day after his case sparked a rare unauthorized protest in Tehran. Arash Sadeghi was to be taken to a hospital, his lawyer Amir Raisian said, while Amnesty International said he would be fed intravenously. His wife, Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee, was temporarily freed for several days in a decision that can be extended, the semi-official ISNA agency reported. The sudden decision comes after a dayslong social media campaign and the march yesterday toward Evin prison by dozens of Iranians. Such protests have been rare in Iran after violence that followed the country's disputed 2009 presidential election. Reformist lawmaker Bahram Parsai said earlier that he and other legislators met with court officials to discuss Sadeghi's case, signaling the growing concern officials had over the campaign. "It was supposed to solve the case resorting to prudence, in a way that would not be misused by enemies," Parsai said, according to the semi-official ILNA agency. "We do not want such cases to turn into a problem for the system," he said, apparently referring to Western criticism of Iran's human rights record. Sadeghi is serving a 15-year sentence over charges including "spreading propaganda against the system" and "insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic," according to Amnesty. The London-based advocacy group has said Sadeghi's charges stem in part from his communication with them. Sadeghi's hunger strike began October 24 after authorities arrested his wife to make her serve a six-year sentence over an unpublished fictional story found in her home about a woman burning a Quran in anger over another woman being stoned to death for adultery. "The release of Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee today comes as a welcome relief but is long overdue," Amnesty researcher Nassim Papayianni said in a statement. "Neither she nor her husband, Arash Sadeghi, should have ever been forced to spend a single minute behind bars." Dual nationals, artists, poets, journalists, fashion models and activists have been arrested in a crackdown on expression led by hard-liners who oppose President Hassan Rouhani's more moderate policies and efforts to promote greater openness to the outside world. The arrests accelerated with Iran's nuclear deal with world powers. Other prisoners are believed to be on hunger strikes as well. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman sentenced to five years in prison over charges she planned to topple Iran's government while on vacation with her young daughter, ended a five-day hunger strike after being put back into general population following weeks of solitary confinement, said her husband, Richard Ratcliffe. She is scheduled to appear at an appeals court hearing tomorrow, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iran's Oil Ministry has published list of 29 international companies qualified to bid for oil and gas projects following the lifting of sanctions under a landmark nuclear accord. The list published on the ministry's website on yesterday includes several multinational firms, among them Total, Shell, Eni, Gazprom and Schlumberger. In October, Iran invited foreign companies to bid for 50 exploration and production projects for the first time since the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Iran has upgraded its model for oil contracts, allowing for the full recovery of costs over almost two decades. In October, Iran signed the first such contract with a local oil company. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An attack carried out by the Islamic State group on a police station in the Iraqi city of Samarra has left three members of the force dead, officers said today. According to security officials from Salaheddin province, in which Samarra is located, a group of four gunmen wearing suicide vests stormed Mutawakil police station in Samarra late yesterday. They holed themselves up in the police station and were subsequently besieged by Iraqi security forces, leading to clashes that lasted several hours. "The exchange of fire started around 9:00 pm (local time) and lasted way past midnight," a Samarra police colonel told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The four suicide bombers who attacked the police station were all killed," the colonel said. "Three members of the police were also killed, including a lieutenant colonel, and four wounded." An official from Salaheddin province said the curfew that was imposed late yesterday on Samarra, a city 110 kilometres north of Baghdad, was lifted early today. The attack, similar to one carried out in late November 2016, was claimed by IS via its propaganda agency Amaq. Samarra is home to a major Iraqi security headquarters and to an important Shiite shrine where a 2006 bombing touched off two years of sectarian bloodletting. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Israeli police have questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for nearly three hours on suspicion of graft after the Attorney General said that the police had gathered enough evidence against him as a "possible criminal suspect". The police investigating team questioned 67-year-old Netanyahu last evening over suspicion that he and his family members received illicit gifts and other favours from businessmen running into hundreds of thousands of dollars. Netanyahu has strongly denied all allegations against him. The prime minister also tried to play down the development telling his critics, "don't celebrate yet", hours before he was to be questioned. "Nothing will come (of this investigation) and you will continue to spew out hot air," Netanyahu had said mockingly. A statement issued by Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit said that police found enough evidence to support the questioning of the premier as a possible criminal suspect. The decision to question Netanyahu was made in light of evidence collected in the past month,Mendelblit said. The new development "changed the evidentiary situation," the Attorney General said adding that it warranted a full-blown investigation, as opposed to a preliminary inquiry, on the prime minister. The statement chronicled the inquiry butdid not provide details as of the nature suspicions in the graft case. The police has been examining "a long list of claims" against the PM since July, the Attorney General said. "The inquiry developed and branched out in directions different from the ones that initially launched it," he said. The statement also detailed suspicions that were raised against Netanyahu but had been since dropped. Additional information would be released to the public pending the development of the investigation, the AG added. Israel police has interrogated witnesses abroad as well as in Israel about the graft case against Netanyahu and his family. One witness whose deposition, as per media reports, led to a breakthrough was Jewish American businessman Ron Lauder, a longtime friend of Netanyahu's. Lauder confirmed to police that he had given Netanyahu various gifts, including a suit, and that he had also financed a trip abroad for the prime minister's son, Yair. The police believe the value of the gifts Lauder gave Netanyahu is greater than what he admitted to and that they were not given in friendship, but in hopes of gaining some benefit. REOPENS FGN 10 "All previous so-called affairs have proved baseless and so it will be with the allegations now published in the media," Netanyahu said on Friday adding," They won't come to anything, because there isn't anything," he had asserted. Opposition leader Isaac Herzog called it "a tough day for Israel", with a prime minister under investigation. Herzog decried efforts to pass legislation that would give a sitting premier immunity from investigation and prosecution. Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert is serving a jail term on charges of graft. Netanyahu had succeeded Olmert in 2009 after he resigned when a series of graft charges were brought against him. Total outstanding investments attracted by Gujarat in the information technology (IT) sector may cross Rs 2 lakh crore by FY 2020-21 from over Rs 35,000 crore in FY 2015-16, industry body ASSOCHAM said today. "Investments attracted by Gujarat in the IT sector increased from a meager Rs 700 crore in 2005-06 to over Rs 35,200 crore in FY 2015-16, thereby clocking a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 48 per cent during the decadal period," ASSOCHAM said in a release based on an IT sector specific investment analysis conducted by it. Total outstanding investments attracted by the IT sector across India had grown at a CAGR of a little over 17 per cent, from about Rs 46,280 crore to over Rs 2.2 lakh crore as of 2015-16, it said based on data analysed by the ASSOCHAM Economic Research Bureau (AERB). While Karnataka ranks on top with about one fourth (24 per cent) share in total outstanding investments attracted by IT sector among Indian states, Gujarat (16 per cent) stands second, the industry body added. This is followed by Kerala (13 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (12 per cent), Tamil Nadu (6.6 per cent), Maharashtra (5.1 per cent), Haryana (5.1 per cent), West Bengal (4.5 per cent) and Telangana (4.4 per cent), as of 2015-16, it said. In future, by FY 2020-21 the report states that investment in the sector in Gujarat can go upto Rs 2 lakh crore. With state-of-the-art infrastructure, an integrated IT policy and a strong focus towards development of human resources and talent availability, Gujarat provides conducive environment for IT industry, said the industry body. "Uninterrupted power supply, streamlining regulatory process at a single point together with speedy grant of approvals, clearances, permissions required to settle an industrial enterprise in a transparent manner also can go a long way in attracting investors in large numbers," it said. The share of IT sector investment in total investment in Gujarat has also grown from 0.2 per cent out of about Rs 3 lakh crore in 2005-06 to around 2.5 per cent out of total investments worth over Rs 14 lakh crore as of 2015-16, ASSOCHAM said. "Gujarat not only accounted for second highest share in terms of total outstanding investments attracted by IT sector across India but also clocked second highest decadal CAGR after Andhra Pradesh (51 per cent)," the release quoted DS Rawat, secretary general of ASSOCHAM, as saying. ASSOCHAM also called for the state government to "create a more vibrant IT ecosystem, more so as growth of IT will boost the overall development across the state and further perk up it's already strong manufacturing base." It also called for the Gujarat government to develop Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Gandhinagar and Vadodara as probable hubs for the IT/BPO sector. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jammu and Kashmir Government today said that it will facilitate and help initiate a sustained and meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders irrespective of their ideological views and predilections. "The coalition government will facilitate and help initiate a sustained and meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders irrespective of their ideological views and predilections. "The commitment was made with an aim of building a broad based consensus on the resolution of all outstanding issues of J&K," Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said in a written reply to a question from Congress member Usman Majid in Legislative Assembly. The chief minister, who also holds the Home portfolio, said that the coalition government will continue with its efforts of taking confidence building measures. In his question, Majid had asked whether it was a fact that in Agenda of Alliance it had promised to initiate dialogue process with separatists and Pakistan, if so what is the present status of the commitment. In the reply the chief minister said, "The Agenda of Alliance between J&K PDP and BJP, which lays down a guiding framework for the governance, provides that the coalition government will seek to support and strengthen the approach and initiatives taken by the government of India to create a reconciliatory environment and build stakes for all in the peace and development within the sub-continent." She said that the steps taken so far including taking confidence building measures such as enhancing people-to-people contact on both sides of the Line of Control, encouraging civil society exchanges, taking travel, commerce, trade and business across the LoC to the next level and opening new routes across all three regions to enhance connectivity. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge has been granted a lifetime honorary membership of the Royal Photographic Society for her "long-standing" interest in photography and its history. Royal Photographic Society Chief executive Michael Pritchard praised the 34-year-old wife of Prince William for her "talent and enthusiasm" behind the lens and published family portraits and tour photos. Kate took the first official photograph of Princess Charlotte when her daughter was born in 2015. She had previously published photos from her and Prince William's Asian and Pacific tour in 2012. Since becoming a mother, the Duchess has released a number of family photos including Prince George's first day at nursery school and Princess Charlotte's first birthday. Older shots include a photo of Mount Kinabalu, the highest point in Borneo, and a black-and-white image of an orangutan from when she travelled there with Prince William in 2012. Pritchard said the society chose to recognise Kate for her "long-standing" interest in photography and its history. "She is latest in a long line of royal photographers and the society is pleased to recognise her talent," he said. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were also patrons of the 1853-founded Royal Photographic Society. The duchess joins fellow lifetime members Annie Leibovitz, who has photographed the Queen, along with the recently-knighted war photographer Sir Don McCullin. The Queen herself took cine films to capture family memories and royal trips. Kate, who graduated in History of Art from the University of St Andrews, is also a patron of the Natural History Museum and National Portrait Gallery. Her first commission was in 2008 for her parents' company, Party Pieces. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The UP-based family of a man, who died in a mishap here in 2011, has been awarded Rs 21.81 lakh compensation by the Thane Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT). Niyaz Ahmed Khatab Ansari (then aged 42), who worked as 'mukadam' (supervisor of labourers) at a private firm in Bhiwandi town of Thane, was going on a motorcycle towards Ghodbunder road when a speeding dumper coming hit his two-wheeler at Kashimira in the district on January 7, 2011. Ansari and the pillion rider fell from the bike. Ansari received serious injuries in the mishap and succumbed later that day. An offence was registered against the dumper driver under IPC sections 279 (rash driving), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 338, and section 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act. Later, Ansari's family comprising wife Tahira Banu Niyaz Ahmed Ansari (34), five minor children Mausamali Niyaz Ahmed Ansari (14), Mubashra Banu Niyaz Ahmed Ansari (13), Nusara Banu Niyaz Ahmed Ansari (11), Bushra Banu Niyaz Ahmed Ansari (9), Mushrafali Niyaz Ahmed Ansari (7), and his parents Khatab Hussain Wali Mohammed Ansari (67) Sawaliyabanu Khatab Hussain Ansari - all residents of Allahabad district in Uttar Pradesh, approached the MACT seeking compensation. They said that at the time of his death, Ansari's monthly income was Rs 11,200, and sought compensation from the dumper owner and the insurance company. Advocate V K Singh appeared for the claimants, while advocate Kalpana Trivedi represented the insurance company which contested the case. However, the case was decided ex-parte against the dumper owner as he failed to appear before the tribunal. Also, since Ansari's mother, who was a claimant, died in July 2016, her name was deleted from the claim papers. After hearing both the sides, MACT president and Principal District Judge S M Gavhane recently ordered the two respondents - dumper owner Mahalakshmi Enterprises and the New India Assurance Company - to make payment to the applicants with 9 per cent interest per annum from the date of application in January 2011. The tribunal awarded a total compensation of Rs 21,81,864, including for loss of dependency and funeral expenses. It also directed that the compensation awarded to the deceased's children be invested in FDs for them. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kyrgyzstan is investigating whether one of its citizens was involved in the New Year's attack at an Istanbul nightclub that left 39 dead, the central Asian country's intelligence services have said. "The National Security Committee (GKNB) is looking into the possible involvement of a citizen of Kyrgyzstan in the attack in Istanbul," said Rakhat Soulaimov, spokesman for the intelligence service, adding that investigators have been in touch with their Turkish counterparts. He later added that the authorities had detained and questioned a 28-year-old Kyrgyz national, Lakhe Machrapov, upon his return from Turkey after Turkish media reported he was a possible suspect in the attack. "Members of the GKNB transferred him to a regional bureau where he was questioned. The details will be released later," Soulaimov told AFP. Speaking to Kyrgyz media, Machrapov denied any involvement in the attack, explaining that he arrived in Istanbul on January 1 "on business" before leaving today after being briefly questioned by Turkish police due to his resemblance to a suspect in the killing. The foreign ministry in Kyrgyzstan said it was "improbable" that one of its nationals was involved but said it was "checking anyway." Turkish police have released pictures of the suspect who went on the rampage at the plush Reina nightclub on New Year's night, spraying some 120 bullets at terrified guests before slipping away into the night. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Left parties today hailed Supreme Court's verdict that outlawed seeking votes in the name of religion and also urged the Election Commission to suggest necessary amendments for implementing the "landmark" judgement. CPI(M) though underscored the need to clarify the difference between an appeal made based on these factors to ensure electoral gains and raising issues of social injustice and discrimination, contending the latter as essential elements of any electoral discourse for attaining justice. "CPI(M) Politburo welcomes the majority verdict of the seven-member Constitution bench of the Supreme Court which held that the electoral process is a secular activity and religion can have no place in such an activity," it said in a statement. Quoting both the majority and dissenting views expressed by the seven-member Constitution bench of the apex court while hearing the case yesterday, the Politburo said there is a "thin line" that differentiates an appeal made to electorate on these considerations and raising issues of injustices. "The clarity on this is essential for strengthening the secular democratic foundations of the Constitution and the electoral process," it said. Terming the judgement as "landmark", CPI General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said that the verdict should put to an end "the long litigation" used by some vested interests on the issue. Reddy said the judgement clearly stated that misuse of religion, caste or language comes under the clause of corruption. It has "rightly" described the religious belief as a personal issue between the persona and his/her God, the ex-Parliamentarian said. "The judgement will strengthen the core values of the Indian Constitution, secularism and democracy. CPI welcomes the judgement and urges upon the EC to suggest necessary amendments for proper implementation of it and disqualification of candidates and parties misusing the religion/caste/language," he urged. Without naming any party, Reddy alleged that parties which do not have socio, economic and political policies allegedly try to misuse the religion and caste for electoral benefits. "...After coming to power, carry on pro-corporate, anti-people policies. People should be vigilant and utilise the Supreme Court judgement as a weapon to fight against such elements," he suggested. In a majority verdict, the Supreme Court had yesterday held that any appeal for votes on the ground of "religion, race, caste, community or language" amounted to "corrupt practice" under the election law provision. Referring to the term 'his religion' used in section 123(3) of the Representation of The Peoples (RP) Act, which deals with 'corrupt practice', Chief Justice T S Thakur and three others in the 4:3 verdict said it meant the religion and caste of all including voters, candidates and their agents etc. In its verdict passed in a case involving election of a Shiv Sena leader in mid-90s, the Supreme Court had in 1995 stated that Hindutva is a "way of life and not religion". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Maharashtra Government formed an expert committee today to look into the environmental issues related to the proposed Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced formation of the panel at a Cabinet meeting on demand from Shiv Sena Ministers. Transport Minister Diwakar Raote of Shiv Sena, meanwhile, said the route of the bullet train in Maharashtra will be completely underground and will have three stations (out of total 12). The Cabinet discussed two options about the beginning station - Bandra-Kurla Complex or Kurla. The bullet train issue was not on the Cabinet's agenda but was taken up at the last minute, an official said. "Schedule for elections to ten municipal corporations, including Mumbai, is expected to be announced on January 5 or 6 after which code of conduct will come into force (thus preventing any major announcement). "Hence, the Cabinet note about bullet train was brought before the meeting at eleventh hour," the official from Chief Minister's Office said, requesting anonymity. Raote said since the bullet train issue was related to his department, the file containing the note was brought to him before the meeting. "I signed the note before the meeting," said Raote. "As National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued an interim stay on one of the routes of Metro train in Pune passing through Mula-Mutha riverbed, it may happen in case of bullet train as well," the Minister said. "Hence, we (Sena Ministers) told the Chief Minister that the project should be scrutinised from the environmental angle before we go ahead," Raote maintained. Fadnavis agreed with their suggestion and announced formation of the expert committee, he said, adding the names of panel members and other details will be announced soon. "BKC (or Kurla), Thane and Talasari will be three stations of the bullet train corridor in Maharashtra and the remaining nine will be in Gujarat. "The corridor will be around 40 feet deep and the train will run at a speed of 332 km/hr, while the ticket will be 1.5 per cent higher than the then prevailing first class fare for the same route," said Raote. Each train will have commuter carriage capacity of 900 to 1,200 and make 33 trips in a day between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, covering the 508km distance between the two cities in 2 hours and 50 minutes, he said. The project will be executed by a Special Purpose Vehicle in which Maharashtra and Gujarat will have 25 per cent equity each and the rest will be with Railways. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A case has been registered against Malayalam film actor Vijay Babu for allegedly assaulting a woman film producer here, police said today. Producer Sandra Thomas has alleged that she was assaulted by Vijay Babu at her office in Elamakkara yesterday, they said. The actor is the co-founder of the film production company along with Sandra Thomas. Sandra is admitted in a private hospital in the city, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kin of Ramjee Kalsangra, one of the absconding accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case who according to a suspended ATS officer was falsely shown as "alive" though "dead" by high ranking officials, today demanded a high level inquiry into the "revelation". In a sensational claim, Mehboob Mujawar, suspended in connection with the Arms Act and criminal intimidation, had told a Solapur court in August that Kalsangra and co-accused Sandeep Dange are in fact "dead" but falsely shown as "alive" by high ranking police officers. The application was filed by Mujawar before a magistrate court in Solapur in August. "Government should thoroughly investigate Mujawar's revelation and find out who were the guilty officers. "Photographs of two dead bodies are being circulated with this regard. But, I cannot 100 per cent say that one of them is of my missing brother. I don't have any evidence to prove that he has been eliminated," said Ramjee's brother Shivnarayan Kalsangra. His remarks came amid reports attributed to Mujawar that the duo were killed in custody. Incidentally, Shivanarayan was earlier arrested for three years in the blats case before given a clean chit by National Investigation Agency. Ramjee's wife Lakshmibai, son Devavrat and Shivnarayan came to Mumbai from Madhya Pradesh and addressed reporters today. Lakshmibai said, "Whoever is guilty in this case must be punished" while Devavrat demanded that "guilty police officials must be hanged till death." They said a high-level inquiry should be ordered into Mujawar's claims and guilty be punished. Ramswaroop, brother of another suspect in the blasts case Dilip Patidar who has been missing since last eight years, and Dilip Nahar who was taken into custody for 20 days before given clean chit by NIA, were also present at the presser. Their lawyer Prashant Maggu demanded that Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis should order an investigation into Mujawar's claims and "deliver justice to these families." "Suspended ATS officer Mujawar had revealed in his affidavit that ATS eliminated Kalsangra and Dange in custody by ATS officers and their bodies were disposed of by falsely calling them as unrecognised victims of 26/11 terror attack," he alleged. "After this revelation it is proved that the agencies like ATS were used for political gains," he said. Maggu further said that 2008 Malegaon bomb blasts case was "fully fabricated and politically motivated by previous state and Central governments." He claimed that Mujawar had written a letter to state DGP office, but the then government didn't take any action. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Debt Recovery Tribunal here has reserved its order on the pleas of SBI-led consortium of banks for recovery of over Rs 9,000 crore from beleaguered liquor baron in the Kingfisher Airlines case. DRT Presiding Officer K Srinivasan in a recent directive, reserved orders on the Original Application (OA) filed by the consortium and also 30-odd Interlocutory Applications, including several by Mallya and his companies, without specifying any date, a DRT official said today. This brings the curtains down on nearly three-year legal battle in the tribunal by the consortium comprising 17 banks to recover the money owed by the defunct airlines. The lenders had moved the DRT in 2013 to recover dues on the defunct airline. SBI had filed three other applications also, including one seeking Mallya's arrest and impounding his passport, for 'defaulting' on loans. Mallya, who left the country on March 2 last year and is now in the UK, has been declared Proclaimed Offender by a special PMLA court in Mumbai on a plea of Enforcement Directorate in connection with its money laundering probe against him in the alleged bank loan default case. During the prolonged hearing, the DRT had disposed some of the IAs filed by either side. The DRT had on March 7 last year, restrained Mallya from withdrawing USD 75 million exit payment from British liquor giant Diageo as part of a severance package for quitting Diageo-owned United Spirits (USL) as its Chairman under a 'sweetheart deal'. However, on July 13 last, the tribunal ruled that the order had become "infructuous" as USD 40 million hadalready been transferred prior to the March 7 directive. Later, passing orders on another IA, the tribunal had directed Diageo Plc to deposit with it theremaining USD 35 million of the USD 75-million 'sweetheartdeal'. The DRT had on July 16 last allowed another IA of the bankers for lifting of corporate veil to pierce the protection against personal liability enjoyed byindividuals controlling Kingfisher Finvest, a holding companyof Mallya. It had also dismissed the IA filed by Dutch beer major Heineken, seeking impleadment in the Mallya case to enjoy Right of First Refusal (ROFR) over UBL shares. Heineken has somepresumptive rights on UBL shares held and owned by Mallya. A man has been detained in Shahpura today with around Rs 25 lakh unaccounted cash, most of which is in Rs 2,000 and new Rs 500 notes, police said. Acting on a tip-off, Chauthmal Saini, who was carrying Rs 25.50 lakh in cash from Paota town to Jaipur, was detained at a check post. He could not give a satisfactory answer about the source of the money, DSP Jaipur (Rural), Rai Singh Beniwal said. The cash has been seized. It included 951 Rs 2000 notes and 86 new Rs 500 notes. The rest of the amount was in Rs 100, Rs 50 and Rs 10 notes, the police officer said. The matter has been handed over to the Income Tax department for further investigation, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 22-year-old man from Assam has been arrested for allegedly strangling a woman, his live-in partner, to death at Sulur on the city outskirts, police said today. The woman's body was found hanging from a fan in a mill quarters yesterday, with her dupatta around her neck. Police suspected her partner, Abdul Jabbar alias Nazar, behind the act, police said. A special police team managed to arrest Abdul, while he was trying to flee to his native place by train late last night, police said. Preliminary inquiry revealed that both, claiming to be married, joined the spinning mill and were staying in the employees' quarters on its premises. The neighbours, who heard the couple quarrelling on Sunday night, found the woman's body hanging from the fan in the morning, with Abdul missing. Investigation revealed that the woman was already married with two children and had developed illicit relationship with Abdul. As the woman continued the relationship, her husband left her. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man has been shot dead by police during a "pre-planned operation" last evening in Huddersfield in West Yorkshire in UK, police said today. The man, identified as 27-year-old Mohammed Yasser Yaqub, was killed in a car near junction 24 of the M62 in Huddersfield at around 6 PM yesterday, The Telegraph reported. The incident is not terrorism related, the police said. Images from the scene showed a silver Audi with bullet holes in its windscreen and bonnet. West Yorkshire Police confirmed there were five arrests during the operation - three at the scene and another two from a related stop of another vehicle in the Chain Bar area of Bradford at around the same time. Several of those arrested needed hospital treatment for injuries "not related to firearm discharge", but no officers were hurt, a force spokesman said. The case is being referred to theIndependent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which said its investigators were at the scene. On its Twitter account, the IPCC said: "The man's family has been informed. This is the early stage of the investigation and we will provide further updates when we have them." Gemma Wilson, Lindley Councillor, told Sky News: "I assumed at first it was a crash but realised if it was, it was a major one due to the volume of police in the area and the wide area that was cordoned off. "It was obviously concerning to see so many police cars as clearly something serious had happened so close to home. I saw about five or six police cars around the roundabout," she added. A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "Around 6 PM last eveningduring a pre-planned policing operation near to the M62 in Huddersfield a police firearm was discharged and a man has died." West Yorkshire Police are "fully co-operating" with the IPCCinvestigation, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) When nationalism and patriotism are dominating the national discourse, the great grandson of iconic revolutionary Udham Singh is struggling to secure the job of a peon in Punjab government which had been promised to him by former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh 10 years ago. The promise of Congress government did not materialise as the party was out of power for 10 years in the state. The repeated pleas of Jagga Singh, who is great grandson of Udham Singh's elder sister Aas Kaur, to the Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP government did not yield any result. In a daredevil act, Udham Singh had avenged the killing of hundreds of innocent people in Jallianwala Bagh on Baisakhi Day on April 13, 1919 by General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer. Singh, who was present on the spot at Jalianwala Bagh in Amritsar on the bloodiest day of Indian Independence struggle history, had avenged the massacre 21 years later by killing in London Michael O'Dwyer, who was the Governor of Punjab when the massacre took place in Jallianwala Bagh. Charged with murder, he was hanged to death in one of the prisons in London. Singh is going through days of extreme poverty with a family of six to take care of which includes his 60-year old father Jeet Singh, a daily labourer. 30-year old Singh, a class X pass out who works at a cloth merchant shop in Sangur on a monthly salary of Rs 2,500, is hoping to draw the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh through his letters. Braving the chill of foggy mornings here, Singh has shifted his protests to Jantar Mantar hoping to get his voice heard in the power corridors of the national capital. But so far, neither the BJP, which is ruling the Centre, nor the Shiromani Akali Dal in the state have offered anything concrete to him. Speaking to PTI, an emotional Singh said he was promised a job in 2006 by the then Punjab CM Aamrinder Singh but after the government changed, he has been running from pillar to post to get the promise implemented. "We met Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindhsa several time. After a number of meetings, he had told me that our representation was put before the Chief Minister, who said that he cannot help us as the letter of appointment was issued by the Congress-led Amarinder Singh's government and so the job cannot be given to us," Singh claimed. He said the then Deputy Collector whom his father had met after Amarinder Singh issued a letter could have given him any job "even that of a peon" but the present regime is not ready to offer even that. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A minor girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by two men at gun point near Faizpur in the district, police said today. The accused were arrested today and booked under various sections of IPC and Arms Act. The incident occurred yesterday when the girl and her male friend went out for a stroll, when they were allegedly waylaid by Kiran Koli and Wasudeo Tayde who robbed the girl's companion of cash and mobile phone handset. A complaint was registered under sections of rape and robbery with Faizpur police station. "We arrested both Koli and Tayde today, who have confessed to committing the crime. We have recovered the air-gun used in the crime and also the cell phone," said Faizpur station Assistant Police Inspector Sarthak Nehete. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Achalpur MLA Bacchu Kadu along with his supporters today gheraoed additional secretary of agriculture department Vijay Kumar demanding early release of subsidy for implementing micro-irrigation projects in Amravati division. Kadu, an independent MLA from Achalpur segment in Amravati district of Vidarbha region, claimed that Rs 250 crore in the form of subsidy to be given to farmers for implementing micro-irrigation measures at their farms is yet to be disbursed. "The funds are stuck up due to middle level agriculture officers. The state government has already sanctioned the amount at its level but further distribution in Amravati division has not taken place," Kadu pointed out. The MLA entered Kumar's office along with his supporters and said they would not leave the office unless strong steps were taken for release of the funds. "Despite the chief minister, finance minister and agriculture minister hailing from Vidarbha region. The farmers continue to be neglected by bureaucracy in such schemes," Kadu said. The agitation on the fifth floor of Mantralaya created panic for some time as farmers indulged in slogan shouting in support of their demands. Asked about Kadu's agitation, agriculture minister Pandurang Fundkar said, "Many farmers have deployed the set of micro-irrigation without permission from agriculture officers. The union government sponsored Vidarbha Sadhan Sinchan Scheme is now closed." He said, "The state government will try to seek some funds for farmers, but we will have to wait for it to be received from the Centre. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government has extended the deadline by two months for mobile phone manufacturers to implement the panic button feature in new handsets. "On the request of mobile device manufacturers, we have extended the period for implementing panic button in new handsets by two months ... The players had made a request saying they have unsold inventory of without the panic button ... So we have given them an extension till February 28," Telecom Secretary J S Deepak told PTI. The government in April 2016 mandated that all in the country from January 1, 2017, will be sold with panic button feature. As per the order, pressing panic button will make a call to single emergency number 112. "The mobile phone makers have taken up task to enable more than 2 crore phones every month with panic button very seriously. Industry is completely ready. There is minor aberration because of demonetisation which will be corrected in next 1-2 months," industry body ICA National President Pankaj Mohindroo said. Also, the government has mandated that from January 1, 2018, no mobile handset manufacturer shall sell new device in India without the facility of identifying the location through satellite-based GPS. The concept of a device with panic button feature was floated after brutal gangrape of a paramedical student in Delhi. The Ministry of Finance approved a Nirbhaya Fund following the incident, under which integration of the police administration with mobile phone network to trace and respond to distress calls with minimum response time, was to be done. Meanwhile, the trial run of ambitious helpline 112, that will be India's equivalent to 911 of the US's all-in-one emergency services, has been halted owing to numerous blank calls that were being received on the number, according to a senior police officer. A day after the Prime Minister urged the electorate in UP not to vote on caste considerations, BSP Chief today said he appears to have accepted defeat and rejected the charge of being a "casteist party". She also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on demonetiation, alleging that he did it to divert the people's attention as "he had failed to fulfill even a quarter of his poll promises", including bringing back blackmoney stashed abroad. "Yesterday's Lucknow speech showed that he (PM) has accepted defeat and that his party is not coming to power in UP. He repeatedly said that these elections will not be fought for victory or defeat and talked about responsibility," the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister told reporters. Taking a dig, she said the faces of Modi and BJP Chief Amit Shah have "lost glow". "Yesterday (at BJP's Lucknow rally) it has been proved through their lost glow, their manner of speaking and their statements that they are not coming to power in UP," she said. The Dalit leader alleged that BSP was being dubbed a "casteist" party as part of a political conspiracy. "Opposition parties level the wrong charge against the BSP that it is a casteist party so that other castes do not vote for it. This is their political conspiracy," said. "During all the four governments, BSP has worked in the interest of all castes besides the dalits," she said, adding that her party has also demanded quota on economic basis for the upper castes both in and outside Parliament. "The latest example to prove that we are not casteist is that we have given tickets to all sections of society for the coming elections," she said. Giving caste-wise details, she said that of the 403 seats, "85 are reserved for the SCs and 87 tickets have been given to dalits, 97 to Muslims, 106 to OBCs, 113 to upper castes (66 to Brahmins, 36 to Kshetriyas and 11 to Kayasthas, Vaishyas, Punjabis)." The BSP chief said that she had decided the candidates long ago and there will be no change in it but the list will be released later. She also ruled out any alliance in the coming polls. Mozambican rebel leader Afonso Dhlakama announced today a two-month ceasefire in the rumbling conflict between Renamo and the government, extending a week-long truce in a move welcomed by the president. The clashes between the Frelimo government and Renamo, an armed insurgent group and also an elected opposition party, have revived the spectre of Mozambique's civil war that ended more than 20 years ago. "There have been some minor incidents, but the seven-day truce went well, so I announce the extension of the truce for 60 days, until March 4," Dhlakama said in a telephone press conference. "The truce is intended to build an atmosphere conducive to advancing talks in Maputo, in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility for both sides." Dhlakama, who lives in hiding in the Gorongosa mountains, said Renamo forces would not attack government troops or positions. Last year saw a sharp escalation in violence, and more than 15,000 people have been forced to flee to government-run camps, relatives' homes or across the border to Malawi and Zimbabwe. The unexpected truce came after tentative moves towards a peace process were suspended indefinitely last year due to setbacks including the killing of a Renamo negotiator. President Filipe Nyusi said yesterday the truce was "productive" to building trust, according to local television reports. The fighting has often focused on Mozambique's main roads, with Renamo attacking government convoys and civilian vehicles, and soldiers ruthlessly targeting suspected Renamo rebels in nearby villagers. The death toll is unknown but scores of people are reported to have been killed in 2016, with both the Frelimo and Renamo parties also suffering assassinations of local politicians. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a major development, state road development firm MSRDC has floated tenders for the much ambitious Rs 46,000 crore Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communication Expressway project. Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has invited request for qualifications (RFQ) for constructing the 706 km long Maharashtra Samruddhi Corridor. The cost of the project is estimated at Rs 46,000 crore, which includes development of the nodes along the expressway. Out of the total cost of the project, the cost of civil work for which the tenders are invited is estimated at Rs 27,650 crore, Rs 13,000 crore is towards land acquisition, land pooling, Rs 2,500 crore for node development and Rs 500 crore for utility shifting. "We are in the advanced stage of acquiring the land for the project. We intend to float the request for proposal (RFP) by May and we are hopeful of completing the land acquisition," MSRDC Joint Managing Director Kiran Kurundkar told PTI here today. The project, along 706 km with 24 townships will require 10000 hectares of land. Of the total, only eight per cent falls in fertile agriculture category. The government has adopted land pooling method wherein farmers whose land is acquired would be returned 25-30 per cent of the developed land and annual crop loss compensation. As per the RFQ, the project will be developed in 16 packages on EPC mode. MSRDC has already appointed SBI Capital for assisting it in raising funds for the project. "We are expecting some assistance from the state government through budgetary provision. For the rest we will raise rupee loan and for this we have appointed SBI Capital. We are also in talks with Asian Development Bank in case we need further financial assistance," he added. Kurundkar further said we expect the work orders to be issued by August this year and complete the project by 2019. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Mumbai Congress today organised a meeting of north Indians in suburban Ghatkopar to set the agenda pertaining to north Indian community ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls. City Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam, who organised the meeting, put forth nine-point agenda for North Indians staying in the metropolis and vowed to work for their betterment. Nirupam said, "If elected to power in BMC, we will see to it that the law for the street vendors is implemented, temporary shelters are built for watchmen in housing societies among other issues." "In addition to this, we will also make arrangements for 24x7 water supply to every household and make sure that enough schools are run by the civic body in Hindi medium," said the Congress leader. The theme for the event was 'Come, let's decide the North Indian agenda for BMC polls.' Nirupam said, "These nine-points that we discussed today with thousands of Congress supporters are going to be one of the main features of our manifesto." However, most of the senior north Indian leaders from the party skipped the meeting. Congress MLA from Varanasi Ajay Rai, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, MLA and former cabinet minister Naseem Khan, former president of Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee Arjun Modhwadia and other local leaders attended the meet. Naseem Khan, said, "Congress is the only party which is the caretaker of the north Indians and has a special bond with them. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Myanmar police today said they had arrested three people over the murder of a local journalist known for his investigations into illegal logging and brothels. Eleven Media reporter Soe Moe Tun's battered body was found last month on the side of a road in Monywa, northwest of Mandalay. Myanmar ended official censorship in 2012 after the military junta ceded power, but journalists still face intimidation for investigating controversial topics. At least four reporters have been killed with impunity in Myanmar since 1999, according to the New York-based Committee for the Protection of Journalists. Local media sources said Soe Moe Tun had reported on the mining industry, illegal logging and the growth of karaoke lounges fronting for brothels before his death. Thein Swe Myint, an officer from Monywa police station, said authorities had arrested three suspects after questioning some 40 people over the murder. "First we arrested two people from a local KTV (karaoke) operator and we have arrested another one who used to be a logging truck driver," he told AFP. Saigang region, where Soe Moe Tun worked, is a hub for mining and logging of Myanmar's prized teak wood. Much of the timber is smuggled out of the country to India in a vast illegal trade thought to be worth billions of dollars. Advocacy groups say journalists covering the industry are increasingly facing intimidation for their work. At least 10 reporters covering environmental issues have been killed in South and Southeast Asia since 2010, according to Reporters Without Borders. Several months ago local Myanmar reporter Tin Zaw Oo was forced to move after his family was threatened by illegal loggers, said Myanmar Journalists' Network. Soe Moe Tun's wife, Khin Cho Lett, said she hoped his killers would be brought to justice. "My husband was killed very cruelly," she said. "I am waiting for the truth. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Naga Hoho, the apex body of tribal organisations in Nagaland, today alleged despite prolonged turmoil in the Naga inhabited areas of Manipur, the Government of Manipur and the Centre have been maintaining lukewarm attitude towards the genuine demands of the people. "The plight of the Naga people living in the Hill areas of Manipur has been suppressed by the Government of Manipur. The sensitivity and seriousness to resolve the issue has not been addressed," Naga Hoho president P Chuba Ozukum and Assembly Secretary K Elu Ndang said in a release here. Maintaining that the Naga Hoho believes in brotherhood and friendly relationship between the Nagas and Meiteis, they appealed to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to intervene and summon a tripartite meet between the Government of Manipur and the United Naga Council (UNC). The Hoho appealed that the two officials of UNC, including the president, who were still in police custody should be released unconditionally before any dialogue. "A solution to any problem or crisis could be brought only through dialogue across the table," the Hoho said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In yet another controversy after insult to national anthem, National Conference MLC Shauqat Hussain Ganai described in the Legislative Council the slain Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani as a "martyr", triggering protests from the ruling PDP and BJP. During a debate on Kashmir situation, Ganai said Burhan was a "martyr" and that he had "given up his life for the cause of Jammu and Kashmir". His remark drew protests from BJP and PDP members. PDP member Firdos Tak said such words should not be spoken on the floor of House. However, Ganai stood by his remarks and added, "Kashmir is political problem and youth have taken to guns." BJP MLC Surinder Ambardar also asked Ganai not to resort to such remarks on the floor of House. Burhan, commander of Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit, was killed in an encounter with the security forces in a village of Anantnag district in Kashmir on July 8 last year. Later, speaking to reporters outside the Council, Ganai said "Burhan Wani is a martyr. He claimed that there was no FIR or a case against Burhan till 2015 when BJP and PDP government came, and it is they who had said that there was no case of militancy registered against him. "I don't know how you can brand him as a terrorist. Jammu and Kashmir is an issue and if he has raised this issue and given sacrifice of his life, he is a martyr. It is my personal opinion, not that of the party," the NC MLC said. He went on to add, "Whatever the special rights we had in Jammu and Kashmir, central government always tried to bulldoze them and amend them. We had a Prime Minister and 'Sadr-e- Riyasat' (president) in Jammu and Kashmir and it was changed into the post of Chief Minister and Governor. "Government of India slowly and steadily eroded the special position of Jammu and Kashmir. If some people fight for restoration of that special status and he loses his life in the fight, what can be he called, he is a martyr?" Reacting to NC MLC's remarks, Leader of the House and Education Minister Naeem Akhtar said, "It has become a fashion to say that those killed in Kashmir are our children. They are not our children. They (some politicians) do politics on them and nothing else. We did nothing to save them. They are further pushing them into it. They should be asked what they saying." Taking a dig at such people, Akhtar said, "we feel good to call our neighbour's son a martyr but God forbid, if our own children are involved, our sentiments are different. My (separatists') own son is well settled in a foreign country and my daughter is working somewhere else." Slamming the remarks, Ambardar said, "it is very unfortunate. NC is a very responsible party and their legislator talks of a separatist language". The BJP MLC recalled that Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, during his address to the UN General Assembly in September last, had also described Burhan as a "Kashmiri leader". "It was established in the entire world that Burhan Wani was a terrorist and a Pak agent. Now NC, being out of power, is glorifying him with this term," Ambardar said. "Whenever the NC is out of power, it rakes up such issues. It is unfortunate that the honourable member of NC speaks at the behest of separatists on the floor of the House," he said. (REOPENS DES 50) In the Legislative Council, PDP lawmaker Firdous Tak interrupted Ganai and sought clarification from him to confirm whether his remarks represented his party or were his personal opinion. Tak said, "the statement of member just made in the House is very sensitive; this message would go outside, so he must know what he is speaking in the House." Reacting to this, Ganai said, "I am fully aware about the place where I made the statement and I stand by each word I have said about Burhan Wani. Scientists have developed a novel leaf-shaped device that can be used to produce medicines sustainably and cheaply, anywhere you want - in the middle of the jungle or even on Mars. Inspired by the art of nature where leaves are able to collect enough sunlight to produce food, researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands created prototype reactor - shaped as a leaf. Using sunlight to make chemical products has long been a dream of many a chemical engineer. The problem is that the available sunlight generates too little energy to kick off reactions, researchers said. However, nature is able to do this. Antenna molecules in leaves capture energy from sunlight and collect it in the reaction centres of the leaf where enough solar energy is present for the chemical reactions that give the plant its food. The researchers came across relatively new materials, known as luminescent solar concentrators (LSC's), which are able to capture sunlight in a similar way. Special light-sensitive molecules in these materials capture a large amount of the incoming light that they then convert into a specific colour that is conducted to the edges via light conductivity. These LSC's are often used in practice in combination with solar cells to boost the yield. Researchers, led by Timothy Noel, combined the idea of an LSC with their knowledge of microchannels, incorporating very thin channels in a silicon rubber LSC through which a liquid can be pumped. In this way they were able to bring the incoming sunlight into contact with the molecules in the liquid with high enough intensity to generate chemical reactions. While the reaction they chose serves as an initial example, the results surpassed all their expectations, and not only in the lab. "Even an experiment on a cloudy day demonstrated that the chemical production was 40 per cent higher than in a similar experiment without LSC material," said Noel. For the production of drugs there is certainly a lot of potential. The chemical reactions for producing drugs currently require toxic chemicals and a lot of energy in the form of fossil fuels. By using visible light the same reactions become sustainable, cheap and, in theory, countless times faster. "Using a reactor like this means you can make drugs anywhere, in principle, whether malaria drugs in the jungle or paracetamol on Mars. All you need is sunlight and this mini-factory," he said. The study was published in the journal Angewandte Chemie. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a first of its kind action in Rajasthan, a government teacher and an officiating Gram Sevak of a panchayat have been suspended for not having toilets in their houses in Jhalawar district today. Interestingly, they were entrusted with the responsibility of making people aware about the problems of open defecation and motivate the locals to construct toilets, a government official said. "LDC Hemraj Singh, who has the incharge Gram Sevak in Keetia Panchayat, and the teacher of government school-Bishania village Prem Singh were suspended today on charge of dereliction of duty," Sub-Divisional Magistrate Gangdhar Chandan Dubey said. They were given the responsibility of making the villages open defecation free but both of them had no toilets constructed in their houses. "During the morning follow up of the campaign against open defecation, it came to light that both the Gram Sevak and the teacher had no toilets in their houses. "When they and their family members are into the practice of defecating in the open, how effectively can they sensitise people against open defecation? Therefore, action against them was taken," he said. After approval from the district collector, the SDM suspended the Gram Sevak while the teacher was suspended by the District Education Officer. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least one person was killed and seven others were injured in an explosion at a public toilet in China's Shaanxi Province, official media reported. The blast last Saturday was triggered by excessive sewer gas in the toilet, state run Xinhua agency reported today. Investigators said that the explosion was caused by an explosive mixture of sewer gas. The toilet in Hengshan District of Yulin city collapsed in the explosion, killing one person and injuring seven others. Sewer gas consists of the products of decomposing organic waste and may include methane, ammonia and hydrogen sulphide, among many others. Many public toilets in China, especially mid-western regions, are still dry -- basically pits exposed to the open air, the report said. With China's fast economic and social development, local authorities have been spending heavily on renovation of sub-standard toilets, China's "toilet revolution," and sanitation has become a measure of the quality of local economic growth, the report said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Opposition parties in Jammu and Kashmir today staged a walkout from the Assembly alleging that the state government was not serious about discussing the Kashmir unrest as Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who was scheduled to speak on the issue, had left for Srinagar. Soon after the House met for the day, opposition leader Omar Abdullah said, "I have come to know that the Chief Minister, who was scheduled to speak today, has left for Srinagar. This shows that the government is not serious on discussing the Kashmir unrest and there is no reason to sit in the House." He said the Chief Minister was not serious towards the house and the Opposition, "then why are we wasting our time here". Opposition National Conference (NC) and Congress then staged the walkout. Congress MLC Usman Majid alleged that the government was not serious about the discussion on the Kashmir unrest. Speaker Kavinder Gupta informed the House that the Chief Minister would reply on the discussion on Kashmir unrest in the next sitting after the Question Hour. The House was later adjourned for the day. Later, in a series of tweets attacking Mufti, Abdullah said, "What a pity that @Mehbooba Mufti chose to fly to Srinagar rather than participate in the discussion about the recent summer unrest (sic)." "It shows her complete lack of concern for the victims, her uncaring attitude and her total disdain for the sanctity of the Assembly of J&K," he said. The former CM tweeted, "Rather than reply to the discussion she preferred to fly out so she could lay a handful of foundation stones in the valley tomorrow!!! (sic)." "She used the state's plane and could've flown out later this evening or early tomorrow morning," he suggested in a tweet. Meanwhile, Education Minister Naeem Akhter said the members of the Opposition should have listened to others present in the House. "He should have listened to them as they could have also shown the way forward. Omar Abdullah every day says that he has committed mistakes. It is possible that he could mend his mistakes by listening to a small leader," he said. On Abdullah's statement that Mufti should take responsibility for the unrest and resign, Akhter said, "It is their only concern as they had a monopoly in Jammu and Kashmir. The NC and Congress shared power alternatively, but now this monopoly has been broken. They have to learn to live with it." He claimed that in 2010, the PDP never asked the NC to leave the government. "The NC has a monopolistic mindset as they could not digest Mehbooba Mufti becoming Chief Minister. Now everybody has to work and people will decide the fate of leaders," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Organic wines taste better than those from vineyards that use pesticides and fertilisers, a new study of more than 74,000 wines has found. Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) analysed expert reviews for 74,148 wines which appeared in wine-rating magazines. They discovered that organic wines scored an average of 4.1 points higher than their non-organic counterparts. Adopting organic practices and banishing pesticides allows microbes in the soil to flourish, which enhances the flavour of grapes and give a truer representation of the 'terroir' or the natural environment of the vine, researchers said. Growing grapes without fertilisers also reduces yield, which may improve quality because the vine needs to ripen a smaller amount of fruit, and so the juice becomes more concentrated, and tastier. "Littler consensus exists as to whether ecocertified wines are associated with worse, similar or better quality than their traditional counterparts," Professor Magali Delmas, of the UCLA told 'The Telegraph'. "Our results indicated that the adoption of wine ecocertification has a significant and positive effect on wine ratings," Delmas said. To determine the quality of organic, versus non-organic wines, the team studied 74,148 wines from California, which were of vintages between 1998 and 2004, from 3,482 vineyards. The study looked at more than 30 grape varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Semillon and Zinfandel. The study was published in the Journal of Wine Economics. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), has won rights to bid for oil and gas development projects in Iran. is among the 29 international oil from more than a dozen countries that Iran has pre-qualified to bid in the upcoming tender for oil and gas projects, according to the list put out by National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC). Others on the list include Royal Dutch Shell Plc, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), Total SA of France, Russia's Gazprom and Eni of Italy. Iran, the holder of world's fourth-largest oil reserves and OPEC's third-largest oil producer, is hoping to attract as much as USD 150 billion in foreign investment in its oil, gas and petrochemicals sectors over the next few years. The list of pre-qualified firms also included Malaysia's Petronas, Russia's Lukoil, China's CNOOC and Sinopec, Inpex of Japan, KOGAS of Korea. Most of these have been involved in Iran's oil industry projects before the US- tailored sanctions were imposed against the country in 2011. Newcomers include Wintershall from Germany, Maersk from Finland, DNO from Norway and CEPSA from Spain, according to the NIOC list. US oil services provider Schlumberger Ltd was also among those identified, according to the NIOC website. is already present in Iran. In 2008, it had discovered the Farzad-B gas field in the Farsi block in Persian Gulf. The discovery has an in-place gas reserve of 21.7 trillion cubic feet, of which 12.5 tcf are recoverable. "We are in negotiations with Iran for development rights of Farzad-B field," a senior company official said. "Discussions on continuing a development plan that we submitted to Iranian authorities. We are hoping negotiations will continue soon." Gas produced from the field can either be converted into LNG by freezing at sub-zero temperature and shipping in cryogenic ships to India or transported through a pipeline -- via overland passing through Pakistan or sub-sea. The official said the will definitely look at participating in the bid round that Iran will hold using a new, less restrictive Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC) model. The IPC model ends a buy-back system dating back more than 20 years under which Iran did not allow foreign firms to book reserves or take equity stakes in Iranian . Under a buyback deal, the host government agreed to pay the contractor an agreed price for all volumes of hydrocarbons the contractor produces. But now, NIOC will set up joint ventures for crude oil and gas production with international companies which will be paid with a share of the output. Also, different stages of exploration, development and production will be offered to contractors as an integrated package, with the emphasis laid on enhanced and improved recovery. The new IPC is said to be more flexible terms that take into account oil price fluctuations and investment risks. Amid a chill in Indo-Pak ties, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today called a high-level meeting and reviewed the current status of the country's ties with its neighbours and strategic partners. Sharif said Pakistan believes in peaceful co-existence with all countries of the region and looks forward to establish strong and mutually beneficial relations with them. He chaired a high-level meeting at the Prime Minister's House here and reviewed the current status of Pakistan's relations with its neighbours and strategic partners, according to an official statement. "Peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and economically integrated region must be our shared objective and we must strive for realising this objective. This could be possible only when we demonstrate a commitment to our aspirations of peace, progress and prosperity," Sharif said during the meeting. His remarks come amid severe chill in Indo-Pak ties after Pakistan-based terrorists attacked an Indian army base in Uri in September. Sharif added that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a "cornerstone of our own quest for regional connectivity and shared prosperity". The meeting evaluated various policy options in response to different challenges in regard to foreign relations. It focused on issues pertaining to regional, external and internal security situation. It also reviewed bilateral and multi-lateral relations with neighbouring countries, future roadmap for regional stability and maintenance of mutually beneficial relations with all countries in the region and beyond. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan, army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, ISI chief Lt. Gen. Naveed Mukhtar, Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant to PM Tariq Fatemi, National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. (R) Nasser Khan Janjua and other senior officials attended the meeting. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Samajwadi Party's Maharashtra unit chief Abu Azmi today said though it was the duty of police to ensure safety of women on the New Year eve, women should not forget that "security starts at home", and that partying late night is not in the Indian culture. "Partying late night in half attire, blindly following western culture, has never been our culture. Ladies hailing from well-to-do families, be it from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan or UP, they come out in decent attire and mostly with their family members," he said, when asked about alleged harassment of women in Bengaluru during the New Year eve. "I am saying what happened is very unfortunate. Undoubtedly, making security arrangement to thwart any eventuality is police's job. But, as far as Bengaluru molestation is concerned, women and their guardians must also take precautions and think that security starts at home. Our women must think about their own security themselves," Azmi told PTI. New Year revelry turned into a nightmare for several women who were allegedly molested despite huge police presence at a large gathering at Bengaluru's downtown region, sparking widespread outrage. "But when few women in half dress come out on streets at late night with their friends, such incidents do occur," said Azmi, an MLA from Shivaji Nagar in suburban Mumbai. He also recited Urdu verses, "Achchi soorat bhi kya buri shay hai, jisne bhi dali...Buri nazar dali" "The women are pride of our family and country. Therefore, it is our duty to safeguard them. If we allow them to follow western culture blindly, then I am sorry to say that people will misbehave them in such ways," the SP leader said. Azmi also defended Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara who had stoked a controversy by blaming the youngsters' "western ways" for the incidents. "He (Parameshwara) said the harsh reality. These kind of things do happen when women try to copy the westerners, not only in their mindset but even in their dressing," he said. Eyewitness accounts suggest that women were molested and groped and lewd remarks were also passed by miscreants late night on December 31 in a posh area of Bengaluru even as it was claimed that 1,500 police personnel had been deployed to control the crowds. Commission of Women (NCW) Chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam had come down heavily on the police and slammed Parameshwara's remarks, demanding that he should resign. The NCW as well as the Karnataka State Commission for Women also sought separate reports from administration and police over the incidents. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today advocated scientific social responsibility (SSR) for leading scientific institutions on the lines of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to promote scientific excellence in all stakeholders, including educational institutions. Modi also exhorted scientists to keep an eye on the rise of disruptive technologies and leverage them for the country's growth, as he pledged government's commitment to supporting different scientific streams with emphasis on innovations. Noting that the rapid rise of Cyber Physical Systems has the potential to pose unprecedented challenges and stresses to India's demographic dividend, Modi emphasised on the need to develop an inter-ministerial mission in this area to secure the nation by creating basic R&D infrastructure, man power and skills. "On the lines of Corporate Social Responsibility, the concept of Scientific Social Responsibility needs to be inculcated to connect our leading institutions to all stakeholders, including schools and colleges. We must create an environment for sharing of ideas and resources," the prime minister said in his inaugural address at the 104th session of the Indian Science Congress here. Noting that the brightest and best in every corner of India should have the opportunity to excel in science, Modi said this will ensure that our youth get high-end training exposure to the best of science and technology to make them job-ready in a competitive world. "To this end, I would exhort the National Laboratories to connect with schools and colleges to develop appropriate training programmes. This will also help with the effective use and maintenance of our vast scientific and technological infrastructure. "Laboratories, Research Institutions and Universities in each major city region, should be interlinked to function on a hub and spoke model. The hubs will share major infrastructure, drive our national science missions and be the engines that link discovery to application," he said. The prime minister said college teachers with background in research can be connected to the neighbouring universities and R&D institutions. "Outreach activities from the institutions of eminence to schools, colleges and polytechnics will activate the latent Science and Technology manpower from the educational institutions in your neighbourhoods." "Seeding the power of ideas and innovation in schoolchildren will broaden the base of our innovation pyramid and secure the future of our nation. As a step in this direction, Ministry of Science & Technology is initiating a programme focused on students of classes 6 to 10," Modi said, adding, "The programme will scout, mentor, reward and showcase ten lakh top innovative ideas focused on local needs from 5 lakh schools." Referring to the rise of disruptive technologies, Modi said there is equally a need for the scientists to keep an eye on them and be prepared to leverage them for growth. "One important area that needs to be addressed is the rapid global rise of Cyber-Physical Systems. This has the potential to pose unprecedented challenges and stresses to our demographic dividend. But we can turn it into a huge opportunity by research, training and skilling in (fields like) robotics, artificial intelligence, digital manufacturing, big data analysis, deep learning, quantum communication and Internet-of-Things." Modi emphasised on the need to develop and exploit these technologies in services and manufacturing sectors, in agriculture, water, energy and traffic management; health, environment, infrastructure and Geo Information Systems; security; financial systems and in combating crime. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister on Tuesday exhorted scientists to keep an eye on the rise of disruptive technologies even as he underlined government's commitment to supporting different streams ranging from fundamental science to applied science with emphasis on innovations. In his address at the inauguration of the 104th session of the Indian Science Congress, Modi listed "rapid global rise of Cyber-Physical Systems" as one important area that needed to be addressed, saying it has potential to pose unprecedented challenges and stresses on the demographic dividend. "But we can turn it into a huge opportunity by research, training and skilling in robotics, artificial intelligence, digital manufacturing, big data analysis, deep learning, quantum communication and Internet-of-Things. "There is a need to develop and exploit these technologies in services and manufacturing sectors; in agriculture, water, energy and traffic management, health, environment, security, infrastructure and Geo Information Systems, financial systems and in combating crime," he said. The speed and scale of changes encountered today are unprecedented, he said. "My government is committed to supporting different streams of scientific knowledge; ranging from fundamental science to applied science with emphasis on innovations. Some of these important challenges are in the key sectors of clean water & energy, food, environment, climate, security, and health care," he said. Building a strong science and technology infrastructure that is accessible to academia, start-ups, industry and R&D labs is a priority of the government, he said, adding they need to address problems of ease of access, maintenance, redundancy and duplication of expensive equipments in scientific institutions. "The desirability of establishing professionally managed, large regional centres in PPP mode housing high value scientific equipment should be examined," he said. Noting that SCOPUS database indicates that India ranks sixth in the world with respect to scientific publications and is growing at a rate of about 14 per cent against the world average of about 4 per cent, Modi said by 2030 India will be among the top three countries in science and technology and will be among the most attractive destinations for the best talent in the world. Scopus is a bibliographic database containing abstracts and citations for academic journal articles. He asked institutions to consider inviting outstanding scientists from abroad including NRIs for long term research associations. "We should involve foreign and NRI PhD students in post-doctoral research in our projects," he said. Science must meet the rising aspirations of our people, he said, asserting that problems of urban-rural divide and work for inclusive development, economic growth and employment generation must be addressed through it. Seeking to make science and technology a strong tool of inclusive development and betterment of the weakest and poorest segments of our society, he said ministries, scientists, R&D institutions, industries, start-ups, universities and IITs, all should work together seamlessly. "In particular, our infrastructure and socio-economic ministries must make appropriate use of science and technology," he said. President Pranab Mukherjee today said India and Myanmar should work to strengthen cooperation in the areas of shared interest to realise their respective developmental goals. Greeting President U Htin Kyaw on the eve of Myanmar's Independence Day, he said, "India and Myanmar cherish long standing close and friendly relations." In his message, Mukherjee recalled the visit of President Kyaw in August last year and said that on the occasion, "We had reviewed our bilateral relationship and jointly identified the areas of shared interest where we would like to strengthen our cooperation to our mutual benefit." "I am confident that our efforts will meet with success and contribute to the realisation of our respective developmental goals," he added. Myanmar celebrates its Independence day on January 4, the day it got freedom from United Kingdom in 1948. Unlike other former British colonies and overseas territories, it is not a member of the Commonwealth. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Difficulties that arose in wake of the note ban are slowly easing with the availability of new 500 rupee notes, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu today said, days after he stated the solution to the problems arising out of demonetisation remained elusive. Chandrababu, who also heads the panel of chief ministers formed to give recommendations on how to promote digital payment systems, transparency, financial inclusion post note-ban, said the committee will soon give its interim report to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Situation is easing slowly. People are using digital transactions. I am confident, we will move forward. 25 per cent transactions in Andhra Pradesh are digital. Very soon, we will give our report to the PM. It will be an interim report. We will study further and try to incorporate best practises from all over the world," he said. Chandrababu, who initially had supported demonetisation, later said solutions to problems arising out of the note ban were still elusive. He had subsequently clarified his statement was misinterpreted. Speaking at the Indian Science Congress, Chandrababu, in the presence of Modi, said, demonetisation was a bold decision and it, along with GST, is one of the biggest economic reforms since Independence. "We can simplify business, eradicate tax evasion, and put an end to the parallel economy, which helps anti-social elements," he said. The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister also said he wants to replicate another Silicon Valley success story in his state. He said, the state government is establishing an Innovation Society in each University and College, with incubation centres to promote start-ups. "Andhra Pradesh has been in the forefront in promoting science and technology. Our government has launched the Andhra Pradesh Knowledge Mission as a first step in transforming our state into an Education hub and Knowledge State and to strengthen its research and academic base," he said. The sanctioning of 11 prestigious central institutions to our state by the Union Government would also go a long way in buttressing our efforts in this regard. They will help develop core technologies with our own research and thus truly transform India into a global design and manufacturing hub," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An IAS officer of 1976 batch, Rajen Habib Khwaja took charge as the Director General of the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) at a brief ceremony in Bella Vista here today. Khwaja, who superannuated from service on February, 28, 2014, after a career spanning 38 years, had held key positions, including Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministries of Tourism and Mines and Chairman and Managing Director of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL). "ASCI has been a prestigious institute in training managers since 1956. The value statement of our College is, 'Let us be together, let us interact together. And, may our minds comprehend together.' My endeavour will be to work together with all Bella Vistans in strengthening and nurturing our institution in all possible ways," Khwaja said. Khwaja turned SCCL from a loss making Public Sector Undertaking to a profit making company, which paid dividend after 37 years gap in 2003. He was in USA from 1989 to 1990 as a Hubert Humphrey North-South Fellow in University of Minnesota, according to an ASCI statement. Khwaja has been a distinguished speaker in important and renowned international and national institutions. He has lectured in World Bank (Washington DC), Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, USA, and Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, it said. Khwaja and Modi Siddiqui, Managing Director of Intellects Biz, co-authored a celebrated book on management of change, titled 'The Acrobatics of Change - Concepts, Techniques, Strategies and Execution'. ASCI Employees Union office-bearers, led by the president S Sreeramulu and secretary Md Hasan, felicitated Khwaja, it was stated. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander took four wickets each as South Africa bowled out Sri Lanka for 110 and took total control on the second day of the second Test at Newlands today. South Africa built on a first innings lead of 282 and reached 35 for no wicket by the close, an overall lead of 317 runs. With three days remaining, Sri Lanka faced a seemingly impossible task if they were to prevent the hosts from securing a series-clinching win. Rabada took four for 37 and Philander four for 27. The Sri Lankan batting crumbled after Rabada broke a stubborn opening partnership. Kaushal Silva and Dimuth Karunaratne defied South Africa's new ball attack for 73 minutes, putting on 31 runs before Rabada made the breakthrough in the 16th over when Silva was forced on to the back foot by a lifting delivery which he played on to his stumps. Sri Lanka lost a second wicket shortly before tea when Kusal Mendis, who had earlier slog-swept left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj for six, tried to repeat the shot and top-edged a simple catch to JP Duminy at short cover. The innings went into an irreversible slide three balls after tea when Dimuth Karunaratne, who had made a patient 24, square-cut Rabada and Temba Bavuma dived to take a sharp, low catch at backward point. Rabada and Maharaj reduced the Lankans to 78 for six. Upul Tharanga and Rangana Herath put on 22 for the seventh wicket before Philander wrapped up the innings by taking the final four wickets at a personal cost of five runs in 12 balls. Maharaj, bowling into a strong south-easterly wind, took two for 32 while the two fast bowlers took seven of their combined eight wickets with the wind at their backs. Both Rabada and Philander reached personal milestones. Rabada took his 50th wicket in his 13th Test, while Philander achieved 150 wickets in 39 Tests. Earlier Quinton de Kock made his third Test century and fast bowler Lahiru Kumara took six wickets as South Africa were bowled out for 392 in their first innings. Kumara, 19, who had not taken more than two wickets in an innings in his previous two Test matches and three other first-class games, finished with six for 122. De Kock took his score from 68 to 101, made off 124 balls with 11 fours, before edging Kumara to wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal. Seven South Africans were caught behind, three by Mendis when Chandimal was suffering from a fever on the first day and four by Chandimal on Tuesday. The combined wicketkeeping haul was one more than the Sri Lankan Test record and equal to the world record. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Railways will make 3,000 special bogies for "divyangs" (persons with disabilities) by 2018 to make their travel comfortable and hassle-free, an official said today. These bogies will have various facilities to ensure the differently abled passengers or "divyangs" have smooth train travel, said Kamlesh Pandey, Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) in Union Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. Addressing a press conference here, he said the special bogies will be interlinked, will have more seats, space and signage to locate them. Pandey is here for a review meeting of welfare schemes launched for "divyangs" in Nagpur district. This initiative has been taken to make rail travel more convenient for divyangs, he added. Pandey informed that around 180 Government buildings in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Nagpur will be made accessible to divyangs with various facilities like ramps, lifts and disable -friendly sound system. The project has been sent to the Central Government for approval, he said. "Earlier, there were seven categories of persons with disabilities in the Disability Act, 1995. Now 21 more categories have been included in the Act. These include mental illness, thalassemia, dwarfness and acid burn," Pandey said. "Similarly, reservation in these categories have been increased from 3 per cent to 4 per cent," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Raising red flags over dilution of FDI norms for local carriers, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) has said the decision would place domestic players at a disadvantage as well as have serious implications on national security. FIA, whose members are IndiGo, SpiceJet, Jet Airways and GoAir, have been vociferous in their opposition against relaxation of foreign direct investment norms for airlines. In a strongly-worded letter to the Civil Aviation Ministry, the grouping has suggested that any dilution in substantial ownership criteria for domestic carriers should be done only on a reciprocal basis. Emphasising that dilution in the substantial ownership criteria should be applied strictly on a reciprocal basis, said any unilateral concession by India would place the local carriers at a serious competitive disadvantage vis-a-vis their foreign counterparts. As part of liberalising norms to overseas investments, foreign non-airline players can own up to 100 per cent stake in local carriers. According to FIA, once foreign controlled airlines are established as Indian carriers, they would gain automatic access to defence airfields. Since an unfriendly foreign country can easily route its investment through other countries or through shell companies, allowing effective control to lie outside the country has "huge implications", it added. also noted that the amendment would enable a foreign airline, through its group to be able to own a domestic airline in India. As per the grouping, changing from SOEC (Substantial Ownership and Effective Control) to Principal Place Business (PPB) in Air Service Agreements (ASAs) would impact capacity entitlements. "Accepting PPB will also open the back door for entry by foreign airlines into India's lucrative domestic market at a time when the Indian carriers are still at a fairly nascent stage of their growth. The grouping, which has legally challenged granting of Air Operator's Permit (AOP) to AirAsia and Vistara, cited that even the US and Canada, allow only 25 per cent of voting rights to foreign nationals and entities in their airlines. "Foreign governments, including those of Singapore and Malaysia, do not allow airlines in India to set up subsidiaries in their countries. Therefore, it is not understood why India should extend them this courtesy," the December 30 letter said. The Jammu and Kashmir government today said the Crime Branch's report into alleged misappropriation of funds by the drawing and disbursement officers (DDOs) of the police department is being examined by the administrative department. In a reply to a query about alleged misappropriation of Rs 115.68 crore for security related expenditure (SRE), Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti told the Legislative Assembly that the report is under examination in the administrative department. The amount was provided by the Centre to police for 'Carriage of Constabulary and Hiring of Vehicles' during 2014 Parliamentary and Assembly elections. "Pursuant to the accountant general audit regarding alleged misappropriation of government funds committed by some DDOs of the police department in carriage of constabulary and hiring of vehicles during parliamentary and assembly polls in 2014, the director general of police referred the matter to the Crime Branch for holding time-bound enquiry. "The report of the Crime Branch endorsed by the PHQ (police headquarters) is under examination in the administrative department," she said. In the mean time, the matter was referred to the finance department for detailed audit of expenditure incurred in hiring of vehicles under SRE by all police department DDOs during assembly and parliamentary elections in 2014 in a time bound manner, the Chief Minister said. "The matter is being pursued in the finance department," Mufti said. To a supplementary question regarding allowing police officers in Srinagar, who were named in the scam, to conduct the enquiry, she said, "Enquiry was ordered by the director general of police, J&K through the Crime Branch which has furnished its finding in the case." The allegations regarding misappropriation of funds will be examined on the receipt of the audit report from the finance department, she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russia is eyeing naval exercises with the Philippines and deployed two navy ships for a goodwill visit to Manila today as Moscow moves to expand defense ties with a Filipino president known for being hostile to the US. Rear Adm Eduard Mikhailov, deputy commander of Russia's Pacific Fleet, led the five-day visit of vessels including an anti-submarine ship and showcased what his country can offer to a Southeast Asian nation that's long been a staunch American treaty ally. "You can choose ... To cooperate with United States of America or to cooperate with Russia," Mikhailov told reporters through an interpreter at the Manila harbor after a welcoming ceremony. "But from our side we can help you in every way that you need." "We are sure that in the future we'll have exercises with you. Maybe, just maneuvering or maybe use of combat systems and so on," he said. The anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs and sea tanker Boris Butoma have a wide range of combat features. Filipinos will be allowed to tour the huge ships and Russian marines will demonstrate their combat capability during the high-profile visit, according to the Philippine navy. With an underfunded and underequipped military, the Philippines has struggled to deal with attacks by ransom-seeking Abu Sayyaf militants and allied gunmen, who have kidnapped crewmen of tugboats and ships from neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia in the Sulu Sea and outlying waters. Russia can help through future combat drills, Mikhailov said. "We have an experience in fighting these (threats)," he said. "We will share to you our knowledge on these problems, how to solve piracy and terrorism." After Russian and Philippine officials met in Manila in August, the two countries began drafting a proposed defense cooperation accord that could be signed during a planned visit by President Rodrigo Duterte to Russia in April. The visit by the Russian navy ships is the third to the Philippines and the first under Duterte, who took office in June. Duterte has lashed out at outgoing President Barack Obama and his administration for criticizing Duterte's deadly crackdown on illegal drugs which is feared to have left more than 6,000 suspected drug users and dealers. Contrastingly, Duterte has reached out to China and Russia -- whose leaders he has met recently -- in a dramatic shift in Philippine foreign policy that has put Washington in a dilemma. The Philippines has depended heavily on the US, its treaty ally, for weapons, ships and aircraft for years, although it has turned to other countries for defense equipment. After visiting Moscow last month, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Philippine military was considering purchasing sniper rifles from Russia. Duterte has repeatedly threatened to scale back US troop presence and joint exercises with the Americans in the Philippines. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) South Korea said today that US president-elect Donald Trump had sent a "clear warning" to North Korea with a tweet dismissing Pyongyang's ballistic missile claims. "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US," Trump tweeted. "It won't happen!" Trump's tweet came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un appeared to try to pressure the incoming president by announcing his country is in the "final stages" of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Kim also said his country had significantly bolstered its nuclear arsenal last year. Washington has repeatedly vowed that it would never accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed nation, but Trump has not previously clearly stated his policy on the isolated Stalinist state. "President-elect Trump's message is significant since it is his first mention of North Korea's nuclear programme and can be seen as a clear warning," South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-Hyuck told a briefing. Cho said the incoming US administration was clearly aware of the "gravity and urgency" of Pyongyang's nuclear threat thanks to South Korea's "active outreach". US policy on the North would remain largely unchanged, he said. "They are maintaining an unwavering stance on the need for sanctions on North Korea," Cho said. In a New Year's speech on Sunday, Kim did not make a specific reference to the incoming Trump administration. But he called on Washington to make a "resolute decision to withdraw its anachronistic hostile North Korea policy". Analysts are divided over how close Pyongyang is to realising its full nuclear ambitions, especially as it has never successfully test-fired an ICBM. However, it carried out two nuclear tests and numerous missile launches last year alone in pursuit of its oft-stated goal -- developing a weapons system capable of hitting the US mainland with a nuclear warhead. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a PIL seeking a court-monitored probe by CBI and the Enforcement Directorate in the AgustaWestland helicopter scam case and the allegation that some media persons took bribes from foreign arms dealers in connection with the deal. A bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Arun Mishra asked the counsel for petitioner, who has filed the PIL on the issue, to serve the copies of the petition to the Ministry of Home Affairs, CBI and the Enforcement Directorate. The plea, filed by Hari Jaisingh, a veteran journalist, has said that the agencies, CBI and ED which have been probing the case, be also asked to submit a report to this court in a sealed cover stating the status of the investigaton. It has also sought "setting up of a Commission of Inquiry under the stewardship of a retired judge of this court, or any other eminent person which this court deems fit" to probe the allegations that some media persons indulged in corrupt practices. The PIL, filed through lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, alleged that "Finmeccanica (parent company of AgustaWestland) had invited a group of Indian journalists on a fully paid for trip to Italy". The plea has referred to the judgement of the Milan Court of Appeals and said the role of a "middleman/agent who acted on behalf of AgustaWestland emerged". It also said an individual stationed in New Delhi and acting as the representative of AgustaWestland in India was specifically tasked with acting as a "facilitator" to ensure "smooth disbursement of funds allocated for managing key Indian officials and several influential members of Indian media". It has also sought a direction to the Centre to seek affidavits of "financial disclosures from the members of the media who have received funding and hospitality from foreign and domestic defence and other ancillary industries, and to make public this information and submit to the court on affidavit whether on these sums taxes have been paid or not". The Cabinet Committee on Security in 2010 had cleared a proposal to acquire 12 helicopters for the use of VVIPS after a long process that involved change in some parameters, evaluations and negotiations and these helicopters were to be used by the Communication Squadron of the air force. The chopper deal was later cancelled. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Vietnamese man has had scissors removed from his abdomen which were left behind during surgery 18 years ago, after reporting a stomachache that was nearly two decades in the making. Ma Van Nhat, now 54, underwent surgery in 1998 after a car accident and only recently discovered that doctors had left an unwelcome gift behind when they closed him up. Doctors discovered the 15-centimetre scissors near his colon after a recent ultrasound. He had a three-hour operation at the weekend to remove the scissors, according to Ngo Trung Thang, deputy head of general affairs at Gang Thep Thai Nguyen hospital, 80 kilometres north of Hanoi. "He is recovering well," Thang told AFP today. Nhat had spent nearly two decades "eating, drinking and having a pretty normal life", according to Suc Khoe va Doi Song site, the official mouthpiece of Vietnam's health ministry. The ultrasound that discovered the scissors only came about after Nhat reported stomach pains. Officials said they were searching for the doctors who performed surgery in Bac Kan province in 1998, but have not yet tracked down any culprits. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shiv Sena has expressed its displeasure over removal of party leader Sanjay Rathod as Yavatmal guardian minister without the ally being consulted. Rathod, an MLA from Yavatmal, is presently Minister of State for Revenue in Maharashtra government. All ministers from the Sena conveyed the displeasure to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis after the weekly Cabinet meeting here this morning, a senior Sena minister told PTI. Last week, Rathod was shifted as in-charge minister of Washim and also made the joint guardian minister of Yavatmal. Minister of State for Energy Madan Yerwar was made the guardian minister of Yavatmal in place of Rathod. An official in the Chief Minister's office said BJP has more legislators in Yavatmal than Shiv Sena, so the senior ally felt that its leader should be made guardian minister of the district. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Taking on the Centre against the backdrop of assumption of charge by General Bipin Rawat as the new Army chief, the today asked the government if there is a political will to teach Pakistan a lesson. "Our soldiers have the courage along with a 56-inch chest and are ready to face the enemy while taking bullets upon themselves. But the moot question remains if there is a political will in Delhi to teach Pakistan a lesson," an editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said. General Rawat had said his force is prepared for a two-front war involving Pakistan and China simultaneously while emphasising the need to look at cooperation and not confrontation with Beijing. The country has lost most of its jawans in the Kashmir Valley in the last two-and-a-half years, the NDA constituent pointed out, and asked if there is a need to remain silent when Pakistan refuses to end bloodshed. "For how many years do we keep bearing the sword of insecurity hanging over our heads? Pakistan has indulged in ceasefire violations hundreds of times in the last two years and attacked Army check posts," the Sena said. Sometime back, India conducted surgical strikes across the LoC to show its strength to the neighbouring nation. But, contrary to claims that Pakistan would learn a lesson, more than 70 soldiers were martyred due to terror-related activities," it said. "Soldiers are sacrificing their lives without going into war. If the new Army chief uses his tenure to stop deaths of soldiers and give them respect, the nation will be more thankful to him," the Sena said. Care should be taken that the Army chief's statement of flexing muscles should not become a joke in future, it added. South Korean President Park Geun-hye has refused to testify in a case that will decide her future following her impeachment over a corruption scandal, forcing the Constitutional Court to delay the start of oral arguments. With Park refusing to appear today, the nine-justice court asked her to testify on Thursday. Her no-show brought criticism from lawmakers, who serve as prosecutors during the presidential impeachment trial. The court says it cannot force Park to appear in the hearings, which under law can proceed without her if she refuses for a second time to appear. Lawmakers last month voted to impeach Park after prosecutors accused her of colluding with a close confidante to extort money and favors from companies and allow the friend to manipulate government affairs. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today assured the teachers appointed through School Management Committee (SMC) that they would not be replaced by the teachers being appointed on a regular basis. "Keeping in view the services rendered by them in the tribal and hard areas, the government would not replace them in by regular," he said whilepresiding over the convention organised by SMC Teachers Association heres and assured that a policy would be formulated for teachers recruited through SMC. The Chief Minister said that all other genuine demands of the teachers would be fulfilled after discussion and assured that the issue of preparation of leave calendar for SMC teachers would be resolved soon. Speaking on the occasion, State Youth Congress President, Vikramaditya Singh, said that the grievances of the SMC teachers would be addressed on priority. Earlier, the CM launched the Reliance Jio Wi-Fi facility in eighteen government colleges of the state. The Reliance Jio will provide free Wi-Fi facility in as many as 30 government colleges of the state to make college campus digital. In the next phase 12 more colleges would be connected with Wi-Fi facility by Jio. Launching the facility, Chief Minster said that Himachal had become one of the first states in the country to connect its district headquarters with high speed Wi-Fi facilities provided by Jio. He said that development was incomplete if it did not touch the educational institutions, which he hoped, would provide more learning facilities to the students besides helping them in research and reference works. He appealed to the students to use the facility wisely and for purpose of learning only. "Himachal is committed to transform the digital landscape and so to create world-class digital infrastructure in all its schools and colleges in times to come," said the CM, adding that empowering the students with the new technology and infrastructure would help in developing the nation as well. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A few have restored levy of transaction fee for use of debit card for payment in absence of any clear direction from the government or the Reserve Bank. However, a few others like Citi is still providing waiver on Merchant Discount Rates (MDR) till January 7. "The MDR charges waiver has been extended till January 7 and the review would be done after that," Citi India spokesperson said. With regard to cap on free-of-charge withdrawals from ATMs, which also varies from to banks, some of the public sector like Bank of India have extended this facility on their own till March 31. Prior to demonetisation, bank customers in six metros -- Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bengaluru -- were allowed to withdraw money free of charge only five times a month from their home ATMs and every transaction beyond this limit was charged Rs 20 per use. However, ATM transactions were made free-of-charge during the demonetisation period. Thus, the waiver was applicable on transactions (inclusive of both financial and non-financial transactions) done at ATMs from November 10 till December 30. Although cash withdrawal limit from ATMs has been reviewed and raised by RBI to Rs 4,500 from the earlier limit of Rs 2,500 on December 30, there is no official communication as far as free-of-charge transaction limit is concerned. According to December 16 notification, RBI lowered MDR charges on payments made through debit cards to 0.25 per cent for payment up to Rs 1,000 from January 1 to March 31. The MDR for debit card payments, including payments made to government, will be capped at 0.25 per cent for transactions up to Rs 1,000 and 0.5 per cent between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000, RBI had said. Similarly, it had asked banks and prepaid payment instrument issuers not to levy any charges for transactions up to Rs 1,000 from January 1 to March 31. This would cover transactions through Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), USSD-based *99# and Unified Payment Interface (UPI) systems. The relaxations, RBI had said, are in tandem with initiatives taken by the government to "incentivise greater adoption of digital payments by large sections of the society. The supply from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) Depot where fire took place on December 31 has resumed yesterday, a company official said. A three member probe committee was also constituted to probe the fire and it has begun its investigations into the incident that caused injuries to nearly six employees of the depot, IOC Depot Manager, Kamal Kumar said. Earlier a police official posted in Shahpura Police Station informed that the fire took place in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) Depot. However, a senior BPCL official in a release clarified "The fire took place at Indian Oil Corporation Depot at Jabalpur on December 31." He also informed that "BPCL officials as part of Mutual Aid Members rushed to the site and provided necessary assistance and support in combating the fire." The injured persons were provided proper treatment and would be compensated as per rules, Kumar said. Shahpura area has depots of IOCL, BPCL and HPCL (Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited). The firefighters brought the blaze immediately under control otherwise it could have resulted in a major inferno. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Syria's ceasefire appeared under threat as government forces intensified their attacks near Damascus and around 10 rebel groups said they were suspending talks about planned peace negotiations this month. The talks are due to take place in the Kazakh capital Astana in late January but the rebels said they were pulling out of discussions due to "violations" by Damascus of a four-day old truce. The talks are being organised by Russia, which supports the Syrian regime, and Turkey and Iran, which back the rebels. "As these violations are continuing, the rebel factions announce... The freezing of all discussion linked to the Astana negotiations," they said in a joint statement. The rebels said they "respected the ceasefire across the whole of Syria... But the regime and its allies have not stopped shooting and have launched major and frequent violations, notably in the (rebel) regions of Wadi Barada and Eastern Ghouta", near Damascus, they said. For the past two weeks, even before the start of a nationwide truce brokered by Ankara and Moscow, Syria's air force has launched almost daily bombing raids on Wadi Barada, some 15 kilometres from Damascus. "Any (advance) on the ground goes against the (ceasefire) agreement and if things don't return to how they were before, the accord will be considered null and void," the rebel statement added. Yesterday, the Syrian army backed by air strikes and artillery fire advanced as it battles to capture the area, which is key to the capital's water supply, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "Regime forces and fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah group are advancing in the region and are now on the outskirts of Ain al-Fijeh, the primary water source in the area," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the monitoring group. He said government troops and allied fighters were engaged in fierce clashes with rebels, including former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front, a claim denied by opposition fighters. Two civilians were shot dead by snipers and two other civilians were killed in regime bombardment of the town of Rastan in central Homs province, the Observatory added. Government forces have surrounded Wadi Barada since mid-2015, but the siege was tightened in December as the army piled on the pressure. The Syrian government says rebels have targeted key water infrastructure, causing leaking fuel to poison water supplies and then cutting it off altogether. The United Nations says at least four million people in Damascus have been without water since December 22. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) To cash in on the revival in the 2,00,000-unit per annum pick-up segment, today launched a new variant of its so far export-focussed premium offering Xenon and roped in for the first time in its history a brand ambassador for the commercial vehicles business. The new premium pick-up truck Xenon Yodha, which offers a four-wheel option as well comes with a 2.2-liter diesel engine and is priced at almost Rs 50,000 lower than the existing model at Rs 6.05 lakh for the BS-III version and at Rs 6.19 lakh for the BS IV version, executive director for commercial vehicles business Ravi Pisharody said. When asked about sales expectation from Xenon Yodha, Pisharody said initially they are expecting 1,000 units month, and he added the existing model grosses up around 20,000 units per annum now, which is mostly from exports. He said the company in its over 60-year history has decided to appoint a brand ambassador in Hindi actor Akshay Kumar for its entire CV business for four years, as it has been felt that "to get the media space in a cluttered market such a move was necessary." "Having said that I don't think only a brand ambassador would do the job. Of course the product, after- sales service and the overall brand experience and value for money offering matter the most. The media presence is also important in a cluttered marketplace to make you heard and seen. And herein comes the role of a person who the market trusts," Pisharody told PTI when asked about roping in a 50- plus-year-old as the brand ambassador. It can be noted that launched Xenon as the first premium pick-up truck in the country nearly a decade ago with twin-AC cabin options. Due to pricing the being a new category it was not received well by the domestic market. Therefore, it chose Thailand as its commercial launch market, where it manufactures this truck now. Pisharody said the company enjoys around 18 per cent market share in the 2,00,000-unit per annum pick-up space led by its under 1-tonne runaway success Ace and its variants and Tata 207 and Xenon. The category is growing at 10 per cent and the industry volume stood at 2 lakh units last year. But Xenon Yodha is a stripped down version of the original Xenon and would offer AC versions later. The original Xenon is being sold in over a dozen overseas markets spanning Southeast and West Asia, Africa and Europe, commercial vehicles business unit vice president for sales marketing RT Wasan said. Looking at the revival in the LCV and HCV space, Wasan said the company, which spends around Rs 2,000 crore on product development annually, will be launching scores of new products in 2017. Wasan said the new vehicle, available in multiple variants of 4x2 and 4x4 and in single and double cabin options, will be rolled out from its Pune plant. Xenon Yodha is available in both BS-III and BS-IV versions as well, with the single cabin BS-III version coming in at Rs 6.05 lakh and the single cabin BS-IV at Rs 6.19 lakh. "Besides bolstering our presence in the growing pick- up space, Xenon Yodha will also enable us to partner existing mini-truck customers, aspiring the next phase of growth, to upgrade to a reliable stylish pick-up particularly in the post GST regime," Pisharody said. This is expected "on the back of improved road infrastructure, which will see the hub and spoke model of distribution, become more and more prominent. With this new range, we are confident of extending our lead in the LCV category, complementing the success and popularity of the Ace range of small commercial vehicles." Wasan said, globally as much as 36 per cent of the medium and light commercial vehicle space is pick-ups but in the domestic market this is only 2:1. The faster growth of e- commerce and the improving road conditions would help this to reach a 1:1 level, he added. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a Hollywood-style New Year's eve robbery, a trio of burglars broke into a Manhattan jewellery store whose owner was away in India and managed to flee with USD 6 million worth of precious gems. Three hooded and masked men broke into the jewellery store on Sunday while 7,000 policemen were distracted protecting Times Square revelers just a few blocks away. "They laid in wait until the ball dropped," a law- enforcement source told the New York Post of the heist which appears to be an inside job. The source said the thieves "100 per cent" planned the heist to coincide with the ball drop. They made off with around USD 6 million in gems and are still at large, police sources were quoted as saying. The burglars were caught on video inside Gregg Ruth, a commercial jewelry store known for its rare yellow and pink diamonds. One of the robbers, a bearded white male in a hood without a mask, looks straight into the camera during the heist, surveillance footage shows. They came in through a freight entrance to the sixth floor business and then used a hammer and crowbar to break a lock, gaining access to a room containing four safes, the report said. The gloved suspects removed diamond-encrusted and 18 karat gold bracelets, earrings and necklaces from two of the safes. The safes were either already open or the burglars knew the combination, stuffing the pricey merchandise into several backpacks, sources were quoted as saying. The two unopened safes contained another estimated USD 7 million in merchandise. The lock boxes were on loan to the wholesaler, who was in the process of building a more secure vault. The footage shows one of the suspects talking on a cell phone while he is opening the safe, perhaps receiving the combination from a fourth person, the report said. The trio then fled down a stairwell in the beige, 16- storey office tower that lacks any exterior signage about its sixth-floor tenant. A person who works in the building said the owner was likely "embarrassed" by the incident. "It's a black eye for their company. They couldn't secure it. That money, a lot of money-it's embarrassing," the source said. A police source was quoted as saying the owner is out of the country in India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In his first public appearance since the humiliating defeat of the CPI(M) in Assembly polls last year, senior party leader and former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said the Trinamool Congress has no moral right to speak against black money when its MPs were arrested in Rose Valley Chit fund scam. Bhattacharjee alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government was full of "anti-social elements" and the entire Trinamool Congress was "corrupt". "The Mamata Banerjee government is full of anti-social elements and one of them was arrested today," he said referring to the arrest of Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandopadhyay by CBI in the Rose Valley ponzi scam case. "From top to bottom, the entire party is corrupt. This government does not have the moral right to speak against black money. Instead of searching elsewhere, they should search their own houses for black money," Bhattacharjee said. He was speaking on the occasion of 50 years of CPI(M)'s mouthpiece 'Ganashakti'. CPI(M) state secretary Surjyakanta Mishra asked the CBI to arrest the "big fishes" allegedly involved in the scam. "We all know that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was present in the meeting with Rose Valley chairman Gautam Kundu in Delo bungalow in Kalimpong. There is no need to raise a hue and cry over the arrest of two MPs. The CBI needs to arrest the big fishes instead of arresting the small fries," Mishra said. He also dared Banerjee to arrest CPI(M) leaders who she named earlier in the day claiming to be involved in the Rose Valley scam if she found concrete evidence against them. "She has named a few of our leaders today. However, there was no need to take names as none of our leaders are involved in the scam and they are not in the list of probables who are likely to be questioned," he said. The CPI(M)'s Kolkata District Committee has organised a rally on Wednesday to demand the arrest of "big fishes" in the Rose Valley scam. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP's Kolkata office was attacked by TMC supporters after CBI arrested TMC MP Sudip Bandopadhyay in connection with the alleged Rose Valley chit fund scam. He's the second party MP to be arrested within a week. Bandyopadhyay, who arrived at the CBI office in Kolkata around 11 am, was subjected to more than four hours of intensive interrogation by the CBI, after which he was arrested. The TMC MP had been summoned thrice earlier by the investigation agency. His arrest in the alleged Rose Valley scam came close on the heels of the arrest of another TMC MP Tapas Pal on Friday. Pal, an actor-turned politician, is now in the CBI custody in Bhubaneshwar. On reaching the CBI office on Tuesday, Bandyopadhyay told waiting reporters that he had come to face interrogation and know what the charges were against him. Stung by the arrest of TMC MP Sudip Bandopadhyay, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using CBI, ED and Income Tax department against those who raised voice against demonetisation and dared him to arrest her and all TMC MPs. She asserted that their protest against note ban would continue. "I just can't think that Sudip Bandopadhyay, who is our party's leader in the Lok Sabha will be arrested. I also have information that Modi wants to arrest many other TMC leaders like Abhishek Banerjee, Sovan Chatterjee (city mayor) and Firhad Hakim (minister)," she told reporters immediately after Sudip's arrest by the CBI in connection with the alleged Rose Valley chit fund scam. "I am shocked, but not scared. Let him arrest all of us. I openly challenge him to arrest me. Let me see his guts. He may silence others, but not me. He can't suppress our voice. He can't bulldoze people's voice," she said. "We will fight legal battle in every case," she said. Several BJP workers were injured when activists of the students wing of Trinamool Congress today attacked the state party headquarters here with stones to protest the arrest of the TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay in Rose Valley chit fund scam case, police said. BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha alleged that 10-15 party workers were injured when Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad activists pelted them with stones. Carrying TMC flags and shouting slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the agitated party workers accused the BJP of pursuing vendetta politics. Sinha said five to six cars belonging to the party were damaged and Modi's effigies set alight, he said. "More than 10-15 workers of our party received severe injuries. Stones were hurled at cars parked outside. Is this democracy? A person who has looted public money has been arrested. So why are they protesting against our party office?" he said. Sinha was present inside the party office during the attack. Traffic in the area was thrown into disarray because of the protest. Incidentally, the BJP office is situated in central Kolkata which is part of Sudip's Lok Sabha constituency. "Yes, we are protesting against the BJP because of the vendetta politics that they have pursued against our party. We are here to teach them a lesson," a senior TMCP leader of central Kolkata said. "We have cordoned off the area. A few people have received injuries," a police official said. Furious over the attack on BJP party office, BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh alleged law and order in West Bengal had "completely broken down" and the police were acting as "cadres" of the ruling TMC. "So many of our activists have been injured and police is just a mute spectator. This only shows that the police is acting as cadres of the ruling TMC," Singh said. The BJP leader met West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi and complained about the incident. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President-elect Donald Trump today complained that a prominent television channel used his "worst" picture ever as the cover art for a new book about the 2016 Presidential election. "CNN just released a book called 'Unprecedented' which explore the 2016 race & victory. Hope it does well but used worst cover photo of me," he tweeted. The book "Unprecedented", which was released in December, was written during the election and is a chronicle of the President-elect's surprising win. Written by a CNN writer, the channel describes the book as a deeply reported account on the fight for the presidency between Trump - "a blustery billionaire and reality TV star with no military or government experience, no respect for the rules of politics and no fear of offending people" - and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, The People's magazine reported. There are actually two versions of the book's cover - an "Inaugural edition" featuring a stern-looking Trump and another version that contains a collage of different photos from the election, including a large picture of Trump speaking at a podium. It's unclear which cover photo the 70-year-old President-elect was referencing as being "the worst". This isn't the first time the President-elect has criticised the media for using "bad" photos of him. In November, Politico reported that during an off- the-record meeting with members of the media, Trump complained to NBC President Deborah Turness that the network wouldn't run a "nice" picture of him and instead chose one that made him look like he had a double-chin. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Turkey risks encountering a new level of threat on its own territory from the Islamic State (IS) group after the Istanbul nightclub attack, with the group openly targeting the country as Ankara battles the jihadists inside Syria. While IS had been blamed for several attacks in Turkey over the last year, the brutal gun attack on the Reina nightclub 75 minutes into 2017 was distinctive in its choice of target and by the clear claim issued by the jihadists. "Islamic State has clearly decided to target Turkey," Sinan Ulgen, chairman of the Center for Economics and Foreign Policy and visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, told AFP. "All the stages have been passed and battle commenced." The attack on the Reina nightclub that killed 39 people struck a symbol of the overwhelmingly Muslim country's secular society, where the Istanbul elite like to party, dance and drink. It took place in the district of Ortakoy, a traditionally mixed area which to this day has working churches and a synagogue. It also came on the night of New Year - as calculated by the Gregorian Calendar - which conservative Islamic hardliners in Turkey say should not be celebrated at all. Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, Ankara office director of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said the attack had sought "to drive another wedge between Turks with secular and conservative lifestyles." But the attack was also unique in that it was claimed by IS in a formal statement - the first time the jihadists have made a clear and undisputed boast of a major strike in Turkey, despite being blamed on several occasions. IS has in the past claimed individual assassinations of Syrian anti-jihadist activists in southern Turkey and there was a disputed claim over a bombing in the southeast in November. "I think they're trying to make it look like something which is unambiguously centrally-directed, rather than that just carried out by a supporter," said Charlie Winter, senior fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence at King's College, London. He said that over the last months, Turkey has been "firmly in the sights" of IS extremists "perhaps more than any other country", with threats repeatedly printed in its so-called magazine Dabiq. The attack came with Turkey deeply entrenched in a military campaign inside Syria aimed at ousting IS, as well as Kurdish militia, from the border area that has already lasted four months. In the early years of the Syrian civil war, Ankara's Western allies accused Turkey of turning a blind eye to or even abetting the rise of IS as a useful ally in the battle against President Bashar al-Assad. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The energy-rich Central Asian nation of said today that it has restricted natural gas deliveries to Iran over unpaid debts. Turkmenistan's foreign ministry said that its ability to maintain its gas transportation infrastructure has been compromised by Iran's failure to continue paying off old debts since 2013. Officials say gas deliveries were restricted on January 1, but did not specify if they have been halted altogether. The Turkmen government has not specified the size of Iran's outstanding debts, although Iranian state media have put the figure demanded by at around $2 billion. says it pleaded with Iran for the past year to resolve the debt arrears but received no response. A gas pipeline was built between Turkmenistan and Iran in 1997. Another route was completed in 2010, bringing Turkmenistan's annual gas export potential to Iran to 12 billion cubic meters. Turkmenistan has been exporting gas to Iran under a 1997 agreement, but occasionally raises its prices during the winter. In 2006, it suspended shipments and demanded a nine-fold price increase. Iran eventually accepted the higher prices for a short period. In 2016, Russia stopped buying gas from Turkmenistan, which is now left with China as its sole customer. Turkmenistan hopes to broaden its client base by building a new gas pipeline passing through Afghanistan, Pakistan and reaching India, although the feasibility of this project is cast into doubt by security concerns and lack of financing. Two persons, who were arrested after they were found distributing pamphlets about a programme by NGO of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, do not have terror links, Goa police said today. Abdul Nasir and Iliyaz Ismail were held last night at Dona Paula beach in Goa as they were distributing pamphlets about a programme by Naik's NGO in Mangalore. "We have interrogated the two over the night. We have found that they have no terror links. They had come to Dona Paula beach with their family," Superintendent of Police (North) Umesh Gaonkar told reporters. Gaonkar said the duo was in possession of the pamphlets canvassing for a convention of Salafi Muslims to be held in Mangalore from January 9-16. Ismail is a resident of Margao where he has been living for over a decade, while Nasir is his brother-in-law, who is from Kasargod (a village in Kerala), the SP said. Gaonkar said the Anti-Terrorist Squad, Intelligence Bureau and Special Branch teams interrogated the accused while Margao police was also asked to get details about them. Police also found the mobile number written on the pamphlets to be genuine. The writings on the pamphlets seized from the duo were translated and were found to be some anti-ISIS slogans, the SP said. He said both the men would be produced before a magistrate for their release. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A clinic owned by an NRI group in the UAE has been named the 'Distinguished Private Medical Facility' by the government for high standards of patient- care and healthcare service delivery. Thumbay Clinic part of the network of family clinics operated by the healthcare division of Thumbay Group, has won the recognition from the Ministry of Health, Umm Al Quwain Medical District in the UAE. The clinic was chosen for the award on the basis of a detailed evaluation on multiple criteria such as standards of patient care, the premises, treatment facilities, parking space availability, use of information technology, etc, according to a statement. Akbar Moideen Thumbay, Vice President of the healthcare division of Thumbay Group said that the Thumbay Clinic network was committed to high standards of patient-care and healthcare service delivery. Dr Sadashiv Bangera, Assistant Administrative Director of Thumbay Clinic received the award from Dr Amal Humaid Al Suwaidi, Director of Preventive Medicine, Umm Al Quwain. Opened in July 2015, Thumbay Clinic - Umm Al Quwain focuses primarily on personalised services, convenience and affordability. Thumbay Hospitals are presently operational at Dubai, Ajman, Sharjah, Fujairah and Hyderabad. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A couple in the UK narrowly avoided missing out on a New Year windfall after retrieving a winning lottery ticket worth 66,000 pounds thrown into a roadside dustbin. Joanne Joynson, 37, is now planning to wed her fiance of 15 years with that money. She said: "First thing I did when I saw Dyllan was to remind him he had proposed 15 years ago and that we could now afford to get married. I have always wanted to get married but we've never had the money to do it until now." Joynson from Merseyside went to her local Betfred shop on New Year's Eve and was amazed to discover the losing 3 pounds Spanish Lottery ticket she had thrown away three days earlier was in fact a winner. Her losing ticket proved a winner as part of a Betfred 10-week cash giveaway promotion where all the losing lottery tickets from the 11 lotto games go into a weekly draw meaning the tens of thousands of people who missed out are in with a chance of picking up 1,000 or 5,000 consolation prizes. But not all the cash prizes were claimed - and the prize fund rolled over into the 66,000 pounds won by Joynson on December 31, Daily Morror reported. She raced the short distance home to rummage through the wheelie bin and 15 minutes later was back at the bookies clutching the ticket. Joynson, mother-of-two, said: "It wasn't so bad because the bin men had been to take away the Christmas rubbish so there was only one plastic bag in there so I found it quickly enough". She added: "I go in Betfreds every day and have a go on the Spanish or Irish lotteries, the 49s or the goals galore coupon. I have won bits before but never ever anything like this". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Attacking the rival parties in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, BJP leader Mahesh Sharma today dubbed the SP as a "family-oriented party", the BSP as a "one-woman party" and the Congress as the "party of mother and son". The Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture was here for the stone-laying ceremony of the beautification projects of the Tulsi Upavan, Anandeshwar temple, Valmiki ashram and Lavkush ashram. He was asked by reporters that while all the other parties had named their chief ministerial candidates, who would the BJP project as its CM face in Uttar Pradesh. "Which parties are you talking about," Sharma shot back. "In the Samajwadi Party, the moment a child is born, it is decided whether it would go on to become the president of the party, a minister or an MLA. It is a family-oriented party. Mayawati's is a one-woman party. No one knows who is the number two person in her party. And as far as the Congress is concerned, it has now become a mother-son party," he added. Asserting that the BJP does not indulge in "family ties", Sharma claimed that the party had "at least 20 faces" in the state, all of whom were capable of being projected as chief ministerial candidates. "We will fight the Uttar Pradesh polls on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development plank. We have at least 20 faces in the state to choose from. When the time comes, the central leadership of the party will decide on the chief ministerial candidate," he said. On the SP's candidature of Atique Ahmed, a politician with a criminal background, from Kanpur Cantonment constituency, Sharma said it was "unfortunate for Uttar Pradesh" that "such people" were being given poll tickets. Informing that stone-laying ceremonies of projects worth Rs 6 crore were performed, the Union minister said the Centre wanted to develop Kanpur as a hub of religious tourism. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) University of Hyderabad (UoH) Vice-Chancellor Prof Appa Rao Podile was today conferred the prestigious 'Millennium Plaques Honour' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in recognition of his "key" role in development of science and technology. 'Millennium Plaques Honour' has been instituted by the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA). The award was presented to Podile at the 104th annual meeting of ISCA which was inaugurated by Modi at Tirupati. However, a group of students of the varsity, which has been demanding Podile's removal from the post of VC and his arrest in the suicide case of research scholar Rohit Vemula in UoH premises, criticised the decision to bestow the award on the Vice-Chancellor. According to a release from UoH, ISCA appreciated Podile's "key" role in development of science and technology. He has been an institution builder and shaped the way the science and technology should develop in future. Podile has been a member of the task force on 'bioagents for agriculture', set up by the Department of Biotechnology, and a member of the programme advisory committee on 'plant sciences', set up by the Department of Science and Technology. The committee has been using an innovative approach to synthesise biological molecules that can help inducing innate immunity in plants, it said. "His group has exploited the potential of plant- associated bacteria for better plant health. Their ability to degrade second most abundant polymer, like chitin, was used to protect crop plants from a variety of diseases. "The efforts made in Prof Appa Rao's lab not only have implication in understanding plant's response to external stimuli, but also provide new leads to develop non-chemical approaches for plant protection," according to the release. Meanwhile, the students of UoH, in a release, reiterated their demand that Podile step down from his post. "His presence has disrupted the academic activities of the university," the release said. Vemula's suicide on January 17 at the UoH, also known as Hyderabad Central University, had sparked massive protests on the campus and also across the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A nationwide collapse of the US customs service computer system has left thousands of passengers lined up at airports awaiting clearance to officially enter the country, the authorities and US media said. "Customs and Border Protection has nationwide outage. Expect delays in passenger processing until the system is restored," Fort Lauderdale's airport, a major hub for the United States and Caribbean, said on Twitter. A Customs and Border Protection department spokesman told NBC that there had been a disruption at several airports and was "taking immediate action to address the technology disruption." But that was not immediate enough for the thousands of tired and cranky passengers arriving at US gates but unable to clear customs. An official for Miami International Airport told NBC that passengers on "more than 30 international flights were affected," one traveler told the same affiliate that two people fainted waiting in line. Miami International tweeted its regrets for the delays. "They are working to restore," it said on Twitter. But there seemed to be little information and guidance for the thousands stuck in travel limbo. "People are starting to argue and get frustrated," Cali Rez tweeted in Miami. "Get someone down here to explain things and direct the lines ASAP." The airports are known to include Miami International, Atlanta Hartsfield, Boston Logan and Fort Lauderdale, officials said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Turkish authorities today intensified efforts to identify and detain a suspected jihadist who killed 39 people, including two Indians, at an Istanbul nightclub, and who reportedly fought in Syria alongside Islamic State jihadists. Police released pictures of the suspect who went on the rampage at the plush Reina nightclub on New Year's night, spraying some 120 bullets at terrified guests before slipping away into the night. So far, 16 people are being held over the attack, including two foreigners detained by Turkish police at Istanbul's main airport. But the killer remains on the run. Of the 39 dead, 27 were foreigners, mainly from Arab countries, with coffins repatriated overnight to countries including Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. The Islamic State (IS) group yesterday claimed the massacre, the first time it has clearly stated being behind a major attack in Turkey. The suspect -- who has not been named but was reportedly from Central Asia -- was staying in a rented flat in Konya before moving to Istanbul to carry out the attack, press reports said. The Dogan agency said those detained included a woman suspected of being his wife with whom he had stayed in Konya along with two children. Reports said police have made progress in the investigation after speaking to the taxi driver who drove the attacker to the club and tracing calls he had made on the driver's mobile phone. The Hurriyet daily said the attacker showed signs of being well trained in the use of arms and had fought in Syria for IS jihadists. Hurriyet's well-connected columnist Abdulkadir Selvi he had been trained in street fighting in residential areas in Syria and used these techniques in the attack, shooting from the hip rather than as a sniper. The attacker had been "specially selected" to carry out the shooting, he said. According to Hurriyet, just 28 bullets failed to hit a target. "This specially-trained terrorist has still not been detained and is still wandering dangerously amongst us," he wrote. He said an IS strike was also planned in Ankara on New Year's eve but that it had been prevented after eight IS suspects were arrested in the capital. There were no further details. Near the entrance to the nightclub which lies on the shores of the Bosphorus, an impromptu shrine was set up with pictures of the dead where well-wishers have been piling up flowers. Police meanwhile released the first clear images of the attacker, including one taken by security cameras on the night of the attack. And a chilling video of the suspect taken near Taksim Square in central Istanbul was also released, showing him recording himself with a selfie stick and smiling faintly into the camera. It was not immediately clear how the footage had been obtained. Reports said that the attacker could be from Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan. In Bishkek, the national security council said it was checking any possible involvement of a Kyrgyz citizen. In a statement circulated on social media, IS said one of its "soldiers" had carried out the carnage, accusing Turkey -- a majority-Muslim country -- of being a servant of Christians and saying the shooting was a response to Ankara's military action against jihadists in Syria. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Leading women and civil society groups today expressed outrage over alleged attacks on the autonomy of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) claiming the women's body led by Swati Maliwal is not being allowed to function smoothly. Representatives from All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA), All India Progressive Women's Association (AIPWA), Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD), Joint Women's Programme (JWP), National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) and Nirantar and Swastika Mahila Samiti expressed their support to DCW as they alleged vendetta politics being played by the Centre. "While the active functioning of DCW has given lot of hope to women's organisations and women in distress, we do understand that it is also upsetting the highly patriarchal mindset and the nexus between them and the political administration," said Annie Raja, General Secretary of NFIW. "There has been a series of attempt to disrupt the functioning of DCW and the police have been used to stop the women's panel chief from exercising powers," she alleged. Shabnam Hashmi of Anhad said, "These attacks are not just on DCW but on the fight for women rights. Our solidarity is not with any particular party but with a body which is working continuously for women." CPI (ML) Liberation activist and Secretary of AIPWA, Kavita Krishnan echoed their views saying, "If there is a credible complaint of corruption it should definitely be investigated but the series of raids at DCW office and other such attempts are an attack on the commission's autonomy." DCW Chief Swati Maliwal has alleged in past months that the commission is not being allowed to function properly and attempts are being made to attack its autonomy. Maliwal had alleged harassment by the Centre last year on several instances like naming her in an FIR for allegedly disclosing name of a rape victim, alleged irregularities in recruitment of contractual staff and non-payment of salaries to the staff and others. In fresh confrontation, an LG-appointed bureaucrat had recently cautioned DCW against allowing an a Delhi-government backed official carry out work as member secretary, saying it would be "untenable" and attract penal action. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Yemeni security officials say pro-government forces attacked al-Qaida militants in the country's south, killing 15 jihadis but losing 11 of their own troops. The officials say the fighting began when security forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition that is fighting Yemen's Shiite rebels elsewhere in the country, today attacked an al-Qaida stronghold in the Marakasha mountains in Abyan province, east of the southern city of Aden. The area has long been a militant haven, attracting fighters in the 1990s returning from Afghanistan after fighting the Soviets. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to reporters. Impoverished Yemen has been at war since rebel Houthis swept into the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. In the ensuing chaos, al-Qaida extremists managed to grab some territory. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least three police personnel engaged in manning traffic at the AG Square here today sustained injuries after allegedly being attacked by two youths with a knife, police said. Police said the traffic personnel intercepted the youths as they were driving without wearing helmet. During heated exchange of words between the youths and the constables, the youths attacked the cops with a knife, police said. The injured police men were identified as Odisha Special Armed Police (OSAP) member Mahendra Biswal, and constables Rohan Swain and Gyanaranjan Das. They were admitted to the Capital hospital here in a critical condition. Meanwhile, police detained the two youths and kept them at the police station here. "A case has been registered against the two youths under IPC sections 307 (attempt to murder). We will verify their previous records," Commissioner of Police Y B Khurania told reporters after visiting the injured cops at the hospital here. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Florence Tan SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is expected to raise prices for all grades of crude it sells to Asia in February, tracking strength in the Dubai price benchmark and robust refining margins, traders said on Tuesday. The official selling price (OSP) for flagship Arab Light crude could rise by at least 50 cents a barrel for February, a survey of four traders showed. The respondents expect bigger price hikes for heavier grades in February, pushed up by the strongest fuel oil cracks in five years . Arab Heavy's OSP could rise by as much as 90 cents to $1 a barrel in February, traders said. The price hikes are "expected given stronger Dubai structure and stronger margins," one of the traders said. He added that the contango spread between the first- and third-month Dubai crude prices published by price reporting agency Platts in December narrowed by 55 cents to 60 cents a barrel from November, an indication of a stronger spot market. The price of oil for prompt delivery is lower than those for future months in a contango market. Saudi Arabia had committed to cut its production in January by 486,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 10.058 million bpd in an agreement among members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. [nL8N1DW31U] Still, the producer agreed to export more oil, above contractual volumes, to some Asian customers in January, opting to cut supplies to Europe and the United States instead because of higher netbacks in Asia, trade sources said. [nL4N1DQ20R] [nL4N1E407I]Saudi crude OSPs are usually released around the fifth of each month, and set the trend for Iranian, Kuwaiti and Iraqi prices, affecting more than 12 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude bound for Asia. Saudi Aramco sets its crude prices based on recommendations from customers and after calculating the change in the value of its oil over the past month, based on yields and product prices. Saudi Aramco officials as a matter of policy do not comment on the kingdom's monthly OSPs. Below are expected Saudi prices for February (in $/bbl against the Oman/Dubai average):JAN Change est. FEB OSP Arab Extra Light +0.65 +0.40/+0.60 +1.05/+1.25 Arab Light -0.75 +0.50/+0.60 -0.25/-0.15 Arab Heavy -3.30 +0.70/+1.00 -2.40/-2.30 Source: Reuters, trade (Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Last Wednesday, the retiring Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, declared in New Delhi that IAF requires 200 to 250 medium fighters in addition to 36 Rafale multi-role fighters that were contracted with French vendor Dassault earlier this year. Commercial Feature is a Business Standard Digital Marketing Initiative. The Editorial/Content team at Business Standard has not contributed to writing or editing these articles. For further information, please write to assist@bsmail.in Banks, led by market leader State Bank of India, announced sharp cuts to their lending rates after a recent surge in deposits, raising hopes that lower borrowing costs will help spark credit growth in Asia's third-largest economy. SBI, the country's biggest lender by assets, said on Sunday it had cut its so-called marginal cost of funds-based lending rates (MCLR) by 90 basis points, while unveiling new products for mortgage loans, one of the fastest-growing areas. Several other lenders including Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Dena Bank also cut their lending rates by 45-90 basis points across tenures. Analysts expect more lenders to follow suit. Banks have received an estimated 14.9 trillion rupees ($219.30 billion) in old 500, and 1,000 rupees notes from depositors since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government on Nov. 8 unexpectedly banned the banknotes in a bid to fight counterfeiting and bring unaccounted cash to the economy. That had raised expectations banks would have room to cut lending rates, which is seen as vital to increase credit growth and spark a revival in private investments. Arundhati Bhattacharya, chairman of SBI, said at a news briefing on Monday, the rate cuts were intended to "jump start" credit growth and could raise it by 100-200 bps in the year ending in March. SBI now expects credit growth for 2016/17 fiscal year to be 8-9 percent, Bhattacharya said, still lower than the lender's previous formal guidance of 10-12 percent growth. Any signs of a revival in credit could ease some of the worries from Modi's move, which has sparked a severe cash shortage that has paralyzed parts of the economy. A private survey on Monday showed factory activity plunged into contraction in December as the currency crackdown severely hurt output and demand. Although India's gross domestic product grew 7.3 percent in the July-September quarter from a year earlier, the fastest pace of growth among large economies, much of that has been led by consumer demand. MARGIN PROTECTION Worries that profit margins at banks would be hurt hit the shares on Monday, with SBI falling 2.6 percent. But lenders took steps to protect their margins. SBI, for example, raised the premium it charges on home loans to 65 basis points above the reduced one-year MCLR of 8 per cent, according to details released on Monday. The rate cuts also come after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday admonished banks to "keep the poor, the lower middle class, and the middle class at the focus of their activities," and to act with the "public interest" in mind. Modi's comments were made in a special New Year's eve speech in which he defended his ban on higher-value cash notes and announced a slew of incentives including channeling more credit to the poor and the middle class. "The combined impact of banks cutting lending rates and subvention provided by the government to small businesses is likely to help turn around growth faster than expected in the next fiscal year," said Saugata Bhattacharya, chief economist at Axis Bank, the third-biggest Indian lender. Housing, auto and corporate loans are all set to becomecheaper with half a dozen PSU and private banks on Monday steeply reducingbenchmark lending rate by up to 1.48 per cent after spurt in deposits followingdemonetisation. Taking a cue from State Bank of India, other lendersincluding largest private sector lender ICICI Bank and state-owned OrientalBank of Commerce and Andhra Bank announced cut in marginal cost of funds basedlending rate (MCLR). SBI on Sunday reduced the lending rate by a good 0.9 percent after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his new year eve address urged thebanks to focus on the needs of poor and lower middle class and middle class. The reduction in lending rates may prompt increase in creditofftake which has moderated substantially putting burden on balance sheet ofbanks. Home loan rate for ICICI Bank will come down between 0.45and 0.6 per cent depending on quantum and category. Another private sector Kotak Mahindra Bank too reduced theMCLR rate by up to 0.45 per cent. The bank has reduced MCLR by 0.20 per cent to 9 per centfrom 9.20 per cent for 1-year tenor, Kotak Mahindra Bank said in a statement. However, MCLR for the three-month period has been reduced by0.45 percentage points to 8.40 per cent while lending rate for 2 and 3 yearshas been brought down to 9 per cent from 9.25 per cent. As far as the youngest Bandhan Bank is concerned, it has cutits MCLR by 1.48 per cent to 10.52 per cent effective on Tuesday. With this, the bank has cut its loan rate for small borrowersby almost 4 percentage points since it started operations in August 2015,Bandhan Bank said in a statement. Oriental Bank of Commerce has reduced the one-year MCLR rateby 0.8 per cent to 8.60 per cent while Andhra Bank has brought it down by similarpercentage point to 8.65 per cent effective on Tuesday. Dena bank has reduced marginal cost of funds based lendingrate (MCLR) by 0.75 per cent to 8.55 per cent for 1 year tenor, the bank saidin a statement. On Sunday, the country's largest lender SBI along with PNBand Union Bank of India, slashed lending rates by up to 0.9 per cent. Following the reduction, lending rate of SBI for a one-yearloan has came down to 8 per cent from 8.90 per cent. A new service to help more Irish and UK businesses trade together is being launched. BIG: The British Irish Gateway for Trade is an initiative that links together members of business organisations like Chambers of Commerce and trade groups across Britain and Ireland. It's backed up by the resources of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce and the input of enterprise supporters and Chambers. The new service, which is free to use for members of trade organisations, is now open for registration. John McGrane of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce said, "At a time when businesses are preparing for Brexit, they appreciate a resource like BIG which helps them to grow their business by being introduced to more customers and suppliers across the UK and Ireland". He added, "2017 will focus all our minds on the importance of the trade between Britain and Ireland which supports over 400,000 jobs. Firms on both sides of the Irish Sea are looking for more trading opportunities and this new service supports the work of Chambers and the various state agencies to make those connections easier to find for businesses north south east and west." Source: www.businessworld.ie Britain's top share index rose to a record high on Tuesday, extending an end-of-year rally into 2017, led by InterContinental Hotels. Britain's FTSE 100 was up 22.50 points, or 0.3%, at 7,165.33 by 1012 GMT, as the London Stock Exchange re-opened after a long weekend. It set a high of 7,205.21 in early deals, rising above the peak it reached at the end of 2016, built on a 5.3% rally in December, its strongest monthly performance since July 2013. It ended 2016 up 14.4% for the year, outperforming major European bourses. Weakness in sterling after Britain voted to leave the European Union has helped to support British stocks, especially those with international exposure in dollars. Mining stocks rose by more than 100% in 2016, while banks posted an impressive recovery in the second half of the year. Growth-sensitive stocks such as banks and miners gained again on Tuesday, with some attributing optimism in early deals to strong PMI data out of China. "The China data is key, and we've seen a sustained period of good numbers, so that is quite a big deal," said James Hughes, chief market analyst at GKFX, who added that the recent rally could nevertheless be overdone. "We've had a very strong movement in the FTSE 100... but when you rally this strongly, I worry that when it turns around, the downward move could be quite aggressive." Top riser was InterContinental Hotels, up 3.1% after an upgrade to "overweight" from "equal-weight" from Barclays, lifting the stock to an all-time high. Barclays is a top-rated broker on the stock, and said that IHG was the best play in the leisure sector on a possible rebound in U.S. growth. The index fell back from highs as sterling rose following data that showed UK manufacturing growth unexpectedly hit a 2-1/2-year high. Top faller was retailer Next, which suffered from a downgrade by Deutsche Bank to "hold" from "buy". Next fell more than 30% in 2016, but the analysts said that even with this fall, the stock did not look especially cheap. "The sector has already de-rated, mainly on the changed demand and currency outlook due to Brexit, and valuations are typically at historical average levels - cheap but in some cases not cheap enough," analysts at Deutsche Bank said in a note. "Reflecting our caution on apparel and impact of channel shift we downgrade Next to Hold." (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie About us Global banking regulators have postponed a meeting at which they were expected to approve new capital rules designed to avert a repeat of the financial crisis, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said on Tuesday. "More time is needed to finalize some work, including ensuring the framework's final calibration," the Basel Committee said on the BIS website. "A meeting of the GHOS (Group of Central Bank Governors and Heads of Supervision), originally planned for early January, has therefore been postponed. The Committee is expected to complete this work in the near future." (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie Oil prices hit 18-month highs on Tuesday, the first trading day of 2017, buoyed by hopes that a deal between OPEC and other big oil exporters to cut production, which kicked in on Sunday, will drain a global supply glut. Benchmark Brent crude jumped more than 2% to a high of $58.37, up $1.55 a barrel and its highest since July 2015. By 1430 GMT, Brent had eased to $58.12, up $1.30. U.S. light crude oil hit an 18-month high of $55.24, up $1.52 a barrel, also its highest since July 2015, before slipping to around $55.00. Oil futures exchanges were closed on Monday for New Year public holidays. Jan. 1 marked the official start of a deal agreed by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other exporters such as Russia to reduce output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd). "First signals suggest the OPEC and non-OPEC production cuts are raising hopes that the global oil oversupply will diminish," said Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN AMRO Bank N.V. in Amsterdam. Investors will be watching OPEC very closely to see whether the group's members keep their promises to reduce production: "If 2016 was the year of words, 2017 must be the year of actions," said Tamas Varga, senior oil analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates. Libya, one of two OPEC countries exempt from the output cuts, has increased its production to 685,000 bpd, from around 600,000 bpd in December, an official at the National Oil Corporation said on Sunday. Elsewhere, non-OPEC Middle Eastern oil producer Oman told customers last week that it would cut its crude oil term allocation volumes by 5% in March. Non-OPEC Russia's oil production in December remained unchanged at 11.21 million bpd, near a 30-year high, but it was preparing to cut output by 300,000 bpd in the first half of 2017 in its contribution to the accord. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie | BY Ricki Green | The Back to School season is upon us and Officeworks is getting in the spirit by launching Everything for Growing Minds, a proposition that was first launched in 2015 with great success. The integrated marketing activity created by AJF Partnership, aims to bring to life the crucial role school supplies play in childrens lives, helping them learn and grow into their full potential during their school journey. As part of the activity kicking off today, a 30 second TVC highlights the school journey showing a schoolgirl starting her first day of prep, through to her final year 12 exam, reinforcing the important role that Officeworks and its wide range of back to school essentials play along the way. The marketing extends to print, radio, outdoor, catalogue, cinema and digital display, with the intention of driving customers to the retailers 163 stores nationally and also online to its back to school destination, where a range of helpful articles and videos help parents and kids get ready for the new school year. Says Karl Winther, national marketing manager, Officeworks: Heading back to school is often an exciting and busy time for kids and parents. Officeworks wants to shine a light on the crucial role school supplies play in childrens education journey and help them prepare for the school year ahead by offering the lowest prices, widest range and great service. Our marketing activity seeks to inspire parents to see the Back to School shop as an important part of helping their childs development, hero-ing the role school supplies play in bringing out the best in their child. SEM, CRM, social media and in-store experience round out the marketing activity, as well as PR, which sees a number of initiatives roll out including consumer research, local media relations, product placement and spokesperson and blogger engagement. Parents can save both time and money with the retailer continuing to offer its successful free School List Service where parents can submit their school list in-store or online. Parents will also be guaranteed the best prices on back to school essentials with Officeworks Parents Price Promise that runs until the end of January. If parents find an identical stocked item on their childs school list at a lower price, Officeworks will beat it by 20 per cent (T&Cs apply). Officeworks will also trade until midnight in late January. This year Officeworks has evolved its handy Tech Selector tool, which helps parents navigate their childs school tech requirements and select the best device based on school requirements and budget. The retailer will once again be supporting Australian charity The Smith Family by fundraising for its Back to School Appeal for the fourth year, aiming to collect over $100,000 among its 163 stores nationally and online. With one in seven children and young people are living in poverty across Australia, the Back to School Appeal helps disadvantaged young Australians to get the most out of their education. The fundraiser remains an integral part of Officeworks annual Back to School campaign. Creative: AJF Partnership Media: Initiative Digital and Content Marketing: DT PR: Haystac | BY Ricki Green | Australian online education provider Open Colleges has announced the launch of Find Your Awesome, its new brand campaign platform. It features Monique, a real Open Colleges Education Support graduate and Mum to 4 kids. The campaign was designed by Sydney-based agencies Bohemia and YOLO. By throwing Monique a surprise party and having her friends and family share how proud they are of her, Open Colleges hoped to inspire other potential students. The campaign encourages people to find their awesome, just like Monique did, and to start working towards those goals that theyve put aside for a while, or never felt confident enough to pursue. Nick Coulman, Open Colleges head of brand, explains how the marketing team found online student Monique and created the Find Your Awesome campaign. Says Coulman: We wanted a new brand platform that builds an emotional connection with prospective students. We want to show them whats its really like to study online with us, the ups and the downs, and how rewarding the outcome can be for students. Once we decided on the idea of surprising and celebrating a student with a well-deserved graduation party, the next challenge was to find the perfect one. We wanted someone who embodied the traits that we see in lots of our students busy, determined, dedicated and ready for a new career. After many hours on the phone to students who were recommended by Trainers or who won previous competitions, we narrowed it down to Monique. She had the perfect mix of ambition, heart and family values and as she was now working as a Teachers Aide with children with disabilities we knew she had definitely found her awesome. Coulman explains that Monique found the inspiration she needed to start working towards her career goals when she first saw Open Colleges TV campaign from 2013, featuring a mums graduation ceremony in her backyard. Now Monique is the one who will become a source of inspiration for so many other students looking to better their lives, change careers or follow their study goals. | BY Lynchy | FITCH has appointed Simon Stacey as Executive Creative Director, South East and North Asia effective January 16, 2017. With over 25 years experience in creating highly awarded brand experiences, Stacey will direct the overall design function across the region from the FITCH Singapore studio. Reporting to Global Chairman & Chief Creative Officer Tim Greenhalgh, Stacey will lead the design teams in China (Beijing and Shanghai offices), Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as play an integral role on the FITCH Global Creative Council. Passionate about bringing brands to life for consumers, Stacey has directly influenced the growth of international icon brands such as Amazon, Christian Louboutin, Dunhill, Harrods, Infiniti, Liberty, Orange, Selfridges, Tesco, The Conran Shop, Toyota, Waitrose and Virgin. Andrew Crombie, CEO for South East and North Asia said, Simon is a master in the art of connecting physical, human and digital experiences to bring about significant business growth for clients and their brands. He joins FITCH at a time of significant opportunity in Asia as we seek to broaden our reach across Asia and the Pacific. Were delighted hes now part of our team. "Some of our universities are at the cutting edge of IT, at UNSW, we have a quantum computing centre and there would be all sorts of governments and corporations keen to get their hands on the confidential information from some of that research." SpeedCast International, a global satellite communications and network service provider, has entered a multi-year service agreement with Roshan, Afghanistan's main telecommunications provider, to upgrade its cellular backhaul network to support 3G services over satellite in Zabul province, southwestern Afghanistan. Roshan has more than 6.5 million active subscribers across 287 districts and cities in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan. With the upgraded network, operators like Roshan can provide new and better service offerings to end users by providing reliable and scalable connectivity. Once customers have access to better connectivity, it inevitably leads to a rapid increase in bandwidth demand. The new backhaul network over satellite also allows operators to explore and develop new business opportunities and revenue streams, such as offering broadband and managed network solutions to banks, governments and home users using VSAT, said PJ Beylier, CEO of SpeedCast. This is our first 3G backhaul service deployment in Afghanistan Mr. Beylier commented. This win provides us a strong foothold in the growing cellular backhaul market in the Middle East, as mobile operators and service providers are upgrading their service capacity to meet the surging data adoption in both the enterprise and consumer markets. SpeedCast sees cellular backhaul as an important growth driver for us as telecommunication providers continue to expand coverage into remote areas, he said. SpeedCasts cellular backhaul suite of solutions, under the CelCast brand, are designed to optimize satellite traffic in telecommunication environments, lowering the total cost of ownership and bringing unrivalled quality of service to its customers networks. 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 ... Proactively From the Sea; an agent of change leveraging the littoral best practices for a paradigm breaking six-sigma best business case to synergize a consistent design in the global commons, rightsizing the core values supporting our mission statement via the 5-vector model through cultural diversity. Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact. Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here. Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing. You are our people. You Care. We Care2. Dezmon Walker, 27, was shot Monday afternoon, then arrested later. The Chattanooga Police Department responded at 2 p.m. to reports of a person shot who had arrived at a local hospital. Walker, the victim, arrived at the hospital via a personally-owned vehicle. He was suffering from a gunshot wound and had non-life threatening injuries. Investigators were able to determine that the shooting possibly occurred on the 2500 block of Judson Lane. Walker initially cooperated with police; however, he changed his story on several occasions while explaining the sequence of events which resulted in him being shot. The suspect description is unknown at this time due to Walker's attempts to mislead police. Walker was released from the hospital and was subsequently transported to the Hamilton County Jail. He was charged with filing a false police report. Members of the Violent Crimes Bureau are actively investigating the incident to determine the facts surrounding Walker's injuries. Chattanooga Police ask anyone with information regarding this incident to call 423-698-2525. The investigation is ongoing. There might be yet another exam added to the series of medical exams existing to filter well learnt graduates and let them to practice medicine officially. Shortly, for registering themselves as medical practioners, MBBS pass outs from government as well as private medical colleges will have to clear the National Exit Test (NEXT). According to a senior health ministry official, based on the recommendation of Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya for reforms in the medical education, the Ministry of Health has drafted a bill to address grievances over quality of education in medical colleges and of doctors. The draft bill titled Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016 has been published by health ministry on its website. The bill is open for feedback from the public till January 6. There is also a proposal in the bill for conducting common counselling for entry to Post-Graduate courses in all medical colleges. "Many institutes which are deemed universities and private colleges, want to conduct their own counselling so that they can pick and choose which may result in capitation fees because the number of NEET pass outs is three times more than the number of seats," said another official. "By introducing common counselling, our attempt is to streamline the system so that the seats are allotted strictly on merit-cum-choice basis from among the eligible candidates." Excluding these factors, for doctors who have served at least three years in remote areas, the bill also has proposals for the state governments to stock around 50 per cent of seats in post-graduate courses in government colleges. "The idea is to encourage more and more MBBS pass outs to go and practice in remote and rural areas," the official said. After acquiring PG degrees, medical officers may be required to serve up to three years in remote and difficult areas by state governments and Union territories. CBSE Schools' Popularity Rises With the Introduction of NEET Erlanger Health System announced a smaller version of the popular Chattanooga Market will be held every week beginning Friday, from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Created primarily for Erlanger employees but open to the community, the arrangement allows some of the community's busiest folks to participate in local food shopping. "As a health provider, it was important to us that our doctors, nurses and all employees have access to local farms and food artisans for fresh, healthy options, right at their work," said Chris Vaughn, director of marketing at Erlanger. "We promote a healthy lifestyle and want our employees and visitors to the hospital to be a part of our practice in doing so." The Chattanooga Market ensures that all of its member vendors are properly licensed, insured and are vetted thoroughly. The organization plans to bring 15-20 vendors each Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to the hospital. The market will be set up prominently in the medical mall building each week. The line-up of vendors may vary week to week, and will focus on fresh foods, while occasionally artists will be participating too. Erlanger has sponsored the Chattanooga Market on Sundays, at the First Tennessee Pavilion, for the past seven years. The solidified relationship with the Chattanooga Market, a non-profit 501(c)(3), allows the hospital to further their goal. Erlanger's downtown campus will be the first of two hospital extensions for the Market. The second will be at the newly-expanded Erlanger East location on Gunbarrel Road this summer. Rev. Dr. Bernie Miller tells his story in the newly released book, Modern-Day Salvation Encounters. The book is a collection of testimonies, compiled by author and speaker Allison C. Restagno. Modern-Day Salvation Encounters has reached the 3 Amazon Best Seller lists in the Christian Living category. With the latest Opel / Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport coming into the light, its only natural that fans ponder what a high-performance version of the mid-size family car could look like. Coming to answer that question is RMCarDesign, with a new render showing the German brands latest Insignia all dressed up. In this form, the Insignia Grand Sport has the traditional OPC (or VXR, in the case of Vauxhall) light blue paint, contrasted by blacked-out elements, plus bigger alloy rims that add an extra flair to the entire package. Additionally, the vehicle sits closer to the ground than the regular versions. In case youre wondering, inside, the flagship model is expected to benefit from sportier seats, plus OPC-specific steering wheel, gearshift lever, instrument panel and dedicated trimmings. The GM-owned brand has kept powertrain details a secret for now, but its believed that the OPC/VXR model will get a tuned V6 delivering 350 or more horses to all-four wheels. Some reports claim that the upcoming Sportswagon model will also get an OPC / VXR edition, but that remains to be seen. PHOTO GALLERY Hyundais Juke-rivaling baby SUV has been spotted once again while fully camouflaged, except that this time, we managed to have a little peek inside. Even though the dashboard is partially covered by some type of mesh, we can still see right through it to catch a glimpse of the cars touchscreen display, the center-mounted air vents as well the climate control dials. Other than that, the instrument dials feature an analog design, with what looks like a portrait-style rectangular display in the middle for the trip computer info. On the outside, its rumored that this model was inspired by the Intrado Concept that Hyundai showcased back in 2014 at the Geneva Motor Show a concept that was meant to further evolve Hyundais Fluidic Sculpture design philosophy. Still, its also likely that this car will share similar design traits with the current i30 and Tucson models, despite the possible Jeep Cherokee and Citroen C4 Picasso-like headlights. This B-segment SUV will most likely be based on the i20 platform, using a mix of i20 and i30 parts. Some rumors suggest that it will share a few power units with the new i30 compact, with both FWD and AWD versions available. While still unnamed, Hyundais baby-SUV will take on the likes of the Nissan Juke, Renault Captur and Opel Mocca X once it arrives sometime this year. Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoops PHOTO GALLERY Tesla has lost its right to sell vehicles in Missouri after a judge failed to renew the brands dealer license, marking another setback in Teslas push to sell cars directly to customers. In 2015, Tesla was issued with a dealer license in Missouri and has been selling its vehicles online and through stores in St.Louis and Kansas City. However, Cole Country Circuit Court judge Daniel Green has ruled that the automaker cant have a dealership license as it is not a franchisee. This decision came after the Missouri Auto Dealers Association sued the revenue department claiming that Teslas direct-to-consumer sales model was against state law. The ruling is being appealed but judge Green denied Teslas motion to stay or temporarily halt the judgement. In response, Tesla issued a statement stating that it will ask the Court of Appeals to issue a stay of the judges decision to avoid having to immediately close its Missouri stores. In an emailed statement issued to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the company said Tesla has been selling cars in Missouri for almost four years and employs numerous people at its Missouri sales locations. We do not believe that we should have to close up those sales operations while the Court of Appeals considers whether we may continue selling in the state. PHOTO GALLERY Ford officially confirmed today details on seven out of the 13 global electrified models scheduled for launch in the next five years, including the Mustang Hybrid, the F-150 Hybrid and the Transit Custom Plug-In Hybrid. Next to the new electrified versions of existing models, Ford will also launch a fully electric SUV with an expected range of at least 300 miles for customers globally. Ford said that the all-electric SUV will be produced at the Flat Rock plant and sold in North America, Europe and Asia, without revealing further details. Perhaps the most anticipated model in Fords major EV push will be the hybrid version of the Mustang; the company says that the electrified version will offer V8 power and even more low-end torque. The official debut is set for 2020, with the car to be initially available only in North America. As for the F-150 Hybrid, Ford plans for it to enter the North America and Middle East markets by 2020. The company says that the final production version will offer powerful towing and payload capacity, while its electrified powertrain will allow it to operate as a mobile generator. The Transit Custom is also destined to get a plug-in hybrid variant by 2019 in Europe, planning to offer reduced operating costs, even in the heaviest of traffic jams. Ford says that they are going to offer two new pursuit-rated hybrid police vehicles. Fords global range of utility models will become the brands first hybrid vehicles to combine an EcoBoost petrol engine with electric power, which will further improve their fuel economy and overall performance. The companys plan includes a high-volume, autonomous vehicle as well, set to debut in 2021 in North America, designed for ride-hailing or ride-sharing. The Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan is going to be expanded as part of a $700million investment, in order to become eligible for the production of high-tech autonomous and electric vehicles. The expansion will also create 700 direct new jobs. This move is just a part of Fords $4.5billion investment in electrified vehicles, which aims to turn the whole brand into an auto and mobility company. As more and more consumers around the world become interested in electrified vehicles, Ford is committed to being a leader in providing consumers with a broad range of electrified vehicles, services and solutions that make peoples lives better, said Mark Fields, Ford president and CEO. Our investments and expanding lineup reflect our view that global offerings of electrified vehicles will exceed gasoline-powered vehicles within the next 15 years. Ford also said its cancelling plans for a new plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico and that the next-generation Focus will be produced at the existing plant in Hermosillo, Mexico in order to improve the companys profitability and to make way for two new products at the Michigan plants, safeguarding approximately 3,500 US jobs. The company also continues their development work on wireless charging for electric vehicles. The goal is to make charging as easy as pulling into a parking spot and never forget to recharge. PHOTO GALLERY Weve known for quite some time that Seat will launch a small crossover that will slot below the Ateca and that it will be named the Arona, but weve just spied one of the early prototypes. Although the heavy camouflage makes it nigh impossible to discern details, we expect the Aronas design to be influenced by the Ateca as well as the next-gen Ibiza. The Arona will be based on the platform of the new supermini that will precede it, as it will launch in Geneva in March, while the baby SUV isnt expected to launch in Europe until the end of the year, or possibly, in early 2018. While the bodywork will be different and it may even get a more rugged variant, in the vein of the Ateca X-Perience, the interior and engine line-up will, in all likelihood, be shared with the Ibiza. Seat will build its Nissan Juke rival at its Martorell plant in Barcelona and will be its second-ever SUV offering, as the VW Groups Spanish brand has been notable by its absence in this segment. Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoops Photo Gallery As officials from BMW, Porsche and Nissan were still celebrating the New Year, South Korean authorities banned sales of 10 cars from the three brands, while also slapping them with fines for fabricating certification documents. According to South Koreas Ministry of Environment, among vehicles affected are the BMW X5 M, Nissan Qashqai, Infiniti Q50, and Porsches Macan S Diesel, Cayman SE Hybrid & Turbo, 918 Spyder, Cayman GTS, 911 GT3 and Panamera SE Hybrid . The latest development comes a little over a month after the first reports emerged on this matter. South Koreas Ministry of Environment launched the investigation after the VW Group emissions scandal to see whether any other brands had falsified documents on emissions and noise-level tests, reported Reuters. Besides withdrawing the certification for 10 models, six out of which are still on sale while four have been discontinued, South Koreas authorities slapped the three companies with fines that total 7.17 billion won ($5.9 million). Last year, South Korea fined the Volkswagen Group 17.8 billion won ($15.98 million) and suspended the sales of 32 models made by the VW, Audi and Bentley brands, alleging the company fabricated documents on emissions or noise-level tests PHOTO GALLERY Swatch, one of the worlds best known Swiss watchmakers, is looking to diversify and is helping to develop advanced new batteries for use in electric vehicles. Twenty Two Ten reports that the project is being led by Belenos Clean Power, a company formed in 2008 that is 51 per cent owned by Swatch. In conjunction with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Belenos is developing batteries that use a naturally occurring element dubbed vanadium. This element will be used instead of the rare earth materials that most lithium-ion batteries rely on. It is believed that with the use of vanadium, charging times could be dramatically reduced and weight decreased. As a matter of fact, Swatch Group chief executive Nick Hayek says that the battery pack could charge twice as fast and weigh a third less than the Panasonic batteries currently used by Tesla. Hayek believes that, by 2020, Swatch could be selling $10-15 billion worth of batteries. Theres a possibility that Swatch may use China as a test bed for the technology, as it has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Geely. PHOTO GALLERY A Tesla Model X owner is suing the American automaker asserting that his electric SUV accelerated while it was being parked. According to Ji Chang Son, he was parking his Model X in his garage in September and unexpectedly, the vehicle accelerated forward. In the lawsuit, the scene is described in detail, The vehicle spontaneously began to accelerate at full power, jerking forward and crashing through the interior wall of the garage, destroying several wooden support beams in the wall and a steel sewer pipe, among other things, and coming to rest in Plaintiffs living room. The lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California and cites seven other complaints about sudden acceleration registered with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Reuters reports that the lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and alleges product liability, breaches of warranty and negligence. Image via Ji Chang Son Facebook PHOTO GALLERY The chase was filmed near Almeria in southern Spain. Special effects supervisor Andy Williams oversaw the building of wagons and carriages that could be pulled by horses, as well as various horse paraphernalia and camera and stunt rigging to enable the scene to be filmed. Then, stunt co-ordinator Ben Cooke was responsible for staging the horse stunts, leaps between carriages, and some of the other action beats in the sequence, shot both in the desert and on greenscreen. Cinesite came in to assist in heightening what were effectively the four major beats of the chase. Beat #1: Marias parkour The assassin Maria (Ariane Labed) jumps onto the prison wagon via a 360 degree flip. The beat involved a plate of the wagon and a greenscreen plate of the actress filmed with the aid of wires. The director didnt want us to manipulate the image more than what had already been shot, said Irles, but we had to take the actress on the greenscreen, track the wagon, then put the greenscreen actress on the wagon, then animate her to walk, then do the jump, and then add cg dust to help everything blend together. Cinesite solved the shot by roto-mating both the wagon and actress and showing the director how the action would look in rough form, since retaining the scale was deemed important. Then digital artists would carry out the necessary integration work and add in cg elements where necessary to make the shot as convincing as possible. This beat and others in the rest of the sequence also included face replacements, removal of new buildings, environment replacements, tire track removal, weapon enhancements, and other general digital clean-up work. Beat #2: Aguilar jumps The second beat within the wagon chase sees Aguilar jump from on top of a horse onto one of the prison wagons. Here, multiple plates were filmed a stuntman on horseback riding fast, another where the stunt performer leaps off the horse, and a further take of the performer running and jumping off a trampoline with the signature Assassins Creed pose. Cinesite aided in the assembly of the scene by integrating these several different takes and also adding in cg dust, even to the level of having the dust be altered by Aguilars movement through the air. Beat #3: The wagon flips Here a wagon wheel hits a large rock and flips the carriage over end. For this, again multiple plates were shot one plate per wagon, one for each actor jumping off a static wagon, and more for the horses running by themselves without the wagons. The actual flip was also filmed with a specially rigged wagon that was equipped with a piston that threw the vehicle into the air. However, it didnt quite tumble as planned. Thats where Cinesite again came in. They were already assembling the various plates but in this instance they also enabled the flip via a cg carriage. Approaching the sequence this way also enabled an improved performance in terms of the horses. Having been filmed without the carriages in tow, the animals had not been required to react to anything (i.e. the flip). But now as cg horses, Cinesite could have them collapse as might actually happen, but without any safety or harm concerns. Aguilar makes another big leap in this beat from the crumbling carriage, enabled by a mix of live-action stunt performers and a cg digital double animated by Cinesite. In each of the shots there was just more and more destruction of the wagon, said Irles. When it starts tumbling, the whole thing starts coming apart. So we added lots of wood debris and a lot of dust. Beat #4: Off the cliff The whole point of the carriage chase has been the rescue of a young prince. Aguilar is ultimately successful, right before one of the wagons launches off a cliff. For this beat, production did stage a real stunt of pulling the wagon with a wire off a lip of land. Cinesite then had to extend the cliff to make it appear it was 300 feet deep. That cliff asset and the surrounding environment were built in cg, and further enhanced with digital matte painting. The build was so successful that the director encouraged Cinesite to use the environment they had generated to help add any key shots to the whole chase, as Irles explains. Justin gave us the very rough edit and said, Have a crack at it. So we ended up designing a few of the shots that are in the film and ended up being full cg with the same environment and the digital characters, digital environment, and dust. The role of Cinesite here is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the sequence, and a testament to how visual effects could get involved in the final edit while still retaining the very practical nature of the shots as intended. The law firms of Baker Donelson and Ober|Kaler have completed their previously announced combination, resulting in one of the 50 largest law firms in the country. The combined firm, which maintains the name of Baker Donelson, boasts more than 800 attorneys and advisors across 25 offices in 10 states as well as Washington, D.C. Baker Donelson Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ben C. Adams said, "The initial integration process has gone smoothly due in large part to the similar cultures of our firms and a lot of hard work by numerous people with both firms. Moving forward, there's more to be done but we look forward to working with our new colleagues as one firm to bring our clients all the advantages and benefits that were the motivation behind our decision to join firms." Joining from Ober|Kaler were nearly 110 attorneys and more than 100 staff members, giving the combined firm more than 800 attorneys and advisors, including around 380 shareholders and nearly 1,600 total employees. There were no layoffs at either firm as a result of the merger. S. Craig Holden, who previously served as Ober|Kaler's chair and CEO, said, "We are very proud to officially be part of Baker Donelson. We are focused now on collaborating with our clients and getting them integrated and aware of the additional resources this combination brings." The combination of Baker Donelson with Baltimore-based Ober|Kaler also results in the third largest health practice in the country. The combined health practice, now known as Baker Ober Health Law, has nearly 200 attorneys, including some of the most prominent leaders in the field of health law, said officials. The merger also gives Baker Donelson a presence in three markets that drive the nation's health care industry: Baltimore, which is home to the headquarters of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; Washington, D.C., the center for health policy and regulation; and Nashville, the nation's center for for-profit health care. The combination has also created a financial services practice, joining Ober|Kaler's strengths in commercial finance and representation of community banking institutions with Baker Donelson's reputation as a leader in regulatory, transactional and litigation matters for financial institutions, said officials. Among other practices that are enhanced by the combination are construction, litigation, tax and intellectual property. Members of Ober|Kaler's leadership now hold various leadership roles in Baker Donelson. Mr. Holden and Patrick Cameron, who served as chair of Ober|Kaler's transactional practices, have joined Baker Donelson's board of directors. Darlene Davis, previously Ober|Kaler's president and COO, is serving as managing shareholder of the Baltimore office. Ober|Kaler attorneys also now hold practice group leadership roles in the combined firm, including Julie Kass, previously Ober|Kaler's health law group co-chair, who now serves as co-chair of Baker Donelson's health law group; Frank Bonaventure, previously chair of Ober|Kaler's financial institutions group, who now serves as vice chair of Baker Donelson's tax group; Stuart Schabes, previously co-chair of Ober|Kaler's tax and business groups, who now serves as vice chair of Baker Donelson's Business Department; and Joseph Kovars, previously co-chair of Ober|Kaler's construction group, who now serves as co-chair of Baker Donelson's construction group. In addition to serving on Baker Donelson's board of directors, Patrick Cameron is also serving as vice chair of the firm's Financial Services Department. Baker Donelson Chair and CEO Ben Adams and President and COO Jennifer P. Keller are maintaining their leadership positions in the combined firm. Contributed: Chad Giesbrecht, Jenn Hayden UPDATE 9 a.m. Jan. 4 The cause of a house fire on Kirschner Mountain Monday evening will officially go down as undetermined. Investigators with the Kelowna Fire Department and RCMP sifted through what remained of the home Tuesday but were unable to determine an exact cause. Investigators did determine the fire started in the garage. The family of three were home at the time of the fire, however, all managed to get out unharmed. They were insured. While it has no direct bearing on this particular fire, fire officials are reminding residents to keep all combustible materials away from space heaters and baseboard heaters. UPDATE: 6 a.m. The occupants of a Kirschner Mountain home that went up in flames overnight are being housed by Emergency Support Services. The cause of the fire is not yet known, but an investigation is pending. Kelowna firefighters responded to the blaze at 8 p.m. after several 911 calls reported the house fire on Verde Vista Road. The home was fully involved in fire and is uninhabitable, Platoon Capt. Steve Wallick says in a press release. Three adult occupants were home when the fire started, and all got out safely. KFD responded with 15 personnel in three fire engines, a rescue truck and a command vehicle. RCMP, ambulance paramedics, Fortis electrical crews and a city sand truck also attended the scene. UPDATE: 8:42 p.m. Three adults have reportedly been displaced from a large house fire in the Kirschner Mountain area of Kelowna. Fire crews are on scene at the fire on Verde Vista Road. ORIGINAL: 8:29 p.m. Crews are reportedly responding to a large house fire in the Kirschner Mountain area of Kelowna. Castanet is receiving reports four fire engines are either on the scene or heading to the scene of the fire, which is said to be fully involved. Emergency crews got the call just before 8 p.m. to a house with a roof on fire, which has now spread to other parts of the house. Castanet will update with more information when it becomes available. Photo: Google Maps UPDATE: 12:00 p.m. The driver of a pickup truck died of his injuries at the scene, following a head-on collision on Highway 1 near the town of Canoe Monday night. The crash occurred just before midnight and closed the TransCanada Highway for many hours. It reopened just before 9 a.m. Tuesday. Sicamous RCMP and Southeast District RCMP Traffic Services responded to the crash. On arrival, investigators established that the collision involved a westbound pickup truck and an eastbound commercial vehicle, said Cpl. Dan Moskaluk, RCMP spokesperson. The scene examination confirmed that a Ford F-250 pickup crossed the double solid lines colliding with an eastbound tractor trailer unit. Moskaluk said the pickup driver, 55, died at the scene while three passengers were transported to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the tractor trailer was not believed to be injured. The RCMP East TransCanada Traffic Services along with the BC Coroners Services are continuing their investigation into the collision and the mans death. UPDATE: 8:50 a.m. DriveBC reports the highway is now open. UPDATE: 6 10 a.m. DriveBC now reports the highway is expected to reopen at 9 a.m. ORIGINAL: 6 a.m. The Trans-Canada Highway is closed in both direction east of Salmon Arm, due to a crash. DriveBC first reported the incident at 1:30 a.m., but the road remains closed as of 5:45 a.m. An estimated time of reopening is not yet known. A scene assessment is in progress, and a detour is available via Highway 97B and Highway 97A. Photo: Xinhua China confirmed that its aircraft carrier has for the first time conducted drills in the South China Sea with a formation of other warships and fighter jets, a move that could raise concerns among its neighbours. The Defence Ministry said several J-15 fighter jets took off and landed from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Liaoning on Monday. The Liaoning, China's first and only aircraft carrier, sailed into the South China Sea last week. The confirmation late Monday came days after Taiwan's Defence Ministry said the carrier and five other warships had passed south of Taiwan. The self-ruled island deployed fighter jets to monitor the fleet. China calls the drills part of a routine open-sea exercise, but they could add to tensions between Beijing and Taipei. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has refused to endorse Beijing's concept that Taiwan is a part of China. Beijing claims the self-governing island as its own territory and says failing to endorse the one-China principle would destabilize relations. Purchased as an incomplete hull from Ukraine more than a decade ago, the Liaoning was commissioned in 2013 and in November was declared ready to engage in combat by the ship's political commissar. China hasn't described specifically how it intends to use the Liaoning, but it is seen as helping reinforce China's increasingly assertive claims in the South China Sea in the face of challenges from the U.S. Navy and others. Tensions have mounted in the South China Sea, where the U.S. 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. China is currently building its second aircraft carrier. Photo: The Canadian Press House Speaker Paul Ryan Members of the 115th Congress will be sworn in at noon Tuesday, setting off an aggressive campaign by Republicans who control the House and Senate to dismantle eight years of President Barack Obama's Democratic policies. The first and biggest target is Obama's signature health care law, which Republicans have long sought to gut and blamed as a primary cause for a lacklustre economic recovery. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday encouraged a wholesale overhaul of the system, tweeting hours before the new Congress convenes "Obamacare just doesn't work," is unaffordable "and, it is lousy health care." Majority Republicans also are targeting decades-old programs that millions of Americans rely on every day, such as Social Security and Medicare as they seek to shrink both the size of the federal budget and the bureaucracy in Washington. "We have a lot to do and a lot to undo," House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said in a letter to fellow Republicans. There were signs of Republican-on-Republican drama even before the new Congress officially opened on Tuesday. House Republicans on Monday night voted to defy their leaders and gut the chamber's independent ethics panel created in 2008 to probe charges of lawmaker misconduct after several corruption scandals sent members to prison. Lawmakers would have the final say on their colleagues under the change approved 199-74 over arguments from House Speaker Paul Ryan, McCarthy, and other GOP leaders. Some members said they have felt unfairly targeted by the independent panel, and Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, said Tuesday on ABC that there had been "overzealousness" under the old system. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told CNN Tuesday that the idea was to give accused lawmakers more information about who was making charges against them. Others complained that the move would clear a path to corruption. Democrats will try to block the far-reaching conservative agenda by swaying public opinion and using the power they have in the Senate to filibuster legislation. But that strategy has its political limitations. Twenty-three Senate Democrats are up for re-election in 2018, including 10 from states won by President-elect Donald Trump, and they could break ranks and side with the GOP. The GOP's proposal to change the ethics process is part of a rules package to be voted Tuesday that also would give GOP leaders the tools to punish lawmakers if there is a repeat of the Democratic sit-in last summer over gun control. Votes also are expected on resolutions to denounce the United Nations for condemning the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Republicans blasted the Obama administration for refusing to veto the decision. Ryan, R-Wis., pledged "to reverse the damage done by this administration, and rebuild our alliance with Israel." Photo: Twitter U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a statement Monday saying a processing system outage caused delays at numerous airports. CBP officers continued processing international travellers using "alternative procedures" until the system came back online but waits were longer than usual at some airports, according to the statement. Officers still had access to national security databases and all travellers were screened according to security standards during the outage, the CBP said. The release does not give a cause for the disruption but said it doesn't seem to be malicious. In Atlanta, CBP public affairs officer Robert Brisley said the outage at the city's airport lasted about an hour from late afternoon into early evening. He said that officers were working to recover quickly afterward but even short outages can lead to backups at the airport, one of the world's busiest. He said the agency apologizes to travellers who were delayed getting into the country after long flights. Photo: The Canadian Press Violence claimed the lives of at least 6,878 civilian Iraqis last year, the United Nations said on Monday, as the Iraqi government struggles to maintain security nationwide and to dislodge Islamic State group militants from areas under their control. The U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq, known as UNAMI, said its numbers "have to be considered as the absolute minimum" as it has not been able to verify casualties among civilians in conflict areas, and of those who lost their lives due to "secondary effects of violence ... due to exposure to the elements, lack of water, food, medicines and health care." UNAMI said in a statement that 12,388 other civilians were wounded in 2016. It added that last year figures didn't include casualties among civilians in Iraq's western Anbar province for the months of May, July, August and December. According to UNAMI figures, at least 7,515 civilians were killed in 2015. The monthly U.N. casualty report for December 2016 showed that a total of 386 civilians were killed and another 1,066 were wounded. The worst affected area was the northern province of Ninevah, where government forces are fighting to retake the IS-held city of Mosul, with 208 civilians killed and 511 injured. The capital, Baghdad, came next with 109 civilians killed and 523 injured. IS, known locally by the Arabic acronym Daesh, has claimed responsibility for a string of bombings in Baghdad that have killed more than 50 people in the last week alone. The deadliest IS attack was in July when a massive suicide bombing in a bustling market area in central Baghdad killed almost 300 people, the bloodiest single attack in the capital in 13 years of war. The group was also behind Monday's suicide bombing in a commercial area in eastern Baghdad, which killed 41 people and wounding 64 others. Several other attacks, including one carried out by five suicide bombers against two police stations in the city of Samarra north of Baghdad, killed at least 27 people and wounded 89. Photo: Google Street View The Okanagan's most expensive home at 4358 Hobson Rd. in Kelowna. For the longest time, the most expensive place to live in the Okanagan was Kelowna. Not anymore. That distinction now goes to Lake Country. According to figures released by BC Assessment, the cost of an average home in Lake Country is $634,000. That's an increase of 16.3 per cent over a year ago, and $10,000 more than the average residential home in Kelowna. West Kelowna is third at $593,000 (up 10.7 per cent), while Coldstream is fourth at $581,300 (up 6.9 per cent). At the other end of the scale, the lowest property prices in the region can be found in Princeton, with an average assessed value of $203,600, an increase of just 3.2 per cent over the previous year. During the next several days, property owners in the Okanagan will begin receiving assessment notices in the mail. Assessments reflect market value as of July 1. Overall, the Okanagans total assessments increased from $89 billion in 2016 to $98 billion this year. A total of almost $1.7 billion of the regions updated assessments is from new construction, subdivisions and rezoning of properties. The most expensive home in the Okanagan is a relative bargain this year. The home at 4358 Hobson Rd. has an assessed value of $9,238,000. That's a decrease of $272,000 from the previous assessment. Meanwhile, the most expensive home in the province skyrocketed by nearly 20 per cent. Lululemon founder Chip Wilson's mansion in Vancouver's Point Grey neighbourhood has been assessed at $75.8 million. A year ago, it had an assessed value of $63.87 million. The amount you will pay in municipal taxes is tied directly to the value of the property provided through the yearly assessment. "Those who feel that their property assessment does not reflect market value as of July 1, 2016, or see incorrect information on their notice, should contact BC Assessment as indicated on their notice as soon as possible in January, said deputy assessor Tracy Wall. If a property owner is still concerned about their assessment after speaking to one of our appraisers, they may submit a notice of complaint (appeal) by Jan. 31, for an independent review." It's a cold one out there and that's an understatement. Temperatures in the Okanagan are hovering around -21 C. With the windchill, that feels like -25 C. The one positive is today will be the coldest day of the week. On Wednesday, temperatures will warm up slightly to -11 C. On Saturday, there is a chance of flurries, but it will be significantly warmer out hovering around a relatively balmy -5 C. Driving conditions on most mountain highways, including the Coquihalla, are reported as slippery with compact snow. On the Okanagan Connecter, no snow has fallen in the last 12 hours, so roads are dry and should stay that way for the next 24 hours. DriveBC reminds motorists to take it slow and drive to conditions. The Bradley County Historical and Genealogical Society will hold its quarterly meeting and program Sunday, January 8, 2017 at 2:30 p.m. in the community room of the Cleveland Public Library. Darlene Goins, executive director of the Hiwassee River Heritage Center will present information about the activities and progress of the National Park Services recognition and plans for the Trails of Tears and Fort Cass locations in Charleston and northern Bradley County. Fort Cass covered an area that was 4 miles wide and 12 miles long that was located along the Hiwassee River and housed a garrison of United States troops who watched over the internment camps for the Cherokees in the summer of 1838. Bryan Reed, BCHGS president state, Fort Cass is one of the most important historic areas in this part of the United States. We look forward to hearing about Fort Cass and the future plans to tell the important story about The Trail of Tears in this area. The meeting is free and open to the public. (TNS) If the Community Colleges of Spokane knew how much being the test case for a new computer system would cost in overtime, blown deadlines and disruption to students, faculty and staff, the schools would not have volunteered for the job, Chancellor Christine Johnson said."We didn't expect it would be this troubled (of a) system," Johnson said recently of the $100 million software system purchased to run most aspects of accounting, finances and student affairs for the state's network of 34 community colleges.Now an estimated $10 million over budget and several years behind schedule, the system known as ctcLink still isn't working properly at the two institutions that volunteered to be guinea pigs -- the two-school system in Spokane and Tacoma Community College.The overtime racked up by Community Colleges of Spokane alone is more than $500,000 -- and growing. At last report, Tacoma had spent $306,000 on overtime in efforts to make ctcLink work. There's no assurance the schools will get help offsetting those costs from the other community colleges that someday will benefit from the mistakes found and fixed at the test schools.In March, the Spokane colleges asked the state Board for Community and Technical Colleges to reimburse overtime costs, and that request was forwarded to an executive committee of the presidents of the other colleges. The board oversees the state's 34 schools and selected ctcLink to replace a system more than three decades old.But other school presidents have budget worries of their own and have not yet committed to sharing the financial burden of bringing the system up to snuff by helping out Spokane and Tacoma."We hope so," Johnson said. But if they refuse, CCS may ask the Legislature to cover those costs, she added.The overtime costs are relatively easy to track, Johnson said. Estimating the costs of lost productivity and slower processing of transactions is more difficult.Johnson is quick to praise the dedication of staff who have struggled with problems in the new system for more than a year. It was the confidence in the staff, and CCS' desire to have better technology to serve its students and employees, that prompted administrators to volunteer to be a test site. But when asked if she'd do that again, Johnson said no.It's possible the state board overreached by buying the same system for all community colleges in the state, she added."Maybe a 34-school system approach isn't the best," she said.As reported earlier this year by The Spokesman-Review, the guinea pig schools encountered a range of problems when they flipped the switch on the new system: Students being bumped out of classes in which they had properly enrolled. Financial aid not being credited to their accounts for tuition or books. Faculty not being paid on time. The colleges' financial records not being ready for state and federal auditors.When it was selected, ctcLink was one of the larger IT projects in state government, and fitting it into 34 schools in 30 districts made it one of the more complex. It's supposed to handle everything from student enrollment and scheduling to financial aid, staff payroll and the financial books -- and let colleges easily share data.The state Board for Community and Technical Colleges, which oversees the schools, planned to have the software installed at different colleges in groups, or "waves," after it was up and running in the test site colleges in Spokane and Tacoma in 2014. The last wave of schools was supposed to install ctcLink by 2017.After several scheduling delays, ctcLink was put online at the test schools in fall quarter 2015, despite warnings from IT staff in Spokane that it wasn't ready. Problems arose immediately for students, faculty and administrators. Some of the biggest problems occurred because the new software and the old system, known as Legacy, used different computer languages and didn't "speak" to each other.Information technology staff from the two institutions, the state board and the vendor, Colorado-based Ciber, scrambled to fix problems, which continued to develop. Federal and state auditors said the schools weren't able to provide them with required information on how they were disbursing student aid, which put such payments in jeopardy.In January, Marty Brown, Community and Technical Colleges board president, told legislators at a hearing that the schools expected to have problems fixed in February and hoped to begin installing ctcLink in the next 10 colleges in the fall.That, too, proved overly optimistic, as problems continued in Spokane and Tacoma. This fall, the board hired outside experts for $200,000 to study the problems with the startup and make recommendations on how to proceed. In November, the team from the Gartner Group said ctcLink shouldn't be installed in the next wave of community colleges before October 2017, and only then if all problems are fixed at the test schools.It laid out a series of recommendations that include improved project controls; developing a list of problems in the pilot schools and fixing them; and improving training, testing, tech support and startup procedures before putting the system in any new colleges.Although the delays have put the project at least $10 million over budget, that extra cost won't be borne by taxpayers, but by students.The board borrowed the money for ctcLink and is paying it back with an increase in student tuition that goes into an "innovation fund" the Legislature approved in 2011. The fund helps pay off principal and interest on certificates of participation, a type of public borrowing with shorter terms than most bond issues.The extra $10 million will also come out of the innovation fund, which means the fund will be tapped for ctcLink longer than originally estimated. Johnson fears that could have devastating consequences if the fund doesn't have the money the colleges expect to use for new equipment needed for certain programs."Our health care programs need up-to-date medical equipment to train students," Johnson said. So do programs in aerospace and other technology-dependent fields, she said. Rhymefest Urges 'Resources' After Trump's Ambiguous Tweet About Chicago Crime By Stephen Gossett in News on Jan 2, 2017 9:00PM In response to Donald Trumps ambiguous tweet on Monday that Rahm Emanuel must ask for federal help in the wake of Chicagos 762-homicide year, Rhymefest joined CNN later in the afternoon to edify the citys violent problemsabout which Trump has been frequently gliband urge that any federal assistance come in the form of resources. If [the] president-elect is talking about federal intervention in terms of resources then we welcome that, the activist rapper told host Ana Cabrera. Illinois is number one for Africa-American unemployment," he said. "When we look at violence, especially in Chicago, you can circle on a map the small areas where violence is happening: small areas on the s side, small areas on the west side By and large, Chicagoans are living good. Its these small pockets where you have abnormal amounts of violence we can take what works in Chicago by and large and apply it to these areas that have been divested from. Asked if responsibility for Chicagos violence fell with President Obama, Rhymefestwho, notoriously, was treated dismissively by police when attempting to file a mugging report in 2016said, its not the president's job. It falls more upon the City Council and mayor, he said. Rhymefest also criticized Emanuel for not having released an allocated $420 million for affordable housing, arguing that Chicagos history of reshuffling low-income populations has contributed to the current adverse situation. The artist/activist also noted on Twitter hip-hop's role in politics and called for more detectives and public defenders. I agree that hiphop is moving in a pivotal space of policy making for our communities https://t.co/EsvwX7Gi4M Rhymefest (@RHYMEFEST) January 2, 2017 Underdog Alderman Pawar Seeks To Challenge Rauner In 2018 Governor's Race By Stephen Gossett in News on Jan 3, 2017 5:58PM Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th Ward) / Facebook Its official: the City Council member who made his name with a long-shot victory in a 2011 aldermanic race wants to take on Bruce Rauner in an even longer-shot bid for top pol in the state. Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th Ward) announced on Tuesday that hell run for governor of Illinois in 2018. Pawar made the announcement in an interview with NBC Chicagos Ward Room, taking the opportunity to take thinly veiled shot at the wealthy GOP incumbent. I am running because weve gotten to a point in this country where wealth worship is the only qualifier for public office, trumping public policy, Pawar said in the interview. Chopping benefits or declaring strategic bankruptcy or selling companies off in pieces for profit is somehow seen as the secret ingredient for an Illinois utopia. Pawar faces a steep uphill climb, both politically and financially. When Pawar first hinted at the possibility of a run back in November of last year, Pawar had only about $58,000 in the campaign war chest. Compare that to his Republican rival, who recently self-financed a whopping $50 million for a second-term bid. From a political perspective, Pawars Chicago roots would no doubt be a liability downstate, where some voters at times seem happy to Brexit away any financial link from our city. Speaking with the Tribune, Pawar wore the campaign-funding gap like a badge of honor. "I'm going to go out and raise money, but I don't run in the circles where you can take in huge checks," Pawar told the paper. "I know that. That's OK. But I look at Bruce Rauner's $50 million contribution to himself, and people use that to tell me that what I'm trying to do is ridiculous. But writing yourself a $50 million check when you have no record in fact a destructive record is nothing to be proud of. At the same time, Pawar is of course well-known for the Rocky-esque underdog victory that propelled him to this point. Despite his opponent having support from the politically powerful in Chicago (including Rahm), Pawar handily defeated the heavily-favored Tommy ODonnell in 2011 to become alderman of the 47th Ward. And since his time on the City Council, Pawar has been a vocal advocate for state CPS funding. It didn't take long for the Illinois Republican party to fire at Pawar's record after he made his announcement. "Chicago Alderman Ameya Pawar is the very definition of an out-of-touch, tax-hiking politician just like Mike Madigan," said spokesman Steven Yaffe in a press release. "While job-crushing tax increases without reform has caused an exodus from Illinois, Pawar doubled down on the Madigan Chicago agenda, supporting higher income taxes, higher property taxes, and even a tax on our drinking water." This post has been updated. Off-Duty Cop Who Fatally Shot Unarmed Man Was Said To Be Problem Neighbor By Stephen Gossett in News on Jan 3, 2017 4:33PM Update, 4:30 p.m.: The shooting victim, Jose Nieves, died of multiple gunshot wounds and his manner of death was ruled homicide, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed with Chicagoist via email. Original: A man who was fatally shot by an off-duty police officer in Hermosa on Monday morning was unarmed, and the officer had had a confrontation with the victim weeks prior to the shooting, police said later on Monday. Family members also told media that the officer was a problem neighbor who had pulled a gun on the victim before. The officer, who was assigned to a Mass Transit Unit, got into an altercation with a male known to him in the 2500 block of N. Lowell at around 9:30 a.m. on Monday morning, according to a police statement. The victimidentified by family in various news reports as 38-year-old Jose Nieveswas shot multiple times after the confrontation escalated, according to police. Nieves was then taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. "The person who was shot did not have a weapon. That much we know. The officer's weapon is the only one we found," police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said on Monday. Nieves sister, Angelica Nieves, told WGN that the officer lived downstairs from her brother and Jose had called 911 on him on numerous occasions in the pastincluding at least one in which the officer allegedly pulled his weapon on Jose Nieves. "911 calls had been made before about that gentlemen pulling out his gun at my brother," Angelica Nieves said, according to WGN. Angelica Nieves told media that the officer harassed Joses girlfriend while Jose was moving furniture into his residence on Monday morning. She said the officer shot the Nieves three times, including once in the back. "I have a lot more questions than I do answers at this time," Johnson said on Monday, according to NBC reporters who attended a press briefing, "so I came out because I wanted to make sure the investigation was done properly. The chief of detectives is here to manage our part of the investigation. We have a parallel investigation going on right now with IPRA The incident was the second police shooting in two days. Woman Tied Up, Groped In New Year's Day Home Invasion In Bucktown By Stephen Gossett in News on Jan 3, 2017 3:22PM A woman, 31, was bound, sexually assaulted and robbed during a home invasion in Bucktown over the weekend. An armed man broke into the womans apartment in the 2100 block of West Concord Place after 11 p.m. on Sunday night, according to Chicago police. He then tied her up, groped her and left out the back door with several of the victims belongings. WGN reports that the man forced her to remove her clothes before tying her up and stole the victim's bicycle and electronics. Authorities do not have anyone in custody as of Tuesday morning. Police said the suspect is about 6 ft tall and 175 lbs. but did not provide an approximate age. Like many of his peers born in the 1960s, Li Chen was a fan of Chinese picture books in his childhood. Li Chen's representative work, The Border Town, is adapted from a novel by Shen Congwen. [Photo provided to China Daily] "I think all Chinese people of our generation were nourished by picture books," says Li, who clearly remembers exchanging picture books with his friends and borrowing books from stands for a few cents when he was a child. However, unlike most adults who eventually abandoned picture books, Li chose to become an illustrator, telling Chinese stories with a pencil and paper. His debut serial pictures work, Premier Zhou Enlai at Meiyuan New Village, was shown at an exhibition of arts in his hometown city, Yingkou, Liaoning province, when he was still in high school. In 1979, when he was 16, Li joined the army and mainly served as a projectionist. After leaving the army, he went to study in the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, and graduated in 1983. Then he was assigned to work in several institutions, including the National Police University of China and Liaoning Administrators College of Police and Justice. "I kept painting through those years," says Li. Now a professor at the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts and deputy director of Chinese Serial-Picture Art Council, Li is an advocate of serial pictures on an easel. "Picture books are just one form of serial pictures. Serial pictures can also be displayed at the easel and in exhibitions. Compared with picture books, easel serial pictures are richer in representation and more delicate," Li explains at the 4th Easel Serial Pictures Art Exhibition, which was launched in Dalian in November and toured Beijing in December. He was the curator of the exhibition. You are here: Home China's top environment watchdog disclosed Monday violations of smog-easing measures as heavy air pollution in the north are set to persist. The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) punished over 500 enterprises and construction sites and 10,000 vehicles for breaching haze response plans. The move came as 72 cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and Shaanxi Province have issued or maintained yellow or more severe smog alerts, MEP said. China has a four-tier warning system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue. When a high alert is in force, heavy polluting vehicles and trucks carrying construction waste are banned from roads and some manufacturing firms shall cut production. Inspectors sent by the ministry have identified several metallurgy, agricultural chemicals and steel plants in the region which failed to follow the alert-triggered bans. Government of heavy-industry Tangshan city, Hebei Province, is warned for failing to strictly abide by a truck-ban on its roads. Meanwhile, an unlicensed quarry in the city was found to have continued operation even after one of its officials had been detained, MEP said, citing it as an example of foot-dragging over rectification orders. The ministry has urged local governments to take prompt remedial actions and deal wrongdoings with severe punishment. As of late Monday, China's national meteorological center has renewed orange smog alerts for large swathes of the northern region. The smog is predicted to dissipate from the evening of Jan. 8 with the arrival of a cold front, MEP said. China has taken a historic step to ban the commercial ivory trade by the end of 2017, but campaigners warn that legal ivory stockpiles could become an issue. An ivory sculpture is displayed at the International Cultural and Creative Industry Expo in Beijing in 2015. [Photo/China Daily] In 2008, China legally imported 62 metric tons of elephant tusks from four African countries under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, one of four legal sources in China. To curb demand, the State Forestry Administration said it has put just 5 tons a year on the market for manufacturers. However, the real consumption of legal ivory is less than that. According to an expert at an international NGO who declined to be identified, only an estimated 2 or 3 tons were processed and sold every year. This means 40 tons of legal ivory was stockpiled at the end of last year, yet manufacturers will be banned from being able to use or sell it after Dec 31 this year. A notice released by the State Council said only "legally sourced ivory products can be ... displayed, ... transported, gifted and inherited". Officials from the administration did not respond for comment. Mo Junhao, deputy general manager of Guangzhou Daxin Ivory Craft Factory in Guangdong province, said it has not received any notice from the local authorities, but "will simply follow the government's orders". As to its remaining stockpile and how to deal with it, Mo said he could not share that information with the media. Zhou Fei, head of the China office of Traffic, an NGO that monitors the global wildlife trade, said that according to the State Council notice, it is unlikely that the government would buy back the ivory. "When the Chinese government banned the processing and sale of tiger bones, the government didn't purchase or destroy the tiger bones," Zhou said. "Actually, companies already have enough time to deal with the stockpile. As early as May 2015, Zhao Shucong, former chief of the State Forestry Administration, said that China would ban the legal ivory market. "If processing and sale sites cannot find buyers before the end of this year, then there is a reason to worry about where the stockpile will go," Zhou said. Aili Kang, executive director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Asia program, said that if the government does not redeem the stockpile then there is a high possibility that it would go onto the black market and undermine the implementation of the policy. She suggested the government register and seal all legal raw ivory and ivory product collections. Ask the average American about crime, and chances are theyll say the number of murders, rapes, thefts, and assaults is going up. In 2016, the level of concern about crime and violence hit a 15-year high, according to Gallup. And in a separate 2015 Gallup survey, 70% of people said crime was higher than it was a year earlier. But statistics dont support Americans anxiety about rising levels of violence. Crime rates in 2016 are projected to be roughly the same as they were in 2015, according to a new report from the Brennan Center for Justice, and crime overall is lower than it has been in a generation. In 1990, there were more than 9,000 crimes per 100,000 people. In 2015, that figure had fallen to just over 3,000 crimes per 100,000 people. Murders are down too. Twenty-five years ago, the homicide rate in the U.S. was 9.8 per 100,000, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. By 2010, the number of murders had fallen to 4.8 per 100,000. Our findings directly contradict the out-of-control narrative we heard from President-Elect Trump this year, Ames Grawert, a counsel in the Brennan Centers Justice Program and an author of the analysis, said in a statement. Crime nationally is projected to remain at all-time lows. The Brennan Center analyzed data from the 30 largest cities in the U.S. to make predictions about the trends in crime. (The report was released before the end of 2016, so final crime numbers for the year were not yet available.) Overall crime in the nations biggest cities was expected to increase 0.3% and violent crime was up 3%. While theres no evidence of a nationwide trend toward more murders and other violent crime, violent crime rates were up in 13 of the 30 cities studied. Does that mean these cities are overrun with criminals and should be avoided? No. In some cases, the rise in crime was small. Others had large percentage increases in violent crime but still had far less crime per person than cities where crime was flat or falling. Its also possible the year-over-year crime increase could be temporary. Some of the cities with the biggest increases in murder in 2015 had some of the most significant decreases in 2016, the reports authors noted. In other words, these numbers could be statistical blips, not evidence of a long-term trend. Nevertheless, these are the 13 cities with rising crime rates in 2016. 13. Denver, Colorado Percent change in violent crime rate: 0.6% Violent crime rate per 100,000: 589.2 Denver experienced a very slight increase in violent crime in 2016. The citys overall crime rate rose by 3.9%. 12. Nashville, Tennessee Percent change in violent crime rate: 1.3% Violent crime rate per 100,000: 795.7 Though the overall increase in violent crime in Nashville was low, murders were up. The Brennan Center predicted a 34.5% increase in the number of homicides in 2016, with murders in the Tennessee city expected to increase from 63 to 85. 11. Baltimore, Maryland Percent change in violent crime rate: 5.8% Violent crime rate per 100,000: 1,668.1 Violent crime was up nearly 6% in Baltimore in 2016. The number of murders was down from 2015, but it was still the second-deadliest year on record in the city, according to the Baltimore Sun. At 49.5 homicides per 100,000 people, Baltimore had the highest murder rate of any U.S. city studied. 10. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Percent change in violent crime rate: 6.9% Violent crime rate per 100,000: 734.5 The murder rate in Oklahoma City jumped nearly 26% in 2016. The Brennan Center predicted there would be 95 homicides in the city, compared to 74 in 2015. When non-violent crime was included in the total, the citys crime rate rose by 11.9% over 2015. 9. Louisville, Kentucky Percent change in violent crime rate: 7.8% Violent crime rate per 100,000: 2,407.1 Compared to other cities studied, Louisville had the highest per capita violent crime rate. Though crime is up, police are making fewer arrests than they were a few years ago, according to a report from WFPL. 8. Houston, Texas Percent change in violent crime rate: 9.1% Violent crime rate per 100,000: 1,008.5 While overall crime in Houston was essentially the same as in 2015, violent crime was up. There would be 14.9 murders per 100,000 people in 2016, the Brennan Center predicted. 7. San Jose, California Percent change in violent crime rate: 9.7% Violent crime rate per 100,000: 316.7 Homicides were at a 25-year high in San Jose in 2016. Rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults were also up compared to 2015. The Brennan Center predicted 51 murders for the city in 2016; the final count was 47. Still, compared to other cities, the per capita crime rate was relatively low. 6. Austin, Texas Percent change in violent crime rate: 10% Violent crime rate per 100,000: 351.2 The number of murders in Austin in 2016 was the highest in nearly two decades, according to the Austin American-Statesman. There were 39 homicides in Texass capital city (the Brennan Center predicted 52). 5. Dallas, Texas Percent change in violent crime rate: 10.2% Violent crime rate per 100,000: 817.9 The overall crime rate in Dallas fell 4.2% in 2016, but violent crime was up roughly 10%. There had been 163 murders in the city through December 19, 2016. Still the numbers are far lower than they were 25 years ago, when 500 people were murdered in Dallas. 4. Los Angeles, California Percent change in violent crime rate: 13.3% Violent crime rate per 100,000: 652.1 Violent crime in Los Angeles is up, but the city is still safer than it was 10 years ago. Fewer than 300 people were murdered in L.A. in 2016, compared to nearly 500 in 2006. 3. Chicago, Illinois Percent change in violent crime rate: 16.6% Violent crime rate per 100,000: 1,157.6 The Brennan Center projected 727 murders in Chicago in 2016, an increase of 47% over 2015. In reality, the number of homicides was 762, the highest number in two decades. The reasons for Chicagos high murder rate arent clear, but a combination of a small number of repeat offenders, a decrease in the number of police detectives, and severe poverty and unemployment in a handful of neighborhoods might be behind the increase, the reports authors speculated. The more than 200 additional murders in Chicago in 2016 compared to 2015 were enough to push up the murder rate across large U.S. cities. The national increase in murders identified by this report may owe more to profound local problems in a few Chicago neighborhoods than national trends, the authors wrote. 2. Charlotte, North Carolina Percent change in violent crime rate: 22.5% Violent crime rate per 100,000: 860.6 Violent crime in Charlotte was up significantly in 2016. However, the number of murders in the city was projected to decrease. 1. San Antonio, Texas Percent change in violent crime rate: 52.5% Violent crime rate per 100,000: 783.1 Murders were up in San Antonio in 2016. The city had 151 homicides last year (the Brennan Center predicted 144). The violent crime rate rose 52.5%, the biggest increase among major U.S. cities. Follow Megan on Facebook and Twitter More from Money & Career Cheat Sheet: Illustration shows the delivery route of hydrogen sulfide to damaged cells based on two projects completed in the University of Oregon lab of Michael Pluth. Molecules with the potential to deliver healing power to stressed cells - such as those involved in heart attacks - have been created by University of Oregon researchers. The research - done at a cellular level in the lab and far from medical reality - involves the design of organic molecules that break down to release hydrogen sulfide when triggered by specific conditions such as increased oxidative stress. Oxidative stress damages cells and is tied especially to heart disease and cancer, as well as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. "We have discovered that small organic molecules can be engineered to release a molecule called carbonyl sulfide, which is the most prevalent sulfur-containing molecule in the atmosphere, but more importantly converts rapidly to hydrogen sulfide under biological conditions," said Michael Pluth, a professor of chemistry and co-author on both papers. "We developed and demonstrated a new mechanism to release small molecules that provide therapeutic hydrogen sulfide." Hydrogen sulfide, a colorless gas, has long been known for its dangerous toxicity -- and its telltale smell of rotten eggs -- in the environment, but it also is produced in mammals, including humans, with important roles in molecular signaling and cardiac health. Initially, Pluth's doctoral student Andrea Steiger, lead author of the ACS paper, used benzyl thiocarbamates to design responsive organic molecules that release carbonyl sulfide. For the second paper, postdoctoral researcher Yu Zhao, also in Pluth's lab, adapted the molecule so it remains nontoxic and stable until cellular conditions trigger it to release the carbonyl sulfide, which is converted to hydrogen sulfide by carbonic anhydrase enzymes in the body. Finding a way to generate restorative hydrogen sulfide in the body has been a goal of many research labs around the world in the last two decades. Researchers in Pluth's lab in 2013 developed a probe that detects the gas in biological samples, providing a framework to test potential donor molecules, either synthetically produced or isolated from natural products. "To do that we need to develop new chemistry," Pluth said. "We are synthetic chemists. We make molecules with the goal of developing new research tools or therapeutic tools. As for treating a disease, we aren't there yet, but these cell-based studies suggest that those types of protective effects might be possible." During a heart attack or loss of blood flow, for example, increased levels of reactive oxygen species like hydrogen peroxide emerge, Pluth said. The recently developed donor molecules are programmed to react to the overexpression of reactive oxygen species. Current hydrogen sulfide donors are generally slow-release molecules that donate hydrogen sulfide passively. Taken together, the two studies show that it's possible to build molecular scaffolds to release carbonyl sulfide and then hydrogen sulfide by creating a trigger in the molecule to start the delivery process, Zhao said. "With this, you might be able to pick molecular events that are associated with conditions in which hydrogen sulfide might be beneficial, and then develop donor molecules able to deliver hydrogen sulfide under those conditions," he said. "The novelty for us was being able to use carbonyl sulfide as a source of hydrogen sulfide donation," Steiger said of the findings of the project she led. "This was a first. It opened up a whole new class of donor molecules." One of the goals of developing these small hydrogen sulfide-releasing molecules is the potential for long-term applications in therapeutics, Pluth said. "Having researchers nearby who are focused on translating basic science discoveries into market applications would facilitate further expansion of this work," he said. Advancing such basic research is the goal of the UO's Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact. The $1 billion initiative to fast-track scientific discoveries into innovations that improve quality of life for people in Oregon, the nation and the world began with the announcement in October of a $500 million gift from the Knights. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have made another important breakthrough in the field of future magnetic storage devices. Already in March 2016, the international team investigated structures, which could serve as magnetic shift register or racetrack memory devices. This type of storage promises low access times, high information density, and low energy consumption. Now, the research team achieved the billion-fold reproducible motion of special magnetic textures, so-called skyrmions, between different positions, which is exactly the process needed in magnetic shift registers thereby taking a critical step towards the application of skyrmions in devices. The experiments were carried out in specially designed thin film structures, i.e., vertically asymmetric multilayer devices exhibiting broken inversion symmetry and thus stabilizing special spin structures called skyrmions. Those structures are similar to a hair whorl and like these are relatively difficult to destroy. This grants them unique stability, which is another argument for the application of skyrmions in such spintronic devices. Since skyrmions can be shifted by electrical currents and feel a repulsive force from the edges of the magnetic track as well as from single defects in the wire, they can move relatively undisturbed through the track. This is a highly desired property for racetrack devices, which are supposed to consist of static read- and write-heads, while the magnetic bits are shifted in the track. However, it is another important aspect of skyrmion dynamics that the skyrmions do not only move parallel to the applied current, but also perpendicular to it. This leads to an angle between the skyrmion direction of motion and the current flow called the skyrmion Hall angle, which can be predicted theoretically. As a result, the skyrmions should move under this constant angle until they start getting repelled by the edge of the material and then keep a constant distance to it. Within their latest research project, scientists of JGU and MIT now proved that the billion-fold reproducible displacement of skyrmions is indeed possible and can be achieved with high velocities. Furthermore, the skyrmion Hall angle was investigated in detail. Surprisingly, it turned out to be dependent on the velocity of the skyrmions, which means that the components of the motion parallel and perpendicular to the current flow do not scale equally with the velocity of the skyrmions. This is not predicted in the conventional theoretical description of skyrmions. Part of the solution of this unexpected behavior could be the deformation of the skyrmion spin structure, calling for more theoretical effort to fully understand the properties of skyrmions. "I am glad that the collaboration between Mainz University and MIT has already yielded the second high-ranked publication. Considering especially the short time since the collaboration started, this is exceptional and I am happy to be able to participate in it," said Kai Litzius, first-author of the Nature Physics article. Litzius is a scholar of the Graduate School of Excellence "Materials Science in Mainz" (MAINZ) and a member of the team headed by Professor Mathias Klaui. "In highly competitive fields of research such as that on skyrmions, international cooperation with leading groups is a strategical advantage. Within only two years after the start of the collaboration with our colleagues from MIT, we have already published the second time together in a high-ranked Nature group journal. The MAINZ Graduate School of Excellence facilitates research stays of PhD students from the United States in Mainz and vice versa and therefore contributes significantly to international education and successful research in this field, emphasized Professor Mathias Klaui of the JGU Institute of Physics, who is also Director of MAINZ. Dr. Jean-Christophe M. Monbaliu, University of Liege, Belgium, created the Center for Integrated Technology and Organic Synthesis, where he is currently developing new methods for organic synthesis using micro- and mesofluidic reactors. Here he talks to Dr. Vera Koester for ChemViews Magazine about combining fundamental and applied aspects of chemical manufacturing, flow chemistry, and his motivation. How did your interest in chemistry develop? I have always been very passionate about all branches of chemistry. Understanding, or at least trying to rationalize, why and how molecules react is very fulfilling. As a Ph.D. student, I explored fundamental aspects of synthetic organic chemistry, combining computational chemistry, mechanism rationalization and synthetic methodology. I became rapidly attracted to applied organic chemistry, and my first post-doc marked a pivotal point in my career in this regard. Since then, I am integrating various aspects of chemical engineering and reactor technology in my research projects. Can you please briefly explain the focus of your work and why it is of current interest? My work revolves around synthetic organic chemistry, but is multidisciplinary in essence. My lab is currently working on three mainstream axes: (a) the development of new processes for active pharmaceuticals, (b) the valorization of biomass and platform molecules, and (c) peptide chemistry. These projects rely on the intimate combination of fundamental and applied aspects of chemical manufacturing, which probably makes them very unique. For instance, some mechanistic aspects are looked at through computational chemistry to identify and suppress side-reactions, hence, improving process efficiency. For instance, computing competitive reaction mechanisms often provides insights on critical process parameters such as reaction temperature or possible additives to increase selectivity. It can contribute to design safer and more sustainable processes. On the other hand, groundbreaking reactor technologies are also integrated in our projects to enable the handling of hazardous/transient species, and to implement unconventional conditions. In particular, we develop processes using quick and controlled exposure of chemicals to high temperature or alternative activation techniques to speed up reactions, hence, reducing the time frame for chemical processes from several hours to a few minutes, sometimes even less. We also exploit all the assets of flow reactor technologies to design safer processes using highly reactive species (i.e. unstable, rapidly decaying or explosive). One of our objectives is to contribute to the design of compact and highly efficient chemical processes. Can you explain in more detail for somebody not familiar with flow chemistry what it exactly is and what it is used for? Flow chemistry is a general term used to describe the performance of a chemical reaction in micro- or mesofluidic reactors (MFRs) in a continuous manner. Unlike traditional macroscopic laboratory equipment, MFRs are characterized by internal channels with well-defined dimensions and architectures (typical diameters ranging from 250 to 800 m), in which the chemicals are continuously injected and reacted. Such small dimensions account for most of the assets of MFRs in terms of high heat exchange efficiency and fast mixing, with tremendous benefits for processing chemicals. They provide a much more controlled environment for chemical reactions and, despite their small dimensions, their inherent continuous nature enables industrial-scale applications with often superior outputs compared to classical equipment. As an organic chemist, I was often very frustrated with the inherent limitations of traditional lab batch equipment and strategies. Micro/mesofluidic reactors and continuous flow chemistry drastically expand the horizon of what is achievable in the lab for transforming chemicals, and offer many new options. Flow chemistry also challenges the conventions, and sets a new paradigm for chemical transformations. Where do you see the field developing over the next 10/15 years? I often hear criticism from colleagues and coworkers: Only small molecules can be synthesized in flow or Chemistry students have to learn chemistry (i.e., in a conventional way) before playing around with technology. Well, look at what happened with computers 15 years ago, only a few enthusiasts would have dreamed of what computers are now capable of achieving. In my opinion, the same stands for flow chemistry the complexity of what is achievable keeps increasing. Visionary academic institutions, including the University of Liege, have already understood that, and invest in implementing flow chemistry both in early chemistry curricula and in research labs. Flow chemistry is a game changer, not only for research labs, but also for production strategies. What motivates you in your work? Challenges. You never get bored with continuous flow chemistry: There are always new challenges to deal with, not only on the molecular level, but also with the technology and its practical implementation in the lab. It forces you to reinvent chemistry. I also enjoy the multidisciplinary aspects of my research. You have been in the US and in Belgium. Does the relatively small Belgian chemical community have advantages? It is indeed a small but vibrant and active community. Obviously, we dont have the same resources and funding as in the US, but we are not that far behind. Being located in the heart of Europe is also a great asset. There are many opportunities to interact with industry and smaller research centers; it is a very fertile place for researchers. What would you like to be doing ten years from now? Hopefully, I will still have some time to spend in the lab that is where I can fully unleash my creativity as a chemist. There are so many reactions that I would love to revisit. A more precise forecast would be difficult some outstanding encounters have already changed my perspectives. A sure thing is that I will keep multidisciplinary as a credo. What do you do in your spare time? I wish I had more I cherish the time with my wife and son. I also keep being a researcher: I explore new culinary horizons, read a lot, and enjoy spending time outdoors. Thank you very much for this interview. Jean-Christophe M. Monbaliu , born in Brussels, Belgium, studied chemistry at the Universite catholique de Louvain, Belgium, where he received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry. In 2008, he started a postdoc at the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering of the Ghent University, Belgium, where he was later appointed as a postdoctoral associate of the Research Foundation-Flanders. In 2010, he was awarded a Belgian American Educational Foundation fellowship that triggered his relocation to the USA. He joined the Center for Heterocyclic Compounds at the University of Florida, Gainesville, USA. In 2012, he was appointed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA. In 2013, he came back to Belgium and settled at the University of Liege. Monbaliu created the Center for Integrated Technology and Organic Synthesis there, where he is currently developing new methods for organic synthesis using micro- and mesofluidic reactors. Selected Publications Restaurant Brands International has pledged to limit the use of antibiotics in the chicken it buys for its Burger King and Tim Hortons restaurants. (Sean Kilpatrick / Associated Press) Burger King's parent company is the latest fast-food giant to take a stand on the use of antibiotics to raise chickens, but food safety critics are not exactly crowing. Restaurant Brands International pledged Thursday to avoid buying poultry fed antibiotics considered "critically important" to human health a practice that has been linked to the rise of drug-resistant strains of bacteria that can be lethal to humans. Advertisement The policy applies to a relatively narrow category of the antibiotics, leaving ample leeway to feed chickens other drugs used in human medicine, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the environmental groups that has been pushing for broader bans on antibiotic use in poultry, beef and pork. "This is a small step that is much less meaningful for humankind than Burger King would have you believe," said Dr. David Wallinga, the council's senior health officer. "The fast-food industry is moving away from routine antibiotic use in their chicken supply and the chains that drag their feet will continue to fall behind." Advertisement Officials from Restaurant Brands were not immediately available for comment on the policy, which would be phased in over the next two years at its Burger King restaurants in the U.S. and Tim Hortons doughnut restaurants in Canada. The World Health Organization defines antibiotics as "critically important" when they are the sole drug available to combat a microbe that can be transmitted from nonhuman sources or that can acquire resistant genes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's voluntary program to phase out antibiotic use in the nation's meat supply applies to a broader category of drugs that are "medically important" in human health. The agency issued several new guidelines this year limiting use of antibiotics to measures "considered necessary for assuring animal health" under "veterinary oversight or consultation." In 2015, McDonald's and Subway joined Panera Bread and Chipotle Mexican Grill in implementing policies eliminating the use of antibiotics deemed medically important in human health. Yum Brands implemented a similar policy this year at its Taco Bell restaurants, but is under pressure from activists to broaden it to its KFC outlets. geoffrey.mohan@latimes.com Follow me: @LATgeoffmohan ALSO Twitter rolls out live 360-degree video and hints at tweet-editing feature Advertisement NBCUniversal, Charter-Spectrum carriage talks continue in advance of New Year's Eve deadline Obama's foreclosure prevention program has helped far fewer homeowners than expected Chicago homeowners who have been waiting for real estate values to bounce back to the levels they were at before the housing crash probably will continue to be frustrated in 2017, although a couple of hot neighborhoods are poised to see appreciation. On average, home prices in the Chicago area will climb just 1.95 percent this year, according to economists with Realtor.com, the official website of the National Association of Realtors. That contrasts with a projected national average of 3.9 percent, and leaves Chicago far behind cities like Seattle and Denver, where home prices have recovered completely and hit new highs last year. Advertisement Nationally, home prices returned to 2006 levels in 2016, meaning the country's housing market is back to its pre-crash health. But home values in the Chicago area remain about 19 percent below where they were before the crash, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index. Chicago's housing market will be the weakest of the country's 100 largest metro areas in 2017, said economist Jonathan Smoke of Realtor.com. Advertisement Further, the Chicago area is one of the nation's worst for homeowners in serious financial pain. About 12.2 percent of homeowners are underwater on their mortgages, meaning they owe more on the mortgage than the house is worth, according to CoreLogic. Among the nation's largest cities, Chicago is less troubled than only Miami and Las Vegas, which were hotbeds of investor speculation in the housing mania that preceded the crash. The cure is rising prices, but the Chicago area's prices are moving so slowly the wait is long. People are holding on to their homes, waiting for a better day to sell if they have the luxury of waiting, according to real estate agents. If they must move for a job or sell due to an issue like a divorce, they must swallow hard and take what the depressed market will give them. Based on recent trends, Geoffrey Hewings predicts it will take 1.2 to 2 more years for Chicago-area homes to reach their peak 2006 values again. As the director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at the University of Illinois, he analyzes the area's home sales and prices each month. The problem, he and other analysts say, is the sluggish local economy. Unemployment is higher in Illinois than in the nation and with limited job growth, new residents aren't moving into the Chicago area and buying homes, Smoke said. There is also angst about the inability of the state and some local governments to deal with pension problems and gloomy long-term budget projections. The uncertainty holding back homebuyers is especially evident in the luxury market and suburbs, said Jim Kinney, a real estate agent with Baird & Warner. "People are concerned about the state not being able to solve its problems, and they figure it will lead to higher state taxes and property taxes too," he said. Still, there are pockets where prices have rebounded, and then some. Homes on Chicago's historically stable North Side are now 3 percent above their peak, but aren't likely to appreciate sharply from current levels, said Geoffrey Smith, executive director of the Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University. Advertisement The Loop generally is doing well too, and the West Loop around Fulton Market has been on a tear. Average home prices in Lincoln Park, one of the stable areas north of the Loop, didn't decline as much after the crash, and then climbed 30 percent bringing the median price of a single-family home up to $1.9 million in the third quarter, according to data from the Chicago Association of Realtors. That compared with a pre-crash 2006 peak of $1.4 million. But home price gains among Lincoln Park's single-family homes and condominiums have slowed. In 2016 they climbed just 2.5 percent, and Smith expects slow, steady growth in Lincoln Park and other North Side neighborhoods, among them Lakeview, North Center, Logan Square and Avondale. Logan Square home prices, for example, have climbed 61 percent since 2012. The median single-family home price there is now about 3 percent above its prior 2006 peak, Smith said. But in the last year, the average Logan Square home appreciated just 6 percent. The recent slowdown in price appreciation is typical after huge periods of sharply escalating prices, Smith said. "You can only grow so quickly so long," he said. Areas of the city that now are hot and seem primed for more appreciation are the Bridgeport/Brighton Park and Humboldt/Garfield Park areas, Smith said. Prices have climbed more than 50 percent in Bridgeport/Brighton Park during the last 10 years but are still about 30 percent below the 2006 peak, Smith said. Advertisement Humboldt/Garfield Park prices bottomed out in 2012, and have since seen double-digit increases of about 15 percent a year. During the last year they continued with 15.5 percent gains, Smith said. Still, despite sharply rising prices, the recovery seems far off. Prices are still down about 48 percent from the 2006 peak. Smith notes that people should not assume that home prices will return to peak levels simply because they were there once. The Humboldt area was very inflated at the peak and consequently crashed hard and rebounded strongly. Bridgeport was popular pre-crash and experienced a substantial plunge because its surge had been driven by investors using subprime financing. When that funding dried up, people couldn't access the loans they needed, and prices dropped dramatically. Prices didn't rise quickly after prices bottomed out in 2012, but in 2015 Bridgeport started to experience strong price increases. Most of the areas that have escalated quickly and are likely to remain popular have a couple of characteristics in common, Smith said. They have quick access to downtown via public transit. They also are often next to areas that have appreciated greatly and have become established popular areas. Humboldt Park, said Smith, is attracting interest as potential buyers who don't want to pay the high prices of Logan Square and West Town look at the area next door. Still, Smith said, people can't assume areas like Garfield Park will be the next Logan Square. "You will pay less and you might eventually get a better return on your investment (than a more established area) but you need to tolerate risk. For Garfield Park a lot still needs to happen for it to transition." Advertisement Some areas of Chicago are so challenged, prices may never return to 2006 peak levels, added Smith. For example, he noted prices in South Chicago/West Pullman remain 50 percent below the peak, and said the area has lost old employers that used to serve the people living nearby. Distance from downtown Chicago is turning into a drag on suburbs. Major corporations have been moving their headquarters into the city's core, and suburban areas that once attracted homeowners are considered less desirable as young adults prefer downtown living and renting. "The suburbs are having trouble recovering," said Smith, noting the move up in price has been slow and areas ranging from Palatine/Barrington to Orland Park/Lemont, Park Ridge, Oak Park and Winnetka/Northbrook are all below 2006 highs. The suburban North Shore has come up 19 percent from the bottom in 2012, but the median price is still 9.5 percent from the peak, noted Smith. "That involves really expensive houses," he said. "That's not a struggling area, but you do see yellow warning lights on demand." gmarksjarvis@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @gailmarksjarvis Chicago-based Oxford Capital Group and Quadrum Global have obtained a $170 million loan to construct a 56-story luxury apartment building adjacent to the Essex Inn, and upgrade the hotel overlooking Grant Park, Oxford announced Tuesday. The 479-unit apartment building will be at 808 S. Michigan Ave. and will be called Essex on the Park. As part of its own renovation, the 254-room Essex Inn, 800 S. Michigan Ave., will be expanded to 271 rooms by 2019 and renamed the Hotel Essex, according to a news release. Advertisement "We have long been believers in the desirability and irreplaceability of Michigan Avenue real estate in Chicago. This is particularly true of real estate directly on the park and the lakefront, where residents have beautiful and unencumbered views and open space in perpetuity," Oxford CEO John Rutledge said in the news release. gmarksjarvis@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @gailmarksjarvis Despite receiving "overwhelmingly negative" feedback, "Chicago Review of Books" editor-in-chief Adam Morgan said Tuesday he doesn't regret last week's decision to boycott covering Simon and Schuster titles because one of its imprints is set to publish a book by controversial conservative commentator Milo Yiannopoulos. "Chicago Review of Books" announced the yearlong boycott Thursday on Twitter after media outlets reported Yiannopoulos inked a $250,000 deal with Threshold Editions, a conservative imprint of Simon and Schuster. The Breitbart News editor was banned from Twitter last year after leading a harassment campaign against "Ghostbusters" star Leslie Jones, who is black. Advertisement Yiannopoulos, whose appearance at DePaul University last year was interrupted by protesters, said in an interview he hopes to "offend every reader" of his book "Dangerous," due out March 14. In a statement last week, Simon and Schuster asked readers to "withhold judgment until they have had a chance to read the actual contents of the book." Advertisement "At Simon and Schuster we have always published books by a wide range of authors with greatly varying, and frequently controversial opinions, and appealing to many different audiences of readers. While we are cognizant that many may disagree vehemently with the books we publish we note that the opinions expressed therein belong to our authors, and do not reflect either a corporate viewpoint or the views of our employees," the statement read. Morgan said about 15 of the 300-plus books covered in "Chicago Review of Books" last year were from Simon and Schuster. The focus this year will shift to independent and small presses, he said. "This year, we would just rather use those 15 slots on a different publisher that isn't normalizing hate speech," Morgan said. Positive and negative comments rolled in shortly after "Chicago Review of Books" tweeted its decision. In response to this disgusting validation of hate, we will not cover a single @simonschuster book in 2017. https://t.co/NAJhTgdeyX Chicago Review of Books (@ChicagoRevBooks) December 29, 2016 It wasn't the Nazi imagery or the social media users who called him a bigot and child molester in response that bothered Morgan. He said he pushed those comments aside and took into account the people who pointed out the decision is unfair to authors who are set to release Simon and Schuster books who didn't have a part in the publisher's decision to work with Yiannopoulos. MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR Morgan said the nearly year-old literary review will try to include coverage of international versions of those books, and not link to Simon and Schuster. Morgan said he is also working with writers who conducted interviews with Simon and Schuster authors for "Chicago Review of Books" late last year to help them get published elsewhere. "I don't regret (the decision), but it is an imperfect solution," Morgan said. Advertisement RELATED STORIES: Milo Yiannopoulos, controversial Breitbart editor, lands a reported $250,000 book deal Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos' U. of Md. appearance canceled due to security costs Twitter bans Breitbart's Milo Yiannopoulos for harassment Watch the latest movie trailers. Iowa farmer Chris Soules asked Chicago nurse Whitney Bischoff to marry him on the Season 19 finale of "The Bachelor." (Entertainment Tonight) As is standard practice in season premieres of "The Bachelor," star Nick Viall met with prior stars of the show to get advice on how to navigate the ABC network competition. Not that Viall, 36, seemed to need it. The former Chicago software salesman has appeared on three other seasons of the franchise as a contestant. Advertisement MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR Nevertheless, alumni of "The Bachelor" gathered in the intro of Monday's Season 21 premiere, including Season 19 star Chris Soules. Advertisement Soules picked Highland Park fertility nurse Whitney Bischoff in the 2015 season finale. They split less than three months after Soules' proposal aired. Why is Chris giving advice #TheBachelor Whitney Bischoff (@whitbisch) January 3, 2017 "Why is Chris giving advice," Bischoff tweeted Monday, before adding, "Simmer ya'll. It's no secret only a few succeed. I'd want advice from a ('Bachelor') who made it -- it ain't easy! No salt. No shade. All facts." Bischoff, 31, got engaged to Chicago sales manager Ricky Angel in July after meeting him on a dating app. "The Bachelor" airs 7 p.m. Mondays. RELATED STORIES: Chicago prominently featured in 'The Bachelor' season premiere New Trier alum on joining 'The Bachelor' cast: 'Some dreams do come true' Fresh off filming 'The Bachelor,' Nick Viall returns to Chicago What I learned about new 'Bachelor' Nick Viall watching 36 hours of TV Advertisement Ex-Chicago salesman Nick Viall is ABC's next 'Bachelor' Ex-Chicago salesman Nick Viall downplays 'Bachelor in Paradise' feud Watch the latest movie trailers. By many measures, Hawaii is one of the healthiest states in the union. Yet only Mississippi has a higher rate of flu or pneumonia deaths than the Aloha State. West Virginia, usually among the bottom dwellers in state health rankings, is in the middle of the pack for deaths related to Alzheimer's disease. Advertisement Similarly, relatively unhealthy Arkansas has a low rate of drug overdose deaths while Connecticut, which ranks near the top in overall health, has one of the country's highest rates of death linked to drug use. Health disparities based on race, income and gender tend to draw more notice, but variations related to where people live are prompting public health officials to use the information to craft more-targeted policies. As the data becomes more precise, experts believe interventions to combat geographic disparities will become more effective. Advertisement The increasing interest comes amid a growing recognition that people's health depends as much on factors related to location - such as recreational opportunities, transportation, crime and unemployment - as it does on what takes place in doctor's offices or hospitals. "In many ways, your Zip code is more important than your genetic code when it comes to health," said Jay Butler, Alaska's chief medical officer and its director of public health. The truth of that observation is evident in a single comparison from a recent report from the Center on Society and Health at Virginia Commonwealth University and the Urban Institute: On average, a newborn in Mississippi will live to age 75. One born in Hawaii will make it beyond 81. The VCU center and the Urban Institute recently released the first of nine reports examining the states according to 39 health outcomes, including heart disease mortality, cancer mortality and suicide. The project also seeks to correlate those outcomes with 123 social and economic factors such as government spending, proficiency in reading and rates of incarceration. (The report doesn't offer explanations for the correlations.) For example, the report finds a strong correlation between lower spending on public transportation and higher instances of car accidents, and between adult obesity and deaths related to pneumonia. It also links a shortage of primary-care services to higher rates of deaths related to diabetes, heart disease, stroke and pneumonia and to shorter life expectancy. Others have also compared geographic locations by various health measures. For example, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute does health rankings of counties in every state. A collaboration between the University of Southern California and PolicyLink, a nonprofit focused on issues of equity, compared the health of 150 metropolitan areas using several indicators, including rates of asthma, diabetes and obesity. Even smaller geographic comparisons are coming. Later this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation plan to unveil health data from the country's largest 500 cities broken down by census tract or neighborhood. The goal, according to the CDC, is to help cities and local health departments "better understand the geographic distribution of health-related variables" to "help them plan public health interventions." In many places, health interventions based on geographic data are already happening. Steve Woolf, director of the VCU center, said that in many states, tobacco control policies and cigarette taxes "are the direct result of health-disparities information related to smoking." Woolf also noted that traffic fatalities have informed state decisions on motorcycle helmets, car-seat restraints and speed limits. Advertisement Maryland tackled diabetes in the southern part of the state by linking more patients to primary-care doctors, and it improved behavioral health on the Eastern Shore by creating mental health crisis services, said Joshua Sharfstein, who led the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene from 2011 to 2014. Local and state health officials also have made changes to help reduce childhood asthma, including coordinating communication between school-based nurses and primary-care practices and enabling students to administer their own inhalers rather than relying on school nurses. Sharfstein said statewide efforts also lowered Maryland's relatively high infant mortality rate. The state improved access to health care for expectant mothers and launched educational campaigns to teach parents about safe sleeping practices for newborns. "Knowing how you compare to other states is very helpful," said Sharfstein, a physician who is now an associate dean at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. In Colorado, public health officials several years ago discovered that high blood pressure was much more prevalent in the two sparsely populated frontier counties of Las Animas and Huerfano. The statewide rate was 26 percent, compared with 38 and 39 percent in the two counties. Kelly Means, clinical quality improvement manager in the state's Department of Public Health and Environment, said that finding led to a program to identify residents in the two counties who had high blood pressure but were not getting treatment and to refer them to primary-care doctors. The state also encouraged those doctors to direct hypertensive patients to community programs that encouraged healthy eating, exercise and smoking cessation. Means said that the program has linked 75 previously undiagnosed residents to primary care and 82 already identified patients to activities to reduce hypertension. One participating primary-care practice reported that the number of patients who have their blood pressure under control has increased by 20 percent. Advertisement In Alaska, Butler said, geographic health data led to targeted antismoking and suicide prevention programs in northern and western parts of the state, where the rates of lung cancer and suicide are particularly high. In Connecticut, the data indicated a high rate of asthma-related hospitalizations in the city of Waterbury, said Mehul Dalal, the chronic-disease director in the state Department of Public Health. That finding prompted the state to help Waterbury develop a home inspection program in which health workers identify environmental conditions that can trigger asthma and advise residents on how to remove them. Kalamazoo, Michigan, sends nurses into homes to combat the city's high rate of infant mortality. Philadelphia, alarmed over its high obesity numbers, this year enacted a soda tax. In Utah, the health department recently began promoting gun safety in response to the state's high suicide rate. But health-policy analysts, even those who do geographic analyses, caution that geographic data isn't perfect. Laudan Aron, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute who helped produce the report with the VCU center, said that problems in data collection, such as poor reporting practices by medical providers, can skew the numbers. That's why comparative findings should be viewed only as a first step to more investigation, she said. And some findings, while interesting, may not point the way to action that can make a difference. The VCU-Urban Institute report, for instance, ranks states by their rates of mortality associated with Alzheimer's disease. Washington ranks last in that category, but there is probably nothing the state can do about it. "Unfortunately, at this point, there are no evidence-based practices we know of that reduce the rate of Alzheimer's," Woolf said. If nothing else, policymakers say, such comparisons prompt discussions across borders to learn best practices in addressing particular health problems. And as Maryland's Sharfstein said, in health policy, a little competitive rivalry between geographic areas can only benefit patients. Advertisement RELATED STORIES: 5 eating habits to stick with in 2017, according to a dietitian Did Debbie Reynolds die of a broken heart? There is a medical term for it. Heart failure drug shows promise in 1st human trial Artist and School of the Art Institute of Chicago faculty member Don Pollack is pictured Dec. 22 at the Sharp Building in Chicago with a map of the route he took by bicycle from Chicagos Indian Boundary Park to Cape Disappointment, Wash., as he retraced frontier paths of American immigration and visited historic sites of conflict with Native Americans, leaving behind small copper markers reading "measure of tolerance." (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) People continue to gather in temporary camps on the edge of North Dakota's Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, even though the Army Corps of Engineers denied a permit last month for the pipeline that threatens the tribe's sacred lands and despite brutal winds and temperatures dipping well below zero. Don Pollack, an Evanston artist whose cross-country bicycle trip brought him face-to-face with Standing Rock and its people, is gathering and delivering supplies to keep them warm and fed. Advertisement Pollack, an adjunct associate professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, has partnered with northwest suburban Trickster Art Gallery to collect blankets, winter gear and nonperishable food, which he will load in a cargo van and drive to North Dakota in early January. "A lot of native people are in it for the long haul,'" Pollack said. Advertisement Native Americans, environmentalists and veterans have joined forces to stand against a project that would bulldoze sacred sites and put the Missouri River at risk of contamination, should the 1,172-mile pipeline leak. Many of them view the Army Corps' December permit denial as a temporary victory at best. House Speaker Paul Ryan called the Army Corps' announcement, "big-government decision-making at its worst" and tweeted, "I look forward to putting this anti-energy presidency behind us." Energy Transfer Partners, the company building the $3.8 billion pipeline, called the decision a "purely political action," and its chief executive, Kelcy Warren, told NBC News he's "100 percent sure that the pipeline will be approved by a Trump administration." Meanwhile, as Alexander Howland, a 21-year-old New Mexico resident, told NPR recently: "I'm going to stay as long as it takes to ensure the safety of our future generations, to make sure that they have water for their children, for my children, for my future generations to come, for everyone's future generations to come. I'm not going anywhere until I see the drilling equipment leave. I'm not going to go until they disassemble that drill and leave this place for good." Pollack led a team of scientists, teachers and other artists on a two-month, 3,000-mile bike ride from Chicago's Indian Boundary Park to Cape Disappointment, Wash., in 2015. "We set survey markers to revisit the idea of Manifest Destiny and rebrand the trip as a journey of tolerance," Pollack told me. "One of the things that occurred is we were just going to all these historical sites and listening to the stories." He titled the project, "Crossing the Great Divide," and he writes this on his blog that chronicles the project: "We are the land and the land is our body. A wound on the land is a wound to our body and our emotional state as well as a scar on the Earth. The connections we make must be taken care of with great patience and understanding between all people." Advertisement One of his fellow bicyclists was Mark Cleveland, a musician who is part Cherokee and a board member at Trickster, a Native American-owned and -operated art gallery in Schaumburg. Cleveland connected Pollack with Trickster CEO Joe Podlasek, who's been raising money to purchase tents and other supplies for the folks camped out at Standing Rock. (Podlasek shuns the term protesters. "They're water protectors," he told me. "They have clearly been unarmed protectors of the water and Mother Earth since the beginning.") Podlasek is collecting wool blankets, hats, gloves and coats, as well as nonperishable food, at his gallery. "Every three weeks to a month, somebody will make a run out there and come back with a fresh list of what's needed," Podlasek said. "They're going to stay the entire winter; the least we can do from here in our warm homes is help in some small way." Pollack has been asking his students and fellow SAIC faculty members to pitch in with donations, which he'll add to January's haul. "This is an issue for everyone," Podlasek said. "The people of Standing Rock decided to make the stand first, but if they cut through that river, you're talking about a couple thousand native people, but you're talking about 3.5 million other people who depend on that river. This is very much an issue for anyone and everyone." The Missouri River, the world's 15th longest, flows through Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota and past Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas. Advertisement Pollack views his upcoming road trip as an extension of his 2015 bike trip, and the donations as a simple act of humanity. "The native people haven't benefited from acquiescing their lands for the building of our infrastructure," Pollack said. "Their contributions to United States infrastructure always seem to bypass their tribal needs. "So, as far as what I can do in the moment?" he continued. "They need some basic things, like winter clothing, and I am going to literally drive it out there to them." Donations can be dropped off at Trickster Art Gallery, 190 S. Roselle Road in Schaumburg; 847 301-2090. Financial donations can be made at trickstergallery.com/nodapl-fundraiser/. hstevens@chicagotribune.com Twitter @heidistevens13 Advertisement RELATED STORIES: Vic Mensa joins protests at Standing Rock 10 people I met in 2016 who give me hope for 2017 Chicago parents raising funds to give refugees a new start Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election of November 8 with a rather revolutionary rhetorical agenda, with reconsideration of trade policies seemingly a major priority. While facts are normally different from easy campaign promises and words, the appointment of specific figures in the new administration offers a first taste of what might happen from January 20 onwards. In particular, the new Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and the head of newly-established White House National Trade Council, Peter Navarro, are widely considered as indications of Trump's planned hawkish approach. Naturally, China - as an economic colossus - becomes the first target, although other countries such as South Korea and Mexico may come under scrutiny. Ross and Navarro were Trump advisers during the election campaign and the inspiring figures of his anti-globalization public remarks. In July 2016, they co-authored a CNBC article identifying alleged flaws in existing trade agreements and portraying Trump as the man to fix things. They have criticized China's admission to the WTO in 2001, portraying aftermath as "American companies go bankrupt, China takes over the market, and the court ruling becomes moot." As a successful and experienced investor, Ross is believed to have made money after George W. Bush introduced tariffs on Chinese steel imports in 2002. The New York Post has reported that, a few weeks before, Ross had bought steel maker LTV Corp. which largely benefited and was later sold at a very favorable price. Similarly, The New York Times refers to the new Commerce Secretary's business interests such as establishing a consortium with Chinese companies, and rather ironically comments that "for all the anti-China commentary, Mr. Ross has been a frequent visitor in the past two decades and has made inroads in its energy industry." Navarro is more a theorist than a practitioner. With a PhD in economics from Harvard University he has been business professor at the University of California-Irvine for more than 20 years and was recently awarded the Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching. He has a record of anti-China publications including the 2012 documentary film "Death by China," the principal message of which was to encourage viewers not to buy "Made in China" products. Three years later, Navarro also touched upon geopolitics in a new book on "China's militarism" analyzing the scenario of a conflict between the two countries. The appointment of Ross, and even more so Navarro, has led numerous media organization to explore whether a trade war with China will break out under the Trump administration. Forbes magazine, for instance, published an article entitled: "Assessing risk of possible U.S.-China trade war." The BBC also took the trade rivalry for granted, declaring: "U.S. vs China: Trump tools up." However, although the idea of a "trade war" can certainly sell, other American media have remained calm and careful. Fortune, for example, made a comprehensive analysis explaining why "America would lose a trade war with China." Moreover, the CNN website found eight reasons why a trade war with China would be a "bad idea" and The New York Times predicted Trump "couldn't win" this fight. China's reaction in the case of aggressive U.S. policies - such as heavy tariffs or sanctions as touted by Ross and Navarro - will be immediate and equally strict. An example would be the Chinese preference of the European aircraft industry over American rivals. Nevertheless, the objective must surely be to prevent a trade war and not to count the impact of consequences, as this situation will be a definite "lose-lose" one. The new trade team of Trump, which also includes billionaire Carl Icahn as an adviser on regulation issues, will soon need to decide whether, and to what extent, it will proceed with the implementation of the relevant pre-election program. With reference to China, the risk goes beyond economics. Sino-American relations are and will critical to world geopolitical stability. Thus, every single barrier could perhaps alter or lead to a change of the existing balance of power. It's not yet clear if Trump is prepared to challenge the Beijing administration at all levels. Some say his current words are only an attempt to improve his bargaining position before inauguration. From another perspective, increased U.S. protectionism and a practical opposition to free trade zones, might also harm the world economy, influencing the prospects for stable recovery due to an expected fall in demand and investment. Subsequently, the Trump team could see American companies seeking to follow their own way no matter what the president says. Last but not least, the ethical dimension should not be ignored. An ordinary citizen will naturally wonder why many businessmen - now holding key government positions in the U.S. - advocate a different model for their country from that of the companies they have served and significantly helped to grow in the past. It's worth thinking about. 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. TV conman Kevin Trudeau made his fortune pitching "miracle" cures for everything from obesity to poverty in infomercials for years as the feds pursued him. Even getting sent to prison for a decade in 2014 by a Chicago judge for lying didn't shut the smooth-talking pitchman up, or put an end to his seemingly inexhaustible legal battles. Advertisement But now 18 years after he was first pursued by the Federal Trade Commission for his fraudulent claims Trudeau's case is finally toast, U.S. Court of Appeals judges are praying. "This decision marks the end of litigation about Kevin Trudeau's frauds or so we hope," Seventh Circuit Judge Frank Easterbrook wrote in an opinion published last week. Advertisement Easterbrook and Judges Richard Posner and Diane Sykes rejected an appeal by lawyers for one of the many companies that Trudeau, who claims he is destitute, set up to hide his money from a $38 million contempt judgment. Previous appeals over his conviction and sentence already had been tossed, while the U.S. Supreme Court last month declined to hear his case. Though Trudeau's lawyer, Kimball Anderson, agreed Tuesday that Trudeau "has exhausted his appeals," the judges' fears that Trudeau's frauds will end up back in court are understandable. Kevin Trudeau leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Oct. 16, 2013. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune) Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > On Facebook last week, Trudeau's backers continued to solicit donations to his legal defense fund from his 29,000 followers, promising them they could "DOUBLE YOUR MONEY." And in a pre-Christmas message presumably relayed through supporters from his cell at the Montgomery, Alabama federal prison camp, Trudeau told his fans he would "share 2 secrets that will give you success in every area of your life." If they followed his advice, the convicted fraudster, formerly of Oak Brook, wrote, they would "vibrate frequencies that will allow you to create the life you want." Trudeau also has boasted that he predicted Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election, noting that he knew his fellow tanned TV salesman would win because "the overwhelming energy of the people is consistent with Trump's vibration." He will surely be delighted, then, to learn that the president-elect is said to be considering a "fantastic" woman for nomination to the Supreme Court: U.S. Appellate Court Judge Diane Sykes. kjanssen@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @kimjnews Students are meditating during the Quiet Time class at Gage Park High School in Chicago. Quiet Time is a research program conducted by the University of Chicago Urban Labs. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune). (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune) Teens shuffle into the classroom, backpacks slung over shoulders and earbuds dangling out of sweatshirts. Jokes among friends fly as the students plop into desks arranged neatly in rows. The instructor in the green shirt jingles a small silver bell. The room grows still. Murmurs fade. Advertisement The polished wooden floorboards creak amid the pressure of shuffling feet. A portable fan whirs. Then the room turns quiet. For the next 20 minutes, there is no lesson, no talking, no laughing, none of the bustling sounds of a high school classroom on a weekday morning. Advertisement The boys and girls close their eyes and allow their bodies to relax. Some rest their heads on the palms of their hands. Most close their eyes. These Gage Park High School students are participating in Quiet Time, a transcendental meditation program that aims to help them with the stress and pressures of life inside and outside the brick walls of the Southwest Side school. This happens twice a day. Every school day. The program is run by the David Lynch Foundation, a nonprofit organization co-founded by the movie director, and is being studied for its effectiveness by the University of Chicago Crime Lab. Researchers are examining whether the meditation program offers tangible benefits for teens at a school where 98.3 percent of students are considered low income. Students meditateduring a Quiet Time class at Gage Park High School in Chicago on Dec. 22, 2016. Quiet Time is a research program conducted by the University of Chicago Urban Labs. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune) "In their neighborhood, they are fighting to survive, literally," said Jose Morales, who teaches English as a second language. "And they need an alternative to the violence." Quiet Time was one of three programs out of 200 applications selected by the Crime Lab when it asked for proposals to help address youth violence in the city. The Crime Lab awarded a $300,000 grant to the foundation to launch the program in Chicago Public Schools because of its goal to address the effects of toxic stress on young people. Quiet Time also has been implemented in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City. The Crime Lab believed the program showed promise because of its demonstrated success in the other cities, executive director Roseanna Ander said, and it was helpful that it was cost-effective to launch and had the ability to be rigorously evaluated. "It helps you to slow your mind," said James, 17, a senior at Gage Park. The Tribune agreed not to publish students' last names at the school's request. "It helps you to slow down and focus." Advertisement Before taking part in the Quiet Time program, James said he was quick to anger and often was arguing and fighting. Now, James said, he is calmer and thinks about how to react when someone says something objectionable or he finds himself in a stressful interaction. "I feel it can help people in school and out of school and with everything you do in life," James said after a restful meditation session. Initially, James thought the program was going to be an opportunity to nap, but after learning how it worked, he gave it a try and was surprised at what he found. James has even had friends who do not attend Gage Park ask him about meditation, and he's trumpeted its benefits. Students meditateduring a Quiet Time class at Gage Park High School onDec. 22, 2016. Quiet Time is a research program conducted by the University of Chicago Urban Labs. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune) In addition to Gage Park, Quiet Time has been rolled out at Daniel Hale Williams Preparatory School and Bowen High School. The meditation program is voluntary. In order to study its effects, students at the beginning of the school year were randomly selected for the program, while others participate in a general quiet period that serves as a control group. At Gage Park, the entire school goes quiet at the same time twice daily, even though only about half the students are meditating. Staffers with the foundation teach the students the basics of transcendental meditation at the start of the semester, learning how to focus on a phrase or mantra that allows them to rest their minds. While students meditate, there is no music or background sound, and no chanting, singing or specific instruction. Students attempt to clear their minds and let stress fade away. The meditation, the foundation says, does not involve any religious or philosophical component and is taught to students by certified instructors. Bob Roth, chief executive officer of the foundation, said transcendental meditation is a state of "restful alertness." It helps kids relax and aids in learning readiness, he said. Advertisement "You just can't keep jamming more facts and figures into a kid's brain," Roth said. "The message to the child is 'quiet is important.' ... Quiet Time gives the child a tool, a technique that's very simple," Roth said. "The stakes are very high. We're in danger of losing an entire generation of kids because of the stress." U. of C. researchers are studying the effects of the meditation program by observing in the classroom and analyzing data from CPS and the Chicago Police Department. Researchers will collect grades, test scores, attendance records and disciplinary records, including in-school infractions and out-of-school arrests, or whether students were victims of crimes. The program began in pilot form in the fall of 2015 and will continue next school year. It was funded by two anonymous donors and the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation. The MacArthur Foundation is funding the evaluation. The Crime Lab is working on future funding. The Crime Lab and foundation selected schools in areas of the city with high homicide rates and with particularly disadvantaged students. A gathering of data will demonstrate the program's overall effect. The plan is for the program to be expanded and studied in an additional two or three CPS schools, and U. of C. researchers are going to study the program in New York. One of the goals, Ander said, "is to learn which programs work the best in what context and for which students." Advertisement A bell on the front table of Quiet Time class at Gage Park High School on Dec. 22, 2016. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune) Gage Park Principal Brian Metcalf said the Quiet Time program has yielded immediate results for students and staff. Suspensions are down, Metcalf said, and a recent round of SAT prep scores showed improvement. Teachers, he said, see improvement in students' behavior and ability to concentrate in class. Morales, the Gage Park teacher, said, "As a teacher, I've seen a transformation of how we, how I, handle conflict in the classroom." Morales, 57, initially was skeptical of the meditation program, doubting that such a practice would make much difference at a school such as Gage Park. Morales said he thought program and school officials were "naive" to believe the program would resonate with students, and he said he expressed his reservations. But slowly, Morales began to see the upside with students, and himself. Morales said the practice has helped him in the work setting and during the slog of his commute. Stuck in traffic, he no longer curses at other drivers or stresses about congestion, trying to bring his mind to a calm place. For students, the program helps teens learn to manage stress, cope with anger issues and navigate the perils of everyday life, teachers and staff said. Advertisement "I was a real belligerent person and a hothead before, and it's really calming and releases stress," said Rakiha, a Gage Park sophomore. "It relaxes me, and it opens my mind up." Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Another participant, Breana, didn't know what to think of the program initially but then blossomed during the sessions. "When I first heard about it, I said, 'What is this? What are we doing?'" Breana said. "When you really get into it, I really got some stress off my mind. I really think before I do certain things." The students are not the only ones participating. Inside the third-floor classroom, Morales and biology teacher Shameka Jones sat by the windows, eyes closed, faces softening. Jones said she has battled anxiety and depression, and the Quiet Time program has been a welcome addition to her school day. "The first time I did it, I felt so relaxed," said Jones, 36. "I felt ready to work more than I ever had. I feel like I can handle any obstacle. I don't have to feel the weight or stressfulness. I can feel OK, and I can approach situations and deal with them. ... It was like a vortex in my brain opened up and allowed positive energy in." Advertisement poconnell@chicagotribune.com Twitter @pmocwriter Michel Mora, 18, visits her parents Karla, left, and Francisco in Chicago during her college holiday break on Dec. 27, 2016. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune) There's a quote stenciled onto the wall of Michel Mora's childhood bedroom: "Dream until your dream comes true." Mora, 18, clung to those words during her junior year of high school as she exhausted every internet search and talked to every high school counselor she met, looking for a way to pay for college. She had grown up believing that college was certain, unaware until her mid-teens that she was an unauthorized immigrant, ineligible for financial aid. Advertisement A scholarship eventually restored her dream, a chance many others won't get. "Most undocumented students don't have opportunities like my scholarship," said Mora, now a freshman at Knox College. "They're struggling to pay off college because it's so expensive. So many are not coming back next term because it's way too much." Advertisement Michel Mora, 18, visits her parents in Chicago during her college holiday break on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune) With easy railway access from Mexico and a once-booming manufacturing industry, Chicago has been a natural landing spot for immigrants since the mid-1800s, and has one of the largest communities of immigrants living in the country without permission. Those immigrants make up 7 percent of the city's population, with more than half of the state's unauthorized immigrants living in the Chicago area. Yet Chicago's unauthorized immigrant community, three-quarters of which is Mexican, is growing older. With heightened border security and a slowed economy, the number of Mexican immigrants entering the U.S. illegally isn't nearly as high as it was 10 years ago. Mexican families who've just moved to Chicago are fewer and farther between; the number of unauthorized immigrants living in Illinois dropped by 10 percent, or about 50,000 people, between 2009 and 2014, according to a study released in September by the Pew Research Center. Many families of these unauthorized immigrant Chicagoans have been here for decades. They root for the Cubs and the Bears, and their college-age children can't fathom being sent back to Mexico because they don't remember ever living there. In some cases, they can't speak Spanish. Like Mora, the children of those who immigrated to Chicago during the rush of the late '90s and early 2000s are now at an age where they're weighing their work and higher education options, and realizing how limited those options are for noncitizens. Estimating the Chicago areas undocumented immigrant population To estimate the population of undocumented immigrants in different parts of Chicago, demographer Rob Paral and Associates used Department of Homeland Security and census data. The map below shows where that population is most dense in collar counties, Cook County townships and Chicago community areas. Dots are randomly distributed within an estimated area to show where immigrant population is most dense, not where people live exactly. Estimated density of undocumented immigrant population = 10 people McHenry Lake For some Cook County townships and Chicago community areas, the population was too small to estimate. Kane DuPage Kendall Will Grundy 10,000 immigrants in Chicago are not shown, nor are 3,000 in Cook County. CHICAGO COLLAR COUNTIES COOK Population is more dense in the city than surrounding areas. South Lawndale (20,000) has an estimated immigrant population nearly equal to that in Will County (20,000). Belmont Cragin, Gage Park and Albany Park all have populations estimated at more than 10,000. The number of undocumented immigrants is higher in Kane (43,000), Lake (39,000) and DuPage (36,000) counties compared with those in the south of the region. Cicero (18,000) has the most estimated undocumented immigrants of any township, followed by areas in the northeast of the county like Hanover (11,000) and Elk Grove (10,000). ESTIMATED UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT POPULATION BY COUNTY 307,000 ILLINOIS TOTAL: 511,000 Chicago: 183,000 53,000 43,000 39,000 36,000 22,000 8,000 2,000 1,000 Cook Kane Lake DuPage Will McHenry Kendall Grundy 94 downstate counties SOURCE: Analysis of 2010-2011 American Community Survey data by Rob Paral and Associates TRIBUNE Estimating the Chicago areas undocumented immigrant population To estimate the population of undocumented immigrants in different parts of Chicago, demographer Rob Paral and Associates used Department of Homeland Security and census data. The map below shows where that population is most dense in collar counties, Cook County townships and Chicago community areas. Dots are randomly distributed within an estimated area to show where immigrant population is most dense, not where people live exactly. Estimated density of undocumented immigrant population For some Cook County townships and Chicago community areas, the population was too small to estimate. = 10 people McHenry Lake Kane DuPage Kendall Will Grundy 10,000 immigrants in Chicago are not shown, nor are 3,000 in Cook County. COLLAR COUNTIES The number of undocumented immigrants is higher in Kane (43,000), Lake (39,000) and DuPage (36,000) counties compared with those in the south of the region. COOK Cicero (18,000) has the most estimated undocumented immigrants of any township, followed by areas in the northeast of the county like Hanover (11,000) and Elk Grove (10,000). CHICAGO Population is more dense in the city than surrounding areas. South Lawndale (20,000) has an estimated immigrant population nearly equal to that in Will County (20,000). Belmont Cragin, Gage Park and Albany Park all have populations estimated at more than 10,000. SOURCE: Analysis of 2010-2011 American Community Survey data by Rob Paral and Associates TRIBUNE With the approaching inauguration of Donald Trump, who vowed during his campaign to ramp up deportations, those children fear their parents could be sent back to their home countries in the coming years. "There's always the possibility (my parents) might get deported. They're the main people supporting my family right now financially," said Mora, who is temporarily protected from deportation through President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. "If they get deported for whatever reason, I'd have to drop out of college and find a job to support my brother and sister," she said. Advertisement Chicago's immigrant growth Immigrants wove the fabric of Chicago, its history stitched with tales of Europeans arriving in the late 1800s with notes written in English pinned to their clothes, asking they be directed to a brother or uncle's address. They first came from northern and western Europe, drawn by the city's reputation for well-paying industrial jobs or by relatives already living here. By 1890, immigrants made up 40 percent of Chicago's population, one of the largest proportions of North America's cities, according to the Tribune's archives. Into the 20th century, Greeks would settle around Halsted and Harrison streets; Germans and Scandinavians would move into the West Town neighborhood; Poles on the Northwest Side. Immigration laws tightened in the 1920s, and when they loosened in 1965 the city began attracting Asians and Latin Americans. In recent decades, however, it became Mexicans, both legal and unauthorized immigrants, who helped Chicago's economy prosper, due in part to their willingness to take low-wage, low-skill labor jobs that might be considered less desirable. And, more than any other city, Chicago relied on those immigrants to balance the sluggish growth of its native population. Mexican immigrants poured into the city all through the 1990s, and the city's number of Mexican immigrants rose by 117,000 that decade. But the immigration wave peaked in 2007, after which the Mexican-born population fell across the country's major metropolitan areas. Advertisement Of Illinois' approximately 511,000 unauthorized immigrants in 2010, about 307,000 lived in Cook County, according to an analysis of U.S. census estimates from that year. In Chicago neighborhoods like South Lawndale, where Mexican immigrants have settled for several decades, the community is aging as earlier arrivals enter their retirement years. South Lawndale, which is 85 percent Latino, lost more than 10 percent of its population between 2000 and 2010, according to data gathered by Chicago-based demographer Rob Paral and his firm, Rob Paral and Associates. In Illinois, nearly 60 percent of unauthorized immigrants are younger adults, between 25 and 44 years old, compared with the 11 percent under the age of 18, according to Paral's analysis of 2010 census data. Less than 3 percent are over 65. While stricter border enforcement is one reason for declined Mexican immigration, so too is the economy. The loss of the manufacturing industry in Illinois means fewer jobs are available for unauthorized immigrants, and those who at one point may have come to Chicago now choose to stay in Mexico due to improved job prospects there, said Randy Capps, director of research for U.S. programs at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. Mexico's education systems are improving and its birth rate has declined, according to a 2012 Pew study, which means there's less competition for Mexican jobs than there once was, Capps said. The pattern is part of a greater trend in which more Mexicans are leaving than moving into the U.S., reversing the flow of a half-century of mass migration, according to a Pew study published in November 2015. More than 1 million Mexicans and their families, including American-born children, left the U.S. for Mexico between 2009 and 2014, while 870,000 Mexicans came to the U.S. Advertisement Although unauthorized Mexican immigrants have declined nationwide, the overall count of unauthorized immigrants remains relatively stable across the country. This is due to a spike in the unauthorized immigrants arriving from Asia, Central America and sub-Saharan Africa, according to the Pew report, which bases its findings on data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Nationwide, 11.1 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the U.S. in 2014, accounting for 3.5 percent of the overall population, and 26 percent of the country's foreign-born residents. The continued overall stream of unauthorized immigrants has those in favor of stricter limits on immigration calling for further border protection. "The Trump administration has said that its top priority will be criminal aliens," Dave Ray, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which advocates for reducing both legal and illegal immigration, said in an email. "Once they are deported and the nation regains control of its borders, enforces its immigration laws, shuts down social services for illegal aliens ... living in the U.S. will no longer be economically feasible or realistic for them." Where they came from North American immigrants make up most of Illinois' undocumented immigrants, with Asia and Europe contributing the next largest group, but a relative fraction. Advertisement Between 2010 and 2011, about 416,275 unauthorized immigrants living in the state were from North America, 48,458 were from Asia and 24,748 were from Europe. About 13,433 people immigrated without authorization from India and 11,938 came from the Philippines, according to Paral's analysis of 2010 census data. Michel Mora, 18, visits her father, Francisco, in Chicago during her college holiday break on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune) Mexicans living in Illinois mostly arrive by crossing the border, whereas immigrants from other regions of the world almost always overstay their visas, experts say. Chicago's unauthorized Mexican immigrants often come from the Michoacan region, which helps contribute to a tight-knit community here. The Chicago neighborhoods with the highest numbers of unauthorized immigrants are South Lawndale, with about 20,000 immigrants, followed by Belmont Cragin, which has 12,000, Gage Park, which has 11,000 and Albany Park, which has 10,000 immigrants. But some of Cook's neighboring counties have sizable unauthorized populations too: Kane has 43,000 unauthorized immigrants, with many living in cities like Elgin and Aurora; Lake County has 39,000 and DuPage County has 36,000, according to Paral's analysis of 2010 census data. For the most part, immigrants tend to live with people of their same background and language. Gage Park is home to Latinos who once lived on Chicago's Lower West Side and then moved south of the Stevenson Expressway; Albany Park, though not predominantly a Latino neighborhood, is moving in that direction, Paral said. Jobs and education Advertisement While more unauthorized immigrants on a national level are holding more white-collar jobs and fewer blue-collar jobs than they did before the recession, most remain in low-level occupations due to their legal status, poor education and language barriers. In Illinois, more than half of the state's unauthorized immigrants over the age of 16 were employed in 2010. Of those people, about nearly one-fifth worked in manufacturing, followed by hotels, food services, administration and construction, according to Paral's analysis of 2010 census data. Of Illinois' unauthorized immigrants over 25 years old, more than half never earned a high school diploma. About a third graduated high school but did not move on to college. Just 9 percent of unauthorized immigrants have bachelor's degrees. Mora, who earned a scholarship for undocumented students from the Pritzker Family Foundation, is the first person in her family to go to college. Her family moved to Chicago 13 years ago, when Mora was 5 years old, after someone attempted to kidnap her in Mexico City, her parents said. The U.S., her parents realized, was the only place they could safely raise their three children. Mora's father took a roofing job; her mother picked up occasional shifts at a perfume-box-making factory during the winter months. Their children, now all teenagers, flourished academically. Advertisement Mora, whose bedroom wall is covered with medals for perfect attendance and citizenship from her middle school days, wants to be a lawyer, and her 14-year-old sister Xana has her sights set on medical school. She was 9 months old when the family left Mexico. But living in the U.S. without legal status has its challenges. The family hasn't seen some of their relatives since the day they left Mexico. That is sometimes painful, especially during moments like Xana's violin concert, when they wished her grandmother could be there. The family avoids domestic air travel for fear of getting caught without legal papers, so they drove 14 hours to Baltimore over the Thanksgiving holiday to visit relatives. Although one of Xana's friends, who attends boarding school in Philadelphia, keeps begging her to visit for a weekend, Xana can't. The family feels somewhat relieved being in Chicago, which for more than three decades has been a sanctuary city, where local laws prohibit government workers and police officers from asking about residents' immigration status. Shortly after Trump's election, Mayor Rahm Emanuel spoke of his sympathy toward fearful immigrants and said he'd stand by DACA recipients, though he did not say he'd protect immigrants with criminal records who are here illegally. While Trump said he plans to cut federal funding to sanctuary cities, experts say the move would undermine his promise to make communities safer. This year, Chicago is receiving a little more than $1 billion in federal grant funding for myriad programs, including early childhood education, transportation and policing. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Those living in the suburbs could be at greater risk of deportation than Chicagoans, experts say, as there are sizable groups of unauthorized immigrants living in collar counties whose towns or cities have not passed laws prohibiting police from cooperating with immigration agents. "Without having a memorandum or an ordinance or a law? That creates additional fear or concern," said Mary Meg McCarthy, executive director of the Chicago-based National Immigrant Justice Center. "But that's not to say that there aren't people in those communities who really care about the people in their communities ... it's highly likely a neighbor or a child's classmate may be undocumented." Advertisement Xana, Mora's younger sister, said she receives plenty of support from her community, and that her school set up mental health services for unauthorized students in the weeks following the election. But she wonders how people outside her community feel, referencing conversations she's overheard downtown. "Even when (tourists) say they want to see Trump Tower when they visit, I think, 'Well, does that mean they agree with his views?'" meltagouri@chicagotribune.com Twitter @marwaeltagouri A pair of University of Chicago students were called into the dean of students' office last week after one of them reacted to a planned campus talk this week by incoming presidential press secretary Sean Spicer by writing on Facebook post that he was "planning to start projectile vomiting five minutes into the discussion." Senior Jake Bittle, 21, asked his Facebook friends, "who's with me?" after making the threat regarding the Trump aide's visit. He told Chicago Inc. he was reassured on Wednesday by dean of students Michelle Rasmussen that vomiting inside the auditorium at David Axelrod's Institute of Politics event on Wednesday "would be protected speech, as long as I do not actually vomit on Sean Spicer." Advertisement On-campus protests have been a hot topic across the nation and at the University of Chicago, in particular, since another dean of students, Jay Ellison, wrote to undergraduates in August warning them "Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so-called trigger warnings, we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual 'safe spaces' where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own." Bittle, however, characterized his chat with Rasmussen as friendly, adding that he promised, "I won't vomit on him on purpose." He noted that while nobody can give a 100 percent advance guarantee that they will not vomit, "I'm not going to sit in the front row or anything." Advertisement A pal who made a tasteless inside joke threatening in the same Facebook thread to beat an Institute of Politics intern "senseless" also does not plan to disrupt the event, said Bittle, who appears to be enjoying his moment in the spotlight (for an appearance on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show on Monday, he adopted Carlson's preppy style by wearing a bow-tie, prompting the host to comment, "nice tie!"). Spicer has raised the hackles of some journalists and the left by suggesting that the Trump administration will break from tradition by not giving daily briefings about Trump's activities, and by accusing Buzzfeed news of "an attack on Christ." Bittle, who serves as the editor of the South Side Weekly magazine and has previously called for the closure of the Institute of Politics in response to Trump's election, said Spicer has "fascist ideas about how the government works with the press." The invitation to the university and platform dangerously "normalize" Trump and Spicer's extreme ideas, he said. Though Axelrod has been critical of Trump's policy toward the media, he last week tweeted that he welcomed "my friend" Spicer's appointment as Trump's spokesman, describing Spicer as "A thoroughgoing pro as he will need to be!" Spicer did not respond to a request for comment. Calls to Axelrod and Rasmussen were routed to university spokeswoman Marielle Sainvilus, who said, "The University of Chicago supports protest activity as long as it does not prevent the speaker and the audience from participating in the event." kjanssen@chicagotribune.com @kimjnews A 17-year-old was shot to death late Jan. 1, 2017, by a DuPage County sheriff's deputy after the two got into a fight when the deputy responded to a domestic call. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune) (Chicago Tribune) A DuPage County sheriff's deputy involved in a shooting Sunday night near Villa Park that killed a 17-year-old has been place on paid administrative leave, the sheriff's office said Wednesday morning. In a one-sentence statement, the sheriff's office said the deputy was placed on leave "per department policy." Advertisement The deputy was not identified. The 17-year-old, identified by his family as Trevon Johnson, was shot to death late Sunday by a sheriff's deputy after the two got into a fight when the deputy responded to a domestic call involving violence, county officials said. Advertisement The shooting took place after deputies were called about 11:45 p.m. Sunday to a "report of a violent domestic" at a home near Standish Lane and Ardmore Avenue in an unincorporated area near Villa Park, according to a sheriff's department news release. The first deputy to arrive got into a fight with the teen, leading to the "officer-involved shooting," according to authorities. Johnson was taken to Elmhurst Hospital and later pronounced dead there. The 17-year-old died of multiple gunshot wounds, the DuPage County coroner's office said Tuesday. Warning: The following 911 calls, made prior to the fatal shooting of Trevon Johnson by a DuPage County sheriff's deputy, contain graphic language. (Chicago Tribune) The incident is being investigated by Illinois State Police. The announcement that the deputy was placed on leave came after the sheriff's office on Tuesday night released recordings of what it said were 911 calls made from the house, prompting police to go there. The sheriff's office released recordings of three calls. In two lengthier calls, callers portray a scene at the house that is chaotic and violent. One caller said Johnson had "knives" and other weapons. In a shorter third tape, a person indicates the situation is under control, but loud voices can be heard in the background. Larry Rogers Jr., an attorney representing the family, said earlier Tuesday Johnson was unarmed. Rogers had criticized investigators for releasing information about the shooting without providing any evidence, such as 911 tapes or dispatch calls. "It's obviously very early, but this seems to me to clearly be an unjustifiable shooting of a 17-year-old young man who was celebrating the holidays at home with his family," Rogers said Tuesday afternoon after meeting with the family. Advertisement Rogers declined to say who else was in the home when the shooting occurred. Johnson's uncle, Alfonzo Singletary, who said he is pastor of the Tabernacle of Hope Church of God in Christ in Chicago, also said his nephew was unarmed. "I know that the state has already given a narrative, the police department, on what happened, but we want you all to wait until you hear our side, our narrative, before anybody makes any decision or any judgment on what happened," he said outside the family home. "It's a difficult time, but we are a strong-knit family, a faith-based family. Through prayer we know that we'll make it through it." When asked if the situation was mishandled, he said, "Well, I'm gonna let you be the judge. We've got a person who was unarmed, and now he's dead. So you be the judge of that." He said Johnson "was a very important part of our family. He was a young guy, full of energy, had a lot to live for." Advertisement State police investigators were investigating at the request of DuPage officials, said Master Sgt. Matt Boerwinkle, a state police spokesman. The sheriff's office said it was not releasing further details until state police completed at least their initial investigation. Breaking News As it happens Stay informed. News when you need it. Get our news alerts in your inbox. > Singletary said his nephew was "pleasant to be around." He said the teen was attending school and also working part time, though he did not know the school or where he was employed. Singletary said the family was asking for privacy "while we go through this period of mourning." He said Johnson is survived by his mother and siblings. Pastor Alfonzo Singletary, second from right, enters a home along with other family members on Jan. 3, 2017, where Trevon Johnson was shot and killed by a DuPage County sheriff's deputy a day earlier. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) Freelance reporter Clifford Ward contributed. Advertisement lford@chicagotribune.com mwalberg@chicagotribune.com William Carini, who was found guilty in the 1991 rape of a woman near Gurnee, was formally cleared in that crime at Lake County Courthouse on Jan. 3, 2017. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune) (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune) A man who has spent nearly 25 years in prison since he was convicted of raping a woman near Gurnee was formally cleared in that case Tuesday at the Lake County courthouse. William Carini, 53, became the seventh person cleared of rape or murder in Lake County since 2010, some after spending decades imprisoned. Carini was convicted in 1992 and sentenced to 26 years in prison in the sexual assault of a woman who was attacked after she fell asleep in her car on the shoulder of the Tri-State Tollway. Advertisement But Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim announced in December that, after a lengthy review of the case, his office would dismiss Carini's conviction after forensic testing done last fall revealed none of the physical evidence collected in the rape case matched Carini. On Tuesday, Nerheim appeared before Judge Daniel Shanes, arguing that the evidence testing results are at minimum grounds for granting Carini a new trial. Nerheim indicated, however, that he does not intend to retry Carini on the sexual assault charge in part, the prosecutor said outside court, because of the victim's preference against a retrial. She could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday. The reversal of the conviction will not result in Carini's freedom, however. He will remain imprisoned for the 1985 slayings of his uncle John Kuba and childhood friend Joanne Seaquist. Carini, who wasn't found guilty in their killings until 2002, is appealing that case as well. Advertisement Carini did not appear in court for Tuesday's hearing, but a group of his family members attended, one of whom called out "It's done!" after Shanes ruled to vacate the rape conviction. The relatives included Carini's 74-year-old mother, Ruthe Wille, who flew in from Las Vegas and has been his main advocate in pushing for his exoneration. "If I had to drive or walk, I would've been here," Wille said. "Because my son has been wrongfully locked up for 25 years for something he didn't do and we know he didn't do. And they lied and framed him." The sexual assault charges against Carini came about after a northwest Indiana woman who was driving home from a family gathering in Milwaukee was attacked on the shoulder of the tollway. The woman had pulled her car over to rest and she was awakened by a man pressing a knife to her throat. She fought back, and her attacker eventually fled. Authorities generated a list of 100 potential suspects based on the woman's description of the assailant as a white, clean-shaven man in his late 20s or early 30s, about 5-foot-7, with "dark fuzzy" hair and a quarter-inch scar above the right side of his lip. Authorities focused on Carini, in part because he lived somewhat near where the assault had taken place and because he had a criminal record, according to court documents. He was charged and convicted despite the lack of physical evidence against him and an alibi from his stepfather. Wille took paralegal classes at College of Lake County and paid for his attorneys. Advertisement Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Her greatest triumph came while she was working as a waitress at a Mundelein diner frequented by law enforcement, where she met Lake County Undersheriff Ray Rose. After hearing about her son's case, he helped arrange a meeting between her and Nerheim shortly after his 2012 election. Nerheim agreed to review the case. Illinois State Police are expected to reopen the case, Nerheim said. Almost all of the other six defendants cleared in Lake County were prosecuted during the tenure of Nerheim's predecessor, Michael Waller, who declined to seek re-election in 2012 after 22 years as state's attorney. Since Nerheim launched a conviction review panel in 2013, his group of volunteer legal professionals from outside Lake County government has assessed 18 cases. Two other men whose convictions were reversed following the panel's review have been freed: Angel Gonzalez was released from prison in 2015, where he was held for about 20 years, after he was cleared in a rape and abduction by DNA. Jason Strong also walked out of prison in 2015 after serving about 15 years for murder. "While this is a positive day for the Carini family, there are other people who were wrongfully convicted still in the Department of Corrections," said attorney Gregory Nikitas, who represented Carini at the hearing. "Not everyone has the benefit of their mother (like Carini). And with the improvement of technology, hopefully other cases can be exonerated, so these families can have justice, as well." tbriscoe@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @_tonybriscoe After ending the deadliest year in two decades, Chicago began the new year with a dozen more people shot than during last New Year's weekend. Despite the deployment of hundreds of extra police, 55 people were shot across the city over the holiday weekend and five of them died, according to data kept by the Tribune. That compares to 42 shot, four fatally, over the same weekend last year. Seven of the victims this past weekend were under 18. On New Year's Day alone, there were three separate shootings that left nine people wounded. In addition to the 55, two other people were shot by Chicago police officers, one of them fatally. The level of violence was close to the long Christmas Day weekend when 61 people were shot, 11 of them fatally. About 1,000 extra police officers had been dispatched to the streets for New Year's Eve. "Basically the message we want to send Chicago is that we've prepared," Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said. As the shootings continued to climb, Johnson held a news conference at police headquarters on Sunday and blamed "anti-police sentiment" and the judicial system's lax sentencing guidelines for repeat gun offenders. "In many instances, the individuals who chose to pull the trigger are repeat gun offenders emboldened by the national climate against law enforcement and willing to test the limits of our criminal justice system," Johnson said. "These emboldened criminals are responsible for destroying families and communities as well as dozens of attacks on Chicago police officers in 2016." The first homicides of 2017 occurred about four hours into the new year when two men apparently shot each other inside an Uptown business. The men were in the 4600 block of North Broadway about 4:25 a.m. Sunday when they opened fire on each other, police said. Both were taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and pronounced dead. Among other fatal shootings over the weekend was a 15-year-old boy. Someone called 911 after hearing gunshots near the 8100 block of South Bishop Street at 9:40 p.m. Friday. Officers found the boy in an alley with gunshot wounds to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The last homicide of 2016 was a shooting after an apparent road rage incident in the South Austin neighborhood, police said. Kenneth Weaver, 22, was driving in the 4800 block of West Chicago Avenue early Saturday afternoon when a Mercedes sideswiped his car. The Mercedes stopped and a gunman got out. The two began to argue and the man in the Mercedes shot Weaver in the side. He was taken to Stroger Hospital and pronounced dead. In addition to the 55 shootings, Chicago police officers shot two people in separate incidents over the weekend. The first was early New Year's Day when a man led police on a chase, crashed the car, then attacked the officers who had pulled him out of the driver's seat, according to police. During the scuffle, an officer discharged his weapon twice. The man was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition. The second shooting involved an off-duty officer who got into an argument with Jose Nieves, 38, on the Northwest Side early Monday. He shot the man, who was unarmed, multiple times, police said. The man was pronounced dead at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. A pair of double-fatal shootings claimed four people including a 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy. At least 10 others were hospitalized after Tuesday attacks. In the most recent double fatal shooting, Simmison McGruder, 23, and Simmie McGruder, 25, were injured in the Homan Square neighborhood about 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, police said. Advertisement The McGruders were in the 3200 block of West Lexington Street, just down the street from the Harrison District police station, when the younger McGruder was shot in the head and left arm and Simmie McGruder was shot multiple times. Both were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital. Simmison McGruder, who was pronounced dead at 5:13 a.m. Wednesday, lived in the 3600 block of West Douglas Boulevard, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Simmie McGruder was pronounced dead at the same time and also lived on the same block as Simmison McGruder, officials said. Advertisement The earlier double homicide happened about noon Tuesday in the 3400 block of West Fulton Boulevard, authorities said. Neighbors said the shots apparently came from a passing SUV. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > The 17-year-old boy, Stevie Jefferson, was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital with a head wound, and the 16-year-old boy, Malik McNeese, was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital with head, back and arm wounds. Jefferson was of the 3200 block of West Maypole Avenue and the 16-year-old lived in the 3200 block of West Walnut Street, about two blocks from the shooting, according to the medical examiner's office. Authorities said the teens were outside on a sidewalk when they were shot by someone in a black SUV. A 65-year-old woman in the house behind them was hit in the leg and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was stabilized, police said. Neighbors said the woman had just moved to the neighborhood and the teens were standing in front of her house when they were shot. A 51-year-old man who lives across the street said he was lying in bed when he heard about seven gunshots. He and his wife rushed outside to find the two teens lying on the ground, shot. "In the past year there's been so much shooting, it's pathetic," said the man, who works at a hotel laundry service. He did not want to be named. The woman with him said she recognized one of the boys as her son's friend. She said the woman who was shot just moved to the block and kept to herself. The woman said she rushed across the street to help the boys. "It hurt my heart watching them lying on the ground struggling to breathe. I'm glad my baby was inside. This used to be a nice neighborhood where kids could play." In other shootings: Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson speaks in the 2500 block of North Lowell Avenue after an off-duty officer fatally shot a man Jan. 2, 2017, in the Belmont Gardens neighborhood. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) Less than two days into the new year, authorities already had opened investigations into two separate shootings of unarmed men by Chicago police officers. About two hours after the calendar flipped to 2017 on Sunday, an officer shot a man after a car chase on the Far South Side ended with the suspect crashing his vehicle into a police squad car. The man was shot after a physical altercation with officers in the street, police said. He remains hospitalized in serious condition. Advertisement The second shooting happened Monday morning on the Northwest Side and involved an off-duty officer who fatally shot an unarmed man with whom he'd had a prior confrontation, Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said during an afternoon news conference. "I have a lot more questions than I have answers at this time," said Johnson, wearing a black knit cap as he stood in a cold drizzle at the scene of the shooting in the 2500 block of North Lowell Avenue. "I came out because I wanted to make sure the investigation was done properly." Advertisement Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 15 Angelica Nieves-Figureroa, center, the sister of Jose Nieves, is comforted by family, during a press conference regarding the death of her brother at Montclair-Lucania Funeral Home on Jan. 9, 2017, in Chicago. Jose Nieves' father, Angel Nieves, is third from right and his mother, Burlinda Torres, is second from left. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune) Both of the weekend shootings remain under investigation, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. Police brass and Mayor Rahm Emanuel spent much of 2016 overhauling the department's policies and training to try to guard against the unjustified use of deadly force by officers amid the fallout of the Laquan McDonald police shooting and a subsequent U.S. Justice Department investigation. The year also marked the highest number of homicides in 20 years, putting the city in the national spotlight as police struggle to tamp down violence. On Sunday, the CBS News show "60 Minutes" aired a segment on violent crime in Chicago that included an interview with former police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, whom Emanuel fired after the McDonald shooting video was released in late 2015. In the interview, McCarthy warned that the Police Department was in "crisis." On Monday morning, President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter to criticize the city's skyrocketing crime numbers, including a total of 762 homicides and more than 4,300 shootings. The two police shootings of unarmed men in the first 36 hours of 2017 mark a rocky start to the new year. Monday's shooting stemmed from an argument about 9:30 a.m. involving an off-duty officer the department declined to identify beyond saying he was 57 years old and assigned to the transit detail. The officer shot the unarmed man "several times," police said. He was pronounced dead at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center at 9:51 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's. A cousin who lives nearby identified him as Jose Nieves, 39, and said he was a construction worker who also had a second job as a security guard for a nightclub. The medical examiner's office also identified the man as Nieves. Advertisement "He didn't like drama," said Ada Chaparro, who said Nieves was walking his dogs when he was shot. "This makes no sense at all." Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson speaks in the 2500 block of North Lowell Avenue after an off-duty officer fatally shot a man Jan. 2, 2017, in Belmont Gardens. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) Guglielmi said investigators were checking the area, including the high school across the street, for video footage and possible witnesses. Guglielmi said detectives have not yet reached any conclusions about the nature of the confrontation between the two men. Guglielmi said he did not know whether the officer had been interviewed by detectives yet but said he had been accompanied by CPD officers after the shooting. "We know that these two had some type of history with each other. We're trying to dig deeper into that," Guglielmi said. "We know there was some type of encounter between them before, but it's unclear if it was the type of encounter that required police assistance. That's also something we're looking into, but these two individuals at minimum were prior acquaintances and had some type of history, not necessarily a friendly history." Guglielmi said the incident was being investigated by both Chicago police and the Independent Police Review Authority. In saying he had more questions than answers about the shooting, Johnson was almost repeating language he used in a departmentwide memo last August after videos of the fatal shooting of Paul O'Neal were released. The footage showed a succession of procedural errors, from officers firing at a fleeing vehicle with others in harm's way to an admission by the officer who believed he fired the fatal shot that he had no idea whether the 18-year-old had a weapon. Advertisement O'Neal was not armed, and Johnson quickly stripped three of the officers involved in the O'Neal shooting of their police powers. The other weekend police shooting took place around 2:20 a.m. Sunday when officers tried to pull over the driver of a Hyundai who had ignored a stop sign in the 12000 block of South State Street, according to a police account of the incident. When officers got out of their vehicles after pulling the Hyundai over, the driver sped south and began driving on the sidewalk. Officers tried to arrest the man, who was still sitting in the driver's seat, but he wouldn't comply and resisted arrest, police said. Officers told investigators that during the ensuing struggle, the suspect appeared to be reaching for something inside the car, and that's when an officer shot him twice in the chest, Guglielmi said. No weapon was recovered at the scene, Guglielmi said. The man, who is in his 40s, was taken in critical condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. His status was upgraded to serious but stable, and he was expected to survive, Guglielmi said. Police declined to identify the man but said he had an outstanding arrest warrant. Guglielmi said police expect charges to be filed against the man once he is healthy enough to be transported. Advertisement Three officers also were hospitalized as a result of the altercation. Johnson said all three were in good condition. The officer who shot the man has been placed on customary 30-day administrative leave, Johnson said. Guglielmi said he did not know whether the officers were equipped with Tasers or whether the police vehicles involved had operating dashboard cameras. The tactical officers did not yet have body cameras, he said. The two police shootings occurred as the Justice Department continues its civil rights investigation into the department's policies and procedures, including the use of deadly force. The probe could result in a federal consent decree that would dictate the steps Emanuel and the Police Department would have to take to ensure better oversight of officers and prevent unnecessary police shootings in the future. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > It remains unclear whether the Justice Department will finish its work in Chicago before President Barack Obama leaves office Jan. 20. It's also unknown whether the Trump administration would pursue a federal consent decree as a result of the ongoing investigation. Regardless, Emanuel has tried to appear proactive, taking measures that include ordering more body cameras for officers and calling for new de-escalation training aimed at helping officers to prevent a situation from warranting the use of deadly force. The mayor also is set to replace IPRA, the civilian oversight agency that investigates police shootings, with a new agency he's said will be better equipped to hold officers accountable. Officials for IPRA were on the scene of the two police shootings Sunday and Monday, agency spokeswoman Mia Sissac said. She said it's not yet clear if there is video footage of either shooting. Advertisement In 2015, there were 28 officer-involved shootings, according to IPRA statistics. In 2016, there were at least 24, said Sissac, who did not have immediate access to a final tally for the year. Chicago Tribune's Elyssa Cherney and Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas contributed. bruthhart@chicagotribune.com mhawthorne@chicagotribune.com The Chicago Police Department embarks this year on Mayor Rahm Emanuel's ambitious plan to add nearly 1,000 new officers to the force over the next two years, and some aldermen say it could be difficult to hit the mark. Among the hurdles: adding more training officers, increasing capacity at the police academy, finding enough qualified minority candidates and keeping up with attrition. Advertisement The mayor called for the additional officers to bolster the department's rank and file as Chicago was in the midst of its most violent year since the 1990s, with more than 750 people killed and 4,300 shot. Emanuel's hiring spike, though, doesn't include hundreds of additional officers who will have to be brought in to replace those who retire or leave the force. Since the mayor took office, CPD has lost nearly 600 officers through that type of attrition a decrease of about 5 percent, the Chicago Tribune has reported. Advertisement Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks during a news conference at the Malcolm X Community College in Chicago on Sept. 22, 2016. (Charles Rex Arbogast / AP) "Getting 1,000 officers through the system is needed, but I'm not sure we're going to get there and get that many through the academy," said Southwest Side Ald. Matthew O'Shea, 19th. "And then you have retirements to deal with. People who are close to that age, they're having conversations with their families, saying, 'I might go early and find something else, because this job is harder than ever.'" Far South Side Ald. Anthony Beale also said he's skeptical that many new officers can be hired in two years. "Over time, we can get to that number. Immediately? No. Inside of two years? It will be tough," said Beale, 9th. "Maybe it can be done, but that's a very aggressive plan, because you still have officers retiring and maybe a lot of them." The department, though, says it has started to take the necessary steps to handle such a surge in new officers. To meet the hiring goal while keeping up with attrition, CPD plans to accept 100 new recruits into the academy nearly every month for the next two years, department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. Prior to this ramp-up, CPD has averaged 80 to 100 recruits in academy classes admitted every few months. In 2016, CPD hired 617 new recruits, according to department figures. Hiring 100 per month next year would nearly double that number. "With open eyes, we are fully conscious of the challenge of hiring 970 officers over the next two years," Guglielmi said in a statement. "But we are also aware of the importance of these hires as part of the city's plan to improve safety and security in every neighborhood." To handle the influx of new officers, the department named Dan Godsel its academy commander and added new lieutenants, sergeants and other training staff to the academy, Guglielmi said. In recent weeks, department brass has been interviewing for new instructors and "several dozen will be added in the next couple of weeks," Guglielmi said. Advertisement Another 92 officers will be promoted and trained to become field training officers who provide "on-the-beat training" to new recruits after their academy training, Guglielmi said. As for the academy itself, training for current officers will be moved outside the facility to make room for the new recruits. Officers already on the force will undergo their "in-service training" at City Colleges of Chicago and DeVry University sites, Guglielmi said. North Side Ald. Patrick O'Connor, Emanuel's City Council floor leader, acknowledged the department's attrition rate will serve as an additional challenge on top of hiring nearly 1,000 new officers. Many officers leave CPD when they hit retirement age rather than stay longer, the 40th Ward alderman said, because of uncertainty about pensions and health-care costs. The realities of policing also are much different now than when older cops first swore to serve and protect, he added. While the city has provided more certainty around police benefits and pensions, O'Connor said moving nearly 1,000 new officers through the police academy, training them and getting them on the street remains a tall order. "It's a huge task. There are some things we can't control. We can't control the way people do or don't pass the tests. You've got the power test, the drug test, the psychological test. Obviously, that testing takes time," O'Connor said. "But we are committed to move this along as expeditiously and professionally as possible. We don't want to skip training, short cut on the people coming into the academy, because it hurts them and it hurts the people they serve. But we are going to make every effort to get it done." Advertisement CPD is scheduled to hold its next police entry exam April 1-2 at McCormick Place. Guglielmi did not respond to a question asking what percentage of department applicants who take the test pass. He also declined to say what percentage of cadets who enter the academy graduate and become officers. West Side Ald. Jason Ervin, who helped guide the budget through the City Council that included the additional police hiring, said he believed that for every 100 people who apply, the city might hire 10 or 12 as officers. That's why the additional police test in April is needed, he said. "I believe the department will do its due diligence on hiring. These are individuals who are charged with great responsibility, so we don't want the department to circumvent its responsibility on the process just to get people through," said Ervin, 28th. Members of the City Council's Black Caucus and Latino Caucus will be watching closely to see how many minorities are hired. Aldermen in both groups have voiced concerns about the lack of minority hiring during budget hearings. "My concern is that we get a proper mix of officers. I think it's actually pretty easy to get 970 in there, but are we going to have an adequate mix that reflects the city's population?" asked South Side Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th, the Black Caucus chairman. "I want more Latino and black officers there, and I want to see them move up in the ranks and to detectives. When you have people who are more connected to a neighborhood, it might help solve some of these unsolved crimes, where they'll feel more comfortable talking to some of these people. It's just natural." Guglielmi said the department has expanded the number of its minority applicants to 71 percent of all candidates, which he said was nearly a 15 percentage point increase from 2013. But the spokesman did not answer a question asking how many of the officers actually hired by the department the last two years were minorities. Advertisement Guglielmi also did not respond to requests to provide a breakdown of how many of those new officers were white, black or Latino, instead saying the department's command staff was the most diverse in the city's history, though he offered no information to back up that assertion. Even if the nearly 1,000 new hires are made on top of attrition, there's the question of whether the increase in officers will be enough to tamp down the city's surging crime. Ervin said more cops is just one piece of the equation, and that the city needs to give youth better opportunities and create more jobs. Sawyer said he doesn't expect crime rates to go down because of hiring alone. "The addition of police officers in and of itself does not solve violence. Let's just be honest. I don't think any of us had that perception when we advocated for additional cops," Sawyer said. "We just needed to be forced to get up to proper staffing levels." After the release of the video showing white Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times in the street, the Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation into the department's use of force and its policies and procedures. With the investigation ongoing, Emanuel has spent the past year making changes to the police disciplinary system and training practices. The new officers, including 112 more sergeants and 50 more lieutenants, could help Emanuel meet whatever recommendations an ongoing Justice Department probe could make, aldermen said. Advertisement "I think it's reflective of what we've seen in other municipalities where the Justice Department has gone in. We all recognize that the supervisory ranks, particularly sergeants, are very important to the street officer and to the citizens on the scene. So, that emphasis is reflective of our need and also reflective of what most of these consent decrees include," O'Connor said. "The hiring plan is symbiotic in that way, but I don't think what we're doing today is an attempt to short-circuit what the Justice Department is doing. But it is a recognition of our needs and a part of what they require in most instances." bruthhart@chicagotribune.com Twitter @BillRuthhart Gov. Bruce Rauner, shown in November 2016, has yet to reach a deal with Illinois Democrats on a state budget. (Seth Perlman / AP) Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield. Topspin Happy New Year. If you're just getting back from some time off around the holidays, here's a quick look at what you may have missed: Advertisement First, you didn't miss any meetings between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and top Illinois Democrats to talk about the state budget. So as of Sunday, the state is once again operating without a spending plan in place. About 190 new laws took effect the same day, though. Advertisement And 2017 will bring a smattering of new tax and fee increases for Chicago and suburban residents. You can see the breakdown here. Finally, here's why open records experts find potential loopholes in which of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's emails were released as part of a lawsuit settlement. If you missed the original emails story, that's here, complete with a full list of the emails you can read yourself. What's on tap *Mayor Rahm Emanuel has no public schedule. *Gov. Bruce Rauner has no public events. *Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth will be sworn in as U.S. senator, succeeding Republican Sen. Mark Kirk. *January look-ahead: The Illinois General Assembly isn't scheduled to be back in until noon Jan. 9, for a couple of lame-duck days before the next legislature is sworn in Jan. 11. President Barack Obama is in town for his farewell speech on Jan. 10. The next Chicago City Council meeting isn't until Jan. 25. The next Cook County Board meeting is Jan. 18. *The City Club of Chicago doesn't start back up until next week, but when it does, it'll be with David Axelrod, former senior counsel to President Obama, appearing at a luncheon Jan. 9. What else we've written *Trump on Twitter: Does Emanuel need federal help to quell Chicago violence? Advertisement *Obama confirms Chicago for farewell speech next week. *A Troubled Transition: In the rush to close institutions, Illinois ignored serious problems in group homes. *There won't be any more trials for Redflex executives if the company's cooperation continues. *Ex-Ald. Sandi Jackson says she's borrowing from friends and selling belongings. *Future campus sex assault investigations uncertain under Trump. *Republican officials hoped Vice President-elect Mike Pence's fundraiser in Chicago would raise as much as $1 million. Advertisement *Two residents from now-shuttered group homes found. *Lottery's scratch-off payouts got little state oversight. *Amid enrollment woes, CPS considers new $75 million South Side high school. What we're reading *The best albums of 2016. *The future of shopping might be roving blimps and drones. *Wisconsin company makes frozen ice castle despite warming weather; won't let it go. Advertisement Follow the money *Mayor Emanuel reported $129,300 in contributions. Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits and Broadway in Chicago gave $10,000 each. *State Rep. Bob Rita, a Blue Island Democrat who has sponsored gambling expansion bills recently, reported $22,000 in donations, including $5,000 from Rivers Casino in Des Plaines and $10,000 from Andrew Bluhm, son of Rivers owner Neil Bluhm. *Track Illinois campaign contributions in real time here and here. Beyond Chicago *With no warning, House Republicans to hobble ethics office. *Former Georgia governor said to be Trump pick for ag secretary. Advertisement *ISIS claims responsibility for Istanbul nightclub attack. *Why South Korea is on verge of ousting president. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Tuesday named a new chief of staff, her fourth in the past 16 months. Preckwinkle promoted longtime political confidant and aide John Keller to the post, a promotion from his job as director of external affairs for county government. There, he worked with community groups and businesses, as well as professional and ministerial organizations. He also filled in for Preckwinkle at events she could not attend. Advertisement "I have known John for more than a decade, and his breadth of experience equips him well for the chief of staff role," Preckwinkle said in a statement. "He has a demonstrated ability to work well across the county's vast landscape of responsibilities. Most recently, his efforts in helping guide our efforts to pass a balanced and fiscally responsible FY2017 budget were critical to our success." Keller replaces Brian Hamer, who was appointed in March to the $186,000-a-year chief-of-staff position. Hamer resigned Friday. Preckwinkle's staff gave no reason for his departure, and an attempt to reach Hamer was unsuccessful. Advertisement Hamer's nine-month tenure was longer than that of his predecessor, Tasha Green Cruzat, who left after just seven months to become president of Voices for Illinois Children, a children's advocacy agency. Cruzat had replaced Kim Foxx, who gave up the job to run for Cook County state's attorney. Foxx, a protege of Preckwinkle, went on to defeat Anita Alvarez in last year's Democratic primary and win the general election. She was sworn in last month. County Commissioner Larry Suffredin, D-Evanston, said he was concerned about not just the turnover in chiefs of staff but also other top positions under Preckwinkle. During her six years in office, there have been three or more people in each of the following posts: chief financial officer, comptroller, medical examiner, homeland security director and human resources chief. "This will be her sixth chief of staff in six years," Suffredin said. "I worry about the stability of the government when top positions keep changing. But John Keller is a good man, and he's had a long relationship with the president. I would hope that will mean he'll have a long tenure." Frank Shuftan, Preckwinkle's spokesman, sought to downplay the issue. "Turnover in a large organization like Cook County is not unusual as staff even those who occupy leadership positions may choose to pursue different opportunities or determine that their current position no longer fits with their career aspirations," Shuftan said. "We see such transitions as our own opportunity to look both internally and externally for talent who can help advance the administration's policy agenda and contribute to improving services and quality of life for Cook County residents." Attorney G.A. Finch, who served for a year as Preckwinkle's second chief of staff, also downplayed turnover in the top spot. "An uncertain shelf life is the life you lead as a chief of staff for a major political leader," Finch wrote in an email. "It goes with the territory. Nothing unusual. Professional apparatchiks understand that." Keller, 32, like Preckwinkle, is a native of the St. Paul, Minn., area. He graduated from Lake Forest College with a bachelor's degree in political science in 2006. While in school, he did a summer internship for Preckwinkle when she was 4th Ward alderman. Advertisement Since graduating, he has held many posts for Preckwinkle and her political allies. In 2006 and 2007, he was director of her aldermanic re-election campaign. When Preckwinkle first ran for her current post, he was deputy campaign manager during the primary election and then campaign manager during the general election. After Preckwinkle first took office in December 2010, he served as her deputy chief of staff under now-city Treasurer Kurt Summers, who was Preckwinkle's first chief of staff. Keller went on to become chief deputy director of homeland security and emergency management at the county, before running a successful campaign that got Preckwinkle ally Christian Mitchell elected to the Illinois House. Following Mitchell's election, Keller worked for 14 months as director of local government affairs for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity under then-Gov. Pat Quinn and then 10 months as an independent political consultant. He returned to county government in June 2014, first as legislative coordinator, working in asset management and economic development, and then as director of external affairs. After helping Preckwinkle pass her 2017 budget, which included a new sweetened beverage tax that's expected to raise $221 million a year and a pledge not to raise taxes for either of the next two budgets, Keller said he would now work to hold the line on spending. "We have revenue, but the plan is to not exceed our means, but stay in line with them, and keep things efficient," Keller said. hdardick@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @ReporterHal The SpaceX launch complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida was damaged after a Falcon 9 rocket exploded in September. (Red Huber / Associated Press) SpaceX is now targeting Jan. 8 for its return to flight after completing its investigation of a September launch pad explosion that destroyed a Falcon 9 rocket and a commercial communications satellite. Pending approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, the Hawthorne space company plans to launch 10 satellites on one Falcon 9 rocket for Iridium Communications Inc. from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The satellites will be part of Iridium's new satellite constellation to provide mobile communications capabilities on land and on ships and airplanes. Advertisement On Monday, Iridium tweeted that it was "pleased with SpaceX's announcement and targeted launch date." The news comes after a four-month-long investigation that even company Chief Executive Elon Musk described in November as "the toughest puzzle to solve that we've ever had to solve." Advertisement A few weeks after the explosion, SpaceX said it expected to return to flight as soon as November. But as the investigation continued, that anticipated launch date slipped back to December, and then January. "Clearly, they're being extra cautious," said Marco Caceres, senior space analyst for the Teal Group. "SpaceX usually pushes ahead a lot faster, so it seems like they're not rushing ahead at this point, which is a good thing." The Sept. 1 explosion at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station destroyed a satellite that was to be managed by Israeli satellite operator Spacecom and was also to help Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg bring high-speed Internet access to remote parts of Africa. In the final update released Monday, SpaceX said it pored through 3,000 channels of video and telemetry data that spanned just 93 milliseconds from the first sign of trouble to the explosion. The company said one of three composite overwrapped pressure vessels, or tanks, inside the rocket's larger, second-stage liquid oxygen tank failed, probably after a buildup of liquid oxygen between the vessel's aluminum inner liner and its carbon overwrap ignited. The vessels are used to store cold helium that maintains pressure in the liquid oxygen tank. As the liquid oxygen depletes, the helium helps fill the void. SpaceX said its accident investigation team found "buckles," or valleys, in the vessels' inner liners. Super-chilled liquid oxygen can gather there, and when pressurized, the oxygen can get trapped. Then, "breaking fibers or friction can ignite the oxygen in the overwrap," causing the vessel to fail, SpaceX said. Advertisement The company also said the loading temperature of the helium was cold enough to create solid oxygen, "which exacerbates the possibility of oxygen becoming trapped as well as the likelihood of friction ignition." In its statement, SpaceX said the investigation team found "several credible causes" for the vessel's failure, all of which involved the accumulation of oxygen in the buckles. To fix this issue in the short term, SpaceX said it will change the configuration of the composite overwrapped pressure vessels so warmer helium can be loaded. It will also change helium loading operations to a "prior flight proven configuration" that is based on previous successful procedures. SpaceX plans to eventually change the design of the vessels to prevent buckles, which the company said will allow for faster loading operations in the future. If the FAA gives approval and grants SpaceX the customary launch license, "that's a pretty good indication that the failure report is indeed convincing, and independent people responsible for safety are convinced that SpaceX knows what happened and is taking the right remedial steps," said John Logsdon, professor emeritus at the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University. Advertisement After that, it is "crucial" that SpaceX has a series of successful launches, he said. "A lot of users of space have been willing to depend on them," Logsdon said. "And I think they have to demonstrate that they earned or re-earned that confidence." Musk had previously hinted at the cause of the explosion in an interview on CNBC in November, saying the culprit involved a combination of liquid helium, carbon fiber composites and solid oxygen. The investigation was led by SpaceX, with assistance from NASA, the U.S. Air Force, the National Transportation Safety Board and several industry experts, under FAA oversight. Under federal law, SpaceX is allowed to conduct its own investigation. SpaceX, whose full name is Space Exploration Technologies Corp., and other companies lobbied successfully to extend the law in 2015. The FAA oversees such investigations. Sunday's launch will be "all-important" for the company, Caceres said. Advertisement Not only does SpaceX have a long manifest of launch customers, including NASA supply missions to the International Space Station, but it is also building a crew capsule to ferry astronauts to the space station. That capsule is set for its first uncrewed flight test in November, followed by its first flight test with humans in May 2018. SpaceX also plans to launch its heavy-lift rocket, the Falcon Heavy, this year for the first time. The company has said the rocket will be able to lift off from either Vandenberg or Pad 39A, SpaceX's alternate launch pad at Kennedy Space Center, which is close to being operational and will also be able to launch Falcon 9 rockets. Work on Space Launch Complex 40, which was damaged during the explosion, still continues. "SpaceX is the establishment player," Caceres said. "As the establishment player, I think they have something to lose." samantha.masunaga@latimes.com Advertisement For more business news, follow me @smasunaga ALSO Elon Musk describes his vision for human habitats on Mars What it's like wearing Snapchat Spectacles An Indian billionaire says his new tech company is growing faster than Facebook and Whatsapp UPDATES: Advertisement 2:10 p.m.: This article was updated throughout with information about the explosion and comments from analysts. This article was originally published at 6:05 a.m. Buckle up. The next 100 days in Washington will be tumultuous. Donald Trump and leading Republicans plan to overwhelm the 115th Congress, which convenes Tuesday, with a mind-numbing array of changes. By the end of April, they hope to have confirmed a new Supreme Court justice, cleared a huge infrastructure measure, and be well on the way to enacting big and permanent tax cuts along with sharp cutbacks in spending on domestic programs affecting the poor. They may throw in some education reform and immigration crackdowns. Advertisement On his first day in office, Trump is expected to issue sweeping executive orders that undo many of the actions taken by President Barack Obama on issues such as the environment and immigration. That's just the formal agenda. Trump, who already has weighed in more than any other president-elect in recent memory with tweets praising Vladimir Putin or changing nuclear policy predictably will create new controversies on his own. Advertisement Congress is preparing for this enormous workload. Abandoning the leisurely schedule of recent years, lawmakers are slating four or five day workweeks for the next three months, except for a week off in February. Despite the Republicans' total control there are possible fissures that could create complications. Trump's priority is to quickly enact the biggest infrastructure measure since the Interstate Highway System. That could get support from Democrats if it doesn't include anti-union provisions and isn't funded by cutting other programs. Trump wouldn't care if it blows a big hole in the deficit, though that would be a problem for many conservative Republicans. Congressional Republicans say Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence claim they'll essentially delegate the substantive agenda to House Speaker Paul Ryan and other leaders on Capitol Hill, though the president-elect already has had several screaming phone calls with top Republican members of Congress. Speaker Ryan's top priorities are permanent tax cuts, skewed to the wealthy and investment, accompanied by cutbacks to domestic programs. If that proves unpopular, will Trump, who doesn't like to be associated with unpopular things, pull the rug out? Republicans remain tied in knots over Obamacare. They are going to repeal it quickly with gaping questions and loopholes when it comes to how and when it will be replaced. But the real possibility this could create chaos and cause the health insurance market to crater scares them. Of course, the initial battles in the next few weeks will be over confirming Trump's appointments. Most will make it through, unless they stumble badly in hearings or a new controversy or scandal is uncovered. But Democrats and a few Republicans will put many of them through a grilling. The secretary of state-designate, Rex Tillerson, the chief executive officer of Exxon-Mobil, will face scrutiny and opposition from most Democrats because of his closeness to the autocratic Russian president. Tillerson is very likely to be confirmed. If the national security activist John Bolton is nominated as deputy secretary of state, he might be rejected, which is why Trump probably will bow to the campaign against him. Many of the domestic cabinet appointments, almost uniformly staunch conservatives, will be questioned not only about their views but, in some cases, about their qualifications. One or two could go under. Advertisement But these will only be a warm-up for the likely battle in the next few months over Trump's pick to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. Democrats are bitter that Republicans refused for more than nine months to even consider Obama's nomination of Judge Merrick Garland. Although Trump released the names of possible appointees during the campaign, no one believes he has given any thought to this issue or knows much about it. Given this void, it's anyone's guess whether he'd select a hard-right jurist, which would please the party's base. But unless Republican leaders change the rules, it will take 60 votes, or at least eight Democrats, to win Senate confirmation. A more moderate conservative nominee, though perhaps easily confirmable, would alienate activists. The big economic issues will dominate the legislative calendar as Republicans calculate they have to enact sweeping changes by July 4. Trump will enter the White House less popular than any recent predecessor; if history is any guide, a president's clout, ability to apply political pressure and galvanize public support, usually diminishes over time. If they achieve their goals, and work together, consumer and business confidence could be soaring, the economy humming, adding jobs, and Republicans won't have much to worry about. That entails threading delicate political needles and enjoying a lot of luck. The zeal to make the supply-side tax cuts permanent means that, under the budget resolutions, they can't add to the deficit in the second decade. Even with the gimmicks Ryan and others will employ that's not anywhere close to achievable. To do so, they might then accompany these tax cuts with sharp cutbacks in federal spending on programs such as Medicaid and food stamps. That juxtaposition makes a few Republicans uncomfortable. But nothing worries this new majority more than health care. Attacking Obamacare for the past seven years has been low-hanging fruit. But devising their own health plan, which they've never done, without millions of people losing coverage and hospitals and insurance companies getting clobbered, is beyond daunting. Advertisement They would do well to remember the admonition years ago of the late Bob Teeter, one of America's great pollsters, who foresaw that education is a winning issue politically but health care is a loser for whoever owns it. Soon that will be Republicans. Bloomberg View Albert R. Hunt is a columnist for Bloomberg View. When Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out on their legendary journey across the newly acquired lands of the Louisiana Purchase, they didn't know what discoveries lay ahead. One was the grizzly bear, bigger and more fearsome than any bears they had seen before. In his journal, Clark told of an encounter with a "terrible looking animal, which we found very hard to kill." He added, "I must confess that I do not like the gentlemen and had rather fight two Indians than one bear." At that time, some 50,000 of these formidable creatures roamed North America. Against a few men armed with primitive guns, they were hard to kill. But they proved no match for the onslaught of humanity that came with the white settlement of the West. Advertisement By 1975, with only about 800 left in the continental United States, they were classified as endangered by the federal government. They had been killed off in many places where once they were numerous, including the Dakotas, California and Arizona. The threat of extinction loomed. Preservation efforts made all the difference. Since then, grizzlies have rebounded, increasing their number to about 1,800. People have come to value their existence. Tourists from all over the world travel to national parks in hopes of seeing them in the wild. Advertisement But the comeback, welcome as it is, carries risks to both bear and human. Most people want grizzlies in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. But no one wants a 600-pound apex predator on the patio. As the animals multiply, they show up more often in populated places, sometimes with regrettable results. "Grizzlies make for troublesome neighbors and lousy houseguests," writes Aaron Teasdale in Sierra Magazine. "The giant animals are routinely spotted chowing on orchard fruits and scavenging pet food and garbage. They're omnivores that like to eat many of the same things people do chickens and sheep, for example." The surprise is that even when they do migrate to places abundant in people, grizzlies are far less dangerous than might be assumed. Attacks on humans are rare. Montana wildlife biologist Stacy Courville told Teasdale that in developed areas they've become nocturnal, to avoid people. Problem bears sometimes have to be killed or trapped for removal. But as grizzlies grow more numerous, people can also take measures to avoid attracting them. Visitors used to throng garbage dumps in Yellowstone to watch bears feed, until the National Park Service closed the dumps. Backpackers have learned how to minimize risk in bear country: Travel in groups, make noise, secure food, carry bear spray. Town dwellers can keep garbage and pets where grizzlies can't get them. Farmers and ranchers can install electrified fences to keep bears away from crops and livestock. But older habits sometimes die hard. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed removing the Yellowstone grizzlies from the threatened and endangered species list, which would open the way to trophy hunting outside the park an idea that has drawn objections from the park superintendent, who fears it could damage the bear's long-term prospects. President-elect Donald Trump's sons are both avid big-game hunters. His choice to run the Interior Department, Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., has voted to remove wolves, lynx and sage grouse from the endangered species list. So the grizzly may face new threats in the next four years. We hope Trump and Zinke appreciate that many Americans welcome the comebacks that a few species wolves, mountain lions, eagles and these ursine marvels have made, and don't want that progress squandered. This is a key environmental issue on which the new administration will prove itself a good steward of nature or a handmaiden of big agriculture and other industries that often are at odds with conservation. Advertisement We urge more robust federal (and state) protection for America's threatened wildlife while realizing that not everyone is keen on making modest sacrifices to allow more wild grizzlies to roam the land. What Stacy Courville said of local conflicts may also be true at a national level: "I don't have a bear problem. I have a people problem." Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook. Pharmaceuticals are an important element of American health care, and one that changes all the time. With dozens of new drugs approved each year by the Food and Drug Administration, keeping up with them is a challenge. So drug companies employ representatives to visit physicians, explain the uses of their products and provide samples. For doctors, this can be a helpful service or a nuisance. They can allow such visits or not. They can take and dispense the samples or not. They can choose to prescribe the pills or not (the reps don't actually sell drugs, a task assigned to pharmacies). More than half of physicians tightly restrict access by such representatives, according to the website Fierce Pharma. Advertisement But the Chicago City Council thinks those obstacles and protections are not enough. It voted in November to put additional regulations on one of the most heavily regulated businesses in America. Starting in July, Chicago will require all pharmaceutical sales representatives to maintain detailed records on the offices they contact, the drugs they promote, and the samples, information and gifts they provide. Each rep will have to obtain a license, at $750 a year, and get five hours of professional education every year. Anyone who fails to meet these mandates will be forbidden to do the job of communicating with medical professionals about pharmaceutical drugs. Advertisement The ordinance is a clumsy attempt to prevent opioid addiction, which often begins with prescription painkillers. It's not clear how the new rules would help. Doctors are hardly unaware of the notorious dangers that accompany such drugs which many physicians consider indispensable for treating certain types of pain. The literature provided to them by drug company reps has to be approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration to prevent unwarranted claims. Nor would the new rules protect against bad doctors and "pill mills" that hand out opioid prescriptions indiscriminately. The Charleston Gazette-Mail recently reported that one pharmacy in West Virginia ordered 9 million hydrocodone pills over two years even though it is in a county with only 33,000 people. Hint: Those orders didn't come about because the local pharmaceutical reps are irresistible. The Chicago license fee is a special tax on one occupation, and it amounts to a barrier to anyone who wants to work in the field. Larry Salzman and Anastasia Boden, lawyers for the Pacific Legal Foundation, wrote recently in these pages that the ordinance "is a harassment serving little purpose beyond raising an estimated $1 million per year in fees for the city." It's hard to justify in a Chicago that is already falling short at creating jobs and retaining people. Yet this ordinance is worse than just another cash grab by aldermen. It's at odds with the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, because it interferes with truthful communication between willing parties. Though the city is entitled to forbid deceptive claims, this measure doesn't stop there. It also blocks accurate information. Martin Redish, a constitutional law professor at Northwestern University, says it clearly runs afoul of the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions on commercial speech. In 2011, the court struck down a Vermont law that regulated the use of pharmacy records. "Speech in aid of pharmaceutical marketing," it noted, "is a form of expression protected by the free speech clause of the First Amendment." In 1976, the court had overturned a Virginia ban on the advertising of drug prices by pharmacies on similar grounds. "There is, of course, an alternative to this highly paternalistic approach," said the justices, in a conclusion that applies equally to the Chicago measure. "That alternative is to assume that this information is not in itself harmful, that people will perceive their own best interests if only they are well enough informed, and that the best means to that end is to open the channels of communication, rather than to close them." Chicago officials have invited legal challenges they are bound to lose, because they didn't do their homework. In that case, the law won't raise money for City Hall but instead will squander taxpayers' dollars on legal costs. Better to recognize reality now, repeal the ordinance and save everyone a lot of trouble. Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook. Here's an example of international trade that goes down easy: Few Spirits, a craft distillery that produces high-quality bourbon, rye and gin in Evanston, sells its products around the world, from Europe to Japan to Australia. "We started up a little over five years ago. The business was me in a room," Few's founder, Paul Hletko, told us. "Now there are 15 people on the team distributing across four continents. The BBC recently sent a video team to learn about gin." Yes, Hletko gets the delicious irony: The British, who invented the gin and tonic while ruling India, came to Chicago to learn about gin. Now that's globalization! Advertisement If only the broader trade story were such a simple sell. The world is economically connected and inter-dependent, and that's a net positive for growth and Americans' standard of living. Yet politicians led by President-elect Donald Trump portray trade as a job-killing dead end. He's wrong. He's wrong to oppose trade deals that would help U.S. exports, and he's wrong to threaten punitive action against American manufacturers for operating globally. On Tuesday, Trump tweeted an attack on General Motors for shipping some Mexican-made Chevy Cruze compacts to U.S. dealers. Also Tuesday, Ford succumbed to Trump's pressure by scrapping plans to build a $1.6 billion Mexican factory. Ford will invest in its Flat Rock, Mich., plant instead. Advertisement We want American companies to succeed, and root especially hard for Midwest factories and farmers competing in global markets. That's why Trump's predilection for tweeting out threats directed at CEOs is wrong-headed. He's not helping Ford or GM win against Toyota and VW, he's coercing them into supporting his campaign promises. Those Mexican auto plants help Ford and GM operate more profitably so they can thrive in a cutthroat industry. American companies pursue opportunities every day to expand their businesses, and hire more employees, by acting globally. Illinois machines, Illinois corn and soybeans, Illinois whiskey all are in demand around the world. At the same time, consumers benefit from having an endless choice of imported products to purchase clothing, cars, smartphones and, obviously, Scottish whisky. Imported goods are popular when they're cheaper or better. It's on American companies to put their best foot forward. There are three main objections to the idea of free and open trade. First, that it hurts more than helps, by killing American factory jobs. It's a long-standing complaint that doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Manufacturing jobs have been in decline for more than 30 years, but not because they have been exported to China or Mexico. Most U.S. factory jobs that disappear are lost to higher productivity, especially automation. The more sophisticated American factories become, the better the output. Consider how much more desirable American cars and trucks are today, and how profitable Detroit is, though with a smaller workforce. The second objection is that American companies are being unpatriotic when they invest abroad. That's Trump's view, and it's a fallacy that, if pursued, will erode U.S. competitiveness. Companies need to invest globally to supply foreign markets and maximize profitability. It's much smarter in the long run for Ford to build its most sophisticated products at home and do other assembly work in lower-wage nations. CEOs should be free to make their own decisions, not feel coerced into obeying the White House. The third objection is that trade is a rigged game: Foreign products have wide-open access to the U.S. while other countries erect trade barriers to protect their own producers. That's a legitimate beef. The solution is not to throttle trade, as Trump has threatened, but to push for fair access through negotiated deals. Which returns us to the great story of Chicago's whiskey-makers, including Koval Distillery in Ravenswood. Sonat Birnecker Hart, president of Koval, gave us examples of trade barriers that make it harder to compete. While U.S. companies generally have access to the European Union, the rules on bottling and labeling are different, requiring an extra investment. The paperwork is a hassle too. A specific issue for Koval is the EU's arcane, burdensome labeling regulation on organic products. Koval sells organic spirits, yet can't make that claim in Europe because of a ridiculous rule requiring the use of separate organic-certified warehouse space. It's anti-business, Hart said, but "it doesn't deter us." Hletko has a similar perspective. Few Spirits does a good business in Asia and would do better without the exorbitant tariffs on foreign liquor. There is a solution, but Trump shows no interest. The U.S. has negotiated the Trans-Pacific Partnership, TPP, a U.S. trade deal with 11 other nations on both sides of the Pacific that would open up those markets by cutting tariffs and red tape, leveling the playing field to make it easier for American companies to market their products and services. TPP would be good for Illinois agriculture and plenty of other things, including Chicago's distilleries, but Trump wants to pull out of the deal. Squeezing GM and Ford must be great fun. But the future of the Midwest economy is inextricably linked to the world economy. The more Trump supports rather than hinders U.S. companies, the better off we'll all be. Arlington Heights police are investigating a New Year's Day armed robbery in the same neighborhood where a woman's car was stolen at gunpoint the week before. An unknown man demanded a woman's purse at gunpoint at about 1:38 p.m. Sunday after following her into the entrance of her apartment building in the 2300 block of South Goebbert Road, crime prevention officer Brandi Romag said. Advertisement "After the victim got out of her car, and entered her building, she opened the door for the offender, who had followed behind her, and who then demanded her purse," Romag said. The man then fled with the victim's black leather, Calvin Klein purse, which held cash, credit cards and a driver's license, Romag said. Advertisement The man is described as being in his 20s, about 6 feet tall, with a medium build, and wearing a dark blue hooded jacket, jeans and a knit winter hat, police said. "The victim told police that she first noticed the man when she pulled her car into the parking lot, and she became uneasy," Romag said. "We want to remind residents that if the red flags go up, and you see someone you think is a suspicious person, call 911. It doesn't have to be an emergency for you to report something you notice to police, so trust your gut." Police are also still searching for a man who reportedly stole a woman's car at gunpoint in the same neighborhood on Dec. 23, Romag said. In that incident, a man approached a woman outside her car at noon in the 2100 block of South Goebbert Road, pointing a handgun at her and demanding her car keys, police said. After the woman handed over her keys, the man drove away in her car, described as a silver 2008 Pontiac G6, Illinois license plate number Z203711, police said. The suspect in that incident was described as being between 5 feet 7 and 5 feet 10, with a medium build and wearing all black clothing with a hoodie, police said. Anyone having information about these incidents can send an anonymous tip by texting the keyword 847AHPD and message to 847411 or by calling Arlington Heights Crime Stoppers at 847-590-7867. Callers are guaranteed anonymity and may qualify for a cash reward of up to $1,000. kcullotta@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @kcullotta The location of a proposed third station at the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District has officials at Barrington School District 220 concerned about traffic congestion and loud noises. For $500,000, the fire protection district purchased an acre of land, which includes an existing home, at 36 E. Dundee Road, located between Barrington Middle School Prairie Campus and the Early Learning Center at District 220. Advertisement The fire district has said it plans to turn the home into its third fire station but run limited operations out of the proposed facility. But with the close proximity to District 220 schools, Barrington educators said they are working with officials at the fire district to address their concerns about increased traffic and noise if the station opens. Advertisement "We have had constructive conversations with the fire protection district on how to mitigate noise, and they are ongoing," said Brian Battle, District 220 board president. District 220 officials especially are concerned about traffic congestion when parents go to drop their children off in the mornings and pick them up in the afternoons, he said. The sounds of sirens also could disturb younger students in class at the Early Learning Center, Battle said. Battle also acknowledged how District 220 officials intended to buy the property between both of the school buildings to help improve traffic flow between the two buildings. Built in 2010, the Early Learning Center serves as a preschool for 350 to 400 at-risk and special needs students, school officials said. Language programs for kindergarten children also are housed at the facility. The Prairie Campus at District 220 serves about 1,164 students, according to Illinois Report Card data. The proposed third station at the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District wouldn't feature fully-equipped fire trucks but could include administrative offices and beds for firefighters on shift at the facility, officials with the fire district have said. But the location of the proposed station would help improve response times throughout the area, particularly with assistance calls involving heart attack and stroke victims, said Keith Hanson, board president at the fire protection district. Those calls make up about 85 percent of all the district's assistance calls, he said. Instead of fire trucks, the district would look to house a SUV that could be used for a rapid response to those calls, Hanson said. The car would be outfitted with life support gear used on heart attack and stroke victims, he said. "The key to responding to heart attacks and strokes is getting two people on scene very quickly and starting (cardio pulmonary resuscitation) or appropriate stroke treatment," he said. Advertisement Addressing some of the concerns at District 220, the fire protection district would limit the use of the SUV to about two calls a day, Hanson said. Firefighters also will be trained to use the sirens "judicially" in select instances where area traffic needs to be moved, he said. Fire Chief Jim Kreher said the third station would help improve response times throughout the district's territory. Formed in 1940, the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District serves Barrington Hills, South Barrington, Lake Barrington and Inverness, and portions of unincorporated Cook, Lake and McHenry counties, according to its website. "We cover 48 square miles and this station will help us respond to residents more efficiently," Kreher said. "We also help out the fire department in Barrington and the Palatine Rural Fire Protection District." Hanson said the fire district "could conceivably" expand operations at the third station in the future, bringing in more personnel and equipment to the station. But for now, district board members have budgeted $2 million to upgrade and open the station by the spring, he said. The district is headquartered at a station at 22222 N. Pepper Road, Lake Barrington, and operates a second station at 120 W. Algonquin Road, Barrington Hills. Advertisement tshields@pioneerlocal.com Twitter @tshields19 Bertucci's is once again open at 10331 S. Roberts Road in Palos Hills. (Bob Bong / Daily Southtown) Bertucci's restaurant, which closed without warning last March, finally has reopened in Palos Hills. The restaurant at 10331 S. Roberts Road reopened Dec. 22, about six months later than initially expected. Advertisement Restaurant manager Paul Kousis said the eatery will add Greek dishes to its usual Italian fare and to reflect the new menu has changed its name to Bertucci's Mediterranean Taverna. He said the full menu would be available later this month. Advertisement The 2,000-square-foot building is owned by Kousis, but the restaurant's owner is Klaudia Szulkowska of Hickory Hills. "She used to work here as manager," said Kousis. Kousis said the opening was delayed by remodeling that included new floors and some changes to the decor. "There also is a video gaming room," he said. The room will be open from 9 a.m. to midnight Sunday to Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. One thing that he said had not changed was the quality of the food. "The food is as good as ever," said Kousis. New dining room hours for Bertucci's will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday. The outdoor patio will reopen, weather permitting, in the spring. Information is at 708-233-5800 or follow Bertucci's Mediterranean Taverna on Facebook. Advertisement Sports bar in Morgan Park saved Cullinan's Stadium Club has been saved from the taxman thanks to a fundraising campaign that has generated the money needed to reopen the bar and grill at 11610 S. Western Ave. in Chicago's Morgan Park neighborhood. The bar was closed in early December by the state because of a problem with unpaid taxes. A GoFundMe campaign raised the $14,000 needed to pay off the state and reopen. The bar reopened on Friday and hosted a New Year's Eve party on Saturday. Carson's to close Lansing store Bon-Ton Stores has announced that it will close its Carson's clearance store in Lansing by the end of January. Advertisement The 21,000-square-foot store at 16727 S. Torrence Ave. in The Landings shopping center opened in 2013 shortly after the retailer closed its Carson's department store in neighboring Calumet City. That store had been an anchor at River Oaks Mall since it opened in the mid-1960s. Carson's sold apparel, accessories and home items at the Lansing store. Bon-Ton still operates Carson's department stores in the south suburbs in Matteson, Orland Park and Chicago Ridge. Bon-Ton said the store would close when its lease expires at the end of January. The store employs about 60 workers who will be offered the chance to interview for available positions at other stores. "Closing this store was a difficult decision," Kathryn Bufano, president and chief executive officer for Bon-Ton Stores, said in a release. "We would like to thank the loyal customers who have shopped with Carson's over the years as well as our devoted store associates for their dedication and friendly customer service to this community." Business as usual at Parisi's Drive-in Advertisement Longtime owners sold Parisi's Drive-In at 6216 W. 63rd St. in Chicago's Garfield Ridge neighborhood a few months ago. And things have never been better, longtime manager Rick Lunt said last week. "So far, we are doing well," said Lunt, who has been working at the restaurant since 1971. "I'm the manager of continuity." Lunt said the new owners were local, but wanted to remain behind the scenes. "The owner is RTM Food Inc.," he said. There have been some changes, he said. Advertisement "We now accept credit cards," he said. "We have six stools at the counter and a flat-screen TV." The biggest change is that the hot dog joint will not close for vacation in February. "We will be open this February for the first time ever," he said. For information, call 773-586-5611 or visit Parisi's Drive-In on Facebook. Krispy Kreme returns to south suburbs next week Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, which took Chicago by storm in 1998 when it opened its first location in Summit at the former site of the Candlelight Dinner Playhouse and then left with a whimper when it closed its last local shop in Midlothian in 2012, will make its grand new entrance to the south suburbs when it opens next week in Homewood. Advertisement The new shop will open at 6 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 17815 S. Halsted St. in Homewood. The new location is planning special giveaways to the first 100 customers waiting in line when it opens. The first dozen customers will get free doughnuts every week for a year. The next 88 customers will get free doughnuts every month for a year. Customers can begin lining up the night before. The store is the first of eight Krispy Kreme locations in Cook County planned by Chicagoland Restaurants LLC. A second south suburban location is expected to open this year and Chicagoland Restaurants has been talking with village officials about opening a shop in Evergreen Park. Bob Bong is a freelance columnist. With only a few months left on her term, Jacqueline Denham resigned from the North Shore School District 112 board last month citing a desire to spend time with family and regrets that the discourse over school closings had degenerated to include racist attacks. "I sincerely hope that the district finds a solution to its complex problems," Denham wrote in a resignation letter e-mailed to acting board president Samantha Stolberg during the Dec. 13 meeting. "But as the tenor of this discourse seems dominated by self interests, manipulation, nostalgia and even racial attacks, I must step away." Advertisement The school board plans to appoint someone to serve the remaining months on her term until new board members are seated in May following the April 4 election. The deadline for applications for the appointed position is Jan. 10. Denham, who was born in Mexico City and is fluent in multiple languages, had been the target of some particularly offensive racist remarks on a community news website a day before her resignation, colleagues said. Board members expressed outrage over that commentary and the personal nature of other criticism that is often posted anonymously. Advertisement Two of the comments referred to by board members were posted on local news site Patch using the name of Richard Long, a Highland Park resident who served on the panel that endorsed school board candidates in the upcoming election for CARE, a local political action committee organized to oppose the school closing plan. Long said Tuesday he did not write the comments and does not recall ever posting any commentary on Patch. "Someone must have found my name online somewhere connected to CARE, and used the same name to cowardly and irresponsibly make these very inappropriate comments," Long said. CARE also denounced the commentary and disavowed any connection. "This Patch comment, now removed, was fake," said CARE chairman Jeff Hamburg. "We support inclusivity and reject racism. There is no gray line here. Neither Jacquie Denham nor any other board member deserves personal attacks. We can all disagree about ideas and say things like, the board should do X or not do Y. It is not OK to make comments on anyone's race, religion or appearance." Denham was one of four school board members to vote last February to close four schools in 2017 if the referendum failed. "While many in the community have disagreed with me, I have steadfastly stood by my belief that we must act in a financially prudent way while maintaining our educational standards of excellence," Denham wrote in her resignation letter. Neither Denham nor Board President Michael Cohn attended the Dec. 13 meeting at which a board majority voted to delay the school closing plan in light of the abrupt resignation of Superintendent Michael Bregy. Bregy is leaving Jan. 27 to become superintendent of schools in Beverly Hills, Calif. Advertisement "A woman like Jacquie was a tremendous asset to our community and to this board," said colleague Jane Solmor-Mordini. "She spoke for many people who don't necessarily have a voice, or can't find a way to have a voice," she added. Solmor-Mordini said Denham never lost her temper or faulted anyone for their passion or beliefs. "Her level-headed kindness at every turn was so valuable, especially when we were all at each other's throats because we couldn't come to a consensus," she said. In her resignation letter, Denham said she felt it best to focus on spending time with her family. "The countless hours devoted to school board activity have left me little time to spend with my children and husband over these past two years," said Denham, who was elected in 2015 to a two-year term. State law and District 112 policy require the school board to fill a board vacancy within 45 days. If the position is not filled within that time period, the Lake County Regional Office of Education has 30 days to appoint someone to the office. Advertisement Nine candidates are running for four seats on the District 112 school board in the April 4 election. kberkowitz@pioneerlocal.com @KarenABerkowitz Only three houses were built in the Sedgwick development on 55th and County Line Road in Hinsdale before the previous project stalled. (Kimberly Fornek / Pioneer Press) The public hearing on Edward James Homes' proposed development for 55th Street and County Line Road will continue Jan. 11. The development, called Hinsdale Meadows, would have 29 single-family homes and 30 duplexes. Advertisement To some residents, that sounds too dense for a site of about 24.5 acres. But because of the style of homes and the buyers it would attract, developer Edward James said the new plan would result in less traffic and fewer school-age children than the proposal the Village Board approved after James bought the property back in 2002. The property is zoned for 36 single-family homes. Advertisement James estimates the average price for the homes in Hinsdale Meadows would be between $900,000 and $1.1 million. Plan Commission Chairman Steve Cashman asked James whether the selling price would be lower if there were more duplexes, which could be accomplished by replacing some of the single-family homes in the plan with duplexes. James said it would not necessarily lower his development costs because much of the infrastructure already was installed based on the 36-house plan. The electrical system and transformers may have to be moved to accommodate the revised site plan, but James plans to keep the roads and major sewer and water lines intact, he said. James said his team continue to look for ways to reduce the cost of the homes without lowering their quality. They and village officials also are considering how the development can include features that would be of benefit to the general public, such as a dog park or a sled hill. Those two ideas have been rejected, however. Some members of the Plan Commission continue to believe the duplexes and single-family homes with first-floor master bedrooms, designed for couples without children or those who are looking to downsize, will attract families with children. James insists that families who want their children to attend Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills District 181 or Hinsdale District 86 schools would want to live in neighborhoods where there are other children and where they can have trampolines and play sets in the backyards. James said the bylaws of the new homeowners association would prohibit that type of recreational equipment. Advertisement The village and the school district also would see additional tax revenue from the increase in property value on the site. "It all adds up to a long-term public benefit which you may not realize today, but you will realize it over years," James told the Plan Commission in December. The public hearing will continue at the commission's meeting, at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 11, at the Memorial Building, at 19 E. Chicago Ave., Hinsdale. kfornek@pioneerlocal.com Twitter @kfdoings Colton Scott Koster among first babies born in Lake County for 2017. (Lake Forest Hospital) One of the first babies born in Lake County in 2017 arrived a little earlier than expected. Weighing 6 pounds and 6 ounces, and 20 inches in length, Colton Scott Koster was born at 2:45 p.m. Sunday at Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, according to his father, Jordan. Advertisement He has dark brown hair and big blue eyes like his parents, Koster said. Colton wasn't due until Jan. 17 and everything seemed normal at the last check-up, so when Koster's fiancee, Allie Rosenzweig, started having contractions Saturday, it was a surprise. Advertisement The old farmhouse the two are rehabbing would have been ready for the original due date, Koster said. The nursery doesn't yet have paint on the walls. "It was crazy," Koster said. "We both thought he was going to be late." For now, Rosenzweig is living in Lindenhurst while Koster is outside Lake Geneva in Lyons, Wis. The two are engaged to be married in fall 2018, a date they picked so they didn't have to worry about planning a wedding while raising a newborn. While some other suburban counties saw births shortly after midnight, Lake County did not have its first birth until 7:48 a.m. Sunday. The birth occurred at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, a hospital spokeswoman said. She was unable to provide additional details. Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington saw its first birth of the year a baby girl Monday morning, a spokeswoman said. Advertisement Vista Health System, which operates two hospitals in Waukegan, does not release information about its first baby of the year, a spokeswoman said. NorthShore's Highland Park Hospital had not had any births since the start of the year as of Monday morning, a spokesman said. emcoleman@tribpub.com Twitter @mekcoleman There were no injuries in an early Tuesday morning fire in Lake Villa that destroyed a single-family home whose owner is out of town, according to Lake Villa Fire Department Chief Frank Slazes. Investigators with the Lake Villa Fire Department and Lake County Sheriff's Office are looking to determine the cause and origin of the fire that was called in by neighbors at 12:47 a.m. in the 20600 block of Lakeview Avenue, Slazes said. Advertisement "At first, we couldn't see much because of the fog, but when we rounded the corner, we could see the house was fully involved with fire," said Slazes, adding that the building was unoccupied and the homeowner was in Florida, but he is not sure how long the owner has been away. Lake Villa Fire Department crews responded to an early-morning fire that consumed a home on Lakeview Avenue on Tuesday, Jan. 3. (Joe Shuman / News-Sun) Slazes said there were numerous items in the front lawn, including construction materials, but he was not sure if there was any type of construction going on inside the home. There was also a "for sale" sign in the front yard. Advertisement "At this point in time, I don't know what was going on there," he said. "It looks like the roof burned away, and there are about three quarters of the walls still standing." Slazes said firefighters did not hear any explosions while fighting the fire, but neighbors reported to him that they heard "a couple of booms, and popping like fireworks before firefighters arrived." Lake Villa Fire Department crews responded to an early-morning fire that consumed a home on Lakeview Avenue on Tuesday, Jan. 3. (Joe Shuman / News-Sun) "It was probably aerosol cans going off. Once they hit a certain temperature under the sink or cupboard, they explode," he said, adding that a propane tank explosion "would have rocked the neighborhood," and an oxygen tank would be less loud. "Just the house burning like it was makes large popping sounds," he said. fabderholden@tribpub.com Twitter @abderholden One of the highest-read stories on the Naperville Sun's website, NaperSun.com, was about a pig who was on the lam for more than a month this summer in the area around the Springbrook Forest Preserve. Eventually, a sharpshooter for the U.S.D.A. was forced to kill it. (DuPage County Forest Preserve District / HANDOUT) Year-end lists always give us pause. There are reasons newspapers and other media outlets continue to do them they're an effective way to look back on the year that was. "The best of ..." this or "Our favorite ..." that never seem to disappoint, while also providing something of a social barometer on the time from whence they came. With that lens, here's another look at 2016's Top 10 most popular stories on the Naperville Sun's website, NaperSun.com, and what they may say about us... Advertisement What it's like to be black in Naperville: Try as we might to live in a bubble, Naperville is prone to the same racial tensions here as elsewhere across the country, though perhaps in different ways and to different extents. A poignant Facebook post by Brian Crooks, who moved to Naperville in 5th grade, served as an effective first-person essay on the matter and reminded us that we still have a long way to go. Naperville North students fall ill after eating tainted gummy bears: Fourteen high schoolers were taken to Edward Hospital after eating gummy bears that an ER physician there later said appeared to contain marijuana. Not much more to say about this one, though also in the headlines that same day: "Naperville raises tobacco purchasing age to 21." Well-intentioned, of course, but these two stories served as something of an ironic juxtaposition on that particular day. Advertisement Naperville ranked wealthiest city in the Midwest: Some of these lists are more empirical than others. While income and net worth of Naperville residents can at least be grounded in data, beware of some such lists. Like the one in 2014 that ranked Naperville the 4th "snobbiest" city in the U.S. How exactly one measures such qualities is questionable at best. And certainly beneath us. 13-year-old skipping middle and high school to attend college: We can't help but be drawn to amazing stories like that of Kelly Li, who chose to skip her final year at Crone Middle School, bypass Neuqua Valley High School and enroll this fall at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Va. It's the kind of story that makes you at once happy for the young woman, and a little sad for the teen who will miss out on what's such an essential part of the life experience for most. On-the-lam Naperville pig meets his end: Like the gummy bears at North, this story has all the essential qualities to give it legs outside of Naperville. And though ultimately nothing could save this pig's bacon, even now we wonder what was the best part of this story an AWOL pig on the run, or learning that the USDA employs sharpshooters to remedy such matters? Naperville man charged with arson in Huber campsite fire: The tents and largely passive protests of Naperville homeless man Scott Huber have been a part of our city's landscape for the entire millennium thus far. But no matter how you regard Huber from public nuisance to legitimately aggrieved no one deserves to have their belongings set ablaze. This story grew even more riveting when we later learned it was a retired Chicago cop who stood charged with arson. Naperville community activist shot to death in Chicago: This was a sad ending to the life of 73-year-old Ronald Allen, of Naperville, a DuPage County social activist. After playing cards with friends in Chicago's Austin community, Allen was shot and killed while driving home. Allen had operated an insurance agency in that neighborhood for four decades. Whether he was specifically targeted or not, his death serves as yet another reminder of the ongoing violence around us. Naperville Sun Twice-weekly News updates from the Naperville area delivered every Monday and Wednesday > Naperville Sun's guide to Christmas lights and holiday house displays: When it comes time to make your way around town to view the homes with the best holiday light displays, this is the authoritative guide to the most can't-miss houses. Coming soon: Keep your eyes peeled for our follow-up guide, "Naperville houses that still have their Christmas lights up on Valentine's Day!" New food, bar options come to downtown Naperville: There's no shortage of fantastic dining and drink options recently opened or coming to downtown Naperville in the new year. Considering we already had a plethora of such establishments to begin with, your New Year's resolutions to eat less and lose weight probably just got a whole lot tougher! Christkindlmarket moves its suburban location to Naperville: This was the story announcing the move, allowing the German-style holiday market and bazaar to nearly double its size with the move to Naperville. And judging by the crowds that visited the first Christkindlmarket held at Naper Settlement, the event was definitely a success! Advertisement I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see which Naperville stories most command our attention over the next 12 months. Until then, happy New Year, and happy reading! Rob Manker is a freelance writer who lives and parents in Naperville. RobManker@gmail.com Twitter: @RobManker The mother of Jurrel Butler said it was difficult to explain how his killing has affected her and her family. "It's the back and forth, never ending. I never get past it," Eloise Anderson said at a sentencing hearing Tuesday for Butler's killer, J.B. Whitelow Jr. Advertisement "When this first came about and J.B.'s name was out there, I just didn't want to believe it," Anderson said. "Jurrel has always had love for you. I don't remember you ever having a squabble," she said of the shooting more than eight years ago. "Why? Was it worth it?" Whitelow, 34, formerly of Hammond, said impassively at the defense table as Judge Diane Ross Boswell explained that Whitelow couldn't respond at the time. Advertisement "I know," Anderson replied. "I just have to put that out there." Whitelow never responded or said anything before he was sentenced to a 35-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter in the killing of Butler, 27, of Hammond. In court last month, Whitelow admitted he came into contact with Butler on Dec. 27, 2008. They got into a brief argument that escalated into a physical altercation. Butler, who outweighed Whitelow by more than 100 pounds, fought back against Whitelow, who admitted he panicked in the heat of the moment and shot Butler in the head twice with a handgun. Anderson also urged Whitelow to come clean on who else was involved. "I know there were others," she said. "May God bless your soul because you're going to need it," she said. Deputy prosecutor Judy Massa said the plea agreement, which outlined the 35-year prison sentence, was a fair resolution to the case and spared Butler's family from the painful ordeal of a jury trial. Whitelow, who is serving an 89-year sentence in the killing of security guard Eric Lowe, also in 2008, will serve his time in the Butler homicide consecutively. Ruth Ann Krause is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. In one pew, a smiling baby was rocked and passed among people. In another, a young boy in a collared shirt sat quietly among a line of adults. In front of the pulpit rested white, child-sized caskets topped with flowers and stuffed bears. Nearly 150 people, from infancy to adulthood, gathered Tuesday morning at Christian Valley Baptist Church for the joint funerals of cousins 5-year-old Jayden Mitchell, 4-year-old A'laya Pickens and 2-year-old Yaleah Cohen, who died in a Christmas Eve apartment fire in the 4400 block of West 23rd Court in Gary. Advertisement "We're not here because these babies died," said Pastor De'Wan Bynum, who gave the eulogy. "We're here because they lived." The three programs for each of the children distributed at the funeral outlined their lives. Advertisement All three went to Pinnacle Childcare in Gary, and the two older children went to Lake Ridge Head Start and Aspire Academy. Sandi Sweeney, director of programs at Lake Ridge Head Start, said A'laya and Jayden loved learning. "They had smiles every day, and they had beautiful smiles," Sweeney said. Sweeney chuckled as she remembered how Jayden loved to eat, and that he "was a superhero" who admired Superman. A Head Start teacher who identified herself as Julie cried as she remembered the two children, telling their parents in the front row, "You raised great kids." "We are grieving. We are devastated because a part of us goes with them as well," Sweeney said. Ronald Brewer, president of Gary Common Council, talked about how deaths like these need to stop. "I have a problem with it, and you should have a problem with it. The community should be outraged," Brewer said. Advertisement No one has been arrested in connection with the deaths. Flowers from the funeral of three children killed in a Gary fire are loaded for transport to the cemetery. (Jim Karczewski / Post-Tribune) As funeral preparations were made, Gary police and fire departments have investigated the fire with the assistance of the Indiana State Fire Marshal. Last week, Gary fire ruled it arson, but has continued to investigate, according to Mark Jones, chief of operations. Gary police have asked people with "knowledge of the events that occurred, leading up to, during and after this tragic fire" to "come forward" with information. There were no investigation updates as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Lt. Dawn Westerfield, and there won't be until the department receives an official ruling from the fire marshal. In his eulogy, Bynum acknowledged how difficult it must be for the families who lost their children in the fire. Advertisement "These three babies, they did not deserve to die. If they was to die, they did not deserve to die like this," Bynum said. But he told the families to "hold on" and turn to support in religion and from the community. "Something good is coming out of this," he said repeatedly. Letters offering condolences and support were read, including from Gary police's chaplain department and Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson. "Remember, you are not alone, and if there's anything our administration can do, we're only a phone call away," the mayor said in her letter. The families of the deceased children filled the first few rows of the church, and they thanked the community and those in attendance for their support. Advertisement According to the programs, Jayden is survived by his mother, Yoasha Carter, of Gary, and Meguel Crook, of Indianapolis; Yaleah by her mother, Yomesha Mitchell, of Gary, and father, Dwayne Cohen, of Chicago; and A'laya by Yoasha Carter and Dishun Pickens, of Terre Haute. Throughout the service, people stood up, clapped and sang. Three women sang gospel songs, such as "My Life is in Your Hands," as an organist and drummer played along. As the funeral came to a close, some people sang "I Believe I Can Fly" as the group exited the church into the light rain outside. rejacobs@post-trib.com Twitter @ruthyjacobs As convicted murderer Dylann Roof prepares to defend himself in the sentencing phase of his trial, a clearer understanding of his motives in gunning down nine African-Americans during Bible study prayer has begun to emerge. In a word, he's a loser as random and ordinary as the proverbial tree falling in a forest bereft of listeners. Advertisement Oh, sure, he hated blacks, Jews and anyone else who didn't fit the white-supremacist profile he adopted relatively recently. A living cliche of white rage, he posed in selfies with Nazi symbols and the Confederate battle flag and said he wanted to start a race war. But even a cursory review of his short resume suggests that what Roof really wanted was attention. He wanted to be the somebody he never was. Despite our insistence that there must be some explanation a "broken brain," as a forensic psychiatrist proposed there may be little more to Roof's story than a sad young man who marinated in one existential crisis after another until deciding that killing people was a certain route to self-possession. Advertisement What goes on inside Roof's mind is anyone's guess, but his actions during the first part of his trial and now his insistence on representing himself during the sentencing phase suggest that he is pursuing a plan of some sort, despite his passivity and seeming lack of interest in the proceedings. When offered a chance possibly his only chance to save himself from execution by allowing testimony this week related to his mental state, Roof declined. He will call no witnesses, he has said, and is otherwise contemptuous of psychological evaluations. In a journal found in his car after the night of the shootings in June 2015, Roof wrote: "Also I want [sic] state that I am morally opposed to psychology. It is a Jewish invention, and does nothing but invent diseases and tell people they have problems when they don't." Thus, one infers, Roof wants people to think he is neither insane nor emotionally damaged and that he committed a crime that was, in fact, premeditated. The jury of nine whites and three blacks apparently agreed and found him guilty on 33 federal charges last month. Those same jurors this week will begin hearing prosecution witnesses, including survivors from that night, as they consider whether to condemn Roof to life in prison or to death. Roof seems to prefer the latter. Even though he has one of the nation's best anti-death penalty lawyers, David Bruck, Roof is declining legal assistance other than advice. A hearing Monday convinced federal Judge Richard Gergel that Roof is competent enough to represent himself. His being competent, meaning that he understands the charges against him, doesn't necessarily mean that he's sane. Psychologists make a distinction between the two, even if the legal system does not. Post Tribune Twice-weekly News updates from Northwest Indiana delivered every Monday and Wednesday > Roof's history would seem to leave little doubt that his mental health was compromised throughout his young life. A child of divorce who attended at least seven schools in nine years, he dropped out after a repeat of the ninth grade. In interviews, his childhood friends and teachers described him as a loner, quiet, timid, physically underdeveloped, not popular but not disliked, smart and bored with school. Advertisement In other words, he was just the type to feel himself an outsider for whom life was unfair. So Roof turned to drugs, worked odd jobs and scoured the internet in search of belonging. He found company among white supremacists, neo-Nazis and others feeling similarly dispossessed who had created an alternate universe of blame and revenge. In their deranged mindset, their miserable lives were the fault of other races and ethnicities, especially blacks and Jews. To a lonely Roof, who may have felt in that most narcissistic of self-delusional laments that no one really "knew" him, white supremacy provided both a salve and a solution. The losing-est loser gravitated toward the extreme of killing the "enemy." Finally, he would be respected by a group that he admired and that, to his mind, accepted him as an equal. But Roof wanted more than acceptance. He wanted to be a legend. Now in the final act in his one-man play, Roof dares jurors to execute him. Tempting. But far better would be to deny him the false glory he seeks and make him live out his days in the knowledge of his insignificance. Kathleen Parker is a columnist for the Washington Post. What's Quickly? It's where readers sound off on the issues of the day. Have a quote, question or quip? Call Quickly at 312-222-2426 or email quickly@post-trib.com. About the Popular Vote Compact, this year it was just a few states Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio that decided the election using the Electoral College. In 2000 when Bush lost the popular vote it was just Florida by 500 votes. So your complaint that California, New York, Illinois and Texas could decide the election is really pointless; it's just a few states deciding things no matter which way you go. I like one person, one vote and the majority wins. Advertisement Taking his cue from Donald Trump, a prominent Israeli official is referring to our Secretary of State John Kerry as "pathetic." Is this how Trump intends to Make America Great Again, by encouraging disrespect of American officials and institutions around the globe? Don't be fooled by the Quickly barker that wants you to believe that the Republican Party is laden with incredible wealth. There are more millionaire Democrats than there are Republicans. Advertisement Tens of millions of Republicans, many of them alleging themselves to be Christian, are just giddy at the prospect of Obamacare being repealed and millions of people losing their health insurance. The Bears organization took out a full page ad in a Chicago paper thanking everyone for their passion. Obviously it wasn't meant for the team, because they didn't show any passion for any game. Don't knock the Queen's hats. My wife dressed up in a big hat, went to a horse race, met the Queen in her hat, and had a lovely conversation. Maybe your mood would be brightened with a nice hat. Post Tribune Twice-weekly News updates from Northwest Indiana delivered every Monday and Wednesday > "Doesn't pay to be cocky" says the Trump supporter. I just looked up "cocky" in the dictionary, and Donald Trump's picture (or an unkempt orangutan, I never can tell) is next to that word. Also yeah, I'm pretty sure one of the most popular presidents in recent memory could beat that piece of trash in an election. Why is it all of a sudden, residents of the west side of Hobart are being harassed with traffic tickets by the Hobart Police Department? Could it be to pay for new black top, or because the west side of Hobart has a lot of unpaid property taxes? You are on notice citizens of Hobart! We have a country with some of the most brilliant minds. Why can't we get them to fix the problems we face, instead of leaving it to these people who think they know it all? Most of our past presidents were politicians. They make terrible presidents because they make false promises that swell peoples heads and then never carry through on them. Our best past president was a past Hollywood actor. Our present president-elect is a true great leader in that he is a proven manager in the business world and knows how to get things done. I think that you have a problem with Trump complainers because they speak the truth. You have no comeback other than to insult them because you know that they are right. Advertisement Just wait till the GOP e-mails start getting released. You know that is just a matter of time. As soon as certain people don't get their way, you can expect a release. Read more at www.post-trib.com/quickly On behalf of students from the class of 1962 of the then Oakview Junior High School in Skokie, we wanted to publicly thank Principal Allison Stein, of the now Oliver McCracken Middle School, for her openness in welcoming us to revisit our junior high school on the occasion of our 50th anniversary of graduation from Niles High School East Division. Our group included folks from a variety of professions, including a doctor, several lawyers, an actuary, fitness, travel and education. We revisited Skokie from California, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin, along with folks who stayed closer to home in Skokie and nearby suburbs. As a group, we benefited greatly from Skokie's commitment to education over 50 years ago, and were gratified to see that commitment amplified and today's students being afforded opportunities to learn in current tense laboratory classrooms, and wonderful music rooms. We had an opportunity to visit with some students and teachers and staff and absorb some of their enthusiasm. Advertisement Our junior high school experience included a diverse student body which provided a rich cultural atmosphere for us. Today's Oliver McMcracken Middle School appears to have even greater diversity. We applaud Skokie residents for embracing their diversity and supporting the education of our future leaders. Thank you, Principal Stein for allowing us a glance of nostalgia and a look into our future. Advertisement Victoria Gillio Williams Bay, Wis. Oakview/McCracken Class of 1962 File photo: A foreign cargo ship is seen at Qingdao Port in east China's Shandong Province, Dec. 8, 2016. China's exports in yuan terms ended previous drops to rise 5.9 percent year on year in November, while imports continued to pick up steam by increasing 13 percent, customs data showed on Thursday. (Xinhua/Yu Fangping) As 2017 begins, a significant year on China's political calendar, the world is watching closely on how China moves toward its two centenary goals. Although China's development is in a period of strategic opportunities, the world's second largest economy is facing complex external and internal environments. Externally, people are concerned with the sluggish recovery of the global economy, lack of growth momentum, weak trade and investment, and the backlash against globalization, not to mention terrorist attacks and the refugee crisis. Internally, China's decades-long reform drive is now in a deep-water zone where easier reforms have been accomplished and remaining reforms are hard nuts to crack. In the face of the need to rebalance the economy, China is tackling problems regarding reform, development and stability. Yet despite these challenges, Chinese people are more confident than ever that the country will realize its two centenary goals, pegged to the 100th anniversaries of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the People's Republic of China. According to the twin goals, by 2020 China's GDP and per-capita income should double from 2010 levels, and the building of a moderately prosperous society should be complete. By the middle of this century, China should become a modern socialist country that is "prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious." The Chinese people's confidence comes from the firm leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core. The core leadership is of vital importance to the country and the Party. Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the ruling party led by Xi has contributed new thoughts to state governance by drawing up a four-pronged comprehensive strategy of building an all-round moderately prosperous society, deepening reform, advancing rule of law, and strict Party governance. In the economic sphere, Xi has promised extensive supply-side structural reform, including reducing pollution and phasing out excess capacity. The country is seeking progress while maintaining stability and adapting to the new normal of economic development, by pursuing innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development. In addition, State Council agencies have canceled or delegated administrative approval power on 618 items, meeting targets ahead of schedule in a bid to cut red tape and streamline governance. Breakthroughs have also been made in judicial reform, fiscal and tax reform, state-owned enterprise reform, and in the military where a tiered command system including the Central Military Commission and five theater commands - replacing the original seven military area commands - was installed as part of the reform of the military organization and a culmination of Xi's military thought. The results are encouraging. Today, China is one of the world's fastest growing major economies and a top trading body. It boasts a strong military of over 2 million people and is the biggest contributor to international peacekeeping personnel among permanent members of the UN Security Council. It had seen its rural population living in poverty decrease from 770 million to 55.75 million between 1978 and 2015. An additional 10 million were lifted out of poverty last year, and China is aiming to lift all out of poverty by 2020. Never before have the Chinese people been so close to realizing their dreams. In the meantime, the ruling Party's battle against corruption has gained crushing momentum, netting both "tigers" and "flies." Among the tigers felled by the campaign were Zhou Yongkang, a former member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee; Bo Xilai, former Party chief of Chongqing Municipality; Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong, both former top generals and vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission; as well as Ling Jihua and Su Rong, former vice chairmen of China's top political advisory body. As Xi once said: "All people are equal before the law and regulations, and the enforcement of such rules allows no privilege or exception." Domestic progress aside, China is also moving closer to the center of the world stage. China hosted the G20 Hangzhou Summit and Beijing APEC economic leaders' meeting, prescribing remedies for global economic governance. Pressing flesh and brokering deals, Xi's busy globetrotting, which has already taken him to 51 countries in 24 trips over about four years, has brought China closer to its neighbors and distant friends alike, setting a new global agenda for peace, progress, prosperity and stability. In particular, the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by the Chinese president has been participated in by more than 100 countries and international organizations, while the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, with 57 member states, has started operation. Xi's vision and efforts toward a fairer global governance system and a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation, as well as his busy globetrotting have helped China create an open, inclusive and responsible image on the international stage. The 19th CPC National Congress will convene in 2017. Altogether, over 88 million Party members will choose 2,300 delegates who will assemble in Beijing's Great Hall of the People in the second half of this year and elect a new Central Committee. It is expected that by then the CPC will further elaborate on how to rule itself, how to lead the world's largest developing nation to lift more people out of poverty and advance key reforms, as well as how to build a community of shared destiny for all humankind. You are here: Home Flash Eight suspects have been detained on Monday over the nightclub attack early Sunday in Istanbul that killed 39 and injured over 60 others, local media reported. A gunman stormed Reina nightclub and shot at hundreds of people gathering there for New Year celebrations, leaving at least 39 dead and over 60 others injured. Many of the victims were foreign nationals. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the carnage in a statement posted on social media. Police have launched a manhunt for the gunman, who remains on the run after fleeing the nightclub in chaos. Flash French President Francois Hollande vowed on Monday to continue supporting Iraq in its fight against the Islamic State (IS) militant group and to help in the reconstruction efforts of damaged cities. "My visit to Iraq is to convey support and solidarity from France to the operation of liberating Mosul," Hollande said during a joint news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. "France will actively participate in the reconstruction efforts in Mosul after defeating the IS there," Hollande said. Hollande added that recapturing Mosul, Iraq's second largest city and the last major IS stronghold in the country, was "a matter of weeks not years. The sooner the better." However, Hollande cautioned that efforts must then focus on Raqa in Syria. "What will happen in Iraq and Syria will affect the security situation in France and Europe," Hollande said. As for French jihadi citizens, Hollande said France will fight any French jihadist it locates in the battlefields of Iraq, pledging to arrest them if they return home and to work on de-radicalizing their children. According to French diplomatic sources, there are around 60 French citizens fighting with IS in Iraq's northern city of Mosul, and hundreds elsewhere in Iraq and Syria. "We will fight them like we do all jihadists, since they are attacking us, masterminding attacks on our own territory," Hollande told a news conference. Abadi, for his part, hailed France's participation in the anti-IS international coalition, asserting "the international coalition has no combative forces on the ground, and their role is only to support Iraqi forces." Abadi confirmed that Iraqi forces "are in the last stages of eliminating Daesh (the Arabic acronym for IS) from Iraq." "We hope it will be eradicated from the whole region," the Iraqi leader said. Hollande also met with his Iraqi counterpart, Fuad Masoum, and the two discussed bilateral relations as well as the war against IS. "We stressed in our talks on the need for French support to Iraq in the current stage, including training Iraqi forces, in addition to discussing a national reconciliation,"a statement issued by Masoum's office quoted him as saying. During his visit, Hollande also met with Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jubouri, and the two discussed the fight against IS and the status of displaced persons. "The victories of the Iraqi security forces came as a result of support from friendly countries," Jubouri said. "We want the international community to exert efforts to relieve displaced persons through cooperating with the Iraqi government and international as well as local humanitarian organizations." Hollande, travelling with Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, flew into Arbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan, Monday afternoon. France has around 500 troops fighting alongside the U.S.-led coalition forces, the second largest contributor to the international coalition, which has carried out thousands of air strikes against the IS in Iraq and Syria, in addition to providing Iraqi forces with military equipment and training. This is Hollande's second visit to Iraq as French president. He last visited Iraq in September 2014. Hollande's visit comes amid a major offensive by Iraqi security forces, backed by an international coalition, to drive IS militants out from their last major stronghold in Mosul. Flash Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu folds his statement after speaking during a Likud faction meeting at the Knesset (Israel's Parliament) in Jerusalem on January 2, 2017. [Xinhua] Israeli police investigators interrogated on Monday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over corruption suspicions, Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit confirmed in a statement. The interrogation ended at around 23:00 local time (2100 GMT), after at least three hours, a police spokesperson said. It was the first time the General Attorney and the police officially acknowledged the investigation, which has been conducted for months with dozens of unconfirmed reports in the local media. Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit said in a special statement that Netanyahu was interrogated over suspicions that he received "benefits" from businessmen. He confirmed that the investigation was conducted under caution, meaning Netanyahu was investigated as a suspect. The investigation involves "a slew of allegations that the prime minister allegedly committed offenses in the field of integrity," Mendelblit said, without elaborating. The initial investigation led to several other affairs, Mendelblit said. The probe has been conducted for several months but in December the investigators found evidence that "changed the evidential situation of the case," leading to Monday's questioning under caution of Netanyahu. Earlier on Monday, black screens were placed outside the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem to block the view of journalists seeking to photograph the police investigators. Netanyahu's office rejected the suspicions against him as "baseless." In a meeting of ministers from his Likud party, he said "They won't come to anything because there isn't anything." Israel's Channel 2 TV news said that Netanyahu is under criminal investigation over suspicion that he and members of his family received "favors," including gifts and money, from Israeli and foreigner businessmen. Media said the police are investigating a second graft affair under complete secrecy. Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper reported that Ron Lauder, an American billionaire, was linked to the case. Lauder was Netanyahu's close friend until their relations reportedly soured. According to the Ha'aretz, Lauder was investigated by the police when he arrived in Israel for the funeral of the late president, Shimon Peres, in September. During his questioning, Lauder confirmed that he had given Netanyahu "various gifts, including a suit, and that he had also financed a trip abroad for the prime minister's son, Yair," Ha'aretz reported. Flash At least 56 people were killed in a brutal prison riot in Manaus, the largest city in northern Brazil, and another four were killed in a separate riot in the same prison, authorities said on Monday. Image provided by A Critica journal on Jan. 2, 2017 shows family members of prisoners standing outside the Anisio Jobim Prison Complex, in Manaus, northern Brazil. [Photo/Xinhua] The riot, which broke out Sunday afternoon and lasted 17 hours through the night, resulted from a fight in the Anisio Jobim Penitentiary Complex between members of two rival crime organizations -- Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), a drug gang based in Sao Paulo and having expanded to other states, and Familia do Norte. According to a statement by public security officials, the 56 dead appeared to be PCC members. Meanwhile, 184 prisoners were confirmed to have escaped, while around 40 have been caught under an operation, according to the state penitentiary secretariat. The riot was brought under control by around 7 a.m. AMT (1100 GMT) on Monday, Amazonas' Public Security Secretary Sergio Fontes told a press conference. Fontes said several decapitated bodies were thrown over the prison wall, and most of those killed came from one gang. "This was another chapter in the silent and ruthless war of drug trafficking," he said. During the riot, 12 prison wardens were taken hostage, but all of them were released uninjured, according to Epitacio Almeida, representative of the local bar association's Human Rights Commission. Luis Carlos Valois, judge in Amazonas, who led negotiations with the inmates to end the riot, told Daily O Globo that many of those killed were executed on Sunday. The daily quoted him as saying that "piles of bodies were scattered along the corridors, severed limbs in the corners and decapitated heads around the place. The floor was awash with blood." Just as the riot began in one unit, dozens of prisoners in the second unit started a mass escape in what authorities said was a coordinated effort to distract guards. The situation was quickly brought under control. Brazil's prison system is notoriously overcrowded, which has led to several deadly riots in the past. The Anisio Jobim prison had a capacity of 592 people but actually housed 1,224 prisoners, according to Fontes. The Amazonas government has decided to move around 130 inmates in order to protect them. Flash Iraqi security forces and on-passers inspect a charred vehicle on the site of a bomb attack in Sadr City, a majority Shiite neighbourhood in the northeast of the capital Baghdad, on January 2, 2017. [Xinhua] A total of 37 people were killed and 86 others wounded on Monday in a wave of bomb attacks targeting crowded areas, mainly in predominantly Shiite neighborhoods, in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said. The deadliest attack occurred before noon when a booby-trapped car detonated at the crowded 55 intersection in the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City in eastern part of Baghdad, leaving 35 people killed and 61 others wounded, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The massive blast destroyed several shops nearby and many stalls at an outdoor market, and setting fire to several vehicles, the source said. Later in the day, the extremist Islamic State (IS) militant group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on Islamic websites. The group repeatedly claimed responsibility for deadly attacks targeting Iraqi security forces as well as crowded areas, including markets, cafes and mosques across the country. Also in the day, a booby-trapped car went off near Um al-Tubool mosque at the entrance of Dakhliyah neighborhood in southern Baghdad, killing a civilian and wounding 10 others, the source said. The attack apparently targeted the convoy of a Sunni cleric, who escaped the attack unharmed, the source said, adding that Sheikh Mahdi al-Sumaida'i was likely targeted for his close ties with the predominantly Shiite government. Another car bomb ripped through Zaafaraniyah neighborhood in southeastern part of Baghdad, wounding three people, while a fourth car bomb detonated at the garage of Kendi Hospital in eastern central the capital, wounding four people, he said. Meanwhile, a roadside bomb went off near al-Chwadir Hospital in Car City neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, wounding five people, the source said. In addition, a sticky bomb attached to a car detonated in Baladiyat neighborhood in eastern part of Baghdad, killing the driver and wounding three others, the source added. The attacks in Baghdad came two days after a deadly attack claimed by the IS group when two of its suicide bombers detonated their explosive vests at the crowded car spare part market in Sinak area in downtown Baghdad, leaving 28 people killed and 53 others injured, according to official reports. The attack came amid a major offensive by Iraqi security forces, backed by an international coalition, to drive out IS militants from its last major stronghold in and around Mosul. Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the IS, on the US, which invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003. Flash The relationship between China and Argentina, which will celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties in 2017, will reach a new high this year. Yang Wanming, the Chinese ambassador to Argentina, told Xinhua "Both sides will organize a series of activities to celebrate (the anniversary), as a Chinese proverb goes: The relationship between two countries is based on the affection between two countries' civilians." The occasion of the 45th anniversary "should be taken as a new opportunity ... to help all types of exchanges and mutual visits to deepen knowledge and friendship between our societies," the ambassador said. Yang also said that Argentine President Mauricio Macri will make an official visit to China in the first quarter of 2017. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties on Feb. 19, 1972, the relations between Beijing and Buenos Aires have been enjoying a healthy development. China and Argentina have forged a comprehensive strategic partnership. Currently, China is Argentina's second-largest trading partner. China is also involved in a series of emblematic projects in the South American country, ranging from hydroelectric, nuclear and clean energy, to railway and housing. In an interview with Xinhua, Macri mentioned the "enormous importance" and "complementarity" of Argentina's links with China. Macri said Argentina is committed to deepening its friendship with China and is ready to closely communicate and coordinate with China in global affairs, while meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in September last year in eastern China's Hangzhou city ahead of the Group of 20 (G20) Hangzhou Summit. "The countries are good partners. They maintain fruitful political dialogues in many aspects, the commercial agenda has also grown significantly. Economic and social actors have benefited financially, with the quantity of treaties and bilateral agreements being evidence of this," said Sergio Cesarin, an Argentine expert on Chinese affairs. Cesarin, the coordinator of the Center for Asia-Pacific and India Studies at the National University of Tres de Febrero, said that the last 45 years have seen "permanent growth" in the relationship between the two countries. Meanwhile, Yang said that "for over half a century, Chinese immigrants to Argentina carried traditional values with them, such as being hardworking, generosity, honesty and trustworthiness." Yang said Chinese immigration "has helped social and economic development in Argentina, as well as civil, economic and commercial cooperation, which have become an integral part of the local society." For Maria Cecilia Peralta and Nadia Radulovich, co-founders of the Asia Viewers consultancy, the interaction between China and Argentina is becoming ever more diverse in various fields. They said that China "is a very important strategic partner for our country" due to "the cooperation in multiple fields, including the economy, production, innovation in science and technology, tourism and education, among others." "The coming years are very promising for China and Argentina to build more concrete, mature and ordered cooperation and active ties," they said. By Lena Ge, China Aviation Daily | Jan. 03, 2017 China's Hainan Airlines is expanding its network to Cambodia, with the launch of Sanya-Phnum Penh route on December 30, 2016. The Haikou-based carrier would fly Boeing 737-800 aircraft twice weekly between Sanya and Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. To facilitate outbound travel, the airline has opened another two chartered flights to Luang Prabang and Vientiane, Laos around the New Year. Besides, Hainan Airlines announced it will open a chartered flight service next Wednesday connecting Sanya with Siem Reap, the gateway to Cambodia's Angkor ruins. Hainan Airlines, the fourth largest airline in terms of fleet size in mainland China, has been operating for 23 years and has more than 160 aircraft in service. A clerk counts yuan bank notes and US dollar bills at a branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Huaibei, East China's Anhui province, Nov 28, 2012. [Photo/IC] BEIJING - China's new rules on cash transactions and overseas transfers are not capital control, an economist with the central bank said, dismissing concerns about tightening restrictions on capital outflows. Banks will be required to report all yuan-denominated cash transactions exceeding 50,000 yuan (around $7,100) to the People's Bank of China (PBOC), down from the current level of 200,000 yuan, said a document released by the central bank on Friday. Cross-border transfers more than 200,000 yuan by individuals will also be subject to the report process. In terms of foreign currencies, the report threshold remains at the equivalent of $10,000 for both cash transactions and overseas transfers. The policy stoked worries that the government is trying to impose capital control in a disguised form. "It is not capital control at all," central bank economist Ma Jun said. Ma explained that the responsibility of report will be assumed by financial institutions, and there will be neither extra documentation nor official approval procedures for businesses and individuals. "They will not feel any change," Ma added. The current each person's annual foreign exchange purchase quota of $50,000 is unchanged, and normal activities, ranging from business investment and operation abroad to individuals' overseas trips and study, will not be affected, Ma said. The PBOC has said the move aims to improve monitoring of money laundering, financing for terrorists, graft and tax fraud, instead of targeting common business activities. In fact, world's major countries also have similar rules, Ma said, citing that transactions worth $10,000 or more are subject to reporting in the United States, Canada and Australia. Regulators in those countries can even adopt stricter rules if necessary after obtaining legal authorization, Ma said. E-commerce companies said they will make great efforts to boost traditional enterprises and upgrade the real economy as the government published plans to develop e-commerce business during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20). The plan has set goals to increase the trading volume of e-commerce to 40 trillion yuan ($5.76 trillion) by 2020, including 10 trillion yuan from online retail businesses. The e-commerce market is expected to employ 50 million people by the end of 2020, according to the plan. The plan also set out five tasks to expand the e-commerce market, such as speeding the upgrading of e-commerce, promoting the deep integration of e-commerce with traditional industry, improving the public service system of e-commerce and optimizing the governance of e-commerce. JD.com Inc, China's second-largest e-commerce player, said the plan is to improve the quality and promote the upgrading of e-commerce, which will play an important role in driving the transformation of real economy, deepening supply-side reform and achieving the integration of the internet and the real economy. The company said cutting-edge technologies, including big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and intelligent hardware, will help the development of e-commerce. And, e-commerce players will utilize new technologies extensively during the period of the plan. Chinese cross-border B2B e-trade company DHgate said: "The plan is put forward to promote the deep integration of e-commerce with traditional industries. We have built bridges for small and medium-sized enterprises to enter overseas markets since 2004." In the future, DHgate will help traditional enterprises transform and upgrade, as well as find new growth points for the country's foreign trade. China is the world's largest e-commerce market, with e-commerce market turnover reaching 16.4 trillion yuan. The turnover of the online shopping market reached 3.8 trillion yuan last year, according to iResearch Consulting Group. E-commerce will help drive innovation in healthcare, education, culture and tourism, becoming a key engine for economic growth, according to the plan. Moreover, the plan promotes the development of cross-border e-commerce. Kaola, a shopping platform run by online gaming services provider NetEase Inc, said the plan is good news for cross-border e-commerce and beneficial for the whole industry's healthy and high-efficient development. The company plans to cultivate specialized talent in cross-border e-commerce and to continue to create more employment opportunities, and boost the skills of employees. Lu Zhenwang, CEO of the Shanghai-based Wanqing Consultancy, said the plan offers a clear development target for e-commerce and indicates the direction for its future development. "The next step should be how to better integrate traditional industry with e-commerce," Lu said. The planned new air route linking Guangzhou and Mexico City is anticipated to enhance trade and travel between South China and the Latin American country. China Southern Airlines plans to launch the Guangzhou-Vancouver-Mexico City route in May, flying Boeing 787 Dreamliners three times a week, said the Guangzhou-based carrier. Carlos Giralt, consul general of Mexico, who is based in Guangzhou, said: "It will boost exchanges of trade, commerce, people, tourism and many other cultural activities. I hope that we will see more people from Mexico visiting this region and more people from this region visiting Mexico." "More Chinese will be able to look into Central and Southern America, with Mexico as a hub," he said. A route is currently available covering Shanghai, Tijuana and Mexico City. More than 60,000 Mexican travelers visited China and 100,000 Chinese people traveled to Mexico in 2015, with 2016 seeing slightly higher figures, he said, adding some other Chinese airlines are working on new routes between the two countries. The total trade between Guangdong province, an economic hub of China, and Mexico stood at $10.5 billion last year, including more than $8 billion exported from Guangdong. In this trade, Guangdong offers shoes, telephone, electronic products, machinery equipment and electric appliances. Giralt said: "Trade between Mexico and Guangdong is far bigger than trade between Mexico and some important countries in Europe and South America." The new route is set to meet the demand for connectivity between South China and Central America. With Mexico being a bridge between North and South America, it will promote the exchange and cooperation between Mexico and China, said Wang Xiaohui, manager of flight arrangement at China Southern. For almost 10 years Mexican agricultural products have been available to the Chinese market and recently they have increased their penetration. Mexican products currently available in China include avocados, nuts, raspberries, blackberries, abalone, lobster, beef and pork. The two countries are working on new agreements to bring more Mexican products such as dairy productsincluding baby formulablueberries, bananas and mangoes to China. There is a long learning curve for Mexican producers about the opportunities that China offers, in particular Guangdong province, Giralt said. "The most important thing for the new flight for me is that it will open more direct opportunities to know about each other's regions. Mexico and China are on opposite sides of the world but we have a lot of things in common. We like food. We cherish our family, culture and tradition." On China's transformation toward an innovation-based economy, Giralt said: "China is already on the right track to transform itself into a more sophisticated economy in terms of technology. This will benefit trade with Mexico." A worker processes boards for guitars at a musical instrument company in Huizhou, Guangdong province. The city has more than 200 guitar-related businesses, which own more than 120 brands and produce more than 60 percent of China's guitars. [Photo/China Daily] Before World Sound Music (Huizhou) Co Ltd was founded 25 years ago, the Chinese mainland had very few companies engaged in the manufacture of guitars. "At the time, mainland companies made guitars, mostly by copying foreign items either in design and technology," said Danny Tsai, general manager of World Sound Music. Tsai's father, from Taiwan province, set up the guitar manufacturing company in 1991 in Huiyang, a district of Huizhou in Guangdong province, after ending cooperation with a Guangzhou-based State-owned guitar company. "Since then, a growing number guitar companies from Taiwan as well as South Korea have moved part of their processing businesses to the Pearl River Delta, thus bringing in technologies to the Chinese mainland," said Tsai. With more overseas investment being introduced to the district, Huiyang, with a population of 615,000 people, has now developed more than 200 guitar-related businesses, producing more than 60 percent of China's guitars. "My father invested in the company here, because of lower production and labor costs in the 1990s. But we are facing great pressure as both production and labor costs have increased dramatically and foreign demand has decreased significantly," said Tsai. Like Tsai's company, a growing number of local guitar manufacturers have been struggling to make their business growth sustainable as overseas demand is down and domestic labor and production costs are up. In the first few years since its establishment, Tsai's company was mainly engaged in processing products for overseas branded guitar groups. "We realized that we should not simply be a processor for overseas guitar companies. Development of our own brands has been a priority," said Tsai. The company started investing in building its own brand, J&D Guitars, in the past decade. "The rising labor and production costs in the Pearl River Delta have made us less profitable. We need to build our own brands for sustainable development," said Tsai. The company's branded guitars now enjoy hot sales in the domestic and overseas markets, including the United States, Europe and Brazil, according to Tsai. A technician fixes strings to a guitar at a musical instrument factory in Zaozhuang, Shandong province. [Photo/China Daily] According to the Huiyang Guitar Industrial Association, the district has now developed more than 120 self-owned brands. "Building brands would help introduce more industrial technology talent," said Tsai. The introduction of advanced automated equipment also plays a vital role in the growth of the business. "No more will we be simply a traditional processor, that focuses on mass production by employing large number of workers in production lines," said Tsai. In the past, more than 600 workers were needed in a single production line. "After the introduction of smart equipment, we need only half of the workers in a single processing line. Most importantly, efficiency has been greatly increased," said Tsai. The company is now able to produce 15,000 electric guitars, 13,000 acoustic guitars and 20,000 ukuleles each month. "We also give priority to the domestic market, by promoting our products on e-commerce platforms," said Tsai. Huizhou Tom Music Instrument Co, a company engaged in the design, production and sales of ukuleles, known as the Hawaiian guitars, also attaches importance to the domestic market in terms of growing demand. "We have shifted focus to the growing domestic market since 2013, where the ukulele has become more popular," said Xie Baojian, general manager of Huizhou Tom Music Instrument. The company was expected to produce more than 140,000 ukuleles in 2016, with sales increasing more than 30 percent year-on-year. According to Xie, sales on top Chinese e-commerce platforms such as JD and Tmall now account for almost half of the company's total sales. Building brands, upgrading processing facilities and promoting products on the domestic market have helped encourage local guitar manufacturers to attach more importance to product quality, according to Yan Wei, secretary-general of the Huiyang Guitar Industrial Association. "Only through improving quality can local guitar manufacturers make sustainable development," said Yan. Usually, manufacture of a guitar is started only after the raw wood for the body and neck have been air-dried naturally for roughly six months, with an extra month of artificial drying. "After more than 20 years of development, we now have a healthy guitar manufacturing industry covering from raw materials, accessories and processing lines to sales," said Yan. China Investment Corp chief says it is seeking Belt and Road opportunities China's $800 billion sovereign wealth fund aims to be a long-term investor in international investments and increase its close work with partners to seek opportunities under the Belt and Road Initiative, its top executive said. China Investment Corp President Tu Guangshao said cross-border investment is vital for China's economic growth and structural adjustment. Tu Guangshao, president of China Investment Corp. [Photo provided to China Daily] "As a financial investor, China Investment Corp is not seeking to control industry. Instead, we want to cooperate with partners at home and abroad to participate in global investment and create a win-win situation," Tu said. His comments came after the latest move, with China Investment Corp, Hopu Investment Management and Hillhouse Capital Management holding talks about making a joint offer for Singapore-based Global Logistic Properties Ltd, according to news agency Bloomberg in November. Tu said regional cooperation is an important part of globalization and the Belt and Road Initiative is a key development of regional cooperation. He added that CIC will work closely with its partners to seek opportunities under the initiative. There are challenges in cross-boarder investment, such as the relationship between economic benefits and social responsibility, labor and environmental protection and the difficulties in developing multilateral investment agreements, according to Tu. Jiang Guorong, a managing director of UBS Group AG, said China's cross-border investment had developed rapidly since 2015 because of a number of factors. "Increasing demand for companies' business, increases in production capacity and output, overseas technology and capital and global asset allocation, can explain the booming cross-border investments," Jiang said. Jiang said developed economies such as the United States and Europe had been popular destinations for cross-border investments, while countries along the Belt and Road would be increasingly attractive. Ding Xuedong, chairman of China Investment Corporation, said that CIC in future would pay more attention to alternative investmentsasset classes other than stocks, bonds and cashand set up a sustainable development mechanism to prevent risks. Previously, CIC mainly invested in equities and fixed income. According to CIC's financial report of 2015, China Investment Corp had assets totaling more than $810 billion under management by the end of 2015. The report also said that due to volatilities in international financial marketsand foreign exchange losses triggered by an appreciating US dollarCIC's overseas investments generated a dollar-denominated negative net return of-2.96 percent in 2015 and a net cumulative annualized return of 4.58 percent since CIC's inception. The Chinese economy has adapted to its "new normal" in 2016 amid rising concerns on GDP growth, supply-side structural reform, monetary policy, renminbi, and more. With the new year approaching, how will the economy fare in 2017? Here are six areas where experts call for close attention. Stable growth A wind farm at Rudong in Jiangsu province. [Photo by Xu Congjun / for China Daily] Despite remaining downward pressure, China's economic growth stabilized at 6.7 percent in the first three quarters of 2016, scotching rumors of a hard landing. In 2017, stabilizing the economy will still be prioritized by policymakers given the Communist Party of China will hold its 19th National Congress in Beijing during the second half of the year. Economists predict a "soft landing" for China's economy, while noting that proactive fiscal policy will continue to play a positive role. "China's steady growth will be guaranteed by both strong growth potential and effective macro-control policies," said Zhang Liqun, a researcher with the Development Research Center under the State Council. In 2017, the growth of real estate investment and sales will slow, but the negative effect could be offset by infrastructure investment, said Robin Xing, chief China economist with Morgan Stanley. Iranian oil workers at a refinery south of the capital Teheran. The country is wooing foreign investment in the energy sector. [Photo/Agencies] China National Petroleum Corp, one of the country's oil giants, has been invited to bid for Iran's crude and natural gas development projects as the Persian Gulf state seeks investments in energy. CNPC, together with 28 other oil companies including Total SA, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and PJSC Gazprom, are among the international companies that have qualified to bid for tenders, according to Iran's oil ministry. If CNPC wins, the deal would be in the interests of both countries, reviving Iran's energy industry which has been hard hit by international sanctions while satisfying China, the world's second-largest economy, which has strong energy demand. Iran is trying to fast-track projects to boost oil and gas production amid low prices and wants to sign agreements as soon as possible. However, Alastair Syme, an oil analyst at Citigroup Inc in London, warned companies to be wary of investing too quickly or too much in Iran. According to a senior engineer with CNPC, despite years of sanctions leading to a hammered economy and infrastructure, Iran, with the world's biggest natural gas reserves, estimated by BP Plc at 34 trillion cubic meters, still has significant strategic importance, with its substantial reserves of oil and gas. Strategically located in the Middle East and sharing land borders with 15 nations, Iran also plays a crucial role in the Belt and Road Initiative as an energy hub, he said. According to CNPC, the company has been present in Iran since 2004 and is engaged in oil and gas operations and oilfield services. In 2009, the company signed contracts with National Iranian Oil Co to develop the North Azadegan Oilfield and the Phase 11 of the South Pars gas field, which began trial production in 2015. Iran exported 500,000 to 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day to China in 2015, and the country recently signed a $4.8 billion natural gas development project with CNPC and Total. Iran aims to attract more than $100 billion in foreign investment to boost the country's energy sector. Iran has doubled its exports as crude prices rallied. Iran boosted oil output in 2016 by 870,000 barrels per day to 3.67 million bpd by November, and has reached several preliminary agreements with international companies, despite no concrete deals having been signed yet, Bloomberg said. The country has set a target of daily output of 5.7 million bpd of crude and condensate early in the next decade, according to Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh. Workers assemble new-energy cars at a workshop of Weidong New-Energy Car Co Ltd in Zouping, Shandong province. [Photo/China Daily] China will impose stricter standards for new-energy vehicle manufacturers and cut the subsidies for pure electric cars in a move aimed at weeding out companies that lack the ability to provide quality products. The government has raised the technology threshold for makers of new-energy vehiclescomprising electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell carsby setting standards on energy consumption and driving distance on a single charge, according to a statement posted by the Ministry of Finance on its website. Subsidies on pure electric as well as hybrid plug-in passenger cars will decline by 20 percent from Jan 1, and a cap has been placed on the subsidies at local-government levels, the ministry said. The steps will likely lead to a shakeout in China's electric-vehicle industry with 200-plus companies, as many may not be able to meet the more stringent guidelines. Generous subsidies helped cultivate a gold-rush mentality, prompting concerns the industry is plagued by too many manufacturers lacking the technical know-how to produce electric or hybrid cars that measure up to those from Tesla Motors Inc or General Motors Co. "In the long term, this is going to help the industry to develop in a healthy way, but in the short term it'll put pressure on even the big manufacturers," Ka Leong Lo, Hong Kong-based analyst at Maybank Kim Eng Securities, said by telephone. "The reason the ministry is putting a cap on local government subsidies is mainly because it wants to weed out frauds." Subsidies at local-government levels have been capped at 50 percent of that offered by the central government, according to the ministry's statement. The subsidies from the central government to EVs will be limited to 44,000 yuan ($6,333) for those with a driving range of 250 kilometers and above. The central government has limited subsidies to electric buses at 300,000 yuan, compared with the maximum 500,000 yuan offered earlier, according to the ministry. After a nine-month investigation, the finance ministry identified in September five manufacturers of electric vehicles for scamming the government of about $150 million in subsidies, citing them as "classic cases" unearthed in a probe into 90 major new-energy vehicle makers covering 401,000 vehicles. The rules in China are being tightened as the world's biggest auto industry grapples with overcapacity and high inventories. Carmakers are seeing pressure on their profit margins with the spread of cheap models, while stringent fuel-economy and emissions targets are set to raise costs. Bloomberg Ren Zhengfei (left), founder of the mighty Huawei empire, and Zong Qinghou, a beverage magnate. [Photo provided to China Daily] It's a traditional holiday season when many would pamper themselves with lavish spending. So indulge me while I wax lyrical about some penny-pinching Chinese billionaires. One of them, Zong Qinghou, a beverage magnate with an estimated personal worth of $16 billion, recently caused a stir for traveling second class on a bullet train from Hangzhou, an eastern provincial capital where his company is based, to nearby boom town Yiwu. It was a 50 yuan ($7.21), half-an-hour trip that the 72-year-old billionaire appeared to be enjoying as he chatted with his fellow passengers including a toddler. First and business classes costing 85 yuan and 158 yuan, respectively, were much more spacious and comfortable. His staff said they had planned to travel first class. But after Zong realized there weren't enough tickets for everybody, he offered to downgrade. After posts of his ride later appeared on social media, people went gaga over the humility of one of the richest men in China, who could spend $10,000 every hour for the rest of his life or longer without going bankrupt. Yet traveling second class was just one example of his stripped-down lifestyle including a cheap wardrobe, light meals, and total yearly living costs of about 50,000 yuan, according to people close to him. Earlier, Ren Zhengfei, founder of the mighty Huawei empire, had also become an internet sensation, when he was photographed waiting alone at midnight in a line for taxi outside a Chinese airport, with an cellphone to his ear. I've been thinking why people are so interested in their down-to-earth ways of living. Some probably have found them quirky, incarnating an oxymoron that contradicts their stereotypical images. Chinese tend to believe that higher social status comes with greater purchasing power. So the successful should buy conspicuous or socially visible luxury products or services to indicate their higher social standing. The roots of the Chinese conspicuous consumption could run deep in the tradition. In a study of thousands of Chinese luxury consumers that was recently published in the journal Brand Research, Professor Zhang Mengxia from the University of International Business and Economics found that traditional cultural concepts play a part in their behavior. While wealthy consumers with a high need for social status could be influenced by Confucian ideas of social hierarchy, Taoism motivates them in their pursuit of the finer things in life, the paper said. It's true that more rich people now seek self-enjoyment rather than flaunting their wealth. However, the wealthy elite's extravagance remains standard fare in mass media that only reinforces perceptions of the Chinese rich associated with unabashed spending. But isn't it their own business how the rich spend their money? How will all this impact ordinary people's lives? Simply put, the spending patterns of the elites could have a cascading effect throughout society, as people tend to emulate behaviors of those in their own or higher social group. The rat race for status through conspicuous spending can reach down the social ladder to the very bottom. While our living standards have improved, many of us are anxious about being less successful than our peers, which motivates us to buy bigger, better homes, drive more expensive cars and occasionally, have a taste of what it's like living the high life. My wife and I always debate whether one has to spend money to make money. Billionaires like Zong and Ren who live a frugal life unexpected of them tell us that we shouldn't, at least for our lifestyle. An attendee inspects the camera on a Xiaomi Corp Mi 5 smartphone during a launch event in New Delhi, India, March 31, 2016. [Photo/VCG] Chinese smartphone vendors have captured about 40 percent of the market share in India, reported Beijing News on Tuesday citing latest industry survey. Among all, Lenovo saw its shipment volume rise to the second only after Samsung in the third quarter last year, according to global research firm IDC. Xiaomi took the third spot with a market share of 10.7 percent, whereas Chinese vendors collectively took up 40 percent, according to the survey across 30 major Indian cities. The advance comes as India's domestic brands saw decline in market share. Micromax reported a 16.7 percent month-over-month sales drop in October, according to the IDC. Analysts noted that as smarphone giants look at India, a country with a population of 1.34 billion, to be the "new China", the competition will be intense. Despite growth, price war remains fierce in what is becoming the world's second-largest smartphone market where the price of a mobile averages only $100, said the IDC. Lenovo has retained its duo-brand strategy in India, Rahul Agarwal, the company's managing director, told Beijing News, adding that Motorola is focused on high-end market, taking up a third of its sales, whereas Lenovo phones targeting lower end account for two thirds. Indian customers are even more price sensitive than Chinese users, Ni Fei, co-founder and CEO of Nubia Technology, told media. According to data from the World Bank, China's average gross national income was four times of that of India in 2015. Besides price war, patent rights and tariff could also hinder further growth in India, said analysts, citing patent disputes faced by Chinese smartphone makers OPPO, VIVO and Xiaomi in recent years. OPPO is planning to invest 1.5 billion yuan ($215 million) to build an industrial park in India to bring down manufacturing cost, according to media reports earlier last month. The company already has a factory in Greater Noida. Beijing ready to help island grow while firmly opposing 'Taiwan independence' Zhang Zhijun, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. [Photo/taiwan.cn] The Chinese mainland will share development opportunities with Taiwan and at the same time firmly oppose "Taiwan independence" activities, the mainland's Taiwan affairs chief said in his New Year's greetings. The remarks of Zhang Zhijun, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, were issued a week ahead of Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen's trip to Latin America, which starts on Saturday. Analysts said that if Tsai continued to provoke Beijing through activities such as meeting with US president-elect Donald Trump or his transitional team during her trip, Taiwan will face more punishment from the mainland following the island's loss of "diplomatic ties" with an African country last month. Tsai's office said on Friday that she would visit Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador. She will arrive in Houston on Jan 7 and leave the following day. On her return, she will arrive in San Francisco on Jan 13. It remains unclear whether she plans to meet anyone in the United States. Zhang said that Beijing will provide more opportunities for Taiwan investors and facilitate Taiwan people's studies, living arrangements, employment and careers on the mainland. Beijing will continue to push forward cross-Straits exchanges in all areas in 2017 to benefit more grassroots people, he said. Zhang also said Beijing has confidence and the capacity to safeguard national sovereignty. "The 'Taiwan independence' forces and their activities are cancer for the cross-Straits relationship and the biggest threat to cross-Straits peace and stability," he said. In his New Year's address, President Xi Jinping said the Chinese people will never allow anyone to "make a great fuss" about the country's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights. Wang Hailiang, a researcher of Taiwan studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said that Beijing will take more measures to punish Tsai if she "makes more provocations" against the one-China principle during her trip. "Tsai's top goal is to meet with Trump before he is sworn in on Jan 20, which is unlikely to happen," he said, explaining that challenging the one-China principle will undermine the basis for the Sino-US relationship. Trump, asked on Saturday if he would meet Tsai if she were in the US after he takes office, answered, "We'll see", the Voice of America reported. The mainland's countermeasures could include tightened restrictions for Taiwan's participation in international activities, preventing mainland tourists from traveling to the island, and encouraging more countries to cut "diplomatic ties" with Taipei, said Jin Yong, a professor of international relationship studies at Communication University of China. Taiwan has "diplomatic ties" with 21 countries, mainly small and island nations in Latin America, Africa and Oceania that rely on Taipei's economic assistance. Beijing will not allow anyone in Hong Kong to harm national security or use the special administrative region as a base for subverting political and social stability, the government's top liaison official said on New Year's Day. In an interview with China Central Television, Zhang Xiaoming, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong, spelled out three lines that should not be crossed. One must not undermine China's sovereignty over Hong Kong and hurt national security, nor challenge the authority of the central government and Hong Kong's Basic Law, the city's mini-constitution, he said. The region should also not be used as a base to "infiltrate and subvert" the Chinese mainland, destabilizing social and political order, he added. The year 2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Public concern over separatism in Hong Kong grew in 2016 after two lawmakers elected to the city's legislatureYoungspiration's Sixtus Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-chinginsulted all Chinese by using foul language and advocating independence during their swearing-in ceremony in October. Zhang appealed to all people in Hong Kong to strengthen the "sense of the bottom line", uphold the rule of law and stand firm against the rise of separatism. In turn, authorities and residents from the Chinese mainland should respect and safeguard Hong Kong's sociopolitical system, leaving Hong Kong to handle matters within the scope of its autonomy, he added. These principles are in accordance with the original intent and fundamental basis of the "one country, two systems" policy, which despite the political discord in recent years, has been "an internationally recognized triumph", he said. Beijing has adhered to its commitment made before Hong Kong's return to China in 1997, he said, adding that the central government attaches great importance to Hong Kong affairs and will continue its firm support of the city. Also on Sunday, hundreds of people rallied near the Hong Kong government complex, urging the authority to curb "Hong Kong independence" advocacy through legal and educational means. Legal professionals and political analysts also joined the demonstration. Lawrence Ma Yan-kwok, a barrister and chairman of the China-Australia Legal Exchange Foundation, called on the city to operate a "zero tolerance" policy on separatism. He warned that such advocacies would eventually hurt overall interests and limit the freedoms enjoyed by people in Hong Kong. "The regional government should consider preventing the spread of separatist ideas, and needs to enact its anti-subversion law, to fulfill the requirement stipulated in the Basic Law," he said. Article 23 of the Basic Law states that the SAR shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the central government, or theft of State secrets. Target set to ensure one pediatrician for every 1,450 children by 2020 Children get treatment at Beijing Children's Hospital in December. ZOU HONG/CHINA DAILY "There are so many people and so few doctors," said Chen Yang as he sat in a waiting room at Beijing Children's Hospital late last month. He had rushed his 6-month-old nephew to hospital early in the afternoon after noticing the child had suddenly developed a severe cough, and at 10 pm, he was still waiting for the result of a chest X-ray. "There were hundreds of people ahead of us waiting to see a doctor when we arrived," he said. "There were long lines everywhere, and the information desk was crowded with patients." His nephew was eventually diagnosed with pneumonia and prescribed a series of saline drips, which meant returning to play the same waiting game for the next three days. Chen's experience is a common one, not just at Beijing Children's Hospital, one of the best in the capital, but at similar clinics nationwide. China is short of nearly 90,000 pediatricians, according to a white paper released in November by the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, which has warned that the universal two-child policy could pile on even more pressure. With just one pediatrician per 1,800 children, the nation currently lags behind many developed countries, according to the report, which is based on a survey of 13,000 medical institutions nationwide. Earlier last year, the central government set a target of making it one pediatrician per 1,450 children by 2020. An ivory sculpture is displayed at the International Cultural and Creative Industry Expo in Beijing in 2015. CAO BOYUAN/CHINA DAILY China has taken a historic step to ban the commercial ivory trade by the end of 2017, but campaigners warn that legal ivory stockpiles could become an issue. In 2008, China legally imported 62 metric tons of elephant tusks from four African countries under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, one of four legal sources in China. To curb demand, the State Forestry Administration said it has put just 5 tons a year on the market for manufacturers. However, the real consumption of legal ivory is less than that. According to an expert at an international NGO who declined to be identified, only an estimated 2 or 3 tons were processed and sold every year. This means 40 tons of legal ivory was stockpiled at the end of last year, yet manufacturers will be banned from being able to use or sell it after Dec 31 this year. A notice released by the State Council said only "legally sourced ivory products can be ... displayed, ... transported, gifted and inherited". Officials from the administration did not respond for comment. Mo Junhao, deputy general manager of Guangzhou Daxin Ivory Craft Factory in Guangdong province, said it has not received any notice from the local authorities, but "will simply follow the government's orders". As to its remaining stockpile and how to deal with it, Mo said he could not share that information with the media. Zhou Fei, head of the China office of Traffic, an NGO that monitors the global wildlife trade, said that according to the State Council notice, it is unlikely that the government would buy back the ivory. "When the Chinese government banned the processing and sale of tiger bones, the government didn't purchase or destroy the tiger bones," Zhou said. "Actually, companies already have enough time to deal with the stockpile. As early as May 2015, Zhao Shucong, former chief of the State Forestry Administration, said that China would ban the legal ivory market. "If processing and sale sites cannot find buyers before the end of this year, then there is a reason to worry about where the stockpile will go," Zhou said. Aili Kang, executive director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Asia program, said that if the government does not redeem the stockpile then there is a high possibility that it would go onto the black market and undermine the implementation of the policy. She suggested the government register and seal all legal raw ivory and ivory product collections. TIANJIN, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese woman who ran a small recreational shooting gallery in northern China's Tianjin municipality has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for illegal gun possession. The sentence shocked the public and caused widespread debate about the criteria for legally defining guns. Zhao Chunhua, 51, moved to Tianjin to live with her daughter, and opened a roadside shooting gallery to help her family but was arrested in October. Among the model guns seized from her stall, six were identified as real guns by police. Zhao's daughter believed they were just toy guns using plastic bullets to hit balloons, and said she would appeal to a higher court. According to a 2010 Ministry of Public Security document on firearms identification, unauthorized guns able to fire bullets with a force of over or equal to 1.8 joules per square centimeter are considered illegal firearms. The force of the six guns owned by Zhao ranged from 2.17 to 3.14 joules per square centimeter, exceeding the statutory standard, the court said. However, the standard was soon criticized following the verdict. A netizen called XiaoL said even a self-made slingshot has a force of 10 to 20 joules per square centimeter, thus the legal standard is too strict. Another netizen @Hongshui said that the 1.8 joules per square centimeter standard is too technical and vague a legal definition for the public to follow, and could easily lead to passive crimes. "A weapon can be determined as a gun if it is able to cause serious injuries or blindness by shooting within 30 centimeters in the eyes of a person," a lawyer who once served on a technology department of a police station told Xinhua. "Based on the legal rule, we calculated the 1.8 joules per square centimeter standard." The sentence was also widely questioned. "Three years and six months for possessing six toy guns -- isn't it too heavy?" wrote netizen Yikesong. Cui Jianhua, a lawyer in Beijing, said the key issue with the conviction was the issue of subjective intention, specifically if "she knew exactly that they were guns but still chose to possess them." Based on common sense, no one would assume toy guns at a shooting gallery were real guns. Therefore, Zhao had no subjective intention, and it did not constitute a crime, Cui said. But Yang Yueming, a lawyer in Tianjin, said as long as the weapons were regarded as real guns by the police, the owner should be punished according to the criminal law, which stipulates three to seven years in prison for serious offenders illegally possessing firearms. "Legally the verdict is fair. But the court should also consider the defendant's potential harm to society and the social consequences of the case, demonstrating the law's role to educate and save," Yang said. Zhao's plight echoed the case of a man in eastern China's Fujian province, who was given life imprisonment in 2015 for purchasing 24 imitation guns online. Police deemed 20 of the guns as real guns powered by compressed gas. The provincial higher people's court ordered a retrial in October 2016after the case caused widespread discussion. "The punishment obviously did not fit the crime," the court said. With the weapon identification standard and injury force description as they are, lawyers have advised the public not to randomly purchase toy guns. A recent investigation in Beijing has shown that many private pre-schools are not properly equipped or qualified to the standard of public kindergartens, reported the Beijing Youth Daily on Monday. Despite all this, many parents have little other choice than to send their children to the private pre-school educational institutes as getting their child into public kindergartens is very difficult. Another reason is that kindergartens are not allowed to give teaching classes to kids, while many parents hope their children to learn as much as possible before going to school. An online search shows over a thousand options for pre-schools in Beijing. However, the majority of them are private institutes and not public kindergartens. A recent investigation in Beijing has shown that many private pre-schools are not properly equipped or qualified to the standard of public kindergartens, reported the Beijing Youth Daily on Monday. Despite all this, many parents have little other choice than to send their children to the private pre-school educational institutes as getting their child into public kindergartens is very difficult. Another reason is that kindergartens are not allowed to give teaching classes to kids, while many parents hope their children to learn as much as possible before going to school. An online search shows over a thousand options for pre-schools in Beijing. However, the majority of them are private institutes and not public kindergartens. "I'm very busy with work, and this preschool saves us a lot of trouble," one parent said. The regulations around such institutes are very unclear, and the Bureau of Industry and Commerce along with Beijing Municipal Education Commission have not set any rule of clarifications over the issue. Iron cannons used in Second Opium War renovated in north China Xinhua | Updated: 2017-01-03 12:44 TIANJIN - The renovation of 19 iron cannons has begun in north China's municipality of Tianjin. The cannons were part of the Dagukou Battery, built in 1816 on the estuary of Haihe River, an important battlefield during the Second Opium War from 1856 to 1860. The work is scheduled to take a year, said Ma Wenyan, curator of the Dagukou Fort Ruins Museum. She told Xinhua that the cannons will be thoroughly cleaned to remove all rust and sealed to prevent further corrosion. "The project will set the standard for the renovation of iron antiques in China," Ma said. The Second Opium War was between China and, Britain and France. Chinese general Le Shan fought at Dagukou and died in the war in 1860. When Anglo-French forces finally occupied Beijing, they looted and sacked the Old Summer Palace. BEIJING - China's helicopter industry is gearing up to become a global power with a national strategy of civil-military integration, according to state-owned helicopter giant Avicopter. China has a relatively complete helicopter industry with independent development capacity in key technologies, said Wu Ximing, chief designer of Avicopter, a subsidiary of China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC). The cutting-edge technologies enabled China to produce heavy-lift, advanced high-speed attack and stealth helicopters, among others, says Wu, who is also chief designer of the WZ-10, or Thunder Fire, China's self-developed modern military attack helicopter. The "starry" WZ-10 is a model of armed helicopter which was designed primarily for anti-tank strikes and was first seen in public at the 2012 China Airshow. Avicopter is planning to develop a high-speed tilt-rotor aircraft, capable of carrying heavier payloads and flying up to 500 km per hour, about twice the speed of current modern helicopters, over long distances. "The technology spillover of China's fast-paced military helicopter industry will surely boost the development of more civilian helicopters to meet commercial demand," says Wu. China's helicopter industry gained international attention with the launch of a series of home-developed armed helicopters, such as the WZ-9, WZ-10, WZ-11 and WZ-19. And the maiden flight of the new AC352 utility helicopter on December 20 showcased the country's capacity to develop the world's most advanced mid-sized civilian helicopter. As China's first 7-metric-ton class helicopter, AC352 was jointly developed by Avicopter subsidiary AVIC Harbin Aircraft Industry and Airbus Helicopters. The 50-50 "peer cooperation" started in 2006, says Lu Weijian, chief designer of the AC352. The twin-engine helicopter capable of carrying 16 passengers with a 7.5-tonne maximum take-off weight, the AC 352 has a maximum range of 1,000 kilometers. Its design focused on safety, economic efficiency and pilot-friendliness. The AC352 is targeted at markets at home and abroad with multiple capabilities including offshore transport and medical or disaster rescue. "China has become a strong player in the global helicopter industry. Only with superior resources can you gain the respect of global industry leaders and their cooperation," says Yang Guangzhao, project manager of the AC352 at AVIC Harbin Aircraft Industry. "Avicopter and Airbus Helicopter are together playing to our advantages in technologies and markets. Moreover, we are able to reduce business and technology risks in introducing a new model," says Yang. China's helicopter industry now boasts aircraft classes from one to 13 tonnes. Avicopter has mastered more than 50 models in 12 series of helicopters, with an annual production capacity of more than 300 helicopters. "Avicopter is among the world's seven leading helicopter manufacturers. In recent years, we have developed one new model nearly every two years," says Avicopter chairman Yu Feng. Avicopter forecasts China's helicopter industry will develop at the same pace as global industry leaders over the next five to 10 years. "We are going all out to meet the demand for more advanced helicopters for both military and civilian use. It is critical that we conquer key technologies, as well as succeed in business," says Yu. A Long March 5 carrier rocket waits to be sent into space at the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Hainan province on Oct 28.[Su Dong / For China Daily] China's unmanned lunar probe Chang'e-5, set to be launched around December 2017, will bring lunar soil samples back to Earth, says Wu Yanhua, deputy chief of the China National Space Administration. The just-concluded Chang'e-3 mission marked the completion of the second phase of China's lunar program, which included orbiting and landing on the moon and returning to Earth. The third phase, which includes unmanned sampling before returning to Earth, will follow the launch of Chang'e-5. According to Ye Peijian, an expert with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Fifth Research Academy, Chang'e-5 will consist of the orbiter, the return vehicle, the ascender and the lander. The orbiter and return vehicle will orbit the moon, while the lander and ascender will land on the moon. After the lander finishes taking samples, the samples will be placed in containers carried by the ascender, which will then dock with the orbiter and the return vehicle. The samples will be transferred to the return vehicle, which will eventually bring them to Earth. Hu Hao, the chief designer of the third phase, said Chang'e-5 weighs 8.2 tons and will be launched by the rocket Long March 5. The mission is expected to achieve five firsts for China since the country initiated its space exploration programs: first unmanned sampling, first takeoff from the moon's surface, first unmanned docking on the moon orbiting 380,000km from Earth, and first return to Earth with lunar soil samples at a speed close to the escape velocity. Foreign Minister Wang Yi will pay official visits to five African countries to help implement important agreements President Xi Jinping and African leaders have reached and to further promote China-Africa cooperation, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang announced. Wang will visit Madagascar, Zambia, Tanzania, Congo and Nigeria from Saturday to next Thursday, Geng said in Beijing on Tuesday. This is the foreign minister's first trip to foreign countries in 2017. "The base of China's foreign policies lies in keeping strengthening ties with various developing countries, including African countries," Geng said. He added that the foreign minister choosing Africa as the first destination abroad at the beginning of the year has been a tradition for more than two decades. The year 2016 has witnessed a large number of important early successes China and Africa gained while implementing the work that had been obtained during the summit on China-Africa cooperation held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in December 2015, Geng said. One of the accomplishments, the spokesman said, is a Chinese-constructed railway connecting Ethiopia and Djibouti, which was opened in October 2016. According to Geng, China's non-financial direct investment in Africa from January to September last year increased by 31 percent compared to the same time the year before, and between the conclusion of the Johannesburg summit and the end of July last year, the two sides had signed 245 deals involving more than $50 billion. The year 2017 will be when China-Africa cooperation gets fully promoted and upgraded, Geng said. South Korea will request extradition of Chung, daughter of Park's confidante Danish police have arrested the equestrian competitor daughter of a woman at the center of a South Korean influence-peddling scandal that has engulfed President Park Geun-hye, police and prosecutors said on Monday. The scandal led to Park's impeachment by Parliament on Dec 9 and has drawn hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets of the capital, Seoul, for weekly demonstrations. The planned new air route linking Guangzhou and Mexico City is anticipated to enhance trade and travel between South China and the Latin American country. China Southern Airlines plans to launch the Guangzhou-Vancouver-Mexico City route in May, flying Boeing 787 Dreamliners three times a week, said the Guangzhou-based carrier. Carlos Giralt, consul general of Mexico, who is based in Guangzhou, said: "It will boost exchanges of trade, commerce, people, tourism and many other cultural activities. I hope that we will see more people from Mexico visiting this region and more people from this region visiting Mexico." Activities held during the 2016 Chinese-Egyptian Culture Year have made Egyptians know more about China, not only as an economic power, but also a cultural power.[Photo/Xinhua] The 2016 Chinese-Egyptian Culture Year drew to an end successfully as some 150 various kinds of cultural activities were held in both countries, which is seen as a breakthrough. In January 2016, the Egyptian Ministry of Culture and the Chinese Embassy in Cairo launched the 2016 Sino-Egyptian Culture Year which marks the 60th anniversary of joint diplomatic relations. After upgrading the relations between the two countries to a "comprehensive strategic partnership," the culture year came to boost friendly ties and enhance mutual understanding and future development between the peoples of the two nations, whose relations have deep roots back in history. Actually, marking 2016 as a culture year was the fruit of agreement between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi during their meeting in Beijing in December 2014. To highlight its importance, the opening ceremony of the culture year was attended by Xi and Sisi in the ancient city of Luxor in January 2016, as the two leaders vowed to boost cultural and people-to-people exchanges. During the opening ceremony show, more than 200 elite performers from both countries staged a cultural dialogue; both have deep roots in their ancient civilizations. "We achieved 'new high' in this culture year on the quality and quantity of the cultural activities we held," said Chen Dongyun, Head of the Chinese Culture Center and Cultural Councilor of the Chinese Embassy in Cairo. "The show in Luxor was a big success, reflecting the new spirit of the two oldest civilizations in this new era," she stressed, referring to the opening show of the culture year. Other activities, Chen said, also made Egyptians know more about China, not only as an economic power, but also a cultural power. Wine Vision offers global wine pros a taste of Sonoma county vintages like this one (left) from Francis Ford Coppola's winery. [Photo by Mike Peters/China Daily] Cautious enthusiasm for the Chinese wine market. More men in supermarkets. Opening a bottle of wine with your shoe. Those were some of the takeaways at Wine Vision, an annual forum for the industry hosted last month by Sonoma County in California. Edouard Duval, CEO of Shanghai importer East Meets West, told the global group of wine professionals that while there's less "ganbei!" in China these days thanks to a government crackdown on extravagance and gift-giving, the number of Chinese who drink wine at least weekly is up 35 percent. "These are people who drink to enjoy, not to impress," he says. Noting that average per capita consumption in the Chinese mainland is 1.2 liters annually, compared to 6 in Hong Kong and 10 in the United States, Duval says the potential of the Chinese market remains strong. The drivers include continuing economic growth, an expanding middle class and explosive growth in travel, he says. "Travelers are people with purchasing powerthey visit wineries, experience wine culture and bring it home with them." About the surge in online purchasing in China, Duval says it has lowered the sale price of wines but has boosted the number of imported wines available in China, a net plus. Marc Soccio of California-based Rabobank notes that while the market has gone up, down and now up again, the slowdown in wine sales since 2012 has affected Chinese producers most: Importsparticularly from Australia, Spain and Chile, are up. While Chinese wineries have made some great strides in quality, he predicts it will take 10 years for them to significantly affect import sales. Several speakers critiqued the notion that millennials are reshaping the wine market. Rob McMillan of Silicon Valley Bank notes that while today's young people may shift from beer to wine more quickly than their parents, they have limited spending power and globally reach their peak earning potential later in life thanks to the 2008 recession. Noting what he calls "an irresistible rise in premium brands", McMillan says the 35-55 demographic continues to be the driver of the most profitable segments of the industry. A worker looks closely as containers are unloaded in Qingdao Port, Shandong province. [Photo/China Daily] There is much ado about uncertainty these days. As we usher in 2017, there seems to be no alternative to uncertainty as a broadly, if not universally, applicable catchall to events whose full ramifications are yet to be seen. It applies fittingly to so many countries, so many people, in so many ways. Everything yet to unfold is inherently uncertain. Uncertainty is therefore a constant, secure favorite in previews of a coming year. But, it seems particularly true this year given the US factor. The incoming US president Donald Trump appears determined to shake things up, and not only in his own homeland. On the other side of the Pacific, actually in most parts of the world, people are waiting anxiously to see precisely what will happen in Trump's first year of office. And in the Europe Union, as the United Kingdom begins to get down to the nitty-gritty of leaving the bloc, there are worries that the fate of what once was the world's most successful regional integration project could be on the line. Although, at the end of the day, where things are headed for continental Europe may to a great extent hinge on whether and how Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin get along. The same will likely also be the case in the Middle East, the messy state of affairs regarding the fight against terror, as well as Syria, Israel and Palestine are all subject to the post-Barack Obama US-Russia relationship. Asia, too, is in a guessing game over what differences the Trump presidency will bring, and what is in store for the local geopolitical landscape. What lies ahead for China could be a crucial period of strategic challenges, in lieu of what was dubbed a "period of strategic opportunities". Beijing will find its hands full this year: From the Korean Peninsula to the East and South China seas to China-US relations, old conundrums will present new dimensions, complexities, and inevitably uncertainties with the addition of the Trump factor. Likewise, on the home front, dilemmas surrounding the real estate sector, currency, overcapacity and the environment will collude to press for real, costly changes. All will test the leadership's ability to balance short- and long-term concerns, as well as its strategic resolve and flexibility. As per the highly dialectical Chinese way of thinking, there is no challenge that does not at once carry potential opportunities. But to exploit the potential opportunities, the challenges must be handled first. Zhu Haiping, former financial official with the civil aviation authority of Hubei province and a fraud suspect, surrenders at Wuhans Tianhe International Airport in July last year. [Photo/Xinhua] Many corrupt officials have confessed that it is the lack of effective supervision that made them fearless in their pursuit of illegal gains. A new reform aims to create a supervisory environment that means civil servants no longer have the space to develop such audacity. The reform plan stresses that all State organs will be under supervision, including the legislature, judiciary, and industrial organizations with government background, which used to be "marginal areas". Statistics indicate these organizations contributed up to 45 percent of non-government employee graft cases last year. Beijing and Shanxi and Zhejiang provinces are to pilot the reform whose aim is to establish a system in which intra-Party supervision and supervision of executive power support each other. In the current system, the discipline inspection commissions mainly take charge of Party management while supervisory departments are generally responsible for administrative supervision and law-based administration. The reform, if carried out, will better supervise both the executive and judicial branches of government. The plan aims to go deep into the power operation mechanisms of the Party and the government. It is the first time that the supervisory organs are parallel to the people's congress, the legislature, and the government. The new reforms will establish supervisory commissions at various levels. The role of the commissions is to investigate allegations of wrongdoing and dereliction of duty. They will also be given the responsibility of prosecuting those found guilty of such violations. Anti-corruption experience shows that the lack of effective supervision and control means corruption has not yet been fully curbed. In order to achieve a permanent cure, it is necessary to carry out a top-level design for more effective supervision. Effective supervision means there should be no blind spots. File photo/IC The State Council, China's Cabinet, has issued a guiding document calling for strict records of the creditworthiness of government officials and local government departments. Southern Metropolis Daily comments: The top leadership has constantly advocated the construction of a credit system for local governments and officials as a means of promoting trust in government. Government departments and government staff have power in hand, and some of them behave dishonestly. For example, some local governments sign contracts with enterprises, but then break the contracts at will, and some even issue a policy one day only to abolish it the next. And after disasters or accidents in which people are killed or injured, some local governments try to conceal the true scale of the incident, by openly telling lies about the number of deaths or injuries. Their information proves false, yet the officials who try to hide the truth in this way are seldom punished. The guiding document is not the first of its kind. In June, the State Council issued a guiding document to accelerate the construction of a comprehensive credit system. It required the trust-breaking behavior of government departments and staff be recorded, and warned local governments with bad credit records have to change their behavior. But so far none of the guiding documents has listed any punitive measures for government departments or staff with bad credit records. In order to make the new guiding document more effective, it is necessary to define punitive measures, or it might become just another piece of paper. A gavel in a court. [Photo/IC] Zhao Chunhua, a woman in North China's Tianjin municipality, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison by the local people's court because she ran a stall where people could pay to shoot balloons with toy guns. In another case, Wang Lijun, a farmer from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, was found guilty of illegal trading, because he purchased corn from local farmers and resold them to companies. Beijing News comments: In both cases, the defendants are ordinary residents who live at the bottom of the society, and all they want to do is make some money. According to reports, they even do not know that their businesses are considered illegal, let alone deliberately committing a crime. It is fair to say they pose little danger to society. And there are debates about the legal standards according to which their businesses are considered illegal. Zhao's toy guns are considered to be real guns by the law because the energy density of the bullets is higher than 1.8 joules per square centimeter, but the standard is so low that it hardly does any harm. In fact, the energy density of spitting exceeds it. In Wang's case, the law acts to defend the grain monopoly of local State-run companies, but the latter are often bureaucratic and bring inconvenience to farmers. In such cases, the courts need to be more cautious, because sending such people to prison could undermine trust in the fairness of the law. The rule of law does not mean just dutifully following the law to the letter; it means to follow the spirit of law and defend justice. Employees work at a firm in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, on Aug 20, 2015. [Photo/IC] Zhao Pin, a leading job platform in China, has released the results of its survey of white collar workers, which found over 40 percent of those surveyed did not take their annual paid leave. Southern Metropolis Daily commented on Monday: Even though most employees know they are entitled to annual paid leave, many working outside government-affiliated departments and institutions dare not take the days off. That is usually because the calculation of wages is closely linked to monthly quotas. Once an employee takes leave for some days, his or her earnings for the month will be reduced almost to the minimum. The fact that nearly 40 percent of white-collar workers do not take their annual leave reflects the poor protection of labor rights in the country. This requires that the relevant departments should improve the implementation of the paid vacation system. After all, paid annual leave is a social benefit. Employers should ensure workers take their full annual leave entitlement and pay workers their wages in full during their holidays as required by law. If employees waive their right to leave, they should be paid for those days, up to three times their normal wages. It is important to safeguard the basic rights and interests of workers. MENOMONIE A University of Wisconsin-Stout biology professor and his students, including one from Menomonie, may have made an important discovery in the effort to determine why honey bee hives are dying out during the winters in the Upper Midwest. Biology Professor Jim Burritt and his students have published research about a new strain of the bacterium called Serratia marcescens strain sicaria. With evidence of its killing power, they chose the name sicaria, which means assassin, and Ss1 for short. The research, with student co-authors Jake Hildebrand, of Menomonie, Anna Winfield, of Bloomer, and was published Dec. 21 in PLOS One, a peer-reviewed, open-access, online publication for science and medicine research. The study, Sepsis and Hemocyte Loss in Honey Bees, can be found at http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0167752. Winfield developed two screening tests to identify Ss1 based on its biochemical properties. She graduated with honors in May 2016 in applied science and is a microbiology graduate student at UW-La Crosse. Our results indicate that Ss1 may contribute to the wintertime failure of honey bee colonies. We believe this is important because most beekeepers in our area lose over half of their hives each winter. In Dunn County, the percentage of winter hive failure rates has been as high as 80 percent recently, said Burritt, himself a longtime beekeeper. Something different The bacterium came to light under a microscope at UW-Stout as researchers looked for a different organism in blood drawn from sick bees in Dunn County. They saw something unexpected. It was clear we were looking at something different. As we did more testing on the organism, we began to realize we may be working with a new threat to honey bees, Burritt said. We then collaborated with experts in bacterial genetics and biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who used mass spectrometry and three independent, whole-genome methods to confirm this organism had not been previously described in the literature. With evidence of a possible new disease in bees, UW-Stout then recruited beekeepers in eight west-central Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota counties and received support from the Wisconsin and Minnesota beekeeping associations to provide samples from 91 hives for testing. Burritt and his students tested 3,219 honey bees and 1,259 Varroa destructor mites, found in the hives, between December 2014 and September 2016. Ss1 was found in bees and mites from every participating county. Of the hives sampled for bees, 48 percent tested positive for the new bacterium, including one package of bees shipped from another region of the country. Of the hives sampled for mites, 76 percent tested positive. Of the hives that died during the winter, 73 percent had the bacterium. The UW-Stout discovery is a positive step toward a possible solution. Though our study does not provide information on how winterkill can be stopped, we believe it will create a clearer picture of the diseases and challenges that honey bees face, Burritt said. This view will be important in eventually developing strategies to help bees survive the long months of winter. The well-being of honey bees and other pollinators is crucial to our ecosystem, a wholesome environment and our economy, he added. Along with finding the new strain of bacterium, also groundbreaking within the study is confirmation that Varroa destructor mites carry the Ss1 bacterium, Burritt said. Previously, mites were known only for transmitting viruses to honey bees. The eight-legged Varroa mites are about the size of a poppy seed, Burritt said. With the help of the students, we developed a method to efficiently obtain culture information from many individual mites, he said. Students play key roles Hildebrand, a senior, led the testing of bee blood, hemolymph, for infection and identified proteins in the blood that are important to their immune system. Five other UW-Stout students are recognized in the published research. They are Morgan Ingold, of Waterford; Matheus de Jesus, of Brazil; Viviane Oshima, of Brazil; Brooke Sommerfeldt, of Park Falls; and Amber Thums, of Butternut. Professor Steve Nold provided help with bioinformatics. The honey bee studies at UW-Stout have required the research ideas, interest and hands of a lot of students, and we had plenty of each, Burritt said. The research also found the Ss1 bacterium has 65 genes not found in other strains of the Serratia genus, suggesting Ss1 has been successful borrowing genetic information from other bacteria. In 2014 Burritt and his students published another study in PLOS One describing their new technique of hemocyte profiling of the blood cells of honey bees. The latest research builds on the previous effort by using the new profiling method; bees infected by Ss1 were found to have fewer of the blood cells that defend against bacterial infections, suggesting Ss1 may weaken bees immune systems. The honey bee project at UW-Stout, led by Burritt, is in its sixth year and has involved hundreds of UW-Stout students doing research in microbiology classes, courses within the applied science major and in locations beyond the classroom. The well-being of honey bees and other pollinators is crucial to our ecosystem, a wholesome environment and our economy. - Jim Burritt, UW-Stout biology professor The well-being of honey bees and other pollinators is crucial to our ecosystem, a wholesome environment and our economy. - Jim Burritt, UW-Stout biology professor US President-elect Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a USA Thank You Tour event in Mobile, Alabama, US, December 17, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] Ever since Donald Trump won the United States' presidential election, analysts across the world have written tons of articles with some expressing "cautious optimism" and others "guarded pessimism". And given the appearance of another "black swan"the election of Rodrigo Duterte as the Philippines' president, I can guess where the international situation and the United States' foreign policy are headed toward. The international situation in 2016 was characterized by chaos, change and a desire for law and order, with change being the key link in the interrelated features. The process of quantitative change seems to have reached a critical point and is moving toward the stage of qualitative change, as is suggested by the "Trump phenomenon" in America and the "Duterte phenomenon" in Asia. The "Trump phenomenon" indicates the birth of a new trend of thought"seeking change" and "seeking good governance"in developed countries that are currently caught up in various kinds of turmoil. Many developing countries that have become "richer" are also looking forward to change and good governance. The "Duterte phenomenon" reflects, in a certain sense, the wish of developing countries for equal treatment by global powers, instead of being controlled by them, much less being forced onto the US' war chariot. It would be in the interest of the whole world if both sides' expectations of change and good governance could meet and reconcile with each other. The most imminent problem now is how different and new the "Trump administration" will be, how he will fulfill his promises to "put America first" and make "America great again", and whether the US will continue to police the world and interfere in other countries' internal affairs or whether it will change its foreign policy to suit the needs of the times. We have to wait to see how Trump treats his predecessor Barack Obama's "pivot" to the Asia-Pacific strategy, whether he improves US relations with Russia, how he responds to China's friendly gestures, whether he readjusts relations with US allies and whether he will take the fight against terrorism seriously and respect the United Nations' central role. The sudden collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 made the US the sole superpower. Elated by the development, American political scientist Francis Fukuyama claimed in his book, The End of History and the Last Man, that the US and its values will prevail in the world. Some other analysts predicted China would be the next to fall in the domino effect. However, facts have proven the Americans misjudged the situation; they developed a false understating of China and failed to foresee the massive rise of developing countries; and they passed an incorrect judgment on themselves. They endeavored to squeeze Russia's strategic space and tried to surround China with a chain of hostile forces as they had done against the Soviet Union. Former US president George W. Bush even waged a series of wars in defiance of the UN, which reduced the world's sole superpower to embarrassment. Being a serious scholar, Fukuyama realized a few years ago that his optimism had been unfounded. Recently, he wrote that the victory of Trump marked "the end of a time", or the end of US hegemony. This change in Fukuyama's thinking reflects the current trend of "seeking change" and "looking forward to good governance". And this time his conclusion is not based on a superficial understanding of things. Repudiating the critics of Trump, Fukuyama said he is an isolationist in his innermost being rather than someone who has an intrinsic craving for the power to wield the club of war in the world. Trump has his own thoughts and sticks to it, Fukuyama said. Whether Fukuyama is right this time remains to be tested by facts. One cannot rule out the possibility that Trump, who is usually bent on having his own way, bucks the trend of the times and globalization. If so, people across the world will suffer tremendously, but at the same time the US' decline will accelerate. As an ancient proverb goes, those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad. The author is the executive director at China Foundation for International Studies. Courtesy: chinausfocus.com Aerial photo taken on Dec 24, 2016 shows a solar power project under construction in cixi city, East China's Zhejiang province. The project, with solar panels installed above the fishery water, is expected to generate 220 million kwh of electricity per year.[Photo/Xinhua] A group of European Union parliamentarians have added their voices to calls from climate action groups and much of Europe's solar industry for an end to punitive tariffs on Chinese solar power equipment. What is going on? Just as everyone else appears to be demanding higher tariffs, amid a predicted return to trade protectionism in Europe and the United States, along comes an unlikely alliance of industry, charities and politicians saying get rid of them. A letter signed in December by 22 members of the European Parliament, including the vice-chairs of the energy and international trade committees, helps to explain. In an appeal to the European Commission to scrap "harmful" duties, they said existing trade measures against China were stifling competition and damaging Europe's own energy sector. It looks as if this and other appeals may fail to sway the Commission, the European Union's executive arm. The trade press in December quoted documents suggesting it would recommend keeping import duties and a minimum price for solar panels for two more years. A final decision has to come by March but interested parties have until Jan 6 to respond before the Commission makes a formal proposal to the EU's 28 governments. In the present climate of protectionism emerging in Europe, it may turn out that the 28 would prefer not to court headlines about cutting tariffs on China and will go along with the commission. However, the MEPs who signed the letter argued that many European jobs depended on the solar sector and existing duties did not take into account Europe's green energy targets. In short, cheap Chinese solar energy components are good for business and good for the climate. They were echoing arguments put forward by action groups, including Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund, urging the commission in October to remove trade barriers on solar panels. The charities said solar power is one of the key technologies Europe needs to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and to meet its obligations under the recent Paris climate agreement. "We are therefore concerned that the current tariffs on imported solar panels are making solar power more expensive and slowing down the deployment of solar power in Europe," they told EC Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom. "Instead of putting citizens at the heart of the Energy Union, the present trade measures negatively impact consumers and make their participation in the energy transition costlier," the charities said. These appeals have in turn been echoed by 400 European solar energy companies, which demanded the EU immediately scrap a minimum import price (MIP) agreement that establishes a floor for Chinese solar modules. They said the arrangement was harming the growth of an important industry across the European continent. In fact the MIP deal, originally introduced to avert a trade war, is already almost defunct, since all the major Chinese producers pulled out of it. One company, JA Solar, explained that the actual price of modules in the EU was already well below the agreed minimum rate and falling, damaging its ability to stay competitive in Europe. The EU imposed anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on imported Chinese solar components of 51.5 percent and 5 percent respectively at the end of 2013. Chinese companies got around the barriers, and similar measures in the US, by setting up production elsewhere in Asia. EU tariffs aside, the most novel prediction about the solar sector in the coming year comes from Sven Lindstroem, CEO of solar tech company Midsummer. In a syndicated New Year look ahead to 2017, he claims that "President Trump will turn green". Although Donald Trump's election, and some of his subsequent appointments, have been heralded as a victory for the oil and coal industries, Lindstroem notes that renewable energy is the most efficient way to make the US independent and self-sufficient. "US citizens like independence, and so does President-elect Trump," he writes. According to Lindstroem, many American families already use oil-fired generators to produce their own electricity, and the growth of solar power would encourage many more to go off-grid. "The ... revolution has just started," he writes, "and it will take more than a policy shift to stop it." The writer is a senior editorial consultant for China Daily UK. As of Sunday, people no longer need to pay to visit Daming Lake scenic area in Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province. The Jinan authorities said they were following the example of the West Lake scenic area in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, also in East China. The so-called West Lake model refers to Hangzhou authority's policy of not charging people to enter the famous West Lake scenic area. After the National Day holiday in 2002, the Hangzhou authority began to gradually open the West Lake scenic area to the public free of charge, in order to attract more visitors. The no-charge policy has proved successful with an increasing number of tourists visiting the West Lake scenic area and other places of interests in Hangzhou. Visitors have been complaining about the expensive entry prices to other domestic scenic spots for years. The administrators of many scenic areas regard charging high entry fees as a significant way to boost the local coffers, and they arbitrarily raise prices while failing to invest in improving the services they provide. The West Lake model not only benefits the public but also promotes the healthy development of the nation's tourism industry. It should be adopted by more domestic scenic sites. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. License for publishing multimedia online 0108263 Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Gold Crest sits at an altitude of 3,077 meters in Emeishan city in Southwest Chinas Sichuan province. The four greatest spectacular sights are sunrise, a sea of clouds, Buddha and holy rays. [Photo/Official Weibo account of Mountain Emei China] Emei Mountain lies seven kilometers southwest of Emeishan city and represents one of the four mountain ranges in China that Buddhists consider sacred. It was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1996. The mountain stretches more than 200 kilometers from north to south. Its main peak, Wanfo Crest, is 3,099 meters above sea level. Since ancient times Emei Mountain has been described as "Beauty under Heaven". Temples were built as early as the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) and Buddhism was introduced to the mountain during the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234). In the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1644) there were more than 150 temples. A legend claims that the mountain is where Samantabhadra gave lectures on Buddhism, and most temples house a statue of Samantabhadra. The main scenic spots on the mountain include the Baoguo Temple, Wannian Temple, Fohu temple, Qingyin Pavilion, Heilongjiang Tunnel, Hongchun Platform, Xianfeng Temple (Jiulao Cave) and Xixiang Pond. Premier Li Keqiang extended his condolences on Monday in a telegraph to his Turkish counterpart Binali Yildirim over a deadly terrorist attack in a nightclub in Istanbul during New Year's Eve celebrations. In the telegraph, Premier Li mourned victims of the attack and expressed sincere condolences to the Turkish prime minister, the victims'families and those injured in the accident. Xinhua News Agency reported that a gunman stormed into Istanbul's Reina nightclub on the early morning of Jan 1 and shot at hundreds of people gathering for New Year's celebrations, leaving at least 39 dead and more than 60 injured. The agency also reported that Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin described the shooting spree as an act of terrorism. Cuban people participate in a military parade in honor of recently deceased Cuban leader Fidel Castro at Revolution Square in Havana, on January 2, 2017.[Photo/VCG] HAVANA - Thousands of Cubans participated in a military and civic rally on Monday in homage to the late leader Fidel Castro in Havana's Revolution Square. Jan. 2 also marks the 60th anniversary of the landing of the Granma yacht, considered the beginning of the guerrilla war against dictator Fulgencio Batista. The parade began at 7 a.m., chaired by President Raul Castro, and was also dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the uprising in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba, on Nov 30, 1956. A float marches during the 128th Rose Parade on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, the United States, on Jan 2, 2017. The Rose Parade is part of the New Year Celebration held in Pasadena each year on New Year's Day, or on Jan 2 if New Year's Day falls on a Sunday. [Photo/Xinhua] YANGON - Altogether 88 candidates from 24 political parties and seven individuals totalling 95 will compete in Myanmar's by-election scheduled for April 1, according to the Union Election Commission on Tuesday. The ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, and the former ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), now led by U Than Htay, will be the two parties which send the most number of candidates for the upcoming by-election. The candidates include 16 women, the commission said. The USDP will compete in all 19 constituencies with vacant parliamentary seats, while the NLD in 18 excluding a constituency in Kayah state. The by-election aims at filling the 19 vacant parliamentary seats, some of which were left after parliament members were appointed as government cabinet ministers, while other vacancies were left as some constituencies failed to hold the polling in the last general election in 2015. Of the total 19 vacant parliamentary seats available in 22 townships in eight regions and state, nine are with the House of Representatives (Lower House), three with the House of Nationalities (Upper House) and seven with the state parliaments. Campaign period is set for Jan 30 to March 30. Election result or names of winning parliamentarians-elect will be announced within the next four days following the by-election. In the Nov 8 general election in 2015, the NLD won an absolute majority of 255 or 79 percent with the House of Representatives, 135 or 80 percent with the House of Nationalities and 475 or 75.7 percent with the Region or State Parliament as well as 21 ethnic representatives to the Region or State Parliaments. Former ruling party USDP won 30 seats with the House of Representatives, 12 with the House of Nationalities, 74 with the Region or State Parliament as well as two ethnic representatives to the Region or State Parliaments. South Korean President Park Geun-hye bows during her speech to the nation at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Nov 29, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] SEOUL - South Korean authorities said on Tuesday they will proceed with steps to extradite Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of a central figure in a South Korean political scandal that has led to a parliament vote to impeach President Park Geun-hye. Chung is being held in Denmark after police there arrested her on Sunday in the northern city of Aalborg. Denmark's public prosecutor said on Monday that Chung will remain in custody for four weeks after having been charged with committing economic crime in South Korea. Chung is the 20-year-old daughter of Choi Soon-sil, a friend of Park accused of colluding with the president to pressure businesses to contribute to non-profit organisations. Both have denied any wrongdoing. "Chung has said she is willing to return to South Korea in three days if she is set free upon entry, which the government has declined to accept," South Korea's special prosecutor's office said in a statement. It added there is a chance Chung, an equestrian competitor who trained in Germany, may choose to return to South Korea voluntarily. The scandal has drawn hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets of Seoul for weekly demonstrations and could result in Park, 64, becoming the first democratically elected South Korean leader to leave office early. Park was impeached by parliament late last year, a decision that must be upheld or rejected by the Constitutional Court. Arguments were set to begin on Tuesday in a court process that could take several months. Meanwhile, South Korea's ambassador to Denmark delivered a letter of intent to Chung to cancel her passport, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed diplomatic sources. As a result, Chung's passport will no longer be valid after Jan. 10, Yonhap said. Chung's lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment. Alabama Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Unborn Child Contact: Liberty Counsel, 407-875-1776, Media@LC.org; Press Kit MONTGOMERY, Ala., Jan. 3, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Alabama Supreme Court unanimously ruled Friday in defense of unborn life in a wrongful death lawsuit against an OB/GYN accused of contributing to the death of a woman's unborn child. The court found that the trial court erred in dismissing Alabama resident Kimberly Stinett's claim alleging the wrongful death of her unborn baby and granting summary judgment in favor of Karla Kennedy, M.D., on lack-of-proof-causation grounds. The Alabama Supreme Court declared that Stinnett v. Kennedy may proceed, stating that unborn children are human beings and are entitled to legal protection. The court largely based its decision on an amendment in Alabama's Homicide Act, which "changed the definition of a 'person' who could be a victim of homicide to include 'an unborn child in utero at any stage of development, regardless of viability.'" Alabama Supreme Court Justice Thomas Parker also wrote a concurring opinion, noting that the "viability" standard in Roe v. Wade is faulty. Justice Parker wrote, "Unborn children, whether they have reached the ability to survive outside their mother's womb or not, are human beings and thus persons entitled to the protections of the lawboth civil and criminal. Members of the judicial branch of Alabama should do all within their power to dutifully ensure that the laws of Alabama are applied equally to protect the most vulnerable members of our society, both born and unborn," Parker said. Dr. Kennedy, who was standing in for Stinett's regular physician, performed a dilation and curettage procedure to help determine whether her pregnancy was intrauterine or ectopic. Suspecting an ectopic situation, Kennedy administered methotrexate, which the court noted is "intended to cause the end of the pregnancy." However, when Stinnett's regular physician, William Huggins, returned, he determined that she had an intrauterine pregnancy after all, which was failing, possibly as the result of the methotrexate. Stinnett later miscarried and then sued Kennedy, who asserted in court documents that the pregnancy was already failing and she was simply following protocol. "Liberty Counsel applauds the Alabama Supreme Court and Justice Tom Parker for defending the legal rights of the unborn as clearly stated in Alabama law," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. "We strongly urge other judges to do likewise as the value of human life is not a negotiable matter. The womb should be the safest place for a child and it must be legally protected. It's time to turn the tables on Roe v. Wade," said Staver. Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics. DAMASCUS - Several rebel groups announced late Monday that they were freezing talks on planned peace negotiations with the Syrian government, citing what it called "major violations" by the government forces to an ongoing cease-fire. The rebels said in a joint statement that they were freezing talks on the peace negotiations that were planned to take place soon in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan. They claimed it was a response to the "major violations" by the government forces to the cease-fire that was reached in an agreement under the shepherd of Russia and Turkey, and went into forces four days ago. "Due to the worsening situation and the continuation of the violations, the (rebel) factions declare freezing any talks related to the Astana negotiations...until the full implementation of the cease-fire deal," the rebel groups said. The statement cited what the rebels called repeated violations by the government forces, including the escalation of military offensives on the rebel-held town of Wadi Barada in northwestern Damascus, and Rastan area in the central province of Homs. The government refused to acknowledge its attacks as breaches to the ceasefire, saying it's fighting the Nusra Front and the Islamic State (IS) group, both excluded from the ceasefire as both have been designated as terrorist organizations by the UN. Moreover, for the government forces, Wadi Barada is controlled by the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously known as the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, which has already been excluded from the truce. The rebels in Wadi Barada has cut off the main water supply line into Damascus since Dec 22, leaving the government with few options to restore the water source in that area, which feeds the capital's over 5 million inhabitants. The Russian-Turkish sponsored cease-fire went into force at midnight on Friday, with opposition activists saying it was still holding on Monday, despite the "breaches." The recent cease-fire is the third in Syria after two previous failing ones. The first was reached last February, which lasted for three months before collapsing, and the second one was established in September, which was observed for only a week. An explosion on the launch site of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is shown in Cape Canaveral, Florida September 1, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] LOS ANGELES -- Elon Musk's SpaceX said Monday that it plans to resume flying rockets as soon as Sunday, four months after an explosion that caused the company to suspend flights. SpaceX said in a statement that it is targeting return to flight of its Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E), California on January 8. The California-based company plans to send 10 satellites into orbit for Iridium Communications Inc. The company will adjust fueling procedures believed responsible for the Sept 1 explosion. Falcon 9 rocket exploded on Sept 1 on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida and destroyed a satellite it carried, dealing a blow to the company's ambitious space project, and even America's commercial space industry. A four-month investigation concluded the failure was likely due to the accumulation of oxygen between the composite overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV) liner and overwrap in a void or a buckle in the liner, leading to ignition and the subsequent failure of the COPV, SpaceX said. "The investigation team identified several credible causes for the COPV failure, all of which involve accumulation of super chilled liquid oxygen(LOX) or solid oxygen (SOX) in buckles under the overwrap," according to a SpaceX press statement. SpaceX, founded in 2002 by billionaire Elon Musk, has been the face of American commercial space industry. It has been hired by the US space agency NASA to resupply the International Space Station, using its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo ship. SEOUL - The first trial on a parliamentary motion to impeach South Korean President Park Geun-hye ended just in nine minutes on Tuesday with Park, the principal of the trial, not in attendance. The first hearing, which kicked off at 2 pm local time (0500 GMT), was wrapped up at 2:09 pm as President Park refused to appear in the constitutional court, according to local media reports. The second date for pleading was set on Thursday and the third was scheduled for next Tuesday. By law, the court is allowed to continue the legal proceedings in the next hearing if the principal refuses to appear. Four former presidential secretaries will appear as witnesses on Thursday, while two senior presidential advisors as well as Choi Soon-sil, President Park's longtime confidante at the center of the influence-peddling scandal, will be summoned in next week's third trial. Attending the first trial were nine justices on the bench, three lawmakers of the National Assembly's impeachment committee and nine defense counsels for Park. The three lawmakers, assisted by 11 counsels, have played prosecutors' role as the impeachment bill is on trial in the constitutional court, not in a court of law. Park was impeached in the unicameral assembly on Dec 9. The court has up to 180 days to deliberate, but the judges are widely forecast to rule as early as late February to shorten the period of power vacuum. Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn temporarily assumed presidential power, acting as a caretaker president. Red Cross and rescue workers prepare to remove the remains of a victim after a fire ripped through a boat carrying tourists to islands north of the capital, at Muara Angke port in Jakarta, Indonesia January 1, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] JAKARTA -- Indonesian police have detained and declared suspect captain of a tourist ferry that caught fire on New Year's Day, leaving 23 dead and 17 missing, police said on Tuesday. The Zahro Express ferry, carrying over 200 people and heading to a nearby Tidung resort Island, caught fire on Sunday after about 20 minutes departing from a seaport in Muara Angke of Jakarta. Mohamad Nail, captain of the vessel, was accused of alleged negligence, Senior Commissioner Hero Hendrianto Bachtiar, director of Jakarta marine police said. "The captain navigated a vessel which was not appropriate for sailing that caused deadly incident," Bachtiar said. According to local search and rescue office, the number of people on board was about double the figure in the manifest. The captain could face a ten-year jail term if found guilty, according to the police officer. Besides, the transport ministry also threatened to lift the captain's license for sailing, said Tony Budiono, director general for marine affairs at the ministry. The captain was blamed for escaping responsibility during the incident, the director said. "The captain jumped first when the incident started. Actually he is now a captain. He must be the last person escaping the incident, like the captain of Titanic ship. We will lift his license," said Budiono. Search for the missing persons continued on Tuesday, involving around 20 of divers, according to local search and rescue office. The national transport safety committee has undertaken investigation over the sea incident. Turkish police stand guard outside the Reina nightclub by the Bosphorus, which was attacked by a gunman, in Istanbul, Turkey, January 2, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] ISTANBUL - The Turkish police have detained the wife of the Istanbul nightclub attacker who is still on the run two days after he shot dead 39 people, local media reported on Tuesday. IHA news agency said the gunman came to Turkey from Kyrgyzstan on Nov 20 with his wife and two children, and the wife was detained in the central Anatolian city of Konya. According to IHA report, the wife told the police that she learned the attack from television reports and she had no information about her husband being an Islamic State sympathizer. The militant group claimed responsibility for the assault on Reina nightclub in central Istanbul, in which the gunman opened fire at hundreds of people celebrating the New Year, killing 39, 25 of whom have been identified as foreign nationals, and injuring 69 others, with four discharged from hospital now. As the manhunt was continuing, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus, following a cabinet meeting in Ankara on Monday, said police had got the fingerprints and descriptions of the attacker. Kurtulmus claimed that the Turkish authorities would soon be able to identify the attacker and "reveal the power behind him." A total of 12 suspects have been detained in Istanbul over their suspected links to the nightclub attack, press reports said. Photo taken on Jan 3, 2017 shows the trial site in Seoul, South Korea. The first trial on a parliamentary motion to impeach South Korean President Park Geun-hye ended just in nine minutes on Tuesday with Park, the principal of the trial, not in attendance. [Photo/Xinhua] SEOUL -- Impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye refused to appear in the first hearing of the constitutional court on Tuesday to determine her fate as the country's leader. Given that the scandal-scarred president has refuted all charges against her, a stiff court battle is forecast to come about. Park's legal team said she will not attend any of the remaining pleading sessions. With Park's refusal to testify, the first hearing ended just 9 minutes after kicking off at 2:00 p.m. local time. All of the nine justices sat on the bench, with the plaintiff and the defense showing up on either side of the courtroom, TV footage showed. By law, the constitutional court is allowed to continue legal proceedings in the next session unless the principal of a trial appears. The second date for pleading was set on Thursday to question four former secretaries to President Park. The third will be held next Tuesday to grill two senior presidential advisors and Choi Soon-sil, Park's longtime confidante at the center of the influence-peddling scandal, as witnesses. The trial to deliberate the impeachment can last up to 180 days, but it is expected to reach a final conclusion as early as late February. A majority of South Koreans are pressing the court to make a quick ruling. The motion to impeach President Park was passed in the National Assembly by an overwhelming majority on Dec 9. If the court upholds it, an election must be held within 60 days to replace the impeached leader. Park Han-chul, the court's chief justice, issued his unusual comments in the courtroom, saying he and his fellow judges will make their best endeavors to "sternly and fairly" deliberate on it. The judges have duly recognized the graveness of this case, he said, as well as the crisis of power vacuum caused by the suspended president, indicating the fast proceedings in the court. The chief justice, who is set to end his tenure in late January, is expected to speed up the proceedings given that judges taking honor seriously are highly likely to want deliberation on the historic case during their terms. However, a fierce legal battle will come about in the courtroom as President Park and her legal team flatly refute all charges against her. Life Does Not Betray Us Contact: Holly Peterson, 916-505-6989, press@newyorkencounter.org NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- The 2017 New York Encounter, an annual three-day public cultural festival featuring panel discussions, artistic performances, and exhibits, will take place January 13-15 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan on 125 West 18th Street. The Encounter's 2017 theme, "Reality Has Never Betrayed Me" a theme, which pertains to today, when regardless of hardship and disappointment, we have the intuition that life is fundamentally good. In it's 9th year, the Encounter highlights a diverse array of speakers taking on this dramatic theme in the field of the artists, education, science, economy, journalism, literature, medicine, and even comedy and food, all sharing their experience of the ultimate goodness of life. Highlights from the 27 events: Sunday, January 15, 2017, 4 pm: Are the American People Betraying Their Dream? Or is the American Dream Betraying its People? A conversation on American culture and society with New York Times Editorialist David Brooks and Rusty Reno, Managing Editor of First Things. Saturday, January 14, 2017, 4 pm: The American Dream Come True: American saints and their relevance for our times. A dialogue between Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, and Matt Malone, S.J., President and Editor-in-Chief of America Magazine. Sunday, January 15, 2017, 2 pm: Beauty Does Not Betray. A discussion on the themes in the soon to be released University of Notre Dame Press book, Disarming Beauty, with its author Fr. Julian Carron, President of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, and Joseph Weiler, Professor of Law, New York University. Sean Cardinal O'Malley and Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Christophe Pierre will celebrate the Holy Mass on Sunday, January 15th at 9 am. For a full program of events visit www.newyorkencounter.org Founded in 2009 by members of the Catholic lay ecclesial movement, Communion and Liberation, the Encounter's goal is to give witness to a new, flourishing life, generated by faith. The Encounter, supported by the work of 350 volunteers, is a vibrant meeting point for thousands of people from different beliefs, traditions and cultures, striving for reciprocal understanding, broadened perspectives and the possibility for friendship. All events, except for the Saturday night performance, are free of charge. No registration necessary. Credentialed media are welcome. Contact for interviews: press@newyorkencounter.org or (916) 505-6989. The Encounter: "a life changing experience." (Timothy Shriver, Chairman, Special Olympics) Tempe Arizona Church Raises $200,000+ to End Abortion TEMPE, Az., Jan. 2, 2017 / Apologia Church, under the leadership of Pastor Jeff Durbin and Pastor Luke Pierson has recently developed and launched their End Abortion Now campaign which has begun with unprecedented momentum and support from like-minded individuals, churches, and organizations all around the world. Pastor Durbin recently announced that an anonymous donor committed to match donations contributed to End Abortion Now up to the amount of $125,000.00. 6% of the goal amount was reached during the first 24 hours. As of the writing of this release, 75% of their goal has been met, which speaks to a massive commitment to work towards the immediate cease and desist of legal abortions in America. Apologia Church, which heads Apologia Radio and Apologia Studios, is known for their extreme effectiveness using social media as their primary platform of mass communication. Using Facebook Live multiple times a day, thousands upon thousands of viewers have been reached, and they have in turn shared Apologias announcements, events, and updates on their own walls. Many of the thousands of comments posted regarding this campaign have questioned how a quarter of a million dollars will be strategically spent to end abortion. The following is Apologia's three pronged mission to end abortion, taken from their website: 1. MOBILIZING, EQUIPPING, AND PROVIDING RESOURCES We're going to build a national movement made up of local churches across the country. We're going to teach Christians how to do ministry outside of abortion clinics. We will hold a national conference in order to teach and equip pastors and church leaders to start their own abortion ministries locally as well as how to mobilize and partner with other churches nearby. Oh, and by the way, we're buying a bunch of pastor's plane tickets so they can join us, too. 2. MEDIA FLOOD CAMPAIGN We're creating a revolutionary media infrastructure that will produce content from a Christian worldview. This new media platform will inform and connect people around the world, broadcast live news programming, provide sharp and cutting commentary from a Christian worldview, and will finally allow a consistent and uncompromising Biblical worldview to bring the truth about abortion into the mainstream conversation. We want to flood the internet with content that engages with the Gospel in such a way that it changes the conversation. 3. LEGISLATION REFORM With Gospel-centered media educating the nation, and the local churches equipped and ready to fight with a consistent Christian position, we'll move towards applying pressure on local, state, and federal governments to finally, once and for all, end abortion now. For more information and to support this cause, go to Press Contact: Marcus Pittman marcus@apologiaradio.com 757-633-7080 Share Tweet Contact: Marcus Pittman, 757-633-7080, marcus@apologiaradio.com TEMPE, Az., Jan. 2, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- A local Christian church operating in the heart of Tempe, AZ, is working hard to end abortion in our nation, and theyre not alone.Apologia Church, under the leadership of Pastor Jeff Durbin and Pastor Luke Pierson has recently developed and launched their End Abortion Now campaign which has begun with unprecedented momentum and support from like-minded individuals, churches, and organizations all around the world.Pastor Durbin recently announced that an anonymous donor committed to match donations contributed to End Abortion Now up to the amount of $125,000.00. 6% of the goal amount was reached during the first 24 hours. As of the writing of this release, 75% of their goal has been met, which speaks to a massive commitment to work towards the immediate cease and desist of legal abortions in America.Apologia Church, which heads Apologia Radio and Apologia Studios, is known for their extreme effectiveness using social media as their primary platform of mass communication. Using Facebook Live multiple times a day, thousands upon thousands of viewers have been reached, and they have in turn shared Apologias announcements, events, and updates on their own walls.Many of the thousands of comments posted regarding this campaign have questioned how a quarter of a million dollars will be strategically spent to end abortion. The following is Apologia's three pronged mission to end abortion, taken from their website:1. MOBILIZING, EQUIPPING, AND PROVIDING RESOURCESWe're going to build a national movement made up of local churches across the country. We're going to teach Christians how to do ministry outside of abortion clinics. We will hold a national conference in order to teach and equip pastors and church leaders to start their own abortion ministries locally as well as how to mobilize and partner with other churches nearby. Oh, and by the way, we're buying a bunch of pastor's plane tickets so they can join us, too.2. MEDIA FLOOD CAMPAIGNWe're creating a revolutionary media infrastructure that will produce content from a Christian worldview. This new media platform will inform and connect people around the world, broadcast live news programming, provide sharp and cutting commentary from a Christian worldview, and will finally allow a consistent and uncompromising Biblical worldview to bring the truth about abortion into the mainstream conversation. We want to flood the internet with content that engages with the Gospel in such a way that it changes the conversation.3. LEGISLATION REFORMWith Gospel-centered media educating the nation, and the local churches equipped and ready to fight with a consistent Christian position, we'll move towards applying pressure on local, state, and federal governments to finally, once and for all, end abortion now.For more information and to support this cause, go to endabortionnow.com Press Contact:Marcus Pittman757-633-7080 (Photo : Getty Images) China's Meizu and Qualcomm agreed to settle their patent dispute. The issues have been resolved under a new global patent licensing scheme. Advertisement Chinese smartphone manufacturer Meizu has agreed to settle its dispute with US mobile chip company Qualcomm under a new global patent licensing scheme. Meizu will pay licensing fee to Qualcomm. In a joint statement released by both companies on Friday, it was announced that Qualcomm granted a global royalty based patent license to Meizu. With this patent, the Chinese company will be able to develop, manufacture, and sell 3G and 4G devices. Meizu was sued by Qualcomm in China as well as in France, Germany, and the US. The new agreement resolved the issue in all the concerned countries. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The joint statement also claimed that both the companies will "take appropriate steps to terminate or withdraw the patent infringement litigations and respective invalidity proceedings or other related litigations." Meizu officials have welcomed the settlement. Bai Yongxiang, the president of Meizu, said that the company will focus on developing designs for high tech products. Qualcomm stated that Meizu will pay the royalties on the lines of terms of the rectification plan submitted by it to China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). In 2015, Qualcomm had paid $975 million for settling a case filed by NDRC. The company was accused of misusing its leading position in chip for mobile devices market. The US chip giant is looking to protect its unique position in the industry. Last month, Qualcomm faced a record $853 million fine slapped by South Korea's antitrust regulator for violating antitrust laws. The company is also being investigated in several other countries including Taiwan and the US. Advertisement TagsMeizu, Qualcomm, Patent, Smartphone (Photo : Getty Images) Relatives and friends of Fatih Cakmak, a security guard and a victim of an attack by a gunman at Reina nightclub, mourn during his funeral on, Jan. 2, 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey. Islamic State claimed responsibility for a New Year's Day mass shooting in a packed Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people, an attack carried out by a lone gunman who remains at large. Advertisement As hundreds of revelers are celebrating the arrival of the New Year at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, a lone gunman stormed and started a shooting spree after firing at security guards at the entrance, leaving 39 dead and 70 others wounded. More than half of those killed were foreigners and at least three are in critical condition, Binali Yildrim, Turkey's prime minister, said on Sunday. Among the victims were citizens from Israel, France, Tunisia, Lebanon, India, Belgium, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement A 35-year-old businessman from Delaware, USA, named William Jacob Raak was also reported to be among the injured. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also confirmed that a Canadian died in the attack. The gunman's identity and motives are still not known, but one of the witnesses said he heard the assailant shouting "God is great" in Arabic. The search for the gunman is ongoing, while the first funeral of the victims at the nightclub were held. BBC reported that Istanbul was already on high alert with some 17,000 police officers on duty in the city, following a string of terror attacks in recent months. The New Year's attack in Reina, which is one of the most famous nightclub in Istanbul that sits on the banks of the Bosphorus, is pointed out by the government of Turkey as a terrorist attack. Abdullah Agar, a security analyst, described the attack as being "very attentively" selected. As to the unidentified gunman, Agar described him as a "very very cold-blooded" terrorist more adept at close attacks than those trained in the military. He also noted that the ammunition used is also very qualified that it cannot be easily obtained by anyone. He cited the Islamic State as a possible mastermind behind the New Year's attack, which targeted civilians in the past. "The target and the timing which coincided with New Year celebrations is very important. The attack's symbolic meaning is very important," the analyst remarked. Advertisement TagsIstanbul, New Year Attack on Istanbul, Reina Night Club, foreigners, terrorist attacks (Photo : Getty Images) Chinese central bank advisor has called for setting a flexible growth target for 2017. Advertisement A Chinese central bank advisor has called for setting a flexible growth target for 2017. China's economy showed 6.7 percent growth rate in the third quarter of the previous year. The economy is likely to achieve its annual target of 6.5 to 7 percent growth rate. According to Xinhua news agency, Huang Yiping, a monetary policy committee member of the central People's Bank of China and a professor in Peking University, said that the government should set flexible economic growth target for 2017. Yiping stated that such growth rate target will allow the government to pursue economic reforms. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Huang recommended setting economic growth rate for 2017 in the range of 6 to 7 percent, down from 6.5 to 7 percent growth rate for 2016. Huang added, "As long as employment is stable, a slightly wider growth target range in the short term will reduce the need for pro-growth efforts and give policy makers more room to focus on reforms." The Chinese government took a number of steps in 2016 to boost growth rate including increased government spending in infrastructure sector and curtailing debt levels. The government also addressed the issue of industrial overcapacity. Authorities are likely to focus on protecting the financial system in 2017. Their main priority will be to avoid bubble and excessive risk taking. Bloomberg also quoted an unnamed source stating that achieving the growth target will take a back seat to keep the economy safe and sound. The Chinese government may also take measures to control the impact of growth rate targets on its monetary policies. Huang said that the government may tighten monetary policies in 2017. Advertisement TagsHuang Yiping, people's bank of china, exchange rate home World Chinese authorities release human rights lawyer after two days in custody Christian human rights lawyer Zhang Kai was able to return to his home in China's northern Inner Mongolia last Thursday after he was detained by the police for two days. Zhang, a lawyer who provided legal assistance to over 100 churches that were affected by the cross removal campaign in China, was summoned to the local police station on Dec. 27, China Aid reported. His sister, Zhang Yan, said that he often receives summons since he is currently out on bail. The family became concerned after he failed to return home. The news about his disappearance spread online after his mother posted a message to the online community to draw attention to her son's case. Yan said that his brother has been keeping a low profile to avoid causing trouble. She said that officials from the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau wanted to talk to her, but she refused. Zhang, who is originally from Beijing, was arrested along with his two legal assistants in August 2015 after he moved to Zhejiang to represent the churches that are being forced to remove the crosses from their buildings. He was held in an unofficial "black jail" for six months and only resurfaced on February 2016 to make a forced confession on state television. He was subsequently charged with "endangering state secrets" and "gathering a crowd to disturb public order." He was released on bail on March 23, 2016. Zhang was reportedly detained again a few months after his release when he retracted the forced statements. "After he made that statement [retracting the criticisms], state security police officers from Wenzhou city [in the eastern province of Zhejiang] traveled to Inner Mongolia to find him. They went straight to his home," said his lawyer Tan Chenshou. Tan said that one of the conditions of Zhang's release is to avoid speaking to the media. Last November, Zhang wrote a letter to thank the people who offered prayers and support while he was in prison. "Thanks to those comforted and cared for my parents when I was in trouble last year. On this special day, I thank the friends, lawyers and the strangers who appealed for me and supported me. Thanks to all the Christians at home and overseas, who are praying for me all of the time," Zhang wrote. (Photo : Facebook) Foxconn is set to establish its first Apple manufacturing store in India, which is likely to be announced on the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017. Advertisement Taiwanese manufacturing giant Foxconn is set to open its first Apple manufacturing store in India, which is likely to be announced on the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017 scheduled to take place in Gandhinagar between Jan. 10 and 13, according to Money Control. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Apple is planning to replicate the success of its Chinese manufacturing in India to grab a large piece of the pie in the country's smartphone sector. The tech giant also plans to establish manufacturing units in different cities across India, and the second manufacturing store is expected to come up in Gurugram, Haryana. However, Foxconn refused to comment on the news, because of strict company policy. Apple has been planning to expand its business in India after recently announcing that it will open its brand-owned stores in the country along with 4,000-odd workers' unit in Hyderabad for its mapping department. India has emerged as one of the fastest growing markets for Apple's iPhone with sales growth crossing 50 percent in the 12 months ending September 2016. In terms of revenue, Apple is the second largest smartphone in the country as well. The news comes almost a year after reports claimed that Foxconn might come to India to produce Apple products like iPhone in the country. It was earlier reported that the Foxconn will set up a plant for Apple products on a 1,200-acre land in Maharashtra. So by next year, iPhones could have a "Made in India" label, marking one of the most landmark moments in the country's manufacturing history. Advertisement TagsFoxconn, apple, iPhone, Apple Manufacturing in India, Made in India (Photo : Getty Images) At least 60 people have been reportedly killed after a gang riot broke out in a prison in Brazil's Amazonas state. Advertisement At least 60 people have been killed, with many getting beheaded, after a 17-hour prison riot broke out on Sunday afternoon in the Amazon jungle city of Manaus in Brazil. "This is the biggest prison massacre in our state's history," Sergio Fontes, the public security secretary of the state, said, adding that many of the victims were decapitated and suffered a lot of violence. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Authorities have recovered 60 bodies so far, and all of them are inmates. Officials are also trying to determine whether any prisoners have escaped. Authorities believe that the riot was initiated by rival groups, which have been fighting for drug trafficking control inside and outside the prison, the BBC noted. The riot eventually came to an end after the inmates agreed to free the last of the 12 prison staff they were holding hostage. Fontes noted that the inmates had "almost no demands" during negotiations, as they only requested not to be transferred or to be mistreated by police authorities and to maintain their visitation privileges. The massacre last Sunday is the latest violent clash between members of the First Capital Command drug, which is one of the biggest gangs in Brazil, and a local powerful group known as the Family of the North. Advertisement TagsBrazil, prison, Drugs (Photo : PLAAF) J-11D fighters of the PLAAF. Advertisement Fourth generation ++ jet fighters such as China's Shenyang J-15 and Russia's Sukhoi Su-35 will comprise the bulk of the fighter forces of both the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) in the future despite the advent of fifth generation stealth fighters, said a Russian military expert. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Vasily Kashin, Ph.D, Senior Research Fellow at the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, said it's hard to say when Russian and Chinese stealth fighters will become combat ready. Russia recently placed its first order for its only stealth fighter, the Sukhoi PAK FA, while China's Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter was to have joined the PLAAF in December 2016, but seem to not have done so. PAK FA should finally see service by 2025 after it receives new jet engines that only recently completed their first ground tests. That is, if Putin's cash-strapped Russia can cough-up the money to finance its most expensive aircraft. Western experts tend to view the J-20 as not a true stealth fighter but a "low observable" jet without the "all aspect stealth" (or stealth from any angle) that qualifies an aircraft as a true stealth aircraft. The J-20 stealth is mostly forward facing, meaning its radar cross section is at its smallest when seen by radar head-on. From other angles, the big J-20 with its many un-stealth like surfaces like its canards, appears as large as a fourth generation fighter on radar screens. "Combat units of the People's Liberation Army Air Force are likely to adopt the J-20 faster than the fighting units of the Russian Aerospace Forces. At the same time one must understand that 4++ generation fighter aircraft will form the backbone of China's and Russia's offensive airpower for many years to come," said Kashin. "Upgrading the technical base of the Armed Forces, particularly, PLAN (People's Liberation Army Navy) and PLAAF, will become a major part of the efforts aimed at reforming the Chinese military in 2017," said Kashin. He said that China continued to mass-produce the Chengdu J-10, a lightweight multirole fighter aircraft, and conducted successful tests of the Shenyang J-11D jet fighter. Both these aircraft are fourth generation fighters. Kashin noted the J-11D is the best Chinese aircraft built on the Su-27 platform, adding the J-11D is close to entering mass production. Kashin also said the Shenyang J-31 (a clone of the Lockheed Martin F-35) was considered a less risky project than the J-20, but its development slowed down in 2016. He noted, however, that China's J-20 program appears to be proceeding as planned. "In 2016, (the) first fifth-generation J-20 fighter jets were transferred to the People's Liberation Army Air Force," he said. "This is currently the riskiest and the most technically complex project for the Chinese industry as is evidenced by America's experience in testing and phasing in fifth generation fighter jets." Advertisement TagsFourth generation ++ jet fighters, Shenyang J-15, Sukhoi Su-35, People's Liberation Army Air Force, Russian Aerospace Forces, Vasily Kashin, Sukhoi PAK FA, Chengdu J-20, stealth fighter (Photo : Getty Images) Mark Zuckerberg to testify in an ongoing $2 billion lawsuit to determine if tech firm Oculus stole the technology behind its VR headsets. Advertisement Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's holiday message status on Dec. 25 suggested that he has returned to religion, after identifying himself as an atheist for years, based on his profile page. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah from Priscilla, Max, Beast and me, Zuckerbergs holiday message posted on his profile read. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement One Facebook user replied and questioned his religious views asking Arent you an atheist? the Facebook founder responded that he is not, explaining that: I was raised Jewish and then I went through a period where I questioned things, but now I believe religion is very important. The Internet entrepreneur, however, did not provide further details about his faith. Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have been publicly discussing their moral values and that included a lengthy letter for their daughter, of which they pledged to donate 99 percent of their Facebook stock. In August 2015, he and wife Priscilla met Pope Francis in Vatican City. The couple and the Pope discussed the process of bringing communication technology to poorer communities of the world. In addition, Zuckerberg said that he was impressed with the popes compassion. Moreover, Zuckerberg has visited Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an during his trip to China in October 2015. He posted a photo of himself kneeling in front of the Buddhist landmark, offering a prayer for peace and health for the world and for his family. Zuckerbergs wife is a practicing Buddhist and he has taken an interest in Buddhism as well. Advertisement TagsMark Zuckerberg, Facebook, Atheist, atheism, Merry Christmas, holidays, Christmas season, Hanukkah (Photo : CCTV) DF-21D. Advertisement China downplayed the key role aircraft carriers will play in any future naval war against the United States, and insists its missile technologies negate the advantages accruing from the U.S. Navy's insurmountable lead in numbers of carriers. More ominously, China warns that "If China and the US bombard and sink each other's aircraft carriers, another world war will break out." Like Us on Facebook Advertisement "Some external forces may believe that it is better to face-off with China sooner rather than later. However, as China is a nuclear power, confronting it is risky, which confounds and makes these forces apprehensive." The state-run English language tabloid Global Times, which is infamous for its extreme right wing views, lampooned U.S. aircraft carriers in an eye-opening story. It has often been seen as mirroring the views of militarists in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the Communist Party of China that control the PLA. It rightly claims the Pacific Ocean is not the exclusive preserve of any nation, but remained silent on China's claim to own most of the South China Sea despite the Permanent Court of Arbitration declaring this claim null and void in a decision on July 12, 2016. "The Pacific Ocean is not exclusive to any single country and no country should flex its muscles on China's doorstep to propagate its so-called freedom of navigation," said the story. "As missile technologies advance, aircraft carriers are not the last bargaining chip between big powers. China's missile technologies rank among the world's most advanced. Its aircraft carrier is also supported by powerful systems. "No matter whether it is the Xian H-6 nuclear bombers flying around Taiwan or aircraft carrier passing near the island's coastline, they showcase the Chinese mainland's dominating defense capabilities over the Taiwan Straits." The story said "Chinese aircraft carriers will not take the initiative to strike Japan or snatch the Diaoyu Islands. China hopes for a peaceful East China Sea rather than making it into a battleground." It warned that if Japan wants to contend with China, "it will realize how China's defense expenditure, which is almost four times of that of Japan, works." "China has become one of the most powerful countries in the West Pacific, but it does not ask for more rights. China's core interests have not expanded, and it is open to negotiations for all disputes." The story said the CNS Liaoning (CV-16) is used for scientific research and in preparation for wholly Chinese-made aircraft carriers under construction. Advertisement Tagschina, war, United States, missile technologies, Global Times, People's Liberation Army, South China Sea, Japan, CNS Liaoning (Photo : Getty Images) Trump took to Twitter anew this week to lambast China for failing to rein in Pyongyang Advertisement US President-elect Donald Trump has lashed out at China for not exerting enough effort to rein in North Korea while taking advantage of trade with the US. In several tweets aimed at China on Monday, Trump heavily criticized Beijing saying it is not doing enough to control Pyongyang while largely benefitting from trade and commerce with the US. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement "China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the US in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice!," he tweeted. 'Currency Manipulator' Weeks ago, Trump also took to Twitter to attack Beijing, accusing the country of being a currency manipulator and defending his phone conversation with Taiwan President Tsai lng-wen. The row was further deepened after Trump accused China of building a military complex in the disputed South China Sea. During his campaign, Trump reiterated that he would pressure China, Pyongyang's biggest trade partner and ally, to exert more influence over North Korea while at the same time, saying that he was willing to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in an attempt to convince Kim to abandon his nuclear weapons program. Missile Launches "I would speak to him, I would have no problem speaking to him. At the same time I would put a lot of pressure on China because economically we have tremendous power over China," he told Reuters in May last year. North Korea launched several nuclear tests and missiles last year. Recently, it announced that it would launch intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) this year as part of its development of nuclear weapons aimed at striking at the heart of the US mainland. Trump said he did not believe that Pyongyang is capable of developing such a missile. "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US. It won't happen!," he wrote on Twitter. Advertisement TagsPresident-elect Donald Trump, Twitter, North Korea, currency manipulator, Kim Jong Un, One China policy, Sino-US trade relations, china, President Xi Jinping (Photo : MIPT Press Office) The discrepancy between the cosmological parameters in the modern Universe and the Universe shortly after the Big Bang can be explained by the fact that the proportion of dark matter has decreased. Advertisement Russian physicists have calculated how much dark matter has been lost since the Big Bang, a discovery that explains the discrepancy between the cosmological parameters in the modern Universe and the Universe shortly after the Big Bang. Using data from observations of various cosmological effects, the Russian researchers were able to give an estimate of the relative concentration of the decaying components of dark matter in the region of 2% to 5%. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement "This means that in today's Universe there is 5% less dark matter than in the recombination era. We are not currently able to say how quickly this unstable part decayed," said Igor Tkachev, Head of the Department of Experimental Physics at INR and a lecturer at MIPT's Department of Fundamental Interactions and Cosmology. "Dark matter may still be disintegrating even now, although that would be a different and considerably more complex model." The recombination era took place some 300,000 years after the Big Bang. It describes the period of time in which the early Universe cooled enough for electrons and protons to form and bond together into hydrogen atoms. Tkachev said scientists have, for the first time, been able to calculate how much dark matter could have been lost and what the corresponding size of the unstable component would be. Astronomers first suspected there was a large proportion of "hidden mass" in the Universe back in the 1930s when Fritz Zwicky discovered "peculiarities" in a cluster of galaxies in the constellation Coma Berenices. The galaxies moved as if they were under the effect of gravity from an unseen source. This hidden mass didn't manifest itself in any way except for a gravitational effect and was given the name dark matter. Data from the Planck space telescope shows the proportion of dark matter in the Universe is 26.8%. The rest consists of "ordinary" or baryonic matter (4.9%) and dark energy (68.3%). The nature of dark matter remains unknown up until today, however. Dark matter's properties might help scientists solve the problem that arose after studying observations from the Planck telescope. The Planck space telescope accurately measured the fluctuations in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation, or the "echo" of the Big Bang. By measuring these fluctuations, researchers were able to calculate key cosmological parameters using observations of the Universe in the recombination era. "However, it turned out that some of these parameters, namely the Hubble parameter, which describes the rate of expansion of the Universe, and also the parameter associated with the number of galaxies in clusters vary significantly with data that we obtain from observations of the modern Universe, by directly measuring the speed of expansion of galaxies and studying clusters," said Tkachev. "This variance was significantly more than margins of error and systematic errors known to us. Therefore we are either dealing with some kind of unknown error, or the composition of the ancient Universe is considerably different to the modern Universe." The discrepancy can be explained by the decaying dark matter (DDM) hypothesis, which states that in the early Universe there was more dark matter, but then part of it decayed. The authors of the study were Tkachev, Dmitry Gorbunov and Anton Chudaykin from IRN, MIPT and NSU. Advertisement Tagsdark matter, Big Bang, Russian physicists, Igor Tkachev, Universe, planck space telescope, Dmitry Gorbunov, Anton Chudaykin home Tech Samsung CH711 release date, specs news: Quantum Dot curved monitor designed for gamers to be unveiled at CES Samsung has announced that their new Quantum Dot curved monitor, CH711, will be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week. The South Korean tech giant's latest display delivers a cutting edge and immersive experience designed for multimedia consumers, especially for gamers. The CH711 Quantum Dot curved monitor is available in two variants: a 27-inch model and a 31.5-inch version. Both feature a Wide Quad HD resolution with 2,560 x 1440 pixels, 125 percent sRGB color coverage and 1,800 R curvature. The monitors' ultrawide 178-degree viewing angle ensures that content is always visible regardless of where the user is positioned in a room. Quantum Dot monitors are said to be similar to OLED displays but provide much brighter visuals and better color representation. Samsung's new monitor also features a simple yet sophisticated design. With its ergonomic design, it can also be adjusted to provide optimal levels of comfort. The white chassis of the CH711 makes it easy to blend into any kind of computer system or home dAcor. The outlets are located inside the stand's neck so they can be hidden from plain sight. The CH711 is slated for release in early 2017. Samsung's two other Quantum Dot curved monitors, CFG70 and CF791, will also be part of the upcoming CES exhibition. The 24-inch and 27-inch CFG70 curved monitors are ideal for hardcore gamers. Aside from the Quantum Dot technology, its ultrawide design, user interface and customizable picture presentation delivers the ultimate gaming experience. Meanwhile, 34-inch CF791 Quantum Dot curved monitor is ideal for productivity. It has an ultrawide 21:9 aspect ratio and a 1,500 R curvature. It produces clear and fine details even when content is loaded from HDMI or DP ports. The 24-inch ($349.99) and 27-inch ($449.99) CFG70 monitors, as well as the CF791 ($999.99), are already available for purchase in the United States. All of the Quantum Dot curved monitors will be on display at Samsung's booth at CES. Attendees can sample the quality of these devices via interactive stations where several video games will be playable. The annual trade show will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada and will begin this Tuesday, Jan. 3, up until Jan. 8. The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that a wrongful death lawsuit brought by a woman who claims her doctor caused her to have a miscarriage by administering an abortion-inducing drug can proceed. Kimberly Stinnetts usual doctor was reportedly out the day of her appointment. Karla Kennedy, the doctor who was filling in that day, believed that Stinnett had an ectopic pregnancy since she had had one previously. Thus, Kennedy decided to administer methotrexate, a drug that, as the court noted, is intended to cause the end of the pregnancy. However, when Stinnetts usual doctor, William Huggins, examined her pregnancy via ultrasound, he found that Stinnett did not have an ectopic pregnancy after all, but instead had a normal intrauterine pregnancy. He said that Stinnetts pregnancy was now doomed to fail, however, quite possibly from the methotrexate. A few weeks later, as predicted, Stinnett suffered a miscarriage. She then took her case against Kennedy to court, alleging that the doctor had unnecessarily ended a viable pregnancy. The initial court dismissed the case, but when Stinnett appealed her case to the Alabama Supreme Court, it was ruled that her case stands and must be heard in the lower court. The courts decision to allow Stinnetts case to proceed has significant implications for the pro-life movement since they based their decision on the belief that Kennedy had possibly contributed to a homicide--meaning that Stinnetts unborn baby was a person and not simply a fetus. The use of the viability standard established in Roe [Roe v. Wade] is incoherent as it relates to wrongful-death law because, among other reasons, life begins at the moment of conception. The fact that life begins at conception is beyond refutation, wrote Judge Thomas Parker. Members of the judicial branch of Alabama should do all within their power to dutifully ensure that the laws of Alabama are applied equally to protect the most vulnerable members of our society, both born and unborn, Parker added. Click here to read our list of 13 states who have ruled that unborn babies are children. Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com Publication date: January 3, 2017 An unnamed woman survived a stabbing attack by an Afghan Muslim migrant at a refugee camp in Austria. The Inquisitr.com reports that the 50-year-old woman was reportedly a guest at the Timelkam refugee center in Voecklamarkt, Austria when the incident occurred. She was asked by other Christian residents of the refugee center to read the Bible and lead a Bible study with them in the centers kitchen. While she read from the Bible, however, a 22-year-old refugee from Afghanistan burst into the kitchen and began attacking her. He reportedly stabbed her repeatedly, but miraculously, because of the large coat she was wearing, the blows did not harm her. She did incur a minor injury when the force of the blows made her fall. The injury was not serious, however. Police apprehended the attacker who claimed he merely overreacted and was dealing with personal problems. He was reportedly taken to Wels Prison, but it is not known if he was charged for his crime. Following the attack, debate raged on social media about Islam and violence. Immigrants in refugee camps are facing increased violence, particularly those who are vocal about their Christian faith. Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com Publication date: January 3, 2017 An attack on New Years Eve targeting Christians at an Istanbul nightclub killed 39 and wounded dozens of others. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. The Blaze reports that the attacker used hand grenades and an automatic weapon in the attack. He reportedly escaped in the chaos that ensued in the nightclub after the attack. Following the attack, the Islamic State-linked Aamaq News Agency said that a heroic soldier of the caliphate had carried out an attack at the Turkish nightclub where Christians were celebrating their pagan feast. We let infidel Turkey know that the blood of Muslims that is being shed by its airstrikes and artillery shelling will turn into fire on its territories, the news agency continued. Turkish police have detained eight people possibly involved in the attack, but are still searching for the main perpetrator. Those killed in the attack were from various countries, including Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, Tunisia, India, Morocco, and Jordan. Additionally, Kuwait, Canada, Israel, Syria, and Russia each lost a citizen in the attack. Turkey has seen increasing violence in the past year, most notably a bombing attack in the Istanbul airport in June for which the Islamic State took responsibility and a failed coup in July that left the country in turmoil. Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com Publication date: January 3, 2017 UPDATE (3 Jan): One of four men detained in Sudan since December 2015 has been released, but three others continue to face seven criminal charges, some of which carry the death penalty or life imprisonment if found guilty. Kuwa Shamal, a Sudanese church leader, was released after a hearing in Khartoum yesterday (2 Jan.), during which the judge concluded that there was insufficient evidence to charge him. However, the judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to proceed with the trials of fellow Sudan Church of Christ leader Hassan Taour, Darfuri graduate Abdulmonem Abdumawla and Czech aid worker Petr Ja?ek. The next hearing is scheduled for 9 January, when the defence lawyers will present their case. Several hearings have taken place in recent weeks, a marked increase in activity after months of stagnation. After the appearance of a new witness, Ali Omer, on 12 Dec. was hailed as of significant benefit to the four men, three further hearings occurred between 19-28 Dec. Shamal and Taour were both unable to attend the hearing on 19 Dec. due to ill health. During that hearing, the judge dismissed one prosecution witness a member of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) after complaints from the defence that the witnesss testimony added nothing extra to that of a previous NISS official. Further witnesses were heard on 26 Dec., then on 28 Dec. the defendants each gave statements and were questioned by the judge. Original article (12 Dec.): Defence lawyers representing two Sudanese church leaders, a Darfuri graduate student and a Czech aid worker accused of crimes against the state have called the testimony of a new witness at Khartoums most recent trial hearing a significant benefit for their clients. Jailed since last December and on trial since August, the four defendants include Sudan Church of Christ pastors Rev. Hassan Taour and Rev. Kuwa Shamal, Darfuri graduate Abdulmonem Abdumawla and Czech aid worker Petr Ja?ek. During the 12 Dec. hearing, a new witness, named Ali Omer, was interrogated about his links with the jailed defendants. The young Darfuri man testified that he had been injured with severe burns during anti-government demonstrations at an Omdurman university in mid-2015. When he was left with serious injuries requiring regular medical care, his Darfuri friend, Abdumawla, had collected funds for his treatment from various organisations and individuals, including Taour, to cover these medical costs. Ja?ek was carrying electronic information and photos about Omers situation when arrested. The defendants are accused of promoting Omers case abroad to defame the government. The four men face seven criminal charges, some of which carry the death penalty or life imprisonment if found guilty. The accusations include waging war against the state, inciting hatred between classes, propagating false news, espionage and complicity in criminal agreements. The court indictment specifically accuses them of fabricating videos or incidents of claimed genocide, killing of civilians and burnings of villages, besides claims of persecutions of Christians in Sudan. After Taour and Shamal were arrested by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) on 18 Dec. last year, they were held incommunicado for months, without charges or contact with their families. Abdumawla, a single man employed in a mining exploration company in Khartoum, was arrested just a day earlier, and Ja?ek had been taken into custody on 10 Dec., when authorities confiscated his computer, mobile phone and flash drives as he left the country. All four were transferred to the Omdurman prison in early August and then formally indicted before the Khartoum North Court on 21 Aug. Court proceedings since have been scheduled almost weekly, but postponed several times without warning when a witness, translator or the judge failed to appear. The trial hearings have been observed periodically by Western diplomatic observers, with local supporters gathering outside the court at times to sing hymns and shout encouragements to the defendants. Although a prosecutor and NISS official demanded at a November hearing that an additional charge of apostasy be filed against Abdumawla, the judge has not responded to this request. One observer at a hearing last month declared, The prosecutor has nothing new. It was just a repetition of what has already been said They didnt have any evidence to support their accusations. Earlier this month, courtroom interrogations focused on allegations that a meeting Taour and Shamal had attended with other Sudanese church leaders in Ethiopia a month before their arrest was organised with political motives to damage and tarnish Sudans international image. While refusing to answer some questions posed by the defence lawyers, the NISS officer serving as the plaintiff in the case declared that national security considerations overrode several of Sudans criminal procedure laws that had been violated throughout the past year. In early October, the European Parliament adopted an Urgency Resolution, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the four men on trial on charges of highlighting alleged Christian suffering in war-ravaged areas of Sudan. The US State Department has designated Sudan as a country of particular concern since 1999 for ongoing religious freedom violations, including the treatment of Christians. It is ranked 8th in the Open Doors World Watch List of the 50 countries where Christians come under the most pressure for their faith. During the next hearing, set for 19 Dec., the prosecution is expected to call as witnesses several Sudanese church leaders who have been temporarily detained by the NISS during their months of investigations. Some have had their passports confiscated. Courtesy: World Watch Monitor Publication date: January 3, 2017 Open Doors USA is set to release its much awaited World Watch List for 2017 on January 11, which names the countries with the highest levels of persecution against Christians. It lists the world's 50 worst places to practice Christian faith, arranged in a ranking order. "Persecution is increasing overall throughout the world. We're seeing it particularly in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa," said Emily Fuentes of Open Doors USA. However, Fuentes noted that North Korea trumps all other countries in restrictions and atrocities against Christians. North Korea will be ranked as number one on the World Watch List once again in 2017. It will be the country's 15th time being ranked as the top persecutor of Christians. "Even though persecution is horrific in places like Iraq, Syria, Somalia, there's no country that quite has the restrictions, violence, or targeting of Christians like North Korea," she added. Violence against Christians rose for the third consecutive year, which is a conspicuous trend according to activist organizations tracking worldwide religious persecution. Most of the increase in violence was attributed to radical Islamist groups such as ISIS, even as it provoked mass migration of Christians from the Middle East. "Islamic State and its affiliates took their barbarity across borders like never before: into Libya, Kenya, and Egypt, culminating in random massacres in Paris on 13 November and in San Bernardino in the US on 2 December 2015," wrote Open Doors Director of Strategic Trends Ron Boyd-MacMillan in an analysis accompanying the Open Doors World Watch List 2016. "There is a feeling globally that no one is safe from the reach of these newer jihadists, who can recruit, convert and train any one through the internet." In 2013, countries in which the government had deteriorated to the point that it had "little or no control" saw high levels of persecution against Christians. The following year, persecution increased at the fastest pace in Africa. The three countries that witnessed the highest incidence of violence perpetrated against Christians included Sudan, Eritrea, and Nigeria. In 2015, the persecution level surpassed that of 2014. The rise of Islamic extremists contributed to increased persecution in 35 out of 50 countries in World Watch List. "Islamic extremism in the world today has two hubs, one in the Middle East, the other in sub-Saharan Africa," Boyd-MacMillan said. "In numerical terms at least, though not in degree, the persecution of Christians in this region dwarfs what is happening in the Middle East." home US Atheists seek removal of Pennsylvania park bench with inscription that mentions God An atheist group is calling for the removal of a bench in Justus Park in Oil City, Pennsylvania due to an inscription of a quote that mentions God. The American Atheists sent a letter to the Oil City Mayor William Moon requesting the removal of the bench that was donated by a local branch of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in 2003, Christian News reported. "Men who aren't governed by God, will be governed by tyrants," the bench reads. The inscription is a paraphrase of a quote that is often attributed to William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania. The American Atheists argued that the inscription violates the U.S. Constitution, and it also deems the quote to be disrespectful towards non-Christians. "[T]he Tyrants Bench contains an overtly religious message which endorses one particular religious viewpoint: Christianity. The statement that 'Men who aren't governed by God will be governed by tyrants' not only has absolutely nothing to do with honoring our service members, but is derisive toward the all non-Christian American service members who have served and died for this country," the group stated in the letter. The group offered to provide a new bench with a different message honoring those who served in the military. City council members have agreed to replace the bench, but some residents have fought to keep it in place. Over $17,000 in pledges has been raised to cover the costs of legal fees in case the matter is taken to court. The religious liberties group Liberty Counsel have also indicated its intentions to provide free legal services to the city. Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver wrote a letter to Moon to explain that the bench does not violate the U.S. constitution, and he maintained that the quote is part of a tribute to the veterans and founders of America. He also contended that the quotation does not "advance religion" as claimed by the American Atheists. He pointed out that the bench is surrounded by numerous secular symbols. home World Chinese official urges Catholics to adhere to socialism A senior Chinese official called on Catholics to adhere to socialist values of the Communist Party and operate independently of the Vatican. Yu Zhengsheng, one of the seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee, urged Catholic leaders to promote the "good virtue of patriotism" and "adhere to the principles of independence and self-management." "The Church should adhere to the principles of self-administration, run religious affairs independently and guide believers to adhere to the Sinicisation path of the religion," Yu said in a speech at a meeting of China's official Catholic church, as reported by Catholic Herald. Yu added that Chinese Catholics must "unify patriotism with affection for the church" and "unite all believers to contribute to construction of the socialism with Chinese characteristics." Yu's speech came as Pope Francis is trying to improve its relations with China. The rift between China and the Vatican began shortly after the Communist Party took power in 1949 and expelled Catholic missionaries. The party only allows believers to worship in state-sanctioned churches, but many of the country's estimated 12 million Catholics are believed to be members of underground churches. Central to the dispute between the Vatican and the Communist Party is the issue of the appointment of bishops. China insists that bishops should be named by the local Catholic community. The communist regime refuses to accept the pope's authority because they consider the pontiff to be a head of a foreign state that should not meddle with the affairs of the country. The pope has stated that the meetings regarding the naming of bishops have resumed, but the Vatican expressed disappointment when a bishop excommunicated by the Vatican participated in the ordination of two new Chinese bishops. According to state media, Ma Yinglin, another excommunicated bishop, was re-elected president of one of the groups at the Bishops Conference of Catholic Church of China. One priest, who was identified only as Fr. Peter, called the meeting "a staged theatrical representation." "Everything was very well planned: the assignment of roles, their scripts, the well-chosen audience, who raised their hands to vote and approve content, the media coverage," he said. home Life Every Christian is a minister who has direct access to God, says Rick Warren Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren said in his daily devotional that every new Christian becomes a minister who should use their talents to help other people. In his "Daily Hope" devotional published on Dec. 30, Warren said that every believer receives the privileges that are once available only to priests. The pastor cited the first part of 1 Peter 2:5 which stated: "You come to him as living stones, a spiritual house that is being built into a holy priesthood." Warren noted that priests in the Old Testament can talk, worship and pray directly to God while other people need to go through them. He went on to say that priests are responsible for representing God to the people and ministering to their needs. According to Warren, believers now have direct access to God, and they do not need to go through anybody to pray or confess their sins. The pastor pointed out that the veil that separated God from the people in the Temple was ripped when Jesus died on the cross. "The Bible says that when Jesus died on the cross, there was a veil in the Temple that separated the Holy of Holies, where God's Spirit was, from where man was. Only priests could go behind that veil once a year. When Jesus died on the cross, God ripped that veil a about 70 feet a from top to bottom, symbolizing that there is no longer a barrier," Warren said. The pastor explained that anyone who helps other people in the name of God is doing the work of a minister. He said that each person can know the type of ministry they are meant to serve in by looking at their talents and abilities. In his devotional in September, he stated that people are meant to use their talents and gifts to minister to others. He offered some advice to Christians who feel discouraged in their ministry. Warren said that Christians should remind themselves of the reward that they will receive in eternity and that they should recognize that even the small things they do in their ministry can be used by God. home World Joe Biden denies lobbying foreign leaders to vote in favor of anti-Israel resolution U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has denied accusations that he lobbied foreign leaders to vote for a U.N. resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The resolution was passed by the U.N. Security Council last month after the U.S. abstained from the vote and failed to use its veto power to kill the measure. According to a report from the Washington Free Beacon, some insiders claim that Biden personally spoke with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to request that his country vote in favor of the resolution. "Biden lobbied Ukraine and of course administration officials are too cowardly to admit it," said a pro-Israel official working with Congress to formulate a response to the resolution. "With everything that's going on involving Russia, Iran, and Syria, this is how the Obama administration choose to spend its precious diplomatic capital. They decided to twist arms and trade favors for a resolution that cuts off Jews from Jerusalem, a city that is Israel's capital city according to American law," the official continued. Colin Kahl, Biden's national security advisor, denied that Biden called any foreign leader regarding the U.N. measure. Jonathan A. Greenblatt, a former Obama administration official who now leads the Anti-Defamation League, described the resolution as "biased" and "unconstructive." "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," Greenblatt said in a statement. Israel has expressed its concerns that the language of the resolution could lead to a rise in boycotts and sanctions. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Foreign Ministry to suspend working ties with 12 countries that voted in favor of the measure. He also announced that Israel will stop sending funds to five different U.N. organizations, and it will reevaluate its relationships with U.N. representatives in the country. According to Times of Israel, over 100 members of Congress have issued statements against the resolution. Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran and Florida Rep. Dennis Ross both expressed their intentions to introduce separate measures of disapproval over the Security Council resolution when the House reconvenes next week. home World Philippine President tells critics to blame God for his foul mouth Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is known for using inflammatory language, said that he does not see a need to change his ways. He advised those who criticize him for his use of foul language to "go to God and complain." Duterte expressed his belief that he does not need to change because he has not suffered defeat in his 40 years in politics. "Change is for the corrupt. Don't include me there. Why should I change? God made me the way I am. God gave me this identity. God gave me this mouth because they say we are the creations of God," he said in an interview with ABS-CBN News, according to The Philippine Star. "If you have something against me, about my mouth, about my character, go to God and complain. He was the one who made me. He is the one to be blamed not me," the president continued. In a separate interview, the president said that there is no incentive for him to maintain a positive image because he is no longer running in an election. In October last year, the president claimed that God told him to stop using cuss words while he was on his way back to the Philippines from his three-day visit to Japan. He said that God threatened to bring down the plane if he does not stop cursing. "A voice said that you know 'If you don't stop, I will bring this plane down now.' And I said, who is this? Of course, it's God. Oh, OK. So, I promised God not to express slang, cuss words," he stated upon his arrival at the Davao City International Airport. The Philippine president has been known to use expletives that are usually directed against his critics. He allegedly cursed Pope Francis for the traffic jams caused by the papal visit in January 2015. He had also castigated the United States, European Union, United Nations and human rights groups for criticizing his stance on the drug war in the Philippines. Over 2,000 people have been killed by the police since the war on drugs was launched in July. According to Human Rights Watch, nearly 4,000 more were killed by unidentified gunmen. A survey published in November 2016 revealed that 77 percent of Filipinos are satisfied with the president's performance. However, in the same survey, 51 percent of the respondents believe that his habit of publicly cursing foreign officials is harmful to Philippine relations with other countries. home World Release International predicts rise in Christian persecution in 2017 Release International, an organization serving the persecuted church around the world, has warned that there will be a dramatic increase in the violent persecution of Christians all across the globe in 2017. In its annual Persecution Trends report, the group noted that persecution will most likely rise in Islamic countries, where Christians face threats from both the state and Islamic militants. Other areas of concern include China, India, Pakistan and Nigeria. "Around the world Christians face an increasing array of violent persecutors. These include the brutal Islamic State in the Middle East, heavily armed militants in Nigeria and Hindu extremists in India," said Release Chief Executive Paul Robinson. "Our report on the likely trends of persecution in 2017 is a wake-up call to take our prayers and practical support for our persecuted family to a new level," he continued. In the Middle East, ISIS has continued to target Christian communities despite losing ground in Iraq and Syria in 2016. Many Christians have fled their homes to escape the conflict zones, and some church leaders are worried about a wholesale exodus of Christians from the region. The group also warned that the crackdown on underground churches in Iran will most likely continue. A Release partner noted that house churches are seen by the state as a threat to the Islamic Republic. In Nigeria, Christians are under threat from Fulani militants who typically attack their villages at night to drive them out of their lands. Release International also noted the rise in attacks on Christians in India. In the first half of 2016, the Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of India documented 134 attacks, which is nearly the annual totals for both 2014 and 2015 combined. In China, there is ongoing pressure on the unregistered churches to submit to government control. Christians are often charged with offenses related to espionage and state security, which effectively makes them enemies of the state who collude with foreign powers. In Pakistan, Christians were subjected to violent attacks from militants as well as discrimination from the legal system. A Release partner predicted that Christians will continue to face discrimination, forced conversion and forced marriages in 2017. Last week, the Massimo Introvigne, director of Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), revealed a few details about an upcoming report on Christian persecution. He said that around 90,000 Christians have been killed in 2016, and 500 to 600 million Christians from all over the world were prevented from practicing their faith. home US Republicans backpedal on ethics watchdog on first day of U.S. Congress following Donald Trump rebuke The Republican-led U.S. Congress began its first session of the Donald Trump era in turmoil on Tuesday as the House of Representatives backed away from a decision to defang an ethics watchdog after a public outcry, including a dressing-down from the president-elect. With Trump set to be sworn in as president on Jan. 20, Republicans will control both the White House and Congress for the first time since 2007, and they were set to begin laying plans for enacting his agenda of cutting taxes, repealing Obamacare and rolling back financial and environmental regulations. But the moment was overshadowed by a surprise move by Republicans in the House of Representatives in a closed-door meeting late on Monday to weaken the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, which is in charge of investigating ethics accusations against lawmakers. Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to "drain the swamp" and bring ethics reforms to Washington, was not pleased. "With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority," he said on Twitter on Tuesday. "Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance!" The ethics office was created in 2008 following several corruption scandals but some lawmakers have charged in recent years that it has been too quick to investigate complaints from outside partisan groups. Lawmakers wanted to have greater control of the watchdog, and inserted changes into a broader rules package, set to pass when the House convenes on Tuesday. Even before Trump's tweet, many House Republicans, including top leaders, opposed the measure and worried about its ramifications. Trump's tweet prompted an emergency meeting and a quick change of course by Republicans. "It was taken out by unanimous consent ... and the House Ethics Committee will now examine those issues," said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan. OBAMACARE IN SIGHTS Since his election on Nov. 8, Trump has made clear he wants to move swiftly to enact proposals he outlined during the campaign such as simplifying the tax code, slashing corporate tax rates and repealing and replacing Obama's signature health insurance program known as Obamacare. Republicans have long sought to dismantle Obamacare, insisting it was unworkable and hampered job growth. But they face a dilemma over how to provide health insurance for the 13.8 million people enrolled in Obamacare who could lose their coverage. The law aims to provide health insurance to economically disadvantaged people and expand coverage for others. Trump kept up his attack on Tuesday, tweeting: "People must remember that ObamaCare just doesn't work, and it is not affordable," and adding, "It is lousy healthcare." Last month Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, said in an interview with Kentucky Educational Television that before the election, he assumed Trump did not have a chance of defeating Hillary Clinton and that Democrats would retake control of the Senate, ending any talk of repealing Obamacare. But following Trump's win and Republicans retaining their Senate majority, the Republicans find they have to deliver on their campaign promise, even though they have not agreed on a replacement healthcare program. McConnell has said his top priorities for the new Congress were dealing with the "massive overregulation" he said had been a brake on the U.S. economy and making changes in the tax code to stop companies from moving jobs out of the country. Republican lawmakers also want to curtail regulations aimed at controlling industrial emissions that contribute to climate change, and roll back banking industry reforms enacted after the near-collapse of Wall Street in 2008. Republicans might use upcoming spending bills funding government agencies to try to kill some of those regulations. Trump also is expected to try to use his executive powers toward that end. OBAMACARE DEFENSE The first meeting of the 115th Congress will be full of ceremony, as the 435 members of the House of Representatives and a third of the 100-member Senate are sworn in. Amid the celebration will be a move by House Republicans to clear the decks for Obamacare repeal. That will come in the form of a vote on rules governing House procedures in the two-year term of the chamber. Tucked into the rules package is a move to prevent Democrats from slowing or stopping Obamacare repeal legislation because of the potential cost to the U.S. Treasury of doing so. Leading Democrats warned of a fierce battle over Obamacare and said they planned to mobilize grassroots support for it. Obama is scheduled to meet on Wednesday with congressional Democrats to discuss strategies for fending off the Republican attacks on Obamacare. Vice President-elect Mike Pence said he would meet on Capitol Hill on Wednesday with lawmakers about plans for replacing Obamacare and rolling back other regulations. Trump's Cabinet nominees were to begin meeting with senators on Tuesday ahead of Senate confirmation hearings. The Senate also is expected to receive a Supreme Court nomination from Trump early in his term to replace conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who died last February. Republicans refused to consider Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland last year. Prominent Republican Senator John McCain has warned that Rex Tillerson, Trump's choice for secretary of state, will have to explain his relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who McCain has called a "thug and a murderer." Tillerson, who spent much of his career at Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), has been involved in business dealings in Russia and opposed U.S. sanctions against Moscow for its incursion into Crimea. Christian Pastor Jailed In Turkey Spent Christmas In Prison An American pastor imprisoned in Turkey because of his Christian faith has had his appeal denied and remains jailed on charges of "membership in an armed terrorist organisation", campaigners say. According to the American Centre for Law and Justice (ACLJ), Pastor Andrew Brunson appealed against his imprisonment but Turkish authorities denied his request. Brunson, 48, led a Protestant church in Izmir and was jailed on December 9 after being detained in October. His family say he was arrested on false terrorism charges after he was accused of links to US-based cleric Fetulah Gulen, whom Turkey blames for the failed coup in July. Together with his wife Norine, originally from North Carolina, Brunson has lived in Turkey for 23 years. The ACLJ, which is representing the pastor, says no evidence has been provided by the Turkish authorities to justify Brunson's detainment. "The charging documents do not present any evidence against him," the Centre said in a statement. It accused officials in Turkey of denying Brunson attorney-client privilege and said he was previously denied access to a Bible, though he has now been allowed a copy of the New Testament. "Although Pastor Andrew has finally been allowed a family visit and some access to his attorney, he is still wrongfully imprisoned and the charge he faces is serious," the ACLJ said. "Pastor Andrew must be released. We are continuing our diplomatic efforts to engage the incoming US administration, and moving forward with an appeal of his case." On Saturday, evangelist Franklin Graham urged Christians around the world to pray for Brunson and his wife. In a Facebook post, Graham said: "He spent Christmas in prison. Andrew Brunson is an American citizen who has been serving as a pastor in Turkey for more than 23 years. He and his wife raised their family there. "Over two months ago, he was unexpectedly detained and has been unfairly charged with being a member of an armed terrorist organisation and is still imprisoned. These are very serious charges. I spoke with Pastor Andrew's wife yesterday, prayed with her, and assured her that I would share this with you. You can understand her concern. "I ask that you join me in praying specifically for Pastor Andrew's protection and release. Please share your encouragement and prayers with Mrs Brunson in the comments below and I will be sure she knows. I hope you will also share this post with others who will pray. "The Bible says, 'Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering' (Hebrews 13:3)." Brunson's family said in an earlier statement: "Andrew's strong faith has always been at the centre of his life and that has never been more evident than his pastorship in Turkey. "His love and concern for the people of Turkey is unmistakable, as he has dedicated 23 years of his life serving them." Christian Woman In China Sentenced To Three Years In Prison For Holding Bible Study A Christian woman in China has been sentenced to three years in prison for holding a Bible study after being accused of "gathering a crowd to disturb public order". China Aid reported that Ma Huichao was sentenced on Friday at a court in the western Xinjiang region of the country. She had been taken into police custody along with four other Christians when officials claimed that their Bible study met without government approval, and stood trial in mid-November. China Aid added that Ma's lawyer, Li Dunyong was disallowed to plead innocent on her behalf, and Ma received a three-year prison sentence beginning on 30 December. Ma does not plan to appeal, said the group, which promotes religious freedom and supports persecuted Christians in the world's most populous nation. In recent years China's Communist regime has been cracking down on non-government sanctioned underground churches and Christian gatherings, and has arrested hundreds of pastors and Christian worshipers on similar charges of disturbing public order. According to the Christian Post, the Revised Draft of Regulations on Religious Affairs, which went into effect in October 2016, further established prohibitions on "organising citizens to attend religious training, conferences and activities abroad"; "preaching, organizing religious activities, and establishing religious institutions or religious sites at schools," and "providing religious services through the internet." The regime has also been demolishing crosses on church roofs, claiming they are in violation of building codes. "The government wants to control everything, even the smallest aspects," one pastor, identified as Zhou, told China Aid in September. "One characteristic of this draft is the empowerment of local government bodies all the way down to the communities." "This revision will further reduce the possibility of loosening religious control in China. It is becoming impossible." China Aid has also reported that several Christians were arrested throughout October and November and accused of belonging to "evil cults," in charges which have been denied. The advocacy group said that the exact number of people arrested is not yet known. "Tu Yan, a woman who began attending churches in Yunnan after she moved there for work, was returning home from a Christian gathering on October 22, when she was apprehended on suspicion of 'using a cult organization to undermine the implementation of the law,'" China Aid said. "A month later, she was arrested for the same charge. Authorities also accused her of being the backbone of two so-called 'evil cults' and organizing three meetings on behalf of these institutions. In an interview, her father denied her involvement in any cult activities." In August 2016, two teachers were arrested and accused of "brainwashing" children with Christian teachings, also in the Xinjiang region. "Both women were accused of indoctrinating minors with superstitious beliefs. Chinese law forbids religious teaching to anyone under the age of 18, believing matters of faith to be dangerous brainwashing from which children must be protected," China Aid said at the time. Christians At The Capitol: Members Of The New Congress Are Overwhelmingly Followers Of Jesus More than nine in 10 of the members of the new US Congress that will be the legislative government of incoming President Donald Trump are Christian. A new analysis by Pew Research shows the number of Christians at the top of the US Government has remained steady since the 1960s. This is in spite of an overall fall in the number of adults in the US who describe themselves as Christian. In the new, 115th Congress which began its first session in Washington today, 91 per cent describe themselves as Christian. More than half are Protestant and more than a third, Catholic. All but two of the 293 Republicans are Christian. The two Jewish Republicans are Lee Zeldin of New York and David Kustoff of Tennessee. By contrast, the 242 Democrats in Congress include 28 Jews, three Buddhists, three Hindus, two Muslims and one Unitarian Universalist, as well as the only member of Congress to describe herself a "none" or with no religon at all Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. The "nones" make up 23 per cent of the population but just 0.2 per cent of Congress. All 10 members of Congress who declined to state their religious affiliation for the Pew analysis are Democrat. Baptists are down seven seats on the 114th Congress, and Episcopalians are down by six seats. Mormons lost three seats and Catholics gained six. The number of Muslims remains the same as before, while numbers of Hindus and Buddhists increased. Both the House and Senate have Protestant majorities 58 per cent in the Senate and 55 per cent in the House. Baptists, for instance, are more numerous in the House in percentage terms than in the Senate, while Presbyterians and Lutherans are more numerous in the Senate than the House. Nearly seven in 10 Republicans in Congress are Protestant and nearly half are Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian or Lutheran. Of the 62 new members who will join the 473 incumbents, half are Protestant and roughly a third are Catholic. Although the number of Christians has barely changed over decades, within Christianity there have been significant denominational shifts. The share of Protestants has declined from three in four of the 87th Congress to just 56 per cent of the new body. Catholics, who made up one in five of the 87th Congress, now make up nearly a third. The data was compiled by CQ Roll Call through questionnaires and follow-up phone calls to members' and candidates' offices. Did Pope Francis Call For A Merger Between Christianity And Islam? Pope Francis has been widely reported to have called for a merger of religions in the interests of world-wide peace and harmony. Among other things, he is said to have said: "Jesus Christ, Mohammed, Jehovah, Allah. These are all names employed to describe an entity that is distinctly the same across the world. For centuries, blood has been needlessly shed because of the desire to segregate our faiths." He is also said to have said: "We can accomplish miraculous things in the world by merging our faiths, and the time for such a movement is now." The man is clearly a damned heretic. You didn't read carefully enough. "Said to have said", I said. Ah, you mean he didn't say them? Precisely. These are internet myths that started circulating, by all accounts, some time in 2015. A Vatican spokesman has gone to the trouble of rebutting them in an interview with Associated Press. It doesn't seem like a very likely thing for a Pope to say. No. The Pope has been diligent in cultivating better relations with Muslims in particular (his predecessor never quite recovered from a bit of a PR disaster) but that doesn't mean he wants to merge with them or anyone else. It's becoming more improbable the more I think about it. Catholics still haven't really made up with Lutherans, after all. No, and it's interesting that people should have fallen for it. One reason is probably that many Protestants are still a bit suspicious of Catholics and willing to believe very weird things about them. It's not so long ago that John F Kennedy's Catholic faith was a serious bar to his becoming US President because people thought the Pope would be giving him orders. Many Christians are suspicious of Muslims, too. Yes, they too are supposed to want to take over the world. So you have two super-villainous powers what's more likely than that they'd want to join forces? OK, you've convinced me it's not true. But te Pope did say Christians and Muslims worship the same God, didn't he? Indeed that's the saying that got Wheaton College's Professor Larycia Hawkins into such trouble when she quoted it approvingly. But while in a sense that's quite true (there's only one God, after all) it doesn't mean we believe the same things about God, certainly not to the extent of imagining we can just ignore our differences. For a start, Christians believe God was incarnate in Jesus, which Muslims don't; that's pretty fundamental. And the Pope believes that? Trust me on this. No worries, then. No. But it is very worrying that people are so willing to believe such improbable things just because someone shared them on Facebook. "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting its boots on," someone wrote. And in spite of what the internet thinks, it wasn't Mark Twain. Or Benjamin Franklin, either. Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods Do Not Blame Muslims For De-Christianisation Of Europe, Says Leading Cardinal A leading Catholic cardinal has said that Christians must not blame Muslims for wanting to "Islamise" Europe. Instead, they should work harder to fill their churches rather than letting them be sold off and converted. In an interview with Austria's Kronen Zeitung newspaper, Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, aged 71, was asked "Will Islam conquer Europe? And are we going to lose our Christian values?" The cardinal, once considered in the running as a possible Pope or "papabile", said: "When we see that the mosques are well visited and the churches are badly visited, we can not blame Muslims for wanting to Islamise Europe. But we must reproach ourselves for not doing enough to maintain a Christian Europe." Schonborn also said Brexit was "unfortunate" because "European cohesion is incomparably better than the European antagonism we have suffered for centuries." And he urged the world not to rush to judgement against Donald Trump before giving him a chance to show what he can do. There were also shaking of heads when Ronald Reagan was elected but Reagan was one of the best presidents the US ever had, he said. "So you should not judge rashly. This applies to Trump and that applies to everything." He said that as a Christian, he would like the Middle East to become Christian again, as it once was. "Of course I wish this because I believe that Christianity is not only my personal religion, but a religion that is a good religion despite all the mistakes that have happened. So I can not blame the Muslims if they want Europe to become Islamic. That's not my problem." He said that of course he did not wish St Stephen's Cathedral to become St Stephen's Mosque. "Of course, I wish that the St. Stephan's Cathedral remains a living Christian house of God, a place of prayer and not just a tourist attraction for five million tourists a year. "But we already have 200 Islamic places of prayer in Vienna. We have mosques in cathedrals in Spain, and we have, for example, in Damascus, the cathedral, where John the Baptist is now a mosque, and we have Hindu temples in India, which were formerly mosques, and vice versa . "That religions are in competition with each other is as old as the world. I am pleased that Muslims can freely exercise their religion with us, but I also wish that Christians in Saudi Arabia were able to practise their religion freely, and in other Muslim majority countries." It is not Muslims' fault if Europe is being de-Christianised, the cardinal added. "Fear of the Islamisation of Europe is nonsensical if one does not contribute something to the fact that Europe remains Christian. But, of course, if a church is sold in the Netherlands and transformed into a supermarket, when the supermarkets are more important to us than the Christian roots of Europe, we must not be surprised that Europe de-Christianises. But it is not the fault of the Muslims." The key issue Austria is facing is the integration of refugees, the cardinal said. Some refugees abuse Austria's hospitality and become criminal. "Where does tolerance, mercy, charity end? There, where it also ends for Austrian citizens. Crime is crime. And as with the people of Austria, there are also among the refugees those who abuse social benefits. But it would not be right to conclude that all refugees do this." He admitted that most of the terrorist attacks of recent times have been associated with the call: "Allah is great." Schonborn said: "That's a problem. But I also say that religions are always at risk of terror being committed in their name. Just think of the Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland, who killed each other - And the name of their religion." He said his hope for 2017 was for more peace, more silence, more thoughtfulness, for less talk and more listening. In a separate New Year's address, Schonborn told Radio Niederosterreich that worries about 2017 were justified: "Economic development, unemployment, environmental and climate change, the never-ending war in Syria, the refugee flows from the Middle East and Africa, the growing gap between the rich and poor." But there is hope, and this hope never dies, he said. "The refugee situation has shown that in Austria many people are really helpful." Does It Really Matter What A Christian Believes? Is doubt a good thing? Listen to some pastors and theologians and you'd think it was verging on sinful. Listen to others and you'd think it was great; if you aren't doubting, you aren't thinking. The question came into focus over Christmas via an interview with Tim Keller in the New York Times. Provocatively entitled, 'Am I a Christian, Pastor Timothy Keller?' it saw Nicholas Kristof coming clean regarding his doubts about the Virgin Birth, the Resurrection and miracles. Was there, he asked, room for scepticism about things like this? No, Keller says: "If something is truly integral to a body of thought, you can't remove it without destabilising the whole thing. A religion can't be whatever we desire it to be. If I'm a member of the board of Greenpeace and I come out and say climate change is a hoax, they will ask me to resign." Cue a response from another Bible teacher, Peter Enns. He accused Keller in a blog post of "a pastorally inadequate response to a sceptic's questions". Evangelicals, he said, tend to see doubt as something to ignore in the hope it will go away or as a "temporary bump in the road". Instead, he says, it's an opportunity for spiritual growth that should be welcomed. He thinks Keller made a mis-step by just arguing with Kristof rather than recognising the force of his doubts. Keller (in the NYT article, at least) represents "the inadequacy, even incapability, of mainstream Evangelicalism to address pressing questions of faith for our day; for giving answers that you have to be an Evangelical Christian to accept". There are two very different approaches to the handling of theological truth here. But underlying them are two very specific questions. One is about the nature of doubt, and one is about the value of argument. Doubt, in Christian circles and particularly evangelical Christian circles has become such a loaded term that it's scarcely useful. Here Enns puts his finger on it: doubt is seen as a moral weakness. You should believe what you're told by Bible teachers who know more than you do, and if you don't believe it there's something wrong with you. The trouble is that sometimes these Bible teachers are wrong or if not wrong, at least they aren't telling you the whole story, because they don't know it. Scholarship moves on. You have to read and think, because people find out stuff that means we can't believe what we used to believe any more. I used to believe in young-earth creationism because that's what the church I grew up in taught. I don't now, but I didn't doubt the Bible I just interpreted it differently. Thinking things through and changing your mind, even if it means going against the consensus, isn't doubt and making people feel bad about it is plain wrong. Doubt, in the sense of exploring and questioning, is fine. It's what theologians do all the time. Real doubt is different. It's what happens when the foundations of faith are being shaken, when you wake up in the morning thinking, "None of this is true." Real doubt is when you can't see the point of God or church and think you've given your life to a serious mistake. Doubt, in the first sense, is exciting. In the second, it is dreadful. You may come through it back to faith, you may not; but it is not something to be welcomed as an opportunity for growth. What about the value of argument? Surely someone like Keller, who's given his life to the study of the Scriptures and is a fine apologist for the faith, has a right to call out sloppy thinking for what it is? We live, we're told, in a post-truth age. Donald Trump was elected as US president despite massive mis-matches between what he said was true and what was actually true. Michael Gove, a prominent pro-Brexit campaigner, blithely informed us that "the public has had enough of experts". Shouldn't Christians be fighting back against the dumbing-down of debate especially in theology? Yes, is the short answer: theology matters, and the idea that you can believe whatever you like and still call yourself a Christian is nonsense. But there are limits to what argument can do. Belief involves some very complex mental processes. We might hold something to be true as part of a doctrinal package; call that cool belief. Or it might be something we feel on our pulses; call that hot. It might be something that genuinely affects how we live; it might be part of our mental furniture. It might shift from one category to another. But intellectual argument, of the kind Keller offered Kristof, is never going to move someone to that heart-conviction that something is true. The best it can do is remove an objection or explain a difficulty. As Cardinal Newman said in one of his sermons, you can't argue people into believing any more than you can torture them into doing so. And the danger is that intellectual superiority is used as a weapon to bludgeon people into submission, when all the time they are conscious of not really being convinced. Is it possible to reconcile respect for doubt, in the sense of probing, questioning and sometimes coming to unorthodox conclusions, with a firm grip on orthodoxy and an absolute rejection of the post-truth idea that it just doesn't matter what you believe? Not entirely. Keller is right: some truths are non-negotiable. Whether he has picked on the right ones is a different question; it's clearly possible to believe in the Incarnation without believing in the Virgin Birth, and in a Resurrection in the sense that Jesus is alive without believing in a literal empty tomb. Whether that makes theological sense is a different question, but the possibility has to be allowed. So what should a church do when people start asking hard questions and refusing to accept cookie-cutter answers? Here are four suggestions. 1. Don't call it doubt; that moralises a natural process and helps de-legitimise it. 2. Don't compromise on essential teaching but be clear on what's essential. Think of the concentric circles of dogma, doctrine and opinion: only dogma is non-negotiable. 3. Don't expect people to think the same about everything. 'Sound Bible teaching' too easily becomes a way of inflicting conformity on a congregation. But belief is complicated; truth looks different depending on your life experiences; God says different things to us at different times. 4. Hold people within the community. We are designed to be social Christians, learning and growing together. Freezing someone out because they don't fit is a betrayal of fellowship. Mark Woods is the author of Does the Bible really say that? Challenging our assumptions in the light of Scripture (Lion, 8.99). Follow him on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods How Young Muslims In Iraq Celebrated Mass With Christians Over New Year Iraq over this new year period is witnessing a "grass-roots revolt against terrorism", alongside a renewed commitment to the "defense of life, peace [and] joy" as Muslims attended Mass and people celebrated the start of 2017, according to the Chaldean Patriarch there, Mar Raphael Louis Sako. In an interview with Asia News, the Chaldean primate said that through the spirit of a majority of ordinary people in Iraq "it is possible to defeat those who seek death, destruction, emigration". Iraq continues to be ravaged by daily violence, including a double suicide bombing in Baghdad the biggest in months carried out by ISIS on 31 December which killed at least 27 people. But according to the patriarch, a festive atmosphere has prevailed. He cited the examples of Christmas trees scattered around different neighborhoods in Baghdad; the visit of a group of young Najafdi Shiite Muslims who attended a mass in the capital; the celebrations for the new year in Basra and the invitation of local authorities for Christians "to return to their homes." Mar Sako said that on New Year's Eve: "I went out to go to a square in the Mansour neighborhood of Baghdad. We celebrated with a lot of people, nearly a million people took to the streets... We talked with them, we exchanged greetings; these are small things but are important to reject the Daesh ideology of terror [that] still [targets] the capital with attacks." He added that the Christmas spirit on display gave him hope that 2017 would be a year of "greater cohesion" for Iraq. The change, Mar Sako said, was evident "especially in Baghdad, dotted with Christmas trees. And then the many letters of greeting from religious, political authorities, but also of Muslim civil activists and many ordinary people... I think 2017... will be another year, maybe not [of] total peace, but certainly greater cohesion, unity. This is my prayer, but it is also the common feeling of the majority of citizens." According to Asia News, Basra's political, religious and institutional authorities have launched an appeal to Christians, asking the many who have emigrated to return to their homes. In the southern Iraqi city, New Year's Eve was celebrated for the first time, and the police forces in Basra kept watch, while the County Council has also committed itself to the maintenance and renovation of churches. "The governor and the president of the Municipal Council came to visit me in these days of celebration," Mar Sako said. "A local Christian politician circulated a letter for the new year against the war. We Christians have a lot to do for the local community; I asked the local authorities to show their closeness to the Christian communities, and these appeals and these initiatives [at Christmas] is a first response. " The most significant of these various events, according to Mar Sako, was the visit of a group of young Shiite Muslims boys and girls originating from Najaf who attended a mass in the church of St. George. Afterwards, the group had lunch with the patriarch and exchanged stories about personal and community experiences. "They took part in the church service and then we posed for photographs with a flag of Iraq and banners for peace. They young people were impressed by the songs and prayers," the patriarch said. "I explained to them our faith, in the one God, the Trinity concept. I explained the basics of our faith, the common descent from Abraham, the figure of Jesus. I invited them to combat ignorance of Christianity, we are not infidels. Reporters of two television channels also came, and I appealed to them to help spread awareness of our culture, to explain it to their audience, because there are many more things that unite us than divide us. "And even more significant is that [the young Muslims] came on their own initiative. They have seen a few dedicated services to our community in the media, and they wanted to meet us, creating a personal and direct relationship with us that I hope will continue in the future. Here, from this we can also see the importance of newspapers and TV to provide opportunities for interaction and discussion. For this reason, this year, I asked the priests and bishops to think of messages and Christmas homilies that they could apply to everyone. " The young Muslims from Najaf were joined at the end of the Mass by another group of young Muslims in Baghdad, who brought flowers and wanted to celebrate the new year. Mar Sako concluded: "From young people to government leaders, you can strive for dialogue, unity and the country's future." Iraqi Government Leader Pleads With Christians Who Fled ISIS To Return Home The head of the Iraqi government in Basra has appealed to Iraqi Christians who fled the terrors of Islamic State to return home. Civil authorities in Iraq's main port city are using the Christmas and New Year celebrations marking the start of 2017 to try to reassure and encourage Christians that they still have a future in Iraq, Fides reports. Khalaf Abdul al Samad, head of the city council, pledged during a visit to an Armenian church in Basra to support the rebuilding and recovery of the city's churches. He called on Christian Iraqi refugees who had fled their homes to return to their land of origin, especially in those areas now liberated from the control of the Islamic State jihadists. Samad, a Dutch-educated Shiite Muslim who has spent part of his political career in exile, is close to al-Maliki, a prominent Shia dissident during the rule of Saddam Hussein. Maliki was Prime Minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and is currently one of the country's Vice Presidents. The Christian population in Basra, 590 km south of Baghdad, has plummeted in recent years. About 2,500 Christians lived there, mainly Chaldean Catholics, before the Iraq-Iran war. They made up a large part of the city's merchant class. Now there are a few hundred families left at most. Across Iraq, in 2003 there were about 1.5 million Christians, just more than six per cent of the population. This was half the number of 1947. Estimates of the Iraqi Christian population now put it as low as 200,000, or even fewer. Signs that the situation might be improving were apparent last April, however, when about 200 Chaldeans made the traditional pilgrimage from Baghdad to Ur, believed to be the birthplace of the Biblical patriarch Abraham, to mark the Pope's Year of Mercy. Islamists Threaten Murdered Punjab Governor's Son For Wishing Christians Happy Christmas A Christmas message calling for prayers for those charged under Pakistan's blasphemy laws has led to death threats against the son of a provincial governor killed five years ago for criticising the same laws. The case highlights the continuing influence in Pakistan of Muslim hardliners who praise violence in the name of defending Islam, despite a government vow to crack down on religious extremism. The hardliners have called for mass protests if police do not charge activist Shaan Taseer with blasphemy against Islam a crime punishable by death. Taseer's father, Punjab governor Salman Taseer, was gunned down by his bodyguard for championing the case of a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was sentenced to death under the blasphemy laws, which he said needed to be reformed. In a video message posted on his Facebook page, Taseer, a Muslim, wishes a happy holiday to Christians, in solidarity, and also asked for prayers for the woman and others victimised by what he called "inhumane" blasphemy laws. Taseer said on Monday that he had received "very credible death threats" from supporters of the hardline Muslim philosophy that inspired his father's killer, bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri. "They are sending me Mumtaz Qadri's photos with messages that there are several Mumtaz Qadris waiting for me," he told Reuters late on Monday. Tens of thousands people attended Qadri's funeral last March after he was put to death for killing the governor because they considered him a hero showing the potential for this case to become another flashpoint. More than 200 people in Pakistan were charged under blasphemy laws in 2015, many of them minorities such as Christians, who make up one per cent of the population. Critics say the laws are often used to settle personal scores, and pressure for convictions is often applied on police and courts from religious groups and lawyers dedicated to pushing the harshest blasphemy punishments. At least 65 people, including lawyers, defendants and judges, have been murdered over blasphemy allegations since 1990, according to figures from a Centre for Research and Security Studies report and local media. A spokesman for the hardline Islamist movement Sunni Tehreek said it was demanding police in Lahore charge Shaan Taseer with blasphemy against Islam. Police declined to comment and a copy of the police report on the complaint did not mention Shaan Taseer by name. The police report did reference the Christmas message and opened an investigation under the blasphemy laws' Section 295-A, which bans hate speech against any religion. However, Sunni Tehreek has threatened mass street protests unless the younger Taseer is charged under Section 295-C blasphemy against Islam or the Prophet Mohammad. Sunni Tehreek figure Mujahid Abdur Rasool told Reuters the group was in negotiations with the government over the case. "When we gave them a warning for protests, a delegation of Punjab government met us today," Rasool said, adding they had set a deadline of Tuesday for police to meet their demands. He said Sunni Tehreek was not calling for Taseer's murder, only his prosecution and eventual execution. Punjab government officials could not be reached for comment. Muslim Leader In Indonesia Faces Blasphemy Charges After 'Offensive' Comment About Jesus The Muslim leader of a protest against the Christian governor of Jakarta for alleged blasphemy is now facing the same charge after a group of Catholics accused him of making an offensive comment about Jesus. According to Asia News, Rizieq Shihab, the leader of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) was seen in a video saying on Christmas day: "If God had a son, then who was the midwife?" He was apparently explaining why Muslims should not allow others to wish them a merry Christmas. Members of the Indonesian Catholic Students Association (PMKRI) saw footage of the speech and decided to take Rizieq to court, accusing him and two others of blasphemy under section A of Article 156 of the Constitution. If convicted, the Muslim leader could face five years in prison. PMKRI president Angelius Wake Kako said the religious feelings of Christians "have been hurt and humiliated", adding that every Indonesian "should respect diversity and not interfere in the private affairs of other religions". He continued: "Only Christians know the Christian faith. It is better for all those who do not have that knowledge to be silent." Rizieq has said that the accusations of blasphemy are "misguided" and that the matter is "not sufficient for a police report". His group has also threatened to report the people who filed the lawsuit against him for defamation or slander. Rizieq and his organisation are behind several mass demonstrations that have drawn hundreds of thousands of Muslims to Jakarta to protest against the capital's Christian governor, Basuki Purnama Tjahaja, known as Ahok. Ahok who is is ethnic Chinese and the first Christian in nearly 50 years to govern Indonesia's capital is charged with violating blasphemy laws during a speech to fishermen in September. Ahok reportedly cited a verse from the Quran that warns Muslims against taking Christians and Jews as allies. He is said to have added that due to Indonesia's transition to democracy in 1999, it was perfectly acceptable for Muslim voters to choose a Christian in the election for governor in February. Ahok has denied the charges, saying that his comments were aimed at politicians "incorrectly" using the Koranic verse against him. According to Reuters, an Indonesian court last Tuesday rejected the defense request to throw out the case because of too many irregularities. The next court hearing is scheduled for today and will be moved to an auditorium in the agriculture ministry, south of the city for security reasons, authorities said. Blasphemy convictions in Indonesia almost always result in conviction, and the law has been criticised by Amnesty International for hurting freedom of expression and for targeting religious minorities. Indonesia technically guarantees freedom of religion in its constitution but in reality only six religions are recognised and tough blasphemy laws control debate and target minorities. Christians represent less than 10 per cent of the 250 million population. Pakistan Church Targeted By 'Builder Mafia', Christians Beaten Christians in Hyderabad, Pakistan, are appealing for protection against a "builder mafia" they say is attempting to seize control of a church situated on valuable building land. The Church of St Saviour's is located in the Christian community of Sukkur and belongs to the Church of Pakistan, part of the Anglican Communion. According to one resident, Munawar Gill, the church was first targeted on December 21 when police arrived at the building and asked for proof of ownership. Gill said that on New Year's Eve around 20 people, some in police uniforms, beat residents of the church compound with clubs. Among the 20 injured were women and children. Prof Suleman Sohail, who teaches physical education in Sukkur College, had his legs broken and his son was also injured. Around 4,500 Christians demonstrated in front of the Sukkur Press Club following the attack. Bishop Kaleem John of the Diocese of Hyderabad told Pakistan Today the move against the church was an attempt to create instability and undermine religious minorities. He said the Church of Pakistan had obtained a court decision in its favour and that the "mafia" had no right to the property. He appealed to Pakistan's political leaders to restrain the actions of the attackers. Nasir Saeed, director of anti-persecution watchdog CLAAS-UK, said church properties were located at prime locations throughout Pakistan and that the "land mafia" wanted to seize them for redevelopment. "The land mafia grabs or buys these properties very cheap from the pseudo owners and then develop them and sell them for the large profits," he said. "This is not the only church property but there are several church properties throughout Pakistan that have ownership disputes and cases are going on in courts for years." He described Christians as "the most suffering community in Pakistan". St Saviour's was targeted in 2006 and burned amid widespread unrest about cartoons featuring the Prophet Mohammed published in Western newspapers. Pope Francis Condemns 'Atrocity' Of Church Child Abuse Pope Francis has written to bishops around the world saying that they must subscribe to a policy of "zero tolerance" for clergy who sexually abuse children and described such abuse as "a sin that shames us". In a strongly-worded letter sent on 28 December but released by the Vatican yesterday, the Pope said: "I would like us to renew our complete commitment to ensuring that these atrocities will no longer take place in our midst." Since his election in 2013, Francis has taken some steps to root out sexual abuse in the Church and to put in place practices to protect children. But victims' groups say he has not done enough, particularly to hold to account bishops who tolerated sexual abuse or covered it up. "[The Church] recognises the sins of some of her members: the sufferings, the experiences and the pain of minors who were abused sexually by priests. It is a sin that shames us," Francis wrote in the letter. "I would like us to renew our complete commitment to ensuring that these atrocities will no longer take place in our midst. Let us find the courage needed to take all necessary measures and to protect in every way the lives of our children, so that such crimes may never be repeated. In this area, let us adhere, clearly and faithfully, to 'zero tolerance'." The comments included in a letter about the plight of vulnerable children in general were some of his most comprehensive on abuse. Francis, who has met victims of sexual abuse several times, both in the Vatican and on some of his foreign trips, said: "We join in the pain of the victims and weep for this sin the sin of what happened, the sin of failing to help, the sin of covering up and denial, the sin of the abuse of power." In 2015 Francis ordered the trial and defrocking of a Polish archbishop accused of paying for sex with minors in the Dominican Republic. The year before he set up a Vatican commission, including some victims, to advise local churches on how to prevent abuse. But some members have complained about the slow pace of change in the Vatican. Francis also approved the establishment of a Vatican tribunal to judge bishops accused of covering up sexual abuse or failing to prevent it. But the proposal has so far stalled. Church sexual abuse broke into the open in 2002 when it was discovered that US bishops moved abusers from parish to parish instead of defrocking them. Similar scandals were later discovered around the world and tens of millions of dollars have been paid in compensation. Additional reporting by Reuters. Sudanese Christian Pastor Released But 3 Others Still Face Death Penalty A Sudanese church leader has been released but three others a fellow pastor, an aid worker and a graduate continue to face the death penalty or life imprisonment for seven criminal charges relating to alleged "spying". Of the four men detained since December 2015, Kuwa Shamal was released after a hearing in Khartoum yesterday, during which the judge concluded that there was insufficient evidence to charge him, according to World Watch Monitor (WWM). However, the judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to proceed with the trials of fellow Sudan Church of Christ leader Hassan Taour, Darfuri graduate Abdulmonem Abdumawla and Czech aid worker Petr Jasek, WWM reported. After months of what WWM called "stagnation", several hearings have taken place in recent weeks and the next hearing is scheduled for 9 January, when the defence lawyers will present their case. Shamal and Taour were both unable to attend a hearing on 19 December due to ill health, WWM said. During that hearing, the judge dismissed one of the prosecution witnesses a member of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) after complaints from the defence that the witness's testimony added nothing extra to that of a previous NISS official. Further witnesses were heard on 26 December and 28 December and the defendants each gave statements and were questioned by the judge. The accusations against the remaining three men include waging war against the state, inciting hatred between classes, propagating false news, espionage and complicity in criminal agreements. The defendants are specifically accused in the court indictment of "fabricating videos or incidents of claimed genocide, killing of civilians and burnings of villages, besides claims of persecutions of Christians in Sudan". After Taour and Shamal were arrested by the NISS on 18 December last year, they were held "incommunicado" for months, without charges or contact with their families, WWM reported. Abdumawla, a single man employed in a mining exploration company in Khartoum, was reportedly arrested just a day earlier, after Jasek had been taken into custody on 10 December, when authorities confiscated his computer, mobile phone and flash drives as he sought to leave the country. All four were transferred to the Omdurman prison in early August and then formally indicted before the Khartoum North Court on 21 August, according to reports. Court proceedings have since been scheduled almost weekly, but repeatedly postponed without warning when a witness, translator or the judge failed to appear. Western diplomatic observers have periodically sat in on the trial hearings, with local supporters gathering outside the court at times to sing hymns and shout encouragements to the defendants. According to WWM, one observer at a hearing last month said: "The prosecutor has nothing new. It was just a repetition of what has already been said... They didn't have any evidence to support their accusations." In December, questioning in court focused on allegations that a meeting Taour and Shamal had attended with other Sudanese church leaders in Ethiopia a month before their arrest was organised with political motives to "damage and tarnish" Sudan's international image. Though the NISS officer serving as the plaintiff in the case to answer some questions posed by the defence lawyers, he also declared that "national security considerations" overrode several of Sudan's criminal procedure laws that had been violated throughout the past year. The European Parliament in early October adopted an Urgency Resolution, calling for the "immediate and unconditional" release of the four men on trial "on charges of highlighting alleged Christian suffering in war-ravaged areas of Sudan". Since 1999, the US State Department has designated Sudan as a "country of particular concern" for ongoing religious freedom violations, including the treatment of Christians. Sudan is ranked 8th in the Open Doors World Watch List of the 50 countries highlighted for persecution against Christians. Two Christian Priests 'Disappear' In Burma After Helping Newspapers Report Church Bombing Two Catholic priests who helped journalists report on the bombing of a Catholic Church in Burma have disappeared. Dawng Nawng and La Jaw Gam Hseng have not been seen since Saturday evening, when they were said to be at an Army base in Mong Ko in the northern Shan state. Their church in Mong Ko, home to many Christian ethnic Kachin people, was bombed by Burma Army troops at the beginning of December. The building had been occupied last year by the Army as a strategy in their fight against Burma's long-running ethnic civil war. Mong Ko is a war-torn heartland for the insurgents. The latest fighting erupted in November, causing more than 50,000 refugees to flee to northern Shan state and the border with China. The Army chose a church as a base because sacred buildings are respected by ethnic troops and are not usually attacked. After leaving the church, the Army then bombed it to pieces itself. This was to make sure there was no ammunition or other useful weaponry left behind by the government troops that could later be used against them by the insurgents. According to the state newspaper The Global New Light of Myanmar, the Army then rebuilt the church and more than 10,000 displaced people have returned home since the insurgents were driven out. However, the local Christian community remained outraged by the bombing. The two assistant priests took the decision to help journalists report the church bombing and bring it to international attention, in spite of the risks to their personal security. Morning Star News reports that they helped three reporters from newspapers in Yangon, including the Democratic Voice of Burma, The Irrawaddy and the Kumudra Journal. The church community realised their priests had gone missing when they failed to show up at Christmas Mass. One of the journalists told Morning Star News: "Gam Hseng helped us with everything. "He talked about fighting conditions and how the Burma Army's jet bombed the church and the town. He said the church was hit by bombs and bullets fired by the Burma Army." The priests were "disappeared" after pictures were published of damaged churches and also schools. "So I think it was because they helped us and talked to us," he said. Our specialists explore some of the most coveted styles of American furniture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Were here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in one of my favourite galleries, displaying treasures of American furniture, says Christies specialist John Hays, exploring some of its gorgeous examples of furniture design from across the United States. Regionalism is very pervasive in our field, Hays continues. In the 18th century, each port city in the colony had furniture makers who were very distinct from those in other port cities. In Newport, well see block shells embellishing pieces; in Philadelphia, certain types of carving; and from Boston, curved mahogany. Mapping styles across the states in this way offers a fascinating insight into the way traders operated in the 18th century, as well as where and how trends emerged and developed. Only in Philadelphia would you see a beautiful pie-crust table like this, comments Hays, identifying a form of scalloped edge particularly coveted in the city. Starbucks Corp. is poised to overtake McDonald's Corp. as the world's most valuable restaurant chain, and the coffee giant could ultimately have a staggering 50,000 locations. That's the prediction of Nomura analyst Mark Kalinowski, who named Starbucks his top restaurant stock for 2017 in a report on Tuesday. He estimates that the company will increase its worldwide restaurant count by 8.4 percent this year and boost same-store sales by more than 5 percent. There's more room for growth in the beverage industry -- and less competition -- giving Starbucks an edge over McDonald's and other more food-focused rivals, Kalinowski said. The coffee chain's new upscale Reserve brand also could eventually generate $3 billion in sales, helped by pricier drinks. "It is only a matter of time before Starbucks overtakes McDonald's as the largest market cap restaurant stock, although likely not in 2017," said Kalinowski, an influential restaurant analyst who previously worked at Janney Montgomery Scott and was known for his McDonald's franchisee surveys. Starbucks' stock is coming off a weak 2016. It fell 7.5 percent last year, dragged down by concerns about slowing growth. Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz also announced plans to step down, giving jitters to investors. The overall industry isn't expected to have a bright 2017, according to a prediction by NPD Group. U.S. restaurants will see "little to no traffic growth" this year, the research company said in a separate report Tuesday. Though Starbucks has set a goal of having 37,000 cafes open by 2021, up from about 25,000 last year, Kalinowski sees potential for a much larger operation. "Well beyond 2021, we would not be surprised to see Starbucks exceed the 50,000-store level," he said. That would vault the company past the current total of Subway Restaurants, which currently has the most locations of any chain. Starbucks shares rose 0.1 percent to $55.56 as of 10:09 a.m. on Tuesday in New York. Kalinowski, who has a buy on the stock, maintained his target price of $70. Elizabeth Conley/Staff Private equity firm The Sterling Group continues to build its holdings of construction supply firms with the acquisition of a Midwest distributor. Des Moines, Iowa-based Stetson Building Products is the third company in Construction Supply Holdings, the company formed by Houston-based Sterling. Stetson distributes construction building products to architects, engineers, contractors and building owners from a base of 10 locations across Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin, according to the company's website. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A Florida man is behind bars after troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol said he shot at cows while inside of a car. According to news station WFTV, Elvis Antonio Artola, 33, is accused of shooting at cows with an AR-15 on the Florida Turnpike. SORE WINNER: Florida man, 83, hits car salesman in the head with golf club after winning gift card Trooper Konner Achors was on patrol Sunday when he received a call that someone in a blue Hyundai Sonata was shooting at cows in Kissimmee, the news station reports. Achors said Artola was in the passenger seat and denied firing off a rifle. Artola told the trooper that he did have a weapon in the vehicle. When Achors asked Artola to put his hands behind his back, WFTV reports he refused to. Achors had to call for back up to get Artola to put his hands behind his back. According to the news station, the driver told troopers he stopped along the side of the Turnpike so Artola could use the restroom. He said Artola stepped out the vehicle and fired into the woods with the AR-15. KEEPING THEM SAFE: Florida county takes steps to track animal abusers like sex offenders The driver said Artola fired shots from the car window as they drove away. WFTV reports the driver wasn't sure if Artola was attempting to hit the cows. Troopers said a fully-loaded Bushmaster rifle was in the trunk of the car. Artola is being held in the Orange County Jail. Texas State University, whose student body was divided by racial threats and large-scale protests after Donald Trumps election, now faces a new source of tension: Its all-female dance team was selected to perform in Trump's inauguration parade on Jan. 20 in Washington D.C. Certain students and alumni are criticizing the Strutters announcement before Christmas that its dancers will perform after Trump is sworn in as the nations 45th president. They argue that the inaugural performance will be in poor taste after the election-related threats and protests on the San Marcos campus. After Trumps election, fliers appeared around the Texas State campus advocating for the arrest and torture of university leaders spouting off all this diversity garbage. Hundreds of students protested the fliers on campus. Verbal arguments broke out in the crowds of students assembled in the campus center, echoing scenes on many campuses across the state and nation. Soon after, the university added foot and bike patrols for campus officers and held town hall meetings on democracy, protest and freedom of expression that stretched into December. More are planned for this spring. The acclaimed Strutters had applied to march in the inaugural parade early in 2016, well before Trump was even the Republican nominee, the university said. Matt Flores, the university spokesman, called the group a "top-notch representation" of the university and said the event is a "wonderful opportunity" to perform on a national stage. On Dec. 21 when the dance team announced its selection to march in the parade, students had scattered for the holiday break. But the news rippled through social media feeds, group text messages and Instagram comments. Jo Hogan, a 22-year-old senior studying musical theater, was sitting at her familys San Antonio dining room table after lunch when she saw the Strutters announcement on Facebook. She left the room to text her friends to spread the word. Its odd that the campus itself would say that this is a time where we should be supporting our president and we should be performing for him, given whats been going down, she said in an interview, adding that the female dance team will celebrate a man who thinks he can do whatever he wants, including to women. But dance team members posted excited updates online, some stressing that their parade application was submitted well before the election. Flores said no dancers have backed out of their commitment to perform since Trump won the election, adding that no university funds will be used for the trip. At least one student has set up a crowdfunding page to raise money to attend, calling the event an amazing opportunity. It would mean so much to me to be able to go, wrote Kylie Warren, of McAllen. While in D.C., the Strutters also will perform at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center and Union Station. "Christmas came early for the (Strutters)," Alexis Bonilla, the group's Pom Leader, posted on Twitter. A September opening is planned for the new Fire Station No. 8 of the Klein Volunteer Fire Department, while two existing stations undergo interior renovations to better meet department needs. Harris County Emergency Services District 16, which contracts for service with the Klein VFD, is building Station No. 8 at 9600 Crescent Clover Drive near Gleannloch Farms subdivision. Contractor for the $4 million station is Teal Construction Co. It's the first of its design for the ESD/VFD and at 10,800 square feet is larger than the department's other stations, said Commissioner Mike Pate, chairman of the ESD 16 building committee. Existing stations range from about 7,900 to 8,400 square feet by comparison. "At its opening, Station No. 8 will initially house an engine," he said. "The chief is evaluating what other existing apparatus might be moved there once it is operational." Fire chief is David Bessolo. Late last year, ESD 16 purchased two engines from general funds, said Pate. One is for the new station and the other is part of the fleet replacement program. Station No. 8 is intended to reduce the department's response time, and Pate said it is located almost halfway between existing stations No. 5 at 8230 Boudreaux Road in Tomball, and No. 6 at 18822 N. Eldridge Parkway in Tomball. "Klein VFD's boundaries are in both Spring and Klein. We have seen growth mostly in the north end portion of the area (north of Spring Cypress)," Pate said. With eight stations, Klein VFD will be among the largest departments in the area. Pate said the ESD 16/Klein VFD district is about 52 square miles and has 150,000 residents. "It is similar in size to Spring VFD and a bit smaller than Cy-Fair VFD; both are neighboring departments," he added. Meanwhile, ESD District 16 also is upgrading the interior of Fire Stations No. 2 at 14640 Gladebrook Drive in Houston and No. 4 at 16810 Squyres Road in Spring. "We are remodeling over 80 percent of the interior space to provide a dedicated meeting/training room as well as dorms for overnight manning of the station," Pate said. "The decision to remodel the stations was not so much driven by age but needs of Klein VFD." Balfour Beatty is the contractor for Station 2 and bids are pending for Station 4 and should go out in the next 60 days, said Pate. The preliminary cost for Station 2 is about $1.5 million and fire officials expect Station 4 to cost about the same. Both are six-month projects. "Funding for all 3 projects is being funded by the 1 percent sales tax we began collecting last year," said Pate in an email. ESD No. 16 had been approved to levy a maximum property tax of 5 cents per $100 of valuation. But the state cap proved to be a challenge and faced with increasing service expectations, it successfully asked voters to support a 1 percent sales and use tax in a May 9, 2015 election. Stations are manned by a combination of part-time and volunteer firefighters, said Pate. "During weekdays we staff five stations with Duty Crew (part-time paid firefighters). Weeknights we staff one station with volunteers (the rest of the stations have volunteers respond from home). On weekends we staff two stations with volunteers." And Pate said they are always looking for more volunteers. Those interested can fill out an online application on the Klein VFD website (http://www.kleinfiredept.com/volunteering) or call KVFD administration at 281-376-4449. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Several new schools are under construction as area school districts work to keep up with enrollment growth. Four new schools are under construction in Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District - Bridgeland High School, Jim and Pam Wells Elementary School, Janet Brenner Hoover Elementary School and Matzke Elementary. In addition, the district is working on major renovations at Watkins Middle School and Adam and Bane elementary schools. The district will also be completing the final phase of upgrading technology infrastructure. Two of the new schools - Wells Elementary and Bridgeland High are part of a multi-campus site at 10607 Mason Road that will also include a future middle school. Hoover Elementary School, serving Pre-K through second grade, is located across from Jowell Elementary School, at 6425 Greenhouse Road. Three of Cy-Fair's new schools will open in 2017-18 - Wells, Hoover and Matzke elementary schools. "We will not have enrollment projections until later this spring, but feel confident will be well over 115,000 students," said Stephanie Migl, a spokeswoman for the district. Klein Independent School District is building a new high school, Klein Cain High School, which will open for the beginning of school in August 2017. "The district is excited about the opening of Klein Cain High School," said Klein ISD spokeswoman Judy Rimato. "Principal Nicole Patin continues to build her team of educators to welcome the Hurricanes in August of 2017." In addition, Klein will begin construction in 2017 of a new intermediate school on West Rayford next to Metzler Elementary. The school will open in August of 2018. "We look forward to watching the progress of that campus as it is a new intermediate school design for Klein ISD," Rimato said. Current enrollment at Klein ISD is 51,773 students and the district projects an enrollment of just over 52,800 students at peak enrollment. Enrollment during the first year at Klein Cain High School is expected to be between 1,500 and 1,750 students, Rimato said. At Magnolia Independent School District, construction is underway for the new Magnolia Intermediate, renovations for the new Bear Branch Intermediate and a renovated cafeteria at Williams Elementary. Steel is up at Magnolia Intermediate School and the retaining wall has been built at Bear Branch Intermediate, said Denise Meyers, spokeswoman for the district. The district is also upgrading the cafeteria at Williams Elementary. The structural steel and roof decking are complete for the cafeteria and the electrical work has started. In addition, Magnolia ISD's new District Conference Center is estimated to be complete by December 2017. The upgrades are part of Magnolia ISD's 2015 $92 million bond. The district's current enrollment is 12,771. "As the Houston economy has slowed, the district will be working with a demographer in the spring to look at projections in relation to current Houston economic trends and the current mobility projects within the county," Meyers said. Tomball Independent School District does not have any schools currently under construction. The district opened Creekside Park Junior High School in August 2016. In addition, Tomball ISD opened three other new schools in 2015 - Creekview Elementary, Wildwood Elementary and Oakcrest Intermediate. The schools were funded with the district's $160 million bond referendum in 2013. "We appreciate the community's support of Bond 2013," said Staci Stanfield, Tomball ISD's director of communications. "The passage of the bond has enabled the district to build schools to accommodate new growth." Tomball's current enrollment is 14,980 students, and the district expects to grow to 15,800 students in the 2017-18 school year, Stanfield said. Actor Ryan Gosling has signed on to play astronaut Neil Armstrong in a biopic, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The film will be directed by Damien Chazelle, who filmed Gosling's current release, "La La Land." It will be based on James Hansen's biography "First Man: A Life of Neil A. Armstrong." Waller County 4-H Ambassadors had a very busy December. The Ambassadors worked their regular first weekend at the House of Help, starting at 9:30 a.m. and working until 3:30 p.m. They served 75 families by packing, delivering and preparing food packages. They additionally moved about 300 pounds of meat from storage to the distribution freezer area. The Ambassadors day ended with the team's total hours for the day at 37 hours collectively. The second part of the month leading up to the week before Christmas, Waller County saw the Ambassadors back in action. The Toys for Tots program has a special distribution point in Waller County for the families in need. All of the toys are brought to one common location and sorted and packed per the individual family needs. The Ambassadors sorted toys in categories and packed bags based on the request from the family in need. The bags are then double checked by the director and placed into a collection area. The week before Christmas, the families that requested help come back and pick up the toys based on their individual needs. The sorting and packing is very organized it just takes some time to get all of it ready for distribution and collection by the family. The Ambassadors sorted, packed, and delivered to each family's car a special Christmas. The Ambassador Team contributed another 76 hours this month for this program that is a community ministry led by the House of Help. For the month, the Ambassador team contributed more than 103 hours at the House of Help for these major projects over several days. For anyone interested in learning more about the Ambassador program, an Ambassador will come to your club and speak about the program and the requirements of the interview process. Contact the Extension office or reach out directly to the Ambassador Adult Leader to arrange a visit to your club by a 4-H Ambassador. Contact Amanda Shortt at the Extension Office or email Adult Leader Chuck Anderson at Anderson1985@sbcglobal.net to arrange an Ambassador visit to your Club. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The new year has arrived and it's time for a 2017 calendar. Special Pals along with Katy and Fort Bend first responders can help fill that need with the Red White & Rescue 2017 calendar. "This was the first time we have done a calendar and partnered with first responders," said Elizabeth Trick, executive director of Special Pals, a no-kill shelter at 3830 Greenhouse Road just south of Clay Road. "The reason we decided to partner with first responders was we wanted to highlight what they do - save humans and we save animals. We have the same mission. It really worked out well." More Information What: Special Pals Where: 3830 Greenhouse Road in Katy What: No-kill shelter that's raising funds for operations and capital improvements Hours: noon-4 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays; 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays; 2-6 p.m. Fridays and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays. Services: Spay/neuter is available by appointment, wellness clinic, adoption, micro chipping and boarding Details: www.specialpalsshelter.org, info@specialpalsshelter.org or 281-579-PETS See More Collapse The project started in mid-September. "We put an open call out for first responders and a lot of animal-loving community members got in touch with us," said Trick. "We met with dozens of first responders and shot the calendar over about two weeks at locations in Katy and Fort Bend County. Our photographer Sandy Flint along with the Special Pals board of directors put the final pictures together and the calendar went on sale the week of Thanksgiving. We are about halfway to our sales goal." Trick said the sales goal is 500 calendars. Visit redwhiteandrescue.com for information. Calendars are $24.99. Flint of Flint Photography has been involved with the shelter for several years. "I did a couple of smaller efforts with them early on, and then last year we did an awareness piece for them that was a photography/video hybrid," said Flint. "I love working with the shelter because they are a true no-kill shelter and I have seen the dedication the shelter staff and volunteers have toward finding quality, forever homes for the dogs and cats in the shelter." This is the first charity calendar Flint has done. "It was really a last-minute idea from the folks at the shelter, but I thought it was a great idea and was immediately on board. We ended up doing 18 photo shoots in about 10 days all over the Katy/Richmond/Fulshear area, and they had in the calendar in hand by Thanksgiving." The calendar features animals with first responders from the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office, Katy Independent School District Police Department, Fort Bend EMS, Katy Fire Department, Richmond Police Department, Fulshear Police Department, Harris County Sheriff's Office and Fulshear/Simonton Fire Department. The Katy Fire Department responded to the call by Special Pals for calendar partners. Katy Fire Chief Rusty Wilson said, "I think it was for a great cause," noting that the department's mascot, Katy, is a rescue dog. "It's a good partnership and something we were glad to do," he added. "Several of the dogs in the calendar have already been adopted - some as a direct result of the calendar - which I think already makes it all worthwhile," Flint added. About seven or eight of the animals featured in the calendar still are awaiting forever homes, according to Trick, who added that the first responders have helped provide exposure for the calendar as well as increased exposure for animals to be adopted. "All proceeds (from calendar sales) go back to the shelter," said Trick. "All proceeds will be used for operating expenses, including daily and medical care for the homeless animals in our shelter." For the month of May, the calendar features Archer, the dog that Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy E. Nehls helped rescue during the Memorial Day flooding. He and his family adopted the dog in early June. Trick said the sheriff requested the month of May since that's when he found the two-year-old female Border Collie mix, who had been left tied up and was up to her neck in the rising flood waters. The sheriff gained international acclaim after he - along with volunteers and KPRC television reporter Phil Archer - rescued the dog who was taken to the Houston Humane Society. The dog is named after the reporter. Trick said the sheriff has helped sell a lot of calendars because of his rescue efforts with Archer. "Everyone matters," she added. "Everyone has been a huge help to us." As the calendar sales continue, Special Pals is busy on another front. "We're getting ready for Rescue Rebuild for the next two weeks," said Trick. That involves two new buildings - one to the right and another perpendicular to the existing shelter. Construction is scheduled between Dec. 31 and Jan. 14. "We got an anonymous donor who wanted to do a retreat area for dogs." The Pooch Palace will be a place for the animals to relax and be stress-free, she said, and allow would-be adopters to get to know the animals better. In addition, Trick applied to GreaterGood.org, a national nonprofit, and received a $40,000 grant for Special Pals to build a Cattyshack for cats. That will allow the shelter to house most of its cats in a colony setting with air conditioning and heat and not in cages, which also is more conducive to adoption of animals. Visit www.specialpalsshelter.org/special-pals-paw-prints-october-2016-newsletter for information on the rebuild and what's needed to help. Visit www.specialpalsshelter.org for more information about the shelter. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Five to 10 armed men escaped police Monday night after robbing a home in north Harris County and firing dozens of rounds toward responding officers, police said. Three children escaped the robbers who pistol-whipped their father and stole more than $50,000 in cash from the home, which contained large quantities of drugs, a police spokesman said. About 6 p.m. Monday a teenage girl called police from a home in the 10000 block of Rosbrook Court near the Greenspoint area and said her father was being beaten by armed men, Harris County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Cedrick Collier said. The girl and her two siblings younger than 10 managed to escape to a neighbor's house. Sheriff's deputies responding to the call about the home invasion and robbery were met with a hail of gunfire, Collier said -- at least 20 or 30 rounds. No one was injured. The armed men escaped through the back door and are believed to have left in a white Jeep or SUV, the spokesman added. The Harris County SWAT team arrived to the scene and used a robot to search the house, Collier said. Dozens of police officers from multiple agencies combed the area looking for the men, checking the nearby bayou with canines. No one had been arrested as of 10 p.m. The robbers took at least $50,000 in cash from the house and left behind large quantities of multiple kinds of drugs, the spokesman said. The father who was pistol-whipped was treated at a hospital and would be questioned by police after his release, he added. "It's not a random incident," Collier said. "They were targeted." andrew.kragie@chron.com Dozens of applicants wanted to be the conservation director for the Bayou Land Conservancy, one of three accredited land trusts in the area. Starting Jan. 9, the position belongs to Rebecca Martinez, who was senior mitigation banking manager in the Planning Division of the Harris County Flood Control District. At the county district, she was responsible for the project management of the mitigation banking program, including the Greens Bayou Wetlands Mitigation Bank, a permanently protected, 961-acre expanse of ponds, marshes and forest along Greens and Garners Bayou in northeast Harris County. In her county role, she had interacted with resource agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Texas Parks & Wildlife, and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. She also supported the district's flood watch manager and was on-call 24 hours/day during flood events and did data collection after floods. Her background includes being a contributor to a Houston-Galveston Area Council White Paper on "Wetland Mitigation Opportunities in the Houston-Galveston Region" and a presenter at the March 2016 Texas Floodplain Management Association about the "Greens Bayou Wetlands Mitigation Bank" as well as a tour guide of the Greens Bayou Watershed. "She's a really good fit for the position," said Jill Boullion, executive director, who joined the Bayou Land Conservancy team in September. The most important criteria for the position was the applicant's education and background. The focus was on someone who had a biology or natural resources background, "some significant experience in the field and someone who was interested in working for a conservation organization," said Boullion. The position had been vacant since early November after the departure of Stephanie Prosser. The conservancy has a lot of conservation projects involving wetlands mitigation, said Boullion. "She (Martinez) had a great deal of experience in wetlands and stream mitigation projects. She brings expertise helpful in reaching out to landowners to increase our conservation holdings." "I'm eager to begin work with BLC's stakeholders to fulfill the Houston region's need for natural spaces, "said Martinez in a news release. "My goal is to increase and maintain BLC's preserved lands that benefit our community and reconnect people to the natural beauty of our area." The organization's goals for 2017 will depend upon the 13-member board of directors chaired by Lisa Graiff. "The board sets the direction for the organization," explained Boullion, adding that it has started its strategic planning process. One item on the calendar for sure, though, is going through the reaccreditation process with the Land Trust Alliance. The Alliance is a national land conservation organization of more than 1,100 member land trusts. Reaccreditation occurs every five years and is a pretty rigorous process, said Boullion, as the Alliance looks back over five years of projects and selects projects to audit. The nonprofit Bayou Land Conservancy, focused on conserving land and protecting Houston's primary water source, began in 1996 as an offshoot of the Bayou Preservation Association, though it has operated under different names. "With our focus on the 13 watersheds that feed Lake Houston, and the high pace of development happening in our region, Bayou Land Conservancy is involved in land conservation as part of wetlands mitigation projects on a regular basis", said Boullion, in a news release. "Ms. Martinez is widely respected for her skills as a biologist and as a mitigation banking manager. We are looking forward to having her as part of our team and expanding our outreach to landowners in our focus area," she added. "It's a serious decision to set aside land for conservation purposes," said Boullion. "A lot of what she'll do is outreach to landowners, outreach to Realtor groups and estate planners - people who work with landowners." Conservation easements benefit the community and provide a tax benefit to landowners, but Boullion observed that landowners probably make more money by selling the land with all the development going on. "A conservation easement is permanent. It's a forever decision," she added. Of particular interest to the conservancy is riparian property along streams. Easements exist along Spring and Cypress creeks, but there's interest in expanding, said Boullion, to the San Jacinto River and particularly Lake Creek, which flows through Montgomery County. She explained Lake Creek is the only waterway in the region not impaired. "Impaired is a term to describe waterway bacteria counts that are too high too many dissolved solids and not appropriate for someone to get in and swim," she explained. Helping the conservancy is a corps of approximately 175 ambassadors or volunteers, which the nonprofit hopes to increase this spring. The Spring Creek Ambassador program, which is roughly three years old, will begin training on March 30. The program teaches volunteers about flora, fauna, watersheds, trail building and management. Visit http://www.bayoulandconservancy.org/ to learn more about the conservancy and to sign up for the ambassador program. Seven people were rushed to the hospital late Monday night after a vehicle slammed into a Metro bus stop in southwest Houston. The single-vehicle crash happened about 10 p.m. on Richmond near Hillcroft, said Lt. Larry Crowson of the Houston Police Department. Monday was moving day for three of the Houston Zoos male elephants. They didnt even have to bribe friends with pizza and beer to help them like most guys. Thailand (Thai), Tucker and Baylor took up residence in the zoos new 6,500-square-foot barn, custom-built to house the bull elephants away from the elements. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate AUSTIN -- Legislation was filed Tuesday to lift the curtain of secrecy on taxpayer funds spent by private companies and organizations allowed by separate Texas Supreme Court decisions. The bills by state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, and Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, would overturn secrecy provisions sanctioned by the high court which allowed final contract details and bids on public contracts to remain secret. It would also require disclosure of funding details to private organizations and entities in all cases, not just ones that are sustained by public funds. The high court earlier allowed the Greater Houston Partnership to keep secret details about the public funding it receives and allowed the Boeing Co. to keep secret the final details of its contracts as trade secrets. Capriglione and Watson said both decisions significantly undermined the intent of the Texas Public Information Act, which gives citizens the right to monitor what its government is doing and how it is spending taxpayer money. "Unfortunately, these recent decisions from the Texas Supreme Court weakened the law by allowing governmental bodies and private entities that receive public funds to more easily conceal their dealings," Watson said. "I believe it is our duty as the Legislature to ensure the people of Texas can track how government spends public money." Capriglione said if the measures fail to pass, taxpayers will find themselves increasingly unable to know how public funds are being spent -- as has been the norm in Texas for decades. Citizens, businesses and competitors, lawyers and the press all use the public-information act to get information about government. Capriglione and Watson said the law is a capstone for transparency in government, one of the strongest in the nation, and they expect the changes will find wide support during the legislative session. They said a broad coalition of groups support the measures: Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, the Texas Municipal League, the Texas Association of Counties, the Texas Association of Urban Counties, the Texas Press Association and the Texas Association of Broadcasters. Business interests that generally try to keep secret as many details of their operations as possible are expected to oppose the changes, although no public opposition has been announced. 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. I own it, New York mayor Bill de Blasio told a radio interviewer recently, referring to the citys metastasizing homelessness problem. De Blasio isnt the first mayor to be swamped by the citys host of homeless, and he wont be the last. Providing for the dispossessed, as a matter of municipal policy, is a task that every administration must manage. As mayor, de Blasio has done a miserable job. Almost 61,000 homeless individuals were in New Yorks shelter system in early Decemberup from approximately 53,600 when de Blasio took office in January 2014. The official number, itself a record high, doesnt include several thousand so-called street people: vagrants who employ their own devices to get by, often eluding census-takers. Overall, the city will spend an estimated $1 billion on shelter alone during the current fiscal year, and much more than that if one includes the full range of municipally funded services for the homeless. More New Yorkers live in city shelters now than ever before. This is a sharp rebuke to de Blasios progressive agenda. He pledged to bring homelessness under control during his first term, if not quite to end it altogether. His hands are tied by a 1981 state supreme court consent decree that effectively obliges Gotham to provide the homeless with taxpayer-funded housing as a matter of rightand virtually no questions asked. The order created open-ended demand for shelter housing that is impossible to fill. New York University professor Thomas Main identified three distinct mayoral approaches to homelessness since the 1981 consent decree: an entitlement phase under mayors Ed Koch and David Dinkins; a period of paternalism under Rudolph Giuliani; and a post-paternalism stage under Michael Bloomberg. This last stage continues under de Blasio. Homelessness burgeoned under Koch and Dinkins because they defined the phenomenon as an entitlement to be funded rather than a program to be managed. It contracted during the Giuliani years because city hall insisted on attaching work and similar obligations to benefits, thus discouraging participation, but with no evidence of deprivation. Rolls began to swell again under Bloomberg as reciprocity rules were relaxed. The current administration has essentially dropped all pretenses of work rules or other quid pro quos for benefits. As a Legal Aid Society lawyer, Steven Banksthe administrations top social workerfought for years to establish and then expand a right to shelter for homeless families with children. During the Bloomberg years, roughly 20 percent of those seeking free shelter got it right away; with Banks at the helm, that figure has risen to over 50 percent. Banks and de Blasio opened the spigot yet somehow seem startled by the increased volume. City hall is increasingly relying on landlords to take in the homeless. In the last year, the percentage of newcomers placed in commercial hotels has tripled. In Maspeth, Queens, angry locals forced de Blasio to abandon a plan to convert a Holiday Inn into a permanent shelter for homeless men. The debacle reinforced the publics growing belief that the administration hasnt a clue what to do about the problem. Mayor de Blasio notes correctly that he owns New Yorks shelter commitments. He might also reflect on the fact that hes the one who hired Banks, whose departure might help contain the growing crisis. Photo by Russel Kwok AO Centrul de Drept al Avocatilor anunta concurs pentru procurarea/elaborarea panourilor informative pentru Inspectoratul General al Politiei de Frontiera Nicholas Fiocchi sued Ronald Zatyco for assaulting him after a verbal argument between them at a bar earlier the same evening. Fiocchis complaint in Pennsylvania state court attempted by artful pleading to capture Zatycos parents homeowners coverage, alleging that the assault was made negligently and without provocation, but offering no other factual detail. In fact, the complaint was limited to just four paragraphs and, significantly, did not allege that Zatyco consumed any alcohol, was intoxicated or in any way cognitively impaired at the time of the assault. Zatyco asked his parents homeowners insurer, Nationwide Property & Casualty, to defend and indemnify him against Fiocchis claim. Nationwide defended Zatyco under a reservation of rights but refused to agree to indemnify him. Instead, Nationwide brought its own lawsuit against Zatyco in Pennsylvania federal court to support a denial of all coverage for the claim. Applying Pennsylvania law, a U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on December 20, 2016 granted Nationwide summary judgment on coverage in a decision entitled Nationwide Property & Casualty Insurance Company v. Zatyco, reported at 2016 U. S. Dist. LEXIS 176004. Whether an insured is covered for liability claims, the court said, is generally determined by comparing the factual allegations of the complaint against him to the language of the subject policy. Since the courts analysis is based on the indisputable wording of these two documents, this approach frequently makes such a case ripe for summary judgment a decision without trial. The court said: [A]n insurers duty to defend an action against the insured is measured, in the first instance, by the allegations in the plaintiffs pleadings. In determining the duty to defend, the complaint claiming damages must be compared to the policy and a determination made as to whether, if the allegations are sustained, the insurer would be required to pay [the] resulting judgment. [T]he language of the policy and the allegations of the complaint must be construed together to determine the insurers obligation. The key policy language of this case consisted of the policy definition of the term occurrence and the liability exclusions of the policy negating coverage for intentional conduct. The policy defined the term occurrence to mean bodily injury or property damage resulting from an accident during the policy period. The policy excluded liability coverage for bodily injury or property damage caused by an act of the insured intending to cause harm, or caused by an act or omission that was criminal in nature and committed by an insured. In order to determine whether Nationwide owed Zatyco a duty to defend and/or indemnify him in the suit brought by Fiocchi, the allegations in the complaint in that case must be examined and compared to the policy wording. Since the insurers duty to defend the insured is broader than its duty to indemnify him or her, if the operative complaint alleges an injury that may be within the scope of coverage, the insurer must defend the insured until the claim is confined to a recovery that the policy does not cover. In order to prevent artful pleading from creating coverage where none was intended by the parties, a court must look at the factual allegations of the injured partys complaint, not the title of the cause of action he or she pleads, nor how he or she frames the request for relief. Thus, the mere allegation of negligence in a complaint is insufficient to trigger an insurers duty to defend, the court said. Even the duty to defend is properly denied where the allegations fall within a clear and unambiguous exclusion of coverage. Applying these rules to the case at hand, the court upheld Nationwides position that it owed no duty to defend Zatyco because the facts alleged by him did not plead a claim that satisfied the policy definition of a covered occurrence, and in fact pleaded a claim falling squarely within the clear policy exclusion for intentional and/or criminal conduct by an insured. Specifically, in a an argument adopted by the court, Nationwide contended that the facts pleaded by Fiocci supported a conclusion that he was injured by an intentional assault by Zatyco, an incident that was no accident and therefore did not fall within the policy definition of occurrence. The conduct alleged, furthermore, was expressly excluded by the clear language of the intentional act policy exclusion. As for the allegation of negligence by Fiocci, the court noted that Fiocci baldly alleges that he was negligently assaulted by Zatyco, but his complaint was conspicuously void of any facts supporting the allegation of a negligent assault, other than that the assault occurred sometime after Zatyco had had a verbal argument with Fiocci earlier that evening inside a bar. Absent facts indicating negligence, the court noted, under Pennsylvania law assault is considered an intentional tort, is not an accident, and therefore is excluded from Nationwides insurance coverage. Zatyco urged the court to defer ruling on coverage until final resolution of the injury lawsuit which, he claimed, might reveal that Zatycos conduct was not intentional but was due to his potential intoxication at the time of the incident. The court noted that there are court decisions holding that an insureds apparent intentional conduct may be overcome by an allegation of intoxication, but found those cases to be irrelevant to this matter because Fioccis complaint in the injury lawsuit contained no allegation of the insureds intoxication. The court noted that a similar argument was addressed by the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in 2009. In that case an insureds estate sought defense and indemnification under its decedents homeowners policy for a state court action brought against the estate for injuries suffered by a plaintiff as a result of the insureds conduct before he died. In a declaratory judgment action by the insurer contending it did not have a duty to defend the insured, the court noted that the injury lawsuit against the insured alleged that the insured consumed numerous alcoholic beverages within a short period of time and that he became visibly intoxicated and cognitively impaired. In that physical state, the insured pointed a loaded gun at the injury case plaintiff several times and pulled the trigger but the gun misfired each time. After an unsuccessful attempt by the police to negotiate the insureds surrender the insured took his own life with the gun. At the time of the incident the insured had a blood alcohol level that was above the legal limit. The threatened party asserted claims against the estate of the deceased insured for intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, assault with a firearm and negligence. Even under these extreme facts, more favorable to coverage, the Third Circuit held that the insurer had no duty to defend, because Pennsylvania law does not permit an insured to shift to his insurer responsibility for damages resulting from this type of behavior. The crux of the Third Circuit decision was that voluntary intoxication ordinarily will not prevent the formation of the general intent necessary for the commission of an assault of the kind that [the injured party] alleges to have suffered.' Unlike the Third Circuit decision, which actually alleged the insureds excessive consumption of alcohol, the complaint in the subject case was completely silent with respect to alcohol use and/or intoxication of Zatyco. The court noted the complaint in the subject case did not contain any allegations that Zatyco was in the midst of an alcoholic blackout, or lost awareness of his actions. Zatycos actions, as alleged in the injury lawsuit, cannot reasonably be characterized as anything other than intentional conduct. It was not an accident, and the intentional conduct triggered the exclusion for intentional acts. Westar Energy is increasing the use of drones for such things as inspecting equipment, navigating remote areas and managing some emergencies, as the utility tries to improve safety and efficiency while also saving money, company officials said. Westar and Kansas State Universitys Polytechnic Campus offer an unmanned aircraft systems program and have one of the nations largest enclosed drone flight facilities on the polytechnic campus in Salina. Now, it has begun deploying unmanned aircraft commercially, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported. Its absolutely a cost savings at this point, said Jason Klenklen, supervisor of transmission maintenance. Instead of using manned aircraft, were using unmanned aircraft. The drones also can reduce risk for employees and contractors, Klenklen said. For example, fewer employees would need to travel during an ice storm to determine the cause of an outage. Using drones to inspect boilers also would be safer, said Sam Sharp, a Kansas State Polytechnic USA Laboratory researcher and Westars primary liaison. The work takes extensive training to fly the aircraft because boilers have no internal lights or GPS signal. It allows employees to view the internal components of the boiler through real-time imagery captured by a drone while securely staying on the outside, he said. The drones are primarily being used in rural areas to gather information about transmission lines, specifically lines that are 69,000 volts and above, Klenklen said. The drones face some airspace restrictions, such as in Wichita and Topeka, and unmanned aircraft are required to be in the operators line of sight, although waivers are available in some instances. Within line of sight, thats still a pretty big restriction on us, Klenklen said. That being said, there are times were able to see several miles down the line with one of these. Drones also can find potential issues that lead to outages more quickly than having somebody drive to find an issue or have somebody walk to the area, he said. The drones help alleviate concerns with landowners who dont want trucks or people on their land. The utility can send drones to areas within its easements but it still contacts landowners before sending a drone in to inspect lines. Westar Energy uses quadcopters or multi-copters, which are four-bladed machines that can fly anywhere from 20 minutes to more than 45 minutes. We have a lot of areas our lines traverse that are environmentally sensitive, through wetlands and even through croplands, Klenklen said. A new federal law passed earlier this year cleared the way for non-pilots to fly unmanned aircraft for commercial purposes with a Remote Pilot in Command certificate. The designation takes significant training and information although the actual flying of a drone isnt difficult, he said. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. A Florida family sued a hospital for malpractice on Wednesday, saying their baby suffered severe burns because it took too long to remove a coin-sized battery that she swallowed. Parents Cole Parsons and Courtney Thorne said in a lawsuit that Wolfson Childrens Hospital in Jacksonville should have taken out the lithium battery within two hours, which is recommended by poison control centers. They also sued Dr. David Smith, who they say downplayed the dangers. The battery was removed about five hours after the parents arrived at the hospital, the complaint said. Nineteen-month-old Ava-Kate Parsons has undergone 20 surgeries since she swallowed the battery March 10. Her mother was at home at the time and saw as her daughter swallowed the coin battery that popped out of a remote control. She rushed to get it out, but it had gone down her throat, and she called 911. The National Capital Poison Center, a nonprofit call center, said more than 1,900 children swallowed button batteries last year and there were 20 fatal or major incidents in children younger than 6. Those batteries are found in remote controls, calculators and other small devices. At the hospital, the parents wanted the battery taken out right away because they worried the girl would be exposed to dangerous chemicals. But the father said Smith told them the incident was no different than a coin in her throat. He seemed pretty relaxed about the whole situation, Parsons said. A little while later, we learned there is an electrical burn taking place in her esophagus, and she was rushed to emergency surgery. The hospital did not comment on the case, citing privacy laws. Attorney Eric Ragatz said the amount the parents are suing for is yet to be determined. He said they have spent between $300,000 and $400,000 on medical bills, not counting what they spent traveling to Boston to take Ava-Kate for treatment every two weeks. The girls mother, a nursing assistant, also took a leave from work and only returned part time to care for her daughter. Parsons said doctors have told him their daughter may need to continue treatment to stretch out the esophagus well up into her teens. While other toddlers her age experiment with foods of many textures, she can only eat pureed food, which Parsons says has slowed down her growth. They really dont have a lot to say about what exactly her course is going to be, Parsons said. We are stressed out about the unknown. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Investigators were trying to determine Friday how a Texas woman fell to her death from a chairlift at a small Colorado ski resort, the first fatal fall in the state in over a decade. The 40-year-old womans two daughters were also injured after falling about 20 feet with her on Thursday at Ski Granby Ranch about 90 miles west of Denver. Police identified the woman Friday as Kelly Huber, 40, of San Antonio. Her 12-year-old daughter was treated and released from the local hospital, but her 9-year-old sister was airlifted to Childrens Hospital in suburban Denver. Her condition wasnt released. The Quick Draw Express lift, which brings skiers to beginner and intermediate terrain, will remain closed until state regulators can determine that it is safe for the public to use, said Lee Rasizer, a spokesman for the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board. The ski industry expressed its condolences to the family, Chairlift deaths are rare, both in Colorado and across the country. People are five times more likely to die in an elevator accident and eight times more likely to die in a car accident than on a ski lift, said Chris Linsmayer, a spokesman for Colorado Ski Country USA, the trade group representing most of the states ski resorts.These things dont happen very often, he said, referring to statistics from the National Ski Areas Association regarding deaths due to mechanical problems with chairlifts. Falls are also sometimes caused by mistakes made by riders or medical problems. According to a report from the association, there have been three deaths from falls not related to any mechanical problems since 2004 in the United States. The Ski Granby lift was equipped with a safety bar, but its not clear if it was being used, Linsmayer said. The last fatal fall in Colorado, which accounts for more than a fifth of skier visits nationwide, happened in 2002 when the manager of Winter Park Ski Resort fell about 15 feet from a lift after suffering seizure-like symptoms. Colorados worst accident happened in 1976, when four people were killed after cable wires became entangled in a gondola in Vail. In 1985, two people died at Keystone Resort after the welding on the large wheel used to pull the cable failed. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Beachwood Place disturbance.JPG Shoppers stand outside the Beachwood Place mall on Monday evening after officers were called to the scene for a large-scale fight Dec. 26. The mall will no longer allow anyone 17 years old or younger into the mall without an adult past 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, the mall announced Tuesday. (Adam Ferrise, cleveland.com) BEACHWOOD, Ohio - Beachwood Place mall will implement a new adult supervision policy starting this Friday for all shoppers ages 17 and under on weekend evenings. The policy -- called a Parental Guidance Required program, or PGR -- was put in place after a group, mostly comprised of teenagers, started a large-scale brawl at the mall Dec. 26. The mall was evacuated, and pepper spray was used to disperse the crowd. Similar mall fights were reported across the country on the same night, and the fights may have been loosely organized via social media, officials believe. Under the new PGR program, "all mall visitors 17 and under must be accompanied by a parent or supervising adult who is at least 21 years old" on Fridays and Saturdays after 5 p.m., Beachwood Place officials said in a statement released Tuesday. The rules will be enforced by increased security manning the doors and roaming the mall. Public safety officers will check IDs of all visitors who look underage, the release says. Those who cannot show a valid photo ID proving their age and who is not with an adult will not be allowed inside. "All are welcome at Beachwood Place at any time -- we simply require that during certain weekend hours, families spend their shopping time together," Neisha Vitello, Beachwood Place's senior general manager said in the statement. "The PGR program is intended to enhance the shopping experience in ways the entire community will appreciate." Beachwood mayor Merle S. Gordon also approves of the PGR program. "This is merely an extra step to assure customers will have an outstanding experience," he said in a statement. One adult supervisor can be with four juveniles at a time, and the juveniles are required to stay with their supervisor, according to the policy. The supervisors will be offered an optional wristband, and if they choose not to wear a wristband, they may be asked for ID again by roaming mall security. Announcements will be made inside the mall around 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, so unaccompanied minors have time to leave or re-enter with a guardian. globalcenterchan.jpg The Global Center for Health Innovation did not see significant gains in tenants or meetings in 2016. (Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer) CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Global Center for Health Innovation is still struggling as it enters its fourth year. About 20 percent of the Cuyahoga County-owned, four-story building remains vacant, despite efforts to fill space. The center's 2017 budget includes $220,000 for a consultant to help the building succeed, said George Hillow, executive director of the Cuyahoga County Convention Facilities Development Corp., the nonprofit organization that oversees the Huntington Convention Center and Global Center. The county does not currently plan to improve the undeveloped space outside the Global Center, formerly known as the medical mart. The complex opened in 2013. Taxpayers are paying for the $465 million project with a quarter-cent increase on sales tax passed in 2007. The concept was untested: to persuade big health-care companies to build showrooms for their medical technology, lure medical trade shows to adjoining convention center space and provide cutting-edge meeting space for continuing education. It hasn't exactly worked out. Colliers International, hired last May, is marketing the building as part of "an integrated downtown campus" with the convention center and the Hilton Cleveland Downtown Hotel. It says the facility "offers an elite Tenant Partnership, which is exclusively granted to leaders in the Healthcare Industry. Each Tenant Partner receives invaluable brand exposure and unique collaboration opportunities with the nation's most innovative Healthcare professionals and organizations." There has been considerable interest from healthcare-related industries who either already have or will be soon touring the center, Colliers broker Katie Watts said in an email. Colliers is not being paid until they produce and will receive a percentage of a lease payment, Hillow said. Leases will expire in fall 2018 so 2017 is a watershed year, Hillow said. "We are looking at it very hard," he said. "We want to see what customers want, what they want to see us doing. We need to tweak it." See Colliers' document below or click here on a mobile device. Here's what else is going on with the Global Center. Lease income: The center will see an increase in lease income from $955,000 in 2016 to $1.22 million in 2017 because some financial incentives used to entice tenants in 2013 are expiring, Hillow said. Sponsorship income is projected at $25,000 in 2017, compared to $50,000 in 2016. The 2016 income was $30,000 less than projected. Leadership vacancy: No one has led the center since last June, when managing director Fred DeGrandis left for a new job. Hillow said a search committee is seeking DeGrandis' replacement. Healthcare focus: The healthcare focus will not change, he said. Hillow said he will meet with tenants, some who are considering rebuiliding or repurposing their space. In order to increase activity the county has proposed hosting a medical innovation competition. The county would provide $100,000, if the money is matched or exceeded by a private company, Hillow said. What's working: Au Bon Pain, which brought in $191,000 in revenue in 2016, will move into a larger vacant area on the first floor along St. Clair Avenue, Hillow said. The space occupied by the restaurant will be leased to a company, likely FedEx or UPS, and become a business center for the global center, convention center and local businesses. The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, known as HIMSS, occupies the entire fourth floor of the building. The non-profit medical organization held 140 meetings in 2016 at the innovation center. That compares to 150 other meetings in the Global Center in 2016, 15 more than the prior year, officials said. "HIMSS is using their space the right way," Hillow said. mcdonaldsmetro.jpg Protesters gathered in 2012 at the site of a proposed McDonald's in Ohio City. The MetroHealth System has purchased the property. (Thomas Ondrey, The Plain Dealer ) CLEVELAND, Ohio - The MetroHealth System has purchased property on Lorain Avenue in Ohio City that had been the site of a proposed McDonald's restaurant. The investment ends a four-year battle between the fast-food restaurant and residents. MetroHealth purchased the Hollywood Video site at 3701 Lorain Avenue, between West 38th Street and Fulton Road. According to county property records, the parcel was purchased for $1.175 million on Dec. 6 by FRE Holdings II LLC. That company was registered with the state on Sept. 20. It is a nonprofit limited liability company of the MetroHealth Foundation, said Tina Arundal, MetroHealth's media relations manager, who confirmed the property purchase. "We are committed to the neighborhood and have plans to build a new facility for our patients," she said in an email. "We are working very closely with the city, local elected officials and community partners to identify the best array of services." Investors initially bought the property in November 2012 for $600,000, according to public records. McDonald's and the landowners requested permission from Cleveland in 2013 to build the eatery, which would be located in a pedestrian-focused zoning overlay district that prohibits any single retail business from occupying more than 40 feet of frontage along Lorain. The restaurant and drive-thru lanes would have occupied 87 feet along Lorain. The Cleveland City Planning Commission rejected a request from McDonald's and the property owners for a conditional use permit, and the zoning board upheld that decision. So the project partners took their case to court. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Brian Corrigan ruled in favor of the developers in May 2016, saying the zoning board erred when it turned down plans for the restaurant. The Board of Zoning Appeals appealed the ruling to the 8th District Ohio Court of Appeals. The case had been scheduled for Jan. 17. eastcleveland.JPG (Emily Bamforth, cleveland.com) EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio -- East Cleveland council has appointed two new members, including Devin Branch, who spearheaded the city's mayoral recall. In a special meeting Dec. 29, council interviewed 15 people, and appointed Branch to the Ward 3 seat and Kelvin Earby to the at-large seat, according to the city's website. The new council president is Nathaniel Martin, who holds the other at-large seat. Former at-large councilman and vice president Brandon King is now mayor. Voters in December recalled Council President Thomas Wheeler and Mayor Gary Norton. Norton filed assault charges against Branch after the two got into an argument on Election Day. Branch submitted more than 1,200 signatures to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections to prompt the mayoral recall. More than 600 of these were verified. A call to Branch Tuesday was not immediately returned. Requirements for the positions included passing a background check, a minimum four-year college degree and residency in East Cleveland for more than a year. Read the full list here. Cleveland.com has requested copies of candidate applications. The two at-large seats, the mayoral position and the Ward 3 position will all be up for election in November. SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio - A Lakewood man was sentenced to six months in jail for fabricating a story about a girl being abducted in South Euclid. Ethan Patterson told investigators that he made up a story about two friends taking his 6-year-old daughter Dec. 23 because the friends left him at a Walmart on Warrensville Center Road, according to a police report. The girl does not exist. Patterson, 23, pleaded guilty to making false alarms, a first-degree misdemeanor, Tuesday in South Euclid Municipal Court, records show. Judge Gayle Williams-Byers sentenced him to 180 days in jail but gave him credit for the nine days he's been in custody. Prosecutors dismissed a second misdemeanor charge of obstructing official business in exchange for Patterson's guilty plea, records show. Defense attorney Robert Botnick said his client is remorseful. At the time Patterson was still reeling from the death of his father, who died two weeks before the incident, Botnick said Tuesday. "He accepted the responsibility for his actions," Botnick said. "He certainly didn't do this to terrorize anyone, but obviously he was at a very low place in his life." Investigators issued an Amber Alert at 8:46 p.m. Dec. 23 after Patterson reported that two men abducted his daughter. They canceled the alert about 10:30 p.m. after discovering the story was a hoax and the girl did not exist. Patterson ran into the store just before 6:45 p.m. screaming that someone took his daughter. He provided details to officers who were at the store investigating an unrelated theft, according to a police report. Patterson viewed surveillance footage and identified the car and one of the men, the report says. The video later showed that man leaving the store and getting into the car before it drove off. Shaker Heights officers were then asked to go to a house in that city to contact a woman who Patterson identified as Lauren's mother, the report says. The officers spoke to the woman's mother and learned that Patterson did not have a child with her. Patterson eventually admitted to the officers that he made up the story, the report says. The Amber Alert was canceled about 10:30 p.m. If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments section. MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio - A Maple Heights man is charged with aggravated murder in a fatal shooting on New Year's Day. Charles Hundley, 47, is accused of shooting Gregory Clark in the head just before 2 a.m. at a house on Morgan Street near Broadway Avenue, police said. Clark, 31, of Cleveland, died a short time later at MetroHealth, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office said. Hundley waived his right to a preliminary hearing during his arraignment Tuesday in Garfield Heights Municipal Court. The case was bound over to Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, records show. Investigators discovered that Hundley pulled out a gun during a New Year's Eve party. He fired a shot that hit Clark, who had just entered the room, witnesses said. Paramedics took Clark to Marymount Hospital before a medical helicopter flew him to MetroHealth, the medical examiner's office said. Officers arrested Hundley the same day, court records say. Investigators did not provide details of his arrest. Hundley's criminal history includes previous convictions for robbery, aggravated assault, theft and burglary, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court records show. He was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to robbery and kidnapping charges in 1999, records show. The shooting remains under investigation. Anyone with information is being asked to call the Maple Heights Police Department's detective bureau at 216-587-9624 or email detectives@mhpd-ohio.com. If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments section. Correction: An earlier version of this story stated the victim had been involved in a fight prior to the shooting. He was not involved in a fight, police said. Maple Heights police car.jpg Maple Heights police are investigating a suspected homicide that happened New Year's Day. (File photo) MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio - The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office has identified a man killed in a New Year's Day shooting in Maple Heights. Gregory Clark, 31, of Cleveland, died Monday at MetroHealth, the medical examiner's office said. Clark was taken to Marymount Hospital after being shot Sunday on Morgan Avenue in Maple Heights, police said. A medical helicopter later flew him to MetroHealth. Investigators have not released any other details. A Maple Heights police captain said more information would be released Tuesday. The incident remains under investigation. If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments section. Cleveland police car.png A 3-year-old boy may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning, police reports say. (File photo) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 3-year-old boy may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning, according to police reports. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner has not officially ruled on the death of Lorne Johnson Jr. Cleveland police said the death is believed to be accidental. Police reports say Johnson's death is being investigated as a suspected poisoning after his 42-year-old father and his 17-year-old brother were also treated for carbon monoxide poisoning the same day. The dad and his two sons ran errands around the neighborhood starting about 10:30 a.m., police reports say. The 2003 Chrysler Town and Country van did not have a catalytic converter attached to the exhaust system, according to police. The group stopped at McDonald's at one point and the 3-year-old told his father he was tired. The boy laid down in the backseat of the van, police reports say. The group about 1 p.m. returned to their home in the 8300 block of Maryland Avenue. The father reported finding his 3-year-old son unconscious in the back seat with vomit coming from his mouth, according to police reports. Johnson's father called 911 and performed CPR on his son until an ambulance arrived and took both to University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, according to police reports. The boy had elevated carbon monoxide levels in his system, police said. He died about 1:30 p.m. The boy's father was treated and released from the hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning. The 17-year-old boy also was found to have elevated carbon monoxide levels and was taken to the same hospital in stable condition, according to police. Cleveland police homicide detectives are investigating the case, as they do with all child deaths. To comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group said on Tuesday it will sell its 20 percent stake in Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank for A$1.8 billion ($1.3 billion), as part of its broader sell-down of Asian assets. "The sale reflects our strategy to simplify our business and improve capital efficiency," ANZ Deputy Chief Executive Graham Hodges said in a statement. China COSCO Shipping and Shanghai Sino-Poland Enterprise Management Development were named as the purchasers in the deal, representing a price-to-book ratio of about 1.1 times Shanghai Rural's net assets as of December 2015. The move is part of ANZ's move to reduce its Asian exposure, which includes the sale of wealth and retail businesses in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Indonesia to DBS Group . For banks, holding minority stakes in lenders like Shanghai Rural is proving to be expensive under new rules that require them to set aside equity capital against such investments. ANZ invested a total of A$568 million to acquire the stake in 2007, but has since come under investor pressure to exit minority stakes in Asia and to boost its Tier-I capital ratio, the core measure of a bank's financial strength. ANZ said the sale would boost its tier-I capital ratio by about 40 basis points. The bank said its ratio was 9.6 percent in its annual report in November. The sale, agreed on Saturday, is subject to conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed by mid-2017. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. Relatives of inmates gather at the main gate of the Anisio Jobim Penitentiary Complex to ask for information after a riot at the prison left at least 60 people killed and several injured, in Manaus, Amazonia state, Brazil on January 2, 2017. A prison riot has left at least 56 dead, with decapitated bodies thrown over prison walls in the bloodiest violence in more than two decades in Brazil's overcrowded penitentiary system, officials in the Amazon city of Manaus said on Monday. Sergio Fontes, the security chief for Amazonas state, told a news conference the death toll could rise as authorities get a clearer idea of the rebellion, sparked by a fight between rival drug gangs. Fontes told reporters several decapitated bodies were thrown over the prison wall, with most of those killed coming from the Sao Paulo-based First Capital Command (PCC) drug gang. Authorities had previously said around 60 were dead. "This was another chapter in the silent and ruthless war of drug trafficking," he said. Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes will travel to Manaus on Monday to meet with Amazonas Governor Jose Melo Oliveira and other federal security officials regarding the riot, his ministry said. Pedro Florencio, the Amazonas state prison secretary, said the massacre was a "revenge killing" in a feud between criminal gangs in Brazil. People queue outside a State Bank of India branch at Batala Road on December 29, 2016, in Amritsar, India. Indian banks, led by market leader State Bank of India , announced sharp cuts to their lending rates after a recent surge in deposits, raising hopes that lower borrowing costs will help spark credit growth in Asia's third-largest economy. SBI, the country's biggest lender by assets, said on Sunday it had cut its so-called marginal cost of funds-based lending rates (MCLR) by 90 basis points, while unveiling new products for mortgage loans, one of the fastest-growing areas. Several other lenders including Punjab National Bank , Union Bank of India , Kotak Mahindra Bank and Dena Bank also cut their lending rates by 45-90 basis points across tenures. Analysts expect more lenders to follow suit. Banks have received an estimated 14.9 trillion rupees ($219.30 billion) in old 500, and 1,000 rupees notes from depositors since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government on Nov. 8 unexpectedly banned the banknotes in a bid to fight counterfeiting and bring unaccounted cash to the economy. That had raised expectations banks would have room to cut lending rates, which is seen as vital to increase credit growth and spark a revival in private investments. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump tweeted on Monday that he would not tolerate fresh signs of North Korean nuclear aggression. In an annual New Year's Day speech, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned that preparations for launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) were at the final stage. He added that he would continue enhancing his nation's capability for "pre-emptive strikes" unless the U.S. ended annual naval exercises with South Korea, or what Pyongyang calls "war games." Widely perceived as a renewed threat on Washington, Kim's remarks prompted an angry tweet from Trump. "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen!" Kim didn't provide any specifics on timing of an ICBM launch, but the rogue nation is known to commemorate national celebrations through displays of military prowess and Kim's birthday on Jan. 8 may be an ideal platform. On Jan. 6 last year, Pyongyang claimed it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb. "I expected the fare and change fees to end up around the cost of a whole new booking," Mr. Ryan said. So he went with some trepidation to the Alaska Airlines website to find the cost of changing his tickets. Mr. Ryan and his wife, Karen, didn't want to risk getting stuck, "all jet-lagged and waiting to see if the flight to Seattle was going to happen," from Los Angeles, their connecting city. A few days before his flight home to Seattle from Tokyo in October, Bruce Ryan learned that a windstorm might disrupt air travel in the Pacific Northwest. So he was pleasantly surprised to find that Alaska Airlines had issued a "weather waiver" in advance of the possible storm. It allowed passengers flying in or out of the affected area to make no-cost changes to their itineraries on their own, without speaking to a representative. Many other airlines are now doing likewise, recognizing that they can make life easier for themselves and their passengers by anticipating weather delays and putting travel changes in the hands of their customers (and their smartphones) before the situation escalates into an act-of-God crisis. Airline passengers used to go to airports as storms brewed, hoping that their flights would be able to depart, then enduring long rebooking lines if they were canceled. Now, airlines are notifying customers, sometimes days in advance, of a potential disruption and giving them online ways to change their own flights. Weather waivers generally give several options to ticketholders planning to use affected airports. Passengers can cancel their trips and obtain refunds. Or they can move their travel up or back a few days, or reroute via a different connecting city. Nearby arrival and departure cities can be selected as alternatives, too, with no difference in airfare. So, for example, Delta Air Lines passengers in upstate New York who are snowed in at the Ithaca airport might depart from Syracuse or Elmira in the following days instead. Or they could even pay their own way on a five-hour bus ride to New York City and depart from one of the airports there. It's up to the passenger to do the research on the company's website or phone app to determine the most convenient, time, routing or departure/arrival city. Otherwise, the airline systems will automatically book the passenger on the next available flight on the original route. Airlines are not obliged to compensate travelers with lodging or meals for delays because of extreme weather. So in the case of the Ryans, traveling back from Tokyo, Mr. Ryan used the hotel and car rental apps on his phone to estimate the cost of spending an extra day and night in Los Angeles. That made it possible for them to carefully consider their choices. "On the phone with an agent, we'd have to decide right when they give us our options," Mr. Ryan said. "Now we can research everything on our time frame not the airline's." The pair decided to stay in Los Angeles for the day and try a new restaurant they had read about. That is pretty much how the airlines say they want passengers to respond to weather waivers: by deciding themselves what works best. "We are trying to put as much control as possible in the hands of customers," Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for American Airlines, said. The company wants customers to look at alternatives "while they're still at home, before they come to the airport," he said. About a year ago, American updated its phone app with the ability to change itineraries when weather waivers were issued. Mr. Feinstein said that calls to the reservation center during storms had decreased significantly as a result of the new self-serve option. Delta Air Lines last year added the same capability to its phone app. "We used to just rebook passengers on the next available flight," said Michael Thomas, a Delta spokesman. "Now we let them choose." Some passengers want to use Twitter to send their requests, so the company's social media team has added staff members to handle rebookings through that channel. The industry's apps and the waivers are still being refined. American Airlines plans to offer customers the ability to change departure or arrival cities themselves, something that currently has to be done by talking to an agent on the phone. The company is also expanding the weather waivers to cover summer thunderstorms, because of the "bigger weather events we are experiencing now," Mr. Feinstein said. While the new approaches to weather disruptions can make travel easier for passengers, the airlines are not doing it just to keep customers happy. They have a financial incentive. It pays for the airlines to let passengers change flights online or even rebook themselves on another carrier, said Brian Kelly, a travel expert who runs The Points Guy blog. "If customers make the changes," he said, "the airline doesn't have to pay its employees to spend time finding them alternative routes." What's more, economy fliers like retirees who change their weather-affected tickets to shift their trip to the following week open up valuable inventory that can be sold at premium prices to those who must fly no matter what. "Last-minute seats for business travelers bring in critical revenue," Mr. Kelly said, and can help make up for weather-related losses. International airlines also offer weather waivers, which is particularly crucial for carriers that have partnerships with domestic airlines. For example, a passenger flying on United Airlines to Chicago and from there on Lufthansa Airlines to Germany, will encounter consistent policies in cases of inclement weather. What only the travelers can decide, of course, is whether to heed a weather warning and change itineraries or take a chance that the trip can proceed as planned. Sometimes there is only so much an airline can do. Passengers booked on a delayed Delta Air Lines flight from Ithaca to Detroit in December received a series of email messages, pushing back their 5:30 p.m. departure bit by bit because of a snowstorm. The emails offered the option of a free ticket change. But, seats out of the small airport were booked solid for the next few days. With few alternatives, the passengers sat hoping their flight would eventually depart. At midnight, it was canceled. In spite of the cloud hanging over the Italian banking industry, shares in newly merged Banco BPM have started 2017 surging up the stock markets. The bank, the result of a merger between Banco Popolare di Milano (BPM) and Banco Popolare, has topped the pan-European Stoxx 600, with shares up by more than 10 percent on Tuesday. However, experts believe that investor appetite could soon spread to the entire Italian banking system, despite recognized vulnerabilities in the sector. Robert O'Daly, regional manager at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told CNBC over the phone that he would not be surprised if there was a surge in investor appetite for Italian banking shares. "The merger of these two banks is seen as getting the house in order," O'Daly told CNBC on Tuesday. Investors believe that this is a first step to restructure the Italian banking industry, which has been weighed down by toxic loans, and the successful emergence of BMP should attract foreign investment, he added. BMP has a market capitalization of 2.08 billion euros ($2.16 billion) and is currently Italy's third-largest lender. The merger was one of the measures supported by former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to improve the weak position of the country's banking system. Such step was believed to boost the bank's profitability and lending. More broadly, O'Daly added that the "huge drop" seen in Italian banking stocks throughout 2016, have put them now at "bargain prices." The vulnerabilities of the Italian banking system are well-known and recently the oldest lender in the world Monte dei Paschi failed to attract enough private capital to restore its finances. As a result, the Italian government has been forced to intervene and competition authorities in Europe have yet to decide whether the state intervention does not infringe state aid rules. "If they can get European approval for this plan then it is likely that bank shares will rally across Italy," Erik Jones, professor of European Studies and International Political economy Johns Hopkins University told CNBC on Tuesday. The FTSE Italia All-Share Index went up by 1.96 percent on Tuesday, putting it in a position to reach its highest close since May of last year. However, such appetite can only be supported if Italy proceeds with its banking restructuring process, experts warn. Italian banks continue to have a high level of bad loans on their balance sheets since the 2008 crisis. If they continue postponing addressing such issues, a new banking crisis could emerge. Howard Goldring, managing director at Delmore Asset Management told CNBC on Monday that non-performing loans have not been addressed across Europe "because of refusal to face reality." "I am just worried that there's going to be more of this over the next year or two, not just in Italy but in other places across Europe," he added. As a result, Bremmer said, China has encountered a "major opportunity" to take on greater global leadership, and Russia sees a "massive opportunity" to expand its power, while traditional U.S. allies now see their connection with the United States as "deeply problematic." "Now the 'Pax Americana' is over," Ian Bremmer, the president of consulting firm Eurasia Group and a closely followed political scientist, said on a Tuesday conference call. "It's been coming for a while. It's now here." Eurasia Group named the U.S. abandonment of its global leadership role its "Top Risk for 2017," saying in a Tuesday report that the new U.S. position is not isolationism outright seclusion from global affairs but rather one that prioritizes the country's own economic interests above the global promotion of democracy, civil rights or the rule of law. The top global risk of 2017 is very close to home, according to a prominent geopolitical consulting firm. There's no question that China is going to see an independent America as an opportunity to spend and invest in alternative architecture... "Pax Americana" is a reference to the "Pax Romana" period of two millennia ago, when the regional order in Europe, the Mediterranean and beyond was controlled by Rome. The United States played a similar role in international affairs for more than two generations after World War II, as it aggressively promoted far-reaching alliances and global free trade under Democratic and Republican presidents alike. But vast segments of Americans were economically hurt by those efforts. President-elect Donald Trump's proposed policies reflect a different stance. He campaigned to slash trade agreements, renegotiate treaties, pull back from traditional alliances such as NATO, and realign the U.S. trade relationship with China all with a stated goal of bringing jobs back from overseas. The United States has hemorrhaged millions of manufacturing jobs since 2001, when China joined the World Trade Organization. The U.S. itself may thrive in the near term, but it could create geopolitical risks. Those include, the report said: near-term chaos from an absent global superpower, broad weakening of international systems such as a global internet, the rise of China, and a Russia that can act with far fewer consequences. "There's no question that China is going to see an independent America as an opportunity to spend and invest in alternative architecture that fragments" the world into a less unified system, Bremmer said. That said, analysts do see the need for change to a U.S.-led global framework, and more discriminate pursuit of trade policies. "These are not radical positions. These are positions other countries have taken towards the U.S.," said George Friedman, chairman of the online publication Geopolitical Futures. "The U.S. developed its economy from the 1870s to 1900, the world's largest manufacturing economy, all as a protectionist country. ... There's a kind of whacked out thinking that protectionism is going to cause economic dysfunction. What is novel is the idea of free trade," which since 2008 hasn't distributed wealth broadly, Friedman said. Fake or distorted news is an "epidemic" affecting the news media, Bridgewater Associates Chairman and Chief Investment Officer Ray Dalio said Tuesday following a report that was critical of his firm. While fake news is being recognized as a problem, there are no talks on how to fix problems of trustworthiness with the mainstream media, the hedge fund executive asserted in a LinkedIn post. More importantly, the issue is not limited to smaller news outlets but includes papers of record, he added. "The failure to rectify this problem is due to there not being any systemic checks on the news media's quality," he said. "The news media is unique in being the only industry that operates without quality controls or checks on its power. It has so much unchecked power that even the most powerful people and companies are afraid to speak out against it for fear of recrimination. In fact, I presume that I will be widely attacked in the media for what I am saying here." Dalio didn't take all journalists to task but instead cited negative trends in the industry overall. In pointing out the inadequacies he perceives in the media, Dalio cited two reports delivered by those same media. He mentioned an Associated Press report on declining American trust in the media, as well as comments from The Washington Post' s executive editor on the fake news problem. Dalio said that misinformation prevents the public from comprehending the truth, "which will threaten our society's well-being." China posted positive manufacturing numbers this week, but there are more problems that need to be fixed in the system that is acknowledged, an economist said Tuesday. "(You cannot just) focus on overcapacity and not focus on the government policy of subsidizing production or the financial system, that is, basically rolling over non-performing loans to make it look like they are still performing," said independent economist Andy Xie. "China has been stretching the cycle and trying to roll over all the loans so nobody goes bankrupt," he told CNBC's Squawk Box. The Chinese government, he said, needs to stop boosting industry by subsidizing investment as this will further contribute to over-capacitywhich is in turn funded by households invested in the property bubble. The 115th Congress got off to a very strange and troubling start this week with a surprise and quickly scrapped Republican move to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), the watchdog agency set up in 2008 after a series of scandals on Capitol Hill. The move also quickly set up a schism between congressional Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump as well as an apparent breakdown in communication between Trump and one of his own top advisors. The bizarre series of events began Monday evening when House Republicans with no notice or debate approved a series of rules changes that would have ended the independent power of the OCE and place it under the authority of the House Ethics Committee. Under the new rules, the OCE would have not been allowed to take anonymous tips, investigate criminal activity or share its findings with other branches of the government or the public. Taken together, the changes would have essentially eliminated the office's ability to conduct independent oversight of potential wrongdoing by members of Congress. House Republicans backed away from that plan on Tuesday. Still, it's a very strange message to send after a campaign in which the party's presidential candidate pledged to "drain the swamp" and clean up influence peddling in Washington. On ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday morning, top Trump aide Kellyanne Conway defended the move. "Let's make clear that you're still going to have an Office of Complaint Review. In other words, it's not like we're taking away everything," she said. "Look, there's a very ambitious agenda to push forward. The Republicans have been given the majority in the House and the Senate, most of the governorships, they've won over 1,000 state legislative seats under President Barack Obama's watch. So there's a mandate there for them to make significant change." But Trump on Tuesday took a different position, criticizing the move, on Twitter. "With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS" Trump hedged his statement with the reference to the OCE being "unfair" but the overall message was a clear rebuke to House Republicans, led by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va. House Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy also reportedly opposed the timing of the OCE move, preferring to wait until bipartisan changes could be made in the office. Finland's experimental scheme to provide its citizens with a basic income, regardless of employment, launched earlier this week. The two-year pilot scheme will provide 2,000 unemployed Finnish citizens, aged between 25 and 58, with a monthly basic income of 560 euros ($581.48) that will replace their other social benefits. These citizens will continue to receive the basic income even if they find work. Kela, the organization which runs Finland's social security systems and is running the pilot scheme, hopes the basic income experiment will boost employment, because the current system can potentially discourage the unemployed to find work as their earnings reduce the benefits they may receive. "For someone receiving a basic income, there are no repercussions if they work a few days or a couple of weeks," said Marjukka Turunen, head of Kela's Legal Affairs Unit, in a press release. "Incidental earnings do not reduce the basic income, so working and self-employment are worthwhile no matter what." Starbucks shares ended 2016 down more than 7.5 percent, but at least one analyst expects that to turn around this year going so far as to name the stock his top restaurant pick for 2017. Nomura-Instinet analyst Mark Kalinowski sees Starbucks stock rising 16 percent over the next 12 months, if it holds its current multiple, and possibly more. He points to easier year-over-year comparisons flattering its same-store sales growth and store expansions as reasons that the stock will soar this year. Investors have been concerned with the company's decelerated same-store sales in the back-half of 2016 and Howard Schultz's sudden departure as CEO of the company. "Over the next 6 to12 months, particularly as Starbucks begins to lap less difficult year-over-year same-store sales comparisons, we believe that investors' nervousness about these two factors will lessen," he added. Kalinowski anticipates that same-store sales will jump 5 percent worldwide this year, with double-digit revenue expansion and EPS growth of 12 percent. "Most of our restaurant stock coverage list is dominated by concepts that are food-focused in nature (with many of them selling some beverages)," Kalinowski wrote in a research note Tuesday. "In contrast, Starbucks is beverage-focused (while selling some food). This key differentiating factor is one reason why Starbucks tends to face less direct competition than most other concepts in the highly competitive foodservice industry." Kalinowski points to Starbucks' culture of innovation and introduction of mobile ordering and pay as reasons for its rampant success. In particular, the adoption of cold brew coffee, which accounted for 35 percent of in-store beverage sales in 2013 and will account for more than 50 percent by 2021, according to Kalinowski. "Starbucks' heritage of innovation is largely unmatched in the restaurant industry," Kalinowski wrote. "If we had to name two (and only two) Great Disruptors for the restaurant industry, we would cite Starbucks and privately held Chick-fil-A." In addition, Kalinowski said that because tea and coffee are "near universal in their appeal, Starbucks will not only achieve its goal of having 37,000 units open by the end of 2021, but could hit an even greater milestone in the following years. "Well beyond 2021, we would not be surprised to see Starbucks exceed the 50,000-store level," he wrote. Kalinowski's 50,000 store-front assertion is hardly a surprise considering Starbucks has been developing several new coffee concepts in recent years, including Reserve Roasteries and stores with Princi bakeries. The company plans to open some 12,000 stores globally by 2021, up from about 25,000 as of the end of fiscal 2016. At that rate, Starbucks' unit growth rate would be about 8.1 percent per year. "It is rare for retail companies of Starbucks's size (market cap of over $83 billion as of this writing) to offer this kind of unit growth potential," Kalinowski wrote. "We believe that investors will continue to pay a premium multiple to enjoy this type of unit growth potential in their portfolio." The company's flagship Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room opened in its home market of Seattle in 2014. These "megastores" are designed to be much larger than a traditional Starbucks cafe and allow the company to do small-batch roastings of "rare and exotic" Reserve coffees. The company could open as many as 20 to 30 of these locations around the world. Currently, Starbucks is slated to open locations in New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and another location in Europe in the next three years. In addition, the coffee chain, which partnered with Italian baker Rocco Princi in July, disclosed during its investor day in December that it will open stand-alone Princi stores in Seattle, New York and Chicago in late 2017 and early 2018. "Looking toward the future, we believe that Starbucks can grow its nascent Starbucks Reserve business from a tiny revenue generator today into a $3 billion revenue business over time (1,000 Starbucks Reserve stores achieving $3 million in average unit volumes, or roughly twice what the average U.S. Starbucks store attained in fiscal 2016)," Kalinowski wrote. A daily morning look at the financial stories you need to know to start the day. STOCKS/ ECONOMY -Stock futures are sharply higher as we begin trading for 2017. A big reason for the higher futures is another gain in oil prices. Bonds are lower , with the 10-year Treasury note yield back up to 2.5 percent. OIL/ENERGY -U.S. crude prices are up more than 2 percen t to the $54 a barrel level. There's new investor optimism that OPEC and non-OPEC countries will agree on output cuts.Gasoline prices are spiking too; up to $2.34 a gallon , the new national average. That's 6 cents a gallon more than a week ago today. TRUMP TRANSITION -President-elect Trump is very active on Twitter this morning . First, he tweeted that North Korea will not get the capability to reach the U.S. with intercontinental ballistic missiles. He also called out China for not helping to contain North Korea. Second, he hit at GM for making the Chevy Cruze in Mexico and shipping it back to the U.S. market with no taxes or tariffs. Third, he called Obamacare a failure. TRUMP TRANSITION (Continued) -Trump will reportedly nominate attorney Robert Lighthizer as the U.S. Trade Representative and is leaning toward choosing former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue as Secretary of Agriculture. -Now it looks like Trump's news conference to discuss his business divestment and other topics is on for January 11. -The Trump team has made formal requests to the Department of Homeland Security for information on assets available to build a border wall and other barriers. D.C. ETHICS -Without warning, the House GOP voted Monday to basically eliminate the House Independent Ethics Office. TERROR/ DEFENSE -ISIS has claimed responsibility for the weekend nightclub shootings in Istanbul that left 39 people dead. The killer is still on the loose. -The race is on to win the $16.3 billion contract to build the T-X trainer for the Air Force. The system will be used to train pilots to fly the F-35 and the F-22. BIG PHARMA -New drug approvals by the FDA fell to a 6-year low in 2016. US President-elect Donald Trump is introduced to speak to supporters at the Giant Center, December 15, 2016 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Mark Wilson | Getty Images China launched its first freight service to the United Kingdom on New Year's day, according to the China Railway Corporation. The service runs from the Chinese city of Yiwu, in the country's eastern Zhejiang province, to Barking in London. The journey lasts for an average of 18 days and more than 12,000 kilometers, according to a Chinese government website. The route will "revolutionize the way freight is moved from China," Mike White, director of its U.K.-based arm, Brunel Shipping, told CNBC via telephone. He explained that freight transport by sea from China to the U.K. can take twice the time of the new rail link. Also, it offers the potential for "huge savings" on existing air routes. White added that freight transport by train may also have a green impact as there will be fewer containers on the motorway network should the rail service develop and grow in volume. The route is the latest development in China's multi-billion dollar Belt and Road initiative, an infrastructure project which aims to connect the Middle Kingdom to the rest of the world via historic trading routes. The China-U.K. service is operated by China's Yiwu Timex Industrial Investment Co., which already runs freight routes to Spain and Germany. The London service will run once a week during its trial period, though it is not confirmed how long this will last for. It passes through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France, before arriving in London. London is the 15th city in Europe to be added to China-Europe freight services, the Chinese government website detailed. It is hoped that the service will "improve China-Britain trade ties (and) strengthen connectivity with western Europe," the China Railway Corporation said. Yiwu is known for producing small commodities, with the first train being loaded with clothing, household items and suitcases. According to the World Trade Organisation, Chinese exports totaled $2.27 trillion by the end of 2015, having fallen by three percent in that year. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. Donald Trump wants to replace the Affordable Care Act with a system that includes universal coverage, Obamacare architect Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel told CNBC on Tuesday, describing impressions he received in a meeting with the president-elect last month. "The one thing I really got from him, as he said on the campaign trail, he does want to create a system that Americans can be proud of that has universal coverage, and he wants it to be bipartisan," Emanuel on "Squawk Box." Republicans lawmakers were returning to Washington on Tuesday emboldened by Trump's election victory and their continued majority on Capitol Hill seeking to repeal and replace President Barack Obama's signature 2010 health-care law. Despite expressing a sliver of optimism, Emanuel also described a "nightmarish scenario," arguing that repealing Obamacare and eliminating its funding would make it hard to implement a replacement. The money would not be there to pay for "subsidies or refundable tax credits for people to buy insurance" under a new GOP system, said Emanuel, chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. Emanuel spoke before Trump opened fire at Obamacare on Tuesday morning on Twitter. People must remember that ObamaCare just doesn't work, and it is not affordable - 116% increases (Arizona). Bill Clinton called it "CRAZY" watch now Now comes the hard part. Sen. Mike Enzi on Tuesday launched an effort to repeal Obamacare, introducing a resolution for the new Congress that would allow that to happen, according to a statement from the Wyoming Republican's office cited by Reuters. The repeal effort is being mounted without there yet being a similar effort to adopt a replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act. Enzi, who is the chairman of the Senate's budget committee, proposes using the process known as reconciliation to undo much of the Affordable Care Act. Reconciliation, which relates to budgetary matters, can be passed with a simple majority, as opposed to nonbudgetary bills, which can require 60 senators' votes to break a filibuster against them. "Americans face skyrocketing premiums and soaring deductibles," Enzi said, according to a statement from his office obtained by CQRollCall.com. "Insurers are withdrawing from markets across the country, leaving many families with fewer choices and less access to care than they had before the opposite of what the law promised." "Today, we take the first steps to repair the nation's broken health-care system, removing Washington from the equation and putting control back where it belongs: with patients, their families and doctors." President-elect Donald Trump's threats to selectively penalize U.S. manufacturers for moving production offshore may be difficult to enforce. But for companies that depend on the U.S. government for a big chunk of revenues, his Twitter rants are hard to ignore. "General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A. or pay big border tax!" Trump said in a post on Twitter on Tuesday. In response, GM said it makes its Cruze sedan in the United States and that all of those sold in the United States are made in a plant in Lordstown, Ohio. "GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, with a small number sold in the U.S." the company said in a statement. GM imports only hatchback versions of the Cruze from a factory in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, and it sold only about 4,500 of them in the U.S. last year, spokesman Patrick Morrissey told The Associated Press. The company sold about 172,000 Cruzes through November. The hatchback, which went on sale in the U.S. in the fall, is built in Mexico for global distribution, Morrissey said. The Trump tweet was another in a series of threats to slap a tax on companies that move production to Mexico and ship products back to the U.S. under the North American Free Trade Agreement. This commentary originally appeared on The Hill. Democrats grappling with the shock of Hillary Clinton's loss to Donald Trump are also beginning to turn their attention to 2020, and pondering who could defeat Trump as he vies for reelection. Here are The Hill's initial rankings of where the potential candidates stand. 1. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) How would the 2016 election have panned out had Warren challenged Clinton in the primary? That's one of the great unknowables of Democratic politics. But now, there is little doubt that the Massachusetts senator is the leading contender for the 2020 nomination. Warren, a former Harvard Law School professor, has been beloved by the left throughout her late-blooming political career, largely because of her no-punches-pulled attacks on banks and the financial industry. She got under Trump's skin via Twitter during the 2016 campaign too. The recent news that Warren will join the Senate Armed Services Committee in January has stoked speculation that she is looking to bolster her foreign policy and national security credentials in advance of a presidential run. Warren would be 71 by the time of the next election, but she is three years younger than Trump. 2. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Sanders came from semi-obscurity in the Senate to give Clinton a serious run for her money in the battle for the Democratic nomination this year. He won 23 contests and amassed more than 13 million votes. He also fired the enthusiasm of young voters and progressives, two pillars of the Democratic base that Clinton struggled to charm. The Vermonter's focus on income inequality and his broader point that the system is rigged against working Americans resonated. Sanders's main problem when it comes to a 2020 run could be his age. He will be 79 next Election Day. Still, Sanders might well be tempted to try one more time especially if Warren stood aside. 3. Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.) Booker raised eyebrows earlier this month when it emerged that he would join the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when the new Congress convenes. As with Warren and the Armed Services panel, his decision was interpreted as an effort to burnish his resume for a potential presidential run. Booker is just 47, and he is one of only two African-Americans in the Senate for now. (That number will rise to three in January when California's Kamala Harris will be sworn in.) He is also one of the most media-savvy members in the upper chamber a trait that has been apparent since the start of his career, when his first, failed bid to become mayor of Newark was captured in a sympathetic documentary, "Street Fight." Booker is far from the most liberal member of the caucus. During the 2012 presidential campaign, he criticized an Obama campaign ad that hit Mitt Romney's business record, insisting on NBC's "Meet the Press", "I'm not about to sit here and indict private equity." An optimistic view is that he could bridge the gap between the progressive and center-left strands of the party. Skeptics will question whether he is a little too corporate-friendly for the tastes of Democratic primary voters. 4. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) Klobuchar has already appeared on several shortlists of likely contenders for the nomination, and it's not hard to see why. The New Yorker called her, "popular, practical, appealing [and] progressive." She is from a state where the currents of labor and progressivism run strong. But the no-nonsense, affable Klobuchar could also plausibly appeal to Rust Belt voters whom her party needs to win over. One issue for Klobuchar right now is that she does not have a high profile outside of her native state and the Beltway. There is plenty of time to change that if she wants to run and win in 2020. But she could be eclipsed by higher-wattage candidates. 5. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y) Gillibrand followed in Clinton's footsteps when she replaced her as a New York senator in 2009. Could she do the same at the presidential level but actually win the White House? It's certainly possible. Gillibrand's profile has risen in tandem with her making the prevention of sexual assaults in the military a signature issue. Representing New York, she has easy access to the national media and to powerful Democratic fundraising networks. But Gillibrand's similarities with Clinton, superficial though they may be, could go against her. It's just not clear Democrats would roll the dice again, as soon as 2020, on another prominent female nominee from New York. Critics also charge that Gillibrand emphasized more centrist positions as a congresswoman from a somewhat conservative district than she does as a senator from a liberal state. 6. First lady Michelle Obama If the first lady exhibited even a slight inclination to run, she would be ranked near the top of this list. There is no figure in public life, with the possible exception of her husband, who has so strong a hold on liberal hearts and minds. Obama has become more comfortable with her public role over the years. Her two major speeches during the 2016 campaign one at the Democratic convention, another excoriating Trump for "hurtful, hateful language about women" were among the most powerful delivered during the cycle. The first lady insists that she won't run, citing the effect such an effort would have on her two daughters among other factors. But Malia and Sasha Obama will be 22 and 19, respectively, by the time of the next election. When it comes to the first lady's future plans, many Democrats still cling to the audacity of hope. 7. Gov. John Hickenlooper (Colo.) Hickenlooper presides over a state that is considered a key battleground, even though it has become more solidly Democratic in recent years. Colorado has gone for the Democratic nominee in the past three presidential elections and Clinton won the state by five points. Hickenlooper, who has a politically effective down-to-earth persona, could potentially boost the party's appeal in the heartlands. He has enjoyed solid approval ratings during his time in office. One problem? While his chances are talked up among Beltway pundits, he is almost unknown in the nation at large. 8. Sen. Chris Murphy (Conn.) Murphy has come to the fore on the issue of gun control. He can speak with moral authority on the issue: In his state, a gunman killed 20 young children, as well as six adults, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012. President Obama has called that moment the worst day of his presidency. Politically speaking, Murphy would need to display more policy breadth and heighten his national profile if he is to be a genuine contender. For the moment, he's one to watch. 9. Vice President Joe Biden The vice president could have definitively ruled himself out of the running, but hasn't. He joked with reporters about the possibility earlier this month, and then sought to clarify by saying he had "no intention" of running. Biden would clearly have loved to run in 2016, were it not for the fact that he was still grieving the loss of his son, Beau. Biden's age is a real issue, however. He would be 77 by next Election Day. If he won, he would turn 78 before being inaugurated. For all his political skills, his two previous runs for the presidency, in 1988 and 2008, ended in failure. 10. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (N.Y.) On paper, Cuomo looks like a strong candidate. He is the governor of a huge, liberal state and hails from a well-established political family. Cuomo's late father, Mario, served as governor of the Empire State for three terms. No one doubts the younger Cuomo's ambition, but whether he is the right fit for the times is a tougher question. In a party where the left is ascendant, he has positioned himself as a centrist foil to New York City's liberal mayor, Bill de Blasio. It's not clear what Cuomo's power base would be for a primary fight. 11. Sen.-elect Kamala Harris (Calif.) Harris is one of the bright spots for Democrats who are dismayed by their failure to retake the Senate. She will succeed the retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer in January. Harris has been seen as a rising star in the party for some time, her fans including President Obama, who once praised her in imprudent terms. Harris, a leading lawyer before shifting into politics, is the daughter of an Indian-American mother and a Jamaican-American father. It's not clear she has any presidential ambitions and, if she ran in 2020, she would face criticism about her relative lack of political experience. But she would be as experienced as then-Sen. Obama was when he began his 2008 White House run. 12. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Could she run again? It's possible. Many people thought Clinton's electoral ambitions had ended in 2008, with her devastating loss to Obama in the Democratic primary. That turned out not to be the case. There is still a large, wealthy circle of Clinton loyalists, who would back any future run. But, even if she had the appetite for a 2020 bid, she would have enormous hurdles to overcome. One of the biggest would be the question of how she lost the presidency to Donald Trump. Beyond the hardline Clintonistas, there aren't many Democratic insiders who were wowed by her campaign. In a USA Today/Suffolk University poll released earlier this month, 62 percent of Democrats and independents said Clinton should not run again. 13. Former Gov. Deval Patrick (Mass.) Patrick has considerable political skills and was once talked up as a potential inheritor of President Obama's mantle. David Axelrod, one of the aides closest to Obama, worked with Patrick as well, and both Patrick and Obama adopted "Yes We Can!" as a campaign slogan. But Patrick left office in 2015, and it's just not clear whether he could or would want to come off the sidelines for 2020. He also joined Bain Capital, which is hardly the ideal launching pad for a quest to win over liberal activists. 14. Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.) Kaine achieved a new national prominence when Clinton named him as her 2016 running mate. But his performance was a mixed bag. The Virginia senator gave some energetic speeches on the campaign trail, defying his reputation for dullness. On the other hand, his showing in his sole debate with his counterpart, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, was uneven at best. 15. Oprah Winfrey Trump proved how powerful a currency celebrity can be and there may be no more trusted celebrity in America than Oprah. Having steered largely clear of partisan politics for most of her career, Winfrey became an enthusiastic backer of Obama when he looked a long shot to beat Hillary Clinton to the 2008 nomination. Winfrey has said she "couldn't breathe" after Trump won in November. She softened her stance later, but could she be tempted into a race to defeat the president-elect? European nations are reportedly accelerating preparations to attract bankers and financial professionals away from London as the U.K. is set to begin negotiations to withdraw from the European Union (EU). U.K. based banks are finalizing internal Brexit back-up plans should they need to move parts of its business operations overseas, according to a Guardian report. Banking executives are concerned that lenders headquartered in London would not be able to receive tariff-free access to the single market. They are considering moving elements of their businesses abroad to Paris, Frankfurt or Amsterdam to maintain healthy relationships with international clients. "I'm very pessimistic about the situation (for the U.K.) Article 50 has not been triggered just yet of course but one has to believe there is a good chance, a very good chance, that banks can service clients from outside the European Union," Christopher Wheeler, banking analyst with Atlantic Equities, told CNBC in a phone interview on Tuesday. "Finland already has universal health care. The next step is a universal right to a basic income. With Finland's more progressive politics, it's not surprising they're ahead of the U.S. in the movement for basic income," says Widerquist. Taxes are higher in Finland, too, which makes it more feasible for the government to pay its citizens, Martin Ford, author of The New York Times-bestselling novel "Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future," tells CNBC. "They have the means to pay for a basic income by converting existing programs," he says. Although unemployment benefits in Finland are generous, the way they're currently structured can, perversely, keep job-seekers from taking new positions. "Many workers in Finland who used to have good jobs with Nokia, for example, are now unemployed. Lots of these people have skills and could try to start businesses or maybe work for another small business at lower pay. But the traditional unemployment program doesn't allow this. If they earn any money, they lose all their benefits," says Ford. "So a basic income is a way to structure the safety net so that unemployed workers have an incentive to work to the extent they can, without the fear of losing their benefits." It may be an empathy gap. Misha Chellam signatory of the Economic Security Project Also, while there are about 5.5 million people living in Finland, there are more than 320 million in the United States. Diversity in the U.S. makes it harder for some Americans to feel compassion for each other, suggests writer Misha Chellam, founder of the start-up training company Tradecraft. Chellam is also a signatory of the Economic Security Project, a newly founded research organization dedicated to learning more about the implications of UBI. "It may be an empathy gap," says Chellam. "Finland is a small, homogeneous country with less than six million people. This may make Finns more empathetic toward fellow Finns' struggles, as they share many cultural similarities. The sense of 'Americanness' can be a bit harder to pin down in a nation of almost 320 million people hailing from all parts of the world." Modern carving executed on a 2-ounce .999 fine silver round is also engraved on the edge with railroad cars, including a boxcar with a hobo standing in the open door. The 96-lot sale includes two original works by noted hobo nickel carver George Washington "Bo" Hughes: a long-haired man, left, executed before a hand injury, and a clown, right, carved sometime after the injury. The Jan. 7, 2017, Original Hobo Nickel Society auction during the Florida United Numismatists Convention in Fort Lauderdale is the club's 25th annual members-only sale. If you have your dues paid up as a member of the Original Hobo Nickel Society, you can bid in the members-only auction beginning at 10 a.m. ET Jan. 7 during the Florida United Numismatists Convention in Fort Lauderdale. The 96-lot offering is the OHNSs 25th annual auction held in conjunction with the FUN convention, where the organization holds its annual meeting. The annual auction is one of the busiest and best-attended auctions among specialty collector organizations. The earliest auctions included original carved Indian Head 5-cent coins that sold for a few hundred dollars at best, with total proceeds yielding a few thousand dollars. Connect with Coin World: Sign up for our free eNewsletter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter In recent years, however, some of those same pieces made during the 1920s through the 1950s by the most prominent and well-known hobo nickel carvers have individually yielded thousands of dollars. During the 2013 OHNS auction, a double-sided carved Indian Head 5-cent coin fashioned in the late 1930s by the hands of renowned hobo George Washington Bo Hughes yielded $24,200. The field of hobo nickels has expanded over the past two decades to include the works modern artists have executed with their own techniques as well as those employed by hobo nickel carving pioneers like Hughes. The Jan. 7, 2017, OHNS auction includes two hobo nickels attributed to Hughes, one executed before a hand injury and the other, after. On the pre-injury piece, the Indian Head portrait was transformed into a long-haired, bearded man on the obverse of the undated Indian Head, Bison on Plain 5-cent coin. The date 1920 is carved in Roman numerals below the portait. The post-injury, circa 1957 Bo work was carved on the obverse of a 1936 Indian Head 5-cent coin, with the Indian's portrait transformed using a hand-punching tool into a circus clown. Registration set for Central CC COLUMBUS -- General registration for spring semester classes at Central Community College will be Wednesday. Registration may be completed from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Administration Center. The student accounts and registration offices will be open extended hours, until 6:30 p.m. Jan. 9-12. Advisers will be available to assist students with class selection, scheduling, housing, financial aid and other concerns. Before they can register, however, prospective students are required by the college to take a pre-enrollment assessment test. This must be done in advance and can be arranged by contacting the assessment office at the campus they plan to attend. For more information, contact the Columbus campus at 402-564-7132 or rryan@cccneb.edu. Estate workshop planned at CCC COLUMBUS -- An estate planning workshop will be held 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday in the West Education Center, room 205, at Central Community College-Columbus. Participants will learn about the importance of having an estate plan, minimizing tax liabilities for their families, and leaving a legacy that reflects their goals and dreams. The workshop is free to the general public and includes lunch, which will be provided by First National Bank in Columbus. For more information or to register, contact Ashley Karges at 402-606-6783 or cacffund@gmail.org. Tank to help cool UNL buildings LINCOLN (AP) Officials say a specialized water tank and the 8.1 million gallons of water it will hold will help keep some University of Nebraska-Lincoln buildings cooler during peak demand. The $11.9 million tank is being built north of the landscape services building on the university's City Campus. It's expected to go online in spring 2018. Officials say it will supply chilled water for six to eight hours during the hottest parts of each day and replenish itself overnight and on weekends, when energy demands are lower. Engineers say the goal is to cut down energy bills by an expected $850,000 to $900,000 annually. The tank will function like a battery, holding the water for use in offsetting electricity costs during peak usage times. Residency of senator challenged LINCOLN (AP) Lawmakers will consider whether a senator can remain a member of the state Legislature when the 2017 legislative session begins this week. Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers is accused of living outside his District 11 an allegation he rejects. His opponent in the November election, John Sciara, filed a residency qualifications challenge with the Legislature shortly after the voters overwhelmingly returned Chambers for another four-year term. Sciara told the Lincoln Journal Star several people have told him that Chambers lives in Bellevue but has a home in north Omaha that he uses as his address for residency purposes. The state Constitution says a senator must reside within the district for a year before election. State law defines residence as the place in which a person is domiciled, that is actually or legally his or her permanent and principal home. And if a person leaves the residence, he or she must intend to return. You won't be able to pick up last-minute sides at Hy-Vee on Thanksgiving LINCOLN A new coalition of property owners and elected officials called on Nebraska policymakers Tuesday to rely less on property taxes to finance the government, even if it means an increase in sales taxes. The group Reform for Nebraska's Future announced it has collected nearly 12,000 petition signatures calling on lawmakers to act in this year's session, which begins Wednesday. Nebraska relies on a combination of income, property and sales taxes to pay for local and state government, but the largest share comes from property taxes, which help finance K-12 public schools and local governments. Farm and ranching groups argue that their members have paid an unfair share of property taxes in recent years because of soaring land values, even as commodity prices have fallen. The chairman of Reform for Nebraska's Future said the state should rebalance its revenue streams, possibly by increasing the sales tax or using revenue from internet sales to offset what property owners have to pay. "Nebraska has talked about this problem for far too long," said Mark Fahleson, who is also a Lincoln attorney and former Nebraska Republican Party chairman. "It is now time to address the problem once and for all." Last month, the online retailer Amazon announced that it will start collecting sales taxes on purchases in Nebraska a move that could generate additional millions for the state. Nebraska already requires consumers to pay sales taxes on online purchases when filing their income tax returns, but few people comply with the law. Lincoln City Councilman Trent Fellers, the group's executive director, said the state's current reliance on property taxes to pay for local government is unsustainable. Fellers said the group planned to present its petition to Gov. Pete Ricketts with signatures from all 93 of Nebraska's counties. "We plan to be engaged in the legislative process and push for reform to be enacted," Fellers said. Mark Kruger, who owns a technology consulting company in Omaha, said some of the steps lawmakers have proposed to property taxes are a short-term fix. "A rebalancing is the right approach," said Kruger, who lives in Papillion. "True reform is needed. Property taxes are a burden on small businesses." Some groups have said Nebraska should consider lifting sales tax exemptions on certain goods and services, but warned that a sales tax increase would hurt low-income families more than the wealthy. Ricketts has said he opposes increasing one tax to offset another. Reform for Nebraska's Future said its membership includes home and business owners, elected officials and farmers. Nebraska farm groups have said property tax reforms rank among their top priorities in this year's session. For years, patent trolls have been the best evidence that pure evil exists. And like most evil entities, they are almost impossible to stop. Even a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court decision that was highly critical of patent trolls has done little to slow their slimy, reptilian-like existence. But a federal judge on Dec. 19 crafted a novel tactic to curb patent trolls when she slapped a half-million-dollar bill on the lawyers and said that they were personally responsible for paying it, not their client. This could truly be a game-changer. This unusual decision could make lawyers hesitate to take patent trolls as clients. Part of the patent-troll economic model is based on lawyers taking a contingency fee, meaning that they take a percentage of whatever money is extracted from victims rather than being paid an hourly fee. This makes the lawyers more of a partner than a traditional contractor, which factored into the judges decision. The ruling may make lawyers say forget about contingency fees; we want upfront hourly fees. And patent trolls, unwilling or unable to do that, may forgo pursuing the most tenuous lawsuits. As a result, the patent-troll business model starts to crumble. Some background. The case at issue is Gust vs. Alphacap Ventures and Richard Juarez (some early rulings go into extensive background), and last months final ruling came from U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote. Cote found that patent troll Alphacap had pursued a case against Gust, despite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that made it clear it couldnt succeed legally. It is highly, highly, highly unusual for counsel to be held directly responsible for these fees, said Lori Smith, an attorney with the White and Williams law firm that represented Gust, an internet crowdfunding company. I think it is going to have a significant chilling effect on patent troll litigation. Youre going to see law firms thinking twice before they take on clearly questionable patent litigation. Lets start with a definition of a patent troll. A troll is a firm that does two distinct things. First, it purchases lots of patents that it has no intention of using. That is a prerequisite for being a patent troll, but it doesnt make a company one. The second element is essential: They must take this patent (and the vaguer the patent, the better) and threaten lots of companies that in reality have done nothing wrong. Those companies must either pay license fees or be dragged through the court system at great expense. The troll then offers to sell a license at a deeply discounted price, counting on companies deciding that it would be much easier and cheaper to pay than fight. Frank Bruno, a colleague of Smiths at White and Williams, said the comparatively low license amounts are typical of patent trolls. Typically, firms use elaborate mathematical calculations to determine the license fee, as a percentage of likely future revenue and/or profit. Under patent law, damages are calculated based on a reasonable royalty, Bruno said, adding that patent trolls small license fees bear no relationship to projected revenue or profits. When you see these small numbers, you know that the patent troll, that they simply wanted a quick get-out number. Thats illustrative of extortion. Indeed it is. What the federal judge has done is attack the heart of the patent-troll system. Normally, patent trolls rely on large numbers. If they threaten a large number of companies, theyll make more than enough to justify their efforts. Then, by suing a handful of other companies, they scare more innocent firms into paying or else. Often, when a judge slaps down one patent troll in one case, the penalties are less than the total of the other monies extorted. In short, the troll comes out ahead. By placing the fines on the lawyers personally well, to be precise, on their law firms it threatens to change the dynamics. If lawyers stop taking these cases, patent trolls will no longer have a viable way to threaten thousands of companies. What the judge specifically did was to tell Gust that it could retrieve the courts ordered money from either the law firm or the patent troll. That is interesting, because the lawyers representing the patent troll, according to Bruno, had already told the firm that suing the patent troll was pointless because it had no money, making it judgment-proof. That statement helped convince the judge to go after the law firms funds, Bruno said. Patent trolls directly threaten the industry of ideas. They dilute the value of legitimate patents while making honorable companies suspicious of legitimate patent complaints. This was never what patents were all about. They were designed to protect inventors who came up with truly innovative ways of doing things. Patents need to get back to protecting inventors, not opportunists who conclude that what business needs today is more extortion. Cotes decision wont finish off patent trolls, but its a step in the right direction. Error 500 Oopsour servers taking a break while we frantically figure out what went wrong. We apologize for ruining your day. If you keep running into this error, please let us know. James Frayne is Director of communications agency Public First and author of Meet the People, a guide to moving public opinion. The focus of this column is Theresa Mays conservatism for ordinary working people. While its reasonable to assume many of the defining characteristics of Britains relationship with the US will continue as they always have (like intelligence sharing), Theresa Mays immediate and short-term personal relationship with President Trump really matters. And its importance makes life extremely complicated for May and the British Government generally. Trump will enter the White House at a crucial time for Britain. Simply put, we need to make rapid progress on the early stages of a trade deal and we need to hear a US commitment to the continued security of Europe. Without the first, Brexit will be more turbulent and complex than it might have been. Without the second, Russia will surely be encouraged to test Europes ability and willingness to protect its interests on its eastern frontiers. But Trump will enter the White House facing huge international scepticism and outright opposition. Some of this opposition would have been there for any Republican President, but this goes well beyond the usual left-leaning activists. And much of it is justified: Trumps behaviour in the election campaign was often appalling. Ordinary people are worried about who Americans have elected. America has been able to play a global leadership role because of its massive security apparatus and highly skilled foreign service. But this role was also made possible because of the moral standing of the country. American public diplomacy propaganda, if you prefer has generally been effective because it has been able to project moral purpose. Not every administration has been perfect, but every President (bar Nixon, at the end) has been able to credibly play the role of leader of the free world. Maybe Trump will surprise us and rise to the role hes been chosen for. His early Cabinet picks give reasons for hope. But it seems very possible that Trump will continue to say and do things that undermine the moral standing of the US and make Americas leadership role much more difficult. In turn, it is possible that many respected figures in American public life, and many in the wider administration, will begin to cast doubt publicly on his fitness for office. This will affect domestic public opinion, regardless of many Americans disregard for the opinions of elites and voters elsewhere. In short, relations with Trump are fraught with risk. Not only will a close personal relationship potentially undermine May and Britains position in the wider world but it might not even be beneficial for our future relations with the US. So, how should May approach Trump? Firstly, she needs to construct a very business-like relationship with him with meetings dominated by substance and action. Forget cinema nights and casual walks everything should be done formally (and warmly, of course). Secondly, crucially, May also needs to spread the risk by cultivating close relationships with as many of the other senior administration politicians and officials as possible. Prime Ministers and their staff like to deal with those they see as their peers. On this occasion, May should be more than willing to deal with anyone that can help Britain to achieve its short term trade and security goals and that has a reputation strong enough to deal with whatever Trump does. We are leaving the Single Market. Theresa May suggested so to last years Conservative Party Conference, when she said that we are not leaving only to return to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. And Robin Walker, the Brexit Minister, confirmed so in a written answer issued just before Christmas: as the UK is party to the EEA agreement only in its capacity as an EU member state, once we leave the European Union the EEA agreement will automatically cease to apply to the UK. The Government rightly believes that membership of the Single Market a distinguishing feature of the EEA is incompatible with regaining control of our borders. With regard to the Single Market, Mays desired outcome seems to be drawn from her negotiation, as Home Secretary, over EU Criminal Justice measures. She opted out of 133 criminal justice measures, only then to opt back into 35 of them, including the European Arrest Warrant. The variant in the case of the Single Market is that the new arrangements Single Market access, in the jargon would not come within the juridisdiction of the ECJ (just as the access enjoyed by non-EU countries exporting into the EU does not come within it either). Every signal that Ministers have given is consistent with Britain following a similar model with the customs union. First, we would leave it. Next, we would opt back into bits of it: for example, it would make sense to maintain the status quo with Ireland, under which there are no customs posts on the border with Northern Ireland (the consensus of the Lords EU Committees recent report on the matter is that it would be hard to avoid border checks were Britain to depart the customs union). However, there is pressure from within the Government, especially from bits of the Treasury, to stay within the customs union altogether. Hence todays report by Change Britain, fronted by Michael Gove, arguing exactly the opposite. The campaign group claims that if Britain leaves both the Single Market and the customs union, we will be over 450 million a week better off through a mixture of taking back control of the money we give to the EU each year, lower regulatory burdens on British businesses and through striking trade deals with growing parts of the worlds economy. It is seeking to head off those Treasury mandarins. The Irish example shows why the debate about the customs union is more finely balanced than that over the Single Market. It would be damaging to relations with our nearest neighbour, and perhaps to the stability of Northern Ireland, to bust up the status quo on customs. And more broadly, membership of the customs union does not automatically prevent the control of our borders. The question is whether preserving the union should be the exception rather than the rule. The balance of the argument suggests that it should. Its nub is as Change Britain says: staying in the customs union would hold us back from striking new trade deals. And if we cant do so, the logic of Brexit is damaged. Part of the point of leaving is better to grow our trade with non-EU countries. Preserving our membership of the customs union would blunt it. None the less, busting up the current arrangements is not to be undertaken lightly. The key issue is supply chains products made with parts from different sources. Customs checks to establish exactly what comes from where, as goods seek to move between Britain and EU countries, have the capacity seriously to harm the easy flow of trade. However, the pertinent example of a country which is a member of the customs union but not of the Single Market is not encouraging. As Christopher Howarth has pointed out on this site, Turkeys limited membership of the former results in it being unable to sign its own trade agreements with other states in most respects and losing customs duties if the EU strikes a tariff-reducing deal with third parties not to mention accepting the jurisdiction of the ECJ over its domestic economy. Common sense suggests that the best solution to seek, in most instances, is that which the EU already enjoys with non-member countries free trade, no ECJ jurisdiction and no trade war fought by means of customs duties, with the flow of goods slowing to a trickle. This bespoke solution appears to be what Downing Street wants and what leaves the Treasury unnerved. None the less, a warning applies to it, as to much else. What Britain wants from the coming negotiation may not be what it gets. The peoples of Europe have every interest in a Brexit soft landing. Some of their politicians do not, let alone the theocrats of the Commission. 1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war. 2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war. 3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength. 4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war. 5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites. 6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination. 7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N. 8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N. 9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress. 10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N. 11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.) 12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party. 13. Do away with all loyalty oaths. 14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office. 15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States. 16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights. 17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks. 18. Gain control of all student newspapers. 19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack. 20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions. 21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures. 22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms." 23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art." 24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press. 25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV. 26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy." 27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch." 28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state." 29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis. 30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man." 31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over. 32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc. 33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus. 34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities. 35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI. 36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions. 37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business. 38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand. 39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals. 40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce. 41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents. 42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems. 43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government. 44. Internationalize the Panama Canal. 45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike. Close Maddie Ziegler may have started her career in "Dance Moms" but her performance in Sia's "Chandelier" music video catapulted her to stardom instantly. Naturally in Hollywood, when one is getting more opportunity and success, there will be people who are going to bring them down and Maddie Ziegler is no exception. The "Ballerina" star revealed in a new interview that she has also dealt with jealous dancers before. While promoting her new animated "Ballerina" on BBC News, Maddie Ziegler shared her character's personality. The former "Dance Moms" then revealed that it was a challenge for her to portray her "Ballerina" character since she is the complete opposite. For a nice girl like Maddie Ziegler to portray a toxingly overjealous role has definitely been a challenge. Since she was playing a mean character who was trying to bring one hopeful dancer down, the host asked Maddie Ziegler if she ever had been in that situation. The "Ballerina" star did not hesitate -- although she was on the other side of the spectrum -- and shared that there were kids who where mean and jealous of her in the past. "I guess I could relate to some kids who have been a little mean to me or like trying to bring me down," Maddie Ziegler said. She further explained that having negative people around is inevitable because in the dancing industry, jealousy is nothing short of (somewhat) expected. Although Maddie Ziegler did not mention any names, some Chloe Lukasiak fans may be thinking that the "Ballerina" star was throwing shade at the "Center Stage: On Pointe" actress. While the former "Dance Moms" stars have clearly moved on from the rivalry that Abby Lee Miller started in the Lifetime show, their fans are still fighting over who's better between the two. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close It's almost time for "Rick and Morty" to return on Adult Swim, and fans can finally get another preview of what to expect in the animated series. A sneak peek has just been released and it looks like there's more awesome adventures in "Rick and Morty" Season 3. There have already been a lot of speculations about "Rick and Morty" Season 3, but the biggest question remains to be the show's actual air date. Although some believe that the animated series will be back on Adult Swim by January, it looks like the premiere is set for March 2017. Luckily, the creators of "Rick and Morty" decided to give fans a taste of what to expect when the show returns. The "Rick and Morty" Season 3 sneak peek starts off with Morty in school getting pulled out by Rick for yet another epic adventure. The episode appears to be in the early stages, not yet fully inked in but the video certainly confirms that Rick will reunite with Morty for more out-of-this-world craziness. It's an awesome preview of what to expect when the show returns, but the sneak peek has already been featured in a live stream sponsored by Adult Swim. This could mean that the Adult Swim animated series is nearing completion in time for a premiere in early 2017. So when exactly is the "Rick and Morty" Season 3 air date? Fans were already expecting to see the return of "Rick and Morty" in late 2016, as previously announced by creator Dan Harmon. However, the year is almost over and there is still no official announcement of the "Rick and Morty" Season 3 air date. Nevertheless, some are hopeful that the animated series will finally air on Adult Swim before summer next year. The "Rick and Morty" Season 3 air date is expected to be confirmed by Adult Swim by January. The animated series could then premiere by March 2017 (via ComicBookMovie). See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close With 2017 finally here, some folks may be in the market for a new laptop to start the Year of the Rooster right. Apple did have the MacBook Pro 2016 to consider though most may have heard of the complaints tied up to the chipset, limited 16 GB RAM, and battery drain issues. How about the Microsoft Surface Pro 5? As Apple tries to do damage control, the Microsoft Surface Pro series have drawn attention. The Redmond company is expected to release the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 in 2017 though there was no timetable given. It seems that most may not have to wait long with word that the 2-in-1 tablet is set to come out by the first quarter of 2017, Digitimes reported. Should this be the case, aspiring laptop buyers may not have to wait long to get their hands on the Microsoft Surface Pro 5. Among the features that the hybrid will reportedly boast include an Ultra-HD display, a stylus with magnetic charging capability, Pegatron technology and more, BGR reported. Opting for the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 gives potential buyers a flexible solution since this piece can act both as a laptop or a tablet. But the power from within is what most are likely to be interested in, particularly the processor it would be using. Many are under the impression that the delay was made so that Microsoft could factor in for the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 is the Intel Kaby Lake chipset. As most know, this was one glaring hole that Apple left out. The Cupertino company opted for an Intel Skylake SoC, seeing they were pressured to release a long overdue MacBook Pro refresh. If previous Microsoft Surface devices are any indication, the Surface Pro 5 should be something big to consider. Trimmed down to the first quarter of 2017, all folks have to do is extend their patience and wait for it. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close Bits and details of the highly-updated "Outlander" season 3 are coming out, giving fans more reasons to get excited about its premiere! Now, author of the book Diana Gabaldon just confirmed that Mr. Willoughby will be appearing in the forthcoming season. The author of the book series, which "Outlander" season 3 is based on just revealed via Twitter that Mr. Willoughby, will appear in the upcoming season, Daily Record reported. Fans are anticipating this particular character for the past two seasons. She confirmed that the producers haven't made any drastic modification in the original story in the books, so it should follow that Mr. Willoughby will make his appearance in the upcoming episode. One of the fans asked Gabaldon via Twitter about Mr. Willoughby in "Outlander" season 3. Much to fans' delight, the prolific writer confirmed its appearance. For those who aren't familiar with Mr. Willoughby, he is a Chinese man who Jamie (Sam Heughan) met in Edinburgh. Mr. Willoughby whose real name is Yi Tien Cho is a scholar, who used to work with the Chinese government before being sent out into exile. In his stay in Edinburgh, he had very limited resources prompting him to resort to offensive means like stealing. Jamie was the one, who gave him the nickname Mr. Willoughby when he found him. Sinking into his depression, he resorted to drinking often landing him in tight spots. However, Jamie keeps on helping him out in return for some insights into Chinese medicine and language. Mr. Willoughby will join the trip to Jamaica according to reports. Many fans believe that casting announcement hasn't been made until now since Mr. Willoughby is only set to appear after Claire (Caitriona Balfe) travels back in Jamie's time. So it's fitting to learn of the casting news just now. "Outlander" season 3 is already seven episodes down and will resume production after Christmas break. Stay tuned for more updates on your favorite shows! See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close Psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, have gained immense popularity over the past years because of its psychedelic effects to the brain, triggering a relaxing effect for people with anxiety and depression. However, Johns Hopkins scientists urged caution around the use of psilocybin. In a study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, the researchers conducted a survey of nearly 2,000 people who said they encountered a past negative experience when taking psilocybin-containing "magic mushrooms". In fact, more than 10 percent believed their worst "bad trip" could put themselves or other at risk for physical harm. Another 2.5 percent of the respondents said that behaved aggressively after taking magic mushrooms while 2.7 percent had to seek medical help. The researchers, however, warned that the survey they conducted dud not apply to all psilocybin use because the questionnaire used wasn't designed to study the "good trip" experiences. Positive Experiences Too According to PsychCentral, despite the risk of psilocybin use, most of them still reported the experience to be "worthwhile" and "meaningful". About half of the positive responses by users of magic mushrooms claimed that it was one of the top most valuable experiences in their life. "Considering both the negative effects and the positive outcomes that respondents sometimes reported, the survey results confirm our view that neither users nor researchers can be cavalier about the risks associated with psilocybin," Roland Griffiths, Ph.D., an author of the study, said in a press release by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. What Are Magic Mushrooms And Psilocybin? The U.S. Department of Justice reports that psilocybin is a hallucinogenic substance obtained from magic mushrooms which are indigenous to tropical and subtropical regions of Mexico, South America and the United States. Though many studies have shown that psilocybin could be used to treat anxiety and depression, the use of this substance is associated with negative psychological and physical consequences. The physical effects of magic mushrooms usually take place within 20 minutes of ingestion. These could last for about 6 hours and include muscle weakness, drowsiness, lack of coordination, nausea and vomiting. On the other hand, psychological effects of magic mushrooms include hallucinations and an inability to discern reality from fantasy. In large doses, however, panic and psychosis may occur. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Continue Reading Below Advertisement In 18th- and 19th century Ireland, wrestling was a dangerous underground activity that police shut down wherever they could. It was like dancing in Footloose, basically. So enthusiasts would rassle on any piece of land they could find, like the infamous Donnybrook Fair (whose name literally became synonymous with uproar and disorder in the Oxford English Dictionary). via Wiki Commons Now, I've ... had ... the time of my life ... Continue Reading Below Advertisement The thousands of fans who attended these events weren't content with just booing from the sidelines or throwing the occasional chair: they were as rowdy as the fighters, and matches could easily erupt into mass acts of violence. One massive skirmish left "great numbers" lying in a field with cuts and bruises, and not one arrest. When the cops did show up to break up the fights, they had to arm themselves, often with swords, just to take on the wrestlers -- colorful characters like Dr. Brennan, an actual physician/alcohol-fueled brawler who fled on his pony when armed authorities came to interrupt one of his matches (after a fan punched a preacher). That there are no paintings immortalizing this entire scene is a crime against history and art itself. Components & Peripherals News Dawn Of A New Era: Xerox-Conduent Split Complete, Xerox Partners Hope For Better Pricing, Support Michael Novinson Share this Xerox partners are optimistic that completing the spinoff of its $6.7 billion business process services division will result in better products, pricing and support for the channel. "Being totally focused on Xerox's key expertise will make Xerox a better company, which will lead to a better experience," said Troy Tafoya of Fort Collins, Colo.-based Professional Document Solutions (PDS). [New CEO] Jeff [Jacobson] is taking Xerox to a more focused company that will reinvest R&D to keep Xerox at the leading edge of technology with the most complete portfolio." The separation of the business process outsourcing division - which has been renamed Conduent - from Xerox's legacy $11 billion document technology practice closed Sunday and was announced Tuesday morning, essentially undoing Xerox's $5.6 billion purchase of Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) in February 2010. [RELATED: CRN Exclusive: Xerox to Move Tens of Thousands of Direct Accounts to Channel Partners] "Today is a historic day for Xerox. The successful completion of the separation sharpens our market focus and commitment to our customers," Jacobson said in a statement. "I am confident the transformational actions we are implementing position Xerox for long-term success and unlocks shareholder value." Jacobson who led Xerox's technology business since July 2014 has taken over as Xerox's CEO, replacing Ursala Burns, who will continue serving as the chairman of Xerox's board. Ashok Vemuri who served as president and CEO of Bridgewater, N.J.-based iGate from September 2013 to October 2015 will fill the CEO role at Conduent. "We have already begun laying the groundwork to drive profitable growth through sharpened go-to-market capabilities and greater consistency in applying our automation, analytics, innovation and expertise," Vemuri said in a statement. "Our significant transformation program will position our new company for long-term success." Conduent executives will ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday morning, while Xerox executives will ring the opening bell Wednesday morning. Xerox shareholders Saturday received one share of Conduent stock for every five shares of Xerox stock they had as of Dec. 15, while Xerox received a $1.8 billion cash transfer from Conduent, which it intends to use to retire debt. Conduent will begin its first ever day of trading at $14.90 per share, while, due to the split, Xerox shares were down 28 percent in pre-market trading Tuesday to $6.30 per share. Conduent - which was known as Xerox Global Services up until the separation - is No. 9 on the CRN SP 500 and the world's largest pure-play business process services company. 3i International has seen Xerox shift from a direct to channel-friendly sales strategy over the past half-decade and has been receptive to feedback from elite dealers about shortcomings and suggestions for improvement, said Mark Elliott, president of the Houston-based multi-vendor Xerox dealer. "Every time there's been an area where they need to adapt, they've leaned on the counsel of their channel partners," Elliott told CRN. "For a multibillion dollar vessel, they've been able to turn on a dime like a speedboat." Xerox executives have indicated that the Norwalk, Conn.-based company plans to move tens of accounts of its directly-served upper mid-market and smaller enterprise accounts to the channel, and add 500 new U.S.-based partners with more than $5 million in annual sales. "Those are the types of dealers we want them to add," Elliott said. "Let's do 800, not just 500." A more robust dealer network would have come in handy for 3i when the company landed a large project for Delta Airlines out of New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. But since 3i didn't know other dealers in the New York area who could help with the install, Elliott said the company had to fly engineers from Houston to New York and put them up in the Big Apple for three weeks. "We need to know who's good, who's bad and who's mediocre," said Elliott, who would like to see Xerox land more dealers with the infrastructure needed to provider Tier 1 support. Some Xerox-exclusive agents and multi-vendor dealers might be concerned about conflict as Xerox brings on more channel partners, said Tafoya, president of Xerox agent PDS. But Xerox should be expanding to areas where they don't have adequate coverage rather than areas of channel strength if they are managing the initiative effectively, Tafoya said. "This is such a large market, and there's plenty of pie to go around," Elliott said. "In the end, you allow the best partner to service the client." Acordis International said it has struggled with only having access to a limited selection of Xerox's lower-end product due to its status as a multi-vendor dealer, according to Rehan Khan, president and CEO of the Miramar, Fl.-based company. Khan would like to see the playing field leveled for multi-vendor dealers and Xerox-exclusive agents so that dealers also have access to higher-end products. "We lose business," Khan said. "We walk away from business." Going forward, Xerox plans to bring a broader set of products and services to the table for its multi-brand dealers, including access to a full line of large, free standing A3 printers and significantly expanded offerings available in the smaller, tabletop A4 space, according to Kevin Warren, Xerox's new chief commercial officer. In fact, 16 of the 20 new offerings in Xerox's latest product launch are A4 devices, according to Mike Feldman, Xerox's North America president. Acordis has experienced back-to-back price increases from Xerox, Khan said, and is experiencing margins that are more narrow today than they were three to five years ago. Khan said he expects Xerox's "take it or leave it" attitude around pricing to change if the vendor is committed to gaining market share. Xerox had historically treated every one of 3i's accounts on a "one-off" basis, Elliott said, meaning the vendor would look at each individual customer and decide whether or not to offer a discount on a case-by-case basis. That had required 3i to build out a five-year business plan to each major account, which Elliott said is a five-to-15-hour proposition. Conversely, Elliott said Xerox competitors such as Cannon and Ricoh set their pricing for major accounts upfront based on annual volume, meaning 3i can determine the price of a product in less than two minutes. Xerox has recently moved in the direction of Cannon and Ricoh, Elliott said. Khan would like to see a more formal training program focused around the best practices in geographies which have strong dealers with successful operations, addressing market retention strategies and common areas of struggle. Specifically, Khan said more hands-on training around emerging market segments and product categories would make it easier for dealers to win net new business. Xerox has lost some of its focus on ease of doing business over the years, so Tafoya said he's pleased that Jacobson is recommitting the vendor to focusing on customer experience. "I am hopeful that it [the split] will just make them a stronger, more profitable company, which will help them invest in the things my company needs to create a better customer experience," Tafoya said. "A great customer experience is everything to me. It is how I have grown." Internet of things News Ahead Of CES 2017, Partners Cheer Intel Investment In Self-Driving Automobile Navigation Technology Company Steven Burke Share this Partners say Intel Corp.'s move to buy a 15 percent stake in Dutch digital mapping navigation vendor HERE is sure to accelerate secure driverless vehicle technology advances that will benefit businesses. Intel announced the investment in the global provider of digital maps and location-based services, which is owned by German automakers Audi, BMW and Daimler, on Tuesday just ahead of CES 2017. The deal includes an agreement to collaborate on the research and development of what Intel called a "highly scalable proof-of-concept architecture that supports real-time updates of high definition (HD) maps for fully automated driving." Related: 30 Hot Products At CES 2017 Also, the two companies plan to "jointly explore strategic opportunities" that result from "enriching edge-computing devices" with location data. Cars are rapidly becoming some of the worlds most intelligent, connected devices, said Intel CEO Brian Krzanich in a prepared statement. "We look forward to working with HERE and its automotive partners to deliver an important technology foundation for smart and connected cars of the future." Krzanich is sure to address the investment at CES 2017 in Las Vegas on Wednesday when he is scheduled to host a press conference on how Intel is extending its reach into what the company calls every segment of the "smart and connected world." Intel has said Krzanich will demonstrate how the company is expanding the boundaries of the smart connected world with breakthroughs of its own in self-driving cars, artificial intelligence, 5G technology and virtual reality. Worth Davis, CTO of Houston-based Computex Technology Solutions, No. 124 on the CRN 2016 SP 500, said Intel's participation in new emerging markets like driverless cars are sure to benefit partners as businesses embrace those technologies. For example, he envisioned, the driverless car technology being used for commercial trucking and delivery companies. "Intel has got to be a leader in these markets if these technologies are going to be productized and secure," said Davis. "I give a ton of credit to Brian Krzanich and his team for driving new innovation. It's great to see Intel creating new markets. As a Platinum Intel partner, we look forward to benefitting from these technology breakthroughs with Intel. More innovation from Intel means more total addressable markets for Intel partners." Davis said Intel's innovation in its mainstay markets like servers are sure to help as it pushes the technology envelope in areas like the internet of things and driverless vehicles. "People argue about who has the best server but when you take a step back you realize that Intel that is at the foundation of all of the servers from Hewlett Packard Enterprise to Dell to Lenovo and Cisco and others," he said. "Put them all together and it's Intel. It is that type of market leadership we need to create new emerging markets like the internet of things." Douglas Grosfield, the founder and CEO of Five Nines IT Solutions, a market leading Kitchener, Ontario-based strategic service provider, said the driverless car market would benefit from the investments that Intel can make to expand the market opportunity. "Intel has a broad technology reach that gives them one helluva an advantage over anyone else in terms of how deeply they can invest and drive into these new markets," said Grosfield. What's more, Grosfield said Intel's driverless car investments are sure to result in more secure driverless vehicles in an era where hacking has become a primary concern for any and all applications. "So many vendors in the internet of things market lack Intel's security expertise," he said. "Right now there is no security baked into a lot of these internet of things applications which are being redefined moment by moment. Because so many organizations are desperate to get their products into the market, security is often an afterthought. Having Intel at the forefront of the next wave of the driverless car bodes well for everyone." The two companies said the proof-of-concept they plan to deliver will be designed to help make autonomous driving as safe and predictable as possible. "For example, todays navigation technology can pinpoint a cars location to within meters, but next generation, HD mapping supports localization to within centimeters," said Intel. "This will help vehicles precisely position themselves on the roadway to enable reliable autonomous driving functionality." Intel said HERE HD Live Map, HEREs cloud service supporting vehicle automation, will provide vehicles the ability to "see" obstacles beyond their immediate field of vision and receive real-time updates as environments change due to traffic, road conditions and other factors." Intel said it would work with Audi, BMW and Daimler to test the architecture. "Intel and HERE envision making the architecture broadly available across the automotive industry as a seamlessly integrated offering that simplifies and shortens time of development for automakers," the two companies said in a statement. Intel said the next generation location services that result from this collaboration would "fuel the continued growth of cloud computing and the Internet of Things." The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, Intel said, after it obtains regulatory approvals. Intel plans to nominate Doug Davis, senior vice president and general manager of the Automated Driving Group (ADG) at Intel to HEREs Supervisory Board of directors once the transaction is completed. On a Thursday afternoon at the French Maritime Institute in Le Havre, three students certified as officers were talking about their careers aboard cruise ships. The three students have sailed as deck officers and were now in training to receive their chief mate licenses. It is currently very difficult in France to get in touch with the cruise companies, said Stephanie Hertenstein, a teacher at the school, who oversees the international program, including maritime studies. There is also the fact that French officers are few and far between aboard cruise ships. I spent six months working aboard as a second officer, I did not meet any French officers, said Edouard Gaide, recently off a contract on Swan Hellenic. He added he hopes to return soon to a passenger ship as an officer. So while the cruise industry is growing and sourcing passengers in France, French seamen are still pretty much nonexistent. French officers are mainly restricted to Ponant, with a fleet of small expedition ships flying the French flag. The trend is hopefully changing, as a new training program launched in Le Havre is aimed at sending officers to cruise ships. Up to now, we have trained students to work mainly for the French merchant fleet, Hertenstein said. But the new program is preparing students to work in an English environment and includes all the certifications needed. The program has been welcomed by the port. It is a great way of integrating the maritime college into our local cruise industry, said Valerie Conan, director of cruise for the tourist office. It is very important to have this school training cruise ship officers, as it shows how the industry is growing in France. Keeping with maritime traditions, Conan was named godmother of the cruise training program. Hertenstein noted the cruise training program was picking up popularity, as students saw the opportunity to expand their knowledge and training. And in November, the school hosted an international maritime fair that included a number of cruise companies. Even if the fair was not especially devoted to cruising, the industry was one of the main topics of the day. All Leisure Group has cancelled January sailings aboard the Voyager and Minerva. The Voyager, sailing for Voyages of Discovery, was set to sail from Malaysia on a 15-day cruise on January 4, while the Minerva, under the Swan Hellenic brand, had a January 3 15-day Canary Islands voyage cancelled. The Group cited operational reasons in a brief post on Twitter. The company also owns and operates the Hebridean Island Cruises brand, but that seasonal operation does not start until later in the year. All Leisure, which owns other associated travel businesses, has not been without its own challenges, posting a slim 1.1 million pound operating profit for fiscal year 2015. RJ Allard, chairman, wrote in a letter to investors in early 2016 that the cruise division continued to be unprofitable, noting an improvement in operating losses from 2014 to 2015. Brian A. Pounds / Brian A. Pounds January is National Radon Action Month, and the Connecticut Department of Public Health urges state residents to test their homes for radon gas, the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. Health officials estimate that radon is responsible for more than 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the United States. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas formed from the natural decay of uranium and is found in rock, soil and water. Although radon in outdoor air poses a relatively low risk to human health, it can enter homes from the surrounding soil and become a health hazard inside buildings. The U.S. Coast Guard assisted a disabled boat in Long Island Sound Monday afternoon and later discovered that the vessel had numerous safety violations. At about 4:45 p.m., the guard arrived at the 23-foot disabled vessel, with two people aboard, anchored in Morris Cove on New Haven Harbor. A Coast Guard rescue crew was launched from Coast Guard Station New Haven, and issued a Marine Assistance Request Broadcast to mariners in the area who could potentially assist the disabled vessel. After arriving, the crew established a stern tow with the vessel. The vessel was towed to City Point Marina in New Haven where a safety inspection of the vessel was conductor. Three violations were found including no fire extinguisher, no sound signals, and expired flares. During this time of year, the waters of Connecticut are an unforgiving environment and it's critical that mariners are prepared for sea with the proper equipment to safeguard their lives, said Chief Petty Officer Frank St. Pierre, a crewmember of Sector Long Island Sound., said in a release. A situation could occur at any time while on the water, and being fully prepared could mean the difference between a life or death situation. The situation could have been more dire if the vessel was farther out in Long Island Sound. Morris Cove is a short distance away from Coast Guard Station New Haven. The water temperarture in New Haven Harbor is 41 degrees. The National Weather Service has issued a small craft advisory for Long Island Sound through 1 p.m. Wednesday. Heavy rain and wind gust of up to 35 knots are forecast later Tuesday. For more information on boating safety, go to the Boating Safety Resource Center at http://www.uscgboating.org. It is the enemy within, made up of powerful Americans atop the federal government pretending to respect American principles even as they say go away, Congress, leave us alone, courts, we are everything. They make most of the rules, they judge them, they execute them and they've had it with all the whining about liberty, democratic fundamentals, legislative rights and constitutional safeguards. Various names are given to this mushrooming, revolutionary phenomenon. It is called the administrative state, unilateral rule, the executive branch gone awry or, more imaginatively, the federal bureaucracy on amphetamines. One way to describe it is a government relying ever more on barely inhibited regulatory overkill to make everything run right while actually causing everything to quit running. There is also a handy way to illustrate the worst of it with just three words or even just three letters. The three words are Environmental Protection Agency, and the three letters are EPA. It is a 1970s creation born of a growing awareness of ways in which our industrial society was doing battle with the glory of nature, sustainable resources and human health. Along with states and localities, it did enormous good, especially in cleaning up air and water. But it also came to assume a religiously dogmatic demeanor in which it was mostly answerable only to itself. It figured its cause was so sacred it was allowed to cheat, connive, bully and play games with science. Now there's a solution. His name Scott Pruitt. He is Oklahoma's attorney general, a brilliant lawyer and President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to head the EPA. The greenie extremists are shaking like leaves in a hurricane because he is a states' rights kind of guy and has fought powerfully against EPA overreaching. He put together a coalition of other state attorneys general and he got the Supreme Court to say nothing doing to pushing ahead with the controversial, Obama-backed Clean Power Plan until courts had reviewed it. The plan will likely not stand. Based on obvious bureaucratic misinterpretations of existing law, it would unconstitutionally wipe out state laws, legal experts say. It would also spread EPA authority to nitpicking with private citizens and destroying jobs by the thousands. If by some mishap the courts do not act, Pruitt could. By the way, he does not say there is no global warming, no matter what propaganda you have read lately. He says scientists disagree about the degree and extent of it, and they do. He is off-base on granting too little to human causes, but most scientists agree with him that the consumer-clobbering Clean Power Plan by itself would reduce warming by next to nothing by century's end. EPA sins do not stop there. Review various informed critics and you note how, in one instance, the EPA neglected its obligation to assess what turned out to be $9.6 billion in costs to industry and consumers with a regulation that would accomplish very little. In another instance, it decided to stop dangerous mining in Alaska before any scientific demonstration it was dangerous. The agency was also among the negligent in the water crisis in Flint, Mich. If certain rules on gasoline usage undergo no change, all new cars are eventually going to have to be electric, it is estimated. Some say the EPA makes demands that no current technology can address. Not a few say the EPA has colluded with environmental groups behind the scenes when it was not supposed to. Some argue that, in presenting issues for public comment, the EPA often describes them in misleading ways likely to engender support for a regulatory slugfest. The EPA itself once caused a toxic flash flood in Colorado, making you wonder if we need a higher EPA to regulate the EPA. The answer is no. We need Pruitt, and, for the global warming issue, we need ideas better than a Clean Power Plan that would do nothing. Trump actually has some. Let's see what happens. --- ABOUT THE WRITER Jay Ambrose is an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service. Readers may email him at speaktojay@aol.com. --- 2016 Tribune Content Agency, LLC Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. ----- PHOTO of Jay Ambrose is available from the Columnist Mugs Topics: t000138311,t000002953,t000047682,t000138309,t000047680,t000036956 Less than four hour before 2017, a driver was busted for carrying a loaded handgun and possessing crack cocaine and heroin. According to Hamden Police Capt. Ronald Smith, the bust came after Officer Michael Mello observed a motor vehicle violation at the intersection of Bowen Street and Cherry Ann Street around 8:30 p.m. Mello stopped the vehicle and conducted a motor vehicle stop in the vicinity of Arch and Fitch streets. The Obamas just finished their last Hawaiian vacation as the first family. Their 16-day winter vacation included a luau at a friend's house, dinner at local restaurants and a visit to the Center on US-Asia-Pacific Relations. According to toptenrealestatedeals.com, "the President and his family's location of choice has been the once sleepy area of Kailua Bay on the windward side of the island. From 2008 to 2011, the home they rented was Plantation Estate at Paradise Point, located on a jut of land at the far end of the long crescent of Kailua beach." 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. News is something which somebody doesn't want you to print, all the rest is advertising. There are a number of variations on this theme, which is attributed to everyone from the American newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, model for Orson Welles's Citizen Kane, to George Orwell, inventor of the totalitarian language Newspeak in his prescient novel 1984. Perhaps the most pertinent came from Alfred Harmsworth, the first Viscount Northcliffe and founding father of the Daily Mail. In 1903 he wrote: 'It is part of the business of newspapers to get news and print it. It is part of the business of a politician to prevent certain news being printed.' In Northcliffe's day, many politicians were appalled that rising literacy standards had led to an explosion in the sales of popular newspapers, which were filling the impressionable heads of their readers with information they had no business knowing. Fast forward more than a century and that condescending attitude remains prevalent among the self-regarding, self-perpetuating political class. MPs who favour unfettered Press freedom probably amount to little more than a dozen. Still smarting from the exposure of their crooked expenses claims and blaming papers like the Mail for swinging the Brexit vote in favour of Leave, many at Westminster yearn to bring Fleet Street to heel. Now they are relishing an opportunity to seize their chance for revenge, thanks to an obscure clause in a cynical piece of anti-Press legislation nodded through Parliament at the height of the phone-hacking hysteria. Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act has the potential to bankrupt newspapers who refuse to sign up to a State-controlled regulator. Under its provisions, papers who fail to register with an outfit called Impress will be liable to pay the legal costs of anyone who brings a libel action against them win or lose. Not only is this an outrageous inversion of justice, it is an open invitation to malevolents, malcontents and assorted chancers to sue the Press at no risk to themselves. Have no doubt that an avalanche of vexatious and unwarranted lawsuits will be launched immediately the clause passes into law. Impress is funded by the Formula One tycoon Max Mosley, pictured Their aim will not be so much to seek redress for any alleged stain on their reputation. It will be a blatant attempt to put some publications of which they disapprove out of business for good. There's a real danger that newspapers might shy away from printing potentially damaging material even if it's true for fear of the financial ruin it could bring. That would be a victory beyond their wildest dreams for the fanatical enemies of the Press, who want to suppress all information and opinion which does not conform to their own warped world-view. You might think Impress is a bit like other regulatory bodies, stuffed with career civil servants and the usual suspects from the ranks of the Great and Good. Not so. Impress is funded by the Formula One tycoon Max Mosley, who developed a visceral loathing of newspapers after the now-defunct News of the World exposed his fondness for orgies with prostitutes in military uniform. In a bizarre case, which seemed to revolve around which type of insignia was featured on the uniforms, Mosley landed a sympathetic judge who ruled against the paper and awarded him 60,000 for invasion of privacy. The members of the Impress panel include a deeply unimpressive collection of embittered failed journalists, Left-wing lecturers, law professors and full-time anti-Press activists. Their names would mean nothing to any of you, but you can judge the character and motivation of those who use social media by some of their splenetic, foul-mouthed outbursts, which have labelled popular newspapers, their editors and contributors as 'scum'. The most appalling aspect of all this is the role of the politicians, especially so called 'liberals' such as Nick Clegg and Labour's Nonce Finder General Tom Watson, pictured last September At least one of them has stated openly that he wants the Daily Mail banned. Their posts on Twitter and elsewhere border in some cases on mental illness. They are foaming with hatred and littered with insane allegations linking the popular Press and the Mail in particular to 'fascism' and 'Nazi Germany'. Yet the very suppression of free speech and closure of newspapers they advocate is a classic hallmark of a fascist regime. Orwell would have recognised them for the tyrannical, intolerant bigots they really are. And these are the lunatics that politicians see as fit and proper people to regulate the Press. It would be like putting the Kray Twins in charge of the Police Complaints Commission and forcing the victims of their crimes to pick up the bill. To conjure up another analogy, how would Max Mosley like it if one of his call girls decided to sue him for spanking her too hard and win, lose or draw he was forced to pay all her legal costs? Precisely. Putting this rabble in charge of the Press would be like putting the Kray Twins in charge of the Police Complaints Commission All this comes at a time when some supporters of Impress are also involved in a campaign called Stop Funding Hate, which attempts to put pressure on companies to withdraw their advertising from newspapers of which they disapprove. The primary purpose is to stop papers like the Mail telling the truth about immigration. Unlike newspapers which effectively stand for election every day on the news-stand these zealots speak for no one but themselves. The other difference is that most journalists with the exception of those pompous prigs who regard themselves as part of the 'liberal elite' don't want to silence those who express different opinions. The members of Impress can tweet away to their poisonous hearts' content, as far as I'm concerned. They simply shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a body which seeks to regulate and censor free speech. Newspapers and their contributors are already subject to the criminal law, as the phone-hacking trials demonstrated, and the laws of libel. Most mainstream papers submit voluntarily to an independent regulatory body called IPSO, chaired by a distinguished and scrupulously impartial former Appeal Court judge, who has the power to order front page corrections and impose fines of up to 1 million. Does Theresa May, pictured, really want to be Prime Minister of a country where a Left-wing rabble of Press-haters has the final say on what appears in our newspapers? Please don't think this is special pleading. To the surprise of many people myself included I've never lost a libel action, or even had to appear in a libel trial. The only time I came close was when I criticised Alan Sugar over his stewardship of Tottenham Hotspur. Sugar is one of those wealthy figures who likes to dish it out either on social media, or as host of The Apprentice but has his lawyers on speed dial to respond to any perceived slight to his impeccable character. In my case, he got nowhere not even an apology, retraction or guarantee that I wouldn't repeat my remarks. But by the time both sides walked away, the meter had been running quicker than one in a London taxi stuck next to a deserted cycle lane, and my brief said the collective costs weren't far short of 400,000. If Section 40 goes through, someone like Sugar could bring an action secure in the knowledge that it wouldn't cost him a penny, even if his claim was laughed out of court. When I was a young industrial correspondent, we'd get regular legal letters from some leading figures in the Labour movement, such as the NUM's Arthur Scargill and Clive Jenkins, the pint-sized Welsh crook who ran the white collar union ASTMS. More often than not, our lawyers would end up giving them a couple of grand to go away not because there was any merit in their complaint but because it could cost a small fortune to defend the case at trial. Price of doing business, guv. The union leaders got a few bob, there was a nice drink in it for their solicitors and there was no risk that they, too, could risk a huge bill by taking it to court. Ultimately, Section 40 is an attack not just on the Press but on free speech itself, born out of contempt for the newspaper-reading public, whom most politicians consider too stupid to think for themselves If Section 40 had been in existence, there would have been no disincentive to them dragging out the case in the hope of getting a result before a judge and jury, since the paper would be responsible for picking up their bill even if they lost. Freedom of expression is under attack everywhere, from outgoing Met Commissioner Bernard Hyphen-Howe effectively criminalising all contact between police officers and reporters, to the deranged 'safe space' movement in universities which bans opinions deemed 'inappropriate' or 'offensive' to fragile students' minds. The most appalling aspect of all this is the role of the politicians, especially so called 'liberals' such as Nick Clegg and Labour's Nonce Finder General Tom Watson. This whole punitive plan was carved up over late-night pizza at a meeting in then Labour leader Ed Miliband's office on a Sunday night. Yet no one has tried harder to ruin other people's reputations than Watson who has abused Parliamentary privilege to falsely accuse leading Tories of child molesting, and who got into bed with a dubious 'news' agency to peddle the fantasies of an alleged 'victim' known only as Nick. Ultimately, Section 40 is an attack not just on the Press but on free speech itself, born out of contempt for the newspaper-reading public, whom most politicians consider too stupid to think for themselves. Britain has the most vibrant and diverse Press in the world. That is now under threat from this Orwellian measure, which could destroy, or at the very least neuter, papers from Fleet Street to the smallest local rag. Fortunately, there is still time to halt this madness in its tracks. Culture Secretary Karen Bradley is taking consultations until January 10 before deciding whether to implement the clause. I would urge you all please to fill in the form below and lend us your support. Let's hope sanity prevails. Does Theresa May really want to be Prime Minister of a country where a Left-wing rabble of Press-haters has the final say on what appears in our newspapers? Thanks for staying with me to the bitter end of this column. To be honest, I'd rather have done my usual song and dance act today. But some things are too important to ignore, and nothing is more precious than preserving 300 years of Press freedom. Normal service will be resumed on Friday. Until then, I leave you with another famous quote from one of America's founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson. In 1789, he said: 'Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.' Act NOW if you want to help defend the right to read a website like MailOnline Imagine someone throws a brick through your window. The case goes to court and the brick-thrower is convicted. But you are told you must pay for your window - and his brick. An unbelievable injustice? Yes - but that's just what Britain's newspapers and news websites face. In the New Year, the Culture Secretary must decide whether or not to implement a piece of legislation so pernicious, so illiberal, it is hard to believe Parliament ever passed it. But it did. Most of our greatest injustices are exposed not by MPs or the police, but by the Press. The MPs' expenses scandal; the Rotherham sex grooming cover-up; the monumental failures over the murder of Stephen Lawrence just a few of the investigations that would never have been possible if Section 40 was in force Under Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act, rushed into law after the Leveson Inquiry, any relevant newspapers or news websites - from MailOnline to The Guardian, Huffington Post and Buzzfeed - which refuse to join a regulator approved under the Government's Royal Charter for the Press, and are sued for libel, will be forced to pay the other side's legal costs even if they win. EVEN IF YOU WIN, YOU LOSE: If this law is implemented, it won't matter if an article is true, lawfully published, serves the public interest, and the complaint is thrown out by the court any relevant newspapers or news websites not signed up to an approved regulator will face paying all the costs, every single penny. FREE TICKET FOR CROOKS, BANKRUPTCY FOR NEWSPAPERS: Costs in High Court legal actions routinely run into hundreds of thousands of pounds sometimes millions. This legislation gives anyone who wants to silence journalists a free ticket. News organisations that fight will face being bankrupted. WHO WILL EXPOSE INJUSTICE? Most of our greatest injustices are exposed not by MPs or the police, but by the Press. The MPs' expenses scandal; the Rotherham sex grooming cover-up; the monumental failures over the murder of Stephen Lawrence just a few of the investigations that would never have been possible if Section 40 was in force. WHY NOT JOIN THE STATE-APPROVED REGULATOR? Called Impress, it claims to be independent, but is bankrolled by former F1 boss Max Mosley, on a mission to 'reform' the Press ever since a newspaper revealed his sado-masochistic orgy with five prostitutes. It has just a handful of micro-publisher members, some barely more than online blogs. No mainstream news organisation has joined. SO WHO REGULATES THE DAILY MAIL AND MAILONLINE? MailOnline and 2,600 other news websites, newspapers, and magazines do not believe the Press can be truly free under rules imposed by politicians. We belong to a regulator which is entirely independent of the Government. Chaired by former Appeal Court Judge Sir Alan Moses, the Independent Press Standards Organisation regularly orders front page corrections and if necessary can impose fines of up to 1 million. ... AND THEN THERE'S LEVESON TWO: The original Leveson Inquiry and associated criminal trials have already cost the taxpayer nearly 50 million. Despite a raft of reforms to the Press, police and politics, the Culture Secretary is under pressure to go over it all again with Leveson Part Two. WHAT CAN BE DONE? Very sensibly, the Culture Secretary has launched a consultation. The zealots of Hacked Off, and their allies in Parliament, are lobbying hard for Section 40 to become law and Leveson Two to get under way. But this time you get your say, too. If you want to defend the right to read a news website like MailOnline, a website which holds the rich and powerful to account, which fights injustice, and which refuses to kow-tow to rules set by politicians and a regulator in the pocket of Max Mosley, you can tell the Government this unjust legislation must be repealed and no money wasted on another Leveson Inquiry. He is the Eurosceptic gift that just keeps on giving. Indeed, he is possibly the greatest weapon at the Brexiteers' disposal more so even than Nigel Farage or Boris Johnson, or those bonkers EU regulations on the correct shape of bananas. But for how much longer? Because time is now surely running out for European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker following the latest evidence of his rank hypocrisy not to mention his pivotal role in a monumental tax dodge. As many have argued since last summer's EU referendum, if the member states of the European Union had not appointed Mr Juncker to run the European Commission in 2014, Brexit might very well not have happened. A less arrogant, less abrasive, less fanatical Euro-federalist might well have shaved a crucial couple of percentage points off the final 52:48 result. Fortunately for the Leave camp, the finger-wagging former prime minister of Luxembourg just kept on riling the British public right up to polling day. European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker (pictured) following the latest evidence of his rank hypocrisy not to mention his pivotal role in a monumental tax dodge Threat Indeed, he was at it again just the other day when he warned other member states not to follow the stupid Brits by holding an in/out EU referendum. 'It is not wise to organise this kind of debate,' he said. 'Not only because I might be concerned about the final result but because this will pile more controversy on to the huge number [of crises] already present at the heart of the EU.' This week, however, a fresh series of leaked documents show the extraordinary extent to which Mr Juncker has spent years blocking EU attempts to crack down on the predatory tax loopholes constructed in his native Luxembourg for the benefit of international corporate giants such as Amazon. The same documents go on to show how he has also vetoed any public disclosure of these discussions. So, here we are at the start of a year in which the EU faces the gravest existential threat in its history from a series of national elections in France, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy. And despite crystal-clear demands for greater EU transparency and accountability, the man in charge of the EU apparatus has been rumbled as the architect of a huge tax avoidance cover-up. As yet, we haven't heard a squeak from Mr Juncker. Not that we should necessarily believe what he might deign to share with us. This is the man who, while handling the 2011 eurozone crisis, blithely declared: 'When it becomes serious, you have to lie.' Well it's certainly looking serious now. The latest scandal follows the leak of classified documents involving a secretive EU committee set up to establish a code of conduct on tax policies. The idea was to prevent 'harmful competition' between member states. Since the committee was created in 1998, when Mr Juncker was both prime minister and finance minister in his native grand duchy, the committee has made repeated attempts to toughen regulation. These have included proposals for investigations of private corporate tax deals with big international corporations. At every stage, these plans were blocked by Luxembourg thanks to a rule requiring unanimity on all the committee's decisions. Exasperated by this stalemate, a number of countries including Germany and Sweden then argued in favour of a majority vote. 'Nein,' said Luxembourg and vetoed that, too. So a country with 0.1 per cent of the EU population (think Northamptonshire with fewer people), has been frustrating serious reform of offshore tax avoidance for years. Then, when it was proposed that the committee's deliberations might be made public, that also received a big fat thumbs down from Mr Juncker and his compatriots. Given all the bile which Mr Juncker has directed over the years at the British for being 'bad' Europeans, and for obstructing the great European dream, we now find that he has been throwing spanners in the works and getting away with it for years. There must now surely be serious doubts about this man's ability to remain at the helm of the world's most bloated bureaucracy (one in which 10,000 people earn more than the British prime minister). It was in 2014 that the first revelations surfaced about Mr Juncker's involvement in cosy Luxembourg tax deals during the 18 years he spent as PM, before being forced out in a phone tapping scandal. The so-called 'LuxLeaks' episode revealed the extent to which companies such as Fiat and McDonald's had been enjoying potentially illegal arrangements with Luxembourg on his watch deals which certainly help to explain why it is one of the world's richest nations. Several EU investigations have since been commissioned, and Fiat has been ordered to repay tens of millions of euros in unpaid tax, while the McDonald's case is ongoing. Mr Juncker has supported the EU's competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager in pursuing these matters. No doubt Mr Juncker had hoped all these pesky leaks had gone away. Instead, the new disclosures amplify the arrogance of a man who has repeatedly voiced his contempt for the democratic process. As many have argued since last summer's EU referendum, if the member states of the European Union had not appointed Mr Juncker to run the European Commission in 2014, Brexit might not have happened 'I am for secret, dark debates,' he said in 2011. He also said: 'We all know what to do. We just don't know how to get re-elected after we've done it.' Contempt His attitude towards the inconvenient simpletons the rest of us call 'voters', is probably best summed up in his half-jokey, half-menacing prognosis ahead of the 2005 French referendum on a proposed European Constitution: 'If it's a Yes, we will say: 'On we go.' And if it's a No, we will say: 'We continue.' ' No doubt there will be some in Brussels who will try to explain away the latest leaks as rabble-rousing by ghastly Eurosceptic British newspapers such as the Mail. Actually, the latest Luxembourg leaks have come via German radio, the Left-wing Guardian newspaper and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists hardly a cabal of scheming Brexiteers. Indeed, it is increasingly hard to find anyone with positive things to say about the 62-year-old uber-bureaucrat, who makes no secret of his own contempt for the UK. During Mr Juncker's quest to become president of the Commission, even that arch-Europhile Lord Mandelson couldn't come up with anything more enthusiastic than: 'He may or may not be the nightmare candidate.' Perhaps now, some of Mr Juncker's senior colleagues will come to their senses and realise what a liability they have in the man still running the Commission. Then again, perhaps not. We need only look at the vast new palace which the EU grandees have just unveiled in Brussels. Called Europa or the 'Space Egg' it is beautifully emblematic of the ivory-towered otherworldliness of the EU elite. Lies Originally commissioned for 210 million in 2004, it has finally been finished four years late and 80 million over budget. Multi-coloured floors and ceilings look like a paint chart but are apparently the work of a Belgian artist-cum-essayist called Georges Meurant, who only paints in squares. This is supposed to be the new conference centre for both the European Council and the Council of the European Union, with the bowels earmarked for the media and the top floor fitted out as a very grand private dining room. Offices, conference rooms and restaurants fill the space in between. Indeed, the building has 25 per cent more space for eating and drinking (5,800 square metres) than for actual meetings (4,600 square metres), but then that should come as no surprise to those who have spent any time in Brussels, as I did recently. Mr Juncker would certainly approve. He is well-known for his love of a traditional European working lunch; one local paper chronicled his heroic consumption of a Campari, three glasses of wine and three Sambucas in just two hours. It's one of his more endearing traits. There's a revolution on the beaches of Barbados and St Barts this winter. Photographs are filtering through of white sands and breath-taking bodies, drawing mutters of envy from those left shivering at home. Look a little closer, however, and you'll notice a distinct difference in the usual format of these photographs: most seem to be taken from behind. Getting the perfect 'bottom shot' has overtaken the pout and even the cleavage as the crucial body boast among look-at-me celebs. But why are so many beautiful young women obsessed with showing us their bottoms? Abbey Clancy (right), who is married to Stoke City striker Peter Crouch, was topless when she posed for a photo (left) British actress Suki Waterhouse (right) was spotted in a Bikini on the beach in Barbados (left) Model and actress Kelly Brook (right) was lying next to a pool (left) when she took a photo Leading the charge has been model Suki Waterhouse at least, we assume it's her, as her face rarely makes it into view posting pictures of her peachy bottom as she strolls in Barbados. More than 24,000 people have 'liked' the image on social media site Instagram. Others have gleefully joined the fray. On New Year's Eve, Made In Chelsea's Millie Mackintosh posted a picture showing off her derriere in a skimpy purple swimsuit, captioned: 'Leaving 2016 behind.' Meanwhile, Kate Moss's 18-year-old half-sister Lottie posted a snap of her perfectly-formed posterior on a beach in Barbados to her swelling Instagram fanbase. 'Let me know when you have seen enough pictures of my bum,' she wrote. There is no doubt about it: (almost) bottomless has become the new topless. Of course, female buttocks have always been a symbol of beauty and fertility. The erotic beauty of the female bottom was important to the ancient Greeks, while African culture has long celebrated the larger-hipped female form. Since the turn of the century, more substantial bottoms have become increasingly prized even fetishised in mainstream culture. In 2001, girl group Destiny's Child, featuring Beyonce, released their hit single Bootylicious a word that made it into the Oxford English Dictionary. South African supermodel Candice Swanepoel (right) posted a new snap of herself on Instagram (left) Heidi Klum (right) posted a new holiday photo of her sand-covered bottom and braided hair on her Instagram page (left) Lottie Moss (right) wrote 'Here come the Barbados pics' when she posted the picture online (left) Made In Chelsea star Millie Mackintosh (right) posed for a picture in her bikini when she was on holiday Sages at the OED defined it: 'Bootylicious: sexually attractive, sexy; shapely.' The generously proportioned pop star Jennifer Lopez capitalised further on the craze in 2014, calling her sexually-charged anthem Booty. The raunchy, bottom-jiggling video that accompanied it has been downloaded on YouTube more than 200 million times. Then there's Kim Kardashian. The extraordinary derriere of this reality star is more famous than most actresses' entire bodies. I'd guess most people could pick out her bottom from a line-up ahead of her face. Also, it's extraordinary and a little troubling to think that the age-old female refrain 'Does my bum look big in this?' has been effectively re-written as 'Does my bum look big enough in this?' But it is not acceptance of body types in their infinite variety, but rather a new body ideal that women feel they must aspire to. For while today's desired bottom may be of more generous dimensions, the female form is still being subjected to the same tyranny of perfection handed down by celebrity culture. Former Strictly Come Dancing star Ola Jordan (right) was wearing a white bikini on a beach (left) Beyonce (right) was wearing a pink and orange bikini when she posed for a photograph by a pool (left) Singer Rihanna (right) was wearing a bikini when she was drinking a beer on holiday (left) Unless a woman's rear is as round as an apple, cellulite-free, sits atop long and slender legs and is as smooth as alabaster, it won't pass muster. When girls feel their bottoms not only have to conform to a particular shape and size, but also have to be worthy of baring on the beach, it is a sad reflection of the increased sexualisation and pornification of popular culture. Even for older women, a firm, but bouncy, backside has become a real status symbol. Despite more outstanding achievements in other fields, serious-minded women from Carol Vorderman to Sian Lloyd and Fiona Bruce have carried their Rear of The Year awards with pride. If exercise doesn't give you the derriere of your desires, there are industries built on helping women to fake it. You can add volume with 'undetectable padded knickers'. Or you can opt for surgery at one of the increasing number of clinics offering buttock augmentation. While it is to be welcomed that big-bottomed girls no longer need feel ashamed of their figures, what this really amounts to is a new strand of body fascism. A strand that encourages girls not just to have bigger bottoms, but to expose them on the beach and beyond. She written a book about her experience called Confessions of a Mad Mooer The mum was sent to a mothers and babies unit at a Mum-of-three Robin Elizabeth still remembers how close she was to ending her life while in the grip of severe post natal depression. The 37-year-old from Sydney was in hospital with her four-month-old twins and at breaking point. 'I thought to myself, a s soon as my husband came I was going to excuse myself to go the bathroom, walk out of the hospital, into the traffic, and die,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'I thought my kids were better off without me. I thought Im failing as a mother, my children are going to be permanently damaged because Im a bad mum.' Robin Elizabeth (pictured in hospital) spent a month in a psychiatric hospital after being diagnosed with post natal depression The mum-of-three was placed in a special mothers and babies unit so her four-month-old twins could stay with her (pictured above in hospital with Robin's daughter Chloe) What is postnatal depression? Many women experience mood swings after the birth of a baby. However, postnatal depression (PND) describes the more severe or prolonged symptoms of depression that last more than a week or two and interfere with the ability to function on a daily basis. PND is different from the baby blues that are common during the first week after childbirth. Postnatal disorders can interfere with the developing relationship between a mother and her baby after birth. Severe disorders require treatment and it is very important to tell your doctor or midwife if you are feeling distressed. Source: Black Dog Institute Advertisement Luckily a specialist talked to Robin and realised her situation was far beyond the normal tiredness of a mum with three children under three. The doctor called a social worker, who assessed the former school teacher and said that she needed to see the hospital's psychiatric team immediately. The experts advised Robin that she should be admitted to a psychiatric hospital with a mothers and babies unit because her depression had become so bad without being diagnosed. So off she went to what the mum describes in her book, Confessions of a Mad Mooer: Postnatal Depression Sucks, as 'the madhouse'. The psychiatric unit was not like Robin expected. It had a playroom for the children, it wasn't dreary, and there was a separate dining area for the women in the mother's unit. It was nothing like what films and television had led her to expect. 'On the day I was to enter the psychiatric hospital, I tearfully told my husband that I hadn't even had time to watch Girl Interrupted to prepare,' the mum writes in her book. The 37-year-old's post natal depression was so bad that she contemplated suicide because she believed her children would be better off without her 'How could I possibly be ready to hang out with a bunch of crazy ladies if I hadn't recently watched a movie about a bunch of crazy ladies?' Robin explained that she wasn't the only one to both have different expectation of the hospital, and then also make fun of it when these expectations weren't met. 'I was with a special group of ladies who reclaimed the language like "madhouse,"' she said. 'A lot of us used humour as a coping mechanism. 'It gave you a sense of power because you were making light of a stereotype. It was one of those if you dont laugh you cry situations.' Robin has now documented her experience in a book titled Confessions of a Mad Mooer (pictured) While the mothers and babies unit meant that Robin could be with her newborn twins, she was still separated from her husband and two-and-half year old daughter, Chloe. 'It was horrible, I really missed my little girl,' the mum remembers. 'I was her primary care giver, shed only just gone into childcare for the first time a couple of weeks before I went in. 'Id only had a little time apart from her, it was her and I together all the time. I had enormous guilt about leaving her.' Robin had visits from her husband and daughter during her four weeks in the hospital, but it was still extremely difficult. She spent a month in the hospital with only occasional visits from her daughter and husband One thing she said helped a lot was the support of the other women in the unit with her. They bonded so strongly that Robin is still good friends with some of them today. 'We had each others backs, we had support from each other,' she explained 'Youve got other women in there you can chat to who are going through exactly what youre going through.' Many of the women, like Robin, suffered from a lot of anxiety in relation to thinking they were a bad mother, which is a common symptom of post natal depression. Now the mum wants to share her story to help other women in the same position she was in After four weeks, Robin left the psychiatric unit feeling more able to cope and with a better understanding of her depression. She still sees a therapist weekly, and is passionate about mental health advocacy. Part of the reason she wrote her book about her experiences is because she wanted to show what it was really like to be in a 'madhouse' and not sanitise what happened. The result was a funny, real, and sometimes confronting look at something many women deal with. Some people are reluctant to leave the comfort of their own homes on New Year's Eve, but James Ware proved himself the ultimate party animal by ringing in 2017 twice in two different time zones. The 24-year-old Londoner celebrated at midnight with fireworks at Sydney Harbour before flying over 3,000 miles across the International Date Line to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, South Pacific where he welcomed 2017 for the second time. 'It left me feeling like the Mo Farah of New Year's such was the stamina required to fly over 3,000 miles between the two via Auckland to reach Rarotonga which is 21 hours behind Sydney so that I could get the ultimate New Year's deja vu,' he said. The challenge was several months in the making for the Oxford graduate - including poring over calculations and time zones to figure out how he could make it for New Year's Eve in both places. James, a radio presenter, said of his adventure: 'I had wanted to do this for a while after hearing about Leonardo DiCaprio doing the same thing with an anonymous billionaire on a private jet. 'I wanted to see if there was any way for us mere mortals to achieve the same thing.' Rehydration, vitamin and minerals brand Phizz challenged him to push himself to the limit over New Year's and so he decided to follow in Leo's footsteps and complete the same challenge. James Ware, (above) from London, decided to celebrate New Year's Eve twice and flew from Sydney to the Cook Islands In his YouTube video, he started off by celebrating midnight at Sydney Harbour (pictured above) The challenge was several months in the making - and James had to convert the different time zones so that he was able to make it for New Year's Eve in both places The flight from London to Sydney was 21 hours long and then from Sydney to the Cook Islands was over seven hours with a layover in Auckland, New Zealand. After bringing in the new year in Sydney, it was 21.30 local time when he landed in Rarotonga on the 31st of December. He managed to rush across the island to Muri beach in time for the fireworks at midnight and was then up until 5 am celebrating. James, who posted the video on his YouTube channel, said: 'I was left praying there would be no delays on the day or the closest I would have come to a second New Year's would have been replaying my footage of the first. Rehydration, vitamin and minerals brand Phizz (above) challenged him to push himself to the limit over New Year's and so he decided to follow in Leo's footsteps and complete the same challenge Speaking to FEMAIL, James said of his adventure: 'I had wanted to do this for a while after hearing about Leonardo DiCaprio doing the same thing with an anonymous billionaire on a private jet' James (pictured above after NYE on the Cook Islands) says he hopes he might be able to top next year's celebrations by flying to three different places 'Thankfully it all ran like clockwork for me to be beachside in Rarotonga for the last New Year's fireworks on earth.' He had been awake for 43 hours by the time he got some sleep and he says it is 'definitely the most tired I hope to be in the whole of 2017 whatever this year brings.' James had started off the celebrations with close friends in Sydney but had to leave the post-fireworks party for his solo mission to the Cook Islands - something he describes as being 'like Robbie Williams leaving Take That' - but he managed to make friends among the Rarotonga revellers. She's made no secret of her penchant for photography, shunning big name photographers in favour of capturing her own portraits of Prince George and Princess Charlotte. And the Duchess of Cambridge's talents behind the camera have been acknowledged, after she was given honorary lifetime membership of the prestigious Royal Photographic Society in recognition of her 'talent and enthusiasm'. And whilst Kate, 34, is said to be 'very pleased' with the accolade, it seems some of the British public are not as impressed. Indeed, as the news was announced on social media, people took to the comments section in their droves, with some saying she 'probably knows someone' and others questioning why those less deserving weren't given a free membership. The Duchess of Cambridge's talents behind the camera have been acknowledged, after she was given honorary lifetime membership of the prestigious Royal Photographic Society in recognition of her 'talent and enthusiasm'. However, people have taken to social media to question the honour 'I'm sure that an honorary membership for that other genius with a camera, Brooklyn Beckham, won't be far behind,' wrote one user of the eldest Beckham son, who is a fledgling snapper. 'A royal connection helps... possibly,' wrote another, whilst another added: 'No favouritism there then!'. Other users said she probably 'knows someone' at the society and others questioned why those less deserving weren't given a free membership. Others disagreed, instead commenting on the Duchess' 'natural talent' for capturing a good picture. 'Her children are clearly more natural and at ease with Kate taking their picture,' noted one, whilst another said said she had a 'great eye' for photography. Many Facebook users noted how important it was to have such a public figure representing the photography industry. These images feature Prince George holding Princess Charlotte at their home in Anmer Hall, Norfolk, in May 2015, left. Kensington Palace later released two more photographs of the Princess, also taken by her mother, as a means of thanking the public for its support and interest since the couple's daughter was born. Pictured, right, is a photograph of Princess Charlotte, taken by The Duchess, in Anmer Hall in November 2015 when she was six months old Social media users were quick to comment on the news, with some saying it was a case of nepotism, whilst others said it was 'excellent' news This image taked by the mother-of-two features Prince George on his first day of nursery The society, established in 1853, works to promote photography and to support photographers 'irrespective of their level of knowledge, equipment or skills'. It holds exhibitions and workshops and has a long tradition of links to the Royal family: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were early patrons while several official Royal photographers were members. Professional photographer Lord Snowdon won its Hood Medal in 1978. The society believes Kate is an excellent role model for keen amateur photographers. A spokeswoman said it was 'clear she had photographic talent'. Dr Michael Pritchard, chief executive of the RPS, said: 'The Duchess of Cambridge has had a long-standing interest in photography and its history. 'She is latest in a long line of royal photographers and the society is pleased to recognise her talent and enthusiasm through honorary membership. We look forward to a continuing relationship with her.' In a post on Facebook, the society explained how they believe that Kate is an excellent role model for keen amateur photographers. A spokeswoman said it was 'clear she had photographic talent' Despite the praise she received from her photographs of her children, the Duchess' images she published from a trip to Borneo in 2012 had mixed reviews. They included a shot of a misty Mount Kinabalu - the highest point in Borneo at 13,400ft above sea level Another photograph featured a black-and-white image of an orangutan 'I'm sure that an honorary membership for that other genius with a camera, Brooklyn Beckham, won't be far behind,' wrote one user of the eldest Beckham son, pictured, who is a fledgling snapper and has worked for Burberry The Duchess a keen amateur photographer has released a number of photographs of her children over the years. She broke with tradition to take the first official photographs of Princess Charlotte in 2015 and pictures of Prince George on his first day at nursery received widespread praise. But holiday snaps taken in Borneo and posted on her website received mixed reviews. The Duchess, who studied history of art at St Andrews University, has been spotted several times taking photos on Royal tours with her Canon EOS 5D Mark II and is understood to be knowledgeable about all aspects of photography. Karen Danczuk has given her first interview after her brother was jailed for 15 years for sexually abusing her and two other women, saying she now 'feels numb' about her sibling. The 33-year-old former Labour Councillor told Good Morning Britain hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid that she felt 'no anger' towards her older brother Michael Burke, 38, after he was sentenced for a catalogue of sex crimes following a trial at Manchester Crown Court in November. Mother-of-two Danczuk also revealed that the stream of scantily-clad selfies that saw her shoot to fame two years ago were actually a cry for help following the attacks, as she wanted to 'prove I was wanted and that people liked me.' Scroll down for video Former Labour Councillor Karen Danczuk, 33, appeared on Good Morning Britain today to talk about her brother's recent imprisonment for a string of sex attacks against herself and two other women Healing: When asked by Piers Morgan about her Christmas, Danczuk said she had only just begun to 'digest' the November trial, which saw her older sibling jailed for 15 years Danczuk, the ex-wife of Rochdale Labour MP Simon Danczuk, said that the case had left her '100 per cent' turning to social media for approval on her looks The selfie queen said that she thought people were 'crazy' for criticising her stream of self portraits, which she says were a product of her abuse at the hands of her sibling Michael Burke (pictured right) The mother-of-two revealed how she's underestimated the time it takes to 'heal' following childhood abuse. During the three week trial in November, the mother-of-two told the court her brother abused her at the family home in Middleton, near Rochdale, from the age of six or seven - progressing to rape when she was aged 11 - until she was in her mid-teens. She told Good Morning Britain that she's still struggling to get back to her normal self, saying: 'I think I thought I'd snap back into "Karen World" - not that I'd want to go back to the old Karen - but I thought everything would be fine and I could celebrate and be happy. 'I think I underestimated the actual healing process that starts when it's all over. I feel like I'm just digesting and coming to terms with it.' The social media star has become a patron of abuse charity NAPAC and called for more funding for those trying to help survivors of abuse Danczuk, ex-wife of Labour MP Simon Danczuk, said her famous self-portraits on social media, which saw her dubbed the 'selfie queen' were actually about being insecure following on from the abuse. She told Piers that her selfies were '100 per cent' a direct result of being attacked by her sibling: 'If I was sat here two years ago and you said: "You're in politics you shouldn't be doing this, I'd say you were crazy" 'It's awful when I look back. I thought everyone else was completely wrong and I was fine - I was in the moment.' 'I was trying to prove I was wanted and people liked me, just validation that I was normal despite what I was going through.' She admitted she has 'turned to social media' to prove 'this has happened but I can still feel good and I can still be a woman.' The selfie queen told Piers Morgan that her selfies and 'Karen World' were merely her trying to get public approval from others, a direct result of the abuse Danczuk also told the hosts that she didn't 'entertain' trolls in any way on Twitter, saying she just blocks them and moves on Danczuk also said she felt no aggression towards her brother. Ahead of the November trial, she had waived her right to anonymity as a victim of sexual offences to brand her brother a 'monster' who had 'robbed me of my childhood' and made her suicidal. But today she told Piers and Susanna: 'I don't really feel anything. I know people will say "You've described him as a monster" but I don't have any anger. 'There's no anger there any more. If I wake up angry every day then it's just not going to help anyone. I just feel numb about him to be honest.' Danczuk revealed that she is a new patron of NAPAC, a charity that supports adults who were abused in childhood and urged more money to be put into funding for survivors of such attacks. The 33-year-old told the Good Morning Britain hosts that she refused to listen to those who told her she was 'crazy' to post scantily-clad selfies Danczuk with her ex-husband Simon, whom she remains close to; she described the MP on Twitter as 'committed' to Rochdale on Twitter this week The November trial saw Burke found guilty of eight counts of rape and another serious sexual offence against the three women, including three counts of rape against his sister between 1992 and 1994. Burke denied 15 counts of rape, one attempted rape and one indecent assault against his sister and two other women, spanning an 18-year period from 1992 to 2010. He was cleared of nine other serious sexual offences. The two other women have not waived their right to anonymity and cannot be identified. It's the Danish shop selling thrifty and quirky gifts and the couple who brought Tiger to the UK have certainly cashed in on its popularity. Philip and Emma Bier, who opened the first shop in Basingstoke back in 2005, have sold their stake in the company - and received a 'multimillion-pound windfall', according to The Guardian. Managing director Philip, who is Danish himself, and head of design and marketing, Emma, owned 50 per cent of Tiger Retail Limited, which they have now sold to its parent company Zebra. Philip and Emma Bier, who opened the first shop in Basingstoke back in 2005, have sold their stake in the company - and received a 'multimillion-pound windfall', according to The Guardian Philip, who previously worked as a photographer, took out a second mortgage to open the brand's first shop back in 2005 after meeting the founder and spotting a gap for it on British high street. The couple won't disclose how much they sold their stake for but according to the paper, Tiger, which recently rebranded as Flying Tiger, paid a 2m dividend to its owners in 2015, had sales of 41m and profits of 7m. Richard Boyd, who is a company partner in North England, will take over as managing director. In 2015, Tiger stores served more than 80 million customers across Europe, the US and Japan. Today, there's 600 stores in 29 countries Tiger is the Danish shop selling thrifty and quirky gifts such as courgetti makers for 2 and printed cushions for 5 Managing director Philip, who is Danish himself, and head of design and marketing, Emma, owned 50 per cent of Tiger Retail Limited, which they have now sold to its parent company Zebra Lennart Lajboschitz kick-started Tiger has a market stall in 1995 in his hometown of Copenhagen. It sold surplus goods and everything cost 10 Danish Crowns (1.14). That first store was called Zebra. But when Lennart opened his second store, his eight-year-old daughter Rebecca said, 'We have a zebra, and now we can have a tiger too.' And he changed the name to Tiger. In Danish, Tiger is pronounced tee'-yuh, which means both tiger and a 10-crown coin. THE STORY OF TIGER Lennart Lajboschitz kick-started Tiger has a market stall in 1995 in his hometown of Copenhagen It sold surplus goods and everything cost 10 Danish Crowns (1.14) By 2000, there were 38 Tiger stores in Denmark In 2001, the first non-Danish store opened in Reykjavik, Iceland In 2015, Tiger stores served more than 80 million customers across Europe, the US and Japan Today, there's 600 stores in 29 countries Advertisement By 2000, there were 38 Tiger stores in Denmark and in 2001, the first non-Danish store opened in Reykjavik, Iceland, and by 2010, there were 100 stores in 10 countries. In 2015, Tiger stores served more than 80 million customers across Europe, the US and Japan, and to date has over 600 stores in 29 countries. It is now known as Flying Tiger Copenhagen and opens at least three new stores every week. On the brand's website, the say: 'Our stores are full of quirky Danish design and an ever-changing selection of fun and affordable things. 'At our stores, you'll find things you need, things you've dreamed of and things you never even knew existed. Things for your home, your office, your parties, your kids, your kitchen, and more. They're stylish and colourful, practical and original, and most of them have a Danish flavour and a humorous touch. Disgruntled viewers of This Morning are urging Holly Willoughby to return to the show after being left unimpressed by her replacement. Davina McCall stepped in for Holly on the first show of 2017 alongside her co-host Phillip Schofield. Holly, 35, is currently enjoying a beach holiday ion Barbados with her husband Dan and three children. Scroll down for video This Morning viewers are less than impressed with Davina McCall's hosting skills as she temporarily replaces Holly Willoughby In her absence fellow television presenter Davina McCall, 40, will take her place on the daytime show until Friday. However, while some welcomed Davina's appearance on the show, several viewers have been left unimpressed by her hosting skills today, describing her as 'too keen'. Davina even 'warned' her co-host to-be Phillip in a tweet which read: 'Covering for my @hollywills for three days with @Schofe (brace yourself!) trains up the swanny.... not a good start to my first day!!!' Davina joined co-host Phillip Schofield on the first show back of 2017 but fans of Holly took to Twitter calling for her return Many viewers tweeted their dismay over Holly's absence as the host is currently enjoying a holiday in Barbados Many viewers appeared to agree that the warning was necessary with many agreeing that she was too loud on air. Others speculated as to whether the host was a little too enthused for the morning show. Fans of Holly tweeted their disappointment at her replacement and called for her to return to the show as soon as possible. Several viewers even went as far as to switch off the their sets upon discovering that it would be Davina hosting the show. Holly is set to make her return to the ITV breakfast show on Monday 9 January after Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford host Friday's installment. Holly and husband Dan Baldwin have spent their New Year in the Caribbean with their children Belle, Chester and Harry. Though Holly is taking her annual break from duties on ITV's This Morning, she was never far from the celebrities. Her sister Pippa may be the family party planner, but with state banquets and receptions with countless dignitaries under her belt the Duchess of Cambridge has certainly picked up a few tips on being a hostess. And if you're eager to throw a party fit for a royal, etiquette expert Myka Meier has revealed how to follow in Kate's footsteps to Good Housekeeping - and the rules she never breaks. Her tips for emulating Kate include welcoming guests with a kiss on the cheek , the greeting favoured by the Duchess, and always sending formal invitations - even if it's by email. If you want to host a party like the Duchess of Cambridge, it's essential to send out invitations even if it's by email, and greet guests with a kiss on the cheek, according to an etiquette expert Myka, a dual American and British citizen, has studied at multiple traditional etiquette schools in the UK and has trained in London under a former member of The Royal Household of Her Majesty the Queen. She told Good Housekeeping: 'The Duchess of Cambridge is known to be an excellent hostess. 'She loves to cook, host and is known to personally serve her guests. While she may love to throw a party, Catherine also must be the perfect guest, as she attends many parties annually, personally and professionally, and spends long weekends with the royal family or Christmas lunch as a guest of the Queen at the Sandringham Estate.' To be able to imitate Her Royal Highness, follow some of Myka's top tips to ensuring you are the perfect hostess: Royal etiquette expert Myka Meier has revealed her top tips to Good Housekeeping on how to host a party like Kate Middleton Send actual invitations Make sure to send a proper invite when you have a party, rather than texting or telling people in person. Myka told Good Housekeeping that the Duchess uses a website that sends out elegant online invitations and cards to her guests. Another top tip of hers is to include an end time in the invitation so that people don't overstay their welcome. The Duchess of Cambridge always holds her bag in front of her when she is attending events Greet your guests with a kiss and a firm handshake When you're greeting guests who are close friends or acquaintances, Myka says that Kate Middleton prefers a cheek kiss. She is also known for having a firm grip in a handshake. Prepare in advance To make sure things are done in good time, set the table the day beforehand and try to cook anything that's possible to do ahead of time. For every three guests, have one hors d'oeuvre Myka told the publication: 'If you have nine guests, you should serve a selection of at least three foods.' A vegetarian option should be included and they should always be small enough so that guests can eat them in one bite. Carry a clutch bag to drinks parties The Duchess of Cambridge always holds her bag in front of her with both hands in when she is attending events. This sends a subtle signal that she's not free to shake hands, and relieves the awkwardness of having to do so with every person in the room. Sit with a 'Duchess slant' If you've opted for a dress or skirt that ends above the knee, then the Duchess slant will stop you from accidentally revealing too much. Kate's signature seated pose sees her sit with legs slanted, ankles and knees together and hands cradled in her lap. She's been perfecting the so-called Duchess Slant, since stepping into the public eye. As well as preserving modesty, the position has the added advantage of making your legs look longer. Kate's signature seated pose, the Duchess Slant, sees her sit with legs slanted, ankles and knees together and hands cradled in her lap Fold your napkin Wait until the hostess has placed the napkin on her lap and then you can follow suit. Try to wipe your hands or mouth onto the fold of the napkin so that the mess doesn't get on your clothes. Hold your wine glass by the stem To avoid heating the liquid in your glass, make sure to always hold your wine glass by the stem. If you are wearing lipstick, try to drink from the same part of the glass so that you avoid creating a lipstick stain all around the glass. The Duchess of Cambridge has picked up lots of hosting tips and was confident enough to welcome Michelle Obama for dinner at Kensington Palace last April Stop after three bites The etiquette expert said that Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge takes three or four bites and then puts her silverware down. She also scoops her soup away from herself. Pinch your tea and loop your coffee When holding your cup of tea, pinch your thumb and index finger together and then rest your middle finger underneath the handle. For coffee, Myka suggests looping your index finger through the handle. Don't announce that you're going to the bathroom Don't announce to the room or those beside you that you wish to go to the bathroom. Instead, simply excuse yourself from the table and lay your napkin beside your plat on the table. Have bar soap in your bathroom Myka says: 'The Duchess will also probably have lightly scented soap and paired hand cream. 'Many upper class British homes prefer bar soap to liquid, so the duchess may use that in her private quarters.' Don't allow guests to do the dishes Though guests should always offer to help with the dishes, a hostess should never accept. Advertisement Crown Princess Mary of Denmark has graced the nation's New Year's Diplomatic Reception in a floor-sweeping, elegant silver gown. The Australian-born royal, 44, attended the nation's annual event alongside her husband Crown Prince Frederik, 48, on Tuesday. The royal event, held at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, was also attended by Queen Margrethe II. Elegant as always, Crown Princess Mary steps out with her signature natural make-up, paired with a beautiful smile Living up to her reputation as a style chameleon, the princess dazzled in a silver floor-length gown which detailed stunning embroidery from the waste down. The mother-of-four also draped a turquoise sash strung elegantly across her shoulders and across the dress to add a pop of colour to the demure dress. Mary also wore her hair in a chic down-do, with her fringe pinned elegantly behind her ears. Her husband also appeared equally dashing, dressed in his Danish military garb. Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik Diplomatic reception at Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen The New Year's Diplomatic Reception is an annual event held in honour of the members of the diplomatic corps Queen Margrethe, who led the night's proceedings, was dressed in a demure royal blue gown, with fur embellishments decorating the neck and sleeves Queen Margrethe, who led the night's proceedings, was dressed in a demure royal blue gown, with maroon embellishments decorating the neck and sleeves. The New Year's Diplomatic Reception is an annual event held in honour of the members of the diplomatic corps. Despite only being the first week of 2017, it has already been a busy one for the Danish royals. On January 1, the royals attended the annual New Year royal banquet at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen. The New Year's Diplomatic Reception is an annual event held in honour of the members of the diplomatic corps Crown Princess Mary, Crown Prince Frederik, Queen Margrethe II pictured at the New Year's Diplomatic Reception Mary's husband meanwhile, also appeared dashing dressed in his Danish military garb Crown Princess Mary of Denmark proved she's a true style chameleon by stepping out in a floor-sweeping silver dress The banquet, also hosted by Queen Margrethe, was a centuries-old tradition held for members of the Danish parliament, top officials and court management. The ever-elegant Mary wore the Order of the Elephant to the event, which is worn on a chain-link collar on January 1 and known as The Knight's Day. The Order is Denmark's oldest and most distinguished royal order of chivalry, and can be dated back to 1460. An Eastenders superfan has spent 5,000 on plastering his entire home with Ben Mitchell memorabilia. Unemployed Shaun Smith, 48, has printed off hundreds of screenshots of actor Harry Reid's scenes in the soap to cover his walls, and has splashed out on pens, cushions, key-rings, bags, bedding and even clothes emblazoned with Ben's face. Mr Smith, who is gay and lives in Basildon in Essex, says watching Ben Mitchell come out as gay on the show has helped to boost his self-esteem, after he became the target of abuse because of his own sexuality. Shaun Smith's home in Basildon, Essex, is littered with Ben Mitchell memorabilia Shaun Smith, 48, from Basildon in Essex, has transformed his home into a shrine to Ben The actor Harry Reid's face is everywhere in Mr Smith's Basildon home, from photo frames to cushions to pens, bags and clothes The former chef has now become well known in the area for the Ben Mitchell onesie he wears to go shopping in Basildon town centre. Mr Smith says he has been collecting Ben Mitchell memorabilia for around eight months, following the death of his mother, who left him her house. 'I've spent about 5,000,' said Mr Smith, and the 48-year-old, who is currently having a special Ben Mitchell quilt made, has no intention of stopping now. 'I still want loads more stuff. I'm getting a new Ben jacket made as the material has gone funny on my first one.' Mr Smith told FEMAIL that watching Ben come out to his father Phil Mitchell on the show, and Phil struggling to accept his son's sexuality, had struck a chord with him. 'When I came out when I was 16 my dad beat me up,' Mr Smith told FEMAIL. 'When I had my first boyfriend I had people shouting abuse at me in the street. I still get stick for being gay now,' he said, but said that after watching his favourite character's scenes he no longer cares what people think. The character recently came out on the soap, a journey Mr Smith says he can relate to Mr Smith has printed out hundreds of screenshots of Ben's scenes from the TV show Shaun has printed screenshots from the show and makes many of his decorations himself The former chef says he didn't watch Eastenders before Harry Reid was in it as Ben Mitchell 'I can relate to Ben's storylines,' he said. 'I never even watched Eastenders until he was in it. 'Now I watch it for him, and I've come out of my shell a bit more - I just don't let things bother me as much. 'I try to rise above things.' Dozens of framed photographs of actor Harry Reid, who stars as Ben on Eastenders, cover every surface at Shaun Smith's home Mr Smith says his ultimate dream is to meet Harry Reid and thank him for inspiring him Mr Smith is seen watching his favourite soap, wearing his Ben Mitchell-printed tracksuit Mr Smith is seen with his friends (l to r) Sarah Lucas, his ex partner Tony Ashton, and Arnie Ferrdie. He says they support his hobby 'My mates know that it has helped me a lot,' Mr Smith says of his memorabilia collection Mr Smith, who is single, says it is his dream to meet Harry Reid and thank him in person. 'I don't care what people call me, but I'm not a stalker,' said Mr Smith, who adds that his friends have been supportive of his new hobby. 'My mates know that it has helped me a lot. 'I'm just inspired by the character that Harry Reid plays. He is such a good actor. 'My dream would be to meet him in person.' Shes rarely taken a day off sick, yet two weeks after the Queen had to delay her trip to Sandringham for the Royal Familys Christmas gathering, Her Majesty was still too unwell to attend church on New Years Day. According to Palace officials, she is recuperating from a heavy cold. And shes hardly alone for, across the country, people of all ages have succumbed to a particularly nasty cold. As Dr Claire Gerada, a former head of the Royal College of General Practitioners, explains, doctors are currently seeing a lot of people with a virus more severe than a normal cold, almost a type of bronchitis. Shes rarely taken a day off sick, yet the Queen had to delay her trip to Sandringham for the Royal Familys Christmas gathering One of the key characteristics of the infection is that it appears to cause a hacking cough. If the Queen has got it, then she is probably exhausted from coughing, says Dr Gerada. A cold and cough normally last from seven to ten days (according to NHS Choices, it is infectious from a few days before symptoms appear until they have all gone). But Dr Gerada suggests this seasons cold is taking up to three weeks to clear. Although it is too early to say for sure, experts suspect the bug thats causing problems is an adenovirus typically, colds are caused by the more common rhinovirus. (Out of more than 200 strains, rhinovirus accounts for 35 per cent of cases.) John Oxford, an emeritus professor of virology at Queen Mary University of London, who has just recovered from the infection himself, says it is highly likely the adenovirus is to blame for the outbreak. If there was a Richter scale for common cold viruses, adenovirus would be right at the top in terms of its impact, he says, pointing out that adenovirus is a complex virus with 30 genes, compared to just nine genes in rhinovirus, that is capable of causing infections from hepatitis to cystitis. Importantly, rhinovirus only thrives in cool temperatures, so stays put in the nose and throat, which are around 33c. Adenovirus can survive at 37c internal body temperature so can push down into the lungs, causing a chesty cough, he explains. This seasons cold is taking up to three weeks to clear. Although it is too early to say for sure, experts suspect the bug thats causing problems is an adenovirus Adenovirus is non-discriminate and attacks all age groups. Whether you are nine or 90, you are not safe from this infection, says Professor Oxford. However, older people including the Queen, at 90 can struggle more to overcome it, as their immune systems are less effective and they are more easily tired by constant coughing, he adds. But coughing is no bad thing. The cough reflex is essential to clear lungs of debris and foreign bodies. The cough happens when tiny nerve cells in the lining of the respiratory tract known as pulmonary irritant receptors become sensitised by chemical or mechanical stimulation. In other words, if you have a cold or swallow something the wrong way. These receptor cells send messages via the vagus nerve in the chest and up into the brain. Coughing is not a bad thing. The reflex is essential to clear lungs of debris and foreign bodies The brain then sends commands to the diaphragm and the muscles between the ribs to contract, causing the explosive cough. Unfortunately, a hacking cough can remain long after other symptoms have eased, explains Professor Ron Eccles, director of the Common Cold Centre at Cardiff University. People with asthma or pre-existing pulmonary disease are even more susceptible. Cold air can cause a coughing fit if someone has been laid up with adenovirus the Queen has stayed indoors for around a fortnight, avoiding exposure to the chilly temperatures in Norfolk. Cold air can irritate the lung lining and make coughing worse, which may be her reason for not going outside, explains Professor Ian Watson, a GP in Oldham, who has seen a sharp rise in the number of patients with symptoms more severe than a normal cold. If you can give your lungs a rest, you may find the coughing will stop on its own. Cold air can irritate the lung lining and make coughing worse, which may be a good reason for not going outside Other ways to rest the lungs include staying out of areas where there is high air pollution. Dry air can also be irritating, so bowls of water or damp towels placed on a radiator can be a good alternative to electric humidifiers. Medicine, however, may not be helpful. A Which? investigation in 2012 found many popular cough medicines do not work as well as they claim to. That said, some over-the-counter medications containing pholcodine can temporarily suppress coughing, which allows the inflammation to calm down, says Professor Watson, who advises you consult a pharmacist before buying any remedy. He is also sceptical about claims on the NHS Choices website that honey and lemon is a cheap and effective way to treat short-term coughing. There is no firm evidence that this has any effect although it doesnt do any harm. So there isnt much you can do except nurse a cold and alleviate the symptoms. Some preliminary research has looked into the effectiveness of antivirals, but no drugs have yet been licensed to treat the common cold. Once a cold virus has established itself in the nose, it may travel to the lungs and damage cells there. This makes it easier for bacteria to follow on And antibiotics wont work as it is caused by a virus, not bacteria, says Professor Oxford. A small percentage of people will go on to develop a more serious secondary bacterial infection in the lungs. Thats because, once a cold virus has established itself in the nose, it may travel to the lungs and damage cells there. This makes it easier for bacteria to follow on. Doctors will listen to the chest and look for crackling sounds that suggest infection has taken hold. Professor Watson advises that it is very difficult for a layperson to tell the difference between a bacterial and viral infection. Some people think that greenish sputum is a sign of a bacterial infection, but this can occur in viral colds, too, and is really just a sign the immune system is working. He says that length of time symptoms last can signify a bacterial infection, as well as a persistent fever that doesnt drop below 38c. Professor Watson advises people to go and see a doctor if their symptoms last longer than ten days, or if they are finding it more difficult to breathe. Whether or not they should stay indoors as the Queen has done for the past two weeks is a moot point. While rest is essential to help the body recover, people with heavy colds should try to stay mobile as much as possible. The Queen has stayed indoors for around a fortnight, avoiding exposure to chilly Norfolk, but doctors say it's important to keep moving in order to avoid an infection Bedbound people are more likely to develop chest infections, and staying active increases airflow in the lungs, says Professor Watson. In my opinion, it is always best to get up and about as soon as possible, both for your physical and psychological well-being. 'People who feel better get better sooner. Of course, prevention is better than cure. The common cold is the most common infectious disease in humans and is spread through droplets in the air, close contact with infected people and even transfer from doorknobs and other household objects. Symptoms start less than two days after exposure and can include coughing, a sore throat, runny nose, sneezing and a headache. When we fall down as children, it's usually no big deal. There are a few tears, a lot of kissing better, the badge of pride a plaster and, in the coming days, an interesting scab to pick. Most people's knees still bear the scars of early falls, reminders of an active past. But fall when you're over the age of 72, as I am, and it's a different kettle of fish. You haven't just fallen, you've 'had a fall' and it can be very serious indeed. Falls are the most common cause of accidental injury in older people and the most common cause of accidental death in the over-75s. Virginia Ironside (pictured) was on her way to see the house she lived in as a child when she tripped and ended up in hospital A third of people over 65 fall once a year and, of those falls, 6 per cent result in a fracture, usually of the wrist, knee or hip. Those statistics don't include the number of falls we oldies have that aren't so serious. Usually, if we can, we just struggle up and stagger on. That was my initial instinct after I fell a couple of months ago. I was on my own in Leamington Spa, miles away from my London home, seeing an exhibition. I'd just had a sandwich and was on my way to see the house I lived in as a child, when bam! I must have tripped, and was suddenly face-down on the pavement. I was helped up by kindly passers-by and taken to Boots, where a pharmacist took one look and told me to go to A&E. Blood was dribbling down my cheek, as my glasses had broken and cut into my temple, and my knee had taken such a bashing that I could only limp. I rang the person I had planned to meet at my old house and, even though I'd never met her before, she heroically came to Boots and drove me to hospital. Initially, they used a kind of glue to seal up the wound in my temple but, an hour later, it was still bleeding badly. Then they put in five stitches, but I later had to return yet again because the blood still refused to clot. In the coming days after I'd got home, my knee remained so painful that I continued to limp and even now, I can still feel where the bruise was. For the next six weeks after taking the fall, Virginia (pictured) felt terrified. She found herself crying, suffering panic attacks and felt extremely fearful of leaving the house For the next six weeks, I felt terrified. I found myself crying, suffering panic attacks and felt extremely fearful of leaving the house. I'm not the only one so affected. Falls commonly have a huge psychological and physical impact on older people. Because broken bones don't always heal completely when you're older, a break can lead to long-term disability. A serious injury could mean you would no longer be able to live without support. Indeed, the cost to the NHS of patients having a fall, losing independence and needing residential care is estimated to be more than 2.3 billion a year. I'm now bolder, but still cling to walls and tables to make my way around, and clasp the banister very tightly as I go downstairs, one by one. I fear going out at night because I can't see well and find my heart beating fast if I come across any bumpy ground. I've even invested in a stick, although I've been told that, in an ideal world, I should try to get around without it in order to keep up my confidence. Falls commonly have a huge psychological and physical impact on older people.A break can also lead to long-term disability But I know it's better to walk with a stick than to become sedentary and isolated without one. Because I'd fallen twice in a year the first time was just a shock, no more I was referred by my GP to a 'falls clinic', something I previously had no idea existed. There are falls clinics all over the country, usually attached to big hospitals (there are also community services in some regions, to which you can refer yourself). They're like medical detective agencies because falling isn't an illness in itself. 'Falls should be considered a symptom, rather than a diagnosis, so that when a patient presents with a history of falls, every effort should be made to find the cause,' says Dr Colin Mitchell, a consultant geriatrician at St Mary's Hospital in London. 'A fall is not only a marker, but also a cause of decline and frailty. The more fearful you are, the more likely you are to fall. 'If you take two people who've had falls, the one with confidence to go ahead bravely is less likely to fall again than the one who's nervous.' Investing in a stick could be a good decision, even though, in an ideal world, you should try to get around without it in order to keep up your confidence At the falls clinic, you're given a reassuring battery of tests. They test your blood and heart. They'll check your eyesight, medication and blood pressure and watch how you get up from a chair. You're questioned closely about your lifestyle, footwear and, if necessary, someone will come round and check your home for hazards. So what are they looking for? First of all, how's your eyesight? Cataracts or damage to the macula (responsible for central vision) can cause falls, particularly if your home is poorly lit or you can't gauge depth as well as you used to. 'Varifocal and bifocal lenses can sometimes be the cause,' says Dr Mitchell. 'I recommend long-distance glasses when walking.' Or could your heart be the culprit? When you fall, you tend to reach out to protect your head, which is why falls often involve fractures of the wrist and knee. How's your eyesight? Cataracts or damage to the macula (responsible for central vision) can cause falls, particularly if your home is poorly lit But if the head is cut, doctors suspect a blackout, which could be due to a drop in blood pressure. 'Some people deny they've had a blackout as our brains often create reasons to justify what's happened to us,' says Dr Mitchell. 'But we can induce blackouts in people for up to 30 seconds and, when they come round, they're insistent they've been conscious throughout.' Dehydration or urinary tract infections (UTIs) can cause confusion and instability, as can illnesses such as Parkinson's, diabetes due to the risk of blood sugar lows and dementia. Certain medications seem to encourage falls, too: the worst culprits are sedatives, anti-psychotics, blood pressure medications and antidepressants. Doctors will also check that it wasn't alcohol that caused your fall or just a tendency to faint. Certain medications seem to encourage falls, too: the worst culprits are sedatives, anti-psychotics, blood pressure medications and antidepressants They compare your blood pressure lying down to when you stand up; the best way to prevent falling could just be taking care when you rise from the bed or a chair. And, of course, they will check your legs. Are your muscles weak? Or do you have arthritis in your feet, knees or hips? 'So many people have bad knees and, as a result, they walk with an unsteady gait to take the pressure off the bad knee, which can result in a fall,' says Dr Mitchell. 'Many people are shocked when I recommend painkillers, but I point out that their wobbly posture is a kind of DIY painkiller. 'And it's always important to look at feet. I have had patients whose toenails are so long that they curl over and dig in, making it painful to put weight on the toes. A chiropodist can sort that out.' Balance issues can also result from labyrinthitis, an infection of the inner ear. Shoes may also play a part flip-flops in particular. 'I had one woman who'd spent her life at gallery openings and parties wearing heels, who toppled over the minute she started to wear flats. Her feet just weren't accustomed to them,' says Dr Mitchell. Shoes may also play a part in losing your balance. Dr Mitchell once met a woman who toppled over the minute she started to wear flats, as her body was accustomed to wearing heels And as for environmental factors, they're obvious. Could your fall be due to a rug sliding on a floor? Or wet surfaces? And, after a certain age, it's important never to step on a chair to reach for something high up. In my case, the problem was my sight impaired due to macular damage after a retinal detachment and my balance. So now, I must attend 'steady and stable' classes. These consist of exercises to improve your balance. Many friends of mine have toppled over and laughed about it as I used to but I'm not laughing now. I feel a lot more vulnerable and know it could have been worse. Really, I should not have been so stoic after my first fall. It was a warning of things to come. So, learn from my mistakes. If you're over 65, next time you fall, don't just congratulate yourself on getting right back up. They say you are what you eat. And, according to experts, that's partially true when it comes to chilli peppers. Mainly because the active ingredient which comprises their trademark fiery taste can help battle cancer cells. According to experts from Ruhr-University in Bochum, Germany, the tongue-tingling component can switch on special defenses in cell membranes surrounding cancerous growths, causing them to self-destruct. Healthy: The active ingredient that gives chillies their kick, Capsaicin, is said to surround cancer cells and kill them off, scientists say Dr Lea Weber, who headed the study, explained the findings in the journal Breast Cancer - Targets and Therapy. "Capsaicin is capable of inducing cell death and inhibiting cancer cell growth in many different types of cancer, for example, osteosarcoma, colon, and pancreatic cancer cells, while normal cells remained unharmed." Specifically, it triggers a cell receptor called TRPV1 which controls which substances the cancerous growth can feed on. As it fights to battle this, the growth eventually self-destructs. As more and more cancer cells die, the tumour is stopped from growing larger. However, the key ingredient isn't effective if eaten - only when formulated into an oral tablet and combined with other drugs that targets cancer cells. Stopping deadly growths? Capsaicin also has the potential to be effective against other deadly forms of cancer, including colon, pancreatic and bone Hard to swallow: However, the key ingredient isn't effective if eaten - only when formulated into an oral tablet and combined with other drugs that targets cancer cells Dr Weber said: "In this study, we aimed to identify the TRP channels in different breast cancer subtypes and to investigate the effect of TRPV1 ligand [capsaicin] on breast cancer progression. "To our knowledge, no studies have yet conducted a large-scale comparative study of the TRP channels expression profiles in breast cancer cell lines. "In our experiments, a significant reduction in cell proliferation after capsaicin stimulation was observed. The parents of fragile newborn twins have revealed how bubble wrap and a sandwich bag saved their children's lives. Lewis and Logan Donnelly, from Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, weighed just 3lb 2oz combined when they were born 25 weeks into their pregnancy in February 2015. And now parents Lynn and Tony have said the unlikely household items were crucial in helping their sons survive the critical first night. Mother nurture: Lynn Donnelly pictured with her newborn twins Lewis and Logan who were born at 25 weeks in February 2015 Hospitals often use plastic wrap to help premature babies retain their body heat, but this was the first time the doctors in Kintyre, western Scotland, had used the bubble variety. Luckily their efforts paid off and four months later - after multiple surgeries - they were finally allowed to go home. Lynn, a 34 year-old nurse, said: 'They are wee miracles. They were baptised the night they were born because we didn't think they'd make it. 'When they were born, their skin was so transparent you could see their blood and muscle. I thought they were gone.' Lynn was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome when she was fourteen, and always knew that it'd be difficult to conceive with her driver husband Tony, 34. The pair spent a decade undergoing procedures to help them start a family, including intrauterine insemination, a treatment that places sperm in the woman's uterus to facilitate fertilisation and fertility drugs funded by the NHS. Intensive care: The boys were immediately taken to the ICU unit, where they received the unconventional treatment Fragile: The boys were literally covered in the lightweight material to keep them warm In September 2013, they tried IVF for the first time, but the hormone medication caused Lynn's ovaries to hyper stimulate and they ballooned to the size of melons. Struggling to walk and with her lungs filled with fluid, she was rushed to Glasgow Royal Infirmary and diagnosed with ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome (OHSS). Luckily, after one week in hospital, her condition improved. Medics were able to retrieve 39 eggs - but sadly, just three were fertilized. In September 2014, the eggs were thawed, but only two were viable. Lynn was implanted with the last two fertilised eggs and the couple hoped for the best. Astonishingly, just a week later she took a home pregnancy test, which turned out to be positive. 'It felt surreal,' she recalled. 'It was the first time ever I'd seen a line come up on a Clear Blue test. At six weeks pregnant I went in for a scan and they found two heartbeats. It was a buy one, get one free.' But when Lynn was twenty weeks pregnant, she suffered from a major bleed while watching the Hollywood film 'What to Expect When You're Expecting', which depicts several women on their journey to motherhood. She was raced to Wishaw General Hospital, where she was relieved to find that her non-identical twins had strong heartbeats. However, every few days, she would suffer another major bleed. It wasn't until after giving birth that she discovered that this was due to both placentas failing. Finally: Lynn and Tony hold their son Logan for the first time on 6 March 2015 Getting stronger: The youngsters battled through a number of dangers, including E. coli, meningitis, sepsis and a cold sore virus At 23 weeks, Lynn began to experience contractions, and neonatal intensive care unit doctors came to see her and explained that the babies would not likely survive if born at that time. She said: 'I knew I had to keep them in there for as long as I could. But at 25 weeks, I was having more contractions, and my husband realised I was going into labour.' On February 25 2015, Lewis was born weighing just 1lb 7oz, and was immediately placed in an incubator. Logan followed 29 minutes later, weighing 1lb 11oz. The twins were taken straight to intensive care, and Lynn and Tony prepared for the worst. But remarkably the twins made it through the night. Lynn added: 'They looked like dolls, they didn't look real.' From there, medics faced an incredible struggle just to keep the tiny tots alive. At four weeks old, Logan had surgery to repair a heart valve. And at six weeks, Lewis was suffering with E. coli, meningitis, sepsis and a cold sore virus. He was placed on a high frequency oscillator - a machine that breathes four times the capacity of a normal lung - to regulate his breathing. Healthy: On June 18 2015, thirteen days after their due date, Logan was released from hospital weighing 8lb and Lewis came home five days later weighing 7lb 8oz. It wasn't until they were five weeks old Lynn was able to hold her babies for the first time. Towards the end of their stay the pair were placed in a special twin cot to help each other recuperate. Finally, on June 18 2015, thirteen days after their due date, Logan was released from hospital weighing 8lb and Lewis came home five days later weighing 7lb 8oz. Now, the twins are slightly delayed in hitting usual milestones, but their mum has high hopes for the future. She said: 'I didn't hear them cry until the end of March and it was the tiniest, wee cry it was the cutest thing in the world. You don't get sick of hearing that. 'Despite what we've been through we're very lucky. 'There are some babies who don't make it, or some babies who have even more complications than what our boys have had. It's amazing, I was meant to be a mum.' On good form: The twin boys are now enjoying perfect health and are considered 'miracles' by their parents Days later she went to the doctor thinking she had an infection - but was diagnosed with Alexis Mercer, 23, was short of breath with a swollen hand in early July The only symptoms she had were shortness of breath and a swollen left hand, but 23-year-old competitive bodybuilder Alexis Mercer knew something was wrong. At first the urgent care doctor dismissed it as an infection, prescribing steroids. Alexis followed up with a CT scan just to be sure - only to be told she had Hodgkin's lymphoma, cancer of the blood. The scan revealed her breathlessness and swelling were caused by a cancerous mass on her chest, restricting an artery. Immediately referred for chemotherapy, the aching bones and utter exhaustion forced her to take a break from training. But now, six months later and newly engaged, she has decided she will not let her ongoing treatment get in the way of her passion. 'I've always loved the gym,' Alexis told Daily Mail Online. 'It's just a hobby that I love and it was really hard to not be able to do the workouts that I used to do. 'You know, I had these nice arms that were gone and I lost a lot of muscle. 'I wanted to show that if I could do it, then there were other people going out there going through the same thing I was that could do it. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Alexis Mercer, 23, first realized something was wrong when she began experiencing shortness of breath and and had a very swollen left hand (bottom right) The 23-year-old went to urgent care, but the doctor there thought it was just an infection. Alexis' primary doctor immediately sent to her the hospital 'So I do the same type of workouts I was doing before, but with just a lot less weight.' When Alexis first began experiencing shortness of breath over summer, she thought it was asthma. Then, over Fourth of July weekend, her left hand swelled up. 'I thought it was just a sunburn,' the former softball player said. 'Later, my whole arm was swollen. So I took a Benadryl and it went down. 'The next day I went to work and was lifting weights and it swelled up again.' Alexis and her mother went to urgent care near their home in Effingham, Georgia, but the doctor thought it was just an infection and prescribed her steroids. Still feeling something wasn't right and the two went to Alexis's primary doctor, who sent her to the ER. A CT scan of Alexis's chest showed a tumor sitting on a bronchial tube and an artery that went from her heart to her hand - which had caused the swollen hand and breath shortness. A week and a half after her hand had first swelled up, Alexis was diagnosed with Stage 1 Hodgkin's lymphoma - a cancer of the lymphatic system that affects white blood cells. At Effingham Hospital in Georgia, a chest X-ray and a CT scan showed a tumor on Alexis's chest The Georgia native was diagnosed with Stage 1 Hodgkin's lymphoma and was told she'd have to undergo 12 rounds of chemotherapy After Alexis's hair began to fall out, she had friends and family over and hosted a shave party. She wrote on Instagram: 'It was last minute but we had the BEST time' WHAT IS HODGKIN'S LYMPHOMA? Hodgkin's lymphoma is cancer of the B lymphocytes - a type of white blood cell found in the lymphatic system. Clear fluid called lymph flows through the lymphatic vessels and contains infection-fighting white blood cells known as lymphocytes. In lymphoma, these lymphocytes start to multiply abnormally and begin to collect in certain parts of the lymphatic system, such as the lymph nodes. The most common symptom is a painless swelling in a gland, most commonly in the neck, armpit or groin. The cancer is most common in 15 to 35-year-olds and the over 50s. More men than women are affected. It is one of the most easily treatable forms of cancer - almost all young people with Hodgkin's lymphoma will be cured. For older people, the cure rate is about 80 per cent. Source: NHS Choices Advertisement Symptoms usually include itchiness, night sweats, fever and chills, but Alexis didn't experience any of those things. An oncologist told her she would have to undergo 12 rounds of ABVD chemotherapy and potentially radiation. By late July, Alexis had started her first round of chemo with two weeks in between rounds. It was right before the second round of chemo that Alexis's hair began to fall out. She shaved her hair and bought two wigs to wear until she became more comfortable. Prior to this, Alexis was an athlete and a bodybuilder. She had been a softball player at Armstrong State University and had won the 2014 Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year award. After graduating, she had entered a body building competition and advanced all the way to a national competition. Having to stop was the hardest part. But despite chemotherapy, Alexis continued her fitness routine and mostly went to the gym on the second week of her break between chemo rounds. She said: 'I tried not to miss more than five days over the course of two weeks. 'For the first six rounds of chemo, it was really hard, but it was much better over the last six.' Alexis described the support she received as amazing. A friend she met at a bodybuilding competition started the hashtag #FlexforLex. She said: 'It was because I couldn't do the same workouts anymore. 'I have two separate friends who made T-shirts and they put the hashtag on the shirts. The money helped pay for medical bills. 'Sometimes I see people wearing the shirt who I've never even met before but it's really cool.' Alexis said having the support around her helped her stay positive. 'I always had someone to checking on me, which really helped,' she said One week before Alexis was diagnosed. The bodybuilder, who has been training for competition, said the hardest part was having to give up her normal workout routine Almost two months after Alexis was diagnosed. Despite the chemo, Alexis continued to go the gym - although having to modify the weights she used After the fourth week, scans showed her body was responding to the chemotherapy. That's when her oncologist suggested she undergo radiation once chemo was done Alexis completed her last round of chemotherapy on December 27. In February she will have to undergo radiation but she expressed the joy she felt after walking out of her last round. She said: 'It was unreal, it was amazing. When I got done, there were two dozen people down in the lobby and we took a bunch of pictures. 'I usually feel sick after a round of chemo, I wanna go home and sleep, but I guess I was on an adrenaline rush. 'I just couldn't believe that it was over.' A body building friend of Alexis created the hashtag #FlexforLex in support. Two separate friends made T-shirts with the hashtag, sales of which helped pay medical bills Alexis said: 'Sometimes I see people wearing the shirt who I don't even know but it's really cool' Until February, Alexis is on the job search in pharmaceutical sales, wedding planning, and is continuing to go the gym with the goal of competing again. She said: 'I'm going to go as much as I can. I have to sit down a lot and I'm never really breaking a sweat but I just love it.' And she said the most important thing was staying positive. 'How do you react when something in happens in life? You can't do anything about it but embrace it, so I learned to stay positive no matter what.' The body builder completed her last round of chemotherapy on December 27 and described the feeling as 'unreal' and 'amazing' Alexis said until she starts radiation in February, she's focusing on job searching, wedding planning (pictured with fiance Kaleb Writch, left) and continuing to go the gym Alexis (pictured with her father, left, and fiance, right) says she doesn't know when, but she plans to compete again. The authorities were called into action on Monday after several women were molested in Bengaluru on New Year's Eve. Officials asked commercial establishments in the area to share their security camera footage while the police scanned videos from 25 CCTV cameras installed in the heart of the city - Brigade Road and M G Road - where the incident took place. The episode comes as an early test for Bengaluru police commissioner Praveen Sood who took charge on January 1. Mass molestation Eyewitness accounts suggest women were molested, groped and lewd remarks were also passed by miscreants even as 1,500 police personnel had reportedly been deployed to control the crowds. In controversial remarks, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said: 'They (women) tried to copy the Westerners, not only in their mindset but even in their dressing. So, some girls were harassed, these kind of things do happen.' The police have not received any complaints from any of the revellers so far. However, cops will take up investigation suo motu based on the CCTV footage. Though plenty of venues organise New Year celebrations in the city, youths still congregate on Brigade Road, one of the oldest commercial joints in Bengaluru. Vehicular movement on Brigade Road and MG Road is restricted and people can walk on the two roads till midnight. However, this time, the situation went out of hand as clubs and restaurants there were permitted to remain open till 2am, sources say. When New Year's revellers started pouring out of the pubs and lounge bars around 1.30 am, they were targeted by unruly mobs on Brigade Road and M G Road. The men outnumbered the women and the latter became easy targets. Men outnumbered the women and the latter became easy targets A local newspaper photographer captured inebriated men groping women or physically harassing them under the pretext of wishing them a happy new year. A few girls had to seek police help to leave the area. Many revellers complained that men passed lewd comments and used derogatory words in the presence of cops. In some pictures, the police are seen escorting women from Brigade Road pubs. The budget session of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly has already been plunged into controversy after opposition protesters carried on shouting through the national anthem in protest of the PDP-BJP government. Governor N N Vohra was forced to cut short his address to both houses of the legislature and leave amid the pandemonium. As the Governor entered Central Hall of the Legislature, opposition members from National Conference, Congress, CPI(M) and other Kashmir-based Independent MLAs stood up carrying placards and held protests against the government for its alleged failure on all fronts. The budget session of the J&K Assembly has been plunged into controversy after opposition protesters carried on shouting through the national anthem in protest of the PDP-BJP government Some of the opposition leaders were also sporting black bands. The National Anthem was being played when the Governor entered and some of the opposition members, who were holding protests against the PDP-BJP government over the deaths in Kashmir during the unrest in the Valley, continued with their chanting. The protesters were then reported to have stopped the sloganeering. In his speech to both houses of legislature, the Governor prayed for peace and normalcy in the New Year and hoped all members will strive hard to restore brotherhood and amity in each of the three regions of Jammu and Kashmir. But carrying placards, the opposition members tried again to disrupt the Governors address. As pandemonium broke out in the Central Hall, the Governor cut short his speech. Members of the National Conference and Congress continued their protests and sloganeering when the national anthem was being played twice during the address. Three months after its so-called surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the Indian army has yet to rule out another swoop to wipe out anti-India terror infrastructure across the border. But any such future measure would have a different shape and form, the new army chief, General Bipin Rawat, told India Today TV in an exclusive interview. 'We have done one surgical strike in PoK. But if we have to do something again, we will do it in a different manner and different style,' General Rawat said. Three months after its so-called surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the Indian army has yet to rule out another swoop to wipe out anti-India terror infrastructure across the border 'We'll surprise the enemy.' The Indian army, he explained, is closely watching terrorist movements in the restive Kashmir valley. Anti-India militants, noted Rawat, have rapidly changed their strategy since the September surgical strikes. The operation against terrorists who were planning to infiltrate into the country from PoK came in response to an attack on an army base in J&K's Uri sector that left 19 personnel dead. 'Terrorists have changed or are changing their strategy,' Rawat said. 'We have to adapt our strategy accordingly and we are working on it,' he added. The army chief described the Special Forces' operation in PoK as a powerful deterrence against major attacks. However, he cautioned the security forces against dropping their guard. 'Terrorists found weaknesses,' he said, referring to last year's terrorist attacks targeting the military in Pathankot, Uri and Nagrota. 'Security forces must neutralise (the terrorists) at the earliest (during such operations),' he observed. 'We have to prevent terrorists from taking action. They can infiltrate; they have Pakistan support. They have weapons as well as money.' Rawat warned that militants might choose targets other than military bases in the future. Asked about China, he said 'cooperation' summarised the Indian army's current policy towards Beijing. 'Wherever there is tension along the border with China, we deal with it through mutual dialogue,' he said. India's army, he said, is supportive of peace. Violence, he noted, affects civilians the most in border areas. Asked about the supersession issue surrounding his appointment, he said the army would continue to get full 'support and cooperation' from the two most senior officers, Lt-Gen Praveen Bakshi and Lt-Gen PM Hariz. 'Their commitment towards the army is unflinching.' He also spoke about the need to modernise the army's infrastructure and hardware. 'With changing times, we need to change our logistics. We are getting full support from the government in this regard. Pakistani hackers, identifying themselves as 'Alone Injector', posted offensive content on NSG's official homepage As most were preparing to celebrate New Year, hackers from India and Pakistan were busy firing shots across the online border in the ongoing cyber war between the two countries. Indian hackers allegedly infected three Pakistan airport websites with ransomware claiming that this was to avenge hacking of the official website of the elite National Security Guard (NSG) by their counterpart in Pakistan. Indian hackers on Monday night claimed to have hacked Islamabad, Peshawar, Multan International and Karachi airport website. Not only they have hacked and brought the website down, but have also injected it with ransomware malware which restricts the owners use of their website. Indian hackers locked the access to the websites and are demanding bitcoins (virtual money) in exchange for unlocking it. However, an Indian hacker told Mail Today that last time the money they got from Pakistan to unlock their computer was donated to needy kids but this time, they will not share the key to unlock the sites. The move came just a day after Pakistani hackers, identifying themselves as 'Alone Injector', posted the offensive content on NSG's official homepage. The website belonging to the 'black cat' commandos is maintained from the NSG headquarters and gives out basic information about the force, its origin and operations. The matter has been brought to the notice of the National Informatics Centre, and remedial action is in process. As most were preparing to celebrate New Year, hackers from India and Pakistan were busy firing shots in the ongoing cyber war between the two countries Retaliating immediately, Indian hackers have launched a massive attack on crucial Pakistan establishment and warned both Pakistan hackers and the government against attacking India further. One of the Indian hackers involved in the 'counter-strike' told Mail Today that they have many other important Pakistan websites under their control, but they will be compromised only if Pakistan tries to open an attack against India. 'We have been closely monitoring attacks coming from Pakistan. They have been engulfed in spreading hatred and abusing India and government. 'We have control of many Pakistani websites and each attack will get a stricter reply from our side,' said the hacker. This hacking group in past had infected the Pakistan government systems, taken control over hundreds of computers and locked its complete data, making it inaccessible - using a malicious programme. The hacking group also leaked details of Pakistan army officers and banking details. However, there was no confirmation by any security agency about it as the hackers from both the countries are not officially affiliated to any of the security services. This fighting started last week after Pakistan cyber attackers hacked Thiruvananthapuram airport's website, a group of cyber experts from Kerala - the 'Mallu Cyber Soldiers' - decided to respond in kind: by hacking the website of a Pakistani airport. The hacker obtained the login information for the website of the Sialkot International Airport in Pakistan's Punjab province. They changed the password and shared the new login details with the public. Experts believe the hacking of airport websites can be used to get out crucial information about flights, which can have serious consequences. Moreover, leaking of details about the individual airports - from logistics to facilities - is also dangerous. Experts believe that intelligence-gathering process has increased as hackers are not only defacing the sites but are silently spying on critical networks. 'Indian hackers have only replied after observing malicious intention of Pakistani hackers. 'Techies across the border targeted Indian sites result of which NSG's website was hacked. If the number of participants at a rally is any mark to go by, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP party might well have tipped the UP scales on Monday at Lucknow. Being the last in the 'Parivartan Yatra' series of rallies, the PM launched a scathing satirical attack on the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP). In an address that symbolically spanned several generations of the BJP in UP, recalled the liberal face of former PM and NDA-I leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee along with Ram Temple movement stalwart Kalyan Singh who also has the distinction of being the first CM of the party in the state. If the number of participants at a rally is any mark to go by Prime Minister Narendra Modi tipped the scales on Monday at Lucknow However, the PM desisted from raking the temple issue or any other divisive debate. Incidentally, the PM made sure that all sections of the caste-divided society and polity of the state were addressed. Apart from Brahmin Vajpayee and non-Yadav OBC leader Singh, he gave pride of place to Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar. Modi said some people were having problems with the government's decision to name the banking app after Babasaheb. 'Baba Saheb was a true visionary and about 50 years ago, he foresighted the power of our Rupee and our economy. BHIM app is a tribute to him, ' he said. Targeting BSP and SP, the PM said the two never saw eye-to-eye on any issue, but were now together demanding his removal as he is working to root out black money. People in the queue outside Bank OF RBI to exchange their old Rs 500 and 1000 notes 'After so many years both (BSP & SP) have come together on an issue and are saying 'Modi ko badlo' (change Modi), 'Modi ko hatao' (remove Modi) but Modi is saying change your notes, remove black money and remove corruption,' he said. Modi, who was addressing the last of the Parivartan Rallies which might well be the last before elections are announced, said, 'While one party (Congress) is struggling to establish its son (Rahul) for the past 15 years, the other (BSP) is searching for all possibilities to save its money and is looking for banks (to convert its black money to white). Mulayam Singh Yadav has been at the epicenter of the SP family feud The 3rd party (SP) is putting all its strength in taking over the family wondering what will happen to it'. 'Somebody has to save money, somebody has to save family but it is only us who are here to save UP,' the PM added. The PM, who made an appeal to the people to vote for BJP with a complete mandate also addressed farmers' issues and targeted the SP government for having squandered money sent by the Centre. 'Ever since the BJP government came, we have been giving Rs 1 lakh crore every year to UP. This means rs 2.5lakh crores in the past 2.5 years; had it been utilised properly, the face of UP could have changed significantly by now.' 'The lackluster attitude of the state government is responsible for the plight of the farmers. President-elect Donald Trump left no doubt on Tuesday where he stands on President Barack Obama's nine-year-old pledge to shutter the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 'There should be no further releases from Gitmo,' Trump tweeted, referring to the island detention facility by its nickname. 'These are extremely dangerous people and should not be allowed back onto the battlefield.' Gitmo is home to a dwindling number of terror suspects, most of whom have been deemed too great a risk to relocate to other countries. Obama was said in late December to be planning to transfer as many as 18 more prisoners before leaving office, further shrinking the inmate population but still far short of meeting his longtime pledge to close the facility. President-elect Donald Trump declared Tuesday that the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba should not see any further releases of suspected terrorists Trump wrote on Twitter that the remaining 'Gitmo' inmates 'are extremely dangerous people' Just 58 detainees now live at the Guantanamo Bay facility, down from a high of 780 The Obama administration notified Congress it intends to send the detainees, nearly a third of the remaining 59 held at the U.S. naval base in Cuba, to at least four countries, including Italy, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20, the source said. The notification came just before a deadline which by law requires Obama to give Congress 30 days' warning before moving prisoners out of Guantanamo. It will be the last in a flurry of recent transfers aimed at leaving as few inmates as possible for the next administration. But the transfer plan, first reported by The New York Times, also signifies that despite Obama's pledge dating back to the 2008 presidential campaign to close the facility, it is all but certain to be turned over to Trump. He has vowed to keep it open and 'load it up with some bad dudes.' The administration wants to move out 17 or 18 of the 22 prisoners who have been declared eligible for transfer in parole-style hearings, the source said, while cautioning that it was still possible one or more of the countries could back out. If the transfers go according to plan, 41 or 42 prisoners would be left at Guantanamo, including 10 alleged plotters of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks charged in military tribunals. The others have not been charged but are deemed too dangerous to release. Obama said in a statement when he signed a Pentagon spending bill on Dec. 23 that '[o]nce again, the Congress has also failed to take action toward closing the detention facility.' '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. It weakens our national security by draining resources, damaging our relationships with key allies and partners, and emboldening violent extremists.' He also vented against a section in the bill that renews a prohibition against spending any federal funds to house Guantanamo inmates in the United States. The terrorist detention facility has been a bone of contention across the country since its use ramped up in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks, under President George W. Bush President Barack Obama vowed during his first White House campaign that he would close Guantanamo, but Congress has blocked his every move Obama, who inherited 242 detainees when he took office and has called it a 'recruiting tool' for terrorists, has slowly whittled the number down to the lowest since shortly after his 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's efforts to close the prison have been blocked by mostly Republican opposition in Congress, which has barred him from moving any prisoners to the U.S. mainland. Foot-dragging by Pentagon officials has also been blamed for slowing repatriation and transfers to third countries. Administration officials have made clear that Obama has no intention of resorting to the legally risky option of using executive action to close the prison before leaving office. Critics of Guantanamo, however, appeared to hold out hope. 'While welcome, these transfers are not nearly sufficient,' said Naureen Shah, Amnesty International USA's director of Security with Human Rights. A horror crash which killed 25 people may have been caused by a driver falling asleep, police in Thailand have revealed. There were just two survivors from the collision between a truck and a minibus, which happened after the bus veered into oncoming traffic. The minibus was carrying 14 passengers and the driver, while the pickup truck was carrying 12 people. Twenty five people were killed in the horror crash in eastern Thailand A man watches in horror as the two vehicles burn after a cylinder exploded following the collision A compressed gas cylinder in the minibus exploded. Police commander Lt Gen Jitti Rodbanyang said either the driver falling asleep or an exploding tyre were to blame, the Bangkok Post reports. The minibus was heading for Bangkok when the collision happened in the Chonburi province in the east of the country. Investigators examine the wreckage of the crash, which claimed 25 lives Police superintendent Dusadee Kunchorn Na Ayutthaya said: 'An accident like this shouldn't happen but it did.' Both drivers were killed in the collision. Work to identify the badly-burned bodies is underway. One of the victims has been named as Nuengruethai Modphai. The minibus driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel, police have revealed Her mother, Wimol, told Thai Rath TV she was 'shocked', and added: 'All agencies involved including van operators should check their vehicles and the readiness of drivers before each trip, especially during long holidays when the drivers have to make more trips. 'State regulators must also do a better job.' A dozen Syrian rebel factions have suspended talks on new peace negotiations, accusing President Bashar al-Assad's regime of violating a four-day-old ceasefire with attacks near Damascus that continued today. The suspension threatens the process, which is sponsored by regime ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey. Both states have been urged to intervene and save the truce. The peace process began with a truce and is meant to lead to negotiations in the Kazakh capital Astana this month. The ceasefire has brought quiet to large parts of the country but has been undermined by sporadic violence, particularly fighting in the Wadi Barada region north of Damascus that supplies the capital's water. Scroll down for video A Syrian boy runs past the rubble of destroyed buildings in the rebel-held area of Daraa, in southern Syria Government forces backed by fighters from Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah have continued to press a two-week-old offensive in Wadi Barada despite the ceasefire, which began December 30. A dozen rebel groups announced in a statement late Monday the 'freezing of all discussion linked to the Astana negotiations.' The rebels said they had adhered to the ceasefire, but accused the regime of 'major and frequent violations, notably in the (rebel) regions of Wadi Barada and Eastern Ghouta', near Damascus. Syrian men dance during a demonstration against the Syrian regime in the rebel-held town of Saqba, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus 'If things don't return to how they were before, the accord will be considered null and void,' the statement added. It was signed by a dozen groups, including the Army of Islam, Faylaq al-Sham, and the Sultan Murad Brigade, which is close to Turkey. The fighting in Wadi Barada continued on Tuesday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said. Syrians walk past a destroyed building in the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of Damascus It said government forces were attacking with helicopters and artillery fire after advancing on Monday to the outskirts of the Ain al-Fijeh spring, the main water source in the area. Syria's government accuses rebels in Wadi Barada of deliberately targeting infrastructure there, causing fuel to poison the water supply and then cutting the flow to Damascus altogether. Rebels say government strikes caused the damage, which has left four million people in Damascus without water since December 22. The regime says forces in Wadi Barada include former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front, although opposition fighters deny the group is present. Fateh al-Sham, along with the Islamic State (IS) group, is excluded from the truce. President Bashar al-Assad's regime has been accused of violating a four-day-old ceasefire with attacks near Damascus that continued today Syrian state media has been conspicuously quiet on the fighting in the area, but Damascus governor Alaa Ibrahim told the Al-Watan daily that the army was progressing. 'Military operations are under way, and God willing there will be happy news soon,' he told the newspaper, which is close to the government. Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman warned the truce was in a 'critical phase' and faced 'collapse' if sponsors Russia and Turkey did not intervene to save it. The monitor reported violations elsewhere in the country on Tuesday, including air strikes on the town of Khan Sheikhun in Idlib province that killed a pregnant woman and wounded three other civilians. The group also reported rebel fire on two villages in the central Hama province. The Pope has urged bishops across the world to have a 'zero tolerance' when it comes to child sex abuse The Pope has urged bishops across the world to have a 'zero tolerance' when it comes to child sex abuse adding they need to do everything in their power to protect youngsters. The Vatican has today released the text of a letter Francis sent to bishops late last month warning them about injustices to children. They include slave labour, malnutrition, lack of education and sexual exploitation, including abuse by priests. And in the letter, the Pontiff decried 'the sufferings, the experiences and pain of minors who were abused sexually by priests.' He wrote: 'It is a sin that shames us. Persons responsible for the protection of those children destroyed their dignity.' The church's reputation has been stained in several countries during the last few decades as people have come forward to report that parish priests or other Catholic clergy raped or molested them as minors. The allegations showed that local bishops sometimes knew about and covered up child sex abuse involving problem priests and triggered multi-million-dollar lawsuits, as well as several criminal prosecutions. Expressing the church's regret, and begging forgiveness, the Pope denounced the 'sin of what happened, the sin of failing to help, the sin of covering up and denial, the sin of the abuse of power.' Francis also asked bishops for 'complete commitment to ensuring that these atrocities will no longer take place in our midst.' He added: 'Let us find the courage needed to take all necessary measures and to protect in every way the lives of our children, so that such crimes may never be repeated. 'In this area, let us adhere, clearly and faithfully, to zero tolerance.' However, the Pontiff himself has received mixed reviews on how the Vatican handles sex abuse. The Vatican has today released the text of a letter Francis sent to bishops late last month warning them about injustices to children Francis has laid out procedures to oust bishops for negligence, if they mishandle investigations into alleged abuse. But he dismayed advocates for abuse survivors by appointing a Chilean bishop accused of covering up for a notorious pedophile. The Vatican also took no immediate action after deaf students from Italy, in a 2014 letter to the Pope, said a priest sexually abused them for years in Italy and now was working at a school in Francis' native Argentina. Donald Trump promised that North Korean nuclear missiles 'won't happen' in a pair of tweets Monday night - but also attacked China for 'taking money from the US' without 'helping' with the hermit state. The President-elect's remark came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced Saturday that preparations for Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) have 'reached the final stage'. On Monday Trump tweeted: 'North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US. It won't happen!' Scroll down for video Head-to-head: On Saturday Kim Jong Un announced that North Korea was close to having nukes that could reach the US. On Monday Donald Trump tweeted that it 'Won't happen!' Sounding off: Trump wasn't clear on whether it was a promise to stop North Korea, or if he was just doubting North Korea's nuclear capabilities It wasn't clear whether Trump meant he would stop North Korea's plans or if he was simply doubting the country's capabilities. He then turned his ire on China, saying 'China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the US in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice!' This was just the latest salvo in a series of pokes at China, which is an official ally of North Korea. Trump previously stirred the country's ire when he took a call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, acknowledging the country in a break with long-held US policy. He also objected on Twitter to the country's official complaint. Kim's comments came during his annual New Year's address. The North Korean leader said: 'Research and development of cutting edge arms equipment is actively progressing and ICBM rocket test launch preparation is in its last stage.' He didn't explicitly say that a test was imminent. Complaint: Trump also complained that China was 'taking massive amounts of money' from the US without helping with the North Korean issue North Korea tested ballistic missiles at an unprecedented rate during 2016, although some experts have said it is years away from developing an ICBM fitted with a nuclear warhead capable of reaching the United States. The country has been under UN sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear and ballistic missile tests. The sanctions were tightened last month after Pyongyang conducted its fifth and largest nuclear test on September 9. A successful ICBM test launch would mark a significant step forward for secretive Pyongyang's weapons capability. ICBMs have a minimum range of about 5,500km (3,418 miles), but some are designed to travel 10,000km or further. The U.S. state of California is roughly 9,000km from North Korea. Earlier Monday, Trump also took pot-shots at media outlets who had questioned whether he would make it into the White House. 'Various media outlets and pundits say that I thought I was going to lose the election. Wrong...' he tweeter. He continued: 'I thought and felt I would win big, easily over the fabled 270 [electoral votes],' he said. 'When they cancelled fireworks, they knew, and so did I.' A homeless 37-year-old who was banned from a Starbucks for asking a barista, 16, on a date has admitted lying about his age on dating sites to try and meet young girls. Lucas Werner, who stays in a homeless shelter in Spokane, Washington, ranted that he was sick of 'ageist Millennials' but that 'I won't stop until I'm dating a women born in the 1990s as of 2016.' 'Women born in the 1990s are the most gorgeous women on Earth,' he explained in a lengthy Facebook post. Lucas Werner who was banned from a Starbucks for hitting on a barista, 16, has admitted lying about his age on dating sites to try and meet young girls Lucas Werner, who stays in a homeless shelter in Spokane, Washington, ranted that he was sick of 'ageist Millennials' but that 'I won't stop until I'm dating a women born in the 1990s as of 2016 (two of Werner's many Facebook posts addressing age) Werner, who says he he hasn't had a girlfriend for five years, wrote that he goes on dating websites where he would lie about his age to try and speak to girls aged between 18 and 22, but admitted it 'will eventually catch up to you.' Despite multiple rejections, he refuses to date anyone over the age of 25, and has posted obsessively about trying to date young women. 'I've never dated younger women. I want to try that,' he explained. Wener wrote that he goes on dating websites where he would lie about his age to try and speak to girls aged between 18 and 22, but admitted it 'will eventually catch up to you' 'The youngest women. There's nothing wrong with that.' Werner was banned from a Spokane Starbucks after making advances towards the teenager - who is less than half his age. He then accused the girl and Starbucks of ageism, adding that he had just asked her to dinner and 'didn't even show her the Washington state age of consent link.' 'I was flirted with by a barista. For some reason she thought I was funny. Said I was funny. So I gave her a note to see if she'd be interested in dinner', the man wrote in a public Facebook post that has since gone viral. He said he returned to the Starbucks the following day and a Spokane police officer told him he was banned from the location. Spokane police said businesses are allowed to refuse service to anyone who is causing trouble or being disruptive for as long as they see fit. So, Starbucks was legally allowed to ban the man from that location. But he says he's being discriminated against because of his age. The 37-year-old man was banned from this Starbucks location in Downtown Spokane, Washington, after he asked a 16-year-old barista out for dinner Danica Hendricks wrote this post on the Spokane Starbucks' Facebook page, in agreement with the store's decision to ban the man for asking the teen barista on a date Many people took to the store's Facebook page to praise the store for barring the man 'I know the female Starbucks barista was of legal age to date. I broke no laws. I merely took a chance with my heart. I'm tired of hearing the word "creep" as any black person or gay person is tired of hearing certain words. I have a whole webpage dedicated to age gap love', he wrote. He asked people on Facebook to contact Starbucks and complain, but his call-to-action was met with some opposition. Poll Do you agree with Starbucks' decision to ban the 37-year-old man for asking the teenage barista on a date? Yes No Do you agree with Starbucks' decision to ban the 37-year-old man for asking the teenage barista on a date? Yes 4731 votes No 1222 votes Now share your opinion People commented on the Spokane Starbucks' Facebook page, mostly praising the business for banning the man from the location. Others described their personal experiences in the service industry. A Starbucks spokesperson said the company supports how the business handled this situation. 'We have no tolerance for any such inappropriate behavior or harassment, and we will continue to support our store partners and local authorities investigating the situation'. Werner has also posted numerous rambling messages on his Facebook page, claiming that his sperm had curative powers and could 'give kids stronger DNA.' 'Men over 35 also strengthen the immune system of their mates. Women under 26 are the most fertile. A court has heard that the mastermind behind surfwear giant Billabong tried to avoid having to stand trial for fraud by claiming he was mentally ill. Matthew Perrin tried to avoid his fraud trial by being part of the law system that helps seriously mentally ill criminals, a court has heard. Court documents also show that during his fraud trial Perrin claimed for legal aid despite living in a rented $1250-a-week waterfront home, the Courier Mail reports. Scroll down for video Former Billabong CEO Matthew Perrin (pictured holding hands with his now-partner Belinda Otton) has been convicted of nine counts of fraud and forgery He emailed the Queensland Mental Health Court before his trial to have this considered, but was told his case could not be referred, because he had not given a report from an expert psychologist. Court documents stated that he was in the process of getting a report by a doctor who had examined him to back up his case that he was suffering from a mental illness. Perrin was found guilty of fraud and forgery on December 20 after faking his ex-wife's signature to mortgage her $15 million house. The former surfwear CEO mortgaged the family's $15 million property in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, without permission from his former partner Nicole Bricknell, who owned the house. Perrin faked his ex-wife Nicole Bricknell's signature on bank documents in 2008 (Ms Bricknell is pictured) A jury found Perrin guilty of three counts of fraud and six counts of forgery. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on three further charges. Perrin is to be sentenced at a later date. He has been remanded in custody. He insisted Ms Bricknell knew exactly what he was doing and gave permission for him to sign the documents in 2008 on her behalf. Ms Bricknell told the court she 'never, ever' gave her former partner permission to sign on her behalf. Perrin insisted Ms Bricknell knew exactly what he was doing and gave permission for him to sign the documents in 2008 on her behalf Ms Bricknell, Perrin's ex-wife who owned the house, is pictured 'This man has taken from me and my children without my permission and knowledge, that's worse than having an affair in my opinion,' Ms Bricknell told the Brisbane District Court throughout the trial. 'I always protected my children and I never, ever would have allowed him to sign my name on anything - that was not the right thing to do,' she said. The mother-of-three told the court she won't be able to find peace until he is in jail. Perrin told the court he often signed Ms Bricknell's name on documents throughout their marriage. 'If Nicole was available and convenient she would sign them ... if she wasn't I would sign them for her,' he said. The former surfwear CEO mortgaged the family's $15 million property in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, without permission from his former partner Nicole Bricknell, who owned the house The $15 million Surfers Paradise property is pictured The jury was shown a document which Perrin said gave him authority to act on Ms Bricknell's behalf in respect of their finances, including debts in her name. Perrin, who is also a qualified solicitor, was also accused of forging his brother Fraser Perrin's signature on the paperwork. He denied the 12 total charges, nine of which he was convicted over on Tuesday. Perrin made a total of around $57 million from his investment in Billabong before he resigned as CEO in 2003. By 2009 he had lost it all through bad investments and was declared bankrupt, the court was told. Charlene Colechin (left) lost the front part of her feet to meningitis and now plans to get moulds of best friend Chloe Hone's feet to replace them A teenager who shared horrific images of her meningitis-ravaged body on Facebook while in hospital has lost all her toes to the disease but aims to walk again with new prosthetics moulded from her best friends beautiful feet. Charlene Colechin, 19, spent three months in hospital battling the disease and its consequences, after paramedics initially refused to transport her because they thought she only had flu. The teenager was finally discharged at the start of last month and is currently wheelchair bound because medics also had to partially amputate the front part of both feet, but she is determined to get back to work as a hairdresser with the aid of friend Chloe Hone, 18. Miss Hone, a beauty and massage therapist, has agreed to have her feet moulded to enable a French prosthetics company to produce custom-made feet to attach to Miss Colechins heels. Yesterday Miss Colechin told how she had always been envious of her friends feet and decided that if she couldnt keep her own, Miss Hones were the next best thing. The teenager, who lives with mother, Michelle Gill, 51, in Inkersall, Derbyshire, added: Ive always liked Chloes feet. Im hoping to have silicone partial prosthetics which I have seen and which are made by a French company. The 19-year-old spent three months in hospital battling the disease and is currently wheelchair bound Miss Colechin said she had always been envious of her friends feet and decided that if she couldnt keep her own, Miss Hones were the next best thing Ive still got my heels and the arches of my feet, but Ive lost the balls of the feet. The prosthetics will replace the whole front section. They looks realistic and will allow me to get back on my feet and wear dresses again, or whatever else I like. The NHS will provide me with some sort of prosthetic but whether its the one I want, I dont know yet. Im just grateful Im still alive. Miss Colechin said that if the NHS will not agree to fund the prosthetics - made by Auxerre-based SILAB Prosthetics - she will aim to raise money to buy the prosthesis herself. The items, which are custom-built according to each clients needs, vary in price accordingly but promise to exactly match the tone of the (existing) skin, including precise details such as freckles or veins, while toe nails can also be painted. They are expected to cost at least 5,000. An online fundraising appeal set up while Miss Colechin was still in hospital has also raised 1,350 towards her future care needs. Miss Hone, a beauty therapist from Chesterfield, said: Charlenes been amazing, the least I can do is get my feet moulded for her. Miss Colechin posted images on Facebook showing her wired up to machines with her limbs covered in purple blotches in October to show friends and family the reality of what meningitis can do An online fundraising appeal set up while Miss Colechin was still in hospital has also raised 1,350 towards her future care needs Were both size five and of similar build, but I dont know why she likes my feet so much I dont like them myself! We dont know how much the prosthetics will cost yet. Charlene needs more physiotherapy first, then we would both have to go to France so then can take a mould of my feet before matching the tone of the prosthetics to Charlenes skin. The two friends met three years ago through their then boyfriends, who were best friends. Miss Colechin posted images on Facebook showing her wired up to machines with her limbs covered in purple blotches in October to show friends and family the reality of what meningitis can do. The ends of her toes were black where the bacterial meningitis had taken its toll and doctors had already warned her they were likely to need amputating. Bacterial meningitis is rarer but more serious than viral meningitis. Miss Colechin said that if the NHS will not fund the prosthetics - made in France- she will aim to raise money herself Paramedics were called out to Miss Colechin on September 6 when she began suffering a headache, aching limbs and vomiting upon returning home from work. Paramedics thought she had flu because she didnt show signs of the rash often associated with meningitis, but her condition worsened overnight and the marks appeared the next day. A second ambulance was called and Miss Colechin was immediately taken to Chesterfield Royal Hospital, before being transferred to Sheffield. She said: The first crew of paramedics were so condescending. I had every meningitis symptom apart from the rash, but they insisted it was just the flu and told me the doctors will only tell you the same as us. But I cant fault my treatment from the point the second ambulance was called. The medics saved my life and Ill always be so grateful. Miss Colechin spent nine days in a medically-induced coma after suffering organ failure and said she had to be revived by medics at one point. Dr Bob Winter, Medical Director at East Midlands Ambulance Service and Major Trauma Consultant at Nottingham University Hospitals said: Our paramedics use their training and experience to treat the illness and injury that each patient presents at the time they respond. Now donning a shaved head, Justin Ross Harris has been sent to a south Georgia prison to begin serving a life sentence for the hot car death of his 22-month-old son. Harris, 36, was seen in the mugshot prior to his incarceration at Valdosta State Prison, in Lowndes County, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Harris was sentenced on December 5, after a jury in November found him guilty on all counts in the murder of his son Cooper Harris. Ross Harris was sentenced to life in prison without parole plus an additional 32 years on December 5. This is the maximum penalty allowed Cooper died of heat stroke after Harris left his son in a hot car for seven hours while he worked at his Home Depot job in Marietta, Georgia He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 32 years. This is the maximum penalty allowed. Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark noted that jurors 'found the defendant guilty of what factually was a horrendous, horrific experience for this 22-month-old child, who had been placed in the trust of his father in violation and dereliction of duty to that child, if not love of that child'. A jury determined that Ross Harris intentionally left his toddler strapped into a car seat in the back of his sweltering Hyundai Tucson for seven hours to die. Valdosta State Prison (pictured) has 10 general population units with 500 beds and six mental health units with 264 beds. Barbers are among the detention center's amenities At around 9am on June 18, 2014, Ross Harris and his son ate breakfast at a Chick-Fil-A in Cobb County, Georgia, just northwest of Atlanta, where summer temperatures soared into the high 80s. Once they had finished, Harris placed Cooper into a car seat and, instead of taking him to daycare, left him there while he went to work at Home Depot. Harris said as he was driving home from work he noticed Cooper was in the backseat. According to a witness, he stopped at the Akers Mill Square shopping center, where he tried to perform CPR on the boy, but the toddler was pronounced dead a the scene. Harris' lawyers insist that their client was wrongly convicted and that Cooper's death was the result of an accident. They will appeal the verdict. Standing in line, Pakistani families wait at a cashpoint used to withdraw money on cards loaded with funds from British taxpayers. More than 1billion of our foreign aid budget has been given away in cash over the past five years, it can be revealed today. Despite warnings of fraud, officials have quietly quadrupled expenditure on cash and debit cards that recipients can spend at will. More than 1billion of our foreign aid budget has been given away in cash over the past five years, it can be revealed today (Pictured, people queuing for cash in Peshawar) The budget has soared from 53million in 2005 to an annual average of 219million in the period 2011-15. MPs last night compared the foreign cash handouts to exporting the dole. As much as 300million is being lavished on a scheme in Pakistan that has been dogged by claims of corruption. The men and women pictured above are queuing at a cash machine in Peshawar used by many to withdraw money under the project. Around 235,000 families are pocketing payments every three months to boost their incomes, funded by UK taxpayers. Despite judging the scheme high risk, Whitehall officials plan to expand it to 441,000 Pakistani households by 2020. The revelations fuelled calls from MPs for the Government to ditch the commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on foreign aid. Backbenchers have argued it is a scandal that so much is being spent abroad while elderly care in the UK is in crisis and town halls are threatening double-digit council tax hikes to close a funding gap. Nigel Evans, a Tory MP who sits on the Commons international development committee, last night demanded an investigation into the 1billion cash handouts. Standing in line, these Pakistani families wait at a cashpoint used to withdraw money on cards loaded with funds from British taxpayers He said: Normally this sort of aid is only given in a crisis or emergency when it is the only way to give help. It only should be a temporary measure, but it seems like were exporting the dole to Pakistan, which is clearly not a clever idea. Anything that involves money needs to be properly scrutinised and is clearly open to fraud with money siphoned away when it ought to be directed to those most in need. This is something that International Development Secretary Priti Patel needs to look at urgently to ensure that there is proper accounting for how this money is being delivered. More than 9.3million people across 14 countries have received cash payments funded by the British government since 2010. HOW WE'RE THE MOST GENEROUS The UK is the only member of the G7 group of leading nations even close to hitting the target of spending 0.7 per cent of national income overseas. Since 2004 the amount Britain hands to foreign governments and other aid bodies has rocketed by 144 per cent, according to the G7. The annual aid bill is between 12billion and 13billion, more than 360 for every income tax payer. On some forecasts, that figure will increase to around 16billion by the next election, and 30billion by 2030. Germany, France, Italy, the US, Japan and Canada each spend just 0.4 per cent or less. Over the past decade, spending on aid by Japan is up by just 4 per cent and France by 25 per cent. One dollar in every five spent by the G7 on aid now comes from British taxpayers despite huge public concern over corruption and waste. The EU is failing in its own commitment to hit the 0.7 per cent aid target. Its various institutions managed to spend only 0.43 per cent in 2014. Pakistan, which has longstanding corruption problems, saw a 40.6 per cent increase in UK aid last year, receiving 374million. This is despite the fact that less than 1 per cent of the population in Pakistan pays any income tax. Pakistan has a space programme and is one of a very limited number of nuclear powers, possessing between 110 and 130 warheads. Advertisement The UK is also funding several projects through the EU, including a programme in wartorn Yemen, which aid bosses claim is a better way to preserve the dignity of recipients than food handouts. In Pakistan families get 4,500 rupees (34.50) a quarter, which they can spend however they want, as part of the Benazir Income Support Programme. British taxpayers currently fund 7 per cent of the BISP programme, although in previous years the UK contribution has been nearly 20 per cent. One in ten people get their money in envelopes at post offices, while others get cash cards that are regularly topped up with money that they can withdraw or use in shops. But in a village on the outskirts of Peshawar, the Daily Mail found people taking out money from cash points with cards they said they had been given after paying kickbacks to officials. Safiullah Khan, 49, a cart pusher in the Khyber Bazaar area of the city, said a local councillor demanded a bribe to enrol his family in the programme. I paid the money and my card was prepared, he added. The most recent Department for International Development annual review admitted there were problems with the database of recipients, which it said needed to be strengthened. A Dfid-commissioned study into the project also warned that those given cash cards were susceptible to being tricked out of money as they do not know how to use cash machines properly and are easily cheated. They included the example of one place where the village school master collects everyones cards and takes a 100 rupee (77p) cut from their money in return for helping them take it out. Around 235,000 Pakistani families are pocketing payments every three months to boost their incomes, funded by UK taxpayers (pictured, a man uses a debit card provided under the income support scheme) Pakistani newspapers reported in August that a nationwide probe was being launched after growing number of complaints about fake accounts and alleged corruption from project staff. Seven employees have been suspended on corruption charges and 125,714 suspicious accounts have been suspended. Last September, the chief minister of one of Pakistans four regions, Balochistan, complained about massive corruption in the programme and warned most of the money meant for poor families in his area was being misappropriated. Abdul Malik Baloch said: Uneducated people registered with the BISP do not know how to use the ATMs to draw the money. They are also deprived of the money at the post offices and the BISP offices by the staff. The scheme was set up by Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto, in 2008, a year after her assassination, and was seen as an attempt to help him be re-elected as president. Last night Dfid defended the cash transfers and said in Pakistan it has started rolling out biometric payment cards, which verify who people are with their fingerprints, in order to cut out middlemen. A spokesman said: Cash transfers allow aid to be more efficiently targeted to those who need it, when they need it. In Pakistan, the use of biometric payments makes our programme one of the most secure cash transfers in the world, and means British taxpayers can be sure that the help they provide goes to the less fortunate, not those abusing the system. We have a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and corruption. Bribe an official - and get your card for the ATM by Guy Adams Shortly after breakfast, two queues form outside a tatty building on the grand trunk road in Peshawar, a major city not far from the Afghan border in northern Pakistan. One is for the women, several dozen of them, wearing dusty head-scarves and the occasional burqa; the other contains men who, according to tradition, are forbidden from even standing in line with females. In front of them sits a branch of Allied Bank. Or, more specifically, a working ATM machine belonging to Allied Bank, from which each member of the crowd will be able to use a special debit card to withdraw the sum of 4,500 rupees, around 35. Each of the men and women is accessing this money a decent amount in a country where average weekly incomes are around 19 via a scheme called the Benazir Income Support Programme. The Benazir Income Support Programme is Pakistans equivalent of a benefits system (pictured, a woman holds up the card she uses to withdraw cash) Its Pakistans equivalent of a benefits system, which is supposed to give around five million of the nations poorest families a quarterly stipend, in cash. They can spend the money as they like. So far, so unremarkable were it not for one extraordinary fact. What no one on this bustling street, and precious few people anywhere in the impoverished South Asian country, realise is that a hefty portion of this handout has come directly from the pockets of British taxpayers. Under the astonishing terms of a deal which was quietly authorised in 2012, and has barely been reported since, the UK is giving almost 300million to ordinary Pakistanis in cash. We are making regular payments, for at least eight years, via SWIFT transfers from the coffers of the Department for International Development to a bank account controlled by the notoriously corrupt government of Pakistan. The vast majority of this cash 279million is supposed to be handed directly to the countrys most impoverished citizens, sometimes via debit cards, at other times in envelopes stuffed with banknotes. As we shall see, plenty goes astray. YEMENIS CLUTCHING AID NOTES Yemenis are just some of the millions of people worldwide pocketing handouts backed by UK taxpayers. The women pictured below, whose faces are almost completely covered by their veils, live in a rural area outside the city of Hodeida. Aid chiefs last night claimed they were handing out cash rather than food in the war-torn country to preserve peoples dignity. Acted, a French charity which runs the project on behalf of the EU, said it was important to give recipients freedom of choice. Clutching wads of bank notes, these Yemenis are just some of the millions of people worldwide pocketing handouts backed by UK taxpayers In 2015, the charitys projects received more than 15.3million from the EUs aid budget, with another 6.1million direct from the UKs Department for International Development. The project in Yemen was funded solely with money from Brussels, Britain contributing around a tenth of the total. Yemens civil war, which began in March 2015, has cost at least 10,000 lives and pushed millions toward famine. Three quarters of the countrys 28million people are thought to need some form of aid. Adrien Tomarchio of Acted said: Cash transfers are an effective way to support vulnerable populations affected by humanitarian crises. They are effective because they are timely and they ensure aid is delivered swiftly. Not only do they benefit individuals, they also support local markets and livelihoods. Most importantly, cash transfers preserve ones dignity. It gives one the choice to use the support we provide as they see fit, according to their own priorities and needs. It ensures freedom of choice. Moreover, cash can be used immediately or can be saved for later. A European Commission spokesman said in some circumstances cash handouts were one of the most efficient and cost effective ways to directly reach those in greatest need in a timely manner. Acted workers Ayida Esamaeel Badwi and Wafa Ahmed Ibrahim Dunia wrote on an EU website that cash transfers can be a lifeline. They added: The widespread shortages of basic food items in Hodeida have added to the challenges. It has meant that the cost of goods available has doubled or tripled since the conflict started. Vulnerable households facing shortages of household necessities frequently cope during crises by selling assets and borrowing money. Disruptions to imports and fuel shortages have brought economic life to a standstill. They cited the example of a woman called Yasmina, who has received cash from the charity. She said: We cannot complete our work outside the home because of heavy airstrikes and fighters who near our homes. Even in our homes, we are worried because our traditional houses will not protect us under these conditions. We are facing a lot of problems buying food. Advertisement The remaining 21million pays for technical support for the BISP scheme. Already the UK has spent 181million in this manner, and the project has four years to run. It means British taxpayers are footing 7 per cent of the entire Pakistani dole bill; in previous years our contributions have hit almost 20 per cent. If you think this sounds dubious, you are not alone: a host of leading academics, aid campaigners and politicians criticised the scheme last night. One MP called it a scandal and another called for an urgent review. However and here you will be further shocked our 300million eight-year outlay is far from the end of the spending. The United Kingdom is reserving 219million of the annual foreign aid budget for cash transfers a form of overseas aid which, as in Pakistan, sees money given straight to the man and woman in the street. This figure, sneaked out in official papers several months ago, has more than quadrupled in the past decade it was 53million in 2005. It will grow again this year, at a time of supposed austerity, as Whitehall officials try to find ways to hand out more than 12billion in order to honour the Cameron governments commitment to spend 0.7 percent of national income on overseas aid. British funds will therefore be literally handed out, using banknotes and cash cards, in the coming years, in such places as Burma via the 152million we are quietly spending on a Livelihood and Food Security Trust Fund. And in the Stalinist one-party state of Ethiopia with 130million going on the Productive Safety Nets Programme. In another of the at least 19 cash transfer schemes we will splash out 57million around the repressive and highly corrupt state of Rwanda under a project called Social Protection Support to the Poorest. Pictured: Two women stand outside a bank in Pakistan after withdrawing cash given to them as part of the Benazir Income Support Programme Then there is 53million for Expanding Social Protection in Uganda, whose dictator Yoweri Museveni has been in power since 1986 accumulating a personal fortune put at more than 3 billion and another 21million on a Child Protection Fund in Robert Mugabes Zimbabwe. The 219million bill for cash transfers may not even include money being spent on schemes being handled with little to no UK oversight by the European Union. So, one might reasonably wonder, what actually happens to this astonishing 219million that Britain is handing out, each year, in cash? The answer is impossible to pin down. For, like almost all forms of overseas aid spending, cash transfers are riddled with waste and beset by corruption. On paper, many seem perfectly well intentioned: in theory, a small and regular piece of financial support can represent a relatively efficient way to improve the lives of the worlds poorest people. Yet in the real world, theory and practice are never the same. So large amounts of our money is being stolen or embezzled, while still more goes to well-heeled charity bosses and high-earning consultants. The BISP scheme in Pakistan is a case in point. Speak to a just few humble recipients and youll immediately hear tales of corruption. Safiullah Khan, a cart pusher with five daughters and four sons, was standing in line outside the Allied Bank this week. The 43-year-old earns a daily income of between 300 and 600 rupees (2.30-4.60). But in order to enrol on BISP, and receive a debit card that would allow him to access the cash, he was forced to bribe a politician. My income is not enough to cover day-to-day expenses of my family, so someone in my neighbourhood told me about the BISP card, he said. I went to see my local councillor, and he asked for a bribe for enrolling my name into the programme. After a few months, I managed to find this amount, and so my card was eventually prepared. Or take Kishwar Bobo, a 53-year-old mother of eight from the rural Sheikhupura province near Lahore. She says she managed to obtain a BISP card because her brother belongs to the Muslim League, an opposition party with contacts in the local administrative office. However there are no ATM machines in her village, forcing her to pay a commission to a shopkeeper. Whenever payments come into the bank, I give my card to the owner of the grocery store, with an extra 300 rupees (2.30), she says. He will withdraw the cash for me when he next travels to the bank. Benazir Income Support Programme, is dogged by tales of corruption (pictured, men hold up the scheme's debit cards) Such low-level scams are par for the course in Pakistan, where corruption has for years been endemic. Yet embezzlement claims afflicting BISP run all the way to the top. Pakistans newspapers carry details of corruption scandals on almost a daily basis. In October, for example, the Frontier Star newspaper reported that 59 senior BISP employees were being probed by Pakistans federal investigation agency for looting BISP funds. Dfid says it believes the claim to be untrue. September saw protests outside the city of Rawalpindi over BISP employees charging commissions in order to process cash payments to impoverished clients. August brought news that a government audit had identified no fewer than 125,714 suspicious beneficiaries of the scheme, who may have been fraudulently receiving cash. At least 10,000 had for years been paid a quarterly 4,500 rupees when they were dead. No one knows where the money went, but as a result of this audit, around 100 employees of BISP were said to be under investigation for setting up the accounts, with seven facing charges. Pakistans National Accountability Bureau, the anti-corruption watchdog, was also that month said to have summoned BISPs former chairman, Farzana Raja, for interrogation over the alleged embezzlement of around 23million from its advertising budget. The allegations, stretching back to before 2012, remain unproven. In May, meanwhile, the News International, a national title, claimed that an audit in the Sindh province found that 52,000 people supposed to be receiving allowances had not been paid a penny for three years. Their cash had instead been pocketed by corrupt officials, 75 of whom were placed under investigation, its report said. Officials denied the charge. These, remember, are just some of the reports of alleged corruption that were published in a few months of the past year. If just a fraction of them are even partly true, they would suggest BISP is riddled with corruption. And yet, at a time of supposed austerity, with British social care in crisis and people facing month-long waits to see their GP, the Government sees fit to bankroll this scheme to the tune of 300million. Little wonder that growing numbers of respected aid experts are starting to raise red flags about the project. Akbar Zaidi, a prominent Pakistani economist who has worked at Oxford, as well as Columbia University in the US, believes overseas aid is hugely damaging for his country. I dont think there is anything in Pakistan which is not misused, siphoned off, misappropriated, and so on, he says. Pakistan ranks high on all corruption indices and those in power have the ability to misappropriate funds, in all schemes. In academic papers, Professor Zaidi has argued that the huge amounts being spent on aid to Pakistan means that British workers are effectively subsidising Pakistans elite. Less than 1 per cent of Pakistans population pays any income tax, he said. Many members of parliament and other respected members of society avoid taxes because it is so easy. By continuing to give Pakistan aid, donors have allowed Pakistans elite to avoid and ignore major reforms. Ehtisham Ahmad, of the London School of Economics, says cash transfers can become a poverty trap that distort the economy by dissuading people from getting jobs. He has given evidence to Parliament describing BISP as particularly flawed, because it has been named after the assassinated politician Benazir Bhutto. Her image appears on the debit cards used to access cash, making the scheme overtly party political. Dr Ahmad argued in 2012 that British taxpayers were effectively contributing to her partys election campaigns. Dfid officials appear to agree. In their early assessments of BISP, they judged the project to be high risk on several fronts, warning that serious efforts need to be made to depoliticise the branding of the programme. But that did not stop them ploughing 300million into it. And no effort was made to depoliticise the project. Thanks to a law passed in 2015 we must spend 0.7 of national income on aid making us the only one of the G7 group of leading nations to do so. It means that Dfid which, when it was founded by Tony Blair in 1997, had a budget of 2.6billion, must now plough through around four times that amount. Even before the 2015 legislation, aid spending had risen by 144 per cent between 2004 and 2014 a period when Frances increased by just 25 per cent, and Japans rose by 4 per cent. Dfid, the Foreign Office and other agencies now send abroad more than 360 for every income taxpayer in the land. That figure that will increase to around 16billion by the next election, and 30billion by 2030. Were all of this cash, or even a large proportion of it, to end up in the pockets of the neediest people on Earth, one might legitimately call it a worthwhile exercise. CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME MORE than 5,800 nursing home places could have been funded if the 219million in aid money paid out in cash each year was spent on social care in Britain instead. Across the country, the average nursing home fee is 726 per week, or 37,752 a year. The cash could have also paid for 58million hot meals for the elderly costing 3.80 each. Nearly half of councils or 45 per cent have cut their meals on wheels schemes for the elderly since 2010 due to budget cuts. The Local Government Association has said the social care funding gap will reach 2.6billion by the end of this Parliament. This could be filled by slicing off just 7 per cent of the annual aid budget over the next three years. Advertisement Indeed, properly channelled aid spending can enhance Britains soft power on the world stage, persuading citizens in otherwise hostile parts of the globe to regard us sympathetically. Yet for this to happen, cash needs to be spent competently. In Pakistan, for example, youd expect Britain to demand that welfare recipients be made fully aware of the fact that their quarterly stipend was being bankrolled by the UK (by, for example, a union flag being stamped on their debit cards). Needless to say, however, no such system exists. Indeed, not one of the BISP beneficiaries the Mail encountered this week had a clue of Britains involvement in the scheme. One group however has definitely benefited from spiralling aid budgets: the men and women who work in our booming aid industry. Thats why Dfid civil servants have a median income of 52,700, the highest in Whitehall. It is why charity bosses such as David Miliband, who earns 486,894 as head of the International Rescue Committee, pocket astonishing salaries and why bosses of consultancy firms overseeing aid projects are laughing all the way to the bank. The 220million we spend on cash handouts each year has been very lucrative for such firms as Oxford Policy Management, which has received 89.7million of British aid funds since 2011 and was hired to work on BISP, as well as cash transfer schemes in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia. The firm increased its turnover from 34million to 46million last year, making gross profits of 10million, a 30 per cent increase. It employed an average of 223 people, up from 164 the year before. Then there is a consultancy business called ECORYS, which works on cash transfer schemes in Bangladesh and Rwanda. It turned over 23million last year, declaring gross profits of 11.6million. In the same year, as business boomed, it grew its number of employees from 159 to 191. The biggest contractor on BISP, however, is Mott MacDonald, a conglomerate headquartered in Croydon, which made more than 40million last year and paid one of its directors a whacking 1.2million. Nigel Evans, an MP who sits on the Commons international development committee, says that while he supports cash transfer programmes in very limited circumstances such as a crisis or emergency where it is the only way to give help in the case of BISP we are simply exporting the dole to Pakistan, which is clearly not a good idea. Until voters can be sure the money is being efficiently spent, Mr Evans believes our 0.7 per cent aid allocation ought to be kept in a ring-fenced bank account. The coming months will see publication of a study by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, the official watchdog, into cash transfer schemes. It will pose a big question: does the extraordinary practice of handing out British public funds overseas, via bundles of bank notes, or on cash cards, represents a sensible use of public money? Many taxpayers will doubtless think they know the answer. Springsteen, 67, has been a vocal critic of Trump many times in the past, and he '[M]y fear is that those things find a place in ordinary, civil society, demeans the discussion and events of the day, and the country changes,' said the rocker He added that he believes Trump appeals to the 'worst aspects' of society such as 'racism, bigotry, [and] intolerance' 'I've felt disgust before, but never the kind of fear that you feel now,' Springsteen said of Trump and his Bruce Springsteen has made no secret of his disdain for Donald Trump's political message and agenda over the past 18 months, and he is again sharing his opinion of the first-time politician now that he has won the election. The New Jersey rocker appeared on an episode of WTF With Marc Maron that was released on Tuesday, and during the hour-long podcast he spoke about his fears and concerns about the future of the country during and after a Trump presidency. 'I've felt disgust before, but never the kind of fear that you feel now,' Springsteen said of Trump and the administration he has been building over the past month. 'It's as simple as the fear of, is someone simply competent enough to do this particular job? Forget about where they are ideologically. Do they simply have the pure competence to be put in the position of such responsibility?' Springsteen later said that the policies Trump has been proposing to are 'lies that can't occur' and his rhetoric runs the risk of ruining the future of the country because he appeals to the 'worst aspects' of society such as 'racism, bigotry, [and] intolerance.' Scroll down for videos Speaking out: Bruce Springsteen lashed out at Donald Trump in an interview with Marc Maron on his WTF podcast (Springsteen and Maron above) Anger: 'I've felt disgust before, but never the kind of fear that you feel now,' Springsteen said of Trump and his administration (Trump above with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in November) Statement: He added that he believes Trump appeals to the 'worst aspects' of society such as 'racism, bigotry, [and] intolerance' (Springsteen in June holding up a 'F*** Trump' sign) 'When you let that genie out of the bottle - racism, bigotry, intolerance - when you let those things out of the bottle, they dont go back in the bottle that easily. If they go back in at all,' said Springsteen. 'Whether its a rise in hate crimes, people feeling that they have license to speak and behave in ways that previously were considered un-American, and are un-American. Thats what hes appealing to.' He went on to say: 'And so my fear is that those things find a place in ordinary, civil society, demeans the discussion and events of the day, and the country changes in a way that is unrecognizable, and we become estranged. 'Those are all dangerous things, and he hasnt even taken office yet. So we got to wait and see, but those are certainly the implications, and you also look at who hes been picking for his Cabinet, that doesnt speak very well for whats coming up.' Springsteen also made a point of noting that he understood why voters supported Trump, describing many of the billionaire businessman's supporters as if they were characters in his own songs. 'Theres plenty of good, solid folks that voted for Donald Trump, as well as people who had other agendas,' said Springsteen. He then added: 'But to know that, youve got to know some.' Springsteen said that many of these men and women were 'affected deeply by deindustrialization and globalization and the technological advances' that quickly spread across the country, and wound up 'left behind.' As a result, when Trump declared in speech after speech that he was going to bring jobs and industry back to United States, he was the natural pick for these people said Springsteen. And at the same time, Trump also used people's fear of ISIS to promote Islamphobia claims Springsteen, and the rocker believes that Trump's plan to build a wall between the United States and Mexico became a way to vilify illegal immigrants. 'These are very powerful and simple ideas. They're lies, they can't occur. But if you've struggled for the past 30 or 40 years, and this has been the theme of much of my creative life for all those years, if someone comes along and offers you something else ... it's a compelling choice,' explained Springsteen. The 67-year-old rocker has not given up all hope however, and said he is still going to keep doing all he can to keep his country great. 'America is still America. I still believe in its ideals, and I'm going to do my best to play my very, very small part in maintaining those things,' he said to Maron to close out his remarks on Trump. Best of buds: Springsteen campaigned for President Obama in both 2008 and 2012 (above with the President and First Lady in November at the Medal of Freedom ceremony) He's with her: Springsteen has been a vocal critic of Trump many times in the past, and he supported Hillary Clinton during the election (above at Clinton's midnight rally in November the day before the election) The comedian and podcast host brought up the subject because of Springsteen's criticism of Trump in the past while he was appearing on the show to promote his new memoir, Born To Run. In October, Springsteen said Trump was 'such a flagrant, toxic narcissist that he wants to take down the entire democratic system with him if he goes' during an interview with Channel 4 News. 'The words that hes been using over the past several weeks really are an attack on the entire democratic process. I think its very dangerous.' Springsteen then predicted that Trump would lose the election but still wreak havoc, saying: 'He does have a lot of peoples ears, and I dont think hes going to go quietly, gently into the good night. 'I think hes going to make as big a mess as he can and I dont know what thats going to mean, but well find out shortly.' That same month he also labeled Trump a 'moron' who was pushing 'white nationalism' in an interview with Rolling Stone. 'The republic is under siege by a moron, basically. The whole thing is tragic,' said Springsteen. 'Without overstating it, its a tragedy for our democracy. When you start talking about elections being rigged, youre pushing people beyond democratic governance. 'And its a very, very dangerous thing to do. Once you let those genies out of the bottle, they dont go back in so easy, if they go back in at all.' He also brought up his belief that Trump's promises are nothing but lies in that interview as well, saying: 'And Trumps thing is simple answers to very complex problems. Fallacious answers to very complex problems. And that can be very appealing.' Springsteen made a point of also throwing in the fact that Hillary Clinton would be a 'very, very good president' in his opinion. And in June, Springsteen found a new way to announce his dislike for Trump during a concert in Germany. While playing at Olympic Stadium Springsteen noticed a sign being held by two women in the audience and grabbed it from them to hold it up himself on the stage. It read:'F*** Trump. We Wanna Dance With The Boss.' Springsteen has long been a vocal supporter of Democratic candidates, campaigning for President Barack Obama in both 2008 and 2012. He campaigned for Clinton this time around and even agreed to play at her midnight rally in Philadelphia the night before the election in a last ditch effort to get out the vote in the state, which ultimately went to Trump. Dance, dance: Trump's best friend, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, is The Boss' biggest fan (above at a concert in early 2016) And while Obama and Clinton are both big fans of Springsteen, no politician loves The Boss more than Trump's best friend, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. He has said in interviews that he began idolizing The Boss around the age of 13, and claims to have seen him in concert close to 150 times. At some concerts Christie becomes so overcome with emotion that he begins to cry. The love affair however is a bit unrequited, with Springsteen turning down an offer to play at Christie's first inauguration and mocking him on The Tonight Show after members of his staff were discovered to have been involved in the George Washington Bridge scandal. The men did get to share a moment back in 2012 however, when they met in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. The two were at the NBC telethon organized to raise money for victims of the disaster according to Christie when The Boss walked over and hugged him and told him he was proud of the way he and the stage had responded during the difficult aftermath of the storm. Christie said that hearing that from Springsteen made him cry. Two have expressed concerns the young woman had been met with foul play Friends say Ms Tierney had been doing well in the months before her death The 29-year-old Manchester woman worked at the strip club as a dancer An exotic dancer who lay dead in a Melbourne strip club for 12 hours was happy, earning good money and recently moved into a nice house, according to friends. British traveller Stacey Tierney, 29, was found dead slumped inside Dreams Gentlemen's Club in Melbourne on December 19. Ms Tierney reportedly worked at Dreams. A well-respected club owner revealed to Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday she avoids hiring girls once they have worked at the inner Melbourne strip club and said she was shocked by the recent incident. 'This is disgusting because it is an industry where you can be dealing with fragile young women - who could be easy to take advantage of.' Friends of Stacey Tierney who lay dead in a strip club for 12 hours instantly feared she had been killed as the former fitness trainer did not do drugs and was in good health Friends who danced with Ms Tierney at a strip club in Queensland said they immediately feared she had met foul play. 'As soon as I heard she had died I asked if she had been killed... [I] knew in my heart that something was not right,' Briar Rose told Daily Mail Australia. The former fitness trainer, from Manchester, in England's north west, had reportedly been partying at the club with a group of men while the venue was closed to the public on Sunday. But the men are believed to have fled when she died, abandoning Ms Tierney's body inside to be found when the club opened the next day, since her death was not reported to police or paramedics until Monday. Ms Rose said it was out of character for Mr Tierney to be spending time with men she did not know at a club she worked in after hours. There is no suggestion that the management of the club is implicated in her death. 'She was healthy, didn't touch drugs and was so upbeat about life she wouldn't take her own life,' Ms Rose said. The former fitness trainer, from Manchester, had reportedly been partying at Dreams with a group of men while the venue was closed to the public when she died Briar Rose (right) feared Ms Tierney (left) met with foul play and said it was odd for her to be at Dreams Gentlemen's club after hours Ms Tierney had been doing well in Melbourne after leaving the Gold Coast six months ago 'Strippers don't go to clubs when they're closed. It just isn't done,' Ms Rose said A friend of Ms Tierney said she was also working for two other Melbourne venues - Goldfingers (pictured) and The Men's Gallery On Tuesday, police confirmed investigators had spoken to Ms Tierney's family. They said the Homicide Squad are aware of the investigation. Ms Rose worked with Ms Tierney at a strip club in the Gold Coast before she relocated to Melbourne six months ago and started dancing at Dreams. The New Zealand woman said there was no way Ms Tierney would have been able to gain access to the club alone and insisted she was always the 'first to say no' if offered drugs. A former colleague said Ms Tierney 'deserved so much more' than she was given She said: 'Strippers don't go to clubs when they're closed. It just isn't done.' The former dancer said she was happy to learn Ms Tierney had landed on her feet after relocating to Melbourne. She was earning better money and had moved into a 'fresh new house' shortly before her death, Ms Rose said. 'I was so happy for her because I can honestly say she was the kindest soul I had ever met.' Another dancer, who did not want to be named, told Daily Mail Australia Ms Tierney was also working for two other Melbourne venues - Goldfingers and The Men's Gallery. Both clubs declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia. News of the 'vivacious' young woman's death started circulating around the globe after her body was found, with her family informed she was dead just before Christmas. Ms Tierney's former boyfriend, Matthew Girvan, expressed his disbelief after learning of her death while he was travelling in Indonesia. 'My ex-girlfriend I was with for 6 years passed away. Words can't describe how devastated I am,' he wrote, also sharing an image of them riding a zip line together. Ms Tierney was earning better money and had moved into a 'fresh new house' shortly before her death, according to a friend she used to dance with Ms Tierney's former boyfriend, Matthew Girvan, expressed his disbelief after learning of her death while travelling in Indonesia and shared an image of them together Other friends have also taken to social media to pay tribute to the young woman who one described as an 'amazing young lady' with a passion for both dancing and teaching Another dancer, who did not want to be named, told Daily Mail Australia Ms Tierney was also working for two other Melbourne venues - Goldfingers (left) and The Men's Gallery (right) On Tuesday, police confirmed the Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit were investigating the death and were awaiting the results of a post mortem. Other friends have also taken to social media to pay tribute to the young woman who one described as an 'amazing young lady' with a passion for both dancing and teaching. 'She gave up many hours of her time to teach at charity events to raise money for different causes, a man wrote. 'You were such an awesome person to work with and one of the few genuine people in this world and industry! I hope justice is found,' a Gold Coast woman said. A former colleague said Ms Tierney 'deserved so much more' than she was given, adding that she was in a 'safer place now'. Ms Tierney's workplace, Dreams Gentlemen's Club, appears to attract visitors with the offer of 'pleasure at its best'. A former colleague said Ms Tierney 'deserved so much more' than she was given, adding that she was in a 'safer place now' The club attracts visitors with the offer of 'pleasure at its best', but became the scene of a crime once before when construction worker Rongomai Wairau was set upon in April 2011 The club has operated without incident since the attack, up until the death of Ms Tierney (pictured) But the Melbourne venue became the scene of a crime once before when three members of a notorious Australian outlaw motorcycle gang launched a 'ferocious' attack on a man in April 2011. According to The Age, construction worker Rongomai Wairau had his cheek, nose and eye broken after he tried to enter a toilet stall being used by former-Comancheros bikies Moses Lance Folau, Andres Fabian Ruffatt and Samson Bazi. Court documents state Mr Wairau was punched without warning before the men unleashed a flurry of blows, placed him in a choke hold and dragged him up and down the hall. A judge sentenced the men to between two years and 25 months jail over the 'cowardly attack' after they all pleaded guilty to intentionally causing injury. The street entrance of Dreams Gentlemen's Club where Ms Tierney was found dead Ms Tierney was working at three Melbourne strip clubs at the time of her death The club caters to bucks parties and private functions, with secluded rooms available away from the marble-clad podiums where the 'Dream Girls' parade kicks off at 1am on Saturday Ms Tierney shared images of herself sporting a Grand Prix costume (left) on a night the club held a themed party for the event (advertised right) Ms Tierney is believed to have been working at the strip club around the time of her death The club has operated without incident since the attack, up until the death of Ms Tierney. The venue caters to bucks parties and private functions, with secluded rooms available away from marble-clad podiums where the 'Dream Girls' parade kicks off at 1am on Saturday. Promotional material advertises three-song lap dances for $50 and often offers free entry for those following its social media accounts if they obtain a secret access word. Events range from poker nights to 'Full Throttle Thursdays' and 'Super Sexy Fridays', with Ms Tierney seen sporting a Grand Prix costume on a night the club held a themed party for the event. Private dancing areas of the club are cordoned off with a red rope and reportedly are not under surveillance. Police have not revealed any details about the last hours of Ms Tierney's life, but said a post-mortem examination will be conducted to determine her cause of death. Ashley, a friend of Ms Tierney, said she is worried foul play might have been involved Private dancing areas of the club (left) are cordoned off with a red rope and reportedly are not under surveillance Promotional material advertises three-song lap dances for $50 and often offers free entry for those following its social media accounts for a secret access word The club is clad in marble tiles and long, dark fabric curtains to give dancers privacy A spokesperson for Ambulance Victoria confirmed they were called to the scene following reports of a medical issue but could not reveal the circumstances surrounding the incident for privacy reasons. According to reports, Ms Tierney was not alone when she died and had been with a group of unidentified men who fled the scene without reporting her death. Another friend said she told the former Zumba instructor to avoid Dreams Gentlemen's Club as she had a bad feeling about the venue. 'I personally hope someone is charged for this. I'd like to see them punished,' a friend told the Herald Sun. Others shocked by Ms Tierney's death described her as 'streetwise' and said that while she enjoyed a drink, she never took drugs. Others shocked by Ms Tierney's death described her as 'streetwise' and said that while she enjoyed a drink, she never took drugs Ms Tierney (pictured) allegedly worked at Dreams Gentlemen's Club at the time of her death Police have confirmed they are investigating Ms Tierney's death but have not revealed anymore information about the circumstances. Ms Tierney's devastated family said they are still waiting for answers about whether she had been killed and had only heard what has been reported in the media. 'We have not been told anything by the authorities in Australia about this latest information,' a relative who did not want to be named said. 'The family is obviously very upset that Stacey has died. We have been shocked by the articles in the Australian press and on the face of it, it looks like it should be a murder investigation. 'But we are still trying to get in touch with the Australian police because we have still not been given any official information about how she died.' A GoFundMe page launched to give Ms Tierney 'a send off fit for a princess' has exceeded its 10,000 target in just two days. A promoter at the club declined to comment on the investigation. This is the terrifying moment a speeding driver lost control of their car before slamming into a traffic sign and rolling into a ditch. Michael Nibb captured the dramatic footage on December 29 while heading along Bruxner Highway, in New South Wales. Police, ambulance and fire crews were called to the scene at around 3.50pm but the occupants had already fled the smashed vehicle. This is the terrifying moment a speeding car (top inset) was filmed spinning off a highway in New South Wales before smashing into a traffic sign Three men were seen fleeing the wreck, according to police, who tracked one of them to a nearby high school. However, detectives and dog squads were unable to locate the man, and they have not been located since. A police spokesman said they have reviewed footage of the accident and received a number of leads, but have not spoken with any of the occupants. Video of the crash shows cars traveling along an 80km/h stretch of the Bruxner Highway near Alstonville when a speeding vehicle approaches from behind. The driver can be seen trying to undertake cars using a merging lane before swerving on to the grass and smashing into the sign (left) Police believe there were three people inside the vehicle, all of whom fled before they arrived. Officers are still trying to track down the occupants The driver tries to undertake using a merging lane but runs out of roadway, ending up on a grass verge at the side of the road. The vehicle can be seen turning sideways before slamming into a traffic sign - sending debris flying across the road. Stunned drivers pull over to the side of the street in order to help the occupants of the crashed vehicle, before they make their escape. Vinyl records enjoyed a staggering renaissance in 2016, with sales jumping to their highest level in 25 years as Millenials continued to discover the delights of listening to their favourite artists on 12-inch. In what will be music to traditionalists ears, more than 3.2 million LPs were sold last year, a rise of 53% on 2015 and the highest annual total since 1991, when Simply Reds Stars was the best-selling album. David Bowies untimely death last January led to him becoming the best-selling vinyl artist of 2016, with five albums posthumously featuring in the top 30. In what will be music to traditionalists ears, more than 3.2 million LPs were sold last year, a rise of 53% on 2015 and the highest annual total since 1991 His Blackstar album, which was shortlisted for a Mercury Prize, was the most popular-selling album of the year, while Bowie fans kept his music alive by buying The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust, Hunky Dory, Nothing Has Changed and Changesonebowie. It marks the ninth consecutive year that vinyl sales have grown, a far cry from the meagre 200,000 LPs sold in 2007. While still niche products, LPs now account for nearly 5% of the albums market, according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). At least 30 titles sold more than 10,000 copies in 2016, compared with just 10 the year before, boosted by events suchdavid bowie as record store day and an increasing audience among younger fans. The music industry as a whole is booming, with 123 million albums or their equivalent either streamed, bought in a physical format or downloaded in 2016, up 1.5% on the previous year, and the total volume of music consumed in 2016 was worth an estimated 1 billion. Streaming services have also rocketed 500% since 2013 to an astonishing 45 billion audio streams in 2016 alone through digital services such as Spotify, Apple, Deezer and Tidal, equating to over 1,500 streams for every household in the UK. David Bowies untimely death last January led to him becoming the best-selling vinyl artist of 2016, with five albums posthumously featuring in the top 30 December saw the milestone of one billion audio streams in a single week for the first time, underlying the growth of streaming as the format of choice for many music fans, with it now accounting for more than a third of all UK music consumption. But while streaming and vinyl saw marked increases, sales of CDs were down by more than 10% - though the BPI said the format remains resilient. Among artists, Coldplay and Adele dominated the charts, with Adeles 25 the best-selling artist album for a second year, and total sales topping 3.2 million, based on Official Charts Company data. Michael Ball and Alfie Boes duets album Together was the best-selling new release artist album of 2016, while Now 95 was the years best-selling album overall. Geoff Taylor, chief executive of BPI and the Brit Awards, said: Growth in UK music consumption in 2016 was fuelled by the explosive rise in audio streaming, which has increased 500% since 2013, and relative resilience from physical formats. Led by sales of David Bowie, demand for vinyl jumped to levels not seen since the start of the Nineties, and fans also bought and collected music on CD that they are discovering and enjoying through streaming services in ever larger numbers. Three unidentified men waited until the New Year's Eve ball dropped to pull off a multi-million dollar diamond jewelry heist in Midtown, Manhattan. The heist took place inside KGK Holdings jewelry wholesaler at 70 W. 36th St., in what appears to be an inside job, since the thieves didn't have to crack the safes when they got inside. 'The safes were opened. They didn't even have to pry', police told the New York Daily News. Scroll down for video Two unidentified males were captured on surveillance footage using a hammer and crow bar to break into KGK Holdings jewelry wholesaler in Midtown, Manhattan During this time, thousands of police were patrolling Times Square just a few blocks away. 'They laid in wait until the ball dropped', police told the New York Post. The trio allegedly stole $6 million worth of diamond jewelry and are still at large. The heist took place inside KGK Holdings jewelry wholesaler at 70 W. 36th St., in what appears to be an inside job The thieves snuck into the sixth-floor offices of Gregg Ruth, a commercial jewelry store owned by KGK Holdings, and allegedly made off with $6 million worth of gems In the surveillance video, a bearded white male wearing a hoodie and a backpack can be seen banging a hammer for several seconds. At one point, he looks straight into the camera. His accomplice, wearing a hoodie and face mask, makes numerous attempts to break the surveillance camera with a hammer. They used a hammer and crow bar to gain entry into the building through the freight entrance to the sixth floor at about 10pm, as revelers gathered at Times Square. They climbed the fire stairs to get inside the building, waited in the stairwell and at 12:01am they broke into the office, possibly using the noise from the nearby New Year's celebrations as cover During the heist, thousands of police were patrolling Times Square just a few blocks away Once they were inside, the trio snuck into the sixth-floor offices of Gregg Ruth, a commercial jewelry store owned by KGK Holdings known for its rare yellow and pink diamonds, and allegedly grabbed the gems from two safes. Police said one of the safes wasn't locked. A security guard posted in front of the business said the company had no security officers protecting the premises before the robbery. The wholesaler reported the theft at 3pm on Sunday. Simon Milner, Facebook's policy chief, pictured, blamed families for thwarting the firm's rule of allowing only those aged 13 and over to register Irresponsible parents in Britain allow their children to lie about their age when setting up Facebook accounts, the firm claims. Simon Milner, Facebook's policy chief, blamed families for thwarting the firm's rule of allowing only those aged 13 and over to register. 'We have a fundamental issue in the UK that there are many parents who choose for whatever reason to allow it,' he told the communications committee of the House of Lords. 'They know their children are on Facebook. Often they have helped their children get on to Facebook. That is very, very hard, when that happens, for us to know that person is not the age they say they are.' Mr Milner said Facebook knew many under-13s were using its service but warned there was no easy solution. 'When millions of parents are making that decision, how can we enforce it?' he said. And he said teachers failed to report pupils using Facebook, adding: 'Whenever a primary school teacher says to me: "I have a real problem, all the 11-year-olds in my class are on Facebook" I say they can report them all to us. 'They don't often do that because they think they will incur the wrath of the parents.' But John Carr, an internet safety expert who has worked with the United Nations and with Google, questioned Facebook's approach to young users. 'It's very difficult to get Facebook to accept responsibility,' he said. 'The idea that they cannot stop it is nonsense. Facebook know what colour socks I wear. They know everything about everyone, that's their business. The idea that they couldn't solve or determine users' ages with or without their parents' collusion is not believable. Ofcom research shows that the biggest increase comes between the ages of ten and 11, when the number with a social media profile doubles to 43 per cent. File image 'They don't want to solve it, it interrupts their business model.' Mr Carr estimated that three quarters of ten to 12-year-olds were on social media and many users were even younger. Ofcom research shows that the biggest increase comes between the ages of ten and 11, when the number with a social media profile doubles to 43 per cent. The study also shows children are messaging during school hours. And nine per cent of 11 to 15-year-olds communicate via social media at 10pm and 2 per cent are still online at midnight. Facebook is still the most popular social media site for youngsters but there has been an increased use of group messaging services such as WhatsApp. Ofcom said many of these group chats were used for positive activities, such as homework groups, but they were also being used in less positive ways, with a fine line between banter and bullying. n Social media 'detoxing' could improve your mood, according to findings published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behaviour, and Social Networking. The Copenhagen University researchers split 1,000 participants into two groups the first being told to continue using Facebook as usual and the second stopping for a week. A soldier who was gifted with a plane ticket to see his widowed mother on Christmas saw his holiday turn to horror when he was left with severe facial injuries by a gang in Philadelphia, his family said. A kind stranger had paid for Austin Freni, 19, to fly from his army base in Georgia to his mom Lori in New Jersey after spotting his GoFundMe page. He was due to fly out to the Middle East in the New Year. But while attending the annual Mummers Parade - a colorful folk festival - in Philadelphia on Sunday, 10-15 men put him in hospital because of his Army jacket, his mom told Fox 29. Scroll down for video Beaten: Austin Freni (left) was savagely beaten by 10-15 men on Sunday according to his mom Lori (right). She said they commented on his Army jacket before the attack Hospitalized: Freni will need to have his jaw wired shut and plates put in his face, she said. He had flown over for Christmas, as Lori was left widowed two years before Freni, his mom and girlfriend were strolling through Philadelphia after the parade when they the large group of young men walked by them and made 'derogatory' comments about Freni's jacket, she said. She says that one of those men then hit Freni, and the others leaped in to attack him as well. 'Me and his girlfriend tried pulling them off and they hit us,' she added. 'We got hit in the face. She got thrown in the street.' Now Freni is in Jefferson University Hospital, facing a long road to recovery. 'He's got to get plates put in his jaw and his mouth will be wired shut for the next eight weeks. The 'He's such a good kid, he did not deserve this.' Kindness: Freni was flown back for Xmas by a stranger who saw his GoFundMe page and paid for his ticket The shocking attack is made even more upsetting by the circumstances of Freni's visit. The soldier had been stationed in Fort Benning, Georgia, and was to head out to the Middle East next year. He hadn't been able to make it home for Thanksgiving, much to the disappointment of his mom, who lost her husband to brain cancer two years ago, and later had to leave her job. Lori was prepared to sell her things to bring her some home for Christmas, she told Fox 29 last month, but set up a GoFundMe page as a last resort. That page was then stumbled upon by Jennifer Richardson, who then bought them the ticket outright - inspired by her own experiences with her brother, who is in the Marines. Lori Freni said at the time she was delighted to expect her son back for the holiday. 'I'm really really excited! I'm never speechless!' she enthused. Serving caviar at up to 200, Harrods' array of restaurants are among of London's most expensive department store eateries. So when it comes to handing out the tips to staff, you would be forgiven for thinking that the famous Knightsbridge store would be among the most generous companies to work for. But workers at its 16 restaurants and cafes have launched an attack on their bosses, claiming that the company keeps up to 75 per cent of the service charge on each bill. Serving caviar at up to 200, Harrods' array of restaurants are among of London's most expensive department store eateries United Voices of the World, the union which represents waiters and kitchen staff at Harrods, has called on workers to protest outside the store on Saturday over the situation. It says the current system means staff are missing out on up to 5,000 a year. A social media posting promoting the demonstration said: 'One of the wealthiest stores in the world is withholding tips from the low-paid staff in its restaurants. 'Harrods keep up to 75 per cent that's around 5,000 from each member of staff. NO MORE! '100 per cent of the service charge must go to the workers.' It is thought that there are 483 members of kitchen and waiting staff working in the store's restaurants and cafes. Petros Elia, the UVW general secretary, said: 'Customers expect the service charge to go to staff and that's where it should go. If Harrods feels the need to retain a percentage they should explain why.' Workers at its 16 restaurants and cafes have launched an attack on their bosses, claiming that the company keeps up to 75 per cent of the service charge on each bill A spokesperson for Harrods told the Guardian that the company operated a 'tronc' system in which the service charge is shared out among the staff. 'Harrods is taking steps to improve the current system through which it distributes its service charge, to ensure it best serves our employees and is completing a detailed review into the existing scheme,' she said. 'As this is an ongoing review, we are unable to provide further details on the distribution. However, employees will be informed of the details of the new system as soon as the review is complete.' Nigel Farage has distanced himself from a former aide who is facing 20 years in jail after admitting posing as a money launderer to rip off drug dealers. George Cottrell told a gang of drug traffickers that he could launder up to 122,000 a month for them through the Internet with complete anonymity. The dealers were actually undercover FBI agents and Cottrell was arrested last July in Chicago as he travelled back to London with Mr Farage following the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. Today the former Ukip leader declared: 'I can't be responsible for what everyone around me does.' He said Cottrell, who ran Mr Farage's private office, was not an employee and worked for Ukip as an unpaid volunteer. But he admitted he was 'surprised' to hear of the allegations against Cottrell. Aide: George Cottrell with Nigel Farage in August last year. Cottrell is facing 20 years in jail after admitting posing as a money launderer to rip off drug dealers The 22-year-old is now facing a 200,000 fine and deportation back to Britain in addition to the jail term. The 22-year-old, who is worth an estimated 250m through a family trust fund, is the nephew of former Tory treasurer Lord Hesketh who served as a Conservative minister under Margaret Thatcher and defected to Ukip in 2011. Documents filed in federal court in Arizona state that Cottrell had a 'serious, years-long gambling problem' which led to him taking 'irrational risks'. The case was prosecuted by the Internal Revenue Service criminal-investigation unit in Phoenix. Cottrell had denied 21 counts including attempting extortion, money laundering and fraud but admitted one count of wire fraud under the plea deal. Today the former Ukip leader Nigel Farage told Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan that he 'can't be responsible for what everyone around me does' In the plea agreement he wrote: 'I falsely claimed that I would launder the criminal proceeds through my bank accounts for a fee. 'Rather than launder any of the money, though...I intended to retain the money'. It is unclear if Cottrell will have to serve his entire sentence in the US or if he will be allowed to serve it in Britain. Mr Farage told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'He's not an employee, he was a volunteer. He was unpaid. He was helping me do stuff. He'd been part of our party for a couple of years. Cottrell, pictured, had denied 21 counts including attempting extortion, money laundering and fraud but admitted one count of wire fraud under the plea deal 'We never had any suspicions about him at all. He faced 21 charges in America, 20 have been dropped. He's pleaded guilty to a C grade felony. 'Listen, I can't be responsible for what everyone around me does.' Asked if he was disappointed in the former aide, Mr Farage said: 'Surprised ... he was 20 years old at the time this happened. Guilt, no guilt, fallen into bad company - I'm not sure.' Cottrell admitted posing as a money launderer called 'Bill' on the 'dark web', an unregulated part of the Internet frequently used by drug dealers and arms smugglers. He told the undercover FBI agents to meet him in Las Vegas and told them to send 15,000 to one of his associates who would launder it through Cottrell's bank accounts. Cottrell is alleged to have then attempted to blackmail the 'drug traffickers' by demanding 62,000 in the form of bitcoin - a virtual online payment system - saying he would alert the authorities if they refused. Cottrell was arrested as he and Mr Farage disembarked from an aircraft at Chicago's O'Hare airport on July 22 en route to London after the RNC. Cottrell's mother is Fiona Cottrell who is a former glamour model who once dated Prince Charles. She was awarded the title 'Pet of the Month' when she posed naked in Penthouse magazine in October 1973, under the pseudonym Frances Cannon. Britain will create almost 400,000 jobs if it leaves the EU's customs union, pro-Brexit campaigners claimed last night. The intervention by Michael Gove and other Leave figures heaps more pressure on the Prime Minister to make a clean break with the EU. Theresa May and senior ministers have hinted that some sectors of the British economy could look to stay in the customs union once the UK leaves. But the pro-Brexit Change Britain group said this would prevent the country from making its own free trade agreements with non-EU nations. Britain will create almost 400,000 jobs if it leaves the EU's customs union, pro-Brexit campaigners claimed last night In a report published today, based on EU figures, it claimed leaving the customs union would allow the creation of around 390,000 jobs across the country. Mr Gove, an ex-Cabinet minister and founding member of Change Britain, said: 'The UK has a prosperous future ahead of us if we leave the EU's customs union and become a beacon of global free trade. 'As we strike new trade deals with the growing economies of the 21st century, it will create hundreds of thousands of jobs right across the country. 'But in order to achieve this we must take back control of our trade policy. Only then can we realise the full potential of this great trading nation.' Brexit campaigners believe they have won the argument for Britain to quit the single market, in which mostly EU countries trade with each other tariff-free. While Mrs May has stated that regaining control of the UK's borders is a red line in negotiations, nations are not allowed to be in the single market if they do not also accept free movement of workers. But the question of whether Britain will quit the separate customs union is yet to be settled. Last month, international trade minister Greg Hands said the UK could seek a deal that would allow individual sectors to trade in the customs union, which covers the 28 EU states, as well as Turkey, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra and non-EU British territories such as the Channel Islands. Mrs May (pictured) has stated that regaining control of the UK's borders is a red line in negotiations Each nation enjoys free trade but must impose common external tariffs on goods arriving from outside the union. Members are also barred from doing bilateral trade deals with other countries. In a recent study, the European Commission estimated how much exports would rise if eight trade deals were struck. It said 16,700 jobs would be created for each one billion euros of exports to these eight countries or economic blocs. Change Britain said the number of UK jobs created from trade deals with these economies can therefore be calculated by dividing 16,700 by the UK's proportion of the exports 14.99 per cent in 2015. Based on the commission's figures, striking deals with the eight would create 387,580 UK jobs. More than 100,000 of these would be in manufacturing and more than 170,000 in services. LET WORKERS WHO ARRIVED AFTER REFERENDUM STAY, MAY URGED EU workers who have moved to Britain since the referendum should be allowed to stay, according to business leaders. The Prime Minister has suggested that EU nationals who have been long-term residents in the UK will be allowed to stay on, provided there is a reciprocal deal for Britons abroad. But the fate of the tens of thousands more workers who have poured in since June 23 last year remains unclear. Whitehall officials have suggested the cut-off date could be referendum day or the day the Article 50 exit process is triggered, likely to be at the end of March. The question of recent EU arrivals is said to have been raised by business groups at a recent private meeting with Theresa May in Downing Street. Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, urged ministers to give 'long-term certainty' to all EU workers who arrive until Article 50 is triggered. He told the Financial Times: 'Businesses are hiring now in the hope that new employees from the EU will be able to continue contributing to the success of their firms long after Article 50 is triggered and the Brexit process begins.' The Federation of Small Businesses warned that if the Government makes the wrong decision it could harm the economy at a sensitive time. It said 'a hard cut-off date' could leave smaller firms struggling 'to manage the disruption of lost staff'. Advertisement Six of the eight countries or economic blocs the US, India, Mercosur (which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay), China, Canada and South Korea have already expressed interest in doing a deal with post-Brexit Britain. Change Britain said striking trade deals with these six alone would create 240,108 new jobs. Ex-trade minister and CBI boss Lord Digby Jones, another founding member of the group, said: 'The only way we can make the most of these huge opportunities is to leave the EU's customs union and take back control of our trade policy.' The intervention will be seen as an attempt to increase pressure on the Government before the triggering in March of Article 50, starting the two-year process for leaving the EU. Travers Beynon aka 'The Candyman' is planning to build a three-level house complete with a ballroom next to his Helensvale mansion on the Gold Coast in Queensland. If all goes to plan the 400sqm waterfront home will be on the southern side of the FreeChoice tobacco entrepreneur's luxurious mansion, the Gold Coast Bulletin reports. With his current palatial abode called the 'Candyshop Mansion' rumours are flying that the new three-level home will be called the 'Candy Shack'. Travers Beynon aka 'The Candyman' is planning to build a three-level house next to his Helensvale mansion (pictured) Initial plans for the new mansion state it will have five bedrooms, ballroom, carer room, and boathouse (pictured) The River Cove gated community, where Mr Beynon lives, have given the green light for the new development, but reportedly only with the proviso that there's no loud music on site during its construction. However city council development approval has still to be given for the new house that is set to be built on a 1313sqm site at 37 River Cove Place, Saltwater Creek. The application plans state that the new development will have five bedrooms, ballroom, carer room, and boathouse. This will also include a basement sitting partially above ground, which will also provide a boathouse with access to Saltwater Creek, and two living levels. Mr Beynon plans to build the 400sqm waterfront home on the southern side of his luxurious mansion (pictured) Plans show it will also include a basement sitting partially above ground, which will also provide a boathouse with access to Saltwater Creek, and two living levels (pictured) The man known as the Candyman current 960sqm palatial mansion, nicknamed 'The Candyshop Mansion', was built 15 years ago He has had a number of raunchy parties at his Gold Coast home in recent years Mr Beynon initially bought the land for $550,000 in 2013 and it was later moved under the Travers Developments umbrella in 2015 for the same figure. The Candyman's current 960sqm palatial mansion, nicknamed 'The Candyshop Mansion', was built 15 years ago, and cost $3.75 million that includes seven bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, and a lift. Last month the multimillionaire tobacco tycoon threw one of his lavish parties filled with scantily-clad women there. With the theme of the Seven Deadly Sins, no doubt lust was on Candyman's mind as bikini-clad women flocked to his side at the soiree held at his Gold Coast home. Only patients suffering life-threatening emergencies should be treated in A&E, official NHS guidance now states. Hospitals are on black alert as the health service faces its worst winter crisis in 15 years. With some people waiting up to 19 hours for a bed, and a patient arriving every 90 seconds at one A&E yesterday, the advice is for all but those with genuine life-threatening cases to stay away. Hospitals are on black alert as the health service faces its worst winter crisis in 15 years This contrasts with a 2013 report by NHS England medical director Sir Bruce Keogh which said the work of an emergency department was unbounded, caring for problems of all severities. The latest guidance, on the official NHS Choices website, was attacked by Britains top A&E consultant yesterday. Dr Tajek Hassan, head of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: It seems NHS England have changed their advice, as I have never heard before that people should only come into A&E if they have life-threatening illness or injury. In my opinion, that is a poorly thought through piece of advice. Dr Tajek Hassan, head of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said the advice was 'poorly thought through' A patient does not know if their condition is life-threatening. If you hand back the judgment for them to decide, and something goes wrong, that is a terrible state of affairs. It is not the way to run an emergency care system. Dr Hassan said Britain is facing the worst A&E crisis in 15 years. Dr Mark Holland, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, warned this could be the NHSs worst January on record as it struggles with a backlog of elderly patients occupying beds over Christmas. Once routine operations start again, the beds will be needed and a bout of flu or norovirus could be a tipping point. Between Christmas and New Year, every hospital in Essex was put on black alert, where ambulances have to be diverted to other hospitals, or the highest escalation level. Rotherham Hospital in Yorkshire, and Leighton Hospital in Crewe, have been on the cusp of a black alert. A woman at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport was in A&E for 19 hours over the New Year before being found a bed. The trust was at 100 per cent capacity and asking only those with life-threatening cases to come in. A woman at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport was in A&E for 19 hours over the New Year before being found a bed (stock image) Nottinghams Queens Medical Centre reported a patient arriving in A&E every 90 seconds yesterday afternoon, while Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust closed four minor injuries units so staff could cover A&E. A spokesman said the trust was deploying staff where they can help provide the best care. East Midlands Ambulance Service, which covers six counties, declared a critical incident on New Years Day after its busiest ever 48 hours. Other services had to help after it received about 1,000 calls more than usual. Saffron Cordery of trade association NHS Providers said demand was at unprecedented levels. East Midlands Ambulance Service, which covers six counties, declared a critical incident on New Years Day after its busiest ever 48 hours (stock image) The British Medical Associations Dr Mark Porter said: This is yet another example of how an overstretched NHS is failing to keep up with rising demand. A spokesman for the Stockport trust said the patient waiting 19 hours was cared for by medics. An NHS England spokesman said: Accident and emergency departments have always primarily been intended for accidents and emergencies its a statement of the obvious that A&Es cannot and should not replace mainstream GP services. A Department of Health spokesman said the NHS was better prepared for winter than ever before. Islanders on Orkney are considering their options after the Brexit vote - including breaking free from Scotland and the UK to become independent. Many residents have hoped for greater autonomy from the Scottish Government in the past, and were promised more powers in the event of Scottish independence. And now more than half of Orkney's councillors have forced a motion demanding an investigation into possible self-determination for the islands after Brexit. Orkney islanders are considering breaking away from Scotland after councillors forced a motion demanding an investigation into possible self-determination. Pictured is Kirkwall, Orkney's largest town and capital The islanders overwhelmingly backed remaining in the UK and the European Union at both referendums in 2014 and 2016. A motion passed by 13 of Orkney Islands Council's 21 members has demanded the chief executive compile a report considering 'whether the people of Orkney could exercise self-determination if faced with further national or international constitutional changes, or indeed to decide if more autonomy might be beneficial for the wellbeing of Orkney.' The motion also says the report should look at what would be needed to 'consider such opportunities for greater autonomy or self-determination' with both the UK and Scottish Governments. Graham Sinclair, an independent councillor who drafted the motion, said: 'I think the islands are more significantly different - both historically and culturally - from the rest of the country. 'It is a very preliminary shot. It is to consider whether there is the possibility of constitutional changes.' Mr Sinclair said that an opinion poll might be carried out to determine how people living on the islands feel about the issue. People marching with EU flags and pro-Europe slogans on placards during a March for Europe protest against the Brexit vote in London in September last year He added: 'I don't have any preconceptions about where it might lead. 'My motion was accepted without anyone speaking against it and we are a council of independent councillors.' Steven Heddle, leader of Orkney Islands Council, which is run by an independent group of councillors, previously supported Scottish independence. He was one of three island leaders to sign the Lerwick Declaration with then First Minister Alex Salmond. The declaration set out greater powers for the islands in the event of Scottish independence. A terror suspect, who cannot be named and who is alleged to have been a member of a group with links to Osama Bin Laden, has been allowed to stay in the UK after a judge agreed the threat of deportation damaged his mental health An Algerian terror suspect who allegedly had links to Osama Bin Laden has won the right to stay in the UK after a judge agreed the threat of deportation has damaged his mental health. The man, who cannot be named, has been accused of helping young British Muslims travel to terrorist training camps. The wheelchair bound suspect has been fighting to stay in the UK for 21 years, the Telegraph reported. But in the latest blow to the government's efforts to deport foreign terror suspects, a judge ruled the man can be allowed to stay in the country because he is not a threat to national security. He is even allowed to study for a degree in Algebraic Thinking at the Open University. The Home Office has previously refused to grant him the right to remain in the UK, and had imposed restrictions saying he must stay at his home address and report to a police station every month. It claimed he was a supporter of Algerian terror organisation Salafist Group for Call and Combat. The group has links to Al Qaeda's former chief Osama Bin Laden and calls for an Algerian Islamic State. The man, referred to as 'G', came to the UK with a fake French passport in 1995. In 2001, the government first tried to deport him after claiming he was a national security risk. The decision is the latest blow to the government's efforts to deport foreign terror suspects. Amber Rudd, pictured, has pledged to change the law The Government alleged: 'Your activities on behalf of the group and of extremist fighters in Chechnya include sponsoring young Muslims in the UK to go to Afghanistan to train for Jihad.' In the ruling by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, made on December 16, Mr Justice Collins said: 'While I am not persuaded that the effect of maintaining short leave and conditions is to breach Article 3 of the ECHR, there can be no question that that is having an adverse effect on his mental health.' Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights is the right not to suffer torture, inhumane or degrading treatment. Lawyers for the suspect argued that the uncertainty about his residency amounted to a breach of the convention. Home Secretary Amber Rudd has vowed to change the law to make it easier to deport foreign criminals or those thought to be a security risk. The government spent more than 10 years trying to kick hate cleric Abu Hamza out of the country in a legal case that cost the taxpayer 25 million. He was arrested on a US extradition warrant in 2004 but was not taken before a US court until 2014. He used a string of human rights appeals to try and remain in the country. Miss Huskins reveals still gets cruel messages from strangers accusing her of making up the whole incident However Matthew Muller later pleaded guilty to the March 2015 kidnapping - he will be sentenced on January 19 and could face life in prison The Vallejo, California police department said it was an 'orchestrated event' Denise Huskins was wrongly accused of making up her own kidnapping The woman who the Vallejo, California police department wrongly accused of faking her own kidnapping has revealed she still receives cruel messages online almost two years after the traumatic incident. Denise Huskins was dubbed a 'Gone Girl' copycat. But, she was forcibly taken from her home March 23, 2015, by kidnapper Matthew Muller. Her boyfriend Aaron Quinn, was also at their home, said he was drugged and his eyes were covered by her kidnapper. Quinn was told that if he went to the police, Huskins would be harmed and Muller set a ransom at $17,000. On Sunday she posted on Facebook a screenshot of a stranger who messaged her asking: 'Are you that horrible, lying woman who faked her own kidnapping?' Scroll down for video Denise Huskins revealed she is still close to Aaron Quinn who was also wrongly accused of faking her kidnapping. the pair are pictured together left. Seen right is one of the cruel messages she was sent Denise Huskins wrote about the online hate she has received in a public Facebook post She wrote in the post: 'Congratulations, person I have never met, never heard of who hates me so much that he went out of his way to message me this disgusting, demeaning, dehumanizing outrage.' She continued: 'All I did was survive, and I was criminalized for it. We are trying to do the right thing and let the system do its job.' Miss Huskins went on to talk about how hurtful messages are and how this reopens old wounds and causes her to relive the horrific two days. Mr Quinn is also hurt by the cyber abuse. In an emotional post he wrote: 'Denise endured unimaginable horrors and should have been treated like a hero when she got home but instead she continues to endure vile messages such as this one.' 'Nevertheless she conducts herself with love and grace. She's my favorite person and unquestionably my hero.' Miss Huskins (pictured second from right with her mother and two brothers) was taken from her home in Vallejo on March 23, 2015 Denise Huskins (seen above with her mother) posted a heartfelt message on Facebook, tagging Aaron Quinn who called her his 'favorite person' and his hero She also used the social media platform to thank those who have supporter her. Miss Huskins wrote: 'There have been many unbelievable and awful things about this experience, but what I do know and am so grateful for is that Aaron and I have such an amazing support system. 'We are surrounded by so many wonderful people, and that is the biggest reason why we are able to get out of bed every morning and continue to move forward rebuilding our lives.' Matthew Muller (left) pleaded guilty to kidnapping Denise Huskins on March 23, 2015. He will be sentenced on January 19 and could face life in prison According to the Los Angeles Times, police struggled to believe her story because she 'did not act like a kidnapping victim'. The Vallejo Police Department released a statement that evening claiming the case 'appears to be an orchestrated event and not a kidnapping'. In September, Muller admitted in federal court that he snatched Miss Huskins and held her for ransom. Muller is a disbarred Harvard-trained attorney and a former Marine. He is set to be sentenced January 19 and could face life in prison. A Western Australia man is suing the state government after being administered a whooping cough vaccination that he says left him permanently disabled. Ben Hammond's life was turned upside-down in 2012 after he was administered the vaccination shot, his family said. 'The man I married was taken away from me,' his wife Tanya Hammond told Daily Mail Australia. 'I don't know how you mourn somebody when you wake up to their face every morning,' she said of her husband, who is paralysed from the waist down. Ben Hammond is pictured with his wife Tanya and newborn son James, shortly after he contracted an autoimmune disease causing inflammation of the brain and spinal cord Mr Hammond says he contracted the disease after experiencing an extremely rare bad reaction to whooping cough vaccine. He is suing the WA government The family said staff at a WA hospital insisted Mr Hammond, 38, get vaccinated as a precaution before visiting his newborn son. 'Unfortunately, it was this shot which landed Ben in the same hospital as his son, fighting for his life as a wave of paralysis crept up his spine, stopping his heart two separate times,' the family wrote on an online fundraising page. 'What was supposed to protect his son almost separated son and father forever.' Experts told the West Australian newspaper that Mr Hammond contracted acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, an autoimmune disease causing inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, after experiencing a 'one-in-a-million' bad reaction to the vaccine. On its website, the Western Australia Health Department writes: 'Side effects after vaccination are usually mild and short-lasting and do not need special treatment... The risk of developing severe reactions after receiving a vaccine is extremely rare.' Medical experts at the Australian National University did not respond to a request for comment by Daily Mail Australia. Mr and Mrs Hammond are pictured before Mr Hammond fell ill. 'Every element of my life now is a fight,' his wife said on Tuesday 'I don't want to fight anymore. Ben didn't do this to himself,' said Tanya Hammond, right After years of recovery Mr Hammond, a father of five and a former drill rig supervisor, has learned to walk again, albeit 'very rigidly,' his wife said. 'From his chest down, nothing works, there is no sensation,' Mrs Hammond, 34, said. 'He can't feel anything from his chest down - he doesn't know when he's full, or hurting,' she said. Mr Hammond, who worked in the mining industry for 15 years, has been unable to work for four years. His wife, who used to manage a bar before giving birth to the couple's youngest son, had to quit her job to take care of her husband. 'I'm tired. Every element of my life now is a fight. And I don't want to fight anymore. Ben didn't do this to himself,' she said. The family is in litigation against the WA government, and is hoping a successful suit will be 'a watershed for vaccine injury law in Australia.' A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for 24 July 2017, according to the Hammond family. Mr Hammond is pictured with his four-year-old son James in a recent photograph. He is suing the WA government for damages after he suffered an autoimmune disease The Hammond family, pictured in a recent photograph, are alleging that Mr Hammond's disease was caused by an adverse reaction to whooping cough vaccine 'If the State is liable for Mr Hammond's injury, he will be awarded appropriate damages,' a spokesperson for Western Australia Attorney General Michael Mischin wrote in a statement to Daily Mail Australia. 'While the issue of liability and appropriate damages is yet to be determined in the usual course of litigation, it is not appropriate to make an ex gratia payment,' the spokesperson added. The Hammond family is currently raising money through GoFundMe to pay for expert reports to be used in court. The family has collected over $10,000 in less than a month. In January, the Hammond family home in Kalgoorlie was raided by police after suspicions were raised that the property was being used to manufacture methamphetamine, the West Australian reported. Police allege cannabis material and a smoking implement were found. The family says it was being used by Mr Hammond for self-treatment, the West Australian reported. Political pundit Joe Scarborough lashed out at journalists covering President-Elect Donald Trump for how they characterized his attendance at Trump's New Year's Eve party on his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. After engaging in a public argument with journalists on Twitter, Scarborough told CNN's Dylan Byers that he's being picked on by the media only because it was Trump with whom he had a meeting. On Sunday and Monday, Scarborough sent a flurry of tweets criticizing several journalists who claimed he and his MSNBC co-host, Mika Brzezinski had 'partied' with Trump. Journalists have criticized Joe Scarborough and his MSNBC co-host, Mika Brzezinski, for attending President-Elect Donald Trump's New Year's Eve party on his Mar-a-Lago estate Scarborough has been critical of Trump on his show and said he didn't vote for the president-elect in the primary or general election New York Times reported Maggie Haberman noted in an article that Scarborough and Brzesinski were among the high-profile guests at Trump's party Scarborough insisted they were at the party to land an inauguration interview. 'I am sick and tired of people misrepresenting me and making snide assumptions and giving readers false conclusions', he told Byers. The controversy began after New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman noted that Scarborough and Brzesinski were among the high-profile guests at Trump's soiree. Though Scarborough disputed the accuracy of the article, Haberman tweeted a photo of him talking to Trump at the party that an attendee sent her. Scarborough was spotted on the red carpet at Trump's New Year's Eve party on his Mar-a-Lago estate (pictured). The Morning Joe host insisted he was only there to secure an inauguration interview with Trump Scarborough immediately fired off a series of tweets accusing the Times of lying. His proof that he and Brzezinski didn't attend the black-tie party was that they were in casual clothes and left before it started. He said they were not even invited to the party. 'Nothing that Mika and I did in setting up this meeting was any different than what all good reporters and news hosts try to do daily', Scarborough wrote in a tweet. He sparred with Haberman on Twitter, writing that she should have called him to confirm his attendance before publication. Haberman tweeted this photo of Scarborough talking to Trump at the party Scarborough sparred with Haberman on Twitter. The debate angered him so much he even brought it up on Morning Joe on Monday CBS News staffer Sopan Deb responded by needling Scarborough Scarborough accused Deb of creating 'fake news' As their Twitter feud escalated, Scarborough wrote: 'Im just not spending another year being lied about over objectively verifiable facts' But Scarborough's biggest beef was with CBS News staffer Sopan Deb, who will soon be joining Haberman at the Times. 'Morning Joe's hosts partied with Trump last night at Mar-A-Lago. Last year, Trump publicly thanked them for support' Deb wrote in a tweet. Scarborough's rebuttal: 'Last year I said Trump's campaign was racist, xenophobic and disqualifying. But be snide while making facts up. Partied? Not even close'. During the presidential campaign, Scarborough was initially critical of Trump on his show and said he didn't vote for the president-elect in the primary or general election. Two controversial senators, Cory Bernardi and George Christensen, will attend a $150-a-head dinner to help an anti-Islam organisation fund a defamation case. The two Liberal Party politicians will attend the Q Society's function in Melbourne next month, with Senator Bernardi listed to give a speech. There will be a separate event in Sydney one day earlier. The organisation's website says all proceeds of the dinner will go towards the legal expenses of the Q Society and two individuals in a Supreme Court defamation action initiated by Mohamed El-Mouehly of the Halal Certification Authority. Cory Bernardi (left) and George Christensen, will attend a dinner to help an anti-Islam organisation fund a defamation case The Melbourne event, billed for February 10, will be held in a secretive location in the 'inner eastern suburbs', while the Sydney dinner will be held in a North Ryde location on February 9. The Sydney party will be attended by the likes of Australian rock personality 'Angry' Anderson, Ross Cameron and political cartoonist Larry Pickering. The $150 ticket price will include 'a sparkling welcome, a variety of fine finger food and a generous serve of free speech', according to the online invitation. 'This is a landmark case with considerable ramifications for freedom of expression in AustraliaThis is an excellent opportunity to mingle with outspoken advocates for Liberty and Western values.' The Liberal politician's will attend Q Society's function in Melbourne, with Senator Bernardi listed to give a speech Senator Cory Bernardi posted a photo of himself wearing a 'Make Australia Great Again' cap George Christensen has voiced his concerns in Parliament in September about the threat of terrorism in Australia The Q Society campaigned against the Bendigo mosque, holding a 2014 meeting to encourage locals to fight the plan. Senator Cory Bernardi posted a photo of himself wearing a 'Make Australia Great Again' cap, an ode to Donald Trump's successful anti-immigration campaign slogan. Advertisement At least four people were killed following severe weather across the Southern United States last night. The storm system that moved from Texas across the South left a trail of damage reported in at least 28 Mississippi counties, 15 Louisiana parishes and 15 Texas counties. The four dead were in Rehobeth, Alabama near the Florida border. In a Marksville, Louisiana Walmart, the severe weather blew out skylights which sent water and glass cascading onto shoppers. It also knocked over 18-wheel truck trailers and punched holes in the store's roof. Scroll down for video Violent: A storm ripped across the South today and left a trail of damage in at least 28 Mississippi counties, 15 Louisiana parishes and 15 Texas counties Crewmen work to remove downed trees and debris in Covington County, Mississippi A damaged home in Mount Olive, Mississippi following the violent storms today. State emergency officials reported no injuries or deaths in Louisiana and Mississippi The storm also knocked over 18-wheel truck trailers and punched holes in the Walmart's roof in Marksville, Louisiana State emergency officials reported no injuries or deaths in Louisiana and Mississippi. And tornadoes continued to threaten southern Alabama, southwest Georgia and the Florida Panhandle after sundown. Officials in Houston County, Alabama said there was 'major flooding,' ABC reported. More than 50,000 customers in Louisiana and more than 30,000 in Mississippi lost power at the height of the storm. The squall line hit Louisiana's Avoyelles Parish just before noon. Bunkie Fire Chief Joey Frank says trees fell on three houses in his town, while Marksville Fire Chief Jerry Bordelon said a fireworks stand in the Walmart parking lot was tossed 30 or 40 yards. Walmart spokeswoman Erica Jones said the Arkansas-based company hopes to reopen the store Tuesday. The destruction at the Marksville store is seen above In Louisiana, there was also relatively serious damage in the southwestern parishes of Beauregard and Allen, including the town of Reeves. Pictured: Damage in Mount Olive, Mississippi The storms damages farm buildings and homes across Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana. Debris in Mississippi is seen above The fire department ordered shoppers to leave the store, but some didn't want to leave even as managers closed it. Bordelon said: 'Believe it or not, we had some people in there who were still trying to shop.' Walmart spokeswoman Erica Jones said the Arkansas-based company hopes to reopen the store Tuesday. But needed repairs to a natural gas line may cause a delay. Storms in central Mississippi near Mendenhall and Mount Olive were identified as tornadoes by the National Weather Service, based in part on radar signatures. Both storms damaged farm buildings and homes. Emergency crews gather at the scene after a storm ripped through a mobile home killing at least four people in Rehoboth, Alabama While Mississippi saw great damage, there was only a stray report of hail in one county in Arkansas Freddie Zeigler, a meteorologist in the Weather Service's New Orleans office, said heavy winds were preceding the squall line, possibly contributing to power outages. Pictured: Crews removing debris in Covington County, Mississippi In Louisiana, there was also relatively serious damage in the southwestern parishes of Beauregard and Allen, including the town of Reeves. Some wind damage was also reported in Houston and throughout East Texas. Though Arkansas had also been included in warnings, there was only a stray report of hail in Jackson County in the northeast part of the state. Freddie Zeigler, a meteorologist in the Weather Service's New Orleans office, said heavy winds were preceding the squall line, possibly contributing to power outages. A gust of 52 mph was reported at McComb, Mississippi, about 1pm Monday. It was the second episode of heavy rain within days for some areas. Rain dance: University of Oklahoma cheerleaders splash in puddles en route to the Sugar Bowl at the Superdome in New Orleans Waterworld: Attendees at the Sugar Bowl trudged through water to cheer on their teams An area stretching from Biloxi, Mississippi, through Alabama and across Macon and Augusta, Georgia received more than four inches of rain Monday, according to radar estimates. Parts of southern Mississippi and southwest Alabama have received more than 8 inches of rain since Saturday. Though rivers along the Gulf Coast were rising rapidly Monday, only minor flooding was predicted. And severe weather exited Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi which allowed Auburn University and the University of Oklahoma fans to reach Monday night's Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Authorities did not believe a dingo stole Lindy Chamberlain's baby daughter Azaria, but neither did they believe the mother should have gone to prison for murder, it has been revealed. Mrs Chamberlain was initially jailed for life for the murder of baby Azaria, after shouting 'the dingo's got my baby' when she discovered her nine-week-old daughter missing during a family camping trip at Uluru in August, 1980. But the release of 1986 cabinet documents this week reveal authorities changed the law to allow a review of her case despite a jury finding her guilty, because officials did believe she murdered the child. Baby Azaria was taken by a dingo in August, 1980, during a family camping trip at Uluru (she is pictured at Uluru with mother Lindy Chamberlain) Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton speaks to journalists in 2012 after a coroner found Azaria was taken by a dingo At the time of Azaria's disappearance, her bloodied jumpsuit and nappy were found half buried near a dingo's den. A jury accepted prosecutors' claims Mrs Chamberlain killed her daughter with scissors in the family car, then staged the dingo attack. But the discovery of Azaria's matinee jacket six-years later changed Mrs Chamberlain's fate. By then, she had served three years of a life sentence. Her then-husband, Michael Chamberlain, who was found guilty of being an accessory, had been given an 18-month suspended sentence. '[The discovery of the jacket] opened up a whole can of worms ... we had to find some way to get the whole case reviewed,' former Northern Territory chief minister Stephen Hatton told the ABC. The Chamberlain tent at Uluru nine-week-old Azaria disappeared from in August 1980 Lindy Chamberlain and her then-husband Michael leave court at Alice Springs 'We didn't believe the dingo story, but we didn't believe Lindy should be in jail for murder, we thought it was a harsh outcome.' New legislation was introduced to allow for a review with a wide scope 'given other doubts and questions in the minds of some of the public', according to then NT attorney-general Marshall Perron in the cabinet documents released for the first time on January 1. Most of the evidence at trial related to Azaria's clothing, but after the jacket was found it was decided its condition might shed further light on the baby girl's disappearance. A review eventually led to both Lindy and Michael Chamberlain being pardoned in 1987. After a fourth inquest in 2012 the cause of death on Azaria's death certificate was changed to 'the result of being attacked and taken by a dingo'. Azaria's bloodied jumpsuit found half buried in a dingo's den. Prosecutors initially convinced a jury Mrs Chamberlain had buried it there THE LINDY CHAMBERLAIN CASE: OVER THE YEARS August 17, 1980 Lindy Chamberlain discovered her daughter Azaria missing from their family tent during a camping trip at Uluru in the Northern Territory. December 1980 An initial inquest supported Lindy and Michael Chamberlain's claims their daughter was taken by a dingo. December 1981 A second inquest was ordered after the Supreme Court quashed the initial inquest's findings. September 1982 Lindy was charged with Azaria's murder and Michael was charged with being an accessory after the fact. October 29, 1982 The couple was found guilty of their respective charges. Lindy was sentenced to life in prison and Michael received a suspended sentence. Early 1986 The jacket Azaria was wearing when she was killed was found by authorities in a dingo lair after a British tourist fell to his death in the same area. 1986 The Northern Territory government ordered Lindy to be released from prison. 1988 Lindy and Michael were acquitted of Azaria's death by the Supreme Court and their convictions were overturned. The couple received a $1.3 million pay-out for their wrongful imprisonment. 1991 Lindy and Michael divorced. 1995 A third inquest into the infant's death was held and returned an open verdict. 2012 A fourth inquest was held and the coroner ruled that a dingo did in fact take Azaria from the family's campsite. Michael said that he and his ex-wife had no contact. Advertisement Michael Chamberlain is pictured outside court in 2012 after the fourth inquest into Azaria's death Donald Trump has appointed Robert Lighthizer as his US Trade Representative - a law firm partner who served under Ronald Reagan four decades ago. Lighthizer was hired by Trump because of his seasoned trade negotiation skills which will help bolt down the President-elect's tough trade policy, including pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. 'He will do an amazing job helping turn around the failed trade policies which have robbed so many Americans of prosperity,' Trump said of Lighthizer. Robert Lighthizer, pictured here in 2007 filmed for a history of Bob Dole, is Donald Trump's US Trade Representative Lighthizer served as a deputy US trade representative with the rank of ambassador under Republican President Ronald Reagan (pictured) in the 1980s Robert Lighthizer will have to handle policy with nations abroad after Donald Trump's (pictured) recent Twitter outbursts attacking China and North Korea Lighthizer served as Deputy US Trade Representative under Republican President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, according to a biography posted on the web site of Skadden Arps, the law firm where he is currently a partner. In the decades since, he has represented US clients in anti-dumping cases and pushed to open access to foreign markets. The President-elect said: 'Ambassador Lighthizer is going to do an outstanding job representing the United States as we fight for good trades deals that put the American worker first. 'He has extensive experience striking agreements that protect some of the most important sectors of our economy, and has repeatedly fought in the private sector to prevent bad deals from hurting Americans.' Lighthizer will play a key role in Trump's trade agenda, but he will not serve as the main architect of Trump's trade policy. That role will go to billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, who Trump has picked to serve as Commerce Secretary. The new recruit will also work closely with Peter Navarro, who is head of the newly-formed White House National Trade Council, which aims to develop policies that shrink the trade deficit, expand economic growth, strengthen the US' manufacturing base and help stop what Trump describes as an 'exodus of jobs from our shores'. The president-elect has vigorously opposed the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership pact, but has said he would ink one-on-one trade deals with individual countries. Trump has also signaled a tough stance on trade with China, including levying a hefty tariff on Chinese imports. Trump returned to New York yesterday after spending the holidays at his private club in South Florida. With less than three weeks until his January 20 inauguration, Trump is expected to fill out a handful of remaining Cabinet-level posts in the coming days. President-elect Donald Trump and investor Wilbur Ross, who will serve as the main architect of Trump's trade policy On the campaign trail, Trump promised to renegotiate international trade deals like NAFTA and punish companies that ship work overseas. Trump has kept up the rhetoric since his surprise November election. He criticized China on Twitter on Monday for 'taking out massive amounts of money and wealth from the US in totally one-sided trade' while refusing to rein in nuclear-armed North Korea. If Hell really is other people, then one Washington, DC woman might have found an easy way to Heaven. Darla Bunting once had 4,500 followers on Twitter and Instagram, as well as hundreds of friends on Facebook and Snapchat. But on January 1 last year she announced that she would throw them all away - in a blog post, of course. The 31-year-old's decision to quit all social media in what she termed a 'digital detox' certainly seems to have worked. 'I had different epiphanies over the course of this year,' she told ABC News. 'I feel so at peace.' Digital detox: Darla Bunting (pictured) gave up social media on January 1 last year, quitting 4,500 Instagram and Twitter followers, and hundreds of Facebook and Snapchat friends Blogging off: She announced the decision in a blog. One year on, she says, it has left her a more grateful person and a better and more open listener Bunting was originally advised to quit social media for a month by her pastor, but decided to go the whole hog and drop it for an entire year. That had wonderful effects, she says, including feeling more connected to the world, because she's no longer 'curating' her life by snapping every event. 'When I began to cut out different things, I learned to have an attitude of gratitude,' she said. 'I became really grateful of every moment.' It wasn't easy, though, thanks to the pervasive nature of social media, and the constant urge to check out what's happening. Back in action: She said that anyone hoping to follow her lead should remember that 'social media isn't going anywhere' and it will be there whenever they choose to return So Bunting had to take her detox cold turkey. 'So I blocked the websites on my computer and deleted the apps off of my phone,' she said. 'So there was not a way for me to check. That made it incredibly easier for me.' She didn't lose any Facebook friends, she said - unlike many who were drawn to either side of last year's Presidential election. 'But what I did gain was learning how to quiet my own thoughts and my own opinions and listen to other people whose opinions are different than mine,' she added. And while it was a wrench missing out on a year of her goddaughter's life in photographs, Bunting - who plans to return to social media - says keeping everything in perspective makes it easier. Four people were killed on New Year's Eve after the plane they were flying in crashed - just minutes after one of them posted photos of the lightning they were flying through on Snaptchat. The dead were named on Monday as pilot Curt Terpstra, 34; Krista Green, 35; Jordan Linder, 35; and his sister Jasmine Linder, 26. All were from Iowa, and died when the plane landed in a field outside Vienna, Illinois at around 5:30pm Saturday. Amber Linder, sister-in-law of Jasmine and Jordan Linder, told KWWL: 'Jordan's Snapchat was probably like ten minutes before the accident and the caption was "Ran into bad weather" and it was black and all you could see was lightning strikes.' Scroll down for video Killed: Pilot Curt Terpstra (right, with pal Dustin Beiden) was one of three who died in a plane crash in Illinois on New Year's Eve. His father said he was an excellent pilot Slain: Siblings Jasmine and Jordan Linder also died. Jordan posted photos of lightning on Snapchat just ten minutes before the crash with the message 'Ran into bad weather' Curt's father, Michael, told Oskaloosa that he was 'in shock' over his son's death. He said his son was an 'excellent' pilot and that a sudden onset of bad weather may have caused the crash. He said another family member had received pictures on social media showing a sudden change in weather. 'They had taken some photos earlier [in the flight]; there were clouds and it was clear,' he said. 'All the sudden they were sending pictures of a storm they were in.' Photos show the plane's wreckage - little more than a crumpled ball of metal - being taken from the scene by authorities Saturday. Crumpled: The crumpled body of the plane was towed away by authorities. A fourth person, Krista Green, was also killed in the apparent accident. An investigation continues The National Transportation Safety Board and the Johnson County Sheriff's Office took the remains of the Piper PA28 aircraft to Nashville to be studied, according to WPSD Local 6. 'The three main things we will look at is the plane, which includes its weight-bearing capabilities; the pilot; and weather occurring at the time of the crash,' NTSB lead investigator Ed Malinowski told WPSD on Saturday. The plane is believed to have crashed at around 5:30pm, although authorities were not alerted until 5:45pm. A toxicology test is being performed, Johnson County Coroner David G Rockwell told Oskaloosa, but it will take six-to-eight weeks for the results to come back. Amber Linder said Jasmine and Jordan two would be sorely missed. Jasmine was a close friend, she said: 'We just became best friends and I mean she was just adventurous, and outgoing and giving and she was just beautiful inside and out.' And Jordan was a real character, she added. 'He was a salesman so any room he walked into you knew he was there,' she said. Terpstra, of Pella, Iowa, co-owned agricultural business Terpstra Masonry in Pella with his brother, Chip. His sister-in-law, Lauren Terpstra, told WPSD Local 6 that he would be missed. 'He was an amazing man who loved and lived life to the fullest,' she said. An airline worker is in critical condition in hospital after being hit by a fuel tanker at Perth Airport. The man, who works for Skippers Aviation, was struck at around 6am close to one of the smaller terminals used for charter aircraft, an airport spokesman said. He was transported to Perth Royal Hospital where he remains in a critical condition, a spokesman told Daily Mail Australia. A Skippers Aviation worker is in critical condition in hospital after being struck by a fuel tanker at around 6am at Perth Airport (file image) It is not known how the man ended up being hit by the vehicle. A spokesman for Skippers Aviation refused to comment when contacted. The company is a charter airline and the biggest operator of fly-in-fly-out services for mining companies in Western Australia. On their website, Skippers says it is 'committed to ensuring a safe working environment, free of all recognised hazards for its employees.' Some Skippers flights have been cancelled as a result of the accident, according to the ABC. The sight of a deadly brown snake eating a carpet python nearly its own size would be enough to give most people the creeps, but it was a rare and fascinating display for snake catchers Sally and Norman Hill. The pair, who run N&S Snakecatching, were called to a home in the Ipswich suburb of Goodna, west of Brisbane, on Monday afternoon to see the chilling sight. 'We've never seen something like this before, it's very rare any snake catcher gets an opportunity to witness something like this,' Ms Hill said. The sight of a deadly brown snake eating a carpet python nearly its own size would be enough to give most people the creeps 'We always heard the old saying, "if you've got a carpet python you won't have a brown" so obviously that's a myth.' Ms Hill said they stayed at the property for a few hours to allow the snake to finish its meal. 'We just put him into the bag, if you disturb them too much they'll regurgitate their meal and it's just a waste,' she said. Brown snakes usually eat mice, frogs and lizards, but have been known to eat other snakes, even other brown snakes. Snake catchers Sally and Norman Hill were called to a home in the Ipswich suburb of Goodna, west of Brisbane, on Monday afternoon to see the chilling sight Mrs Hill said they stayed at the property for a few hours to allow the snake to finish its meal Mrs Hill said the incident could have been caused by population pressure leading to competition for food, with the number of sightings of browns increasing in recent years. 'We started in 2015, so we have pretty much doubled what we were doing when we started,' she said. The incident follows pictures being widely shared online of a large python eating a fully grown wallaby near Cairns on Sunday afternoon. Mafia figure Antonio Vottari (pictured) met Joseph 'Pino' Acquaro in Melbourne A Calabrian mafia figure met Joseph 'Pino' Acquaro in Melbourne days before the gangland lawyer was executed. Drug trafficker Antonio Vottari had evaded Italian police for years by hiding in Australia, but he had looked up Acquaro to ask his advice if he should return to Italy and surrender to police, The Age reports. At that stage he had been five years on the run in Australia and was in two minds about returning to his native country. Vottari flew out of Australia the next day and was arrested by police in Rome on March 7, 2016. On March 15 Mr Acquaro was shot to death while closing his Lygon Street gelateria in Brunswick. There is no suggestion by police or any authorities that Vottari was involved in the death of Acquaro but it adds another twist to the currently unsolved murder. Gangland lawyer Joseph 'Pino' Acquaro (pictured) was executed in Melbourne in March 2016 Vottari travelled to Australia in 2011 during his involvement in a high-profile investigation, codenamed Imelda in Italy. It identified him as a key player in the Calabrian mafia, or 'Ndrangheta', and particularly their international cocaine trafficking cartel. Vottari was closely associated with mafia boss Bruno Pizzata who was under investigation and was eventually sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2011. Despite having escaped to Australia during the police investigation into the cartel in Italy Vottari was sentenced in absentia in September 2015 to a seven-and-a-half-year jail term. The Age reports that an unnamed relative said that Vottari met with Mr Acquaro in Melbourne to talk about a return to Italy. It was discussed if he would surrender to police, and serve his sentence. Police officers cordon off Lygon Street gelateria in Brunswick on March 15, 2016 (pictured), after Mr Acquaro's body was found there 'Pino told him that until you get told to go back you can stay,' the relative, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. 'Pino did not try and stop him from going back [and] he had decided that at least if you go back, you can have your life again, and get out without having to always look over your shoulder. Advertisement Heavy smog blanketing northern and central China could not deter the spirits of a number of locals who took to the streets to dance. Dozens of flights and highways were closed on Monday but people in Fuyang, in the Anhui province, braved the shocking pollution, donning masks to perform their best Viennese Waltz. The Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau extended an 'orange alert' for heavy air pollution for three more days. Beijing's smog had initially been forecast to lift by Monday. Despite heavy smog blanketing northern and central China on Monday people in Fuyang, in the Anhui province took to the streets, donning face masks to dance The 'orange alert' is the third level, preceding a 'red alert,' in China's four- tiered warning system. On Sunday, 25 cities in China issued 'red alerts' for smog, which triggers orders to close factories, schools and construction sites. Air pollution readings in northern Chinese cities were many times above the World Health Organization-designated safe level of 25 micrograms per cubic meter of PM 2.5, the tiny, toxic particles that damage lung tissue. The readings exceeded 400 by Monday afternoon in several cities in the northern province of Hebei. Expressways in Shijiazhuang, Hebei's capital, and more than a half-dozen other cities there were temporarily closed, according to notices posted on the official microblog of the province's traffic police. In the central city of Zhengzhou, authorities ordered students from kindergarten through high school to stay home on Tuesday because of the smog. Air pollution readings in northern Chinese cities were many times above the World Health Organization-designated safe level of 25 micrograms per cubic meter China has long faced some of the worst air pollution in the world, blamed on its reliance of coal for energy and factory production, as well as a surplus of older, less efficient cars on its roads (pictured smog in 2013) More than 300 flights out of the northern city of Tianjin were canceled Sunday due to poor visibility. Authorities have deployed teams of inspectors to check on polluting factories, reports said. China has long faced some of the worst air pollution in the world, blamed on its reliance of coal for energy and factory production, as well as a surplus of older, less efficient cars on its roads. Researchers at Germany's Max Planck institute have estimated that smog has led to 1.4 million premature deaths per year in China, while the nonprofit group Berkeley Earth in California has had a higher figure, 1.6 million. Researchers at Germany's Max Planck institute have estimated that smog has led to 1.4 million premature deaths per year in China (pictured Fuyang in 2013) The Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau extended an 'orange alert' for heavy air pollution for three more days (pictured smog in 2014) The 'orange alert' is the third level, preceding a 'red alert,' in China's four- tiered warning system. On Sunday, 25 cities in China issued 'red alerts' for smog, which triggers orders to close factories, schools and construction sites (pictured 2013) US government officials have been notified of new cases of attempted or potentially successful cyber intrusions amid claims that Russians hacked computers to influence the presidential election outcome. A top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump believes the Russians were involved in hacking into US computers in order to influence November's election -contradicting the view held by the incoming administration. And a report from CBS News suggests the hacks were more extensive than previously thought since the US released a report on Thursday on election-related cyber attacks. Former CIA director James Woolsey, an adviser to Trump on national security issues, told CNN that determining who was behind the hacks is difficult, but that he believes the Russians were involved. Russian President Vladimir Putin makes his New Year's address to the nation in Moscow's Kremlin Former CIA director James Woolsey, an adviser to Trump on national security issues, believes the Russians were involved in hacking into US computers in order to influence the outcome of the election 'I think the Russians were in there, but it doesn't mean other people weren't, too', said Woolsey. 'It's often not foolproof to say who it is because it is possible and sometimes easy to hide your tracks. There's lots of tricks'. Woolsey's comments come even as Trump and his administration cast doubts on the assessment by the intelligence community in October that Russia was behind the hacks. Trump expressed skepticism on New Year's Eve, saying, 'I know a lot about hacking. And hacking is a very hard thing to prove. So it could be somebody else. And also - I know things that other people don't know - and so they cannot be sure of the situation'. Trump's incoming press secretary, Sean Spicer, said the President-elect is privy to 'classified information, intelligence reports, he gets briefed by his national security team on a daily basis'. President-Elect Donald Trump and his administration disagree with Woolsey Sean Spicer, Trump's incoming press secretary, defended the president-elect's claim to 'know a lot about hacking' and Russia It's unclear where Trump and his administration get their intelligence reports because all US intelligence agencies are in agreement that the Russian government conducted cyberattacks prior to and during the presidential election. Spicer said Trump would await the results of the investigation ordered by President Barack Obama as he insisted that the assessments published so far did not constitute a final report. After US government officials recently connected with Vermont's electric grid, it was confirmed that newly identified 'digital fingerprints' indicate Russia was behind the hacks. The hacks have been traced to specific keyboards, which featured Cyrillic characters (Russia's alphabet), that were used to construct the malware code used in operation 'Grizzly Steppe', the name Homeland Security applied to a Russian campaign linked to the intrusions. This code was found on a Burlington Electric Department laptop. The Burlington, Vermont, utility company detected the malware in December in a laptop not connected to its grid systems. Department of Homeland Security analysts haven't been able to determine the intent behind the hack of the Burlington, Vermont, electric grid in December Department of Homeland Security analysts haven't been able to determine the intent behind the incident, but the power grid doesn't appear to have been compromised. Officials won't reveal the details or the number of hacks, but the new findings raises concerns that Russia's intrusions have been more extensive than originally thought. 'While our analysis continues, we currently have no information that indicates that the power grid was penetrated in this cyber incident,' said Todd Breasseale, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. Monday's revelation about new cases of attempted or potentially successful cyber intrusions came just days after the US expelled 35 Russian intelligence operatives. The 'spies' were stationed in the Russian embassy in Washington and the Russian consulate in San Francisco and belong to the intelligence agencies the FSB and the GRU. The White House claims Democratic National Committee and the emails of a key Hillary Clinton adviser were hacked the Kremlin. A woman has opened up on her horror after arriving home to find a half-naked intruder burst out of her bed and hold a large knife to her throat. The harrowing incident unfolded in Melbourne's Donvale last Thursday when Mel and Tony Christensen came home to discover the sleeping intruder about 11am. The shirtless man, who broke in, showered and dragged the bed into the living room, told the terror-stricken couple there were others in the house. As Mr Christensen went downstairs to investigate, the man sprung out of the bed and threaten Ms Christensen with a knife and held it against her neck. Mel and Tony Christensen came home to discover the sleeping intruder about 11am on December 29 The moment the intruder awoke when the Donvale, Melbourne couple came home 'He was wriggling around when he flipped up the doona wielding a large knife. He pulled it against my neck from behind and started threatening me,' Ms Christensen told Daily Mail Australia. In footage of the incident taken by her husband on his smartphone, Ms Christensen's blood-curdling screams can be heard as he is checking for accomplices downstairs. Realising the threat of accomplices was a decoy, her quick-thinking husband raced back upstairs and then pursued the man, who fled. 'My husband trailed him up the street, [after] he threw me away and took off barefoot,' Ms Christensen revealed. After waking up, the intruder threatened Mrs Christensen with a large knife Mr Christensen told Daily Mil Australia his instincts kicked in when he whipped out his phone and filmed the man before chasing him down the street Mr Christensen told Daily Mil Australia his instincts kicked in when he whipped out his phone and filmed the man. 'All I was thinking was what I have I got to do to help police find this person,' he said. Upon hearing her screams, Mr Christensen said he knew what he had to do. 'At that point I knew her safety was the only thing that mattered so I left the phone and chased him out,' he said. At that point I knew [my wife's] safety was the only thing that mattered so I left the phone and chased him out Tony Christensen The man beat a swift retreat from the home towards Aquarius Court on foot. No one was physically injured and nothing was stolen from the home. Investigators are looking for a man in his early 20s of Middle Eastern appearance, with dark eyebrows and a script tattoo on the left side of his chest. He was wearing a black New York Yankees cap and black shorts at the time. Anyone with information is urged to report it to Crime Stoppers online or by phoning 1800 333 000 The full list of questions (and the answers) for the practice test are as follows: 1. What do we remember on Anzac Day? a. The landing of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli, Turkey b. The arrival of the first free settlers from Great Britain c. The landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove 2. What are the colours of the Australian Aboriginal Flag? a. Black, red and yellow b. Green, white and black c. Blue, white and green 3. Which official symbol of Australia identifies Commonwealth property? a. The national anthem b.Australias national flower c. Commonwealth Coat of Arms 4. Which of these statements about Australias system of government is correct? a. The Queen of Australia chooses people to form the Australian Parliament b. The government is elected by the people c. The Prime Minister chooses our Members of Parliament 5. Which of these is an example of freedom of speech? a. People can peacefully protest against government decisions b. Men and women are treated equally in a court of law c. Australians are free to not follow a religion 6. Which of these statements about government in Australia is correct? a. The government does not allow some religions b. Government in Australia is secular c. Religious laws are passed by parliament 7. Which of these is an example of equality in Australia? a. Everyone follows the same religion b. Men and women have the same rights c. Everyone belongs to the same political party 8. Which of these is a responsibility of Australian citizens aged 18 years or over? a. To attend local council meetings b. To vote in elections c. To have a current Australian passport 9. Which of these is a responsibility of Australian citizens aged 18 years or over? a. To do local community service b. To carry a passport at all times c. To serve on a jury if called to do so Practice test questions 10. Which of these statements about passports is correct? a. Australian citizens can apply for an Australian passport b. Permanent residents can hold an Australian passport c. Australian citizens need a passport and visa to return to Australia 11. Which of these statements about voting in Australian elections is correct? a. People are free and safe to vote for any candidate b. Voting is by a show of hands c. People must write their name on their vote 12. What happened in Australia on 1 January 1901? a. The Australian Constitution was changed by a referendum b. The Australian Constitution came into effect c. The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was formed 13. What is the name of the legal document that sets out the rules for the government of Australia? a. The Australian Federation b. The Australian Commonwealth c. The Australian Constitution 14. What is a referendum? a. A vote to change the government b.A vote to change the Australian Constitution c. A vote to change the Prime Minister 15. Which arm of government has the power to interpret and apply laws? a. Legislative b. Executive c. Judicial 16. Which of these is a role of the Governor-General? a. The appointment of state premiers b. The signing of Bills passed by the Australian Parliament c. The appointment of the Head of State 17. Which of these statements about state governments is correct? a. All states have the same constitution b. Each state has its own constitution c. The states have no constitution 18. What is the name given to the party or coalition of parties with the second largest number of members in the House of Representatives? a. The Government b. The Opposition c. The Senate 19. What is the name of a proposal to make a law in parliament? a. Royal Assent b. Bill c. Debate 20. Who maintains peace and order in Australia? a. Public servants b. Police c. Lawyers Parts of the South are bracing for more rain Tuesday, a day after severe storms killed four people in Alabama. The line of severe thunderstorms spawned several possible tornadoes, and the threat continued into early Tuesday for southern Alabama, southwest Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. Four people - believed to be friends - were killed Monday evening when a tree fell on a mobile home in Rehobeth, Alabama, said Kris Ware, a spokeswoman for the Dothan Houston County Emergency Management Agency. William Patrick Corley, 70, was also found dead in flood waters near his Mossy Head, Florida travel trailer yesterday. Scroll down for video Five people have died so far in severe storms that ripped through the South on Monday. Above, emergency responders at the scene where four people died in Rehobeth, Alabama on Monday, after a tree fell on a mobile home Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said in a statement on social media that the Houston County sheriff had told him about the deaths and he offered 'prayers for those impacted.' In Georgia, some of the heaviest rains were hitting early Tuesday. 'There is a slight chance of damaging winds and tornadoes, however the highest probabilities are generally west of Interstate 75,' said Sid King, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service outside Atlanta. Parts of south Georgia could see as much as three inches of total rainfall from all the storms produced by the system now moving across southern states, King said. There were several reports of tornadoes in Mississippi in the storms, including in Mount Olive. Above, people gather at the scene of the former Miller home in Mount Olive on Monday Debris lies on the ground after a storm south of Mount Olive, Miss., moved through the area on Monday Damaging winds, hail and flash flooding swept through the South on Monday. Above, debris from a suspected tornado in Mount Olive, Mississippi on Monday Items lie scattered about after a storm south of Mount Olive, Mississippi, took of the roof on Monday State emergency officials reported no injuries or deaths in Louisiana and Mississippi, but a trip to Walmart was memorable for some shoppers in Marksville, Louisiana, as severe weather blew out skylights in the store, sending water and glass cascading onto shoppers. Marksville Fire Chief Jerry Bordelon said a fireworks stand in the Walmart parking lot was tossed 30 or 40 yards and mangled. The storm also knocked over 18-wheel truck trailers and punched holes in the store's roof. The fire department ordered shoppers to leave the store, but some didn't want to leave even as managers closed it. 'Believe it or not, we had some people in there who were still trying to shop,' Bordelon said. Walmart spokeswoman Erica Jones said the Arkansas-based company hopes to reopen the store Tuesday, but wasn't sure that will happen, citing needed repairs to a natural gas line. Storms in central Mississippi near Mendenhall and Mount Olive were preliminarily identified as tornadoes by the National Weather Service, based in part on radar signatures. Both storms damaged farm buildings and homes. Other possible tornadoes will be surveyed later. More rainfall is expected for Tuesday in southern Alabama, southwest Georgia and the Florida Panhandle Above, Tuesday morning's storm watches for parts of the Southeast United States In Louisiana, there was also relatively serious damage in the southwestern parishes of Beauregard and Allen, including the town of Reeves. Some wind damage was also reported in Houston and throughout East Texas. Though Arkansas had also been included in warnings, there was only a stray report of hail in Jackson County in the northeast part of the state. Tens of thousands lost power in Louisiana and Mississippi at the height of the storm, according to utilities. Freddie Zeigler, a meteorologist in the Weather Service's New Orleans office, said heavy winds were preceding the squall line, possibly contributing to power outages. It was the second episode of heavy rain within days for some areas. An area stretching from Biloxi, Mississippi, through Alabama and across Macon and Augusta, Georgia, received more than four inches of rain Monday, according to radar estimates. was difficult but was the right one for her She said the decision to abort the Brisbane Broncos star Darius Boyd's wife Kayla Boyd has revealed how she tragically lost two babies last year. Kayla, who has a one-year-old daughter with her footy star husband, fell pregnant twice within months but subsequently lost both babies. The 29-year-old from Brisbane suffered a miscarriage in April last year, before falling pregnant again in early August and having an abortion. Boyd said the miscarriage was so emotionally scarring that she simply could not face the prospect of it happening again. Scroll down for video 'Saying peace-out to a cracker year for us Boyds, unfortunately there were a few lows (family members we sent to heaven) and there were many highs personally and professionally for us both,' Kayla Boyd wrote on Instagram So two days after learning she was pregnant again in August, she terminated the pregnancy, by choice. 'I didn't want to get attached to the fact that I could have another baby and then I could miscarry again,' she told the Courier Mail. 'It would have affected our marriage, it would have been very stressful and hard.' Kayla Boyd with her one-year-old daughter Willow - sharing an intimate moment with her followers on Instagram Kayla shares a family photo of her with her husband Darius Boyd and her one-year-old daughter Willow Kayla Boyd (pictured) says it was an emotionally draining year but she knows she made the right decision for her family Boyd said she and her husband were navigating their way through a busy and emotionally draining year and thought another pregnancy or miscarriage could spell the end to her marriage. Boyd was also grieving the death of her grandmother when she suffered her miscarriage in April, which put enormous stress on the family in itself. It was the news of the miscarriage the very same month which set the emotional roller coaster in motion. 'Cruising the Hawaiian shores with my little sailor girl,' Kayla wrote alongside this photo 'All I want for Christmas is you, and Willow,' Kayla wrote alongside this photo on Instagram Kayla Boyd said she could not face suffering through another miscarriage, should she keep the baby The Brisbane brand ambassador said she learned the heartbreaking news she would lose her baby while sitting in an emergency room in a Brisbane hospital. She was told she would have to allow her body to miscarry the fetus naturally, which she did. Boyd said she found it difficult to come to terms with the news, especially because she was already grieving the death of her grandmother. After suffering through her miscarriage in April, Boyd said the news in August she was again pregnant was a shock to the system. Rugby League Player Darius Boyd plays for the Brisbane Broncos, pictured with his daughter Willow While Boyd said the decision caused her enormous emotional pain, she said she felt it was the right one When she learnt of her pregnancy, Boyd said she was overcome by a feeling of self-doubt and that was what ultimately lead her to make the tough decision to abort the fetus. 'I felt like that's what i had to do. The first time (I was pregnant) I didn't feel lost, I didn't feel scared or confused and i really felt that way this time,' she said. While Boyd said the decision caused her enormous emotional pain, she said she felt it was the right one and simply wanted to move forward from her experiences. She also admitted her story would be judged by a lot of women but appreciated everyone was entitled to their opinion. The young mother said she and her husband Darius still wanted to have three children together, and would try for their second child in a year's time. A man whose alleged 'bigoted' outburst and erratic behaviour caused a plane to be diverted and delayed for 24 hours won't be charged. His behaviour aboard United Airlines flight UA870 from Sydney to San Francisco caused the flight to be diverted to Auckland, New Zealand, making those aboard more than a day late to their destination and potentially costing the airline $150,000. New Zealand Police said it wasn't expected the 42-year-old would be charged, however, he was detained to be sent back to his point of origin, the NZ Herald reported. The man on his phone after the flight was diverted to Auckland. At one point he claimed it was not his fault The 42-year-old man was recorded during the flight by several other passengers A route showing how the plane was diverted (pictured) was put on Twitter Video from aboard the plane on Sunday shows the man on a phone, saying: 'T ell my dad to get his law firm ready because United Airlines just diverted the f***ing plane because I complained to some fat f**k who got in my f***ing face'. He then gestures rudely at the person recording him and claims it's not his fault the flight was diverted. Passenger Peter Barrett said the man was so aggravated he seemed near to physical violence, scaring passengers, the NZ Herald reported. 'At one point he went to the bathroom for 20 minutes which raised more than a few eyebrows. 'The behaviour seemed more like a pharmacological excess or deficit than simple alcohol.' Mr Barrett praised the cabin crew for their actions during the ordeal while another man said some passengers had been briefed in restraining techniques in case the man got 'physical'. Cabin crew tried to calm the man down (pictured) but he allegedly refused to listen A male passenger on a flight from Sydney to San Francisco allegedly became abusive to cabin crew and other travellers (pictured) The plane left Sydney just after 1pm on Sunday and turned back to Auckland after they were denied permission to land in Fiji or American Samoa. Another passenger described the man, a Caucasian, as a 'bigoted passenger [that] screamed... misogynistic [and] disturbing words' to everyone. Anjou Ahlborn Kay captured some of the drama on video which she posted on Facebook. The two short videos she took showed the man arguing with a cabin crew member and then being frogmarched off the plane by New Zealand police officers. New Zealand police said the man was 'badly behaved' and was arrested on arrival before being referred to immigration. A United Airlines spokeswoman said the flight was diverted because a passenger failed to follow crew instructions. All 252 passengers had to be put up in hotels overnight. An aviation expert, Irene King, said the incident would have cost United Airlines $150,000. She also said when international flights landed in New Zealand, the country's law could apply, 1 news reported. Advertisement George Lucas is no stranger to epic struggles on the big screen, but he didn't expect one off-camera when it came to his art collection. For nearly a decade, the filmmaker has tried to build a museum to house an extensive personal collection that includes 40,000 paintings, illustrations and film-related items. But legal entanglements and other complications have thwarted his efforts. After several false starts, Lucas and his art team say they will decide later this month whether to put the museum in San Francisco or Los Angeles, a strategy that has stirred a California rivalry. This concept design provided by the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art shows a rendering of their proposed museum on Treasure Island in San Francisco In January George Lucas, the legendary filmmaker, is expected to decide whether he will put a museum for his extensive personal art collection in San Francisco (pictured) or Los Angeles, after other attempts were upended by community opposition This concept design provided by the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art shows a rendering of their proposed museum in Exposition Park in Los Angeles After several false starts, Lucas and his art team say they will decide later this month whether to put the museum in San Francisco or Los Angeles (pictured), a strategy that has stirred a California rivalry The prize is big, and both cities want it badly. 'This is the largest civic gift in American history,' LA Mayor Eric Garcetti said. 'I think Los Angeles is the natural home for it.' But it's a notion that San Francisco officials enthusiastically contest. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, as it will be called, promises hundreds of jobs and a high-profile attraction and it's essentially free. The Star Wars creator is financing the project himself. He plans to spend more than $1 billion to build the museum, endow it and provide a trove of initial artworks valued at over $400 million. Together with Chinese architect Ma Yansong, Lucas has proposed a sleek, futuristic design looks like a cross between the Guggenheim and a galactic starfighter. The museum's bold design and concept make clear that the 72-year-old filmmaker sees it as part of his legacy, and he is increasingly impatient to break ground. For nearly a decade George Lucas (pictured) has been trying to build a museum for his extensive personal art collection worth $400million 'It's not just an enormous philanthropic gift to a city and to the world, but it is a unique museum in the way it is envisioned,' said Don Bacigalupi, an art historian and respected museum director Lucas hired as its founding president. 'Certainly, we'll be looking forward to the day we can move the art into a museum.' The museum will not, as many assume, be a repository for Star Wars memorabilia. It will, however, show how Lucas spent some of his filmmaking fortune and that his interest in art extends beyond movies. An avid collector for more than 40 years, Lucas is giving the museum some 10,000 paintings and illustrations that include dozens of Norman Rockwells and works from French impressionist Edgar Degas to American contemporary artist Keith Haring. There are illustrations for classic children's books by Beatrix Potter of Peter Rabbit fame and Jean de Brunhoff, who created Babar. The museum gets its pick from some 30,000 film-related pieces including storyboards and costumes from The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, and, naturally, Star Wars. There's art from comic books, graphic novels and other popular works that Lucas hopes will attract people who don't typically visit museums. In 2010, Lucas first pitched his project to San Francisco and considered a site in the Presidio, but the trust that oversaw the park ultimately rebuffed him. Sculptures from the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition face a proposed site of the George Lucas Museum on Treasure Island in San Francisco He then took his project to Chicago, his wife's hometown, but preservationists sued to keep it off the lakefront. Lengthy delays prompted Lucas to abandon that bid in June and change strategy. In October, Lucas unveiled similar but competing designs for Los Angeles and San Francisco sites, turning the project into a public competition. It seems to have worked. Government leaders in both cities have unanimously approved it. And officials are quick to stress that this time there is no apparent opposition, and construction could begin quickly ahead of a projected 2020 finish date. Later this month, Lucas is convening the museum's board to decide between two distinct locations. In San Francisco, his project would virtually have an island unto itself. The city offered Lucas a 4-acre waterfront plot on Treasure Island, a man-made creation in the middle of the bay with cinematic views of the city skyline. The island was built for the 1939 World's Fair, then used as a World War II naval base. These days it's populated mainly by seagulls, boarded-up barracks, some art studios and old warehouses, but officials hope the museum triggers its transformation. A massive $6 billion redevelopment project includes apartments, hotels and a ferry terminal. 'It's a risk they would be taking, but it's a bet on the future,' said Adam Van De Water, project manager for the museum at San Francisco City Hall. 'We think his heart is here in the Bay Area.' Lucas has spent most of his life in the San Francisco area, and Lucasfilm was based in the city before he sold it in 2012 to Disney Co. 'Put yourself in his shoes. You could be on Treasure Island, where you're visible throughout downtown San Francisco,' said Van De Water, pausing to take a swipe at Los Angeles. 'Or you could be a museum in a park with other museums.' A sign welcomes visitors to Treasure Island in San Francisco, across the Bay from the city's popular Embarcadero neighborhood, which has been offered to Lucas as a site for the museum San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, who is keen to speaks during a meeting at City Hall in San Francisco Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who calls the museum 'the largest civic gift in American history' Los Angeles has offered Lucas a 7-acre spot in Exposition Park, a sprawling cultural compound that holds three other museums and the Coliseum, home to the LA Rams. It has its own light rail station and is near the main campus of the University of Southern California, where Lucas went to film school. 'A museum should not be cloistered away from the people,' LA Mayor Garcetti said. 'We don't live life on islands.' Exposition Park also is near eight public high schools and could help expose young people to Lucas' collection, Garcetti says. If Lucas has a favorite, Bacigalupi won't say. But Bacigalupi calls Treasure Island 'sort of magical.' Not only does it offer stunning views, but the island would give the museum an iconic location on the water's edge, which he compares to the Sydney Opera House. And, he says, Lucas is deeply devoted to the Bay Area. Los Angeles is exciting for different reasons, he said. Its proximity to schools and being part of a community of museums 'is certainly attractive,' he said. And, like San Francisco, Los Angeles is part of Lucas' history. Police have ruled out murder after a British couple were found hanged in Cambodia with their hands and feet bound together. Robert Wells, 36, from Sunderland, and his wife Imogen Goldie, 28, from Camberwell, south London had married on Christmas Day the seaside town of Sihanoukville, in south Cambodia. But days later, they were found dead in a guesthouse with an apparent suicide note which referred to mental health struggles and which accused the NHS of 'constantly letting us down'. Following confirmation that the note was written by Mr Wells and an examination of the room and the bodies, police in Cambodia said they had no doubt that the couple killed themselves in an apparent pact. Today, Mr Wells' heartbroken mother Collette, from Newbiggin-by-the-Sea in Northumberland, said the couple were on holiday together in the South East Asian country when they tied the knot. The couple have been named as Robert Wells, 36, from Sunderland, and his wife Imogen Goldie, 28, from Camberwell, south London She recalled the last time she spoke to her son on December 26 and he told her about the wedding and how much he loved Imogen. She said: 'They were on holiday and he rang me on Boxing Day to tell me they were married on one of the Cambodian Islands. 'He told me he loved her so very much, she meant the world to him and he would do anything for her. Unfortunately that was the last I heard.' She was not officially notified of his death and only managed to confirm it by ringing the Foreign Commonwealth Office. She has been left in pieces by his death and said she has little information as yet. Mr Wells met Imogen in 2014 and in October 2016 the couple decided to go travelling until 'the money ran out', Collette said. She is devastated not to have seen a photo of her son's wedding and said the couple shared a photo of their intertwined hands with matching tattoos on their ring fingers. A British couple were found hanged in their rented room in Cambodia with an apparent suicide note next to them It is believed the couple had recently moved to the seaside town of Sihanoukville, in south Cambodia A fundraising page has been set up by Robert's mother who says she is barely holding it together after learning of her son's tragic death. She hopes to raise 3,000 to pay for the cost of travelling to Cambodia to cremate her son. She writes: 'My only son travelled to Cambodia and married his true love on an island on Christmas day. They were both found dead of an apparent double suicide on New Year's Day. I am desperate to get out there to cremate him and bring his ashes home.' Cambodian police are continuing to investigate the tragedy. While Mr Wells was bare chested, his wife was wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan 'Resist!' 'We are convinced this is not murder, despite many people asking questions how these deaths were possible,' said Sihanoukville's deputy police chief Colonel Bour Sothy, who added that investigations are continuing. This morning, it emerged that the pair are believed to have recorded photos of themselves in the days leading up to their deaths and written their thoughts about death in notebooks. The couple, who lived in the seaside town of Sihanoukville, in south Cambodia, were reported as originally being from Sunderland and Camberwell, in south London The couple were found hanged in Sihanoukville, a seaside town in the south of Cambodia One of them begged for the notebooks and two memory cards they left in their room to be posted to Ms Goldie's family in London. Police have not revealed what was written in the notebooks or what the memory cards showed. It has not been explained why they were both blindfolded and gagged and why their hands were tied. Some expatriates writing on the Khmer440 website have questioned how - and why - they tied themselves up before dying. It is understood family members of Mr Wells have confirmed his handwriting in the apparent suicide note in which he blamed Britain's National Health for lack of support for people suffering mental illness. The bodies of the couple have been sent to the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital to be claimed by their families. It is not known whether the couple's families want the bodies brought back to the UK or whether they will agree to a suggestion in the note that Mr Wells and Ms Goldie should be cremated to save the cost of repatriating their remains. Cambodia newspapers reported their landlord, named as Ian Goodwin, as saying they were due to leave their rented room on December 29 but did not have the money to pay for their accommodation. In the apparent suicide note, recovered by police, it read: 'Alternatively, you could save on shipping and have the cremation done here in Sihanoukville. 'It's a beautiful place and we never wanted to leave, but we understand and this will be the choice of our family. 'We are sorry, but hopefully we will find peace from depression, bi-polar, Aspergers and the NHS which has constantly let us down. 'We love you all and hope that memories will take the place of tears, but we are going to be in a better place - either a peaceful oblivion without bad dreams, but who knows, we may find each other again.' Senior police officer Major General Narin of Sihanoukville said the case was still under investigation. The British Embassy has been alerted to the gruesome discovery. The wife of a man suspected of slaughtering revellers in an Istanbul nightclub has claimed she had 'no idea' her husband was an ISIS sympathiser. Turkish police reportedly released a statement made by the wife, who said she only found out about the atrocity when reports emerged on television. The suspect boarded a plane in Kyrgyzstan with his wife and children and it landed in Istanbul on November 20 last year. They then travelled by road to Konya in central Turkey via Ankara, arriving two days later, the statement said, according to Hurriyet newspaper. There they rented a flat, paying 1,100 Turkish Lira (250) per month, with a three-month downpayment. The Istanbul killer's weapon was loaded with armour-piercing bullets it has been claimed. The main suspect is pictured Pictures taken today show the interior of the bar - days after it was turned into a bloodbath in an ISIS attack Glasses and bottles abandoned as people fled during the attack have been cleared onto a bar at the venue Mehmet Kocarslan, owner of Reina nightclub, attends a gathering in front of the venue today The highly trained killer's weapon was loaded with armour-piercing bullets, creating the maximum number of casualties in the crowded Reina nightclub on New Year's Eve, according to Turkish security sources. Shocking images show the bloodyaftermath of the attack Turkish police detained two men trying to board a flight from Istanbul earlier this afternoon Her husband told her that they were travelling to Konya in search of job opportunities. On December 29, he left Konya to travel by road to Istanbul, she reportedly said, adding that she only learned about the shooting when she saw it on the television. She had no idea that her husband is an ISIS sympathiser, she said. When police released pictures of the suspect, his neighbours in Konya called a police hotline and identified him, leading investigators to the family home, police added. Meanwhile, Turkish authorities have today detained two foreign nationals at Istanbul's main airport over suspected links to the attack. The pair were detained on entering Ataturk International Airport and have been taken to Istanbul police headquarters for questioning, it has been reported. No information on their nationalities was available. It said police checked the pair's cellphones and luggage before they were taken away to Istanbul's main police headquarters. Meanwhile the private Dogan news agency said airports and border crossings were put on high alert and that anyone resembling the wanted gunman was being stopped and questioned by police. Friends and relatives mourn during the funeral of Lian Nasser, an 18-year-old Arab Israeli woman who was one of the victims of the attack on a night club in Istanbul The coffin of Lian Nasser is carried during her funeral ceremony in the Arab Israeli city of Tira, north of Tel Aviv Grieving relatives of those killed in the attack have been laying their loved-ones to rest Loved-ones mourn at the cemetery where 18-year-old attack victim Lian Nasser has been buried With foreigners making up the majority of those killed in the attack, families have been reclaiming the bodies of more than two dozen non-Turkish and mainly Arab victims The government said yesterday that eight people had been detained but the number then increased to 14 after new detentions in the Anatolian city of Konya. A manhunt for the chief suspect is intensifying today. Police raided three different apartments in the central Turkish town of Konye today but found them to be empty, Turkish media has reported. One of the premises was believed to have been rented by the suspect and his family, while the others housed non-Turkish citizens. It is understood that the occupants of the other apartments may have left following the New Year's Eve attack, raising fears that they may have been used by accomplices. The estate agent who allegedly rented the apartment to the terror suspect was detained and questioned by police, but claimed not to have been responsible for the arrangement. A man named as the Istanbul suspect on a passport released by Turkey's state-run TRT World today came forward to say he was not involved. It comes as horrifying new details of the advanced, special forces techniques used by the Istanbul nightclub terrorist emerged. Grieving: The sister of Elias Wardini, a Lebanese man who was killed in the New Year's Eve Istanbul nightclub attack, mourns as she holds her brother's portrait Relatives and friends of Elias Wardini carry his coffin during his funeral procession, in Beirut, Lebanon The sister of Elias Wardini, centre, a Lebanese man who was killed in the New Year's Eve Istanbul nightclub attack, mourns over her brother's body People pray next to the coffin of attack victim Mohamed Elhot during his funeral ceremony in Istanbul The highly trained killer's weapon was loaded with armour-piercing bullets, creating the maximum number of casualties in the crowded Reina nightclub on New Year's Eve, according to Turkish security sources widely reported in local media. He used flares to light up his targets before unleashing a hail of bullets known for their tendency to ricochet as well as penetrate barriers, creating horrific carnage in a short amount of time, the sources said. It comes as Turkey's leading Hurriyet newspaper said the ISIS fanatic, who murdered 39 in the shooting rampage, is married with two children and that police have detained his family for questioning. Friends and relatives of Lebanese victim Elias Wardini, who was killed in the gun attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, stand next to his coffin during the funeral in Church of Our Lady in Beirut, Lebanon Flowers and pictures of the victims are placed at a make-shift shrine near the entrance of Reina nightclub Police special forces patrol outisde the Reina nightclub which was attacked by a gunman The suspect, who has still not been named, brought his wife and children to Konya in central Turkey in November 2016 to slip under the radar by posing as a family man, the Milliyet newspaper added. Eyewitnesses said the killer carried out the operation calmly and precisely, keeping his ground and picking off his victims in a systematic manner. His magazines had been bound together to allow him to reload rapidly, and when both were empty, he dropped them on the floor. Six were used in total, the Vatan newspaper said. Eyewitnesses also reported that the killer used flash bombs to illuminate and disorient his targets. A bartender who survived the attack, quoted by Hurriyet, said: 'The terrorist threw something that lit up every time he finished his magazine. It happened at least three times.' In another sign of the murderer's professionalism, he reportedly dropped the flash bombs behind him so that he would be able to see his victims clearly without being blinded by the light, according to the Sozcu newspaper. Abdulkadir Selvi, an influential columnist for the Hurriyet newspaper, alleged that the suspect is understood to have been trained in Syria. Eyewitnesses said the killer carried out the operation calmly and precisely, keeping his ground and picking off his victims in a systematic manner. Mourners are pictured at a funeral for one of the victims Footage from inside the club shows people celebrating before the gunman went on the rampage The killer's magazines had been bound together to allow him to reload rapidly, and when both were empty, he dropped them on the floor The fanatic's nationality remains unclear. Yesterday, police said he comes from 'Central Asia', and officials from Kyrgyzstan confirmed that they were investigating whether he was from that country. But this morning, citing unnamed security sources, the Aydinlik newspaper claimed the suspect was from Xinjiang, an area of northeastern China known by separatists as East Turkestan. It has also been revealed that the Iraqi-born businessman Muhammad al-Sarraf, one of the wealthiest men in Jordan, was killed in the nightclub attack. The mogul owned 13 companies in Jordan and Iraq. The father-of-three had been visiting Istanbul for the New Year with a colleague, Nawras Assaf, their wives and a third couple. Assaf was also killed, and his wife is in critical condition in an intensive care unit in Jordan. Sarraf's wife and the other Jordanian couple were also injured in the attack. German interior minister Thomas de Maiziere said the government needs 'more powers' to move failed asylum seekers out of the country faster Germany is planning to fast-track the expulsion of failed asylum seekers out of the country in the wake of the Christmas terror attack in Berlin that killed 12. Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere says he wants to set up a nework of 'federal departure centres' to be built in the vicinity of airports. In an article for the influential Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper he says the government needs 'more powers' to get failed asylum seekers on to planes more quickly. Anis Amri, the 24-year-old Christmas market assassin in Berlin on December 19, was just such a person. Rejected by authorities as a terror risk, he was nevertheless allowed to stay on in the country because for months Tunisia denied he was a citizen. His papers which would have allowed deportation came through in the week he killed 12 and injured 48. Two days after that he was shot dead by police in Milan, Italy. De Maziere wants central government to have authority for deportations rather than the 16 states which make up the German republic. Twelve people were killed when a truck hijacked by jihadist Anis Amri ploughed into a busy Christmas market on December 19 Killer: Anis Amri hijacked a truck and drove it into the middle of a busy Christmas market in Berlin, in a massacre whcih claimed 12 lives De Maiziere said he is 'committed' to a general revision of the German security architecture to 'massively strengthen' the competencies of government over individual states. He also proposes giving police more powers by creating a central tracking agency to find, detain and deport illegals - 'a real federal police force,' he promised. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) should be strengthened too he said because its powers are currently 'too narrow.' He added: 'We need uniform rules and better coordination, for example in the control of dangerous suspects. The federal government need a control competence over all security authorities.' Decentralisation of police powers has been a lynchpin of post-Nazi Germany. The republic's founders wanted to move away from the concentration of power in one place to prevent the abuses of the Gestapo and other police bodies from ever happening again. Berlin mayor Michael Mueller, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and other officials lay flowers at the Christmas market Now de Maiziere wants some of those powers to indeed be centralised once more as the terror threat continues to escalate in Germany. He also wants to work out new agreements with North African countries to take back failed asylum seekers after Germany ruled that most of them are considered safe places to live. Finland is to pay 6,000 a year to 2,000 randomly-selected citizens as part of a guaranteed income scheme. The country has become the first in Europe to hand out a guaranteed 560 Euros (476) a month, which could be rolled out nationwide. It is being billed as a social experiment, and the Finnish government hope that it will cut government red tape, reduce poverty and boost employment. Finland has become the first in Europe to hand out a guaranteed 560 Euros (476) a month, which could be rolled out nationwide (file picture) The two year trial began on January 1 with 2,000 randomly-picked citizens who receive unemployment benefits. There will be no requirements on how those selected can spend the money but the amount will be deducted from any benefits they already receive. Olli Kangas, from the Finnish government agency KELA, said the idea is to abolish the 'disincentive problem' among the unemployed. The trial aims to discourage people's fears 'of losing out something', he said, adding that the selected persons would continue to receive the 560 euros even after receiving a job. A jobless person may currently refuse a low-income or short-term job in the fear of having his financial benefits reduced drastically under Finland's generous but complex social security system. The scheme is part of the measures by the centre-right government of Prime Minister Juha Sipila, pictured, to tackle Finland's joblessness problem 'It's highly interesting to see how it makes people behave,' Mr Kangas added. 'Will this lead them to boldly experiment with different kinds of jobs? Or, as some critics claim, make them lazier with the knowledge of getting a basic income without doing anything?' The unemployment rate of Finland, a nation of 5.5 million, stood at 8.1 percent in November with some 213,000 people without a job - unchanged from the previous year. The scheme is part of the measures by the centre-right government of Prime Minister Juha Sipila to tackle Finland's joblessness problem. Mr Kangas said the basic income experiment may be expanded later to other low-income groups such as freelancers, small-scale entrepreneurs and part-time workers. However, it is not the first time a country has debated whether to give its residents a guaranteed basic income. The Swiss government proposed last year to give every adult in the country a guaranteed $2,500 a month, but the plan was rejected by more than 75 per cent of voters during a referendum. The Russian Navy is set to hold 'war games' with the Philippines, after controversial President Rodrigo Duterte said he would be downgrading his country's military alignment with the United States. The country has formerly held dozens of exercises each year alongside the US military, but these have been put on hold by Duterte, who took office in June. The war games with Russia will focus on tackling maritime piracy and terrorism, said Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhailov, the deputy commander of the Russian Navy's Pacific fleet. He made the comments as two Russian ships made a rare stop in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. President Rodrigo Duterte (centre) has said he will downgrade or even end military and diplomatic ties with Washington Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhailov, the deputy commander of the Russian Navy's Pacific fleet (centre) announced the war games would be held shortly after his arrival in Manila It is just the third time Russian military vessels have visited the country, which has traditionally been closely aligned to the US. US President Barack Obama has been heavily critical of Duterte over his brutal war on drugs, which has claimed more than 6,000 lives in the last six months and prompted allegations of extrajudicial killings. Duterte has made repeated threats to downgrade or even end military and diplomatic ties with Washington. Russian Navy sailors stand guard in front of the anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs, with officials saying it is just the third time Russian military vessels have visited the Philippines He has also said he wants all American troops to leave the Philippines, and in October told Obama to 'go to hell'. Mikhailov told reporters as he stood beside the docked Russian destroyer Admiral Tributs: 'We're very sure that in the future we'll get such exercises with you, maybe just the manoeuvreing or maybe use some combat systems and so on.' Mikhailov also raised the prospect of joint exercises with China and Malaysia in the South China Sea, where competing territorial claims have been a major source of tension and potential conflict for decades. US President Barack Obama has been critical of Duterte over his brutal war on drugs, which has claimed thousands of lives this year In October Duterte told Obama to 'go to hell' and vowed to cut links between Manila and Washington 'We really hope that in a few years, the military exercises for example in your region, in the South China Sea, will (involve) for example, not only Russia-Philippines, but Russia, Philippines, China and maybe Malaysia together.' The visit was only the third ever by Russian military vessels to the Philippines, according to the Filipino Navy's Commodore Francisco Cabudao, who led the welcoming ceremony for the Russian ships. The Philippines, a former American colony, had for decades been one of the United States' most important and loyal allies in Asia. The two are bound by a mutual defence pact. Duterte said he plans to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin and tell him there are 'three of us against the world: China, Philippines and Russia' Duterte has said he is open to the Philippine military holding joint exercises with Russia and China But Duterte, a self-described socialist, has during his six months in power sought to dramatically shift his nation's foreign and military alliances towards China and Russia. During a trip to Beijing in October last year, Duterte enthused about his plans to forge closer ties with Russia and China. 'America has lost. I've realigned myself in your (Chinese) ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to (President Vladimir) Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world: China, Philippines and Russia. It's the only way,' he said. Philippine officials have said Duterte is expected to visit Russia in April or May. Duterte has said he is open to the Philippine military holding joint exercises with Russia and China. Its been a long Christmas holiday for many Britons who only needed to take eight days of annual leave to enjoy a 17-day break. But the realisation that they were returning to the office today was almost too much to bear for some who shared their back to work blues on social media. Twitter users encouraged each other to 'pick yourself up and get on with it' while others suggested they could 'do with another week off work to recover'. Back to work: Twitter users encouraged each other to 'pick yourself up and get on with it' while others suggested they could 'do with another week off work to recover' One woman said she was 'not mentally, physically or emotionally prepared to give up afternoon naps', while another billed it 'the worst morning of the year'. But some people pointed out many Britons had been working over Christmas, such as police officers, firefighters, paramedics, nurses and retail workers. One woman said she was 'not really enjoying this whole being out of bed before 9am experience' while another said: 'Out of office off, coffee in hand. Hello 2017.' It comes as commuters hit by the annual rise in rail fares return to work after the average increase across Britain of 2.3 per cent came into force yesterday. Campaigners Action For Rail called for a day of action and organised protests at more than 100 train stations, including in London, Birmingham and Manchester. One woman said she was 'not mentally, physically or emotionally prepared to give up afternoon naps', while another billed it 'the worst morning of the year' Icy conditions and blankets of freezing fog could greet many commuters this morning with temperatures falling to -6C in Oxfordshire overnight. The Met Office issued a yellow weather alert for ice across parts of southern England, warning some roads could become hazardous. Many are likely to open their curtains to a frosty scene before the day will become dry and cloudy for many, a spokesman added. An Italian Catholic priest is being investigated by police over claims he has pimped out up to 15 lovers from his rectory and was planning a weekend away at a French swingers resort. Father Andrea Contin of San Lazzaro church in Padua was investigated after three of his former lovers went to the authorities. Police raided Fr Contin's home beside the church in the northern Italian city and recovered a stash of home-made pornography as well as a range various sex toys. Fr Andrea Contin, pictured, has been placed under investigation by Italian police after he was accused of living off immoral earnings and psychological violence against some of his lovers Fr Contin was the parish priest in the northern Italian city of Padua, pictured. He is accused of using the rectory attached to San Lazzaro church as the locatoin for the illicit trysts According to the Il Mattino di Padova newspaper, Fr Contin is accused of living off immoral earnings and psychological violence. The priest is believed to have offered the services of the women through a range of wife swapping websites. He was also planning a weekend away at a French naturist club which welcomed wife swappers. One 49-year-old woman who had been involved romantically with Fr Contin said: 'There were a lot of women hovering around him. I didn't understand that at first, only later.' It is understood at least two of the women turned to Fr Contin for help when their marriages collapsed. Instead of spiritual guidance, the cleric is accused of seducing the women and pressurising them into participating in extreme sexual activities. One 48-year-old woman has given a statement to police which runs to eight pages outlining several allegations against the priest. One cardinal branded the opening of the new store 'controversial and A new McDonalds restaurant has opened just yards from the Vatican despite outrage from Cardinals - even though the Church will receive 25,000 a month in rent. The store opened last week, just 100 yards from St Peter's Square and the ancient basilica. The building where the fast-food chain has opened is owned by the Church on the Borgo Pio and has a rent of 25,000 a month. A new McDonalds restaurant has opened just yards from the Vatican despite outrage from Cardinals When the new branch - dubbed McVatican - opened, there were few public protests and customers flocked to enjoy the food. Even today, two nuns were spotted at lunchtime going inside the fast food joint. But seven Cardinals reportedly live above the new 6,000 sq ft site owned by the Vatican, prompting several to express their anger about the restaurant. Cardinal Elio Sgreccia told Italian newspaper La Repubblica: 'It's a controversial, perverse decision to say the least'. A group of nuns walk past the new McDonalds on Borgo Pio near to the Vatican He said that opening a McDonald's at the site is 'by no means respectful of the architectural traditions of one of the most characteristic squares which look onto the colonnade of St. Peter's.' He also added: 'It does not offer guarantees for the health of the consumers, foods I would never eat. The mega sandwich shop on Borgo Pio is a disgrace. It would be better to use those spaces to help the needy of the area, spaces for hospitality, shelter and help for those who suffer, as the Holy Father teaches.' 'I repeat, selling mega-sandwiches in Borgo Pio is a disgrace.' While Moreno Prosperi, head of the Committee for the Protection of Borgo, the historic district around the Vatican where many cardinals live, said the planned McDonald's would be a further blow to the area which draws huge throngs of tourists. He said that over the last few years 'the identity of this area has been lost' due to an increase in illegal souvenir stands and mini markets. A map showing the close proximity of the restaurant to the Vatican. The two are just 100 yards apart But speaking last year, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, who is the head of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, said he was 'not going to back down' because the deal is legally valid and he didn't see 'anything negative' about the proposals. In a statement, McDonald's emphasised that the new restaurant was in a popular tourist area outside the Vatican, although the building itself is Holy See property. 'As is the case whenever McDonald's operates near historic sites anywhere in Italy, this restaurant has been fully adapted with respect to the historical environment,' the company said. Several cardinals live in the building where the restaurant has opened, which is close to St. Peter's Square, pictured However, McDonalds will not be the only chain restaurant to open in close proximity to the Vatican. Last year, Vatican officials also approved plans for a Hard Rock Cafe on Via della Conciliazione. The dark past of a 77-year-old man once referred to as one of Australia's worst murderers whose actions are 'wicked to the extreme' has been revealed. John Walsh is serving two life sentences for murdering his wife, two grandchildren and family dog before turning an axe on his daughter in a sudden attack at their home in Cowra, west of Sydney, nine years ago. The elderly man is facing murder charges again after he allegedly beat his cellmate, Frank Townsend, to death with a sandwich press on Monday night at Long Bay jail in Malabar, south Sydney. Walsh was living in the same cell as Townsend while serving time for the triple murder of his British wife, 52-year-old Jean Walsh, and their seven-year-old grandson and five-year-old granddaughter on June 30, 2008. He is also convicted of the attempted murder of his daughter, policewoman Shelly Walsh. John Walsh (left) murdered his wife, grandchildren and family pet in Cowra in 2008. Walsh was charged on Tuesday morning (right) after allegedly attacking his cellmate Frank Townsend at Long Bay jail in Malabar, south Sydney Walsh is serving two life sentences for the triple murder of his wife and two grandchildren at their home in Cowra (pictured) Walsh beat his British wife, 52-year-old Jean Walsh, to death at their Cowra home before drowning their five-year-old granddaughter and killing their seven-year-old grandson (pictured are the family members funeral) Walsh, who is originally from Northern Ireland, was babysitting his daughter's children as she worked an overnight shift at Parkes police station, according to The Daily Telegraph. The 77-year-old later told police he hit his wife in the head repeatedly with a hammer he nicknamed 'Fred' before stabbing her and beating her again. He then lured his granddaughter to the bathtub where he drowned her before placing her back in her bed. After Walsh said he turned his attention to his grandson who he beat in the head with a hammer before placing him in the bathtub. He put the young boy back on his bed when he was sure he was dead. Walsh, who is originally from Northern Ireland, was babysitting his daughter's children as she worked an overnight shift at Parkes police station The 77-year-old later told police he hit his wife in the head repeatedly with a hammer he nicknamed 'Fred' before stabbing her and beating her again Shelly Walsh places flowers on the coffins of her two children Kevin and Jaime and her mother during the funeral in Cowra Walsh told police he then worried about who was going to take care of the dog so he drowned it in the bathtub as well, wrapped it in plastic and placed it under the children's bunk bed, according to The Telegraph. When his daughter Shelly later returned home to pick up her children, Walsh was waiting with an axe and hit her several times in the head, fracturing her skull and tearing her brain lining. Shelly told a court heard during Walsh's trial in 2009 she first saw her mother lying on her bedroom floor when she arrived at the home, but was told by Walsh she was sick. Shelly then entered her children's bedrooms where she found their bodies tucked into bed. Moments after Walsh hit her on the head with an axe. Walsh said he drowned his five-year-old granddaughter before bashing his seven-year-old grandson and placing them back in their beds Walsh told police he then worried about who was going to take care of the dog so he drowned it in the bathtub as well, wrapped it in plastic and placed it under the children's bed John Walsh is pictured in 2008 after he was charged with the triple murder While attacking her, Walsh told his daughter 'I am doing this because I love you. When I am done with you lot I am going to Newcastle to kill your ex-husband. We are all better off this way. This is the way it has to be', according to The Daily Telegraph. The court heard Walsh believed the murders were a 'mercy killing' because his wife had poor health and he had also planned on killing his former son-in-law before himself. He added his grandchildren to the list because no one would be around to look after them, the Telegraph reported. After she was struck in the head, Shelly ran to a neighbour's house for help and later recovered from her injuries. Walsh fled the Central West after Shelly ran away but was arrested the following morning at a motel when he left to go pick up milk for his breakfast, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Police officer Shelly Walsh (centre) speaks at the funeral of her two children and mother The coffins of Kevin Hodges (front) and Jean Walsh are carried by police pallbearers at their funeral at St Raphael's Church in Cowra on July 11, 2008 The 77-year-old was seen at Maroubra police station on Tuesday where he was charged with the murder of his cellmate 71-year-old Frank Townsend. He alleged bashed Townsend with a sandwich press wrapped in a pillow case on Monday night, according to Seven News. Townsend was convicted of the manslaughter of Belinda Trad after she was found dead with gunshot wounds in 2010 in Wingham. Townsend was reportedly released last year but was taken back to custody on breaches of his parole. The cellmates lived in the Kevin Waller unit, where aged and frail inmates are held, a spokeswoman for Corrective Services NSW told Daily Mail Australia. A female paedophile has been forced to move home after neighbours uncovered her true identity due to a Christmas card. Tracy Lyons, 46, was living in Southampton under a new identity after her release from a four-year jail term after being convicted for being involved in a paedophile ring. The mother-of-nine, a former nursery worker in Portsmouth, was jailed in January 2011 after admitting sexually abusing a two-year-old boy and sending video footage of the incident to a man she met over the internet. After her release she changed her surname but came under suspicion when neighbours saw a Christmas card sent to her by Circles, a charity which helps rehabilitate sex offenders. Tracy Lyons, pictured, has left her home in Southampton after neighbours discovered she was previously jailed for sexually abusing a two-year-old boy It was seen by neighbour Richard Hurren, who had become friends with Lyons without knowledge of her past crimes. He told the Daily Mirror: 'Just before Christmas we were round for coffee and I clocked a card from Circles. I Googled it and I found out it was a support group for sex offenders. At first I thought it was possible she was a victim. 'I Googled the surname she was going by here. I couldn't find anything. Then I put in 'sex offenders Portsmouth' and found 'Tracy Lyons Portsmouth' and her picture. I recognised her straight away.' Mr Hurren said other neighbours soon found out and that he sent her a message over Facebook telling her they knew of her true identity. It is understood she was due to spend Christmas Day at a neighbour's house where children would have been present. But she was said to have left her home on Christmas Eve after locals confronted her over her past. Lyons was later seen being visited by police and then getting into a taxi with boxes of her belongings. Lyons was part of a paedophile ring headed by Colin Blanchard, left, and which also included Vanessa George, right, another nursery worker who abused children in her care at a pre-school in Plymouth Speaking to the Mirror, Mr Hurren added: 'We were friends and would often chat and have coffee. I feel betrayed. People like that should be locked up forever.' Lyons, who gave birth to her ninth child behind bars, was released from HMP Bronzefield in Surrey just ten months after her sentence was handed down. She had been in custody since she was first arrested in October 2009 and had served half her sentence at the time of release. Lyons was released on a five-year licence, which expired last October. She sent the vile footage to Colin Blanchard, who was at the head of the nationwide virtual paedophile ring which also included Vanessa George, a mother-of-two who was jailed for seven years who abused a string of babies and toddlers in her care. George, who lived in Plymouth, Devon, before her arrest and imprisonment in 2009, worked at Little Ted's Nursery in Plymouth, where she abused youngsters she was supposed to be looking after. Lyons briefly worked at Izzie's Neighbourhood Nursery in Portsmouth, pictured George admitted seven sexual assaults of young children and six counts of distributing and making indecent pictures of children and was given an 'indeterminate' sentence of a minimum seven years - which parents slammed at the time for being 'disgusting'. Blanchard, 46, from Rochdale, made contact with women on Facebook and demanded horrific images from them in one of Britains most depraved child abuse networks. The twice-married father of two had a Svengali-like influence hold over four women in the ring and was described in court as the 'hub of this paedophile wheel'. He was jailed for a minimum of nine years alongside Lyons at Bristol Crown Court in 2011. Also jailed was Tracey Dawber, then-girlfriend of Blanchard, who was convicted of six child sex offences and handed a seven-year sentence. This is the final photograph of fancy dress pilot minutes before he was thrown from a makeshift cart during a village's annual New Year's Day charity pram race. The 52-year-old victim, named locally as Francis O'Sullivan, was airlifted to a specialist head injuries unit at Kings College Hospital but police say he died in the early hours of this morning. Footage taken shortly before the crash showed the 'pram' driven by three men in RAF-style aviator jackets hurtling down a hill in the village of Sutton Valence in Kent. Spectators cheered and shouted 'no way' as they saw how fast it was travelling just before it flipped over. 'Titch', as he was known to friends, was thrown from its driver's seat in front of more than a hundred people. Writing on Facebook, his sister Jeannette O'Sullivan said: 'To my beautiful brother who has peacefully past away following a tragic accident. God bless him R. I. P.' Tragedy: Fancy dress pilot, named locally as Francis O'Sullivan, 52, has died after being thrown from this makeshift cart pictured at the start of a Kent village's annual New Year's Day charity pram race Floral tributes left near the scene in Sutton Valence, near Maidstone, Kent, following the death of fundraiser Francis O'Sullivan, known as Titch This handwritten tribute called 'Titch[ one of the most honest, caring and funny men 'I have ever met Tragedy: Footage taken shortly before the crash showed the homemade cart - built to look like a Spitfire - flying down a hill in the village of Sutton Valence in Kent (pictured) Video: Spectators cheered and shouted 'no way' as they saw how fast it was travelling just before it flipped over Much-missed: The 52-year-old victim, nicknamed Titch, was in a pram designed to look like an Second World War fighter plane She added: 'My beautiful brother tragic accident whilst competing in the Sutton Valence pram race. 'Love you always and forever in our thoughts. A great Brother Dad and Uncle. May you sleep tight and smile down on us. Sweet dreams. Love you for ever your family.' Friend Stacey Beal said: 'I can't believe that I'm actually writing this but today we lost one of our dear friends in the most tragic way, our Titch. 'You will be so incredibly missed by everyone and The George won't be the same without you and that infectious and cheeky grin of yours. 'You made me laugh and smile every time I saw you and 'those stories' we will never forget! 'Have a Guinness for me up there my darling, we will miss you so very very much xxxxxx.' She added: 'It's awful and just so tragic, he was taking part in the Sutton valence charity pram race and he came out of the pram and sustained severe head injuries which once he got to hospital proved to be fatal.' Police are treating his death as a tragic accident. A Kent Police spokesman said: 'Police was called to High Street, Sutton Valence at 12.33pm on January 1 after a man fell from a pram during an organised event. 'The 52-year-old suffered a serious head injury and was airlifted to a London hospital. He later died at hospital at around 1am on 3 January. Next of kin are aware. 'Officers have carried out enquiries into the incident and there are no suspicious circumstances.' Injuries: An off-duty doctor, paramedics and stewards all tended to the man where he fell in Sutton Valence, Kent Assistance: The air ambulance was called and the 52-year-old was flown to a London hospital but he has since died Popular: The annual pram race is extremely popular and raises large amounts for charity Busy: Crowds of people packed the streets and lanes of the village to watch the array of carts zooming down hills Witnesses: People said the man was thrown out and fell at the feet of the crowd - an off-duty doctor and paramedic tended to the man Floral tributes and candles have been left on the green in Sutton Valence, the village where Francis 'Titch' O'Sullivan suffered a fatal head injury on New Year's Day during an annual pram race. One tribute, from a Carl, reads: 'Titch, what a special gentleman you was (sic). Always had time to talk to everybody, was always happy and smiling and of course running. You will be missed by so many. So glad I had the pleasure of knowing you. Rip Bud.' Another, from a fellow racer, said: 'Rest in peace. Tragic loss.' Sarah, Janet and Louisa, onlookers from the day, said: 'So sorry for the loss of such a charitable man. Rip. Thoughts are with all for the loss.' One spectator from the day has told how she rushed to get blankets following the crash. The woman, who would only give her name as Nikki, from Sutton Valence said: 'It happened right outside my house. I ran and got blankets and did all we could for him. 'Everyone came to his rescue - people were straight there to him. There was an off duty paramedic who helped too. 'And the air ambulance was here so quickly.' She added of Mr O'Sullivan: 'I didn't know him well but I knew of him. He was a very nice man. My two boys were watching the race and he said hello to them. 'I've watched the race for the last six years. I hope it doesn't stop. It was a tragic accident.' Contestants in fancy dress speed around the village of Sutton Valence in Kent in homemade 'prams', stopping off at the village's three pubs for a pint in each The soapbox hurtled down the track 'a lot quicker' than other competitors before the trio were sent flying. His two friends are thought to have been hanging on to the sides of the pram as it hurtled down the road, while Mr O'Sullivan was sitting inside. The 52-year-old suffered a serious head injury in the freak incident in front of hundreds of horrified spectators. Witness Melanie Williams said: 'He's a friend of a friend of ours. Suspected broken jaw, fracture skull and neck injury. We saw it, it was awful. They went out if control.' The 52-year-old man fell out and suffered serious injuries to his head and neck and was taken by air ambulance to King's College Hospital in London. He was being pushed by two other men, with all three of them wearing RAF gear, complete with flying goggles, leather jackets and scarves around their necks. Contestants in fancy dress speed around in homemade vehicles, stopping off at the village's three pubs for a pint in each. The race, in which contestants have to complete two laps of the village and which normally attracts thousands of spectators, is believed to have started just before midday, with the accident taking place just after 12.30pm. The contest is in its 37th year, but worries have now been raised that this will be the last following the man's death. Meet the special baby born with a heart-shaped birthmark on his forehead. New parents Murat Engin, 30, and his wife Ceyda, 28, couldn't believe their eyes when their baby Cinar was born with a red mark on his forehead. The tot was such a star in the delivery room that even the nurses took selfies with him. Murat Engin and his wife Ceyda welcomed baby Cina who was born with a birthmark The family said they first noticed Cinar's unusual birthmark when the nurse cleaned his face Cinar, 14 month old, is the first in the family with the special love heart mark. And his besotted parents say he has lots of fans who want to stop and snap photos with this 'love child'. Murat from Ankara in Turkey, said: 'We love him and his birthmark. 'After a nurse cleaned the bloods on his head I was the first who see the birthmark on his head. 'I was really surprised. When I came to close his head I realised that it was an amazing heart. 'It was difficult for me to keep my tears. Several of the nurses at the hospital wanted selfies with the newly arrived infant, pictured Many of the family's friends have described Cinar as the 'love baby' because of the birthmark The family said he has already got many fans because of the unusual birthmark 'The nurse screamed like "Oh my good unbelievable, he is a love baby". 'Then 3 others came and got some selfies. 'When his mother saw him and his birthmark, she started to cry. 'It was really like a gift from God. None of us had negative feelings. 'We believe that he was born with his chance.' Cinar, who is the first in his family to have the adorable mark, has said they have lots of admirers. He said: 'When we walk around, all people smile us and love him. 'All of our friends are curious about his birthmark because of its heart-shape. 'They say that he is a love baby. A drug dealer has allegedly attacked a pregnant woman with a samurai sword after earlier threatening to 'cut up' her unborn child. Melbourne man Johnny Le, 22, allegedly unleashed the attack in Melbourne's Brunswick on Sunday night, the Melbourne Magistrates Court heard on Tuesday. Mr Le and the pregnant woman met on the internet before he began to sell her marijuana, the court heard. Mr Le allegedly threatened to 'cut up' the woman's unborn child before the alleged attack (stock) But the pair's relationship grew threatening when Mr Le began sending her abusive text messages and photographs of his penis, The Age reported. Shortly before the gruesome attack on Sunday night, Mr Le called the woman 'a dumb f***' and threatened to 'cut up her child' in a series of text messages. Then about 10.45pm Mr Le and an associate arrived at the woman's Brunswick home, armed with the samurai sword. The Melbourne man raised the sword over his head with both hands as he stood above the woman and her boyfriend, the court heard on Tuesday. The woman tried to defend herself by attempting to pull the sword away from Mr Le's grip, suffering a cut to the hand in doing so. Her boyfriend also suffered a laceration to the ankle while wrestling Mr Le to the ground. The Melbourne man raised the sword above his head with both hands above the woman and her boyfriend, the court heard on Tuesday Mr Le appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court (pictured) facing 10 charges including intentionally causing injury, affray and breaching bail The boyfriend was also attacked by Mr Le's associate as he wrestled, the court heard. Police said the couple was very lucky they did not suffer far more serious injuries. 'I can only guess what the outcome would have been had they not grabbed the sword,' Constable Sam Gales said in court. The alleged attack on the couple only came to an end when the woman released the handbrake on Mr Le's car, sending them in chase after it. Mr Le is facing 10 charges including intentionally causing injury, affray and breaching bail, but The Age reports those charges could be upgraded. The 22-year-old also faces a string of charges from previous alleged offences including assault, robbery and drug trafficking. He applied for bail at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday, but it was denied by magistrate Michael King due to the severity of charges laid against him. 'People should be able to enjoy the new year without being subjected to such violence and terror,' Mr King said. Mr Le has been remanded to reappear in court again next week. A history fan who spent his 32,000 life savings buying a field because he believed there were secrets hidden below the soil has been proved right after unearthing a lost medieval city. Stuart Wilson bought the 4.6 acre plot of land in South Wales more than a decade ago, because he believed it would become significant in Norman history. Now, twelve years on, the 37-year-old has pieced together his findings to unveil the site as the ancient industrial town of Trellech, South Wales. Scroll down for video History fan Stuart Wilson (pictured) spent his 32,000 life savings on a buying a field before diggin it up to discover a lost medieval city The 37-year-old bought the 4.6 acre plot of land because he was convinced there were secrets hidden below the soil. Pictured is an artefact that he found on the site Mr Wilson discovered the ancient industrial town of Trellech, South Wales, when he became excavation. Pictured is another artefact found on the site So far, Mr Wilson and his volunteers have discovered a manor house (pictured in an artist's impression) with two halls and a courtyard, enclosed with curtain walls and a massive Round Tower The city, which lies between Monmouth and Trelleck, is believed to date back to the 13th century and is thought to have been home to around 10,000 people, including Norman lords of the de Clare family who used it as a place to mass produce iron. So far, Mr Wilson and his volunteers have discovered the remains of a manor house with two halls and a courtyard, enclosed with curtain walls and a massive Round Tower. Within that manor house complex, the group has discovered several different rooms - both with fireplaces. The volunteers have also found a well, in which they have discovered a nearly complete medieval pot, metal work, wooden objects and parts of leather shoes. Mr Wilson - a former toll booth worker who moved back in with his parents so he could afford his field of dreams - said the discovery was highly significant. He said: 'This is a massive settlement dating back to the 13th century. 'At its peak, we're talking about a population of maybe around 10,000 people. In comparison, there were 40,000 in London, so it's quite large. He said the settlement was the home of several Norman lords of the de Clare family who used it as a place to mass produce iron. Pictured is another artefact found on the site Mr Wilson, a former toll booth worker, lived with his parents so he could finance his field of dreams and says the decision has fully paid off. It is pictured during excavation Mr Wilson has hundreds of volunteers ever year to help him with his excavation and is seeking planning permission for an education centre 'This population grew from nothing to that size within 25 years. Now it took 250 years for London to get to 40,000 people, so we're talking a massive expansion. 'And that's just the planned settlement. The slums would have been quite numerous. There you would be talking even 20,000 plus. It's a vast area.' He added that, from what had been discovered so far, it appears as though the inhabitants' life would have been tough. 'If you're working in the fields you are living hand to mouth every single day - it's a really hard existence,' he said. The huge settlement is believed to date back to the 13th century. Another artefact is pictured Mr Wilson said the population swelled to tens of thousands within just 25 years. Pictured above are more artefacts he found under the field 'Suddenly, a big industrial town comes here, this is a great opportunity for you. 'You up-sticks - to hell with your land - 'let's move to the industrial town where the opportunity is'.' He said the settlement was the home of several Norman lords of the de Clare family who used it as a place to mass produce iron. 'It probably had a population about a quarter of the size of medieval London, and it grew from nothing at a much faster rate over 25 years in the mid 1200s,' he added. The field on top of the lost city is shown in a red outline above before excavation work began Mr Wilson says the field (pictured during excavation) is an important site to study Norman life Mr Wilson said that, at its peak, there was a population of maybe around 10,000 people, compared with 40,000 in London. A well found on the site is pictured left while volunteers are seen busy at work, right The buildings appear seem to date back to 1300 A.D. when the town was reorganised and built in stone after the attacks by both English and Welsh forces in the previous decade. Mr Wilson said evidence of the earlier town has been found below some of the buildings, with occupation on the site believed to have started 100 years previously. By 1400 some of the buildings had fallen into ruin and by 1650 after the civil war the last of the buildings were abandoned. The buildings appear seem to date back to 1300 A.D. when the town was reorganised and built in stone after the attacks by both English and Welsh forces in the previous decade. Volunteers are pictured on site during the excavation Mr Wilson - who had to live with his parents to afford the field - says he has no regrets about his bizarre purchase. Volunteers are pictured working on the site during excavation Excavation work began in 2005 and volunteers have already discovered several interesting artefacts, as well as a manor house Mr Wilson has hundreds of volunteers ever year to help him with his excavation and is seeking planning permission for an education centre. He said: 'As we take more on, there's a greater need to expand our campsite and while there are several campsites within a walkable distance, it would be better to have something here.' Mr Wilson, who began excavation work in 2005, says he has no regrets about his bizarre purchase. He said: 'I should have really bought a house and got out from my parents' but I thought: "To hell with my parents, I will stay at home and I shall buy a field instead". An armed gunman is on the run in in Switzerland after shooting two police officers, it has emerged. The attacker struck in the northern Swiss municipality of Rehetobel this morning, it has been reported. A 33-year-old man is understood to have opened fire on two officers during a search operation at 9am. A gunman has shot two police officers in Rehetobel (pictured) Switzerland before going on the run, it has emerged They were both taken to hospital for treatment but the severity of their injuries is not yet known. Eyewitnesses had earlier reported seeing two people lying on the ground. Police have launched a major manhunt for the attacker, who has been described as 'dangerous'. Reports suggest that police know the man and are not treating the incident as terror related. In a follow-up statement, police said they had located the shooter, but a spokesman told a local radio station they had yet to arrest the man. Usually tranquil Switzerland is relatively unaccustomed to gun-related crimes. This is despite having one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world, since citizens are allowed to keep their army-issue weapons at home outside periods of mandatory military service. Advertisement The Phillipines government has claimed it is winning the war on drugs and that the streets are now safer despite new harrowing images of dead bodies littering the country's roads. President Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to rid the country of drug pushers and in a six month brutal campaign, more almost 6,000 people have been killed in police raids and at the hands of vigilantes. It has also seen in surrender of more than 900,000 drug addicts, with many put in overcrowded jails and the confiscation of billions of pounds worth of illicit drugs. The body of a suspected drug dealer lies dead in a street after they were gunned down by unidentified men in Mandaluyong City, east of Manila Another man, who is thought to have been a drug pusher was also killed in Manila by unidentified gunmen on Christmas Eve A police investigator takes pictures of the man's body after officers cordoned off the scene after he was shot dead in the street But despite the number of dead rising the Filipino government said it is making headway in ridding the country of drugs, despite pledges by Duterte to do this within six months. Government spokesman Ernesto Abella said the government had come to regard drugs not only as a national security but also a 'public health issue' which resulted in the building of rehabilitation facilities all over the country. He also added: 'Index crime rates have lowered significantly, telling us that majority of those crimes have been related to drugs. 'So in a sense, it is a question of being able to see it with the right perspective. If you hear anecdotal reports of people, they actually say how much they deeply appreciate the fact that they can go home safer.' A crowd of people gather as funeral parlour workers gather up the body of an alleged drug addict who was killed in Manila The body of the man is then carried away and put into the back of a van ready to be taken to be buried by his family Two police officers make notes at the scene of a shooting in a dark street north of Manila after discovering a dead body Police investigators gather evidence after a police operation against illegal drugs in Navotas City, north of Manila But despite the government claiming victory, new images from the country's capital Manila have shown yet more dead bodies littering the streets as grieving relatives bury their dead. Another picture shows suspected drug pushers rounded into already crowded cells in the country's congested jails. It comes as Duterte has previously declared he does not need martial law during his campaign but has also threatened to impose it during a row with the chief justice of the Supreme Court who had criticised his drug war. But Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, who ministers to the Tondo slum district where many drug suspects have been killed by police, said the country was now under virtual martial rule due to the crackdown. Filipino women cry and embrace after an anti-drugs operation in a slum in Manila saw their relatives shot dead by police A man plays with a toy gun outside the wake of alleged drug pushers on Christmas Eve in Mandaluyong City, east of Manila Malaysian national Nasir Uddin Bin Mohd Hasnan, an alleged drug courier, covers his face after his arrest for allegedly smuggling cocaine 'It is not necessary that you have a declaration of martial law to have martial law,' the bishop said. Another prominent critic, Senator Francis Pangilinan, said Duterte's shifting position on martial rule was not reassuring. 'He said a few days ago that martial law was stupid and didn't work, and yet now he says something else. His lack of clarity is a serious cause for concern.' The mother of Kristine Joy Sailog, mourns at her daughter's wake after the girl was killed by stray bullets on Christmas Eve in a shoot out A Filipino boy looks on as mourners bury the coffin of a slain alleged drug dealer, who was killed in a police operation against illegal drugs Duterte's allies who control parliament have backed his proposal for it to convene as a 'constituent assembly' before he leaves office in 2022 to change the centralised government to a federal system. A fiery populist politician, he was elected by a landslide last May largely on a vow to kill 100,000 criminals, has cultivated an image as a no-nonsense leader. 'These sons of w****s are destroying our children. I warn you, don't go into that, even if you're a policeman, because I will really kill you,' the president told an audience during a speech in the country's capital, Manila. He vowed on one occasion during the election campaign that 100,000 people would die, and so many bodies would be dumped in Manila Bay that the fish there would grow fat from feeding on them Duterte has also made reviving the death penalty in the mainly Catholic nation his top legislative priority as part of his war on crime. Armed police patrol a slum in the Philippines capital Manila and children look on in horror after witnessing an anti-drugs operation An elderly Filipino woman reacts in horror after seeing a dead body outside her home during a police operation against drugs Residents in Pasig city in Manila are rounded up and told to sit on the ground as a Filipino policeman talks to them about drugs A Filipino man sits on the ground after he was rounded up for verification by the police during an anti-drug operation at an informal settlers community in Pasig City An operative from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) mixes chemicals during the destruction of seized materials and paraphernalia used for manufacturing shabu, a cheap form of methamphetamine, at a warehouse in Manila But speaking during a visit to the northern Philippines last month, the 71-year-old lamented how the constitution tied the president's hands in dealing with security crises including war. 'If you have martial law, only one person should be in control,' Duterte said. 'If there's invasion or war and I declare martial law, I cannot proceed on and on to deal with the trouble as I still have to go to Congress, go to the Supreme Court,' he added. 'That's why that needs to be replaced.' Filipinos arrested during a drug buy-bust operation wait to be brought to a police station for verification at a slum area in Manila Plans to force newspapers to pay their opponents' legal costs even if they win in court are 'eminently fair,' Max Mosley, pictured, insisted today Plans to force newspapers to pay their opponents' legal costs even if they win in court are 'eminently fair,' Max Mosley insisted today. The former motor racing boss is hoping the Government will approve Impress, which is almost entirely reliant on his millions, as the new state-backed press regulator. And the multi-millionaire, who was a victim of a newspaper sting himself, threatened to fund state regulation of the press for 'a very long time'. Culture Secretary Karen Bradley will decide whether to implement measures in Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, which would see newspapers who refuse to sign up to an officially-recognised regulator pay the legal costs of both sides in libel and privacy actions brought against them. The move has angered many newspapers, who have overwhelmingly rejected any form of state regulation, warning that it would be a threat to press freedom. Most newspapers have instead signed up to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso), a voluntary independent body not backed by the Government. But Mr Mosley, who has given a staggering 3.8million towards the running costs of Impress, insisted Section 40 should be implemented despite warnings that it would effectively blackmail publications into signing up to a state-backed regulator. He told the BBC: 'The principle is this, that if, let's say, an individual hasn't got a lot of money, wants to sue a newspaper, particularly a big newspaper, then it's a little bit as if you and I are going on a journey and I can only afford a bus because I haven't got a lot of money, you are rich and you can afford a Rolls-Royce and you insist on going in a Rolls-Royce. Culture Secretary Karen Bradley, pictured, will decide whether to implement measures in Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, which would see newspapers who refuse to sign up to an officially-recognised regulator pay the legal costs of both sides in libel and privacy actions brought against them The former motor racing boss Max Mosley, pictured, who was a victim of a newspaper sting himself, threatened to fund state regulation of the press for 'a very long time' 'It's perfectly fair for me then to say "okay, we will go in the Roller, but you should pay for it". 'If a newspaper insists on the luxury of a high court hearing then they pay both sides, but if they go to the thing that's the whole point of Section 40, which is the inexpensive arbitration between them and the claimant, then it costs nobody anything, and of course that's hugely beneficial to small newspapers, local newspapers, because if somebody rich takes them on it's very intimidating, whereas if they can say to the rich person, 'if you have got the money to sue us that's fine, but we insist on going to inexpensive arbitration'. 'If the rich individual refuses then he pays the costs of both sides. It seems to me eminently fair.' Asked how long he would fund Impress, Mr Mosley said: 'I don't know about indefinitely but for a very long time.' The Government is also consulting on whether the second part of the Leveson Inquiry which would look at wrongdoing in the police and press should go ahead. Mr Mosley said part two of the phone hacking inquiry is still necessary. He said: 'You cannot sweep under the carpet a major newspaper group having a very corrupt relationship with a very large police force of which we have seen part, just the tip of the iceberg, during those trials.' A nightclub has caused outrage after picturing Hindu god Shiva with a cigarette hanging out of its mouth while clutching a bottle of Champagne on a poster for a Bollywood party. Elrow - a Barcelona club which takes events around the world - has been forced to apologise for the way it has promoted the Indian themed night in Manchester. The Albert Hall, where the event is due to be staged, has been accused of cultural appropriation and has now changed the image online. Shiva - a supreme being in the Indian religion believed to hold the power to create and transform the universe - was depicted with a chicken beak with a cigarette hanging out his mouth. Disrespectful: Elrow - a Barcelona club which takes events around the world - has been forced to apologise for the way it has promoted the Indian themed night in Manchester The deity is also shown holding a mobile phone with an open Champagne bottle with 'elrow' written across the top plus an inflatable hammer. He is also surrounded by other images of a flamingo, an oil lamp and a tiger with a eye patch. The party, dubbed 'Bollywood themed chaos' on the Albert Hall Manchester website, is due to be held on February 18 and 19. Hiten Mistry, former president of the Kings College London Hindu Society, told student newspaper The Tab the image was offensive to Hindus. Speaking to student newspaper The Tab, he said: 'The Elrow Bollywood picture is disrespectful and insulting to many, including the Hindu community. 'Shiva is one the principal deities of Hinduism and Elrow has depicted Shiva in an unacceptable manner with a party mask and cigarette. 'Also, to use something that many people consider sacred for an event like this is inappropriate. In addition to this, Bollywood and Hinduism are two different things. 'The Warehouse Project, The Albert Hall, Elrow and all other stakeholders should publicly apologise for this and should be more culturally aware. 'This depiction has damaged the brand of The Warehouse Project, The Albert Hall and Elrow. Members of the Hindu and non-Hindu community are angry about this.' Some clubbers took to Twitter to voice their anger at the image artwork. Carys Williams wrote: 'Just put my @elrow- t shirt in the bin after that Bollywood poster sham. The ignorance and disrespect is beyond belief.' Paula Pomroy said: 'Elrow going to have a nightmare over their Bollywood even picture. I don't follow any religion but if I did I would have been offended too.' Venue: The Albert Hall in Manchester, pictured, where the event is due to be staged, has been accused of cultural appropriation and has now changed the image online. The picture, which was originally the cover photo for the Facebook event, has now been cropped and only displays the title of the night. Warehouse Project, which runs the nights at the Albert Hall Manchester, have also released an official statement apologising for any offence caused and Elrow has responded with an apology as well. A spokesman for the club said: 'We would like to apologise to anyone offended by the Elrow Bollywood artwork released yesterday. Homicide detectives are now leading the investigation into her death She had been dead for 12 hours when her body was discovered on December 19 She complained of feeling ill when she arrived for her December 17 shift The 29-year-old Manchester woman worked at the strip club as a dancer Homicide detectives have joined an investigation into the death of a British traveller whose body was found 12 hours after she died, slumped over in a gentlemen's club. Exotic dancer Stacey Tierney, 29, was found dead in Dreams Gentlemen's Club Melbourne where she reportedly worked on Monday, December 19. On Tuesday, police confirmed Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit investigators had spoken to Ms Tierney's family and the Homicide Squad is included in the investigation of her mysterious death. Authorities are awaiting a post-mortem examination. The fitness instructor from Manchester allegedly spent the day before partying with a group of men while the strip club was closed. Homicide detectives have joined an investigation into the death of Stacey Tierney, a 29-year-old British exotic dancer, whose body was found slumped over in a Melbourne strip club The fitness instructor from Manchester had been dead for about 12 hours when she was found in Dreams Gentlemen's Club on Monday, December 19, while it was closed The street entrance of Dreams Gentlemen's Club where Ms Tierney was found dead But the men are believed to have fled when she died, abandoning Ms Tierney's body inside to be discovered when the club opened the next day - 12 hours after she had died. Ms Tierney reportedly told club staff members she was not feeling well when she arrived for her shift on Saturday, December 17, according to 9News. Friends who danced with Ms Tierney at a strip club in Queensland said they immediately feared she had met foul play. 'As soon as I heard she had died I asked if she had been killed... [I] knew in my heart that something was not right,' Briar Rose told Daily Mail Australia. Ms Rose said it was out of character for Mr Tierney to be spending time with men she did not know at a club she worked in after hours. There is no suggestion that the management of the club is implicated in her death. 'She was healthy, didn't touch drugs and was so upbeat about life she wouldn't take her own life,' Ms Rose said. A well-respected club owner revealed to Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday she avoids hiring girls once they have worked at the inner Melbourne strip club and said she was shocked by the recent incident. Friends of Stacey Tierney who lay dead in a strip club for 12 hours instantly feared she had been killed as the former fitness trainer did not do drugs and was in good health Detectives have now taken over the investigation into the mysterious death of the fitness instructor from Manchester and are awaiting a post-mortem examination Ms Tierney had been doing well in Melbourne after leaving the Gold Coast six months ago 'Strippers don't go to clubs when they're closed. It just isn't done,' Ms Rose said A friend of Ms Tierney said she was also working for two other Melbourne venues - Goldfingers (pictured) and The Men's Gallery 'This is disgusting because it is an industry where you can be dealing with fragile young women - who could be easy to take advantage of.' Ms Rose worked with Ms Tierney at a strip club in the Gold Coast before she relocated to Melbourne six months ago and started dancing at Dreams five weeks ago. The New Zealand woman said there was no way Ms Tierney would have been able to gain access to the club alone and insisted she was always the 'first to say no' if offered drugs. A former colleague said Ms Tierney 'deserved so much more' than she was given She said: 'Strippers don't go to clubs when they're closed. It just isn't done.' The former dancer said she was happy to learn Ms Tierney had landed on her feet after relocating to Melbourne. She was earning better money and had moved into a 'fresh new house' shortly before her death, Ms Rose said. 'I was so happy for her because I can honestly say she was the kindest soul I had ever met.' Another dancer, who did not want to be named, told Daily Mail Australia Ms Tierney was also working for two other Melbourne venues - Goldfingers and The Men's Gallery. Both clubs declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia. News of the 'vivacious' young woman's death started circulating around the globe after her body was found, with her family informed she was dead just before Christmas. Ms Tierney's former boyfriend, Matthew Girvan, expressed his disbelief after learning of her death while he was travelling in Indonesia. 'My ex-girlfriend I was with for 6 years passed away. Words can't describe how devastated I am,' he wrote, also sharing an image of them riding a zip line together. Ms Tierney's former boyfriend, Matthew Girvan, expressed his disbelief after learning of her death while travelling in Indonesia and shared an image of them together Other friends have also taken to social media to pay tribute to the young woman who one described s an 'amazing young lady' with a passion for both dancing and teaching Briar Rose (right) feared Ms Tierney (left) met with foul play and said it was odd for her to be at Dreams Gentlemen's club after hours Another dancer, who did not want to be named, told Daily Mail Australia Ms Tierney was also working for two other Melbourne venues - Goldfingers (left) and The Men's Gallery (right) Other friends have also taken to social media to pay tribute to the young woman who one described as an 'amazing young lady' with a passion for both dancing and teaching. 'She gave up many hours of her time to teach at charity events to raise money for different causes,' a man wrote. 'You were such an awesome person to work with and one of the few genuine people in this world and industry! I hope justice is found,' a Gold Coast woman said. A former colleague said Ms Tierney 'deserved so much more' than she was given, adding that she was in a 'safer place now'. Ms Tierney's workplace, Dreams Gentlemen's Club, appears to attract visitors with the offer of 'pleasure at its best'. A former colleague said Ms Tierney 'deserved so much more' than she was given, adding that she was in a 'safer place now' The club attracts visitors with the offer of 'pleasure at its best', but became the scene of a crime once before when construction worker Rongomai Wairau was set upon in April 2011 The club has operated without incident since the attack, up until the death of Ms Tierney (pictured) But the Melbourne venue became the scene of a crime once before when three members of a notorious Australian outlaw motorcycle gang launched a 'ferocious' attack on a man in April 2011. According to The Age, construction worker Rongomai Wairau had his cheek, nose and eye broken after he tried to enter a toilet stall being used by former-Comancheros bikies Moses Lance Folau, Andres Fabian Ruffatt and Samson Bazi. Court documents state Mr Wairau was punched without warning before the men unleashed a flurry of blows, placed him in a choke hold and dragged him up and down the hall. A judge sentenced the men to between two years and 25 months jail over the 'cowardly attack' after they all pleaded guilty to intentionally causing injury. Ms Tierney was working at three Melbourne strip clubs at the time of her death The club caters to bucks parties and private functions, with secluded rooms available away from the marble-clad podiums where the 'Dream Girls' parade kicks off at 1am on Saturday Ms Tierney shared images of herself sporting a Grand Prix costume (left) on a night the club held a themed party for the event (advertised right) Ms Tierney is believed to have been working at the strip club around the time of her death The club has operated without incident since the attack, up until the death of Ms Tierney. The venue caters to bucks parties and private functions, with secluded rooms available away from marble-clad podiums where the 'Dream Girls' parade kicks off at 1am on Saturday. Promotional material advertises three-song lap dances for $50 and often offers free entry for those following its social media accounts if they obtain a secret access word. Events range from poker nights to 'Full Throttle Thursdays' and 'Super Sexy Fridays', with Ms Tierney seen sporting a Grand Prix costume on a night the club held a themed party for the event. Private dancing areas of the club are cordoned off with a red rope and reportedly are not under surveillance. Police have not revealed any details about the last hours of Ms Tierney's life, but said a post-mortem will be conducted to determine her cause of death. Ashley, a friend of Ms Tierney, said she is worried foul play might have been involved Private dancing areas of the club (left) are cordoned off with a red rope and reportedly are not under surveillance Promotional material advertises three-song lap dances for $50 and often offers free entry for those following its social media accounts for a secret access word The club is clad in marble tiles and long, dark fabric curtains to give dancers privacy A spokesperson for Ambulance Victoria confirmed they were called to the scene following reports of a medical issue but could not reveal the circumstances surrounding the incident for privacy reasons. According to reports, Ms Tierney was not alone when she died and had been with a group of unidentified men who fled the scene without reporting her death. Another friend said she told the former Zumba instructor to avoid Dreams Gentlemen's Club as she had a bad feeling about the venue. 'I personally hope someone is charged for this. I'd like to see them punished,' a friend told the Herald Sun. Others shocked by Ms Tierney's death described her as 'streetwise' and said that while she enjoyed a drink, she never took drugs. Ms Tierney (pictured) allegedly worked at Dreams Gentlemen's Club at the time of her death Police have confirmed they are investigating Ms Tierney's death but have not revealed anymore information about the circumstances. Ms Tierney's devastated family said they are still waiting for answers about whether she had been killed and had only heard what has been reported in the media. 'We have not been told anything by the authorities in Australia about this latest information,' a relative who did not want to be named said. 'The family is obviously very upset that Stacey has died. We have been shocked by the articles in the Australian press and on the face of it, it looks like it should be a murder investigation. 'But we are still trying to get in touch with the Australian police because we have still not been given any official information about how she died.' A GoFundMe page launched to give Ms Tierney 'a send off fit for a princess' has exceeded its 10,000 target in just two days. A promoter at the club declined to comment on the investigation. A mother found disturbing pictures of dangling bodies drawn by her son who was almost hanged by bullies as a child and later took his own life. Arthur Stephenson, 18, was just five years old when three boys tried to drag him into a noose hanging from a tree at his local park. Heartbroken mother Jacqueline Peebles, 42, says the traumatic ordeal turned her bubbly son into a clingy, anxious and introverted child, who became an 'easy target' and was 'taunted relentlessly throughout school'. Eventually Arthur, who had dreamed of being a voiceover artist and had funding for a place at university, took an overdose in his bedroom. After his death, Mrs Peebles went through his childhood possessions and discovered a haunting drawing showing two figures hanging from ropes. Arthur Stephenson, pictured, 18, killed himself years after he was almost hanged by a group of teenagers when he was aged five His mother Jacqueline Peebles, pictured, 42, said the trauma turned her 'bubbly' son into a 'anxious and introverted child' Mrs Peebles said her son, left, said she found disturbing drawings of hanging bodies, right, after his death from an overdose The mother-of-two, a delivery driver, says the horrific incident caused her son years of mental torment and eventually led him to take his own life. She has now vowed to dedicate her life to campaigning for bullying to be outlawed and has won the support of MP Tom Brake. Mrs Peebles, of Morden, Surrey, said: 'Before it happened he was always full of life and he was beautiful, honestly. 'He was hard work because he was full of beans so I had to keep an eye on him all the time, but he was lovely. 'I let him out for ten minutes and his spirit was broken. 'Every day from then I watched my son get worse and worse and worse. 'The impact was huge. They killed my boy.' Mrs Peebles, pictured in her son's former bedroom which she has adorned with pictures of him, said the incident with the noose 'killed' her child Arthur, pictured left and right as a child, was attacked by three teenagers in a park in London, who tried to force him into a rope noose hanging from a tree The teenager's life was turned upside down in April 2003, when he was cornered by three teenagers, while at a Park behind his house in London. They smeared him with dog faeces, battered him and tried to drag him away from big sister Jayme, then 10, and into a red-rope noose hanging from a tree. Fortunately, she fought back and stopped the attempted hanging and her friend friend Sasha, also 10, ran to tell Mrs Peebles, who quickly came to the scene. She called the police, but the teenagers fled the park in Bexleyheath, London. Meanwhile Arthur - who had previously been described as a 'vivacious, mischievous toddler' - became 'clingy, withdrawn and frightened to leave the house'. Mrs Peebles said: 'Arthur was distraught. I took him home and called the police and they took a report. 'If Jayme hadn't have fought back, it would have been a very different outcome.' Arthur, pictured aged 13, was only saved when his sister Jayme fought the boys off and a friend alerted his mother Mrs Peebles, pictured, has pledged to commit her life to battling bullying and has launched a petition to have it classified as a crime The mother, pictured with Arthur aged four, reported the incident to Thames Valley Police but no action was taken Despite reporting the incident to Thames Valley Police, they took no action. In the years that followed Arthur spent hours writing dark stories and drawing morbid pictures and suffered from depression, anxiety and hearing voices. Mrs Peebles said she pleaded with doctors for help for years, but it wasn't until the family moved to Carshalton, London that support came from local MP Tom Brake. Then-aged 16, Arthur was prescribed medication to help combat his mental health issues. But his grieving mother said it was too little too late and the youngster committed suicide on November 1 last year, shortly after his 18th birthday. Mrs Peebles said: 'I'm not a hateful person, but I have got so much hate for those boys. 'It is so cruel. They are out there lording it up with girlfriends and jobs, doing everything that my son has never ever had. 'He did nothing. He never smoked or had tea or coffee. He never had an intimate experience with a woman, he never drank alcohol. 'My poor Arthur never had a chance. It has killed me too.' Mrs Peebles, pictured, said Arthur was finally given medical help for mental illness aged 16 after years of pleading with doctors, but that it was 'too little too late' Before the incident, Mrs Peebles said Arthur, pictured aged one, was a 'vivacious and mischievous toddler' Mrs Peebles revealed her son, pictured, also wrote 'dark stories', heard voices and suffered from depression She has pledged to dedicate the rest of her life to campaigning against bullying. Mrs Peebles has now set up a petition calling for bullying to be classified as a crime. Tom Brake, MP for Carshalton and Wallington, added: 'Bullying can have a catastrophic effect on a young child and any child bullied, who develops mental health issues, will need immediate and appropriate support to prevent this from escalating. 'Enduring mental health conditions and suicide as a result of bullying are tragic. 'I was pleased to assist Ms Peebles when she moved into my borough and look forward to meeting her to talk about bullying and mental health support issues.' Claude Knights, CEO of children's charity Kidscape, said: 'This very tragic case shows all too clearly the long-term consequences of bullying.' 'Bullying behaviour must be dealt with robustly,' she added. 'There needs to be greater awareness of its destructive consequences, with schools, families and communities working together to challenge bullying in all its forms.' To sign the petition, click here. Jeremy Corbyn should consider stepping down as Labour leader if the party's poll ratings do not improve by 2019, one of his closest allies has declared. 'Red' Len McCluskey, general secretary of the Unite union, said the veteran left-wing leader and shadow chancellor John McDonnell would examine the situation and insisted they were not 'desperate to cling on to power for power's sake'. He is the latest support of Mr Corbyn to suggest he might have to stand aside before the 2020 General Election. And his comments came as new analysis predicted disaster for Labour at the next election, with the party set to lose nearly half the voters who backed Labour in 2015 under Ed Miliband. Shadow housing minister John Healey said he agreed with Mr McCluskey's assessment of Labour's dire polling numbers. 'Of course he's right, they're awful,' he said. Jeremy Corbyn, right, should consider stepping down as Labour leader if the party's poll ratings do not improve by 2019, Unite chief and close ally Len McCluskey, left, said Jeremy Corbyn, left, and shadow chancellor John McDonnell, right, would examine the situation and insisted they were not 'desperate to cling on to power for power's sake,' Len McCluskey said Four million voters 44 per cent of those supporting the party just a year and a half ago have deserted it. Research by the Fabian Society predicts Mr Corbyn could lose Labour around 90 MPs, taking Labour to below 200 seats for the first time in more than 80 years. The Blairite think tank suggested Labour should form pacts with the Scottish nationalists and the Lib Dems to regain power. But Mr Healey rejected the idea of agreeing deals with other left-leaning parties. He told the BBC: 'The challenge now for me and the Shadow Cabinet and the whole of the party and Jeremy Corbyn as leader is to demonstrate that we can be a strong opposition and a convincing alternative to the Conservatives and that we can win over and win back public opinion, particularly those voters we've lost in recent years.' In a sign of hope for moderates trying to oust Mr Corbyn, Mr McCluskey told the Daily Mirror: 'Let's suppose we are not having a snap election it buys into this question of what happens if we get to 2019 and opinion polls are still awful. 'The truth is everybody would examine that situation, including Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell they are not desperate to cling on to power for power's sake.' Last month shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, another close ally of Mr Corbyn, suggested he had 12 months to turn Labour's fortunes around. CORBYN HAS LOST 4M VOTERS WHO BACKED LABOUR IN 2015 Jeremy Corbyn as lost nearly half the voters who backed Labour in 2015 under Ed Miliband, an analysis by the Fabian Society has shown Jeremy Corbyn has lost nearly half the voters who backed Labour in 2015 under Ed Miliband, an analysis by the Fabian Society has shown. Four million voters 44 per cent of those supporting the party just a year and a half ago have deserted it. The study, using YouGov data, predicts Mr Corbyn could lose around 90 MPs, taking Labour to below 200 seats for the first time in more than 80 years. Today's report by the Fabian Society, a moderate Labour-supporting think-tank, warns that the party has almost no chance of winning the next election. The Blairite-affiliated group said it had become unthinkable that Labour could govern alone and urged it to form a centre-Left coalition with other parties. The swing required by Labour to win the next general election will be 8.7 per cent almost double the 4.6 per cent threshold it required and failed to get at the last general election. Advertisement As as Labour slumped to 25 per cent in the polls, another hard-left backer, Ken Livingstone, said: 'If it's as bad as this in a year's time, we would all be worried.' Mr McCluskey has attempted to play down his comments, taking to Twitter to insist Mr Corbyn continues to have his 'full support'. But his comments generated a furious backlash from his Unite rival Gerard Coyne, who is challenging Mr McCluskey for the leadership of the union. Mr Coyne, Unite's West Midlands regional secretary, accused Mr McCluskey of acting as Labour's 'puppet master' by giving Mr Corbyn an ultimatum. He said Mr McCluskey should be representing workers rather than 'playing politics'. But hitting back on Twitter, the Unite chief claimed Mr Coyne's campaign was being run by 'failed plotters' who had tried to oust Mr Corbyn and for whom Unite would be 'collateral damage in their political project to bring back Blairism'. Opponents of Mr Corbyn hope that Gerard Coyne, the moderate candidate in Unite's leadership election, will oust Mr McCluskey, which could significantly weaken the hard-left's control of the Labour party. It could open the way for a fresh bid by MPs to topple Mr Corbyn next year. A change of leadership at Unite could change its relationship with Mr Corbyn's leadership and moderate Labour MPs hope that the loss in funding and support would help them in their bid to oust Mr Corbyn before the 2020 General Election. Hitting out at Mr McCluskey's latest remarks, Mr Coyne said: 'I am astonished and deeply concerned that, at a time like this, Len McCluskey should deliver what amounts to a public ultimatum to the leader of the Labour Party. 'My criticism of his handling of the role of general secretary of Unite is not whether he has backed the right leader or the wrong leader of the Labour Party, but that he appears to think it is his job to be Labour's puppet master. 'In 2015 and in 2016, he decided the Labour Party should be led by Jeremy Corbyn, and spent hundreds of thousands of pounds of Unite members' money to make that happen. 'It is not in the interest of Unite's members that the general secretary should spend so much of his time and their money playing politics.' But Mr McCluskey responded: 'He claims that I decided that Unite should support Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader in 2015 and 2016. Shadow housing minister John Healey, pictured, said he agreed with Mr McCluskey's assessment of Labour's dire polling numbers. 'Of course he's right, they're awful,' he said New analysis predicted disaster for Labour at the next election, with the party set to lose nearly half the voters who backed Labour in 2015 under Ed Miliband. Pictured, Jeremy Corbyn delivers his New Year message from his parliamentary office 'Yet the truth, as he is well aware, is that in 2015 this was a decision of our elected lay executive council, and in 2016 of our 600-strong policy conference, by a vast majority. 'To claim otherwise is to disrespect our membership and our democracy, while asserting that our union is a political 'puppet master' panders to the worst anti-Labour stereotypes of the media. 'These unscrupulous remarks show that Gerard Coyne's campaign is not being driven by concern for Unite and its members' interests. 'It is being scripted by the failed plotters in the Parliamentary Labour Party, for whom Unite would be collateral damage in their political project to bring back Blairism.' A change of leadership at Unite could change its relationship with Mr Corbyn's leadership and moderate Labour MPs hope that the loss in funding and support would help them in their bid to oust Mr Corbyn before the 2020 General Election. Pictured, Jeremy Corbyn speaks at a Save Our Steel protest in May along with Len McCluskey, pictured behind Today's report by the Fabian Society, a moderate Labour-supporting think-tank, warns that the party has almost no chance of winning the next election. The Blairite-affiliated group said it had become unthinkable that Labour could govern alone and urged it to form a centre-Left coalition with other parties. The swing required by Labour to win the next general election will be 8.7 per cent almost double the 4.6 per cent threshold it required and failed to get at the last general election. The Fabian Society's Andrew Harrop said: 'Labour is around twice as far from victory as it was in the run-up to 2015 As things stand, Labour is on track to win fewer than 200 seats, whether the next election comes this year or in 2020. 'Even if Labour recovers it has almost no chance of securing a majority in a general election, because it needs over three million more votes than the Conservatives to win.' The report predicts Labour is likely to win 140 to 200 big city and ex-industrial constituencies if its share of the vote falls to 20 per cent, which would be a further retreat from the 231 seats it currently holds. It warns that at the next election, Labour could hold no seats in Scotland it only has one at present and there are no signs of the Scottish party successfully fighting the SNP landslide. But despite the warnings, Scottish Labour rejected the suggestion it should make a pact with the Scottish nationalists. 'Labour is a socialist party. The SNP most certainly isn't,' a spokesperson said. Only the first-past-the-post system saves Labour from wipeout, meaning it will almost certainly remain the main opposition party the Lib Dems or Ukip could only break through if they won many more votes than Labour nationally. A poll for the Times by YouGov yesterday put Labour support at a record low for eight years just 24 per cent. The Tories were at 39 per cent, Ukip 14 per cent and the Lib Dems 12 per cent. Britains train ticket system bamboozles many of us, and this series of calculations proves just how hard it can be to find the cheapest way of getting from A to B. Andy Horton, 22, spent an hour trying to calculate the cheapest way of travelling from his home in Hampshire to his 23-year-old girlfriend Lucinda in Devon. And the time he spent paid off after he made a 32.15 saving on the normal full price of 69.65, with his trip coming in at 37.50 thanks to splitting his ticket. The mechanical engineering graduate split his ticket into three different parts - from Petersfield to Guildford, Guildford to Totnes via Reading and Totnes to Ivybridge. Andy Horton's calculations for his journey between Petersfield (PTR) and Ivybridge (I). Other stations are listed as: P = Portsmouth, W = Westbury, G = Guildford, R = Reading, B = Bristol, S = Salisbury and E = Exeter. He eventually found journey two (PTR-G-R-I) was the cheapest route This legal 'splitting' process involves calculating if it's cheaper to buy multiple tickets for different parts of the same journey - without necessarily having to change train. It sees passengers take the same journey with two cheaper tickets instead of one more expensive one, without having to break the journey at the middle station. Mr Horton also worked out several different routes from Petersfield to Ivybridge, including going via Portsmouth, Westbury, Guildford, Reading, Salisbury or Exeter. Among the four routes he calculated on Christmas Eve for travel on December 28 was Petersfield-Guildford-Reading-Ivybridge, which emerged as the cheapest. The others were Petersfield-Portsmouth-Bristol-Ivybridge, Petersfield-Portsmouth-Westbury-Ivybridge and Petersfield-Portsmouth-Salisbury-Exeter-Ivybridge. Working it out: Mr Horton (left), 22, spent an hour trying to calculate the cheapest way of travelling from his home in Hampshire to his 23-year-old girlfriend Lucinda (right) in Devon Mr Horton billed the train tickets system 'daft' and said he was frustrated by how it disadvantages people who lack the technology skills to work out split tickets. He told MailOnline today: It's quite satisfying but a bit annoying - when my mum came and met me at uni (in Plymouth) she was always spending 80 on a ticket. They were fleecing her, through no fault of the ticket office, just the people higher up. They are fleecing people who can't use technology. Mr Horton, who is on a graduate scheme at a telecommunications company in Berkshire, added: Co-operation between network operators seems to be the issue. Starting point: Mr Horton worked out different routes from Petersfield station (pictured) to Ivybridge, including going via Portsmouth, Westbury, Guildford, Reading, Salisbury or Exeter I changed network operators from South West Trains to Great Western Railway and that seems to put the price up. TIPS FOR SAVING MONEY ON TRAINS SINGLES CAN BEAT RETURNS: Some of the best deals are available on advance one-way fares, meaning it is often cheaper to buy two singles rather than one return. It can even sometimes be cheaper to buy a first-class single rather than a standard-class ticket. CHECK YOUR JOURNEY UP TO 12 WEEKS EARLY: Network Rail must have the timetable set 12 weeks in advance, so operators usually release their cheap advance tickets soon after. You can sign up to alerts from operators to find out when specific advance tickets are available. Most advance tickets are on sale until up to 6pm the day before. BUY A RAILCARD: Most Railcards cost 30 per year - or 70 for three - and cut a third off the price of many tickets. You can even get discounts on a Railcard itself. They are available for families, people aged 16 to 25, those aged over 60, the disabled and any two people travelling together. Advertisement Some travellers work out the various ticket split possibilities manually, while others use apps such as TicketySplit from MoneySavingExpert to do the work. Care must be taken if you must change trains, splits are not always identical for the same service and the train must call at all stations you buy tickets to or from. The practice is within train operating companies' terms and conditions, but is not advertised by them - the emphasis is on the user to work out the best deal. Mr Horton, who studied mechanical engineering at Plymouth University, made his calculations days before protests were held at railway stations today as commuters hit by the annual rise in train fares returned to work. Campaigners Action For Rail organised the day of action after the average increase across Britain of 2.3 per cent came into force yesterday. The trade-union backed group organised demonstrations at more than 100 stations today, including in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry were among the protesters at London King's Cross. Via The Globe and Mail: Why world-beating tropical drugs are so hard to get in Canada. Excerpt: When an Alberta man mysteriously fell ill in the fall, it took a team of doctors and a biopsy of the patients muscle tissue to discover the cause: sarcocystosis, a rare parasitic infection. The patients doctors wanted to treat him with albendazole, a common anti-worm pill that has been used safely around the globe for more than 20 years, and which is on the World Health Organizations list of essential medicines. But albendazole is not available in Canada. A Health Canada program that allows seriously ill patients to obtain unlicensed drugs known as the Special Access Programme (SAP) turned down the doctors request. So Stan Houston, a University of Alberta professor of medicine and public health who was in Zimbabwe for work, walked into a private pharmacy in the southern African country, plunked down $60 (U.S.) and brought home in his suitcase a 14-day course of albendazole for the patient, who was being treated by some of Dr. Houstons medical colleagues. Im not quite sure of the legality, but Im totally comfortable with the ethics of it, Dr. Houston said. The bottom line is that, after immense thought and effort and investigation, real experts thought this was the best thing to do and SAP said no. Albendazole is one of a handful of older, world-beating medications that tropical-medicine doctors and infectious-disease specialists say are badly needed in Canada, but that cannot be prescribed because no pharmaceutical company has stepped up to license them here. The problem is not the safety or efficacy of these drugs. Its the size of the Canadian market. Drug makers cannot wring a profit from pills that only a few hundred migrants and travellers take every year. This is the horrific moment a crocodile bits a keeper's arm during a show - and snaps it in half. Trainer Sumet Thongkhammuan was entertaining crowds at the Bung Boraphet 'Show of Crocodiles' in Nakhon Sawan, Thailand on New Years Eve. He teases the enormous reptile by poking its head with a stick - then shows off by placing his arm deep inside the beast's deadly jaws. Trainer Sumet Thongkhammuan stuck his arm into the crocodile's mouth in Thailand Thongkhammuan goaded the animal at the Bung Boraphet 'Show of Crocodiles' Shocked tourists filmed Thongkhammuan's desperate attempts to escape from the crocodile But the crocodile snaps his mouth shut - and then flips over Thongkhammuan in a death roll to mimic drowning him, Incredibly, Thongkhammuan emerges alive but holding up his arm broken in half with his hand hanging losely in the air. Duangruedi Di Satefano recorded the horror accident on her phone. She said: 'It was very scary. The man's hand was broken in half. He was very lucky to still be alive.' It is the third crocodile attack capture in Thailand in under a week. Last week a trainer had to do a death roll when a crocodile bit his wrist at Phuket Crocodile Farm in Phuket. While a French female tourist was attacked while posing for a selfie with a crocodile in Khao Yai. Crocodiles are a popular in Thailand - doubling as a tourist attraction and a heavily-farmed reptile whose leathers are used to make goods including clothes, designer handbags and shoes. Shocked tourists filmed Thongkhammuan's attempts to flee from the angry crocodile A man claims to see an 'apparition' at the top of a driveway outside a burnt-out home. Mark McIlroy is convinced the outline in this photograph taken on the Gold Coast is actually a spirit. 'It's definitely a robed figure, definitely an apparition, even when I enlarge the photo,' Mr McIlroy, a self-confessed ghost hunter, told the Gold Coast Bulletin. Look carefully: Can you see a robed ghost standing at the top of this driveway? A Queensland bystander took the image on October 19 after a fire destroyed a house in suburban Highland Park. Mr McIlroy, who uses gadgets to detect spirits, is convinced the dark figure in a robe is a ghost, even though no one died in the house fire 12 days before Halloween. 'While there wasn't anyone killed in the fire we don't know what was there before that house, they can be attached to the land,' he told the Gold Coast Bulletin. 'There's a chance the fire could have stirred it.' Home renovations or environmental disturbances could trigger paranormal activity, Mr McIlroy said. He runs a ghost hunting group on the Gold Coast called Paranormal Project. A dark, robed figure, circled in the picture, appeared in a photograph taken in October of burnt-out house on the Gold Coast A shocking video shows a woman in northern China smashing her vehicle into a police car after she was caught vandalising shop windows. The woman can be seen ramming her car towards the police vehicle before trying to attack the officers with a cleaver in the footage yesterday, reports the People's Daily Online. According to police, the woman has been detained. Towards the end of the footage, the woman can be seen wielding a cleaver Angry rage: In the footage, the woman can be seen ramming into the police vehicle Shocking: The woman rams into the police car a total of four times during the incident The footage was taken on January 2, 2017 in Jixi City, northern China's Heilongjiang province. In the video the woman can be seen driving at the police car several times. She rams her vehicle into the police car four times before the police vehicle then decides to ram into her car. The woman can then be seen getting out of the vehicle and attempting to throw a cleaver at the police car. According to witnesses, she had been caught by officers vandalising shop windows and decided to attack the police vehicle. Shocking: The footage was recorded on February 2 by a passerby in northern China According to a report, the woman was thought to be under the influence of drugs at the time In the video the woman can be seen driving at the police car several times It's unclear why the woman chose to vandalise the windows. Police say she has been detained and further investigation is currently underway. According to one report, the woman is suspected of drug abuse. People have been commenting on the story on social media site Pear Video. One user commented: 'A price had to be paid for not controlling her temper.' While another wrote: 'What's the point of venting anger for just a while.' And one said: 'She would have been shot by police if she was in the US.' Bizarre incident: It's unclear as to why the woman decided to smash the shop windows A terror suspect linked to Osama bin Laden has been given the right to stay in the UK indefinitely. A judge overruled the Governments 21-year battle to deport the Algerian man, known only as G. The wheelchair-bound father has repeatedly defeated the Governments attempts to deport him back to Algeria despite arriving on a fake French passport and being accused of helping to recruit British Muslims for terrorist training camps overseas. A terror suspect linked to Osama bin Laden has been given the right to stay in the UK indefinitely. A judge overruled the Governments 21-year battle to deport the Algerian man, known only as G The judge said the ongoing threat of deportation had affected his mental health and also quashed government restrictions on his movement, the Daily Telegraph reported. He was forced to remain at his home address and report to his local police station once a month. The unnamed man will also be able to study algebra at the Open University, the judge ruled. The case deals a major blow to Home efforts to deport foreign jihadists and further proof of restrictive European human rights laws. It is the latest deportation case Home Secretary Amber Rudd has lost. The case is the latest deportation case Home Secretary Amber Rudd, pictured has lost G arrived in Britain in August 1995 using a fake French passport. The Government pressed ahead with efforts to deport him after evidence he was a suspected terrorist and posed a risk to national security. According to the Home Office he was an active supporter of the Algerian terror group Salafist Group for Call and Combat, which is allegedly linked to Bin Ladens terrorist network. He has lost two appeals against deportation but has used human rights laws to stay in the UK. The judge told a Special Immigration Appeals Commission last month that the man was no longer a risk to national security and ruled that ongoing threats to deport him was damaging his mental health. Monell, 32, was charged with murder and weapons possession in absentia Friends say O'Shea had her throat slit by Monell who went on the run in the area Monell's wife Tara O'Shea was found dead in her home on December 19 A man accused of killing his estranged wife has been found and detained by New Jersey Police after a massive man hunt. Jeremiah Monell, of Cumberland County, was captured on Monday in a wooded area in Folsom some two weeks after his wife Tara OShea was found dead in her home with her throat supposedly slit. Authorities conducted an intensive air and ground search for Monell, 32, in Lawrence Township where authorities located his abandoned truck. Jeremiah Monell, 32 (left), is suspected of killing his wife, 36-year-old Tara O'Shea (right) State police had offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to Monell's arrest. The body of his 36-year-old wife was discovered by troopers shortly after 8am on December 19 at her home on Raymond Drive in Commercial Township. State police have not said how the woman died, only calling her death suspicious. Grisly end: Friends claim O'Shea had her throat slit in front of her 12-yer-old son (pictured) OSheas friends and family, however, revealed to the station WPVI that Monell slit her throat in front of the couples 12-year-old son, who then ran to a neighbor's home for help. The suspect had been charged in absentia with murder and weapons possession, with his bail set at $1million. The victim's childhood friend Jen Messeck told NJ.com O'Shea had been planning to move out of New Jersey with her children to get away from Monell. Messeck launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover O'Shea's funeral expenses. Other friends of O'Shea's said the mother-of-two had endured years of physical violence at the hands of her husband. Friends of O'Shea's said the mother-of-two had endured years of physical violence at the hands of her husband (left and right). She had recently obtained a protective order against him Monell was driving a blue 1994 Chevrolet pickup truck (pictured) with New Jersey license plate X91GJV 'You don't know how many times she came to my house beat up,' victim's friend Penny Morey said. The friend added in an interview with NJ.com that O'Shea was afraid of her husband and told anyone who would listen that eventually Monell was going to kill her. Reynolds and Carrie have both said that Karl gambled away Reynolds' fortune, while refusing to let her work in Hollywood and frequently cheating on her Todd's line about standing by his girls is likely a nod to the fact that this photo was taken at the same time Reynolds left second husband Harry Karl That play was also the Broadway debut of 15-year-old Carrie, who played a debutante The photo was taken in 1973 when Reynolds was living in New York City to star in the revival of the Broadway musical Irene 'It has been my privilege to stand by my girls for all these years. They are together again,' wrote Todd Todd Fisher paid tribute to his mom and big sister by posting a never-before-seen photo of the three on Twitter. Reynolds, who was 41 at the time, and daughter Carrie, just 15, look stunning as they stand in the middle of Central Park wearing formal tea dresses and wide brimmed straw hats decorated with flowers. Todd is seen lurking behind the two women dressed in a tuxedo for the portrait session. 'It has been my privilege to stand by my girls for all these years. They are together again,' wrote Todd. The picture of Reynolds and her two children was taken in 1973, when the screen legend was living in New York City while she starred in a revival of the Broadway musical Irene. That play also marked the Broadway debut of Carrie, who had a small role in the production playing a debutante. Reynolds previously posted another image from the session on her Facebook page in 2014, writing: 'A flashback to 1972 in Central Park; I was in Irene and Carrie Fisher was in the chorus... Todd, he was being Todd.' Scroll down for video Family: Todd Fisher posted a never-before-seen photo of himself with mother Debbie Reynolds and a teenage Carrie Fisher on Twitter (above, photo taken in 1973) Tribute: 'It has been my privilege to stand by my girls for all these years. They are together again,' wrote Todd (above) Styling: The photo was taken in 1973 when Reynolds was living in New York City to star in the revival of the Broadway musical Irene (another photo from the session in Central Park above) Loving mother: Reynolds shared an image from the photo shoot on hr Facebook in 2014, writing: ''A flashback to 1972 in Central Park; I was in Irene and Carrie Fisher was in the chorus... Todd, he was being Todd' (above) The photo also has extra significance because of when it was taken. In 1973, Reynolds had just made the decision to leave her second husband Harry Karl after 13 years of marriage. The union between the actress and businessman appeared to be a happy one, but years later it was revealed that things were not as they seemed between the two. Reynolds and Carrie later revealed in a 2011 interview with Oprah that Karl forced his wife to stop working in Hollywood, gambled away her $7million fortune, and cheated on her countless times with prostitutes who were sent to the house claiming to be barbers and manicurists. Karl would then enjoy the women while pretending to be groomed said Reynolds. The photo Todd posted would therefore mark the moment that Reynolds, broke but working again, was once again on her own with just her two children. Todd paid tribute to the two last Thursday as well, one day after Reynolds passed away following the death of her daughter. 'This is a beautiful love story to witness in my 58 years. I miss them both so much. Love is everlasting,' wrote Todd in a touching post on Twitter. That post also included a colored drawing of Carrie and Reynolds walking into heaven with their arms around one another. The women did not appear as themselves however but rather as their two most famous characters - Princess Leia from Star Wars and Singin' In the Rain's leading lady Kathy Selden. Stringer together: Todd's line about standing by his girls is likely a nod to the fact that the photo was taken at the same time Reynolds left second husband Harry Karl (Reynolds with Carrie and Todd in 1960 on left, and in 1989 on right) Icons: Carrie appeared as Princess Leia from Star Wars and while Reynolds was Singin' In the Rain's leading lady Kathy Selden in a Twitter tribute posted by Todd last Thursday (above) Todd spoke about the deaths of the two in an interview with 20/20 that aired on ABC last week, and the shock of his mother's death one day after losing his sister. He said in that interview Reynolds did not die of a broken heart, despite what some may think. 'I was on her bed with her and I watched her leave and go to Carrie,' said Todd. He also said that his mother may have passed because 'she didn't want to leave Carrie and did not want her to be alone.' A jealous wife who found her husband with a younger woman has been accused of ramming his van off the road before smashing into his lover's vehicle too. Shocking dashcam footage shows a dark blue Ford Ranger driving into a Ford Transit van and forcing it off a road near Crowdy Head, New South Wales. Witnesses claim they then saw a 'disgruntled wife' drive the same vehicle into a car owned by a younger woman who had parked up at a nearby surf club. 'The wife found her hubby down the road with another girlfriend and she's rammed him in his car,' a police source told Daily Mail Australia. A jealous wife who found her husband with a younger woman has been accused of ramming his van (pictured) off the road before smashing into his lover's vehicle too A fracas is alleged to have broken out between the man, his wife and his lover in a nearby car park. No one was injured but both a Ford Ranger and Ford Transit van were found damaged nearby as was a yellow Kia. Police were called about 1pm on December 30 and a 58-year-old woman was arrested. She was taken to Taree Police Station and was released without charge pending further investigation. Shocking dashcam footage shows a dark blue Ford Ranger driving into a Ford Transit van and forcing it off a road near Crowdy Head, New South Wales Witnesses claim they then saw a 'disgruntled wife' drive the same vehicle into a car owned by a younger woman, who had parked up at a nearby surf club A 57-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman - believed to be the owner of the Kia - spoke to police at the scene but were not arrested. A police source told Daily Mail Australia that the incident was 'domestic'. A witness, who wished to remain anonymous, said the woman drove her 4x4 'head-on' into the husband's girlfriend's car. A woman was praised for her bravery today after she scratched and kicked a sex attacker who ripped at her clothes and tried to rape her in a park. Detectives said she 'put up a hell of a fight' and although she was sexually assaulted, she foiled the man's attempts to rape the 22-year-old woman. Dorset Police this morning issued CCTV images of the suspect who pounced as the woman walked through Kings Park in Bournemouth. Detectives want to speak to this man after a sex attacker attempted to rape a woman in a park in Bournemouth on New Year's Day The attack at 4am on New Year's Day came as revellers made their way home from clubs and parties in the early hours after celebrating the start of 2017. Police say the would-be rapist, an Asian man possibly of Japanese or Chinese descent, left her with cuts and bruises to her face. A spokesman said they are treating it as an attempted rape and appealed for help from the public to catch the man before he strikes again. Detective Sergeant Enjay Barritt, of the Serious Sexual Offences Unit, said 'Following initial enquiries I am now in a position to release CCTV images of a man I would like to speak with as he may be able to assist with the investigation. 'I would ask the man pictured or anyone who knows him to come forward and contact police urgently. 'Also, I would like to hear from any witnesses to the incident or anyone with information about the man responsible.' He has tanned skin, is aged in his late 20s or early 30s, is around 5ft 3ins to 5ft 8ins tall and of medium build. He has black hair, was wearing a brown jacket and black trousers and had cigarettes. Local councillor Jane Kelly said 'It must have been such a horrible experience for the young woman and I hope she's recovering at home with her family and friends around her. Dorset Police this morning issued CCTV images of the suspect who pounced as the woman walked through Kings Park in Bournemouth (pictured) 'These sort of things shouldn't happen. It's very sad. I just hope that they catch the man responsible for this attack.' High-visibility patrols are being carried out by local officers to offer reassurance to the community. Elaine Findlay, of the Friends of King's Park, said she was shocked to hear about the attack. 'I am aware that King's Park has its problems. We are often plagued with anti-social behaviour and the occasional drug or drinking issue but it's surprising to hear that an attempted sexual assault has taken place there. 'Personally I don't consider it to be a dangerous place but it's worrying to think that such a nasty incident has happened there.' Embattled former One Nation Senator Rod Culleton was ambushed outside a courthouse. Senator Culleton fell and injured his wrist during a physical altercation with another man. The man approached the Senator outside court with some papers and chased him up the street, causing the influential crossbench politician to be hospitalised as a result of the scuffle. One Nation member Anthony Fels was reportedly serving the West Australian independent senator bankruptcy papers when an altercation occurred on Tuesday morning. Former One Nation senator Rod Culleton falls to the ground Senator Culleton, who had been in court for a civil matter involving his former friends Bruce Bell and Frank Bertola, fell over during the confrontation with Mr Fels, footage shows. Seven News footage captured the altercation outside Perth Magistrates Court where Senator Culleton goes toe-to-toe with Mr Fels. The Senator was captured on camera on the ground wearing a light-blue jacket as Mr Fels threw papers at him. A man can be heard in the background shouting 'get off my dad' as Senator Culleton gets back on his feet and removes his jacket while charging towards the One Nation member. A man steps in between the pair as they shout angrily at one another. The senator's spokeswoman told AAP Mr Fels had chased him up the street, causing him to fall. Senator Culleton, 52, was treated for an injured wrist at Royal Perth Hospital, including an X-ray to check if it is broken before being discharged on Tuesday night. One Nation member Anthony Fels (pictured left in the maroon shirt) tries to serve Senator Rod Culleton with legal papers outside Perth Magistrates Court Senator Rod Culleton (pictured left taking off his blue jacket after getting back on his feet) outside Perth Magistrates Court A police spokeswoman said officers were investigating the incident. A Federal Court judge shortly before Christmas found Senator Culleton to be bankrupt, which would disqualify him from parliament if the order stood, but he vowed at the time to appeal the case. Justice Michael Barker has granted a 21-day stay on the bankruptcy order. The West Australian District Court had ordered Senator Culleton to pay former Wesfarmers director Dick Lester $205,536 in 2013 - which has since increased to $280,000 - over unpaid rent relating to a $13.2 million 2009 property acquisition deal that soured. Culleton was elected in July as a senator for Western Australia with Pauline Hanson's One Nation group but resigned from her party in December following his legal controversies. West Australian crossbench senator Rod Culleton is being treated in Royal Perth Hospital for his wrist injury A British soldier who died at an Iraqi base was shot by a colleague, it has been reported. Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington, 22, died in mysterious circumstances at a base in Taji, north of Baghdad. The Ministry of Defence is still investigating the death but said the 'incident' was not the result of enemy activity. Sky News understands Lance Corporal Hetherington was shot by a fellow British soldier. Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington, from Manchester, died at a base in Taji, north of Baghdad The 22-year-old is believed to have become a father to a baby girl less than three months ago Lance Corporal Hetherington, pictured with girlfriend Savannah, was described as a 'superb soldier' The soldier, from Middleton in Manchester, was serving with the 2nd Battalion the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment. He is believed to have become a father to a baby girl less than three months ago. The MoD has opened an investigation into the death. The battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Rob Singleton, said: 'Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington was a superb soldier and a first class leader. 'Utterly professional and talented, he was full of character, fun and his enthusiasm was infectious. 'The Battalion has lost a huge talent and a real character. He will be missed dearly and we will never forget him. Our hearts go out to his parents, his siblings, his girlfriend and his young daughter. They are in all of our thoughts.' Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington And one of the soldier's colleagues, identified as Lance Corporal Lynch, said: 'Snowball was a top bloke. You could always count on him to have a laugh, and he always had an answer for everything. 'He was such a big character. He will be greatly missed by the whole Battalion.' Devastated friends and family have paid emotional tributes to the soldier, with many quoting the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment's motto 'Nec Aspera Terrent' - which roughly translates as 'Difficulties be Damned'. Nicola Hetherington said the soldier's family was 'heartbroken'. Nigel Hetherington posted on Facebook: 'I'll always love you kid. So proud of you it's unreal. I'll never forget you or your stories. 'You truly are one in a million. Sleep tight little bro. Look after nan for us until we meet again. Love you Scott, more than I ever let on.' Amber Roberts posted: 'What an impact you made on so many lives. I don't think I've ever met anybody with a happier soul. You will be missed so much. Rest well. You will forever be in our hearts.' The British soldier died in Taji, Iraq, while training troops to fight against ISIS, the Ministry of Defence confirmed today Liam Jackson posted: 'Scott Hetherington, you're a little star. I'm absolutely gutted I've had my heart torn out. You never think anything like this will happen to any of your family. You did your country and your regiment proud.' George Toolan added: 'Another young life taken way too soon, serving and protecting our country.' The MoD has refused to reveal how the solider died. It is not clear whether someone else was involved. Sources ruled out suicide and any suspicious circumstances and said it was a 'tragic incident'. It is understood a gun was involved. Minister of State for the Armed Forces Mike Penning said: 'It is with great sadness and regret that I can confirm that Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington from Manchester died at Camp Taji in Iraq on Monday. 'Our thoughts are with the soldiers family, friends and colleagues, and I would ask that their privacy is respected at this difficult time. An investigation has started into the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident.' An MoD spokesperson said: 'It is with regret that the Ministry of Defence must announce the death of a soldier from the 2nd Battalion the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment. 'The death occurred in Taji, Iraq following an incident that is currently under investigation, but we can confirm that it was not as a result of enemy activity.' UK troops have been training thousands of Iraqi security forces in Besmaya, Erbil and Taji. The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment was formed in July 2006 and the 2nd Battalion is based at Weeton Barracks, near Blackpool, Lancashire. The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the soldier died in Taji following an incident which is 'currently under investigation' A spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led coalition in attack said: 'A Coalition service member was killed in a non-combat related incident in Iraq, Jan. 2. 'The service member's name and the circumstances surrounding the death will be released at the discretion of the pertinent national authorities. 'The incident is under investigation.' The family of the soldier have been informed. Migrants barricaded terrified camp staff members inside a reception and set part of their camp on fire in northern Italy in a protest over living conditions. The violent protests started after a 25-year-old woman died in the camp in the centre in Cona, near Venice, the town's mayor told La Repubblica TV. Reports say the woman from the Ivory Coast died of natural causes on Monday afternoon. A general view of the Cona camp near Venice where migrants protested against their living conditions Fellow migrants reacted angrily, cutting off the electricity supply to the centre, starting fires and blocking the exit, leaving 25 staff members barricaded inside, local media said. Mayor Alberto Panfilio said calm had been restored at the centre, where up to 1,500 people have been placed in a facility originally meant for 15 migrants. Many were housed in tents. Police had persuaded the protesters to open the gates shortly after midnight on Monday, let the staff leave, and re-connect electricity, local police chief Angelo Sanna told la Nuova di Venezia e Mestre newspaper. Early reports said the protest had been caused by a delay between the young woman being taken ill and an ambulance arriving to treat her. However, Panfilio said the ambulance had arrived promptly. Migrant rebellions can be common. Above is a burned out camp in Germany 'This death is not directly linked to the high concentration (of people) but I hope it can be useful to change a situation that is no longer sustainable,' he said. The mayor told local media that the centre had opened in 2015. Numbers had ballooned dramatically last year. Cona itself has just some 190 residents. An off-duty police officer from a suburb of New York City faces vehicular manslaughter and drunk-driving charges after he crashed his jeep into a tree early Monday morning, killing his lifelong friend who was in the passenger's seat. Harry Kyreakedes, 27, was found to have a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit when he rammed his black Jeep Cherokee into a tree on Mamaroneck Avenue in New Rochelle at 3am, WCBS-TV reported on Monday. His friend, 27-year-old Isaac Ward, was unresponsive when he was rushed to White Plains Hospital Center, where he later died. Kyreakedes underwent surgery for serious injuries to his legs. Harry Kyreakedes (left), 27, an off-duty New Rochelle cop, was driving drunk when he crashed his Jeep early Monday, killing his friend, Isaac Ward (right), 27, who was in the passenger's seat 'The officer preliminarily did have a blood alcohol level of .23, which is close to three times the legal limit,' said White Plains police Commissioner David Chong. Police said Kyreakedes, 27, a rookie with the force for a year and a half, lost control of the Jeep. 'It hit a parking meter, a traffic sign, and then crashed into a tree on Mamaroneck Avenue,' Chong said. Those who knew Kyreakedes, who lived in nearby Dobbs Ferry, said he was a 'good kid' who made a 'bad mistake.' Kyreakedes was found to have a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit when he rammed his black Jeep Cherokee (above) into a tree in New Rochelle at 3am on Monday Ward was also remembered fondly by locals. 'He'd come in here, hang out after [softball] games. He was a great guy,' Maurice Gilberti, the owner of Sam's Restaurant in Dobbs Ferry, told The Journal News. 'It's a crazy thing; a tough loss.' Kyreakedes and Ward lived just a few hundred yards from each other. 'Officers take an oath to protect,' added Chong. 'It's a stark reminder, certainly for my officers who responded to the accident and realized it was an officer from another jurisdiction.' Sir Ivan Rogers, pictured, unexpectedly quit as Britain's ambassador to the EU today Britain's ambassador to Brussels took a swipe at ministers' 'muddled thinking' as he quit his post without warning today. Sir Ivan Rogers shocked staff this afternoon by announcing his decision to step down from his post early - only three months before Britain's talks on leaving the EU are due to begin. In his 1,400-word resignation letter, Sir Ivan said ministers needed to hear 'unvarnished' and 'uncomfortable' views from Europe. He wrote: 'I hope you will continue to challenge ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking and that you will never be afraid to speak the truth to those in power. 'I hope that you will support each other in those difficult moments where you have to deliver messages that are disagreeable to those who need to hear them.' The note, posted on The Times website, was seen as a barely coded attack on Theresa May and her top team, who have been accused of failing to spell out their plan for Brexit. The Brussels veteran opted to walk after being cut adrift by Mrs May and her top team. His contract was up in November and he did not expect it to be renewed. The timing of his resignation triggered claims of chaos and 'amateurism' in No 10. But diplomatic sources said Sir Ivan, who presided over David Camerons botched negotiations with Brussels, had decided to go only after it was made plain to him that his days were numbered. Senior figures in No 10 and David Daviss Brexit department were said to have been baffled that Sir Ivan did not resign at the same time as Mr Cameron. Allies of the former prime minister heaped blame on Sir Ivan for being too happy to take no for an answer, happy to believe things werent possible when they could be possible. Aides of Mr Cameron claimed the ambassador had repeatedly threatened to resign during the EU negotiations before Junes referendum if his advice was ignored. Nigel Farage welcomed Sir Ivan's resignation, adding: 'The Foreign Office needs a complete clear out' But pro-European Sir Nicholas Soames said it was 'really very bad news indeed' and warned that 'we cannot afford to lose people of this calibre and experience' Former Scottish first minister and Labour peer Jack McConnell said Sir Ivan's departure meant 'a serious loss of talent and experience' for Britain Ukip's Michael Heaver said Sir Ivan's departure was 'good' and urged Theresa May to appoint a replacement who 'believes in Brexit'. Leave.EU rejoiced news that Sir Ivan Rogers had stepped down as Britain's EU ambassador Senior ministers and officials privately insisted Sir Ivans departure was no loss. They said his resignation provided Mrs May with an opportunity to appoint a replacement who believes in Brexit. Meanwhile Tory MP Jacob Rees Mogg told MailOnline: ' It is crucial that whoever represents us in Brussels is wholly committed to Brexit. 'Sadly the impartiality of the civil service came into question during the referendum campaign which made the position of the highly intelligent Sir Ivan difficult.' OSBORNE PRAISES 'PATRIOT' DIPLOMAT IN SWIPE AT MAY George Osborne last night waded into the ambassador row by praising Sir Ivan Rogers as a patriot. The former chancellor, in what was seen as a dig at the Prime Minister, described the outgoing diplomat as a perceptive, pragmatic and patriotic public servant. At the same time, Mr Osbornes ex-permanent secretary in the Treasury attacked the amateurism of the May Government. Lord Macpherson of Earls Court condemned Number 10 for letting Sir Ivan leave. The ex-mandarin given a peerage by David Cameron last year wrote on Twitter: Ivan Rogers huge loss. Cant understand wilful & total destruction of EU expertise. He finished with the hashtag #amateurism. Mr Osborne also used Twitter to launch his defence of Sir Ivan and suggest Number 10 had let a top operator slip through its fingers. He said: Ivan Rogers helped me on many ECOFIN [Economic and Financial Affairs Council] deals over the years. He is a perceptive, pragmatic & patriotic public servant. Thank you. Allies of Mr Cameron, however, privately expressed satisfaction at Sir Ivans downfall. Some members of the PMs inner circle have not forgiven his botched role in the Brexit negotiations, in which he was attacked for being too quick to take no for an answer. Tensions between Mr Osborne and Mrs May have been strained since she fired him in July, only hours after becoming PM. Mr Osborne has used Twitter on a number of occasions to take aim at Mrs May. When Lord Jim ONeill quit the May Government, he wrote that his ex-colleague was one of those rare things in British politics an outside expert who made a big difference on the inside. He will be missed. Last night Ukip leapt on the resignation of Sir Ivan to make mischief. MEP Gerard Batten said: Perhaps Nigel Farage would consider taking up the post? After all, he ably demonstrated in the referendum campaign that he knows more about the EU than any other British politician. Advertisement Nigel Farage also welcomed Sir Ivan's resignation, adding: 'The Foreign Office needs a complete clear out.' But EU enthusiasts warned that losing Sir Ivan's experience and knowledge of Brussels dealt a 'body blow' to Britain's hopes of getting a good Brexit deal. Sir Ivan did not give a reason for stepping down early and had a good relationship with Mrs May, although his strained relations with pro-Brexit figures in the Cabinet could have been a factor in his decision to quit. Sources told the Financial Times that Sir Ivan did not give any reason for his departure but played down his decision, insisting he had decided to leave just a few months before his planned departure date of November. Downing Street confirmed Sir Ivan has resigned as the UK's ambassador to the EU but refused to give any further details on his reasons for quitting. Lord Mandelson, Britain's former EU trade commissioner, suggested he had quit because of undue interference from ministers. He said: 'I would not expect him to comment further but everyone knows that civil servants are being increasingly inhibited in offering objective opinion and advice to Ministers. 'Our negotiation as a whole will go nowhere if Ministers are going to delude themselves about the immense difficulty and challenges Britain faces in implementing the referendum decision.' Arch-Remainer Nick Clegg said Sir Ivan's resignation was a 'body blow' to the Government's Brexit plans and attacked Brexit supporters for forcing him out. 'If the reports are true that he has been hounded out by hostile Brexiteers in Government, it counts as a spectacular own goal,' he said. 'The Government needs all the help it can get from good civil servants to deliver a workable Brexit.' Mr Cameron appointed him to the Brussels post in 2013 after promising a referendum on the EU and he has been a leading advisor to No 10 over the last four years. His shock resignation deals a major blow to the Prime Minister's preparations for triggering Article 50 - the formal mechanism for leaving the EU - because of his significant experience and knowledge of Brussels. MPs have already started speculating over Sir Ivan's replacement. Mr Rees-Mogg suggested his pro-Brexit colleague Sir Bill Cash should replace Sir Ivan in Brussels, pointing out that Britain appointed a political ambassador - the late Lord Rippon - when we joined the European Community in 1973. 'As a politician was the prime mover on the way in, Geoffrey later Lord Rippon, perhaps someone like Bill Cash should do so on the way out,' he said. Tory MP Jacob Rees Mogg, pictured, told MailOnline: ' It is crucial that whoever represents us in Brussels is wholly committed to Brexit' Hilary Benn, Labour MP and chair of the influential Commons Brexit committee, pictured on Sky News today, said Sir Ivan's resignation was 'not a good thing' and said it was vital the Government ensures a smooth hand-over as soon as possible WE'LL PULL DOWN THE EU BILLBOARDS, SAYS LEADSOM Andrea Leadsom: She wants common sense rules EU diktats forcing farmers to erect huge pro-Brussels billboards on their land are to be scrapped. Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom will pledge to sweep away a raft of EU red tape in the wake of Brexit. She will tell the Oxford Farming Conference that this red tape is weighing down farmers in mountains of paperwork that costs 5million a year and 300,000 man hours. Mrs Leadsom will also vow to ditch the three crop rule which sets out how many different crops farms must plant each year freeing 40,000 farmers to grow what they like. Mrs Leadsom, one of the leaders of the Brexit campaign, will tell the conference: For too long, a bureaucratic system which tries to meet the needs of 28 countries has held farmers back. But now, leaving the EU means we can focus on what works best for the UK. Our farmers will finally be free to get on with the job of growing fantastic food in a way that meets our aims of a world leading food industry and a better protected environment. My priority will be common sense rules that work for the United Kingdom. Applicants to the Countryside Stewardship scheme, which rewards landowners for work done to protect wildlife and natural landscapes, are required by EU law to meet publicity guidance, which normally involves putting up large pro-Brussels signs. Measuring as much as 6ft by 4ft for the biggest grants, they must be displayed permanently to avoid a penalty. The rules also require farmers to set aside 5 per cent of their land for ecological focus areas around hedges, ditches and ponds. Whitehall officials say that, outside of the EU, more common sense definitions can be introduced. Advertisement Brexit supporters rejoiced his resignation, with Arron Banks, the Leave.EU chairman and Ukip's biggest donor, calling for a diplomat who is more energetically pro-Brexit to replace him. He said: 'This is a man who claimed it could take up to 10 years to agree a Brexit deal. 'He is far too much of a pessimist and yet another of the establishment's pro-EU old guard. He has at least done the honourable thing in resigning. 'It's time now for someone who is optimistic about the future that lies ahead for Brexit Britain. Enough talk, we need to get on with getting out.' Ukip's Michael Heaver said Sir Ivan's departure was 'good' and urged Theresa May to appoint a replacement who 'believes in Brexit,' adding that a 'further clear-out' was needed. But Europhiles told Brexiteers rejoicing Sir Ivan's departure to 'put champagne on ice'. Jonathan Lis, deputy director of the Europhile British Influence thinktank, warned Britain was losing a knowledgeable, effective representative who was prepared to speak truth to Govt [sic]'. Brexit supporters rejoiced his resignation, with Arron Banks, pictured, the Leave.EU chairman and Ukip's biggest donor, calling for a more 'optimistic' diplomat to replace him Sir Ivan Rogers, pictured right with Chancellor Philip Hammond, told staff today that he will be stepping down from his post early, despite his role being crucial in Britain's departure from the EU Other EU enthusiasts warned that losing Sir Ivan - one of Britain's most experienced negotiators who knows EU institutions and key figures inside out - puts Britain on the back foot ahead of crunch Brexit talks. Pro-European Sir Nicholas Soames said it was 'really very bad news indeed' and warned that 'we cannot afford to lose people of this calibre and experience'. Hilary Benn, Labour MP and chair of the influential Commons Brexit committee, said his resignation was 'not a good thing' and said it was vital the Government ensures a smooth hand-over as soon as possible. He told the BBC: 'I think that it means that the Government will have to get its skates on to make sure there is a replacement in place so he or she can work with Sir Ivan in the transition, the handover,' he said. 'But the hard work is going to start very soon, because if Article 50 is triggered, as the Government says it wishes to, by the end of March, then negotiations will probably begin shortly thereafter. Jonathan Lis, deputy director of the Europhile British Influence thinktank, told Brexit supporters rejoicing Sir Ivan's departure to 'put champagne on ice' because Britain was losing a knowledgeable, effective representative who was prepared to speak truth to Govt [sic]'. David Cameron, pictured, appointed Sir Ivan to the Brussels post in 2013 after promising a referendum on the EU and he has been a leading advisor to No 10 over the last four years Sir Ivan did not give a reason for stepping down early and had a good relationship with Mrs May, pictured, although his strained relations with pro-Brexit figures in the Cabinet could have been a factor in his decision to quit 'And having a handover in the middle of that, depending on when exactly he goes, is not ideal.' Sir Ivan had come under pressure to resign last month after Eurosceptics claimed Sir Ivan, a former private secretary to ex-Tory chancellor Ken Clarke, was 'scarred' by his time spent negotiating Mr Cameron's failed referendum deal and, as a veteran of Brussels, was 'out of his comfort zone'. There was also speculation that his warnings of a 10-year trade negotiation with the EU were deliberately leaked to undermine his position. A ten-year timetable is at odds with the stated position of both Downing Street and Brexit Secretary David Davis. Mr Davis predicted a deal could be done in 18 months last month, while Number Ten reiterated its commitment to completing the Brexit process in two years. 'I hope you will continue to challenge ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking and that you will never be afraid to speak the truth to those in power': Sir Ivan's resignation letter in full Dear All, Happy New Year! I hope that you have all had/are still having, a great break, and that you will come back refreshed and ready for an exciting year ahead. I am writing to you all on the first day back to tell you that I am today resigning as Permanent Representative. As most of you will know, I started here in November 2013. My four-year tour is therefore due to end in October although in practice if we had been doing the Presidency my time here would have been extended by a few months. As we look ahead to the likely timetable for the next few years, and with the invocation of Article 50 coming up shortly, it is obvious that it will be best if the top team in situ at the time that Article 50 is invoked remains there till the end of the process and can also see through the negotiations for any new deal between the UK and the EU27. It would obviously make no sense for my role to change hands later this year. I have therefore decided to step down now, having done everything that I could in the last 6 months to contribute my experience, expertise and address book to get the new team at political and official level under way. This will permit a new appointee to be in place by the time Article 50 is invoked. Importantly, it will also enable that person to play a role in the appointment of Shans replacement as DPR. I know from experience both my own hugely positive experience of working in partnership with Shan, and from seeing past, less happy, examples how imperative it is that the PR and DPR operate as a team, if UKREP is to function as well as I believe it has done over the last few years. I want to put on record how grateful I am to Shan for the great working relationship we have had. She will be hugely missed in UKREP, and by many others here in Brussels, but she will be a tremendous asset to the Welsh Government. From my soundings before Christmas, I am optimistic that there will be a very good field of candidates for the DPR role. But it is right these two roles now get considered and filled alongside each other, and for my successor to play the leading role in making the DPR appointment. I shall therefore stand aside from the process at this point. I know that this news will add, temporarily, to the uncertainty that I know, from our many discussions in the autumn, you are all feeling about the role of UKREP in the coming months and years of negotiations over Brexit. I am sorry about that, but I hope that it will help produce earlier and greater clarity on the role that UKREP should play. My own view remains as it has always been. We do not yet know what the Government will set as negotiating objectives for the UKs relationship with the EU after exit. There is much we will not know until later this year about the political shape of the EU itself, and who the political protagonists in any negotiation with the UK will be. But in any negotiation which addresses the new relationship, the technical expertise, the detailed knowledge of positions on the other side of the table and the reasons for them, and the divisions amongst them and the negotiating experience and savvy that the people in this building bring, make it essential for all parts of UKREP to be centrally involved in the negotiations if the UK is to achieve the best possible outcomes. Serious multilateral negotiating experience is in short supply in Whitehall, and that is not the case in the Commission or in the Council. The Government will only achieve the best for the country if it harnesses the best experience we have a large proportion of which is concentrated in UKREP and negotiates resolutely. Senior Ministers, who will decide on our positions, issue by issue, also need from you detailed, unvarnished even where this is uncomfortable - and nuanced understanding of the views, interests and incentives of the other 27. The structure of the UKs negotiating team and the allocation of roles and responsibilities to support that team, needs rapid resolution. The working methods which enable the team in London and Brussels to function seamlessly need also to be strengthened. The great strength of the UK system at least as it has been perceived by all others in the EU has always been its unique combination of policy depth, expertise and coherence, message co-ordination and discipline, and the ability to negotiate with skill and determination. UKREP has always been key to all of that. We shall need it more than ever in the years ahead. As I have argued consistently at every level since June, many opportunities for the UK in the future will derive from the mere fact of having left and being free to take a different path. But others will depend entirely on the precise shape of deals we can negotiate in the years ahead. Contrary to the beliefs of some, free trade does not just happen when it is not thwarted by authorities: increasing market access to other markets and consumer choice in our own, depends on the deals, multilateral, plurilateral and bilateral that we strike, and the terms that we agree. I shall advise my successor to continue to make these points. Meanwhile, I would urge you all to stick with it, to keep on working at intensifying your links with opposite numbers in DEXEU and line Ministries and to keep on contributing your expertise to the policy-making process as negotiating objectives get drawn up. The famed UKREP combination of immense creativity with realism ground in negotiating experience, is needed more than ever right now. On a personal level, leaving UKREP will be a tremendous wrench. I have had the great good fortune, and the immense privilege, in my civil service career, to have held some really interesting and challenging roles: to have served 4 successive UK Prime Ministers very closely; to have been EU, G20 and G8 Sherpa; to have chaired a G8 Presidency and to have taken part in some of the most fraught, and fascinating, EU negotiations of the last 25 years in areas from tax, to the MFF to the renegotiation. Of all of these posts, I have enjoyed being the Permanent Representative more than any other I have ever held. That is, overwhelmingly, because of all of you and what you all make UKREP: a supremely professional place, with a fantastic co-operative culture, which brings together talented people whether locally employed or UK-based and uniquely brings together people from the home civil service with those from the Foreign Office. UKREP sets itself demanding standards, but people also take the time to support each other which also helps make it an amazingly fun and stimulating place to work. I am grateful for everything you have all done over the last few years to make this such a fantastic operation. For my part, I hope that in my day-to-day dealings with you I have demonstrated the values which I have always espoused as a public servant. I hope you will continue to challenge ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking and that you will never be afraid to speak the truth to those in power. I hope that you will support each other in those difficult moments where you have to deliver messages that are disagreeable to those who need to hear them. I hope that you will continue to be interested in the views of others, even where you disagree with them, and in understanding why others act and think in the way that they do. I hope that you will always provide the best advice and counsel you can to the politicians that our people have elected, and be proud of the essential role we play in the service of a great democracy. The father of a young woman who died while broadcasting on Facebook Live has blasted the friends who watched her collapse and did nothing to help. Keiana Herndon, 26, was holding her one-year-old son, Rylee, and streaming on Facebook Live from her friend's house in El Dorado, Arkansas, on December 28. She was telling the audience about how she planned to go back to school, when she suddenly began wiping her face and shaking. Richard Herndon (pictured), the father of Keiana Herndon (left) - who died while broadcasting on Facebook Live, has slammed her friends for watching the stream and doing nothing Her heartbroken father said he did not understand how so many people were able to sit and watch the stream - which he claims saw an increase in viewers as his grandson started screaming. 'It's amazing for someone to sit there and see somebody or hear them take their last breath, and nobody did anything,' Richard Herndon told KARK. Keiana's half-sister also criticized those who watched the Facebook Live stream. 'As soon as she fell and she didn't grab the phone back, they should have done something,' Keishun Brown told the New York Daily News. 'It's amazing for someone to sit there and see somebody or hear them take their last breath, and nobody did anything,' Richard Herndon (pictured) said Keiana Herndon, 26, was talking about her desire to go back to school on Facebook Live while holding son Rylee, one, when she suddenly began having trouble breathing It comes after viewers, including family members, spoke about how they noticed the young mother was acting strangely before she collapsed. 'She go to wiping her face and shaking her head, and I was thinking, whats wrong with Kei?' her aunt, Barbara Johnson told KATV. 'We call her Kei. She then, she fell back and then Rylee picked the phone up and started talking and playing and then I hear [gasping noise], then I heard one more ... I didnt hear nothing else. 'Never knew that was going to be the last breath she would take [would be on] on social media live.' Keiana Herndon, above, died on Facebook Live. She had been broadcasting while she was with her young son The video has since been removed from Facebook. The last thing recorded in the harrowing clip was Herndon's friend rushing into the room and calling 911. The mom was taken to hospital but it was too late. Herndon, an aide at a rehabilitation center, loved to document her life on social media. She had almost 3,500 friends on Facebook. Family says that as soon as she died, rumors began circulating about her cause of death, and they want to clear things up. A friend said on GoFundMe that Herndon's two sons 'were her world' Herndon's aunt, Barbara Johnson, demonstrates how the mom of two began to suddenly wipe her face and shake her head while on Facebook Live 'She had thyroid problems. The thyroid messes with everything and it triggered her heart. Its a tragedy, I know that much, and I know one thing, I would love to have my baby back with me,' her mother, Mary Morgan, said. An autopsy is to be performed to determine cause of death. A friend set up a GoFundMe has been set up to help her two young boys, Ja'Kylan and Rylee. It has currently raised about $2,800. Herndon's mother, Mary Morgan, said her daughter had thyroid issues and it 'messes with everything' and led to heart failure Freelance journalist Sapphire McIntosh, 27, threw eggs Two activists stormed a town hall and ruined a wedding while protesting against gentrification - in an area where they didn't even live. Freelance journalist Sapphire McIntosh, 27, threw eggs while restaurant worker Joshua Virasami, 26, pushed police when a peaceful protest in Brixton, London, got out of control. The Reclaim Brixton demonstration in the spring of 2015 had been organised in protest of rising rents and house prices forcing long-term residents out of the traditionally working class area. But a couple getting married at Brixton Town Hall, which functions as a registry office, were caught up in the chaos, when it became the focus of the crowd's anger. McIntosh and Virasami each pleaded guilty to a public order offence at the Old Bailey. Sentencing the pair today, Judge John Bevan QC said: 'I am sure you went along in good spirits, but the police officers, who are so often the fall guys, were caught in the middle and heavily outnumbered by people in "high spirits" armed with eggs, and in your case Mr Virasami, clearly pushing police officers around.' 'Quite apart from ruining somebody's wedding, which I don't suppose maters to you at all, it was frightening for police. 'They are there to protect property and the public. Fighting with them is anti-social.' Handing Virasami a 12-month community order including 75 hours of unpaid work after and ordering him to pay 75 costs, the judge told him: 'I hope looking at the (CCTV) footage, you are ashamed of yourself.' Fining McIntosh 250 and ordering her to pay 135 costs, the judge said: 'I don't know what the point in throwing eggs is.' Scroll down for video Prosecutor Liam Gregory said the peaceful protest on April 25, 2015 aimed to highlight the affects of gentrification in Brixton and police had kept a low profile due to historical problems with the community. 'However, unfortunately at about 3.15pm the group of more organised people began a series of more active demonstrations, one of which took place outside of Brixton Town Hall, a general civil disturbance' he continued. 'Ms McIntosh during the course of that civil disturbance. 'The protest takes place over a period of about half an hour or so. 'The building is also used as a registry office and there was a wedding taking place at the time.' Freelance journalist Sapphire McIntosh (left), 27, threw eggs while restaurant worker Joshua Virasami (right), 26, pushed police when a peaceful protest in Brixton, London, got out of control Mr Gregory said CCTV footage shows Virasami entering the town hall and, as police close the gates, out again. 'In doing so he can be seen pushing at least one police officer,' added the prosecutor. His barrister, Nerida Harford-Bell, said: 'He accepts he went too far and his behaviour was unacceptable.' Hearing Virasami was from Hounslow, the judge said: 'I don't understand what he is doing interfering in a peaceful demonstration in Brixton.' His lawyer replied: 'It is the housing situation and the situation of the homeless in general which concerns him. He was politically motivated and has high ideals.' Jacob Bindman, for McIntosh, said: 'She fully accepts she went along to this protest with good intentions but got a bit carried away.' The Reclaim Brixton demonstration in the spring of 2015 had been organised in protest of rising rents and house prices forcing long-term residents out of the traditionally working class area More than 1,000 people attended the Reclaim Brixton rally, which also saw one of the windows of Foxtons estate agents smashed and the words 'Yuppies out' spray painted across another More than 1,000 people attended the Reclaim Brixton rally, which also saw one of the windows of Foxtons estate agents smashed and the words 'Yuppies out' spray painted across another. McIntosh, from Whitechapel, east London pleaded guilty to an offence under Section 5 of the Public Order Act. Virasami, from in Hounslow, Middlesex, pleaded guilty to an offence under Section 4 of the Public Order Act. Anna Teshu, 23, was reported missing after she had not been seen since Christmas Eve A woman who went viral for her 'puppy play' relationship has been missing since Christmas and is believed to have run away with her boyfriend. Anna Teshu - who likes being walked on a leash - was reported missing after she was last seen at her mother's home in Staten Island, New York on Christmas Eve. A Facebook page with the 23-year-old's photos under the name 'Anna Matranga' was last updated on January 1. She gained internet fame after photos of her surfaced wearing a spiked collar and being walked on a leash by her then-fiance through a Staten Island mall. Teshu met her former boyfriend Nathan Riely, then 30, online and the two engaged in a 'puppy play' relationship in May 2015. The couple had said they found the leash more romantic than an engagement ring and that their sex life was 'normal'. Teshu, from Staten Island, New York, went viral in May 2015 when photos of her being walked on a leash at a mall surfaced Teshu and her former fiance Nathan Riely engaged in a practice called 'puppy play'. The couple said the dog leash was a symbol of their love, just like an engagement ring is to people in traditional romantic relationships 'The leash and collar are symbols of our bond to one another,' Riely told theNew York Daily News. 'The collar is like a ring for most couples. They use rings, we have a collar.' Teshu is believed to be in a new 'puppy play' relationship with Paul Matranga and she updated her relationship status on Facebook to be married to Matranga. She has posted photos of two engaging in the bondage relationship, where Matranga holding a leash attached to a collar around her neck. Teshu is believed to be in a new 'puppy play' relationship with Paul Matranga (pictured) On Facebook the couple listed themselves as being married and Teshu has a new Facebook profile under the name of 'Anna Matranga' Teshu was faced with animal cruelty charges after she allegedly left Riely's German Shepherd, Scout, in a hot car and it died of a heatstroke in June 2015. She had locked the dog in the car - which the couple was living out of at the time - so she could go to court hearing for Riely, who had been arrested on a gun possession charge, according to court documents. Teshu was found mentally unfit to stand trial and the case was dismissed against her, according to SI Live. Teshu faced animal cruelty charges in June 2015 when she allegedly left Reily's German Shepherd in a hot car and it died of a heatstroke. She was found mentally unfit to stand trial so the charges were dropped Her attorney for the case, Allen Cappelli, said his client had mental disabilities. He said: 'She's not a circus freak. She's a disabled person.' Despite many calling Riely and Teshu's relationship bizarre, the pair consciously engaged in a BDSM practice called 'puppy play.' At the time Teshu went by the name 'Xena, Nathan's puppy' and enjoyed being walked on a leash by Reily. The 23-year-old slept in a puppy cage and proudly posted photos of the small space to her Facebook page Riely said that his sex life with Teshu was 'normal'. Teshu even called herself 'Xena, Nathan's puppy' She even liked to take naps in a little cage which she proudly posted photos of to her Facebook account. Xena told the New York Daily News that she has wanted to be a puppy since she was 13-years-old. 'The first time I put on a collar I thought 'Now I need to find someone for the other end,"' she said. Anyone with information in regards to the missing person is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Donald Trump's long-awaited press conference detailing his plans to separate himself from his business is tentatively on the books for next week. Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser to Trump, said Monday evening on CNN that the president-elect intends to take questions from the press on Jan. 11, fulfilling a post-election promise to hold a news conference on his business dealings before he takes office. 'I believe it was rescheduled for January 11, originally, and if the lawyers and the compliance officers feel like we're ready, then we'll stick to that date. It's really up to them,' she said on Anderson Cooper 360. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser to Trump, said Monday evening on CNN that the president-elect intends to take questions from the press on Jan. 11, fulfilling a post-election promise to hold a new conference on his business dealings before he takes office Trump is on board with the date, she said, which follows a farewell address from President Barack Obama on Jan. 10. 'But I know that I spoke to the president-elect today about press conference and I know that's the current plan. So thats next week,' Conway said. The presser was initially scheduled for Dec. 15. It was postponed as Trump and his lawyers lagged in preparations for the billionaire to untangle himself from the business. Trump's top spokesman said the president-elect had frontloaded meetings with potential cabinet secretaries and needed more time to organize his assets. Government ethics experts are pushing Trump to divest himself from his company entirely to avoid the appearance of improper conduct. He has not said whether he'll follow their advice. Three days before Trump was supposed to talk to reporters he announced via Twitter that his adult sons, Eric and Donald Jr., would be taking over his lucrative business. Trump limited his sons to maintaining the global Trump Organization and ordered them to cease expansions once he takes the Oath of Office. 'No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office,' the president-elect promised. Trump reiterated in the Dec. 12 tweets that he is not legally required to 'leave' his business and would do it so he could focus 'full time' on the presidency. He also stated that he would have a news conference 'in the near future to discuss the business, Cabinet picks and all other topics of interest.' Trump held an impromptu media avail on New Year's Eve, responding to questions from reporters in his press pool on Russian hacking, Obamacare and Israel His last press conference was during the Democratic convention on July 27, a week after he was formally declared the GOP's White House nominee His last press conference was during the Democratic convention on July 27, a week after he was formally declared the GOP's White House nominee. Trump held an impromptu media avail on New Year's Eve, responding to questions from reporters in his press pool on Russian hacking, Obamacare and Israel. Throughout his campaign he mocked his opponent for avoiding her traveling press, noting at the July 27 news conference that it had been '235 days since crooked Hillary Clinton' had a press conference. Clinton took questions from her press corps on a regular basis after Labor Day when they began riding her campaign plane. It was Trump who kept reporters at arm's length in the general election, refusing to upgrade to an aircraft that could accommodate journalists who followed him or take questions from them in an open setting. Trump's last press conference was 140 days ago, per a Washington Post count. Trump has suggested in interviews, along with tweets, since the election that he won't divest himself entirely from his business. He's also ignored calls from watchdogs and experts to liquidate the Trump Organization altogether. He told the New York times in November, 'The law's totally on my side. The president can't have a conflict of interest.' Trump assured the paper, 'My company's so unimportant to me relative to what I'm doing.' Federal law doesn't require Trump to divest and exempts the president from conflict of interest statues. Holding on to his company creates opportunities for the kind of pay-for-play schemes Trump said Clinton and her husband would fall prey to if they controlled the Oval Office, however. Trump has said he'll shut down his charitable foundation, which had also come under scrutiny, and son Eric has said he would stop soliciting donations for his own organization for the same reason. The full scope of Trump's holdings are unknown. He never released his tax returns. He said in December that he sold his stocks before he accepted the GOP nomination, in June, because he believed he could win. Trump could put his assets in a blind trust, but ethics experts say it wouldn't truly be blind because Trump would know what's in it. President Barack Obama's ethics lawyer Norm Eisen has been sounding the alarm about the potential for the appearance of misconduct, telling USA Today, 'It will only be a matter of time before we have our first major scandal.' The independent Office of Government Ethics publicly pressed Trump to divest, claiming in a series of tweets that he had and patting him on the back for it. House Republicans separately moved to gut an ethics agency last night and put it under their control - but backed off the plan after Trump seemed to chide them. Trump has already said his adult sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, will be taking over the family business. The president-elect limited his sons to maintaining the global Trump Organization and ordered them to cease expansions once he takes the Oath of Office GOP lawmakers voted to prohibit the Office of Congressional Ethics from investigating allegations of criminal wrongdoing levied at members of Congress. They also gave the House Ethics committee the ability to stop the office's investigations and barred the agency from making public statements and hiring communications staff. House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republican leaders were against the changes but the party's rank and file moved forward with the plan, anyway. Lawmakers who voted for the measure said they were tired of seeing the organization take up partisan investigations that led to the harassment of innocent members of Congress. Democrats are enraged by the vote, which took place late Monday night on the eve of the new legislative session. 'Republicans claim they want to 'drain the swamp,' but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions,' House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said. 'Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress.' President Obama's spokesman likewise said, It is disheartening that the first thing that Republican in Congress chose to do was to vote in secret to gut ethical accountability - that's not draining the swamp. House Republicans made an about face after Trump scolded his party on Twitter on Tuesday morning for their actions. 'With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority,' he said in a two-part message. 'Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS' The Obama White House suggested that Trump was stating that 'the optics of doing it first were bad' not that the action itself was wrong. A man staggered into car dealership on a busy highway asking for help after being stabbed during a morning argument. CCTV cameras have captured the moment a 34-year-old New Zealand man carried an axe across a motel car park, on Sydney's Lower North Shore, a short time before he allegedly stabbed another man with a knife. Moments later, a French national, 32, was seen running down the Pacific Highway at Artarmon to a nearby Mazda dealership after suffering puncture wounds to his chest and stomach. Scroll down for video Closed-circuit TV footage has captured the moment the stabbed Frenchman ran down the Pacific Highway at Artarmon, on Sydney's lower North Shore to a nearby car dealership Witness Ian Jobsz said he saw the injured man clutching his chest. 'I saw a guy running up the Pacific Highway holding his chest, screaming "I've been stabbed, I've been stabbed",' he told 7News. 'He said "I've been stabbed, the guy smashed my car with a tomahawk or an axe, and he stabbed me".' Car dealer Ian Wood said he heard some banging at the front window shortly before 10am on Tuesday. The Frenchman is seen here carrying an axe across a motel car park. Police have charged him with causing malicious damage The Frenchman, captured on closed-circuit TV camera holding an axe, has been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and malicious damage to property 'That's when we saw a guy sort of stumbling, trying to get inside the showroom,' he told 9News. Fellow car dealer Nathan Couley said the injured man seemed 'quite agitated'. 'It was very hard to keep him sitting down,' he said. The New Zealander man was arrested a short time later and charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and malicious damage. Police allege he stabbed the Frenchman with a knife after damaging the alleged victim's car windows with an axe. The Frenchman's damaged Subaru Liberty sedan was parked on the Pacific Highway. The men, who were previously friends, had earlier an argument at a nearby park, 9News said. The New Zealand man, who was staying in the Artarmon motel, is due to appear in Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday. A year after Germany allowed the reprinting of Adolf Hitler's hate-filled autobiography Mein Kampf it remains a bestseller. It has sold 85,000 copies and is now in its sixth print run at a time of rising xenophobia and mistrust of refugees in the country. Now a version in English is being considered for the UK and American markets. 'The number of sales has overwhelmed us,' said Andreas Wirsching, director of the Institute of Contemporary History which won the right from the state of Bavaria - holder of the copyright - to republish it. Scroll down for video A new version of Hitler's book Mein Kampf, pictured, has sold more than 85,000 copies The book has been published with notes explaining Hitler's paranoid racism The copyright was held for 70 years by the Bavarian state who blocked all attempts to reprint the hate-filled book which sold more than 12.4 million copies to people during the Nazi era Mein Kampf - My Struggle - is a turgid, rambling book filled with loathing of Jews and Slavs who Hitler hated from his earliest days as a down-and-out in Vienna. When he came to power it was nigh-on compulsory for every household in the Third Reich to possess at least one copy. Royalties from it made Hitler rich and it outsold the Bible. When Nazism imploded in 1945 all Hitler's possessions - including the copyright to the book - passed into the possession of the Bavarian state, the place where his party was founded. Authorities beat off numerous attempts to publish it down the years, afraid it would become a touchstone of faith for neo-Nazis. But when its 70-year copyright expired the state agreed to an annotated versuion being printed by the history institute. The new version has copious notes explaining Hitler's paranoid racism to deter readers from ever believing his twisted gospel. Adolf Hitler, pictured, wrote Mein Kampf while in prison following his Munich Beer Hall Putsch In April last year it became number one and it remains in the bestseller listings. Jewish groups opposed its republication. But Wirshing insists: 'It turned out that the fear the publication would promote Hitler's ideology or even make it socially acceptable and give neo-Nazis a new propaganda platform was totally unfounded. 'To the contrary, the debate about Hitler's worldview and his approach to propaganda offered a chance to look at the causes and consequences of totalitarian ideologies, at a time in which authoritarian political views and right-wing slogans are gaining ground.' Wirsching said many who bought the new version turned out to be readers interested in politics and history, not 'old reactionaries or right-wing radicals'. Recently the project even won the 'Society needs Science' award with a 50,000 prize for how it 'reveals Hitler's false statements and distortions, corrects factual errors and explains the contemporary context.' But his body is not the only one publishing it. With the copyright brake off, it is also being printed by a right-wing publisher in Leipzig called Der Schelm with no textual notes which urges readers to 'have the courage to come to your own understanding'. Partly autobiographical, 'Mein Kampf' outlines Hitler's ideology that formed the basis for Nazism. He wrote it in 1924 while he was imprisoned in Bavaria for treason after his failed Beer Hall Putsch. The book set out two ideas that he put into practice as Germany's leader going into World War II: annexing neighbouring countries to gain 'Lebensraum', or 'living space', for Germans, and his hatred of Jews, which led to the Holocaust. Justin Elliot Bartlett, 25, was arrested after he allegedly chopped his next-door neighbor to death on New Year's Eve A 25-year-old Pennsylvania man has been arrested for allegedly chopping his next-door neighbor to death on New Year's Eve. Justin Elliot Bartlett was taken into custody on Monday after a brief foot chase with police in Fairmont, West Virginia. It is believed he had been on the run for three days. Bartlett is a person of interest in the death of 63-year-old Linda McGinnis, who was found dead in her Brackenridge, Pennsylvania home on Saturday. McGinnis, who was reported missing a day earlier, had suffered a chop wound to the head and a stab wound to the neck. Authorities said Bartlett was found in possession of McGinnis' car, according to CBS News. Bartlett was taken into custody on Monday after Fairmont police received a tip that someone who looked like the suspect was inside a store. Authorities said Bartlett began to walk away and then 'jumped off a wall' and into an alley when police arrived at the scene. Detectives were waiting in the alley and he was arrested on the spot without incident. Bartlett is a person of interest in the death of 63-year-old Linda McGinnis, who had suffered a chop wound to the head and a stab wound to the neck Bartlett was first spotted by police in Mannington, West Virginia on Saturday, but he ran into a wooded area, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It is believed he then spent the night in a church, where the gas had been turned on and muddy footprints were found inside. Bartlett, who was wanted on a warrant at the time of his arrest for an incident in November, has been charged with one count of being a fugitive from justice. Authorities said Bartlett was charged in November with simple assault, false imprisonment, simple assault, reckless endangerment and terroristic threats. He allegedly trapped a woman that he met on the internet in his apartment on November 26 and threatened to hurt her if she left. The woman managed to escape and filed a complaint with the Brackenridge Police Department, according to TribLIVE. McGinnis was found dead inside her Brackenridge, Pennsylvania home (pictured) Neighbors said they had warned McGinnis to stay away from Bartlett, who lived next door Bartlett has not yet been charged in McGinnis' death but was being questioned by police in West Virginia, where he will be held pending extradition to Pennsylvania. Some neighbors said they had warned McGinnis to stay away from Bartlett, who they said made them feel uncomfortable. Kathy Silvan got 'the creeps' just by the way Bartlett would sit on his porch, she told WPXI. Silvan said she tried to deter McGinnis from getting to know him. 'I told her, "Linda, you're getting too close to him. Don't trust him please."' she said. Bartlett had recently been released from jail after serving two years for breaking into a man's home and setting his cat on fire. That same year Bartlett was sentenced to two years of probation on an aggravated assault charge in a separate case. A quick-thinking driver prevented disaster by seconds when he leaped out of his own car to take the wheel of an unmanned lorry that was heading for a busy road. The incident happened next to a busy road in the town of Spirovo in western Russia, and although it happened back in October, the heart-stopping footage has only just been released. The hero ran and hopped into the moving large timber lorry's cab after seeing it had no driver, preventing a major accident in the process. The hero ran and hopped into the moving large timber lorry after seeing it had no driver, preventing a major accident in the process The man spots the lorry, which was stacked with huge tree trunks, rolling off without a driver. He desperately runs in front of it and jumps into the driver's seat where he spends precious seconds working at the controls as the lorry rolls forward, succeeding at the very last second. It was captured on the dashcam of another his and shows the moment the lorry starts to move down the road. The hero, who has been named only by his first name Mikhail, even went as far as to move it and park it securely in a safe place before going about his day. He spends precious seconds working at the controls as the lorry rolls forward, almost onto the carriageway, succeeding at the very last second The hero, who has been named only by his first name Mikhail, even went as far as to move it and park it securely in a safe place before going about his day Mikhail, a local business owner, did not want to be praised. He said: 'There is nothing heroic about what I did but I believe that anyone would have done the same.' One commenter online said: 'He did a great job, and did not lose a second. It is great when people have such fast reactions.' Japanese car giant Toyota is planning to shut down its former North America headquarters at Erlanger, Kentucky by the end of 2017. Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda is seen above Toyota has laid off 650 employees in its Northern Kentucky facility, the latest step in what the company says is a reorganization of its operations. The Japanese auto giant is moving from its Erlanger, Kentucky, facility and relocating to Plano, Texas, according to Dayton Business Journal. 'The Company anticipates that it will permanently cease all operations at its Erlanger, Kentucky facilities by the end of 2017,' Toyota officially informed the state of Kentucky on Tuesday. 'The relocation of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing's operations to Plano, Texas, will affect approximately 648 employees, who will be subject to either job relocation or employment termination.' The corporate reshuffle is part of the company's plans to consolidate its North American operations. While Erlanger, a suburb of Cincinnati, will lose vital revenues from one of its biggest taxpayers, Toyota says that it will continue to do philanthropic work in Kentucky. An Erlanger official said the city has been preparing for Toyota's move for years by luring other companies and industries into town. The Toyota move from Kentucky is just the latest sign of bad news in the auto industry. Toyota, the Japanese auto giant, is moving from its Erlanger, Kentucky, facility (above) and relocating to Plano, Texas Last month, General Motors announced that it would eliminate almost half of the 3,000-person workforce from one of its plants in Detroit. The layoffs of workers at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant are expected to take effect in March, according to Christian Science Monitor. Over the next several months, over 3,000 GM employees at three separate plants are expected to lose their jobs. The Toyota move from Kentucky is just the latest sign of bad news in the auto industry. A completed truck rolls off the production line at the Toyota facility in San Antonio in 2014 Analysts say that the low price of fuel is leading consumers to once again prefer trucks and larger gas-guzzling SUV, reversing a trend from recent years that saw an upsurge in the sales of compact cars and sedans. That means workers who produce the smaller type cars are out of luck. 'It's a pendulum and now it's shifting our way,' said Glenn Johnson, the president of an auto workers union chapter in Lordstown, Ohio. Over a thousand auto workers in Lordstown are expected to lose their jobs next month. 'It wasn't that long ago that gas was $3.50 a gallon and we were feeling for our friends in truck plants.' The corporate reshuffle is part of the company's plans to consolidate its North American operations. The Toyota logo is seen above on a car President-elect Donald Trump was elected on a platform of keeping manufacturing jobs in the United States, with the auto industry one of his frequent targets of criticism. Trump on Tuesday threatened to impose a 'big border tax' on General Motors Co for making some of its Chevrolet Cruze compact cars in Mexico, an arrangement the largest US automaker defended as part of its strategy to serve global customers, not sell them in the United States. Trump's comments marked his latest broadside aimed at an American company over jobs, imports and costs before he takes office on Jan 20, signaling an uncommon degree of intervention for an incoming US president into corporate affairs. 'General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to US car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A. or pay big border tax!' Trump said in a post on Twitter. President-elect Donald Trump tweeted on Tuesday that General Motors should pay 'border tax' if it manufactures some of its Chevy Cruze model cars in Mexico Trump did not provide further details but previously vowed to hit companies that shift production from America to other countries with a 35 per cent tax on their exports into the United States. He also has denounced the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada. GM, the world's No. 3 automaker, said it sold about 190,000 Cruze cars in the United States in 2016. All of the sedan versions sold in the United States, or about 185,500, were built at its plant in Lordstown, Ohio. About 4,500 hatchback versions of the Cruze were assembled in Mexico and sold in the United States. 'GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, with a small number sold in the US,' it said in a statement posed on its website. The Cruze is one of GM's best-selling cars, although its sales numbers were down significantly in 2016. Ford Motor Company said on Tuesday that it is cancelling the construction of a $1.3billion plant in Mexico and will instead invest $700million in a Michigan assembly plant. Ford said on Tuesday that it is cancelling the construction of a $1.3billion plant in Mexico and will instead invest $700million in a Michigan assembly plant. CEO Mark Fields (left) said the move is due to President-elect Donald Trump's (right) anticipated pro-business policies The company said its decision was based on Trump's pledge to enact 'pro-growth policies,' according to Fox News. 'We believe these tax and regulatory reforms are necessary to boost US competitiveness,' Ford CEO Mark Fields said. The CEO said that 700 new jobs will be created as a result of the company's new Flat Rock plant. The plant will be used to manufacture self-driving and electric cars in addition to the Mustang and the Lincoln Continental. The news was welcomed by auto union representatives. 'I am thrilled that we have been able to secure additional UAW-Ford jobs for American workers,' UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles said. Take you child to work day isn't until April, but that didn't stop Kellyanne Conway from bringing one of her daughters to Trump Tower on Monday. The counselor to President-elect Donald Trump and her mini-me daughter were seen waving to cameras as they got into an elevator Monday morning. Schools across the country were still on winter break on Monday, as the nation celebrated the observance of the New Year's holiday. Kellyanne Conway brought one of her daughters to work on Monday at Trump Tower The daughter appeared to be one of Conway's two younger children, who attend public school in New Jersey Conway appeared to be in great spirits as she brought along her daughter for a day of work Conway has two other daughters and a son, but only one of her children was seen accompanying her to work on Monday. Conway wasn't the only one bringing their kid to Trump Tower this week. Vice President-elect Mike Pence was shadowed by his daughter Audrey, a senior at Northeastern University, on Tuesday. Conway's mommy-daughter day comes less than a week after a report claimed her children were being snubbed by Washington, DC schools. Vice President-elect Mike Pence was also shadowed by his youngest daughter Audrey, a senior at Northeastern University, on Tuesday The New York Post reported that Conway has been complaining to parents at Elisabeth Morrow School in Englewood, New Jersey about the uphill battle. Conway's twins, George and Claudia, currently take classes at the exclusive private school. Her two younger daughters - one of whom was pictured at Trump Tower on Monday - attend public school. 'Kellyanne is asking everyone with connections to DC schools for help,' an insider told the newspaper. Conway is seen with her four children and her husband, George, at a New York Yankees game earlier this year President Obama and the First Lady sent their daughters Malia and Sasha to Sidwell Friends School when the family moved to DC. Bill and Hillary Clinton also chose Sidwell for daughter Chelsea, as did Al and Tipper Gore for their son Albert Gore III, after they won the 1992 election. Malia and Chelsea both graduated from Sidwell, and the Obamas have made the decision to stay in DC so that Sasha can finish out high school at the highly selective Quaker institution. However, Conway hit back at the allegations, instead claiming she is potentially being treated unfairly due to her Trump ties. A gunman allegedly killed a logger and gravely injured another after shooting them both in the head as they sat in their parked car on a rural Vermont road. Ethan Gratton, 26, opened fire on David Hill and Mark Brito on Monday outside his home in Georgia, Vermont, say police. Hill, a 57-year-old grandfather, died at the scene and Brito, 27, is fighting for his life in hospital. Vermont State Police have not yet revealed what may have caused the incident but friends of the pair claimed the fight may have been over logs. A source told DailyMail.com the gunman previously complained about Hill who had been logging in woods near his house for months. Hill and Brito used his driveway to reverse their truck minutes before the attack, they said. Ethan Gratton, 26, (left) is accused of murdering logger David Hill (right) in his truck on Monday Brito's family said he was helping Hill when they were attacked at around 2pm. Gratton is believed to have approached the pair in their green Kenworth truck from his home. He reportedly shot them both, killing Hill and leaving Brito with life threatening injuries. Police were called to the scene where they arrested Gratton for second degree murder and second degree attempted murder. He was due to be arraigned at Franklin County Court on Tuesday afternoon. In a statement, Vermont State Police said it was investigating the fight which prompted the shooting. 'This confrontation led to Gratton shooting both occupants of the truck in the roadway. Mark Brito (above) was shot in the head and is fighting for his life 'The circumstances surrounding this confrontation is still under investigation.' On Monday, Brito's father Steve said he had undergone surgery but was still in a serious condition. ' My only son, Mark Brito, was shot in the head today in VT while helping a friend,' he said.' 'He is in surgery now. His friend was also shot and did not make it. 'We are on our way to VT, and are asking for your prayers and good thoughts, both for Mark and his friend's family and friends. 'Anyone who knows Marko knows what a great guy he is.' One of David Hill's cousins who did not wish to be named said she did not know what caused the shooting or if Gratton knew the victims. Hill was a widower and has two grandchildren. There was no answer at his home in Fairfax on Tuesday. His adult daughter Kimberly died in 2012. Police found Brito and Hill in the road outside Gratton's home in Georgia, Vermont, on Monday (above) Photo: NBC But judge found him guilty and said evidence was not ' up her skirt and 'spanked' her at London Rowing Club event Alastair Main, pictured, was found guilty of sexually assaulting an Australian woman at a rowing club party in London in December 2015 A city lawyer who humiliated his mistress and called her an Australian slut was found guilty of racially aggravated assault yesterday. Alastair Main had poured a pint of beer over his victim and repeatedly slapped her bottom at his rowing clubs Christmas party. He hurled insults at her and made reference to her nationality after she refused to give him a hug, a court heard. Main, 35, a former England rower, argued with the victim in an alcove on a bench in Captains Corner before following her to the toilets at the London Rowing Club in Putney before lifting up her skirt and spanking her repeatedly in December 2015. The lawyer, who attended the 30,000-a-year Oratory School in Reading, then pursued the 27-year-old around the club before following her down the stairs when she left the club, again slapping her on the bottom. Main, from Kingston-upon-Thames, had claimed the slap was cheeky and flirty and denied it was sexual assault. The former captain of the club had also denied calling her an Australian slut because he said he was not racist. But yesterday he was found guilty of both sexual assault and racially aggravated common assault at Wimbledon Magistrates Court. His defence lawyer, Eloise Marshall, had previously questioned inconsistencies in the victims evidence, suggesting she may have been exaggerating some of the details. But District Judge Barbara Barnes said she found the victims evidence credible and convincing. Main, pictured left and right at court today, was released on bail ahead of sentencing on January 26 after a judge told him his evidence was not 'credible or convincing' Wimbledon Magistrates' Court heard Main, pictured, lifted up the woman's skirt and repeatedly 'spanked' her after she refused to hug him Addressing Main, she said: You admit you were drunk. It was after all a Christmas party. You admit you did pour beer over the complainant and did call her a slut on a number of occasions. The prosecution witness gave credible and convincing evidence, describing the course of events. I dont find it undermines her credibility to such an extent her evidence cannot be relied upon. Her precise memory may have been affected by fear and embarrassment, which was caused entirely by your behaviour. Giving evidence yesterday, Main admitted being 7/10 drunk after the dinner and a charity auction as you would expect. Main, who works for Schroders after a spell at Coutts, told he court that he had argued with the victim and claimed that she had slapped him around the face. She walked off but he admitted following her and poured what remained of his beer on top of her. He told the court that the woman then went into the ladies toilet and that he got up and followed to make up with her. I was in shock about what happened and felt remorse as I had soaked her with beer, I wanted to say sorry to her, he said. The offences took place at The London Rowing Club's (pictured) Christmas dinner in 2015 Earlier in the trial, the victim described how Main had become aggressive and repeatedly slapped her on the thighs and bottom and tried to pull her skirt up. She managed to escape briefly when another woman came into the toilet but he later pursued her as she left the club and at a nearby cocktail bar, where he again called her a slut. He sent her a grovelling apology message the next morning claiming he had done it as she had rejected him. Main, admitted he was ashamed of himself and had behaved like a fool but denied the racial slur and said he had slapped her on the bottom once. Wearing a smart grey suit and blue tie he wept while giving evidence yesterday but denied all charges, including making reference to her nationality. But Judge Barnes dismissed his accounts as neither credible or convincing and said he was drunk and had admitted to being angry, upset, confused, apprehensive at times that night. Main, of Kingston, denied calling his victim an Australian slut because he said he was not racist but was found guilty at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court (pictured), today Your memory of the events of that night may have been affected by the amount of alcohol you had, she said. You admit also you followed (the victim) to the ladies toilets. I do not find it plausible that this pursuit by you was just an effort to sort things out. You were pursuing her because you were angry and you were determined to control the complainants behaviour. You assaulted her again and I also find this assault was sexual in nature. At no point was this simply flirtatious or cheeky. I dont find you could reasonably have believed (the victim) could have reasonably consented to that behaviour. The judge said she was satisfied Main had referred to the victims nationality around the same time he poured beer over her and called her a slut to vent his feelings. Advertisement Prince Harry has described protecting wildlife as 'God's test' for mankind after opening up about his quest to save 500 endangered elephants from poachers. The British royal graced the cover of Town & Country after taking a reporter inside his journey where he spent three weeks in Malawi over the summer working alongside volunteers, vets and experts on the frontline of one of the largest and most significant elephant translocations. Photographs show the 32-year-old hanging onto a rope with several other volunteers as they try to get a bull elephant to lie down, and 'spray painting' elephants to temporarily mark them before they are released back into the bush. In another, he posed up for the upscale society magazine, wearing his African Parks shirt, for what would become their front cover. The prince, who has often spoken of how he would like to walk away from his royal duties to live in Africa and work on such projects permanently, spoke of his incredible experience in getting hands on with helping with conservation. 'I do worry. I think everyone should worry,' he said. 'We need to look after them, because otherwise our children will not have a chance to see what we have seen. This is God's test: If we can't save some animals in a wilderness area, what else can't we do?' He also talked about his special affinity with Africa, the place he went 'to get away from it all' after the death of his mother Princess Diana, the place 'where I feel more like myself than anywhere else in the world.' Prince Harry has graced the cover of Town & Country after taking a reporter inside his journey saving 500 endangered elephants from poachers in Africa Up to 500 elephants are being moved over 350 kilometres across Malawi from Liwonde National Park and Majete Wildlife Reserve to Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve, where the elephants will be able to thrive. Harry helped with the first phase of the translocation when 261 elephants were successfully re-homed through the African Parks organisation, which aims to relocate some endangered animals from areas where numbers are thriving, to safe places were populations have disappeared. The remaining 239 elephants will be moved during the second phase next summer. During those three weeks in the Malawi bush, he says he fell in love with the project because 'they get things done.' 'They make tough decisions, and they stick to principles,' said the prince, and army veteran. 'I don't go on safari,' added Harry, who visits Africa every year, 'I come so I can surround myself with people [working in conservation] and support them.' The British royal spent three weeks in Malawi over the summer where he worked alongside volunteers, vets and experts on the frontline of one of the largest and most significant elephant translocations Harry joined a team of conservationists for the project, from left: Lester Vickery, Peter Pearnhead, Prince Harry, Lawrence Munro, Craig Reid and Andre Uys Despite being fifth in line to the British throne, Harry was just another member of the conservation team while in Malawi. Almost everyone addressed him simply as 'Harry' and sleep in one of their basic green canvas tents pitched on the banks of the Shire River - teeming with crocodiles and hippos. Of course, after decade in the Army, Harry is no stranger to rough it, 'Although, of course, this is total luxury in comparison.' After a long hard day at work, he would sit up with the conservation crew, sipping Scotch and discussing the struggles faced to save endangered animals from extinction. Then he was up at dawn to join a daily routine of brewing tea over the camp fire, sharing bucket showers and polishing off a cooked breakfast made in the field kitchen. A senior member of staff there said: 'He behaves just like one of the guys. He doesn't put on any airs and graces. Far from it when I met him he had a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He's clearly enjoying it here and his skills are hugely appreciated.' The daring prince helped out how he could, flying in helicopters over Liwonde National park to act as a spotter for his crew, who herd the beasts into safe shooting range for vets carrying tranquilizer guns aboard a second helicopter. Royal visit: Prince Harry spent his July holidays helping save the African elephant in Malawi, pictured, spraying one sedated animal being moved to a new home Efforts: Kensington Palace released photographs showing the prince helping move around 500 elephants to a wildlife reserve Aid: Harry and a group of workers trying to 'tip' a young male elephant that was trying to fight the sedative drug and head for the trees In a video, narrated by the prince, he added: 'Elephants are one of the cores of Africa. You can't imagine anywhere like this existing without elephants. ' On some missions Harry, who flew Apache attack helicopters in Afghanistan, takes the controls for landings in the rough savannah. Each mission sees expertly trained conservationists use their tranquilizer darts to stun the mighty animals, which can weigh up to six tons. The animals are then winched by crane into crates and taken on a 450-mile road trip to the underpopulated Nkhotakota reserve further north. At other times, he joined the ground crew, helping herd the tranquilized animals or to 'tip' them to stop them from running away with a tranquilizer dart still in them. Yet Harry was unfazed by the obvious danger he faced. 'I've done this a few times before,' he explained when asked about his apparent lack of fear. 'Also, I'm fatalistic. If something is going to happen to you, it will happen. And I have such a respect for wild animals that it's a privilege to be around them. Plus, the army taught me teamwork.' In footage of his time in Malawi, Harry says that this is the 'most efficient and least invasive way' of being able to safely move the elephants. He also talked about his special affinity with Africa, the place he went 'to get away from it all' after the death of his mother Princess Diana The first time he visited Africa was in 1997, pictured with his father Prince Charles during the trip to Duku Duku South Africa He returned in 2004 during his 'gap year' where volunteered at Mants'ase Children's Home in Mohale's Hoek 'I can tell you after three weeks there is zero stress on these animals and they're going from one beautiful place to another beautiful place. 'It's amazing to see such unbelievable creatures being moved in a way you could never even dream of. To be with elephants, such massive beasts, is a unique experience. In a weird way they know we are here to helpthey are so calm and so relaxed. 'They need to be moved to a different place so this is the most efficient and least invasive way of doing it.' He added: 'Elephants are one of the cores of Africa. You can't imagine anywhere like this existing without elephants'. The initiative is not his first major conservation expedition to Africa. Last year he spent three months with with soldiers fighting off rhino-poachers in Kruger National Park in South Africa, and also joined a team tracking lions in the remote Palmwag Reserve in Namibia's north-west Kunene region. Harry, a devoted conservationist, has been coming to the continent for decades. The first time was in 1997, just a few months after his mother, Princess Diana, was killed in a tragic car crash that shook the world. 'My dad told my brother and me to pack our bagswe were going to Africa to get away from it all,' he said. 'My brother and I were brought up outdoors. We appreciate nature and everything about it. But it became more' Harry and his girlfriend, actress Meghan Markle, appear to share an affinity for non-profit work (the 'Suits' actress recently took a trip to Africa with World Vision where she helped change lives by putting in new toilets where 1,650 pupils shared one) Markle recently visited Rwanda where she met with boys and girls in the genocide-scarred east African as an ambassador for Canadian charity World Vision Devotion: Prince Harry has been a devoted conservationist and spent three months embedded with an anti-poaching patrol in southern Africa last year (pictured). He posted this heartbreaking picture near the end of the tour Frontline: The 32-year-old royal brings valuable field experience from last year's three months embedded with bush vets and an anti-poaching teams, gaining a host of hands-on skills. Above, he helps treat a rhinocerous last summer Harry said that the continent was the one place he felt like he could finally be himself. 'This is where I feel more like myself than anywhere else in the world. I wish I could spend more time in Africa. I have this intense sense of complete relaxation and normality here. 'To not get recognized, to lose myself in the bush with what I would call the most down-to-earth people on the planet, people [dedicated to conservation] with no ulterior motives, no agendas, who would sacrifice everything for the betterment of nature I talk to them about their jobs, about what they do. And I learn so much.' Harry and his girlfriend, Suits actress Meghan Markle, appear to share an affinity for non-profit work. She recently visited Rwanda where she met with children as an ambassador for charity World Vision. However, Harry and his team have sometimes faced backlash for the work they do. Sometimes, that's from the poachers themselves, the very people threatening the very extinction of some of Africa's most incredible beasts. At others, it can be from poor locals who are frustrated at the expense of the conservation effort while they struggle to put food on their table. Malawi is one of the least developed an densely populated countries in Africa with almost half its population living on $2 a day. Most of its natural resources have been so thoroughly mined for timber and charcoal that the only green areas left in the country are the protected parks. But Peter Fearnhead, the Zimbabwean-born CEO and co-founder of the nonprofit African Parks said that letting people destroy the last remaining areas - which would then disappear in a few months - was not the solution. 'I completely understand those frustrations, which you would have too if you were constantly, desperately trying to provide for yourself and your family,' Harry added. Harry took a photograph of this magnificent beast set to be moved around 200 miles to a new home Harry explained that conservation work was needed to move 500 elephants 200 miles to a sanctuary In the video, narrated by the prince, he added: 'Elephants are one of the cores of Africa. You can't imagine anywhere like this existing without elephants. ' Once they are sedated and recorded, the elephants are revived with injections in 'wake-up' crates and cattle prods are used to herd them onto flatbed trucks for the day-long journey to their new home The overall picture for elephants in Africa is deeply alarming - due to poaching, habitat loss and human wildlife conflict, numbers are being decimated. The need to manage and protect those herds which are thriving has become more acute, to ensure there is hope of securing the future of Africa's elephants. In pockets where elephant populations outgrow their surroundings they can come into conflict with local communities, or find that vegetation is unable to sustain the population. A balance between the number of animals and the available habitat is required to help relieve pressure in areas like Liwonde. By moving herds into safe parks like Nkhotakota, it is hoped that the pressure on existing habitats will be reduced, and the population of elephants will continue to grow. Taking part in this project, Prince Harry was keen to get experience on the front line of conservation, and learn more about the issues affecting wildlife in Africa, aides said. He also believes that conservation needs a regulatory body to monitor whether the effort is working - not just for the animals but also the local community. An elephant is lifted by a crane in an upside down position in Malawi, in the first step of an assisted migration of 500 of the threatened species. The animal is unconscious and will wake up unharmed 'These are very special places,' he said of the conservation parks, but they are islands with a sea of people around them. 'I do worry. I think everyone should worry. We need to look after them, because otherwise our children will not have a chance to see what we have seen. This is God's test: If we can't save some animals in a wilderness area, what else can't we do?' Along with moving elephants, Prince Harry assisted with translocating a male rhino, a host of game species including antelope, buffalo, and zebra, and he facilitated in re-collaring three lions in Majete with GPS collars to monitor and better protect them. Christophe Bejach, 53, pictured, faces jail after he admitted arranging to commission a child sex offence and possessing indecent images of children A former advisor to the French Minister of Economy and Industry has avoided jail after an undercover police officer caught him arranging a bikini photoshoot involving three young sisters. Christophe Bejach, 53, bought a stash of tiny lingerie from Amazon as he so he could shoot erotic nudes of the children, aged just eight, 10, and 12, between April and July 2016. Bejach outlined the fantasy to the girls mother Sadie on an extreme porn site, not realising she was an officer from the Mets cyber crime team posing as a child abuser. He admitted hatching the plot but said he purchased the underwear for his girlfriend, who is said to be very slightly built. Bejach was spared jail despite Judge Joanna Korner rejecting his evidence and saying his claims undermined 'the full extent of your remorse and indeed the discount to which you would be entitled for the pleas'. She handed him a nine-month sentence suspended for two years for one count of arranging the commission of a child sex offence and three counts of possessing indecent photographs of children. The judge said: 'You described what you wanted to do to the children, in particular you said you weren't interested in the younger girls but in the elder girl. 'Sometimes the descriptions were graphic. 'You sent photographs of underwear to Sadie and also added that you wanted to photograph those children or the girl in the underwear.' Judge Korner said she had 'no hesitation' in rejecting Bejach's account after reading the chat logs and hearing of the stash of child abuse images found at his house. 'You couldn't bring yourself to fully admit how long this period in your life had actually gone on for,' she added. 'As far as the eldest girl was concerned you wanted to have actual intercourse with her.' The court heard there were 'extremely strong' mitigating factors, including Bejach's 'impeccable character' until his conviction. A psychological report concluded that he was in a 'depressive state' during the period of the offences, which Judge Korner said brought out 'deeply repressed desires which you probably would never have given into had it not been for this illness'. She told the court that 'the public interest doesn't require the sentence to be one of immediate imprisonment'. Earlier prosecutor Daniel Robinson told the court: In this case there were intended to be three long-term victims. What he was hoping to achieve was a long-term family setup, thats how the correspondence begins effectively - he wanted to introduce the family to sexual abuse. Bejach was told the siblings were quite demanding and replied: Which turns me on beyond what you can think of. When asked whats the lowest age that makes you hot? he told Sadie: Two times five I would say. Mr Robinson said: The crowns case is that during the chat log he indicated the intention to take his camera along on a number of occasions and sent Sadie photographs of underwear he had purchased in order to have the girls pose during a photo shoot. But Sarah Whitehouse QC, defending, said: He bought a great deal of underwear on Amazon for his girlfriend. He bought that in May on one occasion and indeed we have photographs of his girlfriend wearing some of those items before his arrest. She added: Shes very slightly built. Bejach admits telling Sadie he had sexually abused his own daughter and suffered child abuse at the hands of his mother, but says he was lying during the online chats. Giving evidence today, he said: I was not in my right mind and I was not acting or typing or speaking rationally. As awful as it may seem or I should say as awful as it is, all these were fictions. You will probably find it totally stupid. He continued: Imagining things and writing things, I have been writing a book, I have been writing a play, I have always kept my imagination working because having an imagination was important as an entrepreneur. Asked about the underwear, Bejach answered: Those are adult lingerie pieces and they are actually the lingerie I got for Alexandria - sorry Alexandria your honour is my partner. He said he became convinced Sadie was trying to blackmail him and withdrew from the plan after he met her at the four-star Cumberland Hotel in Marble Arch, central London on 28 April 2016. Bejach, a former advisor to the French Minister of Economy and Industry, faces jail after admitting the crimes at Southwark Crown Court, pictured He continued to contact her but says he was trying to keep her at an arms length until he left the UK. Asked if he intended to have sex with the girls before the meeting at the Cumberland Hotel, Bejach said: Before that I had very terrible thoughts, yes. He claimed he kept contacting Sadie because: I was totally scared by the meeting we had, I knew I was in a bad situation and you know as they say keep your enemies close. The prosecution said Bejach only put an end to his photoshoot plan when he had a disagreement with Sadie over where to have it. Mr Robinson said: The way that things ended is that he was spooked, effectively he got nervous about the arrangements to book the hotel and then he withdrew, but that came right at the end of the picture. Police raided Bejachs Bayswater home in July 2016 and discovered a stash of 60 images of child abuse including seven Category A images - the most serious kind portraying penetrative sexual activity. He earned his Masters in Business Administration from Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC) de Paris, one of the worlds most renowned business schools. In 2006 he co-founded one of the leading think tanks in France, Terra Nova, and went on to found the LAvion airline which was successfully sold to British Airways before a stint advising Arnaud Montebourg on aerospace, defence, energy and mining. Bejach, of Bayswater, was ordered to carry out 100 days on an accredited treatment programme, 20 days of rehabilitation activities, and was served with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He must also sign the Sex Offenders' Register for ten years, forfeit his computer, and pay 1,200 prosecution costs. A woman tried to kill a pensioner by burning him with a hot iron and battering him with paintings after he suggested a 'sugar daddy arrangement', a court heard today. Samantha Butler, 40, allegedly attacked 79-year-old Gordon Bland from behind when they returned to his flat in Crystal Palace, South London, to have sex. She is then claimed to have stamped on his head and beat him with a laundry stand and four framed pictures including one titled 'Canals of England'. Location: Samantha Butler, 40, allegedly attacked Gordon Bland, 79, from behind when they returned to his flat on this road (pictured) in Crystal Palace, South London, to have sex Butler also heated up the iron and burnt Mr Bland on his right hip and stomach near his groin during the hour-long ordeal, jurors at the Old Bailey were told. Police were called to the flat on the evening of July 9 last year after a neighbour heard Mr Bland's cries for help. Officers wearing body-mounted cameras found the victim lying half-naked between his bed and the settee. The footage was played to jurors and Mr Bland was heard saying that Butler 'turned on me' after they 'came back here for the nookie'. Mr Bland, who entered the witness box using a walking stick, said he spent five weeks in hospital and continues to suffer restricted movement of his arms and legs. He told the court that he met Butler at the Royal Albert pub in Upper Norwood while having a pint of bitter. Meeting: Mr Bland told the court that he met Butler at the Royal Albert pub in Upper Norwood Mr Bland said: 'I understood she was happy to come back to my flat, hopefully to go to bed was the idea. 'I understood she was short of money and I had 35 or 40 on me which I gave to her. I thought there might be an arrangement of some sort. 'In the living room I was hit on the back of the head, it felt like something solid and I went to the floor between the end of the bed and the settee. 'She proceeded to hit me with various things, the clothes stand, pictures off the wall. 'She burnt me on the side with the iron and there were marks on the stomach. I was shouting for help. I thought she was going to kill me because she said so.' The girl had been tearing out her hair and eating it Doctors had to perform an operation to remove a one kg ball of hair from a teenager's stomach after it emerged she had been pulling out and eating her own hair. The 15-year-old girl, from Punjab, India, was admitted to hospital after not being able to eat or drink anything. And after a scan doctors were surprised to spot a massive clump of hair in her stomach and suggested immediate surgery to take it out. The one kg or 2.2Ibs ball of hair found in the girl's stomach. Doctors had to perform an operation to remove it Doctors diagnosed her with the rare 'Rapunzel syndrome' after discovering she had a history of trichotillomania - a condition where people pull out their own hair and trichophagia - where they eat the hair that has been pulled out. She had been chewing on her hair for a number of years - and had swallowed so much she had started to vomit every time she ate. Medics with the clump of hair that had caused the teenager so much distress. She had been chewing and swallowing her hair for a number of years The ball about to come out of the girl's stomach. The condition results in hairballs (called a trichobezar) being found in the stomach, with its tail in the colo Bloodied: Doctors diagnosed her with the rare 'Rapunzel syndrome' after discovering she had a history of trichotillomania - a condition where people pull out their own hair and trichophagia - where they eat the hair that has been pulled out The syndrome is rare, with less than 120 cases reported in the medical literature, and almost always affects young women, according to doctors writing in the journal BMJ Case Reports. The condition results in hairballs (called a trichobezar) being found in the stomach, with its tail in the colon. A six-month-old girl was shot dead by a stray bullet in Cape Town despite her father's desperate attempt to bring her to hospital. Little Zahnia Woodward was mortally wounded as members of a gang traded gunshots amid a turf war in the Ocean View area of the city. Her father, Bradley Robyn, 24, heard the gunshots and scooped up his daughter and tried to run from the scene when they were both hit. Bradley Robyn, left, tried to save the life of his daughter Zahnia, centre, after she was shot near her home in Cape Town, South Africa. Her mother Cindy, right, told local media that she wants the men responsible for her daughter's murder 'to suffer' as a result of the shooting Zahnia, pictured, was mortally wounded after rival gangs began shooting at each other The six-month-old baby girl, pictured, was rushed to hospital where medics battled to save her Zahnia's mother Cindy Woodward wrote on Facebook of the pain she has endured Robyn, despite being wounded, put his daughter into his car and raced to the hospital where unfortunately medics were unable to save her. The shooting happened on Friday December 30, in the area which has had a long-running problem with gang violence. According to News 24 a 31-year-old man from Hout Bay has been arrested and denied bail at a sitting of Simon's Town Magistrates' Court. Zahnia's brother, Bradlyn Woodward, pictured, laid a teddy at a shrine marking the point where the six-month-old baby girl was shot by the rival gang members involved in a turf war Residents in Ocean View have left floral tributes to remember the youngster who died The Ocean View area has been the scene of a bitter turf war between rival gangs for years Prosecutors asked the court to prevent the release of the suspect's name over fears his family may be targeted. The court heard the suspect and three other people were identified by Zahnia's father. Speaking outside the court, Zahnia's mother Cindy Woodward said: 'I want him to feel this pain I'm feeling. Death is not real pain, it's too quick, they must suffer," she said. 'They took my world. There's nothing more they can take.' Zahnia's father was wounded as he tried to carry his dying daughter to safety GMS says it builds the sedans it sells in the the US in Ohio; the Chevy Cruze model that is manufactured in Mexico is Ford announced a $700 million investment and 700 new jobs in Michigan on Tuesday. It cancelled its plans to build a $1.6 billion plant in Mexico for production of the Ford Focus and said it would build the next generation of the vehicle at an existing factory in the foreign country. Ford CEO Mark Fields said at a news conference that the 'pro-growth' polices of President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are encouraging. Trump had threatened General Motors with a 'big border tax' earlier in the morning if it continued to make a version of its Chevy Cruze in Mexico. Scroll down for video Ford announced a $700 million investment, 700 new jobs in Michigan and cancelled its plans to build a $1.6 billion plant in Mexico on Tuesday. Ford CEO Mark Fields is seen speaking at a press conference today President-elect Donald Trump had threatened General Motors with a 'big border tax' earlier in the morning if it continued to make a version of its Chevy Cruze in Mexico The automotive company said in a statement it builds the cars it sells in the United States in an Ohio factory. The Chevy Cruze model that is manufactured in Mexico is sold in foreign markets Fields told CNN his company did not make a deal with Trump. The decision was a 'vote of confidence' in the U.S. economy, he asserted. 'We didn't cut a deal with Trump. We did it for our business,' Fields told the news network. At a news conference this morning Fields credited Trump's economic policies with the shift and said that tax and regulatory reforms 'are critically important to boost U.S. competitiveness.' 'We look at all the factors, and our view is we see a more positive U.S. manufacturing business environment under President-elect Trump and the pro-growth policies and proposals that he is talking about, so this is a vote of confidence for President-elect Trump and some of the policies that they may be pursuing,' Fields said. At the White House daily press briefing Tuesday afternoon President Barack Obama's press secretary, Josh Earnest, claimed that Ford's decision wasn't tied to any 'political considerations.' After DailyMail.com brought up Fields' comments about the 'pro-growth' policies of Trump and congressional Republicans, Earnest said he doubted that the Ford executive would want his comments interpreted as a calculation that it would be better to build cars in the U.S. under Trump. My guess is that you should ask that question to the Ford CEO but I dont think that he would want his comments to be interpreted that way,' Earnest said. The White House later said the president's spokesman was referring to Fields' statement to CNN about the lack of a deal with Trump. Trump celebrated the Ford announcement by sharing a graphic to Instagram that said: 'Instead of driving jobs and wealth away, AMERICA will become the world's great magnet for INNOVATION and JOB CREATION.' The Republican had slapped Ford around on the campaign trail for its plans to build more cars in Mexico. He said he'd hit the company with a 35 percent tariff on vehicles it makes over the border and sells in the U.S. After Ford announced its decision, President-elect Donald Trump shared a graphic on Instagram suggesting the country would be a 'great magnet' for jobs under his watch Ford said Michigan-based employees would be charged with building future Lincoln Continentals. Here's the 2017 version of the car The company also pledged to make new Ford Mustangs in the factory located in Fort Wayne, Michigan The car company said in a statement Tuesday morning that it would invest $700 million over four years into its Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Fort Wayne, Michigan. Employees will build an 'all-new small utility vehicle with extended battery range,' Ford said, 'as well as the fully autonomous vehicle for ride-hailing or ride-sharing' and the Mustang and Lincoln Continental. Ford further announced a cancellation of the San Luis Potosi, Mexico plant. It said the change of plans would safeguard 3,500 U.S. jobs at the Michigan plant where the Focus is produced at present. Ford will still move production of the Focus to Mexico, but it will be built at the pre-existing Hermosillo, Mexico, factory. This morning Trump put GM on notice for its over-the-border production of the Chevy Cruze. 'General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A.or pay big border tax!' he tweeted. The automotive company said in a statement it builds the sedans it sells in the United States in an Ohio factory. The Chevy Cruze model that is manufactured in Ramos, Mexico is primarily sold in foreign markets. The Republican had slapped Ford around on the campaign trail for its plans to build more cars in Mexico. He said he'd hit the company with a 35 percent tariff on vehicles it makes over the border and sells in the U.S. Ford said Tuesday that it would build the next generation of the Ford Focus at an existing factory in Mexico. A Focus is seen on the assembly line at the Wayne, Michigan, factory two years ago A 'small number' of the Mexican-made model does end up in the United States, GM said. 'General Motors manufactures the Chevrolet Cruze sedan in Lordstown, Ohio. All Chevrolet Cruze sedans sold in the U.S. are built in GM's assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio. GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, with a small number sold in the U.S,' it said in a statement. GM told CNBC that it sold some 190,000 Cruzes in the United States last year. It said the Mexican-made model accounted for roughly 4,500 of those sales, 2.4 percent. The company said in November that it was laying off 2,000 employees in the U.S. at two plants, one of which was the Lordstown facility, and the cuts would be implemented in early 2017. In his briefing today Earnest said Trump's tariff threat is 'contrary to the approach that President Obama has taken when it comes to trying to manage our trade relationships around the world.' Earnest said economists have assessed that taxes like the one Trump suggested would 'have a starkly negative impact on the economy because it would not just result in higher prices being paid by American customers, it means that American goods that are shipped overseas face a similar, retaliatory tariff.' 'Many economists have made the argument that imposing a tariff like that is actually the worst of both worlds,' he said. 'That's why the president has tried a much different approach.' The president's spokesman said Obama 'has a very strong track record when you consider the performance of the U.S. economy under his leadership.' Inquest heard teacher, from Kent, never woke up and suffered a cardiac arrest back for surgery after losing several litres of blood She then had to be Primary school teacher Frances Cappuccini died eight hours after giving birth to her second son after 'smirking midwives' ignored her pleas for a C-section A primary school teacher died eight hours after giving birth to her second son after 'smirking midwives' ignored her pleas for a C-section, an inquest has heard. Frances Cappuccini struggled in labour for 12 hours before finally being allowed to give birth to her son Giacomo via C-section, as she had requested. But, hours later, the 30-year-old had to be rushed for emergency surgery when it emerged that a surgeon had left part of her placenta in her body. As she was being taken into theatre, Ms Cappuccini - who had another son - told her husband: 'If anything happens just make sure you look after the boys.' She also pleaded 'just save my life, just do it' as her husband kissed her and told her how much he loved her. But, five hours later, Mrs Cappuccini died of a heart attack after losing so much blood that she never regained consciousness. Today, a lawyer for Mrs Cappuccini's family claimed her death could have been avoided if an elected Caesarian had been undertaken at the earlier opportunity. The details emerged at an inquest into her death, which was resumed after it was halted in 2014 pending a court case, which later collapsed. The NHS trust admitted liability surrounding her death but denies the situation would have been different if she had been given the initial C-section. During today's hearing, the coroner was told how Mrs Cappuccini, from Offham, Kent, had endured a traumatic birth with her first son Luca and was 'terrified' about her second Labour. The couple had booked an elected Caesarian for October 10, 2012, but went to Tunbridge Wells Hospital two days before, when she started having contractions. Her husband Tom Cappuccini told the inquest how, when they arrived, his wife was 'certain' she wanted a C-section. She had already received advice from a consultant obstetrician at nearby Maidstone Hospital which said she should not have an epidural due to liver issues and should avoid a natural birth. But Mr Cappuccini said midwives had 'almost a smirk across their face' and were 'almost laughing' when he relayed the advice. He told a coroner how the midwives told him and his wife 'not to make a decision based on pain and fear', suggesting there was no reason she could not give birth naturally. Mrs Cappuccini (pictured on her wedding day) struggled in labour for 12 hours before finally being allowed to give birth to her son Giacomo via C-section, as she had requested The 30-year-old had to be rushed for emergency surgery hours when it emerged that a surgeon had left part of her placenta in her body. As she was being taken into theatre, Ms Cappuccini told her husband Tom (with whom she is pictured) to 'look after the boys' Describing the advice, Mr Cappuccini said: 'I put my trust and Frankie's trust in the people that were there. 'They disregarded previous medical advice and we were made to feel small and insignificant. In hindsight I wish I had never agreed.' The hearing was told how Ms Cappuccini - who her husband described as 'terrified' - then endured 12 hours of gruelling labour before medics realised there was no progress. As had been her original wish, medics then decided she needed a Caesarian. The hearing heard how an epidural was also administered, despite Mr Cappuccini informing them of the consultant's advice. The hearing heard a surgeon checked the medical notes, but no record of any epidural advice was found, despite both hospitals belonging to the same trust. Mr Cappuccini (pictured leaving the inquest) said midwives had 'almost a smirk across their face' when he said his wife wanted a C-section But hours later, when the new mother was feeding her son for the first time, that she felt blood 'flowing between her legs'. Midwives then found a pool of blood under her sheet and, when she did not stop bleeding, rushed her back to theatre for surgery. The inquest heard how, as Mrs Cappuccini signed the consent form for emergency surgery to stem heavy bleeding, she told doctors 'just save my life just do it'. Her husband added: 'I had the opportunity to kiss her and tell how much I loved her. 'She said "I love you and if anything happens make sure you look after the boys".' Following the surgery Mr Cappuccini was told a piece of placenta - which was described as 'raggedy' - was found in her uterine cavity. But Ms Cappuccini did not come back from the general anaesthetic and was instead taken to the Intensive Care Unit. Today, Mr Cappuccini described how he never got the chance to say goodbye to his wife. 'I was told that I could see her when she was stable in the ICU but I never got the chance,' he said. 'At 4pm, a group of doctors came to see me and said her blood pressure had dropped and her heart had stopped. They had tried to revive her but they were unable to do so.' Midwife Julie Ann Michaud, who cared for Mrs Cappuccini throughout the majority of her labour, told the inquest how the mother had a sense of 'impending doom' when she arrived at hospital. 'She was contracting strongly and highly emotionally distressed and upset,' she said. Dr Errol Cornish (left, leaving the inquest), the consultant anaesthetist who treated Mrs Cappuccini, was told he had no case to answer with regards to gross negligence manslaughter. Another doctor, Nadeem Azeez (right), also had charges against him dropped 'She was frightened. It was like a feeling of impending doom - that is the only way I can describe it. I have never seen anyone so frightened before or since. 'She didn't really know quite what she wanted she was in a lot of pain.' Mr Sheldon asked the midwife: 'You have a competent, intelligent, articulate adult patient who has come in and expressed a clear wish for a certain type of treatment. Why was that not the end of the matter?' She said the decision whether to have surgery was up to the doctor. The midwife denied 'trying to talk Mrs Cappuccini out of an elected Caesarian' and said an examination showed the baby was in the best possible position for a natural birth. She added: 'She asked me what to do. She said: "I am here and I am in labour I don't know what to do". 'It is very difficult to give advice. At this point she was safe and there was no reason not to go forward with a vaginal delivery. 'People change their minds all the time about birth plans and pain relief and who they want in the delivery room with them. We have to be adaptable in how we talk to women and the care that we are giving.' She also told the hearing she had spent all night with Mrs Cappuccini, who she described as 'utterly utterly gorgeous'. 'I stayed with her all night and I held her hand and gave her care. She was a lovely lady to look after.' THE EVENTS WHICH LED TO DEATH OF TRAGIC TEACHER FRANCES CAPPUCCINI Mrs Cappuccini suffered heavy blood loss following the birth of Giacomo who was born by Caesarean section at the hospital in Kent October 8 8.30pm: Mrs Cappuccini's waters break and she is admitted to Tunbridge Wells Hospital. She is monitored overnight - the birth of her first son, Luca, by this time aged three, had been complicated and required a Caesarean section. October 9 8.25am: Mrs Cappuccini undergoes a Caesarean section and at 8.28am Giacomo is born. 9.13am: Mrs Cappuccini returns to the labour ward from the operating theatre. 11.35am: Mrs Cappuccini returns to the operating theatre for surgery to remove a remaining part of the placenta after suffering postpartum haemorrhage. She is given a general anaesthetic and is 'intubated' - a tube is inserted into her throat and her breathing is controlled by a ventilator. 12.20pm: The surgery is successful and the surgical team leave her with Dr Nadeem Azeez and theatre technicians to allow her to wake up. 12.30pm: Dr Azeez records that Mrs Cappuccini has started to open her eyes and he 'extubates' her - he removes the endotracheal tube (ETT) helping her breathe. He then 'bags' her, helping her breathe with a face mask and hand-operated oxygen pump. 12.35pm: Dr Azeez administers a second dose of reversal agents - drugs intended to lift the paralysis Mrs Cappuccini had been under. 12.45pm: Dr Gabriella Gray, a registrar in obstetrics, comes into theatre and asks Dr Azeez if everything is OK while he hand-ventilates. He nods and she leaves. Shortly before 1pm: Rebecca Shaw, the operating department practitioner, asks a colleague in a neighbouring operating theatre to call anaesthetist Dr Errol Cornish in to help Dr Azeez. 1pm: Dr Cornish, who had been caring for another woman having a Caesarean section, comes to help Dr Azeez. The prosecution and defence clashed over how long he stayed but Mr Justice Coulson ruled that he stayed for at most 40 minutes. 1.20pm: Dr Gray and another consultant obstetrician return to the operating theatre, having been told there may be a problem. 1.20pm-1.30pm approximately: Dr Raymond Chung, the on-call emergency consultant anaesthetist, speaks to the operating theatre and tells someone he believes is Dr Azeez to reintubate Mrs Cappuccini. 1.30pm-1.35pm: Consultant anaesthetist Dr Garth Sommerville arrives and from the door tells Dr Azeez to insert a laryngeal mask - a half-way measure less invasive than reintubation. He returns two minutes later after scrubbing up and finds it has not been done so does it himself. 1.30pm-1.40pm: Dr Chung arrives and finds Mrs Cappuccini has not yet been intubated. Dr Azeez then does so but her vital signs do not improve. Dr Chung told the court he may have passed the tube into her oesophagus instead of her windpipe and he later successfully did it himself. 1.40pm approximately: Dr Cornish leaves the operating theatre, leaving Mrs Cappuccini in the care of Dr Sommerville. 2pm approximately: Mrs Cappuccini is moved to 'theatre recovery' for further care as there are no spare beds in the hospital's intensive care unit. 2.10pm: Mrs Cappuccini is reintubated, according to medical records, although Dr Chung told the court he believed he did it earlier. 3.16pm: Mrs Cappuccini has a cardiac arrest. 4.20pm: Mrs Cappuccini is pronounced dead. Advertisement Neil Sheldon, a lawyer representing the family, told coroner Roger Hatch that it was of 'paramount concern' the family that Mrs Cappuccini underwent 12 hours of gruelling labour rather than be sent for an immediate elective Caesarian. He said: 'As you will be immensely aware this inquest represents the only chance for Mrs Cappuccini's family to have investigated the circumstances surrounding her death and to have answers to the questions they still have as to why she died. 'There was an early admission of liability by the trust and there has been no civil trial and the criminal trial collapsed - for which the family watched as frustrated and to some extent bemused spectators. 'They have waited four and half years for long this opportunity with no little restraint and great patience.' Mr Sheldon said her death could have been avoided - something the NHS trust denies. He added: 'If the c section had been undertaken in an elected basis promptly on arrival at hospital, possibly by a different surgeon, then that basic error may not have been made.' Representing the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Mike Atkins said the risk of placenta being left behind remained the same regardless of when the surgery took place. She was frightened. It was like a feeling of impending doom - that is the only way I can describe it Midwife Julie Ann Michaud 'The risk was no greater in the morning of the 9th than the evening of the 8th because when that surgery was performed the surgeon had the same good view of the stomach open,' he said. 'In fact the same staff were in duty.' Making an emotional tribute to his wife, Tom Cappuccini said: 'She was one of the greatest people I am ever likely to meet in my life.' 'She was very bubbly, kind, caring and loving person. She had lots of friends and lots of time for her friends. 'She was a great mother, a fantastic wife and she loved looking after Luca. As a teacher her education background enabled her to give him a good start to his young life.' The inquest was originally halted in 2014 when it became apparent that criminal charges could be brought following the tragedy. Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust made legal history by becoming the first NHS trust to face corporate manslaughter charges. But the case was dismissed by a judge at the Inner London Crown Court in February 2016. Dr Errol Cornish, the consultant anaesthetist who treated Mrs Cappuccini, was also told he had no case to answer with regards to gross negligence manslaughter charges against him. Another doctor, Nadeem Azeez, also had charges against him dropped. The inquest, which is due to last 10 days, continues. With President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration just over two weeks away, it was another busy day on Tuesday at Trump Tower, where a parade of big-name figures from the world of media, politics, and business was seen going through the lobby and entering the skyscraper's elevator. Veteran journalist Bob Woodward was seen entering the lobby and going up an elevator for private meetings in Trump Tower. But he wouldn't say whether he's meeting with the president-elect. The journalist made famous by his reliance on secret sources during the Watergate scandal was tight-lipped about what he was doing in the Manhattan skyscraper. Afterward, Woodward said he was 'visiting a couple of people' and would come back 'to see somebody else.' Scroll down for video Journalist and author Bob Woodward (left) and incoming Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (right) were seen entering Trump Tower on Tuesday Vice President-elect Mike Pence (above) had a message for the new Congress on its first full day in session: 'It's time to get to work' Pence (right) was accompanied by his daughter, Audrey (left), a college student who is in her senior year at Northeastern University in Boston Pressed for details, he said he agreed not to disclose details about the meetings. Woodward said: 'There's no secrecy about it. It's just that I'm doing my work.' He added: 'It's something I'm working on long term. I hope you'll understand.' Vice President-elect Mike Pence was at Trump Tower on Tuesday. He had a message for Capitol Hill: 'It's time to get to work.' Trump's second in command made the comment as members of Congress convened in Washington for the first time in 2017. Two members of the president-elect's national security team dropped by Trump Tower - KT McFarland (left), the incoming deputy national security adviser, and retired General John Kelly (right), who has been tapped to head the Department of Homeland Security Family affair: Lara Trump (right), Donald Trump's daughter-in-law, and Brad Parscale (left), Trump's digital campaign manager, were also seen at Trump Tower on Tuesday Lara Trump (above) is married to Donald Trump's second-oldest son, Eric Trump Pence said he would spend Wednesday on Capitol Hill meeting with members of the House and Senate about the incoming administration's agenda. He said: 'It's time to keep our word to the American people.' The priorities Pence mentioned were 'repealing and replacing Obamacare' along with plans to 'roll back' regulations. Pence also said there would likely be another Cabinet announcement in the coming days. Steven Mnuchin, the former Goldman Sachs executive who was appointed by Trump to be his treasury secretary, paid a visit to his boss' pad. Talking business: Lockheed Martin Senior Vice President Leo MacKay, Jr is seen at Trump Tower Another member of Trump's cabinet, retired US Marine Corps General John Kelly, was seen at Trump Tower. Kelly is one of three retired generals to take up a position in the new administration. He will head the Department of Homeland Security. Lara Trump, the president-elect's daughter in law by virtue of her marriage to son Eric, was seen entering the lobby with Brad Parscale, the digital director of Trump's successful election campaign. A Trump cabinet pick, KT McFarland, also paid a visit to her new boss. McFarland, a former Fox News national security analyst, was tapped by Trump to serve as his deputy national security adviser. McFarland wasn't the only Fox News talking head to make an appearance at Trump Tower. Two of Trump's most vocal supporters during the campaign - Fox News host Jeanine Pirro (left) and Hispanic affairs adviser Joseph Guzman (right) - were also at Trump's Manhattan tower Tough-taking former judge Jeanine Pirro, who hosts Justice with Judge Jeanine on the conservative cable news network, also paid a visit to Trump Tower on Tuesday. Pirro has long been rumored to be a candidate for a cabinet post in the new Trump administration. Trump also welcomed some heavy hitters from the corporate world to his luxury tower on Tuesday. Leo Mackay, Jr, the senior vice president of defense contractor Lockheed Martin, paid a visit to Trump Tower. Since Mackay is in charge of the company's internal auditing, it's a good bet he was in Trump Tower to discuss issues related to the president-elect's recent Twitter posts against Lockheed Martin's expensive F-35 fighter jet program. Two women appointed to positions in Trump's White House - spokesperson Hope Hicks (left) and Omarosa Manigault (right) - were at Trump Tower on Monday Trump has been critical of the project, which has experienced cost overruns and numerous delays. Finally, Joseph Guzman, a college professor who was shamed by students on Michigan State University's campus because of his active support for Trump during the recent election, was also seen at Trump Tower on Tuesday. Guzman is a member of Trump's Hispanic advisory council. Hope Hicks, Trump's spokesperson for his transition team who will take up the post of White House director of strategic communications, was seen at Trump Tower on Monday. Another high profile Trump surrogate, Omarosa Manigault, was a visible presence in the lobby on Monday. Manigault, whose acquaintance with Trump dates from her stint as a contestant on the NBC reality show The Apprentice, will also join the White House staff once Trump takes office. Timothy Parker (pictured), a judge who allegedly traded sexual favors with female defendants in exchange for their release or lower bonds, has left office and agreed to never serve on the bench again An judge who allegedly traded sexual favors with female defendants in exchange for their release or lower bonds has left office and agreed to never serve on the bench again. Timothy Parker resigned from his position at the Carroll County District Court in Arkansas on Saturday after a disciplinary panel threatened to administratively charge him. Parker denied the sexual misconduct charges when he quit on the last day of his current term in office, the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission announced on Tuesday. The panel said Parker admitted to releasing and lowering bail for defendants who were friends or former clients and, in some cases, giving rides to defendants in his own vehicle after he released them. Parker, who was appointed to the judgeship in 2013, also faces a criminal investigation over the accusations. Jason Barrett, a special prosecutor appointed to investigate the case, said Tuesday that he was reviewing JDDC's evidence to see if charges were warranted. The panel said it had video statements from more than a dozen women, recordings of conversations Parker had in jail with women, as well as text messages that back up the allegations. 'Bonds would be set, or release of the women on their own recognizance was ordered by going to the jail or via telephone. 'The bonds or release of these women or their family or friends were done by their request in exchange for sexual favors,' David Sachar, the panel's executive director, said in an email to Parker dated Saturday. Parker denied the sexual favor allegations. Asked why he didn't contest the allegations before the panel, he responded: 'I have young children and I don't want them exposed to that kind of cr**.' Parker resigned from his position at the Carroll County District Court (pictured) in Arkansas on Saturday after a disciplinary panel threatened to administratively charge him When he was appointed to the judgeship in 2013, Parker told the Carroll County News he was a: 'small man with a small ego. 'There is no room for ego on the bench. I plan to be a humble judge that follows the law. It's justice with compassion.' Parker's resignation comes just months after another former Arkansas judge was charged with giving lighter sentences to defendants in exchange for sexual favors. Former Cross County District Court Judge Joseph Boeckmann was indicted in October on several federal charges, including wire fraud and witness tampering. Shivan Azeez Zangana, 21, was sent to the UK by his family to keep him safe after battling extremists with the Kurdish separatist group A former Kurdish rebellion fighter radicalised in Britain after fleeing Iraq was jailed today for planning to fight for his former Islamic State enemies. Shivan Azeez Zangana, 21, who uses the surname Azeez, was sent to the UK by his family to keep him safe after battling extremists with the Peshmerga, a Kurdish separatist group. But after falling in with 'a nest of rats' near his Sheffield home, he was turned by a fellow Kurd, asylum-seeker Aras Hamid, 27, and agreed to change sides and go with him to fight for ISIS, Kingston Crown Court heard. The two men were discovered by police sleeping at the Al Noor Mosque in Birmingham on May 17, days after several of Azeez's worried relatives had called 999 with concerns about what he was planning. He had fled his Sheffield home and bought a plane ticket from Gatwick to Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq. Extremist material was later discovered on an iPad and iPhone he tried to post to the war-torn country. Azeez dramatically collapsed in the dock on Tuesday after being jailed for three years, but was able to leave unaided after a few minutes. Moments earlier Judge Peter Lodder QC had told him: 'I accept that you were radicalised by Hamid but the material retained on your electronic devices that you attempted to send unaided to Iraq reveals your own commitment. 'Having seen you in the witness box it is clear you are not particularly vulnerable.' While Azeez was arrested at the mosque, plan ringleader Hamid had items confiscated but was not detained. He was discovered two days later hiding in a lorry on the A2 near Dover, Kent, while trying to smuggle himself out the UK. He also had a fake Bulgarian passport. Hamid, who entered the UK illegally in September 2015, had arranged to travel to the war zone to fight for a Kurdish IS unit, the Salahaddin Battalion, documents found on his phone showed. He used code names including 'car wash' to mask their intentions and arranged covert meetings, including in a Coventry park and a cemetery. Giving evidence in their trial last year, Hamid admitted he wanted to die a martyr's death and the jury heard that he exchanged messages with other extremists, telling one 'we will die as martyrs in the holy land of the caliphate'. Jailing him for seven years, Judge Lodder told Hamid: 'Terrorism strikes at the very heart of civilised society. 'By early April 2016 you had decided to return to the Kurdistan area of Iraq or Syria for terrorist purposes. Azeez was turned by Aras Hamid, 27, and agreed to change sides and go with him to fight for ISIS. Ahmed Ismail, 19, (right) who has dual British and Iraqi nationality, was planning to join the other two but backed out he found out his brother was to be shot as a spy by ISIS 'You didn't intend to travel alone, an important part of your plan was to recruit and facilitate the smuggling of others who might support your cause.' Hamid, of no fixed address, and Azeez, of Washington Road in Sheffield, were both convicted of preparing acts of terrorism at a trial last year. Hamid was also found guilty of assisting another in commission of terrorist acts and admitted a charge of possession of an identification document with improper intent. Both he and Azeez were also ordered to serve an extended period of 12 months on licence at the end of their prison sentence. Ahmed Ismail, 19, who has dual British and Iraqi nationality, was planning to join the other two but backed out he found out his brother was to be shot as a spy by ISIS. He was jailed for 18 months. The British citizen of Kurdish origin decided not to travel with the others because he had learned his brother Mohammed, an IS fighter, was due to be executed for spying and did not want to risk a similar fate. Azeez's lawyer, Anthony Barraclough, told Tuesday's sentencing hearing: 'In Birmingham and other parts of our country are terrorists who are part of a nest of rats. 'Azeez, whatever he intended by the jury's verdict, did ... fight on our side in the Peshmerga. 'It is said that Hamid is significantly responsible for the radicalisation of Azeez, whose vulnerability arises from being displaced ... from his position in the Peshmerga in Kurdistan. 'Here is a young man who is vulnerable and falls in the nest.' A father shot and killed a robber who forced his way into his family home as his wife put their four young daughters to bed. The 26-year-old father was at home with his family in Philadelphia on Monday night when he answered the door to the unnamed robber at around 11pm. He was shot in the face and leg but was able to return fire and kill his attacker as he forced his way into their home. At the time the man's wife was putting the girls, who are all under four, to bed. A father shot and killed an armed robber who forced his way into his Philadelphia home (above) on Monday night He was taken to hospital where he is expected to recover. Police said it was unlikely any charges would be brought against him. The robber was found dead at the scene with a gun shot wound to the head. ' Preliminary information shows that this incident was a failed attempted home invasion robbery. 'The deceased knocked on the door and forced his way in after it was answered by (the father). 'The deceased shot him twice in the process. (The father) was able to pull his own weapon and return fire, striking decedent in the head. 'At this time it appears (he) was acting accordingly while defending his life and property,' a Philadelphia Police Department spokesman said. None of the man's children or his wife were injured in the crossfire. Several windows were shattered in the shooting which is believed to have been captured on surveillance cameras installed next door, Fox reports. A father-of-two from Texas was shopping at a Walmart early Monday morning when police say someone came up to him from behind and delivered several blows to the head that proved fatal. Justin Lee 'JJ' Jones, 37, was rushed to a Woodlands hospital after the ambush attack at the Tomball Walmart but passed away from severe head trauma just hours later. Investigators have released a screenshot from a surveillance video inside the store showing a possible suspect in the killing. Ambush killing: Police in Texas say Justin Jones, 37 (left), died from head trauma after someone attacked him from behind. They released a screenshot from a CCTV video depicting a possible suspect (right) Shopping trip gone wrong: Jones was shopping at this Tomball Walmart early Monday when someone sneaked up on him from behind and struck him in the head The CCTV image depicts a white male dressed in a red T-shirt and red-and-white sneakers, carrying a white motorcycle helmet in his right hand. His right arm appears to be covered in tattoos. According to a message posted on the Tomball Police Department's Facebook page, the unidentified suspect was seen riding a black motorcycle. Detectives say the deadly ambush on Justin Jones was not a random act of violence, and that the father-of-two likely knew his assailant. According to witness reports, the suspect struck Jones in the head during a scuffle that took place at around 1am. Officers who responded to the scene at 27650 State Highway 249 found the victim lying unconscious on the ground, reported Houston Chronicle. Father: Jones, pictured with his dog, is survived by his two young sons and his girlfriend Jones' girlfriend, Lindsey Stover, told the station KPRC she does not know the man in the CCTV screenshot but called on him to come forward 'and own up to what they did.' Jones, who according to his Facebook page worked for an air conditioning company, leaves behind two young sons, his mother and sister. 'He was so full of life, he was happy,' Stover said of her slain boyfriend. Team Trump seemingly shunned Carl Paladino after the co-chair of Donald Trump's New York campaign went on a racist rant against President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. The New York Daily News noted Paladino's exclusion from a forthcoming Buffalo-based fundraiser in which top Trump aide Kellyanne Conway will appear. Paladino was rebuked by Trump's transition team after he told a weekly paper in Buffalo, where he serves as a school board member, that he'd like to see Obama die of Mad Cow disease and Michelle Obama go to the jungle to live with a gorilla. Despite making these extremely controversial comments, Paladino said today that he's not on the outs with the president-elect. Scroll down for video The New York Daily News is suggesting that Carl Paladino (right) has been dumped by Donald Trump (right) after going on a racist rant about the Obamas The scandal began two days before Christmas when the paper, ArtVoice, had asked local leaders a number of questions including, 'What would you most like to happen in 2017?' Paladino's No. 1 wish was the death of both President Obama and top aide Valerie Jarrett. Paladino, who ran for New York governor in 2010, told the paper that he hoped '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,' Paladino continued. The Republican political activist added to his 2017 wish list with the hope that 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.' Upon hearing the comments, Trump's transition team issued a statement. 'Carl's comments are absolutely reprehensible, and they serve no place in our public discourse,' it said. Carl Paladino, who ran for New York governor as a Republican in 2010, contends he's not on the outs with President-elect Donald Trump, despite a condemnation from the transition Speaking to the Buffalo News, Paladino pushed back and said the Daily News shouldn't have read between the lines. 'I'm not cut out,' he told the local paper. 'It's only in the hearts and minds of the progressives and those haters out there that it means something else.' Paladino divulged that he planned to attend the fundraiser with Conway, the incoming counselor to president-elect Trump, while also hosting a separate fundraiser for his Republican friend. He did not comment when the Buffalo News asked him why the fundraisers were separate. When asked about his current role in the transition, Paladino said those activities were private. 'The Trump campaign made one remark concerning my remarks. That's it,' he pointed out. 'It doesn't affect anything. It never has and it won't.' A spokesman for Trump's transition did not respond to a request for comment on Paladino's current relationship with the president-elect. Facebook is in trouble again for censoring images - an Italian art historian has been told to remove a naked statue of the sea god Neptune from her page. It comes only four months after the California-based internet colossus was forced to reinstate an iconic photograph of a naked girl fleeing a napalm attack during the Vietnam War. The latest controversy surrounds a large bronze statue of the sea god, the epitome of ripped masculinity, which is found in the centre of the Italian city of Bologna. The bronze statue of the sea god, Neptune (pictured) is three metres high and weighs 22 tons. But its nakedness was too much for the prudes at Facebook The 16th century statue of Nettuno (Neptune) holding a large trident was used by Elisa Barbari, to illustrate her Facebook page: 'Stories, curiosities and views of Bologna'. But she was contacted by Facebook, who told her it broke their rules on sexual explicitness. The Daily Telegraph reported that Ms Barbari said: 'I wanted to promote my page but it seems that for Facebook the statue is a sexually explicit image that shows off too much flesh. Really, Neptune? This is crazy!' Facebook reportedly told Ms Barbari: 'The use of the image was not approved because it violates Facebook's guidelines on advertising. 'It presents an image with content that is explicitly sexual and which shows to an excessive degree the body, concentrating unnecessarily on body parts. 'The use of images or video of nude bodies or plunging necklines is not allowed, even if the use is for artistic or educational reasons.' The three metre tall statue has dominated a piazza in Bologna for 500 years and nobody has batted an eyelid until now Ms Barbari said it was amazing that in 2017 an image of a statue that had stood in public view for 500 years was now considered obscene. She has removed the image on her Facebook page and replaced it with a message in large letters: 'Si Nettuno, no censura (Yes to Neptune, no to censorship).' Ms Barbari said she was 'indignant and irritated', and asked 'How can a work of art, our very own statue of Neptune, be the object of censorship?' The statue was created in 1560 by a Flemish sculptor Jean de Boulogne, and has dominated the Piazza del Nettuno in Bologna ever since. Last year Facebook, which has 1.4 billion users, was accused of censoring photos of the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen. Poland's foreign minister has torn into the president of the European Council, fellow Donald Tusk, a fellow Pole, calling him an 'icon of evil and stupidity'. Witold Waszczykowski said he hoped Mr Tusk, a former Polish prime minister 'would stay far away from Poland' as relations between Brussels and Warsaw worsened. Mr Tusk's liberal Civic Platform party was ousted by Polish voters in 2015, to be replaced by the more conservative and Catholic Law and Justice Party, in which Mr Waszczykowski is a key member. Donald Tusk (pictured, right, with Theresa May) is a man who is clearly not universally popular in his native Poland On New Year's Eve Mr Tusk tweeted to Poles the wish for a 'fatherland free of evil and stupidity', an apparent dig at the Polish government. The Daily Telegraph reports that Mr Waszczykowski has retaliated by saying: 'We are a country that wants to be really active in discussions over the future of the EU, Brexit and the UK's relations with Europe, but on these issue Mr Tusk has done nothing to help us. He is an icon of evil and stupidity.' Mr Tusk was Poland's Prime Minister from 2007 until December 2014 when he was appointed president of the European Council. In November 2015 his party was defeated by the Law and Justice Party and last year Warsaw only agreed to back him staying on for a second term as president of the European Council if he agreed to support Polish interests. But the Polish government clearly feels Mr Tusk has taken his loyalty to Brussels over his loyalty to his own country. Witold Waszczykowski (pictured, left) and Donald Tusk (right) are old political enemies in Poland but this is the first time their mutual hatred has burst into the public domain Mr Waszczykowski said today Mr Tusk had until May 'to change his attitude' towards Poland. Poland has been under pressure from Brussels to reverse policies which it claims is against the spirit of EU law. Poland's prime minister Beata Szydo remains popular and says her party has a clear mandate to govern and has accused Brussels, and Mr Tusk, of meddling in affairs. In November Mr Waszczykowski said: 'It is in our interest that Britain remain an EU state as long as possible and pay contributions as long as possible. Our 48,000 miles of interstate highways constitute the crown jewel of this nations infrastructure, bigger in their impact on our lives than even our world-class freight railroads. Without the interstate network, created by act of Congress six decades ago this June, our economy would today be a fraction of its present size. But I am tired of hearing arguments that say if we can build an interstate highway network, high-speed passenger rail is a no-brainer. Or that if high-speed trains can exist in Spain and ItalyItaly of all places!!! Its economy has been frozen in place for what seems like centuries!there is no excuse for such trains not sprouting in the United States of America. The arguments are attractive, but leak like rusty radiators. First of all, ours is a small-government, low-taxation country, at least compared to other developed nations. Our ethos is that if it cant make money, dont do it. We have constitutional checks and balances, meaning that unlike places like China or Russia or parliamentary governments like France, the president can propose anything he or she wishes, but Congress jealously grips the purse strings. And within Congress, regional interests compete for control of that purse. To be blunt, the population densities that could support high-speed rail exist primarily along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, but the votes to pay for such projects reside in the vast middle of the country. Result: Nothing gets done. So we end up with what I admit are ridiculous situations. On the East Coast, Amtrak struggles to modernize the Washington-to-Boston Northeast Corridor. The Federal Railroad Administration last December put the cost of modernization at $132 billion in capital investments. The states through which the NEC passes cant come close to paying a bill of that size. Just look at Connecticut; if it raises taxes one more time, it risks mass exodus. This means that its up to Congress to summon the will and find a way. But try telling the senators and representatives from South Carolina or Louisiana or Wyoming or Idaho or Kansas or Kentucky that they should vote for a massive undertaking that has no bearing at all on their constituents. And on the West Coast we have California struggling to build a high-speed network on its own, at a cost last pegged at $68 billion. I wish Californians well, because if it ever gets built, this railroad will be hugely popular, in my opinion. Given all these impediments, what would it take to create a high-speed train culture? In two words, vision and leadership. Dwight Eisenhower displayed both in the mid 1950s. Americas love of the automobile was at its height. Talk about superhighways went back decades, but it was just talk. Ike thought big, the time was ripe, and he caught the national imagination. Its also important to note that the interstates became politically popular because all states and every Average Joe could reap the benefits. Now think back to 2009. Barack Obama had the right idea, perhaps: a network of high- or higher-speed trains. The Recovery Act of that year appropriated $8 billion in what was called seed money. And just as with the interstate highways, all 50 states got some of that pot, quite often just to write up and file away a state railroad plan. But Obama invested no political capital whatever in this idea, it was ineptly executed by the Department of Transportation, and it certainly never caught the national imagination (or the support of more than a handful of Republicans in Washington). Try this: Count on the fingers of even one hand where this money was put to good use. I give up after four fingers, those places being Illinois, North Carolina, Washington, and . . . uh, let me think some more. And for good measure, the FRA late in 2016 refused to lend California $15 billion for its high-speed system. Going back to vision and leadership, we have lots of the former. California has vision, if not yet the billions to back it up. Amtrak has a clear vision of what the NEC could become. The creators of Texas Central Railway, meant to link Houston and Dallas, have vision in spades. So does Fortress Investment Group, which owns the Florida East Coast Railway and spotted a unique set of circumstances that may make possible a profitable passenger train schedule linking Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Orlando. That brings us to leadership. Someone has to break through the inertia, and it may well be Donald J. Trump. Our president-elect is a Republican but not a tea party train-hater or a fiscal conservative. He is a builder. He thinks big. He talks jobs and infrastructure, and if he really means it, what better symbol of new infrastructure than high-speed trains? I suspect most Republicans in Congress would go along, because they have a lot invested in his success. As for Democrats, we all know they swoon at the suggestion of high-speed rail. If he learns from Obamas mistakes, Trump would put meaningful amounts of money into five or six regional projectsthe Northeast Corridor, California High Speed Rail, Texas Central, Chicago-St. Louis, Chicago-Detroit, and Florida, for instance. In other words, invest to really make a difference. Odds of this actually happening are slender, I admit. But as with highways in 1956, the time is now for fast trains, and our 45th president is in a unique position, being both a builder of big things and a maverick politician, to lead the way, if he so chooses.--Fred W. Frailey Dr Marian Bond worked in the Animal & Environmental Biology department at Anglia Ruskin University's Cambridge campus A businessman tried to murder his university lecturer wife by bludgeoning her with a lump hammer as she slept at their 1m home, a court has heard. Paul Bond, 62, is said to have fractured Dr Marian Bond's skull and jaw multiple times, leaving her in a critical condition, at their home in Over, Cambridgeshire on July 11 last year. Bond, who ran his own computer business from their home, denies attempted murder. Opening the case earlier today at Cambridge Crown Court, prosecutor Amjad Malik QC told the jury that Mr Bond had called 999 and 'calmly' spoke to the operator to explain that he had attacked his wife of more than 30 years wife with a hammer. Dr Bond, 62, was then rushed to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. Doctors found she had a shattered jaw and part of her skull was 'caved' in. She was placed in an induced coma and part of her skull was removed to save her life. Dr Bond, who worked in the Animal & Environmental Biology department at Anglia Ruskin University's Cambridge campus, has since made a recovery. Mr Malik said: 'This defendant made a decision to attack his wife and he chose a time when she would be in her most vulnerable state. 'Marian Bond was asleep on that bed, sleeping on the left hand side with her head close to the head board. 'He had ensured that the bedroom was dark. All the curtains, we say, were drawn on that morning. He had switched the lights off. Why did he do that? 'She wouldn't have been able to see what was coming, or it may have been that he wouldn't have wanted to see the results of that lethal attack that he was about to launch upon her.' The court heard that Bond went into the upstairs bedroom just before 8am and stood over his wife before he 'caved' her skull in with the 12 inch long tool which weigh 2.5 lbs. One blow to the left hand side of the head left the lecturer with multiple fractures to her skull, as well as depressing bone into the brain and causing her brain to swell. A second blow to the left hand side of the jaw caused multiple fractures and required surgery to correct. After Bond called the emergency services, paramedics discovered that Bond had moved his wife's body as she was lying diagonally, in the opposite direction the where she was attacked, the court heard. When police officers arrived, they found Bond with blood over his hands, cheek, chest and dressing gown. Paramedics found Dr Bond had suffered severe injuries at their home in Over, Cambridgeshire During two interviews following his arrest, the prosecution said he seemed 'emotionless', refused to answer questions and did not give an explanation for carrying out the attack. The jury was told that Bond had previously pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of intending to cause his wife grievous bodily harm at the same court on November 2. But this was rejected by the Crown, which claims Bond intended to kill his wife. Mr Malik said: 'The prosecution say that on the evidence they have you can be sure that this defendant, in these circumstances, intended to kill his wife. 'This was an attempt to murder her when he struck down with that hammer as she lay asleep.' Bond appeared in the dock with shoulder-length grey hair, glasses and a grey beard listened to the hearing with a hearing loop. An earthquake has shaken western Sydney after tremors woke residents in the early hours of Wednesday. The 3.9 magnitude quake hit Appin, 16 kilometres south of Campbelltown, at 1.13am. Residents in surrounding suburbs including Menangle, Glen Alpine, Wilton, and Campbelltown reported feeling the tremors. Scroll down for video A 3.9 magnitude earthquake has struck the suburb of Appin, 16 kilometres south of Campbelltown in Sydney's west Others said they were woken by a loud rumbling sound. Local MP Jai Rowell took to social media to urge those in the area to remain calm, and contact the relevant emergency services if necessary. 'It is hard to believe that we have had an earthquake in Wollondilly but we have. (Near Appin/Douglas Park),' he posted to Facebook. Authorities still do not know for certain what caused the death of a bridal reality show contestant whose murder was allegedly committed by a male nursing student, it was learned on Tuesday. The results of an autopsy performed on Lisa Marie Naegle, whose body was found in the Inglewood, California, home of a man who police say has confessed to killing her, do not conclusively pin down her cause of death. The death certificate, a copy of which was obtained by TMZ, only says 'deferred' when it is asked to list the official cause of death. Naegle's body was found in a shallow grave on December 20 at the home of Jackie Jerome Rogers. Authorities say Rogers, with whom Naegle was having an affair, confessed to killing her after she told him that she was interested in ending their romance so that she could patch things up with her husband. She had been reported missing after she left a birthday party in Torrance, California in the early morning hours two days prior. Naegle's family confronted Rogers with CCTV footage from the early hours of December 18 showing Naegle getting into Rogers' SUV. Scroll down for video Nursing student Jackie Jerome Rogers (right) confessed to police in the murder of former reality show contestant Lisa Marie Naegle (left), 36 The death certificate (above) issued by the Los Angeles County Coroner did not specify cause of death. The circled word 'DEFERRED' indicates that that authorities are still not sure Murder suspect Rogers can be seen in this still taken from surveillance footage leaving the birthday party with Naegle in the early morning hours of December 18 Naegle came in fourth place on the E! reality show Bridalplasty, where women compete for a dream wedding and plastic surgery, in 2010 The suspect had initially told them that he and Naegle were at a bar near Alpine Village when she said she wanted to go to an after-party. He claimed he was too tired and he left without her but the CCTV footage shows otherwise, reported TMZ. The 36-year-old nurse texted her husband Derek Harryman around 2.45am to let him know she was grabbing food and then coming home. Two days passed without Harryman hearing a word from his wife. Naegle, who once competed on the E! show Bridalplasty, was hit on the head seven times with a hammer early Sunday morning, TMZ reported citing law enforcement sources. She and Rogers had just gone to a bar called Jack In The Box, and Rogers said she had just broken up with him to go back with her husband, according to TMZ. Naegle's body was found naked and face down in Roger's yard, TMZ reported. Family members told the Associated Press Rogers was a student of Naegle, who taught a college nursing class. Naegle's sister, Danielle Naegle-Kaimona, told ABC 7 that Rogers said he was having an affair with Naegle. Naegle-Kaimona told the network that Naegle had told her Rogers was gay. She said Rogers initially denied any involvement. 'We begged and pleaded that he'd come to our home to kind of give us details on what time, where were things, and when he left her, but while he was talking to us and telling us his story, multiple different times he said he absolutely did not go home with her, or did not take her home,' Naegle-Kaimona said. Detectives and members of the coroner's office went to the home of Jackie Jerome Rogers on December 20 (pictured), where they dug up Naegle's body Naegle (right), a registered nurse, had called her husband Derek Harryman (left) around 2.45am on December 18 to say she was getting food and coming home - but never returned Officials investigated Rogers' residence after they said Rogers confessed to murdering Naegle One of Naegle's sisters, Michelle, was seen leaving the police station in San Pedro on December 20 afternoon, looking visibly upset Naegle's husband (pictured) also left the police station with Michelle. Police retrieved Naegle's body later that day Harryman, Neagle's husband, had expressed his concern during his wife's disappearance. 'Everyone is beyond frustrated, beyond worried,' Harryman told the Orange County Register. 'I'm flipping out.' 'We are trying to have a baby. We are looking forward to starting a family.' Harryman, who is a vessel operations superintendent at the Port of Los Angeles, was at work when Naegle told him she was headed to the party with her brother. Naegle had only planned to stay for a few hours because she was scheduled to teach nursing classes at West Los Angeles College on Sunday. But when Harryman returned from work at 2am on Sunday, he saw that his wife still wasn't home. He said Naegle called him a minute or two later. 'She sounded really, really drunk,' he told the Daily Breeze. 'She said, "I'm going to get some food and then I'll be home." ' Harryman expected Naegle would come home with an Uber car, saying she often uses the app and the same driver to get home. Naegle was nowhere to be found when Harryman woke up the next morning, but he believed she must have just stayed with her brother and gone straight to work. Then Harryman found out that Naegle hadn't gone to the party with her brother, but a male nursing student - later identified as Rogers - who had picked her up. The student had told Harryman his wife had wanted to go to an after-party. He said he did not stay with her and went home alone. After talking to him, Harryman texted his wife: 'You didn't come home last night. This is unacceptable. You must be feeling horrible because you have to teach.' But then Harryman received a call notifying him that Naegle had never shown up to her class. That's when he and Naegle's brother went to the police and reported her missing. Officials found Naegel's body in Rogers' yard. She was found naked and having been bashed several times with a hammer, according to TMZ Video footage from Alpine Village was discovered showing Naegle getting into a black SUV Naegle (pictured with her husband) told Harryman she would get food and go home after going to a birthday party but never returned and didn't show up to teach class the next day This missing poster was released after Harryman reported Naegle missing on December 18 Putting the bitter presidential race aside, both Hillary and Bill Clinton will attend Donald Trump's inauguration later this month, according to CNN. The news comes on the heels of both President George W. Bush and his wife, former first lady Laura Bush, planning to be on hand. President Bush's spokesman, Freddy Ford, confirmed the couple would be there. 'They are pleased to be able to witness the peaceful transfer of power a hallmark of American democracy and swearing-in of President Trump and Vice President Pence,' Ford said. Scroll down for video Shown at George W. Bush's inauguration in 2001, the former Republican president and his wife Laura Bush (left) plan to attend Donald Trump's inauguration. The Clintons (right) committed shortly thereafter In 2009, George W. Bush and Laura Bush (right) were on hand to see President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama take over the reins of the country Former President Jimmy Carter (left), seen in attendance at the inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2009, was the first ex-president who said he'd be at Donald Trump's inauguration later this month Beyond that, no information was released on the Bushes' participation, according to the Dallas Morning News. Former Democratic President Jimmy Carter was the first member of the ex-presidents club who said he planned to attend the January 20 swearing-in. The Bush family's relationship with Trump has been fraught since the billionaire bested former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the brother of Bush 43 and son of Bush 41, in the GOP primary, forcing him to drop out even before his home state of Florida voted. Trump expertly labeled the ex-governor 'low energy,' a term that plagued Bush's short-lived presidential campaign. After that, none of the Bush family members endorsed Trump throughout his campaign. Ex-President George H.W. Bush (left), Hillary Clinton (center), and former President Bill Clinton (right) all attended the 2009 inauguration for President-elect Barack Obama Ex-President Jimmy Carter (center) and his wife Rosalyn Carter (right) attended the January 2001 inaugural for George W. Bush. They're seen being greeted by incoming Secretary of State Colin Powell (left) Al Gore (center) was spotted giving a thumbs up at the inauguration of his political rival George W. Bush in 2001. He's flanked by Bill Clinton (left) and Sen. Chris Dodd (right) While having lost the election to then-Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. John McCain (right) attended the Democrat's 2009 swearing-in ceremony on Capitol Hill No Bush attended this summer's Republican National Convention in Cleveland as well. Neither George W. Bush or Laura Bush voted for the Republican nominee, while reports suggested that George H.W. Bush voted for Hillary Clinton. A spokesman for George H.W. Bush said he wouldn't be attending Trump's inauguration, citing the 92-year-old's age. It's tradition for living ex-presidents to show up for a new president's inauguration, regardless of political party. For example, Carter, a liberal Democrat, attended the inauguration of President George W. Bush in 2001, after a contentious campaign against Democrat Al Gore, in which Gore, the sitting vice president, won the popular vote and Bush, the governor of Texas, won the electoral college vote and with that, the White House. Like Hillary Clinton will do later this month, Gore attended Bush's inauguration, after just being beat by the Republican, even meeting with the president-elect at the White House before the swearing-in. Additionally, every living ex-president attended the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama, who made history as the country's first African-American leader. Disgraced: Shana Taylor, 38, a former Indianapolis public school counselor, has been sentenced to six years of home detention for having sex with two teenage boys A former Indianapolis public school counselor accused of having sex with two teenage students has been sentenced to six years of home detention. Shana Taylor, 38, learned her fate on Tuesday after pleading guilty to three felony counts of dissemination of matter harmful to minors as part of an agreement with Marion County prosecutors. Under the terms of the plea deal, Taylor will be spared prison time but she must surrender her teaching license. Taylor originally had faced ten felony charges and a misdemeanor, including nine counts of child seduction. Last year, two Indianapolis Public Schools officials charged with failing to immediately notify authorities of the sexual abuse allegations against Taylor agreed to enter pretrial diversion programs. Marion County prosecutors had alleged the two had evidence Taylor had sex with a 16-year-old boy in her office but waited six days to report it, according to Indianapolis Star. State law requires school officials to immediately report abuse or One victim who attended Longfellow Alternative School (pictured) revealed that he and Taylor had their first sexual encounter in his home in October 2015 According to prosecutors, Taylor was involved in a sexual relationship with a high student beginning when he was 16 years old; the affair lasted from October 2015 until February 2016. Documents filed in the case last year detailed how the couple would meet for sex at multiple locations, including at school and at a Bloomington hotel. When interviewed by investigators, the teenage victim who attended Longfellow Alternative School revealed that he and Taylor had their first sexual encounter in his home and also smoked marijuana together, reported WISH-TV. During the next five months, the pair would meet about 20 times to have sex, including at the woman's home in Greenwood, in her car and in her office at the school, the documents stated. The high school guidance counselor was also accused of having a tryst with another 16-year-old boy. The first victim, who is now 17, claimed that Taylor had a threesome with him and another student, aged 16. Taylor allegedly warned both teens to keep quiet about what happened, lest she loses her job. Caught, Taylor was arrested after the victim's mother found her nude photos on her son's phone The allegations came to light in mid-February when the 17-year-olds parent found text and Facebook messages exchanged between the guidance counselor and her son, which included nude photos of the educator. At least seven school administrators learned of the allegations against Shana Taylor on February 17, but no one contacted the Indiana Department of Child Services until February 23. Taylor was taken into police custody on February 25 and initially charged with 10 felony counts and a misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor, reported the Indy Channel. Jason Robison, 32, was suspected of killing Pennsylvanian state trooper Landon Weaver on Friday night A man suspected of killing a Pennsylvania state trooper admitted that he shot the first-year official in a text to the mother of his son. Suspect Jason Robison, 32, sent a text message saying he had 'killed the cop' Landon Weaver after shooting the 23-year-old state trooper in the head twice. Robison was shot dead by police in Hesston, central Pennsylvania, after he refused orders and made threats, police reported on Saturday. He allegedly killed Weaver after the trooper responded to a reported violation of a protection-from-abuse order at his mother Sherry Robison's home. Robison told Weaver that he didn't want to go back to jail before the state trooper was fatally shot, according to an arrest warrant. Robison, left, admitted that he shot Weaver, right, in a text to the mother of his son. A search was launched and police announced Robison was shot dead on Saturday morning Sherry Robison saw her son pull a gun from his pants and heard a shot before seeing Weaver fall face-down, the report continued. Afterward, in a text to his son's mother Robison apologized and acknowledged that he had shot Weaver, according to a police affidavit. Police launched an overnight manhunt on Friday and Robison was tracked to an unoccupied mobile home nearby and was fatally shot by police. A few weeks prior to the fatal shooting, Robison said in a Facebook post: 'The only good cop is a dead cop', the Centre Daily Times reported. Weaver (pictured left and right, with his new wife) was fatally shot in Juniata Township while he was investigating a domestic incident at Robison's home on Friday night He posted two pictures alongside the status update, showing a crashed police cruiser in one, and an injured officer in the other. The post was deleted at around 1am on Saturday, according to the Centre Daily Times. Weaver enlisted in the Pennsylvania State Police in December 2015 and was assigned to the Patrol Unit in Troop G in Huntingdon. According to Facebook, Weaver and his wife got married over the summer and she finished graduate school earlier this month. He's the 97th member of the Pennsylvania State Police to be killed in the line of duty. Weaver enlisted in the Pennsylvania State Police in December 2015 and was assigned to the Patrol Unit in Troop G in Huntingdon. He is pictured above with his wife who just graduated from graduate school earlier this month Gov. Tom Wolf released a statement following the tragic shooting that read: 'On behalf of all Pennsylvanians, Frances and I extend our deepest condolences and prayers to the family and friends of Trooper Weaver and all members of the State Police across Pennsylvania in this moment of tragedy. 'Landon will always be remembered for his bravery, his sacrifice, and his willingness to serve. 'The State Police are our best and bravest Pennsylvanians, who risk their lives to keep all of our families safe.' Juniata Township is home to a few hundred residents in Huntingdon County, located in central Pennsylvania. Israel has opened up ts national archive of documents aimed at putting to rest decades-old allegations of a racket in stolen babies. The 200,000 now declassified documents, were made available in an online database last week, in a move designed to appease families of children who went missing in the late 1940s and early 1950s. About 1,000 children, mostly Jewish immigrants from Yemen and other Arab countries, disappeared in Israel's early years, and families of some of the children believe they were abducted for adoption by European Jewish couples. Frecha Amar, 84, from a Moroccan descent, holds a picture of her baby, who she says was abducted in 1958, as she poses with her daughter Yael Spatter and her grandchildren at her home in Kfar Chabad, near Tel-Aviv The children disappeared during a wave of Yemenite Jewish emigration to the newly created state of Israel in around 1950, and Yemenite activists have charged that hundreds of babies declared dead by doctors were actually stolen. The activists say the babies went missing from camps set up to host Yemenites along with Jews arriving from other Arab countries in the early 1950s. Doctors at the camps told them their children had died, but refused to hand over the bodies or death certificates. Yona Musa, 76, from a Yemeni descent, poses with a portrait of her and her husband at her home in the Israeli city of Herzliya, near Tel Aviv. Musa belives her baby was abducted more than 60 years ago Activists and family members believe up to several thousand babies were taken in the years after Israel was founded in 1948, mainly from Jewish Yemenite families, but also from immigrants of other Arab or Balkan nations. Official inquiries have found that most of the missing babies had died, pointing out the poor conditions in reception camps for the immigrants. But many parents remain unconvinced. Gil Grunbaum, 60, from Tunisian descent, poses with an old picture of his adoptive parents on at his home in the city of Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv Gil Grunbaum, who was adopted as a child, is one of those calling upon the government to apologise. He found out that he had been secretly dopted by accident - nearly 40 years after the event and managed to locate his biological mother. He tracked down his mother, originally from Tunisia, after a three-year search and over the opposition of Israeli welfare authorities. Nurses and mothers taking care of Yemenite children, in Rosh Haayin, in Israel in 1949 He told Al Jazeera: 'The release of these documents is an important first step - not least because they prove the families were not hallucinating, as they have often been told. But there is much more the government can and should do. Public pressure will continue to grow for more answers.' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in July he would support opening the country's archives, which would normally be classified until 2031. Tsil Levine, right, cries as she is hugged by her biological mother Margalit Umassi after genetic tests had determined that she is her baby girl who had gone missing Among the documents already made public is a confidential report by a government inquiry. It found that most of the children who disappeared were dead and that the fate of dozens more was unknown, but offered no proof that they had been kidnapped. The opening of the Israel State Archives will mean that families can investigate the circumstances of their children's disappearances. 'There are no more classified documents,' the archive said. Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said the documents contained no 'smoking guns' indicating an organised kidnapping. A Siberian thief who stole 12 sacks of pine cones is facing up to five years in jail. A man from Russia's Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Region had been collecting pine cones in his garage and was gutted when he discovered all 12 sacks had been pilfered. He contacted police in Russkinskaya village and the sharp-eyed detectives followed the trail of evidence all the way to a 23-year-old suspect, who immediately admitted to the dreadful crime. A man, armed with a gun to deter bears, is pictured sitting beside a heap of Siberian pine cones during the cone collecting season. Many local people in Siberia use the 'cone season' to support their incomes STOCK PHOTO The Moscow Times reported the thief had sold the stolen cones on the black market. The cones from Siberian Pine trees - sometimes known as cedars - contain edible nuts, which are revered and used in Russian folk medicine and for decoration. It is not known how much the cones were worth but the crook is likely to spend time in prison, but is unlikely to be invited into the elite club of vory y zakone (thieves in law) in the Russian underworld. A 15-year-old gunman who killed his classmate and shot her mother in a New Year's Eve attack has now died from his injuries. The shooter, identified as Sean Crizer, attended Howard High School in Ellicott City, Maryland with the 16-year-old victim Charlotte Zaremba. Suzanne Zaremba, 52, came to her daughter's room after hearing a scuffle around 2am, and discovered her struggling with a masked assailant, who shot Suzanne and turned the gun on Charlotte, then himself. Sean Crizer, 15, pictured left, shot dead classmate Charlotte Zaremba, 16, pictured right, on New Year's Day Charlotte, pictured, had been picked her up earlier in the evening from a New Year's party shortly before the shooting Suzanne Zaremba was shot during the incident and has since been treated and released from the hospital Altar boy Crizer, of Alice Avenue in Ellicott City, died at Maryland Shock Trauma Center Tuesday. He is suspected of burglarizing two homes in the area in the weeks before the attack. Howard County Police Spokesperson Sherry Llewellyn said: 'In one of those burglaries a gun was stolen and that gun was used in this shooting.' Officers have reportedly retrieved the mask and murder weapon. Charlotte's parents had picked her up earlier in the evening from a New Year's party shortly before the shooting. Her mother Suzanne Zaremba has been treated for her injuries and released from the hospital. Charlotte's sister Audrey posted a Facebook status reacting to the outpouring of messages she'd received offering to help since the incident on early Sunday morning. In it she says: 'Just hug your families a little tighter'. Charlotte's sister Audrey shared a heartfelt Facebook status reaching out to those with supportive messages Anna Mae and her husband Frank who have known Crizer's family for 30 years said that he was an altar boy at their church. Mrs Mae told WUSA9: 'I'm devastated I just start to cry and think of him since he was a little boy,' she cried. 'He used to shovel my snow and the little girl who was killed used to sell us Girl Scout cookies.' It is believed that Crizer broke into the Zaremba home on the 4800 block of Knoll Glen Road in Ellicott City, Maryland on New Year's Eve A GoFundMe page has been set up to help support the family in their time of need, which has already amassed more than $5,000 in less than 24 hours. The school district has offered counseling for those struggling to cope, and students many have chosen to wear black on mourning of Charlotte's death. John White, a spokesperson for the school district, said: 'She had a lot of friends. 'She was a great spirit, and she seemed to be well liked.' He added that they have no evidence that the two were in a relationship, but did not want to comment further out of respect for both families. School staff described Charlotte as 'a great spirit, and she seemed to be well liked' The school district has offered counseling for those struggling to cope, and students many have chosen to wear black on mourning of Charlotte's death. She is pictured above Principal Nicholas Novak said teachers and students were struggling with what had happened. 'They're taking it pretty hard,' he said. 'No one expected to start the new year this way.' 'We never saw either of them up here in the front office,' he added. 'They both were good students and not getting into any trouble and getting good grades.' Kieran Davis, 15, who attended Ellicott Mills Middle School with both teenagers told the Baltimore Sun: 'I would never have expected this from him. The Queen of Sweden has claimed the royal palace where she resides is haunted. Queen Silvia, 73, who has been married to the King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, for 40 years, claimed ghosts were haunting Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm County while being interviewed for a documentary. When speaking to the Swedish public broadcaster, SVT, Queen Silvia said: 'There are small friends... ghosts. They're all very friendly but you sometimes feel that you're not completely alone. Queen Silvia has said there are ghosts haunting Drottningholm Palace in Sweden. She made the claim while being interviewed for a documentary with Swedish broadcaster SVT When speaking to SVT Queen Silvia said: 'There are small friends... ghosts. They're all very friendly but you sometimes feel that you're not completely alone' Drottningholm Palace, which is on the UNESCO world heritage list, was built in the 1600s on Lovon island in Stockholm. It has 1,430 rooms and 660 of those have windows. The palace has a cellar, ground floor, half floor, first floor, second floor and an attic The stunning palace is also home to an opera house, called Drottningholm slottsteater. It is one of the few 18th century theatres in Europe and is still used today This is the Dejeuner Salon inside the theatre, which was built during King Gustav III's reign in the 18th century. It currently serves as the foyer for the opera house 'It's really exciting. But you don't get scared.' Princess Christina, the king's sister, backed the claims of the Drottningholm phantoms. 'There is much energy in this house. It would be strange if it didn't take the form of guises,' she said in the documentary. 'There's stories about ghosts in all old houses. They have been filled with people over the centuries. The energies remain.' The documentary will air in Sweden on Thursday. Drottningholm Palace, which is on the UNESCO world heritage list, was built in the 1600s on Lovon island in Stockholm. It is the permanent residence of the King and Queen, who is the daughter of a German businessman and a Brazilian woman. Above is a dressing room inside the theatre, which features ornate decorations such as a dress, crystal chandelier, a cream and gold clock and white and gold furniture. The room, which has been painted in a muted colour, also has a fire place Other rooms in the palace are stunningly decorated, such as this blue and white room which has a series of plates that are on display. The floor has been tiled beautifully and the doors feature intricate designs Above is the Royal Chapel, which features religious iconography, marble pillars, large windows and a crystal chandelier Queen Silvia, Princess Victoria and Madeleine, Princess Lilian in Drottningholm pictured in 2006 Queen Silvia has been married to the King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, for 40 years Queen Silvia was hospitalised on December 23 after suffering from dizziness. She was taken into Stockholm's Karolinska Institute hospital and was kept in for two nights for observation. The Swedish royal household said that the queen, who was released on Christmas Day, felt better 'given the circumstances'. A Catholic, a Baptist and a Mormon walked into the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday and waded into Jewish politics, proposing a law moving America's embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Israelis consider Jerusalem their 'eternal capital,' but neither the U.S. nor the United Nations recognizes that declaration. Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Ted Cruz of Texas and Dean Heller of Nevada introduced the Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act shortly after the 115th Congress was gaveled into session. Senators Marco Rubio (left), Ted Cruz (center) and Dean Heller (foreground right with fellow Nevadan Harry Reid) proposed a bill on Tuesday forcing the U.S. government to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and recognize the city as Israel's capital The U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv will likely give way to a building in Israel's 'eternal city' if the GOP gets its way If the bill passes and President-elect Donald Trump were to sign it, only one thing would change. A similar 1995 law contained language giving U.S. presidents the power to opt-out of it entirely, six months at a time, 'if he determines and reports to Congress in advance that such suspension is necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States.' That language would be stripped out completely. Presidents from both major parties since then exercised that option like clockwork, not daring to risk a new round of Middle Eastern upheaval or the wrath of liberals who are loath to side with Israel in its long conflict with Palestinians. Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all defended their decisions by citing a longstanding U.S. policy preference that Israel and the Palestinian Authority negotiate a larger peace deal that includes a final determination of Jerusalem's status. Rubio, Cruz and Heller are betting that the era of Trump will bring a less cautious sensibility to the White House, along with a new ambassador to Israel who is already gearing up to move the embassy and position the U.S. squarely behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has feuded with the Obama administration for years but has expressed hope that the Trump White House will be more hospitable to Israel President Barack Obama, like George W. Bush and Bill Clinton before him, has regularly exercised an option to opt out of the 1995 law that first put pressure on the White House to move the embassy Trump has already signaled that he supports relocating the embassy. David Friedman, his designated ambassador, is also on board with the change. His daughter Ivanka converted to Orthodox Judaism when she married Jared Kushner, whose voice has carried significant influence during the presidential transition period since Trump's stunning election victory on Nov. 8. Republicans in Congress have been paying attention. 'Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish state of Israel, and that's where America's embassy belongs,' Rubio said in a statement. 'It's time for Congress and the President-Elect to eliminate the loophole that has allowed presidents in both parties to ignore U.S. law and delay our embassy's rightful relocation to Jerusalem for over two decades.' Heller pointed to a clause in the new legislation, identical to the 1995 law containing the White House's loophole, that authorizes Congress to keep half of the State Department's embassy-operation funding until Jerusalem is declared the seat of American diplomacy in the Jewish state. Donald Trump's elder daughter Ivanka (right) converted to Orthodoz Judaism when she married real estate investor Jared Kushner (left), and the pair have been vocal advocates for Israel-friendly foreign policy Trump fired off a pair of angry tweets defending Israel a few days after Christmas and reminding the United Nations that his inauguration is just weeks away Israel seized the Jordanian half of Jerusalem in the Six Days War in 1967. before that, the city's control was split between the two nations. Cruz declared in a statement that 'Jerusalem is the eternal and undivided capital of Israel.' 'Unfortunately, the Obama administration's vendetta against the Jewish state has been so vicious that to even utter this simple truth let alone the reality that Jerusalem is the appropriate venue for the American embassy in Israel is shocking in some circles.' A man has been found with his hands tied behind his back and dumped on a Sydney street in a suspected kidnapping. Police were called to Dean Street in Strathfield, in Sydney's inner-west, at 12.30am on Wednesday. The victim was laying face down, and possibly had something over his head when he was discovered, according to Nine News. Scroll down for video A man has been found with his hands tied behind his back in Strathfield south overnight 'There is a police operation underway in Strathfield south after a reported kidnapping,' a NSW Police spokesman told Daily Mail Australia. The man was taken to Concord Hospital with minor injuries, and officers are investigating the incident. More to come. A key suspect in the killing of PC Yvonne Fletcher in 1984 has been put in charge of tackling illegal immigration in 1984 A key suspect in the murder of PC Yvonne Fletcher has been placed in charge of tackling illegal immigration in Libya. Brigadier General Abdelgader Tuhami, a firearms expert who was in the Libyan Embassy at the time of killing, is alleged to have been trained as an assassin by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. He had been privately named by detectives as a chief suspect in the slaying of 25-year-old PC Fletcher on April 17, 1984. He was yesterday named as the man in charge of tackling illegal migrants in Libya's UN supported Government. The north African nation is being used as a springboard by thousands of people seeking to reach Europe. Human trafficking gangs have set up on the coast to try to smuggle desperate migrants across the Mediterrenean. Libya has also been named as a jihadist 'hotspot' with Islamic State fighters flocking into the country. General Tuhami became chief of the Illegal Immigration Fight Center (IIFC) which was formed last year in Tripoli, according to the English language news website Libya Observer. He was appointed in his new role by Fathi Al-Mijibri, a member of the UN-backed Government of National Accord's Presidential Council. But 33 years ago, he was a notorious officer in the Gaddafi regime's Foreign Security Department. Scotland Yard's counter terrorism command, which has been investigating PC Fletcher's murder one of the darkest days in British policing suspect intelligence officer Tuhami fired the shots. Officers attempt first aid on PC Fletcher after she was hit in the stomach. Shots were fired from the first floor of the Libyan embassy into a crowd of demonstrators, hitting 11 people The shooting led to an 11-day siege of the embassy by armed police which eventually ende when staff were allowed to leave and were expelled from Britain He was part of the embassy's security team at the time of the shooting and described as 'an expert in using weapons'. PC Fletcher was gunned down as she helped to police a peaceful protest of Libyan exiles outside the embassy in St James's Square, Central London. At the time the embassy was run by Gaddafi loyalist students. A number of sub-machine gunshots were fired from the embassy's first floor towards the demonstrators. Eleven people were hit and WPC Fletcher died soon afterwards of a stomach wound. The Libyan government finally accepted in 1999 that it was responsible for the murder, with Colonel Gaddafi agreeing to pay the Fletcher family compensation The shooting led to an 11-day siege of the embassy by armed police. It was eventually ended when the staff were allowed to leave and were expelled from Britain, which severed diplomatic relations with Libya. It was not until 1999 that the Libyan government publicly accepted 'general responsibility' for the murder. Gaddafi agreed to pay compensation to the Fletcher family. In 2007, once relations between the UK and Libya had thawed, Scotland Yard detectives spent weeks in Libya interviewing witnesses and suspects. Two years later the Crown Prosecution Service was told by an independent prosecutor that there was sufficient evidence to prosecute two Libyans, both senior regime members. Two other men, Matouk Mohammed Matouk and Abdulgader Mohammed Baghdadi, have also been implicated as possible organisers of the murder. Baghdadi was reportedly shot dead in 2011 and Matouk's whereabouts is unknown. In November 2015, Scotland Yard said a man in his fifties, a key aide to former Libyan dictator Gaddafi, had been held in South-East England. A mortgage broker allegedly supplied cocaine across Sydney's eastern suburbs using the code word 'beer'. Michael James Geering, 34, is pictured Michael James Geering is accused of doing 63 alleged drug deals over three weeks while under police surveillance from his beachfront Coogee apartment or by delivering to his customers. The 34-year-old allegedly used 'beer' as code word in his texts, court documents say, Daily Telegraph reported. Officers had obtained a warrant to tap Geering's phone, police evidence tendered in court say. He allegedly received a text which read: 'Please mate. I promised them some beers at our Christmas lunch.' Another asked if it was 'still three for 800?' while another text allegedly said: 'Two beers happy to pay delivery $100 if we can get two beers ASAP.' Geering appeared at Parramatta Bail Court via video link on Tuesday on five charges, including ongoing supply of a prohibited drug and knowingly deal with the proceeds of crime. Geering, a mortgage broker, allegedly organised 63 drug deals while under police surveillance in December, the court heard Police allegedly found scales, small zip-lock bags, multiple mobile phones and $42,650 in cash when they searched his apartment last Thursday He was supported by friends, family, and his girlfriend Jane Morgan, a model turned publicist. Police allegedly found scales, small zip-lock bags, multiple mobile phones and $42,650 in cash when they searched his apartment last Thursday. Geering intends to plead not guilty, his barrister Ben Clark told the court. Mr Clark said the money was earned from lawful means and there was no evidence of drugs changing hands during any of the 63 alleged deals. Geering was granted bail and his case was adjourned until later this month. A gunman who shot dead a Kansas City, Kansas, police detective and then led authorities on a wild goose chase that included a carjacking and three car thefts cut a deal with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty on Tuesday. Curtis Ayers pleaded guilty Tuesday to gunning down Detective Brad Lancaster on May 9. He also pleaded guilty to nine other charges related to Lancaster's death. The 28-year-old Ayers agreed to serve life without parole on the murder count. Curtis Ayers (left) pleaded guilty Tuesday to gunning down Detective Brad Lancaster (right) on May 9 He could face additional prison time on the nine other charges when he is sentenced March 14. Prosecutors say Lancaster was shot seven times when he exchanged gunfire with Ayers near the Kansas Speedway. Ayers fled in the officer's unmarked car, then hijacked a vehicle with two children inside before abandoning it in nearby Basehor, Kansas. The two unidentified children were unharmed, police reported. Prosecutors say Lancaster was shot seven times when he exchanged gunfire with Ayers near the Kansas Speedway. Police take pictures of a car connected to the shooting He drove into Kansas City, Missouri, where police shot and wounded him before taking him into custody. Leith Sullivan, 35, allegedly had a sexual relationship with his girlfriend's 13-year-old daughter for months A 35-year-old state corrections officer is behind bars after he allegedly had a sexual relationship with his girlfriend's pre-teen daughter. Leith Sullivan, of Cape Canaveral, Florida, has been charged with sexual battery on a person under 12. Police said he has admitted to having sex with the child since August. Sullivan, who was arrested Saturday, told police that he knew what he was doing was wrong, but claims he never forced himself on the girl and 'fell in love with her'. He also admitted to police that he had fantasies about the girl, according to WJXT. The victim told investigators that there was one instance in which Sullivan started to touch her and tried to have sex with her. She said he penetrated her once without wearing a condom and got semen on her legs. The girl was scared and thought 'it was nasty', according to the police report. The victim said she 'asked him to stop but he kept going'. Sullivan also came to the victim's bedroom on December 27 and molested her while she tried to sleep, she told police. On the night before he was arrested, Sullivan came into the bedroom and molested her again, the police report reads. Sullivan admitted to investigators that his victim did not enjoy the situation, but said she was 'his little princess'. Sullivan, a former emergency responder at the US National Guard, told police that he knew what he was doing was wrong, but claims he 'fell in love with' the girl He claimed the girl would pretend she was asleep, but would say no if she didnt want something and nod her head yes if she did. Sullivan also claimed their relationship was one-sided and that he was more worried about pleasuring her' rather than himself. The US Army veteran, who was on a leave of absence from the Okeechobee Correctional Institute, was arrested on Saturday. His termination is being processed by the Florida Department of Corrections. Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith said it is possible that other family members were involved and additional charges may be filed. The child is safe and in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families, which is conducting its own investigation. Sullivan formerly worked as an emergency responder at the United States Army National Guard, according to his soldier. The day before his arrest, Sullivan posted a status that read: 'I'm truly sorry. Goodbye everyone.' Britain's population is set to overtake that of France within 13 years because of the impact of high immigration, EU estimates have said. Numbers of people living here will top French levels in 2030 and will keep rising to make Britain the most populous country in Europe by 2050, they predicted. The key reason why the British population is going up so quickly compared to that of neighbouring countries is immigration, according to the projections from Eurostat. Without high rates of immigration, they said, numbers in Britain would remain lower than those in France for half a century and longer. But by 2050 the UK's population is predicted to be 77.1million, ahead of 74.7million in Germany and 74.2million in France. 2050: Britain's population is set to overtake that of France and Germany because of the impact of high immigration, EU estimates (pictured) have said. Comparison: The UK's population was smaller than France's and Germany's in 2015 (in green) - predictions for 2050 (in blue) show that it will be larger than both countries by then Britain's population is set to overtake France in 13 years because of high impacts of immigration, Eurostat have said Britains population was higher than that of France in the 1960s, but European prosperity and British stagnation in the 1970s led to a reversal The estimates from the Luxembourg-based EU statistics arm confirm international expectations that Britain, already the most crowded major European country except for the Netherlands, will continue to grow quickly in numbers, largely because of immigration. The projections, however, do not take into account the political impact of Brexit, which would allow the UK the right to control immigration by EU citizens. The most recent British immigration figures showed that numbers of EU citizens coming into the country now almost match the level of immigration from the rest of the world. Eurostat future population estimates are dated from the beginning of January each year unlike the different estimates made by Britains Office for National Statistics, which are calculated from the end of June and the latest were released yesterday. They put numbers in Britain at the beginning of 2015 at 64,643,370. This compared to a population of 66,175,754 in France and 80,709,056 in Germany. At the beginning of 2030, the projections said, numbers in the UK will have gone up to 70,469,762, just ahead of the French population of 70,396,105. Germany, despite continuing high levels of immigration, will have an ageing and falling population for the foreseeable future, the EU agency said. Numbers in Germany will fall below those in Britain in the late 2040s, the figures suggest, and reach 74,721,315 in 2050, against the UK total of 77,177,523. At that point the UK will have the highest population of any European country. The central reason for Britains increasing numbers is immigration, the projections said. Without immigration or emigration, Eurostats projections said, the British population in 2050 would be just 67,251,838, more than two million below numbers in France if they too were unaffected by migration. With no impact of immigration on numbers, the population of Britain would actually fall by 2080, the Eurostat estimates said. The official count of Britains population by the ONS put the UK total at 65.1 million at the end of June 2015. According to the EU projections, if there was no immigration or emigration, the effects of ageing and lower birth rates would mean number would begin to fall from 2050 and there would be 64,710,496 people in the UK at the beginning of 2080. The scale of the increase in future numbers and the Eurostat interpretation which says that the great bulk of rising population in Britain is a result of migration underline the extent of the concerns that fuelled the Brexit referendum vote last year. Without high rates of immigration, they said, numbers in Britain would remain lower than those in France for half a century and longer. Above is a stock image of Marseille Germany, despite continuing high levels of immigration, will have an ageing and falling population for the foreseeable future, the EU agency said. Above is a stock image of the Berlin skyline Critics of immigration fear growing pressure on housing, transport, education, power and water, and health services, especially in southern England which attracts the majority of arriving immigrants. Britain already has the greatest population density the official measure of crowding of any of the major countries of Europe. Only the Netherlands and tiny Malta have more people crammed into each square kilometre of land in the UK, and in southern England, where there are 465 people to every square kilometer, density is on track to overtake that in the Netherlands. Eurostat said: Population projections are what-if scenarios that aim to provide information about the likely future size and structure of the population. Eurostats population projections are one of several possible population change scenarios based on specific assumptions for fertility, mortality and migration. Only the Netherlands (pictured) and Malta have more people crammed into each square kilometre of land in the UK The EU estimates are based on varying assessments of the future size of the central measure of the impact of immigration, net migration. Net migration into the UK, which takes into account both immigration and emigration, is expected by Eurostat to peak at just under 210,000 a year in 2014. However net migration in Britain was measured by the ONS at 335,000 in the year to June 2016. Britains population was higher than that of France in the 1960s, but European prosperity and British stagnation in the 1970s led to a reversal. David Anderson (pictured), the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, said jihadists could attempt to sneak across our border at hundreds of remote locations Small ports, marinas and beaches across the UK could give terrorists an easy route into Britain because they are not policed, a major report has warned. David Anderson, the terror laws watchdog chief, said jihadists could attempt to sneak across our porous border at hundreds of remote locations because of the absence of stringent checks. He expressed concerns that foreign fighters returning from Syria and Iraq could breach the countrys security checks using small boats and planes. Mr Anderson, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, revealed his fears as Home Secretary Amber Rudd was handed a paper demanding a huge boost to frontier security. Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke said Parliamentary figures showed the Border Forces budget had been slashed by 120million in just three years - from 617million in 2012-13 to 497million in 2015-16. In an analysis submitted to the Home Office, he suggested EU citizens visiting Britain post-Brexit should pay a fee for a visa waiver to boost the agencys finances by 250million a year. It would also allow counter-terror and immigration officials to gain valuable information on who is travelling to the UK a crucial weapon in the fight against terrorism, child sex abusers and human traffickers. Mr Anderson issued his warning in his final annual review of the Terrorism Acts, as the UK remains on high alert for jihadists trying to launch an attack on our streets. A suspected migrant boat was found full of lifejackets was found on Dymchurch beach in May. Its occupants have vanished He flagged up concerns that a shake-up of counter-terrorism policing, concentrating activities in larger ports, risked reducing checks on those arriving in the UK in private planes and ships at small airfields, harbours or landing places. He said ports officers in Kent feared that coverage of beaches and marinas would be reduced and that no evidence would be wrongly construed as no problem. My successor may at some stage choose to look at coverage of smaller south and east coast ports, marinas and landing places. It is conceivable that they might be an option for returning foreign fighters or other terrorists, as they appear to be for the migrants who are sometimes reported to be using them, or seeking to use them, in order to get into the country. The extent of this risk would bear further investigation. Mrs Rudd has been told that organised criminals are already exploiting gaps in the largely unprotected eastern coastline using private boats to smuggle in illegal drugs, migrants and weapons. A second vessel, believed to be linked to an inflatable that got into trouble, was also discovered on the beach at Dymchurch in May and was seized by the authorities Ministers have ordered a shake-up of Britains coastal defences, including buying five new Border Force cutters. Border Force, which replaced the UK Border Agency which was scrapped in 2013 after a string of failures, admitted last year that it had poor knowledge of the threats and risks associated with general maritime, with few routine visits to check on tiny marinas. Crews entering British ports on leisure sailing and motor boats are routinely able to disembark without being questioned, according to concerned port workers. People smugglers are already using these routes as an alternative to avoid heightened security checks around the Channel tunnel and major ports. Migrants are charged up to 13,000 for a place in a boat across the Channel. The crisis exploded in May last year after coastguards rescued 18 Albanian migrants from a flimsy sinking dinghy two miles off the village of Dymchurch in Kent after sailing from Calais. And 17 illegal immigrants from Albania were discovered at Chichester harbour on a catamaran that had sailed from France. The paper by Tory backbencher Mr Elphicke, who represents Dover, Britains busiest port, said increasing Border Forces dwindling budget would allow the agency to crackdown on illegal immigration. He said the number of people caught sneaking into Britain hidden in trucks, cars and trains so-called lorry drops had trebled in a year and the migrants caught landing on beaches was just the tip of the iceberg. He urged Miss Rudd to introduce a 10 European Travel Authority visa waiver requirement for EU citizens wanting to come to the UK. This would have raised 242million in 2015 around half the Border Force budget. Brussels is looking to impose a similar scheme for non-EU citizens, which will affect UK resident after the country leaves the EU. Mr Elphicke said it would allow Britain to bolster surveillance and intelligence by collectying even more detailed advance passenger information to de-risk people before they arrived at the border. Currently collects advanced passport data from only 86 per cent of the 118million travellers to Britain, meaning 17million travellers arriving in Britain about 1 in 7 are never fully screened. Mr Elphicke said: Protecting the British people from terrorists must be our priority. So border security needs to be tighter that ever before. Thats why as we leave the EU we must invest in our borders and increase the borders budget. With a new system that makes the best use of intelligence and allows universal watch list checking in real time. Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke said Parliamentary figures showed the Border Forces budget had been slashed by 120million in just three years Bringing in a visa waiver system like the US would mean we could invest in the security we need - with money to spare to cut backlogs and queues at airports. By acting now, Britain can become a world leader in border security. Post-Brexit we must show the world Britain means business. Small airfields and ports were first identified as a potential weakness in Britains security measures as long ago as 2002. Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, then the governments independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, warned they were the soft underbelly of Britains war against terrorism. Concerns about the vulnerability of Britains coastline were raised in two reports in 2010 and 2011 by John Vine, the then independent inspector of borders. Both found small ports were at risk from people smuggling. In January last year, Chief Inspector of Borders David Bolt highlighted how a large number of small boats arrive each year from outside the EU with no checks made by border guards. Mr Bolts warning was repeated in his annual report for ministers, published last week. A Home Office spokesman said: A number of agencies, including Border Force and counter-terrorism police, work tirelessly to protect the UK from a broad range of threats. Leslie Van Houten - Murderer - In prison She met Charles Manson and the Family in 1968 as a 19-year-old and moved onto his ranch. Van Houten quickly became infatuated with the monster, and she committed murder less than a year later. She walked into the home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca and stabbed the latter 16 times. Shortly after she was found guilty and sentenced to death in 1971, California banned executions, so her tariff was changed to life. In April last year, having had 19 of her previous parole hearings thrown out, a panel recommended her for release. But Governor Jerry Brown overturned the decision and the 67-year-old remains in prison. Bobby Beausoleil - Murderer - In prison Beausoleil was an aspiring musician and actor before he joined the Manson family. He was originally was sentenced to death for the 1969 slaying of musician Gary Hinman, but it was commuted to life in prison when the California Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional in 1972. He was transferred in 1994 to the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem at his request, after he married a woman from Oregon while in prison and fathered four children. If parole officials recommend his release, the decision will be reviewed by the entire parole board and California Governor Jerry Brown could also block his parole. He has spent 45 years in prison and has been denied supervised release 18 times. Paul Watkins - Family member - Dead Watkins became entranced by Charles Manson and became close to him during his time sporadically living at the ranch. After the leader's shift towards violence, Watkins left the Family and hid out while they carried out the murders. He testified against Manson, revealing his 'Helter Skelter' prophecy, and went on to lecture on the effects of drugs and cults. Watkins died of Leukemia in 1990 at the age of 40. Catherine Share - Convict - Born-again Christian Share was a World War Two survivor who was sent to the US after her parents committed suicide in an act of defiance against the Nazis. She found solace at Manson's ranch where she met Bobby Beausoleil on the shoot of a soft-porn movie. Share became a recruiter for the Family, bringing in Van Houten, and was although she wasn't convicted of the murders, she was sent to prison for witness tampering and hijacking. It is claimed she gave birth to Manson's son in prison, but when she walked out a free woman in 1975 having served five years, she turned her back on the cult and became a devout Christian. Mary Brunner - Convict - Released with new identity The college graduate was the first follower of Charles Manson's cult and was present during the 1969 murder of musician Gary Allen Hinman. A year earlier she had given birth to Manson's third son - Valentine Michael Manson - after she and the boy's father had become lovers. She was sentenced to 20 years to life but was paroled in 1977 and has managed to keep a low profile with a new name. Susan Atkins - Murderer - Dead Atkins met Manson in 1967 and gave birth to a son on the ranch which the cult leader named Zezozose Zadfrack Glutz. She was convicted of the 1969 murder of Gary Hinman, who was beaten to death, as well as the later murders of actress Sharon Tate and four others. Shortly after she was found guilty and sentenced to death in 1971, California banned executions, so her tariff was changed to life. Atkins died in prison in 2009, and at the time of her death was the longest-serving female inmate in the state of California. Linda Kasabian - Family member - Living as a traveller Having joined the family as a 20-year-old hippie, she moved onto the ranch in 1969. Kasabian witness the Manson murders and claimed to have fled in horror. She became the key witness in the murder trials and was granted immunity for her testimony. Kasabian moved in with her mother in New Hampshire but was hounded regularly, so changed her name and tried to vanish. A film crew caught up with her in 2009 when she was living as a traveller. Steve Grogan - Murderer - Free man having served 15 years Grogan moved onto the ranch in the late 1960s and was with Manson when the LaBiancas were murdered. Although he played no part in killing them, two weeks later he killed Hollywood stuntman Donald 'Shorty' Shea. Grogan served less than 15 years for the murder, orchestrated by Manson, and is now living as a free man at the age of 64. He was initially sentenced to death, but it was reduced to life due to diminished responsibility because of his sobriety and intelligence. Patricia Krenwinkel - Murderer - Awaiting parole Krenwinkel helped kill pregnant actress Sharon Tate and six other people at the urging of Manson 47 years ago. Shortly after she was found guilty and sentenced to death in 1971, California banned executions, so her tariff was changed to life. A two-member parole panel has delayed making a decision on whether to release the longest-serving female inmate in California. The 69-year-old has previously been denied parole 13 times, most recently in 2011. Charles Watson - Murderer - In prison Watson, 71, is serving a life sentence for the murders of Tate and four others at her Beverly Hills, California, home on August 9, 1969. California parole officials recommended in October that Charles 'Tex' Watson, the self-described right-hand man of murderous cult leader Charles Manson, should remain in prison 47 years after he helped plan and carry out the slayings of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and six other people. The next night, he helped kill grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary. Watson's 17th parole hearing was held at Mule Creek State Prison, near Sacramento. He can seek parole again in five years. Squeaky Fromme - Attempted assassin - Released on parole Fromme was one of Manson's most trusted member of the Family. She was never actively involved in any of the murders, but was a permanent fixture at the trials where she voiced her support of Manson. In 1975, she pulled a pistol on the then President Gerald Ford in Sacramento's Capitol Park. The gun did not go off and Fromme was wrestled to the ground by a Secret Service agent. She was sentenced to life but now walks free at the age of 68 having been released in 2009, despite escaping to see Manson who she heard had developed cancer. Source: Biography.com But what about his ACTUAL family? A number of people have come forward claiming to be illegitimate children of Charles Manson either by way of rape or relationship. The definitive family tree of one of the world's most disturbing men may never be fully proved. But here are the children and their mothers that we know for sure to be his. Rosalie Jean Willis - Former spouse - Dead Charles Manson married his first wife Rosalie Jean Willis in 1955 in West Virginia. Shortly after, they decided to move to Los Angeles to be with his mother, and he stole a car to make the trip for which he was arrested and jailed. While in prison, Willis gave birth to Charles Milles Manson Jr in 1956. They divorced a year later and she died in 2009 of lung cancer at the age of 72. Candy Stevens - Former spouse - Dead The prostitute pleaded with a judge in court after Manson had been convicted of attempting to forge a cheque. With tears streaming down her face, she begged the bench to free him so that they could get married. They tied the knot in 1959, had a child together - Charles Luther Manson - and divorced in 1963. Charles Manson Jr - Son - Dead He was born in 1956 with his father in prison. His mother Rosalie Jean Willis and Manson Sr divorced in 1957 when he was barely a year old. In 1993, he was found on the side of the road in his car having reportedly shot himself in the head. Charles Luther Manson - Son - Unknown The murderer's second son was born shortly after his father and prostitute Candy Stevens married in 1959. Unsurprisingly, he disassociated himself with the family name and his whereabouts are unknown. It is not clear if he is alive or not. Mary Brunner - Partner - On parole The college graduate was the first follower of Charles Manson's cult and was present during the 1969 murder of musician Gary Allen Hinman. A year earlier she had given birth to Manson's third son - Valentine Michael Manson - after she and the boy's father had become lovers. She was sentenced to 20 years to life but was paroled in 1977 and has managed to keep a low profile. Valentine Michael Manson - Son - Alive Manson's third son was adopted by his grandparents as a child, and he quickly abandoned the family name. Hundreds of people have evacuated the capital of Fiji amid fear an powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake could cause a tsunami. Residents in Suva, on the Fijian south coast, started seeking higher ground shortly after the ten-kilometre deep quake rocked the Pacific Ocean 282 kilometres south west of the island just before 9am on Wednesday. Authorities have confirmed there is no threat of a tsunami in Australia or New Zealand, however a warning was issued for those living on the island nation's south coast. A powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit off the south coast of Fiji just before 9am Residents gathered at evacuations spots in the nation's capital after an earthquake hit 'Based on the preliminary earthquake parameters, hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 300 kilometres of the earthquake epicentre,' the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said. The warning centre said waves up to one metre high could hit the south coast within hours before reporting the threat had passed. Geoscience Australia's Jonathan Bathgate said the earthquake was unusually shallow for the area. 'We often get some very deep earthquakes there which don't pose too much of a problem, but in this case there is potential for a small local tsunami in that area,' Mr Bathgate told ABC Radio. Residents created gridlock traffic as they evacuated amid fears of a tsunami People in Suva started to evacuate buildings after news of a tsunami warning on Wednesday The ten-kilometre deep quake rocked the Pacific Ocean 227 kilometres south west of Suva A 300-kilometre tsunami warning was put in place following the 7.2 magnitude earthquake Authorities have confirmed there is no threat of a tsunami in Australia or New Zealand People living along beaches on the southern coast have been warned to stay alert. The quake was reportedly felt by residents along the west coast of Fiji. Heart attacks and broken hips cause much suffering and worry as people grow older. This year, Medicare wants to start changing how it pays for treatment of these life-threatening conditions, to promote quality and contain costs. Beneficiaries and family members may notice a new approach. Hospitals and doctors in dozens of communities selected for large-scale experiments on this front are already gearing up. The goal is to test the notion that better coordination among clinicians, hospitals, and rehab centers can head off complications, prevent avoidable hospital re-admissions and help patients achieve more stable and enduring recoveries. If results back that up, Medicare can adopt the changes nationwide. The cardiac and hip fracture experiments are the latest development in a big push under the Obama administration to reinvent Medicare, steering the program away from paying piecemeal for services, regardless of quality and cost. Its unclear whether Donald Trump as president will continue the pace of change, slow down or even hit pause. Trumps Health and Human Services nominee, orthopedic-surgeon-turned-congressman Tom Price, has expressed general concern that the doctor-patient relationship could be harmed by Medicare payment changes seeking to contain costs. And the Medicare division that designed the experiments the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation is itself under threat of being abolished because it was created by President Barack Obamas 2010 health care law. Some outside groups, including AARP, worry that Medicare may be moving too fast and that focusing on cost containment could lead to beneficiaries being shortchanged on rehab care. Innovation center director Patrick Conway, who also serves as Medicares chief medical officer, is plowing ahead nonetheless. Delivery system reform and paying for better care are bipartisan issues, Conway said. And quality ranks ahead of cost savings in evaluating any results, he added. The cardiac and hip fracture experiments focus on traditional Medicare, which remains the choice of nearly 7 in 10 out of Medicares 57 million beneficiaries. The cardiac experiment involves both heart bypass and heart attack patients. The trials join similar ongoing tests involving surgery for hip and knee replacement, as well as care for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. In the experiments, doctors, hospitals, and rehab centers get paid the regular Medicare rates. But hospitals are given responsibility for overall quality and cost, measured against benchmarks set by Medicare. If the hospital meets or exceeds the goals, it earns a financial bonus, which can be shared with other service providers. If the hospital falls short, it may have to pay the government money. Now your doctor and hospital are working together to make sure they are well coordinated, said Conway. Under the old system, if a patient was discharged from the hospital after a heart attack, they might hand you a piece of paper that said please follow up with your primary care doctor, Conway continued. In this model, the hospital is going to have a strong incentive to make sure you follow up. Overall, about 168,000 Medicare beneficiaries are treated for heart attacks in a given year, while 48,000 undergo heart bypass surgery for clogged arteries and 109,000 have surgery for broken hips. Around the country, hospitals in 98 metro areas will be involved in the cardiac experiment. The hip surgery experiment involves 67 areas that are also part of Medicares ongoing test with hip and knee replacements. Areas in the cardiac test include Boston, as well as Akron, Ohio; Charleston, South Carolina; Fort Collins, Colorado; Utica, New York; and Yuma, Arizona. A smaller group of communities will be involved in a related experiment that pays hospitals for coordinating rehab care for heart patients. Although the benefits of cardiac rehab are widely recognized, only a small share of patients receives it. The hip fracture test includes the Miami, New York, and Los Angeles metro areas, as well as Austin, Texas; Bismarck, North Dakota; Flint, Michigan, and New Orleans. Hospitals are not happy with the changes, though doctors have generally been supportive. A big concern for hospitals is that Medicare requires mandatory participation by all the facilities in areas selected for these tests. But Conway says thats likely to lead to even better results. The idea is that hospitals will watch each others performance closely, and the ones that have room to improve will try to catch the high achievers. They say 'like father, like son'; but these two pandas demonstrated that when it comes to bears, mother and son might have a better bond. A mother panda and her son have been caught on camera scratching itches in unison. Incredibly, the two pandas, lying on the ground, were not looking at each other as they synchronised the movements. Like mother, like son: A mother panda and her child were caught scratching itches in unison The hilarious video was posted by People's Daily to its Youtube account on December 30. The two cute bears, said to be mother and son, were lying on the bamboo floor without any eye contact. The cub, lying on the left, was scratching the left side of his waist. Moments later, the adult panda curled up her body and scratched the same part. Let's do it! Both bears felt itchy on their waists and scratched their skin at the same time The son then stopped and stretched with both of his legs, whereas his mother went on scratching. Soon, the pair synchronised their movements again. They both extended their left legs and scratched the bellies in unison. The footage, which lasts a minute and half, ends as the mother sat up. Are they telepathic? Incredibly, the pair were lying on the ground without any eye contact The video is believed to be filmed at one of the giant panda breeding centers in China. As at the end of 2015, China has over 422 giant pandas in captivity, according to the Chinese government. A total of 27 cubs were born in 2016 at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding - the world's largest artificial breeding population of captive giant pandas - and its partner branches. In September, 2016, The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said in a report that the giant panda was classified as a 'vulnerable' instead of 'endangered' species, reflecting its growing numbers in the wild in southern China. Most men would agree having a girlfriend reduces their allure to other women. But a new has study found single women are in fact more attracted to men if other women want to date them. These men were often also viewed as more intelligent, humorous, trustworthy, wealthy, adventurous and generous. Scroll down for video A new study has found that women find men are more attractive if other women want to date them. The results could mean that musician Jay Z became more attractive to women once he started dating fellow musician Beyonce WHY ARE MEN WITH GIRLFRIENDS MORE ATTRACTIVE? The researchers suggest the strange phenomenon may arise as a result of 'female mate choice copying'. This is a process in which women use the presence of a man's mate as a cue to his own quality. The researchers say this behaviour helps species to cut down on the costs associated with searching for a mate. It is a behaviour seen in male members of many species, too. Advertisement Sadly for the lonely hearts out there, men with an attractive romantic partner are more desirable to women than single men. The study found women rate the desirability of men higher in pictures where they are with an attractive partner than in pictures where they are shown alone. These men were often also viewed as more intelligent, humorous, trustworthy, wealthy, adventurous and generous. 'We were initially interested in this topic because of the common phrase you hear young women say: All the good guys are taken,' co-author Randi Proffitt Leyva of Texas Christian University told PsyPost. 'This phrase assumes that if all the good guys are taken, then the women dating them must be keen on perceiving the qualities that make the men good and worth hanging on to.' 'As such, we became interested in how women perceive men based on the quality and attractiveness of the woman whose attention he holds.' The study asked 245 female students to judge the attractiveness of men in a set photographs. Some of the photographs showed the men with an attractive partner, and others showed the men alone. The researchers suggest women find men with partners more desirable as a result of female 'mate choice copying', and effect seem with celebrities such as Jay Z and Russell Brand. This is a process in which women use the presence of a man's mate as a cue to his own quality. Men with an attractive romantic partner are more desirable to women than single men. Pictured on the left is actress Felicity Huffman and her husband actor William Macy. On the right is actor Sacha Baron Cohen and his wife Isla Fisher The researchers say this behaviour helps species to cut down on the costs associated with searching for a mate. It is a behaviour seen in male members of many animal species, too. According to the study's authors, their results show mate selection is less random than many believe. 'The average person should understand that human dating and mating decisions may not be as random as they may seem,' says Mrs Proffitt Leyva. 'These type of human behaviours are heavily influenced by social factors such as perceived quality of the partner by the self and others, in addition to many other factors such as physical attractiveness, social status, and resource acquisition abilities.' But the team stress although external factors, such as whether or not one is single, may impact mating decisions early on, eventually women prioritise 'unobservable' factors such as generosity and kindness. The study was published in the online edition of Evolutionary Psychology. Hundreds of killer Japanese Samurai may have been secret Christians who expressed their faith with codes hidden in their sword hilts, researchers have found. The deadly warriors were banned from following religions after feudal Japan introduced strict anti-Christian measures in the 16th century. But the devout swordsmen commissioned metalsmiths to produce sword guards with crucifixes and other symbols skillfully hidden in their sacred weapons. Scroll down for video Samurais were banned from following religions after feudal Japan introduced strict anti-Christian measures in the 16th century. But the devout swordsmen commissioned metalsmiths to produce sword guards with crucifixes and other symbols (pictured) hidden in their weapons THE HIDDEN SYMBOLS The Japanese museum owns 367 swords but has been reviewing the artifacts since November last year. Historians conducted painstaking tests to estimate when the weapons were created based on factors such as their designs, materials and techniques used to produce them. Yuhiko Nakanishi, chairman of a nonprofit Japanese sword preservation association, said 48 sword hilts were identified as belonging to Christians. The weapons with hidden Christian symbols were dated to the Sengoku (Warring States) period (1467-1568) and the 1600s after warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi rolled out anti-Christian policies in 1596. They show crosses, crucifixes and religious symbols carefully concealed in the intricate designs. Advertisement The designs were uncovered in a review of ancient Samurai swords at the The Sawada Miki Kinenkan museum in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. 'It is extremely rare to find sword guards with hidden Christian symbols used after the adoption of anti-Christian policies,' a museum spokesman said. 'The findings indicate that they kept their deep faith despite persecution.' Catholic missionaries originally brought the religion to the East around the mid-1500s. But after 40 years it was banned by military ruler Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who exiled the European missionaries and tortured and killed many Japanese Christians in 1596. Historians suggest that this was a response to the gradual expansion of European power in eastern Asia. Those Catholics that weren't wiped out by the purge formed an underground religious network. They disguised images of Jesus and Mary to look like Buddhas, and changed their prayers to sound like Buddhist chants. And the museum's swords indicate that around 50 Japanese Samurais also committed themselves to a life of covert religious beliefs. The museum owns 367 swords but has been reviewing the artifacts since November last year. Historians conducted painstaking tests to estimate when the weapons were created based on factors such as their designs, materials and techniques used to produce them. Historians conducted painstaking tests to estimate when the weapons were created based on their designs, materials, and techniques used to produce them. They show crosses, crucifixes and religious symbols carefully concealed in the intricate designs (pictured) Yuhiko Nakanishi, chairman of nonprofit group Nihon Token Hozon Kai - a Japanese sword preservation association - said 48 sword hilts were identified as belonging to Christians. The weapons with hidden Christian symbols were dated to the Sengoku (Warring States) period (1467-1568) and the 1600s after warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi rolled out his anti-Christian policies. They show crosses, crucifixes and religious symbols carefully concealed in the intricate designs. Nakanishi added: 'A characteristic of sword guards made after anti-Christian measures were taken is that Christians carefully hid crosses in their designs. 'We concluded the designs show the faith of hidden Christians.' Born one year before the ill-fated Titanic struck an iceberg, the world's oldest known killer whale is believed to have died after going missing. The killer whale, who was affectionately known as Granny, is estimated to have been 105-years-old at the time of death. She was last spotted on 12 October in the Haro Strait - but scientists have now lost hope that they will ever see her again. Researchers have studied the remarkable cetacean since 1971 when they estimated she was 60 years old and gave her the official name of J2. Scroll down for video Experts have been studying whales in the North Pacific Ocean, called the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) since the early 1970s. Granny, pictured in 2014, is said to be the matriarch of the group Her presence stunned scientists because killer whales, or orcas, typically live to between the age of 60 and 80 in the wild. Dr Darren Croft from the University of Exeter, who leads this evolutionary biology research, told BBC News: 'It was inevitable that this day was going to come but it is very sad news.' Granny was a matriarch of a group called the Southern Resident Killer Whales in the Pacific Ocean. Experts from Ocean EcoVentures Whale Watching were previously able to identify her thanks to a marking on her dorsal fin, as well as as a half-moon-shaped notch. In 2014, Granny was spotted in the Strait of Georgia, when she was thought to have travelled up from California with her pod. Granny, pictured in 2014, was thought to be 105 years old. She was last spotted on 12 October in the Salish Sea - but scientists have now lost hope that they will ever see her again The average lifespan of a wild orca is between 60 and 80 years, but other members of the Southern Residents have lived almost equally as long lives as Granny (pictured) Her return to the area in July was the first time in years was announced by the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) The average lifespan of a wild orca is between 60 and 80 years, but other members of the Southern Residents have lived almost equally as long lives as Granny, including females Ocean Sun and Lummi, who died aged 85 and 98 respectively. Other Southern Resident orcas including Tokitae, who lives in Miami Seaquarium, and Northern Resident orca Corky in SeaWorld San Diego, are both the oldest killer whales in captivity, aged around 52 years old. The earliest photo of Granny was taken in 1967 and while experts began to study her pod in 1971, Dr Ken Balcomb, one of the leading orca experts in the world, began studying the Southern Resident Killer Whales in 1976. Dr Balcomb wrote that he last saw her on 12 October, 2016, as she swam north far ahead of the others. 'Perhaps other dedicated whale-watchers have seen her since then,' he wrote. 'But by year's end she is officially missing from the Southern Resident Killer Whale population, and with regret we now consider her deceased.' Experts from Ocean EcoVentures Whale Watching were previously able to identify her thanks to a marking on her dorsal fin, as well as as a half-moon-shaped notch When he first began documenting Granny and her familiy in that year, he saw that the mature female was almost always travelling with a mature bull. 'This mature bull was know as J1 or 'Ruffles' due to the waves in the trailing edge of his dorsal fin,' Mr Pidcock explained. Because offspring stay with their mothers for life, Ruffles was thought to be Granny's only living offspring in the pod. Sadly, he died in 2010 at approximately 60 years old. From sending a spacecraft around Jupiter to completing record-breaking missions on the ISS, Nasa was behind some of the biggest scientific accomplishments of 2016. Now the space agency has shared its pick of the best images taken throughout the year, that tell stories of successful launches, landings and collaborations between nations. Highlights include a beaming image of Commander Scott Kelly taken during his departure from Zhezkazgan Airport after returning from his record-breaking year-long mission in space. The data collected in the mission will be used to formulate a human mission to Mars. Another heart-warming images show members of Nasa's Juno team celebrating after they received confirmation from the spacecraft that it had successfully completed the engine burn and entered orbit of Jupiter in July. As well as missions, the agency also documented some rare astronomical phenomena throughout the year. Mercury passes between Earth and the sun only about 13 times a century, with the previous transit before last year taking place in 2006. But in May, the planet Mercury was captured in silhouette, as it transited across the face of the sun, from Nasa Headquarters in Washington, DC. Meanwhile, the supermoon in July provided the perfect setting to capture a shot of the majestic Soyuz rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad in Kazakhstan. But it was not all good news for the space agency last year, and it ended on a sad note. In December, Former senator John Glenn, a war hero who went on to become the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth, passed away at the age of 95. Annie Glenn, widow of former astronaut and Senator John Glenn, paid her respects to her late husband as he lies in repose, under a United States Marine honour guard, in the Rotunda of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. Tomorrow's retail stores want to take a page from their online rivals by embracing advanced technology everything from helpful robots to interactive mirrors to shelves embedded with sensors. The goal: Use these real-world store features to lure shoppers back from the internet, and maybe even nudge them to spend more in the process. Amazon's new experimental grocery store in Seattle, opening in early 2017, will let shoppers buy goods without needing to stop at a checkout line. Scroll down for video This photo provided by SoftBank Robotics America demonstrates a shopping experience with SoftBank Robotics' humanoid robot called Pepper, waving at right. The robot can greet shoppers and has the potential to send messages geared to peoples age and gender through facial recognition. Sensors track items as shoppers put them into baskets or return them to the shelf. The shopper's Amazon account gets automatically charged. 'Amazon, for good or bad, has been setting the path,' said Robert Hetu, research director at Gartner Research. 'Each retailer is going to have to respond in some way. But it's not one-size-fits-all.' Kroger, Neiman Marcus and Lowe's are among the companies already experimenting with futuristic retail stores. Robots, for instance, could help guide shoppers to the right aisle, while augmented reality apps could help you see how a particular shade of paint will look in the living room or how you might look in a pair of jeans. Many of these technologies will be unveiled or demonstrated at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas, which begins Tuesday with media previews. Plenty of retailers have learned through trial and error that technology can't get too far ahead of shoppers. It has to be easy to use and beneficial to shoppers in some way, whether it's to save time or money. If retailers get it right, they might succeed in boosting spending at retail stores at a time when consumers increasingly prefer to shop online. Here are five technologies coming to a store near you. SMART SHELVES Web retailers have plenty of data on their customers. Some of these online technologies can even track shoppers from site to site to lure them back with what's known as retargeting ads promos targeted to what that shopper has looked at before, but didn't actually buy. Smart shelves with sensors promise the same kind of in-depth consumer behavior analytics at retail stores. At a Kroger store in Cold Spring, Ohio, shelves currently show digitized price tags and information about the products. The next step is to tie that to individual shoppers. For example, for a shopper who prefers gluten-free products, the price tags could light up in the aisle where all the gluten-free options are. The company says this will all be done with the customer's permission. Perch Interactive, a startup that is working with chains like Sunglass Hut and fragrance maker Jo Malone, uses laser and motion sensors to detect when a product is picked up. Perch monitors the interactions and lets retailers know what people pick up but don't buy. It also offers recommendations: When a shopper picks up a Jo Malone product, an interactive display pops up to show a complementary fragrance. The 1,800-square-foot Amazon Go store is located at 2131 7th Ave, Seattle, WA, on the corner of 7th Avenue and Blanchard Street. It is currently only open to Amazon employees during the Beta program, but is set to open to the public in early 2017 ROBOTS Pepper the robot at Westfield Mall in San Francisco. Amazon and other retailers have long used robots in warehouses to help package and ship orders. But what about interacting with shoppers? Home improvement retailer Lowe's is testing robots in one of its San Jose, California, store, and plans to roll them out to 10 more stores in the state this year. Besides scanning shelves for inventory, the robots can guide customers to specific products in both English and Spanish. Shoppers will also start seeing robots that interact with them more deeply. Japanese joint venture SoftBank Robotics is testing a 4-foot humanoid robot called Pepper at two Westfield Malls in California. They greet shoppers and can do a little dance, but have the potential to send messages geared to people's age and gender through facial recognition. SoftBank Robotics says it's working with clothing retailers to help suggest outfits to shoppers. INTERACTIVE MIRRORS High-end clothing stores are testing interactive mirrors in dressing areas, a key place where shoppers decide whether to buy or not. Neiman Marcus has installed these outside fitting rooms at 20 stores to offer shoppers a 360-degree view of what an outfit looks like. Shoppers can make side-by-side comparisons without having to try them all on. They can also share video with friends for feedback. Variations include capturing a customer's session at the beauty counter and emailing a video to help the person recreate the look at home. Rent the Runway, an online retailer that lets people rent high-end clothing, teamed up with Samsung to have digital displays highlight its online inventory for shoppers at a new location in New York. A mirror in the store is planned to recommend items that go with what the customer is wearing. VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY Home improvement retailers have been embracing virtual reality and augmented reality to help shoppers figure out ways to decorate homes or apartments. With such technologies, shoppers wear a headset to picture how something might look in 3-D, in some cases overlaid on top of their real kitchen or living room. Home Depot's augmented reality app lets customers upload a picture of the room on their phone and thumb through thousands of paint and stain colors until they arrive at one that's right. These tools should become more pervasive. At CES, a major clothing chain is expected to announce a tool for shoppers to virtually try on jeans and other items. SELF-CHECKOUT Stores have been pushing self-service kiosks for years to lower labor costs and speed up checkout lines. It hasn't always been smooth, though. Two years ago, Wal-Mart offered a Scan & Go app for shoppers to scan items as they grabbed them from the shelves. At the checkout counter, the customer merely had to scan a code to complete the transaction. But Wal-Mart scrapped the project after customers found the app difficult to use. Despite Wal-Mart's hiccups, plenty of stores believe they can avoid the pitfalls. Andy Wong, partner at Accenture's Kurt Salmon Digital, said Wal-Mart had a tougher time because its customers are diverse and less techy overall. By contrast, Amazon is trying out its store in Seattle, a tech center, and has a customer base already comfortable with digital shopping. Wong also said Amazon is smart to focus just on groceries, and he expects other retailers to follow Amazon's lead and also focus on certain products. In fact, shortly after Amazon announced its checkout-less store, Panasonic Corp. unveiled an unstaffed bagging system at a Lawson convenience store in Japan. Shoppers place a 'smart' basket with their items on a machine at checkout. HOW DOES PANASONIC'S SMART BASKET WORK? Panasonic is testing a smart shopping basket system that replaces cashiers. The system detects items in the basket, calculates the bill and automatically bags the merchandise. It uses a unique shopping basket that customers place on the automatic self-registration machine when they are ready to checkout. After the basket is placed in a slot, the bottom of slides out and items drop into a plastic bag all customers have to do is manually pay for their order. The system isn't fully automatic just yet, as customers still have to scan each item before placing them in their basket. Advertisement The system calculates the bill and automatically bags the items. Shoppers now have to scan items they put into the basket, though wireless tags coming in February will eliminate that step. Shoppers still have to manually pay using cash or card. As retailers consider automated self-checkout and other technologies, they have to look beyond the tech wizardry. 'It all has to go back to the consumer,' Gartner's Hetu said. Devastating volcanic ash clouds across Northern Europe take place more often than first thought. This is according to new research which sets out the first reliable estimates of their frequency. While it suggest ash clouds are more common, it puts the average gap between them at about 44 years. Scroll down for video Research, led by Leeds University, puts the average gap between ash clouds at about 44 years. It also reveals they have about a 20 per cent chance of occurring in Northern Europe in any one decade. Pictured is the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano which caused travel chaos EYJAFJALLAJOKULL The Eyjafjallajokull eruption grounded flights across the UK and Europe in April 2010 after a cloud of volcanic ash which could damage jet engines drifted across the area. Eruptions at the Eyjafjallajokull volcano thrust torrents of molten rock through the shattered ice sheets in the mountain crater, spewing a towering wall of ash, dust and steam high into the air. Seismic activity started at the end of 2009 and gradually increased in intensity until 20 March 2010, when a small eruption started. From 14 April 2010, the eruption entered a second phase and created an ash cloud that led to the closure of most of the European airspace from 15 until 20 April 2010. As a consequence of this, a very high proportion of flights within, to, and from Europe were cancelled, creating the highest level of air travel disruption since the Second World War. Advertisement Previous research had put the recurrence at around 56 years. The study also reveals that these types of ash clouds have about a 20 per cent chance of occurring in Northern Europe in any one decade. Lead author Dr Liz Watson, from the School of Geography at Leeds, said: 'Reliable estimates of the frequency of volcanic ash events could help airlines, insurance companies and the travelling public mitigate the economic losses and disruption caused by ash clouds in the future.' The work began soon after 2010's explosive eruption of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull, which caused more than 10 million air passengers to be stranded and cost the European economy an estimated 4 billion ($4.9 billion). A team of researchers, which included academics from the universities of St Andrews and South Florida, compared records of volcanic ash fallout during the last 1,000 years. Focusing on northern Europe downwind of one of the world's most active volcanic regions, Iceland they examined samples taken from peatlands and lake beds in mainland norther Europe, Great Britain, Ireland and the Faroe Islands, alongside previously existing samples taken from other sites across Northern Europe. The samples cores up to seven metres long were taken from peat and lake sediment where geological records are particularly well preserved. Using electron microscopy and chemical analysis, the team identified tiny shards of preserved volcanic ash, called cryptotephra - about the width of a human hair - which enabled them to pinpoint at what point volcanic ash clouds had spread across the continent. For many of the occurrences, the researchers were also able to match sample data to historical records or to existing geological data which charted specific eruptions. The work found evidence of 84 ash clouds during the last 7,000 years, most of which could be traced to eruptions from Icelandic volcanoes. More incidences of volcanic ash are recorded over the past 1,000 years, because evidence is better preserved and historical records are more complete, leading the team to estimate an average recurrence of 44 years. While it suggest ash clouds are more common over the region than previously thought, it puts the average gap between them at about 44 years. In this image, the Eyjafjallajokull volcano is seen emitting a dense plume of ash and steam in May 2010 Co-author Dr Graeme Swindles is Associate Professor of Earth System Dynamics in the School of Geography at Leeds. He said: 'In 2010, when Eyjafjallajokull erupted, people were really shocked it seemed to come completely out of the blue, but the eruption of Grimsvotn, the following year, was an extraordinary coincidence. 'Although it is possible that ash clouds can occur on an annual basis, the average return interval for the last 1,000 years is around 44 years. Children try to sleep at Barcelona Airport after it was shut down by the ash cloud in May 2010 'The last time volcanic ash clouds affected Northern Europe before the recent event was in 1947, 69 years ago but aviation was much less intense at that time and it simply didn't have the same sort of impact. 'Our research shows that, over thousands of years, these sorts of incidents are not that rare but people wondering how likely it is that the 2010 chaos will be repeated in the next few years can feel somewhat reassured.' The researchers also looked at the intensity of the eruptions responsible for producing volcanic ash clouds. They found that volcanic activity likely to produce ashfall in Northern Europe would typically measure four or above on the internationally-recognised Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI). 'Eruptions can't always be indexed rapidly,' explained co-author Dr Ivan Savov, of Leeds' School of Earth and Environment. 'But in cases where that calculation can be made early on, it will give a good indication of the likelihood of volcanic ash causing a major problem.' that there was an issue It will also speak an alert and send users a Forget wondering if you smell smoke, GE's ovens will 'tell' you if there is a problem - and automatically switch themselves off. The connected home appliances can now integrate with Alphabet Inc.'s Nest Protect, which monitors the kitchen for signs of smoke. This smoke and carbon monoxide detector also sounds an alarm and sends notifications to the user's smartphone - telling them the oven has been turned off. Scroll down for video Forget wondering if you smell smoke, GE's ovens will alert you if there is a problem. GE connected ovens (pictured) can now integrate with the Nest Protect, which will automatically shut down the machine if it senses smoke or fire inside HOW DOES IT WORK? GE's line of connected ovens now integrates with the Nest Protect - smoke and carbon monoxide detector. The detector will shut down the oven if it senses smoke or fire forming inside. It then 'speak's to alter people in the home or will send a notification via the homeowner's smartphone to let them know there was an issue. The Nest will also tell users it turned the oven off. Advertisement 'Cooking should be an enjoyable experience, but we know that sometimes there are mishaps in the kitchen,' said Paul Surowiec, vice president, cooking products, at GE Appliances, a Haier company. 'Our integration with Nest Protect helps us ensure that our connected oven owners are safer when cooking, especially when the oven is left unattended.' If there is smoke or a fire found in the oven, the Nest Protector will speak an alert in real-time and also send users a notification to the Kitchen app setup in their smartphone or tablet. GE announced the Nest integration today at CES 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Nest Protect has smoke and carbon monoxide sensors built in, along with a computer with Wi-Fi connection. And it is capable of speaking to owners, as it can tell them where the danger is and what the issues is. The Nest Protect (pictured) will speak an alert in real-time and also send users a notification to the Kitchen app setup in their smartphone or tablet JUNE: APP-CONTROLLED OVEN 'June' is a $1,495 smart oven can recognizes food, and uses special elements to heat far faster than conventional ovens. Slightly larger than a microwave, the oven has a HD camera and scale built in, so when food is put inside it can automatically recognize it and work out the perfect recipe. Specially developed elements reach 350F in 4 minutes and 15 seconds, the firm claims. June instantly recognizes commonly cooked foods as you put them inside. It can also give you cooking tips for your favorite dishes and automatically adjust cooking times. The app also has a collection of animated video recipes. It allows users to search by ingredients you have on hand, customize the collection to your dietary preferences. It also allows remote cooking, with live video streamed from the built-in HD camera, which can also be used to snap an Instagram picture and post it. It has a built in core temperature probe, to prevent overcooking or under cooking and sends owners smart alerts. It can even be updated with new recipes. Advertisement It also integrates with your mobile devices and even messages you if the batteries run low, avoiding that all-too-familiar midnight low-battery chirp. In addition to integrating with connected ovens, Nest Protect offers a range of other features. It has a split-spectrum sensor that uses two wavelengths of light to look for both fast- and slow-burning fires. Homeowners can silence an alarm even if they aren't home using 'App Silence', which immediately shuts the alarm down inside of the house. There are also safety checkups that let users test the sensors, power Wi-Fi connection, horn and speaker on all alarms with just using their smartphone. And the automatic speaker and horn sound tests one every month. 'The safety of loved ones is important to our appliance owners and to us,' said Liz VerSchure, vice president responsible for GE Appliances connected strategy. GE announced the Nest integration today at CES 2017 in Las Vegas. Paul Surowiec, vice president at GE Appliances said 'Our integration with Nest Protect helps us ensure that our connected oven owners are safer when cooking, especially when the oven is left unattended' 'Working with Nest Protect helps us ensure an enjoyable cooking experience that's also safe.' Nest Labs was formed in 2011, but was purchased by Google for $3.2 billion (1.8 billion). Co-founders Tony Fadell and Matt Rodgers had both previously worked at Apple, including on the iPod and original iPhone. The hashtag solotravel has become increasingly popular among women who are doing the Spice Girl thing, high-kicking the glass ceiling with their platforms, in their personal and professional lives. A constant conundrum is safety. There is a physically intimidating aspect to travelling alone, whether you are male or female. My first solotravel adventure is around South America, where I manage to retain my status as a single woman travelling alone without being alone by signing up to a group tour. The first stop on Lucy Jones' South American odyssey is Buenos Aires (pictured), which she describes as having a very European feel Desperate to avoid an 18-30s harem-pants wearing expedition I stumble upon National Geographics new partnership with G Adventures. Not only do they cover a lot of ground in minimal time, they have local knowledge about the destinations and incredibly convenient modes of transport. The nine-day tour begins in Buenos Aires where I arrive a few days early to get my bearings and explore off the beaten track before my itinerary kicks in. G Adventures helpfully book me into the same hotel included in the tour so I dont have to worry about moving rooms and am still able to take advantage of the airport transfer. The hotel itself is in the Centro, which, as it sounds, is about as central as you can get. I spend time familiarising myself with the local architecture, which is possibly what makes the city feel so European and, of course, with the local cuisine. A few days, and a few too many steak and Malbec dinners later, it is time to meet my tour group. There are about ten of us in total, mostly traveling in pairs or alone. We are shuttled around the city in a small people carrier with our guide, who will stay with us for the full trip, and a local guide who offers more insight to the sites as we pass them. Lucy gaped in awe at the Iguazu Falls (pictured) from the Argentinian and Brazilian sides From the colourful corners of La Boca, to the solemn grave of Eva Peron in Recoleta Cemetery, the day is captivatingly varied. For the evening, we are taken off the beaten track to a tango club where we are immersed with the portenos (a nickname for local people of Buenos Aires) - and they go about showing us up for our comparatively poor dance moves. Next we hop on a flight north to Iguazu Falls. We spend time in both the Argentinian and Brazilian national parks, where the magnitude of the falls is equally present. The next flight we board lands us in Sao Paulo, but were arent stopping here. We drive north to Paraty and just happen to arrive in time for the towns annual music festival. The cobbled streets are alive with samba and somehow I forget that only hours earlier we were learning about the Afro-Brazilian community, who still reside in the town until our main guide there joins us for some dancing! Another longer stint by road, and we have made it to our final stop, Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro (pictured) was the final stop on Lucy's memorable tour We are given a full city tour in our van, which weve become fond of now, and finish the day watching the sunset over the Christ the Redeemer statue. Our hotel is suitably and centrally set in Copacabana where we rest a little while before meeting once more for a samba show dinner. Our goodbyes are maybe more emotional than Id have thought, but then I realise the things we have been bound together by on this trip. Breathtaking views of the falls, energy bursting from samba-ing streets, passion and knowledge pouring from local guides who have accompanied us along the way, and perhaps most poignantly, the devastation and corruption in these countries, particularly Brazil. This is something that will stay with us all. And its important that it does. Even if it is just to remind us we in the West are very lucky to be seeing these corners of the world at all. The first freight train travelling all the way from China to London has set off - on a journey that will cover a staggering 7,456 miles and pass through nine countries. The locomotive, stuffed with 4million worth of goods including socks and suitcases, departed from Yiwu West railway station in Zhejiang Province, China on Sunday. Its epic journey will come to an end in Barking, east London, having been trundling along for 18 days. It is part of a drive to improve trade links with Europe, with the route cheaper than air freight and faster than transporting goods by sea. Its route will snake through China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium, France and finally Britain. The China Railway Corporation train left on its 18 day journey on Sunday from Yiwu West railway station The train, carrying 4million worth of goods, will travel across nine countries on its journey to east London The service is being run by the China Railway Corporation, and Britain is the eighth country to be added to its list of destinations, with London its 15th city. Madrid and Hamburg are among the European cities that the corporation transports goods to. The new route is set to boost trade ties between the UK and China with goods such as clothing and bags delivered along the re-established Silk Road, connecting Europe and Asia, according to The Indian Express, which cited a report from Xinhua news agency. The focus on strengthening trade by expanding Chinas railway infrastructure and network is part of Chinese president Xi Jinping's 'One Belt, One Road' strategy, announced in late 2013. It departed from Yiwu (pictured) railway station in Zhejiang Province, China, and will arrive in Barking, London, having been trundling along for 18 days The focus on strengthening trade by expanding Chinas railway infrastructure and network is part of Chinese president Xi Jinping's 'One Belt, One Road' strategy, announced in late 2013 The epic route is not the only lengthy railway journey between Europe and Asia that has been unveiled recently. A new Japanese plan envisages extending the Trans-Siberian railway, potentially allowing passengers to travel all the way from London to Tokyo by train - a distance of 6,000 miles. In October 2016, MailOnline reported that the new link would bypass Vladivostok, currently the final stop on the world famous route, with a four-mile bridge or tunnel linking the city of Khabarovsk to the Russian Pacific island of Sakhalin. From here the new rail connection would cross to the northerly Japanese island of Hokkaido, requiring a 26-mile tunnel. Reports in the Japanese and Russian media say the Tokyo government, along with potential investors, is actively considering the development. The new Girl Scout Smores cookies are available in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the group selling cookies, according to the Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania. The Girl Scout Smores joins other classics, such as Thin Mints and Trefoils, in this years options in the area. These arent just cookies, said Ellen Kyzer, GSHPAs president and CEO. For the last 100 years, Girl Scouts have been building a better world for all of us using their cookie proceeds for community service projects and unique experiences like exploring the world. These opportunities are powered by Girl Scout Cookies and wouldnt be possible without the support from our cookie customers. The sale of cookies help Girl Scouts earn money for educational activities and community projects, as well as provide life skills. Customers can purchase Girl Scout cookies directly from a Girl Scout or troop during this years cookie program. Girl Scouts will take their final orders starting Jan. 9, and booths are open for business from Feb. 24 to March 26. The local troop organization said 100 percent of the net revenue stays with the local council and troops. For more information about cookie varieties, visit www.girlscoutcookies.org or download the free Cookie Locator app available on IOS and Android. Zooming across the planet in jetliners at 6,000mph might seem far-fetched to travellers today but a leading aeronautics expert predicted in 1966 that in 2016, that's what they'd be doing. He was one of many Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) figures, including the designer of the Spitfire wing, who was asked by the organisation - as it celebrated its centenary - to predict how different travelling by plane would be in 50 years' time. Other suggestions included planes being nuclear-powered and aircraft piloted by robots - today's drones. This image shows a proposed design for a Cold War nuclear aircraft. Nuclear energy was seen by one Royal Aeronautical Society member in 1966 as the fuel of tomorrow for passenger planes In the December issue of Aerospace magazine, produced for members of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Deputy Editor Bill Read looked back at which predictions proved to be uncannily correct and which were a little optimistic or plain strange. Read noted that the experts were making their predictions as Concorde was being developed, so it came as no surprise that several gazed into their crystal balls and saw travellers in 2016 hurtling around at incredible speeds. 'The widespread use of supersonic transport must be a foregone conclusion,' stated W N Neat. 'Speeds will increase until it is possible to reach any part of the world, carry out one's business and return within the day.' That would mean passenger planes would have to be capable of travelling at around 6,000mph. Other experts believed rocket power would take over. J V Connolly wrote: 'Some of the longer networks will be serviced by space rockets.' 'Supersonic air liners will be commonplace and rocket transportation will be used for some purposes,' predicted Freddie Page. 'Within 50 years supersonic air travel will obviously be commonplace,' agreed Air Commodore F R Banks, who was RAeS President for 1969-70. 'Between 50 to 100 years from now, "packages of people" will be shot by rocket to far-flung parts of the world or they will be assisted by rocket in a vehicle which will bounce along the upper atmospheric layer [100,000ft].' L G Dawson, meanwhile, thought that passenger jets of the future would be propelled by nuclear power. He wrote, according to Aerospace magazine: 'There is considerable promise in the application of nuclear energy for the propulsion of very large aircraft over very long ranges.' The RAeS president of 1968 to 69, David Keith-Lucas, agreed. He wrote: 'I can see our great grandchildren operating aircraft for civil purposes only, carrying holiday traffic and freight, operating them by nuclear propulsion from the centres of cities, vertically, noiselessly and efficiently.' Vertical-take-off (VTOL) city airports were also pencilled in as a 2016 phenomenon, along with runways being abolished. Vertical-take-off city airports were also pencilled in as a 2016 phenomenon, along with runways being abolished An artist's impression of a vertical take-off airport in the year 2000 'In 50 years, vertical take-off and landing will have become a standard operating system, passenger flight at Mach 4 will be routine and interplanetary travel will be established,' predicted A D Baxter, who became RAeS President for 1966-67. 'Some form of VTOL will permit operation much nearer city centres,' said Freddie Page. 'Rotorcraft will have several elevated stations in most city centres,' suggested Prof J A J Bennett. 'Runways will be abolished and aeroplanes will have acquired the capability and ease of the helicopter to operate in and out of confirmed areas. Rotorcraft will replace the fast automobile and the rotorbus will be a regular means of transport between cities.' Aircraft for some, however, would be rendered redundant - by video conferencing. G Wansborough White wrote: 'World Space TV channels now make communications aircraft obsolete.' And the 1947-9 RAeS president, Lord Kings Norton, agreed. He said: 'The development of the video telephone, the possibility of conference between individuals in offices scattered over the world connected by such a device, must clearly make a need to travel less.' Drone aircraft seem like a very modern invention but they were predicted by A H Wheeler, who wrote: 'An impending major technical breakthrough in agricultural aviation will be a form of "Robot" flying machine which will supercede the existing generation of agricultural aircraft.' W H Molyneux proved to be equally prescient when he wrote that 'there seems little argument for retaining passenger windows in the transport aircraft of the future and it seems likely even the pilot's window is ultimately destined to disappear'. He asked: 'Can a sufficiently complete illusion of a window be created replacing it with a back-projection of television screen?' Drone aircraft seem like a very modern invention but they were predicted by A H Wheeler, who wrote: 'An impending major technical breakthrough in agricultural aviation will be a form of "Robot" flying machine' These features don't yet exist, but as Aerospace points out, they are being seriously considered in supersonic business jet designs. The designer of the Spitfire's wing, RAeS President 1962-63, B S Shenstone, also made an uncannily accurate prediction. He said that gliders would be used for 'scientific investigation of the air around us'. Indeed, the 'Airbus Perlan glider' is being used to investigate the stratosphere, Aerospace magazine points out. And WN Neat was spot on when he said that by 2016 'air traffic will be as ten times as great than at present'. She's the Hollywood star hoping to score an Oscar nomination for her latest role. And while Nicole Kidman, 49, shined at the Sydney premiere of her new movie Lion, she also allegedly engaged in an embittered argument with husband Keith Urban. Moments before the handsome couple hit the red carpet to pose for photographers, New Idea reports they had a 'furious row' after speaking with media. On the rocks? While Nicole Kidman, 49, shined at the Sydney premiere of her new movie Lion, she also allegedly engaged in an embittered argument with husband Keith Urban According to the magazine, fans have revealed the power duo, both aged 49, spoke to reporters and then proceeded to trade 'bitter insults' with each other. The cause of the alleged spat is claimed to be Keith's purported displeasure at his wife's career getting in the way of their reunited family time in Australia. An insider allegedly revealed hectic work schedules - Keith's six months of touring and Nicole's back-to-back films - caused the pair to spend most of 2016 apart. Trouble in paradise? Fans have reportedly revealed the power duo, both aged 49, spoke to reporters and then proceeded to trade 'bitter insults' with each other Discord: The cause of the alleged spat is claimed to be Keith's purported displeasure at his wife's career getting in the way of their reunited family time in Australia 'Nicole is so sick of Keith constantly sulking,' an alleged friend of hers said about the veteran actress's alleged attitude towards her husband 'They were meant to meet up in Sydney for a family Christmas, leaving work aside for a couple of weeks and concentrating on themselves for once,' they said. The veteran actress has a gruelling press schedule for Lion to drum up support from the Academy, and her husband is described as being frustrated at her for it. 'Nicole is so sick of Keith constantly sulking,' an alleged friend of hers said. 'He needs to realise that Nicole's career is important to her, and to start being more supportive. It's very frustrating for her,' they continued. Family time: Just over a week after Nicole's Lion premiere in Sydney and the couple's alleged row, they landed back in Los Angeles on December 30 with their daughters It was a different story for the high-profile twosome on New Year's Eve, as Nicole thrilled fans by joining her husband on stage in Nashville for a spirited performance. She danced unabashedly as Keith paid musical tribute to the year's fallen stars, including Prince, Leonard Cohen and David Bowie. The married couple of 10 years shared a passionate kiss during Keith's headlining gig, televised as part of CNN's multi-timezone celebration. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Keith Urban's representation for comment. Rockin' out: It was a different story for the high-profile twosome on New Year's Eve, as Nicole thrilled fans by joining her husband on stage in Nashville for a spirited performance He was spotted hugging long time friend Elisa Nolan during a Christmas jaunt to the Gold Coast. And in the wake of Sasha Mielczarek's recently-confirmed split from Sam Frost, an insider has revealed the couple actually broke up months ago, but kept up public appearances due to commitments with show producers. 'The couple actually broke up ages ago,' a source revealed to New Idea. Scroll down for video Long time split: In the wake of Sasha Mielczarek's recently-confirmed split from Sam Frost, an insider has revealed the couple actually split months ago but kept up public appearances due to commitments with show producers But due to contractual obligations to Network Ten, Sam and Sasha couldn't make any official announcements until 18 months after the show had wrapped, according to the magazine. Daily Mail Australia have contacted Sam's representative for comment, who strongly denied the claims as 'rubbish'. The publication claimed that Sasha, 31, introduced dark-haired beauty Elisa to his family over the Christmas period. Elisa's grandmother Filomena Pontil also shared a picture of her family to which Sasha's mum Kym responded with: 'Beautiful Family. It was lovely meeting you all xx' Getting close? The publication claimed that Sasha, 31, introduced dark-haired beauty Elisa Nolan to his family over the Christmas period Last week a friend of Elisa's exclusively told Daily Mail Australia that their connection has been longstanding: Elisa's been friends with him for years, but I don't think it's romantic. I think it's more of a family friends connection,' the source said. 'She's a lovely girl and I'd actually love to see her with Sasha (in time),' the friend added with a laugh. Elisa, who is based on the Gold Coast, is said to a massage therapist. Sam was nowhere to be seen during Sasha's encounter with Elisa, but took to Instagram hours later to confirm that she was spending Christmas with her 'besties'. Two days later, Sasha and Sam confirmed they had split after an 18-month romance. The pair, who famously met on the set of The Bachelorette in 2015, confirmed the news with an official statement from IMG talent manager Georgina Harrop. 'After 18 months together, Sam Frost and Sasha Mielczarek have come to a mutual decision to end their relationship,' she told Daily Mail Australia. She's a pro! Elisa, who is based on the Gold Coast, is said to a massage therapist 'It is important to stress that there is no bitterness or scandal, they have just come to the realisation that the best way forward is to separate.' 'They wholeheartedly respect and cherish the friendship they have for one another which will continue moving forward,' she went on. 'They wish to thank everyone for their love and support over the past 18 months.' While Sam has remained silent on her social media since the news broke, Sasha was quick to share his thoughts with a gushing Instagram tribute to his former flame. Splitsville: Sasha and Sam confirmed they had split after an 18-month romance over the Christmas period 'They have just come to the realisation that the best way forward is to separate': The pair, who famously met on the set of The Bachelorette in 2015, confirmed the news with an official statement from IMG talent manager Georgina Harrop Tribute: While Sam has remained silent on her social media since the news broke, Sasha was quick to share his thoughts with a gushing Instagram tribute to his former flame She was once terrified of being photographed in swimwear after giving birth to her first child in August. Now, Seven Year Switch's Jackie Sherman, 34, is pushing aside negative body expectations and embracing the benefits of the bust after gaining 23 kilos during pregnancy. The personality had an adorable baby boy named Chadwick with her reality TV star husband Tim, who proposed at the series' reunion show. Scroll Down For Video Before and after! Jackie Sherman (pictured before pregnancy L, after pregnancy R) has told New Idea she loves her new body after gaining 23 kilos during pregnancy with son Chadwick The fitness business owner recently enthused to New Idea about her new body, and alluded to the unrealistic expectations set by mums who quickly spring back to their original weight. 'I love my new body.' She told the publication, as she opened up about embracing her new curves. 'I'm still 12 kilos heavier than before I got pregnant, but I've got a brand new set of boobs!' New Boobs! The Seven Year Switch star has admitted to embracing the new set of boobs she has post-pregnancy, as she flaunted her assets in a tight, striped dress in December In an image posted to Instagram in December, Jackie looked beaming, allowing her newfound assets to easily fill out a tight, striped dress. The reality star is still 12 kilos heavier than before she got pregnant, revealing to New Idea that a large part of this was due to breastfeeding difficulties. Jackie appears to be trying to change the public perception set by celebrities who spring back to their pre-pregnancy weight - or better - shortly after giving birth. 'Initially I was mortified by the idea of being photographed in swimwear, but i'm sick of seeing all these people with six-packs two weeks after giving birth.' She told New Idea. Mortified! The 34-year-old was once 'mortified' to be photographed in swimwear after birth, but has since changed her mind, revealing she was sick of seeing all these people with six-packs two weeks after giving birth It's become a trend in the world of celebrity to be pictured looking amazing as soon as possible post-birth. Recently, Rebecca Judd, the wife of AFL star Chris, looked absolutely stunning less than eight weeks after giving birth to twins. The lifestyle blogger was pictured flaunting a dress she wore numerous times before she became pregnant during a shoot just two months after the arrival of her boys Tom and Darcy. Jackie's comments imply that these expectations might way heavy on mother's who aren't afforded the luxury of services like nannies and personal trainers. Unhealthy trend? Stars like Bec Judd, pictured (R) just 8-weeks after giving birth to twins, appear to have joined a celebrity trend of being snapped looking amazing as quickly as possible post-pregnancy Unrealistic expectations? Jackie's comments imply that these expectations might way heavy on mother's who aren't afforded the luxury of services like nannys and personal trainers During the controversial TV series, Tim was particularly flirty with his 'wife swap' partner Tallena - whose jealous fiance Brad was paired with Jackie. They came close to ending their relationship after Jackie discovered that Tim got a tattoo with Tallena. However, Tim got down on one knee and proposed to Jackie during the reunion episode, jokingly presenting her with a voucher for a tattoo ring. Jackie appeared to see the funny side and was seen laughing as she accepted. The couple recently took to Instagram to share their first Christmas with the adorable bub. Shaky start: Jackie's partner Tim (R) was particularly flirty with his 'wife swap' partner Tallena during the controversial series, coming close to ending their relationship when it was revealed Tim and Tallena got tattoos together She spoke of going on a 'mantox' late last year following her split from her actor fiance James Stewart. Now, Woman's Day has claimed The Wrong Girl actress Jessica Marais, 31, is enjoying a close relationship with blonde bombshell and aerobic instructor, Shannon Dooley. According to the publication, Jessica has 'bounced back' from heartbreak with her long-term gal pal Shannon, with whom she once attended prestigious Australian drama school NIDA. The Right Girl? Woman's Day has claimed The Wrong Girl actress Jessica Marais, 31, is enjoying a close relationship with blonde bombshell and aerobic instructor, Shannon Dooley Shannon, who runs 1980's inspired workout school Retrosweat, often performs with her dance troupe on popular Channel 7 breakfast program The Morning Show. 'Men have been public enemy number one for Jess since her split with James, and she's just enjoying having a bit of fun at the moment,' a close friend reportedly told Woman's Day. 'It's about time she had a bit of fun, and Shannon makes her laugh and feel young and free,' the source added. Bikini babes! The pair were pictured in this bikini snap shared to Shannon's Instagram page two days ago History: Jessica and Shannon (pictured) once attended prestigious Australian drama school NIDA together Familiar face: Shannon, who runs 1980's inspired workout school Retrosweat, often performs with her dance troupe on popular Channel 7 breakfast program The Morning Show Jessica and Shannon were recently photographed frolicking and hugging in their bikinis as they splashed around at a Sydney beach. Shannon has also been sharing intimate snaps of the duo on her social media over the past few few weeks, including a photo of Jessica sunbathing in a G-string bikini. 'Stop. It. #therightgirl' gasped Shannon in the caption. Moving on? She recently spoke of going on a 'mantox' late last year following her split from her actor fiance James Stewart 'Stop. It. #therightgirl': Shannon has been sharing intimate snaps of the duo on her social media over the past few feweks, including a photo of Jessica sunbathing in a G-string bikini '#truelove': Shannon also recently shared a photo of Jessica cuddling up to her and ex James' daughter Scout, four Shannon also recently shared a photo of Jessica cuddling up to her and ex James' daughter Scout, four, with the caption: '#truelove #scoutedie #clovelly'. In September, mother-of-one Jessica spoke to Women's Health about embarking upon a self-enforced 'mantox' rather than rushing to find a new man. 'There have been times in my life when I've felt the need to work on my own personal growth without depending on affirmation from a man or from an external source, where you say, You know, I need to sort myself out on my own,'' she said. Jessica and James confirmed their split in May 2015 after a five-year romance, during which they welcomed their only child, Scout. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Shannon and Jessica's reps for comment. Two peas in a pod! Clad in matching bikinis, the pair were seen posing dramatically on some children's swings in this sassy Instagram snap The winter may be in full force in the US. But Doutzen Kroes has opted for much warmer climates along with her family. The 31-year-old model was seen soaking up the sun in Miami Beach along with her husband and their children. Since last week, the supermodel has been dividing her New Year holiday between Cancun, Mexico and Florida. Holiday: On Tuesday, Doutzen Kroes, 31, soaked up the sun in Miami Beach The beauty layered an off-the-shoulder, black cropped top over a matching bikini. Doutzen, 31, paired her blouse with a set of small, white shorts. The supermodel accessorized with layered jewellery, a bright-coloured bag and sunglasses. Warm weather ready: The beauty layered an off-the-shoulder, black cropped top over a matching bikini Bright in white! Doutzen paired her blouse with a set of small shorts Mum-and-me: The former Victoria's Secret Angel was joined by her adorable children, son Phyllon, five, and daughter Myllena, two Catch me if you can! Her children undoubtedly enjoyed playing in the sand Happy for family time: Doutzen loved the quality bonding experience with her children The Dutch model kept a close eye on her children, son Phyllon, five, and daughter Myllena, two. The threesome spent time near the water, while dad Sunnery James, 37, might have been holding down the fort in another area. Doutzen later joined her husband of six years for some alone time on a beach chair. Attentive mummy: The pretty blonde sweetly held the hands of her toddler and kept by her throughout their beach trip Seeing eye-to-eye: At one point, the doting mum crouched down to her daughter's level Time to hang with papa! The twosome later joined husband Sunnery James, 37 Part-time athlete: The DJ might have enjoyed some football on the beach Doutzen has been modelling since her late teens, having landed gigs with Victoria's Secret in the early part of her career. She officially became an Angel for the brand in the summer of 2008. In 2014, she ended her time with the brand and, in 2016, became the face of Dutch lingerie company, Hunkemoller, with which she has her own line, Doutzen's Stories. Just the two of them: The happy couple enjoyed a relaxing time alone during their trip Though she's taken pains to insist she looks later in her pregnancy than she is, Natalie Portman did appear quite far along on Monday. The 35-year-old balanced a bulging baby bump as she enjoyed a morning walk among some trees in Los Angeles. She'd put on a white top with slits up the sides and horizontal black stripes, flinging an open pale blue hoodie over the ensemble. How much longer to go?: Though Natalie Portman's taken pains to insist she looks later in her pregnancy than she is, she did appear quite far along on Monday Grey sweats clashed stylishly against a pair of purple trainers, and she'd slicked her hair back severely, bundling it behind her head. Black butterfly sunglasses were sat on her face, and she slung along a gold-coloured metallic water bottle. The Jackie star's currently expecting her second baby by Benjamin Millepied, the Bordeaux-born choreographer she married four years ago. Getting some air: The 35-year-old balanced a bulging baby bump as she enjoyed a morning walk among some trees in Los Angeles A year before they'd wedding, she gave birth to a son called Aleph. In 2014, the family moved to Paris, but returned to Los Angeles this year. Near the end of November, the Oscar-winner had appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and discussed misconceptions about her pregnancy. 'Well, it's weird,' she'd confided to the chat show host, 'cause I'm - you know, I'm a small person in general.' Muted colours: She'd put on a white top with slits up the sides and horizontal navy stripes, flinging an open pale blue hoodie over the ensemble As a result, 'you show a lot faster and a lot more when you're small, and everyone thinks I'm, like, about to pop and about to give birth at any minute, and I have, like, months to go.' As she recalled: 'I went to the - this store the other day to, like, buy water, and the guy at the checkout counter was like: "Almost, huh?" And I was like: "No, not at all!"' Shortly after she'd given that interview, Us Weekly cited a source who's claimed she'll be due 'around the Oscars.' The 89th Academy Awards will air February 26. Clarifying: Near the end of November, the Oscar-winner had appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and discussed misconceptions about her pregnancy. She spent all of New Year's Day reportedly chatting and giggling with a mystery male companion. But, as Daisy Lowe prepared to sign off on 2016 she was enjoying a solo beach day in the Miami sun. Seen looking suitably kooky in a white bikini and hi-top trainers, the model was in particularly high spirits on New Year's Eve. Scroll down for video All white on the night: Daisy Lowe looked incredible as she flaunted her hourglass curves in a skimpy ivory bikini on New Year's Eve, as she hit the beach in Miami Thanks in part to her recent stint on Strictly Come Dancing, Daisy looked trim in her drawstring two-piece. She layered on a light, white shirt and added an edge to her holiday wardrobe by walking in a grungey socks and Converse-combo. While she carried her denim Daisy Dukes in one hand, she was confident enough to tackle the sands in just her bikini bottoms, to show off her lean legs. The British beauty is currently holidaying with her former professional dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec and his fiancee Janette Manrara. Turning heads: She looked every inch the beach babe the day before in a dazzling white string bikini, which she teamed with Converse hi-tops and a billowing white shirt Kooky: Her bikini was not without the addition of hi-top shoes and socks But Daisy, who split from her model boyfriend Bradley 'Frankie' Wade back in November, seemed to have put any romance woes behind her during her cosy beach display with a new handsome man, on Saturday. Perhaps someone she had met during her New Year's celebrations the night before, sources claimed that the pair spent four hours talking on sunloungers by the sea. The 27-year-old model looked incredible as she flaunted her hourglass curves in a skimpy white bikini, before changing into a sizzling leopard-print number to spend New Year's Day with her close pal. The brunette beauty looked every inch the retro pin-up in her animal print two-piece, which featured a plunging balconette bra that teased a glimpse of her cleavage. Natural beauty: The brunette beauty eschewed make-up for the sun-soaked outing to let her pretty features Showcasing her long, lean legs and toned stomach, she added a pair of high-waisted briefs, which were just visible over some silk paisley patterned shorts. Smiling as they chatted away happily, the good-looking duo were later joined by a male pal, who Daisy greeted with an affectionate hug. Seeming at ease in the company with her male pal, Daisy reportedly spent four hours lying on sun-loungers with him, chatting under an umbrella. Smiling: She was smiling gleefully as she enjoyed some winter sun Allowing her pretty features to shine, the daughter of designer Pearl Lowe and rocker Gavin Rossdale eschewed make-up for the sun-soaked stroll. Daisy appeared to be in great spirits, despite being recently single following her split from boyfriend Bradley 'Frankie' Wade - who she had begun dating in August. 'Daisy and Frankie have had a discussion and decided to call it a day due to their mutually busy schedules,' a spokesperson for Daisy told MailOnline in November. A friend of the British beauty told The Sun: 'They could not find time to spend together because he is busy with shoots as a successful fashion model. 'They had a discussion and decided they were better off as friends.' Turning heads: Daisy made the most of her long and lean legs The time Daisy dedicated to extra dance training during the second week put a strain on their relationship, the newspaper alleged. There is no suggestion that Slovenian pro Aljaz, 26, who Daisy is partnered with this year, was involved in the split. With claims that she had fallen foul to the Strictly curse - a trend that has seen many celebrities split from their partners during or shortly after an appearance on Strictly - the star was then sadly eliminated from the competition, one week later. Daisy found herself in a dance-off against over Olympian Greg Rutherford, 30, during week eight, but judges Darcey Bussell, Len Goodman, Craig Revel-Horwood and Bruno Tonioli voted to save the sportsman. Getting on well! Daisy reportedly spent four hours lying on sun-loungers with a new male pal on New Year's Day (pictured) Fresh from her Strictly exit, Daisy spoke about her departure from the dance competition with Radio 1 Breakfast Show DJ Nick Grimshaw. 'I'm pretty heartbroken but I'm really proud of myself because I actually managed to survive eight weeks of it,' Daisy told pal Nick. 'I loved every minute of it and I'm never going to stop dancing. It created the most mental adventure of my whole entire life. ' The Halcyon was so calculating and derivative it could have been commissioned by ITVs accountants rather than anyone creative. The concept was basically, blatantly, Downton Abbey in a hotel set in London (where the likes of Rose, Mary, and Edith enjoyed their more risque, un-Lady-like, adventures), in 1940 under the shadow of the Nazis (a more dramatic war than Downtons superficial flirtation with the effects of 1914). Like the famous stately home, the luxury hotel provided a self-contained world inhabited by all kinds of characters from contrasting classes, most notably the family of aristocrats that owned The Halcyon and the staff serving them. Be our guest: New series to rival Downton Abbey brought the suave, sex-crazed Lord, his wife and mistress, and debonair heirs were more reminiscent of Upstairs Downstairs It was just a shame that they were mostly cardboard cut outs lifted from other series or pale imitations that were stereotypes in the first place. Even the faithful pet dog and token black musician were straight out of Downton Abbey, although the suave, sex-crazed Lord, his wife and mistress, and debonair heirs were more reminiscent of Upstairs Downstairs. The supposedly knock-out in-house jazz chanteuse was in fact a dead ringer for EastEnders Belinda Slater - if shed been bellowing out Jamie Cullum songs in The X Factors Big Band Week. A tough-talking, hard-smoking, slick-haired American radio reporter could have been in every series set in the 1940s from Dads Army to Foyles War. The lead character meanwhile had the all-seeing eye of Mr Selfridge or The Night Manager - if he hadnt looked like the sort of film star who could date Taylor Swift and just stuck to his job rather than becoming MI5s most brilliant spy. Would you really want to stay? The new ITV show debuted on Monday night The plot was standard Downton Abbey/Upstairs Downstairs fare revolving around The Halcyon proprietor Lord Hamilton (Alex Jennings) and his devoted hotel manager/protector Richard Garland (Steven Mackintosh). Garland had arranged for Lord Hamilton to be surreptitiously smuggled into The Halcyon (even though he owned it). You know what they say, muttered one of the kitchen staff. Nothing good ever comes in through the back. Inevitably, they turned out to be prophetic words. Come on in: Actress Kara Tointon as Betsy leads the cast in the new drama Opening episode: The former Mr Selfridge actress plays a large part Lord Hamilton had what you could call a busy itinerary for his visit: staying with his wife, sleeping with his mistress, and chairing a meeting of businessmen and politicians to discuss Britains stance on the Nazis and advocate Churchill as the successor to Chamberlain. Hitler also reneged on Munich. We need to exercise caution, Hamilton advised, using the type of history lesson shorthand pioneered by Julian Fellowes. Why his Lordships mistress Charity Lambert (Charity Wakefield) was in attendance wasnt clear, although she did have insider knowledge of the Fuhrer. Surely the answer is to join with him. Look at how he has restored Germanys fortunes. Hitler is not afraid to take a stand against this plague of itinerants. If anything told us that Miss Lambert was going to be Trouble it was this. Dowton-ish: Halcyon is a glimpse of what Downton might have been like How the action unfolded was told through a sequence of cliched scenes and characters. The clandestine meeting was uncovered/spotted by a handsome no-nonsense American radio reporter ostentatiously hanging round the lobby. Good morning America. This is Joe OHara reporting from London where the spectre of fascism haunts the capitals West End, he revealed subtly and not necessarily accurately. Despite news of the governments plans being broadcast to the US, the hotel manager still managed to cover things up for his patron by using his powers of persuasion on the only paper prepared to run the story in the UK. Garland mentioned he knew what the editor of The Telegraph got up to when he stayed at The Savoy. Cheeky: Alex Jennings played Lord Hamilton just as he did the Duke of Windsor in The Crown on Netflix I know the name of the girl, I also know that you ordered the lobster, he said, as if they were of equal relevance. Are you trying to blackmail me? the editor asked. No, Mr. Briggs, Im trying to impress you. Its my job to know things too. Garland could control the political fall out over Lord Hamiltons discrepancies but not with his domestic affairs. Charity now threatened to embarrass his Lordship by going public about being his mistress. I shant be kept in the shadows any more ! she declared knocking back the gin. Nows the time to choose. Lady Hamilton (Olivia Williams) turned up at The Halcyon early. Only Garlands blunt intervention had stopped her walking into the Royal Suite and catching her husband with Lambert (and not debating Hitler). Hamiltons view that he and his wife had an understanding proving misguided. Under cover of darkness is one thing but I will not be humiliated like this ! Lady Hamilton stormed. Not in front of my children. Do you hear? This marriage is over. Later the dialogue descended back into the type of trite exchanges we had seen between Lady Mary and Anna. Villainous: The chief villain of the first episode was the Halcyon owner, Lord Hamilton, who treats his wife like a discarded chambermaid What are your plans for life? she asked Garlands daughter Emma, suggesting bitterly that they merely consisted of getting married, having children, and becoming a fat little housewife in a dreary little house. Theyll tell you its life. Theyll tell you its growing up but its not. The violins added a further signpost spelling out she was Talking About Herself. Coming after the jaunty soundtrack to Lord Hamiltons infidelity earlier (the way Lady H had nearly discovered them and the chambermaids had cleaned the room for him) it illustrated the way that, like Downton, The Halcyon had no depth and no consistent stand point where the morality of its aristocrats was concerned. I took something beautiful and I destroyed it. Just because I could, Lord Hamilton simply said when his son turned on him for humiliating his mother. The sad soundtrack that accompanied Lord Hamilton suffering a heart attack suggested we were supposed to feel as sorry for him as for his wife. Seeing how Hamiltons darker side progressed, its effects on the family and understanding his relationship with Garland (You keep my secrets, I keep yours) were the only intriguing aspects from the opening episode. But we were denied them when Hamiltons heart attack proved fatal. Bizarrely, The Halcyons only complex character had died in the opening episode, suggested The Halcyon was not worth staying in or with. She deleted and then reinstated her social media accounts in October following an ongoing battle with online trolls. Now, Married At First Sight's Clare Verrall, 32, has warned her fans to brace for impact. The personality took to Instagram to open up about being 'really nervous' ahead of a back surgery operation she'll undergo Tuesday, telling followers to prepare for 'drugged out' posts of her 'looking like a knob.' Scroll Down For Video Warning! Clare Verrall has taken to Instagram to open up about being 'really nervous' ahead of an upcoming back surgery, telling followers to prepare for 'drugged out' posts of her 'looking like a knob.' In the video, Clare used an unsubtle flower crown image filter to inform her followers she was about to leave for the hospital to undergo a discectomy. 'Well the big day is finally here, I'm about to leave to go to the hospital to have my back surgery.' She said. 'And I'm sure I'll keep you updated when I'm high on drugs.' The former reality show contestant explained her interesting image filter choice in an earlier Instagram story. Hours before the surgery, a makeup free Clare said: 'I also realised I should do these videos through a snapchat filter like everyone else does.' 'So they look all pretty and nice and filtered rather than, like, just woke up, crazy-haired and vampires.' In the caption, she added: 'Prepare for drugged out IG posts similar as to when I had my wrist operated on after breaking it on the dance floor with @erinbateman_ last year.' 'As while some people drug dial their ex's, evidently I Instagram myself looking like a knob.' Filtered! Hours before the surgery, a makeup free Clare said: 'I also realised I should do these videos through a snapchat filter like everyone else does.' The personality previously deleted her accounts after claiming on Twitter that Channel Nine should be 'ashamed' of the 'manufactured drama' on Married At First Sight. She has previously claimed Nine sent her legal threats following her public criticisms of the network. Clare later announced her return to social media in a scathing video. Feud! The personality previously deleted her social accounts after claiming on Twitter that Channel Nine should be 'ashamed' of the 'manufactured drama' on Married At First Sight Her TV marriage with Jono Pitman was doomed from the get-go as the pair engaged in many heated arguments during their short-lived romance. Last year, Clare revealed she suffers from PTSD after bravely fighting off a man who broke her nose and threatened to kill her during a random street attack near her home in Prahran, Melbourne. The Daily Mail has reached out to Clare for comment. HARRISBURG Grab your aprons, assemble your ingredients and crank up your creativity its time for the baking contests at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. Eight competitions covering sweets from decadent chocolate cakes to regional whoopie pies to elegant angel food cakes will give bakers a shot at winning blue ribbons and bragging rights in contests that some call Pennsylvanias Super Bowl of baking. The 101st Pennsylvania Farm Show, which opens Saturday and runs through Jan. 14, includes eight baking contests to be held in the Farm Show Family Living Department in the Main Exhibition Hall behind the Maclay Street lobby. Contestants are encouraged to be creative, but they are required to bake their entries from scratch (no mixes allowed) at home, then bring them to the show in accordance with each contests rules and deadlines. Entries are tasted and evaluated by a panel of judges, whose members sample the goods, evaluate them and pick winners. Then, free samples are given to the public. Its a sweet tradition that draws crowds of bakers and spectators eager to taste the entries. Four of the contests are open only to certified first-place finishers in specific baking contests at Pennsylvanias approved agricultural fairs apple pies, chocolate cakes, chocolate cookies and angel food cakes. The other four are open to any Pennsylvania resident who likes to make sticky buns, thumbprint cookies, whoopie pies and the newest contest, oatmeal cookies. The baking contests are very popular, said Kevin Bieber, coordinator of both the apple pie and angel food cake contests. These two competitions get winners from the local fairs vying for the state title. Theyre hoping to be named the best of the best and get the premium and the prestige. The public comes to ask questions about the contests and, of course, to enjoy the samples given out. Here is a look at each of the contests this year: BLUE RIBBON APPLE PIE CONTEST, 10 a.m. Saturday (Jan. 7). This contest, sponsored by the Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs and the Pennsylvania Apple Marketing Program, is open only to state residents who are certified first prize Blue Ribbon Apple Pie contest winners at an approved Pennsylvania agricultural fair during the 2016 fair season. Pies are judged on flavor, filling consistency, doneness and moistness, crust color, flavor, texture and doneness and overall appearance; and creativity. Prizes are: first, $500; second, $250; third, $100; and fourth and fifth places, ribbons. PA PREFERRED COOKIE/BROWNIE/BAR CONTEST, 12:30 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 7). This contest, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture PA Preferred and the Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs, is only open to Pennsylvania youths (8 through 18) who are certified first prize winners in the PA Preferred Chocolate Cookie/Brownie/Bar contest at an approved agricultural fair during the 2016 fair season. Entries are judged on flavor, texture, creativity, and inside and outside characteristics. Prizes are first place, $250; second, $100; third, $50; fourth and fifth places, ribbons. PA PREFERRED CHOCOLATE CAKE CONTEST, 3 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 7). This contest, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture PA Preferred and the Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs, is only open to Pennsylvania residents who are certified first prize winners in the PA Preferred Chocolate Cake Contest at an approved agricultural fair during the 2016 fair season. Entries are judged on flavor, texture, frosting and inside and outside characteristics. Prizes are first place, $500; second, $250; third, $100; fourth and fifth places, ribbons. INCREDIBLE ANGEL FOOD CAKE CONTEST, Noon Sunday (Jan. 8). This competition is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Egg Farmers and the Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs and open only to first-prize winners at an angel food cake contest at an approved agricultural fair during the 2016 fair season. Entries are judged on creativity, flavor, smell, taste, texture, lightness, overall appearance including surface, size and color, topping, icing and decoration. Prizes are first place, $500; second, $250; and third, $100. THUMBPRINT COOKIE CONTEST, 4 p.m. Sunday (Jan. 8). Sponsored by Christina Maser Pantry of Lancaster, this contest is open to any Pennsylvania resident. Entries are judged on uniformity, flavor and texture. Only jellies, jams or preserves are permitted in the thumbprint. Prizes are $150 for first place; $100 for second; and $50 for third. PENNSYLVANIAS GREATEST WHOOPIE PIE CONTEST, 4 p.m. Tuesday (Jan. 10). This contest, sponsored by Good Food of Honeybrook, is open to any Pennsylvania resident. Whoopie pies will be judged on flavor, smell, taste, texture and smoothness of filling. No decorations are permitted. Prizes are first place, $500; second, $100; third, $50. OATMEAL COOKIE CONTEST, 5 p.m. Wednesday (Jan. 11). This contest, sponsored by Penn Ag Industries, is open to any Pennsylvania resident. Oatmeal cookies will be judged on uniformity, texture and flavor. Prizes are first place $150; second, $100 and third, $50. STICKY BUN CONTEST, 5 p.m. Friday (Jan. 13). This competition, sponsored by Golden Barrel Baking Products, is open to any Pennsylvania resident. Prizes are $500 for first place; $100 for second; $50 for third and ribbons for fourth and fifth. It's often we see a jaw-dropping, engagement ring on a celebrity's finger, of double-digit carats. But for some A-listers, a traditional sparkler just doesn't make the cut. The Veronicas' Lisa Origliasso, Margot Robbie, Shanina Shaik and Ruby Rose are just a few to have sported non-traditional engagement bling on their fingers. Scroll down for video Individual style: Lisa Origliasso (L) 32, of The Veronicas, is engaged to boyfriend Logan Huffman, and shared a close-up snap of her non-traditional engagement ring to Instagram on Tuesday The Veronicas' Lisa Origliasso took to Instagram on Tuesday, sharing a close-up snap of her engagement ring from boyfriend Logan Huffman, a day after the couple announced the happy news. The 32-year-old pint-sized pop star drew attention to the delicate bling, placing her left hand on her breast. Lisa shared with her 162,000 followers the detail of her non-traditional engagement ring. 'A triangular macle twin diamond': The pint-sized pop star shared with her followers the detail of her non-traditional engagement bling 'This ring is the most beautiful thing in the world to me. But only he who truly knows me, could design something that could so flawlessly capture the essence of who I am and what this means to me,' Lisa began the lengthy caption. 'A triangular macle ''twin" diamond - this stone is completely in its raw form. It has ridges shaped like a mandala. Fine lines like stepping stones rising up to the peak of it's pyramid shape. It symbolically represents a love that is ancient, indestructible & powerful. A love that never stops existing, reaching, climbing & growing. Transcending space and time, to the infinite & beyond,' the brunette concluded. Happy news: Lisa announced the happy news via Instagram on Monday, that she's set to wed boyfriend Logan Huffman [pictured] Online frenzy: Margot Robbie, 26, sent the Internet into a spin when she debuted her engagement ring from husband Tom Ackerley on Instagram one week ago Margot Robbie sent the Internet into a spin when she debuted her engagement ring from husband Tom Ackerley on Instagram one week ago. A photo which saw the Wolf of Wall Street star flashing her ring finger for the camera, gave Margot's 9.7 million followers a good look at the pear-shaped sparkler. While her intimate Byron Bay wedding in December, was shrouded in secrecy, experts have weighed in on the prized bling. Prized bling: Sydney-based diamond expert and jeweller Matthew Ely, told Daily Mail Australia last month, Margot's ring is unique due to the way the pear-shaped diamond is situated on her finger Jewellers who spoke to Daily Mail Australia last month, estimated her engagement ring to cost between $20,000 to $30,000, with a 1.5 carat pear-shaped diamond at its centre. According to Sydney-based diamond expert and jeweller Matthew Ely, the ring which appeared to be made of rose gold, was unique due to the way the pear-shaped diamond is situated on her finger. 'This is not worn in the most common way (which is where the point is facing down towards the fingernail),' he said. 'The price range for this ring, based on a fine quality 1.5 carat pear shaped diamond, is approximately $30,000.' Loved-up: Shanina Shaik, 25, hasn't been shy in flaunting her Lorraine Schwartz hexagon-shaped engagement ring, gifted to her by beau DJ Ruckus, real name Gregory Andrews, in the Bahamas over the Christmas period in 2015 Shanina Shaik hasn't been shy in flaunting her Lorraine Schwartz hexagon-shaped engagement ring, gifted to her by beau DJ Ruckus, real name Gregory Andrews, in the Bahamas over the Christmas period in 2015. Not only is the hexagon-cut a unique feature, the ring also features a romantic engraving on the back. The 25-year-old swimsuit model revealed to Daily Mail Australia early last year at a Myer photoshoot, that the jewellery is 'just my style.' She revealed: The ring that I chose is just my style, I don't really wear a lot of jewellery. 'It's simplistic, it's gold. I love gold as well, but what's very special to me is that he engraved a G and an S on the back.' Making it official: DJ Ruckus, real name Gregory Andrews, proposed to the swimsuit model on Boxing Day in 2015 in the Bahamas Sentimental: Not only is the hexagon-cut a unique feature, Shanina revealed to Daily Mail Australia earlier last year: 'What's very special to me is that he engraved a G and an S on the back' Proud: Shanina is certainly not shy in flaunting her engagement ring on social media Rockstar bling: Meanwhile in March 2014, Ruby Rose, 30, took to Instagram to show off her engagement ring to then-fiancee Phoebe Dahl Meanwhile in March 2014, Ruby Rose took to Instagram to show off her engagement ring to then-fiancee Phoebe Dahl. The 30-year-old Orange Is The New Black star uploaded a shot of a diamond ring to Instagram, just days after she hinted to her social media followers that her fashion designer girlfriend Phoebe Dahl, 28, had popped the question. Alongside the image of an unusual looking ring, Ruby wrote: 'Pippa Small boutique all handmade jewelery... ethical unaffected diamonds.. she's a unique girl @faircloth_clothing,' tagging her lady love in the post. Sharing the love online: The 30-year-old Orange Is The New Black star uploaded a shot of a diamond ring to Instagram, just days after she hinted to her social media followers that her fashion designer girlfriend Phoebe Dahl, 28, had popped the question Pippa Small is a London-based jewellery designer who according to their website 'creates luxury art jewelries, handmade with ethically sourced uncut gemstones'. It's a fitting gift from Dahl, who is the founder of an ethical fashion label. However the wedding was not to be, with the couple calling time on their relationship in December 2015. Ruby is now enjoying a rekindled romance with The Veronicas' Jessica Origliasso, 32. Up close: Alongside the image of an unusual looking ring, Ruby wrote: 'Pippa Small boutique all handmade jewelery... ethical unaffected diamonds.. she's a unique girl @faircloth_clothing,' tagging her lady love in the post She's the Studio 10 host who is known for her comedic social media updates. And Sarah Harris continued with her funny updates on Tuesday, when she alerted fans on Instagram that her dress could not be done up. Standing on the TV set, the 33-year-old posed with her gaping frock to the camera as she sported a shocked expression. 'When you can't do up your dress': Studio Ten's Sarah Harris presents on live TV in gaping frock after comically blaming Christmas for not being able to do it up on an Instagram clip on Tuesday The journalist uploaded the short video, in which she open and closed her mouth while showcasing her back seen between the open section of the fabric. She captioned the snap shared with her 39.8k followers: 'When you can't do up your dress properly, because CHRISTMAS.' Olympian swimmer Leisel Jones was quick to comment on the hilarious clip: 'The joys of television... you can leave it undone and it's totally acceptable.' Celebrations: The media personality documented her New Year's and Christmas period extensively on her social media account The media personality documented her New Year's and Christmas period extensively on her social media account. Only last week she posted another humorous Christmas-related post in the form of a fat cat meme. The meme read 'why be thinner when you can have more dinner', with Sarah joking she would be in a 'festive food coma' using the hashtag 'Christmas stuffing myself'. 'Saaaaaaaaaaaaaame': Only last week Sarah posted another humorous Christmas-related post in the form of a fat cat meme, with Christmas feasting hashtags in the caption Keeping fit! The media personality posted a picture in her activewear on New Year's Eve Sarah recently celebrated her son Paul's first birthday in November and spent Christmas with him away from Studio Ten responsibilities. The popular television host announced she was giving up her hosting duties for Bachelorette's Georgia Love over the summer. She marked the occasion by posting a selfie with Georgia in the studio. Real Housewives Of Atlanta's Kenya Moore pulled a gun on three people who climbed a wall and intruded onto her property. The reality television personality revealed she whipped out her firearm after two men and a woman illegally trespassed at her home on Friday. And the fuming 45-year-old former Miss USA threatened to shoot them if they return, while offering a $1,000 reward to anyone that can identify the culprits. Scroll down for video Making her point: Kenya Moore waved her gun at intruders who climbed into her property on Friday In a message directed to the intruders on Instagram, she said: 'If you come over here you're going to get a motherf***ing cap in your a***. 'No "who are you, what are you doing here," you are going to get a motherf***ing cap in your a***. 'I will ****ing shoot and I will ask questions later. Try me.' The actress warned she is going to take measures to make sure the intruders are captured. 'I will be pulling the security footage and I will be getting your licence plate and I will be prosecuting you for trespassing. Just after an autograph? Two men and a woman had scaled a wall to get inside Run away: But after being confronted by the armed TV personality they fled 'You come over here you are going to jail, and you might get an a** whooping on your way to getting shot.' Kenya also said that, 'if any crazy motherf***ers want to f*** with me you deserve whats behind these doors.' She later shared a photo on Instagram of the dramatic moment when she pulled out her pistol, as well as a snap of the three intruders running away The reality favourite said: 'I have a right to feel safe in my home and to protect myself. I don't care if I'm on TV. 'What if 3 strangers banged on your front door ...2 of them being grown men wearing dark clothing knowing they could only get to you by jumping fences or trespassing onto other properties and mine? 'You're going to get a motherf***ing cap in your a***': She used colourful language to describe what would happen if they return 'There are home invasions, robberies, rapist...What if your children or loved ones were threatened this way? Anyone who is bold enough to commit a crime, endanger themselves and others needs to be punished. '$1000 REWARD if you can identify any of these 3 individuals of criminally trespassed on my property yesterday. 'They climbed over a wall in order to circumvent my security gates and wall being bricked.' Former beauty queen Kenya, who was Miss USA in 1993, joined the cast of Real Housewives in 2012, and has been a main cast member ever since. Beauty queen: Kenya won the Miss USA pageant in 1993 and came sixth at Miss Universe Prince Jackson celebrated the New Year by adding a new tattoo to his collection. On Monday, the 19-year-old shared his body modification experience live on Instagram. The son of late pop icon Michael Jackson let fans watch as he got permanently inked with a design of a fierce dragon. 18-year-old sister Paris tagged along for the ride, getting her own tattoo after her brother's session. Scroll down for video New year, new ink: On Monday Prince Jackson got a new tattoo. He showed off the lengthy process by streaming it on Instagram Before: Prince documented the hours-long tattoo process with his Instagram followers. Here, you can see an image of his arm before the tattoo artist begins his work Bad tattoo: The son of Michael Jackson took great delight in showing off his dragon In the candid video Prince stays tough as he goes under the needle to get a tattoo of an intricately detailed dragon. You can hear the buzz of the tattoo needle as the artist carefully traces his arm in ink. Putting on a brave face, the teen averted his eyes from his arm as the tattoo artist worked his magic. Tough cookie: The tattoo wasn't all fun and games for the celeb offspring. In some shots, the son of MJ was seen wincing in pain Under the needle: The 19-year-old toughed it out as he got a tattoo on his upper arm Monday Dragon's breath: The celeb offspring received a detail upper arm tattoo of a fire-breathing dragon 'The pain must be real': The LMU fan put on a brave face for fans during the process A pair of black Beats headphones helped the young millionaire distract himself from the pain while both he and younger sister Paris documented everything for Instagram. She showed off her brother's design, captioning the footage with the letters 'BA', the abbreviation for the phrase 'bad a**'. In the footage, the celeb kin wears a red and black hat with the name of Kung Fu legend Bruce Lee emblazoned on it, pairing the hat with a sleeveless tank top bearing the logo of Loyola Marymount University. The tattooed teenager looks mature for his age sporting a mustache and goatee. Getting started: The tattooed teen distracted himself by wearing headphones and talking to his sister Paris Work in progress: Prince demonstrated his patience during the lengthy session Color time! After hours of drawing on lines, color was finally added to the dragon design After Prince finished up, sister Paris leapt at the chance to add to her body art collection. The 18-year-old seems more than comfortable in the tattoo parlor, with over 20 designs gracing her body. She opted for a red ink design on her inner arm, relaxing in a nude tank and grey beanie as the needle buzzed. My turn! After her brother was finished, sister Paris Jackson added another tattoo to her collection It's in the details! In the video, you could see some of Paris's 20-plus tattoo designs The King Of Pop's kids have been happy to share their lives with the public as of late. Prince, Paris and younger half-brother Blanket spent the holidays together, sharing views from their family dinner back in Mid-December. Around Christmas the family vacationed together in Maui accompanied by Paris's boyfriend Michael Snoddy. The Bachelor couple were seen sharing a romantic New Year's eve kiss on Saturday night at a glitzy bar in Melbourne. And Georgia Love and Lee Elliott are continuing to showcase their admiration for each other publicly after jetting back to Sydney on New Year's Day. The loved up pair were spotted leaving North Bondi Fish Cafe on Monday. Cute couple alert! Georgia Love and Lee Elliott are continuing to showcase their admiration for each other publicly after jetting back to Sydney on New Year's Day. The loved up pair were spotted leaving North Bondi Fish Cafe on Monday They both appeared in an upbeat mood as they walked hand and hand down the promenade. Lee wore an all black ensemble paired with chocolate suede boots. He accessorised with a large silver watch and notably, a Pancare charity wristband. Loved up: They both appeared in an upbeat mood as they walked hand and hand down the promenade Georgia stunned in a floral cross over top with matching mini skirt. She paired the outfit with a pair of beige wedges and a tan Michael Kors handbag and a leather string necklace. The brunette beauty wore her chestnut locks out and kept her makeup low key. Stylish: Georgia stunned in a floral cross over top with matching mini skirt. She paired the outfit with a pair of beige wedges and a tan Michael Kors handbag and a leather string necklace. The brunette beauty wore her chestnut locks out and kept her makeup low key When the pair arrived at the Cafe, they were later joined by a friend for lunch. As they tucked into their meals, Georgia and Lee looked lovingly into each other's eyes. Lee appeared to do most of the talking as his girlfriend sat quietly smiling and looking intently into his face as he spoke. Three's company? When the pair arrived at the Cafe, they were later joined by a friend for lunch Intense conversation: As they tucked into their meals, Georgia and Lee looked lovingly into each other's eyes As Georgia finally spoke, Lee took time out to refresh on a cool beer. When the couple left the restaurant, Lee made sure his girlfriend was helped down the stairs. The gentleman he is offered her a helping hand down the staircase as the reality TV star edged her way forward in her wedges. And now refresh! As Georgia finally spoke, Lee took time out to refresh on a cool beer Gentlemanoffered her a helping hand down the staircase as the reality TV star edged her way forward in her wedges Couple with a cause: The couple became ambassadors to the Pancare charity, which works to fund research and provide assistance to people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, after Georgia lost her mother Belinda to the disease Recently, the couple became ambassadors to the Pancare charity, which works to fund research and provide assistance to people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, after Georgia lost her mother Belinda to the disease. Georgia enjoyed a close relationship with her mother, who worked as a nurse, and was devastated by her death. She and Lee hosted an event which allowed 12 people to go on a 'date' with some of the failed Bachelorette contestants. The endeavour allowed the couple to donate $10,000 to the charity. Bringing in the New Year: The Bachelor couple were seen sharing a romantic New Year's eve kiss on Saturday night at a glitzy bar in Melbourne They've been together for two years, but three weeks apart proved a long lonely wait. Now Bindi Irwin and Chandler Powell have been reunited again after the wakeboarder jetted back to the US for a little under a month. The 18-year-old wildlife warrior spent New Years Day celebrating in Tasmania with Chandler before flying back to Australia Zoo in Queensland. Scroll down for video Tasmanian twosome: Chandler Powell and Bindi Irwin pose for the camera in Tasmania as they celebrate their reunion after three weeks apart Bindi shared her excitement at returning to the zoo with her fans, while Chandler thanked her for the trip together and indicated he'll be spending the next few weeks working with Bindi at the zoo. 'Wonderful to be back @AustraliaZoo after celebrating New Years in gorgeous Tasmania together,' wrote Bindi. 'Ready for lots of fun these Australian School Holidays doing shows at #AustraliaZoo'. Chandler replied in the comments, saying 'I missed you so much Thank you for such an incredible Tassie trip. Looking forward to these next couple weeks at #AustraliaZoo'. At the same time, Bindi reached out with love for her mother on Twitter, saying: 'I love you so much. You and Robert will always be the light of my life.' Thankful for Tassie: Chandler commented on how much he had missed Bindi on her Instagram post of their photo Not to be distracted from his profession, on Tuesday morning Chandler shared a photo of Bindi as he expressed his joy at returning to another Queensland attraction, the nearby Bli Bli Wake Park. The 20-year-old American had returned home in December to spend Christmas with his parents and brother, which included a snowboarding trip to snowy Colorado. The pair weren't to be kept apart though and Chandler took to Instagram on New Year's Day to share a shot from his aeroplane to announce his arrival. 'Back with beautiful Bindi': Chandler posted a gushing tribute to Bindi on Instagram on Sunday as he returned Down Under for a happy new year at Australia Zoo He captioned the sunset picture, in part: 'So happy to be back with beautiful @BindiSueIrwin.' Chandler also suggested he will be staying Down Under for a few weeks as he mentioned being excited for school holiday visitors at Australia Zoo 'over the next month.' Bindi, 18, reacted quickly to his uplaod, by saying 'I missed you so much' while using a love heart emoji. Welcome back: Chandler captioned his sunset picture from the airplane, in part: 'So happy to be back with beautiful @BindiSueIrwin', while suggesting he'll be in the country for at least the next month with his girlfriend Loved-up! Both Bindi and Chandler used love heart emojis when gushing about each other online, with Bindi quickly commenting on his post to say how 'thankful' she was to have him back in Australia Alone no more: The couple of two years spent New Year's without each other, as Chandler had returned to America to spend Christmas and New Year's with his parents and brother While the couple spent the Christmas period half a world away from each other, Chandler took to Instagram on Saturday to share a sweet snap of his girlfriend as he prepared to welcome in 2017. 'Thank you for making it so incredible,' he captioned a snap, that saw him embracing the daughter of the late Steve Irwin. '2016 will be one I remember for the rest of my life. Thank you for making it so incredible,' Chandler began the caption. 'I can't wait to make 2017 even more memorable with you,' he continued. The image saw the wakeboarder, clad in a plaid shirt and jacket, embracing Bindi, who kept warm in a purple parker. Her long tresses fell around and her face and shoulders as she beamed for the camera. 'Hold someone in your heart and they will live on forever': Bindi reflected on 2016 by declaring love for her mother, boyfriend and pies on Instagram over the past few days The post comes shortly after Bindi took to Instagram herself, reflecting on the year that was, in a series of sweet tributes. Bindi recently uploaded a loving snap with mother Terri Irwin after announcing the importance of holding those you love close. The young conservationist simply captioned the candid snap of the pair in a warm embrace: 'I love you, beyond words.' Bindi announced that '2016 has given many life lessons' to her as she shared her greatest lesson alongside the backdrop of a purple-hued sunset. 'Hold someone in your heart & they will live on forever,' read the sweet caption. 'I love you, beyond words': Bindi announced that '2016 has given many life lessons' to her as she shared her greatest lesson alongside the backdrop of a purple-hued sunset Cute! On Tuesday, Bindi thanked and gave virtual 'hugs' to boyfriend Chandler Powell for supporting her love of pies for breakfast The Wildlife Warrior also mentioned boyfriend Chandler in a flashback shot, captioning it in part: 'Hugs to this wonderful human.' 'Reasons why I love Australia - A pie & tomato sauce is perfectly acceptable for breakfast. Also hugs to this wonderful human for sharing my love of pies for breakfast #Flashback #VeggiePie,' Bindi wrote, adding a love heart emoticon. Chandler replied, writing underneath the post: 'Thank you for supporting my love for pies, #piesforeverymeal,' with a love heart. The loved-up couple have been spending the past few weeks in Australia together, with Chandler becoming active in Zoo life. Chandler even attended a crocodile hunting trip with the family earlier this year, during which he wrestled a wild crocodile with a jump team. Two weeks ago Bindi shared a touching message to him on Instagram as he jetted from Australia to his native America. It is believed Bindi and Chandler - who have been dating over two years - spent Christmas apart. 'I'm so grateful': During the Christmas break Bindi also reflected on spending time with her 'little family', who reside at Queensland's Australia Zoo During the Christmas break she also reflected on spending time with her 'little family,' who reside at Queensland's Australia Zoo. She wrote alongside the image: 'I'm so grateful for a gorgeous day with my little family, filled with love, laughter and looking for wildlife.' Bindi is the daughter of the late Steve Irwin, who passed away in 2006 while filming an underwater documentary film titled Ocean's Deadliest in Queensland's Batts Reef. She celebrated her son Axel's first birthday two weeks ago. And Michelle Bridges appears to be lapping up the extra time off with the adorable bub by going camping. The 45-year-old fitness star took to Instagram on Monday, posting a sweet picture of her kissing her tot's head as they prepared to go swimming. Scroll down for video 'Happy holidays!' Fitness star Michelle Bridges posts adorable snap kissing look-a-like son Axel while on a family camping trip on Monday She captioned the snap: 'Happy Holidays!! #camping #freshcreekswimming.' The TV personality covered up in a singlet, cap and sunglasses, while caressing her smiling son in her arms. She also posted a small video of partner Commando Steve driving behind another vehicle towing a boat, suggesting they were going wakeboarding in her text. Daddy's boy: Earlier this week, Michelle posted a touching tribute to her 'boo's (sic)' where Steve was seen holding Axel while looking at the ocean Water baby: Turning out to be a little water baby, Axel seemed to happily play with his parents and was fascinated by the sand sticking to his hands Earlier this week, the couple took the youngster to the beach as part of their holiday plans together. Michelle posted a touching tribute to her 'boo's (sic)' where Steve was seen holding Axel while looking at the ocean. Turning out to be a little water baby, Axel seemed to happily play with his parents and was fascinated by the sand sticking to his hands. Loved-up! The TV personalities have been dating since 2013 and welcomed their first child together in 2015 The former Biggest Loser star appears to be back to her fighting-fit form since giving birth to the one-year-old in December 2015. She recently shared an impressive Instagram selfie showing off her incredible abs and gym-honed physique. And while most people were preparing for a festive food coma, the fitness instructor posted a video of her post-Christmas workout in the lead up to holidays. Banging bod: She's just celebrated her son Axel's first birthday on December 19 and Michelle Bridges is already back to her fighting-fit form The exhaustive routine included lunges, squats and kicks repeated five times along with a ten minute warm up jog. The former reality star captioned the routine her 'Christmas Cardio calorie shredder!' Her followers were quick to notice that the hands-on mum was looking shredded. 'Is that a six pack I've just seen? Mum you're killing it,' one fan commented on the video. Another follower gushed that the 46-year-old was 'Body and career goals right here keep doing what you do!' Michelle has been including her one-year-old son in her workout routines, jogging up and down concrete stairs using Axel as a weight, earlier this month. 'You want me to do more than 10 times Axel?! Are you nuts!?? My legs are shaking!!' the fitness author captioned the picture. Working out with baby: The former Biggest Loser trainer recently told her 234k Instagram followers that she's been using her son as '12kg weight vest' She recently told her 234k Instagram followers that she's been using her son as '12kg weight vest.' Michelle, inventor of the 12-Week Body transformation, began working out less than a month after giving birth, spending 56 minutes a day jogging and walking. She came under fire for the intense post-natal routine, which was slammed as 'irresponsible' by physiotherapist Lyz Evans. She defended her choice to return to her normal routine as 'right for her body.' She's the acid-tongued socialite who never hesitates to speak her mind. And Imogen Anthony has unleashed an intense tirade in response to a publication's critique of her choices in fashion and boyfriends. The 25-year-old took to her Instagram on Tuesday to drop the expletive-ridden rant against the yet-to-be-named reporter, who placed her on 'The Ugly' list for 2016. Scroll down for video Fed up: Imogen Anthony has unleashed an intense tirade in response to a publication's extremely brash critique of her choices in fashion and boyfriends The writer honed in on the model's outfit at last year's ARIA Awards, calling it 'graffiti-sprayed snakeskin' that assaulted their 'poor eyes'. In her heated response, Imogen wrote: ' You dumb f***. It's mesh. Not snakeskin. You f***ing flop.' She revealed the ensemble was put together by musician Joshua Mullane and creative director Jameen Zalfen, the latter who has dressed Miley Cyrus. Wrong one! The 25-year-old took to her Instagram on Tuesday to drop the expletive-ridden rant against the yet-to-be-named reporter, who placed her on 'The Ugly' list for 2016 'You insolent piece of s***,' Imogen continued to berate the reporter in her post. She took offense to the writer's notion the dress should have instead been used to 'tie her to the bedposts in protest when she voiced her intention to step out like this'. Calling out what she viewed as chauvinistic undertones in that statement, the budding fashion designer didn't hold back. Heated: She took offense to the writer's notion the dress should have instead been used to 'tie her to the bedposts in protest when she voiced her intention to step out like this' 'Wow, like that isn't a somewhat sexually degrading remark I'd say from another woman (because men actually don't really have a right to speak about women's fashion in my books, unless they f***ing make it or wear it),' she responded. 'When I find out who wrote this, you had better make sure your nose is real clean,' she warned. In a final notice to the article's scribe, she clearly laid out what would happen if they ever crossed paths. 'When I find out who wrote this, you had better make sure your nose is real clean,' she warned the writer of the piece 'If I see one picture of you wearing a f***en Birkenstock or a white collared shirt with a pleated skirt, I will put my cigarette out on it,' she offered. The bubbly and popular girlfriend of media personality Kyle Sandilands was also lambasted in the piece for her taste in men. The writer scathingly noted, 'If you're the partner of either Geoffrey Edelsten or big m8 Kyle Sandilands, your taste is in the craphouse - no exceptions made.' Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Imogen's representative for comment. Yikes! The writer noted of Imogen: 'If you're the partner of either Geoffrey Edelsten or big m8 Kyle Sandilands, your taste is in the craphouse - no exceptions made' She is due to welcome her first child with Sydney Rabbitohs star husband Sam Burgess in the coming weeks. And Phoebe Burgess looked positively glowing as she celebrated her elegant baby shower on Tuesday. The heavily pregnant blonde, 27, took to Instagram stories to provide fans with a sneak peek of the event, with included flowers, glorious food and an ocean view. Just peachy! Heavily pregnant Phoebe Burgess looked radiant in bright-coloured feminine frock as she celebrated baby shower on Tuesday Phoebe, who is 36 weeks pregnant, embraced her growing belly by donning a bright-coloured loose-fitting frock. The asymmetric design rested on her right shoulder, and she posed to the side and showcased her bump by placing her hand atop the dress' fabric. Grinning from ear-to-ear in her snap, she appeared relaxed and comfortable as she seemed to host the flower-filled event barefoot. Bright and cheery! Grinning from ear-to-ear in her snap, she appeared relaxed and comfortable as she seemed to host the flower-filled event barefoot Beaming! Phoebe looked to be in happy in happy spirits while surrounded by loved ones Thrilled: The beauty told her Instagram followers that she was definitely feeling the love at her event 'Lifesaver': Her first post from the baby shower included a selfie of herself getting pampered by hair stylist Nathan Di Natale, as she called him a 'lifesaver' for tending to her long blonde tresses Natural beauty! Her locks were styled into low-resting waves and curls, while her makeup look remained minimal Her first post from the baby shower included a selfie of herself getting pampered by hair stylist Nathan Di Natale, as he tended to her long blonde tresses. Her locks were styled into low-resting waves and curls, while her makeup look remained minimal. She accessorised her simple, yet classy, look with white nail polish, a watch and her wedding ring. Bumping along nicely! Phoebe showed off her burgeoning bump by placing her hand atop the dress' fabric Tasty! At one point she showcased at least three plates of salad, which her guests all enjoyed with a glass of Champagne or wine The apartment had been decorated with a variety of different floral bouquets, with a wooden table near the door to the deck, housing the delectable dishes. At one point she showcased at least three plates of salad, which her guests all enjoyed with a glass of Champagne or wine. Soon after Phoebe revealed the dishes had been replaced for an assortment of sweet treats, including a impressive tiered cake with whipped cream and strawberries on offer beside it. Wow! Soon after Phoebe revealed the dishes had been replaced for an assortment of sweet treats, including a impressive tiered cake with whipped cream and strawberries on offer beside it Expecting: Phoebe and Sam broke the news that they were expecting their first child in July last year One of her many guests included sister-in-law Joanna Burgess, who is also expecting a child in the coming weeks. She dressed in tassel-covered overalls with a pink shirt beneath it, while also opting for comfort by ditching heels. Chic and comfortable! One of her many guests included pregnant sister-in-law Joanna Burgess, who dressed for comfort in tassel-covered overalls and flats Phoebe and Sam broke the news that they were expecting their first child in July last year. News of Phoebe's pregnancy came seven months after the pair tied the knot at her parents' home in Bowral, New South Wales. The couple both shared photos on their one-year wedding anniversary last week, with Sam branding the mum-to-be a 'legend'. Last month, former Big Brother star Tim Dormer confirmed he was in a same-sex relationship with new boyfriend Ash Toweel. And after having found love, Tim had a lot to celebrate over the festive season. On New Year's Eve, the curly-headed personality hit Bondi Beach with friends, going shirtless as he enjoyed fire twirling to ring in 2017. Scroll down for video 'My hair is flammable': Big Brother's Tim Dormer enjoyed fire twirling on Bondi Beach on New Year's Eve...after confirming his new relationship with boyfriend Ash Toweel Standing on the sand in fluro yellow meggings (man leggings), Tim smiles as she shows off some dance moves while David Guetta and Sia's hit song Titanium plays in the background. Tim made his friends laugh in the Instagram video, as he moved the burning torches. He joked that his 'hair is flammable,' writing in his post: 'Fire twirling neon fun at NYE #BringTheHeat2017 #myhairisveryflammable.' 'Bring on 2017': Tim also shared another shot on Instagram of the New Year's Eve shenanigans, where he and his friends blow some bubbles on the beach Tim also shared another shot on Instagram of the New Year's Eve shenanigans, where he and his friends blow some bubbles on the beach. He reflected on the past year, writing: 'Life is what you make it, 2016 you ain't that bad, we did good. Bring on epic times in 2017 #GetItDone #NYE #BondiBeach #MagicBubbles.' Tim spent the festive season with his new boyfriend Ash and a week ago posted a sweet snap of them together and gushing: 'Sometimes we wear ponchos & wander the night looking for adventure. That's what makes me smile.' Sweet: Last month, Tim confirmed he was in a same-sex relationship with new boyfriend Ash Toweel Happy: Tim spent the festive season with his new boyfriend Ash and a week ago posted a sweet snap of them together and gushing: 'Sometimes we wear ponchos & wander the night looking for adventure. That's what makes me smile' They also enjoyed Carols in the Domain. It comes after they enjoyed a short trip to Byron Bay together, just a week after confirming their new romance. Former Celebrity Apprentice star Tim revealed to WHO Magazine their new love. Tim admitted he had 'always been fluid in his sexuality' and that they realised there was something 'special' between them when they had a 'spontaneous' weekend away in Byron in 2014. Now he isn't afraid to share his feelings for Ash, who he met at a party in 2013 after winning Big Brother. 'I finally fell in love,' Tim tells the publication, adding he really 'missed' Ash while he filmed Big Brother Canada, earlier this year. Feeling festive: They also enjoyed Carols in the Domain Opening up: Former Celebrity Apprentice star Tim revealed to WHO Magazine their new love (seen together in Byron recently) Tim told WHO he's extremely proud to announce his romance to the world, gushing to the magazine: 'I have pride in our love.' The curly-haired TV star also opened up about his bisexuality to the magazine. 'I talked about my bisexuality and that I've always been about people, not the sexuality or gender,' he explains. 'I've dated girls, but have always been open to dating guys.' Tim was raised by a 'conservative' family in the Blue Mountains, and was once a member of a Christian Church. The couple say Ash has already met his family and the handsome dark haired bar manager got along very well with the TV star's mother. MECHANICSBURG New signs that encourage a welcoming attitude to neighbors, no matter a persons heritage or religion, are popping up around the Midstate. Theyre part of a campaign thats spreading across the country and has its roots right here in central Pennsylvania. This would be a message that I want them to hear, Ron Hershey said. Most yard signs are easy to ignore. Hershey hopes people stop for the one displayed from the front porch of his Mechanicsburg home. Its a message that resonates with a lot of people. In three languages English, Spanish and Arabic all written on the sign, Hershey tells his neighbors on Simpson Street he welcomes them. No matter where you are from, the sign reads, were glad youre our neighbor. He bought 100 and gave them out around the Midstate around the same time someone else spread a different message. We had a local incident here, he said, actually on Simpson Street, that seemed to be racially motivated. That incident, just a few days before Christmas, left cars belonging to a Latino man and a Middle Eastern man vandalized with KKK and Trump, Mechanicsburg police said. Christian Churches United, which represents roughly 100 churches around the area, is taking up the cause in Harrisburg. We just felt like its important to put a message out there that we care for each other, said Darrel Reinford, the groups executive director. Theyre selling the signs on their website and hope to get them in this week. The design is also available for free download for those looking to print their own signs. It really sort of caught on, Reinford said. The idea started at Immanuel Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Virginia, more than a year ago with a hand-painted wooden sign designed by Melissa Howard. The pastor there, Matthew Bucher, who thought up the words to tell his neighbors, moved from Lebanon County a few years ago to go to school in the Virginia town. The church began selling the colorful yard sign versions a few months ago, and since the fall, Bucher believes thousands have sold across the country. We really are just trying to help people feel like theyre welcome, said Reinford, who also attended the Harrisonburg church while he was in school there. They may be just words now, but advocates hope they lead to action. Whether its a smile, a word of greeting, a word of welcoming in the grocery store, wherever we meet folks that are different than us, Hershey said, we can be a positive presence. Steven Tyler and his rumoured fiancee Aimee Ann Preston rode motorbikes during their romantic Hawaiian holiday on Monday. At 68, the Aerosmith frontman is 40 years older than his live-in love, who began working as his personal assistant in 2012. At 28, Aimee is 11 years younger than Steven's actress daughter Liv, 39. The twice-divorced father-of-four and the Colorado-born brunette then hit the Maui streets where the top speed limit is 55mph. Scroll down for video Rock 'n' roll: Steven Tyler and his rumoured fiancee Aimee Ann Preston rode motorbikes during their romantic Hawaiian holiday on Monday Still going strong: At 68, the Aerosmith frontman is 40 years older than his live-in love, who began working as his personal assistant in 2012 Vroom! The twice-divorced father-of-four and the Colorado-born brunette then hit the Maui streets where the top speed limit is 55mph Tyler - born Tallarico - will become a grandfather for the fourth time when his daughter Mia welcomes her first child with boyfriend Dan Halen. 'I'm not allowed to reveal the sex of the baby!' the UN Humanitarian winner told Billboard last month. The 38-year-old artist's mother was Steven's first ex-wife Cyrinda Foxe, who died in 2002 of a brain tumor. The former American Idol judge will next put his four-octave tenor pipes to use January 21 at California's Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage. 'The best FaceTime I ever had!' Tyler - born Tallarico - will become a grandfather for the fourth time when his daughter Mia welcomes her first child with boyfriend Dan Halen The UN Humanitarian winner told Billboard last month: 'I'm not allowed to reveal the sex of the baby!' '50%': The 38-year-old artist's mother was Steven's first ex-wife Cyrinda Foxe, who died in 2002 of a brain tumor His four-time Grammy-winning band Aerosmith will kick off their 18-date Aero-Vederci Baby! Tour on May 17 in Israel. 'Who knows how long we'll be touring as the original band?' Tyler said of his Boston act's nearly 50-year history. 'I think that we're all freak of natures and Joe [Perry] and I were talking on the phone yesterday and he said to me, "We have no right being as healthy as we are after what we've been through." 'Whether it's through the abuses of being on tour for 40 years or the abuses of substances or the abuses of life on life's terms - there's been a lot of abuse. But we're both looking pretty damn good for what's going on.' The band will be embarking on the European leg of their farewell jaunt over the summer, with the iconic Donington Download festival being the only UK date. Pictured December 3: The former American Idol judge will next put his four-octave tenor pipes to use January 21 at the Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage 'Who knows how long we'll be touring?' His four-time Grammy-winning band Aerosmith will kick off their 18-date Aero-Vederci Baby! Tour on May 17 in Israel Luisa Zissman paid an emotional tribute to her best friend of nine years, after she died of cancer on Monday. The Celebrity Big Brother star revealed she was 'heartbroken' and in 'disbelief' that her pal Michelle, known as 'MichyB', tragically passed away. Sharing a selfie with Michelle, the 29-year-old penned a lengthy ode to her brave friend - who had received many video messages of support from A-listers like David Beckham, Katie Price and Emma Bunton before her death. Scroll down for video Devastating: Luisa Zissman, 29, paid an emotional tribute to her best friend of nine years Michelle (pictured left), after she died of cancer on Monday Luisa, who had known Michelle since she was 20, wrote in the caption: 'I'm so heartbroken. RIP Michy Brown @michyb29 you are so loved, you'll be so missed.' The Apprentice star added: 'A complete tragedy. I can't believe 3 months ago we were in Dubai and your biggest worry was finding a man. 'Cancer is a cruel cruel disease and it's taken one of the best from us. I'm in disbelief you're actually gone. 'Privileged to have known you since I was 20 Michy, we've only ever had a hilarious good time together. All your Michyisms won't be forgotten, forever in the hearts and minds of the people's lives you touched, and it was so so many.' Tragic: Luisa, who had known Michelle since she was 20, wrote in the caption: 'I'm so heartbroken. RIP Michy Brown @michyb29 you are so loved, you'll be so missed' Heartbroken: Her brave friend had received many video messages of support from A-listers like David Beckham, Katie Price and Emma Bunton before her death Reflecting on the heartbreaking start to the New Year, Luisa signed off: 'A horrible start to 2017 for everyone that loves you. But a peaceful end for you. 'Rest, relax and wherever you are I'm sure you'll be dancing with all the celebs you love so much up there in the clouds. Rest in Peace Michy. #thereisonly1michyb'. Michelle was lent support by a legion of celebrities after her friends launched an appeal to get A-listers to send video messages. Her Instagram account is littered with inspiring messages from the likes of James Corden, Carol Vorderman, Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne with her husband Ozzy and daughter Kelly. Santa's Little Helper: Luisa proved it was all about family, as she posted a snap of one her daughters dressed up in red festive gear Festive fun: She also shared a collage of presents for her children on Christmas Eve, stacked high next to adorable matching white mini-teepees One notable mention came from comedian Jack Whitehall, whose message of love was gatecrashed - and overshadowed - by a grinning David Beckham, who interrupted halfway through. Meanwhile Luisa was clearly excited for Christmas last week, sharing several snaps on her social media of her festive preparations. The reality star is mother to six-year-old Dixie from her first husband Oliver Zissman and five-month-old Indigo with her current husband, Irish businessman Andrew Collins. And she proved it was all about family, as she posted snaps of her daughters dressed up in red festive gear. She also shared a collage of presents for her children on Christmas Eve, stacked high next to adorable matching white mini-teepees. She captioned the shot: 'Both babies in bed asleep and Santa has been. Cannot wait until the morning!!! Merry Christmas to everyone #santasbeen #mincepie&mulledwine'. She's kicking off 2017 with an adventurous break in Sri Lanka. And Myleene Klass, 38, looked every inch the surfer chick as she took to the ocean on a boogie board on Tuesday. The mother-of-two showed off her figure in the photo, rocking a wild animal print bikini with an intricate crochet neckline as she lifted her board above her head. Scroll down for video Surf's up! Myleene Klass, 38, looked every inch the surfer chick as she took to the Indian Ocean on a boogie board on Tuesday Turning back to smile at the camera, the make-up free beauty lit up the overcast conditions. Her wet locks fell over her shoulders and a gold timepiece glistened on her wrist. In another shot, Myleene flaunted her toned figure as she sat cross-legged on the sand while holding onto a refreshing coconut. This is the life: Myleene Klass enjoyed another blissful day with her daughters Ava, nine, and Hero, five on Tuesday, hitting the beach for an Insagram photo shoot Following in her footsteps: Hero and Ava joined their mum in the surf Sri Lanka adventures: The day before Myleene enjoyed a safari with her daughters, sharing shots of herself and her girls spotting the wildlife from their vehicle 'Beach brekkie,' she captioned the gorgeous shot, while promoting her swimwear from her latest range for Littlewoods. The TV star has been sharing stunning snaps from her travels daughters Ava, nine, and Hero, five on her Instagram page. The day before Myleene enjoyed a safari with her daughters, sharing shots of herself and her girls spotting elephants from their vehicle. 'Actually, the best gift you could have given her was a lifetime of adventures. L.Carroll #nationalpark #klassgirls #srilanka,' Myleene quoted in one photo caption. The adventures continued as darkness fell when the trio took a trip to the beach to watch turtle eggs hatch. Her mini mes: 'Actually, the best gift you could have given her was a lifetime of adventures. L.Carroll #nationalpark #klassgirls #srilanka,' Myleene quoted in one photo caption 'best experience. Hiked a long way w/ my girls in the dark to see a Turtle lay her eggs,' Myleene gushed to her social media fans. Myleene has been delighting her followers with her sun-drenched snaps from her New Year getaway. Last week the former Hear'Say star sizzled in another self-designed bikini which boasted a triangle crochet pattern with a sculpted cup and low-slung bottom. Hot mama! Myleene has been delighting her followers with her sun-drenched snaps from her New Year getaway Myleene, who soared to fame in 2001 on pioneering talent show Popstars, looked sensational in her swimwear which highlighted every aspect of her frame. The halterneck top helped show off her perky cleavage, which was enhanced by the padded top and bust-boosting neck ties. Adding to the revealing nature of the Missoni-inspired two-piece was the dangerously low-slung bottoms which teetered far below her belly button. Proving herself to be a true beach babe, the stunner accentuated her look with gold accents including a dainty body chain and blingtastic watch. Twit twoo! The 38-year-old former Hear'Say star looked incredible in her self-designed bikini which boasted a triangle crochet pattern with a sculpted cup and low-slung bottom Out and a pout: Myleene looked sensational in her swimwear which highlighted every aspect of her frame As she knelt on the beach for her most sultry snap, the brunette beauty looked to the side while pouting - to best enhance her modelling prowess. Adding to her catalogue of Instagram holiday pictures, Myleene later snapped some up close selfies in which she went totally make-up free. Showing off her perky cleavage, the former pop star pulled a half-smile while gazing into the camera and allowing her tresses to fall loosely across her face. The girls! Aside from her plethora of selfies, the mother-of-two also took to the waters with her beloved daughters where the family indulged in some paddleboarding Clearly feeling more playful later on, Myleene peeled on a pair of superstar-worthy sunglasses while pulling a hilarious pout for the camera. Aside from her plethora of selfies, the mother-of-two also took to the waters with her beloved daughters where the family indulged in some paddleboarding. She added a sweet caption on the shot reading: 'Hope you get your break in 2017. As the sun sets here, Happy New Year from the Klass girls.' Still got it! In 2006, Myleene made reality TV history in her white bikini on I'm A Celeb Way back when! Myleene soared to fame in 2001 on pioneering talent show Popstars It seems the trio had a fabulous Christmas, after Myleene told HELLO magazine that Christmas was 'magical' for the girls. 'I hope the magic lasts,' she said. 'But Im not sure for how long it will. They always want to see what Santa has brought me so I have to wrap up something. She failed to win Richie Strahan's heart on the latest series of The Bachelor Australia. But Keira Maguire isn't letting the heartbreak get her down, with the blonde beauty showcasing her incredible figure on Instagram on Tuesday. The 30-year-old shared a short clip of herself to Instagram squeezing a bottle of tanning oil at Palm Beach, as she stunned in a tiny black costume. Scroll down for video If you've got it! On Tuesday, The Bachelor's Keira Maguire flaunted her incredible bikini body as she worked on her tan at Palm Beach Flaunting her washboard abs and putting on a busty display, Keira has her short locks out and over her shoulders, wet from a dip in the ocean. She kneels on a towel as she gets the oil out of the bottle. Wearing dark tinted sunglasses, the reality TV reject appears to be wearing very minimal makeup. Looking good: Wearing dark tinted sunglasses, the reality TV reject appears to be wearing very minimal makeup Keira captioned part of the shot: 'TAN TIME.' It comes after she revealed in an Instagram post last week that she was heading to the idyllic Byron Bay for a short break. 'Bye Sydney. Time to trade in the jeans for the kinis ... Byron I'm coming for you.....,' part of her post read. She recently made headlines after revealing her $22,00 plastic surgery transformation to NW magazine, claiming: 'I've always wanted to be perfect!' Working on herself: She recently made headlines after revealing her $22,00 plastic surgery transformation to NW magazine , claiming: 'I've always wanted to be perfect!' TV role: Keira confessed she decided to have rhinoplasty after seeing how her nose looked on The Bachelor earlier this year (seen on the show) Her dramatic makeover included a nose job, fillers, Botox, tattooed eyebrows, and 'vampire facials.' Keira confessed she decided to have rhinoplasty after seeing how her nose looked on The Bachelor earlier this year. For the surgery, which cost $15,000, Keira saw Dr. Michael Zacharia, the man behind former Big Brother star Skye Wheatley's rhinoplasty. Keira, who found fame on the popular Australian dating show, admitted she is now looking into upgrading her breast size. 'Maybe just boosting them to little teardrops, not big bazookas,' she said. New look: Her dramatic makeover included a nose job, fillers, Botox, tattooed eyebrows, and 'vampire facials' (pictured early last month) She gave birth three weeks ago to her son Deveraux. But Mick Jagger's partner Melanie Hamrick is already back in the gym, showing off her trim figure in Instagram shots as she works on her post baby body. The 29-year-old ballerina welcomed a son named Deveraux Octavian Basil with Rolling Stones frontman Sir Mick Jagger, 73, last month. 'Gym day for a baby workout!': Mick Jagger's partner Melanie Hamrick is already back in the gym, showing off her trim figure in an Instagram shot three weeks after giving birth to her baby boy with the Rolling Stones rocker Flexing her bicep, the dancer dressed in black leggings and a sweatshirt which highlighted her slim figure. With her hair pulled up ready to build up a sweat and her yoga mat laid out on the gym floor, Melanie looked ready for her work out 'Gym day for a baby workout! @abtofficial #ballerina #fitness #nike #flexistretcher postpartumbody #3weekspostpartum,' Melanie captioned the shot. Melanie also shared an Instagram shot from her NYE celebrations at the weekend, which she marked by partying at a pal's wedding. Party time: Melanie also shared an Instagram shot from her NYE celebrations at the weekend, which she marked by partying at a pal's wedding Night on the town: Melanie also enjoyed a fun girls' night out a week ago, sharing a video as she danced with her girlfriends Perched on a window seat, the beauty shows off her long legs in a pretty black mini dress. 'Happy New Year from a NYC rooftop! Honored to ring in the new year with a #petely wedding !! #beautifulcouple #happynewyear #3weekspostpartum #postpartumbody,' she wrote. Melanie has been documenting her first few weeks of motherhood on her social media, telling fans she's getting back into her health and fitness regime. Last week she shared a snap from her Cryotherapy session, with the bizarre treatment involving exposing the body to nitrogen gas at minus 100c temperatures for up to four minutes. Post-baby regime: Ballerina Melanie underwent a bizarre Cryotherapy session - just three weeks after giving birth to her baby boy The extreme cold is said to boost metabolism, aiding weight loss. Melanie can be seen giggling as she poses nude in a furturistic pod mid-treatment. 'Day one of my journey to getting the Ballet Body back! Thanks @kryolife for the Icy start! #ballerina #kryolife #balletbody #postpartumfitness #postpartumbody #fitness @abtofficial', she captioned the image. The week before, Melanie treated her followers to the very first snap of her baby son. 'I'm so love with my baby Deveraux Jagger': Thrilled Melanie shared a snap of her newborn son with Sir Mick Jagger on Instagram last week Taking to Instagram, she wrote: 'I'm so love with my baby Deveraux Jagger. Thank you @lizzyjagger for the sweet introduction.' The picture is very similar to the one first shared with Mick's daughter Elizabeth two days ago. The baby's full name is Deveraux Octavian Basil Jagger - Octavian means 'born eighth' in Latin. A photograph of the baby, Sir Mick's eighth child, appeared on an Instagram account under the name of Elizabeth Jagger, one of the Rolling Stones rocker's other children. The caption read: 'My beautiful baby brother Deveraux Octavian Basil Jagger.' Mick's daughter Elizabeth posted an almost identical first picture of the newborn boy on Instagram on Friday Basil was the first name of Sir Mick's late father, who died in 2006, although he was known to others as Joe. Sir Mick became a father again at the age of 73 on December 8, with his partner Melanie Hamrick, 29. Elizabeth, commonly referred to as Lizzy, is followed by more than 50,000 people on her social media account, although it is not verified. Sir Mick, who is a great-grandfather, has six other children as well as Lizzy and his one week-old son - Karis, Jade, James, Georgia, Gabriel and Lucas - from previous relationships. Their ages range from 17 to 46. Baby joy: Rolling Stones frontman Mick (right) has become a father again at the age of 73. He welcomed the latest addition to his brood with Melanie (left) Sir Mick and Ms Hamrick began dating after the death of fashion designer L'Wren Scott in 2014, Sir Mick's partner of 13 years. A representative for Sir Mick has been contacted. It is understood Sir Mick flew 3,500 miles from London to New York in a last-minute dash to be by Hamrick's side for the birth. A source told the Daily Mirror the legendary rocker said he 'needed to be there' for his partner. The source added: 'He made sure he was there. He wouldnt have missed it for the world.' A statement from Sir Mick's publicist said: 'Melanie Hamrick and Mick Jagger's son was born today in New York and they are both delighted.' The couple are pictured together in May 2014 A statement released on behalf of the couple said: 'Melanie Hamrick and Mick Jagger's son was born today in New York and they are both delighted. 'Mick was at the hospital for the arrival. Mother and baby are doing well and we request that the media respect their privacy at this time.' Sir Mick is understood to have given Melanie a $150,000-a-year maintenance deal to help the ballerina raise their child. He is also believed to be helping the New Yorker find a home in the US to raise the boy. Jumping for joy: Sir Mick is understood to have given Melanie a $150,000-a-year maintenance deal to help the ballerina raise their child The $150k will be paid until the child is 18, with school fees also paid for. After secondary school a trust will help cover further education and expenses, which could be as much as 500k. Even though Mick and Melanie are not planning on getting married, they plan to co-parent given his hectic work schedule. A source told MailOnline: 'Mick wanted to make sure that the deals and money aspects were in place before Christmas and the birth of their child. 'Mick is adamant that the kid will be cared for and the deal works out at 150k a year and then housing on top of that. Elegant: The singer and 29-year-old ballerina Melanie Hamrick welcomed a son, Sir Mick's eighth child, in the latest addition to his brood 'It is a very fair deal for family to make sure they have adequate care and finances, and of course Mick is keen to help raise the child. Mick insists that he will be stand by Melanie throughout the child's first 18 years. 'After that they will make sure that the child's future is provided for too whether it be a career or seeking further education. This is a very amicable deal which has been agreed between a couple, who are not married, but are devoted to doing the right thing for the child. 'Mick is excited about the shows and has found a new found love for the band again. 'They will be pushing their new blues album out too during much of 2017. He is very excited about things that are happening with the band.' Sir Mick has a daughter, Karis Hunt Jagger, 46, from his relationship with Marsha Hunt and a daughter Jade Jagger, now 45, with his ex-wife Bianca. He had four children with his ex-partner Jerry Hall - Elizabeth, 32, James, 31, Georgia, 24, and Gabriel, 18. He also had a son, Lucas, 17, following a brief relationship with Brazilian model Luciana Gimenez. Their liaison ended Sir Mick's 22-year-relationship with Hall, who is now married to media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Legends: Rolling Stones frontman Sir Mick Jagger (pictured third from the left with bandmates Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards) has become a father again at the age of 73 Sir Mick has five grandchildren and became a great-grandfather in May 2014 when Jade's daughter Assisi gave birth to a baby girl. The new addition is Sir Mick's eighth child, and his first with Ms Hamrick. Sir Mick and Ms Hamrick began dating after the suicide of fashion designer L'Wren Scott in 2014, Sir Mick's partner of 13 years. The baby news comes six months after his bandmate Ronnie Wood's wife Sally Humphreys gave birth to twin girls, just two days before Wood turned 69. In an interview given by Wood a month after the birth of his daughters, Wood revealed that Sir Mick was one of the first people to meet them. He told Hello! magazine: 'Mick popped in on the third day. He couldn't wait to see them, I put one in each arm and took a photo. They confirmed their relationship in June last year. And Michael Klim's romance with girlfriend Desiree Deravi seems to be blossoming as they mark a special event together. The couple celebrated Desiree's 37th birthday at an exclusive Melbourne rooftop eatery, sharing a loved-up photo from the occasion to Instagram on Tuesday. Scroll down for video 'Dinner for two!' Michael Klim posts another birthday tribute to girlfriend Desiree Deravi as they celebrate in Melbourne In the social media post, the couple perch together next to a a glass wall at Vue de monde, which showcases Melbourne's stunning skyscape at sunset. Michael, 39, looks fashionably dressed in a blazer and tapered pants, paired with a dark T-shirt and white shoes. His clothing designer beau looks chic in a dramatic yellow maxi dress, which she accessorises with a clutch bag. Persian princess: The Olympian appeared to take a dig at his ex-wife Lindy Klim's royal lineage in an earlier birthday tribute The dark haired beauty wears her hair back in a ponytail and finishes the look off with some oversized earrings. 'Dinner for two!' Michael captions the photo, also adding the hashtags 'birthdaygirl' 'vuedemonde' and 'melbourne.' The loved up post comes as the Olympian appeared to take a dig at his ex-wife Lindy Klim's royal lineage in an earlier birthday tribute. An item: Desiree and Michael confirmed they were in a relationship in June last year 'Happy birthday to this beautiful lady! Have a great day babe,' Michael captioned the snap. He also added the hashtags 'hbd', 'mylove', 'persianprincess' and 'birthdaygirl.' The photo shared with Michael's 29,100+ Instagram followers saw Desiree sitting on a cement washed ledge and exposing her lean legs in a pink maxi dress with a daring thigh split. Exes: Michael and Lindy announced their split in February 2016 and share three children together, two daughters Stella and Frankie, and son Rocco The fashion designer's long brunette locks were styled in loose waves over one shoulder, while her striking facial features were enhanced thanks to a flawless complexion, defined brows and a nude lip. Michael and Lindy announced their split in February 2016 and share three children together, two daughters Stella and Frankie, and son Rocco. Lindy has also found love since their split, becoming engaged to British property developer Adam Ellis. She's set to make her epic return to Neighbours, more than a decade after her character was 'killed off.' And while it remains unclear in what capacity Madeleine West will reprise her role as the 'dead' Dione 'Dee' Bliss on the long-running soap in coming weeks, the 36-year-old assured fans that it will no doubt make for great television. 'She's not a ghost, nor is she a figment of Toadie's imagination and she wasn't abducted by aliens,' she told News Corp. Back from the dead? Madeleine West is set to return to Neighbours, while reprising her role as Dione 'Dee' Bliss, years after she famously drove off a cliff on her wedding day to Toadie' (Ryan Moloney) 'Suffice to say, she has returned and the audience will be in for several big shocks.' Madeleine will return to Ramsay Street years after her widely adored character famously drove off a cliff on her wedding day to Toadie' (Ryan Moloney). In 2003, viewers watched in shock as the couple's car plunged into the ocean during a tragic accident while they were on their way to their honeymoon. Scroll down for video Madeline previously explained why she agreed to return. 'Neighbours has become like part of our Australian heritage,' she told News Corp. 'I've always found it lovely when someone from the audience approaches me and feels like they know me through Dee. 'That's when you know you've done your job in breathing life into a character that allowed people to suspend their disbelief for half an hour a day, five days a week. What could it be? The show previously teased an upcoming announcement on Instagram on Thursday Back in the day: Dee and Toadie played on-screen lovers on the long-running soap Tragedy: Their car tragically plunged off a cliff as they embarked on their honeymoon While viewers assumed Dee had died as her body was never recovered, producers never confirmed whether she actually survived or died. While the mother-of-six did not elaborate on story lines or in which capacity Dee will return, she is set to appear on the Channel Ten soap in coming weeks. During her four years as Dee on Neighbours, Madeleine was nominated for the 'Most Popular New Female Talent' Logie Award. Blast from the past: Madeleine is pictured filming alongside Daniel MacPherson, who played Joel Samuels on the show She went on to expand her career while starring on shows like Underbelly, City Homicide and Winners & Losers. Since leaving the show, Madeleine has maintained friendships with former costars Carla Bonner (Steph), Kym Valentine (Libby) and Jackie Woodburne (Susan). She has been in a relationship with restaurateur Shannon Bennett since 2005 and the couple share six children, 10-year-old Phoenix, eight-year-old Hendrix, six-year-old Xascha, four-year-old Xanthe and two-year-old twins Xalia and Margaux. She is one of Australia's hottest exports, modelling for the likes of Louis Vuitton, Dior and Marc Jacobs. And in a series of candid selfies shared to Instagram on Tuesday, it's easy to see why Ajak Deng continues to take the fashion world by storm. The 27-year-old looks stunning as she poses wearing just a towel in a series of spur of the moment mirror selfies. Scroll down for video Strike a pose! Supermodel Ajak Deng looks stunning in a series of dramatic bathroom selfies wearing only a towel In the first photo shared online, the South-Sudan born beauty stands before the mirror with one arm posed dramatically on her hip. Wearing a crisp white towel, Ajak juts one of her trim pins forward, showing off her model experience with a striking facial expression for her smartphone. She captions the snap simply with a hashtag of her own name 'ajakdeng.' Showing off her karate? The next snap sees Ajak trying out a more flamboyant stance, lifting one leg into the air before her The next snap sees Ajak trying out a more flamboyant stance, lifting one leg into the air before her. Her long lean arms are on full display as she poses them with theatrical flair on either side of her model figure. Tilting her head slightly to one side, Ajak locks eyes with her reflection in concentration. Refugee: Ajak was born in South Sudan but fled the country aged 12, her mother sadly perishing from Malaria in a Kenyan refugee camp 'I just had to do it,' she captions this photo. Ajak was born in South Sudan but fled the country aged 12, her mother sadly perishing from Malaria in a Kenyan refugee camp. The rest of the family made it to Australia in 2005 when Ajak was 15 years old. The striking beauty was discovered while still in high school and signed to FRM Model Management in 2008. Uncovered: The striking beauty was discovered while still in high school and signed to FRM Model Management in 2008 She made headlines in February last year by declaring her plans to quit modelling over her frustration with the industry. Ajak made the revelation in a post shared to Instagram, writing 'I am happy to announce that I am officially done with the fashion industry, I will be moving back to Australia in order to live the life that I fully deserved. Which is real life.' 'I can no longer deal with the fakes and the lies,' Ajak added. Nearly retired: She made international headlines in February last year by declaring her plans to quit modelling over her frustration with the industry 'My life is too short for this dramatic life.' The supermodel had previously taken to social media to vent her frustrations over racism in the industry, claiming in 2014 she was kicked out of Balmain for being black in a since-deleted tweet. Her manager Stephen Bucknall backed Ajak's frustrations, telling The Herald Sun Ausralian brands were more willing to book caucasian models. 'My life is too short for this dramatic life': The supermodel had previously taken to social media to vent her frustrations over racism in the industry 'The budgets probably arent big enough for (Deng), because shes a big money earner, but they will spend the money on a Miranda Kerr or a Jess Hart,' he said. 'Theyll book the big caucasian girls, spend the big dollars, and fly them in from LA, but Im yet to see them book a dark skinned girl in that way.' But a week later Ajak vowed to stay in the modelling game and fight for wider acceptance of darker-skinned models in the fashion industry. Jessica Marais is '100 per cent' not in a relationship with close gal pal Shannon Dooley. The Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday that a source close to the pair has denied that they are dating. The Wrong Girl star sparked rumours that she was in a relationship with Shannon after the duo were seen frolicking on a Sydney beach. Scroll down for video Denial: Jessica Marais (L) is '100 per cent' not in a relationship with close gal pal Shannon Dooley (R), according to the latest reports The source said: 'They were just being silly, having fun at the beach, that is what friends do. They are 100 per cent not dating.' On Monday, Women's Day published the original claims that the 31-year-old had ended her self-imposed 'mantox' following a very public break-up in 2015. They quoted a close friend as saying: 'Men have been public enemy number one for Jess since her split with James, and she's just enjoying having a bit of fun at the moment.' Just friends: The Wrong Girl star sparked rumours that she was in a relationship with Shannon after the duo were seen frolicking at a Sydney beach Wrong Girl: The Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday that a source close to the pair has denied that they are dating Moving on: On Monday, Women's Day published the original claims that the 31-year-old had ended her self-imposed 'mantox' following a very public break-up in 2015 'Jess and Shannon have been mates for years and have been a great support to one another. They've both been having a tough time of late and it's nice they can lean on each other.' The actress split from fiance James Stewart after a five-year engagement, during which time they welcomed a daughter, Scout, into the world. But rumours have been flying that she was finally ready to date again with Shannon, who she attended the prestigious Australian drama school NIDA with. Heartbreak: The actress split from fiance James Stewart in March 2015 after a five-year engagement, during which time they welcomed a daughter, Scout, into the world Rumoured romance: But rumours have been flying that she was finally ready to date again with Shannon (pictured), who she attended the prestigious Australian drama school NIDA with Jessica's close friend, who runs 1980's inspired workout school Retrosweat, has also been sharing intimate snaps of the duo on her social media over the past few weeks, including a photo of the South African-born actress sunbathing in a G-string bikini. 'Stop. It. #therightgirl,' gasped Shannon in the caption. In September, mother-of-one Jessica spoke to Women's Health about embarking upon a self-enforced 'mantox' rather than rushing to find a new man. 'There have been times in my life when I've felt the need to work on my own personal growth without depending on affirmation from a man or from an external source, where you say, "You know, I need to sort myself out on my own,"' she said. They enjoyed a very brief romance last year. But there's clearly still tension between ex Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison and her former flame, Made in Chelsea's Spencer Matthews. London lothario Spencer is a guest on Tuesday night's episode of the E4 panel show Virtually Famous, joining his ex Vicky's team where talk soon takes an awkward turn when the pair are questioned about their failed romance. Exes: They enjoyed a very brief romance last year, but there's still tension between ex Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison and her former flame, Made in Chelsea's Spencer Matthews In a sneak peek of the new episode, host Chris Ramsey picks up on the tension on Vicky's team. Spencer - who was first linked to Vicky in December 2015 after they appeared on I'm A Celeb together, was quick to tell Chris off for making the situation worse. 'Not feeling awkward here is it?' Chris asked the exes. 'No mate why would it be? Are you trying to make it awkward?' replied Spencer. Reunited: London lothario Spencer is a guest on Tuesday night's episode of the E4 panel show Virtually Famous, joining his ex Vicky's team where talk soon took an awkward turn Spencer didn't help the tension when he was asked about the pair's history, to which he replied, while looking at Vicky: 'Eh were we ever a proper couple?' Vicky looked shocked as she told him: 'just be careful how you answer that!' 'We were dating but it never kind of developed into anything serious,' Spencer tried to explain, but Vicky jumped in, asking him: 'Why didn't it Spencer?' Get me out of here! In a sneak peek of the new episode, host Chris Ramsey picks up on the tension on Vicky's team 'I have trouble recalling, I have very little recollection of it,' insisted Spencer. Later talk turned to Spencer's New Years resolutions with the Chelsea boy telling the show: 'I don't really believe in it, and also I kind of like my life' 'You could make some positive changes Spence,' Vicky was quick to inform her ex, telling him his resolution should be 'to be better to girls.' Ouch! Spencer didn't help the tension when he was asked about the pair's history, to which he replied, while looking at Vicky: 'Eh were we ever a proper couple?' Vicky looked shocked as she told him: 'just be careful how you answer that!' 'What do you mean? Did I ever do anything horrible to you?' an incredulous Spencer asked her. 'I stopped you before you did. I didn't give it a chance because I knew which way it would go. You would have definitely cheated on me!' Vicky insisted. 'You can't say that, with that theory I'll never have true love,' Spencer told her only to get a harsh response in return, with Vicky telling him: 'Oh f**k off.' Under fire: 'We were dating but it never kind of developed into anything serious,' Spencer tried to explain, but Vicky jumped in, asking him: 'Why didn't it Spencer?' Dumped: 'I didn't give it a chance because I knew which way it would go. You would have definitely cheated on me!' Vicky insisted of their brief fling Speaking to Loose Women last year, Vicky explained that Spencer simply wasn't for her, telling her TV pals: 'Spencer is a lovely lad and hes told the truth. We werent official, we tried to see if there was something romantic there.' 'After Monaco, I was honest and I told him that I liked him but I liked myself more. I dont just want to be the girl that Spencer Matthews cheat on.' Vicky claims her former flame told her I dont intend to cheat on you darling' but she took issue with his use of the word intend. The television star concluded: 'Hes a lovely lad but unfortunately just not for me.' Virtually Famous airs on E4 at 10pm on Tuesday. One Shippensburg University professor is looking to make an impact in international human rights issues with the help of some of his students. Part of that involves nominating a group for the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. Maiti Nepal is an organization that fights human trafficking, and Steven Burg and his fall semester honors students are looking to send the nomination to the Norwegian Nobel Committee. As a full-time history professor at a university, Burg is qualified under Nobel Foundation criteria to make a nomination, according to a December news release from the college. He and his students chose Maiti after a culmination of weeks of research by students in his honors class. Founded in 1993 and based in Kathmandu, Maiti Nepal has helped save 30,000 girls and women and achieve the convictions of 1,200 traffickers, the release stated. The group also provides education, housing, medical treatment and other services to help the people they rescue to rebuild their lives. Q. Why are you nominating Maiti Nepal to the Norwegian Nobel Committee on behalf of your students? A. Last year, one of my former students, Codey Fickes, came back to campus after attending the PASSHE Honors Study Abroad program in Norway. He was excited by a class he took that had focused on the Nobel Peace Prize, and wondered if such a course could be developed at Shippensburg University. He also noted that as a history professor, I had the power to nominate candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize. That was the inspiration for the course I taught this fall at Shippensburg University, titled Honors 397: Leadership, History, and Social Change. As part of the class, I had my students do a project called Behind the News where they were required to identify individuals or groups around the world that they felt were doing work that would be worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. Students also did presentations on a variety of recent Nobel Peace Prize winners in order to see the types of groups and individuals that had been recognized by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. The student research and evaluation of possible candidates led me to nominate Maiti Nepal. Q. What role are the students playing in this? A. The students identified a dozen individuals and organizations that they felt were worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize, and then they made a pitch to the class arguing why each group was most deserving to be nominated by our class. We did several rounds of voting until we had three finalists: Dr. Denis Mukwege, Syrias Civil Defense Forces (also known as the White Helmets), and Maiti Nepal. Teams of students each then prepared a formal nomination letter for us to submit to the Norwegian Nobel Committee. The students then took a day when they went around campus and invited students, faculty, and staff to vote on the finalists. We also had online voting. All told, we had around 400 people vote on our nominations. On our last day of class, the students carefully evaluated each of the nominations, and then decided unanimously to nominate Maiti Nepal. Maiti Nepal was originally nominated by my student Nastassia Foose, she made a very persuasive pitch for the group, and she and her team wrote a strong and compelling nomination letter. We nominated Maiti Nepal for several reasons. First, there were several students in the class who were very interested in the issue of human trafficking. They were impressed by the scope and impact of Maiti Nepals work, particularly that they had rescued over 30,000 women and girls, convicted over 1,200 human traffickers, and assisted with over 13,000 missing person cases. In many cases, the staff of Maiti Nepal has physically entered buildings and brothels where women and girls were being confined against their wills and helped to liberate them. Second, the students felt that because Maiti Nepal had never been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize that our classs nomination could help bring greater attention and visibility to the groups work (both Dr. Denis Mukwege and the White Helmets had been nominated in the past). We felt that even if Maiti Nepal did not win, our nomination could still have a positive impact on the group and its work. Q. What do you hope they will learn from this action? A. Several things. First, I wanted my students to gain a greater understanding of the complex issues facing our world today and the ways that people around the globe are taking the initiative to make the world a better place through action. Second, I wanted to demystify leadership and the process of change for my students. I wanted them to see that there are people and groups around the worldpeople just like themthat are doing amazing work to address the challenges facing our world. And third, I wanted them see themselves as people who could make a difference in the world, both as future leaders,and by working together to nominate a worthy group or individual for the Nobel Peace Prize. They all signed the letter we submitted to the Nobel Norwegian Committee, and for the rest of their lives, they will be able to say they nominated Maiti Nepal for the Nobel Prize. Q. What is your experience with the Maiti Nepal and what do they do? A. Before this class, I had never heard of the group or their work. That is one of the amazing things about this class. It was one my students, Nastassia Foose, who discovered this group and shared their work with the class. It was the members of the class who then studied the group and made a compelling case for the value of their work. I shared our nomination with Maiti Nepal, and we received a very nice message back from the groups director in Nepal (they even thanked us on their Facebook page). It is very exciting to know that Shippensburg University students are making a global impact. Q. Is this the first time youve ever done something like this? A. Yes! Many guests have failed to take the bait during his 15-year tenure on This Morning, but Phillip Schofield had no such problem during a recent trip to South Africa. Accompanied by wife Stephanie Lowe, the veteran presenter, 54, was confronted by a fearsome Great White after venturing into shark infested waters off the coast of Western Cape fishing town Gansbaai. Schofield was fulfilling one of his Bucket List ambitions by going shark diving in a pre-recorded This Morning dispatch from South Africa, aired on Tuesday afternoon. Scroll down for video Terrifying: Many guests have failed to take the bait during his 15-year tenure on This Morning, but Philip Schofield had no such problem during a recent trip to South Africa Enclosed in a metal cage, the presenter was visibly shaken after one of the blood thirsty beasts lunged at him. Oh God it jumped at me! he yelled, before adding that his close encounter had been an 'amazing experience.' 'This is the right kind of zoo - animals on the outside, humans in the cages,' he said. 'I'm just so pumped with adrenaline, but not fear, just adventure and excitement. Fearsome: The veteran presenter was confronted by a fearsome Great White after venturing into shark infested waters off the coast of Western Cape fishing town Gansbaa Steady on: Enclosed in a metal cage, the presenter was visibly shaken after one of the blood thirsty beasts lunged at him Reflecting on the trip, he later admitted that his trip to South Africa had corroborated his belief that man-eating sharks are vastly different to their portrayal on-screen. My encounter with Great Whites has reinforced my view that they are nothing like the monster in Jaws, except for one similarity they know how to leave their audience wanting more,' he said. Oh God it jumped at me! he yelled, before adding that his close encounter had been an 'amazing experience' Ticked off: Schofield was fulfilling one of his Bucket List ambitions by going shark diving in a pre-recorded This Morning dispatch from South Africa His appearance came after Disgruntled viewers of the show urged Holly Willoughby to return to the show after being left unimpressed by her replacement. Davina McCall stepped in for Holly on the first show of 2017 alongside co-host Phillip. Holly, 35, is currently enjoying a beach holiday ion Barbados with her husband Dan and three children. This Morning viewers are less than impressed with Davina McCall's hosting skills as she temporarily replaces Holly Willoughby In her absence fellow television presenter Davina McCall, 40, will take her place on the daytime show until Friday. However, while some welcomed Davina's appearance on the show, several viewers have been left unimpressed by her hosting skills today, describing her as 'too keen'. Davina even 'warned' her co-host to-be Phillip in a tweet which read: 'Covering for my @hollywills for three days with @Schofe (brace yourself!) trains up the swanny.... not a good start to my first day!!!' Davina joined co-host Phillip Schofield on the first show back of 2017 but fans of Holly took to Twitter calling for her return Many viewers tweeted their dismay over Holly's absence as the host is currently enjoying a holiday in Barbados Many viewers appeared to agree that the warning was necessary with many agreeing that she was too loud on air. Others speculated as to whether the host was a little too enthused for the morning show. Fans of Holly tweeted their disappointment at her replacement and called for her to return to the show as soon as possible. Several viewers even went as far as to switch off the their sets upon discovering that it would be Davina hosting the show. Holly is set to make her return to the ITV breakfast show on Monday 9 January after Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford host Friday's installment. Holly and husband Dan Baldwin have spent their New Year in the Caribbean with their children Belle, Chester and Harry. Though Holly is taking her annual break from duties on ITV's This Morning, she was never far from the celebrities. She has been enjoying a romantic break with boyfriend Jamie Laing in Dubai this past week. And Frankie Gaff seemed keen to show off her sunbathing efforts as she stripped down to a colourful bikini in a series of racy Instagram snaps on Tuesday. The 22-year-old Made In Chelsea star paraded her peachy posterior in a cheeky belfie, before displaying her tan lines as she flipped onto her front. Scroll down for video Cheeky! Made In Chelsea's Frankie Gaff, 22, paraded her peachy posterior in a cheeky belfie posted to Instagram on Tuesday Posing on an unmade bed, the reality star threw her head back and smiled, with her tousled blonde hair cascading past her shoulders. She captioned the snap: 'When you come back to the hotel room to air con and peanut butter M&Ms ... happy happy #dubai #bikini'. In another shot, she lay on her back wearing shades and showing off her taut stomach as she stretched out on the white sheets. Poking fun at herself, she wrote: 'I mean who wears sunglasses inside #lol #notme #dubai'. Saucy: The Made In Chelsea star later displayed her tan lines as she flipped onto her front Ready for her close up: She rocked shades as she soaked up the sun in Dubai The blonde beauty has been enjoying a romantic getaway with beau Jamie since Friday, showing that their relationship is back on track. Their break comes just days after Jamie admitted that dating Frankie on Made In Chelsea is the 'hardest thing' he has ever done. The 28-year-old told Digital Spy: 'Being on a show and having your relationship on it is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. 'I've never really had a proper relationship on the show so yeah, it was pretty testing at times. But I'm hoping we can be okay for the future, for sure.' Going strong: The 22-year-old reality star then cosied up to boyfriend Jamie Laing, 28, in a loved-up selfie, which she captioned: 'Jeeeebers it's been a year ... going into 2017 with J xxx' Looking at 2016 from a rear view: MIC's Frankie Gaff left the past turbulent year 'behind' as she posted a semi-clad snap from Dubai Pucker up: She showcased her plump pout with a rosy lipstick in one sexy snap The couple haven't exactly been the most idyllic of pairings throughout their year-long dalliance and their fractious relationship played out over the course of the 12th season, with Frankie begging Jamie to let her have a wardrobe in his house. While, Jamie told everyone but her that it felt like 'work' being with her. The McVities heir gave in to Frankie's demands in last week's episode, by providing her with her much-desired wardrobe for Christmas. So happy: Frankie shared a snap after taking a room at her favourite hotel in Dubai Splish Splash: Frankie was snapped having a whale of a time while taking a soak in the bath tub She's one of TOWIE's most glamorous stars. And Amber Dowding, 22, showed off an array of stunning looks on Instagram from her holiday in Dubai. The Essex native posed for a busty bikini selfie in a duplicated image, with her halter-neck top decorated with an emerald green jewel. Scroll down for video Sunkissed: Amber Dowding, 22, showed off an array of stunning looks on Instagram from her holiday in Dubai She covered her eyes with a pair of huge oversized aviators and decorated her plump pout with a pink shade. The hairdresser-come-reality star looked in fantastic shape, her svelte figure enviably bronzed. In another picture, she took control of a luxury yacht, posing behind the wheel in a striking black and yellow halter-neck onepiece. Aye aye, captain: In another picture she took control of a luxury yacht, posing behind the wheel in a striking black and yellow halter-neck onepiece Perched on the edge of a cream leather seat, she gazed into the horizon from the high vantage point. She then swapped the vessel for a Yamaha jet-ski, flashing a peace sign at the camera before taking a gal pal for a spin. Amber joined Kate Wright and a host of other friends back onboard the yacht for a smiley group shot; the high-rise buildings providing a stunning backdrop. Thrillseeker: She then swapped the vessel for a Yamaha jet-ski, flashing a peace sign at the camera before taking a gal pal for a spin Amber joined the TOWIE cast back in July, saying at the time: 'I'm very much a girls' girl with my friends. 'I'll always have their backs. I don't hold back though and I say what I think.' Best friends with Lydia Bright, Amber already knew most of the well-known cast before joining the show, having met them on the Essex social scene. Kanye West brought his entire family to visit the grave of his beloved mother Donda. The 39-year-old rapper was spotted arriving back in Los Angeles with wife Kim Kardashian and their two children on Monday night. No doubt it was an emotional New Year's trip for the family as they returned from Oklahoma City. Paying respects: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were spotted arriving back in Los Angeles on Monday night after visiting his mother's grave in Oklahoma City Muse: The 38-year-old brought the entire family for a pilgrimage to his mother Donda West's grave site for the first time according to a Tuesday report from TMZ, they are pictured together in June 2007 It was also the first time Kanye had taken 36-year-old wife Kim along with North and Saint to visit the site according to a Tuesday report from TMZ. They are also said to have spent time meeting up with other members of the West Family. Kanye has endured tough times in recent months coming off the heels of his wife's armed robbery in Paris and a breakdown and sources for the gossip site claim that the family trip was very important to him. Mother dear: The 36-year-old reality star carried one-year-old son Saint Bonding time: Kim looked happy to be on the family outing Casual customer: She sported a black blouse with black and red Adidas track pants Cutie: North sported a grey sweater and a pair of his dad's Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 trainers in the turtle dove colourway Stepping out: Kim carried the youngster as she made her way off of the private jet Helping hand: Kanye was joined by three-year-old daughter North West Leading the way: The rapper held on to his eldest child's hand Keeping it cool: Kanye wore a black hoodie with burgundy trousers Still the Louis Vuitton Don: He also carried down their luggage Kim arrived back in Southern California dressed comfortably in a black blouse tucked into black and red Adidas track pants. The reality star carried one-year-old son Saint West as they exited the private jet. Kanye wore a plain black hoodie and burgundy coloured trousers as he held onto the hand of three-year-old daughter North West. The Famous rapper was very close to his mother, Donda, who died on November 10, 2007 after a cosmetic procedure. Keeping it natural: Kim wore her raven-coloured locks down and sported minimal make-up on her face Still bodacious: Her curvy figure was also on display These boots were made for: Kim also strutted her stuff in a pair of black suede booties As she was born in Oklahoma City, that is ultimately where she was laid to rest. As Kanye suffered a mental breakdown back in November, the anniversary of his mother's death was said to be a contributing factor as it has always been a hard time for him. In early October, his wife Kim was robbed inside her room at No Address Hotel. The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star was robbed of over $8.5 million worth of jewelry by gunpoint; she was gagged, handcuffed and held at gunpoint. He's the star of one of TV's most talked about series of 2016. But amid the flurry of acting offers he's been getting since the hype of the BBC drama, Tom Hiddleston was sure to take some downtime to himself on Monday as he took a solitary bank holiday stroll around London. The toned actor wrapped up in a charcoal hoodie and skinny jeans, but added a smart black coat and slick grey shoes to the look, merging casual and formal into one ensemble. Scroll down for video Out for a walk: Tom Hiddleston wraps up for a solitary stroll around London amid rumours he will star in Sherlock season 4... as The Night Manager tops poll for Best Television Show of 2016 The hunky blonde swept his hair back and sported some stylish stubble as he sauntered along the pavement, wearing some steel rimmed glasses. Fans of the TV series Sherlock - which premiered a new episode on New Year's Day - have convinced themselves that Tom, 35, will be making an appearance in the show's fourth season, following a photo that appeared online last year of the star at Comic Con with members of the Sherlock team. In the snap, Mark Gatiss, who plays Mycroft, and Amanda Abbington, who plays Mary, were seen posing with the actor at the event in San Diego. Mark captioned the photo 'blud' which was interpreted as meaning 'blood' or 'family'. Smart-casual: The toned actor wrapped up in a charcoal hoodie and skinny jeans, but added a smart black coat and slick grey shoes to the look, merging casual and formal into one ensemble It set viewers pulses racing with the sight of Tom Hiddlestons behind (pictured) and it seems critics were impressed too Speculation continues to swirl around Tom's potential role in the James Bond franchise and a possible second season of The Night Manager. Tom will also star in Kong: Skull Island, set for release this year and re-telling the infamous story of King Kong. Meanwhile, the BBCs lavish thriller The Night Manager has been named by the Radio Times magazine as the best television programme of 2016. Broadcast on BBC One in the Spring, the six-part series based on the spy novel by John Le Carre saw Hollywood heartthrob Tom Hiddleston pitted against cantankerous baddie Hugh Laurie. The BBCs lavish thriller The Night Manager has been named by the Radio Times magazine as the best television programme of 2016 Broadcast on BBC One in the Spring, the six-part series based on the spy novel by John Le Carre saw Hollywood heartthrob Tom Hiddleston pitted against baddie Hugh Laurie The annual poll of Radio Times critics also revealed an impressive year for home-grown programmes, with British dramas dominating the top ten. Following its success in the Christmas Day ratings war, the BBC triumphed in the list with eight of the top ten programmes on the channel. The third series of Jed Mercurios police corruption thriller Line of Duty on the BBC came in second place, earning it a fourth series coming out next year. While in third place was Sally Wainwrights dark police thriller Happy Valley also on the BBC, starring Sarah Lancashire and James Norton. Radio Times Deputy TV Editor described winner The Night Manager with its star-studded cast including Olivia Coleman and Tom Hollander - as the years silkiest, sexiest thriller which set the yardstick for le Carre adaptations. A surprise omission perhaps though was the second series of Poldark, which came fourth with its first series last year on BBC One. The winner in 2015 was the adaptation of Hilary Mantels award-winning novel Wolf Hall. While in third place was Sally Wainwrights dark police thriller Happy Valley also on the BBC, starring Sarah Lancashire (pictured) and James Norton Coming in fourth place this year was Fleabag, the only comedy on the list. The six-part series written by and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge began on BBC Three before later being broadcast on BBC Two. In fifth place was the BBCs lavish adaptation of War and Peace by Andrew Davies, also starring James Norton. RADIO TIMES CRITICS' TOP TEN OF 2016 1 The Night Manager 2 Line of Duty 3 Happy Valley 4 Fleabag 5 War & Peace 6 The Missing 7 The Crown 8 Planet Earth II 9 National Treasure 10 The Great British Bake Off Advertisement But it was a good year too for online TV site Netflix, which broke into the top ten with The Crown in seventh place. Costing a reported 100million, the British period drama follows the early years of her reign though to the present day. Channel Four was also in the top ten with National Treasure, which followed, coming in at number nine on the list. In TV dramas first direct response to Operation Yewtree, Robbie Coltrane played a beloved TV comedian accused of serial rape. Sir David Attenboroughs epic six-part natural history series Plant Earth II took eighth place, whilst the last series of the BBCs version of The Great British Bake Off, whose final was the most watched programme of the year, completed the Top 10. Tim Glanfield, Editor of RadioTimes.com, said: 2016 has been a fantastic year for television, from primetime home-grown dramas that have gripped the nation to classic series of Strictly and Bake Off that have shown that live linear TV still has the power to draw big audiences and create water-cooler moments. Well look back on this decade as a golden age of TV - and drama in particular - as the arrival of pretenders like Netflix and Amazon has fired up the traditional channels to raise their game. She's been an outspoken advocate against body shamers. And now, Lena Dunham, 30, is practicing what she preaches by posing for an unretouched photo of herself and the rest of the cast of Girls on the cover of Glamour magazine. 'Well, today this body is on the cover of a magazine that millions of women will read, without photoshop, my thigh on full imperfect display,' she wrote on Instagram, along with a photo of herself from inside the magazine. The Girls: Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Zosia Mamet and Jemima Kirke grace the cover of Glamour magazine's February 'women' issue The actress goes into a bit of history on how she was treated in her teen years and how she has finally come to terms with her body, but not the culture that made her feel that way. 'When my career started, some people celebrated my look but always through the lens of "isn't she brave? Isn't it such a bold move to show THAT body on TV?"' She continued: 'Then there were the legions of trolls who made high school teasing look like a damned joke with the violent threats they heaped on, the sickening insults that made me ache for teen girls like me who might be reading my comments.' The 30-year-old writer and director has a message for the haters as the new year starts: 'Haters are gonna have to get more intellectual and creative with their disses in 2017 because none of us are going to be scared into muumuus by faceless basement dwellers, or cruel blogs, or even our partners and friends.' 'Thank you to @glamourmag for letting my cellulite do the damn thing on news stands everywhere,' the actress said in her impassioned message to body shamers on Instagram She ends her impassioned post by thanking Glamour magazine for 'letting my cellulite do the damn thing on news stands everywhere.' The talented showrunner also posted a video to her Instagram stories, acknowledging and thanking the magazine for embracing her body and letting her 'cellulite shine on da new cover.' Inside the magazine, in an exit interview with the cast of the hit show, Lena, who plays protagonist Hannah Horvath in the show, admits her close friend and co-star, 31-year-old Jemima Kirke (Jessa Johansson), dropped a bombshell in the early days of the show. Proud: The 30-year-old has been an outspoken advocate for positive body image and regularly appears naked on her hit show 'I think it's time for us to disclose to the world that, like, three days before season two, Jemima tried to quit,' the Girls creator and star revealed. She continued: 'I remember being in a cab. And Jemima called me. She was like, 'I have to tell you something. It's not a big deal. I don't want you to freak out. I want to quit the show.'' The cast, who was interviewed for the magazine by Girls executive producer Jenni Konner, can laugh about it now, but admits the second season was a trying experience. Final thoughts: Lena, Allison, Jemima and Zosia open up about their time filming six seasons of Girls during an interview with Glamour magazine 'Season two was kind of traumatic for me. I think for everyone. And I know that I was a bit of a tyrant myself,' Jemima said during the interview. 'My sense of who I was and what I wanted was really thin. I really wasn't sure what the f*ck I was doing.' The women reveal it wasn't always a smooth ride, but overall, say they will always value their six seasons together. 'My last day, which was also Jemima's last day, hit so hard: the tidal wave of true sadness' admitted Zosia Mamet, 28, who plays Shoshanna. 'Season two was kind of traumatic for me. I think for everyone,' Jemima admits she wanted to leave the show before the season even started When asked if they would do it all again, the response was a resounding 'yes.' 'I would 100 percent come back, because - one, I'm spoiled by the script,' says Allison Williams, 28, who also admits she's scared she won't find anything out there that compares to her experience on the show. 'I will always trust your judgment as a show-running operation.' 'My last day, which was also Jemima's last day, hit so hard,' Zosia admits she had a hard time saying goodbye to the hit show Fond memories: Allison Williams, who plays Marnie, admits she's scared she won't find anything out there that compares to her experience on the show Jemima revealed she would come back to get it right, comparing the experience to college: 'That's like it someone asked me, 'would you go back to college?' Of course I would. 'Cause I would finally do it right.' According to Lena, what made the experience special was the collaboration between the four women. 'I think the most satisfying part was learning to treasure collaboration,' she began. 'When I went into the job, I had fear about letting other people into my process.' Lifetime bond: Lena reveals the best part of the show was the collaboration between the four women The New York native admits she had to learn to hear the voices of the other women she was working with: '[B]uilding my relationships with Allison and Zosia, and learning to listen when they had a note and not become defensive.' She continued: 'But all of that helped me learn the satisfying thing of opening up and understanding that other people's concepts of their characters, their ideas, are just as valuable.' When asked what she would change about her experience in the last six years, Lena says she would have enjoyed it more. 'Making my deal with HBO as a 23-year-old women, I felt that I had so much to prove,' she admitted. 'I felt like I had to be the person who answered emails the fastest, stayed up the latest, worked the hardest.' She continued: 'As much as I loved my job, I really, like, injured myself in some ways... I don't think it would have changed the outcome of the show.' She says she had a huge case of 'impostor syndrome' and if she would do anything differently, 'would have worked with a sense of joy and excitement, rather than guilt and anxiety of being 'found out.'' They confirmed their romance at the end of 2016. And Professor Green and Fae Williams looked stronger than ever as they put on a very cosy display whilst strolling through a park in London together on Tuesday. Clad in matching Huggle jumpers, the couple put on an united front as they walked the 33-year-old rapper's pet pooches in the sunshine. Scroll down for video Cute couple: Professor Green and Fae Williams looked stronger than ever as they put on a very cosy display whilst strolling through a park in London together on Tuesday Fae teamed her grey sweatshirt with black skinny jeans that showed off her shapely pins, and donned a pair of oversized shades. It was a far more conservative look than the one she had boasted on New Year's Eve, as she had posted a topless snap of herself with just thin black bars protecting her modesty. Clearly a fan of the image, Professor Green - real name Stephen Manderson - had posted the same shot, which he captioned: '2016, I have one word for you, bye!' Two of a kind: Clad in matching Huggle jumpers, the couple put on an united front as they walked the 33-year-old rapper's pet pooches in the sunshine Leggy lady! Fae teamed her grey sweatshirt with black skinny jeans that showed off her shapely pins, and donned a pair of oversized shades Furry nice: The blonde model also donned a shaggy navy coat and donned oversized shades Perfectly paired: The couple seemed in great spirits as they cosied up together in the park Fae and Pro Green are believed to have started dating in November, which came after released a new track which fans believed contained some thinly-veiled jibes at ex-wife Millie Mackintosh. Reports soon followed that he had well and truly moved on from their short-lived union and was allegedly dating model Fae. According to The Sun, the recently-divorced rapper had been 'practically inseparable' from his rumoured new love and believes their romance is the 'real deal'. Chest a glimpse! t was a far more conservative look than the one she had boasted on New Year's Eve, as she had posted a topless snap of herself with just bars protecting her modesty A source told the site: 'She was absolutely smitten and theyve been practically inseparable ever since.' 'Hes even been fobbing his mates off for her and for Pro that means its the real deal. 'Hes been on loads of casual dates with various girls since splitting with Millie but this is serious. Hes really into Fae and doesnt want to mess it up.' Advertisement They share a strong father-daughter bond. And Paul and Stella McCartney illustrated their sweet relationship as they enjoyed a trip to the sun-kissed beach during their family break to the French Caribbean island of Saint-Barthelemy on Tuesday. The 45-year-old fashion designer enjoyed a dip in the shores before her beloved Beatles star father, 74, tended to her on the shore by drying her off with a towel before giving her a tender hug. Scroll down for video Hold me close: Paul and Stella McCartney illustrated their sweet bond as they enjoyed a trip to the sun-kissed beach during a family break to the French Caribbean island of Saint-Barthelemy on Tuesday The McCartney clan enjoying the festive break comprised of Stella's stepmother Nancy Shevell alongside Stella's husband Alasdhair with their sons Miller, 11, and Beckett, eight and elder daughter Bailey, and youngest daughter Reiley, six. Stella, whose mother is late photographer and activist Linda McCartney, looked nothing short of sensational on the beach as she slipped into a simple black swimsuit, which flaunted her ageless physique to perfection. Proving good genes run in the family, her septuagenarian father sported simple navy shorts which also made the most of his time-defying body. After Stella's dip in the blissful waters, she headed back onto the shore where her father awaited with a towel extended, ready to wrap her up and ensure she dried off before continuing to lap up the sun. Daddy dearest: The 45-year-old fashion designer enjoyed a dip in the shores before her beloved Beatles star father, 74, tended to her on the shore by drying her off before giving her a tender hug Always here! Stella was at no risk of catching a chill as Paul was on hand to warm her up The whole crew: Paul's stunning wife Nancy Shevell looked on and laughed while Paul planted a kiss on his daughter's cheek Hold on: Proving good genes run in the family, her septuagenarian father sported simple navy shorts which also made the most of his time-defying body Having a laugh: The dad and daughter gave an insight into their bond as they played around A strong bond: Paul held on to his beloved daughter following her dip in the idyllic waters on the island Nancy, who married the music icon five years ago, was not far from the fun as she grabbed a moment to cuddle up to Paul as she too wowed in a scanty swimming costume. The 57-year-old beauty slipped into a stunning animal print one-piece in a monochrome scheme yet added a splash of colour with the neon straps on the number. She wore her raven tresses in loose beach waves before fully immersing herself in the ocean and letting the long locks soak up the salt water. Masking her make-up free face was a pair of over-sized sunglasses which only added to the superstar feel of her beach babe look. Stepmummy: Nancy, who married the music icon five years ago, was not far from the fun as she grabbed a moment to cuddle up to Paul as she too wowed in a scanty swimming costume Buff beach bodies: Both Nancy and Paul exposed their impressive physiques while parading along the shores Full on grandfather duty: Paul left no stone unturned as he held out a towel once again Three's company! Despite having a friend close by, the couple were not shy of packing on the PDA Deep sea divers! Stella took to the water alongside her husband Alasdhair (centre) among other pals Paul proved himself to be an extremely hands on grandfather as he larked around on the shores with his grandkids - chasing them around. Stella's son Miller was feeling particularly mischievous as he played. Despite finding worldwide fame and the patriarch's status as a world famous icon - it seems the McCartney clan have not forgotten their roots as little Miller was spotted wearing Liverpool F.C. shorts. Flying the flag for his grandfather's native city with his choice of swimwear, the superstar offspring ran around the shore while his sister Bailey clutched on to her mum. Larking around: The group were feeling particularly playful as they made the beach their own Feeling playful: Paul proved himself to be an extremely hands on grandfather as he larked around on the shores with his grandkids - chasing them around Granddaddy dearest! Stella joined Paul and Nancy in chatting away to little Miller who was providing light entertainment for the family Mummy daughter time: Stella later peeled a boxy white jacket over her plunging black bikini as she walked along the beach with her 10-year-old daughter Bailey, who was clad in a white sundress The whole gang: Paul certainly took centre stage as he chatted to the group Up, up and away! Alasdhair was putting on an animated display for the group Stella and Paul have always been candid about their closeness and last year t he mother-of-four spoke about the 'great relationship' her children have with their 'GrandDude' Sir Paul. 'I love seeing them with Grandpa, or GrandDude, as they call him, they're really proud of him and they get excited by it (Sir Paul McCartney's music). They have a great relationship with him,' she said. She also spoke fondly about her mother Linda who died when she was only 26 and about how her mother's honesty and quirky style influenced her career in fashion. A gaggle of pals: Paul was joined by friends as they lapped up the sun on the beach Offshore guidance: Paul bellowed into the sea while talking to one of his party - seemingly giving an impromptu swimming lesson Come on over! Stella and Paul have always been candid about their closeness and last year t he mother-of-four spoke about the 'great relationship' her children have with their 'GrandDude' Sir Paul In and out of playing: 'I love seeing them with Grandpa, or GrandDude, as they call him, they're really proud of him and they get excited by it (Sir Paul McCartney's music). They have a great relationship with him,' she said A serious moment: Paul seemed to come over serious as he chatted to his beautiful wife in front of his offspring 'I really admired the honesty in the way she wore clothes, she didn't give a toss what people thought,' she said in the interview with Porter magazine. 'She had a quirky style. She was rock 'n' roll. When everyone else was doing punk she was doing grunge. And she wore a lot of vintage stuff, a lot of 1940s tea dresses. 'That's why when I went to Chloe (where she was made creative director in 1997) I did a lot of that kind of dress. I was very much attracted to her confidence in a really gentle vulnerable way, like she wasn't trying to be anyone she wasn't. ' Always chatting away: Paul was in serious holiday mode as he chewed the fat with his pals A kid at heart! Paul could not resist some serious playtime as he ran across the shore He's the boss! Paul appeared to exert his patriarch power as he spoke to the group Let's play chase! Paul was playing chase with little Miller as they dashed around the shores She's a mother of two, with one of the best figures on the planet. And Doutzen Kroes was sure to put her fabulous physique at centre stage on Tuesday. The 31-year-old model strutted her stuff on Miami Beach, in a skimpy black triangle string bikini. Scroll down for video Abs fab: Doutzen Kroes was sure to put her fabulous physique at centre stage on Tuesday The mother-of-two kept a watchful eye on her son Phyllon - who turns six later this month. The blonde beauty wore her blonde tresses in an effortlessly chic loose bun. Dark Smoke x Mirror glasses covered her eyes, and she added gold bracelets to accessorize and went make-up free to work on her tan. Stunning: The 31-year-old model strutted her stuff on Miami Beach, in a skimpy black triangle string bikini She spent the day soaking up the rays, after seeing in the New Year in Miami with her husband Sunnery James and their daughter Myllena Mae Gorre. They were joined by her model pal Joan Smalls. Both ladies uploaded snaps together to their Instagram, giving a shout-out to the sponsor apparently paid for the trip. Vacation vibe: Dark glasses covered her eyes, and she added gold bracelets to accessories and went make-up free to work on her tan Beach style: The blonde beauty wore her blonde tresses in an effortlessly chic loose bun Multi-tasker: The mother-of-two kept a watchful eye on her son Phyllon - who turns six later this month Mom-of-two: The supermodel gave birth to the couple's first child, son Phyllon, on January 21, 2011 Earned a rest: Doutzen has been modelling since her late teens, having landed gigs with Victoria's Secret in the early part of her career 'Sunday Funday @WSouthBeach @whotels #wsobefaves,' Smalls wrote, while Kroes added: 'Amazing first day of the New Year'. Doutzen has been married to her DJ husband Sunnery since November 2010. The supermodel gave birth to the couple's first child, son Phyllon, on January 21, 2011. Three years later they welcomed daughter Myllena. Doutzen has been modelling since her late teens, having landed gigs with Victoria's Secret in the early part of her career. She officially became an Angel for the brand in the summer of 2008. In 2014, she ended her time with the brand and in 2016, became the face of Dutch lingerie company, Hunkemoller, with which she has her own line, Doutzen's Stories. Thanks! Both ladies uploaded snaps to Instagram, giving a shout-out to the sponsor apparently paid for the trip She rang in the New Year with a sun-soaked break to Mexico. But Naomi Watts seemed in good spirits as she landed back in chilly and rainy New York City on Tuesday. Undeterred by the gristly weather, the 48-year-old actress flashed a smile as she strolled through the city in her winter warmers. Scroll down for video Back in the game: She rang in the New Year with a sun-soaked break to Mexico. But Naomi Watts seemed in good spirits as she landed back in chilly and rainy New York City on Tuesday Layering up for the outing, the King Kong star donned a grey herringbone coat that concealed her lithe frame. She teamed the garment with a maroon beanie hat and skinny black jeans whilst she slipped her feet into white trainers. She finished off the look with a $310 pair of Etnia Barcelona 'Yokohama Sunset' sunglasses whilst she clutched a large black umbrella. Chic and cheerful! Undeterred by the gristly weather, the 48-year-old actress flashed a smile as she strolled through the city in her winter warmers and $310 Etnia Barcelona shades Naomi's outing came just hours after she landed back in the country after a family getaway to Mexico. The blonde beauty, who ended her 11-year relationship with Liev Schreiber in September, saw in the New Year with their sons eight-year-old Samuel and nine-year-old Alexander. She was also joined by some female friends on the outing, after reports emerged that she was 'in a good place' after her split from Liev. Family fun: The blonde beauty, who recently split with Liev Schreiber in September, saw in the New Year with sons eight-year-old Samuel and nine-year-old Alexander She told Australia's Daily Telegraph earlier this year: 'I feel I'm in a good place in my life and I want to make sure my kids are healthy; my kids are happy and things are going to go well. Those are my hopes for me and for all of us. 'I feel like change is always scary, but that's only because transition for anyone is new and you wonder how things are going to go.' Following their split, Naomi was spotted in the audience at the 49-year-old actor's new Broadway play, Les Liaisons Dangereuses and she believes it is vital for their children that things stay cordial between them. She rang in the New Year frolicking in a bikini during a holiday back home in Brazil. And on Tuesday, Alessandra Ambrosio pulled out another barely there bikini for a swim in the ocean with friends. The 35-year-old Victoria's Secret model showed off her flat stomach and perky backside while in Florianopolis. Wow factor: Alessandra Ambrosio sizzled in a patterned bikini while on holiday in Brazil; pictured on Tuesday in Florianopolis The Erechim, Brazil born beauty put her sculpted frame on full display in a purple, black and white swim suit. Alessandra wowed in the triangle-cut top with her matching string bottoms, adding jewelry to round out her beach look. The mother of two wore a choker and necklace, earrings, and several bracelets on each arm. The model chose to forgo makeup, adding just round framed sunglasses to shield her brown eyes from the glaring sun. Flawless: The 35-year-old Victoria's Secret model showed off her flat stomach while in Florianopolis Views: The Victoria's Secret Angel put her perky backside on full display in the tiny suit So gorgeous: Alessandra wowed in the triangle-cut top with her matching string bottoms, adding jewelry to round out her beach look The brunette, who sported loose locks, looked to be having a blast while splashing around in the water. The Victoria's Secret Angel is currently on vacation in South America with her fiance Jamie Mazur and their two children: Anja Louise, eight, and Noah Phoenix, four. Both of her children were born in Florianopolis. Water baby: The Erechim, Brazil born beauty put her sculpted frame on full display in a purple, black and white swim suit Tropical beauty: The mother of two wore a choker and necklace, earrings, and several bracelets on each arm; pictured with a friend Flawless: The model chose to forgo makeup, adding just round frame sunglasses to shield her brown eyes from the glaring sun Getting wet: The brunette, who sported loose locks, looked to be having a blast while splashing around in the water The runway star showed off her curves in another tiny swimsuit - from her label Ale by Alessandra. She paired the crochet-style bikini with a beach bag that had the phrase 'Summer Love' emblazoned on it. Alessandra captioned the picture she posted on Monday: 'Gone to the beach...#verao #foreveronvacation #goodvibes.' Tan lines: Alessandra briefly wore her hair up before submerging herself in the water Family: The Victoria's Secret Angel is currently on vacation in South America with her fiance Jamie Mazur and their two children: Anja Louise, eight, and Noah Phoenix, four She has not posted on social media since the armed robbery in Paris back in October. And Kim Kardashian finally made her highly-anticipated return to social media on Tuesday. The 36-year-old reality star took to both her Twitter and Instagram to share an adorable family photo. Scroll down for video She's back: Kim Kardashian posted on social media for the first time since October In the snap she is joined by rapper husband Kanye West as well their two children: three-year-old daughter North and one-year-old son Saint. The adorable snap featuring her 39-year-old rapper hubby was shared with the simple caption: 'family.' The foursome could be seen all wearing white as they posed together on a wooden deck. New identity?: The 36-year-old star temporarily changed her Twitter name to just 'Kim' before reverting it back to 'Kim Kardashian West' Persona: The change also happened temporarily on her Instagram 'Family': In the cute snap she is joined by rapper husband Kanye West as well their two children: three-year-old daughter North and one-year-old son Saint Perhaps the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star was thinking of returning with a completely new social media persona as she temporarily changed her Twitter name to simply 'Kim' before reverting it back to Kim Kardashian West. Kim has not posted since she was robbed inside her room at the No Address Hotel in Paris back in early October. The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star was robbed of over $8.5 million worth of jewelry by gunpoint; she was gagged, handcuffed and held at gunpoint. Break: Her last post on Twitter before the hiatus was on October 2 as it featured a video message to promote her game app Hiatus: On Instagram she shared a few photos from Paris Fashion Week just days before the robbery as she strutted her stuff wearing Balenciaga Her last post on Twitter before the hiatus was on October 2 as it featured a video message to promote her game app. On Instagram she shared a few photos from Paris Fashion Week just days before the robbery as she strutted her stuff wearing Balenciaga. She has remained largely out of the spotlight but is gearing up to make a return to work this month with a scheduled trip to Dubai. What divorce rumours? Savvy Kim and Kanye looked a picture of domestic bliss in a new home video released on her website earlier that day Saint's walking! The clip features Christmas footage that shows their son taking a few wobbly steps while his mother cheers him on North's cuddles with mom: Kim has been away from the spotlight, but cameras have still been rolling inside the Kardashian house Then in November, Kanye was rushed to hospital in Los Angeles after a psychotic breakdown, thought to be brought on by exhaustion. As if that wasn't tumultuous enough there have been months of rumours of marital strife between she and Kanye and even divorce speculation. Earlier on the same day the two released an intimate home video footage of their life together with North and Saint. The sweet clip, released on her website painted a picture of domestic bliss and features the couple enjoying kisses and cuddles and cooing over their kids. Kanye the doting dad: The troubled rapper is seen cooing over his children She just announced her engagement to longtime boyfriend Paul Khoury while on vacation in Australia. And now, Ashley Greene is taking her new bling all the way to Los Angeles. The Twilight star was seen in West Hollywood, California on Tuesday morning sporting the gorgeous sparkler while meeting with personal trainer and Hilary Duff's ex, Jason Walsh. She's glowing: Newly engaged Ashley Greene was spotted with her diamond sparkler while meeting with personal trainer John Walsh Fashionable: The 29-year-old brunette was sporting a black and grey long fur vest over a black top and black skinny jeans She was spotted walking with a friend to meet the Rise Nation owner looking radiant with her hair up in a high bun and her skin glowing under a thin layer of makeup. The 29-year-old brunette was sporting a black and grey long fur vest over a black top and black skinny jeans. She paired the soft coat with fur-rimmed boots with a slight heel and her ring was her only accessory. The newly engaged star had her arm linked with her male companion and appeared to still be on a high from her recent trip to Australia. Personal style: Walsh, who dated Hillary Duff for a couple months earlier in 2016, was casually dressed in a Rise Nation sweatshirt and shorts. Walsh, who dated Hillary Duff for a couple months earlier in 2016, was casually dressed in a Rise Nation sweatshirt and black shorts. He looked ready for a workout, although the stunning brunette didn't seem to be in the mood to take his intense cardio class that uses a VersaClimber. Last month, Ashley's long term boyfriend Paul popped the question as the pair holidayed in the idyllic New Zealand. Post-engagement glow: She was spotted walking with a friend to meet the Rise Nation owner looking radiant with her hair up in a high bun and her skin glowing The Twilight star paired the soft coat with fur-rimmed boots with a slight heel and had her ring as her only accessory. Proposing underneath a waterfall, long time boyfriend Paul dropped to one knee and presented her with a beautiful ring Proposing underneath a waterfall, he dropped to one knee and presented her with her ring. Ashley shared to her Instagram a video of the moment, gushing that is was 'the most beautiful moment.' 'This is the most beautiful moment I could have ever hoped for. You've successfully made me the happiest, luckiest woman alive,' she wrote. 'I can't wait to show you my unfaltering immeasurable love for the rest of our lives.' She shared a shot of her ring and said it was the 'most beautiful thing I've ever seen.' Happy! Ashley shared a shot of the ring and said it was the 'most beautiful thing I've ever seen' Paul also shared a shot of Ashley looking shot and flaunting her ring, sweetly writing: 'This is the woman I'm going to spend the rest of my life with.' The couple began dating in 2013 after meeting through mutual friends. The US-based pair spent the new year in Australia. Amber Heard's bid for a bigger divorce settlement is just a desperate attempt to stay in the public eye, according to Johnny Depp's lawyer. The 53-year-old actor agreed to a $7million payout following last year's bitter split from his wife of 15 months, who now wants to renegotiate the terms. But Laura Wasser has accused the 30-year-old of 'a blatant attempt to extend her fifteen minutes of fame'. 'An embarrassing grab': Johnny Depp's legal team has blasted Amber Heard's bid for a bigger settlement as 'trying to extend her 15 minutes of fame' According to TMZ, Depp's lawyer also accused the actress of making 'an embarrassing grab for additional and unwarranted attorney's fees'. Just after Christmas, Depp's legal team filed new court documents demanding Amber pay him $100,000 in sanctions. According to E! News, the papers alleged that Amber 'continues to needlessly litigate a case which has been settled, all while parading in front of the media in a desperate attempt to extend' her relevance. If the 30-year-old fails to pay Johnny's attorney's fees and costs as sanctions, the 53-year-old wants the money deducted from his next equalization payment. Rocking out in Japan in November: The new documents filed by Johnny's legal team allege that Amber 'continues to needlessly litigate a case which has been settled, all while parading in front of the media in a desperate attempt to extend' her relevance Amber's attorney, Pierce O'Donnell, called The Pirates Of The Caribbean star's request 'laughable.' 'It is just another lame attempt by Mr. Depp and his team to not pay my client the money she is owed. 'We look forward to prevailing in court - and to getting sick children and women in need the money that Mr. Depp is denying them.' The divorce was settled in August, when Johnny agreed to a $7 million settlement, which Amber requested be donated to the American Civil Liberties Union and Children's Hospital Of Los Angeles. But last week Amber's legal team filed a Request For Order with the Los Angeles Superior Court in hopes of imposing the settlement and expediting Johnny's payment. Out and about: The new legal fracas comes after the 30-year-old - pictured at an event in October, left, and Glamour Woman Of The Year in November, both in LA - filed a demand for the payment he owes her amongst other things They claimed that Johnny had not complied with the court-allocated timeline of various mandates, including the division of personal property, shipping her belongings from his private island in the Bahamas, transferring a Range Rover into Amber's name and more. The new documents stated: 'Amber wants to maintain the media's attention and thereby preserve her own fleeting relevance, and Amber wants to secure a more favorable deal than she previously negotiated.' The couple, who met on the set of movie The Rum Diary in 2011, married on February 2015. She filed for divorce 15 months later, on May 23, amid claims that the Hollywood star had physically abused her. They are never shy of flashing every aspect of their life on social media - including their physiques, romance and luxurious holidays. And Millie Mackintosh and boyfriend Hugo Taylor made no exception on Tuesday as they continued to flaunt their sizzling South African getaway on Instagram. The 27-year-old former Made In Chelsea star shared a sweet snap of the duo cosied up in front of a blissful setting while Hugo, 30, sent temperatures soaring with a slinky lingerie snap of his girlfriend. Scroll down for video Too much information? Millie Mackintosh and boyfriend Hugo Taylor continued to flaunt their sizzling South African getaway on Instagram Millie has been living it up with her beau since late last year in their stunning setting, where she has been spotted in various states of undress throughout the holiday. Clearly extremely proud of his stunning partner, Hugo took to the photosharing site to post a sexy snap of the reality beauty sitting at his feet in a negligee. Looking sensational as she went make-up free, the stunner gave a cheeky grin to the camera while sizzling in her silky number. The silk lingerie boasted tiny spaghetti straps which sat on her slender shoulders while the plunging neckline flashed her perky cleavage. Holding on tight: The 27-year-old former Made In Chelsea star shared a sweet snap of the duo cosied up in front of a blissful setting while Hugo, 30, sent temperatures soaring with a slinky lingerie snap of his girlfriend Naked ambition: Millie shared a completely nude snap on her Instagram last week While Hugo was opting for sexier snaps, Millie went for a more romantic look as she shared a stunning image in which the couple cosied up in front of a lake. Looking angelic in a white maxi dress, the fashion designer held on to her boyfriend's arms as they looked out onto the sunset. She added a caption reading: 'New favourite place for sunset' - after which the stunning shot amassed over 11,000 likes in just one hour. Throughout the trip, the couple have been working hard on their tans, yet last week Millie flashed a look at some painful looking sunburn on her derriere. Bust-booster! Millie put on a busty display as she posed in a retro black bikini as she enjoyed her 18th holiday of 2016 Sporting a tiny black bikini, red skin was on show as the star climbed the steps to head back to her villa after another beach day. Meanwhile, while Millie has been flaunting her enviable figure in a number of saucy swimsuits, she decided to take it one step further as she shared a completely nude snap on Instagram. Proud of her gym honed physique, the former reality star posted the incredibly saucy snap of her gazing out of her hotel room starkers to her 1.3 million followers earlier on Saturday. Captioning her naked pic, she cheekily wrote: 'My morning view'. Bootylicious! Millie also shared a smouldering snap in a high cut purple swimsuit. She captioned the shot 'leaving 2016 behind' as she gazed out over the ocean Cute couple: Millie slipped into another sexy swimsuit for a sweet picture with Hugo Taylor Holding a mug in her hand, the beauty showcased her pert derriere in the intimate photo as she leans on a railing soaking up the idyllic sea view. Her chestnut locks appear to fall loosely down her chest as she posed to display her tiny waist and toned legs in the sexy snap. The incredibly sultry photo comes after Millie hilariously denied she had a boob job as she posed up a storm in a black scallop-edged halterneck bikini top and matching retro-style bottoms. Isn't life peachy? The ex-reality star showcased her gym-honed figure as she ran into the sea in her black scallop-edged halterneck bikini top and matching retro-style bottoms Fun in the sun! Wearing her wavy auburn locks tied halfway off her face, the TV personality turned fashion designer offset her winter tan with a pair of mirrored circular sunglasses With the two-piece giving her bosom a rather ample boost, Millie joked that she hadn't gone under the knife to achieve her busty look in the accompanying picture caption. Alongside the Instagram snap, she wrote: 'I have a high waisted bikini obsession! Loving this one from @arabellalondon and no I haven't had a boob job! That's just how good this bikini is.' (sic) Wearing her wavy auburn locks tied halfway off her face, the reality TV personality turned fashion designer offset her winter tan with a pair of mirrored circular sunglasses as she headed off for a dip in the sea. Earlier in the week, Millie and boyfriend Hugo kept their legion of social media followers updated as they packed on the PDA while watching the sun set. Pucker up, baby! Millie and Hugo looked more in love than ever as they packed on the PDA in yet another social media snap Stunning: Admitting he was ending the year on a definite high, Hugo held a glass of champagne in one hand as he looked out towards a beautiful sunset The couple looked more in love than ever as they passionately locked lips while the sun went down behind them. Admitting he was ending the year on a definite high, Hugo held a glass of champagne in one hand as he wrote beside the sweet shot: 'Magical sun down drinks in Cape Town. Very lucky man!' In a second envy-inducing snap for followers, Hugo then turned his back to the camera to pose in front of the stunning vibrant sunset of orange and gold. Millie and Hugo jetted to South Africa on Christmas Day, and have since posted an array of photos on social media from the trip - which marks Millie's 18th holiday this year. Chic: The reality star turned fashion designer looked typically stylish in a blue gingham bardot top and white hotpants as she posed in front of a picturesque back drop with a glass of wine Puppy love: Bikini-clad Millie showed off her tattooed back as she perched on the beach, while surrounded by adorable pooches during Thursday daytime Meanwhile, Dog-lover Millie seemed to be in her element as she perched on the sand, while surrounded by adorable pooches. Stroking one of her canine companions as she grinned away, the lifestyle blogger displayed a pretty butterfly inking on the small of her back as she posed in a aubergine-coloured bikini. The fitness enthusiast appeared make-up free and wore her auburn locks hanging in loose tendrils around her shoulders. Millie captioned the snap: 'I made some new friends at the beach.' Hugo then gave her a run for the money in the tattoo department, showcasing his tanned, heavily-inked back, which featured four large etchings, as he strolled towards the sea in another snap. Inked up: Hugo gave Millie a run for her money in the tattoo stakes as he showcased four etchings on his back as he wandered towards the sea in another Instagram snap Although it's been a turbulent year in terms of Millie's personal life - announcing her split and subsequent divorce from rapper husband Professor Green, 33, in the early part of 2016 - she's taken her mind off things with plenty of exotic holidays. The statuesque beauty left her Instagram followers positively green with envy as she revealed she was on her 18th holiday in 12 months on Wednesday, by posting a snap from glorious Cape Town. Perfect blue seas and rolling waves proved to be the ultimate back-drop for a gratuitous bikini picture as she strolled towards the camera. She simply captioned the picture: 'Trying to act natural when the sea is bloody freezing.' In search of sun: The statuesque beauty left her Instagram followers green with envy as she revealed she was on her 18th holiday in 12 months on Wednesday Holiday glow: Although it's been a turbulent year in terms of Millie's personal life, she's taken her mind off things with plenty of exotic holidays Millie's surroundings weren't the only source of envy because the brunette looked like a swimwear model in her tiny black two-piece. Toned at her middle and lithe of leg, the reality star's superfit figure proved to be the ultimate reward for her months of hard graft in the gym. Millie and sunglasses entrepreneur Hugo flew Business Class to South Africa in the evening of Christmas Day following a low-key yuletide in London. This time last year, Millie was celebrating her second Christmas married to rapper Pro Green. They closely followed it up with a 'make or break' trip to Florence, Italy, in February, which turned out to be their last holiday together. Christmas looks very different this year: Millie was waking up to beau Hugo and 'the breakfast of dreams' on Christmas Day, following her split from husband Professor Green in February Quite the contrast... This time last year, Millie (centre with ex-husband Professor Green) was celebrating her second Christmas with her now-ex-husband, her parents and grandfather The couple announced their separation later that month, two years and six months after tying the knot. The ill-fated vacation in Florence was to be only Millie's first trip of 2016, since her fairytale reunion with beau Hugo has taken her globe-trotting to Monico, Mauritius, Greece and Antibes, since May. In fact, by the time Millie and Pro Green's divorce was finalised that month, she was kicking off a string of jet-set vacations with a celebratory trip to Monte Carlo on Hugo's 30th, which came just two days after the paperwork was completed. Millie and Hugo previously dated back in 2011 when they met on E4 reality show, Made In Chelsea. Jet-setter: Millie and sunglasses entrepreneur Hugo flew Business Class to South Africa in the evening of Christmas Day following a low-key yuletide in London Make-up free Millie: The former Made In Chelsea let fans know that she was happily watching the sun rise in South Africa on Tuesday But the union was not to last and ended rather dramatically when Millie discovered Hugo had cheated on her with her friend, Rosie Fortescue. At the time, Millie claimed she would always love Hugo, saying in an interview: 'I loved him - those feelings dont disappear but I just always have to remind myself why were not together. 'I do think that, for the rest of my life, every time I see him, Ill get that feeling in my stomach. I dont think I could ever not get that butterfly feeling.' Millie and Pro Green announced their split in February after just over four years together. Their two-and-a-half-year marriage was dissolved in just 30 seconds in May. Full steam ahead! Millie's string of jet-set getaways sped up in May, when she took a break to Monte Carlo for Hugo's 30th birthday just two days after her divorce was finalised In a statement at the time, they said: 'It is a mutual decision, we still care deeply about each other and would like it to be known that it is on amicable terms and we wish each other well.' They were granted a decree nisi at Central London Family Court with Millie citing 'unreasonable behaviour' as the reason for their split. Millie and Stephen started dating in November 2011 after the rapper saw her on the cover of men's magazine FHM. The rapper contacted Millie through her agent and they had their first date at the Groucho Club in Soho. They went public at the Brit Awards in February 2012, with Stephen proposing on holiday in Paris just over a year later. The sweet life: One of her most luxurious holidays was a trip to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius with a large group on a shoot for Hugo's sunglasses brand, Taylor Morris Romantic: While her year of holidays began with an ill-fated trip to Florence with husband Pro Green, Millie was ending 2016 with boyfriend Hugo The couple tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at Babington House in Somerset in September 2013. Pro Green recently lashed out at Millie in his new track Eye On The Door, rapping about their lack of sex life, drug use and hinting that cheating was to blame for their split. But in spite of his very public bashing of his ex-wife, the musician admitted last week that splitting from Millie felt like experiencing 'a death. He told the i newspaper: 'Of course whether youre happy somethings finished or not, it doesnt change the fact that it does still feel like theres been a death. 'An energy thats always been in your presence is suddenly no longer there and youre an idiot if you think thats not going to affect you.' The rapper has since moved on with model Fae Williams. Though Gal Gadot's been public about her pregnancy since early November, her bump was still barely detectable on Tuesday. The 31-year-old was spotted stepping out for an alfresco lunch at Da Da & Da in Tel Aviv, settling down at a small table opposite her husband Yaron Varsano. She'd flung on a stylish denim jacket that largely concealed her tiny bulge, and beamed as she headed to her seat. All smiles: Though Gal Gadot's been public about her pregnancy since early November, her bump was still barely detectable on Tuesday Black thick-rimmed butterfly sunglasses were sat on her face, and she emphasised her toned legs in a pair of intricately patterned grey aand black leggings. Slivers of green popped against her otherwise white trainers, which complemented the black and white T-shirt she'd worn to the Rothschild Blvd eatery. Her hair had been slicked back and wound into a tight ponytail as she sat with her husband, whose dark brown T-shirt showcased his well-built arms. The 31-year-old was spotted stepping out for an alfresco lunch in Tel Aviv, settling down at a small table opposite her husband Yaron Varsano The Rosh HaAyin native and her real estate developer husband have been married since 2008. She delivered their firstborn, a daughter called Alma, three years later. Gadot's recently found herself enmeshed a controversy involving Wonder Woman, whom she's played in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice and whom she'll feature as again in Justice League this summer. Last October, the United Nations headquarters in New York City played host to a ceremony naming the fictional character an Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls. Backstory: The Rosh HaAyin native and her real estate developer husband have been married since 2008, and she delivered their firstborn child, a daughter called Alma, three years later Gadot and Lynda Carter, who'd played the superhero on an eponymous 1970s ABC show, attended the fete whilst protesters gathered outside. Since then, members of UN staff wrote an online petition to outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, bewailing the ambassadorship and demanding that the organisation 'reconsider.' 'It is alarming,' they fretted, 'that the United Nations would consider using a character with an overtly sexualised image at a time when the headline news in United States and the world is the objectification of women and girls.' Casually chic: Black thick-rimmed butterfly sunglasses were sat on her face, and she emphasised her toned legs in a pair of intricately patterned grey aand black leggings That petition gained 44,893 supporters out of a 45,000 goal, but still struck its intended blow: last month, the UN revoked Wonder Woman's ambassadorship. 'When people argue that Wonder Woman should "cover up," I dont quite get it,' Gadot fumed to Time in the wake of the decision. 'They say: "If shes smart and strong, she cant also be sexy." Thats not fair,' insisted the former Israel Defence Forces soldier. 'Why cant she be all of the above?' No N. Korea missile will be capable of reaching US: Trump President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter again on Monday evening to promise North Korea would not develop a nuclear missile capable of reaching US territory. His comments come a day after the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un, appeared to try to put pressure on Trump by announcing his country is in the "final stages" of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US," Trump tweeted. "It won't happen!" US President-elect Donald Trump will need Beijing, Pyongyang's closest ally, to deal with North Korea's mounting confrontation DON EMMERT (AFP/File) Although Washington has repeatedly vowed that it would never accept North Korea as a nuclear state, Trump has not previously clearly stated his policy on the isolated Stalinist state. The Republican billionaire has already upended precedent by routinely taking to Twitter since his election last month to lambast critics and issue statements -- sometimes about the most serious national security issues -- sending analysts scrambling to divine what they may mean for US policy once he takes office on January 20. He launched a solo bid to restart the Cold War arms race last month, tweeting that the United States must "greatly strengthen and expand" its nuclear capabilities. He has also angered China by tweeting accusations of military expansionism and currency manipulation. But he will need Beijing, Pyongyang's closest ally, to deal with North Korea's mounting confrontation. However, he appeared to complicate that prospect with his latest criticism on Monday evening following his vow about North Korea. "China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the US in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea," he tweeted. "Nice!" In a 30-minute televised New Year's speech on Sunday, Kim said Pyongyang had "soared as a nuclear power," adding that it is now a "military power of the East that cannot be touched by even the strongest enemy." Although he did not make a specific reference to the incoming Trump administration, he called on Washington to make a "resolute decision to withdraw its anachronistic hostile North Korea policy." Analysts are divided over how close Pyongyang is to realizing its full nuclear ambitions, especially as it has never successfully test-fired an ICBM. However, North Korea carried out two nuclear tests and numerous missile launches last year in pursuit of its oft-stated goal -- developing a weapons system capable of hitting the US mainland with a nuclear warhead. Despite opposition from Speaker Paul Ryan, Republicans in the US House of Representatives backed a proposal to take ethics oversight away from an independent group and give the authority to the lawmakers themselves. The proposal by Republican congressman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia would gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics which already does not punish lawmakers. On Monday it was approved 119-74. House speaker Paul Ryan opposed changing ethics rules but legislators disregarded his leadership on the issue. Republicans in the US Congress back a proposal to take ethics oversight away from an independent body, despite opposition from Speaker Paul Ryan and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Congressman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia proposed the Office of Congressional Ethics should not be handled by an independent group Goodlatte maintains that altering the ethics review process 'strengthens the mission' of the office. 'It also improves upon due process rights for individuals under investigation, as well as witnesses called to testify. The (ethics office) has a serious and important role in the House, and this amendment does nothing to impede their work,' he said in a written statement Monday. Democrat Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Minority Leader, voiced dismay. 'Republicans claim they want to "drain the swamp," but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions. Rep Goodlatte maintains that gutting the ethics review process 'strengthens the mission' of the office House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senator Elizabeth Warren voiced their dissent towards the GOP proposal 'Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress,' she said in a statement. 'The amendment Republicans approved tonight would functionally destroy this office,' she added. President-elect Donald Trump will have a Republican-led House and Senate, when he is sworn in January 20. Hong Kong former leader pleads not guilty over corruption Hong Kong's former leader Donald Tsang, who ended his term in disgrace after accepting favours from tycoons, pleaded not guilty to bribery charges Tuesday at his high-profile corruption trial. Tsang, 72, held the leadership post of chief executive for seven years from 2005 and is the highest-ranking Hong Kong official to face a corruption trial. The case is set to send shockwaves through a city that has earned a reputation as one of the world's most open and transparent markets. Hong Kong's former chief executive Donald Tsang arrives at the High Court with his wife Selina Tsang on the first day of his corruption trial ISAAC LAWRENCE (AFP) Wearing his customary suit and bow-tie, a somber-looking Tsang arrived hand-in-hand with his wife at the city's High Court over an hour before the hearing was scheduled to begin Tuesday morning. He pleaded "not guilty" to three charges of misconduct and bribery. Each charge carries a maximum jail sentence of seven years. The charges pertain to the period when Tsang was chief executive. He is accused of failing to disclose his plans to lease a luxury penthouse in the neighbouring city of Shenzhen from a major investor in a broadcaster -- which at the time was seeking a licence from the Hong Kong government. Tsang allegedly approved the company's application for the licence, and also failed to declare that an architect he proposed for a government award had been employed as an interior designer on the flat. The hearing is expected to last 20 days. He has previously said that he had "every confidence" he would be exonerated. In 2012 he apologised for separate allegations that he accepted inappropriate gifts from business friends in the form of trips on luxury yachts and private jets. The trial comes at a time when residents are losing faith in Hong Kong's leaders, as a string of high-profile corruption cases fuel public suspicions over cosy links between authorities and business leaders. Critics blame the city's method of electing its leader -- who is selected by a 1,200-strong electoral committee made up of representatives of special interest groups weighted towards Beijing. "I strongly believe that the chief executive has to (maintain) close relations with special interest groups and tycoons," pro-democracy lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting told AFP. "It is very dangerous and very difficult to remain independent from those... groups," said Lam, a former investigator for the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the city's anti-graft agency. "Tsang's case is just the tip of the iceberg," he added. Hong Kong's unpopular current leader Leung Chun-ying also faces allegations of corruption over receiving a reported payment of HK$50 million ($6.5 million) from Australian engineering firm UGL before he took office. Experts say the case sends a message that the judiciary is not afraid to go after high-ranking officials. "It (Tsang's case) sets a precedent because the current chief executive is also involved in allegations of corruption," political expert Ma Ngok told AFP. "That would create a public expectation that a case may be launched against Leung when he finishes his term," Ma, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong said. In 2014, Tsang's deputy Rafael Hui was jailed for seven-and-a-half years after being found guilty of taking bribes from Hong Kong property tycoon Thomas Kwok. S. Korea president shuns impeachment hearing South Korea's Constitutional Court on Tuesday held its first full hearing on whether to confirm the impeachment of President Park Geun-Hye but she stayed away from the session. The nine-judge court must decide whether to affirm parliament's vote on December 9 to impeach Park over a corruption scandal which has brought hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets every week. Tuesday's hearing, which followed three preparatory court sessions last month, lasted only nine minutes. Nine judges of South Korea's Constitutional Court attend the first full hearing on whether to confirm the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye KIM HONG-JI (POOL/AFP) The court last week ruled that Park was not required to appear for questioning. "We will do our best to conduct a fair and thorough review of the case," said Judge Park Han-Chul. Regardless of whether Park shows up when the hearing resumes Thursday, the case will go ahead. Her lawyers said she was unlikely to attend future hearings. Park has been suspended from executive duties and the country is being temporarily led by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn. The Constitutional Court has up to six months to decide whether to confirm Park's impeachment. If it does, a presidential election must be held within two months. Park is accused of colluding with close friend Choi Soon-Sil to coerce big companies into handing over nearly $70 million to dubious foundations which Choi controlled and allegedly plundered. Choi -- dubbed South Korea's "Rasputin" due to her influence over the president -- is now on trial for coercion and abuse of power and her daughter has been detained in Denmark as the scandal spreads. Park has repeatedly denied the corruption allegations in sometimes tearful televised addresses, while apologising for lapses. She allegedly ordered aides to leak state documents to Choi, who has no official title or security clearance, and let her meddle in state affairs including the appointment of top officials. - Offer rejected - On Sunday the scandal enmeshed Chung Yoo-Ra, Choi's 20-year-old daughter, who was arrested in Denmark for overstaying her visa. Seoul prosecutors said Tuesday they would seek Chung's formal extradition even if she wants to return home voluntarily. A court in the northern Danish town of Aalborg ruled Monday that Chung would be detained for four weeks pending a decision on extradition. "Chung has said she is willing to return home voluntarily within three days on condition that she be released immediately in Denmark," said a spokesman for the Seoul special prosecutor's office investigating the scandal. "But we rejected the offer. We plan to have her extradited officially," he said. Among other allegations, Chung's mother is accused of using her influence to secure her daughter's admission to the elite Ewha Womans University. A state probe into the scandal has revealed that the school admitted Chung at the expense of better qualified candidates, touching a raw nerve in education-obsessed South Korea. Prosecutors want to question Chung over her admission to the university in 2014. During the court hearing in Denmark Chung denied any wrongdoing and said her mother on three different occasions had simply shown her "some documents" that she had signed, according to news agency Ritzau. Chung tearfully asked the court not to detain her, saying she was worried about her 19-month-old son who was staying with a nanny, it added. The equestrian performer, who has reportedly bought horses and trained in Denmark in the past, told police she was in the country due to her involvement in the sport. Denmark's Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said it is awaiting a formal extradition request from Seoul. Several professors at Ewha, including a former school president, have been investigated for giving Chung preferential treatment. Top managers of South Korea's biggest conglomerate Samsung have also been probed following accusations the firm indirectly bankrolled Chung's equestrian training overseas to try to curry favour. Graphic on the corruption scandal in South Korea that has engulfed impeached president Park Geun-Hye AFP (AFP) An Indian minister has provoked outrage after blaming victims for a series of sexual assaults at a New Year's Eve party saying it was because they 'dressed like westerners'. A mob allegedly carried out a string of attacks during celebrations in the city of Bangalore and local media have carried testimony from victims saying they were forced to cower or flee to safety from their attackers. Police say they are now trawling through CCTV footage to see if they can identify any of the attackers and are yet to charge anybody. A minister in Bangalore has been criticised for blaming women for wearing western-style clothes for causing a string of sex attacks during New Year celebrations in Bangalore But a minister with responsibility for policing in the southern state of Karnataka, whose largest city is Bangalore, said the 'unfortunate' attacks were a consequence of women wearing western clothing. Speaking in English, home minister G Parameshwara told The Times Now television network: 'A large number of youngsters gathered - youngsters who are almost like westerners. 'They try to copy westerners not only in mindset, but even the dressing, so some disturbance, some girls are harassed, these kind of things do happen.' Parameshwara, who later claimed to have been misquoted, was widely condemned for his televised comments, with the central government's junior home minister Kiren Rijiju describing them as 'irresponsible'. He wrote on Twitter: 'We can't allow the shameful act of #MassMolestation go unpunished. Hundreds of people gathered to attend the new year celebrations in the Indian city over the weekend Police say they are now trawling through CCTV footage to see if they can identify any of the attackers and are yet to charge anybody. Pictured are police standing guard on New Year's Eve in Bangalore 'Women's safety is a must in a civilised society.' While Lalitha Kumaramangalam, who heads India's National Commission for Women, said Parameshwara should resign over his comments. She told the Press Trust of India: 'I want to ask this minister: are Indian men so pathetic and weak that when they see a woman in western clothes on a day of revelry, they get out of control? 'When will the Indian men learn to respect women? The minister should apologise to the women of the country and resign.' India has been shamed by shocking levels of sexual assault against women, which came into sharp focus in December 2012 when a student was gang-raped on a bus in New Delhi and later died of her injuries, leading to the official cancellation of that year's New Year celebrations. Many of those at the street party in Bangalore were in high spirits as they ushered in 2017 Some of the country's most senior politicians have been accused of casual misogyny, with the leader of one political party widely condemned for brushing off the December 2012 attack by saying 'boys will be boys'. The attacks in Bangalore have drawn comparison with last year's mass sexual assaults at New Year's celebrations in the German city of Cologne, where police were also accused of losing control. Senior Bangalore police officer Malini Krishnamoorthy told AFP no complaint had yet been filed and officers were scanning hours' worth of CCTV footage. Iran okays 29 companies for oil and gas projects Iran has published a list of 29 major companies from Europe and Asia approved to bid for oil and gas projects after the lifting of sanctions over its nuclear programme. The European companies on the list include Anglo-Dutch giant Shell, Italy's ENI, France's Total, Russia's Gazprom and Lukoil, and Schlumberger of the Netherlands. Among those from Asia were China's CNPC and Sinopec International, the Japanese Mitsubishi Corporation and Japan Petroleum Exploration, Malaysia's Petronas, and South Korea's Korea Gas Corporation and Posco Daewoo. Gazprom is among 29 companies from Europe and Asia approved to bid for oil and gas projects in Iran after the lifting of sanctions ERIC PIERMONT (AFP/File) The National Iranian Oil Company is to offer tenders for exploration and production projects at oil and gas fields in the country, the oil ministry's news service Shana reported Tuesday. The list of 29 companies that qualified was announced after foreign firms deemed "qualified and credible" were invited to take part in the process, it said. Its release comes nearly one year since the entry into force of the deal with world powers which lifted international sanctions on Iran in return for limits on its nuclear programme. A flurry of preliminary agreements has already been signed with international companies. In November, Total signed a preliminary agreement for a $4.8 billion (4.3 billion euro) project to develop an offshore gas field at South Pars. In mid-December, Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding with Russia's Gazprom on the development of two major oil fields. Turkey makes more arrests in hunt for Istanbul attacker Turkish authorities on Tuesday intensified efforts to identify a suspected jihadist from Central Asia behind the massacre of 39 people at an Istanbul nightclub who had reportedly fought in Syria for the Islamic State group. Police released pictures of the suspect who went on the rampage at the plush Reina nightclub on New Year's night, spraying about 120 bullets at terrified partygoers before slipping away into the night. So far, 16 people are being held over the attack, including two foreigners detained by Turkish police at Istanbul's main airport. Flowers and portraits of victims of the Reina nightclub attack are laid near the venue in Istanbul as reports emerge claiming the gunman had fought for the Islamic State group in Syria YASIN AKGUL (AFP) But the killer remains on the run. There was frenzied speculation surrounding a 28-year-old Kyrgyz man with a strong facial resemblance to the attacker but he was allowed to fly back home by the Turkish authorities and later released after questioning in Kyrgyzstan. Of the 39 dead, 27 were foreigners, mainly from Arab countries, and emotional funerals were held for some of the victims on Tuesday. - 'Wandering dangerously' - The Islamic State (IS) group on Monday claimed the massacre, the first time it has clearly stated being behind a major attack in Turkey. The suspect -- who has not been named but reportedly may be from Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan -- was staying in a rented flat in Konya before moving to Istanbul to carry out the attack, press reports said. The Dogan news agency said those detained included a woman suspected of being his wife with whom he had stayed in Konya along with two children. It quoted his wife as saying in a statement to police she only found out about the attack from the news. Reports said police have made progress in the investigation after speaking to the taxi driver who drove the attacker to the club and tracing calls he had made on the driver's mobile phone. The Hurriyet daily said the attacker showed signs of being well trained in the use of arms and had fought in Syria for IS jihadists. Hurriyet's well-connected columnist Abdulkadir Selvi said the suspect had been trained in street fighting in residential areas in Syria and used these techniques in the attack, shooting from the hip rather than as a sniper. Just 28 bullets failed to hit a target and the gunman disoriented revellers at the club by using stun grenades when he changed a magazine. "This specially-trained terrorist has still not been detained and is still wandering dangerously amongst us," Selvi wrote. He said an IS strike was also planned in Ankara on New Year's eve but that it had been prevented after eight IS suspects were arrested in the capital. Together with a unexpected jump in inflation, anxiety over the attack pushed the Turkish lira to a new historic low of 3.6 to the US dollar. - 'Hard to understand' - Near the entrance to the nightclub on the shores of the Bosphorus, an impromptu shrine was set up with pictures of the dead where well-wishers have been piling up flowers. "The attacker arrived at the door and opened fire towards me," club manager Ali Unal told AFP. "My foot slipped and I fell down, the gunshots didn't stop." Police meanwhile released the first clear images of the attacker, including one taken by security cameras on the night of the attack. And a chilling video of the suspect taken near Taksim Square in central Istanbul was also released, showing him recording himself with a selfie stick and smiling faintly into the camera. It was not immediately clear how the footage had been obtained. In a statement circulated on social media, IS said one of its "soldiers" had carried out the carnage, accusing Turkey -- a majority-Muslim country -- of being a servant of Christians and saying the shooting was a response to Ankara's military action against jihadists in Syria. The shooting took place just 75 minutes into 2017 after a bloody year in Turkey in which hundreds of people were killed in violence blamed on both IS jihadists and Kurdish militants. The foreigners who died -- most of them from Arab countries and including Muslims -- had come to the club to celebrate a special night in style. They included three Lebanese nationals, two Jordanians and three Iraqis, as well as several Saudis. "Terrorism has no religion, it targets us all, it targets people who love life," Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said at Beirut airport as he received the bodies. Arab Israeli Lian Nasser, who was laid to rest on Tuesday, was the youngest victim at 18 and on her first trip away from her family. "She was kind, loveable and clever," her uncle Rani told AFP at the funeral in her small predominantly Muslim hometown of Tira north of Tel Aviv. "It's so hard to understand." The Istanbul attack suspect Sabrina BLANCHARD, Simon MALFATTO (AFP) People leave flowers and candles at a makeshift memorial in front of Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate, illuminated in the colors of the Turkish flag, to pay tribute to the victims of the Reina night club attack Maurizio Gambarini (DPA/AFP) Mozambique rebel leader announces two-month ceasefire Rebels in Mozambique announced Tuesday a two-month extension to a truce with the government, raising hopes for peace after a spike in violence last year that claimed scores of lives. The country's president said the truce by Afonso Dhlakama, leader of Renamo, which is both an armed insurgent group and an elected opposition party, showed that the two sides were beginning to rebuild confidence in each other. Worsening clashes between the Frelimo government and Renamo had revived the spectre of Mozambique's civil war that ended more than 20 years ago. Street vendors are seen through a bullet hole in a bus windscreen in the Gorongosa area of Mozambique on May 27, 2016 JOHN WESSELS (AFP/File) But Dhlakama told reporters: "There have been some minor incidents, but the seven-day truce went well, so I announce the extension of the truce for 60 days, until March 4." "The truce is intended to build an atmosphere conducive to advancing talks in Maputo in peace and tranquility for both sides." Dhlakama, who lives in hiding in the Gorongosa mountains in central Mozambique, said Renamo forces would not attack government troops or positions. Last year saw a sharp escalation in violence, and more than 15,000 people have been forced to flee to government-run camps, relatives' homes or across the border to Malawi and Zimbabwe. The truce announcement came after tentative moves towards a peace process were suspended indefinitely last year due to setbacks including the killing of a Renamo negotiator. President Filipe Nyusi said on Monday the truce was "productive", according to the private STV television channel. Trust "is being created," he said, adding that government forces did not launch offensive attacks on Renamo. - Rebels weakened? - One diplomatic source told AFP that Dhlakama was weakened and had been forced into a truce to try to revive the chance of peace talks, which could be held under international mediation coordinated by the European Union. "Dhlakama was cornered and it seems that this is the solution he found to save international mediation," the source said. The rebel leader announced the truce after a series of telephone calls with the president. The fighting has often focused on Mozambique's main roads, with Renamo attacking government convoys and civilian vehicles, and soldiers accused of ruthlessly targeting suspected rebels in nearby villagers. Many displaced people say that government soldiers often treat local villagers in the central region as rebel sympathisers. The death toll is unknown but scores of people are reported to have been killed in 2016, with both the Frelimo and Renamo parties also suffering assassinations of local politicians by so-called "death squads". Despite the truce, one Renamo official was gunned down outside his house in Nampula city last week. Mozambique is still recovering from its bloody 1976-1992 civil war when one million people died during years of sporadic fighting between Frelimo and Renamo. Tensions have resurfaced since 2013, with Renamo fighters again taking up arms against Frelimo, accusing the ruling party of enriching itself at the expense of the southern African country. Authorities say 3,100 people now live in government camps after fleeing the conflict, and several thousand more have escaped the conflict zone to stay with relatives elsewhere. Another 8,600 people have been forced into neighbouring Malawi and Zimbabwe, according to the UN refugee agency. Renamo refused to accept the results of 2014 elections when it was beaten once more by the ruling Frelimo party -- in power since the former Portuguese colony's independence 40 years ago. Afonso Dhlakama, leader of Renamo, which is both an armed insurgent group and an elected opposition party Gianluigi Guercia (AFP/File) Graft probe tests Netanyahu's years-long hold on power Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a graft probe some believe could force him from office, but the four-term premier has overcome legal troubles in the past and remains a towering figure in Israeli politics. Police questioned Netanyahu for some three hours at his official residence in Jerusalem on Monday night over tens of thousands of dollars in gifts allegedly given to him by wealthy supporters. While an inquiry has been ongoing for months, it has now been elevated to a criminal probe and news of his questioning shook the Israeli political scene, setting off speculation over whether it will lead to his downfall. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on January 1, 2017 GALI TIBBON (AFP/File) Netanyahu himself bluntly told his opponents on Monday not to begin any "celebrations" yet, pledging as he has previously that "there will be nothing because there is nothing." But some analysts argued that the threat seemed more substantial than in previous cases. "The last couple of times that he was in this situation, he tried to say, 'You go after my wife, you go after my personal life, it's an illegal way to try to reverse democratic elections,'" Gayil Talshir, a political science professor at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, told AFP. "I guess this will be the strategy this time also, but it looks more serious." Much remains unknown about the investigation being overseen by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit. He has confirmed that Netanyahu is suspected of receiving "gifts from businessmen," but has provided few other details. - Wealthy supporters - US billionaire and World Jewish Congress president Ronald Lauder has been among those questioned in the probe over gifts he allegedly gave Netanyahu and alleged spending on trips for him, Israeli media reported. Lauder, whose family founded the Estee Lauder cosmetics giant, has long been seen as an ally of Netanyahu. Netanyahu has also acknowledged receiving money from French tycoon Arnaud Mimran, who was sentenced to eight years in prison in France over a scam involving the trade of carbon emissions permits and taxes on them. Netanyahu's office said he had received $40,000 in contributions from Mimran in 2001, when he was not in office, as part of a fund for public activities, including appearances abroad to promote Israel. The allegations have put the right-wing premier's opponents -- both from within his party and elsewhere -- on alert for signs of his support among the public weakening. Recent polls have suggested that if elections were held now, his Likud party would finish behind the centrist Yesh Atid, but that voters still prefer Netanyahu as prime minister. Many analysts say that can be attributed to voters not seeing a viable alternative to the 67-year-old's leadership, but warn that could change quickly once a campaign is under way. - Lessons from Olmert - There is a recent example to draw lessons from, with Netanyahu's predecessor Ehud Olmert forced to resign while dogged by corruption allegations and now serving 27 months in prison. "With Ehud Olmert, there was a moment in which his otherwise substantial following abandoned him because they increasingly became convinced that the allegations were solid," Amotz Asa-El, a former Jerusalem Post executive editor and currently a columnist for the paper, told AFP. "I don't see this now with Prime Minister Netanyahu," he added, though cautioned that further revelations could change that. Netanyahu and his family have overcome legal troubles in earlier years -- and involving similar accusations. In 2000, prosecutors decided there was insufficient evidence to indict Netanyahu and his wife Sara following an investigation. The probe then looked at whether they unlawfully kept gifts presented to Netanyahu during his first term as prime minister from 1996 and 1999. It also investigated whether they had promised a Jerusalem contractor he would be paid out of the public purse for work done on their private home. On Monday night, while Mandelblit confirmed Netanyahu was being investigated over the alleged gifts, he at the same time listed a series of other accusations that investigators had looked into and decided to drop. Sara Netanyahu has however again come under scrutiny in recent months. In December, police questioned her for several hours over allegations that the couple used public funds to cover personal spending, Israeli media reported. Netanyahu has served as premier for a total of nearly 11 years, fast approaching revered founding father David Ben-Gurion's 13, and shown himself to be a shrewd politician. But if damaging details emerge from the probe, his considerable survival skills could be put to the test. Such details could "puncture his public persona and portray him as a desperate and thus pathetic seeker of perks," Chemi Shalev of Israeli newspaper Haaretz wrote. Trump slams 'tax free' import of Chevy car from Mexico President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday slammed General Motors for selling some Mexican-made cars in the US on the same day he picked a Reagan-era protectionist as his trade envoy. Taking to his preferred communication platform, Twitter, Trump declared that "General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to US car dealers-tax free across border. Make in USA or pay big border tax!" GM emphasized that the vast majority of its Cruze cars sold in the US are made in Ohio, with just a small percentage imported from a plant near Texas. President-elect Donald Trump on January 3, 2016 slammed what he said was the tax-free import of a Mexican-made Chevy car model from General Motors Scott Olson (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File) "All Chevrolet Cruze sedans sold in the US are built in GM's assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio," the auto giant said. "GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, with a small number sold in the US." GM has several industrial sites in Mexico, including three assembly plants, in Silao, San Luis Potosi and the Ramos Arzipe near the Texas border, which produces the Cruze hatchback, which sells for $17,000. Of 190,000 Cruze cars sold in the US, only 4,500 were hatchbacks made in Meico, said a GM spokesman. The back-and-forth marks the latest instance in which Trump has launched attacks via Twitter on big US multinationals. Trump vowed on the campaign trail to impose a 35 percent import duty on cars produced in Mexico, and he has also pledged to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. Trump charged that NAFTA and other trade agreements were responsible for the loss of millions of American manufacturing jobs. NAFTA permits cars to be sold duty-free within the US, Canada and Mexico if they are at 65 percent made in the bloc. Trump announced earlier Tuesday his nomination of lawyer Robert Lighthizer as US trade representative, saying he "will do an amazing job helping turn around the failed trade policies which have robbed so many Americans of prosperity. Leading business lobbies such as the Business Roundtable have cautioned that a rise of protectionism could damage US industries. Chilean wanted for suspected murder of Japanese student French authorities have issued a warrant for the arrest of a Chilean man suspected of murdering a Japanese student who went missing in the town of Besancon last month, authorities said on Tuesday. Narumi Kurosaki, 21, was studying French at the university of Besancon in the country's east before she went missing on the night of December 4. Her body has yet to be found but her Chilean ex-boyfriend, who is believed to have fled to his home country, is suspected of her murder. French authorities have issued warrant for arrest of a Chilean man suspected of murdering a Japanese student who went missing in the town of Besancon last month VALERY HACHE (AFP) "The investigation has shown he was in France, in Besancon, at the time of her disappearance," prosecutor Edwige Roux-Morizot told a press conference. The prosecutor ruled out suicide, describing Kurosaki as a "young girl full of life" who was happy in a new relationship. "There is sufficient evidence to launch a murder investigation," she told a press conference. "Several students living on the same floor (of her student residence) heard a loud cry on the night of December 4-5. From that moment on, there was no trace of Narumi." Anne-Laure Saillet, a 20-year-old student, told AFP she heard "bangs on the doors and furniture and afterwards I heard a very shrill cry, very sharp and loud. It was a woman's cry. "At first I thought it was a horror film but when it continued I became worried." Roux-Morizot said tests were being carried out on reddish traces found on the steps of the building to determine whether they were bloodstains. North Korea nuclear threat Trump's first challenge North Korea's determined quest for a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the US mainland is the first major US foreign policy challenge of the Donald Trump era. And, less than three weeks before he takes office, Trump has already plunged into these most dangerous of waters with a warning to unpredictable dictator Kim Jong-un. Kim marked the New Year by announcing that North Korea plans to test launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) of the kind he would need to threaten US soil. People walk past a television news broadcast at a railway station in Seoul on January 1, 2017 showing North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's New Year's speech JUNG Yeon-Je (AFP/File) The US president-elect responded with one of his trademark Twitter taunts, vowing to halt Pyongyang in its tracks. "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US," he declared. "It won't happen!" Trump didn't provide any context for his promise but, if Kim continues to plough ahead despite the sanctions already imposed on his regime, the endgame is ominous. "Has our next commander-in-chief issued, 18 days before his inauguration, a pledge that the US will wage pre-emptive war against the DPRK?" asked Strobe Talbott. Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution and a former deputy secretary of state, spoke for many worried experts who fear Trump has limited diplomatic options. US President Barack Obama's outgoing administration has pursued a policy of UN-backed sanctions targeting Kim's regime, and a call for six-party negotiations. - Inevitable war? - These talks would see North Korea come to the table with China, the US, South Korea, Japan and Russia to negotiate an end to the stand-off and a nuclear-free peninsula. But, aside from China, outside states have little leverage over the pariah regime and Beijing opposes any stronger measures that might threaten to destabilize its neighbor. Trump suggests an ICBM in the hands of an aggressive North Korean despot -- still technically at war with the United States since the 1950-53 war -- would be intolerable. So, if sanctions don't work, is war inevitable? Perhaps not yet, but the US military -- which has just under 30,000 troops in South Korea -- has stepped up planning for any eventual operation. "It is the threat that keeps me awake at night," a senior defense official said. "Primarily because we don't know what the dear leader in North Korea is really after." The senior official, speaking last month on condition of anonymity said US commanders have been reviewing options for 70 years but that the ICBM threat has focused minds. Robert Einhorn, who until 2013 was State Department special adviser for non-proliferation and arms control, told AFP that Kim's threat to test an ICBM was not new. "Whether they can deliver it is another story," he said. "Many experts believe that the North may be two or three years away from having the ability confidently to deliver a nuclear payload on the continental US." China does not want North Korea to join the small club of nations that can launch nuclear weapons half-way round the planet, but it doesn't want the regime to collapse either. If sanctions cause Kim's authoritarian state to fall apart, China could face millions of refugees and see its neighbor Korea reunified as a US military ally. Some once argued that Kim and his equally isolated predecessors were merely brandishing the nuclear threat to force the United States into direct negotiations. But experts now see the pursuit of nuclear missiles as a strategic choice to deter South Korean or US aggression. "I don't think these programs are any longer a bargaining chip. If they ever were," Einhorn said, adding that Trump will have to decide whether to seek direct contact. - Trump unpredictable - As with the 2015 Iran deal, any talks would have a multilateral veneer but the key elements would have to be worked out between US and North Korean diplomats. For Einhorn, Trump will have to decide "whether the strategy will be pressure alone or whether pressure will have to go hand in hand with negotiations." Are plans being laid for any of this? It's hard to tell from a single president-elect tweet, but absent any new plan, fears of war will continue to build. "Kim Jong-un is the more dangerous," Einhorn said. "But the more unpredictable, at this stage, may be Donald Trump." US President-elect Donald Trump, seen December 28, 2016, suggests an ICBM in the hands of an aggressive North Korean despot -- still technically at war with the United States since the 1950-53 war -- would be intolerable DON EMMERT (AFP/File) Billie Lourd speaks out on deaths of mother, grandmother Billie Lourd says the support she's received since the deaths of her mother, Carrie Fisher, and her grandmother, Debbie Reynolds, has given her strength. Lourd posted a photo of herself with Fisher and Reynolds on her official Instagram account Monday. She wrote, "Receiving all of your prayers and kind words over the past week has given me strength during a time I thought strength could not exist." She went on to say that "there are no words" to describe how much she will miss them. FILE- In this Dec. 14, 2015, file photo, Carrie Fisher, left, and daughter Billie Lourd arrive at the world premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. Lourd says the support shes received since the death of her mother and her grandmother, Debbie Reynolds, has given her strength. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File) Fisher and Reynolds died one day apart last week. The 24-year-old Lourd is the daughter of Fisher and talent agent Bryan Lourd. Venezuela searches for missing helicopter in Amazon jungle CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Venezuelan teams are searching in the Amazon rain forest for a military helicopter that went missing with as many as 13 people on board. Communications Minister Ernesto Villegas says the Russian-built aircraft was supposed to have landed in the tiny settlement of La Esmeralda on Friday. He didn't say how many people were on board, but local media reported the army helicopter was carrying 13 people, including five civilians. Villegas said eight military airplanes were in the area and would continue their search until the aircraft was located. KCR BJP : - ; House GOP votes to gut independent ethics office WASHINGTON (AP) House Republicans on Monday voted to eviscerate the Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent body created in 2008 to investigate allegations of misconduct by lawmakers after several bribery and corruption scandals sent members to prison. The ethics change, which prompted an outcry from Democrats and government watchdog groups, is part of a rules package that the full House will vote on Tuesday. The package also includes a means for Republican leaders to punish lawmakers if there is a repeat of the Democratic sit-in last summer over gun control. Under the ethics change pushed by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., the non-partisan Office of Congressional Ethics would fall under the control of the House Ethics Committee, which is run by lawmakers. It would be known as the Office of Congressional Complaint Review, and the rule change would require that "any matter that may involve a violation of criminal law must be referred to the Committee on Ethics for potential referral to law enforcement agencies after an affirmative vote by the members," according to Goodlatte's office. FILE- In this May 19, 2015, file photo, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., listens to testimony on Capitol Hill in Washington. House Republicans on Monday, Jan. 2, 2017, voted to eviscerate the Office of Congressional Ethics. Under the ethics change pushed by Goodlatte, the independent body would fall under the control of the House Ethics Committee, which is run by lawmakers. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) Lawmakers would have the final say under the change. House Republicans voted 119-74 for the Goodlatte measure despite arguments from Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., against the change. They failed to sway rank-and-file Republicans, some of whom have felt unfairly targeted by the OCE. "The amendment builds upon and strengthens the existing Office of Congressional Ethics by maintaining its primary area of focus of accepting and reviewing complaints from the public and referring them, if appropriate, to the Committee on Ethics," Goodlatte said in a statement. Democrats, led by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, reacted angrily. "Republicans claim they want to 'drain the swamp,' but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions," the California lawmaker said in a statement. "Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress." Chris Carson, president of the League of Women Voters, said Ryan should be ashamed of himself and his leadership team. "We all know the so-called House Ethics Committee is worthless for anything other than a whitewash sweeping corruption under the rug. That's why the independent Office of Congressional Ethics has been so important. The OCE works to stop corruption and that's why Speaker Ryan is cutting its authority. Speaker Ryan is giving a green light to congressional corruption." The OCE was created in March 2008 after the cases of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., who served more than seven years in prison on bribery and other charges; as well as cases of former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, who was charged in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal and pleaded guilty to corruption charges and former Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., convicted on corruption in a separate case. ___ AP Congressional Correspondent Erica Werner contributed to this report. ___ Phoenix police: Suspect arrested in highway carjacking case PHOENIX (AP) Phoenix police say a suspect has been arrested in connection with attempted carjackings on Interstate 17 last week. The Dec. 26 incident ended with an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper shooting the suspect, who was identified Monday as 31-year-old Oligario Renteria. Police say Renteria has been released from a hospital and booked into jail on suspicion of two counts of attempt first-degree murder, five counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count each of armed robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault on police and possession of a weapon by a prohibited person. It's unclear if Renteria had a lawyer yet. The Latest: Official says intel community ready for Trump WASHINGTON (AP) The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST): 9:45 p.m. A U.S. official says there has been no delay in the intelligence community's plans to brief President-elect Donald Trump on Russian interference in the 2016 election. Vice President-elect Mike Pence speaks to members of the media as he arrives at Trump Tower in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) The official says the intelligence community was confused by Trump's tweet Tuesday saying the briefing had been delayed until Friday. The official was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly and spoke only on condition of anonymity. Intelligence officials have said Russia was behind the hacking of Democratic groups during the presidential campaign and sought to influence the election on Trump's behalf. Trump has not accepted those conclusions. President Barack Obama has ordered a review on the hacking to be completed before he leaves office. The U.S. official says the report has to go to Obama before other officials, including Trump. By Deb Riechmann __ 8:30 p.m. President-elect Donald Trump says he's scheduled to meet with intelligence officials Friday for a briefing on Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump tweeted the schedule update late Tuesday. He is also reiterating his skepticism of the U.S. intelligence community, using quote marks around the word "intelligence." He notes the briefing will be held later than initially expected, writing: "Perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange." Trump has clashed repeatedly with the intelligence community as he prepares to take office. Specifically, he's taking issue with their assessment that the Russian government interfered with the election he won. The president-elect has expressed far more confidence in Vladimir Putin, praising the Russian president before and after Election Day. ___ 7:15 p.m. Donald Trump has announced plans to hold his first news conference since winning the presidency. The president-elect tweeted Tuesday night that he would have "a general news conference" on Jan. 11 in New York City. That's just nine days before he's set to be sworn into office. Trump has already waited longer than any other president in the modern era to hold his first news conference. Most have held such events within days of their elections. It's been several months since Trump held a formal news conference, although he has answered questions from reporters as recently as last week. Trump has previously teased news conferences that have not materialized. He failed to follow through after promising to talk to reporters about his plans to limit conflicts of interest in mid-December. ___ 4:15 p.m. Omarosa Manigault is getting hired. A memorable contestant in the first season of "The Apprentice," Manigault is expected to join President-elect Donald Trump's White House staff, according to two people familiar with the decision. Her job is expected to focus on public engagement. Manigault was one of Trump's most prominent African-American supporters during the campaign and has been working with his transition team. This will be her second tour of duty at the White House she worked in the office of Vice President Al Gore during the Clinton Administration. The Trump transition team did not respond to inquiries about Manigault's role. The two people familiar with the decision insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the hiring process publicly. By Julie Pace and Julie Bykowicz ___ 2:34 p.m. Veteran journalist Bob Woodward is attending private meetings in Trump Tower. But he won't say whether he's meeting with the president-elect. The journalist made famous by his reliance on secret sources during the Watergate scandal was spotted on Tuesday getting on the elevators leading up to Trump's private suite in the lobby of the incoming president's Manhattan skyscraper. Afterward, Woodward said he was "visiting a couple of people" and would come back "to see somebody else." Pressed for details, he said he agreed not to disclose details about the meetings. Woodward said, "There's no secrecy about it. It's just that I'm doing my work." He added, "It's something I'm working on long term. I hope you'll understand." ___ 2:12 p.m. Bill and Hillary Clinton plan to attend Donald Trump's inauguration, putting the 2016 presidential rivals on the same platform only weeks after their tough campaign. Aides to the former president and former secretary of state say the Clintons will attend the Jan. 20 inauguration. The announcement came shortly after former President George W. Bush's office said he would attend along with former first lady Laura Bush. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, has largely avoided the public eye since Trump's come-from-behind victory in November. As a former president and first lady, the couple faced the difficult decision of whether to attend the ceremony. __ 11:05 a.m. The new U.N. secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, says he isn't concerned about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's remarks that the United Nations is a place to have a good time. Guterres, who took over from Ban Ki-moon, said after arriving at U.N. headquarters in New York for the first time Tuesday that he is focused on getting all countries to come together to solve the multiplying conflicts and other "terrible problems" the world is facing, including terrorism, human rights violations, poverty and inequality. After the United States allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank on Dec. 23 in a stunning rupture with past practice, Trump questioned the U.N.'s effectiveness. "The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!," he tweeted on Dec. 26. Trump has also shown little interest in multilateralism, which Guterres stressed Tuesday is the "the cornerstone" of the United Nations. ___ 9:48 a.m. President-elect Donald Trump will be given "more information" from the intelligence community about Russian interference in the U.S. election in the coming days. That's according to Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who briefly addressed reporters on Tuesday as he entered Trump Tower. Asked about Russia, Pence said "the president-elect will be receiving more information about that and other topics on the world stage" over the course of the coming days. Trump's team has been skeptical about intelligence reports that determined Russia interfered with the 2016 election. Pence ignored a question about whether he had lost confidence in the U.S. intelligence community. Instead, he said it is "a new season" for America's role in the world. He added, "The world will see that with our president-elect taking office that America will be standing tall in the world again, engaging the world again, and standing firmly for America's interests." ___ 9:35 a.m. Vice President-elect Mike Pence has a message for Capitol Hill: "It's time to get to work." President-elect Donald Trump's second in command made the comment on Tuesday as he entered Trump Tower in New York as members of Congress convened in Washington for the first time in 2017. Pence said he would spend Wednesday on Capitol Hill meeting with members of the House and Senate about the incoming administration's agenda. He said, "It's time to keep our word to the American people." The priorities Pence mentioned were "repealing and replacing Obamacare" along with plans to "roll back" regulations. Pence also said there would likely be another Cabinet announcement in the coming days. The Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward arrives at Trump Tower in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Vice President-elect Mike Pence, center, accompanied by his daughter Audrey, left, arrives at Trump Tower in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Russia eyes naval drills with Philippines as 2 ships visit MANILA, Philippines (AP) Russia is eyeing naval exercises with the Philippines and deployed two navy ships for a goodwill visit to Manila on Tuesday as Moscow moves to expand defense ties with a Filipino president known for being hostile to the U.S. Rear Adm. Eduard Mikhailov, deputy commander of Russia's Pacific Fleet, led the five-day visit of vessels including an anti-submarine ship and showcased what his country can offer to a Southeast Asian nation that's long been a staunch American treaty ally. "You can choose ... to cooperate with United States of America or to cooperate with Russia," Mikhailov told reporters through an interpreter at the Manila harbor after a welcoming ceremony. "But from our side we can help you in every way that you need." Russian crewmen stand at attention on board the Russian Navy vessel Admiral Tributs, a large anti-submarine ship, as it docks at Manila's pier, Philippines on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. Two Russian Navy Vessels are in the country for a goodwill visit till Jan. 7. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) "We are sure that in the future we'll have exercises with you. Maybe, just maneuvering or maybe use of combat systems and so on," he said. The anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs and sea tanker Boris Butoma have a wide range of combat features. Filipinos will be allowed to tour the huge ships and Russian marines will demonstrate their combat capability during the high-profile visit, according to the Philippine navy. With an underfunded and underequipped military, the Philippines has struggled to deal with attacks by ransom-seeking Abu Sayyaf militants and allied gunmen, who have kidnapped crewmen of tugboats and ships from neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia in the Sulu Sea and outlying waters. Russia can help through future combat drills, Mikhailov said. "We have an experience in fighting these (threats)," he said. "We will share to you our knowledge on these problems, how to solve piracy and terrorism." After Russian and Philippine officials met in Manila in August, the two countries began drafting a proposed defense cooperation accord that could be signed during a planned visit by President Rodrigo Duterte to Russia in April. The visit by the Russian navy ships is the third to the Philippines and the first under Duterte, who took office in June. Duterte has lashed out at outgoing President Barack Obama and his administration for criticizing Duterte's deadly crackdown on illegal drugs which is feared to have left more than 6,000 suspected drug users and dealers. Contrastingly, Duterte has reached out to China and Russia whose leaders he has met recently in a dramatic shift in Philippine foreign policy that has put Washington in a dilemma. The Philippines has depended heavily on the U.S., its treaty ally, for weapons, ships and aircraft for years, although it has turned to other countries for defense equipment. After visiting Moscow last month, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Philippine military was considering purchasing sniper rifles from Russia. Albania schools to remain closed amid weather, flu concerns TIRANA, Albania (AP) Albania is suspending the reopening of schools after the New Year's break because of frigid weather and concern about the spread of flu. A Health Ministry statement on Tuesday warned that subfreezing temperatures will cover the whole country for several days, "creating favorable conditions for the further spread of the (flu) virus." It ordered nurseries, kindergartens, elementary and high schools, which were due to resume Wednesday, to remain closed this week. The ministry warned people to avoid big gatherings, stay at home, and keep away from people with flu. It also offered free anti-flu vaccine to medical personnel, pregnant women, retirees and those with chronic illnesses. Weather forecasters say that temperatures will drop to -15 C (5 F) this weekend and snow will cover the entire country, including the capital, Tirana. Anthropologist doing autopsy for decomposed body in Detroit DETROIT (AP) The autopsy on a severely decomposed body found facedown inside a car in Detroit is being performed by an anthropologist. The anthropologist is from the University of Michigan. The autopsy was planned for Tuesday. Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office spokesman Lloyd Jackson says medical examiners concluded an anthropologist will have to determine the gender, age, time of death, and perhaps how the person died. Police say a prospective homebuyer discovered the body Thursday in a garage. Jackson says the dark, leathery bones were covered in a sweater, shirt and pants. Taliban ambush kills 4 police in northern Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) Afghan officials say a Taliban ambush in the northeastern Badakhshan province has killed at least four police. Deputy Provincial Police Chief Mohammed Nabi Bayhan says the attack took place late Monday and that security forces have launched a clearing operation in the area. Ahmad Bashir Musamum, a provincial council member, confirmed the attack and said seven police were killed. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement Tuesday. Elsewhere in Afghanistan, Sanatullah Timor, a spokesman for the governor of Takhar province, said a Taliban fighter was killed Monday while planting a mine. President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday he will nominate lawyer Robert Lighthizer as U.S. trade representative, picking an experienced trade official who has questioned the conservative movement's commitment to free trade. Lighthizer, who served as deputy USTR under President Ronald Reagan, would play a key role in Trump's trade agenda. The president-elect has vigorously opposed the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership pact, but has said he would ink one-on-one trade deals with individual countries. Trump has also signaled a tough stance on trade with China, including levying a hefty tariff on Chinese imports. Robert Lighthizer, pictured here in 2007 in a documentary history of Bob Dole, is Donald Trump's US Trade Representative Lighthizer served as a deputy US trade representative with the rank of ambassador under Republican President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s Lighthizer will have to handle policy with nations abroad after Donald Trump's recent Twitter outbursts attacking China and North Korea 'Ambassador Lighthizer is going to do an outstanding job representing the United States as we fight for good trade deals that put the American worker first,' Trump said Tuesday in a statement announcing his pick. 'He has extensive experience striking agreements that protect some of the most important sectors of our economy, and has repeatedly fought in the private sector to prevent bad deals from hurting Americans. He will do an amazing job helping turn around the failed trade policies which have robbed so many Americans of prosperity.' Lighthizer, who played a senior role during Bob Dole's 1996 campaign, has more recently worked on trade issues as a lawyer, representing manufacturing, agricultural and high-tech companies, according to his law firm biography. Lighthizer's bio also states that he focused on 'market-opening trade actions on behalf of U.S. companies seeking access to foreign markets.' Yet in a 2008 New York Times op-ed, he openly questioned GOP presidential nominee John McCain's commitment to free trade in a New York Times opinion article. 'Mr. McCain may be a conservative. But his unbridled free-trade policies don't help make that case,' Lighthizer wrote at the time, suggesting that free trade had long been popular among liberals. Trump has chosen investor Wilbur Ross as his Secretary of Commerce, putting him in place as the main architect of the nation's trade policy Trump tweeted his outrage on Tuesday at a US car company and the nation of China, both over commerce and trade issues 'The editorial pages of major newspapers consistently support free trade,' he wrote. 'Ted Kennedy supported the advance of free trade. President Bill Clinton fought hard to win approval of the North American Free Trade Agreement.' 'Despite some of his campaign rhetoric, Barack Obama is careful to express qualified support for free trade, even when stumping in the industrial Midwest.' 'Moreover, many American conservatives have opposed free trade. Jesse Helms, the most outspoken conservative in the Senate for three decades, was no free trader. Neither was Alexander Hamilton, who could be considered the founder of American conservatism,' he continued. Meanwhile, Trump returned to his New York headquarters Monday after spending the holidays at his private club in South Florida. With less than three weeks until his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump is expected to fill out a handful of remaining Cabinet-level posts in the coming days. In addition to the USTR, Trump is also weighing picks to lead the departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, as well as a director of national intelligence. In addition, Trump is still filling out some top White House positions. Trump has already signaled that he plans to spread work on his trade policies beyond USTR. His transition team has said billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, Trump's nominee to head the Commerce Department, will play a lead role on trade. The president-elect has also named economist Peter Navarro to a newly created White House National Trade Council. Trump indicated Tuesday that Lighthizer would work 'in close coordination' with Ross and Navarro. Lighthizer declared his allegiance to Trump's approach on trade. The Latest: German state may not deport far-right victims ROME (AP) The Latest on the influx of migrants in Europe (all times local): 7:45 p.m. The German state of Brandenburg will stop deporting failed asylum-seekers if they are victims of far-right violence. Afghan refugee Naeem Swaidan, 2, sits in a bucket while being given a bath by his mother at the refugee camp of Oinofyta about 58 kilometers (36 miles) north of Athens, Monday, Jan. 2, 2017. Over 62,000 refugees and migrants are stranded in Greece after a series of Balkan border closures and an European Union deal with Turkey to stop migrant flows. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen) The eastern state, which encircles Berlin, has seen numerous neo-Nazi attacks against migrants and refugee homes in recent years. The Potsdamer Neuesten Nachrichten daily reported Tuesday that a decree instructs civil servants to use the leeway available to them to let victims of far-right attacks remain in the country. Asylum-seekers who share responsibility for a violent incident or who have themselves committed a crime are exempt from the stay of deportation. German police recorded 857 far-right crimes against refugee homes across the country in 2016, down from 923 the previous year. The figures jumped sharply in 2015 amid an unprecedented influx of asylum-seekers to Germany. In 2014, there had been 177 far-right attacks. ___ 3:50 p.m. Police in northern Greece say an Afghan migrant has died of hypothermia after crossing a river that forms the country's border with Turkey. The body of the man believed to be 20 years old was found in a field early Tuesday near the Greek border town of Didimoteicho after police were alerted by another Afghan man who said he had traveled with him across the Evros River. Overnight temperatures in the area plunged to -14 Celsius (7 F). Greek authorities are battling a spike in river crossings as migrants try to avoid being detained on the Greek islands, where a deportation agreement between the European Union and Turkey remains in effect and facilities are overcrowded. ___ 1:15 p.m. Spanish authorities say border guards have recently detained two Moroccans for attempting to smuggle migrants concealed in a suitcase and in a car as they crossed the border into Ceuta, Spain's enclave in North Africa. The Guardia Civil says that custom officials found a 19-year-old migrant from Gabon hidden in a suitcase pushed by a woman who tried to enter from Morocco on Friday. The 22-year-old Moroccan woman tried to avoid the security checks, which raised the suspicions of the agents. When officials requested she open the luggage, they found the man curled into the poorly-oxygenated hard suitcase. According to police, the man received immediate medical attention. In a separate case on Monday, police also arrested a 30-year-old Moroccan man for hiding two migrants in a car. ___ 10:25 a.m. Italian police say they have quelled a violent protest by occupants of a migrant center near Venice that left fearful workers barricaded inside offices. Carabinieri paramilitary police in Chioggia, near the Cona migrant center, said the protest ended in the early hours of Tuesday. Italian state RAI radio said migrants were protesting the alleged delay in medical assistance for a 25-year-old woman from Ivory Coast. The ill asylum-seeker died after an ambulance arrived. The radio said 25 frightened workers locked themselves inside offices when migrants set fires outside the center. No one was reported injured, and the protest ended after police mediated the dispute. Il Sole-24 Ore radio said that before the protest, the center's management was being investigated after allegations of fraud and maltreatment. FILE - In this May 23, 2016 file photo German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere speaks during a news conference, in Berlin, Germany. Germany's interior minister is proposing a security shake-up that could include creating "federal departure centers" to ease the deportation of rejected asylum-seekers and centralizing the country's domestic intelligence agency. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, file) French left-wing candidates take risky stance: pro-Europe PARIS (AP) Two men hoping to clinch the left-wing nomination for France's presidential race are pursuing a risky strategy: They want to save the much-maligned European Union. Manuel Valls and Vincent Peillon laid out their platforms Tuesday, pleading for unity and tolerance in the face of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration, anti-EU campaign. Valls and Peillon are among seven candidates in the leftist primary Jan. 22 and 29, seeking a nomination that looks like a poisoned chalice. Polls suggest the mainstream left's candidate in France's April-May election may not even make it past the first round of voting amid mass disappointment with Socialist Francois Hollande's presidency. FILE - In this March 13, 2013 file photo, then French Education Minister Vincent Peillon leaves the Elysee Palace after the weekly cabinet meeting, in Paris. Candidates in the leftist primary Jan 22 and 29 Manuel Valls and Vincent Peillon laid out their platforms Tuesday Jan. 3, 2017, pleading for unity and tolerance in the face of far right candidate Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration, anti-EU campaign.(AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File) Both men sought Tuesday to distance themselves from the Socialists' troubles and to revive support for the EU. That may prove a hard sell in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the EU and amid frustration across the continent with a union seen as elitist and bogged down in bureaucracy. Valls, a Spanish-born former prime minister, called himself "profoundly European" and said the solution to disillusionment with the EU is to "re-found" and defend it, notably with higher taxes on imports from outside Europe's single market. He called for a suspension in EU enlargement and tougher external borders, saying, "European civilization ... should start and end somewhere." After two years marred by deadly extremist attacks, Valls also said he would create 1,000 more police and gendarme jobs every year. Peillon, a European Parliament member and former education minister, listed Europe as No. 2 of six broad campaign strategies. He called for a Europe-wide minimum wage and tax policies, and an unspecified new "financial instrument" to help Europe pay for migration policy. "The year 2017 puts us before a clear choice: dismantle Europe, or rebuild it," his campaign manifesto says. "And if Europe comes undone, France will come undone too." Le Pen, who wants to reinstate French borders and hold a referendum on leaving the EU, praised Russia on BFM television Tuesday for defending its national interests and said France should do the same. Incomplete: Missouri job growth at half of incentive pledge JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Jobs were vanishing by the thousands when Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon took office in the midst of the greatest recession in decades. So when an agricultural company decided to build a soybean processing facility in southeast Missouri, Nixon pounced on the potential of 50 new jobs, proclaiming that it was "precisely the kind of next-generation growth that will help Missouri lead the country's economic recovery." Nixon's March 4, 2010, press release praising DuPont Pioneer Hi-Bred marked the first of what would become about 200 gubernatorial announcements or ceremonies touting business deals projected to cumulatively create about 48,000 jobs in exchange for up to $2 billion of state incentives. As the Democratic governor prepares to leave office Jan. 9, those businesses have reported hiring a little over 21,400 employees while the state so far has distributed about $166 million of incentives to them, according to an Associated Press analysis of data compiled by the state Department of Economic Development. FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2009, file photo, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon tours Ford's Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, Mo. During his administration, Nixon has highlighted business deals that are cumulatively projected to create about 48,000 jobs in exchange for as much as $2 billion of state incentives. As he prepares to leave office Jan. 9, fewer than half of those jobs have materialized so far and the state has paid out less than one-tenth of the potential incentives. More could come after Nixon's term. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) While the report card is incomplete Nixon's deals will likely lead to more jobs and incentives paid out even after he's left office Missouri's experience highlights the extent to which states are willing to use targeted tax breaks to attract jobs, and the difficulty in determining whether the incentivized promises ultimately pan out. "When firms apply for incentives, they tend to propose more jobs than are actually created," said Dagney Faulk, research director at the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University in Indiana. State and national unemployment rates have fallen by half from their high in 2009, and the economy is growing modestly as measured by the gross domestic product. But plenty of economic angst remains, as evidenced by President-elect Donald Trump's appeal to working-class households with a pledge to boost American jobs. "The bottom line is the economy's in a lot better place," Nixon said in an interview. The AP's analysis didn't include projects that Nixon didn't publicize. But figures provided by the state show that even with those projects, fewer than half of the promised jobs have been created so far. Missouri provides income tax credits and lets companies keep a portion of employee withholding taxes for new jobs. The state also provides job-training funds to businesses and community development grants to build infrastructure needed by companies. The Pioneer Hi-Bred facility in New Madrid County is among the successes, with a current payroll of about 70 full-time employees. Some of the biggest gains have come in the automotive industry. Nixon called a special legislative session in 2010 to enact incentives to save Ford Motor Co.'s plant in Claycomo, near Kansas City. That plant now is Ford's highest-volume facility worldwide producing more than 400,000 trucks and vans in 2015 and has doubled its payroll to more than 7,400 workers. Ford has received about $29 million of its roughly $100 million of potential incentives, according to state figures. General Motors has received about $31 million for a St. Louis-area assembly plant. Numerous auto parts suppliers also have gotten state aid. Nixon said the resurgence of Missouri's automobile industry would not have happened without state incentives. "If people think that Ford plant in Claycomo would still be open ... they don't understand the world that you live in as governor," Nixon said. The largest incentives deal in Missouri history up to $1.3 billion for a pledge of 16,000 jobs over a decade is scheduled to produce its first fruits in February when health care technology firm Cerner Corp. opens the initial phase of a Kansas City office complex with 3,000 employees. Department of Economic Development Director Mike Downing said Nixon "has met with a lot more companies" than any of the six other Missouri governors he's worked for since joining the agency in 1982. Sometimes that's led to embarrassment none more glaring than when Nixon announced in July 2010 that a little-known Chinese-owned firm called Mamtek would employ more than 600 people at a new Moberly facility making artificial sweetener. A little over a year later, the partially completed facility was abandoned and the city defaulted on $39 million of bonds issued for the project. Mamtek CEO Bruce Cole later pleaded guilty to securities fraud and theft. The former Mamtek site has since been developed by MFA Oil Co., which bought it at a bargain price. But Moberly was slighted again in 2015 when GAF backed out of a deal to build a shingles manufacturing plant that would have employed 125 people. The two Moberly failures are among about two dozen Nixon-announced projects listed by the Department of Economic Development as closed with no benefits. Some simply never occurred while others fell short of job targets or didn't follow through on requests for aid. Among those is 3G Processing, a Mountain Grove facility announced by Nixon in 2010 that converted food scraps into oil for biodiesel and feed products for poultry and hogs. 3G Processing failed to submit an annual report and was disqualified from getting more than $300,000 in state aid, according to department records. "Once we got the notice we filled it out, but when it got in there they said it was late," said owner Lexie Grisham. "Anytime that you expect stuff, sometimes it just don't work right." 3G Processing shut down in November 2015 amid declining oil prices and laid off most of its roughly 100 employees, Grisham said. About three dozen additional business projects remain open but have reported no jobs to the state either because they haven't hired enough people to trigger incentives or haven't reached their reporting deadline. Among those is data analytics firm mySidewalk, which Nixon announced in April 2014 would be moving from Omaha, Nebraska, to Kansas City and creating 80 jobs in exchange for up to $1.6 million in tax breaks. The firm, originally called MindMixer, temporarily reached that employment mark, then had widespread layoffs. It's now on an incentive plan for keeping at least 29 jobs, said new CEO Stephen Hardy. "We took a shot at something and we didn't pull it off," Hardy said. "But the taxpayers aren't left holding the bag on that one, because we didn't apply for or qualify for the larger tax incentive." ___ Follow David A. Lieb at: http://twitter.com/DavidALieb Get Started: Get ready to compile health insurance forms HEALTH INSURANCE FORMS With the arrival of tax reporting season, many small businesses that offer health insurance to employees must file documents detailing the coverage with the IRS, and must also give copies to their staffers. At look at the requirements: Companies with 50 or more staffers are required to offer insurance to staffers and their dependents. They must provide a document known as Form 1095-C to each employee by March 2; the form includes information on who was covered in the staffer's family, how many months they were covered during the year and how much the insurance cost the employee. Companies must file with the IRS a Form 1095-C for each staffer and also Form 1094-C, which collects and sums up the information on a company's coverage. Those forms are due with the IRS by Feb. 28 if companies are using paper forms, or March 31 if they're filing electronically. Companies must file electronically if they are sending the IRS 250 or more of Form 1095-C. Companies with fewer than 50 staffers are not required to offer insurance, but if they have a self-insured or self-funded plan, in which they rather than insurers pay for employees' claims, they must report information on their coverage. These businesses must provide a Form 1095-B to each staffer by March 2. These forms are similar to Form 1095-C, providing detailed information on each staffer's insurance. Companies must also file with the IRS a Form 1095-B for each employee and a Form 1094-C, a simple document reporting the number of 1095-B forms being filed. The deadlines are the same as for larger companies: by Feb. 28 if companies are using paper forms, or March 31 if they're filing electronically. Companies with fewer than 50 staffers whose coverage is paid by an insurance carrier are not required to file similar forms; that is the responsibility of the insurance company. You can get more information at the IRS website, www.irs.gov . GETTING YOUR EMAILS OPENED, NOT DELETED How to get your company's emails noticed and opened will be the topic of an online seminar sponsored by SCORE, the organization that gives free counseling to small businesses. It will be held Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. Eastern time. Learn more and register at http://bit.ly/2iXtsVd _____ Congo opposition leader who fled country announces candidacy DAKAR, Senegal (AP) A top Congo opposition leader who fled the country has announced his candidacy for president and is commending a new political agreement that might allow him to come home. In a statement Tuesday, Moise Katumbi praised the deal signed by political parties that calls for President Joseph Kabila to leave power after an election that will be held by the end of the year. The election originally had been set for November, and delays caused growing unrest. Under the deal, mediating group CENCO will examine Katumbi's case. Katumbi fled Congo last year as prosecutors announced their intent to try him on charges of hiring mercenaries, which he has denied. The Latest at CES: From drones to A.I., top CES 2017 trends LAS VEGAS (AP) The Latest on CES gadget show in Las Vegas (all times local): 5 p.m. Top trends expected to emerge at CES this year include an explosion of voice-controlled interfaces, subtle integration of artificial intelligence into everyday life and increasing digitization in areas like health and wellness. Workers prepare a booth during setup for CES International, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, in Las Vegas. The show runs from January 5-8. (AP Photo/John Locher) The 50th annual CES this week in Las Vegas is expected to draw 165,000 attendees. In the past, it has been a showcase for stunning new gadgets, but in recent years it has evolved into an event where more incremental steps forward are revealed. Shawn Dubravac, chief economist of the Consumer Technology Association, said in a panel Tuesday that voice control will be far more prevalent this year than it has been in the past. Voice-activated systems are expected to double to 10 million in 2017, he said. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is finding its way into more products, such as a refrigerator that can self-adjust its temperature for optimal humidity. "The broader theme is how we're increasingly allowing these small things to be automated," he said. "It started with changing the temperature in the room, and now it's changing the temperature in your refrigerator." Elsewhere, look for a surplus of new drones, personal robots and connected and self-driving cars on display, as well new wearable devices that give insight into specific health and wellness categories like preventing concussions or measuring vitamin D deficiency. ___ 10:20 a.m. Neither the holiday season nor New Year's fitness resolutions seem to be helping wearable gadgets break into the mainstream. Research firm eMarketer has lowered its outlook for smartwatches and fitness trackers such as the Apple Watch and Fitbits. It's not that the craze has died down it's more like there never was one to begin with. The research comes as gadget makers large and small prepare to unveil new wearable devices at the CES tech show in Las Vegas this week. In October 2015, eMarketer expected wearable gadget to grow more than 60 percent among U.S. adults in 2016. That's now down to less than 25 percent. While fitness trackers are relatively cheap and straightforward to use, eMarketer says smartwatches haven't caught on because they are expensive and lack a well-defined purpose. But multinational corporations no, really could save the day. Gartner predicts that by 2019, nearly all big employers will encourage the use of fitness trackers to "improve corporate performance." Big Brother, apparently, won't just be watching, but tracking your steps. ___ 8:30 a.m. Technology may soon change the way you shop in brick-and-mortar stores, not just online. Last month, Amazon unveiled a test store that lets shoppers fill their bags and walk out without seeing a cashier or scanning any items. Many other stores have been experimenting with digital enhancements aimed at luring shoppers back from online sites. Many of these technologies will be unveiled or demonstrated at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas, which begins Tuesday with media previews. Robots, for instance, could help guide shoppers to the right aisle, while augmented reality apps could help you see how a particular shade of paint will look in the living room or how you might look in a pair of jeans. But plenty of retailers have learned through trial and error that technology can't get too far ahead of shoppers. It has to be easy to use and beneficial to shoppers in some way. ___ 7:30 a.m. TVs, drones, robots and a slew of other gadgets will showcase the annual CES gadget show in Las Vegas this week. CES is one of the world's largest trade shows and is the forum for many tech companies and startups to unveil their plans for the year. Its influence has waned over the years, given that many leading companies including Apple, Google and Microsoft hold their own events. But the CES show still draws a lot of attention. The event starts Tuesday with two days of company announcements on new products and services. The show floor itself opens on Thursday. Gadgets expected include TVs with new capabilities and better picture quality, as well as all sorts of household products with internet connections, including refrigerators, doors and security cameras. A man walks by a sign during setup for CES International, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, in Las Vegas. The show runs from January 5-8. (AP Photo/John Locher) This photo provided by Best Buy shows an example of Best Buy's demonstration for Facebook Inc.s Oculus Rift headsets. From robots to interactive mirrors to shelves embedded with sensors, tomorrows retail stores will embrace technologies to not only draw shoppers back from e-commerce but also nudge them to spend more. (Courtesy of Best Buy via AP) Fireworks explode over the Las Vegas Strip during a New Year's Eve celebration Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) This photo provided by SoftBank Robotics America demonstrates a shopping experience with SoftBank Robotics' humanoid robot called Pepper, waving at right. The robot can greet shoppers and has the potential to send messages geared to peoples age and gender through facial recognition. (SoftBank Robotics America via AP) FILE - This Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016, file photo, shows Pepper the robot at Westfield Mall in San Francisco. The SoftBank Robotics humanoid robot can greet shoppers and has the potential to send messages geared to peoples age and gender through facial recognition. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) People walk through the Las Vegas Convention Center during setup for CES International, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, in Las Vegas. The show runs from January 5-8. (AP Photo/John Locher) Workers prepare a booth during setup for CES International, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, in Las Vegas. The show runs from January 5-8. (AP Photo/John Locher) Flight attendants taken to hospital after American flight American Airlines says seven flight attendants were treated at a Florida hospital after complaining that a strange odor on their plane gave them headaches. An airline spokeswoman said Tuesday that the employees were treated and released. Alexis Aran Coello said none of the passengers on the flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Orlando, Florida, complained of symptoms. In a separate incident, a Southwest Airlines plane flying on Monday night from San Antonio, Texas, to Orlando made an emergency landing in Jacksonville, Florida, after oxygen masks in the cabin dropped from the ceiling. A Southwest spokesman told media in Florida that the flight was diverted because of an issue with cabin pressure but that the plane with 133 passengers made a safe landing. American Airlines said an Airbus A330 with 89 passengers and a crew of 10 landed safely just before midnight Monday night in Orlando. According to the airline, medical personnel checked the crew members at the airport and cleared them, but the employees asked to be taken to the hospital early Tuesday morning. Silenced by IS, displaced Iraqis relish return to phones SEWDINAN CAMP, Iraq (AP) Iraqis who escaped Islamic State rule during the battle for Mosul are indulging in a newfound freedom the right to check their phones. When the Iraqi offensive to retake the northern city began in mid-October, its Islamic State rulers warned residents that anyone caught with an active mobile phone would be killed for spying. Many destroyed their SIM cards, and at least one terrified resident flushed his phone down the toilet. Others hid their devices where the militants were unlikely to look -- under women's clothes at the bottom of a wardrobe or in bird coops on the roofs of their homes. Displaced Iraqis, who fled fighting between Iraqi security forces and Islamic State militants, wait to charge their mobile phones and electrical lanterns, the generator owner charging 500 Iraqi dinars (about 45 U.S. cents) to charge each mobile phone, at Sewdinan Camp for the displaced near Khazer, Iraq on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. Displaced by the fighting in Mosul, Iraqis who escaped Islamic State rule in the northern Iraqi city are doing something they had not done in more than two years: Speaking publicly on their mobile phones and using social media to communicate with friends, relatives and loved ones (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed) For many, the phones came in handy later, when they were able to phone the military to coordinate their escape. After arriving in camps for the displaced, they were able to reach out to loved ones and return to social media after a virtual two-year blackout. Sahm Yassin, a primary school teacher, was one of those who took the risk and hid his phone. Before he fled Mosul about a week ago, he used it sparingly, walking under cover of darkness to high ground where he could get a signal strong enough to call family in Baghdad. "We were so isolated from the outside world, but I still needed to let them know that we, especially my elderly mother, are OK," said Yassin. "It's a great feeling, I missed being in touch with everyone," he said after retrieving his phone from one of the camp's "power vendors" displaced Iraqis with small generators who recharge phones for 500 dinars (about 45 cents). The camp does not provide electricity. IS seized Mosul, the country's second largest city, in the summer of 2014, when the extremists swept across western and northern Iraq. Ten weeks into the offensive, the militants still hold most of the city. On taking the city, IS implemented a radical interpretation of Islamic teachings, including a ban on smoking. Men were required to grow beards and women in public had to cover themselves from head to toe. The group initially allowed the use of mobile phones in Mosul under a set of intrusive restrictions. Militants at checkpoints and on foot patrols routinely checked people's phones, looking for suspicious numbers, music or photos, which were also banned. A few months later, the militants destroyed all the mobile towers, but residents said that on higher ground they could still pick up a weak signal from the nearby Kurdish region. Diaa Ahmed, a Mosul native who now lives in the Sewdinan Camp for the displaced near Mosul, ran a business providing internet lines to homes and charging customers to log on in the shop. IS enforcers made him install a security camera at the shop so they could monitor his clients. "They would come every week and demand to see the video recording and the names of those who came into the shop," he said. Ahmed eventually decided it was too much trouble, closed the shop last February and started selling food instead. "They still taxed me, but there were no questions and no visits," he said, as he carried two shopping bags filled with tomatoes and onions back to his tent. Phone cards were available in Mosul for a short period after IS took the city. Later, users relied on relatives and friends for phone-to-phone credit transfers. One major Iraqi provider built new signal towers south of the city last fall, while another ran TV and radio advertisements showing toll-free numbers residents could call to report emergencies or provide information about the militants. IS grew increasingly paranoid after the U.S.-backed Iraqi offensive to retake the city began in October, residents said. Anyone found with an active phone was presumed to be a spy and shot dead on the spot. But those who held onto their devices were able to call the military on hotline numbers broadcast by local media in order to organize their escape. The military would advise them of the best route out and deploy drones or helicopter gunships to protect them. Mahdi Saleh, 19, used phone credit sent to him by an uncle in the city of Kirkuk to ensure that he and dozens of families from Mosul's Somar neighborhood could safely escape. The uncle, after consulting with the military and other residents who had fled, provided directions, and they were safely out a week ago. In the refugee camp, Saleh is enjoying a freedom he has not had in a long time. "I can now speak on the phone as often as I want to and in front of everyone," he said, after chatting with an aunt in Kirkuk. "I can smoke, too." Mobile phones and electrical lanterns belonging to displaced Iraqis, who fled fighting between Iraqi security forces and Islamic State militants, charge at Sewdinan Camp for the displaced near Khazer, Iraq on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. Displaced by the fighting in Mosul, Iraqis who escaped Islamic State rule in the northern Iraqi city are doing something they had not done in more than two years: Speaking publicly on their mobile phones and using social media to communicate with friends, relatives and loved ones. (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed) Mobile phones and electrical lanterns belonging to displaced Iraqis, who fled fighting between Iraqi security forces and Islamic State militants, charge at Sewdinan Camp for the displaced near Khazer, Iraq on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. Displaced by the fighting in Mosul, Iraqis who escaped Islamic State rule in the northern Iraqi city are doing something they had not done in more than two years: Speaking publicly on their mobile phones and using social media to communicate with friends, relatives and loved ones (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed) Displaced Iraqis, who fled fighting between Iraqi security forces and Islamic State militants, wait to charge their mobile phones, the generator owner charging 500 Iraqi dinars (about 45 U.S. cents) to charge each mobile phone, at Sewdinan Camp for the displaced near Khazer, Iraq on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. Displaced by the fighting in Mosul, Iraqis who escaped Islamic State rule in the northern Iraqi city are doing something they had not done in more than two years: Speaking publicly on their mobile phones and using social media to communicate with friends, relatives and loved ones (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed) Israeli military slow probing alleged troop violence JERUSALEM (AP) An Israeli advocacy group on Tuesday criticized what it called an "exceptionally low" prosecution rate by the Israeli military in cases of violence committed by soldiers against Palestinians. The report by Yesh Din, a human rights group that is often critical of the Israeli military, came a day before a military court's verdict is to be delivered in a high-profile manslaughter case against a soldier. In its annual report, Yesh Din said the army opened 186 criminal investigations into suspected offenses against Palestinians in 2015, but just four of those investigations yielded indictments. The group said the 2015 figures, based on official army data, were the most recent available. File - In this Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015 file photo, Palestinian mourners carry the body of Malik Shaheen, 21, who was killed in clashes with Israeli troops, during his funeral in Deheishe refugee camp near the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Israeli advocacy group Yesh Din is criticizing what it says is an "exceptionally low" prosecution rate by the Israeli military in cases of violence committed by soldiers against Palestinians. Yesh Din says the army opened 186 criminal investigations into suspected offenses against Palestinians in 2015, but just four of those investigations yielded indictments. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, File) In the fall of 2015, a wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence erupted, characterized by Palestinian stabbing and car-ramming attacks on Israelis. The report said that of 76 Palestinians killed in clashes with soldiers in the West Bank in 2015, only 21 deaths resulted in investigations. "The fact that in 55 incidents no criminal investigation was considered necessary raises doubts about the implementation of Israel's declared policy on investigating civilian fatalities," the report said. It said the data signaled an "inability and unwillingness" to address unlawful conduct. The Israeli military did not respond to requests for comment. On Wednesday, a military court is to deliver its verdict in the manslaughter case of a soldier who was caught on video last March fatally shooting an incapacitated Palestinian attacker in the West Bank. The case of Sgt. Elor Azaria, who has argued that attacker still posed a threat, has deeply divided Israel. Yesh Din spokesman Gilad Grossman said the manslaughter charge against a soldier was "very rare," but that the public uproar sparked by the video made it impossible to ignore. Lebanon, others in Mideast, bury victims of Istanbul attack BEIRUT (AP) Lebanon on Tuesday buried its citizens who perished in the Istanbul nightclub massacre on New Year's Eve amid an outpouring of grief that has for days dominated local TV channels and discussions among the country's politicians. Lebanon a Mediterranean nation of 5 million people lost three nationals in the carnage in Turkey. The attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State group, killed 39. Another six Lebanese nationals were wounded, according to local media. Funerals were also held in Jordan and in Israel, which lost a citizen each in the assault. Relatives and friends of Elias Wardini, a Lebanese man who was killed in the New Year's Eve Istanbul nightclub attack, carry his coffin during his funeral procession, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. The gunman killed 39 people, most of them foreigners, including three Lebanese citizens, at the Istanbul nightclub. The Islamic State group claimed the attack on Monday, saying a "soldier of the caliphate" had carried out the mass shooting in response to Turkish military operations against IS in northern Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) One of Lebanon's victims Rita Chami, 26, had lost her mother to cancer only last July. She had taken time out of her university studies to care for her. The other two Haykal Mousallem, 34, and Elias Wardini, 26 were both personal fitness trainers in Beirut. Wardini was engaged to be married; Mousallem got married four months ago. Both of their partners survived the attack. Lebanon, accustomed to tragedy in the aftermath of its civil war and occasional bouts of violence, has treated its Istanbul victims as national heroes, their coffins draped in the Lebanese flag as they were brought back home. In Beirut's Ashrafieh neighborhood, grieving relatives and friends set off fireworks on Tuesday morning as residents bid Wardini farewell. His funeral was attended by some of the country's leading Christian politicians. Mousallem was buried in his native Chouf district, outside the Lebanese capital. Chami will be buried on Thursday. Newly appointed Prime Minister Saad Hariri asked the Lebanese to stand still for five minutes in memory of the dead. But the local press went further than that. The country's top TV stations sent reporters on intrusive assignments on Sunday, broadcasting live from the homes of the bereaved as they learned of the fates of their loved ones. On Twitter, Hariri urged the outlets to leave the families in peace. The bodies were repatriated Monday night, sparking another media frenzy, first at the airport and then the hospital morgues where the remains were taken. Wardini's funeral was broadcast live on Tuesday on national TV, which called the victims "martyrs in every meaning of the word," and condemned Islamic State militants as "enemies of God." The New Year's attack on Istanbul's Reina club also touched others across the Middle East. The IS said it targeted Christian revelers in response to Turkish military operations against the militant group in northern Syria but most of the dead were foreign tourists from Muslim countries. Turkey's Anadolu Agency said nearly two-thirds of the victims in the upscale club, which is frequented by local celebrities, were foreigners. In Jordan, hundreds attended the funeral ceremony Tuesday for 44-year-old businessman Nawras Assaf who died in the Istanbul attack. Assaf's wife was among those wounded. In Israel, thousands attended the funeral Tuesday of 18-year-old Layan Nasser, an Arab Israeli killed in the Istanbul attack. She had gone to Istanbul to celebrate the New Year's with three friends. Mourners wept as they marched through the streets of Tira behind Nasser's wooden coffin. The city's mayor, Mamoun Abd El Hai, declared a day of mourning, with banks and municipal offices closed. "She had dreams to work, to progress, to study, to raise a family, but unfortunately the terror put an end to her dreams and ended her life," the mayor told The Associated Press. Another Israeli traveling with Nasser was wounded in the attack. Nasser's father told Israeli Channel 10 TV that he had a bad feeling about his daughter's trip to Istanbul. "I was very concerned about this trip," Zaher Nasser said. "I asked her not to travel in light of the bad security situation there, but she insisted to go with her friends." ___ Associated Press writer Tia Goldenberg in Jerusalem contributed to this report. Relatives of Elias Wardini, a Lebanese man who was killed in the New Year's Eve Istanbul nightclub attack, mourn as they comfort each other during his funeral procession, at a church in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. The gunman killed 39 people, most of them foreigners, including three Lebanese citizens, at the Istanbul nightclub. The Islamic State group claimed the attack on Monday, saying a "soldier of the caliphate" had carried out the mass shooting in response to Turkish military operations against IS in northern Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) The sister of Elias Wardini, a Lebanese man who was killed in the New Year's Eve Istanbul nightclub attack, mourns as she holds her brother's portrait during his funeral procession, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. The gunman killed 39 people, most of them foreigners, including three Lebanese citizens, at the Istanbul nightclub. Arabic reads, "We will not ever forget you." (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) The sister of Elias Wardini, center, a Lebanese man who was killed in the New Year's Eve Istanbul nightclub attack, mourns over her brother's body during his funeral procession at a church, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. The gunman killed 39 people, most of them foreigners, including three Lebanese citizens, at the Istanbul nightclub. The Islamic State group claimed the attack on Monday, saying a "soldier of the caliphate" had carried out the mass shooting in response to Turkish military operations against IS in northern Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) The sister of Elias Wardini, center, a Lebanese man who was killed in the New Year's Eve Istanbul nightclub attack, mourns over her brother's body during his funeral procession at a church, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. The gunman killed 39 people, most of them foreigners, including three Lebanese citizens, at the Istanbul nightclub. The Islamic State group claimed the attack on Monday, saying a "soldier of the caliphate" had carried out the mass shooting in response to Turkish military operations against IS in northern Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) The sister of Elias Wardini, of Elias Wardini, a Lebanese man who was killed in the New Year's Eve Istanbul nightclub attack, mourns over his coffin, at a church, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. Three Lebanese citizens were killed in the shooting and four injured. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) Relatives and friends of Elias Wardini, a Lebanese man who was killed in the New Year's Eve Istanbul nightclub attack, mourn over his coffin, at a church, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. The gunman killed 39 people, most of them foreigners, including three Lebanese citizens, at the Istanbul nightclub. The Islamic State group claimed the attack on Monday, saying a "soldier of the caliphate" had carried out the mass shooting in response to Turkish military operations against IS in northern Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) Relatives and friends of Elias Wardini, a Lebanese man who was killed in Istanbul nightclub attack, mourn over his coffin, at a church, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. Three Lebanese citizens were killed in the shooting and four injured. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) Relatives and friends of Elias Wardini, a Lebanese man who was killed in the New Year's Eve Istanbul nightclub attack, carry his coffin past his portrait on a church wall, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. Three Lebanese citizens were killed in the shooting and four injured. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) A relative woman of Elias Wardini, a Lebanese man who was killed in the New Year's Eve Istanbul nightclub attack, mourns over his coffin during the funeral, at a church in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. The gunman killed 39 people, most of them foreigners, including three Lebanese citizens, at the Istanbul nightclub. The Islamic State group claimed the attack on Monday, saying a "soldier of the caliphate" had carried out the mass shooting in response to Turkish military operations against IS in northern Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) Arab Israeli women mourn during the funeral of Leanne Nasser, who was killed in the New Year's Eve attack in Istanbul, during her funeral, in the town of Tira, Israel, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. Nasser, an 18-year-old Arab-Israeli from the town of Tira, was celebrating with friends when the gunman came in and opened fire. At least 39 people were killed and nearly 70 injured in the mass shooting that took place in front of and inside a popular Istanbul nightclub in the first hours of New Year's Day. The victims included citizens of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, France, Tunisia, India, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, Canada, Israel, Syria, Belgium, Germany and Russia. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) Family and friends of Leanne Nasser, who was killed in the New Year's Eve attack in Istanbul, mourn during her funeral, in the town of Tira, Israel, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. Nasser, an 18-year-old Arab-Israeli from the town of Tira, was celebrating with friends when the gunman came in and opened fire. At least 39 people were killed and nearly 70 injured in the mass shooting that took place in front of and inside a popular Istanbul nightclub in the first hours of New Year's Day. The victims included citizens of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, France, Tunisia, India, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, Canada, Israel, Syria, Belgium, Germany and Russia. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) Oldest Puget Sound orca, 'Granny,' missing and presumed dead FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. (AP) The oldest member of the small population of endangered Puget Sound orcas has been missing for months and is now likely dead, bringing the toll of dead or missing whales to seven in 2016, researchers in Washington state reported. The orca labeled J2 and nicknamed Granny had been spotted thousands of times over 40 years of orca surveys but has not been seen since October, according to the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island, a nonprofit group that keeps the federal government's annual census of the whales. "With regret we now consider her deceased," researcher Ken Balcomb wrote in a post on the center's website Saturday. She was typically seen at the head of the J pod, one of three family groups of whales that travel with their mothers or grandmothers, but has not been spotted for weeks. Other members of her family have been photographed and counted. Individual southern resident killer whales that spend time in the inland waters of Washington state are identified by unique black and white markings or variations in their fin shapes. Each whale is given a number and a name. A 1987 published study estimated that J2 was born in 1911, putting her age at 105. There is a 12-year margin of error so she could be older or younger, Howard Garrett of the Orca Network said in an email. Despite a birth boom in 2015 that saw eight orca babies born, the intensely tracked population of southern resident killer whales is down to 78 as of Dec. 31, the center said. Despite a decade of research, protection and recovery efforts, the orcas continue to struggle primarily due to a lack of food, pollution and disturbances by marine vessels. They were listed as endangered in 2005. There were more than 140 animals decades ago. That number declined to a low of 71 in the 1970s when dozens of the mammals were captured to be displayed at marine parks and aquariums across the country. The numbers have fluctuated in recent years. Seven were declared missing or dead in 2016, including an 18-year-old male whale found dead off the coast of British Columbia last month. Canadian officials say the preliminary necropsy found that the 22-foot long whale was likely struck. It is unclear whether it was hit by a boat or another animal. Bill and Hillary Clinton to attend Trump inauguration WASHINGTON (AP) Falling in line with tradition, Bill and Hillary Clinton plan to attend Donald Trump's inauguration. It's a decision that will put Hillary Clinton on the inaugural platform as her bitter rival from the 2016 campaign assumes the office she long sought. The Clintons announced their decision to attend the Jan. 20 inauguration shortly after former President George W. Bush's office said Tuesday he would attend along with former first lady Laura Bush. The Bushes are "pleased to be able to witness the peaceful transfer of power a hallmark of American democracy and swearing-in of President Trump and Vice President Pence," Bush's office said in a statement. FILE - In this Nov. 8, 2016 file photo, Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, greet supporters after voting in Chappaqua, N.Y. Falling in line with tradition, Bill and Hillary Clinton plan to attend Donald Trump's inauguration. Its a decision that will put Hillary Clinton on the inaugural platform as her bitter rival from the 2016 campaign assumes the office she long sought. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File) It is traditional for former presidents and their spouses to attend the inauguration. But the decision to attend was fraught for the Clintons, given Hillary Clinton's bitter campaign against Trump. The 2016 Democratic presidential nominee has largely avoided public appearances since Trump defeated her in November. Bush, too, has had a difficult relationship with Trump. His brother Jeb ran against Trump in the GOP primaries. George and Laura Bush let it be known they voted for "none of the above" for president rather than cast a ballot for Trump, but the ex-president did call to congratulate Trump after his victory. Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, earlier said they plan to attend Trump's inaugural. Former President George H.W. Bush, 92, and his wife, Barbara, do not plan to attend the inauguration due to the former president's age and health, his office said. A woman fell pregnant with twins after a decade-long battle to have a baby - but heartbreakingly, they were born at just 25 weeks and have faced a tough battle for survival. Newborn Lewis and Logan Donnelly weighed just 3lb 2oz combines, but they were saved by bubble wrap and a sandwich bag, which was used to keep them warm. Despite fears they would not survive their first night, the pair are now healthy and happy. Lynn Donnelly premature babies Lynn Donnelly, 34, a nurse from Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, said: "They are wee miracles. "They were baptised the night they were born because we didnt think theyd make it. "When they were born, their skin was so transparent you could see their blood and muscle. I thought they were gone." Lynn was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome when she was fourteen, and always knew that itd be difficult to conceive with her driver husband Tony, 34. The pair spent a decade undergoing procedures to help them start a family, including intrauterine insemination, a treatment that places sperm in the womans uterus to facilitate fertilisation and fertility drugs funded by the NHS. In September 2013, they tried IVF for the first time, but the hormone medication caused Lynns ovaries to hyper stimulate and they ballooned to the size of melons. Lynn with (L-R) Lewis and Logan, April 2016 (Collect/PA Real Life) Struggling to walk and with her lungs filled with fluid, she was rushed to Glasgow Royal Infirmary and diagnosed with ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome (OHSS). Luckily, after one week in hospital, her condition improved. Medics were able to retrieve 39 eggs but sadly, just three were fertilised. Lyn Donnelly twins "We had to freeze the eggs for three months because I had OHSS, and in that time we considered adoption," she explained. "Wed been through a lot and I thought the IVF wasnt going to work. "We looked at fostering, and a social worker said we wouldnt be suitable but she recommended adoption." Have you sen our brand new #SunshineFund website, to help celebrate the lives of loves ones? Check it out at https://t.co/HYI5fPnrrh pic.twitter.com/zeHOknxRCa Bliss Baby Charity (@Blisscharity) November 24, 2016 The social worker advised Lynn and Tony that they needed to choose between adoption and fertility treatment, as falling pregnant could cause complications. So, the pair decided to take a chance on the three embryos. In September 2014, the eggs were thawed, but only two were viable. (L-R) Lewis and Logan dressed up as superheroes, June 2015 (Collect/PA Real Life) Lynn was implanted with the last two fertilised eggs and the couple hoped for the best. Astonishingly, just a week later she took a home pregnancy test, which turned out to be positive. "It felt surreal," she recalled. "It was the first time ever Id seen a line come up on a Clear Blue test. (L-R) Lewis and Logan, 19 June 2015 (Collect/PA Real Life) She continued: "At six weeks pregnant I went in for a scan and they found two heartbeats. "It was a buy one, get one free." But when Lynn was twenty weeks pregnant, she suffered from a major bleed while watching the Hollywood film `What to Expect When Youre Expecting, which depicts several women on their journey to motherhood. Lewis, aged just four days old, holding Lynn's finger, 1 March 2015 (Collect/PA Real Life) She was raced to Wishaw General Hospital, North Lanarkshire, where she was relieved to find that her non-identical twins had strong heartbeats. However, every few days, she would suffer another major bleed. It wasnt until after giving birth that she discovered that this was due to both placentas failing. At 23 weeks, Lynn began to experience contractions, and neonatal intensive care unit doctors came to see her and explained that the babies would not likely survive if born at that time. She said: "I knew I had to keep them in there for as long as I could. "But at 25 weeks, I was having more contractions, and my husband realised I was going into labour." Lewis wrapped in bubble wrap after the boys' birth, to keep them warm, 13 March 2015 (Collect/PA Real Life) On February 25 2015, Lewis was born weighing just 1lb 7oz, and was immediately placed in an incubator. Logan followed 29 minutes later, weighing 1lb 11oz. The twins were taken straight to intensive care, and Lynn and Tony prepared for the worst. Lynn Donnelly twins But remarkably the twins made it through the night. Lynn added: "They looked like dolls, they didnt look real." From there, medics faced an incredible struggle just to keep the tiny tots alive. Feeding time for (L-R) Logan and Lewis, 16 July 2015 (Collect/PA Real Life) At four weeks old, Logan had surgery to repair a heart valve. And at six weeks, Lewis was suffering with E. coli, meningitis, sepsis and a cold sore virus. He was placed on a high frequency oscillator a machine that breathes four times the capacity of a normal lung to regulate his breathing. (L-R) Logan and Lewis dressed up for Christmas (Collect/PA Real Life) It wasnt until they were five weeks old Lynn was able to hold her babies for the first time. Towards the end of their stay the pair were placed in a special twin cot to help each other recuperate. Finally, on June 18 2015, thirteen days after their due date, Logan was released from hospital weighing 8lb and Lewis came home five days later weighing 7lb 8oz. Lynn Donnelly twins Now, the twins are slightly delayed in hitting usual milestones, but their mum has high hopes for the future. She said: "I didnt hear them cry until the end of March and it was the tiniest, wee cry - it was the cutest thing in the world. You dont get sick of hearing that.Despite what weve been through were very lucky. Lynn and Tony for the first time she holds Logan, 6 March 2015 (Collect/PA Real Life) "There are some babies who dont make it, or some babies who have even more complications than what our boys have had. Birmingham have lodged a 4million bid for Crystal Palace winger Bakary Sako. Blues boss Gianfranco Zola is ready to make Sako the clubs most expensive signing in seven years, Press Association Sport understands. The Italian appointed by new owners Trillion Trophy Asia has lost three and drawn one of his four games in charge at St Andrews following Mondays 3-1 home defeat to Brentford. Zola, who replaced Gary Rowett last month, has 9million left to spend in January, having already used 1million to turn Lukas Jutkiewiczs loan from Burnley into a permanent switch. Mali international Sako has played just four times for the Eagles this season and has not started in the Premier League. He has not featured in new boss Sam Allardyces first two games but was an unused substitute in Sundays 2-0 defeat at Arsenal. Bakary Sako played for Wolves (Simon Cooper/EMPICS) He joined from Wolves on a free transfer in 2015 and scored in his first two appearances but played just 21 more times during an injury-hit first season. Should Birmingham complete a move they will be without the 28-year-old for the African Nations Cup in Gabon with Mali opening their campaign in Egypt in two weeks time. Call The Midwife won the Christmas Day ratings battle, with more than nine million people tuning in to the BBC One drama. The channel aired eight out of the top 10 programmes broadcast on Christmas Day, consolidated ratings show. Some 9.2 million tuned in to watch the nuns and nurses of Nonnatus House travel to South Africa to try to prevent a hospital from closing down. Heidi Thomas, creator and writer of the show, said: We are always so proud to be part of BBC Ones Christmas Day schedule, and absolutely delighted that so many people joined us on this years journey to South Africa. At this special time of year it really feels as though the cast, crew and audience of Call The Midwife are one big family, and we cant wait to share series six with everyone. The new series returns to BBC One later this month. The Mrs Browns Boys Christmas special came a close second in the consolidated ratings, with 8.98 million tuning in, and 8.94 million people watched Len Goodmans farewell on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special, while 8.21 million watched The Great Christmas Bake Off. Coronation Street, ITVs flagship soap, pulled in 8.1 million and Emmerdale drew 6.2 million. The other broadcasts in the top 10 were Doctor Who, EastEnders, The Queens Christmas Message and the Disney film Frozen. Compulsive gamblers seek games of chance because of the same brain circuits that drive drug addiction, research has shown. Scientists identified two brain areas that were highly active when gamblers felt the urge to make a bet or spin the wheel. Both regions, known as the insula and nucleus accumbens, are involved in decision-making, reward sensations and impulse control, and have previously been linked to alcohol and drug cravings. A roulette wheel Thankyou @stevesharman81 Today let's consider the children of problem gamblers, they suffer anxiety and loss in silence and need our help https://t.co/deJeFaPqCX Henrietta Bowden-Jones (@HBowdenJonesOBE) December 28, 2016 The findings, reported in the journal Translational Psychiatry, could lead to new treatments for gambling addiction, say the researchers. Co-author Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones, director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic at Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, said: Gambling addiction can have a devastating effect not just on patients, but also their families. It can result in people losing their job, and leave families and children homeless. We know the condition may have a genetic component and that the children of gambling addicts are at higher risk of gambling addiction themselves but we still dont know the exact parts of the brain involved. This research identifies key brain areas, and opens avenues for targeted treatments that prevent cravings and relapse. Stay strong to all those fighting gambling addiction..... Day at a time.#addiction #gamblingaddiction. Andy Margett (@AndyMargett) December 24, 2016 The scientists used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan the brains of 19 people with gambling addiction and the same number of healthy volunteers. Brain activity was monitored while each participant was asked to view a selection of images that included a roulette wheel and betting shop. In problem gamblers, the insula and nucleus accumbens brain regions were found to be highly active when seeing a gambling image was accompanied by craving. A link was also seen with the brains frontal lobe, which may help to control impulses. A weaker connection between this region and the nucleus accumbens was associated with a more intense urge to gamble. Brazil's history of violent prison uprisings SAO PAULO, Jan 2 (Reuters) - About 60 people were killed in a prison riot in the city of Manaus sparked by a war between rival drug gangs, officials said on Monday, in some of the worst violence in years in Brazil's overcrowded penitentiary system. Violent uprisings among Brazil's 600,000-strong prison population are a regular occurrence, fed by chronic overcrowding, degrading conditions and competition between criminal groups that control large swaths of penitentiaries. Following is a list of notable riots: October 2016 - At least 18 inmates were killed in two prisons in remote parts of northern and western Brazil in clashes between Brazil's most powerful drug gang, the Sao Paulo-based First Capital Command, and its closest rival, the Red Command from Rio de Janeiro. Six men were decapitated and their bodies set on fire, local media reported. November 2010 - At least 18 inmates were killed during an uprising in the notorious Pedrinhas prison in the northeastern state of Maranhao. June 2004 - A three-day battle between gangs in Rio de Janeiro's Benfica jail ended with 30 prisoners and a prison warden dead, nearly half of them beheaded. The mutinous prisoners, armed with pistols and shotguns, surrendered and freed more than 20 hostages only after talks mediated by a priest. January 2002 - At least 27 inmates were killed in a riot in the overcrowded Urso Branco prison in the northwestern state of Rondonia. The riot started after members of rival gangs were placed in the same pavilion after a failed escape attempt. Some 900 inmates were being kept in a facility designed for just 360, local media said. February 2001 - At least 19 people were killed in Brazil's biggest-ever prison uprising, involving more than 20,000 inmates in 29 jails across the state of Sao Paulo. October 1992 - More than 111 inmates were killed in the Carandiru penitentiary in Sao Paulo state, most of them by police who stormed the building, in Brazil's bloodiest prison uprising. No one has ever served prison time for the killings. Human rights groups voiced outrage in September 2016 when a Brazilian court declared the trial and sentences against 74 police officers null. China navy confirms carrier conducted drills in South China Sea SHANGHAI, Jan 3 (Reuters) - China's sole aircraft carrier conducted drills in the South China Sea, the navy said, days after neighbouring Taiwan said the carrier and accompanying ships had passed 90 nautical miles south of the island amid renewed tension between the two sides. The Soviet-built Liaoning aircraft carrier and accompanying warships sailed round the east coast of Taiwan in what China called a routine exercise complying with international law. The carrier's J-15 fighters conducted flight exercises in "complex sea conditions" on Monday, the People's Liberation Army Navy said on its official microblog late the same day. The carrier group also ran helicopter exercises, it said, but did not give details on the exact location. China claims most of the South China Sea through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Neighbours Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims. The drills also come at a time of heightened strain with self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, following U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's telephone call with the island's president that upset Beijing. Last month China conducted its first ever live-fire drills using an aircraft carrier close to Korea and announced on Dec. 25 that the Liaoning and its accompanying fleet would carry out what it called routine exercises in the Western Pacific. Taiwan's Defence Ministry said on Dec. 26 that the Liaoning and five accompanying ships had entered the top half of the South China Sea after passing south of Taiwan, and later docked at a base on China's Hainan island. The flotilla raised alarm in Japan when it steamed between the Japanese islands of Miyako and Okinawa. Japan said one of its Maritime Self Defense Force ships and a P3C patrol aircraft had spotted six Chinese naval vessels including the Liaoning traveling through the passage, and they also scrambled jets after a helicopter that took off from a Chinese frigate flew near Miyako Island. China has been angered recently by U.S. naval patrols near islands that China claims in the South China Sea. This month, a Chinese navy ship seized a U.S. underwater drone in the South China Sea. China later returned it. Romania - Factors to watch on Jan. 3 Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Romanian financial markets on Tuesday. CABINET Romania's leftist Social Democrats meet to approve a list of cabinet members, with a parliament vote expected on Wednesday. NEW PM Romania's president accepted Sorin Grindeanu for the post of prime minister on Friday after rejecting the Social Democrat Party's (PSD) previous nominee, clearing the way for a new leftist government to be formed next week. FX RESERVES Romania's central bank to release December foreign exchange reserves data. CEE MARKETS Central European currencies opened the new year a touch weaker in thin trading, unfazed by strong December purchasing manager indices published on Monday. BUDGET SPENDING Romania's upcoming government will raise the monthly minimum wage by 200 lei to 1,450 lei ($335.49) from Feb. 1, leftist party leader Liviu Dragnea was quoted as saying. Other spending boosting measures are also expected in February. Ziarul Financiar For the long-term Romanian diary, click on For emerging markets economic events, click on For an index of all diaries, click on PRESS DIGEST - Bulgaria - Jan 3 SOFIA, Jan 3 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. -- One Bulgarian is among the wounded in the New Year's Day mass shooting in a packed Istanbul nightclub, Bulgarian ambassador to Turkey said, adding the young woman was rushed to hospital. (24 Chasa, Monitor, Standart, Telegraph, Trud) -- The minimum monthly wage in Bulgaria is set at 460 levs ($246.28) as of this year. (24 Chasa, Capital Daily, Monitor) -- Former Energy Minister Traicho Traikov has been charged for mismanagement for allowing a sale of a state stake in energy distributor, controlled by Austria's EVN, at a discounted price, prosecutors said. Traikov denies any wrongdoing. (24 Chasa, Trud, Capital Daily, Sega, Monitor, Telegraph, Standart) Surgical forceps removed from Vietnamese man after 18 years HANOI, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Doctors in Vietnam have removed surgical forceps from a man who unknowingly carried them inside his body for 18 years, national television VTV reported. Ma Van Nhat, 54, said the forceps had probably been left in his abdomen in 1998 when he had emergency surgery after a traffic accident. Nhat had felt only the occasional pain and a clinic had given him medicine for a suspected stomach ulcer. An X-ray taken late last year showed the forceps were to blame. The 15 cm (six inch) long instrument had broken apart and become lodged in Nhat's stomach. They were removed in an operation. The director of Bac Kan Hospital, Trinh Thi Luong, told VTV that officials were trying to find out who might have left the forceps in Nhat. "Even if they are already retired we will still inform them," she said. "This is a lesson to all doctors". Twitter's China boss Kathy Chen quits after 8 months NEW YORK/BEIJING, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Twitter Inc executive Kathy Chen, brought in to run Greater China just over eight months ago, has quit, according to a tweet sent by her over the weekend. Twitter has been blocked in China since 2009 but is still used through virtual private networks (VPN). Domestically, the Sina Weibo microblogging platform and Tencent's WeChat messaging app are more widely used. But Chinese entities, including the state news agency Xinhua, use Twitter to reach audiences abroad. Chen, who previously worked at Microsoft and Cisco , was brought in to lure more Chinese advertisers to Twitter. At the time, social media criticism focused on her early work with Chinese state-affiliated enterprises. "Now that the Twitter APAC team is working directly with Chinese advertisers, this is the right time for me to leave the company," she wrote. Twitter grew its Greater China advertiser base nearly 400 percent over the past two years, she wrote, making it one of the firm's fastest growing revenue markets in Asia Pacific (APAC). Twitter's top Chinese advertisers have included Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, online shopping giant Alibaba Group , white goods producer Qingdao Haier and flag carrier Air China. "We remain committed to this market," Chen said, adding the company's Hong Kong office would remain open. Twitter confirmed it would retain the Hong Kong office to serve Hong Kong-based clients, but declined to provide further details on Chen's departure. QUESTIONING THE VALUE The end of Chen's relationship with Twitter comes at a time when China is urging for greater internet curbs. The country has condemned foreign social media as a hotbed for fake news and cyberterrorism, sending ominous signals to Western firms that are eyeing a piece of the Chinese market, home to the world's largest population of internet users. "When China's economy was really on fire it created enough smoke to obscure the realities of what foreign tech companies were really going to be permitted to do here," says Mark Natkin, managing director of Beijing-based Marbridge Consulting. " you are getting more companies who are beginning to question the value of the investments they are making here." The popular but money-losing microblogging service Twitter has moved its Chinese ad sales and support activities to its APAC headquarters in Singapore. Twitter has been undergoing a significant shakeup, and not only in Asia, announcing in October that it would cut more than nine percent of its global workforce to keep costs down. Mozambique's opposition extends ceasefire to aid peace talks By Manuel Mucari MAPUTO, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Mozambique's Renamo opposition party said on Tuesday it had extended a ceasefire by two months to allow talks with President Filipe Nyusi's government, raising hopes for a nascent peace process. Both sides have clashed sporadically since Renamo challenged the results of the southern African nation's 2014 elections. Analysts say competition over natural resources could also be exacerbating unrest - Mozambique is on the verge of developing huge offshore gas reserves which could transform one of the world's poorest countries into a middle-income state. Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama announced a seven-day truce a week ago after what he described as a long and constructive telephone conversation with Nyusi. The ceasefire extension followed another call between the two rivals. "It is reassuring that both sides (agreed to ceasefire) so things can go well and provide peace for Mozambicans," Dhlakama, who is in hiding, told reporters in a teleconference. "I am the head of the family. I am Mozambican and we are really doing this to reduce the deaths in Mozambique." Members of the current government and Renamo fought on opposing sides in a civil war from 1976 to 1992 that killed an estimated 1 million people. Dhlakama and Nyusi have not met face-to-face since February 2015 and distrust between the two has led to several ceasefires collapsing since Nyusi won the disputed 2014 vote. Since the poll, Renamo has demanded it rule in the six provinces where it won the most votes, while the government has called for the opposition to disarm before opening discussions. Fighting between the two sides usually takes place in the remote interior, making it difficult to assess the extent of the conflict. Lighthizer joins Trump trade team crowded with deal makers By David Lawder and Ayesha Rascoe WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday tapped Robert Lighthizer to be U.S. trade representative, but his influence may be limited as Trump fills his team with wealthy deal makers. Lighthizer, an official in the Reagan administration and a harsh critic of China's trade practices, will be tasked with seeking deals aimed at reducing U.S. trade deficits. He joins Trump's choices for commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, and the head of a newly formed White House National Trade Council, Peter Navarro, as key officials in an administration where trade is very likely to take center stage. Trump has also tapped his company's long-time top lawyer, Jason Greenblatt, as a "special negotiator" for trade deals and other talks. It is unclear how these appointees will direct trade policy. While the Trump transition team has said the trade representative will still be the principal negotiator for trade deals, it has also said that Ross will be in charge of trade decisions. Using multiple officials to shape trade policy is not new, said Scott Lincicome, an international trade attorney with White and Case. He noted that trade issues have often been tackled by various government agencies with differing objectives but said actual negotiations with other nations require a very clear line of authority. "If you actually have four guys show up at a trade negotiation, you'd have a problem," said Lincicome, who stressed that countries must be certain that the U.S. negotiator has the support of the president. "These are very high level diplomatic negotiations. Other countries take very seriously the diplomatic hierarchy. There is protocol," he said. Trump, who promised during his campaign to renegotiate international trade deals such as NAFTA and punish companies that ship work overseas, has said that overhauling trade policy will be a top priority after he takes office on Jan. 20. "USTR will still have statutory negotiation and enforcement powers, but where the big ideas on trade emerge from within a Trump administration remains to be seen," said Marc Scribner, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Lighthizer, deputy U.S. trade representative under Reagan, helped to stem the tide of imports from Japan in the 1980s with threats of quotas and punitive tariffs. His return to the agency follows nearly three decades as a lawyer representing U.S. steelmakers and other companies in anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases. Lighthizer is regarded as an experienced tactician with an intimate knowledge of trade tools that were widely used before the WTO was created in 1995, including "Section 301" tariffs used to stem a tide of imports of Japanese steel and vehicles in the 1980s. Philander, Rabada rip through Sri Lanka CAPE TOWN, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada claimed four wickets each as South Africa ripped out Sri Lanka for 110 on the second day of the second test at Newlands on Tuesday. South Africa did not enforce the follow-on and were 35 without loss at the close, 317 runs ahead and in a powerful position to claim the victory they need to clinch the series. Sri Lanka collapsed after going to tea on 56 for two with Rabada making a decisive breakthrough at the start of the final session when he had Dimuth Karunaratne brilliantly caught at point by Temba Bavuma for 24. A steady procession of wickets followed as captain Angelo Mathews and his deputy Dinesh Chandimal went cheaply after rash shots to Rabada's persistent pace barrage. The tall seamer had snared Kaushal Silva before tea and finished with figures of 4-37. Spinner Keshav Maharaj added the valuable wicket of Dhananjaya de Silva lbw for 16 before Philander mopped up the tail. He had Rangana Herath trapped in front and Suranga Lakmal caught in the slips, seeing Dean Elgar parry the ball into the air and Hashim Amla take the catch. It was Philander's 150th test wicket. Lahiru Kumara was bowled and Philander dismissed Nuwan Prapeed with the next ball so the fast bowler will start on a hat-trick when Sri Lanka bat again. Upul Tharanga finished unbeaten on 26. South Africa were all out before lunch with Quinton de Kock scoring 101 and teenager Kumara claiming six wickets for Sri Lanka in a career-best performance. De Kock, 68 not out overnight, drove the first ball of the day for four and brought up his century off 122 balls, an instinctive innings full of quality shots. Kumara, brought in to strengthen the Sri Lanka attack after their defeat in the first test, claimed a first five-wicket haul in tests and finished with figures of 6-122. But it was a long spell in the field for Sri Lanka with South Africa's tail-enders adding 95 runs after resuming on 297 for six and the toil seemed to have some effect on their lethargic batting performance. Ford scraps plan for $1.6 bln plant in Mexico after Trump criticism By Bernie Woodall and David Shepardson FLAT ROCK, Mich./WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co said Tuesday it will cancel a planned $1.6 billion factory in Mexico and invest $700 million at a Michigan factory, after President-elect Donald Trump had harshly criticized the Mexico investment plan. The second largest U.S. automaker said it would build new electric, hybrid and autonomous vehicles at the Flat Rock, Michigan plant and add 700 jobs. Ford Chief Executive Mark Fields said the decision to cancel the new Mexico factory was the result of sagging demand for small cars in North America and not because Trump was elected president. He told Fox Business that the automaker would have made the same decision even if Trump had not been elected. "There was no quid pro quo because there was no negotiation" with Trump over the decision to cancel the plant, Fields said. Fields told reporters the decision related to the need to "fully utilize capacity at existing facilities" amid declining sales of small and medium sized cars such as the Focus and Fusion. Fields also endorsed "pro growth" tax and regulatory policies advocated by Trump and the Republican-led Congress. "This is a vote of confidence for President-Elect Trump and some of the policies he may be pursuing," Fields said. Trump repeatedly said during the election campaign that if elected he would not allow Ford to open the new plant in Mexico, which he called an "absolute disgrace" and would slap hefty tariffs taxes on imported Ford vehicles. Ford executive chairman Bill Ford Jr. told reporters he spoke with Trump to notify him of the decision. The company said the decision was influenced by Trump's policy goals such as lowering taxes and regulations but that there were no negotiations over the decision announced on Tuesday. By contrast, Trump's team held talks with United Technologies Corp in November before the company agreed to keep about 800 jobs at its Carrier air conditioning unit in Indiana out of 2,100 set to go to Mexico. Trump has also held high profile meetings with the chief executives of Boeing and Lockheed Martin to talk about the cost of military contracts. Also on Tuesday, Trump threatened to impose a "big border tax" on General Motors Co for making some of its Chevrolet Cruze cars in Mexico. The New York businessman, who has vowed to bring back American jobs that have been outsourced overseas and be tough on illegal immigration from Mexico, takes office on Jan. 20. Fields said Ford will build a battery electric SUV with a 300-mile driving range at the Michigan plant by 2020 -- taking on companies like Tesla Motors Inc, Volkswagen AG and GM -- and will launch production there by 2021 of a fully autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel or a brake pedal for use in ride services fleets. Ford also plans new hybrid versions of its F-150 pickup truck, Mustang and police vehicles by 2020 as the auto industry faces rising fuel efficiency mandates. Ford will add 700 jobs at the Flat Rock plant, Fields said, to cheers from union workers gathered at the factory for the announcement. TRUMP PREDICTION Ford in April announced it would invest $1.6 billion in the new plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico to build small cars. The company said it will shift production from Michigan of its Focus to an existing plant in Hermosillo, Mexico. When Trump announced his campaign in June, 2015, he said Ford would cancel its planned Mexico investments. "They'll say,'Mr. President we've decided to move the plant back to the United States - we're not going to build it in Mexico.' That's it. They have no choice," Trump said. Trump tweeted a link on Tuesday to a story about the decision. Ford shares rose 3.3 percent to $12.54, up $0.41 a share, while the Mexican peso fell on Tuesday to touch its weakest level in seven weeks. Rough start for U.S. Republicans on first day of Trump-era Congress By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - The Republican-led U.S. Congress had a rough start to its first session of the Donald Trump era on Tuesday when a public outcry that included a dressing-down from the president-elect prompted the House of Representatives to backtrack on its plans to defang an ethics watchdog. It was supposed to have been a ceremonious beginning in which lawmakers set plans to enact Trump's agenda of cutting taxes, repealing Obamacare and rolling back financial and environmental regulations. With Trump set to be sworn in as president on Jan. 20, Republicans will control both the White House and Congress for the first time since 2007. The moment was overshadowed, however, by a an uproar over a surprise move by Republicans in the House of Representatives in a closed-door meeting late on Monday to weaken the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, which is in charge of investigating ethics accusations against lawmakers. Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to "drain the swamp" and bring ethics reform to Washington, was not pleased by the timing. "With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority," he said on Twitter on Tuesday. "Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance!" The ethics office was created in 2008 following several corruption scandals. Some lawmakers have charged in recent years that it has been too quick to investigate complaints from outside partisan groups. Lawmakers wanted to have greater control of the watchdog, and inserted changes into a broader rules package, set to pass when the House convened on Tuesday. Even before Trump's tweet, many House Republicans, including top leaders, had opposed the measure and worried about its ramifications. Trump's tweet prompted an emergency meeting and a quick change of course by Republicans. "It was taken out by unanimous consent ... and the House Ethics Committee will now examine those issues," said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan. OBAMACARE IN SIGHTS As expected, Ryan was re-elected speaker on a vote of 239-189. He was first elected speaker in October 2015 after predecessor John Boehner retired following repeated revolts by House conservatives. The speaker election was part of the ceremony involved in the first meeting of the 115th Congress, as the 435 members of the House of Representatives and a third of the 100-member Senate were sworn in. Ryan, who kept his distance from Trump during his campaign only to embrace him after his Nov. 8 victory, said Republicans understood from the 2016 election that Americans were dissatisfied with Washington. "We hear you. We will do right by you and we will deliver," Ryan said. Trump has made clear he wants to move swiftly to enact proposals he outlined during the campaign such as simplifying the tax code and slashing corporate tax rates. He also promised to make good on a Republican pledge to repeal and replace Democratic President Barack Obama's 2010 signature Affordable Care Act - a law better known as Obamacare. "People must remember that ObamaCare just doesn't work, and it is not affordable," Trump said on Twitter on Tuesday, adding: "It is lousy healthcare." In the first step of a process that could take years, Republican Senator Mike Enzi introduced a resolution on Tuesday to provide for repeal of the law. House Republicans also took a step to clear the decks later for Obamacare repeal by approving a procedural rule making it harder for Democrats to impede progress on such legislation. But Republicans face a dilemma on a replacement program to provide health insurance to people who do not have a plan at work or cannot afford private coverage. The White House says the law has expanded coverage for 20 million Americans, including an estimated 13.8 million people who buy insurance on exchanges, many who receive tax credits to make it affordable. "If Republicans repeal the Affordable Care Act they'll be hastening the demise of Medicare that millions of seniors rely upon for their basic healthcare needs," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not address Obamacare in remarks on the Senate floor on Tuesday. He has said his top priorities for the new Congress were dealing with the "massive overregulation" he said had been a brake on the U.S. economy and making changes in the tax code to stop companies from moving jobs out of the country. Republicans might use upcoming spending bills funding government agencies to try to kill some environmental and banking regulations. Trump also is expected to try to use his executive powers toward that end. OBAMACARE DEFENSE Leading Democrats warned of a fierce battle over Obamacare and said they planned to mobilize grassroots support for it. Obama is scheduled to meet on Wednesday with congressional Democrats to discuss strategies for fending off the Republican attacks on Obamacare. But Senator Charles Schumer, in his first floor speech as the top Democrat in the Senate, said he was ready to work on some issues with Trump. "If the president-elect proposes legislation that achieves that - on issues like infrastructure, trade, and closing the carried interest loophole, for instance - we will work in good faith to perfect and, potentially, enact it," Schumer said. "When he doesn't, we will resist." House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told a packed House chamber that Democrats would work with Trump "wherever we can," including reforming taxes and trade deals. Pelosi also warned that Democrats would "stand our ground" and fight Trump and Republicans if they attempt to weaken environmental regulations or civil rights protections. Chided by Trump, Ford scraps Mexico factory, adds Michigan jobs By Bernie Woodall and David Shepardson FLAT ROCK, Mich./WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co on Tuesday scrapped a planned Mexican car factory and added 700 jobs in Michigan following criticism by Donald Trump, as the U.S. president-elect turned his attention toward rival General Motors Co with the threat of a "big border tax" over compact cars made in Mexico. Ford CEO Mark Fields called the move "a vote of confidence" in Trump, but primarily a response to a decline in North American demand for small cars like those that would have been made at the Mexican plant. He said Ford would have made the same decision even if Trump had not been elected. Ford will cancel plans unveiled in April to spend $1.6 billion to build the new plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, a project Trump urged the automaker to abandon and called an "absolute disgrace" during the election campaign. The No. 2 U.S. automaker also said it would invest $700 million to expand the Flat Rock, Michigan factory and would make new electric, hybrid and autonomous vehicles there. Trump's efforts to browbeat the U.S. car industry show he may go further than other modern presidents to try to influence corporate decisions, especially those related to trade and investment. In a Twitter post hours before Ford's announcement, Trump wrote, "General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A. or pay big border tax!" GM, the largest U.S. automaker, said making some of the Cruze cars in the plant in Coahuila, Mexico was part of its strategy to serve global customers, not sell those vehicles in the United States. Trump's GM tweet was his latest broadside aimed at an American company over jobs, imports and costs even before he takes office on Jan. 20. Mexico's government said it regrets Ford's decision and has ensured that the company will reimburse San Luis Potosi state for any costs associated with the investment. "Obviously, this isn't a good decision for us," said Mexico's economy minister, Ildefonso Guajardo. Ford said it still will shift production from Michigan of its Focus compact car to an existing plant in Hermosillo, Mexico. Fields said he expects Michigan to give incentives for Ford's investment in Flat Rock. Ford spokeswoman Jennifer Flake said the automaker will save $500 million by not opening the new plant in the near term, but will have some undisclosed costs to retool the other Mexican plant to build the Focus. Ford shares closed up about 3.8 percent. GM shares rose about 0.9 percent. TRUMP NOTIFIED Top Ford executives personally notified Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence of their decision. Fields praised tax and regulatory proposals advocated by Trump and his fellow Republicans who control Congress. "Our view is that we see a more positive U.S. manufacturing business environment under President-elect Trump and the pro-growth policies and proposals that he's talking about, so this is a vote of confidence for President-elect Trump and some of the policies that they may be pursuing," Fields said. Union workers gathered at the Flat Rock factory cheered Fields' announcement. Hiring of the 700 new workers there will probably start in 2018 with the majority of it in 2020, Fields said. Trump said during the presidential campaign that if elected he would not allow Ford to open the new plant in Mexico and would slap hefty tariffs on imported Ford vehicles. Trump also accused Mexico of sending criminals and rapists into the United States and vowed to build a border wall to combat illegal immigration. Since winning the Nov. 8 election, Trump has targeted a wide range of American companies also including United Technologies Inc, Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp. Trump also has touted decisions by companies to keep some production in the United States, including United's Carrier unit in Indiana. Trump previously vowed to hit companies that shift production from America to other countries with a 35 percent tax on their exports into the United States. He also has denounced the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada. Fields said there were no negotiations between Ford and the incoming president over canceling the Mexico plant or investing in Michigan. Ford will build a battery electric SUV with a 300-mile (482-km) driving range at the Michigan plant by 2020, and will launch production there by 2021 of a fully autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel or a brake pedal for use in ride services fleets. Ford also plans new hybrid versions of its F-150 pickup truck, Mustang and police vehicles by 2020. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake and Treasury Secretary Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga receive religious blessings Sri Lankas Finance Ministry Secretary Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga yesterday said 2017 would be a year of many challenges and the 365 days of the year should be managed properly to implement more than 325 budget proposals in 2017. Addressing the ministry staff for the new year he said the programme Beginning of a Sustainable Era that was inaugurated by President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday would be funded by the Finance Ministry and they are fully committed to achieve the targets set in the programme. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said the main objective of the government in the new year is to act with transparency, which maintains fiscal discipline. The minister said the new government inherited a debt pile of Rs.10,900 billion but stressed his government is not ready at all to put the burden on the people. Karunanayake said people are observing the forward march of this government therefore a substantial change would happen in the socio-economic field in the country during 2017. Colombo Additional Magistrate Dulani Amarasinghe today advised Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera to act according to the given conditional court order and restrain from amplifying high levels of noises using loudspeakers between 5 am to 6 am in the morning at Alan Mathiniyaramaya Temple in Polhengoda. The Thera was present today in court after being noticed to appear in court over the personal complaint (lawsuit) filed against him in Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court earlier by four complainants on the allegation of high noise levels sustained by the residents living around the Alan Mathiniyaramaya Temple due to the Loudspeakers operated by the temple. Considering the submission made by the counsel appearing for the complainant that the Thera did not act according to the court order but continued to amplify high noises from the temple, the Magistrate advised the Thera that religious rituals should be practiced considering the inconvenience that could occur to others and without obstructing or harming them. Subsequently, the court fixed January 24 to file legal and preliminary objections for the respondents over the case. (Shehan Chamika Silva) Telecom operator Lanka Bell, which has been whammed with taxation, is hoping to get back on its feet through efficiencies and cost cutting, its parent Melstacorp PLC (MELS) said recently. In terms of Lanka Bell, were looking to see how we can make it more efficient, were looking at the processes to see how we can economize, MELS Managing Director Amitha Gooneratne said. He said that Lanka Bell has been going through a stress period due to excessive government taxation. The telecom industry was removed from the 14 percent value-added tax (VAT) exceptions list and taxation over data was also increased sharply over the past three months. Almost every year they (taxes) have been increased, so at the moment most of the revenue that we generate or a substantial amount is contributed to the government in terms of frequency fees, VAT fees and various other levies, so thats a substantial amount going out and contributing to the government coffers, Gooneratne said. He noted that processes at Lanka Bell have to be reorganized to contribute profits towards MELS. Lanka Bell is a market leader in the CDMA operations in Sri Lanka. In addition, Lanka Bell and Dialog Axiata PLC are the only privately-owned companies to have their own submarine cable landing stations in Sri Lanka, which allow them to provide more data for their customers and fully utilize 4G LTE technology that the two companies have invested heavily in. However, Sri Lankas telecommunication industry is considered to be heavily overcrowded and saturated. While Lanka Bell is considering bringing itself back to profitability, many industry players, who are mostly owned by foreign investors, are considering the divestment of their local operations. First Day Hike participants werent chased by "Old Man Winter" so they were able to take their time on the trail at St. Joe State Park on New Years Day. By the time the one and a half mile hike began at 1 p.m. the temperature had nearly reached the high of 44 degrees. No one seemed surprised by the mark in light of unseasonably warm temperatures at or near 50 degrees on the days leading up to the hike. Im always happy when this many people show up to one of our park events, Mark Hodges, hike leader noted as he counted the 19 hikers. Hodges is an interpretive resource specialist II with Missouri State Parks and enjoys leading tours at the Missouri Mines Historic Site, as well. Hodges has a long history of personal hiking experience and told of the numerous trips with his wife over the past 36 years. After returning from all of those nature trips she would always tell friends and family, He took me to Timbuktu. The couple visited Echo Bluff State Park earlier this year and a campground there is named Timbuktu. I could finally say I took her to Timbuktu, Hodges said. Janice and Lester Fenton of Imperial drove down with their friends from Arnold for the hike. Jerry Chilton of Park Hills joined the event for the first time. I saw the article about it in the Daily Journal and decided to come on the hike, he said. Park Ranger Caleb Davis assisted Hodges with the hike by adding his knowledge of the amenities. Four out of the five lakes in the park are open to public swimming and fishing. Public canoe rentals are available for use on the lakes. Kayak rentals have also been added this year, according to Davis. Theres a whole lot more to this park than off-road vehicles, Hodges said. Davis outlined that there are quiet areas for hiking that are away from the engine noise, even though a large portion of this park is dedicated to ORVs. I think this areas traditional use of off-road vehicles has been incorporated into this park in a safe way, Hodges said. Guided hikes like this one offered each year at St. Joe State Park heralded the New Year with close to 55,000 people in 2016. This First Day Hikes Americas State Parks' initiative strives to offer visitors a guided chance to appreciate the scenery in the nations state parks. Leaders hope that these hikers will continue independent exploration throughout the year. Programs in Americas state parks also strive to promote outdoor recreation as a way to decrease childhood obesity and promote a healthy lifestyle for families. In addition to first hikes, Missouris three newest state parks will offer public guided hikes at the following times, dates and locations. Bryant Creek State Park in Douglas County from noon to 2 p.m. on Jan. 8; Eleven Point State Park in Oregon County from 1 to 4 p.m. on Jan. 7; Ozark Mountain State Park in Taney County from 2 to 4 p.m. on Jan. 6. Army, Navy, Air Force deserters who have not obtained legal discharge during the general amnesty period have been barred from leaving the country, the Defence Ministry said today. The general amnesty granted to the tri forces' personnel considered Absent Without Official Leave (AWOL) to obtain legal discharge ended at midnight on December 31, 2016. Military Spokesman Roshan Seneviratne said strict legal action would be taken against deserters who have not reported to duty during the general amnesty period. "They will face difficulties when applying for jobs while it is also illegal to employ such persons. The amnesty period was granted to give them an opportunity to obtain legal discharge from service, he said. Brigadier Seneviratne said during the amnesty period some 9,000 tri-forces' personnel including thirty-four officers, considered AWOL have reported to their respective service centres seeking legal discharge. He said 11 officers and 7,812 army soldiers, two Naval officers and 709 sailors and 21 officers and 312 airmen of the air force have reported back during time. The 30-day amnesty period which came into effect on December 1 is the second such amnesty provided last year to tri-forces' deserters to obtain legal discharge. The first was between June 13 and July 12 last year. The Defence Ministry said some 174 officers and 42,506 army soldiers, 26 Naval officers and 6,133 sailors and 37 Air Force officers and 2,806 airmen were considered AWOL prior to the general amnesty. (Darshana Sanjeewa) N. Vasantha Kumar CEO/General Manager of Peoples Bank declares open the Self Banking Center. Hemasiri Fernando Chairman of Peoples Bank looks on. Accelerating its digitalization drive, People's Bank proudly launched its Self Banking Center with CDM/ATM/Kiosks in seven locations in Colombo district, to provide the endless comfort of seamless transactions to customers. The attractively-designed facility will empower customers to conduct most banking functions at the Self Banking Centre without having to enter the branch itself. The launch of the Self Banking Centre closely follows the recent unveiling of the new Peoples Bank logo which reflects the forward momentum of the bank towards green banking. Commenting on this latest offering from People, Bank, CEO / General Manager, Mr. N. Vasantha Kumar, said, Peoples Bank is in the midst of mobilizing revolutionary banking technology to empower the people of the nation and the launch of CDM/ATM/Kiosks in the new Self Banking Centre embodies our dedication to uplift our citizens to next generation banking technology. Our new logo truly reflects our customer centric focus and we believe the launch of the new electronic banking technology further meets peoples aspirations to be in line with global trends, thereby reveling in convenience, value addition, reliability and confidence to improve the quality of their daily lives. As a bank of the people, we are pioneers in the sector and are confident of sustaining our leadership in the digital era too. Similar state-of-the-art Self Help Banking Centres have been rolled out to 7 locations., with the bold vision to reach the 100 Self Help Banking Centre mark over the 2017 year. Peoples Bank has a 16 million account base and an almost 14 million customer base, which portrays how many peoples lives will be enhanced and influenced positively with this latest technology. The touch screen CDM/ATM/Kiosks will be accessible 24 hours in the day, for 365 days in the year, further enhancing convenience for customers and putting them in control of where, when and how they would like to conduct their banking needs. The CDM even enables utility bill payments by cash apart from facilitating cash deposits and balance enquiry. The ATM, apart from offering standard features, also offers cardless cash withdrawals and cash advances on credit cards, modified to better suit customer needs. Bill Payment is facilitated directly over the account by the CDM and the Kiosk, with real time update facility for customers as well as general public, over the new CDM. Customers even have the availability of creating daily withdrawal group limits upon customer requirements. N. Vasantha Kumar CEO/General Manager of Peoples Bank operates the new CDM M. A .Boniface Silva, Deputy General Manager (Channel Management) added: We are pleased to offer technology enriched banking solutions to our customers. Some of the value added services of the Self Banking Centre offer are - one-touch account access and On-line real-time transactions. Moreover, customers can now enjoy cardless transactions to deposit cash, making it a seamless experience. We have kept security and safety as our foremost priority while offering these services. The CDM machines offer real-time account updates for customers peace of mind. This service will also reduce time spent by customers in queuing up at bank counters. Throwing further light on the initiative, Ranjith Kodituwakku, Deputy General Manager (Off-shore Banking & Digitalization), explained, Electronic Banking is a global trend and as Sri Lankas national bank and a bank of the people, we are proud to spearhead the nations digitalization drive. The Self Banking Centre is a testimonial to our commitment to offer the latest banking trends to the countrys citizens, so that they too may remain in step with millions globally who depend on electronic banking and enjoy unlimited conveniences. Customer can also enjoy account access with the International Peoples Debit Card, which is now accepted at leading merchants locally and internationally, along with access to an ATM network over 3125 through Lanka Pay & VISA, which pampers our customers. The Bank has always championed change and this newest initiative is yet another industry benchmark it has set in its digitalization drive. By becoming the Most Digitalized Bank in Sri Lanka, Peoples Bank will have the bandwidth to ensure universal access for all thereby achieving total financial inclusion. The Bank has pioneered an array of digital services during 2016, such as Sri Lankas first-ever Peoples Bank Voice App and the Green Banking YES account. Since its inception 55 years ago, Peoples Bank has opened its doors to customers across the country, from all walks of life, providing them with banking services that meet their unique needs and uplift their lives. Peoples Bank currently serves over 16 million customers through 737 branches and its connected network of 3125 ATMs is linked to the Lanka Pay gateway. The bank also continues to play an important role in encouraging various industries including agriculture, real estate, commercial development, small and medium enterprises and exports and this in turn has helped support communities across the country. Peoples Bank has always been a driver of financial inclusivity and was also the first bank in the country to commence bilingual operations in Sinhala and Tamil and English, and thereafter also introduced Sri Lankas first trilingual cheque book. President Maithripala Sirisena promised me the post of Ambassador to Qatar, Businessman and Sri Lankan Labour Party Leader A.S.P Liyanage said today. "The President first wanted to appoint me as a provincial governor but because there were no vacancies, he said he would appoint me as an Ambassador and that he would submit the proposal to the Parliamentary High Posts Committee for approval before confirming the appointment. The President even wished me for the New Year, Mr. Liyanage said. The post has remained vacant since Dr. W.M. Karunadasa resigned as Ambassador to Qatar. Mr. Liyanage, a Rajapaksa stalwart, was a former High Commissioner to Nigeria. Mr. Liyanage had even promised the former president his luxury peacock mansion in Rajagiriya but later withdrew his offer.(Darshana Sanjeewa) What does Patali know about politics that Harini doesnt know? Sri Lanka is going through great pains to get its economy in order after the Hayleys PLC owned, Talawakelle Tea Estates PLC (TTE PLC) was honoured with a Gold Award under the plantation companies category for the third successive year by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka at the 52nd Annual Report Awards ceremony held on 6th December 2016 at the Waters Edge. This years awards for excellence in Annual Reporting; in keeping with the theme Precision Exemplified encouraged and recognized a search for the most cohesive, clear and customized Annual Report that reflect an entitys operations, while going beyond their statutory boundaries of reporting. This is Talawakelles third fully-integrated report covering financial highlights, stakeholder engagement, strategy, risk management, corporate governance, environmental management, product responsibility, people and social development and a detailed management discussion and analysis, which includes a commentary on operational performance and companys contribution to the national economy. Commenting on the achievement, the Managing Director, Roshan Rajadurai said, this recognition stands testament to Talawakelle Tea Estates PLCs commitment to transparency and accountability to its stakeholders; that contributes to the long-term success and sustainability of the company. Our corporate governance framework ensures transparency and accountability to the regulators, as well as to all our stakeholders including the public. Winning this award for three consecutive years is an affirmation of maintaining consistency of the best practices in all these areas. TTE PLC was adjudged the winner under Agricultural Sector for Best Presented Annual Report Awards and SAARC Anniversary Awards for Corporate Governance Disclosures 2014 at South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) in Lahore, Pakistan. TTE PLC was also bestowed with Silver for agriculture and plantations sector at National Business Excellence Awards recently clearly demonstrating their commitment towards implementing best sustainable management practices and achieving performance excellence. Two of companys estates Radella and Deniyaya won the Silver and Merit Awards respectively under the Food and Beverages category at the National Green Awards ceremony held in October 2016. Incorporated in 1992, TTE PLC is a Regional Plantation Company (RPC) managing 17 tea estates in both high and low grown elevations and producing the finest Dimbulla and Ruhuna specialty teas. With a human resource base of 8,287 people and a land extent of 6,491.55 hectares; the company produces over 7.0 million kg of black orthodox tea as well as green tea annually. TTE PLC pioneered the quality and food safety concepts in the Tea Industry which were endorsed by Great Western achieving the first HACCP certification in the industry in 2001 and Kiruwanaganga achieving the first ever ISO 22000 Food Safety certification among all food processing factories in the country in 2006. All operational factories of the Company are now ISO 22000 FSMS certified. Quality of our products is the key business driver and strategy to ensure premium quality which has clearly set the benchmark within a competitive industry. The ranking at No.1 position in terms of prices fetched at the Colombo Tea Auctions for Low Grown and Western High Grown categories among all Regional Plantation Companies for eleven consecutive years stands as a testimony in the drive for quality. Home for every plantation worker, is the companys holistic programme designed to address and enhance social, health and welfare on all TTE PLC estates. This integrated programme aims to develop the living environment through infrastructure development of basic amenities, capacity development, health and nutrition programmes and youth empowerment to improve the standards and quality of life of the resident communities across all estates. The Company has successfully implemented the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Programme since 2011, which is an internationally recognized certification programme integrating best social, environmental and ethical management practices in daily operations. Rainforest standard follows ten universal principles of sustainable agriculture, which are built on three pillars environment, economy and social justice. Two Indonesian budget airline bosses have quit after video emerged of a pilot allegedly showing up to fly a plane while drunk. Footage showed captain Tekad Purna, a pilot for Citilink, appearing to stagger through a metal detector at a security checkpoint at Surabaya airport in Indonesia. The pilot repeatedly drops his belongings onto the floor, prompting security guards to pick them up. He is believed to have made it onto the plane, which had 154 passengers, before passengers became suspicious when they allegedly heard slurred words and unclear announcements from the cockpit. Some left the plane and asked for a replacement of the pilot, who they believed to be either drunk or under the influence of drugs. Citilink assigned a new pilot to fly the Airbus A320 about an hour behind schedule. One passenger posted a video of the announcement online. Mr Purna has not responded to the allegations. Citilink President Director Albert Burhan announced that he and the airlines production director would resign over the controversy. The pilot had committed serious violation of standard operation procedure that endangered passengers, Mr Burhan said. We apologise for the discomfort. I have to be responsible for that and therefore I and my production director resign. Citilink, a subsidiary of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, previously dismissed reports the 32-year-old pilot was drunk, saying initial tests of drug and alcohol were negative. On Friday, the airline announced it had sacked Tekad. He is said to have undergone medical tests at a clinic in Surabaya, East Java, as well as a second test in Jakarta, The Jakarta Post reports. The results of the medical checkups will be released next week. In December last year, three crew members, a pilot and two flight attendants, were arrested for allegedly consuming crystal methamphetamine, known locally as shabu-shabu, at a hotel. (independent.co.uk) Two Pakistani Maritime Security Ships (PMSS)-HINGOL and BASOL-will arrive at the Colombo Port for a 4-day port call from January 5 in a display of brotherly relationship between the two countries, the Pakistan High Commission said today. A statement issued by the High Commission said Pakistan Maritime ships frequently visit Sri Lanka as part of goodwill. These calls are aimed at strengthening and augmenting the existing strong relationship between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. During the call, the Mission Commander Ashfaq Ali will pay courtesy call on Commanders of Sri Lanka Navy, Coast Guard and Western Naval Area, it said. During their stay at Colombo, PMSS HINGOL and BASOL will take part in professional maritime drills with Sri Lankan counterparts. Pakistan and Sri Lanka have strong maritime ties and engage in multifaceted cooperation, the statement said. A revolution has taken place on Indian television. No, I am not talking about mushrooming news channels or reality shows on the small screen. Quietly, one serial, which has been running for more than eight years, five times a week, has taken the television comedy scene by storm. Neela Tele Films Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah has just completed 2,100 episodes and has become the longest-running comedy show globally. Having already been recognised as Indias longest-running show in terms of the number of years, it has now set its eyes on the Guinness Book of World Records to be at the top internationally. Of course, the path was not smooth. In fact, sceptics tried their best to dissuade Asit Kumarr Modi, the brain behind the show, from going ahead when he first thought about the script in 2002. Asit Kumarr Modi, the brain behind the show. It was as if no one wanted me to succeed, he said recently when I met him in Mumbai. There were those who said it was a non-starter; others said there was no place for such a show on Indian television; and some others said I was taking too much of a risk. However, I was convinced we had a winning product on our hands. Even then, it took all of six years to get the show off the ground but ever since it did, weve not looked back. Five times a week, for all of 2,100 episodes, is no mean achievement. The show, based on the lives of families living in Gokuldham Society in Mumbais Goregaon suburb, revolves around their day-to-day travails and tribulations, their joys, sorrows, fights, achievements and everything else. This was the kind of atmosphere I grew up in, says Modi. The main idea behind the show was to make people happy. I have modelled the character of Jethalal, the Gujarati businessman, as a reflection of my own self, he says. I grew up in a chawl, right in the heart of the city, in what is hardcore Mumbai. It was the liveliness of the area, relations between residents, characters and festivals that I was surrounded by. That was how the common man lived and that is what impacted me a lot. This show is my impression. Well-know Gujarati short storywriter Taarak Mehta then contributed a column to a local newspaper. I was his great fan and read the column regularly. I identified with it. That is how the idea of the serial first came up. I made some changes, created some of my own ideas and the show was conceived, Modi says. The main idea was to make people happy. The public needs to be happy and I wanted to give them happiness. Television channels as we see them today were in their infancy so there was always a slot wide open for me to grab, he adds. In fact, the entire show is happy and full of situations that create comic scenes in the everyday lives of residents of the society. Cast and crew of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. They celebrate festivals and occasions, have fights and disagreements, and deal with everyday life. The effort is also to touch upon some key social issues like Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan and Beti Bachao campaign to send out a message to society. In that sense, we try and keep up with the current times and trends, he explains. In the last few weeks, the show has also dealt with demonetisation and its impact on the common man. Modi hits the nail on the head when he says Indians are inherently happy in spite of mountains of problems they face in their everyday lives. They remain positive in the face of an onslaught by politicians and from other quarters, including from across our borders. In the olden days, we had foreign armies attacking and plundering us and now we have those very same threats in other forms. Pretty much, nothings changed. That is why, we need happiness and I can safely say we have succeeded, he says. Writers, artists, directors and everyone else involved with the show are an inspiration. I have to gather all their views, opinions and feedback to tell a story. That is no easy task but it has to be done all the time. We look forward all the time and not worry about the past. That is over. I live in the present and look forward to the future. And, yes, he admits, there are several points of contention in the script. Popatlal (the journalist) is yet to get married; Jethalal is yet to get over his infatuation with Babita; and Pinkus parents; Taarak Mehtas boss and Dayabens mother still have to make an appearance. We will look at all these aspects as we go along without tampering with the story structure. On his future plans, he admits the language barrier is a stumbling block towards international fame. That said, however, we are thinking of road shows around the world and are even contemplating an entry for the Emmy Awards in the not so distant future. After all, its not every day that a once nondescript show on a once not very popular television channel hits international headlines. The first major political interview I did ended badly. AR Antulay, then chief minister of Maharashtra, became progressively more annoyed at my line of questioning. Antulay was at the centre of a controversy in the early-1980s over "donations" made by industrialists to the Indira Gandhi Pratibha Pratishthan, a trust set up in the prime minister's name. Arun Shourie, in lacerating prose in The Indian Express, headlined the scam on the front page, titling his series of investigative reports "Indira as Commerce". When I pressed Antulay on his alleged role in the scam, he lost his temper. "Out," he shouted, ending the interview 10 minutes after it started. His minders shook with fright. Antulay in high dudgeon was a sight to behold: nostrils flaring, eyes bloodshot, body tensed. It would have been comic were it not for the chief minister's aides scampering around to escort me out of Antulay's office. It was the age of entitlement. Chief ministers like Antulay epitomised what was wrong with India in the 1980s: elitism. The entitled elite thought it could do and say what it wanted. The public was a distraction, taken for granted. During the first relatively sedate minutes of our interview, I reminded Antulay that the word minister was derived from Latin and meant servant. Chief ministers like Antulay epitomised what was wrong with India in the 1980s: elitism. [Photo: PTI] He couldn't believe his ears. "Servant? We are doing public service but do not call us servants," he said in his colourful English. As the conversation moved to corruption in the Indira Gandhi Pratibha Pratishthan, the interview ended abruptly. The entitled don't like to be called out. Has anything changed in 35 years? Is the elite still an entitled species, taking the public for granted? In a developing country it's inevitable that entitlement won't be easily extinguished. The old elite is a hardy animal. It guards its turf fiercely. Entitled elites traverse sectors: politics, media, bureaucracy, business and the professions. They resent the rise of merit. They worship at the feet of dynasty. The socialism of the Indira Gandhi years hid entitlement under a povertarian cloak. It demoted the old elite - India's 600-plus royals - by banishing privy purses and titles. But it did nothing to curtail its own entitlement. Politicians became the new royalty. Rajiv Gandhi, though born to entitlement, tried to be different. For 12 years, from 1968 to 1980, he flew old Dakota planes to small towns for Indian Airlines, eschewing most of the trappings of elitism before two accidents of history (brother Sanjay and mother Indira's deaths) plunged him into precisely the sort of entitlement he had tried to escape. When societies become more equal, the Gini coefficient (which measures inequality in countries based on the gap between the highest and lowest incomes) falls. That's when income disparities reduce. So does entitlement. Sweden has among the world's lowest differentials between rich and poor. Its prime ministers often cycle to work. Elitism, as we know it, is extinct in Sweden. India has among the world's worst Gini coefficients: inequality has declined in recent years but remains high. The most glaring example of entitlement is political dynasty. Of India's 10 largest political parties, eight are family owned where entitlement is an article of faith (Congress, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, RJD, LJP, NC, PDP and NCP). This list is selective, not exhaustive. India has a long history of bowing to self-declared nouveau elites. The country was subjugated by ragtag hordes of Mongol warriors and later Turko warlords led by the Mughal Babur who had been driven out of central Asia. The Mughals entitled themselves at India's expense till they were replaced by British mercenaries of the East India Company. Self-declared entitlement again followed. India continued to suffer. As Shashi Tharoor in his book, An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India, writes: "In 1930, a young American historian and philosopher, Will Durant, stepped onto the shores of India for the first time. He had embarked on a journey around the world to write what became the magnificent eleven-volume The Story of Civilization. But he was, in his own words, so 'filled with astonishment and indignation' at what he saw and read of Britain's 'conscious and deliberate bleeding of India' that he set aside his research into the past to write a passionate denunciation of this 'greatest crime in all history'. His short book, The Case of India, remains a classic, a profoundly empathetic world of compassion and outrage that tore apart the self-serving justifications of the British for their long and shameless record of rapacity in India. "As Durant wrote: 'The British conquest of India was the invasion and destruction of a high civilisation by a trading company (the British East India Company) utterly without scruple or principle, careless of art and greedy of gain, over-running with fire and sword a country temporarily disordered and helpless, bribing and murdering, annexing and stealing, and beginning that career of illegal and 'legal' plunder which has now (1930) gone on ruthlessly for one hundred and seventy-three years.'" And yet, the displaced Indian elite - maharajas and the landed - slipped effortlessly into subservience. At Independence, a colonial-minded Nehruvian ecosystem produced a new form of entitlement - political dynasts, Left-leaning historians and Westernised intellectuals whose lack of self-belief made them craven caricatures whom the post-imperial West mocked behind their backs. The St. Francois County Sheriffs Department will start receiving funds through an equitable sharing program after the county commission approved setting up an account through the county to receive the funds. St. Francois County Treasurer Kerry Glore told the commission that law enforcement in St. Francois County has completed all the documentation to be part of the Department of Justice Equitable Sharing. She pointed out Sheriff Dan Bullock could better explain what that means for the county. Basically its about the time that we are going to get some proceeds in so the county commission needs to set up a separate fund because that is what is required for equitable sharing, explained Glore. It is going to be called the Department of Justice Equitable Sharing Fund and we need the commissions approval to start the new fund. Glore said they have no money at this point in time and they are not actually going to put the fund on the books until the money comes in. She said when that happens the county auditors office will set up the line item accounts that are required. You can get equitable sharing in two ways, either tangible or intangible equitable sharing, said Glore. Dan can actually explain more about that. The commission made a motion and approved setting up the fund. Bullock then explained to the commission what the Equitable Sharing Program was all about. A couple of years ago the county commission approved to have one of my deputies attached to the DEA and that was Deputy Tim Harris, said Bullock. You read about him in the paper recently with some of the drug busts and things he has done for us in St. Francois County, state of Missouri and across the nation. Bullock added the last case he was involved in went all the way to Mexico and California and took out two of the top drug lords in Mexico that furnish heroin, cocaine and meth across the nation. He got a lot of recognition for that, said Bullock. We now are finally going to start seeing some of the proceeds from the federal forfeitures from that program. Its well over a million dollars in this last drug bust. We wont get all of that. We will get a percentage of it, anywhere from 13 to 15 percent of that money. Bullock said there have been several other seizures of property and money across the nation and they will get a percentage of that as well. It should amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars that will go in this fund that you are approving today, said Bullock. We have just been awarded a 2013 one ton dually pickup truck and I dont know what we are going to do with it, but at some point we can sell that if we dont use it. Bullock said they were approved for a Jeep and just last week they were notified they would receive $6,000 to go into this fund that has been created. There will be several thousand dollars more in the next few months coming into this fund, explained Bullock. There are guidelines and that money can be used for training, equipment, things at the jail, certain salaries such as the D.A.R.E. officer or our drug officer Tim Harris salary. Bullock said as for the vehicles, they have to keep them for two years and then they can do whatever they want with them. We are checking to see what the vehicles can be used for. The truck is a very nice truck that was bought to transport drugs, said Bullock. We dont have a tremendous need for the truck we are receiving, so we are trying to find out if the road and bridge department could use it. Bullock added they get a percentage of anything from any case they have contact with. He said the reason they need the special account set up is because the federal government audits that account and they have to follow the specific guidelines. "Why do people go to church on Christmas?" It was one of the questions passersby asked in conversation as they noticed the security line before midnight Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on Christmas Eve. There were some colorful things said, as well, as you might imagine after 10 p.m. on a Saturday night in the Big Apple. And there were also some people mistaking the crowd on Madison Avenue as a very long line for the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. But the scene did provide an opportunity for solidarity with those whose lives are at risk simply for what they believe. How many of us gave thought on Christmas Day to those who died in the attack on a Coptic cathedral in Cairo only days before? As we were moved by the deaths of Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, George Michael, Prince and other celebrities who died in 2016, how many of us remembered Father Jacques Hamel, who was murdered by Islamic militants earlier this year while celebrating Mass in France? Saying a prayer or keeping the persecuted in mind may not seem like much. But it means something to people living a world away from our Western lives, who do often feel forgotten by the cultural and political leaders and power brokers. Earlier this fall, Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda, from the Archdiocese of Erbil in Iraq, visited St. Patrick's to talk about peace. His was not a political manifesto about what the United Nations or next White House needed to do, but an eyewitness account of terror. He explained that "to be persecuted is the fate of the Church of the East. "But to be forgotten," he added, "this would be a really very painful, painful moment to realize that nobody remembers you." And so instead of pointing out U.S. policies that may have exacerbated the pain of his people, or calling Americans out on our routine indifference, he was thankful. "We've been blessed. Persecuted, but blessed that we were not been forgotten. We have not been forgotten, because we have so many brothers and sisters, blessed and beloved, wonderful people like you, praying for us." Warda was particularly grateful that during the Easter season this year, New York's Cardinal Timothy Dolan had visited Iraq, bringing added awareness to the plight of the displaced Christians who Warda and the Church labor to build a hopeful future for. "Hope is not a concept to be understood," the archbishop explained to me over the summer when I had the opportunity to spend time with him. "It's a way of life ... live it today. We want to change the future, it starts now." Back in Erbil, he's opened a new university that equips people to do just this. There are certainly options for those who want to help -- professors who might want to consider teaching there, and Westerners who might want to support efforts to keep a Christian community in what we often think of as the Islamic world. But all Warda really asks of most of us is that we do not forget Christians in the Middle East and that we pray that "our people will go back again to rebuild our villages and stay and be bridges of peace. "Please," he said from the altar of St. Patrick's, "do not forget your brothers and sisters who've been persecuted for their faith, for their belief in Jesus Christ all over the world, especially in Iraq and Syria." And "tell our story," he said. When I asked him why it's so important that Christians remain in Iraq and Syria, given all the risks, he said, "The Middle East needs Jesus Christ. And no one else could give the Middle East Jesus Christ except the Christians ... In the midst of all this violence, Jesus is needed." I thought of that as Cardinal Dolan put the statue of the Christ child in the manger just as Mass was to begin at midnight. That humble presence of God in the world that Christmas symbolizes is also Christianity at its most powerful. Archbishop Warda knows that. His people who chose their faith over home and worldly security know that. In a city that required a bomb squad for Midnight Mass during a year that saw so much anger and violence in American city streets, do we know it? Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute, editor-at-large of National Review Online and founding director of Catholic Voices USA. 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Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe S&P 500 3,719.89 DOW 32,001.25 QQQ 260.49 Harnessing Neuroplasticity Allows You to Actually Change the Way You Think. Here's How. New Battery "Could Eat Lithium's Lunch" (Ad) eBay or Etsy: Which Is The Better Buy? Paypal Shows Promise With Strong Buy Rating New Battery "Could Eat Lithium's Lunch" (Ad) Energy Transfer Raises Guidance, But Stock Lower On Revenue Miss Papa Johns Falls Flat On Earnings, Shares Set To Rise Reclusive trader scores 20 straight years of winning trades. Learn how (Ad) Bank of England makes biggest interest rate hike in 30 years Mid-Caps CommScope, Dycom Outperform Broader Telecom Industry S&P 500 3,719.89 DOW 32,001.25 QQQ 260.49 Harnessing Neuroplasticity Allows You to Actually Change the Way You Think. 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Learn how (Ad) Bank of England makes biggest interest rate hike in 30 years Mid-Caps CommScope, Dycom Outperform Broader Telecom Industry S&P 500 3,719.89 DOW 32,001.25 QQQ 260.49 Harnessing Neuroplasticity Allows You to Actually Change the Way You Think. Here's How. These 5 Microcap Stocks (Ad) eBay or Etsy: Which Is The Better Buy? Paypal Shows Promise With Strong Buy Rating These 5 Microcap Stocks (Ad) Energy Transfer Raises Guidance, But Stock Lower On Revenue Miss Papa Johns Falls Flat On Earnings, Shares Set To Rise The Safest Option in Trades! (Ad) Bank of England makes biggest interest rate hike in 30 years Mid-Caps CommScope, Dycom Outperform Broader Telecom Industry S&P 500 3,719.89 DOW 32,001.25 QQQ 260.49 Harnessing Neuroplasticity Allows You to Actually Change the Way You Think. Here's How. These 5 Microcap Stocks (Ad) eBay or Etsy: Which Is The Better Buy? Paypal Shows Promise With Strong Buy Rating These 5 Microcap Stocks (Ad) Energy Transfer Raises Guidance, But Stock Lower On Revenue Miss Papa Johns Falls Flat On Earnings, Shares Set To Rise The Safest Option in Trades! (Ad) Bank of England makes biggest interest rate hike in 30 years Mid-Caps CommScope, Dycom Outperform Broader Telecom Industry S&P 500 3,719.89 DOW 32,001.25 QQQ 260.49 Harnessing Neuroplasticity Allows You to Actually Change the Way You Think. Here's How. These 5 Microcap Stocks (Ad) eBay or Etsy: Which Is The Better Buy? Paypal Shows Promise With Strong Buy Rating These 5 Microcap Stocks (Ad) Energy Transfer Raises Guidance, But Stock Lower On Revenue Miss Papa Johns Falls Flat On Earnings, Shares Set To Rise The Safest Option in Trades! (Ad) Bank of England makes biggest interest rate hike in 30 years Mid-Caps CommScope, Dycom Outperform Broader Telecom Industry S&P 500 3,719.89 DOW 32,001.25 QQQ 260.49 Harnessing Neuroplasticity Allows You to Actually Change the Way You Think. Here's How. 6 + 3 = ? (Ad) eBay or Etsy: Which Is The Better Buy? Paypal Shows Promise With Strong Buy Rating These 5 Microcap Stocks (Ad) Energy Transfer Raises Guidance, But Stock Lower On Revenue Miss Papa Johns Falls Flat On Earnings, Shares Set To Rise These 5 Microcap Stocks (Ad) Bank of England makes biggest interest rate hike in 30 years Mid-Caps CommScope, Dycom Outperform Broader Telecom Industry S&P 500 3,719.89 DOW 32,001.25 QQQ 260.49 Harnessing Neuroplasticity Allows You to Actually Change the Way You Think. Here's How. 6 + 3 = ? (Ad) eBay or Etsy: Which Is The Better Buy? Paypal Shows Promise With Strong Buy Rating These 5 Microcap Stocks (Ad) Energy Transfer Raises Guidance, But Stock Lower On Revenue Miss Papa Johns Falls Flat On Earnings, Shares Set To Rise These 5 Microcap Stocks (Ad) Bank of England makes biggest interest rate hike in 30 years Mid-Caps CommScope, Dycom Outperform Broader Telecom Industry S&P 500 3,719.89 DOW 32,001.25 QQQ 260.49 Harnessing Neuroplasticity Allows You to Actually Change the Way You Think. Here's How. 6 + 3 = ? (Ad) eBay or Etsy: Which Is The Better Buy? Paypal Shows Promise With Strong Buy Rating These 5 Microcap Stocks (Ad) Energy Transfer Raises Guidance, But Stock Lower On Revenue Miss Papa Johns Falls Flat On Earnings, Shares Set To Rise These 5 Microcap Stocks (Ad) Bank of England makes biggest interest rate hike in 30 years Mid-Caps CommScope, Dycom Outperform Broader Telecom Industry The following companies are subsidiares of Abbott Laboratories: 3A Nutrition (Vietnam) Company Limited, ABON Biopharm (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., AGA Medical Belgium, AGA Medical Corporation, AGA Medical Holdings Inc., ALR Holdings, AML Medical LLC, APK Advanced Medical Technologies LLC, ATS Bermuda Holdings Limited, ATS Laboratories Inc., Abbott, Abbott (Jiaxing) Nutrition Co. Ltd., Abbott (UK) Finance Limited, Abbott (UK) Holdings Limited, Abbott AG, Abbott Asia Holdings Limited, Abbott Asia Investments Limited, Abbott Australasia Holdings Limited, Abbott Australasia Pty Ltd, Abbott B.V., Abbott Bahamas Overseas Businesses Corporation, Abbott Belgian Investments, Abbott Bermuda Holding Ltd., Abbott Biologicals B.V., Abbott Biologicals LLC, Abbott Bulgaria Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Capital India Limited, Abbott Cardiovascular Inc., Abbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc., Abbott Delaware LLC, Abbott Diabetes Care Inc., Abbott Diabetes Care Limited, Abbott Diabetes Care Sales Corporation, Abbott Diagnostics GmbH, Abbott Diagnostics International Ltd., Abbott Diagnostics Technologies AS, Abbott Doral Investments S.L., Abbott Equity Holdings Unlimited, Abbott Equity Investments LLC, Abbott Established Products Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Finance Company SA, Abbott Financial Holdings SRL, Abbott France S.A.S., Abbott Fund Tanzania Limited, Abbott Gesellschaft m.b.H., Abbott GmbH & Co. KG, Abbott Health Products LLC, Abbott Healthcare (Puerto Rico) Ltd., Abbott Healthcare B.V., Abbott Healthcare Costa Rica S.A., Abbott Healthcare LLC, Abbott Healthcare Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Healthcare Private Limited, Abbott Healthcare Products B.V., Abbott Healthcare Products Ltd, Abbott Holding (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding GmbH, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited Luxembourg S.C.S., Abbott Holdings B.V., Abbott Holdings LLC, Abbott Holdings Limited, Abbott Holdings Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Hungary Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Iberian Investments (2) Limited, Abbott Iberian Investments Limited, Abbott India Limited, Abbott Informatics Asia Pacific Limited, Abbott Informatics Canada Inc, Abbott Informatics Corporation, Abbott Informatics Europe Limited, Abbott Informatics France, Abbott Informatics Germany GmbH, Abbott Informatics Netherlands B.V., Abbott Informatics Singapore Pte. Limited, Abbott Informatics Spain S.A., Abbott Informatics Technologies Ltd, Abbott International Corporation, Abbott International Enterprises Ltd., Abbott International Holdings Limited, Abbott International LLC, Abbott International Luxembourg S.ar.l., Abbott Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Ireland, Abbott Ireland Financing Designated Activity Company, Abbott Ireland Limited, Abbott Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Abbott Knoll Investments B.V., Abbott Korea Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Bangladesh) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco (Dos) SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Laboratories (Mozambique) Limitada, Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Philippines), Abbott Laboratories (Puerto Rico) Incorporated, Abbott Laboratories (Singapore) Private Limited, Abbott Laboratories A/S, Abbott Laboratories Argentina Sociedad Anonima, Abbott Laboratories B.V., Abbott Laboratories C.A., Abbott Laboratories Finance B.V., Abbott Laboratories GmbH, Abbott Laboratories Inc., Abbott Laboratories International LLC, Abbott Laboratories Ireland Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited - Laboratoires Abbott Limitee, Abbott Laboratories NZ Limited, Abbott Laboratories Pacific Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Laboratories Products B.V., Abbott Laboratories Residential Development Fund Inc., Abbott Laboratories S.A., Abbott Laboratories SA, Abbott Laboratories Services Corp., Abbott Laboratories Slovakia s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trustee Company Limited, Abbott Laboratories Uruguay S.A., Abbott Laboratories Vascular Enterprises, Abbott Laboratories d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories de Chile Limitada, Abbott Laboratories de Colombia S.A., Abbott Laboratories de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Abbott Laboratories druzba za farmacijo in diagnostiko d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories(Hellas) Societe Anonyme, Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios del Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Abbott Laboratuarlari Ithalat Ihracat ve Ticaret Ltd.Sti, Abbott Laboratorios Lda, Abbott Laboratorios do Brasil Ltda., Abbott Limited Egypt LLC, Abbott Logistics B.V., Abbott Management GmbH, Abbott Management LLC, Abbott Manufacturing Singapore Private Limited, Abbott Mature Products International Unlimited Company, Abbott Mature Products Management Limited, Abbott Medical (Hong Kong) Limited, Abbott Medical (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Medical (Portugal) Distribuicao de Produtos Medicos Lda, Abbott Medical (Schweiz) AG, Abbott Medical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Australia Pty. Ltd., Abbott Medical Austria Ges.m.b.H., Abbott Medical Balkan d.o.o. Beograd (Novi Beograd), Abbott Medical Belgium, Abbott Medical Canada Inc./ Medicale Abbott Canada Inc., Abbott Medical Danmark A/S, Abbott Medical Devices Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Espana S.A., Abbott Medical Estonia OU, Abbott Medical Finland Oy, Abbott Medical France SAS, Abbott Medical GmbH, Abbott Medical Hellas Limited Liability Trading Company, Abbott Medical Ireland Limited, Abbott Medical Italia S.p.A., Abbott Medical Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Korea Limited, Abbott Medical Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Medical Laboratories LTD, Abbott Medical Nederland B.V., Abbott Medical New Zealand Limited, Abbott Medical Norway AS, Abbott Medical Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Medical Sweden AB, Abbott Medical Taiwan Co., Abbott Medical U.K. Limited, Abbott Medical spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Middle East S.A.R.L., Abbott Molecular Inc., Abbott Morocco SARL, Abbott Nederland C.V., Abbott Nederland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Netherlands Investments B.V., Abbott Norge AS, Abbott Nutrition Limited, Abbott Nutrition Manufacturing Inc., Abbott Operations Singapore Pte. Ltd., Abbott Operations Uruguay S.R.L., Abbott Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Overseas Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Overseas S.A., Abbott Oy, Abbott Point of Care Canada Limited, Abbott Point of Care Inc., Abbott Poland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Procurement LLC, Abbott Products (Philippines) Inc., Abbott Products (Spain) S.L., Abbott Products Algerie EURL, Abbott Products B.V., Abbott Products Distribution SAS, Abbott Products Egypt LLC, Abbott Products Limited, Abbott Products Limited Liability Company, Abbott Products Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Products Operations AG, Abbott Products Operations LLC, Abbott Products Romania S.R.L., Abbott Products Tunisie S.A.R.L., Abbott Products Unlimited Company, Abbott Resources Inc., Abbott Resources International Inc., Abbott S.r.l., Abbott Saudi Arabia Trading Company, Abbott Scandinavia Aktiebolag, Abbott Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, Abbott South Africa Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Strategic Opportunities Limited, Abbott Trading Company Inc., Abbott Universal LLC, Abbott Vascular Devices (2) Limited, Abbott Vascular Devices Limited, Abbott Vascular Inc., Abbott Vascular Instruments Deutschland GmbH, Abbott Vascular International, Abbott Vascular Japan Co. Ltd, Abbott Vascular Limitada, Abbott Vascular Netherlands B.V., Abbott Vascular Solutions Inc., Abbott Ventures Inc., Abbott West Indies Limited, Abbott drustvo sa ogranicenom odgovornoscu za trgovinu i usluge, Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc., Alere, Alere (Shanghai) Diagnostics Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Healthcare Management Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Medical Sales Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Technology Co. Ltd., Alere A/S, Alere AB, Alere AS, Alere AS Holdings Limited, Alere BBI Holdings Limited, Alere Bangladesh Limited, Alere China Co. Ltd., Alere Colombia S.A., Alere Connect LLC, Alere Connected Health Limited, Alere Connected Health Ltd., Alere Diagnostics GmbH, Alere DoA Holding GmbH, Alere GmbH, Alere GmbH (Austria), Alere GmbH (Germany), Alere HK Holdings Ltd., Alere Health B.V., Alere Health BVBA, Alere Health Corp., Alere Health Sdn Bhd, Alere Health Services B.V., Alere Healthcare (Pty) Limited, Alere Healthcare Connections Limited, Alere Healthcare Inc., Alere Healthcare Nigeria Limited, Alere Healthcare S.L., Alere Holdco Inc., Alere Holding GmbH, Alere Holdings Bermuda Limited, Alere Holdings Pty Limited, Alere Home Monitoring Inc., Alere Inc., Alere Informatics Inc., Alere International Holding Corp., Alere International Limited, Alere Lda, Alere Limited, Alere Limited (New Zealand), Alere Medical BVBA, Alere Medical Co. Ltd., Alere Medical Pakistan (Private) Limited, Alere Medical Private Limited, Alere North America LLC, Alere Oy Ab, Alere Philippines Inc., Alere Phoenix ACQ Inc., Alere Pte Ltd, Alere S.A., Alere S.r.l., Alere S/A, Alere SAS, Alere San Diego Inc., Alere Scarborough Inc., Alere Spain S.L., Alere Switzerland GmbH, Alere Technologies GmbH, Alere Technologies Holdings Limited, Alere Technologies Limited, Alere Toxicology AB, Alere Toxicology Inc., Alere Toxicology S.r.l., Alere Toxicology Services Inc., Alere Toxicology plc, Alere UK Holdings Limited, Alere UK Subco Limited, Alere ULC, Alere US Holdings LLC, Alere s.r.o., Alisoc Investment & Co, Amedica Biotech Inc., Ameditech Inc., American Generics S.A.S., American Medical Supplies Inc., American Pharmacist Inc., Antares S.A., Apica Cardiovascular Limited, Aquagestion Capacitacion S.A., Aquagestion S.A., Arriva Medical LLC, Arriva Medical Philippines Inc., Arvis Investments Limited, Atlas Farmaceutica S.A., Avee Laboratories Inc., Axis-Shield AD III AS, Axis-Shield AD IV AS, Axis-Shield AS, Axis-Shield Diagnostics Limited, Axis-Shield Ltd., BBI Animal Health Limited, BBI Diagnostics Group 2 Public Limited Company, Banco de Vida S.A., Bioabsorbable Vascular Solutions Inc., Bioalgae S.A., Biohealth LLC, Biosite Incorporated, Bosque Bonito S.A., Branan Medical Corporation, Brandex Europe C.V., British Colloids Limited, CFR Chile S.A., CFR Interamericas EL Salvador Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, CFR Interamericas Nicaragua Sociedad Anonima, CFR Interamericas Panama S.A., CFR Pharmaceuticals, California Property Holdings III LLC, CardioMEMS LLC, Caripharm Inc., Cephea Valve Technologies, Cephea Valve Technologies Inc., Colibri Medical Aktiebolag, Comercializadora y Distribuidora CFR Interamericas Honduras S.A., Concateno South Limited, Concateno UK Limited, Consorcio Tecnologico en Biomedicina Clinico-Molecular S.A., Continuum Services LLC, Cozart Limited, Dextech S.A., Diagnostik Nord GmbH, Distribuciones Uquifa S.A.S., Domesco Medical Import-Export Joint-Stock Corporation, Duphar International Research B.V., Endocardial Solutions, Epocal (US) Inc, Esprit de Vie S.A., European Chemicals & Co, European Drug Testing Service EDTS AB, European Services S.A., Evalve Inc., Evalve International Inc., FARMINDUSTRIA S.A., Fada Pharma Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Fadapharma del Ecuador S.A., Farmaceutica Mont Blanc S.L., Farmacologia Em Aquicultura Veterinaria Ltda., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV Ecuador S.A., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV S.A., Fernwood Investment S.A., First Check Diagnostics LLC, Focus Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Forensics Limited, Forestcreek Overseas S.A., Fournier Pharma Corp., Fournier Pharma GmbH, Fournier Pharmaceuticals Limited, Framed B.V., Gabmed GmbH, Garden Hills LLC, Global Analytical Development LLC, Globapharm & CO LP, Glomed Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Golnorth Investments S.A., Gynocare Limited, Gynopharm Sociedad Anonima, Gynopharm de Centroamerica S.A., Gynopharm de Venezuela C.A., Hi-Tronics Designs Inc., IDEV Technologies Inc., IG Innovations Limited, IMTC Finance B.V., IMTC Holdings B.V., IMTC Technologies Inc., Ibis Biosciences LLC, Igloo Zone Chile S.A., Igloo Zone S.L., Inmobiliaria Naknek S.A.C., Innovacon Inc., Instant Tech Subsidiary Acquisition Inc., Instant Technologies Inc., Instituto de Criopreservacion de Chile S.A., Integrated Vascular Systems Inc., Inverness Canadian Acquisition Corporation, Inverness Medical (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Australia Pty Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Hong Kong Limited, Inverness Medical Innovations SK LLC, Inverness Medical Investments LLC, Inverness Medical LLC, Inverness Medical Shimla Private Limited, Inversiones K2 SpA, Inversiones Komodo S.R.L., Ionian Technologies LLC, Irvine Biomedical Inc., Kalila Medical, Kangshenyunga S.A., Knoll UK Investments Unlimited, LLC VeroInPharm, Laboratoires Fournier S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano Lafrancol S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano del Ecuador S.A., Laboratorio Internacional Argentino S.A., Laboratorio Synthesis S.A.S., Laboratorios Lafi Limitada, Laboratorios Naturmedik S.A.S., Laboratorios Pauly Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Laboratorios Recalcine S.A., Laboratorios Transpharm S.A., Laboratory Specialists of America Inc., Lafrancol Dominicana S.A.S., Lafrancol Guatemala S.A. Sociedad Anonima, Lafrancol Internacional S.A.S, Lafrancol Peru S.R.L, Lake Forest Investments LLC, Lightlab Imaging Inc., Limited Liability Company Abbott Laboratories, Limited Liability Company Abbott Ukraine, Limited Liability Company VEROPHARM, Lung Fung Hong (China) Limited, Mansbridge Pharmaceuticals Limited, MediGuide LLC, MediGuide Ltd., Medscreen Holdings Limited, Metropolitana Farmaceutica S.A., Midwest Properties LLC, Murex Argentina S.A., Murex Biotech Limited, Murex Biotech South Africa, Murex Diagnostics Inc., Murex Diagnostics International Inc., Natural Supplement Association LLC, Negocios Denia Sociedad Anonima, Neosalud S.A.C., Nether Pharma N.P. C.V., NeuroTherm LLC, Normann Pharma-Handels GmbH, North Shore Properties Inc., Novamedi S.A., Novasalud.com S.A., Nutravida S.A., OJSC Voronezhkhimpharm, Omnilab Iberia Sociedad Limitada, OptiMedica, Orgenics France SAS, Orgenics International Holdings B.V., Orgenics Ltd., PBM-Selfcare LLC, PDD II LLC, PDD LLC, PT Alere Health, PT. Abbott Indonesia, PT. Abbott Products Indonesia, Pacesetter Inc., Pantech (RF) (PTY) LTD, Pembrooke Occupational Health Inc., Penagos S.A., Pharma International Sociedad Anonima, Pharmaceutical Technologies (Pharmatech) S.A., Pharmatech Boliviana S.A., Polygon Labs S.A., Quality Assured Services Inc., RF Medical Holdings LLC, RTL Holdings Inc., Ramses Business Corp., Recben Xenerics Farmaceutica Limitada, Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Inc., Rich Horizons International Limited, SC VEROPHARM, SJ Medical Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., SJM International Inc., SJM Thunder Holding Company, SPDH Inc., Saboya Enterprises Corporation, Salviac Limited, Scanax AS, Sealing Solutions Inc., Selfcare Technology Inc., Shandong Abbott Dairy Product Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Medical Devices Science and Technology Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Shanghai Si Fa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Sinensix & Co., Spinal Modulation LLC, St. Jude Medical, St. Jude Medical AB, St. Jude Medical ATG Inc., St. Jude Medical Argentina S.A., St. Jude Medical Asia Pacific Holdings GK, St. Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Brasil Ltda., St. Jude Medical Business Services Inc., St. Jude Medical Cardiology Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Colombia Ltda., St. Jude Medical Coordination Center, St. Jude Medical Costa Rica Limitada, St. Jude Medical Europe Inc., St. Jude Medical Export Ges.m.b.H., St. Jude Medical GVA Sarl, St. Jude Medical Holdings B.V., St. Jude Medical India Private Limited, St. Jude Medical International Holding, St. Jude Medical LLC, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings II, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings NT, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings SMI S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings TC S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Mexico Business Services S. de R.L. de C.V., St. Jude Medical Middle East DMCC, St. Jude Medical Operations (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., St. Jude Medical Puerto Rico LLC, St. Jude Medical S.C. Inc., St. Jude Medical Systems AB, St. Jude Medical Turkey Medikal Urunler Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Standard Diagnostics Inc., Standing Stone LLC, Swan-Myers Incorporated, TC1 LLC, Tendyne Holdings Inc., Tendyne Medical Inc., Thoratec Delaware LLC, Thoratec Europe Limited, Thoratec LLC, Thoratec Switzerland GmbH, Tobal Products Incorporated, Topera GmbH in Liquidation, Topera Inc., Tremora S.A., Tuenir S.A., TwistDx, UAB Abbott Laboratories, UAB Abbott Medical Lithuania, Union-Madison Realty Company Inc., Unipath Limited (dba Alere International/aka Cranfield), Unipath Management Limited, Unipath Pension Trustee Limited, Veropharm, Veropharm Limited Liability Partnership, Vida Cell Inversiones S.A., Vida Cell S.A., Vivalsol, W&R Pharma Handels GmbH, Western Pharmaceuticals S.A., X Technologies Inc., Yissum Holding Limited, ZonePerfect Nutrition Company, eScreen Canada ULC, eScreen Inc., ( ), and Abbott Laboratories Baltics. Read More Political prisoner, activist, journalist, hymn-writer, emerging think tanker, aspiring novelist, "tribal elder", parliamentary candidate for North West Durham, Shadow Leader of the Opposition, Speedboat, proudly banned from Twitter so officially more dangerous than the Taliban, eagerly awaiting the second (or possibly third) attempt to murder me. The following companies are subsidiares of Ingersoll Rand: 13125882 Canada Inc., 211 E. Russell Road LLC, 4458664 Canada Inc., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES ASIA PTE. LTD., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES BORROWER S.C.A., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES LLC, ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES MIDDLE EAST FZE, ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES SERVICES LIMITED, ASTRUM IT GmbH, Accudyne Industries Acquisition S.A r.l, Accudyne Industries Canada Inc., Accudyne Industries S.A r.l., Air Dimensions, Air Dimensions Inc., Albin Pump SAS, BOC Edwards Global Low pressure Air business, CISA S.p.A., Cameron-Centrifugal Compression, Comercial Ingersoll-Rand (Chile) Limitada, Comingersoll-Comercio E Industria De Equipamentos S.A., CompAir, CompAir (Hankook) Korea Co. Ltd., CompAir Acquisition (No. 2) Ltd., CompAir Acquisition Ltd., CompAir BroomWade Ltd., CompAir Finance Ltd., CompAir GmbH, CompAir Holdings Limited, CompAir International Trading (Shanghai) Co Ltd, CompAir Korea Ltd, CompAir South Africa (SA) (Pty) Ltd., Consolidated Distribution Holdings Ltd., DV Systems Inc., Dosatron International SAS, Emco Wheaton Gmbh, Emco Wheaton USA Inc, Enza Air Proprietary Limited, FlexEnergy Holdings LLC, Frigoblock Grosskopf Gmbh, GD Aria Holdings Limited, GD Aria Holdings Limited, GD Aria Investments Limited, GD First (UK) Ltd, GD German Holdings GmbH, GD German Holdings I Gmbh, GD German Holdings II GmbH, GD German Investments GmbH, GD Global Holdings II Inc., GD Global Holdings Inc., GD Global Holdings UK II Ltd., GD Global Ventures I B.V., GD Global Ventures II B.V., GD Global Ventures III B.V., GD Industrial Products Malaysia SDN. BHD., GD Investment KY, GD UK Finance Ltd., GPS Industries, Gardner Denver (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Austria GmbH, Gardner Denver Bad Neustadt Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Belgium NV, Gardner Denver Brasil Industria E Comercio de Maquinas Ltda., Gardner Denver CZ + SK sro, Gardner Denver Canada Corp (Canada), Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments II Limited, Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments Limited, Gardner Denver Deutschland GmbH, Gardner Denver Engineered Products India Private Limited, Gardner Denver FZE, Gardner Denver Finance II LLC, Gardner Denver Finance Inc & Co KG, Gardner Denver France SAS, Gardner Denver Group Svcs Ltd, Gardner Denver Holdings Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Investments Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Ltd, Gardner Denver Iberica SL, Gardner Denver Inc., Gardner Denver Industries Ltd., Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd., Gardner Denver International Inc., Gardner Denver International Ltd., Gardner Denver Investments Inc., Gardner Denver Italy Holdings S.r.L., Gardner Denver Japan Ltd., Gardner Denver Kirchhain Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Korea Ltd., Gardner Denver Ltd., Gardner Denver Machinery (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Nash Brasil Industria E Comercio De Bombas Ltda, Gardner Denver Nash LLC, Gardner Denver Nash Machinery Ltd., Gardner Denver Nederland BV, Gardner Denver Nederland Investments B.V., Gardner Denver Oy, Gardner Denver Polska Sp z.o.o., Gardner Denver Pte. Ltd., Gardner Denver S.r.l., Gardner Denver Schopfheim GmbH, Gardner Denver Schopfheim Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Schweiz AG, Gardner Denver Slovakia s.r.o., Gardner Denver Sweden AB, Gardner Denver Taiwan Ltd., Gardner Denver Thomas GmbH (f/k/a ILMVAC GmbH), Gardner Denver Thomas Inc., Gardner Denver Thomas Pneumatic Systems (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Thomas Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Garo Dott. Ing. Roberto Gabbioneta S.r.l., Ghh-Rand Schraubenkompressoren Gmbh, HASKEL EUROPE LTD., HASKEL HOLDINGS UK LIMITED, HASKEL INTERNATIONAL LLC, Hamworthy Belliss & Morcom, Haskel France SAS, Haskel Sistemas de Fluidos Espana S.R.L., Hibon Inc., Highspeed Newco LLC, Hingerose Limited, ILMVAC (UK) Ltd., ILS Innovative Labor Systeme, ILS Inovative Laborsysteme GmbH, INGERSOLL RAND ITS JAPAN LTD., INGERSOLL-RAND (CHANG ZHOU) TOOLS CO. LTD., INGERSOLL-RAND (CHINA) INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING CO. LTD., INGERSOLL-RAND CHINA LLC, INGERSOLL-RAND COMERCIO E SERVICOS DE MAQUINAS E EQUIPAMENTOS INDUSTRIAIS LTDA., INGERSOLL-RAND DE PUERTO RICO INC., INGERSOLL-RAND INDUSTRIAL COMPANY B.V., INGERSOLL-RAND INDUSTRIAL SP. Z O.O., INGERSOLL-RAND INDUSTRIAL U.S. INC., INGERSOLL-RAND PHILIPPINES INC., INGERSOLL-RAND SPAIN S.A., INGERSOLL-RAND U.S. HOLDCO INC., IR HPS Holdco. Inc., ITO Emniyet, Ingersoll Rand Cyprus Investments Ltd., Ingersoll Rand Finance LLC, Ingersoll Rand Global Investments LLC, Ingersoll Rand Global Ventures LLC, Ingersoll Rand Hong Kong Investments Limited, Ingersoll Rand Inc., Ingersoll Rand Investments (SG) Pte. Ltd., Ingersoll Rand Investments B.V., Ingersoll Rand Schweiz Investments Gmbh, Ingersoll Rand Technology R&D (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand (Australia) Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand (China) Investment Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand (Guilin) Tools Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand (Hong Kong) Holding Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand (India) Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Ab, Ingersoll-Rand Air Solutions Hibon Sarl, Ingersoll-Rand Beteiligungs Und Grundstucksverwaltungs Gmbh, Ingersoll-Rand Colombia S.A.S., Ingersoll-Rand Company Limited (Uk), Ingersoll-Rand Company South Africa (Pty) Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Cz S.R.O., Ingersoll-Rand De Mexico S.A. De C.V., Ingersoll-Rand Equipements De Production S.A.S., Ingersoll-Rand Holdings Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Industrial Ireland Limited, Ingersoll-Rand International (India) Private Limited, Ingersoll-Rand International Holding Llc, Ingersoll-Rand Italia S.R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Italiana Manufacturing S.R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Korea Holding Llc, Ingersoll-Rand Korea Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Lux Investments II S.A R.I., Ingersoll-Rand Lux Investments S.A R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Luxembourg Industrial Company S.A R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Machinery (Shanghai) Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Malaysia Co. Sdn. Bhd., Ingersoll-Rand S.A. De C.V., Ingersoll-Rand Services And Trading Limited Liability Company, Ingersoll-Rand Services Company, Ingersoll-Rand Services Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Singapore Enterprises Pte. Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand South East Asia (Pte.) Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand Superay Holdings Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Technical And Services S.A.R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Technologies And Services Private Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Technology R&D (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand Tool Holdings Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Trading Gmbh, Ingersoll-Rand Vietnam Company Limited, Instrum Rand JSC, Interflex Datensysteme, Ir Canada Holdings Ulc, Ir Canada Sales & Service Ulc, Ir France Sas, Kryptonite corp, Lawrence Factor Inc., LeROI, LeRoi International Inc, MILTON ROY (HONG KONG) LIMITED, MILTON ROY (UK) LIMITED, MILTON ROY EUROPA B.V., MILTON ROY EUROPE SAS, MILTON ROY INDUSTRIAL (SHANGHAI) CO. LTD., MILTON ROY LLC, MILTON ROY US PURCHASER INC., MP Pumps Inc., Maximum AG Technologies Inc., Maximus Solutions, Mb Air Systems Limited, Nash Elmo, Officina Meccaniche Industriali Srl, Oina VV, Oina VV Aktiebolag, Plurifilter D.O.O., Pt Ingersoll-Rand Indonesia, Robuschi, Runtech Systems, Runtech Systems (Shanghai) Co. 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Read More Privacy Overview This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. Christmas Tree Collection is offered by the city of Charlottesville for trees that are placed at curbside by 7 a.m. Monday for collection during that week. Albemarle County collects trees through Jan. 16 at the following parks: Claudius Crozet Park, Darden Towe Park, Chris Greene Lake and Walnut Creek Park. charlottesville.org. albemarle.org. (434) 970-3333. City of Charlottesville will be trimming trees along East Market Street and Fourth Street on Wednesday and Thursday. Traffic control will be in place for single-lane closures and several parking spaces are posted with No Parking signs. (434) 970-3587. Flu vaccines are available at local health departments, including the Char-lottesville/Albemarle Health Department at 1138 Rose Hill Drive, (434) 972-6200; Fluvanna County Health Department at 132 Main St. (U.S. 15) in Palmyra, (434) 591-1960; Greene County Health Department at 50 Stanard St. in Stanardsville, (434) 985-2262; Louisa County Health Department at 540 Industrial Drive in Louisa, (540) 967-3703; and Nelson County Health Department at 4038 Thomas Nelson Highway in Arrington, (434) 263-8315. Fluvanna County High School Classes 19601969 meets at 1 p.m. Monday and on the se-cond Monday of odd-numbered months at The Dogwood Cafe at 10 Centre Court in Palmyra. (434) 286-3795. Friends of Buckingham meets at 6 p.m. Wednesday in advance of the public hearing on the compressor station for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline at Buckingham Arts Center at 30 Administration Lane in Buckingham. (434) 226-0282. Montpelier will be closed through Jan. 13 for maintenance, repairs and restoration. montpelier.org. (540) 672-2728. Senior Statesmen of Virginia hosts Marshie Agee, communication liaison for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, presenting Vehicle Safety: Today and Tomorrow from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Jan 11 at the Senior Center at 1180 Pepsi Place. (434) 974-7756. Thomas Jefferson Health District offers free drug disposal kits, allowing individuals to properly deactivate and dispose of medications without contaminating water sources or harming the environment. Each kit accommodates up to 45 pills, 6 ounces of liquid or six patches. Kits are available from the health departments in Charlottesville/Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson Counties. (434) 270-4802. VA Law Help 2 Go provides smartphones and other mobile devices access to brief informa-tional videos about common civil legal issues in Virginia. Details are available at valawhelp2go.org. (703) 778-6803. With the cold weather of winter, many of us seek out more substantial foods, like the stick-to-the-ribs kind. I searched in my pantry the other day and found some foods I had not used in a while dried beans, lentils, barley and different kinds of rice. I picked up the bag of lentils and thought of the chili recipe I used to make. Yes, chili with lentils, instead of beans. This chili is also made with chicken instead of beef or other denser meat, resulting in a much lighter dish, but still with the chili kick. Lentils are inexpensive, versatile and nutritious. There are two main varieties. The Chilean is the one most often at the grocers. It is brown, yellow or green. The other is the Persian, widely used in Middle Eastern cuisines. It is reddish or orange-red and is usually available in health food or Middle Eastern markets. Lentils are not dried beans, although they belong to the same plant family. They are the seeds of a small, scrubby plant cultivated since prehistoric times in the Mediterranean region and India. These dried seeds are used in a wide array of dishes, while the leafy stalks are fed to livestock. The optical lens, upon its invention, was named for the lentil because of the marked similarity in shape. Today, more than 50 varieties of lentils are grown around the world the brown, green, and red being the most popular. According to food historians, the lentil is the oldest cultivated legume, dating from 8000 B.C. Its place of origin is thought to be Southwestern Asia, in the area of the fertile lands bordering the Indus River. Other historians believe that lentils originated in the Middle East. Lentils are mentioned in the Old Testament. Esau sold his birthright for a mess of pottage of lentils. This is thought to be an ancient Middle Eastern dish of lentils and onions simmered slowly in sesame oil. Even today, the French word for lentil soup is potage Esau, and in classic French cooking, the word Esau usually signifies a dish whose main ingredient is lentils. Throughout the ages, lentils consistently have been cheap in comparison with most other available foods. This has earned them contempt from the affluent and snobbish. Lentils came to Egypt around 2000 B. C. Remains of a lentil puree were discovered in the 12th-dynasty (around 1750 B.C.) tomb of Thebes. Several food historians have speculated that it was the consumption of protein-rich lentils that gave the Egyptians the strength to build the Pyramids. From Egypt, lentils were brought by ship to Greece and Rome. The Greeks considered them food for the poor. Some of the Greek philosophers ate them to prove that they were not subject to a class distinction. By the time Athens had reached its height of civilization, lentils had become a staple. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, prescribed them with slices of boiled egg for liver ailments. The Romans gave lentils the name lens culinaris. The name was inspired by astronomers and physicians who found a similarity between lentils and disk-shaped double convex optic glass. Thus, optic glass is called lens, the Latin word for lentil. The Romans also considered lentils a plebeian food. However, Apicius, who wrote the first ancient Roman cookbook more than 2,000 years ago, included a chapter on legumes in which he listed recipes for lentils with mussels, chestnuts or spices. Although considered plebeian, lentils found their way to Roman banquet tables. They were included in such dishes as barley soup enriched with lentils and chickpeas (garbanzo). One of the Roman noblemen, Heliogabalus, served lentils mixed with topazes. This offered his guests the possibility of finding a fortune although possibly losing a tooth at the same time. The Romans demand for lentils was so great that there was a constant stream of ships carrying lentils from Alexandria in Egypt to ports near Rome. At the time, the small red Egyptian lentils were considered to be the best. During the Middle Ages in Paris, where peas and broad beans comprised the majority of winter vegetables, lentils were eaten as a last resort. In Germany, the miserable life of the peasants was described as subsisting on black bread, oatmeal and dried peas or lentils. Lentils began to gain favor in 16th-century France when a French physician used lentils against smallpox. Later, the tiny green lentils of France became fashionable when Marie Leszczynska, wife of Louis XV, had them served at various banquets. Lentils had been popular in Poland, where she grew up. The phrase often applied to the lentil is the poor mans meat. Of all dried vegetables, lentils and soybeans are the best substitutes for meat. One hundred grams of lentils contain the same amount of protein as 134 grams of beef. In addition, there is less cholesterol and more beneficial fiber in lentils than beef. For centuries, Catholics were allowed to eat lentils on fasting days as a substitute for the more expensive fish. Lentils became the main ingredient of meals during Lent. Unfortunately, the majority of Americans never really have taken to lentils. The first Americans who encountered this vegetable were the Iroquois Indians, when Jesuit missionaries introduced them to lentils. These missionaries planted lentils along the St. Lawrence River, but they did not grow well there. The only place where lentils are grown today in the United States is in a 50-mile-wide strip of land along the Washington-Idaho border. The arid climate of this region makes it possible to dry lentils in the field before harvesting. However, the majority of this lentil crop is sold overseas. There are about 50 different types of lentils grown throughout the world. The people of India are the greatest lentil consumers in the world. There is an interesting Parsee dish called Dahnsak, in which up to nine different kinds of lentils of various flavors, colors and textures are combined. Although chili is traditionally made with red meat and beans, try this lighter version made with lentils and chicken. Pineapple chunks added at the end of cooking add a slight tartness to the dish. LENTIL CHILI 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves 2 tablespoons olive oil Salt and pepper 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 onion, chopped 4 tablespoons tomato paste 4 cups chicken broth pound lentils, rinsed teaspoon dried thyme 1 small red chili pepper, seeds removed and chopped 1 medium green pepper, chopped 1 medium red pepper, chopped 1 (8 ounce) can pineapple rings, drained and cut into chunks Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch wide strips. Heat the olive oil in a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken strips and brown them on both sides. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Remove the chicken to a plate and cover with aluminum foil. Add the onion to the pan and saute it until it is soft. Add the tomato paste and the chicken broth and mix thoroughly. Then add the lentils and thyme. Bring to a boil and cook, covered, over low heat for 40 minutes. After 20 minutes of cooking, add the chili pepper, green and red pepper and continue cooking. Five minutes before the end of cooking time, add the chicken pieces and the pineapple chunks. Adjust seasonings and finish cooking. Lentils should be tender, but not mushy. Serve with boiled rice or taco chips. Serves 4. UVA police investigate reported sex assault CHARLOTTESVILLE University of Virginia police are investigating a report of a sexual assault. According to police, a female victim reported meeting a male suspect at a local restaurant and later being physically and sexually assaulted in a residence. The assault was reported to police Sunday evening. The suspect was described as a college-aged male. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police. No further details were immediately released. Herndon man falls 10 floors to his death in boiler shaft of D.C. hotel WASHINGTON Police and fire officials say a guest at a Washington hotel died after falling into a boiler shaft on the roof and plunging 10 floors to the basement. D.C. police spokesman Rachel Schaerr tells The Washington Post that 23-year-old John Leonard of Herndon, Virginia, fell around 2:30 a.m. Sunday at the 9-story Dupont Circle Hotel. Authorities say he had gone to the roof with someone else, possibly his girlfriend. Schaerr says Leonard went to the roof to get a good view of the city. A spokesman for the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department said crews that specialize in confined-space rescues recovered Leonard's body. A manager at the Dupont Circle Hotel called the incident "a tragic accident" in a prepared statement. He did not offer more details. Apparent gang shooting in Leesburg A 23-year-old Leesburg man is in custody following a reported shooting at a hotel early on New Year's Day. Justin Robin was arrested around 10 p.m. on Jan. 1 and charged with aggravated malicious wounding in the incident at a Clarion Inn in Leesburg to which police responded earlier in the day at 5:23 a.m., according to a news release. Robin turned himself in to the Leesburg Police Dept. and is being held without bond at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center. The victim was a 33-year-old Springfield man who was allegedly shot in the torso. He is listed in stable condition in an area hospital, according to police. The motive for the shooting remains unknown, but it does appear to be gang-related, police staid. -FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS Here we are. The first week of a new year. 2016 is in our rear-view mirrors and the journey progresses further. Time to move on, as some would say, from a long and ugly campaign season. Lets take what we have learned and move forward. That doesnt mean everyone has to be happy with the results, but it does mean we need to accept them and move forward, holding our elected officials accountable. Because we vote for someone, or not, should not mean we agree, or disagree, with all of their actions and decisions. Each idea has to be judged on its own merit, or lack thereof, based on the merit of the idea itself, not the person or their party affiliation. As JFK once said, Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future. This is a credo of the Green Party. It also doesnt mean we have to hate the ones who voted for someone other than us. This is what makes politics ugly. We are about to embark on campaigns and elections for, among others, our House of Delegates. This is the selection of which one of our neighbors we want to represent us in Richmond when discussing our future. Not which enemy is worse, but which neighbor. Our resolutions for 2017 should be to support our local elected officials, showing them the respect and honor the office deserves, even demands. Too often partisan politics divides a community, especially during election season. This forces people to shy away from politics and puts the partisans in control. It should not be this way. The selection of which one of our neighbors, our co-workers, or our friends will serve the community should be a friendly, if not joyous occasion. Local politics, like anything, can be fun. We are taught not to talk about it or engage in it by the partisans who dont want others involved in their process. Our elected representatives, whether in our county supervisors, school boards, town councils or in the general assembly, require and deserve our support and participation. We need not always agree; in fact, it is impossible. We can, however, keep our eyes on the goals of the common good and find ways to arrive there. We can always begin with where we agree. Without our participation the system does not work. The power shifts to the political parties and the partisans. We all have opinions. Let your representative know them, not just your friends, family and co-workers. To do their job effectively they need to know what we want, or do not want. They are people, just like us, from our community. They are not professional politicians. They have chosen to serve the community and the community has chosen them to do so. Lets make that system work. Differing opinions is how the system works. Debate and compromise are the foundations of democracy with statesmen and women who make it work. If we, however, divide into sides and classify those with differing opinions as enemies the system fails and collapses before us. This is not because of our community leaders, but because of us. Their success is our success, their failure is our failure. The Virginia General Assembly convenes in Richmond on Jan. 11 for 30 days, being an odd-numbered year. Be involved. Before then, see what bills are proposed at www.richmondsunlight.com and let your legislator know what you think. Then go to that site to see what is going on in the session. Follow your legislator, and follow the bills as they become law. You can even find out who your legislator is here. Our system works well when we work it well. It is designed for we, the people, to choose legislators to do so for us, the people. When what they are doing is satisfactory we, the people, let them know and then re-elect them to do it again. When it is not, we the people are to find someone else to do it. But along the way we have to participate and let them know what we want them to do. No one should be blamed for not doing their job correctly when they havent been told what that is. 2016 showed people were unhappy with their government, with the political parties and politics in general. In 2017 lets take the system back and do it the way it was designed. Government of the people, by the people, and for the people. For more information visit www.piedmontgreens.com. Sometimes you just have to laugh. The other day The New York Times ran a front-page story insisting that fraud by voters casting ballots illegally is a minuscule problem. The article relied on data from state voting officials, which showed no credible allegations of voter fraud in many states and only a few dozen in others. Tennessee counted 40 credible allegations out of some 4.3 million primary and general election votes, the newspaper noted. In Georgia, where more than 4.1 million ballots were cast, officials said they had opened 25 inquiries. . . . In North Carolina . . . officials uncovered 25 apparently invalid votes by felons. Bottom line: Fraudulent votes amount to only a tiny sliver of the millions of votes cast in any election cycle. . . . (V)oter fraud . . . is exceedingly rare. Whew! Thats a relief. But this is not exactly how The Times covers, say, hate crimes. Crimes Against Muslim Americans and Mosques Rise Sharply, the paper reported with alarm last year. The story, based uncritically on data from a university research group, foundwait for itdozens of such incidents within just a month of the San Bernardino terrorist attack. Last month The Times ran a similar story on how hate crimes are surging, fueled by attacks on Muslims. The story reported a total of 257 hate crimes against Muslims last yearthe highest total since 2001. Oddly, the stories offered no contextsuch as out of 319 million residents of the United States, officials reported only a few dozen credible allegations. . . . The articles did not point out that, in a nation with more than 3 million Muslim residents, 257 incidents in the course of an entire year is, statistically speaking, minuscule. Or a tiny sliver. Or exceedingly rare. The aim here is not to pooh-pooh the gravity of hate crimes, the perpetration of which is idiotic and vile. Nor is it merely to mock The New York Times, as richly deserved as such mockery might be. The broader point concerns the toxic effect of partisan thinking. Republicans and conservatives are the ones who have been griping about voter fraud, and the reflexive response from the liberal side of the aisle is to dismiss such concernseven when their frequency is roughly comparable to the frequency of incidents liberals take more seriously, such as hate crimes. Likewise, conservatives seem less exercised by actual incidents of hate crimes than by suspected cases of voter fraudpossibly because of assumptions they might make about who is committing the fraud and who benefits from it. Its natural to react differently depending on whose ox is being gored. But the ownership question doesnt matter one bit to the ox. December 30, 2016: A man convicted of setting a bus on fire two years ago was sentenced to death by the Intermediate People's Court of Liuzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The defendant Song Yanli set the bus on fire using gasoline to vent his anger over a personal dispute on Nov. 21, 2014 in Liuzhou, Guangxi. Eleven people were injured, and the bus was left as an empty shell. Song fled the scene but was caught by police three days later. Song, convicted of arson, posed a severe threat to public security and showed no remorse, a court statement said. Accordingly, the court sentenced Song to the death penalty. The statement did not mention whether the defendant would appeal. | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! Source: Xinhua, December 30, 2016 2016 was quite interesting for the Indian automobile market as a variety of cars were introduced. Several automakers reached new sales milestones in spite of hurdles like the Delhi diesel ban and demonization. More people bought new cars and we made sure you chose the best ones to suit your needs. To give you an overview of what customers are interested in, heres a list of the 10 most searched cars on CarDekho in 2016. 10) Ford Ecosport 21.5 lakh views on CarDekho Introduced in 2013, the Ford Ecosport is quite popular in the sub-4 metre SUV segment. It is offered with three engine options 1.0-litre petrol EcoBoost, 1.5-litre petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel. The 1.0-litre petrol EcoBoost engine is known for its power and fuel efficiency. Loaded with a lot of features, it is a practical yet fun-to-drive SUV. Moreover, Ford will introduce the Ecosport facelift in 2017 and it would be the first India-made car to be exported to the US. 9) Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire 23.6 lakh views on CarDekho The Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire is the most selling sedan in the country. Based on the Swift, the Dzire has been able to gain the trust of customers as an economical, reliable and practical sedan. In India, a Maruti badge is synonymous with hassle-free after-sales service and good fuel economy. The Dzire is available with petrol and diesel engine options and offers an optional automatic transmission as well. 8) Hyundai i20 24.3 lakh views on CarDekho Hyundai's premium hatchback, the i20 was first introduced in 2008 in the Indian market and has come a long way since then. The car introduced a lot of premium features into B-segment hatchbacks and was the highest selling premium hatchback in India until Maruti introduced the Baleno. Under the bonnet, it has a 90PS, 1.4-litre U2 CRDi DOHC diesel engine and an 83PS, 1.2-litre Kappa dual VVT diesel engine. It offers features like rear AC vents, projector headlamps, cornering lights, LED DRLs and a touchscreen infotainment system. 7) Datsun redi-GO 25.3 lakh views on CarDekho Introduced in June this year, the redi-GO is based on the same platform as the Renault Kwid. With an impressive 185mm of ground clearance, it features a compact, boxy and tall design. Due to its light steering and clutch, it is ideal for city traffic. The prices start from Rs 2.39 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) and it is one of the most affordable cars introduced in 2016. It is powered by an 800cc engine that develops 54PS of power and 72Nm of torque, with a claimed fuel efficiency of 25.17kmpl. 6) Tata Tiago 32.6 lakh views on CarDekho The Tiago turned out to be a game changer for Tata Motors. It was introduced in April this year and generated a lot of interest thanks to being a value-for-money proposition. It features two entirely new engines developed specifically for the hatch. The Revotorq is a 1.05-litre three-cylinder diesel engine that churns out 70PS of power and 140Nm of torque, while the Revotron is a petrol motor that produces 85PS and 115Nm. The top-end Tiago has features like eight-speaker Harman sound system, 14'' alloy wheels, fog lamps, rear wiper and demister as well. 5) Maruti Swift 36.5 lakh views on CarDekho Maruti Suzuki is one of the most popular automakers in India, while the Swift is one of the highest selling hatchbacks in India. Theres a good chance that you will find a Swift on every street in any city. The widest sales service network and the reliability of Maruti cars make the carmakers cars a better option than cars by other companies. Available in both petrol and diesel, the Swift offers everything you would want from a hatch. It is visually appealing, offers good space, is loaded with features, and gives a good fuel economy. Suzuki recently showcased the 2017 Swift and it is likely to be introduced in the country by the end of 2017. 4) Maruti Baleno 55.6 lakh views on CarDekho Maruti's premium hatchback, the Baleno has been generating a lot of interest since its introduction in 2015. With standard dual front airbags and ABS with EBD, the Baleno is one of the safest cars in its segment. Suzuki is exporting the Baleno to more than 100 countries from India. It is available in two engine options 1.2-litre petrol and 1.3-litre diesel and is loaded with a bunch of features like, start/stop button, automatic AC and touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and navigation. 3) Mahindra KUV 100 58.8 lakh views on CarDekho The Mahindra KUV 100 was introduced in January this year and is the most affordable Mahindra car in the country. It looks like a micro SUV and offers a spacious cabin. It also has a third seat in the middle of the first row, making it a six-seater. It is powered by a 1.2-litre petrol engine that produces 85PS of power and 114 Nm of torque, and a 1.2-litre turbo diesel engine that pushes 78PS and 190Nm. Recently, a CNG variant of the KUV 100 was spotted testing and is expected to be launched by mid-2017. Until now, it doesn't have a direct competitor in the Indian market. However, things are set to change with the entry of the Maruti Ignis very soon. 2) Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza 59.2 lakh views on CarDekho The popularity of SUVs has grown rapidly over the past few years and several automakers have introduced their new products into the segment. Maruti Suzuki entered the sub-4 metre SUV segment in March 2016 with the introduction of the Vitara Brezza. With over 2 lakh initial bookings and a six-monthlong waiting period, the Brezza turned out to be a blockbuster and one of the highest selling SUVs in the country. It is a funky looking compact car loaded with features. Currently only available with the Fiat-sourced 1.3-litre diesel engine, a petrol engine might be introduced in 2017. 1) Renault Kwid 81.8 lakh views on CarDekho The title of the most-searched car on CarDekho goes to the Renault Kwid. This is not too surprising since the Kwid gained a lot of attention in 2016 due to the introduction of its 1.0-litre and AMT variants. With its SUV-inspired looks, big boot space, first-in-segment features and an affordable price tag, the Kwid rose to popularity very soon. Launched in September 2015, the car has already crossed the one lakh sales milestone. It is currently available with two engine options 0.8-litre and 1.0-litre petrol. Source: Cardekho.com A new variant of the Royal Enfield Classic 350 motorcycle has been introduced in the market. Named the Redditch series, it has three colour options Redditch Red, Redditch Green and Redditch Blue. It is named after the needle-making town, Redditch, located fifteen miles south of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. Royal Enfield first started making their bikes in Redditch and continued manufacturing them there till 1967. One of the most iconic bikes to come out of the pre-war factory there was a 125cc 2 stroke bike named the Royal Baby but better known as the Flying Flea. The name came about World War II when the bike was inducted in the armed forces. The bikes were often dropped from planes, nestled inside custom-made parachute cages, into enemy territory to support paratroops. They soon became famous, earning the moniker, Flying Flea owing to their featherlight weight. The Royal Enfield Redditch series retains the same styling. From the 350cc unit construction engine, front & rear mudguards,headlamp, fuel tank, oval tool box, exhaust, speedometer dial, single spring seat and tail lamp, all hark to the styling of the original. The bike also uses the original Royal Enfield Redditch monogram, first used in 1939. Introducing the new bike, Mr Rudratej (Rudy) Singh, President, Royal Enfield said, Royal Enfield launched the Classic in 2008 based on its popular J2 model, as our brand has always taken inspiration from its rich heritage. Looking back into our decades old legacy, we have given Classic a makeover taking cues from the motorcycles and the use of the original Redditch monogram makes the Redditch series more special as it revives our association with the motorcycles produced out of Redditch in that era Bookings for the bike start from January 07, 2017 at all Royal Enfield stores across India. Prices for the Redditch series are - Mumbai (on Road)- Rs 1,57,577 Chennai (on Road)- Rs 1,47,831 Bangalore (on Road) Rs 1,55,456 Hyderabad (on Road) Rs 1,49,340 Source: Bikedekho.com Currently, Apples products are manufactured in six countries, including Korea, Japan and the US. New Delhi: The Commerce and Industry Ministry is not in favour of extending concessions to US-based iPhone maker Apple for setting up manufacturing unit in India as no other firm has asked for any incentive, government sources said today. In a communication to the government, the Cupertino-based technology major has asked for several tax and other incentives to enter India in the manufacturing sector. "They are asking for concessions which others are not asking for. Why should they be given (those concessions)," sources said. They said that India is the best place to set up manufacturing units. As many as 42 companies are making mobile phones in India, including Chinese firm Huawei and Xiaomi. A group of senior officials from ministries, including commerce and finance, would this month deliberate on the incentives sought by Apple to set up a manufacturing unit. The government already provides benefits under the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (MSIPS) to boost electronic manufacturing in the country. The scheme provides financial incentives to offset disability and attract investments in the electronics hardware segment. It also gives a subsidy for investments in Special Economic Zones, among other benefits.Currently, Apples products are manufactured in six countries, including Korea, Japan and the US. Earlier, the Finance Ministry in May had rejected relaxing the 30 per cent domestic sourcing norms, as sought by the iPhone and iPad maker, as a pre-condition for bringing in FDI to set up single-brand retail stores in the country. The company had sought exemption on the ground that it makes modern and cutting-edge technology products for which local sourcing is not possible. The government had also turned down the firm's proposal to import refurbished phones and sell them in India. The company sells its products through Apple-owned retail stores in countries such as China, Germany, the US, the UK and France, among others. It has no wholly-owned store in India and sells its products through distributors such as Redington and Ingram Micro. New Delhi: In a first, the Department of Telecom will finalise this year a comprehensive policy on backhaul spectrum or airwave that connects mobile towers with each other. The policy for backhaul spectrum -- the work on which will start shortly -- will spell out aspects like the spectrum bands to be used for the purpose, system of allocation of such airwaves and the spectrum pricing. The backhaul spectrum works on higher frequency bands, between 3GHz to 70 GHz. "We have done most of the reforms with regard to access spectrum, which is the spectrum between the consumer and the mobile towers. But on backhaul spectrum, which connects the mobile towers amongst themselves, there are areas like what spectrum should be used, how should the spectrum be allocated... those are the policy features we would like to work on, this year," Telecom Secretary J S Deepak told PTI. Stating that the backhaul spectrum is as important as access spectrum, Deepak said any "clogging" in the backhaul would mean that a call would not be completed. "It has never been done before. It is a pioneering area because for this spectrum so far, its use has not been determined through a policy," he said. Asked if the Telecom Department would have to refer the policy matter to telecom regulator TRAI for its views, Deepak said, "No, this decision pertains to the Telecom Commission." The Telecom Department undertook a slew of reforms in 2016 aimed at facilitating the ease of doing business. This included formulating the Right of Way rules for faster telecom network roll-out, spectrum harmonisation, increasing the availability of spectrum through auction and introduction of Aadhaar-based eKYC for new mobile connections. The new backhaul spectrum policy, which is in the offing, will address areas like users, bands, system of allocation, and pricing, he pointed out. "We are starting work on it and in calender year 2017, you should see some outcomes," he said. Today, the backhaul connectivity between mobile towers uses other bands of spectrum, and mostly fibre. "Those which are not connected by fibre are connected through wireless and...that spectrum is also getting short, so we want to look at newer bands of spectrum which could be used for the backhaul," he added. Deepak further said: "Much of this spectrum has huge capacities...so, that will improve the backhaul capacity once they become usable." New Delhi: Commerce and Industry Ministry today asked the GST Council to grant ab-initio exemption to exporters from the Goods and Services Tax and keep the labour-intensive sectors like leather and plantation completely out of the tax net or put them in lowest slab. Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, after attending the meeting of the council, said the ministry officials gave presentation to the members. "For the leather industry, we want complete exemption from the GST or keep them in the lowest slab. We made a strong pitch on that as the sector create jobs," she told reporters here. Sitharaman further said the ministry favoured "fair" look under the GST regime for the cement industry, where taxation is "very high currently". The sector is important as the government is looking at schemes like housing for all, besides modernising road, port and other infrastructure. She said that exporters should be given "ab-initio exemption" from the upcoming GST regime. She asked the council "would you treat exporters in such a way that they do not have to pay upfront. Give them anab-initio exemption and tax them when you have to tax." The ministry is not asking for exemptions, "but we raise concerns about the entire procedure" of paying duties first and then seeking refunds. As regards the plantation sector such as coffee, the minister said: "Ideally, we would like to completely keep it out" from the GST but if at all it comes under the new indirect tax regime "it should be kept in the lowest slab". When asked whether the commerce ministry has sought a cut in the import duty on gold, she said: "I have been talking about cutting the duty as gold is a critical raw material for gems and jewellery sector." She said that restriction-free gold import also discourages smuggling. The imported gold is mainly used by gems and jewellery exporters and people usually consider investment in the precious metal as safe haven. India, the world's second biggest gold consumer after China, imported 650 tonnes in 2015-16. Gems and jewellery sector had in July urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reduce gold import duty to 5 per cent from the current 10 per cent to check shift of business to neighbouring countries. "Ol' Sparky, the Lone Star State's official instrument of death for 40 years, resides these days in the Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville." Capital punishment is a morally and fiscally unsupportable program. Ol' Sparky, the Lone Star State's official instrument of death for 40 years, resides these days in the Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville. It's the museum's most popular exhibit, although the time is coming, we predict, when it will have competition. In the not-too-distant future, the needles, the drugs and the officious execution protocol that comprise the capital-punishment regimen in Texas also will be quaint relics on display. Museum visitors will marvel that a civilized society sustained such barbarism long after most Western democracies abjured the practice. The killing tools already are relics in most states, even where capital punishment remains on the books. What's surprising is that the death penalty's demise is coming sooner than most Americans expected, even in Texas, the nation's most enthusiastic practitioner of state-sponsored killing. The U.S. Supreme Court may never get around to ruling that capital punishment is "cruel and unusual," but the practice will wither away, nevertheless. In fact, the process already has begun, even in the county that leads the nation in executions, Harris County. The recent election of Kim Ogg as Harris County district attorney means that voters have chosen a prosecutor more open to reform and reductions in capital prosecutions than her predecessor. According to a year-end report from the Death Penalty Information Center, death sentences, executions and public support for the death penalty continued their precipitous decline nationwide. Juries around the country imposed 30 death sentences this year, compared to 315 in 1996. This year's number represents the fewest in the modern era of capital punishment. Twenty people were executed in 2016, the lowest number since 1991, and those executions were geographically isolated. Two states, Georgia and Texas, accounted for 80 percent of all executions. Thirty-two states still allow capital punishment for the most heinous crimes, but most rarely, if ever, use it. Since the start of 2014, five states - Texas, Georgia, Missouri, Florida and Oklahoma - have carried out all but two of the nation's executions. Public support for the death penalty also continues to decline. According to a Pew Research Survey, support fell below 50 percent for the first time in more than four decades. Support falls even further when respondents are given alternatives, including life without parole. Capital punishment is unlikely to be abolished permanently anytime soon. For now, only one member of the Supreme Court, Justice Stephen Breyer, questions whether it violates the Eighth Amendment. That number is unlikely to change when President-elect Donald Trump, a death-penalty supporter, gets to make his appointments to the court. His attorney-general nominee, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, also is an ardent death-penalty supporter. What will happen, though, is that practicality will trump principle. Racism, randomness, decades-long delays and sheer expense will end capital punishment in this country - without officially ending capital punishment. Pragmatism prevails even in Texas. Time magazine a couple of years ago quoted Liberty County prosecutor Stephen Taylor, who acknowledged that cost is a factor in deciding on death. "You have to be very responsible in selecting where you want to spend your money," he said. Time also quoted Atlanta attorney David J. Burge, a leader of the Georgia Republican Party. "Capital punishment runs counter to core conservative principles of life, fiscal responsibility and limited government," he said. "The reality is that capital punishment is nothing more than an expensive, wasteful and risky government program." We agree. Whether it's principle or pragmatism that kills capital punishment, the end can't come too soon. | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! Source: Houston Chronicle , December 30, 2016 New Delhi: Google's India-born CEO SundarPichai will announce some key initiatives for Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on Wednesday as part of the tech giant's efforts to bring more businesses online in the country. Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will also join Pichai and other senior Google leaders during the event. "Small and medium businesses are the backbone of the Indian economy and are powering the next wave of the country's growth. At Google, we are excited about partnering with businesses to help them unlock exponential growth through the power of digital," Google said in an invitation. Pichai is also scheduled to visit his alma mater, IIT Kharagpur, on January 5. Google has been aggressively focussing on the Indian market over the last few years. With products like Google for Business and a new Cloud region, the company is betting big on tapping into the multi-million dollar opportunity in India. Its products compete with those from the stables of global giants like Microsoft and Amazon Web Services. New Delhi: Hundreds thronging the RBI office to exchange old Rs 500 and 1,000 notes returned empty handed as the central bank is allowing the facility only for NRIs or those who were abroad during the 50-day demonetisation period. People were seen arguing with security guards at designated RBI branch saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised that old notes could be exchanged till March 31 at RBI. Even the RBI on November 8 statement said, "Any person who is unable to exchange or deposit the specified banknotes in their bank accounts on or before December 30, 2016 shall be given an opportunity to do so at specified offices of the Reserve Bank or such other facility until a later date as may be specified by the Reserve Bank." The central bank on December 31 designated its five offices -- Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, and Nagpur -- to exchange defunct currency notes post 50-day demonetization period that ended on December 30. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation on November 8 had said, "There may be some who for some reason, are not able to deposit their old 500 or 1,000 rupee notes by December 30, 2016. "They can go to specified offices of the Reserve Bank of India up to March 31, 2017 and deposit the notes after submitting a declaration form." RBI has imposed conditions for availing extended facility for note exchanges. It had said that NRIs and Indians returning from abroad will have to physically show the junked 500 and 1,000 rupee notes to Customs officials at the airport and get a declaration form stamped before they can deposit the demonetised currency in RBI during the grace period. Indians who were abroad during November 9 to December 30 have been given a 3-month grace period till March 31 to deposit the junked notes, while for the NRIs, it is 6 months till June 30. While there is no limit on deposit of defunct notes by an Indian national who was abroad when the 50-day window was in operation, NRIs can deposit only Rs 25,000 as per FEMA law restrictions. However, this facility is not available for Indian citizens resident in Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The government had declared 500 and 1,000 denomination bank notes as illegal tender from November 9, 2016. Subsequently, the President approved the promulgation of the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Ordinance, 2016 on December 30. It makes holding, transfer and receiving of the demonetised notes a criminal offence, punishable with a fine of Rs 10,000 or five times the cash held, whichever is higher. As per industry estimates, nearly 50 per cent of motorcycle sales comes from the rural market, mainly driven by the entry level commenter segment bikes. New Delhi: Two-wheeler sales, specially those of motorcycles, have taken a beating in the aftermath of demonetisation as demand from the widely cash-based rural market nosedived. Major companies, including Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor Co reported lower sales in December, continuing with the decline witnessed in November, which industry observers say will take at least two to three months to recover. The country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp Ltd reported 33.91 per cent dip in its total sales in December 2016 at 3,30,202 units as against 4,99,665 units a year ago. Rival Bajaj Auto also saw its domestic bike sales declining by 11 per cent at 1,06,665 units last month as against 1,20,322 units in the same month a year ago. Similarly, Chennai-based TVS Motor Co witnessed domestic two-wheeler sales decline by 8.76 per cent to 1,53,413 units in the month under review as against 1,68,160 units in the same period a year ago. Its bike sales fell 18.54 per cent last month at 58,189 units from 71,435 units in December 2015. TVS' sales of scooters also saw a dip at 55,536 units in December 2016 as against 65,025 units in December 2015, down 14.59 per cent. Commenting on the situation, Price Waterhouse Partner and auto expert Abdul Majeed told PTI: "The slump is mainly due to demonetisation, customer sentiments in the rural pocket are pretty negative towards vehicle at this point in time." He said the decline in sales of motorcycles also reflect the trend of demand slump in rural market. As per industry estimates, nearly 50 per cent of motorcycle sales comes from the rural market, mainly driven by the entry level commenter segment bikes. According to industry body SIAM, in November two-wheeler sales were at 12,43,251 units as against 13,20,552 in the year-ago month, down 5.85 per cent. Motorcycle sales were also down 10.21 per cent at 7,78,178 as compared with 8,66,696 units in December 2015. Likewise, scooter sales which are urban-centric were also down 1.85 per cent at 3,88,692 units as against 3,96,024 units in November 2015. Before demonetisation, two-wheeler sales in October were up 8.72 per cent at 18,00,672 units as compared with 16,56,304 units in the year-ago month. Motorcycle sales were also up 7.37 per cent in October 2016 at 11,44,516 units as compared with 10,65,925 units in October 2015. Similarly, scooter sales in October 2016 were at 5,68,410 units as compared with 5,25,138 units in the year-ago month, up 8.24 per cent. Overall, companies also had benefited from the festive season sales during the month. Majeed said the December sales number which many companies have reported are primary numbers that they sell to dealers and the actual sales to customers from showrooms are even worse. "Post demonetisation, there is an inventory pile up in the rural dealerships which the companies are now trying to correct by reducing production," he added. Stating that demonetisation has significant short-term impact on rural demand, Majeed said: "I expect this trend will continue two to three months at least." The allocation of notes to rural areas according to Reserve Bank should be made in proportion to the district level current and savings account data after sorting out the rural and urban mix in every district. Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday directed banks to ensure that at least 40 per cent of the currency notes are supplied to rural areas as bank notes, being supplied to rural areas, at present, are not commensurate with the requirements of the rural population. The Reserve Bank has also asked banks to ensure that the notes supplied to rural areas are in denomination of Rs 500 and Rs 100. Banks should advise their currency chests to step up issuance of fresh notes to rural branches of regional rural banks (RRBs), district Cooperative Central Bank (DCCBs) and commercial banks, white label ATMs in rural areas and post offices in rural areas on priority basis which are considered main rural channels of distribution, Reserve Bank of India said. The allocation of notes to rural areas according to Reserve Bank should be made in proportion to the district level current and savings account data after sorting out the rural and urban mix in every district. Accordingly, all chests operating in a district must issue bank notes to the above mentioned distribution channels in the indicated proportion. The indicated proportion may be maintained on weekly average basis at each chest level as it may be difficult to stick to the proportion on daily basis, RBI said in its notification. Among various categories of ATMs, banks have been advised to allocate higher proportion of cash to off-site ATMs, as they are more important in last mile currency connectivity. The actor was last seen in Sujoy Ghosh's 'Kahaani 2'. Mumbai: Arjun Rampal, who's known to be amongst Bollywood's fittest actors, has injured his eye abd it does not look nice, though the much adored actor wants us to believe otherwise. The National award winning actor, who was last seen in Sujoy Ghosh's Vidya Balsan starrer 'Kahaani 2,' has been involved with the release of his highly anticipated gangster saga, 'Daddy'. Arjun shared an image of his injury on Instagram and urged his fans to not worry, though he did confess to being a tad disoriented. 'Daddy,' a biopic of the infamous Mumbai gangster turned politician Arun Gawli, is helmed by acclaimed director Ashim Ahluwalia. Ashim last directed the acclaimed 'Miss Lovely,' starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead role. Fans eagerly want Arjun to recuperate and get back to action. So do we! Mumbai: The Kriti Sanon-Sushant Singh Rajput starrer Raabta has made news primarily for the link-up rumours between the lead actors. The actors have been denying the reports, but the speculation of their affair has not calmed down one bit. Another rumour associated with the film is that Kriti was unhappy about Deepika Padukones item number in the film. About the rumours, Kriti told Bombay Times, Firstly, I hate the term `item number'. It's a special dance number, which is the title track of our film. If I am offered a superb song like this in some movie, I will lap it up." In fact, I was present on the set when it was being filmed and we had a gala time. It's not a random song, it's very much a part of the narrative. Deepika was looking super hot and was the best choice for it. Deepika will be performing to a new version of the Raabta song which was picturised on Saif Ali Khan and Kareeena Kapoor Khan in the film Agent Vinod. About Deepika, Kriti added, I have bumped into her so many times at the gym and outside. We have mutual admiration for each other. I don't know her too well personally, but she has had an amazing journey in the industry. She has grown so much and is an inspiration to all of us,. Raabta, directed by Dinesh Vijan, will be releasing on June 9 this year. Mumbai: Jatt & Juliet star Diljit Dosanjh recently confessed his admiration for Bollywood star Salman Khan. In a recent interview, the actor expressed his first encounter with Sallu bhai just like any other fan does. Dosanjh reminisced his star-struck moment by saying, Salman Sir was in Punjab shooting for a song in Bodyguard while I was shooting for a Punjabi film. When I learnt he's in town I was so excited and wanted to meet him and get a picture with him." He continued, "I asked quite a few people and finally found someone who could help us visit him on set. He was just so sweet and patient. My co-star and I were complete fan boys and were thrilled that we were taking a picture with him." Diljit, after your power packed performance in Udta Punjab, we hope to see you more in other Hindi films. May be one day you and Salman might share a screen together. Who knows! Mumbai: Sushant Singh Rajput who is basking in the success of his last film M. S. Dhoni was spotted taking a selfie with his co-star Kriti Sanon in London. But guess what? The photo was not clicked on the movie set. Both the actors were seen celebrating New Year together. According to a daily, Both Sushant and Kriti celebrated New Year's Eve together in London along with their Raabta producer Dinesh Vijan and his sister Pooja. A picture is worth a thousand words and this cosy selfie gives away enough for us to wonder whats brewing between them. All of them urged that the criminals should be punished and not the victims. Mumbai: Actor Varun Dhawan has reacted strongly to Samajwadi Party leader and former actress Ayesha Takia's father-in-law Abu Azmi's borderline misogynist response to the drunken revelry in Bengaluru that led to 100s of women getting molested on New Year's eve. "Argggh how this angers me.Sir punish the criminals not the victims. Women can wear what they want it's their choice," the actor tweeted. Actress Taapsee Pannu, who starred in the immensely successful 'Pink,' which spoke about molestation and general patriarchy and misogyny in the country, also slammed the politician's regressive comments. "I wish we had invited him for a special screening of #Pink or let me buy a ticket for him to see," she tweeted. Farhan Akhtar, who's also known to not mince his words, took to Twitter to make his displeasure evident. "In these modern times, the more women are naked, the more fashionable, modern and educated they are considered. And this is increasing in the country. This is a blot on our culture," Abu Azmi had said, according to a report in NDTV. He went on to compare women with petrol and sugar, and said that the Indian culture does not allow women to party at night with men other than husband or brother. "It is not right for my sister or daughter to go for New Year parties with another man at night, when her brother or husband is not with her," Azmi said. If there is petrol, there will be fire. Where there is sugar, there are ants, he added. Drunken hooligans posing as revellers ran riot at Bengaluru's MG Road and Brigade Road, molesting and harassing women who had assembled to usher in the New Year. Superstar Mahesh Babu, who is presently enjoying his holiday in Switzerland, is all set to return to work. The actor is working with director A.R. Murugadoss in an untitled film, the shooting for which started long ago. He took a short break in between and will now be back at work from January 7. The film recently completed a long shoot in Ahmedabad and now, shooting will resume in the city with the makers erecting a huge set at a private studio, says a source from the unit. Tagore Madhu and N.V. Prasad are producing this high-budget bilingual film with ace cinematographer Santosh Sivan. There is a huge demand for the Tamil distribution rights and the makers want to release it in Tamil in a big way, adds the source. Tamil director S.J. Suryah is playing a negative role in this action entertainer. December 30, 2016: The Iraqi authorities executed 88 terrorists convicts in 2016, despite the international calls to stop this punishment in this country. At the beginning of 2016, Iraqi Justice ministry announced the execution of the first convict on 3 February, after three years of his conviction and issuance of capital punishment against him. On 24 May, 2016, 22 convicts were executed after the approval of the Iraqi president on the verdicts, but no details were given on their identities. In 3 July, the Shiite parties attacked the Iraqi presidency and government for not executing terrorist convicts following an explosion in mid of Baghdad (Karrada area) that resulted in killing 300 and wounding 200 more, according Iraqi Health Ministry estimates. After one day of Karrada explosion, Iraqi Justice Ministry announced executing 5 terrorists, thus the total of the executed convicts reached to 37 till that date. The Justice Ministry used to execute criminals without determining dates in order not to stir the criticism of the international ant-death penalty organizations. On 5 July, Justice Minister announced executing two convicted terrorists, as well as announcing on 18 July, 2016 that the number of the executed convicts reached to 45. Due to the internal criticism against Iraqi President Foad Ma'soum, it was announced on 13 July the approval on execution verdicts against terrorist, without announcing their numbers. On 23 July, Premier Haidar al-Ibadi formed a governmental committee to "finalize the dossiers of death-convicted criminals and expedite endorsing and implementing them". On 21 August, Justice Ministry announced the execution of 36 convicts following Spicher's massacre. The convicts were executed in Nassiriya Central Prison, Thi Qar province, south east of the country, thus the total figure jumped to 81 convicts. According to official Iraqi sources, about 1700 military cadets in Spicher Base were killed on 12 June, 2014, following Da'ish (ISIS) control of Tikrit city, Salahal-din province, north of Baghdad, where Da'ish gunmen controlled the air academy and killed the cadets present there. On 31 August, 2016, 7 convicts were also executed in Nassiriya Central Prison. It was reported that the convicts were from Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, the Sudan, Palestine, Syria and Jordan. By this last convicted group, the figure reached to 88 executed convicts, according to official sources. On the other side, the Justice Ministry disclosed that there are about 300 death-convicts in Iraqi prisons, but the execution verdicts were not implemented till now. The Iraqi government restored death punishment in 2004, after its suspension following the entry of the US forces into Iraq in 2003. The return of the executions stirred international anti-death-verdicts and called for their abrogation. According to UNAMI reports, more that 12.000 Iraqis were killed, mostly military and 14.000 were wounded in violent and terrorist attacks in 2016. Sources: Iraq TradeLink, HOC, December 30, 2016 | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! John Berger won the Booker Prize in 1972 for his novel G, and pledged to give half the prize money to the radical African-American movement, the Black Panthers. (Photo: AFP) London: John Berger, the Booker prize-winning novelist and pioneering art critic, has passed away at the age of 90. The Marxist intellectual, whose BBC series, "Ways of Seeing", brought a political view to art criticism, died at his home in the Paris suburb of Antony on Monday. He had been ill for about a year, reported Telegraph. Berger won the Booker Prize in 1972 for his novel G, and pledged to give half the prize money to the radical African-American movement, the Black Panthers. Born in Hackney, North London, Berger began his career as a painter. Soon after his work was exhibited in the 1940s, he tried his hand at writing. His works ranged from poetry to screenplays, writings on photography, the exploitation of migrant workers and the Palestinian struggle for statehood. The famed Scottish author Ali Smith described Berger as "one of the world's most vital corresponders". "In John Berger's work love and art and political and historical understanding are always in layered combination. "There are many other writers and artists who work with this relation, but none with quite the transformatory fusion of his combining, which is a bit like encountering what clarity really is, what the word means, like looking through pure water and seeing things naturally magnified," she said. In reaction to the news of his death, artist David Shrigley called Berger "the best ever writer on art", and author Jeanette Winterson praised him as "an energy source in a depleted world." "Goodbye John Berger. You will be greatly missed. The ever best writer on art," Shrigley tweeted. "John Berger gone. That is hard. He was an energy source in a depleted world," Winterson wrote. Jay originally Jihad Abdo had to flee to Minneapolis after he did not support Assad in Syria. (Photo: AFP) It is an all-too-familiar Hollywood story: The out-of-work actor eking out an existence in cheap housing, earning minimum wage delivering pizzas, desperate for his big break. But for Jay Abdo -- one of the Arab worlds biggest stars before the conflict in Syria made him just another anonymous refugee on the mean streets of Los Angeles -- it has been particularly tough. Just a few years ago, the 54-year-old actor could not walk the streets in any Middle Eastern country without being mobbed by fans or dine out without being offered free meals. A household name and a veteran of 43 movies and more than 1,000 TV episodes, Abdo was admired not just for his acting skills but his willingness to speak his mind in public.I had a pretty beautiful life, he told AFP. People loved me, on screen and on talk shows when I spoke to people and expressed my culture and points of view. Known in Syria by his real first name, Jihad, Abdo is best known for his role in Bab al-Hara (The Neighborhood Gate), one of the biggest soap operas in history, with up to 50 million viewers per episode.His path to Hollywood started in 2011 as tensions in Syria were escalating in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. His wife, painter and human rights lawyer Fadia Afashe, was a senior official in Syrias department of culture, and found herself having to flee Bashar al-Assads brutal regime after being caught meeting opposition activists during a trip to France. Torture She went to study public policy at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, intending to return to Syria after graduating. But Abdo himself was beginning to become a major annoyance to Assads crumbling regime after turning down numerous invitations to back the president at rallies and TV talk shows. Matters came to a head when he gave an interview to the Los Angeles Times during a trip to Beirut in which he accused Syrias secret service of torture and corruption. Strangers threatened him on his return to Syria, his car windows were smashed and he faced repeated demands to apologise to Assad on television. Having seen friends arrested or disappear -- some are still missing -- he uprooted in October 2011, leaving behind almost all his wealth and property, to join his wife in Minneapolis. The couple applied for asylum and drove for three days to Los Angeles with everything they owned so Abdo could find work. I met so many people who were shocked that my name was Jihad, he says, explaining why he became Jay. They didnt know it was Christian and I was named after a Christian lawyer in Damascus -- a very good friend to my family. Even with a more palatable name, more than 100 failed auditions followed as the couple lived a desperate existence on just $3 a day. It took more than a year to find work with a florist and delivering pizzas for Dominos, earning up to $300 a week. Destiny brought me Abdos break finally came when he landed a part alongside Nicole Kidman and James Franco in Queen of the Desert -- Werner Herzogs biopic of the British archeologist Gertrude Bell, due for release in spring. All my scenes were with Nicole, Abdo says. I cant praise her enough. Shes very sweet, extremely professional, a very good hearted woman -- very smart and sharp. Above all, she supported me from the first minute. Herzog has since described in interviews finally grasping how famous his Syrian hire was when they visited a souk in Marrakesh during filming in Morocco. Everyone wanted a photo with him. The merchants in the souk gave us everything for half price, the filmmaker told The Wall Street Journal. In a sign that Tinseltown really does like its happy endings, the actors career is finally back on track. He has a part in the Amazon television series The Patriot and Bon Voyage -- a short film he made with Swiss director Marc Raymond Wilkins -- has just been shortlisted for an Oscar. Last year, he appeared alongside Tom Hanks in A Hologram for the King, a comedy about a failed corporate salesman trying to do business in Saudi Arabia. Devastated by the worsening plight of the Syrian people in the five years since he escaped the Assad regime, Abdo is unsure whether he will ever return. But he believes he could not be in a better place. From the beginning, Hollywood was not my objective, he said. I did not plan to come here. Its destiny that brought me. Savitribai was married at a young age but worked tirelessly for the cause (Photo: Google) Feminism is a major topic across the world with activists consistently raising their voice for womens rights, and the battle is being fought hard in India which has a predominantly patriarchal society. But while the movement is under the spotlight today, the struggle had begun in India over a century back and one of the prominent names in the movement for upliftment of women in Indian society is that of Savitribai Phule, who tirelessly contributed to the cause with her husband Jyotirao Phule. More than a century after her death, Google has paid tribute to the iconic social reformer and poetess on her birth anniversary today, with a doodle. The sketch shows Savitribai Phule embracing a group of women, symbolising her support for women back in the British Era when the situation was much worse than today. (Photo: Google) Born on 3rd January 1831, Savitribai was married to Jyotirao Phule at a young age, but the couple went on to work tirelessly for social reforms. Having opened the first womens school in Pune in 1848, Savitribai was committed to the cause of abolishing based on both gender as well as caste. Apart from a school for girls, she worked for abolishing untouchability in society and faced a lot of flak from society for this. Despite opposition, she kept going and also opened a home for widows while struggling for rights of widows including widow remarriage. Savitribai Phule will always be remembered as the struggle for womens rights and fight against caste discrimination moved forward. Satirists Put Chutney have made a short video on the contentious Jallikattu issue exploring it from all angles. (Credit: YouTube) The Supreme Courts ban on Jallikattu, a traditional bull-taming sport, in Tamil Nadu has ignited a lot of debate from all corners of society. There are many who are unaware that the verdict has adversely affected the source of livelihood of farmers and even endangered many breeds of cattle. Satirists Put Chutney have made a short video on the contentious Jallikattu issue exploring it from all angles. They not only pointed fingers towards the Supreme Court over its decision but also highlighted the hypocrisy of the animal rights activists on the issue. You can click the link below to view the video: Article 377 in the Indian constitution deems homosexuality as a crime which makes it impossible for male sexual assault victims to come forward. (Photo: Pixabay) There has been a shocking rise in the number of sexual violence reports in the country. But its not just women who are the targets of such attacks. A lot of male victims are unable to get justice because of anti-gay laws. A recent post on the internet sheds light on the ordeal of gay men who are unable to go to the authorities to ask for help after being assaulted. Arnav Barbaad, a Physics student at the University of California, United States, posted screenshots of a conversation he had with a friend in India. He shared how his friend was drugged and raped but was afraid to file a police complaint. Article 377 in the Indian constitution deems homosexuality as a crime which makes it impossible for male sexual assault victims to come forward. You can read the post below: Baramullah (Jammu and Kashmir): An encounter broke out early morning on Tuesday between security forces and terrorists in Haritar Tarzoo area in Baramullah in Jammu and Kashmir. One terrorist was killed in the operation by security forces, said reports. Arms and ammunition were recovered from him. After a lull of a few weeks, attempted terrorist infiltration into India and cross-border firing from Pakistani troops have resumed over the past few days. On December 29, 2 soldiers were injured in an encounter between the security forces and terrorists at Shahgund Hajin in Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora district. The incident happened two weeks after a top operative of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and an engineering student from the Valley, who recently joined militancy, were killed in two separate encounters in Jammu and Kashmir by joint teams of the police and army. Bengaluru: Kicking up a storm over New Year's Eve revelry that turned into a nightmare for several women who were allegedly molested despite a big police presence in the Central Business District, Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwar on Monday blamed the "Western ways" of the youngsters for to such incidents. Speaking to a news channel, Dr Parameshwar, who himself has studied abroad, said, "On days like New Year's Eve, a large number of youngsters gather on Brigade Road, Commercial Street and M.G. Road. These youngsters, who are almost like Westerners, try to copy the westerners not only in the mindset, but even the dressing." But later in the day speaking to reporters separately, he tried to undo the damage, saying, "It is definitely an unfortunate incident that took place on New Year's Eve. Definitely, we will look into it and see that it is not repeated. I have also directed the newly appointed Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Praveen Sood to take suo motu case against culprits based CCTV footage." Responding to a question, he asserted that there was a need to look into how such events can be organised and regulated. "We cannot have 10,000 policemen. We had deployed 1,500 police personnel. The police had issued a strict warning to mischief-mongers, besides asserting that adequate security arrangements had been made ahead of the New Year's Eve. But none of us had anticipated that such events would unfold. This is a lesson, we will surely come up with newer measures to curb such incidents in the days to come," he said. Home minister must resign, says NCW chief A spate of explanations have been provided for the mass molestation that took place on Brigade Road during New Year's Eve, as revellers spilled out onto the streets in one of the biggest public celebrations this city has seen in several years. The appalling lack of security for women has tarnished Bengaluru's reputation as a progressive, safe city, made worse by State Home Minister G. Parameshwar who dismissed the incident with the words: These things happen. Western culture is responsible. One question begs asking: what culture is he attempting to protect? One that allows for women to be molested publicly because they're out on the streets after a particular time, or dressed a certain way, or inebriated? Are these the Indian traditions we want to preserve? Lalitha Kumaramangalam, head of National Commission for Women, echoed the nation's wrath as she demanded the Home Minister's resignation on Monday. "Are Indian men so pathetic and weak that they lose control if they see a woman in Western clothes on a day of revelry? Mr Parameshwar shoud apologise to the women of the country and resign," she said angrily. On Monday morning, State Women's Commission Chairperson Nagalakshmi Bai sent an official notice to Praveen Sood, who assumed charge as Police Commissioner on Jan 1. "We have asked for the official police report, based on which we will demand strict action against the troublemakers," she said. Bengaluru: State Home Minister G. Parameshwar upset legions of Bengalureans - and the country- when he blamed the city's "western culture" for the hooliganism that surfaces every year as it did this year during New Year's Eve revelries in the IT capital's CBD, where young women are pawed and groped. Instead of pulling up security forces, who were clearly unequal to the task of policing the sheer number of revellers who clogged MG Road, Brigade Road, Church Street and Residency Road, and couldnt exit easily because of the security arrangements, Mr Parameswar's "These things happen," comment only further tarnished Bengaluru's reputation as a progressive, safe city. An eyewitness told DC: "The police' s reaction to the spreading panic was to tell women to stay indoors and wait until the crowd had cleared. And then they lathi-charged us." Said women's rights activist Donna Fernandes: "The men's behaviour that night was depraved - why are we attempting to nurture and encourage this mindset?" Lalitha Kumaramangalam, head of National Commission for Women, echoed the nation's wrath as she demanded the Home Minister's resignation on Monday. "Are Indian men so pathetic and weak that they lose control if they see a woman in Western clothes on a day of revelry?," she said angrily. On Monday, State Women's Commission Chairperson Nagalakshmi Bai sent an official notice to Praveen Sood, who assumed charge as Police Commissioner on Jan 1. "We have asked for the official police report, based on which we will demand strict action against the troublemakers," she said. Mr Sood called on the women who had been molested to come forward and register cases, which he said would be given the highest priority. We are investigating the matter. The officers are looking into the CCTV footage," he said. Those four horrifying hours The revelry on New Year's Eve far outweighed that of previous years, said eyewitnesses present on Brigade Road on Saturday night. Metal barricades manned by policemen, were set up at either end, restricting entry but also impeding a quick getaway incase an unpleasant situation arose - which it did. The crowds began to grow as early as 7 pm. "Most of these people were young men," said an eyewitness on condition of anonymity. "By 11 pm, the crowd was so large that people were spilling out of Brigade Road and onto Residency Road," he added. At midnight, young men and women rushed out of pubs and eateries along Brigade Road to join the revelers outside. The sudden influx of people onto the street resulted in chaos, rendering our police force "helpless," as they tried to tell women to stay inside restaurants and shops until the crowd had thinned. " Most of the people there were inebriated, but it seems as if our police force, who were "helpless" in the face of such mayhem, had "no choice but to stand back." The eyewitness added, "Their only reaction to the spreading panic was to tell women to stay indoors and wait until the crowd had cleared. They were all groping us, it was hard to pinpoint them: Victim 21-year-old Sukanya (name changed) arrived at the entrance of Brigade Road around midnight, with a group of friends. "We were four boys and four girls and the only way to enter or exit Brigade Road was through M.G. Road," she said. Traffic had been banned along the stretch and thrown open only to pedestrians. "The crowd was moving very slowly because there were so many people present," said Sukanya. They were inching their way back toward the Metro Station when a friend turned around and told her that a man had just attempted to grope her. The exit was in sight, well-manned by policemen and members of the Home Guard, who looked completely out of their depth. "A couple of minutes later, we felt people groping all of us," she said. "There was such a big crowd and it was impossible to turn and around and pinpoint the culprits. There was nothing we could do." Meanwhile, the situation was growing even more chaotic, which provided the troublemakers with the opportunity they needed. "They came in groups of three or four - there were around twenty groups of hooligans at the Brigade Road entrance alone. They were pushing people, adding to the mayhem and getting fresh with the girls in the confusion," Sukanya recalled. The boys in their group came to their rescue, circling the four girls and taking them to safety. "The police were lathi charging the crowds," said Sukanya. Were these men all drunk? "Everybody was drunk," she said, truthfully. "There were a few good people around, trying to get the women to safety. They were a small number. In most cases, though, the men were there to have a good time with the women present. The police could have done more as well - they were lathi charging, but that's punishing all of us, not just the troublemakers." New Delhi: As part of a major overhaul of the budget process, the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) on Tuesday recommended advancing the holding of the Budget Session from January 31 followed by the presentation of the Union Budget on February 1. Both the address of the President and tabling of the Economic Survey are likely to take place on January 31. The first phase of the Budget Session will run till February 9. The CCPA, headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, met in New Delhi and made these recommendations to President Pranab Mukherjee. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also attended the meeting. Early presentation of the Budget would mean that the entire exercise is over by March 31 and expenditure as well as tax proposals will come into effect right from the beginning of the new fiscal, thereby ensuring better implementation. As per the earlier practice, the budgetary exercise was completed only by mid-May and with the monsoon arriving in June, most of the schemes and spendings by states did not take off until October, leaving just half-a-year for their implementation. In September last year, ending a nearly a century-long practice, the Cabinet had decided to scrap a separate budget for the railways and merge it with the General Budget, presentation of which was decided to be advanced to spur spending and boost the economy. Earlier, the Budget approval process usually happened in two parts extending to the second or third week of May, hampering early implementation of schemes and spending programmes. But almost a fashion statement today among the young, smoking hookah is not likely to disappear in a hurry as it has many teenagers and college- goers hooked in the city. What is hookah? The teenagers who flock to our citys hookah bars each day certainly couldnt tell you, as they take comfort in the mistaken belief that theyre inhaling flavoured smoke without exposing themselves to the perils of tobacco. Bans, raids and a penalty of Rs 10 lakh for violators have all gone in vain as these bars continue to flourish behind restaurant licenses, using even hookah as a smokescreen to serve up other illegal substances, reports Aknisree Karthik They are your regular restaurants serving fast food and the like. But a smoky haze shrouds every other table where a colourful sheesha is shared by groups of giggling teenagers out for a good time. Easily accessible both in the heart of the city and its outskirts, the hookah bars have reappeared with a vengeance, despite the ban in force. Aware of their reappearance, the BBMP raided several cafes and food joints in the city in December and found them serving hookahs illegally to hundreds of teenagers, who were let off with a strict warning. But almost a fashion statement today among the young, smoking hookah is not likely to disappear in a hurry as it has many teenagers and college- goers hooked in the city. Unaware that they could be ingesting as much tobacco into their systems as when smoking a cigarette, many continue to enjoy what they think is a harmless pastime. Others reportedly use it as a cover to feed their addiction to afeem, ganja, white charas or even heroin. Take Shreyas (name changed), a second year PU student at a leading college on Residency Road, who says he visits hookah bars around M G Road and Brigade Road once a week and admits to smoking hookah for the past year. I was introduced to hookah by a friend last year. At first I did not like it, but as time passed I started enjoying the different flavours and now I regularly visit hookah bars in the city and sometimes on the outskirts, he says, admitting the habit gives him immense pleasure and transports him into a different world. He is only one of hundreds of students doing hookah in the many restaurants that violate their trade license by handing out the sheeshas to gullible teenagers on MG Road, Brigade Road, Church Street, in Koramangala, J.P. Nagar and Indiranagar among other prominent areas of the city. Dhabas and highway hotels on the outskirts too offer hookahs to teens out for a joy ride and a little bit of fun. Although there is a ban on hookah bars, there are hundreds of them operating illegally in Bengaluru. These units take a trade license to run a cafe or restaurant and then illegally serve hookahs. Afeem, ganja, white charas, heroin and other prohibited substances are also used by these hookah bars, says city BJP spokesman, N R Ramesh. Painting a disturbing picture, he claims some of the hookah joints have bedrooms attached, where innocent girls are addicted to hookah and sexually exploited. It is quick and easy money for the hookah bars, which charge over Rs 350 an hour. The cost varies depending on the flavour and substance used, he adds, strongly advising the BBMP to clamp down on these units with the help of the police and take criminal action against those running them. What is the BBMP doing to tackle this? The December raids against the hookah bars are only the beginning. Similar raids will be carried out thrice a week, says chairman of the BBMPs Standing Committee on Health, Anand Kumar. The civic agency seems to be in no mood to tolerate the violation of its ban on the bars. If the school and college students were let off with a warning by it in the December raids, the restaurant owners themselves were told to cough up fines of Rs 10 lakh for violating their trade licenses. And the rooms where the hookahs were served were sealed and notices issued to the owners asking why no action should be taken against them. In the BBMPs estimate there are over 419 illegal hookah bars in the city. We grant them trade licenses to run cafes and restaurants, but they serve hookah illegally to their customers. This is a violation of the Cigarette and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA), 2003 as well, explains Mr Anand Kumar, revealing that samples of the various flavours of hookah collected in the raids have been sent to labs for testing. If we find that a banned substance has been used we will slap criminal cases against the units concerned. We have begun collecting information about illegal hookah units from every ward. Even the public are informing us about units that are operating secretly. They will be caught," he asserts I was introduced to hookah by a friend last year. At first I did not like it, but as time passed I started enjoying the different flavours and now I regularly visit hookah bars in the city and sometimes on the outskirts, he says, admitting the habit gives him immense pleasure and transports him into a different world. He is only one of hundreds of students doing hookah in the many restaurants that violate their trade license by handing out the sheeshas to gullible teenagers on MG Road, Brigade Road, Church Street, in Koramangala, J P Nagar and Indiranagar among other prominent areas of the city. Dhabas and highway hotels on the outskirts too offer hookahs to teens out for a joy ride and a little bit of fun. Although there is a ban on hookah bars, there are hundreds of them operating illegally in Bengaluru. These units take a trade license to run a cafe or restaurant and then illegally serve hookahs. Afeem, ganja, white charas, heroin and other prohibited substances are also used by these hookah bars, says city BJP spokesman, N R Ramesh. Painting a disturbing picture, he says some of the hookah joints have bedrooms attached, where innocent girls are addicted to hookah and sexually exploited. It is quick and easy money for the hookah bars, which charge over Rs 350 for an hour. The cost varies depending on the flavour and substance used, he adds, strongly advising the BBMP to clamp down on these units with the help of the police and take criminal action against those running them. How many hookah bars have evaded the law? Illegal units over 419 Raids in December 2016: 2 Raided and sealed: 9 units Fine slapped upto Rs 10 lakhs Hookah bars violate the following sections of COTPA: Section 4 : Eateries / restaurants / bars with less than 30 seats cannot serve hookah. Those with over 30 seats can serve hookah provided they have a separate smoking room where no food is served. Section 5 - No advertisements are allowed for sale or promotion of hookah Section 6 (A) and (B): There can be no sale of hookah within 100 yards of educational institutions and to minors. All places that sell hookah should display a picture of cancer patients. Section 7 : Hookah products must contain pictorial warnings on them to warn consumers about their harmful effects. Hookah smoking is not safer than cigarette smoking. Also known as narghile, sheesha and goza, a hookah is a water pipe with a smoke chamber, a bowl, a pipe and a hose. Specially made tobacco is heated and the smoke passes through water and is drawn through a rubber hose to a mouthpiece. The tobacco is no less toxic in a hookah pipe, and the water in the hookah doesn't filter out the toxic ingredients in the tobacco smoke A recent decision by a Cleveland judge to overrule a jury's death sentence recommendation for a triple killer highlights how rare such judicial decisions are. Research by The Associated Press found just eight additional examples of judicial overrides since Ohio's current death penalty law took effect in 1981. That's compared with more than 320 death sentences handed down during the same time period. Overriding death sentences can be politically risky for judges, who are elected in Ohio and many other states, said Doug Berman, an Ohio State University law professor and sentencing expert. Many cases with strong evidence against capital punishment for a defendant are resolved with plea bargains before ever reaching a jury, he added. Those cases typically involve pretrial research turning up strong mitigating evidence - a horrific childhood or mental disabilities, for example - that outweigh what are called aggravating circumstances, such as the brutality of the crime. "It's relatively rare a case will get to a jury verdict if it looks like there's a pretty significant possibility that the mitigators will outweigh the aggravators," Berman said. Cuyahoga County Judge Joan Synenberg cited defendant Douglas Shine Jr.'s prolonged physical and psychological abuse as a child, mental health problems and years of incarceration in sentencing him to life in prison with no chance for parole on Dec. 19 instead of accepting a jury's recommendation for the death penalty. Testimony during the trial's death penalty phase showed that Shine's early childhood was chaotic and "characterized by persistent neglect and physical and psychological abuse," Synenberg said. She noted that Shine lived in youth detention facilities from age 10 to 16 followed by two years in an adult prison. Prosecutors said Shine walked into a Warrensville Heights barber shop in February 2015, pulled two guns from beneath his coat and opened fire, killing 3 people and wounding 2 men and a woman. "Unfortunately, the court gave more weight to the self-serving, unsubstantiated statements of an unrepentant, malingering mass murderer than to the overwhelming evidence that he was fully capable of planning and carrying out this diabolical attack on a crowded barbershop filled with men, women and children," Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty said following Synenberg's ruling. Highlights of the 8 other cases in Ohio in which judges have thrown out a jury's death sentence since the state enacted a new capital punishment law in 1981: 1983 -- A jury's death sentence for Drewey Kiser, of Williamsport, convicted of fatally shooting Don Writsel during a robbery, was overridden by Judge Nicholas Holmes Jr. of Ross County Common Pleas Court. Holmes cited Kiser's age, 23; the defendant's lack of a significant criminal history; mental illness; and alcoholism. Holmes also pointed out that a death sentence would not have been proportional to the 3 other death sentences in Ohio at the time. 1987 -- A jury's death sentence for Alonzo Wright, of Cleveland, convicted of fatally shooting Grover Lang during a robbery, was overridden by Judge Frank J. Gorman of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Gorman cited the victim's decision to rush Wright, which apparently led to the shooting, instead of obeying Wright's request for money. 1988 -- A jury's death sentence for John Parsons, of Worthington, convicted of shooting a man as he fled from his burning home, was overridden by Judge Dale Crawford of Franklin County Common Pleas Court. Crawford cited Parsons' background and lack of a prior criminal record and said a death sentence would not be equivalent to 5 other death sentences imposed in Franklin County up to that time. 1989 -- A jury's death sentence for Eddie Robertson, of Dayton, convicted of fatally shooting Stephanie Hiatt in a 1988 robbery, was overridden by Judge William MacMillan Jr. of Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. MacMillan cited Robertson's lack of a significant criminal history, his relative youth (30), his pursuit of education beyond high school and the lack of an advance plan to kill anyone. MacMillan said it appeared Robertson shot Hiatt on the spur of the moment, fearing she recognized him. 1999 -- A jury's death sentence for Gregory Crawford, of Valley City, convicted of beating Gene Palmer to death during a robbery, was overridden by Judge Mark Wiest of Wayne County Common Pleas Court. Wiest cited Palmer's age (37), his good behavior in jail, Crawford's strong relationship with his family, his work completing his high school degree and his religious conversion. 2000 -- A jury's death sentence for Christopher Fuller, of Hamilton, convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter after trying to rape her, was overridden by Judge Matthew Crehan of Butler County Common Pleas Court. Crehan cited Fuller's job supporting his family, his military service, his lack of a prior criminal record and the remorse he showed over the girl's death. 2002 -- A jury's death sentence for Brian Siler of Nankin in Ashland County, convicted of shooting his estranged wife, Barbara Siler, was overridden by Judge Jeffrey Runyan of Ashland County Common Pleas Court. Runyan cited a number of factors in Siler's defense, including the absence of a criminal background and active participation in church and the community. Runyan also questioned the burglary charge against Brian Siler - an added count that made the crime a capital case - pointing out that he'd broken into his own home. Runyan then questioned whether the death sentence was an attempt by the community to avoid responsibility for failing to do more to prevent Barbara Siler's death. 2010 - A jury's death sentence for Charles Cunningham in Clark County, convicted of aggravated murder in the fatal shooting of an ex-girlfriend, Jessica Serna (the mother of two of Cunningham's children), was overridden by Judge Richard O'Neill. Cunningham was also convicted of killing Serna's friend, Heidi Shook, but not sentenced to death for her slaying. O'Neill said there was "a fine line" between the evidence that Cunningham killed Serna "with prior calculation and design," an element necessary for a death sentence, and whether he shot her "on the spur of the moment" out of frustration with his unsuccessful attempts to re-establish a relationship. | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! Source: Associated Press, January 2, 2017 The 2017 Budget is going to a historic one as the government, for the first time in 92 years, will present a budget that would be merged with the rail budget. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) will meet at 11 am on Tuesday to finalise the date for the next Parliament session. The CCPA meeting has also been convened to decide the date for the commencement of the Budget Session. Home Minister Rajnath Singh will chair the meeting. Apart from Singh, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar will also be present at the CCPA meeting. The budget is expected to be presented on February 1 by Jaitley. The Budget Session is being advanced as the government wants early allocation of funds for various schemes-- from April 1, the beginning of the financial year. The 2017 Budget is going to a historic one as the government, for the first time in 92 years, will present a budget that would be merged with the rail budget. The EMU motorman stopped the train to help the duo but Chandra had died on the spot. Chennai: A 56-year-old woman and her 27-year-old daughter were killed in a freak accident while they were getting down from a moving EMU at Pazhavanthangal railway station on Monday morning. The deceased were identified as M. Chandra, (56), resident of Otteri, and her daughter M. Ambika, (27), who was living with her husband, Aathikesavan and their daughter in Sababathi Nagar, Moovarasanpetttai. Chandra visited her daughters family and ushered in the New Year with them. The accident took place when they were on their way to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) as Ambika had contracted a lung infection. Upon arriving at Pazhavanthangal railway station at around 8.30 am, they took a seat at a bench from where Chandra boarded a train bound to Chennai Beach leaving one of her bags behind. She realised it soon after the train began moving. A panicky Chandra rushed out of the moving train only to fall down. Her daughter too followed suit hoping to prevent her mother from falling down. Chandra got under the wagons wheels while Ambika fell on the track ballast sustaining a head injury. The EMU motorman stopped the train to help the duo but Chandra had died on the spot. Her body was moved to Chromepet GH for a post-mortem. An injured Ambika was rushed to RGGGH for treatment where doctors declared her dead on arrival. Sources said Chandra took her daughter to a hospital in Nanganallur on Monday and the doctors, on diagnosing Ambika with a lung infection, suggested that she be admitted to RGGGH for a specialty treatment. It is for this treatment the mother and daughter were going to RGGGH when the mishap occurred. The Tambaram Railway Police moved Ambikas body too to Chromepet GH. Both the bodies were handed over to the family later. Bodh Gaya: The Chinese government has imposed travel restrictions on Tibetans in Tibet in a bid to block their travel to India to attend the Kalachakra teachings, sources in Tibetan 'government-in-exile' claimed on Tuesday. News emanating from Tibet reported that the Chinese government began confiscating passports from Tibetans in Tibet since November this year, they said. Nepali media reported that "China has reportedly issued a temporary travel restriction on its citizens visiting Nepal and asked its travel agencies and airlines to cancel all travel plans and bookings made until January 10 with immediate effect." According to these sources, Chinese authorities have instructed the family members of the pilgrims to inform them to return to Tibet by January 3 before the Dalai Lama begins his teachings. Kalachakra means wheel of time or "time-cycles" and it is usually used to refer to a complex teaching and practice in Buddhism. The sources quoted a Tibetan pilgrim who chose to remain anonymous as saying that the authorities had taken signatures from their family members to make sure that the pilgrims have been informed and that they must return to Tibet. In the light of these developments, the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama addressed the Tibetan pilgrims in Dharamsala, Delhi and Bodh Gaya advising them not to be disheartened. He said that during the Kalachakra initiation, which runs for three days -from January 11-13 - Tibetans in Tibet whose faith and devotion remain invincible and stands undefeated, can pray from inside Tibet. "From the Kalachakra ground, Iwill keep the Tibetans inside Tibet in my deepest prayers." The Dalai Lama said there is a substantial number of Chinese Buddhists in mainland China wishing to attend the Kalachakra and that he will remember them in his prayers. "Distance cannot dampen the sacred ties between a lama and a disciple. You can all pray from the far-flung areas in Tibet and I assure you that you will receive the Kalachakra empowerment," said the Dalai Lama who arrived in Bodhgaya on December 28. The Kalachakra initiation began with a ritual preparation on January 2 and will end with a life-long prayer ceremony on January 14 and is streamed live on Tibet TV's youtube (www.tibetonline.tv) and facebook page. The 34th Kalachakra initiation is being organized by Central Tibetan Administration for the first time in Tibet's history. The 13-day religious gathering will draw over 200,000 devotees from across the globe, officials in the Tibetan 'government-in-exile' said. New Delhi: An institutional mechanism to tackle child pornography, which has recorded a rise over the past few years, will soon be introduced by the government. The Ministry of Women and Child Development will set up a National Alliance against Child Abuse, which will comprise of members from the Ministry of Home, Law, HR, IT, civil society organisations and major web portals. "37 per cent of all internet is pornography and a major portion of it involves children. Child pornography has to be dealt seriously. All the stakeholders will meet on January 16 to deliberate on the contours of the National Alliance against Child Abuse," Union Minister Maneka Gandhi said today. The Minister also proposed setting up of a Women helpline, akin to Childline to help women in distress. Highlighting the Ministry's agenda for the year, Gandhi said her Ministry will take major steps to regulate pre-schools that are part of Anganwadi centres as also those run by private agencies in the wake of complaints about violation of child rights. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has recommended a set of regulatory guidelines which will decide on various issues such as teacher-student ratio, curriculum, infrastructure and the age of admission apart from the safety and security aspects. Gandhi said that her Ministry was in talks with Law and Justice Ministry over setting up of a Central Tribunal for Adoptions. "Forty per cent of the adoption cases are stuck in various courts and this has worried me. As per CARA guidelines, a court has to dispose a case within a period of two months from the date of filing of the adoption petition by the specialised adoption agency and in two hearings but it often takes much longer. "So we want that a National Tribunal be set up to clear such cases so that parents don't have to wait for a year to be able to take home a child," Gandhi said. According to a senior Ministry official, the objective is to have single-point person dealing with cases from across the country so that a child can be declared 'legally free for adoption' fast. While mentioning that 'One Stop Centres' are being set up in all states, Gandhi expressed her displeasure over Delhi government not sending any proposals in this regard. The Ministry also has roped in the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) for this purpose. "We have met and written to the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking him to send proposals for opening one in each of the 11 districts but we have not got a proposal from them," Gandhi said. The Ministry will provide funds for setting up these centres through Nirbhaya Fund, created in 2013 after the December 16, 2012, gang-rape case. The Ministry will also train 2 lakh women sarpanches in batches of 40 across India this year. These women will be imparted training on basic civil engineering, legal aspects, how to access funds for village development, about infrastructure, anganwadi work, and girl dropouts among others. The first batch, which started in Rajasthan's Jhalawar, has completed the training period. Also, the Ministry will constitute the National Women Entrepreneurship Council which will have women entrepreneurs to advise government on the issues related to their entrepreneurship. The council will emerge from the Ministry's online platform called 'E-Mahila Haat' launched this year to promote women entrepreneurship. Women will be voted on the website and the districts or states with highest votes will form the council. She said the anti-trafficking draft Bill, which aims for the rescue and reintegration of trafficked persons, is ready to be sent to Cabinet and hoped that the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 which has been passed by Rajya Sabha, will be passed by Lok Sabha this year. Indian fishermen will be released, but their fishing vessels will not be returned, Sri Lankan officials said. (Photo: Representational Image) New Delhi: Immediate release of the fishermen presently in custody has been announced following the ministerial level talks between Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of India Radha Mohan Singh and Minister for Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development of Sri Lanka Mahinda Amaraweera in Colombo. The talks were held on Monday following the first meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on fisheries held in New Delhi on December 31. During the discussion, the ministers exchanged views on possible mechanisms to help find a permanent solution to the fishermen issues, said a joint press statement. The statement added, "Both sides agreed to a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to expedite the release and handing over of fishermen in each other's custody on completion of respective legal and procedural formalities. The immediate release of the fishermen presently in custody was announced following the ministerial level talks." As part of the Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) agreed to by both sides, it was decided to intensify cooperation on patrolling and to institute periodic interaction between the Coast Guard of the two countries. Both sides also discussed the issue of releasing fishing vessels in each other's custody. The Indian side requested for the immediate release of Indian fishing vessels, which Colombo agreed to consider. The Sri Lankan side reiterated that the practice of bottom trawling needs to end at the earliest. The Indian side assured that bottom trawling would be phased out in a graded time-bound manner within a practicable time frame. Colombo was also briefed about the measures already instituted including the decision to construct a new fishing harbour at Mookaiyur in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu. The next JWG meeting will be held in Colombo in April this year to review the progress made in addressing the fishermen issues in a comprehensive manner. New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that efforts are on to bring back India's most wanted fugitive Dawood Ibrahim. "The efforts to bring Dawood Ibrahim are on," Singh said. Earlier last year, the Union Home Minister had asserted that Dawood would be nabbed soon and brought to India. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had earlier reiterated that it will continue to pursue Pakistan to handover Dawood after a television channel claimed that it has tracked his location. The designated global terrorist's presence in Pakistan was confirmed by the United Nations last year. Six of nine addresses provided by India were found to be correct by a UN committee. India is pursuing China to declare Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar an international terrorist, Singh also said. "We are pursuing China to declare JeM chief Masood Azhar an international terrorist," Singh said. The Union Home Minister's statement comes just days after Beijing blocked New Delhi's move to list Azhar as a United Nations designated terrorist. India has accused JeM and its top leader Maulana Masood Azhar of masterminding several attacks including a deadly assault on an Indian Air Base in January last year and sought the UN to put him on the list of designated terrorist under the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council. The JeM has already been blacklisted by the 15-nation Security Council, but not Azhar. However, China for the third time since March last year blocked the move last week with its "technical hold". New Delhi: Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said that the absence of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa due to her death had created a political opportunity for BJP in the state. Earlier, Madam, with her towering personality and influence, was persuasive. And, she was taking away the votes of some of our sympathisers also. Because, between the DMK and the AIADMK, people use to think the AIADMK is better. Because the AIADMK is nationalist, etc. Earlier, some BJP sympathisers used to vote for the AIADMK. Now, such a situation is not there, Naidu was quoted as saying to a newspaper. Naidu also refuted reports that he was involved in the selection of O Paneerselvam as the CM. Who am I to propose a name? It was the AIADMK MLAs who proposed the name. However, when asked about congratulating Sasikala for becoming the AIADMK General Secretary, the Urban Development Minister said, I congratulate the people of Tamil Nadu for the way they paid their last respects to madam by maintaining discipline in spite of their grief. Opposing any move to exhume the body of former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, Naidu lashed out at those suspecting foul play. He said, doubting Thomases will also raise doubts. If one has authentic information on her health then one could raise the issue. I am not a doctor nor have knowledge to dispute the doctors. She has been ill and we have no reason to disbelieve the doctors (who treated her). There are always doubting Thomases who will raise doubts so what? I am not in favour of exhuming because I have highest esteem for madam Jayalalithaa, he said on Monday. He was responding to queries on the doubts raised by certain political parties and organisations that had demanded CBI probe into her treatment and also the remarks made by a Madras High Court judge on a case seeking to know about her health report. Asked about Justice S. Vaidyanathan who, while hearing a case on December 29, said everybody has a right to question and that he personally had a doubt, Mr. Venkaiah said, If the judge has an opinion, it is his opinion. If he has issued notice, it will be replied to (by the Centre). Let us wait for what the court has to say. Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday said that a total of 59 youths in the Valley joined militant ranks after the killing of Hizbul terrorist Burhan Wani. Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces on July 8 last year. "As reported by CID headquarters, 59 youths have joined militant ranks after 8th July, 2016", Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said in a written reply to the question by MLA Mubarak Gul in the state Assembly here. The state government has notified a surrender policy which was superseded by rehabilitation policy to encourage the misguided youths and militants to abjure violence and "accept the integrity of India and the Constitution", Mufti, who holds the home portfolio, said. The policy was notified so that they can join the national mainstream and lead a normal life, she said. According to the policy, the state government will provide them incentives including fixed deposits of Rs 1.50 lakh, payment of monetary incentive for surrender of weapons and stipend for a period of 3 years at the rate of Rs 2,000 per month from the date of surrender, the chief minister said. Under the above policy of 2004, 437 cases of surrendered militants were received from 2004 till date, Mehbooba said. As many as 216 cases have been finalised and monthly incentives of Rs 2.68 cores have been paid, she said adding 219 cases have been rejected. The MP was seen hitting doctors on camera. (Photo: ANI videograb) Sirsi: BJP MP Ananth Kumar Hegde has landed in a controversy for allegedly thrashing two doctors and a staff member of a private hospital at Sirsi after claiming that they were not responding properly to his ailing mother. The CCTV footage of the purported incident broadcast by TV channels today showed Hegde holding a person by his neck and manhandling him, even as a nurse tries to intervene in vain. Images of two doctors who were reportedly injured during the incident were also aired but no complaint has been lodged by them with police. Hegde was reportedly agitated that the doctors were not responding properly to his mother who had fractured her legs and was taken to the hospital by his brother before he visited there Monday night. Neither the MP, who represents Uttara Kannada, nor the doctors have offered their version of the purported incident. According to sources, initially both sides had planned to file a police complaint, but later came to a compromise, after the MP reportedly offered an apology. The local branch of the Indian Medical Association has submitted a memorandum to the District Assistant Commissioner seeking protection for doctors and hospital staff. Bengaluru (Karnataka): Karnataka State Minister for Cooperation H. S. Mahadeva Prasad passed away on Tuesday after suffering a heart attack. He was 58 years old. An active Congressman and five-term member of Karnataka Legislative Assembly representing Gundlupet assembly constituency, Prasad was also the in-charge Minister of Chamarajanagar District. Being a former Janata Dal leader, Prasad hitherto held the portfolios of Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Kannada and Culture in Government of Karnataka. "The real problem is clearly corruption," says Rep. Lito Atienza The wish of President Rodrigo Duterte to execute 5 to 6 convicts daily would plunge the country into the dark ages of "savagery" and make the country a top executioner, a pro-life solon said. In a statement, Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza said the President's wish to have 5 to 6 criminals put to death every day, or more than 2,000 every year, under the death penalty would put the country into "an unprecedented era of darkness and medieval savagery." Atienza said daily executions would make the predominantly Catholic country the world's top executioner, worse that non-Catholic countries such as China, Iran and Pakistan. "If the President had his way, our predominantly Catholic country could go down as the world's new top executioner, ahead of non-Catholic countries such as China, Iran and Pakistan," Atienza said. Last month, Duterte said there would be daily executions of drug convicts once death penalty is restored. "Restore it and I will execute criminals every day - 5 or 6. That's for real," Duterte said. Atienza said moves in Congress to restore death penalty are an "anathema to our celebration of life." "We Filipinos celebrate life. In fact, we celebrate life so much that despite our usual troubles, we've been persistently rated among the happiest people in the world," Atienza said. Atienza said it is bad enough that even without the death penalty, the country is hounded with a spate of extrajudicial killings of suspected drug criminals at the height of the administration's bloody war on drugs. "We do not want to be brutalized by constant bloodshed. We Filipinos loathe killings, whether judicial or extrajudicial, as much as we detest violent crime," Atienza said. "It is bad enough we already have a virtual death penalty in place, with the unabated summary executions of alleged suspects sans the benefit of a full and fair trial," he added. Atienza said the real problem is rampant corruption in the criminal justice system, as revealed in a House inquiry on the Bilibid drug trade and the millions of alleged kickbacks for Bureau of Correction officials. "The real problem is clearly corruption. The problem is not with the severity of the punishment for crime. In fact, corruption is the primary reason why many felons are not getting caught, and not getting punished, and this in turn has only abetted even more crime," Atienza said. The bill is expected to undergo plenary debates under second reading once Congress resumes from its Christmas break on Jan. 16. The bill hurdled the justice committee on Dec. 7. The bill seeks to impose death penalty for more than 20 heinous offenses, such as rape with homicide, kidnapping for ransom, and arson with death. Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Duterte's staunch ally in Congress, filed the bill seeking to reimpose the death penalty after former President now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo abolished capital punishment in 2006 for its failure to deter crime. Alvarez filed the bill pursuant to President Duterte's campaign promise of returning capital punishment against heinous criminals. "Philippine society is left with no option but to deal with certain grievous offenders in a manner commensurate to the gravity, perversity, atrociousness and repugnance of their crimes," according to the bill. Duterte won the elections on a campaign promise to restore death penalty. Alvarez said Congress would look into the cheapest way of carrying out the death penalty, either by firing squad, lethal injection or by hanging. Philippines: Pro-life coalition formed vs death penalty revival Pro-life advocates have formed a coalition to oppose moves by the House of Representatives to revive capital punishment in line with President Duterte's tough stance against criminality, opposition lawmakers bared yesterday. Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said there has been a "widening coalition of legislators, religious ministers both from the Catholic Church and other religious denominations, civil society and NGO networks, and college students and youth" opposing the reimposition of the death penalty. "The broad coalition of anti-death penalty advocates will sustain the campaign against the proposed reimposition of capital punishment until the archaic proposal is finally consigned to the legislative dustbin," he said. Lagman stressed that death penalty is not a solution to criminality and the drug menace. "The prevention of heinous crimes involves a complex and multidimensional process relative to problems ranging from poverty and inequity to police corruption and brutality, inept and discriminatory prosecution, and flawed judicial system," he explained. "It is bad enough we already have a virtual death penalty in place, with unabated summary executions of alleged suspects sans the benefit of a full and fair trial." "All of these negative factors contribute to the fallibility of human justice, which ensnare to the gallows even the innocent. Consequently, punishment alone is not the solution to crimes," he added. Another opposition legislator, Rep. Lito Atienza of Buhay party-list, also hit Duterte's plan to execute through lethal injection 5 to 6 convicts a day. "It will sink the Philippines into an unprecedented era of darkness and medieval savagery. If the President had his way, our predominantly Catholic country could go down as the world's new top executioner, ahead of non-Catholic countries such as China, Iran and Pakistan," Atienza said. Duterte's execution plan means that more than 2,000 will be undergoing state-sanctioned killings per year. Compare this to the 1,634 convicts executed in 25 countries around the world in 2015 recorded by Amnesty International (AI). Excluding China, only 3 countries - Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia - were responsible for nearly 90 % of the executions. Iran executed 977 convicts by hanging in 2015, Pakistan put 326 to death by hanging, while Saudi Arabia killed 158 by beheading. The number of executions in China is regarded a state secret. | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! Source: newsinfo.inquirer.net, January 3, 2017Source: Philippine Star, January 3, 2017 Chennai: The Madras high court on Monday rejected the suit filed by expelled AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP Sasikala Pushpa seeking to restrain the party from unlawfully and arbitrarily appointing V.K. Sasikala, a close aide of the former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, as general secretary of the party. Justice K.Kalyanasundaram allowed the application filed by AIADMK party presidium Chairman and former minister E.Madhusoodhanan seeking to reject the suit filed by Sasikala Pushpa to restrain the party from appointing V.K.Sasikala as General Secretary of the party. The judge struck off the plaint filed by Sasikala Pushpa and her husband Lingeswara Thilagam. However, the details of the order were not made available to the media. Originally, Sasikala Pushpa and her husband filed suits, which also sought to restrain the AIADMK party in acting contrary to the Society Registration Act by amending the rules and regulations unlawfully for the purpose of enabling V.K.Sasikala to be appointed as general secretary of the party. During the hearing of the suits, Madhusoodhanan filed an application to reject the suit. Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee held an emergency meeting on Tuesday following the arrest of her partys senior leader Sudip Bandopadhyay in connection with the Rose Valley scam. She accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using CBI, ED and Income Tax department against those who raised voice against demonetisation and dared him to arrest her and all TMC MPs. "I just can't think that Sudip Bandopadhyay, who is our party's leader in the Lok Sabha will be arrested. I also have information that Modi wants to arrest many other TMC leaders like Abhishek Banerjee, Sovan Chatterjee (city mayor) and Firhad Hakim (minister)," she told reporters immediately after Sudip's arrest by the CBI in connection with the alleged Rose Valley chit fund scam. "I am shocked, but not scared. Let him arrest all of us. I openly challenge him to arrest me. Let me see his guts. He may silence others, but not me. He can't suppress our voice. He can't bulldoze people's voice," she said. "We will fight legal battle in every case," she added. Banerjee said she will take the legal battle forward and seek justice from the court. If they think that after the arrest (of TMC MP Sudip Bandhopadhyay) we wont protest, they are wrong, Banerjee said. She alleged that Bandopadhyay was arrested due to "pressure from the PMO" and asked "why should Narendra Modi and Amit Shah not be arrested? "The party is behind Sudip. He has not done anything wrong. Even if he is in jail, the people of Bengal will keep him in their heart," she said. The TMC chief also said that it was the duty of the Centre, the Sebi and the RBI to keep a check on ponzi schemes in which they have "failed completely". "I challenge Modi directly. You cannot do anything because Trinamool Congress is right and you are wrong. You cannot suppress the voice of the people. you have to withdraw restrictions (on withdrawal of cash)... Modi has no clue where this political vidictiveness will take him. We are not scared and will continue our demonstration against demonetisation," she said. Mamata said, "He (Modi) has got a government... Even I also have a government in my hand. I can also arrest people here who are involved in riots. But I have not done so because I believe in political courtesy." Reacting to Sudip Bandopadhyay's arrest Union Coal and Power minister Piyush Goyal said if someone did any wrong he would get caught. "If someone has done any wrong, he will get caught. If someone tries to cover his or her own wrongdoing by baseless allegations.....We never interfered in investigative affairs," Goyal, who is in the city, said. All TMC leaders, including MLAs and MPs like Saugata Roy, Dinesh Trivedi & Partha Chatterjee reached the CBI Office in Kolkata on Tuesday evening to protest Bandhopadhyay's arrest. Banerjee said the party will hold protest on Wednesday in Kolkata over the arrest of Bandhopadhyay. The Chief Minister will hold a meeting with the party MPs at 5 pm at TMC headquarters. Bandhopadhyays arrest, second in the case after TMC MP Tapas Pal, came as a big blow to Banerjee. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Bandhopadhyay on Tuesday after questioning him about his association with Rose Valley Group and its owner Goutam Kundu. Bandopadhyay appeared before the special investigation team (SIT) of the CBI at CGO Complex in Salt Lake around 10.55 am, responding to the summons to face questioning. An SP rank officer led the interrogation that lasted for more than four hours. While probing the scam for the last one and a half years, the CBI found that Bandopadhyay took favours from Rose Valley, such as foreign trips and receipt of hefty amount of money, sources said. The sources added that in exchange, the Trinamool MP helped Kundu to run his business smoothly. Bandopadhyay, however, could not give satisfactory replies when he was asked about the favours, leading to his arrest, sources said. Srinagar: In September last year, Pakistans Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, sought to glorify slain Hizbul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by calling him a freedom fighter during his speech at the UN General Assembly, the rant he continued with at his party meet back home later. India was prompt to react strongly to his comment, accusing the neighbouring country of sponsoring terrorism on Indian soil. On Tuesday, a lawmaker of opposition National Conference (NC) lawmaker chose to make a similar averment on the floor of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council, now in its budget session in winter capital Jammu, facing ire of ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members. NCs Showkat Hussain Ganie said that Wani was a freedom fighter, who died a martyr. He also said that Kashmiris will continue to cross to the other side of the Line of Control (LoC) till the issue of Kashmir is resolved. He while continuing with his diatribe said that even the Hizb chief Syed Salahuddin crossed over to Pakistan not to contest election but for the resolution of long-pending Kashmir dispute. PDPs Firdous Tak while interrupting Ganie asked him to clarify before the House if it was his personal view or that of his party. Without answering the query, the NC member said he stood by what he had said and again called Wani a freedom fighter. This led to a verbal dual between him and the PDP members who alleged that the NC paid money to its workers to fuel street protests across the Valley following Wanis killing during a security forces operation in July last year. The PDP member Saifuddin Bhat charged that the NC tried to topple the PDP-BJP government by inciting violence in Kashmir. The killing of Wani and resultant unrest in the Valley dominated proceedings of the State Assembly as well. Soon after the House assembled for the day, the opposition members were on their feet and began chanting slogans against the PDP-BJP government. As the House witnessed intense uproar with opposition NC and Congress continuing their protest over the civilian deaths on the second consecutive day, Speaker Kavinder Gupta allowed the opposition members to move the motion for a discussion on the unrest. Former chief minister and NC working president, Omar Abdullah, initiated the discussion and said that the government mishandled the situation. He also said that there was confusion whether the Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, was aware of the encounter in which Wani was killed or not. He said that the then additional director general of police (CID) S.M. Sahai had in his press conference said that the Chief Minister was briefed about such encounters but later the government contradicted him by saying she is not told about every incident. Mufti had surprised all by saying on July 28 that had the security forces who raided a militant hideout in Kokernag area of southern Anantnag on July 8 and subsequently killed three Hizb cadres known beforehand that Wani was among them they may have given him a second chance. She termed the killing of Wani as a coincidence. She also said that she was not aware of the operation carried out jointly by J&K polices counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) and Armys 19 Rashtriya Rifles at Bamdoora Kokernag. How would you know that, she had asked. She was responding to a report appearing in a national daily that the Chief Minister was informed, in writing, of the July 8 raid as well as an operation targeting Wani in March. The Chief Minister, as home minister, is informed of all the activities, S.M. Sahai, had said earlier, on being asked if the Chief Minister knew about the operation beforehand. During the discussion in the Assembly on Tuesday, Abdullah said that the unrest witnessed in the Valley in 2010 cannot be compared with that of 2016. He termed the PDP-BJP alliance as unholy. But BJP ally and minister for science and technology, Sajad Gani Lone, while reacting to it accused Abdullah of resorting to theatrics and said that the opposition was on a score settling mission. He called the youth slain during the unrest as aazadi ke matwale (the freedom seekers) and asked the members to show some respect for the dead. Responding to Abdullahs cant compare 2010 with 2016 remark, Lone said, We cannot delink 2016 from 2010. He alleged, For every killing that takes place in Jammu and Kashmir, historically you have a role. He asserted that the protests in Kashmir are about aspirations and not about grievances. Reacting to former Chief Ministers terming the PDP-BJP alliance as unholy, Lone said that the alliances by different parties in the past were unholy too and that My history is bad but their (opposition) is worse. CPI (M)s Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami urged Chief Minister, Mufti to initiate a process of sustainable and credible dialogue on Kashmir issue towards developing trust in people. He said, We need a permanent solution or the situation like this (post-Wani killing unrest) can erupt again. He asserted that politicians are no more trusted by the people of Kashmir. Congress Nawang Rigzin Jora said that over 800 persons have been slapped with the States stringent Public safety Act (PSA) and dozens were blinded during the uprising. The government earlier acknowledged in the House that Wanis killing had given impetus to militancy in Kashmir. It informed that a total of 59 youths in the Valley joined militant ranks after the Hizb commanders death. "As reported by CID headquarters, 59 youth have joined militant ranks after 8th July, 2016", Chief Minister Mufti said in a written reply to the question by NCs Mubarak Gul. She also said that the State government has notified a surrender policy which was superseded by rehabilitation policy to encourage the "misguided" youths and militants to abjure violence and "accept the integrity of India and the Constitution". Mufti who holds also the home portfolio added that the policy was notified in 2004 so that they can join the national mainstream and lead a normal life. Elaborating, the Chief Minister said that under the policy the State government will provide them incentives including fixed deposits of Rs 1.50 lakh, payment of monetary incentive for surrender of weapons and stipend for a period of 3 years at the rate of Rs 2,000 per month from the date of surrender. She further said that under the policy, 437 cases of surrendered militants were received from 2004 till date and that out of these 216 cases have been finalised and monthly incentives of Rs 2.68 cores have been paid whereas 219 cases were rejected. Meanwhile, the government sources have corroborated that militancy related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir increased last year in comparison to 2015. The sources said that against 151 incidents in 2014, there were 143 incidents in 2015 which jumped to 243 in 2016. Also, there were as many as 16 cases of weapon snatching reported across the Valley in 2016 and only in one of these the snatched weapons could be recovered. The other incidents included two major attacks at Army camps in Uri and Nagrota in which 27 soldiers and officers were killed and about two dozen others were injured on September 30 and November 29, respectively. Both these incidents are being investigated by the NIA and in order to prevent the reoccurrence of such or similar attacks, the security forces have initiated a series of measures including maintaining greater synergy amongst various security and intelligence agencies and strengthening the counter-insurgency grid. The government also said that in the post Wani killing 76 civilians and two policemen were killed in firing and other actions by security forces and mob violence. As many as 2,632 cases were registered by the police across Kashmir whereas 463 persons were arrested under the PSA. However, 145 of them were set free by courts, normally by quashing the PSA, and 318 are still in various jails across Kashmir, the sources said. Pune: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation. "On the day of announcement of demonetisation, Modi was saying with great confidence and telling people to see what happens on December 30, but nothing has happened," he told reporters in Pune. The MNS chief also criticised the decision announced by Modi of giving Rs 6,000 to pregnant women. Thackeray was in the city to inaugurate party's new office for coming civic elections. Referring to Supreme Court's ruling against seeking votes on the grounds of "religion, race, caste and community or language", he said India is a huge country and ground reality should be checked before passing such a judgement. Thackeray also criticised BJP for naming a railway station in Mumbai as Ram Mandir and said that despite having power, they are not able to build actual Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. "They came to power using Ram Mandir issue, now they have changed the stand and when they have power, why can't they build Ram Mandir and instead named a railway station as Ram Mandir," he said. "Instead of erecting the memorial, if the same funds could be utilised to conserve the existing forts in the state, the next generations will get to learn who was Shivaji Maharaj and his valiant tenure," he said on the memorial for the 17th century Maratha warrior king to be built, off Mumbai coast. Dismissing BJP's victory in municipal council elections, Raj said the BJP did not have their own candidates. "Though they are claiming big victory in these elections, however, the reality is that it is victory of Congress and NCP as most of the BJP's candidates were brought from these parties," he alleged. Thackeray also said in the upcoming elections, MNS will fight the polls with complete strength. Kolkata: In a big blow to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, senior Trinamool Congress MP and the parliamentary party leader in Lok Sabha Sudip Bandopadhyay was arrested by the CBI in connection with the Rose Valley chit fund scam on Tuesday. He is the second TMC MP in the Lok Sabha to be held in the case after Tapas Pal. Around 10.55 am, Bandopadhyay appeared before the special investigation team (SIT) of the CBI at CGO Complex in Salt Lake, responding to the summons to face questioning. He had then claimed, "I am going to know the allegations against me from them." Also Read: Rose Valley chit fund scam: TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay arrested The SIT officers started questioning him from 11 am about his association with Rose Valley Group and its owner Goutam Kundu. An SP rank officer led the interrogation that lasted for over four hours. In the course of its probe, the CBI found that Bandopadhyay took favours from Rose Valley including foreign trips and receipt of hefty amount of money, sources revealed. They added that in exchange the Trinamool MP helped Kundu run his business smoothly. Bandopadhyay, however, could not give satisfactory replies when he was asked about his favours, leading to his arrest, sources added. New Delhi: Congress on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court decision which outlawed seeking votes in the name of religion, saying it reaffirms the fundamental values on which the nation was founded. Asked about the judgment, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said the question should have been best directed at the BJP. "But, on a more serious note, it is an excellent decision, it is a decision which should be welcomed by everybody," he said. Tewari said the decision reaffirms the fundamental values on which this Nation was cast by the founders of the Indian Constitution. These fundamental values are: to build an egalitarian society, to build a society which is above caste, creed, region, religion or faith; to have a clear separation between religion and State, he said. He said these lines have blurred in the march of this country over the last 67-68 years. "So, therefore, every right-thinking Indian must welcome it. Why should religion, caste, region or every other parochial instinct be invoked in order to garner votes in a democracy, it is the complete anti-thesis of those noble values on which this country was built and therefore, Hon'ble Supreme Court's decision is more than welcome," he said. In a majority 4:3 verdict, the Supreme Court today held that any appeal for votes on the ground of "religion, race, caste, community or language" amounted to "corrupt practice" under the election law provision. Referring to the term 'his religion' used in section 123(3) of the Representation of The Peoples (RP) Act, which deals with 'corrupt practice', Chief Justice T S Thakur and three others said it meant the religion and caste of all including voters, candidates and their agents etc. In its ruling in a case related to the election of a Shiv Sena leader, the Supreme Court had in 1995 said Hindutva is a "way of life and not religion". Lucknow: In a possible bid to unite the warring factions in the Samajwadi Party (SP), party leader Azam Khan on Tuesday mediated a phone conversation between Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav. Soon after the phone call, the CM reached his father's residence in Lucknow to meet him. Mulayam Singh Yadav took a chartered flight from Delhi to Lucknow, reportedly accompanied by Gayatri Prajapati, a minister from Akhilesh Yadav's government. These developments took place even as Akhilesh Yadav's mentor and uncle, Ram Gopal Yadav, met the Election Commission at 11:30 am to stake claim to the party symbol. Earlier, the Akhilesh Yadav camp in the Samajwadi Party on Monday claimed that it has the support of 90 per cent of the partys members. According to a report in the Indian Express, UP Chief Minister Akhilesh's supporters in the party also claimed that they are not unduly worried about the prospect of the EC freezing the partys cycle symbol. Party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav is scheduled to visit the Election Commission Tuesday to submit Akhileshs claim as the new national president of the party. MLC Rajpal Kashyap said that over 90 per cent of the delegates put their signatures on the proposals taken up at the national convention called by Ram Gopal Yadav, including on Akhileshs appointment as the party chief. There was a rush among party leaders to put their signatures. Most of the MLAs, MPs, zila panchayat chairpersons did so, he was quoted as saying. We will keep the cycle as our symbol. But let it be known that Akhilesh himself is the symbol of the election, he added. Akhilesh is keen to avoid further confrontation, now that the party leadership is in his hands, said the report. 16 of the 20 Congress MLAs in the state spoke in favour of a pre-poll pact with the SP under the Chief Minister on Monday, breaking with the party leadership which has ruled out such an alliance. The MLAs claimed that Akhilesh is popular, has a clean image and secular credentials. As many as ten MLAs said the party should enter into an alliance with Akhilesh. Akhileshs father Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was ousted as the party chief at his sons convention and made a mentor, rushed to Delhi on Monday to meet Election Commission officials and stake claim to the cycle symbol of the party for the upcoming elections. He also postponed a national convention called by him which was to be held on January 5. Chennai: Sri Lanka and India on Monday decided to release fishermen currently in their custody. Colombo has also agreed to release a large number of boats belonging to Indian fishermen. The decisions were taken at the India-Sri Lanka ministerial level talks on fishermen in Colombo on Monday evening. External affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said Sri Lanka will be releasing 51 Indian fishermen and India would release three Sri Lankan fishermen. "Most significantly, Sri Lanka has also agreed to consider our request for release of fishing boats," Mr Swarup said of the meeting. India considers Sri Lanka's decision to release fishing boats captured from the fishermen as a significant move since this is probably the first time that vessels are being handed over to the fishermen. The talks attended by Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh and Sri Lankan fisheries minister, Mahinda Amaraweera, decided to intensify cooperation in patrolling and to institute periodic interaction between the Coast Guard of the two countries. Both sides agreed to a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to expedite the release and handing over of fishermen in each others custody on completion of respective legal and procedural formalities. The immediate release of fishermen presently in custody was announced following the ministerial level talks, a joint communique issued after the meeting said. The meeting also reached an understanding to ensure that there was no physical harm or loss of life while apprehending fishermen by Navy and Coast Guard of the two countries. It was agreed to explore the possibility of introducing effective tracking systems for the fishing vessels and making the use of onboard communication equipment mandatory, the statement said. While Sri Lanka reiterated that the practice of bottom trawling needs to end at the earliest, the Indian side assured that bottom trawling would be phased out in a graded time-bound manner within a practicable timeframe keeping in mind the capacity building of the fishermen who have to be diversified into deep sea fishing as well as other coastal fisheries activities. The statement said the Sri Lankan side was briefed about the measures already instituted, including the decision to construct a new fishing harbour at Mookaiyur in Ramanathapuram district and capacity building programme for Indian fishermen on deep-sea fishing. New Delhi: As the conflict within the Samajwadi Party showed no signs of abating even as Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son Akhilesh Yadav battle over the party's symbol 'cycle', Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the struggle between a father and son is never good. "The struggle' between father and son is never good. The required expulsion is over. The next government will bear the brunt. But we cannot express happiness over any family dispute," Singh said. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's mentor and uncle Ram Gopal Yadav earlier in the day staked claim to the party's symbol 'cycle' before the Election Commission while stating that 90 percent of the MLAs are backing the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister. This comes a day after Akhilesh's father and party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav staked claim to the same while asserting that the Samajwadi Party's "election symbol is my signature". Amid a bitter family feud that has torn apart Uttar Pradesh's ruling party, Mulayam earlier said that election symbol is his signature. Mulayam on Monday claimed that the symbol - with its easy and established recall - should be considered his political property. The 77-year-old veteran visited the Election Commission's office on Monday evening, accompanied by his trusted advisor and younger brother Shivpal Yadav. At a party gathering on Sunday in Lucknow, Akhilesh was named president of the Samajwadi Party. He then pushed his father into retirement by declaring he would now function as patron and mentor. Mulayam and his aides like Shivpal Yadav and Amar Singh have insisted his faction is the legit Samajwadi Party. Rev. Hassan Abduraheem and Rev. Kuwa Shamal Rev Kwa (also transliterated Kuwa) Shamaal, head of missions of the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC), was acquitted of charges ranging from spying to inciting hatred against the government. He had been arrested without charges from his home on 18th December, 2015. "Yes, he was released today after the court found that he was not guilty of the charges brought against him," said attorney Muhanad Nur, part of the team of lawyers defending Shamaal and 3 other Christians. The court also charged Kwa's colleague, Rev Hassan Abduraheem Taour, and 2 other Christians, Czech aid worker Petr Jasek and Abdulmonem Abdumawla of Darfu, with crimes against the state that carry death penalty. The charges include espionage, waging war against the state and gathering false news information, as well as inciting hatred between classes. Abdelrahim Tawor was also arrested from his home on 18th December, 2015. After the 2 pastors' arrest a year ago, Rev Shamal was released on 21st December, 2015, but was required to report daily to the offices of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), a requirement that was removed on 16th January last year. He was re-arrested on 25th May. Rev Shamaal and Rev Taour were charged with trying to tarnish the image of Sudan's government by collecting information on persecution of Christians and genocide in the Nuba Mountains. The charges included collecting information for "other parties hostile to Sudan". They were accused of conducting intelligence activities and providing material support for Nuba rebels in South Kordofan under 2 charges that carry the death penalty - waging war against the state (Article 51 of the Sudanese Criminal Code) and spying (Article 53). Similarly charged are Czech aid worker Jasek and Abdumawla, who initially said he was Muslim but later admitted he was Christian. He was arrested in December, 2015, after he began collecting money to help a friend, Ali Omer, who had needed treatment for burns suffered in a student demonstration. Abdumawla contacted Abdelrahim Tawor, who donated money for Omer's treatment, which apparently raised the ire of Sudanese authorities, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). Prosecutors have charged Mr Jasek, also arrested in December, 2015, with "tarnishing Sudan's image" by documenting persecution. He is also charged with waging war against the state, reportedly based on an accusation that he gave money to "some individuals" in South Kordofan in 2012, allegedly including some rebel fighters. At one hearing, NISS official Abbas el Tahir accused the defendants of conducting "hostile activities against the state that threaten the national and social security" in Sudan, according to Netherlands-based Radio Dabanga. "Since 2012, we banned organizations or individuals working against Sudan," El Tahir reportedly said. "However, these NGOs still work and plan to threaten the national security and harm the society's interest." He accused aid organisations of publishing false reports against Sudan. Attorney Nur said he is hopeful that the other defendants also will be released soon. The next court hearing is scheduled for 9th January. Foreign diplomats and international rights activists have taken notice of the case since Morning Star News broke the story of the arrest of 2 pastors in December, 2015. Their arrest is seen as part of a recent upsurge in harassment of Christians. Most SCOC members have roots among the ethnic Nuba in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan's South Kordofan state, where the government is fighting an insurgency. The Nuba along with other Christians in Sudan face discrimination, as President Omar al-Bashir has vowed to introduce a stricter version of sharia (Islamic law) and recognize only Islamic culture and Arabic language. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir in connection with war crimes in Darfur. Due to its treatment of Christians and other human rights violations, Sudan has been designated a Country of Particular Concern by the U.S. State Department since 1999, and the US Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended the country remain on the list in its 2016 report. Sudan ranked 8th on Christian support organisation Open Doors 2016 World Watch List of countries where Christians face most persecution. | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! Source: sightmagazine.com.au, January 3, 2017 AIADMK leader and Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M. Thambidurai addresses media at Poes garden after calling on party general secretary V.K. Sasikala on Monday.(Photo: DC) Chennai/Coimbatore: Hours after senior AIADMK leader M Thambidurai appealed to the newly appointed party general secretary V K Sasikala to become the Chief Minister, DMK treasurer M K Stalin slammed him for "sycophancy." The DMK leader, who is also the leader of Opposition in the Assembly, alleged that Thambidurai "sacrificed" constitutional ethos by making the appeal on his official letter pad that denoted the Office of the Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha, which is "very shameful." "Thambidurai's statement that 'Sasikala should become the Chief Minister' is out and out an act of sycophancy and constitutional ethos have been sacrificed by use of his official letter-head," Stalin said in a statement. "Just in case, if Thambidurai is in a situation that warranted him to demonstrate his loyalty to AIADMK, let him resign from his post of the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker and give as many statements as he desires," he said. The AIADMK leader should not use his Constitutional office to further his political task, Stalin said. Referring to a host of state ministers urging Sasikala to become the Chief Minister within a few weeks of Panneerselvam taking over the reins of Tamil Nadu, he cited the concept of collective cabinet responsibility and said such activities undermined the office of the Chief Minister. Stalin said Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao should ask Chief Minister O Panneerselvam to prove his majority on the floor of the House. Meanwhile, when asked by reporters at Coimbatore airport, Thambidurai declined to respond to Stalin's comments. On DMK leader's remarks that Chief Minister O Paneerselvam has to react to demands made by his ministers and senior AIADMK functionaries on the need for Sasikala to take over the chief ministership, Thambidurai said, "Opposition parties will always speak like that." He reiterated that as a loyal AIADMK worker he has appealed to the party general secretary, Sasikala to take over the Chief Ministership, as she was the only person capable of fulfilling the dreams and plans of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. New Delhi: Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi sparked a controversy on Tuesday while commenting on the mass molestation of women, who had gathered on Bengalurus MG Road to celebrate the New Year, as he purportedly put the blame on the victims. "In these modern times, the more women are naked, the more fashionable, modern and educated they are considered. And this is increasing in the country. This is a blot on our culture," he said, according to a report in NDTV. He went on to compare women with petrol and sugar, and said that the Indian culture does not allow women to party at night with men other than husband or brother. "It is not right for my sister or daughter to go for New Year parties with another man at night, when her brother or husband is not with her," Azmi said. If there is petrol, there will be fire. Where there is sugar, there are ants, he added. Drunken hooligans posing as revellers ran riot at Bengaluru's MG Road and Brigade Road, molesting and harassing women who had assembled to usher in the New Year. Commenting on the incident on Monday, Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwar blamed the "Western ways" of the youngsters for such incidents. Lucknow: It is still touch and go between father Mulayam Singh Yadav and defiant son and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav though they met for two hours Tuesday to hammer out a compromise formula on power-sharing. Amid the intense power tussle, Akhilesh met his father at his Lucknow home, leading to speculation that efforts were being made for a patch-up. However, some senior party leaders close to Akhilesh denied any such effort, saying it was "too late". After the meeting, a senior party leader close to Akhilesh told PTI that "it was too late. There is no scope for any settlement. The Election Commission will decide who will get SP's cycle". Sources said the compromise formula could have been this: Akhilesh Yadav would step down from his new post as Samajwadi Party president if the Mulayam-Shivpal camp allowed him to choose poll candidates. According to reports, Akhilesh is also said to be ready to restore presidentship of the partys state unit to Shivpal Yadav. On Sunday, Shivpals nameplate was forcibly removed from the party state headquarters by the chief ministers supporters. But it was reinstalled on Monday, said the reports. Earlier, Akhilesh Yadav visited Mulayam Singhs house after the SP patriarch had returned to Lucknow from New Delhi. This was following a phone call between the UP CM and his father, brokered by party leader Azam Khan. Mulayam Singh Yadav took a chartered flight from Delhi to Lucknow, reportedly accompanied by Gayatri Prajapati, a minister from Akhilesh Yadav's government. Earlier in the day, Akhilesh Yadav's mentor and uncle, Ram Gopal Yadav met the Election Commission to stake claim to the party symbol. Akhilesh confidante Ram Gopal Yadav asserted before the Election Commission that the party was "actually" headed by the UP CM and not its founder Mulayam Singh. On Monday, Mulayam drove down to Nirvachan Sadan, the EC headquarters, to inform the poll watchdog that he continued to head the party and the decision to anoint his son Akhilesh as its president by the rival faction was unconstitutional as per the SP constitution. Leaders loyal to Akhilesh Ram Gopal Yadav, Naresh Agarwal and Kiranmoy Nanda met the Commission this morning to stake claim over SP and its election symbol. All these leaders stand expelled from the SP by Mulayam Singh. The Akhilesh Yadav camp in the Samajwadi Party on Monday claimed that it has the support of 90 per cent of the partys members. According to reports, UP Chief Minister Akhilesh's supporters in the party also claimed they were not unduly worried about the prospect of the EC freezing the partys cycle symbol. Party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav is scheduled to visit the Election Commission Tuesday to submit Akhileshs claim as the new national president of the party. MLC Rajpal Kashyap said that over 90 per cent of delegates put their signatures on the proposals taken up at the national convention called by Ram Gopal Yadav, including on Akhileshs appointment as the party chief. There was a rush among party leaders to put their signatures. Most MLAs, MPs, zila panchayat chairpersons did so, he was quoted as saying. We will keep the cycle as our symbol. But let it be known that Akhilesh himself is the symbol of the election, he added. Akhilesh is keen to avoid further confrontation, now that the party leadership is in his hands, said reports. Sixteen of 20 Congress MLAs in the state spoke in favour of a pre-poll pact with the SP under the Chief Minister on Monday, breaking with the party leadership which has ruled out such an alliance. The MLAs claimed that Akhilesh is popular, has a clean image and secular credentials. As many as ten MLAs said the party should enter into an alliance with Akhilesh. Drivers claim Uber, Ola have not kept up promises made during hiring. They also want removal of the star-rating system used to tally incentives (Representational Image) Hyderabad: The city taxi chaos is set to intensify with the Telangana Cab Drivers and Owners Association (TCDOA) on Tuesday announcing that its members would start a hunger strike from Wednesday at Dharna Chowk. The drivers are alleging that cab agreggators Uber and Ola have not kept up the promises they made at the time of hiring and claim that the companies are yet to settle dues. They also want removal of the star-rating system used to tally incentives. Speaking at a press conference, the association president V. Shiva said that the strike launched four days back has been peaceful. The drivers intend to keep it that way but would continue until their demands are met. Well pay tributes to the martyrs at Gun Park at 9 am on Wednesday. After that, members of the taxi body will continue the protest with a hunger strike. All cab drivers associations in the city have joined us extending their support to our demands. However, the managements of Ola and Uber are bringing drivers from Karnataka and Mumbai to handle this crisis, he said. He alleged that some cab companies were replacing taxi plates with personal vehicle plates to avoid the protest and the RTA officials were ignoring the violations. We brought our demands to the notice of the government but there was no response. We want the introduction of a digital taxi system, he said. Telangana State Cabs Association, meanwhile, held a one-day hunger strike at the Indira Park against Ola and Uber cabs managements. Hyderabad: The stage is set to introduce and pass the Muslim Reservation Bill in the current Assembly session. The newly appointed Backward Class Commission has been asked to submit its report to the Chief Minister within the next few days. According to sources, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has decided to introduce and pass the Muslim Bill before the end of the current session i.e. January 11. The Bill will still have to be referred to the Central government to bring it under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution by using powers under 31 (B) of the Constitution to protect the laws made by State Legislatures like it was done in the case of the Tamil Nadu government Reservations Bill in 1992. Parliament, through a special Act, will have to give such protection. The Chief Minister had promised 12 per cent reservation to backward Muslim communities and had appointed the G. Sudheer Commission to look into all aspects of the matter. The Commission has submitted a voluminous report and recommended reservation for these sections. When it was brought to the notice of the state government that a Backward Classes Commission recommendation is necessary for adopting the Bill, the government very recently appointed the commission, headed by social activist B.S. Ramulu. So far we have held five days of meetings, invited all sections to represent the matter and received 50,000 representations, one of the members of the BC Commission said. Legislation in current session So far we have held five days of meetings, invited all sections to represent the matter and received 50,000 representations and now we are finalising our report, one of the members of the BC Commission told Deccan Chronicle. The BC Commission has relied on the Sudheer Commission report for most of its findings. The Sudheer Commission report was exhaustive. All material evidence showed that most Muslim communities are backward, and it obtained information from official records. As such, there is no need for us to go to the districts to collect fresh information. We can append the Sudheer Commission findings also in our report, said the BC Commission member. Meanwhile, as per the Chief Ministers directive, a senior official in the Secretariat was vested with the responsibility of preparing the Bill to increase reservation for Muslims. I cannot rule out the possibility of bringing in the legislation in the current session. We are preparing the Bill; as and when we get clearance, it will be sent to the cabinet for approval, said the official. According to a minister, once the BC Commission report reaches the Chief Minister, he will convene the cabinet to approve the report, and again for approving the draft bill, which will be introduced in the House. Chennai: The National Domestic Workers Movement (NDWM), Chennai, has sought immediate intervention of central government and the state government to save two Indians from the death penalty that was confirmed by Supreme Court of Qatar on Monday. Sister, M. Valarmathi, state coordinator for NDWM, said Perumal Chelladurai (44), a construction worker from Virudhunagar, visited Doha with a work permit in 2011. Three months after he reached Qatar, he was accused of killing an elderly woman. Construction workers, Subramaniam of Pudukottai district and Sivakumar Arasan, Kallakurichi were also accused in the case. Doha court claimed that Subramaniam allegedly murdered the woman and Chelladurai was with him at the time of the crime and Sivakumar was part of planning the murder. They were incarcerated for five years. The Doha court gave the Indian government time until July 30, 2016 to appeal. The Embassy of India at Doha filed an appeal against the conviction. Earlier, while confirming death sentence of Perumal and Subramaniam, the court commuted Sivakumar's death sentence to life imprisonment. Valarmathi said, based on the request from their family members, the Tamil Nadu government rendered assistance in pursuing the matter in the court and paid Rs 9.5 lakh towards legal fees. On Monday, disposing of the final appeal, the Supreme Court of Qatar confirmed the death sentences of Perumal and Subramanian. The family members of Perumal and Subramanian have also requested the central government and state government to intervene in the matter immediately with the authorities concerned on their mercy petitions and initiate appropriate action to save them from the death penalty. New Delhi: In an apparent reference to Pakistan, a member of US President-elect Donald Trump's transition team has said that the incoming President will not tolerate dual role from India's neighbour. "The President-elect has made that policy very very clear that he is not going to tolerate dual role from India's neighbours," transition team member Shalab Kumar said. He added that the prime objective during the first year of Trump's presidency is to increase trade between Washington and New Delhi to $300 billion from $100 billion a year. "Through that trade you will have more than a million jobs created in US and same way in India you will have more than 8-9 million jobs in manufacturing sector. India has already excelled in software," said Kumar. Republican Hindu Coalition India Ambassador and Trump supporter Manasvi Mamgai also said that Trump is going to be the best USA President for India so far as he has shown vocal support to New Delhi. Srinagar: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Tuesday asked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to accept responsibility for the killing of civilians during the last six-month unrest in the valley. Speaking on the second day of the Budget Session in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, the former chief minister said there had also been unrest in the valley in 2008 and 2010 but the opposition was not blamed for that. "The situation in 2010 cannot be compared with that of 2016. We did not blame Pakistan or the opposition for the situation. I did not blame my officials in 2010. We made mistakes and I accepted making mistakes while handling the situation," he said. He further said that the state government completely failed in dealing with the situation after the killing of militant Burhan Wani on July 8 last year and added that the Chief Minister should accept the responsibility for the failure of her administration. "Mehbooba Mufti ji you blamed Jawharlal Nehru , Sheikh Abdullah , Indira Gandhi but never have you said that it was your fault , the people of the state want to know that for the first time in history that such a long curfew was imposed," he added. The worst of sexually frustrated Indian male behaviour was in evidence on New Years Eve in Bengaluru. As if groping women who were celebrating the arrival of a New Year was not despicable enough came the reaction of none other than the home minister of the state whose comment was shocking enough to permanently scar the psyche of women in India. Not only did he brush away the incidents in the cosmopolitan heart of the acclaimed IT capital of the country as just some things that happen during revelry but also blamed it on the Western culture that the younger generation was adapting. And he wasnt the only reactionary in the land. Uttar Pradeshs SP politicians are notorious for their flighty comments on rape and such other crimes that violate the body and soul of women. Abu Asim Azmi was the one who carried the torch for all the male chauvinists of India by blaming women for mans sexual predatory behaviour. He attributed the male reaction in Bengaluru on that evening to womens nudity as fashion in the form of short dresses that they tend to wear. The candid eyes of CCTV cameras may have recorded the gory incidents of sexual abuse in graphic detail. Even so, the police are yet to lay their hands on any of the hundreds of culprits, ostensibly because there have been no complaints from the women who were molested. If this is the attitude of the city police under a new commissioner who took over on January 1, we can well imagine how safe we make Indian women feel by such apathy to their plight in a land of depraved males. The Bengaluru police must crack down on the culprits so that a warning goes out to all men that their animal sexual behaviour will not be tolerated in this society. A constitution bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur passed a landmark judgment on Monday and ruled that seeking votes in elections in the name of religion, caste, race or language would constitute a corrupt practice. The significance of the judgment, which came a day before the superannuation of Mr Thakur, cannot be lost sight of. The constitution bench was revisiting earlier judgments in respect of elections and the misuse of religion (and other social factors, invoking which can be divisive), including one of 1995, in which the then CJI, Justice J.S. Verma had equated Hindutva with Hinduism and called it a way of life, implying that reference to it cannot sully an election. The Monday judgment was on petitions challenging the 1995 position. In that sense, it acquires special meaning since votaries of the political philosophy of Hindutva had assumed that appeal to voters in the name of this political creed would not attract a penalty under Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act as only a way of life was implied and not political communalism. The judgment was passed 4:3. It is true, as the dissenting judges have argued, that for seven decades India has run as a secular state and invocation of religion or particular castes has not played a noteworthy role in elections and, as such, there was no need to amplify the meaning or interpretation of Article 123 of the RPA. However, the minority section of the constitution bench appears to have failed to appreciate the confusion created by the 1995 verdict equating Hindutva with a way of life. Since the constitution bench led by the CJI was looking at the matter with that point of reference, imagine the malign impact (on the eve of crucial polls in Uttar Pradesh and four other states) if the verdict had kept silent on invoking Hindutva or Hinduism in the forthcoming election campaign or, worse, implied that this was non-prejudicial and kosher. Seen in this perspective, the majority led by the CJI was not over-reaching and seeking to embark on a course of legislation by the judiciary. Given the countrys bewildering diversities, Indian democracy is a complex project, which has been fairly successful and has been guided by the genius of its people. But the risk of majoritarian tendencies taking hold politically and socially, with the inevitability of this impacting the election process, needs to be guarded against. Already there have been periods when the risk of religion and caste casting a shadow on the poll process has seemed high. The Monday judgment can be framed in this broad context. The judicial relief would help to strengthen the faith of our minorities in our election process. From Moscow, Vladimir Putin has seized the momentum of [the West's] unraveling, exacting critical damage to the underpinnings of the liberal world order in a shockingly short time. As he builds a new system to replace the one we know, attempts by America and its allies to repair the damage have been limited and slow. Even this week, as Barack Obama tries to confront Russias open and unprecedented interference in our political process, the outgoing White House is so far responding to 21st century hybrid information warfare with last centurys diplomatic toolkit: the expulsion of spies, targeted sanctions, potential asset seizure. The incoming administration, while promising a new approach, has betrayed a similar lack of vision. Their promised attempt at another reset with Russia is a rehash of a policy that has utterly failed the past two American administrations. What both administrations fail to realize is that the West is already at war, whether it wants to be or not. It may not be a war we recognize, but it is a war. This war seeks, at home and abroad, to erode our values, our democracy, and our institutional strength; to dilute our ability to sort fact from fiction, or moral right from wrong; and to convince us to make decisions against our own best interests. Putins Real Long Game I can't believe I'm going to say this.....Trump might be the person to stand up to Putin. With all his nicey-nicey-ness, and unpredictability, he might be the man.This article completely sums up the New World in which we live. As I said, Trump's characteristics might be precisely what is needed to counter Putin.If you don't read at least the first two sections of this article, don't bother making a reply. If you care to understand what's going on, I strongly suggest your reading this well-written article. Hazrat Bahauddin Zakariya Multani the founder of the Suhrawardi Sufi order in India was a luminary Muslim mystic. A contemporary of the great Sufi saints like Baba Farid, Bahauddin Zakariya was highly venerated by both the sultans (kings) and dervishes (saints) of his age. Born in 1182 in Multan a part of north-western India then Zakariya was the most leading dervish in his time. His Suhrawardi spiritual order became the most prominent after the Chishti Sufi order in India. One of the glorious aspects of his mystic worldview that can illuminate the modern money-driven people was his dealing with wealth. His reflections on retaining money for the purpose of cleansing greed and cultivating generosity can guide the Sufi practitioners and all the spiritually-inclined people today. Bahauddin Zakariya developed a notion of wealth that differed from the common perception of Sufis. He believed that Sufis should not shun gaining material resources. Rather, they should be well-equipped to serve society in financial terms too. But Sufi Hamiduddin Nagauri, a disciple of Hazrat Khwaja Garib Nawaz the master of Chishti tradition could not reconcile with this idea. He sent a letter in which he expressed his disagreement with the view of Zakariya Multani. He wrote: As treasure and serpent are linked in form, so, they are associated in the reality too. Thus, wealth is a serpent (a snake) and anyone who retains wealth actually rears a serpent. In his reply to Hamiduddin Nagauri, Zakariya Multani wrote: Although wealth is a serpent, those who have learnt the incantation to overcome the venom, need not have any fear from the serpent. In fact, Zakariya Multani sought to inculcate the ethical and spiritual spirit in the material and financial affairs of life. He aimed at cleansing the mundane human greed for money and exhorting a divine approach towards wealth that results in abundant generosity for the less fortunate. Zakariya spent all his family fortune that he inherited from his affluent father for those in need. Besides, he earned a lot more to increase his generosity with wealth. Soon after he established his khanqah (Sufi hospice) at Multan, he constructed numerous learning centres and madrasas, which housed not only the poor students, but also the shelterless people and needy travellers. He ran a large Langarkhana (kitchen in the Sufi shrines for the free distribution of food), apart from several water wells, canals and farm fields for the poor. His generosity became so great that Multans governor, Nasiruddin Qabacha, became jealous of him and later conspired against him. The governor made every possible attempt to discredit the Sufi saints image among his followers, but to no avail. Zakariya taught his disciples that Sufi practitioners must earn a good livelihood on their own, but with the belief that the gain and loss of money makes no difference to their spiritual worldview. Both existence and non-existence of wealth means the same thing for Sufis. They dont feel pleasure in their possession of wealth nor do they regret over their loss. Once Zakariya asked his murid (disciple) to give all money from the container to beggars. But the money container was missing. Hearing this, Zakariya recited: Masha Allah. Soon after this, the same disciple turned up and reported that the container had been found. Zakariyas words were the same: Masha Allah. Smartphone component maker Wistron, which counts Apple among its customers, has applied for permission to expand its plant in Bengaluru, a high-ranking regional government official said on Monday. The Taiwanese contract manufacturer has also requested that its application be fast-tracked, the official at the state government of Karnataka told Reuters. The move comes less than two weeks after the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple was in talks with the Indian government about the possibility of assembling products in one of the world's biggest smartphone markets, where the US tech firm controls less than 2 per cent. Apple setting up production in India would be a significant win for the government which has embarked on a major campaign to attract global manufacturers under the slogan "Make in India". "Wistron has approached us to expedite certain clearances with regards to the augmentation and expansion of its existing unit," said the official, who was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter and so declined to be identified. Whether Apple will begin manufacturing in India is unknown, but Wistron's desire to expand "pretty quickly" could represent "several steps in that direction," the official said. Apple did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Wistron could not be reached for comment. Analysts have said local manufacturing could come as part of a wider strategy for Apple to expand in India and even lower prices after Chief Executive Tim Cook visited the country in May and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Certainly that (local manufacturing) will help in some level of cost optimization," said Gartner research director Anshul Gupta. "Because looking at the current tax structure, local facilities do provide some kind of cost advantage." Another of Apple's Taiwanese suppliers, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd - commonly known as Foxconn - also has a manufacturing facility in southern India. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. The app, which can be downloaded from Google Playstore, is currently available in Hindi and English, and support for more languages is expected soon. Indigenous digital payments app BHIM has been downloaded 3 million times and enabled over 5 lakh transactions since its launch, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said today. "Bhim App - 3 million download since launch, No 1 on Playstore in India amongst all apps, over 500,000 transactions since launch. #MakeinIndia," Kant said in a tweet. In a bid to further push adoption of e-payments in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 30 launched the BHIM app that will enable fast and secure cashless transactions using mobile phones. Named after the architect of the Indian Constitution, Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar, the Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) is a simplified payment platform designed to make Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and USSD payment modes simpler and usable across feature phones and smart phones. Developed by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), BHIM is supported by host of banks, including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Punjab National Bank, among others. The app, which can be downloaded from Google Playstore, is currently available in Hindi and English, and support for more languages is expected soon. BHIM is interoperable with other Unified Payment Interface (UPI) applications and bank accounts. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Facebook and other social media to identify religious artefacts stolen from temples around the country and secure their return. (representational image) Chennai: By day, Arvind Venkatraman works as a software engineer in India's tech hub Chennai. But in his spare time, he is an international art detective whose efforts have helped bring back some of his country's most valuable antiquities. Venkatraman is part of a group of art enthusiasts known as the India Pride Project (IPP) who are using Facebook and other social media to identify religious artefacts stolen from temples around the country and secure their return. Art theft is big business all over India. But the richest pickings are in Venkatraman's home state of Tamil Nadu, where centuries-old religious artefacts with huge potential sale values in the West lie largely unprotected in out-of-the-way rural temples. Two years ago, the IPP claimed a significant victory when the National Gallery of Australia returned a $5 million bronze statue of the Hindu god Shiva that had been stolen from a Tamil Nadu temple. At first Venkatraman says the gallery, which is now suing the Manhattan dealership that sold it the statue, was reluctant to entertain the idea that its purchase was stolen. So the IPP organised a social media campaign using images comparing the stolen idol with the one on display at the museum. "Initially typically there is a denial," he told AFP in Chennai. "Whether it's Australia, Europe, Singapore or the US, initially there will be resistance from the museum curators... because they've spent a lot of money and they wouldn't want to let go of an object." The idol is among those allegedly trafficked by Subhash Kapoor, a former Manhattan art dealer who was the subject of a massive US federal investigation known as Operation Hidden Idol. Kapoor was arrested in Germany in 2012 and is now on trial in India, accused of conspiring in the theft, trafficking and sale of religious idols. He denies all charges. Many of the antiquities he dealt in dated back to the 11th and 12th centuries, when the Chola dynasty presided over a flourishing of Hindu art in Tamil Nadu. 'Easy prey' "This operation went on for many years," said Prateep V Philip, who heads Tamil Nadu's Idol Wing -- India's only police team dedicated to tackling art theft. "He (Kapoor) was himself not on the scene, but he was the mastermind." Philip said Kapoor won over the international art world by donating millions of dollars' worth of pieces to museums in the United States. He ran his own freight company in India, allegedly concealing priceless antiques among modern replicas. "Whenever a theft took place in the past, sometimes people were not even aware," said Philip, describing the thousands of small shrines that dot the state as "easy prey". "It would be a derelict temple only visited at certain times of the year. So when a theft took place it was discovered long after." This means much of India's stolen sacred art is never even registered as missing, allowing it to be bought and sold on the international market. Solving the puzzle Donna Yates, who lectures in antiquities trafficking at the University of Glasgow, said she was "absolutely flabbergasted" when it emerged the Australian gallery's statue was stolen. "If you'd asked me in 2011 (before Kapoor's arrest) whether this kind of thing was still possible, I'd have said no. I believed the due diligence of museums had vastly improved," she said in a phone interview. Since the arrest, Washington has returned hundreds of artefacts recovered under Operation Hidden Idol to India. But idols are still disappearing. This year, Philip's team arrested an art dealer in Chennai after recovering hundreds of metal and stone statues of Hindu gods from a warehouse. Yates believes the grassroots work of the IPP in documenting cases of theft and bringing them to public attention is crucial -- and unmatched anywhere in the world. "The amount that they've been able to do with zero resources is amazing. It has happened nowhere else," she said. The volunteers, who are all passionate about Indian art, go through old catalogues from auction houses, using any blemishes or imperfections to match lots with idols stolen from temples. Founded by two Singapore-based art enthusiasts, it now includes activists from all over the world. The work is unpaid, but Venkatraman says it is all worth it when an idol is returned to the temple it belongs in. "When finally the idol is restituted, the temple comes alive," he said. "It's a kind of cycle... Once that cycle is complete it's like saying, ok, the puzzle is finally solved." Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Parents James and Bethany Modisette are suing Apple for damages on the basis that Apple failed to implement a safe design for FaceTime that can prevent driver from using the app while travelling, court document show. A Texas couple is suing after their 5-year-old daughter was killed in car crash. The couple claims that the driver who rammed into their car was distracted by Apple FaceTime app. Parents James and Bethany Modisette are suing Apple for damages on the basis that Apple failed to implement a safe design for FaceTime that can prevent driver from using the app while travelling, court document show. The lawsuit also claims that the electronic giant failed "to warn users that the product was likely to be dangerous when used or misused" or to instruct on its safe usage. The accident occurred on December 25th in 2014 near Dallas. According to the lawsuit, the Modisette family was driving in a Toyota Camry, with daughter Moriah, 5, in a booster seat in the left rear passenger seat and her sister, Isabella, next to her in the right rear seat. Another driver, Garrett Wilhelm, traveling in his Toyota 4Runner allegedly had his attention towards the FaceTime app on his phone, the suit says. "As a result of that distraction, his Toyota 4Runner, while travelling at full highway speed (65 mph), struck the Modisette family car from behind, causing it to be propelled forward, rotate, and come to a final rest at an angle facing the wrong direction in the right lane of traffic," the suit says. The crash caused extensive damage to the driver's side of the Modisettes' car, and rescue workers had to extract both the father and 5-year-old Moriah from the car, the suit says. According to the suit, the father was in critical condition, while the mother and Isabella were rushed to the regional medical centre. Moriah was airlifted to the nearest childrens hospital where she was later declared dead. "Wilhelm told police at the scene that he was using FaceTime on his iPhone at the time of the crash, and the police located his iPhone at the crash scene with the FaceTime application still active," the suit claims. The Modisettes contend in their suit that, "At the time of the collision in question, the iPhone utilized by Wilhelm contained the necessary hardware (to be configured with software) to automatically disable or 'lock-out' the ability to use [FaceTime] ... However, Apple failed to configure the iPhone to automatically lock-out the ability to utilize FaceTime while driving at highway speeds, despite having the technical capability to do so. Wilhelm was indicted on manslaughter charges by a grand jury in Denton County, Texas,. He has been out of jail on bail since August, and a jury trial in the case is scheduled for Feb. 27, the Record-Chronicle reports. Wilhelms lawyer, Ricky Perritt, issued the follow statement: "The Wilhelm family offers their thoughts and prayers for the family of the young lady who lost her life in this tragic accident. We are confident that after all the facts are brought out in Court, it will be shown that the use of a cellular device did not contribute and Mr. Wilhelm did not commit a crime ... it was simply an accident." Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. WhatsApp, the most popular messaging app platform, is used by more than 95 per cent smartphone owners in India. However, a few smartphones will no longer be able to use WhatsApp anymore. These phones are not completely blocked, but they will lose out on a lot of upcoming features. In short, users having these smartphones will only be able to use WhatsApp till the app is compatible. According to a statement released earlier last year, WhatsApp will no longer have support for a few Symbian, BBOS, Windows, Android and iOS operating system versions. WhatsApp had announced that December 31, 2016 will be the last day for support for some older smartphones that are still in use. Those having older Android, iOS and Windows phones and others having feature phones with Symbian and BBOS will be affected. The move from WhatsApp came through since market predictions reveal feature phones will be overtaken by smartphones from 2017, probably putting an end to feature phones completely. Users with these smartphone should know that their WhatsApp information could be at higher risks. Using WhatsApp on older smartphone operating systems and on feature phones could pose a higher security threat later since there would be no more updates and security patches from the WhatsApp development team. Third-party developers would opt for the versions and tweak it in order to make them function. However, using a third-party or tweaked application is never recommended and can contain spyware, adware or malware. WhatsApp had announced the end of support for the said operating systems on their blog in February. So, by the end of 2016, we will be ending support for WhatsApp Messenger on the following mobile platforms: BlackBerry, including BlackBerry 10 Nokia S40 Nokia Symbian S60 Android 2.1 and Android 2.2 Windows Phone 7.1 iPhone 3GS/iOS 6 While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don't offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app's features in the future. If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer Android, iPhone, or Windows Phone before the end of 2016 to continue using WhatsApp. Those using older smartphones and feature phones are advised to upgrade to a latest smartphone if they want to continue using WhatsApp in future. Mass officiated by Bishop Thomas L. Dupre, third from right, at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge. (Photo: AP) Springfield: Former Bishop Thomas Dupre, the first Roman Catholic bishop in the United States to be indicted on a sexual-abuse claim during the flood of abuse accusations against church officials, has died. He was 83. Dupre died on Friday, the Diocese of Springfield said. He died outside the diocese, but the location and the cause of his death weren't disclosed. Dupre, who became bishop in the mid-1990s, cited health reasons for his sudden retirement in 2004. Months later he was indicted on charges he raped two boys in the 1970s, but the case was dropped because prosecutors determined the statute of limitations had expired. Before Dupre became bishop he had been an aide of Bishop Joseph Maguire, who led the diocese from 1977 to 1992 and faced allegations following retirement that clergy sex abuse and a cover-up of that abuse had happened on his watch. In 2009, a man alleged in a lawsuit a known pedophile priest molested him at St. Patrick's Parish in Williamstown in the early 1980s, when he was a boy. He said Maguire and Dupre knew the priest had abused other boys but assigned him to the church anyway. Dupre testified for a deposition in the man's lawsuit but repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Dupre's lawyer tried unsuccessfully to have the judge impound a videotape of the deposition, saying the accuser merely wanted to use it to embarrass Dupre and embarrass the church. In 2012, the man reached a $500,000 settlement. Maguire apologized for the man's suffering, saying, "I only wish that in 1976, as a new bishop, I could have foreseen the true nature of one who violated our trust with such devastating harm to his victims." Dupre was defrocked by the Vatican in 2006. The priest also was defrocked. Maguire died in 2014 at age 95. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, which covers western Massachusetts and has more than 200,000 members, has paid more than $12 million to sex abuse victims since 2004. It said in 2008 it had paid $4.5 million to 59 victims in a settlement that included a personal donation from Dupre. Three people who said they were abused by Dupre were included in the settlement, and the prelate gave his own money to fund a portion of payments to two victims, diocese spokesman Mark Dupont said. Dupre's funeral arrangements will be private, Dupont said on Monday. Washington: President-elect Donald Trump has assured Americans that North Korea will not test an intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach the US even as he criticised China for failing to help rein in its reclusive ally's nuclear ambitions. His comments come a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un in his televised New Year address appeared to try to put pressure on Trump by announcing that Pyongyang is in the "final stages" of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) which can carry nuclear warheads. "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US," Trump tweeted. "It won't happen!" It was not clear if Trump, who is scheduled to be sworn-in as US President on January 20, was expressing doubts about North Korea's nuclear capabilities or was planning preventative action. He went on to repeat his claim that China was not doing enough to help the US rein in North Korea and its leader, saying, "China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the US in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice!" Trump wrote. Since winning the election, Trump has suggested at least twice that China, North Korea's economic benefactor and only real ally is not pulling its weight when it comes to reining in Kim Jong Un's regime. Although the US has made it clear that it would never accept North Korea as a nuclear state, this is probably the first time Trump has clearly stated his policy on the isolated Stalinist state. In his speech, Kim had said North Korea was now a "military power of the East that cannot be touched by even the strongest enemy". North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests over the last year, raising fears that it has made significant nuclear advances. But it has never successfully test-fired long-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Experts estimate it might take less than five years for North Korea to test-fire an ICBM. But experts say the country has made enormous strides in the missile and nuclear fields since Kim took over as leader from his father Kim Jong-Il, who died in December 2011. The 70-year-old real estate billionaire-turned-politician has long been critical of Mr Obamas moves on immigration, energy regulation and foreign policy. Washington: Donald Trump plans to repeal a number of President Barack Obamas executive actions in his first day in the White House that he feels have hampered both economic growth and job creation, the US President-elects close aide said on Monday. Sean Spicer, the incoming White House press secretary, said on ABCs This Week that Mr Trump will immediately repeal a lot of the regulations and actions that have been taken by this administration over the last eight years that have hampered both economic growth and job creation. It was one of two moves Spicer, who served as the Republican National Committees communications director before jumping to the Trump team, said Mr Trump will make immediately after he takes the oath of office on January 20. He did not specify which executive actions Mr Trump will repeal. However, the 70-year-old real estate billionaire-turned-politician has long been critical of Mr Obamas moves on immigration, energy regulation and foreign policy, and could look for ways to undo those and other actions. Mr Spicer also defended Mr Trumps cryptic comments that he knows things that other people dont know about allegations of Russian hacking. Mr Spicer told Fox News Channels Fox & Friends that Mr Trump is getting national security briefings on a daily basis and there doesnt seem to be conclusive evidence Russians were behind the hacking of Democratic emails during the election. He dismissed a report by the FBI and Homeland Security supporting the accusations against Russia, calling it a how-to manual on basic cybersecurity for Democrats. In an interview on NBCs Today Show, he said President Barack Obama only punished Russia after Democrat Hillary Clinton lost the election and that the recent sanctions were politically motivated. Cashing in on Trump A hotel resort owned by Donald Trump made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling tickets to a New Years party attended by the President-elect, according to a report. $4,20,000 profits from tickets to the New Years party. $525 each of the ticket for members of the luxury resort. $575 each for guests, an anonymous source told Politico. Mr Trumps transition team declined to comment on the ticket prices. The burglars made off with around USD 6 million in gems and are still at large. (Photo: Representational Image) New York: In a Hollywood-style New Year's eve robbery, a trio of burglars broke into a Manhattan jewellery store whose owner was away in India and managed to flee with USD 6 million worth of precious gems. Three hooded and masked men broke into the jewellery store on Sunday while 7,000 policemen were distracted protecting Times Square revellers just a few blocks away. "They laid in wait until the ball dropped," a law- enforcement source told the New York Post of the heist which appears to be an inside job. The source said the thieves "100 per cent" planned the heist to coincide with the ball drop. They made off with around USD 6 million in gems and are still at large, police sources were quoted as saying. The burglars were caught on video inside Gregg Ruth, a commercial jewellery store known for its rare yellow and pink diamonds. One of the robbers, a bearded white male in a hood without a mask, looks straight into the camera during the heist, surveillance footage shows. They came in through a freight entrance to the sixth floor business and then used a hammer and crowbar to break a lock, gaining access to a room containing four safes, the report said. The gloved suspects removed diamond-encrusted and 18 karat gold bracelets, earrings and necklaces from two of the safes. The safes were either already open or the burglars knew the combination, stuffing the pricey merchandise into several backpacks, sources were quoted as saying. The two unopened safes contained another estimated USD 7 million in merchandise. The lock boxes were on loan to the wholesaler, who was in the process of building a more secure vault. The footage shows one of the suspects talking on a cell phone while he is opening the safe, perhaps receiving the combination from a fourth person, the report said. The trio then fled down a stairwell in the beige, 16- storey office tower that lacks any exterior signage about its sixth-floor tenant. A person who works in the building said the owner was likely "embarrassed" by the incident. "It's a black eye for their company. They couldn't secure it. That money, a lot of money it's embarrassing," the source said. A police source was quoted as saying the owner is out of the country in India. RNG said: One of the things we will be finding out, given the degree of difference between Obama and Trump, is whether Obama turned out poorly or is it that the system has so much inertia that one person, even a president can't really make a significant change in the nation's course. The problem of course is that it is not a single variable experiment as the makeup of Congress and even the senior civil service all have bearing on it. Click to expand... That's a very good point, RNG. A couple of thoughts. I don't remember a time in my voting history where there was such a great divide. WE have chalked it up to all kinds of things: race, policies, personalities, fringe, religion. But I'm not sure we've nailed it--or at least I'm not convinced that we have. So your comment interested me about possibly even a president can't really make a change in the nation's course any more.We have had many different personalities in our presidents, but they also had a lot in common--charm/charisma, brilliance, education, ambition, some type of experience in governing (congress, governor, military). But maybe it boils down to personality now?? One thing is for sure. There's no way we will be more united after the Trump presidency is over. Washington: The US administration has initiated the process for peacefully resolving the current Indus water dispute between India and Pakistan, according to official sources. The latest dispute concerns two hydroelectric power plants - Kishanganga and Ratle - that India is building on the Indus rivers system. Pakistan believes that the projects violate the design parameters of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), which provides specific criteria for such plants. According to a report by Dawn, US Secretary of State John Kerry called Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar earlier this week to discuss different options for an amicable settlement of the dispute. After the call, US Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale also met Dar at the Finance Ministry in Islamabad for further talks. The initiative stems from the fear the US administration shares with the World Bank that the dispute may harm the treaty that has effectively resolved water disputes between India and Pakistan for more than half a century. Earlier, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim wrote to the Finance Ministers of India and Pakistan, informing them that he has 'paused' the requested arbitration and asked them to decide by the end of January how they wanted to settle the dispute. Pakistan has asked the World Bank to appoint chairman of the court of arbitration while India has demanded the appointment of a neutral expert. However on December 23, Dar told the bank that Pakistan was not withdrawing its request and since the process had already been "inordinately delayed," the bank should appoint chairman of the court of arbitration as soon as possible. Two days later, Kim called Dar for further talks, followed by Secretary Kerry who called the Finance Minister during the Christmas holidays. It is unusual for a US official to do so, particularly because the Obama administration completes its final tenure on January 20. Usually, the outgoing administration leaves such issues for the incoming administration to tackle. "But seriousness of this dispute, particularly the fear that it may harm the treaty, forced Mr. Kerry to make this call," said an official source. Diplomatic observers in Washington say that since the United States has facilitated the Indus Waters Treaty, it feels obliged to take a proactive role in this matter. Pakistan took its case to the World Bank in September 2016, after the differences on the designs of the two plants were discussed but could not be resolved in the 108th, 109th, 110th, 111th and 112th meetings of the Permanent Commission for Indus Waters, comprising one commissioner from each country. Mr. C holds up the arbitration results while posing for a photo at a government office in Guiyang in southwestern China's Guizhou province. (Photo: AP) Beijing: A Chinese transgender man tasted victory on Tuesday after a court ruled he had been illegally fired in the country's first such unfair dismissal case, even though it cleared the company of discrimination. The plaintiff, who was born a woman but identifies himself as a man and generally wears men's clothing, was sacked working at a health centre for seven days in the south-western province of Guizhou, reports said. The Guiyang Yunyan district people's court ordered the company to pay the man, known as Mr C, 843 yuan ($121) in salary as well as compensation of 1,500 yuan, Chinese outlet The Paper reported. But the court decided last month there was a lack of evidence he was dismissed because of discrimination against transgender people, it said. Mr. C said on Tuesday that he was "quite happy" with the result. "It is the first case in China where a sexual minority wins," he said. "It is also a piece of good news for the community." But the ruling that discrimination was not involved showed that "legislation in this field requires greater attention", he added. Mr. C sued after losing a complaint at a labour arbitration panel, which ruled he was fired for lacking "adequate skills". Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people have won wider acceptance in large Chinese cities in recent years but conservative attitudes persist. Activists say they face widespread discrimination and have attempted to use the courts to push their cause. A Chinese court ruled against two men seeking to marry last month. In 2014, a Beijing court ordered a clinic to pay a gay man compensation for administering electric shocks in an attempt to make him heterosexual. Seoul: South Korea said on Tuesday that US President-elect Donald Trump had sent a "clear warning" to North Korea with a tweet dismissing Pyongyang's ballistic missile claims. "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US," Trump tweeted. "It won't happen!" Trump's tweet came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un appeared to try to pressure the incoming president by announcing his country is in the "final stages" of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Kim also said his country had significantly bolstered its nuclear arsenal in 2016. Washington has repeatedly vowed that it would never accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed nation, but Trump has not previously clearly stated his policy on the isolated Stalinist state. "President-elect Trump's message is significant since it is his first mention of North Korea's nuclear programme and can be seen as a clear warning," South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-Hyuck told a briefing. Cho said the incoming US administration was clearly aware of the "gravity and urgency" of Pyongyang's nuclear threat thanks to South Korea's "active outreach". US policy on the North would remain largely unchanged, he said. "They are maintaining an unwavering stance on the need for sanctions on North Korea," Cho said. In a New Year's speech on Sunday, Kim did not make a specific reference to the incoming Trump administration. But he called on Washington to make a "resolute decision to withdraw its anachronistic hostile North Korea policy". Analysts are divided over how close Pyongyang is to realising its full nuclear ambitions, especially as it has never successfully test-fired an ICBM. However, it carried out two nuclear tests and numerous missile launches last year alone in pursuit of its oft-stated goal -- developing a weapons system capable of hitting the US mainland with a nuclear warhead. Seoul: South Korea said Tuesday that US president-elect Donald Trump had sent a "clear warning" to North Korea with a tweet dismissing Pyongyang's ballistic missile claims. "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US," Trump tweeted. "It won't happen!" Trump's tweet came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un appeared to try to pressure the incoming president by announcing his country is in the "final stages" of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Kim also said his country had significantly bolstered its nuclear arsenal last year. Washington has repeatedly vowed that it would never accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed nation, but Trump has not previously clearly stated his policy on the isolated Stalinist state. "President-elect Trump's message is significant since it is his first mention of North Korea's nuclear programme and can be seen as a clear warning," South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-Hyuck told a briefing. Cho said the incoming US administration was clearly aware of the "gravity and urgency" of Pyongyang's nuclear threat thanks to South Korea's "active outreach". US policy on the North would remain largely unchanged, he said. "They are maintaining an unwavering stance on the need for sanctions on North Korea," Cho said. In a New Year's speech on Sunday, Kim did not make a specific reference to the incoming Trump administration. But he called on Washington to make a "resolute decision to withdraw its anachronistic hostile North Korea policy". Analysts are divided over how close Pyongyang is to realizing its full nuclear ambitions, especially as it has never successfully test-fired an ICBM. However, it carried out two nuclear tests and numerous missile launches last year alone in pursuit of its oft-stated goal developing a weapons system capable of hitting the US mainland with a nuclear warhead. The baby came into the world at 12.01 am, just a minute into the New Year. (Photo: Representational Image) London: Britain's first baby of 2017 is an Indian-origin girl, who came into the world at 12.01 am, just a minute into the New Year. 35-year-old Bharti Devi, gave birth to the 6 pounds, 8 ounce baby girl Ellina Kumari at City Hospital in Birmingham, just seconds after Big Ben stopped chiming. Speaking from her hospital bed, Bharti, a housewife, told the Sun, "She is doing well and is healthy. I was five days overdue so we expected her to be born in 2016 but the longer the labour went on I thought it might go into 2017." Bharti also has a two-year-old son Ariv Kumar with sales assistant husband Ashwani Kumar. "We did not really get the chance to celebrate the New Year at midnight because I was just about to give birth. It is really exciting to think she is the first baby born in Britain in 2017, it is definitely something special to tell her when she is grown up," she added. The new father said he is an "extremely proud dad". "Bharti and Ellina both being healthy is the main thing. But it is incredible to think she is the first baby of the whole year. New Year will be extra special from now on," he said. The new mother and baby were looked after by midwife Zulekha Samsodien, who described the birth as "special". "It is special that she is the first baby of 2017 anywhere in the country, it is something to be proud of. We've had a couple of deliveries since as well which is really nice," she said. Veneto: Catholic Father Andrea Contin, 48, a parish priest in the northern city of Padua in Veneto is under investigation for allegedly organising orgies in the rectory and pimping out about 15 of his lovers. The charges brought against him are of making a living off immoral earnings and psychological violence, Independent reported. Following complaints of three female parishioners, various sex toys and home pornographic videos were seized from the church premises. Some of the videos were hidden in covers bearing the names of all the popes. As reported by The Times, he even got some of the women involved with men from wife swapping websites. Besides that, it has also been alleged that he took some of his lovers to naturist and swingers' resorts in Cap d'Agde on the southern French coast. There were complaints against him last summer, but they were not registered with the police. The Church authorities claimed to carry out their own investigation. One of the women, who claimed to have had an affair with the priest, told Il Mattino di Padova: There were a lot of women hovering around him. I didnt understand that at first, only later. The mayor, Paolo Tonin, said, "They are also trying to protect him from the clamour of this story that has now gone national." Father Contin is under investigation by the prosecutor, but he has not been arrested yet. Vatican City: Pope Francis has exhorted Catholic bishops worldwide to do what's needed to ensure children are protected from sexual abuse by clergy. The Vatican on Monday released the text of a December 28 letter Francis sent to bishops about injustices to children. They included slave labor, malnutrition, lack of education and sexual exploitation, including abuse by priests. In the letter, Francis decried "the sufferings, the experiences and pain of minors who were abused sexually by priests." "It is a sin that shames us," the Pope wrote. "Persons responsible for the protection of those children destroyed their dignity." The church's reputation has been stained in several countries during the last few decades as people have come forward to report that parish priests or other Catholic clergy raped or molested them as minors. The allegations showed that local bishops sometimes knew about and covered up child sex abuse involving problem priests and triggered multi-million-dollar lawsuits, as well as several criminal prosecutions. Expressing the church's regret, and begging forgiveness, the pope denounced the "sin of what happened, the sin of failing to help, the sin of covering up and denial, the sin of the abuse of power." Francis also asked bishops for "complete commitment to ensuring that these atrocities will no longer take place in our midst." "Let us find the courage needed to take all necessary measures and to protect in every way the lives of our children, so that such crimes may never be repeated," the pope said. "In this area, let us adhere, clearly and faithfully, to 'zero tolerance.'" The pontiff himself has received mixed reviews on how the Vatican handles sex abuse. Francis has laid out procedures to oust bishops for negligence, if they mishandle investigations into alleged abuse. But he dismayed advocates for abuse survivors by appointing a Chilean bishop accused of covering up for a notorious pedophile. The Vatican also took no immediate action after deaf students from Italy, in a 2014 letter to the pope, said a priest sexually abused them for years in Italy and now was working at a school in Francis' native Argentina. The priest was arrested last year and charged with raping deaf students at a school in Argentina. Relatives of one of the victims of the Istanbul nightclub attack. (Photo: AP) Istanbul: The Islamic State jihadist group on Monday claimed the shooting rampage inside a glamorous Istanbul nightclub on New Years night that killed 39 people, as police hunted the attacker who remains on the run. Anti-terror police made their first arrests over the attack, which unleashed scenes of panic among party-goers at one of Istanbuls swankiest venues and killed mostly foreign tourists. In a statement, the ISIS said the attack was in response to Turkeys military intervention against the jihadists in Syria. The group said a soldier of the caliphate had carried out the attack. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack at the Reina nightclub. (Photo: AP) Istanbul: The United Arab Emirates has warned its citizens not to travel to Turkey following the attack on an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people. The UAE's Foreign Ministry has issued a terse statement in Arabic to "postpone plans to travel to Turkey until further notice." While no Emirati was killed in the attack, one Kuwaiti and seven Saudis were killed in the New Year's assault. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack at the Reina nightclub. Turkish media have run a "selfie video" of a man they say is the gunman who killed 39 people at an Istanbul nightclub. The video broadcast on Turkish television Tuesday shows the alleged gunman filming himself at Taksim square. It wasn't immediately clear if it was filmed before or after the New Year's massacre at the Reina nightclub. The Islamic State group claimed the attack. The gunman, who is still at large, hasn't been identified. Several media reports said the man was believed to be from a Central Asian nation. Haber Turk newspaper said the man is thought to be a member of China's Muslim Uighur minority. It said he arrived in the Turkish city of Konya with his wife and two children. His family was detained, it said. Riyadh: Dozens of foreign workers have been sentenced to flogging and jail for unrest during protests over unpaid wages by Saudi Binladin Group several months ago, reports said on Tuesday. Al-Watan newspaper and Arab News did not give the nationalities of the 49 workers, and the foreign embassy staff could not immediately provide details. Al-Watan, which has followed the Binladin case since early in 2016, said an unidentified number were sentenced to four months' jail and 300 lashes for destroying public property and inciting unrest. Others were jailed for 45 days by the court in Mecca. Construction sector workers, chiefly at the Binladin Group and another firm Saudi Oger, were left waiting for salaries after a collapse in oil revenues left the kingdom unable to pay private firms it had contracted. Arab News reported in May that "unpaid workers" had torched several Binladin Group buses in Mecca. Authorities confirmed at the time that seven buses were burned but did not give the cause. A Saudi Binladin Group spokesman could not be reached on Tuesday. The company, which developed landmark buildings in Saudi Arabia, was founded more than 80 years ago by the father of deceased Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Binladin Group late in 2016 said it had completed payment to 70,000 laid-off employees. Workers still with the company would get their back pay as the government settled its arrears, the company said. Tens of thousands of employees of Saudi Oger, led by Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri, were also waiting for wages. One Oger worker said in December that he had received part of the money but was still owed five months' salary. The government said in November that it would pay its arrears to private firms by the following month. But on December 22, Finance Minister Mohammed Aljadaan, after releasing the 2017 national budget, told reporters that money owed to the private sector would be paid "within 60 days". The new regulations came as China is trying to make Tibet a hub for trade and transport to South Asia through Nepal with road and rail connectivity. (Photo: Representational Image/AP) Beijing: China has tightened border rules in Tibet, extending the already stringent rules to ports, trade zones and scenic spots, citing growing incidence of "separatist and terrorist activities" amid efforts to make the remote Himalayan region South Asia's trade hub. The designated border areas under Sunday's new regulation now include land ports, trade zones and scenic spots, expanding the scope of the old regulation that has been in effect since 2000, state-run Global Times reported late Monday. As Tibet further opens up with fast economic development, border areas have witnessed more disputes and diverse criminal activities, including those involving separatism, illegal migration and terrorism, the report quoted Badro, deputy head of the Tibet border police, as saying. It also quoted Wang Chunhuan, deputy director of the Theoretical Marxism Institute of the Tibet Academy of Social Sciences (TASS) who backed the amendment, explaining what the update in rules meant. "The update of border regulation provides a legal foundation to combat potential terrorist activities in the future brought by the further opening-up of Tibet as the Belt and Road initiative has positioned Tibet as a gateway to South Asia, even though the border areas do not face severe terrorist challenges at present in general," Wang said. The new regulations came as China is trying to make Tibet a hub for trade and transport to South Asia through Nepal with road and rail connectivity. While the previous pro-China Nepalese Prime Minister, K P Sharma Oli, had signed a transit trade deal with Beijing in March last year to counter Nepal's dependence on India, his successor Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda is under pressure to implement the deals. China also agreed his request to build a strategic railway link between the two countries from Gyirong, the last Tibetan county which shares border with Nepal. China plans to extend the railway later to India and other South Asian countries to promote trade. Last month, China formally launched a rail and road cargo service linking Tibet and Nepal with dozens of trucks carrying USD 2.8 million worth of goods. Tibetan refugees have been alleging that Nepal is cracking down hard on the Tibetans leaving the Himalayan region to visit the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala. Official reports say that Tibet economy is booming. Tibet reported a total trade volume of more than 5.66 billion yuan (USD 815 million) in 2015, engaging in bilateral trade with 77 countries and regions including with India through the border point in Sikkim, the Global Times report said. It also received more than 23 million tourists last year, a 15 per cent year on year increase, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today. About 320,000 people in Tibet work in tourism, 97,000 being farmers and herdsmen. The regional government aims to receive over 30 million tourists in 2020, with an annual tourism revenue of over 55 billion yuan (USD 7.9 billion), it said. Tibet's distinctive culture and the tourists it attracts have been vital in turning the region into the main trade channel between China and South Asia, the report said. Besides, Tibet is adjacent to Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan and Xinjiang - all deeply important to Chinese President Xi Jinping's multibillion dollar Belt and Road (Silk Road) initiative. The establishment of a free trade zone on the border which is under discussion will also be regulated, Wang said. Tibet, a plateau region has a lengthy border with Myanmar, India, Bhutan and Nepal. In 2015, China and India vowed to step up collaboration in fields such as drug control and illegal immigration, the illicit arms trade and other cross-border crimes, the report said. Islamabad: A Christmas message calling for prayers for those charged under Pakistan's blasphemy laws has led to death threats against the son of a provincial governor killed five years ago for criticising the same laws. The case highlights the continuing influence in Pakistan of Muslim hardliners who praise violence in the name of defending Islam, despite a government vow to crack down on religious extremism. The hardliners have called for mass protests if police do not charge activist Shaan Taseer with blasphemy against Islam - a crime punishable by death. Taseer's father, Punjab governor Salman Taseer, was gunned down by his bodyguard for championing the case of a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was sentenced to death under the blasphemy laws, which he said needed to be reformed. In a video message posted on his Facebook page, Taseer, a Muslim, wishes a happy holiday to Christians, in solidarity, and also asked for prayers for the woman and others victimised by what he called "inhumane" blasphemy laws. Taseer said on Monday that he had received "very credible death threats" from supporters of the hardline Muslim philosophy that inspired his father's killer, bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri. "They are sending me Mumtaz Qadri's photos with messages that there are several Mumtaz Qadris waiting for me," he told Reuters late on Monday. Tens of thousands people attended Qadri's funeral last March after he was put to death for killing the governor because they considered him a hero - showing the potential for this case to become another flashpoint. More than 200 people in Pakistan were charged under blasphemy laws in 2015 - many of them minorities such as Christians, who make up 1 percent of the population. Critics say the laws are often used to settle personal scores, and pressure for convictions is often applied on police and courts from religious groups and lawyers dedicated to pushing the harshest blasphemy punishments. At least 65 people, including lawyers, defendants and judges, have been murdered over blasphemy allegations since 1990, according to figures from a Center for Research and Security Studies report and local media. A spokesman for the hardline Islamist movement Sunni Tehreek said it was demanding police in Lahore charge Shaan Taseer with blasphemy against Islam. Police declined to comment, and a copy of the police report on the complaint did not mention Shaan Taseer by name. The police report did reference the Christmas message and opened an investigation the blasphemy laws' Section 295-A, which bans hate speech against any religion. However, Sunni Tehreek has threatened mass street protests unless the younger Taseer is charged under Section 295-C - blasphemy against Islam or the Prophet Mohammad. Sunni Tehreek figure Mujahid Abdur Rasool told Reuters the group was in negotiations with the government over the case. "When we gave them a warning for protests, a delegation of Punjab government met us today," Rasool said, adding they had set a deadline of Tuesday for police to meet their demands. He said Sunni Tehreek was not calling for Taseer's murder, only his prosecution and eventual execution. Punjab government officials could not be reached for comment. The laying of the foundation stone of a Shivaji memorial in Mumbai by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the latest in the politics of statues being practised in the country. This involves the use of personalities from the past, through erection of statues, to derive political advantage. It is part of a bigger politics that uses names and events from the past though representation, interpretation, appropriation and other ways to create an image, an association or an identity that appeals to the people or some sections of people. The BJP in Maharashtra has been planning the statue for some years and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has pushed its case now. The party wants to claim the legacy of the warrior king, who is being projected as a symbol of Maratha pride and a Hindu hero who fought the Mughal empire. It also wants to wrest the ownership of the legacy from its ally and rival Shiv Sena which had sought monopoly rights over the legacy till now. But the partys political project costs the people of the state Rs 3,600 crore at current estimates. It has risen to this level from Rs 900 crore in 2009 and is certain to escalate further. The present cost is about half of the allocation for irrigation in the state which is known for drought and farmer suicides. It is wrong to use high amounts of tax payers money for a project that does not benefit the people. The party should raise funds on its own if it wants to build a costly statue like this. It is claimed that the statue will be the tallest in the world, taller than the Sardar Patel statue that the prime minister has proposed to build in Gujarat. The Patel statue will be ready before the next Lok Sabha elections and the Shivaji statue before the Assembly elections in Maharashtra. The statue is being erected off the coast of Mumbai and has invited criticism and opposition from economists, environmentalists and fishermen. Economists have shown how wasteful the project is and environmentalists have pointed out that it would damage the fragile ecosystem of the area. The statue is being built on the fertile breeding ground of marine life including fish. The livelihood of a large number of fishermen will be affected. Fadnavis even gave a special exemption for the plan from mandatory environmental hearing. The society should not be made to pay the price of a partys political plan. The prime minister tells the nation to avoid wasteful expenditure but himself launches a work of monumental wastage of public funds. Karnataka Cooperation and Sugar Minister H S Mahadev Prasad died of a massive heart attack at a private resort in Koppa in Chikkamagaluru district today. Prasad (58) is survived by wife and a son. Local Congress leaders said as their repeated attempts to reach the Minister over phone and by knocking the door failed, his room was opened using a spare key and the body was found on a bed. He was in Koppa to attend an official function, official sources said. He had undergone bypass surgery few years ago. Prasad, who represented Gundlupete constituency in Chamarajanagar district, was a close associate of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Calling Prasad's death as unexpected and shocking, Siddaramaiah said he was one among his closest. "It is a huge personal loss to me and to Congress party. He was an able administrator and a clean politician. I have lost a close friend and a wonderful colleague," he said. State government has declared one-day government holiday today and announced three days state mourning. Prasad was a minister in the JD(S)-BJP coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy during 2005-07 and quit JDS and joined the Congress. Prasad's son Ganesh said that the body will be taken to Gundlupete by evening and last rites will be performed tomorrow. When nationalism and patriotism are dominating the national discourse, the great grandson of iconic revolutionary Udham Singh is struggling to secure the job of a peon in Punjab government which had been promised to him by former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh 10 years ago. The promise of Congress government did not materialise as the party was out of power for 10 years in the state. The repeated pleas of Jagga Singh, who is great grandson of Udham Singh's elder sister Aas Kaur, to the Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP government did not yield any result. In a daredevil act, Udham Singh had avenged the killing of hundreds of innocent people in Jallianwala Bagh on Baisakhi Day on April 13, 1919 by General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer. Singh, who was present on the spot at Jalianwala Bagh in Amritsar on the bloodiest day of Indian Independence struggle history, had avenged the massacre 21 years later by killing in London Michael O'Dwyer, who was the Governor of Punjab when the massacre took place in Jallianwala Bagh. Charged with murder, he was hanged to death in one of the prisons in London. Singh is going through days of extreme poverty with a family of six to take care of which includes his 60-year old father Jeet Singh, a daily labourer. 30-year old Singh, a class X pass out who works at a cloth merchant shop in Sangur on a monthly salary of Rs 2,500, is hoping to draw the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh through his letters. Braving the chill of foggy mornings here, Singh has shifted his protests to Jantar Mantar hoping to get his voice heard in the power corridors of the national capital. But so far, neither the BJP, which is ruling the Centre, nor the Shiromani Akali Dal in the state have offered anything concrete to him. Speaking to PTI, an emotional Singh said he was promised a job in 2006 by the then Punjab CM Aamrinder Singh but after the government changed, he has been running from pillar to post to get the promise implemented. "We met Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindhsa several time. After a number of meetings, he had told me that our representation was put before the Chief Minister, who said that he cannot help us as the letter of appointment was issued by the Congress-led Amarinder Singh's government and so the job cannot be given to us," Singh claimed. He said the then Deputy Collector whom his father had met after Amarinder Singh issued a letter could have given him any job "even that of a peon" but the present regime is not ready to offer even that. "We even met Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann of Aam Aadmi Party. He asked us to write our problem and took our representation but his PA said that since his party is not in power he can't do anything. Later he also stopped picking up our phones. "He goes to Bhagat Singh's place but he failed to help the family members of martyr Udham Singh," Singh remarked Singh claimed to have met Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal five times, whenever he comes to pay tribute to martyr Udham Singh on his martyrdom day at their village. He also claims to have met Yoga Guru Ramdev, a prominent proponent of nationalism, but even his recommendation letter to the Punjab Chief Minister did not yield results. "We have been sitting on dharna for the past four days in this biting cold. We are ready to sacrifice our life and continue with our dharna till we get a job. We have written to the PM, Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Today also we have given a memorandum to him, but we have not got any reply, let us see what action will they take," he said. Singh said his father was working with the Electricity Board but he could not continue due to his ill health, so he was dismissed from the service. "We have given representation even to President Pranab Mukherjee, who had written to the Punjab Chief Minister to give us a job but the Punjab government did not pay heed to it," he claimed. "We don't have land, though there was some but we had to sell it to meet our finances. We are not begging from the government to give us money, we are just asking for a job, which is our right and not wrong demand," he said. Samajwadi Party's Maharashtra unit chief Abu Azmi today said though it was the duty of police to ensure safety of women on the New Year eve, women should not forget that "security starts at home", and that partying late night is not in the Indian culture. "Partying late night in half attire, blindly following western culture, has never been our culture. Ladies hailing from well-to-do families, be it from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan or UP, they come out in decent attire and mostly with their family members," he said, when asked about alleged harassment of women in Bangaluru during the New Year eve. "I am saying what happened is very unfortunate. Undoubtedly, making security arrangement to thwart any eventuality is police's job. But, as far as Bengaluru molestation is concerned, women and their guardians must also take precautions and think that security starts at home. Our women must think about their own security themselves," Azmi told PTI. New Year revelry turned into a nightmare for several women who were allegedly molested despite huge police presence at a large gathering at Bengaluru's downtown region, sparking widespread outrage. "But when few women in half dress come out on streets at late night with their friends, such incidents do occur," said Azmi, an MLA from Shivaji Nagar in suburban Mumbai. He also recited Urdu verses, "Achchi soorat bhi kya buri shay hai, jisne bhi dali...buri nazar dali" "The women are pride of our family and country. Therefore, it is our duty to safeguard them. If we allow them to follow western culture blindly, then I am sorry to say that people will misbehave them in such ways," the SP leader said. Azmi also defended Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara who had stoked a controversy by blaming the youngsters' "western ways" for the incidents. "He (Parameshwara) said the harsh reality. These kind of things do happen when women try to copy the westerners, not only in their mindset but even in their dressing," he said. Eyewitness accounts suggest that women were molested and groped and lewd remarks were also passed by miscreants late night on December 31 in a posh area of Bengaluru even as it was claimed that 1,500 police personnel had been deployed to control the crowds. National Commission of Women (NCW) Chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam had come down heavily on the police and slammed Parameshwara's remarks, demanding that he should resign. The NCW as well as the Karnataka State Commission for Women also sought separate reports from administration and police over the incidents. India is hopeful that China will agree with its position on getting Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar designated as a terrorist by the United Nations, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today. Interacting with the media here, Singh said, "We still expect China to support our stand." On December 30 last year, China had blocked India's proposal to list JeM chief and Pathankot mastermind Masood Azhar as a designated terrorist by the UN, triggering a sharp reaction from New Delhi which termed it as "unfortunate blow" and a step that confirms prevalence of double standards in the fight against terrorism. India's proposal was submitted in February to the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council. A fresh listing request will be required for Azhar to be banned by the UN, officials had said. However, India had said it will continue to push forward with resolute determination "through the use of all options available with us to bring perpetrators of terrorist violence to justice". China had blocked India's proposal citing lack of "consensus" on the issue. The ban would have forced imposition of asset freeze and travel ban on him by countries, including Pakistan. China was the only member in the 15-nation UN body to put a hold on India's application with all other 14 members of the Council supporting New Delhi's bid to place Azhar on the sanctions list. Booker prize-winning English novelist and pioneering art critic John Berger, has passed away at the age of 90. A lifelong Marxist intellectual, Berger died at his home in the Paris suburb of Antony on Monday. The writer, who won the Booker Prize in 1972 for his novel "G", famously gave away half the prize money to the radical African-American movement, the Black Panthers. He is equally famous for his BBC series "Ways of Seeing" that brought a new political perspective to art criticism. "My father #JohnBerger died today. Neither scared nor reckless, but focused, curious & eager to find out the rest of the story. A true writer," his filmmaker son Jacob wrote on Twitter. Berger's director friend Simon McBurne also paid tribute to the author calling him his "guide, philosopher and friend". "Listener, grinder of lenses, poet, painter, seer. My Guide. Philosopher. Friend. John Berger left us this morning. Now you are everywhere," McBurne tweeted. Born in Hackney, North London, Berger began his career as a painter. He eventually turned to writing and penned everything from poetry to screenplays, writings on photography, besides exploring issues like exploitation of migrant workers and the Palestinian struggle for statehood. Artist David Shrigley called Berger "the best ever writer on art", and author Jeanette Winterson praised him as "an energy source in a depleted world." "Goodbye John Berger. You will be greatly missed. The ever best writer on art," Shrigley tweeted. "John Berger gone. That is hard. He was an energy source in a depleted world," Winterson wrote. Tom Overton, who is writing Berger's biography, said the writer "let us know that art would enrich our lives". Berger's death was also mourned by actress Sarah Silverman. "Oh wow RIP John Berger. Ways Of Seeing altered my perspective and gave me confidence in said perspective. It changed everything," Silverman tweeted. Writer Dawn Foster wrote, "Reminder that when John Berger won the 1972 Booker prize, he gave half the prize money to the Black Panthers." British poet Anthony Anaxagorou tweeted, "A poem I wrote featured in The Long White Thread of Words to celebrate John Berger's 90th birthday." Editor's note: This is one in a series of year-in-review stories by Democrat-Herald reporters. Greater Albany Public Schools changed its overall look both inside and out this year, and educators there are hoping voters will help it change even more in the future. In education-related stories covered by the Democrat-Herald for 2016, two of the largest included completion of a new cafeteria and commons building at South Albany High School and work on a bond request for May 2017 that could generate between $140 million and more than $200 million in additional Albany school construction and renovation projects. Also, at Waverly Elementary, GAPS started the mid-valley's first district-sponsored preschool, a quiet change that could have far-reaching implications for schools statewide. An arsonist set a fire in a stack of pallets against the wall of South Albany's original cafeteria in the early hours of April 1, 2015, destroying that room, the school's band, choir and family studies classrooms, and storage units for dance, cheerleading and Leadership. HMK Company was able to turn around a design for a new building in just a few months and broke ground on the new commons in late 2015. Crews turned over the keys to the building this past Aug. 1 and students were first able to use it at the beginning of the school year. The new building is about 36,000 square feet, up from roughly 25,000 square feet. It's a two-story structure with an open, loft-style commons area above the cafeteria, an area that includes a coffee shop and two additional classrooms, including a fully-revamped foods program. The school district is expecting the total cost to be about $15 million. Talks went on for much of the year between the district and its group insurance trust, Property and Casualty Coverage for Education, to determine how much will be covered and what will remain the district's responsibility. District officials say they expect a resolution in January. In the meantime, when Superintendent Jim Golden talks about new construction, he points at the South commons as an example of what voters might expect if they approve a bond measure next spring. Almost a year ago, a District Facility Advisory Committee convened to explore project for a potential bond measure recommended upwards of $117 million in projects. Their initial recommendation was for about $46 million in repairs and upgrades, everything from roofs and exhaust systems to parking lots and seismic reinforcements. To that, they suggested adding replacement buildings for Oak Grove and Clover Ridge elementary schools, a two-story addition at West Albany High School and full-scale renovations of math, science and other career-tech labs throughout the district's middle and high schools. The initial recommendation didn't mention performing arts centers, which don't exist at either West or South beyond tiny rooms with small stages. Parents joined with music and drama educators and various other supporters of arts programs to lobby hard for their inclusion, noting that no other high schools of their size in the state lack such spaces, which are learning centers for students learning lighting, sound effects and stage construction as well as performance venues. District officials have twice surveyed voters about what projects should make the cut but have made no final decisions on what the bond will contain. The most recent survey, administered in December, asked voters their thoughts on two possible price packages. The smaller is estimated to cost about $140 million and the larger, about $171 million. The smaller package adds together the costs of remodeling of science and technology classrooms at South Albany High and at Albany's three middle schools, construction of eight new classrooms and a cafeteria at Oak Grove Elementary School, construction of 18 classrooms with common space at or near the current Clover Ridge Elementary School, and $35 million of work as part of a first phase of a total replacement for West Albany High School. The larger package would include the costs for all of the above, but would build 24 classrooms at Oak Grove instead of eight, and would add in some additional facility upgrades, such as replacing floor tiles and plumbing fixtures and doing more large-scale overhauls of the areas at Oak Grove and Clover Ridge not being replaced. Voters surveyed were to be asked questions about all of those projects, as well as where they would rank the need for auditoriums. Feedback from the survey will be used to gauge how much voters might be willing to spend, and which projects in both packages they want most. Board members expect to hear details at their regular Jan. 9 meeting, which will begin an hour early, at 6 p.m., and at a second, special meeting at 6 p.m. Jan. 12 that will include further bond discussion. As it looks to the future, GAPS is coping with increased enrollment and pressure for adequate space for special education programs as well as aging buildings. One extra wrinkle in the future's fold could come from the state of Oregon, however, which is pushing hard for more intervention in early education. Albany used a $102,563 Kindergarten Partnership & Innovation grant provided by the Early Learning Hub of Linn, Benton & Lincoln Counties to start a pilot preschool program this year at Waverly Elementary School. While several preschool programs have operated out of district buildings throughout Linn County, both now and in the past, Waverly's is the first to be operated and overseen directly by the school district itself. Principal Anne Griffith said she sees preschool as a way of leveling the playing field for students who may not come to kindergarten with as much exposure to early literacy skills as their peers. Many officials who work with state public policy agree with that approach. Oregon lawmakers created The Early Learning Division in 2013 and put it under the oversight of the Oregon Department of Education, using it to fund Preschool Promise, a partnership effort meant to encourage efforts similar to Waverly's. Gov. Kate Brown has said early learning and literacy programs are a top priority and she plans to fight for "a seamless education system spanning birth to career." Albany was among districts to add full-time kindergarten programs in 2015 when the state first added full funding. The change required a complete overhaul of available space in the district, prompting the reopening of Fir Grove School and the addition of a handful of modular classrooms to make room. Golden, the superintendent, strongly supported the Waverly pilot program. But if in the future, preschool is added to the district's responsibility at each school on a full-time basis, he worried what that will mean to facilities even if the bond should pass. "We're already out of space with our projected growth without adding preschool," he said. The year 2016 will be long remembered in India for the dramatic decision by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to nullify all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. This demonetisation is perhaps one of the most far-reaching policy decisions taken by any Indian government in recent times. The nation is still struggling to come to terms with it and it will have significant long-term implications for Indias economic growth trajectory. In 2016, the Modi government managed to pass the landmark Goods and Services Tax bill. By levying one indirect tax for the whole nation, it will make India one unified common market. It isthe biggest reform in Indias indirect tax structure since the economy started opening up 25 years ago and is likely to be implemented in 2017. India remained one of the few fast growing major economies in the world in 2016, thereby managing to make its presence felt on the international platform. Modi remained rather unpredic-table and unconventional in his outreach to the world. In more ways than one, the Modi government is gradually altering the foundations of Indian foreign policy. In a move of great symbolism, Modi did not attend the 17th non-alignment summit despite host Venezuelas repeated attempts to woo him. Instead, he dispatched Vice-President Hamid Ansari. Modis shift away from Indias first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehrus legacy is a significant departure from the traditional foreign policy approach of New Delhi. Indian policymakers fixation with non-ali-gnment has remained a central component of Indian identity in global politics. Although India has had to accept help of the two global powers throughout the Cold War notably from the US in 1962 against China and from the Soviet Union in 1971 against Pakistan the country has preserved a facade of non-alignment, at least in rhetoric. But New Delhi faces a new set of challenges, in particular the rise of China. Indian policymakers confront a conundrum in calculating the benefits and risks of an increasingly assertive neighbour and a network of alliances with likeminded countries. While sections of the Indian intellectual establishment still retain reflexive anti-Americanism, Modi has used his decisive mandate to carve a new partnership with the United States to harness its capital and technology for his domestic development agenda. He is not ambivalent about positioning India as a challenger to Chinas growing regional might and assertiveness. With this in mind, he signed the bilateral Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement with the United States in 2016 for facilitating logistical support, supplies and services between the US and Indian militaries on a reimbursable basis and providing a framework to govern such exchanges. India is also busy pursuing strong partnerships with US allies in the region including Japan, Australia and Vietnam. It has taken a strong position on the South China Sea dispute in favour of states such as Vietnam and the Philippines as well as expanded the US-India bilateral naval exercises to include Japan. It also recognises the domestic challen-ges as Modi pivots India closer to the US. So he continues to invest in non-Western platforms such as the BRICS grouping Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Economically, the grouping is less attractive, given economic troubles in Russia, Brazil and South Africa. The other dramatic change in South Asia came when the Indian Armys special forces took out several suspected terror camps across the volatile Line of Control in response to an attack on an Indian army post in Kashmir by Pakistan-based terrorists that killed 20 soldiers on September 18. The Indian resp-onse came almost 11 days after the initial attack and reflected an attempt by the government to pressurise Pakistan on multiple fronts, thereby gaining leverage over an adversary that had long used te-rrorism and proxies to challenge India. At the regional level, moreover, the government succeeded in the ensuring the postponement of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit after several member states took Indias lead and decided to boycott the Islamabad meeting in November. This was one of the rare occasions when regional states spoke in one voice against Pakistans use of terror as an instrument of state policy. Military power Even as Pakistan was reeling from these pressures, the NDA government decided to use the instrumentality of military power a tool which New Delhi had avo-ided for long. What was new about the incident was not that cross-border raids took place, but that India decided to publicise them to the extent it did. The governments Pakistan policy has not been predictable and keeping Pakistan on tenterhooks is part of the larger strategy. While New Delhi sought to isolate Pakistan in 2016, it pro-actively reached out to other neighbours. Indias ties with Bangladesh and Afghanistan, in particular, deepened with New Delhi deciding to step up military cooperation with Kabul and resolve the boundary dispute with Dhaka. But Pakistan continues to be stro-ngly backed by China. Sino-Pak relationship is blossoming with China poised to deploy its naval ships along with Pakistan navy to safeguard the strategic Gwadar port and trade routes under the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. If this move goes ahead as planned, it will be the logical culmination of a long drawn Chinese involvement in Pakistan, giving the Chinese Navy a foothold in the first overseas location the Indian Ocean and the Arabia Sea. This should not be surprising given Chinas growing interest in the region and Pakistans eagerness to counterbalance Indias naval might. Other equations in South Asia are also changing with the US getting more impatient with Pakistan and Russia moving closer to Pakistan, changing its decades-old policy of being consistently pro-India. The South Asian strategic milieu is in flux and old rules no longer apply. The year 2016 has been a year of dramatic changes which are only likely to gain further momentum in the coming years. (The writer is a Distinguished Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi and Professor of International Relations, Kings College, London) The protest by the junior doctors of Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS) condemning the assault on a house surgeon entered third day on Tuesday. The junior doctors have stated that they would continue the protest till the accused are arrested. A house surgeon on duty was attacked by the relatives of a patient on December 31st midnight, when a mishap victim they brought to the hospital was declared dead. They allegedly assaulted the doctor and the paramedical staff on duty and also damaged the hospital property. Holding placards that said, Jeeva rakshakara jeevakke kuththu, the junior doctors wore black bands on their sleeves, as part of their protest. Attacks on rise The junior doctors claimed that attacks on doctors were on rise in the hospital. The college administration has not taken any measures to provide security to the doctors. Despite lodging of a complaint with regards to the December 31st incident, the police have not taken the issue seriously. As a formality, they have taken a couple of people into custody. The protest will be intensified if police does not arrest the accused immediately, they warned. The protesters explained that the senior doctor on duty was busy examining another patient, when the mishap victim was brought to the hospital. The house surgeons who were present there confirmed that the victim was dead. This irked the victims kin who attacked the doctor and the nurses. On a rampage The accused went on a rampage damaging the hospital property, they claimed. Even after three days, the accused have not been arrested. The protest will continue till the district administration considers the issue seriously, they added. Speaking to DH, HIMS Director Dr B C Ravikumar said that the junior doctors are on a strike demanding the arrest of the accused. The police have arrested two persons so far. Other accused will soon be arrested. The protesting doctors are being convinced to withdraw the protest. Measures are in place to ensure that the patients are not affected by the strike. All senior doctors are on duty, he added. Former MLA I B Shankar couple were in loss of words, when the news of the death of Minister for Cooperation and Sugar H S Mahadeva Prasad reached them. When the couple hosted the minister and his entourage on Monday night, little did they know that it would be their last meeting with their family friend. Mahadeva Prasad and Shankar had known each other since the Karnataka Kranthi Ranga days. When the then chief minister D Devaraj Urs quit the Congress to found the Kranthi Ranga, Prasad was the president of undivided Mysuru district unit of the Ranga, while Shankar was heading its Chikkamagaluru unit. However, it was in the later days, that they developed a bond and remained close friends. Whenever Prasad came to Chikkamagaluru, he was a regular to Shankars house. On Monday too, Prasad was travelling near Hiremagalur around 8.30 pm, when he called Shankar on the latters cell phone. Shankar, who had gone for coffee pulp, returned home asking his wife Uma to prepare dinner. Prasad and his entourage, that included his friends, personal assistants and gunman, were treated to sumptuous food that included dishes like chicken, mutton, rice rotti, kadubu and also idli. Prasad, who also took curd rice and a peg of whiskey, told Shankar, I cannot stop eating curd rice despite the cold weather. When Shankar insisted on Prasad staying overnight, Prasad refused with a heavy heart saying, I too dont want to miss the early morning coffee. However, he promised to visit them again during his next visit to the district, recalled Shankar, who was trying to hold back his tears. Had invited leaders Chikkamagaluru District Congress Committee president Dr D L Vijaykumar, who recalled his conversation with the minister over phone, said, The minister called during night hours, inviting the party leaders to join him for breakfast in the resort at 8.30 am. Likewise, I, along with chairman of Jungle Lodges and Resorts A N Mahesh couple, leaders T D Rajegowda and M C Shivananda Swamy went to the resort and waited for him. As the minister did not come out of the cottage he was staying in, we suspected something fishy. The staff was asked to open the door, only to see him dead. Close pals Prasads close pals, film producer Y N Shankare Gowda of Ishta Kamya fame, who is also the director of Karnataka State Marketing Federation, and former president of Gundlupet Town Municipal Council Najeemuddin, had accompanied their friend from Mysuru to Chikkamagaluru and were staying in the opposite room. They were dumbstruck on hearing the news. They said they regularly travelled with the minister whenever he went on tours to other districts. However, he never missed his morning stroll. It was only after returning from his morning walk did the minister wake them up. When their friend did not turn up, Shankare Gowda and Najeemuddin thought that he may have gone to bath after returning from walk. As the clock ticked, they turned anxious and tried to reach him over phone, but in vain. They knocked on the door of his cottage, but there was no response. They later peeped through the window, to see him sleeping. It was then that they summoned the resort staff to open the door. Complained of fatigue According to them, the minister had complained of fatigue due to his busy schedule as he had attended three programmes in the day. He had also complained of eating much at the food festival during the ongoing scouts jamboree at Adakanahally near Nanjangud in Mysuru district. Vision for MM Hills Recalling their friends vision for developing Male Mahadeshwara Hill shrine, the duo said, A site to set up an information centre had also been identified in Mysuru. He had plans to invite Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to dedicate the centre. It was heart rending to see the people, especially Congress workers, who had lined up en route Koppa to welcome the minister with garlands. The minister was scheduled to inaugurate the golden jubilee celebrations of the Sahakara Sarige Samsthe. Emotional Congress workers told DH, We had brought garlands from Sangameshwara Pete. Now, we have to lay the same on the ministers body, as a mark of respect to departed soul. Members of various organisations have urged authorities to withdraw criminal cases filed against two ex-servicemen on charges of encroaching paisari land. Kodagu district Ex-servicemen Association president Major General (retd) General B A Cariappa said, We will intensify our protest if any attempt is made to trouble ex-servicemen. Encroachment of land by companies should be reclaimed and traditional dwellers should not face any inconvenience, he said. During ex-servicemen adalat, the previous DC had promised to sanction paisari land for ex-servicemen. Ex-servicemen should be sanctioned 10 acres of land, he said. He said Lt Col (retd) Karumbaiah had been carrying out agricultural activities on the land for the past several years and thus it was not right to clear the land. There are over 108 files related to sanctioning of land for ex-servicemen and by filing a criminal case, authorities have insulted those who had served the country. The problem should have been solved within the framework of the law. A memorandum has been submitted to Tahsildar Mahadevaswamy for allowing clearing of land belonging to Karumbaiah, Ammathi Kodava Samaja president Bose Devaiah told DH. Lt Col (retd) Karubaiah and Capt (retd) S Cariappa had been residing at Puliyeri in Ammathi. There was a paisari land between the land owned by the duo. Though they had appealed to the revenue department to sanction the paisari land, it was not sanctioned. Tahsildar and revenue officials visited the spot to clear the encroachment on Monday. When the villagers objected to it, revenue officials filed a criminal complaint against Karumbaiah and Cariappa on charges of preventing government officials from discharging their duties. Paytm Payments Bank has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a formal launch. Paytm was one of the 11 companies that received the RBIs in-principle approval for launching a payments bank. Paytm had launched its mobile wallet on January 3, 2014, and has since become the category leader. Today, the Reserve Bank of India gave permission to formally launch Paytm Payments Bank. We cant wait to bring it in front of you, founder of One97 Communication, Vijay Shekhar Sharma which owns a majority stake in Paytm Payments Bank says in a blog. Our aim is to build a new business model in the banking industry, the blog states. Taking cue from the Bihar rout, the BJP has decided to adopt a positive strategy for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll campaign. The BJPs strategy to stick to the development agenda also stems from the realisation that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadavs own image has not been effectively corroded in the state. In Bihar, the BJPs anti-Nitish Kumar rhetoric had boomeranged as the people still had a good impression about the chief minister, feel some BJP leaders. Owing to this realisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modis Lucknow rally address on Monday was less harsh on rivals the Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress. Referring to the SP, Modi told the crowd that there is a party which is using all its strength to focus on the familys fate. On the BSP, Modi said another partys worry is where to keep money and it is looking for banks far and wide. And for the Congress, the prime minister sarcastically remarked that the party is nowhere in the picture and is trying in vain for the last 15 years to establish the son (Rahul Gandhi). A top BJP leader said the party will promise the voters that if brought to power, they will complete the remaining development programmes promised by the last BJP government in the state. Modis appeal to the people of Uttar Pradesh during Lucknow address to rise above caste and vote for development of the state articulated the partys electoral thinking, said a source in the BJP. But, at the same time, the BJP believes that it will benefit from the Yadav clan infighting and can corner the ruling party on law and order, and land grab issues. The BJP also feels that demonetisation will not harm them politically as the pain people are suffering is for gains in the future and not because the Modi government intentionally wants them to undergo. Asserting that the Uttar Pradesh polls will be the BJP versus the rest, the partys top leadership claimed that of the total 403 Assembly seats, it will be in direct contest with either the SP or the BSP in 350 constituencies, and the two regional parties will be pitched against each other in the remaining segments. This marks a shift in the BJPs strategy as it has all along argued that the battle would be with the SP only. The BJP will get into campaign mode after the partys two-day national executive meeting ends in New Delhi on Saturday. The Election Commission is expected to announce the poll schedule soon. But the BJP will wait for the SPs internal dispute to end to announce its candidate list. In a bid to take advantage of the feud within the Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati has decided to field 97 Muslim candidates. The Muslims, along with the Yadavs, form the core vote bank of the SP. These 97 Muslim candidates will constitute almost one fourth of the total number of candidates in the state. Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday, Mayawati indicated that her party would go all out to woo the Muslims in the upcoming elections as it felt that the community was in a state of confusion following the infighting in the SP family. The SP feud has divided the Yadav community, who are decisive in 60-70 seats only. In such a situation, the Muslims should not support the SP, the BSP supremo said. She asked the Muslims not to waste their votes by supporting the SP, which, according to her, has a tacit understanding with the BJP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not refer to the SP infighting in his rally here on Monday. It proves that the BJP and the SP are together, Mayawati said. If Muslims support the BSP, then we will emerge winners as Dalits and upper castes are also with us, the BSP chief added. Plea for tactical voting Mayawati also said that the Congress was not in the reckoning in the state and there was no use supporting the party. Only the BSP can defeat the BJP, she added. The Muslims constitute around 20% of the total electorate of Uttar Pradesh and play a crucial role in determining the winners in around 125 seats. China is keen to invite India to a multinational conclave it is planning to hold this year to drum up support for its One-Belt-One-Road (OBOR) initiative. India, however, remains wary, as it has so far been staying away from the ambitious connectivity initiative launched by China. New Delhi is opposed to the OBOR not only because it perceived the move as Beijings attempt to spread its influence in the region, but also because the initiative included the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is proposed to pass through areas it accuses Pakistan of illegally occupying in Kashmir. Beijing of late sent out words to New Delhi that it would host a multinational conference o the OBOR in China and would expect a high-level representation from India. New Delhi, however, remained non-committal, sources here told DH. Chinese President Xi Jinping has since 2013 been articulating the idea of a 21st century Maritime Silk Road to revive economic connectivity between the Pacific and Indian Oceans and to link Chinas coastline with Southeast Asia, the Gulf and the eastern coast of Africa. He has also been proposing a Silk Road Economic Belt, reviving the ancient link between China and the Mediterranean through Central Asia. The two projects are now together called One-Belt-One-Road initiative and the Chinese government has been pulling out all the stops over the past few years to elicit support from other countries and make it a success. Beijings new plan to spread its tentacles further in the Indian Ocean region and the Central Asia, however, caused uneasiness in New Delhi, which has already been wary of Chinas string of pearls strategic assets encircling India. New Delhi viewed the OBOR initiative as the one designed by Beijing in pursuit of its own strategic objectives, but not as an inclusive one because the opinions of other interested or affected countries had not been taken into account. The OBOR conclave to be hosted by China is likely to provide India an opportunity to put forward its views. But New Delhi, according to the sources, is still reluctant, particularly because the initiative includes the CPEC, which will link Kashgar in Xinjiang in Northwestern China and a deep sea port at Gwadar in Balochistan in southern Pakistan. A senior official of the Pakistan army recently said that India should drop its opposition to the CPEC and rather join the initiative. This prompted China to underline that it had an open attitude to India joining the CPEC, which was an important component of the OBOR initiative. Beijing claims that more than 100 countries are actively participating in the OBOR and over 30 countries have inked documents with China. SafeHaven Humane Society in Tangent adopted out its first international immigrants this year, finding homes for five dogs from Korea just in time for Christmas. Whenever the nonprofit, no-kill shelter has empty kennels and that does happen from time to time, said Executive Director Chris Storm it looks to partner agencies to help their animals find new homes. SafeHaven has partners both in and out of state, including a nonprofit, Los Angeles-based rescue organization called Shelter Transport Animal Rescue Team. START has a connection with an activist in South Korea, Nami Kim, who has made it her mission to shut down the farms in her country that raise dogs for meat. Kim purchased 300 dogs from a meat farm in Korea in late 2016 and made arrangements with a variety of rescue organizations, including START, to find them new homes, Storm said. START paid for stateside transport for six of the dogs and for a driver to get five of the six to SafeHaven. (The sixth remained in California.) SafeHaven has room for 40 to 50 dogs at any given time and wasn't completely full, Storm said. She agreed to the transfer in the early part of November and the five arrived Dec. 1. By accepting the dogs, Storm stressed, SafeHaven isn't necessarily making any statement on whether dogs should be a source of meat in countries where that's a part of the culture. "It's really hard to say it's wrong for maybe somebody who thinks eating cows is wrong," she said. But the dogs had been rescued regardless, and SafeHaven could help, she went on. "SafeHaven is about kindness and compassion," Storm said. "We were able to give kindness and compassion to these dogs. That was our whole goal." SafeHaven intake receptionist Heidi Smith has a slightly different take on the situation. She adopted one of the dogs a tiny Maltese she dubbed Egg Roll and is sure she should never have been destined for food. Based on her research into Kim's work, Smith said she's found some dogs end up at meat farms through theft or deception. Farms pay cash, no questions asked, even if the animal still has a collar and tag. Egg Roll, she believes, was almost certainly one of those. In contrast to three of the other four international transplants, who were only 2 or 3 years old and weighed upwards of 60 pounds, "Eggy" was only about 4 pounds, at least 8 years old, and nearly toothless. She had also been "de-barked" sometime in her life. "She was a little tiny bit of nothing that was so badly matted they had to shave her," Smith said. She remembers looking at her and thinking, meat dog? "You wouldn't even make an egg roll," she said. The name stuck with Smith, and so did Eggy's timid little face. "She absolutely wrapped her paws around my heart," Smith said. Egg Roll went up for public adoption with the rest of the rescues, but Smith resolved that she'd adopt the little dog herself if nothing happened in 24 hours. When the time passed and Egg Roll was still at SafeHaven, Smith sent a text to her husband saying she knew what she wanted for Christmas knowing he would still be asleep after his transition shift. Two hours later with her husband still asleep Smith sent a second text. "Thank you for the Christmas present, Darling!" "I gave him two hours," she said with a shrug. 'I thought I was giving my husband an incredible out. All I want is this little fluff." Eggy joins seven rescue cats at the Smith home, along with another dog rescue, a terrier mix named Maggie; and two purebred Yorkies, Chelsea Rose and Stella Pearl. She loves her new siblings and is still timid, but learning to trust, Smith said. In the end, Storm said all five dogs found new homes in the mid-valley: Jenny, Omni and Morgan, all white Jindo-Chow mixes, and little Nami, a Chihuahua. Egg Roll went to the Smith house on Dec. 5 and Morgan was the last to find a home, just before Christmas. Storm said the humane society was careful in finding new homes because the dogs were very fearful and unused to anything but wire cages about the size of a couple of refrigerators. Adopting families had to have fenced yards, agree to training through the shelter and provide regular updates on their progress. "We needed people to understand the life these dogs had come from," Storm said. It's the first time SafeHaven has participated in an international adoption, but it may not be the last, Storm said. "I think that we had a really good experience, and I would love to do more to help," she said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked scientists to open the doors of their hallowed institutes to schools and colleges to share their ideas and resources with students. Asking the national laboratories to develop appropriate training programme to connect with schools and colleges, he said exposure to such high-end training exercise would make the youth job-ready in a competitive world. On the lines of Corporate Social Responsibility, the concept of Scientific Social Responsibility needs to be inculcated to connect our institutions to schools and colleges. We must create an environment for sharing of ideas and resources, he said, inaugurating the 104th session of the Indian Science Congress here. More than 11,000 scientists, including six Nobel laureates, are attending the five-day mega show being hosted by Sri Venkateswara University, the alma mater of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who was also present at the inauguration. Modi asked laboratories, research institutions and universities in each major city to function on a hub-and-spoke model, in which the hubs will share their infrastructure, drive the national science missions and be the engines that link discovery to application. For years, Indian scientists faced flak for their ivory-tower attitude with little connect to the needs of the local industry and the society at large. College teachers with background in research can be connected to the neighbouring universities and research and development institutions. Outreach activities from the institutions of eminence to schools, colleges and polytechnics will activate the latent science and technology manpower in your neighbourhoods. The brightest and best in every corner of India should have the opportunity to excel in science, the prime minister said. By 2030, India will be among the top three countries in science and technology and among the most attractive destinations for the best talent in the world. The wheels we set in motion today will achieve this goal. The Joint Action Committee (JAC) for Social Justice of the University of Hyderabad on Tuesday vehemently opposed the honour bestowed on university vice chancellor Podile Apparao by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Indian National Science Congress held in Tirupati. Professor Podile is one of the suspects in the suicide case of research scholar Rohith Vemula, booked under the SC/ST Atrocities Act. Rohith was reportedly driven to suicide on January 17, 2016, by the UoH administration. The prime minister honoured and awarded Podile Apparao, a plagiarist, substandard scholar and a criminal accused under the SC/ST Act with the Millennium Plaque of Honour in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Y S Chowdary who were none other than strong lobbyists for Podile Apparao, the JAC said in a statement released here on Tuesday. The greatest tragedy about the conferring of the science award on Apparao is that he is a disgrace to the spirit of scientific temper. He is not only a believer in the unscientific caste system, but also a proven plagiarist and the worst administrator. Podile Apparao has been a disgrace to the scientific community, said Dontha Prashanth, one of the scholars barred from entering hostels along with Rohith Vemula. The JAC further said that a fact-finding report endorsed by some of the top scientists in the country has said that the vice chancellor failed to discharge his responsibilities in a non-partisan manner in the Rohith Vemula case, and failed to protect academic freedom on campus. Apparao himself failed to act on Vemulas letter in December 2015, displaying an alarming lack of empathy. Further, the administration failed to prevent the assault by police on dissenting students on March 22, 2016, the JAC said. The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider a PIL seeking a probe by a special investigation team into allegations of kickbacks of 6 million to some journalists here in the AgustaWestland scam. A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Arun Mishra asked senior advocate Geeta Luthra to ensure serving of the copy of the petition filed by Hari Jaisingh, a journalist, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), for their response in the matter. The court noted since it was already hearing a separate PIL by NGO Swaraj Abhiyan and T S Singhdeo for a probe into financial irregularities in the purchase of VVIP helicopters by some state governments, it did not prefer to issue any notice to the probe agencies. Arguing for the petitioner, senior counsel Luthra submitted that the ongoing investigation into the scam must include the role of journalists here as it has been said that 6 million (approximately Rs 50 crore) was paid to them as an effort to manage the press. All those journalists who received money are liable for money laundering, she contended. The court, which did not issue any formal notice to the CBI or the ED, however, agreed to await their response. With just a fortnight to go for the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), a session on RSS ideologues it plans to host has landed the event in controversy. JLFs official schedule reveals that RSS head of communication department Manmohan Vaidya and its joint general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale will be in conversation with author and journalist Pragya Tiwari on January 19, the festivals second day. The session titled Of Saffron and the Sangha will last for an hour between 5.15 and 6.15 pm at Char Bagh, one of the biggest venues at Diggi House. The session with RSS thinkers has created consternation among authors and politicians, who question the festivals commitment to freedom of speech. This is the first time in a decade that the JLF has invited RSS members to talk about their ideology, Rajasthan Congress spokesperson Dr Archana Sharma told DH. Both the leaders have nothing to do with literature. They would use the platform to spread the saffron ideology. The session should have had a third participant representing other ideology, she added. Sonjoy Roy, director of the JLF, the worlds largest free literature festival, refutes the notion that right wing ideology is represented in the festival for the first time. We have had Tarun Vijay and Murli Manohar Joshi in the past. The JLF stands for diversity and includes voices from all sections, he said. The absence of poet-translator Ashok Vajpeyi, scholar-poet Uday Prakash and K Satchidanandan prominent faces in last years award Waapsi against growing intolerance has also raised questions over support for the festival among free thinkers. The death of Cooperation Minister H S Mahadeva Prasad comes as a double whammy for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as he has lost a close friend and also his political strategist for Chamarajanagar district. The loss comes close on the heels of Siddaramaiahs one-time confidant V Srinivas Prasad quitting the Congress and joining the BJP. The friendship of Mahadeva Prasad and Siddaramaiah goes back more than two decades. They were in the Janata Dal together and later in the JD(S). Mahadeva Prasad joined the Congress along with Siddaramaiah in 2007. Politically, the Congress finds itself in a void in Gundlupet and Nanjangud Assembly constituencies that were represented by Mahadeva Prasad and Srinivas Prasad respectively and it will be a challenge for Siddaramaiah when the bypolls are announced in these two segments. The 58-year-old Mahadeva Prasad, a Lingayat, and Srinivas Prasad, a Dalit, held a sway over the electorate. The Gundlupet Assembly constituency is dominated by Lingayats. Mahadeva Prasad was the lone Lingayat MLA from the erstwhile undivided Mysuru district and had emerged as the voice of his community in that region. He was closely associated with the Suttur Mutt. Mahadeva Prasad and Srinivas Prasad were instrumental in getting the Congress candidate R Dhruvanarayana elected from the Chamarajnagar Lok Sabha constituency in 2014. In his condolence message, Siddaramaiah acknowledged that Mahadeva Prasad, a five-time MLA, was instrumental in getting Congress candidates elected from all the four Assembly constituencies in Chamarajanagar district in the Assembly polls in 2013. He was one of my closest friends. His demise is a great loss to me personally, Siddaramaiah said. The chief minister, who arrived at the Mysuru airport to pay his last respects to his Cabinet colleague, told reporters that Mahadeva Prasads death was unexpected. I have lost a good friend, both politically and personally. Prasad was an able and clean politician. His sincerity as well as pro-people work made him popular. For any political party, he was an asset. He served in the Janata Dal, Janata Dal (S) also, Siddaramaiah recalled. Siddaramaiah said that on December 31, he and Prasad celebrated the New Year. For the past 15 years, we used to be together on December 31 to ring in the New Year, the chief minister said. Energy Minister D K Shivakumar, Bengaluru Development Minister K J George and Inspector General of Police (Intelligence) B Dayananda accompanied the chief minister. Paryaya Pejawar Mutt seer Sri Vishwesha Theertha Swami said delay in construction of Ram Mandir is a huge embarrassment to Hindu community. Speaking at a meeting convened to discuss programmes for Mangala Goyatra, scheduled to be held on January 22, the seer said the struggle to construct Ram Mandir has gone waste. Ramachandrapura Mutt, Hosanagar taluk, Shivamogga district, has He said the country is unable to construct a temple for Lord Rama though Hindus are more here. It is disgusting that people had to resort to a prolonged struggle to construct the temple. Despite the fight, there has been no fruitful result, he said. The seer said that conserving cattle treasure is the prime duty of all Hindus in terms of humanity and spiritualism. He lamented that opposition for conserving the cattle treasure is increasing. The cattle is the source of livelihood to many and offers a plenty of benefits to mankind. Many protests and fights have been staged to conserve the livestock. However, the voice of majority has failed to suppress the violence meted out to the animals, he said. He lauded the efforts of Ramachandrapura Mutt for organising Mangala Goyatra. RSS leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat said there has been continuous attack on the culture and tradition of Hinduism. Cattle wealth is the nations treasure.The education system is moving away from teaching morality today. The cattle are killed to hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindus and the government has been supporting the cow slaughtering, he said. The construction of Ram Mandir will be taken up at any cost. It is the symbol of pride and dignity of the Hindus, he added. The police on Tuesday registered a suo moto FIR in connection with molestation of women during the New Years Eve. City police commissioner Praveen Sood told DH, Based on evidence provided by a citizen, a suo motu case was taken up and a FIR registered. The details of the evidence, the person who gave the evidence and the police station where the FIR has been registered cannot be revealed for now. Earlier, Home Minister G Parameshwara said the police were working round the clock to bring to book those involved in the reported molestation of women on Brigade Road during New Year Eve celebrations. The Bengaluru police is working round the clock, going through footage of all the CCTV cameras and following up on all the leads available. We will take necessary action suo motu and also request anybody who has any information to come forth and report it to the police (sic), he said in a media statement. Parameshwara, who is facing criticism for his remark that such incidents do happen during New Years Eve celebrations, said his statement was quoted out of context and not taken in its entirety. He also blamed people for adopting the western culture, especially in sartorial preferences. I sincerely believe that the choice of every citizen of our country should be respected. Women have equal rights, respect and protection under our Constitution. From the day I took over as Home Minister, I have stressed on the protection of women and children and will continue to do so (sic), he stated. The heart of a four-year-old boy from Bengaluru was transported to Chennai on Tuesday for transplantation. The police created a signal-free corridor from BGS Global Hospitals in Uttarahalli to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) to transport the organ. Four-year-old Jagath N was admitted to BGS Hospitals after he fell from the second floor of his residential complex. According to the Zonal Coordination Committee of Karnataka for Transplantation, organs of Jagath were harvested after the family gave consent on Tuesday. Since there was no possible match for his heart in the state, Jagats heart was sent to Fortis Malar, Chennai for a recipient. His liver and kidneys have also been harvested. Since they are a childs kidneys, both had to be transplanted into the same recipient. Bengaluru Traffic Police created a 48.8-km green corridor from BGS Global Hospitals to KIA via Kengeri, Rajarajeshwari Nagar arch, Mysore Road, KR Market, Race Course Road, Kumara Krupa Road and Hebbal junction. Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless. A right delayed is a right denied.Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true. Martin Luther King Jr. No one is born hating another person People must learn to hate and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. Nelson Mandela We can disagree and still love each other, unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist James Baldwin There is a fine line between free speech and hate speech. Free speech encourages debate whereas hate speech incites violence. Newton Lee The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything. Albert Einstein 14 Bollywood Actors Who Have The Most Filmfare Awards Egyptian broker Naguib Sawiris is reportedly investing $250 million to pull Brazils Oi out of bankruptcy proceedings. A proposal for the investment has been drafted by the Sawiris Group the controlling shareholder in Orascom Telecom Media & Technology together with the investment bank Moelis and a group of bondholders. Previous interactions between Sawiris and Oi had been reported, but played down. The Sawiris Group plans to provide Oi with a cash injection of $1.25 billion, with $1 billion of this sum generated by a public share sale. The deal will also grant the group control over Oi. Reportedly, some shareholders do not approve of the proposed deal, with advisory firm G5 Evercore leading a selection of bondholders in an attempt to reach an alternative agreement. Oi became the largest ever company in Brazil to file for bankruptcy protection when it initiated proceedings in June last year. Its progress since then has been faltering, as it attempts to reconcile the interests of its shareholders with those of its bondholders. While Oi has considerable fixed line infrastructure, its mobile presence is less substantial. The beleaguered operator has been plagued by setbacks including regulatory requirements regarding its fixed assets and its troubled merger with Portugal Telecom, from which it has since extracted itself. The operator has also stated its intent to sell off non-relevant asset Timor Telecom, and has requested court approval for the sale as per its reorganisation strategy. Investel Communications saw off its competition for Ois direct and indirect holdings in the unit with a bid for $36 million, along with the payment of Timor Telecoms debts to Oi, which totalled around $26 million. Oi also has a portfolio of African assets that it obtained through its previous merger with Portugal Telecom. These assets are also saleable. CES, or Consumer Electronics Show 2017, starts day after tomorrow. That, though, doesn't mean that you have to wait till then to know about all the latest tech being unveiled there. Tech giants have already announced their new line of products, and we even have prices and projected launch dates for some. While there will be more launches in the coming days, here is a look at all the products announced ahead of CES 2017. Smartphones: Budget phones, comebacks and AR LG kicked things off early with its new line of K-series phones in advance. The company announced the LG K3, K4, K8 and K10 smartphones, out of which the K3 and K4 are new additions to the K family. BlackBerry is rumored to launch a new device in partnership with TCL. According to rumours, the phone is codenamed Mercury, and may bring the QWERTY keyboard back. We hope to see BlackBerry make a comeback along with Nokia, which is slated to launch new phones this year. According to leaks, Asus is also likely to launch its Google Tango-enabled smartphone, called the Asus Zenfone AR. Reports suggest that it will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 SoC, which should put the phone right beside other flagship phones likes OnePlus 3T and the Google Pixel. Interestingly enough, Qualcomm is also set to release some details regarding its upcoming Snapdragon 835 SoC. Qualcomms first 10nm chip is reportedly 40% more power efficient and 27% faster. This will possibly come with Adreno 540 GPU, which is reportedly about 25% faster too. The Snapdragon 835 will bring improvements in camera as well, with better image signal processors. If you are holding your breath to see some other great smartphones launches at CES 2017, we say dont, as you will have to wait till MWC Barcelona later this year for more info on smartphones. Laptops: Some are here, more to come As of now, only Lenovo has announced its new lineup of laptops ahead of CES 2017. While some can be considered as big updates, the rest are just reiterations of older laptops. Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon The X1 Carbon has always been the ultimate 14-inch laptop to buy, which in its 2017 avatar now features a near-bezel-less display, and gets extended battery life (Lenovo claims 15 hours). It is now thinner, lighter, and runs on Intels new Kaby Lake processor. It will start shipping later this year, and prices will start at $1,349 (Rs. 92,300) Lenovo Thinkpad X1 tablet The Thinkpad X1 tablet is yet another premium business device from Lenovo. Available with 7th gen Intel Core processors and up to 1TB of NVMe storage, this will possibly compete with the upcoming Microsoft Surface Pro 5 tablet. Lenovo MIIX 720 The MIIX 720 is yet another tablet from Lenovo, which looks similar to the Microsoft Surface Pro 4. It is also powered by Intels Core i7 processor and has a 12-inch (2880x1920-pixel) display. Prices will start at $999 (Rs. 68,300 approximately). Lenovo Legion Y-series Lenovo has renamed its Y range of gaming laptops and rebranded them as Legion. The company has introduced the Y520 and Y720 for this year - both are powered by Intel Core i7-7770HQ processors, 16GB RAM and will be available with NVIDIA GeForce 1050Ti and 1060 GPUs, respectively. Lenovo also released a VR headset for the same. Apart from these, Lenovo also announced a bunch of new accessories such as the Lenovo Smart Assistant, a Bluetooth speaker made in collaboration Amazon feat. Alexa. Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 Dell has announced the new XPS 13 hybrid, which carries forward the same, striking design and adds a rotating hinge to it. The laptop is powered by the latest Kaby Lake Intel processors, and has claimed battery life of 15 hours. Prices will start at $999 (Rs. 68,300 approximately). Display: Curved and slim is the way to go While we are still in awe of the beautiful displays we tested this year, there are a couple of new displays already on their way. Samsung couldn't keep its excitement as it announced the new, curved gaming monitors in advance. Available in 27-inch and 31.5-inch variants, Samsungs new displays will be available with 2K resolutions and will have a curvature of 1800R, offering ultra-wide viewing angles of 178 degrees. The display is touted to deliver 125 percent sRGB colour gamut and 1ms response time. Dell, on the other hand, has kept things straightforward. Its new 27-inch Ultrathin features USB Type-C compatibility. Like Samsung, Dells monitors are also equipped with 2K resolution, and prices will start at $700 (Rs. 47,900 approximately). Televisions: Bigger, brighter and slimmer TV technology has progressed steadily, with 4K, HDR, Quantum Dot and now nano cell LCDs. It is hard to keep up with the ever-changing lingo of the television tech. However, LGs latest LCDs, which have uniformly-sized particles, promise accurate images and consistent colours, even if you are standing off-centre from the television. The TV also packs something called active HDR, a feature that processes HDR picture frames after frames, and inserts dynamic data wherever required. Samsung, Panasonic and other TV makers are also likely to showcase new models and (hopefully) newer technologies at CES 2017. Audio: Cool new speakers On the audio front, Samsung and LG have announced their speakers. Both Samsung and LG are going for the premium segment, although the approach is quite different. While the soundbar announced by Samsung is all sleek and minimalistic, the LG PJ9 is a floating Bluetooth speaker that is an ode to the progress of technology. IoT: Connected homes WeMo showcased two new connected devices for your home, with the centerpiece being the smart dimmer. It is a light switch that can control brightness levels of connected lights and can be controlled with Amazons Alexa, Google Home, IFTTT and Nest thermostats, making it highly versatile. We can expect more IoT devices to join the connected home invasion at CES 2017, which starts officially on January 5, 2017. OnePlus will open doors to its first ever exclusive store in India on January 7 OnePlus will open doors to its first ever exclusive store in India on January 7. The Chinese technology startup is opening a new experience zone in Bangalore to provide fans and prospective users with a better prior experience of its products. OnePlus says in a blog post that its experience store will allow users to try all OnePlus devices in person, before making a purchase decision. It is not clear whether OnePlus is shifting towards higher offline presence, with the launch of its store. The company notes that it has a few surprises planned for everyone who would turn up at the launch event. Interestingly, three lucky fans will win OnePlus All Access Passes, which offer an opportunity to spend time with Pete Lau and Carl Pei, the young co-founders of OnePlus. The blog also mentions that there will be exclusive launch day offers at the store. India is seen as a potential market for setting up exclusive experience stores by several smartphone makers. Apple has approached the government to do away with local sourcing norms for setting up its own retail stores in India. Xiaomi, one of the more popular brands here, has also approached the government with similar requests. Hello India. Our first OnePlus Experience Store is opening soon and you should drop by! https://t.co/roC3m1XQzK pic.twitter.com/nBG6EUcstU OnePlus India (@OnePlus_IN) January 2, 2017 OnePlus has thrived on the back of strong hardware support backed with what many consider to be one of the best ROMs out there. The company also recently started rolling out the Android 7.0 Nougat update over-the-air for OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T, keeping devices up to date with the latest software standards. Kibo Mining has reassured investors that the sacking of the head of Tanzanias state owned electricity company does not affect the companys Mbeya coal to power project. On Sunday Tanzanias president fired Felschesmi Mramba, managing director of Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) after it hiked tariffs. The countrys energy regulator approved a 8.53% rise in tariffs by Tanesco on 29 December, which was less than half of what the company said it needed to stem losses. This was later rescinded by President John Magufuli before he sacked Mramba. Kibo mining said that Tanesco has been undergoing policy changes and restructuring under the new Tanzanian government, which came to power in October 2015, and sees the management changes and tariff reviews as part of this ongoing reform and restructuring process. Chief executive Louis Coetzee, said: "The latest announcements with regard to Tanesco are not directed at any of the utility's development projects or business development policies, nor are there any indications that the latest announcements will in any way affect the Mbeya coal to power project or any of the work streams currently underway in this regard. Through our close and transparent relationship with the Tanzanian government, we will continue to diligently progress the further development of the Mbeya coal to power project and we will promptly update shareholders should any changes materially impact the current work programme of the Mbeya coal to power project." Kibo Mining holds a thermal coal deposit at Mbeya, south west Tanzania, which has a significant 43-101 defined nickel resource, and is developing a 250-350 megawatts mouth-of-mine thermal power station, the Mbeya coal to power project. The company is currently undertaking a coal mining definitive feasibility study and a power pre-feasibility study for the Mbeya project with an integrated bankable feasibility study report to be released soon. In August 2016, China based contractor Sepco III granted the company the right to become the sole bidder for the contract to build the power plant component of the Mbeya project in exchange for Sepco III refunding 50% of the development costs by Kibo to date on the project. The company received the first $1.8m tranche in September. Shares in Kibo Mining were down 3.85% to 6.49p at 1150 GMT. Commodities started the year in the red after early strength in crude oil futures crumbled in the face of renewed gains in the greenback. As of 1822 GMT, the Bloomberg Commodity index was off by 1.55% to 86.16 as the US dollar spot index tacked on 0.30% to 103.09, although the US currency was off its best levels of the day, having hitting an intra-session high earlier in the day at 103.79. Dollar gains came on the back of a stronger-than-expected reading on the ISM manufacturing sector purchasing managers' index for the month of December. Prompt-month West Texas Intermediate futures were down 2.40% at $52.43 per barrel, down from their session highs of $55.24. Natural gas futures were especially weak, with the February 2017 NYMEX contract down 10.55% to $3.33/MMBtu. "There has been a swift turnaround in markets this afternoon as the US dollar fell away from the key levels on the upside, which saw EURUSD make new lows, and GBPUSD both bounce off a key downside level. The catalyst for the downside seems to have come from the oil price as the rally in WTI dramatically ran out of steam, sending prices over $2 lower to trade below $53 per barrel. It had been a positive session across the board as US markets opened up this afternoon but the turnaround has dragged all asset classes away from their highs and in most cases well into negative territory," said James Hughes, chief market analyst at GKFX.com. Oil futures had moved higher throughout the day on the back of better-than-expected Chinese factory sector data released overnight and on the back of local media reports citing officials from Kuwait and Oman saying their two countries had begun to cut output, making good on their pledges to rein in production. Kuwait Oil Co. boss Jamal Jaafer told Al-Anba that it had decreased production by approximately 130,000 barrels a day. In parallel, Omani authorities said they were curbing output by 45,000 b/d. To take note of, what traders had already returned to their desks following the Christmas break were waiting on the latest weekly API inventory data due out later in the session. Despite the latest set of upbeat figures out of China, most bulk metal prices drifted lower in overnight trading, with Chinese steel rebar futures slipping from $480.9/metric tonne to $478.8 a tonne. Spot iron prices at Tianjin finished the Chinese session down at $72 a tonne versus $75.3 on the day before. Strikingly, gold futures began the new year on a solid footing and were trading near their session highs of $1,162.30, up by 0.92% from where they had begun the day. Agricultural commodities were also mostly higher, with March 2017 ICE futures particularly well bid and gaining 2.02% to $2,169 per metric tonne. Unemployed people in Finland will now receive a basic income of around 480 per month in an attempt to get 2,000 jobless Finns back to work. The idea of universal basic income has gained traction over the last twelve months as more and more legislators and governments see the benefits of paying their citizens a monthly wage, regardless of their job status. Finland's government is launching the experimental scheme for two years in attempt to cut back on administrative red tape, reduce poverty and boost employment in the Scandinavian country. Those who use the programme will not face any reporting requirements and will be deducted from any other state benefits they receive. Olli Kangas, head of the government agency (KELA) which controls the scheme, said that the idea was to avoid discouraging those who are unemployed from staying on benefits and seeking short-term or low-income work. "It's highly interesting to see how it makes people behave," Kangas said. "Will this lead them to boldly experiment with different kinds of jobs? Or, as some critics claim, make them lazier with the knowledge of getting a basic income without doing anything?" The latest job figures from Finland in November show that the unemployment rate is currently at 8.1%, with prime minister Juha Sipila and his government keen to tackle the problem. Benjamin Netanyahu , the prime minister of Israel, has been questioned in relation to a criminal investigation into corruption conducted by the country's attorney general. The leader is suspected to have been involved in beneficial deals with businessmen in Israel, according to a report from Attorney General Avichai Mandelbit. Local media had reported over the last few days that police had been considering launching an investigation into the issue. Netanyahu has repeatedly denied the allegations against him, and on Monday responded angrily to the latest action against him. "Unfortunately you'll have to be disappointed this time as well, like you were disappointed in previous affairs," Netanyahu wrote on his Facebook page. "As usual, there will not be anything because there is nothing. Try replacing the Prime Minister at the ballot box -- as is customary in a democracy." The prime minister, who is currently presiding over his fourth term as leader, has often had an antagonistic relationship with the media in Israel. His predecessor Ehud Olmert is currently serving a prison sentence for corruption. Despite the probe beginning as far back as July 2016, it has now placed Netanyahu "under caution on the suspicions of receiving benefits", making him a suspect for having committed a crime. Mandelblit has elaborated on what the suspected crime was, but has however ruled out any link to previous allegations against Netanyahu which have been dismissed. Stocks in London were set to kick off the new year in the black on Tuesday, buoyed by encouraging Chinese manufacturing data. The FTSE 100 was called to open 12 points higher at 7,154. China's Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers index for December printed at 51.9 compared to 50.9 the month before and marking its strongest level since 2013. Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at London Capital Group, said: China made an optimistic start to the year as Caixins manufacturing PMI hinted at a speeding expansion in December (51.9 versus 50.9 expected and printed a month earlier). The economic activity in China is expected to expand at a higher pace moving into the Chinese New Year, which is due earlier this year. On the data front, UK manufacturing PMI is at 0930 GMT. In the US, Markits manufacturing PMI is at 1445 GMT, while ISM manufacturing PMI and construction spending are at 1500 GMT. In corporate news, Euronext has made a 510m offer to the London Stock Exchange and clearing house LCH Group, to buy the latter's French-regulated operating subsidiary, LCH SA. The 510m will be adjusted for surplus regulatory capital movement between 30 June 2016 to the completion of the sale, which is subject to regulatory approval by the European Commission due to the proposed merger of the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Borse. Vodafone is due to receive a 0.6m cash payment after it tied up its VodafoneZiggo joint venture in the Netherlands with Virgin Media owner Liberty Global. As a result of the sale of Vodafone's lossmaking Thuis arm VodafoneZiggo is predicted to reap around 3.5bn of efficiencies and synergies from the merger of both company's Dutch operations, though the amount that both sides will pay into the JV has increased to an estimated 211m from the previous 182m. BBA Aviations aircraft management and charter business has merged with Gama Aviations US aircraft management business. The combined entity, Gama Aviation Signature Aircraft Management, will be one of the world's largest aircraft management and charter businesses, supported by the Signature Flight Support global FBO network, 10 million m2 of hangars and an extensive fixed and mobile line maintenance, Aircraft on Ground and engine support capability. The UK government has launched its long-mooted 'starter homes' policy, where new homes will be built on brownfield land and sold at a discount to younger first-time buyers. Housing minister Gavin Barwell confirmed on Tuesday that initial houses will be built in 2017 thanks to the policy, which were first announced by David Cameron in September 2014 as part of the 'Help to Buy' scheme. Only first-time buyers aged between 23 and 40 years old will receive a discount of at least 20% below market value, the Department for Communities and Local Government said, with brownfield land made available via a 'first wave' of 30 local councils that have committed to providing land for early delivery, including Bristol, Gloucester, Greater Manchester, Liverpool, Middlesex, Northumberland, Sheffield and Somerset. The discount will apply to properties worth up to 450,000 in London or 250,000 outside. "This first wave of partnerships shows the strong local interest to build thousands of Starter Homes on hundreds of brownfield sites in the coming years. One in three councils has expressed an interest to work with us so far," said Barwell, who did not Barwell confirm how many homes would be built this year. Criticism has greeted the programme at each turn since it was first mooted three years ago, with the latest iteration unable to avoid controversy as the starter homes will count towards the governments target to build 400,000 new affordable homes, while the affordability of the homes has also been called into question. The government, which has pledged to build 200,000 by 2020, has set up a 1.2bn Starter Homes Land Fund to help with the acquisition, remediation and de-risking of suitable land for starter home developments which can be built on by developers or through accelerated construction by 2020. Christine Whitehead, the London School of Economics' emeritus professor in housing economics, told the BBC that the "timescale is much too short, it's not that easy to build on land that quickly, and we are anyway short on skills". Housing charity Shelter has criticised the policy as most average earners would struggle to afford an average priced Starter Home, having calculated that if discounting the median house price in 2020 by 20% and assuming the average deposit of around 19%, an average Starter Home may sell for 214,000 in England or 395,000 in London, which would require an income of 50,000 and a deposit of 40,000 for first-time buyers in England and, for those in London, an income of 77,000 and a deposit of 98,000. Shelter's director of communications, Roger Harding, said: Efforts to build more homes are welcome, but these starter homes are only likely to benefit people who are better off and already close to buying. The Government recently signalled that it wanted affordable to start to actually mean affordable when it comes to building homes. We would urge them to keep to this rather than continuing with starter homes, which have been shown not to work. McCarthy & Stone , the UKs leading retirement housebuilder, has announced that Rowan Baker will be appointed as the groups chief financial officer from 6 January 2017. Baker will be taking over from Nick Maddock who will be stepping down from the board on 6 January 2017. She currently holds the position of group financial controller and has worked for the group since January 2012. Before joining the company she held a variety of roles in industry and private practice, most notably at Barclays Bank and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Chairman John White said: "We are delighted to announce Rowan's appointment as chief financial officer and we welcome her to the Board. She has made an outstanding contribution since she joined the Group in 2012 and she played a key role in our successful return to the stock market in November 2015." The share price rose 1.06% to 162.70p at 1045 GMT on Tuesday. Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster is facing increasing calls for her to stand down from her position, with the Alliance Party the latest to call for her resignation following the so-called "cash for ash" scandal. Foster has come in for severe criticism and faced a vote of no confidence in the NI Assembly last month after allegations that she oversaw the unnecessary spending of more than 400m of taxpayers' money through the renewable heating incentive scheme. Alliance leader Naomi Long followed the likes of Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionists by saying Foster should step down while an investigation takes place. "The only way we can move forward is to have a completely independent public enquiry and it would be wise for the First Minister to step aside without prejudice," Ms Long told RTE's Morning Ireland. "How can the First Minister have public confidence after this?" she asked. Sinn Fein politicians have said that if Foster does not resign then the power-sharing government at Stormont would be at risk of collapse. The NI executive is made up of representatives of a variety of political parties, and the withdrawal of Sinn Fein from the body could signal fresh elections and a breakdown of the power-sharing agreement. "It's increasingly obvious the DUP have lost the run of themselves within the Northern political institutions," said party chairman Declan Kearney. Kearney said the RHI scandal had made Foster's position as First Minister "entirely untenable". Police charge suspect who fired at police, was shot in exchange Columbus police identified the gunman wounded by police early Thursday morning as Raymond Richard Hampton, 26, of the University District. From the elegant arcades of France and Italy, to the bustling shopping streets of the US and Japan, to the vibrant markets of Hong Kong and Dubai, the planets fashion capitals are brimming with impeccable menswear waiting to grace your shelves. These shopping meccas offer something for everyone. The young and trendy can stock their closets with hip boutique togs and vintage treasures culled from thrift shops. Refined retail therapy is found in colossal malls and renowned department stores. Unique and inexpensive buys await in street stalls and discount outlets. Here youll find eight of the finest shopping destinations the world has to offer. Be sure to bring a spare suitcase. New York City Saks. Bergdorf Goodman. Bloomingdales. Barneys. Henri Bendel. Tiffanys. New York City is densely packed with luxury shopping legends, most famously along pricey Fifth Avenue. Downtowns Soho neighbourhood is lined with designer boutiques and flagships, and a steady stream of off-duty models strolling the cobblestone streets. For more unique finds, hop aboard a subway bound for Brooklyn and its wealth of quirky thrift shops and flea markets. Youll find no shortage of sartorial inspiration from the citys eclectic street style. VIEW OR BOOK FLIGHTS London Londons shopping is bold and broad, with something for any kind of patron. Oxford Street is the heart of high street fashion, while more alternative types find edgy threads in Camden Market, Brick Lane, Spitalfields, and Portobello Road. High-end shoppers head to Bond Street and Mayfair for the likes of McCartney and McQueen, as well as Rei Kawakubos Dover Street Market. Harrods and Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge are musts for the elegant gent, and of course theres the must-iest must of them all for tailoring types: Savile Row. VIEW OR BOOK FLIGHTS Hong Kong The wealth of luxury goods in Hong Kong is staggering. Its been called the best Asian shopping city by the Global Shopper City Index, and thoroughly lives up to the title. Hong Kongs long history as a hub of international trade has today made it a go-to for consumerism of all kinds, whether youre looking for behemoth malls, trendy boutiques, high-end electronics, discount outlets, or chaotic markets. Read our full guide to Hong Kong shopping here. VIEW OR BOOK FLIGHTS Paris No list of the worlds most famous shopping meccas would be complete without a shoutout to Paris. You could spend an entire holiday lost in the holy trinity of Parisian department stores (Au Printemps, Le Bon Marche, Galeries Lafayette), or roaming the Rue Saint Honore and Champs-Elysees, or exploring the Marais for vintage gems. Fashionistos with designer tastes will find no shortage of places to splash out, but Paris shopping isnt limited to the luxe. Cult concept store Colette is overflowing with trendy, tightly edited fashion and other goods that appeal to a younger, edgier clientele. VIEW OR BOOK FLIGHTS Dubai Everythings bigger in Dubai. The notoriously glitzy city has practically redefined shopping with the Dubai Mall (the worlds largest shopping mall by area) and the Mall of the Emirates (which bills itself as the worlds first shopping resort and boasts an indoor ski slope). A more traditional spending experience is found in the Gold Souk, a covered market with so much glittering jewellery you may need sunglasses to make it through. Dubai is also famous for its many shopping festivals, including the annual Dubai Shopping Festival, which see massive deals sweep the citys retail outlets to the delight of residents and visitors alike. VIEW OR BOOK FLIGHTS Milan The world of menswear would be lost without Milan. Italys most fashionable city houses the flagship stores of all the countrys top designers, from Prada to Versace to Dolce & Gabbana. Shoppers with cash to burn will have no trouble spending at Quadrilatero della Moda or Quadrilatero dOro (the Golden Triangle), while bargain shoppers can find exceptionally stylish deals in Milans outlets and sales racks. Stop by the glass-roofed Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which has been open since 1867, for one of the worlds oldest and most picturesque shopping experiences. VIEW OR BOOK FLIGHTS Los Angeles Hollywoods A-list couldnt walk the red carpet without the help of LAs assorted sartorial offerings. Celebs and socialites (and those aspiring to be them) most famously flock to Rodeo Drive and Melrose Avenue for swanky designer stores. The Grove is the star of the Tinseltown mall scene. Those without movie star budgets pan for fashion gold at the citys vintage shops and creative boutiques (try Venices Abbot Kinney Boulevard). For high street favourites like Zara and Uniqlo, take advantage of Los Angeles sunny weather and walk the shops of the Third St Promenade in Santa Monica. VIEW OR BOOK FLIGHTS Tokyo Shopping in Tokyo is like anything else in the city: a frenetic, flourishing, mesmerising assault on the senses. A trip to Takeshita Dori in Harajuku offers a mind-boggling look at Japans youth culture. Its bright and brash and wont appeal to all shoppers, but its worth it for the spectacle alone. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Ometosando, often referred to as Tokyos Champs-Elysees, and glamorous Ginza. Akihabara is a haven for all your electronic needs and the epicentre of Tokyos nerd culture. As for the citys most memorable shopping, it might be a toss up between the revered Isetan department store or the seven-floor raunch emporium Ms: Pop Life Sex Department Store. Rioting inmates of a jail in Brazil, decapitated their rivals in a clash between two gangs that left 56 dead, while 144 prisoners escaped, officials said yesterday. The riot, which broke out at a prison on the outskirts of Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, on Sunday afternoon, raged through the night, according to state public security secretary Sergio Fontes. An AFP photographer who was present at the scene said bloodied and burned bodies were stacked in a concrete prison yard and piled in carts. The toll was later lowered to 56 from an earlier count of 60 by Fontes' department. The fighting ranked as the most bloody of the numerous prison riots across Latin America in the past decade and, according to Fontes, it was "the biggest massacre" ever committed at a prison in the state. Outside, heavily armed police hunted for dozens of inmates who fled the scene through a series of tunnels discovered at the Anisio Jobim penitentiary complex. According to Fontes' department, 112 prisoners escaped from that prison and another 72 from the nearby Antonio Trindade Penal Institute and only 40 were captured. Police managed to regain control of the situation last morning and freed 12 guards who had been taken hostage, Fontes said. "This was another chapter in the silent and ruthless war of drug trafficking," Reuters quoted him as saying. According to Pedro Florencia, the Amazonas state prison secretary, the massacre was a "revenge killing" in a feud between criminal gangs in Brazil. Just as the riot started in one unit of the Anisio Jobim prison complex, dozens of prisoners in the second unit started a mass escape in what according to prison authorities was a coordinated effort to distract guards. Overcrowding is very common in Brazil's prisons and inmates have little space to lie down. Violent clashes break out frequently under what rights groups call ''medieval conditions''. The Pakistan Chulah is mounted on a raised lime-stabilized earthen platform. It is built to be DRR (disaster risk reduction)-compliant, being unaffected by rain, floodwaters or earthquakes. The techniques in earth construction are drawn from vernacular traditions of Pakistan. Rural women are particularly proficient in building earthen structures, which are then covered with a render, lovingly and carefully applied to beautify the core of the earth wall. The plaster is usually mixed with straw and cow dung, providing it with elasticity and smoothness. By adding lime recommended by us, the structures become strong and are no longer prone to usual disintegration of earth surfaces. The addition of lime is derived from Pakistans own ancient heritage going back to the 13th century, as well as the pyramids of Egypt and the aqueducts of Rome. The placement of the double-stove on earthen platforms, a hygienic environment for cooking is achieved. Animal droppings and dirt that are commonly seen in the floor mounted open-fire stoves, no longer contaminate the food while it is being cooked. An air regulation pipe allows the transfer of heat from the combustion chamber to the secondary chamber, thus making it possible to cook on both the stoves even while fuel is used only in one stove. The chimney that is incorporated in the design emits smoke only when the fire is lit and that too at a higher level, thus avoiding the diseases commonly associated with the traditional makeshift stoves. Other features include an earthen storage wall in the rear of the stove where cooking utensils can be stored or displayed. A small platform for hand washing is also available and, in the absence of running water, it incorporates a can of water at a higher level to facilitate hand washing. Home Four wheelers New Year 2017 Bring Bad News For BMW, Porsche, And Nissan In South Korea oi-Rajkamal New Year excitement having barely settled, the South Korean authorities have banned sales of certain cars made by BMW, Porsche, and Nissan in the country. {photo-feature} Most Viewed Car Photo Gallery Home Four wheelers Volkswagen India Produces Highest Ever Cars In A Year oi-Sukesh Volkswagen India has achieved another feat in the country by producing the highest number of cars in a year. The company's Pune plant is the hub for manufacturing these cars. {photo-feature} Most Viewed Car Photo Gallery Manage your notification subscription by clicking on the icon. To start receiving timely alerts, as shown below click on the Green lock icon next to the address bar Click it and Unblock the Notifications Click it and Unblock the Notifications Close X Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) and its students celebrated the festive season with the launch of a 12-Day Christmas Prize Giveaway Competition via its new Instagram channel DkIT_ie. Each day the students were set a Christmas-themed challenge via social media to win an assortment of prizes including holiday vouchers, cinema tickets, free coffees, free haircuts, meal vouchers and much more. The campaign received extensive support from the local business community and official sponsors included An Tain Arts Centre, Dundalk On Ice, Eclips Hair, IMC Cinema, KSG, Maxol Dundalk, Omniplex Cinemas, Spirit Store and The Four Seasons Hotel, Carlingford. Dundalk-based travel agent, KT Travel also generously donated a grand prize of 100 holiday vouchers which were extremely popular among DkIT students. Speaking today, Thomas Redmond, Marketing and Communications Manager at DkIT said, We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all of our prize sponsors throughout the campaign. The DkIT student body makes a significant contribution to the economy here in Dundalk and local businesses were eager to support the campaign and to the students at this festive time. As part of the campaign, DkIT launched its new Instagram (@DkIT_ie) and secured over 500 fans in just two weeks. This brings DkITs official social media connections up to more than 27,500 across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Twitter. Thomas Redmond commented, Digital communication is an essential part of how our students communicate today and social media is one of the most important way that many consume news and information. It is important that we continue to expand our digital footprint to find new ways to engage and interact with our students and the wider community. While DkIT has had a presence on Instagram for many years, this is the first official channel for the Institute on the platform. We are currently exploring other channels such as SnapChat, Whatsapp and Yik Yak, so watch this space! "We must be ready to dare all for our country. For history does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid. 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As reported by Ecotextile News just prior to Christmas, 55 RMG factory owners have recently closed their facilities after a series of strikes over wages, using the country's draconian labour laws to shutdown production and not pay their workers for the duration of the strike. Wineries in Texas are worried that federal approval of two highly volatile and drift-prone herbicides used on neighboring genetically modified (GMO) cotton fields will cause widespread damage to their vineyards, The Texas Tribune details. Dicamba damage on a grape leaves. Uky.edu The herbicides in question are Monsantos dicamba-based XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technology, which was approved in November by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Dow AgroSciences 2,4-D-based Enlist Duo, which the EPA also proposed to register for use on GMO cotton seeds. Enlist Duo is already used on GMO corn and soybean crops in 15 states. The approval of these formulations will wind up affecting every vineyard up there, explained Paul Bonarrigo, a Hale County vintner who believes that his withering grapevines have been damaged by the illegal spraying of dicamba and 2,4-D on nearby cotton farms. Bonarrigo believes that the states $2 billion wine industry is in jeopardy. The debacle is yet another chapter in the expanding issue of herbicide-resistant weeds, or superweeds, that have evolved to resist the herbicide glyphosate, or Roundup. In response to weeds such as pigweed that have infested farms across the U.S., agribusinesses such as Monsanto and Dow have developed ever stronger weedkillers to help farmers. https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/797213616638402560 As noble as that might sound, Monsanto was especially criticized when it decided to sell its dicamba- and glyphosate-resistant soybean and cotton seeds to farmers before securing EPA approval for the herbicide designed to go along with it. Bollgard II XtendFlex cotton was introduced in 2015 and Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans was introduced earlier this year. Without having the proper herbicide, cotton and soy farmers resorted to spraying older versions of dicamba on their crops. But dicamba, as well as the herbicide 2,4-D, are extremely prone to drift, meaning the chemicals can be picked up by the wind and land on neighboring fields that cannot withstand the chemical damage. When exposed to the herbicide, leaves on non-target plants are often left cupped and distorted. Researchers from Ohio State University published a study in September showing that herbicide spray drift from the 2,4-D and dicamba can severely damage wine grape plants near agronomic crops. Common leaf injury symptoms observed in vines 42 d after being treated with (a) glyphosate, (b) 2,4-D, (c) dicamba, and (d) nontreated control Ohio State University Although Monsanto said it warned farmers against illegal dicamba spraying, this past summer, dicamba drift caused 10 states to report widespread damage on thousands of acres of non-target crops such as peaches, tomatoes, cantaloupes, watermelons, rice, cotton, peas, peanuts, alfalfa and soybeans. Last month, Missouris largest peach grower filed a lawsuit against Monsanto over claims that dicamba drift damaged more than 7,000 peach trees on the farm, amounting to $1.5 million in losses. This year, the farm said it lost more than 30,000 trees, with financial losses estimated in the millions. https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/806879129450741760 Regulators assured to The Texas Tribune that the new pesticides are less likely to vaporize and drift, and the risk of damage will lessen if farmers follow safety precautions. I dont see this as being any more of an issue than what we have today, Steve Verett, executive vice president of the Plains Cotton Growers, told the publication. I understand there are other sensitive crops as well. No matter what the product is or the farmer thats spraying, they need to make sure that the product theyre spraying stays on their farm. Kyel Richard, a spokesman for Monsanto, added that the company has conducted training exercises and education efforts to minimize the opportunity for movement off- site and ensuring those herbicides are staying on target and controlling those weeds on the field that theyre intended for. State wineries, however, are worried that with the EPAs approval, use of dicamba and 2,4-D will expand to include 3.7 million acres of cotton fields. I could see it basically killing the [wine] industry, honestly, Garrett Irwin, owner of Cerro Santo vineyard in Lubbock County, countered. If we get the levels of damage that Im afraid well get, vineyards will not be able to recover or produce grapes at any sustainable level, and were just going to have to go away. https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/714246945745797120 Irwin also commented that cotton and soy farmers are likely to stick with old dicamba and 2,4-D herbicides because the new formulations are more expensive. Additionally, farmers have to upgrade their equipment with anti-drift nozzles to use the new products. I honestly dont think farmers will buy the new formulations when older labels that cost less are available and just as effective as the new labels, he said. In short, I think farmers will buy generic chemicals without the additives to save money because the cotton wont know the difference. And if they do buy the new herbicides, there will still be some farmers who will do nothing to correct for negligence in spraying, Irwin said. Pheasant Ridge Valley winery owner Bobby Cox told The Texas Tribune that he is worried that cotton farmers will have no choice but to switch to the new seeds system. Cox said that 2,4-D drift in 2015 caused the amount of sugar in his grapes to be about 5 percent less than ideal. It will be catastrophic not only to vineyards but to oak trees, to pecan orchards, to shrubs, Cox said. If they apply the amount of 2,4-D that they did Roundup and are equally irresponsible with that, it will kill everything green up here. I wish people would understand how important wine growing is for this area, how wonderful of a crop it is on the High Plains. It would be a shame to lose it when were starting to get recognized. https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/771889227957145600 Not only that, environmental experts worry about dicambas threat on biodiversity and wonder if pesticide-makers are just creating another cycle of herbicide resistance. Once again the EPA is allowing for staggering increases in pesticide use that will undoubtedly harm our nations most imperiled plants and animals, said Nathan Donley, a scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity, after the EPA approved the Xtend weedkiller. Iconic species like endangered whooping cranes are known to visit soybean fields, and now theyd be exposed to this toxic herbicide at levels theyve never seen before. We cant spray our way out of this problem. We need to get off the pesticide treadmill, he continued. Pesticide resistant superweeds are a serious threat to our farmers, and piling on more pesticides will just result in superweeds resistant to more pesticides. We cant fight evolutionits a losing strategy. 2016 A Viking Year in Review For Elizabeth City State University, 2016 was a busy year. Here are just a few of the stories we wrote about, highlighting campus community life. For more stories, check out our Viking News page on the website, www.ecsu.edu. Concert Choir Performs at White House Back in February, the ECSU Concert traveled to the nations capital for one of their most memorable toursinside the White House. Dr. Walter Swan, director of choral studies, said the tour resulted from an invitation by U.S. Coast Guard Commander and ECSU alumnus Warren Judge (97). Swan gladly completed all the travel arrangements and took the students to the White House on January 27. While the President and First Lady were not on site, the choir performed inside the residence to the delight of fellow tourists and staff. Swan said the event was not only an opportunity to perform and tour, but a means of challenging his students. The students were challenged to take the best photos possible using cell phones as mobile libraries and to note architectural details, acoustical properties, decorations and relevant artifacts in sight. This exercise allowed the students to form an active classroom on site and engage with an audience, capture moments in their history, and promote the university. I assure you the students sang so beautifully the other tourists will remember them as much as the White House tour, Swan said. UNC System President Tours Campus From the moment University of North Carolina President Margaret Spellings walked through the doors of Elizabeth City State University last April, it was clear that the newly appointed system chief was a welcome guest. After meeting with ECSU Chancellor Thomas Conway, President Spellings was greeted by staff, students and faculty in the Marion Thorpe Administration Building and posed for photographs with each group. Student leaders commented on how much they enjoyed their time with her and were impressed with her desire to listen to them and answer their questions. Her day-long tour continued with a visit to Museum of the Albemarle where the ECSU 125th anniversary exhibit was being prepared for its May opening. Greeted by the museum's director, Bill McCrea, and curator, Wanda Lassiter, President Spellings was given a sneak peek of the exhibit before attending a luncheon with the ECSU Board of Trustees. During the luncheon, the president discussed several issues with the board, including tuition, minimum admissions requirements, and the significance of HBCUs to the mission of higher education. Later that day President Spellings toured the campus before departing for Chapel Hill. Museum Exhibit Celebrates 125th Anniversary Opening last May at Museum of the Albemarle, the exhibit, Elizabeth City State University: A Legacy of Excellence and Resilience, was a central part of the 125th anniversary of ECSU. Featuring numerous photographs, timelines and artifacts, the exhibit tells the story of ECSU up to present day. Free and open to the public, the exhibit will be up through the end of February 2017. New Aviation Lab Opens Elizabeth City State University Aviation Science students, staff and faculty celebrated the opening of a new, two-sector, aviation laboratory in McDonald Dixon and Bishop M. Patterson Hall last April. One side of the room is a NASA Aerospace Education laboratory (AEL) while the other is an Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) laboratory. This laboratory resulted from funding ECSU received from NASA (2015) and the Golden LEAF Foundation (2014) for enhancing Aerospace/Aviation Science education in the northeast North Carolina region. Additional funding was provided by a Department of Education-SAFRA grant. The NASA AEL sector houses multiple desktop flight simulator stations, renewable energy station (solar panels, wind turbines) , hand-held data loggers, aircraft/rocket design stations, wind tunnel, flow-visualization tunnel, weather stations, 3D printers, mobile robotic stations (ground and aerial), and experimental setups to cover various course topics related to STEM education. The Unmanned Aerial Systems sector of the laboratory currently houses DJI Phantom Vision 2+, DJI Inspire 1, DragonFlyer X-4, senseFly eXom, senseFly eBee Ag, Robo Flight 70, Aeromapper EV2, and QBall-X4, an aerial vehicle platform for advanced research. ECSU Unveils New Flag On Tuesday, July 19, 2016, ECSU Chancellor Thomas Conway spoke to a crowd of students, faculty, staff and surrounding community members as he dedicated the raising of a new university flag. The flag will fly adjacent to the universitys new main entrance, scheduled to open within the next several weeks. Chancellor Conway said when he took over as head of ECSU last January, he was greeted by staff and faculty members who have made it their goal to find ways to bring ECSU out into the surrounding communities, and bring those communities in, to be a part of the ECSU family. The new flag, he says, is a symbol of that community cooperation. The goal here is to fly the flag with pride, and ask the community to fly it, too, said Chancellor Conway in an address during the ceremony. We want people to know that youre connected to ECSU, and were connected to you. Students become Viking Volunteers Volunteering is the Viking way and ever since the Viking Volunteer Corps was officially launched in August 2016, students have been signing up to do their part. According to, LaQuisha Mayfield, admissions counselor and one of several volunteer coordinators, by September, 33 Elizabeth City State University students had signed on to become volunteers. Some of the volunteer opportunities include delivery of meals to elderly shut-ins through Meals on Wheels, being a Boys and Girls Club mentor, working with one several non-profits in Elizabeth City or working on campus assisting with the Chancellors Color Run or Homecoming activities. ECSU, Coast Guard Sign Agreement In a ceremony during the regular September 2016 Elizabeth City State University Board of Trustees meeting, Chancellor Thomas Conway and Coast Guard Rear Adm. Meredith Austin signed a memorandum of agreement that will bring the two organizations together to better educate future Coast Guard leaders. The purpose of the memorandum is to strengthen the relationship between ECSU and the Coast Guard. That relationship will assist the university in better offering educational opportunities to service members while also giving the Coast Guard the opportunity increase its military officer recruitment efforts. The university will provide courses to service members and their families and the Coast Guard is committed to supporting ECSU programs such as aviation technology. According to the memorandum, ECSU will identify opportunities for students, and opportunities for faculty research in areas that are of interest to the Coast Guard. In addition, Cmdr. Bruce Brown, commanding officer of Base Elizabeth City, will form a chamber of commerce and military affairs committee on campus, establish a Coast Guard presence at university ceremonies, and create more Coast Guard College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative (CSPI) scholarships for ECSU students. ECSU, Several Community Colleges Ink Agreements In an effort to bring higher education to as many Northeast North Carolina students as possible, ECSU and several regional community colleges entered into agreements that will provide students an opportunity to earn a bachelors degree without leaving their hometown. Halifax Community College, Roanoke Rapids Community College, and Beaufort Community College will offer their students an opportunity to earn an associates degree and then a bachelors degree while staying on their hometown campus. The degrees currently being offered are criminal justice and social work. Students will have the advantage of taking classes on their community campuses while receiving the full benefit of ECSUs faculty and staff. Seven states/UTs attain level 2 in the Performance Grading Index by MoE The number of states in the Level 2 category have gone up as compared to none in 2017-18 and four in 2019-20 Beaver County preparing for robust Election Day turnout As the Nov. 8 midterm election approaches, nearly 114,000 people are registered to vote in Beaver County. 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The Government's Food Matters strategy wants to help Manx businesses prepare their application for a SALSA certificate. The document is recognised by many leading retailers to show the supplier meets safety and legal requirements. The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture will hold training courses in March to prepare companies for their SALSA audit, which it's hoped will bring more buyers for Manx producers. Better Call Saul Season 3 is now in the works and its first teaser photos have a strong Breaking Bad theme. The spin-off clearly shows the happenings in Jimmy McGill's life (Bod Odenkirk) before he transformed into Saul Goodman from the original crime drama. The snaps revealed give a glimpse of Jimmy in his pre-Saul Goodman life as Gene, the Cinnabon manager. Wearing his mustache, polo shirt and slacks, it looks like the show is about to feature the backstory of the former criminal lawyer. "We're fascinated by that black-and-white world that Jimmy/Saul moves into when he becomes Gene the Cinnabon manager," Better Call Saul Season 3's showrunner Peter Gould told Digital Spy via The Independent. Aside from the said photo, Jimmy is also seen inside a room with his brother Chuck (Michael McKean). Moreover, it is quite expected that Gustavo Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) will now be seen in Better Call Saul Season 3. In fact, the show's previous season already hinted the crime lord's return as it teased that Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) is now getting ready to work under him. Of course, the series might also feature the coming of the known Breaking Bad protagonists Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). Screener reported that the appearances of the lead stars are possible but looking at the show's timeline, it is not the best time that they will come out. In fact, this is the best time that DEA Agent Hank Schrader (Dean Norris) should be seen in Better Call Saul Season 3. As Mike is now venturing in the world of crime, it is not far that he will meet Fring and the two are about to linked in New Mexico's the crystal meth industry. It has been known that New Mexico's section of the DEA is straightly connected to the country's drug trade. Hence, it is the perfect timing for him to appear in Better Call Saul Season 3 which returns in spring of 2017 on AMC. Samsung Electronics is slated to release two flagship devices this year. Dubbed as Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8, these smartphones might feature specs that the company's patrons wouldn't want to miss. According to Nashville Chatter, Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 might use somewhat similar design with its flagship handset Galaxy Note 7. The smartphone was superbly created and since Samsung patrons don't get the chance to enjoy the new design the company might incorporate that design again with the upcoming handsets. A dual-edge curved screen is also anticipated for Galaxy S8 and Note 8 which might be the new standard for the company's flagship phones starting this 2017. The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8 might also sport IP68 dust and water resistance feature and S Pen just like its predecessors. With IP68 rating, the upcoming flagship handsets will be capable of functioning even after staying for up to 30 minutes in water that is 1.5 meters deep. These devices are also anticipated to have an iris scanning feature for authentication purposes. Additionally, iDigitalTimes stated that Samsung removed the expandable storage on the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, but brought it back on the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge after its buyer's complaint. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 also sported an expandable storage up to 256GB. With these, Samsung might continue to include expandable storage on its devices. The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8 might also have USB Type-C port. As a matter of fac,t the South Korean tech company already incorporated this technology on its recently released Gear VR headset. Lastly, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 might have a Blue Coral color option. This is because this color has been very popular with the Galaxy Note 7. It might be released together with Gold and Silver variants. Based on the above-mentioned specs, it seems that the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 will have amazing specs and design. But then, the tech giant's patrons are advised to take these details with skepticism as Samsung Electronics doesn't confirm anything as of the moment. It is the start of New Year and it looks like Microsoft has some plans to start it on a positive note. The Redmond Company is reportedly planning to release the Surface Pro 5 in the first quarter of 2017. According to a report in DigiTimes, some manufacturing partners have hinted at a March launch for the Surface Pro 5 that will come with a 4K Ultra HD display, magnetic charging stylus. It is expected to be having an Intel Kaby Lake processor inside. In terms of storage, rumors hint at a 512GB+ SSD along with USB Type C and Thunderbolt 3 support inside it. Taiwanese manufacturing firm Pegatron Technology will apparently handle production of the device. There are booms that Quanta Computer might also be brought on board to assist with the process, however the report doesn't gave any other hints or specifications about the upcoming device. Pegatron Technology is the same company who Microsoft has outsourced the building of the Surface Studio as well as the older Surface Pros. Microsoft has launched the Surface Pro 4 back in October 2015. It features 12.3-inch PixelTouch display with a 3:2 aspect ratio. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4 that is only 0.4mm thick. It was launched with a new Surface Pen that came with an eraser and could detect 1,024 points of pressure. The company is also reportedly planning a new Surface Pen to support the Surface Pro 5 that will use magnetic charging and it will also a first for the company's Surface Pro line, reports Economic Times. There are still around three months for the launch and things may change in the meantime. Microsoft still not confirmed anything regarding the Surface Pro 5. So, there may be changes in certain aspects of the upcoming device when it eventually launches. After Luca Todesco's iOS 10.1.1 Jailbreak tool release, another jailbreaker has emerged saying that iOS 10.2 crack will be made available soon. Now, the said jailbreak tool has been reported to be in the making already. According to Yibada, the Yalu iOS 10.1.1 jailbreak finally fed the hunger mouths of the Apple Jailbreaking Community. Nonetheless, this crack was far from perfect. It is a semi-tethered crack and said to be unstable as what its creator Lucas Todesco says. Moreover, the iOS 10.1.1 jailbreak was said to be compatible with selected Apple devices. This list includes the iPhone 7/ 7 Plus, iPhone 6s/ 6s Plus and the iPad Pro. It was also noted that since the tool is a semi-tethered jailbreak, Apple device owners needed to re-jailbreak it when their handsets restarted. To ease the instability of iOS 10.1.1 jailbreak tool, Todesco recommended most Apple device owners to make sure they have version 4-1 which have support Cydia. With these technical complications, another hacker named Stefan Esser tries to pacify the iOS device owners by posting a tweet that an iOS 10.2 jailbreak is coming soon. As a matter of fact, University Herald stated in its article that Stefan Esser has been very popular in the jailbreaking community. Based on the German security researcher post on his social media site, the iOS 10.1 jailbreak issue isn't that big since the jailbreak for iOS 10.2 will be released soon. With this, it is safe to conclude that Esser might be already in the works of developing a tool to halt the restriction in Apple's latest firmware. Another speculation is that he just teases new software coming from another hacker. A lot of his follower asked who claimed it, but then Esser declined to spill any name by saying that he's not allowed to tell. So for now, the jailbreaking community will have to wait until the iOS 10.2 release date is scheduled. The tech giant Samsung will be releasing the different versions of Android 7.0 Nougat update to different models of its Galaxy S7 Edge and Galaxy S7 in different regions of the world. However, few users of the smartphones will receive the latest version of the update i.e. Android 7.1.1 Nougat, while some users will get the older version i.e. 7.0 Nougat. According to Android Central, this is also good news for owners of Samsung's former flagships like the Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, and Galaxy S6 edge Plus, which should be next in the line to receive the Android Nougat update. A representative for Vodafone in Australia has confirmed this news. Australia is one of the regions that will receive the Android 7.0 Nougat update on the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge as well as Samsung Galaxy S7. In a response to a consumer inquiry, on whether customers will be upgraded directly to the latest version of the Android 7.1.1 Nougat update, the representative stated that they have checked-in with the right individuals for them @shauno100 and @chri5tin3 and they have confirmed the references to the company skipping Android 7.0 Nougat in the reference to other markets and not to Australia. They are surely testing Android 7.0 Nougat for both gadgets. According to the several reports, based on the earlier guidance from the electronics company, the released version will be Android 7.1.1 Nougat. However, this appears not to be the case at least in Australia. However, it is still unknown as to which models in which other regions of the world will get which build, either 7.1.1 Nougat or 7.0 Nougat. Samsung is said to be following the standard protocol by planning the release of Android Nougat to users of its current flagship smartphones first, but with that release now around the corner, the company is said now to focusing on its former flagships, namely the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge Plus and Galaxy Note 5. At present, there is no official word on a timeline for those releases, but the sooner the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge Android Nougat updates make their way to users, the sooner owners of the former flagships can also expect to receive the Android Nougat updates. Considering the high predictive accuracy of famous astrologer Michel de Nostradamus, it is not surprising that people will once again seek his views with regard to the circumstances affecting the New Year. Some of his forecasts are definitely worth noting. First, the United States will have extensive problems in managing global affairs. While Washington has established its presence worldwide, its clout has diminished due to the growing inequality of social classes and wide-scale corruption. Next, in the Asia Pacific region, China will be taking a huge step in addressing the economic disparity across the globe. Beijing's surge as a superpower will be an uneasy sight for other established and emerging nations. The market dominance of the Chinese may be attributed to its $2 trillion international investments. The biggest revelation will be from East Asia where the unification of North and South Korea comes as a huge shock. Only the collapse of the Kim dynasty will bring forth the needed peace and order across the peninsula. The 65-year dominance of the Democratic People's Republic will possibly end with the ouster of Dictator Kim Jong-un. Meanwhile, in Europe, complications will arise as Germany and some EU member-nations will support a deal between Russia and Ukraine. This approach will upset Washington which has earlier called for a total turnover of Kiev from Moscow. Still in Europe, Italy will be replacing Greece and Spain as the most troubled economy in the continent. The country's banking sector will be stricken with debt-driven complications that will cause financial upheaval. In Latin America, ideological and policy changes will surface. The usually left-leaning region will undergo transformation that will trigger unrest along the way. Geographical events are not the only thing emerging from the predictions of Nostradamus. Disturbing global conditions will also happen. It is probable that the entire globe will be dependent on the cloud automation. This means that the platform will no longer be a storage computing system. Future tech procedures and functions itself will be done in the domain. On the other hand, considering the high utilization of global energy, countries will tap solar power as an alternative against other forms of resources. Although the initiative will be helpful, there is a need to be wary against industrial organizations which will be affected by such move. In line with this, climate change will be a precursor to upcoming misunderstandings. The grabbing of energy resources will instigate miscalculations between nations that will end up in wars. Finally, Nostradamus prophesy 2017 says that commercial travel will get an upgrade. Space will be the new frontier as tech companies will come up with sophisticated concepts that will propel the world into the next level of advancement. Vin Diesel is finally coming in India to promote his film xXx: Return of Xander Cage with the country's actress Deepika Padukone. In fact, the 30-year-old just confirmed the Fast and the Furious actor's arrival in a post on her Twitter page. Padukone sent out a warm message to Diesel in a tweet using the country's Hindi language. "Vin, India is frantically waiting for you," she said, as translated in English, according to Times of India. Part of her note is a couple of dates, January 12 and 13, which are possibly the film's premiere date. xXx: Return of Xander Cage is Padukone's first Hollywood film. It is set to be released on Jan. 13 in India, one week before it launch all over the world. The coming of Diesel in the country could be a double treat for the fans, seeing them together promoting their film. The 49-year-old actor has a great following in the said state for the massive success of his film franchise, xXx and Fast and the Furious. Moreover, it looks like the new installment of the American action film will feature a crazy ride as revealed by the teaser. Diesel even recently teased the deadly stunts and a lot of car chasings fans are about to see, Collider reported. In a behind-the-scene clip, The Last Witch Hunter star would definitely show the world the return of Xander Cage in xXx: Return Of Xander Cage. Meanwhile, Diesel also revealed that he is quite alike to his character as Cage in real life, Comic Book cited. Just like the movie's protagonist, The Pacifier actor loves the thrill and is very friendly. As a matter of fact, his co-star Ruby Rose agreed to this claim, adding that he is living his life as happy as he likes. xXx: Return Of Xander Cage is set to be released worldwide on Jan. 20. George Clooney and wife Amal Alamuddin are expecting twins this March even if they are on the verge of another split issue. The couple, as what the report tells, is actually having a baby which is due next year. According to Dailystar, George and Amal are said to be preparing for the coming of their baby next year, which is due particularly in March. The International Human Rights lawyer celebrated her second year wedding anniversary with the actor September of last year. So the A-list couple would soon be called family even if they are bombarded with split rumors. Speculations are rife that the two are heading for a divorce which prompted fans and people to wonder if this is happening after all. There were issues before which said that George doesn't want to have children at this moment of his lofe and that it is not yet his priority. Because of this, Amal got disappointed and said to have initiated the split. Another reason that came out is George Clooney's infidelity issues. As reported by The Indian Express, Clooney has affairs with famous women including actresses and models. And Amal Alamuddin seems to be pissed off and tired already of this so she wants a divorce from her husband. But until now, none of those things were proven and confirmed even the issue on divorce. Neither Clooney nor Alamuddin had given any comment regarding the rumor. With the news that the couple is expecting their first baby, people hope that the divorce issue will soon vanish and will already stop chasing the couple. But if their pregnancy news is not happening after all, still fans and people hope that their relationship will last. Well, before their marriage people close to the couple consider them as perfect for each other. If George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin are expecting for twins in March, people just hope that this will also help eliminate the divorce rumor. Prince Charles has been reported to succeed her mother, Queen Elizabeth in case she dies or abdicate the throne. Rumors are rife before that the Queen's health is not well the past days and she has been absent from the royal gatherings and events lately. As reported by International Business Times, the Duke of Cornwall will be made King if the Queen will step down from the throne. This will make Charles as the first king to assume the throne since 1952. If the succession rule will apply, Charles will be automatically made as the Queen's successor. However, speculations are escalating that Prince Charles might immediately pass the throne to his eldest son, Prince William because of a "constitutional crisis." If this will be the case, it will be not the first time this would happen because the same scenario already took place before. King Edward VIII abdicated the British throne when he opted to propose to his American socialite girlfriend who is also a divorcee, Wallis Simpson. He abdicated the throne so Queen Elizabeth's father, George was made the king and she became the instant heir. If Charles will succeed the Queen, some people would find it hard to accept Camilla Parker-Bowles as their queen. It can be recalled that Camilla caused the divorce of Charles and his former wife, Princess Diana. Until that time, she has instilled a not-so-good image to the people that's why they don't see her fitting to the throne as well as also reported on UK's Daily Mirror. But there are rumors that suggest William and Kate Middleton will be taking over the throne. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have higher satisfaction ratings compared to Prince Charles but not with the Queen's ratings. The royal couple remarkably disappointed Queen Elizabeth because of their poor performance when it comes to their royal duties. With all these predicaments that the royal family is facing most especially in this crucial time, Queen Elizabeth is unsure if she is ready to step down from the throne or let Prince Charles lead the British monarchy once she abdicates. Elizabethtown College's mission is: Elizabethtown College provides a transformative educational experience that cultivates personal strengths and develops a passion for lifelong learning and purposeful work. A Transformative Educational Experience The impact of an Elizabethtown College education is long-lasting and far-reaching because it is deeply transformative. Students acquire new habits of mind and heartsome in the course of the undergraduate experience, others as students grow beyond college. The Qualities of Our Education Our educational experience blends a high standard of scholarship with four signature attributes, which include commitments to educate our students in a relationship-centered learning community, to foster in our students international and cross-cultural perspectives, to complement classroom instruction with experiential-learning opportunities, and to prepare our students for purposeful lives and meaningful work. Relationship-Centered Learning Our educational programs engage students in ways that capture their most profound attention, confront them with learning experiences that are compelling, and call out from them responses that reach beyond what even they thought possible. In this learning community, our faculty members and other employees demonstrate their passion for their subjects and for continued learning so that our students see how compelling deep engagement is. Students receive personal attention, as all employees commit to expressing sincere and genuine interest in the educational success of our students. Our College's classes deliberately are kept small to support our students' individual needs and challenge them to grow. International and Cross-Cultural Perspectives Elizabethtown offers a globalized curriculum and co-curriculum. Programs of study and development help students understand and effectively engage with other cultures and the globalization of life and work. Our staff includes faculty members and other employees who are citizens of countries from around the world, who speak a multitude of languages, and who have had myriad study and residential experiences on other continents. Students study alongside students from other cultures. Additionally, they encounter our international world when they visit, study in or live in cities as diverse as Harrisburg, Philadelphia, London, Beijing and Quito. Experiential Learning Elizabethtown seeks to broaden the contexts for student learning by fostering educational experiences through which students learn by doing. Through this experiential learning, students develop the aptitude to link theory and experience, and they are better prepared to continue learning throughout their lifetime. These opportunities are available through internships and externships, field placement assignments, independent and collaborative research projects, service-learning and civic engagement, leadership development and campus enjoyment. Purposeful Life Work In both the curriculum and cocurriculum, the College's educational program fosters an understanding of education for a life of purpose based on a holistic model of student development that integrates career development; reflection on vocation, meaning and life; and a commitment to civic engagement. As a result, graduates of Elizabethtown are prepared to make the world a better place. They do so, in part, by living in ways that reflect their individual commitments, respond to the needs of others, and value personal and ethical integrity. Apply as a homeschooled or cyber-schooled student Elizabethtown College acknowledges and values prospective homeschooled and cyber-schooled students seeking college admission in Pennsylvania. Our admission process is designed so these students receive guidance and support from start to finish. We are excited about your interest in Elizabethtown, and look forward to learning more about your achievements. Why Etown? When submitting your college application in Pennsylvania as a homeschooled or cyber-schooled student, you have a lot of things to consider. Our campus community is a great place for you to experience a college setting. Small classes, friendly community and mentorship programs help new students adjust to life on campus. Small Class Sizes Our 13:1 student to faculty ratio is perfect for students looking for personal attention in the classroom. Our classes are capped at 35 students, but our average class has 18 students. This allows our faculty to develop strong connections with their students, providing an individualized educational experience. Friendly & Welcoming Campus Community Our highly active student population loves welcoming new Blue Jays to the nest. With over 80 diverse student organizations to choose from, its easy for you to get involved from day one. Among these organizations are several faith-based student groups including: Newman Club (Catholic student group) Hillel (Jewish student group) Intervarsity (Christian fellowship) CRU (Christian discipleship group) Better Together (welcomes religious and nonreligious students, faculty and staff) Muslim Student Association and Friends Faculty, Staff, & Student Support Mentorship is very important to us. When you arrive on campus for your first semester, you are provided with faculty advisors and student mentors through our First Year Seminar (FYS) program. Youll meet your advisor and mentors during orientation, and theyll be close by to help you throughout your transition to college during the first semester. After the first semester, youll receive an advisor from your academic department. Almost all of our faculty members are full time, which provides our students with flexible access to their professors in and out of class. Personalize Your Education Our education model, grounded in the liberal arts, sets our students up for success. At Etown, youll receive a concentrated education in your area of interest, while also gaining valuable information about many other areas of study. Youll have the opportunity to choose additional courses in the academic areas that are most important to you. Faith-Focused Learning Our Brethren tradition is reflected in the core values that are taught on campus, which include: peacemaking, social justice, human dignity and worldviews. Our motto, Educate for Service also derives from our Brethren roots. The Young Center, located on our campus, is home to over 100 books about Brethren studies. The Center also focuses on Anabaptist and Pietist studies. This aspect of our college history penetrates into our academic programs. Well encourage you to make service a part of your life while at Etown, in your future workplaces and your personal life. Business and Entrepreneurship Were passionate about small and family businesses, and we work hard to provide opportunities to students with entrepreneurial spirits. Our Family Business and Entrepreneurship minor teaches students essential skills needed to start their own business or continue a family business. Youll learn how to take advantage of financial opportunities, solve problems within the business and find creative ways to compete in the market. Guest lectures, networking and mentoring are highlighted in our program. The High Center is located in the James B. Hoover Center for Business, and it supports the Family Business and Entrepreneurship minor. It serves a resource for families in business.The High Center assists with succession planning, leadership training and legacy building. Explore Etown Visiting Etown is a great way to decide whether or not we are a good fit for the goals you have for your college experience. Because each experience can be very different, we encourage you to schedule an admission interview and campus tour. Meet with our students, faculty and staff to learn about our college community and get specific questions answered. Meet Your Admissions Counselor Your visit will serve as an opportunity for the admission counselor to learn the specifics of your unique experiences and aspirations. Our counselors can help you as you complete the application as a homeschooled or cyber-schooled student. In addition, you and your parent(s) are encouraged to ask questions and learn more about the College. Tour Our Campus Take a personal tour around our campus with one of our student tour guides. This individualized experience will give you a taste of what its like to be a part of our campus community. Learn about your academic program of interest, view our classrooms and learn about Etown from a student perspective. Schedule Your Visit Start your exploration by scheduling a visit with us! An admission interview and a visit to campus may be scheduled online or by contacting the Office of Admissions at 717-361-1400. Etown benefits immensly through philanthropic support of our donors, and these programs give our donors a chance to benefit from their generous support. Elizabethtown College offers businesses the ability to write off charitable donations through various tax credit programs. Etown has opportunities with the PA Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program as well as grant opportunities for Foundations and Corporations. PA Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program Elizabethtown College is an approved Educational Improvement Organization (EIO) in Pennsylvania's Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program. This program provides companies with a direct tax credit of up to 90% for a two-year commitment toward the amount a business owes in state taxes. The program leaves companies with a much smaller state tax bill while providing educational resources and programming to thousands of students and teachers in our region. The College's EIO-approved program is Science in Motion (SIM). The SIM program provides teachers and students in public school districts with access to and training on research-quality equipment used for hands-on, inquiry-based lab exercises in the subject areas of biology, biotechnology, biochemistry, chemistry, and environmental education. How does it work? Companies receive a 75% tax credit for a one-year commitment and a 90% tax credit for a two-year commitment. Companies then owe state taxes of either 25% or 10%. The process involves: Company registers online and submits the Single Application for Assistance form is available at dced.pa.gov. If interested in supporting Elizabethtown College as an Educational Improvement Organization (EIO), the company notes this under the EITC Program Commitment Selections portion of the electronic form. Company receives approval from DCED and has 60 days to make their donation to Elizabethtown College. Elizabethtown College will provide an official receipt to the company within a week of receiving the contribution. Within 90 days, the company submits the proof of contribution receipt letter from Elizabethtown College to the DCED to show it has fulfilled the commitment. Is participation time consuming and what state taxes apply? Participation is a quick and easy and involves filling out the Single Application for Assistance form is available at dced.pa.gov. Your business is eligible to participate if it pays any of the following taxes: Corporate Net Income Tax, Capital Stock Franchise Tax, Bank and Trust Company Shares Tax, Title Insurance Companies Shares Tax, Insurance Premiums Tax, or Mutual Thrift Institutions Tax. For More Information: For specific information on how this program can benefit your business, please contact your accountant and/or financial advisor. EITC Program Organization Guidelines and Application To learn more about Elizabethtown College's EIO programs, please contact Lesley Finney, Executive Director of Foundation & Government Relations, at 717-361-1445. Ireland may again be a step closer to becoming a new member of the European Union. The head of one of the three parties, Ottarr Proppe, involved in the talks to form a coalition in Iceland said that the country could have another referendum on the membership in the European Union, if a coalition is finally formed. Iceland has been involved in the protracted political talks since the October elections when none of the contesting parties won a majority. Thus, the current negotiations are already the second attempt by the three parties to form a government. The first round of talks collapsed in November due to disputes over relations with the EU, fishing and institutional reform. Mr. Proppe as the leader of the Bright Future party, Icelands liberals, said that the talks that started on Monday (2 January) have so far been more successful on the issue of fisheries and EU membership. We have reached a certain settlement on ideas, including this one, Mr. Proppe commented. Interestingly, although majority of the population of more than 330,000 are against the EU membership, they support having a referendum on the issue. Iceland has had a sort of an on-and-off relationship with the EU since 2009 when Reykjavik initiated EU membership talks after an economic collapse. However, Iceland suspended the negotiations in 2013 and withdrew the application in 2015 in an official letter to the European Commission. Iceland is nevertheless already very well integrated with the European structures. It is a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the European Economic Area (EEA), which excludes the controversial topic of fisheries. Reykjavik also frequently consults Brussels on foreign policy and also participates in EU civilian peacekeeping missions. The country is also part of the Schengen area and several thousand Icelanders travel to, study or work in the EU countries. One for all and all for one? The Swiss Independent Watchmaking Pavilion presents an alternative face of Swiss watchmaking, separate from the industrys giants. The SIHH will be making most of the headlines this month for the watch industry. But in a tough climate where demand for luxury Swiss watches has taken a dip, smaller Swiss brands have tried to show a united front. Take, for example, the SIWP or Swiss Independent Watchmaking Pavilion. Because luxury watchmaking is admittedly dominated by the usual historic manufactures, the purpose of the SIWP is to promote independent watchmaking brands based in Switzerland. The goal is to present the alternative face of watchmaking that is sometimes overshadowed by the industrys giants. The SIWP has assembled two times so far, the last time being at the Hong Kong Exhibition in 2016. Under the motto united we stand, divided we fall, Adriatica, Greco Geneve, Kendall L. 1742, Mathey-Tissot, Ollivier Saveo, Pilo & Co., Saint Honore and WatchE joined forces to promote independent Swiss watchmakers in the Asian market. Looking to build on the success of the first two editions, the SIWP 2017 will host around twenty exhibitors in Geneva. Reps from the independent brands will surely look forward to meeting and talking with passionate watch aficionados, be they professionals or collectors on the look-out for the next unique trend. The Swiss Independent Watchmaking Pavilion will kick off in Geneva on 15 January 2017 and last for five days. But take note that on Friday 20 January it will also be open to the public, giving local fans and clients alike the chance to connect in a more intimate setting with some of Swiss watchmakings unsung heroes. It is a massive understatement to say that it is an interesting time for Western democracy. The UK is still getting to grips with what Brexit really means while in the US Donald Trump will shortly be installed in the Oval Office. In France, the Front National leader Marine Le Pen stands an outside chance of becoming the countrys next president. Support for populist politicians in America and parts of Europe (on both the left and right) is unparalleled since the second World War. As societies grapple with the effects of globalisation and economic and social change, what has become acutely apparent is a growing chasm between traditional establishment politicians and large tranches of the voting public. These changes are complex but just when clarity of analysis is needed, social media is distorting how people see the world, meaning that different interest groups end up living in different universes of understanding. Facts have multiplied and become devalued news feeds are full of misinformation, and you can always find an expert, if only a self-styled one, to endorse your view. This is a dangerous mix and one which politicians and the media are finding hard to cope with. Against this background of post-truth politics, fake facts and filter bubbles, the value of reliable, non-partisan sources of news to audiences is rising. In the last year alone, the EU referendum result in the UK, the failed coup in Turkey, the terrorist attacks across Europe, and of course, the US election have contributed to record audiences for the BBC on TV and online. In the hours and days after the US election result, our unrivalled international network of correspondents reported from every corner of the globe, informing our global audiences on what Trumps election will mean for the likes of China, Russia and Mexico. But being considered part of a serious, trustworthy segment of journalism, with the influence that all traditional news providers would like to have, comes with a significant degree of responsibility. The media should be contributing to and facilitating an informed democratic conversation and considering whether we may have been too precious about the people who are or arent palatable or acceptable to what we considered the mainstream narrative. With trust in public institutions at an all-time low in many countries,and bubbles of opinion going unchallenged, the ground has been fertile for populist movements to grow.After recent tests for establishment politics in Austria and Italy the spotlight turns on the Netherlands, France and Germanyin 2017. These events will be a challenge for mainstream media as well as for politicians. There is a danger that news organisations get drawn into superficial coverage as they chase audiences. According to a recent report, the three major US nightly news shows combined spent just 32 minutes in total interrogating the candidates positions and proposed solutions on substantive policy issues in this presidential election year - a fraction of the time they devoted in previous election years (114 minutes in 2012, 220 in 2008). Issues that got minimal or no coverage included drugs, healthcare, poverty, gun control, and climate change. This was in stark contrast to the time spent covering talking points that the candidates themselves selected in order to promote their own causes. And this is the challenge. In a world in which there is an ever-thickening information smog of false facts and filter bubbles, rather than abandoning long-standing editorial principles, there is a greater need than ever for trusted, transparent news and for news providers which report the facts, host the argument and interrogate the participants. In short, serious news organisations like the BBC should stick to doing what weve always been good at. While such content may not draw as many readers as skewed coverage and headline-grabbing stories, if the BBC has to choose between building an audience and sustaining its reputation, its pretty clear which way we are going to go. In our coverage of the EU referendum campaign, there was much debate around the issue of false balance giving pro and anti equal airtime, regardless of the facts, editorial judgment and expertise of the interviewee. Some remainerssuggested that the BBC was too impartial, giving the same treatment to respected experts as to know-nothings and lightweights. But in fact, the BBC took great care to follow its strict editorial guidelines and to challenge claims from all sides. Journalists frequently took on campaigners and exposed as false what had been touted to the public as fact. Journalistic principles like accuracy, balance and impartiality even though they are nearly a century old are just as important today. They are the bedrock of trust in the news and the collapse of trust in news media plays a big role in what is happening around the world. It is time to bring those principles into a contemporary context. We need to be more confident about what journalists are good at, which is exploding myths, calling people out and holding individuals, and claims, to account. Our skills are now more necessary than ever. (The author is CEO, BBC Global News) Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India) The Australian Services PMI for December substantially bettered expectations, jumping to 57.7 and prompting the GBP AUD exchange rate to extend its slump However, risk appetite began to ease on Thursday in response to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes, with the odds on for the Fed to hike rates multiple times this year. The GBP AUD exchange rate gained some momentum from the news that the UK Services PMI had outperformed expectations once again, rising to a seventeen-month high even as inflationary pressure continued to build. The GBP AUD exchange rate fluctuated near its worst weekly levels on Wednesday afternoon as the Aussie continued to benefit from risk-sentiment. Prices of iron ore have remained sturdy this week despite top forecasters predicting the commodity will fall back from its highs throughout the year. AUD may be able to sustain some gains against Sterling this week if Thursdays Australian service PMI results impress traders. The latest raft of UK data fuelled hopes that the negative economic impact of the Brexit vote has remained limited, albeit not enough to boost the GBP AUD exchange rate. While the Construction PMI picked up markedly on the month in December the appeal of the Pound was still muted by domestic political developments, which continue to cloud the outlook of the UK economy. Demand for the Australian Dollar, meanwhile, remained robust thanks to a persistent mood of market risk appetite, fuelled by positive Chinese data. The GBP AUD exchange rate extended its worst daily levels on Tuesday afternoon as UK-EU ambassador Sir Ivan Rogers steps down from role prematurely. Rogers was initially planned to remain as the UK ambassador to the EU until October 2017, but his early resignation has been seen as a blow to the chances of a good Brexit deal this close before the activation of Article 50. Demand for risk-correlated currencies remained sturdy throughout Tuesday but the Pounds weakness was the main reason for GBP/AUDs Tuesday afternoon plunge. A string of positive data releases from Australia and China has seen the Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar exchange rate unable to benefit from positive UK manufacturing reports. The latest UK manufacturing data has revealed a surprisingly-strong performance from the sector going into the New Year, although the GBP/AUD exchange rate remained on the decline. Experts had predicted the PMI would remain on hold at 53.6 in December, but it instead accelerated to 56.1. Group CEO of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply David Noble commented that; The sector continued to strengthen this month, signalled by the headline index rising to a 30-month high. Manufacturers enjoyed the stronger economic environment and consequently raised production at a robust pace, while finding room to increase purchasing activity at the strongest rate for two-and-a-half years. Australia has seen the release of some strong economic data over the past two days, while solid manufacturing stats from major trade partner China have further undermined GBP/AUD exchange rates. Data late on Monday showed that the manufacturing sector continues grow, with the AiG performance of manufacturing index for December climbing to 55.4 instead of weakening from 54.2 to 52.2 as predicted. This mornings Chinese Caixin PMI for manufacturing rose unexpectedly to 51.9, when a hold at 50.9 had been expected, undermining the GBP/AUD exchange rate. Although many experts are warning that iron ore is set for a slow down after its breath-taking 81% rally in 2016, early indications of an uptick in Chinese manufacturing activity is helping to keep investors optimistic that Australian exporters will see notable demand. Further UK data tomorrow may help the Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar exchange rate resist further depreciation, but more ecostats from China and Australia could limit any GBP uptrends. Investors may be hoping that tomorrows Markit construction PMI for December registers a similar performance to todays manufacturing index, instead of edging lower by -0.2 points to 52.6. Also set for release will be consumer credit figures - which are forecast to show little change - and mortgage approvals data, predicted to slight increase in the number of home loans approved in November. Further hanging over Pound Sterling is the fact that the UKs Supreme Court is set to rule in the next few days on the governments ability to trigger Article 50 without the input of Parliament. A ruling in the governments favour would raise the odds of the UK securing a Hard Brexit, lowering Sterling appetite. Further data from both home and abroad could keep the Australian Dollar on the uptrend tomorrow, assuming the releases print favourably. Tomorrows data pertinent to the Australian Dollar starts with the release of the Chinese Westpac-MNI consumer sentiment index for December, which currently stands at 114.9. A rise in sentiment would signal growing consumer activity, which would bode well for Australian exporters. Towards the end of the day is the release of the AiG performance of service index for December. It currently stands at 51.1, so any weakening could undermine AUD as it will take the measure dangerously close to a neutral score of 50. However, there is a chance that this afternoons US ISM manufacturing index result will curb risk appetite, undermining the Australian Dollar. Your total experience to claim experience points for your skill code is 7 Years and 7 months (= 0.9+3.11+2.10+0.1) 1. Now, I understand why each month is important to you as with 8+ years of experience, you would claim 15 points for work experience. They subtract 1 month, if there is gap between job switches. I do not exactly remember that whether I read this on this forum or on ACS website. This gap is controversial, as they don't always subtract, there is a specific formula and gap must exceed some difference value. But, yes there is a rule and they can subtract. 2. It is not by mistake and questioning them over email or spending further dollars in re-evaluation is waste of time and money. I suggest you to avoiding do so. Even if they would reply, it would be a very generic one and they won't let you know why they subtracted 2 months from 2 employments. When you fill the EOI, mark employment before Jan-2009 as irrelevant, Feb-09 onwards as relevant and do not mark end date for current employment. Well, it may seem from reading the posts but ACS do not cut work experience for no reason. They are transparent with their policies and in most cases one knows the result before even it is assessed by ACS. They subtract 2 years always and the reason provided is that a person needs at-least 2 year of minimum work-experience to get skilled in his/her job. Now, that you are skilled in your profession, your further experience will be counted towards skilled job experience for visa purposes. They also subtract 4 years from those persons whose education is not linked to their job. For example, if one has done B.Tech in Electronics, or Chemical Engineering or Mechanical Engineering but doing a job as Network Engineer, Programmer or Developer then ACS believe that such persons need 4 years to get skilled in their job(s). They can subtract upto 8 years too in case of RPL, I think, I am not sure. You can read more about it on ACS provided guidelines and be aware of the whole process. Do not submit your case to ACS before completing your 2 years of total work experience. Your application is NOT DECISION READY at the moment. mailtoyendluri said: I am interested in pursuing my Dental career in Canada hence I approached many consultancies which did not give me right advice. Click to expand... As you might know they all propose the Uni's which would give them Good Commission or perks from their perspective. Click to expand... Please suggest the right path to pursue my interest. Click to expand... I have done my BDS and practicing in a clinic for the past 18 months ever since I graduated. Click to expand... I was looking to see if I can get a list of Public Universities which offer two years program that's Dental related so that I can go through the content and select the appropriate one for myself. Click to expand... How do you know they didn't give you the right advice?This is completely false and you shouldn't make statements like this when you have no idea what you are talking about.I have worked in academia in Canada for more than a decade, both in administration and as a professor at both the university and college levels, and I can assure you that no university or college here gives consultants commissions or perks for. Corruption might be rife in India but that is not the case in Canada.Research the schools you are interested in and apply. Pretty simple really.That means virtually nothing here. You will have to qualify to practice in Canada.And you would need to check that your education is up to Canadian standards. If it isn't, you will need to upgrade your education (Bachelor's) before applying to dental school here (and admission would not be guaranteed). If your education is considered equivalent to a Canadian education you would need to go through the qualifying process for internationally trained dentists which involves at least two years of dental school prior to sitting national qualifying exams.You should also keep in mind that we have a glut of dentists here in Canada which will affect employment opportunities for newly qualified dentists.Try Google. It should take about five seconds to find a list of dental schools in Canada.And dentistry is a not a two year program, it is a four year program. Internationally trained dentists might qualify to enter the third year of dental school, but that will depend on whether or not their education is deemed up to Canadian standards. It is very common to find big differences in prices. On websites like 'Seloger' (the main immo website in France) you will often see the same house being advertised by agents at different prices. I would not be surprised if you see the same house again being advertised even cheaper on 'le bon coin' where the owner is selling it direct. Obviously, they can sell it for less because they don't need to incorporate agency fees. Most transactions in France are direct with the owner. If you think that saving 8 per cent of the asking price will pay for new windows, or a new heating system or whatever is a big incentive to not use the services of an agency. Agency's don't really bring anything to the table outside of major cities or towns. I would not be surprised either that the lowest of the prices that you have seen is still substantially overpriced. In terms of 'expat' property websites well, they will be overpriced. Sometimes by 100 k or more. Rip off. At the end of the day, you have to value the property yourself. Don't rely on agency's or the owner to advertise at the right price. You can do that using various sites. Remember, sometimes properties in the back and beyond have a negative value. Hello everyone, I just wanted to introduce myself. I will be coming to France in two weeks time to start my emigration, putting feelers out and getting to know the pros and cons of areas to live. Initially I will be staying with family who live in Poitou Charantes. I will be setting up my business there (micro-entrepeneur). Would love to meet up with people for a coffee and a chat. Hate to say it, but going down the 'english speaking' route is a potential road to hell. I tried it once a long while back and learnt a lesson. There are too many cowboys around. Get some local tradesmen in to give you a devis. They will understand better the problems and the building style. Use it as an excuse to improve your french and keep on the right side of the locals. They will know what to do and in my experience are pretty straight. Try it. You will not regret it. JRB__NW said: I find all of this extremely frustrating, and as a result of these frustrations, as well as recent events which I find troubling, I probably will not stay in this country much longer. There are simply too many risks, and I have other options. I recently viewed some gorgeous custom homes on Panglao, available for a fraction of what they would cost in the US, but the requirement of having large dogs, CCTV cameras and a handgun, and possibly a guard to protect my assets and my family seems ridiculous. but it's a matter of my sanity at this point. Click to expand... I understand the sanity part for sure, I now have new hobbies that don't involved drinking with my neighbors or in-laws, life for me has improved vastly.Even in the states leaving that door open, I'm from ND is not a good idea but what I did here was to install barred windows that can open, steel sliding and opening doors, huge ones and next I want to make my roof concrete, so with that said having a dog in the yard is your early warning someone is there, make sure he's tied up at all times if not he won't make noise. It sounds like you are focusing on private neighborhoods or gated communities? You don't need to do that either, I live among the general population and the neighbors do look out for one another, the whole reason of retiring here is to save money and enjoy yourself time is precious.I returned once after my 1st year, I sort of panicked or? got anxiety, but soon after landing stateside I remember why I'd had enough and wanted to join my wife and kids here, it's real lonely in the US, nobody talks to one another it was at times for me living in a cemetery.Dealing with undisciplined culture is beyond words, I had to take my patience and understanding level to the next level and I'm still challenged at times but have you noticed that there aren't so many laws or they are not enforced, sometimes that's a good thing, when's the last time someone asked you for your ID card to buy liquor or get into a movie theater or pulled you over for some minor traffic violation, that dont'happen here, my gosh ridiculous stateside or Western rules don't apply. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate It may be time for a baby boom in U.S. oil. Rising crude prices and a deregulatory push in Washington may spur as many as 40 companies to hold initial public offerings over the next two years, potentially tripling 2016s activity, according to Maynard Holt, CEO at Houston-based investment bank Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. After a year in which explorers in the Permian Basin straddling Texas and New Mexico dominated the business, interest in new oil industry offerings is likely to spread wider. It could include pipeline operators and regions such as the Bakken in North Dakota and Wyomings Powder River basin, Holt said. Mergers and acquisitions should pick up, as well. The number of companies expressing interest in going into this window is really high, and the number of investors saying wed like to see something different is really high, Holt said. After two years of crashing crude prices, the number of North American IPOs for oil and natural gas companies fell to 13 in 2016. They were worth a collective $2.23 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That was down from 44 announced offerings, worth $14.15 billion, in 2014, when oil topped $100 a barrel. The environment has become more welcoming after OPEC agreed to cut output, paving the way for higher prices. President-elect Donald Trumps promise to ease regulations on the industry is helping as well, Holt said. Investors are especially hungry for new opportunities among midsize companies, those valued between $2 billion and $4 billion, with relatively little debt and exposure beyond the Permian, he said. Oil field service companies are still struggling financially, but they could see more deals as well, according to Holt. Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot. It feels like weve entered a good window where OPEC is now being cooperative, the regulatory talk feels positive and the financing markets feel open, he said. You could see a lot of capital raising in that window. Tudor Pickering ranked 13th among advisers this year on oil IPOs, assisting on four, according to Bloomberg data. The bank, which focuses on energy deals, was bought in November by New York-based Perella Weinberg Partners. BARTELLA, Iraq There were no big New Years celebrations for the Iraqi men, women and children who narrowly escaped the fighting in Mosul, only to wait for hours under armed guard while the fighting-age males among them were cleared of links to the Islamic State. The lucky ones would go with their families to one of the wind-swept camps for displaced Iraqis, where they will endure the remainder of northern Iraqs bitterly cold winter in tents and learn to survive on insufficient supplies of food, heating oil and blankets. Those whose names were found on the wanted list would be detained, interrogated and likely face trial. Many of the Iraqis told of going hungry in Mosul for weeks, surviving on a single daily meal and drinking murky water extracted from recently dug wells. There was no formula for their small children, who survived on bread soaked in tea or soup made of rice or crushed wheat. Life was miserable without electricity or medical care. They watched mortar shells or stray bullets kill their relatives and neighbors. They dont know when they will go home, but are thankful. The camp is the lesser of two evils. Life in Mosul now kills you, said 33-year-old English teacher Ahmed Abu Karam, from the ISIS-held Karama neighborhood east of the Tigris River. What happens in 2017 is in the hands of God alone, but let me tell you this: My escape, thanks be to God, has given me a new life. Abu Karam was among about 200 men ordered by grim-faced Iraqi soldiers to squat outside a row of abandoned stores on a main road close to the mainly Christian town of Bartella near Mosul. It is the gathering point for the mainly Sunni residents who fled Mosul to avoid being killed in the crossfire between government troops and ISIS militants or because they ran out of food and money. In one of the larger camps for the displaced in the Kurdish region, a local non-governmental organization provided a welcome change from the drab daily life there by throwing a New Years party for the children. Camp resident Mustafa Mahmoud, a 21-year-old who quit school when ISIS took over his native Mosul in 2014, sees little to celebrate with the arrival of 2017. Since arriving at the camp six weeks ago, he goes to bed at 7 or 8 every evening. Nothing will change tonight, he said. Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Sunday that his country was making final preparations to conduct its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile - a bold statement less than a month before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. Although North Korea has conducted five nuclear tests in the past decade and more than 20 ballistic missile tests in 2016, and although it habitually threatens to attack the U.S. with nuclear weapons, the country has never flight-tested an ICBM. Toru Hanai, POOL / Associated Press TOKYO - William Zeller, a petty officer second class in the U.S. Navy, was one of hundreds of sailors who rushed to provide assistance to Japan after a giant earthquake and tsunami set off a triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011. Not long after returning home, he began to feel sick. Today, he has nerve damage and abnormal bone growths, and he blames exposure to radiation during the humanitarian operation conducted by crew members of the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan. Neither his doctors nor the U.S. government has endorsed his claim or those of about 400 other sailors who attribute ailments including leukemia and thyroid disease to Fukushima and who are suing Tokyo Electric, the operator of the plant. Amid a fundraising campaign for the first of five career-themed high schools backed by H-E-B, plans are taking shape for a second such school, to be located on the South Side. Another Center for Applied Science and Technology would open in August 2018 as a partnership between the Southwest Independent School District, Palo Alto College, H-E-B and local employers. The curriculum would focus on advanced manufacturing, engineering, global enterprise, logistics and energy. In Southwest, we stopped talking about graduating high school years ago, said the districts superintendent, Lloyd Verstuyft. We talk about futures and we talk about careers. The first CAST school will open downtown with a technology theme through a partnership with San Antonio Independent School District. Like CAST Tech, the second school would enroll about 150 students per grade level, or 600 total. As the lead school district partner, Southwest ISD would fill half of the seats, but the other half of the student body would come from all over Bexar County. Underclassmen at the second CAST school would attend classes at the new Legacy High School, which Southwest is opening in August. Juniors and seniors would go to Palo Alto College, so close to Legacy that the community colleges skyline is visible from the high school construction site. Students will earn college credits, and some will graduate high school with industry certifications or associates degrees, said Palo Alto College President Mike Flores. With an Alamo Colleges bond issue planned for the May ballot, Palo Alto hopes to construct a $30 million manufacturing and public service building that would house the CAST students. The scale of the new school, however, could be impacted by a $3 million cut to the building proposed by a community advisory committee and supported by some trustees. The question could be settled in the coming weeks at a board retreat. H-E-B has not yet announced the amount it will contribute to the second CAST school, spokeswoman Kate Rogers said. The grocery chain and its CEO, Charles Butt, provided $3.6 million in startup funds for the first school. Local employers in related industries are expected to contribute between $7 million and $9 million to the second CAST school. According to course sequences that are still under development, students would pick between two academies: energy and global enterprise or engineering and logistics. All courses include a focus on project management and students would participate in career exploration, advising and work-based learning opportunities every semester. Industry partners including HOLT CAT, CPS Energy and Toyota are helping design the courses and provide experiential learning opportunities, Rogers said. Each student is guaranteed a job interview with an industry partner upon graduation, Rogers said. Texas A&M University-San Antonio will also partner in the venture by offering credit to students in the high schools pre-engineering track, which is being designed to align with a multidisciplinary engineering degree at the university. One of the premises of CAST is that the schools will be in close proximity to the industries that they serve, Rogers said. Many manufacturers, most notably Toyota, are located on the South Side, and both Southwest ISD and Palo Alto College already had or were developing manufacturing and logistics classes. In the next couple years, local employers will need to fill 1,000 jobs in the fields represented in the second CAST school, but fewer than 100 candidates will come out of existing programs, said Lisa Lewis, a vice president at CPS Energy. We absolutely see the need for this particular program, Lewis said. San Antonio has a high population of adults under age 30 without a high school diploma or equivalency, Flores said a rate that climbs on the economically stunted South Side. A CAST school would help area students clear two critical hurdles in their education: one between eighth and ninth grade, and the other between 12th grade and college, Flores said. What were doing is then creating academic structures for opportunity for students to be able to stay engaged, explore a career and be competitive in those emerging sectors in the community, Flores said. Palo Altos new building for manufacturing, teaching and criminal justice would span 70,000 square feet, Flores said. Donations from the CAST partners would pay for 22,000 square feet. When the Alamo Colleges board of trustees and Chancellor Bruce Leslie heard Dec. 13 that the advisory committee had cut bond funding for the building to $27 million, Leslie said that cut would not cover the proposed footprint. He suggested redirecting $1 million from each of three regional training centers to Palo Altos new building. We need the bond to pass for them to be able to raise the money to do this, Leslie said. Some trustees protested any cuts from the Westside Education and Training Center and a similar center proposed for the rural Southside ISD area. They said the board should not vote against the citizens, but also suggested redirecting money allocated for training centers on the wealthier North Side. We could just take the citizens at what theyve done, because honestly I think were in a pretty precarious situation right here in terms of public opinion towards the Alamo Colleges, said Clint Kingsbery, who represents a North Side district, noting that three of the five community colleges have received accreditation warnings. To try and push forward with a bond that would be against what the citizens have asked could be very controversial. ...If anything, maybe we could take a change like the Palo Alto center and ask the citizens advisory committee what they think of that change, because my guess is it has not been proposed to them in that light. amalik@express-news.net Twitter: @AliaAtSAEN This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate When World War II began, Fritzie got the call to do his bit to defeat the Axis powers and, like so many other patriotic Americans, jumped at the chance. The son of a full-blooded English setter, he was just right for the job adventurous, fearless and a little hyperactive. Left with relatives after his owner, Bessie Goethel, joined her husband, Louis, at an Army camp in Abilene, the energetic Fritzie fought with his father, climbed the fence and sometimes returned with a neighbors chicken. Then Uncle Sam called him to duty. Fritzie joined the Dogs for Defense program, a four-legged force that would grow to more than 10,000 dogs and form the basis of a K-9 corps that still exists starting with basic training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, where dogs and their handlers have received instruction since 1958. The United States entered World War II with a small military and almost no dogs in service. The British, Germans and Belgians had used them to haul supplies and weapons in World War I, run messages to the front lines and aid the wounded, according to the website FidoUniverse.com (http://fidouniverse.com/dogs-for-defense/). Putting mans best friend on the front lines is an even older practice, in use since before the invention of gunpowder, a Lackland history of military working dogs noted. Roman legions dressed them in armor and spiked collars. The modern U.S. effort began when Harry Cesar, Leonard Brumby, Arthur Kilborn, Dorothy Long and Arlene Erlanger met in January 1942, according to FidoUniverse.com. The dog must play a game in this thing, Erlanger, a poodle breeder who organized Dogs for Defense and served as a civilian consultant to the quartermaster general during the war, told Kilborn, a writer, for the New York Sun. Just think what dogs can do guarding forts, munition plants and other such places. Folks in San Antonio quickly rallied around their dogs of war. The San Antonio Express-News covered the departure of Fritzie and other canines for training in San Carlos, California on March 9, 1943. A headline under the photo in the Local News section proclaimed, Dogs Wanted For Service In South Seas. Fritzie was pegged to be an attack dog, and that seemed about right. He was an escape artist captured in a 1940 photo standing over the railing of a white wooden fence. As a 10-month-old puppy, he had picked a fight with his father. A little over a year later, Fritzie was hurt chasing a truck and patched up at a veterinary hospital in Abilene. After passing his physical and finishing training, Fritzie went to work as a sentry dog. Trouble, invariably, followed. The UTSA Libraries Special Collections, which holds photos, certificates and news clips provided by Bessie Goethel, show Fritzie suffered an injury to his tail that ended in an amputation. He eventually returned home with an honorable discharge. Bessie Goethel signed a certificate saying her dog, U25, arrived in San Antonio on March 31, 1944, but she was disturbed about the injury, writing the Army, Good but would appreciate information as to why his tail was amputated. That part of the story, and the cause of Fritzies death 15 months later, is lost to history. In all, more than 18,000 dogs were donated during World War II, with 10,206 serving in the Army, Coast Guard and Marines. Most were sentries like Fritzie, but some became scouts and messengers. A few were trained for mine-detection work, but that was characterized as an experiment never put into practice. Not all the dogs made it home. Some 1,058 went missing in action or died in service. Never again, though, would the armed forces do without dogs. A 1945 article from the Special Collections tells of how the Army planned to establish a permanent dog breeding program. The clip, from a publication called Reserve Officer, said breeding dogs will be placed with civilian breeders and puppies best suited to military needs will be selected from the litters. They were to be used as sentries in occupation armies and for experiments in developing new uses for dogs in war. Today, more than 1,700 military working dogs are on duty with the four services, the Air Force said, and more than 300 new canines and their handlers go through Lacklands 341st Training Squadron every year. The dog school also trains canines and handlers for the Secret Service, State Department, U.S. Customs and other federal law enforcement agencies. Former Air Force Staff Sgt. Kenneth Neal, a Vietnam dog handler, said canines are credited with saving more than 10,000 U.S. troops in the war. They did everything from smelling enemy soldiers and chasing them through tunnels to hearing the high-pitched sound of wires used to trigger explosives. More recently, theyve found roadside bombs in Afghanistan, Iraq and other war zones. They were honored three years ago at Lacklands sprawling parade field, where the Air Force saluted more than 4,000 working dogs that were left behind, killed or euthanized during the Vietnam War. A modest memorial at the Air Force Security Forces Museum elsewhere on the base honors Nemo A534, a German shepherd that defended its badly injured handler, Airman 2nd Class Bob Throneburg, after a brutal 1966 battle at Tan Son Nhut Air Base. The tale is legendary in the working dog world. Shot in the right eye, and suffering injuries to one sinus cavity and most of his right jaw after killing an enemy soldier, Nemo crawled to his unconscious master and covered him, refusing to budge even when friendly troops arrived. I was pretty much a goner, Throneburg said, adding that he had no idea Nemo was with him. Airman 2nd Class Leonard Bryant, Nemos previous handler, convinced him to let medics care for Throneburg, an action that saved the dogs life. Nemo would have been shot if he hadnt gotten up. A volunteer docent at the museum, Kenneth Neal said Nemo and Throneburg, 72, of Gaffney, South Carolina were briefly reunited in Saigon. Nemo came to his bedside and then headed to the United States, becoming the first of 286 working dogs to make it home from Vietnam. He helped recruit more than 5,000 working dogs for the government from 1968 to 1969 and retired at Lackland, living in his own kennel. WASHINGTON A Republican-controlled Congress opens Tuesday with the most sweeping conservative agenda in decades, providing Donald Trump ample room to gut the Affordable Care Act, slash corporate tax rates and undo Obama-era environmental regulations. The House is almost certain to re-elect Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as its first order of business, dispensing with the messy political infighting that has hobbled Republicans in the past. And the Senate will swiftly begin vetting the president-elects most controversial Cabinet picks, ready to confirm some when Trump is sworn into office on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20. Yet Republicans remain at odds on some high-profile issues such as how aggressively to investigate Russian hacking in the 2016 election and how to fulfill other big-ticket promises, such as replacing Obamacare. Despite firm Republican control of both the White House and Congress, the internal disputes have left them without a clear plan yet for Trumps first 100 days, or an endgame for the two years of the 115th Congress. Trumps often shifting views on major issues will test relations with GOP leaders on Capitol Hill, and his willingness to skirt ideological rigidity gives incoming Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer of New York and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco an opening to influence and shape the presidents evolving agenda. President Barack Obama will visit Capitol Hill on Wednesday to meet with Democrats bracing for their new role, not just as the minority party, but as the main roadblock preventing Trump from dismantling the health care law and other parts of the Obama agenda. Republicans will also assemble behind closed doors. Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who was a popular conservative congressman before he was elected governor of Indiana, is likely to serve as a crucial link between the Trump administration and its allies in Congress. Given Trumps inexperience in government, Pence is expected to play an enhanced role, perhaps like the one former Vice President Richard Cheney held under President George W. Bush. At a minimum, Pence could provide a vital conduit between the untested new president and his more ideological party members in Congress, especially as Ryans own relationship with Trump has been strained. Ryan flip-flopped over Trump first withholding his endorsement, then ultimately campaigning for him but the speaker insists he and the president-elect have let bygones pass as they talk almost daily on their plans for fulfilling Republican promises to voters. "Very soon after the race, Donald and I said: Look, this is fantastic. We have so much to do. Lets forget about, you know, any differences in the past and lets get working on this agenda, " Ryan said recently on Fox News. "And thats exactly what weve been doing from that day on." Once Trump takes office, Republicans will face enormous pressure to score some legislative wins after six years of trying to block most of Obamas initiatives. Lawmakers will vote this week on low-hanging fruit a popular GOP measure to rein in the executive branch by requiring congressional approval for new federal regulations with an economic impact of more than $100 million. The measure, which passed the Republican House three times since 2011, is a GOP priority. Its supporters say it would have prevented nearly all the climate and employment rule changes of the Obama era. Republicans are also expected to punish Democrats for last years gun control sit-in, led by civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., by imposing new rules that would slap up to $2,500 fines on lawmakers who film such floor protests from smartphones or other devices. Whether that would pass judicial review is less clear. Opponents say the proposed ban is clearly unconstitutional. But the GOPs top promise to end Obamacare remains a tough haul. Votes are expected in coming days on legislation to begin repealing the Affordable Care Act. But these first steps will be largely symbolic while lawmakers debate the details of dismantling the health care law. With 20 million Americans now benefiting from Obamacare, the GOPs gutting of it comes with an asterisk. Republicans are also likely to postpone fully dismantling the health care law until they can sort out their own ideas for a yet-to-be-determined alternative. That could push a full Obamacare repeal and replace until 2018 or 2019, after the midterm elections. "Repeal and delay, it doesnt even have alliteration," Pelosi scoffed on a conference call Monday with reporters. "Its an admission that its a lot for them to lose politically." Similarly, Republicans are still working out the details of tax reform beyond the lower rates proposed in the House GOPs "Better Way" blueprint agenda for the new year. Ryan will almost certainly re-emerge as speaker in Tuesdays floor vote. But his leadership remains constrained by the same internal party divisions that hobbled his predecessor, John Boehner, R-Ohio, and that have prevented Republicans from making gains on a cohesive agenda. Democrats, despite being in the minority in both the House and Senate, will be more than bit players in the new Washington environment. Senate Democrats are planning a robust grilling of Trumps Cabinet choices, particularly Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., the conservative orthopedic doctor who has been tapped to helm the Health and Human Services Department and the Obamacare unraveling. Democrats are also lining up against Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., as attorney general, and have raised questions about ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson, who has substantial ties with Russia, as secretary of State. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., intends to have several of Trumps Cabinet positions likely the national security team confirmed by Inauguration Day. But McConnell faces his own difficulty as several top Republicans, including Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, are pushing for an aggressive investigation in Congress of Russian cyber-attacks during the presidential race. McCain plans to hold his first hearing on the issue Thursday. AUSTIN Attorneys for the state of Texas defended the states rule to require the cremation or burial of fetal remains, arguing in federal court Tuesday morning that group burials of fetal tissue would negate arguments that the rule creates an unconstitutional barrier to abortion. Arguing before U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, the state's lawyers attempted to unravel claims from abortion providers that the new rule, which was set to go into effect last month, will be too costly for abortion providers and their patients. The state attorneys suggested bulk burials could translate to costs of less than $2 per abortion. As many as 20 per cent of Scottish farmers could quit the industry in 2017 as a result Brexit, according to a report by Scotland's Rural College (SRUC). The report, Rural Scotland in Focus 2016, says that, whilst the outcome of the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union is at the moment unknown, the Brexit vote has increased uncertainty amongst farmers. One in five Scottish farmers surveyed by SRUC suggested that Brexit had increased the likelihood of them retiring from farming. Brexit is clearly causing uncertainty and some farmers have told us that means they are thinking of retiring earlier than planned," said Steven Thomson, senior agricultural economist with SRUC. Nearly a third of farmers and crofters surveyed for the report believe that Brexit will mean they will have to increase off-farm income sources or diversify their business. Some 11 per cent of respondents thought they would need to downsize following the referendum in June in which the UK voted to withdraw from the EU by 52 per cent to 48 per cent. A majority of Scots voted to remain. The SRUC report is the fourth of its kind published by the college, it is produced every two years, looking at key topics of rural and national importance. Although the outcome of exit negotiations with the rest of the EU will not be know for some time - probably two years - the authors of this latest edition of the report said, "What is certain is that Brexit will cause, and already has caused, uncertainty in the sector." Increased business uncertainty Some 57 per cent of farmers who took part in the survey said that Brexit had increased business uncertainty. The authors said this was something that "inevitably leads to lower on-farm investment, as witnessed during the recent CAP reforms with inevitable impacts on the wider rural economy." The report revealed that increased uncertainty was highest in the younger farm and croft population and on mixed farms and beef and sheep sectors. The report said more than half of those surveyed thought that Brexit would increase the challenge of maintaining their farm or croft business. Again, this was highest in the younger generation and in the beef and sheep sector. However, 37 per cent of respondents saw Brexit providing them with increased opportunities for maintaining their business. This feeling was higher on the larger farms. There was lower confidence in the beef and sheep sectors. Early retirement The most startling finding from the report was the one highlighting the number of farmers who may quit the industry early. One fifth of respondents overall said it was more likely they would retire following Brexit. This feeling was lowest in those under 54 years of age. However, a quarter of farmers and crofters over the age of 55 said the referendum result may bring forward retirement. The impact on retirement plans was lowest amongst the specialist sectors horticulture, dairy, pigs and poultry. The report's authors said that Scottish agriculture had been used to change - some in response to market demands and environmental pressure, but also changes to various Common Agricultural Policy regimes. Our report shows how vital that support has been - and still is - to the industry, especially the beef and sheep sectors," said the authors. Steven Thomson said it was not yet known what would replace CAP once the United Kingdom had left the EU. But he said: Assume there will be budgetary pressures - meaning innovation and new approaches will be key to making farming more resilient." He pointed to examples of agricultural sectors that had been successful without subsidies: Being traditionally unsupported by the CAP, soft fruit growers, pig producers and others have shown the way. It is no coincidence they tend to be run by a younger generation ready and able to grab opportunities, adopting new technologies and research ideas. Support and regulation for the future The report argued that more control must be passed to younger people who may be more ready to adopt the new approaches that often drive business improvements. It said that, as the implications of Brexit started to unfold, Scottish agriculture should reflect and take stock of how the sector should be supported and regulated in the future. As such, we should all take an opportunity to revisit the work of Brian Pack through his independent 'Inquiry Into Future Support For Agriculture In Scotland' and the 'Doing Better Initiative to Reduce Red Tape for Farmers and Rural Land Managers.' If the shackles of the EU Commission and auditors are indeed broken - providing we adhere to the minimum rules required under any future EU trade deal then there must be opportunities to design a better agricultural support policy and make farming less stressful and bureaucratic," said the report. They said the industry should revisit the recommendations made by Brian Pack for designing a new support policy that was fit for purpose. Reducing the red tape burden on Scottish land managers would be a logical place to start, they said. 'Viable and sustainable industry' In 2015 the Scottish Government set out a vision for the Future of Scottish Agriculture through their discussion document. This, and sectoral strategies, were an excellent starting point for thinking about what the industry would like a post-Brexit agricultural sector to look like in Scotland, said the authors. As we begin to understand the implications for Brexit it is worth revisiting the useful work that has already been undertaken and help develop a set of support mechanisms that can drive the necessary changes that build on our international reputation for quality food and drink products, and will lead to a viable and sustainable industry that best uses Scotlands unique natural resources," said the report. Professor Sarah Skerratt, who was the report's editor, said: Rural communities and businesses are resourceful, innovative and co-operative. These are qualities all those involved in the rural economy must adopt. But to be effective that must be within a coherent, overarching strategy, taking account of the possible conflicts and properly monitored so it can be adapted based on real evidence." This, she said, could create a greener, smarter and more prosperous Scotland. Anglia Farmers Limited, the UK's largest agricultural purchasing group, has appointed Jon Duffy as Group Chief Executive Officer. Jon will join Anglia Farmers on 1 March 2017 and will take over the role from Clarke Willis MBE who is standing down after 15 years at the helm. Jon graduated with an HND in Agriculture from Plymouth University. Between 1996 and 2005 Jon was managing director of Gleadell Agriculture. He joined Frontier Agriculture in 2005 as trading director before becoming Frontiers business development director between 2014 and 2016. For the past two years Jon has also been chairman of the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC). Commenting on his new role, Jon said: I am delighted to be joining AF and very much hope to build on the good work done by Clarke and his team over the years. Whilst much of UK Agriculture has recently been going through a period of change and uncertainty, the future of AF is incredibly bright and my aim is to improve the business for the benefit of its members. We live in exciting times and I cannot wait to get started. Nigel Savory, Chairman, Anglia Farmers said: We are looking forward to welcoming Jon to AF. I am pleased that we have been able to attract a candidate of Jons calibre. His industry knowledge and management skills will be a real asset to AF. Nigel added: I would like to thank Clarke for all the hard work and dedication he has given to AF. Clarke's vision, drive and determination have put AF firmly on the map as the leading agricultural purchasing group in the UK. As from 1st April 2017, farmers will be feeling the heat as those that own and operate small scale wind turbines will be subject to some significant rises in business rates. Farmers are being urged to check the charges they will face before they take effect in April 2017. The changes apply to England and Wales, while Scotland has its own rules with business rates relief available in some instances. Rural affairs specialist Robert Smith of national property consultancy Bruton Knowles said farmers could check the draft rateable values online. He believes many farmers are likely to see their business rates for their wind turbine increase significantly. The Valuation Office Agency which is responsible for setting rateable values throughout the country now take into account the feed-in tariff incentives that were not available at the previous revaluation. "This is clearly going to have a major impact on the farming sector," Mr Smith says, "there has been a huge deployment of turbines since the government feed-in tariff incentive was implemented providing a valuable diversified source of income for struggling farmers." Farmers now have until March 31 to check their rating online and, if necessary, to challenge that rating. Farmers have expressed their frustration that a small grants scheme is not currently available under the Wales Rural Development Programme (RDP). Speaking at the meeting held in Monmouthshire, Perkin Evans, Chairman of NFU Cymrus Combinable Crops and Horticulture Working Group said progress with rolling out the Wales RDP has been 'slow' and 'against the clock', with Brexit making matters even worse. He said: We really need to see new impetus from the Welsh Government when it comes to rolling out the RDP in Wales and we must make the best possible use of the time we have left to participate in European programmes, to prepare the industry for the challenges that lie ahead. The RDP must deliver for as many farmers as possible and needs to have a broad reach, with simple and straightforward processes for accessing funds. We believe that the introduction of a small grants scheme, to help farmers invest in the latest equipment and new technology, could help farmers across all sectors in Wales. A small grants scheme would be of significant interest and benefit to Welsh arable producers in supporting our sector to invest in things such as precision farming technology, minimum tillage and soil aeration equipment; investments that improve productivity on farm and also help the industry meet our environmental and climate change obligations. Mr Evans concluded: RDP funds have the potential to make a significant contribution to farm businesses across Wales; these are the businesses that underpin the economic, social, cultural and environmental well-being of Wales. The Welsh red meat industry must show the greatest resilience, agility and adaptability in a likely volatile 12 months that will bring both new hope and new challenges. That is the message of Meat Promotion Wales (Hybu Cig Cymru), an industry-led organisation responsible for the development, promotion and marketing of Welsh red meat. Looking back to last December, Dai Davies, Chairman of Meat Promotion Wales recalled it was the year of the most 'dramatic political change in his career' and one that would shape the red meat industry and the Welsh way of life for decades to come. In his final New Year message before retiring from his industry leadership role in April, Mr Davies reiterated his call for a free and unfettered trade deal to be negotiated with Europe as part of the Brexit settlement and for the future of the Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef brands crucial Protected Geographical Designation (PGI) designation to be positively confirmed. I make no apologies for continuing to emphasise just how important European trade is to our industry or repeating the crucial message that Welsh Lamb, in particular, is very highly dependent on European exports he said. Around a third of the Welsh lamb flock is consumed tariff free inside the EU. Its vital that any post-Brexit deal protects our access to these countries and doesnt allow for more cheap imports to the UK market. 'New, rugged industry' The seismic political changes had created a need for a new, rugged industry resolve. This great industry will need to dig deep and forge a stronger unity that can bang the drum for its husbandry, welfare and excellence and confirm its credentials as the caretaker of communities, culture and climate change counteraction, said Mr. Davies. He praised the hard work and achievements of HCC and its high-quality producer and processor stakeholders that kept Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef as globally recognised premium products. With very limited resources, certainly when compared to those of nearby competitors in England, HCC has regularly punched above its weight on a domestic and worldwide platform and I hope it continues to have the fullest backing from the industry and its partners in government to maintain the tremendous progress we have seen, said Mr. Davies. Fairer distribution of funds He recalled that it was now a year since the red meat levy boards for Wales, England and Scotland had reached agreement on a fairer distribution of funds, and demanded that 2017 be the year when these proposals were put into action. Mr Davies said that because of the way the industry is structured, about 1 million a year is 'unfairly lost' to Wales. He said: This is money that we and our stakeholders could use here in Wales to invest in and develop the industry in the post-Brexit climate, help farmers to produce cost-effectively and promote our premium home grown lamb, beef and pork products with the specialist talents that we have developed here at HCC and in Wales in recent years. If theres one thing I would like to see achieved before I step down after six years as Chairman, its a levy system which is fair to Wales and the unqualified handing over of the lost 1m plus per year for us to spend strategically and cost effectively here, within Wales, said Mr. Davies. More efficient red meat sector In conclusion, Mr. Davies noted the successes of the industry in the past twelve months, in developing new markets and new products, and in working towards a more efficient red meat sector which would benefit processors, farmers and the environment. Were making very good progress in a number of areas, reported Mr. Davies. Over the past 12 months, weve seen increased commitment to home-produced meat in the multiple retail sector at home, as well as important growth in emerging markets such as Denmark, Canada and Hong Kong. HCC is also playing a leading role in the continuing improvements which were seeing in farmers producing meat to the processors specification, and in producing more efficiently which has benefits both in terms of business profitability and helping to meet our responsibilities in terms of climate change, Mr Davies concluded. NFU Cymru Conference: Farmers need more help to 'weather current storms' Transcription 1 Interview with HON. GREGORY RUSLAND Minister of Natural Resources Suriname April 2009 2 INTRODUCTION The Caribbean Renewable Energy Development Programme (CREDP) is financed by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) with additional support provided by the Government of Germany through its aid agency the GTZ. The UNDP is the GEF Implementing Agency and the CARICOM Secretariat is the Executing Agency. Participating countries: The Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Cuba; Dominica; Grenada; Guyana; Jamaica; St. Kitts and Nevis; St. Lucia; St Vincent and the Grenadines; Suriname; Trinidad and Tobago. Most are Small Island Developing States or low-lying coastal states, and net importers of energy, almost entirely in the form of petroleum. Energy imports are a critical element in the countries of the Region s balance of payments management. The main objective of this project is to remove the existing barriers to developing renewable energy technologies in the Caribbean through various coordinated interventions at the national and regional level. As CREDP comes to a close and the CARICOM Secretariat develops an Energy Programme, it was seen as critical to consult with Ministries responsible for Energy within the CREDP countries to capture their commitment to facilitate renewable initiatives in the project network: the region in general. In an interactive approach, the CARICOM Secretariat embarked on face-to-face consultations with the Energy/Renewable Energy Constituency in Member States; Ministers, Ministries and Departments of Energy, Utilities, and universities in the Region in This series of transcripts of interviews conducted by Carlton James, Advocacy and Communications Adviser, CARICOM Secretariat, is an output of those consultations. Page 2 of 8 3 INTERVIEW How would you describe the situation in Suriname in relation to Energy and Renewable Energy? Indeed I think as a country we are in a good position in terms of availability of energy resources. If we look at the Suriname situation at the moment we find that 100% of energy provided to the capital and the surrounding areas is provided through hydro-power. We have a hydro-power dam with the capacity to produce 189 megawatts of energy but at the moment we utilize about 140 megawatts. There is enough to provide the majority of our population with energy. Gregory Rusland Environment Minister, Suriname We have had top level consultations in Suriname where I invited the management of all major companies, institutions, energy entities, and some key experts; for three days last year June, to discuss the situation and to plan for the next 15 years. What we have found is that to meet the demands of energy over the next 15 years, we would have to go from megawatts at the moment to 325 megawatts in the year That means we would have to find solutions. The Government of Suriname has made it clear in its policy statement that energy issues or scarcity would never be a limiting factor in Suriname s development. So what we have done is to look at the different possibilities starting even with nuclear energy, but that we feel is not an option for Suriname at the moment. Although we follow options very closely, clearly the interesting one of our renewable energy resources is primarily water. We feel that that is the opportunity and possibility which Suriname has to utilize to the fullest. Page 3 of 8 4 We also have already, plans in place, but of course need some further evaluation in terms of environmental issues, in terms of social issues that have to be resolved, but we will be able to increase the capacity near the current hydro facility more than 300 megawatts. We also have another possibility in the western part of Suriname, which is a little bit independent from the regular social and economic development. That s an opportunity for major industrial development in the western part of Suriname, which could provide another 400 megawatts of energy. It would be a major project which is related to smelters in the alumina sectors that we are considering at the moment. In the short run we have to provide energy to the population and we will make use of the possibilities that we have. We have our own small State Oil Company. Through that company we have to make the maximum use of products like heavy fuel oil and we are thinking of putting generators or creating more generators. We already have reasonable capacity in terms of generators but we will increase that and utilize our heavy fuel oil potential to produce enough energy to support the different activities in Suriname. As to renewable energy resources, we are looking at, for instance, solar energy possibilities, wind energy possibilities. We have our structures in place through the University of Suriname to keep a close eye on those developments. And of course where opportunities exist we will make use of those possibilities in order to support our energy needs. Let us look at human resource development and your own connection with the university. Is there a programme at the university or any other secondary or tertiary institutions to develop and maintain a technical capacity in the area of energy: We are proud that the majority of those in charge of our Energy sector are from the University of Suriname. At the University of Suriname we have the Faculty of Technology with its Department of Electrical Energy. So I feel also in that sense, we are doing reasonably well. There seems to be a unique arrangement between the Government of Suriname; your ministry, and industry. Do you see industry as part of the national resource for energy? As I mentioned earlier, one of the problems that I faced when I became the Minister of Natural Resources in 2005 was a lack of highly qualified personnel; in the area of energy for instance. We had to come up with Page 4 of 8 5 strategies and policies in the energy area The way we have done it is that we have mobilized the different institutions like the state energy company of Suriname and the power company, and we got management of those companies involved in what we are doing in our communities and to support the ministry, For instance in the bio-energy area we have involved Statsolie company because Statsolie has the manpower, the human resources, the finances, and the structure to be able to set up projects in a reasonable time and what we have indicated to them is that once projects start running they can count on the involvement of the University of Suriname. Hydro-power facility at Brokopondo We also encourage University faculty to mobilize students so that after graduation they could deliver on-the-job activities which are needed in the country; maybe even in the Caribbean and beyond. So I think by doing that we have found the strategy to go around the human resource problems that we have within the government because of fewer facilities, less salaries, and so on, within the government, and make use of the people within the industry who are much better paid. It is working up to now. How do you see the relationship between energy and development? There is an obvious correlation. I know that there are numerous studies which prove there is a direct relationship between the availability of energy and the economics, and also the developing countries, and the different regions. I think we should do, as we have mentioned in the multi-annual development plan of Suriname; make sure that energy would not be a limiting factor. We will always need to make sure that we have enough energy to support our economic and social development. We have a situation in Suriname where we had on average 2,700 new connections on a yearly basis of the households in Suriname. The Government of Suriname provided some assistance; funds to our power company in to make sure that we have enough electrical facilities to make the connections and so on. We had the lucky situation whereby we had enough hydro-energy and what we see is there was a Page 5 of 8 6 jump from 2,700 to about 6,000 new connections on a yearly basis since That demonstrates that once you provide the energy to the population and to the society, you will see directly the development, because if people know that they can count on the availability of energy it will give them incentives to build their houses, create industries and so on. So again, in our small country we have seen the direct link between the two practices. Is there any documentation that came out of your consultation with the private sector which could perhaps be used as a template for other Caribbean countries in articulating their vision? I asked the IDB since 2007 for their support in updating the energy situation and to come up with clear guidelines on what to do in the next 15 years. We reached an agreement and IDB financed a study of the energy sector. When the study started, we created and helped top-level energy consultants from the IDB to set out the guidelines for the study and that information is fully worked out in a document presented by some of the consultants from the IDB. We now have a documented report and I am going to hire some consultants to set out the actions that have to be taken in order to fulfill the role that we have set out in that document. That s where we are and indeed there is a document already produced in cooperation with us and the IDB. Page 6 of 8 7 Role of the CARICOM Secretariat. What should the Secretariat be doing in the area of Energy and Renewable Energy? I think what the CARICOM Secretariat has to look for, is to see where you have the major expertise within the region, and not try to re-invent the wheel, but try to make use of the expertise that exists in Suriname, in Trinidad and other areas of the region. Try also to make use of those structures in order to support the countries that are in lesser position than say the larger Caribbean countries where energy is concern. A Briefing for the CARICOM/UNDP Team by Faculty of Anton de Kom University of Suriname So, the Caribbean Community Secretariat should play more of a facilitating role in the area of energy as far as the structure is concern and again the support to the smaller nations so that they also have the developments that they need. Page 7 of 8 8 CONTACT DETAILS Further details on this initiative are available through the following persons: Carlton James Advocacy and Communications Adviser CARICOM Secretariat Joseph Williams Programme Manager, Energy CARICOM Secretariat Randy Shepperd Adviser Ministerie Van Natuurlijke Hulpbronnen (Ministry of Natural Resources) Suriname Patsy Ross Programme Officer, Environment & CREDP Focal Point United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Page 8 of 8 "Some (potential SoP competitors) are looking in places where they will have to transport what is supposed to be a bright, white product 300km on red dirt (out to the asphalt) by road train - and they still expect to have a white product when it gets there? "We have a lot of country in WA that could be good cattle country, but it isn't being used for production, it could be, but that has never been thought of. Warrenton, VA (20186) Today Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. Expect mist and reduced visibilities at times. High 72F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 56F. Winds light and variable. The future of Fauquier Times now depends on community support. Your donation will help us continue to improve our journalism through in-depth local news coverage and expanded reader engagement. Support Manassas, VA (20110) Today Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Expect mist and reduced visibilities at times. High 73F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to cloudy skies overnight. Low 58F. Winds light and variable. Where to eat and drink in the Fayetteville area this weekend Transcription 1 Quick Reference Guide Iowa KidsNet 2 Welcome to the Iowa KidsNet Resource Family Quick Reference Guide! Dear Resource Family, On behalf of Iowa KidsNet, I would like to extend my appreciation and gratitude to you for opening your heart and your home to Iowa s most vulnerable children. We understand that being a foster or pre-adoptive family brings great rewards to you and your family, but we also know that what you are asked to do is not easy. Sometimes, you have to maneuver through different services and people to get what you need and at other times you may be requested to do far more than you expected. As our most valuable resource, we want you to always know that you are not alone! Iowa KidsNet and its partners are here to support you with your current and future challenges. scribes how you can access ongoing or crisis support, get the training that you want and need, resource families typically ask and it tells you who to call when you have a need or a concern. We are committed to making your experience with Iowa KidsNet a positive one. We can do that only if you tell us what is going well, what is not going well, and how we can help to make your life as a Resource Family all the more satisfying and rewarding. From time to time we conduct formal satisfaction surveys, but any time that a concern or issue surfaces or a question arises that is not covered in this quick guide, please talk to your Iowa KidsNet support specialist or their supervisor, or the Service Area Leader in your region. Again, THANK YOU for your dedication to Iowa s children. I very much hope that during this a child. Sincerely, Theresa Lewis Iowa KidsNet Project Director 1 3 Matching How Does the Matching Process Work? Matching We understand that you became a licensed foster family because you want to foster a vulnerable child that very much needs your care and the safety and stability of your home. The match process is a critical step to ensure that you will be successful! Both Iowa KidsNet staff and the Department of Human Services (DHS) staff have a role to play in making the best placement match possible for each child. Here is the way it works: 1. When DHS or Juvenile Court Services determines that a child needs to be placed into family foster care, they make a referral to the Iowa KidsNet Matching Department. The Matching Department is located in Cedar Rapids, but the workers (Match Specialists) take referrals and work with families for every county in Iowa. 2. Matching refers to the process where Iowa KidsNet locates foster families who would be the best possible match for the child in need of foster care. At referral, Iowa KidsNet uses a referral form to ask DHS questions about the referred child and enters this data into a database. Iowa KidsNet uses this database, and also communicates with local Iowa KidsNet licensing and support specialists, to match each family s strengths to a child s needs with the goal of creating a stable placement arrangement for the child while he or she is away from his / her birth parents. At the time you are licensed, your Iowa KidsNet Licensing specialist inputs your family s information into our database so that we can match you to a child in need of foster care. When making a match, workers will review the age range and gender of child you are willing to foster, the location of your home relative to the child s birth home, as well as your ability to accommodate any of the child s special needs or behaviors. 3. Generally, each Match Specialist only contacts families within a certain region of Iowa (Service Area). So you will certainly get to know the Match Specialist in your area. However, there are times when a different Match Specialist might call if a worker is out due to illness, vacation, etc. 4. If you are deemed a match for a child(ren), a Match Specialist will contact you by phone. The worker will give you all the information we received about the child(ren) so you can make a good decision regarding whether you would like to be a foster parent for the child(ren). You will have the opportunity to either accept or decline placement of the child. If you are not available at the time of the call, the Match Specialist will leave a message and ask for you to contact them back as soon as possible. You may contact the Match Department by calling Press 1, then Press 1, and then enter an extension or Press Once you agree to take placement of the child(ren), Iowa KidsNet will notify DHS that you are a potential match for the child(ren). However, it is important to understand of your agreement to accept the child, DHS will determine whether or not the child 2 4 will actually be placed into your home. DHS will follow up with you regarding the placement arrangements for the child(ren). Iowa KidsNet will follow up with you to inform you if you are not selected as the child s placement home. Matching placement for the child. The Matching Department accepts an average of 18 referrals we will continue to call you regarding other children with needs that match the strengths and skills that your home offers. support specialist will check in with you within three days to see how things are going. Your Iowa KidsNet support specialist is available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so please feel free to call any time you need assistance with the child(ren) in your home. Please see the insert in your Welcome Package with your Iowa KidsNet support specialist s name, picture and short biography. What can I expect from Iowa KidsNet Matching Staff? Our approach is grounded in our core beliefs. EXPECT SUCCESS for your child and your family! We are family. LISTEN to your preferences and your needs. We believe that YOU, as the foster parent and/or guardian, are one of the keys to the success of a foster child placed in your home. We believe that your voices are critical in understanding what works for your family, what doesn t, and in generating ideas for overcoming barriers to successful matching. PROVIDE FULL AND HONEST INFORMATION about a child s strengths and needs each and every time we call you. Your Match Specialist will make sure that you fully understand what it will take to successfully parent the child. If we don t have questions. KEEP YOU INFORMED! After we have recommended you as a potential match, we wait to hear from DHS whether or not your family was selected. In most instances, the DHS worker will work directly with you to arrange for the child to be placed. However, in some instances, DHS may decide that placement is no longer 3 5 selected, we will call and let you know what happened. Matching WILL NEVER GIVE UP until you have experienced a successful placement license but we believe you are the perfect family for some child in need of foster care. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. Once a child is placed, your support specialist will develop a support plan and attempt to help you access formal and informal supports for your foster child and family. We will help you get your foster child s needs met in your neighborhood, community, and surrounding area. What does Matching Staff expect of me? YOUR VOICE! You are the expert on your family s strengths and needs. PROMPT ATTENTION to calls from Matching staff. We know that you are busy, but we ask that when you receive a message from your Match Specialist, please return calls you may be the ideal family! YOUR PATIENCE and ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT! It may take awhile to match your family to a child in need of foster care. While you are waiting we hope that you will stay involved in Iowa KidsNet and IFAPA support groups and seek out appropriate training to build your skills and perhaps expand your preferences. You will have many opportunities to network with other families and participate in forums for learning and growth. Through your active participation, you are helping us improve our approach to recruiting and retaining resource families. YOUR SATISFACTION! We are determined that every resource family we serve will From time to time we ask our parents to complete a satisfaction survey. What you tell us will help us continually improve the way we work with families. If at any time, you are your support specialist, their supervisor, or other Iowa KidsNet staff. Frequently Asked Questions about Matching What information about a child will I get when I m called for a match? 4 6 The IowaKidsNet Match Specialist will give you as much information about the child as possible, including the child s name, age, gender and any special needs or behaviors. However, there are times when a child is removed from their living situation due to an emergency. In those situations, we may only have limited information about the child when we call. We will always provide you with as much information as possible when we contact you as a possible match for the child. Matching Can the child come for a visit before he/she is placed? Yes! Sometimes a family thinks it would be best to have a pre-placement visit before accepting the child as a placement in their home. If you would like a pre-placement visit, you can request one when you are talking with your Match Specialist. Then the Match Specialist will notify DHS that you would like to have a pre-placement visit with the child, and DHS will work out the details of a visit. Why am I receiving calls for children that are not within my stated preferences? This can be for a variety of reasons. Perhaps it is critical for the child to remain in a particular school district and you are the only one available in that district, or it might be that you offer special skills and strengths to best meet the needs of the child. Matching staff are in continuous contact with our support staff regarding matching and perhaps your support specialist believes your family is the best available family to meet the child s needs, even though the child doesn t meet your exact preferences. It s also important to remember that many families also change their preferences over time or as they develop new strengths. Please talk to your Iowa KidsNet support specialist about this. I am an adopt only family (not fostering). Why doesn t matching ever call me? Iowa KidsNet does not currently offer adoption matching services because this process is handled directly by DHS. If you are interested in adoption, you will need to work directly with DHS. If you want to also be considered for children in need of foster care, talk to your support specialist about what it would take for you to also be licensed as a foster parent. Many of our families are licensed as both foster and adoptive parents. your area that meets your criteria, it could be within hours of you receiving your license. Of course, it could be much longer than that, too. A primary requirement in placing a child is to keep them as close to their birth home as possible so if you are in a rural area it may take longer than your willingness and ability to care for children and youth who may have challenging needs. The broader your preferences the more likely it is that you will receive a call in a relatively short time frame. For example, a family who is willing to accept both boys and girls in the age range of birth 15 years old with a variety of special needs or behaviors is probably going to receive a call more 5 7 quickly than a family who is only willing to accept girls in the age range of birth 2 years old with few special needs/behaviors. Matching If you feel like you need to review your family s preferences, please contact your Iowa KidsNet support specialist to discuss your strengths and skills so that we can ensure you get children in Why would DHS choose not to place a child with me if Iowa KidsNet has recommended my home and I have agreed to accept the child? There are several reasons why this might occur. First, many times DHS will make a referral to Iowa KidsNet for a child who might need foster care. A day or two later, DHS or the Court might decide that the child will remain with his/her birth parents or in his/her current placement. Other times, DHS locates a relative for the child, which means the child no longer needs foster care. When this happens, you should not take it personally. Everyone involved, including you, wants to make the best possible decision for the child. If you aren t selected this time, you will be selected for a different child. If Iowa KidsNet learns that the child will not be coming to your home, we will notify you. However, ultimately DHS is responsible for notifying you of any changes to the child s placement plans if they make a decision not to place the child in your home after you have agreed to the match. DHS just contacted me about taking a child into placement, but Iowa KidsNet didn t call me. What should I do? You may accept the placement. Then you should immediately contact your Iowa KidsNet support specialist to let them know about the new placement in your home so that we may update our records and also to provide you any needed support right away! 6 8 After Placement When a child is placed into my home, is there anything I need right away? When a child is placed in your home, it is important that you obtain the DHS Placement Agreement from the child s DHS worker. This document serves as legal proof that the child You should also receive the child s Title 19 card. If the worker does not have the Title 19 card available, you should at least be given the child s Title 19 number. Title 19 (a.k.a. Medicaid) is the program that will pay for the child s covered medical and healthcare costs. You will need to use this card when you take the child for any healthcare appointments. In addition to Medicaid, children in foster care could also be eligible for WIC and school lunch programs. Finally, you should try to obtain as much information as possible about the child, including: likes / dislikes, allergies, medications, school information, appointments, trauma / triggers, etc. You should ask for the child s birth parent contact information, if you are allowed to contact them. You will want to ask for the child s Case Permanency Plan from the child s DHS worker, which should be available if the child has been in foster care previously. Finally, you will want to obtain the DHS After-Hours phone number and the DHS placing worker s contact information and keep those numbers handy in the event that you need to contact them for any reason. After Placement When a child is placed in my home, am I allowed to sign papers for the child, schedule the child for appointments or sign the child up for activities? A foster parent can enroll the child in school; however, only the parent or legal guardian can sign consent forms for the child. If you are asked to give written permission or consent for an activity, contact your child s DHS worker to request the signature from the parent or obtain permission from the court. Of course, you can also ask the child s parent(s) directly. (In some cases, DHS may limit your contact with the birth family or a child s parental rights may already be terminated.) A foster parent may schedule routine medical appointments for the child so long as that treatment guardian has the authority and right to consent for medical care. The legal custodian (DHS) may consent to emergency medical care, so if needed, please contact the child s DHS worker to obtain permission. Page 48 of the Foster Parent Handbook for medical, educational and extra-curricular needs of the child. You can also ask the child s parents. 7 9 How does it work if a child placed in my home needs child care? Children in foster care can be placed in an approved child care setting if the foster parents work, the child is not in school and the need is documented in the DHS Case Permanency plan. Before accepting the child into your home, daycare arrangements for the child must be approved by the child s DHS placing worker. If approved, you will be responsible for paying for the child care directly and then be reimbursed by DHS. For more information about child care reimbursement, please see the Foster Parent Handbook click here. I heard a worker use the word China. What does that mean? The acronym CINA (pronounced China ) means Child in Need of Assistance. This means the juvenile court has determined there is a legal need to intervene in the life of the child and the child s family in order to ensure the child is safe. The court holds hearings in order to ensure appropriate services are provided to the child and family, to monitor progress towards Not all children who have been abused or neglected are adjudicated CINA and under court supervision. After Placement Who else will be involved in my child s case? family. A child in your care may also have several child welfare professionals involved in his or her case. This could include the DHS worker, a therapist, a Family, Safety, Risk and Permanency (FSRP) worker, a behavioral health intervention services caseworker, a guardian ad litem or a CASA volunteer. What can I do to prepare the child for the transition back home? After a child leaves, will I automatically begin to get calls about other children in need of placement? Children can experience a variety of emotions when it is time to transition back to their birth home. Children may feel happy about moving back to their own home, yet sad about leaving acknowledging the child s mixed feelings, foster parents can help children handle the move. Keep in mind that some children tend to deal with separations by acting out. Please contact your support specialist for tips on how to handle this situation as well as possible. It can be helpful to coordinate a transition between the DHS worker, foster family and birth family when possible. You will begin receiving calls about other children in need of placement when the child has been discharged from your home. This does take a short period of time so if you wish you can always contact your support specialist to indicate you are ready for another child to be placed into your home. Your support specialist will share this information with the Matching Department to ensure we have accurate information in our database about your preferences and available space in your home. 8 10 Additional Resources, Support Groups, Training and Respite Additional Resources Iowa Foster and Adoptive Parent Association (IFAPA) resource to foster, adoptive and kinship families in Iowa. Membership with IFAPA is free for Iowa s foster, adoptive and kinship families. IFAPA provides training, peer support and resources to promote safety, permanency and well-being for Iowa s children. For more information, please visit the IFAPA website at Frequently Asked Questions about IFAPA Do I have to pay for IFAPA trainings? All IFAPA trainings are provided free of charge with the exception of CPR/First Aid and the IFAPA Spring Conference. Please visit the IFAPA website and click on Training for more. Resources, Support, Training and Respite What is an IFAPA Peer Liaison? IFAPA employs 11 Peer Liaisons across Iowa who mentor foster families and provide peer-topeer support. IFAPA Peer Liaisons are established foster parents who have experience dealing with many of the same issues facing other foster families. For more information, please visit the IFAPA website and click on Support. Support Groups fostering is to start attending a support group in your area. This will allow you to continue relationships that were formed in your PS-MAPP classes and also introduce you to other foster parents. Most foster parents say that building a support system is the most important part of fostering. Other foster parents can serve as an additional support to you by offering you tips, To learn about support groups in your area, contact your Iowa KidsNet support specialist or visit the IFAPA website here. 9 11 Frequently Asked Questions about Support Groups Do support groups have a fee to attend? Most support groups do not have a fee to attend. Do support groups offer childcare so I can attend? Some support groups do have child care, while others do not. Please contact your Iowa KidsNet you. Training As a foster parent in Iowa, it is important that you continually build on your strengths and learn year as a foster parent, you will need to complete the following three trainings: Resources, Support, Training and Respite To obtain class information, you can contact your Iowa KidsNet support specialist or you can also visit the IFAPA website at within 10 months of licensure. KidsNet support specialist will collaborate with you to develop a plan to meet your training skills as a foster parent. At least three hours of training must be completed in a group setting and all trainings must be DHS approved. Don t worry! We know this is a lot to remember so we will help you along the way. If you ever have questions about training, just ask your Iowa KidsNet support specialist and he or she will be happy to help you. 10 12 Frequently Asked Questions about Training When I complete training, what documentation do I need to obtain? Who do I send it to? Each individual foster parent must submit documentation of completed training on the Foster Parent Training report. You need to submit that report to your Iowa KidsNet support specialist other proof of training for your records and provide it to your support specialist when it is time to renew your license. I have a training I want to attend, but it isn t approved. What does that mean and can I get it approved? There is a list of approved trainings that can be found on the IFAPA website or you may ask your Iowa KidsNet support specialist. If there is a training that you wish to attend, but it is not on this list, an approval request needs to be completed and submitted to DHS at least 30 days prior to the training. Please let your Iowa KidsNet support specialist know if you have an unapproved training you would like to attend and he or she can assist you. Resources, Support, Training and Respite Respite Respite or respite care refers to times when you will need a break from the constant demands of caring for a foster child. Foster parents are allowed 24 days of respite per placement, per calendar year. If you are in need of a break, or respite, you must use another licensed foster home to care for the foster children in your care. If you agree to provide respite for another family, that means you are taking the foster children it will count against your capacity numbers. This means that you are not allowed to go over your licensed capacity during times when you are providing respite to another family. In certain instances, a variance can be requested from DHS for you to be over capacity while providing respite. A variance is the form DHS uses to either approve or deny a family to have more foster children in their home than their licensed capacity. DHS must approve the variance prior to you providing the respite. 11 13 The DHS placement worker does need to approve the respite placement. Your Iowa KidsNet support specialist can assist you in locating a home that is willing to provide you with respite. Please remember that your need for respite is also another great reason to attend support groups or stay in contact with other families from your PS-MAPP group. Frequently Asked Questions about Respite Do I need to notify DHS if the child is with another family for respite? YES! The child s DHS worker must approve the child being in another home for respite. The provider. What if I just need someone to watch the child placed in my home for an hour or two? Can I ask a relative or family friend? Yes. However, it is important to ensure that the individual will be able to provide the level of care needed for the child, including the ability to work with any of the child s behaviors. This individual must also be able to ensure the child s safety while in their care. Resources, Support, Training and Respite 12 14 Child Welfare System Workers and Their Roles different types of workers for children and families in Iowa. Each worker has a different role and set of responsibilities. We know that it can be frustrating to call one person and be told that you should be calling someone else. In general, call your Iowa KidsNet support specialist for any questions, problems or incidents involving the child in care or for changes in your family in a situation. Your Iowa KidsNet support specialist can help you determine if you need to notify additional people or your DHS worker. Below is a partial list of Who to Call in certain situations. If you are not able to reach the worker, then call a supervisor. Roles of Child Welfare Workers 13 15 Changes During Your License Year Are you thinking about relocating, remodeling or having a new adult move into your home? If so, that sounds very exciting! But please don t forget to notify your Iowa KidsNet support specialist within 7 days of any of the following life changes: When these changes occur, Iowa KidsNet will schedule a home visit with you in order to complete an updated home study. There are other times that you might need to stop taking children into placement during your license year. This is called being on hold. Either you, DHS or Iowa KidsNet can place you on hold for a variety of reasons, such as: you just adopted a child and need time to adjust; you or another family member have health issues; a Child Protective Investigation is pending; etc. During periods of being on hold, your license would continue to be active, but you would not receive any calls for Matching or Respite. If DHS or IKN places you on hold, you will be Frequently Asked Questions about Changes During Your License Year What kinds of remodeling projects must I report to my support specialist? You will need to report any remodeling that makes a structural change to the home. What if my college-age child comes home just for the summer? Do I need to report that to my support specialist? Yes! It is important that Iowa KidsNet knows of any adults who are residing in your home. If you are completing the licensure renewal process prior to your child coming home, please work with your Iowa KidsNet support specialist in advance so we can ensure this doesn t become a problem with your licensure. 14 Changes During Your License Year 16 License Renewal Believe it or not, in just nine months your Iowa KidsNet support specialist will begin talking to you about renewing your foster care license. During the renewal process, we will review your experiences over the past year, talk about your strengths and needs and your choice to renew your license. Of course, there will also be paperwork lots of paperwork! It is important that we go through these steps to ensure that children in Iowa are safe and secure in foster homes. It is important to us, and we know it is important to you, too! You can help completing your training prior to the renewal process and letting us know if you have any changes in your life, such as a relocation or a new adult living in your household. Frequently Asked Questions About License Renewal How often will I need to renew my license? On July 1, 2012, a new law went into effect regarding new foster care licensing guidelines. Foster parents with two years of experience, may be able to get a two-year license. DHS will continue to require foster parent training ( continuing education ) of 6 hours every year - or as the law states annually. The administrator, within the administrator s discretion and based upon the performance of the licensee, may require annual renewal after two years of licensing experience. Please talk with your support specialist if you have questions about the renewal process. I am currently only an adoptive family and not a foster family. Am I allowed to change to a foster and adoptive family when I renew? Yes. Whenever you feel you would like to change your license from foster to adopt, adopt to foster or to be licensed for both foster and adopt, please contact your Iowa KidsNet support specialist. We will be happy to walk you through the process. In Closing We hope that this quick reference guide helps you understand how Iowa KidsNet, in partnership with state and community-based agencies, works to support you and the foster children in your please call your Iowa KidsNet support specialist at any time! Once again, thank you for being a resource for Iowa s children. We couldn t do this work without person who is always there for the children we serve. 15 Changes During Your License Year By David G. Smith, Ph.D. and W. Brad Johnson, Ph.D. Athena Rising Junior women are often told to go find a mentor. Yet when they look around for someone who looks like them at higher levels in their organization, it may be difficult to find senior women. In many organizations, there just arent many senior women, and those who have risen to positions of power frankly dont have enough hours in the day to mentor all the junior women coming through the door. So why cant senior men mentor junior women? The answer, of course, is that they can mentor talented women with the same frequency and care that they mentor men. Yet studies continue to show that male mentors are less likely to mentor junior women. In our book, Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women, we call this the reluctant male syndrome. Heres a list of the most prevalent reasons why men are reluctant to mentor women. The outdated notion that only women can mentor women. This myth is based on messages men have learned growing up that women/girls are fragile, delicate, even mysterious creatures that men could not possibly begin to understand, let alone guide and support. This translates at work into mens perceived inability to relate to womens personal experiences or professional dilemmas. The myth that women dont have the right stuff for senior management positions. This belief is grounded in stereotypes that cast men as strong leaders, but paint women as lacking the assertiveness or aggressiveness to be successful leaders. The other aspect of this belief is related to benevolent sexismwomen are nice, but weak and cant handle the demanding world of management. A fear that a woman might cry if a mentor gives her honest, direct feedback. This is a corollary to the women are nurturing, but too thin-skinned to compete mindset. This is reinforced in boys across their childhood as most activities are structured and contextualized in terms of competition which is then operationalized at work in competitive, dog eat dog environments. The perception that women are too emotional. In western culture and society, girls/women learn that expressing emotions is acceptable and expected in many situations. Boys, of course, are often shamed for crying and expressing emotions. A beliefconscious or notthat a woman is a risky mentoring investment; after all, shell eventually leave to have children. This maternal wall is a widely-held bias based on historical male career patterns. Womens caregiver roles are over-emphasized and this focus creates a perception that women are overcommitted outside of work. Many men dont know how to do nonsexual intimacy in relationships with women. A relationship with mothers, wives or daughterssure, but a nonsexual professional relationship with a woman at workjust weird. Some men can even be anxious about cross-gender relationships. But resorting to relationships they know with female family members often leads men to use these manscripts in ways that are not helpful for mentees. Fear of responding to increasing intimacy with sexual overtures. Many men assume that they are unable to use the decision-making part of their brain to overcome biological and evolutionary feelings of attraction. Fear of rumors, perception, and social scrutiny. Perceptions are reality and many men avoid cross-gender mentoring relationships because they are afraid of what their peers and co-workers will think and say. Worry about what their spouse/partner will think. Some guys ruminate on the question, what will my wife say if I start spending so much time with a younger woman at work? Concern that he might slip and say/do the wrong thing. In todays world of lawsuits, some men dont perceive the gain of mentoring talented women as offsetting the risk that he could inadvertently offend her, or worse, lead her to think that he is sexually harassing her. W. Brad Johnson, PhD is professor of psychology in the Department of Leadership, Ethics, and Law at the United States Naval Academy, and a faculty associate in the Graduate School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. A clinical psychologist and former Lieutenant Commander in the Navys Medical Service Corps, Dr. Johnson served as a psychologist at Bethesda Naval Hospital and the Medical Clinic at Pearl Harbor where he was the division head for psychology. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and recipient of the Johns Hopkins University Teaching Excellence Award. David Smith, PhD is an active duty U.S. Navy Captain and permanent military professor in the Department of Leadership, Ethics, and Law at the United States Naval Academy having served four years as the chair. A former Navy Pilot, Dr. Smith led diverse organizations of women and men culminating in command of a squadron in combat and flew more than 3,000 hours over 19 years including combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a sociologist trained in military sociology and social psychology, he focuses his research in gender, work, and family issues including dual career families, military families, women in the military, and retention of women. Kim Kardashian West has returned to social media for the first time since she was robbed at gunpoint in Paris. Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, North West and Saint West (c) Instagram The 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians' star - who regularly posted on photo sharing site Instagram before she was subjected to the terrifying ordeal - has broken her silence on the platform in her first post since October. Sharing a picture of herself with her husband Kanye West and their two children, North, three, and Saint, 12 months, she simply captioned it: "family". Following her return, messages of support and love flooded in for the 36-year-old television personality. The posting will no doubt go some way to shutting down rumours that Kim and Kanye's marriage is on the rocks. The pair have spent some time out of the spotlight following the ordeal and for Kanye to recover, after he was given treatment for sleep deprivation and exhaustion in the latter months of 2016. The couple are said to be receiving therapy individually as they both try and deal with the "trauma" they went through. A source shared at the time: "They are still both receiving individual therapy. Kim is dealing with the trauma from the robbery. Kanye is receiving help for depression and learning how to cope with stress better. They might be thinking about couples therapy, but so far it seems they haven't had any sessions together." Kim and Kanye were spotted out for the first time together on December 18, where they seemed "strong and so happy". An eyewitness shared: "When she got to the car, she paused and made it a point to look back at [Kanye] and make sure he was OK. She looked strong and so happy. You can see it in the way they were that they were making a point to say, 'We are solid.' They were smiling, completely at ease and just enjoying each other." Transcription 1 MALTA FACT SHEET 1. Basic info Capital: Valletta Population: 403,000 Area: 316 km2 Language: Maltese Currency: Euro (EUR) Unemployment rate: 5,8% 2. General conditions of entry and visa information To enter Malta you must possess: 1. A valid passport; 2. Proof that you have the means to sustain yourself; 3. Proof of your accommodation. Visas are processed by the Immigration Authorities within the Malta Police Force. Visas will then be issued by the Consular authorities located in migrants origin countries, if the request was filed from one of these offices. A foreigner entering Malta must have a valid travel document, as well as a visa or residence permit. Visa types Maltese authorities may issue three types of visas. The visa type is indicated on the visa sticker in a special section and marked with the letters A, B, C This fact sheet was prepared within the framework of the AENEAS 2006 project: Capacity Building, Information and Awareness Raising Towards Promoting Orderly Migration in the Western Balkans funded by the European Union and co-funded by the Swiss Federal Office for Migration and the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, the Government of Liechtenstein and the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs/Italian Development Cooperation. 2 Airport transit visa - A This visa enables those foreigners who are required to have it to stay in the international transit area of an airport while awaiting their connecting flight, but does not permit entry into the country. Note: Citizens of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Serbia and Macedonia do not need an Airport transit visa when the pass through Malta. Transit visa - B This visa entitles a foreigner travelling from one country to another to transit through the Schengen territory. A transit visa may only be issued if the alien proves that he or she is permitted to enter the next country of destination after his or her stay in Schengen territory. A transit visa may be issued for single or double transit and, exceptionally, multiple transits, provided that no transit through the country exceeds the number of days determined in the duration of stay section of the visa sticker. Transit visas may statutorily not exceed 5 days. Short-term visa - C This visa entitles a foreigner to enter and stay in the Schengen territory for tourist, business, personal or any other visits or similar purposes of entry. A short-term visa may be issued for single, double or multiple entries into the country where neither a single uninterrupted stay nor the collective duration of a number of successive stays may exceed 90 days within a period of six months, starting from the day of first entry. Based on the Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements between the EU and Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, citizens of these countries continue to require the Schengen visa C to enter Malta; however they benefit from a reduced visa handling fee (EUR 35 instead of EUR 60). Many categories of applicants (family members of legally resident nationals, students and pensioners, journalists etc) may also now obtain visas free of charge. For certain categories of persons, e.g. businessmen, students and journalists, the documentation requirements will be simplified. Certain categories of frequent travellers (including businessmen, journalists, students, representatives of civil society) will be granted multi-entry visas with long periods of validity and diplomatic passports holders will be exempted from the visa obligation. See details on: (for Albania) (for Bosnia & Herzegovina) for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia for Serbia for Montenegro Where do I apply? If a Maltese Embassy/High Commissioner or Consulate exists, you have to contact the Honorary Consul, who, though cannot issue the visa, may assist you in the procedure. Furthermore, you may request a visa by downloading the Visa Form ( and faxing it, with a copy of the passport and other requested documents to the Commissioner of Police in Malta. In case of approval, you must present the letter to the airline before leaving to Malta. The relevant visa will be issued upon arrival at the Airport. List of Maltese diplomatic missions and consular posts where you can submit your visa application: ALBANIA (Tirana) Embassy of Austria 2 3 Rruga Frederik Shiroka Nr. 3, Tirana Tel: (+355/4) / 856 Fax: (+355/4) BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA (Sarajevo) Embassy of Austria Dzidzikovac 7, BiH Sarajevo Tel: (+387/33) / 419 Fax: (+387/33) MONTENEGRO (Podgorica) General Consulate of Italy Ulica Djordja Vasingtona, 83, Podgorica Tel.: , Fax: SERBIA (Belgrade) Embassy of Italy Bircaninova Ulica, 11 Tel.: Fax: Dr BRANCO VUKMIR, Hon. Consul Pavlinoviceva Str. 4, Zagreb Tel: (1) Fax: (1) Immigration for employment purposes a) conditions of entry and stay of foreign workers (including types of work permits and work visas and requirements, and responsible authorities) Work Permits Government Policy All foreign nationals require a work permit to work in Malta. In respect of foreigners, the Government maintains a restrictive policy and employment licences are granted only in exceptional circumstances. Such work permits are issued to employers wishing to engage foreigners for a determined period and for a specific purpose, ONLY after it has been ascertained that every effort has been made to engage a suitable Maltese citizen. Conditions for the Issue of a Licence a) Applicants for an employment licence must first secure an offer of employment from an employer in Malta; b) Applicants must possess a specialist skill or qualification of which there is a shortage in Malta; c) There must be a significant demand in a particular field e.g. qualified nurses, tourist guides with particular language skills, construction workers etc. A work permit is issued by the Director of Labour subject to the above prerequisites and upon the request of a potential employer. 3 4 Documentation Required The following documentation should accompany your application for an employment licence: a valid passport, a certificate of good conduct; a letter of employment including a full job description by the prospective employer. Application form: Validity & Renewal Employment licences are normally issued valid for one year. Licenses valid for up to three years may also be applied for at the express request of the employer and provided sufficient justification is given. Licences may be renewed thereafter where a request to that effect is justified. Residence Permit A residence permit is automatically granted with the approval of a work permit for you and your spouse/husband. However, this does not entitle the spouse/husband to work or automatically qualify for an employment licence unless demand for work is felt in the respective field. Indefinite licences Where a foreign national is an investor in the manufacturing or financial services sector and holds substantial shareholding (40%) in the enterprise, the relative licence may be issued indefinitely. b) labour market sectors experiencing shortages Many employers are resorting to foreign labour because of shortages in many sectors, such as tourism, IT, medical and manufacturing. c) job search websites This governmental website provide information for job seekers. - Official EURES Malta website Immigration for study purposes a) conditions of entry and stay for students (student visa, residence permits, right to work if applicable) In addition to the visa application form, a valid travel document and two passport-size photographs, applicants need to produce the following documentation: a valid return ticket, or a certificate of a reserved and prepaid journey, proof of subsistence funds 4 5 a letter of acceptance from the educational institution indicating admission and details on course being undertaken, hotel reservation or a confirmation from a private home or institution The diplomatic mission and consular posts will verify such declarations, where such checks are necessary. You also need a valid Travel Medical Insurance to cover any expenses which might arise in connection with repatriation for medical reasons, urgent medical attention and/or emergency hospital treatment. The insurance must be valid throughout the Schengen Member States and cover the entire period of your stay. The minimum insurance coverage must be of 30,000. b) list of main universities and colleges The University of Malta (Maltese L-Universita ta' Malta) - is the highest educational institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate Bachelor's Degrees, which last between three and five years, and postgraduate Master's Degrees that last two years full-time. Gan Frangisk Abela Junior College MCAST (Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology) De La Salle College c) foreign students programmes where applicable Practical Traineeships for Foreign Students of Natural and Technical Sciences, Agriculture and Forestry (IAESTE) For application deadlines, please contact the IASTE National Committee in Malta. IAESTE Malta c/o Faculty of Engineering University of Malta Phone: (0) Fax: (0) Internet: 5. Residence Residence permits are issued to third country nationals who have been authorized to reside in Malta for a specific purpose. This purpose could be: Employment Self-employment Economic self-sufficiency Retirement Study Long-term residence Other reasons Employment / Self-Employment / Study / Health Reasons The applicant has to present the necessary documents in support of his/her claim - copy of a work permit for employment, copy of work permit/trading licence for self-employment, confirmation of enrolment in a higher education establishment for study purposes and hospital or medical certification in the case of health reasons, amongst other documents, especially those indicated in the application form itself. 5 6 Economically Self-Sufficient Persons / Pensioners / Retired Persons In the case of such persons a residence permit would be granted if the person concerned has, at least, a minimum annual income of 13, in Malta. The amount would rise to 16, if applicant is married. Furthermore a sum of 2, is added in respect of every dependent child. Thus a married person with two children - who should be under 18 years of age - should have an income of 20, It should be noted further that the amounts indicated above are exclusive of the accommodation (which should be of an adequate standard) expenses. Furthermore, persons falling under these categories have to produce also evidence of health insurance for themselves and members of their families, if applicable. This requirement has to be complied with also by persons holding a residence permit issued by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue (CIR). The latter persons, however, need not submit documentary evidence about income and accommodation. Partners Consideration is given to applications in respect of non-maltese partners of Maltese citizens or of third country nationals as long as: - the Maltese citizen or third country national concerned can provide documentary evidence attesting to a regular and stable income of at least 8, (minimum wage + 20%) - documentary proof is provided that the partnership has been subsisting for at least two years. - documentary evidence is provided regarding health insurance in respect of all risks normally covered for Maltese nationals. Humanitarian / Other Cases If sufficient proof is produced to substantiate applicant s claim that his/her request should be considered from a humanitarian aspect or on other grounds, the Department will give due consideration to such a request. In the case of a favourable consideration, a residence permit will be issued to applicant. Family Members See section on Family reunification. Long-term resident status An applicant for long-term resident status must provide documentary evidence: - legal and continuous residence in Malta for five years immediately prior to the submission of the application - proof of stable and regular resources sufficient to maintain himself/herself and the members of his/her family (equivalent to the national minimum wage + 20% - proof of accommodation regarded as normal for a comparable family in Malta and which meets the general health and safety standards in force in Malta. - health insurance in respect of all risks normally covered for Maltese nationals for himself/herself and the members of his/her family. Furthermore, they are required to submit a letter giving their history since they first arrived in Malta. This letter should include information on the grounds on which they came to and remained in Malta, their employment history since then, the current and previous premises occupied by them, family members, if they are living with them in Malta, and any other information which could be useful in the consideration of their request for long-term resident status. For more information check Application for a residence permit by a Non-EU/EEA citizen: who is employed who is self-employed who is studying at an educational establishment who is economically self-sufficient who is retired who is in Malta for other purposes 6 7 Department for Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs 3, Castille Place Valletta CMR 02 Telephone No.: Telefax No.: address: 6. Asylum Procedure All applications for recognition of refugee status are processed and determined by the Office of the Refugee Commissioner. A person who is seeking asylum in Malta may apply to the Commissioner for a declaration and attend an interview within one week. An interview shall be conducted in private and, where necessary, with the assistance of an interpreter. The Commissioner will examine any application for refugee status and shall recommend the acceptance of the application to the Minister for Home Affairs and the Environment. If the Commissioner recommends the acceptance of the application, the Minister responsible for immigration shall make a declaration stating the eligibility of the refugee or appeal against such recommendation. Asylum seeker is allowed to enter or remain in Malta pending a final decision of his/her application. He/she shall also have access to state education and training in Malta and to receive state medical care and services. An asylum seeker cannot seek employment or carry on business unless with the consent of the Minister; he/she has to reside and remain in the designated place and has to report at specified intervals to the immigration authorities. Rejected asylum seekers have the right to appeal with the Appeals Board against the negative recommendation; (b) the right to consult the UNHCR and to have legal assistance throughout the appeal procedure; and (c) at the appeal stage. The Refugee Act, 2000, states that the Refugee Commissioner may recommend that, in spite of the fact that a person does not satisfy the requirements to be recognized as a refugee, such person should be granted temporary humanitarian protection in Malta. 7. Family reunification A third-country national is entitled to apply for family reunification subject to the following conditions: - he/she is holding a residence permit valid for a minimum period of one year; and - he/she has reasonable prospects of obtaining the right of permanent residence. Asylum seekers, and persons residing on grounds of temporary or subsidiary protection are not entitled to family reunification. The following family members are eligible for family reunification: - A spouse (at least 21 years of age) - unmarried minor children including children adopted in a manner recognized by Maltese law; An application for entry and residence shall be application submitted to the Director of the Department for Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs, Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs by the residence permit holder. The family members can be granted a first residence permit of at least one year s duration which can be renewable, provided that the duration of the residence permits granted to the members of the family, in principle, does not extend beyond the date of expiry of the original residence permit. The sponsor and the family members may be required to attend, and successfully complete, courses in the Maltese language. 7 8 The family members of the sponsor are entitled, in the same way as the sponsor, to: - access to education; - access to employment and self-employed activity, subject to the work permit requirement for the first year (subject to assessment of the labour market) - access to vocational guidance, initial and further training and retraining. Upon the expiry of a period of five years residence in Malta and provided that the family member has not been granted a residence permit for reasons other than family reunification, the spouse or the child who has reached majority shall be entitled, upon application, to an autonomous residence permit. Application form 8. Health Care System In Malta, the Government provides a comprehensive health services to all residents that are free. This health service is funded from general taxation. All residents have access to preventive, investigative, curative and rehabilitative services in Government Health Centres and Hospitals. Persons with a low income are means tested by the Department of Social Security. If they qualify for assistance, they receive a card which entitles them to free pharmaceuticals. Moreover, a person who suffers from one or more of a specified list of chronic diseases (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis) is also entitled to receive free treatment for his/her ailment, irrespective of financial means. The Government delivers primary health care mainly through eight Health Centres that offer a full range of preventive, curative and rehabilitative services. Community nursing and midwifery services are provided by the Malta Memorial District Nursing Association (MMDNA) on a contract basis. The Government's Health Centre system works side by side with a thriving private sector and many residents opt for the services of private general practitioners and specialists who work in the primary care setting. There are numerous pharmacies and chemists throughout the islands, though they have no recognizable symbol by which to identify them. They keep normal shopping hours, from 08:30 or 09:00 until 13:00hrs and then 16:00hrs to 19:00hrs. 9. Social insurance system Malta s current social welfare system is the result of the development of a set of laws over several decades. National insurance contributions and benefits are the backbone of social welfare, aimed at reducing the financial hardships of sickness, disability, injury, old age and unemployment. Malta s social welfare is carried out by the Department of Social Security located in Valletta. National insurance is collected by the taxation department, but the fund is administered by the social security authorities. The health and housing divisions also play an instrumental role in providing medical care and housing support. The department of social security is presently divided into 5 main branches: Contributory Benefits Division Non-contributory Benefits Division Benefit Fraud and Investigations Directorate Customer Care & International Relations Finance & Administration The department deals with assistance in claims for all types of benefits as well as providing general advice and information. The actual assessment of claims of the majority of the benefits and the general administration of the organization is dealt with centrally from the department s head office. 8 9 Social Security Department 38 Ordinance Street, Valletta - CMR 02. Telephone: Fax: Housing Rental accommodation is mostly privately owned. When looking for accommodation, there are real estate brokers specializing in rented accommodation. The local newspapers have extensive rental columns on a daily basis. There are also weekly newspapers which publish classified advertisements inserted by property-owners in search of potential renters. Internet search facilities are on the increase. The main property agents have a rental section on their sites. Rental contracts are usually for 5 years with a maximum of 10 years. However these can be brought down to 3 years or as negotiated with the owners. Agents service charge is 10% of first years rent plus VAT. 11. Recognition of diplomas Malta is a member of ENIC-NARIC (National Academic Recognition Information Centres, which is a network of national centres that aims to improve academic recognition of diplomas and periods of study in European Union (EU) member states, EEA countries and associated countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Malta- NARIC ( also aims to provide information and advice in consultation with other bodies on the comparability of international and Maltese qualifications. Malta Qualification Recognition Information Centre (Malta QRIC) Ministry of Education Room No 328 Great Siege Road Floriana Phone: Fax: Application form: Support services offered to migrants by public agencies, NGOs, trade unions, hotlines Phillips County Domestic Violence Program (Malta) - + (406) /Hotline SOS Malta SOS Malta, a Maltese-registered NGO set up in 1991, aims at aiding people experiencing times of crisis and empowering them by providing support services and opportunities to implement development and change in their country to ensure a better quality of life. Valletta Office: Address: Dar L-Emigrant, Castille Place Town: Valletta Post code: VLT01 9 10 Telephone: Fax: Third Country National Support Network Malta (TSN Malta) is a non-profit organization dedicated to bridging the gap between newcomers, cross-cultural groups, and mainstream society in Malta through information, education, and training. They offer a variety of services that help immigrants integrate into Maltese society and Maltese to learn more about and appreciate cultural diversity. Tel: Jesuit Refugee Service Malta JRS Malta serves and lobbies for the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and forcibly displaced people in Malta Acquisition of citizenship/nationality Double citizenship is permitted in Malta. Children of Maltese citizens acquire Maltese citizenship by birth. By marriage The foreign spouse of a Maltese citizen may acquire Maltese citizenship by marriage after 5 years of marriage. Residence in Malta is not required. Widows and widowers of a Maltese citizen (where the spouse died within the first 5 years of marriage) may apply for Maltese citizenship by marriage 5 years after the date of the marriage to their deceased spouse. Persons separated from a Maltese spouse may still apply for Maltese citizenship by marriage provided they lived together for 5 years By registration Due to amendments to the Maltese Citizenship Act which came into force on 1 August 2007, it is now possible for all persons of Maltese descent to obtain Maltese citizenship by registration. A person only has to provide documentary evidence such as birth, marriage & death certificates to be registered as a citizen. This documentation must show direct descent from an ancestor born in Malta of a parent who was also born in Malta. If a person has parents, grandparents, etc. that are alive and are also direct descendants themselves, they will also have to make applications (direct line cannot be broken). The Maltese citizenship can be acquired by naturalization if: - You are a former citizen of Malta; - You were born abroad to Maltese parents who are returned migrants; - You were born in Malta, you hold a foreign citizenship, and at least one of your parents is a citizen of Malta; - You were born to parents who were non-maltese but one of whom or both subsequently acquired Maltese citizenship; - You were born abroad and you are of Maltese descent. It is possible 'to become eligible' to acquire Maltese citizenship by naturalisation after 5 years of legal residence in Malta. In practice applications are only given a favourable consideration to persons who were born in Malta, have resided there for more than 18 years, have a Maltese parent, or based on humanitarian grounds. 10 11 For more information, you can contact: The Department for Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs, 3, Castille Place, Valletta, tel. 356/250868; free toll number: Other useful contacts and information Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Social Policy Ministry of Education 11 Emma Stone has received the Best Actress award at this year's Capri Hollywood International Film Festival. Emma Stone The 28-year-old actress, who plays the role of Mia in 'La La Land' alongside Ryan Gosling, 36, picked up the accolade at the 21st edition of the Italian movie festival, which also saw the drama film land six trophies at the annual bash, including Best Ensemble Cast, Best Song for the track 'City of Stars', Best Picture and Best Score. Speaking in a statement about the accolades received at the ceremony, the festival's founder and producer Pascal Vicedomini said: "This was an extraordinary edition for the quality of the artists who attended and the variety of works presented. "I'm positive that most of our award winners will go on to be honoured at the Golden Globes and the Oscars. Best wishes to everyone and see you at the 22nd edition of Capri, Hollywood." Whilst 'La La Land' received six nods at the event, 'Lion', which stars Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel, as well as 'Hacksaw Ridge' came close to taking the lead as they both received five awards each. Andrew Garfield was credited as Best Actor for his role as Desmond Doss in the historical film directed by Mel Gibson, who won Best Director. 'Florence Foster Jenkins' starring Meryl Streep was credited as the Comedy of the Year, whilst Disney's recent release 'Moana', which sees Nicole Scherzinger provide the voice over to Sina, was recognised as the Best Animated Movie. The full list of winners at the 21st edition of the Capri Hollywood International Film Festival, are as follows; Best Picture - 'La La Land' Best Drama - 'Hacksaw Ridge' Best Comedy - 'Florence Foster Jenkins' Humanitarian award - 'Lion' Best Actor - Andrew Garfield in 'Hacksaw Ridge' and Michael Keaton in 'The Founder' Best Actress -Emma Stone in 'La La Land' Best Supporting Actor - Dev Patel in 'Lion' Best Supporting Actress - Nicole Kidman in 'Lion' Best Ensemble Cast - 'La La Land' Best Director - Mel Gibson for 'Hacksaw Ridge' Best Producer - Bill Mechanic 'Hacksaw Ridge' Best Documentary - 'Fire At Sea' Best Foreign Language film - 'Toni Erdmann' (Germany) Best Animated Movie - 'Moana' Best Script - Kenneth Lonergan 'Manchester By The Sea' Best Adapted Screenplay - Saroo Brierley and Luke Davies in 'Lion' Best Photography - Linus Sandgren for 'La La Land' Best Score - Justin Hurwitz 'La La Land' Best Song - 'City Of Stars' in 'La La Land' Capri Peace Award - 'Never Give Up', 'Lion' Best Editor - John Gilbert 'Hacksaw Ridge' Best Set Design and Decorations - Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo 'Silence' Best European Movie 2016 - 'Fire At Sea' (Italy) European Director of the Year - Stephen Frears 'Florence Foster Jenkins' Best TV Series 2016 - 'Medici: Masters Of Florence' (Italy) Meghan Markle thinks her "hippy dippy" tendencies have always been a part of her DNA. Meghan Markle The 35-year-old actress - who is currently dating Britain's Prince Harry - has revealed she relies on a green juice instead of a cup of coffee as a "pick me up" when she is shooting scenes for the American series 'Suits', and the star believes her bohemian ways and love for natural food were instilled in her when she was in the womb. Speaking in a video clip with Shape.com about her go-to essentials on set, the brunette beauty said: "Definitely a green juice, I mean I think trying to going for a coffee will only end up hurting you at the end, so to get a really good natural source of energy. Something that gets right into your system is a nice pick me up. "I'm a Californian girl so I think all those hippy dippy things have been in my DNA probably since I was in the womb." And the star believes making keeping a balanced and healthy lifestyle is vital for anyone working long hours. She continued: "I think it's just important to keep a healthy lifestyle, especially when you're maintaining hours like that just making the right food choices." Although Meghan has admitted she is an advocate of healthy living, she has admitted she likes to indulge in a portion of chips every so often, although she does try to find more nutritional substitutes or methods of cooking. She said: "I love fries. But then you find ways to make it healthy, like sweet potato fries or bake them." Leading online luxury fashion retailer Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) Group has joined Walpole, the unique alliance of Britains finest luxury brands. The membership includes YNAP Group as an international member as well as its multi-brand retailers Net-a-Porter, Mr Porter and The Outnet, each of which is listed individually as a member of Walpole. The company will actively participate in the community bringing new expertise to the British luxury alliance. It will work closely with Walpole to nurture new talent and drive growth in the UK luxury marketplace. Walpoles invitation to join the prestigious community of over 170 British luxury brands is a testament to YNAP Groups position as the worlds leading online luxury fashion retailer, said YNAP in a statement. Leading online luxury fashion retailer Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) Group has joined Walpole, the unique alliance of Britain's finest luxury brands. The membership includes YNAP Group as an international member as well as its multi-brand retailers Net-a-Porter, Mr Porter and The Outnet, each of which is listed individually as a member of Walpole.# Many of the qualities of British luxury such as creativity and expert know-how that Walpole promotes, protects and develops reflects those at the core of YNAPs strategic ambitions: we thrive on a combination of customer-centric innovation, content and impeccable service, said Bruno-Roland Bernard, corporate & financial communications director of YNAP Group. We are thrilled to welcome Yoox Net-a-Porter Group as a member of Walpole. The business has revolutionised the online luxury fashion industry and we look forward to working closely with the luxury pure-play group, said Michael Ward, chairman of Walpole. Walpole is a unique alliance of 170 of Britains finest luxury brands, including Burberry, Alexander McQueen, Boodles, Harrods and Jimmy Choo. Walpole promotes, protects and develops the unique qualities of UK luxury: the long tradition, rich heritage, superior craftsmanship, innovation, design, style, and impeccable service at the heart of the industry. Currently worth over 32 billion to the UK economy, Walpole is also a leading creator of jobs and major contributor to the British economy. (KD) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India Foreign buyers expect all types of printing solutions at the same place and in a short span of time and they are likely to avail one-stop printing solutions from DCC Print Vision LLP Textile, said a top official of Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). Organisations like DCC can help the countrys textile sector to produce fabrics by 2021. Senior vice president of BGMEA Faruque Hassan visited DCC in Banani, Dhaka to inspect its printing machine and technology, according to Bangladeshi media reports. He said that there are multiple possibilities in the textile printing industry of the country, but the industry lacks one stop solutions. DCC started its operations in Bangladesh after the customers of the countrys textile sector requested the company to do so. The company is working towards setting up a world class printing studio in Bangladesh, said HN Ashikur Rahman, country manager of DCC. Foreign buyers expect all types of printing solutions at the same place and in a short span of time and they are likely to avail one-stop printing solutions from DCC Print Vision LLP Textile, said a top official of Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). Organisations like DCC can help the country's textile sector to produce fabrics by 2021.# DCC will be organising workshops in Bangladesh to create skilled manpower. One-stop solutions are important for establishing digital textile printing industry. These solutions will also help increase the countrys revenue from the textile sector. (KD) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India PX prices went up in US in the last week due to bullish buying trend in the region. In US, average prices climbed by US$ 5/ton and quoted at US$ 810/ton in the last week, a hike of 0.62 per cent over the previous week. Meanwhile in Europe, average prices went up due to enhanced upstream energy rates. In Europe, average prices moved up by US$ 5/ton and assessed at US$ 775/ton in the last week compared to previous week, an improvement of 0.65 per cent. Fibre2Fashion News Desk India It seems like popular actress Gautami is all set to be active in films, once again. The veteran actress did make a comeback to films after a break, with Papanasam that featured Kamal Haasan in the lead role. Now, according to the latest reports, the actress is all set to make a powerful comeback to Malayalam films. Reportedly, the actress has been roped in to play an important role in the upcoming Malayalam film Viswasapoorvam Mansoor, directed by veteran film-maker P T Kunjimuhammed. The upcoming film would feature Aanandam fame Roshan Mathew in the lead role. According to a latest report by Time Of india, Gautami would be seen playing a character named Fathima Beebi, who is the mother of the protagonist. Prayaga Martin would be paired opposite Roshan mathew in the film. Gautami was previously seen in the 2016 Telugu film Manamantha, which had Mohanlal in the lead role. The actress was much praised for her performance in the movie. The actress has worked with Mollywood superstars like Mammootty and Mohanlal in the past and did make her mark in the industry by featuring in good number of films. Her popular films in Malayalam include movies like Dhruvam, His Highness Abdullah, Ayalathe Addeham etc. Her previous Malayalam release was the movie Varum Varunnu Vannu, which released in the year 2003. Dulquer Salmaan has some exciting projects in his kitty and most of them are high on expectations. One among those is the upcoming Malayalam film, which would mark the directorial debut of Salaam Bukhari. Latest reports reveal that the upcoming film would be in the lines of an entertainer. Reportedly, the film would be a full length fun-filled entertainer in which Dulquer Salmaan would be seen playing a native of Kochi. Well, it would definitely be exciting to see Dulquer Salmaan playing a native of Kochi. In fact, he had perfectly used the Kochi slang in the actor's previous release Kammatipaadam and it would be interesting to see how the actor handles the slang in this one. Salaam Bukhari had announced the project in 2016. The yet to be titled film is in its pre-production stages and the movie is expected to go on floors in 2017 itself. The film will have its musical score by Gopi Sunder. Nothing much has been revealed about the rest of the cast of the film. Meanwhile, Dulquer Salmaan has almost completed his portions for Amal Neerad's upcoming film, which had some of its portions shot in abroad locations. The title of the film hasn't been revealed yet The actor's next release is Sathyan Anthikkad's Jomonte Suvisheshangal, which was supposed to hit the theatres during the christmas season, but got postponed due to the film strike. In Colors' popular show Kasam, Rishi regrets assuming Tanuja (Kratika Sengar) to be Tanu and begins to hate her. Rishi drives the car in an inebriated state and meets with an accident. Tanuja donates blood to Rishi and his surgery ends successfully. Rano forbids Tanuja from taking care of Rishi and insists Malaika to take care of him instead. Raj overhears Malaika, Rishi and Rano speaking dishonourably about Tanuja and is shocked. (Check out the latest spoiler below). Rishi & Raj In the upcoming episodes, Rishi will join hands with Raj to bring out Malaika's truth. The father-son duo will hatch a plan to expose Malaika. Rishi & Malaika As per their plan, Raj pretends that Tanuja wasn't the right girl for Rishi and asks him to marry Malaika instead and Rishi accepts. Not only that, Rishi will transfer the ownership of his entire property to Malaika to gain her confidence. Malaika Is Happy Malaika will be super thrilled as everything is working in her favour. She completely believes Rishi and is elated about their wedding. Tanuja, who is completely unaware of Raj and Rishi's plan will be shattered. Marriage Celebrations Begin Rano will happily immerse herself in the marriage preparations as she always wanted Malaika to become Rishi's wife. The pre-wedding functions will begin at the Bedi house. Bani Enters The Bedi House Amidst all the celebrations, Bani will enter the Bedi household and as expected Rano will reprimand Bani for entering their house. Will Rishi be able to expose Malaika in front of the family members? Rohit Khurana Actor Rohit Khurana will be entering the show soon as Dr. Aditya. He will be Rishi's step brother and will play a negative role in the show. Trouble For Rishi & Tanuja As per the latest spoiler, Aditya will create troubles in Rishi and Tanuja's lives. Apparently, he will enter their lives to take revenge for all the discrimination happened to him in the past. In The Last Episode... Raj assures the family members that Tanuja can do no wrong and reprimands Rishi for putting a huge blame on her. Malaika plays her game and tells Raj that Tanuja is pregnant with someone else's child and gives the report to him. Raj is shocked upon seeing the report but still feels that Tanuja cannot deceive him. He tells them Tanuja is probably hiding a big secret from all of them, but the Bedis refuse to believe him. Meanwhile, Rano has made up her mind to throw Tanuja out of the Bedi house and asks Malaika to pack Tanuja's bags. Malaika adds fuel to the fire by dragging Tanuja out of the house. Just then, Smiley enters the scene and stops Tanuja from leaving the house. She pleads the family members not to let Tanuja leave the house. Ahana tells Smiley to let her go as she is pregnant with someone else's child. Much to everyone's shock, a guilt-stricken Smiley confesses that not Tanuja, but she is pregnant. Stay tuned for more updates of the show... JACKSONVILLE, Florida, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- APR Energy, a global leader in fast-track power solutions, and GE (NYSE: GE) announced today they have renewed their strategic alliance to provide mobile turbine technology into the fast-track power rental market. The strategic alliance grants APR Energy exclusivity around the globe as the rental provider of GE mobile gas turbines under 50MW. As part of the agreement, APR Energy will acquire new Generation 8, GE TM2500+ mobile turbines in connection with its initiative to upgrade and standardize its fleet. In addition, GE and APR Energy will collaborate on leads for customers looking for interim or rental power solutions as a bridge to more permanent power solutions. The acquisition of the new mobile turbines further strengthens APR Energy's position as the world's leading provider of mobile gas turbine power, expanding its total fleet capacity to more than 2GW - enough to power the equivalent of two million U.S. homes. Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GE, said, "We are very pleased to continue our partnership with APR Energy. We have been impressed with their high level of customer service and ability to deliver turnkey power generation projects in remote locations all around the world. With this strategic alliance, customers will benefit from APR Energy's expertise, and can use GE technology as a bridging solution while their permanent GE power plants are under construction." "We are very excited about the mutual benefits our renewed alliance brings, and appreciate the increased collaboration between our two companies," said John Campion, Chairman of APR Energy. "Our partnership will provide APR Energy access to new leads and opportunities throughout the GE global network, helping to support our business growth and thereby increasing demand for GE equipment. The alliance also provides us with the latest generation of TM2500+ units, giving us the newest fleet in the industry, while benefiting customers with the latest advancements in fuel efficiency and emissions controls." The original strategic alliance agreement between APR Energy and GE was signed in October 2013. The renewal includes continuation of the supply and services agreement, ensuring that GE will continue to provide support to current and future clients of APR Energy. About APR Energy APR Energy is the world's leading provider of fast-track mobile turbine power. Our fast, flexible and full-service power solutions provide customers with rapid access to reliable electricity when and where they need it, for as long as they need it. Combining state-of-the-art, fuel-efficient technology with industry-leading expertise, our scalable turnkey plants help run cities, countries and industries around the world, in both developed and developing markets. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.aprenergy.com. About GE GE (NYSE: GE) is the world's Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the "GE Store," through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry.www.ge.com About GE Power GE Power is a world leader in power generation with deep domain expertise to help customers deliver electricity from a wide spectrum of fuel sources. We are transforming the electricity industry with the digital power plant, the world's largest and most efficient gas turbine, full balance of plant, upgrade and service solutions as well as our data-leveraging software. Our innovative technologies and digital offerings help make power more affordable, reliable, accessible and sustainable. For more information, visit the company's website atwww.gepower.com. Follow GE Power on Twitter@GE_Powerand onLinkedInat GE Power. Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/453070/APR_Energy_GE_Australia.jpg Logo- http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120207/FL48583LOGO Salesforce VP joins Talent Rover with 20+ years of B2B technology experience CHICAGO, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Talent Rover, the comprehensive software platform that modernizes the staffing and recruitment industry, today named Steve May Vice President of Operations. May joins Talent Rover from Salesforce where he served as VP of Commercial Sales. Based in San Francisco, he will ensure that Talent Rover's presales, implementation, and support teams deliver outstanding customer experiences. Before joining Talent Rover, May spent 10 years at Salesforce during its meteoric growth from 1,000 employees to over 25,000. His tenure included three years in Dublin, Ireland where he helped build Salesforce's business in Western Europe. May actively participated in fundraising and volunteer work for the Salesforce Foundation, the company's philanthropy wing. Steve's 23 years in the technology industry included sales and consulting rolls with KANA Software (acquired by Verint Systems) and CODA (acquired by Unit4). He graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a bachelor's degree in Economics. "Steve has been a great friend and informal advisor to our company," said Brandon Metcalf, co-founder and President of Talent Rover. "He is a seasoned professional who can scale our delivery and customer success programs while driving the core values that make Talent Rover a true partner to recruitment firms. We're thrilled to welcome Steve to the team." "I am deeply impressed with what Talent Rover has accomplished in a relatively short period of time," said May. "The company's rapid growth and global traction show just how much the recruitment industry needed a quality solutions provider. I'm proud to join a team that is delivering innovations the market has never seen before." About Talent Rover Talent Rover is a comprehensive software platform that modernizes the staffing and recruitment industry. It was born from frustration with software that overstated features, had piecemeal functionality and were peddled by a myriad of companies with no "on the desk experience." Talent Rover has evolved beyond just an applicant tracking system; it is a fully mobile, cloud-based solution built on the Salesforce platform that integrates social media while combining a robust applicant tracking system with customer relationship management, human resource & benefits administration, online timesheets & expense reports, integrated accounting software and branded communities to engage both clients and candidates. It embraces analytics enabling you to carefully analyze what drives your business and facilitate growth. Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/264387/talent_rover___logo.jpg Sadayoshi Yokoyama, Toshiko Watanabe DENSO CORPORATION Phone: 81-566-25-5594 Fax: 81-566-25-4509 sadayoshi_yokoyama@denso.co.jp toshiko_watanabe@denso.co.jp TOKYO, Jan 3, 2017 - (JCN Newswire) - DENSO Corporation has established "Crafting the Core" as its brand slogan. Beginning this month, the DENSO Group will adopt the slogan for its global operations.This brand slogan is based on the unchanging DENSO Philosophy the company has adhered to since its founding, and expresses the vision and direction the company is striving to achieve.We at DENSO regard the future as something for making, not for talking about. Across eras, innovation has figured in every instance of breakthrough products and equipment that has changed the course of history. And we at DENSO have devoted ourselves to creating innovative technologies and components for fulfilling core functions in breakthrough products.The core functionality that we supply benefits from the professionalism and the commitment to conscientious manufacturing that we have nurtured at DENSO. Spawning continual innovation at DENSO is a companywide, uncompromising perfectionism in production engineering, in quality assurance, in every phase of manufacturing.A lot of the technological advances spawned at DENSO render service behind the scenes, out of sight. But all of our advances contribute in one way or another to shaping a better world-enriching life, engendering peace of mind, safeguarding the natural environment.Our progress has included establishing a DENSO presence around the world. And our presence will continue to broaden as we assert DENSO strengths in a growing range of product sectors. For we believe that the world awaits DENSO technology.We will assert distinctively DENSO value in socially responsible solutions for ever-evolving needs: in mobility, in industry, in daily life.Our product portfolio will increasingly transcend the automotive sector. But we will continue to focus in all applications on identifying and providing what is truly useful and fulfilling. And we will tap an unprecedented range of capabilities, irrespective of nationality, gender, or age.Marshaling new concepts and redoubled passion, we will tackle the crafting of core functions for future breakthroughs. We are determined for DENSO to be, more than ever, a company that shapes a better world for future generations.About DensoDENSO Corporation, headquartered in Kariya, Aichi prefecture, Japan, is a leading global automotive supplier of advanced technology, systems and components in the areas of thermal, powertrain control, electronics and information and safety. Its customers include all the world's major carmakers. Worldwide, the company has more than 200 subsidiaries and affiliates in 38 countries and regions and employs nearly 140,000 people. Consolidated global sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014, totaled US$39.8 billion. Last fiscal year, DENSO spent 9 percent of its global consolidated sales on research and development. DENSO common stock is traded on the Tokyo and Nagoya stock exchanges. For more information, go to www.globaldenso.com, or visit our media website at www.densomediacenter.com.Source: DensoContact:Copyright 2017 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 01/03/17 -- Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. ("KL Gold" or the "Company") (TSX: KL), is pleased to announce following the completion of the merger with Newmarket Gold Inc, additions to the Company's management team that will enable KL Gold to optimize the performance of its portfolio of gold mines in Canada and Australia. The new management team brings a wealth of expertise that will be vital in positioning KL Gold as the preferred investment among mid-tier gold producers. The Kirkland Lake Gold Executive Management Team lead by Anthony Makuch, President and Chief Executive Officer is comprised of Darren Hall, Chief Operating Officer, Phil Yee, Chief Financial Officer and Alasdair Federico, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and CSR. In addition, the Company is pleased to announce the appointment of John Landmark, as Vice President, Exploration, Australia, Jason Gregg as Vice President, Human Resources, Ryan King as Vice President, Investor Relations and Galina Meleger as Director, Corporate Communications, to complement the existing management team of KL Gold. The complete list of the Company's management team can be found on our website at www.klgold.com. The new amalgamated company website is expected to be launched in January 2017. Tony Makuch, President and CEO of the Company stated: "I am confident that the recent appointments will broaden and strengthen our management team. The expertise of our combined team is committed to value creation for our shareholders through responsible profitable production, operational excellence and growth through exploration and development. The new management appointments bring a significant amount of intellectual capital and will be key members of the new Company as we grow our strong foundation of quality gold production. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to welcome each of them to the Management Team of KL Gold." New Executive Appointments Darren Hall has a proven track record of increasing production, reducing operating costs, improving capital effectiveness and promoting health, safety and business excellence while maintaining a strong team working environment. Darren has over 30 years of experience in the mining industry and has proven to be a successful and trusted leader through his operational accomplishments. As COO, Darren brings a strong reputation for managing large workforces and multiple underground and open pit gold mines in a variety of jurisdictions. Darren joined Newmarket Gold in 2015 and was responsible for maintaining a strong foundation of quality gold production, yielding record operational results. Prior to joining Newmarket Gold, Darren worked for Newmont Mining Corporation where he held roles of increasing responsibility throughout the organization for almost 30 years. Under his leadership as Group Executive Operations for Newmont Asia Pacific, Darren managed a team of 14,000 employees producing 1.8 million ounces of gold annually from six operating mines across three countries. He also worked with Newmont in Peru, Indonesia and the United States and in Australia as General Manager of the Boddington Gold Mine where he led a team of 1,800 employees producing 750,000 ounces of gold annually. Darren graduated with a Bachelor of Mining Engineering (Hons) from the Western Australia School of Mines in Kalgoorlie. Alasdair Federico is an experienced lawyer and business executive with over a decade of experience in corporate strategy and governance, including managing negotiations and relationships with investors, business partners, and other stakeholders. Prior to joining the Company, Alasdair was Vice-President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Lake Shore Gold Inc., from 2008 until its acquisition by Tahoe Resources in April 2016. Prior to joining Lake Shore Gold, Alasdair worked for a prominent Canadian law firm in Toronto. Alasdair holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Ontario. New Management Appointments John Landmark's international career spans a diverse range of executive leadership, technical and advisory roles in exploration, mining operations, human resources, and safety risk management. John brings over 30 years of international mineral exploration and mining industry experience. John joined Newmarket Gold in 2016 and led the company's exploration activities while being the Group functional head for Geology. Prior to joining Newmarket Gold, John was a Regional Head of Exploration for Anglo American plc, where he managed exploration programs for copper-gold, iron ore and coal in Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Mongolia. Prior to this role, John led Anglo American's exploration activities in Brazil. His exploration and mining geology career started out in South Africa and Namibia, and he then moved on to Australia. John holds a Master of Science in Exploration and Mining Geology from James Cook University in Australia and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Geology from Wits University in South Africa. Jason Gregg is an experienced senior human resources executive, renowned for the ability to connect top quartile people practices to the financial bottom line of the organization. Jason has over 20 years of experience as a human resource professional and successfully integrated Newmarket and Crocodile Gold into a single highly functioning organization as the VP of Human Resources & Environment. Before joining Newmarket Gold, Jason provided HR consulting services to various mining organizations as well as other industries including forestry and technology. Prior to developing his consulting practice, Jason worked as a Human Resources executive in the mining industry with Farallon Mining and Nyrstar. Jason has also held senior level human resource roles with HDI, International Forest Products, Canadian Forest Products, and Teck. Jason holds a Masters of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. Ryan King brings an established approach to investor relations, with specific and targeted applications for delivering shareholder value in the mining industry. Ryan has over 13 years of experience in increasingly senior capacities in capital markets in the resource sector and was responsible for leading the investor relations activities for Newmarket Gold, as the company attained significant growth and completed a transformational merger with Kirkland Lake Gold. Before joining Newmarket Gold, Ryan was involved in the acquisition of Terrane Metals in 2010 by Thompson Creek for $800 million. During his career, Ryan has assisted in raising $250 million for previous companies. Ryan holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Royal Roads University in British Columbia, Canada. Galina Meleger has worked in the resource sector as a communications professional for ten years and was previously responsible for leading corporate communications initiatives at Newmarket Gold. Prior to that, Galina worked for KGHM, a Polish based mining company, responsible for internal and external communications for the North & South American division of KGHM. In 2010, Galina worked for Copper Mountain Mining Corporation, a Canadian based mining company, as a Corporate Communications & Investor Relations Manager, supporting external communications, investor relations and media initiatives for the company. Galina studied at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), completing a Business Diploma in Financial Management. About Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd., is a new mid-tier gold producer targeting +500,000 ounces in Tier 1 mining jurisdictions of Canada and Australia. The production profile of the company is anchored from three high grade, low-cost operations including the Macassa Mine Complex and the Taylor Mine located in northeastern Ontario and the Fosterville Gold Mine located in the state of Victoria, Australia. Kirkland's solid base of quality assets is complemented by development and district scale exploration projects, supported by a strong financial positon with extensive management and operational expertise. The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither reviewed nor accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains statements which constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of KL Gold with respect to future business activities and operating performance. Forward-looking information is often identified by the words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or similar expressions and include information regarding: (i) the potential impact of the new executive appointments on the business of the Company; and (ii) the anticipated release date of the Company's new website. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical facts but instead reflect KL Gold's management's expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Although KL Gold believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, such information involves risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such information, as unknown or unpredictable factors could have material adverse effects on future results, performance or achievements of the combined company. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information are the following: the ability of KL Gold to successfully integrate the operations and employees of its Canadian and Australian operations, and realize synergies and cost savings, and to the extent, anticipated; the potential impact on exploration activities; the potential impact on relationships, including with regulatory bodies, employees, suppliers, customers and competitors; the re-rating potential following the consummation of the merger; changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; changes in applicable laws; and compliance with extensive government regulation. This forward-looking information may be affected by risks and uncertainties in the business of KL Gold and market conditions. This information is qualified in its entirety by cautionary statements and risk factor disclosure contained in filings made by Kirkland Lake Gold and Newmarket with the Canadian securities regulators, including Kirkland Lake Gold's and Newmarket's respective annual information form, financial statements and related MD&A for the financial year ended December 31, 2015 and their interim financial reports and related MD&A for the period ended September 30, 2016 filed with the securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada and available at www.sedar.com. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although KL Gold has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. KL Gold does not intend, and do not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information except as otherwise required by applicable law. Contacts: Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. www.klgold.com Anthony Makuch President, Chief Executive Officer & Director +1 416-840-7884 tmakuch@klgold.com Ryan King VP, Investor Relations +1 778-372-5611 rking@klgold.com ALBANY, New York, January 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Transparency Market Research observes that the competitive landscape in theglobal hygienic and aseptic valves markethas quite a few leading players. Currently the players are focusing on expanding their business in emerging markets to cater to the huge potential in the developing regions. "Furthermore, companies are also looking at providing solutions to sectors such as biotechnology and pharmaceuticals to strengthen their market position," states the lead author of this research report. Some of the key players operating in the global market are Alfa Laval AB, SOX Flow, Inc., ITT Corporation, GEA Group AG, and Pentair PLc. The research report states that the global hygienic and aseptic valves market is expected to be worth US$9.0 bn by the end of 2025 as compared to US$6.0 bn in 2015. The market is expected to show progress of 4.8% CAGR during the forecast period. Download PDF brochure for this Report:http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=17798 Hygienic Single Seat Valves Show Robust Growth Rate as Companies Comply to Sanitation Norms On the basis of types of valves, the global market is segmented into hygienic single seat valves, hygienic double seat valves, hygienic butterfly valves, hygienic control valves, and aseptic valves. Of these, the hygienic single seat valves are expected to outperform all other segments. By the end of the forecast period, the segment is expected to acquire a share of 26.0% in the global market. The dominant share of this segment will be attributable to the ability of these valves to meet the strict regulations pertaining to aseptic and hygienic processes in industries such as pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, and dairy. In terms of geography, North America is leading the global market due to region's continuous investment in expanding manufacturing facilities. The region is expected to rise at a CAGR of 7.1% between 2016 and 2025. Automation and Modernization of Production Processes Boosts Global Market Analysts state that the demand for hygienic and aseptic valves is likely to be on the rise in the coming years. The demand is likely to be fueled by the need to eliminate the usage of food preservatives in the food industry. Presently, several fitness-conscious and health-conscious people are focused toward reducing the consumption of food preservatives due a growing awareness about their negative impact on the human body. The majority of the processed food and beverages includes preservatives that are hampering the natural metabolism of the body. Thus, to cut down the usage of these harmful substances, food manufacturers are deploying hygienic valves in several industrial sectors. Browse Regional PR: http://www.europlat.org/hygienic-aseptic-valves-market.htm The market is also expected to grow against the backdrop of increasing focus on sanitary regulations especially in the food and beverages industry. The market is also being supported by growing initiatives of modernization in countries such as the U.S., China, Brazil, and India. The cooperation from several large organizations to comply with sanitary, safety, and modernization norms are collectively expected to boost the growth of the market. In the coming years, efforts to incorporate plant automation are also likely to augment the demand for these valves, state analysts. Poor Logistics to Hamper Sales of Hygienic and Aseptic Valves The steady future of the global hygienic and aseptic valves market is likely to be hampered by the unreliable supply of hygienic aseptic valves. The wavering quality of these valves due to changes in suppliers and poor distribution system is expected to hamper the progress of the global market. However, several companies are focusing on establishing steady logistics and supply chain solutions to solve this issue. The review is based on Transparency Market Research's report, titled "Hygienic and Aseptic Valves Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast2016 - 2025." The Hygienic and Aseptic Valves market has been segmented as below: The Hygienic and Aseptic Valves Market, By Valves Type Hygienic Single Seat Valves Hygienic Double Seat Valves (Mixproof Valves) Hygienic Butterfly Valves Hygienic Control Valves Aseptic Valves The Hygienic and Aseptic Valves Market, By Application Dairy Processing Food Processing Beverage Pharmaceuticals Biotechnology The Hygienic and Aseptic Valves Market, By Country/Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa & South America Related Research Reports by TMR: Control Valves Market: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/control-valves-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/control-valves-market.html Actuators and Valves Market : http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/actuators-valves-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/actuators-valves-market.html Fuel Delivery System Market :http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/fuel-delivery-system-market.html About Us Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company,providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experiencedteam of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge. Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMR's syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement. US Office Contact Transparency Market Research 90 State Street, Suite 700 Albany, NY 12207 Tel: +1-518-618-1030 USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453 Email:sales@transparencymarketresearch.com Website: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Google+: https://plus.google.com/+Transparencymarketresearch CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/03/17 -- NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO THE U.S.A. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION TO THE U.S.A. Groundstar Resources Limited (TSX VENTURE: GSA) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that on December 30, 2016 it closed the final tranche of its offering of common shares in the capital of the Company being issued on a "flow-through" basis within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Flow-Through Shares") at a price of $0.02 per Flow-Through Share by way of a non-brokered private placement (the "Closing"). The Company issued a total of 2.25 million Flow-Through Shares pursuant to the Closing for total gross proceeds of $45,000. The Company intends to utilize the net proceeds from the Closing (including funds from a previous closing on December 15, 2016 in the amount of $117,500) to fund seismic delineation and development of its light oil opportunities. The anticipated cost of these activities is approximately $220,000. The shortfall from this amount will be funded with the funds advanced under the previously announced loan transaction. The proceeds received by the Company from the sale of the Flow-Through Shares is expected to be used to incur eligible Canadian Exploration Expenses ("CEE") which will be renounced in favor of subscribers for the 2016 taxation year. Groundstar will be utilizing the Small Cap Company provision to allow for the conversion of eligible CEE to Canadian Development Expenses ("CDE"). This permits the Company to utilize the funds for lower risk Development drilling in contrast to higher risk Exploration drilling. The Flow-Through Shares were issued on a private placement basis in the Provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario and are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and a day, expiring May 1, 2017. Closing of the offering and the issuance of the Flow-Through Shares are subject to final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Insiders of the Company subscribed for2 million Flow-Through Shares in the offering. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. About Groundstar Resources Limited Incorporated in 1968, Groundstar Resources Limited is a publicly traded oil and gas company actively growing a portfolio targeting producing oil and gas assets with development opportunities and exploration upside. The Company's current portfolio of resource assets provides both near term and longer term potential. Groundstar is quoted and trades under the ticker symbol "GSA" on the TSX Venture Exchange. Disclaimers This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including expectations regarding the anticipated use of proceeds from the Closing. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and may be based on assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: the risks associated with the oil and gas industry (e.g. operational risks in development, exploration and production; delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures; the uncertainty of reserve and resource estimates; the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to production, costs and expenses and health, safety and environmental risks), commodity price and exchange rate fluctuation, uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures and uncertainties regarding whether final regulatory approval for the Closing will be received and if received, on the timelines expected and at the anticipated pricing, as well as the intended use of the net proceeds of the Closing. The Company's forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Contacts: Tyron Pfeifer 403.614.9902 tpfeifer@groundstarresources.com Murray Stodalka 403.532-6730 mstodalka@gmail.com www.groundstarresources.com WASHINGTON, DC -- (Marketwired) -- 01/03/17 -- BuckleySandler LLP, a premier financial services, government enforcement and litigation law firm, announced today that former Deputy Chief Counsel for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Daniel P. Stipano has joined the firm as a Partner in its Washington, DC office, effective January 3, 2017. Stipano, who has been involved in virtually every significant enforcement case brought by the OCC for the past 20 years, will be a valuable addition to BuckleySandler's Banking and Financial Crimes practices, as well related practices, including Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML). Having served three decades with the OCC, he has been a key participant in numerous BSA/AML milestones, notably the PATRIOT Act; regulations addressing Suspicious Activity Report confidentiality; and customer due diligence and beneficial ownership. "By expanding our team with lawyers who have extensive government regulatory and enforcement experience, we are able to provide our clients with the insight and guidance needed to stay abreast of vital issues affecting their business operations," said Andrew L. Sandler, BuckleySandler Chairman and Executive Partner. "Over his 30 years at the OCC, Dan developed the well-earned respect from colleagues in law enforcement and other regulatory agencies for his significant role in the world of financial services regulation. Our clients will benefit greatly from Dan's enforcement and compliance experience." "This is a great new chapter in my life as I move into private practice with such a renowned financial services and litigation law firm," noted Stipano. "I am looking forward to joining this team of nationally recognized lawyers and applying my OCC experience to further expand its leading regulatory, enforcement and litigation practices." During the course of his career at the OCC, Stipano oversaw three Supreme Court cases that resulted in victories for the agency and banking industry; supervised more than a dozen successful appeals of lower court decisions; and was instrumental in bringing the first Fair Lending action taken against a bank by a federal banking agency, as well as the first Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices action taken against a bank. As Deputy Chief Counsel (2000 - 2016), Stipano supervised the OCC's Enforcement and Compliance, Litigation, Community and Consumer Law and Administrative and Internal Law Divisions; he also supervised the OCC district counsel staff in the OCC's Southern and Western Districts. In recent years, he was involved in some of the most significant OCC enforcement cases, including major BSA matters. Stipano has testified before Congress numerous times on enforcement and BSA/AML matters, and prepared dozens of OCC witnesses to do the same. Stipano served as the Director of the OCC's Enforcement and Compliance Division (1995-2000), where he oversaw administrative enforcement actions against national banks and their institution-affiliated parties. He was an assistant director in the Enforcement and Compliance Division (1989-1995), after joining the OCC in 1985 as a staff attorney in the division. Stipano received his J.D. from Marshall-Wythe School of Law, College of William & Mary, and B.A., summa cum laude, from Union College. ABOUT BUCKLEYSANDLER: BuckleySandler LLP provides premier legal counsel to protect and support the nation's leading financial services institutions, corporations and individual clients. With more than 150 lawyers in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and London, it offers a full range of litigation, transactional, compliance and regulatory services. "The best at what they do in the country." (Chambers USA). Online: buckleysandler.com | Twitter: twitter.com/buckleysandler. MEDIA CONTACT: Susan E. Jacobsen 202.251.8184 Email Contact ATLANTA, GA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/03/17 -- GeoVax Labs, Inc. (OTCQB: GOVX), a biotechnology company specializing in developing human vaccines, announced today the formation of its inaugural Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) to provide expert guidance as the company advances its vaccine development for multiple targets including HIV, hemorrhagic fever (Ebola, Sudan, Marburg, Lassa), Zika virus, chronic Hepatitis B, and immuno-oncology. Robert T. McNally, PhD, GeoVax's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "GeoVax has had a long-standing Clinical Trial Advisory Board with ad hoc members providing guidance to our HIV vaccine clinical trial strategy. Now, as we expand our vaccine development focus to include additional targets for world health, we have formed a formal Scientific Advisory Board to provide broader advice and insight into our programs." Farshad Guirakhoo, PhD, GeoVax's Chief Scientific Officer, said, "The formation of this excellent group of advisors demonstrates our commitment to robust science and thoughtful product development strategies. We are honored to have this elite group of industry, academic, and government experts providing scientific guidance. Each member brings a unique set of skills and experience to our SAB and I look forward to working closely with this group as we advance the GeoVax mission to address significant unmet medical needs." Inaugural members of the SAB include: Thomas P. Monath, MD, (Chairman). Dr. Monath currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Operating Officer of BioProtection Systems, a subsidiary of NewLink Genetics Corporation, where he is leading the development of an Ebola virus vaccine in partnership with Merck. Prior to joining NewLink, Dr. Monath held various industry roles at PaxVax Inc., Hookipa Biotech AG, Juvaris Inc., Xcellerex Inc., and Acambis Inc. prior to its acquisition by Sanofi Pasteur. In these roles, he led the development of a broad array of vaccines, including those against influenza, dengue, Japanese encephalitis, West Nile, yellow fever, cytomegalo, and smallpox viruses, as well as against Helicobacter pylori and Clostridium difficile; four of these are now licensed. He is a former partner of the Pandemic and Bio Defense Fund at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a leading venture capital firm with a strong life sciences practice. He joined the biotechnology industry following a 20-year career at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and the CDC's Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases. Dr. Monath received his undergraduate and medical degrees at Harvard, was awarded virology fellowships at the University of Ibadan in Ibadan, Nigeria, and at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA and completed residencies in medicine at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. His published work includes over 400 papers and 6 books in the field of virology and vaccine development. Stanley A. Plotkin, MD. Dr. Plotkin is Professor Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA and Adjunct Professor at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. Until 1991, he was Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania, Professor of Virology at the Wistar Institute, and at the same time, Director of Infectious Diseases and Senior Physician at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. In 1991, Dr. Plotkin left the University to join the vaccine manufacturer Pasteur-Merieux-Connaught (now Sanofi Pasteur), based in Marnes-la-Coquette, outside Paris, where he held the title of Medical and Scientific Director for seven years. Dr. Plotkin developed the rubella vaccine now in standard use throughout the world, is co-developer of the pentavalent rotavirus vaccine, and has worked extensively on the development and application of other vaccines including anthrax, oral polio, rabies, varicella, and cytomegalovirus. Dr. Plotkin's bibliography includes nearly 800 articles, and he has edited several books including the standard textbook on vaccines -- 'Vaccines' -- now in its 6th edition. He is a consultant to vaccine manufacturers, biotechnology companies, and non-profit research organizations as principal of Vaxconsult, LLC. Dr. Plotkin attended New York University, where he received a B.A. degree, and the State University of New York Medical School in Brooklyn, where he received an M.D. degree in 1956. He has been chairman of the Infectious Diseases Committee and the AIDS Task Force of the American Academy of Pediatrics, liaison member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and Chairman of the Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research Committee of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Plotkin has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors during his distinguished career. Barney S. Graham, MD, PhD. Dr. Graham is Senior Investigator at the Vaccine Research Center (VRC), NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD. Dr. Graham is an immunologist, virologist, and clinical trials physician whose primary interests are viral pathogenesis, immunity, and vaccine development. His work is focused on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza, coronaviruses, HIV, and other emerging viral diseases. After graduating from Rice University, Houston, TX, he obtained his MD from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1979. He then completed residency and two chief residencies in Internal Medicine, a fellowship in Infectious Diseases, and a PhD in Microbiology & Immunology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, where he rose to the rank of Professor of Medicine with a joint appointment in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology. In 2000, he became one of the founding investigators for the NIAID VRC at NIH, where he is now the Deputy Director and Chief of the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory, and oversees the advanced development of VRC candidate vaccine products. He serves as a consultant for organizations involved in vaccine development for HIV, Tb, malaria, RSV, and emerging viral pathogens. His laboratory investigates basic mechanisms by which T cells affect viral clearance and immunopathology, explores mechanisms of antibody-mediated viral neutralization, and develops vaccine approaches against respiratory virus infections and emerging viral diseases. Scott C. Weaver, PhD. Dr. Weaver is Director of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) Institute for Human Infections and Immunity and the Scientific Director of the Galveston National Laboratory. Dr. Weaver, an internationally recognized virologist and vector biologist, studies arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses), their transmission by mosquitoes, and develops vaccines to control the diseases that they cause. His research encompasses the ecology and epidemiology of enzootic arbovirus transmission cycles, virus-mosquito interactions, pathogenesis, and emergence mechanisms of epidemic strains. He has also developed promising new vaccines against several alphaviruses; the chikungunya vaccine developed in his laboratory, licensed to Takeda Pharmaceuticals and patented in 19 countries, is in late preclinical development. Dr. Weaver's research has led to over 270 peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals, and 75 reviews and book chapters. In 2014, Dr. Weaver received the Walter Reed Medal, awarded every three years by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene for distinguished career accomplishments in tropical medicine research. His many national and international leadership roles include his current role as Chair of the Global Virus Network's Chikungunya and Zika Task Forces. He also serves as an editor for several major tropical medicine and microbiology journals. Olivera (Olja) J. Finn, PhD. Dr. Finn is University of Pittsburgh Distinguished Professor of Immunology and Surgery and Founding Chair of the Department of Immunology, a position she held from 2001 to 2013. She was Program Leader of the Cancer Immunology Program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute from 1991 to 2014. After receiving her PhD in Immunology at Stanford University in 1980, and completing her postdoctoral training there, Dr. Finn moved to Duke University and in 1991 to the University of Pittsburgh. She gained prominence through her original focus on transplantation biology and later through her basic and applied research focused on tumor antigens and the development of cancer vaccines. She has an extensive track record of research accomplishments reported in over 170 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. She is the discoverer of the MUC1 tumor antigen, and has published extensively and continuously for the last 25 years on her basic and preclinical work on the development and evaluation of MUC1 cancer vaccines. She has been a co-investigator on a dozen clinical trials of various MUC1 vaccines in pancreatic, colon, breast, prostate, and lung cancers. Dr. Finn and her team also identified cyclin B1 as a tumor antigen and published several papers on its excellent potential as a cancer vaccine. She is on the editorial board of various cancer journals and on the advisory board of numerous cancer centers and several companies. She is an active member of the American Association of Immunologists where she served seven years as Council member and one year as President; a member of the American Association for Cancer Research; and past Chair of the Steering Committee of the AACR Cancer Immunology (CIMM) Working Group. About GeoVax GeoVax Labs, Inc., is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing human vaccines against infectious diseases using its Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Virus Like Particle (MVA-VLP) vaccine platform. The Company's development programs are focused on vaccines against HIV, Zika Virus, and hemorrhagic fever viruses (Ebola, Sudan, Marburg, and Lassa). GeoVax also recently began programs to evaluate the use of its MVA-VLP platform in cancer immunotherapy, and for therapeutic use in chronic Hepatitis B infections. GeoVax's vaccine platform supports in vivo production of non-infectious VLPs from the cells of the very person receiving the vaccine, mimicking a natural infection, stimulating both the humoral and cellular arms of the immune system to recognize, prevent, and control the target infection. For more information, visit www.geovax.com. Contact: Robert T. McNally, Ph.D. GeoVax Labs, Inc. investor@geovax.com 678-384-7220 WACO, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 01/03/17 --Shipt, the nation's fastest growing grocery delivery service, and H-E-B, one of the nation's largest and most respected grocery retailers, today announced the addition of Waco, TX to their delivery partnership. This partnership, which originally launched in San Antonio in May 2016, allows Shipt and H-E-B to offer the convenience of grocery delivery to more than 3.6 million households across Texas. Beginning on January 10, 2017, Shipt will offer delivery of fresh foods and household essentials to Waco residents from local H-E-B stores. Through the Shipt app, members shop a full selection of groceries, note any preferences, choose a one-hour delivery window and pay for their order. Shipt connects members with a community of shoppers who hand pick their items and deliver them as soon as one hour after the order is placed. To celebrate the launch of Shipt in Waco, residents who sign up for an annual membership prior to January 10 will receive $15 off their first grocery order. "Waco is a city that thrives on its spirit of community, which is something we are very passionate about at Shipt" said Bill Smith, founder and CEO of Shipt. "We've been fortunate this past year to work closely with H-E-B to simplify the grocery delivery experience for several communities across Texas and we are proud to be able to continue this partnership with the addition of Waco." "We are always looking for new and innovative ways to make the grocery shopping experience more convenient for H-E-B shoppers. Expanding our partnership with Shipt, that also cares deeply about the communities they serve, was an obvious choice," said Leslie Sweet, Public Affairs Director at H-E-B. "H-E-B shoppers across all markets have had an incredibly positive response to adding Shipt grocery delivery to our service offerings, and we are looking forward to growing our partnership with the launch of service in Waco." Shipt memberships are available for an annual fee of $99 and members have access to free delivery on all orders over $35. For orders under $35, there is a $7 delivery fee. Shipt does not utilize surge pricing, even during peak times. To sign up for Shipt and learn more about the service and availability, visit Shipt.com/Waco. Leading up to the launch, Shipt plans to grow its network of shoppers and identify opportunities to support community organizations throughout Waco. To apply to be a Shipt Shopper, visit Shipt.com and click "Get Paid to Shop." About Shipt Shipt, the nation's fastest-growing online grocery marketplace, simplifies the grocery shopping experience by providing members with unparalleled convenience and exceptional service. Shipt partners with leading retailers and local stores to deliver groceries to members via a community of friendly, vetted shoppers. The service offers unlimited grocery deliveries to members for $99 per year and actively delivers in over 30 cities and their surrounding suburban regions, offering over 20 million households across the country access to the Shipt service. Launched in 2014, the company currently has offices in Birmingham, AL, and San Francisco, CA. About H-E-B H-E-B, with sales of more than $23 billion, operates more than 380 stores in Texas and Mexico. Known for its innovation and community service, H-E-B celebrated its 110th anniversary in 2015. Recognized for its fresh food, quality products, convenient services, and a commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainability, H-E-B strives to provide the best customer experience at everyday low prices. Based in San Antonio, H-E-B employs more than 96,000 Partners in Texas and Mexico and serves millions of customers in more than 300 communities. For more information, visit heb.com. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/03/17 -- Strongbow Exploration Inc. (TSX VENTURE: SBW) announces that the Board of Directors has approved a grant of 2,800,000 incentive stock options to directors, officers, employees and consultants of the Company as of January 3, 2017. The stock options are exercisable at $0.15 until January 3, 2022 and are subject to vesting provisions, becoming fully vested one year from the date of grant. This grant includes 100,000 stock options for Blytheweigh, a London (UK) based media relations company retained by the Company in September 2016; the grant to Blytheweigh represents less than 2% of the Company's issued and outstanding share capital. The Company's Stock Option Plan allows for the issuance of up to 10% of the issued and outstanding share capital in the form of incentive stock options. Following this grant, the Company has 5,020,000 stock options issued, representing 8.3% of the Company's issued and outstanding share capital. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Richard D. Williams, P.Geo Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts: Strongbow Exploration Inc. Richard Williams (604) 638 8005 rwilliams@strongbowexploration.com Blytheweigh (Financial PR/IR - London) Camilla Horsfall Megan Ray +44 (0) 207 138 3204 SEATTLE, WA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/03/17 -- CFN Media Group ("CannabisFN"), the leading creative agency and media network dedicated to legal cannabis, announces publication of an article discussing a year full of acquisitions, growth and dividends for Invictus MD Strategies Corp. (OTC PINK: IVITF) (CSE: IMH). The company has successfully returned $1 million to shareholders and acquired numerous opportunities across various sectors within the rapidly growing industry. Invictus has a stake, or is acquiring a stake, in Future Harvest (indoor growing and nutrients), PODA Technologies (disposable vaporizer system), Zenalytic Laboratories (Canadian testing lab), AB Laboratories (Canadian licensed producer under ACMPR), and a Las Vegas cultivation operation. Through its acquisition strategy, the company provides investors with diversified exposure to the cannabis industry. Follow the link to read the full article: http://www.cannabisfn.com/invictus-md-strategies-ends-successful-year-with-acquisition/ Learn how to become a CFN Media client company, brand or entrepreneur: http://www.cannabisfn.com/become-featured-company/ Download the CFN Media iOS mobile app to access the world of cannabis from the palm of your hand: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cannabisfn/id988009247?ls=1&mt=8 Or visit our homepage and enter your mobile number under the Apple App Store logo to receive a download link text on your iPhone: http://www.cannabisfn.com About CFN Media CFN Media (CannabisFN), the leading creative agency and media network dedicated to legal cannabis, helps marijuana businesses attract investors, customers (B2B, B2C), capital, and media visibility. Private and public marijuana companies and brands in the US and Canada rely on CFN Media to grow and succeed. CFN launched in June of 2013 to initially serve the growing universe of publicly traded marijuana companies across North America. Today, CFN Media is also the digital media choice for the emerging brands in the space. Disclaimer: Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this release contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Emerging Growth LLC, which owns CFN Media and CannabisFN.com, is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority, and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. Emerging Growth LLC may from time to time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and may increase or decrease such positions without notice. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. Emerging Growth LLC may be compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation or equity securities in the companies it writes about, or a combination of the two. For full disclosure please visit: http://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/. CFN Media Frank Lane 206-369-7050 flane@cannabisfn.com NEWPORT BEACH, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/03/17 -- ADVANTIS CORPORATION (OTC PINK: ADVT) recently moved into a large commercial space to keep up with the demand for their growing product lines, including Amstercan, Amstercan Black Label, Rosin 6, and Nugsmasher brands. Advantis CEO, Christopher Swartz, couldn't be more excited about the company's sales progress. "Amstercan products are exploding," Swartz said. "Sales have already increased over last month by 200%." Since Swartz has been at the helm, the company has logged the largest revenue stream the company has ever seen. Swartz has secured partnership deals, secured licensing rights for Amstercan technology, and is actively growing the client base with an aggressive marketing campaign. "We are growing so fast, we have had to ramp up production of the rosin press products. Working with some of the largest legal marijuana cultivators and cooperatives in California enables us to be at the forefront of this industry. We are more than filling this niche in this marketplace... we are the niche." Swartz related that the recent revenue growth necessitates the company move into a facility that contains enough space to continue expansion. Swartz says the new space they moved into has designated space for: A designated Canning Room; A designated Packaging area; An R & D room equipped with laboratory equipment and testing equipment; and Increased office space. Last month, Swartz released a recap of Advantis corporate developments over the course of 2016, and commented on how Advantis will evolve in 2017. "We have active plans to further establish our foothold in other legal cannabis states; we are already expanding our reach in these other states, (by) creating a presence with recent sales of the Rosin 6 and Nugsmasher presses. Now that revenue is rising so rapidly, we will be able to actively pursue our plans for national and international expansion." Swartz was careful to assure investors that expansion efforts will be more controlled and exacting in its process than previous company efforts. "My team recognizes that responsible expansion means meaningful partnerships and sustainable growth; that revenue must support any plans for expansion we have." Advantis generated significant revenue last quarter, and Swartz foresees Advantis' largest revenue stream yet in 2017... with the momentum continuing for the foreseeable future. Swartz is excited about the progress he has made so far, saying, "The Amstercan and Amstercan Black Label product lines are growing exponentially; and our rosin presses are generating impressive revenue." Swartz has made significant progress since he has been at the helm and hinted at more to come, and says, "Advantis is now in the final stages of adding a plethora of other product lines which will use our licensed packaging technology. CBD infused foods, flower/rosin blends, and tinctures. Now that we are firmly establishing a growing client base, we will include these new products in the sales process." Swartz concluded by reiterating that the Nugsmasher, Rosin 6, and Amstercan Black Label products are selling so fast that the manufacturers are also ramping up production to meet the demand. "I am so excited," Swartz said, "this new office/manufacturing space will enable us to keep up with demand and further expand. With so much revenue coming in, 2017 is an exciting year for us to make our mark." Links to Advantis websites can be found at advantiscorp.com, rosin6.com, nugsmasher.com, and amstercan.com Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements made by ADVANTIS CORPORATION. All such statements included in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated. Advantis Corp. Acquires Large Commercial Space By these statements, the following risk factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in any forward- looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic conditions, changes in the law or regulations, demand for products of the Company, the effects of competition and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or represented in the forward looking statements. Forward- looking statements are typically identified by the words: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, and similar expressions or which by their nature refer to future events. The Company is not entitled to rely on the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 because it is not registered under either Act. For further information, contact: Media Relations Contact Name: Woo Kim Director Organization: Advantis Corporation Phone: 949-354-3585 Address: 1048 Irvine Ave. #900 Newport Beach, CA 92707 E-mail: info@advantiscorp.com TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 01/03/17 -- MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: BMK) ("MacDonald Mines", or the "Company"), further to its press release dated December 19, 2016, is pleased to announce that it has closed on December 29 and 30, 2016 the initial tranches of its previously announced private placement offering of securities of the Company (the "Offering") and has issued 7,365,429 FT Units (see below) for gross proceeds of $515,580.03. Pursuant to the Offering, the Company intends to issue up to a total of 12,125,000 "flow-through" units of the Company (the "FT Units") at a price of $0.07 per FT Unit and up to 2,520,833 non-flow-through units of the Company (the "Non-FT Units") at a price of $0.06 per Non-FT Unit. Each FT Unit is comprised of one Class A common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Common Share") issued on a "flow-through" basis within the meaning of such term in the Income Tax Act (Canada), and one whole non-flow through Class A common share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"), with each such Warrant being exercisable to acquire one non-flow-through Class A common share at a price of $0.10 for a period of 36 months following the closing date of the Offering. Please note that the Company has determined to include a whole warrant in the FT Unit rather than a half warrant as disclosed in the December 19, 2016 press release. Each Non-FT Unit is comprised of one Class A common share of the Company (issued on a non-"flow-through" basis) and one Warrant. In connection with the closing of the initial tranches of the Offering, the Company has paid finders fees equal to 9% of the gross proceeds raised by the Company to investors introduced to the Company by such finders, or approximately $46,402.20 and has issued compensation options (the "Compensation Options") equal to 9% of the number of units sold, or 662,889 Compensation Options. The Compensation Options will be exercisable to acquire one Non-FT Unit for a period of five years from the date of issuance thereof at a price of 0.07 per unit. Please note the December 19, 2016 press release disclosed the Compensation Options would be exercisable for one Class A common share at a price of $0.06 per share. The Company has also paid certain expenses of the finders of $1,500 in connection with the initial tranches. All securities sold or issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a hold period of four months and one day from the date of issuance thereof. The Company may close additional tranches of the Offering. There can be no assurances that there will be any additional closings, however. The Offering is subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXVE"). About MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd. MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd. is a mineral exploration company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Previously focused on Copper and Zinc (VMS), and Nickel exploration in the Ring of Fire area of the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario, the company has recently entered an option and joint venture agreement with Noble Mineral Exploration Inc. to advance exploration on Noble's Wawa-Holdsworth Gold and Silver Project in Ontario, Canada and has acquired the Charlevoix silica properties in Quebec, Canada. The Company's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "BMK". To learn more about MacDonald Mines, please visit www.macdonaldmines.com. This news release contains forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may", "should", "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "predicts", "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our industry's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts: MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd. Quentin Yarie President & CEO (416) 364-4986 qyarie@macdonaldmines.com MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd. Mia Boiridy Investor Relations (416) 364-4986 mboiridy@macdonaldmines.com BAE Systems has received a contract from the Netherlands for the testing and verification of Active Protection Systems (APS) on its CV90 Infantry Fighting Vehicles. Active Protection is an advanced solution consisting of countermeasures that can intercept incoming rocket-propelled grenades, anti-tank missiles, and other threats to increase crew and vehicle survivability This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170103005772/en/ Dutch CV90s to become first NATO combat vehicles to receive Active Protection (Photo: BAE Systems) BAE Systems, the manufacturer of the Dutch CV9035 variant vehicles, will lead the APS integration. BAE Systems will also carry out the future installation of the system, called Iron Fist, developed by Israeli supplier IMI Systems. Iron Fist is an automated system that uses a radar to detect and track threats and then takes action to eliminate the threat. "Iron Fist will give the Dutch Army a highly sophisticated defensive tool on its CV90s to counter threats and improve the safety of the vehicle and its crew," said Tommy Gustafsson-Rask, managing director of Sweden-based BAE Systems Hagglunds. "Iron Fist is yet another example of the advanced technology BAE Systems and its partners can deliver to our customers." The integration of this advanced APS solution onto the Dutch CV90s demonstrates the vehicle's adaptability to new and evolving technologies to meet customer-specific requirements. "During this test phase we will pre-qualify the active system against our threat specification, and together with our partners analyze system safety and prepare for its integration onto our CV9035NL vehicles," said Hans de Goeij, project manager at the Netherlands Defence Materiel Organisation, Ministry of Defence. "We expect to make a decision on the next phase by early 2018. With Iron Fist, the Netherlands is expected to become the first NATO country with an Active Protection System of its kind on combat vehicles." BAE Systems is a leader in the development of survivability technologies for combat vehicles. The company has, for example, developed a system called ADAPTIV, which uses cloaking technology to alter the appearance of a vehicle, making it harder to identify. BAE Systems has also developed a situational awareness tool called BattleView 360. BattleView 360 employs sensors outside the vehicle that feed a 360-degree image to a helmet-mounted monocle, allowing soldiers inside the vehicle to essentially "see through" armor and better detect threats. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170103005772/en/ Contacts: BAE Systems Hagglunds Ola Thoren, +46 (0) 708 335 000 ola.thoren@baesystems.se or BAE Systems Mike McCarthy, +1 703-907-8414 mike.mccarthy2@baesystems.com www.baesystems.com Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Mondi Limited (Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa) (Registration number: 1967/013038/06) JSE share code: MND ISIN: ZAE000156550 Mondi plc (Incorporated in England and Wales) (Registered number: 6209386) LEI: 213800LOZA69QFDC9N34 JSE share code: MNP ISIN: GB00B1CRLC47 LSE share code: MNDI 3 January 2017 Notification of Major Interests in Shares As part of the dual listed company structure, Mondi Limited and Mondi plc notify both the JSE Limited and the London Stock Exchange of matters required to be disclosed under the Listings Requirements of the JSE and/or the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the United Kingdom Listing Authority. This regulated information is required to be disclosed under Article 12 of the EU Transparency Directive (2004/109/\EC). 1. Identity of the issuer or the underlying issuer of existing shares to which voting rights are attached: Mondi plc GB00B1CRLC47 2. Reason for notification An acquisition or disposal of qualifying financial instruments which may result in the acquisition of shares already issued to which voting rights are attached 3. Full name of person(s) subject to the notification obligation: Norges Bank 4. Full name of shareholder(s) (if different from 3.): N/A 5. Date of the transaction (and date on which the threshold is crossed or reached if different): 30 December 2016 6. Date on which issuer notified: 2 January 2017 7. Threshold(s) that is/are crossed or reached: Above 4% based on voting rights attached to shares 8. Notified details: A: Voting rights attached to shares Class/type of shares Situation previous to the triggering transaction Resulting situation after the triggering transaction No. of shares No. of Voting Rights No. of shares No. of voting rights % of voting rights Direct Direct Indirect Direct Indirect GB00B1CRLC47 14,651,656 14,651,656 14,698,943 14,698,943 N/A 4.003% N/A B: Qualifying Financial Instruments Resulting situation after the triggering transaction Type of financial instrument Expiration date Exercise/ Conversion Period Number of voting rights that may be acquired if the instrument is exercised/ converted. % of voting rights N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial Instruments Resulting situation after the triggering transaction Type of financial instrument Exercise Price Expiration date Exercise/ Conversion Period Number of voting rights instrument refers to % of voting rights Nominal Delta N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Total (A+B+C) Number of voting rights % of voting rights 14,698,943 4.003% 9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or the financial instruments are effectively held, if applicable: N/A Proxy Voting: 10. Name of the proxy holder: Norges Bank 11. Number of voting rights proxy holder will cease to hold: N/A 12. Date on which proxy holder will cease to hold voting rights: N/A 13. Additional information: N/A 14. Contact name: Abigail Recker 15. Contact telephone number: 01932 826 369 Sponsor in South Africa: UBS South Africa (Pty) Ltd MEXICO CITY (dpa-AFX) - President-elect Donald Trump has now targeted General Motors Co. (GM), asking the automaker to stop importing cars into the U.S. from Mexico or pay a tax. In a tweet early Tuesday, Trump said, 'General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A.or pay big border tax!' Trump has repeatedly criticized the North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA for accelerating the transfer of automotive production from the U.S. to Mexico. However, the U.S. auto industry has defended NAFTA, saying the deal was critical to its business model. In response to Trump, GM said that while it manufacturers the Chevrolet Cruze sedan in Lordstown, Ohio, a small number of cars from Mexico are sold in the U.S. 'All Chevrolet Cruze sedans sold in the U.S. are built in GM's assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio. GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, with a small number sold in the U.S.,' the automaker stated. Earlier, Ford Motor Co. (F) too had endured scathing criticism from Trump over the company's investments in Mexico. Ford's plan to move a substantial portion of its passenger-car production to Mexico from a factory in Michigan was heavily criticized by Trump on his campaign trail. Ford is building more-profitable light trucks in the U.S. while investing in new capacity in Mexico to produce lower-margin small cars. While Ford has argued that no jobs will be lost because of the Mexico move and that lower costs there would boost profitability, Trump had proposed a 35 percent tariff as penalty for such a move. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Technavio research analysts forecast the global ultraviolet stabilizers marketto grow at a CAGR of close to 7% during the forecast period, according to their latest report. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170103005286/en/ Technavio has published a new report on the global ultraviolet (UV) stabilizers market from 2017-2021. The study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global ultraviolet stabilizersmarketfor 2017-2021. The report segments the market into the following applications which include flooring and decking, furniture, automotive coating, and packaging According to Chandrakumar Badala Jaganathan, a lead analyst at Technavio for plastics, polymers, and elastomers research, "The UV stabilizers market will be driven by macroeconomic factors such as high-income levels and rising GDP, particularly in emerging economies such as China, India, South Africa, Brazil and the UAE." Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=55398 Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Technavio chemicals and materials analysts highlight the following three drivers that are contributing to the growth of the global ultraviolet stabilizers market: Rising awareness about harmful effects of UV light on plastics Growing demand from plastics, coatings, and construction industries Increasing R&D and new product launch activities by key players Rising awareness about harmful effects of UV light on plastics Light consists of three components: infrared spectrum, visible spectrum, and UV spectrum. UV spectrum is an electromagnetic radiation that has a wavelength smaller than visible spectrum but longer than soft X-rays. UV light has several biological and chemical effects on the surroundings. UV light affects polymer materials causing them to crack, chalk, or change in color, and lose some physical properties. The UV light also accelerates the fading of plastic colorants. Thus, the polymer materials tend to lose their physical properties and appear dull. Therefore, the demand for UV stabilizers is increasing to prolong the life of these polymer materials. Growing demand from plastics, coatings, and construction industries The demand for UV stabilizers is increasing across various applications such as the plastics and wood protection coatings industries. For instance, the demand for UV stabilizers in North America is highest from Mexico. This high demand for UV stabilizers in Mexico is attributed to the increase in the demand from the wood coatings, construction, and plastics industries. There is an increase in construction activities in APAC due to a rise in industrial activities in countries such as China, India, and Australia. Construction companies are constantly investing in developing high-quality products to protect the appearance and increase the lifetime of buildings. "Thus, chemical manufacturers such as BASF, Evonik Industries, and SONGWON are investing in R&D activities to cater to the increasing demand for UV stabilizers across various application areas such as wood protection coatings, automotive coatings, flooring and decking, and packaging," says Chandrakumar. Increasing R&D and new product launch activities by key players Advancement in UV stabilizer technologies is a major driver for the growth of the global UV stabilizers market. Leading vendors such as Evonik Industries, BASF, and Cytec Solvay Group in the market have increased their R&D spending to enhance their product portfolio and increase their customer base. For instance, in 2015, BASF earmarked USD 214 million to strengthen its plastic additives business on increasing demand of UV stabilizers and light stabilizers. The strategy primarily focuses on Asia to boost capacity expansion and operational excellence through R&D activities. Similarly, in November 2016, Cytec Solvay Group introduced CYASORB CYNERGY SOLUTIONS V Series stabilizers for the automobile industry. Browse Related Reports: Global Nanocoatings Market 2016-2020 Global Specialty Pigments Market 2016-2020 Global Polymer Foam Market 2017-2021 Become a Technavio Insights memberand access all three of these reports for a fraction of their original cost. As a Technavio Insights member, you will have immediate access to new reports as they're published in addition to all 6,000+ existing reports covering segments like olefinspaints, coatings, and pigmentsand personal protective equipment This subscription nets you thousands in savings, while staying connected to Technavio's constant transforming research library, helping you make informed business decisions more efficiently. About Technavio Technaviois a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies. Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170103005286/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 630 333 9501 UK: +44 208 123 1770 www.technavio.com IRVINE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/03/17 -- Realty ONE Group, a dynamic full-service, lifestyle real estate brand and the nation's fastest-growing has experienced astronomical growth in the franchise division. Having landed a spot on the 2016 Entrepreneur Franchise 500 list, as well as the highly respected Franchise Times Top 200+ list, the 100 percent debt-free, independently owned brokerage boasts more than 8,800 real estate professionals in 80 offices across 18 states, ranking on Inc. 500's Fastest-Growing Companies for seven consecutive years. The organization is known for delivering on its promise to exceed client expectations while inspiring the true entrepreneurial American spirit. In total, Realty ONE Group signed 12 new franchise agreements and announced three new expansions in 2016, representing a Year-over-year (YoY) franchise division growth increase of 36 percent. The franchise division alone saw an increase in closed transactions of 50 percent YoY, with closed dollar volume increasing by 54 percent YoY, finishing the year at phenomenal $5 billion in sales. "Though 2016 was undoubtedly a volatile year around the globe, Realty ONE Group continued to realize record-breaking numbers, particularly in our franchise division," says Realty ONE Group founder and CEO Kuba Jewgieniew. "Without a doubt, our franchise division president and renowned industry expert, Lou Gonzalez, has helped Realty ONE Group develop the most attractive real estate franchise package in the industry, with the numbers and high-caliber broker-owners to prove it." In 2016, Realty ONE Group announced the franchise expansions of Greg McClure's Realty ONE Group Complete to Sacramento, Calif., and Daniel Collins' Realty ONE Group Mountain Desert to Chino Valley, Arizona. In addition, Realty ONE Group United, a franchise owned by Mavera Mir in Torrance, Calif., added two new franchise locations in Hermosa Beach and Downey, and Youssef Genid added a new franchise location in Clifton, New Jersey with grand openings slated for January 2017. New Realty ONE Group franchise openings in 2016 included the following, with additional locations to be unveiled soon: Joan and RP Pok's Realty ONE Group Signature in Midvale, Utah Dara Khoyi's Realty ONE Group Advantage in Lutz, the brokerage's first franchise in Florida John Meulstee's Realty ONE Group Legacy in Doylestown, Pennsylvania Abbie Holland and Jill Daniel's Realty ONE Group Experience in Conroe, Texas Patrick and Barbara Raach's Realty ONE Group Success in Valencia, California Realty ONE Group has taken quantum leaps since launching in 2005. Fueled by high-impact business intelligence, innovative marketing technology, and unparalleled agent support, it has rapidly evolved into an authentic lifestyle brand that fosters a collaborative company culture where everyone matters, everyone has a voice and everyone wins. An industry disruptor successfully developing and advancing real estate professionals for the present -- and well into the future -- Realty ONE Group not only offers high-touch client services but also enables its' real estate professionals to continually reinvest in their own success. "From the beginning, Realty ONE Group has espoused a philosophy of honesty, integrity, and pride of ownership," adds Jewgieniew. "Realty ONE Group franchise owners who are ready to embrace roles as CEOs of their own businesses and their own lives are attracted to our ready-to-run franchise business model. With more franchise openings anticipated in Pasadena, Whittier, Calif., Pinnelas Park, Fla., Clifton, N.J., Pikesville, Md., El Paso, Texas and Iowa City, Iowa, there's no telling where we'll be this time next year." To learn more about Realty ONE Group, visit www.RealtyONEGroup.com. About Realty ONE Group: Founded in 2005, Realty ONE Group is a dynamic, full-service lifestyle real estate brand, dedicated to empowering and advancing tomorrow's real estate professionals, today. Privately owned and 100 percent debt-free since day one, the real estate company has rapidly evolved, with more than 8,800 professionals, in 80 offices across 18 states. Realty ONE Group fosters a collaborative company culture where everyone matters and everyone has a voice. Its simple fee structure enables professionals to achieve greater success, faster. Ranked in the top one percent in the nation by REAL Trends, and landing a coveted spot on the Inc. 500 Fastest-Growing Companies list for seven consecutive years, Realty ONE Group has been surging ahead, opening doors, and changing lives not only for its clients, but also for its real estate professionals and franchise owners. To learn more, visit www.RealtyONEGroup.com. MEDIA CONTACT: Brea Ballard Realty ONE Group 949.596.7358 RealtyONE@beyondfifteen.com ** Company is leading provider of Artificial Audio Intelligence software to Smart Home OEMs and chip companies ** ** Funding to enable company to meet rapidly growing Smart Home OEM demand and further develop sound recognition platform ** Audio Analytic, the Artificial Intelligence company addressing sound recognition, today announced the closing of a $5.5m Series A round. Cambridge Innovation Capital led the round, with IQ Capital, Rockspring, Cambridge Angels and Martlet participating. The funding will enable the company to scale and meet growing Smart Home OEM demand for its Artificial Audio Intelligence software, ai3. "In the last two years, Smart Home device ownership has more than doubled," said Stuart Sikes, President of research firm Parks Associates. "We estimate companies will sell almost 55 million smart home devices in 2020." Founded in 2008, Audio Analytic has pioneered the development and commercialisation of intelligent sound recognition using advanced machine learning. Its innovative ai3 software enables devices to recognise significant sounds and take automated action. Audio Analytic works with Smart Home original equipment manufacturers and chip companies, with a range of consumer devices containing ai3 software already in the market and more slated to launch in 2017. This Series A funding follows previous rounds in 2014 and 2015, bringing the company's total money raised to $8 million. The new round will enable the company to scale to meet increasing customer demand doubling its team to 50 employees within the next 12 months and introduce new sound profiles and features to the growing ai3 platform. Victor Christou, CEO at Cambridge Innovation Capital, said "Audio Analytic's market traction over the past 18 months has been highly impressive in the rapidly growing smart home market. We're delighted to lead this series A round and continue our support of one of the world's most exciting AI companies." Dr. Chris Mitchell, Audio Analytic's Founder and CEO, said "At Audio Analytic, we believe every sound tells a story, especially in the home. This $5.5m Series A round will enable us to meet growing customer demand for our Artificial Audio Intelligence and continue to develop the recognition of new sounds with the ai3 platform. "2017 promises to be the year of the Smart Home and AI we are excited to be working with our customers right at the intersection of these two seismic industries." Audio Analytic is an official exhibitor at CES 2017 (5-8 January, Las Vegas) and will be demonstrating a range of new ai3 sound profiles and features to customers and partners at the show. To request a meeting, email CES-meetings@audioanalytic.com A demonstration of sound recognition for the Smart Home using Audio Analytic's ai3 platform will also be available at the ARM booth (LVCC, South Hall 2 MP25250) on invitation. An ARM whitepaper addressing the opportunities for sound recognition on low-power Smart Home devices is available for download at:https://www.community.arm.com/processors/b/documents/posts/machine-learning-in-low-power-devices-brings-sound-recognition-to-the-smart-home-market Editors Notes Audio Analytic http://www.audioanalytic.com/ Audio Analytic is the world's leading provider of sound recognition software. Our ai3 software enables device manufacturers, chip companies and service providers to enable products with Artificial Audio Intelligence, recognizing and automatically responding to sounds such as smoke and CO alarms, breaking window glass even a baby's cry. Recognizing sound within the Smart Home allows manufacturers and service providers to open up a range of compelling new applications for smarter living. Audio Analytic Ltd. is a privately held company, founded in 2008 and headquartered in Cambridge, UK with offices in San Jose, CA. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170103006045/en/ Contacts: Audio Analytic Tamara Sword Chief Marketing Officer tamara.sword@audioanalytic.com +44-1223-909305 SHENZHEN, CHINA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/03/17 -- OpEn Fiber (OF) has announced that Huawei Italy has won the tender of "Fornitura in opera di Sistema di monitoraggio della rete in fibra ottica" (Supply and installation of the optical fiber network monitoring system). After the collaboration with OF in Perugia, now Huawei continues to deploy the N2510 optical fiber link assurance systems in other 9 cities for OF. Huawei N2510 intelligent optical fiber O&M solution helps OF perform fast network acceptance tests and intelligent maintenance of FTTH fiber infrastructure networks. This improves the efficiency of service provisioning and fault diagnosis, reducing O&M TCO, and accelerating the construction of FTTH networks. As world's second-largest electric power company and the largest state-owned enterprise in Italy, Enel has established OpEn Fiber (OF) in December 2015 to undertake national broadband constructions in compliance with the national ultra-broadband (UBB) strategy in Italy. According to the implementation plan of the national broadband project, carriers are accelerating network construction in developed areas. OF plans to construct broadband networks in more than 250 provinces and cities in 5 years, covering 9.5 million users. To fulfill this plan, OF requires fast construction of high-quality FTTH fiber infrastructure optical distribution networks (ODNs) and acceptance, and fast provisioning of FTTH services. Traditional ODN project acceptance faces two challenges: difficult quality monitoring and high acceptance labor costs. In addition, traditional ODN maintenance lacks effective tools and methods for demarcating fault scope and diagnosing faults. This results in high maintenance costs. Addressing these challenges, the Huawei N2510 optical fiber intelligent assurance solution provides fast ODN acceptance capabilities. The intelligent optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) function supports fast fault localization, precise fault diagnosis and proactive O&M. These capabilities allow the N2510 to meet the requirements for service assurance of different carriers. As a result, the N2510 has helped OF improve ODN acceptance efficiency and optical fiber O&M capabilities. In this way, Huawei has helped OF reduce overall TCO and improve its competitive edge. So far, nine mainstream carriers in Western Europe have chosen the Huawei N2510 to provide their line O&M solution. As the leader in the global UBB field, Huawei commits to providing economical and efficient UBB solutions for carriers to help them build core competencies, enable business success, and build a better-connected world together. About Huawei Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Our aim is to enrich life and improve efficiency through a better connected world, acting as a responsible corporate citizen, innovative enabler for the information society, and collaborative contributor to the industry. Driven by customer-centric innovation and open partnerships, Huawei has established an end-to-end ICT solutions portfolio that gives customers competitive advantages in telecom and enterprise networks, devices and cloud computing. Huawei's 176,000 employees worldwide are committed to creating maximum value for telecom operators, enterprises and consumers. Our innovative ICT solutions, products and services are used in more than 170 countries and regions, serving over one-third of the world's population. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company fully owned by its employees. For more information, please visit Huawei online at www.huawei.com or follow us on: http://www.linkedin.com/company/Huawei http://www.twitter.com/Huawei http://www.facebook.com/Huawei http://www.google.com/+Huawei http://www.youtube.com/Huawei Contact: Miranda Liu miranda.liu@huawei.com Discover the free and independent Arabic travel metasearch engine STOCKHOLM, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rahlat.com is the first and only Arabic travel search website that is done by Arabs for Arabs! The company has launched its free and independent travel metasearch engine allowing Arab travelers to find the best flight and hotel prices with the click of a mouse. The Arabic search engine enables Arabic users to compare prices from hundreds of travel and airline websites, and almost one million hotels located across the globe. Saving time and money is a mission that Rahlat.com is working on achieving in an attempt to enrich the Middle East and Gulf travelers with an exclusive search experience in their own local language, Arabic. The search engine combines technology, usability and a user-friendly interface to facilitate the search, making it a true breakthrough in serving Arab travelers everywhere. Rahlat.com search engine website attracts more than a hundred thousand visitors from various countries in the Middle East and Gulf regions; such as Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait. The search engine enables Arab travelers as well as expats living in the Arab world to use the service in Arabic and English languages, and introduces all possible currencies for a smooth payment process. Company CEO, Elie Messo described the idea behind the release of the Arabic travel metasearch engine saying 'We saw that travelers in the Middle East still bought their tickets from small offline agencies around the corner. Prices they paid were mostly 50% higher compared to what is paid online via travel search engines in Europe. We decided to solve this problem in the Middle East by launching Rahlat.com in Arabic with the vision of providing the same low prices as elsewhere in the world." Furthermore, airline companies and travel agencies want customers to believe they offer you the best prices. In most cases, that is difficult to achieve; as to get the best deals, you simply need to compare all available prices in the market. Having to search many travel websites separately chasing the best prices is definitely time consuming. Rahlat.com does this work for their Arabic speaking customers just in seconds. Start comparing hotel and flight prices in both Arabic and English right now, just click on Rahlat.com homepage address www.Rahlat.com. I am a retired newspaperman. I am 69 and live in Poca, WV, with my wife of 45 years, Lou Ann. We grew up in Cleveland. Three kids. Grandfather. More on who I am is here. Report all errors to DonSurber@GMail.com WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After initially coming under pressure, treasuries showed a notable recovery as the trading day progressed on Tuesday before closing roughly flat. Bond prices climbed well off their early lows before ending the day near the unchanged line. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by less than a basis point to 2.450 percent. The early weakness among treasuries was partly due to a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, with crude for February jumping to an eighteen-month high of $55.24 a barrel. Traders were also reacting to a batch of upbeat economic data, including a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing that growth in U.S. manufacturing activity accelerated by more than anticipated in December. The ISM said its purchasing managers index climbed to 54.7 in December from 53.2 in November, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the manufacturing sector. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 53.8. The purchasing managers index indicated growth in manufacturing for the fourth consecutive month and a new high reading for the year. A separate report from the Commerce Department showed that construction spending climbed more than expected in November to reach its highest annual rate in over ten years. The better than expected U.S. economic data came following the release of an upbeat reading on Chinese manufacturing activity. The recovery by treasuries came amid a downturn by the price of crude oil, as crude for February pulled back sharply to close down $1.39 at $52.33 a barrel. Trading on Wednesday may be impacted by reaction to a report on private sector employment as well as the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The maiden inaugural of Hainan Airlines' new non-stop service took off from Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport in China and landed at AucklandAirport in New Zealand on December 30, 2016, following an 11-hour journey. The flight, operated by an Airbus A330, served as the announcement of Hainan Airlines' formal launch of non-stop service between Shenzhen and Auckland. The new service further complements the airline's intercontinental network and adds to the number of convenient choices for passengers flying internationally. Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/452628/Hainan_Auckland_Flight.jpg A grand welcoming ceremony for passengers on the maiden flight was held by Hainan Airlines in Auckland Airport. Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Auckland Acting Consul General Luo Binhui, Auckland Airport CEO Adrian Littlewood, Hainan Airlines President Sun Jianfeng as well as Hainan Airlines' VIP customers and established media organizations in the region took part in the welcoming ceremony, in celebration of the exciting moment for the maiden voyage of Hainan Airlines' non-stop service between Shenzhen and Auckland. The most distinctive Maori dance at the welcoming ceremony showed genuine Maori culture and New Zealand characteristics for tourists and guests. The new service is expected to provide convenient transportation for political, economic and cultural exchanges as well as promote cooperation and common prosperity between the two regions. The aircraft serving the Shenzhen-Auckland route are all wide-body Airbus A330s with spacious cabins. The airline provides its Business Class passengers with 180-degree, 74"-long,lie-flat seating with in-seat massagefunction, a wide HD LCD screen, an individual touchscreen LCD TV and an adjustable reading light complemented by an airborne cuisine menu that includes a variety of both Western and Oriental style meal choices, assuring a comfortable and pleasurable experience for the traveler. In addition to Hainan Airlines' five-star services, travelers choosing the new route for their journey to New Zealand will also have access to a variety of benefits including all-inclusive travel packages, priority in seat selection, private limo service and cabin upgrades. Hainan Airlines attaches great importance to the launching of the new Oceania routes. Aucklandis the airline's third destination in Oceania following Sydney and Melbourne as well as the first destination in New Zealand. The new service is expected to significantly facilitate exchanges in and cooperation concerning culture, economy, trade and tourism between the two cities, demonstrating Hainan Airlines' support in enhancing mutual exchanges between China and New Zealand. Hainan Airlines' Shenzhen-Auckland Flight Schedule: (All departure and arrival times are listed in local time) VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/03/17 -- Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund (the "Fund") (TSX: BPF.UN) and Boston Pizza International Inc. ("BPI") announced today that effective January 1, 2017, the Fund's royalty pool (the "Royalty Pool") has been adjusted to include the 13 new full service restaurants opened across Canada between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2016 (the "Period"), and to remove the two full service restaurants that were permanently closed during the Period. With the adjustment for these openings and closures during 2016, the Royalty Pool now includes 383 Boston Pizza restaurants. This is the fifteenth consecutive year of adding new Boston Pizza restaurants into the Royalty Pool. "We are very pleased with the 13 new Boston Pizza restaurants opened in 2016, including five in Western Canada, six in Eastern Canada, and two in Quebec. These new locations further strengthen our position as Canada's number one casual dining brand," said Mark Pacinda, President and Chief Executive Officer of BPI. "Since the inception of the Fund, 229 net new Boston Pizza restaurants have been added to the Royalty Pool, growing from 154 in 2002 to 383 locations across the country today." The Fund indirectly owns the Boston Pizza trademarks and trade names used by Boston Pizza restaurants in Canada. In 2002, the Fund licensed these trademarks to BPI for 99 years and in return BPI pays the Fund a top line royalty of 4% of franchise revenues of Boston Pizza restaurants in the Royalty Pool ("Royalty"). On May 6, 2015, the Fund completed an indirect investment in Boston Pizza Canada Limited Partnership (a limited partnership controlled and operated by BPI) that entitles the Fund to receive distribution income from Boston Pizza Canada Limited Partnership ("Distribution Income") equal to 1.5% of franchise revenues of Boston Pizza restaurants in the Royalty Pool less the pro rata portion payable to BPI in respect of its retained interest in the Fund. The combined effect of the above is that the Fund effectively receives 5.5% of franchise revenues of Boston Pizza restaurants in the Royalty Pool less the pro rata portion payable to BPI in respect of its retained interest in the Fund. Annually, the Royalty Pool of Boston Pizza restaurants is adjusted to include the new Boston Pizza restaurants that opened, and to remove Boston Pizza restaurants that permanently closed, in the prior year. On January 1 of each year (the "Adjustment Date"), an adjustment is made to add to the Royalty Pool new Boston Pizza restaurants that opened and to remove any Boston Pizza restaurants that permanently closed since the last Adjustment Date (the "Net New Restaurants"). In return for adding net additional Royalty and Distribution Income from Net New Restaurants, BPI receives the right to indirectly acquire additional units of the Fund (in respect of additional Royalty, the "Class B Additional Entitlements" and in respect of additional Distribution Income, the "Class 2 Additional Entitlements", and collectively, "Additional Entitlements"). The calculation of Additional Entitlements is designed to be accretive to unitholders of the Fund as the expected increase in net franchise revenues from the Net New Restaurants added to the Royalty Pool is valued at a 7.5% discount. The Additional Entitlements are calculated at 92.5% of the estimated Royalty and Distribution Income expected to be received by the Fund in respect of the Net New Restaurants, multiplied by one minus the effective tax rate (expressed as a decimal) estimated to be paid by the Fund during that year, divided by the yield of the Fund, divided by the weighted average unit price over a specified time. BPI receives 80% of the Additional Entitlements initially, with the balance received when the actual full year performance of the Net New Restaurants and the actual effective tax rate paid by the Fund are known with certainty (such balance of units in respect of the additional Royalty, the "Class B Holdback", and in respect of the additional Distribution Income, the "Class 2 Holdback", and collectively, the "Holdback"). BPI receives 100% of distributions from the Additional Entitlements (including the Holdback) throughout the year. Once the Net New Restaurants have been part of the Royalty Pool for a full year, an audit of the franchise revenues of these restaurants is performed, and the actual effective tax rate paid by the Fund is determined. At such time, an adjustment is made to reconcile distributions paid to BPI and the Additional Entitlements received by BPI. In return for adding net additional Royalty and Distribution Income from the 11 Net New Restaurants added to the Royalty Pool, BPI received 415,229 Additional Entitlements (representing 80% of the total Additional Entitlements), comprised of 301,985 Class B Additional Entitlements and 113,244 Class 2 Additional Entitlements, and the Holdback is 103,807 Additional Entitlements (representing 20% of the total Additional Entitlements), comprised of 75,496 Class B Holdback and 28,311 Class 2 Holdback. The Holdback (as adjusted) will be received by BPI when both the actual full year performance of the Net New Restaurants and the effective tax rate paid by the Fund are known with certainty. The 415,229 Additional Entitlements represent 1.7% of Fund units on a fully diluted basis. Including the 415,229 Additional Entitlements, BPI holds Class B general partner units of Boston Pizza Royalties Limited Partnership that are exchangeable for 2,879,515 Fund units, and Class 2 general partner units of Boston Pizza Canada Limited Partnership that are exchangeable for 960,819 Fund units. Together, the Class B general partner units of Boston Pizza Royalties Limited Partnership and Class 2 general partner units of Boston Pizza Canada Limited Partnership held by BPI are currently exchangeable for 3,840,334 Fund units, representing the equivalent of a 15.9% interest in the Fund on a fully-diluted basis. The full 519,036 Additional Entitlements (being the 415,229 Additional Entitlements received by BPI plus the 103,807 Holdback) represents 2.1% of the Fund on a fully diluted basis. Including the full 519,036 Additional Entitlements described above, BPI has the right to acquire 4,031,397 Fund units, representing 16.6% of Fund units on a fully diluted basis. The issuance of the Additional Entitlements to BPI is subject to approval by the Toronto Stock Exchange. In connection with the Additional Entitlements, BPI has filed an early warning report. Since its last early warning report, BPI's percentage of indirect ownership in the Fund has increased by 3.3% (from 12.6% in February 2015 to 15.9% now) on a fully diluted basis. The Class B general partner units of Boston Pizza Royalties Limited Partnership and Class 2 general partner units of Boston Pizza Canada Limited Partnership held by BPI, together with all units of the Fund controlled by BPI's co-chairmen and co-owners, George C. Melville and Walter James Treliving, represent the equivalent of 3,870,734 Fund units, or a 16.0% interest in the Fund on a fully-diluted basis. The estimated annual franchise revenues in 2017 for the 13 new Boston Pizza restaurants that opened in 2016 is $19.8 million. BPI is required to deduct from this amount the actual franchise revenues received from the two Boston Pizza restaurants that permanently closed in 2016 during the first 12 month period immediately following their addition to the Royalty Pool, which is $1.4 million. Consequently, the estimated annual net franchise revenues in 2017 for the 11 Net New Restaurants added to the Royalty Pool on January 1, 2017 is $18.4 million. The estimated Royalty and Distribution Income expected to be received by the Fund in 2017 in respect of these 11 Net New Restaurants is 5.5% of this amount, or $1.0 million. The pre-tax amount for the purposes of calculating the Additional Entitlements, therefore, is approximately $0.9 million or 92.5% of $1.0 million. The estimated effective tax rate that the Fund will pay in the calendar year 2017 is 24.0%. Accordingly, the after-tax additional Royalty and Distribution Income for the purposes of calculating the Additional Entitlements is approximately $0.7 million ($0.9 million x (1 - 0.24)). Once the actual performance of the 13 new Boston Pizza restaurants added to the Royalty Pool on January 1, 2017 for 2017 and the actual effective tax rate paid by the Fund for 2017 are known, the number of Additional Entitlements will be adjusted in 2018 to reflect the actual franchise revenues generated by these Boston Pizza restaurants in 2017 and the actual effective tax rate paid by the Fund in 2017. The following table sets forth a summary of the issued and outstanding units of the Fund, together with Additional Entitlements, as at both December 31, 2016 and January 1, 2017. Summary of Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund Units Dec. 31, Dec. 31, Jan. 1, Jan. 1, 2016 2016 2017 2017 Excluding Including Excluding Including Holdback Holdback Holdback Holdback ------------------------------------------------- Units Outstanding Total Issued and Outstanding Fund Units 20,286,063 20,286,063 20,286,063 20,286,063 Class B Additional Entitlements Outstanding Class B Additional Entitlements (Excluding Jan. 1, 2017 Adjustment Date) 2,577,530 2,577,530 2,577,530 2,577,530 Class B Holdback (Excluding Jan. 1, 2017 Adjustment Date) N/A 63,459 N/A 63,459 (1) Class B Additional Entitlements - Issued January 1, 2017 (11 Net New Restaurants) N/A N/A 301,985 301,985 Class B Holdback - Created January 1, 2017 (11 Net New Restaurants) N/A N/A N/A 75,496 (2) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Class B Additional Entitlements 2,577,530 2,640,989 2,879,515 3,018,470 Class 2 Additional Entitlements Outstanding Class 2 Additional Entitlements (Excluding Jan. 1, 2017 Adjustment Date) 847,575 847,575 847,575 847,575 Class 2 Holdback (Excluding Jan. 1, 2017 Adjustment Date) N/A 23,797 N/A 23,797 (1) Class 2 Additional Entitlements - Issued January 1, 2017 (11 Net New Restaurants) N/A N/A 113,244 113,244 Class 2 Holdback - Created January 1, 2017 (11 Net New Restaurants) N/A N/A N/A 28,311 (3) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Class 2 Additional Entitlements 847,575 871,372 960,819 1,012,927 Summary Total Issued and Outstanding Fund Units 20,286,063 20,286,063 20,286,063 20,286,063 Total Additional Entitlements 3,425,105 3,512,361 3,840,334 4,031,397 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Diluted Units 23,711,168 23,798,424 24,126,397 24,317,460 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BPI's Total Percentage Ownership 14.4% 14.8% 15.9% 16.6% BPI's Percentage Ownership based only on the 11 Net New Restaurants added to the Royalty Pool on January 1, 2017 N/A N/A 1.7% 2.1% (1) Additional Entitlements from the 6 Net New Restaurants added to Royalty Pool on January 1, 2016 determined in early 2017, effective January 1, 2016, once audited results of the 6 Net New Restaurants and actual effective tax rate paid by the Fund in 2016 are known. (2) Class B Holdback from 11 Net New Restaurants added to the Royalty Pool on January 1, 2017. The actual number of Class B Additional Entitlements will be determined in early 2018, effective January 1, 2017, once audited results of the 11 Net New Restaurants and actual effective tax rate paid by the Fund are known. (3) Class 2 Holdback from 11 Net New Restaurants added to the Royalty Pool on January 1, 2017. The actual number of Class 2 Additional Entitlements will be determined in early 2018, effective January 1, 2017, once audited results of the 11 Net New Restaurants and actual effective tax rate paid by the Fund are known. Certain information in this press release constitutes "forward-looking information" that involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, future expectations and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Fund, Boston Pizza Holdings Trust, Boston Pizza Holdings Limited Partnership, Boston Pizza Holdings GP Inc., Boston Pizza Royalties Limited Partnership, Boston Pizza GP Inc., BPI, Boston Pizza Canada Limited Partnership, Boston Pizza restaurants, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that the Fund or management of BPI expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including the estimated annual gross franchise revenue received from the 13 new Boston Pizza restaurants that opened in 2016 and the estimated effective tax rate that will be paid by the Fund for 2017 and other such matters are forward-looking information. When used in this press release, forward-looking information may include words such as "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "expect", "believe", "plan", "should", "continue" and other similar terminology. The material factors and assumptions used to develop the forward-looking information contained in this press release include the following: future results being similar to historical results, expectations related to future general economic conditions, business plans, receipt of franchise fees and other amounts, franchisees access to financing, pace of commercial real estate development, protection of intellectual property rights of Boston Pizza Royalties Limited Partnership and absence of changes of laws. Risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievement expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein, relate to (among others) competition, demographic trends, consumer preferences and discretionary spending patterns, business and economic conditions, legislation and regulation, distributable cash and reliance on operating revenues, accounting policies and practices, the results of operations and financial condition of BPI and the Fund, as well as those factors discussed under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in the Fund's Management Discussions and Analysis for the third quarter of 2016. This information reflects current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speaks only as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, the Fund and BPI assume no obligation to update previously disclosed forward-looking information. For a complete list of the risks associated with forward-looking information and our business, please refer to the "Risks and Uncertainties" and "Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information" sections included in the Fund's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the third quarter of 2016 available at www.sedar.com and www.bpincomefund.com. The Trustees of the Fund have approved the contents of this news release. To obtain a copy of the early warning report filed in respect of the Additional Entitlements, and for further information, please contact: Wes Bews Chief Financial Officer Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund / Boston Pizza International Inc. 100 - 10760 Shellbridge Way, Richmond, B.C., V6X 3H1 Tel: 604-270-1108 E-mail: investorrelations@bostonpizza.com www.bpincomefund.com Boston Pizza Royalties Limited Partnership. All Boston Pizza registered Canadian trade-marks and unregistered Canadian trade-marks containing the words "Boston", "BP", and/or "Pizza" are trademarks owned by Boston Pizza Royalties Limited Partnership and licensed by Boston Pizza Royalties Limited Partnership to Boston Pizza International Inc. Contacts: Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund / Boston Pizza International Inc. Wes Bews, Chief Financial Officer 604-270-1108 investorrelations@bostonpizza.com www.bpincomefund.com CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/03/17 -- AltaGas Ltd. ("AltaGas") (TSX: ALA) announced today that it has reached a positive Final Investment Decision ("FID") on its Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal (the "Ridley Export Terminal"), having received approval from federal regulators. AltaGas has executed long-term agreements securing land tenure along with rail and marine infrastructure on Ridley Island, and will proceed with the construction, ownership and operation of the Ridley Export Terminal. The Ridley Export Terminal is expected to be the first propane export facility on Canada's west coast. The site is near Prince Rupert, British Columbia, on a section of land leased by Ridley Terminals Inc. from the Prince Rupert Port Authority. The locational advantage is very short shipping distances to markets in Asia, notably a 10-day shipping time compared to 25-days from the U.S. Gulf Coast. The brownfield site also benefits from excellent railway access and a world class marine jetty with deep water access to the Pacific Ocean. "We are consulting and working with the First Nations whose traditional territory the Ridley Export Terminal is located within," said David Harris, President and CEO of AltaGas. "Collaborating closely with First Nations and communities to create sustainable social value is of paramount importance to us and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with the First Nations in the region." "The project is a reflection of how we do business in B.C. - balancing environmental protection with economic development, creating opportunities and real partnerships with First Nations, and putting British Columbians first," said Premier Christy Clark. "This export facility is another promising development for our province, connecting producers in northeast B.C. to markets in Asia." The Ridley Export Terminal will be designed to ship 1.2 million tonnes of propane per year and is estimated to cost approximately $450 - $500 million. Along with FID, AltaGas will be offering a third party the option to take an equity position of up to 30 percent in the Ridley Export Terminal. "Propane exports off of Canada's west coast pulls together our vision of offering Canadian producers a complete energy value chain," said Harris. "Together with our northeast B.C. infrastructure, once the Ridley Export Terminal is built and operating, we will give producers new access to premium Asian markets for their propane." Based on production from its existing facilities and forecasts from new plants under construction and in active development, AltaGas anticipates having physical volumes equal to approximately 50 percent of the 1.2 million tonnes. The remaining 50 percent is slated to be supplied by producers and aggregators in western Canada. AltaGas expects to underpin at least 40 percent of the Ridley Export Terminal throughput under tolling arrangements with producers and other suppliers. As previously announced on May 24, 2016, AltaGas LPG Limited Partnership entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Astomos Energy Corporation ("Astomos") contemplating a multi-year agreement, for the purchase of at least 50 percent of the 1.2 million tonnes of propane available to be shipped from the Ridley Export Terminal each year. A definitive agreement has been finalized with Astomos containing the key commercial terms for the sale and purchase of these volumes of propane. Commercial discussions with Astomos and several other third party offtakers for further capacity commitments are proceeding. "Astomos is one of the largest LPG players in the world providing great access to Asian markets for Western Canadian producers," said Harris. "We look forward to maximizing our relationship with them." AltaGas began the formal environmental review process in early 2016, which included submission of the Environmental Evaluation Document, review and final determination by federal regulators under terms and conditions that will allow the project to proceed. AltaGas has engaged and worked closely with First Nations throughout the process and will continue to do so as it moves forward with the Ridley Export Terminal. Construction is expected to begin in early 2017 in compliance with the approval, and will proceed under the self-perform model successfully used by AltaGas to build its other projects on time and on budget. The Ridley Export Terminal is expected to be in service by the first quarter of 2019. The Ridley Export Terminal will support long-term economic stability in the region through the diversification of products at Ridley Terminals, and employment opportunities for area residents and First Nations. It is estimated that 200 to 250 construction workers will be hired during the construction phase and 40 to 50 permanent jobs created once the facility is operational. The Ridley Export Terminal will provide enduring community benefits along with employment and contracting opportunities during both construction and operations phases. AltaGas is an energy infrastructure company with a focus on natural gas, power and regulated utilities. AltaGas creates value by acquiring, growing and optimizing its energy infrastructure, including a focus on clean energy sources. For more information visit: www.altagas.ca. This news release contains forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, the words "may", "would", "could", "can", "will", "be", "intend", "possible", "plan", "develop", "anticipate", "target', "believe", "seek", "propose", "proceed", "continue", "estimate", "expect", and similar expressions, as they relate to AltaGas or an affiliate of AltaGas, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements with respect to, among other things, the proposed Ridley Export Terminal (including being the first propane export facility on Canada's west coast, the construction of the terminal and building on time and on budget, alternatives and benefits for producers, access to new markets, diversification of products, sources of supply, expected supply volumes, relations with First Nations and Astomos, potential for third party investment, facility specifications, processing capacity, handling capability, service area, cost, and timeline for construction and in-service, shipping timeline, tolling arrangements, offtake arrangements, purchase and sale of LPG from the terminal, expansion of trade, and employment opportunities and other community benefits), AltaGas' views with respect to the conditions imposed by the federal regulators on granting its approval, the quality of Asian markets, Asian demand for clean energy, AltaGas' construction of new plants and development of new projects, business objectives, expected growth, results of operations, performance, business projects and opportunities and financial results. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect AltaGas' current views with respect to future events based on certain material factors and assumptions and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, changes in market, competition, governmental or regulatory developments, general economic conditions and other factors set out in AltaGas' public disclosure documents. Many factors could cause AltaGas' actual results, performance or achievements to vary from those described in this news release, including without limitation those listed above. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this news release as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, sought, proposed, estimated or expected, and such forward-looking statements included in, or incorporated by reference in this news release, should not be unduly relied upon. Such statements speak only as of the date of this news release. AltaGas does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Contacts: AltaGas Ltd. Investment Community 1-877-691-7199 investor.relations@altagas.ca AltaGas Ltd. Media (403) 691-7197 media.relations@altagas.ca www.altagas.ca LAS VEGAS, NV -- (Marketwired) -- 01/03/17 --CES SHOW -- Smart Red Limited, a developer of innovative devices for mobile phones will preview Smart Night Lighter, the first charger adapter with dual lights that make it easy to connect and charge your mobile device in the dark. Smart Night Lighter (SNL) features both Android and Apple MFI certified (made for iPhones/iPad) versions. "SNL is an economic breakthrough. People won't need to buy expensive product specific charging cables ever again," said Don Baker, vice president of marketing for Smart Red Limited. "In addition, forward lighting on the adapter makes connecting and charging at night easier and safer, no tripping on cords in the dark. The product doubles as a night light, and was developed to help prevent trips and falls for people who need to get up often at night, like my parents," added Baker. The Smart Night Lighter utility patent distinguishes it from other charging adapters by allowing users to connect to any Android cable, flat or round, at any length and to over 1900 types of Apple or Android based Smart phones worldwide. The 1500 lumens forward four white LED light also has a secondary Ambiance/Mood light in the sides that is relaxing and can lead to deeper sleep. Smart Night Lighter cables will also be available that are Android based only, but will fit either the Android or Apple adapter version. Smart Cables include more copper wiring for higher charging speed. Cables will be available in PVC white, or braided nylon black and white in readymade sets of three different sizes convenient for either home, office or car. "The Android tip can also charge all USB micro chargers such as power banks, digital cameras, handheld GPS, and millions of electronic gadgets with a USB micro charger outlet," stated Baker. The Smart Night Lighter will be on display during CES at Smart Red Limited booth, Sands Hotel Exposition, Hall G-52607. For more information or advance orders for this innovative product, visit http://bit.ly/smartnightlighter. The product launched January 2, 2017 on Kickstarter, the world's largest funding platform for tech products. Demonstration of the SNL can be seen on a video located at https://ksr-video.imgix.net/projects/2739056/video-738024-h264_high.mp4. SMART RED LIMITED (SRL) is a manufacturer based in Hong Kong, China, known for branding, trademark, design and utilities patents, copyrighting, and global licensing. Embedded Video Available Embedded Video Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3095402 Company Contact Smart Red Limited Don Baker Vice President, Marketing 805-795-3778 Email Contact Media Contact Carol Bardia Bardia International 949-370-8255 Email Contact Proterra, a Burlingame, Calif.-based heavy-duty electric transportation company, raised $140m in a Series 5 growth equity funding round. Proterra partnered with J.P. Morgan to close the equity funding, which was led by $40 from an undisclosed investor, an additional $60 from several new investors, and joined by existing investors Tao Capital Partners, Kleiner Perkins, GM Ventures, Constellation Technology Ventures, 88 Green Ventures, Edison Energy, Inc. and others. The proceeds will be used to accelerate its manufacturing capacity on both coasts, while continuing to develop its heavy-duty electric vehicle products. The company aims to increase production in its East Coast facility, located in Greenville, South Carolina, by 300% and initiate production in its City of Industry facility in Los Angeles County. Led by Ryan Popple, CEO, Proterra designs and manufactures zero-emission vehicles for bus fleet operators to eliminate the dependency on fossil fuels and to reduce operating costs while delivering clean transportation to the community. The company has sold more than 300 vehicles to 35 different municipal, university, and commercial transit agencies throughout North America. FinSMEs 03/01/2017 High Growth Robotics Limited, a UK-based business mentoring company focused on robotics startups, has launched a 2m seed fund. The British Robotics Seed Fund, which will specialize in UK-based robotics startups, will be managed by Sapphire Capital Partners along with High Growth Robotics Limited. It aims to make targeted investments in up to 12 UK-based seed-stage robotics startups each year across a broad range of sectors including construction, logistics, agriculture and domestic robots. To this end, the fund plans to partner with existing robotics laboratories and incubators across the United Kingdom to convert their hosted talent into world-class companies. The vehicle, created under the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme SEIS, is open to sophisticated investors with a minimum of 10k and will close in March 2017. Led by Dominic Keen, High Growth Robotics provides services including consulting on growth strategies; publicity via presentations and articles; and a think-tank on the use of robotics in public policy. FinSMEs 03/01/2017 "Russian actions on its own doorstep in Eastern Europe do not in fact threaten the United States or any actual vital interest. Nor does Moscow threaten the U.S. through its intervention on behalf of the Syrian government in the Middle East. That Russia is described incessantly as a threat in those areas is largely a contrivance arranged by the media, the Democratic and Republican National Committees and by the White House. "Candidate Donald Trump appeared to recognize that fact before he began listening to Michael Flynn, who has a rather different view. Hopefully the old Trump will prevail. "There is, however, another country that has interfered in U.S. elections, has endangered Americans living or working overseas and has corrupted Americas legislative and executive branches. It has exploited that corruption to initiate legislation favorable to itself, has promoted unnecessary and unwinnable wars and has stolen American technology and military secrets. Its ready access to the mainstream media to spread its own propaganda provides it with cover for its actions and it accomplishes all that and more through the agency of a powerful and well-funded domestic lobby that oddly is not subject to the accountability afforded by the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) of 1938 even though it manifestly works on behalf of a foreign government. "That country is, of course, Israel." -Julian Assange Video address to supporters Comedian-actor Kapil Sharma courted controversy on Tuesday after reports came out that his fellow Comedy Nights With Kapil actor Sunil Grover was denied promotion for his upcoming movie Coffee With D on the show. According to a Mumbai Mirror report, after being postponed by a day, Grover was told that the two-day shoot for the promotion had been cancelled. But later in the day, in an interview with Bollywood Life, Grover cleared the air when asked about the controversy saying that Sharma had no problem with him venturing into films. He said that the promotion was cancelled after one of the actors in the movie (Zakir Hussain) did not have the dates. Yes, the promotion of Coffee With D on The Kapil Sharma Show is not happening. However, Kapil did not refuse it. Anything of that sort did not happen. Kapil did not say a No, Grover added. Earlier there were reports that the filmmakers had received threat calls from the underworld, and lodged a complaint at the Parliament Street Police Station in Delhi. "We have been receiving calls from a man claiming to be the right hand of Dawood, Chota Shakeel," director Vishal Mishra had said in a statement. "We are law abiding citizens and stay in a democratic country. We haven't done anything wrong in making the film on Dawood and will maintain that," the statement said. But later the sam day , Grover clarified that he was not filing a complaint against anybody and all reports related to it were 'fake'. Grover, who is playing the lead role in the upcoming film clarified this on his Twitter account. "I am not in Delhi. I am not filing any complaint against anybody. It's a fake news (sic)," he wrote. RP Meena, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, told IANS: "We have not registered an FIR in this connection on their allegations. Their complaint is being studied for further course of investigation if needed." Though Grover said he is not going to file any police complaint, it is still not clear if the actor actually got any threat calls. The recording handed over to the police, however, clearly mentions Grover's name. Coffee With D revolves around the story of a journalist who attempted to fix an appointment with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. The movie is the first release of 2017 and is slated to hit the screens on Friday. With inputs from IANS Deepika Padukone has put all speculations to rest as she has confirmed that her xXx: Return of Xander Cage co-star Vin Diesel will come to India to promote her Hollywood debut film. Padukone was ecstatic when she announced that the action-packed ensemble will release first in India, just like John Favreau's fantasy adventure The Jungle Book and Ron Howard's suspense thriller Inferno. xXx: Return of Xander Cage is slated to release on 14 January, a week before it hits the theatres worldwide. As the icing on the cake, Padukone has now confirmed that Hollywood star Diesel, who plays the lead in the film, will be in India for a couple of days before the release to promote their film. She shared her excitement on Twitter with an adorable message in Hindi for her co-star, stating how India cannot wait to host Diesel on 12 and 13 January, immediately prior to the release of their film in the country. , ! , ! ! pic.twitter.com/VYqJ76WkjG Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) January 3, 2017 While there are no details available on their promotional plan for those two days yet, there were rumours that the two will share the couch on filmmaker Karan Johar's chat show Koffee with Karan Season 5. What Deepika did reveal, however, were their promotional plans in the other side of the world. While leaving India on 1 January, she announced that they will kick-start the promotional tour in Mexico. Now that she has announced that Diesel will be heading to India to promote the film, it is sure to make her Hollywood debut all the more special. xXx: Return of Xander Cage is the third installment of the xXx franchise. It is directed by DJ Caruso and also stars Samuel L. Jackson, Tony Jaa, Ruby Rose and Donnie Yen among others. Padukone plays the role of an Indian agent Serena Unger. She will be seen in an action avatar and romancing Diesel, who plays the titular character of Xander Cage. Disney could potentially receive a $50 million insurance payout for the death of Carrie Fisher, according to a report by Insurance Insider. According to the report, Disney had taken out $50mn of contract protection cover as insurance in the event that Fisher was unable to fulfil her obligations to act in the new Star Wars films. Fisher, who passed away on 27 December last year has finished shooting for the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VIII, which is due to release in December this year but the production on Episode IX has still not started. Lloyd's (London), from whom the police was bought by Disney, might soon be paying out the market's biggest ever single personal accident insurance claim. The American actress, best-selling author and screenwriter, was a member of Hollywood royalty, both on screen and off. Fisher is best remembered as the headstrong Princess Leia in the original Star Wars in 1977, her hair styled in futuristic braided buns. She reprised the role in Episode VII of the series, Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015, and her digitally rendered image appears in the newest instalment Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. In the past 15 years, Fisher appeared as a television guest star, perhaps most memorably as a has-been comedy legend on 30 Rock. She also supplied the voice of a recurring character on the animated Family Guy for the past decade. With inputs from agencies Anshu Jain, former CEO of Deutsche Bank whose long and distinguished career there ended on a sour note in 2015, has finally come out of hibernation with reports suggesting he has taken up the position of president at the US-based financial services firm, Cantor Fitzgerald LP. According to reports, Jain's deep knowledge of global capital markets and strong expertise, will be used extensively to grow the firm's businesses. "Anshu has a proven track record as a pioneer and builder of leading global businesses. He has a deep understanding of the global capital markets, and strong expertise built over decades of leadership in the industry, making Anshu my ideal partner to drive growth during the next era of Cantor's development. We expect to leverage Anshu's global outlook, unrivalled experience and deep network to further grow our firm," The Economic Times reported quoting CFLP CEO Howard Lutnick. The New York-based CFLP has over 10,000 employees for serving their clients across 100 locations. The company's businesses are divided into four verticals -- capital markets and investment banking, wholesale financial brokerage, real estate brokerage and finance, and private equity. The 53-year-old Jain will assume his new post in the coming weeks and work from London, according to a company spokeswoman, a Mint report said. The financial services firm wants to cash in on Jain's experience of handling several investment products across Europe, and plans to grow its investment banking business in the region. "We have a great fixed-income business in America, but well expand the number of products in which well do business with our clients. In Europe, well grow our investment banking business, taking Cantor Fitzgerald into the next level. And the firm aims to grow in Asia," Mint report said quoting Lutnick. Bumpy ride at Deutsche Bank Earlier, Jain had a somewhat bumpy ride at Deutsche Bank. Having started his career at the German bank in 2002, Jain helped the bank set up a specialized unit focusing on hedge funds and institutional derivative coverage. During his tenure, Deutsche Bank reported first quarter net revenues of 9 billion euro in April 2010 of which the corporate and investment bank contributed net revenues of 6.6 billion euro, up from 4.9 billion euro in the first quarter 2009. Following his star performance, Jain was appointd as Co-CEO of Deutsche Bank on 25 July, 2011. However, things turned for the worse during his four-year stint and the bank was forced to pay huge penalties in several countries because of allegations of interest manipulation. Also, the bank pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the US, leading to a depressed share price for several years. Finally, on 7 June, 2015, Jain resigned from his position at Deutsche Bank, after he and his fellow executives received a much lower support from the shareholders at the company's AGM. The all-powerful GST Council headed by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will meet on Tuesday (today), the representatives of six crucial sectors, including IT, telecom, banking and insurance, to assess the implementation hurdles under the new GST regime. Also, a presentation will be made by sector representatives of Civil Aviation and Railways at the two-day GST Council meeting that begins in New Delhi on Tuesday, officials said. Software association NASSCOM, which is also scheduled to meet the GST Council, will voice its concerns over issues such as tax treatment of software, and also make a case for single registration under the new GST regime. "We support the introduction of GST but the implementation of GST should not complicate the business operations of IT companies," said R Chandrashekar, President of NASSCOM. He said the software association would express concerns with regard to GST implementation during the meeting with the Council on Tuesday. The software associations concerns pertain to areas like classification of software, import of services from related parties, and taxation rules based on location of receiving services. Stating that the first draft of the GST law had classified all 'intangibles' as services thereby ensuring a uniform tax rate, the revised law removed the clarification. "This could lead to a situation where software classification can be disputed even under the GST regime. Electronic downloads should be treated as services as the majority practice prevalent globally," according to NASSCOM's recent representation to the Revenue Department. NASSCOM also contends that revisions in the draft GST law does not facilitate offering a single interface for overseas/domestic clients in cases where large service contracts are supplied to multiple client sites from single or multiple delivery centres. Also, the revised draft potentially makes onsite services delivered overseas at customer site liable to payment of GST, followed by a refund which blocks capital and complicates the transaction, it added. "This will therefore imply that onsite services are imported into India, GST discharged, and then exported, and the GST paid on the onsite service then filed for refund additional unnecessary transactions for companies which operate in a Branch office model, and associated compliance and working capital troubles," NASSCOM said. It is also of the view that the legislation should clearly provide for centralised registration of central taxes of IGST (Integrated GST) and CGST (central GST), which is within the central governments power itself. The GST Council among other things will deliberate on the issue of jurisdiction of assessees in the new regime. This will be the eighth meeting of the Council since it met for the first time on September 22, 2016. At the end of the last meeting of the Council on December 23, Jaitley said that the Council has made a 'reasonable headway' on supporting legislations and a discussion on Integrated GST law will take place in the next meeting. The dual control over assessees is also part of the Integrated GST legislation that Parliament needs to pass before the new regime is rolled out. The stumbling block in the GST rollout is the issue of dual control issue which deals with which taxpayers should be controlled by the Centre and who should be governed by the states after a single tax will replace levies like central excise, service tax and VAT. States like West Bengal and Kerala are unrelenting on their position of being given right to control all assessees with up to Rs 1.5 crore annual turnover. Cautioning Infosys employees that the road ahead is long and not easy, company CEO Vishal Sikka has stressed the importance of automation and warned against "lackadaisical" attitude towards greater value creation. In his New Year message to the employees, he said by achieving all that they set out to do, Infosys can be a force powering the purposeful evolution of our world. "We must remember that operational excellence is an imperative for each one of us. We must focus on delivering the best solutions in the smartest, fastest way possible, and not give up or give in to weaker instincts," Sikka has said in a letter to employees. "Often teams deliver only what is told without going beyond the given scope and with a lackadaisical attitude towards greater value creation.This can no longer be the case." He noted that teams have begun to understand and execute on the duality of automation and innovation and to bring value to clients "not just mechanically execute the jobs we are handed," adding, "there is a long way to go, and the road ahead is long and not easy." He said "the mountains ahead are tall ones. But there is no other way but to get there and go...If we don't, we will be made obsolete by the tidal wave of automation and technology-fueled transformation that is almost upon us." "On the other hand, if we do achieve all that we set out to do, we can be that one force powering the purposeful evolution of our world. The world where our AIs may make us more successful, but also more human....." he added. Sikka took over as CEO and Managing Director of the country's second largest IT firm in August 2014. In February, 2016, his tenure was extended by nearly two years till March 2021, saying his initiatives have helped the company move towards reclaiming its industry leadership position. New Delhi: Developments in political arena, coupled with "forces that want to shape the world into a place of exclusion, conflict and suspicion" have raised questions and obstacles on the path to a "better world" in the past year, IT czar and philanthropist Azim Premji said. In a letter to Wipro employees, Premji urged them to increase their commitment to others and find common ground rather than focussing on conflicts. "On the eve of the coming New Year, I must say that the year 2016, seems to have raised questions and obstacles, on the path to a better world, which cannot be ignored. These questions have arisen from developments in the political arena, from the fast unfolding environmental crisis and from forces that want to shape the world into a place of exclusion, conflict and suspicion," he wrote in his letter. He further said: "Once we start addressing these issues head on rather than ignoring them, I am confident that we will continue to make progress". Year 2016 saw two major developments -- Britain voting to leave the European Union and Donald Trump winning the US presidential election. Both the events have raised concerns for Indian IT firms, that now fear a more protectionist stance could come into these markets that together account for as much as 80 percent of the sector's export revenues. Premji highlighted four principles that can help people make a difference. "We must find common ground, rather than focussing on conflicts. The reality of the world is that there will always be disagreement and differences between people, but finding common ground is the only way of moving forward. This is as true in business as in politics and social issues, and as true in personal as in public life," he said. He added that the importance of Wipro's success has become manifold as this enables the possibility of making a difference to some of the most disadvantaged people in the world. About 40 per cent of Wipro is owned by a philanthropic trust that works to improve conditions in Indian villages. Premji said one must have genuine concern for others and respect all human beings equally and this must manifest in action. "We must recognise that societies, economies, and the environment are all deeply connected. Individual human beings and people find meaning in this connectedness, not in separation and isolation...So every effort of ours to find solutions and to find meaning, must strengthen this connectedness," he advised the employees. Lastly, he said it is important to have the courage to persevere for "what is right and what is good". He said he meets people from all walks of life who are battling the most complex challenges, yet are unyielding in their efforts and positivism. "This is what I see across the world, from San Francisco to Tokyo, all places that I go to, I meet people with the same spirit and fire. That includes an uncountable number of Wiproites. And that is why I am full of hope for a better world, a more just, equitable, humane and sustainable world. I know that if we persevere, we will prevail," he said. New Delhi: India's steel ministry wants lower import taxes on a number of key steelmaking raw materials, including nickel, to protect the domestic industry from the rising costs of basic resources, a senior government official said on Tuesday.Finance Minister Arun Jaitley could announce some of these measures when he presents his annual budget for the 2017/18 fiscal year on Feb. 1. The finance ministry could even scrap the current 5 percent import duty on nickel, largely used in stainless steel production, Aruna Sharma, the top civil servant at the steel ministry, told Reuters."Nickel is not present in India at all, so our argument is there is no point in having the customs import duty on it. There is a case to do away with it," Sharma said. The ministry has also sounded out the government about lower dividend payouts by state-owned companies, including Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), the biggest steel producer, due to their poor financial health, Sharma said. India's steel sector, which accounts for 1.3 trillion rupees ($19.06 billion) of bad debt in the banking sector, is likely to get some relief from banks working on a proposal, Sharma said, without giving details. "A formula has been worked out by the banking system. Now, it is between individual banks and companies engaged in the talks. This will help relieve the stress a little bit," she said.Sharma ruled out an earlier proposal from banks that involved SAIL taking over the assets of a debt-laden company. Also, the steel ministry has sought an allocation of about 400 million rupees in the budget for the 2017/18 fiscal year, more than double than in the previous fiscal year. "We need the modern, latest technology. And that's why next year we'll spend almost the entire budgetary allocation for research," Sharma said.Separately, Sharma said South Korean steel maker Hyundai Steel had shown interest in investing in India. "Hyundai Steel is also looking at us, (for) investing here. We've told them that there will be a preference to manufacture in India," Sharma said alluding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pledge to establish industries in India.Last month Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh told Reuters Japan and South Korea were keen to invest in India's steel sector and their officials had already met with him. For full coverage of Union Budget 2017 click here. Our old friend Reese Erlichs most recent book, Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect, just came out in paperback and hell be speaking at UCLA on January 19. Im planning on attending and I hope youll make it as well if youre in the area. Meanwhile, he wrote a fascinating piece that will give you some idea about what a reality-based Trump administration would be confronting in the Middle East while Reese is speaking in Westwood. Enjoy (copyright 2016): I speak about the Middle East to people of various political persuasions around the US, from leftist college students to conservatives on AM radio talk shows. Most Americans are wary of further US military intervention in the region and ask intelligent questions about this very complicated topic. But I inevitably run into people advocating conspiracy theoriesfrom both the left and right. Conspiracy theories, although seemingly quite radical and anti-government, actually divert attention from the very real evils that exist in the region. Here are six of the most common myths: 1. The US created the Islamic State Some leftists argue that the US created al-Qaeda in order to fight the USSR in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Now it's done the same with the Islamic State (ISIS or IS) in order to sow dissention in Iraq and Syria. The theory got even wider credence when Donald Trump declared that President Barak Obama was the "founder" of IS and "the co-founder was crooked Hilary Clinton." Ah, where to start? The US didn't create either al-Qaeda or the Islamic State. Yes, the US backed the most right-wing mujahedeen in Afghanistan in the 1980s. But those reactionaries, some of whom later formed al-Qaeda, always had their own agenda. They took money and arms from the US while planning to attack the US and its allies at a later time. The Islamic State, then known as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), formed in Iraq as one of the many groups fighting the 2003 US occupation. The US and Iraqi Sunnis defeated AQI militarily in the 2007 Anbar surge. AQI regrouped, moved to Syria, and emerged as IS in 2014. The US has been bombing IS since 2014 and is organizing ground assaults on IS-controlled cities in Iraq and Syriahardly the sign of an alliance. The US occupation of Iraq laid the political basis for the formation of IS but did not create it. 2. The US was the secret instigator of all the Arab Spring uprisings. A few journalists and book authors on the left point to the failures of the Arab Spring and that most regimes in the region remain pro-US. They argue that the US instigated the Arab Spring demonstrations in order to emerge a stronger power at the end of the day. One commentator even claims the US had planned the Arab Spring five years in advance. Funny, that's not what almost everyone said at the beginning of 2011. When the people of Tunisia rose up and young people occupied Tahrir Square in Cairo, leftists and progressives correctly argued that these were immensely popular movements against local dictators and US domination. Even Iran's clerical rulers tried to take credit for the uprisings, calling Egypt an "Islamic Liberation Movement." The two main actors who opposed the Arab Spring were al-Qaeda, which had no visible support at the time, and the US government. Vice President Biden expressed strong US support for Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak just a few days before he fell from power. It's often forgotten now, but Arab Spring demonstrations continued for months throughout the region, and for years in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Are these demonstrators bravely protesting against US-allied regimes somehow instigated by the US? 3. The Syria uprising was not a popular movement but instead was instigated by the US in order to remove the anti-imperialist Assad. Not surprisingly, the Assad government makes this argument. It is surprising, however, that a small number of American leftists fall for it. Just a few weeks after the uprising began in Syria in March 2011, Assad called the demonstrators terrorists backed by Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the US. In reality, the protestors were a mixture of civil society activists and conservative political Islamists, the same combination of folks who rose up throughout the region. The Assad regime cracked down hard, beating, arresting, torturing and killing protestors. Although there had been scattered armed attacks from the beginning, armed conflict only became dominant towards the end of 2011 and early 2012. By 2014 extremists such as the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front and the Islamic State came to dominate the armed opposition. Assad cheerleaders argue that he is an anti-imperialist and a key player in the "Resistance Front," consisting of countries that support the Palestinians and oppose Israel. There's only one problem with that claim. Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank don't support Assad. Hamas, the party controlling Gaza, broke with Assad and backed the popular uprising starting in 2011. Fatah and the PLO, the dominant forces in the West Bank, are officially neutral but have a long history of conflict with the Assad family. Hafez al-Assad, the current president's father, jailed PLO activists and tried to replace Yasser Arafat with a pro-Syrian leader. Bashar al-Assad never allowed the PLO to organize within Syria. Of course, the US, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Turkey have all armed rebel groups, including extremists such as the IS. They each seek to install a government in Syria favorable to their views. But being attacked by imperialists and their allies doesn't make you an anti-imperialist. 4. Iran is the number one state sponsor of terrorism in the world. This falsehood is promoted by many leading politicians in the US as well as by the rulers of Saudi Arabia and other Arab dictatorships. They argue that Iran supports Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi movement in Yemen, along with Shia insurgents in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. James "Mad Dog" Mattis, Trump's nominee for Secretary of State, even claims that Iran cooperates with the Islamic State in a common terrorist campaign against the US. Iran certainly asserts its political and military presence in the region, seeking to lead an anti-US/anti-Israeli alliance stretching from Lebanon through Syria, Iraq, Bahrain and Yemen. The Iran-backed groups are conservative political Islamists (mostly Shia) who engage in armed struggle, but they have genuine popular support. Hezbollah, for example, is both part of the ruling coalition in the Lebanese Parliament and an armed militia. Some of the groups have used terrorist tactics, such as intentionally blowing up civilians, but they are not the same as terrorist groups such as the Islamic State. As for Mad Dog's assertions, he's simply creating a conspiracy myth. The Islamic State has attempted to launch terrorist attacks inside Iran, and Iran is fighting the IS in both Iraq and Syria. Mad Dog's misinformation campaign seeks to lump together everyone opposed to US policy into one block and gin up popular support for an eventual military attack on Iran. Saudi Arabia is a far bigger supporter of terrorist groups than Iran. It supports the Al Qaeda affiliated Syrian Conquest Front (formerly al Nusra) and backs terrorist groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan, including the Taliban. But since Saudi Arabia is key to US oil interests and a military ally, by definition, it can't be listed as a state sponsor of terrorism. 5. The US intentionally creates failed states like Libya in order to keep the region in turmoil. Advocates of this view look at conditions in Libya today, the result of US and European intervention, and say that the US always intended to create a failed state. That view doesn't square with reality. The US, France, Britain, and other Western powers became involved in Libya, in large part, because of its oil. Those countries wanted to overthrow dictator Muammar Gaddafi in order to keep Libyan oil flowing over the long run on terms favorable to Western oil companies. Yet today Libya has almost completely stopped exporting oil, leading to an estimated 8.3% drop in GDP, according to a World Bank report. Since when do imperialist countries conspire to cut off their own oil supplies? In reality, the US and its allies implemented a series of plans aimed at reestablishing Western domination of Libyabut they keep failing. Plan A: Use Western air superiority to help pro-Western rebels quickly overthrow Gaddafi. Failure #1: the quick overthrow lasted almost eight months. Plan B: Find a former government official friendly to Washington to install as strongman and hold elections that US-backed parties would surely win. Failure #2: US-backed Mahmoud Jibril became interim prime minister, but he lasted only seven months. The parliament has little popular support. Plan C: Using the CIA, find militia groups willing to ally with the US. Failure #3: the CIA attempted to make alliances with various militias, but those efforts blew up during the infamous attack on the Benghazi CIA annex in 2012, resulting in the death of the US ambassador. The US certainly carried out policies that resulted in a failed state, but that was not the goal. 6. The Bush administration planned the 9/11 attacks in order to further repression and start wars in the Middle East. This one is the granddaddy of all modern conspiracy theories, promulgated by both the left and right. Even right-wing populist and former president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, gave credence to the view. The theory attracts support because the US has engaged in false flag operations in the past, for example, trying to blame communists for the 1953 CIA coup in Iran. I won't spend time debunking the phony assertions that the World Trade Center was wired with explosives in advance. The editors of Popular Mechanics have done an excellent job criticizing that and many other falsehoods. Please consider a major flaw that is rarely discussed, the attack on the Pentagon. 9/11 Truthers claim the US fired a missile into the Pentagon, as seen by the cylindrical shaped destruction of the building. This is consistent with the assertion that government operatives, not al-Qaeda hijackers, caused the devastation in New York. Well, in fact, thousands of commuters on Washington DC freeways saw the airplane descending towards the Pentagon. An AP news photo showed part of the airplane fuselage sitting on the front lawn of the Pentagon that day. And, if a missile had hit the Pentagon, what happened to American Airlines #77 that left Dulles Airport that morning? Well, answer some 9/11 Truthers, it was forced to land at a secret location and all the passengers were gassed to death. Think of the omniscient power of the conspirators! The Bush administration did not plan 9/11, but it did take full advantage of America's anger and fear. It used 9/11 to invade and occupy Afghanistan and Iraq, pass the repressive Patriot Act, and engage in widespread torture and abuse in Guantanamo and secret CIA sites scattered around the world. That's reason enough to oppose the US government. Conspiracy theories simply divert attention from the government's real crimes. All of the conspiracy advocates share a common methodology. They look at the situation as it exists after the fact and then create a fictional narrative showing that today's crisis was planned all along. They overestimate the power of the US empire while underestimating the power of ordinary people to make change. If the Bush Administration murdered almost 3,000 people on 9/11 and successfully covered it up, how can we possibility fight back? If the US-created Arab Spring caused chaos, why should anyone rise up against their oppressors? Pardon me for my optimism. But I don't believe in conspiracy theories and still believe in the power of ordinary people to make fundamental change. The year 2017 started on a bizarre note. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared his lofty vision of a Digital India, the women of the country were given a lesson on Indian culture, how to dress appropriately and how you ask for it every time you go out without male company and are made to realise that nothing has changed for them. Three days after a few women were molested during the New Year's eve, Samajwadi Party party leader Abu Azmi shared some crispy nuggets of wisdom. Sample this: "Agar meri behen-beti suraj dubne ke baad gair mard ke sath 31 December manaye aur uska bhai/pati uske sath nahi hai ye theek nahi hai (If my sister or daughter goes out with another man to celebrate the New Year and her father or husband is not with them, do you think she will be safe? I don't think so.) That's not all, he came up with a rather strange analogy to describe or rather find an excuse for the predatory behaviour in men: Agar kahin petrol hoga aur aag aaegi to aag lagegi hi. Shakkar giri hogi to cheeti wahan zarur aaegi (Petrol will always attract fire. If there is sugar, then there will be ants). In case, you are a tad bit confused, the women are being compared to sugar and men are ants. Typical of our politicians, instead of addressing the elephant in the room, Home Minister Rajnath Singh issued rather a vague statement: "Protecting the modesty of women is an important issue in the country." Whatever modesty means. Of course, there is nothing new in women or girls being compared to strange objects, sometime even food. Remember the nursery rhymes: What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice and all things nice, Thats what little girls are made of. But then Azmi need not look very far. High-quality lyrics from Bollywood songs provide inspiration: "Main to tanduri main to tanduri murgi hoon yaar Gatkale saiyan alcohol se" For Azmi, FP Special Forces have come up with some more analogies to describe women. - Without men, women are like fries without mustard. - If women are Penthouse Letters, then men are self-help books (that's where the mansplaining comes from). - Women are like cellphones and men are the uninformative, overeager telemarketers. - Women are polar bears of North Pole and men are albatrosses of South Pole (because yin-yang?). - If women are the bridemaids, then men are the DJs belting out 'gandi baat' (because sanskar). - Men are like Brussels sprouts and the women are like mirchi bhajji (they always ask for it). - Women are like LCD screens and men are like the remotes. - Women are sentences, men are prepositions - Women are like fried fish and men are like ice cream. They don't belong together. We can go on all day with this. Luckily for you, we won't. Okay one more: Women are like dental floss and men are like apple parings. What do you mean it's a ridiculous comparison? Men like Abu Azmi will not make sense, women will remain incredulous and the sky will continue to be blue. New Delhi: The controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has been extended for another six months in Nagaland, an official said on Tuesday. "The Union Home Ministry in a notification on December 30, extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958, in the entire area of Nagaland for another six months," a Nagaland home department official said. The notification issued by the Home Ministry's Joint Secretary Satyendra Garg said that the Centre was of the opinion that the area comprising the entire state of Nagaland was in such a "disturbed and dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary". Rights groups, various civil societies and political parties, specially the tribal-based parties in Northeastern states described the law as "draconian" and have been demanding its withdrawal as the act gave huge powers to the Army and para-military forces to conduct operations anywhere in the disturb areas without any prior notice. Besides Nagaland, the AFSPA is also in force in Manipur (excluding the Imphal Municipal Council area), some parts of Assam and in several districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Manipur's Irom Sharmila Chanu was on hunger strike since 2000 demanding the repeal of the Act. She however, withdrew the strike in August 2016. The Left-ruled Tripura in May 2015 had withdrawn the AFSPA which gave sweeping powers and judicial immunity to security forces in conflict-hit areas. The law was enforced in the state 19 years ago to curb terrorism. The central government, various political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress hailed the Tripura government's decision. The Centre and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) had entered into a ceasefire agreement in August 1997. Around 60 rounds of talks were held to end the insurgency that was said to have claimed 25,000 lives since 1947. The central government had also appointed interlocutor R.N. Ravi to continue the peace process with the NSCN (IM). The NSCN (IM) has been fighting for an independent Nagaland for over six decades. But since the peace talks began, it has scaled down the demand to a "Greater Nagaland", including parts of three neighbouring states to unite areas inhabited by around 1.5 million Nagas. Three Northeastern states Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh have opposed the demand. Why blame Abu Azmi? Obviously, he is not the only person in India who thinks women in skimpy clothes are aphrodisiac for the sex-starved Indian male. The list of items that can stimulate sexual desire in the men of our country is endless. From wearing lipstick to high-heeled footwear to eating chow mein to short dresses to sporting unusual hairstyles to using mobiles to moving in the company of anyone other than father or brother, anything that a woman does can excite men and inspire them to rape or molest her. With such a ready bouquet of justifications available for a sexually perverse conduct, it is obvious women are unsafe everywhere. We have them getting sexually assaulted everywhere, from a public place in Bengaluru to crowded streets or secluded parks elsewhere. It does not surprise when people like Azmi find fault with women. He even compared women with sugar and fire and said it was natural that these items would attract ants and petrol. Not long ago a prominent political leader had brushed aside the sexual assaults on women saying "boys will be boys". After the 31 December incident, Karanataka's Home Minister G Parameshwara reportedly said "such things do happen". The mindset is so pervasive and deeply entrenched that it's pointless wasting time slamming their remarks. We have been at it for decades. But the problem has not gone away because mindsets don't change easily. The worst part is, it has not helped the cause of women's safety. They continue to face sexual assaults, cases of which are getting more brazen by the day. How does one explain the act of perverts at a public gathering in Bengaluru in the presence of 1,500 policemen? It is high time the point of public debate in this matter shifted from berating the mindset to practical steps to prevent such happenings. Once a victim is created, the psychological trauma she undergoes is immeasurable. The loss to her dignity and sense of self-worth is almost impossible to retrieve. Harsh punishment to a culprit in a rape case is fine, but it hardly is justice to the victim. The best way to approach the issue is to focus on the preventive aspects. But we are just too lazy to go there. How come we never discuss the need for better policing? Four years after the 16 December gang rape of a para-medical student, which caused great uproar and moral outrage in the country, nothing much has changed in Delhi. Similar cases with varying degrees of goriness keep hitting the headlines in a depressing matter of routine. The visibility of police on the streets and elsewhere has not improved neither has the general level of safety. The situation is no better in other parts of the country. The political class which is supposed to be accountable is under no real pressure to deliver on real safety. Every time women activists come on television blaming the anti-woman patriarchal society and the traditional male mindset for all the troubles faced by women, one gets baffled by their tendency to dwell on generalities and inability to offer solutions that would help. Can you change patriarchy? No. Does the patriarchal mindset make most Indian men potential rapists? People like Azmi may have their own bizarre understanding of the issue most grandparents in Indian homes would have a similar view but does that make them villains per se? What we are dealing with here is actual criminals who need to be treated with the tough hand of the law. While they need to be made afraid of the consequences of their actions, the real accountability for their actions should be on policemen. Why not, for a change, take to task the policemen at the spot in Bengaluru who failed to perform their job? A strong public demand to this effect and a few policemen behind bars would set an example. Catching the perverts alone won't serve the purpose of women's safety. The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Tuesday issued notices to Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara and Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi for allegedly making sexist comments regarding the molestation of women by a mob on New Year's Eve. NCW Chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam said while notices were issued to Parameshwara and Azmi, a letter was sent to the Karnataka government on Monday to know about the action taken in the molestation case. "We have asked the minister to explain his statement and tender a public apology, failing which we will take further action. We have given him five days to reply," Kumaramangalam told IANS. The Karnataka Home Minister, however, said that his comments were interpreted out of context by the media and and was not taken in its entirety, according to ANI. As the perpetrators are yet to be nabbed, Parameshwara also urged the people to come forward with any information on them and promised to take suo moto action in the case. A mob of drunken men groped women and heckled revellers on 31 December night on the MG Road and Brigade Road in the heart of Bengaluru. On Tuesday, Azmi said: "It was bound to happen. Women call nudity a fashion. They were wearing short dresses." Azmi is said to have commented that women were like "sugar" and men were like ants, and compared women with petrol. "If there is petrol, there will be fire. If there is sugar, ants will come," he reportedly commented. Parameshwara is said to have blamed the "western ways" of the youngsters for the molestation. He said it was not uncommon for crowds of women to be molested in the city on Christmas and New Year's Eve. The minister was also reported to have said that "these kinds of things do happen". "They try to copy the West, not only in their mindset but even in their dressing. So some disturbance; some girls are harassed; these kind of things do happen," the minister said. Mumbai: The special court for NIA cases here today allowed the prosecution to rely on 'secondary evidence' in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, as some of the important documents were not available with the investigating agency. "The court allowed us to lead with secondary evidence," special public prosecutor Avinash Rasal said. NIA told the court that statements of some of the witnesses and some confessional statements were untraceable. With the court allowing use of secondary evidence, the prosecution can now rely on copies available with the defence lawyers and the court registry when citing these statements, Rasal said. Twin blasts at Malegaon in North Maharashtra on 29 September, 2008, killed seven people and injured around 100 others. The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that seeking votes in the name of religion during polls is illegal. PTI reported that the Supreme Court in a majority verdict, held that any appeal for votes on the ground of religion amounts to corrupt practices under electoral laws. Read the full text of the Supreme Court ruling here: Abhiram Singh v c Commachen by Firstpost on Scribd In a bizarre incident, a Special Task Force of the Hyderabad police on Sunday arrested a man for growing ganja (cannabis) at his residence in Hyderabad, reported The Times of India. The police also seized 40 pots of weed and 8.6 kilogrammes of ganja, from Syed Shahed Hussain's residence in Manikonda area in Hyderabad. The 33-year-old former bank employee was caught when he was selling ganja to a customer at Telangana's Golconda, the report added. According to a News18 report, Hussain learnt to grow ganja indoors through internet videos after being advised to do so by his American friend Christopher. What makes this raid interesting is the fact that Hussain's three-BHK falt had all the facilities to allow cannabis to grow indoors, including LED lights to ensure artificial light, table fan for regulating air flow and chemicals like phosphorous, potassium, cocofibre pith, flora pellet, aquasol, aquadene and cay stones to help achieve better quality of the banned substance, various reports noted. Chennai: By day, Arvind Venkatraman works as a software engineer in India's tech hub Chennai. But in his spare time, he is an international art detective whose efforts have helped bring back some of his country's most valuable antiquities. Venkatraman is part of a group of art enthusiasts known as the India Pride Project (IPP) who are using Facebook and other social media to identify religious artefacts stolen from temples around the country and secure their return. Art theft is big business all over India. But the richest pickings are in Venkatraman's home state of Tamil Nadu, where centuries-old religious artefacts with huge potential sale values in the West lie largely unprotected in out-of-the-way rural temples. Two years ago, the IPP claimed a significant victory when the National Gallery of Australia returned a $5 million bronze statue of the Hindu god Shiva that had been stolen from a Tamil Nadu temple. At first Venkatraman says the gallery, which is now suing the Manhattan dealership that sold it the statue, was reluctant to entertain the idea that its purchase was stolen. So the IPP organised a social media campaign using images comparing the stolen idol with the one on display at the museum. "Initially typically there is a denial," he told AFP in Chennai. "Whether it's Australia, Europe, Singapore or the US, initially there will be resistance from the museum curators... because they've spent a lot of money and they wouldn't want to let go of an object." The idol is among those allegedly trafficked by Subhash Kapoor, a former Manhattan art dealer who was the subject of a massive US federal investigation known as Operation Hidden Idol. Kapoor was arrested in Germany in 2012 and is now on trial in India, accused of conspiring in the theft, trafficking and sale of religious idols. He denies all charges. Many of the antiquities he dealt in dated back to the 11th and 12th centuries, when the Chola dynasty presided over a flourishing of Hindu art in Tamil Nadu. 'Easy prey' "This operation went on for many years," said Prateep V Philip, who heads Tamil Nadu's Idol Wing India's only police team dedicated to tackling art theft. "He (Kapoor) was himself not on the scene, but he was the mastermind." Philip said Kapoor won over the international art world by donating millions of dollars' worth of pieces to museums in the United States. He ran his own freight company in India, allegedly concealing priceless antiques among modern replicas. "Whenever a theft took place in the past, sometimes people were not even aware," said Philip, describing the thousands of small shrines that dot the state as "easy prey". "It would be a derelict temple only visited at certain times of the year. So when a theft took place it was discovered long after." This means much of India's stolen sacred art is never even registered as missing, allowing it to be bought and sold on the international market. Solving the puzzle Donna Yates, who lectures in antiquities trafficking at the University of Glasgow, said she was "absolutely flabbergasted" when it emerged the Australian gallery's statue was stolen. "If you'd asked me in 2011 (before Kapoor's arrest) whether this kind of thing was still possible, Id have said no. I believed the due diligence of museums had vastly improved," she said in a phone interview. Since the arrest, Washington has returned hundreds of artefacts recovered under Operation Hidden Idol to India. But idols are still disappearing. This year, Philip's team arrested an art dealer in Chennai after recovering hundreds of metal and stone statues of Hindu gods from a warehouse. Yates believes the grassroots work of the IPP in documenting cases of theft and bringing them to public attention is crucial and unmatched anywhere in the world. "The amount that theyve been able to do with zero resources is amazing. It has happened nowhere else," she said. The volunteers, who are all passionate about Indian art, go through old catalogues from auction houses, using any blemishes or imperfections to match lots with idols stolen from temples. Founded by two Singapore-based art enthusiasts, it now includes activists from all over the world. The work is unpaid, but Venkatraman says it is all worth it when an idol is returned to the temple it belongs in. "When finally the idol is restituted, the temple comes alive," he said. "It's a kind of cycle... Once that cycle is complete it's like saying, ok, the puzzle is finally solved." New Delhi: India is hopeful that China will agree with its position on getting Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar designated as a terrorist by the United Nations, said Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday. Interacting with the media, Singh said, "We still expect China to support our stand." On 30 December, China had blocked India's proposal to list JeM chief and Pathankot mastermind Masood Azhar as a designated terrorist by the UN, triggering a sharp reaction from New Delhi, which termed it as "unfortunate blow" and a step that confirms the prevalence of double standards in the fight against terrorism. India's proposal was submitted in February to the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council. A fresh listing request will be required for Azhar to be banned by the UN, officials had said. However, India had said it will continue to push forward with resolute determination "through the use of all options available with us to bring perpetrators of terrorist violence to justice". China had blocked India's proposal, citing lack of "consensus" on the issue. The ban would have forced an imposition of asset freeze and travel ban on him by countries, including Pakistan. China was the only member in the 15-nation UN body to put a hold on India's application, with the other 14 members supporting New Delhi's bid to place Azhar on the sanctions list. The Tunisian Islamic activist Anis Amri, responsible for the carnage at a Berlin Christmas market last month that killed dozens of innocent bystanders, was finally shot in Milan after he escaped to Italy. Luca Scata, the 29-year-old who killed Amri with surgical precision, shooting him dead after unprovoked firing from Amri on Scata's friend and colleague, Christian Movio. Amri, who was on the run after the Berlin massacre, had earlier served in Sicily between 2011-2015. His desperate bid to find refuge in his old turf proved fatal for him, as he was killed immediately by Scata. What's important here is the level of confidence shown by Scata, who was sure of his firing skills and reflexes and his determination to fight terror, leading him to take on the Berlin villain. He is repeatedly lauded and hailed by the Italian prime minister and home minister for his bravado. Now, had the dreaded and wanted terrorist chosen India instead of Italy, what would have been the outcome? Or the reaction? At best, the Indian immigration authorities would have stopped him at the airport, if they were alerted through a red corner notice issued by the Interpol. But can anybody imagine an Indian policeman showing the kind of reflexes Scata did in neutralising the terrorist? The answer is most likely a no. This is because we do not have sufficient sensitisation of different segments of our society to deal with such contingencies, let alone energetic and driven youth to carry out such an execution. Given the backdrop of growing Islamic terror in India, with incidents of radicalisation surfacing time and again, it would appear imperative to put a security system in place to deal with a piquant situation like this. But our police force is severely hard-pressed with routine law and order and crime control commitments and the pressure of work already visibly monstrous and onerous is majorly diverted towards VIP duties. Moreover, we have a large number of home guards, civil defence, scouts and guides, and allied semi-trained forces which should be activated without delay to address such situations, not only to neutralise terrorists but also to aid the civil police and paramilitary forces in maintaining law and order (like during the recent post demonetisation crises, involving serpentine queues at ATMs and banks). A bit of intelligence work and specialised arms' training will enable these inert assets handle situations with proficiency. Such a measure would add muscle to the already overworked and emaciated police force and also take the load off from their shoulders. In addition, the National Cadet Corps (NCC) also needs to play a more active role in maintaining order and meeting exigencies. It would seem today that not many students are keen to opt for the NCC. Upto a certain level, it should be made compulsory. Its training will instil much needed discipline and a sense of patriotism in the youth, letting them spot suspicious elements and anti-state activities and generate immense confidence to deal with terror-linked incidents, including the confidence to kill a wanted terrorist, as demonstrated by Scata in Milan. This confidence is what is lacking in India. The complex legal system could also possibly be a serious impediment, inhibiting youth from rising to the occasion. Such inhibitions must be done away with without any delay. What's also required is good training in various disciplines, a well thought out command structure, wherein there is a complement of the NCC, civil defence and home guards in each district, specifically under the district magistrate, always ready to meet any eventuality. Barely a few months ago, there was so much of war mongering on the other side of the border and jingoism was on the anvil because of the terror attacks from hostile quarters. External threats apart, even domestic political compulsions seemed to throw up a kind of civil unrest compounding our security challenges. Under these circumstances, such a visible arrangement involving NCC and civil defence being on board will boost a sense of security among the society as well, giving them the confidence to feel safe and secure, which was hitherto not too forthcoming. Also, police and paramilitary setups will feel professionally at ease now that they have a reasonably well-trained and specifically task-oriented dispensation to fall back upon to deal with extraordinary situations. Polity and society will also feel secure. Perhaps a governmental initiative at an appropriate level can start working to achieve this doable objective. The writer is a retired IPS officer, a security analyst, and senior fellow with the Indian Police Foundation. Samastipur: Unidentified gunmen on Tuesday shot dead a journalist at Salkhani village in the district, police said. Around five-six unidentified men opened fire at journalist Braj Kumar Singh, killing him on the spot, Samastipur SP Nawal Kishore Prasad Singh said. Singh was associated with a prominent Hindi daily. He also ran a brick kiln where he was shot dead by the gunmen. Though the reason behind the killing is yet to be ascertained, an old enmity is suspected to be the cause. Salkhani village falls under Bibhutipur police station, about 40 km from the Samastipur district headquarters. Earlier, Dharmendra Singh, a journalist of a prominent vernacular daily, was shot dead in Rohtas district in November 2016 apparently over his articles on illegal stone chips units. Hindi daily Hindustan's Siwan bureau chief Rajdeo Ranjan was shot dead in Siwan district in May 2016. The confrontation between the central government and the Supreme Court Collegium over the appointment of judges seems unlikely to be resolving anytime sooner. And the reason for that is likely to be a controversial list of 13 names for the Allahabad High Court that the Central government wants removed. According to reports, the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government Centre on Monday once again sought reconsideration of 13 names that the SC collegium had iterated in November for the Allahabad High Court, marking a departure from tradition, The Telegraph said. There has been a mutual squabbling between the NDA government and the judiciary over 550 vacancies in various high courts against the sanctioned strength of 1,041 after the Supreme Court struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission in October 2015. And while it was said to be an "ego" issue, latest reports have suggested that it's likely to be 13 names that the central government didn't want in the Allahabad high court. The Centre has approved all the names recommended by the collegium accept 13. The collegium had recommended around 151 names since February this year for the high courts. Of these, the Centre had cleared the appointment of 51 judges. On 11 November, the government sent back 43 the 77 names recommended by the collegium. A week later, the collegium iterated 37 of the 43 names. Traditionally, the Central government accepts the names suggested by the collegium, once it's iterated, but this time around, the central government has sought for some time before clearing the appointments. The request for reconsideration came in a hearing on Monday headed by Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud when the apex court asked Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi to explain the delay in carrying out an order issued in April last year to transfer a judge from the Gujarat High Court. Rohatgi then told the bench that the process is on..., adding, "Out of the 37 names reiterated, we have sent a fresh file today containing 13 names from Allahabad High Court for reconsideration as we have found some inconsistencies," The Asian Age reported. However, the real reason, says a Times of India report could be something else. According to the newspaper, these thirteen names are the reason behind the ongoing confrontation between the SC and the Narendra-Modi-led government. In January, Supreme Court Collegium had recommended only eight of the 19 advocates that were approved by the HC collegium, rejecting 11". There were some notable exclusions, which a source told the newspaper, did not go down well with the government. "In August, the SC collegium again recommended only 27 names out of 44 suggested by the Allahabad HC. Some of those rejected by the apex court collegium were relatives of former judges and politicians. Out of 30 advocates recommended by the Allahabad HC collegium, the apex court collegium considered only 19 while the rest were from the judicial service," the report said quoting a source. The Supreme Court and the central government have been at loggerheads, ever since the Supreme Court struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission, calling it unconstitutional in October 2015. The commission was brought to replace the 1993 collegium system for the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and the high courts allowing the executive to have a final say on the appointment of judges and not the judiciary which is the situation at the moment. The ongoing scuffle has prevented appointments as well transfer of old and new judges in high courts across India. Chief Justice of India TS Thakur had earlier blasted the central government for its lackadaisical attitude, stating that the government should rather "lock the courts" as the government's inaction is "decimating the institution (judiciary)". The apex court had earlier sought for a memorandum of the procedure (MoP) from the central government to improve the functioning of the collegium, however, it didn't agree with the first draft. The central government then submitted a second draft, which is, reportedly with the collegium. The disagreement over the MoP was thought to be the main reason behind the stand-off between the centre and the Supreme Court. Looking at the centre's attitude, the ugly confrontation between the judiciary and the executive over appointments to the higher judiciary might continue in 2017, however, the new revelations are likely to change the public perception of the matter. Mainstream politicians of the Kashmir Valley envy him for his oratory skills. To the children, youth, women and old men, he is the 'Freedom chacha', also known as the 'Pied Piper of Kashmir'. During the five months of civil uprising in Kashmir, 'Freedom chacha' managed to pull crowds wherever he went. His distinct style of sloganeering has proved to be a huge crowd puller even among women and children and that is why Sarjan Barkati, a popular Muslim cleric from south Kashmir, was slapped with the draconian Public Safety Act. He was arrested as he had become a 'threat to peace' in the eyes of the government which was unable to control the protests. Ironically, on Monday, when the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature convened for the Budget Session in Jammu, the Opposition members of the National Conference, Congress and Independent MLAs stormed the Well of the House, they were shouting the same slogans which earned Barkati an unending jail term. Yeh pellet-bullet na bhai nayeh Pava, shava na bai naPSA sarkar, na bhai na, the Opposition members shouted inside the House. Police says Barkati was instrumental in organising many anti-India rallies across villages and towns of south Kashmir. He popularised new forms of anti-India sloganeering. His videos went viral across Kashmir. His unique style earned him a huge following on social media before he was arrested in Anantnag on 1 October. Since then he has been at Kot-Balwal jail in Jammu. His popular slogans now seem to have influenced the state's legislators who used his antics inside the Assembly to corner the BJP-PDP government under whose rule close to hundred people were killed during the ongoing unrest. State Congress chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir told Firstpost on Monday that he was not aware of Barkati, but he said there was nothing wrong with the slogans which his colleagues raised inside the House. This is an apt slogan for this kind of situation. More than 90 people have been killed, over 15,000 have been injured, more than 500 blinded and thousands are in jails. If we don't seek answers from the government now, when then? he said. We are in the Opposition, managing the House is the government's job. Our issues are very clear. We want to know what steps this government took to stop the bloodshed. Why did the government fail to curb the protests, he added. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti rejected the Opposition's demand to set up an inquiry commission into the recent killings in the valley and took a jibe at the National Conference for rigging elections in early 90s which, she said, gave birth to militancy. "People who sowed seeds of secession by demanding plebiscite in the state also rigged elections in 1987 to give birth to militancy," she told the House. The State Legislative Assembly witnessed a massive uproar on the first day of the month-long Budget Session which started in Jammu on Monday. With the protests going on, Governor NN Vohra, who was delivering a speech, had left while the National Anthem was being played, prompting the BJP MLA from Nowshehra, Ravinder Ravi, to accuse Vohra of disrespecting the National Anthem. This government is without accountability and is careless towards people's miseries. How can we listen to the Budget speech when people are dying? The brutality is at its peak in Kashmir, National Conference MLA Ali Muhammad Sagar, said. Following the 2014 landmark Supreme Court judgment recognising transgenders as third gender, several organisations in Kerala came forward to bring the sexual minority to the mainstream of society by providing them employment. However, most of these programmes did not benefit the transgenders as they were not equipped to take up the jobs. Now, the transgenders have come forward to find a solution to the problem by opening an alternate learning centre in the states commercial capital of Kochi to train school dropouts to access the opportunities offered to them. The centre named Sahaj International School will help those who have dropped out of school to continue their education and appear for Class 10 and 12 examinations. The school with boarding facility will also provide soft skill training to the transgenders. The centre operated by Trans India Foundation in collaboration with National Institute for Open Schooling (NIOS) will initially have 10 transgender students. Noted transgender activist Vijayraja Mallika, who heads the school, told the Firstpost that they will admit more after reviewing the progress in the first three months. "We have selected six students from 14 applicants representing different sections of the transgender community. We have reserved one seat for female-to-male and one for the disabled. The others will be male-to-female persons. The school has arranged sponsors for all the students. They will pay for their food, accommodation and studies," Mallika said. The school has opted for teachers from the transgender community as a measure to give a sense of protection and encouragement to the transgenders, who faced discrimination in normal schools. The curriculum is designed to promote inclusive education that will make the transgenders eligible to find decent job and lead a dignified life, Mallika said. Transgenders have welcomed the initiative, saying it may help them get employment and become economically independent. A Anil, a board member of Sangama, an NGO fighting for the rights of sexual minorities, said transgenders in the state were unable to complete their education because of the hostile atmosphere they face in normal schools. A survey conducted among transgenders by the Social Justice Department of Kerala government found that 58 percent of transgender students dropped out before completing 10th grade (24 percent of transgender students drop out even before completion of 9th grade) due to harassment and gender related negative experiences at school. The school systems that promise to shelter and educate children neglected the transgender. Among those who had to leave school due to harassment, nearly half reported of having experienced negative environment even in their own homes. The survey showed that 78 percent transgender have not revealed their gender identity due to fear of discrimination. Anil told the Fristpost that transgenders were unable to get jobs in government and governmental organisations as the minimum qualification prescribed by them for even fourth grade jobs is Class 12. Though many government agencies have offered jobs to the transgender they have not relaxed the minimum qualification. The Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) had invited applications from TGs for various posts. However, only 36 were found educationally qualified for the advertised jobs. We dont know how many of them will finally pass the tests and be appointed, Anil said. The agency commissioned for recruiting employees for the Metro said that the minimum qualification for a job in the organisation was 10th pass. It also has jobs requiring degree qualification. The agency said that only those who have these basic qualifications will be appointed in KMRL. Anil said that unless KMRL relax the qualification its offer will remain on paper since majority of the transgenders in the state have not completed their education. He said that a Kerala government programme to introduce a taxi service to be run by the transgenders had also not taken off as they could not find enough transgenders with the required skills. He hoped that the Sahaj School may help the transgenders get not only educational qualification but also the skills required for accessing the opportunities offered to them by various agencies. However, Anil does not think this alone will end the woes of the transgenders. He said that many qualified transgenders were finding it difficult to get jobs suiting their skills. The Social Justice Department survey found that more than 70 percent of them had at least one experience of being denied job due to the gender. Even those who have got jobs were facing harassment at work places. The survey found that 89 percent reported of being mistreated at work places. Mallika said that the situation was the same for transgenders across the country. Even those occupying higher posts are not free from harassment. She pointed out that Dr Manabi Bandopadhyay, who was the first transgender in India to be appointed as a college principal, was forced to resign due to "non-cooperation" from a section of teachers and students. Dr Bandopadhyay, who was appointed as the Principal of Krishnagar Women's College at Nadia in West Bengal on 9 June, 2015 stepped out after a year-and-a-half in office. If this is the plight of a highly qualified person like Bandopadhyay, who had the full support of the local administration, we can imagine how lesser mortals will be treated. PGs will be able to get their rightful place in the society only when people change their mindset towards them, she added. Anil said that transgenders in Kerala were being discriminated in every aspect of life. He pointed out that the transgenders were not safe even in their homes. More than 30 percent of the 25,000 transgenders in the state reported mistreatment at homes. This has forced many transgenders to hide their sexual identity. The Kerala survey found that 51 percent transgenders had concealed their gender identity from their families because of the mistreatment. This was causing problems for the transgenders with their families forcing them to marry members of non-conforming gender. Two-thirds of the transgenders surveyed had been forced to marry women and one-fourth among them had children too. Though the Kerala was the first state in India to bring out a policy for transgenders, Anil said that none of the concerned departments had taken any step to implement the policy that was announced in November 2014. The policy aims to end the discrimination against transgenders, help them live with dignity and enjoy a life free from all forms of violence. It seeks to ensure that all government department and public authorities refrain from discriminating against transgenders and provide members of the community easy access to education, public transport, health, social security and other services. Parents who desert or abuse their gender non-conforming children will be punished, as will delinquent police officials guilty of human rights violations against transgenders. If these provisions are enforced, the woes of transgenders will end. Unfortunately, the transgenders have to go a long way to find a place of pride in the conservative Kerala society. Auto refresh feeds "He (Modi) has always wanted to use science and technology for the common man," he said. "Demonetisation has a lot of benefits...With the technology today, it is possible. Nowhere in the world is this happening but in India because of knowledge. Your smart phone is enough for any transaction," N Chandrababu Naidu said. Tirupati: PM Narendra Modi at the inauguration of the 104th Indian Science Congress at the Sri Venkateswara University pic.twitter.com/KEBgDz0Nec "The speed and scale of changes today are unprecedented," Modi said. "Tomorrow's experts will come from investments we make today in our people and infrastructure," he said. "The nation will always be grateful to the scientists who have worked to empower the society. In November 2016, the country lost one such eminent scientists Dr MGK Menon," he said. "I am happy to inaugurate this 104th session of the Indian Science Congress," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. "The oceans that surround the Indian peninsula have over 1300 islands...They contain enormous opportunities in energy, food, medicine and other natural resources," he added. "The ocean economy could be a significant dimension of our sustainable future," he said. "NITI Aayog is evolving a science and technology vision for the country," he said. "There is a need to develop technologies in servicing and manufacturing sectors," he added. "Some of the important challenges are in food, environment, water, climate security and health care," Modi said. "We need to keep an eye on disruptive technologies and check their growth," he added. One important area that needs to be addressed is the rapid global rise of Cyber-Physical Systems: PM Modi pic.twitter.com/4QXKc0mlqJ "If you want science to deliver, we must build a strong scientific infrastructure," he added. "We should involve foreign and NRI students in post-doctoral research," Modi said. "Our ministries, our scientists, our R&D institutions and IITs should work together seamlessly. Our infrastructure and socio-economic ministries must make appropriate use of technology," he said. "By 2030, India will be among the top three countries in science and technology. Science must meet the rising aspirations of the people," he said. Modi said that basic research needs to improve to match up to global standards. By 2030, India will be among the top three countries in science and technology: Modi The brightest and best in every corner of India should have the opportunity to excel in science: PM @narendramodi "We must create an environment for sharing of idea and resources. The brightest and best in every corner of India should have the opportunity to excel in science," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. Another empowering factor for scientific delivery is the Ease of Doing Science. If we want science to deliver, we must not constrain it: PM pic.twitter.com/9M9Xw7PB4r Seeding the power of ideas & innovation in schoolchildren will broaden the base of our innovation pyramid & secure future of our nation: PM "We must provide equal opportunities to the girl child," Modi added. "Seeding the power of innovation in school children will secure the future of our nation. As a step in this direction, ministry of science and technology is initiating a programme for students of Classes 6 to 10," Modi said. Modi talks about the importance of technology for children "For sustainable development, we must focus on waste-to-wealth management," said the prime minister. "Our strong scientific community can address our unique challenges. Can we find farmer-centric solutions for the problem of crop burning?" he said. "This technology should aim to convert agri and biowaste to energy to provide electricity," Modi said. "The role of science in governance has never been more important," said the prime minister. "We also need to develop local solutions and generate appropriate micro-industry products for local areas," Modi said. "We are also placing emphasis on the ties ith our neighbouring countries," he said. "I'm sure that our scientists will raise their efforts...Let science and technology become a strong tool of inclusive development," he said. "Our science teams have contributed strongly to the strategic vision of the nation. The Indian space programme has placed it in the top space-faring nations," said Modi. Let science and technology become a strong tool of inclusive development: Modi Tirupati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the five-day annual Indian Science Congress at the Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati on Tuesday. 'Science and Technology for National Development' will be the focal theme of the Indian Science Congress, Professor D Narayana Rao, general president of Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA), said. Minister of Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan tweeted: PM Modi to address104th #IndianScienceCongress at Sri Venkateswara UnivTirupati 3Jan17 at11 am-Science & technology for National Development Dr. Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) January 2, 2017 The main venue for the Science Congress is the Tarakarama Stadium in the university where the prime minister will address the gathering of eminent scientists including Nobel laureates, he said. Six Nobel Prize winners from different countries such as the US, Japan, Israel, France and Bangladesh will also take part in the event besides about 14,000 scientists and scholars from across the country, he said. The Nobel laureates would also be felicitated with gold medals by the prime minister at the ISC venue, he said. After his inaugural address, Modi, at a tea ceremony at the varsity, will hold a brief conference with about 50 people, including the Nobel laureates, eminent Indian scientists, other dignitaries and top officials, he said. It is the second time that Tirupati is hosting the Indian Science Congress, the first being in 1983 when the 70th ISC was held. This is the 104th conference, he said. Later in the afternoon, Modi will offer prayers at the Lord Venkateswara shrine atop Tirumala hills near here, temple sources said. Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Governor ESL Narasimhan will receive and accompany Modi during his six-hour visit here. A thick security blanket has been thrown over Tirupati and Tirumala in view of the prime minister's visit and the Science Congress. Mumbai: The families of the Malegaon 2008 blasts 'missing' suspects Ramchandra Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange on Tuesday sought a probe into a police officer's claims that they died while in custody of Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). Kalsangra and Dange, both residents of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, were accused of planting a bomb which went off on 29 September, 2008, killing at least six and injuring over 100 others in the Muslim-dominated town in Nashik. Recently, a Solapur-based suspended police official, Mehboob Mujawar, has claimed the two suspects had been allegedly killed while in ATS custody. Mujawar has contended that on the night of the Mumbai terror attack, ATS officers allegedly shot Kalsangra and Dange at its Kalachowkie office here, took their bodies to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and passed them off as victims of that night's terror strike. Addressing mediapersons here, Kalsangra's wife Laxmibai said she had urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to order a thorough probe into the incident in view of the fresh developments in the case. "I am suffering the pain of my husband's disappearance since nearly 10 years. The revelations by the police official Mujawar are shocking. We are held at ransom due to some political conspiracy and being used for dirty vote bank politics," said Laxmibai, who was accompanied by her son Devavrat, brother-in-law Shivnarayan Kalsangra and lawyer Prashant Maggu. In Indore, Dange's father, retired professor VK Dange, also demanded an enquiry into the allegations as he was his only son and wanted to know the real status of his well-being. Laxmibai added that she would soon submit a memorandum to Fadnavis to know the status of her husband's whereabouts, identify the ATS officials responsible for the alleged custodial killings and punishing them. By Maya Palit On social media on 1 January, I came across many quips about Prime Minister Narendra Modis New Years Eve speech. Judging from the speech, the happiest person in the country should be a 65-year-old pregnant farmer, went one. These were, of course, prompted by Modis promise to introduce a scheme that would transfer Rs 6,000 to the bank accounts of pregnant women. He portrayed it as a new scheme that would help to curb maternal mortality, but as the national media has pointed out, there is nothing new about the concept of benefits for pregnant women. They were mentioned in a clause in the National Food Security Act passed in 2013. And were part of various other schemes like the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) launched in 2005 and the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY), a centrally sponsored pilot scheme introduced in 53 districts around the country in 2010 which had 61,972 beneficiaries between 2010-2011 and 2013-14. And in the meantime, like Tamil Nadu have already adopted their own version of maternity benefits, using their own resources, like the Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy Maternity Benefit Scheme which provides Rs 12,000 for pregnant women below the poverty line. Although Modi did not spell out in his speech precisely the conditions that would make women eligible, if his scheme resembles previous maternal benefit schemes, it could be a massively exclusionary measure. The IGMSY, for instance, mandated that Rs 4,000 would be transferred to women in installments if they: 1. Registered their pregnancies at an Anganwadi centre (AWC) or health centre. 2. Gave birth in government institutions, carried out exclusive breastfeeding for six months. 3. Received at least one antenatal check-up and counseling session at an AWC. 4. Ensured that their children were vaccinated for polio, BCG and DPT. And these are only four of the many conditions. Although you could well argue that these requirements are intended to motivate pregnant women towards healthier behaviour, they end up effectively excluding approximately 60 percent of the countrys women who dont deliver in hospitals, and a vast majority of those without bank accounts of their own, or control over financial matters in the family. How many daily wage labourers, for instance, have the privilege of breastfeeding their child for an entire six months? And perhaps most importantly, as Rakhal Gaitonde, a public health researcher with Medico Friend Circle, explained, conditional cash transfers shift the discourse and priorities of the public health system (PHS): I recall the case of a young woman in Tamil Nadu who had diarrhoea after pregnancy and requested the nurse to treat her, but the nurse was single-mindedly focused on filling out the forms related to the scheme. The PHS becomes more focused on eligibility criteria and neglects its larger work. When the Rural Womens Social Education Centre asked women about their priorities when giving birth, they came up with suggestions including clean surroundings and helpful doctors. Incentivising people who need the money, rather than instituting changes at the PHS level, is a bizarre insult to the innate intelligence of people who often avoid healthcare facilities because of the appalling conditions there. The obstacles to women accessing healthcare in the first place are innumerable. In Odisha, we asked for maternity death review reports and found that there is an entire spectrum of factors, rather than a single barrier that make access to institutionalised healthcare difficult for women, said Sarita Barpanda, who works with the reproductive rights initiative at the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN). In the North East, many maternal deaths occur because of the lack of transportation and difficult roads, and in Odisha women tend to lose their lives because sufficient health services are not available. But the bottom line is that health services are disrespectful and often abusive, she explained. According to Jashodhara Dasgupta, the current coordinator of SAHAYOG and member of civil society programmes like the National Alliance on Maternal and Health Rights, a recent attempt to document close to 150 maternal deaths revealed that one big factor was the lack of available transportation. Particularly in Adivasi areas in Odisha, Jharkhand, and Andhra Pradesh without cellphone connectivity and reliable transport, it isnt easy for a woman to make it to a hospital in time. And if a woman has the baby on the way, it renders her disqualified from the scheme. Furthermore, the IGMSY conditions that women has to be over 19 years of age (given that the national mean for the age of marriage was 19.3 years in 2011, this is an exclusionary condition in itself) and have no more than two children tended to disqualify the poorest families, which include Dalit and Adivasi women, who really need the scheme. But Dasgupta singled out one major form of exclusion preventing women from accessing healthcare. In Malda and Murshidabad, Muslim-dominated regions in West Bengal, we found that there were doctors present in peripheral districts, but women did not opt for hospital deliveries because of immense hostility, and only went when there were serious complications. They were usually poor and had more than the approved number of pregnancies, and were treated badly in UP, for instance, Dalit women were left to lie bleeding in a verandah so they preferred being in a more empathetic environment. Fact finding reports by HRLN in Balasore, (Odisha) North Cachar (Assam), and Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) cite doctors negligence, obstetric violence, anaemic conditions, and delays in ambulance arrivals as the major reasons for maternal deaths. An HRLN study in Seelampur, a sub-district of Delhi, corroborates Barpanda and Dasguptas findings, showing that women had not received maternal benefits because they avoided government hospitals being afraid of physical and verbal abuse from the staff. But others, who had gone through the processes that made them eligible for maternal benefits, were still not made aware of or given any benefits, and often only informed about one kind of contraception. Perhaps, as Ravi Kumar, a rural surgeon working in Tamil Nadu, emphasised, improving the quality of health services in government hospitals, and making home deliveries safer, have to be focussed on before offering incentives for people to deliver in government hospitals. Given the array of factors preventing women from accessing healthcare, Modis declaration that a conditional cash transfer scheme, which disqualifies a vast section of women, will bring down maternal mortality appears counter-intuitive and shortsighted (particularly given that providing cash benefits to pregnant women in all states would require Rs 16,000 crores, whereas the current budget stands at Rs 400 crore). As Dr Prasanta Tripathy, a board member of Ekjut, an NGO working on maternal health in districts across India, said sadly, in the meantime it is jugaad rather than conditional schemes that saves maternal lives. 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. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated the five-day annual Indian Science Congress being held at the Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati. This time the conference focuses on 'Science and Technology for National Development' even as previous prime ministers have usually shared their vision and approach for science in India in their address. They have also used it as a platform to make policy announcements. The prime minister took the opportunity to start his address by talking about infrastructure and investments. He said that "tomorrow's experts will come from investments we make today in our people and infrastructure. We need to keep an eye on the rise of disruptive technologies and be prepared to leverage them for growth." We need to keep an eye on the rise of disruptive technologies and be prepared to leverage them for growth: PM Modi ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 Modi emphasised that the current government was committed to supporting different streams of scientific knowledge from fundamental science to applied science with an emphasis on innovations. He said that the country's best science and technology institutions should further strengthen their basic research in line with leading global standards. "Translating this basic knowledge into innovations, start-ups and industry will help us achieve inclusive and sustainable growth...Science must meet the rising aspirations of our people... Another empowering factor for scientific delivery is the ease of doing science. If we want science to deliver, we must not constrain it," he said. The prime minister also touched upon the importance of social responsibility of science and said, "Concept of Scientific Social Responsibility needs to be inculcated to connect our leading institutions to all stakeholders." Modi specifically addressed Cyber-Physical Systems and expressed that there "is a need to develop and exploit these technologies in services and manufacturing sectors." What are Cyber-Physical Systems? One important area that needs to be addressed is the rapid global rise of Cyber-Physical Systems: PM Modi pic.twitter.com/4QXKc0mlqJ ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 Modi mentioned Cyber-Physical Systems in his speech, but what are they exactly? According to leading scholars in the field, CPS are "integrations of computation, networking, and physical processes... The economic and societal potential of such systems is vastly greater than what has been realised, and major investments are being made worldwide to develop the technology." The technology builds upon the discipline of embedded systems and it "integrates the dynamics of the physical processes with those of the software and networking, providing abstractions and modelling, design, and analysis techniques for the integrated whole". How was this speech any different from last year? Modi's address at the 104th Indian Science Congress was fairly vague. He didn't take this is as an opportunity to make interesting or disruptive policy announcements but stuck to making statements that were quite general in nature "achieve inclusive and sustainable growth," "Goverment is committed to supporting different streams of scientific knowledge from fundamental science to applied science with emphasis on innovations," etc. There was nothing concrete in these statements. Govt is committed to supporting diff streams of scientific knowledge frm fundamental sience to applied sc with emphasis on innovations-PM pic.twitter.com/jzR5pCVodh ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 At last year's Science Congress, as an earlier Firstpost article points out, the government's support for research and development got passing references. The main venue for the Science Congress is the Tarakarama Stadium in the university where the prime minister addressed the gathering of eminent scientists including Nobel laureates. Six Nobel Prize winners from different countries such as the US, Japan, Israel, France and Bangladesh took part in the event besides about 14,000 scientists and scholars from across the country. The Nobel laureates will also be felicitated with gold medals by the prime minister at the ISC venue. It is the second time that Tirupati is hosting the Indian Science Congress, the first being in 1983 when the 70th ISC was held. This is the 104th conference. A thick security blanket has been thrown over Tirupati and Tirumala in view of the prime minister's visit and the Science Congress. With inputs from PTI The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that soliciting votes on the basis of caste, creed, religion or language is illegal. Its a splendid piece of judicial wisdom, no doubt. Superlative adjectives such as landmark and historic are being bandied about to emphasise what a wonderfully path-breaking verdict it is. The court, in fact, only removed a technical ambiguity over the wording of Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People Act 1951 which banned the use of religion, race, caste, community or language in elections. Section 123(3) includes this among corrupt practices: The appeal by a candidate or his agent or by any other person with the consent of a candidate or his election agent to vote or refrain from voting for any person on the ground of his religion, race, caste, community or language... Dismissing interpretations to the contrary, the court ruled that the pronoun his in the phrase his religion... in the section refers to anybody appealing for votes on sectarian grounds on behalf of the candidate and not just the candidate alone. Four of the seven judges of the bench said in their majority judgement that the provision meant a complete ban on any reference to religion in election campaigning. Whether the provision has so far meant to candidates a complete ban or a partial one, it has had little effect during the 65 years of its existence. Are we going to have more litigation in future over whether the law covers female candidates since the pronoun used is his? The law hasnt worked so far, simply because everybody knowingly cocked a snook at it. It has met the same fate as Section 123(1) of the same Act did. Section 123(1) prohibits candidates from offering bribes, gifts or any sort of inducements to voters. Everybody knows what effect this one has had. India can boast of some of the finest pieces of legislation even if they are not worth the paper they are printed on as far as implementation goes. We also have some very whimsical laws. Take Section 11 of the Aircraft Act 1934, for instance. It equates kites with balloons, air ships, gliders and hold your breath aircraft. And it makes flying a kite in a particular fashion an offence punishable with two years in jail and a fine Rs 10 lakh. India is a land of laws. Few countries of the world have more laws than India. And above all, we have a Supreme Court which, with a legal gung-ho unmatched anywhere in the world, delivers verdicts that hit front pages with impressive regularity. One would think India is the most lawful country. Are we? And there is the other side to Mondays ruling by the apex court on religion. It poses more questions than answers, apart from throwing up the mindboggling challenge of how it can be implemented. But why bother? We thrive in making laws and revel in breaking them. At the root of the problem is the fact that most candidates exceptions are few dont openly canvas for votes on a sectarian basis. For example, candidates of Shiv Sena or Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) or All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) dont always climb up the dais and say that Hindus, Dalits and Muslims, respectively, must vote for them. That would be too convenient for the police or election officials to record speeches as evidence for contravening the law. Instead, lobbying for the communal and the casteist vote is usually done in more sinister and subliminal ways. Lets begin at the beginning. If you are talking about candidates seeking votes on sectarian grounds, you must first talk about how these very candidates are picked on the very basis of caste and religion. So how does the Supreme Court deal with that? It cant. With the demolition of the Babri mosque, the Sangh Parivar may have polarised the electorate on religious lines like never before in Independent Indias history, but the Congress has the original copyright on using religion and caste to nurture vote banks. Even the Left leaders, who make the loudest noise about secularism, are not innocent. We saw how the CPI(M) chose many candidates in last years Kerala assembly elections. Before elections, leaders of all parties, with no exception, kneel, crawl and bend backwards before religious leaders without shame to seek their blessings. So how does the Supreme Court deal with that? It cant. Religious leaders, be they swamijis or bishops or mullahs, send subtle, private messages of their own to believers about which buttons to press on the Electronic Voting Machines. How does the Supreme Court deal with that? It cant. On public platforms, most candidates desist from seeking the sectarian vote openly but do it subtly through carefully worded speeches. They talk about the problems, real or perceived, of the sections of the society whose votes they are eyeing. Applying the law to them can have its own problems. If the Supreme Court verdict is to be strictly implemented, Mayawati of BSP stands the risk of falling foul of law if she harps on the sufferings of Dalits. Neither Lalu Prasad Yadav of Rashtriya Janata Dal nor Mulayam Singh Yadav of Samajwadi Party nor Nitish Kumar of Janata Dal (United) can talk about Other Backward Classes (OBCs). And, of course, Asaduddin Owaisi of AIMIM can no longer dwell on his pet subject of how suppressed and oppressed Muslims in India are. But here lies another catch. BJP candidates can go on talking about Hindutva since the Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that Hindutva or Hinduism is a way of life of the people in the sub-continent and is a state of mind. So Mondays verdict, in effect, is good for the BJP and bad for others. All this makes one thing clear: The Mayawatis and the Mulayams and the Laloo Prasads may be no real champions of the downtrodden, but the apex courts verdict can push any serious-minded party fighting for marginalised sections if there is really one into trouble with the law. Thats when the remarks of the dissenting judge DY Chandrachud three of the seven judges disagreed with the verdictmake some sense. Chandrachud said: Discussion on caste, creed and religion is constitutionally protected within and outside elections and this cannot be restricted. It is a matter of free speech and through this legitimate concerns of the society are addressed. In theory, the law can also be invoked to ban many parties. Both All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) can be banned without further thought because dravida can be said to denote either a race or a language. Chandrababu Naidus Telugu Desam too should be disbanded at once, because it identifies itself with a language. And, of course, Indian Muslim League and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen should go out of business: the very names make them guilty. The Supreme Court also said on Monday that relationship between man and God is an individual choice and that the state is forbidden to interfere in such an activity. No doubt, its one of the best sentences that came from the apex court ever. But this throws up at least two other vital questions. One, if the state cant interfere in God-related stuff, why does government control temples while churches and mosques run themselves? Two, why doesnt India have a uniform civil code? Having said what it did, the court should have addressed the problem of the perverted definition that the word secularism goes with in India. But it didnt. So where does all this leave us? Nowhere really. But call the Supreme Court verdict historic, if it makes you happy. The author tweets @sprasadindia By Devanik Saha Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address to the nation on 31 December 2016, announced that Rs 6,000 will be transferred directly to the bank accounts of pregnant women who undergo institutional delivery/and vaccinate their children. He even tweeted about it, claiming it was a new scheme. We fact-checked his claim and found that the provision of Rs 6,000 to pregnant women already exists as part of the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013. Therefore, his claim of the benefit being a new scheme is incorrect. A scheme to improve maternal health and create a healthier India. pic.twitter.com/QaT3Po0Nal Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 31, 2016 The Act also has a special focus on the nutritional support to women and children, according to the relevant provision of the NFSA. Besides meal to pregnant women and lactating mothers during pregnancy and six months after the childbirth, such women will also be entitled to receive maternity benefit of not less than Rs 6,000. The Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY), a maternity benefit programme introduced in 2010, provides for conditional cash transfer for pregnant and lactating women of 19 years or older for first two live births. It is operational in 52 districts as a "pilot". The cash incentive provided under the scheme was increased from Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,000 in 2013 to comply with the minimum maternity entitlement provision of the NFSA. Even after three years of the Act being passed, the benefit has not been implemented in any state except Tamil Nadu. More than 60 academics and activists had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2016, and urged him to implement the maternity benefit under the NFSA. The nation is paying a heavy price for this violation of the Act, the letter said. Maternity entitlements are essential to address Indias staggering problem of low birth weights, poor maternal health and severe hardship during pregnancy. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government in Tamil Nadu, in 1987, under former chief minister MG Ramachandran, launched the states flagship programme for pregnant womenDr Muthulakshmi Reddy Maternity Benefit Scheme, named after the prominent womens rights activist. The first-of-its-kind scheme in the country initially provided an amount of Rs 300 to every woman below the poverty line to help cover the expenses incurred during childbirth. The sum was increased to Rs 500 in 1995. A little over a decade later, the amount was raised more than ten-fold to Rs 6,000. Then, in 2011, the state government doubled the sum to Rs 12,000. Not a single state has implemented this important benefit mandated by NFSA till date. Tamil Nadu is the only state doing this, Job Zachariah, who heads the field office of United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund, in Chennai, told Scroll.in. Tamil Nadu has the second lowest infant mortality rate (20 per 1,000 live births) among all states in India, only behind Kerala (12), according to data from the Registrar General of India. The states maternal mortality rate is 90 per 100,000 live births compared to the national average of 178. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was considering a proposal to hike allocation for the ministry of women and child development by 20% with an emphasis on universalising this maternity benefit scheme, The Economic Times reported in December 2016. Maternity entitlements can and should be designed to help improve maternal nutrition and pregnancy weight gain for a large fraction of the population, according to this 2016 paper by researchers from Research Institute for Compassionate Economics (R.I.C.E). (The author is a freelance journalist and MA Gender and Development candidate 2016-17 at Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex.) Los Angeles: It's an all-too-familiar Hollywood story: the out-of-work actor eking out an existence in cheap housing, earning minimum wage delivering pizzas, desperate for his big break. But for Jay Abdo one of the Arab world's biggest stars before the conflict in Syria made him just another anonymous refugee on the mean streets of Los Angeles it has been particularly tough. Just a few years ago, the 54-year-old actor could not walk the streets in any Middle Eastern country without being mobbed by fans or dine out without being offered free meals. A household name and a veteran of 43 movies and more than 1,000 TV episodes, Abdo was admired not just for his acting skills but his willingness to speak his mind in public. "I had a pretty beautiful life," he told AFP. "People loved me, on screen and on talk shows when I spoke to people and expressed my culture and points of view." Known in Syria by his real first name, Jihad, Abdo is best known for his role in "Bab al-Hara" ("The Neighborhood Gate"), one of the biggest soap operas in history, with up to 50 million viewers per episode. His path to Hollywood started in 2011 as tensions in Syria were escalating in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. His wife, painter and human rights lawyer Fadia Afashe, was a senior official in Syria's department of culture, and found herself having to flee Bashar al-Assad's brutal regime after being caught meeting opposition activists during a trip to France. Torture She went to study public policy at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, intending to return to Syria after graduating. But Abdo himself was beginning to become a major annoyance to Assad's crumbling regime after turning down numerous invitations to back the president at rallies and TV talk shows. Matters came to a head when he gave an interview to the Los Angeles Times during a trip to Beirut in which he accused Syria's secret service of torture and corruption. Strangers threatened him on his return to Syria, his car windows were smashed and he faced repeated demands to apologize to Assad on television. Having seen friends arrested or disappear some are still missing he uprooted in October 2011, leaving behind almost all his wealth and property, to join his wife in Minneapolis. The couple applied for asylum and drove for three days to Los Angeles with everything they owned so Abdo could find work. "I met so many people who were shocked that my name was Jihad," he says, explaining why he became Jay. "They didn't know it was Christian and I was named after a Christian lawyer in Damascus a very good friend to my family." Even with a more palatable name, more than 100 failed auditions followed as the couple lived a desperate existence on just $3 a day. It took more than a year to find work with a florist and delivering pizzas for Domino's, earning up to $300 a week. 'Destiny brought me' Abdo's break finally came when he landed a part alongside Nicole Kidman and James Franco in "Queen of the Desert," Werner Herzog's biopic of the British archeologist Gertrude Bell, due for release in spring. "All my scenes were with Nicole," Abdo says. "I can't praise her enough. She's very sweet, extremely professional, a very good hearted woman very smart and sharp. Above all, she supported me from the first minute." Herzog has since described in interviews finally grasping how famous his Syrian hire was when they visited a souk in Marrakesh during filming in Morocco. "Everyone wanted a photo with him. The merchants in the souk gave us everything for half price," the filmmaker told The Wall Street Journal. In a sign that Tinseltown really does like its happy endings, the actor's career is finally back on track. He has a part in the Amazon television series "The Patriot" and "Bon Voyage," a short film he made with Swiss director Marc Raymond Wilkins, has just been shortlisted for an Oscar. Last year, he appeared alongside Tom Hanks in "A Hologram for the King," a comedy about a failed corporate salesman trying to do business in Saudi Arabia. Devastated by the worsening plight of the Syrian people in the five years since he escaped the Assad regime, Abdo is unsure whether he'll ever return. But he believes he couldn't be in a better place. "From the beginning, Hollywood wasn't my objective," he said. "I didn't plan to come here. It's destiny that brought me." In a possible indication of a detente between the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), senior leaders belonging to both parties hinted at fighting the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Council (BMC) election together, Mumbai Mirror reported. The report also added that the latest development comes hours after Shiv Sena Supremo Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis came together to inaugurate a portrait of eminent social activist Prabhodhankar Thackeray the Shiv Sena supremo's grandfather. The two also launched a number of social schemes on Monday. While inaugurating the portrait of his grandfather, Thackeray softened his recent belligerent stance against the BJP. Thanking the senior alliance for its cooperation in the BMC in the last five years, Indian Express quoted Uddhav as saying, "The BJP worked with us shoulder-to-shoulder, which has helped to make it possible. It would not have been possible without the BJPs support. So, I want to thank the BJP for its valuable support in the past five years." However, the Mumbai Mirror report added that Thackeray also took the opportunity to target a section of the BJP who had alleged corruption in the BMC. Fadnavis had slammed Shiv Sena on the last day of the Winter Session of Maharashtra State Assembly. Hindustan Times quoted the chief minister as saying, Scams of hundreds of crores in Mumbais civic body have come to light. There is no transparency. There is a need to monitor its functioning and bring in transparency. Of late, relations between the two NDA allies has not been at its best. After an impressive performance in the first round of civic polls in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena claimed that linking BJP's victory in 52 seats to demonetisation was foolish. Indian Express quoted the Shiv Sena chief as saying, "If that was the case, at least 100 candidates from that party would have been elected as council chiefs, which did not happen. BJP has been constantly raising the issue of rampant corruption against the Shiv Sena. In October, BJP MP Kirit Somaiyya attacked the Shiv Sena over corruption allegations, claiming the party turned the corporation into a "mafia den". Business Standard quoted the leader as saying, "Name any BMC office, there are skeletons rattling in its cupboards. There is a 'Saheb' who lives in Bandra; he has two advisors: one is his 'saala' (brother-in-Law) and the other is Saheb's personal aide. The Saheb takes orders from the duo and passes them on to the mafia." The BMC goes to poll in February 2017. While Shiv Sena has been the dominant party, ruling the corporation since 1997, BJP has been its minor ally. However, after the BJP registered a strong performance in the Mumbai region during the 2014 Assembly election, clamour for the saffron party to get more seats in the 2017 election or to contest alone has grown. New Delhi: Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu has said party will fight election in Uttar Pradesh on developmental agenda and not on issues like Ram Temple and ruled out projecting any chief ministerial face. The "real alignment" is in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who he described as the "mascot of development" and a "bigger face". The Information and Broadcasting Minister said the anti-black money campaign has attracted people, specially from the lower sections of the society, towards BJP and it will further get momentum with the "fruits" of the ban getting "visible". "We have reports coming from UP, newer sections and people who were keeping a distance from BJP earlier, particularly sections of the lowest strata, they are all moving towards BJP after the demonetisation or remonetisation. "This will I am sure gain further momentum as the fruits of anti-corruption vaccine administered by Modi become visible," he told PTI. To a query about the party's strategy in Uttar Pradesh, he said, "There is no separate strategy for UP. You only have to convince people that they have seen SP, BSP and Congress for long. They have voted for Modi in the Lok Sabha overwhelmingly, and seeing the results at the Centre. But the fruits of development are not reaching UP, its villages, because of the delivery system of Uttar Pradesh is totally corrupt or incapable of delivery. So elect BJP, so that UP also can develop. That is the development agenda," he said. Asked whether the Ram Temple issue would be part of BJP's poll plank, an issue which earlier had played a key factor in Uttar Pradesh polls, Naidu said the subject is "dear" to the party but it will not be part of "electoral" strategy. "Temple was never an election issue. It is an aspiration of the people. But you (media) people ask questions ...and then we people respond.Temple construction is very dear to us. But that is not the electoral issue. Issue is development, development, development," he asserted. Asked about talk of rivals coming together to take on BJP, he said, "Mulayam Singh and son are falling apart, the son is coming close to the Congress party.....Let us see how it goes. But real realignment (is that) people are going with Modi...people of UP are looking to PM as mascot of development." To a query on the party's chief ministerial face party in Uttar Pradesh, he said, "We have a bigger face. We succeeded in Maharashtra without announcing a CM candidate, we seceded in Haryana, without a CM candidate. We seceded in Jharkhand without a CM candidate. "We have found that people are willing to vote for development and vote for party. The strategy differs from state to state. But in UP, we have decided not to project anybody as CM candidate." Alleging that Uttar Pradesh is not coming forthright in participating in the Centre's development schemes, he cited the state's lack of enthusiasm in sending proposals under his ministry's housing scheme for urban poor. After Centre wrote 14 letters asking the Uttar Pradesh government to send proposals under the housing mission,new proposals have been received. "Without standing in the path of the state", the Centre sanctioned whatever was asked for, Naidu said. "If I go to UP and tell this story, people will be up in arms against the ruling party. I never made it an election issue. But now I have to tell people that if you have a BJP government at the Centre and then have the same government in the state, then you will get benefit directly," he said. Striking a contrast between the NDA and UPA regimes, he said the previous Congress-led government could approve only 12.50 lakh houses in the 10 year period, while BJP government approved 14.70 lakh houses within a year of launch the scheme. "UP is a big state. Housing for All scheme has no meaning if it is not there in UP," he said, adding state's participation is important in the mission as houses the Central government sanction "requires land" which is a state subject. Stating that Delhi is the other state that has not shown in the scheme, he listed out names of various states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, that have shown interest in the housing scheme. Agitated Trinamool Congress workers attacked the Bharatiya janata Party headquarters in Kolkata after Mamata Banerjee's close aide and TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay was arrested by the CBI. TMC workers took to the streets on Tuesday after news of Bandyopadhyay's arrest spread, while several key leaders of the party made a beeline in front of the CBI office to meet Bandyopadhyay, reported Times Now. Bandyopadhyay was arrested by the CBI on Tuesday over his alleged involvement in the Rose Valley chit fund scam. The CBI sources told ANI that Bandyopadhyay will be taken to Bhubaneshwar for further investigation. As the TMC MPs were not allowed to meet Bandyopadhyay, hordes of party workers descended on the BJP office in central Kolkata, chanting anti-Narendra Modi slogans and hurling stones, leaving several workers of the saffron party injured and half-a-dozen cars parked outside damaged. As the situation worsened, Rapid Action Force and a CRPF contingent was rushed to secure BJP office and ensure the safety of its workers. Meanwhile, the BJP came down heavily on the West Bengal government, for indulging in "rioting and violence" for masking their fear as CBI was "exposing their scams." Referring to the chit fund scam in which several Trinamool leaders have been arrested and interrogated, BJP leader Sidharth Nath Singh pointed fingers at Mamata. "This attack is a direct result of Bandyopadhyay's arrest and also indicates Mamata's nervousness. She knows the CBI is fast making progress in the investigation and is getting closer to her doorstep," he said. "Mamata is mistaken if she believes that through violence or allegations she can get her leaders absolved from the charges of chit fund scam. It is she who needs to answer why her police derailed the investigation in scam that the court had to intervene and ask the CBI to probe," Singh added. While the violence broke out at Muralidhar Sen Lane BJP office in Central Kolkata, Mamata upped the ante against the Modi government from her office in Howrah. The West Bengal Chief Minister did not take her close aide's lightly. Flaying the Narendra Modi government, Mamata said that the prime minister and BJP chief Amit Shah should be arrested. The chief minister alleged that the arrests (first Tapas Pal and now Sudip Bandyopadhyay) were being made because TMC is openly protesting the demonetisation drive and is challenging Modi. In an official statement on her Twitter account, Mamata said: We strongly condemn the political vindictive attitude of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah 1/3 Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) January 3, 2017 For no reasons arrests have been made. Only reason is #NoteBandi 2/3 Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) January 3, 2017 We will be with the people. This is not only financial emergency. This is full-fledged emergency 3/3 Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) January 3, 2017 Speaking to ANI, Mamata said, "Amit Shah, Narendra Modi should be arrested. Modi does not understand Indian politics. Many political parties are scared, but are not able to speak out. People should come out on roads against demonetisation and people will teach them (BJP) a lesson. If they think that after the arrest (of TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay) we won't protest, they are wrong. I challenge the prime minister, he cannot do anything, can't suppress the voice of the people." Mamata also said that she and her MPs will protest outside Kolkata RBI on 9 January, and on 10 and 11 January in Delhi. Mamata is planning to hold meeting with the TMC MPs at the party headquarter at 5 pm on Tuesday. Amit Shah, Narendra Modi should be arrested, PM Modi does not understand Indian politics :Mamata Banerjee,WB CM pic.twitter.com/Fx9FUVpps3 ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 Many political parties are scared, but are not able to speak out. Emergency situation is going on: Mamata Banerjee,WB CM ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 Amit Shah, Narendra Modi should be arrested, PM Modi does not understand Indian politics :Mamata Banerjee,WB CM pic.twitter.com/Fx9FUVpps3 ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 If they think that after the arrest (of TMC MP Sudip Bandhopadhyay) we wont protest, they are wrong: Mamata Banerjee,WB CM #DeMonetisation ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 I challenge PM, he cannot do anything, can't suppress the voice of the people: Mamata Banerjee,West Bengal CM pic.twitter.com/mHSLr8ZpJ1 ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 Will take the legal battle forward, will seek justice from the court: Mamata Banerjee,West Bengal CM on TMC MP Sudip Bandhopadhyay's arrest ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 Will protest outside RBI Kolkata on 9th January, and on 10th and 11th January in Delhi: Mamata Banerjee,West Bengal CM #DeMonetisation pic.twitter.com/zB1LrmLvC2 ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 Bandyopadhyay arrived at the CBI office on Tuesday for questioning in connection with Rs 60,000 crore ponzi scam. This is the first time that Bandyopadhyay was interrogated in the matter soon after another party MP Tapas Pal was sent to police custody in the case. This is the second Trinamool MP to be arrested in connection with the ponzi scam. When asked, Bandyopadhyay told waiting reporters in Kolkata, "I said I will come to face CBI interrogation to know what is against me". He also alleged political vendetta against him and the TMC party by the NDA-ruled central government. Rose Valley scam, which was also being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate, encompasses a larger amount of money swindling as compared to the Saradha case. With inputs from agencies Just when rumours were brewing that peace could still be brokered between the father and son in a cleaving Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh's staunch supporter and Mulayam Singh Yadav's cousin Ram Gopal Yadav has dismissed all possibilities of a truce. Reiterating that Akhilesh Yadav was the party national president, he said that the Samajwadi Party will face the upcoming polls under Akhilesh's leadership. He also said that there is no confusion within the ranks of the party as to who held the reins. He, however, said that as far as the party's election symbol is concerned, the final decision will be taken by the election commission. In the war between son Akhilesh Yadav and father Mulayam Singh Yadav, the party's old horse seemed to be taking a back foot as the Uttar Pradesh chief minister called an emergency convention of the party workers and reportedly got elected as the party president, dethroning Mulayam. Sobered after his son showed off his strength, media reports claimed that the Mulayam camp was mulling some negotiations. Meanwhile, prominent Muslim face of the party Azam Khan, who has attempted to broker peace between the father-son duo even in the past, also sent out mixed signals stating that a truce was not impossible. Khan, who had prevailed on Mulayam to revoke the expulsion of Akhilesh and cousin Ram Gopal Yadav before they "removed" him from the party president's post, said he will do what he can to bring about a rapprochement. "Anything is possible. Who would have thought that their expulsion would be revoked?" he told reporters. Khan even succeeded in bringing the two on the same table as Mulayam and Akhilesh met in Lucknow and were even joined by Shivpal Yadav later, according to a report in NDTV. However, soon after, Ram Gopal Yadav, who has been backing Akhilesh since the start of the rift within the party, hinted that the situation has moved beyond the tipping point, stating that there was no chance of a truce. "SP mein koi samjhauta nahi hone jaa raha hai, dono pakshon ne Election Comm ke samne apni baaten rakh di hain, (There are no talks of a truce in the Samajwadi Party and both factions have put their claims in front of the Election Commission)," Ram Gopal Yadav was quoted as saying by ANI. Cycle, the election symbol of Samajwadi Party since it was founded by Mulayam 25 years ago, is a tremendous asset for both factions as thousands of voters identify with it. The dispute over it shifted to Delhi as the Akhilesh camp told the Election Commission that the party is "actually" headed by him now and not Mulayam. "The real Samajwadi Party belongs to us as 90 percent of the people support us," Ram Gopal, who is Mulayam's cousin and has sided with Akhilesh in the family feud, told reporters after meeting the Commission. On Monday, similar claims were staked by Mulayam as the veteran leader drove down to the EC headquarters, to inform the poll watchdog that he continues to head the party and the decision to anoint his son Akhilesh as its president by the rival faction was unconstitutional as per the party constitution. Now, with the rival factions staking claim over the party and its symbol, the ball is in the Commission's court. Since the assembly elections to Uttar Pradesh are set to be announced any day now, the Commission has little time to adjudicate the matter. As an interim measure, it is now likely to freeze the cycle symbol and ask the two factions to contest on a new symbol. With inputs from PTI Sections 123 (3) and 123 (3A) of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951 (RPA, 1951) were enacted in recognition of the fact that during the electoral process there can be a situation in which a political party, its leaders or any other person or a candidate would appeal to voters to elect a candidate on grounds of religion, race, caste, community. Such an appeal would undermine the secular foundation of the Constitution. Hence, such an appeal ought to be a corrupt practice. The Supreme Court on Monday substantially accepted this position in law and hopefully created a wall of separation between religion and politics. Read the full text of Supreme Court ruling here The judgment will have an immediate impact on the forthcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and every subsequent election. The judgment is based on a firm understanding of the secular foundations of the India Constitution and the need to ensure that no party can claim that India is a theocratic state. Interestingly, the judgment related to the interpretation of two single words "his religion" in Section 123 which reads as follows: Section 123 Corrupt practices The following shall be deemed to be corrupt practices for the purposes of this Act (3) The appeal by a candidate or his agent or by any other person with the consent of a candidates or his election agent to vote or refrain from voting for any person on the ground of his religion, race, caste, community or language or the use of, or appeal to religious symbols or the use of, or appeal to, national symbols, such as the national flag or the national emblem, for the furtherance of the prospects of the election of that candidate or for prejudicially affecting the election of any candidate". Provided that no symbol allotted under this Act to a candidate shall be deemed to be a religious symbol or a national symbol for the purposes of this clause (3A) The promotion of, or attempt to promote, feelings of enmity or hatred between different classes of the citizens of India on grounds of religion, race, caste, community, or language, by a candidate or his agent or any other person with the consent of a candidate or his election agent for the furtherance of the prospects of the election of that candidate or for prejudicially affecting the election of any candidate." Late Justice JS Verma had held in Ramesh Prabhoo versus Prabhakar K Kunte in 1996 decided (it was the same time when Monohar Joshi judgment commonly known as the Hindutva judgment came) that what the section prohibits an appeal by the candidate himself for votes in the name of his, that is the candidate's religion and nothing else, this would leave free a third party to appeal for votes in the name of the religion of the candidate or not to vote for the opponent based on the religion of the opponent. It is this ruling that was revered today by a majority, holding that any appeal in the name of relation, whether by the candidate himself or a third party on his behalf to vote in the name of religion, whether that of the candidate or any other religion was a "corrupt practice". In a secular state , religion has no role to play in the matter to election to positions of state power since the Constitution of India in its basic features is secular and any attempt to convert the state into a theocratic state is anti-constitutional . The issue, whether Hindutva is a way of life or a religion, was sadly not addressed by the court and left to be decided by a bench of five judges, and a historic opportunity to correct a constitutional wrong has been lost. The BJP will continue to canvas votes in the name of Hindutva in its manifesto or otherwise and still claim that this is not an appeal in the name of religion. In that sense, the task is half done and the debate will continue in the courts. Another opportunity lost was the inability o unwillingness of the Court to decide whether an appeal made in the manifesto of a party would be binding on a candidate who uses the manifesto in his election campaign and hence stands by it. Without reading the judgment, it is difficult to say why this issue was not addressed but it is an issue which will refuse to go away Section 29A of the RPA categorically requires every registered party of declare on oath that it will bare true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India , and to the principles of socialism and secularism and democracy . It is a different matter that no party has been deregistered on the ground that they act contrary to this declaration, thought attempts have been made in that direction, but perhaps after this judgment , reiterating the centrality of secularism, the election commission too will take a hard look at the policy and practice of political parties and at their memorandum of association and their manifestos to check compliance with secular values. The judgment does not negate the central role that relation plays in peoples lives and to the fullest possible extent the right to freely practice religion is recognised and protected. , However, the role of religion is confined to the personal domain and not allowed to have any impact on governance or state power. The real power play will be seen now in every forth coming election, will party manifestos be scrutinised by the Election Commission, will political parties be able to promise the construction of a Ram Mandir as an election plank and still claim that they are a secular party, will every speech made by every party leader at election rallies be scrutinised to check if constitutional boundaries are crossed? The battle between political parties and within parties is just about to begin , in more ways than one . For now, every party interprets the judgment in its own way and pays lip sympathy to the Secular values that it upholds. They will all do well to remember what Justice Jeevan Reddy said in SR Bommai versus Union of India (1994) 3 SCC 1) follows about the function of political parties and their main objective to gain state power in Given the above position, it is clear that if any party or organisation seeks to fight the elections on the basis of a plank which has the proximate effect of eroding the secular philosophy of the Constitution would certainly be guilty of following an unconstitutional course of action. Political parties are formed and exist to capture or share State power. That is their aim. They may be associations of individuals but one cannot ignore the functional relevance. An association of individuals may be devoted to propagation of religion; it would be a religious body. Another may be devoted to promotion of culture; it would be an cultural organisation. They are not aimed at acquiring State power, whereas a political party does. That is one of its main objectives. This is what we mean by saying 'functional relevance'. One cannot conceive of a democratic form of government without the political parties. They are part of the Political system and constitutional scheme. Nay, they are integral to the governance of a democratic society. If the Constitution requires the State to be secular in thought and action, the same requirement attaches to political parties as well. The Constitution does not recognise, it does not permit, mixing religion and State power. Both must be kept apart. That is the constitutional injunction. None can say otherwise so long as this Constitution governs this country. Introducing religion into politics is to introduce an impermissible element into body politic and an imbalance in our constitutional system. If a political party espousing a particular religion comes to power, that religion tends to become, in practice, the official religion. All other religions come to acquire a secondary status, at any rate, a less favourable position. This would be plainly antithetical to Articles 14 to 16, 25 and the entire constitutional scheme adumbrated hereinabove. Under our Constitution, no party or organisation can simultaneously be a political and a religious party. It has to be either. Same would be the position, if a party or organisation acts and/or behaves by word of mouth, print or in any other manner to bring about the said effect, it would equally be guilty of an act of unconstitutionality. It would have no right to function as a political party. At the heart of the case is the issue of free speech and the kind of limitations that can be put on political speech. All speech refereeing to religion is not prohibited but if made in the following context then it is may now to prohibited under the judgment. a.The speech/appeal is made during the process of an election which will result in a candidate getting elected to the Parliament or Assembly. b.That the object of the speech/appeal is to garner votes for the purpose of furthering the electoral prospect of the candidate. It will be a tough job to decide where the line of permissible and impermissible political speech will ultimately be drawn in any given case , but a task with the courts will no longer be able to dodge. The next big challenge will be to challenge the ruling of Justice Verma in the Manohar Joshi case on the question of what is Hindutva, a way of life or an attempt to set up a theocratic State. In law, it is not always such grand words as "equality" or "democracy" that inspire reams of elaborate reasoning to understand their true meaning. Sometimes, it is just a simple, everyday three letter word. Two months ago, nine judges of the Supreme Court of India delivered six opinions between them on, inter alia, the true scope and meaning of the word "and" as it is used between clauses (a) and (b) of Article 304 of the Constitution. The interpretation of the word "his" as it occurs in Section 123(3) of the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951 (dealing with the prohibition of appeals based on religion, caste, etc. in elections) was with what seven judges in Abhiram Singh versus CD Commachen were concerned, and managed to deliver four opinions between them. A thin majority of four judges gave the word a wide interpretation and the minority, a narrow interpretation. The interpretation of this word has large implications for the way our elections are conducted. This case was heard by a seven-judge bench because of a difference of opinion expressed between five judge benches on what was the true import of Section 123(3). This provision of law considers an appeal made by a successful candidate to voters based on religion, caste, creed, language et al to be a "corrupt practice", which can result in the election being annulled, and such candidate disqualified from elections. The point of difference was this: Did this clause simply prohibit a candidate from using appeals to her (or her opponents) own religion, caste et al or did it prohibit all such appeals irrespective of the candidates' own religion? To illustrate: Is it a corrupt practice only if a candidate belonging to X religion asked her fellow X adherents to vote for her on the ground of being X like them, or would it also be a corrupt practice if she asked all adherents of X religion to vote for her, even though she herself was an adherent of Y religion, simply because she would promote X religion in office? A caveat is in order. The example is very simplistic because what counts as an appeal based on religion or caste must be decided on the facts of each case. On either interpretation, the narrow or the broad one, whether an appeal amounting to a "corrupt practice" has been made must be decided taking into account all the facts of the case; the context and the circumstances which must be proved by leading evidence in the High Court. For instance, in the infamous Hindutva case (which was wrongly assumed to be in challenge here), the Supreme Court did hold the Shiv Sena corporator and Bal Thackeray guilty of a corrupt practice of appealing to Hindu voters based on religion after taking their statements in total. In Abhiram Singh, the majority is represented by three judgments that take slightly different approaches to arriving at the conclusion. Justice Madan B Lokur examines the history of this provision of the RoPA; its earlier drafts, the discussions in Parliament, the amendments and why such amendments were being introduced. He looks at the purpose that was trying to be achieved in Parliament by amending Section 123 thus and concludes that a wide interpretation serves this purpose. Less certain is his use of "social context" to justify this purposive interpretation, based as it is on rather flimsy legal reasoning and not on the solid ground of textual interpretation of the law itself. No doubt a law must be interpreted in the social context in which it is required to be applied but whether this should mean that the meaning of a law should change over the years is highly debatable. Justice SA Bobde on the other hand takes the view that even a literal interpretation of the provision in question leads to the wide interpretation suggested. His view is that the word his can refer to either the voter or the candidate, and should, given the intent of the act, be given this wide meaning. Chief Justice of India TS Thakurs opinion (which seems to have been the deciding "vote" in the matter, since he explicitly refers to both the majority and minority judgments in his opinion), is premised on the principle that appeals to religion tend to erode the secular character of the Constitution and the wider interpretation must be preferred to keep such religious appeals out of the picture during elections. Curiously though, he does not refer to caste or any of the other grounds in Section 123(3). The minority judgment, authored by Justice DY Chandrachud, calls for a literal interpretation of the concerned provision, holding that the term "his" can only refer to the candidates identity or affiliation. He doesnt entirely discard the purposive interpretation either, finding that the merit of the narrow interpretation is that it enables appeals made to protect the rights of religious, linguistic and caste minorities in India. While the argument in favour of literal interpretation is quite persuasive, there are reasons to reject it in this case. Apart from debates when literal and purposive interpretations are to be preferred, the minoritys judgment is somewhat naive about the cynical use of appeals to religion and caste in modern electioneering. Appeals to narrow sectarian grounds come in many shapes, sizes and forms and, in these days when dog-whistle politics take the place of debate, cannot be allowed to dominate the discourse based on a narrow and pedantic reading of the law. Equally its hard to see how the majoritys interpretation of Section 123(3) would stand in the way of a candidate promising to protect constitutional guarantees and rights in favour of a certain group, who have been discriminated or oppressed by membership of that group (as the minority judgment fears). The substance of the appeal must be gone into in any case, but the minority judgments fears on this front seem overblown. Getting the law right is only half the battle in cleaning up the electoral process in India. The task of effective enforcement, here resting on the overburdened high courts who decide election petitions under the RoPA, still lies ahead if this ruling isnt to remain just nice words on paper. The author is an advocate based in Bengaluru and was senior resident fellow at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. Views expressed here are strictly personal. The CBI's arrest of Trinamool Congress parliamentary party leader in Lok Sabha Sudip Bandyopadhyay in connection with the Rose Valley chit fund scam on Tuesday was expected to send the political temperature soaring in West Bengal. But few would have seen the mayhem that followed the procedure. Tuesday evening witnessed unprecedented scenes with alleged TMC goons raining down on the BJP party office in Kolkata armed with stones and brickbats. News agency IANS put the number of TMC activists as "hundreds" and reported vandalising of the cars parked outside. About 15 to 17 BJP workers were reportedly injured and a few bled from the head as they spoke to the media. In the ensuing bedlam, TV footage in local channels showed cops resembling onlookers or pleading with the protesters. Fallout of Sudip Bandopadhay's arrest: TMC workers ransack BJP office in Kolkata pic.twitter.com/lSO73ycLc6 News18 (@CNNnews18) January 3, 2017 BJP office in Kolkata attacked by TMC students' wing after TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay's arrest pic.twitter.com/4VniPYw6ks ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 The situation turned volatile as soon as a furious Mamata Banerjee accused the prime minister of indulging in vendetta politics and claimed that her top aide's arrest had nothing to do with corruption and everything to do with TMC's anti-demonetisation stand. In a Facebook post, the Bengal chief minister said: "We strongly condemn the politically vindictive attitude of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. They have arrested our Parliamentary Party Leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay. He is a veteran politician and senior leader of our party. "It is all because of our fight against #NoteBandi. We are and will be with the people. Nothing can stop us from being with the people and we will continue with our protest against #NoteBandi. "The situation now is more than that of financial emergency - from financial to political emergency. We condemn, condemn and condemn this." She went on to urge the party workers to hit the streets and promised an indefinite period of nationwide protests, dharnas and remonstrations from Tuesday. "I challenge the prime minister, he cannot do anything, can't suppress the voice of the people. He can't bulldoze people. Many political parties are scared, but are not able to speak out. Emergency situation is going on. People should come out on roads against demonetisation, people will teach them a lesson," she told IANS. If they think that after the arrest (of TMC MP Sudip Bandhopadhyay) we wont protest, they are wrong: Mamata Banerjee,WB CM #DeMonetisation ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 CBI's arrest of Bandyopadhyay, who faced a four-hour grilling on Tuesday in the agency's Kolkata bureau, follows the arrest of Tapas Pal, another top TMC leader, last Friday. Actor-turned-politician Pal was apprehended for his alleged role in the Rs 60,000-crore scam in which millions of poor investors were cheated of their life's savings. Operating out of Bengal, the group whose chief Gautam Kundu is now behind the bars spread its business in multiple states and had its fingers in several pies including real estate, media, resorts and films. The ponzi scheme is said to be seven times bigger than the much-publicised Saradha scam. According to a News 18 report, the CBI had raided Pal's residence last year and the Enforcement Directorate, which is also probing the scam, has sealed over 2,600 bank accounts across the country. The Securities and Exchange Board of India has been probing the company since 2013. There will always be space for political posturing over the arrests. Charges of "vendetta politics" is nothing new in Indian polity. Without, however, going into an argument over whether or not the arrest of two top TMC leaders in the space of a week in connection with the multi-crore ponzi scams represented an act of 'vendetta', it is reasonable to expect that political parties will, especially ones that run governments, show restraint while registering their protests. Dissent is an inevitable part of democracy and parties are well within their rights to express it whenever it is politically important or beneficial to do so. Constitution allows multiple ways to stage protests in consonance with the law of the land. There are also legal options available if TMC feels its leader has been wrongly apprehended. Moreover, the CBI still has to prove its case in the court and past records suggest that it is not a foregone conclusion. The meltdown that was witnessed in Kolkata on Tuesday, however, raises several questions about the lightness with which the TMC supremo wields her power. The arrest of Bandyopadhyay cannot be an excuse to throw the law to the dogs. The ease with which alleged TMC activists attacked BJP workers and vandalised the party office and the helplessness displayed by the cops are disturbing signs for the state of law and order in Bengal. The CBI arrest may or may not be politically motivated but absolutely nothing justifies vandalism. If she envisages a national role for herself beyond the boundaries of Bengal, Mamata will perhaps do well to ponder how she has perhaps let slip a political opportunity by her over-the-top posturing. In anticipation of the 2017 session of the Nevada Legislature, state Sen. Pete Goicoechea and Assemblyman John Ellison will be working together on a bill to improve rural air service, including flights to Reno from Elko. A similar bill passed through committees in the 2015 session but didn't make it through both houses before the session came to a close. "We'll take something back and try again," Ellison, R-Elko said. He said Elko needs the air service to Reno and points beyond to the West because now anyone flying from Elko has to go the opposite direction to Salt Lake City to get a flight to Reno or they have to drive. Reno is 289 miles from Elko. Goicoechea, R-Eureka, said the bill would help any rural communities that qualify, and the Reno airport also could qualify. He is the bills sponsor and Ellison is co-sponsor. The Elko Chamber of Commerce's Government Affairs Committee is likely to support the bill, according to Matt McCarty of Elko, who has been on the committee for roughly 15 years but hopes to move out of a leadership spot. "It's important from an economic standpoint," he said of the proposed bill. The lack of flights to Reno from Elko impacts the ability for businesses and the community to be economically viable, said McCarty. The Elko Convention Center loses out on conventions and events because of the lack of air service to and from Reno, he said. McCarty is on the Elko Convention and Visitors Authority board. Elko City Manager Curtis Calder said he was recently at a meeting in Las Vegas with the Democratic legislative leadership on the proposed bill to enhance air service, and they didn't have "any big issue with policy, but funding is going to the the problem, as it always is." The draft bill calls for the state to provide an 80 percent grant to communities that apply, and those communities would need to come up with the remaining 20 percent through local funding or federal grants. Elko and West Wendover would likely apply together for federal funding, Calder said. "The state really needs to come up with an air service enhancement program," he said. The proposed bill seeks $1.5 million per year, or $3 million for the biennium, for the statewide program. Calder said Elko envisions seeking $500,000 to $750,000, with 20 percent of that coming from local or federal money. The Elko Regional Airport would use the money as a minimum revenue guarantee for an airline to fly to Reno. He said he is working on the proposed bill and other grant efforts for the airport so the acting airport director, Jim Foster, can focus on day-to-day operations. SkyWest stopped flying to Reno in about 2005 and now flies from Elko to Salt Lake City only. Scenic Airways flew the route after that for about a year, until money from a grant ran out. Since then, there has been no direct air service from Elko to Reno. In about an hour after Ram Gopal Yadav landed at the Election Commission office in New Delhi to claim that he and Akhilesh Yadav were the ones who commanded the Samajwadi Party and have the right to retain the party's poll symbol, cycle, and persuade the EC to reject similar claims made by Mulayam Singh Yadav, another interesting development took place in Lucknow, again with some loaded implications for the pari-War and state politics. Son Akhilesh Yadav drove to father Mulayam Singh's residence in Lucknow to negotiate a truce formula. The meeting gave rise to another round of speculations: what could be the possible peace formula, how long does the latest agreement last and who in the family or outside could be made a sacrificial lamb. There aren't many doubts that father Mulayam and son Akhilesh would ultimately stand united. After all, blood is thicker than water. It was Mulayam who had decided to anoint Akhilesh as the chief minister of the most populous state of Indian union despite the fact that the latter didn't have required maturity, age and experience to lead this politically critical state. All twists and turns and a no-holds-barred family war played out in the public have led to the singular fact that Akhilesh has emerged stronger than he was six months ago. Whether it was by Mulayam's design or otherwise, the fact remains that Akhilesh has his political inheritance to greater heights, irrespective of win or loss in coming elections. He has been a worthy inheritor of Mulayam's legacy in all its forms and substance sam, daam, dand, ved. The question then arises is what would happen to two uncles Shivpal and Ram Gopal should father and son call a truce? Shivpal appears tough and talks like a ruthless executioner who loves to flaunt his muscle. Ram Gopal presents a curious case, though. The "Professor " has been soft, suave, educated and an articulate face of the Samajwadi Party, someone who is famed to have written the constitution of the party but it's his newly acquired image of Akhilesh's political Guru, backroom architect of Akhilesh's moves, a Chankaya for "Chandragupta" Akhilesh aka Tipu the Sultan is more important for current analysis. Will Akhilesh still need Chanakya Ram Gopal by his side when his supremacy within the Samajwadi Party is established and father Mulayam yet again takes over all possible roles to promote son? Nobody can have an answer to that but contemporary history is not on his side. Modern day Chanakyas across the political spectrum have thrived for a while but contemporary history is full of characters who were either dumped or sidelined. Take Congress for instance. Till two years ago Digvijay Singh was considered to be Rahul Gandhi's political guru, his Chanakya. The man who would always be by Congress vice president's side, his remarks taken as an aberration on Day One would be taken as the official line of the party in days to follow. He took Gandhi for a surprise bike ride cum-dharna at Bhatta Parsaul in UP in the run-up to the last assembly election in UP. With Digvijay by his side, Rahul had claimed that the then Mayawati-led government had killed farmers in that area and mounds of ashes in those villages contained human body remains. His claims fell flat as no body part was found there. Digvijay took him to Azamgarh and all other places in UP where he thought Rahul's secularist credentials, as well as his image of a prince who thrived on princely perks and privileges but was a rebel in his own right could work. But it all bombed in the UP election 2012 and all other state assembly and parliamentary elections that were held since then. Since then Digvijay has been trying to find peace in world matters and his political interventions are mostly limited to twitter. Exit Digvijay, in came Prashant Kishor, as political guru-cum-election strategist-cum-Chanakya for Rahul Gandhi. For a while, Kishor's word drew the line for Congress Brahmin Sheila Dikshit as party's chief ministerial candidate in UP, Rahul undertaking Khat Sabhas, Rahul walking on the ramp and Kishor's team controlling Congress vice-president's movements during month long Kisan yatra. Kishor, the Chanakya is now out of Rahul and Congress's scheme of things. He is not much heard off even in Bihar where he was considered to be not just a poll strategist for Nitish Kumar but also his political heir. Decades ago an iconic Kumarasami Kamaraj, considered a kingmaker and Chanakya for Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi, author of the Kamraj plan was thrown out of Indira's dispensation and he went into oblivion with Congress (O). In BJP KN Govindacharya had shot to fame and glory as a young unassuming Chanakya of the party but one single mistake where he referred to Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the mask of the party, and he was thrown out of the system. In Odisha, Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, a bureaucrat-turned-political was once considered to be not only the Chanakya for Navin Patnaik but a parallel power centre as well. Five years ago, he made an over-ambitious move, at least suspected to, and was thrown out of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) to oblivion. Likewise, in Bihar, Shivanand Tiwari was taken to be Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar's Chanakya, but now Tiwari is trying to find contentment in reading and writing. Ram Gopal Yadav can find another such example closer to his home of Amar Singh. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav seems to be living in a virtual world. If one goes by breast-beating visuals of his supporters on TV channels and unqualified adulation he got from a section of the media over his attempt to come out of his fathers "sinister shadow", Akhileshs victory looks like a foregone conclusion. Needless to say the alchemy of politics is being oversimplified in the countrys most populous state and runs the risk of ruining Akhilesh more than making him a man with the Midas touch. Look around Akhilesh and you will find leaders like Naresh Agarwal, Kiranmoy Nanda and his so-called mentor and uncle Ram Gopal Yadav. Most of these leaders are not only rootless but also known as hangers-on. Nobody knows better than Mulayam Singh Yadav that in the past five years, Akhileshs track record in governance was awful. Except for the Lucknow beautification project, a Metro project and the Lucknow-Agra highway, there is hardly anything that Akhilesh can showcase in the elections as his achievements. On the other hand, his follies are many. Let us take then one-by-one. In terms of the law-and-order situation, Akhilesh proved to be as ineffective in almost all the big cities as the smaller cities of western Uttar Pradesh; he let gangsters rule the roost while the state apparently receded and became almost dysfunctional. For the first time, Uttar Pradesh witnessed the emergence of gangsters particularly those belonging to Yadav castes and their domination across the state. Akhilesh facilitated this trend by posting pliable IPS officers as district police chiefs. Yadav police officers and constables were handpicked and posted at crucial places in police stations, but not without the chief ministers complicity. Similarly, the recruitment of officers of the provincial civil services (PCS) was scandalised as a large number of those selected belonged to Yadav caste. In police constable recruitment, a majority of those recruited came from Etah, Etawah, Mainpur and belonged to Yadav caste. Contrast this recruitment with the most transparent and fair recruitment of police constables during Mayawatis tenure, and one will know the difference. The recruitment during Mayawatis tenure is cited as a case study all over the country. The state witnessed its worst communal situations as a series of riots rocked the state. Never since the peak of the Ayodhya agitation had the level of communal acrimony and distrust been as discernible as it is now. What appears to be mystery is the fact that some of those blamed for the riots enjoyed a very good rapport with the chief minister. A senior police officer handling the riots once told me that there was specific instruction from the chief minister not to arrest some BJP leaders who were accused of stoking the violence. His claim for governance sounds hollow if one looks at the fact that Uttar Pradesh witnessed starvation death for the first time since Independence. In the Bundelkhand region, the famished faces of adults and children were captured by photographers who travelled through the area. In none of these cases that exemplified Akhileshs record as the worst chief minister Uttar Pradesh ever had did he ever showed regret or his willingness to mend his ways. In these five years, Akhilesh has however turned shifting blame onto others into a fine art. He assumed himself to be coated by political Teflon that would keep him unblemished. Officials who worked with him admit that the chief ministers span of attention was so low that it became difficult to interact with him on serious issues. For all the ills in the governance, he either blamed officials or members of his family, including the father and his coterie. And there are all indications that Akhilesh is quite convinced by his image-managers that he enjoys a clean and pro-development image. He genuinely believes that his image will transcend the traditional barrier of OBC consolidation and attract upper castes. If the spectacles in Lucknow are to be taken seriously, Akhilesh has already been declared a winner in the medias perception. He is projected as a good man besieged by crooked and criminal relatives, including his father. But perception is not reality. Attuned to reading his political obituaries, a frail and old Mualayam, though a pale shadow of his past, still retains a considerable clout among his support base. In peoples perception, he is seen as a leader who openly patronised criminals and gangsters. But that was hardly a disability among his voters. In 2012, when Akhilesh won the election, he rode on the wave of a social support base whose substantial constituent rendered unqualified support to his father "Netaji". But that was the story of the real world. For the 2017 Assembly elections, Akhilesh is more fascinated by the virtual than real world. Kasme waade pyaar wafa sab; baatein hain baaato ka kya Koi kisi ka nahi ye jhoothhe; natey hain naato ka kya Kasme waade pyaar wafa Hoga maseeha saamne tere; fir bhi na tu bach paayega Tera apna khoon hi aakhir; tujhko aag lagayega Aasman pe udane waale; mitti me mil jayega Kasme wade Penned by Qamar Jalalabadi and sung originally by Manna Dey, this beautiful song, which was immortalised by Pran with his hugely successful performance as Malang Chacha in Manoj Kumars blockbuster Upkaar (1967) hit the headlines on New Years Day all over again. But why? It's because Chacha Shivpal Singh Yadav had sung the song once again for the benefit of his friends at a five-star hotel in the aftermath of Akhilesh Yadavs appointment as party president in place of Mulayam Singh Yadav. Just imagine the kind of impact Shivpals rendition must have had: The song does convey an eternal truth. And eternal truths remain true in all cases in all ages without any exception whether Mulayam, Shivpal or anybody else. In Akhilesh's Samajwadi Party, Mulayam has been 'promoted' to occupy the same 'margdarshak' position that LK Advani and Murali Manohar Joshi do in Narendra Modis BJP. Is there any difference? Perhaps not. Neither the Samajwadi Party nor the BJP are, in this context, parties with a difference. Be that as it may, there is an unwritten rule even in the world of politics: You may go on doing as you like in your political manoeuverings, but be careful. You must not be seen to be disrespecting seniors not even remotely. India is an extremely sensitive land. Recall what happened to the British Raj after old Lala Lajpat Rai was lathi charged during the Independence struggle. Or remember how fast the tide turned against Indira Gandhi across the nation following a brutal assault on septuagenarian Jayaprakash Narayan by policemen during the Bihar movement in 1974. Akhilesh knows this very well. Thats why he made sure, time and again, that no one in his group spoke a word against his father. Soon after being elevated as party president, he tweeted: Sometimes to protect the ones you love you must make the right decision. What I did today was a tough decision but one that I had to take. pic.twitter.com/M5xZYEZhii Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) January 1, 2017 He wants to tell the world that he is, in fact, protecting his father from the machinations of certain evil forces. Throwing further light on Akhileshs suspicion, The Times of India put out a story titled 'Different Mulayam signatures spark forgery speculation' on Tuesday. To make things clear, the newspaper published photocopies of two Mulayam letters the one through which the parallel SP convention was declared as unconstitutional and the other by which Kiranmoy Nanda was expelled from the parent party. The newspaper story said: "Issued a few hours apart, Mulayams signatures on the letters do not match... Justifying his coup against his father, Akhilesh had said on Sunday that some people had taken control of Mulayam, getting him to sign documents and take decisions, some flagrantly against the interest of the party". There may be wheels within wheels. But who knows? Even as the two warring groups are seen to be locking horns before the Election Commission to retain the 'bicycle' symbol, Mulayam has put on hold his partys emergency convention that was scheduled to be held on 5 January. According to The Indian Express, Mulayam had called the convention to dispel misconceptions of public support created by Sundays convention in which the rival camp seized control of the SP state headquarters and appointed his son Akhilesh party chief and MLC Naresh Uttam state president. If so, why put it off? Will the wily old patriarch draw an ace from up his sleeve once again befuddling friends and foes alike? Is a truce still possible? Maybe. You never know, the "Kasme Waade" song might be proved wrong. For a change. Washington: President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate lawyer Robert Lighthizer as US Trade Representative, a transition official says, filling in one of the final pieces in the new administration's senior team. Lighthizer, who served as deputy USTR under President Ronald Reagan, would play a key role in Trump's trade agenda. The president-elect has vigorously opposed the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership pact, but has said he would ink one-on-one trade deals with individual countries. Trump has also signaled a tough stance on trade with China, including levying a hefty tariff on Chinese imports. The transition official was not authorised to publicly confirm Trump's expected decision and insisted on anonymity. Trump returned to New York Monday after spending the holidays at his private club in South Florida. With less than three weeks until his 20 January inauguration, Trump is expected to fill out a handful of remaining Cabinet-level posts in the coming days. In addition to the USTR, Trump is also weighing picks to lead the departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, as well as a Director of National Intelligence. In addition, Trump is still filling out some top White House positions. Trump has already signaled that he plans to spread work on his trade policies beyond USTR. His transition team has said billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, Trump's nominee to head the Commerce Department, will play a lead role on trade. The president-elect has also named economist Peter Navarro to a newly created White House National Trade Council. Outside of government, Lighthizer has worked on trade issues as a lawyer, representing manufacturing, agricultural and high-tech companies, according to his law firm biography. Lighthizer's bio also states that he focused on "market-opening trade actions on behalf of US companies seeking access to foreign markets." Berlin: Germany's interior minister on Tuesday outlined plans for an overhaul of the country's security apparatus, seeking greater federal powers on domestic intelligence and the enforcement of migrant expulsions in the wake of the Berlin truck attack. The minister, Thomas de Maiziere, also called for wider oversight for federal police as well as for a crisis management centre to be set up. "We don't have federal jurisdiction to deal with national catastrophes. The jurisdiction for the fight against international terrorism is fragmented," he wrote in a guest column for the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. "The federal police's scope of action is restricted to railway stations, airports and border controls," he wrote, stressing that "it is time" to re-examine Germany's security set-up. After Tunisian suspect Anis Amri allegedly rammed a truck into a crowded Christmas market on 19 December, it swiftly emerged that the asylum seeker had slipped through the net of security services. Amri had been under surveillance since March, but German police dropped their watch in September, thinking that he was a small-time drug dealer. The failed asylum seeker should also have been deported months ago but Tunisia had not provided the necessary paperwork until after the attack. De Maiziere said federal departure centres should be set up to hold asylum seekers in the weeks or days leading up to their expulsion. In order to close security gaps, De Maiziere said federal police must be given wider powers. "The current remit of the federal police is too limited," he said. "We need a set of common rules and better coordination, for instance in checking dangerous individuals," he said. Further, the federal government should take charge of domestic intelligence services, said the minister. De Maiziere is a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is running for a fourth term in a general election expected in September. Her government came under fire in the wake of the 19 December attack for its liberal border policy, which allowed in more than one million asylum seekers since 2015, and for allowing Amri to slip through the net despite documented security concerns. Baghdad: An attack carried out by the Islamic State group on a police station in the Iraqi city of Samarra has left three members of the force dead, officers said on Tuesday. According to security officials from Salaheddin province, in which Samarra is located, a group of four gunmen wearing suicide vests stormed Mutawakil police station in Samarra late on Monday They holed themselves up in the police station and were subsequently besieged by Iraqi security forces, leading to clashes that lasted several hours. "The exchange of fire started around 9:00 pm (local time) and lasted way past midnight," a Samarra police colonel told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The four suicide bombers who attacked the police station were all killed," the colonel said. "Three members of the police were also killed, including a lieutenant colonel, and four wounded." An official from Salaheddin province said the curfew that was imposed late yesterday on Samarra, a city 110 kilometres north of Baghdad, was lifted early today. The attack, similar to one carried out in late November 2016, was claimed by IS via its propaganda agency Amaq. Samarra is home to a major Iraqi security headquarters and to an important Shiite shrine where a 2006 bombing touched off two years of sectarian bloodletting. BAGHDAD Iraq Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the autonomous Kurdish region was exporting more than its allocated share of oil as the country seeks to comply with an OPEC output cut.In November, OPEC agreed to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day from January 2017 to support prices. Iraq, OPEC's second largest producer, agreed to reduce output by 200,000 bpd to 4.351 million bpd.We call upon the Kurdistan region to show more transparency and clarity in its exporting of oil," state television quoted Abadi as saying. He gave no figures or further details.Oil exports from the Kurdish region have long been a point of contention with Baghdad, which claims sole authority over sales of all the country's crude. Kurdish regional authorities have yet to publish oil export figures for December, but the Ministry of Natural resources said it had pumped an average of 587,646 bpd to Turkey's Ceyhan port in November. Under the terms of the 2017 budget, which passed despite a boycott from a key Kurdish party, the autonomous region is allocated 250,000 bpd exports from oilfields under its control. That does not include the disputed Kirkuk fields, which Kurdish forces control but are run by Iraq's North Oil Company (NOC).The Kurds built their own oil pipeline to Turkey and began exporting oil via Turkey without Baghdad's approval in 2013. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Isabel Coles; editing by Susan Thomas) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Jerusalem: Israeli police have interrogated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over corruption allegations, a statement said. Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit said the interrogation ended at around 23.00 (local time) on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported. It was the first time the Attorney and the police officially acknowledged the probe conducted for months. Mendelblit said Netanyahu was interrogated over suspicions that he received "benefits" from businessmen. He confirmed that Netanyahu was investigated as a suspect, with "a slew of allegations that the Prime Minister allegedly committed offences in the field of integrity". The investigation led to several other affairs, Mendelblit said. The probe has been conducted for several months but in December the investigators found evidence that "changed the situation of the case", leading to Monday's questioning. Black screens were placed outside the Prime Minister's official residence on Monday to keep the media out. Netanyahu's office rejected the allegations as "baseless". In a meeting of his Likud party ministers, he said: "They won't come to anything because there is not anything." Netanyahu is under criminal investigation over suspicion that he and his family received "favours", including gifts and money, from businessmen. According to local media, Ron Lauder, an American billionaire, was linked with the case. Lauder was Netanyahu's close friend until their relation soured. Lauder was investigated by the police when he arrived in Israel for the funeral of the late President Shimon Peres in September. Lauder then confirmed that he had given Netanyahu "various gifts and also financed a trip abroad for the Prime Minister's son Yair". JERUSALEM Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he hoped to stave off any possible moves at the U.N. Security Council against his government's policies following a Paris conference scheduled for later this month on Middle East peace.The Security Council on Dec. 23 adopted a resolution that demands an end to Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, despite heavy Israeli pressure against it.France plans to convene some 70 countries on Jan. 15 to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, a conference Netanyahu has rejected in advance as "futile"."There are signs that they will try to turn decisions made there into another decision in the Security Council," Netanyahu said during a meeting with Israeli ambassadors in Jerusalem. "Therefore our primary effort for now is to prevent another U.N. decision, another decision by the Security Council. And also to prevent a decision by the Quartet," he said, referring to the group of peace mediators that comprises the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union. "We are investing a great diplomatic effort in this," he said in broadcast remarks, without providing any details.Netanyahu has said Israel will re-assess its ties with the United Nations following last month's resolution. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Gareth Jones) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Vatican City: Pope Francis has exhorted Catholic bishops worldwide to do what's needed to ensure children are protected from sexual abuse by clergy. The Vatican on Tuesday released the text of a 28 December letter Francis sent to bishops about injustices to children. They included slave labour, malnutrition, lack of education and sexual exploitation, including abuse by priests. In the letter, Francis decried "the sufferings, the experiences and pain of minors who were abused sexually by priests". "It is a sin that shames us," the pope wrote. "Persons responsible for the protection of those children destroyed their dignity". The church's reputation has been stained in several countries during the last decade-and-a-half as people have come forward to report that parish priests or other Catholic clergy raped or molested them as minors. The allegations showed that local bishops sometimes knew about and covered up child sex abuse involving problem priests and triggered multi-million-dollar lawsuits, as well as several criminal prosecutions. Expressing the church's "regret," and begging forgiveness, the pope denounced the "sin of what happened, the sin of failing to help, the sin of covering up and denial, the sin of the abuse of power". Francis also asked bishops for "complete commitment to ensuring that these atrocities will no longer take place in our midst." "Let us find the courage needed to take all necessary measures and to protect in every way the lives of our children, so that such crimes may never be repeated," the pope said. "In this area, let us adhere, clearly and faithfully, to 'zero tolerance.'" The pontiff himself has gotten mixed reviews on how the Vatican handles sex abuse. Francis has laid out procedures to oust bishops for negligence, if they mishandle investigations into alleged abuse. But he dismayed advocates for abuse survivors by appointing a Chilean bishop accused of covering up for a notorious pedophile. The Vatican also took no immediate action after deaf students in Francis' native Argentina, in a 2014 letter to the pope, said a priest sexually abused them at school. After years of false hopes and disappointments from Congress, military personnel with at least 20 years of service who did not spend more than 179 consecutive days on federal active duty received an early Christmas present from both Congress and the president. President Barack Obama signed into law on Dec. 16 legislation known as the Jeff Miller and Richard Blumenthal Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2016 that grants veteran status for National Guard soldiers and airmen and reservists from all branches of service. Earlier in December, the 114th Congress approved legislation to expand the legal definition of a veteran for guardsmen and reservists who honorably serve or had served in the military for 20 years but were never called up for federal active duty for an extended period of time. VICTORY FOR VETERANS This legislation is a victory for veterans. While we still have work to do, I am proud of how we have moved the ball forward in a bipartisan way, said Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., a retired National Guard sergeant major. Since first coming to Congress, Walz along with members of the Nevada delegation to include Sen. Dean Heller, outgoing senator and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and Congressmen Mark Amodei and Joe Heck, both Army veterans has fought for this legislation to honor guardsmen and reservists. In Nevada for example, the state recognizes guardsmen and reservists as veterans without the requirement of 179 days of federal active duty. No one, though, welcomed the news more than Brig. Gen. Bill Burks, the adjutant general for Nevada. I still think it falls somewhat short, but it is a step in the right direction, he said in an email to the Lahontan Valley News. A person in the guard or reserves who spends 20 years of good service at a minimum would get around 1,260 days on duty (63 days times 20 years) or about 3.5 years of honorable service. I know all enlistments are now for eight years (active, guard and reserve), but if you can manage that as a period of two to three years active duty enlistment and spend the remainder in the IRR (Individual Readiness Reserve), you are considered a veteran even if you never leave the United States. So you can see the disparity in the systems. Lastly, I dont know of any guard member that only does the one weekend a month and two weeks a year anymore. I think the average nationwide is well over a 100 days for the average guard member. Kat Miller, director of the Nevada Department of Veteran Services, said the legislation provides for no additional benefits other than permitting those who are entitled to retired pay for nonregular service to be referred to as veterans. Nevada is ahead of the federal government in acknowledging members of the Guard and Reserve as veterans, she said. In fact in 2013 Gov. (Brian) Sandoval signed Assembly Bill 266, which established that in Nevada members of the National Guard and Reserve forces are defined as Veterans if they have been assigned to duty for a minimum of six continuous years, even if they are not military retirees. Sen. Dean Heller said the passage of the bill and the presidents signature have been a long time coming. He said guardsmen and reservists take the same educational courses and perform the same type of training. I am very grateful to honor those who honor their country, Heller said in a phone interview with the LVN. This will serve them well. These men and women work hard and serve hard. They did what they had to. Likewise, Amodei said Walzs legislation bill is common sense legislation and lawmakers persevered to pass this law. Its the right thing to do, said Amodei, who represents Congressional District 2 in Northern Nevada. The folks in the Guard and Reserve will now be acknowledged. Both Reid and Heck did not comment on the bills passage. NO EXTRA BENEFITS The National Guard Association of the United States has been a big proponent of attaining veterans status for guardsmen and reservists. The current definition has long been out of date, said retired Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett, NGAUS president. It fails to recognize the deterrence value of training and readiness to our national security. Many of those affected underwent arduous, even dangerous, training. They helped win the Cold War. Others worked in direct support of those who did deploy. Yet our nation tells them that they arent veterans. NGAUS vigorously pushed for the change for six years. It easily passed in the House in every session only to be halted in the Senate by fears that an expansion of the definition would raise the cost of veteran entitlement programs. The House and Senate actually approved the change last year, but the language was not identical. This forced the two chambers to come up with a compromise provision. John Goheen, director of Communications for NGAUS, served on active duty and worked alongside guardsmen and reservists. All of us should be called veterans. We all served, he said, adding many guardsmen and reservists served with distinction. Because of the provision of the law, Goheen said the newly minted veterans will not be eligible for additional benefits, a point echoed by Miller. However, neither the federal nor the state legislation affects eligibility at our cemeteries or at the Nevada State Nursing home, Miller pointed out. Our cemeteries and nursing home must follow federal eligibility guidelines in order to receive federal reimbursement. This legislation did not change current federal law which only permits National Guard and Reserve members to be buried at the cemeteries if they have served two continuous years on active duty, died while in the line of duty, or if they were officially retired from the guard of reserve. Miller also said a veteran must have had 90 days of active duty military service to receive care at a state veterans home. LAW AFFECTS THOUSANDS Retired Nevada Army Guard Command Sgt. Maj. Wayne Willson said the bill will affect millions of guardsmen and reservists across the United States, and thousands of military personnel in Nevada who never worked in an AGR (Active Guard Reserve) full-time federal status or deployed for more than 179 consecutive days. Willson said not too many guardsmen deployed to Vietnam although the Nevada Air Guard received orders to activate airmen when the North Koreans seized the USS Pueblo in 1968. Fewer than 51,000 Guardsmen received a call-up to Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990-1991. The massive deployments, though, began in 2002 and 2003 when the military deployed both active duty and reservists to Iraq and Afghanistan. Retired Nevada Army Guard Maj. James M. Ludlow of Fallon spent 22 years in the National Guard but never deployed more than 179 days. During his career, he commanded several Carson City units and traveled overseas numerous times for training including to the Republic of Korea and Panama. It bothered me a little bit, Ludlow said about the federal governments lack of recognition for guardsmen and reservists. People who served only two years in active duty were called veterans, said Ludlow, an engineering officer who has the equivalent of more than six years of military service. When I served in the Guard, we were eligible for federal call-up. Ludlow said he was glad when he heard Congress passed the legislation and the president signed it. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Joe Dolan of Carson City spent 41 years in the Nevada Army Guard, most of that time as a state technician. Although technicians wear the uniform and must take the same courses as their active-duty counterparts, they are considered as civilian state not federal employees. Most technicians work in Carson City, Reno and Las Vegas. This is certainly good news, said Dolan, who served as both an administrative and safety officer. Overall, Miller said the legislation is important for the recognition. I personally would like to see the federal government expand eligibility for burial and nursing home benefits to all those who serve in the Guard and Reserve ... not just our retirees, she said. These patriotic men and women volunteered to serve our nation and our state in times of both restless peace and war; the fact that they were not called up to do so in no way detracts from their willingness to serve. WASHINGTON North Korea continues to pursue nuclear and ballistic missile technologies but the United States does not believe it is in a position to "tip" one of them with a nuclear warhead, State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday.North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, said on Sunday his nuclear-capable country was close to test-launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), raising the prospect of putting parts of the United States within range."We do not believe that at this point in time he has the capability to tip one of these with a nuclear warhead ... but we do know that he continues to want to have those capabilities and the programs continue to march in that direction," Kirby told reporters.Asked whether he would agree with President-elect Donald Trump's assessment that China was not helping to contain North Korea's nuclear ambitions, Kirby said: "We would not agree with that assessment."Trump, who will take office on Jan. 20, tweeted on Monday that North Korea would not be allowed to complete a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the United States, although he did not say how he would stop it. "It won't happen!" he said on Twitter. Trump's transition spokesman, Sean Spicer, said the tweet spoke for itself but added that it meant, "Under his watch he's going to make sure that that doesnt happen."Pyongyang's action will be discussed at a meeting in Washington on Thursday between the United States, Japan and South Korea, led by Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Kirby said. "No question that tensions on the Korean peninsula will be a topic of discussion (but) where that is going to take us, especially in light of Kim Jong Un's speech, I don't know," Kirby said.Asked about the possibility of more sanctions against Pyongyang, he added: "We haven't ruled out the possibility of additional sanctions." (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by James Dalgleish and Alan Crosby) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Nay Pyi Taw: The Myanmar government on Tuesday blamed fabricated stories and incorrectly captioned pictures for creating misunderstanding about Rakhine state to the rest of the world. The Information Committee of the State Counsellor's Office said the fake news posted on social media of events purporting to have occurred in the country but actually happening in other places began to circulate in earnest after the 9 October armed attacks in Maungtaw. It brought criticism and condemnation to Myanmar by some countries and rights groups across the world. The Office said: "Such intentionally fabricated news and photos were sent to international media, human rights organisations and governments in an attempt to cause misunderstanding about Myanmar." A wheelchair-bound Algerian "militant" allegedly linked to Osama Bin Laden has won his 21-year legal battle to live in the UK, with the judge saying the threat of deportation has affected his mental health, according to media reports. The man, who can only be referred to as 'G' due to legal reasons, has defeated repeated UK government attempts to deport him despite being accused of helping to send young British Muslims to terror training camps abroad, according to British media reports. The wheelchair-bound man came to the UK to claim asylum in August, 1995 using a false French passport. But in 2001, the UK government decided to deport him after evidence emerged that he was a suspected terrorist and a risk to national security. The UK Home Office claimed he was an active supporter of the Algerian terrorist group Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC), which has links to Osama Bin Laden's terrorist network. "Your activities on behalf of the group and of extremist fighters in Chechnya include sponsoring young Muslims in the UK to go to Afghanistan to train for Jihad," the government told him in the court. In his long-running legal battle, G twice lost appeals to his deportation but because of human rights laws, the UK government has been unable to remove him to Algeria. Now in a ruling last month by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, Justice Collins said that G no longer poses a risk to national security and that limiting his right to live in the UK threatened his mental health. "I am satisfied as is shown by the history that there is now no reasonable need for limited leave. The possibility of removal is remote in the extreme," he said.A spokesperson for the UK Home Office said the government had received the judgement and was considering its options. SEOUL U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's "clear warning" to North Korea shows he is aware of the urgency of the threat posed by its nuclear programme and will not waver from a policy of sanctions against the isolated country, South Korea said on Tuesday.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said on Sunday his nuclear-capable country was close to test-launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), raising the prospect of putting parts of the United States in range.Trump dismissed the claim, saying on Twitter: "It won't happen." South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Trump's comment, his first mention of the North Korean nuclear issue since the U.S. election in November, could be interpreted as a "clear warning" to the North."Because of our active outreach, President-elect Trump and U.S. officials are clearly aware of the gravity and urgency of the North Korean nuclear threat," ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck said at a briefing."They are maintaining an unwavering stance on the need for sanctions on North Korea and for close cooperation between South Korea and the U.S." Trump has not outlined a policy on North Korea but during the U.S. election campaign indicated he would be willing to talk its leader, Kim, given the opportunity.Trump spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway told ABC's "Good Morning America" program that the president-elect was "putting North Korea on notice through this tweet and through other statements that this won't happen." "He as president of the United States wants to stand between them and their missile capabilities, which experts say could be deployed to reach Seattle almost immediately," Conway said.She said Trump had not publicly stated how he might respond to North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programmes and "won't before he's inaugurated.""We do know that there are sanctions that are possible," Conway said. "They haven't always worked. I think that China would have to have a significant role here as well."Trump has been critical of China over the issue. On Monday, he said China had benefited from its economic ties with the United States but would not use its influence to help control North Korea.Responding to the comment, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China had been pushing for the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. "China's efforts in this regard are perfectly obvious," Geng told a news briefing. "As a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council we have proactively participated in relevant discussions on the North Korean nuclear issue and have jointly passed several resolutions with other parties. "This shows China's responsible attitude."The United States has for years dismissed North Korean calls for talks, insisting it must disarm first. Instead, the United States and ally South Korea have responded to two North Korean nuclear tests and various missile tests last year with ever-more severe sanctions.The U.N. Security Council imposed new sanctions on North Korea at the end of November after Pyongyang carried out its fifth and largest nuclear test so far in September.A North Korean ICBM, once fully developed, could threaten the continental United States, which is about 9,000 km (5,500 miles) from the North. ICBMs have a minimum range of about 5,500 km (3,400 miles), but some are designed to travel 10,000 km (6,200 miles) or further. North Korea worked last year on developing components for an ICBM, saying it was close to a test-launch plausible, international weapons experts said on Monday. (Reporting by James Pearson and Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Jeongeun Lee; Editing by Nick Macfie and Bill Trott) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Nearly 900 bill draft requests and bills are in the hopper in preparation for the 2017 session of the Nevada Legislature that begins Feb. 6, and the two legislators who represent Elko County are gearing up for a tough session. The Democrats control the Senate and Assembly. I see this is going to be a very challenging year. They can throw away a lot of the bills and kill them, said Assemblyman John Ellison, R-Elko. State Sen. Pete Goicoechea, R-Eureka, said Republicans will probably be playing defense rather than offense. Goicoechea and Ellison will have pull in the Legislature even though they are in the minority. Ellison is the rural whip, and Goicoechea has 14 years of experience, including as minority leader in the Assembly before he went to the Senate side. There are a lot of things I can do as a whip, Ellison said. The rural caucus leadership will focus on water, mining, trucking, energy and other issues affecting rural Nevada. Goicoechea said he isnt in leadership in the Senate, but I have a lot of seniority and a good working relationship with both sides. He said he is happy not to be in leadership in the Senate because in leadership you really have to temper your views and soften your approach. Goicoechea, who has the largest senate district in the state and logs in 50,000 miles a year on average reaching constituents, predicts a long session, possibly going into special session. The regular session ends the first Monday in June. There will be a lot of discussion, but not a lot of movement, he predicted. Goicoechea also said term limits are damaging the Nevada Legislature because there is no longer institutional knowledge the way there was when legislators could serve for many years. Institutional knowledge just isnt here anymore. The only ones with longevity are the lobbyists, he said. I think it is starting to show. Dont get me wrong. There are some very good legislators, Goicoechea said, but he pointed out that of the 63 lawmakers in the Senate and Assembly combined a large number are freshmen or in their second term. Goicoecheas draft bills include ones to establish a board to license guides and outfitters, one regarding helicopter flights over the Ruby Mountains, a bill to enhance rural air service, and a public works bill for Henderson. There also is one regarding probationary employment of certain school personnel. Nothing will be earth-shaking. Were in the minority on both sides, he said. Additionally, Goicoechea has a proposed resolution supporting federal legislation to transfer recreational and public purpose land to the jurisdiction or nonprofit entity that leases the land from the federal government. He said he anticipates the bill will be introduced in Congress, and he believes the bill would be good especially for Clark County, where 58 schools are on land leased from the federal government under the recreation and public purpose provision. It also works well for rural Nevada, Goicoechea said, citing as an example the Eureka County Fairgrounds that the county leases from the federal government. I think it is a good resolution. The only downfall is there is duplicate language to the public lands transfer bill in Congress, he said. Its a piece of it. Goicoechea said he believes the proposal to transfer federal leases is doable and has a lot of support in Clark County. It offers an alternative to a bill transferring public lands to states, which has a lot of opposition, he said. Water Issues Goicoechea is also going to follow water bills closely. There are a stack of water bills from different parties. I think a lot of water bills will be discussed, he said. Mike Baughman of Intertech Services and executive director of the Humboldt River Basin Water Authority also will be riding herd on water bills during the session. I anticipate there will be about a dozen water bills, he said. Were going to be watching them all. The authority is made up of Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander and Pershing counties. One of those bill requests would amend the grant program for cloud seeding so local governments could participate as partners for water benefits. The authority is looking at cost-sharing, Baughman said. One bill would allow the state engineer to manage surface and ground water concurrently to get water basins in balance, and another makes changes for the state engineer in water appropriations and fees for water inventories. Another makes changes regarding adjudication of vested water rights. There also is a bill that provides for the collection of rainwater in certain instances and authorizes the state engineer to declare a drought in certain instances, as well as authorizing the state engineer to create an advisory panel on water planning and drought. Those bills each contain elements that would be applicable to the Humboldt River Basin as they move forward, Baughman said. Mining Issues The Nevada Mining Association also will keep an eye on water bills, said the associations president, Dana Bennett. She said the association will be talking with State Engineer Jason King on conjunctive water management of surface and underground water and will participate in discussions during the legislative session on the bill. His authority will be talked about in the session, Bennett said. Dylan Shaver, the associations vice president and chief lobbyist, said the mining industry has long years of experience dealing with water issues. The mining association also will follow budget bills, any environmental-related bills and other proposals that would impact the mining industry, as well as continually inform legislators about the industrys recovery from low gold prices, which are currently down again in the range of $1,130. The high in 2016 was $1,366.25 an ounce on July 6, according to Kitcos London afternoon fix price chart. The low was $1,077 per ounce on Jan. 5. Bennett said the recovery is still fragile, and we are certainly providing information in terms of the downturn. The mining sector is the only one to have job losses as other business and industry sectors in the state recover from the earlier economic downturn and are seeing a boost in jobs. She said the industry has done a great job sustaining jobs so there havent been large-scale layoffs, but vacant job slots arent always filled and a couple smaller mines are on care and maintenance. Were cautiously optimistic, but indications are the sector is still struggling. Were also very concerned about last-minute regulatory action from the Obama administration and land being withdrawn from exploration for the sage grouse, Bennett said. The association doesnt expect any bills targeting the industry specifically for more money, however, which has been the case in other sessions. We dont anticipate anything out of the ordinary, Bennett said. Goicoechea is on the Senate Finance Committee, as well as the Senate Government Affairs and the Senate Natural Resources Committee, which deals with rural issues. He said the money committees start working on the state budget Jan. 23. His senate district includes Elko, Eureka and White Pine counties and part of Clark and Nye counties. Ellisons district includes Elko, Eureka and White Pine counties and part of Lincoln County. Ellisons Bill Drafts Ellison said he has 10 proposed measures filed, including the air service bill with Goicoechea that could provide flights from Elko to Reno, and he and Goicoechea also will be working on a bill to straighten out water billing problems in Spring Creek. Another of his draft bills asks for a study of salaries for state employees, such as those with the Highway Patrol and Nevada Department of Transportation. Ellison said the patrol is losing $1.7 million a year providing Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) school for officers who soon after go to big city departments that pay more. Were training people and then losing them, he said. NDOT cant keep mechanics and drivers in rural Nevada because they can make more working for the mines, for example, Ellison said. He additionally has a draft bill that would state that the commerce tax statute cant be amended, such as to increase taxes, without a vote of the people. It will be hard to get through, but at least we will go on record, Ellison said. Another of his bills would require the state to post signs that slower traffic must keep right on the interstates, and allow the patrol to cite drivers who block traffic. Were wasting resources and causing wrecks, Ellison said. Yet another of his bills would increase penalties for hate crimes against emergency service people, whether law enforcement, emergency medical technicians or firefighters. Its about the uniform. We need to do something. We pay officers to serve and protect, Ellison said, adding the he worked with Elko city and county on the bill. He said another of his draft bills would provide a tougher penalty for anyone convicted of burglary while out on bail for another burglary charge. Elko is having a real problem with break-ins. Repeat offenders bail out of jail and that night or the next rob another place, Ellison said. Another draft bill requires an audit of the predator control program funded with $3 from each hunting license to make sure the money collected is used to control predators, he said. Another bill is to close a loophole regarding fees for limited liability corporations under a main corporation umbrella. Ellison also filed a draft resolution to show Nevadas support for Israel. According to the Nevada Legislature website, as of Dec. 16 there were 84 Assembly and 84 Senate bills so far. Those are the ones achieving bill status. There were 893 draft bill and resolution requests filed as of Dec. 16. Bills that havent passed out of legislative committees by April 14 will die, and bills have to pass one house by April 25 to survive so we will know the true bills by April 26, said Matt McCarty, who is on the Elko Chamber of Commerces Government Affairs Committee. He said he also served on the statewide legislative Spending and Government Efficiency (SAGE) Commission that was charged with looking at ways to save money for grades kindergarten through 12th grade so I know we will focus on education to some degree. He said college funding also will be discussed in the session. The chambers Government Affairs Committee will track bills that affect businesses or the Elko community, but the chamber relies on volunteers and chamber members to keep the committee informed of bills that interest them, McCarty said. The chamber committee also relies on lobbyists, the city, county and Great Basin College regarding bills. Sony had released Nougat based concept build for Xperia X in November last year. Now the company has released Android 7.1.1 Nougat for Xperia X making it the first device besides Google Pixel and Nexus phones to run latest Android OS. Android 7.1.1 Nougat MR1 is said to have build number 38.3.A.0.41. The update brings new features such as a restart option on the power button menu and a faster camera start-up time. Sony has also added PlayStation 4 PS4 Remote Play support to the Xperia X Concept as well as the latest 1 December Google Security patches. It must be noted that in order to get the OTA release, you must have chosen the Experimental update track. Sony had launched the Concept for Android initiative in 2015 and it is available on some phones in certain markets. Source On behalf of law-abiding gun owners and civil right advocates everywhere, we would like to thank Nevada Attorney General Lexalt for his excellent and well-reasoned legal opinion on Nevadas unenforceable Question 1 gun control ballot initiative, which passed by less than 1 percent. This opinion represents a serious setback to both Question 1 and the radical plans for a West Coast Wall of gun control reaching from the Pacific Ocean to the mountain and western states. Question 1 mandated that all private firearm transfers be cleared directly through the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) rather than Nevadas existing point of contact background check system, which queries state and federal databases (including NICS). However, as the FBI and Attorney General Lexalt have now confirmed, the federal NICS background check system cannot be hijacked by anti-gun billionaires like Michael Bloomberg and their civilian disarmament agenda. Bloomberg and his puppet organization Everytown for Gun Safety spent tens of millions of dollars on Nevadas Question 1, Initiative 1491 in Washington, helping to elect anti-gun governor Kate Brown in Oregon, and on Question 3 in Maine (which failed). Of the nearly $20 Million in political contributions supporting Question 1, approximately $15 million was donated by Everytown for Gun Safety and its Political Action Fund committee. And despite the 3-to-1 spending gap, Question 1 passed by fewer than 10,000 votes less than 1 percent of the total statewide vote and only in Clark County. Everytown and Bloomberg have proven that they are rabidly committed to abusing the initiative process in order to go around public hearings and legislation. Thankfully, the checks and balances in existing federal law and the common-sense opinion by Attorney General Lexalt appear to be doing their job in preventing a fundamentally-flawed legal scheme like Question 1 from infringing the fundamental, individual civil rights of law-abiding people. Updated 1:28 p.m. ET Ford (NYSE:F), a frequent target of President-elect Donald Trump, has reversed course in Mexico. The automaker said Tuesday it canceled plans to construct a new $1.6 billion factory in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Instead, Ford will invest $700 million in expanding a Michigan factory slated to build new electric and autonomous vehicles. Ford Chairman Bill Ford said he spoke to Trump on Tuesday morning to inform him of the change. CEO Mark Fields indicated that a shift in consumer demand from small cars to crossovers and SUVs lessened the need for a new Mexican plant, where Ford planned on building small cars like the Focus. On the FOX Business Networks Cavuto: Coast to Coast, Fields said the company no longer needs the additional capacity. Trump also played a role in the decision. Ford would have dropped its plans for the new plant regardless of the outcome on Election Day, Fields told Neil Cavuto. But the Ford chief also said the company was making a bet on the economy, and Trumps proposed tax cuts and regulatory reform would be good for business. One of the factors that we are looking at is a more positive U.S. manufacturing business environment under President-elect Trump and some of the pro-growth policies that he said he is going to pursue, Fields said during the interview. This is a vote of confidence. Fields added that no specific deal was made between the incoming Trump administration and Ford. News that Ford would scrap its investment in Mexico elicited cheers from employees in Flat Rock, Mich., where Fields made the announcement Tuesday. The $700 million heading to Flat Rock will create 700 jobs, according to Ford. Were encouraged by the pro-growth policies that President-elect Trump and the new Congress have indicated that they will pursue, Fields said in an address at the plant. We believe that these tax and regulatory reforms are critically important to boost U.S. competitiveness and of course drive a resurgence in American manufacturing and high-tech innovation. He later added, Make no mistake about it, Ford is a global automaker, but our home is the United States. Ford already told Trump in November that it would continue building the Lincoln MKC in Louisville, Ky. The MKC crossover previously appeared destined for Mexico to make room for more Ford Escapes. Shares of Ford jumped more than 3% to $12.49 a share in midday trading. Fords U-turn in Mexico is strongly suggesting to us that potential Trump administration intervention (including tax policy) will be an increasingly important consideration for automakers, CFRA Research analyst Efraim Levy wrote in a note to clients. We think such government pressures could have some negative effects on automaker competitiveness. Ticker Security Last Change Change % F FORD MOTOR CO. 13.26 +0.20 +1.53% GM GENERAL MOTORS CO. 38.51 -0.01 -0.03% Trump has been critical of automakers for making vehicles in Mexico and then selling them in the U.S. He has targeted Ford over its plans to build a new plant south of the border, and on Tuesday, the President-elect slammed General Motors (NYSE:GM) for building Chevrolet Cruze compact cars in Mexico. GM responded by saying only a small number of Cruze hatchbacks are shipped from Mexico to the U.S. Automakers including GM have recently cut production of small cars in the U.S. amid soft demand among consumers, who are increasingly turning to crossovers that offer competitive fuel economy but greater cabin space. Several companies have also moved small cars to Mexico, seeking to reduce labor costs to build the entry-level vehicles. Small cars are far less profitable than SUVs and pickup trucks, two popular segments in the U.S. Ford noted it still plans to build the next-generation Focus in Mexico, albeit at an existing plant in Hermosillo, Mexico. The Dearborn, Mich.-based company disclosed its new plans for Mexico as part of a broader announcement covering electric vehicles and new technology. Ford confirmed that seven models will be offered in electrified versions over the next five years. Most notably, Ford plans to introduce hybrid versions of the F-150, Americas top-selling pickup truck, and the Mustang. Ford also revealed that an electric SUV capable of traveling 300 miles on a single charge is in the pipeline. Trumps Inaugural Rabbi, Marvin Hier, is outraged that the U.S. snubbed Israel at the United Nations. Not only was it outrageous but imagine, just a few weeks before a new president takes office to pull a stunt like that? he told the FOX Business Networks Stuart Varney. Last month, the U.S. refused to veto a resolution passed by the United Nations Security County demanding an end to Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory. The resolution called Israeli settlements in the West Bank a violation of international law. What we have before us now is a three-state solution. Its like an accordion. You have Ramallah on one side the Hamas terrorists in Gaza and you have Israel in the middle, he said. To say that settlements [are] the reason that, that is the only obstacle for a two-state solution is untrue, ridiculous and prejudicial. Ronald McDonald has officially joined the Pope in Vatican City. Despite a very public battle waged by locals and religious officials to keep the fast food chain out of the Papal headquarters, a branch of the golden arches chain restaurant opened for business on Friday-- just feet away from Saint Peters Square. The establishment, open six days a week from 6:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., is located on the ground floor in a Vatican-owned building about 100 yards from the Popes home. Some cardinals complained about not being consulted prior to the restaurants construction live directly above the new Italian home of the Big Mac. MCDONALD'S SUED OVER 'OVERPRICED' VALUE MEAL Its a controversial, perverse decision to say the least, said Cardinal Elio Sgreccia in an interview with La Repubblica in October. Opening a branch of the popular fast-food chain, Sgreccia argued, is by no means respectful of the architectural traditions of one of the most characteristic squares which look onto the colonnade of Saint Peter's. Now that the restaurant is open, Sgreccia hasnt tempered his views. He said the new, 5,800-square foot location is a perversion and aberrant. "I repeat, selling mega-sandwiches in Borgo Pio is a disgrace," Sgreccia told the Mirror, suggesting the money could be better spent on helping the area's homeless population. "The area's needy...and suffering, as the Holy Father teaches." FOR THE LATEST FOOD FEATURES FOLLOW FOX LIFESTYLE ON FACEBOOK The Vatican is set to collect a monthly rent of 30,000 euros (or $33,000) from McDonalds, according to La Repubblica. The Vatican's real estate is controlled by the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See. There are already two existing McDonalds outposts close to the Vatican, in addition to a Burger King, but the new McDonalds is the only restaurant located in a building owned by the state. This isn't the first time McDonald's has had to fight for space in Italy. CREATOR OF THE ICONIC BIG MAC DIES AT 98 In July, thousands of Italians signed a Facebook petition objecting to a proposal to build a McDonald's in the historic Piazza del Duomo. The International Slow Food Movement, a grassroots organization opposed to fast food, also protested the opening of a McDonalds near the Spanish Steps. The fast food chain later sued the city of Florence after its application to build the site in the Piazza del Duomo was rejected. You might recognize Jonathan Cheban as the wise-cracking best friend of Kim Kardashian on E!'s long-running "Keeping up with the Kardashians." But the public relations mogul-turned TV star says he's hoping to gain a new title: Food God. Cheban was serious enough about the moniker to get a brand new tattoo on his arm celebrating his love of all things edible this summer. 9 CELEBRITIES WHO MAKE WINE, SPIRITS AND BEER Whether you love the Kardashians or love to hate them, Cheban is counting on the attention to help launch his newest food business--Prepped Delivery, a pre-prepared meal delivery service for those with gourmet tastes. "People who cant eat every night like I do can get amazing food delivered to their house," Cheban told FoxNews.com of his new venture. The vacuum sealed, microwave-ready meals are now available in New York, with plans to expand to other major U.S. hubs. But beyond his day-to-day business ventures, Cheban wants to be known as a discerning voice in food - something he is constantly promoting to his 1.8 million Instagram followers. So where does he love to go? "I like to keep it high and low," he says, noting that he loves buffalo wings at Candlelight Inn in Westchester and the burger at JG Mellon in Manhattan-- but when it comes to high, he goes big. Cheban is also a fan of celebrity hot spot Nobu. FOR THE LATEST FOOD FEATURES FOLLOW FOX LIFESTYLE ON FACEBOOK As for his famous friends? Cheban claims he sometimes gets pretty sick and tired of eating with Kim, Khloe and Kourtney. "The girls love salads and I'm not a salad person," he exclaims when discussing Kardashian sisters' favorite meals. When the crew goes out to eat, Cheban says he usually pushes for Japanese so he doesn't get forced to eat another dreaded salad. "'I'm always trying to push for sushi." Look out 2017-- instead of keeping up with those famous Kardashians, we may just be "Eating with Cheban." A Washington state man took to Facebook to accuse Starbucks of age discrimination after being banned from the coffee shop for asking a teenage barista out to dinner. Lucas Werner, 37, claims he was banned from the coffeehouse after penning a note to a 16-year-old barista whom he claims was acting flirtatiously. A barista said I was funny and that she liked me, so I politely thanked her, sat down to drink my hot chocolate, wrote her a nice note, so as not to interrupt her work schedule asking her out to dinner if she was interested and walked out, Werner wrote in the social media post on Dec. 22. RETURN OF THE #TRUMPCUP: PRESIDENT-ELECT SUPPORTERS PROTEST STARBUCKS WITH TRUMP'S NAME But when he returned to the establishment the following day, Warner says he was greeted by police and told that he was prohibited from visiting that Starbucks location in the future. Werner then went on Facebook to express his dismay, urging his friends to complain to the famous coffee chain. This is a clear case of age discrimination, he wrote. In Washington state, the legal age of consent is 16, but Starbucks backed the employee and released a statement saying the chain would have no tolerance for any such inappropriate behavior or harassment, and we will continue to support our store partners and local authorities investigating the situation." But the incident may have been a glorified PR stunt. Werner operates both a website and Facebook page focused on his assertion that it's advantegous for older men and younger women to procreate, according to the Spokesman Review. FOR THE LATEST FOOD FEATURES FOLLOW FOX LIFESTYLE ON FACEBOOK On his Facebook page Werner also claims to be a scientist without a degree in science. As for Werner's accusation of ageism, Spokane police told local station KING 5 TV that any private business has the right to refuse service to customers for however long they choose. Accordingly, Starbucks is well within its legal rightto ban Warner from the Spokane location. In a small town in the Dominican Republic, some boys are born looking like girls and when they hit puberty their penis grows. This extraordinary occurrence in the isolated village of Salinas, in the southwestern part of the Caribbean island, is highlighted in a new BBC Two series called Countdown to Life the extraordinary making of you. The show, premiering Monday, follows the story of Johnny, 24, who is known as a Guevedoce which literally translates to penis at twelve. In his town, the cases of little girls turning into boys are so common that it is no longer considered abnormal. I never liked to dress as a girl and when they bought me toys for girls I never bothered playing with them when I saw a group of boys I would stop to play ball with them, Johnny told BBC Two, adding that when he obviously became a male he was bullied and taunted. He responded with his fists. They used to say I was a devil, nasty things, bad words and I had no choice but to fight them because they were crossing the line, Johnny said. According to the BBC, guevedoces is a rare genetic disorder that happens because of a missing enzyme that prevents the production of a specific form of the male sex hormone, called dihydro-testosterone, in the womb. It was first discovered by Cornell University endocrinologist Dr. Julianna Imperato in the 1970s when she travelled to the island after hearing rumors of girls turning into boys. While in the womb, all babies regardless of sex have internal glands known as gonads and a small bump between their legs called a tubercle. At around eight weeks, the tubercle becomes a penis for babies who carry the Y chromosome after they start producing dihydro-testosterone. For females it becomes a clitoris. However, guevedoces are missing the enzyme that triggers the hormone surge (while still carrying the Y chromosome) and are born female. When they hit puberty, another large dose of testosterone triggers the growth of male reproductive organs. When I changed I was happy with my life, Johnny told the BBC. A girl named Carla is currently also going through the transformation. She is nine and changing into Carlos. When she turned five I noticed that whenever she saw one of her male friends she wanted to fight with him. Her muscles and chest began growing, Carlas mother said in Spanish. You could see she was going to be a boy. I love her however she is. Girl or boy, it makes no difference. Dr. Michael Mosely is following their stories closely for the BBCs show. I hated going through puberty; voice cracking, swinging moods, older brother laughing at me. But compared to Johnny, I had it easy, he said. Guevedoces are also sometimes called machihembras meaning first a woman, then a man. According to the BBC, Dr. Imperantos research was picked up by American pharmaceutical giant Merck, currently working on a drug called finasteride that mimics the lack of dihydro-testosterone seen in guevedoces. Cases of guevedoces have been seen in the Sambian villages of Papua New Guinea, although they view the children as flawed males, while in the Dominican Republic the transformation is welcomed with widespread celebration. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram A woman's organization is distributing "non-pregnancy" kits in six Argentine cities as part of a UNICEF-supported drive to reduce teen pregnancy and educate young women about their rights. The kit, which includes a brochure with information on sexuality and pregnancy, a condom and materials explaining sexual and reproductive rights, is a project of the Foundation for Study and Research of Women, known as FEIM. "Our major concern is the increase of births among girls 10-14," FEIM president Mabel Bianco told EFE. "We know they have their rights, but what we aspire to is for them to be able to exercise their rights." "Since 2006 we have a law on comprehensive sexual education in the schools, but unfortunately it is not being implemented," Bianco said. The kits will be distributed in Buenos Aires, Salta, Jujuy, La Pampa, Santiago del Estero and Wheelwright. Recent data from the Health Ministry show that 15 percent of births in Argentina are to mothers under the age of 20 and that most of those pregnancies are both unplanned and unwanted. FEIM will distribute 10,000 non-pregnancy this week to mark World Contraception Day, observed Sept. 26. The campaign, a part of UNICEF's 10x10 Initiative, has a presence on social networks with postings and videos intended to raise young women's awareness. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram A 9-year-old girl was denied her inhaler during a coughing fit at school in West Jordan because staff were not notified of the childs prescription, Jordan School District officials said Monday. Emma Gonzales obtained an inhaler over the weekend after a coughing fit landed her in the emergency room. On Monday, the fourth grader was hit with another coughing spell in class at Columbia Elementary. When Emma took her inhaler out to use it, her teacher sent her to the office, where staff took the inhaler. Emma said she started coughing so hard she threw up on her pants. When I get into the coughing fit, I kind of hurtle up on the ground, can't breathe and then I start to kind of feel a little nauseous, Emma said. District officials say the staff did everything right by taking the medication to make sure it was for that specific student. The inhaler didnt have Emmas name on it, and the school had not been notified that she was taking the medication. There could be all sorts of problems if children were just allowed to take any medication, and we didn't have that verification. Again, this is for the student's safety, said district spokeswoman Sandy Riesgraf. District policy is that parents must fill out paperwork regarding what their child is taking for medication so school administrators know about it. If proper paperwork is filled out, district policy allows children to administer medications to themselves. Her parents say they understand the policy and will fill out the proper paperwork to make sure Emma can get her inhaler in the future. But her mother, Britney Badger, said at the point her daughter started throwing up, she thinks the school needed to do more. When a child is puking all over themselves, and they can't breathe, you know you kind of have to take action right then and there, Badger said. Emma never got her inhaler at school, but her coughing fit did end. District officials say Emma was monitored the entire time and if they had felt she was in serious danger, they would have called 911. Emmas father was contacted during the coughing fit. After Mondays incident, he planned to keep his daughter out of school for the time being. For more Utah news, please go to Fox13 Salt Lake City. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram President-elect Trump stirred yet more controversy Saturday night when, as he entered his New Years Eve party at Mar-a-Lago, he said he is not convinced the intelligence community is sure about allegations Russian hackers sought to influence the election. I just want them to be sure, because its a pretty serious charge, Trump told reporters, and I want them to be sure. The next morning, Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, scoffed at Trumps statement. This is the overwhelming judgment of the intelligence community and, frankly, all of the members of the intelligence committees in Congress, Democrats and Republicans, Schiff said on ABC Sunday. None of us have any question about this. The only one who does apparently is Donald Trump. That is not the case. There are, in fact, members of the intelligence committees who do have questions about this. Yes, many Republicans believe Russian hackers tried to mess with the U.S. presidential campaign in some way, mostly because they believe Russian hackers are always trying to mess with U.S. systems and institutions. But when it comes to solid information on precisely what was done, and on evidence of motives, many Hill Republicans are mostly in the dark because the intelligence community has kept them there. Remember that before Christmas the intelligence community refused to brief the House Intelligence Committee, telling lawmakers they can wait until intel officials finish the investigation ordered by President Obama. In response, House committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes argued that the Director of National Intelligence was obligated to comply with a House request, and that the committee was deeply concerned by the DNIs intransigence. The intelligence communitys response: Fuhgeddaboudit. So the wait to learn more goes on. Meanwhile, a number of Democrats are arguing that the evidence is so overwhelming that Congress must establish a special investigating committee, even though there will already be multiple investigations of the Russia matter in the standing committees of Congress. Elections and the peaceful transfer of power are the foundational elements of our democracy, said Sen. Ben Cardin, ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. They have been attacked and undermined by the worlds most destabilizing major power. An attack against our election system is an attack on our very way of life and must not go unchallenged, added Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, vice-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The argument is taking place in the context of deep distrust of the intelligence community among some Republicans. Some GOP lawmakers believe the IC has been to put it diplomatically less than forthcoming about Benghazi, intelligence concerning the Islamic State, and intel concerning Osama bin Laden. Already wary, they became more so when the IC refused to brief the House about the Russia affair. Theres a greater context, as well. Many times during the campaign, Trump declared the Iraq War a big, fat mistake. At Mar-a-Lago, Trump referenced the intelligence debacle that led to the war. If you look at the weapons of mass destruction, that was a disaster, and they were wrong, Trump said. And so I want them to be sure. Now, some of the same people who in 2002 and 2003 pushed for war based on erroneous intelligence Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham are two are pushing to take a hard line on Russia. Its no surprise that some Republicans lawmakers who have no illusions about Russia and its hacking in the past want to see more evidence before going all-in on the new allegations. At the very least, they want to know what the intelligence community knows before signing off on a special congressional investigation of the hacking. Trump is scheduled to meet with members of the Hill intelligence committees this week. The president-elect needs to sit down with the heads of the intelligence communities ... and get a full briefing on what they knew, why they knew it, whether or not the Obama administrations response was in proportion to the actions taken, spokesman Sean Spicer said on Sunday. Meanwhile, Trump himself is signaling theres more to the story that he knows but the public doesnt. I know a lot about hacking, he said Saturday night. And hacking is a very hard thing to prove. So it could be somebody else. And I also know things that other people dont know, and so they cannot be sure of the situation. A baby born with two noses in central Peru is rapidly making headlines around the world. The rare occurrence took place last week in the industrial fishing town of Chimbote, when the boy was delivered via C-section at eight months of gestation. He has been named Angelito, or Little Angel, and diagnosed with a condition called "Patau Syndrome," the same chromosomal abnormality that causes cleft palate, low-set ears and extra fingers. In this case, Angelito has two tubular nostrils right between his eyes. On Monday the boy was transferred to Lima, the country's capital, where he is expected to get plastic surgery at the Hospital del Nino (The Childrens Hospital.) Doctors say his respiratory system is working properly and remains stable. He is still being fed intravenously though, and there is suspicion his brain is not fully developed. "He doesnt have difficulty breathing now, but he will need plastic surgery," said the neonatal doctor Carlos Arrestegui Ramos, who supervised the case in Chimbote. The concerned parents are pleading for financial help. He has his nose split, he breathes better through the mouth, Angelitos dad, Hualcas Diego Donayre, told Correo newspaper. They are waiting on him recovering a bit more, because apparently his brain is not working well. The family said it does not have the resources to fix the babys deformity. We dont have any money, the 25-year-old dad added. We are asking for support because we want to see him with a normal face. Dr. Ramos added that further tests would be needed to determine how else the boy's mutation has affected his body, according to the Daily Star. Patau syndrome is a condition caused by a chromosomal abnormality, in which some or all of the cells of the body contain extra genetic material from chromosome 13. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram As night falls, heroin addicts walk toward a white truck distributing rubber tubes, syringes and sterilized water. The kits come from a group called Cambie Spanish for change. Every evening, the Cambie team combs the industrial town for addicts, hoping to swap new syringes for used ones so they don't end up in public parks, where children can step on them or they can be reused by other addicts, increasing the risk of HIV or hepatitis transmission. Team members are nonjudgmental. Social worker Hugo Castro doesn't reproach 39-year-old Wilson Pineda as he shows him how to tie a tourniquet over his arm to tap a vein instead of hitting a muscle. "Sometimes I come every day. Other times I'm asleep because I'm so high," says Pineda, who said he's been shooting up for three years. The 18-month-old pilot program, supported by philanthropist George Soros' Open Society Foundations, has attracted attention in a country long identified with the war on drugs. Here, programs for users have received scant support compared to the billions of dollars spent pursuing powerful drug cartels. But now, faced with a dramatic rise in drug consumption, Colombia's Health Ministry hopes to replicate the needle exchange program in other cities such as Bogota and Medellin. More than 900 addicts in Dosquebradas and the neighboring city of Pereira have received help to date from Cambie. The group, comprised of recovering addicts, also tests illicit drugs for their purity so junkies can see what dangerous adulterants they're consuming. The program builds trust with mostly poor youth, giving them someone to turn to if they decide to kick the habit. Colombia is one of only two heroin producers in the Western Hemisphere and the largest supplier of cocaine to the U.S. Drug consumption in the country is rising fast, with 12.2 percent of adults reporting narcotics use in the latest national drug survey in 2013 compared with 8.8 percent in 2008. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Government health officials are betting they can adapt the sounds, style and swagger of hip-hop culture to discourage young African Americans, Hispanics and other minority youths from using tobacco. The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it will spend $128 million on the "Fresh Empire" campaign, which incorporates advertisements, local events and outreach to try and curb smoking among minority teenagers. FDA officials say research shows young people who identify with hip-hop are more likely to use cigarettes and other tobacco products than their peers. To be sure, hip-hop's origins as an anti-establishment, urban movement seem to clash with the federal government's buttoned-down image. But FDA officials predict they can convincingly pitch their message to hip-hop fans, based on focus group testing. "We know from our research that remaining in control is an important pillar of hip-hop culture. But smoking represents a loss of control, so tobacco use is actually in conflict with that priority," said Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products. Zeller, who oversaw the anti-tobacco "Truth" campaign while working at the nonprofit American Legacy Foundation in the early 2000s, said the hip-hop audience "is often hard to reach, has been underserved by tobacco education efforts and may be at higher risk for some of the most serious negative health outcomes." No major recording artists are associated with the campaign, but FDA officials said they are working with "DJs, musicians and artists," at the local level who can influence young people. One print ad for the campaign features a young black woman with dyed green hair seated at a large, mahogany desk with the caption: "CEO of Independence." The same woman identified by the FDA as California-based artist Jessica Williams appears in a TV ad rapping about her grandfather's battle with lung cancer. The ad concludes with the tagline, "keep it fresh, live tobacco free." Smoking almost always starts between ages 12 to 17, according to figures quoted by the FDA. Nearly 90 percent of adult smokers report they smoked their first cigarette by age 18, which is why anti-tobacco efforts often focus on reaching adolescents. The new campaign will roll out next week in 36 markets throughout the U.S. and continue for at least 2 years. The ads will debut nationally during the BET Hip-Hop Awards, which are scheduled for Oct. 13. "Fresh Empire" is the second in a series of FDA media campaigns designed to educate the public about the dangers of tobacco use. Tobacco companies are footing the bill for the campaigns through fees charged by the FDA under a 2009 law that gave the agency authority over certain aspects of the tobacco industry. Among other powers, the law allows the FDA to restrict marketing of tobacco products to young people and gives the agency authority to evaluate the health risks of new tobacco products before they launch. Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths in the U.S. each year, the leading preventable cause of death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 New mammogram advice from the American Cancer Society says most women should start annual screenings at age 45 instead of 40, a change that moves the group closer to guidelines from an influential advisory task force. The cancer group also now advises switching to screening to every other year at 55. The task force recommends starting routine screening for breast cancer at age 50, then every other year. It's not a one-size-fits-all recommendation; both groups say women's preferences for when to be scanned should be considered. The advice is for women at average risk for breast cancer. Doctors generally recommend more intensive screening for higher-risk women. "The most important message of all is that a mammogram is the most effective thing that a woman can do to reduce her chance of dying from breast cancer," said Dr. Richard Wender, the cancer society's cancer control chief. "It's not that mammograms are ineffective in younger women," he said, but at age 40, breast cancer is uncommon and false alarms are more likely. Concern about false alarms contributed to the cancer society's new guidance. These lead to worry and more testing they mean an initial result was suspicious but that cancer was ruled out by additional scans and sometimes biopsies. The latest guidelines acknowledge that some younger women are willing to accept that, and that for them starting annual exams at age 40 is fine, as long as they know the risks. The guidelines were developed by experts who reviewed dozens of studies including research published since 1997 the year the trusted medical group recommended yearly mammograms starting at age 40, and since 2003, when it stopped recommending monthly breast self-exams. The update also drops a recommendation for routine physical breast exams by doctors, saying there's no evidence that these save lives. The Rev. Jennifer Munroe-Nathans, a church pastor in Millis, Massachusetts, said she hasn't paid attention to guidelines and started getting annual scans around age 40 on her doctor's advice. Her mother had breast cancer; so have some of her congregants and Munroe-Nathans said she has no plans to change course when she gets older. "For my own peace of mind I intend to continue yearly mammograms," she said. "I've seen the impact of breast cancer perhaps that makes me a little more hyper-vigilant." The society's updated guidelines say switching to every other year at age 55 makes sense because tumors in women after menopause tend to grow more slowly. Also, older women's breasts are usually less dense so cancer is more visible on mammograms, said Dr. Kevin Oeffinger, chairman of the society's breast cancer guideline panel and director of the cancer survivorship center at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. The guidelines were published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. More than 200,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed each year with breast cancer and about 40,000 die from the disease. Overall, 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with the disease at some point and chances increase with age. Oeffinger said women need to be familiar with their breasts and aware of any changes, which should be evaluated by their doctors. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, whose guidelines have historically influenced Medicare coverage, made waves in 2009 when it recommended mammograms every other year starting at age 50, to age 74. In draft recommendations released earlier this year, the group said mammograms for women in their 40s should be an individual decision based on preferences and health history, and that more research is needed to determine potential benefits or harms for scans for women aged 75 and older. That panel also questioned the value of breast exams by doctors, citing a lack of evidence for any benefit or harm. It will examine the cancer society's evidence review in finalizing its update, said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, the task force's vice chair and a professor at the University of California, San Francisco. Most health plans are required to cover screening mammograms free of charge as part of preventive care mandated by the Affordable Care Act, and many insurers cover the screenings starting at age 40. Several doctor groups still recommend mammograms starting at age 40, including those representing radiologists and gynecologists, but the American Cancer Society's breast cancer guidelines are the most widely followed, said Dr. Kenneth Lin, a family medicine physician at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Lin said he supports the new guidance but that it will make his job more challenging at first, trying to explain to patients the changes and differences with other groups. Lin said he and probably many other doctors will likely continue doing physical breast exams, out of habit and because they consider the exams to be an important part of doctor-patient interactions. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Public health officials say more than 80 people contracted a bacterial infection after eating at a San Francisco Bay Area restaurant and that 12 of them people have been hospitalized in intensive care. The Santa Clara County Public Health Department issued a warning to people who ate at Mariscos San Juan on Friday or Saturday. The restaurant had its permit suspended and remained closed as of Sunday. The department says many of the people sickened over the weekend by the intestinal infection caused by the shigella bacteria have required admission to a hospital. Symptoms include fever, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County's health officer, says shigella can be spread by people who do not wash their hands after using the bathroom. It is treated with antibiotics. Calls to the restaurant by The Associated Press rang unanswered Tuesday. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The Vatican denied a report that was released on Wednesday in an Italian newspaper that Pope Francis has a small, curable brain tumor, saying he is in good health and that his head is "absolutely perfect." The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the report Wednesday in the National Daily was "completely unfounded and seriously irresponsible and not worthy of attention." Citing unnamed nursing sources, the National Daily said the 78-year-old pope had traveled by helicopter to the San Rossore di Barbaricina clinic near Pisa in recent months to see a Japanese brain cancer specialist, Dr. Takanori Fukishima. The newspaper said the doctor determined that the small dark spot on Francis' brain could be treated without surgery. In subsequent versions, the paper reported that Fukishima had instead come to the Vatican to see the pope in a Vatican helicopter. The ANSA news agency, citing unnamed sources in Pisa, said the trip was in January and that Fukishima had traveled by helicopter to the Vatican to diagnose the pope. Lombardi categorically denied the reports to reporters Wednesday, and said he was doing so after having spoken to the pope himself about them. He said no Japanese doctor had visited the pope, no tests of the type described in the paper had been performed and that no helicopters had landed in the Vatican from the outside. "I can confirm that the pope is in good health," Lombardi said. "If you were in the piazza this morning you would have seen that as well. And if you go on the trips with him, you know he has a small problem with his legs, but his head is absolutely perfect." The newspaper's editor, Andrea Cangini, said it stood by its story. Subsequent versions of the report said Fukushima had traveled to the Vatican by helicopter and was seen returning to the Pisa clinic in the Vatican's chopper. The hospital's director didn't respond immediately to a request for comment. Cangini said the paper had deliberated a long time before publishing the news, which it said it had confirmed months ago. The publication, however, comes at a delicate time for Francis, in the final days of his hotly contested synod on the family, which has shown a split among conservative and liberal bishops over how to convey the church's teachings on marriage, sex, homosexuality and other issues. Several conservative bishops and cardinals have complained that the synod, which Francis called, is creating confusion and "anxiety" about the church's teachings. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The worlds heaviest man is scheduled to have surgery to reduce fat on Wednesday in a Mexico hospital. Andres Moreno, who is 37, weighs nearly 960 lbs. He has been confined to bed and suffers serious health conditions. "I start a journey that must carry me to a new phase of life, a new chapter and I hope to a new book altogether, different and far from the prison that my own body has become," Moreno said in an interview with EFE. Moreno weighed slightly more than 13 lbs. when he was born. At the age of 10, he tipped the scales at 264.5 lbs. Moreno will undergo a duodenal switch with biliopancreatic diversion, a procedure known to produce the best result in patients with extreme obesity, at the Mexico Gastric Bypass unit in the Arboledas Hospital. A team of seven assisted his travel from his home in Obregon City to the hospital in Guadalajara on Monday morning. Five members of the Obregon City firefighters carried him on a special reinforced stretcher to fly in an Airbus A-320 to Guadalajara, where he will be directly admitted for the surgery to be performed by surgeon Jose Castaneda. The Director of Mexico Gastric Bypass board, Judith Tavares, told EFE, "Andres is like a vase that has suffered several blows and we do not know at what point it can shatter." Castaneda told EFE the first problem was where the surgery would be carried out since the routine operating table had never supported such weight before. The anesthetic process is also a cause for concern since "there are not enough precedents in medical history on operating on patients with this much weight" as well as his co-morbidities, or additional disorders or diseases related to obesity, he said. The surgery will involve five medical staff and will be conducted in two phases. The laparoscopic technique will shorten the post-surgical process much and if there are no complications, the doctors will keep him admitted for five days after the surgery. Just hours from the surgery, Moreno said he was looking forward to "overcome this step and be someone with a normal body." "To have a second chance, my Christmas gift a little early," he said. The Guinness World Record listed Manuel Uribe, known as 'Meme,' as having been the heaviest man alive. Uribe, who also was a native of Mexico, died last year. His record peak weight was 1,230 pounds (560 kilograms) in 2006. Uribe, 48, had been admitted to a hospital in his natal Nuevo Leon last year with symptoms of cardiac arrythmia and other health complications, according to El Universal newspaper. Based on reporting by EFE. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Chipotle has closed 43 of its restaurants in two states, Washington and Oregon, amid fears of an E. coli outbreak that has affected a total of 22 people since Oct. 14. Eight of them were hospitalized. Three people in the Portland area and 19 people in Washington became sick after eating at the Mexican food chain, the Oregon Health Authority said. "While the outbreak appears to be linked to food served at Chipotle restaurants, the food or other source of contamination hasn't yet been determined and remains under investigation," the Washington Department of Health said in a statement. Marisa D'Angeli, a medical epidemiologist with the Washington State Department of Health, said Sunday that they expect the numbers to jump on Monday. People who heard of the outbreak over the weekend may have gone to the doctor and new cases will be reported to the health department, she said. D'Angeli also cautioned the outbreak may not be limited to people who ate at Chipotle. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. spokesman Chris Arnold said the safety and well-being of customers is always its highest priority. He said Chipotle was notified by health officials that they were investigating E. coli cases that included people who became sick after eating at six restaurants. "We immediately closed all of our restaurants in the area out of an abundance of caution, even though the vast majority of these restaurants have no reported problems," Arnold said in a statement. Chipotle operates more than 1,700 restaurants in the U.S. and elsewhere. Chipotle will work with health officials to determine when to reopen the restaurants and to find the cause of the problem, Arnold said. Health officials in Washington said 17 of 19 of those who got sick in the state ate at Chipotle. They said food at the restaurants is likely the source of the infection but that no individual food item has been identified. Food samples have been collected and will be tested. Jonathan Modie, a spokesman with the Oregon Health Authority, said many people may not see a doctor after becoming ill, so the number of people sickened in the outbreak is likely higher. People who become sick with vomiting and bloody diarrhea, and who ate at a Chipotle between Oct. 14 and 23 should see their health care provider, officials said. People have reported symptoms of infection in Clackamas and Washington counties in Oregon, and Clark, King, Skagit and Cowlitz counties in Washington, Modie said. There are hundreds of E. coli and similar bacteria strains in the intestines of humans. Most are harmless, but a few can cause serious problems. Symptoms of E. coli infection include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting. Health officials say the best defense against the bacterial illness is to thoroughly wash hands with soap and water. Based on reporting by the Associated Press. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Talk about a hot-button issue. Things are really heating up in the Spanish town of As Pontes in Galicia, which some months ago wanted to advertise its February festival of a green known locally as grelo for the Spanish-language version of its website, and it turned to Google Translate for assistance. Oops. Turns out that the popular online translation service has a hard time telling the difference between Portuguese and the local Galician language. When the municipal government entered Feria do Grelo, Google Translate picked up grelo as an archaic Portuguese term for a part of the female anatomy, and rendered it into the Spanish Feria del Clitoris. The mistake reproduced and recorded on Saturday by La Voz de Galicia. Grelo is a slightly bitter green used commonly in Galician cooking often accompanying pork and potatoes that is known in the U.S. as rapini or broccoli rabe. Clitoris is none of those things. According to the Guardian, the town of 11,000 residents advertised its clitoris festival for months without realizing the mistake. It was quite a surprise, a spokeswoman for the town, Montserrat Garcia, told the Guardian. At first, we didnt believe what we were seeing. Garcia told the English-language Spanish paper, The Local, "Its a very serious error on the part of Google, and we are thinking about making an official complaint for Google to properly recognize the Galician language so this kind of thing doesnt happen again." Before being corrected, the website described the event this way: Since 1981, the festival has made the clitoris one of the star products of the local gastronomy," according to The Local. Google Translate does translate to and from Galician, and a spokesperson for the company told the Guardian, Google Translate is an automatic translator that is, it works without the intervention of human translators, using state-of-the-art technology instead. When Google Translate generates a translation, it looks for patterns in hundreds of millions of documents to help decide on the best translation." The company spokesperson added, If people come across incorrect or inappropriate translations, they can let us know about them, and well be happy to fix them as soon as possible. Since the mistake occurred, the translation of the grelo now is rendered as turnip green. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram A California man went to an emergency room with a terrible headache and nausea, slipped into a coma, and was told a tapeworm larva had been living in his brain when he woke up. College student Luis Ortiz, 26, of Napa said doctors told him he needed immediate surgery to remove it. "I was shocked," Ortiz said. "I just couldn't believe something like that would happen to me. I didn't know there was a parasite in my head trying to ruin my life." The surgery and the aftermath have greatly impacted his life, Ortiz said. He had to drop out of school, move back home and find a temporary place for his dog. He can't drive or work. "My memory is like a work in progress," he said. "It gets better from therapy," but he has to remind himself to do his memory exercises and other daily tasks. Ortiz's neurosurgeon, Dr. Soren Singel, said Ortiz was lucky he arrived at the hospital when he did. The worm was forming in a cyst that was blocking the flow of water to chambers in his brain, "like a cork in a bottle," Singel told the Napa Valley Register (http://bit.ly/1RQzfHc ). Another 30 minutes of that blockage, and "he would have been dead," Singel said. "It was a close call." Ortiz said his headaches began in late August and he didn't think much of it at first. "I just ignored it," said Ortiz, who was attending California State University, Sacramento. During the first days of September, Ortiz had been skateboarding on a warm day when the pain increased. When he arrived at his mother's house, he appeared disoriented and began to vomit. She rushed him to the hospital. Singel said such parasitic worms in a body aren't too uncommon. The problem occasionally occurs if people eat pork infected with worms, he said. But that could cause an intestinal parasite, not the brain cyst that Ortiz had. Tapeworm eggs likely made it into Ortiz's intestine from something else he ate and eventually the single larva made it into his brain, Singel said. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said infection from pork tapeworms is a problem worldwide and is spread most easily in developing communities where pigs have access to human waste and where hygiene and sanitation are poor. Tapeworm larvae can cause cysts in the body and are common enough that the World Health Organization calls the problem the most frequent preventable cause of epilepsy worldwide. People can help prevent contamination by proper washing of hands, washing and peeling raw fruits and vegetables before eating, and being careful about drinking only safe water while traveling. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The following statements were issued after the Bureau of Land Management announced a draft Environmental Impact Statement to withdraw a portion of lands in sage-grouse habitat from future mining claims. Gov. Brian Sandoval Todays announcement does nothing to protect the greater sage-grouse, but does cripple the mining and exploration industry. It is an unfortunate end to our collaborative efforts with this administration. I am hopeful the new administration will consider the limited ecological benefits of this withdrawal. I have consistently said that I believe a withdrawal is unnecessary and does not move the needle for the greater sage grouse, and will deliver the same message in the future. If the incoming Secretary of the Interior decides to continue with this withdrawal strategy, I would encourage the Department to adopt the Nevada plan which expands the habitat, protects the sage-grouse, and allows lithium development and the mining industry to remain vibrant. U.S. Sen. Dean Heller Another day, another 11th hour attack on Nevada and the West by this lame-duck President. Federal land grabs are never popular in Nevada and the latest one by the BLM is no different. A mining ban does little to help sage-grouse and will devastate northern Nevadas future economic competitiveness. I will partner with the next Administration to reverse this decision and to ensure the BLM focuses on the real threats to sage-grouse, like wildfires, instead of locking up Nevadans public lands. Those are the types of efforts, rather than these harmful mining bans, that will benefit our environment while also allowing our economy to grow. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio joined thousands of demonstrators Thursday demanding equal treatment for Puerto Rico on federal health care. The demonstrators were protesting Medicaid reimbursements in the U.S. territory that officials say are 70 percent lower than on the U.S. mainland and Medicare reimbursements that are 40 percent lower. The appearance by New York's top political figures, which also included New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, came two months after they announced a partnership with the island seeking to help it regain its financial footing amid a $72 billion public debt burden. De Blasio, who said he was participating on behalf of the 700,000 Puerto Ricans in New York City as well as the entire island, called on Congress to ensure the island gets a "fair share of Medicaid dollars." "It is not just a health care crisis, and a humanitarian crisis in the making, it's worse than that," de Blasio said. "The fact that our federal government does not treat Puerto Rico fairly on Medicaid ... is deepening the financial crisis" on the island. Nearly 70 percent of Puerto Rico's population relies on Medicare or Medicaid, and officials warn that potential cuts in current payments starting next year could add up to $3 billion through 2017. If the cuts are implemented, the island's health care system will start to collapse, said Ricardo Rivera, executive director of Puerto Rico's Health Insurance Administration. "The government is not in a position to contribute any more money," he told The Associated Press. Protesters echoed those concerns as they wondered what would happen to their benefits and coverage. Some said many friends in their 70s are still working to make ends meet amid Puerto Rico's nearly decade-long economic slump. Salvador Robles, a 72-year-old Vietnam veteran, said he worried that elderly people on the island would see a reduction in their coverage and not be able to afford medication. "I worked for 40 years, and I deserve to have Medicare and not have my benefits cut," he said. "We're American citizens." He hoisted a poster declaring "We work for it! Medicare/Medicaid" as he joined the surging crowd that surrounded Cuomo and other officials. "The fight is just beginning," Cuomo said. "The federal administration is being unfair to Puerto Rico." Earlier on Thursday, Cuomo said he was organizing a meeting to develop a national campaign to draw more attention to Puerto Rico's issues. He also opened the New York State Office of Trade and Tourism in Puerto Rico, which aims to promote tourism between both places and boost economic ties. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram As Chipotle prepares to reopen its restaurants in the Pacific Northwest this week after an E. coli outbreak that sickened about 45 people, health experts say foodborne illnesses are more common than the public realizes. Forty-three Chipotle restaurants in Washington state and the Portland, Oregon, area have been closed since the end of October. Eleven of those stores were directly connected to the outbreak which sent more than a dozen people to the hospital. About 48 million cases of foodborne disease occur in the U.S. annually, sending about 105,000 people to the hospital and resulting in 2,000 deaths, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's about 1 in 7 people in the country getting sick from food every year. Many of these illnesses involve people eating at home but even restaurant-related outbreaks are fairly common, said Dr. Paul Cieslak, medical director for communicable diseases at Oregon's state health agency. "Screw-ups can occur in any kitchen, but obviously it's more dramatic when it occurs in a kitchen that serves 5,000 people," said Cieslak, who has helped investigate the E. coli outbreak that sickened about 40 people in Washington state and Oregon. There are things people can do to ward off foodborne illnesses: Wash your hands before making or eating food, avoid undercooked hamburger or raw shellfish, be careful about cross-contamination of raw meat, wash produce thoroughly, and steer clear of unpasteurized milk or juice. But it's impossible to avoid all bacteria on food, Cieslak says. For example, if lettuce or berries are contaminated with E. coli, it's very difficult to wash them well enough to get to every nook and cranny where the bacteria are hiding. "When you go to a restaurant, let's face it you're kind of at the mercy of what's going on in the kitchen," he said. Most reports of potential food-related illnesses pose no ongoing threat, so local health departments do not report them to the public, according to Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for Seattle and King County Public Health. Of the more than 1,000 potential cases each year in the county that includes Seattle, only a handful are confirmed as food-related outbreaks. When those confirmed cases pose an ongoing risk to the public, an announcement is made. Duchin said that's why the most recent Chipotle-related outbreak attracted widespread media attention, while a smaller case five people sick from eating at one Seattle Chipotle restaurant in July was not reported. The July outbreak had ended by the time the health department investigated, and officials found no evidence of an ongoing problem that people needed to know about, said Duchin, who noted the two cases involved different E. coli strains. A Seattle attorney who specializes in food-safety cases and whose daughter was a frequent customer of the Chipotle in the earlier case was upset when he heard about that outbreak. "It just drives me nuts," said Bill Marler, who built his national reputation with the 1993 E. coli outbreak at Seattle Jack in the Box restaurants. "This is the kind of thing that tears apart people's belief that government can actually do stuff correctly and good." Government regulations and restaurant and farm inspections prevent some people from getting sick, but critics say more must be done to prevent foodborne illness. Better testing on farms and in warehouses is one hope of Jaydee Hanson, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Food Safety. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit promotes food safety and sustainable agriculture. Hanson says good government regulations and inspections help prevent some illnesses, as do responsible farmers, restaurants and grocery stores. Public pressure will help improve the nation's food system and so will lawyers, he added. "I have no doubt in mind that the civil justice system does change behavior," said Ryan Osterholm, a lawyer for Pirtzer Olsen in Minneapolis, which has filed lawsuits against Chipotle in the current case and a previous case in Minnesota. Osterholm said such lawsuits will force the company to answer questions like whether it visited the farms where its produce was grown and if it gets outside help with food quality and safety. In response to the latest outbreak, Chipotle announced several new efforts to improve food safety, including testing of fresh produce, raw meat and dairy items before they arrive in its restaurants. "We have also retained two of the nation's best food-safety scientists to work with us to assess practices and find additional areas for improvement," Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold said. "We are leaving no stone unturned in terms of finding ways to improve upon our practices." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 A senator from President Enrique Pena Nieto's governing party introduced a bill Tuesday that would allow patients easier access to cannabis-based medicines, a week after a ruling by Mexico's Supreme Court that cracked open a door to recreational marijuana use. The measure does not propose wholesale legalization of medical marijuana but rather seeks to permit the importation of cannabis and derivatives for medicinal purposes. Domestic pot production would still be prohibited. "This measure is responding to the urgent need to allow availability of medicines through importation," said Sen. Cristina Diaz Salazar, a member of Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. Addressing about a dozen families of ill children during a news conference in the Senate building, Diaz Salazar said: "We know that this constitutes a hope for all of you to be able to mitigate the pain and suffering of your loved ones." The bill would have to be approved by both houses of Mexico's congress, and the PRI and allied lawmakers control both chambers. According to an outline provided by the senator's staff, the legislation would modify Mexico's health code to remove THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and synthetic cannabinoids from a list of schedule-1 controlled substances and reclassify them as schedule-3. It would also allow the importation of medicinal marijuana products and establish a 10 percent duty. By doing so the bill would codify in law a recent court ruling that granted the parents of Graciela Elizalde, an 8-year-old Monterrey girl, permission to import THC oil to treat her severe epilepsy. The Elizaldes were on hand for Tuesday's introduction of the bill as were other parents who hope its passage will give them the same right. Since Graciela began the marijuana extract treatments, her condition improved to the point where she began sleeping through the nights for the first time in months. Among the parents at the news conference was Manuel Villanueva, who cradled his mostly motionless 11-year-old son, Leo, in his arms as he explained that the boy has a difficult-to-treat form of epilepsy known as Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Leo suffers from severe mental retardation, spasms and muscular difficulties that hamper his ability to walk or even speak, and a recent operation did not bring relief, Villanueva said. "We have tried all the anti-epileptics. ... Unfortunately the surgery didn't work," he said. "So through our friends and the Internet we found out about the (cannabis) oil, and now we intend to try it and see what results we get." Salazar's bill is separate from last week's Supreme Court decision favoring the growing, possession and smoking of marijuana for recreational purposes under the right to personal freedom. That ruling covers just a single group of four people seeking to form a cannabis club and has not overturned laws banning recreational pot. Salazar said her bill is just "a first step" and should not be linked to the debate over recreational use. Pena Nieto said Monday that he opposes legalizing marijuana, but welcomed a dialogue on the issue and invited doctors, sociologists and other academics to take part. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram About 25,000 people are wounded each month in escalating warfare in Syria and it getting harder to deliver medical supplies for civilians trapped in areas held by Islamic State insurgents, the World Health Organization said on Friday. It said typhoid and diarrhea are on the rise due to the lack of clean water and with winter setting in, more acute respiratory infections are expected especially among children and the elderly. On top of that, there were concerns that deadly cholera could spread into Syria from Iraq. About 250,000 Syrians have been killed in 4 1/2 years of civil war with 11.5 million driven from their homes. Violence has worsened since Russia intervened on the government's side on Sept. 30, launching heavy air strikes on rebel-held territory. "The main concern is of course communicable diseases, but also trauma cases. We have more than 25,000 newly injured per month in Syria and the system is overburdened," Elizabeth Hoff, WHO representative in Syria, told a news briefing in Geneva. "This conflict is happening in densely populated areas, that's why have you have so high a number of injured compared to many other wars." Between the first and second quarters of 2015, there was a 30 percent rise in patients seeking treatment in Latakia hospital's emergency department, Hoff said, referring to a government-held coastal region where many displaced have fled. The Syrian government has restricted delivery of surgical supplies to opposition-held areas, she said. "We have compensated by supplying surgical supplies cross-border from Jordan and also from Turkey, and many international NGOs are stepping up to this task but it is certainly not enough." At least 60 percent of Syria's 113 public hospitals and 50 percent of the 1,783 primary health care centers have closed or been partially destroyed in the conflict since March 2011, according to the WHO's latest update. Many hospitals lack generators or even blankets, Hoff said. Vaccination coverage has dropped to only 60 percent among Syrian children under five, leaving them vulnerable to disease. "What we are trying to advocate is a truce so we can go in and have proper vaccination across Syria," Hoff said. The WHO has no contact with Islamic State forces controlling territory where an estimated 1.7 million Syrians live but has managed to deliver small amounts of medical supplies to a network of doctors there, she said. There has been no confirmed case of cholera in Syria, but an epidemic in neighboring Iraq has infected 2,671 people since September and spread to Kuwait and Bahrain, according to WHO. "Cholera is a high risk (in Syria), particularly after the outbreak that we have seen in Iraq ... We are facing this by deploying rapid diagnostic tests into many of the areas but access is not easy," Hoff said. Areas in Syria most vulnerable to a spread of cholera were primarily in the north and northeast including Deir al-Zor, al Hassakah, Raqqa, Aleppo and Idlib. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Mark Heinrich) Students at a San Francisco university are objecting to plans to give "pouring rights" to Coca-Cola, Pepsi or another sugary drink company. The rights would allow the chosen company to sell all the fountain drinks at San Francisco State University residence halls and sporting events, as well as stock vending machines and campus stores, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The university released a request for proposals last spring. Celia LoBuono Gonzalez, a 22-year-old junior, said she's furious that university officials would jeopardize students' health by promoting such unhealthy drinks. University President Leslie Wong said the school has made no decisions and is trying to figure out whether to enter into such an agreement. Opponents of sugary beverages say the drinks add empty calories and can contribute to obesity and rotting teeth. Soda makers tell the newspaper that they offer a variety of choices, including healthy and zero-calorie drinks. San Francisco voters in 2014 rejected a 2-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks. The proposal received more than half of votes, but it needed a steep two-thirds majority to pass. Backers will try to qualify another sugary soda tax measure for the 2016 November ballot. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Patrick Hardison, a Mississippi firefighter, endured 71 operations before landing on Dr. Eduardo Rodriguezs operating table three months ago. He needed a new face, and the Cuban-American surgeon from NYU Langone Medical Center deemed him an ideal patient. Rodriguez warned him that the chance of success was 50 percent. You have to understand: If it were to fail, there is no bailout option, Dr. Rodriguez told him, according to New York magazine. You would likely die. This is a procedure that is all or none, he added. The volunteer firefighter and father of five grasped the opportunity and now, 12 weeks later, he is gradually owning his new face and relearning to smile. Hardison lost his face when he got trapped in a fire in a mobile home blaze back in Sept. 5, 2001. The blaze melted his mask and burned his face. The transplanted face on Hardison, 41, belonged to a 26-year-old bike messenger named David Rodebaugh who died in a July 2015 accident in New York City. It is the most extensive face transplant ever performed in the United States. Hardison is the 30th patient to receive a facial transplant and doctors are now cautiously waiting for his rejection. Five patients have died after their body rejected the new face. Pain is also a factor, especially because Hardison struggled with addiction to painkillers before. One of the conditions for the surgery was that he committed to not seek narcotics from any physician but Rodriguezs team, which now meticulously rations Hardisons dose of Oxycodone. I can live with the pain, Hardison assured the NY magazine reporter. The hospital paid for the transplant operation, which included attaching four bone segments to Hardison's skull, as anchors to prevent the face from drooping. The lower part of his face remains swollen, but Rodriguez said that will go away in a few months. With his new eyelids and more surgery, he's expected to regain a normal field of vision for the first time in more than a decade. He will have to continuing taking medications to prevent his body from rejecting the transplant. Eventually, "a casual observer will not notice anything that is odd" in Hardison's new face, which will blend features of his original face and the donor's, Rodriguez said. Hardison said his new face has already made a difference when he goes outside. "I used to get stared at all the time, but now I'm just an average guy," he said. He's been told he can't return to firefighting because of insurance concerns, but he has another plan: motivational speaking or something similar, perhaps for wounded veterans. His message? "Just how there is hope." With reporting by the Associated Press. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The man who recently performed the most extensive face transplant in human history had not really planned to do so. In fact, he used to be a dentist. "I think the driving force for me was curiosity, and the ability to potentially do more," Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, Chair of the Hansjorg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center, told Fox News Latino. In many ways, the field of face transplantation found Rodriguez. The son of Cuban exiles, Rodriguez was studying general surgery at Johns Hopkins and microsurgery in Taipei, Taiwan when he serendipitously witnessed a presentation by a well-known surgeon who explained how she transplanted the face of a brown rat to a white rat. "I came back prepared with the ammunition to solve problems and at this point I felt that I really had an ability to take care of bigger problems," he said, as he began his career in face transplantation. His opportunity to prove it came in the form of a letter, when a church friend reached out to him with a tragic story a couple of years ago. By then, in 2012, Rodriguez had already performed his first face transplant at the University of Maryland Medical Center. In the letter, his friend told him the story of Patrick Hardison, a 41-year-old volunteer firefighter who was severely burned on Sept. 5, 2001 as he entered a burning house searching for a victim the roof collapsed, giving him third-degree burns on his head, upper torso and neck. Hardison had lost his ears, lips, most of his nose and vision - he had no eyelids. In the following 12 years he had undergone 71 surgeries, his friend told him in the letter. Rodriguez agreed to try to help and put Hardison on a wait list. After becoming head of NYU's Department of Plastic Surgery in 2013, Hardison's story followed Rodriguez. Two years later, 26-year-old artist and competitive bicyclist David P. Rodebaugh died of injuries from a biking accident in New York City. He was an organ donor and, noting that he had always wanted to be a firefighter, his mother gave permission to use his face in the transplant. On Aug. 14, Rodriguez led two teams of surgeons through a 26-hour surgery. Doctors had rehearsed seven times to practice the rigorous Frankenstein-like procedure, in which they took the face of Rodebaugh and transplanted on the bare bones and muscle tissues left on Hardison's face. The doctor had said there was about a 50-percent success rate. The steady-spoken doctor says Hardison will eventually, with minor surgical procedures, look like the person he was prior to the burns or close. "For Patrick today he feels like he looks like the way he used to look before his injury," Rodriguez said. "When you give them a new face with normal features the new face of a donor begins to adapt to the skeleton of the recipient and that patient does begin to look like a blend between the donor and the recipient." You know whats interesting about a person? Rodriguez asks the five Hardison children in a video produced by NYU Langone Medical Center ahead of the groundbreaking surgery. Even though we change their face, what makes a person is who they are their voice, their mannerisms and thats what you begin to recognize as a person. Most importantly, Rodriguez told FNL, the surgery will give Hardison, a father of five, the ability to see clearly, which will allow him the independence he needs to drive and live without the help of others. "I think ending up in this point is something that I never imagined," Rodriguez said while reflecting on the accomplishment. A humble man, Rodriguez is now at the center of much media attention and he's using it as a platform to hopefully inspire others to push forward with their dreams. "I didn't necessarily have the best pedigree, but I had a caring family who recognized the value of education," said Rodriguez, who is married to a Cuban woman. "Nothing hard is ever easy in life. Some of the best things in life are the things we sweat the hardest for. Life is long, you can't have every step planned," he added. "You kind have to roll with the punches, but you have to have an idea of what kind of member of society you'd like to be." Transforming lives one face at a time may not have been his initial intent, but now it has become his calling. He is forever thankful for his parents who fled Cuba to Miami for a better life, allowing him and his brothers to discover his full potential in the United States and to give back to a country who has given so much in return. I owe a great deal to this country and the individuals that protect our daily freedoms, those that we take for granted on a daily basis, Rodriguez said. It's our responsibility to provide the best level of care to those wounded war fighters as well as our first responders, and that's why Patrick fit that bill perfectly. Contains reporting by the Associated Press. Pledging to invest in the "caring economy," Hillary Rodham Clinton proposed a new tax break Sunday for people caring for aging parents and grandparents. The Democratic presidential candidate touted her latest proposal at a town hall-style meeting in Iowa Sunday. She is seeking a tax credit to help offset up to $6,000 in caregiving costs for elderly family members. The credit would apply to 20 percent of those expenses for a maximum tax bill savings of $1,200. "We need to recognize the value of the work that caregivers give to all of us, both those who are paid and the great number who are unpaid," Clinton said to the crowd of more than 400 people gathered at a middle school. The caregiver proposal is part of a series of tax proposals geared at the middle class that Clinton is rolling out. In her plan, Clinton states that the number of Americans needing long-term care is expected to grow from about 12 million today to 27 million by 2050. She says that family members often have to take time away from work, using vacation time or personal time to provide care. "The lost wages and the work that is sometimes given up are costing families especially women who make up the majority of both paid and unpaid caregivers," said Clinton. The former secretary of state is also seeking to provide additional Social Security benefits to those who spend time out of the workforce to care for immediate family. She wants to enhance support for care workers and increase funding for a program that offers state-level grants to programs for caregivers. Clinton's campaign says the plan would cost $10 billion over 10 years and would be paid for through other revenue increases. Republican National Committee spokesman Fred Brown questioned the cost of the plan, saying: "Hillary Clinton's solution to every pressing policy issue is to expand government and raise taxes, and this plan is no different as it will cost hardworking Americans billions." In Memphis on Friday, Clinton touted a tax credit of up to $5,000 for families and $2,500 for individuals she proposed earlier this year. Americans with out-of-pocket health care expenses exceeding 5 percent of their income would be eligible for the credit. Her campaign says the tax cut will be funded through tax increases on wealthy families and by "demanding" rebates from drug manufactures. Clinton says that she is the only primary candidate committed to holding current tax rates on average workers. She has accused primary rival Sen. Bernie Sanders of promoting programs that she says would raise taxes on middle-class families, including his plan for a single-payer health system based on Medicare. Sanders' campaign says that his single-payer health system would save taxpayers money in the long run because it would eliminate wasteful health spending. Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs criticized Clinton's tax proposals Sunday in a statement, calling them "tentative half-steps that sound Republican-lite." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Mexican regulatory authorities closed a health center that was touting a supposed diabetes "vaccine" and warned consumers that there is no vaccine for the condition. The country's drug regulatory agency said Thursday that it closed the offices of a group known as the Live Your Diabetes Foundation in Mexico City. The group allegedly claimed it had come up with a drug it called "Self Blood Therapy Vaccine" that would ward off diabetes. The agency said it would seize all of the supposed medication. Diabetes is a chronic condition in which the body either does not make enough insulin to break down the sugar in foods or uses insulin inefficiently. It can cause early death or serious complications like blindness, stroke, kidney disease or heart disease. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Nine months after a vacationing family nearly died from exposure to methyl bromide on the island of St. John, authorities have come to at least one troubling conclusion: The use of the banned pesticide was not an isolated event in U.S. Caribbean territories. A criminal investigation into the March poisoning at the Sirenusa Condominium Resort continues and the family from Wilmington, Delaware, is in settlement talks with Terminix, the company that used the chemical on insects in a vacation rental adjacent to theirs. A separate investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and local officials into the broader use of methyl bromide in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico also is still underway. Officials have disclosed few details about what they've learned. But the federal government and the U.S. Virgin Islands recently held a conference for pesticide companies, resort operators and hospitality workers to warn them about the dangers of methyl bromide and other pesticides. The EPA's regional administrator, Judith Enck, said she and Puerto Rico's Agriculture Department have found at least several other examples of prohibited chemicals being used at hotels. She recommends anyone staying at a hotel in Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands ask if their room has been treated with pesticides and open windows to ventilate it when they arrive just to be safe. "When you're on vacation, the last thing you're thinking about is if your hotel room or Airbnb (rental) is soaked in pesticide," Enck said. "You're at their mercy." She said that methyl bromide "is one of many pesticides being used illegally and inappropriately in the Caribbean" and that more local oversight and regulation of pesticide companies is needed. While methyl bromide is still used on the mainland U.S. for agricultural purposes, the EPA banned the chemical for residential use in 1984 and is phasing out its overall use. Experts say some companies in the Caribbean still use methyl bromide because of lax governmental supervision and because kills pests in just one application. That level of toxicity, though, has serious consequences on humans, causing headaches, dizziness, fainting and even paralysis and death. Two teenage boys from the family poisoned on St. John remain hospitalized in Delaware. They and their father suffered neurological damage and are paralyzed. A federal investigation after their poisoning revealed that methyl bromide has been widely used in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Gov. Kenneth Mapp says. He said he learned the chemical had even been sprayed at his home and nearby residences in 2013 to treat a termite infestation. The territorial government has said it will regulate pest control companies more closely and require new permits for the sale and purchase of restricted-use pesticides. Methyl bromide also has been used at hotels in Puerto Rico, officials say, but it is unknown if the island has taken any action. The territory's Agriculture Department, which is responsible for monitoring pesticide companies, did not respond to questions on illegal uses of methyl bromide on the island. Enck said even one illegal application is unacceptable. "It should be zero," she said. "The Puerto Rico Agriculture Department needs to stay vigilant. Even with the economic situation in Puerto Rico, they need more inspectors; they need to be educating the public." Repeated messages left with several pest control companies, including a Puerto Rico branch of Terminix, the Tennessee-based company whose applicator's license was suspended in the U.S. Virgin Islands after the March incident, were not returned. A couple of incidents involving toxic pesticides have been reported in the Dominican Republic, where at least one hospital issued a bulletin alerting doctors and nurses about the symptoms of pesticide poisoning following the 2013 deaths of two women and a cat. Dr. Jose Yunen, who treated one of the victims, said he successfully treated a newly married Dominican couple for pesticide poisoning last February because he recognized the symptoms from the 2013 case. "There needs to be an alert for this like there is for Ebola and many other things," he said. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram What I want to do is to breathe, says geologist Raul Perez. His eyes are like a rabbits caught in headlights. His mouth is agape, like a fish out of water. Perez has just poked his head out of the narrow opening of CJ-3, a 50-meter-deep cave hidden away in a pine forest in the Canon del Rio Lobos, near Casarejos in the central province of Soria. His two colleagues still inside, Antonio Marcos and Jesus Carballo are blowing their emergency whistles. Geologist Raul Perez climbs down into CJ-3. Antonio Marcos A geologist at Spains Geological and Mining Institute (IGME), Perez says the first call they got from the Canon de Rio Lobos Natural Park asking for help was in 2014. CJ-3, well known to Spanish spelunkers for its incredible formations, no longer had enough oxygen and nobody could work out why. A young woman had fallen unconscious while exploring there and had to be rescued. Other visitors had experienced breathing problems. It was as though an invisible killer was hiding inside. Its not normal to find a cave without oxygen Raul Perez, geologist Perez and his colleagues are specialists in dangerous caves, and embarked on their first expedition to CJ-3 in December, 2014, going down without breathing equipment. At the bottom of the chasm, Marcos started to note the effect of the lack of oxygen a loss of muscular coordination, rapid breathing and tachycardia signs that only highly-trained people are able to recognize before falling unconscious. Marcos immediately sounded the alarm and ordered an exit from the cave. It can be lethal and it can cause very serious problems. Space and time disappear inside, says Marcos, a member of a mountain rescue team. Its like being 6,000 meters up a mountain, agrees Carballo. On the floor of CJ-3. ANTONIO MARCOS On December 19, 2016, the three men entered the cave again, this time with breathing kit, to measure the quality of the air and take soil samples. At the mouth of the cave where a sign warns cavers to keep out, the trio start their descent using a 65-meter-long rope that brings them into an open horizontal space 30 meters high, populated by bats. In the bowels of the cave, the group measure oxygen concentration at 17.5% compared to 21% in the forest above. Thats the difference between normal air and unbreathable air, says Perez. All three men are used to entering caves where oxygen is scarce. In September 2015, they went into the Sima del Vapor in Alhama, Murcia, where the temperature rises above 40C and carbon dioxide is highly concentrated. The exploration of the Murcia cave formed part of a project called Sismosima, set up to study temperatures associated with earthquakes in caves in seismic zones and the possibility of gas spikes. The Sima del Vapor is on the fault line that shook the city of Lorca in 2011, killing nine people. Using breathing gear, the team takes samples from CJ-3. Antonio Marcos Its not normal to find a cave without oxygen, says Perez, referring to CJ-3. More unusual still is a sudden lack of it. According to Perez there are three possible explanations; bacteria producing carbon dioxide deep within the cave; a sudden release of gases during an earthquake or, thirdly, the release of gases in a cave close to volcanic activity. This is neither an earthquake nor a volcanic zone so we are looking at the first possibility, he says. The analysis of the soil and the four samples of air should solve the mystery of a cave that was once a place of initiation for caving federations across Spain. A fence will be needed to close off the opening to the cave, says Perez, who understands the adventurous and sometimes irresponsible nature of cavers. As mythologist and author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell wrote: The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. English version by Heather Galloway. The U.N. children's fund UNICEF on Friday confirmed cases of severe malnutrition among children in the besieged Syrian town of Madaya, where local relief workers reported 32 deaths of starvation in the past month. A mobile clinic and medical team of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent was on its way to Madaya after the government approved an urgent request, and a vaccination campaign is planned next week, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. Two convoys of aid supplies were delivered this week to the town of 42,000 affected by the months-long blockade. The U.N. said a convoy was planned to Madaya, which is besieged by pro-government forces, and two rebel-besieged villages of Foua and Kefraya in Idlib next week and that regular access was needed. "UNICEF ... can confirm that cases of severe malnutrition were found among children," it said in a statement, after the United Nations and Red Cross had entered the town on Monday and Thursday to deliver aid for the first time since October. UNICEF spokesman Christophe Boulierac told a news briefing in Geneva UNICEF and World Health Organization staff were able to screen 25 children under five for malnutrition and 22 showed signs of moderate to severe malnutrition. All were now receiving treatment.A further 10 children aged from 6 to 18 were screened and six showed signs of severe malnutrition, he said. UNICEF staff also witnessed the death of a severely malnourished 16-year-old boy in Madaya, while a 17-year-old boy in "life-threatening condition" and a pregnant women with obstructed labor needed evacuation, Boulierac said. DYING OF STARVATION World Food Programme (WFP) spokeswoman Bettina Luescher said that the local relief committee in Madaya had provided figures on the extent of starvation, but it could not verify them. "Our nutritionist...Maxwas saying that it is clear that the nutritional situation is very bad, the adults look very emaciated. According to a member of the relief committee 32 people have died of starvation in the last 30-day period." Dozens of deaths from starvation have been reported by monitoring groups, local doctors, and aid agencies from Madaya. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday Syria's warring parties, particularly the government, were committing "atrocious acts" and condemned the use of starvation as a weapon of war in the nearly five-year-old conflict. "It can also be a crime against humanity. But it would very much depend on the circumstances, and the threshold of proof is often much more difficult for a crime against humanity (than for a war crime)," U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told the briefing on Friday. The United Nations says there are some 450,000 people trapped in around 15 siege locations across Syria, including in areas controlled by the government, Islamic State and other insurgent groups. "Let us not forget that in addition to Madaya, across Syria there are 14 other Madayas and these are locations where different parties to the conflict have been using siege as a tactic of war, depriving children and innocent civilians from accessing life-saving supplies and services," Boulierac said. (Reporting by John Davison and Tom Perry in Beirut and reporting and writing by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Alison Williams) Grandparents who help out occasionally with childcare or provide support to others in their community tend to live longer than seniors who do not care for other people, according to a study from Berlin, Germany. Having full-time custody of grandchildren can have a negative effect on health, but occasional helping can be beneficial for seniors, the researchers write in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior. "Having no contact with grandchildren at all can negatively impact the health of grandparents," said lead author Sonja Hilbrand, doctoral student in the department of psychology at the University of Basel in Switzerland. "This link could be a mechanism deeply rooted in our evolutionary past when help with childcare was crucial for the survival of the human species," Hilbrand told Reuters Health by email. The findings are drawn from data on more than 500 people over age 70 in the Berlin Aging Study. The participants completed interviews and medical tests every two years between 1990 and 2009. The researchers did not include any grandparents who were the primary caregivers for their grandchildren, only those who cared for grandchildren occasionally. The study team compared this group with seniors who provided support for non-family members, such as friends or neighbors, and seniors who did not provide any care to other people. Overall, after accounting for grandparents' age and general state of health, the risk of dying over a 20-year period was one-third lower for grandparents who cared for their grandchildren, compared with grandparents who did not provide any childcare. Half of the grandparents who cared for grandchildren were still alive ten years after the initial interview. The same was true for participants who did not have grandchildren but supported their adult children in some way, such as helping with housework. In contrast, about half of the participants who did not help others died within five years of the start of the study. Caregiving was linked with longer life even when the care recipient wasn't a relative. Half of all childless seniors who provided support to friends or neighbors lived for seven years after the study began, whereas non-helpers lived for four years on average. "Caregiving may give caregivers a purpose of life because caregivers may feel useful for the others and for the society," said Bruno Arpino, an associate professor at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain who was not involved in the study. "Caregiving may be thought also as an activity that (keeps) caregivers physically and mentally active," Arpino said by email, adding that previous studies suggest that caregiving may improve cognitive functioning, mental and physical health. Arpino noted, however, that caregiving is not the only activity that can improve health, and too many caring responsibilities can take away from other beneficial activities like working, being in social clubs, or volunteering. "Children should take into (consideration) their parents' needs, willingness and desires and agree with them on the timing and amount of childcare," Arpino suggested. "It is very important that every individual decides for him/herself, what 'moderate amounts of help' means," Hilbrand said, adding, "As long as you do not feel stressed about the intensity of help you provide you may be doing something good for others as well as for yourself." The mother of a Georgia teen who died two years ago celebrated the holidays with a boy who is alive today because of her sons heart. Tyler Liebl's organs, bone and tissue went to 23 different people across the country after he was declared brain dead in 2014, but his heart ended up with now-19-year-old Lance Frye in Pittsburgh, Inside Edition reported. Tyler wanted to help others, Janece Risty, Tylers mother, told Inside Edition. I just felt it was the right thing to do. Tyler, who complained of a headache before suddenly collapsing and suffering massive bleeding on the brain, saved Frye, who was born with a congenital heart defect and had three unsuccessful heart surgeries. At the time of Tylers death, Fryes heart was failing. My entire family felt extremely grateful for us being able to get a heart, Frye told Inside Edition. You can never express how grateful you are to them. The families, who first connected in 2016, now consider themselves relatives of one another, and got together over Christmas in Newnan, Georgia, to celebrate both boys. It gives me a lot of joy, especially since Christmas is celebrating Christs life and we celebrate Tylers life because he is with Jesus, Risty told Inside Edition. We celebrate Lances life because of Tyler. Its great to know how Lances life improved because of Tyler. Pakistan began a special five-day polio immunization campaign in the southwestern city of Quetta on Monday for children under five after a rare strain of the virus was found in sewage samples, officials said. Local officials said they had recruited Muslim clerics to promote the immunizations for 400,000 children after past programs were met with resistance and even violence by extremists. "The religious leaders were ... asking the people to give their children anti-polio drops in their sermons in the mosques in rural areas of Baluchistan," said Syed Faisal Ahmed, coordinator of the local Emergency Operation Centre. Pakistan is one of just three countries in the world, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, that have endemic polio, a once-common childhood virus that can cause paralysis or death. Last year, Pakistan reported a record low of 19 cases, Ahmed said, with only one of them in Baluchistan province, of which Quetta is the capital. The new campaign follows the detection of the rare Type 2 strain of polio in sewage samples taken by the World Health Organization in November, Ahmed said. The WHO reported the findings last week. No cases of the Type 2 strain have been reported in humans in Quetta but it has been added to the vaccine as a precaution. The more common type of polio is Type 1, with no human cases of Type 2 reported for more than a decade. "We have achieved major goals in combating polio disease, but still we have to strive more to declare Pakistan a polio-free country," Ahmed said. Immunization efforts have in the past been hampered by Islamist militants. Last January, a suicide bomber killed 15 people outside a vaccination center in Quetta in an attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban and another militant group, Jundullah. Militants in Pakistan have previously alleged the immunization campaigns are a cover for Western spies. The doctor believed to have helped the CIA track down the deceased al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden - architect of the 2001 attacks on the United States - has been accused of using a fake vaccination campaign to collect DNA samples. Bin Laden was killed in a covert raid by U.S. special forces in 2011 in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad, where he was living, straining ties between the U.S. and Pakistan. Pakistan sentenced him in 2012 to 33 years in jail on charges of belonging to militant group Lashkar-e-Islam, which he denies. That sentence was overturned but he remains in jail charged with murder relating to the death of a patient. (Writing by Kay Johnson; editing by Richard Lough) Pakistan began a special five-day polio immunization campaign in the southwestern city of Quetta on Monday for children under five after a rare strain of the virus was found in sewage samples, officials said. Local officials said they had recruited Muslim clerics to promote the immunizations for 400,000 children after past programs were met with resistance and even violence by extremists. "The religious leaders were ... asking the people to give their children anti-polio drops in their sermons in the mosques in rural areas of Baluchistan," said Syed Faisal Ahmed, coordinator of the local Emergency Operation Centre. Pakistan is one of just three countries in the world, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, that have endemic polio, a once-common childhood virus that can cause paralysis or death. Last year, Pakistan reported a record low of 19 cases, Ahmed said, with only one of them in Baluchistan province, of which Quetta is the capital. The new campaign follows the detection of the rare Type 2 strain of polio in sewage samples taken by the World Health Organization in November, Ahmed said. The WHO reported the findings last week. No cases of the Type 2 strain have been reported in humans in Quetta but it has been added to the vaccine as a precaution. The more common type of polio is Type 1, with no human cases of Type 2 reported for more than a decade. "We have achieved major goals in combating polio disease, but still we have to strive more to declare Pakistan a polio-free country," Ahmed said. Immunization efforts have in the past been hampered by Islamist militants. Last January, a suicide bomber killed 15 people outside a vaccination center in Quetta in an attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban and another militant group, Jundullah. Militants in Pakistan have previously alleged the immunization campaigns are a cover for Western spies. The doctor believed to have helped the CIA track down the deceased al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden - architect of the 2001 attacks on the United States - has been accused of using a fake vaccination campaign to collect DNA samples. Bin Laden was killed in a covert raid by U.S. special forces in 2011 in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad, where he was living, straining ties between the U.S. and Pakistan. Pakistan sentenced him in 2012 to 33 years in jail on charges of belonging to militant group Lashkar-e-Islam, which he denies. That sentence was overturned but he remains in jail charged with murder relating to the death of a patient. Lucas De Carlos has been in the neonatal intensive care unit since his premature birth in October, but his parents Lilly Nguyen and Phil De Carlos didnt want to leave him out of their wedding plans, so they brought their nuptials to him. Lucas, who was born at 24 weeks gestation weighing just 1 pound, 12 ounces, even helped his dad with the proposal. On Dec. 15 De Carlos, 35, surprised Nguyen, 35, by creating a special bib for Lucas decorated with symbols of marriage and accompanied by a sign that read, Will you marry my Papa? The Sugarland, Texas couple married on January 1 and, along with Nguyens three other children, visited Lucas in the neonatal intensive care unit of Texas Childrens Hospital in Houston. You live every day like theres no tomorrow, Nguyen said in a news release. We want Lucas to look back and through all this pain, stress and struggle, I want him to see that theres still something good that came out of it. Adolescents who engaged in violent activities were more likely to have friends - and friends of friends - who had been violent, a new study shows. "Violent acts tend to cluster through social networks, and they spread like a contagious disease spreads from one person to another," the study's senior author Brad Bushman said in a phone interview. A psychology and communications professor at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Bushman analyzed interviews from the 1990s with nearly 6,000 American students in grades seven through twelve. Compared to students whose friends had never hurt anyone, kids with a friend who had badly hurt someone were themselves 183 percent more likely to report having badly hurt someone, too, the report in the American Journal of Public Health shows. If a friend had pulled a weapon on someone, the youth were 140 percent more likely to have pulled a weapon, and if a friend had been involved in a serious fight, the youth were 48 percent more likely to have been in a serious fight. Interviewers asked the students to name up to five boys and five girls they considered friends at their schools. In male students alone, the likelihood of seriously hurting someone rose 82 percent for each additional friend who had seriously hurt someone. The association extended beyond immediate friends and friends of friends with four degrees of separation for serious fights and three degrees of separation for threatening someone with a weapon. "It's the first study we know of to see how far it spreads - up to four degrees, which is pretty amazing," Bushman said. Dr. Gary Slutkin, an epidemiologist and infectious-disease control specialist, fully expected the results. "You're doing what your friend is doing, who's doing what his friend is doing, who's doing what his friend is doing," he told Reuters Health. "You're not thinking about consequences. You're thinking about what your friends do." "This is one of now hundreds of studies that, if you add them all up, there's no way of seeing it other than violence being a contagious epidemic health problem," said Slutkin, founder of Cure Violence at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health. He has long thought about violence as a contagious disease and has worked to stop it in communities throughout the world by identifying the perpetrators and intervening in the same way he did with HIV carriers. When it was his mission to figure out how to stop the spread of HIV in Africa, Slutkin realized that explaining the deadly nature of AIDS failed to convince young men to wear condoms. But they would use condoms to protect themselves against the disease if they thought their friends wore them. Slutkin has applied his understanding of friends motivating friends for better or for worse in his work fighting street violence throughout the world. By employing former gang members to interrupt and prevent violence, he has seen communities slash violent crimes by 40 to 100 percent, he said. Punishment has not worked to control the spread of violence, Slutkin said. "People are very comfortable with punishment, and it is not the way of out this problem," he said. "It's like treating a patient over and over again with the wrong medicine." It's possible that the cure for violence could be spread through the same networks of friends as the violence itself, Bushman said. "Punishment is not a main driver of the changing of behavior," Slutkin said. "In order to get behaviors to change, you have to be interactive with people in your own peer group and see that you're getting approval from your own peer group," he said. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2ifRaip American Journal of Public Health, online December 20, 2016. In this Friday, Sept. 18, 2015 photo, Juan Carlos injects heroin into his arm after receiving a kit with clean syringes from social workers from the Cambie program in Dosquebradas, Colombia. Social workers of the program supported by the Open Society Foundation and government agencies tour the streets of the town every night in search of heroin addicts to swap out their used syringes so they dont end passing from arm to arm, increasing the risk of transmitting HIV or hepatitis. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) It took the lifeless body of a small child for Europe to wake up to the refugee crisis and the tragic consequences. The death of three year-old Aylan Kurdi did not have to happen, but it did. It represents more than the loss of a child for a parent, it symbolizes the loss of our humanity. It brings into stark contrast the deeply ingrained and systematic indifference we still hold for atrocities not occurring in our own backyard. The Syrian civil war has been ongoing for years. It has taken almost 200,000 lives, yet it was not until young Kurdis inanimate body was washed up on the shores of Turkey that much of the world began to take notice. Will another lifeless child be required before the American public sees this as inhumane and demands that the President end the detention of asylum seekers on our borders? Annaluisa Padilla The same indifference is happening in the U.S. with the jailing of thousands of children and mothers fleeing violence in Central America. All this goes nearly unheeded in the press and by most Americans. The reality is our government incarcerates asylum seekers but tries to whitewash whats happening, calling the jails family residential centers. The unmistakable truth is that the Obama Administration is incarcerating women and their young children who are fleeing rape, gang violence and other horrors that qualify them as refugees. Infants have suffered severe weight loss while locked up for months. Bereft of hope, peace, and adequate medical care, some mothers have attempted suicide. What does it say about our country when this happens within our own borders? Will another lifeless child be required before the American public sees this as inhumane and demands that the President end the detention of asylum seekers on our borders? We have a real opportunity to show the world how those fleeing persecution should be welcomed and protected. Now more than ever we must lead by example and welcome those fleeing for their lives when they reach our shores. Pope Francis issued such a call to Catholics to make their parishes into places of refuge and shelter. We must do the same for refugees from Syria, Central America, and other lands. We can come together to relieve despair and to embrace those escaping violence, knowing that welcoming them is part of who and what we are as Americans. Words matter. That is as clear in our daily discourse as it is in the Bible. To paraphrase Proverbs, with our words we can speak life or death. Today, some of our would-be political leaders are not speaking words of life when it comes to immigrants and immigration. Their rhetoric fits the description of anti-Christian and anti-conservative, even anti-American, in that it runs counter to the values that form the bedrock of our nation. We must recognize the humanity of our immigrant brothers and sisters and welcome them to an America rooted in faith, not fear. Rev. Samuel Rodriguez Presidential candidates who use inflammatory rhetoric are trying to divide us, not inspire us. Their words steer us toward nativism and xenophobia in short, to our baser selves. That is not who Christians are, and it is not who we are as Americans. There is a better way. Abraham Lincoln captured it when he wrote, Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it. Martin Luther King Jr. pointed toward faith and freedom in his I Have a Dream speech that inspired a nation: Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to climb up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. More recently, President Ronald Reagan inspired us once again with a vision of an America that shines like a city upon a hill. If there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here, Reagan said. That's how I saw it, and see it still. And how stands the city on this winter night? She's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home. A great many Americans, a great many conservatives, a great many evangelical Christians count ourselves among the multitudes who still believe this vision makes America better. It is time to raise our voices and issue a clarion call. Our nation leads precisely because we are a beacon of freedom for so many around the world and so many already on our shores. We must seize the mantle of Lincoln, King and Reagan. We must dispense with hate and dread and anxiety. Instead we must turn inward and look upward, that our words might shine the light of hope and peace, of respect and dignity. With [our tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God (James 3:9). Our tongues must speak words of blessing. No longer shall we curse those made in Gods image, lest we ourselves be cursed. We must recognize the humanity of our immigrant brothers and sisters and welcome them to an America rooted in faith, not fear. At first glance, there are undeniable similarities between Donald Trump, front-runner to become the Republican presidential candidate, and Silvio Berlusconi, three-time Prime Minister of Italy. One, Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Donald Trump, as it were, is a real estate tycoon who built a media empire which, in turn, served to propel him up the political ladder. The other, Trump, the American Berlusconi, is a real estate tycoon who adroitly used the media to become world-famous (for being rich and successful) and launch himself into politics. Both are bad boys with perma-tans, aging men in expensive suits and fancy cars and beautiful young women on their arm. Trumps wife is half his age; Berlusconis fiancee is a third of his. Alberto Vourvoulias-Bush Wealth is at the core of the public perceptions of both, but it goes beyond simply being rich. Trump and Berlusconi are business rebels, flamboyant rule-breakers, with a proud touch of bare-knuckled street-style. Berlusconi is a self-made billionaire in a country where there is little-to-no upward mobility. Trump was born into a well-to-do family in Queens, up against the windowpane of Manhattan high society on the outside looking in. Both are bad boys with perma-tans, aging men in expensive suits and fancy cars and beautiful young women on their arm. Trumps wife is half his age; Berlusconis fiancee is a third of his. Both have a history of multiple divorces and staggering alimony payments. Both are ribald and inappropriate, the opposite of politically correct, and proud of it. For some, this is very much part of the attraction. With his big eyes and his mouthful of white teeth, Berlusconi resembles a charming crocodile, smiley but dangerous. One might hesitate to leave one's daughter, or business, alone with him. Yet Italians have voted him into the country's highest office, over more safer and more qualified men, three times. Trump is decidedly more wooly and angry than Berlusconi, like a badger with a stomach ache, or a scary boss who loves to fire people. Yet prospective GOP voters, so far, choose him over nicer, more experienced candidates. As politicians, the Italian Trump and the American Berlusconi are men with outsized confidence in their abilities to think on their feet, close the deal, get what they want. Knowledge is not a prerequisite. They trust instincts over facts. This is partly why they can get away with vague or inexistent stands on issues. Both ask the voters to trust their judgement rather than their program, the man rather than the plan. As politicians, both are also dismissed as lightweights, or crazies, by the cultural and political elite -the same elite that Berlusconi has defeated in election after election. With Trump too, the media, and the GOP political establishment, greeted his candidacy with bemusement, which turned into stupefied incredulity as he shot up the polls. There are, of course, many profound differences between Trump and Berlusconi, both in personal biography and political views, and it is still early in Trumps political venture, but Trumps opponents might profit from pondering the following lessons from Berlusconis success in Italy: 1. Ignoring him wont work. Condescending or belittling his positions wont either. Refusal to take Berlusconi seriously as a candidate just reinforced his rebel image. For Trump too, you have to take him on and show how he is wrong, point by point. If you stay quiet and hope voters sort out the crazy from the serious, you will lose. 2. Berlusconi is famous for springing completely crazy and unrealistic, but popular, surprise policy proposals in the middle of an electoral campaign. This forces his opponents to talk about his issue and cluck their teeth and shake their heads and sound like grinches while Berlusconi smiles confidently and rises in the polls. Trump has already dominated the early GOP discussion with his totally unrealistic and damaging immigration proposal. The only way to respond to political craziness is also the most natural one: laugh and change the subject. 3. Finally, the more political candidates denigrate governance and politics, the more they make the case for candidates posing as political outsiders like Berlusconi and Trump. The more one thinks that all politicians are corrupt, the more one is tempted to vote for someone who specializes in saying youre fired. Ironically, a divisive, larger-than-life personality like Donald Trump may pose more of a mortal danger to other candidates on his side of the political spectrum than to potential general election opponents. Silvio Berlusconi, for example, sucked all of the air out of the right, but was polarizing enough as a figure to allow opponents to routinely rouse their base against him. That base was never enough because, as Italian politicians found out to their dismay, and American politicians are seeing right now, if you give a deal-maker enough time and space, they find a way to close the deal with voters. On May 26, 2003, a Russian-made Yak-42 military transport plane carrying 62 members of the Spanish Armed Forces back from Afghanistan crashed into a mountainside near the Turkish city of Trabzon. Over 13 years and numerous lawsuits later, the Spanish Council of State the governments top advisory body has officially admitted, for the first time, to the Defense Ministrys responsibility in the crash. Former Spanish Defense Minister Federico Trillo (in blue jacket) at the site of the accident in 2003. Chema Moya (EFE) More information Federico Trillo to be relieved as Spains ambassador to the UK The defense minister at the time was Federico Trillo, who is now the Spanish ambassador to the UK. The Councils report, which is already on current Defense Minister Maria Dolores de Cospedals desk, admits to the states responsibility in the greatest tragedy to befall the Spanish army in times of peace. The Council mentions a secret report relayed by Spains intelligence services nearly a month prior to the crash The finding will not result in financial compensation for the relatives, but it is a tremendous moral victory after more than a decade of setbacks. There are facts, prior to the date of the crash, that would have allowed the administration to ponder the particular concurrent risk of the troop transport in which the accident took place, reads the report, to which EL PAIS has had access. Put differently, certain circumstances could have been noted that would have led to the adoption by the competent bodies of measures that might have removed the risk that was being run, adds the document. The report was unanimously approved on October 20 by the Councils Permanent Committee, and it represents a serious blow to the Defense Ministry officials in place at the time of the crash. In response to the revelations from EL PAIS on Tuesday, Spains two largest opposition parties, the Socialist Party (PSOE) and Podemos, have called for Trillo to be removed as ambassador. Federico Trillo (r) is now ambassador to the UK. Cristobal Manuel But PP Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy defended the former defense minister: This has substantiated judicially what had to be substantiated. It took place many, many years ago, said the prime minister from Pontevedra, in his home region of Galicia, where he was enjoying a short break. He added that he was unaware of the existence of the Council of State report. Pablo Casado, the PPs deputy communication secretary also backed Trillo: His work as ambassador is quite different to the work he performed 20 years ago. A defense minister is always concerned with security, and we are committed to the families [of the victims of the crash]. The PSOE and Podemos have presented initiatives before Congress calling for Trillo to be removed and for the foreign minister and the defense minister to appear before deputies to answer questions. Ricardo Cortes, the Socialists defense spokesman, said: The Council of States report is a very serious matter and it was approved unanimously. And Trillo, as the maximum representative of the Defense Ministry at the time, should stand down as ambassador over his political responsibility. Pablo Bustinduy, Podemoss foreign affairs spokesman, told EL PAIS: Obviously it is incompatible to represent Spain in another country without assuming political responsibility for such as serious event. Ciudadanos has called for Defense Minister De Cospedal to appear before Congress, but has yet to call for Trillos resignation. Contradictions The Councils conclusions appear to contradict the fact that the High Court, Spains central criminal tribunal, shelved the case against half a dozen military officials, including the chief of the defense staff at the time, Antonio Moreno Barbera, on the grounds that there was no criminal accountability. But the Council has fallen back on the High Courts own conclusions that found an absence of relevant penal responsibility, but not of any other kind of responsibility of a varied nature. Instead, the Council assigns the Defense Ministry responsabilidad patrimonial, or asset liability. It agrees with court decisions that found that the direct cause of the crash was the fact that the pilots were worn out after 22 hours in the air, and that they had not been properly trained to face the situation in which they found themselves. At the time of the accident, government officials blamed a chain of subcontractors for the series of mistakes that led to the crash. But the Council now notes that the Spanish state has the obligation to inspect its contractors activities, especially those conducting risky activities. The Council also mentions a secret report relayed by Spains intelligence services nearly a month prior to the crash, warning that a high risk is being run by transporting personnel on cargo aircraft chartered in former Soviet countries; their maintenance is highly questionable at the very least. However, the Council rules out any further monetary compensation for the victims relatives, and considers that the outlays of the last 13 years are sufficient reparation. Defense Minister Cospedal now has the final word on the matter. A series of errors and lies Popular Party politician Federico Trillos successor at the Defense Ministry, Jose Bono of the Socialist Party (PSOE), pledged to find out the truth about the crash. He ordered DNA tests that found that 30 bodies had been erroneously identified. Military officials in charge of the task did not mistake the identities of the dead soldiers, but simply attributed the names of the 30 victims, which in many cases were burnt beyond recognition, ad hoc, with deliberate intent to not tell the truth, according to the sentence, which was subsequently ratified by the Supreme Court. Bono also launched a probe into the network of subcontractors involved in the aircraft charter. What emerged is that of the 149,000 paid for the Yak-42, only around 36,500 went to the plane operator, UM Air. The rest was pocketed by four other subcontractors. The Yak-42 that crashed in Turkey was not even insured properly, and the Spanish Defense Ministry had to pay out 75,000 for each death, a total of 4.6 million. The money was paid by the state, and was never recovered. English version by Susana Urra & Nick Lyne. Last nights second Republican presidential candidate debate didnt last as long as the Reagans first term, it only seemed like it. But, there were some educational nuggets involved. For instance, we were informed by Senator Marco Rubio that America is not a climate and that Jeb! actually inhaled marijuana in his youth. We also couldnt help happily noting that the large Republican field is quite diverse and on the whole much younger than the few candidates who are running as Democrats. Its a shame that the moderators and the candidates ignored the fact that even with millions of unemployed Americans, at more than a million a year, the United States naturalizes about a million job-seekers annually, the most of any other nation. And we import hundreds of thousands of guest workers but do not effectively monitor their departure. D.A. King Also noted was Senator Rand Pauls very educated description of the legal background on 14th amendment and the current widely accepted myth that it automatically confers birthright citizenship on the children of illegal aliens. Americans paying attention with an open mind got some valuable and factual information. As expected, immigration was a hot topic in the debate, but the focus was on the crime of illegal immigration. We learned from Jeb that he is of the opinion that if we deport illegal aliens like Mexico does and virtually all other nations do we would send a bad message to the world. Creating jobs came up several times. I dont remember American workers wages even being mentioned and the jobs points were never connected to the immigration topic with the exception of the usual nonsense that Americans will not work in agriculture. Thats too bad. Maybe more Americans would have been reminded that the natural laws of supply and demand actually do apply to immigration too. Yes, its true: The higher the numbers of workers in the labor market, the lower the wages for working Americans of every description. And nobody responded to the alleged agriculture worker shortage with the fact that the Ag industry bosses run the only business in the nation with its own apparatus the H2A visa with which they can import an unlimited number of legal temporary foreign farm workers. One of the best parts of the three hours was the commercial from the highly respected, Washington, DC-based NumbersUSA, which laid out the critical point on the lawful immigration issue the numbers of legal immigrants the U.S. takes in every year. Its a shame that the moderators and the candidates ignored the fact that even with millions of unemployed Americans, at more than a million a year, the United States naturalizes about a million job-seekers annually, the most of any other nation. And we import hundreds of thousands of guest workers but do not effectively monitor their departure. A question that didnt come up: If you dont support open borders, then how many new immigrants should the U.S. import each year? Well wait Pre-campaign history has given us some insight into a few of the candidates positions on immigration numbers. As a Gang of Eight member, Marco Rubio wanted to double immigration in the failed Senate amnesty bill of 2013, while Cruz tried to increase the numbers of H1B tech workers brought to compete with Americans by 500 percent. Jeb! said he wants to fix the immigration system to make it an economic driver he has said he embraces the dream of importing more workers too. We thought the claim from Jeb!s donors was that mass immigration is already the economic driver? While there was the usual election-time cliche talk about securing the border, and attacks on Trump with the premise that it is somehow impossible to deport illegal aliens, what wasnt offered as a solution to illegal immigration and the employment woes of American workers is the tried and proven successful concept of stepped up interior enforcement and continually reducing the population of illegal aliens by ending illegal employment and cutting off benefits and services. Rather like noting that not many people will break into Disneyland or stay past closing if they are not allowed to ride the rides. Here we should note that Disneyland is more secure than Americas borders 14 years after 9/11. Donald Trump, nearly single-handedly responsible for making immigration a focal point of the entire presidential campaign (thank you, Donald Trump), again put forth his flawed idea of deporting illegal aliens only to then reverse the process by returning the good ones to the U.S. This touchback and return policy has been dreamed up before and should be examined more carefully by his supporters and by his campaign competition. And heres hoping there are no more three-hour candidate debates. Todays U.S. government announcement lifting more trade restrictions on Cuba shows just how one-sided Obamas deal with Cuba really is. Ever since the U.S.-Cuba rapprochement was announced last December, the only side making concessions appears to be the United States. Cuba continues to beat and imprison dissidents, theyve showed little willingness to relax the rules for investment or trade, and theyve done nothing to lessen their stranglehold on free expression, the political process, or the ability of Cubans to travel without government scrutiny. It will be up to the next President to undo the dangerous follies foisted upon us, and the entire world, through President Obamas inexperience and ineptness at foreign affairs. The damage he has caused has been long-lasting, including to the cause of a free and democratic Cuba. Raul Mas Canosa Donald Trump can be criticized for a lot of things (including his reversal on Cuba) but he has been absolutely on point when it comes to the stupidity shown by this president in negotiating with foreign powers. President Obama deserted Iraq and caused a major power vacuum that was filled by that JV team known as ISIS. He drew a line in the sand with Syrian President Assad and then backed away when Assad crossed it using chemical weapons. Obama traded five known Taliban terrorist leaders for one hapless and suspected US Army deserter. He also sent Secretary Clinton to happily push the reset button with the Russians ... only to have Vladimir Putin invade the Ukraine and threaten the Baltic States. The president supported Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, only to see them deposed in a coup when they quickly alienated both the Egyptian people and its military. Most recently, Obama capitulated to the Iranians on nuclear negotiations with major and some would say incredibly dangerous concessions on when and how to confirm Iranian compliance. And the ink wasnt even dry when Irans top terrorist, General Qassem Soleimani, flew to Russia (in defiance of UN sanctions) to start buying Russian arms to prop up their Syrian puppet. The situation is no different with Cuba. The president and Secretary Kerry have talked a great deal about human rights and freedom for the Cuba people. However, even those who were willing to give this administration the benefit of the doubt, including many dissidents on the island, are quickly realizing that the whole thing is one huge charade. For example, when presented with an opportunity to highlight the dissidents, by inviting them to the U.S. embassy re-opening, this administration deferred. Heaven forbid that the worlds greatest superpower should offend the sensibilities of two ruthless, octogenarian dictators. Truth be told I dont think President Obama cares one iota about freedom for the Cuba people. He cares about two things and two things only: 1) the dismantling of American power around the globe as contrition for what he views as the past sins of our foreign policy, and 2) his own legacy. Period. Full stop. Thats all you need to know. Freedom will not come to the Cuban people under Obamas watch. Neither will an improvement in the countrys dire economic straits. Those who think otherwise are simply deluding themselves. Those who arent are going along just because they will benefit financially. It will be up to the next president to undo the dangerous follies foisted upon us, and the entire world, through President Obamas inexperience and ineptness at foreign affairs. The damage he has caused has been long-lasting, including to the cause of a free and democratic Cuba. By now, the establishment in Washington is fully aware of the historic financial collapse of Puerto Rico, the nations largest territory. Incongruously, however, the Executive and Legislative Branches of the Federal Government have essentially reacted to the territorys predicament with the bureaucratic equivalent of Clark Gables infamous Frankly, my dear, I dont give a damn. Washington needs to step up and recognize that the only way to really resolve Puerto Ricos long-standing fiscal woes is to enable the island to work its way out of what has proven to be its inherently flawed territorial status. And for its part, Puerto Rico also needs to elect new leadership in 2016. Luis Baco Puerto Ricos territorial status evidently does not provide the island with the necessary tools to overcome, by itself, the magnitude of the financial crisis it is currently facing. For decades, the Federal Government has perpetuated by its inaction an increasingly dysfunctional political-economic model on the island one that at its core is, as President Ronald Reagan once characterized it, "historically unnatural. Washingtons wholly unjustified procrastination has continued to this day, even after the people of Puerto Rico clearly voted to withdraw in 2012 their consent for maintaining the current territorial relationship. The fact that Puerto Rico is fast becoming the poster child for underdevelopment under the U.S. flag should come as no surprise, as any political or economic model founded on the basis of perpetual civic disenfranchisement and inequality is doomed to fail miserably. As a matter of fact, were it not for federal welfare handouts, past economic stratagems such as Section 936 of the Internal Revenue Code and other short-term, unsustainable measures, Puerto Ricos economy would have collapsed long ago, and in an even more dramatic manner. The Federal Government, as the leading culprit of this unprecedented crisis, has a moral, political, and juridical obligation to intervene immediately. Why? A currently debated topic provides some insight: when the news first broke on the depth of Puerto Ricos $73 billion debt problem, one of the local governments initial reactions was to call on Congress to amend U.S. bankruptcy law in order to allow the islands public corporations the benefits of bankruptcy protection. This is a protective mechanism that is available to government entities in the 50 states, and which had been available to Puerto Rico until Congress amended the statute back in 1984. Despite the fact that this proposal has received almost unanimous support across the islands political spectrum, at present it is still languishing in Congress. Efforts by the Puerto Rico Legislature to enact a similar law locally resulted in the federal court ruling that such a statute is unconstitutional, as it is preempted by federal law. Once again, this left Puerto Rico between the proverbial rock and a hard place. This exemplifies the real problem: U.S. citizens being discriminated against solely because of their territorial place of residence, and an absolute denial of the most elemental right in a democracy: real political representation. Those unfamiliar with Puerto Ricos 117 year-old subordinated place in the American family should know that, although Puerto Ricans have been American citizens since 1917 and have valiantly served in every single war and conflict the U.S. has been involved in since then, they are barred from voting for President and from electing a proportionate congressional delegation which, given the islands population, would include no less than five members in the U.S. House of Representatives and the requisite two United States senators. Further, Puerto Ricans on the island are treated unequally in, or even totally excluded from, major federal programs, which by definition makes them second-class citizens. Meanwhile, local administrations in Puerto Rico, who certainly bear their fair share of the blame for the current fiscal crisis, for years essentially adopted a "wait until tomorrow attitude, allowing political expediency and improvisation to be used as the everyday tools of economic policy. In essence, they paid their credit card debts with other credit cards, until the time came when they realized their debt payments exceeded receipts, and there were no more credit cards. Any individual family facing such circumstances would have moved much more swiftly to cut and curb expenses. That is precisely what Puerto Ricos previous administration started to do, but it cost Governor Fortuno his re-election. Not a surprise, given what has been tantamount to a pseudo-socialist economic model where close to 33 percent of all employment is in the government, and where the emphasis has been on government supremacy over the private sector. Washington needs to step up and recognize that the only way to really resolve Puerto Ricos long-standing fiscal woes is to enable the island to work its way out of what has proven to be its inherently flawed territorial status. And for its part, Puerto Rico also needs to elect new leadership in 2016. New leadership that, working with the Federal Government, must act decisively to end years of improvisation and implement sustainable pro-growth economic policies that are based upon the bedrock principles of civic equality and political empowerment. And, perhaps more importantly, new leadership that will unequivocally demand from the Federal Government that it act upon the democratically expressed will of the islands electorate, which in 2012 rejected territorial subordination and delivered a mandate that must be fulfilled, for Puerto Rico to become the 51st state of our great Union. The 3.5 million U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico and the greatest Democracy on Earth deserve no less. Every presidential cycle we hear the same old tired lines used to push voter registration drives and GOTV operations in Latino communities Latinos are deciding the election this year! Our communitys voice will finally be heard. They will have to pass comprehensive immigration reform if they want our vote. Like the untested first-time leader who projects confidence until they finally feel it, Latino voters find themselves in a situation where their actions need to match the rhetoric. This election cycle we have found ourselves in the exact the type of situation that our community has been coveting will finally have the deciding vote in the general election. To underestimate the GOP is very dangerous, especially with a complicated electoral map where Florida leans red under Bush, where Sandoval could still be a running mate, and with Ohio potentially crossing into the red category in the foreseeable future with Pennsylvania following not far behind. David Ferreira The signs of our electoral strength have been apparent to us for quite some time, but the importance of the Latino vote has finally become broadly acknowledged in past few electoral cycles - the re-election of Senator Reid in 2010 and the overall Congressional cycle showed how Latinos could serve as a firewall against further GOP gains, and the 2012 cycle where Latino voters punished Romneys self-deportation rhetoric handing President Obama 71 percent of their support compared to 27 percent supporting Romney. Much like an iceberg, the Latino communitys political muscle has yet to be seen in its entirety and its power is frequently underestimated by those who are unfamiliar with this particular voting bloc. Simply put, without numerical data its hard for many people to visualize how many eligible Latino voters are turning 18 every day. Lets look at North Carolina as an example. The president won that state in 2008 but lost it in 2012. In 2008 Democrats had a noticeable increase in voter registration and turnout within the Latino community both of which didnt materialize in 2012. When you add low registration plus low turnout plus additional losses among white voters, these factors equaled a loss for Democrats. Looking at the data, there are few ways to win North Carolina going forward without registering and turning out new voters, and Latinos are by far the fastest growing population in the state. In a study by Nielsen, a company that studies markets and consumer behavior, they highlight that from 2000 to 2013 the Charlotte metropolitan region had seen a 168 percent increase in Latino population, with Raleigh seeing a 139 percent increase. This virtually untapped concentration of eligible voters means that the cost per person for registering and turning out new voters has a much better return on investment for campaign spending than reaching out to existing white voters as it costs about ten times more to persuade a white person to vote for a Democrat than it does to register and turn out Latinos who will likely vote for the Democratic candidate by wider margins. In 2016, the Latino electorate of North Carolina will be 2.5 percent of the vote share, and possibly even higher depending on registration and turnout scenarios. Consider also that Romney won the state by 2 percent in 2012 while the president won it by 0.4 percent in 2008. Therefore, while whites and African Americans continue to be the dominant voters in the state the math on population growth highlights Latinos as the clear demographic target for new voter registration and turnout efforts this cycle and for years to come. The electoral math in North Carolina is similar to what we see in a handful of other states, including Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Wisconsin. The other category of states where the Latino community is critical are those toss-up states with large numbers of Latinos, who tend to be under-represented in the polls, but where an increase of just a few percentage points in registration and turnout could have an extraordinary impact. We can see this pattern in states like Florida, Colorado, Nevada and Arizona. While Arizona is not technically a toss-up state, it is quickly moving in that direction and offers Democrats a rare red to blue target. Unfortunately, this is also where the electoral decision-making gets a lot tougher. If the GOP candidate were to be former Governor Bush, who is still the leading mainstream GOP candidate, or Senator Rubio would Democrats still have an opportunity to win Florida? That could hinge largely on a diverse Latino community that is now mostly Puerto Rican and Central American, rather than Cuban. For years the state of Florida has been ripe with promise for Democratic gains, and it showed that potential in 2008 when the president won the state by a 2.8 percent margin. The GOP did a good job of recovering some of those losses in 2012, but those efforts were not good enough with President Obama holding on to victory by a margin of 0.88 percent. Similar to North Carolina, the State of Florida offers Democrats a great demographic opportunity to register and turn out new Latino voters. This is a state where the I-4 corridor traditionally underperforms because many candidates have difficulty crafting a successful message to a Puerto Rican population whose politics defy the traditional spectrum of right and left, with large numbers of evangelicals, and many of whom are more culturally and politically tied to Puerto Rico rather than Florida. While the recent exodus of Puerto Ricans moving to Florida may improve the cost-benefit calculation of voter registration and turn out project in the I-4 corridor, Democrats should remember the lessons of 2004 when the Kerry campaign saw a large turnout in that region that exceeded their projections. Unfortunately, many of those voters were evangelicals picked off by single issues like gay marriage and voted Republican in greater margins that election. It is apparent that significant investments in Latino voter registration and turnout in key states like will be necessary if Democrats want to generate the extra bump needed with those states, but they will also be necessary to compensate for losses from the non-college educated white voters who are increasingly voting Republican. Unions used to be the anchor that held together white support within the Democratic Party. With declining union numbers and the resulting decline in union political clout, we will see continued erosion among those voters, especially in rustbelt states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. In order to offset the loss of traditional Democratic voters the party and its allies will need to register and turn out more Latinos to the polls in order to deliver the margins of victory needed to see Democratic gains in these states.. If any Democrat is under the delusion that this will be an easy electoral cycle and presidential campaign, they are in for a surprise. The GOP clown car will not be around forever to entertain and distract us, and GOP voters will eventually weed out those loud but unelectable candidates in their field. To underestimate the GOP is very dangerous, especially with a complicated electoral map where Florida leans red under Bush, where Sandoval could still be a running mate, and with Ohio potentially crossing into the red category in the foreseeable future with Pennsylvania following not far behind. This new electoral map puts more weight on Democrats to win states like Florida, Virginia, Nevada, Colorado, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, and to try to turn states like North Carolina and Arizona. As the population data shows, a shift in voting demographics has increased the odds that the next president will be decided by how well Latinos perform at the polls. That is a lot of weight on our shoulders and I truly hope we can deliver. There is no subtle way of saying this so let me just blurt it out: men are having sex with boys in Afghanistan and they appear to be doing it with the backing of the U.S. military. Shocked? Get over it, because this isnt about you. This isnt some social psychological examination to see what it takes to make you say WTF. This is the real thing. Its happening, and according to several published reports, including a detailed investigation by the New York Times, U.S. Marines are being disciplined for trying to stop it. This non-interventionist policy may be a way of trying to maintain good relations with the Afghan police and militia forces we have trained, but its also a sign of U.S. complicity in a despicable crime beneath the dignity of our military, our country and our elected officials, Rick Sanchez Since 2002, reports have been surfacing of a centuries-old tradition where Pashtun men, forbidden from having physical relations with the women whose ankles they are barely allowed to peer, have been instead turning their attention to boys. In fact, its become a status symbol among powerful men in Afghanistan to have a boy, or two, or maybe even a harem of sex slaves. The practice is so widespread, its now even taking place on U.S. military installations (U.S. servicemen work side by side with Afghans), where U.S. Marines complain of hearing the screams in the night of boys being raped yes, raped! Its called Bacha bazi, boy play, and it mirrors a long held tradition among Pashtun men that women are for having children, but boys are for pleasure. A routine Google search of Bacha Bazi reveals a frightening volume of information, pictures, videos and first-hand accounts of past and current cruelty. The most recent details the story of Dan Quinn, a former Special Forces captain who was relieved of duty and sent packing for beating up an American-backed militia commander who was keeping a boy chained to his bed as a sex slave. The reason we were here is because we heard the terrible things the Taliban were doing to people, how they were taking away human rights, Quinn explains to the New York Times. But we were putting people into power who would do things that were worse than the Taliban did. According to the Times, the Army is also trying to force the retirement of Sgt. First Class Charles Martland, a Special Forces member who joined Captain Quinn in beating up the pedophile Afghan commander. Ironically, it was the Taliban who had stopped the practice of Bacha bazi in Afghanistan by crushing to death any and all men suspected of being a pedophiles. But when U.S. forces kicked out the Taliban and returned the Pashtun to power, they also inadvertently re-instituted man on boy sex. Why is the U.S. military allowing it? Because U.S. commanders are reluctant to do anything about it for fear of losing the support of the police and paramilitary forces they have trained throughout the war torn country. It is why Marines and soldiers are reportedly being mandated to turn a blind eye to the horrors of institutional pedophilia. The U.S. military response is, thus far, tepid at best. Spokesperson and Col. Brian Tribus is quoted in the Times article saying, allegations of child sexual abuse by Afghan military or police personnel would be a matter of domestic Afghan criminal law. He then added, There would be no express requirement that U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan report it. If that doesnt sound like an order to look the other way, Im not sure what does. This non-interventionist policy may be a way of trying to maintain good relations with the Afghan police and militia forces we have trained, but its also a sign of U.S. complicity in a despicable crime beneath the dignity of our military, our country and our elected officials, It is time for the media, which was quick to point out (and rightly so) every sin committed during the Abu Ghraib prison scandal to now pay an equal amount of attention to this budding horror. U.N. representatives call it sexual slavery, in which boys are picked up from their homes and forced to have sex with men and sometimes kept chained to prevent them from escaping. This must stop! We must act! And President Obama, under whose command this is occurring, must act immediately and decisively or face the medias well-deserved wrath. Were waiting. More than 500,000 migrants have arrived at Europes doorstep this year, nearly twice as many as last year. In an attempt to halt the waves of people fleeing war-torn areas, Hungry declared a state of emergency and sent police and soldiers to its border with Serbia, across which thousands of migrants have been crossing. When it comes to border security, lines of razor-wire and soldiers is a proposition some in the United States might support, but from experience, we know this is woefully insufficient to keep a border secure and large-scale migration in check. Sharing information and empowering the frontline commanders and local law enforcement will not, on its own, yield a secure border, but it will certainly lead to a border that is more secure than it is today. Nelson Balido In 2013, a group of more than 150 Mexican nationals, many of them gang affiliated, simultaneously rushed the U.S. border in California by dashing across the Tijuana river channel. With rubber bullets, tear gas, and tasers, Border Patrol agents managed to turn back the crowd, but it was a stiff fight. What if, instead of 200 or 300 people rushing the border, we were faced with thousands of loosely coordinated would-be border crossers? The U.S. Coast Guard has practiced for such a scenario. In the past, they conducted interdiction exercises simulating an attempted massive migration from Cuba. The consistent conclusion was that the United States does not have the assets to stop massive migration. Along the border, just by the numbers, a couple hundred agents have no hope of stopping thousands of people approaching en masse. So what do we do? Building an enormous wall, as some Republican presidential candidates have floated, takes time and money we dont have, to say nothing of the fact that a 10-foot wall just inspires someone else to build an 11-foot ladder. And we do not have the manpower or technical infrastructure to watch nearly 2,000 miles of border waiting for a ladder-wielding Mexican to make their move. Physical barriers and deterrents have a role, but more important now is fostering the information sharing between stakeholders, informing law enforcement and border patrol efforts. Unfortunately, border and illegal migration information only appears to flow in one directionto Washington, DC. The state and local assets working every day to secure the border are receiving limited intelligence and insight from the Federal government that could help them better accomplish their mission and anticipate times or areas of illegal crossings. Some sheriffs near the southern border lament all they receive are quasi-relevant media clippings containing vague kernels of info that could hardly be dubbed intelligence. This month marked 14 years since al Qaedas terrorist attacks of September 11. After that tragic day, we learned one reason the attack was successful was because U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies werent talking to each other. We had many pieces of the 9/11 puzzle, but they were spread out across siloed local, state and federal agencies. That acknowledgement was one of the primary reasons the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was createdto bring all assets under the same roof where they could collaborate towards a safer nation. And yet, here we are again. Our agencies are segregated, their mission areas siloed. A failure to collaborate and share information hurts border security. Conversely, intelligence sharing and coordinated efforts create a force multiplier effect that empowers and accelerates our border security efforts. With more documents, phones, notes, photos, e-mail, social media and other materials seized from illegal immigrants, border security assets can begin tying together disparate pieces of information towards a clearer understanding of the threat environment. This method of document and media exploitation was used successfully throughout the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and it was famously the approach used by the CIA officer who tracked Osama bin Laden to Abbottabad, Pakistan. From these data inputs, law enforcement can find patterns and exploit predictability, better meeting the ever-evolving challenge presented by persistent illegal entries. However, intelligence is only valuable if it informs action, and currently, the Joint Task Force (JTF) commanders along the U.S.-Mexico borders are beholden to the political winds in Washington. Much like the DHS concept, JTFs are designed to bring local, state and federal assets to the same table where they can share information and tactics and plan coordinated efforts. To be fair, the JTFs are just getting started, and during this ramp-up time, it is crucial that the table be set to ensure that a decade of best practices within the Department of Defense are put in place without having to run back to the Beltway every time they want to act, which diminishes the advantages inherent in a nimble, frontline team reviewing up-to-date intelligence. The JTF commanders must be empowered and trusted to take the right action because they, more than anyone in Washington, know the landscape, the communities, the actors and the challenges. They must have the flexibility they need to act on intelligence in a way that best supports border security. We know what massive migration would look like; we need look no farther than Europe. The United States is in no way prepared to face a challenge of that magnitude, and there is reason to think such a challenge could present itself. Currently, the U.S. dollar is strong relative to many foreign currencies, including the Mexican peso. One U.S. dollar is worth nearly 17 pesos in Mexico, which is a large incentive to seek employment in the United States. Meanwhile, the threat of another wave of unaccompanied alien children looms large, and persistent instability throughout the Latin American world can be an impetus to pack up and have a go at the U.S. border. Sharing information and empowering the frontline commanders and local law enforcement will not, on its own, yield a secure border, but it will certainly lead to a border that is more secure than it is today. next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 This year marks the 27th anniversary of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 October 15), a month-long recognition of the many contributions Hispanics and Latinos have made to our country. In honor of the anniversary of Independence Day for five Latin American countries, September 15th was chosen as the official kickoff day for this important month. As an American of Hispanic origin, I am proud to celebrate my heritage and join with each of you as we recognize the tremendous influence of the Hispanic culture on our great nation. As such, in recognition of 2015s National Hispanic Heritage Month, I am asking each of you to engage in one activity that expands your knowledge of the Hispanic culture. Visit your local public library and identify a book for your children to read that highlights the history of Hispanic leadership in the United States. Columba Bush Love of faith, family, friends, and food are often considered the foundation of the Hispanic culture. When I met Jeb 41 years ago, I was moved by his willingness to learn Spanish and his desire to immerse himself completely in the Hispanic culture. I often tell friends that Jeb not only fell in love with me but simultaneously fell in love with our culture and our people. After marrying Jeb and moving to the United States, I quickly realized that the love of faith, family, friends, and food are the cornerstones of the many cultures represented in this diverse country. In the early 90s, I had the pleasure of blending my love of art, education, and heritage by assisting with the creation of the Childrens Educational Fund of the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico which provided the opportunity for school age children in the United States to attend dance performances that emphasized local folk culture while combining ballet characteristics. One of the greatest joys of my adulthood was watching these performances through the eyes of small children. While serving as Governor and First Lady of the State of Florida, Jeb and I recognized National Hispanic Heritage Month each year by hosting a reception at the Governors Mansion honoring the contributions of Floridas Hispanic community to the states cultural heritage. We proudly displayed paintings by Salvador Dali, the prominent Spanish surrealist painter, Romero Britto, a Brazilian Neo-pop artist as well as countless others and invited schools in the area to tour the Mansion and learn about the importance of our Hispanic artists. I believe that those of us who are given a voice should use it to educate and promote issues that are near and dear to our hearts. As such, in recognition of 2015s National Hispanic Heritage Month, I am asking each of you to engage in one activity that expands your knowledge of the Hispanic culture. Visit your local public library and identify a book for your children to read that highlights the history of Hispanic leadership in the United States. Gather as a family and cook a meal that originates from a Latin country and share the recipe with your friends. Go to a museum that highlights Hispanic artists and if you find yourself in the Washington, D.C. area visit the Smithsonian where they plan to honor Hispanic Heritage Month by showcasing vibrant performances, lectures, family activities, and exhibitions at various museums throughout the Institution. And perhaps you will consider volunteering at your local community based charity because I can think of nothing more appropriate than giving back to others during a time of celebration. As a wife, mother and grandmother, I am very proud to see my Hispanic-American children and grandchildren grow and succeed in the love and strength of our cultures. I love that as a multi-cultural family, we get to celebrate and enjoy all that America offers us. Most importantly, I am proud to be a citizen of the United States, a country that is comprised by so many who come from around the globe to join us as we stand as one nation under God. It is truly an exceptional nation that embraces and cherishes each and every culture. What happened last week in Havana marked a great milestone in Latin Americas history. The handshake between Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the top FARC leader, Rodrigo Londono Echeverri, alias "Timochenko, signaled one of the most significant developments we have seen in decades toward peace in Colombia. It brought hope to to the millions of victims of human rights violations and abuses committed during the countrys 50-year brutal armed conflict. Peoples rights to truth, justice and reparation must be an intrinsic part of any final peace agreement. Without it, Colombia will never be truly able to move on from its dark present and enjoy durable and sustainable peace. The voices of the victims must be heard loudly. Erika-Guevara-Rosas The two sides announced that, with only one item left to resolve, disarmament and demobilization, a peace deal would be signed no later than March 23, 2016. The FARC has agreed to lay down its arms 60 days after that. The question now is how far the final agreement will go in ensuring that those responsible for the killings, torture, sexual abuse, disappearances and forced displacement, among other crimes that have destroyed so many lives across Colombia, face justice. Some of the vague definitions included in the agreement, as well as the potential for amnesties, raise fears that not all human rights abusers from all sides of the conflict will face the courts. The FARC and the government have agreed to set up a Special Jurisdiction for Peace consisting of a tribunal and special courts with Colombian judges chosen by both sides and some limited participation by foreign experts. These courts will have jurisdiction over all those who directly or indirectly participated in the armed conflict and are implicated in grave crimes (including crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes). This judicial process will, however, focus only on the most serious and representative cases and, in the case of the FARC, only on those men and women deemed the most responsible. The lack of clear definitions might leave many out of the reach of the courts. It is also extremely worrying that the system could make it very difficult to obtain convictions for crimes including extrajudicial executions and sexual violence. In addition, a new Amnesty Law will benefit those accused of political and associated crimes. The Attorney General said some 15,000 members of the FARC could benefit from amnesties. On June 4 this year, the government and the FARC also announced plans for a "Truth Commission," but there are concerns that the courts may not be able to use any information that arises there. The issue of justice is not a minor one. It has actually been one the thorniest discussion points in the peace talks, which have been ongoing in Cuba since 2012. Ensuring justice should never be seen as a token gesture, as a simple "add-on" to an agreement. Millions of victims are still facing the consequences of conflict, being displaced from their homes, crying for the ones they lost and living the horrors of violence. Unless the Colombian authorities show that the horrors its people have suffered for more than half a century do not go unpunished, it will send the wrong message that these crimes are actually allowed. Peoples rights to truth, justice and reparation must be an intrinsic part of any final peace agreement. Without it, Colombia will never be truly able to move on from its dark present and enjoy durable and sustainable peace. The voices of the victims must be heard loudly. When I heard that the pope was coming to the United States, and specifically, to the New York area, I felt anxious. I am a survivor of clergy abuse. A priest and deacon at our neighborhood church abused me and other youths when I was just 9 years old until I was 16. I felt confused about my mixed feelings about Pope Francis. I liked his humble ways, I felt his sincerity toward those who were abused by clergy, but I still couldn't trust completely. Is he true to his heart and words? Is he a man of God who really cares about children abused by priests, and does he really want to put a stop to it? I think, I hope, yes. I feel confident and trusting about Pope Francis because never once did he ignore this issue of sexual abuse by priests in parishes around the world. I will be praying for you. Johnny Vega Some of his statements, to be sure, fall a little short of the truth when he speaks of bishops having "courage" for confronting this issue and selling church property to settle lawsuits to bring closure to victims that is so far from the truth. My only wish is to one day meet Pope Francis myself, and to have a candid conversation about what I went through in detail. I want him to truly feel my pain, my hurt, my everyday struggles even to this day, at 51 years old to forget even though I have forgiven. I want Pope Francis to feel and see me as that child who went through so much pain, so much anxiety that every time I went to church I would recoil in fear, wondering "Am I going to be left alone, or am I going to be forced to have sex with the priest again? And if I don't, would he kill my family as I was reminded of my the abusers every time. I need the pope to feel my heart hurt, see the fear on my face even now as an adult. To have met with those survivors of sexual abuse by clergy was a great thing for Pope Francis to choose to do. I can imagine how scared they must have been, and how much they no doubt wanted to believe his words, his assurances. He said, rightly, that when clergy abuse the innocent, the children, "God weeps." But I also weep because, even though Pope Francis did a commendable thing by meeting with the survivors and addressing the shameful issue before the world that watched his visit, I still doubt that Pope Francis really understands our pain and suffering. He needs to hear it from survivors in a way that is not rushed, not part of a high-profile historical event, as his visit here was. Only after the pope has this kind of conversation with survivors can he, and others after him, truly begin to understand the damage and horror that took place. I am still a believer of God. I confess my sins to God, never to a priest, because my sins could never compare to what a priest and a deacon did to me as a child. My wife Lidyana has seen me fight in my sleep, wake up screaming and, at one point, never leave our apartment because we lived blocks away from the church where I was sexually abused for years with the fear that those who sexually abused me would be waiting outside for me to do more harm. Pope Francis truly needs to understand what a survivor of sexual abuse by clergy feels so he can feel that same hurt and take immediate action toward those who fail our children and punish all those who fail to report sexual abuse to the proper authorities first and then report it to those in charge of the Dioceses. I pray for Pope Francis, that he may continue to listen with his heart the hurt we feel. I truly hope he tries his best to protect all of God's children by taking forceful action, not just talk about what he would like to do. I truly hope that Pope Francis goes back to Rome safely and thinks about what God and Jesus would do if they could walk on this earth and face the priests and ask "Why hurt our children, why take away the innocence of a child and destroy a life?" If clergy are pro-life adamant about saving a child from death before it is born how then do those who preach against hurting a fetus so easily take away a child's life after it is born? I was the founder of the first Latino chapter of SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), which was based in Paterson, N.J. I am no longer a member but many survivors still reach out to me and I still continue to guide those who need help by a certified therapist. SNAP is a self-help support group for survivors and can be reached at www.snapnetwork.org I am a survivor, a man who despite being hurt by the church leaders my family and so many others in our parish looked up to, and blindly, unquestioningly believed in, still believes in God and now in you, Pope Francis. I will be praying for you. The recently concluded visit of Pope Francis to the United States made a major impact, an impact all the bigger for taking place in the current context of political polarization there. I count myself among those who most firmly defend the separation of Church and State and believe that its vital to separate these two spaces. I reject any attempt to impose religious beliefs in the context of politics, impositions which are no more than a way of abusing and manipulating the faith of a sector of society. The importance of maintaining this prohibition is even greater when the religious group in question constitutes a majority or a large minority of a states citizens. A good political leader is one who, with the interests of all in mind, seizes the moment in a spirit of openness and pragmatism. A good political leader always opts to initiate processes rather than possessing spaces. Pope Francis Pope Francis maneuvered on these boundaries with mastery and precision. When he spoke as a head of state (lets not forget that what he is of the Vatican as well as head of the Roman Catholic Church) he made use of the enormous moral and spiritual capital evident in his visible humility. This was further shown by the way he dealt with the various questions he addressed and by his gestures in support of social progress such as when he ate with a group of homeless people in Washington instead of doing so with the leaders of Congress. He had already met the latter when he addressed a Joint Session of its houses and spoke to their members and the country at large with enormous political skill. The United States is predominantly a nation of Protestants; only 23 percent of its citizens are Catholic so the Pope made his visit as the leader of a religious minority. 32 percent of American Catholics are of Hispanic origin with the two other most important groups being Irish and Italian Americans. Among those the Pope received in person were Vice President Joe Biden whose family is Irish and House Speaker John Boehner, whose origins are Irish and German. Francis was able to transcend the field of religion and make a profound social and political impact by using his position as a political leader to address American society on issues that should concern us all. He did so with tact and wisdom, without insisting on dogmas of faith but rather calling for processes of dialogue and working together to overcome polarization, re-establish international relations interrupted by historic impasses differences which must be left behind to pave the way for peace and coexistence and for generating responses that would allow us to overcome poverty, inequality, exclusion and the environmental damage that must be urgently reversed. Particular mention must be made of his strong message in favor of the inclusion of immigrants in a country (indeed a whole continent) whose construction is inextricably linked with the reception of huge waves of immigrants. The leader of the Catholic Church broke through the boundaries of his own religion and became Francisco the Peoples Pope, or Everyones Pope as some in the American press called him. In short, the current Pope has become a figure of importance and a moral reference point beyond the limits of his own faith and he did so with a message focused on tolerance and compassion for those most in need. The day after being received by him, House Speaker Boehner announced his decision to resign and not to run again for his seat in the House of Representatives. It has been speculated that this decision was prompted by his meeting with the Pope and the accumulated frustration he felt from his attempts to get the Republican Party majority to agree on how to deal with significant fiscal questions impacting on both the social arena and international affairs. Nonetheless, beyond speculation the truth is that Speaker Boehner might be the new victim of the unproductive political polarization that the Pope referred in his speech as one of the problems we need to overcome around the world. The impact of Francis as an international leader has been felt in the United States for some time now. President Obama and the Pope have been forging a very close relationship which has been fundamental in bringing forward two processes that have been developing in Latin America: the peace talks aimed at putting an end to the conflict in Colombia and the opening to Cuba. Mention here could also be made of the aborted process of dialogue opened in 2014 to deal with the serious crisis being suffered by Venezuela but the government of Nicolas Maduro inexplicably failed to take advantage of this opportunity. The Popes last significant public event in his trip to the United Sates took place in New York and the image of an interfaith ceremony to pray for the victims of 9/11 at Ground Zero resonated throughout the nation. The shepherd of the worlds Roman Catholics was surrounded by leaders of all denominations, united in a universal message and in prayers started by a Muslim cleric, accompanied by rabbis, Protestant ministers and representatives of Buddhism and Hinduism. The closing remarks were made in the Latin American accent of his Holiness. Francisco has left a powerful message in the United States and one with political consequences at a time when tolerance and inclusion are fundamental. Particularly resonant in his speech before Congress was his characterization of what makes a real political leader, A good political leader is one who, with the interests of all in mind, seizes the moment in a spirit of openness and pragmatism. A good political leader always opts to initiate processes rather than possessing spaces. Words that both hit home and have a long reach because they provide a basis for reflection in the times and societies in which we live. In 2015, 285,700 Spanish adolescents aged between 14 and 18 started drinking, a total of one in seven teens in that age group. In addition, up to 5,000 minors received emergency treatment after passing out from alcohol abuse over the same period, according to data collected by EL PAIS . On November 1, in Madrid, one of those minors, a 12-year-old girl, died after going into a coma. Spains Health Ministry says it wants to broker a pact this month to see a new law passed to prevent under-age drinking a task that has proved impossible during the last three legislatures. Drinking in public is still widespread among young people in Spain. Luis Sevillano Among the measures being considered are limits on alcohol advertising, as well as awareness campaigns for both children and adults about the dramatic consequences of starting to drink in adolescence. Health Minister Dolors Montserrat says she wants to see campaigns in the classroom, adding that measures will not be interventionist or about imposing fines, but instead based on awareness and prevention. That said, she doesnt rule out sanctions for parents whose children have been caught five, or however many, times drinking alcohol in the street by the police but who have never attended awareness courses as a result. Consuelo Guerri of the Valencia-based Principe Felipe Research Center, who helped draft a law aimed at combating alcohol abuse in 2013 that was never implemented, says: We agreed that alcohol should not be advertised within a 100-meter radius of schools, buts adds that such measures on their own are no use. The Health Ministry wants the support of the alcohol industry in drawing up new laws Javier Aizpiri, a neuropsychiatrist based in Bilbao, also helped draft the 2013 bill. The law was presented to Congress and the next day everybody attacked it. The law disappeared, and so did the health minister, he says, referring to Ana Mato, who was replaced by Alfonso Alonso in November 2014. All the preventative work that was going to be carried out was never done and no politician wanted to touch the subject of alcohol, he adds, noting that raising taxes on alcohol is difficult given that it is linked to tourism and is a source of revenue. Other laws were ignored because we wanted measures to control beer and wine and there was no way that was going to happen, he explains. The 2013 law was aimed at controlling the sale of alcohol, backed by a crackdown on clubs and other premises, along with limiting advertising on television and the street. The important thing is that alcohol is not sold to minors, Montserrat said in an interview with Spanish daily ABC on December 27. I would have liked it if the minister had consulted those of us who have worked for years on this topic, says Jose Luis Rabadan, a medic specializing in addiction, and head of UNAD, which represents more than 260 organizations in Spain that work with drug users, but was not invited to take part in the previous draft bill. Rabadan believes that prevention and education are the best ways to reduce alcohol abuse among young people. Parents give their children the money they use to buy alcohol, he points out. He adds that schools need to educate children about the benefits of not drinking, while parents should attend workshops that explain the results of drinking: Not just the consumption of toxins, but the traffic accidents, unprotected sex, and other problems later in life. The average age Spaniards start drinking is 13.9 years old We have carried out CAT Scans on 24-year-olds that show how their brains have deteriorated to the level of somebody with Alzheimers, but they are unaware of the problem, says neuropsychiatrist Aizpiri, who argues alcohol products should carry health warnings, like cigarettes. The Health Ministry wants the support of the alcohol industry in drawing up new laws. I feel sorry for those experts who try to blame the wine sector, which is tremendously responsible and in favor of the law, says Bosco Torremocha, the executive director of the Spanish Federation of Spirit Drinks (FEBE). FEBE backs a ban on alcohol advertising near schools and on television during the day. But Torremocha says people have to decide for themselves how much they want to drink. The experts cannot blame advertising for under-age drinking. What has to happen is that the law is applied and measures taken to strengthen it, he says. He also rejects any comparison between tobacco and alcohol. The risk from tobacco is from consumption. With alcohol it is abuse, which in the case of under-18s means any consumption is abuse. English version by Nick Lyne. The presidential election will be held in 14 months. As of this date, the two Hispanic candidates, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, are running while others are dropping out of the race. Of the two, Rubio looks to have the most traction and, in fact, is increasing his support in the polls. My e-mail is flooded daily by letters from Cruz and Rubio asking for money. Ive sent some and will send more as the campaign progresses, but not to Cruz. Despite his quasi-alliance with front-runner Donald Trump, the very fact his Senate colleagues have abandoned him in the normal course of Senate work shows that he cannot unify the GOP in any way. He cannot even get a second to a motion he offers on the Senate floor. Cruz is politically dead. When Trump insultingly demands that we only speak English and calls forty-something Marco Rubio a kid and a clown, he isnt just attacking the United States senator from Florida who is running for President, he is attacking me. Raoul Lowery Contreras While Cruz is sinking, Rubio is the most acceptable candidate to a large percentage of Republicans. That was proven when Donald Trump called Rubio a clown at a heavily conservative conference. The crowd booed. They like Rubio. Rubio calmly handles Trump and his assertions that Rubio is a kid and a clown by superbly presenting himself in debate. It is universally accepted that Rubio shined in the first two debates by standing tall on policy while Trump stood mute because he has no policy other than 3rd-grade bully talk. Rubio has ramped up his nascent conflict with Trump by declaring that Trump is sensitive to criticism, too sensitive and in the final analysis, insecure. Though not as confrontational as Governor Bobby Jindals declaration that Trump is narcissistic, the tag insecure is a high-level charge that Trump simply cannot answer given his lifelong presence- by-design in the public square. His insecurity has been public property for decades despite his refusal to acknowledge the truth that Rubio has exposed. Depth in Rubio shows well in the public square. He is a quick study and, as he says, is more concerned with the future than of the past or even the present. At the same time, he doesnt run down the country or any of its people. Rubio simply isnt a negative person. That may be why many Republicans choose Rubio as a candidate they can accept and vote for. He is well-liked and his positive to negative ratio is either the highest or the second highest of all Republican candidates (depending on the survey). When faced with Trumps declaration that only English should be spoken in America, Rubio made Trump look silly by telling the story of his Spanish-speaking immigrant grandfather. There is no doubt that Rubio is what he is and he is proud of his Spanish-speaking history and his familys Cuban background and their coming to America for a better life. In contrast, Donald Trump told everyone he was Swedish for decades despite actually being the son of a Scottish immigrant mother and a German-American son of a German immigrant. Trumps father even went so far as to change his German name and to claim he was Swedish because of anti-German feelings during WWI and WWII. Policy differences, world views, family work backgrounds and even education separate Marco Rubio from the other presidential candidates. On top of those differences, we find that Marco Rubio is proud of his Spanish-speaking family background and can talk about his immigrant grandfather and parents with pride. That pride and pride like it is everywhere in the Hispanic community. In Los Angeles, for example, Donald Trump-looking pinatas sell for $30 a copy and sell out wherever they are put up for sale. When asked why one young Mexican-American man was buying one, he said: Because Trump attacks Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. He attacks me. When Trump insultingly demands that we only speak English and calls forty-something Marco Rubio a kid and a clown, he isnt just attacking the United States senator from Florida who is running for President, he is attacking me. Will the Obama Administrations new rules open the floodgates to Cuba for American business next month or even next year? No. Full and fair free trade with Cuba wont happen until Congress finally repeals Helms-Burton, the myopic and failed U.S. trade embargo. To be sure, the new regulatory amendments put forth this month are an important and necessary step in the right direction. Building on the Administrations historic first round of amendments relaxing embargo restrictions in January, the September changes create the most significant opening in decades for Americans seeking to do business in Cuba. Cuba needs capital investment to fuel emerging industries and to help build competitive infrastructures. The embargos continuing restrictions on partnerships with Cuban entities in many sectors impede such investment and frustrate U.S. policy goals rather than advance them. Scott D. Gilbert American business executives contemplating opportunities in the Cuban marketplace would do well to study the regulations in the wake of these revisions. They should understand the full potential breadth of the regulatory windows that have been created, as well as identify for themselves and U.S. policymakers and regulators those issues ripe for further regulatory change. This regulatory evolution includes not just the continuing review and amendment of existing Treasury and Commerce regulations, but, as importantly, the bio-feedback process taking place every day at the Office of Foreign Assets Control as regulators examine pending license applications on a case-by-case basis, granting licenses that create important precedents and laying the foundations for further timely expansion. Indeed, in part, the new regulations codify the evolution of the licensing process. Even if dealing in areas of business that appear circumscribed, smart companies can tap the regulations to begin cultivating ties, identifying investment opportunities, and, in certain cases, even building physical offices or launching joint ventures with Cuban companies. Among the more compelling new rules are: A variety of U.S. businesses including telecom and internet services companies, travel companies, cargo and package delivery companies, and exporters of agricultural goods or building materials are permitted to establish offices or warehouses in Cuba, hire Cuban nationals, and open bank accounts in Cuba; Telecom and internet services companies are allowed to enter into joint ventures or licensing agreements with Cuban companies or individuals; Travel companies may take authorized travellers directly between the United States and Cuba by ship and provide related lodging services; and U.S. businesses may purchase certain legal services from Cuban lawyers and law firms, and U.S. lawyers and law firms now can be paid for providing certain legal services to Cuban businesses and individuals. Of course, opportunities for U.S. exporters and telecom companies are important, but these are not the only industries capable of strengthening the nascent Cuban private sector and furthering U.S. policy interests. First and foremost, Cuba needs capital investment to fuel emerging industries and to help build competitive infrastructures. The embargos continuing restrictions on partnerships with Cuban entities in many sectors impede such investment and frustrate U.S. policy goals rather than advance them. U.S. companies should be allowed to form joint ventures, not only for telecom projects, but for roads, utilities, and other infrastructure. In addition, U.S. businesses should be permitted to partner with Cuban entrepreneurs and private cooperatives to boost their manufacturing and export capabilities and to infuse money into the Cuban economy. The Obama Administration should facilitate this process by increasing the list of Cuban goods eligible for import into the United States and working with Congress to remove the prohibitively high and punitive tariff rates on many such imports that, as a practical matter, act as a prohibition to their importation. By continuing to relax embargo rules, the Obama Administration has created the greatest opportunity in decades for American executives seeking to do business in Cuba. But much more work remains to be done. The Administration should continue to build on these gains with further amendments relaxing restrictions on other industries capable of advancing U.S. goals in Cuba. And, eventually, Congress will do what it should and consign the embargo to the scrap heap of bad history. Scott D. Gilbert, the managing director of Reneo Consulting LLC, is the attorney whose pro bono counsel helped free American aid worker Alan Gross from a Cuban prison the event that triggered U.S.-Cuban rapprochement. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Among the calls I got Thursday regarding Dr. Ben Carsons comments about throwing rocks at cars were many callers who insinuated that the candidate couldnt help himself because he was black. Carson suggested to a group of white voters in New Hampshire, surely to their confusion and dismay, that they should all admit that they did it too. Im not laughing. Neither should any one else laugh. Nor should we tolerate that type of commentary from any presidential candidate. Rick Sanchez Does anybody remember throwing rocks at cars when you were young? Carson asked. Everybody did it, because it was so much fun. Those old people, they would get angry, and stop the car and chase you. Carson seemed annoyed when only a couple of people in the bewildered audience raised their hands. So he then went on to castigate the audience saying that only a few of them were honest people. Really? He thinks most Americans have at some point in their lives thrown rocks at cars to taunt old people into chasing them? Its wrong to boast about belittling old people while bashing their cars. Its wrong to mention it without apology. And its wrong, if not downright tone-deaf, to assume that most Americans would relate to such demeaning behavior. Maybe its because Im Hispanic that Carsons boast seems so offensive. So let me just go ahead and say what Carson would call politically incorrect. If punk Carson would have thrown rocks at my parents car and then taunted them, two things would have happened. He would not have gotten away and I would have gone to jail. Period! But if that wasnt wrong enough, what Carson did next would have most Americans asking for President Obamas head if he had said it. He implied that he was able to get away from the police back then, because that was back in the days before they would shoot you." The insinuation by Carson that police in America today shoot young black men indiscriminately is rubbing many police officers raw, no matter their race and nationality. For his part, Carson shifted after the comment, saying it was intended as a joke. Really? Can he be that tone-deaf? During a time when police officers like my own brother are feeling like theyre under siege by accusations of racism, trigger happiness and even getting away with murder, thats his joke? Im not laughing. Neither should any one else laugh. Nor should we tolerate that type of commentary from any presidential candidate. One more thing: Lets stop with, Its a black thing defense! Bad behavior, whether its an overzealous police officer, an inner city youth or a tone-deaf politician, is just that; bad behavior which has nothing to do with skin color! On Friday, Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush sparked controversy with his remarks regarding the mass shooting at a community college in Oregon. We're in a difficult time in our country and I don't think more government is necessarily the answer to this. I think we need to reconnect ourselves with everybody else. It's very sad to see. I resist the notion," said the former Florida governor. "I had this challenge as governor, 'cause we had, look, stuff happens, there's always a crisis. And the impulse is always to do something and it's not necessarily the right thing to do." True, stuff happens that no political campaign can control, like the rise of Donald Trump or the Republican electorates anti-establishment mood. Yet Bush has worsened his standing by creating stuff (controversies) on his own. Raul Reyes The press quickly seized on the phrase stuff happens as Bushs response to the tragedy and the result was a round of negative press coverage, and a rebuke from President Obama. The problem here is not just Bushs words, although they were certainly inelegant. The problem is that his campaign is sinking, and seems to land in the spotlight only for the wrong reasons. The most surprising aspect of Bushs current political free fall is that he has no one to blame but himself. The kindest thing that can be said about Bushs remarks is that they do not make sense. He argues that the government should resist taking action in a time of such a crisis. He seems disinclined to wade into any substantive discussion of gun reform, such as the fact that states with stricter gun control laws have fewer deaths from gun-related violence. Even worse, Bushs remarks were not a gaffe, nor were they taken out of context. A reporter asked if he had misspoken and Bush responded, "No, it wasn't a mistake. I said exactly what I said. Explain to me what I said wrong." Asked later to clarify his words, Bush again bungled his response. A child drowns in a pool and the impulse is to pass a law that puts fencing around pools, he said. Well, it may not change it the cumulative effect of this is in some cases, you dont solve the problem by passing the law, and youre imposing on large numbers of people, burdens that make it harder for our economy to grow, make it harder for people to protect liberty. But this tortured explanation does not square with his record. When Bush was Floridas governor, he signed a bill into law requiring fencing around swimming pools in response to an incident in which a child nearly drowned. So here was a case where stuff almost happened, and Bush still took action. Bush gets it wrong on policy too, because government regulation often has a positive impact on public health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the number of children who died from accidental drowning fell 42 percent between 1993 and 2008, thanks to legislation and public safety efforts. And since our country passed laws mandating seat belt use and harsher penalties for drunk driving, traffic fatalities have fallen. Unfortunately, Bushs comments are one of many self-generated stumbles. He has drawn criticism for suggesting that womens health issues are over-funded, and offended Latinos with his use of the term anchor babies. His remark that to grow the economy people need to work longer hours was another blunder. Most recently, he implied that African-Americans vote Democratic because of free stuff. No wonder he is sliding in the polls. In the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, Bush has fallen to seventh percent, putting him in fifth place. This is a dramatic decline for a scion of a political dynasty who entered the race as the GOPs presumptive front-runner. Bushs misstep also highlights the fact that gun control is an issue where he is out of sync with Latino voters. Research from Latino Decisions shows that 84 percent of Latinos favor background checks on gun sales, and 69 percent want a national database of gun owners. More than half of Latinos (54 percent) want to ban semi-automatic weapons. A Pew study found that only 29 percent of Latinos believed that gun rights were more important than the need for gun control. Bush's latest round of headlines just reminds Latinos of a potential reason not to vote for him. True, stuff happens that no political campaign can control, like the rise of Donald Trump or the Republican electorates anti-establishment mood. Yet Bush has worsened his standing by creating stuff (controversies) on his own. If nothing else, Bush should realize that as president, he would have to help comfort the nation during times of tragedy and stuff happens is an astonishingly tone-deaf response to a horrific crime. Imagine how that would sound to the family of Lucero Alcaraz, 19, a Latina who died in the attack. Bushs response to the Oregon shooting was insensitive and thoughtless. If stuff continues to happen, his presidency may not. The United States Senate held a hearing last week to help determine what, if any, role the U.S. government should play in helping the territory of Puerto Rico to resolve its financial mess. As the immediate past Governor of Puerto Rico, I have some perspective on the root of the islands current problems, and what Congress and the White House should do to help. Surely, Puerto Rico faces real challenges. On the one hand, these challenges are a result of a territorial status that no longer serves the 3.7 million U.S. citizens of the island well. The islands residents rejected the present territorial status in a referendum on November 2012 and Washington ought to address their claims for a change in status. On the other hand, many of these problems are self-inflicted, and are the direct result of an out-of-control fiscal management process by the current government, that has destroyed the islands credibility and allowed its bonds to be downgraded to junk status. Fixing Puerto Rico wont be easy; it will require real reductions in spending. During my term as Governor, we faced many challenges of our own, but we made sound fiscal management a priority. The same thing needs to be done now. Luis Fortuno I must admit, it has been tough to watch the last 34 months, especially considering that not long ago, Puerto Rico was touted as an economic success story, and a model for other state governments. After being elected in 2008 as Puerto Ricos Governor, my team and I cut spending and reduced the size of government by 20%. We cut a $3.3 billion budget deficit by more than two thirds. And as a result of our fiscal policies, our bond rating improved, our borrowing costs went down, we were able to attract foreign investment, and we created jobs. By contrast, Puerto Rico's current administration has increased spending during the last three years and roiled markets by recently announcing that the islands debts are not payable. Indeed, the island's government has already defaulted on a $93 million payment to Puerto Ricos Public Finance Corporation (PFC) bondholders. In defaulting, the administration claimed that not paying bondholders is in the best interest of Puerto Ricans. But when it defaulted on PFC bondholders last month, Puerto Ricos government defaulted on middle class Puerto Ricans, who hold the majority of these bonds. Whats more, the administration has even flip-flopped on the matter of honoring Puerto Ricos own Constitutional debt the debt backed by our full faith and credit. Their most recent statements and Fiscal Adjustment Plan calls for the restructuring of all bondholders, even those holding bonds backed by the islands Constitution. Defaulting on Constitutional debt would be a disaster and, contrary to the administration's claims, would shatter Puerto Ricos reputation with investors for a generation. Non-payment of debt is not Puerto Ricos only option. Puerto Rico has options, and it should start by living within its budget and cutting spending. For example, this year, Puerto Ricos government budgeted $2 million for advertising on television and radio; it has already spent more than $56 million on advertising that is mostly intended to burnish the governments image. Heres another example: the territory's government likes to position the issue of the debt as a choice between paying bondholders or having enough money for education. But this is political manipulation that isnt based on the facts. In the past three years, the number of students in Puerto Rico has declined by 45,000, while the number of teachers has gone up by 5,000. The current student/teacher average in Puerto Rico is 11/1. The national average is 16/1. Simply matching the national average would save $200 million annually. For its part, Congress can help Puerto Rico by linking any assistance with meaningful fiscal reform that reduces spending. Here are three things that Congress could do to help Puerto Rico: First, it can impose fiscal oversight that forces reduction in spending. One idea that has been discussed is the creation of a federal control board, similar to the control board that was successfully used to fix Washington, D.C. in the 1990s. Combining fiscal controls with any additional federal assistance would help to assure that Puerto Rico fixes its structural problems, which is essential to fixing Puerto Rico. Debt relief alone isnt the answer. Second, Congress could consider granting Puerto Rico the same rights that other states have by amending its bankruptcy code prospectively to allow for orderly restructuring of future municipality and public corporation debt. This action would not and should not touch the Constitutional debt, because doing so would set a bad precedent for other states to default on their full faith and credit debt. Changing the rule of law retroactively could negatively impact ongoing consensual negotiations and reward Puerto Rico for its fiscal mismanagement. Third, Congress could remove caps on Medicaid funding, and increase rates for Medicare reimbursement, which would provide immediate relief to the island residents. Fixing Puerto Rico wont be easy; it will require real reductions in spending. During my term as Governor, we faced many challenges of our own, but we made sound fiscal management a priority. The same thing needs to be done now. In the last 10 days, criminal gangs in Venezuela have carried out six separate attacks against police forces using hand grenades. Police say that in four of the incidents in the states of Carabobo, Miranda and Guarico a total of eight officers and four civilians were wounded. In all cases, the M.O. was hand bombs thrown from moving motorcycles. The last attack, early Tuesday morning, caused damage to a police precinct in Mirandas city of Higuerote, approximately a two-hour drive from Caracas. While the explicit motive behind the attacks remains unclear, authorities and experts believe they are part of an ongoing terrorist plot that may continue over the next weeks and even months. The cases have been assigned to the antiterrorist division of the Scientific, Penal and Criminal Investigations Police, and the two suspects captured so far have been charged for terrorism. Four of the attacks were against police precincts that seem to have been carefully picked. Thats not a coincidence. Over the last five years we have seen a fast growth of criminal gangs, which now have more than 100 members, Luis Izquiel, a local criminologist and lawyer in Caracas, told Fox News Latino. Government officials and opposition leaders suggested that the attacks could have come as a reprisal for the death of Jhonny Aponte, or Mini Joe, a 49-year-old boss of a criminal gang that operates in central Venezuela and Caracas. Apontes death came at the hands of the newly created Operation Liberation and Protection of the People (OLP in Spanish), which has been credited with the killing of more than 80 gang members since late July. But not everyone thinks the grenade attacks are acts of revenge. The police forces of Baruta and Miranda, two of the [targets] attacked, havent participated in the OLP, so there wasnt a reason for them to be punished. Maybe there are some groups interested in creating shock around the country, but we dont know yet who they are, said Javier Mayorca, member of the Venezuelan Observatory of Organized Crime, a local NGO. Coincidentally, last week President Nicolas Maduro announced that men in motorcycles had attacked an electric plant using grenades. He didnt specify which plant it was, but said it was clearly part of a plan to sabotage the countrys public services. According to a report published Sunday by El Nacional, a leading newspaper, the number of criminal cases involving grenades increased 155 percent in 2015. During the first 9 months of the year, 33 hand bomb attacks have been reported, 11 of them in Caracas. The government declared state of emergency over the border with Colombia for less than this. If the attacks continue, we dont know what kind of actions they might take, Mayorca said. While Venezuela has the second highest rate of murders in the world, this kind of attacks are highly unusual in the countrys recent history. In other parts of Latin America, like Mexico, Central America or Colombia in the 90s, these things happened. But is something completely new here, Izquiel told FNL. It could be caused by the power criminal gangs have been gaining over the last few years. The government needs to stop this before it gets worst and harder to control, he added. The Venezuelan Observatory of Organized Crime said that as of July 12 significantly large criminal gangs were operating in Caracas and five other states spread across the country. Another sign of the rise of organized violence in the country is the presence of not only grenades but other war weapons, like high-caliber rifles, that are only allowed in the National Army ranks. Right now grenades are quite easy to find and can be bought for 120,000 bolivars ($150 at the black market exchange rate), Mayorca said. In Venezuela this situation will not improve until we fix our judicial and prison systems. Plans like the OLPs are not going to be successful because they dont address that, which is the heart of the problem, Izquiel told FNL. Last night, Hillary Clinton showed once again that she is a tireless fighter for the American people. Whether its closing the wage gap, fighting for immigration reform, pushing for paid family leave, advocating for criminal justice reform or working to create an economy that benefits everyone, Hillary Clinton is progressive who knows how to get the job done. While the Republican debates have been a constant race to the bottom, filled with anti-immigrant, anti-woman and anti-middle class rhetoric, the Democratic debate was substantive, thoughtful and focused on the issues which matter. Melissa Mark-Viverito Hillary Clinton staunchly stood up for immigrants and rejected attempts by Republicans to dehumanize and degrade hard-working men and women. Hillary met with DREAMERS earlier this year and has made immigration reform a priority because she knows that immigrants deserve to be treated with dignity, not insults. Shes spoken forcefully about expanding access to healthcare and as President, she would continue to build upon President Obamas executive orders. If Congress wont act, she will. Simply put, Hillary Clinton is on the side of immigrant families. When it comes to family-friendly work policies, Hillary has been a leader her whole life and as President she will continue to put working families first. Hillary has championed paid family leave because she knows that working families in this country should be treated better. That starts with paid family leave, which is out of reach for too many Americans. Hillary is going to fix that. Hillary will also invest in universal pre-K because she understands the importance of giving our children a head start on their pathways to success. Hillary will also be a champion for women. While Republicans continue their misguided efforts to defund Planned Parenthood even going as far to suggest shutting down the government Hillary will defend womens access to health and stand with Planned Parenthood. Hillary also understands we must reform our criminal justice system. Hillary has spoken out about the era of mass incarceration, and has pushed for new strategies to deal effectively with drug abuse and treatment. She called for a New Deal for communities of color because she believes ensuring every child has the ability to live up to their potential. Hillary will also fight to get guns off the streets by pushing for comprehensive background checks and will use executive authority to close loopholes for gun shows and Internet sales. For Puerto Ricans both on the island and throughout the diaspora this election the most important in our lifetime. Hillarys plan has shown she is not just a friend to the island; she will stand up for it. Hillary supports Puerto Ricos right to declare bankruptcy and restructure its debt. Hillary has also highlighted the inequality in Puerto Rico with its lack of federal funding under Medicare and Medicaid. Both of these positions demonstrate her commitment to the long-term success of Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, and they should be afforded the same rights others are given. This is not a time to talk about status; its a time to talk about problem solving for the people of Puerto Rico. Thankfully absent from this debate were the endless side shows of the Republican debates. While the Republican debates have been a constant race to the bottom, filled with anti-immigrant, anti-woman and anti-middle class rhetoric, the Democratic debate was substantive, thoughtful and focused on the issues which matter. The contrast between the forward-thinking Democratic Party and the Republican Party which will only take us backward was clear. With the help of other partners, Univision recently launched a new campaign: Desigualdad or Income Inequality. The timing is perfect if you want to champion it as a divisive issue in the 2016 elections. The problem is that if we believe the facts presented, the very people they say they care about are the very ones that will lose on every count. Wealth does not last too long in a system based on envy and hate for its successful citizens. There goes the cases of Venezuela, Cuba and Argentina, to name a few. Maricruz MaGowan Yes, there are millions of people still living in poverty, but the truth is that in the last 30 years alone, poverty has been reduced significantly worldwide in the countries that implemented and championed free-market economies. In the ones that used the policies that the liberal agenda attacks so strongly. According to the World Bank estimates, in 2012, 12.7 percent of people in the developing world lived at or below $1.90 a day; down from 37 percent in 1990 and 44 percent in 1981. This means that 896 million people lived on less than $1.90 a day, compared to 1.93 billion in 1981. Of those, fewer than 50 million live in Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia combined! Meanwhile, the governments that preached and implemented government-controlled agendas the liberal credo have sent millions of innocent human beings into horrible levels of poverty and corruption; at first they felt good about redistributing wealth, but then they faced the reality of redistributing misery. Wealth does not last too long in a system based on envy and hate for its successful citizens. There goes the cases of Venezuela, Cuba and Argentina, to name a few. There are only two basic ways to reduce income inequality: One is promoting economic growth, by allowing people to be self-sufficient, innovative, in an environment of sensible regulations and tax levels that would not strangle the private sector especially the ones that are just starting. The second way is by taking everybody down, making sure that the successful, hardworking entrepreneurs and small-business owners also called, with despise, the rich would be castigated by forcing them to pay the highest corporate taxes in the world, regulating everything they do, to the point that they have no option but to close their businesses or leave the U.S., and of course laying off people on the way. Income Inequality is not a loose term. It is an economic issue measured by the Gini Coefficient (after Economist Corrado Gini). This coefficient represents the income distribution of a nations residents. If it is close to 1(100 percent), the country is suffering from maximum inequality. On the contrary, zero expresses perfect equality. A Gini Coefficient of more than 50 percent is considered high. If you would believe Univisions statements, you would think that the U.S. has a Gini coefficient of at least 0.9 (90 percent) or why not 1(100 percent). However, the fact is that the United States has a Gini Coefficient of 0.36 (36 percent) that has remained essentially flat since the 1960s, while at the same time our citizens enjoy among the highest per capita income levels in the world. Surprised? The fight against poverty is far from over, but we will not keep reducing it by going backward, but forward. According to the World Bank and The Brookings Institution, looking ahead to 2015, the number of people living under $1.90 per day will fall to under 600 million, less than half the number of people cited by our left-wing politicians and media. In sum, income inequality is a quantitative issue backed by facts, numbers and indicators. It is not, as the left want us to believe, an opinion matter. If Univision wants to keep making the case with more lets hate the rich, so we will become a nation of millions of poor people, so everybody will feel good, they will have to look for another topic, because this one can be measured. If they want to promote higher salaries for the poor, for our community, for women, then they will have to promote education, and why not, they should start by educating themselves, so their new advocacy campaign Desigualdad will be carried out based on knowledge, integrity and by the principles that all journalists should abide when they inform and educate our community. It is about time. Five minutes. Democrats running for president of the United States had a total of five minutes from a 120 minute hour debate to win over immigrants, and they largely fell short. As an undocumented Latino with several citizen relatives, this is not enough for my family. According to the Center for American Progress 2012 report, there are 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. and 16.6 million families who have at least one undocumented member. On the right, poll numbers spike whenever Donald Trump or any GOP candidate takes an anti-immigrant stance. But the GOP's xenophobia is still less shameful than the Democrat candidates reluctance to support a far ranging pro-immigrant platform. Secretary Clinton cant be, and isnt, for our community while denying health care to our parents and deporting our kids. Giancarlo Tello Secretary Hillary Clinton, the current front-runner and presumed nominee, is the most culpable of this inaction. She promoted a policy to restrict immigrant access to health care and a college education. She failed to lean in when CNN host Anderson Cooper brought up her unfavorable positions, denying federal subsidies for undocumented immigrants in the Affordable Care Act Exchange and deferring to states discretion on the issue of in-state tuition for undocumented students. When given an opportunity, she displayed a lack of leadership for Latinos and the larger immigrant populations affected by our broken immigration system including thousands of immigrants from Asia and Africa. As chair of Task Force on National Health Care Reform, Hillary Clinton once argued that all Americans deserve health care. Its disappointing she now believes immigrants dont deserve affordable and quality health care. At a town hall in Nevada this summer, Secretary Clinton argued that all children should have the best chance to do well in school. We expected continued leadership on our education, not a cop-out to states rights when it comes to college. Hillarys current position on in-state tuition is similar to what she said about gay marriage as recently as 2006, in which she claimed it should be up to the states, before doing a further flop as presidential candidate to fully support it. Keep in mind this is also the same Secretary Clinton that advocated for the mass deportation of unaccompanied minors from Central America, despite legal groups saying virtually all of them would be eligible for some form of humanitarian relief. Secretary Clinton cant be, and isnt, for our community while denying health care to our parents and deporting our kids. The rest of the candidates had an opportunity to distinguish themselves but largely failed to capitalize it. Senator Webb himself lost a good opportunity by bringing up the border without addressing the needless deaths and rampant misconduct by Border Patrol. Senator Sanders, considered the most "left" by many, was relegated to defending his 2007 vote against immigration reform. If he were truly passionate on this issue, then he would have turned it around and explained what specific executive actions he would take as president, such as expanding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, promoting in-state tuition for all states, and expanding Affordable Care Act coverage to all regardless of citizenship status. Governor OMalley was the only standout, as he recounted passing the Maryland Dream Act and forcefully made a case for expanding the Affordable Care Act to include undocumented immigrants not only because its the right thing to do, but because it makes economic sense for health insurance rates. This contest is still in its early stages but candidates, and the Democratic Party itself, are still not doing enough. We remember the failure of the DREAM Act in 2010, the millions of deportations under President Obama, and see the campaign money candidates are receiving from private detention centers. Its no longer enough to be left of Republicans now its time to lead. The Department of Justice recently announced a decision to release 6,000 people from federal prison. As part of that announcement, agency officials noted that 1/3 of the people released are immigrants who will be quickly deported. There is a clear and troubling pattern where policy reforms in the criminal justice system do not extend to immigrants in the criminal justice or immigration enforcement systems. The glaring question is: why not? For some, a hope for reintegration, while for others no chance whatsoever because our immigration policy is still grounded in mass criminalization. Its time for that to change. Marisa Franco Whether because of the human or monetary costs, lack of effectiveness, or the clear bias that runs rampant, there is a re-examination occurring of the War on Drugs and the mass incarceration system. Reforms in these domains, however, are not being considered in the immigration enforcement system; in fact, the trend is going in the opposite direction. An act that, for citizens, may no longer warrant a criminal charge much less incarceration, for immigrants often means a double punishment of a harsh prison sentence and possible deportation. Already immigrants receive harsher sentences inside of the criminal justice system than citizens. As sentencing reform victories are making mandatory minimums increasingly obsolete, politicians are still proposing the very same approach to enforce immigration law. (One bill proposed by Louisianas Senator was narrowly defeated on the hill on Tuesday.) If these policies have proven to be ineffective and inhumane in drug policy, what makes anyone think they are well suited for immigration policy? The War on Drugs has wreaked havoc both domestically and abroad. Over 40,000 immigrants are deported for drug offenses each year resulting in more than one-quarter of a million people forcibly removed in the past seven years alone. This double standard, along with hateful rhetoric that targets 'felons not families', inflicts serious harm on countless communities. One recent example of an effort to reform the immigration system through the lens of criminal justice took place in California, but was thwarted when Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed legislation that the L.A. Times called a new approach [that] would treat potential citizens the same way full citizens are treated when it comes to minor drug infractions. Imagine that vetoing legislation that sought to bring Californians one crucial step closer to treating all people equal under the law. Meanwhile, thousands of families across the U.S. continue to face the brunt of our draconian drug laws. In her groundbreaking report, U.S.: Drug Deportations Tearing Families Apart, Human Rights Watch Researcher Grace Meng notes that even as many U.S. states are legalizing and decriminalizing some drugs, or reducing sentences for drug offenses, federal immigration policy too often imposes exile for the same offenses. Americans believe the punishment should fit the crime, but that is not what is happening to immigrants convicted of what are often relatively minor drug offenses. Attorney General Loretta Lynch embodied that double standard in one breath when she was asked about the planned release of people from prison. She said: "The Sentencing Commission made some changes in the way sentences would be calculated. A number of cases are being referred to judges and it will be the courts who decide if and when someone is released. Once that happens, if that happens, we expect those individuals will hopefully be able to be re-integrated into society. A vast number of them are not going to stay here; a vast number of them are eligible for deportation and will be removed." For some, a hope for reintegration, while for others no chance whatsoever because our immigration policy is still grounded in mass criminalization. Its time for that to change. As we near the anniversary of President Obama's immigration executive action, relief remains elusive at the federal level while millions remain ensnared in the mass deportation system. The administration continues to punish immigrants rather than implement much needed relief and reform. To ensure that emerging reforms in criminal justice that reduce prison populations are not just replaced by immigration policies that fill them, its time for the double standard to end. Argentinas claim over the Falkland Islands or Islas Malvinas, as they are known in Spanish is a sensitive issue in the South American nation. The Social Development Ministry was recently reminded of this fact after it issued a New Years greeting on Twitter. The controversial map of Argentina minus the Falkland Islands. Captura de Twitter More information El Gobierno argentino se olvida de las Islas Malvinas en un mapa y estallan las redes The problem did not lie with the message itself, which read: May the year 2017 find us together, building a country that is more inclusive and with more equal opportunities for all. But rather with the map that came with it. The image showed a map of Argentina against a blue background, but Antarctica and the Falkland Islands were missing. Users of social media exploded with anger, particularly ex-combatants of the 1982 Falklands War. The ministry has since apologized and blamed the omission on a mistake by the design department. The oversight could not have come at a worse date. January 3 marks the 184th anniversary of the British occupation of the archipelago The map is still available on the ministrys official Twitter account, as well as Minister Carolina Stanleys account. It was not Stanley who apologized, but the people in charge of running the ministrys official account. But the criticism has continued to rain down. Alicia Castro, an ambassador to the UK under the administration of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, had harsh words for Stanley, who is one of the star ministers in the government of the countrys current president, Mauricio Macri. She is not a schoolteacher who made a mistake with a map. She is putting our territorial claim at risk with an incomplete map, she told the local media. Can anyone imagine a minister from Great Britain not putting Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland into the UK? He would not last another second. Goose Green, the third largest settlement in the Falkland Islands. EFE The oversight could not have come at a worse date. January 3 marks the 184th anniversary of the British occupation of the archipelago, and a public event is planned at Plaza de Mayo, where war veterans and nationalist groups typically converge each year. On the political front, the situation is not the best either. In September, Argentina and the UK signed a memorandum of understanding paving the way for commercial flights to the islands from the continent, and opening the door to hydrocarbon exploration in the area. But Elisa Carrio, a congresswoman and former presidential candidate, said that the deal to improve the situation of islanders is in violation of sovereignty claims, and threatened to launch political trials against any high-ranking officials who sign such treaties without consulting with Congress first. English version by Susana Urra. The recent spat turned all-out assault between presidential candidates Donald Trump and Jeb Bush on the George W. Bushs 9/11 record issue proves that Trump will go after anyone in his own party that gets in his way except for one. Donald Trump has not attacked Ted Cruz. Why? The two men have apparently come to terms on a Faustian bargain, one that allows each to use the other despite having almost nothing in common. Its bound to happen at some point, somewhere coming to a theater near you, Trump vs. Cruz: the clash of the titans. Rick Sanchez Yes, both Trump and Cruz are agitators with oversized egos who love to listen to themselves speak, but that is where the similarities end. In fact, many in the Republican Party see Cruz as too unwavering as a Republican while Trump is seen as not Republican enough. Cruz is a classic unabashed conservative; Trump is not. Cruz is far to the right of most GOP candidates on social issues; Trump is not. Cruz is vehemently opposed to abortion in any form; Trump is not. Cruz is a rigid evangelical Christian; Trump is not. So what is going on here? Why this odd kabuki dance between these two men who have so little in common besides bluster? For Cruz, the answer is completely Machiavellian. It doesnt matter to him what Trump espouses now, because he believes that Trump is simply borrowing the outsider label. Cruz actually wants Trump to keep the seat warm enough until hes ready to sit on it. How do we know this? This week in an interview with WABC, Cruz inadvertently said so. Its not so much a gaffe as it is an admission of fact. I think one of the most tremendously helpful things to my campaign has been Donald Trumps candidacy, said Cruz. Did you hear that? He thinks Trump is simply prepping the field for his own eventual ascendancy; and he may be right. As for Trump not going after Cruz: two reasons. One, Trump prefers weak prey, which by Trumps definition is someone who doesnt speak or carry him or herself with confidence. That is not Cruz. Two, Cruz is still too far down in the polls to make him worth challenging. By the way, this kabuki dance between Trump and Cruz has not gone unnoticed by astute GOP observers, which brings us back to the Trump/Bush feud. Heres former president George W. Bush, according to Politico: I just dont like the guy, referring to Ted Cruz. A donor tells Politico that he overheard Bush explaining his dislike of the Texas senator. He found it opportunistic that Cruz was sucking up to Trump and just expecting all of his support to come to him in the end. Will that eventually happen? Will Trumps support suddenly fall in Cruzs lap in the end? The answer is, of course not, not without a fight from Trump. And thats when this well-choreographed Kabuki dance will turn into a free-for-all. Its bound to happen at some point, somewhere ... Coming to a theater near you, Trump vs. Cruz: the clash of the titans. On the U.S.-Mexico border, we have almost no idea who is leaving the country. Despite years of hearings, rulings, debates and study, the United States lacks a system to track individuals exiting across our southern border. In discussing border security plans, some presidential candidates, like Senator Ted Cruz, have noted the need for an effective entry-exit system. To be fair, however, the political class has been emphasizing entry-exit for years, and we dont have much to show for it. Ensuring visitors are following the rules by checking out when they are supposed to, something that they agreed to when their visa was initially granted to them, would give a pretty clear picture of who is following the rules and those who choose to ignore the law. Nelson Balido With statutory requirements, legislation, politics, rhetoric and a range of other factors, the complex matter of creating an effective biometric exit tracking system can get confusing. Yet, the heart of the challenge is quite simple. Here is breakdown of what we need when it comes to exit tracking on the U.S.-Mexico border and how we might get there: The Need In 2004, the 9/11 Commission, which was charged with identifying how to prevent another catastrophic terror attack, recommended creating a biometric entry-exit system. With a biometric-based record of who is coming and going, our security agencies are empowered to vet and track potential threats. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tackled entry tracking first. It launched a biometric data collection and analysis program that today is run by the Departments Office of Biometric Identity Management. While current entry tracking has its challenges, it is nevertheless a critical and effective part of the U.S. security apparatus. There has not been equal progress in creating an exit tracking system, though it is just as important. Not documenting those who exit our country leaves a void in knowing who is here. Some 45 percent of illegal immigrants in the United States started as legal visitors who stayed when their visa expired. Ensuring visitors are following the rules by checking out when they are supposed to, something that they agreed to when their visa was initially granted to them, would give a pretty clear picture of who is following the rules and those who choose to ignore the law. The Challenge There are many reasons why we lack exit tracking capabilities, perhaps the most important being the sheer volume of people traveling back and forth across the U.S. southern border. There are as many as half a million crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border every day. Crossing are commercial vehicles, visitors in their private automobiles and pedestrians, many of which cross the border more than once in a day. Tracking hundreds of thousands of people coming and going every day seems unworkable, and in our current situation, it is. This massive volume is what is driving the exit tracking concerns and considerations. Let me be clear: The #1 driving force behind this much-needed system is the consistent disregard for our immigration laws on the U.S.-Mexico border! I often hear Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or DHS officials talk of a biometric exit system, but they take the easy route to pointing out the need at airports. That could certainly help, but most people who arrive on an airplane to this country are listed on a travel manifest that also checks them out when they leave not the case on the border. We dont have this problem on the U.S.-Canada border. The United States and Canada have effectively built a tracking and information sharing system that splits the effort. When people enter Canada, our northern neighbor sends that information to U.S. authorities. The United States reciprocates with Canada, yielding, in effect, an exit tracking systemor at least an approach. Unfortunately, Mexico has no entry tracking at the border. Mexican nationals are waived on through, and while there are visa laws for non-nationals, at the border itself, Mexico is not keeping track of who is coming in. Meanwhile on the U.S. side, there are valid concerns among municipalities near the border that a robust U.S.-driven exit tracking system may turn their towns in parking lots of people waiting to leave the country. And even if we found the leadership needed to truly move the needle on exit tracking, there are technical challenges involved in recording, sharing and cross-checking biometric data. The Solution We are not even close to an exit tracking system. There is no shortage of recommendations and legislation, but this much-needed system is still largely conceptual. There are multiple steps needed to bring us closer to a workable system, and they must be preceded by acknowledging three things: 1) The purse holders and policy writers in Washington do not understand the local politics of the southern border; 2) We are not partnering with Mexico the way we should; and 3) Companies wishing to do business in this space need to find the proper guidance to navigate the minefields. When it comes to politics, the border states have real, immediate concerns about illegal immigration and its impact on their communities and local economies. Any realistic exit tracking effort must consider the diverse challenges, needs and concerns of those Americans living on the frontlines of the border challenge. At the same time, we need to engage Mexico more purposefully and construct an information-sharing relationship as we have with Canada. Mexico would bear the burden for tracking those coming into their country and sharing that information. If legitimate efforts to enhance the U.S.-Mexico border security partnership do not succeed, it leaves the United States with little choice but to do it ourselves, whether that means contributing funding to Mexicos entry tracking or building U.S. exit tracking capacity on the U.S.-side at the border. More than a decade after the 9/11 Commission delivered its recommendations, we are no closer to the exit tracking that is essential for border security. Now is the time for real leadership at all levels of government to do what must be done. We have to build an exit tracking system. There can be no real border security without it. On his first appearance on Fox News Sunday as a presidential candidate, Donald Trump doubled down on his war on China and Mexico, that rip us off. He accused the Republic of Korea (ROK) of ripping the United States off, too, by the presence of U.S. troops and that ROK is ripping us off on trade. He now lumps the Republic of Korea in with China and Mexico as rip-off artists he will handle when he becomes Americas Chief Negotiator. Does anyone notice any white men in Trumps sights? Lets look at the ROK, a.k.a. South Korea, and Mexico. South Korea and the U.S. are close trade and military partners and have been since 34,000 Americans died for Korean freedom six decades ago. Raoul Lowery Contreras It was in June 1950 that North Korean communists invaded South Korea and ran through it like lightening because the United States had few soldiers there or in Japan, close enough to fight off the North Koreans. Doing the best they could, a handful of Americans and South Korean soldiers desperately and heroically held on waiting for help. From San Diego, California, thousands of miles away, came the 1st Marine Division of the U.S. Marine Corps by ship. Then came an American/United Nations force that drove the North Koreans back across the original invasion line. In the 30 or so months of intense combat, 34,000 Americans and countless Koreans died. South Korean and American soldiers fought and died side by side. South Koreans died side by side with Mexican-Americans (my Uncle Johnnie included) and Puerto Rican Borinqueneer soldiers of the 65th Infantry that fought with great distinction in Korea. American soldiers stayed after combat ended and 28,000 of them are still there helping protect South Korea from North Korea. An attack on South Korea is an attack on the United States. In the intervening years, as payback to America, South Korea joined the United States in Vietnam and fought and died side by side with Americans again. Economically, South Korea became a thriving free enterprise country that developed huge world class electronics (Samsung) and automobile industries. The United States and South Korea have a bilateral trade agreement and South Korea is looking to join a nascent Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with the United States and 11 other TPP partners (including Mexico, Chile and Peru). In 2014 South Korea bought $44 billion from the U.S. and sold $69 billion to the U.S. for a U.S. trade deficit of $25 billion. Korean companies like Hyundai and KIA have opened in Mexico to work as NAFTA companies and employ many Mexican nationals. Korea business is as close to Mexico as it is to the United States. South Korea and the United States are close trade and military partners and have been since 34,000 Americans died for Korean freedom six decades ago. Donald Trump doesnt seem to know that. Specifically, Trump does not know that. Mexico is Donald Trumps top target and has been since his June 16th announcement for president. He labeled Mexicans rapists and criminals. Yes, he says he only means some but that is not what he said. He says that Mexico officially sends us their worst people, implying that the Mexican government actively sends its criminals here as Cubas Fidel Castro did in the mid-1970s. Castro emptied prisons and mental hospitals and happily allowed them to make their way to the United States. On top of his slander and defamation against the Mexican people and Mexican government, Mexico rips us off economically in trade and jobs, Trump insists. American car companies building plants in Mexico will be stopped by him, Trump says. Those jobs must stay in the United States, Trump says. Mexico rips us off with a yuuge trade deficit, Trump says, using a Trumpism, yuuge. Mexico does so because its negotiators are smarter than ours, Trump insists. Mexico bought $240 billion worth in 2014 and sold us $290 billion worth, including cars that are 40 percent American to begin with. Cars like Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Toyota, Ford, Chrysler, Hyundai, KIA and General Motors all have American-made parts because the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) requires it. Mr. Trump, American car companies have been operating in Mexico since Calvin Coolidge was president. Is Trump aware that Mexico sent its best and brightest young men to fly combat missions under General Douglas McArthur in the Pacific War? Mexican fighting men died in World War II commanded by American officers. Back to the original observation. Trump rants about how Mexico and now South Korea rip us off. Does he rant against Germany, from where his family came from and some still live? No. Germany has the second highest trade advantage ($73 billion deficit) with us after China. Next comes Mexico with a $53 billion advantage, then white Canada with a $35 billion advantage. In fact, Italy, France, Great Britain, Norway, Denmark and Sweden all white countries have trade advantages with the United States. Trump does not rant about those countries. Question: Why does Trump rant about Mexico, China and South Korea but not Germany, Italy, France, Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Canada and Sweden? Following last nights electric debate, I found myself reflecting on my first encounter with the candidate who is best equipped to lead our country. Last fall, my husband and I joined hundreds in a packed high school gym in Northern Virginia to hear a message of opportunity and a vision for a stronger America. The speakers powerful words made me feel newfound hope for our future. I remember turning to my husband and saying, This woman should be our next president. The speaker was Carly Fiorina. No matter the environment, Carly believes in people. She empowers them with the tools they need to achieve success. Dr. Lolita Mancheno-Smoak Carly understands our country is the most unique in the world because here, there is the possibility for all people to reach their full potential. This particularly resonates with me, because Ive experienced the American Dream firsthand. I was born in Ecuador and came to the United States as a small child. I grew up to be an engineer and eventually a business executive. Today I am a small business owner, serve as Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and teach graduate business courses, as adjunct faculty. I am living proof that in this country, with hard work, determination, and a little sweat equity, anyone can succeed. I know Carly Fiorina will be a tremendous president because as a leader, she understands how to create new opportunity by empowering individuals. Throughout my career, Ive worked with many immigrants, like myself, who view the United States as a nation where we can utilize our God-given talents to unlock our individual potential. In coming here, many of us learned a new language, adopted a new culture, and relocated from across the globe to enjoy the freedoms of this country. I am proud to consider living here a privilege. But I fear that federal bureaucracy and excessive government red tape has put that privilege under threat. In order to ensure new opportunities for future generations, Carly will work to correct the rampant inefficiencies of the federal government and cut wasteful spending. For too long, out-of-control spending has robbed hardworking taxpayers from providing for their families. Carly will deliver on her promise to audit the federal government and make sure taxpayer money is used wisely. Carlys history of shaking up the status quo and generating a culture of efficiency and accountability is what we desperately need. As a former partner at the international management consultancy Six Sigma-Qualtec, I spent many years helping leaders and businesses achieve breakthrough improvements. I applaud Carlys efforts at Hewlett-Packard, where she energized the company and incentivized employees to create new solutions. Ive seen dozens of companies turn around like HP, and it begins with a leader like Carly. A leader with the vision and the courage to challenge the status quo and change a company for the better. These new opportunities will empower people from all walks of life. Too often, the federal government reverts to handouts and disregards complex solutions to complex issues. We in this country desire opportunity, and Carly understands that better than anyone Ive ever encountered. Carly has overseen two non-profit organizations that embody these very ideas. Opportunity International, a micro financing firm that provides resources to entrepreneurs in developing countries, and Good360, an organization that takes excess products from corporations and donates them to people in need, like Hurricane Sandy victims and Ebola-stricken countries. No matter the environment, Carly believes in people. She empowers them with the tools they need to achieve success. On the campaign trail, Carly listens and demonstrates a conviction that every persons voice, every persons perspective, matters. She speaks from the heart. Carlys leadership traits initially attracted me her presence, sharpness, and ability to communicate clearly and she has continued to impress, both on the debate stage and on the ground. Carly is the proven leader our country needs to ensure every man, woman, and child has the opportunity to succeed. As President of the United States, Carly Fiorina will open new doors for millions of American families. The Day of the Dead never meant very much to me as a child. For a long time, it felt like a tradition that I was slowly outgrowing. As a young girl being raised in Mexico, the Day of the Dead was only about setting up an altar to a person my mother chose for me, like Gandhi or Francis of Assisi because she thought they were good role models; and as I got older I felt like it was just an effort to hold onto my childhood. Then my grandmother, my abuelita, passed away. I was 17 years old. That November was the first time I had ever dedicated an altar to a person that I knew, and we set out to build the best altar we ever had. The Mexican celebration of Dia de Muertos whose roots date back hundreds of years to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess called Mictecacihuatl is from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. Tradition has it that its the one time of the year in which the dead can return to our world, drink and eat and enjoy the people they left behind. Many Mexicans set up altars in their homes with offerings to deceased family members; others head to loved ones graves in the cemetery. Some do both. The celebration centers on these altars, and when my grandmother passed away my family dedicated several days to building it. We were armed with mounds of bright-colored papel picado, different sized cardboard boxes and enough cempazuchitl, or the flowers of the dead as the Mexican marigold is also known, to carpet the living room. We set the cardboard boxes up next to a wall, one on top of the other, with the largest box at the bottom and the smallest on top. We laid down the intricately cut-out papel picado on each level. Then, we took the orange cempazuchitls and put them all around the altar, some in small vases. Since the Day of the Dead is said to be the one day in which the dead are able to visit the mortal world, its important to cover the altar with that persons favorite foods so that they can enjoy them again. My abuelita loved nanches small, pungent, yellow fruits that are often preserved in alcohol. She ate them regularly and, on occasion, she would even drink the liquor they came in, which made her laugh at the dirty jokes that my uncles would tell after dinner, which she ordinarily disparaged. Those are the things I remembered as I set up her altar that year all of her quirks, her laugh and her warmth. We put the rest of the ofrendas, or offerings, next to the nanches. We placed a large glass of water used to quench the thirst of the dead and a big piece of sweet pan de muerto, or bread of the dead. Small sugar skulls that have colorful designs on them lined the bottom of the altar, which was illuminated by small, white candles. When we finished, my mom said this is the last thing we need, and placed a photo of my grandmother at the top. I stared at the picture. I missed her so much. My mom brought out some pan de muerto for me and my brother, along with some hot chocolate. The sugar stuck to my lip and the bread was hard to swallow because I was choking back tears. It was the first time I had ever really allowed myself to mourn my abuelita. When she died, all I remember is watching the fluorescent lights flicker in the hospital waiting room and fidgeting around in my seat, all in an effort not to cry. That Day of the Dead I learned that there is sadness within the sugar skulls and the sweet bread. I miss her, is all I could think. I couldnt believe that she wouldnt be there on my wedding day, and I wouldnt get to dance with her the way I did at my quinceanera. But the smell of the flowers mixed with the purples and pinks of the papel picado made it hard not to feel festive, too. My abuelita had always told me that she didnt want anyone to cry at her funeral, because her death meant that she was finally close to God and that was something to be celebrated, but I hadnt understood how to do that. This is what Dia de Muertos teaches us Mexicans; its about remembering the dead and doing so with joy. My grandmother was the most wonderfully kind and talented woman I have ever known, and I got to celebrate her life with millions of others across the country. It felt like I was throwing her a party that spread from coast to coast and thats the celebration that her life deserved. Its a stark contrast to Day of the Dead celebrations, if they can be called that, in my current home of New York City. Even though there are events throughout the city that are meant to highlight the traditions of the holiday, it just isnt the same. Walking into a CVS pharmacy and seeing a sign reading Happy Day of the Dead in blow-up glittery letters next to Halloween candy and Thanksgiving items is kind of surreal. Small, plastic skeletons dressed in mariachi hats and Day of the Dead stickers bearing messages like Buenas noches and Happy Halloween on them incorporate the iconography, but seem to miss the point of the holiday altogether. Its hard to imagine a child learning to grieve the loss of a loved one with the help of plastic trinkets and party decorations. As a radiologist in Miami, working mainly with a lower income population, many of my female ultrasound patients are young women recently arrived from Cuba. It breaks my heart to meet these wonderful women with slightly tortured yet musical names starting with Y, such as Yunisleidys or Yosvaneisis. They have frightening termination histories. Some with over five or six abortions other with as many as 11 or 12. The main form of birth control is abortion, my patients tell me. Condoms and pills are hard to get, and they come and go according to the daily whims of the government. Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie This, to me, is not just a number, or the evidence of abundant choice and womens liberation in Cuba. It is a sign of material, social, and spiritual poverty. Poverties that are willfully imposed on these women from above, by an oppressive patriarchy. The New York Times, interestingly, doesn't see the connection. In a recent article, the newspaper describes a demographic nightmare taking place on the little island nation. Watchers of the Popes outdoor masses may have noticed the dearth of children in the crowds. The fact is, women in Cuba have almost entirely ceased to give birth. In about 50 years, experts predict that over 40 percent of Cubans will be over 60. Imagine that, in a country where buying an egg can be a four hour odyssey, most of that time spent standing in the brutal sun. Imagine that, also, where a nursing home is a dank and crumbling structure, and a patients room holds only a filthy cot and a bucket. The main form of birth control is abortion, my patients tell me. Condoms and pills are hard to get, and they come and go according to the daily whims of the government. Abortion, on the other hand, is free, ubiquitous, and taught aggressively in state education as an action entirely devoid of moral meaning. The Times mentions the high abortion rate, even referring to a woman who has had 10. In the article this is accompanied by giggles, oddly. This is nothing to giggle about. Strictly from a medical perspective, the number 10 in the abortion column indicates abundant opportunities for pelvic inflammatory disease, resulting infertility, and what has to be a huge (silent) number of potentially lethal complications like uterine perforation. While the abortions are free, the chances that they are performed with aseptic technique and adequate instruments are nil, on an island devoid of aspirin. From a human perspective, the high number is even more dismaying. It denotes a complete lack of faith in the future, a dramatic hopelessness. How to marry and raise a family on a combined take-home salary of 40 dollars a month? And where will the children sleep, when the couple already shares a decrepit house with three other families? How to be sure that there will be milk for the children, and cereal? The Times refers to all these material obstacles with great sympathy, and describes them as the challenges of a developing nation meeting the realities of a world economy. But, of course, this entirely misses the economic point. People in Cuba earn 20 dollars a month because the government has decreed it so. The small entrepreneurship that could help a young couple start a family, like growing mangos in the back yard and selling them on the street corner, is illegal. Becoming the best architect on the island through dint of hard work and study, and finding an employer who will pay you 100 dollars a month, because your work shines above all others, is also illegal. The natural and lovely desire for children that most women feel, (the rush of tenderness at the sight of a downy newborn head or the sound of an exuberant stumbling toddler trying to catch a butterfly) has been murdered in its cradle by a patriarchal government that decided long ago to keep everyone on the island on a choking economic leash. Murdered also is a mans lovely desire to see his children growing around him, living proofs of his love and commitment. Regular poverty, the kind that comes from mismanagement and corruption, like that of the rest of Latin America, does not lead to childlessness. Visit the Dominican Republic and see a similar topography and people. Poor, but when you drive by the conuco on your way to the fancy resort, you will see what you used to see in Cuba. A sturdy little wooden house, surrounded by waving cane, and children playing in the fresh grass. The land is fertile and the people are also fertile. Like Cuba used to be. The Times refers to the high abortion rate and the death of children as products of womens education and liberation. This is absurd. A real life experiment was conducted when a large number of Cubans left soon after the revolution. My generation was raised in the same home culture: cheerful, optimistic, affectionate. We also had choice, as in complete abortion license and access to contraception. We were also highly educated. But we are married and we have childrenlots of them. I personally have five, and while that is on the high side, its nothing strange. The differences we experienced were not just economic. We were allowed, here in the U.S., to keep our Catholic faith, which teaches with great confidence that children are a blessing and the prettiest form of generosity. We had trust in the laws of our new country, that they would treat us and our children fairly, and we would enjoy the human rights that are indispensable to hope. These intangibles are disregarded by the Times in favor of pure financial reasons. One solution floated by the Cuban government is that exiled Cubans with children may come back. This is so beyond the bounds of realism that it takes a deliberate blindness to even consider it. Exchange delightful Miami, with its fabulous job opportunities, cheerful Latino ambiance, oh and religious and political freedom, for a life of penury, near slavery, and despair? On purpose? The real reason for the end of childhood in Cuba escapes The Times, like so many human realities escape progressives in general. Children come from love, yes, but love married to hope. Hope that the children will have enough to eat, and that the future might hold something better than the rotten reality of the moment. Hope that the bad men in charge will take openness and somehow use it to find a way to simple fairness. Hope that God wills our good and the good of our children, and that He carries us safely in His hands. Until these hopes flower in Cuba, the bellies will continue flat, and the future bleak. The State of Texas recently amended its regulations to limit the types of identification that state officials may accept from parents who seek a birth certificate for a child born in the state. This change makes it more difficult for some undocumented immigrants to obtain valid birth certificates when they give birth to children in Texas. Texas officials contend this change is necessary to deter fraud and identity theft, and courts have historically recognized the broad authority of states to exercise power to protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens. States have wide discretion in deciding what forms of ID will be acceptable for purposes of a valid birth certificate. Critics argue, however, that Texas has abused its discretion in this case. No matter how much more difficult it may now be to obtain a birth certificate, most immigrants who are determined to have their child born as an American citizen will continue to cross our southern border, with or without documentation. Hon. Alberto Gonzales Since anyone born in the United States is a citizen by virtue of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, critics contend that the children born here of undocumented immigrants cannot be treated differently, nor denied a document fundamentally incidental to citizenship. Blacks Law Dictionary defines the birth certificate as a formal document that records a persons birthdate, birthplace and parentage. The document does not convey citizenship, it is the birth that does. A birth certificate serves as evidence of citizenship; it belongs to the child and is intended to facilitate (and sometimes necessary to facilitate) the health, welfare and education of a child. This document is indispensable in an ordered society, to be used and relied upon by a person throughout his life. This issue is now in the courts. Children born here of undocumented immigrants are American citizens and they are innocent of any wrongdoing. The State of Texas should not as a matter of law, and as a matter of fundamental fairness, place unreasonable barriers that would prevent these children from enjoying all the benefits of citizenship available to children born to American citizens. Nevertheless, while there may be legitimate questions regarding the evidence of fraud and abuse, a judge may disagree with the challengers and find that the new rules apply equally to every child born in Texas, no matter if the parents are citizens or noncitizens documented or not. Furthermore, if the true purpose of the rule change is to eliminate fraud and identity theft, the court may find the new policy is reasonable. The law still recognizes common forms of ID such as drivers licenses, electoral cards, foreign passports with valid American visas, green cards and border crossing permits. Mexican matriculas and other consular IDs on the other hand will no longer be accepted because they are considered unreliable according to Texas officials. Challengers may be better off encouraging the Mexican government to make such documents more secure instead of taking this matter before a judge. Some who question the new policy suspect this is a backdoor way to limit birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment. Unquestionably some undocumented immigrants come to the United States to give birth to their children as American citizens. A more effective way of course to halt birthright citizenship is to amend the 14th Amendment. Since this is unlikely to happen, those concerned about our immigration policies, including expectant mothers crossing the border to give birth to their children, should support comprehensive immigration reform. Earlier this week a federal appeals court held that the power to make immigration policy resides primarily with Congress and that the President had exceeded his discretion in executing immigration laws by deferring deportations. The Speaker of the House recently said that in essence the Congress does not trust the President to enforce the law and will not consider immigration legislation during this administration. With respect to the new Speaker, the Presidents failure to do his job does not excuse Congress from doing its job. Americans should continue to press Congress and the President to work together to pass legislation. The correct comprehensive law will place a priority on secure borders, tougher workplace enforcement and a robust overhaul of our visa system to reduce substantially the number of visa over stayers. The correct comprehensive law will place qualified undocumented immigrants already here into some type of temporary legal status after paying a fine and back taxes thus no amnesty. In short the correct comprehensive law is compassionate and fair to those who followed the rules, and will help secure our national security and promote our economy. The situation in Texas arguably is just another consequence of the failure of our federal leaders to step up and do their job on immigration. As the presidential election cycle moves forward it is important that Americans understand how each candidate intends to responsibly address our immigration challenges on a national level so that states do not feel compelled to act on their own for the protection of their citizens. During last nights GOP presidential debate on Fox Business, @RealDonaldTrump invoked a melancholy chapter in American history, heaping praise on a draconian 1954 federal initiative to forcibly deport tens of thousands of undocumented Mexican immigrants. To prevent repeat violators, the immigrants heads were often shaven so they would stand out to the Border Patrol. Many immigrants complained of beatings and abuse. To prevent their attempts to return, thousands of them, many hailing from border towns close to the United States, were sent by ship, bus and train to areas deep inside Mexico and far from their homes. @JebBush and @JohnKasick are right. The fabric of our society will be torn asunder by this return to this shameful chapter of forced deportations, now, of 11 million of our friends and neighbors. Geraldo Rivera As with Mr. Trumps current plan, many Mexican-born U.S.-citizens were swept up with the truly undocumented. Citizen children were often forced out along with their parents. Stranded far from familiar territory, many struggled to find their way. In a single month, July 1955, 88 deported workers died in the scorching heat of the Sonora desert. The Eisenhower Administration had broad support for these harsh measures in this era before the Civil Rights movement. Most of these workers, called Braceros, had been invited to work the farms, fields and factories of the South-West during World War II when our young men were abroad and labor was short. When our GIs came home, the Braceros had to go. Even our secular saint, the United Farm Worker Union founder Cesar Chavez, backed the plan to keep these Braceros from complicating his efforts to unionize the farms of Californias Central Valley. But history has come to regard Operation Wetback as a shocking reminder of our federal government run amok. I compare it to the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, where the U.S. government pretended to treat rural African-American men in Alabama between 1932 and 1972, only to let them suffer and die for research and, some presumed, social good. @JebBush and @JohnKasich are right. The fabric of our society will be torn asunder by this return to this shameful chapter of forced deportations, now, of 11 million of our friends and neighbors. And for any candidate to suggest that it will be a good thing to throw out not only these otherwise law-abiding and hard-working adults, millions of whom have been here for a decade and more, but also to throw out their citizen-born children is, as Trump suggests, reminiscent of Operation Wetback. As such, it would be an intolerable return to the bad, old days. I am so proud of the Republican Party so proud after watching as a Milwaukee Wisconsin audience booed Donald Trump and put Ted Cruz in his place as he stumbled through another of his now infamous xenophobic rants. Yes, Cruz had his Rick Perry moment when he told us that he would cut five agencies, then forgot the fifth. Nervously and suddenly, he blurted out the Department of Commerce twice. Oops! Just a few short months ago, those bigoted, red meat for the base, disparaging lines about Latinos would have garnered huge support among GOP voters. In Milwaukee last night, it seemed more like a yawn. Rick Sanchez However, for me, as an American who represents 18.4 percent of our population because I also happen to be Hispanic, this debate appeared to put a dagger in the heart of single-issue candidates and voters who care not a wit about insulting Latinos. Donald Trump, sounding as mindless as ever, reached for applause lines that never came by talking about his magical mystery wall. He then savored his next utterance almost callously as he expressed his desire to kick millions of perfectly good and decent people out of the country without even giving a thought or mention to what that would cost the American economy. Thank God (I mean literally thank God) for John Kasich, who had the courage to say what no other candidate would. The Ohio Governor took on the bully in the room and told him to his face how stupid it is to pretend that you can simply round up, Gestapo-like, millions of law-abiding people. Kasich made clear that hes all for border security, but hes not willing to be mean or stupid enough to base an immigration policy on bigotry just for the sake of an applause. The irony is he may have gotten one of the biggest applause of the night for saying just the opposite. He was applauded for defending the rights of undocumented immigrants. Then, when Trump went after Kasich calling him this guy, the audience actually booed Donald Trump. Let me say this again, the audience actually booed Donald Trump. Smelling blood in the water, Jeb Bush effectively joined in the Trump attack pointing out how suicidal it is politically for Republicans like Trump and Cruz to sound so bigoted toward Hispanics by threatening to kick millions of them out of the country. "Even having this conversation sends a powerful signal, said Bush. They're doing high-fives in the Clinton campaign right now when they hear this. That's the problem with this. Thats when a completely tone-deaf Ted Cruz decided to jump in. He seemed to think that just because Trumps (I hate Mexicans) approach failed, it didnt mean that he couldnt pull it off. He was wrong. After his stirring and economically ridiculous statement, which every single economist would disagree with about immigrants hurting out economy, Cruz could barely get a reaction from his audience. It was a great night for John Kasich, a really good night for America and a fantastic night for the Republican Party. Why? Just a few short months ago, those bigoted, red meat for the base, disparaging lines about Latinos would have garnered huge support among GOP voters. In Milwaukee last night, it seemed more like a yawn. One year ahead of the 2016 presidential elections, the Latino community is making it clear across the country that we wont back down when it comes to protecting our own. Just recently, in Colorado, Latinos came together to stand up against politicians who demagogue our community and hurt our families. By signing a petition calling on SNL to dump Donald Trump and vowing to boycott the show, or attending a rally to send a strong message of unity and strength, Latinos are ready to unite and fight back. But its not just about being angry and pushing back against hateful rhetoric and insults, its also about fighting for the issues we care about and supporting the candidates that will do right by us and the people we love. We tried giving tax breaks to corporations and the rich during President George W. Bush's administration and it left our country with massive deficit and 10.1 percent unemployment for Latinos. Based on Tuesday's discussion, it's clear that these candidates are out of touch with Latinos. Pili Tobar In a recent Latino Decisions poll, when asked what issues facing the Latino community politicians should deal with, 36 percent of respondents named immigration reform, 28 percent said education reform, 22 percent health care coverage, 21 percent said jobs and the economy, and 12 percent said the environment. These issues are central to our mission and vision at Latino Victory. We support candidates who are good on the issues that our community cares about. And Latinos have spoken loud and clear on what those issues are. With one year left before we head back to the polls, the Latino community is once again swiftly positioning itself to pave the road for many victories in elected positions up and down the ballot. But we must make one thing clear. Latinos have not and will not hand out these victories on a silver platter. We will give our vote to the candidates that respect us and who will stand for the issues that benefit our families, our community and our entire nation. Its about the issues. Latino Victory Fund has endorsed four Latino congressional candidates who are proven champions for LatinosPete Gallego, Nannette Barragan, Darren Soto and Salud Carbajal. These four candidates will fight to secure a future of opportunity for our families, and they will work on the issues that Latinos have identified as a priority immigration reform, education, good jobs and a decent wage, access to healthcare, and a clean environment. While we cannot yet say with certainty whom Latinos will support in 2016, we can say that so far, Republican presidential candidates have failed to impress us. Instead of talking to the Latino community about how they will address the issues that matter to us, they keep regurgitating the same old rhetoric that has energized us into not voting for them for the past couple of decades; the same rhetoric that has even propelled us to launch protests against extreme anti-Latino Republican candidates. Just last week U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who at one point stood behind comprehensive immigration reform, declared steadfastly that if elected president he would eliminate DACA and start deporting DREAMers. And while the anti-immigrant rhetoric de-escalated in the last GOP debate, we still haven't heard a solid plan from any Republican candidate on how they would protect our community from deportation and how they would get immigration reform through Congress. At the end of the day it's still Republican leadership who is blocking reform in Congress for purely political reasons. We need to hear real plans and solutions for the 11 million undocumented people in this country who live in fear. During Tuesday night's debate, Donald Trump said wages are too high, and Marco Rubio said "what makes America special is that we have millions and millions of people that are not rich..." There are millions of Latinos and Americans in poverty who would greatly benefit from having more money in their pockets to feed their family and give their children a safe home and quality education. We tried giving tax breaks to corporations and the rich during President George W. Bush's administration and it left our country with massive deficit and 10.1 percent unemployment for Latinos. Based on Tuesday's discussion, it's clear that these candidates are out of touch with Latinos. Latino Victory Fund will continue pushing back on anti-immigrant and anti-Latino rhetoric. We also will keep endorsing and helping proven candidates who are good on our issues. Because we know that when we gather our support, resources and training behind strong candidates who will support our community, we win. Latinos are listening, not just to the anti-immigrant anti-Latino rhetoric, but also to the substance of the debate. We do not toy with our familys future. And when the time comes to choose, Latinos will make an informed decision and vote. Republican candidates must figure out a way to speak to us because Latinos are listening, and so far we don't like what we're hearing. Theyre the only ones missing out. A riot at a prison in Manaus, in Brazils northern Amazonas state, has left between 50 and 60 people dead, with dozens more injured. Judge Luis Carlos Valois, who helped negotiate an end to the violence that broke out on January 1, told reporters he had seen many bodies at the complex and that apparently between 50 and 60 prisoners died, adding that many of the victims had been decapitated and their bodies butchered. The prison at Manaus. More information Un motin en una carcel de Brasil deja mas de 50 muertos Photographs and videos taken at the Anisio Jobim prison showing piles of bodies, many of them hacked to pieces, have been posted on social networks. In one, a hand is holding the heart of a decapitated prisoner. The riot began on Sunday afternoon and was not brought under control until Monday morning. Sergio Fontes, the secretary of public security for Amazonas state, told the media that fighting broke out between two rival gangs: the Primeiro Comando da Capital, known as the PCC, from Sao Paulo, and the Familia do Norte, or FDN, from Amazonas. On Sunday night, six prisoners were decapitated and their bodies thrown into the prison yard. At least 12 guards were taken hostage, but were later released as part of the negotiations. Grisly images of decapitated bodies have been posted on social networks Brazils northwest is a major entry point for cocaine produced in Peru, Colombia and Venezuela, which all border with Amazonas. Control of the regions prisons is key to running the drugs trade there. The jail complex in Manaus holds 1,072 prisoners and is the largest in the state. It is dominated by the FDN. The overwhelming majority of those killed in the riot belonged to the PCC. The situation has been tense in jails throughout the north of Brazil since October, when the PCC broke with the Comando Vermelho, a Rio de Janeiro-based gang allied to the Familia do Norte. Three PCC leaders were murdered between June and July 2015 in prisons on the orders of the FDN. In October 2016, the PCC retaliated by killing 18 Comando Vermelho gang members in jails in Roraima and Acre states. The slaughter in Manaos is being seen as the latest episode in the ongoing war to control the drug trade in northern Brazil. The authorities suspect a nearby jailbreak was used to divert their attention The PCC has taken control of some of the most important drugs and weapons routes in the north of Brazil. It is responsible for the main cocaine shipments entering the country from Colombia and Bolivia, along with marijuana from Paraguay. The Comando Vermelho has been losing control of these routes following the arrest of Fernandinho Beira-Mar in Colombia in 2001 while he was attempting to negotiate deals to buy cocaine from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). This is the second-deadliest prison riot in Brazils history. In 1992, violence at the Carandiru jail in Sao Paulo left 111 dead. The authorities in Manaus said that a jailbreak nearby was used to distract their attention. PCC prisoners are kept apart from the rest of the jail population in a secure area. Documents obtained by EL PAIS show that one of the gangs leaders, Jose Roberto Fernandes Barbosa, negotiated with the authorities to allow PCC prisoners out of their secure area in return for an end to its campaign of violence. No agreement was reportedly reached. English version by Nick Lyne. HIV: The most feared, incurable and deadly sexually transmitted virus has made its way to the front pages of gossip magazines and newspapers following Charlie Sheens public revelation that he is carrying it. HIV can also be contracted in other ways needle sharing, a blood transfusion, or sharing of other bodily fluids and tissue but the actor has suggested he contracted the virus through sexual behavior. NBC's Matt Lauer asked, Have have you been involved, you know, if you look at the CDC website and they talk about the transmission of HIV, they talk about risky behaviors. Would it be fair to say that you have been involved in all of those risky behaviors? And Sheen responded, Negative. No, youre talking about needles and that whole, that whole mess? Na, definitely not. No. There is the question as to how a state proves that a person did not reveal their status? It becomes a he said/she said case. Does this mean that the states should enact legislation that makes HIV-positive people obtain signed disclosure forms before any engaging in any sexual contact? Tamara Holder But now there is speculation that Sheen may face criminal prosecution for not telling his sexual partners of his HIV status, even if he did not expose them to HIV. At least one of them is claiming she was never told, yet he denies it. Lauer asked, Have you, since the time of your diagnosis, told every one of your sexual partners, before you had a sexual encounter, that you were HIV+? Sheen responded, Yes I have. Lauer probed, No exception? And Sheen confirmed, No exception. According to the Center for HIV Law & Policy, 36 states and U.S. territories have HIV-specific criminal laws, and 29 of those states have felony laws. Between 2008-2013, at least 180 people were prosecuted, and by June of 2015, the total number increased to 226 cases. Pro Publica reports that between 2003 and 2013, 19 states prosecuted 541 cases but in 56 out of 60 cases, states prosecuted HIV-positive people who did not transmit the virus to their partner. Nick Rhoades, an HIV-positive man who was on anti-viral medication (like Sheen), and used a condom was criminally charged for not telling his partner he had the virus. His partner did not contract HIV but Rhoades was still sentenced to 25 years in prison because he created a situation that was just as dangerous as a person who committed an armed robbery. California, where Sheen lives, has three HIV-related criminal laws. It is a felony if a person knows he has HIV and has unprotected sex without a condom, exposing the other person to HIV. Simply knowing that one has HIV is not enough to prove specific intent; however, exposure to HIV does not require that the partner in fact contract HIV. California also has a misdemeanor crime punishable with up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine if a person with HIV willfully exposes another person to HIV. As recently as March of 2015, San Diego charged an HIV-positive man for this crime, for the first time in the Californias history, after the partner of 30-year-old Miguel Guerra learned he had contracted HIV. The partner claimed Guerra did not tell him of his status. The intent of these laws across the country is simple: If you have HIV, you must tell your partner or you may be sentenced to prison. There are several reasons why many oppose criminalizing those with HIV. Some experts argue that overly harsh HIV exposure laws will prevent people from being tested altogether. Across the country, sentences range from 5-26 years in prison. In California, HIV exposure laws allow sentencing up to 8 years in prison; whereas a person who commits vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated can receive up to just one year in prison. Some states, like Tennessee, even require sex offender registration. What you dont know wont hurt you, the old adage goes. If you dont know you have HIV, you cannot be accused of intentional transmission. There is additional concern that increasing our prison population with HIV-positive inmates creates another public health epidemic. According to the Center for HIV Law and Policy, approximately 1/7 inmates with HIV pass through a correctional or detention facility every year. At the end of 2010, state and federal prisons held over 20,000 people living with HIV. The rate of HIV among prisoners is 5 to 7 times that of the general population, according to the center. Except for those serving life sentences, every HIV-positive inmate will eventually be released from prison and enter back into society. Incarceration does not prevent the spread of HIV. In fact, it may increase the spread. If inmates do not receive proper healthcare in prison, upon release, they may be more contagious. Then, there is the question as to how a state proves that a person did not reveal their status? It becomes a he said/she said case. Does this mean that the states should enact legislation that makes HIV-positive people obtain signed disclosure forms before any engaging in any sexual contact? Aside from people who intentionally transmit HIV to another, states must think through the implications of criminalizing consensual sexual behavior. And individuals must take personal responsibility for their voluntary sexual acts, especially when they are engaging in high risk behavior like prostitution with high risk partners, like Charlie Sheen. Need another good example of why border security and immigration enforcement are important? Paris. As the world has seen in horrific video, terrorists launched coordinated attacks in Paris on November 13, murdering 129 people and wounding scores more. In the aftermath, we learned that at least one of the attackers had entered Europe by masquerading as a refugee, hiding amid the hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and terror in Syria and throughout the Middle East. This had been a consistent fear in Europe, one that proved tragically valid. We cannot embrace the proud tradition of American immigration while allowing hundreds of thousands of people to ignore that which defines the United States: law. And we need not look across the Atlantic for lessons on what happens when immigration laws are ignored. The consequences are already all around us. Nelson Balido U.S. governors and other public leaders in the United States are vowing not to accept refugees from Syria, noting concerns about how effectively we can vet immigrants and whether taking in refugees could lead to terror attacks here. It might. Yet, even as we rightfully raise an eyebrow to the quasi-crapshoot that is taking refugees from terror-ridden nations, we should be just as concerned (if not more so) about our Russian-roulette approach to securing the U.S.-Mexico border. And there are five bullets in that cylinder. Black Swans are born of ignorance, and the intersection between border security, immigration enforcement and counterterrorism is where we are dangerously in the dark. For Europe, the threat arising from immigration is particularly acute. The mass migration of refugees from the Middle East to Europe has a specific cause (civil war and unrest) and, while the volume of people has been enormous (more than 700,000 this year), it has also been recent. Meanwhile, here in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security reports that we also see an influx of 700,000 illegal immigrants every year, either by crossing into the country illegally or ignoring an expired visa by remaining in the United States. Unlike Europe, however, the United States has been facing this problem for decades, and we have done arguably nothing about it. To be sure, Europes problems with immigration and terrorism are specific to the continent. We should be cautious about conflating one security threat with another. Not because the United States is free from the threat of terrorists sneaking across unsecured borders, but because focusing on Europes problems distracts us from our own. We already have hundreds of thousands of people pouring into the country each year, and ISIS is not the only evil organization in the world. As a nation of immigrants, the moral dilemma over accepting those in need is particularly sticky for the United States. On the one hand, those who flee their homeland for the promise of something better endure unimaginable hardship, and they come from lands where equality and the rule of law cannot even be found in a textbook, much less in the halls of power. Those migrating to Europe and those trying to come to the United States are looking for a better lot in life. Fortunately, ours is a nation of laws, and that helps us settle the moral conflict we feel between accommodating an immigrant and guarding the safety and economic security of American citizens and legal residents, regardless of where they were born. This is something the pundits and amnesty advocates seem to ignore. Indeed, the rhetoric on illegal immigration in the United States is viciously, absurdly binary. Looking to the mainstream media, either one embraces immigrants without any consideration for law, economic impact, security and all the factors surrounding immigration, or one rejects illegal immigration and is a heartless, hateful, un-American bigot. This false narrative stands in the way of a thoughtful, productive discussion on how to address illegal immigration. As senator and Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has said: There is nothing compassionate about a bunch of politicians saying, 'I'm so compassionate, Im going to give away your job,' because thats what theyre saying None of them are losing their job, but theyre happy to tell working men and women across this country that your job can be taken away by people coming here illegally." Sen. Cruz has personal experience with immigration and not just because he represents Americans living on the frontline of the illegal immigration fight (i.e., the southern border). His father is an immigrant. The Texas Senator would not be a senator without the law-driven compassion the United States offered to his family through a legal process of immigration. Thats a story common to millions of Americans, and its one the United States has told for centuries. The moral of this story is that through the rule of law, we can be the most benevolent nation, the most welcoming, the most supportive of the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses. But we cannot preserve the national virtue of welcoming immigrants without a legal framework for exercising the process. We cannot embrace the proud tradition of American immigration while allowing hundreds of thousands of people to ignore that which defines the United States: law. And we need not look across the Atlantic for lessons on what happens when immigration laws are ignored. The consequences are already all around us. There are moments when the fear center of the brain takes over and all other cognitive functions cease. And this fleeting response can lead us to do exactly the wrong thing, to run into the fire instead of away. That is what we are living through in a policy sense. The refusal by more than 30 governors to accept to receive refugees from the Syrian civil war, in the fearful aftermath of the Paris attacks last week, is, on a knee-jerk level, understandable, but it is the equivalent of running into the burning building. The turning away of the refugees makes us less safe from future attack, not more. America is too strong and too great to be frozen in the fear of moment. That makes the governors knee-jerk refusal all the more bewildering and counter-productive. Alberto Vourvoulias-Bush Let us be clear about who these refugees are: the victims of ISIS. These are people who have been violently driven from their homes, threatened with death, with having their daughters and sons taken from them, who have been labelled, sometimes literally, as enemies of the Islamic State. Among them are the Yazidis, victims of ISIS genocide, Christians and Shia Muslims, marked for religious extermination, as well as so many other targeted groups. We must also be clear about who these refugees will be: witnesses to the cruelty and barbarism of ISIS terror. They have lived in the belly of the beast. They know the way ISIS argues, works, thinks. They know the cultural pond in which ISIS fishes for recruits. By their very presence, if nothing else, they belie ISIS propaganda. They are living proof of the inhumanity of ISIS, and the humanity and courage of other countries, other visions, ISISs enemies. They can act as anti-bodies, as it were, against terrorism. The United States, in particular, has earned a global reputation as haven for the oppressed. America has stood like a beacon of light for generation after generation of refugees, from the wars of Europe, from anti-Semitic violence in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, from Communism in Cuba and Southeast Asia. And these are only a few of the man-made disasters that washed political refugees onto American shores. In each of these cases, the United States accepted the refugees despite the complexities of geopolitics and a dangerous, uncertain world. In some of these cases, like now, the refugees were escaping declared enemies. And yet, in every case, America was rewarded for its generosity with a community of new Americans: fiercely proud of being Americans and grateful for the chance at a new life they were given. Each of these refugee waves has made America more safe than before, not less. There are, of course, reasonable apprehensions that policy-makers might have, but the vetting process for the refugees the United States receives is very careful and comprehensive. It has been used, and honed, over hundreds of thousands of cases. Unlike Turkey and Jordan, where millions of refugees have poured across borders, or even Europe, the United States has the luxury of control and choice. That does not mean that a bad apple might not get through, but, just like we do not stop eating apples out of fear of one bad one, we should not refuse to do what we know, from history, makes America stronger. America is too strong and too great to be frozen in the fear of moment. That makes the governors knee-jerk refusal all the more bewildering and counter-productive. There are also moral and humanitarian reasons for welcoming these poor, blameless victims of terror. It is the right thing to do, the moral thing. But most of all, it is the smart thing. Accepting the refugees makes us more safe, not less. I cannot in good conscience oppose refugees fleeing oppression, because that was once me. Im a political refugee. My parents chose to flee Cuba at the beginning of what was feared would become a Marxist revolution. The fear was well-founded. If Americans in the 60s had said what many are saying now, I would never have been allowed to come to the United States. I dont know why Americans seem so much more cowardly now, but I suspect it may have something to do with what they are fed by a news media hell-bent on keeping us afraid. We shouldnt fear widows and orphans who are running from the very Daesh (ISIS) members that have massacred their friends and families. They are the victims, if not the enemies of our enemies, and while we should be wary the door should not be slammed in their faces. Rick Sanchez What if Cuban refugees like myself would have been told, "Sorry, were too afraid of Fidel Castros agents to let you in for fear you may be one of them." If that had taken place, two U.S. senators would not be running for president. Both Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are indirect recipients of the U.S.s generosity and acceptance of immigrants. They got theirs, and now they lead the charge against those who they believe are less deserving than them. How insanely hypocritical and arrogant is that? The U.S. did not slam the door in the face of Cruz or Rubios fathers, yet thats exactly what they along with 27 governors want to do to all Syrian refugees. The concern is understandable, the vetting process should be rigorous, the apoplectic, 24/7 news coverage is frightening, and its meant to scare the hell out of us. Neither our politicians, nor our media leaders are fair enough to provide us with perspective. They prefer to whip up the masses with fear to drive up their ratings and/or poll numbers, nuance and facts be damned. At last count, 129 people were killed in Paris and it has set off a media and political storm the likes of which we havent seen in quite some time. Comparatively, when we learned that more than 200 died in the Russian downed plane, the reaction and coverage was at best muted. As it was with the killing of more than 200 in Nigeria where insurgents are slitting throats of residents, looting and burning homes, and abducting dozens of trapped women and children. On most weekends, somewhere between 150 to 200 people are gunned down in the streets of the U.S. wheres the apoplectic coverage? Where are the angry speeches about that? Do Nigerians matter less than the French? Do the Russians? Do Americans? How about the cartels killing indiscriminately in Honduras, making San Pedro Sula the most dangerous city in the world? Do Hondurans matter less? Yes, its easy in an environment of fear and loathing to call for extreme measures, but we should be better than that. There is nothing wrong with calling for a review of our screening system. Nor is it wrong to make our vetting process even more stringent, but that is not what the usual, hysterical, anti-everything crowd is screaming for. They want it shut down, dont take them. Fact is, we shouldnt fear widows and orphans who are running from the very Daesh (ISIS) members that have massacred their friends and families. They are the victims, if not the enemies of our enemies, and while we should be wary the door should not be slammed in their faces. I stood on the Oval Office porch on the evening of September 11, 2001 and watched as Marine One landed on the South Lawn and brought President George W. Bush home. The President made the fundamental decision that the hijackings and the taking of thousands of innocent lives were more than just crimes, they were acts of war by al-Qaida. Working with our allies we have diminished the al-Qaida threat. However, images of the carnage in Paris recently are a tragic reminder of the continuing and growing threat posed by radical Islamic extremists. Similar to President Bushs response to events in 2001, French President Francois Hollande declared his country is at war with ISIS. France has stepped up military action and appears to be exercising all available authority through its law enforcement and intelligence services. Today it seems all of Europe is on high alert. The images from France made me angry and left me worried. The world remains a dangerous place. Next time the bombings may happen in Washington, New York or even my new hometown of Nashville. Our work is not yet finished. Hon. Alberto Gonzales While the United States played the primary role in fighting the war in Afghanistan, we were joined by many countries, France included. We have an obligation now to step up and help our friend. Dealing effectively with ISIS will require the full cooperation, coordination and communication between the United States and our allies, including our respective law enforcement and intelligence agencies. A coordinated and concentrated military effort will be necessary nothing should be off the table. We have learned from dealing with al-Qaida how to fight a non-state actor who wages terror in violation of the laws of war. We should use that knowledge to deal with ISIS in a way to not breed new organizations of terror. This requires American leadership. Perhaps the most important constitutional responsibility of a president is to serve as commander in chief and keep our country safe. Some experts insist that ISIS is intent on provoking a major conflict with the West and with Christians in particular. ISIS does not believe in the rule of law, does not share our values and most certainly does not value life. How should the United States deal with such a threat? War is unpredictable and messy. I understand a presidents reluctance to respond to a provocation with force and I do not want to see another American soldier wounded or killed. Conflicts should be resolved peacefully if possible, saving previous lives and resources. However, sometimes the enemy leaves no choice. I worry if the United States fails to provide the necessary military and intelligence support overseas ISIS, or a successor group, will bring the fight to American soil. Terrorists who are motivated by religious beliefs are not going to be deterred by isolated drone strikes, limited tactical operations and covert action. They are coming, it is only a matter of time. We are in the early stages of selecting our next president who will have to deal with ISIS and, almost certainly, other terrorist organizations. In a time where experience means the most, much of the focus thus far, at least on the Republican side, has been on the fresh faces and political outsiders with little to no substantive governing experience. Having observed leadership in the aftermath of the 911 attacks, I believe our commander in chief must be someone who has truly been tested before, someone experienced in decision-making. Many people are capable of receiving a classified briefing and then articulating a cohesive foreign policy or national security strategy. Far fewer are able to successfully implement that strategy. It is easy to talk tough in an election campaign, but a commander in chief must have the fortitude to back up mere talk with tough actions that may be controversial, and be prepared to be confronted by the parents of the sons and daughters who died obeying the presidents orders. Too often voters choose a candidate based on promises just words without evidence that the candidate has the skills or commitment to make good on those promises. In order to effectively lead the free world the president will need the stature that is earned by a record of achievement and experience. Our enemies will not respect America nor fear a presidents words unless our commander in chief has demonstrated courage and resolve, meaning there is no ambiguity regarding the serious consequences of taking on the United States. The images from France made me angry and left me worried. The world remains a dangerous place. Next time the bombings may happen in Washington, New York or even my new hometown of Nashville. Our work is not yet finished. I still believe in American leadership and I hope the events in Paris serve as a wake-up call for the American electorate. We need more time. That was the message yesterday from the state of Texas to the Supreme Court, in the ongoing battle over President Obamas executive action on immigration. After a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to lift an injunction against the presidents immigration plan two weeks ago, the Obama administration quickly filed papers for an appeal to the Supreme Court. On Monday, the Attorney General of Texas requested a 30-day extension before the state files its response at the high court. The latest potential delay in the legal battle over President Obamas immigration plan is both cynical and disappointing. The country needs immigration solutions, not more partisan political games. Raul A. Reyes This request for an extension should dishearten anyone who is dissatisfied with our current immigration system. It means that a case that has been slow-walked through the courts will likely drag on even longer. It means that the Texas Attorney General may further delay a case that has been politically motivated from the start. It means that our dysfunctional status quo on immigration will remain unchanged in the near future. Normally, requests for such extensions at the Supreme Court are not a big deal, and they are routinely granted. But here, time is of the essence. It was about a year ago that President Obama announced his executive action on immigration, which would have expanded a program granting deportation relief to young immigrants and created a new program granting deportation relief to undocumented parents of U.S.-born children. Then a federal judge put the plan on hold in February, and it has been tied up in the courts ever since. Most recently, a panel of judges for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals took nearly four months to issue their ruling on the case, and this was after the case had been put on a fast track. When the Fifth Circuit finally issued their opinion on the case, the dissenting judge even noted "the extended delay that has occurred in deciding this 'expedited' appeal and added that, There is no justification for that delay. These delays matter because we are fast approaching the point at which the Supreme Courts docket for this term gets filled up. The Fifth Circuit Court panels ruling against the Obama administration came out just in time for the government to petition the high court for review of the case. However, now that Texas has asked for an extension, it is possible the case will be pushed back to the following term. That means there might be no decision on President Obamas plan until after he has left office in 2017, and his plan may never go into effect because the new president could cancel it, or take his or her own executive action on immigration. In a letter to the Supreme Court clerk, Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller explained that his request for an extension is based on numerous pressing deadlines in cases that the Texas Attorney General is handling, including a redistricting case coming up on December 8. Despite the fact that this case has gone on for nearly a year, Keller assured the Court that his request for an extension rests on good cause. It may be true that his office is overburdened with ongoing litigation; if so, the Texas Attorney Generals office should either staff up, or be more selective about the cases in which the state becomes involved. What Texas shouldnt be doing is leaving the lives of nearly five million undocumented people those who could potentially benefit from the presidents program in limbo while the states lawyers get their act together. True, the government missed earlier procedural opportunities to speed this case up, a fact Keller points out in his letter. The Obama administration could have also announced its executive action plan earlier, so we would not be in this time crunch. Yet these lines of argument are irrelevant to the reality of right now. This latest potential delay on executive action will do nothing to solve our immigration woes. Undocumented people will continue to put down roots in the U.S., complicating future efforts at reform, and state and local governments will miss out on the economic benefits of the presidents plan. Although there is a chance that the Court could grant an expedited briefing or a special sitting to hear this case, those options are highly unusual. So the slow pace of this case ensures that, on immigration, inaction will continue to be the norm. All this legal foot-dragging is particularly wasteful because it is likely that the Supreme Court will ultimately rule in favor of the Obama administration. There is both legal and historical precedent for presidents to act on their own regarding immigration. From Truax v. Raich (1915) to Arizona v. U.S. (2012), the Supreme Court has consistently affirmed federal authority over immigration policy. The latest potential delay in the legal battle over President Obamas immigration plan is both cynical and disappointing. The country needs immigration solutions, not more partisan political games. Recent violence in Paris and now Mali has set off a storm of anxious discussion and disagreement about how best to help the Syrian refugees. The arguments rage on TV between pundits and politicians, but also across American dinner tables, with people of good faith coming to wildly different conclusions. The United States has a long and proud history as a place of refuge for people fleeing violence and oppression. Where I live in Miami (which we fondly call the capital of Latin America) its hard to run across someone who isnt eternally grateful to be here. Whether Cuban, Venezuelan, or Honduran, so many are refugees or, like my siblings and me, the children of refugees. Christians are reluctant to register with the UN because they fear retribution from their Islamist neighbors. In refugee camps they are marginalized and abused by the Muslim majority. Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie I grew up with the vivid residue of my parents precipitous exit from Cuba. A suitcase with three changes of clothing per person. No photo albums, diplomas, or recuerdos of happy times that grew ever more precious as it became clear that there would be no return. Imagine losing everything you own, including your country and language, all at once. Add to that the tragic family separations, some, it turned out, to the death. The emotional whirlwinds that shook my home as a little girl make more sense now, that I understand better the enormity of the loss. Even without personal experience influencing ones outlook, it would be a hard heart indeed that could look with indifference at the plight of those fleeing violence in Syria. What to do? The natural American and human response of welcome, shown wholeheartedly over the decades to people as diverse as European Jews, Afghans, Vietnamese and Cubans, is now tempered by fear. Not bigotry or lack of sympathy, but a rational fear that has been exacerbated by the horrid events in Paris. There are obvious security concerns, as Islamist terrorists have shown, over and over, how easily they circumvent the protections of our free and trusting societies to pursue their bloody ends. We are learning now that ISIS may have used the Syrian exodus to plant one of the agents of terror that organized the attacks in Paris. We are not surprised. It was only last month that FBI Director James Comey expressed reservations about the vetting system and its ability to ferret out committed jihadists. And while the refugees may be fleeing violence, a recent poll showed that more that 10 percent had at least a somewhat positive view of ISIS. Complicating matters now is the fact several people have expressed concern that the most vulnerable SyriansChristians and other minoritiesare those least likely to reach asylum here and in Europe. Their homes are destroyed, daughters kidnapped and raped, churches burned, and they face death if they do not convert to Islam. Syria is a hellhole for all Syrians, but an existential threat to Christians. They are less likely to make it to safety because the Unites States relies on referrals of Syrian refugees from the United Nations. Christians are reluctant to register with the UN because they fear retribution from their Islamist neighbors. In refugee camps they are marginalized and abused by the Muslim majority. Consequently, while over 2,000 Muslim Syrians have been given refuge here, only 53 Christians have been admitted. That is 2.4 percent. Christians made up at least 10 percent of the Syrian population before the war and before the start of the genocide. The most victimized are the least represented. Jeb Bush, the GOP presidential candidate, made the clearly logical suggestion that priority should be given to those groups like Christians who have no place in Syria anymore. They are being beheaded, theyre being executed by both sides. This is not a religious test. It is the essence of a morally defensible refugee screening criteria. But I think we can look back at our countrys efforts before World War II, and consider how many lives we might have saved if we had come to recognize the awful Nazi genocide sooner. We would have admitted many more Jews, at that time the persecuted minority. Would that have been a shameful religious test? Or simple human love for the victimized and ill-treated? The important thing to recognize is the goodwill of the American people, who have shown over and over again that their hearts are generous, trusting and open. Admitting refugees carefully ensuring that terrorists cannot take advantage of our benevolence by using asylum as a point of entry and making sure that the most viciously persecuted minorities are fully included, is not only rational but deeply humane. It is alleged that in recent months, the Russian government conducted cyber hacks of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) server and attempted to hack the Republican National Committee (RNC) email system. In October 2016, the Department of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence stated that the cyber hackers intended to interfere with the U.S. election process a very serious charge. On Dec. 16, 2016, President Obama informed reporters that he told Russian leader Vladimir Putin to knock it off in September after hearing of the attack on the DNC and that no further hacking attempts were made after that. Two weeks later on Dec. 29, President Obama imposed sanctions against Russian intelligence services and kicked dozens of Russian diplomats out of the country. Meanwhile, voters of varied political viewpoints are rightfully distressed. Some Clinton supporters believe the hack swayed voters toward the president-elect, while some Trump voters assert that the publicity of the attacks stems from yet another post-mortem excuse from the losing side. No matter which camp one is in, it should be apparent to all Americans that the United States is not immune to damaging cyber-attacks from hostile foreign nations and other bad actors. We must update our national security policies to deter such attacks before a future debilitating attack occurs, possibly on civilian critical infrastructure. Senior officials at the Pentagon have been warning about a Cyber 9/11 or Cyber Pearl Harbor for years. We already know that foreign actors have attempted to access the cyber domains of critical infrastructure in the U.S. Imagine what would happen if a foreign actor interfered with the operations of a nuclear power plant, or shut down the communications that control aircraft operations, rail operations or water releases from large dams. Such an attack on our critical infrastructure could threaten our entire economy or worse lead to loss of life. Without an appropriate plan in place to stop or respond to these cyber-attacks, we put ourselves at increased risk for a catastrophic attack to occur. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, broadening our national defense policies to adequately address cyber-attacks on civilian critical infrastructure has been a priority of mine. I am glad that Congress included a provision in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which would begin the process of defining when an act in cyber space constitutes an act of war. With language similar to my Cyber Act of War Act, the NDAA will require the administration to determine when a cyber-attack on the United States requires a military response. This is vital because, while current policies permit the Pentagon to respond to a cyber-attack against military forces, our nation does not have a clear policy to govern our response to attacks on civilian infrastructure. The NDAA seeks to change that. Now that the NDAA is law, the administration will have until December 2017 to give Congress a report on when a cyber act would warrant a military response. In preparing this report, the administration must consider (1) the ways in which the effects of a cyber-attack may be equivalent to effects of an attack using conventional kinetic weapons, including with respect to physical destruction and casualties, and (2) intangible effects of significant scope, intensity or duration. Defining when a cyber-attack requires a military response is but one in a series of steps we must take to deter our enemies from attacking the United States with this new, sophisticated form of aggression. While our national focus may be on whether the Russian hack allegations warrant an investigation and Obamas recent retaliation will deter future attacks, we must not lose sight of the fact we need a defined strategy for how to keep Americans safe from cyber-threats. We cannot know if the alleged hacks in 2016 would have been thwarted had the provisions of my Cyber Act of War Act had already been in law. What we do know is that, absent a clear message to our adversaries as to when a cyber-attack may warrant a U.S. military response, we will not have done all we can to deter devastating attacks in the future. Recent events have shown that such action is urgently needed. Once again a good and decent man is being maligned. Sen. Jeff Sessions, nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to be U.S. attorney general, is that man. Democrats and the Left, just as they did 30 years ago when Sessions was nominated for a federal judgeship, are trying to derail his nomination with false accusations. In 1986, the Democrats trotted out J. Gerald Hebert, a U.S. Justice Department Civil Rights Division lawyer. Hebert made headlines when he testified under oath during the public Senate hearing. The major accusation against Sessions, who was the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, was that he blocked the filing of a civil rights voting case that government lawyers wanted to prosecute. Heberts testimony was simple and straightforward: He claimed he had personal knowledge of the case and detailed how it was thwarted. [W]e found out, he said, that, in fact, Mr. Sessions had gotten in touch with the [FBI] agents and had called off the investigation. Hebert even provided Sessions rationale: [H]e instructed the FBI not to investigate because he thought it was a bad investigation and did not agree with it. Joe Biden, a U.S. senator from Delaware at the time, outlined the process for civil rights cases: The FBI investigates pursuant to a written request from the assistant attorney general for civil rights, who works in Main Justice in Washington. Biden stressed that U.S. attorneys do not have unilateral authority to reject these cases after the assistant attorney general has recommended they go forward. Rather, any problem is to be discussed and worked out. Hebert picked up on the issue. It was, he claimed, the only time he could recall that a U.S. attorney had cut off such a prosecution. Ever the honest broker, Hebert swore that he was only telling the truth because it was his duty. Except he wasnt. Three days later, Hebert had to recant. When confronted with documentary evidence of his false statement, he was compelled to submit a declaration in which he admitted that the documents show that [Sessions] was not the United States Attorney involved in blocking the voting investigation in the Southern District of Alabama. Rather, he acknowledged, it was his predecessor [a Democratic appointee]. By falsely accusing Sessions, Hebert had to misremember who the U.S. attorney was, the county where the incident occurred and the year. Hebert apologized for any inconvenience caused by his testimony, but by then the damage was done. Headlines had been blaring for days that Sessions was a racist. Heberts distortion of the truth has not been limited to Sessions. He has been severely criticized by the judicial system for making exaggerated claims of racism. In United States v. Jones, taxpayers had to forfeit more than $86,000 for a case he brought in Alabama, which the appellate court described as carelessly instigated. Because of a history of redrawing voter districts, Dallas County made undisputed errors in its voter lists. More than 50 white voters who did not reside in a newly created district were permitted to vote there. A black candidate running for county commissioner lost. Hebert charged three county officials with intentional racial discrimination under the Voting Rights Act, and the 14th and 15th Amendments. The district court ruled for the defendants, finding that unwitting errors and a mistake cannot be intentionally discriminatory, and awarded attorneys fees and expenses. The government appealed only the fee award. Describing the case as troubling, the 11th Circuit upheld the award and rebuked the government for bringing the case on unfounded accusations, because evidence presented at the trial showed that the challenged voting resulted from mistakes in a map that had been used by election officials for many years. A properly conducted investigation would have quickly revealed that there was no basis for the claim of intentional discrimination. In an unusual lament, the court wrote, Unfortunately, we cannot restore the reputation of the persons wrongfully branded by the United States as public officials who deliberately deprived their fellow citizens of their voting rights. Now, Hebert is at it again. In a Nov. 22 op-ed in the Washington Post, he wrote that he was threatened during the 1986 hearings by Alabama Sen. Jeremiah Denton and an unnamed congressional staffer. [They] took me into a back room, he wrote. The testimony on Sessions was going south, and they told me to get in there and straighten it out or my job would be in jeopardy. Hebert professed to be undeterred because the senator and the staffer could not affect his job and so he testified. Albeit falsely. And yet again, what Hebert claims is disputed. Denton is deceased, but his unnamed aide is quite alive. Joel Lisker has submitted an affidavit to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee stating unequivocally that the threat did not occur. Interestingly, Hebert never made the threat accusation while Denton was alive, and he never reported the threat to the Department of Justice. In fact, at the Senate hearing, Hebert testified to just the opposite: [N]obodycalled me and said, Hebert, you better come up here right away because you have got to straighten this out. During the same hearing, Denton asked Hebert directly and under oath, Do you think Mr. Sessions is a racist? No, I do not, was the reply. Thirty years later, without any personal contact with Sessions since the hearings, Hebert, in a Dec. 18 USA Today interview, now says of Sessions: Hes a racist. On Jan. 10, Sessions is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to present his qualifications to replace Loretta Lynch. Confirmation hearings should be a forum for discussing issues. They should not provide a platform for a discredited witness to make more false statements about a good and decent man. Eight Honduran out of 10 consuls working in the United States were suspended while investigators from the Central American nation look into allegations that the diplomats illegally issued identity documents. The government statement issued late Monday says the consulates affected are in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and New Orleans. The only ones to remain in their posts were the consuls in Washington D.C. and San Francisco. The Honduran Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that consular identity documents issued in the U.S. are not proof that a person is a Honduran citizen. Local news media have alleged that the consulates were charging as much as $50 for such documents. Nearly 1 million Hondurans are believed to live in the United States. A group representing Hondurans living in the U.S. brought the case to light after hearing reports that a number of consulates were issuing "consular IDs" documents that bear the crest and flag of Honduras, but are not officially recognized forms of identification. "They're selling them for $50 in a number of places and I don't know how the consulates can be doing that because that document is not an approved document," Jorge Rivera, of the Honduran Unity group in Dallas, Texas, told the BBC. They're just trying to make money. Despite the fact that the consular IDs are not officially recognized forms of identification, many Hondurans living in the U.S. called the document very useful and was widely accepted by U.S. authorities. Honduran citizen Plinio Rodriguez told the BBC that he had no problem using his consular ID with U.S. authorities and was even able to get into a California prison to visit his son. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow us on twitter.com/foxnewslatino Like us at facebook.com/foxnewslatino On March 28, 1939, the right-wing forces of General Francisco Franco finally took control of Madrid after a dramatic siege lasting 28 months a decisive move that effectively marked the end of a civil war in Spain that had cost the lives of around half-a-million people, and led to the installation of Franco as Spains dictator, a position he would hold until his death in 1975. Now, 77 years on and around four decades since the return of democracy to Spain the triumphant entry of Franco's troops into Madrid is still marked in the form of the 43-meter high Victory Arch in the capitals Moncloa district, a site chosen because of its proximity to the battlefront. It is shameful the arch hasnt bothered anyone in 40 years Emilio Silva, President ARMH The monument, which was completed in 1956, was never officially inaugurated and has never been used as either a viewing point or an exhibition center two of the purposes it was originally slated to fulfill. Instead, the archway exists as a constant reminder of a tragic period in Spanish history, and one that has been all but ignored by the authorities. But this week the left-leaning political party Compromis, based in Spains Valencia region, asked the conservative Popular Party (PP) central government of Mariano Rajoy to tear down the monument, arguing it was an insult to the memory of the victims of the military coup that eventually brought Franco to power. This is not the first time such a request has been made. In 2004, there was a request for the monument to be renamed the Harmony Arch while in 2010 the left-wing Izquierda Unida party demanded the removal of inscriptions honoring Francos victorious forces. The archway also features a Francoist coat of arms. In a country where the legacy of Franco remains hotly contested, monuments associated with the fascist regime are highly controversial. In 2007, the Socialist government of former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero passed the Historical Memory Law, which made provision for the removal of statues and the changing of place names connected to the Franco regime. If they are going to change it, they could put up a skate ramp here Skaters at the Victory Arch But there is a hitch. The law does not apply to monuments of architectural value, and this is the case with Madrids Victory Arch. The monument is owned by a consortium charged with administering the assets of three universities: the Complutense University of Madrid, the Technical University of Madrid and Spains national distance learning university UNED. EL PAIS tried to contact the administrators of the Victory Arch and find out their position on its future, but without success. However, sources at Madrid City Hall told this newspaper that local authorities plan to include the monument in their historical memory plan for Madrid. At the same time, they hope to rebrand it giving it a new significance although the details are yet to be decided upon and would need to be approved by councilors. Local historical memory associations agree about the need for change. It is shameful that the arch hasnt bothered anyone in 40 years, says Emilio Silva, President of the Association for the Recuperation of Historical Memory. The Valley of the Fallen outside Madrid, where Francisco Franco is buried, is another controversial site Claudio Alvarez President and rectors have come and gone while this arch, which celebrates the victory of soldiers who carried out a military coup, is still there. It has to be reinterpreted in some way, he adds. This is an opinion shared by Arturo Peinado, President of the State Federation of Memory Groups: It has to be given a new significance. It could be a homage to the defense of Madrid, like the defense arch in Paris. Recently a group of skaters huddled under the arch had this to say about the monument. We dont like what it stands for, but it protects us from the cold. If they are going to change it, they could put up a great skate ramp here. English version by George Mills. In a major shift in immigration patterns over the next 50 years, Asians will have surged past Hispanics to become the largest group of immigrants heading to the United States, according to estimates in a new immigration study. The study looks in detail at what will happen by 2065, but the actual tipping point comes in 2055. An increase in Asian and Hispanic immigration also will drive U.S. population growth, with foreign-born residents expected to make up 18 percent of the country's projected 441 million people in 50 years, the Pew Research Center said in a report being released Monday. This will be a record, higher than the nearly 15 percent during the late 19th century and early 20th century wave of immigration from Europe. Today, immigrants make up 14 percent of the population, an increase from 5 percent in 1965. The actual change is expected to come in 2055, when Asians will become the largest immigrant group at 36 percent, compared with Hispanics at 34 percent. White immigrants to America, 80 percent back in 1965, will hover somewhere between 18 and 20 percent, with black immigrants in the 8 percent to 9 percent range, the study said. Currently, 47 percent of immigrants living in the United States are Hispanic, but by 2065 that number will have dropped to 31 percent. Asians currently make up 26 percent of the immigrant population but in 50 years that percentage is expected to increase to 38 percent. Pew researchers analyzed a combination of Census Bureau information and its own data to develop its projections. Part of the reason for the shift is that the fertility rate of women in Latin America and especially Mexico has decreased, said Mark Hugo Lopez, Pew's director of Hispanic research. In Mexico, Lopez said, women are now having around two children, when back in the 1960s and 1970s, they were having about seven children per woman. "There are relatively fewer people who would choose to migrate from Mexico so demographic changes in Mexico have led to a somewhat smaller pool of potential migrants," he said. "At the same time we've seen a growing number of immigrants particularly from China or India who are coming for reasons such as pursuing a college degree or coming here to work temporarily in the high-tech sector." Despite the increase in Asian immigrants, Hispanics will still make up a larger number actually living inside the United States, Lopez said. "Hispanic population growth is coming from people born here in the United States," he said. "It is really U.S. births that are now the driver of Hispanic population growth, and that's a recent change from what we saw in the '80s and '90s." By 2065, no racial or ethnic group will hold a majority in the United States, with whites holding 46 percent of the population, Hispanics at 24 percent, Asians at 14 percent and blacks at 13 percent. Currently, the country is 62 percent white, 18 percent Hispanic, 12 percent black and 6 percent Asian. Pew also asked Americans surveyed for one word to describe immigrants in the U.S. today. Twelve percent said "illegal," ''overpopulation" was at 5 percent, "legality (other than illegal)" at 4 percent, and "jobs," ''deportation," ''Americans" and "work ethic" at 3 percent each. Forty-nine percent offered general descriptions, and of those 12 percent were positive, 11 percent negative and 26 percent neutral, according to the report. Americans also said immigrants are likely to make the United States better, with 45 percent agreeing with that statement and 37 percent saying they make the country worse. Eighteen said they don't have much of an effect one way or the other. The survey was conducted online from March 10 to April 6, 2015. The survey's margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.4 percentage points. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram A leading potential successor to House Speaker John Boehner comes from a district with a significant Latino constituency, raising hope among Latino activists that he may do more than the Ohio Republican did to push for comprehensive immigration reform. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, represents a region that is 35 percent Latino and, as his website notes, is one of the nations largest agricultural districts. McCarthy, who is 50 and the House majority leader since last year, has said that he supports giving undocumented immigrants a path to legal status, although not full-blown citizenship. McCarthy said that his support for an opportunity to allow some undocumented immigrants to legalize their status was not tantamount to being in favor of amnesty, or rewarding people who break the law. If you want to become a citizen, you'll have to go through the path, he said. There won't be amnesty inside it. He said to reporters last year that he backed giving those who qualify legal status that will allow you to work and pay your taxes. He added that the path to legal status was a decision that every Republican will have to make. On McCarthy's official website, however, in the section on his views on immigration, he makes no mention of a path to legal status, and speaks only about the need for tough enforcement. "As a nation founded by immigrants, we should continue to embrace the individuals who wait in line and come to the United States legally to work hard and contribute to our society," McCarthy says on the website. "However, we should not provide any amnesty that would benefit those who defy our laws and enter the United States illegally...we must secure our border by using both physical as well as electronic barriers." Many activists pushing for a path to legal status for the undocumented said they are glad to see Boehner step aside, faulting him for refusing to use his powerful position to advance a comprehensive immigration reform bill. In 2013, the Senate passed a bipartisan bill to overhaul immigration. The bill called for tightening security at the border and providing ways for undocumented immigrants who meet a strict set of criteria to legalize their status, among other things. But the effort stalled in the House, where many conservatives vowed never to pass a measure that, in their words, rewarded those who had broken immigration laws. Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), an immigrant rights organization, said he had hoped Boehner would rein in his party but was unable to do so. With Mr. Boehner out of the picture 2016 provides an opportunity to bring back civility to the GOP and an extremely divided Congress," she said in a written statement. As to speculation that California's conservative Kevin McCarthy might be considered as the next Speaker, we would call on him to represent the richness of our state's diversity." In a statement that followed Boehners unexpected announcement Friday that he was resigning the speaker post by the end of October, McCarthy said: Now is the time for our conference to focus on healing and unifying to face the challenges ahead and always do what is best for the American people. Boehner all but endorsed McCarthy on Friday. "I'll tell Kevin, if he's the next speaker, that his number-one responsibility is to protect the institution. Nobody else around here has an obligation like that," Boehner told reporters. "Secondly, I'd tell him the same thing I've just told you. You just do the right thing every day for the right reasons, the right things will happen." Chris Pawelski, an upstate New York onion farmer who is a vocal advocate for immigration reform, particularly a more efficient guest worker program, expressed mixed feelings about the Boehners decision. Im saddened by Speaker Boehners resignation as Speaker and from the House, Pawelski said in a statement to Fox News Latino. I found him to be the voice of moderation and reason, dealing with a very difficult caucus and governing situation. Pawelski is somewhat encouraged by McCarthys support for immigration reform, but feels it may not be enough to bring about positive changes. Though McCarthys district has a large number of Latinos and is heavily agricultural I find it hard to believe that the forces that drove Boehner out will allow any sort of immigration reform legislation to go to the House floor. McCarthy has many views that fall in line with GOP conservatives he opposes President Obama's Affordable Care Act, gun control, and climate change measures. Some conservatives, however, are leery of McCarthy, accusing him of being more of an "establishment Republican" than not. On Friday, conservative talk radio host and best-selling author Mark Levin warned Republicans in Washington not to replace Boehner with McCarthy, who, he concluded, is not a "principled conservative." Some Republicans say they prefer that immigration be dealt with in a piecemeal fashion, instead of one sweeping measure. Some groups expressed hope that as one of his last acts as speaker, Boehner would put comprehensive immigration reform on the House radar. Speaker Boehner would do well to use his last month in office to heed the words of his church, the business community, and the great majority of Americans, Rep. Bill Foster, an Illinois Democrat said, to take bold and courageous action by bringing comprehensive immigration reform up for a vote. He has the opportunity to transform his legacy from one of constant partisan gamesmanship and gridlock, to one of cooperation and progress that benefits all Americans. If he chooses this path, he will find no shortage of bipartisan support and cooperation from Congressional Democrats. Includes reporting by The Associated Press. The war of words between Donald Trump and Marco Rubio has taken a left-hand turn into carnival land. The junior senator from Florida responded to the real estate mogul calling him a clown by telling NPR that he doesnt want to get sucked into the Trump freak show. Closing a wide-ranging interview broadcast Monday morning that touched on the crisis in Syria, relations with Russia and the looming budget showdown, Rubio was asked about Trump having referred to him as this clown at the Value Voters Summit in Washington, D.C., on Friday. Im not interested in the back and forth to be a member or a part of his freak show, Rubio answered, noting that Trump's line drew boos from the crowd of social conservatives. He also defended his own escalation of the verbal sparring between the two contenders for the Republican presidential nomination when he called Trump touchy. "He is a very sensitive person," Rubio told NPR. "He doesn't like to be criticized ... His poll numbers have taken a beating, and he was embarrassed on national television at the debate by Carly Fiorina and others." Rubio went on to say, This elections not going to be about Donald Trump. He thinks it is. The senator also repeated his charge that Trump lacks substance on policy. My sense of [him] is that every time the issues become prominent he will say something outrageous or do something outrageous so he doesnt have to talk about the issues. When he was asked about the budget battle over whether or not to defund Planned Parenthood, Rubio said he didnt want to see the government shut down, but the Democrats may force that if they insist on funding the organization, which helps some pregnant women abortions. Much of the blame for the impasse, he suggested, falls on the shoulders of the current GOP leadership, including outgoing House Speaker John Boehner. They never even tried [to make their case], Rubio said. They didnt think we could win the public debate. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Pro-independence parties claim their victory in Catalan regional elections gives them a mandate to continue with plans to break away from Spain but opposition parties and the mainstream media noted Monday that parties opposed to independence took 52 percent of the votes. Madrid-based newspapers pointed out that most voters backed parties opposed to independence with leading newspaper El Pais' front-page headline proclaimed, "The independents win the election but lose the referendum." Conservative Abc newspaper wrote "Catalonia does not want to go." With almost 100 percent of the vote counted, the "Together for Yes" group of secessionists headed by regional government president Artur Mas won 62 seats in the 135-member regional parliament Sunday, short of a majority and obliging it to seek support from the radical pro-independence Popular Unity Candidacy party known as CUP, which won 10 seats. Mas claimed the victory gives his group "enormous strength to push this project forward." But the CUP has pledged not to back Mas, setting the scene for tough negotiations. "The negotiations in the coming days are crucial for the future of the secessionist movement," said Antonio Barroso, a London-based analyst with the Teneo Intelligence political risk consultancy. "Mas still wants to lead the process and it is unclear whether he would allow an alternative candidate to be elected PM without dissolving the pro-independence coalition." The threat of Catalonia breaking away from Spain has dominated the country's political scene for the past year and has been a constant source of dispute between Mas and the ruling conservative Popular Party of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, which rejects any possibility of Catalan independence as unconstitutional. Rajoy must call general election by the year's end with polls suggesting his party will lose its majority in the national parliament. The Popular Party took a beating in the Catalan elections, winning just 11 seats, eight fewer than in the previous legislature. The Popular Party and the Socialists, who won 16 seats, were overtaken by the anti-independence Citizens party, which won 25 seats, up from nine. But Ines Arrimadas, the Citizens party's top regional candidate, said Mas should resign because "the majority of Catalans turned their back on him." Barclays Research analysts said in a note that although the independence parties had won more seats, they did not see secession as the most likely outcome because of the high political and economic costs, including exiting the European Union. They also expected the region would win some concessions from the Spanish government which will emerge from the general elections later this year. Many Catalans who favor breaking away from Spain say their region, which represents nearly a fifth of Spain's economic output, pays too much in taxes and receives less than its fair share of government investment. Independence sentiment grew during Spain's near economic meltdown during the financial crisis. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram In his speech at the U.N. General Assembly, Cuban President Raul Castro called for an end to the U.S. embargo on Cuba, and demanded the U.S. take several other steps before relations between the decades-old adversaries could be fully restored. Castro said that diplomatic relations could not truly resume until the U.S. gives back the Guantanamo Naval Base, and compensates Cuba for the negative impact on the Cuban people of the decades of trade and travel restrictions. In a forceful and pointed speech that often took aim at the United States without specifically naming it, Castro in a rare moment in the spotlight before Americans watching him on TV or online assailed "imperialism and colonizers" that, in his words, do not respect some nations sovereignty. The wars of aggression and intervention of countries affairs have been persistent, Castro said. He condemned nations that take high-profile stances in favor of the protection of human rights in a selective way [in order] to impose political decisions on other nations. Of the decision announced in December by both Castro and President Barack Obama to normalize relations, he said: Now we are beginning a long process toward the normalization of relations that will be reached when the embargo is ended, and the illegally occupied Guantanamo is returned to Cuba, and subversive [TV and radio] programs are ended, and there is compensation to our nation for the human and economic damages that it continues to suffer. This is Castro first trip to the United States as president. On Tuesday, he is scheduled to meet with Obama, who also addressed the General Assembly on Monday. Diplomats for the two countries last week formally launched the process of normalizing the U.S.-Cuba relationship, one of the top foreign policy achievements of Obama's presidency. In April, Obama and Castro sat down together in the first formal meeting of the two country's leaders in a half-century. Castro took over Cuba's presidency from his brother Fidel, who stepped down in 2008 after decades in power. Castro played host to Pope Francis when he visited Cuba from Sept. 19-22, ahead of Francis' own first trip to the United States. More than 160 heads of state and government were said to be attending this month's U.N. meeting, including Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time. In other remarks on Monday, Castro also called for Palestinians to have a state, and for Jerusalem to be its capital. He pledged continued solidarity with Venezuela, and his support for its president, Nicolas Maduro. He also used his address to the U.N. General Assembly to criticize the "militarization of cyberspace and the covert and illegal use of information and communications technologies to attack other states." In a veiled swipe at the United States and other rich countries, Castro slammed their outsized impact on the global climate change. He said those countries waste "national and human resources to an irrational and unsustainable consumerism." Many of Mondays remarks by Castro echoed those he made on Saturday in a speech at the Sustainable Development Summit held at the United Nations. In that speech, Castro said the embargo "causes harm and hardship to the Cuban people," affects other nations and also hurts American companies and citizens. As it has done every year for more than 20 years, Cuba is urging the U.N. General Assembly to pass a resolution critical of the embargo, a text that normally obtains majority backing, but which, for the first time, could pass without a U.S. vote against it. According to Cuba, since the U.S. embargo was implemented in 1962, it has cost the island a total of $833.7 billion. This story contains material from EFE and the AP. If anyone could grab headlines with jabs at establishment Republicans to say nothing of the Obama administration and Democrats it was Ted Cruz. That, of course, was before the much louder, much more in-your-face real estate mogul, Donald Trump, became a presidential candidate and the center of attention with messages similar to Cruzs. Now, however, Cruz, who was the first candidate to enter the presidential race, has a chance to get back into the election spotlight with the fight in Congress over Planned Parenthood, the budget, and the threat of another government shutdown. His supporters are banking on Cruz, who now as in the 2013 government shutdown he propelled by pushing for it to be tied to defunding Obamacare would be at the core of a new push to grab back the headlines and conservative support, according to Politico. With the possible shutdown in the news, and a fight in Congress over it, Cruzs supporters believe he can show his long-time tea party and evangelical blocs that he is the only one among the candidates who really has fought the Beltway status quo. It is also one way, to be sure, for Cruz, who refuses to criticize Trump, and even has invited him to rallies, to distinguish himself from the mogul without making it an overt showdown. Every election we see campaign conservatives who talk a good game on the campaign trail, and yet havent walked the walk, Politico quoted Cruz as saying in an interview with the news outlet. The clearest distinction is that, of the Republican candidates running, I am the only consistent conservative who on issue after issue after issue has been the same yesterday, today, tomorrow. But some in the GOP think a Cruz-government-shutdown encore could backfire this time, Politico says. It could make the Texas Republican, whos serving his first term in the Senate, seem too far outside the Beltway to have a real shot at winning the primary and the general election. For the short term, it sets him apart, but in the long term, it could come back on him, said Kim Reem, head of the Iowa Federation of Republican Women, according to Politico. The people more to the middle that hed need to win the presidency may very well say, Well, Im not likely to support you that way because I dont like how you handled [this]. In his bid to be president, Cruz has a solid network of funds and staff, including 500 surrogates in battleground states. They include pastors in each of Iowas 99 counties. He has more than $50 million when his super PACs totals are included. Of his Planned Parenthood budget battle, Cruz says its not a presidential election gimmick. I would be doing exactly the same thing whether or not I was running for president. And I would note that my approach was the same, on the day I arrived in the Senate, long before any campaign was in the offing, Cruz said. Be that as it may, it doesnt hurt him among conservatives who increasingly hold sway in the elections. It clearly helps him in the evangelical lane. The liberty movement is also a very pro-life movement, and by and large, although not always, its a focus of the tea party. So it has broad spectrum support among conservatives, said an adviser, speaking of the dual legislative-political strategy. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Libre Initiative volunteers were working the phones on a recent Tuesday at the organizations office in Orlando, speaking with Latinos on the other end of the line about the things that would truly, in their words, empower the community: free trade, limited government and rule of law. Two days later, in the South Florida city of Sweetwater, Libre held a workshop for women on how to become savvy consumers and how to protect themselves from fraud. Two seemingly different agendas but both part of one overarching mission to make inroads into Latino communities with the ultimate goal of having more of this important population embrace conservative ideals. Libre Initiative, a grassroots organization headquartered in Texas, is remarkably influential and, in some areas of the country, ubiquitous despite having launched a mere four years ago. It is the brainchild of Daniel Garza, a sharp, affable former George W. Bush administration official who launched the nonprofit group, which officially describes itself as nonpartisan, in 2011 with the stated purpose of helping to lift Latinos by offering workshops on a variety of topics. And, hand-in-hand with that, Libre is laying the groundwork for expanding the population of Latino conservatives. Libre gets much of its funding reportedly more than $10 million from the conservative billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch. The groups driving method of operation is to be embedded in Latino communities. Many of those communities are in places that are politically important battleground states such as Florida, Nevada, Texas and Virginia, to name a few. At the moment, Libre is in eight states, and expanding to a ninth Wisconsin later this year. The organization has 65 full-time staff members, which is scheduled to grow to 80 by the end of the year. In Nevada, Libre has held classes to teach Latinos, including many who are undocumented, about driving rules. Nevada allows people who are here illegally to obtain a driving card a restricted document that allows people to drive but cannot be used as a government ID. But many people had difficulty passing the test, which is where Libre sought to fill a void. In Texas and Florida, Libre offers free classes and assistance in tax preparation, its members give food away to the needy, as well as award academic scholarships and provide wellness check-ups. The group regularly has a presence at community fairs. Their outreach adapts to what a local populations needs might be. The Latino community is so diverse, said Garza, the son of Mexican farmworkers who pulled himself up from the bootstraps, getting his GED after initially dropping out of high school, eventually attending college and then landing a string of powerful government jobs. A lot of people have a one-dimensional sense of the Latino community. Many Latino immigrants need help, but many Latinos have moved on and up, like all immigrants do. Libre often turns to trusted members of a community to make inroads. In Central Florida, which has seen soaring growth in the Latino population much of it from Puerto Rico Libre counts among its ground troops David Velasquez, a local pastor. Velasquez has a broad range of contacts in the Latino community, Garza noted, that cut across socioeconomic lines. There are people who arrive with very little from their native homelands and some end up homeless and others who come with Rolex watches and advanced college degrees. He deals a lot with the faith community, and hes plugged in with colleges, businesses and other groups, Garza said. He works in different dimensions, thats what you have to do to penetrate a community. Maribel Velasquez, a longtime Orlando resident of Puerto Rican descent (who is of no relation to the pastor David Velasquez), praises Libre for offering services to the Latino community she says are rare and valuable, especially at no charge. Velasquez had never heard of Libre before a fellow parishioner at her church, where she leads a womens group, mentioned a workshop the organization was holding for women on how to start a business. I love business, I love starting businesses, and that got my attention, said Velasquez, who co-owns a mobile floor installation business with her husband. I asked a bunch of questions about the workshop and attended it and it was fabulous. It was well-run, informative and the presenters offered us follow-up consultations at no charge. Velasquez learned about other workshops catering to female empowerment, but they were in the Miami area, she said. When she asked if Libre could hold one of those workshops on personal finance for women at her church, they quickly obliged. They provided appetizers, three female experts on financing conducted the workshop, it was extremely informative and motivating, said Velasquez, a self-described non-political person who voted just once in her life. Its especially key, Garza said, to get to Latinos while theyre still assimilating. A lot of folks do not have an ideological foundation, he said. Its important that the conversation begin with them, not only to get them engaged here but inform them about what would create a better society. And that includes, Libre tells them, school choice, immigration reform although LIBRE opposes presidential executive action to achieve it and a smaller government role in peoples lives. Libre does not support the Affordable Care Act, arguing that makes access to healthcare harder for Latinos. In published essays, Garza has written that younger Latinos are facing more than a 40 percent rise in health insurance premiums, that under the program it has been become harder for Latinos to find a doctor and that many Latinos have lost the insurance they had and preferred. One of the topics being discussed at the Orlando phone bank was the Affordable Care Act. The volunteers asked callers what their experience has been so far with the program. Theres an interesting dynamic happening in Central Florida, with the Puerto Rican community thats different from the rest of the state, Garza said. Many people have no political affiliation, and we want to drive the conversation as far as priorities. People who are already there who have been there for the past 10, 15 years are barely beginning to develop politically. They remain very much at a crossroads. Libres opposition to such programs and policies that are generally supported by liberals like the Affordable Care Act and Obamas executive actions on immigration have drawn the ire of other Latino groups such as Latino Decisions, the voter polling firm, and Latino Victory Project, which aims to increase the number of Hispanic voters and Latinos running for office. "We've tangled with Libre in the past," Latino Victory Project president Cristobal Alex told Fox News Latino. "It's an organization we watch very, very carefully. You can't dismiss them." Alex went on to say, "What Dan Garza, whom I respect a great deal, has done in a very short period of time is build an organization that is highly sophisticated in engaging Latinos. He has the resources, thanks to the Koch brothers, to be a major player in the coming presidential elections." But Alex accuses Libre of undermining Latinos by holding views and pushing for policies that work against the community's best interests. "There's their opposition to the president's executive action on immigration, their opposition to raising the minimum wage, their opposition to the Affordable Care Act," Alex said. "Garza is on the wrong side of the issues. His counterarguments line up almost perfectly with the tea party narrative, and that's a threat for what many us have worked for over the years social justice and elevating Latino political power." Garza scoffs at the criticism, which he has grown accustomed to hearing since Libre launched and its link to the Koch brothers became known. He says liberal groups are being disingenuous when they take aim at Libre. "Liberals criticize Libre because they do what liberal organizations have been doing," said Alfonso Aguilar, a former official in the George W. Bush administration and executive director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group that promotes conservatism among Latinos. "These liberal groups want to treat Latinos as a monolithic group, Aguilar told FNL. It's condescending to Latinos for groups to criticize Libre by saying they're against issues that all Latinos support. Liberals just don't like to see a conversation." As for criticism that Libre takes money from the Koch brothers, Aguilar says that is also duplicitous and misguided. "So many of these liberal organizations get financial support from George Soros," he said, referring to the Hungarian-born billionaire philanthropist whose foundation bankrolls many liberal causes and Democratic campaigns. Besides longtime Latino gateways such as Florida and Texas, Libre sets its sights on making forays into newer destinations for Latinos. They held a forum on school choice in Wisconsin, for instance. Milwaukee has a huge Latino population, and theres huge support for school choice, Garza said. We had a massive turnout of Hispanic parents. Weve been blown away. President Barack Obama held a bilateral talk with Cuban President Raul Castro on Tuesday, the second time theyve met this year. It came less than 24 hours after Castro delivered a blistering thinly veiled attack on the United States, condemning imperialism, and the U.S. control of the Guantanamo naval base, among other things. The talk, which was not open to the media, is believed to have dealt with the lifting of the U.S.-Cuba embargo, which only the U.S. Congress can make happen, as well as other conditions that Castro laid out in his Monday speech. Castro has said that in order for diplomatic relations to be truly and fully restored between the decades-long adversaries, the naval base must be returned to Cuba, technological programs the U.S. uses to emit messages to the people of the island must stop, and the U.S. must compensate Cuba for damages suffered as a result of the embargo. Obama, who in December announced that that U.S. trade and travel restrictions would be dramatically eased, has been pushing for the embargo to end. The Tuesday meeting took place on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations. Obama and Castro smiled and shook hands before beginning their private talks. Since the two leaders made their surprise announcement about restoring relations last December, the two countries have reopened embassies in each other's capitals. But sharp differences remain, particularly over Cuba's human rights record and detainment of political prisoners. Both sides want Congress to lift a longstanding economic embargo against the communist island nation, but many Republican lawmakers and some Democrats want to keep it in place. Cuba also seeks the return of land occupied by the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay; the U.S. says that is not in the plan. In his address Monday at the opening of the U.N. General Assembly's annual ministerial meeting, Obama discussed the shift in policy toward Cuba and said he was confident that Congress "will inevitably lift an embargo that should not be in place anymore." Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser for Obama, said Castro's presence at the U.N. gathering is a signal "that we're in a new era." Obama and Castro first spoke in December after the secret process to restore diplomatic relations was revealed. They met in person in April while attending a regional summit in Panama. Before then, the last time a U.S. and Cuban leader had convened a substantive meeting was in 1958. Obama and Castro spoke by telephone again earlier this month before Pope Francis visited Cuba and the United States. Francis was a go-between for the U.S. and Cuba during their secret talks. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow us on twitter.com/foxnewslatino Like us at facebook.com/foxnewslatino A federal judge has dismissed four bribery counts against U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and an associate. Menendez and Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen each faced two of the counts stemming from two $20,000 donations made by Melgen to a legal defense fund that benefited Menendez. Menendez and Melgen were named in a 22-count indictment that accused the longtime Democratic congressman of accepting campaign donations and gifts from Melgen in exchange for political influence. The judge denied the pair's claims in motions to dismiss the indictment that prosecutors gave improper instructions and made false statements to the grand jury. The judge also rejected Menendez's argument that his actions were protected under a clause in the Constitution that shields elected officials from being questioned by prosecutors about legislative work. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Making good on a pledge to change U.S. posture toward Cuba, President Barack Obama is poised to hold talks with Cuban President Raul Castro for the second time this year. The meeting is scheduled to take place Tuesday on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations. Castro is attending for the first time. The encounter comes as the Cold War adversaries go about the long and complex process of normalizing relations following decades of animosity. The U.S. recently eased rules for citizens who want to visit or do business in Cuba, a step aimed at fostering greater economic freedom on the island. Both leaders surprised the world last December by announcing they had agreed to restore diplomatic relations. Since then, the two countries have reopened embassies in each other's capitals. But sharp differences remain, particularly over Cuba's human rights record and detainment of political prisoners. Both sides want Congress to lift a longstanding economic embargo against the communist island nation, but many Republican lawmakers and some Democrats want to keep it in place. Cuba also seeks the return of land occupied by the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay; the U.S. says that is not in the plan. In his address Monday at the opening of the U.N. General Assembly's annual ministerial meeting, Obama discussed the shift in policy toward Cuba and said he was confident that Congress "will inevitably lift an embargo that should not be in place anymore." Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser for Obama, said Castro's presence at the U.N. gathering is a signal "that we're in a new era." Obama and Castro first spoke in December after the secret process to restore diplomatic relations was revealed. They met in person in April while attending a regional summit in Panama. Before then, the last time a U.S. and Cuban leader had convened a substantive meeting was in 1958. Obama and Castro spoke by telephone again earlier this month before Pope Francis visited Cuba and the United States. Francis was a go-between for the U.S. and Cuba during their secret talks. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Jeb Bushs campaign people have a new worry. Its not Donald Trump the unlikely lingering GOP front-runner has been a source of concern among the Republican presidential candidates for some time now. Its not even so much the other GOP candidates, Beltway outsiders Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson, who in recent weeks have generated buzz. Bush supporters new concern is the former Florida governors one-time mentee and one-time friend, Sen. Marco Rubio, a fellow Floridian, who is rebounding in polls and attracting the interest of donors whom the Bush camp might have considered a slam-dunk at one time. A new Wall Street Journal poll of GOP voters, for instance, shows Bush at around 7 percent, and trailing the three outsiders as well as Rubio. His latest poll number is half what it was in July. The Bush camp is beating the but-we-have-a-big-war-chest drum to persuade supporters that their candidate has enough of a monetary cushion $100 million and a vast national operation to weather the many storms of a presidential run. Bush campaign advisers are going out of their way to allay fears among supporters, and tell them that hes still a candidate to beat, and is in the race for the long haul, Politico reports. To buttress their argument, they cite data that is based on predictions and projects Bush in the top slot among GOP candidates, according to Politico. But the website notes that even this data now shows Rubio beating Bush and topping the list of GOP candidates. I dont know if its panic or paranoia in Miami, but they are losing [Scott] Walker people to Marco, and if you say whats true, they get mad, said one Bush donor to Politico, which did not identify him upon his request. I think its just reflective of whats been going on for the past month or so and the way the race, at least in the establishment lane, has shifted. Its really Jeb or Marco now. Marcos fundraising has picked up, and Jebs has stayed flat. The Bush camp is beating the but-we-have-a-big-war-chest drum to persuade supporters that their candidate has enough of a monetary cushion $100 million and a vast national operation to weather the many storms of a presidential run. Our campaign has the scale to go through all the early states and into March and have the organization to get us on the ballot, to go get delegates and acquire delegates throughout the process, said David Kochel of the Bush campaign to Politico. But even in the fundraising department, Rubio has gained momentum, after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walkers withdrawal from the race and two strong GOP debate performances. Politico quoted another unnamed Bush donor who ranked the anxiety level over Bush at a 6 or 7 on a 1 to 10 scale. This is one space that Jeb has owned, said the donor about fundraising. You cant give up your position of strength if you need to build momentum in other places. Rubio's stock has been rising on social media too as his barbs directed at Trump have been praised as clever and effective. The Washington Post noted: "Jebs efforts to challenge Trump failed to capture the imagination. Now, suddenly, the internet is abuzz with talk about how Marco Rubio is the one who is drawing blood from Trump, and talk of Rubio having a plausible shot at the nomination is on the rise." Rubios people hope that donors whove been holding back on getting behind a particular candidate while poll results continue to fluctuate will start to move toward the first-term senator. Theres less money out there than people realize, said Katie Packer Gage, whose firm is doing work for Rubio in Michigan, to Politico. Lots of donors are holding their money because, if the big donor wants anything, they want to be with a winner, and they want the right candidate. Rubio is drawing enthusiastic crowds in Florida, most recently on Monday when he spoke at a rally there. Carl Blankenship, a former state trooper who became impressed by Rubio after the second GOP debate, said that while he admired Bush, he felt it was time for a fresh face. "I understand Jeb Bush did a good job for Florida as governor, and he is probably very capable. But I think we need a new voice," Blankenship said to the Tampa Bay Times. "It's time that a younger generation step forward to take up the reins, and I think Sen. Rubio is the perfect person." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram With an approval rating of around 20 percent ahead of Decembers legislative elections, some say Venezuelas border conflict with Colombia is all but a ploy to stir nationalism and have the masses rally behind the ruling party. On December 6, Venezuela will go to the polls to elect or re-elect 167 representatives for the National Assembly, which is currently dominated by Chavismo by almost two to one. The conflict between the two countries arose in early August after the Venezuelan government said Colombian smugglers were taking their subsidized and cheap basic goods across the border to be sold at a profit. President Nicolas Maduro said Colombian authorities werent doing enough to prevent the smuggling and suggested it was one of the reasons behind the acute shortages in the country and therefore behind the sinking economic crisis that is starting to create panic among Venezuelans. Maduro first declared a state of emergency on August 21st in six Tachira municipalities, and a few weeks later he extended it to localities in Zulia and Apure. Currently there is a state of emergency issued in 23 municipalities across those states, all three bordering with Colombia. Maduro said these municipalities were under the threat of smugglers, drug cartels and paramilitaries. However, virtually closing the border between the two countries has a direct impact on the legislative elections: in Venezuela, a state of emergency means public gatherings and other rights, like freedom of transit and private communications, are restricted, seriously limiting the candidates ability to campaign and put their message out. My last public event was on August 19th, the day the state of emergency was declared in the six municipalities that make up my district. I fear that I might be disqualified if I break the law to campaign, Laydi Gomez, opposition candidate in Tachiras first district, told Fox News Latino. Of the three states, Zulia and Tachira are particularly important. Because of how the 167 national assemblys representatives are distributed around the countrys 87 districts, the opposition is forced to win 80 percent of the seats in Zulia and 85.7 percent in Tachira to has a shot of winning the national majority. In 2010, when Chavez was alive, the 87 districts were drawn in a way that favors the government partys chances: 55.2 percent of them cover areas and towns where Chavezs people have won by an average of more than 10 percentile points in the last five elections. Only 13.8 percent of the districts are located in areas taken by the opposition by the same margin. The rest of the countrys districts, 31 percent, are toss-ups. To obtain the majority they wish for in the National Assembly, the opposition must take all its favorable districts, all the toss-ups and some of the governments. Meanwhile, the ruling PSUV party needs less than 50 percent of the votes in order to retain the majority in the legislative chamber. Four of the five districts in Tachira are toss-ups and three of those are affected by the state of emergency because its municipalities are bordering Colombia. In Zulia, seven of 12 districts are toss-ups, with four affected by the restrictive measures. With the media stranglehold that exists in Venezuela, face to face activities made by the candidates are more important than ever and this situation makes things harder, Oswaldo Ramirez, local political analyst and campaign advisor, said to FNL. Even after meeting with his Colombian counterpart earlier this week, and allowing deported Colombians to return to the country, Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro has said that he will keep the state of emergency and might even extend it to Amazonas, the only border state not yet affected by a state of emergency. The state of emergency was initially activated on Aug. 21 for a 60-day period, but can be extended as needed. In total, 9 representatives will be chosen in toss ups districts under state of emergency. If the opposition loses any, it will have to win another in difficult places where the government historically wins by more than 10 percentile points. Amazonas has only one district, but it is a toss-up, so declaring a state of emergency there would give the opposition its 10th candidate having to campaign under extremely difficult circumstances, seven in must-win districts. With the current numbers shown by the polls, the victory of the opposition seems really probable and the government is doing whatever it can to close the gap, Ramirez said. It is not the first time that the Chavismo apparatus has exacerbated differences with other countries to help boost its popularity. In March of 2015, when the U.S. sanctioned seven Venezuelan senior officials under allegation of human rights abuse, Maduro rallied relentlessly against President Obamas executive order in less than a month, his approval ratings went from 24.7 percent to 28.2 percent. However, in the month of July it had receded to 24.3 percent, according to local polling firm Datanalisis. Marco Rubio the prophet? A political prophet, perhaps. The Florida senator is generating buzz anew for his foreign policy chops for having essentially predicted what Russian President Vladimir Putin is suspected of doing in Syria to prop up that nations strongman Bashar al-Assad. Evidence has been mounting, the Washington Post noted, that Russian airstrikes in Syria since Wednesday are hitting rebels backed by the United States. Putin had justified the airstrikes as an attack on Islamic State militants, but many intelligence officials in the U.S. are leery of that assertion. In the second GOP presidential debate, Rubio, who has distinguished himself among the candidates as the most knowledgeable about foreign policy, essentially warned that Putin, in a strong desire to rekindle Russia as a world force, would exploit the power void in the Middle East by getting involved in Syria. Its pretty straightforward, Rubio said at the debate. Heres what youre going to see in the next few weeks: the Russians will begin to fly combat missions in that region, not just targeting ISIS, butto prop up Assad. He will also, then, turn to other countries in the region and say, America is no longer a reliable ally, Egypt. America is no longer a reliable ally, Saudi Arabia. Begin to rely on us. What he is doing is he is trying to replace us as the single most important power broker in the Middle East, and this president is allowing it. On Thursday, Putin, who has traded barbs with Rubio in recent days, defended the airstrikes as being targeted at Islamic State militants, but Russian authorities also acknowledge that the missions have struck more than the militants. They have said they are aiming to target militants in general, whether theyre with Islamic State or another group, such as al-Qaida. Russia has been one of Assad's strongest allies since the Syrian crisis began in March 2011. The civil war has killed more than 250,000 people and wounded a million, according to U.N. figures. The areas that were hit in the airstrikes in central Syria are not under the control of the Islamic State group. Reports say dozens of people were killed and wounded in the air raids on Homs while the Observatory said 27, including six children, were killed. The Observatory said towns of Rastan, Talbiseh and Zaafaraneh were hit. In Paris, the Russian ambassador to France, Alexander Orlov, said the Russian attacks also targeted an al-Qaeda-linked group, Jabhat al-Nusra, or al-Nusra Front. Syrias ambassador to Russia, Riad Haddad, echoed that the joint hit list for Russia and the Syrian government included Jabhat al-Nusra, which is believed to have some coordination with the Islamic State but is still seen mostly as a rival. We are confronting armed terrorist groups in Syria, regardless of how they identify themselves, whether it is Jabhat al-Nusra, the ISIL or others, he said, using one of the acronyms for the Islamic State. Rubio, a foreign policy hawk, recently called Putin a gangster. "Russia is governed today by a gangster, Rubio said at a campaign speech in South Carolina. "Hes basically an organized crime figure who controls the government and a large territory. Theres no other way to describe Vladimir Putin." Putin scoffed at Rubio's swipe at him. "How can I be a gangster if I worked for the KGB? Putin asked in an interview with 60 Minutes. "Come on, that does not correspond to reality. Putin also added that the Russian people like and respect him. "Most people trust me if they vote for me in the election. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign is planning a major push to organize Latino voters ahead of the Nevada caucuses and early primary contests in Texas, Florida and Colorado as her presidential campaign seeks to cement its advantage with Hispanics in the 2016 election. The Democratic presidential candidate will be in South Florida on Friday and will hold campaign events next month focused on Hispanic voters in San Antonio, Texas, and Las Vegas, Nevada. Her campaign will use the first Democratic presidential debate in Nevada and another Republican debate next month in Colorado to organize house parties geared at garnering support among Hispanics. Clinton's pitch will also extend to Hispanic lawmakers and elected officials, and will include an address next week to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's annual meeting in Washington. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Two young northeast Kansas residents filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday seeking to prevent the state from requiring them to document their U.S. citizenship and to keep election officials from removing their names and thousands of others from registration rolls. The lawsuit against Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the architect of the proof-of-citizenship requirement, argues that it and the planned removal starting Friday of 30,000 names from voter registration rolls violates both federal law and prospective voters' constitutional right to due legal process. The lawsuit seeks a court order blocking the state from enforcing the proof-of-citizenship requirement and purging its voter registration rolls as planned to remove those with incomplete registrations. Kobach called the lawsuit "a publicity stunt." One of the attorneys representing the prospective voters is former Kansas House Minority Leader Rep. Paul Davis, last year's unsuccessful Democratic nominee for governor. "It's going nowhere in court," Kobach, a Republican, said in an interview. "It's part of an effort by Paul Davis to remain politically relevant." Davis, who as a legislator voted for the final version of the measure, said the lawsuit was filed because it is "imperative" that Kansas residents' fundamental right to vote be protected. Also, he said, federal voter laws do not allow the state to purge voter registration rolls. As for Kobach's description of the lawsuit as a publicity stunt, Davis said, "We'll see what the judge has to say about that." A 2013 state law requires prospective voters to provide a birth certificate, passport or other papers documenting their U.S. citizenship when registering in Kansas for the first time. Kobach championed the requirement as a measure that would prevent non-citizens from voting, particularly immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. Critics contend the requirement suppresses turnout. Since the requirement took effect, the number of people with incomplete registrations has ballooned, reaching nearly 36,700 earlier this week, with about 32,000 of them failing to comply with the proof-of-citizenship rule. Previous analyses have shown that more than half of the prospective voters list no party affiliation, and more than 40 percent are under the age of 30. Kobach enacted a new administrative rule requiring county election officials to remove from their voter rolls anyone whose registration has been incomplete for more than 90 days. The rule takes effect Friday, and Kobach said he expects all such names more than 30,000 in all to be removed within a few days. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Alder Cromwell and Cody Keener. According to voter registration records, Cromwell is an 18-year-old Lawrence resident who sought to register as an unaffiliated voter and Keener is a 21-year-old Democrat from Eudora. The lawsuit says Cromwell first sought to register in March and Keener, in December 2014. Joining Davis in representing them is Will Lawrence, formerly a staffer for Kansas Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat. Hensley said Kobach's push to remove thousands of names from registration rolls is "a disgrace." "The job of the chief election officer should be to encourage people to vote, not to throw obstacles in their way," Hensley said. But Kobach said prospective voters whose registrations are removed can simply apply again and, "it takes less than a minute." "It's ridiculous to claim that a person is purged from voting when they've never been a registered voter," Kobach said. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram After bemoaning the wealthy GOP donors who he says "actively despise" the party's conservative base, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has turned his campaign fundraising efforts toward luring in small-dollar bundlers. In what his camp is calling "the world's first presidential social crowd-funding platform," the Texas senator's campaign on Thursday announced CruzCrowd, a website that hopes to draw in donors who can raise multiple small donations. "Traditionally, wealthy bundlers have been the financiers and driving force behind presidential politics. Ted Cruz has proven his appeal to wealthy donors and they are a vital part of his campaign," Chris Wilson, director of research and analytics and head of digital strategy for the Cruz campaign, said in a press release. Wilson said that Cruz is banking on grass-roots support not special interest groups to raise cash. Capitalizing on this fun and competitive environment not only raises money, but helps build the grassroots infrastructure that is critical to Sen. Cruz's success," he said. Much like with high-dollar bundlers, donors on CruzCrowd can reach different tiers depending on their fundraising totals although Cruz's site is doing something new by treating the fundraising as a competition based around the American Revolution. Users will earn badges and credits for rewards at Cruz's campaign store. Users can also track their fundraising progress against others and your rank is dependent on how much you raise: a person who just joined is a Colonist, then one becomes a Delegate after raising $1,000 and Signer after raising $5,000. The top tier, Federalist, requires collecting $10,000. "Users are rewarded when they accomplish the primary function - raising money - but are also rewarded when they accomplish the more important function: recruiting more users for the Cruz Campaign's grassroots army," Cruz's press release stated. "This structure is key to the platform's potential for organic, viral growth and success." While Cruz may already have the backing of a number of wealthy donors he is suspected to have lapped Jeb Bush in third quarter fundraising but CruzCrowd seems to play off the firebrand lawmakers push to appeal to the deeply conservative base of the Republican Party. "Republican donors actively despise our base, actively despise the men and women who showed up and voted you and me into office," Cruz said during a speech late Monday night on the Senate floor, adding that the donors consider Republican majorities in Congress "as a bunch of ignorant hicks and rubes." "I can tell you when you sit down and talk with a New York billionaire Republican donor and I have talked with quite a few New York billionaire Republican donors, California Republican donors, their questions start out as follows," Cruz said, according to Politico. "First of all, you've got to come out for gay marriage, you need to be pro-choice, and you need to support amnesty. That's where the Republican donors are. You wonder why Republicans won't fight on any of these issues? Because the people writing the checks agree with the Democrats." While Cruz has not yet released his fundraising numbers for the third quarter, he did raise $10 million in the second quarter, with the super PACs that supports him hauling in another $37.8 million a large chunk of it from Long Island hedge-fund magnate Robert Mercer. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram With 48 of Californias 59 counties now providing medical coverage under the Affordable Care Act to the thousands of undocumented immigrants living in the state, the question now seems to be: Is the Golden State the forerunner in a greater movement to provide health care to those in the country illegally or is this just an anomaly in the system? The controversial push began in early 2014, when state Sen. Ricardo Lara introduced legislation that would allow all immigrants to have access to government health insurance plans. It reached its zenith in June, when Gov. Jerry Brown signed a state budget that for the first time funded health care for children of undocumented immigrants. "It's logical that California would be out front about this," Randy Capps, director of research for U.S. programs at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, told the Los Angeles Times. Despite the large scale support at the county level for the issue, Californians are overall split down the middle and many observers say that this is because the debate over health care for undocumented immigrants has shifted from an ideological one to one about cost. The move by many California legislators to get all of the states 2.6 million undocumented immigrants covered cost Sacramento $1 billion annually. This hefty price tag would be even more of an issue in other states across the country. "I wouldn't mistake momentum inside California for momentum outside of California," Capps said. The ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court this summer to uphold the Affordable Care Act, however, has given lawmakers and activists throughout the country hope that they can push new initiatives through and some say Californias more progressive policies on the issue could help spur change quicker. "I'm sure we'll inspire other states," said UCLA health policy professor Steven Wallace. "I think it's inevitable." Wallace added that more states may follow Californias lead by extending coverage to children in the U.S. illegally because it's considered a small, healthy population, and is seen as a good investment because many eventually become citizens. "Kids are kind of the low-hanging fruit of the undocumented," he said. "It's politically attractive, and not terribly expensive." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump abruptly pulled out Friday of a question-and-answer session at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce scheduled for Oct. 15, citing his unwillingness to abide by the terms and conditions of the appearance, the USHCC said. The USHCC said in a statement that the group refused to change the format of its forum by excluding any issues or topics, or granting any immunity from objective scrutiny of his policies. As a result, Trump who, according to the USHCC, had agreed numerous times to attend the session reversed his position and decided not participate in the forum. "For us, his withdrawal speaks volumes about his views on the Hispanic audience," Ammar Campa-Najjar, the director of communications at the USHCC told Fox News Latino. "Its just another one of the things he has done that is just ridiculous." Campa-Najjar said that the organization heard about Trumps decision not to attend the session during an interview the mogul gave to CNN, where he said he had no plans of speaking with the chamber. "I never agreed to do an event. This is the first time I'm hearing about this. I mean, I never agreed," the Republican presidential front-runner said in a phone interview. "He wanted me to do an event because he probably can't sell tickets without me. Why would anybody do an event when he's a negative person?" The USHCC, which cited to FNL notes taken during a meeting with Trump about his willingness to appear at the Q&A session, said that the GOP candidate was concerned about being "put on trial" despite guarantees that all speakers at the forum will be treated equally. His camp, Campa-Najjar said, had appeared anxious about what would transpire at the Q&A, and asked if liberal reporters would be there. Trump's campaign expressed particular concern about Univision's anchor Jorge Ramos, who confronted the real estate mogul at a press conference before a speaking event, prompting the candidate's security team to remove the journalist from the room. Ramos later returned and Trump took several of his questions. Trump's camp also asked if MSNBC's anchor Jose Diaz-Balart would be there. When they were told they were likely to be there, Campa-Najjar said, the campaign staffers strongly objected. "This is Trump getting cold feet," Campa-Najjar said. The chamber planned to discuss jobs and the economy, small business, taxes, international trade, national security, race relations, womens rights and immigration. Trump has brought immigration to the forefront of the Republican presidential race with his controversial comments about undocumented immigrants from Mexico being criminals and rapists and his threat to build a massive wall along the U.S.s southern border. The USHCC said that its objective in addressing the immigration issue "was to "refocus the debate toward the more positive, fact-based, and economically sound narrative that the USHCC has been advancing for years, long before the 2016 election cycle." The Trump campaign did not return Fox News Latino's request for comment before this article was posted. The chamber's plan to host Trump drew some backlash from a number of immigrant activist groups as well as a handful of state or local chambers of commerce. They argued that Trumps campaign rhetoric on immigration was divisive, uninformed and even racist. The latest poll by NBC and the Wall Street Journal showed that 67 percent of Latinos had a very negative view of Trump. The USHCC has already spoken with or have plans to speak with numerous presidential candidates on both sides of the political divide including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. The chamber has also confirmed speaking engagements with other Republican and Democratic candidates, including Senator Marco Rubio, businesswoman Carly Fiorina and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Republican presidential candidate and Ohio Gov. John Kasich is scheduled to speak to the chamber next Tuesday, Oct. 6. "Were moving on, we dont have time for his games," Campa-Najjar said of Trump. "We dont care. Its really laughable. Its silly and hes silly." Lawyers for immigrant families denied birth certificates for their U.S.-born children by Texas health officials who refuse to recognize as valid certain forms of identification will argue for a federal judge to intervene against the state. A federal judge in Austin will hear their case Friday as they seek an emergency injunction. The lawyers say harm is being done to the families and their children who need birth certificates to enroll in school and ensure parental rights. Dozens of families and children sued the Texas Department of State Health Services after local authorities refused various foreign identifications. The state agency wants the suit dismissed. The parents, from Mexico and Central America, aren't U.S. citizens. The Constitution guarantees the right of citizenship to their children because they were U.S-born. The health service agency's Vital Statics Unit, which is responsible for issuing birth certificates, previously accepted consular identification cards and other documents issued by foreign governments, according to the lawsuit. But officials have increasingly come to refuse these, making it harder for parents living in the U.S. illegally status to obtain birth certificates for their children, it said. The agency says it never accepted these documents as valid, and there has been no change to the state's identification requirements. "As a result of this situation, hundreds, and possibly thousands, of parents from Mexico and Central America have been recently denied birth certificates for their Texas-born children," according to the lawsuit filed in May. Many Mexican immigrants receive identification cards commonly known as matriculas, which are issued by Mexican consulates to citizens living and working in the United States. Chris Van Deusen, spokesman for the Texas Department of State Health Services, said the agency has "never accepted the matricula consular as adequate identification" because the information used to get them is "not verified by the issuing party." But the cards were rejected only occasionally until 2013, the lawsuit claims, when the policy began to be enforced "more strictly." The following summer tens of thousands of Central American migrants, many of them families, crossed the border illegally into Texas. "Many of our clients have been here for 15 to 20 years. They have older kids for whom they were able to get birth certificates with no problem," said Efren Olivares, a senior attorney at the South Texas Civil Rights Project and one of the lawyers representing the immigrant families. Yet their newborns have been refused birth certificates using the same documents, he said. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Sitting behind a glass top desk in her Anaheim campaign office, Loretta Sanchez is in an upbeat mood. Her bid to succeed fellow Democrat Barbara Boxer in the U.S. Senate has gained momentum after a recent poll showed her as a serious rival to front-runner State Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris. We believe we can win, the representative from Southern Californias District 46 declares with determination. Ive always been the underdog. So you can give me that name any day because I know how to win an election. Sanchez, who was first elected to Congress in 1996, says phone calls and messages in support of her candidacy have been pouring in over the last few weeks. The USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times survey found Sanchez trailing Harris 17 percent to 26 percent among registered voters. Former state Republican chairman Tom Del Beccaro followed with 10 percent, and Assemblyman Rocky Chavez (R-Oceanside) with 9 percent. Former state Republican Party leader George "Duf" Sundheim entered the race this month, too late for inclusion in the poll. But Sanchez was the clear favorite among Latinos in the poll. Among Hispanics, shes preferred over Harris 34 percent to 18 percent. More than half of the people who took the survey in Spanish support the congresswoman. "Its very important for young people to get involved in politics, to see somebody that looks more like them, said Sanchez, highlighting the fact that almost 50 percent of the population in California is Latino. Latinos should understand the importance of sending the first Latina to the United States Senate, she added. Voter turnout overall has been low in California over the past decades 25.2 percent in the June 20 primaries and 42 percent in the November general elections in 2014 but the Latino voter turnout rate is especially low: 28 percent in November 2014. Sanchez, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, believes she will be the key factor in getting Latino voters to the polls. If Im on the November ballot, I believe that I can pull the Latino vote like crazy to come out to vote. If Im not there and its Ms. Harris, I dont think theyll come to vote, she added. But a Hispanic ancestry may not be enough to win the Latino vote, according to Jose Moreno, president of Los Amigos, an Orange County community group. Its not enough to speak Spanish and do volunteer fairs and ribbon cuttings, said Moreno, who also chairs the Chicano and Latinos Studies at California State University Long Beach. Sanchez needs to work hard, he added, and show how in the public positions that she holds she has abdicated, enabled and supported the improvement of conditions for Latinos in California. Shes been in Congress for 20 years, he noted. The question is: has she taken any real risk when the community has needed a strong voice on immigration reform, corporate welfare or corporate interest? Sanchez admits that the Hispanic vote is not hers for the taking just because she is a Latina herself. I have to work for the Latino vote, she said before laying out the policy issues comprehensive immigration reform, the economy she believes will lure Hispanic voters to the polls. Latinos need to know where I stand on jobs and minimum wage. They need to know where Ive been on the environment. They need to know what I have been working on with respect to the military, she added. In order to win, however, Sanchez will need more than the Latino vote she is not only trailing Harris in the polls, but also in the money race. Harris, San Franciscos former district attorney, took in $1.6 million in contributions between April 1 and June 30, according to federal campaign finance reports released in July. Sanchez reported collecting $618,421 during that same quarter, after entering the race in mid-May. As of June 30, Harris had just under $3 million in her campaign coffers, compared with about $1.1 million for Sanchez. We estimate that we are going to need between $8 and $10 million, Sanchez said. She is hoping that the new poll numbers will translate into more contributions from donors who up until now have remained lukewarm. Sanchezs campaign team is also launching what she describes as a very strong everyday normal campaign so followers can send anywhere from $1 to $10. But she believes her opponent requires more cash. I think its tougher for her, she said. She will raise about $12 to $15 million. She doesnt have the natural entree to a lot of places. Shes in San Francisco but it is much harder to come down to Southern California and find the vote. She said she has more far-reaching appeal. Im going to go out and Im going to be a campaigner for all Californians, she said. Im not going to leave one area untouched. Thats what a campaign is about. Under Californias electoral system, the contestants who finish first and second in the June primary will advance to a November 2016 runoff, regardless of their party. Sanchez is already looking ahead. In the June primary, San Francisco will show up to vote and we (South California) are busy doing other things, going to the beach, etc., but in November? The vote comes out of this area, she said. And in the November general election, she says she can count on Latinos and residents of Orange County who are more familiar with what she has accomplished in Washington. Who are the Orange County Republicans going to vote for? For the San Francisco Democrat or the Democrat whos represented them for 20 years? asked Sanchez, evidently counting on her and Harris making it to the runoff. An Arizona sheriff accused of launching a secret investigation into a judge in a failed bid to get him booted from a racial profiling case insisted in court Friday that the judge wasn't the target of the examination. Sheriff Joe Arpaio testified that his investigation focused on allegations that someone stole bank account information from thousands of people and that someone wiretapped his lawyers' phones. The sheriff for metropolitan Phoenix said U.S. District Judge Murray Snow, who has dealt the toughest legal defeats in Arpaio's 22-year tenure, was a victim in the theft of bank information. "My concern is the 150,000 people who live in Maricopa County who were victims. I don't care who they are or where they came from," Arpaio said. He was responding to questions about why the racial profiling case was mentioned in documents from the investigation. The sheriff, who is scheduled to continue his testimony on Thursday, spoke in hushed tone during much of his testimony, unlike his usual booming voice in public appearances. He answered many questions by saying he delegated the investigation to subordinates. When asked if he attended meetings where the probe was mentioned, Arpaio said he didn't recall. Snow has said the investigation was intended to prove that the judge and U.S. Justice Department were conspiring against the sheriff. Arpaio said a confidential informant who provided the tips that led to the investigation was eventually deemed unreliable. Still, the agency's investigators continued pressing the informant for proof. Arpaio disputed his former attorney's testimony that several sheriff's employees and lawyers thought the tips were unreliable. "I didn't hear that," the sheriff said. His lawyers cited the investigation earlier this summer when they tried unsuccessfully to get Snow removed from the case. Arpaio said perhaps he should have provided more information about the judge's role in the investigation when Snow questioned him about it during an April hearing. The sheriff said he also feels as though the informant deceived him. "I am sure not happy by the whole situation," Arpaio said. The disqualification attempt was made after Snow launched a contempt-of-court case against Arpaio for flouting his orders. Arpaio could face civil fines, for instance, for his acknowledgment that his officers conducted immigration patrols 18 months after Snow ordered them stopped. The six-term sheriff has been accused in the past of retaliating against critics. He was confronted in court Friday about documents in his possession that were related to the investigation, including a November 2013 note that Arpaio wrote on his typewriter. In it, Arpaio said another tipster had alleged that federal authorities put wiretaps on the phones of the sheriff and his wife. The document also contained a handwritten notation by Arpaio that said the judge's sister-in-law worked for a law firm that was pressing the profiling case in court. Arpaio explained that the tip was bizarre but said he couldn't ignore it. In the end, the sheriff acknowledged the tipster's information couldn't be verified. "I took it serious," Arpaio said. "On the other hand, it's just one of those things that comes up. I didn't send the Army to check it out." On Thursday, a lieutenant in Arpaio's office testified that the sheriff personally spent $10,000 to help pay for some travel expenses in the investigation. Arpaio disputed that claim. "There is no way I ever paid my personal funds," the sheriff said. "Never have." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio called for a more aggressive approach to Russia on Friday, including new sanctions against major officials and companies. During an appearance at a national security forum in Iowa, the Florida senator called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "gangster and a thug," adding "I stand by that phrasing." Rubio said if he's elected, he'll seek additional visa bans and asset freezes, provide more assistance to Ukraine and limit diplomatic engagement with Moscow "on issues not essential to resolving the crisis in Ukraine." "We are barreling toward a second Cold War," Rubio said. "The more our current president fails the test of leadership against Putin, the more important it becomes for our next president to pass it. And I will pass that test if I am given that opportunity." Russia began airstrikes in Syria this week. While Moscow officials maintain that they are targeting Islamic State groups and other extremists, U.S. authorities have questioned that, noting the areas hit were strongholds of rebels seeking to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad. Rubio has been campaigning more in Iowa recently as he rises in the GOP polls and has picked up support following Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's exit from the race. During the forum, he said that Islamic State militants in Syria should be defeated by Sunnis "on the ground," with aviation and special forces support from the United States. On the flood of refugees from Syria, he said it would not be easy for the United States to conduct background checks on the refugees and said a better approach would be to create a "safe zone" in Syria where they can go. "It isn't good for anyone ... these dangerous journeys that they're making into Europe," Rubio said. Rubio who is seeking to boost the United States' military presence around the world also said that defense spending was not the reason for federal debt, arguing instead in favor of overhauling entitlement programs. A spokesman for the Iowa Democratic Party questioned Rubio's foreign policy work in Congress, noting he has missed recent votes on related issues. In an email, Sam Lau said: "Marco Rubio believes he can ignore his national security commitments in the U.S. Senate and then lecture to Iowans about the issue." Rubio, who has one of the worst voting records this year in the Senate, has acknowledged missing some votes but said on ABC's "This Week" recently that he has "tried very hard to be there as much as possible." He also argued that voting is only part of his job, noting that he attends committee hearings and that his office provides an array of services for his Florida constituents. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign wants North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory to veto a measure that restricts acceptable identification documents for immigrants and prevents local policies directing police not to ask about a person's immigration status. The Clinton campaign released a statement Friday from its Latino outreach director. Lorella Praeli says the measure would have an immeasurable negative effect on the immigrant community and damage trust needed for effective policing. The measure given final legislative approval this week would halt some policies approved by what bill supporters call "sanctuary cities" in North Carolina. Police use of ID cards provided by foreign governments, local governments or nonprofits to determine residency also would be curtailed. McCrory put his name on a mass email to supporters this week saying he opposes sanctuary cities. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Sen. Ted Cruz was first. Sen. Bernie Sanders was second, former Maryland Gov. Martin OMalley third. Tomorrow, it will be Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Real estate mogul Donald Trump was set for Thursday, but backed out at the last minute. Sen. Marco Rubio, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to take part at still-to-be-determined dates. These men and women who would be president are part of the growing roster of candidates from both the Democratic and Republican parties whove sat or were scheduled to sit on stage to field questions, some grilling, before a roomful of Latino business leaders and media as part of the new Q&A series by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The chambers growing clout apparently spooked Trump, who agreed in a private meeting with chamber officials as well as on Geraldo Rivera's radio show to do a Q&A, but then abruptly backed out of the scheduled Oct. 8 event. Trump has insisted he never agreed to participate. The publicity and the firestorm of criticism toward Trump for backing out has cast a spotlight on what has been the growing prominence and influence of the chamber as Latinos become an important voting bloc. The chamber's Q&A's are, on many levels, significant and unprecedented. For nearly all the men and women seeking the lands highest office, it provides their first and quite possibly only experience addressing in English issues and controversies that concern many Latinos as they field questions for a full 90 minutes by the chambers president, Javier Palomarez. Palomarez said he hopes the Q&A's become a turning point in which prominent politicians see "the need to respect, empower, and include Hispanic Americans in the mainstream national dialogue. Our mission has always been to place our community where it rightfully belongs, at the forefront of our countrys economic and political agenda, said Palomarez. My biggest hope is that through these efforts, Americas Hispanic community will help elect the next president someone who will be their champion and help every person in this country attain the American dream. If presidential candidates have not been grilled extensively on Latino issues in a forum similar to that of the USHCC, its not for lack of trying by major Latino organizations. To be sure, candidates have been keynote speakers at the annual gatherings of such prominent organizations as National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), National Council of la Raza and the National Hispanic Chamber. Theyve also taken part in scaled down Q&As by some organizations, though they have not been one-on-one. But notably, those agreeing to make such appearances before Latino groups have been the exception most of the time Democrats with most preferring to avoid what they have seen as a no-win situation. The nonpartisan Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute expressed its frustration recently that it was able to get only two of all the presidential contenders in both major parties to agree to participate in its candidates forum at its annual public policy conference this week. It did not invite Trump. NALEO, an influential organization that follows demographic trends, electoral participation and voting rights, among other things, had debate-like events featuring some presidential candidates in 2003, 2007 and 2008. The executive director, Arturo Vargas, said it was impossible to get GOP candidates to participate. The only time a GOP candidate participated was when Sen. John McCain was the nominee, running against Barack Obama in 2008. Its always been a challenge for us to attract Republicans, especially during primary season, Vargas said. In primaries, candidates run to the extreme of their parties. Once the nominees are chosen, then those nominees from both parties run to the center. Vargas said he is impressed by the USHCCs ability to crack that barrier and get candidates from both parties so early in the process. Its important to have an opportunity to have an in-depth conversation with candidates for the presidency, Vargas said. The value of these Q&As is that we Latinos, as a community, get to set the agenda on what gets discussed. Palomarez initially got the same reaction that Latino organizations long have received when theyve approached candidates about participating in their events, even as just speakers. We were told not to count on any GOP candidates to engage us or any Hispanic organization before the primaries, out of fear of alienating the conservative base, Palomarez recalled. But the tide turned when Palomarez accused Ted Cruz of avoiding Latinos for fear of alienating his conservative supporters. Cruzs campaign denied it, and accepted an invitation to participate in a Q&A in April. Others have followed, from both parties. Trump, who met privately with Palomarez in the summer and allegedly agreed to participate in a forum, backed out on Friday, quoted in a CNN interview as saying that he never said hed do the Q&A. But in a Fox interview weeks earlier, Trump had said he was going to the Q&A though he was expecting a tough crowd. Mr. Trump was unwilling to abide by the terms and conditions of the USHCC's Presidential Candidate Q&A Series the same rules that all participants have previously followed, the organization said in a widely distributed email. Withdrawing from the Q&A can only suggest that Trump himself believes his views are indefensible before a Hispanic audience. Trumps scheduled appearance had elicited criticism from some Latino groups, including some local Hispanic chambers, who argued that giving the controversial candidate such attention was tantamount to dignifying him. Palomarez shot back, saying he understood the criticism, but that it was wrong for the Latino community to deny itself the chance to challenge a candidate with views that offended, and could be harmful, to Latinos. Cesar Vargas, co-director of the Dream Action Coalition (DRM), said it is important to have events such as the chambers that allow Latinos to assess candidates at a depth that is rare, especially at this juncture in the election cycle. Some Latino organizations, he said, are swept up by the opportunity to have a high profile person at their event, and dont challenge them. We challenged the National Council of La Raza when they invited President Obama to be their speaker, we were there to confront because of his inaction on immigration, Vargas said. After that, the NCLR president was more vocal, and referred to him as Deporter-in-Chief. But the chamber has frowned on attempts to shame leaders at its events, which happened at its annual convention in Texas, where Jeb Bush was keynote speaker and was heckled by a group of young immigrant activists. The chamber quickly sent out a statement taking exception to the disruption, calling it counterproductive. I hope that as a result of our joint efforts as the leaders of Hispanic organizations, that the number 55 million the number of Hispanics in America is looked at with the same focus and emphasis as the number 270, the number of electoral votes needed to win, Palomarez said. We want to change the dialogue that has for too long defined my community." In the days leading up to his Oct. 3 inauguration, the social media savvy new governor of Mexicos northern Nuevo Leon state invited his supporters to attend celebrations with the hashtag: #NuevoLeonFregon roughly translated as Freaking awesome Nuevo Leon. Jaime Rodriguez, better known as El Bronco, who won the June gubernatorial election as an independent unprecedented in modern Mexico later told reporters that political parties were jodidos slang for screwed. After taking the oath of office on Saturday, Rodriguez read his opponents the riot act, promising clean government after six years of scandals and violence in a state once famed for industry, but of late more notorious for corruption and killings. Im telling you loud and clear today: The partys over for bandits, Rodriguez said, forgoing the usual formalities in his inaugural remarks. Kings have fallen, not rulers, who saw subjects where there were citizens who saw jackpots where there was public money. Such salty and straight talk is vintage Rodriguez, who stoked anti-political party sentiments to win office, in spite of a playing field decidedly rigged against independent candidates. In Rodriguez's case that included a lack of access to TV and radio ads, uncertain campaign finance regulations and media coverage that was initially indifferent and later became downright hostile. But El Bronco's style and improbable story is bringing him national and international attention and causing the chattering classes to consider him a presidential possibility in 2018. For the moment, Rodriguez is promising to restore order in Nuevo Leon and investigate his predecessor, Rodrigo Medina, whose administration was rocked by scandals, deep debt and allegations of personal enrichment. At the ballot box a clear message was sent: Clean house, Rodriguez told supporters on Sunday. Were going to do so not with a desire for revenge, but with a thirst for justice. Rodriguezs anti-party rhetoric has its critics, who point to his only going independent in 2014 after 30 years as a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which ruled Mexico for decades and returned to power with the election of President Enrique Pena Nieto in 2012. PRI leader Manlio Fabio Beltrones pointed out to the newspaper Reforma, The PRI has turned into the No. 1 provider of independent candidates in the country. Some analysts see his origins in party politics and past willingness to work within the system as a sign that he won't significantly upset the established political order unlike outsiders pursuing power in other countries, like Donald Trump. He might put [Medina] in jail. That still may happen, but thats not the same thing as being a threat to the elites or to the structure, Federico Estevez, political science professor at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico, told Fox News Latino. Thats what you want in independents. You dont really want Trumps. But El Broncos emergence has caused concern in the countrys political class to the point that eight states have approved anti-Bronco laws that make it harder for independents to run for office. Of all the issues afflicting Mexico crime, corruption and a plunging peso, to name three the increasingly unpopular Pena Nieto used both his annual state of the nation address on Sept. 2 and his speech to the General Assembly at the United Nations nearly a month later to warn of the problem of surging populism a message presumably aimed at the likes of Trump, El Bronco and two-time Mexican presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who leads in some early polls. Polling firm Parametria gives Rodriguez the best effective opinion rating (the difference between positive and negative perceptions) of 21 possible presidential candidates, while he rated No.8 in national name recognition. El Bronco connects with a society that hungers for fresh politicians offering them blue skies," columnist Raymundo Riva Palacio wrote in the newspaper El Financiero. The day-to-day administration will be left to experienced and connected politicians He will be in the streets, talking to people, saying naughty words and, though he won't say it, starting his presidential campaign. El Bronco credits his success more to social media than to the street. He calls himself a Facebook addict and says that he wakes at 5 a.m. to respond to WhatsApp messages personally. His Facebook page has more than 900,000 followers in a state of 4.6 million people. He even credits Facebook with helping him beat back Los Zetas the cartel that tried to kill him twice while mayor of Garcia, northwest of the Nuevo Leon capital, Monterrey. "I defeated the Zetas using Facebook," he said, according to Mexico's Excelsior newspaper. "By asking people [over Facebook] who sold drugs, who was doing harm in the neighborhoods, and the people tell you. Then you, with authority take control and you resolve the situation." Social media also helped him overcome an absence of television coverage about his electoral campaign previously considered critical for winning office in a country where more people own TV than refrigerators. Jesus Cantu Escalante, director of the school of government at the prestigious Monterrey Technological Institute, told FNL, This is the first election in which a candidate beat Televisa, the countrys biggest broadcaster, which has had politicians seeking out its good graces for decades. El Bronco promises to spend the state advertising budget on other social programs instead of TV ads, which governments at all levels in Mexico air incessantly. Were not going to spend a single peso on television, Rodriguez said. Were not going to invest the populations money to generate idolatry and arrogance in those that govern. Its an unconventional approach for an unconventional politician, who plays up his rural roots and ranching background to the point that he organized a post-inauguration horse parade through the state's largest city, Monterrey. Rodriguez was one of 10 children born on a ranch without electricity, and he claims he didnt watch TV until he was 15. He was trained as an engineer, rose through the PRI ranks, led farming groups, ranched and grew alfalfa. He became mayor of Garcia in 2009 as insecurity was increasing in Nuevo Leon. He lost a son during a kidnapping attempt the inspiration, he says, for his wanting to radically overhaul Mexico. He survived two assassination attempts in which Los Zetas pumped more than 2,500 rounds into his SUV. Crime has calmed in Nuevo Leon since then, but corruption cases caused outrage to the point that a non-governmental group last year started Corruptour, a guided tour of local sites notorious for graft and misdeeds such as the DMV, where 300,000 license plates disappeared as auto thefts soared, and the Casino Royale, where a fire set by Los Zetas killed 52 employees and patrons. Analysts, including Cantu, express skepticism that Rodriguez can prosecute his predecessor Medina and his family, who are friendly with Pena Nieto. The business class will want him to punish the Medinas, but not one of their own, Cantu said. This is part of the conflict, because they were accomplices in this. Others say El Bronco is the product of societal changes in the state, where politics is more participative than most places in Mexico and the population is much more connected to the Internet and able to access more diverse sources of information. He represents a new relationship between government and society, Arturo Franco, an author and economist, who returned from London to participate in El Broncos transition team, told FNL. El Bronco exists in this state because civil society has been awake for so many years People were ready for this. Expectations are high, leading some to compare El Broncos arrival with that of former President Vicente Fox the National Action Party (PAN) politician whose 2000 election broke the PRI's 71-year hold on the office, and whose cowboy shtick, colorful language and agenda of change brought high expectations, but ended in disappointment. [El Bronco] doesnt have to do great things to be considered successful, Gerardo Priego Tapia, a former lawmaker with the National Action Party, told FNL. He only has to be a good governor. Republican presidential contender Ted Cruz lashed out Monday against the Obama administration's plan to accept refugees from war-torn Syria, calling it "nothing short of crazy" because he believes some are Islamic State group terrorists. "There is a reason the director of national intelligence said among those refugees are no doubt a significant number of ISIS terrorists," the Texas senator told a crowd of hundreds in a Michigan campaign stop, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. "It would be the height of foolishness to bring in tens of thousands of people including jihadists that are coming here to murder innocent Americans." In fact, National Intelligence Director James Clapper has not confirmed that the refugee wave includes significant numbers of terrorists. He has spoken of the risk of terrorists mingling in, saying last month: "We don't obviously put it past the likes of ISIL to infiltrate operatives among these refugees." ISIL is an alternative acronym for the Islamic State group. Clapper said the U.S. was aggressively screening the small number of Syrian refugees it has accepted. The Obama administration said it intends to accept about 10,000 Syrian refugees and increase the overall number of refugees allowed into the country from around the world to 85,000 in the next 12 months. That total would increase to 100,000 by 2017. The U.S. now accepts up to 70,000 refugees per year. Michigan's Gov. Rick Snyder, also a Republican, is talking with federal officials about what the state can do about accepting more refugees from Syria and building on more than a century of Arab immigration to the state. Cruz was campaigning ahead of Michigan's March 8 presidential primary. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Two years ago, Augustus Sol Invictus walked from central Florida to the Mojave Desert and spent a week fasting and praying, at times thinking he wouldn't survive. In a pagan ritual to give thanks when he returned home, he killed a goat and drank its blood. Now that he's a candidate for U.S. Senate, the goat story is coming back to bite him. The chairman of the Libertarian Party of Florida has resigned to call attention to Invictus' candidacy in hopes that other party leaders will denounce him. Adrian Wyllie, who was the Libertarian candidate for governor last year, says Invictus wants to lead a civil war, is trying to recruit neo-Nazis to the party and brutally and sadistically dismembered a goat. It's an awkward situation for the small party that's trying to gain clout. "He is the absolute exact opposite of a Libertarian. He's a self-proclaimed fascist. He's promoting a second civil war," Wyllie said. "It's absolute insanity. We must explain to people this is the opposite of Libertarians. This guy has no place in the Libertarian Party." Invictus, a 32-year-old lawyer who changed his given name which he declines to reveal to a Latin phrase that means "majestic unconquered sun," says Wyllie is just running a smear campaign and is twisting his words into lies. No, he says, he's not a white supremacist, pointing out his four children are Hispanic though he acknowledges that some white supremacists support his campaign. No, he says he isn't trying to start a civil war, but he says the government already is at war with its citizens and that it's certain to escalate. "The only question is when are the citizens going to start fighting back?" he said in a phone interview Friday. "I don't think I'm the only person who sees a cataclysm coming, but I think I'm the only person saying it, and I think that scares people." Sacrifice? Yes. Brutal and sadistic? Not according to Invictus. "I did sacrifice a goat. I know that's probably a quibble in the mind of most Americans," he said. "I sacrificed an animal to the god of the wilderness ... Yes, I drank the goat's blood." He admits he's been investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Marshals and other law enforcement. He is confident they're still watching him, in part for a series of YouTube videos and other writings in which he discusses government. He renounced his citizenship in one paper, and in another he prophesied a great war, saying he would wander into the wilderness and return bearing revolution. "I guess it makes me feel flattered that they think I am a threat to the stability of the system. It makes me think one man can make a difference," Invictus said. He insists, though, that he doesn't advocate violence. "You do not initiate force," he said. "If the government is waging war on citizens, we as citizens have the right to self-defense on government." Invictus knows running as a Libertarian is a longshot Wyllie was easily Florida's most well-received Libertarian candidate and he only received 3.8 percent of the vote and he acknowledges that being a pagan will hurt him with an electorate that tends to support Christians. But he said he is running with the hope of speaking on the Senate floor. "If not elected, I still think there is a purpose for all of this and that is to get a message out there, waking them up," he said. "They are the ones that control the government and not the other way around." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram They both are Republicans, from South Florida and share many friends and supporters. As Sen. Marco Rubio and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush run for president, one long-time friend and mentor gave insight on how bittersweet it is to watch them compete against each other. Al Cardenas, a nationally powerful figure in conservative politics, and now a senior advisor in the Bush campaign, has been an important muse to both Rubio and Bush. Im torn emotionally, said Cardenas, who played a major part in helping the GOP make inroads into Floridas Cuban community decades ago, and who for years chaired the American Conservative Union, the oldest such advocacy group in the United States. Who wants to have two people you care about so much get involved in a contest that as time goes on will get more and more competitive? While still in law school, Rubio interned for Cardenas, a fellow Cuban-American who already had gained prominence in Miami as a lawyer and a kingmaker in Florida GOP politics. He also, he recalled, gave Rubio his first full-time job out of law school. Cardenas went to Rubios wedding, and pushed for him to be a vice presidential candidate in 2012. Photo courtesy of Al Cardenas. But his ties with the Bush family were also strong, if not stronger. Cardenas, remembers Jeb Bush whom he has known since George H. W. Bush ran for president in 1980 when he was Rubios age, about 20 years ago. He worked with Jeb Bush when he was governor. Cardenas worked in both the Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations. Cardenas says that he has seen Jeb Bush mature politically since those days. Ive seen his evolution, said Cardenas, who sometimes becomes visibly sentimental when speaking about the former Florida governor, his judgment and his wisdom, listening to others, his seeking counsel. Hes just [become] a wiser man. That comes with age and experience. Which brings him to Rubio, whom he speaks of with admiration as well, but with candor about how he feels the junior senator has not gone through the learning curve he has witnessed in Bush. Marco could well get to where Jeb is today, but hes not, Cardenas said. Of Rubios decision to run against Bush, Cardenas said that he was disappointed. I was hoping hed stay in the Senate, Cardenas said. He has these special skills sets. He might be the best orator in this whole Republican primary. Hes got these special gifts, and skills sets, of communicating with people, and that is especially significant in the Senate, where you are constantly advocating for a particular bill. Cardenas says these things with no trace of anger or resentment but, rather, lament. He could be, 20 years from now, one of those icons that forever will be remembered as one of the greatest statesmen in the Senate, Cardenas said. But for the White House, he said, he doesnt have the same skills set as Jeb. He hasnt gotten to a stage in life where Jeb is. In the past, Cardenas has told reporters that Bush was disappointed that Rubio decided to run for president when it was expected that Bush would as well. (Rubio announced his candidacy before Bush.) For the first time in our country's history you've got two guys from the same town in the same state from same party running in the same primary," he told the Associated Press in April. You just dont want to go to battle against someone you care for. But in a recent interview with Fox News Latino, Cardenas said: Jeb has been quite a gentleman about it. He agrees with Rubios comments on the matter that there should be no turns to run for office if someone feels qualified and motivated. He agrees with that, Cardenas said. [Bush] says [Rubio] has earned the right to run. Obviously hes doing fairly well, so that right was well-earned. You cant deprive someone from seeking the same office as you, even though youve been his mentor. Cardenas said, however, that many were surprised when Rubio decided to run for president. Its like youre running against your uncle for president of the company, Cardenas said. These are things that are difficult and you both might be suited for the job. But its in the family, its a clumsy, difficult thing for outsiders to see. Rubio knows this well, and in an interview with Fox News Latino he said he considers Bush an important mentor and a friend. He said that though it makes great headlines and perhaps boosts ratings, its not a race between him and Bush. Hes still a friend, Rubio said. Were running for the same position, but so are a lot of other people, Rubio said. Im not running against Jeb Bush, Im running for president. I have tremendous admiration and respect for him personally. He did a great job as governor of Florida. But, Rubio says, these times and the presidency call for a change, for new ideas, a new face. This is the 21st century, we have to confront the issues of today and now, Rubio said. Im not running against him or, for that matter, any other candidate in the field. Cardenas dismissed the polls showing Bush lagging behind such so-called outsiders as Donald Trump, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, as well as, most recently, Rubio. When you think about it, this match hasnt begun, Cardenas said. This match hasnt begun, it doesnt begin until February of next year. Whats important now is whos supporting you, what resources you are able to garner, and how well organized you are. Bushs organization and war chest are strong. We havent even begun the journey, Cardenas said. Though there are two Latinos in the race Rubio, of course, and Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, Cardenas believes his candidate would best serve the interests of Latinos. Hes got executive experience, he said. Wed have the first Spanish-speaking president weve ever had. They have a beautiful family that speaks the language. In terms of culture, the 50 million-plus Hispanics living here, its an opportunity weve never had to be as fully recognized as we deserve to be for the contributions weve made to America. Now is the time for Hispanics join the political conversation and they dont have to wait for Election Day to make sure their voices are heard, said Housing Secretary Julian Castro. From writing letters to participating in civic organizations that deal with public policy issues, [Latinos have to] make their voice heard, Castro, 41, said during an interview with Fox News Latino. The No. 1 thing is to remain engaged, consume the news, talk about it, make your opinion heard. And now is the time, he said, for the Hispanic community to feel the most empowered. Donald Trump has dominated headlines with his tough talk on Mexico and the border, but the moguls phenomenon and his 15 minutes of hype may soon be over, Castro said. Donald Trump is getting a lot of attention now; I dont believe thats going to last through the entire cycle, Castro said recently. Castro said the Latinos are growing in political influence and he expects the current generation to see a Latino occupying the White House. Hopefully, in not a too distant future we will see a Latino president, and who knows hows that going to happen, he said. Its just a matter of time. He remained coy about whether he wants to be president and, like other interviews recently, deflected whether hes interested on being in the Democratic ticket this time around. I seriously doubt that thats ever going to happen, I dont think thats going to happen but I do think I can do a great job at HUD. Castro grew up in a working-class San Antonio neighborhood, the Mexican-American son of a single mother who was a Latino rights activist. He has a law degree from Harvard and is a three-term mayor of Texas' second largest city. His options for rising in Texas politics were viewed as limited in his Republican-dominated state, where no Democrat has triumphed in a statewide contest in two decades. Castro's twin brother, Joaquin, is a congressman who represents much of the San Antonio area. The AP contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The Obama administration deported the fewest number of immigrants in the past 12 months since 2006, according to new government figures obtained by the Associated Press. The figures also show that deportations of criminal immigrants have dropped to the lowest numbers since President Barack Obama took office in 2009, despite his pledge to focus on finding and deporting criminals living in the country illegally. The overall total of 231,000 deportations generally does not include Mexicans who were caught at the border and quickly returned home by the U.S. Border Patrol. The figure does include roughly 136,700 convicted criminals deported in the last 12 months. Total deportations dropped 42 percent since 2012. The Homeland Security Department has not yet publicly disclosed the new internal figures, which include month-by-month breakdowns and cover the period between Oct. 1, 2014, and Sept. 28. The new numbers emerged as illegal immigration continues to be sharply debated among Republican presidential candidates, especially front-runner Donald Trump. And they come as Obama carries out his pledge from before his 2012 re-election to narrowly focus enforcement and slow deportations after more than a decade of rising figures. The biggest surprise in the figures was the decline in criminal deportations. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson last year directed immigration authorities anew to focus on finding and deporting immigrants who pose a national security or public safety threat, those who have serious criminal records or those who recently crossed the Mexican border. The decline suggests the administration has been failing to find criminal immigrants in the U.S. interior, or that fewer immigrants living in the U.S. illegally had criminal records serious enough to justify deporting them. "With the resources we have ... I'm interested in focusing on criminals and recent illegal arrivals at the border," Johnson told Congress in April. Roughly 11 million immigrants are thought to be living in the country illegally. Obama has overseen the removal of more than 2.4 million immigrants since taking office, but deportations have been declining steadily in the last three years. Removals declined by more than 84,000 between the 2014 and 2015 budget years, the largest year-over-year decline since 2012. The Homeland Security Department has been quick to attribute the steady decline to changing demographics at the Mexican border, specifically the increasing number of immigrants from countries other than Mexico and the spike in unaccompanied children and families caught trying to cross the border illegally in 2014. The majority of the children and tens of thousands of people traveling as families, mostly mothers and children, came from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. The Border Patrol historically sends home Mexican immigrants caught crossing the border illegally, but U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement must fly home immigrants from other countries. That process is more expensive, complicated and time-consuming, especially when immigrants fight their deportation or seek asylum in the United States. Arrests of border crossers from other countries also dropped this year, along with the number of unaccompanied children and families. As of the end of August, the Border Patrol arrested about 130,000 immigrants from countries other than Mexico, about 34,500 unaccompanied children and roughly 34,400 people traveling as families. More than 257,000 immigrants from countries other than Mexico were apprehended at the border during the 2014 budget year, including more than 68,000 unaccompanied children and tens of thousands of family members. It was the first time that immigrants from other countries outnumbered those from Mexico. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram He stands out in debates for a distinctive quality discussing policies, citing data, and not hurling verbal grenades at other candidates. And yet, Sen. Marco Rubio is the first one to marvel over the public marveling over his preference to keep his presidential campaign focused on issues. How novel! the Florida Republican said in amusement when asked about this, which has distinguished him in the two GOP debates held thus far, and in his campaign. Rubio said he always has been averse to pitbull politics mauling rivals through quick one-liners or personal attacks. Thats a conscious decision Ive made throughout my entire time in public service, Rubio said in an interview with Fox News Latino. I didnt run for office to talk bad about people. I ran for office and Im in the Senate and I want to be president because I want to change the direction of this country. Rubio is no doormat. He hits back, and hard, when cornered. One of the moments that drew the most laughs in the first debate was after real estate mogul Donald Trumps sweeping statement that the candidates on stage had taken donations from him at some time in their career. "Youd better believe it," Trump said. "Most of the people on this stage, Ive given to just so you understand a lot of money." Rubio shot back: "Not me! Not me!" And he added: "Actually to be clear, he supported Charlie Crist, referring to a rival candidate in his race for Senate in 2010. Fact checkers confirmed Rubios statement. Another defining and widely noted moment, where Rubio shot down a Trump statement without making it personal, was when he spoke about the futility of building a wall to resolve illegal immigration. Let me set the record straight on a couple of things, Rubio said in the debate, which focused for a while on immigration. The first is, the evidence is now clear that the majority of people coming across the border are not from Mexico. Theyre coming from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras. Those countries are the source of the people that are now coming in its majority. I also believe we need a fence. The problem is if El Chapo builds a tunnel under the fence, we have to be able to deal with that. Rubio told Fox News Latino that is critical in the election is to have a serious campaign about the real issues. Thats what Im always going to do, he said. Ive always said that I want to run a campaign that my children and the people that support me can be proud of. Trump has taken the polar opposite approach, making his campaign very much about other candidates and ripping them apart, in often crude terms. Lately, Rubio has been his target, as the junior senator has risen anew in the polls, though he still trails Trump. On Monday, Trumps campaign sent Rubio a shipment of bottled water labeled "Trump Ice Natural Spring Label." It was a mockery, evidently, of the moment during Rubios GOP rebuttal of the 2013 State of the Union address by Obama when the senator stopped to take a drink of water. Trumps camp also included two towels that bore his slogan Make America Great Again. Rubio has taken Trumps efforts to provoke in stride, last week saying he didnt want to be part of the moguls freak show. Rubio often is asked about his running against former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, his one-time mentor and friend. When he has seemed to draw a contrast between himself and Bush, it is not overt, and usually delivered as having a choice between yesterday and today, the old and the new. Hes still a friend, Rubio said to Fox News Latino. Were running for the same position, but so are a lot of other people, Rubio said. Im not running against Jeb Bush, Im running for president. I have tremendous admiration and respect for him personally. He did a great job as governor of Florida. But, Rubio says, these times and the presidency call for a change, for new ideas, a new face. This is the 21st century, we have to confront the issues of today and now, Rubio said. Im not running against him or, for that matter, any other candidate in the field. Again, he said, going back to his favorite point, its about ideas, issues, and what a candidate offers to do about them. The media is always looking for some conflict, he said, and I accept that as part of the political process. But this election isnt about me, or anyone else running. We have hundreds of thousands of young Americans who owe thousands of dollars in student loans, Rubio said. You have a radical jihadist group thats beheading people and trying to recruit Americans to join their cause. We have millions of people in this country living paycheck to paycheck, and an economy thats stagnated. That means giving everyone access to the kind of education and training that can equip them with the skills to find good jobs, Rubio said, and making sure those jobs pay well. He wants, he says, a country where parents can do what his did give their children the tools to do better than they did. We live in a country where everyone should have the chance to go as far as their talent and their work will take them, he said. Following last years surge of migrants heading over the United States southern border from Central America and Mexico, the Border Patrol pledged to hire 1,600 female agents under the rationale that they would be better equipped to deal with the women and children fleeing their homelands. Its been over a year now and so far only 50 women have been hired to work along the border. "We are really looking to ramp up," Stacy King, Supervisory Human Resources Specialist for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency told the Washington Post, "but recruitment, hiring and retention of female law enforcement officers continues to be a challenge for us." After the job posting for female agents was listed on USAJobs.com last December, the Border Patrol says it received 3,972 applications and there are still a few hundred currently being vetted for jobs. But the agency still has the lowest number of women in the federal government about five percent, compared to the 15 percent average and the work, play and rigors of the job arent helping keep female agents. About 6 percent of women quit within their first year, compared to the average of 4 percent for men. The work of a border agent is generally solitary and dangerous, requiring its employees to spend hours outside, often at night, in the sparsely hinterlands of the U.S.-Mexico border. While a college degree is not required, fluency in Spanish is and salaries for starting agents begin at $39,400 for a GS-5 grade level to $50,000 (GS-7). The Border Patrol also holds women to the same physical standards at every stage of their training and once theyre in the field as their male counterparts. "The way I see it is, were federal cops," Adriana Palacios, an operations officer and recruiter for the Border Patrol station in Edinburg, Tex., in the Rio Grande Valley told the Washington Post. "You work by yourself. You could be alone in the dark and your partner is a mile down the river." Another deterrent is the hostile climate that many law enforcement officers in the U.S. now face in the wake of a slew of racially-related arrests and killings in places like Ferguson, Miss., Pasco, Wash. and New York City. "Theres been a lot of negative press, and its a tough time right now to recruit for law enforcement positions," King said. Adding to this, King said, is the confusion that some people have between the Border Patrol and the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) and the bad experience many people have while visiting an airport. Still, some agents said the women enrolled in the Border Patrol play a key role in dealing with the scores of migrant women crossing the U.S.s southern border many of whom who have been sexually and physically abused during their journey north. "We have an incredible cadre of agents, but with the increase in women and girls, the women are flagging us down like taxicabs" when they cross the border, said Monique Grame, deputy patrol agent in charge of the Border Patrol station in McAllen, Tex. "They have had one heck of a journey from when they leave their home countries." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram President Barack Obama seemed to call Hillary Rodham Clinton's idea of a no-fly zone in Syria "half-baked." Clinton described the president's immigration strategy as "harsh and aggressive." And as Obama tries to rally Democrats around the chief economic proposal of his second term, the party's presidential front-runner stayed conspicuously silent. As Clinton looks for ways to distinguish her ideas from those of her former boss, the relationship between the man in the White House and the woman who hopes to replace him has grown increasingly complicated. No issue presents more potential for friction than trade. For months, Clinton has resisted weighing in on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the sweeping trade deal that has divided the Democratic base. The completion of the negotiations this week means she'll soon be forced to choose between one of the top legacy items of her former boss or labor unions, environmentalists and other liberal constituencies that oppose the deal. Clinton promises to "definitely have a position soon." "I'm going to be diving into that tonight. I'm going to be talking to people. They're getting me all the information they can gather so I can make a timely decision," Clinton said Tuesday as she toured a farmer's market in Davenport, Iowa. The awkward dynamic isn't a surprise: Both Clinton's campaign and the Obama administration have always said the time would come when the candidate would outline her own policies and deliver criticisms, both implied and direct, of the president. "I am not running for my husband's third term or President Obama's third term," Clinton told voters in Davenport, repeating an oft-used line from her stump speech. "I'm running for my first term." While she frequently commends the president, Clinton has been offering critiques of his policies more and more. Last month, she came out against the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast, while the administration remains undecided. In August, she said Obama's decision to approve offshore drilling in the Arctic wasn't "worth the risk" to the environment. And she's subtly resurrected her 2008 primary attack of Obama's approach to world affairs, taking a more hawkish stance toward Russia, Syria and Iran. On both immigration and gun control, she's vowed to use her executive power to do more than the president, implying that Obama's actions have not gone quite far enough. "I'm not going to be breaking up families. And I think that is one of the differences," she said of Obama's deportation policy earlier this week. "But I totally understand why the Obama administration felt as though they did what they did under the circumstances." Campaign veterans in the White House say the impact of Clinton's one-upping is minor and dismiss some of Clinton's proposals as routine campaign fodder. Candidates use policy plans to declare their priorities. Worries over practical implementation come later. But trade falls into a different category. If Clinton opposes Obama's big deal, she could undermine his arguments just as the White House is in the final stretch of a deal years in the making. With Clinton's main challenger, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, calling the accord "disastrous," Obama may be in the uncomfortable position of watching a Democratic debate next week in which none of the major candidates is willing to defend the deal. Clinton aides know she must tread lightly when it comes to criticizing the president, given that much of her strategy relies on the still-loyal coalition of African-Americans, Latinos, women and younger voters that twice elected Obama. But at the same time, they say she must find ways to distinguish herself and undercut Republican attacks that Clinton would simply be a third Obama term. Many of Clinton's top aides joined her campaign from the White House and the two staffs remain in frequent communication. Before Clinton publicly announced her opposition to the Keystone pipeline and gun proposals, campaign staff alerted the White House to her plans. And after Obama appeared to deride her proposal for a no-fly zone over Syria as "half-baked" in a press conference last week, aides called to make sure Clinton understood the criticism wasn't aimed at her, according to a senior White House official who would not be named discussing private conversations. The White House doesn't deny Clinton's new distance has at times created awkwardness for the president. On immigration, Clinton's promise to go further than Obama in using executive authority to ease the threat of deportation for immigrants living in the U.S. directly contradicts Obama's assertion that he's done all he can under the law. President Barack Obama seemed to call Hillary Rodham Clinton's idea of a no-fly zone in Syria "half-baked." Clinton described the president's immigration strategy as "harsh and aggressive." And as Obama tries to rally Democrats around the chief economic proposal of his second term, the party's presidential front-runner stayed conspicuously silent. As Clinton looks for ways to distinguish her ideas from those of her former boss, the relationship between the man in the White House and the woman who hopes to replace him has grown increasingly complicated. No issue presents more potential for friction than trade. For months, Clinton has resisted weighing in on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the sweeping trade deal that has divided the Democratic base. The completion of the negotiations this week means she'll soon be forced to choose between one of the top legacy items of her former boss or labor unions, environmentalists and other liberal constituencies that oppose the deal. Clinton promises to "definitely have a position soon." "I'm going to be diving into that tonight. I'm going to be talking to people. They're getting me all the information they can gather so I can make a timely decision," Clinton said Tuesday as she toured a farmer's market in Davenport, Iowa. The awkward dynamic isn't a surprise: Both Clinton's campaign and the Obama administration have always said the time would come when the candidate would outline her own policies and deliver criticisms, both implied and direct, of the president. "I am not running for my husband's third term or President Obama's third term," Clinton told voters in Davenport, repeating an oft-used line from her stump speech. "I'm running for my first term." While she frequently commends the president, Clinton has been offering critiques of his policies more and more. Last month, she came out against the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast, while the administration remains undecided. In August, she said Obama's decision to approve offshore drilling in the Arctic wasn't "worth the risk" to the environment. And she's subtly resurrected her 2008 primary attack of Obama's approach to world affairs, taking a more hawkish stance toward Russia, Syria and Iran. On both immigration and gun control, she's vowed to use her executive power to do more than the president, implying that Obama's actions have not gone quite far enough. "I'm not going to be breaking up families. And I think that is one of the differences," she said of Obama's deportation policy earlier this week. "But I totally understand why the Obama administration felt as though they did what they did under the circumstances." Campaign veterans in the White House say the impact of Clinton's one-upping is minor and dismiss some of Clinton's proposals as routine campaign fodder. Candidates use policy plans to declare their priorities. Worries over practical implementation come later. But trade falls into a different category. If Clinton opposes Obama's big deal, she could undermine his arguments just as the White House is in the final stretch of a deal years in the making. With Clinton's main challenger, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, calling the accord "disastrous," Obama may be in the uncomfortable position of watching a Democratic debate next week in which none of the major candidates is willing to defend the deal. Clinton aides know she must tread lightly when it comes to criticizing the president, given that much of her strategy relies on the still-loyal coalition of African-Americans, Latinos, women and younger voters that twice elected Obama. But at the same time, they say she must find ways to distinguish herself and undercut Republican attacks that Clinton would simply be a third Obama term. Many of Clinton's top aides joined her campaign from the White House and the two staffs remain in frequent communication. Before Clinton publicly announced her opposition to the Keystone pipeline and gun proposals, campaign staff alerted the White House to her plans. And after Obama appeared to deride her proposal for a no-fly zone over Syria as "half-baked" in a press conference last week, aides called to make sure Clinton understood the criticism wasn't aimed at her, according to a senior White House official who would not be named discussing private conversations. The White House doesn't deny Clinton's new distance has at times created awkwardness for the president. On immigration, Clinton's promise to go further than Obama in using executive authority to ease the threat of deportation for immigrants living in the U.S. directly contradicts Obama's assertion that he's done all he can under the law. Similarly on gun control, just days after an exasperated Obama declared "this is not something I can do by myself," Clinton seemed to think otherwise. On Monday, she promised to close the so-called "gun-show loophole" through executive action. White House spokesman Josh Earnest was quickly asked by reporters whether Obama would beat her to it. Earnest said the White House was looking into its options. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio vowed Tuesday to cap the number of regulations government can impose on businesses, particularly "on-demand" startups like Uber and Airbnb that he considers models for a changing national economy. Speaking in New York City to tech enthusiasts, Rubio praised the "disruptive" companies but said such businesses and the people who work for them are unfairly burdened by a meddlesome and "out of touch" government. "The result is a worsening friction between our 20th century government and our rapidly changing 21st century economy," said the Florida senator. "We have to realize that all of the best innovation in our economy is happening in the unregulated space." Rubio praised Germany for creating a new tax classification for independent contractors who work for a single company. He warned that other nations may siphon away talented entrepreneurs from the U.S. Rubio said the on-demand economy requires the tax code be overhauled and he criticized New York City's recent efforts to cap ride-sharing giant Uber and Airbnb, which helps people rent out properties. "The American people have chosen an economy in which the most valuable retailer in America, Amazon, owns not a single store; the largest transportation company, Uber, owns not a single vehicle; and the largest accommodation provider, Airbnb, owns not a single hotel," the senator said. Rubio, though at one point briefly interrupted by a heckler, was received politely by the young crowd in heavily Democratic Manhattan. Rubio, 44, is the youngest Republican in the race though only five months younger than Ted Cruz, also 44 and pitches himself as the candidate for the future. He's been showing more strength lately in the Republican race. Other Republicans, Jeb Bush among them, have also lavishly heaped praise on Uber. Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton has spoken more cautiously about companies like the ride-sharer, warning that they could be practicing "wage theft" by misclassifying employees as contractors. Rubio stressed the need for a new generation of political leaders Tuesday night when he began a two-day swing through New Hampshire, home to the nation's first primary. The latest statewide polls show he's in the middle of the pack, trailing Donald Trump, Ben Carson and others. "If we keep electing the same people with the same ideas, nothing is going to change," Rubio told about 200 people at an outdoor house party in Bedford, N.H. He said too many politicians and policies are "trapped in the past" and said he was running for president to preserve the American Dream. "The time to turn the page is now." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram A small city in northeastern Pennsylvania has been ordered by U.S. District judge to pay around $1.4 million to two civil rights attorneys who successfully quashed the towns controversial immigration law in federal court. Judge James Munley of U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania ordered the city of Hazleton to pay $1.38 million in legal fees and $47,594 in costs to attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union and Latino Justice PRLDEF, who challenged the towns law in a case that eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court. The high cost of the court fight was one of the reasons that both the ACLU and Latino Justice warned Hazleton not to enact the immigration law. The civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against Hazelton in 2006. "Hazleton knew and its politicians knew all along that if they were sued and lost, there would be a bill to pay at the end," Omar Jadwat, an ACLU attorney assigned to the case, told the Hazleton Standard-Speaker. In 2006, then-Mayor Lou Barletta introduced the Illegal Immigration Relief Act, a city ordinance that barred landlords from renting apartments to undocumented immigrants and business owners from hiring them. "After making a trip to the capital, I realized that Washington wasnt going to do anything to help us," Barletta, now a Congressman representing parts of Pennsylvania, told Fox News Latino back in 2013. "It was a lightning rod," Barletta added, referring to the Hazletons immigration ordinance. "I had no idea what was going to come after that." The law was eventually ruled unconstitutional and while current Hazleton Mayor Joseph Yannuzzi said he planned to appeal a ruling made by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the eight-year case ended when the U.S. Supreme Court declined last March to hear the city's appeal. "We felt we were right. We still feel we are right. Of course, they don't agree with us," Yannuzzi said. Barletta added that he felt the ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals would have been different if the case was heard somewhere other than in nearby Philadelphia. "What is legal today in Arizona or Fremont, Nebraska, is not legal in Hazleton, he said That's unfair, and the U.S. Supreme Court should step in and fix this patchwork of local laws intended to combat illegal immigration," Barletta said. Yannuzzi added that he hopes that he can negotiate to spread out the payment over a period of time to ease the burden on the cash-strapped city. Judge Munley set the payment date for January 15, 2016, so the two sides have until then to work out a deal. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Hillary Rodham Clinton has joined her Democratic presidential rivals in opposing President Barack Obama's Pacific trade deal, delivering a major blow to a Democratic president as she works to court her party's liberal base. The now-united opposition from the Democratic presidential field leaves Obama in the uncomfortable position of watching a Democratic presidential debate next week in which none of the major candidates is willing to defend a deal that the White House sees as a key piece of his presidential legacy. The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade accord has enraged the labor unions, environmentalists and other liberal constituencies whose support is crucial in the Democratic primary contest. Yet Clinton's position marks a sharp reversal from a deal she backed as the Obama administration's top diplomat as she works to appeal to skeptical liberals. "I appreciate the hard work that President Obama and his team put into this process and recognize the strides they made," Clinton said in a statement. "But the bar here is very high and, based on what I have seen, I don't believe this agreement has met it." Clinton promoted the deal in dozens of appearances as secretary of state during Obama's first term in office a turnaround that was not lost on her primary opponents. "Secretary Clinton can justify her own reversal of opinion on this but I can tell you that I didn't have one opinion eight months ago and then switch that opinion on the eve of debates," said Clinton's presidential rival, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley. Clinton's support for trade deals has seemed to fluctuate with the political calendar. As first lady, she trumpeted the North American deal brokered by her husband, telling unionized garment workers in 1996 that the agreement was "proving its worth." Her support for trade pacts began softening during her time as a New York senator, when she voted for trade agreements with Chile, Singapore, Oman, and Morocco but opposed the Central American Free Trade Agreement. In a November 2007 presidential debate, Clinton described the North American agreement, with Canada and Mexico, as "a mistake" and called for a "trade timeout." In that vein, she said she opposed then-pending trade agreements with Korea, Columbia, and Panama. But fast-forward to July 2011 when, as secretary of state, she described those three deals as "critical to our economic recovery." She also repeatedly lent her support to the Pacific trade initiative being pushed by Obama, at that time, describing the deal during a 2012 trip to Australia as the "gold standard in trade agreements." Clinton aides know she must tread lightly when it comes to criticizing Obama, given that much of her strategy relies on the still-loyal coalition of African-Americans, Latinos, women and younger voters that twice elected Obama. But at the same time, they say she must find ways to distinguish herself and undercut Republican attacks that Clinton would simply provide a third Obama term. But the White House doesn't deny that Clinton's new distance has sometimes created awkwardness for the president. The Clinton campaign gave White House aides a heads up Wednesday before she made the comments, according to a White House official who would not be named discussing the private conversation. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram All presidential candidates, except Donald Trump, were invited -- yet from the GOP camp only hopeful Jim Gilmore attended the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institutes Public Policy Conference on Wednesday afternoon. The former Virginia Governor, who didnt reach 1 percent of the polls to qualify for the second Republican debate, was sitting among Democratic candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders and Gov. Martin OMalley at the conference in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Gilmore made a point of outlining his immigration policy, highlighting his differences with fellow GOP contenders especially Trump. I disapprove of Trumps policy and I stand for the Constitution, Gilmore told Fox News Latino. I believe the Constitution says that if youre born in this country, youre an American citizen. In his speech, Gilmore said he refused to align the Republican Party with this radical doctrine, referring to Mr. Trumps immigration plan, saying it would contradict the 14th Amendments birthright citizenship provision and promote mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. I do not want to send a message to Latinos in this country that their children are not worthy of citizenship, he later told FNL. Gilmore said his policy would require undocumented immigrants to register and obtain a work permit, which would not guarantee an automatic path to citizenship. He also defended his stance against amnesty. There will be a national desire for illegal immigrants to come forward to register if it means they are permitted to do what they want to do, which is to work in this country, Gilmore said. The heart of what Im saying is that we should be more welcoming to the Latino population as Republicans. Right now, were sending a horrible message. Even though in the past he has spoken strongly about the need to secure the borders and eliminate sanctuary cities, the 66-year-old candidate sounded a bit more tempered on Wednesday. The Gilmore policy is that they are not going to be shipped out and deported, Gilmore said. We have to recognize that Americas heritage of offering hope, freedom and security to people from throughout the world is a key element of our national pride and the foundation of our economic success. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram With no warning, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy withdrew Thursday from the contest for speaker of the U.S. House, shocking fellow Republicans just before voting was to begin and plunging Congress into chaos. Lawmakers said they were thunderstruck and in disbelief following McCarthy's announcement, which came moments after they had showed up for an election nearly certain to end with McCarthy as their pick for speaker. A mere two weeks ago outgoing Speaker John Boehner announced his plans to resign under conservative pressure, also without warning and stunning to all. "Over the last week it has become clear to me that our conference is deeply divided and needs to unite behind one leader," McCarthy said. "I have always put this conference ahead of myself. Therefore I am withdrawing my candidacy for speaker of the House." McCarthy said he would stay on as majority leader. The speaker's election was postponed, as may be the scheduled Oct. 29 vote for speaker by the full House, Democrats as well as Republicans. What happens next is unknown. McCarthy was by far the heavy favorite to replace Boehner. Congress is facing major budget deadlines and fiscal decisions. At the White House, presidential spokesman Josh Earnest said it would be easy for Democrats to poke fun at the Republicans' troubles if not for the serious issues Congress faces. He said the next speaker will have to tame a small but vocal group of lawmakers with a strong ideological bent or find a way to "buck up" more mainstream House Republicans. The lawmaker most widely seen as a potential speaker in McCarthy's place immediately ruled it out. "Kevin McCarthy is the best person to lead the House, and so I'm disappointed in this decision," said Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the former vice presidential nominee who now chairs the Ways and Means Committee. "While I am grateful for the encouragement I've received, I will not be a candidate." One leadership ally, Rep. Steve Stivers of Ohio, said McCarthy "didn't see a path to 218" the number of votes needed to prevail on the House floor. McCarthy faced opposition from a bloc of 30-plus hardline conservative lawmakers who didn't command the numbers to block him in Thursday's secret-ballot elections, but might have prevented him from winning a floor vote later on. There was talk among some lawmakers of elevating a "caretaker" speaker who could serve with consensus support at least for the short term. Rank-and-file lawmakers seemed unsure how to react or what to say as they milled around the lobby of the Longworth Office Building where they had gathered to eat barbecue and then they thought vote for a new speaker. Instead the meeting was adjourned moments after it began with McCarthy making his announcement as his wife and kids looked on. "Disbelief, from the surprise announcement by Boehner to the quick nature of this election to it now being postponed it's uncertainty on top of uncertainty," said freshman Rep. Ryan Costello of Pennsylvania. "I've been here nine months, I've never seen anything like this. I'd bet you most other members who have been here 20 or 30 years would say the same thing." "He was making his plea this morning for speaker and this afternoon he's out of the race. What happened in those four hours, I don't know," said Rep. John Fleming of Louisiana. The other two announced Republican candidates for speaker Reps. Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Daniel Webster of Florida lack widespread support in the House GOP, although Webster has the backing of the hardline House Freedom Caucus. Thursday's secret ballot even if it had proceeded as expected still would have been merely an early skirmish in the chaotic battle to lead the House. It was to have been followed by the vote in the full House where the Freedom Caucus could have blocked McCarthy's ascent. McCarthy's candidacy for speaker had gotten off to a rough start with a gaffe when he suggested the House's Benghazi committee was set up to drive down Hillary Rodham Clinton's poll numbers, rather than search for the truth about the 2012 attacks in Libya that killed four Americans. He was roundly criticized and quickly backtracked, but the flub dogged him, giving an opening for Chaffetz to get into the race. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Voters are beginning to learn about Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio. What they're not learning, however, is who is paying to promote his candidacy. The Florida senator is benefiting in unprecedented ways from a nonprofit group funded by anonymous donors. While other presidential candidates also have ties to secret-money groups, the Rubio arrangement is the boldest. Every pro-Rubio television commercial so far in the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina has been paid for not by his campaign or even by a super PAC that identifies its donors, but instead by a nonprofit called Conservative Solutions Project. It's also sending Rubio-boosting mail to voters in those same states. Rubio is legally prohibited from directing the group's spending, and he has said he has nothing to do with it. But there's little doubt that Conservative Solutions Project is picking up the tab for critical expenses that the campaign itself might struggle to afford. Although Rubio is rising in national polls, his fundraising has so far been dwarfed by that of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. By the end of June, Bush and his super PAC had amassed $114 million more than quadruple what Rubio and his super PAC collected. Ahead of what is expected to be a new and disappointing fundraising report next week, Rubio's aides have stressed that their thriftiness gives them a competitive advantage over campaigns with more money. Left unsaid was that a secret-money group is giving him at least an $8 million assist, according to information provided by advertising tracker Kantar Media's CMAG. The candidate has presented himself as being opposed to such unaccountable money. "I believe that as long as it's being disclosed that people have a right to participate in our political process," Rubio said in June at a voter forum in New Hampshire when asked about "the corrupting influence" of money in politics. Conservative Solutions Project does not disclose its donors. Its latest commercial shows Rubio, 44, speaking at the Iowa State Fair. "New ideas for a new age," a narrator says before ticking through a list of Rubio priorities: "throw out the tax code, overhaul higher education, repeal and replace Obamacare." Conservative Solutions Project has put $2.3 million into the 30-second ad over the past three weeks and is on deck to spend close to another $1 million keeping it on the air next week, according to CMAG information about advertising placements on broadcast, cable and satellite television. That follows a $3 million summertime ad campaign by the same group that promoted Rubio's strong opposition to a deal the White House and other countries struck with Iran on nuclear weapons. Conservative Solutions Project also has reserved nearly $2 million in additional satellite TV advertising space through Feb. 16, according to the advertising tracker. Although numerous candidates may ultimately benefit from allied nonprofits, so far it appears that only the entities helping Rubio and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal are advertising in the presidential race. America Next has spent about $380,000 boosting Jindal on TV, CMAG said. Bush also has a secret-money group in his corner, but it hasn't yet directly communicated with voters. Nonprofits are the edgier cousins of super PACs. Both can accept unlimited amounts of money from wealthy donors, corporations and unions, but only nonprofits can keep those names a secret. In exchange for that privilege, nonprofits are barred from making political activity their primary purpose. But gray area abounds. The two regulating agencies, the Federal Election Commission and the Internal Revenue Service, have been less than aggressive in pursuing potential violators. The Campaign Legal Center in Washington is suing the FEC for failing to require a nonprofit that was active during the 2012 presidential election to file finance reports. "Congress, the Supreme Court and the public have all recognized that voters have a right to know who is spending money to try to influence them on Election Day," said Paul S. Ryan, the center's senior counsel. "Transparency is how we hold politicians accountable and make sure they're not in the pocket of their benefactors." That's in line with public opinion: Seventy-five percent of voters, an equal share of Democrats and Republicans, said contributors to unaffiliated groups should be disclosed, according to a CBS News/New York Times poll in June. The Conservative Solutions Project declined to say who gave it the $16 million it claims to have. Although it shares a name and key personnel with the Rubio-focused super PAC, Conservative Solutions PAC, its mutual spokesman, Jeff Sadosky, said the two are "very separate and distinct groups." He said the nonprofit's work goes well beyond Rubio's presidential ambitions, pointing to a detailed study it did last year of voter behavior, which was made available on its website. Additionally, Sadosky said, Conservative Solutions Project highlights on its website the work of other conservative leaders, including Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton. But its bent toward Rubio is apparent even there: Visitors to the site are immediately routed to a video of the Florida senator speaking, the same footage on television in early primary states. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Promises, promises and more promises. That is how some Puerto Ricans have reacted to the blink-of-an-eye visits over the summer of presidential hopefuls Hillary Rodham Clinton, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and Martin O'Malley, who came to the island to fundraise, collect delegates and harvest political goodwill with Puerto Rican voters on the mainland. The islands residents, struggling under the weight of a massive $72 billion debt, 12 percent unemployment and a population decline that surpasses the 1950s Great Migration, have been weary of these promises, certain they will probably be forgotten when the candidates set foot in Washington. Aside from the candidates who have visited the island, others, including Ted Cruz and Ben Carson, have sent or plan to send strategists to Puerto Rico in the coming months. Bernie Sanders has been invited to visit. One has to be really credulous to think that giving money to any of the candidates involved in the Republican or Democratic primaries is going to help resolve the problems of Puerto Rico or that these candidates actually care an iota about resolving the status of the island or the massive debt, said Julio Varela, a Puerto Rican philanthropist living in Florida. They come looking for money in a country that is cracked and they offer nothing in exchange, said Eileen Collins, a Puerto Rican who also lives in the United States. And, in the face of this, the sad thing is there are still people who are willing to give them money. Due to the colonial status, Puerto Ricans do not vote in the presidential elections, but thousands vote in the primaries. The island has 55 delegates up for grabs. But the Puerto Rican vote has become the glittering prize in the upcoming election for another reason: Five million islanders live in the United States, and more one million reside in Florida, a key swing state and the new metropolis of the Puerto Rican Diaspora. They are largely credited with helping deliver the swing state, and the election, to President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. About half of the Mickeyricans were born on the island and are recent immigrants. They care about what happens to Puerto Rico and vote accordingly. That is why Florida Senator Rubio, relatively unknown locally, sweltered in the Caribbean sun last month and spun the tale of being an immigrants son, while stating that he was against a financial bailout for the island. He took home $100,000. Clinton, a veteran of the Puerto Rican primaries, delivered a noncommittal I will do everything possible to resolve the acute financial crisis, but made a pointed reference to the importance of the Mickeyricans in the race for the White House. It always struck me as so indefensible that you cant vote for president if you live here, she said, with a hint of a smile. But if you move to Florida which, of course, Im just naming a state you can vote for president. Clinton walked away with $500,000. Bush made $80,000. Carla Minet, director for Puerto Ricos Center of Investigative Journalism, said its not just the aspiring presidents who are going to the island to make false promises. Lets look at Obamas case. He did nothing about the status, nothing about the political prisoner Oscar Lopez, and he has done nothing about the precarious economic situation of the island, she said. She believes politicians from both parties are heading to Puerto Rico but taking it for granted. Anyone who thinks that these visits by these North American politicians to gather money in Puerto Rico have any impact other than maintaining the status quo that they and their parties represent, she said, is living in a fantasy land. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has received a good deal of positive news recently: his campaign netted $26 million in the last quarter without the help of any political action committees, he has closed the once enormous gap between him and front-runner Hillary Clinton to a manageable 16 points, and media coverage has shifted from painting the Vermont senator as a fringe candidate to one who is a serious contender for the Democratic presidential nod. But it hasn't been all been sunny days in the Sanders camp, especially when it comes to the his appeal among the critical Latino electorate. While Sanders may be drawing huge crowds of white progressives to his rallies across the country and is polling strongly in his home region of New England, the veteran lawmaker is either a virtual unknown to many Hispanic voters or is failing to win over the demographic from his rival Clinton. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Telemundo poll released last month found that Clinton was viewed favorably by 53 percent of Latino voters, while only 30 percent viewed Sanders favorably. "He doesn't have the connection with the community that Hillary Clinton does," Joe Trippi, a longtime Democratic strategist who managed Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign, told Fox News Latino. "There isn't any way that Sanders can get the nomination with the problems he's having expanding beyond white progressives." To their credit, Sanders and his staff have acknowledged that the senator is not a household name among Latinos the way that Clinton is and are now attempting to use their $26 million war chest to get Hispanics to "feel the Bern." Sen. Sanders doesn't have the name ID with Latinos that Clinton does, but we see that as a good thing. Arturo Carmona, the Latino outreach coordinator for the Sanders' campaign "Let me be very honest with you. I come from a state, the state of Vermont, [and] it's a small state; there aren't a lot of Latino people," Sanders said earlier this week, according to the Huffington Post. He added: "What we are trying very, very hard to do you are going to see us moving very aggressively in that area is introduce myself to the Latino community I will fight for every vote I can get in the Latino community." His campaign has depicted the longtime senator as an outsider to Washington politics despite being in Congress since 1991 and as a lawmaker that is more to the left in terms of immigration reform. Sanders supports policies for boosting the quality of life of undocumented workers, has proposed an expansion of the Obama administration's executive action on immigration that permits young people brought to the country illegally to remain in the country, and has criticized the tough border enforcement provisions written into the immigration reform legislation passed in 2013 by the Senate. The Democratic candidate has also played up his own family's immigrant story in an effort to connect with voters, talking about the members of his family who died in the Holocaust and how his parents worked hard to put him through college. "I know something about immigration," Sanders said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "My dad came to this country from Poland at the age of 17 without a nickel in his pocket, without much of an education." In terms of his campaigning among Latinos, Sanders' staffers say that the senator's lack of name recognition among the Hispanic electorate is actually a positive as they can sculpt his image and introduce a candidate that appeals to the demographic. "Sen. Sanders doesn't have the name ID with Latinos that Clinton does, but we see that as a good thing," Arturo Carmona, the newly appointed Latino outreach coordinator for the Sanders' campaign, told FNL. "Our resources are now being used to invest in grassroots mobilization efforts. We're putting together a very aggressive program right now." The Democratic primary may be nine months away giving Sanders plenty of time to introduce himself to the community but the self-described democratic socialist has a long way to go if he plans to win away even a fraction of the Latino voters committed to Clinton. The former secretary of state, who had almost 2 to 1 support among Hispanics over Barack Obama during the 2008 primary campaign has built a strong network with ties to Latino leaders on Capitol Hill, in labor unions and throughout communities across the U.S. While Sanders recently earned the endorsement of Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva, experts say that it will take a lot more than that for the Vermont senator to get some relief from his Latino problem. Some say it will take Vice President Joe Biden entering the race. Biden might steal away some of Sanders' base support among blue collar workers, but the vice president could also help Sanders by dividing who Latino voters support even more. "Sanders should be leading the 'run, Joe, run' campaign because that can solve his Latino problem, by having Biden steal away some Latino voters from Clinton and thus break up the Latino vote," Trippi said. Staffers for Sanders, however, say they aren't thinking about the speculation about Biden running, but instead are concentrating on winning over Latino voters the same way they've won over their current supporters. "At this point we're not focused on other candidates," Carmona said. "We're focused on building grassroots movements in communities across the country." U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker wrapped up her visit to Cuba on Wednesday by saying both sides need to learn more about each other as they work to improve relations. She also reiterated the President Barack Obama wants to see an end to the U.S. trade embargo against the communist-ruled island, but cautioned that won't happen quickly. "The president wants to see the embargo lifted, but the president realizes it will take time," she said, alluding to the fact that many Republican lawmakers and some Democrats oppose lifting the embargo at this stage. Pritzker said that the delegation she led to Havana came to begin a dialogue about economic regulation so both sides "can learn from one another." She said Cuba's dual currency system is a challenge for outside business interests and the island's regulatory system isn't adequate to attract large investment. Earlier in the day, Pritzker urged the Cuban government to let private enterprise thrive and to give its citizens greater access to the Internet. "We urge President Castro and his government to make it easier for Cuban citizens to trade and travel more freely, to enjoy the fruits of their labor, to access the Internet and to (be) hired directly by foreign companies," she said. Pritzker, who brought a delegation of officials from the U.S. Treasury, Commerce and State departments, opened her visit Tuesday with a stop at the Mariel free trade zone outside the capital of Havana. She is the most senior U.S. official to travel to Cuba since Secretary of State John Kerry visited Aug. 14 for a flag-raising ceremony outside the U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana, which is now upgraded to a full embassy following restoration of relations in July. Cuba's foreign ministry said in a statement that the goal of the meetings with Pritzker's group was an "exchange over the reach and limitations of the measures recently taken by the U.S. government to modify some aspects of the application of the embargo against Cuba." Since the Dec. 17 announcement that the former Cold War foes would work toward normalization of relations, the Obama administration has eased some economic restrictions on Cuba. While the trade embargo remains in place under U.S. law, Obama is allowing U.S. firms to send supplies to private Cuban businesses and export telephones, computers and Internet technology. The U.S. government has also eliminated the previous limit on remittances that people can send to relatives on the island, among other measures. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram President Barack Obama promised Hispanic leaders on Thursday he'll continue to champion a comprehensive change to the nation's immigration laws and said America's greatness comes from building opportunities, not walls. While prospects for an immigration overhaul are negligible during the remainder of his presidency, Obama used the speech to highlight differences with several of the Republican presidential candidates on the issue, which will help define the 2016 elections. Obama said he wishes GOP lawmakers had followed the lead of former President George W. Bush when he sought changes that would have provided legal status and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. He noted that Bush had said that uniting the country cannot be done by inciting people to anger. "Think how much better our economy would be if the rest of his party got the message," Obama told about 2,000 people during an awards dinner for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, which seeks to open the halls of Congress to more Latinos. Obama said he believes in changes in the law that would allow people here illegally to pay a fine, pay their fair share of taxes and then "go to the back of the line" before they earn citizenship. He contrasted that message to some GOP candidates calling for more walls on the U.S. border with Mexico. "You can't just feed on fear," he said. "You should be feeding hope." Obama used the speech to highlight gains he said Hispanics have made under his presidency, noting that 4 million more Latinos have health insurance and that the unemployment rate for the group has about fallen in half from 13 percent to about 6.4 percent. Prior to Obama's arrival, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke briefly, saying that too many people in the U.S. don't see how vital Latinos are to the nation. "It's a problem when a leading Republican candidate for president says that immigrants from Mexico are rapists and drug dealers," Clinton said, referencing comments that Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump made last summer. She said it was a problem when candidates "use offensive terms like 'anchor babies,'" a phrase that Republican Jeb Bush used to describe infants whose parents come to America specifically so their children are born in the U.S. and granted automatic citizenship. Bush has said he was referring mostly to the so-called birth tourism industry. To that, Clinton said, "Basta. Enough. End this," using the Spanish term for "enough." During Clinton's brief introduction of chef Jose Andres, Clinton was heckled by a young person claiming affiliation with activist group United We Dream before he was forcibly removed. A statement from United We Dream following the incident said that the group was protesting Clinton taking campaign donations from private prisons, adding that half of detained immigrants are placed in private prisons. Based on reporting by The Associated Press. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Possibly inspired by being in a venue on the Las Vegas Strip, Republican presidential contender Donald Trump put on a show during an hourlong, free-wheeling speech. Bringing audience members up to the stage to address the crowd that filled about 1,620 seats in the Treasure Island casino theater that is normally reserved for acrobatic Cirque du Soleil productions, taking aim at some of his most favorite targets, and indulging in more than a bit of bombast, Trump seemed right at home in Vegas. The speech which included a large dose of media bashing, the suggestion that Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl should have been executed for leaving his post in Afghanistan and the claim that he was behind Rep. Kevin McCarthy's decision to drop out of the race for House speaker was punctuated by shouts of support from the crowd. At one point, in a moment that appeared to be impromptu, Trump brought a supporter in the audience to the stage who declared she is Hispanic and voting for Trump. Myriam Witcher, 35, of Las Vegas, waved an issue of People magazine with Trump and his family on its cover, asking him to sign it. Afterward the Colombian immigrant, who noted she came to the United States legally, called Trump her "No. 1 person in the United States." As for Thursdays news about the race for House Speaker, Trump asked the crowd, "You know, Kevin McCarthy is out. You know that, right? And they're giving me a lot of credit for that because I said you really need somebody very, very tough and very smart. ... We need smart, we need tough, we need the whole package." Trump didn't identify who had given him credit for McCarthy dropping out. About Bergdahl, Trump said, We're tired of Sgt. Bergdahl, who's a traitor, a no-good traitor, who should have been executed." "Thirty years ago," Trump added, "he would have been shot." Bergdahl was charged in March with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. The Army conducted a hearing on his case earlier this month. His attorney, Eugene Fidell, said in a statement that Trump "has become a broken record on this subject." Bergdahl has been accused of leaving his post in southeastern Afghanistan in June 2009. He was held prisoner by the Taliban for five years, then exchanged for five Taliban commanders being held by the U.S.Trump has long railed against the deal. "If he took the time to study what actually emerged at the preliminary hearing he would be singing a different tune," Fidell said. Trump has, in the past, pantomimed a firing squad, Fidell said. Based on reporting by the Associated Press. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The latest draft United Nations resolution urging the United States to end its economic embargo on Cuba has appeared and it points out President Barack Obama's commitment to end the policy. The draft has been posted online, and a vote in the General Assembly is expected Oct. 27. The draft also welcomes the re-establishment of U.S.-Cuba diplomatic ties this year. Cuba has introduced draft resolutions against the embargo for the past 23 years, and they've been adopted with increasingly overwhelming and embarrassing margins. Last year's vote was 188-2, with only Israel siding with the U.S. This year, Obama administration officials have indicated that the U.S. might take the unprecedented step of abstaining instead. But spokesmen have declined to comment until the text was final. There was no immediate comment Friday. Obama has said the 54-year-old restrictions have failed to spur democratic change and have left the U.S. isolated among its Latin American neighbors. The Republican-led House of Representatives and Senate have refused to repeal the embargo. General Assembly resolutions are unenforceable, but the annual vote has underscored the sense internationally that the U.S. restrictions are illegitimate. The vote comes amid increasing contact between top U.S. and Cuban officials. Late last month, Obama held talks with Cuban President Raul Castro, the second time the leaders of the once-estranged nations have met this year. U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker wrapped up a visit to Cuba on Wednesday by noting Obama's interest in seeing the embargo lifted but warning that it won't happen quickly. A report issued by Cuba last month in support of this year's U.N. resolution says the embargo has cost the Cuban people $833.7 billion. Washington says the communist government has used the embargo as an excuse for its own economic failures. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram A trio of bills aimed at bringing order and oversight to California's medical marijuana industry nearly 20 years after the state led the nation in legalizing pot for medical use won Gov. Jerry Brown's signature, his office said Friday. The first statewide licensing and operating rules for pot growers, manufacturers of cannabis-infused products and retail weed stores comes as multiple groups try to qualify voter initiatives in 2016 that would allow adults to use marijuana recreationally. Even before Brown approved the package of new rules, initiative sponsors had started rewriting their proposed measures to incorporate many of its elements in hopes of not alienating the governor ahead of next year's election. "My hope is this will be viewed as a starting point, a solid foundation on which to build from," Assemblyman Ron Bonta, D-Oakland, the lead author of one of the bills, said Friday. "Whatever happens with recreational use, there needs to be proper regulation. This is a very strong contribution from the Legislature about what those regulations should look like." The Democratic governor's endorsement of the 70-page Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act hammered out by lawmakers in the closing hours of the legislative session was expected because his office crafted many of the exhaustive details. "This new structure will make sure patients have access to medical marijuana, while ensuring a robust tracking system," Brown said in a signing statement. "This sends a clear signal to our federal counterparts that California is implementing robust controls not only on paper, but in practice." The package seeks to manage medical marijuana by requiring individuals or companies engaged in any aspect of the industry to obtain at least one of 17 different licenses. It restricts the number of licenses one company could have. The legislation includes separate licenses for indoor and outdoor cultivation, transportation, product testing, distribution and dispensaries of different sizes. It also charges various state agencies to develop guidelines for packaging, potency, pesticide use and advertising. "Today, the Wild West era of medical cannabis came to an end, and a new era of responsible regulation has begun," said United Food and Commercial Workers Western States Council Executive Director Jim Araby, whose union lobbied for employment standards in the bills. In addition, the bills preserve the right of individuals to grow small amounts of medical marijuana for personal use and allows local governments to ban or tax marijuana-related businesses. Another provision commissions the University of California to study how marijuana affects driving and to recommend appropriate impaired-driver standards. "This package proves that, for the first time, Californians can work collaboratively to develop and produce comprehensive medical marijuana regulation," said California Police Chiefs Association President David Bejarano, whose organization opposed previous efforts to regulate medical marijuana at the state level on the theory that to do so would amount to an endorsement that pot has proven benefits. The state is expected to start issuing licenses to medical marijuana suppliers and distributors in 2018. But Brown said state agencies given responsibility for enforcing the new laws would immediately start working on fleshing out procedures left unaddressed in the bills. The legislation includes: Bonta's AB266, which sets up a medical marijuana bureau; AB243 by Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, which allows the state to issue licenses to pay for oversight; and SB643 by Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, which cracks down on clinics that specialize in issuing medical marijuana licenses for people without valid health needs. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito is traveling to the Democratic debate next week at the behest of a major Latino political group. Mark-Viverito is one of the most prominent Puerto Rican politicians in the nation. She'll appear Tuesday in Las Vegas for the Latino Victory Fund. She told The Associated Press on Friday that the choice for Latinos is going to be "crystal clear" in 2016 due to the Republican party's hardline stance on immigration. The speaker is a growing national voice on immigration issues. She'll act as a surrogate for the political group, which aims to increase Latino representation in all levels of government. Mark-Viverito has endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton for president and is expected to campaign on the ex-secretary of state's behalf. More On This... Best pix of the week Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 The directors of a massive Trump-branded luxury condominium development in Panama fired Donald Trump's company in the summer over allegations of mismanagement, overspending and undisclosed bonuses executives paid themselves. The coup at Central America's largest building, Panama City Trump Ocean Club, offers a glimpse into the workings of the Republican presidential frontrunner's business empire and the style of management that might be expected from a Trump White House. Transparency and close attention to expenses are not strengths. Squeezing the most from contractual language is. Whether wheeling and dealing with Wall Street bankers, debating Republican presidential rivals or running a condo association, Trump has forwarded his interests by leveraging his outsized reputation, canniness and aggression. In an interview, Trump's son Eric dismissed the allegations of mismanagement as an orchestrated attempt to sully the Trumps' reputation. He called the project "an amazing icon and, frankly, a great testament to America." Built in the shape of an arcing, wind-filled sail, the development is recognized as among the finest building in Panama. Visitors can sip drinks next to a 65th-floor, edgeless pool that seems to float above the ocean. "I am proud to develop this extraordinary high rise," Trump said in one 2007 promotional brochure, promising to build a "landmark in Latin America and the Caribbean." It turns out Trump wasn't a developer on the project. He merely licensed his brand, though even that imprimatur came at a high price. A 2007 bond prospectus for the project estimated his cumulative licensing payout would total $75.4 million, roughly two-thirds the amount raised. Burdened by cost overruns and the global recession, the actual developer stopped making debt payments within a few months of the ribbon cutting in 2011. Trump earned an estimated $20 million of concessions in a subsequent bankruptcy deal, and he is probably the only participant in the original deal to come out ahead. Along with his branding and hotel management deals, Trump held a third contract to manage the overall building. A patchwork of contractual language gave Trump's company the right to vote at owners meetings on behalf of hundreds of hotel and condo units. Buyers learned they were abdicating their voting rights only if they read the fine print of their sales agreements, said Al Monstavicius, a retired Nevada doctor who bought a penthouse condo. "I shouldn't have signed that," Monstavicius said. "But there was nothing I could do because my money was committed." Some owners feared that Trump's management might be disproportionately spending the building's budget in ways that benefited the hotel instead of the building's other components. But despite repeated requests, Trump's managers never provided a detailed breakdown of the costs generated by each of part of the building, and never established the separate bank accounts stipulated in their management contract. A senior Trump executive in New York told one owner in 2012 that maintaining five bank accounts would be too expensive. Trump's top employees in Panama also awarded themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonuses without seeking the authorization of unit owners, according to members of the board. Eric Trump said such payments were appropriately disclosed though board members say they still don't know the amounts of the bonuses. Transparency concerns took on a heightened urgency given the Trumps' failure to stay within its owner-approved budget. "We made the budget, other than extraordinary things we can't control," said Eric Trump. He cited rising local costs and a broken water main as culprits for $1 million deficits in 2013 and 2014. "We had an unbelievable team, and we managed to an internationally renowned set of standards." At a December meeting, restive unit owners disagreed. "Civility was lost," said Duncan McGowan, a real estate agent and property manager on the building's board. After the meeting, McGowan and other dissidents lobbied fellow owners to revoke proxy voting rights granted to Trump. With the help of votes controlled by representatives of both the casino and the developer, the dissidents defeated a Trump-backed special assessment at a building-wide meeting in May. Two senior Trump administrators resigned their jobs and board positions following the rebuke, leaving the dissidents in charge. After negotiating with Trump Organization executives in New York for several months, on July 28, the board fired Trump. Trump attorney Alan Garten responded days later, calling the termination "a complete sham" and refusing to accept it. He accused the board of ingratitude and criminal trespassing. Garten declared that Trump's company was quitting and demanded a $5 million termination fee. When the directors took possession of the administration offices, Trump's people disconnected the phone and Internet service and repossessed the copying machine. Following a period of heated correspondence, a tense cooperation has set in. Trump's name is still on the building, and the Trump Organization operates and oversees the hotel, but not the rest of the complex. "The hotel is something near and dear to our heart," Eric Trump said, noting that the hotel management contract runs for 40 years. Even unit owners who have expressed misgivings about Trump's tactics are OK with the arrangement. "He's a predatory businessman," said Monstavicius. But the Trump name still holds an allure. "It attracted me," he said, "and attracted a lot of other people." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Ted Cruz raised $12.2 million in the past three months for his Republican presidential bid, about twice what competitor Marco Rubio collected in the same time period. The new numbers are being circulated by the campaigns ahead of a deadline next week to report fundraising to federal regulators. The quarterly figures mark a practical and symbolic measure of strength for all presidential candidates, but they don't tell the whole story. Cruz and Rubio both topped Rand Paul, whose presidential campaign said it had pulled in $2.5 million through the end of September. Several candidates struggled to raise money over the summer months, with celebrity real estate mogul Donald Trump commanding attention in what remains a 15-candidate fight for the nomination. So far it appears that another political outsider, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, is leading in quarterly fundraising. His campaign said last week it raised $20 million between July 1 and Sept. 30. Rubio's campaign briefed donors who have gathered at a retreat in Las Vegas. One attendee shared the fundraising information with the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to share fundraising numbers before they're officially released by the campaign. Cruz's figures were released by his campaign Thursday night. Most of the 2016 presidential candidates also benefit from allied super PACs and nonprofit groups that can raise and spend unlimited sums of money on their behalf. The campaigns are not legally allowed to coordinate with those groups, however. Rubio's campaign started October with $11 million cash on hand, according to Thursday's donor briefing. That's about what Carson had in the bank after expenses, suggesting that Rubio's team is spending its resources more cautiously than some of his competitors. Both Cruz's and Rubio's campaigns sought to project momentum heading into the fall. The Cruz campaign noted it raised more than $1 million in the final 24 hours of September. The attendee at Rubio's donor retreat said fundraising improved in September, when it raised $1 million in online donations alone. October, which wasn't included in the quarterly total, will be the campaign's best month so far, according to the briefing the Rubio donor attended. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram A day before she is set to make her first debate performance of the 2016 presidential campaign season, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton sent a message of support to two vital voting blocs during a stop in Las Vegas. Speaking under the shadow of a large "TRUMP" sign emblazoned on one of the GOP presidential candidate's hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, Clinton slammed her Republican rival for his views on immigration, women and his anti-union stance in front of a sea of largely Latino members of the city's Culinary Union Local 226. "You have a right to safe working conditions, you have a right to a living wage, and you have to say yes to all of that and you have to say no to efforts to prevent you from organizing," Clinton said, according to the New York Times, "and that means saying no to Donald Trump." The former secretary of state's appearance at the union rally was a big coup for Clinton who has recently been struggling to deal with the fallout over her personal email account and a surging Democratic challenger in Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Clinton was trying to appeal to important union voters in this early caucus state as well as Nevada's growing Latino population, all while taking aim at the Democratic party's favorite foil. Clinton was the only presidential candidate who showed up at the rally and was clad in a red pantsuit that matched the crimson union shirts of the crowd. She urged the workers to "say 'No' to Donald Trump." "Some people say Donald Trump is entertaining," Clinton said. "I don't think it's entertaining when someone insults immigrants, when someone insults women." The union has been trying to organize the Trump hotel for more than a year, before the billionaire leapt to the front of the Republican field with tirades against undocumented immigrants. The union says it was approached by some of the 500 restaurant workers and maids at the hotel who wanted representation. "Mr. Trump said, 'Make America great,'" Maria Jaramillo, a housekeeper who's worked at the hotel for six years, said at the rally. "The Trump workers say, 'Start it here!'" Clinton's appearance is seen as a plea for support for what is arguably the most powerful labor group in the state. Throughout the Las Vegas area, some 55,000 cooks, housekeepers, cocktail waitresses and others workers are part of the union. "I think we can play a determining role in the election season," Yvanna Cancela, the political director for Culinary 226, told Fox News Latino. "Our members are voters who are highly targeted by candidates and historically we've played a determining role in deciding who wins Nevada." What Cancela means by "highly targeted" is that Local 226 members live in the crucial voting area of Clark County home to Las Vegas and 2 million of the state's 2.8 million residents and a majority of the members, about 52 percent, are Latino. Experts say winning Clark County all but guarantees a win in Nevada. Historically, candidates who win the area do it with the help of Culinary 226. While Clinton is fighting for union support in the early caucus state and with the Democratic debate hours away the frontrunner refrained from any attacks on her fellow candidates and instead continued, as she has throughout this early primary season, to focus on calling out her Republican rivals. This time the main target was Trump. "We also want to send a message to Mr. Trump that if you are going to run for president, then you should represent all the people of the United States, and that includes hard working people," she said. "You should not stand in the way of the right to organize because that's what built the middle class of America." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram In the first Democratic debate in the 2016 presidential race, the five candidates expressed support for comprehensive immigration reform, with some saying that they would go further than President Barack Obama in using executive action to spare undocumented immigrants from deportation until Congress comes up with permanent relief. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the front runner, and former Maryland Gov. Martin OMalley, both said they would extend relief from deportation to even more immigrants than Obamas executive orders now cover. (Some of his actions have been on hold pending court battles.) Clinton noted that she has paid particular attention to the plight of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as minors known as Dreamers -- since early this year. I came to Las Vegas in early May and met with a group of Dreamers, Clinton said, adding that she wishes others could meet such young people with major potential. Clinton has hired Dreamer leaders who were formerly undocumented to work on her campaign. OMalley flashed his pro-immigration bona fides in the first minutes of the debate, saying that under his leadership as Maryland governor, the DREAM Act -- which allowed undocumented students to attend public colleges at in-state tuition rate became law. We need to understand that our country has been made stronger in every generation by immigrants, OMalley said. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has been doing well in polls usually coming in second to Clinton, and drawing large crowds on campaign stops -- was asked about his opposition to expanding the guest-worker program, a position that has been criticized by some advocates of more lenient and generous immigration policies. Sanders said he opposes it because it allows for exploitation of foreign workers. If they stand up for their rights, Sanders said, theyre thrown out of the country. You need comprehensive immigration reform, you need a path to citizenship, you need to bring people out of the shadows. But during the two-hour debate, moderated by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, references to Latinos and to immigration were few. OMalley and Sanders made references to Latinos in their introductory remarks at the start of the debate. OMalley spoke of the Dream Act in Maryland, and Sanders assailed what he saw as a society that does not offer enough opportunities to black and Latino youths. African-American youth unemployment is 51 percent. Hispanic youth unemployment is 36 percent," Sanders said. "It seems to me that instead of building more jails, providing more incarceration, maybe, just maybe, we should be putting money into education and jobs for our kids. Many political experts had expected more attention to be focused to Latinos, given that the debate was in Nevada, a battleground state where this growing voting bloc could play a pivotal role. While the candidates seemed to agree on immigration, Clinton and Sanders clashed over U.S. involvement in the Middle East, gun control and economic policy, outlining competing visions for a party seeking to keep the White House for a third straight term. And though the five candidates took issue with each other, they also repeatedly sounded traditional Democratic themes - such as fighting income inequality - that are sure to carry over to the general election campaign against the Republicans. The debate was seen as a night for front runner Clinton to show Americans a different side than the one that has dominated headlines. Experts said she needed to show warmth, sincerity and draft another narrative to take the spotlight off the one that has framed her as icy, self-serving and making end-runs around rules. For Sanders, experts said the debate was a chance to introduce himself to Americans who had never directly heard from him, or who may have known him primarily as the socialist-leaning candidate. The others OMalley, Chafee and Webb -- needed even moreso to introduce themselves to Americans. The slate of Democratic candidates is generally older than the GOP one. Sanders is 74, the oldest of all the candidates in both the GOP and Democratic party who is running for president. Clinton is 67, Webb is 69 and Chafee is 62. O'Malley, 52, is the youngest of the Democrats. Vice President Joe Biden, who has not yet announced whether or not he will enter the race, is 72. The Democratic party has come under fire by some Democrats themselves for opting to have only six sanctioned debates. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson issued a pastoral statement Monday in support of immigrants and refugees, citing concerns about what he called "the language and rhetoric of discrimination, hate and alienation." Carlson's statement was released in both English and Spanish. He also sent a memo to priests within the archdiocese, asking them to read the statement in both languages at all Masses. Archbishop since 2009, Carlson did not specify the source of the language that concerned him. Recently, several politicians have been outspoken in their belief that those living in the U.S. illegally should be deported. A message seeking an interview with Carlson was not immediately returned. "In my visits and conversations with our Hispanic sisters and brothers, in particular, I have heard how difficult, painful and divisive this rhetoric of hate has been, and how it is creating an atmosphere of anxiety, withdrawal and fear," Carlson's statement read. He urged others to join him in expressing "solidarity and hope" with immigrants and refugees in the St. Louis archdiocese, which includes 10 Missouri counties and the city of St. Louis, where more than a half-million Catholics reside. Antonio Maldonado, an activist in the St. Louis Hispanic community and a Catholic, said the statement is overdue but welcome. "A lot of people will be more at ease because they've lived some of this hate, especially the newer immigrants," Maldonado said. "But more importantly, in the Anglo parishes, we'll get some awareness of the plight that not only Hispanic immigrants but a lot of immigrants are going through." Pope Francis has made immigration a top priority of his pontificate, condemning indifference to the plight of immigrants, decrying what he has called the "inhuman" conditions facing migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and calling on every parish and religious community in Europe to take in refugees who have been arriving on the continent from Syria and other war-torn countries. Francis urged a generous welcome for immigrants repeatedly in his visit last month to the U.S. Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput and New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan have criticized comments made by several GOP presidential front-runners, including Donald Trump who wants to deport those in the country illegally and end birthright citizenship for their children. Carlson wrote in his statement that "this anti-immigration atmosphere" contributes to legislative initiatives that make it difficult for Hispanic youth and young adults to prosper. In Missouri, lawmakers this year barred the state's A+ Scholarship from going to students brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents. The scholarship pays for two years of tuition at a community college for students who meet GPA, attendance and tutoring or mentoring requirements. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz on Monday tried to distinguish himself as a leader among the party's more conservative voters by indirectly chiding presidential rivals such as Marco Rubio for skipping recent high-profile votes in the Senate. Without mentioning Rubio by name, Cruz said he had been "proud to lead" the failed Republican effort last month to block federal funding for Planned Parenthood. "I would ask a simple question: Where were the other candidates?" Cruz, a Texas senator, said to reporters before meeting with voters in Fort Dodge, in conservative northwest Iowa. Rubio, a Florida senator, has defended the absences by saying the votes were symbolic, and has said electing a Republican president is the best way to ensure Planned Parenthood's federal funding is eliminated. Still, he has come under increased criticism from GOP rivals such as Cruz and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for missing hearings and Senate votes while making political appearances and raising money for his campaign. Planned Parenthood is a popular target for social conservatives because of the abortion services it provides. But the clamor to end federal funding has become louder among Republicans since the release of an undercover video that includes images of body parts from aborted fetuses. Rubio missed a procedural vote to curtail debate on the funding, and skipped the final vote later that week on financing government expenditures, which included Planned Parenthood. Without naming Rubio, Cruz is using the September Senate action on Planned Parenthood to build up his own support among the Republican Party's evangelical base, which he declared Monday was vital to his campaign. "I think if we're going to win in 2016, the central question is: How do you bring back to the polls the millions of conservatives who are staying home?" Cruz told about 50 people crowded into a small meeting room at a Pizza Ranch restaurant in Rockwell City. "I'm in the best position, based on a record of fighting for conservative principles, over and over and over again, to mobilize and energize and inspire those conservatives to come out," he added. Cruz's Iowa campaign director Bryan English is a former minister, and has begun an effort to recruit at least one clerical chairman from each of Iowa's 99 counties. English said Monday the campaign is about halfway to its goal. Ministers are powerful validators in the Republican caucuses, given their regular contact with Iowa's religious conservatives. Cruz was on the first leg of a three-day trip through Iowa. Iowa holds the leadoff 2016 presidential caucuses in fewer than four months. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bernie Sanders looked to build Wednesday on their strong Democratic presidential debate performances, but the three other Democratic candidates were still seeking traction. A day after aggressively defending her long public service record and contrasting it with that of Sanders, the Vermont senator who has excited Democrats' liberal base, Clinton remained in Nevada, talking to local media in the early voting state. Sanders was scheduled to attend a taping of "The Ellen Degeneres Show," which has become a popular stop for presidential hopefuls. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, meanwhile, told CNN on Wednesday his debate performance showed that "more than two candidates" are seeking the nomination. Strong performances by Clinton and Sanders also appeared to narrow any opening for a presidential bid by Vice President Joe Biden. Sanders has built an insurgent campaign that draws huge crowds nearly always bigger than Clinton's and boasts far more individual donors than the former secretary of state. But he's still introducing himself to voters nationally a task made obvious Tuesday night as he had to explain his identity as a "democratic socialist" and decried the focus on Clinton's use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state. But he made clear that he wasn't necessarily defending Clinton. Rather, he was bemoaning the attention the controversy takes away from other matters, particularly his focus on an uneven economy tilted to those already at the top. "I think the American people want substantive debate on the issues affecting their families," he told CNN late Tuesday after the debate, during which he outlined his pitch for universal health care, free college tuition and paid family leave, ideas he said he'd pay for with tax hikes on wealthy Americans. Clinton, meanwhile, already is widely known to the electorate, and she is working methodically not to repeat the mistakes of her 2008 campaign, when then-Sen. Barack Obama used an impressive nuts-and-bolts operation to overtake Clinton's favored campaign. She defended her record on foreign affairs, including her 2003 vote to authorize the Iraq War and issue that Obama successfully hammered her on in their primary battle. Clinton used the discussion to align herself with the president, who remains extremely popular among Democratic voters. "After the (2008) election, he asked me to become secretary of state," she noted. "He valued my judgment, and I spent a lot of time with him in the Situation Room, going over some very difficult issues." Both Clinton and Sanders camps declared the debate a success. Sanders' campaign says that he raised more than $1.3 million since the start of the debate and that social media measures showed Sanders led Google searches and some Twitter metrics during and after the debate. Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Clinton backer who'd traveled to Las Vegas to watch the debate, could barely contain her glee Wednesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" as she assessed Clinton's performance. "We were just we were over the moon," she said. Granholm called the debate the "best two hours of the campaign so far." The exchanges between Sanders and Clinton sometimes left O'Malley, Lincoln Chafee and Jim Webb looking for room to talk. "The two phrases I hear people say again and again are 'we need new leadership' and 'we need to get things done again,'" O'Malley said Wednesday, continuing his thinly veiled criticism of Clinton. He added that he "likes" and "respects" Clinton, but questioned whether her long ties to Wall Street and political financiers are what voters prefer. "They want a president who is truly independent from those relationships of the past," he said. Perhaps most important for Clinton, she left many observers wondering whether Biden still has an opening for a late entry into the race. David Axelrod, an unaligned Democratic strategist who helped mastermind Obama's 2008 campaign, said on Wednesday Clinton emerged stronger with a "very self-assured, powerful performance" that should give Biden pause, while Sanders had a strong performance but still fell short of projecting the persona of a nominee. Sanders, he said, appears to be running to pull the party leftward. O'Malley, Axelrod told CNN, had a "strong night" but didn't perform "in such a way that he will catapult up into the mix." Webb and Chafee, he said, "came in as unknowns. They left people wondering why they were there." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez says there are two regions to blame for the recent immigration crisis in the U.S. South America and North America. South America, he said, is producing the drugs and North America is consuming them. His country, which is dealing with record-breaking violence and mass poverty, is caught in the middle of the drug corridor and has to deal with the dire consequences. And yet, his country gets blamed for the problem and left alone to scramble for a solution. "We have to tackle the issue of violence that is generated when drug trafficking moves across Central America," he said. "Because we Central Americans have to deal with a problem that is not ours. We do not produce drugs, they are produced in South America and consumed in North America. The president said he understands there needs to be a solution to the immigration problem but the suggestion that have been bantered about, he said, will not work. Hernandez said a huge fence across the border is not the answer. He said most people who come to the U.S. seek to work hard. And contrary to popular perception, Hernandez said, migration is not a solely Latino phenomenon. Look at Syrian refugees fleeing to Europe. Instead of reacting to the flow of migrants, Hernandez said, and demonizing them, it is more logical and productive to shift the focus on the root of the problem what sociologists call the pull-push factors of immigration. "Emigration is something that occurs not only in the American continent, look at the case of Syria right now, look at Europe, look how they are also coming by sea into Europe and how much tragedy this has generated," Hernandez said. "So I am among those who believe that great solutions are to be found if we attack the root of the problem behind emigration." We need to look at the factors that propels people to leave their countries, and come up with good solutions. Hernandez said it is difficult, on a personal level and as president, to see people desperate to leave his country. Hernandez has asked for international assistance since last year, when tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants, many of them unaccompanied minors, showed up at the border, overwhelming the Border Patrol and various agencies that handle unexpected immigrant flows. "If you look at the root of the problem, youll realize that your country has enormous responsibility for this," Hernandez said in an interview last year with The Washington Post. Hernandez has met with President Obama, Vice President Biden and members of Congress to discuss the mass migration from his nation. "The U.S. sees the use of drugs as a health crisis. For us, its tied to the violence in our country, the corruption. The criminal world has replaced the government. Meanwhile, back in his home country, Hernandez has faced challenges, which have included a march by thousands of citizens calling for his resignation. Opposition political groups want an independent investigation into a corruption scandal involving the Honduran Institute of Social Security, where companies formed by institute officials reportedly overcharged for services. Hernandez admitted that his 2013 presidential campaign unknowingly accepted donations that appear to have been linked to the groups embroiled in the scandal. Colorado immigration advocates say that Republicans, who control the state legislature, are putting obstacles in the way of undocumented immigrants trying to obtain special drivers licenses. The advocates say they are determined to push lawmakers to release funding for the program so that the motor vehicle agencies can keep up with the demand. Democrats in Colorado cleared the way for the license program in 2013, but Republicans, who now control the state Senate and who oppose it, are making it difficult to access more money to address delays in the system. Immigrants are waiting months to get specialized driver's licenses and identification cards through three offices. They are charged more than legal residents, and the fees they pay fund the program. None of these hikes in rates have helped our community," said Victor Galvan, Denver organizer for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition. "That money belongs to the community." Ten states and the District of Columbia have such programs, which supporters say help keep immigrants insured and informed about the rules of the road. Opponents argue that the licenses condone illegal behavior. The GOP has fought back in other states that give licenses to those in the U.S. illegally or with temporary legal status. In New Mexico, Republican Gov. Susan Martinez, the nation's only Latino governor, has tried to repeal the law a number of times, but her efforts have stalled in the Democratic-controlled Senate. The New York Times said that the wait in Colorado for drivers licenses, which always has been rather long, now goes into the spring of 2016. I cannot renew it, said Felipe Castro, a 51-year-old from Mexico who told the New York Times that he depends on his job to get to work.We suffer. When we have one crash, we are ready to lose everything. We go to jail. We suffer the deportation. Only three offices process applications for state ID cards and the drivers licenses. Undocumented residents are charged more than legal residents, and the fees they pay fund the program. "None of these hikes in rates have helped our community," said Victor Galvan, Denver organizer for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition. "That money belongs to the community." In Colorado, the special driver's licenses cost $50.50, compared with the $21 that legal residents pay. Immigrant identification cards are $14, also higher than the $10.50 paid by everyone else. Galvan's organization and other immigrant advocates, including Mi Famila Vota and Driver's Licenses for All, plan to begin lobbying legislators next month as they start work on a new state budget. Colorado vastly underestimated the initial surge in demand for the licenses, a problem Democrats are now facing. Since the program became operational in August 2014, 14,299 immigrants have received driver's licenses and an additional 2,218 have received driving permits, according to state figures. An additional 2,278 have gotten ID cards. "We believe it's fully funded fully funded to the law that was passed," said Republican Sen. Kent Lambert, who chairs the budget-writing Joint Budget Committee. But immigrant groups say many more are waiting for licenses. Appointments are being booked 90 days in advance. "Demand for this program has been very high," said Daria Serna, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Revenue. "Once appointments are released, they usually go very quickly and we do not have appointments go unclaimed. Our available resources do not allow us to serve everyone interested in this program in a timely manner." However, she also notes that people are not showing up there have been more than 5,000 missed appointments since the program launched. Back then, appointments were handled at five locations. The Department of Revenue asked in January to spend $166,000 in program fees to permanently hire some temporary workers and potentially expand to other offices to address high demand. The department is now operating three offices under a compromise that party leaders struck in March to allow the agency to use $66,000 in fees. Colorado has 180,000 residents in the country illegally, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts, which released a study in August on the states that allow driver's licenses regardless of legal status. Supporters of the licenses favor it because they say it makes everyone safer when immigrants know the driving laws and safety rules, and have the document to show it. Opponents of allowing undocumented immigrants to drive say it merely sends the message that their unlawful presence here is condoned. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and the rest of the Democratic presidential candidates in their first debate of the 2016 campaign generally went easy on each other in terms of personal attacks, saving their toughest words for their Republican counterparts like Donald Trump, who former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley called a "carnival barker." So it should come as no surprise that almost as soon as the debate was over, the blowback from GOP candidates began with barbs ranging from calling Clinton's ideas "outdated" to complaints that the other Democrats failed to press the former Secretary of State hard enough on the scandal involving her email server. I thought it was interesting that they didn't go after her, particularly on the email issue, because, look, there's an FBI investigation. She hasn't been forthcoming. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on the Hillary Clinton email scandal Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who has seen his poll numbers rise since his performance in the last GOP presidential debate, told Fox & Friends on Wednesday morning that the debate "looked like something from the 80s." "It was basically a liberal vs. liberal debate about who was going to give away the most free stuff free college education, free college education for people illegally in this country, free health care, free everything," said Rubio, who stated on Tuesday that he wasn't even going to watch the debate. "Their answer to every problem in America is a government program and a tax increase. That's all they prescribe, time and time again." Rubio added, "And this is stuff from the 80s ... [the debate] became exactly what I predicted it would be a race to the left," The biggest gripe that GOP candidates voiced, however, had to do with Sanders' comments about the media coverage of Clinton's use of a personal email server while serving as Secretary of State. "The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails," Sanders said. "Enough of emails." "Thank you, Bernie," Clinton replied, as the two shook hands. The comment was credited by analysts and even some Clinton staffers as a big help to Clinton as the debate shifted in focus toward policy issues and away from Clinton's upcoming testimony to Congress. The Vermont Senator said his comment was only meant to draw attention away from the controversy and toward other matters, particularly an uneven economy tilted in favor of those already at the top. Whatever the case, Sanders' perceived olive branch was met with disdain from a number of Republicans, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. "I thought it was interesting that they didn't go after her, particularly on the email issue, because, look, there's an FBI investigation. She hasn't been forthcoming," Bush said. "It's clear the Russians and Chinese were trying to hack into her server. Information crossing that server was of national security interest, for sure. I would have taken her to task for that, and if she wins the nomination and if I win the nomination, trust me, this is not going to end." GOP frontrunner Donald Trump currently tied with retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson in the latest Fox News poll also had a few choice words to say about the Democrats while onstage Tuesday night in Las Vegas. In fact, the real estate mogul live-tweeted the entire two hours the debate lasted and "won Twitter during the Democratic debate," according to Time Magazine. One of the Trump's main complaints dealt with the topic that has become his principal rallying cry this campaign: immigration. "Notice that illegal immigrants will be given ObamaCare and free college tuition, but nothing has been mentioned about our veterans," Trump tweeted out. Despite his words on Twitter, the Republican candidate appeared to soften up during an interview early Wednesday morning, praising Clinton's debate performance and adding she "did what she had to do." "She got through it fine," Trump told ABC News. "It was a very kind debate, very gentle. She came out the winner." On Sanders' comment about Clinton's "damn emails," Trump said that Sanders should have been more forceful with his Democratic rival and not made the onstage handshake. "I think that he's losing by quite a bit; he shouldn't have done it," Trump said. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Immigrant students on Tuesday sued three Missouri public colleges for charging them higher tuition, a change prompted by a new state law aimed at blocking students without lawful immigration status from paying less than international students. The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri filed the suits in several circuit courts against the University of Missouri Board of Curators, the Metropolitan Community College of Kansas City and St. Louis Community College on behalf of three students, who were identified as either "John Doe" or "Jane Doe" in the lawsuits. The lawsuits claim the students were brought to the U.S. illegally as children and now are lawfully present through the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, although that doesn't grant them legal status. Some have lived in Missouri for years, or previously qualified for resident tuition rates. Instead of receiving the same lower tuition rates as other students who live in the state or nearby a college, they had to pay more than twice the cost of tuition they had expected, the lawsuits allege. For example, a student previously enrolled at the Metropolitan Community College of Kansas City said she dropped out in the fall semester because her tuition was raised from $95 per credit hour to the out-of-state rate of $229 an hour. "Our Missouri public institutions of higher learning exist to open the doors of opportunity to hard-working students striving to get ahead. Now, there are extreme financial burdens being put on the backs of students already struggling to achieve their goals of higher education," said Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of the ACLU of Missouri, in a statement. "To punish students who had no say in how they arrived in this country is not only mean-spirited, it is against the law." At issue is a law signed in May that guides state spending on public colleges and universities. An introduction to the legislation includes a provision that colleges receiving state money must charge students without a lawful immigration status nothing less than the international rate of tuition. The students argue the provision in the budget legislation is not binding because of a technicality: the restriction on immigrant tuition rates is in the introduction, not the body of the measure. Metropolitan Community College spokeswoman Christina Medina declined to comment on the pending lawsuit, but said in a statement that the college "is committed to serving students and our community within the confines of the regulatory parameters provided by state and federal requirements." A spokesman for the University of Missouri System declined to comment, citing pending litigation. St. Louis Community College spokesman Dan Kimack declined to comment on the lawsuit, but says the college follows state law and the intent of the law. The college "is not making policy," Kimack said. "We are following the rules and regulations put forth by our lawmakers." Kimack said the college also has set aside nearly $250,000 to help offset the cost of increased tuition for students impacted by the change. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The first Democratic debate has drawn criticism for having paid little attention to Latinos and immigration, but true to form, GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump made it a focus of his speech at a campaign rally on Wednesday. Speaking in Virginia, Trump slammed the albeit few references to immigration, seizing on them as examples that the Democratic candidates, in his view, want to give away a plethora of things to undocumented immigrants. Advocates who favor more lenient immigration policies heckled the billionaire and got into scuffles with his supporters, who reportedly grabbed the hecklers signs. One Trump supporter also spit on an opponent of the candidate, according to USA Today. The advocates were escorted out by police. I watched last night as Hillary [Clinton] and Bernie Sanders, they just couldnt give away things fast enough, Trump said in an apparent reference to the Democrats expression of support for affordable college and paid family leave, according to USA Today. And theyre giving them to illegal immigrants. They want heath care for illegal immigrants. They want drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants. They want, listen to this, Social Security for illegal immigrants. Trump called Sanders a communist maniac. He added that the debate did not sufficiently press Clinton on such things as the controversy over her handling of government emails while she was Secretary of State, or other issues. He also took aim at her wavering position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact. I have to hand it to Hillary Clinton. Youre all going to be mad at me, but I have to hand it to her, he said, according to USA Today. It took great courage for her to go against President Obama on the trade pact. You know why? Because she could be indicted. Petraeus did 5 percent of what she did, and they destroyed his life, Trump said. When the hecklers tried to disrupt his speech, Trump said: Thats all right. Thats why we have freedom of speech. He said he would build a wall along the border with Mexico that is going to be something special, and, he added, that Mexico would pay to have it done. He said that immigrants the U.S. does allow in will get to enter through a big beautiful door right in the middle. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Immigration activists are accusing the federal appeals court in New Orleans of delaying a ruling about President Barack Obama's immigration proposal in an effort to prevent it from reaching the U.S. Supreme Court during the current term. Speakers with the Fair Immigration Reform Movement said at a news conference Thursday that 10 members will fast and pray at a park across the street from the federal courthouse for nine days, urging the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rule within that time. "That's our window to take the decision to the Supreme Court," said Sulma Arias of Washington, immigration field director for the group's parent organization, the Center for Community Change. The nation's highest court doesn't have a set deadline for appeals, and could schedule arguments for the term that ends in June if both sides had briefs ready by mid to late December. Responding to that point in a later phone interview, she said the date would allow for time needed "to start mobilizing millions of people." A three-judge panel heard arguments July 10 on Obama's proposal to shield an estimated 5 million people from deportation. The court says on its website that it tries to issue opinions within 60 days after arguments. The judges did not immediately respond to requests for comment. "We feel they've had enough time to rule," Arias said. Isabel Medina of Los Angeles said she and her family came to this country in 1996. "Fasting is not really a sacrifice for me. The sacrifice is being away from my children for 9 days," she said, her voice trembling. If the president's proposals stand, she said, she could benefit from Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, which would protect some parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Another major part of Obama's executive orders would expand a program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which protects young immigrants from deportation if they were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Medina said the orders would let her keep her family together and let her "continue with my schooling so I can fully contribute to this great country." She and Arias both spoke in English, then in Spanish. Other "fasters" are from Silver Spring, Maryland; Mountain Home, Arkansas; Woodburn, Oregon, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Miguel Claros, of Silver Spring, spoke in Spanish, with Arias translating. He said he came from Bolivia 19 years ago, has two children, ages 6 and 2, and wanted the judges to "remember their ancestors were also immigrants." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio, who has moved up to fourth place in the most recent Fox News Poll but is lagging behind some of his rivals in fundraising, met with more than a dozen top donors for former GOP candidate Scott Walker in Manhattan on Wednesday, according to a Rubio source with direct knowledge of the meeting. Among the attendees were Jonathan Burkan and Eric Anton, two of the top donors for the Wisconsin governor, the source said. Two other big Walker donors, Anthony Scaramucci and Dan Runde, recently signed up with rival former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Rubio's presidential campaign netted $6 million in the past three months, behind Ted Cruz - who raised over $12 million - and Dr. Ben Carson, who raised $20 million. Businesswoman Carly Fiorina also passed the Florida Senator in the third quarter, with approximately $6.8 million. The Rubio meeting with Walker's former donors was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Ted Cruz has been called many things since he first entered the political spectrum: a Congressional agitator, a Tea party darling, a conservative evangelist and at least according to outgoing House Speaker John Boehner a "jackass." But a tech visionary? In the crowded Republican presidential field, Cruz who is currently floundering in the middle pack is distinguishing himself as the first candidate in either party to release an official mobile app in an attempt to gain more supporters and, maybe more importantly, more campaign donations. The "Cruz Crew" app which has been downloaded more than 15,000 times in the three months since it was launched, according to his campaign may be the first mobile app released this presidential campaign season. But observers say it probably wont be the last as more and more candidates realize the power and reach that they have on an increasingly mobile-savvy electorate. "The Republican candidates in particular are trying to be creative with their use of social media and other technologies to reach out to voters," D. Sunshine Hillygus, a professor of political science at Duke University told Fox News Latino. "The motivation is to reach young voters who spend a lot of their time on smartphones." Cruz is not the first politician to take advantage of the booming mobile app market both President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney had apps during the 2012 campaign but the Texas senator has taken a different course with his "Cruz Crew" app. While Obamas app was a grassroots organizing tool that let users find registered Democrats, events and campaign stops as well as places to donate or volunteer, Cruzs app function more like a fundraising video game than a traditional campaign tool. The app has a number of actions similar to Obamas 2012 campaign app the ability to invite friends, share campaign messages to social media, volunteer, RSVP to events and donate. But Cruzs app also lets users get so-called "Action Points" for engagement that allows users to unlock special activist badges once they reach certain levels (with Revolutionary War-themed names like Patriot, Founder and Revolutionary) and also win prizes. The app may seem like fun-and-games, but to Cruzs staff it is all business as the candidate attempts to distinguish himself in a crowded GOP field and continue his strong fundraising push. The firebrand lawmakers campaign has not released any information regarding how much money the app has raised, but Cruz's campaign raised $12.2 million last quarter and hes raised about $26.5 million so far this campaign season. Cruzs app also works alongside CruzCrowd what his camp is calling "the world's first presidential social crowd-funding platform." The website functions in much the same way as the app and has the same fundraising goal in mind. "Capitalizing on this fun and competitive environment not only raises money, but helps build the grassroots infrastructure that is critical to Sen. Cruz's success," Chris Wilson, director of research and analytics and head of digital strategy for the Cruz campaign, said in a press release. Political observers say that besides fundraising, mobile apps are a much broader reaching and cost effective way to reach potential voters than the classic television advertising. "It is so difficult to reach voters through traditional means," Hillygus said. "Its not just about the money now; its about a broader approach to getting ones message out the largest possible audience." Hillygus added that Cruzs Republican challenger, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, has been taking another tech-savvy route in reaching out to younger voter by using SnapChat. Paul has been using the video-sharing platform since the summer to tout the "Libertarian-ish" candidates ideas on the tax code along with clips of him using a woodchipper and a chainsaw to tear up piles of papers. The senator was followed soon after by two of his fellow Republican challengers, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who has since dropped out of the presidential race. "Many younger off-the-grid voters arent consuming traditional news outlets and are increasingly using platforms like Snapchat as their source of information," said Vincent Harris, Pauls digital strategist, told Time Magazine back in June. Even if these mobile app and social media campaigns dont work and with only half of eligible voters between 18 and 29 expected to head to the polls in 2012, according to experts, that is a big question observers say that the exposure campaigns get for these approaches is still worth the effort. "These campaigns really hope to capitalize on the media attention," Hillygus said. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz called U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry "utterly unfit" for his job and wants the country's chief diplomat to resign from his post if he does not disavow remarks he made recently saying that Israelis bear some of the responsibility for the recent string of violence in their country. "It is utterly unacceptable that a senior official in the U.S. government would make such an unfounded slur against Israel, which has been our invaluable ally in the fight against terrorism," Cruz said in a statement sent to the press. "Once again, Sec. Kerry and his staff have proven themselves utterly unfit for the positions they hold," he added. Cruz, who has been a staunch opponent of the Obama administration's policies toward Israel, made his statement after hearing State Department spokesman John Kirby during a press briefing this week. "I would say certainly individuals on both sides of this divide are have proven capable of and in our view guilty of acts of terror," Kirby said in response to a question. Cruz's statement Thursday night came at a time of heightened tensions between Israel and the Palestinians. On Friday morning, dozens of Palestinians threw firebombs at a West Bank site revered by some Jews as the tomb of biblical patriarch Joseph, a popular prayer site in recent years among some religious Jews. Footage on local media shows flames leaping from the small stone structure in the West Bank city of Nablus. Palestinian security forces eventually extinguished the blaze. Over the past month, eight Israelis were killed in Palestinian attacks, most of them stabbings. In that time, 31 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, including 14 labeled by Israel as attackers, and the rest in clashes with Israeli troops. The violence has unnerved a jittery Israel, and prompted the U.S. on Saturday to issue a fresh call for restraint by all sides. On Saturday, a 16-year-old Arab attacked two Israelis who were walking from the Old City toward the city center, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. Police opened fire, killing the attacker. The two victims were lightly wounded, Rosenfeld said. Later, just outside the Old City, another Palestinian stabbed two police officers, one in the neck. Rosenfeld said other police forces opened fire and killed the attacker, but also wounded one of their own. Three officers were taken to a hospital, one in serious condition. The violence, including an apparent revenge attack in which an Israeli stabbed and wounded four Arabs on Friday, as well as increasing protests by Israel's own Arab minority, has raised fears of a new Palestinian intifada, or uprising. Kerry on Thursday condemned the recent spate of terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians, saying there was no justification for violence and offering a more full-throated support for the Jewish state than previous U.S. statements. Kerry, who plans to visit the Mideast next week, said the United States backs Israel's "right to defend its existence." In a speech at Indiana University, he told a crowd that included former Republican and Democratic members of Congress that he was working with the Israelis and the Palestinians "to stabilize the situation." "We strongly condemn the terrorist attacks against innocent civilians," Kerry said. "There is absolutely no justification for these reprehensible attacks." Kerry's condemnation of the recent attacks on Israelis, however, seems to have done little dissuade Cruz from condemning the Obama administration's policies in the region. "The Obama Administration is the most hostile we have seen towards the nation of Israel in our nation's history. In the last few days, this obsessive antagonism has been on full display," Crzu said. "We must immediately and unconditionally reject the delusion that the coordinated Palestinian frenzy of bloodlust is in any way legitimate. There is no moral equivalence here between the savagery of the Palestinian terrorists and the innocent Israelis they are trying to murder." Cruz, who is running for the Republican presidential nod, previously called for Kerry's resignation in April 2014, when the secretary of state said Israel could become an "apartheid state" if it did not work out concessions with the Palestinians, and he was one of three senators to vote against Kerry's confirmation in 2013. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram A Texas agency will inspect two of the nation's largest immigrant family detention centers to determine whether to issue them residential child care licenses as part of an effort to keep the facilities open amid a legal challenge. A judge in August ruled immigrant children could no longer be held in the centers because they aren't licensed to house or care for children. The state, which had previously deemed the federal centers outside its authority, subsequently created a new licensing category to accommodate them. If the licenses are denied, the federal government could run afoul of U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee's Oct. 23 deadline to comply with her ruling and face renewed questions about the future of family detention. The South Texas centers opened last year in response to the arrival of tens of thousands of mothers and children from Central America. The policy of detaining children has faced criticism from immigrant advocates from the start. They cite reports of inadequate medical care and other issues as reasons the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services should not issue child care licenses to the facilities. Patrick Crimmins, spokesman for the state agency, said inspections will likely take place this month. If standards are met, the state would grant six-month provisional licenses. "The licensing process is rigorous," he said. But immigrant advocates say it's not rigorous enough. The state adopted an emergency rule change last month allowing the facilities to become "family residential centers," a new category. Advocates say the move will allow the centers to operate with significant exemptions to usual standards, including allowing more than four people to a room, allowing adults to share bedrooms with children, and allowing boys and girls to be housed together. "In order to license the family detention facilities you have to lower the minimum standards," said Cristina Parker, immigration coordinator for Austin-based Grassroots Leadership. "These are facilities that don't foster child welfare in the first place." A letter signed by advocacy groups, lawyers and professors was sent this week to the state agency and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott asking that licenses not be granted. Grassroots Leadership has also filed a lawsuit against Family and Protective Services, alleging it circumvented the normal rule-change processes by not allowing for a public comment period. A spokeswoman for the Texas attorney general's office, which represents the agency in the lawsuit, said it does not comment on pending litigation. The detention centers are overseen by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and run by private prison companies, which are applying for the licenses. According to an application filed by Corrections Corporation of America, the 2,000-bed facility in Dilley would provide child care services that can include handling children at risk to themselves or others and restraining children physically. The application filed by The GEO Group, the contractor at the 500-bed facility in Karnes City, asked only for child care services. ICE did not answer questions about the licensing, deferring to a statement by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson last month that said the federal agency is taking steps to comply with the judge's order. Johnson also said family detention "is becoming short term" and that the agency would "make additional improvements when appropriate." Immigrant rights attorneys describe care given to the detained children as hopelessly inadequate, according to court filings in recent months. Complaints about the Karnes facility include medical mismanagement and reports of mothers and children being held in medical isolation as punishment. Pablo Paez, a spokesman for The GEO Group, said the Karnes facility provides high quality care and called allegations to the contrary "unfounded and unsubstantiated." Filings about the Dilley facility mention untreated or unrecognized ailments that resulted in children being hospitalized, lack of medicines, erroneous vaccine dosages and long waits. Corrections Corporation of America would not comment on the allegations or the licensing process, deferring to the Homeland Security statement. Crimmins said its inspections will involve pulling a random sample of children's files and determining whether minimum medical and dental standards are being met. "Up until now we haven't had the regulatory jurisdiction to investigate any allegations," he said. "Now we do." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram A coalition of Latino civil rights and public policy organizations is demanding that NBC drop its controversial plan to have presidential candidate Donald Trump host its Nov. 7 Saturday Night Live show. The coalition, National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), said in a pointed letter to the heads of NBCUniversal and Saturday Night Live that while it was glad to see NBC sever its ties with Trump after the billionaire used his campaign announcement earlier this year to denounce Mexican immigrants, it was outraged that the show was putting the candidate on a pedestal. Donald Trump has yet to apologize for his bigoted comments about Mexican immigrants, said the letter. Allowing Trump to host SNL will legitimize and validate his anti-Latino comments." "We are appalled that you would enable Trumps hateful speech for nothing less than a ratings ploy and ask that you rescind the SNL invitation. The letter was signed by Hector Sanchez, the NHLA chair, Felix Sanchez, chair of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, and Axel Caballero, executive director of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers. Many Latino groups long have criticized Saturday Night Live for the near-absence of Latinos on its show in its history. The authors of the letter said that Lorne Michaels, the creator of the show, has failed to respond to NHLAs requests for a meeting. The organization, the authors said, has sought a meeting since 2013. How can SNL justify casting zero Latinas over 41 seasons and only 2 Latinos over the same period, while promoting Trumps divisive speech toward Latinos? the letter asked. On one hand, Comcast is reaching out to Latino viewers on its English language platforms and on Telemundo, its Spanish-language network, while it uses the other hand to face slap us with this unconscionable invitation to Trump, said the letter. It is unconscionable that a major U.S. corporationwho needs Latino viewersis acting so clueless. Efforts to get a comment from the shows spokespeople on the letter and complaints about SNL were unsuccessful. On social media, some Latinos have called for boycotting Saturday Night Live, and, in particular, not tuning in on Nov. 7. MoveOn has launched an online petition demanding Trump be dropped from the hosting gig. The petition was the brainchild of Florida college student Juan Escalante, a Venezuelan immigrant who has temporary protected status under President Obama's 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA. In a blog post, Escalante wrote: "For years, Saturday Night Live has misrepresented the Latino community by playing off stereotypes and refusing to hire full-time Latino cast members. Having Donald Trump serve as host of the program, further cements Saturday Night Lives indifference towards its Latino viewers." Escalante accused NBC of "mainstreaming the hate that powers his campaign." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram A war on sanctuary cities is on around the country. Several states are about to pass laws targeting sanctuary cities, which protect undocumented immigrants from deportation. North Carolina, Michigan and Texas are among the states working on passing laws that take aim at sanctuary cities. North Carolina appears close to having a law that seeks to end the practice, and punish cities that are seen as not cooperating with the federal government in identifying and deporting people who are here illegally. Republican Gov. Pat McCrory is expected to sign into law this month. State Rep. George Cleveland, a Republican who is the main force behind the bill, told USA Today that his measure finally got support after the death of a San Francisco woman, Kathryn Steinle, at the hands of an undocumented man who was freed from jail and not transferred into the custody of immigration officials. "Everyone says, 'It's a federal government problem.' No, it isn't. The federal government is not doing its job, so it's our problem," Cleveland said, according to USA Today. "We've become so multiculturalist that we don't have the common sense to see that we're ruining our country. Instead, we let cities pat (undocumented immigrants) on the back and here we are." Steinles death also has been the catalyst for a U.S. House of Representatives bill that passed in July cracking down on sanctuary cities. The Senate could take the bill up soon. Those who support sanctuary cities say Steinles death should be a reason to review, not do away with, sanctuary cities. Sam Liccardo, Democratic mayor of San Jose, believes some regions in the U.S. are being overzealous. "Innovative regions of the world depend on ambitious, creative people who come from other parts of the world to contribute to our economy," said Liccardo to USA Today. "I think cities that become viewed as hostile toward immigrants will ultimately be forced to rethink their approach." Sanctuary cities came about as a response to federal programs that relied on local police to identify undocumented immigrants. The fingerprints of people arrested in local communities were forwarded to the Department of Homeland Security to check whether they had immigration violations. But critics of those programs said immigration officials were too assertive in rounding up people who were not a threat to society, instead of focusing on more dangerous deportable immigrants. Some 300 communities across the country adopted a form of the sanctuary cities approach. Many cities and counties are reassessing their policy after the San Francisco fatal shooting. But many officials want them to be scaled down, if not eliminated. "As a father of two children, I could only imagine how that felt," said Mike Kowall, a Republican state senator from White Lake, Mich., according to USA Today. "The fact that this fellow was locked up and obviously there were other warrants for him, but he wasn't turned over to ICE to sort it all out, it was really disturbing." Kowall filed a bill banning sanctuary policies by any government in Michigan. The bill is progressing through the state legislature and could pass this year. Texas state Sen. Charles Perry, a Republican, also wants to crack down on sanctuary cities. He says the Steinle murder converted many Texas lawmakers who were once opposed to targeting sanctuary cities. "The initial response was partisan. That's a given in this political environment," Perry said to USA Today. "But the big picture here is the rule of law. When you allow cities to undermine federal immigration law, you create a scenario ... that can create chaos and anarchy, because who's to say what laws should be enforced? "One way or another, we'll get this done," he added. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Celebrating Hispanics' contribution to the nation, President Barack Obama said Thursday that America is made great "not by building walls, but by tearing down barriers to opportunity." Obama spoke as the White House observed Hispanic Heritage Month. His remarks contrasted with concerns about immigration among some Republican presidential contenders. Frontrunner Donald Trump has called for building a wall along the border of Mexico. Obama said the country is enriched "not by trying to divide us, but by trying to build community." If people were told "to go back where they came from," America would be "a really empty country," he said. Everyone has a "rightful place at the table," the president said, pointing out that Hispanic students are helping push the high school graduation rates to an all-time high. The White House reception also marked the 25th anniversary of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. Obama was joined by Vice President Joe Biden as he welcomed the audience to "la Casa Blanca." The White House initiative, which Obama called "a powerful vehicle for progress," established a commission of educators, philanthropists, labor and nonprofit organizations to advise the president on ways to assist Latino children and the Hispanic community. Obama announced $335 million in commitments from various groups to expand educational opportunities for Latino students. Among the donors, the Boys and Girls Club of America is providing $20 million focused on engaging families and helping students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee, is committing $12.4 million in financial and academic assistance for undocumented Hispanic students ineligible for federal and state aid. The National Partnership for Early Childhood Literacy is pledging up to $20 million to increase the number of Hispanic children who become proficient in reading by third grade. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio are on course for a collision. There once was mutual public deference. But that has eroded as the Florida Republicans battling for the presidential nomination have come to see the other as the main threat to lofty ambitions: Bush claims the party establishment's mantle, Rubio wants be the party's fresh national face. Bush now routinely compares Rubio's background to Barack Obama's before the Democrat became president. Rubio says it's "time to turn the page," a reference that strikes as hard at Bush's long family legacy as it does at Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton. The rise of GOP outsiders such as Donald Trump and Ben Carson has increased the stakes for Bush and Rubio as they try to become the mainstream alternative. Whoever wins this internal contest will show whether experience or fresh leadership is the bigger priority for GOP centrists. From Bush, there's a sense of urgency in his contention that Rubio, in his first Senate term, has not proved his leadership credentials. The ex-governor and his team are frustrated, too, that this shortcoming they attribute to Rubio has not become more of a liability for him. It's part of the mantra Bush has repeated since the Republicans' second debate in California a month ago, when Rubio won praise for staying above the fray. He has since drawn nearly even with Bush in national polls, although both remain in the high single digits. "We've got a president that the American people supported based on the fact that he was an eloquent guy," Bush said in Iowa last week. "And he had nothing in his background that would suggest he could lead." Though describing Obama, it's a slight to Rubio. He delivers a compelling story about his parents' flight from Cuba and his working class background, but he has been in the Senate less than five years and has missed much of its business this year while campaigning for president. Evidence of the tension between the Florida politicians was on display Thursday when Rubio's campaign, minutes after the Bush organization announced raising $13.4 million in the last quarter, boasted it had more cash on hand. Rubio reported having nearly $11 million in his coffers compared with Bush's $10 million. But about $1 million of Rubio's cash cannot be accessed unless he wins the GOP nomination, a point Bush campaign spokesman Tim Miller pounced on via Twitter. "Lying about budgets. Guess Marco picked up something in the Senate," Miller tweeted Friday. Rubio's campaign reported raising $5.7 million from July through September, down from $9 million in the three months prior. Bush's team says that shows he's been losing steam. Yet Bush advisers are clearly put off by the senator's durability. Hopes have not come to pass that rivals could be chased from the field with Bush's mammoth fundraising effort in the first half of the year yielding more than $100 million for his campaign and the super PAC supporting him. They are competing for many of the same voters. Each has won statewide election Bush twice, Rubio once in Florida, a hefty prize in the presidential election. They also have pull among Hispanic voters, whom Republicans want to draw away from Democrats. Both men speak fluent Spanish. Yet both have been surpassed in the early months of the primary campaign by the billionaire Trump and retired neurosurgeon Carson. Those challengers have ridden dissatisfaction with the government to a lead in national and early state polls with four months before Iowa leads off the 2016 voting. Rubio is more subtle than Bush as the two men draw distinctions between each other, but his meaning is unmistakable. In New Hampshire recently, Rubio said the election is "a generational choice" and political leaders in both parties are "out of touch." Rubio is 44, Bush is 62. "We will not change direction if all we do is keep electing the same kind of people," Rubio said in Portsmouth. "This election cannot be one of those elections where we just promote the next person in line, where we just vote for the person the experts tell us we have to vote for." The remarks are aimed as much at Bush, whose father, George H.W. Bush, was elected president 27 years ago, as at Clinton, whose husband defeated the elder Bush for re-election 23 years ago. The connections between Rubio and Bush go back to the late 1990s when Bush, then governor, contributed $50 to Rubio's campaign for a West Miami commission seat. When Rubio became the first Cuban-American to ascend to Florida House speaker, Bush gave him a sword to remind him to stay true to his conservative values. "I can't think back on a time when I've ever been prouder to be a Republican, Marco," Bush said then. Rubio in his memoir, "An American Son," praised Bush's "creativity and daring." "Jeb is my friend," Rubio told reporters in Florida when asked about Bush's jabs. "I have tremendous respect for him as a person and for what he did for Florida as governor." Those jabs are more frequent now, but Rubio is countering from his corner. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram If the recent Republican presidential debates have revealed hobbling breaks in the party, the Democrats' first political X-ray showed a couple of hairline fractures. The five Democrats on the debate stage last week in Las Vegas offered a relatively and surprisingly unified front on the issues at the forefront of the campaign. On solutions, the differences tended to be a matter a degree, rather than diametrical. On President Barack Obama, at times a source of considerable Democratic discontent, their positions ranged from warm embrace to polite disagreement. The sense of respect and courtesy was in sharp contrast to the public bickering on the other side and the recent history of how parties have dealt with passing control of the White House. Democrats showed they are willing to embrace Obama's legacy, whatever the risks. Republicans continue to struggle with the fallout from George W. Bush's presidency, with years of public soul-searching and animosity toward their leadership. "You would expect in a Democratic primary field when people are crossing a broad ideological spectrum that they might be critical of the incumbent no matter who the incumbent is," Democratic pollster and strategist Celinda Lake said. "But I think Democrats demonstrated that across the spectrum it's good to run with the president rather than against him." Under their first national spotlight, leading Democrats put forward no drastic re-imaging of Obama's signature policies. The candidates largely pledged to build on Obama's health overhaul, preserve or expand his immigration orders and continue global climate change talks. They indirectly criticized his handling of issues that the party considers to be failings of his tenure: comprehensive immigration changes, gun control, spurring middle class wage growth, cracking down on Wall Street. Opposition to a Pacific Rim trade pact was the most prominent area of disagreement. Obama noted the trend Friday, saying he found it "interesting" how few differences emerged. "I think everybody on that stage at the debate affirmed what I have said in the past, which is we agree on 95 percent of stuff and on the basic vision of a country," Obama told reporters. The candidates' cohesion around Obama is as much political calculation as a spontaneous exercise. Obama is popular with Latinos, blacks, young people and unmarried women the core coalition that any Democrat will need to win the nomination and the White House. His approval rating hovers around 80 percent among Democrats in Gallup's recent tracking surveys. Among liberal Democrats, that number moves toward 90 percent. Democrats alienate these groups at their own peril. Front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton has started to pull away from Obama, delivering rough comments on his immigration record or deviating from his policy in Syria. But when given the biggest audience of her campaign, she promised to "build on the successes of President Obama" and "go beyond." She not only embraced Obama but also used his endorsement of her to deflect criticism. The two once debated her vote on the Iraq War, she noted, and "after the election, he asked me to become secretary of state. He valued my judgment, and I spent a lot of time with him." Clinton's rivals similarly went easy on the president, even the one whose campaign is built on a harsh critique of his economic policy. "I have a lot of respect for President Obama. I have worked with him time and time again on many, many issues," said Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. It was a softer introduction to his call for "political revolution" to unlock the government from what he contends is the control of Wall Street and corporate media. Still, the collective appreciation for the president and his policies papered over persistent rifts, particularly between the party's left flank and pragmatic middle. Sanders' call to break up the banks is a critique of Obama's handling of Wall Street regulation. Reflecting concern about crises in the Middle East, the conversation about foreign policy was more contentious. The U.S. needs to "take more of a leadership position" in Syria, Clinton said. It's hard to imagine the lineup of Republican candidates using such restraint. The GOP ranks have battled their party's leadership for nearly all of Obama's presidency. The conflict has boiled over in recent weeks as conservatives and moderates in the House spar over the speakership, and Republican voters elevate party outsiders Donald Trump and Ben Carson to the top of the presidential polls. At their recent debates, Republicans have clashed over immigration policy, federal spending, compromising with Democrats and the lessons of Bush's presidency. Whether a party breaks up or falls in line at the end of a presidency tends to be determined by how popular or divisive the incumbent is, says Sidney M. Milkis, a political scientist at the University of Virginia's Miller Center. Bush left office unpopular in his party and out. The end of the President Lyndon Johnson's presidency left Democrats in disarray. In rallying around Obama, Democrats resemble Republicans at the end of President Ronald Reagan's term happy with their status quo and looking for more, Milkis noted. While Obama's approval rating among Democrats is solid, Republicans are focused on other numbers. His overall job approval is 46 percent, according to Gallup. Pollsters are finding broad dissatisfaction with the direction of the country and a steady distrust of public institutions. "This is not a country that's satisfied," said GOP pollster David Winston. Both parties' nominees will need to present a distinct, forward-looking agenda that appeals to voters beyond the base. "As Republicans saw in 2012, the idea that you can win a primary and you don't have to worry about the general that that cake is already baked I think there was a rude awakening there." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram In an effort to woo Hispanic voters to his re-election bid, U.S. Sen. John McCain out together a coalition of Latino business leaders to back him up. At a campaign event this past week in Phoenix's Desert Sky Mall - where he toured through parts of "Mercado de los Cielos," a former warehouse that now houses dozens of small shops owned mostly by Latinos - the five-term senator and 2008 Republican nominee rolled out his coalition called "Unidos con McCain" or "United with McCain." This is an example of what entrepreneurship and opportunity is all about, said McCain, according to KTAR News. This is what our Arizona economy is all about. During his address, the senator suggested that the comments by presidential front-runner Donald Trump and other GOP contenders wont hurt his re-election with Arizonas Hispanic population. "First of all, I do not agree with comments that were made by Mr. Trump, and I said so at the time, and I will continue to strongly disagree with his comments," McCain said, according to The Arizona Republic. "But I also believe that the people of Arizona will make a judgment on my record, which is very long, and my support of the Hispanic community. ... And I'm proud of that record, and I'm proud of the support that I have in the Hispanic community." He added, according to KTAR News: "Hispanic culture, Hispanic food, Hispanic influence into our state has made our state a diverse, and cultural and wonderful state because of that." The Arizonas senior senator told the Associated Press in advance of the announcement of his new coalition that these efforts are meant to reach out to the growing body of Latino voters. "I think it's a very important factor in my re-election campaign from a pure political standpoint. But it's also an important effort for the long-term that can show that Republicans can attract the support of the Hispanic community," McCain said. "And the best way to do that is gain the confidence of the leaders in the Hispanic community." Members of the coalition include Tommy Espinoza, head of a community development fund, Lea Marquez-Peterson, a businesswoman and president of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Jose Gonzales, a Phoenix pastor. McCain also named former television news reporter Ana Carolina Pereira as his campaign's outreach director for Hispanics. "His own party, obviously, knows him, too, so that's why they beat up on him for his position," Espinoza said, according to the Arizona Republic. "But you've got to give the guy credit: He's a leader that's willing to take a hit on issues that he thinks are important." The senator's push to court the Latino vote stands in stark contrast to his 2010 re-election bid. Facing a primary challenge, he adopted a hard-line stand on immigration just a few years after working with Democrats on a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally. Since then, he pushed a comprehensive immigration reform plan through the Senate in 2013 that allows a pathway to legalization for the estimated 11 million people in the U.S. illegally. The effort, which stalled in the House, has strong border security and workplace enforcement efforts that he said would have fulfilled his 2010 promise to "complete the danged fence." McCain said there is a strong conservative element in his party that wants to reach out to the Latino community as he does. "I know that there are people who may not, but I think all across the Republican Party we are trying to do outreach to the Hispanic community for the reason of demographics alone," McCain told AP. "A larger and larger percentage of the population are Hispanic. They are major contributors to Arizona in every way. So I believe the party of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan should be doing outreach because that's what our party's supposed to be all about. " A profligate fundraiser, McCain reported bringing in more than $1 million in the three months ending Sept. 30, ending the period with more than $5 million in the bank. Republican challenger Kelli Ward also had a respectable three months of fundraising after formally entering the race. The state lawmaker from Lake Havasu City said she brought in more than $525,000. Newcomer Alex Meluskey hasn't announced his fundraising total. Final reports for the July 1-to-Sept. 30 period are expected to be available this week. If McCain makes it through the primary, he'll likely face Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick of Flagstaff, who announced in May that she would forgo a re-election effort for her 1st District seat to challenge McCain. Kirkpatrick spokesman D.B. Mitchell said McCain's new effort to woo Hispanics is a game he has played in elections for years. "He panders to the reckless, anti-immigrant wing of the GOP whenever he's up for re-election, then taps his campaign coffers to pay for good PR in Arizona's Hispanic community," Mitchell said. "But the clock is running out on McCain's cynical game - voters won't be fooled." Based on reporting by the Associated Press. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump says if his immigration policies had been in place in 2001, the Sept. 11 hijackers likely would not have gotten into the U.S. in the first place. I am extremely, extremely tough on illegal immigration. I am extremely tough on people coming into this country," Trump told host Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday." "I believe that if I were running things, I doubt that those people would have been in the country." Trumps comments are in response to a suggestion he made during an earlier interview with Bloombergs Stephanie Ruhle that then President George W. Bush was partially at fault for the attacks. The billionaire developer insisted Sunday that he is not blaming the former president. Im not blaming George Bush. But I dont want Jeb to say 'my brother kept us safe' because Sept. 11 was one of the worst days in the history of this country," he said. We lost 3,000 people, it was one of the greatest probably the greatest catastrophe ever in this country. Speaking on CNNs State of the Union, Jeb Bush defended his brother and suggested that Trump was not seriously addressing how he would handle foreign policy if in the White House. "Across the spectrum of foreign policy, Mr. Trump talks about things as though he's still on 'The Apprentice,'" the former Florida governor said. He added: My brother responded to a crisis, and he did it as you would hope a president would do. He united the country, he organized our country and he kept us safe. And there's no denying that. The great majority of Americans believe that." Jeb Bush's campaign has since released an attack ad lampooning Trump on national security. All but one of the 19 men who hijacked planes and flew them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania legally entered the country on business or tourist visas. One entered on a student visa but did not show up to class. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Near the heart of the civil rights movement, presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton roused black Alabama Democrats on Saturday with a pledge to champion voting rights and accusations that Republicans are dismantling generations of racial progress. Clinton criticized Alabama's Republican governor, Robert Bentley, for closing drivers licenses offices in 31 counties, many of them majority African-American. Alabama requires photo identification to vote. "This is a blast from the Jim Crow past," she told about 700 people at a luncheon of the Alabama Democratic Conference, the largest caucus of the state Democratic Party. Clinton also mocked Republican presidential candidates Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush for their opposition to restoring Voting Rights Act provisions struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013, and she chided Ohio Gov. John Kasich for curtailing early voting in his state. "What part of democracy are these Republicans so afraid of?" Clinton asked. "I've won elections, and I've lost elections, but I sure feel better when as many people as possible show up and vote." Neither her criticisms nor her positions were new. But the venue offered her a chance to champion voting rights to an important constituency. Alabama is among almost a dozen states stretching from Virginia to Texas that are scheduled to vote early in the nominating process in 2016. In a number of those states, Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia and Louisiana, blacks could make up a majority or close to a majority of the Democratic primary electorate. The front-loaded Southern schedule is actually a byproduct of Republicans' domination in the region. GOP leaders who run statehouses here wanted their constituents, nearly all of them white conservatives, to have greater influence in choosing the Republican nominee. Yet that also elevated Southern Democrats, largely black voters. It's a constituency Clinton has cultivated for decades and addressed effortlessly as she dropped local references into her remarks and spoke about people she'd met in the area as far back as the 1980s. Clinton also invoked President Barack Obama and praised his economic stewardship along with that of her husband, Bill Clinton. "I'm not running for my husband's third term or President Obama's third term," she said. "I'm running for my first term, but I'm going to do what works." She never mentioned her closest competitor, but it was an approach that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders cannot match. While Sanders is strong in overwhelmingly white Iowa and New Hampshire, surveys suggest he trails Clinton significantly in Southern states. Sanders, who built his career in a mostly white state, has started to talk more about his work in the civil rights movement as a student. "Sen. Sanders is a good man, a consistent, principled man," said the Rev. James Lawrence Wofford, a member of Alabama's state Democratic committee who came to hear Clinton on Saturday. "He just doesn't have any major support to speak of here." Meanwhile, Alabama's governor said Clinton was exploiting his state's budget woes for her own political gain. "To claim this decision is based on race is absolutely not true," Bentley said in a statement. He said Clinton should focus on national problems "in the unfortunate event she is elected president." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Cuban government officials say reports that they have sent to troops to Syria to help President Bashar al-Assad fend off any efforts to oust him or weaken his regime are irresponsible and unfounded. The denial by Gerardo Penalver, a Cuban Foreign Ministry senior official, followed a report by the University of Miamis Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies about unconfirmed claims that Cuban troops were in Syria to lend support to Assad and to Russias military operations there, according to Reuters. Concerns have been growing in the U.S. that contrary to Russian President Vladimir Putin's claims that his nation's military actions in Syria are intended to target the terrorist group Islamic State, they actually are aiming for anti-government rebels there. White House spokesman Josh Earnest has said the U.S. government has no evidence to support reports of Cubas presence in Syria. The United States and Cuba re-established full diplomatic relations in July, eight months after both governments announced plans to do so, to the shock of many. Cuban President Raul Castro has made no secret of his opposition to Western involvement in the Syria, which he said was to blame for the waves of refugees fleeing that nation to primarily European countries. In a speech he delivered recently at the U.N. General Assembly, Castro defended Putin, and blamed Western industrialized nations for what he described as their colonialism mindset, destabilizing the Middle East, and for the Syrian refugee crisis. Castro said the European Union was obligated to take the refugees take full and immediate responsibility for the human crisis it helped to generate. Reuters noted that Cuba sent troops to Africa to support leftists governments in Angola and Ethiopia in the 1970s and 1980s, but has significantly reduced getting militarily involved overseas in recent decades. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Conservatives in the House of Representatives are vowing to torpedo their one-time hero, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who is mulling going for the speaker post, over the one issue they accuse him of being too liberal on immigration. Ryan was a force behind GOP budgets that, as the Wall Street Journal puts it, broke new ground in defining Republicans as the party of small government. It called for dramatic changes in spending, as well as Medicaid and Medicare. While that helped him get crowned as a true conservative years ago, an increasingly vocal faction in the House that favors strict immigration measures is casting Ryan as a liberal loose canon on one of the most divisive issues in Congress. Rep. Steve King, the Iowa Republican who is a leading hardline voice on immigration, said to Politico that there would be a major intraparty battle over immigration if Paul comes forward to succeed House Speaker Rep. John Boehner, who has resigned amid mounting opposition to his leadership from his chambers most conservative faction. A majority of the conference is on my side of this argument, King added. Ryans moderate views on immigration date back to at least the early 1990s, when he opposed a restrictive California immigration ballot. He played a key role behind the scenes in trying to build support in his party for a comprehensive immigration reform measure that would tighten border security and provide a pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants. The King faction of the House is adamantly opposed to providing a pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants, or providing any breaks to them. They argue that such moves amount to amnesty, and rewarding lawbreakers. In 2013, the Senate passed a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform measure, but that effort failed to gain traction in the House. Ryan had under-the-radar meetings with Sen. Chuck Schumer, a Democrat who played a pivotal role in the upper chambers bipartisan reform bill, in the hopes of doing what he could to see a similar effort advance in the House, according to Politico. He thought it was in the economic interest of America to pass immigration reform, Politico quoted an unidentified person as saying. Ryan is being mentioned as a possible successor to Boehner only because many Republicans in the House like him, and believe he can get enough support from different factions in the chamber to be chosen as speaker as well as build consensus on legislative proposals. For his part, Ryan is said to be a reluctant candidate. Reportedly, he had said to some fellow members of Congress that he didnt envy the job the Boehner had. King says he favors Rep. Daniel Webster, of Florida, to be the new speaker. Rep. Mo Brooks told reporters that Ryan would have to commit not to push comprehensive immigration reform before he would have a prayer at being a serious contender for speaker. Politico noted that conservative talk show hosts also have gotten onto the anti-Ryan bandwagon. Conservative talk show host Mark Levin tweeted: NOT SO FAST! Paul Ryan an amnesty advocate, along with his buddy Luis Gutierrez. Immigration, Politico said, actually is not the only area where Ryan has acted a bit too moderately for his conservative brethren. He supported a budget deal that increased some spending, and voted in favor of the $700 billion bank bailout at the height of the 2008 financial crisis. But while those give conservatives pause, the real deal-breaker is his immigration stance, which he has been willing to defend before his GOP colleagues. He has always worked for the crony capitalists on immigration, said Roy Beck, the president of Numbers USA, which works to limit immigration into the United States. He was a young guy [during the 1990s fight]. But that was the ideology he learned. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Ted Cruz has been many places since declaring his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, but Puerto Rico is not one of them. That doesn't mean that the firebrand Texas lawmaker's campaign is ignoring the prospective primary voters in the U.S. territory. In fact, more than any other candidate this presidential election, Cruz who currently sits in the middle of the crowded GOP field has made a concerted effort to tap into Puerto Rico and the other U.S. territories oft-overlooked voting bloc. The Cuban-American lawmaker and his supporters have been inundating potential voters in Puerto Rico and the territories of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Virgin Islands with visits from surrogates (Cruzs father made a plea for his son in the Virgin Islands), phone calls along with meet-and-greets and sit-downs with mayors and party leaders. The commonwealth of Puerto Rico for years has been ignored by presidential candidates because the island's residents, under the Voting Rights Act, cannot vote for a U.S. president. But in a crowded GOP field, when every delegate counts, places that have been overlooked like Puerto Rico and other territories are suddenly quite popular. Puerto Rican residents can vote in the Democratic and Republican primaries sending 44 and 23 delegates to the conventions, respectively. In comparison, the crucial early voting state of New Hampshire also sends 23 delegates to the Republican convention and 21 to the Democratic convention. "Puerto Rico is a very powerful voting bloc," Evelyn Perez-Verdia, a political analyst at Political Pasion, told Fox News Latino. "The intelligent candidate realizes that to win the nomination you have to go beyond the normal demographics in places like Iowa and New Hampshire." A host of other White House hopefuls have made, or are planning to make, a trip to Puerto Rico. Jeb Bush travelled to the island in April, before he even declared his candidacy; Marco Rubio made a tour of the island in July; former neurosurgeon Ben Carson is planning to make a stop there; and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley became the first candidate to officially make a trip to Puerto Rico when he visited back in July. "[O'Malley] was the first one to speak out and say Puerto Rico should have bankruptcy, like states [have]" Gabriela Domenzian, the O'Malley campaign's Director of Public Engagement, told FNL. "From the beginning of his campaign, Gov. O'Malley showed leadership in something that affects our hemisphere." Democratic frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton was on the island the same day as Rubio, where she defended her support for giving Puerto Rico bankruptcy protection and slammed her Republican rivals during a round-table discussion. "Not a single Republican in Washington has stepped up to support Puerto Rico," said Clinton, who won Puerto Rico's 2008 Democratic primary election and their 44 delegates. Political observers say that these forays into Puerto Rico may be a ploy to win some bargaining power come convention time when the island's delegates could prove crucial in choosing the party's candidate. It has also been argued that these trips to the island are pleas to the growing Puerto Rican communities in Florida and New York two states that are seen as crucial in both the primary and general elections. Cruz, who is also making concerted efforts in more traditional early voting states like Nevada and Iowa, has his eyes on Puerto Rico and the other territories in an attempt to use an obscure provision in the Republican National Committee's requirement to secure the nomination. The Republican National Committee rule No. 40 (b) stipulates that "Each candidate for nomination for President of the United States and Vice President of the United States shall demonstrate the support of a 40 of 42 majority of the delegates from each of eight (8) or more states, severally, prior to the presentation of the name of that candidate for nomination." In layman's terms, if a candidate wants to get the presidential nod, he or she needs to have the support of Puerto Rico and the other territories. "Whether you're getting Texas, Michigan and Ohio, or the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and American Samoa, each has an equal voice when it comes to nominating candidates to put them on the ballot at the convention," Saul Anuzis, the former chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, told Politico. But that rule could change sometime next July when delegates arrive in Cleveland. The factors working against Cruz is that the territories tend to vote in a bloc and favor the more moderate, so-called establishment candidates as opposed to more conservative candidates like Cruz. Delegates from the territories picked John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012. That should be good news to Jeb Bush's struggling campaign. next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio pitched himself as a fresh face in his party's crowded primary contest during a Monday night campaign stop in Utah. The 44-year-old Rubio spoke about outdated government policies that haven't kept up with disruptive technologies like ride-hailing company Uber. He called the 2016 election "a generational choice" a subtle jab at 62-year-old Jeb Bush, a fellow Florida Republican who is competing for similar voters. Rubio didn't mention the former Florida governor or any of other 2016 contenders by name during his 30-minute speech. He drew his loudest applause in conservative Utah with calls to repeal President Barack Obama's 2010 health care law and beef up military spending. About 300 people attended the indoor rally at fairgrounds in Salt Lake City, about a mile away from the headquarters of the Mormon church. The Florida senator was briefly a member of the faith during his childhood in Las Vegas, a fact that could reverberate with voters in Utah, where about 60 percent of the state's residents are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Rubio, his sister and his mother were baptized in the LDS Church but returned to Catholicism by Rubio's early teen years. His campaign said he has not asked the church to remove his name from a list of the faithful. He didn't mention his Mormon ties during his Monday speech but noted he not been in Salt Lake City since he was 9 years old. He recounted that trip to visit famous Mormon sites in his memoir, "An American Son." Stan Lockhart, the former head of the Utah Republican Party and a co-chair of Rubio's Utah campaign, said Monday that he thinks Utah voters will be more interested in hearing what Rubio has to say about problems facing the country. "I think that's secondary," Lockhart said of Rubio's childhood Mormonism. Following Rubio's Monday night rally, the Florida senator went to a fundraiser at a private home in the Salt Lake City area. Tickets for a round table event started at $2,700, followed by $500-per-person reception. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The Senate on Tuesday voted to block the controversial legislation cracking down on the so-called "sanctuary cities" that shield residents from federal immigration authorities. Following an impassioned speeches by Texas' Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and New Jersey's Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez arguing, respectively, for and against the Sanctuary Cities Bill, the Senate voted 54-46 against the legislation. The bill has divided Congress along partisan lines and gained national attention in the wake of GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump's harsh words on immigration and the shooting death of a California woman over the summer by an undocumented immigrant. "We are witnessing the most overtly nativist and xenophobic campaign in modern U.S. history," Menendez said on Tuesday. "We've hit a new low with the extraordinarily hateful rhetoric that diminishes immigrants' contributions to American history and particularly demonizes the Latino community by labeling Mexican immigrants as rapists and criminals." The bill, which went up for procedural vote on Tuesday, was authored by Louisiana Sen. David Vitter. It would have punished jurisdictions that prohibit the collection of immigration information or don't cooperate with federal requests, blocking them from receiving certain grants and funds. Republicans have pushed the bill since the July 1 shooting of Kathryn Steinle in San Francisco. The man charged in the killing was in the country illegally despite a long criminal record and multiple prior deportations. The man, Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez, had been released by San Francisco authorities despite a request from federal immigration authorities to keep him detained. "Today, the Senate had an opportunity to send the message that defiance of our laws will no longer be tolerated," Cruz said in a press release after the vote. "While Senate Democrats chose partisan loyalty over protecting the lives of Americans, I will continue fighting to stop illegal immigration." He added: "Defiance of our immigration laws is inexcusable. Sanctuary cities and the illegal reentry offenders that they harbor are a threat to the safety of the American people. And they must end now." Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said before the vote that the bill would threaten cities' ability to police and compared it to Republican presidential candidate Trump's comments earlier this year that some immigrants in the country illegally are "criminals" and "rapists." "This vile legislation might as well be called 'The Donald Trump Act,'" Reid said. San Francisco and hundreds of other jurisdictions nationally have adopted policies of disregarding federal immigration requests, or "detainers," which advocates say can unfairly target innocent immigrants and hurt relations between immigrant communities and law enforcement authorities. The House passed legislation similar to Vitter's bill this summer, which the White House also threatened to veto. In its veto threat of the Senate legislation, the White House said the bill could lead to mistrust between the federal government and local governments. The Obama administration has said that the best way to get at the problem is comprehensive immigration overhaul, something House Republicans have blocked for years. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Brazil is pulling out of a South American mission to observe crucial legislative elections in Venezuela over what it says a lack of guarantees by the socialist government and its veto of the choice to head the delegation. Brazil's highest electoral tribunal said Tuesday that a months-long attempt to organize a mission under the auspices of the Union of South American Nations had been frustrated by Venezuela's refusal to accept the group's choice of Brazilian jurist and politician Nelson Jobim to lead the mission. The decision by Latin America's largest democracy to pull its support comes as pressure is building on President Nicolas Maduro to allow outside observation of what's shaping up to be a hard-fought contest that already has some on both sides talking of fraud by their opponents. For the first time since the late Hugo Chavez kicked off Venezuela's revolution 16 years ago, the opposition is heavily favored in national polls to win the Dec. 6 election and could seek to leverage a victory to cut short Maduro's term before it ends in 2019. But the government's domination of the airwaves, bigger campaign war chest and a complicated electoral system that gives a bigger voice to rural areas where the opposition has less influence are all likely to make the balloting close. Brazil's autonomous tribunal said that Jobim, who served as former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's defense minister, had widespread support among the 12-nation Unasur. The tribunal also accused Venezuela of dragging its feet in approving a proposal that would've guided its external auditing of the country's electronic voting system and verification that environment for campaigning was fair. "With less than two months from the elections, an adequate observation is unfeasible," it said in a statement. Venezuela's National Electoral Council didn't immediately comment when contacted by the Associated Press. Venezuela's main opposition alliance has decried the lack of outside observation, refusing last week to sign a document committing political parties to recognize the results over Maduro's failure to invite missions from the European Union and Washington-based Organization of American States, both of which are pushing along with the U.S. for greater outside scrutiny. "Venezuela isn't monitored and won't be monitored by anyone," Maduro snapped at journalists during a visit to the U.N. in New York in August when asked whether he would allow international observers. Venezuela's fully-electronic electoral system for years was largely unquestioned, serving as important international bona fide of the socialist government's commitment to democracy. But Maduro's victory in 2013 by a slim margin spurred accusations of fraud by his opponent, and as the country has further polarized with streets protests last year triggering a government crackdown, Venezuelans' trust in the nation's electoral system has diminished. Outside observation has also become scarcer. Since 2006, Venezuela has restricted international groups to so-called "accompaniment" of the voting process, denying them independent access to voting data. The group that has most carefully monitored voting in Venezuela, a pro-democracy foundation run by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, announced in August that it had shut down its 13-year-old electoral observation office in the country. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie wants the bistate agency that controls the state's airports to reject any efforts to launch flight service between Newark and Cuba until a woman convicted of killing a state trooper is returned to the United States. The Republican governor, who is running for president, sent a letter Tuesday to Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Chairman John Degnan and urged the authority to reject any regular flight routes between Newark Liberty International Airport and the island nation until Joanne Chesimard is extradited to the U.S. "It is unacceptable to me as Governor to have any flights between New Jersey and Cuba until and unless convicted cop-killer and escaped fugitive Joanne Chesimard is returned to New Jersey to face justice," Christie wrote in the letter obtained by The Associated Press. "I will not tolerate rewarding the Cuban government for continuing to harbor a fugitive," he said. Chesimard was convicted in 1977 in the death of Trooper Werner Foerster during a gunfight after being stopped on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1973; she was sentenced to life in prison but escaped and made her way to Cuba, where Fidel Castro granted her asylum and she has been living under the name Assata Shakur. Chicago-based United Airlines has expressed interest in launching flight service from Newark to Cuba, as the U.S. continues to loosen travel restrictions as part of an effort to normalize relations between the two nations. United spokesman Rahsaan Johnson said that the airline intends to request the flights once an agreement is reached between the two nations under which airlines can apply to begin commercial air service. Asked about Christie's letter, Johnson said, "We remain very interested in serving Cuba as soon as we are able to do so, and believe United's service would benefit the airport and the region." Degnan said in a statement that he would begin an "immediate review" of the proposed route. "I understand Gov. Christie's strongly expressed concerns and will commence an immediate review of the agency's role in the proposed flight between Newark and Cuba," he said. "I expect that review will be completed in a matter of days." Christie, whose campaign has had trouble gaining traction in a crowded field, has been a vocal critic of improved relations between the U.S. and Cuba, especially the Obama administration's decision to formally remove Cuba from a U.S. terrorism blacklist. Meanwhile, United's relationship with the Port Authority has come under scrutiny from federal investigators amid allegations that the airline resumed a money-losing flight from Newark to South Carolina, near where the Port Authority's former chairman had a vacation home, at the same time United was pressing for concessions from the agency, including a new hangar at the Newark airport, rent reductions and a commuter rail-line extension that would connect the airport directly to lower Manhattan. The flights were discontinued several days after Port Authority chairman David Samson stepped down in late March 2014. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has told the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to reject any flight routes between Newark and Cuba until a woman convicted of killing a state trooper is extradited to the U.S. though one airline says it plans to push ahead anyway. The Republican governor and presidential candidate sent a letter to the bistate agency Tuesday urging them to reject any regular flight routes between Newark Liberty International Airport and Cuba until Joanne Chesimard, also known as Assata Shakur, is returned to the U.S. "It is unacceptable to me as Governor to have any flights between New Jersey and Cuba until and unless convicted cop-killer and escaped fugitive Joanne Chesimard is returned to New Jersey to face justice," Christie wrote in the letter obtained by The Associated Press. "I will not tolerate rewarding the Cuban government for continuing to harbor a fugitive," he said. Chesimard was convicted in 1977 in the death of Trooper Werner Foerster during a gunfight after being stopped on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1973; she was sentenced to life in prison but escaped and made her way to Cuba, where Fidel Castro granted her asylum. United Airlines has expressed interest in launching flight service from Newark to Cuba, as the U.S. continues to loosen travel restrictions as part of an effort to normalize relations between the two nations. United seemed undeterred by Christie's objections. United spokesman Rahsaan Johnson told The Associated Press that the airline intends to request the flights once an agreement is reached between the two nations under which airlines can apply to begin commercial air service. Asked about Christie's letter, Johnson said, "We remain very interested in serving Cuba as soon as we are able to do so, and believe United's service would benefit the airport and the region." "I understand Gov. Christie's strongly expressed concerns and will commence an immediate review of the agency's role in the proposed flight between Newark and Cuba," "Port Authority Chairman John Degnan said. "I expect that review will be completed in a matter of days." Christie has been a vocal critic of improved relations between the U.S. and Cuba, especially the Obama administration's decision to formally remove Cuba from a U.S. terrorism blacklist. Meanwhile, United's relationship with the Port Authority has come under scrutiny from federal investigators amid allegations that the airline resumed a money-losing flight from Newark to South Carolina, near where the Port Authority's former chairman had a vacation home, at the same time United was pressing for concessions from the agency, including a new hangar at the Newark airport. The flights were discontinued several days after Port Authority chairman David Samson stepped down in late March 2014. The Associated Press contributed to this report. At the behest of groups that advocate for undocumented immigrants, the U.S. Department of Education has released guidelines that urge teachers to tread sensitively when dealing with students who lack legal status. "Undocumented youth, in particular, can experience high levels of acculturative stress from immigration-related issues such as separation from family and academic difficulties," the document, which is 63 pages and was issued on Tuesday, says. "The psychological costs of family separation, associated with the migration process and with U.S. immigration procedures such as detention and deportation, are well documented and, among children, may include symptoms of depression and anxiety." The agency recommends that teachers try to be mindful about how such an experience can affect a child in the classroom. "Teachers who serve immigrant students should understand the cultural and educational backgrounds of their students," the document says. "The development of trusting relationships with educators is especially important for undocumented youth, and affirming attitudes toward students' backgrounds and cultures may help to facilitate greater mutual trust." The agency stressed that their guidelines were not rules, merely advice. The guidelines covered the initiatives by the Obama administration that offer relief such as suspension of deportation for at least two years for young undocumented immigrants, what financial aid is available to undocumented students, and how they can avoid scams that offer legal status. "Create a safe place for undocumented students to connect and receive staff and peer support, as well as key information," the agency recommends. "Train all staff on the unique needs of undocumented students to help them provide additional supports and show sensitivity to youths concerns." It addressed students speaking of a foreign language at home, and said that it should not lead to assumptions about legal status. "Withhold judgment and biases about immigration status," the guidelines say. "Educators and other personnel should not make assumptions about students' immigration status including assuming that ethnicity or speaking languages other than English imply non-citizen status." It also reminded educators that U.S. law guarantees the right to a K-12 education to all children, without regard to immigration status. Immigration advocacy groups that had pressed for such guidelines praised the agencys move. "Having educators who were capable of helping me navigate college applications, scholarships and local community resources gave me the confidence, as an undocumented student, to fulfill my dream of going to college and even earn a Master's degree, the Washington Examiner quoted United We Dream's Laura Bohorquez as saying. Her group represents undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as minors and have sought for a path to legalize their status and allow them to attend public colleges at in-state tuition rates. "Undocumented youth are members of our communities and our families," said the Center for American Progress' Tom Jawetz to the Examiner. "They are future business owners, employees and co-workers. They are future Americans. This country should do all it reasonably can to educate these young people and ensure their success because their success is our success." Not everyone, however, had praise for the guidelines. "In some districts teachers are so overwhelmed by illegal alien children they could admittedly use some guidance," said Bob Dane of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a Washington D.C.-based group that favors strict immigration policies. "But what put-upon teachers, and American students really need is a guide from the federal government on how it intends to start enforcing our immigration laws and reducing classroom and community burdens." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram After Rep. Paul Ryan got a huge boost Wednesday night for his somewhat reluctant run for House speaker, one of the founders of the House Freedom Caucus a conservative group that holds great sway made clear that the groups new support for the Wisconsin lawmaker was not tantamount to a hearty endorsement. Labrador told Roll Call that while the caucus gave Ryan a show of support, the vote on the prospective speaker did not meet the 80 percent threshold needed for an endorsement. The caucuss favorite, whom Labrador was pushing for, was Rep. Daniel Webster, a Florida Republican known for his hardline views on a number of issues. Labrador, who himself went for the speaker role a few years ago, said the Ryan support takes precedent over the Webster endorsement. "I think he's a good man," said Labrador, who said he voted for Ryan in the Freedom Conference meeting. "I think he's somebody who could bring the Republican Party together, he's obviously a good spokesman for the party." Republicans hope that Ryans ascension to the speakership will end a month of political pandemonium that has made Congress and the GOP seem anarchic. Labrador, a leading member of the Freedom Caucus, said the group's vote showed that Ryan would prevail when the 247 House Republicans pick their nominee for speaker next Wednesday and when the full chamber votes the following day. The winner will need a majority of the chamber's 435 members, or 218 votes. Republicans believe that by assuming command of the House, the GOP's 2012 vice presidential candidate could stem the political fratricide between the party's pragmatists and hard-right conservatives that helped force last month's startling resignation by Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. That conflict has also spilled over to the GOP's 2016 presidential contest, where leading candidates Donald Trump and Ben Carson have positioned themselves as outsiders and reveled in attacking establishment Republicans as relics of an outmoded era. In a written statement afterward, Ryan erased any doubt that he considered the caucuss vote a green light to run. "I believe this is a positive step toward a unified Republican team," the Wisconsin Republican said. In their own written statement, the Freedom Caucus praised Ryan as "a policy entrepreneur who has developed conservative reforms dealing with a wide variety of subjects." They said that they had not reached agreement with Ryan over conditions he set for serving including curbing lawmakers' ability to call snap votes to remove a speaker but said those differences could be resolved "in due time." Ryan's endorsement by two other key groups of House Republicans the moderate Tuesday Group and the mainstream conservative Republican Study Committee is considered a formality. The Freedom Caucus tilted toward Ryan as many Republicans suggested the group would face dire consequences if it derailed him. The 45-year-old is widely viewed within the GOP as an articulate, telegenic leader, an undisputed conservative and the only lawmaker who could unite a party divided against itself since the 2010 tea party wave brought rebels to Congress who have shown little inclination to compromise. "This is one of the most principled conservatives on the entire political landscape in the Republican Party," said Peter Wehner, an adviser to President George W. Bush and the Mitt Romney-Ryan presidential campaign. "If they can't find a way to support him, then they're really lost." Even so, the Freedom Caucus offered no known guarantees that its rebellious members would not make Ryan's life as difficult as they'd made Boehner's, and conservative support for Ryan was not universal. Some tea party groups and conservative commentators have pilloried his past support for easing immigration curbs and the bailout of financial institutions as the Great Recession took hold. And some lawmakers took issue with his suggested changes to congressional rules and even his desire to balance family life with the demands of the job by limiting the time he'd spend on weekends raising money for GOP candidates. "No other speaker candidate came in and said, 'Here's the list of my demands, either meet those or I'm not going to do this,' " said Rep. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, a member of the hardline caucus. "Speaker's a big job. And it's not a 9-to-5 job. So there are a lot of questions to be answered." Ryan, the House Ways and Means Committee chairman and a reluctant candidate for the speaker post, was asked to run by mainstream party leaders. They were seeking to resolve a crisis triggered when conservatives pushed Boehner to resign and then pressured his likely successor, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., into withdrawing. But Ryan, who might harbor presidential aspirations, has wanted to protect himself from the political damage he could face from running the often-unmanageable House by nailing down assurances of support from his GOP colleagues. "If I can be a unifying figure in our conference, I'm willing to step up and be one, it's just that simple," Ryan said ahead of the Freedom Caucus announcement. "If not, then it's OK, I'll just go back to Ways and Means." Labrador had voiced objections to the conditions put forth by Ryan before he would commit to running for the position. Anyone who wants to do this job, said Labrador, should do it the right way. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram After missing almost a third of Senate votes this year, Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio made a rare appearance in the Senate Tuesday to try and pass a bill that would crack down on federal employees who fail to do their jobs. "This should actually be the rule in the entire government," the Florida senator said. "If you're not doing your job, you should be fired." Rubio sought unanimous approval for legislation that would give Veterans Affairs officials more power to demote or remove employees. Republicans have pushed the measure in the wake of a scandal over chronic delays for veterans seeking medical care and falsified records covering up the waits. Democrats blocked his effort. Rubio also cast a vote Tuesday on legislation that would crack down on cities that shield residents from federal immigration authorities the first vote he has made since Sept. 24, according to the Senate's website. In the end, Senate Democrats blocked the bill. The Florida senator has missed more votes than any of the other senators competing for the GOP nomination Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. His rivals have made it an issue in the campaign, and so did Democrats. "Pro tip from Marco Rubio to Marco Rubio: If you don't do your job, you should be fired," said Christina Freundlich, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee. Rubio missed a key vote on defunding Planned Parenthood last month while he was campaigning at a Florida retirement community. After calling out the Obama administration for not doing more to free Americans held in Iran, he skipped voting on a Senate resolution demanding the Americans' release and went to a fundraiser instead. Rubio has said he hasn't missed any votes where the outcome would have been changed had he been present. His argument is that no progress can be made in Washington until Republicans retake the White House. He's hardly the first senator to miss votes while on the presidential campaign trail. Graham missed the immigration vote Tuesday. Rubio took advantage of his brief time in the Senate to argue for the veterans' bill, saying Veterans Affairs officials who were doing their jobs would be better served by the legislation. "It isn't fair to them that there are people on the payroll taking up seats, taking up slots, taking up money and taking up time that aren't doing their jobs and they literally cannot be fired," Rubio said. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The confirmation vote on the Obama administrations nominee for the post of U.S. ambassador in Mexico City may face an uphill battle in the Senate because of her role in the restoration of U.S.-Cuba relations, according to Politico. The nominee, Roberta Jacobson, is the State Departments assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere affairs, and played a central role in talks to restore relations. She must first be confirmed by the Foreign Relations Committee, which includes some members, such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who have been vocal opponents of restoring relations between the long-time adversaries based on Cubas oppressive regime. Menendez told Politico that his reluctance to give a thumbs-up to Jacobson transcends her role in U.S.-Cuba diplomatic relations. That is wrong. I have concerns about her nomination, but not because she participated in the Cuba negotiations, Menendez said. When I determine exactly what I intend to do, if it is to oppose her, I will describe the reasons but they will not be based upon her negotiation. A Rubio spokeswoman said after Jacobsons nomination in the summer that he would be studying her record. "Senator Rubio considers our relationship with Mexico to be one of our most important, his spokeswoman Brooke Sammon said, according to Associated Press. He is familiar with Ms. Jacobson's government service, and that record is something he will be closely reviewing." Politico said the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which Menendez chaired when Democrats had the majority in the chamber, is expected to approve the nomination, but that it would likely be slow to get any action on the Senate floor. Republicans now are the majority in the Senate, as well in the House. Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, ranking Democrat on the committee, was quoted by Politico as saying that the slow action on Jacobsens confirmation is rooted in her role in the about-face in U.S.-Cuba relations. He suggested that it was unfair because her work on the restoration of relations was not a unilateral act, but a carrying out of the administrations objectives. The delays have everything to do with the Cuban policy, Cardin told Politico. Thats not Roberta Jacobson. Thats the Obama policy. Rubio, who is a 2016 presidential candidate, has long been a hawk on foreign policy, making it a hallmark of his run for the Oval Office. Politico noted: Homing in on Jacobsons nomination for the Mexico position is one way to needle the White House. In her nomination hearing in the summer, Menendez engaged in a tough line of questions of Robertson regarding U.S. policies in Latin America. Politico noted that Jacobsons nomination is not the only one facing an uphill battle in the Senate as far as ambassador posts, but the Mexico one is among the most important. Mexico is the U.S.s third-largest trading partner, as well as the ancestral home of millions of immigrants and Americans living here. We have a person who is eminently qualified. No one disagrees with her qualifications. Theres no justification to hold this individual up, Cardin said. We have drugs. We have immigrants and refugees, we have bilateral economic relations, we have environmental relations. We have so many things going on with Mexico, we need a confirmed ambassador representing our interests. Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican who supports lifting the U.S.-Cuba embargo, lamented the controversy over Jacobson. Its unfortunate. Shes eminently qualified, Politico quoted Flake as saying. In recent days, Jacobson, a career civil service officer who is fluent in Spanish, speaking it in press conferences and using it on her social media accounts, has tweeted praise for Cuban dissidents. She hailed the release of a Cuban artist who was jailed for 10 months for trying to release in a park two pigs on which was painted the names of Fidel and Raul Castro. International human rights groups called his case a vivid demonstration of how Cuba's harsh limits on freedom of expression remain in full force despite the island's economic opening and restoration of diplomatic relations with the United States. Jacobson also tweeted: Remembering the life and loss of #Cuba woman of courage & founder of @DamasdBlanco Laura Pollan, in reference to the founder of the Ladies in White, a dissident group of mothers, wives, daughters and sisters of former or current political prisoners. Mexican officials have in the past expressed support for Jacobson to be the U.S. ambassador in Mexico City, but have not commented on the controversy over her confirmation. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram With "Back to the Future II" fans around the world celebrating October 21, 2015 as the day Marty McFly and Doc Brown time-traveled in their DeLorean, two Republican presidential hopefuls are hoping to cash in on the pop culture frenzy with a pair of attack ads playing on the theme of the 1985 film. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina ads go after Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton for what both candidates call outdated ideas. The Rubio clip paints both Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden, who announced after the ad had already aired that he would not run for president, as antiquated politicians and slices clips of the two Democrats. "In 1989 we went back to the future. Now that we're here, it's more like a blast from the past," the ad begins before showing a clip of Clinton during last week's Democratic debate. "Well, there's a lot I would like to do to build on the successes of President Obama, but also what I'm laying out is to go beyond," Clinton says before an older clip of her as First Lady appears on screen. "What I represent is generational change." Rubio also shows clips of Biden's failed 1988 presidential bid. "I run for president because I believe the 1988 election at its heart can be reduced to a fundamental choice between two paths to the future," Biden said. The ad ends with a sound bite of Rubio talking about the future. "The future is now," the Florida lawmaker said. "Yesterday is over. And we're never going back." In Fiorina's ad, a voice made to sound like actor Christopher Lloyd's character Doc Brown says: "Oct. 21, 2015? ... Of course, that's the date people can start changing the future. Do it today, before it's too late." The ad features close-up shots of what is supposed to be the insides of the DeLorean, the car used in the film to travel to the future, and ends by prompting viewers to go to Fiorina's website. "Doc Brown needs your help to save our future Sign up for future transmissions." The Republicans, however, weren't the only ones having fun with the "Back to the Future" references. The Democratic Party's Twitter feed used "Back to the Future" to take a shot at the GOP, while also addressing the issue of highway funding. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Groups on both sides of the political divide are sparring over Arizona Sen. John McCain's visit to a Phoenix-area Latino-oriented marketplace to announce a Hispanic coalition's support for his 2016 campaign to win a sixth term. The liberal organization Emily's List trashed McCain for putting on "his Hispanic sombrero to pander to the nearly two million Latinos in his state" when he stopped at the Mercado de los Cielos at Desert Sky Mall. The group also claimed his coalition of Republican Latinos was a fake. "McCain's coalition is no more than the customary politico 'taco stop' where out-of-touch politicians visit Latino businesses for a photo op, say some nice words, eat a taco, and ignore Latino voters until the next re-election cycle, the group said in a press release. Sonia Melendez Reyes, Emily's List deputy communications director, said in a written statement to the Arizona Republic, "a Hispanic coalition should have already been established as part of his agenda if the longtime lawmaker had a genuine interest in Latinos. McCain's supporters, however, are not taking the battle lying down saying that Emily's List use of the words, taco stop, is offensive and calling on McCain's Democratic challenger, Ann Kirkpatrick, to apologize. Emily's List has endorsed Kirkpatrick. "I really do find it offensive as a Latino because it says if you're a prominent Latino in business or in the community or whatever you might do, if you become a Republican or support a Republican, then that's 'fake,'" Jaime Molera, a longtime McCain booster and member of his coalition told the Republic. "And it's a kind of racist, stereotypical comeback." Molera added: "Don't discount me as being part of a 'taco stop,' because I really find that to be repugnant Folks always talk about the kind of mudslinging that doesn't belong in politics; well, that was the worst kind." In response, Melendez Reyes of Emily's List compared McCain to GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, who has become the main target of many Latino's ire since he made comments about immigrants early during the campaign. Sen. McCain's political tactics are even more insulting coming from someone whose rhetoric mirrors [GOP presidential frontrunner] Donald Trump and [whose] policies block families from opportunity," she said via email to the Republic. "But I guess it is still more convenient to give in to partisan politics rather than to support opportunities like making college affordable, fixing that Latinas are paid 55 cents for the same work as a white man, and creating a livable wage for all Arizona workers. McCain has long been seen as one of the more moderate voices in the Republican party when it comes to immigration reform and has supported a number of plans in the past. Earlier this year, McCain warned the GOP presidential candidates that if they hope to win the White House they have to support immigration reform. The circus currently surrounding the debate over illegal immigration sows division within our country and damages the Republican Party," he said, according to The Hill, adding "if the Republican nominee for president does not support comprehensive immigration reform and border security policy, we have no chance of defeating Hillary Clinton and winning the White House in 2016." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram While Marco Rubio and Donald Trump have been engaged in a war of words in recent weeks, the Florida senator took time earlier this week to defend his Republican presidential rival over the controversy surrounding his hosting gig on "Saturday Night Live." Rubio said that while he doesn't always agree with the real estate mogul, he thinks the calls to have him removed as a host on the long-running sketch comedy show is excessive. "It's a free country," Rubio said on Fox News' "Your World" with Neil Cavuto on Wednesday. "I don't agree with everything that Donald Trump says, I don't agree with everything the other side says, either. But if you don't like it, don't watch the show." Rubio added: "It's on at 11:35 on Saturday nights and there are plenty of other things you can watch, or you can just go to bed early." A number of Latino groups and lawmakers have called on NBC and SNL creator Lorne Michaels to remove the boisterous candidate from the hosting gig. National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), said in a pointed letter to the heads of NBCUniversal and Saturday Night Live that while it was glad to see NBC sever its ties with Trump after the billionaire used his campaign announcement earlier this year to denounce Mexican immigrants, it was outraged that the show was putting the candidate on a pedestal. "Donald Trump has yet to apologize for his bigoted comments about Mexican immigrants," the group said the letter. "Allowing Trump to host SNL will legitimize and validate his anti-Latino comments." "We are appalled that you would enable Trump's hateful speech for nothing less than a ratings ploy and ask that you rescind the SNL invitation." Illinois' Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez added that Trump's inflammatory comments about immigrants should disqualify him from hosting the show. "To put Donald Trump on the air in American living rooms on the signature comedy show of the most important national networks after saying that Mexicans are rapists, drug dealers, and criminals, that is a corporate blunder too big to be ignored," he said on the House floor on Wednesday, according to The Hill. "If Donald Trump had said gays and lesbians were murderers and raping Americans, would he get to host the show? It is every bit as much a fiction and a lie," he added. Trump, who is scheduled to host SNL on November 7, has laughed off most of the criticism and made claims that the uproar is only going to drive the show's ratings up. "I know these groups," Trump said." "I get hit with this stuff all the time I think they'll only drive the ratings up higher." The real estate mogul also continues to assert that he will win the majority of the Hispanic vote in both the primary campaign and general election, if he wins the GOP nomination. "I have fantastic respect for Hispanics," Trump said. "I actually think I will win the Hispanics." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 Texas Sen. Ted Cruz renewed his fight on Wednesday to pass a bill that would crack down on so-called "sanctuary cities" throughout the U.S., after similar legislation was shot down on Senate floor earlier in the week. Cruz reintroduced the bill and placed it directly on the Senate calendar in an attempt for the legislation to be called up and voted on immediately. "The policies of the Obama administration and sanctuary jurisdictions across our country are inexcusable, and they are a threat to the safety of the American people," Cruz said in a press release. "For months, I have been pressing for a standalone vote on Kate's Law. This time, I filed the legislation on the Senate floor so it is available on the calendar to be pulled up directly." Cruz and other supporters of the legislation refer to the bill, the Establishing Mandatory Minimums for Illegal Reentry Act of 2015, as Kate's Law a reference to Kathryn Steinle, who was killed over the summer by an undocumented immigrant who had been released by San Francisco authorities despite a request from federal immigration authorities to keep him detained. Detractors of the legislation call it the Donald Trump Bill, after the real estate mogul's inflammatory comments earlier this summer about immigrants. Elements of Kate's Law were incorporated in Louisiana Sen. David Vitter's Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act that fell six votes short of passing the Senate during a procedural vote on Tuesday. The law would have punished jurisdictions that prohibit the collection of immigration information or don't cooperate with federal requests, blocking them from receiving certain grants and funds. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said before the vote earlier this week that the bill would threaten cities' ability to police and compared it to Republican presidential candidate Trump's comments that some immigrants in the country illegally are "criminals" and "rapists." "This vile legislation might as well be called 'The Donald Trump Act'," Reid said. San Francisco and hundreds of other jurisdictions nationally have adopted policies of disregarding federal immigration requests, or "detainers," which advocates say can unfairly target innocent people and hurt relations between immigrant communities and law enforcement authorities. The House passed legislation similar to Vitter's bill this summer, which the White House also threatened to veto. In its veto threat of the Senate legislation, the White House said the bill could lead to mistrust between the federal government and local governments. The Obama administration has said that the best way to get at the problem is comprehensive immigration overhaul, something House Republicans have blocked for years. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Floridians know two of the Republicans presidential candidates very well: Jeb Bush led the state as a two-term governor and Marco Rubio has been a senator since 2011. Nonetheless, Donald Trump is outpacing both of the state's resident sons as he continues to dominate early opinion polls. And he is hoping to maintain that advantage with a heavy investment in the state beginning Friday, when he arrives for a two-day swing his first as a presidential candidate with rallies planned in Miami on Friday evening and in Jacksonville on Saturday. While Florida doesn't hold its winner-take-all primary until March 15, Trump recently brought on a Florida state campaign director and plans to open a Sarasota office in early November, Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said. The campaign is also expected to announce the hiring of multiple state co-chairs shortly and expects to bring in additional staffers. Bush's campaign headquarters are in Miami and he's opened field offices in Miami and Tampa. Rubio's campaign headquarters are in Washington; he has field offices in early primary states but none so far in Florida. For Trump, the prize could be a chance to knock out two major rivals on their home turf. A University of North Florida poll of likely Republican primary voters out this week found Trump with the support of 22 percent. Ben Carson, who also lives in the state, had 19 percent. Marco Rubio was third with 15 percent and Jeb Bush fourth with 9 percent. Michael Binder, a University of North Florida pollster and political science professor, said Trump's "shine is starting to wear off," noting his approval percentage was the lowest in recent statewide polls. Trump, appearing on Miami radio's "Paul & Young Ron Show," said it was "amazing" that he's leading "your two folks that are running." Longtime operatives and pollsters in the state say that like many potential voters nationwide, many Republicans in Florida are looking for a change. While Trump has never taken up residence in the state, he has a home in Palm Beach as well as several business ventures, and is well known in philanthropic circles. Jamie Miller, former executive director of the state Republican party, said Florida has been receptive to outsider candidates. In 1992, he noted, Ross Perot won nearly 20 percent of the state's vote. Gov. Rick Scott is another former businessman who won as a rookie politician in 2010 after spending $70 million of his own cash. State Rep. Neil Combee, who represents a stretch of central Florida, said the buzz for Trump is unmistakable. "People are dissatisfied with the direction the country's going in," said Combee, who is supporting Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. "It's a phenomenon for sure. And it's one that I don't think is going away." Kinsey Craichy, an Orlando business owner, donated $250 to Trump's campaign even though he knows the GOP front-runner doesn't need the money. "When you put the same politicians into the same broken system, you get the same result," said Craichy, a Republican. Craichy said he likes Bush but it's not time for "business-as-usual" politicians. Rubio is a future star but "right now is not the time for on-the-job training," Craichy said. Emilio Garcia, 73, and Manuel Alvarez, 76, both Cuban exiles and longtime Republican voters, also dismissed Bush and Rubio because they represent the "old Republican guard." They prefer a non-politician and especially like Trump. "Trump needs to refine what he says, but he speaks the truth," said Garcia as he chomped on a cigar outside La Carreta, a popular Cuban restaurant chain in Miami not far from Bush's campaign headquarters. Alex Conant, Rubio's campaign spokesman, played down the Florida numbers, saying "polls don't matter at this stage." Rubio has been "up and down in the polls, and he's currently rising," said Conant. He said the campaign will soon come out with leadership teams in each of the state's 67 counties and Rubio has made recent campaign stops in the state. For his part, Bush said this week on CNN that Trump is "capturing people's deep anger and angst about Washington, D.C." He predicted Trump's support will wane after voters consider "who has the judgment and the seriousness and the ideas to be president." Veteran political strategist Roger Stone, a close Trump friend who previously worked for his campaign and remains a supporter, said Floridians "want something entirely new. He's a breath of fresh air." Not everyone is impressed. Sipping Cuban coffee on a recent afternoon, Enrique Pineiro, 50, said Trump is "un payaso," or a clown. "The sum of everything he says is ridiculous," said Pineiro, who was born and raised in Miami, the son of Cuban immigrants. He prefers Bush because he liked him when he was the state's governor for eight years. "I know his story," Pineiro said. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 One hour before GOP presidential contender Donald Trump holds his first Florida campaign rally, groups that advocate for more flexible immigration policies plan to protest against him near his hotel, Trump National Doral Miami. Bertha Sanles, a spokesperson with United Families, told Fox News Latino her group, along with several others, including the Florida Immigration Coalition, will join together to express their disapproval of Trumps immigration policies. Sanles, an undocumented immigrant from Nicaragua who has been in the United States since 2000, said the nation must know that people in her situation are hard working members of society." Donald Trump is an ungrateful guy, she explained. The Hispanic and immigrant community deserve respect we contribute to this country and the economy." Sanles says they have organized a grassroots effort leading up to Friday to tell the local community about Trumps upcoming visit and to join their protest. While some Hispanics have gotten behind Trumps candidacy, she pointed out that a majority of Latinos do not support him, we are not standing with him. A press release on the protest said that it was being held to condemn the billionaires racist and anti-immigrant remarks. Trump is outpacing presidential election rivals, Floridas own former Gov. Jeb Bush and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, as he continues to dominate early opinion polls. And he is hoping to maintain that advantage with a heavy investment in the state during his two-day swing his first as a presidential candidate with rallies planned in Miami on Friday evening and in Jacksonville on Saturday. "We want to know whether Donald Trump would veto a law that wants to grant legal status to thousands of Venezuelans, if he is elected president," said Helene Villalonga, President of Association of Venezuelan Mothers and Women Abroad, or AMAVEX, in an e-mail sent to news organizations. "If he wants to veto DACA for Dreamers and deport millions of parents, will he do the same to the growing Venezuelan community in South Florida?" The Venezuelan Refugee Assistance Act, introduced earlier this month by Rep. Carlos Curbelo, a Miami Republican, would pave the way for some Venezuelans who meet certain criteria to obtain legal permanent residency in the U.S. While Florida doesn't hold its winner-take-all primary until March 15, Trump recently brought on a Florida state campaign director and plans to open a Sarasota office in early November, Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said. The campaign is also expected to announce the hiring of multiple state co-chairs shortly and expects to bring in additional staffers. Bush's campaign headquarters are in Miami and he's opened field offices in Miami and Tampa. Rubio's campaign headquarters are in Washington; he has field offices in early primary states but none so far in Florida. For Trump, the prize could be a chance to knock out two major rivals on their home turf. A University of North Florida poll of likely Republican primary voters out this week found Trump with the support of 22 percent. Ben Carson, who also lives in the state, had 19 percent. Marco Rubio was third with 15 percent and Jeb Bush fourth with 9 percent. The Associated Press contributed to this report. New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna Duran pleaded guilty to embezzlement and other charges Friday after abruptly resigning amid a fraud investigation that alleges she siphoned off thousands of dollars from her election account and withdrew the money at casinos around the state. In a packed Santa Fe District courtroom, Duran pleaded guilty to felony embezzlement charges and four misdemeanors. Sentencing is slated for Dec. 14 and Duran can withdraw her guilty pleas if a judge later imposes prison time. Her critics were appalled that as the state official in charge of regulating campaign finance, Duran would be accused of violating the law. Duran attorney Erlinda Ocampo Johnson and Gov. Susana Martinez spokesman Chris Sanchez confirmed Friday that Duran's resignation was effective immediately. Duran submitted her resignation last night, Johnson said in an email to The Associated Press. As secretary of state, the Republican was one of New Mexico's highest-ranking elected officials. She won a second term last year and was the first Republican elected to the post in New Mexico since 1928. Duran, who began her political career as a deputy county clerk in southern New Mexico in 1988, ran on a platform of eliminating voter fraud. "Fraud happens a lot in this state. That's why we need voter I.D.," Duran told The Associated Press last year during a campaign event that featured former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Previously, Duran pleaded not guilty to charges alleging she misused campaign donations by funneling some $13,000 into personal accounts and filed false campaign finance reports with her own office, which is responsible for enforcing New Mexico's elections and campaign finance laws. New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, a Democrat, filed the allegations against Duran in August following a lengthy investigation. Prosecutors say bank statements show transactions at casinos, restaurants and cash withdrawals at ATMs. But, Johnson, Duran's lawyer, said Balderas had a conflict of interest because he and Duran have sparred in the past, according to a motion filed late Wednesday in Santa Fe District Court. Johnson wrote it seems Balderas has a vendetta against Duran. Balderas strongly disputed that claim. State legislators had launched an investigation that could have led to impeachment proceedings. The case has raised questions about the integrity of New Mexico's campaign finance system, and open government advocates have called for reforms as well as an audit of all campaign finance reports and the creation of a state ethics commission in the wake of the probe. In a statement, Republican Party of New Mexico officials said they respected Duran's decision to "help restore credibility" to the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office. "Voters rightfully demand that our elected officials be accountable to the law, and our party will continue to advocate for accountability in government," New Mexico GOP Chairman Debbie Maestas said. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Rep. Joaquin Castro wants an end to the governments use of the word alien to refer to foreign-born people living in the United States. The Texas Democrat has introduced a measure to remove the term which has been used in U.S. documents since the Naturalization Act of 1790 from official U.S. regulations, laws, and documents, among other things. In a statement about the measure, called the Correcting Hurtful and Alienating Names in Government Expression Act, or CHANGE, Castro said: America is a nation of immigrants, yet our federal government continues to use terms that dehumanize and ostracize those in our society who happen to have been born elsewhere. Regardless of status, immigrants to our nation are first and foremost human beings, Castro said. Removing the term alien from our federal laws shows respect to our shared heritage and to the hundreds of millions of descendants of immigrants who call America home. A spokeswoman for Castros office said it is the first time there has been such an effort at the federal level. The word alien has been targeted at the state level, such as in California, where earlier this year Gov. Jerry Brown signed a measure removing the term from the states labor code. Among the modifications sought by the CHANGE Act are replacing the term alien with foreign national, striking illegal alien from federal law and replacing it with undocumented foreign national, and ensuring that all executive branch agencies stop using alien and illegal alien in signage and literature. The U.S. government uses the term alien to refer to a person who is not a citizen or national of the United States. Castros office says that since the term was first used centuries ago the term has taken on a highly negative connotation. Indeed, it has been the focus of intense debates between those who favor strict immigration policies and those who prefer more leniency. Words matter, particularly in the context of an issue as contentious as immigration, said Castro. Discontinuing our use of the term alien will help lessen the prejudice and vitriol that for too long have poisoned our nations discussions around immigration reform. Advocates of more lenient immigration policies say the term diminishes the humanity and worth of immigrants and, by extension, encourages mistreatment of them. Many take exception to "illegal immigrant," also, saying "undocumented" or "unauthorized" should be used instead. Proponents of strict immigration policies scoffed at the measure, and called it political correctness. Reshaping words to fit politically correct molds simply surrenders the language to those pushing an agenda and obfuscates facts and truth, said Bob Dane, Executive Director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, to Fox News Latino. The term illegal alien is the most legally precise, descriptive term in the lexicon. It delineates between one of only two possible categories; one either has legal status to be on U.S. soil or one is residing here illegally. Illegal means prohibited by law. Yes, entry without inspection into the U.S. is prohibited. And alien is a term that refers to a person who is not a citizen of the country. Castro's office notes that official U.S. terms have been changed at other times to address the harm that language can have. "Precedent exists for this type of terminology reform," a statement from the office said. "For example, the law has been changed to strike terms such as 'lunatic' (21st Century Language Act) and 'mentally retarded' (Rosas Law) from statute." Advocates of more flexible immigration policies lauded the congressmans legislation. As the congressman points out, words do matter and largely frames how we view an issue, said Giancarlo Tello, a Rutgers University student whose activism on behalf of undocumented immigrants was pivotal in New Jerseys passage of a law that allows them to attend college at in-state tuition rates. Important to remember is that being unlawfully present in the U.S. without proper paperwork is actually a civil offense and not a criminal one. You wouldn't call someone who illegally jaywalks an illegal, would you? By the same token you wouldn't call your uncle visiting from Germany an alien would you? Tello said to Fox News Latino. Words matter and all immigrants, both undocumented and those with temporary visas, should be treated as the fellow human beings they are. Nubia Rodriguez was assaulted and kidnapped by an ex-boyfriend, crimes that made her eligible for a special visa for immigrants in the U.S. illegally. To apply, she needed law enforcement officials that handled the case to sign paperwork documenting the crime and her assistance in the investigation. She contacted the San Joaquin County District Attorney's office but never got an answer. Her experience is not unusual and led California lawmakers to pass and Gov. Jerry Brown to sign legislation requiring local police or prosecutors to sign the form that immigrant crime victims need to apply for a so-called "U visa" so long as they are otherwise eligible. The move makes California the first state to adopt such a measure and the legislature expects law enforcement agencies will comply, said Claire Conlon, a spokeswoman for bill author and state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon. Messages left at the San Joaquin County District Attorney's office were not returned. The measure was one of a spate of bills enacted in California this year to help immigrants in the country illegally. Others include anti-discrimination measures and giving low-income children access to state-subsidized health care. Immigrant advocates say thousands of immigrants will likely benefit from the crime victim law, including many victims of domestic violence who might otherwise be reluctant to report their assailants over fear authorities might refer them to federal agents for deportation. Immigrant victims of specific crimes including rape, torture and extortion who cooperate with law enforcement are eligible to apply. There is no statute of limitations between when the crime occurred and the visa is sought. Until now, law enforcement agencies in California have taken different approaches. Some routinely sign the documentation and others rarely or never do, either because they're understaffed or because of political opposition. "California is taking steps to say: 'We're going to create equity across the state and it shouldn't matter where in California you survived this terrible crime,'" said Michelle Carey, senior attorney with the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice, which provides legal services to low-income and immigrant communities. Nicole Nishida, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, said she doesn't foresee a big change under the new law since the agency routinely signs the forms. In Oakland, police approved nearly all of the 1,600 requests received in 2014, according to department statistics. In Kern County, Sheriff Donny Youngblood said he has signed only five of some 200 requests he has received for U-visa certification and those were cases when immigrants were needed as witnesses in a court case. "It doesn't make logical sense because you were a victim of a crime 10 years ago you should be allowed to stay in the country," he said, adding that he'll comply with the new law. The visa program was created by Congress in 2000 to encourage immigrants in the country illegally to report crimes without fear of deportation and to help law enforcement crack down on violent crime. While the number of visas is capped at 10,000 per year, about 26,000 people applied in the 2014 fiscal year. The backlog in applications likely will continue to grow, in part thanks to the California law. Once the law takes effect in January, agencies will need to review requests in 90 days and report on how many they sign to the state, which immigrant advocates say will help ensure compliance even though no penalty was written into the law. Rodriguez did end up getting approved for a visa, but not because of the crime against her. Her teenage daughter had also been the victim of a crime, and under the terms of the federal government's program, parents who help law enforcement investigate crimes against their children can also apply. In her daughter's case, the city of Tracy's police department signed the necessary paperwork within a month. That sort of speed would have been welcome when Rodriguez originally tried for the visa in 2012. She had already delayed making the request for a decade, worried she might end up being deported to Mexico, where her ex-boyfriend fled after she escaped and reported him to authorities. "I felt like at any moment he might come in where I was living. It was truly a trauma," she said, adding that getting her visa approved has given her family more stability. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump dismissed polls that show him trailing Dr. Ben Carson in Iowa, calling the retired neurosurgeon "super low-energy" before a boisterous crowd in Miami on Friday night. The Iowa polls are a rare setback for the billionaire businessman's campaign. He's leading polls nationally and in other early primary states. Mimicking a television journalist reporting the breaking news of Trump slipping behind Carson, Trump ridiculed his GOP rival. "We informed Ben, but he was sleeping," Trump joked. The crowd roared. He also said the polls in Iowa "are wrong" and said most pollsters "don't like me at all." Trump, who will also appear at a rally in Jacksonville Saturday, maintained his usual swagger, boasting about his poll numbers in other states especially in Florida, where he is ahead of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio. Trump spoke not far from Bush's sprawling Miami headquarters the same day Bush's campaign said that it would be drastically slashing campaign spending, including an across-the-board pay cut for staff, and focusing more narrowly on early states. In Florida polls, Trump remains far ahead of Bush, the state's former two-term governor, and Rubio, the state's junior senator since 2011. A University of North Florida poll of likely Republican primary voters out this week found Trump with the support of 22 percent. Carson, who also lives in the state, had 19 percent. Rubio was third with 15 percent and Bush fourth with 9 percent. Trump is hoping to maintain that advantage with a heavy investment in Florida, even though it doesn't hold its winner-take-all primary until March 15. Trump's team announced Friday that Joe Gruters, the vice chair of the Florida Republican Party, will serve as his Florida campaign chair, while Susan Wiles, who managed Gov. Rick Scott's winning 2010 campaign, will serve as co-chair. The campaign is also planning to open a Sarasota office in early November, said Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. That puts him ahead of many of his rivals, including Rubio and Carson, who have yet to open offices in the state. Alex Conant, Rubio's campaign spokesman, played down the Florida numbers, saying "polls don't matter at this stage." Rubio has been "up and down in the polls, and he's currently rising," said Conant. He said the campaign will soon come out with leadership teams in each of the state's 67 counties and Rubio has made recent campaign stops in the state. While Trump has never taken up residence in Florida, he has a home in Palm Beach as well as several business ventures, and is well-known in philanthropic circles. Longtime operatives and pollsters in the state say that, like many potential voters nationwide, many Republicans in Florida are looking for a change. That sentiment was evident at Trump's loud rally. "We need someone strong to lead the country and Trump is the one," said Fabian Sardinas, a 41-year old Cuban-American from Miami. Sporting a "Pink Slip Rubio" T-shirt, Jack Oliver, 65, of Floridians for Immigration Enforcement, said Trump as the only GOP candidate who will "do something about illegal immigration." "Establishment Republicans have thumbed their nose at us for years," he said. "We've had it." Bush said this week on CNN that Trump is "capturing people's deep anger and angst about Washington, D.C." He predicted Trump's support will wane after voters consider "who has the judgment and the seriousness and the ideas to be president." Trump's visit to Miami also attracted about two dozen protesters, who paraded outside the entrance to Trump's resort. Several were removed by police officers from the banquet hall after trying to shout down Trump during his speech. Among them was Bertha Sanles, an immigrant from Nicaragua, "He must respect Latinos," she said outside the resort. The Spanish-language network Univision, whose headquarters are next door to Trump's resort, reported that its journalists were not allowed to cover the event. Fusion, an English-language network jointly owned by Univision and ABC, also reported its staff was denied entry, even though they said the Trump campaign had earlier approved its media credentials. "Mr. Trump is suing Univision for $500 million and until that is resolved it is a conflict of interest," said Trump spokesperson Hope Hicks. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter& Instagram Republican voters view Donald Trump as their strongest general election candidate, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll that highlights the sharp contrast between the party's voters and its top professionals regarding the billionaire businessman's ultimate political strength. Seven in 10 Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters say Trump could win in November 2016 if he is nominated, and that's the most who say so of any candidate. By comparison, 6 in 10 say the same for retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who, like Trump, has tapped into the powerful wave of antiestablishment anger defining the early phases of the 2016 contest. "It's the lifelong establishment politicians on both sides that rub me the wrong way," said registered Republican Joe Selig, a 60-year-old carpenter from Vallejo, California. "I think Trump is more electable. He's strong. We need strength these days." Trump and Carson are considered among the least electable general election candidates by the Republican Party's professionals, those who are in the business of helping candidates run campaigns and win elections. Experienced political strategists note that winning a general election and winning the Republican nomination are often very different tasks. The GOP's most conservative voters a group that is older and whiter than the nation as a whole wield extraordinary influence in picking the nominee. Independents, moderate voters and minorities are far more important in general elections that draw many more people to the polls. While Trump and Carson are popular in primary election polls, both have used divisive rhetoric in recent months that alienated some minorities. Trump called Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals during his announcement speech; while Carson said he would not support a Muslim presidential candidate. "Republicans think (Democrat) Hillary (Rodham Clinton) is weaker than she is. They are wrong," said GOP operative Katie Packer, who was deputy campaign manager for 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney. "They think we don't need to win more women or more Hispanics to win. They're wrong." Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who has embraced a welcoming tone with Hispanics, tops the field of experienced political leaders on the question of electability, running about even with Carson and slightly behind Trump. Six in 10 Republicans say Bush could win the general election and 54 percent say the same about Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. There's a drop-off among the rest of the GOP's 2016 crowded class. None of the other candidates is viewed as electable in a general election by more than half of Republican voters. Carson and Trump are the candidates most likely to receive positive ratings from Republican voters, with 65 percent saying they have a favorable opinion of Carson and 58 percent saying the same of Trump. Republicans are somewhat less excited about Bush, with 48 percent giving him a favorable rating. "If he weren't a Bush, I wouldn't even know his name," said Republican Leslie Millican, a 34-year-old housewife from Magnolia, Arkansas. "I like the other Bushes. Something about (Jeb Bush) he ain't grown on me yet." Trump and Bush have the highest negative ratings within their own party: 37 percent of Republican voters say they have an unfavorable opinion of Bush and 36 percent say the same of Trump. Their negatives are even more pronounced among the broader electorate. The AP-GfK poll found Trump is viewed unfavorably by 57 percent of those surveyed, the highest negatives of any Republican candidate. Bush is next with unfavorable ratings from 48 percent of all respondents. Overall, all but one GOP candidate is viewed more unfavorably than favorably by all those questioned. Carson is the exception, drawing about equally positive and negative views. He remains unknown by a significant portion of the electorate. Among Republican voters, all the candidates except New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have a net positive rating. Carson tops the list, followed by Rubio, former technology executive Carly Fiorina and then Trump. The poll also found a sharp difference between the political parties over experience. By an overwhelming 77 percent to 22 percent margin, Republican registered voters and leaners say they prefer an outsider candidate who will change how things are done, rather than someone with experience in Washington who can get things done. They prefer someone with private sector leadership experience over experience holding elected office, 76 percent to 22 percent. Trump, Carson and Fiorina are the only Republican candidates who have never held elective office. Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, is a former first lady, secretary of state and senator. Perhaps that helps explain why Democrats prefer experience over outsider status, 67 percent to 32 percent, and experience in office over private sector experience 66 percent to 33 percent. Republican strategist John Feehery says Trump is considered electable now only because he hasn't yet been the subject of a multimillion dollar negative ad campaign, which will happen should he maintain his lead in the polls. "Right now, he serves a valuable purpose as a front-runner, especially for the Democrats," Feehery said. "They would love him to be our nominee." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Some of the most prominent Latino conservatives are planning to hold a meeting this week in Colorado to discuss the presidential election and concerns about the tone of some of the GOP candidates. One of the key organizers, Alfonso Aguilar, who is executive director of the American Principles Project's Latino Partnership, told Fox News Latino that some candidates, such as Donald Trump, have espoused views on such things as immigration and used rhetoric that has raised alarms and that they hope to send a message to those contenders that these factors will cost them Latino support. The meeting is planned for Oct. 27 in Boulder, the day before the next GOP presidential debate is to take place there. Among those expected to attend the meeting are representatives from the LIBRE Initiative, Mario H. Lopez, president of the Hispanic Leadership Fund, Rosario Marin, former U.S. treasurer, and Massey Villareal, the former chairman of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Aguilar said a press conference will follow the meeting. They will have words for GOP candidates that speak poorly on immigration, said an email announcement about the meeting. Aguilar said that, personally, he was particularly concerned about the immigration stances and tone of Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, both of whom favor strict policies with regard to undocumented people. He said that he still had not reached conclusions about what position to take on the two candidates. We have concerns about their immigration position, he said, referring to himself as well as other conservative Latino leaders. Both Trump and Cruz have called for strict immigration enforcement including tightened border security, an end to sanctuary cities, and to birthright citizenship. Trump has used language that has angered many Latinos, as well as other ethnic groups. He said when launching his campaign that Mexico dumps its worst people along the border, and said that many of them are rapists and drug dealers. Hes also called for mass deportation, adding that there would be a way for the good ones to return. Rick Tyler, national spokesman for Cruz, said the campaign has disagreements with some Latino leaders over how to deal with immigration and some other issues, but he said that it has a cordial relationship with them nonetheless, and keeps the lines of communication open. We have substantive disagreements on some issues, and were talking these things over with Latino leaders, Tyler said to Fox News Latino. Ted Cruz is the son of a first-generation Cuban immigrant who came legally, Tyler said, adding that Cruzs family story shows you can legally come to this country, make something of yourself and, now, his son is running for president of the United States. Ted Cruz wants to have policies that make this possible. Some of the leaders planning to attend or sent representatives to -- the Boulder meeting said they were concerned about the tone with which immigration and other issues are discussed in the GOP primary, but drew a distinction between Cruz and Trump. "We believe that all candidates should support bipartisan efforts to fix our broken immigration system, and should work toward that goal, said Daniel Garza, Executive Director of The Libre Initiative. We think that every candidate has an opportunity to get on the right side of this issue, and we hope they do. We have clearly laid out the principles that we believe should guide policymakers as they debate these policy questions, Garza added. We have great respect for Senator Cruz, which is why we invited him to participate in one of our policy forums." The LIBRE Initiative, which is active in Latino outreach across the country, receives funding from the billionaire Koch brothers, who have played an increasingly important role in advancing conservative principles and supporting political candidates who embrace them. Donald Trump and the Republican presidential contenders must engage in a redemptive and reconciliatory rhetoric with the Hispanic American electorate in order to step into the promise land of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, said Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, the nation's largest Latino evangelical organization. Latino voters represent the proverbial Jordan that Republican presidential contenders must cross. Rodriguez added that Cruz should not be viewed in same vein as Trump. His commitment to country, faith and family reflect Latino conservative values indeed, Rodriguez said in an email to Fox News Latino. He has been nothing less than gracious and accommodating as it pertains to listening to our concerns regarding the 2016 election. Senator Ted Cruz is not Donald Trump." Several Latino pollsters have said that a presidential candidate would need more than 40 percent of the Latino vote to win the election. Tyler said that Cruz, who has voted against measures calling for giving breaks to undocumented immigrants, wants to focus on the loopholes and magnets that make possible illegal immigration. He said Cruz wants tighter border security, better tracking of people who enter on visas, and national implementation of E-Verify to help employers determine a person's eligibility to work in the United States. Asked what he would do about the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants already living here, Tyler said that discussion of that should come after borders are secure and other conditions contributing to illegal immigration are addressed. Aguilar said the consensus is that Cruz has a terrible stance on immigration. Aguilar accused the Cruz campaign staff of trying to lean on some attendees to get them to offer something of a defense of the senator. The sad thing is they want to try to divide this group, its a last minute effort to try to prevent us from saying potential negative comments about Cruz, he said. To me, this shows that when conservative Latinos come together, we become a very strong source. Three prominent Latinos who are part of Hillary Clintons presidential campaign have been named as the first co-chairs of a super PAC for an organization co-founded by actress Eva Longoria. The Latino Victory Fund, which is officially nonpartisan, says in its mission that it aims to bolster the number of Latinos running for and elected to office, and the number of Latino voters. The new co-chairs of the Latino Victory Fund are Democrats U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. Latino Victory noted in its announcement about the appointments that Castro's role "will be limited to the activities of the Latino Victory Fund's federal account, which raises funds solely within federal campaign finance law limits and restrictions to make direct contributions to candidates." Latino Victory has vowed to call out candidates running for public office at all levels of government whose views and rhetoric it deems detrimental to Latinos. In September, the Latino Victory Fund ran an ad highlighting controversial comments Republican presidential candidates made in reference to Latinos. It included Donald Trumps remark about how Mexico was dumping rapists and criminals along the U.S. border, Jeb Bushs use of the term anchor babies to refer to children born in the United States to undocumented parents and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindals defense of the term. One actor featured in the ad, which appeared in English and Spanish, says: This is hate. If we dont stand up, who will? Across the screen appeared: Latino Victory Project: Republicans are Talking #LatinosListen It ended with a message that Latinos need to register to vote. Some Republicans, including the Republican National Committee, have taken aim at the Latino Victory Project, saying that although it describes itself as nonpartisan, its leadership and leanings tend to be Democratic. Latino Victory Project is a deeply partisan organization that is packing its leadership with Clinton supporters," said Ruth Guerra, RNC Director of Hispanic Media, to Fox News Latino. "LVP has no shame and clearly plans to mislead the Latino community this election just like Hillary Clinton. LVF president Cristobal J. Alex defended the group from claims it was partisan. "Latino Victory Fund will support candidates based on their positions on issues we believe are important to the Latino community, not based on party affiliation, he told Fox News Latino. The RNC has been slow to respond and condemn attacks against our community. Rather than focusing their attention on us, an organization working to empower Latinos and increase Latino representation, they should look in the mirror and deal with the skeletons in their closet. The groups leaders have said that the organization wants to address issues of particular importance to Latinos, such as immigration, healthcare, and education, and will back candidates and elected officials regardless of party affiliation whose views and policies on such matters best serve the interests of Latinos. In the summer, it hosted its first fundraiser for a GOP candidate, Raul Danny Vargas, who was running for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. But later it rescinded its support, saying it would not have held the June fundraiser if they had known that Vargas opposes an executive order by President Barack Obama that gives temporary relief from deportation to undocumented parents of people who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. As for the new chairs, Villaraigosa is a surrogate for the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, Castro has campaigned for Clinton, whom he endorsed for president last year, even before she announced she was running, and Viverito is campaigning for the former Secretary of State. Joaquin Castros twin brother, Julian Castro, who is the head of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, recently endorsed Clinton. He told reporters his endorsement of her was based in part on the long-time relationship that he and his brother have had with Clinton. In a statement, Villaraigosa said he was honored to be co-chair of the LVF. Latinos have the power to shape our own future; we must own that power and use it wisely - to elect candidates that reflect our values and fight back against those that are looking to scapegoat our communities, Villaraigosa said in a statement. The Latino Victory Project plans to keep the pressure on GOP presidential candidates by taking part in a my country, my vote rally in Boulder, Colo., on Wednesday, when the next GOP debate is scheduled. A few weeks ago, the group vowed to closely watch the Democratic debate. During the debate, the groups Twitter account highlighted the scant attention paid to Latinos, and topics such as immigration and healthcare. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Another presidential campaign has brought to its ranks a Dreamer, the term used to describe undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. The campaign of Democrat Bernie Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, has hired Cesar Vargas, a long-time activist for more flexible immigration policies who earlier this year became the first undocumented immigrant to be permitted to practice law in New York. Vargas will be the campaigns Latino outreach strategist in Nevada. In May, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hired Lorella Praeli as Latino outreach director. Like Vargas, Praeli, who was undocumented and eventually got her green card three years ago, was among the nations most vocal Dreamers. It shows the evolution of the Dreamer movement, Vargas told Fusion. Weve graduated from colleges, weve been politically active on immigration reform. Now Dreamers want to be a part of the 2016 election. I think that Senator [Sanders] took a step further than the rest, Vargas said to reporters. Not only did he meet with Dreamers because they are good people, as Hillary Clinton has said, but he also included us in his team in order to make sure that his platform includes the issues and the needs of our community. Vargas came to this country when he just 5 years old. He is currently in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which gives undocumented immigrants brought here as children a two-year reprieve from deportation, and allows them to work as well as receive some federal benefits. Several polls have shown that Sanders is something of an enigma to many Latinos, in contrast to his main Democratic rival, Clinton, who has tended to do well among them. "He doesn't have the connection with the community that Hillary Clinton does," Joe Trippi, a longtime Democratic strategist who managed Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign, told Fox News Latino. "There isn't any way that Sanders can get the nomination with the problems he's having expanding beyond white progressives." Sanders recently appointed Arturo Carmona as the Latino outreach coordinator for his campaign. Carmona had a nationally high profile as executive director of the activist rights group Presente.org. "Let me be very honest with you. I come from a state, the state of Vermont, [and] it's a small state; there aren't a lot of Latino people," Sanders said in an interview with the Huffington Post. "What we are trying very, very hard to do you are going to see us moving very aggressively in that area is introduce myself to the Latino community," Sanders said at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's annual Public Policy Conference earlier this month. "I will fight for every vote I can get in the Latino community," he added. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has picked up the backing of a Texas billionaire and the state's lieutenant governor, his campaign said Monday. Darwin Deason, a technology entrepreneur, and his son, Doug, had given millions of dollars to the 2016 efforts of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who ended his bid for the White House last month. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick a one-time foe of the Texas senator also will now serve as the Texas chairman of Cruz's presidential campaign. Cruz is one of several Republican presidential candidates with Texas ties, but he has dominated the state's generous donor class. In the first nine months of the year, Cruz raised more than three times as much in the state as did Jeb Bush, according to an Associated Press analysis of donations. Bush, a former Florida governor, spent much of his youth in Texas, and his father and brother, both former presidents, still call the state home. The Bush family is rallying around Jeb Bush on Monday at a donor event that's taking place less than 6 miles from where Cruz is announcing his team's additions. Patrick's backing of Cruz gives him a powerful surrogate in a delegate-rich state where Republican primary voters go to the polls on March 1. And adding the Deasons to his financial team could significantly boost Cruz's presidential campaign accounts. Earlier this year, Darwin Deason poured $5 million into pro-Perry super PACs making him one of the biggest contributors in presidential politics. After Perry's withdrawal from the race, the super PACs returned much of that money. Cruz also has super PACs working on his behalf. Those groups can take unlimited amounts of money from donors, while the campaigns themselves cannot accept contribution checks from each donor of more than $2,700 per election. When super PACs are factored into the mix, Cruz's fundraising is second only to Bush's in the GOP field. Together, the pro-Cruz groups had raised at least $64 million by the end of September, fundraising documents show. Bush and Cruz have both shown they can land big contribution checks. But Cruz holds a sharp fundraising advantage over Bush when it comes to small donors. While only about 4 percent of Bush's campaign haul has come from contributors giving $200 or less, 41 percent of Cruz's campaign money is coming from such small donors, fundraising records show. Those kinds of givers are especially valuable because they can provide a constant stream of cash without taking up the candidate's time attending traditional fundraising events. The Deasons are marquee names for Cruz, but he has quietly consolidated the support of many former donors to Perry and another 2016 dropout, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. The Cruz campaign added five other former Perry backers to its finance team, officials said on Monday. Cruz gained a larger share of those candidates' donors than anyone else in the race, according to an analysis by crowdpac.com, a nonpartisan political analytics company. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican front-runner Donald Trump is widely unpopular among the nation's Hispanics, a new AP-GfK poll finds, challenging the billionaire's oft-repeated assertion that he will win the Hispanic vote if he becomes his party's nominee. The survey finds many of the Republican candidates running for president would probably struggle to win significant support among Hispanics in a general election. Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio are their favorites, but even they are a hard sell, the poll suggests. Even so, most in the field are unknown to enough Hispanics that they might have a shot at proving themselves. That's a particular struggle for Trump, who began his campaign for president by calling some immigrants from Mexico rapists and has vowed to deport all of the estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally if he is elected president. Trump is viewed unfavorably by 72 percent of Hispanics, with 6 in 10 having a very unfavorable opinion of him, the AP-GfK poll finds. Only 11 percent view him favorably. Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza, the Hispanic civil rights advocacy group, said the findings are no surprise and "consistent from what we've heard from the community." Trump's provocative comments about the character of immigrants and his plans for mass deportation and construction of a wall all along the Mexican border stirred a backlash from Hispanic groups. He also bailed on an event with Hispanic business leaders. Nonetheless, Trump says Hispanics love him. "I have fantastic relationships with the Hispanics," Trump said last week. "I employ thousands of Hispanics right now, tens of thousands over the years I've employed. They're fantastic people." He went on: "I think I will win with Hispanics when the word gets out." The comments followed protests by a coalition of Hispanic groups infuriated over NBC's decision to invite him to host "Saturday Night Live" next month. Among Trump's rivals, Bush, who speaks fluent Spanish and married a Mexican-born woman, is viewed most favorably by Hispanics, with 26 percent giving the former Florida governor a positive rating. Rubio, a Florida senator and Cuban-American, comes in second, with 23 percent viewing him favorably. Still, both Bush and Rubio are viewed unfavorably by more than one-third of Hispanics polled. Trump does have a following of enthusiastic Hispanic backers who have launched groups like "Latinos Support Trump" on social media. During his visit to the Mexican border in the summer, for instance, he was cheered by a dozens of Hispanic supporters, many of whom were born in the country or entered legally and resented those who came against the law. But advocacy groups say the idea of Trump winning the Hispanic vote is less than unlikely. Javier Palomarez, president and CEO of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said Trump is in for a rude awakening if he thinks Hispanics love him. "Nothing could be further from the truth." Palomarez, whose group Trump was supposed to speak to before his abrupt cancellation, said the growing Hispanic population will be crucial to any candidate. "Never again will a president be elected without courting the Hispanic vote," he said. "He's going to find out that we're the gatekeepers to the White House." Palomarez said Trump "crystalized for the Hispanic community" whom they will vote against. Murguia said she doesn't see much Trump can do to improve his standing with Hispanics. "He has dug himself in a pretty deep hole with the Latino community," she said. "And while he talks about wanting to create jobs and certainly our community cares about jobs and the economy he has poisoned the well significantly with the Latino community." She said he faces a long slog with Hispanics "if he doesn't come to terms with the fact that he's going to have to apologize or do a complete about-face." After Mitt Romney's loss to President Barack Obama in 2012, the Republican Party called for passing an immigration overhaul and taking steps within the party to appeal to more Hispanics, in recognition of their growing influence. After advocating for self-deportation during his campaign, Romney won 59 percent of the white vote in that general election but just 27 percent from Hispanics. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Former President George W. Bush said his brother will do a better job of capturing the Latino vote than he did when he ran for president. The older brother captured the magical number of 40 percent of Latino when he ran for president in 2004. In 2012, Mitt Romney received 27 percent of the Latino vote a measly number that many credited for his loss to President Barack Obama. George W. Bush, during a private event for donors to Bushs 2016 campaign, said his brothers Mexican-American wife and fluency in Spanish will appeal to this fast-growing voting bloc. "Jeb is going to win the Latino vote," he said, according to the Wall Street Journal. "Its going to be essential that we not ignore the Latino vote or irritate the Latino vote." The idea that "experience matters" was the theme of an on-stage conversation between the two brothers at the two-day retreat. That theme came through most strongly as Jeb Bush's staff outlined how they plan to go after Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who the campaign views as Bush's top competition for the Republican nomination. "Put it in the campaign slogan, 'A proven leader,'" George W. Bush told about 175 of Jeb Bush's most loyal donors, according to an audio recording of the meeting. "He knows how to manage an administration," the former president said. "I happen to believe eventually the American people will say, 'Who has the experience necessary to be president? Who's run a state, for example?" The donor event arrived at a crucial moment for Bush, a once-dominant GOP candidate who is lagging in preference polls to a pair of political novices with no experience in elected office, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump. With fewer than 100 days until voting begins, Bush's campaign is betting that a large swath of Republican voters will ultimately seek out a seasoned politician as their choice for the party's nominee especially given the GOP's widespread dissatisfaction with President Barack Obama, who was elected during his first term in the Senate. "We are pitching our path to victory. We addressed all the key opponents, including Marco, and will contrast Jeb's leadership skills with theirs," Jack Oliver, Bush's campaign finance co-chairman, told The Associated Press. "Our supporters want someone who is willing to fight for victory and that's what the team presented." A hard-hitting strategy presentation at the meeting focused intensely on Rubio and illustrated how Bush and his team plan to show differences between the two Floridians. It included a slide that read "Marco is a GOP Obama," according to documents provided by the campaign. In the presentation from Bush's campaign manager, Danny Diaz described Rubio and Obama as having "strikingly similar profiles," that include being lawyers, university lecturers and former state legislators with "few legislative accomplishments." Diaz also compared Bush and Rubio's fundraising and available cash, ignoring all of the other candidates in the GOP race. Bush's campaign announced last week it was making sharp spending cuts, mainly to employee wages, so he can intensify the organization's focus on the first two states to vote, Iowa and New Hampshire. The cuts were calculated based on his and Rubio's available cash, so as to ensure Bush would have enough to make it to the start of voting in February, campaign aides said. Rubio's campaign declined to comment on the Bush campaign's presentation. Bush has nudged at his in-state rival while campaigning in recent weeks. In Iowa earlier this month, Bush said voters would rethink their support for Rubio, whom he described as "an eloquent guy" who "had nothing in his background that would suggest he could lead." There was no pretense of such subtlety at the donor event. Jay Zeidman, a Houston fundraiser for Bush, said of Rubio, "he's been a great U.S. senator, but we're not running for Senate." Zeidman said the Bush team has looked at data that has convinced them that voters won't pick someone "who is not capable of being commander in chief," a reference to Trump and Carson. The same data also suggest to them that Rubio is Bush's closest competitor. George W. Bush hit that theme time and again while sharing the stage with his brother. The former president said he tried to "project calm" after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and noted how his brother led Florida through its response to eight hurricanes during his two terms as governor. "This is where experience matters. I think it is instructive to have gone through crises if you are a chief officer," George W. Bush said. "It's important that you project calm, as Jeb did when those devastating storms hit." Based on reporting by The Associated Press. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram He is leading in the latest polls of GOP presidential candidates, yet as far as Ben Carson goes, he is the most enigmatic of all the top-ranking contenders in both major parties when it comes to Latinos and topics such as immigration. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon who grew up in Detroit and lists his Florida home as his official residence now, has overtaken billionaire Donald Trump in a new national CBS News/New York Times poll of GOP likely voters. This comes on the heels of an Iowa poll where Carson also beat out Trump, who had led polls of GOP voters for several months. Unlike others specifically Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida on the top rungs of the GOP field, however, Carson has not grabbed headlines over his comments or views of Latinos and hot-button topics like immigration. The issue of immigration, one of the most heated and debated in this election cycle, and of course in the 2012 presidential election, is not even mentioned on Carsons campaign website. Earlier this year, Carson said in a speech at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) convention in Nevada that speaking about immigration to them was tantamount to pigeonholing, and said people of all ethnicities and races cared about a variety of issues, not just one. Were allowing the purveyors of division to come into our midst, said Carson, who graduated from Yale University, to the crowd. Our strength lies upon our unityWe the American people are not each others enemies. Its the people who try to divide us who are our enemies. Carson was the only GOP candidate to participate in the NALEO conference. But overall, the soft-spoken candidate rarely has held events to court Latinos. Over the summer, a South Carolina campaign stop that supposedly was a Latino outreach effort failed to attract Hispanics. Political experts attributed the flop to poor planning by Carsons campaign staff, as well as views that go against that of many Latino voters, if polls are any indication. Some political experts think Carsons scant attention to Latinos and issues that generate the most discussion in their community is by design. At this point in the election cycle, many GOP candidates are focused on being the favorite among conservatives, and accomplishing that, experts say, often means taking hardline positions on immigration and Obamacare. Carson opposes President Barack Obamas Affordable Care Act, which is favored by a majority of Latinos, and also opposes providing a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants living in the United States. In an op-ed for the National Review last year, before he announced his candidacy, Carson argued for sealing the border, making undocumented immigrants register their status and giving them an opportunity to apply for guest worker visas from their homelands. He has vowed to completely seal the borders north, south, east and west completely. At the NALEO conference, Carson said his view on sealing the borders was not because Im afraid of somebody from Honduras, but because Im afraid of someone from Syria who wants to kill us. He opposes giving undocumented immigrants any break, saying it rewards law-breakers. Carson has said little to appeal to Latino voters and much that would alienate them if they were paying any attention, said Louis DeSipio, a political science professor specializing in Latino studies at the University of California-Irvine. This is a dilemma that Republicans face. Their early primary/caucus state have few Latino voters, so candidates seeking to break through in the early states have no incentive to position themselves to win Latino votes and many incentives to speak to more nativist voters. Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, agrees. The Republican primary electorate is deeply opposed to illegal immigration and nervous about immigration more generally, he said. They favor small government, tax cuts, and balanced budgets, while Hispanics, who on average make much less than Anglos, need good public schools, access to affordable health care, and support during hard times. Jillson predicts that the GOP nominee will get less of the Latino vote in 2016 than the 27 percent of Mitt Romney got in 2012 something that was seen as a key factor of his defeat to Obama, who got 71 percent of the voting bloc. Ben Carson, who has never held office and has no political record, has apparently decided it is best to say as little as possible and hope that Hispanic voters like his smile, Jillson said. But if Carsons views on issues of importance to Latinos could land him in trouble down the road, it wont be because hes blaring them out in public. Hes expressed them quietly, documenting his conservative, hardline stances for his conservative record, but keeping himself off the anti-Latino radar that Trump, by contrast, has remained a fixture in. Rubio has made headlines with his varying views on immigration. He was a key figure in the drafting of the bipartisan Senate comprehensive immigration reform bill that passed in 2013, but that stalled in the House. Rubios outspokenness on behalf of the measure, which called for tightening border security as well as providing a path to legal status, drew fire from conservatives, who accused him of embracing amnesty. Since then, he has backed off that message, instead pushing for immigration to be approached in a piecemeal way, not in a sweeping bill. Carsons little overt references to Latinos, and below-the-radar hardline comments on immigration, hardly have spared him controversy. He made waves when he remarked that a Muslim should not be president, that he opposes abortion even in cases of rape, and made a comparison between abortion and slavery. (Hes also compared Obamacare to slavery.) "Think about this," he told "Meet the Press." "During slavery and I know that's one of those words you're not supposed to say, but I'm saying it during slavery, a lot of the slave owners thought that they had the right to do whatever they wanted to that slave. Referring to the abortion-slavery comparison, Carson said, Anything that they chose to do. And, you know, what if the abolitionist had said, you know, 'I don't believe in slavery. I think it's wrong. But you guys do whatever you want to do'? Where would we be?" The United States on Tuesday voted against a U.N. resolution condemning its embargo on Cuba, despite President Barack Obama's calls on Congress to lift the trade restrictions. The vote was the first since the U.S. and Cuban leaders agreed to restore diplomatic ties last year. The General Assembly overwhelmingly voted 191-2 to condemn the commercial, economic and financial embargo against Cuba. Only Israel joined the United States in voting against the resolution. The U.S. had considered taking the unprecedented step of abstaining from the vote, which has become a yearly exercise, in the hopes of pressuring Congress to end the embargo, The Associated Press reported last month. Instead, the U.S. decided to vote against the resolution as it has for past 24 years, saying the measure didn't reflect "the spirit of engagement" between U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro. U.S. deputy ambassador Ronald Godard told the assembly before the vote that the Cuban government is "mistaken" if it thinks the measure will improve efforts to normalize relations. General Assembly resolutions are unenforceable but the annual exercise has given Cuba a global stage to demonstrate America's isolation on the embargo and its Cuba policy. Godard said it was "unfortunate" that Cuba decided to introduce a resolution whose text "falls short of reflecting the significant steps that have been taken and the spirit of engagement President Obama has championed." Nonetheless, he said the United States "will not be bound by a history of mistrust" and remains committed to working toward normalizing relations with Cuba, a process he said will require "years of persistence and dedication on both sides." Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced last Dec. 17 that they were restoring diplomatic ties, which were broken in 1961 after Fidel Castro took power and installed a communist government. On July 20, diplomatic relations were restored and embassies of the two countries were reopened, but serious issues remain, especially the U.S. call for human rights on the Caribbean island and claims for expropriated property. When the final vote lit up on the screen in the General Assembly chamber, diplomats applauded and jumped to their feet in a standing ovation. Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez told the assembly that the United States must lift the embargo to make progress toward normalizing relations. "The lifting of the blockade will be the essential element to give some meaning to the progress achieved over the past few months in the relations between both countries and shall set the pace towards normalization," he said. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Rick Santorum says immigrants are partially to blame for sluggish wage growth. The former Pennsylvania senator was asked about jobs and wages at the Republican undercard debate Wednesday night. He argues that the immigration policy backed by his rival, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, would allow more immigrants in the country and depress wages. He says "we have to make sure that we're not flooding this country" with low-wage workers. Graham says it's not realistic to deport 11 million immigrants. Santorum says workers need to be trained in the skills that are needed, adding "we don't have the right match." He advocates for more job training and better education. Based on reporting by The Associated Press. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Conservative Latinos have had it, and theyre not going to take it anymore, they say. Theyre talking about Donald Trump, and their message is directed at the GOP. "Heed our warning: don't expect us to come to your side during the general election," said former Treasury Secretary Rosario Marin at a press conference held Tuesday by a coalition of Latino conservatives, according to NBC News. "If you are not with us now, we won't be with you then. If you insult us now, we will be deaf to you then. If you take us for granted now, we will not recognize you then," she said. Members of the coalition met before the press conference, which took place in Boulder, where the third GOP debate is scheduled to take place Wednesday night. Organizers of the meeting told Fox News Latino the objective was to discuss concerns about the rhetoric some candidates, particularly Trump, have used in this election cycle that they said was hostile and discriminatory against Latinos. Alfonso Aguilar, a former official with the George W. Bush administration and head of the American Principles Project's Latino Partnership, told Fox News Latino that the participants in the meeting wanted to discuss candidates and issues of concern to Latinos. Aguilar said the coalition wanted to send a message to the Republican Party that Latino conservatives will hold it and GOP candidates accountable for their tone and views with regard to Hispanics. The leaders, who represented several of the nations most prominent Latino conservative organizations, said they would not support or help the campaign of candidates who do not speak out against Trumps offensive language regarding Latinos and immigrants, and who embrace stances that run counter to the communitys best interests, according to NBC. This group unanimously has decided that Donald Trump is not a candidate who we can support, Time Magazine quoted Jerry Natividad, one of the organizers of the meeting, as saying. The leaders added that they do not favor one single policy platform. Marin, apparently referring to Trump, though she did not name him, condemned the "nonstop vitriolic insults" from "a wannabe politician." "Foolishly, some candidates think they don't need the Hispanic vote in the primary, so they pander to the voters with extreme views instead of just showing us who they are," Marin said. Trump has used language that has angered many Latinos, as well as other ethnic groups. He said when launching his campaign that Mexico dumps its worst people along the border, and said that many of them are rapists and drug dealers. Hes also called for mass deportation, adding that there would be a way for the good ones to return. The leaders said no candidate could win the presidency with anti-Latino rhetoric and policies. Tony Suarez, National Hispanic Christioan Leadership Conference executive vice president, said: "Mr. Trump has become a promoter of hate, division and insult and if Mr. Trump were to be the Republican nominee I don't think he has a chance at winning the general election. For his part, Aguilar denounced candidates who want to end birthright U.S. citizenship for babies born to undocumented immigrants, and who address tightening border security without speaking about other aspects of immigration, particularly how to deal with the estimated 12 million undocumented people already living here. If Republicans cannot be constructive on the issues, Latino voters will not listen to our candidates when they address other issues," NBC quoted Aguilar as saying. Some in the group had wanted also to raise concerns about Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who has defended Trump and even invited him to events at which he was featured. Cruz favors a hard line on immigration, and opposes birthright citizenship. Its a shot across the bow to candidates who embrace Trump and who embrace those proposals that you should be worried, because were going to call you out, Aguilar said. This is how you build political leverage, so we can have an exchange. So if they want to talk to us, great, but at the end we want change, and if we dont see it, they will hear from us. Cristobal Alex, head of the Latino Victory Project, a non-partisan group that supports Latinos running for office and works to increase the number of registered Latino voters, gave faint praise to the conservative leaders message. Alex told NBC he was pleased that Latino Republicans "were finally doing the bare minimum and making it clear they won't support Donald Trump for president." He added that while the group singled out Trump, other Republican presidential candidates also had used a tone that seemed hostile to Latinos and embraced policies that run counter to what many Latino voters favor. "Putting your field on notice is great, Alex said, but if conservatives really want to be taken seriously by the Latino community they have to go beyond doing the bare minimum to condemn inflammatory rhetoric and start holding candidates accountable even when it's not politically expedient. The coalition plans another meeting in Nevada ahead of the next GOP debate. At that meeting, participants will discuss whether the party and the GOP field of candidates have taken their warning serious, and they will send out warnings to other particular candidates if it's warranted, they said. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Ruben Zamora only thought he would be away from his family for a few weeks when he returned to Mexico last July to begin the process of obtaining an immigrant visa. It's now been over a year since he went to Mexico and there seems to be little hope that the 29-year old will ever be let back into the United States to see his wife and two children. The reason: his tattoos. Zamora whose ink features a large Aztec warrior holding a scantily-clothed woman, clown faces and the name of the street in Queens where he lived growing up is one of dozens of people over the last decade whose chances of gaining a green card has been derailed because the State Department has "reason to believe" that the person in question is a gang member. "There is absolutely nothing right now that shows that Ruben is a member of a gang," Audrey Carr, the director of Immigration and Programs at Legal Services NYC who is representing Zamora, told Fox News Latino. "Everything we hear is that he worked very hard at his job at a restaurant and provided for his familyhe was the main breadwinner." The U.S. State Department told Fox News Latino that it does not comment on individual cases. But in an email to Zamora's lawyer, the State Department said that the U.S. consulate in Mexico's rejection of Zamora was valid and that its decision was made on more evidence than just the fact that he had tattoos. "Reason to believe refers to more than mere suspicion; it is a probability, supported by the facts, that the alien is a member of an organized criminal entity," the email said, according to the New York Daily News. While the State Department first started denying immigrant's visas for purported gang ties back in 1965 during the heyday of the Italian Mafias it wasn't until 2005 when the heavily-inked Salvadoran street gangs Mara Salvatrucha 13 and Barrio 18 were deemed inadmissible. In 2011, other gangs from throughout Mexico and Central America were also added. In the fiscal year on 2014, there were 126 people denied visa due to purported gang affiliations, compared to two people in 2006, according to the State Department. The State Department uses the presence of tattoos especially ones popular in gang culture to conduct further investigations into individuals for ties to organized crime groups, either in their home nations or in the U.S. Along with the presence of tattoos, some of the factors used by the State Department to determine if an immigrant is a gang member are statements from local or U.S. law enforcement, association with known gang members and receiving either money or some other type of support from gangs. "We have to rely on the people who have the experience and do these background checks," Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, told FNL. "They have to look at the factors and make the decision whether or not to investigate further." Critics of this process, however, argue that the decisions made by consular officers are derailing people's lives and breaking up families all while leaving no hope for the issue to be resolved. Immigrants who have been denied entry into the U.S. for a number of reasons including gun charges can apply for a visa waiver. But that waiver does not extend to people who have been denied for being members of an organized crime group. In Zamora's case, the allegations of his gang membership and gang-related tattoos stem back to when he was a teen living in Queens and got the ink with a group of friends. Later, after he had moved to the Bronx, his Queens' friends formed a gang, but Zamora's lawyers say that he was not involved in the gang and had no contact with its members. "There is no waiver for him in the situation," Carr said. "There is no appeal process he can go through. This is the insanity of the immigration laws in this country." Zamora's lawyers are working to get around this issue, but as of now there has been no progress made on his case leaving his wife, 31-year-old Vanessa Ruiz, to fend for her two sons by herself. The couple met back in 2004 and married in 2009, with Zamora working long hours at his restaurant to support the family while Ruiz took care of the children, the lawyer said. Now, with her husband trapped indefinitely in Mexico, Ruiz started working part-time at a call center at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, but has been unable to pay her bills. She is getting by with financial support from Legal Services NYC and her welfare checks. "My kids, like every day they ask me for their dad . . . When is he coming back? And I don't have an answer for them," Ruiz told the Daily News"It's really toughHe's no gang member. He's always been working." While most eyes during Wednesday nights GOP presidential debate will be on a surging Ben Carson and, of course, the always boisterous Donald Trump the two Latino candidates on stage could play big roles in this third meeting of Republican heavyweights. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who saw his poll numbers and fundraising shoot up following a strong performance in the last debate, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who has surprised many with his third place status in Iowa polls, will both be looking to continue on the upward trend during the debate in Colorado. Painted by many as the establishment wing of the Republican partys youth candidate, Rubio has recently been under fire from his longtime mentor and now rival, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Bush, whose campaign recent dubbed Rubio as the "GOP Obama," sees the young senator as his main contender for the nomination, especially as the former governor has seen both his poll numbers and his coffers shrink in recent weeks. While Rubio hasnt seen huge jumps in either his fundraising or his poll numbers, he has remained close to the front and is known as strong debater, especially when it comes to topics such as foreign policy and immigration. "He sits close to the partys center ideologically, and his favorable ratings with Republicans are consistently strong," wrote Ross Douthat of the New York Times. "Hes an effective debater with a great personal story and an appealing style, and a more impressive policy portfolio than most of his rivals." The problem for Rubio on Wednesday is that the policy that will get the most attention especially given that the debate is hosted by CNBC will be tax reform. While Rubio recently laid out his tax reform strategy including reducing the number of brackets from seven to three, cutting rates for businesses and eliminating the double-taxation on savings and investment income he runs the risk of being overshadowed by his fellow candidates taking swings at front-runner Trump for being a so-called "conservative-in-name-only." One candidate who could benefit from the economy-based subject line of Wednesdays debate is Cruz, who has a drastic plan to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and replace it with a flat tax that would let Americans file their returns on a post card. Cruzs ideas on the economy and other subjects are considered more extreme than some of his counterparts' in the presidential field, but observers and his fellow lawmakers say that, given his support among the partys base, he could have staying power. "Ted Cruz, you should never underestimate him, hes extremely smart," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, told the New York Observer. "If he can thread a needle, figure out how to get all those Trump voters if Trump falls, he will figure out how to do that." Cruz will also be looking to continue a wave of good fortune that has seen him shoot up to third in the early Iowa caucus polls, behind Carson and Trump. Cash reports this month also showed Cruz sitting on the most money of any Republican candidate in the field as contenders like Bush cut staff. "Hes not to be underestimated," Fergus Cullen, a former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, told Politico. "I think he stands a pretty good chance of cornering the right-wing vote, which is remarkable given how large the field is." The CNBC debate, dubbed "Your Money, Your Vote," starts at 8p.m. EST and will run for two hours. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram In the most contentious Republican debate of the 2016 presidential race, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio took shots for his attendance record on Capitol Hill from both the moderators and one of his constituents, Jeb Bush. Hours after the South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper published a scathing editorial that called for Rubio to resign from the Senate, Bush -- the former governor of Florida -- slammed his rival by saying that Rubio has skipped too many votes in the Senate as he campaigns for president. Bush added that Rubio should do his job. He says "this was a 6-year term and you should be showing up to work." "What is this a French work week?" Bush said in jest. Bush, who has seen his poll number plummet recently as Rubio has become the Republican establishment favorite, told his fellow Floridian that if he didn't want to show up for votes, he should "just resign and let someone else take the job." The attack was one of the harshest of the debate and was Bush's first chance to stand out in the crowded stage as he was overlooked by the moderators early on. Rubio pushed back on the attack from both Bush and the moderators saying media criticism of his voting record is an example of bias against conservatives and that Bush is only piling on the attack because "we're running for the same position and someone has convinced you that attacking me will help you." "Im not running against Governor Bush, Im not running against anyone on stage," Rubio said. "Im running for the president of the United States." The Florida lawmaker also dismissed concerns that he was too inexperienced and in too much of a hurry to advance his political career. "That's exactly what the Republican establishment says, too," Rubio said. "Why don't you wait in line? Wait for what? This country is running out of time. We can't afford to have another four years like the last eight years." Rubio later dismissed questions about whether his history of personal financial woes disqualifies him from being in charge of the federal government. A bank once moved to foreclose one of Rubio's homes. He couldn't account for thousands of expenses from political committees he ran. Last year, he sold retirement funds to pay bills despite earning millions over the past decade. Rubio dismissed those problems as discredited attacks from Democrats and said his struggles to provide for his four children are the reason he is pushing a tax plan that would help families. He also recounts his humble upbringing as the son of immigrant parents who worked as a bartender and a housekeeper to provide for their children. Rubio wasnt the only candidate to criticize CNBCs line of questioning during the debate or the media coverage of the Republican presidential race. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz unleashed a diatribe, saying the questions being asked of him and other Republican candidates in the third debate were unfair. He said they "illustrate why the American people don't trust the media. This is not a cage match." He said the CNBC moderators were more interested in pitting the candidates against one another rather than "talking about the substantive issues people care about. Cruz said the Republican debate is a stark contrast to the Democratic contest, "where every fawning question" was about "which one of you is more handsome and wise?" Cruzs response came to a question about whether his opposition to a budget deal in Congress shows that he's not a problem-solver. The debate was billed as one that would center on economic issues. But the moderators at times focused more on the candidates characters and those on stage spent a fair amount of time griping about the media. The issue of immigration did make its way into the conversation. Frontrunner Donald Trump, who brought the immigration to the forefront of GOP talking points earlier this summer, reiterated his claims that he would build a border wall if elected president and he would get Mexico to pay for it. "We can do a wall," he said. "We're going to have a big, fat beautiful door right in the middle of the wall. We're going to have people come in, but they're coming in legally. And Mexico's going to pay for the wall." Unlike other issues and questions immigration didnt create the arguments that it had in previous debates. While CNBC tried to lure Trump into going after Rubio for calling the Florida lawmaker "Mark Zuckerberg's personal senator" for supporting the tech visas, the real estate mogul demurred and instead said he supported legal immigration. Trump has contended the H1B visa program, which allows immigrants in the tech industry to stay in the U.S., short-changes American workers. But at the debate, he claims he never made the statement and says he wants to keep skilled immigrant tech employees in the United States. Rubio countered that programs that bring in more immigrants as high-tech workers are valuable and argued that companies who abuse the visa program should be penalized. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 Hundreds of students, parents and other Sioux City residents protested Donald Trump's appearance at a northwestern Iowa high school on Tuesday, saying the Republican presidential candidate's rhetoric about immigrants violates the school's anti-bullying policy. The billionaire businessman's harsh statements on immigration and his characterization of Mexicans who enter the country illegally as rapists and criminals in his June announcement speech should have led school officials to bar him from speaking at West High School, protest organizer Ismael Valadez of neighboring South Sioux City, Nebraska, said. "Latino students are being harassed and bullied in the wake of Mr. Trump's inflammatory comments," Valadez said. "He makes people at his events think that saying the kinds of things he does to other people is OK. It's not OK." Valadez, students and others began a petition effort, gathering about 1,400 signatures, in an attempt to get officials to rescind Trump's invitation to use the school. Sioux City Schools officials refused, responding that the event is not school-sponsored and that many other presidential candidates have used the school for campaign events over the years. "We realize that members of our community may choose to exercise their constitutional rights by gathering in response to Mr. Trump's visit," Superintendent Paul Gausman said in a written statement to several local news organizations. "This situation presents an opportunity for us to model for our students and community how to properly demonstrate the rights of free speech and the freedom of assembly, and the democratic process." Valadez said as many as 500 protesters gathered outside the school ahead of Trump's appearance Tuesday evening. One of them was Takkia Frazier, a 15-year-old Native American student at the high school. She said Trump's appearance and the protests have split the school and led some students to chant Trump's name when in the presence of Latino students. "I've never seen the school divided like this," Frazier said. About 2,100 Trump supporters gathered inside West High School's gym Tuesday evening to hear Trump speak. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram A federal appeals court in California ruled Wednesday that more immigrants in detention should get bond hearings, and those held more than a year should get additional hearings. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals expanded the number of immigrants in nine Western states who should get bond hearings after six months in detention. The panel also said immigrants held more than a year should get bond hearings every six months where the federal government must show why they should remain locked up. "It substantially decreases the likelihood people will get lost in the system for years on end because there will be some examination of why the person is still incarcerated," said Ahilan Arulanantham, deputy legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, which represented plaintiffs in the case. The government is reviewing the court's decision, said Nicole Navas, a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice. The ruling came after years of litigation over whether immigrants unable to make bond or not initially granted bond are entitled to additional bond hearings. The ACLU in Southern California filed the lawsuit in 2007 on behalf of Mexican immigrant Alejandro Rodriguez, who was detained for several years without a bond hearing. For several years now, the hearings have been taking place but the ruling expands which immigrants should get them. Arulanantham said the appellate decision could increase the number of immigrants who get the hearings by roughly a third. An ACLU study released last year found that 69 percent of 1,680 detained immigrants in Southern California who got the bond hearings over an 18-month period were granted bond. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Jeb Bushs campaign spent much of the last week attempting to paint Marco Rubio as the GOPs version of Barack Obama in 2008 calling him young, inexperienced and only driven by his political ambitions. On the debate stage Wednesday night in Boulder, Colorado, the first term senator from Florida lived up to the Obama comparison saying there was no reason for him to wait in line and that the country needed a change and with it put in what many observers said was the strongest performance of the night. "Hes a very articulate guy and hes quick enough to catch those hard edge questions and turn them around in his favor," Cal Jilson, a professor of political science at Southern Methodist University, told Fox News Latino. Fending off attacks from both the moderators and rival candidate Bush, Rubio pushed back on media criticism of his voting record, calling it an example of bias against conservatives, and saying that Bush was only piling on the attack because "we're running for the same position and someone has convinced you that attacking me will help you." "Im not running against Governor Bush, Im not running against anyone on stage," Rubio said. "Im running for the president of the United States." Making the rounds of the morning talk shows on Thursday, Rubio continued his strong performance from the previous night espousing a clean politics agenda as he sees his stock on the presidential campaign stage soar. "My campaign is not going to be about attacking anybody else," Rubio told CBS. "My campaign is going to be [about] who I am and what is important for our country and the future of America and thats what I'm going to continue to focus on." Analysts said that the Cuban-American politicians personal history paired with his quick thinking on the debate stage is appealing to voters in a way that his Republican establishment challenger Bush is not. Rubio on Wednesday played down questions about both his youth and his financial situations, using them both as opportunities to highlight his parents immigrant background and his own familys struggles with paying bills, loans and for his childrens education. "Marco Rubio walked into the debate very well prepared," Patrick Murray, the director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, told FNL. "People really connect with Rubios personal story and his personalityRubio has a much better story than Bush." Coming off two very strong debate performances, the question that many political observers have is whether Rubios on-stage success will translate into success in the polls and among donors and delegates. The Florida senator still lags woefully behind in campaign cash and has so far not come close to landing the number of endorsements that his in-state rival has. As of Wednesday, Bush had 36 high-level endorsements compared to Rubios eight. Also while Rubio has seen his stock in the polls get a boost from his debate performances, he still isnt in striking distance of frontrunners Donald Trump, either nationally or in the all-important polls coming out of Iowa. The latest CBS/New York Times poll has Rubio pulling in 8 percent of the vote nationally, compared to Carsons 26 and Trumps 22 percent. In Iowa, Monmouths polling institute found that Carson grabbed 29 percent, while Cruz has 10.2 percent with fellow Cuban-American senator Ted Cruz nipping at his heels with 9.6 percent. Still, many see Rubio as the best shot at uniting a fractured Republican Party by bringing together its establishment and insurgent wings and with it emerging as the partys choice in the current sprawling presidential field. "Marco Rubio is positioning himself to be the mainstream, conservative candidate with a little Tea Party streak," Jilson said. On Thursday morning, during his victory lap on the early morning shows, Rubio, however, seemed less focused on winning the nomination and more on prepping for the next time he gets on the debate stage. "The election wasnt decided last night, and were going to have another debate in 14 days, and that will replace in peoples memory this one, so its part of a process," Rubio said, according to the Washington Post. Three Republicans running for office in New Jersey say they were barred from participating in the Hispanic State Parade because of politically-motivated efforts to undermine them by the events organizers. They are threatening to sue, and have demanded an official explanation for being denied participation. The Republicans, who have lodged their allegations in a letter, say that parade organizers used Gestapo tactics to keep them out of the parade, according to the Jersey Journal. The organizers say the candidates one is running for Hudson County Executive, and the other two are running for state Assembly did not comply with regulations for participating. "As we approached the start line at the intersection of Bergenline Avenue and 79th Street," the letter says, according to the Journal, "(parade coordinator Victor) Dominguez walked over to our float and almost immediately ... at least four North Bergen police officers on motorcycles surrounded the float." Another local publication, the Hudson County View, quoted one of the candidates, Garrett Simulcik Jr., who is an attorney, as saying that all of us, our supporters and our float were forced out of the parade by one of the event's organizers in addition to North Bergen police. He said that just before the parade began, they were approached and told we are not allowed to be here without further explanation, the Hudson County View said, adding that Simulcik noted that seemingly almost every local elected official participated in the parade." The candidates are Hudson County Executive candidate Ivan Sutherland, and state Assembly contenders Simulcik and Herminio Mendoza. The election will take place Nov. 3. In the letter, which was written by Simulcik, the Republican candidates demanded an explanation within 10 days or they would pursue a lawsuit. "I still have not received any formal response from the parade at all, Simulcik said to the Journal. Once I receive that response, I'll review it accordingly and decide whether to take legal action. The candidates say they were mindful about the steps required to be on their campaign float in the parade, and that as recently as the day before the parade, they were assured that they were approved, the Journal said. The other publication, the Hudson County View, quoted the candidates as saying that it was clear in their communication with parade organizers that their float was going to have campaign themes, and there was no objection to it. Hudson County Republican Party Chairman Jose Arango confirmed their spot in the parade, the newspaper added. Arango, who had been scheduled to be honored at the parade, told the newspaper that he told the organizers that he was bringing the candidates as his guests. Hispanic State Parade organizers said in a statement to the Journal that Mendoza, Simulcik and Sutherland failed to fill out requisite insurance and registration information documents for having a float in the event. They also said the parade is apolitical and that campaign promotional materials are not permitted. "If any campaign has participated in previous years it has been without our permission and without our consent," the statement read. "We welcome people from all backgrounds and do not discriminate against political affiliations. However, we do not allow campaigning during the parade." Arango, for his part, characterized the parade drama as a byproduct of Hudson County politics, skewed toward the "Democratic machine." "Hudson County is a one-party system, that's basically what it is," he said, according to the Journal. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed legislation on Wednesday that targets "sanctuary cities" and immigrant identification, turning back pleas from advocates to veto a bill that they say harms immigrants and businesses that rely on immigrant labor. McCrory used a room inside the Guilford County Sheriff's Office in downtown Greensboro as a backdrop to sign the measure. He was flanked by Sheriff BJ Barnes and other local law enforcement and political leaders. "Public safety officials must have the flexibility and tools to investigate crimes and sanctuary city policies deprive law enforcement of those tools," McCrory said. McCrory passed out pens and shook hands, then left the 20-minute ceremony without talking with reporters who crowded into the room. While protesters have been a constant presence at the Executive Mansion in Raleigh to urge McCrory to veto the measure, there were no protesters seen around the sheriff's office. Critics of McCrory's decision held a news conference a few blocks away. The bill was among roughly a dozen that McCrory had yet to act upon from the dozens the General Assembly approved in the final days of this year's session. The governor has until midnight Friday to sign or veto the remaining bills. Otherwise, they become law without his signature. The legislation was approved largely upon party lines favoring Republicans. It prevents government officials or police from accepting identification cards issued by the Mexican consulate or by other consulates to affirm someone's identity. The cards, which bill supporters argue are unreliable and favored by immigrants in the country unlawfully, also couldn't be used to confirm one's identity to obtain a driver's license, insurance or Medicaid coverage. Also barred are ID cards issued by local governments or outside organizations, although they could be used by police when a person stopped has no other ID. Several other types of ID remain acceptable. The measure also prohibits local governments from approving policies that supporters say improve uneasy relations between police and immigrants and encourages crime victims to come forward. In addition, many more government contracts will be contingent on employees of contractors and subcontractors complying with E-verify requirements to check the immigration status of workers. And the bill prevents the state from seeking federal government waivers allowing healthy adults without dependents from receiving food stamps beyond three months unless they're working or getting training. Barnes, the Guilford sheriff, said McCrory did the right thing in signing the bill, especially when it comes to sanctuary cities. "Sanctuary cities give people a false sense," Barnes said. "If Greensboro is telling their police officers not to enforce the laws of the federal government and that we have, then that's going to give them a false sense. They're going to end up being caught and being held for not having the proper ID." A handful of North Carolina towns and cities Durham, Chapel Hill and Carrboro among them instruct law enforcement and other officials not to ask the immigration status of people with whom they come into contact or ignore deportation orders in some cases. The North Carolina Justice Center issued a statement saying it was "deeply disappointed" by McCrory's decision to sign the bill. "We have consistently called for the governor to veto this harmful legislation. The law undermines how local governments address their own needs when it comes to immigrant communities and makes North Carolina appear to be a hostile place for newcomers of all identities," the center's statement said. The American Friends Service Committee also issued a statement opposing the bill. "We embrace and celebrate the contributions that immigrants have made to our state and urge our policymakers to expand not restrict ways for immigrants to participate in mainstream society," Lori Fernald Khamala of the American Friends Service Committee said in the statement. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The new Speaker of the House of Representatives has told members of his party that he will not attempt to advance any immigration reform effort while President Barack Obama is still in the Oval Office. According to the National Review, Rep. Paul Ryan a Wisconsin Republican whom House Republicans confirmed Thursday to be the chambers next speaker, replacing Rep. John Boehner of Ohio made his immigration-reform vow by signing off on a letter written by Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama seeking his pledge not to bring immigration up while Obama is president. The letter referred to a conversation that Ryan had with the House Freedom Caucus, a conservative faction that is vehemently opposed to any effort to give undocumented immigrants legal status. The letter, which the National Review said it had obtained an exclusive copy of, confirmed a promise that Ryan was said to have made to the caucus in a private meeting last week when he was assessing how much support he would have if he ran for the speakership. Brooks expressed plans to enter the letter and Ryans agreement with its contents in the Congressional Record. The Alabama representative said that if Ryan confirmed his promise not to bring up immigration until at least 2017 and if, even then, he would do so only if a majority of his party supported it, Brooks would endorse Ryans candidacy for speaker. I need your assurance that you will not use the speakers position to advance your immigration policies ... because there is a huge gap between your immigration position and the wishes of the American citizens I represent, Brooks wrote. Your words yesterday constitute the needed assurance. If my portrayal of your words errs in any respect, please deliver to me ... a written communication correcting my errors, the letter went on. The National Review said that Ryan confirmed his agreement with the letter in an interview with the publication. I have long and publicly been opposed to the Gang of Eight bill, and there will be no comprehensive immigration reform under this president, the publication quoted Ryan as saying. The so-called Gang of Eight bill was a bipartisan Senate resolution that passed in 2013 but stalled in the House, that called for comprehensive immigration reform that would have, among other things, tightened border security and provided a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants who met a strict set of criteria. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The Venezuelan prosecutor who helped build a case against opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, which resulted in him being sentenced to almost 14 years in jail, is accusing President Nicolas Maduro of directly ordering the politician's arrest. Franklin Nieves, who arrived in the United States with his family last week where he has been making bombshell allegations about Lopezs case being a farce, is seeking political asylum. Nieves said he was forced to use false evidence to build a case against Lopez after the opposition leader and former mayor engaged in anti-Maduro government protests that sometimes turned violent. Nieves new claim about a direct Maduro involvement in getting Lopez who was gaining international attention with his protests off the streets were made during an interview on Tuesday with CNN en Espanol. The prosecutor said that the aggressive handling of Lopez was rooted in a desire to silence someone who was gaining influence and exposure and drawing larger and larger crowds. "They jailed him because they fear his leadership, he told CNN. After examining each and every piece of evidence, it was shown that this person had at no point made even a single call to violence, Nieves said, adding that Lopez made painstaking efforts to urge his supporters to be peaceful. Nieves said that witnesses made statements about Lopez that were patently untrue and that Lopez was denied an opportunity to properly defend himself. He said that a general ordered him to meet with an intelligence official who made up information that was later used to justify arresting Lopez. They made up those facts in the moment, Nieves said. Venezuelas top prosecutor, Luisa Ortega, has called Nievess allegations untrue and said that he never complained before about any improprieties regarding Lopezs arrest and charges. The prosecutors office never put pressure on him, Ortega said in an interview with Venezuela's Venevision. If he was pressured, it was undoubtedly by foreign elements. CNN unsuccessfully tried to get a comment from Venezuela's Ministry of Communications and Information. Venezuelas ombudsman, Tarek William Saab, however, told CNN that the proper time for Nieves to have raised his concerns and allegations would have been during the case against Lopez. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Puerto Rico's governor signed an executive order on Friday banning the use of plastic bags across the U.S. territory, defying legislators who just days ago rejected a similar bill. The ban will take effect in mid-2016 and will be preceded by a six-month educational campaign, Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said. The announcement surprised many because 25 legislators in the island's House of Representatives recently voted against a measure calling for such a ban. Lawmakers had said they opposed the bill because it would charge people for the use of plastic bags amid an economic crisis. Garcia said grocery stores across Puerto Rico import tons of plastic bags a year, noting that one small supermarket chain alone annually imports bags that fit in six boxcars that are 42 feet (13 meters) long. "All that ends up in landfills in the best-case scenario," he said. "They end up on our streets, in our sewage system ... and kill our turtles and coral reefs." The popular western tourist town of Rincon is the only Puerto Rican municipality that currently bans the use of plastic bags. Environmental activists praised the move, noting that it is common to double-bag all groceries on the island, no matter how small the purchase. Garcia said he would push for legislation to be approved to help bolster his executive order. Elsewhere in the U.S., plastic bag bans have been implemented in cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle and Austin, Texas. In addition, all counties in Hawaii have approved such a prohibition. There is currently no statewide ban on plastic bags, although California is placing the issue before voters in a November 2016 ballot. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram In proposing the U.S. adopt a flat tax coupled with a levy similar to a European-style value added tax, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is contributing to a division in the Republican presidential field. Some simply want to cut existing rates. But others Cruz among them suggest scrapping the nation's tax code entirely and starting over from scratch. All the tax plans released by the Republican candidates to date would starkly reduce the amount of money Americans and U.S. businesses pay in taxes, with experts including those who support them predicting they would balloon the nation's debt by trillions of dollars over the next decade. While all people of all incomes would generally pay less in federal taxes in every plan, the benefits skew largely toward the wealthy. But the candidates, who say the proposals would jump-start economic growth, get there in very different ways. Donald Trump, Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush have all proposed cuts and consolidation of existing tax rates, maintaining a tax code that collects a larger share of income from taxpayers as it rises. Cruz has joined Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul in combining a flat tax, or a single rate paid by all regardless of their income, along with a tax on business activity that would take the place of the current payroll and corporate income tax. That business activity tax is essentially what's known as a value-added tax. It's akin to a sales tax, since it's assumed that businesses will pass the cost of paying it onto consumers. Many tax experts like the value-added tax since it is simpler and less likely to include loopholes for special interest groups. "Nearly every economist would tell you it's a more efficient tax," said Howard Gleckman of the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the nonpartisan Brookings Institute and Urban Institute. Cruz's plan, released shortly before Wednesday's Republican presidential debate, calls for a flat income tax rate of 10 percent, as well as a tax of 16 percent on all aspects of business from sales to expenses to salaries paid. "You pay 10 percent of the flat tax going up," Cruz said during Wednesday night's debate. "The billionaire and the working man. No hedge fund manager pays less than his secretary." An analysis by the Tax Foundation, a group that supports lower tax rates, found that about half the benefits from a switch to Cruz's plan would go to the top 10 percent of all income earners. In part, that's because wealthy people paying higher rates benefit more from the drop to 10 percent. It's also because they spend a smaller percentage of their money on daily necessities and would therefore pay less via the value-added tax. The Tax Foundation's analysis of Cruz's plan says that it would increase the deficit by as much as $3.6 trillion over the next decade. When factoring in the possible economic growth triggered by the tax cuts, that number drops to $768 billion. Daniel Mitchell, an economist at the libertarian Cato Institute, said combining a flat tax and value-added tax has the benefits of low rates and a simpler tax code. But there's a political risk in a Republican primary, too. "A Republican could score some very serious punches if he says, well, my opponent wants a European-style value-added tax," Mitchell said. Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler argued the tax is not really European-style since it replaces existing taxes rather than adding onto them. "The result should be the opposite of Euro-stagnation: A re-ignition of the U.S. economy." Value-added taxes are also criticized by some for placing a heavier burden on low-income taypayers. Higher standard deductions can mitigate that issue, Gleckman said, but he said Cruz's deduction of $36,000 for a family of four is too low. To encourage savings, Cruz would also allow taypayers to save $25,000 a year in an IRA-style account in which no tax would be paid until the money is spent. But poorer households, Gleckman said, don't tend to make enough money to take advantage of such a benefit. Cruz's plan would also lower the tax on capital gains to 10 percent, a windfall for those who make most of their money from investments. Still, by eliminating the payroll tax he gets rid of an existing regressive levy on salaried workers, especially middle-class ones. Mitchell said the Cruz proposal is sound and could help boost economic growth, but he has reservations about how a future president could try to raise the flat income tax from Cruz's low levels while enjoying the large revenues supplied by the value-added tax. "I worry that if you are putting in a VAT without getting rid of all income taxation, then you're just setting the stage for President Chelsea Clinton to make America into France," Mitchell said. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Hundreds of immigrant families caught illegally crossing the Mexican border told U.S. immigration agents they made the dangerous journey in part because they believed they would be permitted to stay in the United States and collect public benefits, according to internal intelligence files from the Homeland Security Department. The interviews with immigrants by federal agents were intended to help the Obama administration understand what might be driving a puzzling surge in the numbers of border crossings that started over the summer. The explanations suggest the U.S. government's efforts to discourage illegal crossings may have been unsuccessful. Its efforts have included public service campaigns in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala to highlight the dangers and consequences of making the trek across Mexico to cross illegally into the United States. The Associated Press obtained copies of the interview summaries, which were compiled in reports by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Intelligence. They said hundreds of people traveling as part of families consistently cited opportunities to obtain permission to stay in the U.S., claim asylum and receive unspecified benefits. Immigrants spoke of "permisos," or a pass to come into the United States. The report "is not intended to be a comprehensive analysis of the situation," said department spokeswoman Marsha Catron, adding that troubles in the immigrants' home countries likely contributed to their flight as well. Although the Obama administration has explained that immigrants who cross the U.S. border illegally can be deported, lengthy backlogs of more than 456,000 cases mean that immigrants can effectively remain in the U.S. for years before a judge decides whether they should leave the country. Also, recent court rulings have complicated the government's plans to hold families in immigration jails pending deportation proceedings. Immigrants living in the U.S. illegally generally are not eligible for public benefits, except that children may receive free or reduced meals in public schools. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said the rising number of border crossings by families and children was due to "push factors" in Central America, such as crime and violence. He said the Obama administration wants to invest $1 billion in Central America to address the underlying problems that push families and children out of Central America. "We need to expand on this and ... we need to make the hard investment," Johnson said Thursday at an academic conference at the Georgetown University Law Center. Federal agents interviewed 345 people traveling with family members between July 7 and Sept. 30, according to the five-page report obtained by the House Judiciary Committee and shared with the AP. The interviews did not focus on what prompted the immigrants to leave their home countries, though many did mention gang and family violence as factors. "This internal Border Patrol document shows that the Obama administration's lax immigration policies are the culprit for the ongoing surge at our borders," said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Last year, the administration coped with an unprecedented spike in children and families. By the end of the 2014 budget year, more than 136,000 people traveling as families and unaccompanied children had been caught crossing the border illegally. The numbers had dipped this year, with 79,808 people caught at the border. But the figures surged again during the last three months of this budget year. Although the administration opened two new detention centers in Texas to hold thousands of immigrants, a federal judge in California ruled in August that the facilities violated a long-standing legal agreement that stipulates that immigrant children cannot be held in unlicensed secured facilities. U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee ordered the department to release the children, with their mothers when possible, "without unnecessary delay" and gave the department until this month to comply. The administration has appealed that ruling, though before Gee's order was issued, Johnson had already announced plans to make it easier for families to be released on bond after being caught at the border. Most of the immigrants interviewed, or 181 of them, said reports about the release of immigrant families influenced their decision to come to the U.S. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush battle didn't end on the stage on Colorado Wednesday night, and with the ascension of the Florida senator as serious presidential contender following the debate, his rivals particularly Bush are looking to shoot the rising Rubio out of the sky. A leaked 112-page PowerPoint presentation from a meeting with Jeb Bush donors earlier this week in Houston revealed a plan by the former Florida governor's campaign to discredit the candidates that Bush sees as the biggest challenge to winning over the Republican establishment, and eventually the presidential nomination. The PowerPoint, which was presented by Bush's campaign manager Danny Diaz and top advisor Sally Bradshaw, hit Rubio on a number of issues: the senator's lack of experience, his close ties to certain businessmen and lawmakers, and questions about his past. "Those who have looked into Marco's background in the past have been concerned with what they have found," the PowerPoint said. This line has drawn particular attention as it fueled speculation that it refers to 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign vetting process of Rubio for the vice presidential slot, especially after a Bush aide made reference to Romney's vetting process to U.S. News. A longtime Romney aide, however, denied the Bush campaign claims. "As the senior Romney advisor who handled VP vetting and had access to all the vetting documents, I can say that Senator Rubio 'passed' our vetting and we found nothing that disqualified him from serving as VP," Beth Myers, the Romney aide who counts herself as a Bush supporter, wrote in a note to Politico. "The Bush aide referred to in this article is simply wrong." Bush's camp continued its assault on Rubio when Mike Murphy, the head of Bush's Right to Rise Super-PAC, called Rubio out for his fundraising and the "Obama treatment" he is receiving from the media. "I think Rubio's been in this position of promising 'I'm going to be great eventually' and not held to anything," Murphy told Bloomberg. "Rubio can be up or down, nothing matters. None of the yardstick being applied to us is being applied to Rubio." Murphy added: "I think the media should take a more adversarial position there, like they do with everybody else It's another Obama parallel to me: he's getting the Obama 2008 treatment." Bush isn't the only person zeroing in on Rubio now that he's in the limelight. Following a heated opinion piece in the Sun-Sentinel newspaper calling on Rubio to resign from his Senate seat for missing so many votes and the attack on the same issue by Bush during the most recent debate Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, also said Rubio should step away from the Senate. "Why shouldn't he (resign)? He hates the Senate," Reid reportedly said, according to Talking Point Memo. "Why should the taxpayers of this country and people of Florida put up with having only one senator? Doesn't seem fair to me." "For Marco Rubio here to dump on the Senate, this institution established by our founding fathers, he should be ashamed of himself," Reid said, according to Politico. "And the people of Florida, why they put up with it, I don't know. They damn sure aren't getting their money's worth." Rubio both during the debate and his media tour on Thursday morning choose not to go on the attack against Bush. "My campaign is going to be about the future of America; it's not going to be about attacking anyone else on this stage," Rubio said. He repeated the higher-road theme on Thursday, telling ABC's "Good Morning America" that he has "admiration" for Bush and wants only to underscore policy differences between the two. Though Rubio brushed off Bush, his Senate attendance may soon get more scrutiny, especially when fellow candidate Ted Cruz on Thursday canceled campaign appearances in Nevada. His spokeswoman said the Texas senator had to return to Washington for scheduled votes. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The immigration debate is front and center in the San Francisco sheriff's race following a killing in which a Mexican man in the country illegally has been charged. Incumbent Ross Mirkarimi faces a challenge Tuesday from a 30-year veteran of the San Francisco Sheriff's Department. Vicki Hennessy says she wants to restore credibility to the department after several embarrassments since Mirkarimi took office in 2012. Mirkarimi says he has owned up to his missteps, including a misdemeanor false imprisonment conviction for grabbing his wife's arm during a spat in 2011. The pivotal issue in the race is the city's policy of shielding people in the country illegally from the reach of federal immigration officials. The department released the Mexican national despite a federal immigration request to detain him. He is accused of killing a San Francisco woman. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram South Dakota's economic development office on Friday defended its ability to administer a program for recruiting wealthy foreign investors for projects in exchange for green cards, saying problems flagged by the federal government stem from a private company that previously ran the program. The state asked that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services refrain from ending South Dakota's participation in the EB-5 visa program as a result of alleged problems going back several years. The agency determined that South Dakota's regional center for the EB-5 visa program isn't promoting economic growth and said administrators have failed to submit required information to the agency, according to the late September notification. The state had until the end of the month to respond. SDRC Inc. previously managed the program, but the state took over administration after ending that contract in 2013. Since then, there haven't been any new projects. The Governor's Office of Economic Development said in its response to the immigration agency that it is not seeking to defend SDRC, as it recognized the firm's problems and responded by terminating its contract. Joop Bollen, a pioneer of EB-5 in South Dakota whose firm is the target of a state lawsuit about the program, said in a separate response to the federal agency that its grievances against him are overstated. He argued that Citizenship and Immigration Services shouldn't terminate the state's participation and said the regional center helped spawn successful projects with very few failures, according to a copy of his responses to the agency provided to The Associated Press. Many questions raised in an agency inquiry into the South Dakota regional center concern the management of the program under Bollen, who oversaw it as a public employee and as part of SDRC. The notification to the state cites conflicting information in federal filings that leaves $5 million in EB-5 funds unaccounted for, and the diversion of about $1.7 million intended for a South Dakota beef plant to a Cyprus-based holding company for two Russian firms involved in railway transportation and the repair of railroad rolling stock, among other allegations. In his responses, Bollen denied intentionally providing inaccurate or incomplete information to Citizenship and Immigration Services and said the agency never flagged reports as problematic. He also "vehemently" disputed failing to meet management and oversight responsibilities when he was associated with the state's regional center. Bollen explained that fund discrepancies came from simple mathematical errors and argued that neither he nor anyone associated with SDRC were aware of the wire transfers to the Cyprus firm. A review of the notice "indicates that (the agency) has gone well out of its way, beyond any norm, to terminate South Dakota's regional center," he said. The state filed a lawsuit earlier this month against SDRC in part to compel it to turn over all documentation about its management of the program. Bollen said in written testimony to a legislative oversight committee in 2014 that he gave the state EB-5 documents when the contract to run the regional center was canceled. The economic development office maintains that it still hasn't received a complete set of records from SDRC, including contact information for all EB-5 petitioners and the books, records and reports relied upon to complete its immigration agency reports. The office also wants the books, records and reports from each limited partnership created to pool investors' money. SDRC said it has provided the records it uses to file its immigration reports, but limited partnership records are not part of the management of the regional center. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram House Speaker Paul Ryan on Sunday ruled out a comprehensive overhaul of the immigration system while President Barack Obama is in office. The new leader of the Republican-controlled House said in several interviews Sunday that he will not work with Obama because the president went around Congress with an executive order to shield from deportation millions of people living here illegally. "I don't think we can trust the president on this issue," Ryan said on NBC's "Meet the Press" and other programs. "I do not believe we should advance comprehensive immigration legislation with a president who has proven himself untrustworthy on this issue." The decision puts off any prospect of addressing a comprehensive immigration overhaul until at least 2017 after the presidential race and Obama's departure from office. It leaves the legislation stalled in the House and without a chance of being revived in the Senate. For Ryan, the move removes the prospects of a clash with the same House conservatives who made John Boehner's life difficult and helped push Boehner into retirement. Ryan was a proponent of the stalled comprehensive immigration bill, and conservatives had been concerned that he would try to revive it as speaker. What concerns Ryan, he said on "Fox News Sunday," is the congressional Republicans' focus on tactics, rather than what he called, "vision." "We have none," Ryan said. "We have to have a vision and offer an alternative to this country so that they can see that if we get a chance to lead, if we get the presidency, and if we keep Congress, this is what it will look like. This is how we'll fix the problems that working families are facing." Clashing with Obama over an issue as complex and volatile as comprehensive immigration reform, Ryan suggested, is not helpful for the GOP now. He said it's possible to get smaller immigration-related policy passed. "If we believe and have consensus on things like border enforcement and interior security, then fine," he said on ABC's "This Week." Obama issued directives a year ago that gave temporary relief from deportation to about 4 million immigrants in the country illegally, along with permits authorizing them to work in the U.S. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram For months, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has flown under the radar in the Republican presidential race, an unusual position for a politician who has been in the spotlight since arriving in Washington nearly three years ago. Now, Cruz is trying to ride a standout performance in last week's GOP debate into new momentum for his campaign. He's casting himself as the conservative the party's right flank has been waiting for someone who's both uncompromising and electable. "How about this time we nominate as Republicans a candidate as committed to conservative principles as Barack Obama is to liberal principles?" Cruz said Saturday during a Republican forum in Des Moines. Cruz is running an operation with important advantages. He ended the last fundraising period with more campaign cash on hand than any other candidate. He has a well-funded super political action committee that has been spending money to on television advertising. His fights with Republican leaders in Washington have made him a well-known figure among conservatives frustrated with the party establishment. But even with those assets, Cruz has spent months mired in the middle of the large GOP field. While he positioned himself early to absorb Donald Trump's supporters if the billionaire businessman stumbled, Trump is still a commanding presence in the primary. Cruz also faces a new challenge with the rise of retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who is drawing support from religious conservatives. The debate provided Cruz with the kind of breakout moment that could jumpstart his White House bid. He slammed the CNBC debate moderators for asking questions in a way that he said "illustrate why the American people don't trust the media" and challenged them to ask "about the substantive issues people care about." On Saturday, Cruz stepped up his critique of the debate moderators. He was cheered enthusiastically by the 2,000-person crowd when he called for future debates to be moderated by conservatives such as radio host Rush Limbaugh. Following his remarks, he was mobbed by voters seeking autographs and handshakes for nearly an hour. "He's honest," said Pam Malone, a 64-year-old Republican from Des Moines who was holding a Cruz sign. "If he says it's something he's going to do, he does it." With the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses approaching, Cruz aides say they see an opportunity to form a coalition of tea party supporters, evangelicals and libertarians. Cruz is a tea party favorite and aides say he is having some success drawing libertarians unimpressed by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. Evangelicals, however, are up for grabs, with Cruz and Carson competing for support with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. If Cruz can unite those three voting groups, aides say it would put him in a strong position to go head to head with the candidate that emerges as the choice of the party's more moderate, business-focused wing. That's shaping up to be a fight between Floridians Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush, with Ohio Gov. John Kasich and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie struggling to stay in the mix. Cruz's strategy faces its first test in this leadoff caucus state. His campaign has eight paid staffers in Iowa and is trying to recruit endorsements from pastors in each of the state's 99 counties. Cruz is also angling for key endorsements from conservative leaders in the state. Following his remarks in Des Moines, Cruz headed to conservative northwest Iowa for a pheasant hunt with Rep. Steve King, who has wide influence in the state. In mid-November, he'll speak at a forum hosted by Bob Vander Plaats, head of the social conservative organization The Family Leader. Beyond Iowa and the other early voting contests, Cruz is focusing significant attention on the Southern states that vote in early March. The campaign sees the conservative-leaning states as fertile ground for the Texas senator and believes victories there would set Cruz on track for the nomination. The 44-year-old Cruz was elected to the Senate in 2012 and quickly established himself as a thorn in the side of Republican leaders. He was a driving force in the 2013 partial government shutdown and Republican efforts to tie funding the government to starving President Barack Obama's health care law of money. To that end, he conducted a 21-hour filibuster on the Senate floor. While Cruz has made his share of enemies among establishment Republicans, his willingness to take on his own party is seen as an advantage among voters who believe the GOP leaders compromised too much since taking control of Congress. "I like how he's tough on the Democrats and the Republicans," said Terri Studer, 55, a Republican from Des Moines who is leaning toward caucusing for Cruz. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram U.S. government officials who are playing a key role in firming up ties with the Cuban regime and paving the road to more open trade and travel, say that there have been important strides. But they stressed that big challenges also loom among the most formidable is a reluctance by Cuban officials to loosen or cede control over the way business is done on the island, and over telecommunications. Alex Lee, the U.S. State Departments Deputy Assistant Secretary for South America and Cuba, said at a symposium on Cuba on Friday in New York City that undoubtedly theres been a profound shift in paradigm in relation toward Cuba. We have moved smartly to initiate a variety of changes, even amid the restrictions posed by the decades-long trade embargo, Lee said. The regulatory changes are real significantwe identified areas we want both countries to expand. Lee was one of the speakers at the conference called: Cuba: The Year in Review and a Look to the Future, jointly organized by Americas Society/Council on the Americas and the CAF Development Bank of Latin America. Speakers included other U.S. government officials involved in restoring U.S.-Cuba diplomatic ties, professors from the University of Havana and organizations that are helping U.S. businesses explore opportunities on the island. Lee spoke of discussions between the two countries about passenger ferry service from South Florida to Cuba and about opportunities for U.S.-Cuban business ventures in the area of telecommunications. Weve seen some definite moves by the Cuban government in the establishment of Wi-Fi on the island, he said, while noting that such technology remains financially prohibitive for most Cuban citizens. Were getting very very close to establishing mail service between both countries, Lee added. But U.S. officials and businesses want to see more direct dealings with Cuban entrepreneurs, something that officials are not quite ready to step aside in order to facilitate. The Cuban government, Lee said, still clearly prefers to channel all business opportunities to state-run enterprises." He added, American businesses will face challenges in operating in Cuba. The Cuban government has things to do if it really wants to take full advantage of the opportunities available. Cuban officials, as well as the growing number of Cubans who have started, or want to start, their own businesses, have a great learning curve ahead. U.S. Commerce Department General Counsel Kelly Walsh, who has made several trips to Cuba to hold talks about trade and travel, said Cubans have expressed a need for information and guidance with regard to U.S. regulatory changes since restrictions have been eased by the Obama administration. Cuban entrepreneurs also have to learn the fundamentals about finances, such as banking and credit, among other things, the speakers said. Americans visiting Cuba, in turn, had to learn about the role of Cuban businesses and the Cuban government, Walsh said, and the impact on the evolving opportunities to conduct business between the two nations. As for expanding access to, and opportunities in, telecommunications, Lee said, The Cuban government reaction has been fascinating. Cuban officials, Lee said, are concerned and ambivalent about the Internet and opening up access to everyday residents. Part of that is the paradigm of control, Lee said, adding that it behooves Cuban leaders to rethink whats in their international interest. There were circuitous conversations about opening up the Internet in Cuba, he said, which is essential to developing global business. Cubans, however, are quite adamant about maintaining a level of control over the activities of the islands citizens on the Internet. Theres a push-pull in Cuba, he said. Theyre divided over how theyre going to open up. An economy professor, Ricardo Torres Perez, at the University of Havana said Cuba has made crucial steps to improve the economy, particularly after going through dire times about five years ago. It took a great deal of energy to address it, Torres Perez said. Weve achieved ambitious economic reforms. The mere fact that theyre even talking about private businesses in Cuba and the Internet shows that. In an interview with Fox News Latino after his talk, Walsh said that for now, Its not their goal to privatize their economy. Its a state-owned, state-planned economy, Lee said. For U.S. businesses, its easier to work in a market-based economy. Emilio Morales, president of the Havana Consulting Group, said Cuba was left with little choice but to change, and will have to keep adapting, even against its instincts. It began suffering major financial losses when the Soviet Union a longtime lifeline broke up. Most recently have come the economic problems and political instability in Venezuela, its most recent financial donor, Morales said. Cuba has to open itself to the world, he said. It has to change its mindset. Decatur resident Francisco Hernandez owns a business, helps with charities and won an award at last month's Diversity Summit. Born and raised in Mexico, he and his wife, Lilia, received a U-visa in 2012, which lasts three years, after Lilia was robbed at gunpoint by three men. Victims of some crimes in the United States are eligible for the U-visa. The couple soon will be able to apply for permanent residency. Five years after that, they can apply to be U.S. citizens. But living in an area that's still dealing with the aftermath of the nation's toughest immigration law, Hernandez said he can never be good enough. "I feel frustrated because I pay my taxes. I have good behavior. I don't drink. I don't steal. I don't even smoke. I contribute to the community," Hernandez said. He continued, "It's sad because it doesn't matter how much you work. It doesn't matter how good you are. It doesn't matter how legal you are. You are nothing here as a Hispanic. We are nothing here." Hernandez, 49, owns Novedades La Reyna on Central Parkway, a store that has been a party planning center in the Hispanic community since 2001. Mannequins adorned in colorful prom, wedding and quinceanera dresses crowd the room. Diamond-studded tiaras and scepters glisten in display cases. When he's not at his store, he donates time to the United Way of Morgan County, where he has been a board member for three years. He won the Longevity Award at the sixth annual Diversity Summit. Billed as the nation's toughest immigration crackdown at the time, Alabama's law has since been mostly gutted by courts. But four years after House Bill 56 was enacted in Alabama, Hernandez said he said he and other members of the Hispanic community still are reeling from the parts of the legislation that remain in effect. Hernandez said initially Hispanics divorced themselves from their Alabama lives. Renters fled their homes because the law banned landlords from housing undocumented workers. Parents pulled their children out of schools because the law required school officials to check students' legal status. People stayed in their homes, afraid of police who were required to detain those they suspected were undocumented immigrants. A deteriorating Mexican economy was the reason Hernandez and his family settled in Decatur, which now is 12 percent Hispanic, in February 1997. Ten years later, he had enough success to expand his operations by creating a second store of the same name in Albertville. Hernandez got his first taste of HB 56 in the Marshall County Courthouse while renewing his annual business license for the Albertville store. Before the law, the process was simple, he said. He just had to produce his Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, a nine-digit number issued by the IRS to those who cannot obtain a Social Security number, and the license was provided. So he was surprised when the clerk, with a "nasty attitude," quizzed him about his legal status. He was turned away because he couldn't produce documentation of permanent residency, commonly known as a "green card." The same thing happened when he tried to get his business license at the Morgan County Courthouse for the Decatur store. The courthouse questions frustrated Hernandez less, however, than the reversal in attitude after courts struck down the restriction on business licenses and other provisions of the law. "When she asked me if I was a legal resident, her [expression] was ugly, but her attitude was uglier, like hatred of me being there. Two months later, I go again, and she was fine," Hernandez said. "It was like the law gave people permission to be racist." Athens State University senior Elizabeth Becerra, who also was born in Mexico but moved to Decatur with a green card when she was 8, said friends who fled the state are slowly returning to the community but with more hesitation. A criminal justice major, Becerra, 24, said north Alabamians of Hispanic origin spend their day tip-toeing through life, whether legal or not. They dodge any interaction with law enforcement and avoid errands that require them to travel around town. In case they are deported, Becerra said, families have backup plans. "If we were to be taken to Mexico, we would have a job over there just in case," Becerra said. "Mexico is a difficult place to live right now, but we still have to have plans so we can have a life over there." Becerra passed her U.S. citizenship test in 2012. Although Hernandez likes working at his store, the exodus of Hispanics after the passage of HB 56 hurt his business. Sales at the Albertville shop still are not what they used to be, he said. The Decatur store is staying afloat because he's working harder, he said. He conducts hours of research to perfect his elaborate balloon displays. It takes hours more to create them, he said. He now chronicles his client's joyous moments with his photography and videography. He and his wife travel far and wide to decorate an event. Hernandez said he is lucky to still be working, but the extra labor has uprooted a treasured part of Hispanic culture in America: family. "Adding things, adding things, adding things. More work, more work, more work," Hernandez said. "Here we destroy the family because the kids, we push them to the side because we work to cover expenses. I try to raise them in a good way, but it's sad because you put your family in second place instead of first place." Naomi Tsu, Southern Poverty Law Center senior staff attorney, said public uproar caused parts of HB 56 to collapse even before for the law went into effect, and much of the remainder of the law has since been struck down as unconstitutional by courts. Even so, she said, some municipalities have persisted in enforcing parts of the law that are no longer valid. One woman couldn't get her water turned on in Anniston because she couldn't provide an Alabama driver's license, Tsu said. The SPLC then sent a letter to Anniston explaining the changes in the old law. Within one business day, the woman had water for her family. Tsu said there are many Hispanic families who don't know to contact the SPLC for incidents. Thus, the individuals find shortcuts, by putting utilities under another name, or simply buying five-gallon jugs of water from the store. "I can't speak for why people do it, but ignorance of the law is no reason to be breaking the law," Tsu said. "We as a country are a land of immigrants and people who are rightly thought of as warm and welcoming ... The thought of someone being denied basic services just because they are a newcomer is not who we are. We are better than that." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush on Monday released his long-planned e-book, "Reply All," a selection of email exchanges with everyday Floridians, journalists and others during his two terms as Florida governor. Bush's publication of the 730-page digital book comes as he attempts to reset a campaign hobbled by stagnant poll numbers, a fundraising slowdown and a poor debate performance. On Monday, Bush officially begins his "Jeb Can Fix It" tour in Tampa, pitched as the start of his campaign comeback. The e-book covers his two terms as governor, 1999-2007, when he carried a Blackberry at all times, spending 25 to 30 hours a week emailing and responding to a diverse range of people through his public and personal email account. The Blackberry was included in Bush's official portrait as governor. Bush told NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that the e-book is "really the essence of the servant leadership that I had as governor of this state." Since launching his presidential campaign in June, Bush has repeatedly pointed to his record and experience as governor to sell voters on why he should be the GOP's next nominee. The first chapter, "This is Exhilarating," opens with his inaugural address on Jan. 5, 1999. The book ends with a chapter titled "This Job Gives Me Great Joy!" The book includes the saga of Elian Gonzalez, the 5-year-old boy returned to Cuba more than a year after he was found clinging to an inner tube off the Florida coast when his mother and others fleeing Cuba drowned trying to reach U.S. soil. He wrote one constituent that the case "should not be looked at from a political perspective," but what's in the child's "best interest." On the 2000 presidential election recount, Bush wrote: "As governor I was somewhat embarrassed about how difficult the recount became. Who had ever heard of 'hanging chads?" The razor-thin margin in Florida between his brother, George W. Bush, and Vice President Al Gore, led to a contested outcome resolved before the U.S. Supreme Court. More typical were emails with everyday Floridians like a woman complaining in 1999 about problems caused by tractor-trailers on I-75 and a man outraged in 2006 over the state's skyrocketing homeowner insurance rates. He also shared his mixed feelings on receiving an email from a 32-year-old black single mother who praised him at the end of his gubernatorial tenure, but said she was unconvinced he cared about African-Americans. "All people matter to me and I have tried as hard as I can to prove that," Bush replied. He also included email exchanges with current GOP rival and fellow Floridian Marco Rubio. "I couldn't resist ribbing my friend Marco Rubio just a little," wrote Bush in a 2006 email when Rubio's office responded to his email with an automated reply. Rubio was House speaker at the time. "Automated response!!! ...," Bush wrote back with 26 exclamation points. Rubio wrote back: "Even the most innovative among us need time to make dramatic changes like getting rid of the auto response!" In the final chapter, Bush rejects talk of a Bush dynasty in an email to the conservative Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes and said: "I am not big on talking about dynasties because I don't think they reflect the service of my granddad, father and brother's public service. It is not the motivating factor," he wrote. "It is not who we are." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram In another indication of his effort to woo Latino voters for 2016, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has added another prominent Dreamer to his campaign. The Vermont Senators campaign hired longtime immigration activist Erika Andiola, 28, as a Latino outreach strategist for the Southwest region. We are excited to have Erika Andiola on the team, Arturo Carmona, the campaigns Latino outreach director, told Fox News Latino in a statement. Andiola, who is undocumented, begins working on Monday. BuzzFeed was the first to report the Sanders campaign had hired Andiola. She joins a handful of other prominent activists working for the Sanders campaign. Cesar Vargas, 31, who became the first undocumented immigrant to be permitted to practice law in New York state, was hired last week. Erika's personal story as a Mexican undocumented woman with an undocumented family and a long history of advocacy for Latinos speaks directly to the campaign's commitment to fight for immigrants, Latinos and working-class Americans in every community across the country, Carmona said. Andiola made national headlines in 2013 when she uploaded a video to YouTube following the raid of her home where immigration officials detained her mother and brother. She used the national attention to push the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to allow them to stay in the country. Andiola went on to co-found the immigrant rights group Dream Action Coalition and served as a congressional staffer for Arizona Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema. Sanders has gained a lot of ground in the last few months on the Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. But while he has been drawing large crowds of white progressives to his rallies, he is virtually unknown to the critical Latino electorate. It is something that he and his staff have acknowledged in the past, and his campaign is now using his $26 million war chest to get Hispanics to Feel the Bern. "Sen. Sanders doesn't have the name ID with Latinos that Clinton does, but we see that as a good thing," Carmona told FNL last month. "Our resources are now being used to invest in grassroots mobilization efforts. We're putting together a very aggressive program." Sanders is not the only one increasing his outreach to immigrants. The Clinton campaign hired prominent immigration activist Lorella Praeli as Latino outreach director in May. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The White House accused new House Speaker Paul Ryan on Monday of "pandering to the extreme right wing" of his party on immigration. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Ryan's recent comments on immigration reform are "preposterous" and disappointing. The Wisconsin Republican said Sunday that he's ruled out passing comprehensive immigration legislation while President Barack Obama is in office. He said Obama cannot be trusted on the issue because he went around Congress to take executive actions shielding from deportation millions of people living in the country illegally. Earnest called the remark "ironic." He said it's Ryan who supported an immigration deal, then failed to push for it to come up for a vote in the House. The White House criticism comes as Ryan is maneuvering carefully on the issue of immigration, long a priority for him. With most House conservatives wary of anything that could constitute "amnesty" for the 11.5 million immigrants living here illegally, Ryan has offered repeated assurances, before and after becoming speaker last week, that he will not pursue comprehensive immigration legislation as long as Obama is president. It's a new stance for Ryan, who as recently as last year was working behind the scenes in the House to promote immigration legislation following Senate passage of a comprehensive bill, including a path to citizenship for those here illegally. The secretive House efforts largely collapsed in the aftermath of former Majority Leader Eric Cantor's upset loss in a GOP primary in June of 2014, attributed to Cantor's supposed support for immigration legislation. Ryan even embraced eventual citizenship for those here illegally, something that's anathema to many conservatives. In a 2013 appearance before the City Club of Chicago alongside the leading pro-immigrant activist in the House, Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois, Ryan said: "We do not want to have a society where we have different classes of people who cannot reach their American dream by being a full citizen. That is a very important part of immigration reform." Asked Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" about his support for a "path to citizenship," Ryan emphasized something different, saying: "Well, legal status is what I was talking about." Legal status versus citizenship is an important distinction, partly because only citizenship confers the right to vote. His office said Ryan supports "earned legal status," noting that this could eventually lead to citizenship through existing channels. Ryan has been under pressure from conservative lawmakers demanding assurances from him on the issue, even as Gutierrez and other activists have criticized him for offering such promises. Earnest said Ryan's remarks don't bode well for a "new era of Republican leadership." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram While Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bushs new campaigns slogan "Jeb Can Fix It was meant to show that the two term, former Florida governor can solve the issues facing the country today, the new mantra may be causing him more harm than good when it comes to social media. After Bush announced the slogan with a self-deprecating speech in Florida, his struggling campaign was hit on social media with a number of tweets and posts mocking the slogan. "Is he running for President or Plumber?" one Twitter user asked, while others took to questioning his brothers controversial election in 2000 and Bushs oft-criticized debate performances. "Would be pretty great though if Jeb's answer to every question at the next debate is just," another Twitter used said. Bush is pushing his "Jeb Can Fix It" presidential campaign tour into early voting South Carolina and New Hampshire to re-introduce himself as the lone Republican who can right what's wrong with Washington. But the pithy slogan could apply as much to his effort to steady the campaign as it does to his sense of confidence about handling the nation's problems. "This is not about big personalities on the stage. It's not about talking. It's about doing," he told supporters in Jacksonville, the last of three stops on Monday. He will hold a town hall in Lexington, South Carolina, Tuesday before embarking on a three-day bus tour throughout New Hampshire. The remarks, repeated earlier in Tampa and Orlando, were obvious jabs at rivals Donald Trump and Marco Rubio, and a nod to his flat performance in the debate last week in Colorado. Bush's reset comes as a populist surge has propelled the outsider campaigns of bombastic developer Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and created an opportunity for Rubio, a freshman senator from Florida and former Bush protege, to make his appeal to the party establishment. Bush and Rubio spent Monday jockeying for establishment credentials. Bush announced the backing of soon-to-be Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran, who was chief of staff to Rubio when he was speaker. Rubio countered with an endorsement from U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, who took a veiled swipe at the Bush legacy by saying the nation needs a "new generation" of leaders. What seemed last summer like the right slogan to carry Bush into the final three months of the pre-primary campaign now has an off-key ring, underscored by a cascade of criticism in online forums, including Twitter. Even in his home state of Florida, Bush has a steep climb. Statewide polls show Trump leading the large GOP field, with Carson and Rubio ahead of Bush. Surrounded Monday by friends and former colleagues, Bush delivered a morning speech in Tampa that amounted to re-declaring his candidacy, without changing his message or significantly altering his campaign strategy. Bush recently announced an across-the-board cut in salaries to protect his available campaign cash for the final charge into Iowa. "But let me be clear: I'm not stepping into the role of 'angry agitator' that they have created for us, because it's not what's in my heart," Bush said, a nod to the frustration Trump has stoked. Bush is making some tactical changes, such as spending more sustained time in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. But the message does not appear to be changing. Nor does Bush's dry, matter-of-fact, and at times self-deprecating delivery. No need to change, said Will Bissette, a 75-year-old Tampa real estate investor who was among the 200 or so in the auditorium. "It's still early," said Bissette. "Jeb's recognizing what he needs to do." Todd Josko, a 47-year-old communications consultant from Tampa, said people will look back on Monday, "as the day the campaign turned around." In a show of quiet confidence more hidden in recent weeks, Bush assured his audience he had the stomach for the fight. "I'm running this campaign on my own terms. And let me tell you something, when the dust clears and the delegates are counted, we're going to win this campaign," Bush said, igniting cheers and chants throughout the audience: "Jeb! Jeb! Jeb!" The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram It was huge by memo standards 112 pages and its focus was former Florida Gov. Jeb Bushs one-time mentee and friend, Sen. Marco Rubio. It laid out details and theories about Bushs rival for the Oval Office, and how Bush might frame them to the public to gain an edge over Rubio, his fellow Floridian. But Bush said he was not privy to the contents of the memo, drafted by his campaign staff, before it was leaked recently. I didnt see it, Bush said in an interview that was broadcast on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday. Well, I read about it when it was leaked for sure. I didn't know about the PowerPoint. Bush said that he was intent on keeping his campaign focused on issues, but added that comparisons with other candidates was inevitable. "Comparing and contrasting is part of this, but the basis of my campaign is that we can fix these problems and people can be lifted out of poverty and the great middle can get rising income again," Bush said in the NBC interview. "That is the purpose of my campaign." Bush again addressed Rubios absenteeism from voting on Senate measures. In the last GOP debate, Bush assailed Rubio for missing so many votes, saying that he was neglecting the job the people of Florida had elected him to do as their representative in Congress. "The basic point with Marco isn't that he's not a good person or he's not a gifted politician; everybody can see that. It's that I have proven leadership skills," Bush said. "I got to be governor of a state and accomplish big things. And in this era of gridlock, it's really hard to break through, and I think he's given up. And I think that's the wrong thing to do." The document, which was intended to raise red flags about Rubio for potential donors, describes the senator as almost shady, according to U. S. News & World Report, which obtained a copy of it. A section called "Marco Is A Risky Bet" talks about the senators "misuse of state party credit cards, taxpayer funds and ties to scandal-tarred former Congressman David Rivera." U.S. News says that as a state lawmaker, Rubio used a state GOP credit card for personal use, something he acknowledged eventually was wrong. Rubio, the memo noted, also took part in a joint purchase of a house in Florida that ended up in foreclosure. The document also shows how campaign staff cast Rubios message about the countrys need for new, fresh ideas instead of the ones of yesterday would be widely ridiculed by the media in the general election next year because the likely Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, would be in a position to be the first female U.S. president. It also sought to draw comparisons between Rubio and President Barack Obama when he ran for the Oval Office as a freshman senator from Illinois chiefly, their lack of political executive experience. For his part, Rubio dismissed the hoopla about the memo. He has characterized Bushs new aggressive approach toward him as a likely result of the former governors campaign staff feeling desperate because of their candidates declining strength in polls of GOP voters and among likely donors. I cant control other peoples campaigns, he said. I can control mine. Mine is going to continue to be about the future of America. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Prominent Latino conservatives are concerned that the Republican National Committees decision to pull out of a February debate over a dispute with NBC will wind up affecting the partys Hispanic outreach. Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus decided to call off the Feb. 26 presidential debate, which was to be hosted by the Spanish-language station Telemundo, over concerns with how another NBC network, CNBC, handled a recent debate. Alfonso Aguilar head of the American Principles Project's Latino Partnership, which seeks to engage the Latino community in conservative causes told Fox News Latino that while he understands why Priebus objected to the CNBC debate, he doesnt understand why Telemundo and its large Latino audience should pay the price. CNBC was incompetent in the way they managed the debate, Aguilar acknowledged. The moderators showed bias and incompetence. Even during the debate itself some of the candidates complained that the questions were insulting or not substantive enough; others were frustrated at the lack of air time they got. But Aguilar, for one doesnt believe that performance would be repeated. Telemundo is a separate organization. I have the utmost respect for Telemundo, he said. Daniel Garza, executive director of the conservative LIBRE Initiative, said in a statement that cutting off Telemundo could imperil efforts to form a bond between the GOP and Latinos. "Conservative candidates in states across the country have succeeded by engaging with the Hispanic community on a positive message of limited government and greater prosperity, Garza noted. Those who seek the support of the Hispanic community in 2016 need to find ways to do just that, and failing to go forward on a debate with the Spanish-language outlet, Telemundo, would truly undermine that effort. The GOP candidates also appear to be concerned with the decision. "I think we ought to have a Telemundo debate or a Hispanic debate it happened four years ago," candidate Jeb Bush told reporters on Monday. "Telemundo isnt part of the problem of CNBC." Conservative Latino groups, which for years have been prodding the GOP to make a greater effort to court Hispanic voters who voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama in 2012 are also concerned that the decision will provide an opportunity for Democrats. The Democrats already have a March debate scheduled on Telemundos principal competitor, Univision, and the Democratic National Committee is now in talks with NBC to take the Telemundo debate slot, according to the New York Times. That would give Democrats two opportunities to communicate directly with the increasingly important Latino voting bloc to none for the Republicans. Aguilar hopes it wont come to that. I would hope that the RNC and the campaigns look for an alternative that focuses on the Hispanic community, he told FNL. It could be another forum where they focus on Hispanics, or they could keep the Telemundo debate but make sure that Telemundo, and not NBC, has complete control over it. LIBREs Garza expressed a similar desire. We encourage all parties involved to work together to ensure that a debate takes place, he said in the statement, on terms that ensure all Americans and particularly the U.S. Hispanic community have the opportunity to hear about the issues on a fair and honest platform." Among the GOP candidates, there was enough concern over the RNCs decision that 11 campaigns sent representatives to a private meeting to discuss how to handle future debates. Those at the meeting agreed to several changes, including having the campaigns coordinate directly with network hosts, mandatory opening and closing statements, an equal number of questions for each candidate, and pre-approval of onscreen graphics, according to Ben Carson campaign manager Barry Bennett, who hosted the meeting. "The amazing part for me was how friendly the meeting was," Bennett said, noting the gathering was held in a room marked "family meeting." ''Everybody was cordial. We all agreed we need to have these meetings more regularly." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Ted Cruz's presidential campaign received a harsh blow over the weekend when a prominent supporter of the firebrand politician said he was leaving the Texas senator's team and would not vote for him. What makes matters worse is that this supporter isn't even close to being of legal age to vote. CJ Pearson, a 13-year-old conservative social media wunderkind who was named national chairman of Teens for Ted on Sept. 8, left Cruz's campaign saying that he was disappointed with the lawmaker's efforts on behalf of youth voters. Pearson said that he is still a big fan of Cruz and thinks he is a "once in a lifetime candidate," but he was giving up the post with the campaign because the candidate "wasn't doing enough to address the issues important to young people, like student loan debt and youth unemployment," the Dallas Morning News reported. "I personally decided that I could make a much bigger impact for my generation, launching my own venture, than I could at the Cruz campaign," Pearson said. While Pearson has not given an indication whether or not he will shift his loyalties to another candidate in the GOP, the eighth grader from Georgia did have high praise on his Twitter account for one of Cruz's rivals. "Giving credit where it's due, [Marco Rubio] has done the best job addressing the issues important to young people and should be commended," Pearson said. The young conservative shot to social media stardom in February when he posted a video criticizing President Barack Obama that went viral. The three-minute-long video, which has been viewed over 2.1 million times, has Pearson railing against the president for allegedly not loving America. It appears to have been shot in his bedroom and behind Pearson a poster of terrier dog stares into the camera. Despite being only 13, Pearson has already run into to controversy for allegedly fabricating racist comments against himself on Twitter and also claiming that he'd been blocked by Obama's Twitter account. The White House denied Pearson's claim and his critics say that a screenshot Pearson cited to back up his allegations was doctored. Before joining up with Ted Cruz, Pearson supported Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul's bid for the Republican nomination. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The Donald Trump show returned to his hometown of New York City Tuesday morning for the release of the Republican presidential candidates latest book and, true to form, the real estate magnate spared no one during his remarks. During a lengthy question-and-answer session with the press gathered inside Trump Towers, the controversial billionaire once again broached one of his favorite campaign topics immigration and slammed his fellow Republicans for being weak on the issue. "Thats right, there will be a wall built. It will go up and it will be built and people will come into the country legally," Trump said. "Im much different than, you look at Marco Rubio. Very, very weak on illegal immigration." Rubio, the Florida senator who has seen his stock rise after two strong debate performances, was a major target of Trumps during his remarks - along with retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who just surpassed Trump in a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll. "Marco is overrated," Trump said. "Marco doesnt show up to the United States SenateMarco is a sitting Senator and he doesnt show up for the people of Florida." The Florida lawmaker was hit last week by a scathing opinion piece in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel calling for Rubio to resign from the Senate. Later, during the debate, Jeb Bush the former governor of Florida slammed his rival by saying that Rubio has skipped too many votes in the Senate as he campaigns for president. Bush added that Rubio should do his job. He says "this was a 6-year term and you should be showing up to work." "What is this a French work week?" Bush said in jest. Rubio has pushed back on the attacks saying media criticism of his voting record is an example of bias against conservatives and that Bush is only piling on the attack because "we're running for the same position and someone has convinced you that attacking me will help you." After criticizing Rubio for his Senate attendance, Trump kept at the freshman senator by calling his position on immigration "trouble for him" and slamming his rival on his personal finances. "All you have to do is look at his credit card," Trump said. "He is a disaster." Trump added: "For years, I have been hearing that his credit cards are a disasterHe has a very bad record of finances if you look at what happened with his houses. He certainly lives above his means." Rubio has in the past dismissed questions about whether his history of personal financial woes disqualifies him from being in charge of the federal government. A bank once moved to foreclose one of Rubio's homes. He couldn't account for thousands of expenses from political committees he ran. Last year, he sold retirement funds to pay bills despite earning millions over the past decade. Rubio dismissed those problems as discredited attacks and said his struggles to provide for his four children are the reason he is pushing a tax plan that would help families. He also recounts his humble upbringing as the son of immigrant parents who worked as a bartender and a housekeeper to provide for their children. Trumps latest book, entitled "Crippled America," makes the case that Trump has the experience and business savvy to accomplish things that traditional, all-talk, no-action politicians can't. It comes as Trump is continuing to adjust to a new phase of the campaign in which the once undisputed front-runner is now facing heightened competition from a number of his GOP rivals. "This book is designed to give the reader a better understanding of me and my ideas for our future," Trump writes. "I'm a really nice guy, but I'm also passionate and determined to make our country great again." Many presidential candidates write books aimed at getting their stories before the public, and almost all of them feature cover photos of the candidates looking friendly, poised, competent and, well, presidential. Trump's cover features him with furrowed brows and a deep scowl, in keeping with his often irascible demeanor. "I'm sitting there with an angry face and everybody said that's really got to be the picture because the book is explaining all that's the wrong in the country," Trump said Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram After a devastating loss in the 2012 presidential election, the Republican Party entered a period of intense self-reflection and emerged with a firm promise to learn from its mistakes. The GOP vowed to avoid a prolonged and vicious 2016 primary. It concluded it must embrace an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws and adopt a more welcoming tone to win over women and minorities. Yet a year from Election Day 2016, the GOP primary is a rough and bumpy competition. More than a dozen candidates are fighting for the support of voters and skirmishing among themselves over the process of picking the nominee. And there are few signs the candidates are committed to expanding the party's appeal beyond its conservative base. "For Republicans, a free-for-all is good I guess," says Steve Duprey, a Republican National Committeeman from New Hampshire. "We always anticipated a vigorous contest, but I never anticipated 16 candidates." Meanwhile, there's no such drama among Democrats. The party appears to be coalescing behind front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is building a campaign operation aimed at turning out the general election voters who catapulted Barack Obama to the White House. The GOP's challenges were on display Monday, as bickering continued among campaigns about upcoming debates. That's an issue the GOP thought it had resolved, having spent years retooling its primary process after officials said it left 2012 nominee Mitt Romney bloodied heading into the general election. Members of both parties say the GOP's White House hopefuls have also ignored the recommendation from the RNC's self-study that insisted Republicans must improve the party's appeal among women and minorities. "Devastatingly, we have lost the ability to be persuasive with, or welcoming to, those who do not agree with us on every issue," the report found. In addition to an improved tone, the RNC outlined a single policy imperative: "We must embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform. If we do not, our party's appeal will continue to shrink to its core constituencies only." After a bipartisan group of senators failed to turn immigration legislation into law, Republicans on the campaign trail including those involved with that effort have moved sharply in the other direction. Almost the entire GOP field now calls first and foremost for increased security along the Mexican border. Some, including front-runner Donald Trump, want to deport the estimated 11 million immigrants in the country illegally a policy prescription experts suggest would be difficult if not impossible to achieve. Incoming House Speaker Paul Ryan said over the weekend there would be no immigration bill until 2017, at the earliest. But Trump, who has infuriated Latinos by describing Mexican immigrants as rapists and criminals, keeps the topic front-and-center in the race. "There have been moments that have been a little painful," says Henry Barbour, an author of the RNC's postelection report and a Republican National Committeeman from Mississippi. "We have to nominate a candidate who can win someone who can grow our party instead of making it smaller." Absent a clear front-runner of their own, Republicans are trying to rally around their opposition to Clinton amid signs that she's getting stronger. Commanding performances in the first primary debate and during 11 hours of testimony before a Republican-led congressional committee reassured many Democrats who'd feared the controversy over her use of a private email server as secretary of state could harm her campaign. Her poll numbers have rebounded from a summer slump, and she now holds a wide lead nationally over Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders. The relatively clear Democratic field has allowed her team to focus a full year before Election Day on building the kind of operation that can carry her beyond the primary contests. She currently employs 511 staffers across the country close to the number of staff on all the Republican campaigns combined. And fundraising reports show an energized Democratic Party, with Clinton and Sanders together raising only slightly less than 15 candidates on the Republican side combined. The two top Democrats had roughly the same amount in the bank at the beginning of October as all the Republicans. Clinton aides say that they budgeted for a high level of spending early in the campaign, and that the team is making important investments in data analytics, digital infrastructure and organizing that will help in both the primaries and the general election. Few, if any, Republican campaigns have made such investments, although the Republican National Committee has expanded its digital operation. Still, with two Senate committees and the FBI investigating Clinton's email arrangement, that issue could re-emerge. And an unpredictable Democratic primary electorate, which has moved to the left during President Barack Obama's administration, leaves Clinton and her team cautious about their prospects. "I once made the mistake of thinking we could talk about these kinds of things before a single vote was cast," said former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, a Clinton supporter. "Anything could happen still. This is a presidential campaign. You have no idea what may be waiting in the wings." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Jimmy Morales, the TV comic elected Guatemala's next president amid widespread anger over corruption that took down the previous leader, vowed Tuesday to bolster the investigative bodies that blew the lid on the graft scandals. He said he will turn to those very entities, Guatemalan prosecutors and the U.N. International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, to help vet his proposed Cabinet in a bid to ensure an honest government in a country where many have long considered that an oxymoron. "I already approached (them) and I asked them to help me to look into people ... the people who will be serving the public," Morales said in an interview with The Associated Press. After he takes office Jan. 14, the political neophyte who ran as a self-styled outsider will come under pressure quickly to show concrete progress on campaign promises to battle corruption and govern with transparency. He said he plans to uphold the law and lead by example. "If I enter government as middle class and get rich overnight, that's not logical," Morales said. "But if I continue to be the Jimmy Morales I have been, the people will see that and there is the example." Former President Otto Perez Molina, who resigned just days before the first round of presidential voting in September, had been seen by analysts as loath to renew the mandate of the U.N. commission, which was set up to investigate criminal networks in Guatemala. But as a customs graft scandal snowballed and took down Perez Molina's then-vice president, Roxana Baldetti, he apparently decided it was politically impossible to do otherwise. Today both Perez Molina and Baldetti are in jail awaiting prosecution. Morales said one of his first acts as president will be to seek to extend the commission's mandate through 2021. "When they ask me, I will do so with great pleasure," he said. Morales' first-place finish in the opening round of voting and then a landslide runoff victory Oct. 25 over former first lady Sandra Torres has been widely interpreted as a "punishment vote," with outraged Guatemalans rejecting candidates seen as tied to the establishment. But Morales said voters were attracted to him not just because he's never held office before. "If it's true, the 'punishment vote' that you're talking about, why didn't that go to someone else?" Morales said. "So then, what was done well? An example was held up that there was leadership, administrative capability and transparency. That there was consistency between the discourse and the behavior." Morales is already facing questions related to his team. His lawyer, Elmer Belteton Morales, and his transition adviser, Jose Ramon Lam, both answered directly to Baldetti in the previous government. Morales has said he will give members of his team the chance to respond to such questions. As for criticism during the campaign that he provided little in the way of concrete proposals, Morales insisted that "I do have a plan." He said it's based on a national development agenda laid out under Perez Molina's government and U.N. Millennial Development Goals. It focuses on improving health care and bolstering education by putting the Internet and the latest gadgets in classrooms. "Any citizen of the world who does not have access to a computer, Internet or a smartphone is cut off from the world," Morales said. "If we had that, we could make a quantum leap." The president-elect has faced criticism from human rights groups over being the candidate of the National Convergence Front. Some National Convergence founders are retired military officers implicated in rights abuses during Guatemala's 1960-96 civil war, when security forces and paramilitary groups were blamed for nearly all the 245,000 deaths and disappearances. Seemingly annoyed to be asked about the issue, Morales simply suggested that an AP journalist investigate the matter. Morales became noticeably thinner during the election and acknowledged losing weight after learning the results. He cracked a joke about the tough road ahead governing a nation troubled by endemic corruption, a struggling economy, violent street gangs and one of the world's highest homicide rates, even as he promised that he is up to the task: "Someone told me, 'I wouldn't want to be in your shoes.' And I told him, 'To be honest, me neither.'" Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram In Florida, Cuba for decades has been a key topic practically impossible to avoid even among non-Cubans. But one Florida resident who also happens to be running for president stammered when asked about fundamental and controversial aspects of U.S.-Cuba policy on Wednesday. In an interview with the Miami Herald, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, a GOP presidential candidate who lives in West Palm Beach, conceded that he was not familiar with the wet-foot-dry-foot policy -- one of the main and most contentious aspects of U.S.-Cuba laws. The wet-foot-dry-foot policy, which exists only for Cubans and is part of the Cuban Adjustment Act, allows any Cubans who manages to put at least one foot on U.S. soil to gain lawful admission into the United States. Youre going to have to explain to me exactly what you mean by that, Carson said, according to the Miami Herald. I have to admit that I dont know a great deal about that, and I dont really like to comment until Ive had a chance to study the issue from both sides. Asked about the Cuban Adjustment Act, Carson said: Again, Ive not been briefed fully on what that is. The Herald noted that Carson did not know about such driving Florida topics despite scheduled campaign stops in South Florida where Cuba is a top issue on Thursday. Fellow Floridian Republicans Sen. Marco Rubio and former Gov. Jeb Bush, who have courted Cuban-Americans heavily in past efforts to seek political office, are among Carsons rivals in the presidential race. Im a little different than most of the candidates, Carson told the Miami Herald in a phone interview Wednesday. Carson, incidentally, leads Rubio and Bush in polls of Florida likely GOP voters. Only Donald Trump beats out Carson in Florida. On Thursday, Carson is heading to West Kendall and Fort Lauderdale. The Herald said that when its reporter explained the Cuban Adjustment Act, Carson responded: It sounds perfectly reasonable. Policies giving Cubans broader leeway than other groups seeking to stay in the United States have long been criticized by those who say there should not be a lower bar for them. Recently, the treatment of Cubans fleeing to the United States has drawn more scrutiny as news reports have disclosed that some Cubans claim a fear of persecution when they arrive in the U.S., only to obtain residency and benefits, but keep returning to Cuba to visit. I think the way to fix that is not so much to abolish the act, but dealing with the specific area where the abuse is, Carson said of Cubans returning despite claiming a fear of persecution. Carson said that Medicaid fraud is huge half a trillion dollars. Carson said he disagrees with normalizing relations with Cuba now, and supports keeping the embargo. I would certainly like to bring Cuba along, in terms of understanding how to treat people fairly. I think we've lost our leverage in doing so, because Raul Castros 83 years old, Carson said. He cant be there much longer. Theyre going to have a change in regime. That would be the time to normalize relations. The U.S. trade embargo, he added, should be maintained. Carson shared some impressions of Cuba he and his wife, Candy, visited the island with a business group in his 2012 book, America the Beautiful. The many street vendors and performers in the main city squares create a festive facade, but having spoken to Cuban refugees, I could only sympathize with the masses of people and hope that someday they can experience true freedom, he wrote. Although some people, such as the documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, extol the virtues of Cuban society, the tide of illegal immigration is from Cuba to America, not vice versa. Unfortunately, although Americans are free to leave this country any time they want to go live somewhere else, Carson added, such privileges are not afforded to the average Cuban or those in many countries where the government controls their lives. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram During Cuban President Raul Castros visit to Mexico this week, immigration will be a top item on the agenda. Cubans have been thronging into Mexico in an effort to reach the United States, a growing wave that is believed to be trying to get in on the belief that recently restored U.S.-Cuba relations will make it more difficult for them to stay here once they reach U.S. shores. More than 1,500 Cubans went to October, Mario Madrazo of the National Migration Institute told Agence France-Presse, or AFP, an international news agency headquartered in Paris. Castro, whose visit to Mexico marks his first as president, is scheduled to discuss immigration with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Friday in Merida, according to AFP. For decades, Cubans have been trying to reach the United States by taking to the shark-filled Florida Straits, but more recently have been opting to avoid that treacherous trip in favor of reaching these shores via Mexico after going to various countries in Latin America. More than 43,000 Cubans immigrated to the United States during the fiscal year ending on Sept. 30, an increase of more than 77 percent compared with the previous fiscal year, according to EFE, which cited the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The previous fiscal year, from Oct. 1, 2013 to and Sept. 30, 2014, there were 24,278 Cuban arrivals, EFE reported. The overwhelming majority of those who arrived in the latest fiscal year, nearly 31,000, came over the U.S.-Mexico border. Some 10,000 entered through Miamis airport, and thousands of others were intercepted by the Coast Guard in the Florida Strait, the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean, EFE said. Figures kept by Mexican authorities confirm the trend, AFP reported. Mexican data shows some 6,500 Cubans taken to migration centers in the first nine months of this year, three times the people who arrived in all of 2014. AFP says Cubans heading to Mexico typically fly to Ecuador, which does not require visas. Advocates for migrants in Mexico have accused Mexican government officials of extorting Cubans passing through the country en route to the United States. Activists charge that migration officials hold Cuban migrants and call their relatives in the United States to demand payments while threatening harm to their loved ones. Alberto Donis, a lawyer and head of a migrant shelter in southern Mexico, said that activists have documented hundreds more similar cases. Mexico's National Migration Institute rejected what it called "unfounded accusations." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Pressure continued to mount on NBC to cancel Donald Trump's guest-host appearance on this weekend's "Saturday Night Live" as a coalition of advocacy groups delivered petitions to the network Wednesday calling for him to be dropped from the show. The petitions delivered to 30 Rockefeller Plaza, home of NBC and "Saturday Night Live," marked the latest attempts to dissuade the network from allowing the Republican presidential hopeful to host the show, with the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda earlier asking that NBC reconsider the decision. "There's mounting evidence that Donald Trump's racist demagoguery is resulting in real-world violence and physical and verbal intimidation," Mushed Zaheed, deputy political director of Credo Action, one of the participating groups, said in a statement. By 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, there were more than 100 protesters outside of 30 Rock shouting "Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go," and, "when immigrant rights are under attack, what do we do? We fight back." "He shouldn't be allowed to use a popular platform like SNL, that brings comedy to everyone's lives, to spread his negativity towards Latinos," said Karla Angulo, a 22-year-old intern at LULAC and a Mexican American. "He's not a comedian who is saying something risky just to get laughs. He is a politician who is running for president." Trump drew fire early in his campaign when, as the billionaire developer announced his candidacy, he described some Mexicans who are in the United States illegally as criminals and rapists, prompting NBC to sever its Miss Universe ties with Trump while declaring he would never again appear on "The Celebrity Apprentice." Trump has also said he would deport all undocumented immigrants, a majority of whom are Latino, and allow only selected immigrants to come back in. "It is shameful for 'SNL' and NBC to think that racism can be repackaged as comedy," said Juan Escalante, digital campaigns manager for America's Voice, another group participating in the coalition. Other participating groups included the National Hispanic Media Coalition, MoveOn.org and National Council of La Raza. About two-dozen protesters were on hand as the petitions were delivered to NBC's midtown Manhattan offices. Some chanted "dump Trump" and carried signs bearing the same phrase. The coalition is accusing NBC of reversing itself for the sake of a ratings windfall while granting Trump "a free national platform to bolster his racist and xenophobic campaign," Zaheed said. Alex Nogales, president of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, said after delivering the petitions that the protest effort was not over. His group and others would use the days leading up to the broadcast to call on "SNL" sponsors to remove their commercials from Saturday's show, he said. "Saturday Night Live is not a news entity, it is a pop culture giant, and should not be in the business of giving acceptance and legitimacy to the views of a racist extremist by having him host a program. To do so is insensitive and will contribute to the wave of bigotry he is creating," Nogales said on Wednesday night. NBC declined comment on the petitions and did not immediately comment on the attempt to get ads pulled. Asked about the opposition to his upcoming appearance while promoting his new book in New York on Tuesday, Trump said he was pleased to hear demonstrations were already underway. "Look, I think they should demonstrate" he said. "Ratings will go even higher than they are going to be. It's going to be one of their highest-rated shows ever and they're very excited about it." Asked specifically about the petition, he said: "It's only going to make it hotter." Trump also repeated his frequent assertion that he has great relationship with Hispanics, with tens of thousands working for him over the years, he said. That, however, was not the sentiment on Wednesday night outside of Rockefeller Center. "By having Donald Trump on SNL it's a slap in the face for many immigrants," Kristal Cardiel, a LULAC protester, said. Luis Cordero, a member of "A call to Action on Puerto Rico," joined the protest and said, "I have been a fan of SNL from the 70s, but now [my views] are different. I might not watch as much as I use to." How Trump Became Host In advance of the show, NBC released promotional spots featuring Trump that included one in which he refers to a Republican opponent, Ben Carson, as "a complete and total loser." Saturday's appearance will be an "SNL" encore for Trump, who first hosted the show in April 2004, long before his entry into politics, as the breakout star of NBC's new competition show "The Apprentice." He appeared on CNN's "New Day" on Wednesday, where anchor Chris Cuomo voiced surprise that NBC booked him. "I thought you were at war with them," said Cuomo, "then all of a sudden they wanted to have you on. You say it's because of ratings." "You're never at war when you get great ratings with a network, OK?" Trump replied. "Nobody gets ratings like me." He went on to say that initially he was asked to do a single sketch on Saturday's show. Then "SNL" executive producer Lorne Michaels had second thoughts and asked Trump if he would host the entire 90-minute program. "And I said, 'You know what? I would.' Because it's an honor." "Every single major politician in this country probably for 30 years has done 'Saturday Night Live' if they're invited," Trump added. "If they're invited." NBC would not comment on whether any other presidential candidates are being considered to host "SNL." Reporting by the Associated Press and Melissa Martinez. Reporting by the Associated Press and Melissa Martinez. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram GOP presidential candidate Marco Rubio said Wednesday he'll release in the next few weeks all of the statements detailing his use of an American Express card he shared with the Republican Party of Florida. Rubio, a former speaker of the Florida House, had the party-issued card from February 2005 to November 2008. During his successful 2010 bid for U.S. Senate, news broke that Rubio had charged items such as grocery bills, plane tickets for his wife and repairs to the family minivan to the card. His spokesman, Alex Conant, said Wednesday that those expenses were for party business, and that the state GOP paid them. Rubio says he paid for any personal expenses. The statements from late 2006 to late 2008 are now public, but those from 2005 and most of 2006 are not. Rubio's personal finances are gaining new scrutiny as he tries to break out of the crowded GOP nomination fight. The American Express card is part of a litany of financial problems from a bank moving to foreclose on a house he part-owned in Tallahassee to questionable accounting of political funds that have dogged Rubio during his career. GOP rival Donald Trump criticized Rubio on his personal finances on Tuesday, saying "he is a disaster with his credit cards." Rubio dismissed the charges as old news and said he did nothing wrong. "Every month I would get a bill at my home and I would review it. If there was something on it that was personal, I would pay it, and if it wasn't, the party paid it," Rubio told reporters in New Hampshire on Wednesday. "What I would do differently is that I just wouldn't have done any personal things on it because I would have avoided all the confusion that it's created in the minds of some," he said. During his 2010 campaign, Rubio's aides said the charges were legitimate, contending that the minivan had been damaged while being used on GOP business. They also said Rubio paid American Express more than $16,000 to cover nonparty expenses when they happened. He also sent a check to the party as reimbursement for personal airline flights he said were mistakenly charged to the GOP card. Rubio blamed an accounting error. Rubio was among several state GOP lawmakers given access to American Express cards through the Republican Party of Florida, which offered a way for lawmakers to get around the state's strict ban on accepting gifts that was put into law in 2006. The ban prevents lawmakers from taking gifts from lobbyists, but the state party doesn't face the same restrictions. The Florida Republican Party was responsible for paying off the cards on a monthly basis. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Texas Gov. Greg Abbott dealt his first fiscal threat Wednesday to "sanctuary cities" by making a $250 million array of criminal justice grants off-limits to counties that don't fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The new restrictions mirror a failed effort by Republicans in Congress last month to block money to jurisdictions that don't share immigration information or honor federal detention requests. The White House had threatened a veto and Democrats criticized the proposal as anti-immigrant. Abbott, a Republican who frustrated conservative activists by not pushing get-tough immigration measures earlier in his term, is now implementing the idea on a smaller scale in Texas. But any withheld dollars may be minimal. Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez provoked the change after recently announcing that the nation's seventh-largest jail may no longer honor all federal requests to keep certain immigrant suspects in extended custody. Even so, Dallas County has yet to turn down one of nearly 1,500 requests so far this year, spokesman Raul Reyna said. Other big county jails in Austin, which is also overseen by an elected Democratic sheriff, and San Antonio say they grant all detainer requests. Abbott said counties applying for criminal justice grants controlled by his office must now certify that federal detention requests will be honored. Dallas County has received about $78,000 so far this year, a fraction of the $146 million sheriff's office budget. "As governor, I simply will not allow (criminal justice) grant funding administered by this office to support law enforcement agencies that refuse to cooperate with a federal law enforcement program that is intended to keep dangerous criminals off Texas streets," Abbott wrote in a letter. A detainer request is when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has access to fingerprint data taken at bookings, asks jails to hold immigrants for up to 48 hours, giving its agents time to decide whether to take the person into federal custody and pursue deportation. Congressional Republicans had introduced their legislation after a Mexican national in the country illegally was charged in the fatal shooting of a San Francisco woman this summer. On Tuesday, the San Francisco sheriff who vigorously defended the city's sanctuary policies lost his bid for re-election by a 2-to-1 margin. Valdez has said her jail may no longer honor detainer requests if the people are suspected of minor crimes. Reyna declined comment on Abbott's directive, citing a lawsuit filed against the sheriff's office last week by people who say they were detained for unconstitutionally long periods. The lawsuit was filed the same day Abbott sent a letter publicly embracing "sanctuary cities" crackdowns that Republicans have tried and failed to pass in Texas since 2011. Abbott until then had mostly deflected questions about whether he supported such proposals. Matt Simpson, senior policy strategist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, said Texas county jails routinely comply with the requests. "I'm not sure Texas has any sanctuary cities," he said. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Two candidates who have been part of each of the prime-time Republican debates so far, Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee, have been demoted to next week's undercard event because of low national poll numbers, delivering a major blow to their campaigns. It could be worse and for George Pataki and Lindsey Graham it was. They won't appear in either debate Tuesday on Fox Business Network. The cable news channel limited participation in the main event in Milwaukee to just eight candidates and to just four in the earlier debate. The candidates shut out of the debates accused the news media of taking away the right of voters to decide who would be the nominee. They also revisited questions about using polls with statistically insignificant differences between candidates as a means of elevating some and devaluing others. "It is ironic that the only veteran in the race is going to be denied a voice the day before Veterans Day," Graham campaign manager Christian Ferry said in a statement on behalf of the South Carolina senator. "In the end, the biggest loser tonight is the American people and the Republican presidential primary process that has been hijacked by news outlets." "The voters not networks driven by ratings or national polls that are statistically irrelevant should decide our next president," said Pataki, a former governor of New York. Those still on the air tried to take the high road in the face of the bad news. Christie, the governor of New Jersey, tweeted: "It doesn't matter the stage, give me a podium and I'll be there to talk about real issues." Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas, said he was "happy to debate anyone, anywhere, anytime. We are months away from actual votes being cast and neither the pundits nor the press will decide this election. The people will." Both Christie and Huckabee had struggled to stand out in the crowded Republican field amid signs of momentum in states where the first primary contests will be held. After the Milwaukee debate, just two GOP debates remain before the Iowa caucuses. The decision came as a particular surprise for Christie, who had been in the midst of one of the best weeks of his campaign thanks to a viral video in which he discusses the pain of drug addiction that has been viewed more than 6 million times. The main debate Tuesday will feature businessman Donald Trump, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former technology executive Carly Fiorina, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. The undercard debate airing earlier will feature Christie, Huckabee, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. National opinion surveys have played a pivotal role in shaping the contest for the GOP nomination. Statistically, pollsters say, there is no significant difference between candidates lumped together near the bottom of the pack in national polls, which typically have a margin of error of 3 percentage points or more. According to debate criteria issued by Fox Business last week, candidates must score 2.5 percent or higher in an average of the four most recent major polls conducted through Nov. 4 to be featured in the prime-time debate. They must hit the 1 percent mark to qualify for the undercard event. Steve Duprey, chairman of the Republican National Committee's debate subcommittee, has been frustrated that such debate criteria have ignored candidates' standing in early-voting states where they spend most of their time. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry provides a cautionary tale of the potential impact of being out of the prime-time spotlight. Fundraising dollars dried up after Perry was relegated to the undercard debate earlier in the year. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The presidents of Mexico and Cuba stressed mutual interests and admiration on Friday, announcing new accords and closer political ties after more than a decade of chilly relations. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced agreements to fight human trafficking and exchanges in tourism, education and business designed to increase Mexican investment in Cuba, as well as "a dialogue at the highest political levels." Most important, he added, is re-establishing the "affection, respect and admiration that both countries historically have had for each other." Pena Nieto greeted Cuba's Raul Castro at the Yucatan state government palace in Merida, where they held private discussions. "We also welcome the interest of Mexican companies to do business and invest in Cuba, particularly in the special development zone of Mariel and in sectors such as agriculture and tourism," Castro said on what was his first state visit to Mexico. However no specific commitments or investment plans were announced. Pena Nieto has made clear that he wants to renew Mexico's historically close ties with Cuba. His Institutional Revolutionary Party, which ruled for 71 years before losing the presidency in 2000, maintained a respectful relationship with Cuba's communist government despite U.S. pressure to cut off ties. In 2002, after traveling to Mexico for a U.N. conference in Monterrey, Cuba's then-President Fidel Castro accused Vicente Fox, a conservative National Action party politician who had become president two years earlier, of telling him to leave. Raul Castro, who assumed Cuba's presidency from his brother in 2006, participated in a Latin America summit in the Mexican resort city of Cancun in 2010, but it was not a state visit. Among the accords announced Friday is a memorandum of understanding to "guarantee the legal, orderly and safe flow of migration" between the two countries, and to "prevent and combat human trafficking" and related crimes. The Mexican government has not provided details of the agreement, but it comes as increasing numbers of Cuban migrants are arriving in the nation's south. Migration statistics show that from January to September of this year, 6,447 Cubans were stopped for not having proper documentation to be in Mexico, twice the number for all of 2014. The normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States could ultimately lead to the elimination of the automatic refugee status that Cubans enjoy as soon as they reach U.S. soil. Many Cubans hope to get to the United States before their privileged migratory status ends. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter& Instagram Jeb Bush touched on one of the most painful issues in his life his daughter Noelles struggles with drug addiction. In an interview with the Huffington Post conducted on his campaign bus, Bush recalled the agony that his daughter and the whole family suffered while she got lost to drugs. An especially low point came when he was governor, and his brother George W. Bush was president, and Noelle was arrested in 2002 on charges of trying to fill a false prescription for Xanax. I visited her in jail, Bush said. I never expected to see my beautiful daughter in jail. Its very debilitating when you have a loved one whos struggling and you cant control it. You got to love them, but you also have to make it clear you cant enable the behavior that gets them in trouble. Noelle was sent to jail a second time after she was found to have crack cocaine on her during her stay at a drug rehabilitation center. She went through hell, Bush told the Huffington Post, noting that the painful experience played out in the glare of the public spotlight. And so did her mom and so did her dad. And it was in a private setting, but then it became very public when I was governor. And it wasnt easy. Bush said that his daughters addiction began when she was a teenager. He said that she is doing fine now, though the vestiges of addiction remain with her and the family. One of the things I found was, when I would travel and do my regular job, I could just look in someones eyes and I could just tell that they were going through something similar. You could just see it, he added. I have so many friends, so many people Ive known that have gone through this. It crosses all barriers, all lines, all races, all income. Its not easy. His sons, Jeb Jr. and George P., have maintained high profiles in the world of politics. Jeb Jr. has been active on Bushs campaign trail, much of it reaching out to millennial voters. George also has campaigned, though less so, given his job as Texas land commissioner. Jeb Bushs wife, Columba, long has devoted herself to raising awareness of drug addiction and pushing for better programs to address it. Its very debilitating when you have a loved one whos struggling, and you cant control it, Bush said. I dont know what its like to lose a daughter. But I almost did. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Donald Trump says the shockingly profane political ad featuring foul-mouthed Latino kids personally bashing him is a terrible disgrace, echoing an avalanche of backlash from critics who are calling the video abusive and disgusting. The 2-minute political ad produced by Deportracism.com, a Democratic Political Action Committee (PAC), features young Hispanic children calling Trump a racist in a profanity laced tirade. The political attack ad shows young kids saying, "F*** you racist f***," one young child says to Trump while holding up a middle finger. Two children go on to say: "Yo, Trump. You may be high in the polls. Thanks to pinches racist suckers but you're all going to have to come thru me if you try to deport my abuelita m*****f*****." I think its terrible. Just terrible, Trump said Friday, on Mornings with Maria Bartiromo on the Fox Business Channel. To have young kids using that kind of language is a disgrace and its totally backfired and people are actually going wild about it and theyre saying were now going to support Trump. Anybody that would do an ad like that is stupid to be honest. Theyre stupid people that would do an ad like that. WARNING: Expletive video below. Even Trumps political opponents, including U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who is Cuban-American, agreed that the ad had gone too far. As a father, it's a disgusting video, Rubio said Friday on Fox & Friends. What kind of parent allows their children to participate in something like that?" Rubio went on to say the video is not representative of how the entire Latino community views Trump. "By the way, they are creating this image that somehow, unless you're in favor of illegal immigration, you're anti-Hispanic. That's absurd. There are millions of Hispanics that are waiting to come this country legally whose family members have been waiting for 10 years and have done it the right way." Fox News Channels Geraldo Rivera, who is critical of Trump's anti-Hispanic immigration rhetoric, echoed Rubio's outrage, saying its a political group exploiting children to make their point. I think it is borderline child abuse, Rivera said. Its terrible, its counter-productive, it will rebound in a very negative way. If anything, it will throw support toward Donald Trumps candidacy and boost the ratings of Saturday Night Live. It is ill-considered. Trump will host SNL Saturday despite outrage from 40 of the nation's largest Latino activist groups. The video has amassed nearly half a million views since it published on YouTube Tuesday, but it has 7 times more dislikes than it has likes from viewers, and more than 14,000 comments many of which criticize the video. Organizers, however, say their in-your-face tactics are a justified response to Trump, who has called to deport all 11 million undocumented immigrants and has likened Mexicans in the country illegally to rapists and drug dealers. "The adorable and articulate kids in the DeportRacism.com video are using bad word for a good cause," the director of the video, Luke Montgomery, told Fox News Latino. "What's more offensive? A four-letter word, or a Republican presidential frontrunner who is calling Mexican immigrants 'rapists' and 'drug dealers' and referring to American-born U.S. citizen kids as "anchor babies" and talking of changing the constitution to strip them of their legal rights as Americans?" When asked whether the message in the video is lost because of the use of profanity, Montogomery said no, "it is not." In fact, he said, "It's the reason so many media outlets are talking about it and the message from the Latino kids about Trump's racism is being heard in a great way." Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders is preparing an aggressive push to regain ground in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, combining a series of ads, policy speeches and appearances before key groups of voters in a bid to ignite his challenge to front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton. Much of his effort will focus on attracting minority supporters, starting this weekend with events with black voters in South Carolina and Hispanics in Nevada. Up next are a series of speeches designed to answer questions about where he would take the nation as president. A wild card remains in how Sanders chooses to address Clinton's use of a private email system while serving as secretary of state. After seeming to set aside the issue of what he described as her "damn emails" in the first Democratic debate, he appeared to reopen the saga in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, saying there are "valid questions" about her correspondence. That prompted a sharp response from the Clinton campaign, with spokesman Josh Schwerin accusing Sanders and his strategists of engaging "in the type of personal attacks that they previously said he wouldn't do." Tad Devine, Sanders' chief political strategist, pushed back against the notion that Sanders had shifted his approach. "Bernie's never gone there and I don't see us going there in the campaign unless it gets incredibly nasty and they make outrageous accusations about him," Devine said. "I hope that doesn't happen." The exchange underscores the central challenge for Sanders as he attempts to boost his support ahead of the Iowa caucuses, now roughly three months away how to draw distinctions with Clinton without violating his pledge to avoid character attacks. His speech last month in Iowa during the party dinner included a series of sharp contrasts with Clinton on issues important to the Democratic base, such as the Keystone XL pipeline, the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, gay marriage and the Iraq war. In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, a day after Clinton reinforced her support for a $12 minimum wage, Sanders said the next president must press for more. "The goal has got to be over the next few years no worker earns less than $15 an hour," Sanders said. Sanders' campaign is considering a speech, possibly in New York, to provide more details on his economic policies, including how he would seek to structure tax rates to pay for his domestic policy agenda and seek to regulate Wall Street. Other topics he plans to address are how he would serve as commander-in-chief and a domestic policy agenda that will include proposals on family and medical leave, a Medicare-for-all health care system and an expansion of Social Security benefits. Sanders is already airing his first television ad of the campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire, pumping $2 million into a spot that discusses his political activism as a college student, his work as the mayor of Burlington, Vermont, and his record in Congress, including his 2002 vote against the Iraq war, which Clinton supported at the time. Having spent decades representing a largely white and rural state, Sanders recognizes he remains largely unknown to African-American and Latino voters who make up a crucial segment of the Democratic Party. So, his next step will be Spanish-language radio ads in Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada, which tell the story of his father, who immigrated from Poland as a young man. The campaign is also planning radio ads on South Carolina stations popular with black voters, who comprise about half of that state's primary electorate. Sanders will address black voters during a campaign swing through South Carolina this weekend, joining Clinton and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley at a forum on Friday night hosted by Rep. James Clyburn, a prominent black lawmaker. From there, he'll head to Las Vegas where he'll address an immigrant rights organization. Though he frequently cites his work as a civil rights activist in the 1960s, Sanders has little personal experience wooing black voters, since he's an elected official from a state that's 95 percent white. "I'm just not well known in the African-American community," he said in an interview with NPR. "That's just simply the truth." Clinton, meanwhile, has focused much of her recent campaigning on issues important to minority voters, in an effort to recreate the winning coalition of black, Latino and young voters that twice catapulted President Barack Obama into the White House. While Clinton has appeared to solidify her support in the party in recent weeks, she is far from a locking up the nomination. Many in a focus group of undecided Democratic women so-called "Walmart moms" held in Des Moines this week questioned her trustworthiness and loyalty, describing her as "shady," ''shifty" and "sold out." "They still have objections," said Margie Omero, a Democratic pollster who helped organize the event. "There are some obstacles for her to get past." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson traveled to Puerto Rico on Sunday to support the U.S. territory becoming the 51st state, saying that would strengthen the United States. Carson attended a political rally of statehood supporters and pledged to advocate for statehood for the island. He said Puerto Rico has done much to justify becoming a state, pointing to its century-long association with the United States and the participation of its residents in fighting U.S. wars. "We probably have more patriotic Puerto Ricans than almost any other state. Look at all the contributions that have been made to America. So you know you have already paid your dues. When you look at all the other territories that became states, very few of them have met all of the requirements that Puerto Rico has. So there is really no reason that we should not be doing this," Carson said. He said the current financial problems of Puerto Rico's government, which is trying to refinance $72 billion in public debt and spark an economy that has been in a slump for nearly a decade, is no reason to deny statehood. "Puerto Rico's current debt problems are the result of it being treated unfairly as a territory and the situation would improve once the island wins equal treatment under statehood," he said "The last two states, Hawaii and Alaska, also had a significant problem financially until they became states - then things took off and that will happen here as well," Carson added. His one-day trip to Puerto Rico follows visits to the island by fellow Republican candidates Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush, who have also expressed support for statehood. In four nonbinding referendums on the island's status held over the past half century, the idea of statehood has never won a clear majority from Puerto Rican voters. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, but those living on the island do not owe federal income taxes, paying only Social Security and Medicare taxes to the federal government. Their one member in Congress doesn't have a vote. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Donald Trump hadn't gotten far into his opening monologue before trouble occurred. An off-screen heckler interrupted with a cry of "You're a racist!" But the "heckler" was comedian Larry David, who before Trump arrived onstage had been seen impersonating Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders. "Larry, what are you doing?" Trump asked with a trace of exasperation. "I heard if I yelled that, they'd give me $5,000," said David with a shrug, echoing an offer made publicly by one of the Hispanic groups protesting Trump's appearance. "As a businessman," Trump told him, "I can fully respect that." Trump's 90 minutes in the "SNL" spotlight followed weeks of growing anticipation, increasingly sharp criticism and mounting calls for him to be dropped from the show. But the Republican presidential candidate hosted Saturday's "SNL" as scheduled. And, at least in NBC's Studio 8H, there was no more unrest orchestrated or otherwise. Only hours after the show's broadcast, Trump was back on television and characteristically bullish about his performance, calling it "very well received and probably got very good ratings, who knows." He also told CNN's "State of the Union" that some sketches were cut because there were "a little risque." He did not go into details. During his monologue, Trump promised his hosting appearance would be "something special," while noting that many people had asked him why he accepted the gig. He said they had told him, "You're brilliant, you're handsome, you're rich. The world is waiting for you to be president. Why?" His answer: "I had nothing better to do." "But part of the reason I'm here," he added, "is to show I can take a joke." In one sketch, Trump was willing to mock his penchant for tweeting insults about people with whom he differs. "I hate to break it to you guys," he told viewers, "but I'm not going to be in the next sketch." Instead, off-camera, he live-tweeted comments that were flashed on the screen about "SNL" cast members performing a skit: "Cecily Strong is not a nice person." "Kate McKinnon was born stupid." "I love SNL ... SNL loves me. But everyone in this sketch is a total loser who can bite my dust." Another sketch imagined Trump in the Oval Office in 2018 two years into his presidency savoring his many successes. By then, Syria is at peace. China is borrowing money from the U.S. Trump's real-life daughter, Ivanka, is the administration's secretary of the interior, and announces the Washington Monument will be covered with gold. Did it all sound too good to be possible? "If you think that's how it's going to be when I'm president, you're wrong. It's going to be even better," Trump said, addressing the audience. "I said to the writers of this sketch, 'Keep it modest.'" His preference, he insisted, was to keep expectations low for his presidency and not overpromise. Until Saturday, just eight politicians had served as guest hosts in the NBC sketch comedy series' 40 years. Only one of those the Rev. Al Sharpton, in 2003 was actively involved in a presidential bid at the time. (Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared in last month's season premiere, but not as the host.) The star turn granted Trump fanned the flames of outrage sparked in June when he announced his Republican candidacy for president and described some Mexicans who are in the United States illegally as criminals and rapists. Hours before the show's 11:30 p.m. EST Saturday start time, dozens of protesters marched from Trump Tower to NBC's studio in Rockefeller Plaza, chanting in both English and Spanish and carrying signs. In Spanish, they chanted: "The people united shall never be defeated" and signs declared SNL racist. "I feel like they're giving him a platform," said Hazel Hernandez, 26, who emigrated from El Salvador and now lives in Brooklyn. "I'm an immigrant myself, so I'm pretty outraged. I've been in this country for many years, and I'm outraged that they would let him host SNL. It's upsetting." Following Trump's appearance the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts said that it was organizing "a Latino Media Summit to discuss the events that lead to this disastrous outcome and marginalization of Latino perspective on the matter." "We will invite NBC President Steve Burke and SNL's Lorne Michael to attend and discuss the issue with National Latino Organizational Leaders and the Members of the U.S. Congressional Hispanic Caucus," the foundation's chairman said in an e-mail to Fox News Latino. Trump's comments last summer spurred NBC to sever its Miss Universe ties with him while declaring he would never return to his "Apprentice" role. But leading up to Saturday's broadcast, NBC did not respond to accusations that it had reversed itself, or to the outcry against Trump that had built since "SNL" announced his host booking last month. Typically outspoken, Trump welcomed the controversy, predicting it would only boost his audience. It wasn't Trump's first turn as guest host. The billionaire developer and media personality presided in April 2004, a few weeks after he debuted as host of NBC's "The Apprentice." This time, while Trump demonstrated once again that he could take a joke, he was running for president. The sketches both with and without him seldom let the audience forget it. Based on reporting by The Associated Press. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The regional parliament of Catalonia approved a plan Monday to set up a road map for independence from Spain by 2017, in defiance of the central government. The chamber, based in the northeastern city of Barcelona, passed the motion by 72 votes to 63. The proposal was made by pro-secession lawmakers from the "Together for Yes" alliance and the extreme left-wing Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP). The groups together obtained a parliamentary majority in regional elections in September. The Spanish government reacted swiftly. In a nationally televised address, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said that his government will appeal against the decision at the Constitutional Court, which has in the past blocked moves toward independence. "Catalonia is not going anywhere, nothing is going to break," Rajoy said. He added he would meet with the leader of the main opposition Socialist Party, Pedro Sanchez, to forge a common front against the separatists. The motion passed by the parliament in its first post-election session declared "the start of a process toward the creation of an independent Catalan state in the form of a republic" and a "process of democratic disconnection not subject to the decisions by the institutions of the Spanish state." While separatist lawmakers celebrated the result in the chamber, opponents held up Spanish and Catalan flags. "There is a growing cry for Catalonia to not merely be a country, but to be a state with everything that means," Raul Romeva, head of the "Together for Yes" alliance, said at the start of the session. "Today we don't only open a new parliament, this marks a before and after." Catalan branches of Spain's ruling conservative Popular Party and the Socialist and the Citizens opposition parties had filed appeals to halt the vote, but Spain's Constitutional Court ruled last Thursday that it could go ahead. "You want to divide a country by raising a frontier within the European Union," Citizens regional leader Ines Arrimadas told separatist lawmakers. The Constitutional Court is expected to rule the law illegal quickly, but the motion specifically orders the regional government not to heed the decision of Spain's highest court. The motion gives the incoming government 30 days to start working on a new Catalan constitution, which would later be voted on in a referendum, and begin establishing a new tax office and social security administration. Pro-secessionist parties won their majority of 72 seats in September on the strength of just 48 percent of the votes. That was because of a twist in Spanish election law that over-represents rural areas where separatists have more support. Anti-independence lawmakers say that quirk denies separatists a legitimate democratic mandate to break away from Spain. As well as warnings from the EU that an independent Catalonia would have to ask to be admitted to the bloc, separatist forces also face an internal dispute that could slow or even derail the independence push. Later Monday the parliament was to begin what is likely to be a long and heated investiture debate over whether Artur Mas should continue for a third term as the region's head of government. While his "Together for Yes" alliance backs him with 62 votes, it is short of the required majority of 68. The anti-independence parties are against him, and the CUP has said it won't support Mas because of his conservative austerity policies and the corruption investigations involving his Convergence Party. The parliament has until Jan. 9 to form a government or new elections must be called. By then, Spain will have held national elections, and the issue of how to handle the situation in Catalonia will play a crucial role in whether Rajoy's Popular Party can hold onto to power. Polls consistently show that while the majority of the 7.5 million Catalans support holding an official referendum on independence, they are evenly divided over whether to break centuries-old ties with the rest of Spain. The Spanish government has refused requests by regional lawmakers to hold an official referendum similar to the one Scotland held last year when Scots voted to stay in the United Kingdom. Separatists have held massive pro-independence rallies since the Constitutional Court struck down key parts of a law that would have given more power to the region in 2010. The ranks of lifelong secessionists who feel that the Catalan language spoken along with Spanish in the region and local traditions can only flourish in an independent state have been joined by those who are frustrated by Spain's ongoing economic problems. It has become a common complaint among the separatist camp that Madrid's central government takes more in taxes from the relatively wealthy and industrialized region that it returns in investment in infrastructures and social services. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram George W. Bush practically gagged when he spoke of fellow Texan Sen. Ted Cruz. I just dont like the guy, Bush said at a recent fundraiser for his brother and presidential candidate Jeb Bush. Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican who tends to be mild-mannered, famously condemned Cruz a wacko bird. Rep. John Boehner, the former House speaker, stunned people at a fundraiser when he referred to Cruz as that jackass. Cruz hardly was concerned about getting under the skin of these GOP elder statesmen. In fact, each expression of hostility toward him is a feather in his political cap. Cruz has sought to distinguish himself in Congress by carrying proudly and loudly the anti-GOP-establishment torch, notes the Washington Post. And if someone happens to miss the insults hurled at Cruz the first time around, the first-term senator makes sure to publicize them himself through press releases and media ads. Of Boehners jackass remark, Cruzs campaign later sent out a quote by the senator that said: I will wear it as a badge of honor because I refuse to join their club. Cruz long has courted tea party and other conservative groups that have nothing short of disdain for Republicans they view as part of the Washington D.C. political status quo. I will acknowledge that when Im in the Senate dining room Ive sometimes wondered if I need a food taster, the Post quoted Cruz as saying at a campaign stop in Iowa. If you aint never stood up to Washington, at any time in your life, youre not gonna suddenly discover the courage to do so if you happen to land at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. If Cruz has been measured in something, its been in avoiding criticism of rival presidential contender Donald Trump. Not only has Cruz resisted demands by Latino groups and others to condemn statements Trump has made about Mexican immigrants, describing them as including many criminals, but hes invited the real estate mogul to visit the U.S.-Mexico border with him and to join him at a tea party rally on Capitol Hill to protest the Iran nuclear deal. Some see Cruzs actions as opportunistic. Many observers theorize that he hopes to gain Trumps supporters many of whom applaud the moguls rejection of party protocol and Washington D.C.s business-as-usual if the billionaire drops out of the race at some point. Theres not a lot of love lost for the guy, said Josh Holmes, a former chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), in an interview with the Post. And its not what hes trying to accomplish or what he says hes trying to accomplish that bothers people. Its that hes consistently sacrificed the mutual goals of many for his personal enhancement. His supporters say hes the real deal. Hes hated by the political establishment, said Chart Westcott, a Dallas biotech investor and Cruz donor, said to the Post. Hes got that original outsider status, and thats what I love and has made him attractive to so many swaths of Americans. Karl Rove, who was a top adviser in the George W. Bush administration, says the former president recently expressed disgust over Cruz because the senator turned on him for political gain after Bush had him be part of his 2000 presidential campaign. Cruz has taken aim at the Bush family in his campaign. He has attacked George W. for appointing John Roberts, whom Cruz once expressed support for, chief justice of the Supreme Court, and his father George H.W. Bush for appointing David Souter. Rove said George W. Bush saw the attacks as a little opportunistic. Cruz vexed many fellow Republicans by refusing to back down from stances that at times have backfired, putting a stain on the entire GOP. In 2013, he led the fight to defund Obamacare, resulting in a standoff in Congress that led to a government shutdown. Catherine Frazier, a Cruz spokeswoman, told the Post that Cruz has a record of effectiveness. These people keep shooting arrows at him, trying to take him out, and hes not going anywhere, she said. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram On Dec. 6, an estimated 19.5 million Venezuelans will go to the polls to elect the men and women who will represent them in the National Assembly, an election considered key because for the first time since the year 2000 it may shift the balance of power away from Chavismo or so the opposition hopes. Yet Hugo Chavezs and his 16-year-old Bolivarian Revolution control the electoral machinery to such degree that more than 1,000 polling stations have been strategically placed in key battleground states, cities and districts, and dozens have even been named after the late commander. Thus, on that Election Sunday Venezuelans will vote in 61 new polling stations that carry Chavezs name or allude directly to the his widely popular rule. Thirty of them stand in must-win districts for the opposition, which needs 84 seats to take control of the countrys National Assembly. It currently holds 65 seats. In Zulia states second district, considered a key battleground, voters will cast their vote in polling stations ostensibly branded with names like Chavezs legacy, Behind Chavezs dream, The sons of Chavez and Commander Francisco Javier Arias Cardenas, a local governor and one of the military officials who joined Chavez in his failed 1992 coup against President Carlos Andres Perez. In the last legislative election, in September 2010, Chavezs party won here by just 1,188 votes so the almost 3,000 voters from Zulias coveted second district could make a difference this time around, experts say. We think that the names wont have an influence in the voters decision, but these are examples of the abuses make by the government ahead of the elections, said Anibal Sanchez, from the oppositions Mesa de Unidad Democratica (Democratic Unity Roundtable), to Fox News Latino. When the creation of 1,012 new polling stations were announced back in August, Sanchez and many others in the opposition decried the fact more than a 100 would be located in places most likely favorable to the government, like buildings erected and donated by the government housing program, and protested the propagandistic nature of their names. However, the National Electoral Council didnt heed the complaints and greenlighted the new polls. And 916 of those have just one voting booth, Sanchez said, the kind of polling stations that historically have been more favorable to the government, he noted. Sanchez is referring to oppositions presidential candidate Henrique Capriles claim that Chavismo won the 2013 presidential election fraudulently by adding votes in these one-booth stations many of them are located in pro-government locations and where it is hard for the opposition to supervise the voting process. All in all, next month 1,845,200 people will vote in one of the 5,974 one-booth polling stations. That is roughly 9 percent of the vote. We have special teams prepared to verify the process in those places, especially where we had problems back in 2013, Sanchez told FNL. But some remain concerned, saying that the opposition is still not as organized as it should be. In rural areas, the opposition has a lot of trouble making sure fraud is prevented. In Barinas, my home state, violent groups close to the government control some polling stations in municipalities like Andres Eloy Blanco, said Benito Pena, a sociologist and professor at the Experimental University of Los Llanos. Los Llanos, a vast tropical grassland plain that spreads across several states in central Venezuela, is a highly rural region known to be a strong Chavista bastion. But according to the opposition, in recent years the state of Barinas has been tilting in the other direction and Dec. 6 will provide an opportunity to upset one of the two districts there. Sanchez and others, however, say fighting fraud will be even harder this time around, because the National Electoral Council is denying the oppositions request for international watchdogs to oversee the voting process. Regardless, they said they have invited several international figures to watch the election process even if from a few steps back. They wont have the official credentials and wont be able to enter the polling stations, but they will witness any abuse, Sanchez said. The Obama administration will ask the Supreme Court to weigh in on the president's plan to shield as many as 5 million immigrants living in the country illegally from deportation. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday upheld a Texas-based federal judge's injunction blocking President Barack Obama's plan to protect parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents along with more immigrants who came to the country as children. The Justice Department says it disagrees with the 2-1 ruling and will appeal to the high court. Republicans had criticized the plan as an illegal executive overreach when Obama announced it last November. Twenty-six states challenged the plan in court. The administration argued that the executive branch was within its rights in deciding to defer deportation of selected groups of immigrants, including children who were brought to the U.S. illegally. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott praised the ruling. "President Obama should abandon his lawless executive amnesty program and start enforcing the law today," Abbott said in a news release. "We strongly disagree with the 5th Circuit's decision," said a White House official who requested anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly about a legal matter still underway. "The Supreme Court and Congress have made clear that the federal government can set priorities in enforcing our immigration laws." The ruling further dims prospects of implementation of the executive action before Obama leaves office in 2017. Appeals over the injunction could take months and, depending on how the case unfolds, it could go back to the Texas federal court for more proceedings. The administration could ask for a re-hearing by the full 5th Circuit but the National Immigration Law Center, and advocacy group, urged an immediate Supreme Court appeal. Justice Department spokesman Patrick Rodenbush said in a statement they were reviewing the opinion to determine how best to proceed. "The department is committed to taking steps that will resolve the immigration litigation as quickly as possible in order to allow DHS (Department of Homeland Security) to bring greater accountability to our immigration system by prioritizing the removal of the worst offenders, not people who have long ties to the United States and who are raising American children," he said. Part of the initiative included expansion of a program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, protecting young immigrants from deportation if they were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The other major part, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, would extend deportation protections to parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have been in the country for years. The 70-page majority opinion by Judge Jerry Smith, joined by Jennifer Walker Elrod, rejected administration arguments that the district judge abused his discretion with a nationwide order and that the states lacked standing to challenge Obama's executive orders. They acknowledged an argument that an adverse ruling would discourage potential beneficiaries of the plan from cooperating with law enforcement authorities or paying taxes. "But those are burdens that Congress knowingly created, and it is not our place to second-guess those decisions," Smith wrote. In a 53-page dissent, Judge Carolyn Dineen King said the administration was within the law, casting the decision to defer action on some deportations as "quintessential exercises of prosecutorial discretion," and noting that the Department of Homeland Security has limited resources. "Although there are approximately 11.3 million removable aliens in this country today, for the last several years Congress has provided the Department of Homeland Security with only enough resources to remove approximately 400,000 of those aliens per year," King wrote. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram A smaller cast of candidates faces off Tuesday night in the Republicans' fourth presidential debate, with mild-mannered Ben Carson pledging to push back aggressively if challenged on the veracity of his celebrated personal story. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is expecting more confrontation, too, from rivals trying to block his momentum. The debate, the last for the GOP until mid-December, could help shape the course of the campaign into the winter as voters begin to pay more attention to the White House race. Billionaire Donald Trump has led the field for months, defying standard political logic, while experienced governors and senators have struggled to break through. Another outsider, Carson, the quiet retired neurosurgeon, began challenging Trump's grip in recent weeks. As he's risen in preference polls, however, Carson has faced a flurry of questions about his biography, which has been central to his connection with voters. His campaign manager, Barry Bennett, said Carson is prepared to be far more aggressive in the prime-time debate and is "a lot more fired up" after facing days of questions about his past. "He's not going to attack anybody," Bennett said. "But if somebody goes after him, they're going to see a lot more 'back at 'em' than they ever saw before." While pieces of Carson's background had been challenged earlier in the campaign, the questions ballooned last week after CNN reported it could not find friends or confidants to corroborate the story, told in his widely read autobiography, of his unsuccessfully trying to stab a close friend when he was a teenager. Later in the week, Politico examined Carson's claim of having been offered a scholarship to attend the U.S. Military Academy, and The Wall Street Journal said it could not confirm anecdotes told by Carson about his high school and college years. In a GOP primary where bashing the media is in vogue, Carson could come out ahead if the moderators of Tuesday's debate on Fox Business Network are seen as unfairly piling on. Carson's campaign was active in the effort to change how the party's debates are run after several candidates expressed unhappiness with moderators from CNBC at an event two weeks ago. Yet some Republicans say Carson must walk a fine line. "Will viewers and voters see the unflappable surgeon they have been inclined to support or will a more combative Carson emerge?" said Matt Strawn, the former chairman of the Iowa Republican Party. "If the latter, his standing may well suffer if he appears to be yet another politician trying to out-outrage the others on stage." Trump previewed a potential line of attack at a rally in Springfield, Illinois, on the eve of the debate. "With what's going on with this election, I've never seen anything like it. People are getting away with murder," Trump said. "If you try and hit your mother over the head with a hammer, your poll numbers go up. I never saw anything like it!" Rubio will walk onto the stage with some momentum following a strong performance in the most recent debate. The senator is widely seen as among the most talented politicians in the GOP field, and his rise appears to have worried some of his rivals. That's especially true of Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor who is a friend and political mentor for Rubio. Bush struggled in his attempts to challenge Rubio in the last debate, though he's continued to needle him in campaign appearances, and his well-funded super PAC has signaled plans to aggressively go after the senator in the coming weeks. Trump has also stepped up his criticism of Rubio, calling him a "total lightweight" and a "highly overrated politician" in tweets sent late Monday night. Rubio's campaign tried to get ahead of some expected challenges in the debate by releasing two more years of charge card statements from his time as a state lawmaker. He has faced questions about his use of an American Express card issued by the Republican Party of Florida for some personal spending. Also in the main debate Tuesday night is Ted Cruz, who is enjoying new momentum following a strong performance in the last contest, and businesswoman Carly Fiorina and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Missing from the lineup are New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Both were dropped from the top-tier debate with low poll numbers in national surveys, sparking criticism for the way networks hosting the debates have determined participation. Christie and Huckabee will instead appear in an undercard debate, along with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. "We're not whiners and moaners and complainers in the Christie campaign," Christie said on Fox News. "Give me a podium, give me a stage, put the camera on, we'll be just fine." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Less than one hour into the fourth Republican presidential debate on Tuesday, a few of the candidates got into a heated discussion over what to do with the countrys estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants. Asked by Fox Business Network moderators about the Monday federal appeals court decision to uphold an injunction against President Barack Obamas executive action shielding millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation, Donald Trump praised the ruling. I was so happy yesterday when I saw that decision come down, said Trump, who has enjoyed front-runner status among GOP candidates for much of the election cycle. We have to stop illegal immigration, said Trump, its hurting us economically. Trump repeated his promise to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and deporting millions of people here illegally. "We are a country of laws. We need borders. We will build a wall," he said. That prompted sharp rebukes from Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Kasich, who supports a pathway to legal status, attacked Trumps plan as impractical. "For the 11 million people, c'mon folks, he said. We all know you can't pick them up and ship them across the border." Bush, who also supports a pathway to legal status, spoke to the more to the political dynamic of the divisive issue. He started by suggesting that Trumps tough talk on immigration was a boon to Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clintons campaign, then he added, "To send them back, 500,000 a month, is just not possible ... The way you win the presidency is you have practical plans." Sen. Ted Cruz, who went into Tuesdays debate following a strong performance in the last one, said Republicans will lose the presidential race if they offer "amnesty" to undocumented immigrants. "For those of us who believe people ought to come to this country legally, we should enforce the law. Were tired of being told it's anti-immigrant it's offensive," Cruz said. "I am the son of an immigrant who came to this country legally from Cuba to seek the American Dream, and we can embrace legal immigration while believing in the rule of law." Framing this as an economic issue for many Americans, Cruz asked how the press would feel if "people with journalism degrees were coming over and driving down wages." Like Cruz, Sen. Marco Rubio went into the debate riding on strong momentum from the third GOP debate. Rubio said people are working hard, but the economy is not providing jobs that pay enough. The answer, he says, is to reform taxes, ease the way for businesses and make higher education more accessible, particularly for vocational training. In one of the most talked-about lines of the debate on social media, Rubio said, "Welders make more money than philosophers. We need more welders and less philosophers." He said that high corporate tax rates force companies to move jobs out of the country, the presidents health care law discourages businesses from hiring new workers, and the existing higher education system doesn't teach 21st century skills. The government must respond to the country's ongoing "economic transformation," Rubio said. Tuesday's debate, the last for GOP candidates until mid-December, occurred as retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson began to rise above Trump in polls of likely Republican voters. As he's risen in the polls, Carson has also faced a flurry of questions about his biography which described a violent youth and his overcoming it largely through religion and which has been central to his connection with voters. Carson has insisted in media interviews that his account is accurate and that media is on a witch hunt against him. Just ahead of the debate Tuesday, Carson's Twitter team posted a video filmed on his way to the venue in Milwaukee. In it, Carson says: "It really is not about me, it's about America. It's about what are we going to do for the kids, for the next generations. And I think if we start working together and stop allowing the purveyors of division to prevail, we're going to be just fine, because we are the United States of America." In previous debates, Carson has generally avoided criticizing his rivals, but they have not been as shy about taking shots at him. Rubio is widely seen as among the most talented politicians in the GOP field, and his rise has appeared to worry some of his rivals. That is especially true of Bush, the former governor of Florida the friend and political mentor of Rubio. Bush struggled in his attempts to challenge his younger colleague in the last debate, though he's continued to needle him in subsequent campaign appearances, and his well-funded super PAC has signaled its intention to go aggressively after the senator in the coming weeks. Trump has also stepped up his criticism of Rubio, calling him a "total lightweight" and a "highly overrated politician" in tweets sent late Monday night. Missing from the main stage were New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Both fell from the top-tier debate because of low poll numbers in national surveys, sparking criticism for the way the networks hosting the debates have determined participation. Instead Christie and Huckabee appeared in the undercard debate, along with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Former New York Gov. George Pataki and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham failed even to qualify for the second-tier event. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Four GOP presidential candidates who participated in the earlier, undercard debate vowed to reform the tax system and to improve the financial well-being of Americans. The participants, whose poll numbers were too low to qualify them for the primetime debate, were New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Christie said that if he's elected president, he'll "fire a whole bunch of IRS agents." The line was delivered Tuesday in response to the first question of the night drew applause from the audience in Milwaukee. After sharing the stage with the frontrunners the first three GOP debates, Christie hoped to have a breakout night and get back to the main debate. The night was focused on the economy, and Christie said he wants to make the tax code fairer by getting rid of all deductions except for home mortgage interest and charitable donations. He says his plan would make it so income taxes can be filed in 15 minutes. Jindal, who spent much of the debate taking shots at Christie, said the United States is "on the path to socialism." "It's not enough just to beat Hillary Clinton, we have to change the direction of our country, the Louisiana governor said. Under President Barack Obama, he said, there is "record dependence" on welfare programs. Santorum pointed to better job training for people coming out of high school as a key to strengthening the countrys manufacturing industry. The former U.S. Senator said he visits a manufacturing company once a week and finds open jobs with no one to fill them. He added that too many politicians, including his fellow Republicans, wrongly think every high school graduate needs to go to college. He said, "We need to provide opportunities for them to go to work out of high school." Huckabee is calling for more manufacturing to occur in the United States. He added that if we can't "feed ourselves, fuel ourselves and fight for ourselves," there will be no freedom. Huckabee continued his call to create a "Fair Tax" that would eliminate federal income and investment taxes and replace them with a 23 percent federal sales tax. He also said he would abolish the Internal Revenue Service. Like Christie, Huckabee was on the main stage in the previous debates, but was bumped to the early event due to low national polling numbers. Based on reporting by The Associated Press. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio is pushing back against rival Jeb Bush, after reports surfaced on Monday that a super PAC aiding the former Florida governor's White House run plans to release a series of attack ads critical of the freshman senator. According to the New York Times, a group backing Bush with a large war chest is preparing to air the first of a number of ads critical of Rubio. In this one, voters in New Hampshire are shown describing how they feel about Rubio missing votes in the U.S. Senate. Rubio's camp released its own response video calling out Bush for making "phony attacks" and noting that the former Florida governor has in the past had high praise for his in-state rival, going so far as to say that he would make a good president. "What Marco has, I think, is something the Republican Party needs to have, which is a hopeful, optimistic message based on our principles," Bush is quoted as saying in one of the clips included in the video released by the Rubio campaign. "I'm a huge Marco fan," Bush says in another. "He's probably the most articulate conservative on the scene today." "[He has] the fortitude to be a good president," Bush comments in a third clip. "I'm so proud of his high-voltage energy. I'm so proud of his enthusiasm. I'm so proud of his eloquence." The ad opens with the words, "Before Jeb Bush started the phony attack, he said this about Marco Rubio." The rancor between the two presidential candidates has been simmering for much of the presidential campaign season but has recently boiled up as Rubio's poll numbers rise while Bush's continue to plummet. It finally bubbled over during the most recent GOP debate when Bush went after Rubio for his lack of experience and for missing votes in the Senate. Rubio countered by saying that Bush was only criticizing him because "we're running for the same position, and someone has convinced you that attacking me will help you." "I'm not running against Governor Bush, I'm not running against anyone on stage," Rubio continued. "I'm running for the president of the United States." There is speculation that the ads will come primarily from Right to Rise, a super PAC that has raised more than $100 million for Bush. Its top strategist, Mike Murphy, would not detail its strategy but did not dispute that Rubio was a main target. "Part of running for president is you have to put your big boy pants on and get vetted on the issues so we know we don't have a dud candidate running against Hillary Clinton," Murphy told the Times. Some people close to Bush, however, are warning his campaign to back away from attacking on Rubio as it could damage Bush's name and may not do any good in either resurrecting his campaign or taking down Rubio, whom many see as the Republican Party's future. "At the end of the day, wisdom dictates that an internecine fight between the two is unnecessary and potentially damaging to both," Anthony Scaramucci, a New York financier and Bush fund-raiser, told the Times. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram In must be something in the Lone Star state's water. Almost four years to the day after former Texas Gov. Rick Perry had his infamous "oops" moment during a Republican primary debate, fellow Texan, Sen. Ted Cruz, had one of his own. During the FOX Business Network & Wall Street Journal debate in Milwaukee Tuesday night, Cruz struggled to list the five agencies he planned to eliminate if elected president, naming the Department of Commerce twice. "Five major agencies that I would eliminate: the IRS, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy, uh, the Department of Commerce and [Housing and Urban Development]," Cruz said. While many pundits and social media observers made a comparison to Perry's "oops" moment when the former Texas governor wasn't able to name the third government agency he would eliminate after the Departments of Education and Commerce, Cruz didn't allow any pauses after his faux pas and quickly went on to other points. Cruz also made light of his mistake during an interview with Fox News' Megyn Kelly following the debate. "Look, I just think the Department of Commerce is such a base of cronyism, we need to eliminate it twice," Cruz said on "The Kelly File." Cruz added that the fifth agency he would eliminate is the Department of Education. "I have been campaigning for a long time on repealing Common Core, abolishing the Department of Education, and granting that money back to the states so education can be handled on the state and local level," Cruz said. Despite his gaffe, Cruz was seen as one of the night's winners along with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio especially after taking a hardline against undocumented immigrants in the early part of the debate. The Texas lawmaker said Republicans will lose the presidential race if they offer "amnesty" to undocumented immigrants. "For those of us who believe people ought to come to this country legally, we should enforce the law. Were tired of being told it's anti-immigrant it's offensive," Cruz said. "I am the son of an immigrant who came to this country legally from Cuba to seek the American Dream, and we can embrace legal immigration while believing in the rule of law." Framing this as an economic issue for many Americans, Cruz asked how the press would feel if "people with journalism degrees were coming over and driving down wages." His comments earned high praise from a number of conservative groups that favor restricting immigration to the U.S. "In a debate night devoted to economics, only Ted Cruz treated immigration as an economic issue that can harm the lives of ordinary American wage-earners," Roy Beck, the president of Numbers USA said in a press release. "And Cruz single-handedly stopped a pro-amnesty wave from swamping the debate stage through John Kasich and Jeb Bush." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The Obama administration says it will ask the Supreme Court to save its plans to shield from deportation millions of immigrants living in the country illegally. The appeal advances a legal confrontation with 26 states during a presidential race already roiled by disputes over U.S. immigration policy. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late Monday effectively blocked President Barack Obama's plan to protect as many as 5 million immigrants, primarily the immigrant parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. It upheld a Texas-based federal judge's earlier injunction. The ruling leaves in limbo the future of the program, called the Deferred Action for Parents and Americans, and promises by Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton to go further than Obama to protect large groups of immigrants from deportation. Clinton promised in May to expand Obama's executive actions if Congress does not overhaul U.S. immigration laws. In October she also pledged to be "less harsh and aggressive" than Obama in enforcing immigration laws. Clinton said Tuesday she hopes the case gets a quick and fair hearing "so that the millions who are affected can stop living in fear of their families being broken apart." The future of the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally has been debated by Republican and Democratic presidential candidates. Earlier this month Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said if elected he would eventually end Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which protects from deportation immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. DACA, as the program is known, was seen as an administrative answer to the DREAM Act, legislation once supported by Rubio that would provide legal status to those young immigrants. To date, more than 720,000 young immigrants have been granted permission to live and work legally in the United States. That program is not affected by the appeals court ruling. White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday the case was ultimately about the administration's authority to decide how to use its limited resources in immigration enforcement. "We obviously continue to believe strongly in the legal power of the arguments that we have been making for nearly a year ... about the importance of giving our law enforcement officials the discretion to implement our immigration laws in a way that focuses on those who pose a genuine threat to our national security or to our communities," Earnest said. Monday's 70-page ruling rejected administration arguments that the district court had abused its discretion with a nationwide order and that the states lacked standing to challenge Obama's executive orders. It acknowledged that an adverse ruling would discourage potential beneficiaries of DAPA from cooperating with law enforcement authorities or paying taxes. "But those are burdens that Congress knowingly created, and it is not our place to second-guess those decisions," U.S. Circuit Judge Jerry Smith wrote for the majority. Smith was appointed to the court by Republican President Ronald Reagan. In a 53-page dissent, Circuit Judge Carolyn Dineen King said the administration was within the law. She cast the decision to defer action on some deportations as "quintessential exercises of prosecutorial discretion" and noted that the Homeland Security Department has limited resources. "Although there are approximately 11.3 million removable aliens in this country today, for the last several years Congress has provided the Department of Homeland Security with only enough resources to remove approximately 400,000 of those aliens per year," wrote King, who was appointed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. It's unclear when the Justice Department will file its appeal or whether the high court would take up the case, but the administration may be running out of time to get a final decision before Obama leaves office in early 2017. While the appeal moves forward, not much will change for the millions of immigrants Obama sought to help without action from Congress. When Obama and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program last year, they also rolled out a new set of priorities for immigration enforcement that focused on criminals, those who pose a threat to national security or public safety and recent border-crossers. The result of that renewed focus means the average immigrant whose only offense is living in the country illegally isn't likely to face deportation. During the last budget year, which ended Sept. 30, administration removed about 231,000 immigrants living in the country illegally, according to internal government documents obtained by The Associated Press. It was the fewest number of deportations since 2006 and a 42 percent drop since a record high of more than 409,000 in 2012. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is rallying for an increase in pay for low-wage workers at his day-job workplace the Senate. Speaking in the rain in a park outside the Senate on Tuesday, Sanders urged a group of a hundred or more striking and protesting workers to keep up their fight. The event was scheduled on the day of the Republican presidential debate to highlight what Sanders says is the divide between Democrats and Republicans on the issue. Some of the protesters work in the Senate and were taking the day to strike. One woman who works in a Senate cafeteria spoke in Spanish about not having enough money to buy medicine for her sick child. Sanders, the Vermont independent, said the workers should make at least $15 an hour and have the right to unionize. "There are a number of senators who get served by people right here," Sanders told the wet, cheering crowd. "They should know that if you are serving them, they have got to start serving you." Warner Massey, an employee of a Senate contractor who cleans entranceways and bathrooms in the Capitol complex, said he makes $13.50 an hour but wants to make at least $15. Others he works with make less. "This is really crazy because of the simple fact that we work for millionaires," Massey said. "These guys are millionaires, they make the laws, they make the rules and regulations. So why is it so hard for us to get just $15 and be part of a union?" Some food workers in the Capitol make as little as $11 an hour, and have no work during congressional recesses. In April, dozens of Capitol food workers briefly walked off the job to protest their pay and working conditions. In June, the House changed contractors for its several cafeterias and other food vendors. The new provider, Sodexo, promised to retain qualified workers amid widespread debate about their pay and work conditions. Maryland-based Sodexo will replace New York-based Restaurant Associates, which has held the House food service contract since 2007. Restaurant Associates still runs the cafeterias in the Capitol Visitors Center and Senate buildings. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram It wasnt a rivalry many saw emerging in the 2016 presidential race. While Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz have different views on many topics, they have key factors in common they both rose in politics thanks, in great part, to support from Tea Party groups and other conservatives, they are the same age, and they have Cuban ancestry (Cruzs father is a Cuban immigrant, both of Rubios parents came here from Cuba). They also were not seen as being a threat to each other in the election Rubio had a strong showing in many earlier polls and also in later polls after each GOP debate, while Cruz remained far from the top four in most national polls of likely GOP voters. But after the most recent GOP debate, the fourth thus far, Cruzs star has risen, and now a Rubio-Cruz showdown appears to be brewing as the Texas Republican has started taking shots at his fellow senator, according to Politico. On Thursday, Cruz, who has taken a hard line on how to deal with illegal immigration, assailed Rubio for the Florida lawmakers key role in a 2013 comprehensive immigration reform the Senate passed that would, among other things, provide a path to legal status for undocumented people. Asked by radio host Laura Ingraham about Rubios tougher stance on immigration after the 2013 measure, Cruz said: Talk is cheap. You know where someone is based on their actions. Hours later, Rubios campaign released a statement essentially calling Cruz hypocritical on immigration. It included an excerpt from an interview Cruz had with the Texas Tribune in 2013 in which he is reported to have said that he opposed a path to citizenship, but not allowing them to stay altogether. The excerpt also said Cruz did not embrace former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romneys support for self-deportation, which would result after making life here too hard for those who lack legal documents. After the 2013 bill stalled in the House of Representatives, Rubio who was heavily criticized by conservatives for being a key so-sponsor of the measure backed off its main objectives, and began to press for tougher enforcement of immigration laws. Cruz criticized Rubio for voting against amendments that he and other members of Congress tried to push through to tighten enforcement before other aspects of the bipartisan bill could be implemented. He opposed every single one of themevery single amendment, Cruz said, adding that some of the amendments Rubio opposed called for denying public assistance to undocumented people and stepping up funding for the Border Patrol. Many conservatives believe that billionaire Donald Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carsons popularity will fade as the primaries approach, and many pundits say that Cruzs strong performance in the last debate and command of policy issues give him a real shot at doing well in the primaries. In the Tuesday debate, moderated by Fox Business Network, Cruz took issue with Rubios support for subsidies for the sugar industry, an important part of Floridas economy. Sugar farmers farm on roughly 0.2 percent of the farmland in America and give 40 percent of the lobbying money, Cruz said. That sort of corporate welfare is why were bankrupting our kids and grandkids. I would end the subsidies to pay for defending this nation. Cruz also inserted himself into the discussion about the nations undocumented immigrants, and how they should be addressed, after Trump vowed to deport them all and build a wall along the Mexican border. Cruz, whom the moderators did not ask for his views on immigration, said Republicans will lose the presidential race if they offer "amnesty" to undocumented immigrants. "For those of us who believe people ought to come to this country legally, we should enforce the law. Were tired of being told it's anti-immigrant it's offensive," Cruz said. "I am the son of an immigrant who came to this country legally from Cuba to seek the American Dream, and we can embrace legal immigration while believing in the rule of law." Framing this as an economic issue for many Americans, Cruz asked how the press would feel if "people with journalism degrees were coming over and driving down wages." His view since he announced his campaign is that a successful immigration bill cant be comprehensive and must start with border security. Many political experts see Rubio as the presidential candidate most likely to get a cross-section of GOP support. Though he rose up the political ranks on the momentum of conservative support, he has been embraced by the so-called establishment GOP. Marco Rubio is in a unique position to unite the various factions of the Republican coalition, said Whit Ayres, Rubios pollster, to Politico. Ayers said that focus groups show Rubio gaining more backing from conservatives, in addition to more moderate Republicans. Cruz has not wavered from his staunchly conservative corner, and regularly denounces the establishment GOP, including party leaders in Congress. Political experts believe that if Carson and Trump, who have been weak in debates when they turn to substantive policy questions, lose steam, Cruz can pick up their supporters. Yet Rubios likability is also a factor, they say. "Theres this growing sense that Rubios the best candidate and that people are getting pretty comfortable with him, said Bruce Haynes, a Republican strategist, according to Politico. You can feel Carson and Trump losing support. Cruz is a quiet tide in the night that is beginning to wash out the base on Donald Trump. Now, I think, people are looking at Cruz as the candidate whos best positioned in a lane to run with Rubio and give him a real fight. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram An immigrant woman who has spent the past 15 months living in a small Tucson church to avoid deportation is going back to her home in Arizona and will be allowed to remain in this country, her lawyer said Wednesday. Rosa Robles Loreto will stay in the U.S. under an agreement that will be kept confidential, said her attorney, Margo Cowan, refusing to release details. Robles Loreto, 42, was the last remaining immigrant to live in a church during a year that saw an active sanctuary movement. Immigrants looking to avoid deportation also sought refuge in Portland, Oregon, Denver, Austin, Texas, and Phoenix. There is no rule under federal law that prohibits agents from arresting immigrants in a church, but it's a practice the government generally avoids. At a ceremony to mark her departure from Southside Presbyterian Church, an emotional Robles Loreto said Wednesday that she is elated and will keep fighting for immigrant rights. "There is a great struggle for many people who are in my same situation," she said. The Rev. Alison Harrington, who heads Southside Presbyterian, said wide community support helped Robles Loreto during the 462 days she spent at the church. Tens of thousands of signs with a portrait of Robles Loreto, her husband and two sons were posted on lawns and on business windows around Tucson. City and county leaders, congressional delegates and even celebrity Linda Ronstadt also lent their support. "Courage is fear that has said its prayers and we are a courageous community that has said its prayers," Harrington said. Robles Loreto was pulled over for a traffic infraction five years ago and turned over to the Border Patrol. Her attorney sought leniency and a stay of deportation to no avail before Robles Loreto sought sanctuary at the church. U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement announced earlier this year that Robles Loreto was not a priority for deportation, but her attorney said it was still unsafe for her to leave the church. The agency said Wednesday it would not comment on the case. Sarah Launius, a spokeswoman for Robles Loreto, said, "We will pursue any additional avenues that are in Rosa's best interest, and we know today that she is completely safe to leave the church and return to a more typical life," Robles Loreto's case is unique in that her entire family is living in the U.S. illegally. The government has granted leniency to immigrants whose children are U.S. citizens as part of President Barack Obama's policy to try to keep families together. But families such as Robles Loreto's have been left out even though her two boys have lived in the U.S. their entire lives after being born in Mexico. The boys could have benefited from an expansion of a program that aims to protect youths from deportation after they are brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals would have lowered the minimum age requirement, but it has been put on hold by a federal judge in Texas. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday upheld that ruling. Southside Presbyterian has been offering sanctuary to immigrants since the 1980s, when a wave of Central Americans fled civil wars in their countries. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Two members of Congress who long have pushed for a tougher U.S. approach toward Venezuelas socialist government said that this weeks drug smuggling arrests by U.S. authorities of two nephews of the South American president further points to corruption in his administration. If reports are accurate, few who have observed the declining situation in Venezuela should be surprised by this most recent news, said Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a statement to Fox News Latino. The level of corruption and impunity has reached the highest circles of power there and Im pleased it is now getting international scrutiny. The nephews, Efrain Antonio Campos Flores and Francisco Flores de Freites, were indicted on conspiring to import cocaine, through Honduras, into the United States. They are the biological nephews of Venezuelas first lady, Cilia Flores, and at least one of the two men was raised by Flores and President Nicolas Maduro. According to an unsealed federal indictment, both men participated in meetings in Venezuela to ship cocaine to the U.S. They were arrested in Haiti on Tuesday night as part of a sting operation coordinated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The young men reportedly told the DEA that they were acting in connection with Diosdado Cabello, speaker of the National Assembly, as well as with a governor, Tarck el Aissami, who is the former Venezuelan Minister of the Interior. They said that the high-ranking officials had helped with the drug shipment. In past Senate hearings on Venezuela, Menendez has raised concerns about suspected drug trafficking by high-ranking officials in that nation. For years, I have pursued legislative and administrative efforts to ensure the U.S. government takes an active role in supporting Venezuelans who want better for their country, with its decimated Rule of Law and widespread narco-trafficking, Menendez said. Its not only a matter of fundamental human rights for Venezuelans but also a national security threat to the United States and the hemisphere. I hope justice is served and that more is to come. Cabello, Venezuelas second most powerful figure, has been a focus of U.S. drug-trafficking investigation involving top members of the Venezuelan government. The arrest of Campos and Flores is likely to exacerbate already tense relations between the U.S. and Venezuela and cast a hard look at U.S. accusations of drug trafficking at the highest levels of Maduro's administration. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican who is chairwoman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, echoed Menendez in saying that for some time there has been suspicion of drug-trafficking linked to officials, or associates of officials, at the highest levels of Venezuelas government. "This is not the first time that relatives of the corrupt Maduro regime have been in legal trouble due to their close connections to the illicit drug trade, Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement. I congratulate our DEA and the U.S. Attorney of New York for continuing their investigation into the drug transactions of the Venezuelan regime. I'm also pleased that the U.S. rejected the bogus plea of these two relatives for diplomatic immunity." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Ben Carson said give him a year, and he'll secure the border. The Republican presidential candidate said Thursday that he knows what it takes to close the U.S.-Mexico border, and he pledged to finish the job if president within a year. He said the border would be secure by through technology, double fencing and increasing the number of Border Patrol officers and National Guard troops. The retired neurosurgeon, among the leaders in a crowded GOP field, also said he'd allow people in the country illegally to stay as guest workers but would not carve out a special path to citizenship for them. They'd have to register within six months, he said. "If they don't get registered during that six-month period they are illegals and will be treated accordingly," Carson said. "But if they get registered during that time and they have a pristine record they will be able to be guest workers in areas where we need guest workers. They have to pay a back tax penalty and they have to pay taxes going forward." Employers also would have to chip in for health insurance, Carson added. Carson's comments come as the Border Patrol has been working for a decade to boost security. It has added hundreds of miles of fencing and more than doubled manpower along the southwest border. Immigration from Mexico has also slowed considerably this decade, and the number of immigrants apprehended in the Border Patrol's Tucson, Arizona, sector in 2014 dipped to a 22-year low. Nearby Yuma plummeted to 1960s lows starting in 2011 as double-fencing was installed on the flat stretch of desert. But officials in Arizona still complain about crime by smugglers who bring in drugs and people from Mexico. It is common to have large amounts of marijuana and other drugs confiscated from groups making their way across the desert. Carson also warned that not closing the border leaves it open to terrorist infiltration. "When you consider there's a global jihad movement going on and that they are very desirous of planting their people within our society we should be doubly concerned about this rather than lackadaisical," he said. Based on reporting by The Associated Press. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz on Friday vowed to suspend a program that gives work visas to highly skilled immigrants, reversing his position on the program as part of an aggressive immigration plan designed to appeal to the GOP's most conservative wing. Cruz, the son of a Cuban immigrant, wants to dramatically increase deportations, add hundreds of miles to the wall on the Mexican border and reverse every immigration order signed by President Barack Obama including one that defers enforcement for many children of immigrants in the country illegally. "A steady flow of illegal immigrants coming in, driving down wages, impacts the wages of just about every person here," Cruz told hundreds of cheering supporters gathered in an Orlando megachurch Friday afternoon. Aside from the economic impact of illegal immigration, Cruz warned that a porous southern border makes the nation vulnerable to Islamic State fighters and deadly diseases like Ebola. The release of Cruz's immigration plan comes as he intensifies his play for the GOP's most conservative voters, a group that has so far favored businessman Donald Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. The outsider candidates have a huge lead in the race with voting set to begin in less than three months. The issue also allows Cruz to distinguish himself from pragmatic-minded Republican rivals such as Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, two Florida-based candidates who support a pathway to citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally. Without naming them, Cruz said each of his Republican opponents in the previous debate "composed an epic poem in support of amnesty, explaining how compassionate and loving it is." "There is nothing compassionate about a politician saying, 'I'm so compassionate I'm willing to give away your job,'" Cruz charged. Cruz's position on high-skilled visas represents a complete about-face on one of his long-held immigration stances. During the Senate immigration debate two years ago, the Texas senator was an outspoken advocate for increasing legal immigration, particularly for highly skilled immigrants. He called legal immigration "a pillar of our nation's heritage and strength" and introduced amendments to double the cap on legal immigration and increase the number of high-skilled immigrant visas by 500 percent. On Friday, he promised to suspend the H1-B program for 180 days to investigate and prosecute potential abuse. He said he changed his position after learning that some companies, including nearby Disney World, might be abusing the program. Such visas are largely used for high-tech firms and so-called STEM science, technology, engineering and math jobs. Many Republican lawmakers have complained that U.S. companies use the visa program to hire foreign workers at lower wages than a U.S. citizen would be entitled to. Cruz announced his immigration plan ahead of a possible Senate vote next week on an immigration bill he's been pushing to boost penalties for immigrants who illegally re-enter the country after getting deported. The bill, Kate's Law, is named for a woman shot in San Francisco by an immigrant in the country illegally. Senate Democratic aides said they'd been alerted by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office of possible floor action on the legislation as early as next week, though McConnell's spokesman said no decisions on timing had been made. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram A Republican-appointed local official in New Jersey has apologized for posting anti-Mexican messages on his personal Facebook page. Patrick Pizzi, a 68-year-old commissioner on the Berkeley Township Municipal Utilities Authority, posted the following two notes: "I put a sign in my driveway ... 'All Mexicans must show green card to get trick or treat.'" Pizzi then posted another status several hours later that read, "For Halloween I dressed as an eligal [sic] Mexican and trick or treated in Washington, D.C.... No candy but got ... food stamps ... cell phone ... medical coverage ... prescription card ... housing ... etc." Pizzi later removed the posts and apologized for them in an interview with Fox News Latino on Friday. "It was a joke, insensitive, that went bad," he said. "I'm not a racist. I did put the jokes up. I apologized for them. If you want to make a big deal out of it, that's your decision. I don't think it's newsworthy." According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 4.9 percent of the forty-some thousand residents of Berkeley Township are Hispanic. The Asbury Park Press, which first reported about the comments, noted that Berkeley Mayor Carmen F. Amato, who nominated Pizzi to his position, follows him on Facebook. Amato did not respond to FNL's request for comment. Jon Salonis, 30, who operates a regional Democratic Party blog titled "Jersey Shore Insider," took screen shots of the Facebook messages before they were pulled down and distributed them, the Asbury Park Press reported. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey won election promising to do his part to close the "wide-open and unprotected border." To that end, he is taking steps to create a Border Strike Force that would be part of the state's Bureau of the Department of Public Safety its main goal, to disrupt the operations of drug- and human-trafficking groups. The strike force hasn't been formally announced, but the Associated Press confirmed its existence Thursday after obtaining a letter the governor sent to the Cochise County sheriff. The force is designed to work with state, local and federal agencies to "stop border-related crime," according to the letter. It is apparently still in the planning stage and a timeline for deployment or a price tag isn't known. According to the Arizona Republic, the governor is hoping to grow the force of 10 to about 180 state troopers, analysts, pilots and other personnel. State troopers would conduct frequent patrols of highways in well-established trafficking routes, the paper reported. Some added state funds would be used to hire more prosecutors and to reimburse border counties for the cost of jailing traffickers. The Republic is reporting that the forces first operation took place last month, and it involved flushing out cartel scouts from the desert south of Phoenix. They have night-vision capabilities, and theyre lightning fast, Capt. Dave Nilson, who led the October operation, told the Republic. On any given day, we get 911 reports of people stopping, seeing people loading bundles and bundles of large amounts of narcotics and illegal aliens, he said, right on the side of the highway, and getting into cars and leaving. It literally is the wild West. In the letter about the strike force to the Cochise County Sheriff, Mark Dannels, Ducey wrote, "The goal of the Border Strike Force is to bolster your current efforts, not dictate to you or any other sheriff how to combat the issues we are facing Additionally, it is intended to build and design innovative strategies and work groups to effectively deter, disrupt, and dismantle border-related crime." The Republican governor's move is among the first he's made since making border security a top priority during his 2014 primary campaign. Earlier this year, Ducey gave about $560,000 to sheriffs in Yuma and Cochise counties for border security efforts by shifting money from two inland counties. Ducey spokesman Daniel Scarpinato confirmed the effort but declined to provide details. Scarpinato said it was part of a broader border security effort where the governor is working with counties and other stakeholders. Asked about the initiative earlier this week, DPS Director Frank Milstead said he could not provide details in advance of a planned announcement by the governor. That announcement is expected as early as next week. Santa Cruz County sheriff Tony Estrada said he's met with Milstead and a member of the governor's staff in recent weeks and said the initiative involved 200 state troopers. Milstead said that number wasn't accurate, but he mentioned a similar number during a September meeting with border sheriffs, according to the Sierra Vista Herald. Arizona's border with Mexico has long been known for drug and immigrant smuggling. Officials complain that break-ins and violent crime are often committed by groups coming from or returning to Mexico. Federal efforts along the border have been paying off, however. The federal government has greatly expanded its border presence. Immigration from Mexico has also slowed considerably this decade, and the number of immigrants apprehended in the Border Patrol's Tucson sector in 2014 dipped to a 22-year low. Nearby Yuma plummeted to 1960s lows starting in 2011. A version of the Oct. 28 letter sent to Dannels was apparently also sent to at least one other sheriff. The Yuma County sheriff's Office confirmed it had received a letter from the governor, but the office has not yet provided it under a public records request sent Tuesday. "There is no limit to the violence and lawlessness committed by criminals who use our southern borders to smuggle people, illicit drugs, and money derived from criminal activities," Ducey wrote to Dannels. "As the governor of the great state of Arizona it is my commitment to you and the people in our state that we will combat this threat together." Estrada said Wednesday that he has not received a similar letter. He said during a recent meeting with Milstead he told him that state troopers need to boost patrols in the early morning hours, when smugglers and other criminals take advantage of DPS's lack of overnight shifts in his county. "You've got money, you've got weapons you've got cars and fugitives going south. You've got drugs, illegals and money and everything else going north," Estrada said. "And you don't have anything after 2 o'clock in the morning. That's an open invitation." Ducey made border security a major issue in the 2014 GOP primary, promising to "fight back with every resource at my command" to secure the state's border with Mexico. "Fencing, satellites, guardsmen, more police and prosecutors," Ducey said in a campaign ad. "We'll get this done. If Barack Obama won't do the job, Arizonans will." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Donald Trump's growing frustration over seeing his lead in polls drop as his rivals rise seemed to finally boil over on Thursday in a series of interviews and campaign stops that saw the Republican presidential candidate lash out at everyone, from Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson to Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. The real estate mogul said that the only reason Rubio favors a so-called "amnesty" for undocumented immigrants in the country is because his parents are Latino and he is from Florida. Trump went on to bring up Rubio's support in 2013 of a bipartisan immigration reform bill, which passed the Senate but stalled in the House, as evidence of the lawmaker's stance on the issue. "He was always in favor of amnesty, he was always in favor of letting people pour into the country," Trump said, according to the Guardian. "Then what happened is, when people found that out, he sank like a rock in the water." The GOP front-runner also said that no more than 10 percent of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. pay taxes. "Illegal immigration, each year, costs us between $200 billion and $300 billion," Trump said. "I don't know if anybody gives you those numbers. Probably not." As Rubio's stature in the Republican race has risen in the aftermath of two strong debate performances, the freshman senator has become a major target for Trump. Rubio, who has recently revisited his time working on the bipartisan bill, has said that "personally" he supports undocumented immigrants eventually applying for green cards, but has put together a plan that does not lay out a clear path to citizenship. Trump's remarks about Rubio, however, paled in comparison to those he made later in the day about Ben Carson during a campaign stop in Iowa. During what has been described as "a 95-minute tirade," Trump mocked Carson's story of his conversion from an angry, violent young man to the successful surgeon he became thanks to prayer. He also called Carson's self-described "pathological temper" a "disease" like child molestation. "If you're a child molester, a sick puppy, a child molester, there's no cure for that there's only one cure and we don't want to talk about that cure, that's the ultimate cure, no there's two, there's death and the other thing," Trump said, according to NBC News. For his part, Carson has continued to ignore Trump's attack and said he wants to focus on policy matters instead of personal slights. "Now that he's completed his gratuitous attack, why don't we press on and deal with the real issues," Carson said to reporters during a campaign stop in South Carolina. "That's what the people of America are concerned about, not so much politics as usual, politics of personal destruction that's what the American people are sick and tired of." During his tirade in the Hawkeye state, Trump also said that Hillary Clinton is playing the "women's card big league" and that he would "bomb the s*** out of (ISIS)." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Bring on Donald Trump, and Ben Carson, too. That's what Democratic insiders are saying about the Republican outsiders who sit solidly atop preference polls in the race for the GOP nomination for president. They are far more worried about GOP candidates who have experience in office, with Marco Rubio cited most often as the strongest potential competition for their overwhelming choice for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Rodham Clinton. "As a Democrat, I'd love to see a Trump-Carson ticket," said Bob Mulholland, a member of the Democratic National Committee from California. "We'd probably win back the Senate and pick up the House as well." The Associated Press contacted all 712 superdelegates to the Democratic National Convention next summer, and asked them which Republican they thought would be their party's strongest opponent in the general election. Offering a window into how the Democratic establishment is sizing up the competition, most superdelegates declined to name a candidate, expressing bewilderment at a Republican field in which billionaire Trump and retired neurosurgeon Carson are leading in polls while Jeb Bush, the son and brother of presidents, struggles. Of the 176 superdelegates who answered the question, 65 said Rubio, the first-term senator from Florida, would be the Democrats' strongest opponent. "Rubio speaks well and he could generate appeal among Latino voters," said Chris Wicker, vice chairman of the Nevada Democratic Party, referring to Rubio's background as a Cuban-American raised by working-class parents. "He doesn't say some of the crazy stuff that the other leaders have said." The other candidates, along with the number of Democratic insiders who said they would be the strongest opponent: Ohio Gov. John Kasich: 45. Bush: 36. Trump: 16. Carson: 4. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz: 4. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie: 2. Businesswoman Carly Fiorina and former New York Gov. George Pataki each got a vote. So did Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who dropped out of the race, and Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee. Democratic superdelegates can support the candidate of their choice at the party's summer national convention, regardless of whom voters choose in the primaries and caucuses. They are members of Congress and other elected officials, party leaders and members of the Democratic National Committee. They are the ultimate party insiders. With 712 votes at the convention, superdelegates make up about 30 percent of the 2,382 needed to clinch the Democratic nomination. Rubio, 44, has done well in preference polls lately, but he still lags behind Trump and Carson. Some Democratic insiders worry that Rubio's candidacy could resonate in the general election, particularly among non-white and young voters who helped propel Democrat Barack Obama to victory in 2008 and 2012. "I think Rubio would give us a tough time," conceded Cecil Benjamin, state Democratic chairman of the Virgin Islands. In an interview, Rubio played down his status among Democratic insiders. "You never know what these people are thinking when they say these things to reporters," Rubio said. "I do believe, and I've believed this through this campaign, that if I'm our nominee, we're going to be viewed as the party of the future and the Democrats are going to be viewed as the party of the past." In the AP survey, many Democrats were dismissive of Trump. Some said his sharp rhetoric on issues like immigration, which is playing well among some Republican primary voters, won't fly in a general election. "He's a loose cannon," Missouri superdelegate Sandra Querry said of Trump. "Like everybody else in America," Georgia Democrat Dan Halpern said, he's "just wondering when the wind is going to come out from under the sails of both Carson and Trump." In the last GOP presidential debate, Bush criticized Trump's call for mass deportations of immigrants living in the country illegally, calling it an impractical plan that would benefit Democrats with Hispanic voters. "They're doing high-fives in the Clinton campaign right now when they hear this," Bush said. Indeed, Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon responded to the exchange by tweeting: "We actually are doing high-fives right now." The Clinton campaign declined to comment on the strength of the Republican field. About one-fifth of Democratic superdelegates who answered the survey said they believe Bush, who is fighting to stem a slide in GOP polls, could bounce back and pose a threat to Clinton, given his name recognition and early fundraising. Even more superdelegates praised Kasich, a two-term Ohio governor who served 18 years in the House. Some Democrats described Kasich as the "adult" in the field who could campaign from the center and win his home state, a key battleground. The last candidate to win the White House without Ohio was Democrat John F. Kennedy in 1960. "A Democratic nightmare would begin and end with a Rubio-Kasich ticket," said former state Rep. Boyd Brown of South Carolina. The AP results come as Clinton is solidifying her support among the superdelegates. More than two months before the first primaries and caucuses, Clinton has public endorsements from 359 superdelegates, while Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has 8 and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has 2. A few Clinton supporters warned against dismissing Trump too quickly, given today's political climate. Joe Rugola, a labor union leader in Ohio, said Trump and Carson might be written off in a normal political year, but "I don't think there's anything normal about politics in America right now." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram While foreign policy and combating ISIS took center stage on Saturday night in the wake of the deadly Paris terror attacks, the second Democratic debate also saw the remaining three candidates spar over domestic issues such as immigration, minimum wage and Wall Street banking practices. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who has been overshadowed in the Democratic presidential race by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, had a standout moment early on by going after Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. "The fact of the matter is, let's say it in our debate because you'll never hear this from that immigrant-bashing carnival-barker Donald Trump. The truth of the matter is, net immigration from Mexico last year was zero," O'Malley said. He added: "If we want wages to go up, we have to get 11 million of our neighbors out of the off-the-books shadow economy and into the full light of the American economy." O'Malley, who is significantly trailing both Clinton and Sanders in the polls, also said that Democrats don't need to compromise with Republicans on putting border security before immigration reform. "If more and more deportations were going to bring our Republican brothers and sisters to the table, it would have happened a long time ago," he said. "We must protect our borders, but there is no substitute for comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship." Clinton, who served as secretary of state under President Barack Obama, defended her former boss' executive action on immigration saying that her reading of the law and the constitution convinced her that the president has the authority to take action on immigration. The Obama administration is currently appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court some legal setbacks in his attempt to create a temporary pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants. Clinton added that the country should move toward comprehensive immigration reform in steps. The domestic issues created a good deal of back-and-forth between the candidates, but the debate in Iowa started on a somber mood with a moment of silence for France following the terror attacks that killed at least 129 and wounded at least 352 people. On foreign policy, Clinton cast herself as the strongest U.S. commander in chief in an uncertain world, even as she found herself forced to defend the Obama administration's response to the rise of the Islamic State militants. "This election is not only about electing a president, it's also about choosing our next commander in chief," said Clinton. "All of the other issues we want to deal with depend upon us being secure and strong." But she nearly immediately faced criticism of her own record, when Sanders traced the current instability in the Middle East to the Senate vote including Clinton's to authorize military action in Iraq in 2002. He said that U.S. invasion "unraveled the region." Clinton fought back, saying terrorism has been erupting for decades, specifically mentioning the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. She said the recent unrest in Libya and other parts of the Middle East was symptomatic of an "arc of instability from North Africa to Afghanistan." She rejected the idea that she and the rest of the administration underestimated the growing threat of the Islamic State. On international terrorism, much in the world's mind after the Paris attacks, the early back-and-forth revealed a foreign policy split within the Democratic Party, with Sanders playing to the anti-war activists who boosted then-Illinois Sen. Obama to victory in 2008. Sanders argued for a far more hands-off approach, advocating for Muslim countries to lead the fight and arguing that the war against Islamic State militants is about the "soul of Islam." Clinton has a history of advocating for more robust involvement across the globe both as a presidential candidate eight years ago and as Barack Obama's secretary of state. In recent weeks, she has advocated for a more aggressive U.S. role in the Syrian conflict, calling for a no-fly zone over the area, a move the Obama administration opposes. But she stood by her opposition to seeking a formal declaration of war against the Islamic State. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Veteran Democratic Rep. Ruben Hinojosa announced Friday that he will not seek re-election next year, calling an end to a 20-year career for a lawmaker who has represented a South Texas district with one of the heaviest concentrations of Hispanics in the country. Hinojosa, 75, will serve out his 10th term in Congress, which ends in January 2017. He was first elected in 1996. "I'm announcing officially that I am not going to seek re-election. But I will not just go to a wheelchair or go to a walking chair. I'm going to stay busy," Hinojosa said at a news conference in McAllen, Texas. Hinojosa said he will look at opportunities that are available after he completes his final term. He did not elaborate. His Democratic-leaning Texas district, which snakes from south of San Antonio to the Mexican border, is about 80 percent Hispanic, according to a study last year by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Hinojosa served as chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which represents Latino lawmakers, in 2013 and 2014. He has pushed legislation increasing federal aid for Hispanic students and easing the path to citizenship for immigrants in the U.S. illegally. President Barack Obama said he was grateful for Hinojosa's "tireless efforts" to fix the immigration system, protect vulnerable families, make higher education more affordable and expand job-training programs. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Hinojosa's retirement means Congress will be losing "one of our most dedicated champions for advancing the education and opportunity for all Americans." "For almost 20 years, Congressman Hinojosa's towering leadership has driven progress for aspiring students, rural families and Latino communities across America," she said in a statement. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Sen. Marco Rubio believes the United States should not accept any more Syrian refugees in the wake of the Paris terror attacks. Speaking on ABCs This Week with George Stephanopoulos, the Republican presidential candidate said the U.S. has an inability to conduct thorough background checks so we wont be able to take more refugees. The problem is not the background checks. The problem is we cant background check them. You cant pick up the phone and call Syria, Rubio said. And thats one of the reasons why I said we wont be able to take more refugees. Its not that we dont want to, its that we cant. Because theres no way to background check someone thats coming from Syria. Who do you call and do a background check on them? The Florida senator also argued that the extremist threat is not just coming from aboard, but home-grown. What we need to open up to and realize is that we have a threat here at home home-grown violent extremists. Individuals who perhaps have not even traveled abroad, who had been radicalized online, he said. This has become a multi-faceted threat. During his appearance on the Sunday morning show, Rubio also sharply criticized Hillary Rodham Clinton for declining to say that the U.S. is at war with radical Islam following the Friday terror attacks in Paris. He invoked Nazi Germany to make his point. That would be like saying we werent at war with Nazis, because we were afraid to offend some Germans who may have been members of the Nazi Party but werent violent themselves, Rubio said. During the Democratic debate on Saturday night, Clinton said she was wary of painting with too broad a brush while describing Muslims and terror. I dont think were at war with all Muslims, she said. I think were at war with jihadists. We are at war with violent extremism. We are at war with people who use their religion for purposes of power and oppression. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Politicians are pointing to the Paris terrorist attacks as reason why the U.S. should not allow thousands of Syrian refugees to come to the country. Investigators said on Sunday that at least one of the terrorists in Paris entered among a wave of Syrian refugees. The news heightened tensions that a future terrorist could try to enter the U.S. the same way. Republican presidential contender Marco Rubio on Sunday said the United States cannot accept Syrian refugees because it's impossible to know whether people fleeing Syria have links to Islamic militants an apparent shift from earlier statements in which he left open the prospect of migrants being admitted with proper vetting. "It's not that we don't want to, it's that we can't," Rubio said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "Because there's no way to background check someone that's coming from Syria. Who do you call and do a background check on them?" The question of admitting Syrian refugees has for months been part of the national security discussion among 2016 candidates that cuts to the heart of the American identity as a refuge. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Sunday told NBC's "Meet the Press" that the U.S. should admit Syrian Christians, after proper vetting. Other Republican candidates have called for a ban on allowing Syrians into the U.S. at all. All three Democratic presidential candidates have said they would admit Syrians but only after thorough background checks. But Friday night's mass killings in Paris, which left at least 129 people dead, offered evidence that may have backed up what many, including Rubio, had been warning: People with secret ties to Islamic militants could flow across borders as part of waves of refugees. Authorities said a Syrian passport found near one of the Paris attackers that had been registered last month and traveled through three countries along a busy migrant corridor known for lax controls. It was not clear whether the document was real or forged. Officials on Sunday were still trying to identify people involved in the conspiracy. They said as many as three of the seven suicide bombers who died in the attacks were French citizens. Republican presidential contender Ben Carson, a retired brain surgeon, said that from the viewpoint of the Islamic State group, it would be "almost malpractice" not to do everything possible to infiltrate the refugee ranks with militants bent on waging jihad. A spokesman for President Barack Obama said Sunday that the administration is moving forward with its plan to thoroughly vet and admit as many as 10,000 Syrian refugees. "What we need to be able to do frankly is sort out that foreign fighter flow, those who have gone into Syria and come out and want to launch attacks or those people who have connections with ISIL in Syria," Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said on Fox News Sunday. "At the same time, we have to recognize there's tragic victims of this conflict, there are women, and children, orphans of this war and I think we need to do our part, along with our allies, to provide them a safe haven." The Paris attacks have elevated national security in the presidential contest. In Saturday night's Democratic presidential debate, which began with a moment of silence for the Paris victims, all three candidates former secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said the U.S. should admit far more than the 10,000 Syrians to which Obama has committed, but only with proper screening. Rubio on Sunday said that was impossible. "You can't pick up the phone and call Syria, and that's one of the reasons why I said we won't be able to take more refugees," Rubio said on ABC. That is a switch from Rubio's other statements this fall, in which he voiced skepticism about proper vetting but still left the door open to admitting refugees. In September, he told Boston Herald radio: "We've always been a country that's been willing to accept people who have been displaced. And I would be open to that if it can do it in a way that allows us to ensure that among them are not infiltrated, people who are part of a terrorist organization." Bush said Sunday that the U.S. has a responsibility to "help with refugees after proper screening." "And I think or focus ought to be on the Christians who have no place in Syria anymore," he added in an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." "They're being beheaded, they're being executed by both sides," he said. "And I think we have a responsibility to help." Based on reporting by The Associated Press. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said he would seal the U.S.-Mexico border by cutting all benefits that he says attracts illegal immigration. Carson made the comments to reporters Sunday after he and his wife spent the day campaigning in southern Nevada. He spoke at a friendly Evangelical church service in Las Vegas and then at an afternoon rally in nearby Henderson. The retired neurosurgeon, who had appeared in Arizona on Saturday, pointed to the efforts in state in Yuma County in proposing how he would try to secure the border. He again said it could be done easily in a year and suggested prosecuting all first-time offenders, installing a double fence and using technology-driven surveillance to cut down on the percentage of illegal crossings. "You can pretty much get it to 100 percent," he said of his proposal. Carson also said that eliminating "any kind of benefit that a person who is illegal could get" would be key to cutting the perception of incentives. He didn't name any specific benefits, but said that without them, "you won't have anybody even trying to do this." Those in the U.S. without a problematic record would be given a six month period to register and pay a tax penalty. They would have to pay taxes going forward by taking jobs as guest workers, but it wouldn't amount to citizenship or voting rights. He also rejected the idea of accepting Syrian refugees into the U.S. on the grounds that it would threaten national security. Carson instead said he would support offering resources and diplomacy to help them stay settled or resettle in their own country. "I do not believe that we should be bringing them here. And the reason I don't think we should bring them here is because it would be too easy to embed with them, within them, those who were members of the jihadists groups who would be interested in wreaking havoc in this country. There's no reason we should be facilitating such a thing," he said. Carson is returning to Nevada next week as keynote speaker at the Gift of Life Banquet, a fundraiser for the First Choice Pregnancy Services center in Las Vegas. He is scheduled for the event starting with a meet and greet at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino at 6 p.m. on Nov. 23. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The reaction on social media came quickly. Asked in the CBS debate this past weekend about her views of the student protesters at the University of Missouri over racial tension on campus, Democratic presidential contender and front-runner Hillary Clinton said activism at colleges was nothing new to her. But in saying it, she unwittingly played into the portrayal that Sen. Marco Rubio, one of her main GOP rivals in the presidential race, has been trying to carve in the public mind about Clinton. I come from the 60s, a long time ago, she said. There was a lot of activism on campus civil rights activism, antiwar activism, womens rights activism and I do appreciate the way young people are standing up and speaking out. The Rubio campaign soon came out with a web video highlighting her comment and using it to distinguish as he has done since his speech announcing his candidacy for the presidency between himself, representing a new generation and fresh ideas, and others who offer old ideas and a return to the past. The Rubio campaign video, titled This election is a generational choice, begins with a clip of Clinton in the debate uttering the line about the 1960s. In the video, the first-term senator from Florida said: This election better be about the future, not the past. Also chiming in was College Republicans, who tweeted during the debate: Dont worry @HillaryClinton we could tell by your old policy ideas! Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Just weeks ago, Sen. Ted Cruz did not get a serious mention in discussions about the Republicans most likely to still be standing during the primaries. But fast forward, and hes a dominant factor in conversations about which candidates, at the moment, seem most likely to snatch the GOP nomination. Rivals now say that Cruz seems to increasingly have a strong shot at being the Republican nominee to run in the 2016 general election, according to Politico. "Anybody who thinks differently," said an operative with a rival 2016 campaign, according to Politico, "is lying to you." Several factors have conspired to bolster Cruz. Hes delivered solid debate performances, showing a command of many of the most salient domestic and global issues. He has more money in his political coffers than the rest of the GOP field, and has a first-rate campaign infrastructure, with a heavy presence in the first voting states, Politico noted. "He's the longer-term threat, said Fergus Cullen, the former chairman of the New Hampshire GOP and a Republican who does not support Cruz. I suspect once Trump goes down, people like me will have Cruz to deal with." The Texas firebrand seems to have benefited the most from the Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walkers departure from the race. If conservative favorites, billionaire Donald Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson take a hard fall or drop out, Cruz is believed to be the one best positioned to pick up their supporters. On Monday, he picked up the endorsement of one of Congresss most conservative members, Rep. Steve King, who also happens to be from the crucial state of Iowa, which Cruz has visited more than any other presidential candidate. King said he is endorsing Cruz because he has been a consistent defender of conservatism. When he barely registered in the spotlight over the summer, Politico noted, Cruz diligently worked on building up support in the South, where many states will vote early. He set up campaign operations in U.S. territories such as Guam and American Samoa. Carefully courting evangelicals even having pastors on his campaign Cruz held a high-profile religious rally in Iowa and South Carolina. In the last week, he has doggedly gone after Sen. Marco Rubio, of Florida, who also is seen as someone who could attract conservative voters, although he also has been embraced by so-called establishment Republicans. Cruz has sought to cast Rubio as soft on illegal immigration, and brought up the Floridians past key role in a bipartisan Senate comprehensive reform measure that, among other things, called for allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain a path to legal status a controversial move in the eyes of conservatives. Hes done really well on the debate stage, raised a whole bunch of money, his campaign has done a good job organizing, and he does have these super PACs they dont seem very active, but at least they have money in the bank, Politico quoted an unnamed source working for the rival campaign as saying. This week, Cruz is said to have his eye on getting the endorsement of prominent Iowa conservative Bob Vander Plaats, who is hosting an event over the weekend and will announce his favorite of the GOP candidates. Having Vander Plaats backing, as well as that of King, would further boost Cruzs standing among conservatives. He spent much of the early season building organization in key states, and so there was some hit on him initially, that, Hes not here enough, we dont see him enough, Vander Plaats said to Politico about Cruz. What he was doing is putting up, nationally, an infrastructure to be successful long term. Add to that the cash on hand and the most recent debate performance. It seems more and more people are warming to a Ted Cruz candidacy. If Cruz continues to climb, it will make plenty of people nervous in the GOP establishment, which Cruz has treated as his sworn enemy. "People are increasingly saying he has one of the better potential paths" to the nomination, said a source from another rival campaign to Politico. There's lots of people in D.C. who shudder at the prospect of Cruz being the nominee. He's ruffled so many feathers in town, there's a healthy dislike of him in the institutional operative class He wears that as a badge of honor, and he should. It helps him project the outsider image even though he's a sitting U.S. senator." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram House Speaker Paul Ryan says hes leery of trying to work on immigration reform with President Barack Obama, whom conservatives do not trust to be strong on border security. But the speaker, a Wisconsin Republican, stressed in a 60 Minutes interview that he remains supportive of an immigration measure that would offer undocumented immigrants a path to legal status, though not U.S. citizenship. It starts with border enforcement, he said on the program. It starts with enforcing the rule of law. But you need to have a vibrant, legal immigration system. Legal immigration is America. "I think you could have a pathway to legal status," he said. "That's been what I have proposed in the past a way to make amends with the law, effectively go on probation and earn your way to legal status, but not to citizenship." Ryan supported the 2013 bipartisan Senate bill that called for tightening enforcement and at the same time offered reprieve to some of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants who already are living in the United States. Shortly after he became speaker, he made clear his lack of trust in Obama, citing the common conservative view of the president as being overzealous and making end-runs around Congress on immigration through his executive orders. Look, I think it would be a ridiculous notion to try and work on an issue like this with a president we simply cannot trust on this issue, said Ryan, in an interview with CBSs Face the Nation last month. He tried to go it alone, circumventing the legislative process with his executive orders, so that is not in the cards. He repeated that on Sunday, saying that while he is open to working with the Obama administration on issues on which they can find common ground, "On this particular issue, he tried to go around Congress and write the law unilaterally." Ryan also balked at GOP presidential contender Donald Trumps call for rounding up all undocumented immigrants and deporting them. Ryan said it just is not feasible when asked if he would go along with that approach. I cant imagine how it could happen. So no. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Even before the dust settled on Election Day in 2012, the pundits were talking about how the so-called Latino vote helped guarantee Barack Obama his second term in the White House and doomed Mitt Romney's bid for the presidency. Latinos 71 percent of whom voted for Obama compared to only 27 percent for Romney played a historically similar role to that of Catholics in electing John F. Kennedy or African-American voters with Bill Clinton, and when the election results were tallied both parties immediately took notice. With the Iowa Caucus now less than 90 days away and the heart of the campaign season fast approaching, Democrats and Republicans are making active efforts to court Latino voters in key voting states. But candidates are running into one problem: there is no such thing as a typical Latino voter. "It's not a monolithic community and different communities within the overall Latino community have vastly different feelings on issues," Alfonso Aguilar, head of the conservative American Principles Project's Latino Partnership told Fox News Latino. "For example, Puerto Rican voters in Florida are very different from Puerto Rican voters in New York or Connecticut. And also in Florida older Cuban-Americans vote differently than younger Cuban-Americans." This lumping of Latinos into one voting bloc, while easy for pollsters and pundits, is poor planning for candidates hoping to pull in voters from the elusive voting demographic, observers say. Instead, a more nuanced approach should be taken. This is no more evident than in the key swing states and early voting states with large Latino populations, such as Florida and Nevada. While Florida has 1.7 million registered Hispanic voters, for decades a candidate out on the hustings in the Sunshine state catered their message to the sizeable Cuban-American population in places like Miami and Tampa railing against the Castro government in Havana and supporting the U.S. embargo against the island. But recently, Florida's Latino demographics has changed to include a large number of recently arrived Puerto Ricans in the central part of the state and Mexicans in the southern Hardee and Hendry counties two groups who have little concern about the U.S.'s polices toward Cuba and more interest in issues such as Puerto Rican statehood and immigration reform, respectively. And then there is even a growing generational divide within the Cuban community itself. "There are older Cubans people who lived on the island who are still very concerned about the embargo, but for younger Cubans who grew up in the U.S. the issue is not as important as things like the economy and jobs," Aguilar said. Political observers in the Florida say that they have seen halting efforts by candidates to speak to the issues affecting specific Latino groups, but that there is still much work to be done to understand the intricacies of Hispanic communities. During his 2012 campaign, Romney ran into a number of these snafus while on the stump courting Latino voters including mistakenly associating Fidel Castro's trademark slogan "Patria o muerte, venceremos! " with a free Cuba, and wrongly attributing it to late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. "I think that the candidates do try, but one of the biggest problems is that there are very few political strategists who actually know how multicultural we are," Evelyn Perez-Verdia, a political analyst at Florida's Political Pasion, told Fox News Latino. "This is apparent when you see an ad in Miami catering to Cubans but the guy is speaking Spanish with a Mexican accent." Over 2,500 miles from Florida, one the most important early prizes in the presidential primary season Nevada has also seen candidates flummoxed about how to appeal to its varied Latino community. In recent elections, Nevada's Latino community has become a bellwether in a bellwether state, with the group coming in just below 28 percent of the state's total population. Latinos are slated to be a major factor in both the primary and general elections. While the Democrats have had a lock on Nevadas Hispanics in recent years thanks to the state's large union and Mexican-American population Nevada's expanding number of immigrants from Central America could throw the Democratic hegemony into flux. "Mexicans tend to vote for Democratic candidates," Fernando Romero, the president of the Las Vegas-based Hispanics in Politics told FNL. "Central Americans, however, given the situations in their home countries in terms of things like security and crime, are generally more conservative voters." For both groups, however, immigration is a top priority when it comes to voting. "Everything falls under the umbrella of immigration reform," Romero said. "People kid themselves saying that immigration is fourth or fifth on the list of issues that are important to Latinos, when really it is No. 1." Experts across the country say that immigration is an issue along with the economy and jobs that crosses barriers within the Latino community. They say White House hopeful have to have an immigration plan that appeals to the entire community. But even within the Latino community, there are differences on how to solve the countrys immigration problem. While many disagree with Donald Trumps rhetoric on immigration, some Latinos do agree that something major needs to be done to close and protect the porous border. "What unites everyone in the community is immigration," Aguilar said. "This is the one topic we all tend to be concerned about, even though in reality we are not a monolithic voting bloc." For years, Brian Mejia begged for his father's blessing to slip out of his village in El Salvador and make the perilous trek to the United States, away from the gang violence that drove his father across the border. For years, Gabriel Mejia said no, recalling his own days-long journey through the desert, his skin sore from the persistent pricks of cactus needles. Gabriel Mejia could no longer stand the persistent bloodshed in his homeland, 15 years after arriving in the U.S., and was beginning to come around to the idea of sending a smuggler for his 19-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter, Wendy. Then, they got word they wouldn't need to sneak in, thanks to a State Department program aimed at helping children reunite with their families on U.S. soil. On Thursday night, Mejia and his wife, Virginia de la Paz Marquez, anxiously waited with the U.S.-born siblings their elder children had never met: 1-year-old Elias and 8-year-old Janet, wearing a sweater emblazoned with a pink heart. Mejia made faces at the baby; his wife fended off tears and bouts of nervousness as weary travelers streamed through the gate and down the stairs to baggage claim. Then, they were overcome as their years apart ended: Marquez alternated between laughter and tears as she embraced her son, then her daughter, both teens wearing an oversized tag identifying them as refugees. Brian and Wendy are among the first six teenagers to travel legally to the United States under the Central American Minors program, said Ruben Chandrasekar, executive director for the Baltimore office of the International Rescue Committee. The resettlement agency is submitting hundreds of applications on behalf of parents desperate to bring their children to America. However, there are more than 5,000 children and teens just like them who have applied but are still waiting to be contacted by the Department of Homeland Security. So far, only 90 children have been interviewed. Critics say the program, which was established in December 2014 to offer a safe and legal alternative for children making the trek into the United States illegally, has so far done little to rescue children and young adults from pervasive violence in parts of Central America. They say the children who have applied otherwise have no protections in their home countries while they wait up to a year and a half for their applications to be processed. Only parents in the U.S. legally can file an application for their kin, who must be 21 or younger, unmarried and living in one of the qualifying countries El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. (Gabriel Mejia had been granted legal status in the U.S.) All three countries are plagued by gang violence; El Salvador is one of the most violent countries in the world. Over the summer, 677 people were killed in the span of one month. The country routinely sees 40 slayings in a single day. Mejia said his children often faced threats of physical violence in El Salvador, but added that they didn't share much about their experiences over the phone for fear of wiretaps. Last summer, more than 60,000 unaccompanied children from those nations crossed the border into the United States, where some were detained and deported while others were forced to navigate a complex legal system with no guidance. Many of those children employed smugglers to help in their journey. Some children were abused along the way or sold into slavery; some did not make it to the border at all. Chandrasekar said while the program is not a solution on its own, it will ultimately help some families reunite and offer relief to children experiencing violence. However, Chandrasekar said the State Department should expand the program to make more families eligible for safe, legal resettlement. For example, children whose parents are not in the U.S. legally are not eligible, and the program ignores the fact some children need to flee immediately. "This is not an immediate solution for kids who are facing a credible fear of persecution," Chandrasekar said. However, the program does give children a right to apply for citizenship if they are granted special refugee status. "What we would like to see, we'd like the State Department to strengthen the program so that parents living here with status can apply for their children as quickly as possible," he said. State Department officials say they are preparing to interview roughly 530 children in the coming months for possible resettlement in the United States. The program is "one small part of the U.S. government's approach to the Central American child migrant crisis," said Simon Henshaw, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. He said the program's initial slow pace is due in part to the fact that the majority of applications were submitted only in the past few months. Henshaw also said that of the 90 interviewed so far, only a handful expressed concerns about their safety. "What it does do is it reunifies families, which is a bedrock principal of U.S. immigration policy," Henshaw said. "We're very happy to bring children out of danger and see this program continue." For Mejia and Marquez, the program was a dream come true. But because of the program's glacial pace, Mejia said he wasn't always hopeful that he'd ever see his children again. Mejia left their home village outside El Salvador's capital city in 2000, in search of more lucrative work opportunities in the U.S. Eight years ago, Marquez hired a smuggler and made the trek to join her husband, leaving the children with their grandmother. That decision haunted her. "On many occasions I'd tell my husband I wanted to go back," she said as she waited anxiously by the airport gate for her children. "I told him it's not fair that I'm not experiencing what they're experiencing. But he kept saying be patient, be patient, there will be an opportunity for us. When we heard about the program I had faith, we believed something would happen, and now it is." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Speaking at a closed-door fundraiser in Texas, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush told a group on donors Monday evening that one way to help avoid a terrorist attack like the one that rocked Paris last week is to revamp the U.S. immigration laws. Bush said that some of his Republican presidential rivals were "in the witness protection program" for backing off their previous support of immigration reform a shot at Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Bush boasted of his success among Hispanics during his two terms as Florida governor and said that the attacks on France occurred in part because some people there feel like "second-class citizens." "A set of shared values defines our citizenship and if you enforce the laws properly and allow that to be the defining element of our society, you won't have the kinds of problems that Paris now has, where enclaves exist of people that are second-class citizens and the despair and the hatred that has built up over time occurs in those pockets that exist where people may have a French passport, may be a French citizen, but they're not really French," Bush said, according to a recording obtained the Washington Post. He added: "And America doesn't do it that way and restoring that with the proper immigration policy is something that I think is important." Bush, who has seen his poll numbers decline amid the rise of billionaire businessman Donald Trump, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and, more recently, Marco Rubio, said that Trump will be in decline by the time of the next Republican debate on December 15. The latest Real Clear Politics average of the national pols has Trump holding a one point lead over Carson, 24.3 to 23.3, while Bush is just under 20 percent behind at 5.3 percent. The former Florida governor added that, unlike some of his hardline rivals, he has no plans to change his stance on immigration just to boost his poll numbers and that being genuine in his beliefs is something that will get him elected. "Every other candidate, maybe with the exception of [Ohio Gov.] John Kasich, is in the witness protection program, because they sense the anger and they're worried about it," he said. "So they pull back rather than persuade. I'm not going to do that. The closed-door meeting was held at the Dallas home of Amy and Malone Mitchell, who are members of the campaign's "Texas Leadership Committee." Among those in attendance were former president George W. Bush, and his wife, Laura. Guests were asked to donate a minimum of $500. "Sponsors" are supposed to give at least $1,000; "Hosts" at least $2,700; and "co-chairs," or campaign bundlers, helped raise at least $20,000. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Last week, Sen. Ted Cruz tried to cast fellow senator and presidential candidate Marco Rubio as soft on immigration. Now, Rubio is going after Cruz for what he says was the Texans support for congressional action that weakened the U.S. governments ability to conduct surveillance for intelligence gathering, particularly to combat terrorism. Rubio, of Florida, said that the USA Freedom Act, which he voted against and Cruz voted for, compromised the security of the United States by curtailing its intelligence-gathering powers, according to Roll Call. The measure called for doing away with federal bulk collection of telephone records, among other things. I think its a distinctive issue of debate in the presidential race, Rubio said at a New York forum on Monday. At least two of my colleagues in the Senate aspiring to the presidency Sen. [Ted] Cruz in particular have voted to weaken the U.S. intelligence programs just in the last month-and-a-half. Besides Rubio, other Republicans who voted against the measure were Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul, both of Kentucky. Paul is also running for president. Rubio, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, is pushing for technology companies to help break encryption, believed to have been a way that terrorists in the recent Paris carnage communicated while developing their plans for the attack, Roll Call reported. In a statement to Fox News Latino, Cruz's staff dismissed Rubio's targeting of the Texas lawmaker as a desperate attempt to score points in his quest for the GOP presidential nomination. "This is no more than an attempt by the Rubio campaign to pivot away from the growing attention being paid to his support for amnesty," said a source who asked to identified only as a Cruz advisor, "and doing so by reminding voters that Cruz supported a security bill extremely popular among Americans - that effectively protects both our national security and Americans' right to privacy." The Cruz advisor added: "Cruz was joined by Sens. Lee, Grassley and Scott in supporting the bill and several of Rubios own endorsers, including Rep. Daines, Gardner and Pompeo also voted for it." Rubio said that the United States must have every arsenal at its disposal for keeping Americans safe. The No. 1 obligation of the federal government is to provide for the national security of the United States, Rubio said. If someone in the federal government is found abusing these programs and these authorities, they should be fired and prosecuted for having done so. That said, we need to have real-time access to any actionable intelligence that will allow us to save Americans lives. Many opponents of broadening surveillance powers by the federal government worried about the impact on the privacy of U.S. citizens. Rubio said there was no basis for that concern. Thats not happening, but we need to have access to this information in order to save lives, especially in an exigent circumstance, Rubio said, according to Roll Call. This is a unique threat. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Out on the presidential campaign trail, Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are rising in the polls. Back in the Senate, their ambitions can sometimes be a nuisance for fellow lawmakers, including vulnerable Republicans up for re-election next year. The latest example: Rubio and Cruz are pushing for the Senate to go farther than the House when it takes up legislation to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law. They want to make good on promises to repeal "Obamacare" in its entirety, rather than a more targeted repeal approved recently by the House. But other Senate Republicans are resisting their push, objecting in particular to trying to repeal the health law's Medicaid expansion. A number of Senate Republicans represent states where Medicaid was expanded under the law to provide coverage to more of the lowest-income residents. "I don't want to see it included and I've been making my pitch for a couple weeks so we'll see. I'm not alone," Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia said this past week of the Medicaid expansion. Noting that millions could lose coverage, she said: "If we don't have a replacement vehicle for that, that's a problem for me." And as for the impact of presidential politics on the issue, Capito said: "You know obviously I think that's playing into it." Other states that would be impacted by repealing the health law's Medicaid expansion include Ohio, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Illinois, all represented by Republican senators facing tough re-election fights next year in presidential battleground states targeted by Democrats. But Cruz, of Texas, and Rubio, of Florida, are sticking by their joint stance even as they butt heads on the campaign trail over immigration. "If this bill cannot be amended so that it fully repeals Obamacare pursuant to Senate rules, we cannot support this bill," they said in a joint statement last month, along with another conservative senator, Mike Lee of Utah. The dispute is just one example of how senators running for president and those seeking re-election can have different goals. Cruz, in particular, has aggravated fellow senators who believe he's used the Senate to promote his political ambitions, and unlike Rubio, he's grown isolated in the Senate as a result. Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, who is in a competitive re-election fight, released a public letter to him earlier this year demanding to know his "strategy for success" as he pushed to deny funding to Planned Parenthood even if it risked a government shutdown. "You have senators running to be the nominee of the Republican Party, and you have senators who are running to win re-election in the general election in the fall of 2016, and those at the moment are fundamentally different priorities," said Brian Walsh, a Republican consultant. "And that's reflected in how they are approaching legislation today." GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, another candidate for president, infuriated colleagues earlier in the year when he single-handedly forced a temporary lapse in the Patriot Act, enacted to assist law enforcement and the intelligence community in coping with extremist threats against the U.S., and issued fundraising appeals to highlight his stance. GOP Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, who leads the Senate GOP's campaign committee, downplayed any division between presidential candidates and vulnerable Senate Republicans. "That wouldn't be unusual, would it?" he observed. "There are some people in some states who see it one way, and some who see it the other." For Wicker and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the primary focus is not on the presidential campaign but on making sure Democrats cannot pick up the four or five seats they need to retake the Senate in next year's elections. There are five highly vulnerable Republican incumbents in the Senate, and any piece of legislation must be weighed by GOP leadership for how it would affect them, whereas for Rubio, Cruz or Paul, the focus at the moment is on Republican primary voters. The health law repeal bill would be considered under special Senate rules that would protect it from a Democratic filibuster and allow it to get to Obama's desk. The president would be certain to veto it, but Republicans would view that in itself as a victory since they have yet to be able to get a repeal bill all the way to the White House. But the negotiations are complicated because the same complex rules that allow the legislation to be approved with a simple majority, instead of the 60-vote hurdle usually required, limit what can be included. Some of the elements included by the House bill face parliamentary obstacles in the Senate. And Republicans have little margin for error. Commanding 54 votes, they can lose only three. And a provision aimed at cutting funding from Planned Parenthood is likely to cost at least one GOP senator, Susan Collins of Maine. As a result it's unclear when, or even if, Republicans will be able to reach agreement and bring the bill to the floor, even as some question the wisdom of trying to broaden the bill's assault on Obama's health care program. "Depends on what you want," said Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. "If you want to make a point, maybe. But not policy." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush clarified on Tuesday that his call for the U.S. refugee program to give preference to Christians fleeing Syria does not exclude Muslims. But campaigning in South Carolina, the former Florida governor said the process of screening prospective refugees seeking to enter the United States must undergo a thorough review. He endorsed House Speaker Paul Ryan's call for a pause in the influx of Syrians while officials determine how best to evaluate them. "Refugees come to this country for all sorts of reasons," Bush told reporters after meeting prospective primary voters in Florence. "They don't normally come with embedded terrorists in their midst. And that's the challenge." Bush says he supports accepting women and children and orphans of any religion as well as Syrian Christians because of the persecution he said they've suffered as a minority there. But no one should be allowed in when there is not enough information about them, he said. For the rest, he argued for a clear, rigorous vetting process that does not exclude Muslims, whom Bush recognized in the past as victims of persecution, too, by the Islamic State group in Syria. President Barack Obama has rebuked what he called a "shameful" religious test in the refugee policies of some Republican candidates. Both Bush and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said preference should be given to Syrian Christians. More immediately, Bush has recommended safe zones in the region for any fleeing Syrians. Bush said the U.S. should not eliminate support for refugees. 'We have a noble tradition of accepting refugees," Bush said outside a popular barbecue restaurant in north central South Carolina. "It's not our obligation to take in all the challenges of the world." Bush was in the first Southern state to hold a Republican primary election next year. He planned to give a speech on Wednesday in Charleston about strengthening military capabilities. In an earlier address to business leaders, Bush called the struggle against the Islamic State group "the war of our time." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The argument over whether to call people living in the United States without authorization "illegal immigrants" or "undocumented immigrants" has in recent years become much more than just a battle about semantics it has morphed into where one stands in regard to U.S. immigration policies. One California county along the U.S.-Mexico border has taken a big stand in this fight by officially changing the term "illegal" to "undocumented" when referring to immigrants in its list of legislative priorities. During a Board of Supervisors meeting, San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox led the effort to change the term to "undocumented immigrant," which he argued is now used in federal legislation and that its proper to use that "term of art" when working with policymakers. "Its just a different environment today," he said, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. "I think times are changing and I think this was the right time." Coxs move to change the term wasnt met with unanimous approval in a county that is home to one of the worlds busiest border crossings in San Ysidro. The board of supervisors, which traditionally votes unanimously decision, instead voted 3-2 in favor of changing the term, with conservative Dianne Jacob and Bill Horn being the two dissenting votes. "Theyre still entering the country illegally," Horn said. "I will oppose it. I understand being politically correct. But sometimes Im not." Cox said the last time the board saw a split like that was almost two years ago, when he pushed to rescind a supervisors policy supporting a constitutional amendment that would deny birthright U.S. citizenship to children born to parents who entered the country illegally. Jacob and Horn voted against that measure as well. "Undocumented immigrant" is just the latest popular term used when discussing immigration-related issues. When the county first introduced its immigration-related legislative goals in 1993, "illegal alien" was commonly used, before being changed to "illegal immigrant" and finally "undocumented immigrant." While the name change has occurred, San Diego still takes a strict stance on immigration-related issues, such as supporting federal legislation that sanctions employers who knowingly hire unauthorized immigrants and handing out lengthy sentences for people convicted of smuggling immigrants. The county however, plans to halt endorsing federal policies that make undocumented immigrants ineligible for health, education and other benefits. "I want to educate kids, and if we have some epidemic or something, I want people to have access to the treatments that they need," Supervisor Ron Roberts told the Union-Tribune. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz has challenged President Barack Obama to a face-to-face debate in a response to what he called "cheap insults" from the president, who blasted Republicans Wednesday for insisting to bar Syrian refugees from entering the U.S. President Obama said the GOP is apparently "scared" of widows and orphans. Let's have a debate on Syrian refugees right now, Cruz said to reporters on Wednesday. We can do it anywhere you want. I'd prefer it in the United States and not overseas, where you are making the insults. It's easy to toss a cheap insult when no one can respond," he added, saying the president was belittling the Republican field. "If you're so certain that allowing tens thousands of refugees including potentially ISIS terrorists is a good idea, if you're so certain the American people are with you, then I would encourage you to come. President Obama delivered his remarks during a meeting with Philippines President Benigno Aquino. In his harshest comments yet on the issue, he mocked GOP leaders and presidential contenders who are urging an immediate closure of Americas borders to Syrian refugees in the wake of the ISIS attacks that killed 129 people in Paris last week. "Apparently they're scared of widows and orphans coming into the United States of America," Obama said. Obama took particular ire at a proposal by GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush to admit only Christian Syrians. Bush later clarified he wants to give preference to Christians but not exclude properly vetted Muslims. Still, Obama said the idea of only allowing Christians in amounted to "political posturing" that runs contrary to American values. Cruz said he is working with Congress to stop Obama from allowing Syrian refugees in the U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have urged at least a temporary halt in the resettlement of Syrians. Obama pointed out that he's been waiting for a year and a half for Congress to take up a new war powers resolution to address the ISIS threat, questioning their newfound haste to solve the purported threat of innocents fleeing war. Defending his administration's screening program, Obama said it takes 18 to 24 months to clear a refugee for entry, following vetting by the U.S. intelligence community and other agencies as well as biometrics. Contains reporting by the Associated Press. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram It's hard to imagine Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump being able to share the ticket with anyone else. Even the billionaire real estate mogul himself says that he doesn't know whom he would pick to be his vice presidential candidate if he wins the nomination. But Trump is giving out hints on who he likes, and this time it's someone he really likes, not "like" as in how he says he likes Mexico or China while demonizing them at the same time. Speaking on "The Laura Ingraham Show," Trump said that he's become a big fan of firebrand Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Well, I like him," Trump said. "He's backed everything I've said Ted Cruz is now agreeing with me 100 percent." Cruz and Trump see eye-to-eye on issues such as border security and immigration, as well as their vocal opposition to the Iran nuclear deal and Pres. Barack Obama's plan to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees in the U.S. While Trump's comments may come as an endorsement that he would choose the Texas lawmaker as his veep, the boisterous billionaire hedged his bets and seemed to say that he had nomination fight to think of first. "I like to think of victory, I've had a lot of victories, and I like to do victories first, then start thinking about other things," Trump told Ingraham. While he seemed to extend an olive branch to Cruz, Trump also noted that if the senator continues his rise in the polls that the billionaire candidate would go on the attack. "If he catches on, I guess we'll have to go to war," Trump said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." Trump added: "We'll see what happens but so far we haven't.He's been very supportive [and] we have a lot of the same ideas. "Well, he's been very nice and supportive of everything I've said. More than anybody else." Cruz, who has been getting a good deal of media attention over his squabble with Obama on the issue of Syrian refugees, is currently sitting fourth in the crowded GOP field behind Trump, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Sen. Marco Rubio. Trump also dismissed his two rivals from Florida, Rubio and former Gov. Jeb Bush, who are seen as the GOP's establishment candidates. "Rubio is not going to be the one It's not going to be Rubio," Trump said, "Rubio is very, very weak on immigration a member of the Gang of Eight." The "Gang of Eight" reference comes from Rubio's participation in a group of lawmakers who attempted to pass comprehensive immigration reform in 2013. The bill passed in the Senate but stalled in the House. Trump trashed Bush's for his super PAC, saying, "You can't watch television without seeing a [Bush] ad, all paid for by special interests and lobbyists." He added that he believes the former governor's campaign is almost finished. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Talk about a real penny pincher. The mayor of a South Florida town is being sued by the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust for trying to pay a $4,000 fine with 28 buckets of pennies and nickels. Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez also had his fine doubled after the commission ruled that the lawmaker intentionally broke its regulations by sending 360,000 coins even though he knew the panel accepts only checks. "On November 6th, the Mayor sent 28 buckets of coins (along with several television crews) in an apparent attempt to pay the fine in disregard of the COE requirement that it be paid by check," the commission said in a statement, according to the Miami Herald. "His ploy was deemed commercially unreasonable and contemptuous by COE staff, and therefore, rejected." "A small claims complaint was filed in County Court. A hearing was set for Dec. 9 to address the Mayor's non-compliance," the statement added. Mayor Hernandez has called the complaints leveled against him "a political circus" and described members of the commission as "clowns." "We tried to pay with U.S. currency and it makes no difference whether they are pennies or nickels but the coins were not accepted," Hernandez told El Nuevo Herald earlier this month. "They can go to court if they want, but they are going to have to show why a public entity does not accept this country's money." Hernandez's problems stem from his dealing with scurrilous jewelry salesman Luis Felipe "Felipito" Perez, who was jailed for his involvement in a pyramid scheme. Perez banked around $40 million from various people in the scheme that promised 36 percent return in annual interest. The commission ruled over the summer that Hernandez lied to citizens both in Spanish and English about interest he received from Perez from an $180,000 loan. He was fined $3,000 plus $1,000 for the costs of the investigation. While Hernandez asserted in 2010, when the case became public, that Perez had paid him only part of the capital he had invested, he later testified that he had actually received more than $100,000 in interest payments from Perez. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram As Marco Rubio campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination, he's pledging to bring generational change to Washington. Yet Rubio's policy toward Cuba hinges on reinstating a half-century-old diplomatic freeze that failed to unseat the communist government on the island where his parents were born. The Florida senator sees no contradiction between his pledge to usher in new ideas and his call to restore an old, punitive relationship with Cuba. "People think it's because we're being stubborn or holding on to old policies," Rubio, 44, said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I'm prepared to change strategies toward Cuba, but it has to be one that yields results." In the traditional litany of promises candidates pledge to fulfill on "Day One" in the White House, rolling back President Barack Obama's detente with Cuba is near the top of Rubio's list. He'd downgrade the newly opened American Embassy in Havana and put back in place tougher limits on U.S. dealings with the island. Still, Rubio says there are ways to move forward. He would be willing to allow U.S. companies to invest in telecommunications in Cuba in exchange for free and unfettered Internet access on the island. He can envision restoring diplomatic relations with Havana, but only if the government there allows opposition political parties and gives them freedom to organize. Rubio says he's also open to modifying what's known as the "wet foot, dry foot" policy. For Cubans fleeing to the U.S., it grants those who reach land permanent residency after one year, while most of those caught in the waters between the two countries are sent back. Rubio won't say what he would replace it with, but calls the policy "hard to justify" when Cuban-Americans now can travel more freely back and forth to the island. "When you have people who are coming and a year and a day later are traveling back to Cuba 15 times a year, 12 times, 10 times, eight times, that doesn't look like someone who is fleeing oppression," Rubio said. Rubio sat with the AP for half an hour in an Orlando hotel to talk about Cuba, both as a campaign issue and a personal touchstone, in the first AP Conversation a series of extended interviews with the presidential candidates about topics of interest in the race. ___ Rubio speaks about Cuba with practiced fluency. It's little surprise, given that his ties to the island have been central to his political rise. In his hometown of Miami, he forged political alliances with the city's Cuban-American kingmakers and rose to be speaker of the Florida House, then U.S. senator. In a presidential race where he's gaining momentum, his family's history gives his campaign a sweeping emotional core. The outlines of that history are by now well-known. He rarely lets a campaign event pass without mentioning his parents' decision to leave Cuba and how they worked to give their children a better life in the U.S., his father a bartender, his mother a maid. The senator has never traveled to Cuba, but said he tries to keep the country's traditions alive for his young children. Still, even in a city like Miami that pulses with Cuban culture, Rubio sees his children becoming more a part of the country they live in than the one their elders came from. "America is a very powerful culture with very powerful values and traditions," he said. "You see it within one generation, certainly by two generations." Rubio says he has no qualms about fully rolling back the opening set in motion by Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro Fidel's 84-year-old brother about a year ago. He also thinks U.S. business people tantalized by the prospect of investing in the island will change their mind after the reality of dealing with the Castro government sets in. "American companies think they want to invest in Cuba," Rubio said. "They have no idea what the terms are. The terms are, they don't own anything. You can't go to Cuba and open a business and own it." ___ To the White House and supporters of Obama's opening with Cuba, Rubio is living in the past. Fifty years of hostilities did nothing to push the Castros from power and Obama administration officials say there's no indication that sticking with the same policy will suddenly achieve that outcome. Rubio knows his hardline views on Cuba are also competing against a surge of public interest in the island. Even with continued travel restrictions, Americans are flocking to Cuba in record numbers for modern times. The island has attracted the occasional vacationing celebrity and plenty of U.S. media attention. "It's all very interesting," Rubio said. "My problem is when people come back and say, 'I visited Cuba and it's a wonderful place, the people are happy, the government is great.' That's what I mind." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram In the aftermath of the Paris terrorist attacks, some members of Congress from both major parties are pushing for the suspension or tightening of a program that allows people from nearly 40 countries, including many in Europe, to skip many steps that citizens from other nations must take before being given a visa to come to the United States. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat who represents Hawaii, is calling for the U.S. government to suspend the Visa Waiver Program, which allows visitors from countries that have visa-free agreements with the United States to travel here without going through a myriad of steps. Those steps include applying for a visa, providing certain documentation and going through an-person interview with a U.S. official. Critics of the Visa Waiver Program say that even friendly countries are seeing a growing number of home-grown terrorists. The following countries are Visa Waiver Program participants: Source: U.S. Department of State Sen. Richard Burr, the North Carolina Republican who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, was quoted in the Washington Post as saying that the Visa Waiver Program concerns him much more than the Syrian refugees looking to be resettled. Roughly 4,000 people living in Europe have traveled to Syria to train with the Islamic States, according to national security experts. Terrorists responsible for the recent attack in Paris had residency or citizenship in such visa-free countries as Belgium and France. The suspected mastermind of the attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, is a Belgian whose parents are Moroccan immigrants. Belgium, in fact, is said to be a hotbed of ISIS cells. Belgium's Interior Minister Jan Jambon said many had left for a period to join ISIS and get training, and said the country would "clean it up. The Paris attacks confirm what we already know, that there are large radicalized populations in Western Europe that have military experience and training and tools necessary to commit very bloody attacks, said Nathan Sales, a law professor at Syracuse University who was first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he led efforts to tighten the Visa Waiver Program. The attackers were either citizens or long-term residents of France and Belgium. On Wednesday, five Syrians were caught trying to board a U.S.-bound flight from Honduras with stolen Greek passports. Honduran authorities were notified by Interpol, the worlds largest international police organization. Greece is part of the visa-waiver program. Among the requirements for qualifying for a Visa Waiver Program are that a nation share data on potential terrorist with the United States, that it have a visa refusal rate by the U.S. government of less than 3 percent, and that it have high standards for counterterrorism, border control and document security. Sales said that while the United States has an intricate, sophisticated system of getting airline information about travelers, the Europeans have weak links in their passenger data-gathering. The European border is much more porous, Sales said to Fox News Latino, because Europe has resisted creating the same program as the United States, mostly because of privacy concerns. Sales believes the visa-free agreements need to be enforced and better implemented, but he says its important to keep them intact because they actually can help identify security threats. For one thing, he said, the ease that it offers travelers from visa-free agreement nations also provides an incentive to their governments to share information about people suspected of terrorist or criminal activities. Generally, he said, foreign countries have no reasons to share information with us in the absence of certain incentives. On Thursday, Sens. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, and Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrats, plan to introduce legislation that would tighten the Visa Waiver Program by making people from visa-free countries ineligible to come to the United States is they traveled to Syria or Iraq in the past five years. But Gabbard, the Hawaii lawmaker, does not want to wait for European nations to step up their scrutiny of internal threats or passengers traveling to and from there. The congresswoman said in an interview with CNN that the loopholes in the Visa Waiver Program must be addressed now, in a broad way even if any changes are temporary. We need to temporarily suspend this visa waiver program between the United States and Europe, Gabbard said, because it could just be a matter of hours, before someone travels through these different borders, someone whos become a foreign fighter, whos been fighting in Syria, and ends up here on the United States soil. Burr, the head of the Senate intelligence committee, was quoted in the Washington Post as saying that he considers the Visa Waiver Program a bigger security concern than the Syrian refugees, a focus of international debate. Were I in Europe already, and I wanted to go to the United States, and were I not on a watch list or a no-fly list and I wanted to get there, Burr said, the likelihood is I would use the visa waiver program before I would try to pawn myself off as a refugee. After the January attacks in Paris, including one on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, several members of Congress pushed for tightening visa waiver rules. Feinstein, the California Democrat, said at the time that the visa waiver program was the Achilles heel of America. Rules were, indeed, made stricter for the program after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks after it became apparent that some of the hijackers had lived for a time in Germany, where they were part of an Al-Qaeda cell in Hamburg. But there were still weak links, given the more lax data-gathering and data-sharing by European countries. Efforts to curb or eliminate the Visa Waiver Program, which began in 1986, is often met with stiff resistance by, among others, the travel industry. Many experts knowledgeable of the program acknowledge that it is an important part of the U.S. economy and also benefits Americans who dont need visas to travel to the countries in the program. Roughly 20 million people enter the United States annually through the program. Published reports say that several thousand requests are refused because they turn up on terror watch lists. Many more are rejected because the applicant appears to have stolen documents. Sales says there are indications that following this years attacks, France and the rest of Europe are moving toward a more concerted effort to share data. He said that there is a move toward a European-wide data-sharing system involving travelers, an improvement that then would lead to better information reaching the United States about would-be visitors. Theres a renewed urgency, he said. If they can attack Paris they can get on a plane and attack the United States. Nevada Sen. Harry Reid's well-oiled political machine will face its most formidable test in his long political career next year, in a race that won't even see his name on the ticket. The Democratic lawmaker's Senate seat which he will vacate at the end of his term in 2016 is up for grabs as his chosen successor, the Silver State's former attorney general Catherine Cortez Masto, battles Republican Nevada Congressman Joe Heck in hope of becoming the first Latina in the U.S. Senate. Many political insiders say this is a race that could decide if the Democrats have a shot at winning back majority control in the Senate. "If the Democrats want to get back the Senate, they have to win this seat," David Damore, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and a pollster for Latino Decisions told Fox News Latino. Not only would a Democratic win in the state help control the chamber's agenda and the nomination process for the next president's cabinet, but it would also put pressure on a number of freshman Republican senators in places that went to Obama in the last two elections, such as Illinois, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. While Heck is known as a smart campaigner and strong debater, he was viewed as not much of a challenge for Reid if he choose to run for reelection, given the senator's ubiquitous political influence in the state. However, with Cortez Masto now slated to be Heck's rival in the race, the dynamics of the battle for the Senate seat have changed. Cortez Masto will be able to rely heavily on Reid's political machine established over the last decade as well as Reid himself, whose legacy is on the line. Reid's coalition of unionized casino workers and the growing Hispanic and Asian-American immigrant populations have helped turn the state decidedly blue in the last two presidential election seasons. But the big question that remains unanswered is if Reid can get that coalition he built to rally behind Cortez Masto a very different type of candidate than the 75-year Mormon lawmaker. "I'm younger and Latino, with a different voice and different issues that we've worked on," Cortez Masto said, according to the Washington Post. One thing Cortez Masto seems intent on letting voters know is that she does strictly side with Latinos. In September, she decided to disinvite New York City council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito from headlining a campaign event and to reject any contributions from her because of her support for jailed Puerto Rican nationalist Oscar Lopez Rivera. Lopez Rivera, now in his 70s, was a member of the Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN), a clandestine paramilitary organization that advocated complete independence for Puerto Rico. He was convicted and sentenced to 55 years in prison on a wide range of charges, including conspiracy to transport explosives with intent to destroy government property. In light of the deadly Paris terror attacks last week, Cortez Masto also has taken a tougher stance and marked departure for Obama and Democratic congressional leaders to the U.S. accepting Syrian refugees fleeing ISIS. "In light of ISIS's despicable exploitation of the refugee crisis to target the West, we must ensure that our vetting process for accepting Syrian refugees is as thorough as possible," she said in a statement. "I share the concerns of some Republicans in Congress to ensure the United States intelligence community approves the vetting process before we accept more refugees." Cortez Masto added: "This does not mean we abandon our moral obligation to aid those fleeing ISIS. But for the security of the American people, we must have law enforcement and the intelligence community review the vetting process of who we are accepting into our country." Republicans, on the other hand, see an opportunity to gain control of the Senate for at least two more years if they can get Heck elected. Heck, a House member, physician and brigadier general in the Army Reserve, has been touted by the GOP as a Latino-friendly candidate who has won three Las Vegas-area congressional elections thanks in large part to his moderate tone toward immigration. The three-term congressman from a state with 27 percent Hispanic population has played up his own immigrant family history and endorsed a path to citizenship for so-called "Dreamers." He has also criticized Donald Trump, a Republican presidential candidate, for saying many Mexicans come to the U.S. bringing crime, drugs and rape. "Let's take care of the Dreamers, those children that came to this country through no fault of their own, that know no other nation but America," he said. Still, Cortez Masto hopes to blast Heck on some of his discrepancies toward the issue while in Washington, including his support for revoking birthright citizenship for all immigrants. For his part, Heck said he expected Reid to play a major role in the election and predicted the longtime Democrat would make it "just as rough" for Republicans in the state despite not running. What needs to answered in Cortez Masto campaign in the next year is if she can simultaneously use the Reid's infrastructure to her advantage while also becoming her own candidate in what promises to be a hard battle against Heck. "The question really is, Can she handle a tough fight?" Damore said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A proposal to permit Syrian refugees into the United States has been met with an overwhelming opposition from Republicans in the wake of the Paris terror attacks, but two of the party's leading presidential hopefuls have expressed their contempt for it a notch louder. Real estate mogul Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz have emerged as the country's leading voices of opposition to Syrian refugees and in support of ratcheting up the U.S.'s national security initiatives, following the terror attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds more. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the carnage, elevating fears of attacks in the U.S. and prompting calls for new restrictions on refugees fleeing war-torn Syria. Cruz has suggested that the U.S. only accept refugees from Syria who are Christian, despite the Middle Eastern nation being predominantly Muslim, and introduced to the Senate the Terrorist Refugee Infiltration Prevention Act of 2015. "Given the existential nature and scope of the threat posed by radical Islamic terrorism, the limitations on our ability to screen the flood of refugees, and the obligations of our government to provide for the safety and security of all Americans," Cruz wrote in an opinion piece in the Washington Times. "[W]e simply cannot accept refugees from countries that have a significant terrorist presence until the terrorist threat has been eliminated." For his part, Trump has mentioned closing down mosques across the country, listing American Muslims in a database and offering them a special ID. "Nobody wants to say this and nobody wants to shut down religious institutions or anything, but you know, you understand it," Trump said on Fox News' "Hannity." "A lot of people understand it. We're going to have no choice," he added. Marci Hamilton, a Yeshiva University legal expert on religious liberty, said requiring Muslims to register appears to be a clear violation of the Constitution's protection of religious freedom. "What the First Amendment does and what it should do is drive the government to use neutral criteria," Hamilton told the AP. "You can use neutral criteria to identify terrorists. What it can't do is engage in one-religion bashing. That won't fly in any court." Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was the first Republican rival to condemn Trump's call for a Muslim database, calling the proposal "abhorrent." "You're talking about internment, you're talking about closing mosques, you're talking about registering people, and that's just wrong," Bush said Friday on CNBC. Bush, however, did support Cruz's call for a strict screening process for refugees entering the country in an effort to prevent an attack similar to the one in Paris. "Everybody should go through the same screening process, but I can tell you that a persecuted Christian a Christian family that has been uprooted in their community, whether it's in Iraq or Syria ... they're not Islamic terrorists," Bush told reporters in New Hampshire. Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton took to Twitter Friday and challenged all Republican candidates to disavow Trump's comments. "This is shocking rhetoric," she wrote. "It should be denounced by all seeking to lead this country." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The new president of the leading immigration lawyers group in the United States says that feasibility and national security must be balanced with compassion when deciding whom to allow to live and work in the United States. Victor Nieblas, the new president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, or AILA, told Fox News Latino that as the United States grapples with national security threats and people seeking protection and new lives here, this nation must be guided by its tradition of welcoming the displaced. In a new report card by AILA on how President Barack Obama has handled different aspects of immigration, the organization concluded that he has a mixed performance. AILA gave the president an F yes, for failure on refugee and humanitarian protection because of what it considered the inadequate response the Obama administration gave to people from Central American who fled to the U.S. border, seeking refuge from the violence and drug cartels that threatened their lives back home. The president should have protected them, said the report, released Wednesday. Instead, the Obama administration treated these refugees as a border threat, detaining thousands and putting them on a fast track for deportation.As a result it has undermined Americas global reputation as a humanitarian leader. The handling of the surge from Central America raises concern in AILA, as well as among other advocates of more flexible immigration policies, to how the United States will handle Syrian refugees. Since the terrorist attacks in Paris last Friday, the attitude in many countries, and among many members of Congress and governors in the United States, has turned to one of fear that Syrians seeking refuge in the Unites States may include Islamic State terrorists who try to hide among them. Several dozen governors have said they will fight against the settlement of Syrian refugees in their states, citing little to no confidence in the current ability to vet them to ensure they are not national security threats. Obama, by contrast, has pressed for having an open mind about the Syrian refugees and has assailed the lawmakers who are raising alarms against them and calling for them to be kept out of U.S. borders. Niebles says he would have liked to see that kind of sympathy and advocacy on behalf of the Central American immigrants from Obama. The administration has been detaining women and children who are entering from Central American, said Nieblas, the first Mexican-American attorney to helm AILA since it was established nearly 70 years ago. He has been detaining them despite them seeking asylum and wanting protection from this country, instead of giving them refugee status like hes giving Syrians. He detains the mothers and the children, Nieblas said. These women and children are being impacted emotionally, psychologically. Theyve been shortchanged, he said, of all they sought an opportunity to represent their asylum claims. Weve failed them in that area. He does give Obama credit, however, for making an effort through controversial executive actions to give reprieve from deportation to some undocumented immigrants who meet a strict set of criteria. Hes been working with Congress for six or seven years, and Congress really hasnt wanted to participate in the immigration reform debate, he said. We know those [executive actions] are stuck in the courts, Nieblas said. He did try his best. Congress does not want to cooperate with him. But he wanted to do the right thing. As for the Syrian refugees, Nieblas says it is possible to have a viable screening process and to keep the compassionate history the United States has had of taking in people seeking freedom and a better life. He said its important to understand what the process is. These refugees will go through levels of security checks, one after the other after the other," Nieblas said. "It takes months, sometimes years. They go through many interviews, also security checks, whether it be the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the State Desk. This is a process that has existed a very long time. New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has been tapped to lead the Republican Governors Association for the next year. She becomes the first woman and the first Hispanic to lead the political organization dedicated to electing Republican governors across the country. GOP governors meeting in Las Vegas on Thursday voted Martinez into the new post. Her one-year term begins immediately. The RGA has enjoyed tremendous success in recent years. There are currently 31 Republican governors, not including incoming Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin. Martinez's new job served as a launching pad for ambitious Republicans in the past. Former chairmen include Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal and Mitt Romney. More On This... New Mexico celebration of folk art draws artisans from around the world Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who recently suspended his 2016 presidential bid, was elected vice chairman Thursday. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The Obama administration filed papers with the Supreme Court Friday requesting it to take up its executive action on immigration so that millions of undocumented immigrants can be spared deportation and obtain work permits, among other things. The legal papers call for the court's immediate review of President Barack Obama's plan to protect as many as 5 million immigrants. The immigrants affected are mainly the parents of American citizens and lawful permanent residents. The appeal, filed a year after Obama announced his executive actions on immigration, injects the Supreme Court into a dispute between 26 mainly Republican-led states and the Democratic administration, amid a presidential race in which immigration has been a flashpoint. If the court agrees to hear and decide the case by late June, and if the justices side with the administration, that would leave roughly seven months in Obama's presidency to implement his plans. But time is running short for consideration of the immigration issue in the court's current term. Texas, the lead state in the lawsuit, has 30 days to respond, but could ask for more time. If the justices don't agree by mid-January to hear the case, the issue probably will not be decided until after Obama leaves office in January 2017. At issue is the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program, which Obama said would allow people who have been in the United States more than five years and who have children who are in the country legally to "come out of the shadows and get right with the law." Texas quickly led a legal challenge to the program, and has won every round in court so far, effectively blocking Obama's plans. Most recently, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the states. The administration makes three main arguments in its Supreme Court appeal: the states have no right to challenge the policy in federal court; the government followed appropriate procedure and the administration has broad discretion in the area of immigration. Based on reporting by The Associated Press. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram When Anne Hidalgo became mayor of Paris, she made history. No woman had ever been the mayor of the City of Lights. But Hidalgo, who was born in Spain and spent part of her childhood there, did not have much of a honeymoon. She had not been in office even an entire year when terrorists struck her city in January, killing staff members of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, three police officers, and hostages in a kosher market. Now, 10 months after that attack, Paris again was the site of terrorist-produced carnage when attackers tied to Islamic State opened fire and set off explosives on a Friday night, Nov. 13, in one of the citys most populated sections. The Bataclan night club, which saw the most fatalities, was the site of one of Hidalgos first campaign rallies in 2014. As Hidalgo, who is 56, did after the January attacks, she tried to convey a message of pride in the city, comfort to the survivors and victims loved ones, as well as urge unity and determination to fight the evil that had struck again. "Tonight Paris is paying a high price faced with terrorism, but we are still standing, and we will continue to stand," Hidalgo told journalists after the attacks, according to published reports. "The sites that were hit were places where Parisians like to go out, where the youth of Paris likes to go on the weekends at night. So the idea was to hurt that freedom, that youth. The toll is terrible and I want to tell the families and the victims, once again, that we are with them." On social media, she has assured Parisians: "When your heart falters, the great heart of Paris will support you. When your heart is suffering, the heart of Paris will soothe you. Hidalgo was named Ana when she was born in Spain, but changed it to Anne around the time she acquired French citizenship at about 14. She holds both Spanish and French citizenship, and is said to be more fluent in French. Her grandparents had fled to France when dictator Francisco Franco seized power after the Spanish Civil War. Her grandparents returned to Spain after a while. Then her parents moved the family to France for better economic opportunities. Her father was an electrician and her mother a seamstress. Hidalgo, who is a socialist, resists trying to meet expectations she feels are purely symbolic. When she was running to be mayor, Womens Wear Daily asked her: Do you see yourself in a role a la Michelle Obama, propelling designers? She responded: It is important and I love it. The designers do an incredible job. Its good to make it visible, without being showy. I am an elected official, not a model. I like a subdued style, not bling-bling. She also has balked at living at what has been the official mayoral residence, the Hotel de Ville, and instead lives with her husband Jean-Marc Germain, a Socialist member of parliament, and their teenage son in what has been described as a modest home. Hidalgo is known for putting in long hours, but she resists being made to feel guilty for not spending more time with her family. It is not always easy for [the family] but I have never suffered from guilt, Hidalgo said flatly to the Financial Times. To be mayor is to work 24 hours a day. Hidalgo has waged battles to keep businesses closed on Sundays, to expand Pariss green spaces and shes a diligent promoter of Paris. Her high profile, albeit not brought about as she would have wished, and her poised demeanor and popularity rate (a recent survey had it about 50 percent), have some thinking she may run for president of France someday. There is no question of that, said her deputy, Bruno Julliard, to the Guardian. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have been sparring over national security and immigration policy as their rivalry intensifies in the Republican presidential primary race. Now their conflict is moving to Iowa and a powerful evangelical constituency that Rubio is making a play for, months after rivals sank roots. Cruz and Rubio will appear Friday with a group of candidates at a forum hosted by the Family Leader, a prominent Iowa Christian organization that is expected to draw roughly 1,500 people to its event. Also on stage will be retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who has led some recent Iowa polls and has a strong evangelical following. With support from pastors around the state and a recent endorsement from a conservative Iowa congressman, Cruz is in a strong position. But Rubio is about to embark on a five-day tour of the state that will include stops in conservative western Iowa and involve meetings with pastors. "I can tell you for a fact that there are a lot of pastors taking a second look at Marco Rubio because of his strong positions on national security and the pro-life issue," said Jamie Johnson, a pastor from Story City who worked for former Texas Gov. Rick Perry's failed campaign and is now neutral in the race. Christian conservative voters traditionally influence the Iowa caucuses because they tend to be organized and motivated to participate. They will also hear Friday from two trailing candidates who achieved past Iowa victories with their help, Mike Huckabee in 2008 and Rick Santorum in 2012, as well as former technology executive Carly Fiorina and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. Carson and businessman Donald Trump continue to hold substantial leads in Iowa polls leading up to the Feb. 1 caucuses, with Cruz and Rubio behind them. The exit of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, popular with some Christian voters, means some support is up for grabs. One key endorsement in the evangelical community will be that of Family Leader President Bob Vander Plaats. He said that when he makes a choice, he'll seek to rally his community to make the most impact. Cruz has spent more time than Rubio in the state and has built a deep organization with endorsements from state and local officials and support in all 99 counties. He's also seeking backing from at least one pastor in every county and has been endorsed by Rep. Steve King, a vigorous anti-immigration voice in western Iowa, and conservative radio host Steve Deace. Cruz argues that evangelical Christians, libertarians, tea party supporters and other conservatives must lock arms behind one candidate or risk losing to a more moderate Republican. Deace said Cruz has "done everything it takes to unite the conservative movement." Cruz is casting Rubio as one such moderate, even though both senators rode the tea party wave of recent years to national prominence and have deeply conservative voting records. Cruz, for example, accuses Rubio of supporting "amnesty" in his failed 2013 immigration package that would have given immigrants in the country illegally a pathway to citizenship. Rubio casts Cruz as weak on national security because the Texas senator favored limits on government surveillance programs earlier in the year. Rubio lags Cruz in Iowa campaign time, pastor pitches, endorsements and development of county-by-county support. But he's been rising in the national race and picking up efforts in the state with fewer than 75 days before the caucuses. "We think we can do really well with evangelical voters," said Rubio spokesman Alex Conant. "I think Marco is uniquely positioned to be able to unite Republicans." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram A judge presiding over an Arizona sheriff's racial profiling case is questioning whether the lawman testified truthfully about a secret investigation that critics say targeted the judge. U.S. District Judge Murray Snow said Friday he believes metro Phoenix's sheriff, Joe Arpaio, was involved in his office's investigation that erroneously tried to show the judge and federal authorities were conspiring against the lawman. But Snow said he's more concerned about Arpaio's truthfulness, pointing out the sheriff provided conflicting testimony on his knowledge of the investigation. "He has not been fully forthcoming with this court," Snow said, noting taxpayer dollars had to be spent uncovering information about the investigation that Arpaio should have disclosed earlier. The investigation was examined in Arpaio's contempt-of-court hearings over his acknowledged defiance of court orders in the profiling case. Lawyers made closing arguments Friday. The six-term sheriff could face fines and, if a criminal contempt case is later filed, jail time. Arpaio has acknowledged violating Snow's orders, including letting his officers conduct immigration patrols for 18 months after the judge ordered them stopped. Arpaio's critics say the secret investigation was intended to discredit Snow, who ordered a sweeping overhaul of the sheriff's office after ruling its officers racially profiled Latinos. Arpaio insists he didn't investigate Snow and instead maintains the investigation centered on a claim that the bank information of thousands of people had been breached. John Masterson, Arpaio's lead attorney, said the secret investigation wasn't relevant to the contempt case. "No one at MCSO (Maricopa County Sheriff's Office) was actively investigating you," Masterson said, pointing out that Arpaio's second-in-command warned his officers not to investigate the judge. In the past, Arpaio has been accused of investigating judges who were at odds with him. The contempt hearings mark the boldest public attempt to confront Arpaio on the recurring retaliation allegation. The judge was the second person at Friday's hearing to question Arpaio's honesty. Stan Young, a lawyer leading the case against Arpaio's office, said documents from the investigation undermine Arpaio's claim that he wasn't targeting Snow. "They have been lying," Young said, contending Arpaio and a top aide acted as "shady characters" for launching an investigation that they should have known was illegal. In the contempt case, Arpaio also has accepted responsibility for his agency's failure to turn over traffic-stop videos before the profiling trial and bungling a plan to gather such recordings from officers once some videos were revealed publicly. Young said Arpaio violated the order barring his immigration patrols because he wanted to look tough on immigration in an election year. He also said the sheriff used his powerful position to insulate himself from the consequences of defying a judge's orders. Young said an internal investigation into the violation didn't find any policy infractions, didn't result in any discipline and didn't examine Arpaio's role in defying the order. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Donald Trump's support for a government database to track Muslims in the United States is drawing sharp rebukes from his Republican president rivals as they try to distance themselves from a proposal that legal experts say is unconstitutional. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush called the prospect of a registry "abhorrent." Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said the idea was "unnecessary" and not something Americans would support. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who has largely avoided criticizing Trump throughout the 2016 campaign, said, "I'm not a fan of government registries of American citizens." "The First Amendment protects religious liberty, and I've spent the past several decades defending the religious liberty of every American," Cruz told reporters in Sioux City, Iowa. The first reference to a database came in a Trump interview with Yahoo News published Thursday. When asked about requiring Muslims to register in a database or carry a form of special identification noting their religion, Trump said, "We're going to have to look at a lot of things very closely." Trump was pressed on the idea of a registry by an NBC News reporter Thursday evening while the candidate campaigned in Iowa. Asked if there should be a database system for tracking Muslims in the United States, Trump said, "There should be a lot of systems, beyond databases." The reporter asked if that was something Trump would put in place as president. Trump replied: "I would certainly implement that. Absolutely." Trump also told the reporter that Muslims would "have to be" registered and said that the registration process could occur at "different places." In an interview on Fox News Channel on Friday evening, Trump tried to clarify his position. "I want a watch list for the Syrian refugees that (President Barack) Obama's going to let in if we don't stop him as Republicans," he said. He said he had trouble hearing the NBC reporter's questions. He was not asked specifically if he disavowed a general registry for Muslims living in the country, and he did not condemn the idea on his own. "I want to have watch lists. I want to have surveillance. I mean, we're not a bunch of babies," he said. Trump has also voiced support for closing certain mosques as a way to contain the terrorist threat in the U.S. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds more. The attacks have raised fears in the U.S. and prompted calls for new restrictions on refugees fleeing war-torn Syria. The House passed legislation this past week essentially barring Syrian and Iraqi refugees from the United States. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has slotted the bill for possible Senate consideration, though it's unclear whether the chamber could get enough votes to override a threatened veto by President Barack Obama. The Republican candidates' unified criticism of Trump was striking. His rivals have vacillated in how they have handled other inflammatory comments from Trump, apparently wary of alienating his supporters while increasingly concerned that he has held his grip on the race deep into the fall. Civil liberties experts said a database for Muslims would be unconstitutional on several counts. The libertarian Cato Institute's Ilya Shapiro said the idea violates basic privacy and liberty rights. Marci Hamilton, a Yeshiva University legal expert on religious liberty, said requiring Muslims to register appears to be a clear violation of the Constitution's protection of religious freedom. "What the First Amendment does and what it should do is drive the government to use neutral criteria," Hamilton said. "You can use neutral criteria to identify terrorists. What it can't do is engage in one-religion bashing. That won't fly in any court." Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, at a Tennessee rally Friday evening, said, "Mr. Trump has attacked Mexican immigrants, he's attacked women, and now he's attacking Muslim Americans. At some point you have to ask yourself, is that the kind of country we are?" Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said Trump's words were "outrageous and bigoted." Vice President Joe Biden, who gave the White House's weekly Internet and radio address while Obama was in Asia, said IS wants to "manufacture a clash between civilizations" and to turn away refugees mostly women, children, orphans, torture survivors and "say there is no way you can ever get here would play right into the terrorists' hands." On the GOP side, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said creating a national registry based on religion and closing mosques "will do nothing to keep us safer and shows a lack of understanding on how to effectively prevent terrorist attacks." Ohio Gov. John Kasich said requiring people to register with the federal government because of their religion "strikes against all that we have believed in our nation's history." Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who has challenged Trump's lead in the GOP race, said the U.S. should have a database on "every foreigner who comes into this country," but he rejected the idea of tracking U.S. citizens based on their religion. "One of the hallmarks of America is that we treat everybody the same," he said. "If we're just going to pick out a particular group of people based on their religion, based on their race, based on some other thing, that's setting a pretty dangerous precedent." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Ted Cruz is among the most hated men in Washington, reviled by leaders of both parties as an ideological hard-liner loyal only to the far-right of the conservative movement. But racing down an Iowa highway on a snowy weekend morning, a solemn Cruz suggested some of his Republican rivals for president have amped up their rhetoric too much especially on policy toward people who are in the U.S. illegally. "Tone matters," Cruz, the son of a Cuban immigrant, told The Associated Press in an interview between campaign stops. "Are there some in the Republican Party whose rhetoric is unhelpful with regard to immigration? Yes." Donald Trump's call for a database to track Muslims in the U.S. is one example, Cruz says. But he refused to condemn the rhetoric of another Republican who could help him win Iowa's leadoff caucuses, Rep. Steve King, the influential conservative who has described immigrants living in the country illegally as disease-ridden_and spent the weekend campaigning at Cruz's side. "I cannot help the language that others use," Cruz said in the interview. "I can only help the words that come out of my own mouth." Taken together, they are remarkable statements for a conservative firebrand who rarely, if ever, shows signs of moderation. Yet in the crowded and unruly 2016 Republican primary, Cruz is trying to position himself as the grown-up alternative to Trump and Ben Carson, two inexperienced and undisciplined front-runners who have so far captivated their party's most passionate voters by riding a wave of anti-immigrant rhetoric. As Carson's support appears to soften, and Trump struggles to say with precision what are his exact plans for increasing surveillance of potential threats in the wake of the Paris attacks, Cruz's is ramping up his pitch and trying to cast himself not just as an outsider but an electable outsider at a time of widespread mistrust of Washington. "I do not believe either one of them is going to be the nominee," Cruz told the AP about Carson and Trump. "I am working very hard to win every one of their supporters." Cruz spoke to AP at the end of a week in which Carson, who previously said he wouldn't support a Muslim president, likened dealing with Syrian refugees to the handling of "rabid dogs" and said he would support government monitoring of any group deemed radical and "anti-American." Having described Mexican immigrants as rapists and criminals in his announcement speech, Trump this week said he would "absolutely" support a mandatory database to track Muslims in the U.S. He later said he wanted a "watch list" for Syrian refugees and "surveillance of certain mosques." To be sure, Cruz has reacted aggressively to the Paris attacks and his is targeting same slice of the Republican electorate as the two front-runners. He introduced legislation this week entitled the "Terrorist Refugee Infiltration Prevention Act" that would allow U.S. entry only to Christian fleeing war-torn Syria. That comes after Cruz, whose Cuban-born father first immigrated to Canada and then to the U.S., last week outlined an immigration policy that would dramatically increase deportations, add hundreds of miles to the wall on the Mexican border and suspend a program that grants work visas to high-skilled immigrants, a reversal of his previous position. But the Harvard-educated attorney who served five years as the Texas solicitor general has done so while avoiding the explosive language employed by Trump and Carson, which critics say reeks of xenophobia if not outright bigotry. "I am the son of an immigrant who came from Cuba with nothing, came here legally," Cruz said. "And my view, which I think the vast majority of Americans share, is very simple: Legal good. Illegal bad." And yet even while suggesting some Republicans have gone too far with their rhetoric, Cruz spent the weekend campaigning alongside Iowa Rep. Steve King, a favorite of evangelical voters and one of his party's most outspoken hardliners on the issue. King, who endorsed Cruz this week, has described immigrants living in the country illegally as disease-ridden and compared them to drug mules and livestock. He is perhaps best-known for a 2013 comment attacking children of such immigrants: "For everyone who's a valedictorian, there's another 100 out there who weigh 130 pounds and they've got calves the size of cantaloupes because they've been hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert." With King riding in the second vehicle of Cruz's two-car caravan, Cruz refused to condemn such comments when pressed. He also declined to name any Republicans whose rhetoric on immigration has been "unhelpful." "I am not going to approach this election like a theater critic giving my reviews of every word uttered by every other Republican," Cruz said. "I'm going to focus on my message." And while that message may be tempered compared to that Trump and Carson, Cruz's efforts to paint himself as the electable outsider haven't won over some of his critics. "I have serious reservations at this point about Ted Cruz," said Alfonso Aguilar, a Republican who served in the George W. Bush administration and now leads the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles "He's allied himself with Steve King," Aguilar said, suggesting that Cruz has turned his back on his immigrant roots. King, meanwhile, heaped praise on Cruz as they crisscrossed Iowa together. The congressman introduced the presidential contender as "the man I believe will restore America's soul." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Sen. John McCain, who is seeking his sixth term in the Senate, representing Arizona, says he is concerned that hardline rhetoric among GOP candidates running for president will alienate Latinos. The increasing demographic makes the Hispanic voter much more important than maybe [ever] in the past, said McCain in an interview with Fox News Latino. I dont believe any Republican can be elected in the United States without a certain proportion of the Hispanic vote. McCain took particular exception to Donald Trumps harsh words about Mexico and immigrants from there. Trump launched his campaign assailing Mexico for, as he put it, dumping its worst people along the border, and said that immigrants trying to enter the United States from there included rapists and drug dealers, among other things. Since then, Trump has cranked up his hard line on immigration, and vowed to round up all the nations undocumented immigrants and deport them. Trump also has taken shots at fellow presidential rival Jeb Bush for speaking Spanish on the campaign trail, and has pushed for ending automatic citizenship to U.S.-born babies of undocumented immigrants. Im very concerned about that kind of rhetoric about our Hispanic citizens, said McCain, who was the GOP presidential nominee in the 2008 race against Barack Obama. Its alienating a very significant majority of Hispanic voters. Early on after Trumps announcement that he was running for president, McCain condemned his confrontational tone about Mexico and immigration. In an interview with MSNBC, McCain said that Trumps views were not so much problematic for the GOP as for the county at large. McCain said that while he supports tightening border security, Trumps characterization of Hispanics did no justice to the reality of the positive impact that Latinos have had in places such as his home state. Its added to the beauty and the enormous attractiveness of our state of Arizona, and we are proud of our Hispanic heritage, of our missions from Spain that came up to Tucson back hundreds of years ago, McCain said shortly after Trumps first controversial comments. And so I think Mr. Trump maybe should realize that we in Arizona, we want a secure border and we have to have a secure border butwe are greatly appreciative of everything [Hispanics] have done for our state, our culture, our economy, and everything else about our state. We are far richer for having had them in our state. Trumps campaign did not respond to a request by Fox News Latino for a comment on McCains statements. McCain says that, in general, Republicans have their work cut out for them when it comes to gaining the support of Latinos. He said attracting Latinos to the GOP has been getting harder, adding thats a fact. George W. Bush was able to win about 40 percent of the Latino vote in his re-election in 2004, a feat considered quite remarkable. McCain got 31 percent of the Latino vote when he ran against Obama, well below Bush but better than Mitt Romneys 27 percent in 2012 and Sen. Robert Doles 21 percent in 1996. McCains share of the Latino vote was more in line with what GOP candidates tended to capture in congressional races. Many of the Latinos who supported Obama initially backed Hillary Clinton when she ran in the 2008 primary against him, but then switched to him when he won the Democratic nomination. McCain says his pick for president would be Sen. Lindsey Graham, a fellow Republican from South Carolina, whom the Arizonan views as the best equipped to deal with the domestic and global issues facing the United States. He does not think highly of Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas firebrand whom McCain famously dismissed as a "wacko bird" in 2013. McCain knows well the hot potato that immigration can be, especially in elections. He was part of two major bipartisan efforts to push comprehensive immigration reform in Congress in 2007 and again in 2013. In 2008, he drew criticism for pushing for stronger border security, which in the eyes of detractors, signaled a flip flop for the sake of appealing to conservatives who got angry with his role in backing measures to give undocumented immigrants a chance to legalize their status. In 2013, he was part of the Senates so-called Gang of Eight four Democrats and four Republicans who were behind a sweeping immigration reform measure that called for stronger enforcement but also a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants who could meet a strict set of criteria. It passed in the Senate, but then stalled in the House, where a conservative faction fought any effort to consider a vote what they called amnesty, or rewarding law-breakers. Some in the Hispanic community dont approve of my approach, McCain said, adding that he thought it was because the nuances of his views and proposals were not always understood. Im proud of my relations with the Hispanic community, and Im proud of my record on the whole issue of immigration, even though Ive had criticism from many in my own party. The senator said he believes Republicans can gain the trust and support of Latinos. We share so many values support for small business, for military, for family. But Republicans have to fight for Hispanic voters. For his part, McCain said, I understand I have to keep earning it. Travel industry groups are pressing members of Congress not to give in to the momentum to curb, or altogether eliminate, a visa waiver program that allows people from nearly 40 countries to visit the United States for recreation or business without a visa. The terrorist attacks in Paris last week refocused attention on the program, which has been in place since 1986. A growing number of lawmakers are saying that given that the attackers lived in France or Belgium, and Western Europe has become a hub for terrorists who have trained in Iraq and Syria, the visa waiver program is a potential security threat. Travel industry leaders argue that the visa waiver program already has sufficient safeguards, and that making it difficult for international visitors to come here would hurt the U.S. tourism business and economy. Theyre vowing to lobby members of Congress during Thanksgiving break this week to ensure they do not support measures to restrict the program. We feel incredibly strongly that it would be an error for Congress to scapegoat a successful program, and put blame on the [visa waiver] for a recent tragedy, Jonathan Grella, vice president of public affairs for the U.S. Travel Association, told FoxNews.com. Security must come first but freedom should be valued over fear. Roughly 20 million people enter the United States annually through the program. Published reports say that several thousand requests are refused because they turn up on terror watch lists. Many more are rejected because the applicant appears to have stolen documents. Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., are working on a bill they plan to introduce that would tighten the program. The suspected mastermind of the attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who was killed in a police raid on Wednesday, was a Belgian whose parents are Moroccan immigrants. Belgium, in fact, is said to be a hotbed of ISIS cells. Belgium's Interior Minister Jan Jambon said many of its residents had left for a period to join ISIS and get training, and said the country would "clean it" up. Critics of the visa waiver program say that many countries that are part of it have seen an uptick in the number of home-grown terrorists. Many critics would like everyone coming to the United States to go through the standard visa application process, which include providing certain documentation and going through an-person interview with a U.S. official. Sen. Richard Burr, the North Carolina Republican who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, was quoted in the Washington Post as saying that the visa waiver program concerns him much more than the Syrian refugees looking to be resettled. Roughly 4,000 people living in Europe have traveled to Syria to train with the Islamic States, according to national security experts. Grella told Roll Call that his organization is pumping out videos and fact sheets to tout the value of the visa waiver program and counteract the negative image of it taking hold in the public. Grella said that many who have a stake in the program, such as theme parks, hotel chains, cruise lines, casinos, and rental car providers, are contacting congressional offices both in Washington D.C. and their home districts. Weve found that a very effective method of communicating, Grella said. We hope lawmakers will listen. Among the requirements for qualifying for a visa waiver program are that a nation share data on potential terrorist with the United States, that it have a visa refusal rate by the U.S. government of less than 3 percent, and that it have high standards for counterterrorism, border control and document security. Nathan Sales, a law professor at Syracuse University who was first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he led efforts to tighten the visa waiver program, said that while the United States has an intricate, sophisticated system of getting airline information about travelers, the Europeans have weak links in their passenger data-gathering. The European border is much more porous, Sales said to Fox News Latino, because Europe has resisted creating the same program as the United States, mostly because of privacy concerns. Sales believes the visa-free agreements need to be enforced and better implemented, but he says its important to keep them intact because they actually can help identify security threats. For one thing, he said, the ease that it offers travelers from visa-free agreement nations also provides an incentive to their governments to share information about people suspected of terrorist or criminal activities. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram NBC agreed Monday to give four Republican presidential candidates free time on affiliates in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina after they complained Donald Trump unfairly benefited from appearing as "Saturday Night Live" host earlier this month. The network said John Kasich, Mike Huckabee, James Gilmore and Lindsey Graham each will get about 12 minutes of time to tout their candidacies during prime time on Friday and Saturday, and during this week's "Saturday Night Live." Republican George Pataki also had complained, but the network did not announce an agreement with his campaign. The candidates will get the time on each of the 18 NBC stations in those three states, where early GOP nominating caucuses or primaries are being held. The candidates said they deserved the time to counter Trump's appearance in a non-news setting, based on federal equal time provisions. Trump was "SNL" host on Nov. 7, and NBC calculated that Trump had some 12 minutes of screen time during the comedy show. Trump already is familiar to NBC viewers as the former host of that network's "Celebrity Apprentice" show. The decision doesn't come cheap for NBC; the free time will be taken out of time set aside for network commercials and promotions. The network did not say whether it will edit the candidates' messages. Although NBC has not announced an agreement with Pataki, the former New York governor said in a letter to campaign supporters that NBC had granted his campaign's request for equal time. "This amounts to literally hundreds of thousands of dollars of free advertising on NBC affiliates," Pataki wrote. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram For the second time in a week, Ted Cruz is riding high in a poll of Iowa Republicans. On Tuesday, a new poll put the Texas Tea Party firebrand just behind front-runner Donald Trump and ahead of Ben Carson, who had been gaining on and even sometimes overtaking the outspoken real estate mogul as recently as a few weeks ago. Cruz got the nod of 23 percent of Republicans who expect to participate in the caucus in February, according to the Quinnipiac University poll. Trump got 25 percent and Carson 18 percent. Rubio, whose name has dominated headlines in recent weeks along with Cruz because of their strong performance in the last couple of debates, came in fourth, with 13 percent. The boost for Cruz, and slide for Carson, are attributed by experts to the world focus on national security following recent attacks by the terror group Islamic State, or ISIS, in Paris, Mali, and Beirut. ISIS also claimed credit for bombing a Russian charter jet that crashed over Egypt at the end of October, killing all 224 aboard. "Last month, we said it was Dr. Ben Carson's turn in the spotlight. Today, the spotlight turns to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "The Iowa Republican Caucus has become a two-tiered contest: Businessman Donald Trump and neurosurgeon Ben Carson lead on the outsider track, and Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio lead among party insiders." "The other candidates will need miraculous comebacks to crack the top tier with slightly more than two months before the voting begins." "Worth remembering, however, is that winning Iowa is no guarantee of success elsewhere," Brown added. "Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won the 2008 caucus and former Sen. Rick Santorum took the 2012 crown, yet both were quickly gone from those nomination fights as the primary calendar moved to larger states." Respondents in the Quinnipiac survey, which was conducted just days after the Paris attacks, cited terrorism and foreign policy as priority issues regarding the presidential election and which candidate they preferred. After terrorism and foreign policy, respondents cited jobs and the economy as important to them. Poll respondents expressed the most confidence in Trump as far as the candidate best equipped to deal with terrorism and the economy, and Cruz as far as foreign policy. That echoed another recent poll of Iowans by CBS/YouGov that showed Carson dropping from the top spot to third place, with Cruz moving to second place and Trump in first. Trump had held the top spot in Iowa until Carson overtook it briefly. In that poll Cruz beat out all the other Republican candidates when Iowans were asked who is most fit to be the commander in chief. Some 67 percent picked Cruz, 51 percent said Rubio and 49 percent said Trump. Cruz has been a vocal and consistent proponent of a tough approach to foreign policy, and he also often cites his albeit brief time in the senate as a foreign policy credential. Rubio, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is seen by many experts as the strongest candidate in terms of having a command of foreign policy issues. He too has been a persistent critic of the Obama administrations handling of foreign policy, calling it weak and saying it helped groups like ISIS grow. Trump also has assailed the administration for not responding appropriately to threats around the world, but Cruz has done so with more apparent knowledge of global issues, and in a more outwardly confrontational way than, say, Rubio. At a major conservative event in Iowa over the weekend, many attendees said that while they still like Carson on many levels, they worried that he was not well-versed in global political issues and that just isnt hard-edged enough. Other residents of the state expressed similar misgivings about Carson, who had become a leader in voter polls in Iowa before the Paris attacks. Iowan conservatives seem to be gravitating toward Cruz, who has pursued evangelical support. Trump is drawing a lot of support from voters who do not have a college degree, the New York Times noted. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is having a good week, which is exactly why backers of Marco Rubio may be looking to take him down. The two Republican presidential hopefuls have both seen their stock in the campaign rise after strong debate performances. In Cruz's case, he emerged unscathed from a very public spat with President Barack Obama and seems to have an edge on Rubio in the early battleground state of Iowa, where he has tied GOP front-runner Donald Trump in recent polls. Cruz's surge in the Hawkeye state has one deep-pocketed Rubio backer's nonprofit group shelling out $200,000 for an ad blasting the Texas lawmaker on national security. American Encore, a 501(c)4 organization founded by political consultant and Koch brothers' protege Sean Noble, doled out the cash to run an ad in the Des Moines area that accuses Cruz of voting to "weaken national security" and tells him to stop "leading from behind." Noble has said that that his group is not supporting Rubio, although he personally is. Instead, Noble said the idea behind the ads is to help nominate a Republican candidate who can win the White House next November. "There is probably more than one in that regard," Noble told Politico. "We just don't think that Cruz is one of them." The new ad, which takes exception with Cruz's support of the USA Freedom Act, which restricted the National Security Agency's bulk collection of phone metadata, mixes imagery from the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks with a bomb exploding on a city street while the voiceover claims that Cruz voted to "weaken America's ability to identify and hunt down terrorists." Noble added that the ad stemmed from his experience during the 2012 presidential election, "when we had people who were not electable doing damage" to Mitt Romney, the GOP's eventual nominee. "Newt Gingrich was part of the reason Mitt Romney lost the general election, and I don't want that to happen again," Noble said. Cruz's campaign has played down the ad, saying that Washington insiders are fearful of him because of his strong poll numbers. "Because Ted Cruz is surging in the polls, the Washington cartel is now so desperate they would openly abandon the Fourth Amendment that protects citizens from unconstitutional searches," Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler said in a statement to the Texas Tribune on Monday. "We have to wonder what other parts of the Constitution they would gut." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Responding to criticism from immigration activists, Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday her use of the term "illegal immigrants" was a "poor choice of words," and she pledged not to use it anymore. The Democratic presidential candidate was asked about her use of the term to describe people who are in the U.S. illegally during a question-and-answer session on Facebook held by Telemundo. The question came from Jose Antonio Vargas, a filmmaker and journalist whose organization, Define America, has said the terminology is offensive and asked all presidential candidates to stop using it. "Yes, I will," Clinton wrote during a stop in Boulder, Colorado. "That was a poor choice of words. As I've said throughout this campaign, the people at the heart of this issue are children, parents, families, Dreamers. They have names, and hopes and dreams that deserve to be respected." The term "Dreamers" refers to immigrant children who were brought into the country illegally and grew up in the United States. The term comes from the acronym for failed legislation that would have laid out a process for such immigrants to gain citizenship. During a town hall meeting in New Hampshire earlier this month, Clinton said she voted "numerous times when I was a senator to spend money to build a barrier to try to prevent illegal immigrants from coming in. And I do think you have to control your borders." Clinton has called for expanding President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration and overhauling U.S. immigration laws, providing a pathway to citizenship for those living in the U.S. illegally. Her plans mark a sharp contrast with Republican White House hopefuls, who have vowed to roll back the president's immigration orders. Many GOP candidates also routinely use the term "illegals" to refer to immigrants in the country illegally. Clinton, during a subsequent rally in Boulder, said the U.S. was "fighting for human rights and dignity and freedom" against terrorism and said the U.S. was justified in allowing refugees to enter the U.S. after a "strong vetting process." Republican presidential candidates have largely opposed allowing refugees from Syria into the country. GOP front-runner Donald Trump has suggested he would support ways to track Muslims in the U.S. "I've heard all of this loose and inflammatory talk about refugees," Clinton said. "And I don't think that does us any good at all in waging and winning the fight against criminals and killers who misuse religion and promote a different set of values than the ones that we believe in." Earlier in the day, the former secretary of state won the endorsement of the Laborers' International Union of North America, which represents about 500,000 construction workers. Clinton has won the support of several large unions representing about 11 million members in total. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram When Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio staked out a hard-line position on abortion in the first GOP debate, Hillary Rodham Clinton took notice. The Democratic front-runner quickly blasted Rubio's assertion that he did not support abortion exceptions for victims of rape and incest as "offensive and troubling." At Clinton's Brooklyn campaign headquarters, aides saw echoes of the controversial abortion comments by other GOP candidates that hurt Republicans with women voters during the 2012 election. Since then, Rubio has been finessing his statements. In an interview with the Associated Press, Rubio said he unequivocally backs abortion exceptions when the life of the mother is in danger. He said he also would back legislation with allowances for cases of rape and incest even though he personally doesn't support those exceptions. "I, as president, will sign a bill that has exceptions," he said. "I've supported bills that have exceptions." "I do not personally require a bill to have exceptions other than life of the mother in order for me to support it," Rubio added. "But I will sign a bill as president that has exceptions." While Rubio's policy position remains the same, his tone and emphasis in the interview were notably different than in the August GOP debate, when he bristled at a question suggesting he supported allowing women to end pregnancies that resulted from rape or incest. "I have never said that," Rubio said at the time. "And I have never advocated that. What I have advocated is that we pass laws in this country that say all human life at every stage of its development is worthy of protection." Rubio's advisers deny there's been a conscious effort to make his views on abortion more palatable to a general election audience. "We really do welcome a debate on life in both the primary and general election," said Alex Conant, Rubio's communications director. Clinton's campaign welcomes the discussion, too. "Marco Rubio joins much of the Republican field in opposing a woman's right to control her own health care decisions, even in the case of rape and incest," said Christina Reynolds, Clinton's deputy communications director. "No attempt to mislead on his record will change the fact that his agenda on women's health is dangerously out of touch and out of date." An August Quinnipiac University poll showed that 78 percent of registered voters said abortion should be legal in cases of rape or incest, and 85 percent said it should be legal to save the life of the mother. The same poll showed 65 percent of registered voters said they could support a presidential candidate that holds a different position than they do on abortion. Democrats' early focus on Rubio's abortion position underscores the party's view that he would pose a formidable challenge to Clinton in the general election. The 44-year-old son of Cuban immigrants has a compelling life story and optimistic campaign message. He's been casting the 2016 election as a generational fight, a strategy aimed not just at his older Republican rivals, but also at Clinton. Rubio has supported legislation making allowances for abortion, including a 2013 bill than banned abortions after 20 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother. Still, the senator has a perfect rating from the National Right to Life organization. During his 2010 Senate campaign in Florida, he repeatedly called for overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. While it's unlikely abortion will overtake the economy or national security as the top priority for voters, the issue was briefly in the political spotlight this fall after videos surfaced showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing retrieving fetal tissue. Next year, as the general election kicks into high gear, the Supreme Court is expected to rule on a challenge to a Texas abortion law seen as one of the strictest in the nation. Both parties can also point to recent electoral examples where using abortion and women's health as wedge issues worked in their favor. During the 2012 presidential campaign, Democrats aggressively linked GOP nominee Mitt Romney to controversial statements about rape and abortion made by Republican candidates in statewide races. Romney lost women voters by 10 points to President Barack Obama. Democrats tried to use a similar strategy during the 2014 Senate race in Colorado, a crucial swing state in presidential elections. Sen. Mark Udall ran numerous ads trying to cast his Republican challenger Cory Gardner's anti-abortion stance as extreme. But the single-issue focus backfired, and Gardner handily defeated the incumbent Democrat. Rubio says he sees an opportunity to turn the abortion debate around on Clinton in a general election. He cast her as the one out of step with most Americans because she has been more permissive of abortions and did not vote for a partial birth abortion ban when she was in the Senate. "Hillary Clinton basically believes there should be no restrictions on abortion," Rubio told the AP. "Those are radical, out of touch views that she has and I relish the opportunity to expose her radicalism." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders vowed Tuesday to create a "humane" immigration system and said if elected he would expand upon President Barack Obama's executive actions within the first 100 days of assuming the presidency. The Vermont senator said he would allow all undocumented immigrants who have been in the United States for at least five years to stay in the country without fear of being deported. He said nearly 9 million people would be covered by his actions. "We have an obligation to enact policies that unite families, not tear them apart," Sanders said in a statement announcing the plan. Immigration has taken a leading role in the Democratic presidential campaign as Hillary Rodham Clinton, Martin O'Malley and Sanders have appealed to the party's growing segment of Latino voters. The candidates have suggested the Obama administration has been too aggressive in deporting people living in the U.S. illegally. Sanders' proposal came days after the Obama administration filed an appeal to the Supreme Court to review its plan to shield from deportation millions of immigrants who are in the country illegally. The Obama executive actions were aimed at protecting and giving work permits to as many as 5 million immigrants but federal courts have blocked the executive actions following a lawsuit by a group of mostly Republican-led states. The senator's proposal is rooted in pursuing executive actions without waiting for Congress to overhaul the nation's immigration system, steps his campaign said would provide relief to nearly 9 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. Sanders would press Congress, his campaign said, to change immigration laws if he was elected president and would seek a 5-year pathway to citizenship for people living in the U.S. illegally. He would attempt to decouple the enforcement of federal immigration laws by local police "to stop cops being viewed by the community as deportation agents." And he would seek to push back against the "militarization" of the U.S. Southern border and devote resources toward reducing border deaths and making U.S. Customs and Border protection more accountable, his campaign said. Clinton said earlier on Facebook that her recent use of the term "illegal immigrants" at a New Hampshire town hall was a "poor choice of words." In his immigration platform, Sanders refers to people living in the U.S. illegally as "aspiring Americans." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio said in South Carolina on Wednesday that the Obama administration is making the United States less safe instead of more secure. Traveling with his wife and children, Rubio told supporters during a stop near Charleston that the U.S. must confront groups like the Islamic State directly and build a coalition of support. The Florida senator also criticized President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for worrying about the appearance of a "war on Islam." "ISIS hates Muslims, too," Rubio said, using the acronym for the Islamic State group. "We have no choice but to confront them and to defeat them." For Rubio, that means more airstrikes, as well as a U.S.-led coalition. "We have no choice," he said. "Either they win, or we win. There is no middle ground here." More On This... Marco Rubios return to Iowa dampened by the weather Rubio's remarks came just after Obama told reporters at the White House that there is no "specific and credible" intelligence to suggest terrorists have plans to strike the United States over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, seeking to reassure anxious Americans. Speaking after meeting with his national security team, Obama said it was understandable that Americans might be nervous following the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, which killed 130 people and wounded hundreds more. While he encouraged Americans to remain vigilant, he urged people to go about their normal activities. "While the threat of terrorism is a troubling reality of our age, we are both equipped to prevent attacks and we are resilient in the face of those who would try to do us harm," Obama said. "And that's something we can all be thankful for." Rubio also said that Obama's insistence on a deal with Iran that includes sanctions relief will ultimately put more weapons in that country's hands. "Iran is governed by a radical Shia cleric. And this president is giving him $150 billion of sanctions relief," Rubio told the crowd of a few hundred at an outdoor restaurant on picturesque Shem Creek. "They're going to use it for what Iran has always used their money for, to sponsor terrorism, to build a long-range missile that can strike the United States." Rubio also said that cuts to U.S. military budget, as well as what he described as a weakened intelligence network, further endanger the country. The blame for that is also borne by some Republicans, he added. After a terror attack, "the first question everyone's going to have is, why didn't we know about it, and why didn't we stop it?" Rubio asked. "And the answer better not be, because we weakened our intelligence programs." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) criticizes harsh mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders. But last month he voted against legislation that would have made nonviolent drug offenders eligible for shorter prison sentences, saying he was concerned it could also benefit violent felons. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has endorsed a review of the criminal code and decried "selective enforcement" of the law, he wrote in an essay for a Brennan Center book this year that drug laws had helped restore "law and order to America's cities" and that shorter drug-crime sentences should be approached with caution. On the campaign trail, among candidates of both parties, the idea of locking up drug criminals for life is a lot less popular than it was a generation ago, but no one seems altogether easy with appearing soft on crime either especially after the Paris terrorist attacks. The 2016 presidential race has accelerated an evolution away from the traditional tough-on-crime candidate. A Republican Party that's long taken a law-and-order stance finds itself desperate to improve its standing among minority voters, and Democratic candidates are also being drawn into national conversations on policing, drug crimes and prison costs. With criminal justice issues intruding into election season, the "Just Say No" message of the Reagan administration and the "three strikes" sentencing law developed a decade later under President Bill Clinton have given way to concerns over bloated prison costs, the racial inequities of harsh drug punishments and how police interact with their communities. But even among those in both parties who support changing the criminal justice system, there's no consensus on how to do it and candidates are scrambling to differentiate themselves on what law and order means. "You don't have everyone saying they're tough on crime," said Inimai Chettiar of the Brennan Center for Justice in New York, which advocates reducing prison populations. "Instead, you have people offering different policy solutions." The Paris attacks have at least temporarily thrust national security to the forefront of the presidential race, but criminal justice issues have been periodically popping up, particularly among Democrats, in a year of tumult in U.S. cities. In the Republican field, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has been out front in seeking to "break the cycle of incarceration for non-violent ex-offenders." The push to rethink sentences for drug offenders is coinciding with the Black Lives Matter movement and its debate about police treatment of minorities, a heroin crisis that's brought renewed attention to addiction and a homicide spike in some big cities. Sometimes that mix of issues defies consistency. Republican Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor and a former federal prosecutor, has preached treatment rather than prison for drug addicts and spoken sympathetically of a law school friend who died after getting hooked on painkillers. But when it comes to discussing policing, he accuses Democrats in Washington of "allowing lawlessness to reign" and tells law enforcement "I'll have your back," suggesting that the Obama administration doesn't. Support for more lenient sentencing from Republican members of Congress and wealthy conservative backers such as the Koch brothers has made it easier for budget-minded presidential candidates to support sentencing policy changes. It's not clear, though, how much benefit candidates gain from pressing the issue with average voters, said Fergus Cullen, former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party. Some leading candidates such as Donald Trump hardly mention the issue on the campaign trail, and Ben Carson, the sole Republican participant in a recent candidate forum on criminal justice, said he was still waiting to see evidence of racial bias by police. "The Republican primary voters are not a soft-hearted bunch when it comes to criminal justice issues, and I don't think there are a lot of voters to be had," Cullen said. Democratic candidates are more unified in their embrace of the Black Lives Matter movement and of overall change to the criminal justice system. After Baltimore's riots in April, Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic front-runner whose husband promoted a more conventional tough-on-crime stance, called the criminal justice system "out of balance" and urged an end to "mass incarceration." More recently, she proposed lifting restrictions on getting marijuana for medical studies and said it should be reclassified by the government to allow federally sponsored research into its effects. Her rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, has called for accountability for police officers who "kill people who are unarmed" and suggested moving forward with marijuana legalization. It's all a big change from a generation or two ago. "The threat of someone waging a 'tough on crime' campaign as their calling card is, I think, very much diminished from what we might have seen 20 years ago," said Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project, which advocates sentencing policy changes. The "reform movement" has strong enough support, Mauer said, that it would be "difficult for a candidate to try to make hay out of it." It's not clear how rising homicide rates in some cities will affect efforts to remake the criminal justice system, especially since there's no consensus about what's caused the trend or whether it will last. FBI Director James Comey said recently that if the trend were to continue, "we will be back to talking about how law enforcement needs to help rescue black neighborhoods from the grip of violence." "All lives matter too much for us to let that happen," he said. It also remains to be seen how campaign-trail rhetoric will translate into policy or how committed a future president will be in pushing for sentencing changes. But issues of criminal justice that in many ways were once considered local concerns are, at least for now, in play on the national level. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram The Paris attacks have renewed debate on the U.S. government's post-Sept. 11 domestic surveillance laws, leading to efforts to revive the issue on Capitol Hill and handing Marco Rubio an opening against Ted Cruz in the Republican presidential race. The two senators were on opposite sides earlier this year when Congress eliminated the National Security Agency's bulk phone-records collection program and replaced it with a more restrictive measure to keep the records in phone companies' hands. Rubio, R-Fla., sided with top Republican senators in trying unsuccessfully to extend the existing program, saying that national security required it. Cruz, R-Texas, allied himself with Democrats and the few other Republicans who said the program amounted to intrusive government overreach with no security benefit and voted to remake it. Now, with polls showing the public is growing more concerned with security after the Paris attacks this month that killed 130 people, Rubio is backing long-shot legislation aimed at keeping the intended changes from taking effect at month's end, as scheduled. He also is needling Cruz, who is responding just as adamantly, as the two, rising in the presidential polls, escalate their direct confrontations. "This is not a personal attack. It's a policy difference," Rubio said recently in an interview in Des Moines, Iowa. He said Cruz had joined with Senate liberals and the ACLU "to undermine the intelligence programs of this country." "They do so under the guise of protecting our liberties," Rubio said. "But in fact you can protect our liberties without undermining those programs." Cruz, in an interview, disputed Rubio's criticism. "I disagree with some Washington Republicans who think we should disregard and discard the constitutional protections of American citizens," he said. "We can keep this nation safe without acquiescing to Big Brother having information about every aspect of our lives." The back-and-forth comes at a moment when Rubio and Cruz are nearing the top of the Republican field nationally and in key early voting states, though Donald Trump remains the front-runner. At the same time, a Washington Post poll conducted after the Paris attacks showed a jump in the percentage of voters favoring investigating terrorist threats over protecting personal privacy: 72 percent said the government should investigate threats even at the cost of personal privacy, and 25 percent said the government shouldn't intrude on personal privacy, even if that limits its investigatory abilities. Speculation about how the suspects in the Paris attacks communicated is also raising calls for Congress to take new steps on surveillance and ensure government access to encrypted networks. It adds up to an atmosphere in which some of those on the losing end of the congressional debate this year now feel they have the upper hand. "It's just astonishing to me how those advocates of ridding us of any government involvement in our lives have now become strangely quiet," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. "Of course they've been proven wrong." The Senate agreed to the USA Freedom Act this year only after GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who's also running for president but lags in polls, used Senate rules to force the most controversial aspect to expire briefly, in a showdown with the Senate leaders. The Freedom Act remade that element of the Patriot Act the bulk collection program, exposed by Edward Snowden, that allows the NSA to sweep up Americans' phone records and comb through them for ties to international terrorists. On Sunday, the NSA loses the power to collect and store those records. The government still could gain court orders to obtain data connected to specific numbers from the phone companies. Following the Paris attacks, GOP Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas introduced a bill to delay the start date for the new phone records program until 2017 or until the president can certify that the new NSA collection system is as effective as the current one. Rubio and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are among the co-sponsors of Cotton's bill. Yet with Congress on recess, it won't get floor time ahead of the deadline, and Congress has few legislative days left this year. Aides say Cotton will keep focused on the issue next year. Some lawmakers and advocates who strongly opposed the expiring Patriot Act provisions as an unwarranted government intrusion now accuse senators on Rubio's side of trying to capitalize on the Paris tragedy to reopen the debate. "Within six weeks of 9/11 they passed the Patriot Act," said Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. "And it's only natural they would try to do the same thing this time." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump bragged about his high standing in the polls, slammed super political action committees and dismissed rivals Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush in a campaign stop Saturday in their home state of Florida. Speaking before thousands who jammed into the Robarts Arena in Sarasota, Trump said he's "killing everybody" in polls nationally and in early voting states. He called super PACS "a scam" because the millions of dollars raised are going to high-priced consultants and advisers, and are making candidates beholden to big donors. He criticized Rubio, Florida's junior senator, as "weak" on illegal immigration and said his constituents should be angry with him because Rubio has missed so many Senate votes. "I'm leading in Florida against a sitting senator," Trump boasted. The crowd roared and chanted "Trump, Trump, Trump." The billionaire businessman said he doesn't even talk about Bush anymore because the former Florida governor is struggling to gain his footing in the polls. But he called Bush's support for Common Core education standards unacceptable. "Common Core out," Trump said, if he's elected. So many people lined up to hear Trump that he held a second rally outside for about 1,000 people who could not get into the arena. He then departed in the Trump helicopter. Asked why he supports Trump, Justo Lopez said he wanted "to get rid of the establishment and elect a real Republican." Others were curious to learn more. "I had never heard him speak in public before and wanted to hear what he had to say," said Lenny Fike, of Bradenton, who says he's undecided but leaning toward Trump. But Fike, a Republican, said he would not vote for Trump if he chooses to run as an independent candidate. "I just don't want to see another Democrat in the White House," he said. Not everyone was a Trump fan. A couple dozen demonstrators gathered in front of the arena to denounce Trump. "We reject his racist message and the other Republicans need to reject it, too," said Junior Salazar, who led demonstrators chanting "dump Trump." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Rep. Steve King, the seven-term congressman known as the conservative kingmaker of Iowa, the first place in the nation where voters officially weigh in on presidential candidates, sees Sen. Ted Cruzs recent rise in the state polls and feels validation. King, whose support is diligently pursued by Republicans running for office, particularly the Oval Office, endorsed Cruz for president in mid-November. Im happy about what I see, King said in an interview with Fox News Latino. When I see the poll results, everything Ive seen says theres one candidate that has serious momentum, and thats Ted Cruz. I have people coming up to me at church Sunday night, at the reception after [the mass], saying theyre supporting Cruz. That comports with the polls Ive seen of Iowa. And more than a few fellow Iowans, King said, indicated that they decided to back Cruz after their congressman said he was endorsing the Texas firebrand. The Iowa primary is on Feb. 1. King notes that there other GOP candidates, such as Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, who impress him and echo his deeply conservative views on such things as abortion, same-sex marriage, and immigration. But none is as comprehensively ready to helm the White House, King says, as Cruz. Ted Cruz checks all boxes for a full-spectrum constitutional conservative, King said. If I look at where the candidates are, there are people who are strong in certain areas. They all speak well to the issues, said King, whose son, Jeff, was recently tapped to run Cruzs super-PAC Iowa operation, which has a half-dozen people on staff. But theres no one who knows the judicial branch like Ted Cruz knows it, and whos argued before the Supreme Court. Cruz has sought to distinguish himself in Congress by carrying proudly and loudly the anti-GOP-establishment torch. He has courted tea party and other conservative groups that have nothing short of disdain for Republicans they view as part of the Washington D.C. political status quo. Cruz vexed many fellow Republicans by refusing to back down from stances that at times have backfired, putting a stain on the entire GOP. In 2013, he led the fight to defund Obamacare, resulting in a standoff in Congress that led to a government shutdown. He considers his notoriety among the GOP establishment a badge of honor. Its part of his pitch for why he is the best candidate to change the status quo in Washington. Despite being controversial and reviled by some, even by members of his own party, King said Cruz is gaining traction because no one is stronger at national security, ending sanctuary cities, and defending the rule of law. Cruz now is just behind Donald Trump in polls of likely Iowa caucus-goers. After the terrorist attacks in Paris, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who had managed to dethrone Trump for a time in the top slot in Iowa polls, slipped behind Cruz and Trump. The publics preoccupation with national security following the terrorist attacks in Paris, and the many questions surrounding the true motivations of Russian President Vladimir Putin's military strikes in Syria, have thrust foreign policy onto the front burner in the presidential race. I dont think theres any doubt that Paris brought the focus on national security, King said. Theres a geopolitical chess board going on. Putin is sitting on the other side (of the table) right now. Dont you want a candidate that when Putin is there, its Putin that blinks? King concedes that Carsons verbal blunders in recent weeks, and low-key demeanor that seems like weakness to many voters preferring more toughness these days, have helped boost Cruz. Hes a beneficiary of Ben Carsons bad publicity, King said. King knows that polls can be roller coasters, and that many people dont even begin to tune in to the details of a presidential race until after the beginning of the year. Trump and Cruz have been fairly amicable to each other, even appearing together at a rally to oppose the Iran nuclear agreement. But King wonders how long that civility will last if the two appear to get into a face-off. Trump has taken aim at nearly every one of his opponents, particularly when they appear to rise in the polls and gather strength. Cruz has defended Trump, even as the billionaire has expressed numerous offensive views that many erroneously thus far have predicted would finally doom him. Well see if Donald Trump continues to show the deference to Ted Cruz, King said. Ill be watching to see if those two guys stay friends in the next month. King says Cruz would be wise to stay focused on his proposals, on his own views. As far as Iowa is concerned, Cruz would be better off with a positive message, and saying what he is for, rather than tossing mud, he said. If youre strong in issue after issue, you dont need to tear somebody else down. King balks at the view of many political experts that a hard line conservative cannot win a general presidential election. The congressman said the key is to energize conservatives and evangelicals to turn out to vote in November. If [Mitt] Romney had energized them, he would have won. The controversy over Donald Trumps assertion that Muslims in New Jersey were cheering on Sept. 11, 2001, as the World Trade Center towers burned and fell has taken another turn. MTV, which conducted a video interview days after the attack in which a teenager, Emily Acevedo, from Paterson, N.J., claimed to have seen teens in her city which has one of the nations largest Muslim populations celebrating, released a new video featuring an updated interview with her. In the new footage, which seeks to examine the GOP presidential candidates claim, Acevedo instead dismisses the idea that she had seen youths celebrating because of the terrorist attacks. She also denies saying things the original video shows her saying. MTV named its new video: Trump Is Wrong About People Cheering' 9/11 in New Jersey Here's the Evidence. In the original interview, Acevedo walked outside her home and pointed to a spot where she said she saw about youths about 13 years old celebrating by hitting public property with sticks and rocks and chanting, Burn, America! Acevedo said she saw a lot of people, and they were just chanting and raving, and I noticed they were holding things. They were holding, like, rocks and sticks. And they were saying, Burn America. Everyone that was out there, they were only 13, maybe 14 at the most, Acevedo said in 2001. "They were kids. They didnt know what they were doing. But they had so much hate, and they were doing that. It was just so sad. But in the new video released by MTV, a now grown-up Acevedo says she does not recall the teens saying Burn, America, and that their behavior that day was not much different than what she saw kids at the time do after school during warm weather. For me, it was just Oh, heres a bunch of kids acting out, they dont know any better, she said. Acevedo has never described the kids ethnicity or religion, several experts have noted. Rumors of celebrations in Arab and Muslim communities in Jersey City and Paterson cropped up in the days after the 2001 attacks, but attempts by various news organizations to confirm them failed. Trump has cited a few articles and TV coverage that mentioned celebrations, but some of those news organizations say they reported the allegations, but did not come across evidence that the celebrations happened. Trump brought up the alleged celebrations following the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris while making an argument in favor of keeping a registry of Muslims. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Sen. Marco Rubio said Monday that radical jihadists are using the Syrian refugee crisis as cover to send terrorists to the West and that it's impossible for the United States to vet some migrants from the region. "They are trying to exploit the refugee crisis out in the Middle East to insert fighters into foreign counties," Rubio told a New Hampshire audience in response to a voter who said Americans are concerned with immigration from a national security perspective. "We can't ignore that." The debate over President Barack Obama's plans to accept 10,000 refugees from Syria over the next year has escalated in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris, with many Republicans questioning whether the United States can adequately screen Syrian refugees. Rubio said that while it may be easy to vet a young orphan or a well-known priest, the United States has no way of knowing if someone has recently become radicalized. "If someone was a recently radicalized (Islamic State) fighter, there's no database we have that would identify you as such," said the Florida lawmaker. "You have people that a year ago were fully Westernized who have become fully radicalized in three, six, nine months." So far, there is little evidence that the Islamic State has sent fighters to the West among the mob of refugees. U.S. intelligence officials have said it's possible but they have seen no evidence. A Syrian passport was found among the rubble of the Paris attacks, but a top German official said he believed it was a fake. Rubio and several of his Republican presidential rivals have said it would be better to help refugees stay in the Middle East. He suggested creating "safe zones" in Syria so people do not have to leave their home country and said Middle Eastern nations must do more to aid refugees in the region. "I think a better solution is one that the people from the Middle East would agree with: Make it easier for them to stay in that part of the world," Rubio said to applause from the crowd. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram While Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz acknowledges that there are many problems in the United States, a scarcity of condoms is not one of them. Speaking to a group of prospective caucus-goers in Iowa, Cruz took the opportunity, while discussing contraception and women's health issues, to deflate the notion that the Republican Party is "the condom police." "Now, listen, I have been a conservative my entire life," Cruz said. "I have never met anybody, any conservative, who wants to ban contraceptives. As I noted, Heidi and I have two little girls. I'm very glad we don't have 17." Cruz, who was responding to where he stood on making contraception available to women who want it, went after Democrats by saying that they have concocted a fictitious Republican "war on women." "Last I checked, we don't have a rubber shortage in America," the Texas firebrand said. "Look, when I was in college, we had a machine in the bathroom. You put 50 cents in, and voila! So yes, anyone who wants contraceptives can access them. It's an utterly made up, nonsense issue." He asked the audience members to step into Clinton's shoes. "You're Hillary Clinton and you're trying to figure out how to run," Cruz said, ticking off the issues on which the Democratic candidate cannot run on: The economy, Obamacare, foreign policy. "So what do you do?" he asked. "You go, Ah ha! The condom police. I'm going to make up a completely made up threat and try to scare a bunch of folks who are not paying a lot of attention into thinking someone's going to steal their birth control.'" Cruz said. "What nonsense." Cruz might support contraception, but he drew a stark line in the sand when it came to the differences between his stance on abortion that of his Democratic rival, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "Clinton embraces abortion on demand in all circumstances up until the moment of birth, partial birth abortion with taxpayer funding with no notification for parents in any circumstances," Cruz said. An August Quinnipiac University poll showed that 78 percent of registered voters said abortion should be legal in cases of rape or incest, and 85 percent said it should be legal to save the life of the mother. The same poll showed 65 percent of registered voters said they could support a presidential candidate who holds a different position than they do on abortion. While it's unlikely abortion will overtake the economy or national security as the top priority for voters, the issue has been in the political spotlight this fall after videos surfaced showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing retrieving fetal tissue. Next year, as the general election kicks into high gear, the Supreme Court is expected to rule on a challenge to a Texas abortion law that is seen as one of the strictest in the nation. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram On Monday, Greg Abbott became the fourth American governor to travel to Cuba since the island nation and the United States moved to normalize relations a year ago. The Texas Republican arrived in Havana with a delegation of 25 people, including First Lady Cecilia Abbott, that will explore business opportunities between Cuba and the Lone Star State. The goal, according to the Austin American-Statesman, is to promote the sale of Texas agricultural goods to Cubans. Other governors that have gone to Cuba on trade missions this year are Andrew Cuomo of New York, Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, Terry McAuliffe of Virginia. In announcing his Cuba trade mission trip last week, Abbott said in a statement quoted in the Houston Chronicle: "With a new era of eased trade and travel restrictions between the U.S. and Cuba and as the 12th-largest economy in the world Texas has an opportunity to capitalize and expand its economic footprint at home and abroad. Opening the door to business with Texas will expand free enterprise and the freedom that flows from it. I look forward to expanding business opportunities for both Texas and Cuba." Texas officials believe that a robust trade relationship with Cuba could bring the state revenues in the neighborhood of $57 million in new exports, the Chronicle said. Ultimately, however, it will take dramatically more easing, or altogether lifting, of remaining restrictions on trade and other exchanges between the two countries, the officials and business leaders say. "The key is cash, and right now the Cubans don't have much to spend," said Ernest Bezdek, the Port of Beaumont's director of trade development and member of the delegation, in an interview with the Chronicle. "But when the embargo is eventually lifted, when tourism is allowed, there will be millions and millions of dollars (that will) develop in additional trade. And Texas is in a good position to benefit tremendously from that." Abbotts trip to Cuba his second international trip, after Mexico in September includes a tour of Cubas Port of Mariel, meetings with Jose Luis Toledo Santander, president of the Constitutional Commission of the National Assembly of the Peoples Power, and with Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment, and the Cuba Chamber of Commerce, among others. Abbotts trip is seen as an example of the growing interest in the business opportunities of Cuba, especially given that he is a conservative Republican a group that has been staunchly against normalizing relations with the communist nation. The trip is scheduled to conclude Wednesday night. This is symbolically important, the Statesman quoted James Williams, president of Engage Cuba, a recently formed nonprofit advocacy group lobbying Congress to end travel and trade restrictions with Cuba, as saying. Theres nothing that says mainstream Republican Party, anti-Obama, anti-everything about his agenda than the governor of Texas. It means something. Opening trade with Cuba could be a watershed moment for Texas agricultural interests and its seaports, Williams said. The lifting of the embargo faces stiff opposition in Congress. Many in Congress opposed the Obama administrations surprise move last December to restore diplomatic relations with a nation critics say continues to oppress its people and refuses to take steps toward a democratic form of government. They say the easing of trade and travel restrictions that the Obama administration set in motion rewards the regime of Raul Castro and does little to make life better for everyday Cubans. Sebastian Arcos, associate director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University, said to the Statesman that increased business ties between the two countries will serve only the regime and strengthen it. Arcos said the Cuban regime continues to control every aspect of peoples lives with an iron fist. Theyre essentially being rewarded for misbehaving, Arcos said. Those who support normalizing relations, however, argue that the trade embargo that was in place for decades did nothing to end the dictatorship or improve the lives of Cubans, and that it is time to try a different approach. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump joked Monday that he may charge CNN for appearing in the next GOP primary debate but probably won't because he'd be called a "chicken." Trump bragged to about 5,000 backers Monday at a rally in Georgia that he's been a ratings boon for networks hosting the presidential forums. He suggested he would demand that CNN pay $5 million for him to appear in the next debate, scheduled for Dec. 15 in Las Vegas. Trump said he'd give the money to programs that help veterans. "So what will happen is they'll say, 'Oh, Trump is chicken,'" he said, delighting his audience with his well-practiced diatribe against political reporters and "talking heads." Trump flew to Georgia after meeting with dozens of black pastors in his Manhattan offices. Some of the pastors said they wanted to challenge Trump about his racially charged rhetoric, from his comments casting Mexican immigrants as "rapists" and "criminals" to his strident opposition to resettling Syrian war refugees in the United States. The candidate told his nearly all-white audience that the meeting in New York was "inspiring." "It was really terrific day," he said. Trump is trying to bolster his support among non-whites, a growing electoral force that helped propel President Barack Obama's two victories. Trump's rally Monday evening featured the endorsement of black Georgia Republican Bruce LeVell, who has served as GOP chairman in the suburban Atlanta county of Gwinett. Herman Cain, a black radio host who ran for president in 2012, was among those introducing Trump. As he often does at rallies, Trump boasted of his standing atop many GOP presidential preference polls. And he pledged to build a wide coalition. "I will win the Hispanics," he said. But some of Trump's loudest ovations from a crowd that included at least a few supporters wearing Confederate regalia came as he touted the same positions that prompted concern from some of the pastors he'd met with hours before. "Our borders are like sieves," he said. "People are just pouring in." He promised, again, that "we're gonna build a wall" and "Mexico is gonna pay for it." At another point, he boomed: "If you don't have borders, you don't have a country. I'm sorry. ... We've gotta get our country back, folks." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has spent much of his presidential campaign fighting for relevancy in a crowded GOP field that has seen him relegated to the bottom half of the polls. In the last few days, however, Christie has received better news by garnering the endorsement of the New Hampshire Union Leader the state's largest newspaper and seeing his poll numbers rise in the Granite state. This boost has appeared to give Christie his fighting spirit back as the New Jersey governor has gone after rivals, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, on their stances toward national security and their experience in office. In a frequently used gripe against Rubio, Christie said that the Florida lawmaker "doesn't have my experience." "You know, I've been through the fire here," Christie said, according to Politico. "I've been through the media fire, as you all know," he added. "I've been through the fire of dealing with what I lovingly call an unruly state to govern with Democratic majorities." According to the latest Quinnipiac poll, Rubio sits in second place with 17 percent behind front-runner Donald Trump, who pulled in 27 percent. Christie only garnered two percent. The New Jersey governor saved his harshest barbs, however, for Cruz he said the Texas senator "went for the easy political vote" when opposing the use of force in Syria in 2013. "He went for the easy political vote at a time when it looked like kind of a popular thing to do," Christie said. "With all of those dead Parisians, doesn't look so popular anymore." He added: "I'm the only person on that stage that's used the Patriot Act, I'm the only person on that stage that's used the FISA court, I'm the only person on that stage who has actually fought terrorism, knows how to use those tools and knows how to bring terrorism to heel." In his swing through New Hampshire this week, Christie continued his attacks on Cruz by saying that the U.S. intelligence community has been "demoralized by a president and certain members of Congress like Senator Paul and Senator Cruz who have worked against the intelligence community to make us less safe," The Hill reported. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Ted Cruz says the question follows him into the hallways of foreign capitals around the world. In whispered tones, heads of state pull the Texas senator and Republican candidate for president aside to ask: "Where is America?" "We need America," Cruz says they tell him. "The world doesn't work without America leading." And so if he's elected president next November, Cruz vows a dramatic shift in how America engages with the world. With fiery rhetoric befitting his hero status within the tea party movement, he condemns the foreign policy of President Barack Obama and his first secretary of state, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, as weak, ineffective and dangerous. Yet while promising to destroy the Islamic State, beat back aggression from Russia, China and Iran, and ensure extremists don't infiltrate the U.S. homeland, Cruz also places notable limits on his approach to national security. Cruz spoke with the Associated Press to share his views on national security and foreign affairs in an AP Conversation a series of extended interviews with the candidates to become the nation's 45th president. While Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is undoubtedly a "bad man," removing him from power would be "materially worse for U.S. national security interests." He is unwilling to send more U.S. ground forces into the Middle East and rejects the idea that torture can serve as an appropriate interrogation tool. "We can defend our nation and be strong and uphold our values," he says. "There is a reason the bad guys engage in torture. ISIS engages in torture. Iran engages in torture. America does not need to torture to protect ourselves." The 44-year-old first-term senator, trying to cement his place in the top tier of Republicans running for president, outlines a prospective foreign policy that is both broadly ambitious and cautious at times in the specifics. In an election increasingly focused on national security in the wake of the Paris attacks, however, Cruz says he has one goal above all others heading into 2016. "The pre-eminent job of the commander-in-chief is to keep this country safe," he says. "It is the first responsibility." Cruz says he would keep things "very simple" in taking on the Islamic State, the group of violent Islamic extremists who have taken control of parts of Syria and Iraq. "We win and they lose. And if I'm elected president, I will make unambiguously clear that we will destroy ISIS not weaken it, not degrade it, but utterly destroy it," he says, using one of the several acronyms for the group. While Cruz's goals are definitive, he is unwilling to go as far as several other Republican presidential contenders among them, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush who have said the battle against the Islamic State must include a U.S. force on the ground. Cruz lashed out against plans released by the Obama administration on Tuesday to deploy a new special operations force to the region, a move that puts U.S. combat troops in a more permanent role in Iraq and Syria for the first time in the fight against the Islamic State. He argues for a vast intensification of the Obama administration's existing air campaign, citing the "saturation bombing" of the first Gulf War in Iraq. "You may need some embedded special forces to direct that air power," Cruz says, "but not the way President Obama is doing it now, which his just sending our guys over there with no mission, no plan to win." As a second step, Cruz argues for directly arming the ethnic Kurds who are fighting Islamic State forces. "In a very real sense, the Kurds are our troops on the ground," he says. Pressed on what circumstances he may dispatch a more substantial U.S. ground force, Cruz demurs, saying only that such scenarios exist in situations affecting "vital U.S. national security interests." While conceding that Assad has "murdered hundreds of thousands of his own citizens" in Syria, Cruz is also a harsh critic of the Obama administration's desire to remove him from power. He notes with an eye toward the upcoming Republican primaries that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a presidential rival, also thinks Assad must go. The Middle East and the United States are better off with Assad in place, Cruz says. "If President Obama and Hillary Clinton and Sen. Rubio succeed in toppling Assad, the result will be the radical Islamic terrorist will take over Syria, that Syria will be controlled by ISIS, and that is materially worse for U.S. national security interests," he says. He doesn't stop there. In another example of the limits he would follow as president, Cruz argues the U.S. should not have supported the ouster of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. "If you topple a stable ruler, throw a Middle Eastern country into chaos and hand it over to radical Islamic terrorists, that hurts America," he said. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Come January, a small farming town in Idaho will see an all-Latino council, as well as its first Hispanic and female mayor. Yes, this is happening in Idaho. The town of Wilder, which is near the Idaho-Oregon border, has a population of 1,500 that is about 75 percent Hispanic. It is a quiet community characterized by fields of corn and beets. In November, voters elected city clerk Alicia Almazan as its mayor, replacing John Betchel, who held the post since 2004 and opted not to seek a fourth term. It is Almazans first elective office. Voters also gave the nod to two new Latino council members on the four-member governing body. One of them is Ismael Fernandez, who at 19 will become Wilder's youngest city council member once he takes office in January. Its very significant, said Margie Gonzalez, the executive director of Idahos Commission on Hispanic Affairs, in an interview with Fox News Latino. The growth of the Hispanic community in Idaho has been very dramatic. The Hispanic population in Idaho is between 12 and 13 percent. Wilders Latino political representation, Gonzalez said, is a milestone for the states Hispanics, who have had an under-representation in all levels of government. This is just a stepping stone, the beginning of having other communities step up and say Yes, we should have that of representation. Fernandez said he didn't expect to win, especially when four other candidates threw their hats into the race. However, the college freshman secured the most votes despite facing competition from candidates who were more experienced and older. "The Latino community does not have a history of being represented, especially in Idaho," Fernandez said. "I think I'm part of something more, something that spans outside of Idaho to a national level, by helping the Latino representation increase. I don't think I was elected because I am Latino, but it's hard to separate the two." "The city had been run by the same people throughout the years, and there hadn't been much change on the city council, he said. I hope to bring new ideas." Wilder's election results stand out because minority candidates don't always succeed in at-large voting systems as supposed to by-district voting, said Jaclyn Kettler, an assistant professor of political science at Boise State University. Latino candidates tend to be at an advantage in smaller city elections because the seats are non-partisan and don't always require a high number of votes to win, said Maria Mabbutt, a community activist from Idaho. Almazan ran for the mayoralty against current city councilman Robert Rivera. Almazan won with only 83 votes, or roughly 60 percent of the vote, and Rivera had 54 votes, or about 39 percent, according to the Idaho Press-Tribune. How did so many Latinos end up in Idaho? Gonzalez laughs knowingly at the question. Most of the time when I travel to other states, Im told people look at Idaho as being Little House on the Prairie. Latinos began living in Idaho in perceptible numbers as migrants decades ago to do farming work. Many would arrive from other states where they had worked on farms, work in Idaho for a season, and move on to work the fields in other states. Gonzalezs own parents were migrant workers who moved from state to state, following the jobs, before settling in Idaho, she said. Now the Latino population includes many who have made Idaho their permanent home. Nearly 70 percent of Idahos Latinos were born in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center. Just a third are foreign-born. Most Latinos, about 85 percent, in the state trace their roots to Mexico, Pew says. The Hispanic population has changed, Gonzalez said. Weve had many newcomers from California and other states, trying to get away from overgrowth. Idaho is very rural, it has a low crime rate, the cost of living is low. Its a good place where you can raise your family. That said, Latinos still face hurdles. The states infrastructure lacks the kind of services that many immigrants need, such as bilingual instruction, Gonzalez said. Its not always easy for Latinos, Gonzalez conceded. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A civil rights group on Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit challenging Alabama's photo voter ID law as an infringement on voting rights and an attempt to suppress the influence of black and Hispanic voters. The Greater Birmingham Ministries and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People filed the suit Wednesday in Birmingham federal court. Alabama's law requires voters to show a valid state-issued photo identification at the polls in order to vote. The law went into effect in the 2014 elections. "It is appalling that 60 years after Rosa Parks' courageous protest in Montgomery and 50 years after voting rights activists marched in Selma, the Alabama Legislature continues to pass laws that are designed to deprive people of color of their basic civil rights," said Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of NAACP Legal Defense Fund. The lawsuit is the latest attempt to roll back voter ID requirements implemented in Republican-controlled states. The U.S. Justice Department challenged photo identification requirements in North Carolina and Texas, and a federal appeals court in August found the Texas law to be discriminatory. States that have implemented the requirements say the measures are needed to curb voter fraud. Opponents, often Democrats, say the requirement presents a barrier to the ballot box for poor, minority and elderly voters. The lawsuit contends that Alabama politicians who created and backed the law knew that black and Latino voters "disproportionately lack the required photo ID." Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said his office will review the lawsuit. "Voting rights are important to every citizen, and it is imperative that every Alabamian who is eligible to vote have the ability to vote," Bentley said in a statement. "A photo ID protects the process of voting and ensures fair elections are held." The Alabama GOP-controlled Legislature in 2011 approved the photo identification requirement to begin with the 2014 primaries. However, the law was effectively on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court, in a case arising out of Alabama, freed mostly Southern states from the requirement to have all voting laws and changes pre-cleared by the U.S. Department of Justice. The Alabama law requires people to show a photo ID such as a valid driver's license, state-issued identification card, passport, student ID from a public university, or tribal or state employee ID. People who don't possess the identification can vote only if two election workers recognize them at the polls, or they can cast a provisional ballot which will be counted if they submit the required documents within the next few days. County registrars do make free IDs for voting purposes, but the lawsuit says getting that ID requires a person to have a birth certificate or other identification documents that older and low-income voters might not possess. Ifill said the organizations were compelled to take action a year after the law went into effect after the state earlier this year first closed, but dramatically then curtailed, driver's license office hours in rural counties, including counties with high numbers of African-Americans. The lawsuit says the problems are demonstrated in the case of a high school student, called "G.A." in the lawsuit. The Latina teen wants to register to vote, but the closest driver's license office is open one day per month, and her parents would have difficulty getting her to the next closest office, a 45-mile drive roundtrip, according to the lawsuit. Sixteen states in 2014 had photo identification requirements at the polls, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, although some are stricter than others. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that Republican rivals Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio would "slash" spending on projects to fix aging roads and bridges, urging Congress to pass a plan to rebuild the nation's transportation system. Appealing to a bellwether region in one of the nation's top swing states, Clinton promoted her plan to spend $275 billion to fix the nation's crumbling bridges, highways and airports, saying it would create tens of thousands of "good-paying" jobs in Florida and across the country. An additional $25 billion would fund a national infrastructure bank, reprising a proposal by President Barack Obama that has been blocked by congressional Republicans. The Democratic presidential candidate singled out Rubio, Florida's senator, and Cruz, the Texas senator whose campaign has gained momentum in Iowa, accusing them of opposing federal efforts to rebuild the nation's transportation system. "We've got Republican candidates for president who want to slash what we spend by 80 percent," Clinton said. "Ted Cruz has supported legislation to do that and I really don't understand it Marco Rubio followed right along. He wants to slash funding." Rick Tyler, a Cruz campaign spokesman, said Clinton's team "must be reading the same polls we are that show Cruz rising so it is not surprising she would attack. That's all she can do because she has no ideas of her own." Clinton said Florida has four of the nation's worst traffic bottlenecks and that Orlando commuters, for example, spend 46 hours a year behind the wheel because of traffic congestion. She also criticized Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who is serving his second term, for rejecting more than $2 billion in federal funding for a high-speed railway system in the state and for not expanding Medicaid under Obama's overhaul of the health care system. Clinton delivered her remarks before hundreds of enthusiastic supporters crowded into a gymnasium who waved signs in English and Spanish. The region is home to many Puerto Rican voters and Clinton, referring to it as "Puerto Rico's 79th municipality," said every presidential candidate should "give attention to Puerto Rico and should remind our fellow Americans Puerto Ricans are American citizens." The former secretary of state, who faces Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, has been looking to build strength beyond the leadoff contests of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. Clinton urged Florida voters to "make sure you're registered to vote, make sure you do vote on March the first," flubbing the date of the state's primary. Florida's primary will be held on March 15. The event was part of a two-day visit that includes a flurry of private fundraisers, from Miami to Jacksonville. It was her fourth visit to the coveted swing state. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram President Tran Dai Quang welcomed by leaders of Defence Ministrys National Defence Academy. (Source: VNA) He made the call during a ceremony in Hanoi on January 3rd to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Academys traditional day. The President stressed that the Academy needs to keep a good grasp of the situation, improve its strategic forecast capacity in order to provide timely advice to the Party, State, the Central Military Commission and the Defence Ministry on national defence and military issues. He also required the academy to pay more attention to summing up experience and research on military science to serve its training tasks, develop Vietnams own defence and military science and theory as well as provide scientific ground for the Party and States policies on national construction and defence. Over the past four decades, the National Defence Academy has trained tens of thousands officials, many of them are holding high-ranking positions in the Party, State and army. In external relations, it has offered 70 training courses to high-ranking officials from Laos, Cambodia, Cuba and other countries. The academy sent experts and scientists to the US, the Republic of Korea and Mozambique to give lectures, contributing to the Party and States defence external relations and improving Vietnams stature on international scene. On the occasion, the State awarded the Independence Order, first class, to the aacademy./. A visibly upset Lindsey Graham slammed his fellow GOP presidential hopefuls Thursday in a speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition, decrying many of his rivals' stances on issues like immigration. Following on the heels of a speech to the same group by firebrand Texas lawmaker Ted Cruz, the South Carolina senator's words took many in the Washington, D.C., audience by surprise. "How many of you believe we lose elections because we're not hard-ass enough on immigration?" Graham asked after taking the stage, according to the Hill. "I believe we're losing the Hispanic vote because they think we don't like them." Taking a shot a Cruz, who harped on getting the evangelical vote to come out on election day, Graham said, "It's not about turning out evangelical Christians but about repairing the damage done by incredibly hateful rhetoric [that's] driving a wall between us and the fastest growing demographic in America who should be Republicans." Graham, who sits at the bottom of the national polls despite two strong performances at the undercard debates, also lashed out at the GOP frontrunner. "I believe Donald Trump is destroying the Republican Party," Graham said. The South Carolina senator then took aim at the real estate tycoon's controversial stance on undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. "It's not self-deportation, it's forced deportation," Graham said. "We're going to round them all up?" "That is the leader of the Republican Party," he added, according to Time. "You think you are going to win an election with that kind of garbage?" Like his longtime friend and former GOP presidential nominee John McCain, Graham, who leans more moderate on social issues than many of his rivals, is still a hawk when it comes to national security and foreign policy. He used his time onstage in Washington to appeal to Jewish voters by calling for the immediate repeal of the Iran nuclear deal. He also stressed his continuing support for Israel. Then he made an appeal to the audience that referenced his sagging poll numbers. "I'm at 1 percent. The election is a long way away," he said. "Help me stay in this race." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Texas was the big winner in the 2010 census when it picked up four congressional seats, due mainly to growth in its Hispanic population. A Supreme Court case being argued Tuesday threatens to diminish Latinos' clout and benefit white, rural voters. Two voters in Texas are asking the court to order a drastic change in the way Texas and every other state divides their electoral districts. Rather than basing the maps on total population, including non-citizens and children who aren't old enough to vote, states must count only people who are eligible to vote, the challengers say. They argue that change is needed to carry out the true meaning of the principle of one person, one vote. They claim that taking account of total population can lead to vast differences in the number of voters in particular districts, along with corresponding differences in the power of those voters. A court ruling in their favor would shift more power to rural areas and away from urban districts in which there are large immigrant populations that are ineligible to vote because they are too young or not citizens. There's only one explanation for the court fight, said Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund. "The plaintiffs in Texas are interested in stemming the growth of Latino political power," he said. The legal challenge is being financed by Edward Blum, whose Project on Fair Representation also is behind a Texas affirmative action challenge that will be argued before the high court on Wednesday, as well as the lawsuit that led to the 2013 decision that wiped away a key element of the federal Voting Rights Act. A second case on Tuesday's agenda also involves the one-person, one-vote principle that the high court established in Reynolds v. Sims in 1964. The court held that a state's legislative districts must have roughly equal numbers of people. In a dispute from Arizona, the justices are weighing whether even small differences in population among districts are appropriate if they are done for partisan advantage or to comply with the now-nullified advance-approval requirement in the Voting Rights Act. Arizona voters who are challenging the decisions of an independent redistricting commission claim that Democrats benefited from the legislative district boundaries. The commission denies that its maps were drawn to benefit Democratic candidates and maintains that the Supreme Court has upheld small differences in population among districts. The Texas case poses a question the justices have never answered: Must states count everyone, or just eligible voters? The court also might say states can choose between them without violating the Constitution. The case brought by Texas residents Sue Evenwel and Edward Pfenninger highlights the difference in eligible voters in the mainly rural districts outside Houston where they live, and those in a downtown Houston district with equal population, but at least 170,000 fewer people eligible to vote. Evenwel and Pfenninger argue that gives urban voters more sway than they have. The only reference to population and political districts in the Constitution requires the use of the once-a-decade census as the basis for divvying up congressional districts among the states, said Stanford University law professor and political scientist Nathaniel Persily. He said the challengers are arguing that the only population count prescribed by the Constitution should not be allowed to be used to draw political districts. Demographers who support the challenge argue in court papers that other samplings of the population produce sufficiently detailed information that already is used in redistricting and focuses on the number of eligible voters. The annual American Community Survey reaches 3.5 million U.S. households each year and helps political line-drawers ensure that districts comply with the Voting Rights Act, said Peter Morrison, former director of the RAND Corp.'s Population Research Center, and other demographers. But Persily said that while that survey has useful information, it is too imprecise for use in redistricting. Two players who often end up on opposite sides of court disputes are allies in this case. Texas Republicans, who already dominate the state government using total population, are defending their political line-drawing, in part as the way it's been "done for decades." They are joined by the Obama administration. But the state and administration are seeking somewhat different outcomes. Texas wants the justices to rule that states can choose either total population or the number of eligible voters, a decision that could allow a change. The administration is urging a decision limited to upholding the use of total population, without ruling on any other method. The difference may be explained in terms of red and blue, said Ohio State University law professor Dan Tokaji. "Blue states will surely continue to draw districts based on total population, but we can expect red states to choose a narrower metric, one that diminishes the voting strength of minority communities and others with large non-voting populations," Tokaji said. While redistricting typically takes place just after the census, some states might not wait for the 2020 census and instead try to draw new maps that would be in place until the next census, he said. The case is Evenwel v. Abbott, 14-940. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador Todd Chapman says areas hardest hit by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on April 16 are getting a large amount of help, but are so devastated that they need much more. In an interview with Fox News Latino, Chapman, who assumed his ambassador post just this year, said that he has toured the areas left in shambles by the earthquake, the worst one to hit the Andean country since 1979, and saw great need for basic resources. While the humanitarian effort has been tremendous coming from the U.S. government and the Ecuadoran government, many governments and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) are working hard, theres still really a lot of need in the areas of food, water and shelter. The earthquake left nearly 700 people dead and thousands injured and homeless. Some people remain missing. Asked about a growing push in the United States for Ecuadorans here to be able to apply for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, which gives temporary reprieve from deportation to those who do not have permanent residency or U.S. citizenship, Chapman said that Ecuador has not requested such designation. Chapman said the United States is providing a broad range of assistance to Ecuador. He said that the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), which leads U.S. responses to disasters overseas, has sent experts to work with Ecuadorans to address water problems, sanitation, housing and food. The U.S., Chapman added, has sent a relief flight with more than 80 tons of material assistance that has gone to the Ecuadoran Red Cross. We responded to the government there in Ecuador, Chapman said, to provide them with assistance to help them improve the operations of the airport in Manta, which will likely receive much of the humanitarian assistance. U.S.-Ecuadoran relations have been topsy-turvy over the years, particularly under President Rafael Correa. The United States is Ecuadors lead trading partner, the diplomatic relations notwithstanding. Its economy has been troubled, and it has turned to China for financial assistance. Chapman dismissed the notion that U.S.-Ecuador relations are strained. The U.S. and Ecuador have had a very strong relationship for many years, both with the people and even government to government on select issues, Chapman said, adding that the estimated 1 million Ecuadorans living in the United States provide help, most through remittances. Ive met with the vice president of Ecuador, the foreign minister the channels of communication are open, Chapman said. Were committed to working together during this time of need. The nations new, all-Republican leadership begins to take power Tuesday with an ambitious agenda of tax cuts, regulation rollbacks and repeal of President Barack Obamas health law, but they face a complicated legislative path pocked with unresolved policy details. After new senators are sworn in Tuesday by Vice President Joe Biden, a symbol of the departing Democratic administration, and House members by GOP Speaker Paul Ryan, the Republicans among them plan to move quickly to turn back an era defined by Mr. Obamas ambitions to make the government a more powerful force in the economy. Republicans will hold the White House and both chambers of Congress for the first time since early 2007 once President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in Jan. 20, creating high expectations within the party that it can enact long-held policy goals. When Mr. Trump met recently with Sen. David Perdue (R., Ga.), all we talked about for the better part of an hour was how to get results in the first part of the year, Mr. Perdue recalled. One of the first goals for Republican leaders is to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. The Senates opening move, coming as soon as Tuesday, will be to initiate a controversial process to repeal parts of the law, which has brought health insurance to more than 19 million people but has taken a hit as the number of insurers offering coverage on the ACAs exchanges has shrunk and premiums have jumped. As with many of the Republican goals, the effort is creating a maze of challenges. The most pressing is how to develop a replacement for the 2010 health law without triggering the sort of disruptions that accompanied the laws rollout, which in turn contributed to the Democrats loss of their Senate majority in 2014. Many health insurers have stopped writing policies on the exchanges, leaving individual insurance markets struggling in some states, including GOP-leaning Arizona, Alaska and Tennessee. Some Republican lawmakers, whose votes will be crucial to any repeal plan, are worried a repeal would yank the rug out from under peoples coverage before a replacement is in effect. Republicans also know that a confirmation hearing for Rep. Tom Price (R., Ga.), nominated to serve as Health and Human Services secretary, will become an early focal point for debate over any repeal plan, given the congressmans years of working to replace the health laws mandates with tax credits for the purchase of insurance. CLICK TO READ MORE FROM WALL STREET JOURNAL. House Democrats joined Big Labor on Tuesday in voicing support for Donald Trump's push to renegotiate NAFTA and other trade deals -- while also vowing to hold the incoming Republican president to that campaign promise. Trump said he wants to fight for trade deals that put American workers first, and so do we, said Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio. We are going to give very strong support for rewriting NAFTA. The momentum for a new direction is very, very clear and growing. The Oregon congressman was joined by several other House Democrats and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in arguing that decades of unfair trade deals have eliminated millions of U.S. jobs. The press conference on Capitol Hill, held at the start of the 115th Congress, offered a glimpse at an area where Trump and Democrats could find common ground. Trump won the presidency in large part by appealing to disaffected Americans, including many across the Midwest who have lost good-paying manufacturing jobs and have been marginalized in the workforce. The Republican threatened to scrap NAFTA if Canada and Mexico do not come to the negotiating table. Trumka -- leader of the countrys largest trade union group -- said Tuesday he told Trump after his upset victory in November that hed be willing to work with him. Entire communities have lost their purpose and identity. And we have to fix that, said Trumka, whose union backed failed 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Working people are looking for a new way forward on trade ... and we have to begin today. Trumka outlined what he called several broad changes to NAFTA that include tougher trade enforcement and reworking labor agreements but later acknowledged, Frankly, every chapter should be improved. At the same time, the House Democrats rolled out their 21 Century Bill of Rights, which they called key principles for rewriting a host of international trade deals including NAFTA, which Clintons husband, President Bill Clinton, signed into law in the early-1990s. Trumka and House Democrats also boasted that they have essentially defeated the Obama administration-driven Trans Pacific Partnership pact and called for Trump to put an official end to the deal, along with reworking NAFTA with Canada and Mexico in his first 100 days in office. TPP is dead, said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, of Connecticut. However, she and others expressed concerns about working with Trump and about what he might do as president -- including whether he could get the GOP-controlled Congress and the so-called free traders among his Cabinet picks to go along with trade reform. And they raised concerns about whether his reworked deals would further protect U.S. workers and the environment. If he makes the workers lives or the environment worse, he will have a serious price to pay, said DeLauro, who joined her fellow Democrats in calls to hold Trump accountable. Damning emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman did not come from Russian hackers and the claim is being made to "delegitimize" Donald Trump, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told Fox News' Sean Hannity in an exclusive interview. Hannity sat down with Assange in London's Ecuadorian embassy, where the Australian native has been holed up for five years battling extradition to Sweden on unrelated charges. Part I of the interview is set to air Tuesday night at 10 p.m. on Fox News Channel's "Hannity." In excerpts released prior to airing, Assange is adamant that the hacked emails his organization released of Clinton official John Podesta did not come from Russia, as the Obama administration has claimed. We can say, we have said, repeatedly that over the last two months that our source is not the Russian government and it is not a state party, Assange said. More than 50,000 emails were released during the 2016 presidential campaign, exposing dubious practices at the Clinton Foundation, top journalists working closely with the Clinton campaign, key Clinton aides speaking derisively of Catholics and a top Democratic National Committee official providing debate questions to Clinton in advance. Hannity told Fox News' Bill Hemmer "I believe everything (Assange) said," and praised the Internet activist for his commitment to government transparency. Despite the Obama administrations claims that Russia was behind cyber-intrusions meant to interfere with the U.S. election and punitive measures taken against Moscow last week Assange said nobody associated with the Russian government gave his group the files. Watch part one of the Assange interview on Fox News Hannity Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET. Assange also noted that in recent statements from top administration offices including the FBI and White House, the word WikiLeaks was missing, even as the administration expelled Russian diplomats in retaliation for cyberattacks. Its very strange, he said. Some Republican critics have questioned what evidence the administration has to back up its Russia allegations, while others have applauded President Obama for moving to penalize Russia albeit months after the initial hacks. Asked if he thought Obama was lying to the American people about Russias actions, Assange said the president is acting like a lawyer with his allegations. If you look at most of his statements, he doesnt say that. He doesnt say that WikiLeaks obtained its information from Russia, worked with Russia, Assange said. But he said he believes the administration is trying to delegitimize the Trump administration as it goes into the White House. They are trying to say that President-elect Trump is not a legitimate president. Since Trumps victory over Hillary Clinton in November, Clintons allies have stepped up claims that the WikiLeaks email releases significantly damaged her candidacy particularly the leak of thousands of emails from Campaign Chairman John Podestas account. An earlier release of DNC emails over the summer led to the resignation of Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Asked if the emails changed the outcome of the election, Assange said: Who knows, its impossible to tell. But if it did, the accusation is that the true statements of Hillary Clinton and her campaign manager, John Podesta, and the DNC head Debbie Wasserman Schultz, their true statements is what changed the election. Conservatives worried about President Obama's plans for imposing so-called "midnight regulations" on his way out of the White House say they now have a new concern: Midnight litigation. As Obama works to secure his legacy in the final days of his administration, critics worry the outgoing president may saddle his successor with new federal legal action targeting U.S. businesses. A coalition of conservative groups warned that such a push may be in the works, in a recent letter to Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who leads the Donald Trump transition team. It has come to our attention that a number of Departments and independent agencies are working furiously behind closed doors to bring significant, legally tenuous litigation against American business interests before January 20, 2017, the letter reads. It goes on to appeal to the incoming administration to drop any such litigation immediately once Trump takes office. Should the Obama Administration bring non-routine, last minute, legally unorthodox midnight litigation, your Administration should not hesitate to withdraw immediately from that litigation, the letter says. The letter's co-signers include Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist, President of Frontiers for Freedom George Landrith, The Heartland Institute's Horace Cooper and dozens of other conservative voices. While the letter does not mention any specific lawsuits they believe the administration is looking to file, the warning comes as the Obama administration already is taking a slew of actions in its final weeks -- following GOP warnings about last-minute midnight regulations. In December, Obama ordered U.S.-owned waters in the Arctic Ocean and certain areas in the Atlantic Ocean placed "indefinitely" off-limits for future oil and gas leases, granted a record number of pardons and commutations for a single day, and killed off a once-mandatory registry for immigrant men from predominantly Muslim countries. On Thursday, Obama also announced a series of sanctions aimed at Russia over alleged interference in the U.S. election moves that Trump has opposed. Politico reported in November that the administration has eyed regulations on commodities speculation, air pollution from the oil industry and doctors Medicare drug payments as possible parts to a midnight flurry of regulation. Whether Obama agencies will turn next to a final wave of litigation remains to be seen. The New York Times reported last week that the Environmental Protection Agency is considering declaring Alaskan cities non-compliant with the Clean Air Act due to the widespread use of wood stoves a move that could lead to the cutoff of federal transportation funds. House Republicans concerned about a last-minute regulatory push by the administration in November passed the Midnight Rules Relief Act, which would make it easier to undo multiple regulations pushed through at the end of an administration. Republicans re-introduced that measure Tuesday. However, the letter to Pence notes that while existing law provides some protection against these for Congress, there is no similar protection against "midnight litigation," leaving it up to the administration itself to drop such legal action. In such circumstances, the new Administration should not be constrained by notions of deference and should not support suspect legal theories that could have devastating economic effects for decades to come, they wrote. Democratic strategist David Mercer argued that while there is no sign the administration is doing this, Obama has the right to do as he likes, as he is president until Jan. 20. "[Obama] has the right through the courts, through legislation or other means ... to put in place what he says as being in order in handing over peacefully the transition of government," Mercer said on FoxNews.com's "Strategy Room." Before he's even taken office, President-elect Donald Trump has proven to be quite the job creator. Ford Motor Company announced Tuesday it will cancel a $1.6 billion plant planned for Mexico and will instead invest $700 million in a Michigan assembly plant, directly tying the decision to pro-growth policies championed by President-elect Donald Trump. Instead of driving jobs and wealth away, AMERICA will become the world's great magnet for INNOVATION & JOB CREATION.https://t.co/siXrptsOrt Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 Trump had previously been critical of Fords plans to build in Mexico. After the announcement, Trump tweeted a link to a story about the Ford decision and then added in a subsequent message: "Instead of driving jobs and wealth away, AMERICA will become the world's great magnet for INNOVATION & JOB CREATION." Were doing this decision based on whats right for our business, Ford CEO Mark Fields told Neil Cavuto on Fox Business Network. As we think about the investments here in Michigan, as you can imagine, Neil, we look at a lot of factors as we make those. One of the factors that were looking at is a more positive U.S. manufacturing business environment under President-elect Trump and some of the pro-growth policies he said hes going to pursue. And so this is a vote of confidence. WATCH: FORD CEO MARK FIELDS ON FOX BUSINESS NETWORK Fields said Ford would have gone ahead with the decision whether or not Trump was elected president, however, he did say that he alerted both Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence ahead of the announcement on Tuesday. The Ford news was the latest in a string of pre-inauguration successes for Trump in the manufacturing sector. In early December, air conditioner and furnace maker Carrier agreed to stay in Indiana after weeks of negotiations headed by Pence. The decision reportedly saved about 700 jobs that would have been shifted to Mexico. Later in the month, wireless provider Sprint and Internet company OneWeb announced they would be adding thousands of jobs in the U.S. Both companies are controlled by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, who had previously met with Trump. Earlier Tuesday morning, Trump took aim at another auto giant: General Motors. "General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A. or pay big border tax!" Trump tweeted. GM, however, quickly pushed back on Trump's assertions. "GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, with a small number sold in the U.S." a statement said. The investment in the Flat Rock Assembly Plant is set to create 700 jobs, according to Fields. The money, which was taken from the $1.6 billion earmarked for the Mexico plant, will be used to open a new factory that will build high-tech autonomous and electric vehicles as well as the Mustang and Lincoln Continental, the company said in a press release. "I am thrilled that we have been able to secure additional UAW-Ford jobs for American workers," UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles said in the release. "The men and women of Flat Rock Assembly have shown a great commitment to manufacturing quality products, and we look forward to their continued success with a new generation of high-tech vehicles." Three Republican Senators introduced legislation Tuesday that would fulfill Americas commitment to Israel by relocating the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The move came just 12 days after the Obama administrations abstention from the U.N. Security Council vote to condemn Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada, along with with Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas introduced the Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and to relocate the U.S. embassy in an effort to remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected as they have been by Israel since 1967. Jerusalem is the eternal and undivided capital of Israel, Cruz said in a statement. Unfortunately, the Obama administrations vendetta against the Jewish state has been so vicious that to even utter this simple truth let alone the reality that Jerusalem is the appropriate venue for the American embassy in Israel- is shocking in some circles. Rubio said, it is time for Congress and the President-elect to eliminate the loophole that has allowed presidents in both parties to ignore U.S. law and delay our embassys rightful relocation to Jerusalem for over two decades. President-elect Donald Trump promised during the presidential campaign that his administration would move the Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem a position he shares with his nominee for Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, a New York bankruptcy lawyer. There is an international significance and there is a political significance here, Fox News contributor and Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton told Fox News. Trump will distinguish himself from other politicians: he made the commitment, and I think he will actually follow through with it. Bolton said that moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would actually be quite easy. He suggested temporarily making the consulate in Jerusalem the embassy, with an official diplomatic building to be constructed at a later date. It honors an important promise America made more than two decades ago but has yet to fulfill, Heller said. In 1995, Congress passed The Jerusalem Embassy and Relocation Act, which recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel by moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, but the promise has not been fulfilled in its 21 years. Hellers bill restricts funding for the State Department for fiscal year 2017 under the heading Embassy Security, Construction, and Maintenancesaying that not more than 50 percent of funding would be appropriated to the Department of State until the Secretary of State reports that the Embassy in Jerusalem has officially opened. It is finally time to cut through the double-speak and broken promises and do what Congress said we should do in 1995: formally move our embassy to the capital of our great ally Israel, Cruz said. The bill was introduced in the first session of the 115th Congress, which began Tuesday. Photo for illustration Compared to about 6-7 million tons of meat consumed every year, the volume of imported meat this year is not high. However, aiming to control the quality of imported bred products, as well as stabilize the domestic market, state management agencies should intensify technical barriers on these products. According to the Union of Producers and Employers of Meat Industry, over the past three years, the volume of meat imported from the EU to Vietnam increased 7.5 fold. With the Vietnam - EU free trade agreement, imports of the commodity from the market to Vietnam are expected to grow sharply in the near future./. A last-ditch effort for President Obama to try and punch Merrick Garland through to the Supreme Court to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia is unlikely. A new Congress starts at noon Tuesday and theres no active chatter that the Obama administration has anything in the works or is even contemplating a bizarre, extra-Constitutional power play. If nothing else, the concept is gaining attention in various legal, parliamentary and journalistic salons. There will be a five minute window between when the 114th Congress adjourns and when the 115th Congress convenes. This little window of opportunity could give Obama the unprecedented opportunity to make an intersession recess appointment, bypass the traditional confirmation process and install Garland on the Supreme Court. In 2014, the High Court ruled that the executive branch of government cant tell the legislative branch of government what it believes constitutes a Congressional recess. However, its clear that Congress is out of session between the 114th and 115th Congresses. President Teddy Roosevelt seized the short period between the two Congresses to make 168 appointments to various executive branch and judicial posts widely viewed as a remarkable power grab. The possibility of a Roosevelt-esque power play would be seen as foolish from a strategic standpoint, according to one Senate GOP leadership aide. "They would trade a short-term on SCOTUS, for a full-time, lifetime tenured seat on the DC Circuit. And that's assuming that SCOTUS would let it stand, the aide told Fox News. Thats a reference to the fact that recess appointments only last for a short period. Whereas, Garland is currently serving on arguably the most important court, save for the Supreme Court. And it is a lifetime opportunity unless Garland were to give it up for a chance on the higher court for a couple years. In other words, as a recess appointment, Garland would have to face Senate confirmation at some point. Also, incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, is a dealmaker. He has to work with the GOP majority. Schumer must also protect vulnerable Senate Democrats facing tough reelections this year. If the Democrats pull the Garland trick, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would shut off the tap to the Democrats. A stunt like this with Garland would be the thermonuclear option. Additionally, a move like this is something that no one on Capitol Hill is talking about. Its just not a topic of conversation. For their part, Senate Democrats are busy girding for heating confirmation battles as President-elect Trump prepares to take office. As for the legal ramifications, while there are experts who say such an "intersession" recess appointment could be legal, it's still quite arguable. Look back at the 2014 Supreme Court decision on recess appointments. The High Court struck down a series of Obama appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). It was a victory for the Senate GOP which brought the case. As a result, the Republican-run Senate has been very careful to hold "pro-forma" sessions every few days (where the Senate literally gavels in and gavels out after 20 to 30 seconds) to leave no gap under which a recess appointment could be valid. The NLRB case indicated that only if the Senate were gone for more than ten days could an administration consider the Senate as being "on recess." Thus, only then would a "recess appointment" be in order. That said, the Supreme Court's NLRB decision left a murky area when it comes to the brief period in between sessions of Congress. Regardless, the appointment would be challenged and tied up in the courts. Fox News Chad Pergram and Kara Rowland contributed to this report. President-elect Donald Trump said Monday that if Mayor Rahm Emanuel cant turn the tide on Chicago's soaring murder rate, Washington may need to step in. Trump, who frequently cited Chicagos violence during the presidential campaign, tweeted about The Windy City a day after the Chicago Police Department released year-end crime stats showing homicide numbers that dwarfed those of New York and Los Angeles combined. Chicago murder rate is record setting - 4,331 shooting victims with 762 murders in 2016. If Mayor can't do it he must ask for Federal help! Trump tweeted. Most of the Chicago statistics were grim, showing the nations third-largest city recorded 1,100 more shooting incidents than in 2015 and had homicides spike by 278 the largest increase in 60 years. CHICAGO'S BLOODIEST YEAR ENDS WITH 762 HOMICIDES Trump and Emanuel broached the topic of Chicagos surging violence during a Dec. 7 sit-down. While Emanuel later told reporters most of the meeting focused on immigration, infrastructure and education, he also acknowledged the two had talked about public safety. A spokesman for Emanuel released a statement Sunday, obtained by The Chicago Tribune, that alluded to the December meeting, but did not directly address Trumps call for possible federal intervention. As the president-elect knows from his conversation with the mayor, we agree the federal government has a strong role to play in public safety by funding summer jobs and prevention programming for at-risk youth, by holding the criminals who break our gun laws accountable for their crimes, by passing meaningful gun laws, and by building on the partnerships our police have with federal law enforcement, the statement from Adam Collins said. We are heartened he is taking this issue seriously and look forward to working with the new administration on these important efforts. Sundays tweet wasnt the first time Trump has taken a public swipe at Emanuels handling of the violence epidemic. During an August interview with Fox News' Bill OReilly on The OReilly Factor", Trump said Chicago's crime problem couldnt be solved because they dont have the right people in charge. When I was in Chicago, I got to meet a couple of very tough police, Trump said. I said, How do you stop this? How do you stop this? If you were put in charge to a specific person, do you think you could stop this? He said, Mr. Trump I would be able to stop it in one week, and I believed him 100 percent. On the campaign trail, Trump also backed the use of the controversial stop-and-frisk tactic, saying Chicago needs it. But they asked me about Chicago and I think stop-and-frisk with good strong, you know, good strong law and order, Trump said during a September event. But you have to do something. It cant continue the way its going. A wealthy motel owner was convicted Friday of traveling to eastern Europe to sexually assault impoverished boys in exchange for money and gifts. Anthony Mark Bianchi, 44, of North Wildwood, N.J., was found guilty of virtually all the charges he faced in federal court. Bianchi was convicted of having sex with or attempting to have sex with four boys on foreign soil, including in the isolated Moldovan village of Trebujeni, in exchange for money, food, liquor, trips and gifts. During the three-week trial, most of which was heard through translators, several Moldovan boys testified that Bianchi assaulted them in small boarding houses where he stayed during his trips. Mark Geragos, the high-profile lawyer representing Bianchi, said his client enjoyed traveling to offbeat destinations and had no ulterior motives for giving the boys gifts. He said prosecutors had insufficient evidence to support their allegations. He also told jurors that young witnesses gave conflicting statements or were "lying through their teeth" on the stand. A 4-star hotel and popular tourist destination in Haiti was toppled in Tuesday's devastating earthquake, with some 200 guests still missing, AFP reported Wednesday. Hotel Montana was one of many buildings in and around Port-au-Prince that collapsed after the 7.0-magnitude jolt crumbled structures in the impoverished Caribbean nation. French State Department official Alain Joyandet said the 98-year-old establishment is a popular destination for French tourists and French nationals working in Haiti. SLIDESHOW: Devastation in Haiti (Warning: Graphic) "We know there were 300 people inside the hotel when it collapsed, only around 100 have got out, which greatly concerns us," AFP quoted Joyandet. The 3-star Hotel Christopher, which served as headquarters of the United Nations Stabilization Mission to Haiti, also collapsed in the earthquake. Joyandet said around 60 French nationals were taking refuge in the French embassy in Port-au-Prince as more continued to arrive, according to AFP. The embassy and the ambassador's residence were both damaged but not destroyed in the quake. France sent two planes to Haiti on Wednesday with rescuers and humanitarian aid, Joyandet told AFP. He said the runway at the Port-au-Prince airport was in a condition to allow the two planes to land. Around 1,400 French nationals live in Haiti, with 1,200 of them located in the capital of Port-au-Prince, AFP reported. Facebook is courting controversy once again regarding its censorship policies. Not even historic sculptures are safe from the company's muddled guidelines with the social network now targeting an image of a sixteenth century nude statue of Neptune. Italian art historian and writer Elisa Barbari uploaded the photo of Neptune -- who can be seen atop his perch on the Fountain of Neptune in Bologna, Italy. However, when Barbari attempted to promote her Facebook page, the site objected to the photo, reports The Daily Telegraph. "The use of the image was not approved because it violates Facebook's guide lines on advertising," Facebook told Barbari. "It presents an image with content that is explicitly sexual and which shows to an excessive degree the body, concentrating unnecessarily on body parts. "The use of images or video of nude bodies or plunging necklines is not allowed, even if the use is for artistic or educational reasons." Whether it's a case of Facebook's machine learning object recognition software gone wrong or just another policy blunder on the company's part is as yet unknown. For now, it's safe to say that Barbari is not happy with the decision. Her Facebook cover image now includes the inscription: "Yes to Neptune, no to censorship." She adds in another post: "How can a work of art, our Neptune, be the subject of censorship?" A symbol of Bologna, the Fountain of Neptune overlooks Piazza Maggiore: the main square in the heart of the Italian city. The statue itself was created in the 1560s by Flemish sculptor Jean de Boulogne (also known by his nickname Giambologna).The trident Neptune is brandishing was later adopted by Italian car manufacturer Maserati as its symbol. It seems Facebook has learnt little from its past mistakes concerning censorship. In November, the site removed and then restored the photo of a Swedish fireman who suffered permanent facial scarring as the result of an explosion at an oil depot 35 years ago. Earlier in 2016, the company backtracked by reinstating an iconic Vietnam War photo after initially removing it and suspending the user who posted it. In both cases, a public backlash forced the company to apologize and alter its position. Update: Facebook has said that its censorship of the Neptune image was a mistake, according to a Guardian report. In a statement, the social network apologized for the error and said that the image does not violate its ad policies. Assisted living facilities and personal nurses aren't exactly cheap. And as the Baby Boomer generation ages, finding affordable means of helping people age in the comfort of their own homes could be good not just for seniors, but for their wallets, too. So IBM is working on a prototype bot that could become what Consumerist describes as a "robotic roommate." Built with sensors that can detect anything from change in motion to sounds and scents, the so-called IBM Multi-Purpose Eldercare Robot Assistant (MERA) could help track whether stove burners are on or the person has fallen. IBM has been developing the sensors alongside Rice University out of its Aging in Place lab in Austin, Texas, reports Business Insider. And while a senior technologist says there's a lot of work ahead before the robot will be brought to market, including sorting out how to customize a bot's knowledge of a person's home environment, health issues, and more, "in the near-term, it would be more of the ambient sensors in the home starting to gather all of this data." The prototype is already capable of reading facial expressions, capturing vital signs, and recognizing speech. Obvious markets include the US, which is home to more 100-year-olds (75,000) than any other country, and Japan, which is a third the size of the US but has 65,000 people over 100 and, as Business Insider reported earlier this fall, has broken its own record of most centenarians per capita for 46 years in a row. (The vast majority of people who reach 100 do this daily.) This article originally appeared on Newser: IBM Working on Bot to Help Elderly Age at Home The photographer who recently captured incredible aerial images of an isolated tribe in a remote region of Brazil has explained the story behind the remarkable pictures. Offering a rare glimpse into the life of a tribespeople living deep in the rainforest, the photos have generated plenty of buzz after their publication last month. The photos were taken in western Brazilian state of Acre, which is covered by the Amazon rainforest. Brazilian photographer Ricardo Stuckert told FoxNews.com that he was flying in a helicopter to visit and photograph tribes near Brazils border with Peru, when thunderstorms forced the pilot to make a detour. Suddenly we found ourselves flying directly over several thatched roofs carved into a very dense jungle, he explained, via email, adding that he was surprised to suddenly see the Indians below. INCREDIBLE PHOTOS OFFER GLIMPSE OF UNCONTACTED AMAZON TRIBE Things happened so fast, he said, explaining that he used a Canon camera to capture the remarkable images. Because of our decision not to be seen as a threat, we decided to fly at high altitude and to take pictures using a very powerful lens (800 mm). The images show the tribespeople responding to the surprise visitors with apparent alarm and preparing to shoot arrows at the helicopter. A thatched house called a Maloca was also captured on camera. These pictures show that it's possible to live in perfect harmony with nature, said Stuckert. They use ancient methods to cultivate land, fish, and hunt. They remind us of how we lived thousands of years ago. EYE IN THE SKY: TECH HELPS PROTECT ISOLATED AMAZON TRIBES The photographer was accompanied on the Dec. 18 helicopter flight by indigenous tribes expert Jose Carlos Meirelles, who told National Geographic that the tribe looked well fed and healthy. Meirelles also described the barrage of arrows fired by the indians as a healthy sign. Theyre messages, he told National Geographic. Those arrows mean 'Leave us in peace. Do not disturb. Despite their initial fear, however, the tribespeople reportedly responded with curiosity when the helicopter returned for another flyover a few hours later. Images of the same tribe garnered widespread attention when they were released by FUNAI, the Brazilian government Indian Affairs department, in 2008, National Geographic reports. WORLD'S TALLEST TROPICAL TREE IS TALLER THAN THE STATUE OF LIBERTY While the state of Acre protects its rainforests and the tribespeople that live in them, illegal loggers, gold prospectors and drug traffickers are said to pose dangers to indigenous people living on Brazils remote border with Peru. Disease is another major risk. They are very sensitive to non-indigenous diseases and therefore, any direct contact with outsiders would certainly be fatal, said Stuckert. Aerial images released in November offered a rare glimpse of another isolated tribe in Brazil. The photos revealed a village in northern Brazils remote Yanomami indigenous territory that is estimated to be home to around 100 people. However, experts warned that the tribe, which lives close to Brazils border with Venezuela, could be in danger of being wiped out. The Brazilian government recently told FoxNews.com that it is using satellite technology and aerial imagery to monitor and help protect isolated Amazonian tribes. Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers United Airlines is investigating how a baggage handler became locked inside the cargo hold of a plane at Charlotte Douglas International Airport on New Year's Day. Reginald Gaskin, an airport luggage handler, was working at the Charlotte hub Sunday when he somehow became trapped in the cargo hold of United Express flight 6060, operated by Mesa Airlines. Unable to escape, Gaskin spent the entire flight to Dulles International Airport in WashingtonD.C., (a journey of about an hour and twenty minutes) in the cargo area, reports Fox 5. AIRLINE CREWS EXPOSE 7 HORRORS PASSENGERS WILL WISH THEY DIDN'T KNOW The incident has since been ruled as a accident but was initially investigated as a potential security threat after the baggage handler could be heard saying in an audio recording among dispatch workers that he had forgotten his airport identification. Initially, no members of the flight crew recognized or remembered seeing the trapped worker, prompting further security concerns that a stowaway may have snuck aboard the plane. United was later able to verify the man's identity as a Charlotte airport vendor and released a statement: "United Express flight 6060 operated by Mesa Airlines from Charlotte Douglas to Washington-Dulles (IAD) landed safely at IAD yesterday. Once at the gate, an employee of the airline's ground handling vendor was found unharmed in the aircraft's cargo hold. We are looking into what happened." FOR THE LATEST TRAVEL FEATURES FOLLOW FOX LIFESTYLE ON FACEBOOK According to Fox 5, the baggage handler reportedly works for G2 Secure Staff--a company that provides aircraft ground handling and ramp services. Upon landing in the nation's capital, Gaskin appeared to be unharmed and refused a medical examination. A United Airlines representative was not immediately available for comment. More from Fox 5 DC. Will President-elect Donald Trump have a swift impact on borders and tourism in the new year? We turned to some of our most trusted travel specialists for their perspective. The End of Cuba Trips? "Cuba is a big destination for us and President-Elect Trump has already threatened to terminate the U.S.-Cuba deal. This threat has already [led to] an increase in inquiries from our U.S. clients keen to book and go while relations have eased. India has also seen an uplift since the elections, especially with the family market with a huge surge for this Christmas and New Year." Henrietta Loyd of Cazenove & Loyd First Hotelier-in-Chief "While Donald Trump presents an amazing opportunity for our industry as the first hotelier to become president, the biggest issue we predict will be hostility from other countries toward Americans if Mr. Trump leads us into an inside-focused, nationalistic era. There is already talk of pushback in reforms with respect to Cuba and strife with China." Jack Ezon of Ovation Vacations More from Conde Nast Traveler The 30 Most Terrifying Places on Earth The Friendliest and Unfriendliest Cities Around the World The Best Small Towns in America The Most Beautiful Travel Destinations of All Time U.S. Tourism May Drop, and Airfares May Rise "At a top level, President-Elect Trump ran on limiting the movement of people and goods. That's not good for travel. In the short-term the world sees the U.S. as less open to tourism and immigration. Meanwhile United, American, and Delta [could] capitalize on Trumps protectionism [if the government] limits flights to the U.S. by Emirates, Etihad, and Qatarreducing consumer choice and raising airfares. "Trump has spoken very little directly regarding transportation policy. He's appointed a fairly establishment secretary of transportation in Elaine Chaoa former deputy secretary and former labor secretary married to a Senator [Mitch McConnell]. He's spoken in favor of major infrastructure investment that would imply upgrades to airports many years from now. Uncertainty surrounding U.S. relations with Cuba could delay investment there." Gary Leff of Book Your Award Travelers Should Have a Back-Up Plan "Our associated on-site offices are deeply concerned. The fear is that Trumps actions will be seen as racist and directed specifically toward Muslims. Exclusionary policies will be particularly harmfulthe thinking is that if Muslims are restricted in their ability to visit the U.S., [comparable] actions may be taken against American tourists visiting other countries. Travel planners would do well to have a back-up plan emphasizing exciting travel within the U.S." Richard Turen of Churchill & Turen Check out more ways travel could change under Donald Trump's presidency. United Airlines says a San Francisco-bound flight was diverted to New Zealand because of a passenger who failed to follow crew instructions. Passenger Neil Kay tells KNTV-TV (http://bit.ly/2hNn7zy ) that the disruptive passenger used misogynistic and homophobic slurs. Kay posted photos and videos on Facebook of the unnamed American man verbally harassing passengers and flight crew during a New Year's Day flight from Sydney to San Francisco. United spokeswoman Erin Benson says the flight was diverted to Auckland. The airline says the man was arrested in there on Sunday. According to KNTV, the man will not be charged but will remain in custody until arrangements are made for his trip back to the U.S. ___ Information from: KNTV-TV. Photo for illustration According to Pham Viet Huong, Deputy Head of the Overseas Laborer Management Department under the Ministry of Labor, War-Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), in 2016, 126,296 Vietnamese went to work abroad, exceeding the plan by 26.69% of the plan, and accounting for 108.89% against 2015. This was the third successive year the number of Vietnamese guest workers exceeded the number 100,000 per year, he said. He added that it was convenient to send Vietnamese to traditional markets, notably to the Republic of Korea when the market had re-opened its doors for Vietnam after four years. In 2016, nearly 8,500 laborers went to the RoK based on the Employment Permit System (EPS) program, while 2,100 laborers were chosen to for introduction to Korean employers to work in the manufacturing industry and 1,300 to work in the fisheries sector in the first half of 2017. Earlier, Vietnamese trainees were received by Japan to work mainly in mechanics, electronics and textile and garment. However, in 2016, Japan received Vietnamese laborers in almost industries, including construction, mechanics, agriculture, food processing, textile and garment, with sharp increase in the demand of for laborers working in the construction, agriculture and food processing. Last year, 37,000 Vietnamese laborers went to work in Japan, presenting 31% of Vietnamese guest workers. In 2017, Vietnam plans to send 105,000 laborers to work abroad, mainly to the Japanese, Korean and Chinas Taiwanese markets. In particular, new markets like Thailand and Australia will open for Vietnam after labor cooperation deals went go into effect. In addition, the German and Japanese markets will continue to receive Vietnamese nurses based on signed programs. According to the Overseas Laborer Management Department, in 2017, the Department will focus on protecting the legitimate rights and interests of guest workers, and increasing the quality of guest workers./. The U.S. Customs and Border Protections processing systems were back online late Monday after experiencing an outage that lasted about four hours across various airports creating widespread delays and frustrated travelers. The agency said it took immediate action to address the issue and officers were still processing international travelers using alternate procedures at airports experiencing problems. Travelers at some ports of entry experienced longer than usual wait times as CBP officers processed travelers as quickly as possible while maintaining the highest levels of security, the agency said in a statement. Officers still had access to national security databases and all travelers were screened according to security standards during the outage, the CBP said. The outage didnt appear to be malicious, the agency said. In Atlanta, CBP public affairs officer Robert Brisley said the outage at the city's airport lasted about an hour from late afternoon into early evening. He said that officers were working to recover quickly afterward but even short outages can lead to backups at the airport, one of the world's busiest. He said the agency apologizes to travelers who were delayed getting into the country after long flights. Significant delays were also seen in South Florida and Boston. @AmericanAir feeling a warm welcome here in Miami. Standstill at the passport control, and we've barely moved for half an hour. Please help! pic.twitter.com/gmKqPdWCDU Carlos Rico (@carlosrico011) January 2, 2017 PLEASE SHARE: Boston Logan airport total gridlock. ICE computers down since 5pm. Huge lines, no movement. @annafifield @motokorich pic.twitter.com/KWwhtC1fpH Theodore Gilman (@TheodoreGilman) January 2, 2017 Fox News Matthew Dean and the Associated Press contributed to this report. A crane operator faces trial on manslaughter charges in the 2014 deaths of his son and another worker at a Northern California bridge construction site. Mark Powell was arraigned last month in Yolo County Superior Court on charges of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of Marcus Zane Powell, 25, and pile driver Glenn Allen Hodgson, 49, The Sacramento Bee reported Sunday (http://bit.ly/2ivJpTF). The two men plunged 80 feet to their deaths May 30, 2014 when the basket carrying them broke free from a crane that was not certified for lifting, according to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health. Mark Powell was operating the crane to repair another crane being used as a drill rig in the construction of the Winters Road Bridge over Putah Creek that connects Yolo and Solano counties. Disney Construction Inc., based in Burlingame, California, was fined more than $100,000 for workplace violations for the fatal incident. Powell also faces two felony counts of violating occupational safety or health standards causing death. He was scheduled to return to a Woodland courtroom Feb. 28 for a trial-setting conference. A widely shared story claiming convicted Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof was raped in jail is not true. The undated story appears on the website nymeta.co. It claims Roof was assaulted by two black inmates in his cell and taken to the hospital. Charleston County Sheriff's Maj. Eric Watson told The Associated Press on Tuesday his office has been battling the fake story for about a year. Roof, a white man who is being held in solitary confinement for his own protection, was assaulted last year when a black inmate got through an unlocked cell door to reach him. Roof's face and back were bruised. Watson says that's the only time Roof has been hurt in jail. Roof's sentencing in the slayings of nine black parishioners is this week. He faces a possible death sentence. Surveyors plunged a pole into the Sierra Nevada snowpack on Tuesday and took the first manual measurement of the wet season, finding water content was about half of normal as California flirts with a possible sixth year of drought. Surveyors took the reading at 6,000 feet near Lake Tahoe as major cold and windy storms were expected to dump four to five feet of snow through Thursday in areas above 4,500 feet in Northern and Central California, while mountain areas below that could get two to three feet, forecasters said. The storms were expected to boost the snowpack that provides roughly a third of California's water in normal years for drinking, farming and wildlife when it melts in warm, dry months. What surveyors find between now and April 1 will guide state water officials in managing the water supply of the nation's most populous, agriculture-rich state. Electronic monitors at elevations throughout the Sierra in late December showed the overall snowpack with 72 percent water content. At Tuesday's reading at Phillips Station, the water content measured at 53 percent of normal, said Frank Gehrke, chief snow surveyor at the state Department of Water Resources. Despite the lower water-content level, he called it a good start because higher elevations were doing better. He also took the survey at an elevation below the snowline for December's storms. A year ago, the snowpack was slightly above normal levels, but Gehrke recalled that the rain and snow essentially stopped in February and March, leaving the state at a nearly average year for precipitation on April 1. "This year, it looks like (storms are) lined up off the coast and will continue to increase the snowpack," Gehrke said as he stood on about three feet of snow. Elsewhere, rain was expected starting Tuesday afternoon throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Winter storm advisories will go into effect from 4 a.m. Wednesday until 4 a.m. Thursday, said Bob Benjamin, a National Weather Service forecaster. Avalanche alerts were issued for high elevations and flooding was possible in the foothills. A second, stronger system was expected to hit the region over the weekend, bringing the possibility of as much as five additional feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada. "It looks like it's going to be wet all week, and possibly into next week," Benjamin said. Southern California, which has remained relatively dry in recent months, was expected to see light showers this week, forecasters said. At the height of the drought in 2015, snowpack surveyors stood on a dirt patch for the April 1 measurement at Phillips Station, finding the least snow since records had been taken in 1950. Gov. Jerry Brown responded by ordering residents statewide to use 25 percent less water, letting lawns turn brown or tearing them out and flushing toilets less often. The drought eased last year and so did regulations. In February, the state water board will again consider the conditions and decide whether the state needs to take a stronger stand on conservation. "If the skies dry up, we'll be looking at something different," board chair Felicia Marcus said. "We're playing this one moment to moment." This winter started strong. More rain fell in October than in the same month over the past three decades, raising the state's major reservoirs in Northern California along with hopes that the drought would soon end. Doug Carlson, a spokesman for the state's Department of Water Resources, said it is too early to predict if the wet weather will end the drought. "It could change immediately and stop snowing and raining," he said. The dog reported to have attacked its owner after she tried to dress it in a sweater has been euthanized according to the Hillsborough County Pete Resource Center. Tampa police said the dog's owner, Brenda Guerrero was attacked by the dog, named Scarface, when she tried to dress the dog. Her husband, Ismael ran outside to help, and the dog attacked him too. That's when their son stepped in, stabbing Scarface in the head and neck. The Pet Resource Center said the dog's wounds were a contributing factor to the decision to euthanize the animal. Police and Animal Control officers came and captured the dog. Brenda was seriously hurt, but is expected to recover. Click for more from Fox13News.com. Chicago ended 2016 with more homicides than New York and Los Angeles combined and the citys former top cop is blaming the Black Lives Matter movement for contributing to the staggering tally. CHICAGO RECORDS RECORD 762 HOMICIDES IN 2016 Garry McCarthy, the former superintendent of the Chicago Police Dept., said protesters had created a political atmosphere of anti-police sentiment, helping lead to the 762 homicides recorded in the last year. So whats happening, and this is ironic, is that a movement with the goal of saving black lives at this point is getting black lives taken, because 80 percent of our murder victims here in Chicago are male blacks, McCarthy said on The Cats Roundtable radio show on Sunday. BLOODY CHRISTMAS WEEKEND: MORE THAN 40 SHOT, 11 KILLED IN CHICAGO McCarthy, who was fired in 2015 amid controversy over his handling of the Laquan McDonald shooting, said activism was legitimizing a belief in non-compliance. The majority of the 3,550 shooting incidents in Chicago in 2016 occurred in mostly black areas and revolved around gang activity. More than 80 percent of victims in these episodes had been previously identified by cops as susceptible due to gang ties or a past arrest. Chicago is probably the worst example of something that has happened across the country, McCarthy said. DeRay Mckesson, a Black Lives Matter leader, told the New York Daily News that controversial police shootings like that of McDonald bore more responsibility for the uptick in violence than protests did. The movement began as a call to end violence and that call remains true today, Mckesson said. A former Utah politician was found safe Monday after getting stuck while coming back from a New Years Eve run, police said. St. George police say Chad Bennion had driven out to an area called Slaughter Creek near the Nevada Border. After he was finished with his run, he began driving back and got lost on a side road. St. George police Sgt. Dave Williams said Bennion found himself at a dead end in a box canyon and his car became stuck in the mud. Williams said at that point Bennion thought it would be better to hunker down for the night. Bennion couldnt get his car unstuck the next day either. After a second night, he decided to hike out and he eventually found a hunter who was scouting for mountain lions, Fox 13 Now reported. The hunter was able to tow Bennion cars out to help him get to his family. Williams said Bennion was in good condition and had enough food and other essentials in his car. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Bennion was an elite runner in the 1990s and sought to run for the U.S. Olympic Team in the 1992 Games in Barcelona. He finished 14th in trials. Bennion had represented several parts of Utah in the state Legislature from 1999 to 2005. He won a Salt Lake County election to become the countys Republican Party chairman in 2013. Bennion resigned from his position in 2014 after he was charged with six misdemeanor counts of domestic violence in an altercation with his then-wife, who he was about to divorce. The case was resolved after pleading abeyance to a disorderly conduct count and agreeing to take an anger management class, according to court records. The rest of the charges were dismissed. Click for more from Fox 13 Now. The severe storms that spawned tornadoes and killed at least five people across the Southeast Monday triggered more damage than many home and business owners were expecting, and starting a recovery process that could drag on for years. "Didn't expect to see what I saw. Sure I expected something to be torn up but I didn't expect this," Billy Miller, whose barn in Mt. Olive, Miss., was leveled by the storms, told Fox News on Tuesday. "It's a slow process. It's gonna take a year or two years to get done. I'm just glad no one was hurt, that's it," Miller said. The state saw at least two confirmed tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service, which reported that the final numbers could still change. FOX NEWS SEVERE WEATHER CENTER Four people were killed Monday when a tree fell on their mobile home in Rehobeth, Alabama, Dothan Houston County Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Kris Ware said. Ware added that most of the damage was in Rehobeth as winds damaged carports and other buildings, according to AL.com. The National Weather Service had issued a tornado warning for Houston County in the southern part of the state Monday. Local media reported that emergency officials advised residents to stay in the homes and assess damage later in the morning. SOUTH BRACING FOR MORE SEVERE STORMS, RAIN Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said in a statement on social media that the Houston County sheriff had told him about the deaths and he offered "prayers for those impacted." A man was found dead outside his Florida home in what authorities called an accidental drowning. The Walton County Sheriffs Office identified the man as 70-year-old William Patrick Corley. Authorities said Corley was found with his body floating face down and his car partially submerged in water. Damaged buildings and a downed transformer appeared Tuesday along U.S. Highway 49 in Mendenhall, Miss., southeast of Jackson, just some of the aftermath across much of the state. A row of chicken houses in Mount Olive, Miss. were severely damaged by the storm front, killing many of the animals inside, the owner of the farm told Fox News. State emergency officials reported no injuries or deaths in Louisiana and Mississippi, but a trip to Wal-Mart was memorable for some shoppers in Marksville, Louisiana, as severe weather blew out skylights in the store, sending water and glass cascading onto shoppers. Marksville Fire Chief Jerry Bordelon said a fireworks stand in the Wal-Mart parking lot was tossed 30 or 40 yards and mangled. The storm also knocked over 18-wheel truck trailers and punched holes in the Wal-Mart's roof. The fire department ordered shoppers to leave the store, but some didn't want to leave even as managers closed it. "Believe it or not, we had some people in there who were still trying to shop," Bordelon said. Storms ripped through central Mississippi near Mendenhall and Mount Olive. Those storms were determined to produce tornadoes by the National Weather Service. The storms damaged farm buildings and homes. Other possible tornadoes will be surveyed later. Tens of thousands lost power in Louisiana and Mississippi at the height of the storm, according to utilities. Freddie Zeigler, a meteorologist in the Weather Service's New Orleans office, said heavy winds were preceding the squall line, possibly contributing to power outages. It was the second episode of heavy rain within days for some areas. An area stretching from Biloxi, Mississippi, through Alabama and across Macon and Augusta, Georgia received more than 4 inches of rain Monday, according to radar estimates. Parts of southern Mississippi and southwest Alabama have received more than 8 inches of rain since Saturday. Though rivers along the Gulf Coast were rising rapidly Monday, only minor flooding was predicted. Fox News Multimedia Reporter Willie James Inman in Mississippi and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Deputies have shot a male in the parking lot of North Cypress Medical Center in Cypress, Texas, the Harris County Sheriff's Office has confirmed. Someone who was in the emergency room of the facility started to express anger at the wait time, walked from out of the room into the lobby and fired his pistol, according to HCSO. No one was harmed from the gunshot. ROUND-THE-CLOCK MANHUNT ON FOR EX-ARMY RESERVIST WHO ESCAPED RHODE ISLAND DETENTION CENTER The person with the gun then walked outside where two off-duty deputies confronted him. The deputies ordered the male to lay down his weapon, but he instead aimed the pistol toward the deputies, which forced them to fire their weapons toward him. The male who was shot suffered several wounds and was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Click for more from Fox 26. An upscale New Jersey town violated anti-discrimination laws by insisting that a proposed mosque have more parking spaces than churches or synagogues because of its unique worship times and traditions, a federal judge has ruled. The ruling issued Saturday by U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp stated that Bernards Township violated the Religious Land Use and Institutional Persons Act by applying a different standard to Muslims. Shipp found the township's planning board had "unbridled and unconstitutional discretion" because of its vague parking requirements. The Islamic Society's application to build the mosque was denied after more than three years and 39 public hearings. The group sued the township in March. The Islamic Society's attorney, Adeel Mangi, had argued that parking requirements were the tool municipalities used to thwart construction of mosques. "This truly is a landmark ruling with national impact," Mangi told NJ.com. Bernards Mayor Carol Bianchi issued a statement criticizing the judge's ruling. The town had argued that it was completely appropriate to insist a mosque provide more off-street parking than a comparably sized church or synagogue because of its unique worship times and traditions. "The Township vehemently disagrees with the court's decision and awaits a full analysis of the 57-page decision by its attorneys, who only learned of the decision on New Year's Day," the statement said. "The Township will consider how to best move forward including appealing the decision when ripe for appeal." The mosque has said its peak worship time was likely Friday afternoon prayers. Township planners determined that because congregants would most likely be arriving straight from work, every worshipper would require a parking space. Shipp, though, noted that the township had not conducted individual assessments of worship habits when churches or synagogues came before its boards. By its own admission, the town applied a different standard to Muslims, he wrote. Shipp did not take into account the sentiments expressed in emails from township officials that were revealed in documents filed in the case, Mangi noted. In those, officials disparaged the Islamic Society's president, former mayor Mohammed Ali Chaudry, and passed around jokes calling President Barack Obama a Muslim. A sheriffs officer in Michigan claimed a female superior sexually harassed him again and again, in a new lawsuit aimed not at the woman but at his employer. ROUND-THE-CLOCK MANHUNT ON FOR EX-ARMY RESERVIST WHO ESCAPED RHODE ISLAND DETENTION CENTER Wayne County Sheriffs Officer Philip Kozlowski, 53, said when he tried complaining about the abuse, other supervisors laughed at him and a co-worker told him to take one for the team, The Detroit Free Press reported. That's one of the problems you have in these reverse cases. A lot of men might think, Well, where's the harassment? Kozlowskis attorney, Scott Batey, said. PHILADELPHIA POLICE INVESTIGATE VIDEO OF OFFICER FIGHTING TEEN The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit, contains a bevy of scandalous alleged details and quotes attributed to the female superior. The woman once locked herself in an office to be alone with Kozlowski, according to the lawsuit. Kozlowski also claimed she lobbed raunchy comments at him, such as: "Did you see '50 Shades of Grey'? I bet you are just like him in bed." In addition, she suggested he get his wife drunk so the three could have sex, the lawsuit stated. The sheriff's office declined comment. Kozlowski first filed a written complaint on Oct. 24, 2015; however, he said his superior turned the tables, accusing him of sexual assault. Though he was never charged with a crime, Kozlowski was eventually demoted. Its been devastating to his career, Batey told The Free Press. The very fact that he had to file a lawsuit is devastating to his career. What a lot of employers don't get is that they can have an employee who is harassing someone, and all they have to do is take prompt remedial actions and stop it. Click for more from The Detroit Free Press. Carjackings, robberies and non-fatal shootings dropped in Detroit in 2016, while the number of homicides in the city edged up by seven, according to figures from the police department. The preliminary numbers were released Tuesday to The Associated Press and show that aggravated assaults, burglaries and larcenies also were down. Seven more homicides were committed and Detroit still has one of the highest murder rates in the country, but the city did not see the drastic spike that Chicago reported and some other cities experienced last year. "We're finally making that turn," Police Chief James Craig said about Detroit's overall crime numbers going down. "We're continuing to make steady progress. People are saying something is changing in Detroit and 'I feel safer.'" There were 150 fewer carjackings. Non-fatal shootings dipped by more than 70 to 958. "A non-fatal shooting is nothing more than an unsuccessful homicide," Craig said. Detroit earned the nickname "Murder City" after 714 homicides were committed in 1974. The 295 committed two years ago was the city's lowest since 1967, when 281 homicides were recorded. In 2016, there were 302 homicides in Detroit. Chicago had 762 homicides it's most in two decades. Memphis, Tennessee, set a city record in early December when its homicide total hit 214 for the year. Homicides in Louisville, Kentucky, rose from 79 in 2015 to at least 113 last year. Craig credits an improving relationship with Detroit residents and businesses, as well as the improved morale of police officers as helping to drive the numbers down. Craig calls the lower numbers "progress, absolutely," but he's not waving "the flag of success." Betty Smith, 65, has seen a difference. "I feel safe. I don't fear out here," Smith said Tuesday afternoon while walking to her home just east of downtown. "I feel the police are doing the best they can do." But Kenneth Reed said the police department's numbers don't tell the whole story. Reed is a spokesman for a watchdog group called the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality. "People are still getting carjacked. Delivery drivers are being shot in their vehicles," Reed said. "The perception may be a little safer in some areas, but out here on Mack and Garland that's not the case," said Reed, referring to a Detroit neighborhood. "On Greenfield and West Chicago they don't feel that way. A lot of people don't feel secure standing at a bus stop." More than a year before a man in Texas was charged with murdering his ex-wife, court documents obtained by Fox 26 News showed the pair had filed restraining orders against each other. WOMAN ONCE ACCUSED OF FAKING ABDUCTION DEFENDS HERSELF TO ONLINE HARASSERS Anne Christine Johnson's body turned up in a garage inside the home of her ex, Shaun Philip Hardy, in League City, according to investigators. Police arrested him last Friday. On June 19th, 2015, Hardy filed a protective order against Johnson, protecting him from her, as well as their son. The couple divorced on April 5th, just a few months before. WOUNDED HOMEOWNER WHO KILLED HOME INVASION SUSPECT 'ACTED ACCORDINGLY,' POLICE SAY In Hardys affidavit he claims Johnson came over for a night of visitation with their son and that at one point after she had been drinking she would not leave and pushed him. Hardy says she picked up a hunting knife and pointed it at him and says, she told me she could kill herself and people would think I did it. Hardy also says at one point Johnson was in a closet holding a shotgun and that the safety was engaged. He says the gun was unloaded and that she was holding it like a bat. He then goes to say he was in fear of his life and his son's life. He even says at one point Anne Christine Johnson stabbed the bed their son was asleep on. After seeing this Hardy says he responded aggressively and engaged in a physical fight with Johnson, which caused her to leave. On the 30th of that month Anne Christine Johnson filed a protective order against Hardy. In her affidavit she says in the five years the couple was together Hardy physically hurt her, was verbally abusive and that he made threats against her. She says at one point he assaulted her with a shotgun, threatened her and choked her. Johnson also claimed the night or the argument Hardy shoved her to the ground, got a shotgun, loaded it and pointed it at her. Johnson even says that Shaun rammed his own head into a wall and told her, he was going to put me to sleep, put me in the bathroom and slit my wrists so that it looked like suicide. Fox 26 News spoke to Anne Christine Johnson's mother Stephanie who says that she was often in fear of her daughters life. Click for more from Fox 26. Search teams spotted a child's body in an icy Colorado pond Tuesday in a grim sign that they may have found the 6-year-old boy who vanished on New Years Eve. Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz told reporters they found the body inside the pond early Tuesday morning after a frantic hunt for David Puckett, who was believed to have wandered away from his home on Saturday night. He said crews were working to identify the body but told the boys family what they found. Its a crime scene and we are going to treat it as such, Metz said, adding that there was no apparent breakage in the pond but the K9 units were interested in the area. Amber Alert: New Mexico boy found OK; dad flees into Mexico The coroner will conduct an autopsy to determine the victims identity and cause of death. The FBI and other law enforcement launched a massive hunt for Puckett on Monday, going door-to-door within 2.5 miles of his home in Aurora and using bloodhounds and a helicopter. An Amber Alert was issued and police said a $10,000 reward was offered. Aurora police appealed for help to find David as quickly as possible partly because of coming cold weather, with lows expected in the upper teens. "The public can help by physically searching their homes, automobiles, and any structures on their property where a child may be able to hide," a police statement said. Authorities said that foul play wasn't suspected, but they said they have registered sex offenders who lived in the area. Round-the-clock federal manhunt underway for escaped inmate Police revealed on Monday evening that someone outside the family had seen the boy the day he disappeared, but they didn't elaborate. The FBI told the Denver Post that the agency assigned 50 agents to the case, including one who is highly specialized in missing children searches. His mother on Sunday issued a tearful appeal for people to help find him and said he was only wearing a light jacket. Police said David had wandered off before. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A soldiers mom is speaking out after what she called a brutal attack on her son after Philadelphia's annual Mummers parade. He is now in the hospital with a long recovery ahead of him. PURPLE HEART SPOTTED ON AIRPORT BAGGAGE CLAIM BELT FINDS ITS FAMILY "He's such a good kid. He did not deserve this." Lori Freni was supposed to see her 19-year-old Army serviceman son Austin head back to base after the holidays. "Austin's in rough shape. He's pretty banged up," she told FOX 29. FACEBOOK FRIENDS REACH OUT TO HOMELESS VET LIVING IN WALMART PARKING LOT But now, he lays in Jefferson University Hospital with severe facial injuries after being jumped while leaving the Mummers Parade festivities on Sunday. "Group of 10-15 guys walked by me (making) derogatory comments towards Austin's Army jacket," she explained. Then she says one of the young men struck Austin before others piled on. "Me and his girlfriend tried pulling them off and they hit us. We got hit in the face. She got thrown in the street," his mom explained. "He's got to get plates put in his jaw and his mouth will be wired shut for the next eight weeks." Austin came home from Fort Benning, Georgia in a pre-Christmas surprise arranged by a stranger after Lori struggled to raise money for the airfare. Click for more from Fox 29. The U.S. marshal in Rhode Island is urging an escaped prisoner to turn himself in. Former Army reservist James Morales escaped from the Wyatt Detention Facility on Saturday. Police believe Morales fled to Attleboro, Massachusetts, and stole a car that was found Sunday. U.S. Marshal Jamie Hainsworth on Tuesday would not discuss details of the search but says Morales is dangerous and may be armed. The 35-year-old is charged with stealing 16 guns from a U.S. Army Reserve Center and faces child rape charges. Hainsworth also says while the focus is on finding Morales, they're going to take a "hard look" at the privately run prison. The prison says it took more than three hours to discover Morales was missing. Two officers have been placed on paid leave. A woman once accused of making up her abduction says she is still getting harassment online despite her kidnapper pleading guilty to the crime several months ago. In a Facebook post on Sunday, Denise Huskins defended herself to strangers who still accuse her of fabricating her abduction from two years ago. She included a screenshot of a profanity-laced private message from a man in Illinois. Unfortunately this is just one example of countless messages like this that I have received, she wrote. California woman sues police who called her kidnapping hoax In the message, the man from Peoria, Illinois, wrote: Are you that horrible lying woman who faked her own kidnapping? ... You are going to hell for the bulls*** you have done. He said he wanted to slap her a few times and have his wife beat her up. Just so u know, ur not as pretty as u think, he added. Id put u at being a 5 outta 10. Huskins said the message, like others before, inspired what she called one of my many PTSD episodes of terror. My jaw and back are sore from the deep powerful shaking and reflexive tension that my whole body goes into. My eyes are sore and red from uncontrollable tears. I am thoroughly exhausted, every inch of my body is tired from the fit of terror it was battling, she explained. Suspect in abduction once called a hoax set to plead guilty Huskins continued: Congratulations, person I have never met, never heard of who hates me so much that he went out of his way to message me this disgusting, demeaning, dehumanizing outrage. Matthew Muller, a disbarred Harvard University-trained attorney, pleaded guilty in September to kidnapping Huskins and held her for ransom in March 2015. Police in California initially dismissed as a hoax. Her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, said kidnappers broke into the couple's Vallejo, California, home, took Huskins and demanded $8,500 as a ransom a figure that police have said they found small for what would have been an elaborate kidnapping. Disbarred attorney pleads guilty to California kidnapping once thought hoax Huskins turned up safe two days later in her hometown of Huntington Beach, where she says she was dropped off. After she reappeared, Vallejo police called the kidnapping a hoax. Huskins sued, accusing police of wrongly likening the case to the movie "Gone Girl" and damaging the reputations of her and her boyfriend. Attorneys for police have said investigators doubted Quinn's account of the abduction and grew more skeptical when Huskins refused to reunite with her family soon after she reappeared. In a post on Monday, Huskins thanked her followers for their support.I know it's tempting to meet anger with anger, it's something that we have struggled with frequently these past two years. But the battle we are fighting is way beyond this individual man, and his one disgusting statement, she wrote. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The body of a woman has been found in the garage of a grenade-lobbing gunman who killed three people and injured 123 others in an attack in the city of Liege, officials said Wednesday. Liege Prosecutor Daniele Reynders said the body of a woman in her forties was discovered during a search of Nordine Amrani's property, and that she was killed before the murderous spree at Liege's main square. "It was a cleaning lady. This is how she met him yesterday morning," Reynders said. "She died, shot with a bullet in the head." Reynders said Amrani, 33, died in Tuesday's attack in an apparent suicide, and he was found with a number of grenades still on him. "What killed him was a shot in the middle of his forehead," she said. News reports said the attack began at about 12:30 p.m. when Amrani lobbed several grenades at the bus shelter in Place Saint-Lambert, a busy downtown square. The reports said witnesses reported four explosions and gun fire. Amrani, 33, was a Liege resident who police say had done jail time for offenses involving guns, drugs and sexual abuse. He was among the dead, but Liege Prosecutor Danielle Reynders told reporters it was unclear if he committed suicide or died by accident. He did not die at the hands of police, she said. The attack left blood splattered across the cobblestones of the central area of Liege city, which was crowded with people doing Christmas shopping in nearby markets. Footage from the scene showed people, including a large group of children, fleeing down the streets of the city center -- some still carrying shopping bags. Ambulances and police vehicles descended on the area. Two male teenage students, 15 and 17 years old, also died in the attack, while an 18-month-old toddler died Tuesday evening in hospital, Liege police said. Several people remain in intensive care. A 75-year-old woman who had initially been counted among the dead was taken off the list, even though she stands virtually no chance of recovering from her injuries, said Catherine Delcourt, a spokeswoman for the Liege governor. Beyond the dead and injured, Reynders said some 40 people had to be treated for psychological trauma. It was not immediately clear what motivated the attack, but Interior Ministry official Peter Mertens said it did not involve terrorism. Reynders said Amrani had been summoned for police questioning on Tuesday but the reason for the questioning was not clear. Officials said Amrani left his home in Liege with a backpack, armed with hand grenades, a revolver and an FAL assault rifle News reports said police helicopters were flying over the city and a medical post has been set up in the courtyard of the palace of the Prince Bishops court house located on the site. VRT Radio spoke with Herve Taveirne from the courthouse into which he had fled to escape the gunfire. "We were in the courthouse building and were just leaving when we saw someone toss a grenade," Taveirne said. "I grabbed a little boy ... and took him back into the courthouse. Outside the building I heard shooting ... Our lives were in danger. This man was shooting in any direction. We ran for our lives at that point." Place Saint-Lambert is a busy crossroads. Every day 1,800 buses serve the square, which leads to downtown shopping streets. The Place Saint-Lambert and the nearby Place du Marche host the Liege's annual Christmas market which consists of 200 retail cabins and attracts some 1.5 million visitors a year. The Associated Press and Newscore contributed to this report. A piranha feeding frenzy in Argentina reportedly has left at least 70 people injured, including seven children who lost parts of their fingers and toes. The attack took place on Christmas morning off a beach in the Parana River, near the city of Rosario. Gustavo Centurion, a medical official, said the attack was very aggressive, according to Sky News. At least 70 people were injured, The Associated Press reports. Local newspaper La Capital reported that a 7-year-old girl had part of her finger amputated after suffering bites from the fish, which were described as a piranha cousin called palometas. Other swimmers suffered cuts to their ankles, fingers and hands, and a boy was left with an open fracture, The Telegraph reports. Swimmers were seen racing out of the water, bleeding from wounds, while the parents of children in the water rushed in to bring them to safety. People who continued to swim at the beach despite the danger were forced out by police, according to The Telegraph. But Paramedic Alberto Manino told the Todo Noticias channel that it was so hot that within a half-hour, many people went back to the water, The Associated Press reports. A heat wave in Argentina is currently pushing temperatures up to around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Authorities believe a patch of debris left by local fishermen attracted the fish to the beach. Piranhas, a South American fish, often swim in schools and are known for attacking other fish and sometimes humans with their sharp teeth. next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 The people of war-torn Sudan learned long ago to take cover when planes roared overhead, but the latest tactic being used on them -- parachute bombs -- is raining silent death down on innocent villagers, say alarmed activists. The countrys extremist Islamic regime in Khartoum has stepped up the practice in the Nuba Mountains, dropping deadly bombs by parachute from high altitudes as president and accused international war criminal Omar al-Bashir seeks to rout rebel forces opposed to his brand of radical Islam. In recent years, the Nuba Mountains, where Christians and Muslims live side by side, have become a battleground for the forces of al-Bashir's forces and the Sudanese People Liberation Army. Caught in the crossfire are innocent civilians, especially children, who live in the mountainous region just north of the border of Sudan and South Sudan, the nation carved out of Sudan in 2011. [pullquote] "Children living in the Nuba Mountains grew up amid almost daily aerial bombardment, Akshaya Kumar, a Sudan and South Sudan policy analyst with the Center for American Progress, told FoxNews.com. They have learned how to quickly duck into makeshift bomb shelters when they hear a bomb dropping. "Now, in a brutal shift in tactics, the Sudanese government has refined its assault," she continued. "With parachute bombs, the bombs drop silently and then only explode after a delay, when those sheltering emerge from safety." On Monday, local aid workers told FoxNews.com two Sudanese Air Force jets dropped 13 parachute bombs on the villages of Tamadirgo and Dar, in the South Kordofan States of Sudan. The bombs killed at least three people, including a 13-year-old boy, sources said. Al-Bashir, the 70-year-old dictator and former Army general, seized power in a 1989 military coup. As he moved the nation toward Islamic rule in the late 1990s and early part of this century, rebels fought back against the marginalization of Christians. Al-Bashir responded with a campaign of ethnic cleansing in the western region of Darfur, with an estimated 500,000 people killed and more than 2 million displaced. In 2008, al-Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and crimes against humanity. Al-Bashir's embrace of parachute bombing is the latest demonstration of his willingness to kill his own people, according to aid workers. Graphic footage provided to FoxNews.com of a Dec. 10 drop shows mountain villagers cowering as the parachutes flutter downward, then screaming in anguish as they tend to their dead. Some people ran away as soon as they saw the plane, while others stayed out of curiosity; they thought that they were parachuters landing, Ahmed Khatir, who is from the region and works as a reporter for independent news service NubaReports.org, told FoxNews.com. When the bomb got closer [to the ground], they realized it was a bomb and it was too late for some people." Since April 2012, 1,371 bombs have been dropped on civilian targets in Nuba, according to NubaReports.org. But the parachute tactic only began in November, dropping bombs that weigh up to 820 pounds. With a delayed detonation and quiet drop, the parachute bombs have proven destructive and deadly. The Sudan Consortium has recently reported that human rights monitors found that 22 civilians in South Kordofan were killed and 41 seriously injured in a four-week period in December and January. Monitors also documented 56 bombing attacks -- a number that tripled from the previous month. The recent numbers are the highest ever recorded by the consortium. One apparent reason for the escalation of violence in the Nuba Mountains is new political developments in Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile going largely unnoticed as the international community has focused their attention on violence in the South Sudan. "The difference in Sudan is the aerial terror sown by the Sudanese Air Forces," Enough Project co-founder John Prendergast told FoxNews.com American diplomats are fully engaged in the heart-wrenching case of Meriam Ibrahim, a Sudanese woman sentenced to death earlier this month after refusing to renounce her Christian faith, FoxNews.com has learned. Ibrahim, 27, gave birth to a girl early Tuesday at a prison clinic in Omdurman, near Khartoum, one of her attorneys told FoxNews.com by phone. Ibrahim, who is married to a Christian man with U.S. citizenship, has been sentenced to hang for apostasy and is now allowed to breast-feed her daughter, Maya, for two years before the punishment is carried out. She also faces 100 lashes for adultery for being intimate with her husband, Daniel Wani, who fled to the United States as a child to escape the civil war in southern Sudan, but later returned. [pullquote] Through the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, the White House and the State Department, we have communicated our strong concern at high levels of the Sudanese government about this case, State Department spokeswoman Nicole Thompson wrote FoxNews.com in an email. We have heard from many, many Americans that they are deeply alarmed by [Ibrahims] plight. We have conveyed these views to the Government of Sudan. International outrage against Ibrahims sentence has grown significantly in recent weeks, as more than a million people signed online petitions protesting the sentence. One such effort on Change.org has garnered more than 630,000 signatures as of Friday, and Amnesty International officials have characterized the punishment doled out by a judge to be a flagrant breach of international human rights law. Its also a violation of Sudans own Constitution, according to the State Department. We call upon the Government of Sudan to respect the right to freedom of religion, including ones right to change ones faith or beliefs, a right which is enshrined in international human rights law as well as in Sudans own 2005 interim Constitution, Thompsons email continued. We call on the Sudanese legal authorities to approach this case with the compassion that is in keeping with the values of the Sudanese people. U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees U.S. policy in Africa, has called on the African nation to reverse Ibrahims sentence immediately. The refusal of the government of Sudan to allow religious freedom was one of the reasons for Sudans long civil war, Smith said in a statement. It is not clear what diplomatic pressure the U.S. can bring to bear on Khartoum. Although American taxpayers send roughly $300 million per year in economic aid, the help is largely in the form of food and medicine. Cutting it off would only hurt the people, and not the regime of President Omar al-Bashir, who has been indicted as a war criminal by the International Criminal Court. Ibrahim and Wani married in 2011 and operate several businesses, including a farm, south of Khartoum, the countrys capital. Wani is not permitted to have custody of the couples son, Martin, because the boy is considered Muslim and cannot be raised by a Christian man. Sudan's penal code criminalizes the conversion of Muslims to other religions, which is punishable by death. Anyone born to a Muslim father is automatically a Muslim. Ibrahims case first came to the attention of authorities in August, when members of her fathers family complained that she was born a Muslim but married a Christian man. They claimed her birth name was Afdal before she changed it to Meriam. The document produced by relatives to indicate she was given a Muslim name at birth was reportedly fake. She also refused to answer a judge who referred to her as Afdal during a court hearing earlier this month where she declared that Christianity was the only religion she knew. I was never a Muslim, she told a judge. I was raised a Christian from the start. Ibrahims husband, who reportedly suffers from muscular dystrophy, was initially not allowed to visit with his wife after the birth of their daughter, human rights attorney Safwan Abdalmoniem told FoxNews.com. Wani was ultimately allowed to see his wife and child by Thursday, two days after the girls birth. Ibrahim now remains in a prison hospital wing in deplorable, inadequate conditions, Abdalmoniem said. The conditions there for a woman in a situation like herself is very bad, he said. Its not good. It remains unclear when Ibrahim will receive 100 lashes as part of her sentence, but the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies said implementation of the punishment is subject to Ibrahims health. ACPJS condemns in the strongest terms the application of the death penalty in Sudan and all laws that prescribe torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments, the group said in a statement. Ms. Ibrahim has been convicted solely on the basis of her religious beliefs, contrary to equality and non-discrimination guarantees in Sudans own Constitution and commitments made by the Government of Sudan under regional and international law. Sudanese President Omar Bashir, meanwhile, has said his county will implement Islam more strictly now that the non-Muslim south is gone. A number of Sudanese have been convicted of apostasy in recent years, but they have all escaped execution by recanting their faith. On Friday, the American Islamic Forum for Democracy blasted Bashir's regime and said inaction by the international community was akin to being complicit in the his crimes against humanity, including systematic rape, murder and torture. "The Sudanese courts decision to sentence Meriam Ibrahim to life in prison and physical torture is as repugnant as any attack on human rights," AIFD officials said in a statement. "Freedom of conscience the freedom to choose any faith or none at all is a basic and inalienable human right. For every Meriam there are hundreds to thousands more we do not hear about. When will the international community and all individuals of conscience say enough to barbaric regimes like Al-Bashir's?" next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 The leader of Poland's new, pro-business political movement says that a strong economy in Poland would breathe new energy into the European Union and help it compete on the global level. Ryszard Petru spoke to The Associated Press Friday after a news conference in which he sought online donations from supporters as a novel, transparent way of financing politics. His movement, ModernPl Association, is hoping for some 20 percent of the votes in the fall general elections. Poland's political scene seems poised for a reshuffle, following the surprise win of opposition candidate Andrzej Duda in May's presidential election. Petru, an economist, also spoke in favor of a free trade agreement with the United States, saying that would help boost cooperation in many areas. Peru carried out one of its biggest raids yet, police and soldiers destroyed scores of illegal gold mining camps in the Madre de Dios region this week. Additionally, the forces targeted about three dozen brothels where officials said they rescued two minors presumably working as prostitutes. It was the latest in more than 60 operations that the government has conducted since 2014, when it made illegal for wildcatters to continue mining that has been ravaging pristine jungle and contaminating it with tons of mercury. More than 1,000 police and soldiers dynamited and dismantled mining machinery valued at $3 million, including dredges and motors used to separate gold flecks from sand in crude sluices, the government said. The targeted area in southeastern jungles bordering Brazil and Bolivia, a region known as La Pampa, is adjacent to the Tambopata reserve, one of the world's most biologically diverse ecospheres. The dredges were used on the Malinowski river. Most of the miners are highlands peasants lured by the promise of modest riches, especially now that gold prices have climbed back above $1,200 an ounce. During the raids, police took into custody two girls under age 18 believed to have been employed in sex work, said Luz Saavedra, the prosecutor in charge. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram A 24-year-old American man jailed in Venezuela has been allowed to meet with U.S. diplomats two weeks after he and his new bride were arrested on weapons charges, a United States official said Wednesday. Representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas met with Holt on Tuesday, according to a U.S. government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record. Details of the meeting were not immediately available. Josh Holt had traveled on a visa to Venezuela in June to marry a fellow Mormon he had met on the internet. At the time of the arrest, Holt's new wife, Thamara Caleano, was waiting for an American visa so the pair could travel together to the United States, where he had been living in a Salt Lake City, Utah suburb. The couple was being held together in a Caracas jail run by the Venezuela intelligence police. They were arrested when police the raided government housing project where they staying while awaiting Caleano's visa, and said they found at an assault rifle and a grenade at her home. Holt had returned to the United States in January after a two-year mission with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Washington state. His mother, Laurie Holt, said by telephone from Utah that she believes Venezuelan authorities were confused about the nature of the religious mission, and thought her son had been working for the government in Washington, D.C. The mother also said she believes that the weapons were planted at the home where her son and his wife were staying. Holt learned to speak Spanish while working with Latino immigrants during his time in Washington state, his mother said. She said her son was looking for a Spanish-speaking Mormon to help polish his Spanish, and the couple fell in love during their sessions online. They met in person for the first time in May in the Dominican Republic, and he proposed to her on the lawn of a Mormon church there. He traveled in June to marry her in her hometown of Caracas, one of the most violent cities in the world. "I pleaded with him not to go. I heard how bad it was and how some Venezuelans hate Americans," Laurie Holt said. Venezuela is currently holding 11 other American citizens. One, opposition activist Francisco Marquez, was arrested in June as he was traveling to assist in a signature validation process for a nationwide presidential recall petition. Prosecutors say Marquez, a dual Venezuelan-U.S. citizen, was trying to foment violence. Venezuela is in the midst of a severe social and economic crisis, with President Nicolas Maduro railing daily in televised addresses against what he called U.S. imperialist meddling. Laurie Holt says there are no indications that the couple has been mistreated behind bars, but worries her son has been caught up in an international misunderstanding that will be hard to resolve. "He was set up," she said. "People thought that he was doing a mission and that it was for Washington, D.C. They don't realize it was a church mission in Washington state." Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter & Instagram Russia is eyeing naval exercises with the Philippines and deployed two navy ships for a goodwill visit to Manila on Tuesday as Moscow moves to expand defense ties with a Filipino president known for being hostile to the U.S. SPICER HINTS OBAMA'S RUSSIAN SANCTIONS 'POLITICALLY MOTIVATED' Rear Adm. Eduard Mikhailov, deputy commander of Russia's Pacific Fleet, led the five-day visit of vessels including an anti-submarine ship and showcased what his country can offer to a Southeast Asian nation that's long been a staunch American treaty ally. "And of course everybody have the choice, and you can choice, you can choose how to cooperate for example with United States of America and how to cooperate with the Russian (unintelligible)," Mikhailov told reporters through an interpreter at the Manila harbor after a welcoming ceremony. "But from our side we can help you in every way that you need." RUSSIAN DIPLOMATS EXPELLED IN CONNECTION WITH CYBER HACKS LEAVE USA "We are sure that in the future we'll have exercises with you. Maybe, just maneuvering or maybe use of combat systems and so on," he said. The anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs and sea tanker Boris Butoma have a wide range of combat features. Filipinos will be allowed to tour the huge ships and Russian marines will demonstrate their combat capability during the high-profile visit, according to the Philippine navy. With an underfunded and underequipped military, the Philippines has struggled to deal with attacks by ransom-seeking Abu Sayyaf militants and allied gunmen, who have kidnapped crewmen of tugboats and ships from neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia in the Sulu Sea and outlying waters. Russia can help through future combat drills, Mikhailov said. "We have an experience in fighting these (threats)," he said. "We will share to you our knowledge on these problems, how to solve piracy and terrorism." After Russian and Philippine officials met in Manila in August, the two countries began drafting a proposed defense cooperation accord that could be signed during a planned visit by President Rodrigo Duterte to Russia in April. The visit by the Russian navy ships is the third to the Philippines and the first under Duterte, who took office in June. Duterte has lashed out at outgoing President Barack Obama and his administration for criticizing Duterte's deadly crackdown on illegal drugs which is feared to have left more than 6,000 suspected drug users and dealers. Contrastingly, Duterte has reached out to China and Russia -- whose leaders he has met recently -- in a dramatic shift in Philippine foreign policy that has put Washington in a dilemma. The Philippines has depended heavily on the U.S., its treaty ally, for weapons, ships and aircraft for years, although it has turned to other countries for defense equipment. After visiting Moscow last month, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Philippine military was considering purchasing sniper rifles from Russia. Duterte has repeatedly threatened to scale back U.S. troop presence and joint exercises with the Americans in the Philippines. China has confirmed that its aircraft carrier has for the first time conducted drills in the South China Sea with a formation of other warships and fighter jets, a move that could raise concerns among its neighbors. The Defense Ministry said several J-15 fighter jets took off and landed from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Liaoning on Monday. The Liaoning, China's first and only aircraft carrier, sailed into the South China Sea last week. The confirmation comes days after Taiwan's defense ministry said the carrier and five other warships had passed south of Taiwan. The self-ruled island deployed fighter jets to monitor the fleet. China calls the drills part of a routine open-sea exercise, but they could add to tensions between Beijing and Taipei. next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 Germany's interior minister is suggesting the creation of "federal departure centers" to ease the deportation of rejected asylum-seekers and wants to centralize the country's domestic intelligence agency. They are part of a package of proposals following last month's attack on a Berlin Christmas market. The government has promised to examine whether laws need to be changed following the Dec. 19 attack that killed 12 people, in which a failed Tunisian asylum-seeker is the prime suspect. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere set out his proposals in a guest article Tuesday in the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. They centered on giving the federal government more authority on domestic security issues. De Maiziere called for better cooperation with state governments on deportations, suggesting federally run "departure centers" close to airports. German police who tried to head off a repeat of the previous New Year's Eve, when migrants sexually assaulted hundreds of women, instead coined a new "N" word and sparked a national debate on racial profiling. Cops in Cologne, where the final day day of 2015 turned into a nightmare for women revelers, detained nearly 100 menall from Northern Africaand questioned hundreds more in what they called a security operation. But when the citys police department referred to the men as Nafris on its official Twitter account, critics took offense. Hundreds of Nafris screened at main railway station, reads a tweet on the Cologne Police Twitter page that was posted on New Years Eve. Many immediately questioned the police departments use of the term, shorthand for "North African," in a public tweet. What is the difference between Nafri and [the n-word]? Jan Bohmermann, a popular comedian in Germany said on his twitter page. Amnesty International denounced the Cologne police operation of rounding up the men for questioning, according to The Washington Post, saying that it was nothing short of blatant racial profiling. "The Cologne police operation is a clear case of racial profiling," Alexander Bosch, an anti-racism campaigner at Amnesty International said, adding allegations against the Cologne police that they broke the law and that an independent investigation should be launched. Questions over the legality and proportionality arise when nearly 1,000 people are checked and partially stopped only because of their appearance, Simone Peter, a senior Green Party politician, told German newspaper, Rheinische Post. German politicians, on the other hand, have voiced strong support for the Cologne police crackdown on potential troublemakers during New Year's celebrations in the city, despite the concern of racial profiling. The 2015 attacks extended beyond Cologne to other locations including Hamburg, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf. An estimated 1,200 women reported that they were assaulted by about 2,000 men who were in large mobs. The events come as Germany grapples with a surge of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa, and a growing terror threat. On Dec. 19, an Islamic terrorist drove a hijacked truck into a Christmas market and killed 12 people. He was killed in a shootout with police days later in Milan. Cologne Police Chief Juergen Mathies told UPI the profiling claims are unfair. "I reject this negative criticism," Mathies said. "The clear aim was to prevent similar events to previous year." Mathies also defended the use of the term Nafris, saying that the department has used the term internally since 2013 to describe young North Africans regarded as particularly violent or criminal. He conceded that the term wasn't meant for public use and insisted that his officers had stopped the young men based on their behavior, not appearance. The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story. German politicians voiced strong support Monday for a police crackdown on potential troublemakers during New Year's celebrations in the city of Cologne, despite concern that officers may have engaged in racial profiling. COLOGNE BANS NEW YEAR'S FAR-RIGHT DEMONSTRATION Police stopped hundreds of North African men heading into downtown Cologne on Saturday to prevent a repeat of the robberies and sexual assaults that marred festivities a year earlier. Critics accused police of stopping people on their appearance alone, noting a tweet on the police Twitter account that read: "Hundreds of Nafris screened at main railway station." WOMEN IN VIENNA GETTING POCKET ALARMS TO DETER ATTACKS Police Chief Juergen Mathies said the department has used the term -- shorthand for North Africans -- internally since 2013 to describe young North Africans regarded as particularly violent or criminal. Mathies said it wasn't meant for public use and insisted that his officers had stopped the young men based on their behavior, not appearance. Alexander Bosch, an anti-racism campaigner at Amnesty International, alleged that police broke the law and called for an independent investigation. "The Cologne police operation is a clear case of racial profiling," Bosch said. Parties across the political spectrum, however, lauded the operation. The center-left Greens said it was "right to act swiftly and preventatively." "At the same time, it's right for (Mathies) to question the use of the term Nafris, thereby showing that he's aware of the risks of racial profiling," the opposition party said. Security concerns have become a political topic in the run-up to Germany's general election this fall, with anti-migrant groups regularly highlighting crimes committed by foreigners. Police say that migrants who came to Germany as part of the influx of asylum seekers over the past two years aren't committing more crimes than the rest of the population, despite the attention given to several high-profile cases. A German man who had been lauded by a judge for a "wholehearted" confession about his time as a member of the Islamic State group faced new charges of concealing his true involvement with ISIS, with prosecutors announcing Tuesday that they suspect him of participating in the killing of captives. Harry Sarfo was convicted last year by a Hamburg court of membership in a terrorist organization and breaching weapons export laws. The court sentenced him to three years in prison, with the presiding judge stating that his comprehensive testimony during the trial had counted in his favor. Federal prosecutors said they have now obtained a new warrant against the 28-year-old on suspicion of murder and committing war crimes in connection with the public execution of six people in a square in Palmyra in June 2015. Prosecutors said he led one of the captives to the execution site and prevented others from fleeing. AMERICAN INJURED IN ISTANBUL TERROR ATTACK WAS SAVED BY HIS PHONE The new allegations are at odds with Sarfo's claim in court that he hadn't participated in any killings. Following his conviction last July, Sarfo gave several interviews from prison in which he portrayed himself as disillusioned and disgusted by ISIS. A video published by the Washington Post in October showed Sarfo appearing to take an active role in the executions. Born to Ghanaian parents in the northern German city of Bremen, Sarfo converted to Islam after moving to London. He became radicalized while in a German prison for taking part in a robbery and claims to have traveled to Syria in April 2015 to join ISIS. He fled the group several weeks later and was arrested in July 2015 upon his return to Germany. Israels renowned spy agency, the Mossad, has started its first recruitment campaign specifically designed to attract women. An advertisement, published Tuesday in the Israeli press, shows a portrait of a young women with white lettering stating wanted - powerful women. We dont care what you did; we care about who you are!" the ad reads. VIDEO: HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR TRUMP'S RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL The agency is looking for women to join their mostly male group of case officers, who are in charge of recruiting, training and handling agents. Inside the agency, 40 percent of employees are women with 24 percent holding high-ranking positions. The ad refers the potential candidates to their website. The Mossad, Hebrew for "The Institute," is short for the "Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations." It is the global arm of Israel's vaunted intelligence community and believed to be behind some of the most daring covert counterterrorism operations of the past century. The typically shadowy Mossad in 2014 finaly joined the rest of its counterparts and opened an online recruitment website. It included snazzy recruiting videos and an online application option for those seeking employment. With versions in Hebrew, English, French, Russian, Arabic and Persian, the sleek site looks to revolutionize the way Israel's legendary agency seeks out potential agents after generations of backdoor, cloak-and-dagger antics. Follow Yonat Friling on Twitter at @foxyonat. next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 The Latest on the manhunt for the Istanbul nightclub attacker and the aftermath of the massacre (all times local): 10:50 a.m. The United Arab Emirates has warned its citizens not to travel to Turkey following the attack on an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people. The UAE's Foreign Ministry has issued a terse statement in Arabic to "postpone plans to travel to Turkey until further notice." While no Emirati was killed in the attack, one Kuwaiti and seven Saudis were killed in the New Year's assault. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack at the Reina nightclub. ___ 10:40 a.m. Turkish media have run a "selfie video" of a man they say is the gunman who killed 39 people at an Istanbul nightclub. The video broadcast on Turkish television Tuesday shows the alleged gunman filming himself at Taksim square. It wasn't immediately clear if it was filmed before or after the New Year's massacre at the Reina nightclub. The Islamic State group claimed the attack. The gunman, who is still at large, hasn't been identified. Several media reports said the man was believed to be from a Central Asian nation. Haber Turk newspaper said the man is thought to be a member of China's Muslim Uighur minority. It said he arrived in the Turkish city of Konya with his wife and two children. His family was detained, it said. An investigation has been launched after British police fatally shot a man during an operation in which five people were arrested. Details aren't immediately clear because no one has yet been charged with a crime. Police said Tuesday that the arrests weren't related to terrorism. West Yorkshire police said that the Independent Police Complaints Commission was investigating the circumstances of the man's death. Police shootings are rare in Britain and there is an automatic investigation when someone is killed. Police say they are cooperating. The man was shot Monday evening on a highway near Huddersfield, 190 miles (305 kilometers) north of London. Police say it was a "pre-planned policing operation," which suggests it was based on intelligence information. The junction where the incident happened remains closed to traffic. An investigation has been launched after British police fatally shot a man during an operation in which five other people were arrested. West Yorkshire police said the operation "related to information received about criminal possession of a firearm," and was not related to terrorism. Soldier in Army jacket attacked after Philadelphia parade, family says The man who was killed was identified as 27-year-old Mohammed Yassar Yaqub of Huddersfield. His family issued a statement through a lawyer saying they are "in shock and distraught." Police shootings are rare in Britain and there is an automatic investigation when someone is killed. Police say they are cooperating with the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The commission said in a statement that a firearm was found in the car Yaqub was traveling in and is being examined. The statement said it did not appear to be a police weapon. Thousands of unemployed to get $587 monthly income in Europe first The man was shot Monday evening on a highway near Huddersfield, 190 miles (305 kilometers) north of London. The arrests were made at two locations. At the scene, a silver Audi with bullet holes in its windshield was surrounded by other vehicles Tuesday morning as police and forensic teams continued their investigation. Marion Ots, an advertising agent and mother of two, was at a birthday party last month when she realized that hers was the only family there without someone in the local volunteer militia. So she joined. Basically, I am ready to engage in battle, said Ms. Ots, 34 years old. Across northeastern Europe, people are signing up for military training, fearing a resurgent Russia across the border and worried about how committed to their defense the U.S. will be under President-elect Donald Trump. I have a wheelchair: Ill put a goddamn gun on it and go fight [President Vladimir] Putin personally if America wont, said 85-year-old retired army chief Aleksander Einseln, who recently pulled his old field uniform from the closet to check if it still fits. The defense forces are ragtag: Estonias 16,000-member league, called the Kaitseliit, doubles as a volunteer firefighting corps. The 9,000 people in Latvias Home Guard includes 1,100 aged 55 or over. They dont have much gear, either. To buy night-vision goggles, a Latvian businessman recently launched a crowd-funding campaign. Russia says it isnt planning an assault on its western neighbors, which broke away from Moscow after the Cold War and joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 2004. Even so, Russias 2014 takeover of Crimea from nearby Ukraine sent shockwaves through the region. Click for more from The Wall Street Journal. German prosecutors are accusing a man already convicted of membership in a terrorist organization of participating in the killing of six captives by the Islamic State group. Federal prosecutors said Tuesday they obtained a new warrant against the 28-year-old German, identified only as Harry S. in line with privacy laws, on suspicion of murder and committing war crimes. The suspect joined IS in Syria in 2015. The new case against him relates to the public killing of six people in a square in Palmyra in June 2015. Prosecutors say he had a pistol, led one of the captives to the execution site and prevented others from fleeing. In July, a Hamburg court sentenced him to three years in prison for membership of a terrorist group and breaching weapons export laws. Afghan officials say a Taliban ambush in the northeastern Badakhshan province has killed at least four police. Deputy Provincial Police Chief Mohammed Nabi Bayhan says the attack took place late Monday and that security forces have launched a clearing operation in the area. Ahmad Bashir Musamum, a provincial council member, confirmed the attack and said seven police were killed. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement Tuesday. Elsewhere in Afghanistan, Sanatullah Timor, a spokesman for the governor of Takhar province, said a Taliban fighter was killed Monday while planting a mine. The Taliban has been at war with Afghanistan's U.S.-backed government since 2001. next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 Thousands of people attended the funeral on Tuesday of an 18-year-old Arab Israeli woman who was killed in the Istanbul nightclub attack. Layan Nasser was celebrating New Year's with three friends on a trip to Istanbul when she was killed. Mourners wept as they marched through the streets of the city of Tira behind a wooden coffin. One woman carried a sign with a picture of Nasser and the image of a rose. Tira Mayor Mamoun Abd El Hai said the city declared a day of mourning in memory of Nasser, with banks and municipal offices closed. "She had dreams to work, to progress, to study, to raise a family, but unfortunately the terror put an end to her dreams and ended her life," Abd El Hai told The Associated Press. The friends who traveled with Nasser mourned her loss. "The biggest blow is that we lost my best friend," one of them, Alaa Abd El Hai, told Israeli Channel 2 TV. Another Israeli traveling with Nasser was wounded in the attack. Abd El Hai said Nasser worked with her as a dental assistant. Nasser's father, Zaher Nasser, told Israeli Channel 10 TV he had a bad feeling about his daughter's trip to Istanbul. "I was very concerned about this trip. I asked her not to travel in light of the bad security situation there, but she insisted to go with her friends," he said. Turkeys government is pushing to extend a nearly six-month-old state of emergency following the deadly New Years attack claimed by Islamic State, as it struggles to contain rising terrorist threats. On the third day after the assault that killed at least 39 peoplemostly foreign touriststhe lone gunman remained at large. Police widened their nationwide raids Tuesday, doubling the number of detainees to at least 16 people, including two foreign nationals who were entering the international terminal at Istanbuls Ataturk airport, authorities said. Yet there is little information about the identity of the assailant, beyond photographs of a suspect released by police. Turkish officials are declining to confirm details about the investigation. Local media have widely circulated the photographs, speculating on his name, nationality and organizational links. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Binali Yildirims cabinet introduced in parliament a three-month extension to the continuing state of emergency, imposed after a failed coup attempt in July. Click for more from The Wall Street Journal. Critics who thought the U.S. opened the UNs anti-Israel floodgates by abstaining on a vote condemning settlements last week say an obscure subsequent move by the world body to establish a blacklist of Israeli companies proved them right. Lost amid the angry words that followed the Dec. 23 UN Security Council vote that critics called an American betrayal of Israel was a Christmas Eve appropriation of $138,700 to fund a database of companies doing business in the West Bank. The measure puts UN prestige behind the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, say critics. The types of data they are talking about acquiring would be to form the basis for future sanctions against companies that did business on the West Bank, Fox News contributor and former U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton told FoxNews.com. Thats the only purpose of it that I can see. The request for funding, first adopted last April, would investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which extends to East Jerusalem, and would produce a database of all business enterprises working in territories disputed between Israel and the Palestinians. Bolton said the database is an effort to lay the groundwork for the UN Security Council to follow up on its anti-settlement declaration by imposing costly economic sanctions. Although the Obama administration was widely criticized for not using its Security Council veto power to stop the anti-settlement resolution, it did oppose the General Assemblys move to create the database. In close consultation and cooperation with Israel, we joined the Israelis recently in opposing funding for work related to the database, but this effort, unfortunately, was not successful, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power told FoxNews.com in an emailed statement. We will continue to strongly oppose, in close coordination with Israel, any additional measures related to this one-sided effort if they arise moving forward. The stunning decision by the U.S. to abstain and therefore allow passage of the anti-settlement resolution exposed a deep rift between Israel and the Obama administration. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the White House of helping to craft and push the resolution, which initially was put forward by Egypt, and then pursued by New Zealand, Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela. There is a structural, institutional bias against Israel and approving money to blacklist the Israeli companies is helping the BDS movement basically another opportunity for the UN to single out Israel, former Israeli UN Ambassador Ron Prosor told Fox News. There is nothing constructive herethis will not lead to anything but more violence in the region. Prosor said Israelis will not be the only ones affected by the so-called blacklist. He said Israeli companies employ 30,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, and punishing their employers will hurt them. U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have blasted the U.S. role in passage of the Security Council resolution. The House is set to vote Thursday on a resolution opposing it. The administrations stunt at the UN hurt our ally Israel and made peace in the region even more difficult to achieve, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, both California Republicans, said in a joint statement. But Bolton said there is not a lot Congress can do. They can express their disapproval, which is helpful politically, Bolton said. But I am more concerned about what will happen internationally. STAUNTONEach year, residents of all 50 states and several countries come to Staunton to see the birthplace of Americas 28th president, Woodrow Wilson. Dec. 28 marked Wilsons 160th birthday, and the occasion was marked by free admission for all visitors to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum in Staunton. Refreshments and fun activities for kids highlighted the day. As time goes by, there is greater recognition of Wilsons contributions to American society, said Robin von Seldeneck, chief executive officer of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum. Wilson was responsible for the creation of the Federal Reserve system, the resumption of the federal income tax and the eight-hour workday. And in an era when presidents and Congress have notoriously chilly working relationships, Wilson kept an office at the Capitol. He might have been a policy wonk, but the former Princeton president was known to use his influence with Congress when necessary. He would come over and talk to members of Congress when they came off the floor, von Seldeneck said. Judd Bankert, a Staunton resident who bears a resemblance to Wilson, marked the late presidents birthday by greeting visitors to the library and museum. Banket has portrayed Wilson since 2001 and even did so in a History Channel mini-series known as The World Wars. He has come to appreciate Wilsons desire for privacy, even as president. He didnt seek celebrity, said Bankert, who remembers a man who had a progressive philosophy and a strong love of sports. This year will mark the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, another pivotal time in the Wilson presidency. The museum will offer a special war exhibit in collaboration with the American Red Cross, according to von Seldeneck. Speeches and a symposium scheduled during the year will also recall the war. But Wilsons recognition isnt limited to Staunton. There is an evolving appreciation of Wilson across the globe, as well, according to von Seldeneck. She said residents of countries ranging from Russia, the Czech Republic and Poland write asking for pictures of Wilson. Its probably because of his belief in self-determination, von Seldeneck said. Dec. 28 marked another milestone in the history of the museum and library: President Dwight Eisenhower visited the site on the same date 60 years ago. The Culpeper County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to adopt a new pump-and-haul ordinance that will make it tougher for future applicants to receive a special-use permit to dispose of sewage in this manner. The updated ordinance spells out just what constitutes a hardship and requires applicants to produce an engineers report stating that pump and haul is the only option available. The important part is that there are now other alternative systems that were not available 10 years ago, said Supervisor Sue Hansohn. And it requires an engineers report on the site, added Supervisor Jack Frazier. This ordinance was written in the beginning only to take care of emergencies, said Supervisor Bill Chase. The revised ordinance comes in the wake of a federal lawsuit filed in November, accusing Culpeper County of discriminating against the Islamic Center of Culpeper by refusing a pump-and-haul system special-use permit in the construction of a prayer house on a one-acre tract off State Route 229. County Attorney Bobby Jo Alexis said the new ordinance would put the burden of monitoring any pump-and-haul system on the state and not the county, which she stated does not have the personnel to do so. The Board of Supervisors also nominated Gary Deal and County Administrator John Egertson to serve on the GO Virginia Regional Council. That new regional commission will include Planning Districts 9 (Culpeper and surrounding counties) and 10 (Albemarle and surrounding localities). With the aid of state funds, the council will work to bring new high-tech industry to the area. This commission will be looking to find industry that will provide large numbers of high-paying jobs, Patrick Mauney, executive director of the RappahannockRapidan Regional Commission, told supervisors. Mauney added that he envisioned a U.S. 29 technology corridor between Culpeper and Charlottesville. Upon a recommendation from the Rules Committee, the Board of Supervisors established a higher tap fee for Bright Farms near the Culpeper Regional Airport. Hansohn said the business was using more than seven times the amount of water it had been allotted. The new fee is in line with what other businesses pay the county for water. Economic Development Director Carl Sachs told the board that the new over-55 development slated to be built on Ira Hoffman Lane is getting closer to becoming a reality and that The Culpeper (the old Virginia Baptist Home) is about ready to demolish its current building and begin the construction of a new 121,000-square-foot facility. During the January organizational meeting, Frazier was elected board chairman while Chase was elected vice-chairman. Culpeper uses a rotating basis for electing the chairman based on seniority. During its evening meeting, the supervisors approved a 96-acre by-right subdivision on the west side of Route 229 at Clevengers Corner, a development that will use both county water and sewer. It also approved an amendment to the Northridge subdivisions plan that will allow for clustering the next phase of the development. This change will provide more open space, keep the development from infringing on environmentally sensitive areas and eliminate the need for a through street to Chestnut Forks Road. The Board voted to provide property tax relief for the lot where the new pocket park is located on North Main Street. The building that stood there was damaged by the 2011 earthquake and had to be destroyed. A small park was built there last fall. For most, the new year started with a fresh resolution or a reprieve from the holiday chaos. For Holly Morgan, it started with a dream. Morgan, 30, said she was dreaming she was heading to the restroom. When she woke up, the expectant mother realized that her water had broken. Morgan, whose due date was Jan. 8, didnt waste any time. She left her apartment in Stratford, near the University of Mary Washington, and drove down the hill to Mary Washington Hospital. She arrived about 4:30 a.m. on New Years Day. Morgan said the security guard at the hospital had alerted the labor and delivery unit, so by the time she reached the unit everything was ready for her. Morgan was dilated at 2 centimeters when she was admitted, and nurses told her she had a few hours to sleep. The delivery process following stretched more than 12 hours. It was 7:43 p.m. Sunday night when her son was born, and he was the first baby born at a Fredericksburg-area hospital in 2017. Aidan Elijah Morgan weighed 8 pounds and was 21 inches long. By Monday morning, Aidan was wrapped in the hospitals standard white swaddling blanket with pink and blue stripes, and he was wearing a blue outfit underneath. His eyes were adjusting to the lights in the room, and he lifted his hand to stretch his fingers. Morgan joked he was throwing peace signs. When the new mother spoke, Aidan would look up at her, wrapping his fingers around one of hers. Morgan said Aidan was a name she had always liked. Aidans birth was special for Morgan beyond the day on the calendar. She said she had tried having children before, but had had complications. Her father was in town from Connecticut and had seen Morgan and Aidan the night before. He had gone to the airport Monday to pick up her mom. Aidans father also was coming to visit, and her extended family would arrive later in the week. Her co-worker, Staci ODonnell, came to visit. Morgan is a manager at Wawa in Spotsylvania County near Shannon Airport. Jenna Veloz, Morgans postpartum nurse, remarked that it was strange to have the first New Years baby born so late in the day on Jan. 1, as they often had been born shortly after midnight or early in the morning in previous years. Stafford Hospital and Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center also welcomed 2017 babies, but not until Monday. The first baby at Stafford Hospital was born just at 12:21 a.m. Monday, and the first baby at Spotsylvania Regional was born at 3:21 a.m. Morgan did not anticipate a New Years Day birth, but said Aidan was prepared to move at his own time. I was hoping he was going to hold out closer to his due date, Morgan said. But he was ready. Once Aidan is cleared to leave and Morgan gets some rest, they plan to return home, she said, and the nursery is already set up and ready for him. Im just happy that hes here, and hes my miracle child. It was already going to be awkward: Two state senators, once friends, will return to the Capitol this month as rivals for the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor. But the battle between Sens. Bryce E. Reeves of Spotsylvania and Jill Holtzman Vogel of Fauquier has grown unusually ugly and personal, with allegations of deeply hurtful dirty tricks. An email sent to some Reeves supporters accused him - falsely, he said - of having an affair with a campaign aide. Armed with subpoenaed internet records, Reeves told The Washington Post that he had proof that Vogel or someone close to her was behind it. The message was linked to a cellphone belonging to Vogel's husband, Alex Vogel, and to two IP addresses - one tied to the Vogels' Upperville estate and the other to their next-door neighbors' home, according to copies of the records provided to The Post. "I don't even know what to say, I'm so hurt," said Reeves, a former Army Ranger and Prince William narcotics detective who is married with two children. "I've been in their home. I've eaten dinner with them. I've gotten to be a good friend of their children. But I guess when you want to win at all costs, you'll do whatever it takes." Vogel, a nationally known GOP ethics lawyer, referred questions to her campaign manager, Pat Trueman, who issued a statement saying that the Vogels knew nothing about the message. The statement said the couple had not yet determined if the email really was linked to Vogel family electronics, saying they had only learned about Reeves' claim after Christmas. But the statement raised the possibility that the Vogels, both high-profile attorneys who made headlines in 2015 by buying part of an Upperville estate that had belonged to the late billionaire arts patron Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, had been victims of hacking. "Jill and Alex Vogel have not sent, have not authorized, have not approved, and were not aware of any anonymous communications concerning either of her competitors for the Republican nomination," the statement said. "They would never condone such tactics, nor would they permit a campaign employee or volunteer to do so on behalf of our campaign. . . . Regrettably, in this day and age, there are many ways a person can send an anonymous email and make it appear to have originated from another sender." The Vogels' next-door neighbor, Lisa Gable, whose home IP address was linked to the email, said she knew nothing about the message. She said the two families set up a shared wireless Internet system because of the lack of high-speed access in their rural area. Gable speculated that someone might have been able to tap into the system by parking in her driveway or the Vogels'. "It's beamed wirelessly across the neighborhood, but it's not password protected," she said. "We all live out in the country and never thought about it." Reeves' campaign spokeswoman, Sam Azzarelli, responded to the hacking theory by suggesting that the Vogels agree to have their "phones, computers, and electronic devices forensically tested" by a mutually agreed-upon third party. "We will help fund it to find out if they were truly hacked," she said. Vogel, former chief counsel to the Republican National Committee, is managing partner of Holtzman Vogel Josefiak Torchinsky, a firm with locations in Washington and Warrenton. She specializes in ethics, campaign finance and tax-exempt organizations. Alex Vogel, who has served as the RNC's deputy counsel, is managing partner of VogelHood Group, which bills itself as "Washington's premier policy research and consulting firm." Trueman's statement said that Vogel's campaign "condemns the practice of disseminating information by scurrilous emails." The bitter finger-pointing has erupted as Reeves, Vogel and fellow legislators from across the state prepare to converge on Richmond on Jan. 11 for the General Assembly's 46-day session. Any infighting will be unwelcome for Republicans, who are hoping to put the divisive 2016 presidential primary behind them as they prepare for the November contests for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. While the GOP controls both houses of the General Assembly and a majority of Virginia's congressional seats, the party has not won a statewide race since 2009. The Reeves-Vogel rivalry will hardly be the only one simmering inside what everyone here calls "Mr. Jefferson's Capitol." Just down the marble hallway from the Senate sits a third GOP contender for lieutenant governor, state Del. Glenn R. Davis Jr. of Virginia Beach. And inside the Senate, a Republican running for governor, state Sen. Frank W. Wagner, also of Virginia Beach, will surely tangle with the Democratic gubernatorial candidate who happens to preside over the chamber, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam. But the drama swirling around Reeves and Vogel promises to upstage the others given its deeply personal nature and the startling turnabout it represents for the onetime friends. The two used to be part of the Senate's "raucous caucus," a tight band of GOP allies who once occupied the far corner of the chamber and drew occasional scolding from the Senate clerk for cutting up. They sit just a few seats apart in the chamber and serve on some of the same committees. On Sept. 30, some Reeves supporters received an email from someone purportedly named "Martha McDaniel," under the email address staffordforfreedom@gmail.com. "I am writing to you today concerning your public support for the candidacy of Sen. Bryce Reeves to be our next lieutenant governor," it begins. "As a Christian, I am deeply troubled by Sen. Reeves personal conduct. People around the commonwealth have repeatedly talked about the fact that Sen. Reeves is carrying on an open and obvious adulterous relationship with his campaign staffer and constant companion." After hearing about the message from several recipients, Reeves said he tried to track down a Martha McDaniel but could not find anyone by that name in Stafford, a location he'd inferred from the gmail address. On Oct. 3, he filed a defamation lawsuit in Stafford County Circuit Court against McDaniel, whose only known address was staffordforfreedom@gmail.com. Through subpoenas to Google and two service providers, Reeves found the Gmail account was associated with a certain cellphone number - one belonging to Alex Vogel. The account was accessed via two IP addresses, one associated with the Vogels' estate and the other with their neighbors, Lisa and James Gable. Reeves said he does not know where the case goes from here. "I think the next step is Anne and I need to pray about it," Reeves said, referring to his wife of 25 years. "We have legal counsel. And we're trying to figure out, now that we know who it is, do we go after them civilly? Do we file a bar complaint? Right now we're trying to get our hands around where we are." Among those who received the email was Del. Nicholas Freitas , R-Culpeper, and Travis Witt, pastor of Gilboa Christian Church in rural Mineral and the former chairman of the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation. "I've known Jill for five years," Freitas said. "I don't want to believe she's capable of this. I desperately hold out hope there's another explanation. I just don't see what it would be at this point." Witt said his first instinct was to call Reeves, who assured him the affair allegation was false. His next was to write back to the sender. "As a Christian, you have a responsibility to secure the facts," he wrote. "If you have not spoken to Bryce Reeves about this matter, then speaking to me or anyone else based on the comments of others is biblically incorrect, aka gossip and rumormongering." He said he got no response. "It dismays me that this is a part of the political process," he said. "It doesn't belong in politics. We don't need this stuff." virginia-gop _____ Keywords: ppinnclude, va politics, virginia politics, vapolitics, virginia lieutenant governor's race, alex vogel, jill vogell, bryce reeves PRESIDENT-elect Donald Trump, like many first-time presidents, views government as a necessary evil. For decades, most politicians, regardless of whether they had private-sector experience, supported shrinking the size of the executive branch. The most notable voice in recent years was former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who commented in 2011 that he would abolish three agencies (though he could not remember one of the three). Perrys statement illustrates what many politicians know: Criticizing the government is good politics. But what most politicians conceal is the fact that federal spending levels would change little in the long term if Congress eliminated all non-Department of Defense executive branch agencies. Total spending for the executive branch, known as discretionary funding, amounts to 30 percent of all U.S. spending. The Department of Defense accounts for half of that, so agencies like Commerce, Energy, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs make up 15 percent. If Congress listened to Perry and eliminated the Department of Energythe agency he will soon administerthe government would save $28 billion annually, which is roughly equivalent to the cost of two new CVN-class aircraft carriers. The Department of Energys mission includes protecting the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, managing the strategic petroleum reserve, investing in efforts to protect cyber and physical attacks on U.S. energy infrastructure and conducting programs to ensure worker health and safety. Energys annual budget, like other executive agencies, illustrates that bureaucrats are not expensive. Mandatory spendingi.e., Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and interest on the debtaccounted for 70 percent of total government spending in 2016. Mandatory spending must be addressed to balance the budget, but politicians know that threatening a reduction in these programs is electoral suicide. In fact, one of the best methods to improve government accountability is to invest in more bureaucrats. The executive branch is the same size as it was in the 1970s, despite the increasing number of laws and regulations passed by Congress. (Yes, Congress is to blame for most of those pesky rules and regulations.) The governments workload has skyrocketed, as measured by the amount of spending per government employee, yet neither Congress nor any executive will support additional resources to implement the rules and regulations they advocate. The result of this dilemma is that government contracts outsource many of its duties to the private sector. Government managers are forced to shift existing resourcesthose used to undertake other governmental dutiesto manage contracts. Contracting out does not mean the government is allowing market forces to determine the cheapest and most effective method to accomplish a task. Instead, the government is paying big dollars to companies to undertake governmental missions. Why? Because it is politically palatable. The government remains at 2.1 million people or less, and money is pumped into the economy from the government. Do you wonder why lobbyists like this approach? In 1887, then-professor Woodrow Wilson wrote about a science of administration, a business-like philosophy of government that would probably be heartily endorsed by CEO Trump. The president-elect and the country, however, should understand that there are fundamental differences between business and government. Constitutional values, not corporate law and profit, guide the public sector. Government serves public interests while protecting the competing values that underpin those interests. The government, in other words, cannot ignore or trample on one groups rights at the expense of another. The private sector, in contrast, is governed by corporate law and profit, and business executives are disinterested in anyone who cannot support that goal. Additionally, the government is not owned by a majority stakeholder, so compromise (a.k.a. separation of powers) is the linchpin of our democratic system. These differences do not mean that government cannot learn from the private sector. Some of Trumps private-sector nominees may bring fresh energy and ideas to the executive branch, and since the 1920s many business practices have been successfully incorporated into government. But we should remember that the republics founders intended the structure and processes of government to reflect constitutional values, not those of free enterprise. Chris Dishman is a Ph.D. candidate in public affairs at the University of Texas at Dallas. He wrote this for the Dallas Morning News. Free Freightnet Membership List your company in the Freightnet directory. It's Free, it's Easy and your company can be displayed in front of potential freight buyers within 24 hours. Sheep industry bodies are collecting data on the sectors antibiotics usage to help develop a strategy that promotes best practice and cuts the risk of developing drug resistance. Worldwide concern about antimicrobial resistance is growing. The UK is among 193 nations that have formally recognised the issue as a global challenge in human and agriculture medicine. In response, Defra has committed to reducing usage in all sectors by 19% before 2020. See also: Doctors call for ban on farm antibiotics NSA strategy National Sheep Association chief executive Phil Stocker says: While the sheep industry is not a heavy user of antibiotics, we still take their use very seriously. Antibiotics are a vital weapon in the fight against disease. We all need to play our part in safeguarding antibiotics for the future. Mr Stocker explains: So our starting point in forming a strategy to meet Defras target is to establish what is going on at farm level. Last summer the NSA, in partnership with AHDB Beef & Lamb and MSD, surveyed 350 farmers on antibiotics use. The results are currently being analysed by Adas researchers. Antibiotic use Although we are still analysing data, we can already see the major use of antibiotics in lambs is for watery mouth and joint ill, Mr Stocker says. In older sheep, enzootic abortion and lameness were the key problem areas. The survey also asked farmers to explain how they were using antibiotics. For example, the survey showed flocks with enzootic abortion were using antibiotics to treat cases in an outbreak. This is the correct use and is important for the animals welfare. Nevertheless, vaccinating to prevent the disease could help to reduce antimicrobial use even further, Mr Stocker says. The survey also found that antibiotics use was lower on farms when vets and farmers worked together to share best practice and form preventive strategies. Specialist sheep vet Fiona Lovatt works with vets and farmers to do just that. Dr Lovatt is a director of Flock Health, which runs clubs and workshops to share and promote ideas on reducing disease. She echoes Mr Stockers comments: I cant emphasise strongly enough how important it is to safeguard the use of antibiotics for future generations. If sheep producers could step back, consult their vets, talk to their colleagues and think about how they could reduce routine antibiotics use, it would be invaluable. As the survey showed, the antibiotics are primarily used for enzootic abortion, some lameness issues, watery mouth and joint ill. Target areas to cut routine antibiotics use Watery mouth Watery mouth protection is delivered as a one-off oral dose and Dr Lovatt explains there is a risk with this single dose for the neonatal stomach. The potential is to under-dose, which increases the likelihood of resistance. Avoiding the routine use of antibiotics as a preventive measure against watery mouth would be a major step forward, she believes. Joint ill Its probably hardest to break routine antimicrobial use when dealing with joint ill disease, but even here there are things that can be done, Dr Lovatt says. The key with both diseases is adequate, quality colostrum, from ewes fed a balanced, protein-rich ration, delivered within an hour of birth. This, combined with good hygiene and minimal ewe lameness, will give the lamb the best chance of survival without medicines. Five-point plan Culling badly or repeatedly infected animals Quarantining incoming animals Prompt treatment of clinical cases Avoiding spread at handling and gathering Vaccination Enzootic abortion For enzootic abortion, Dr Lovatt says there is no reason for routine, insurance treatment with antibiotics. A flock buying in replacements will always be at risk of enzootic abortion but they should be vaccinated for protection. It is straightforward, she insists. Lameness Lameness is another area where good practice can dramatically reduce antimicrobial use, Dr Lovatt adds. Producers should adhere to the five-point plan (see box) for cutting lameness through management practice. It is essential to use every available method to reduce foot-rot and contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD) risk, by preventing cases occurring. Antibiotics are needed to treat actual cases the key is to have a plan so that new cases do not occur, she says. Case study: Peter Baber, Weir Park Farm, Christow, Devon 1,100 ewes and ewe lambs (Exlana, Suffolks, Texels and SufTex) Although we have never used antibiotics routinely, we are using less and less because we have refined our management strategy to prevent disease, says Peter Baber. Mr Baber uses a whole-flock management approach, which involves constant revision and improvement of all aspects from genetics to nutrition and simple husbandry measures. Exlanas make up two-thirds of the flock and are lambed outdoors. The remaining Suffolk and Texel ewes are housed at lambing. We are looking for minimal or zero assistance at birth. That goes for both outdoor and indoor flocks. Anything that has difficulties at lambing is likely to be culled. This approach has cut assistance down to virtually zero in the Exlanas and to less than 10% in the indoor lambers, Mr Baber says. If we intervened in the past we used to give antibiotics as a precaution against infection. So, improving the ease-of-lambing trait has improved flock health and reduced antibiotics use, he says. Hygiene Indoors, hygiene, careful nutrition to ensure colostrum production and checking all lambs have sucked has proved the key to cutting watery mouth and reducing antibiotics use. The shed is kept clean using a lot of straw. A rule of thumb or perhaps, rule of knee is that Mr Baber keeps the pens clean and dry enough to kneel down without having to wear waterproof leggings. If my knees are dry, I know the lambs are being kept clean, he says. Ewe nutrition is managed to ensure there is sufficient colostrum. At lambing a rigorously applied scoring system is used to provide management information as each lamb is born. Scoring system Lamb vigour Ease of lambing Ewe colostrum production Lamb size Any poor scores mean the ewe is culled to improve flock genetics. Mr Baber has also reduced antibiotics use for lameness. He targeted foot-rot 15 years ago using the five-point plan (see Five-point plan above). The secret is to reduce the foot-rot challenge by removing the persistent offenders and treating the one-off cases rapidly. Only one of the 1,100-ewe flock was lame when Mr Baber was interviewed. It would be treated within 24 hours. That is crucial to treat early, Mr Baber adds. Keeping disease out of the flock is another vital defence strategy. We breed all our own female replacements. If we bring in one or two rams a year, they undergo a stringent six- to nine-month quarantine, with blood tests for disease, Mr Baber says. Groysman is sure 2017 will be development year for Ukraine Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman has wished love, prosperity and harmony to Ukrainian citizens in the coming 2017. Groysman said that in 2016 the citizens of Ukraine made a lot of good things, but the most important thing they became convinced that they are able to achieve significant results and move towards their goals despite difficulties. The premier thanked those who made possible the growth of the Ukrainian economy. "Ukraine has also fulfilled all its obligations to the European Union on a visa-free regime. I believe that the Association Agreement with the EU will be fully ratified which will provide an additional impetus to the deepening of European integration and the effective implementation of internal reforms," the premier said. He expressed confidence that the worst times are over already and 2017 will be a year of further development, will bring significant changes in the social, economic, defense, political, cultural and humanitarian spheres. Story Highlights Index at +9 in December, up eight points from November Both index components reach new highs GOP has higher confidence than Democrats for first time since '09 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans ended 2016 with higher confidence in the U.S. economy than they have expressed at any other point since 2008. Gallup's Economic Confidence Index averaged +9 in December, up eight points from November. The record-high confidence is largely the result of increased optimism among Republicans after November's election. Before President-elect Donald Trump's victory, the index score was negative in nearly all weekly and monthly readings Gallup has recorded since 2008. December's figure of +9 is only marginally better than what Gallup measured in November after the election (+4), but the December average was significantly higher because the November average includes a mixture of pre-election (when the index averaged -11) and post-election interviewing. In other words, confidence did not improve much in December compared with what it was in mid- to late November. That said, for the final week in December, the index averaged +11, the best weekly average in Gallup's tracking trend. Gallup's U.S. Economic Confidence Index is the average of two components: how Americans rate current economic conditions and whether they feel the economy is improving or getting worse. The index has a theoretical maximum of +100 if all Americans were to say the economy is doing well and improving, and a theoretical minimum of -100 if all Americans were to say the economy is doing poorly and getting worse. Americans' assessments of both the current economy and its direction are the most positive they have been since 2008. In December, 30% of Americans rated the economy as "excellent" or "good," while 22% said it was "poor," resulting in a current conditions score of +8. This was up from November's +5 current conditions score and marks the highest reading for this component since 2008. Meanwhile, the outlook score was up more sharply, rising to +10 in December from -4 the prior month. The December score, the highest in Gallup tracking since 2008, reflected 52% of Americans saying economic conditions in the country were "getting better," while 42% said they were "getting worse." Republicans Edge Democrats in Confidence for First Time Since January 2009 With their party's nominee having just won the 2016 presidential election, Republicans' views of the economy have become more favorable. As a result, after lagging Democrats substantially, Republicans (+16) now have slightly higher economic confidence than Democrats (+11). This is the first time Republicans have been more positive than Democrats since January 2009, during another transition period, as Republican President George W. Bush served his final weeks in office. On the other hand, although it remained positive, Democrats' confidence score slipped from +15 in November to +11 in December. And with independents' confidence rising from -5 to +3, all three party groups now have positive index scores. Bottom Line December's relatively high economic confidence results from a shift in views of the ways Republicans and Democrats look at the economy. Republicans gained economic confidence on the heels of the election, while Democrats' confidence began to edge down. These trends could continue once President Barack Obama leaves the White House on Jan. 20, with a yet-to-be-determined effect on overall confidence. Trump is set to take office at a time of favorable economic conditions across several different measures, from low unemployment to healthy gains in the stock market, which could help him maintain a confidence among Americans early in his presidency. Whether those measures stay strong over the course of his administration will help determine whether Americans continue to evaluate the U.S. economy positively. These data are available in Gallup Analytics. Survey Methods Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Dec. 1-30, 2016, on the Gallup U.S. Daily survey, with a random sample of 13,674 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is 1 percentage point at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting. Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 60% cellphone respondents and 40% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods. Learn more about how Gallup Daily tracking works. The agreement comes about two months after Project Roomkey, which provided motel rooms for the homeless, ended. Recent letter writers to the Gazette-Times may want to examine their roots to only discover that their families came to this continent from afar as immigrants, perhaps even refugees. It is not likely that they were invited by the indigenous peoples native to North America. I ventured here on a work visa myself many years ago, following my father who had been recruited in by the Boeing Corp. I know the false promise of the American Dream, which attracts so many to America. Why do some insist on the disenfranchisement and shunning of those who have chosen to follow in our footsteps? Immigration is a matter of law to be administered and enforced by the proper authorities, in this case the federal government, not the state, the counties, the cities nor our citizens. That would mean the imposition of an unfunded mandate. It may help to point out that Oregon State University has attracted numerous foreign students; university officials love these students because they pay full freight and further benefit the housing, automotive, retail and recreational market in our fair city. I routinely welcome those students to our city, by at least a greeting if not a conversation. We are enriched by our diversity and willingness to invite others, not like us. In terms of the now tired and seldom applied cliche, see something, say something:" Ask yourself when you last spoke up about the abuse of a woman or child, the sexual harassment of any sex, or intervened when a person was leaving an event too inebriated to get behind the wheel. Let me also inform you that I have yet to observe the City Council rubber-stamp an OSU edict or policy. These unpaid volunteers donate all too many hours on behalf of the residents of this town; the criticism is unwarranted. Let me now turn to the diligent, hardworking Latino population: The immigration crisis described by many is the result of congressional failure in its unwillingness to reach a bipartisan compromise on workable legislation. We can also attribute the arrival of numbers of undocumented workers to the insatiable needs of those employers who exploit and employ them, illegally, by the way. There is one other factor, the birthright issue, in which America stands alone in the world in its consideration of birth on our shores as an entitlement to citizenship. No sane person would want to stand in the shoes of those asked or directed to deport mothers and fathers while leaving the child behind. More work for Congress and the nation a constitutional amendment. In the matter of retribution by the feds for our unwillingness to act on their behalf, I would consider the risk low because we are certainly not an island on this issue. We do not stand alone. A greater risk may be that the feds decide to crack down on the movement to make both medical and recreational marijuana readily available to the citizenry. Some jurisdictions, including Oregon and the city of Oregon have levied a tax on the sale of recreational pot. Ive yet to see one complaint on that revenue stream; follow the money. The national JSC Naftogaz Ukrainy has signed with Citi and Deutsche Bank a loan agreement for a euro-denominated credit facility for gas purchase in the equivalent of $500 million secured by the World Bank. The facility is secured by the World Bank's guarantee, which, in turn, is secured by the sovereign guarantee issued as part of the formation of the energy fund according to resolution No. 876 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated November 30 2016 on the provision of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development with the sovereign guarantee under obligations of NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy, the national gas company's press service reported. The guarantee is valid for a term of four years, with two years available for gas purchase and two years for repayment. The guarantee of the World Bank and the credit facility are highly cost-effective compared to other loan agreements of Naftogaz. According to the funding conditions under the credit facility, Naftogaz will continue buying gas under existing eligible contracts, switching from pre-payment to post-payment terms. The payments to suppliers will be secured by letters of credit issued by Citi and Deutsche Bank, which will convert into loans when payments are made. Naftogaz will repay those loans within twelve months upon the receipt. The World Bank guarantees the repayment of the loans to the international commercial banks. Under this credit facility, Naftogaz will be able to purchase gas from both western and eastern directions. Decisions to do so will depend on the competitiveness of gas supply proposals. "These funds will enable Naftogaz to ensure a stable gas supply to Ukrainian consumers during this winter," the company's press service quoted Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolev as saying. In 2015, Naftogaz received a $300 million revolving loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to purchase gas from European suppliers, the company said. The Pilot travel agency has been selected as an official tour operator of the Eurovision 2017 song contest, the National Television Company of Ukraine - the organizer and broadcaster of the song contest in Kyiv has reported. Pilot has won the tender, which was held by the National Television Company of Ukraine in November. The official tour operator of Eurovision 2017 should have an online service that allows foreign visitors to quickly and easily reserve hotel rooms for the time of the song contest in Kyiv. When choosing a travel partner, the Eurovision 2017 took into account the requirements and standards of the European Broadcasting Union. "The online service of the tour operator of Eurovision should be as convenient as possible for ordering and paying for hotel rooms. Also, the tour operator should offer hotel rooms in various price categories. The online booking system, which was provided by the Pilot company, as well as the qualifications of their employees has convinced us that it is a decent travel partner for the international song contest," Executive Producer of Eurovision 2017 Oleksandr Harebin said. Pilot will provide these services to official delegations, media, representatives of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), sponsors and partners of the show, as well as fans of Eurovision, which will arrive in May 2017 in the capital of Ukraine. New Years Eve Cologne : Police defend checks against allegations of racism Dusseldorf Green Party leader Simone Peter backpedals after criticising checks on hundreds of north Africans. Cologne police chief, Jurgen Mathies explained police had to decide quickly what to do and know that it is not grey-haired old men or young blond-haired women who must be checked. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken Cologne police have defended their actions in relation to hundreds of north Africans on New Years Eve against allegations of racism. The federal police had already reported from trains that highly aggressive groups were on their way to Cologne. Relevant people were therefore subject to checks to prevent dangerous incidents. Police had to decide quickly and know that it is not grey-haired old men or young blond-haired women who must be checked said Cologne police chief, Jurgen Mathies. Mathies regretted that his press office had used the word Nafris on Twitter. The shorthand word means north African multiple offender in police jargon. Mathies said the term had, been very poorly used here in this situation. Even the NRW Greens distanced themselves from Simone Peter's view Green party leader Simone Peter had questioned the appropriateness and legality of the checks. Peter criticised that just under 1.000 people were, examined based on their appearance alone. Peter later backpedalled and wrote on her Facebook page: It was correct to act quickly and in a preventative manner here and to guarantee the safety of all people in Cologne. The NRW left-winger even accused the police of racism. SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel rejected the criticism as, a simply mad debate. The actions had nothing to do with racism but were a smart way to avoid trouble. Even the NRW Greens distanced themselves from their own leader. The Cologne Greens also defended the police presence as appropriate. Ukraine in 2016 reduced imports of natural gas by 32.7% (by 5.376 billion cubic meters) compared with 2015, to 11.078 billion cubic meters, according to live data from PJSC Ukrtransgaz. In December 2016 gas imports amounted to 1.659 billion cubic meters, which is 3.7 times more than in December last year (444 million cubic meters). Imports from Slovakia last month amounted to 1.303 billion cubic meters, from Hungary 227 million cubic meters, Poland 129.7 million cubic meters. As reported, Ukraine has not been importing natural gas under the contract with Gazprom for 13 months (http://utg.ua/still-alive), purchasing resources exclusively on its western border. Ukrtransgaz, 100% owned by Naftogaz Ukrainy, operates a system of trunk gas pipelines and 12 underground gas storage facilities in the country What to Expect From Tomorrows Google Event News oi -Rohit Google CEO Sundar Pichai will talk about companys new initiatives for Indian technology market, specifically SMBs Google CEO Sundar Pichai is going to address an event tomorrow in New Delhi, where he is expected to announce the company's new initiatives aimed at helping small businesses and startups in the Indian market. The whole idea behind Google's upcoming event is to make emerging businesses go online. The two-hour event will be attended by Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting- Sh. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Google's senior leaders, Indian entrepreneurs and SMBs. How to Manually Update OnePlus 3 to Official Android Nougat! Here's what we expect from tomorrow's event. Sundar Pichai will address the key audience in the presence of Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting- Sh. Ravi Shankar Prasad, who will talk about how the digital tools are helping Indian businesses and entrepreneurs. We might also see Union Minister announcing some schemes for entrepreneurs and SMBs in India to help them grow digitally. The invite shared by Google talks about company's partnership with businesses to help them unlock exponential growth through the power of digital. This might lead to some new investments in Indian technology space by the search engine giant to help India grow digitally. As noted, Google in its last event in January 2016 announced its free Wi-Fi service at Mumbai Central railway station and company's plans to roll out the facility to 100 stations by the end of 2016, and to 400 stations eventually. This time around, the focus is on Indian SMBs. Sundari Pichai is expected to talk in detail about the Indian SMB ecosystem, and how digital initiatives can be a game changer for their business. Therefore, the event might attract huge audience from Indian SMB space and the emerging startups. Pichai is also expected to talk and announce Google's Digital Unlocked platform, the company's online learning tool for small businesses and startups. The training course is certified by Google in association with Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. Post the event in New Delhi, Pichai is expected to travel to IIT Kharagpur, where he will discuss his life experiences with a group of students and teachers at an event, titled 'A journey back to the past to inspire the future'. The event will take place on January 5. Click Here for New Smartphones Best Online Deals Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Asus Zenfone AR (Augmented Reality) Might be Unveiled at CES 2017 News oi -Chakri Kudikala The Asus Zenfone AR will be the second Tango after the Lenovo PHAB 2 Pro. It looks like Asus is planning something big for CES 2017. An accidentally leaked press release suggests that the Asus Zenfone AR will be the first smartphone to be unveiled by the company this year at the CES 2017. Apart from the press release, famous tipster, Evan Blass also posted a couple of images of the Asus Zenfone AR, and going by the pictures, the Zenfone AR will have a dual camera on the rear, and the AR in the phone stands for Augmented Reality. That said, the Asus Zenfone AR will be powered by the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chipset and it the phone will be daydream ready as well, according to the press release. In the media release, the company is clearly betting the phone against the Lenovo PHAB 2 Pro smartphone, which is powered by the Snapdragon 652 SoC. Also, the Asus Zenfone AR will be the second Tango phone to be released after the PHAB 2 Pro. Pricing and other details of the phone are still unknown, and the phone will be official in a couple of days. Stay tuned to GIZBOT for more information regarding the Asus Zenfone AR. Source: 1|2 Via Best Mobiles in India Military Strikes Target ISIL in Syria, Iraq From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release SOUTHWEST ASIA, Jan. 2, 2017 U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Iraq and Syria yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today. Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports. Strikes in Syria Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 17 strikes in Syria: -- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an oil wellhead and a crane. -- Near Raqqah, 12 strikes engaged five ISIL tactical units; destroyed six fighting positions, two oil storage tanks and an ISIL checkpoint; and damaged five supply routes, a bridge and a trench. -- Near Ayn Isa, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a mortar system. -- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed an oil wellhead, a drilling truck, a dump truck, and two oil tanker trucks. -- Near Idlib, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed two tactical vehicles. Strikes in Iraq Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted nine strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government: -- Near Haditha, a strike destroyed an ISIL bunker. -- Near Kisik, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an observation post and a weapons cache. -- Near Mosul, six strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units; destroyed four mortars, five vehicle bombs, a heavy machine gun, a vehicle, an ISIL-held building, a pontoon bridge, and three vehicle bomb factories; disabled two bridges; damaged 31 supply routes; and suppressed six mortar teams. -- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed two weapons storage facilities. 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 Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. 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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Philippines moving away from US towards China: Envoy Iran Press TV Mon Jan 2, 2017 6:5PM The Philippines's incoming ambassador to China says his country plans to move away from its long-time ally, the United States, towards Beijing. Jose Chito Sta. Romana said on Monday that the decision was a "strategic shift" in the Philippines' foreign policy and a step towards normalizing relations with China. "We were one-sidedly imbalanced in favor of the US," he said. "We are not abandoning our alliance with the US ... We are basically trying to normalize our relations with China." The incoming ambassador also said Manila was open to working with Beijing to access resources in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. "The Chinese viewed the Philippines as a geopolitical pawn or Trojan horse of the US. Now they look at us as a friendly neighbor," Romana noted. China claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, which is also partially contested by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines. A UN-backed tribunal ruled in July that China's claims had no legal basis. Relations between Washington and Manila have been strained since Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte took the helm in June 2016. The US, the Philippines' colonial ruler until 1946, currently serves as the South Asian country's main military ally but has also been highly critical of Duterte's severe crackdown on crime, specially drug trade, which has killed some 3,000 people over the past months. The Filipino president has dismissed the criticism as an attempt to interfere in his country's internal affairs and has threatened to cut ties with the US. In September 2016, Duterte rejected a meeting scheduled with former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and even threatened to leave the UN after the world body criticized his "war on drugs." Civil rights campaigners have criticized Philippine police operations amid concerns that some of the dead suspects may have been summarily executed by law enforcement officers. Duterte has also used offensive language to describe world politicians who make comments he does not like on numerous occasions. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US special forces in Baltics to help NATO allies counter Russia Iran Press TV Mon Jan 2, 2017 2:58PM American commandos maintain a "persistent" presence in the Baltic states to bolster the training and resolve of troops of the NATO allies anxious about "a looming threat from Russia," according to a report. Dozens of US Special Operations forces have "quietly" been deployed to boost the tiny militaries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, and help the US detect any "shadowy efforts" by Moscow to destabilize the former Soviet republics, The New York Times said in a report on Sunday. "They're scared to death of Russia," said Gen. Raymond T. Thomas, the head of the Pentagon's Special Operations Command, who visited Lithuania recently. "They are very open about that. They're desperate for our leadership." The Americans provide sophisticated surveillance technology and intelligence to the Baltic countries, who have a "deep understanding" of Russian military power and cyber capabilities, The Times said. The Baltic nations are concerned that US President-elect Donald Trump's warmer tone toward Russia might encourage President Vladimir Putin to want to assert control across the whole region. Trump, who has repeatedly signaled willingness to mend ties with Putin, suggested during the election campaign that the US would only protect NATO allies that paid their fair share to the military alliance. The comments unnerved the Baltics, which count on NATO's collective security to counter any Russian "aggression." Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham along with Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar visited all three Baltic countries last week to assure the jittery allies of the United States' commitment to their security. "And the best way to prevent Russian misbehavior [is] by having a credible, strong military and a strong NATO alliance," McCain said in Estonia. The US deployed about 150 troops in each of the three Baltic countries and Poland in April 2014 in the face of perceived threats from Russia. Since the Ukraine conflict began nearly three years ago, the US and its NATO allies have bolstered their military exercises in the region. They are also slated to send battalions of 800 to 1,200 troops to each Baltic state and Poland this spring. As part of their trip, Sen. McCain and his colleagues also visited a frontline outpost in eastern Ukraine and met with soldiers fighting pro-Russia forces there. Violence erupted in Ukraine early in 2014 when a Russian-backed government was ousted, giving the country's pro-Western forces the opportunity to seize power. Relations between Russia and Ukraine further soured when Crimea rejoined the Russian Federation following a referendum in March of that year. The US and its European allies accuse Moscow of having a hand in the conflict and have imposed a series of sanctions against Russia and Putin's inner circle. Moscow rejects the allegation. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Montenegro's NATO-Russia Chess Match Gordana Knezevic January 02, 2017 Montenegro and Serbia are Russian President Vladimir Putin's "red line" in Europe, judging by year-end headlines in Belgrade's tabloid press. Drawing on unnamed diplomatic sources, those stories in the Serbian capital claim that Putin has a plan for a new "world order" in which Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia-Herzegovina -- designated "militarily neutral states" -- would serve as buffers between NATO and Russia and its allies. The same sources are quoted as saying, in line with this vision, that Putin had advised U.S. President-elect Donald Trump not to "force through" Montenegro's membership in NATO. The details of Putin's grand strategic plan may or may not be entirely accurate, but the extent of Moscow's hostility to Montenegrin NATO ambitions has been clear for some time. Podgorica has been under intense pressure from Moscow to drop its EU and NATO membership bids. Given questions about the future direction of U.S. policy vis-a-vis Russia, there have been expressions of growing concern in Montenegro that its steadfastly pro-Western stance might go unrewarded. In that context, a prospective visit from a "troika" of U.S. senators was seen as a welcome show of support. John McCain (Republican-Arizona), Lindsay Graham (Republican-South Carolina), and Amy Klobuchar (Democrat-Minnesota) were expected to stop over in Montenegro on January 3 on their way back from a tour of the Baltics, Georgia, and Ukraine. As it turned out, the visit was postponed at the last minute, although McCain thanked Montenegro for its assistance in the global fight against terrorism and reiterated his support for Montenegro's NATO hopes. For some in Montenegro, NATO membership increasingly looks like a question of political life and death, as that small Balkan state finds itself on the front lines of what could become a new Cold War. Recent reports suggest Russia has applied pressure to derail Montenegro's NATO accession or EU integration. For years, Russia's "new rich" have been investing in and acquiring property in Montenegro. In popular coastal resort towns like Budva, Russian is a second language, enjoying parity with Montenegrin. But relations have begun to sour. A case in point is Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, once seen as a potential savior of Montenegro with his investment in local aluminum production, who is now suing the Montenegrin state over purported losses. Many Russians seemingly believed that their investment in Montenegro would be repaid in political influence. Yet Podgorica remains stubbornly committed to forging ties with the West. This year Montenegro could become the 29th member of NATO, a process that could conclude with a ratifying vote in the Montenegrin parliament in the spring. (So far 19 of 28 NATO members have approved Montenegrin membership, which was endorsed in Warsaw in July, and the U.S. Senate could vote later this month on ratification.) Moscow has responded by ratcheting up the pressure. Sergei Zheleznyak, a senior official within Russia's ruling United Russia party, issued a warning to the Montenegrin government on December 26, during his most recent visit to Belgrade. "The Montenegrin authorities are making a mistake in trying to speed up the country's entry into NATO, knowing that the majority of their people are opposed to this. An attempt to force through NATO membership is not in Montenegro's or NATO's best interests, and it can easily lead to instability in the country, in the Balkans, and inside NATO," Zheleznyak said after talks with officials from the Serbian ruling party. His statement echoed Moscow's official line. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed recently that "frantic attempts are being made to drag Montenegro into NATO" before the handover to the Trump administration in the United States in January. At a recent OSCE meeting in Hamburg, Lavrov said, "We are not interfering in this process, but I think that the unattractiveness of these frantic efforts is clear to everyone." But reports of a botched coup in Montenegro in October could put a real dent in Lavrov's charge. Montenegrin authorities last month issued international arrest warrants for Russians and Serbs accused of involvement in that purported plot, which allegedly sought to assassinate the Montenegrin prime minister and take over parliament on election day. Podgorica has said it has no evidence of high-level Russian official involvement in the abortive coup, and the Kremlin has denied involvement. But it could not have been reassuring for Montenegrin officials to see one of the suspects in the coup plot practically rubbing elbows with Russia's Lavrov last month. Russia's line about a lack of support for NATO membership in Montenegro also might not reflect reality. "The official invitation to join NATO and signing of the Accession Protocol were the best things that happened to Montenegro in 2016," Darko Sukovic, a prominent Montenegrin journalist, has said. Former Foreign Minister Miodrag Vlahovic, meanwhile, said he was anxious for the country to find a way to secure NATO membership while preventing the deterioration of relations with Russia. "We're entering a dramatic finale. To use a chess analogy, Montenegro only needs a draw in this historic chess match with Russia," he said. "The main thing is not to lose momentum and to finally seal the deal [NATO membership] while avoiding direct conflict with the Kremlin -- with a little help from our [Western] allies, of course." Edward P. Joseph of the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, in an article co-authored with Sinisa Vukovic, argued recently that Montenegro represents a litmus test for Trump's Russia policy. "Western security is best served by supporting democratic governments of any size facing pressure from regional bullies. The alternative is to deliver another country into Moscow's grip, and whet its appetite to take another." The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/montenegro-nato- russia-chess-match/28210094.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Senators Conclude Georgia Visit Pledging Tougher Russia Sanctions RFE/RL's Georgian Service January 02, 2017 Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili and a delegation of U.S. senators have discussed the Caucasus country's aspirations for joining Western institutions and the Georgian-U.S. strategic relationship in Tbilisi. The president's office said Margvelashvili thanked John McCain (Republican-Arizona), Lindsey Graham (Republican-South Carolina), and Amy Klobuchar (Democrat-Minnesota) on January 2 for their support of Georgia's "sovereignty and territorial integrity" during talks in the Georgian capital. The senators included talks on their two-day trip with Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze. McCain said he also met with some opposition leaders. The U.S. delegation stopped on January 2 at the NATO-Georgian Joint Training and Evaluation Center near Tbilisi and earlier at Khurvaleti, the boundary with the breakaway Georgian territory of South Ossetia that has been controlled by Russian forces since a brief war was fought in 2008. "Our message is that 2017 will be a year of 'more' -- more American military support, more trade, more economic integration, and more push-back against Russia for the aggression not only here, but throughout the world, more sanctions," Graham said. "Now is the time to let [Russian President Vladimir] Putin know that we as a world have had enough." McCain added: "It is clear that Russia has attacked the United States of America; all of our intelligence agencies will affirm that that'd been the case. We will work in the Congress to have stronger sanctions [against Russia] in order to prevent further attacks on the United States of America." The senators had also visited the Baltic states and Ukraine on their trip. With reporting by TASS and Agenda.ge Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/georgia-us- senators-end-visit-vow-tougher-russia- sanctions/28209833.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Dushanbe Probing Claim Taliban Tanks Being Repaired In Tajikistan RFE/RL's Tajik Service, RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan January 02, 2017 Tajik authorities are looking into claims by an Afghan official that Taliban tanks and other heavy weapons are being repaired by Russian engineers in Tajikistan. Muhammadjon Ulughkhojaev, a spokesman for Tajikistan's border guard agency, said on January 2 that the allegations are "baseless." But he added he is unaware of all details of the allegations. Ulughkhojaev said the border guard agency "has been looking into the claim," will study the Afghan media reports, and will report on the results of their investigation. The Afghan Defense Ministry's deputy spokesman, Mohammad Radmanish, was also skeptical of such reports. Radmanish said on January 2 that he doesn't think it is possible "to transport heavy weaponry to the other side of the Amu-Darya River" that marks the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan. "[The Taliban] usually drives small vehicles, such as pickup trucks with heavy weapons mounted on them, but they do not have heavy vehicles, such as tanks," he said. Last month, a former governor of northern Afghanistan's Kunduz Province was quoted by Afghan media as saying that military vehicles and other weapons seized by Taliban militants from the Afghan Army were being sent to Tajikistan for repairs. Muhammad Omar Safi reportedly alleged that the vehicles and weapons had been repaired by Russian military engineers based in Tajikistan before being returned to the Taliban. Safi claimed that such cooperation between the Afghan Taliban and the Russian military has been going on for nearly two years. Some 7,000 Russian troops are stationed in Tajikistan. In recent months, Afghan officials have voiced concern over what they described as Russian aid to the Taliban. In early December, Afghan lawmakers said they planned to investigate reports about alleged seizures of Russian-made weapons destined for the Taliban. Russia denies providing aid to the Sunni extemist militant group. Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/russia- taliban-tajikistan-weapons-repair- allegations/28209369.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Thai Army Chief: No More Coups, We Swear Sputnik News 22:17 02.01.2017(updated 01:37 03.01.2017) No more coups, we promise, Thailand's army chief said in an interview with local media January 2 that is causing some mirth online. The country is looking toward an election in late 2017, which General Chalermchai Sitthisat promised the armed forces would respect. "I can confirm that there won't be a coup. What would be a reason for having to have the coup?" the general asked. "There won't be a coup. We have already learned from what happened (in the past)," he said. Of course, the current military junta was brought to power by a coup in 2014. But never mind that: the junta has promised to hold elections once the country, which recently lost its beloved king, can finalize its new constitution. And no matter who the country elects, Thailand can count on the military to stay out of it, Sitthisat said. "When elections are held, everyone must accept the rules. The military will not reject the polls," he said, even if the political clique the military ousted in 2014 is reelected, the Bangkok Post reported. In 2014, the government of Yingluck Shinawatra was toppled by Thailand's military, only days after the then-army chief (and now prime minister) promised there would be no coup. The army removed Yingluck's brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, in 2006. Given that the military has successfully seized power 12 times since 1932, and failed on another seven attempts, the general's statements are causing giggles on social media. "If the army says something like that it means they will do the opposite for sure," Eakapong Leesinla commented on Facebook, as reported by the South China Morning Post. "Why ask such a question," Pim Pongchandr said on the same site. "We all know what he was going to answer, who would say yes?" The military says that it stepped in to create stability after years of conflict between Shinawatra supporters and their opponents. Critics say the military is acting in support of the country's elites. Shinawatra and her brother are to some, champions of the poor; to others, corrupt business magnates consolidating power. Reuters reports that the latest election may in fact be put on hold as the government struggles to draft new election laws. "This is not a postponement but because of the intricacies involved in drafting election laws, elections will not happen this year," said Somjet Boonthanom, a member of the military-appointed National Legislative Assembly (NLA). Elections are now likely to be held in March or April of 2018, he said. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine in January through October 2016 exported $4.5 million worth of Christmas decoration to 25 countries, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Ukraine's Trade Representative Natalia Mykolska has said. She wrote on her Facebook page on December 31 that 90.6% of exported Christmas decoration was made of glass. "The main market is the EU countries. A total of 62.3% of total decoration was exported to this market in January through October 2016. Total supplies to the EU countries grew by 31.7% (from $2.1 million in January-October 2015 to $2.8 million). Among top three largest markets were three EU countries (the Netherlands, Germany and Poland)," she wrote. She also said that 31.1% of total exports and 49.9% of exports to the EU countries is the market of the Netherlands (growth by 37.5%). Exports to Canada soared by 13.9 times, to Belarus by 5.1 times, Italy 3.1 times, Moldova by 2.9 times, the United States by 2.7 times, Switzerland by 2.6 times and Poland by 2.3 times, she said. Mykolska said that this year new markets appeared Turkey, Maldives, the Czech Republic, Spain, Ireland, Azerbaijan and Iceland. The Russian market fell by 54.4% this year, being only $632,300 ($3.5 billion in January-October 2014). Four Dutch F-16 Jets Arrive in Lithuania for NATO Air Policing Mission Sputnik News 20:02 02.01.2017(updated 20:05 02.01.2017) Four F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole fighters of the Netherlands' Air Force landed at Lithuania's Siauliai airbase to take over NATO's air policing mission in the Baltic states from January 5, the country's Defense Ministry said Monday. VILNIUS (Sputnik) NATO air police mission in Lithuania has been conducted by four French fighter jets Mirage 2000 since September 2016 while several German Eurofighter Typhoon jets are carrying out the mission from Estonian base. "From January 5, 120 servicemen of the Netherlands' Air Force from Leeuwarden and Vokel airbases will take over from the French Air Force NATO's air policing mission in the Baltic states," the ministry said in a statement. The Defense Ministry added that Netherlands' Air Forces conducted the NATO's air policing mission in Lithuania in 2005 for the first time. Four Dutch fighter jets had been carrying out the mission in Poland between September and December 2014. The Baltic states do not have the aircraft fleet to conduct air policing missions, therefore NATO jets are entrusted with responsibility to ensure security in the airspace since April 2004. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Some 400 Lithuanian Troops Set to Begin NATO Service in January Sputnik News 18:37 02.01.2017 Some 400 Lithuanian soldiers will begin their service in various NATO forces, including NATO Response Force and NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said Monday in a statement. VILNIUS (Sputnik) According to the ministry, ground forces, special operation forces and military police will join NATO missions. "About 400 Lithuanian troops with arms and military equipment will begin their service in NATO Response Force (NRF), NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF). Lithuanian troops will also join the newly reorganized UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF)," the statement read. The JEF is comprised of seven countries, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom and was created to deal with crises. In the end of December 2016, Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis said Lithuania was aiming to spend on defense more than the minimum required by NATO, which is 2 percent of the country's GDP, and set 2.2 or 2.4 percent as a goal. In 2016, NATO increased military presence on the border with Russia, in Baltic countries, including Lithuania. The Kremlin has repeatedly stressed that Moscow was not a threat, but would have to respond to actions that are potentially dangerous to its security. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Azerbaijan Violates Karabakh Ceasefire 30 Times on Monday NKR Defense Ministry Sputnik News 12:20 02.01.2017 Azerbaijani forces have violated the ceasefire in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh 30 times early on Monday, the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic's (NKR) Defense Ministry said. YEREVAN (Sputnik) Front units of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army are in control of the situation and continue to carry out their combat duty, the ministry added, noting that the violations were not met with response fire. "Early on January 2, the Azerbaijani armed forces violated the ceasefire agreement 30 times along the line of contact between Karabakh and Azerbaijani forces. Over 300 shots from weapons of varying caliber were fired at Armenian positions over this period of time," the ministry said in a statement. The violence in Nagorno-Karabakh flared up on April 2. Baku and Yerevan accused each other of provoking hostilities that led to multiple deaths on each side. The sides agreed to a ceasefire on April 5, but clashes have continued. The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988, when the autonomous region sought to secede from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, before proclaiming independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The warring sides agreed to a cessation of hostilities in 1994. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Armenia Violates Karabakh Ceasefire 35 Times Over Last 24 Hours Sputnik News 09:24 02.01.2017(updated 12:25 02.01.2017) According to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, the Armenian military has violated the truce in Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh 35 times over the past 24 hours. BAKU (Sputnik) The Armenian military has violated the ceasefire along the contact line in Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh 35 times over the past 24 hours, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Saturday. "The Defense Ministry says that Armenian armed forces, using heavy machine guns, violated the ceasefire 35 times along various stretches of the frontline in last 24 hours," the ministry's press service said. Azerbaijan does not recognize the ethnically Armenian self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) and considers the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army to be a part of the Armed Forces of Armenia. The violence in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on April 2. Baku and Yerevan have accused each other of provoking hostilities that led to multiple deaths on each side. A ceasefire was agreed on several days later on April 5, yet hostilities continued. The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988, when the autonomous region sought to secede from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, before proclaiming independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The warring sides agreed to a cessation of hostilities in 1994. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Update: air strikes against Daesh 2 January 2017 The renewed counter-Daesh offensive to liberate Mosul in Iraq, coupled with the advance of forces in Syria, has resulted in a busy period for Royal Air Force aircraft, providing close air support and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance activity as part of the coalition air campaign. Latest update The RAF continued to hit Daesh hard in both Iraq and Syria between 29-31 December 2016: On Thursday 29 December, Tornado GR4 aircraft conducted successful airstrikes in both Iraq and Syria. A precision guided Paveway IV weapon was used to destroy a Daesh artillery position and weapons cache on the outskirts of Mosul. Concealed amongst trees under dense foliage, the Tornado was able to locate and score a hit against the Daesh target. A further weapons stockpile was targeted, this time in Mosul, by a Tornado-launched Brimstone weapon. The terrorist weapons were successful destroyed by a direct hit. The same Tornado formation was then tasked to a target in Syria, two kilometres north of Palmyra. A Brimstone weapon was used in a precision attack to destroy a Daesh artillery weapon which was mounted on a truck. Tornado aircraft conducted thorough checks before each strike to ensure that no civilians were put at risk. Typhoon aircraft were also performing close air support duties over Iraq, supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker. Reaper remotely piloted aircraft struck three targets in Mosul, assisting Iraqi troops on the ground. Three Hellfire missiles were launched against three separate Daesh targets, including a mortar team hidden under a tree line. On Friday 30 December, Royal Air Force aircraft overcame thunderstorms at RAF Akrotiri and poor weather conditions in the skies over Iraq and Syria in order to support the coalition's air campaign. Once again, the Reaper remotely piloted aircraft launched successful airstrikes in support of Iraqi troops who were being fired upon by Daesh fighters. In addition to two Hellfire missile strikes achieved in Mosul, the Reaper aircraft conducted valuable reconnaissance of the situation on the ground, enabling two strikes against Daesh by coalition aircraft. On Saturday 31 December, Reaper remotely piloted aircraft from the Royal Air Force were operating over Iraq. A Reaper aircraft enabled the destruction of a Daesh mortar position which was firing on Iraqi ground troops. The Reaper's reconnaissance enabled a coalition aircraft to successfully remove the imminent terrorist threat to the Iraqi forces. Previous update - Thursday 22 December Tornados destroyed a tank south-west of Sinjar in northern Iraq. - Friday 23 December Typhoons bombed a terrorist position north of Tabaqah in Syria; in Iraq, Tornados hit a weapons cache north-east of Haditha, and a Reaper destroyed an artillery gun near Mosul. - Sunday 25 December Tornados and Typhoons attacked three Daesh targets in and around Mosul. - Tuesday 27 December Typhoons destroyed a heavy machine-gun position whilst supporting Syrian Democratic Forces west of Raqqah. Detail Operations against the Daesh terrorist network have continued unabated during the holiday period, with Royal Air Force aircraft supporting Iraqi operations to liberate Mosul, and the advance on Raqqah by Syrian Democratic Forces. On Thursday 22 December, two Tornado GR4s, based at RAF Akrotiri, were tasked against one of the few tanks operated by Daesh, which had been spotted by coalition surveillance aircraft hidden under a tarpaulin in an orchard to the south-west of Sinjar. The tank was destroyed by a direct hit from a Brimstone missile. The next day, Typhoon FGR4s, armed with Paveway IV guided bombs, patrolled over Syria and successfully attacked a terrorist position which SDF fighters had encountered to the north of Tabaqah, near Lake Assad. In Iraq, Tornados used Paveway IVs to destroy a weapons stockpile some 50 miles north-east of Haditha, whilst a Reaper remotely piloted aircraft assisted the Iraqi operations in Mosul; its crew conducted a thorough check for civilians who might be at risk before a successful coalition air strike destroyed another weapons stockpile. The Reaper then delivered an attack using one of its own Hellfire missiles to destroy an artillery piece loaded on a trailer - as with the tank, the terrorists had attempted to hide the gun under a tarpaulin in thick woodland to the north-west of the city, but to no avail. Christmas Day saw Mosul blanketed with thick cloud, but both Typhoons and Tornados were able, by dint of close cooperation with the Iraqi forces on the ground, to prosecute Daesh targets in and around the city. A pair of Typhoons used a Paveway IV to attack a small bridge used by the terrorists, whilst a Tornado flight attacked two Daesh strong-points with which the Iraqi troops were engaged in close combat; the first was destroyed by an Enhanced Paveway II guided bomb, the second from which a machine-gun was firing was struck by a Paveway IV. Both attacks were delivered blind through the cloud, but the Iraqi units reported direct hits which eliminated the threats that they had faced. Typhoons continued to support the SDF operations in Syria, and on Tuesday 27 December, they used a Paveway IV to strike a heavy machine-gun position located in a building to the west of Raqqah. UK contribution to the fight against Daesh Map of UK forces committed to Operation Shader Previous air strikes Saturday 3 December: Very bad weather, including violent thunderstorms, seriously hampered air operations for several days. However, conditions improved sufficiently for a Reaper to resume operations over Mosul. It conducted one attack, using a Hellfire, against a mortar, and was able to alert other coalition forces to the location of a large number of civilians potentially at risk in the area. Sunday 4 December: Another Reaper continued to provide close air support to the Iraqi forces as they engaged in intensive street fighting around Mosul. The Reaper's crew twice exploited the accuracy and small warhead of their Hellfire missiles to strike Daesh terrorists engaged in close combat with Iraqi troops, and also gave surveillance support to four successful attacks by coalition aircraft on heavily defended buildings, including one where a group of suicide bombers had mustered. Meanwhile, two flights of Tornados prosecuted Daesh targets in Syria: one pair joined other coalition aircraft in an attack on a large weapons factory which intelligence had established was being operated by Daesh some 15 miles west of Raqqah. The Tornados dropped three Enhanced Paveway II bombs which scored direct hits on their targets. In eastern Syria, the second Tornado flight used a pair of Paveway IV bombs to destroy a terrorist headquarters, plus an associated vehicle, located some 25 miles north-east of At Tibni. Monday 5 December: With Iraqi forces continuing to clear Daesh positions in eastern Mosul, a Royal Air Force Reaper flew overwatch for the operation. It performed an important role in tracking the movements of civilian refugees through the area, allowing coalition attacks to be halted or delayed as necessary. The Reaper also identified a group of Daesh fighters who were subsequently struck by Coalition fast jets. The Reaper's crew then spotted a heavy machine-gun firing on Iraqi troops, and destroyed it with a Hellfire missile. Wednesday 7 December: A pair of Typhoons, armed with Paveway IV guided bombs, and supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker, attacked a Daesh bunker dug into the hills some 25 miles north-west of Haditha. After the attack, smoke rose from the tunnel entrances some distance away, proving that the strike was successful. A second pair of Typhoons operated north of Mosul, where they used a Paveway IV to destroy a Daesh-held building. Meanwhile, a Reaper continued close air support over eastern Mosul. An armoured truck was tracked as Daesh fighters attempted to hide it in a vehicle shelter, allowing it to be destroyed by coalition jets. The Reaper then conducted three attacks using its own Hellfires against groups of extremists engaged in close combat with the advancing Iraqi troops. Thursday 8 December: Tornados and a Reaper patrolled over Mosul. The Tornados were able to use the small, highly accurate Brimstone missile to dispose safely of an armoured personnel carrier positioned close to a hospital in the south of the city. Meanwhile, the Reaper hunted targets in the city centre, using three Hellfire missiles to pick off groups of extremists caught moving in the open. Friday 9 December: Another Reaper enjoyed similar success, when it also operated over central Mosul. It conducted three Hellfire attacks against Daesh fighters, including some armed with rocket-propelled grenades, and a mortar team that was spotted as it opened fire. In the east of the city, Typhoons assisted Iraqi forces as they fought a Daesh group holding a building at the end of a street. Particular care was taken in planning the air attack, as the Iraqi troops were very close to the target, but our aircrew were able to score a direct hit with a Paveway IV, which destroyed the building and removed the threat to the ground forces. Monday 12 December: Intelligence analysis identified a set of buildings some miles north-east of Bayji, where Daesh were storing weapons and manufacturing explosives. A pair of Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s, supported by a Voyager tanker, were tasked to attack the site. Our aircraft used three Paveway IV guided bombs against different buildings within the compound, and successfully destroyed each of these targets. Wednesday 14 December: Operations to liberate Mosul continue, with Iraqi troops carefully clearing terrorists from areas in the east of the city. A unit encountered significant resistance from a group of Daesh fortified in a building. RAF Tornado GR4s were overhead, but unable to see the target due to thick cloud cover. Nevertheless, very careful coordination with the ground forces, who were very close to the terrorist strongpoint, allowed the Tornados to deliver a precision strike through the cloud cover with a Paveway IV which the Iraqi troops reported scored a direct hit on the building and eliminated the threat they faced. Other RAF aircraft have continued to fly reconnaissance missions over both Syria and Iraq, with Airseeker and Sentinel surveillance platforms gathering vital intelligence on Daesh activity in recent days. Hercules transports have also continued their essential work, supporting the large British military training teams which are constantly working with coalition partners to help improve the capabilities of the Iraqi forces so that they are even better equipped to defeat the terrorists. Thursday 15 December: Despite very heavy cloud over Mosul, Royal Air Force and other coalition aircraft continued to provide support to the Iraqi ground forces advancing into the city. Iraqi troops engaged a large group of Daesh fighters in close combat in eastern Mosul. A pair of Tornados worked in very close coordination with the Iraqi unit to establish both their precise positions and those of the terrorists. As a result, two Paveway IV guided bombs were dropped with great accuracy through the clouds. The Iraqis reported that they had scored direct hits, killing their opponents. The Tornados then provided assistance to troops fighting in the north of the city, who had encountered a building from where Daesh were directing rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine-gun fire. As before, the Tornado crews were unable to see the target themselves but were able to demolish the building with an Enhanced Paveway II guided bomb without injury to the nearby Iraqi forces. Sunday 18 December: A Reaper operated over the northern outskirts of Mosul. Its crew observed a number of Daesh fighters on board an armoured truck which proceeded to drive at speed towards Iraqi positions just north of the city. A Hellfire missile from the Reaper brought the attempted attack to an immediate halt, knocking out the truck. The following day, two Typhoons armed with Paveway IV guided bombs attacked two buildings east of Tall Afar, which intelligence had revealed were being used by Daesh as accommodation blocks. One building was completely demolished, the other set ablaze by the strike. Tuesday 20 December: Operating again in challenging conditions over Mosul, two Tornados were still able to support Iraqi forces as they engaged a Daesh light machine-gun team defending a building in the north-eastern area of the city. As with the attacks a few days earlier, the Iraqi troops were very close to the target, but our aircrew carried out a successful attack with a Paveway IV. Wednesday 21 December: Typhoons tasked with the destruction of a Daesh-held building some miles to the north-east of Bayji, where intelligence reports indicated a number of improvised explosive devices had been stockpiled by the terrorists. A Paveway IV levelled the building. In eastern Mosul, Iraqi troops came upon a heavy machine-gun team, once again fortified inside a building, and sought assistance from a Tornado patrol which was able to destroy the target with a Paveway IV. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Afghan Female Air Force Pilot Awaits Response to US Asylum Request By VOA News January 02, 2017 Afghanistan's first female fixed wing pilot in the country's air force awaits a response to her asylum request to the United States, which she filed last month after receiving threats from Taliban insurgents, according to her lawyer. "Her reason for seeking asylum in the United States is she's in fear that if she were to go back to Afghanistan that she would be persecuted," Kimberley Motley told VOA's Afghan Service. "She has a tremendous amount of worry about the Taliban insurgents who have put out death threats against her and, frankly, now she's concerned with the government who has also issued a statement through the ministry of defense that if she is to return, she will be prosecuted for desertion." Niloofar Rahmani, 25, says she has received threats telling her to leave the military from the same insurgent faction that attempted to assassinate Malala Yousefzai in Pakistan. Since she has filed for asylum in the United States a move criticized by many Afghans the Afghan ministry of defense has released a statement saying that there are no threats against Rahmani. "I'm very disappointed," Motley said. "I know Niloofar is, as well, at the very visceral, negative response that she has received from many people within Afghanistan about her decision to protect her life and to protect herself. She's been ridiculed in Afghanistan; she's been threatened by Afghan governmental officials, and many people are just frankly attacking her character and saying she straight-out lied." Motley said the accusations are criminal, because defamation is illegal in Afghanistan. But the public response to her claim has largely aligned with that of the government. Rahmani gained popularity when she first enlisted in 2013, providing hope for women throughout the country who wish to break into careers usually reserved for men. But since filing her claim after completing an 18-month training program in the United States, many social media users said she wasted Afghan money and deserves to be charged with desertion. The Afghan military also has criticized her decision, saying that any military officer should understand and accept the risks that come with the job, and that the threat to women is no greater than the threat to men. "When an officer complains of insecurity and is afraid of security threats, then what should ordinary people do?" said Mohammad Radmanish, deputy spokesperson for the ministry of defense. "She has made an excuse for herself, but we have hundreds of educated women and female civil right activists who work and it is safe for them." Rahmani was a recipient of the U.S. State Department's "Women of Courage" award in 2015. Najiba Khalil from VOA's Afghan Service contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address South Sudan's Government Calls for Peace Dialogue By Mohammed Yusuf January 02, 2017 South Sudan's government says it wants to bring peace and stability in the country this year, after three years of fighting. The government is putting its hopes on the recently launched national dialogue. South Sudan ended 2016 with more clashes between government forces and opposition fighters allied to Riek Machar. More clashes reported As officials try to put together a team to lead the national dialogue, tension remains high in the countryside and clashes are a common occurrence. A senior member of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement in Opposition, Peter Adwok Nyaba, says the country's future lies in implementing the peace agreement that President Salva Kiir and Machar signed in August 2015. "The peace agreement was an opportunity to retain stability and sanity to the people of South Sudan. Unfortunately, it's Salva himself who abrogated this peace agreement by attacking and chasing the chairman of SPLM-IO to all the way to Congo and started ... military operations against our people." South Sudan descended into chaos in December 2013 after Kiir accused his former deputy Machar of planning to overthrow the government. Civil war broke out when soldiers from Kiir's Dinka tribe and Machar's Nuer tribe started targeting each other. The peace deal, signed in Addis Ababa, was an attempt to end the fighting. The two sides formed a transitional unity government and agreed to a cease-fire. But last July, new violence flared in Juba, killing hundreds of people. The clashes led to Machar fleeing the country. The three-year war has now forced more than two million people from their homes and claimed the lives of tens of thousands of South Sudanese. Call for national dialogue Kiir launched the national dialogue in mid-December, calling for his countrymen to participate in the talks. But opposition members have expressed fear the environment is not favorable for negotiations. Deputy Information Minister Akol Paul Kordit disagrees. "We as a government strongly believe the environment is conducive for dialogue," he said, "but should any other South Sudanese think that the environment is not conducive for dialogue let him come forward and tell us why does he think that the environment is not conducive for dialogue and what he think should be done to make the environment conducive. So this is the essence of dialogue we shall dialogue over every step, over every issue of concern in our country." Researcher and Policy Analyst with Sudd Institute Nhial Tiitmamaer says there is no political will to end the crisis. "People in South Sudan want peace, but this peace is seen as not having that wide acceptance, and that is why you see it is struggling. It is difficult to be implemented because of the fact that all the parties are not embracing it and the society as a whole they want peace, but not in a way this peace was designed," he said. Opposition leader Machar is currently in South Africa, and there has been no indication when or if he may return. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 7 Killed in Mogadishu Suicide Blasts By Harun Maruf January 02, 2017 At least seven people were killed and 17 others injured in two huge suicide car bombs near Mogadishu international airport on Monday, ambulances services and Somali officials said. The al-Shabab militant group claimed responsibility for the attack. This was the second time the group used the tactic of back-to-back suicide vehicles, with the first meant to provoke panic and the second to cause maximum casualties. The first of the two explosions targeted a checkpoint manned by Somali national security forces around mid-day local time. Immediately after the first explosion, a second car drove at high speed through the checkpoint and detonated outside the Peace Hotel opposite the airport, residents said. Both explosions took place near Medina Gate, one of the main entrances of the airport. "First I heard gunshots, then a car explosion and then we took a duck," said a witness who asked not to be named for security reasons. "When we came out to help the wounded we saw a big truck drive through it (checkpoint) and it exploded." The second blast was caused by a truck bomb and it exploded at the road between the airport and Peace Hotel, witnesses said. Several houses along the road collapsed while Peace Hotel sustained massive damage, said Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulle, a reporter for VOA's Somali Service. The hotel is often used by Somali officials, NGO workers and Somalis from the diaspora. Ahmed Ali is one of the residents in the neighborhood. He told VOA that one of his neighbors was killed when their home collapsed. The victim's sister and brother, a child, were wounded. A spokesman for the Mogadishu administration, Abdifatah Omar Halane, told VOA that rescue efforts are underway to account for people who may be trapped under the rubble. "This was the biggest, loudest explosion ever to happen in Mogadishu. Thank God it took place in an area where there are not lots of civilians," he said. Mogadishu ambulance services confirmed the deaths of four civilians while security sources told VOA's Somali Service that a government soldier was also killed. The two suicide bombers were also killed bringing the death toll to seven. Somali Foreign Minister Abdusalam Hadliye Omer, who was in Nairobi, told VOA he has been living at Peace Hotel for the past two years. He said he was told there is a "heavy damage" to the hotel. Omer condemned the attack as "evil act." "This is a terrorist act carried out by a group that does not want to see peace and governance in Somalia," he said. Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulle contributed to this report from Mogadishu. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Amid Political Crisis, Gambian Authorities Shutter Radio Station By VOA News January 02, 2017 Authorities in Gambia have shut down a private radio station, amid rising political tension as president Yahya Jammeh continues to deny his defeat in recent elections. Teranga FM, which translates news from Gambian papers into local languages, was ordered shut by national security officers on Sunday for unspecified reasons. Four National Intelligence Agency operatives and one police officer in uniform came to the radio station Sunday and told us to stop broadcasting, a staff member told the French Press Agency on the condition of anonymity. Teranga FM has been taken off the air four times in recent years, and its managing director was charged with sedition in 2015 and has remained imprisoned since then. A second station near the capital, Hilltop radio, was also reportedly closed Monday. West Africa's regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) 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 last month's presidential election. Jammeh, who has ruled Gambia for 22 years, initially accepted defeat after the election, but a week later changed his mind. He said voting irregularities made him question the win by opposition candidate Adama Barrow. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address South Korean Opposition Lawmakers to Discuss THAAD Deployment With Beijing Sputnik News 15:49 02.01.2017 Eight South Korean lawmakers from the country's main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), including presidential-hopeful Moon Jae-in, will visit China on Wednesday for a three-day visit in an attempt to ease tensions with Beijing over the planned deployment of US missile defense systems in South Korea, one of the delegates said on Monday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The South Korean lawmakers are expected to hold a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during their visit, Song Young-gil, a DPK member, said. "We will tell Beijing that our presidential candidates including Moon are calling on the THAAD issue to be reconsidered in the next government. Plus, we will also discuss China's role in resolving icy relations between South and North Korea," Song was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post newspaper. The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, which South Korea agreed in 2016 to be deployed on its territory by the end of 2017 with the stated aim of countering threats from North Korea, serves as one of the main irritation factors in Beijing-Seoul ties China and Russia have repeatedly voiced opposition to the deployment of THAAD, arguing that its real aim was to deter the strategic weapon systems not only in the Korean peninsula's North, but primarily in China's hinterlands and Russia's Far East regions. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The requirement to collect 2% pension tax from transactions to buy cash foreign currency lost effect on January 1, 2017, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has told Interfax-Ukraine. "The article to annul 2% tax took effect and it is not collected from January 1, 2017," the press service of the regulator said. As reported, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada revoked 2% pension tax imposed on cash currency purchase transactions on December 20, 2016. The requirement is outlined in bill No. 5132 amending the Tax Code to provide for the balance of budget revenue in 2017 (law No. 1791-VIII). Tax on forex operations for the first time was introduced in 1998 as a temporary anti-crisis measure. Its rate was 1.5% before 2006. It was then lowered to 1.3% and was cut to 1% in 2007, 0.5% in 2008 and further to 0.2% in 2009. In January 2011, the Rada cancelled pension tax on forex transactions, but in 2014 it set the rate at 0.5% again. From 2015, it was increased from 0.5% to 2%, but it is applied to purchases of foreign currency in cash with legal entities being exempt from this tax. The initiators of the bill said that Ukraine's shadow market exceeded 50%, which creates the additional pressure on the hryvnia and hampers the operations of the forex market in the country. The NBU and international financial institutions (IFIs) backed the idea. No one allowed to use Hong Kong as subversion base against China: Beijing Iran Press TV Mon Jan 2, 2017 8:37AM China will not allow Hong Kong to be used as a base for "subversion" against its sovereignty, a top official has warned. The head of China's Liaison Office in Hong Kong, Zhang Xiaoming, said late Sunday that, "As far as Hong Kong is concerned, nobody is permitted do anything in any form that damages the country's sovereignty and security." Xiaoming said that nobody was "allowed to challenge the central government's authority or that of Hong Kong's Basic Law; they are not allowed to use Hong Kong for infiltration subversion activities against the mainland [and to] to damage its social and political stability." He also gave assurances that Beijing will not interfere in Hong Kong's internal affairs. Hong Kong, a former British colony, was returned to China under the "one country, two systems" agreement in 1997. The Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution, allows it to have wide-ranging autonomy and freedom, including a separate legal system. The territory's legislative, executive, and judiciary bodies are separate from those of China, and Beijing only maintains authority in defense, foreign affairs, and constitutional disputes. Beijing warned Hong Kong on Saturday that under the "one country, two systems" agreement, there was absolutely no space for its independence. "Hong Kong is an inseparable part of the country and in no situation is 'Hong Kong independence' allowed," the head of China's Hong Kong Macau Affairs Office, Wang Guangya, said. President Xi Jinping also said last month that he was "very worried" about Hong Kong, and warned it against seeking independence. Pro-independence activists accuse the Chinese government of eroding Hong Kong's autonomy. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian Su-35 May be Last Fighter Jet Imported by China as Beijing Bets on J-20 Sputnik News 18:04 02.01.2017(updated 20:41 02.01.2017) On December 25, China received the first shipment of Russian-made Su-35 fighter jets, as part of a deal between Moscow and Beijing on delivering a total of 24 aircraft. Russia and China signed a contract on the delivery of 24 Russian Sukhoi Su-35 aircraft, estimated to be worth $2 billion, in 2015. The S-35 is a 4++ generation, twin-engine, highly maneuverable multirole fighter jet. It has a maximum speed of 1,553 mph (2,500 kmh) with advanced dry thrust and afterburner capabilities that enhance the aircraft's dogfighting maneuverability and semi-stealth design that makes it possibly the most lethal fighter jet in the sky. The fighter jet is an upgraded version of the Su-27 multirole fighter. It was first introduced to a foreign audience at the 2013 Paris Air Show. The Su-35 is Russia's top air-superiority fighter, until the fifth-generation PAK-FA stealth fighter comes into production. According to the Chinese newspaper The People's Daily, the reason for such smooth procurement of the Su-35 for the Chinese military is the recent debut of the domestic-designed J-20 fifth-generation fighter. Of course, the deal on delivering Su-35 jets to China was a result of close military and technical cooperation between Moscow and Beijing. However, according to the newspaper, the Russian side expects that once the J-20 enters service with the Chinese armed forces the "Su-35 will soon lose its value in the Chinese market." China unveiled two Chengdu J-20 stealth fighters at the Airshow China-2016 in Zhuhai in early-November. The aircraft was developed by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation. The J-20 conducted its first test flight in early 2011. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China Warns It Won't Allow Anyone to Use Hong Kong for Rebellion Sputnik News 01:01 03.01.2017(updated 01:02 03.01.2017) China's top official said Sunday that Beijing will not allow anyone to use Hong Kong as a platform for subversion against stability in mainland China. The international community has recently been disturbed by signs of Beijing tightening its grip over Hong Kong after two democratically elected lawmakers who advocate the city's independence from China were ousted from Hong Kong's legislature for making anti-Beijing statements in their oaths of office. Four democratically elected lawmakers are at risk of being unseated for the same offenses. On Sunday, the director of China's liaison office in Hong Kong, Zhang Xiaoming, said in an interview with state broadcaster CCTV that Beijing will not tolerate attempts to use Hong Kong as a base for rebellion. "Hong Kong should never allow anyone to do any forms of activities that are harmful to China's sovereignty and security, to challenge the powers of the central government and the authority of the HKSAR Basic Law, or to take advantage of the HKSAR to engage in infiltrative and subversive activities to sabotage the social and political stability of the Chinese mainland," Zhang said. "These are the three bottom lines." Britain returned Hong Kong back to China in 1997 under the "one country, two systems" deal which guaranteed the territory's semi-autonomous status. So far, the city has been enjoying a separate political and legal system from the mainland, but there is a widespread concern over Beijing exceeding its authority that has ignited a new pro-democracy movement and led to demonstrations in the city. Meanwhile, Zhang emphasized that the 'One Country, Two Systems' policy has been successfully implemented, that this success was "universally acknowledged" and leaves no space for separatist mindset. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pentagon warns North Korea against testing nuclear-capable missile Iran Press TV Mon Jan 2, 2017 5:30AM The United States government has warned North Korea against carrying out any "provocative actions," after Pyongyang said it was putting the final touches on a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching the US mainland. The Pentagon issued a toughly worded statement on Sunday, asking "all states" to react and show the North that its actions would have "consequences." The warning came only hours after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announced the regime's plans to test the new ICBM. "We are in the final stages of test-launching the intercontinental ballistic missile," he was quoted as saying by AFP, describing his country as a "military power of the East that cannot be touched by even the strongest enemy." In its response, the Pentagon advised Pyongyang to "refrain from provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric that threaten international peace and stability." It also highlighted that "multiple UN Security Council resolutions explicitly prohibit North Korea's launches using ballistic missile technology." Pyongyang has defied the pressures to stop its nuclear and missile programs by insisting on its right to develop the technologies for "self-defense." Pyongyang will continue to boost its military capacity, Kim said, until Washington puts an end to its regular military exercises in the region with rival South Korea. The Pentagon, however, reaffirmed America's "ironclad commitment" to its allies in the region, noting that Washington would resort to "the full spectrum of US extended deterrence capabilities" to keep that promise. The US has long been deploying advanced weaponry to South Korea under the pretext of defending the country against the North's aggression. Although experts are divided over the success rate of North Korea's ICBM tests so far, they all agree that the secretive country has made enormous strides in achieving the know-how. Pyongyang has also prompted alarms in Washington by carrying out a series of successful nuclear tests. It has also reported major breakthroughs in developing new types of nuclear warheads. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Liberation of Syrian Raqqa to Be Next Step After Iraqi Mosul Freed - Hollande Sputnik News 13:04 02.01.2017 The liberation of the Syrian city of Raqqa, currently held by the Daesh terrorist group, will be the next target of the international coalition, French President Francois Hollande, currently on a visit to Iraqi capital of Baghdad, said Monday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Earlier on Monday, French media reported that Hollande had given a speech in front of another French unit, stressing the importance of the fight against terrorism in Iraq as it would help prevent terrorist attacks in France. "The next objective is Raqqa. France is part of [the US-led international] coalition in Iraq as well as in Syria," Hollande said, as quoted on the Elysee Palace's Twitter. The president, who had earlier met with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi, added that France was advising the Iraqi forces and conducting airstrikes against the terrorists to help them, but it was the Iraqi soldiers who were fighting on the ground and they would be the ones to win back Mosul. "Our only enemy is Daesh," Hollande stressed. Hollande's agenda for the day includes giving out medicaments and humanitarian aid with the Kurdistan region's President Masoud Barzani and meeting with Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and French military personnel who advise them. On October 17, 2016, Iraqi government forces, backed by the US-led coalition of more than 60 nations, began an offensive to retake the country's second largest city, Mosul, from the Daesh terrorist group, outlawed in Russia and many other countries. France has participated in the airstrikes against Daesh targets carried out by the coalition, but has not deployed any ground troops. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address In Iraq, Hollande Thanks French Troops for Fighting Terror By VOA News January 02, 2017 French President Francois Hollande vowed that Islamic State will soon be beaten. He spoke during a one-day visit to Iraq, the same day a suicide bomber struck a busy Baghdad market, killing at least 32 people. "Daesh is retreating. And Daesh will be beaten," Hollande said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. Hours after Holland arrived in Iraq on Monday, a bomb went off in a market in Sadr City in eastern Baghdad that was packed with day laborers. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. During a news conference with Hollande, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the suicide bomber pretended to be a man seeking to hire day laborers before detonating his bomb. Holland also met with Iraqi President Fuad Masum and traveled to the autonomous northern area of Kurdistan to meet local officials. He visited with French troops in Baghdad and in Kurdistan who are helping Iraq fight Islamic State, and told them their efforts are preventing terror attacks in their home country. "Taking action against terrorism here in Iraq is also preventing acts of terrorism on our own soil," Hollande said at a base of Iraq's Counter-Terrorism Service near the capital, Baghdad. France has executed thousands of airstrikes against IS in Iraq and Syria, as part of the U.S.-led coalition to fight the Islamic State group, and has provided equipment and training to the Iraqi military. The French troops, about 500 in all, are believed to be participating in the campaign to oust IS militants from Mosul, the group's last major stronghold in Iraq. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Indian Strategic Forces Command Test-Fires 2,500-Mile Agni IV Ballistic Missiles Sputnik News 15:37 02.01.2017(updated 15:44 02.01.2017) Agni IV is integrated with a sophisticated mobile launcher that enables it to hit adversary's strategic assets located at a distance with very short preparation time. It is already in possession of India's Strategic Forces Command. New Delhi (Sputnik) Amid concerns raised by China over developing long range strategic ballistic missiles, India once again test fired a nuclear capable ballistic missile from its eastern coast of Odisha on Monday. Government sources told Sputnik that the flight trial of Agni IV was 'highly successful'. The two-stage solid propellant ballistic missile is capable of hitting rival assets at a distance of approximately 2,500 miles from the mobile launcher. A few days back, India had successfully test-fired Agni V which can travel approximately 3,400 miles with a nuclear warhead. Indian scientists had already test-fired Agni IV missiles five times since 2011 and all the tests were successful. The 20-meter missile is equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, which include indigenously developed ring laser gyro and a composite rocket motor. "The missile equipped with state of the art Avionics, 5th generation On Board Computer and with distributed architecture has the latest features to correct and guide for in-flight disturbances. These ensured the vehicle reach the target within two digit accuracy," Defense Research and Development Organization said. The re-entry heat shield withstood temperatures of more than 4000 degree centigrade and made sure the avionics function normally with inside temperature less than 50 degree centigrade. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran inaugurates small-caliber ammunition production line Iran Press TV Mon Jan 2, 2017 2:55PM Iran has inaugurated the production line of small-caliber ammunition, taking another step in line with boosting the country's military and defense might. Addressing the inaugural ceremony in Tehran on Monday, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said the mass production of the small-caliber ammunition would meet all the needs of the Armed Forces for such military hardware. He added that the launch would also double the capacity of small-caliber ammunition production in the country and pave the way for its export. Dehqan said that ammunition manufactured in Iran met high international quality standards and expressed hope that Iranian experts would carry on improving the country's defense might with more seriousness. Dehqan further hailed Iranian experts for helping the country attain self-sufficiency and boost its defense power through the production of such ammunition. The latest military achievement by Iranians came after recent remarks by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei stressing the importance of strengthening Iran's defense capabilities in the face of enemy threats. "If the Islamic establishment seeks technology and negotiations but does not have defensive power, it will have to back down in the face of any petty country that threatens [it]," the Leader said. In recent years, Iran has made major breakthroughs in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing important military equipment and systems. Iran has also conducted other major military drills to enhance the defense capabilities of its armed forces and to test modern military tactics and state-of-the-art army equipment. The Islamic Republic maintains that its military might poses no threat to other countries, stating that its defense doctrine is merely based on deterrence. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran to join Syria talks unconditionally: Foreign Ministry Iran Press TV Mon Jan 2, 2017 10:59AM Iran has vowed all-out efforts to help restore peace to violence-torn Syria, saying the Islamic Republic will attend the upcoming crisis resolution talks between Damascus and the opposition in Astana, Kazakhstan, "without any preconditions." Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi made the remarks on Monday, addressing reporters at his biweekly press conference. Late last month, the Syrian government and foreign-backed militant groups reached a nationwide ceasefire deal, brokered by Russia and Turkey. The two sides also agreed to attend intra-Syrian talks in Astana. The deal followed an earlier truce agreement, mediated by Moscow and Ankara, in Aleppo, which paved the way for the evacuation of remaining civilians and armed men and put back the northwestern city under Damascus control after years of fighting. The diplomatic achievements came after trilateral Syria meetings among Iran, Russia and Turkey in Moscow, in which the three sides stressed the need for an all-Syria truce and expressed "readiness to facilitate and become the guarantors" of the agreement, which was still under negotiations at the time. Qassemi further said it is not yet clear when the Astana talks will take place, adding that Iran has "no preconditions" for attending the negotiations aimed at resolving more than five years of deadly violence in Syria. Currently, the potential participation of other countries in the planned talks is not under discussion, the Iranian official added. He emphasized that the Astana talks will be purely intra-Syrian, and that the Islamic Republic will not seek to impose its own will on any side during the planned negotiations. Syria partition claims 'hot air' The Iranian official further rejected as "worthless" and "false" a recent Reuters report claiming that Tehran, Moscow and Ankara eye "dicing Syria into zones of influence." The report, published on December 28, 2016, said Syria would be divided into informal zones of regional power influence under an outline deal between Russia, Turkey and Iran, citing familiar sources. "Iran's position versus all regional countries is clear. We always have and always will defend Syria's territorial integrity and national sovereignty," he said, adding, "We will not allow Syria to turn into a place, where other countries, the least of which Iran, can exert their influence." He also pointed to a recent visit by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem to Tehran, saying Iran will keep up "constant consultations" with Damascus and other partners on the situation in Syria. 'No Saudi invitation' Last Friday, Saudi papers reported that the kingdom had invited Iran to discuss the resumption of Hajj pilgrimage for Iranians, a process that has been halted over a litany of Hajj-time disasters and moves by Riyadh impeding the performance of the Islamic ritual by Iranians. The spokesman, however, denied Tehran had received any such invitation and said the Islamic Republic currently did not have any plans to send Iranians on the pilgrimage. Energy dispute with Turkmenistan 'not political' Last week, it was reported that Iran and Turkmenistan had resolved a gas dispute brought about by Ashgabat's claim that Tehran was $1.8 billion in arrears for gas deliveries from the Central Asian nation. The resolution transpired on the back of an agreement over the differences between the two sides. However, it was reported later that Turkmenistan had broken off gas flows to Iran as it had threatened prior to the conclusion of the deal. Qassemi reminded that the bilateral cooperation in the energy sector goes back 20 years, half way through which Turkmenistan increased its prices, adding Iran agreed to the hike at the time under certain circumstances. The official, however, said the dispute is not of a political nature, and only related to differences between the respective national gas companies, expressing hope that it will be resolved through mutual prudence. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran Refutes Claims of Deal on Dividing Syria Into Zones of Influence Sputnik News 21:30 02.01.2017 Iran will not set any preconditions for the peace talks on Syria scheduled to be held in the Kazakh city of Astana later in January, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Monday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Kasimi noted that Iran, Russia and Turkey were the only countries to take part in the talks and refuted the recent media reports alleging that Russia, Iran and Turkey had agreed to divide Syria into zones of influence. "We respect the territorial integrity of Syria Changing borders and violating the national sovereignty of countries is wrong," Bahram Kasimi said as quoted by Anadolu news agency. "Dictating views is out of the question We do not have any special conditions," Kasimi said. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday that the Syrian government and armed opposition groups had reached an agreement on a nationwide ceasefire in Syria and on readiness to start peace talks. Putin called on the Syrian government, armed opposition and all countries with influence on the situation in the Arab republic to support the reached agreements and to take part in the anticipated talks in Astana. A nationwide ceasefire between the Syrian government and opposition factions came into force at midnight on Friday. Russia and Turkey serve as guarantors of the ceasefire deal, which paves the way for negotiations between the warring parties. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Government sets fee of lawyers providing legal aid at 5% of subsistence wage per hour from 2018 Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers has set a fee for lawyers providing free of charge secondary legal aid at 5% of subsistence wage for active working people per hour from January 1, 2018. According to resolution No. 1048 of December 21, 2016 the fee before 2018 will be 2.5% of subsistence wage. The government approved methods for calculating the fee for services of lawyers for concrete cases, for example, those that include extradition. Today the fees for services of lawyers, including for the provision of legal services to vulnerable people in civil and administrative cases, are low and this makes lawyers to refuse from providing aid in these cases. At least 7 Iraqi police forces killed in attacks in Samarra Iran Press TV Mon Jan 2, 2017 8:2PM At least seven Iraqi police officers have been killed when militants detonated their explosive belts in two police stations in the holy city of Samarra. According to security sources on Monday, clashes are currently underway at both of the police stations in the central Iraqi city. Iraqi interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan said, "There was a terror attack on Mutawakil police station, now the Iraqi forces are besieging them." Daesh has claimed responsibility for the Mutawakil attack via the Amaq news agency, which is affiliated to the terrorist group. A local police official said that so far five of the attackers wearing explosive belts have been killed, and that reinforcements are being deployed. Daesh has also claimed responsibility for a similar attack in the city in November when five terrorists killed four police officers after entering Samarra. Earlier on Monday, at least 39 people were killed and 57 more injured after a terrorist car bomb attack rocked a busy square in Sadr City, a Shia-populated suburban district of Baghdad. Reports said that an explosive-laden truck was detonated in an outdoor market, hitting day laborers and a nearby police checkpoint. Gruesome violence has plagued parts of Iraq ever since Daesh terrorists mounted an offensive and took control of portions of the Iraqi territory more than two years ago. Iraqi army troops and allied fighters are currently engaged in operation to recapture Mosul, the last Daesh stronghold in the country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address French president in Iraq to visit troops, hold talks with officials Iran Press TV Mon Jan 2, 2017 11:16AM French President Francois Hollande is in Iraq to visit his country's troops deployed to the Arab state as part of a US-led coalition purportedly fighting Daesh terrorists. Accompanied with French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Hollande arrived in Iraq on Monday for a one-day visit to the Arab country with a planned stop in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. Hollande paid a visit to a base where French forces are said to be training elite forces of Iraq's Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) near the capital, Baghdad. Addressing the troops, the French leader said contribution to Iraq's battle against Daesh Takfiri militants is key to preventing terror attacks at home. Paris is part of the US-led alliance that is conducting airstrikes allegedly targeting Daesh elements in Iraq's northern and western parts since June 2014. A similar campaign is also underway in neighboring Syria. Analysts have assessed the air raids as unsuccessful as they have led to civilian deaths and failed to counter terrorism. There are reportedly 500 French soldiers in Iraq as part of the US-led campaign. The French president further sat down with Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and President Fuad Masum. He is set to hold talks with Iraqi Parliament speaker Salim al-Jabouri. An unnamed source said ahead of Hollande's trip that he will "stress the importance of continuing efforts to ensure sustainable security in the country after Daesh has been defeated and the coexistence of communities in a united and sovereign Iraq." Daesh began its campaign of terror in northern and western Iraq more than two years ago. Iraqi army soldiers and allied fighters are leading anti-terror operations across the country and have dealt heavy blows to militants over the past few weeks, particularly in the northern city of Mosul. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Dozens Killed in Suicide Car Bomb Attack in Baghdad Sputnik News 12:39 02.01.2017(updated 15:46 02.01.2017) At least 32 people were killed in a suicide car bomb blast in the Iraqi capital, AFP news agency reported citing police. However, local Al Sumaraya TV channel reported that the number of casualties in the attack is at least 20. At least 61 were wounded in the attack on the outskirts of Baghdad, Sadr City district, AFP reported. A car bomb exploded in the 55 square in a quarter, which is predominantly populated by Shiite Muslims. Many buildings located near the site of the explosion have been damaged. Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack, Rudaw news outlet reported. The blasts occurred while French president Francois Hollande was in Baghdad on a visit to meet with Prime Minister Haider Abadi and President Fuad Masum. On Monday, a car bomb in the center of the city killed and wounded 7 people, and an explosion near Jawadir hospital killed 11 people. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iraq: UN envoy strongly condemns Baghdad bombings that kill many civilians 2 January 2017 The United Nations envoy for Iraq has strongly condemned today's triple bombings in Baghdad in which large numbers of civilians were killed and injured. "This is outrageous. Terrorists of Daesh who are steadily losing ground in Iraq are now trying to sow terror and discord. They will fail here as they are failing at the frontlines," the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Iraq, Jan Kubis, said in a statement. "I call on the authorities to do their utmost in order to speedily bring the perpetrators to justice," he added, extending his condolences to the families of the lost ones, as well as wishing the injured a speedy recovery. Meanwhile, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has announced that it recorded a total of 19,266 civilian casualties in 2016: 6,878 killed and 12,388 wounded. These casualty figures do not include the civilian casualty figures for Anbar for the months of May, July, August and December. In December, a total of 386 Iraqi civilians were killed and another 1,066 were injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq, UNAMI said. "Though the figures for December are lower than previous months, we are nevertheless noticing an increase in terrorist bombings towards the end of the month and in the last couple of days, targeting civilians," Mr. Kubis said. "This is, no doubt, an attempt by Daesh to divert attention from their losses in Mosul and, unfortunately, it is the innocent civilians who are paying the price," he added. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli police to question Prime Minister Netanyahu on corruption Iran Press TV Mon Jan 2, 2017 2:27PM Israeli police authorities are to interrogate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on suspicions that he systematically received favors and gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars from a number of wealthy businessmen. The 67-year-man chairman of the Likud party will be questioned at his official residence in occupied Jerusalem al-Quds on Monday evening. Photographers have camped outside his heavily guarded residence, hoping to get pictures of the investigators' arrival. Meanwhile, screens have been mounted at the entrance to the property to block the view. Israel Radio said Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit had authorized the move after he decided to upgrade a preliminary probe into a criminal one in the wake of sufficient evidence for such an investigation. US billionaire and the president of World Jewish Congress, Ronald Lauder, is among those questioned in the probe over illegal gifts. Netanyahu dismissed all allegations against him in a Facebook post at the weekend, arguing that some of the tycoons in question are his close friends. The Israeli prime minister is currently under investigation for having accepted 1 million euros (about $1.1 million) from accused French fraudster Arnaud Mimran in the form of donations during his 2009 campaign. Netanyahu has also come under scrutiny over a billion-dollar deal with Germany for the acquisition of three submarines. He faces allegations of a possible conflict of interest within his inner circle in making the deal. Reports emerged last November that Netanyahu's personal lawyer and one of his closest confidants, David Shimron, was representing the German arms manufacturer ThyssenKrupp, which is building the submarines. Israel's Channel 10 television network later disclosed an email it claimed was proof that Shimron had used his close relationship with Netanyahu to lobby for the deal. A separate probe is also underway in Israel into accusations that Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, misused public funds for private expenses, ranging from laundry to ice cream. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Myanmar Arrests Officers Over Rohingya Abuse By VOA News January 02, 2017 Myanmar arrested several police officers Monday who had been filmed beating Rohingya civilians, a rare government acknowledgement of abuse against the Muslim minority. Though multiple videos have circulated documenting police abuse in the Rakhine state, which has been largely closed to journalists and aid workers for months, this is the first time the government has confirmed the videos and promised to take action. The officers were reportedly questioning residents in the village of Kotankauk in November while investigating a tip about the gunmen who attacked a border post in October, killing nine officers. The video shows several police officers beating and kicking two villagers, including a young boy who was hit in the head. "Those who [were] initially identified were detained," read a statement released by Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi's office Monday. "Further investigations are being carried out to expose other police officers who beat villagers in the operation." Following the October attack, the military moved on the territory in full force, arresting more than 500 people and killing at least 100. At least six soldiers have died. Since the operation started, it has been tainted by dozens of allegations of sexual assault and other abuses.The United Nations says more than 100,000 people have not been receiving normal assistance and close to 22,000 Rohingya have fled into nearby Bangladesh. In addition, security forces have allegedly razed more than 1,500 buildings, according to interviews and satellite imagery released by Human Rights Watch this week. The government has vehemently denied allegations of rape and claimed residents burned their own houses down in an act of conflict propaganda. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Activists: Defamation Cases Surge in Myanmar By Paul Vrieze January 02, 2017 When the National League for Democracy took office in Myanmar in April, many activists, journalists and civil society groups hoped the change to a democratic government would mark a turning point for freedom of expression, following decades of repressive army rule. Some 10 months later, however, the government of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi has made little progress in strengthening freedom of expression, according to activists, who warn it has failed to prevent a sharp rise in the number of arrests for online defamation. The government has not shown enough commitment to improve freedom of expression, said Myo Myint Nyein, a magazine editor and former political prisoner who chairs the Myanmar chapter of PEN, an international writers' advocacy group. The spike in online defamation charges under the 2013 Telecommunications Law has become particularly worrying, he said, adding, "Digital freedom is worse." PEN and other civil society groups are calling on the NLD to urgently change the law. "The NLD have moved slowly to repeal or amend laws that limit free expression...but should be given credit for repealing a few abusive laws," said David Mathieson, Myanmar researcher for Human Rights Watch. In 2011, the previous, quasi-civilian government initiated political reforms and began removing junta-era restrictions on freedom of expression, giving rise to a lively media and civil society landscape, and increased public activism. The government, however, left some repressive laws on the books, while introducing new ones, such as the Telecommunications Law. It regulates the rapidly expanding telecom sector in Myanmar and contains Article 66D, a vaguely worded charge that punishes online defamation with a fine and up to three years in prison. Myo Myint Nyein said online defamation cases "increased dramatically in 2016," as PEN recorded 38 cases last year, compared to only seven from 2013 to 2015. Han Gyi, coordinator of the Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma, which includes eight rights groups, agrees the Telecommunications Law has become a tool of repression and should be reviewed. "Article 66D is the main obstacle for freedom of expression," he said. The NLD has sent mixed signals in response to the calls for reform. In November, a parliamentary commission recommended removing Article 66D, but Lower House Speaker Win Myint recently declined to criticize the law when questioned by local media. The NLD government has used Article 66D to sue Eleven Media, a popular Yangon-based newspaper, for online defamation. The paper had insinuated, without evidence, the Yangon Region chief minister received an expensive watch from a wealthy criminal. Eleven Media's chief executive and editor-in-chief have since been jailed. VOA was unable to reach government officials or NLD MP's for comment. Army remains powerful Myo Myint Nyein said authorities have greatly increased use of Article 66D, while ordinary citizens use it against each other. Many cases involve Facebook users or activists accused of defaming the military. The army remains powerful under Myanmar's constitution and controls the Ministry of Home Affairs and thus the police, which can accept or initiate defamation charges. Low-level NLD members have also been ensnared. Myo Yan Naung Thein, secretary of the party Central Committee for Research and Strategy Studies, was detained in November for a Facebook post that called the army chief "shameless" for his handling of the Rakhine State crisis in western Myanmar. Press freedom threatened? A survey at a Yangon media forum in November, conducted by British-based, free speech advocacy group Article 19, found most Myanmar journalists believe the online defamation charge is a major threat to press freedom. The survey found journalists also want other laws amended, such as the Penal Code, the 2014 Printing and Publishing Enterprise Law, and the 2014 News Media Law. Sithu Aung Myint, a well-known columnist with Frontier magazine in Yangon, played down some of the concerns, saying the media are enjoying greater openness. "I think press freedom in Myanmar is growing and growing under the NLD government," he said, adding Article 66D is not used much against journalists and never by the army. Coverage on crisis in Rakhine Also affecting media freedom is the government's response to news coverage of the Rakhine State crisis. Since October, the army has conducted security sweeps in Rohingya Muslim areas of Rakhine in search of militants, but the operations have been marred by claims and evidence of massive rights abuses, such as rape, killings and destruction of villages. The government has prevented media from freely reporting in the area and aggressively denounced any reports of abuses, which are mostly brought by foreign media and rights groups. The government has threatened to sue foreign outlets and in late October a government spokesman publicly assailed a foreign reporter at the Myanmar Times over a rape allegation story. The paper promptly fired the journalist. Myo Myint Nyein, of PEN, said the government had been wrong to block media access as it had only increased doubts about the situation in Rakhine. Mathieson, of Human Rights Watch, echoed this view, saying, "It makes the government and military seem more guilty when they treat the media as mushrooms: keeping them in the dark and feeding them on manure." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pakistani city launches new polio campaign amid militant threats Iran Press TV Mon Jan 2, 2017 6:29PM Pakistan has begun a special five-day polio immunization campaign for children in the southwestern city of Quetta after past programs were met with violence by militants. Local officials said on Monday that health workers launched the campaign for children under five in the city of Quetta, the volatile provincial capital of Balochistan, on Monday. Syed Faisal Ahmed, the coordinator of the local Emergency Operation Center, said local officials had recruited Muslim clerics to promote the immunizations for 400,000 children. "The religious leaders were ... asking the people to give their children anti-polio drops in their sermons in the mosques in rural areas of Balochistan," Ahmed said, adding, "We have achieved major goals in combating polio disease, but still we have to strive more to declare Pakistan a polio-free country." The fresh campaign follows the detection of the rare Type 2 strain of polio in sewage samples taken by the World Health Organization (WHO) in November. Pakistan is one of just three countries in the world, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, where polio, a crippling childhood disease, remains endemic. Immunization efforts have in the past been hampered by militant groups. The Taliban in Pakistan have ordered a ban on the polio vaccination campaign, saying that it could be a cover-up for espionage activities by the United States. Militants have shot dead several medical health officers supervising the polio vaccination campaign in various parts of Pakistan over the past few years. Last January, a bomber killed at least 15 people outside a vaccination center in Quetta. In April 2016, militants shot dead seven policemen guarding a polio vaccination team in the southern port city Karachi. Militant attacks on inoculation teams across Pakistan have claimed more than 100 lives since December 2012. Despite the attacks, the Pakistani government hopes to be removed from the list of polio-endemic countries by 2018 by achieving its goal of no new cases for one year. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 'Where Is This Country Going?' Debt Crisis Tugs At Russian Federation's Seams Robert Coalson, Alsu Kurmasheva January 02, 2017 A surprisingly harsh war of words has broken out between the Russian central government and one of the country's most prosperous regions, in a sign of tension as cash-strapped Moscow struggles to fill its budget deficit. The government of the Republic of Tatarstan sought to soften the blow by pulling a transcript of its president calling a federal order to extract more revenues from the regions "stupidity" and obliquely comparing it to one of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's most ruthless policies. But the grumbling had already caught the attention of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who quickly confirmed that the policy in question was here to stay. The Russian economy has been hit hard over the last two years by a combination of low global energy prices and the effects of a sanctions standoff with the West over Moscow's annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea and its active support of separatists in eastern Ukraine. Among the measures the Kremlin has adopted to make ends meet was a decision to increase the portion of the national 20 percent profit tax that goes to the federal government from 2 to 3 percent. That prompted Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov to launch into a tirade against Moscow at a regional government meeting on December 27. Minnikhanov called the move "an extremely dangerous measure." "In a unilateral way, a decision was made at the federal level. No agreements," he said. "This is another attempt to change the rules on co-financing. Those who work well won't get federal subsidies. This, in general, is stupidity. Where is this country going? We are a federative state. How can we take part in federal programs now?" Minnikhanov even compared the process of "leveling" the so-called donor regions and their subsidized counterparts with Stalin's disastrous "de-kulakization," a policy that saw relatively prosperous farmers dispossessed and their property absorbed into collective farms. "We saw the consequences of that," he said, in an allusion to catastrophic repressions and famines that killed millions. The comments were so controversial that the Tatarstan government deviated from its usual practice of posting a transcript and reportedly ordered local media to pull down videos of the meeting. Medvedev countered, "Financial transfers must be primarily directed according to the needs of developing regional economies, the social sphere, and other important elements, and not just to regions, particularly to regions that are donors and can finance development with their own resources," according to TASS. Historically, tensions have arisen in Russia during economic hard times between the handful of regions that make net contributions to the federal budget -- so-called donor regions -- and the many regions that make ends meet thanks to federal subsidies. Of Russia's 83 regions (plus the two regions of Crimea and Sevastopol that were seized from Ukraine in 2014), only 14 are classified as donor regions. Only one region -- Kaluzhskaya Oblast -- has been added to that list in the last 10 years. In 2016, the top 10 recipient regions were: Daghestan, Yakutia, Kamchatka, Crimea, Chechnya, Altai, Tyva, Buryatia, Stavropol, and Bashkortostan. They were budgeted to receive 216 billion rubles ($3.5 billion), more than 40 percent of the entire budget for regional subsidies. According to Kommersant, the budget for regional subsidies will increase by 9 percent in 2017. To make matters worse, many recipient regions are in debt, with 510 billion rubles budgeted in 2016 and 2017 to help regions convert their expensive commercial loans into debt to Moscow. Without such assistance, as many as 20 regions face the prospect of default. During his annual press conference on December 23, President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that the problem of regional indebtedness is "serious" and said that five regions have violated the government's rule that total indebtedness not exceed 50 percent of a region's revenues. As for donor regions, Putin said, "We try to create conditions under which they do not lose that status." Moscow's unwillingness to discuss this topic with regions like Tatarstan is "an alarming signal for the country as a whole," Kazan-based political analyst Ayrat Fayzrakhmanov told RFE/RL. "In today's Russia, such completely natural statements are taken like a bolt out of the blue," he said. "It turns out that representatives of regions, even the most official ones, cannot say anything regarding the situation in their regions or about federalism in Russia generally?" "This is a dangerous signal for the whole country," he added. "The stability of the political system is based on the ability to find a balance of interests. Between different social groups, between people with differing views, between the donor regions and the subsidized regions. But how can we find a balance of interests if some participants are forbidden from speaking?" The sour mood in Tatarstan is further aggravated because the region is in the grip of a severe banking crisis. The region's leading banking group, Tatfondbank, suspended customer operations earlier this month, leaving many individuals and businesses without access to funds. The crisis has reverberated through the region's economy: On December 23, the board of the Spartak shoe factory declared bankruptcy after it was unable to service its debts or pay salaries because of Tatfondbank's decision. The government restored partial access to Tatfondbank accounts on December 27, and regional Economy Minister Artem Zdunov said on December 28 that the government "will work" to save Spartak. Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/tatarstan- russia-debt-crisis-war-of- words/28209393.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian Aerospace Forces Conducted 30,000 Bomb, Rocket Attacks in 2016 Drills Sputnik News 17:01 02.01.2017(updated 18:14 02.01.2017) The Russian Aerospace Forces conducted about 30,000 bombardments and rocket attacks as part of drills held in 2016, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Monday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The number of the military exercises with participation of the Aerospace Forces in 2016 surpassed 50. "During the exercises [in 2016], the Aerospace Forces' groups and units had clocked up more than 340,000 flying hours, had conducted almost 30,000 bombing attacks and launches of aircraft rockets, more than 650 sorties to facilitate the activities of the troops," the statement said, adding that 2016 had become the first year of the Aerospace Forces' full-scale operation. According to the statement, the Aerospace Forces also received more than 350 pieces of advanced military equipment, including the Su-34 attack aircraft, Ka-52 helicopters and S-400 air defense systems, in 2016. On August 1, 2015, Russia established the Aerospace Forces as a result of integration of the Air Force and Aerospace Defense Forces. The branch of the Russian Armed Forces is responsible for repelling aerospace threats, aviation support of troops, space facility observing and launching spacecraft, including military and dual-purpose satellite systems, among other tasks Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Infrastructure ministry warns of possible cancelation of lights to Dubai, Sharjah in coming days Flights to Dubai and Sharjah (the United Arab Emirates, UAE) could be delayed or canceled in coming several day due to weather conditions, Ukraine's Infrastructure Ministry has reported. "Ukraine's Infrastructure Ministry, State Aviation Service and Foreign Ministry warn Ukrainian citizens who plan their trips that flights to the UAE could be delayed or canceled in the future," the ministry said on Tuesday. Over thick fog since 29 December 2016 a large number of flights have been postponed or canceled in the airports of these cities. "According to the Foreign Ministry, the Ukrainian Consulate in Dubai and the Ukrainian Embassy in the UAE is monitoring the issue and taking measures to protect rights and interests of Ukrainian citizens staying in the UAE," the ministry said. Russian Naval Aviation to Receive 100 New Aircraft Before 2020 Sputnik News 08:15 02.01.2017(updated 10:07 02.01.2017) Russian naval aviation to receive some 100 new aircraft before 2020, the naval aviation chief said Monday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Kozhin added that in 2017-2020 Russian naval aviation would receive MiG 29-K and MiG-29KUB fighter aircraft. "In accordance with the existing program of modernization and renewal of the naval aviation aircraft fleet, about 100 new aircraft will enter service before 2020," Maj. Gen. Igor Kozhin told journalists. According to Kozhin, it is also planned to update the fleet of attack helicopters, replacing Ka-29 helicopters with Ka-52K Katran helicopters. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syria bombs positions of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham terrorists in Homs, kills senior leaders Iran Press TV Mon Jan 2, 2017 5:18PM The Syrian army has carried out an attack on al-Qaeda-linked militants in the western province of Homs, killing a number of terrorists, including senior leaders. Syria's official news agency, SANA, said Monday that an army unit bombarded a gathering of militants from the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham group, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, in the village of Um Sharshouh, about 18 kilometers north of the city of Homs, killing a number of them and injuring several others. The report said key leaders from the Takfiri group were killed in the army attack, including the chief of mortar brigade. SANA said two other notable terrorists were also among those killed while mortar launchers and machine gun-equipped vehicles belonging to the group were destroyed during the attack. Militants blamed for power cuts Separately, Syria said on Monday that the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham militants attacked electricity transmission towers near the capital, Damascus. SANA said the militants knocked out electricity towers in al-Khazrajia area in the southwestern part of Damascus countryside, causing power cuts in Quneitra region. The news agency added that militants detonated remote explosive devices that they had planted on three towers to bomb the facilities. Jabhat Fateh al-Sham militants, along with Daesh Takfiri terrorists, are the main terror groups operating in territories to the north and east of Syria. The two have been excluded from several truce agreements reached between the Damascus government and other militant groups, which means the Syrian military and its allies can continue their operations against them during the cessation of hostility. The report came as a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey held for the fourth consecutive day across the country amid sporadic fighting. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian army clashes with militants in Rif Dimashq Iran Press TV Mon Jan 2, 2017 11:19AM Syrian army soldiers have reportedly clashed with members of the Fateh al-Sham terrorist group, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, in Rif Dimashq Province as the pro-government forces advance against militants in the region. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fighting broke out in the town of Ain al-Fijah, situated in the provincial district of Wadi Barada, on Monday. A number of Fateh al-Sham militants were killed and injured in the clashes, the report added, noting the Syrian troops managed to wrest control of several areas around Ain al-Fijah Spring. Meanwhile, media reports said that since Saturday some 1,300 civilians have fled militant-controlled villages in Wadi Barada for government-held areas. The displaced Syrians were transferred to the nearby towns of to Qudsaya and Dimas. Fateh al-Sham ringleaders slain in Syria Separately on Sunday, two Fateh al-Sham ringleaders were killed in airstrikes on the area between the towns of Bab al-Hawa and Sarmada in Syria's northwestern Idlib Province. The UK-based observatory quoted informed sources as saying that the air raids left Abu Omar al-Turkistani and another unnamed terrorist element dead. The developments come as a nationwide halt to fighting has been holding in Syria since Friday. The ceasefire, which does not apply to Daesh and Fateh al-Sham terrorist groups, came eight days after the Syrian military announced full control over Aleppo and called it a "crushing blow" to terrorists. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia, Turkey Reportedly Strike Daesh Positions in Northern Syria Sputnik News 11:56 02.01.2017(updated 13:12 02.01.2017) The Russian Aerospace Forces and the Turkish Air Force, along with Turkey's artillery have carried out several operations against Daesh in northern Syria, Daily Sabah newspaper reported Monday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russian aircraft attacked Daesh positions in the Dayr Kak region located in the vicinity of the Daesh-held city of al-Bab, the Daily Sabah newspaper reported citing Turkish military officials. The newspaper added that the activities of Turkey's aircraft and artillery in northern Syria near al-Bab had killed 22 Daesh jihadists. 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. As Jarabulus was retaken, the offensive continued southwest. The operation has been widely criticized by both the Syrian Kurds and the country's legitimate government, who have accused Turkey of violating Syria's territorial integrity. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Monitors: Airstrike in Northern Syria Kills Extremist Leaders Near Turkish Border By VOA News January 02, 2017 Syrian monitors say an airstrike near the Turkish border killed at least three extremist leaders late Sunday, including a commander of a militant faction made up of ethnic Uighurs from far western China. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors and reports on the country's long-running civil war, said eight people were killed in the attack in northern Idlib province, on a road leading from the town of Sarmada toward the border. It was not immediately clear who launched the attack, but an observatory report said it was most likely carried out by the U.S.-led coalition battling Islamic State extremists in the region. The pan-Arab news service Al-Masdar, quoting al-Qaida-linked Fatah al-Sham militants, said the attack came from a U.S. Predator drone. There was no immediate comment from the Pentagon, and that claim has not been otherwise confirmed. Activist video posted on Twitter purported to show rescuers pulling a body from a wrecked car at the scene. U.S.-led coalition warplanes and drones have killed some of the region's most senior jihadist commanders since Islamic State extremists declared a caliphate in northern Syria in 2014, after pushing through northern Syria and large swaths of Iraq. The observatory said the dead in Sunday's strike included al-Qaida commander Khattab al-Qahtani and Abu Omar Turkistani, whose Islamist Uighur force joined with Syrian extremists in a push to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Earlier airstrikes Earlier Monday, Turkey's military said its warplanes killed at least 22 militants near its border with northern Syria, and said Russian aircraft destroyed IS targets near the extremist-controlled northern town of al-Bab. Turkey launched its so-called "Euphrates Shield" offensive on August 24, just hours after an IS terror strike on a wedding party in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep killed more than 50 people and wounded scores of others. The operation's stated goal is to clear the Syria-Turkey frontier of IS fighters and Kurdish forces by backing the so-called Free Syrian Army with warplanes and artillery. Exceptions to cease-fire A Syrian cease-fire brokered last week by Syria, Russia and Turkey excluded extremist targets in the war-ravaged country, including rebel-held territory on the outskirts of Damascus in the fertile Barada valley. Government forces pounded the area for the past four days, in an attempt to dislodge rebel groups said to include al-Qaida-linked fighters. The onslaught forced hundreds of civilians from the area. The valley's Barada river is the primary source of water for Damascus and its surrounding area, and the new fighting is said to coincide with severe water shortages in the capital first reported December 22. The government has accused rebels of contaminating water supplies with diesel fuel, forcing severe rationing in Damascus and heightening a sense of urgency by the government to clear the region of rebel forces. For their part, rebel groups dug in at Barada since 2012 linked the contamination to government airstrikes they claim heavily damaged a key water-processing facility that supplies the city. The truce agreement that took effect Friday is the first cease-fire initiative in the Syrian civil war that does not involve the United States or the United Nations. The deal came two weeks after Syria and its Russian allies declared victory in the northern city of Aleppo, after a monthslong air offensive that saw Russian and Syrian warplanes destroy the rebel-fortified eastern sector of the city. In the last days of the rebel occupation, Russia-backed Syrian ground forces pushed through the sector, cutting it in half and forcing rebels out. Analysts say the victory strengthened the Syrian president's hand as warring parties in the multi-sided conflict prepare for peace talks in late January in the Kazakh capital Astana. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Defense ministry mulling air defense missile command change ROC Central News Agency 2017/01/02 19:12:42 Taipei, Jan. 2 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense confirmed Monday that it may reorganize the air defense missile command, which is currently under the ministry's jurisdiction, but said it would not be related to a stalled program to cut the size of the military. The ministry was responding to a report in the Chinese-language United Evening News on Monday saying that the Air Defense Missile Command will be put under the Air Force Command in March, the first reorganization of the military since President Tsai Ing-wen () took office in May 2016. The air defense missile command was formed in 2012 under a directive issued by then Defense Minister Kao Hua-chu (), according to the report. Missiles under the command's authority include the locally developed Tien Kung-series missiles and Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) cruise missiles, as well as the Hawk and Patriot PAC-3 missiles purchased from the United States, the report said. The report also said the defense ministry may once again push for adoption of the "Yong Ku" () program to downsize the military, which has been stalled in the Legislature for months. That's because the missile command shift is said to be part of the program to cut military personnel to between 170,000 and 190,000 from the current 215,000. Asked to confirm the report, the defense ministry confirmed that it was considering reorganizing the air defense missile command because it might help the military in combat situations and said it would make a decision based on factors such as military threats and combat needs. But the ministry stressed it had nothing to do with the "Yong Ku" program. Amid the strained relations across the Taiwan Strait, China's military aircraft were recently found to flow deliberately close to Taiwan's air space. (By Elaine Hou and Claudia Liu) ENDITEM/ls NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Istanbul attack won't stop Turkey's operation in Syria: Deputy PM Iran Press TV Mon Jan 2, 2017 6:36PM Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus has vowed that Ankara's military operation inside Syria would continue despite a recent terror attack in Istanbul which killed 39 people. "This was a message for our cross-border operations, above all the Euphrates Shield," Kurtulmus said on Monday, referring to Turkey's military operation in Syria, which Ankara says is aimed at rooting out the Daesh Takfiri group and pushing back Kurdish militants. Turkey started its military campaign in Syria in late August. The Turkish army and militants loyal to it recaptured the city of Jarablus in the early weeks of the operation. They are currently busy fighting Daesh in the town of al-Bab. Ankara has vowed that its next target would be the city of Manbij, which is under the control of Syrian Kurdish forces. Turkey's military drive in Syria has been met with increasing criticism, both from the Damascus government and the West, which is at odds with Ankara over Kurdish forces in Syria. Kurtulmus said the attack in Istanbul on December 31, 2016, which saw a gunman storming a popular nightclub hosting the New Year revelers, would not stop Turkey from its drive against "terrorists" in Syria. "In Jarablus, al-Bab, Manbij or wherever it needs to go, we will continue these operations until these terror organizations no longer remain a threat to Turkey," Kurtulmus said, adding, "We will carry on our cross-border operations and Euphrates Shield and with determination." The Turkish official said the Istanbul attack, which was claimed by Daesh, was a bid to spoil Ankara's peace-making efforts in Syria, after Turkey recently managed to hammer out a deal with Russia on the establishment of nationwide ceasefire in the Arab country. "Our initiatives for new peace in the Middle East will be realized," Kurtulmus said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkey detains 8 suspects over Istanbul nightclub shooting rampage Iran Press TV Mon Jan 2, 2017 2:15PM Turkish security police have reportedly arrested eight people suspected of having links to a New Year gun massacre at an Istanbul nightclub that claimed the lives of nearly 40 people and wounded dozens of others. According to a report published by Turkey's Dogan news agency, the arrests were made by Istanbul's anti-terror police on Monday. It added that police were pressing on with counter-terrorism operations after detaining the first group of suspects. The shooting rampage occurred in the early hours on Sunday, when a gunman, wearing a Santa Claus costume, entered the Reina nightclub at the popular Besiktas area in Istanbul and rained down a hail of bullets on New Year revelers, killing 39, mostly foreign tourists, and wounding 69 others. Local media reported that the assailant, who is still at large, fired off at least four magazines, containing a total of 120 bullets, around the club during the seven-minute shooting spree. The Daesh Takfiri terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the massacre, which unleashed scenes of panic among tourists and party-goers in the country's most populous city. A manhunt is underway for the perpetrator. Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin said the attacker, armed with a long-barreled weapon, killed a policeman and a civilian outside the nightclub before entering and opening fire on people partying inside. Turkey's Interior Ministry announced in a statement that 147 people have been detained in the past week after authorities determined that "they were in contact with the Daesh terrorist organization." Turkey has come under many attacks over the past year, claimed by Kurdish militants and the Daesh Takfiri terror group, which operates in neighboring Syria and Iraq. 'Terrorists seek chaos in Turkey' Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday said in a statement on the presidential website that terrorists behind the "brutal attack" on the nightclub had sought to create chaos in Turkey. "Those aiming at the peace of our nation, and their pawns, are working to destabilize our country and trigger chaos by demoralizing our people through their heinous attacks that also target civilians," he said, adding that Ankara is determined to eradicate threats and attacks against Turkey "at their source." "We are aware that these attacks, carried out by various terror organizations against our country, are not independent from incidents happening in our region," he further said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UK-Boeing spy plane deal at Trump's mercy Iran Press TV Mon Jan 2, 2017 7:54AM The UK government has not yet placed an order for a much publicized spy plane deal with the American aviation and military giant Boeing, a new report states, meaning that the much-needed military aircraft would only be provided upon US President-elect Donald Trump's agreement. The British Ministry of Defense claimed in July that it had "confirmed the deal to purchase nine P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft" from Boeing. However, The Daily Mirror reported Sunday that the deal with the outgoing administration of President Barack Obama was far from complete and in fact no orders were made before the New Year. The problem is that the deal is a "foreign military sale," meaning that it requires Washington's approval before Boeing could make the delivery. This leaves the contract "at the mercy" of Trump, Obama's successor, the report added. "Why are we not buying these planes directly from Boeing and instead using a foreign military sale?" said Lib Dem defense spokeswoman Baroness Judith Jolly. "This puts us at the mercy of the Americans and soon-to-be President Trump." Back in July, the government of then-UK prime minister David Cameron said it had inked new multi-billion pound contracts with Boeing. As part of the deal, Boeing had to provide the Royal Air Force with nine P-8A Poseidon spy aircraft, complete with a 100 million ($129 million) maintenance facility at the RAF Lossiemouth base in Moray. UK military sources told the daily earlier that the deal "for the 8th US Production Lot, which will include the UK's initial aircraft, will be placed early next year." Based on Boeing's best-selling 737 aircraft, the P-8 or Poseidon is capable of launching torpedoes, depth charges, SLAM-ER missiles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and other weapons. It can also track submarines and alert the UK Navy's vessels of approaching threats. The UK has recently made another "foreign military sale" with the US, under which London would receive an undisclosed number of nuclear-capable Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US Navy. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 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. Ukraine's Justice Ministry has registered the order of Ukraine's Health Ministry on the relaxed registration of medicines registered in countries with strong regulatory authorities. The Patients of Ukraine charitable foundation said in a press release that the order took effect. This allows registering these medicines within 17 days. "This step would help to considerably expand the range of medicines in Ukraine, which today is shorter than in most European countries. For example, only 10,000 medicines are registered in Ukraine, while in France almost 16,000," the foundation said. Board Member of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre Oleksandra Ustynova said that the registration of medicines was always too regulated in Ukraine and this resulted in corruption. "Usually it took one or two years to register [medicines]. If manufacturers wanted to accelerate it the corruption schemes worked and it was possible to register medicines manually. Now when the rule recognizing medicines registered in developed countries is in effect it is harder to hinder their registration. This would help to expand the range of medicines and competition on the medicines market," she said. Patients of Ukraine CEO Olha Stefanishyna urged medicine manufacturers from countries with strong regulatory authorities to register newest medicines in Ukraine. Oil transit through Ukraine to Europe declines 10.7% in Jan-Nov Oil transit through Ukraine to Europe declined to 12.472 million tonnes in January-November 2016, 10.7% or 1.502 million tonnes less than in the same period last year, the Energy and Coal Industry Ministry has reported. In November oil transit to Europe grew by 6.4% or 73,200 tonnes year-over-year, to 1.21 million tonnes. Oil shipment to refineries in Ukraine in January-November 2016 declined by 13.2% or 196,600 tonnes to 1.294 tonnes. In other words, transit shipments accounted for 90.6% of all crude oil transportation and refinery supplies accounted for 9.4%. PROVIDENCE, N.C. After a lifetime of journeys and adventures, Nace Clement Wileys friends and family gathered at the Providence Baptist Church in Providence, North Carolina, Thursday to celebrate his 100th birthday, and whatever comes next. Wiley describes himself as just ordinary, but his friends describe him as anything but. I think remarkable just about sums him up, his friend, Millie Powell, said, as the Dan River Band played in the background of the party Wiley planned for himself, from the venue to the menu. More than 100 people came to celebrate with him, and ate one of Wileys favorite meals hot dogs with pinto beans, with options of peach pie, apple pie and sheet cake. This meal is one that his Sunday school class is very familiar with. Hes been serving it on and off for years whenever he invited them to his house, something hes been doing since before his wife died in 2006. Wiley was born on Dec. 29, 1916 in Dry Fork. He was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in the 398th Bomb Group B-17 during World War II. He worked his way around the United States and England, never seeing any fighting. He served in Biloxi, Mississipp; Denver, Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah; Spokane, Washington; and Boston and finished his time in the Army in Nuthampstead Air Force Base in England. He worked on turrets and ground crew throughout the war, and laughingly said The only time I flew, I flew back to the states from England. Ever since he returned home in 1945, hes stayed in the Dan River Region. He married Addie Rowland on Dec. 14, 1946, and they were married for 60 years, living in two houses that he built himself with the help of his nieces and nephews. Wiley and his wife both worked for and retired from Dan River Mills, but he has always been incredibly dedicated to his family. Hes got no children, but hes always treated his nephews and nieces like his own. Whenever he could spend time with us, he does it, Mark Wiley said. He doesnt forget anything. He just loves to share with people. Wileys family put together several scrapbooks with memorabilia of Wileys journeys and his family members, calling him one of the most documented people theyd ever met. Wiley isnt the first member of his family to live to be 100, according to his nephew Mark. His uncle, John Wiley, also lived past 100, and was the an eyewitness to the wreck of the Old 97 in 1903. Mark joked that maybe he also would live to see 100. He is also very active at Providence Baptist Church, where he was baptized in 1953, and ordained as a deacon in 1987. He was at church every Sunday, no matter what. Two months ago, he fell and wasnt able to come, but he was here last Sunday in a wheelchair Wileys friend, J.C. Powell, said. Hes just a real faithful church member, has been as long as Ive known him. Ive already enjoyed life. Ive enjoyed living in this area. Its been good to me, and I have a lot of friends. Im just taking it one day at the time. My time is short, Wiley said. I dont know what the Lords gonna do, but Ill take it one day at a time. If I make it through a whole lot of them, itll be fine. If I dont, Im ready. Toronto, Ontario (FSCwire) - Tsodilo Resources Ltd. (TSX Venture Exchange: TSD) ("Tsodilo" or the "Company") reports that in terms of the Stock Option Plan of the Company and a policy adopted by the board of directors in September 2002, 260,000 stock options were granted to officers and senior employees on January 2, 2017, at CDN $0.69 per common share. These options are valid for five years and vest in four equal installments on January 2, 2017, July 2, 2017, January 2, 2018 and July 2, 2018. About Tsodilo Resources Limited: Tsodilo Resources Ltd. is an international diamond and metals exploration company engaged in the search for economic diamond and metal deposits at its Bosoto (Pty) Limited ("Bosoto") and Gcwihaba Resources (Pty) Limited ("Gcwihaba") projects in Botswana and its Idada 361 (Pty) Limited ("Idada") project in Barberton, South Africa. The Company has a 100% stake in Bosoto (Pty) Ltd. which holds the BK16 kimberlite project in the Orapa Kimberlite Field in Botswana. The Company has a 100% stake in its Gcwihaba project area consisting of twenty-one (21) metal (base, precious, platinum group, and rare earth) prospecting licenses and eight (8) radioactive mineral licenses all located in the North-West district of Botswana. Additionally, Tsodilo has a 70% stake in Idada Trading 361 (Pty) Limited which holds the gold and silver exploration license in the Barberton area of South Africa. Tsodilo manages the exploration of the Gcwihaba, Bosoto and Idada projects. The Company has offices in Toronto, Canada and Gaborone and Maun, Botswana. Please visit the Company's website, www.TsodiloResources.com, for additional information and background on our projects. This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements relating to the development of the Company's projects) are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, changes in equity markets, political developments in Botswana and surrounding countries, changes to regulations affecting the Company's activities, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, the uncertainties involved in interpreting exploration results and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration business. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. This news release may contain assumptions, estimates, and other forward-looking statements regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and are subject to factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, which may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: James M. Bruchs Chairman and Chief Executive Officer JBruchs@TsodiloResources.com Dr. Mike de Wit President and Chief Operating Officer MdeWit@TsodiloResources.com Head Office Telephone +1 416 572 2033 Facsimile + 1 416 987 4369 Website http://www.TsodiloResources.com To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/TsodiloJan32016.pdfSource: Tsodilo Resources Ltd. (TSX Venture:TSD) To follow Tsodilo Resources Ltd. on your favorite social media platform or financial websites, please click on the icons below. Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 Filing Services Canada Inc. VANCOUVER, Jan. 3, 2017 /CNW/ - MGX Minerals Inc. ("MGX" or the "Company") (CSE: XMG / FKT: 1MG / OTC: MGXMF) is pleased to report the Company has successfully extracted lithium from heavy oil wastewater. Results are part of the ongoing optimization for completion and deployment of a pilot plant in support of its 487,000 hectare Alberta lithium project. The Company owns a patent pending process (United States Provisional Patent #62/419,011) for the extraction of lithium and other valuable minerals from oil brine. This technology is the first of its kind, reducing production time of lithium from brine by 99% compared with conventional lithium brine production times that use solar evaporation. Process time is reduced from approximately 18 months to 1 day using MGX's process. Heavy oil evaporator blowdown wastewater ("EBD") is one of the byproducts of steam assisted gravity drainage ("SAGD") during production of heavy oil. EBD was specifically targeted as the wastewater contains mid-level concentrations of lithium and has the potential to generate high environmental revenue based on current disposal costs. MGX and PurLucid Treatment Solutions ("PurLucid") are working to integrate their respective technologies and develop a pilot plant suitable for commercial use that will treat EBD to provide oil sand producers with additional environmentally-friendly disposal options as well as recover valuable minerals such as lithium. As reported by Dr. Preston McEachern of PurLucid: Starting EBD with Li concentration of 87 mg/L. Final recovery of Li was 34.8 mg/L or 40%. Li was lost in the initial softening of the EBD (18%) when approximately 20% of the fluid mass is lost due to removal of silica and other solids, 1% of the Li was lost in the NaCl removal step. 16% of the Li was lost in the magnesium removal step. 4% of Li was lost in the CaCl2 removal step. 21% of the total Li remained in the final brine. This portion of lithium has a high probability of recovery by further reaction or during a second pass. Li was crystallized as lithium carbonate. Other primary recoveries of minerals in total were sodium 83% and calcium 100%. The final brine still contained high concentrations of sodium, potassium, and boron indicating where optimization will focus on. Additional applicable data was collected for the potential extraction of boron, bromine, magnesium and potassium. The treatment process removed all suspended solids, 99.97% of the hydrocarbons and reduced scale forming ions such as silica to levels suitable for reuse in steam generating processes. PurLucid Investment Agreement MGX and PurLucid have agreed to extend their investment schedule by 30 days pending receipt of a grant application decision. A final decision on the application may be imminent and both parties have agreed to delay crystallizing the acquisition valuation for 30 days. MGX will continue to fund development under its engineering and integration agreement with PurLucid whereby PurLucid has been engaged by MGX to optimize and construct a pilot plant for its lithium extraction process and integrate this system with PurLucid's patented filtration systems for the removal of residual oil from production wastewater. The front-end water treatment portion of the pilot plant is complete and, upon completion of optimization testing, the mineral extraction system will be integrated and deployed. Under the terms of the Investment Agreement, MGX has the right to acquire up to 100% of PurLucid. Qualified Persons The technical portions of this press release were prepared by Dr. Preston McEachern, CEO of PurLucid Treatment Solutions Inc., and have been reviewed by Andris Kikauka (P. Geo.), Vice President of Exploration for MGX Minerals. Mr. Kikauka is a non-independent Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument (N.I.) 43-101 Standards. Cautionary Statement MGX Minerals is actively working on advancing its Alberta Lithium Portfolio into production. However, readers are cautioned that the Company has not completed a pre-feasibility or feasibility study which establishes mineral reserves with demonstrated economic and technical viability. Further, the Company cautions readers that any potential production may not be economically feasible and historically projects taken to production without establishing reserves through a feasibility study have a much higher risk of economic or technical failure. About MGX Minerals MGX Minerals (CSE: XMG) is a diversified Canadian mining company engaged in the development of large-scale industrial mineral portfolios in western Canada. The Company operates lithium, magnesium and silicon projects throughout British Columbia and Alberta. MGX recently released a maiden N.I. 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate for its Driftwood Creek magnesium project, which outlined 8 million tonnes grading 43.31% magnesium oxide. In January the Company received a 20-year Mining Lease for Driftwood Creek. Additionally, the Company is the largest lithium brine land holder in Canada, controlling nearly 487,000 hectares of land representing over one million barrels of brine production per day. For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.mgxminerals.com. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements including the completion of the rights offering (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "potentially" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors. The reader is referred to the Company's public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects which may be accessed through the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. SOURCE MGX Minerals Inc. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has ordered Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak to increase additional payments to military servicemen in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone. "Today, I instructed the Minister of Defense to increase the additional payments to the servicemen on the contact line to UAH 6,000 and to the servicemen on the second line - to UAH 2,400," he said in Mariupol on Saturday, December 31. He said that the financial incentives for Ukrainian military servicemen should be created. The years since the recession have not been good ones for public employees. Talent was lost and pay levels for the most critical, skilled occupations have fallen steadily behind those of the private sector. Morale took a hit and in many jurisdictions has not recovered. Public service continues to attract young workers, but there have been reports of early turnover attributable to dissatisfaction with the work experience.One measure of that dissatisfaction is the state of employees' engagement with their jobs, and here the news is not good. Gallup reports that 71 percent of state and local government employees are not engaged and that, troublingly, fully 17 percent are "actively disengaged." Those are averages. Currently I am working with a public organization where the number of employees who are actively disengaged exceeds 40 percent. The way this employer has administered pay is central to the dissatisfaction.The emerging problem for the public sector is that as the economy and job markets improve, even the best- paying companies can have trouble attracting scarce skilled workers. There are also increasingly opportunities in the nonprofit sector for the careers desired by millennials that emphasize service -- but without the bureaucracy.This is a far cry from the way things worked in the past. Up until a couple of decades ago, government careers were an attractive employment alternative. Budgets were growing and public employers were adding workers. The pay was not fully competitive, but the benefits and job security were good, and the growth meant attractive opportunities. Public-service careers were valued in society.In many parts of the country, particularly in rural areas, the situation has deteriorated in a way that has not been reported by the media or studied by researchers. Back in 1989 and 1990 I was involved in a project in my home state of Pennsylvania to create a state court system (after 300 years of county courts). I met with the president judges and court administrators in 38 of the 62 county courts. I learned that when factories and coal mines closed, the numbers of DUIs and cases involving spousal abuse skyrocketed. Good-paying jobs in many rural counties are even more scarce now. The population and government's workforce are aging. Millennials who grew up in those counties are looking for jobs closer to urban areas.Regardless of the local economy, however, government is expected to provide needed services. Teachers are needed. Prisons have to be staffed. Residents need health care. When workers retire from government jobs, especially in occupations requiring post-high-school training, those areas have to be able to hire and retain qualified replacements.That is particularly difficult when it comes to attracting people with the specialized skills that governments increasingly need, such as financial expertise. As an attorney who represents a Kansas municipality involved in a dispute with the Security and Exchange Commission told therecently, "There are not enough people living in the community who can do the job." Budgets are a core problem , but the situation is exacerbated by the continued reliance on noncompetitive, inflexible pay systems. When companies experience a staffing problem, they simply raise the starting salary. High-demand occupations command premium pay. Moreover, in the private sector pay for performance attracts the higher performers.Competitive pay systems aren't unknown in government. Federal regulations permit agencies to pay special rates when they experience staffing problems. And the Federal Wage System covering hourly employees is based on surveys of market pay in over 250 local areas. Agencies at all levels of government need the flexibility to adjust rates to attract essential talent.The continuing budget problems make it even more important to use available funds wisely. Across-the-board increases are not the best use of limited funds, nor are cost-of-living increases or automatic step increases. Those practices continue only in government.Change initiatives will hit resistance. Assuring that employees will be treated fairly is basic. The decision to transition from a traditional civil-service pay system would be easier if the public sector had documented the advantages of such a change. Pay for performance has long been accepted in some jurisdictions -- Indiana has had a such a policy since 2006 -- but there is little evidence that many of those programs have been evaluated to affirm their benefits.That's just one of the questions that will need to be answered if elected officials are going to be convinced that attracting qualified job applicants and retaining high performers is essential to meeting the public's growing need for government services. Gov.-elect Roy Cooper filed a lawsuit Friday challenging the North Carolina General Assembly's special session law that revamps the state elections board.Cooper's attorneys asked a Wake County Superior Court judge to block the law from taking effect while the lawsuit pends. Judge Donald Stephens granted the request after a hearing Friday afternoon.The law was set to take effect Sunday, when the North Carolina State Board of Elections would officially have ceased to exist. That change will be delayed for at least a week, and Stephens set another hearing on the case for Thursday.The law would merge the elections board with the State Ethics Commission, which administers ethics laws governing lobbyists, elected officials and government employees. The merger was approved by the Republican-led legislature during its special session earlier this month and signed by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, one of several changes attempting to limit the power Cooper.Cooper's attorneys argue in the lawsuit filing that the change violates the state's constitution."The General Assembly passed a bill that, among other things, radically changes the structure and composition of the executive agency responsible for administrating our state's election laws," the lawsuit says. "Those changes are unconstitutional because they violate the separation of powers provisions enshrined in the North Carolina Constitution by shifting control over that agency away from the governor to the General Assembly."To bolster that argument, they cited a case decided by the state Supreme Court earlier this year in which the justices found that the legislators had overstepped their authority in trying to establish a new commission to regulate coal ash. McCrory successfully sued to block that commission.Before the special session law, Cooper would have had the power to appoint three of the five Board of Elections members. Under the new configuration, he'd only get to appoint four of the new board's members _ and two of them must be Republicans. Legislative leaders would appoint the other four members, and the entire board must split evenly between Democrats and Republicans.Those appointees would not start until July 1. Until then, the current State Ethics Commission members will hold the seats a group that doesn't have much experience with election law. The State Board of Elections members who presided over 2016's contentious early voting and post-election complaints were set to end their service Saturday; Stephens' ruling means they'll stay in charge for now.On Friday, Senate leader Phil Berger issued a statement defending the elections board overhaul and criticizing Cooper's decision to sue."Given the recent weekslong uncertainty surrounding his own election, the governor-elect should understand better than anyone why North Carolinians deserve a system they can trust will settle election outcomes fairly and without the taint of partisanship," Berger said, adding that the lawsuit "may serve (Cooper's) desire to preserve his own political power, but it does not serve the best interests of our state."Noah Huffstetler, an attorney representing the state lawmakers, argued that Wake County Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens did not have authority to temporarily block the law.Several years ago, the Republican-led General Assembly changed the process for challenging laws on allegations that they violate the state Constitution.In such cases, the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, currently a Republican, appoints three judges to preside over the challenge. The attorneys representing state lawmakers argued that any request to halt the law while the lawsuit made its way through court should go before that three-judge panel, not Stephens.Stephens challenged that assumption, questioning how someone could stop a legislature that had adopted a law that might be unconstitutional and quickly put in effect. Stephens said he plans to inform Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin about the challenge and others that Cooper plans to add to the case.Martin could appoint a three-judge panel by Thursday. If that happens, Stephens said, further proceedings would be before the appointed judges.Had Stephens not taken action, the new law would have put the current Ethics Commission chair in the chair's position for the new board, but that seat had been vacant after the resignation of Chairman George Wainwright.On Friday, McCrory appointed Raleigh attorney John E. Branch III to serve as the new chairman. Branch is a former general counsel for the North Carolina Republican Party, and his practice at the Shanahan Law Group includes some election law matters.Jim Phillips, a Greensboro attorney representing Cooper in the lawsuit, argued Friday that the elections board has administrative duties of overseeing some 500 pages of statutes governing elections in North Carolina. He pointed out that Cooper would have no power to name any members to the board for six months.It's unclear if the new board would be responsible for setting early voting schedules for a 2017 special legislative primary _ one of its most contentious duties _ before new appointees, including Cooper's picks, would take office on July 1. This year featured early voting disputes in which Democrats on the elections board pushed for extended hours while Republicans largely opposed expansion.Under the new law, the new elections and ethics board wouldn't be able to take action with a simple majority _ six of eight members must vote in favor. If the board deadlocks, matters could then be appealed to a Wake County Superior Court judge.Cooper's lawsuit argues that the supermajority requirement means the new board is "likely to be consistently deadlocked and unable to act" and therefore "will not be able to execute the election laws."The lawsuit also notes that if the board can't get bipartisan agreement on early voting schedules _ and courts decline to intervene _ the schedules would default to the minimum number of hours allowed by law: A single site open only during weekday business hours and the Saturday before the election.Cooper referenced that scenario in a news release Friday afternoon. "A tie on a partisan vote would accomplish what many Republicans want: making it harder for North Carolinians to vote," he said. "It will result in elections with longer lines, reduced early voting, fewer voting places, little enforcement of campaign finance laws, indecision by officials and mass confusion." President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter Monday to again draw attention to Chicago's struggles with surging violent crime, this time suggesting that perhaps Mayor Rahm Emanuel should seek help from the federal government."Chicago murder rate is record setting -- 4,331 shooting victims with 762 murders in 2016," Trump wrote on Twitter. "If Mayor can't do it he must ask for Federal help!"Trump's suggestion that violence hit a record level in 2016 was off the mark, but homicides indeed rose nearly 60 percent from 2015 to the highest levels in 20 years.Trump's tweet came the morning after "60 Minutes" aired a segment on Chicago's violence, including an interview from Emanuel's former police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, who said the city's Police Department was in crisis. The mayor fired McCarthy more than a year ago amid the fallout over the court-ordered release of a video showing a white police officer shooting Laquan McDonald 16 times.Emanuel spokesman Adam Collins released a statement applauding that the president-elect was taking the crime issue seriously. Collins, though, did not directly address Trump's suggestion that Emanuel should seek federal help if he can't control the city's crime problem."As the president-elect knows from his conversation with the mayor, we agree the federal government has a strong role to play in public safety by funding summer jobs and prevention programming for at-risk youth, by holding the criminals who break our gun laws accountable for their crimes, by passing meaningful gun laws, and by building on the partnerships our police have with federal law enforcement," the statement said. "We are heartened he is taking this issue seriously and look forward to working with the new administration on these important efforts."While Trump's tweet suggested the federal government might need to intervene to help Chicago in its fight against violence, the U.S. Justice Department has been conducting an investigation for more than a year into the Police Department's practices, including the use of force by officers.The tweet wasn't the first time Trump has weighed in on Chicago's spike in violent crime.On the campaign trail, he often singled out Chicago while calling for tougher police tactics like the controversial stop-and-frisk policy to deal with urban crime.Stop-and-frisk was found unconstitutional by a federal judge in New York because of its overwhelming impact on minorities. New York abandoned its appeal of the ruling after Mayor Bill de Blasio took office."I think Chicago needs stop-and-frisk," Trump said at an event in September. "Now, people can criticize me for that or people can say whatever they want. But they asked me about Chicago and I think stop-and-frisk with good strong, you know, good strong law and order. But you have to do something. It can't continue the way it's going.""If (police) see a person possibly with a gun or they think may have a gun, they will see the person and they'll look and they'll take the gun away," he said.Trump also said violence in Chicago could be stopped in a week if police were "very much tougher."The Chicago Fraternal Order of Police endorsed Trump during last year's election.Emanuel met with the president-elect last month at Trump Tower in New York. While the mayor did not volunteer it, he acknowledged he and Trump discussed Chicago's violent crime.Asked if Trump brought up Chicago's crime woes, Emanuel responded, "We talked about public safety."Emanuel did not detail any of Trump's discussions at the meeting, but the mayor said he'd been "very clear" about his views on the issue. Emanuel said he advocated for a multifaceted approach to fighting crime from more summer jobs, after-school programs and mentoring to improved community policing, increased economic development and stiffer sentences for gun crimes.Collins said Monday that Emanuel and Trump had not discussed Chicago's crime since their meeting last month. Description GIS 03 January 2017: A ceremonial fair-sheet depicting hydrographic surveys and other tasks undertaken by Indian Naval Ship (INS) Darshak during its month-long deployment in Mauritius, was presented today in Port Louis to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Seetanah Lutchmeenaraidoo. The High Commissioner of India, Mr Abhay Thakur, and the Commanding Officer of the Ship, Captain Peush Pawsey were present at the ceremony. : A ceremonial fair-sheet depicting hydrographic surveys and other tasks undertaken by Indian Naval Ship (INS) Darshak during its month-long deployment in Mauritius, was presented today in Port Louis to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Seetanah Lutchmeenaraidoo. The High Commissioner of India, Mr Abhay Thakur, and the Commanding Officer of the Ship, Captain Peush Pawsey were present at the ceremony. INS Darshak was present in the waters of Mauritius from 3 December 2016 to 3 January 2017 to undertake a Joint Hydrographic Survey. It was deployed with the objective of preparing and publishing two new charts of Mauritian waters as per enhanced charting scheme agreed between India and Mauritius. The resultant products will be a significant step towards enhancing the level of navigational safety for merchant ships visiting Mauritius as they will replace vintage 19th century data around the island of Mauritius. Moreover, the surveys will be also very useful for the tourism-related activities based in the North of Mauritius, namely for areas like Mon Choisy and Grand Bay. All small islands in that region have also been surveyed in a comprehensive manner. At the request of the Mauritius Oceanographic Institute, data has been collected for the aquaculture site off Anse La Raie and deep sea transacts for scientific research. Data were also collected for Deep Ocean Water Application Projects at the request of Continental Shelf Department of the Prime Ministers Office. Government officials from various organisations related to ocean matters participated in the above survey and have benefited from the training during ships three sea sorties. The INS Darshak will also carry out Outer Island Support for St. Brandon and Agalega Islands during its return journey to India this month. Foreign Minister of Austria Sebastian Kurz intends to visit districts near Mariupol to study the situation in the east of Ukraine, Germany's DW publication has reported. "Kurz wants to understand the situation in the conflict zone in the east of Ukraine," reads the report. In the context of its OSCE Chairmanship in 2017 Austria will focus on contributing towards defusing existing conflicts, joining forces in fighting radicalization and violent extremism and re-establishing trust and confidence. Records disputes 'A bit better' (TNS) The city of Chicago paid out about $670,000 last year to plaintiffs in lawsuits alleging that officials violated open records law nearly five times what the city paid in the previous eight years combined.Experts and attorneys said the mounting payouts in Freedom of Information Act cases raise concerns about Mayor Rahm Emanuel's pledge to run "the most open, accountable and transparent government that the city of Chicago has ever seen." They said the increase may be attributable to a broader awareness of the public's right to records spurred by high-profile cases such as the Laquan McDonald shooting.The Emanuel administration, which still faces 54 lawsuits alleging open records violations, says it has added resources to provide public information more efficiently.But critics, such as Torreya Hamilton, a former prosecutor who runs her own civil rights firm and has sued the city alleging FOIA violations, question the city's commitment."The taxpayers of the city of Chicago are paying for the city to break the law," Hamilton said.Jeffrey M. Shaman, a DePaul University professor who teaches constitutional law and the First Amendment, said the city's spike in lawsuits and payments "makes one wonder if the city is willing to comply in good faith with the requirements of FOIA."The $670,122 total is spread out over 27 cases under FOIA, the state law providing access to government records for the public, that were brought by taxpayers, advocacy groups and media organizations, including the. FOIA allows some plaintiffs who sue for records to recover money for lawyers' fees and costs.In a Law Department statement, the city said it "works diligently to comply with the Freedom of Information Act and responds to thousands of public information requests each year, with only a small percentage of requests disputed.""However, there is always room for improvement, and during the past year, the city has dedicated additional resources and provided employees with additional training to ensure compliance and provide transparency to the public," the statement said. "It is not acceptable for any city department to ignore or unnecessarily delay a response to a request, nor is it acceptable for a department to improperly apply exemptions."The city's statement reiterated Emanuel's transparency pledges and touted the administration's creation of a data portal and a written policy "that guarantees the public's timely access to video and audio recordings" from police-involved incidents.Asked how the city justifies the amount paid out over open records lawsuits, the Law Department said the most common reason it's been sued are "claims of incomplete record searches and incorrectly applied exemptions.""In these cases, the city works to resolve these cases by providing evidence that searches were reasonable and the exemptions were correctly applied, or by providing additional documents," the statement said. "However, the city has an obligation to defend these suits and ensure that the privacy protections afforded by the FOIA statute are protected."Nineteen of the 27 cases with payouts in 2016 involve the Chicago Police Department. Others allege public information violations by the mayor's office, Animal Care and Control, the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, the Department of Finance, the Independent Police Review Authority and the Department of Innovation and Technology.Some cases allege the city failed to answer FOIA requests at all, but the most costly lawsuits involved larger controversies.The most expensive open records case in 2016 was journalist Brandon Smith's lawsuit against the city over video showing Laquan McDonald being shot 16 times by police Officer Jason Van Dyke.Chicago officials fought to withhold the video, arguing it would interfere with investigations into the shooting. A judge ordered its release, and the city paid $97,500 in fees and costs, records show.Emanuel recently acknowledged using personal email accounts to conduct official business and the city agreed to pay $96,275 to settle a Better Government Association lawsuit over an FOIA request for Emanuel's email. Thehas a separate, ongoing FOIA lawsuit involving Emanuel's emails about public business conducted on personal devices.Two otherlawsuits against the city were resolved in the news organization's favor in 2016. One involved emails sent or received by former Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, and the city paid $46,000 in attorneys fees and costs. The other sought city communications related to SUPES Academy and its insider deal that led to former Chicago Public Schools chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett's wire fraud conviction. The city paid the$95,000 in that records case.Thesued the Chicago Police Department twice in December, alleging the city failed to provide records as required under FOIA."We are disappointed that we continually need to resort to litigation to get access to documents the law requires be made public as a matter of course," Karen Flax, thevice president for legal, said in a statement. "The uptick in lawsuits reflects the city's disregard for the importance of the open records law and the fact that the city is understaffed in this area. It is pay now or pay later: If the city would produce the records to which the public is entitled in the first place, we would not need to file lawsuits and incur legal fees which the city then needs to cover."This summer, a Cook County judge ordered the city to pay $77,697 to the Animal Legal Defense Fund after the organization sued for records related to animal treatment by Animal Care and Control. That lawsuit stretched on for more than two years.Anthony Eliseuson, an attorney with Dentons, a downtown law firm that also represents the, said the animal defense fund did not want to sue but couldn't work the dispute out with agency leaders."We felt this should've been resolved without a lawsuit," Eliseuson said. "That's ultimately why we sought fees."Other FOIA lawsuits in which the city paid plaintiffs involved issues such as automatic license plate readers, missed court dates by police officers and the case of Dante Servin, the Chicago police officer who fatally shot Rekia Boyd in 2012 but was acquitted by a Cook County judge who said prosecutors brought the wrong charge.Even after the McDonald ruling, Hamilton said the city failed to release video from a case involving Heriberto Godinez's July 2015 death in police custody. After the city denied an FOIA request, Hamilton sued on behalf of Janet Godinez, Heriberto's sister.The city finally released the video in April and paid Hamilton's firm $19,384 in fees and costs, records show.Hamilton said the city's handling of that case was "absolutely ridiculous from beginning to end" and added there appears to be "a disconnect" between what the mayor says about transparency and what happens day to day."I hope some of the statements the mayor's making come true, but I haven't seen it yet," Hamilton said.In the eight years prior to 2016, the city paid out $134,599 in seven cases.Those disputed records included documents related to Ald. Edward Burke's security detail; a report by a consulting firm on police operations; police disciplinary records; and police equipment.Most of those cases stemmed from disputes before Emanuel took office in May 2011. None of the ongoing 54 lawsuits were filed before 2013, and 36 were filed in 2016.Matthew Topic, an attorney with civil rights firm Loevy & Loevy, has brought numerous records lawsuits against the city, including the Laquan McDonald video lawsuit and the recently settled Better Government Association suit over Emanuel's emails.Topic said the city has shown improvement in its handling of records requests in the past year. The Police Department, in particular, has been "a bit better" about responding to FOIA requests, Topic said.But Topic also said the city is "a long, long way from truly complying with the (law) on a regular basis."Sarah Brune, executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, said citizens have made it clear they're interested in more transparency from their government."Ideally, these cases would not be necessary because the city would be able to respond in a timely manner and provide the information that's requested," Brune said. New Hampshire colleges City of El Paso, Texas Sedgwick County, Kansas Arising from the public contracting process (TNS) What do Sedgwick County government, the city government of El Paso and the Community College System of New Hampshire have in common?All three lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fraud this fall. In each case, someone posed as an existing vendor contracted for construction work. The scammers used e-mail to contact the government. And all three cases were made public within a week of each other.The similarities end there. The scams affected three vastly different entities. They released information to the public about the incidents at different paces. And, unlike Sedgwick County, the other two organizations have announced they have recovered much of the lost money.But theres a common thread of online fraudsters taking aim at entities that do public contracting, where information about contracts and contractors can be easier to find and exploit.Auditor offices in several states warned local government officials last summer about scammers.Phishing scam e-mails are diverse, have varying strategies and unique objectives, and try to appear like legitimate requests so that unsuspecting individuals will click on links, provide private information or send the fraudster money, according to a fraud prevention alert from the Arizona auditor generals office.The College Community System of New Hampshire includes seven community colleges in the Granite State.In August, the FBI issued an alert about online scammers using fraudulent e-mails to target colleges in the Boston area. The scammers portrayed themselves as existing vendors that were construction companies.Spokeswoman Shannon Reid said the system was initially contacted via e-mail by a fraudulent entity in early October.We were contacted by an entity representing to be an existing vendor, to whom we make regular progress payments on an ongoing project, an Oct. 31 statement by the colleges read. The vendors practice had been to be paid by a hard copy check.The communication was a request to transition to electronic funds transfer via the Automated Clearing House (ACH), the statement continued. The request was accompanied by what appeared to be proper, complete and authentic documentation. We processed the ACH information and paid the vendor.The total loss was $130,000. The system did not publish a statement until after the weekend.We needed to get enough information to put out a statement about it, Reid said.The Oct. 31 statement discussed the initial contact, the ACH misdirection and an effort to review the systems procedures. Reid said the community college system wanted to be as transparent as possible as a public entity.We made a conscious decision to be very up front about this, Reid said. To the extent that this is happening in the region, we wanted to make sure that other entities were aware of it and therefore could be on guard against this specific approach.The New Hampshire State Police and the FBI were brought into the investigation.The system announced on Nov. 22 that it had recovered nearly the full amount $124,000 of the $130,000 by working with its bank.That was the positive end to that story, Reid said. Were grateful that the process worked out the way it did.The city government of El Paso, Texas, announced on Nov. 2 that it had changed its vendor payment process and was issuing paper checks to its vendors.The changes stemmed from a phishing scam that involved fraudulent e-mail contacts, according to a city news release.In early October, staff members discovered the city had potentially lost around $312,000 to a phishing scam. After reporting it to law enforcement, the city started an internal investigation.In mid-October, officials discovered an additional misdirection of funds that totaled about $2.9 million.City officials called a news conference to address the scam after The El Paso Times published a story about someone posing as a vendor to obtain payment from the city.The city did not immediately inform the public about the phishing scam at the request of law enforcement to allow for an appropriate investigation and to increase the possibility of recovering the funds, according to the citys Nov. 2 news release.On Nov. 29, the city released some redacted e-mails at the request of the mayor and city council to enlighten the community about the events related to the misdirection of approximately $3.2 million, according to another city news release.The first misdirected payment happened on Sept. 28. The $2.9 million in state funds was supposed to pay for a project managed by the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority, an independent entity created by the city to handle transportation projects.The payment was meant for the citys downtown streetcar project, according to the El Paso Times.The second misdirected payment happened on Oct. 4 and was $312,000 for city projects.About $1.9 million of the $3.2 million had been recovered by the end of November.Open records requests filed by The Eagle in the past month and a half have revealed parts of the timeline in Sedgwick Countys fraud case.The county received a Sept. 18 e-mail that appeared to be from a vendor asking that billing information be changed for future ACH withdrawals.Then the county sent an electronic payment of $566,088.90 through the Automated Clearing House on Oct. 7, with Wichita construction company Cornejo & Sons the intended recipient. The payment was for a preventive road maintenance project on 53rd Street between Andale and Maize.A county spokeswoman confirmed that payment never reached Cornejo & Sons. County staff discovered the transaction was fraudulent on Oct. 25.Sedgwick County announced on Oct. 26 that a fraud incident of about $566,000 had occurred, on Oct. 27 that the FBI would join the investigation and on Oct. 28 that the governments finance department was affected by the fraud.There has not been a statement or official update since. County Manager Michael Scholes said in early December he didnt want to release information that would jeopardize the investigation.Sheriffs Lt. Lin Dehning said there were no updates to share on the case, including whether any of the countys funds had been recovered.It is still an active investigation, he added.Reid said Sedgwick Countys incident sounded similar in timing and method to her organizations incident.The similarity here with the county is its a public contracting environment, she said. Theres a fair amount of information available (online).In a public contracting environment, governments like cities and counties ask the private sector to provide goods or services. Businesses respond to those requests with bids or proposals. Governments then approve spending money to contract for the work to be completed.After two counties in Utah were victims of e-mail phishing scams, the Utah State Auditors Office issued a warning about scammers attacking local governments.This targeted e-mail scam thrives on familiarity, using information publicly available on an entitys website such as names, titles or other references, according to the June 29 alert. This familiarity often makes the recipient of the e-mail less vigilant in verifying the requests. The scam also thrives on urgency, indicating that the payment must be made immediately.The auditors office in Ohio issued a similar warning to local governments in June after a school district in central Ohio lost $38,520 to e-mail fraud.The Oct. 31 statement from the Community College System of New Hampshire said it fell victim to fraud by use of the internet.This appears to be an emerging strategy made possible because of vulnerabilities arising from the public contracting process, where there is publicly available information about contracts, allowing criminal actors to falsely and convincingly represent who they are, according to the statement.Escalation of criminal strategies must be met with increased education and vigilance. (TNS) - The grief is strikingly similar, no matter where the shooting happens.Its people on their knees praying.Its weeping, wailing moaning.Its Satan was here.But what happens in the days, months, years even decades afterward? How does a city heal, and what does it learn?A rallying cry, inevitably, after each shooting is: It does not define us. But maybe it does.After the Pulse nightclub attack in June, Orlando Sentinel staff went to cities of the nations worst shootings to explore how the massacres changed them.San Bernardino, Calif.; Charleston, S.C.; Aurora, Colo.; Newtown, Conn.; Blacksburg, Va.; and Denvers suburb of Columbine were alike in their early months of grieving.In time, each went a distinct way, depending on the circumstances of the crime and the essence of the community.San Bernardino Dec. 2, 2015The shooting a year ago was a gut punch to a smog-plagued community struggling with crime, lack of jobs and self-worth. Closings of military bases and a steel plant sapped the economy. The desert city filed for bankruptcy in 2012.Gathered for training and a holiday party, 14 San Bernardino County health workers were slaughtered by a colleague; 22 others were injured. The gunman and his wife, of Pakistani backgrounds, died in a hail of police fire. The FBI said foreign terrorists had inspired them.Jorge Heredia and his co-workers had waited in an Amazon warehouse, many crying, in lockdown and within hearing of the shooting.Afterward, mourners gathered near the scene, pinning remembrances to an industrial fence. A local artist drew SB Strong across an arrowhead, the shape of a natural landmark on a mountain above the city. The logo caught on instantly as empowering.It did bring people together, Heredia said of the shooting. But underneath that was this underbelly of confusion and angst.A year later, San Bernardino, Calif., is moving away from what had seemed to be a catalyst of shock and anger that would reverse the citys ill fortune.Surviving this together was something that brought us together, made us into more of a community, said City Clerk Gigi Hanna, passionate defender of her home. But thats not easy to sustain.Like Orlando, San Bernardino has a significant share of residents who think of their real homes as elsewhere.There is a huge part of our population that moved here because homes were less expensive, said David Wert, San Bernardino County spokesman. You have a lot of people who identify with where they came from L.A. County, Orange County.But one group that was brought together was clergy, who united in response to acrimony over religions role in the attack.That was especially so among faith communities that had never had any contact with the Islamic community, said Rabbi Hillel Cohn of Congregation Emanu El, formerly of San Bernardino and now in neighboring Redlands. Some of that has continued.Amjad Khan, spokesman for Baitul Hameed Mosque in nearby Chino, said the attack inspired his congregation to show what true Islam stands for and how attackers followed an ugly perversion of the faith.Yet even those closest to the tragedy think time and circumstance have made SB Strong seem more like a wish than reality.Corwin Porter, assistant county health director, escaped wounds in the attack. He said support remains unwavering from the county-government family and even health workers nationally. But survivors wonder about their community, he said.People have a tendency to jump back into their lives and to move forward, and thats one of the concerns Ive heard, Porter said. Ive heard from a few of our folks who have basically said, We hope we are not forgotten.Charleston June 17, 2015You cant be in Charleston and not be struck by where it happened.A 21-year-old avowed supremacist from South Carolina went to the heart of the city and to Bible study in the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. When the shooting stopped, the pastor and eight others were dead or dying.Painted entirely white, Mother Emanuel, as the steepled church is called, rises into the skyline as a beacon for a living memorial. Its separated only by a sidewalk from Calhoun Street and is blocks from anywhere Charleston tourists would typically want to go.This summer, they walked up to the church every few minutes, often for photos, including selfies, although there was little suggesting the Emanuel Nine tragedy or how it opened wider wounds.Unlike ever-churning Orlando, Charleston a leading slave port and now a top tourism destination devotes itself to sense of place and history. In South Carolinas steamy Low Country, the city preserves and profits from antebellum legacy. Residents not born there are described as off from somewhere else.But the two cities are a match in mass murder. Many in the black community of Charleston and in the gay community of Orlando have no doubt the shooting victims were targeted for who they were.In the Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook shootings, the attackers mental illnesses were blamed.In Charleston and Orlando, they died because of hatred, said Princess Hollis, College of Charleston student and member of the LGBTQ justice group Southerners on New Ground.For Charleston Area Justice Ministry, an association of 30 churches, the shooting must be a defining point in the citys history.We are talking about redemption, to redeem not only Emanuel Nine but the institution of slavery that just permeates life here, said Danny Reed, minister at the Unitarian Church in Charleston, one of the associations members.Immediately after the massacre, Charleston braced for a race riot.But in court two days later, victims families forgave the alleged assailant, an act so compelling the church and city were nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.How can you not honor that? It changed everything, said Marjory Wentworth, poet laureate of South Carolina and an author of the book We Are Charleston: Tragedy and Triumph at Mother Emanuel.It became this sort of transcendent grace that permeated everything after that, Wentworth said.But others, black and white, only saw further injustice.Jon Hale, a College of Charleston history professor, said the city feared violence: The narrative that I thought was shoved on Charleston was one of unity and then, of course, of forgiveness.Charles Heyward, retired Presbyterian minister, said African-Americans did not erupt because under a history of repression everybody knows their place.The families offering their forgiveness right up front, I just think thats part of understanding our place, Heyward said.There is growing regret that memory of Emanuel Nine endures even as its potency for change fades.State Rep. Wendell Gilliard said his city is getting back to business as usual and its dangerous.Added Ansley Pope of Southerners on New Ground: Its going to take a lot more than a year and a massacre to make people want to shift and change their minds.Holding a longer view is Joe Riley, mayor during the shooting. After 10 terms, he is retired and teaching at the Citadel, the Charleston military college he attended.He is intent on fulfilling a proposal of his several years ago to build an African-American museum at the waterfront where slaves disembarked.Driving him is the pain of the church victims families of weeping, wailing, of moaning that has not left him.For however long I live, the sounds, you know, that humans express, Riley said, closing his eyes, as his words echoed emotions he described. Despair, heartbreak and disbelief in so many different ways.Sandy Hook Dec. 14, 2012Newtown, Conn., seems more compact than its population of 28,000 would suggest. The New England village snuggles privately in thick woods, a long commute from urban threats.Sandy Hook Elementary is in its own sanctuary, beyond a firehouse at the end of a narrow road and hidden by a curtain of trees.It was there that a 20-year-old local resident shot his way through a school window. He had murdered his mother that morning, taking from her a military-style rifle. The attacker killed 20 children, six staff and, finally, himself.The children were 6 and 7 years old.The five minutes of violence shattered confidence that the close community of Sandy Hook could raise families in a safe environment.It hurt us in a way that nothing else could have, said Patricia Llodra, Newtowns First Selectman, a mayorlike position.Four years later, the towns cohesiveness has preserved the bonds of tragedy.Of 20 families of the slain children, only one has left, a move that had been planned before the shooting. From Llodra and others, its evident the town has gained toughness. They call it resilience.But, said Monsignor Robert Weiss, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, daily conversation can be a word or two from despair.There are some who want to get past this, there are some who are still living in it, and there are some still trying to understand and cope with it, said Weiss.The Monsignor and St. Rose of Lima rose to the agony, conducting nonstop funerals and responding to an avalanche of sympathy.I would say our parish alone received well over a half-million cards, letters, prayer chains, diaries, rosaries, Weiss said. Our house, you couldnt even walk through the hallways.Another force is Llodra, former Sandy Hook teacher and the towns chief executive then and today. She is guarded, analytical and vigilant for a new normal.We have to accept that our brains are rewired, Llodra said. Those of us who were closest to the event, the most impacted, probably have the most change in our brains. So we need to understand who we are, that we process things a little bit differently.Mary Ann Jacob was one of the closest to the tragedy. A library clerk, she hid with 19 children as gunshots rang out. Afterward, more horror was revealed.It became very evident almost immediately that two complete classes were pretty much all missing, Jacob said.Now processing her world differently, she is a passionate activist for gun safety and control.My sons and my husband are lovers of shooting sports; they do archery, they belong to a local club, and Im an elected Republican, Jacob said.After the shooting, Nicole Hockley and Mark Barden were determined to change a nations behavior.They founded Sandy Hook Promise, which teaches students and staff to recognize and respond to warnings of violence. Having connected with a million students nationwide, SHP partnered this fall with Miami-Dade County schools, the nations fourth-largest district.There is no end to research, speeches and managerial tasks. The two scrimp on time for meals, sleep and the grief counseling they know they should be getting.Hockley lost her 6-year-old son, Dylan. Barden lost his 7-year-old, Daniel.It took the ultimate loss, the ultimate tragedy for us to finally wake up and say we have to do something, Barden said. Im not proud of that.Torn down and rebuilt, Sandy Hook Elementary reopened this fall.Driving down the road past the volunteer firehouse, which has 26 copper stars on its roof for the victims, parents now drop off their kids at a setting that is lively and cheerful, not like the towns lingering sorrow.Aurora July 20, 2012On anniversaries of the theater shooting that killed 12 people and wounded 70, Todd Ponton and Jeremy Barber erect a dozen crosses, each with a red heart and victims photo, along a busy road near the site of the attack.Last year, many people lingered at the impromptu memorial, the two area residents said.This year, nothing, said Ponton, watching as a young woman in tears sat on a sidewalk in front of a cross, one of few visitors during a 30-minute span.With a population of 350,000, Aurora is larger than Orlando and other cities Sentinel staff visited. Its metro area, which includes Denver, has 2.8 million residents.Aurora lacks a downtown skyline and is mostly suburban. What residents tend to note about the city is not cohesiveness but diversity, with 133 languages spoken in public schools.At the attackers trial last year, it took the judge an hour to read 165 verdicts of guilty, resulting in a life sentence for each murder and more than 3,000 years for attempted murders. The courtroom cheered.Chelsea Sobolik was with friends in the theater, and some were wounded.She recalls victory moments, such as getting out of bed days after the attack and going to a movie a year after.With the trial over, her healing continues, and Sobolik is considering a career in victim advocacy.People tend to forget about things that arent making media buzz anymore, she said. It makes people who were affected feel like everybody has forgotten about them.The nonprofit Aurora Mental Health Center teamed with the city a year after the shooting to open the Aurora Strong Resilience Center. Theater survivors are not charged for therapy.An event at a nightclub or at a theater impacts people from all across the community, all across the city, probably all across the state and certainly, in our case, all across the country, said Kirsten Anderson, a center coordinator.In our case, and I presume Orlandos as well, it was really nice to create a space where all those folks could gather and where they felt at home and could support each other.(EDITORS: BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)A center brochure, explaining services and who is welcome, refrains from mentioning the shooting.We are looking at the long term, Anderson said.The fourth anniversary of the shooting was marked this year with a ceremony at the Great Lawn of the impressive Aurora Municipal Center. The ceremony was upbeat and the evening was pleasant, if misty at times. Faith leaders and first responders went to the microphone. Music was played and victim names were read in a dramatic fashion.In all, about 150 people attended the evening event, not quite two for each casualty. Neither the mayor nor police chief appeared.A half-mile away, colorful signage of the theater where the shooting took place glowed against a darkening sky. The multi-screen complex, an island in a vast parking lot, reopened six months after the attack.Virginia Tech April 16, 2007Renee Cloyd gives the impression she has found, not lost, her way with grief. She is calm, adroit and frank. If you live in Blacksburg, Va., you probably know her.Her daughter, Austin, nine days from turning 19, was among the first fatally shot in a classroom and the only victim from Blacksburg.Austin is my mark on the world, Cloyd said. I hope to live healthy until Im 92. But if I die tomorrow, then Ive done my thing.Her daughter grew up volunteering, including with Appalachia Service Project, repairing homes of the regions poorest.After Austin died, her parents immersed themselves in volunteering. Her father, Bryan, a Tech professor, enlisted students and went to Haiti to build a school and a bridge.Both Cloyds led Tech students in Appalachia Service Project trips, recruiting then-Gov. Tim Kaine and his wife to pitch in.They helped launch the universitys VT Engage, connecting students with community service.They invested the money they got from the survivors fund in a scholarship in their daughters name. Recipients have worked with soy milk in Kenya, Syrian refugees in Germany and clean water in Virginia.Weve had people say to us, we are proud of how you are handling it, said Cloyd, who then offered her belief they were part of something much larger.My faith allows me to say Satan was here that day. Before this happened, I wasnt big on talking about Satan, she said. However, God turned that and made something good of it.The school is storied and acclaimed, and western Virginias fame, joy and a primary employer. Its home, Blacksburg, sits picturesquely in the lap of canopied mountains and far from the cultural gravity of a big city.The school and town are inseparable from the shooting, in which a student chained doors shut as he killed 32 people and wounded 17 others before taking his own life.Students from the time of the shooting have moved on. One, however, is an unflinching, unforgettable tie to the tragedy, say those who encounter her.I had never heard gunshots before, and your mind is trying to place and figure out what is happening, said Kristina Anderson, speaking about chaos in her sophomore French class.I often describe it as an ax being taken to a piece of wood.The classroom was on the second floor of a building with doors the attacker chained shut. Anderson was shot when the rampage began and then twice more.He came back again, and that was very scary because the first time was so, so quick. But the second time there was more time between the shots. As Im sitting there, kind of laying there, panting, almost going between opening my eyes and closing them, youre hoping he doesnt see you, youre hoping that its not going to be you, and he shot me in the lower back.Anderson directs the nonprofit Koshka Foundation for Safe Schools that she founded to ensure memory of the massacre continues in meaningful ways. In telling her story, pegging it to safety initiatives, she seeks to thwart violence years before it happens.There are many small and large instances of the spirit of volunteering in Blacksburg in the aftermath of the attack.John Welchs French teacher was killed. Mired in grief, he created Teach for Madame, organizing Tech students for French instruction in grade schools. Welch graduated as the program expanded.New River Valley Leading Lights was founded in response to the shooting to recognize volunteers in Blacksburg and surrounding towns.Giving of time and talent was remarkable then and Leading Lights continues to grow, said Kymn Davidson-Hamley, local United Way director.The meaning of the massacre, she said, became thought of as a call to show up and help.When you say Virginia Tech and you just see people, that (shooting) is what they remember, Davidson-Hamley said. Its not what we think of first.The university was roiled by lawsuits alleging failures to protect students.One of Techs best-known professors, Lucinda Roy, wrote No Right to Remain Silent, a book detailing her unsuccessful efforts to get the university to address the mental health of the student who would turn out to be the attacker.Controversies have eased; the schools alert system was overhauled and doors can no longer be chained.The school renovated the building, Norris Hall, where most deaths occurred, removing classrooms to establish the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention.If there was no other reminder, memory of tragedy is unavoidable for new students and visiting parents. In the heart of the stately campus is an evocative memorial.Columbine April 20, 1999A mile high and still dwarfed by towering Rockies, the suburban community of Columbine High School in Jefferson County feels enlivened by scenery and mountain breezes. It also is at peace with its tragedy.A dozen students and a teacher were killed, and 21 were wounded when two seniors went on a rampage and then killed themselves.Carolyn Mears son, a sophomore, escaped injury by hiding in a cafeteria closet. The tragedy compelled her to earn a doctorate. She is now a Denver University professor, writing and speaking about community trauma, something she experienced intimately while waiting with families for word of her son.There were people crying, sobbing, there were people catatonic, there were people angry, there were people on their knees praying, Mears said. I thought, this is what it is like to be human. This is a world I never knew, this incredible uncertainty: Is my son alive or dead?After 17 years, Columbine is ordinary and middle class, Mears said, and not broken by tragedy.I dont want to say we embraced it. That sounds too positive, Mears said. It is part of what the Columbine community is.Columbine wasnt the first mass shooting, but the massacre ushered in an era of news spreading while sirens are wailing.The tragedy was examined for links to violent video games, Goth culture, bullying by jocks, inept parenting and missed warnings.How did we not know? said Frank DeAngelis, who was principal then and travels widely to speak on school safety.When I give a profile of the demographics of Columbine, people respond: Im amazed; your school is just like ours, he said. We were a community of a lot of parental support, low crime, and you would never expect something like this.The attack provoked changes in police tactics and fostered efforts to prevent or respond to such violence. It has also made Columbine a focal point of how to deal with shootings.Educators from across the U.S. join a symposium each summer at Columbine brought about by an attack in 2006 at Platte Canyon High School, less than an hour from Columbine.A gunman held seven girls hostage and killed one, Emily Keyes, after she texted I love u guys to her parents.They founded I Love U Guys Foundation, which provides emergency protocols for schools nationwide.The symposium gets emphasis at lunch in the Columbine cafeteria, where the attackers had planted propane bombs that didnt explode.The first shot to death was Rachel Scott, 17.Her father started Rachels Challenge, based on a code of ethics she wrote weeks before her death that included her belief that an act of compassion can start a chain reaction of compassion.The program, with a $5 million annual budget, goes to 1,000 schools a year in nearly all states to lessen bullying and foster a culture of kindness.We dont tell students what to do, said Rob Unger, chief executive officer. We tell the story of young lady who made a huge difference in lives.Days after Auroras shooting, the Rebels Project group was born. Its name is from Columbines mascot, a Rebel.A founder, Heather Egeland, was a student at Columbine. She escaped physically unharmed; it would be years before she grappled with emotional wounds.After the Aurora attack, a friend texted: What do you think about starting a group for survivors?We had to turn people away from the first meeting, said Egeland, a teacher who exudes friendly confidence, even while describing how post-traumatic stress can leave her unnerved by tasks such as grocery shopping.Rebels Project has hundreds of members from nearly a dozen shootings nationwide, including Sherrie Lawson. She lived through the Washington Navy Yard attack in 2013, when a shooter killed 12 people and wounded 3.When Lawson went back to work: Every morning before I walked into that building I would be in tears.We werent really encouraged to discuss it, Lawson said. It was kind of like dont talk about it. Suck it up, get back to work, were Navy, were strong.Egeland said Rebels Project is an ongoing discussion among people who know and listen.If you are survivor of a mass tragedy, then you are welcome.Orlando June 12, 2016The Pulse shooting was the nations deadliest. How will it be remembered, and will the community come together or drift apart?Orlando is defined by people from elsewhere and not deeply rooted, as are San Bernardino and Aurora. In those cities, the memory of the massacres appears less resolute.Newtown, of faith, family and friends, said Monsignor Weiss, defines close-knit. Blacksburg is a connected, informed college town. If your parents arent from Charleston, some residents say, you are nearly an outsider. Memory has solid footing in those places.But as healing communities have taken on sweeping issues of gun control and safer schools, Orlando, like Charleston, has been challenged with addressing something more finite: its own identity.Thousands in Orlando heard a call to action during a candlelight vigil one week after the Pulse shooting.We cannot sit by and lose any more lives to senseless acts of violence, said Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs. We cannot allow the deaths of 49 of our brothers and sisters to be in vain. We cannot let any more of our children grow up fearful, fearful of telling their parents, telling their pastors, telling their friends what is in their hearts.Nearly five months later, at Orlandos Come Out With Pride celebration in November, Pulse was spoken of by many as a reminder that bigotry endures but also as perhaps an awakening.With the Pride parade about to start, Richard Vergara arrived in an Uber cab four blocks from crowded Lake Eola Park. He got out to walk, wearing a rainbow tank top and assorted bead necklaces. An Orlando policeman on a bike immediately rode up to him.He asked me if I would like an escort, Vergara said, astonished and grateful for the gesture of concern. That would have never happened a few years ago.2016 The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.)Visit The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.) at www.OrlandoSentinel.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (TNS) - State and local public safety officials practically ignored social media as a tool to inform people of an approaching firestorm that swept into Gatlinburg.A review of Facebook and Twitter postings shows officials in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge and those with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and the Sevier County Emergency Management Agency made little use of the free social media tools.A spokeswoman for Gatlinburg said neither the city nor its public safety agencies had any social media accounts when the Nov. 28 inferno responsible for 14 deaths, more than 180 injuries and the damage or destruction of more than 2,400 structures struck the city. Officials said damage from the fire will exceed $500 million.Since the disaster, spokeswoman Marci Claude said, the Gatlinburg Police Department "has created a Facebook page to share information with the community."In contrast, officials with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park continuously updated information on its Facebook page and Twitter account throughout the day warning of the growing danger. National Park officials warned of the unpredictable fire, the increasing winds moving flames toward Gatlinburg and ongoing evacuations within the park.The park started sharing information at 10:46 a.m. on Nov. 28 about the fires marching north toward Gatlinburg.Park officials posted on its Facebook page a video of a 2 p.m. news conference in which National Park spokeswoman Dana Soehn said outlying communities had been alerted to the danger wildfire could burn structures near the park's boundaries.Soehn said the National Park Service has a policy encouraging parks to use social media. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park launched its Facebook account in 2013, its Twitter feeds in 2014 and began using Instagram in 2015, she said. The park has two Twitter accounts, one for park information and one for road closures and delays.Soehn said the National Park has 644,379 Facebook followers, 96,200 people accessing the Instagram account, 23,103 followers on the park information Twitter feed and 33,173 people watching the road information Twitter account."We have found the diversity of social media platforms allow us the opportunity to directly communicate and disseminate information in a timely manner to people across age groups," Soehn said.During the Chimney Tops 2 fire, which began Nov. 23 but didn't escape a 410-acre containment area until Nov. 28, firefighters from Colorado sent to douse the rampant flames created a Chimney Tops 2 Facebook page. Soehn said the new account had 44,418 followers "and an overall reach of over 2 million people with all the sharing of posts."Soehn said park employees try to maintain interaction with followers on social media by responding to comments and questions.She emphasized, however, the National Park's social media platforms are not designed to serve as a warning system for visitors because of spotty cellular coverage. The park's websites provide that kind of emergency information, Soehn said.Micki Trost, public information officer for the Colorado division of homeland security and emergency management.(Photo: LinkedIn)Micki Trost, public information officer for the Colorado division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, relies heavily on social media to share pertinent information with the public, especially during emergencies. Her agency's Facebook page has 44,000 followers.Trost used social media in March to have conversations with drivers trapped on highways during a blizzard. She was able to assure stranded families help was on the way."Our accounts are very much interactive," she said. "Social media allows us to provide direct and immediate information to people impacted by an event.When I was hired five years ago, we had the accounts, but they had limited use. But as a practitioner in public safety, you must be on social media."Trost said she has undergone "extensive training for social media and crisis communication" from the Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education in Oak Ridge; the Public Affairs Science and Technology Fusion Center operated by Argonne National Laboratory, based in Argonne, Ill., and Federal Emergency Management Agency's Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Md.Now Trost conducts hands-on social media training courses for local, state and federal agencies across Colorado.Trost said when she started using Facebook and Twitter to connect with the public, the biggest complaint I heard was that only teenagers and college students used social media.Studies, however, show the fastest-growing segment of social media users are 60 and older.ESRIPublic Information MapA review of the Sevier County Emergency Management Agency's Twitter account, which has 570 followers, shows a single post for Nov. 28 noting the "enhanced fire danger."Perrin Anderson, spokesman for Sevier County, said that single post was retweeted from the National Weather Service by Sevier County EMA Director John Mathews.The Sevier County EMA Twitter account was established in February 2015, Anderson said. There is no policy about using social media during emergencies. Anderson said there have been no discussions about using social media to communicate with the public since the wildfire disaster.Anderson did not address why the county EMA Twitter account is not linked on the Sevier County website where information about Mathews' agency is provided.The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, which has 12,200 followers on Twitter, didn't address the Gatlinburg disaster on Nov. 28. Its only post was at 11:04 p.m. asking people in Sevier County to stay off mobile devices.Dean Flener, who has a Twitter account noting he is the official spokesman for TEMA, made no mention of the firestorm on Nov. 28. He said the accounts were established in 2010 by the previous public information staff.THE KNOXVILLE NEWS-SENTINELChimney Tops Trail prognosis: worrisome"TEMA uses both Facebook and Twitter extensively for social media engagement," Flener said when asked about the dearth of information about the wildfire."TEMA has always used its social media sites to provide public information," Flener said. "We have not used social media as a public warning platform, either statewide or locally."Asked about a state policy about using social media to alert the public of dangerous events, Flener provided an internet link to Tennessee's restrictions on employees engaging in political activities with social media.TEMA at 11 p.m. EST, put the first mention of the raging fires on its state website. The information was extensive and included details about evacuations, 30 structures burning in Gatlinburg, downed power lines and school closures.Social media was used to counter erroneous information released Nov. 29 by TEMA that Ober Gatlinburg had been consumed by flames. TEMA put the inaccurate report on its state website, but corrected it after sunrise when it was debunked, Flener said. That bad information was retweeted on a Twitter account identified as Gatlinburg's.KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINELQuestions linger on wildfire alerts during Gatlinburg fire"This information was incorrectly reported into the State Emergency Operations Center from a number of eyewitness accounts in Gatlinburg," Flener said. "I do not recall exactly who all these sources may have been."Ober Gatlinburg on Nov. 29 used its Facebook page and Twitter account to inform people it was not destroyed. An employee even provided a video of the popular tourist attraction on social media to prove it remained intact.A Twitter account called GatlinburgTn, with 23,500 followers, noted at 11:43 a.m. Nov. 28 that 500 acres were burning in the National Park, but, Gatlinburg is safe for now. Its next post was at 5:14 p.m. to share the voluntary evacuation of Mynatt Park. The account did not note the evacuation was mandatory at 6 p.m.For the next three hours, the Gatlinburg Twitter account was silent as the firestorm erupted about 6 pm., fanned by winds gusting at 87 mph. At 8:17 p.m. the first of three tweets were issued about evacuations and the "disastrous situation."None of those tweets, however, were issued by the city of Gatlinburg, Claude said."That is not a City, Chamber (of Commerce) or CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau) hosted Twitter site," Claude said."We are unaware of who administers that site. We appreciate their attempt, along with mainstream media, to use social media to deliver the message."Pigeon Forge's Facebook page was silent on Nov. 28. The City of Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism used its Facebook page throughout the day to share several of the National Park postings. The first Facebook posting created by the tourism department at 8:39 p.m. provided information about the evacuated area and available shelters.THE KNOXVILLE NEWS-SENTINELGet a 'Smokies Strong' T-shirt to help Gatlinburg victimsTrost said despite the value of social media to connect with the public, she still encounters public safety providers not using those resources."I use it all day, every day to share information with everyone living or playing in Colorado," Trost said. We use Google maps a lot to help people know where the hazard is, which way to get away from it and where to go for help."While Trost said social media can provide immediate information, public safety agencies still need the mainstream media to share information with the public. Social media users can obtain quick details on noteworthy events, but "then gravitate to traditional news sources for continued coverage," she said.A drawback of social media is false information can be shared multiple times."One of the biggest jobs is rumor management," she said. "If it's a life and death situation, we put a stop to it right away."We'll contact the people sending out the inaccurate information. Usually, it's a matter of people hitting the resend button without really looking at it."I would suggest people find the social media accounts for the public safety agencies where they live and travel to," to be informed of any dangerous or eventful occurrences, Trost said.2016 the Knoxville News-Sentinel (Knoxville, Tenn.)Visit the Knoxville News-Sentinel (Knoxville, Tenn.) at www.knoxnews.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (TNS) Minnesota state government has authorized tens of millions of dollars in grants to support expansion of the state's high-speed communications network into underserved towns and rural areas.A new report is recommending another $110 million be budgeted for the effort during the 2017 legislative session that begins next week. But while lawmakers and Gov. Mark Dayton have had well publicized debates over the grant funding, the telecommunications industry has been winning quieter battles that may be undermining the Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program, according to Dan Dorman."It's really been a tough uphill battle," said Dorman, executive director of the Greater Minnesota Partnership, which lobbies for policies that promote outstate economic development.One of Dorman's biggest concerns is a change in the grant program approved by the Legislature in 2016 that allows existing cable companies and other Internet providers to challenge grants being sought by a new competitor looking to enter a marketplace.The provision seemed reasonable at first blush that existing companies could object to state aid being provided to competitors if the existing provider promised to upgrade its service."On the surface, a lot of legislators said, 'Well, that sounds reasonable let the local provider have that chance," Dorman said. "... It sounds like it just protects the local guy, but it really is really anti-competitive and keeps the competitor out."The problem is that incumbent providers can challenge most grant applications by promising that they are planning to provide better service. The promised service can be substantially slower than what the new competitor is proposing, and the existing providers don't have to actually follow through on their promise.With 2016 coming to a close, not a single grant has been authorized from the $35 million in funding for the program approved by the Legislature last spring."It sure looks like since the grants haven't been awarded and everybody's hush-hush that there's a problem with the challenge process," Dorman said. "... At least the rumors are that it's causing problems."He also worries that companies in coming years will choose to back off on expansion plans into underserved areas, deciding that any grant application will be challenged by an existing provider."What we don't know is, will this have a chilling effect moving forward?" he said, noting that it can cost $25,000 or more to develop preliminary plans for expanding a broadband network into a new city or rural area.The Governor's Task Force on Broadband, which released its recommendations on Tuesday, doesn't specifically call for changing the challenge process. Dorman was somewhat heartened, though, by the inclusion in the report's appendix of a letter from the Greater Minnesota Partnership and 16 other organizations highlighting problems with the challenge process."Hopefully, that language can be changed (in the upcoming legislative session)," Dorman said.Republicans will have a stronger voice at the Capitol following the 2016 general election, and GOP lawmakers have tended to be more skeptical of the grant program than Democrats. Dorman, a Republican former lawmaker from Albert Lea, said the Greater Minnesota Partnership will keep fighting for changes in the challenge process, for more broadband grants aimed at promoting economic development in outstate cities and for another major investment in the grant program.Lobbying for more broadband access has probably consumed more of the Partnership's time and resources than any other issue, and Dorman said the organization may have to pare back its efforts somewhat."We just can't compete with the onslaught from the industry," he said. New companies every month Operators Alliance Geofences Dont get too excited (TNS) The drone business is about to take off in South Carolina.Changes to Federal Aviation Administration regulations that went into effect Aug. 30 are opening up the industry to a new group of entrepreneurs who can perform a wide spectrum of jobs, from inspecting solar panels to 3-D mapping of large land tracts.The new regulations removed a requirement that commercial operators have a pilots license or be accompanied by a pilot, instead only requiring a remote pilot airman certificate issued by the FAA. Three weeks after the new rules went into effect, more than 12,000 remote pilots nationally passed the certification test, according to the agency.The challenge is that the industry is so new, said Eric Harkins, who started his Columbia-based Back Forty Aerial Solutions business this past summer. Everybody knows videos and photos. But they dont know all the other stuff they can do.Among the other uses are infrared photography, search and rescue, conservation efforts, wildlife management and law enforcement.For instance, if a farmer has a hog problem, we can direct depredation hunters, Harkins said. And drones can also be used to track fugitives.The Bloomberg news service reported in May the drone business is expected to rocket more than 6,000 percent by the end of the decade. It anticipated the devices will soon be boosting crop yields, verifying insurance claims and shooting Hollywood movies.In a report compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the global market for commercial drone technology is expected to skyrocket to $127 billion worldwide by 2020, from about $2 billion today, Bloomberg reported.Skyview Aerial Solutions of Summerville is one of the largest and most active drone companies in South Carolina. It has a staff of four operators and nine drones. It has been operating for three years and landed big contracts, such as documenting the construction of the Volvo plant and the Omni Industrial Park in Berkeley County and the Mercedes plant in North Charleston.The company also performs forensic engineering projects in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia, said chief executive Tom Fernandez. Those projects involve engineers using drones to document failing roofs, buildings and other challenges.Ferdandez said he lost track of the number of drone companies in July at 107. He estimates two or three new companies pop up every month.We share information when we can, and hire other drone companies, he said. Not everyone will do that. But we can because we are the big player because of the amount of revenue we bring in.This past summer, Harkins organized the South Carolina UAV Operators Alliance. UAV stands for unmanned aerial vehicles.The group has 78 members in the state, including professionals and hobbyists, Harkins said.And were getting more every day, he said. Im all about growing the industry. Theres no reason South Carolina cant be the next big drone bed.Drones range in size from about a half-pound to 55 pounds the maximum allowed by law. Anything larger than that is considered a remotely piloted aircraft, and requires additional documentation to register with the FAASome of the largest remotely controlled vehicles are used for military purposes.For instance, Shaw Air Force Base is being considered as a home for an MQ-9 Reaper wing that would control from the United States remote aircraft flying air strikes in Afghanistan and the Middle East, as well as other missions around the world. The aircraft are known as hunter-killers and can carry a wide range of ordnance, such as missiles and machine guns.The Air Force frowns on the term drone, spokesman Ben Newell told The State newspaper in September, because the MQ-9 is a propeller-driven, fixed wing aircraft that doesnt hover. It is about the same size as a civilian Cessna airplane.Harkins has five drones, ranging in price from $700 to $20,000.Some are not that expensive, he said. The sensors are where the cost goes up.Harkins said he charges $225 an hour for his video services, and has performed 69 flights since he went into business eight months ago. He had a licensed pilot with him for the flights before the regulations changed.Most of the work Harkins does now involves standard video and photography, he said, such as promotional footage he shot inside Williams-Brice Stadium for the University of South Carolina.But dont expect drones to be zipping anywhere near the stadium on game day. There are strict no-fly zones, including airspace above 400 feet, airspace near an airport, military bases, national parks, large public events, some metropolitan areas and areas with high government activity, like the State House.Two bills prefiled in the S.C. General Assembly would outlaw flying drones over prisons and military installations, but Harkin said he believes those bills are superfluous to federal law.In case youre not sure where those no-fly lines might be, drones are programmed to automatically stop and hover when they reach them.Its a self-imposed geofence, Harkins said.On the flip side, shooting a drone is a federal crime carrying penalties of up to 20 years in prison, the same as any other aircraft. The thought is that shooting a drone could cause it to veer into another aircraft, or injure someone on the ground, according to the FAA.He added that drones have a public benefit that has so far gone untapped in South Carolina. For example, during Hurricane Matthew, the S.C. UAV Operators Alliance had 17 teams ready to deploy across the state to assist government agencies.However, our teams were never activated by state officials, he said.Harkins took a winding road into the drone business.He attended USC, where he studied history and geography, then received a bachelor's degree from Clemson University in forest resource management. He went on to work in information technologies for Westinghouse, GIS mapping for the city of Columbia, and a variety of other jobs from forestry to real estate.He said he wanted to go into the drone business because its exciting, its growing and it is an extension of his eclectic professional background.Ive got a lot of different skill sets that just all came together, he said. This is exciting to me. And I dont ever get bored.Fernandez advised new operators like Harkins not to get too wrapped up in the technology and the fun of flying.Avoid becoming too excited about the drone, he said. A drone company is just like any company. Its about building relationships. Stick to basic business principles and youll do well. (TNS) The new year begins with two big unanswered questions on the cybercrime front: Did the Russians influence the U.S. presidential election, and how did hackers gain access to 1.5 billion Yahoo accounts?The fact that we may never have definitive answers suggests that 2017 will be just as digitally perilous for most people as last year.Businesses, meanwhile, will continue grappling with the spread of ransomware malicious software that encrypts and holds computer files hostage until money gets paid, typically in the form of untraceable bitcoins.Bottom line: Hackers often have everything to gain and little to lose from their criminal activities, which leaves our increasingly techno-dependent society vulnerable to all manner of mischief.Someone asked me the other day how much progress weve made on cybersecurity, said James Andrew Lewis, director of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, a Washington think tank. The answer is not so much.The intelligence community seems to have reached consensus that Moscow was behind cyberattacks on Hillary Clintons campaign for the purpose of helping ensure an election victory by Donald Trump. Lewis said his intelligence sources confirmed that belief.Its now up to investigators to determine the scope of what happened and what can be done to prevent future election tampering from abroad.The Yahoo hacks are more easily understood and better represent for consumers the ongoing threat to peoples privacy and digital livelihoods.Nothing is safe. Not your email, your personal information, your photos, your files. If its stored online, its theoretically accessible to anyone with the skills and wherewithal to grab it.According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, nearly 900 million records might have been accessed in almost 7,000 known data breaches since 2005. The actual number of breaches is undoubtedly higher because not all security lapses are publicized.A few weeks ago, Yahoo reported what is believed to be the single largest security breach ever 1 billion user accounts potentially accessed in August 2013. Yahoo said it only discovered the incident recently, which does little to ease concerns.The attack apparently was unrelated to a separate breach in 2014 involving 500 million accounts, which Yahoo revealed in September. The company blamed that one on an unnamed foreign government.Other noteworthy breaches taking place or coming to light last year included databases penetrated at the U.S. Department of Justice, the Internal Revenue Service, the University of California at Berkeley, 21st Century Oncology, Premier Healthcare, LinkedIn and AdultFriendFinder.com.Exacerbating the problem is that few if any corporate and public-sector databases are encrypted, which would make their contents unintelligible to hackers. Thus, any successful breach will result in cyber-loot to be stolen.Using encryption would be a big improvement, Lewis told me. Big companies should be encrypting data.The reason they dont is because its expensive and because encryption can slow things down by requiring system users to use digital keys to access data.With Yahoo in mind, I can think of 1.5 billion reasons why those arent very good excuses.Ransomware is a particularly insidious problem. IBM reported recently that 70 percent of businesses infected with ransomware have quietly paid off the perpetrators to regain access to their files and data systems. In half the cases, the ransom was at least $10,000.Among consumers, IBMs study found that more than half of those surveyed would be willing to pay to recover financial data and 43 percent would cough up some cash to unlock a mobile device. Ransom demands involving individuals typically run a few hundred dollars.Jonathan Fairtlough, managing director for cybersecurity and investigations at the Los Angeles office of Kroll, said a ransomware shakedown once would have been considered a highly sophisticated crime, requiring great expertise on the part of the perpetrator.Now its a common one, he said. Its become a self-service crime you can do easily.In a sign of how bold hackers have become, we recently learned about a new ransomware racket called Popcorn Time. After encrypting the victims computer files and demanding a bitcoin payout, the software offers another choice: Help infect the computers of at least two of your friends.If you do, and if they pay off the hacker, youll receive a free software key to unlock your own files. Thats just evil.Fairtlough said there are steps businesses and consumers can take to protect themselves, but there will always be a trade-off between security and ease of use.The more secure you make something, the less operable and interoperable it will be, he said.And its important to have reasonable expectations. As security measures grow stronger, so too do the cunning and sophistication of hackers.Your pricey antivirus software from the likes of Norton or McAfee will get you only so far. Its designed to respond to known threats a not insignificant consideration. However, anything new that hackers come up with often will be beyond the powers of protective software to stop.You can take a lot of steps to make your house secure, but thats not going to stop a battering-ram bulldozer, Fairtlough observed.He advised consumers to use so-called multi-factor authentication when available for online accounts. Instead of just a user name and password, such systems may include additional security questions or sending an authentication code to ones mobile device.Fairtlough also suggested having different email accounts for different needs, so that a security breach wont be catastrophic throughout your digital life, and using a password-management tool such as LastPass (which, ironically, had to patch a security hole that could have allowed hackers access to millions of user accounts).Will such steps keep you safe? In a word, no. Thats no longer the world we inhabit. What youll be is safer than you were before.And until the private and public sectors step up their cybersecurity game, which they remain reluctant to do, safer is about the best you can shoot for. (TNS) Malicious software tied to Russian intelligence agencies has been found on a computer of a small electric utility in northern Vermont, raising concerns of Russian attempts to interfere with critical infrastructure as well as the 2016 presidential race.The laptop computer was not connected to the electric system, and the malware did not disrupt electric grid operations or compromise customer data, according to the Burlington Electric Department and a U.S. law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity.The disclosure comes amid rising tensions with Russia over U.S. charges that Russias two largest intelligence agencies, known as the GRU and the FSB, conducted an aggressive campaign of cyberattacks that U.S. officials code-named Grizzly Steppe.On Thursday, President Obama ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats from Washington and San Francisco, closed two Russian luxury compounds in Maryland and New York, and imposed sanctions on the GRU and the FSB.Burlington Electric, a municipally owned utility that serves about 20,000 customers, said late Friday that it found the malware after the Department of Homeland Security issued an alert as part of the Obama administrations actions.The DHS alert detailed technical aspects of the Grizzly Steppe attacks, which it said were aimed at the U.S. election, as well as a range of U.S. government, political, and private sector entities.Federal authorities shared the malware code with executives from 16 major sectors of the U.S. economy, including the financial, utility and transportation industries, officials said.Mike Kanarick, a Burlington Electric spokesman, said the utility scanned all the computers in its system for the malware signature.We detected the malware in a single Burlington Electric Department laptop not connected to our organizations grid systems, Kanarick said in a statement . We took immediate action to isolate the laptop and alerted federal officials of this finding. Our team is working with federal officials to trace this malware and prevent any other attempts to infiltrate utility systems.It wasnt clear whether the small utility was specifically targeted or why, or when the laptop was compromised. Authorities believe the hackers may be seeking to identify and penetrate vulnerabilities in the U.S. electric grid, perhaps by using small rural utilities.Vermonts elected officials reacted with alarm to the cyberattack.Gov. Peter Shumlin, a Democrat, urged federal authorities to launch an aggressive investigation. He also rebuked Russian President Vladimir Putin.Vermonters and all Americans should be both alarmed and outraged that one of the worlds leading thugs, Vladimir Putin, has been attempting to hack our electric grid, which we rely upon to support our quality of life, economy, health and safety, Shumlin said in a statement.Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said Vermont State Police briefed him Friday evening on the attempts to penetrate the electric grid.This is beyond hackers having electronic joy rides this is now about trying to access utilities to potentially manipulate the grid and shut it down in the middle of winter, Leahy said in a statement. That is a direct threat to Vermont and we do not take it lightly.President-elect Donald Trump , who has vowed to improve relations with Russia, on Friday applauded Putins decision not to directly retaliate against new U.S. sanctions by expelling American diplomats.I always knew he was very smart! Trump tweeted. A new role Data drives action Open data: Its not just for Silicon Valley nerds and East Coast policy wonks anymore.Deep in the heartland theres a data revolution taking place. In a range of initiatives, municipalities across Kansas are mobilizing information to inform the citizenry and drive government performance.The official state motto of Kansas:To the stars, through difficulty. Its a pioneering sentiment that seems to be driving data innovation. In the state capital, Topeka officials just launched a new performance tool that puts government metrics online. Johnson County recently kicked off a data-driven justice initiative. Olathe and Wichita have open data efforts underway.In Kansas City, Kan., a new data portal is pulling information out of government systems and delivering it directly to the people.Alan Howze worked at the IBM Center for the Business of Government in Washington, D.C., before taking the role of chief knowledge officer for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City in August. This is a relatively unique role in local and state government: a position that combines the functional management of information technology, the GIS team, the 311 call center and the innovation and open data team, all in a single department, he said. Its a brand new approach, and we are writing the rules as we go.Fresh out of the gate, Howze helped launch an open data initiative. He built the new portal with help from What Works Cities , a $42 million Bloomberg Philanthropies effort to spark urban data innovations.The weekly calls with What Works Cities have played a big role in pushing us to keep moving forward, Howze said. It also gave us access to a broader network of communities who have done similar things. It allowed us to pick up and build on some of those best practices.What Works Cities put Kansas City in touch with Los Angeles officials, who were able to describe the inner workings of their own map-based data portal, L.A. GeoHub . Using an existing Esri GIS infrastructure, Howze adapted and repurposed the Los Angeles model to meet the local need.We saw a template there that could work well for our community. The code is on Github and Esri helped us understand how to use that template, so that our team was able to pick it up and turn it around quickly, he said. For a city of 160,000 people, it is really helpful to be able to build off the investments that other larger communities have made.Other Kansas municipalities have similarly benefited by leveraging national relationships as a kind of force multiplier for data-driven projects.Johnson County for instance is one of several communities participating in the White House Data Driven Justice initiative. Backed by that effort, the county has merged mental health and policing data to identify trends and deliver better services.County managers identified some 127,000 individuals who showed up in data sets covering EMS, mental health and incarceration. They are looking to use this information to launch proactive outreach to help keep at-risk individuals out of jail, according to the University of Chicago Center for Data Science and Public Policy.In Topeka, meanwhile, technology leaders recently unveiled a program that they say will allow government and citizens to tap data not just as a source of interesting information, but also as a spur to positive government action.The new performance metrics website incorporates information from across a range of government agencies and functional areas. Major subjects include customer service, fiscal health, safe and secure communities, and stewardship of the citys physical assets, among others.Visitors who drill down get direct, easy-to-read metrics describing governments performance against its own self-defined goals. As of mid-December there were only 12 defendants enrolled in the alternative sentencing court, against a goal of 15, for a rating of near target. Only 503 business licenses had been issued in late 2016 versus a goal of 630. Verdict: Needs improvement.The goal is not to shame agencies, but to promote positive action, said Deputy IT Director Sherry Schoonover. Consider those business licenses. This is a responsive program. They do not actively go out and say: Hey, buy a license. So the question becomes, why do the numbers look like this? she said.After the reporting comes the analysis. Are people not aware of what is available? Is the economy not growing? Do we need to join this to some other initiative? Now that we have the data out there, we can really take a look at what can be done, she said.Topeka built its performance page on top of a Socrata business intelligence system already in use by the city for budget portals and open data. After a $7,000 startup expense, the city will spend about $22,000 a year to license the cloud software, Schoonover said.With the technology infrastructure largely in place, the IT shops biggest challenge lay in convincing departments that an accountability offering like this would be in their own interests. Cooperation was crucial: Departments needed not only to deliver the data, but also to participate in setting the performance benchmarks that would define their own success or failure.Schoonover made the pitch that this was not some radical new requirement, but rather an outgrowth of existing governance. We all define our strategies to comply with council directives. Everyone is used to providing reports to city managers and executives, she said. Now we need to provide the justification for what we are doing and why.Many within city government have come to embrace the premise of transparency, seeing in the website an opportunity to tout their successes and to engage the public in a better understanding of the challenges they face. They see that they can tell a story here. It gives them an opportunity to talk about problems that everyone is already aware of and to share some of the good things they are doing, Schoonover said.Just a few days after the site launch, the city already was seeing positive outcomes, like when a local journalist grabbed hold of some policing data benchmarks and compared them to national numbers. That is important. We dont know how good or bad we are doing until we look at other organizations of similar size and similar structure to see how we stack up, Schoonover said.In Kansas City, meanwhile, officials say they are eager to see whether newly available data will help in the citys long-running effort to clean up blighted neighborhoods. Howzes team made property information its first priority in building the data portal, specifically to support this effort.Blighted properties have a significant effect on neighborhoods, their economic conditions and financial resiliency, he said. Each parcel that is delinquent in taxes raises the costs for businesses and residents alike. Every abandoned property or vacant property has an expense attached to it, so we are focused on ways to work with the community to tackle those challenges.The city will likely go after operations data next: Parks information, street maintenance data. This is information that is already being collected that we can pick up from the departments and easily make available, Howze said.Why does Kansas find itself at the center of so much data activity? Lean budgets play a role, Howze said.Resource constraints can be the mother of invention, pushing people to think of new ways to tackle some of these complex problems without having hundreds of millions of dollars to pour into neighborhoods, he said. The fiscal constraints are forcing people to re-examine the tools, and that is driving a growing awareness of the power of data to help solve some of these problems. McCain vows to continue working for imposing harsh sanctions against Russia upon arrival in Georgia U.S. senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Amy Klobuchar arrived in Tbilisi on a two-day visit on Sunday, January 1. McCain told reporters at the Tbilisi international airport that the senators would do everything possible for the United States to completely back the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia. He said that they would continue working for imposing harsh sanctions against Russia. The senators will meet with Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, President Giorgi Margvelashvili and Defense Minister Levan Izoria during the visit. The American senators have travelled immediately from the airport to the Khurvaleti village in the Tskhinval region, where Russian and South Ossetian military have placed barbed wire barriers. Kyiv reports 32 attacks on its positions in past 24 hours Militants opened fire 32 times on Ukrainian armed forces positions in the Anti-Terrorist operation (ATO) zone, the press service of the ATO staff has said. "In past 24 hours the invaders continued shelling our positions in all directions," a statement says on the official Facebook page of ATO headquarters. In particular, in the Mariupol sector militants fired Shyrokyne from 120-mm mortars and weapons of infantry combat vehicle, Shyrokyne and Vodiane were fired from 82 mm mortars, Pavlopil, Shyrokyne, Hnutove, Maryinka and Lebedynske were shelled by rocket-propelled grenades and small arms. In addition, a sniper fired Hnunote, while in the vicinity of Talakivka militants used anti-tank missile complexes. In the sector of Luhansk, militants fired Novozvanivka, Lobachove and Stanytsia Luhanska using small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. Luhanske, Pivnichne, Avdiyivka, Troyitske and Zaitseve were shelled in the Donetsk sector. Israeli police has announced it ceased questioning Prime Minister of the State of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, TSN said, quoting local media. "The national division of the Israel police conducted an interrogation on Monday night to warn the premier of Israel on suspicion of the alleged obtaining of unlawful benefits," a statement of the Israeli police says. It is reported that the questioning was held at the residence of the head of government. According to the Haaretz newspaper, the interrogation lasted for three hours. Netanyahu was asked questions regarding "probable gifts obtaining on behalf of businessmen." It became known of the upcoming interrogation on January 2. The local law enforcement officers have reasons to believe that Netanyahu and members of his family received gifts from businessmen and other benefits worth more than $26,000. Netanyahu has strongly denied all the allegations against him. In addition to receiving gifts, the investigation considered the charge on illegal financing of the election campaign and falsification of primary results of Likud party in 2009. At CES 2017, Hyundai is demonstrating compatibility with the companys Blue Link Agent for the Google Assistant. The integration allows control of various functions of a Hyundai vehicle with simple voice commands. These commands include Ok Google, Tell Blue Link to start my Santa Fe and set the temperature to 72 degrees, Ok Google, Tell Blue Link to send the address of the Mandarin Oriental, in Las Vegas to my Sonata, and Ok Google, ask Blue Link to lock my car. Google Home is a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant that can provide real-time answers, activate streaming music services, smart home devices, and now, cars. Blue Link brings seamless connectivity directly into Hyundai cars with technology such as Remote Start with Climate Control, Destination Search powered by Google, Remote Door Lock/Unlock, Car Finder, Enhanced Roadside Assistance, and Stolen Vehicle Recovery. Blue Link services can be easily accessed from the buttons on the rearview mirror and center stack, the Web or via the Blue Link owners smartphone app. In addition to the Action on Google Assistant, some of these features can also be controlled via the latest Android Wear and Apple Watch smartwatch offerings. Once a customer has successfully linked his or her Blue Link Account with the Google Assistant voice-activated services, Remote Service commands will only be sent to Hyundai vehicles after the Google Assistant prompts owners for their Blue Link Personal Identification Number (PIN). Blue Link Action on Google Home demonstration features include: Sending a destination to the cars navigation system Remote horn/lights Start and stop charging of Hyundai plug-in vehicles Remote Start with Climate Control Hyundai will have more features before launching this Action on Google Home into production. The Centre Against Terrorism and Hybrid Threats has started operating in Prague since January1, which will search for a series of fibs of the Russian Federation in the Internet and promptly expose them, DW has said. The centre will be subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Czech Republic. It will be comprised of 20 people. "Minister of Internal Affairs of the Czech Republic Milan Chovanec expects the employees of the centre will be able to report on misinformation and make the necessary changes in a few minutes after the appearance of fakes on the web," the statement says. According to the dpa agency, the center will also struggle against the "propaganda of external forces." Observers of Prague analytical center "European values" warn of the growth of the influence of the media, controlled by the Russian state, the agency says. One of the key tasks of the Centre for 2017 will be the defense of the parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic from an external information influence. "Prague is particularly concerned about parliamentary elections scheduled for 2017. The Czech authorities believe that Moscow will try to influence public opinion in the country to support the pro-Russian parties." Renesas will showcase its own fully autonomous vehicle prototypesfeaturing the R-Car H3 SoC ( earlier post )at the Consumer Electronics Show this week. Renesas will offer short rides in the autonomous vehicles at a short track adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center. Renesas introduced the R-Car H3 System-on-Chip (SoC) in December 2015. The SoC delivers CPU performance; image recognition processing; ISO 26262 (ASIL-B) compliance; and a system in package (SiP) with external memory to enable a wide range of automotive applications. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close There won't be early parliamentary elections in 2017, parliamentary Speaker Andriy Parubiy said in the 'Pohliad' (View) program on TV 5 channel on Monday evening. "There won't be early elections. I am deeply convinced that the scenario, imposed on Ukraine, is a foreign one. This is not a Ukrainian scenario. This scenario was imposed by the aggressor, who, in fact, broke his teeth on the Ukrainian army in eastern Ukraine. A huge amount of money is spent to destabilize the situation inside [Ukraine]. Of course, the parliament is the main platform for these attacks," Parubiy said. According to him, such scenarios could be observed in Moldova, where "the Russian forces are trying to change the vector of the whole country by destabilizing it. "They are trying to impose such a scenario on Ukraine, but it will not have success in our state," Parubiy said. The speaker also said citizens of Ukraine will receive a visa-free regime with the European Union in a few months. "This issue should be resolved at the plenary meetings of the European Parliament in the coming months. I can say one thing for sure: when this issue appears on the agenda, we will have the vast majority of European MPs. I was informed about it by deputies of different factions and can say with confidence about it. I can firmly say: the issue is not removed from the agenda - it is delayed," Parubiy said. GREENSBORO - Greensboro Parks and Recreation chose Greensboro Farmers Market (GFM) Inc. to operate the citys Farmers' Curb Market for the next five years The operation took effect Jan. 1. The City issued a request for proposals for the management and operations of the market in August. GFM was one of two groups that submitted a proposal. A review panel of four community members and two city staff members unanimously selected GFM to continue its operation of the market. The nonprofit GFM has operated the market since the city first contracted with a private group to run it in 2012. In the last five years, GFM increased the markets presence in, and value to, the community through implementing additional programs and special events focused on growing and diversifying the markets customer base while maintaining the markets longstanding commitment to local farmers and producers, said Phil Fleischmann, the Citys Community Recreation Services division manager. We look forward to working with GFM to continue this positive growth in the future. GFMs mission is to provide greater Greensboro with opportunities to purchase and learn about local food and crafts while interacting with producers and each other in a friendly and diverse social setting. In doing so, GFM encourages growth of local foods and artisan goods businesses to improve the local economy, supports better health through healthy eating, and helps build social and community connections. "The board of Greensboro Farmers Market Inc. is pleased and honored to be chosen to continue managing the market for the Greensboro community. Our farmers and craftspeople, and prepared food vendors, are excellent and work hard to provide the highest quality of products to our residents, said Margaret Arbuckle, chairwoman of the GFM board of directors. We are so pleased to also support the SNAP (Supplimental Nutrition Assistance Program) and Orange Card participants facilitating their access to healthy food. By all working together, we have a healthier community." The curb market dates back to 1874 and hosted more than 125,000 visitors last year. Located at 501 Yanceyville St., the market operates on Saturdays year-round and on Wednesdays from April through December. More information is available at www.gsofarmersmarket.org. GREENSBORO The county wants newly released inmates to be ready for life outside prisons and jails. A state grant could help make that happen. Earlier this year, the Guilford County Sheriffs Office presented a proposal for a N.C. Department of Public Safety grant to fund a re-entry council. Such councils combine agencies, nonprofit organizations and other stakeholders to address the needs of former inmates. Councils coordinate job training, housing, health care and other basic needs for former inmates. A county council, made up of about 30 stakeholders, has already held meetings and is scheduled to meet again Jan. 10, said Maj. Chuck Williamson with the Guilford County Sheriffs Office. Whether the grant comes through, the stakeholders intend to find a way to provide services, he said. They hoped to hear last weekend whether the N.C. DPS awarded them the grant. Really, its about pre-planning for the inmate to come out, Williamson said. Our hope and its the way these re-entry councils are structured is that as an inmate moves toward release, we get notification theyre coming out. We get case files that say, These are the services this inmate needs. Each year, N.C. prisons release more than 22,000 inmates, DPS data show. The council also would serve federal prisoners and some inmates released from jails. DPS data from 2014 show the state released 1,111 inmates into Guilford County. Of those, 814 (73.3 percent) were black and 262 (23.6 percent) were white. Of those released to Guilford, 162 had served sentences for robbery, 144 for narcotics offenses, 120 for breaking and entering and 114 for assault, data show. Ten had been sentenced for murder charges and five for manslaughter. Only 28.7 percent had high school diplomas. The N.C. Division of Adult Correction tries to prepare the inmates to succeed in society. To do this, the state has asked stakeholders to organize services and activities designed to help inmates secure and maintain homes, live independently and work. Whether its food, clothing, family services, mental health care or medical whatever that service is, the council wants to direct that person to those resources, Williamson said. To hopefully keep them from returning to custody. The $150,000 grant would fund a coordinator and a jobs specialist, who would act as case managers. The county could fund another position, Williamson said. Obviously, well need more than two people, simply because weve got two major cities in one county, he said. A goal is to make a long-term, sustainable department within the county. More and more people are spending sentences in county jails, according to Nicole Sullivan, director of N.C. DPS rehabilitative programs and services. Even folks who havent had trials need help with housing or getting jobs or finding better-paying jobs, she said. The council brings all parts of the community together to address the needs, she said. If their needs arent met, its a public safety issue, she said. Folks are coming back and they are going to be in our communities, Sullivan said. Youll see them at Wal-Mart or McDonalds. While preparing its proposal, staff from Guilford County visited Mecklenburg, Buncombe and Pitt counties to learn how they operate. There are common threads across the state, Sullivan said. Larger urban areas have more nonprofit organizations and more service providers. A place like Pitt County, which includes Greenville, may not have the volume of agencies and nonprofits, so it finds alternatives. It may not have as many resources, but it has resourceful people, she said. They can figure out a way to collaborate and work together differently than an urban area like Charlotte, Sullivan said. The challenge we see in all places is getting folks to the table getting a robust network of service providers, social service agencies, nonprofits. The Charlotte area has had a council since late 2013. Re-entry Partners of Mecklenburg is made up of about 40 partners, according to Hope Marshall, the organizations re-entry manager. Case workers go into prisons and jails to meet with clients and develop pre-release plans, she said. They begin setting the clients up with housing. They make food referrals at pantries. They help clients sign up for SNAP benefits. They connect them with faith-based organizations that can provide clothing. Housing and employment are the highest hurdles newly released clients face. To help with employment, agencies and organizations associated with the council supported Charlottes Ban the Box ordinance, which removes the question that asks if an applicant has been convicted of a crime from job applications. In Charlotte, that question isnt asked until an offer is made, Marshall said. It simplifies the entire transition back to society. Its hard to get an address when you dont have a job, she said. Its hard to get a job without an address. The Mecklenburg program served about 300 clients this year, compared to about 250 the first full year. At first, it sought only clients coming out of state prisons. It then expanded to include clients from the county jail. Most recently, it added a youth position to work with development centers whose clients are too old for the juvenile system, but too young for adults, she said. Since all three needed the same services, it made sense to do it in one spot, Marshall said. She said the program is certainly reducing costs for the community and working on the mindset on how clients react to things. People will probably think its soft on crime, Marshall said. But, its helping people manage the system so they can take control of their lives instead of just reacting to things. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Bob Luckey / Bob Luckey Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Dru Nadler / ST Show More Show Less 3 of 3 After less than four years at 195 Greenwich Ave., fashion retailer Rag & Bone is moving across the street into space formerly occupied by Lucky Brand Jeans. In 2013, Rag & Bone took over Rugby by Ralph Laurens space on Greenwich Avenue, its only location in Connecticut among more than 20 internationally. GREENWICH A federal appeals court has reversed a decision in a lawsuit by a Greenwich teen that he was the victim of a bait and switch scam when he attempted to collect on a $20 on-line coupon. The Connecticut Law Tribune reports that the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled recently that three companies Webloyalty.com, GameStop Corp. and Visa Inc. did not violate the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate GREENWICH After working through more than six presidential elections, decades of congressional races and more Representative Town Meeting contests than you can shake a stick at, Sharon Vecchiolla has turned in her last day as the towns Democratic Registrar of Voters. Vecchiolla ended her 24 years at the post officially on Tuesday. Her deputy, Michael Aurelia, was elected to the jobs two-year term in November after Vecchiolla said she was not running for reelection. Its a bittersweet day, Vecchiolla said. Theres been good times. Theres been hectic times. There have been times that have been a little difficult. But for the most part, its been pretty good. Vecchiollas experience at the registrars office dates back more than a quarter of a century. For several years before she took over the Democratic side, she was a part-time worker there. During her time in office, shes overseen the transformation from lever machines to optical scanners. She called it a fascinating time of transition. One of the older machines remains in the registrars office as a special souvenir. Vecchiolla said the old machines were nearly sold by the state to Russia for use there before the deal fell apart at the last minute. Greenwich has been at times the center of the states election storms, particularly when town residents ran high profile races, and Vecchiolla saw it all. Greenwichite Ned Lamont ran an insurgent campaign for U.S. Senate in 2006, defeating U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman in a Democratic primary before losing to him in the general election. Republican Tom Foleys two runs for governor in 2010 and 2014 are part of town history. But the race that got the most attention was WWE CEO Linda McMahons two runs for Senate in 2010 and 2012. We had voters lined up out the door and it was chaos with all the media lined up before 6 a.m. when the polls opened up to try and report on her voting, Vecchiolla said. That first time she ran, we had a lot of trouble keeping the reporters behind the line as we tried to get them out of the way when people were voting. I had to tell one reporter, If you give me a hard time, Im going to put you right outside. That quieted them down, but it was utter chaos that first time. The second time we had a police officer who helped everything calm down, she said. And while she has watched many presidential elections in her tenure, she said she cant quite recall one like last years, where Republican Donald Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton. Local concerns about Trump led to Clinton winning Greenwich, a rarity for Democrats. At the same time, Greenwich residents U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-4th) were running for reelection. It was different, Ive got to tell you, Vecchiolla said. My biggest concern for this election was because we also had a U.S. Congressman running and a U.S. Senator running that something would happen at a polling location. I was in touch with the police department and Chief (James) Heavey. You heard about other places across the United States where people were really crazy and my biggest fear was someone walking in with a gun or a knife. You didnt need a tragedy this election. Vecchiolla gave credit to the offices staff, moderators and poll workers for keeping things running smoothly in 2016 and for the past 24 years. Like the vast majority of municipalities, Greenwich has both a Republican and Democratic registrar. Vecchiolla said she has always gotten along well with her Republican counterparts including current Republican Registrar Fred DeCaro III, who she praised as a great partner for fair elections. The respect goes both ways. On my first day in office, in 2009, Sharon told me that she was retiring at the end of that term in 2011, DeCaro said. I suggested she work with me for a few months, and maybe she would like me. Thankfully, things clicked, and I've spent all eight of my years as registrar working with the kindest, fairest partner I could have hoped for. Sharon will be sorely missed. I wish her all the best as she spends more time with her adorable granddaughter and her three children. Vecchiolla made her decision to step down last year, feeling 24 years was enough time as Registrar. She also wanted to spend more time with her family, particularly her 5-year-old granddaughter. I didnt want to stay 40 years, Vecchiolla said with a smile. Id be coming to work in a wheelchair or crutches. Aurelia started as a poll worker before spending the past six years as Vecchiollas deputy. He also is a former town conservation and wetlands director, working from 1974 to 2002; he just resigned as a member of the Representative Town Meeting. I feel prepared for this, Aurelia said. I know what needs to happen in the office. The part-time position which pays close to $35,000 a year. Im basically in favor of a number of the things the secretary of the state has proposed and (that) havent passed, like early voting, Aurelia said. If we can encourage people to vote early, it makes our job on Election Day a lot easier because we had almost 500 people coming in to register to vote on Election Day. If we can reduce the restrictions on absentee voting or voting my mail, it can make a real difference. Why should people be forced to vote only on one day? Vecchiolla said she remains available to lend a hand when needed. Ive been telling people that Im not leaving town, she said. Im not going anywhere. Ive told Mike Im willing to help with absentee ballots and go to the nursing homes and help out there. If they need something, they can just give me a call. kborsuk@scni.com The Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security has asked Turkey to confirm information that a Kyrgyz citizen was possibly involved in the New Year's Day terrorist attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, committee spokesman Rakhat Sulaimanov told Interfax on Tuesday. "Due to varying information about the terrorist act in Istanbul appearing in the media and a Kyrgyz citizen's possible involvement in it, representatives of the State Committee for National Security are constantly staying in contact with Turkish colleagues," he said. For their part, representatives of the Kyrgyz Embassy in Ankara told Interfax that they had forwarded an official request to Turkey's authorities and law enforcement agencies. "No confirmation has been given so far. All of rest is wild guesses," one of the embassy officials told Interfax. Turkish newspaper Hurriyet said that Turkey's law enforcement agencies were suspecting that the terrorist act in Istanbul could have been carried out by a native of Central Asian countries - Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan. Turkish media earlier published a photo of a Kyrgyz citizen allegedly involved in the Istanbul terrorist attack. Thirty-nine people were killed when a gunman began shooting at random at people celebrating the New Year in the Reina nightclub in Istanbul. Back in November Sony released its first "Concept" Android build for the Xperia X, and it's received a couple of updates so far. These Concept builds are experimental and are meant to give people a way to test new software that's closer to stock Android than Sony's stable releases. Today the company has started sending out another update for the Xperia X Concept firmware, and the big new thing is that it's now based on Android 7.1.1 and not 7.0. This makes Sony the first mobile device maker except Google to have rolled out the absolute latest version of the OS, even if we're talking about a very limited release here. Sony's build number for the new firmware is 38.3.A.0.41, and the Android build number is NMF26F8. The update comes with the December security patches, which is a shame since the January ones are probably going out tomorrow. Anyway, there's a new Restart option in the Power menu, faster camera startup time, and support for PS4 remote-play (but with no DualShock support for now). The Android 7.1.1 update is currently only available to those that have chosen the Experimental update track when they installed the Concept for Android release. That said, it's probably headed to the Stable track in a few weeks or so. As for when owners of the Xperia X who aren't part of the Concept testing will get Android 7.1.1, that's anyone's guess at this point. Thanks for the tip, Dorian! Source Lenovo runs three smartphone brands semi-independently - its own Vibe line, the Moto phones and the ZUK brand. It has considered many different ways to brings Vibe and Moto together (to leverage Motorolas better brand recognition), but in a surprising move it has ported the custom ZUK interface to Moto phones. The Moto Z flagship and Moto Z Play mid-ranger specifically, currently being used by 25 beta testers. It seems that (for now at least) only Moto-branded phones sold in China will use the ZUI software. ZUI software beta-tested on Moto Z devices Recently, Lenovo bumped up ZUI to version 2.5, which is based on Android 7.0 Nougat. Also, ZUK phones sold in India come with the Google launcher by default instead of the ZUI one. Still, Motos have a reputation of bloat-free software and this might change if Lenovo decides to run ZUI on Motorola phones globally. Whether that happens or not, the Vibe sub-brand may not be long for this world - recent Lenovo phones are not labeled Vibe and the custom software they run may no longer be developed (switching instead to ZUI as well). Source No Ukrainian soldier has been killed or injured as a result of hostilities in the Anti-Terrorist operation (ATO) zone in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian Defense Ministry's spokesman Oleksandr Motuzianyk has said. "No Ukrainian serviceman was killed or injured in the past 24 hours," he said a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday. According to Motuzianyk, militants arranged two armed provocations near Novozvanivka and two more - in the village of Lobachove in the Luhansk sector. Heavy weaponry was not used there. Ceasefire violations were recorded in the area of Novo-Oleksandrivka and Stanytsia Luhanska. Each provocation lasted no more than ten minutes. In the Donetsk sector, the Defense Ministry's speaker said, the enemy opened fire from 82-mm mortars on the Svitlodarsk bulge, firing 16 shells on Ukrainian positions near the village of Luhanske. In other "hot spots" (Avdiyivka and Horlivka area) the enemy fired from small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. In the Mariupol sector militants used mortars in two locations Vodiane and Shyrokyne (a total of 30 mines were used). This site suffered two thirds of enemy attacks and provocations over the day. It was not calm near Talakivka, Pavlopil and the village of Hnutove, as well. A 2016 trend in smartphone designs was the dual-camera setup and now in 2017 Samsung is catching on too. A patent in Korea has been filed for dual-lens camera configuration. The diagrams in the 37-page document clearly states that Samsung is aiming to enhance the quality of both the background and objects in the foreground. It seems to work relatively simple. The wide-angle lens scans for anything that is a moving object and if theres any, the second lens - the telephoto one tracks the image in real time and enables you to adjust zoom and other settings without losing focus. It is unclear if the technology would be used in the Galaxy S8 or Samsung will need more time before it makes it to an actual product. Source | Via Haiti - Chicago : The diaspora commemorates the independence of Haiti Sunday 213th anniversary of Haiti's independence, during the solemn Mass celebration at the Church of Our Lady of Peace, on South Jeffery (Chicago) Lesly Conde, Consul General of Haiti in Chicago delivered his traditional speech to the many Haitians who came to celebrate. Speech of the Consul Lesly Conde : "Distinguished members of the Congregation, Dear compatriots, Dear friends of Haiti, Friends of Haiti, My brothers and sisters, Ladies and gentlemen, This year, we are gathered here to commemorate the 213th anniversary of the independence of the First Black Nation of the Americas. Once again, I am immensely proud to be in your company in the house of God, and to bring you brotherly greetings from the Consulate General of Haiti in Chicago. I am quite pleased to observe that, despite all the challenges our country has been facing since its birth, in a world that has been insensitive, to say the least, you have remained proud; proud to be Haitians. Since the first day of January 1804, we have been lonesome, misunderstood and largely unknown. Our valiant ancestors are ignored by the rest of the world, even though their exploits ignited the fire of freedom far beyond our borders. It is our job to keep the fire of dignity burning, and to embrace our ancestors' noble ideals that led to the birth of Haiti. On this day when we are commemorating the 213th anniversary of a nation that has always struggled to barely stay alive, it is our duty to think about what life will be for our children and our children's children. After experiencing two major natural disasters in the course of one decade, Haiti is, today, facing a time when great courage and pragmatism must come to the rescue of human dignity. Let us ask the Lord to grant us the wisdom we need in order to act in such a responsible way as to guarantee our children and children's children a Haiti our ancestors can be proud of. As we are welcoming a brand new year, I wish you courage, health and much success. On behalf of the Chicago Haitian Community, I will never stop thanking the Church of Our Lady Of Peace and the Haitian Catholic Mission of the Archdiocese of Chicago for their invariable solidarity. My dear friends, whatever you do, always remember Haiti. Thank you." See also : https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-19651-icihaiti-diaspora-message-from-the-consul-general-of-haiti-in-chicago.html HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Politics : Privert commemorates the Ancestors' Day Monday at the Museum of Haitian National Pantheon (MUPANAH), the de facto President Jocelerme Privert, proceeded to the commemoration of the Ancestors' Day. The solemn ceremony was attended by members of the Government, the National Police of Haiti (PNH), and other personalities. After receiving military honors, Jocelerme Privert laid a floral offering and addressed a few words on behalf of the Nation, for the founding fathers of our Fatherland, who sacrificed their lives to bequeath us a free Nation in heritage. In his brief press briefing, Privert once again called on the Haitian people to unity, dialogue, reconciliation and forgiveness, indispensable conditions in order to get the country out of the doldrums. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-19680-haiti-politics-my-concerns-about-the-future-of-the-country-are-big-dixit-privert.html HL/ HaitiLibre Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has singed the law on the High Council of Justice, according to the parliament's website. "The law signed by the president returned [to parliament] on January 3, 2017," says the Rada's website. As reported on Tuesday by the president's press service, Poroshenko signed the law during a meeting with Chairman of the High Council of Justice Ihor Benedysiuk and Presidential Administration Deputy Head Oleksiy Filatov. "The body, which will remove the political element from the judicial system, will assume the function of appointing judges from the Verkhovna Rada. It [the High Council of Justice] will be responsible for disciplining and dismissing judges," Poroshenko was quoted as saying. The president said the law, titled "On the High Council of Justice," received positive reviews from the European Union's Venice Commission and partners from the U.S. and the EU. "I think the bill provides Ukrainian citizens with key rights to justice and a fair trial," Poroshenko said. The head of state thanked the Rada for supporting the law and adopting it in a timely fashion, allowing the High Council of Justice to begin work already in 2017. In addition, Poroshenko signed the law on introducing changes to Ukraine's Budget Code, which, regulate the issue of financing the High Council of Justice. Lawmakers on December 21, 2016 passed the law on the High Council of Justice. The bill sets the status, power, the basis of organization and operation of the High Council of Justice. The council is an independent constitutional body of judicial self-government permanently operating to ensure independence of judicial power. Its functioning is based on responsibility to society. According to the document, the High Council of Justice will make decisions to dismiss judges from their posts and permit detention or arrest of judges. At present, Ukrainian parliament gives consent to detain or arrest judges. The council would have powers to submit proposals to appoint judges, create bodies to hear cases on disciplinary responsibility of judges, make decisions to transfer judges from one court to another, agree the number of judges in court, participate in determining expenses of the national budget for maintaining courts and justice agencies, approve the requirements for staff, financial and material provision of courts under a proposal of the State Court Administration of Ukraine. The High Council of Justice consists of 21 members. Some 10 members are elected by the congress of judges, the president appoints two of them, parliament two more, the congress of lawyers two more, the Ukrainian conference of prosecutors two more and the congress of representatives of law educational and scientific institutions two more. The chairman of the Supreme Court is a member of the council by virtue of his position. Council members' tenure is four years. The same person cannot be a member of the High Council of Justice two tenures in a row. The law provides the procedure for electing members of the council, their rights and the procedure for dismissal. A member of the council must be a Ukrainian citizen not younger than 35 years with a higher legal education and professional work record in the field not less than 15 years. He or she must be politically neutral. Members of political parties, or individuals who work for political parties or for other organizations with political goals or that takes part in political activities cannot become council members. Elected government officials are also ineligible, as are individuals who take part in the organization or funding of political campaigns and other activities. Members of the High Council of Justice, apart from the Chairman of the Supreme Court, fulfill their permanent mandates. The structure and activity arrangement for the High Council of Justice is described in the document. The council creates disciplinary panels consisting primarily of former judges and at least four council members, to hear disciplinary cases. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member and one of the original founding members of the funk, soul group Parliament Funkadelic, Calvin Simon, releases his latest solo Gospel album, It's Not Too Late. The project was produced by Simon and features eight new songs written and performed by the talented artist. The record features such heartfelt ballads as "Needing Someone (It's Not Too Late)" and "A Soldiers Story," with the latter tune having special meaning for Simon since he is a war veteran. But time hasn't diminished Simon's "funk" side with songs like "Jesus Is A Friend Of Mine," "Sorrow Street," and "Power Of Love." It's Not Too Late is now available online at all digital music outlets. Q You have had great success for over 2 decades in secular music. As I was reading your biography, you mentioned that you were serving a different master then, now you are serving the Master. Who was the master you were serving those days? And what was the price you had to pay to serve this master? "To answer your question about the two masters, early on I became aware I was blessed with a God given gift of voice and music, but like so many, without much thought, I allowed the earthly diversions to take control of my path. There were five of us who started together, but the lure of fame, fortune, and vanity soon corrupted our plan and left the group, as a whole, in a dark place. I believe that success, money and fame affects people in different ways, and not necessarily good ones. This was especially true of the group itself. We started out as five with a common cause and for 25 years we worked building something. Then somewhere in the process of becoming successful, we had lawyers, managers and the general sophistication of the business convince one of the five that they were somehow more than the rest of us and 'we' were no longer needed. This notion became too hard to deal with, to a point that I was in the process of getting ready to kill my brother. It was in this moment that I came to the realization I was following the master of darkness. Once my eyes were opened and I held myself accountable, it was so easy to see the right path and make the right choices. Now I am serving the master of light, which is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." "I paid a tremendous price for the years I spent on the wrong path. My family suffered because of what I was doing. I lost touch with so many people that were important in my life. I came close to losing my faith, not only with other people, but in myself. There was a void for years, which no amount of fans, drugs or lifestyle could ever hope to fill. It was not until I turned back to Jesus Christ, and accepted him as my Lord and Savior, that I truly became whole again." Q: What made you turn from secular music to Gospel music? "In the process of planning to commit murder, as I mentioned above, would have been easy for me to do. You see, as a Veteran of the Vietnam War, I was trained to do that as a soldier. Kill the enemy without question. Dealing with ongoing PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) and dealing with so much loss as a result of the fighting, my mind allowed the betrayal by a fellow band member turn him into an enemy." "I drove from Toronto (Canada) to Detroit Mich. on a particularly bad day to talk to one of the other members of the group, with the intent to tell him my plan. His name was 'Fuzzy' Haskins, and he was one of the few people I still trusted. We talked all afternoon, but I never could explain to him what I was really thinking. After several hours, I was getting ready to leave to go back to Toronto where I was living at the time. Still in complete confusion and still holding to the idea there was only one option, Fuzzy walked me out to the porch and he told me hold on for minute. He told me, 'Cal, I know you are troubled about something and it is weighing heavily on you, but take this book with you and when you get a chance read it.' The name of the book was, "The Miracle of Seed Faith," by Oral Roberts." "I took the book with little thought for it. I drove four hours back to Toronto, still intent on doing what I was programmed to do to enemies. I walked into my house, laid down on the couch and was getting ready to smoke a joint when I saw the book Fuzzy had given me. I picked it up, started looking at the liner notes and something in the notes resonated. I put the joint down and started reading. The next thing I knew, I had read the whole book, including the lessons, and it changed my life starting that day." Q: You have endure quite a few trials along the way, including an open heart surgery and a bout with cancer. Tell us more about some of your trials? And how did they draw you towards Christ? "I have always believed, because of my praying grandmother who made sure I understood what Jesus Christ did and why He died for us. Although I would tend to stray sometimes, it would never be too far from my thoughts." "I recall one time in Vietnam, my job was to patrol the Mekong Delta river. You swim in the same water you defecate in, and where you washed your clothes. Everything became centered around that river. While setting up to do a mission, I was cleaning myself up and being 6 foot 5 inches thinking 'what a good target I make.' In that instant, a bullet breezed by my head. I could feel and hear the rotation of it as it went by my ear, and just as quickly my God sense said get down! Though the damage to my ear was irreversible, I walked away that day due to that God sense that seemed to prevail in times of great need. This is just one memory of how Jesus Christ has brought me through tough spots. I could fill volumes with such stories, and though I still suffer from PTSD to this day and some things are hard to talk about, my belief in Jesus Christ has always and continues to see me through." "I suppose I have had my shares of trials, but we all have tests and tribulations throughout our lives. I suspect there will be more in the future, but I consider Jesus a friend. I have no problem asking Him for help when these bad times occur, but want to stress the importance of the other side of this relationship I have with my Father. I praise Him for all the good and thank him daily. I have made a point of not just turning to Him in times of need. I think the importance of sharing with Him in all aspects, whether good or bad, it's what truly has forged my relationship with my Lord. I seek Him in everything I do, and I trust him with things I do not understand." Q: But it's not just you, your wife had bone cancer and passed away in 2013. We are so sorry about that. How did you lean on the Lord during these painful times? "I leaned very heavily on Christ when my wife died. It was such a shock to me. I was in such a dark deep hole that I didn't know how I was going to pull myself out. Grief really has a way of knocking you down. But then I remembered I wasn't alone. All I had to do was to turn to Jesus and instantly He was there to help me through it." Q: Now you have a brand new album "It's Not too Late." Tell us more about this new record. What does this new record mean to you? "This CD came to me in the form of a dream. Mind you, I had closed the music chapter of my life. I had no interest in performing or singing again. Ever even though I thought that chapter of my life was through, but apparently God had other plans. He gave me a dream and in this dream it was the bluest sky with rays of sunshine coming down to the earth, with gold bars on each side of that. I saw whom I knew was Jesus Christ in a white robe, though I couldn't see His face, feet, or hands. Jesus was standing next to a figure in a gray robe that was facing away from Him, also cloaked so I could not see who it was. At that moment, I woke up. I was terrified because I wanted to go back and tell this entity that Jesus was standing next to him, and wanted to ask him why he would not turn towards Jesus. The words that I saw in my mind in that instant were 'It's not too late. Don't hesitate to ask Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior.' I immediately had a drive to write, to put into words what I had witnessed both through lyrics, music, cover art. This resulted in a complete album, which was conceived, produced and released in nine weeks from start to finish. This project was indeed divine intervention, and I am humbled and proud that He chose me to do this record." Q: What were some of the highlights in making this new album? "The highlight of making 'It's Not Too Late,' is how everyone involved with this album paid such attention to detail, which to me is amazing. They all seemed to be infected by the energy of the vision and added their drive to the project as well. It was just sheer joy doing this as each word came and each note played. It brought everyone so close together and I was so glad to be there. It was something special and this CD means a lot to me because it is my living testimony." Q: One of the songs on the album I really love is "A Soldier's Story." For our readers who have not heard it yet, what's the song about? And how did the song come about? "It was breaking my heart knowing how many of my fellow soldier brothers and sisters were losing their lives by suicide once they came home. No one seemed to be doing anything about it. Being on 100% disability as a vet myself after my time in Vietnam, I understood that I had fought an enemy that I couldn't see, both there and after my return home. I remember feeling so alone in this fight. I understood what they were going through and I wanted to let them know that they were not alone. My faith in Jesus Christ helped me come through it and He can do the same thing for them. They are all brave men and women and they need to know there is help. I am so proud to be one of them and wanted them to know I am proud of them." Q: Over all these years of joys and pain, what does Jesus mean to you? "He means everything because He is my Lord and Savior. He has promised me eternal life. I believe that He has prepared a place for all of us. I, for one, want to see it and sing in that Hallelujah Choir." Tags : calvin simon calvin simon interview it's not too late calvin simon new album cancer Login or sign up to follow actresses, movies & dramas and get specific updates and news Login Sign Up New Ad-free Subscriber Login Email Password Password Username Your E-mail will only be used to retrieve a lost password. Stay logged in Help Harlow is a former New Town in Essex with a population of 86,000. Located in the upper Stort Valley, it was built in the decades after the Second World War to ease overcrowding and London and provide homes for people bombed out during the Blitz. It includes Britain's first pedestrian precinct and first modern residential tower block, The Lawn. Old Harlow, the historic part of the town, was mentioned in the Domesday Book. David and Victoria Beckham's former home, Rowneybury House, nicknamed 'Beckingham Palace', is nearby. 17:38, 3 NOV 2022 The defense team of fugitive Ukrainian businessman Serhiy Kurchenko has challenged Judge Volodymyr Karaban after he started considering another motion for selecting preventive measure for Kurchenko. "They asked for recusal of judge Karaban, who is considering a motion for choosing arrest as preventive measure for Kurchenko. The motivation is simple, the judge began to consider the motion before it was handed to the defense team, which looks like playing into the hand of the prosecution!" Kurchenko's lawyer Yuriy Sukhov wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday. However, the defense lawyer said that the recusal of Judge Karaban is very unlikely and this judge will continue to examine the application. 'Madam Secretary' Season 3: Tea Leoni's Grand Entrance In 2017, Mongolian Live Horse Gift Hullabaloo, Sam Evans' Impacts On Dalton's Presidency "Madam Secretary" Season 3 is all geared up for its grand entrance in the New Year as Tea Leoni's character Elizabeth McCord will challenge Asian politics. As the series returns in 2017, Mongolia comes center stage with a live horse sent to Elizabeth as a gift. The US Secretary of State's response to this gift will determine the future relations with the gift-giver, the Mongolian government and other Asian countries. In a report by Spoilertv, Elizabeth McCord weighed the consequences on either accepting or returning the live horse. If she will not accept it, foreign policy with Mongolia might be at risk. On the other hand, if she will accept the gift, this might usher in a potential controversy among Asian countries. Either two of these actions, can make or unmake the US political clout in the region in "Madam Secretary" Season 3. Meanwhile, the newly elected US President Conrad Dalton (Keith Carradine), will be threatened by his opponent, Governor Sam Evans (J.C. Mackenzie) as he questioned the election results. Episode 11 of "Madam Secretary" Season 3 will unravel a twist in the plot of Dalton's presidency. At the same time, it will portray the defeated Sam Evans as the daredevil opponent. Advertisement Looking back at "Madam Secretary" Season 3 episode 10, Dalton had won the presidential bid by a move of the House of Representatives to ensure the nation's stability. The announcement of Dalton's win came about after Dalton and Elizabeth had successfully acted on the Iran - Israeli conflict. However, with Russell Jackson (Zeljko Ivanek) still in the hospital after a heart surgery, Dalton has no time to celebrate, according to TVLine. "Madam Secretary" Season 3 will be shown at the CBS Television Network on January 8, 2017. For the avid fans out there, stay tuned to Korea Portal for news and updates. Advertisement Advertisement Like us and Follow us Follow @Koreaportal and 2022 Korea Portal, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Need for More Family Court Judges on Oahu Dear Editor, January 25, 2017 Although Chief Justice Recktenwald hit many of the top issues, I was disappointed that todays State of the Judiciary speech did not include a call for more Family Court judges on Oahu. Family Court has long been a concern of mine. Adoptions, foster care, divorce and abuse of family members is the order of the day in Family Court. The competing views, the emotional turmoil, the questionable facts often require the patience of Job, wisdom of Solomon and the compassion of St. Paul. I have first-hand experience with these dedicated judges who toil away tirelessly. These judges have workloads and volumes of case information they must sort through that requires a Herculean effort on a daily basis. They are the communitys unsung heroes and they need help. I firmly believe Family Court needs at least two more judges on Oahu to address the daily work load. Otherwise, I am afraid our citizens will not get the full attention they deserve. Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald is a leader who clearly displayed a firm grip on the complex array of issues the Judiciary deals with on a daily basis. While he made a compelling argument for adding a single Circuit Court judge to Maui I would hope that he would give some consideration to our judiciary needs here. Rep Bob McDermott Ewa, Oahu * * * * * Vacant? Planned Hires Normally Get Half-Year Funding Dear Editor, January 24, 2017 Asking for budget funding to fill billets that one knows will not be filled is irresponsible. In addition at reputable organizations funding is routinely budgeted at a half year level for planned hires as they are normally hired throughout the year as opposed to all on day one. I enjoy your teams effort to make things more transparent. Thank you. Cheers, Dan Gardner Honolulu, Oahu * * * * * Split Honolulu into Two Counties Aloha Hawai'i Free Press Editor: January 21, 2017 Keep Oahu's country, country? The Star Advertiser editorial page expended more than a column expounding on this issue, today, without coming to any real conclusion. The solution is clear: Establish a County line at the 158th Meridian on the subject island. The new County government could conceivably establish itself in Kapolei Hale: For the express purpose of practicing the subject principles. According to our libertarians, State Legislature support, including like minded Neighbor Island legislators, will be required, to accomplish this mission. Otherwise, Oahu will eventually be 100% asphalt, and its residents will become accustomed to feeding on one another, many at the public trough, for their daily bread and shelter. Mahalo for being here for us, Dennis Egge Honolulu, Oahu * * * * * Advice to UH Manoa Chancellor Candidates--Run! Aloha Provost Lauren K. Robel, You sound like a serious intellectual. To consider a senior-level position as chancellor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) is a career fail. Did you research what happened to former UHM chancellor Tom Apple? Evan Dobelle? M.R.C. Greenwood? Virginia Hinshaw? Have you read "Who Runs the University?" by David Yount? You are urged in the strongest possible terms to protest the past crimes, sins, and indiscretions of the UHM executive administration by saying "No" to UHM chancellor position. Most prudent advice: Run as fast as you can in the opposite direction--just ask Tom Apple. Best regards, David A. Mihaila, Honolulu, Oahu * * * * * One-Way Streets to Alleviate Dangerous Walking Conditions? Dear Editor, January 2, 2017 Hawaii is such a beautiful place and like many other places it has changed tremendously over the years. Health and safety is a major concern for our Hawaii citizens, and also for those who come to visit and enjoy our home. 2016 has come and gone and 2017 is here. In 2017 there will be major challenges to address: budget, the rail, homeless, dangerous drivers, parking conditions, abandoned cars, electricity costs, and affordable homes. The future is the children, our children of today and tomorrow. Id like to talk about a major concern for the area I grew up in and still live in, Kalihi. The area of concern includes Kamehameha IV Road, from School Street towards the ocean. There are many many children attending schools in Kalihi and walk to school. The concerns include dangerous walking conditions. Dangerous walking conditions are found on the walking paths on Kamehameha IV road starting at N School Street down to Saint Johns Church / School. Also included are walking areas on Kahauiki Street from Kamehameha IV road to Middle Street, and Omilo Lane from Kamehameha IV Road to Horner St. The roadways are dangerous for all pedestrians, children and adults. On Kamehameha IV Road the pathways have signs posted not to park on footpaths. These footpaths are not always free of obstructions (i.e., cars, trash, and the city and county grey, green and blue containers). These obstructions cause pedestrians to have to step into the roadway. When it rains, there are major problems for pedestrians, in addition to the obstructions; the footpaths have big puddles, and water rushes alongside the footpaths and roadways. Pedestrians (kids and adults) have to wade the water conditions and navigate the obstructions. Health and Safety are major concerns for our community residents who are the pedestrians too. Parking and abandoned vehicles are a huge contributor to the concern. Unsafe driving practices, and current roadway and sidewalk design also contribute to this concern. Here are some suggestions, for example: 1. Use one-way roads; Kamehameha Road from Kahauiki to N School Street. a. This would allow side-walks on both sides of the road and/or b. Sidewalk on one side with parking on the other. 2. Parking: a. All community residents register their vehicles with the community (i.e., Kalihi, Kaimuki, Aiea, etc.). Vehicle owners provide registration, safety check, auto insurance, and valid driver permit, and are given a sticker to place on the inside of the windshield indicating the community, for a small fee. These fees could help pay for the maintenance and up keep of the communities Health and Safety Program. b. Parking on ones own property park all the vehicles you want. c. All vehicles parked on the street, will have a community sticker for that community. 2017 will be the year for changes that will improve the health and safety of our communities and pedestrian population, both children and adults. Michael K. Akau Ed.D OL, MBA Kalihi, Oahu * * * * * Lanai residents fed up with the awful service from Ohana Air Dear Editor: January 2, 2016 Lanai residents are fed up with the awful service we are receiving from Ohana Air. Many residents are afraid of complaining but its gone from bad to ridiculously bad, especially over the past week where flights were delayed for hours before they were cancelled. My family, six of us, were going to Honolulu for two days of sightseeing. We were originally scheduled for a flight leaving Lanai at 9:58 a.m., then reassigned to a 1:58 departure time. After arriving at the airport, we were told our flight was going to be delayed until 4'ish. We asked, politely, for refunds and got the run-around but finally received them. My family had booked their flights with American Airlines using their miles; AA gave them full refunds for their miles and tacked on another 5,000 miles for the inconvenience! That's service! I got the miles I used for a one way with Ohana, and was told my cash refund for the other portion would be 'pending'. BTW, their customer service agent on the phone told me our flight was delayed "due to routine maintenance on the aircraft." What airline operating properly would ever do routine maintenance during the Christmas holidays, yet still take reservations for it knowing they would not be able to provide a flight? Lanai families having to leave Lanai suddenly due to medical emergencies are being charged premium fares, even when the flight is not fully booked! If we have medical appointments on Oahu and are delayed and miss them, Ohana doesn't care. Island Air and its problems with providing service was a nightmare but Ohana's following the same route now. Lanai Airport does not have a snack shop or even a vending machine, so it is a real hardship for passengers who are stuck there for hours and hours. All we want is reliable, on-time service and not to be gouged if we have to make last-minute bookings due to family emergencies. Also, a non-hassle full refund for flights we cancel which are due to delays or weather conditions. Aloha, Alberta de Jetley, Lanai City, Lanai This website uses cookies primarily for visitor analytics. Certain pages will ask you to fill in contact details to receive additional information. On these pages you have the option of having the site log your details for future visits. Indicating you want the site to remember your details will place a cookie on your device. To view our full cookie policy, please click here. You can also view it at any time by going to our Contact Us page. Large 2013 North Dakota oil spill still being remediated three years later According to NGI Shale Daily, the clean-up of a 20,600 barrel leak from a Tesoro Logistics oil pipeline which polluted a site in the heart of the Bakken Shale in 2013 about 10 miles northeast of Tioga, ND, is still ongoing. The news source quoted North Dakota Department of Health spill investigation program manager Bill Suess as saying that remediation would likely continue up until the fall of 2017. Stock image There will be several years of monitoring the site by the company and the state after everything is excavated, treated and backfilled, Suess said. Tesoro has spent nearly $50 million to date for a clean-up effort originally estimated at about $61 million, he said. An eventual fine for Tesoro would be determined after the remediation work is completed. The September 2013 leak was the biggest in the USA that year and was not fully contained for several weeks, according to state and company officials. The work involves a 45-foot deep excavation spread over 13 acres and the related treatment of all the affected soil. The incident has had widespread impact on the industry and led to new guidelines from both the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) Oil/Gas Division and the Department of Health. The state initially issued a notice of violation and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a safety order to the Tesoro High Plains Pipeline in response to the leak. The 20-year-old six-inch diameter pipeline involved carries crude oil north of Tioga to Columbus, ND, where it is loaded on railcars for shipment to various refineries. Last month the PHMSA issued a corrective action order to Belle Fourche, part of True Companies of Wyoming, following an investigation into a 4,200 barrel oil spill discovered on December 5 by a landowner northwest of Belfield, North Dakota, about a hundred miles to the south of Tioga. More information... Contact Details and Archive... Dear Friends and Supporters of the Avery County Schools: As we return to school for the second semester, I would like to say thank you for the important role you play each day in helping our school system foster student success. There is evidence of your support and service in many areas and we want you to know that we greatly appreciate what everyone in our community offers to our schools. Your interest and involvement in the Avery County Schools is truly a lasting gift and one that not only benefits our students and teachers, but the entire community. As I reflect upon the fall semester, many special highlights come to mind. The following are just a few examples: The Avery County Schools had the highest graduation rate in the state. (For 4 out of the past 5 years, Avery County has been in the top 4 in the state in graduation rates [4th, 1st, 3rd and 1st]). The Avery County Schools and the Avery County Commissioners worked together to refresh our one-to-one technology program for students. STEM-students from every school in the district participated in Hour of Code Activities to encourage interest in Computer Programming. Many schools are developing maker spaces thanks to the work of Nancy Carver, media specialists and various grants. A record number of our students participated in our local and regional science fair with forty-four moving on to state competition. A system of common assessments has been implemented to strengthen instruction in grades 3-12. We have implemented the HillRap reading program in all elementary and middle schools along with the FUSION program at Avery High School. HillMath will be implemented at the beginning of the new year. The Avery County Schools Child Nutrition Program continues to serve a nutritious breakfast and lunch at each of our schools. The Avery High Marching Band completed one of its most successful seasons ever, achieving one of the highest scores ever at the ASU marching band contest. The Avery High JROTC School supported the Trees for Troops program and the cadets competed in several state and national competitions. The Avery High Construction Classes supported Habitat for Humanity, assisting in the construction of new homes for our community. The Avery High FFA attended the national convention and had a record number of former students named American Scholars. Our students collected an unprecedented amount of food and toys for needy families. We had one of the largest groups ever inducted into the National Honor Society and National Technical Honor Society at Avery High School. The Avery High Key Club had one of its most successful years ever with members providing more hours of community service than ever before. Each of our schools inducted a record number of students into the Beta Club. The Avery STEM Academy was recognized as one of the top 500 high schools in the nation by Newsweek. The Avery STEM Academy was also recognized by NCDPI for having a 100% Graduation rate. Avery High School was recognized by NCDPI for having a graduation rate above 95%. Avery Middle School implemented PBIS along with holding a school wide Heritage Day. They have also created TAG competitions and implemente challenging enrichment opportunities based on student interest. Banner Elk Elementary School had 4 Odyssey of the mind teams representing the school and the Banner Elk Kiwanis. The teams are made up of 4th and 5th graders along with a team of 6th graders. Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) will begin again in February after a very successful program during first semester. This old time string music program will be open to adults and students from all schools. Project Lead The Way Robotics was taught in the 4th and 5th grade Science classes and the Learn to Ski and Snowboard program with Sugar Mountain is set to begin. The Blue Ridge Academy received the NC Works Governors Award of Distinction Innovative Partnership. The students also worked with Feeding Avery Families to pack food boxes for our community members. Cranberry Middle School continues to focus on being a STEM middle school and was awarded a $7,000 arts council grant. Crossnore Elementary School was named a national Distinguished Title One Rewards School. The school also obtained grants that helped purchase bicycle kits to be put together by members of their bike club. Freedom Trail Elementary School completed its Outdoor Classroom. Riverside Elementary helped establish an active Girl Scout Troop that led a toy drive for children during Christmas. Riverside hosted the Over the Mountain group and participated in their Revolutionary War program in a partnership with Unimin. Riverside students sang Christmas carols of residents of the Bryan Center. These areas of student participation and success can only be credited to our staff members, our parents, and members of our community. With continued teamwork and a dedicated ACS staff, we will exceed the level of past accomplishments and experience even greater growth and accomplishments in 2017. Quality public schools are vital to the economic development of our county. Therefore, our school system is dedicated to preparing our children for successful, productive citizenry. There are many opportunities for this semester, and one of the most exciting is continuing to offer any family that has a three or four year old that is not currently enrolled in a Pre-K program SCOTTIE (Supporting Childrens Opportunities through Technology, Innovation, and Education), a mobile pre-kindergarten classroom that is housed in a renovated North Carolina school bus. SCOTTIE, a state-endorsed program, will continue to travel to ten designated locations in the county and offer an abbreviated schedule of educational activities for children enrolled. Currently we have 90 students enrolled on SCOTTIE. This program is designed to allow parents and their children to have early childhood educational opportunity near their homes. Children who are accepted into the program will be met with a highly qualified, birth-kindergarten teacher and credentialed assistant. Wrap-around services will be offered as well as opportunity for parental participation. We believe that a successful start to the school-age program must be an expectation for all children in order to ensure a 100% graduation rate Avery County. We also believe that early exposure to literacy and other educational skills will foster students success as they journey through their educational pathway. Interested parents may contact my office, Angela Vitale, EC/Pre-K Director or Renee Banner, Administrative Assistant at 733-6006 to register a child or for more information. Lastly, I would like to mention one more exciting partnership with our local Williams YMCA. ACS along with the YMCA is offering a Snow Camp to families that may need childcare on days when school is not in session due to inclement weather. Snow Camp, staffed by YMCA professionals, will be hosted at the YMCA for students in kindergarten through sixth grade and will operate from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Daily activities will consist of craft time, games, sports, indoor/outdoor activities, swimming and tutoring. Transportation to the YMCA and a bag lunch must by provided by parents. Students will need to bring outside clothes, homework, bathing suit and towel to be used. The cost is as follows: $15 per day (with $10 pre registration fee) $20 daily drop in rate For information contact Lark Blanton at 828-737-5500 or www.ymcaavery.org. I want to thank each individual in our school system that works so diligently each day to provide the best possible education to our students. My gratitude is extended to each parent who has provided support to his/her child and our schools. It is imperative that we continue to work together as a community to reduce the number of students dropping out of school and to continue to emphasize the importance of education. It is also of great importance to meet the needs of each student that is in our school system. We are very blessed to live in a community that conscientiously assumes its responsibility to educate children and to provide the necessary resources for their success. Again, thank you for all you do for education. It is our mission to ensure that no child is left behind and with your continued support for public education more students will graduate from high school with direction, confidence and skills for the next stage of their lives. May you have a joyous and prosperous 2017 and a successful Spring semester! Sincerely, David Burleson Superintendent Avery County Schools Share this: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Pocket Roy Cooper today took the oath of office to become North Carolinas 75th Governor, pledging to build a North Carolina that works for everyone. It is the honor of my life to be your governor, who will work for all of North Carolina, Governor Cooper said. I pledge to give my very best to the people of this great state of North Carolina, the state I love and where I have spent my life. Joined by his wife Kristin and family, Cooper swore to support the Constitution and laws of the United States and North Carolina, and to faithfully perform the duties of the office of governor. The ceremony took place just after midnight on January 1 in the states historic Capitol building in downtown Raleigh. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall delivered welcoming remarks, followed by a prayer offered by Dr. Art Ross, the new Governors friend and former pastor. North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin administered the oath of office while Cooper placed his hand on the Bible. Cooper spoke briefly following the oath. It is an incredible honor and privilege to serve as the governor of this great state, and I will work to be a governor of all of North Carolina. I love this state. It is the place where I grew up. It is the place where I have worked and worshipped and studied. It is the place where I have lived all of my life, said Cooper. I recognize the solemn duty that has been placed upon me and the opportunity that the people of this state have given to me. I am honored, and I am grateful. Public inauguration events will take place on January 6 and 7 in Raleigh. More information is available at www.NCinaugural.org. Share this: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Pocket Have you seen Addie? A Georgia family is searching for their missing dachshund, who was separated from them on Saturday in downtown Blowing Rock. Charles and Emily Heuer were visiting the area for the holidays when their 4-year-old dapple dachshund, Addie, disappeared from their rental property behind the downtown Blowing Rock Post Office. Black and gray with a tan colored face, Addie was last spotted at the Food Lion in Blowing Rock around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 1, which means she has, at some point, crossed over U.S. Highway 321. The Heuer family extended their holiday trip to continue the search and are desperate to find her before they have to leave town. We live in Atlanta and we are just here for the holidays. We were supposed to return home on the 1st, but she was lost on the 31st, so weve been here scouring the area, Charles said. We will have to go home late tomorrow night if we dont hear anything and just hope that somebody finds her. Addie has a very timid personality and has run away from the last two people to see her, so anyone who spots her may have to follow her and catch her to return her to her family. Shes very likely to respond to calling her name or her nickname, Tookie. If you see Addie, please try to hold her there and contact Charles and Emily at 501-529-5223 or 404-844-1358. Addie does have a microchip with the Heuer familys contact information, so if you catch her you may also take her to a veterinary hospital or animal shelter where her microchip can be scanned and her family contacted. Please help spread the word and help Addie get home! Share this: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Pocket 'Xiaomi Mi 6' Is Now Ready To Release This February; Official Launch Date Will Be Announced The "Xiaomi Mi 6" is said to be released officially on February 2017 at a big event in China. The new mobile phone from one of the biggest Chinese company is now ready to launch its new smartphone after some sort of delay a few months ago. Though the exact date is not yet revealed, "Xiaomi Mi 6" is confirmed to launch this coming February. Some reports said that the new "Xiaomi Mi 6" will hit the market stage on the day of the hearts, February 14th, while the Gadgets360 reported it will be launched on the 6th of February. Reports show that the release date will on February, but the official market release will be in March. The company explained that releasing the "Xiaomi Mi 6" on the market the next month is to make sure that the number of the manufactured supplies will be enough to cover the demands. During the first few weeks of the release, the company announced that they will be releasing limited stocks for a while. Advertisement Previously, the "Xiaomi Mi 6" was forced to move its launch on a later date because of some issues involving its partner. The Xiaomi company claims that Samsung was unable to supply the amount of the Snapdragon chipset needed for the "Xiaomi Mi 6" smartphone a few months ago. The Techvity reported that the upcoming "Xiaomi Mi 6" will feature a two-tone design that was used on the iPhone 5s a couple of years ago. There are also leaked showing the some of the physical features of the new "Xiaomi Mi 6" including the brilliant front and rear camera, both using 16 megapixel. The "Xiaomi Mi 6" will also have a 5.2-inch touch screen panel in the presence of 2.5 curved display. Boasting a massive 64GB storage, the "Xiaomi Mi 6" is also equipped with 4GB or RAM for a faster response. Stay tuned for some updates as we follow the latest news about the release and official specs of the "Xiaomi Mi 6" in the next couple of days. Advertisement Advertisement Like us and Follow us Follow @Koreaportal and 2022 Korea Portal, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Rare birds first spotted in SW China in 20 years A Blyth's tragopan [File photo: The Wildlife Institute, Beijing Forestry University] Staff at the Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve have discovered groups of Blyth's tragopan pheasants, according to Wang Nan, the director of a bird research group of Beijing Forestry University, who spoke at an endangered animal protection meeting in Beijing on December 30, 2016. It had been more than 20 years since the last time the birds were spotted in the wild, said Wang. The bird has been classified as a nationally protected species in China. Wang said a loss of habitat has contributed to the bird's decreasing population in the wild. The pheasants mainly live in forests at the border areas of China, India and Myanmar, where there is little wilderness protection. Forest burning after harvest and lumbering have also threatened the bird's natural habitat. Wang said his research group, funded by the World Pheasant Association, will further examine the factors hampering the bird's survival. There was 144 seizures of ecstasy and amphetamines Criminals are increasingly trying to use Ireland's postal service to traffic drugs into the country, a Herald investigation can reveal. There has been a massive increase in the amount of drugs being seized in the country's postal system over the last three years by customs officers. Exclusive figures obtained by the Herald show that up until November 7 more than 1.5m of drugs were intercepted in An Post offices nationwide during the first 10 months of 2016. Ecstasy The internet has become an increasingly popular way for people to buy drugs over the past three years, resulting in a spike in postal centre finds. This compares with 72,890 worth of drugs stopped in postal centres in the whole of 2010. Up until early November 2016, there was 617 seizures of cannabis worth 1,329,350 in postal centres while 146,282 worth of ecstasy and amphetamines were taken in 144 busts as well as just over 25,000 worth of cocaine and heroin. The vast majority of seizures involve herbal cannabis being imported into the State from Spain and South Africa. A Revenue spokeswoman said revenue officials have a "presence" at all main postal centres in Ireland, including Dublin and Portlaoise. "Revenue has primary responsibility for the detection, interception and seizure of prohibited goods including controlled drugs intended to be illegally imported or smuggled into the State," she said. "Revenue has anti-smuggling teams at all main ports and airports and at the main postal depots and our detection dogs work in tandem with these teams. The dogs can detect a variety of drugs, tobacco products and currency," she added. "Packages received in postal depots are subject to risk profiling, post-clearance auditing and other post-clearance controls." Smuggling X-ray and physical examinations also formed part of routine checks by revenue staff. Seizure figures for 2014 and 2015 were higher than for 2016. In 2015, the figure was more than 2.5m in almost 700 busts while in 2014 it was well over 3.5m in at least 300 seizures. Gardai believe some finds belonged to gangs experimenting with smuggling routes but most were from online orders. Many parcels are addressed to vacant properties with an external mailbox that can be monitored from a distance. (Global Times) 09:02, January 03, 2017 An updated border regulation which specifies the areas under its coverage in Tibet took effect on Sunday, amid a growing incidence of separatist and terrorist activities. The designated border areas under the new regulation now include land ports, trade zones and scenic spots, expanding the scope of the old regulation that has been in effect since 2000. As Tibet further opens up with fast economic development, the border areas have witnessed more disputes and diverse criminal activities, including those involving separatism, illegal migration and terrorism, Badro, deputy head of the Tibet border police, was quoted by news site gmw.cn as saying on December 14, 2016. "The update of border regulation provides a legal foundation to combat potential terrorist activities in the future brought by the further opening-up of Tibet as the Belt and Road initiative has positioned Tibet as a gateway to South Asia, even though the border areas do not face severe terrorist challenges at present in general," Wang Chunhuan, deputy director of the Theoretical Marxism Institute of the Tibet Academy of Social Sciences (TASS) who also participated in the amendment, told the Global Times. Tibet reported a total trade volume of more than 5.66 billion yuan ($815 million) in 2015, engaging in bilateral trade with 77 countries and regions. Tibet's distinctive culture and the tourists it attracts have been vital in turning the region into the main trade channel between China and South Asia. Besides, Tibet is adjacent to Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan and Xinjiang - all deeply important to the B&R initiative. The establishment of a free trade zone on the border which is under discussion will also be regulated, Wang said. China is willing to initiate negotiations on a free trade agreement with Nepal at an early date, Xi said in March 2016 during a meeting with Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav, the Xinhua News Agency reported. The new regulation also sets forth responsibilities for governments at all levels in Tibet. "It requires more efforts by grass-roots governments to share responsibilities with the border police to regulate the border, given it's a long border," Penpa Lhamo, deputy head of the contemporary studies institute of the TASS, told the Global Times. Grass-roots governments can mobilize local residents to receive tip-offs, Penpa Lhamo explained. Tibet, a plateau region in China, has a lengthy border with Myanmar, India, Bhutan and Nepal. In 2015, China and India vowed to step up collaboration in fields such as drug control and illegal immigration, the illicit arms trade and other cross-border crimes, according to Xinhua. (Global Times) 09:42, January 03, 2017 Delegates attend the 2016 China International Organ Donation Conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 17, 2016. "Every day I was racing with time. I did not know whether death or a new liver would come to me first," explained Liu Ning (pseudonym), 48, who just had a liver transplant after waiting for over one year. Liu told the Global Times that when his doctor said that he could survive only if he was lucky enough to get a suitable liver, he was full of hope. However, after one month passed by, then half a year, he began to feel anxious and thought that his life was over. "Hope is a terrible thing as it makes you endure endless waiting. I was tired of asking doctors whether I could get a new liver and was ready to quit," said Liu. Liu, now recovering, felt he was the luckiest man in the world as he had seen many other patients die before getting a new organ. According to savelife.org.cn, an organ donation registration platform under the National Health and Family Planning Commission(NHFPC), about 110,000 Chinese citizens have registered themselves as organ donors as of Monday. However, in the US, 120 million have registered, media reported. Experts have pointed out that although the number of donors is rising, the country's huge shortage of organs will continue as traditional attitudes persist in China, and many donors cannot pass strict health requirements and the number of hospitals conducting transplants is still small. More donators The Chinese government started to pilot changes to the organ donation system in 2010, and criminalized the unauthorized trading of organs in 2011. Some 16 people, mostly medical workers, were jailed by a court in East China's Shandong Province Friday for two to five years for trading kidneys. In 2015, Huang Jiefu,a former Chinese vice minister of health, announced a ban on harvesting prisoners' organs, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Two weeks ago, Alipay, a third-party payment platform under Alibaba, launched an online registration service for donations in cooperation with the China Organ Transplantation Development Foundation (COTDF). The platform attracted 117,685 registrations as of Monday. Zhu Jiye, director of the Organ Transplantation Center of Peking University, told the Global Times that previously people were not willing to donate their organs due to taboos. Traditionally, many Chinese people have wanted to be buried "whole" as a mark of respect to their ancestors. However, as the transparency of the organ donation process has grown, more people, especially the younger generation, have become organ donors. A survey conducted by COTDF in 2016 showed that 83 percent of respondents said that they were willing to become organ donors while 56 percent said that they have not registered because the process is confusing. However, Zhu pointed out that increasing numbers of organ donors cannot solve the problem as the country has strict standards on organs; in addition, the number of hospitals that are qualified to carry out transplants is still very few due to a lack of trained surgeons. Huang, current head of the National Human Organ Donation and Transplant Committee, has told media that organ transplants are performed in only 169 hospitals. Weak consciousness NHFPC statistics show that China processed 2,950 organ donations in the first nine months of 2016, up 50 percent year on year. However, transplant surgeons noted that many donated organs come from the efforts of donation coordinators, whose job is to convince relatives of potential donors and help with the entire process of donation. "Organ donation needs wider dissemination as in most cases, it relies on coordinators, who find possible organ sources and persuade them and their families to donate," said Zhu. Zhu pointed out that many hospitals are not aware of the need to identify potential donors and report them to qualified hospitals. Chen Jingyu, deputy head of Wuxi People's Hospital in East China's Jiangsu Province, told the Global Times previously that many donated organs ultimately go to waste due to poor storage. The Civil Aviation Administration of China issued a notice on February 25 to make it easier to transport organs, saying airlines should train staff to give priority to doctors transporting organs, news site thepaper.cn reported. The Chinese mainland will share development opportunities with Taiwan and at the same time firmly oppose "Taiwan independence" activities, the mainland's Taiwan affairs chief said in his New Year's greetings. The remarks of Zhang Zhijun, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, were issued a week ahead of Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen's trip to Latin America, which starts on Saturday. Analysts said that if Tsai continued to provoke Beijing through activities such as meeting with US president-elect Donald Trump or his transitional team during her trip, Taiwan will face more punishment from the mainland following the island's loss of "diplomatic ties" with an African country last month. Tsai's office said on Friday that she would visit Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador. She will arrive in Houston on Jan 7 and leave the following day. On her return, she will arrive in San Francisco on Jan 13. It remains unclear whether she plans to meet anyone in the United States. Zhang said that Beijing will provide more opportunities for Taiwan investors and facilitate Taiwan people's studies, living arrangements, employment and careers on the mainland. Beijing will continue to push forward cross-Straits exchanges in all areas in 2017 to benefit more grassroots people, he said. Zhang also said Beijing has confidence and the capacity to safeguard national sovereignty. "The 'Taiwan independence' forces and their activities are cancer for the cross-Straits relationship and the biggest threat to cross-Straits peace and stability," he said. In his New Year's address, President Xi Jinping said the Chinese people will never allow anyone to "make a great fuss" about the country's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights. Wang Hailiang, a researcher of Taiwan studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said that Beijing will take more measures to punish Tsai if she "makes more provocations" against the one-China principle during her trip. "Tsai's top goal is to meet with Trump before he is sworn in on Jan 20, which is unlikely to happen," he said, explaining that challenging the one-China principle will undermine the basis for the Sino-US relationship. Trump, asked on Saturday if he would meet Tsai if she were in the US after he takes office, answered, "We'll see", the Voice of America reported. The mainland's countermeasures could include tightened restrictions for Taiwan's participation in international activities, preventing mainland tourists from traveling to the island, and encouraging more countries to cut "diplomatic ties" with Taipei, said Jin Yong, a professor of international relationship studies at Communication University of China. Taiwan has "diplomatic ties" with 21 countries, mainly small and island nations in Latin America, Africa and Oceania that rely on Taipei's economic assistance. The fighter "Flying Shark" ready for takeoff on the deck of China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, during a training mission in the South China Sea on January 2, 2017. The carrier took part in a multi-tasking training exercise involving the Jian-15 aircraft and on board helicopters. [Photo: chinanews.com] (Photo/Chinanews.com) Du Shengbo, a merchant and collector from Wenzhou, Zhejiang province became the new owner of an 18th-century Chinese imperial seal on Dec. 14, 2016. The seal was auctioned off for a record-setting 21 million euros (about $22 million) in Paris, more than 20 times its original estimate. However, since the auction, there have been rumors that Du hasnt paid for the seal, and has even fallen out of contact with the auction house. According a report by Qianjiang Evening News, Du is currently applying for a visa to France to pick up the seal in person after the New Year holiday. Du won the seal remotely after a furious bidding battle between potential buyers. The seal, made from red and beige nephrite jade, was used by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, the second longest-serving emperor in Chinese history. Emperor Qianlongs reign, from 1736 to 1795, was only one year shorter than that of his grandfather, Emperor Kangxi. The auction price set a new world record, even earning skepticism from some parties, who wondered whether the number might be inflated. Du responded that he loves the jade seal with all his heart and he may donate it to his country under the right conditions. The rumor that Du had not yet paid for the seal originated in an article penned by a Chinese collector surnamed Liu on Dec. 30. In the article, Liu stated that Du had cut off contact three days after the auction, and Liu himself had planned to buy the seal for 5 million euros. The incident has stained the image of Chinese people in overseas markets, Liu argued, and made him question how to participate in auctions in the future. Lius article has drawn much attention online. According to Du, he plans to retrieve the seal from France after the New Year holiday. The negative influence of the rumor has created an extra impetus for him to claim the seal quickly, and he is currently in the process of applying for a French visa. "One needs time to prepare the large sum of 160 million RMB. The Christmas and New Year holidays make it difficult to get things done immediately," said Du. Du pointed out that it normally takes at least one month to pay for an item purchased through auction after the bid is accepted. He also said that he has no financial difficulties and is willing to show a payment voucher. "The collector, Liu, is no acquaintance of mine and has never contacted me," Du said. Recently, Beijing Morning Post highlighted the secret gambling industry concealed within WeChat groups, wherein members of the public are often cheated out of money through the use of special software. Chen Xiang, one such player, disclosed to media that he was invited into several WeChat groups in which people take turns claiming and distributing red envelopes, feverishly betting on their luck. He once lost 2,000 RMB ($288) within 90 minutes, and gambled away his entire monthly salary soon after. It is horrible! Once you win, you want more; once you lose, you cannot stop. And then you lose even more, explained one player. According to the report, it is hard to win money in such gambling forums, as special software is often employed to ensure bankers' profits, and cheaters often abruptly vanish with large sums of money. In July 2015, police in Taizhou, Zhejiang province cracked Chinas first major WeChat gambling case, involving more than 300 people from over 10 provinces and cities in China. Money involved in the case surpassed 10 million RMB ($1.4 billion). Gambling on WeChat is a criminal offense, and those guilty of the crime will be investigated according to the law, Beijing police emphasized, adding that they will fight against the phenomenon to the full extent of their capability. Meanwhile, the public is advised to conscientiously resist WeChat gambling, and report relevant clues to the police. WeChat responded that they will deal with criminal conduct uncompromisingly by limiting group functions and suspending accounts that offer illegal gambling. Wu Lihong, a lawyer at Beijing Kangpu Law Firm, noted that it's hard to crack down on criminal conduct such as online gambling since it is a virtual crime, simultaneously widespread and concealed. Wu recommended that investigative organs pay close attention to electronic evidence, and that both organizers and players be severely punished. This domain has expired. If you owned this domain, contact your domain registration service provider for further assistance. If you need help identifying your provider, visit https://www.tucowsdomains.com/ The reality of a Donald Trump presidency is unnerving many capitals. European leaders are unsure if the US will stick to Nato treaty commitments and hold firm if Russia destabilises the Baltics states, for instance. Japan wonders if Trumps talk of greater financial burden-sharing on security will impact its own preparedness in the wake of threats from China and North Korea. India too has plenty reason to be uncertain. This has less to do with Trumps rhetoric about outsourcing and the number of H1-B visas granted although that is politically important for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The real danger of a Trump presidency for India is in the unsettling of the international order that it promises, and the changed power equations between Russia, China and US which potentially work to Delhis disadvantage. Read | Why a Trump presidency is bad news for the US and world To get a sense of the wholly different situation India finds itself in, consider the context India operated in during Barack Obamas presidency. The Asian theatre was marked in recent years by US-China tensions owing to Beijings belligerence in the South China Sea. The US countered this through a set of revitalised strategic partnerships, including with India. Modis enthusiasm led him to sign the India-US joint strategic vision for the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean that explicitly spoke of ensuring freedom of navigation and over flight throughout the region. Modi went one step further and signed a logistics agreement that enables US militarys access to Indian bases for repair and supplies. The diplomatic cover afforded by the Obama administration allowed the Modi government to focus its energies on isolating Pakistan internationally and get away with a heavy-handed policy in Kashmir both policies that served to bolster the BJP domestically. Russia and China were relatively marginal to Indias diplomatic considerations, even though Delhi valued Moscow as a source of weapons and energy while the enhanced trade with China created a measure of interdependence that managed tensions. Delhi could choose not to participate in Chinas ambitious One Belt One Road (OBOR) infrastructural initiative because the US, Western powers and Japan were envisaged as the primary sources of security, legitimacy and resources for India. Read | Modis US policy: Can India shape an Asian Century without China? This entire calculus now stands upended. Trump is keen on dismantling the pillars of US foreign policy in a manner that makes the US political and bureaucratic machinery deeply uncomfortable. He wants to scale back American commitments abroad, hed like to focus on an America first policy and is expected to be explicitly transactional in his dealings with other countries. He has chosen a pro-Russian figure in Rex Tillerson as his Secretary of State and picked China hawk Peter Navarro to head the National Trade Council, leading many to anticipate serious tensions with China on trade issues. Some in Delhi may believe that an aggressive US that counters an assertive China works for India. But policymakers will know that it is one thing to play geopolitical chess in peace time, i.e. strengthen regional partnerships to counter a rising power, and quite another being on the cusp of a US-China conflict in Asia and having to choose sides. Its not clear if such developments will materialise soon, but the scene of global politics will move to great power dynamics between US, Russia and China. India will be peripheral to the concerns of all three for different reasons. As far as the US is concerned, it is not clear how much attention Trump will devote to India while he is preoccupied with the inevitable domestic turbulence his presidency will generate and the resetting of ties with Russia and China. Indias leverage abroad now appears to depend on the Washington security establishments ability to normalise Trump and make him aware of Delhis utility to American strategy in Asia. But that establishment itself will take time recovering and coping with the changes he wants and India as a priority could slip in the process. Trump did not mention India in his foreign policy speech on April 27, 2016 and it is not clear if he has any definite ideas as to what to do with the relationship. Read | Caution, optimism: What a Trump administration could mean for India Russia and China, meanwhile, understand Indias importance as a trade partner but neither are particularly predisposed to do India any favours. The rhetoric of India-Russia joint statements remains solemn and upbeat but Vladimir Putin known not to forget insults will be aware of the extent to which Indias foreign policy and its cultural elite has gravitated to the United States in recent years. As if to make its point Russia conducted a military exercise in September with Pakistan, the country which armed and trained mujahedin fighters to drive the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan. China, meanwhile, remains critical of Modis pro-US slant. Moscow and China will now act in concert to enhance their international influence, take positions that undermine the US, strengthen key partnerships and pursue regional agendas while Washington sorts out its foreign purposes. Beijing will press ahead with the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Russia, China and Pakistan will coordinate strategies on Afghanistan they recently announced their readiness for flexible approaches including delisting Taliban figures from UN sanctions list as part of efforts to promote dialogue between Kabul and the insurgents. Russia and Iran are also reported to have improved ties with the Taliban which they see as a counter to growing influence of Islamic State in the country. Iran has close ties with both Russia and China. India appears adrift amid all this. As noted, its ties with the US are moving into unchartered waters. Russia and China will be key players in the neighbourhood and their interests dont necessarily align with Indias. Their reach out to the Taliban is a serious setback to India which has long opposed its return to the political mainstream. India may have got its South Asian neighbours to boycott the SAARC summit but Islamabad is no longer as isolated as it was a couple of months ago (the incoming US Defense Secretary Gen. James Mattis has good links with Pakistans military leadership). Read | Donald Trump: If hes bad for the US, hes bad for us China will imperiously extend its geographic footprint through OBOR while India stays away and limits itself to scoring rhetorical points on Pakistan and watches its relations with Nepal and Sri Lanka fluctuate with domestic changes. Overall, India looks confined to South Asia while the great powers look to carve up spheres of influence across the world. Some would contend that this is overwrought. They will argue that India remains a major economy, a mass market the world is still keen on cultivating. Yes, India will be a major weapons importer and still offer attractive trade deals but there too the news isnt great. The countrys economic prospects have been dealt a severe self-inflicted blow through demonetisation, which has done great damage to Indias reputation abroad. The criticism of economists like Lawrence Summers matters as does the credit rating agency Moodys reported refusal to upgrade Indias rating, despite Delhis lobbying. The characterisation of demonetisation as sickening and immoral by Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief of Forbes, will reinforce doubts about the Indian economy. Former PM Manmohan Singhs view that demonetisation can threaten GDP growth by 2% also carries weight and Indias poor indicators on higher education, skills and job creation add to the welter of unhelpful perceptions abroad. So as it braces for a Trump presidency, India finds itself both geopolitically outflanked and economically bereft. The reason for the former is that the Modi government abandoned strategic autonomy and tilted towards the US in ways that aggravated Russia and China leaving Delhi unprepared for a scenario where Washingtons priorities itself change with the election of a maverick figure. Read | What Trump presidency would mean for India, the world: Shashi Tharoor explains What then can India do in changed circumstances? Some will say nothing for things may turn out fine; Washington can tame Trump and he may turn out to be a predictable figure who will not hurt India much. American soft power and its public institutions will endure; bureaucratic and people-to-people contact will continue and help weather new political currents. India could also try and strike a set of deals with Trump that appeals to his transactional instincts, vanity or both. Theres no guarantee that such methods will work over time with a temperamental politician. As a coping strategy, Delhi will need to accept that a Trump presidency threatens to shrink Indias influence by the effects it promises to generate in world politics. To increase its wiggle room, Delhi needs to find ways to express its strategic autonomy in ways that suits Indias interests while ensuring that US, Russia and China do not perceive its moves as being (too) opportunistic. Thats way easier said than done. The views expressed are personal. The author tweets as @SushilAaron SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Ramgopal Yadav, Samajwadi Party leader and advisor of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, met Election Commission officials in New Delhi on Tuesday to stake claim to the party symbol, the bicycle. He told the Commission that since the CM has the support of 90% of the MLAs and MPs and is the party president, the faction led by him should be considered the real Samajwadi Party. A running feud for control of Uttar Pradeshs ruling party has brought the ruling Samajwadi Party on the verge of a split but confusion abounds on who will get to keep the partys popular election symbol. Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav also met election commission officials on Monday and claimed the bicycle, saying he was still the party president, hence, entitled to the symbol. The state goes to the polls this year, and election dates could be announced any day now. Read | Having won pari-war, Akhilesh Yadav needs to ride the Samajwadi Party cycle In the event of a split, experts say, the bicycle symbol goes to the faction there is one headed by Akhilesh and another by his uncle Shivpal Yadav that can furnish signatures of majority of office-bearers. But if the election commission doesnt have enough time which is a distinct possibility -- to verify legislative majority, then the symbol could be frozen and both sides asked to pick new symbols and party names. EC sources said the faction led by Akhilesh Yadav will submit a formal representation to the commission later on Tuesday, staking claim to the symbol and party name. The commission will take a call after listening to both sides and evoking provisions of the Peoples Representation Act, Indias election law. Read | Party belongs to me, people by my side: SP chief Mulayam A freight train carrying 88 containers of small commodities such as clothing, fabric and bags departed Yiwu, Zhejiang province on Jan. 1, 2017. It will travel 12,000 kilometers through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France. After crossing the English Channel, it will arrive at Barking Station in London. The train's journey was jointly organized by the government of Yiwu, China Railway Corporation and other local companies. The freight train will strengthen inter-connectivity with western Europe, promote China-Britain trade, and better serve the Belt and Road Initiative. With 40,629 accidental deaths reported, Madhya Pradesh accounts for nearly 9.8% of total such cases (4,13,457) reported in country in 2015, according to the data released by National Crime Records of Bureau. The figure puts it at second spot, behind Maharashtra (with 64,566 cases). State capital Bhopal, however, recorded the highest rate of accidental deaths --- 157.1 deaths per one lakh population --- among the 53 megacities, as per the NCRB report. Accidental deaths comprise both due to unnatural cause such as traffic accidents, electrocution, drowning or fire and natural cause such as lightening, heat stroke, cyclone and torrential rains. The report also mentions that the rate of accidental deaths in MP was 52.7 per lakh placing it at the fourth position after Chhattisgarh (75.1), Puducherry (73.4) and Maharashtra (54.2). MP is followed by Haryana with a rate of 48.8 accidental deaths per lakh. The national average is 32.8 deaths per lakh population. According to the report, with 30,513 deaths due to natural cause, Madhya Pradesh stood at third position behind Maharashtra (51,435) and Uttar Pradesh (32,636 cases). The NCRB report has defined unnatural cause as preventive and which can be reduced by effective safety measures. The state stood second in the country in accidental deaths due to reasons such as poisoning, consumption of spurious liquor, sudden deaths and suffocation. MP reported 9,468 such cases and was behind Maharashtra, which has topped the list with 12,681 cases. Karnataka stood third with 6,196 cases. When it comes deaths due to natural causes, like cyclone, torrential rains and heat stroke, MP stood at fifth position with 648 cases in the list topped by UP with 2,383 cases. The NCRB report further mentions that a total 4,96,762 deaths due to traffic accidents (comprising road accidents, railway accidents and railway crossing accidents) were reported from the country In the list of deaths in traffic accidents, MP is placed fourth with 11,832 cases after UP (23, 219), Tamil Nadu (17,376), and Maharashtra (18,404). The report also mentions that MP was second in the list of deaths of women during pregnancy with 113 such cases per lakh population after Maharashtra (633). Apart from this, MP with 25 cases was also second in the list of deaths of women due to abortions. MP was also placed second in the list of deaths due to consumption of illicit liquor (246 cases), and topped in deaths due to poisoning (6,382) in the country. When it comes to deaths due to food poisoning, MP was second with 315 cases and was first in deaths due to accidental intake of pesticides with a total 1,368 such cases. In the list of deaths due to suffocation, MP was second with 407 cases after Chhattisgarh with 478 cases. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Bhopal witnessed a rise in number of rapes and vehicle theft but a decrease in cases of chain-snatching in 2016, when compared to 2015, the police said on Monday. The total number of cases registered under IPC was 16,955, a rise from 2015s figure of 16,564. There were total 276 cases of rapes registered in 2016, which were 91 more than that of 2015. Apart from this, another crime which saw a major increase was the cases of vehicle theft, in which there were 2604 cases registered in 2016 in comparison to 2459 cases registered in 2015. One crime in which the police were largely successful to curb was the cases of chain-snatching in which there was a sharp decline of 63 cases as just 27 cases were registered in comparison to 90 cases in 2015, said Bhopal deputy inspector general Raman Singh Sikarwar. He further said there were 72 cases of murder registered in 2016, against 71 cases in 2015. In the other major crimes under IPC, 132 cases of attempt to murder were registered which were 38 more than 2015. In dacoity, there were three cases registered against just one in 2015 while just three cases of preparation to commit dacoity were registered in 2016 against nine in 2015. In other cases of abduction also, there was a nominal increase as 489 cases were registered against 488 cases on the same in 2015, said Sikarwar, adding that there was also an increase in the number of cases of burglary in 2016, with 982 cases registered against 943 cases in 2015. He said that in 2017, the main priority of the city police will be to curb vehicle lifting, road accidents and crime against women. New CCTV cameras will be installed at spots identified by the police, where the most number of vehicle lifting have been reported. It is important to curb vehicle lifting because it will also bring down the number of other crimes criminals mostly use stolen vehicles. Apart from this, the police will also run awareness campaigns in the public and visit girl hostels in the city to make them aware about crime against women, said Sikarwar. In a major breakthrough, the Madhya Pradesh police on Monday busted a child trafficking racket in Gwalior and rescued seven girls, aged around three to seven years. Cops also arrested five people, including a woman, who allegedly stole the children from busy areas in the city and later sold them to brothels. Madhya Pradesh is infamous for its rising number of human trafficking cases. In April last year, a baby selling racket, operating from Gwaliors Palash nursing, was unearthed. According to the police, the racket was busted after an autorickshaw driver on December 29 alerted the cops about a suspicious woman accompanying a crying child. Driver Hari Mohan Chaurasia alerted head constable Rajkishore Tripathi, who was on-duty at Jayendra Ganj Square in Gwalior, about a girl, aged around four years, was travelling in his auto along with a middle-aged woman and was crying inconsolably, Gwalior superintendent of police Ashish Kumar said. The head constable stopped the three-wheeler and brought the duo to Jayendra Ganj police station for questioning. During interrogation, accused Laxmibai disclosed the gang had stolen the child from Sai Baba Mandir premises. The victims father, resident of Old Gwalior area, had already lodged a missing complaint. The girl has been handed over to her parents. The SP told newsmen on Monday that the five-member gang operated in and around Gwalior and picked children from vulnerable and busy spots, such as temple, bus and railway stations. The gang sold the children to brothels for anything between 30,000 and 40,000. The seven girls were rescued from Dabra, Bhitarwar, Gijjora, Shivpuri and Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh and Badi and Dholpur in Rajasthan over the last three-four days. The accused were identified as Laxmibai Kushwaha, Ram Milan Kanjar, Ramnath Baghele, Raju and Rajesh. Laxmibai has been sent to police remand for five days by a local court. The SP said the police department will felicitate Chaurasia and Tripathi for their prompt action. Mental disorders have turned out to be major killer in Madhya Pradesh with 1,227 people suffering from such illnesses committing suicide in Madhya Pradesh in 2015, as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The figure puts state at the top of the ignominious list where it is followed by Maharashtra (990 cases) and Tamil Nadu (914 cases). As per the NCRB, Madhya Pradesh witnessed a 128% hike in such deaths in 2015 compared to 2014 when 538 such suicides were reported. What has come as another shocker is the fact that the state has less than 50 psychiatrists who can clinically treat mental disorders despite MP being home to around 40 lakh people who suffer from illnesses like insanity, depression and stress. A measly 0.05 psychiatrists are available per one lakh population in state, according to the National Mental Health Survey, 2015-16. The survey also revealed that apart from private practitioners, the number of government medical officers at the state and district levels trained to deliver mental health services is only 0.1 per lakh population in Madhya Pradesh. According to proposed norms, there should be one psychiatrist for every 100,000 people, three clinical psychologists for every 200,000 people, two psychiatric social workers for every 100,000 people, and one psychiatric nurse for every 10 psychiatric beds. Dr R N Sahu, secretary of the MP Mental Health Authority and professor of psychiatry at Gandhi Medical College and Associated Hospitals, Bhopal, blamed lack of proper treatment for the spurt in number of suicides in MP . More than 70 per cent people who committed suicide owing to mental illness did not treatment to avoid social stigma. Even after being detected with mental illness, people fear visiting psychiatrists as they fear being tagged as mad, Sahu said. Speaking to the Hindustan Times, Dr Satyakant Trivedi, a psychiatrist, said unemployment, substance abuse, and examination stress often leads to depression. He suggested some remedial measures too. Apart from spreading awareness on mental health, the government can launch tele-psychiatry centres for people suffering from mental illness in rural areas. This can be done through video conferencing, he said. No. of suicides due to mental illness in states MP: 1227 Maharashtra: 990 Tamil Nadu: 914 Gujarat: 858 Kerala : 697 SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The latest figures on accidental deaths and suicides in India (ADSI), released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), state that Madhya Pradesh alone accounted for 1290 of 8007 suicides by farmers and agricultural labourers across India, one of the highest in the country. The bulk of farmer suicides were committed by small farmers (289), followed by marginal (154) and medium farmers (134). Only four large farmers committed suicide. The reasons for the suicides, according to the NCRB data, have been attributed to farming-related issues like crop failure, inability to sell their agricultural produce, inability to repay loans as well as other factors like poverty, property disputes, marriage-related issues, family problems and illness. Meanwhile, 709 agricultural labourers committed suicide in the state in 2015. The reasons attributed for their suicide includes poverty, property disputes, marriage-related issues, physical abuse, death of a loved one, family problems, illness, drug abuse and alcoholic addiction. The issue of the farmer suicides had also rocked the winter session of the state assembly held last month. During the session, the state admitted that some farmers committed suicide in the state because of frustration due to loan overburden perhaps the first time in recent years that the government admitted to the same. According to the information submitted in the state assembly in July and December session last year, 1695 farmers and agricultural labourers committed suicide in the state in 2016 from February 1 to mid-November. Overall between 2001 and 2015, there have been 18,687 suicides by farmers in MP, according to the state crime records bureau. Complex array of factors contributing to farmer suicides Food security analyst Sachin Jain said a complex array of factors was contributing to farmer suicides in the state. Apart from droughts and floods that lead to crop loss, the way the economy has been structured around the farmers is creating problems. Earlier, farmers would produce crops as per requirement of the public. But with their linking to the markets, they are focusing on bulk production, especially in case of cash-rich mono crops. When production is good, prices crash and farmers either sell their produce at a paltry sum or throw away their produce, he said. Jain said ideally the government should provide food producers a basic assured income, even when if their crops fail. Besides, the state government should procure pulses, millets and edible oils for public distribution system). This will provide succour to many farmers as prices in these sectors are very volatile, he said. The eighth GST council meeting which begins Tuesday in New Delhi will be chaired by finance minister Arun Jaitley and comprise of all the state finance ministers. In its two day meeting, the council will meet representatives of six crucial sectors, including IT, telecom, banking and insurance, to assess the implementation hurdles under the new GST regime. At the two-day meeting, a presentation will also be made by sector representatives of civil aviation and railways. On the agenda are dual control and a final seal of approval on the Compensation Bill. Dual control will decide who taxes whom between the states and the centre. At the heart of this debate are states such as West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, which want control over businesses with an annual turnover of less than Rs 1.5 crore. But the Centre has refused to concede, stating that taking such a step would leave it with a very small pool of taxpayers. Sources in the GST council said the speed at arriving at a consensus on this matter would decide how soon the government can implement the new tax regime. While meeting the April 2017 deadline now appears virtually impossible, the trust deficit created by demonetisation is likely to force further delays in ironing out differences on dual control and compensation. Though the issue of compensation was already discussed and agreed upon in earlier meetings, the demonetisation initiative has reportedly spurred the states to demand changes in the law including bi-monthly payment of compensation instead of quarterly. At a previous meeting in October, the council had already fixed the compensation meant to be given to the states for the first five years after the GST is implemented. With 2015-2016 fixed as the base year, the likely compensation for states was based on a projected 14% revenue growth. However, the after-effects of demonetisation have led most states to believe that the Centres computation of the cess may not be sufficient for compensating the revenue loss. The funds for this compensation are supposed to be drawn from the cess imposed by the Centre on luxury and sin goods. The RBI on Tuesday asked banks to give priority to rural areas in supplying cash and ensure that at least 40% of the bank notes issued are in denominations of Rs 500 and below in order to meet the shortage of currency notes after demonetisation. The Reserve Bank of India observed that notes being supplied to rural areas of the country are not commensurate with the requirements of the rural population. ... To mitigate the issue in a more enduring manner, the banks maintaining currency chests are advised to step up issuance of fresh notes to rural branches of RRBs (regional rural banks), DCCBs (district cooperative banks) and commercial banks, white label ATMs in rural areas and post offices in rural areas on a priority basis, the RBI said. The distribution should depend on variations in the rural and urban mix of each district in terms of relative shares in current and savings deposits and number of deposit accounts, it added. The move follows an acute shortage of cash in rural areas after the governments demonetisation that scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bank notes and brought transactions to a standstill as the rural economy is mostly cash based. Currency chests should issue bank notes in denominations of Rs 500 and below. In particular ATMs, including WLAs, may be issued Rs 500s and Rs 100s and among ATMs category, off-site ATMs should be allocated higher proportion of cash as against on site ATMs as they are more important in the last mile currency connectivity, the central bank said. It also said existing stock of other denominations notes below Rs 100 should also be issued liberally and added that banks should also indent for coins from RBI and ensure supply to public on a priority basis. The central bank had issued Rs 5.9 lakh crore in new currency across denominations till December 19 but it was well below Rs 15.4 lakh crore withdrawn after the governments November 8 decision to scrap the two high-value currency notes. Prime Minister Narendra Modis surprise announcement to recall these banknotes sparked chaos and confusion across the country, with millions of consumers queueing outside banks and ATMs to change a limited number of old notes for new ones or withdraw cash. The government said the move was aimed at rooting out black money and corruption. Banks started accepting deposits in scrapped notes from November 10. However, very few ATMs opened on November 11, as most of the machines had to be recalibrated for dispensing the new Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes. Although the overall situation at banks has improved, ATMs still have to do some catching up. Many vending machines are still out of cash. The RBI on Friday raised the daily ATM cash withdrawal limit from Rs 2,500 to Rs 4,500 a day for an individual from January 1. However, there was no change announced for the weekly withdrawal limit of Rs 24,000 in banks for individuals and Rs 50,000 for small traders. Read| New cash norms fail to bring respite as half the ATMs still run dry Independence is the core American value. The first president of the United States, George Washington, warned future US leaders to avoid foreign entanglements, presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D Roosevelt avoided the world wars for as long as possible, and later presidents have vowed to respond to foreign aggression at a time and place of our choosing. US president-elect Donald Trump has now declared a new form of US independence, one thats likely to transform US foreign policy. Each January, Eurasia Group publishes our list of top global political risks for the coming year. For 2017, there are many reasons why Independent America is our choice for risk Number 1. Read | Why India may matter less in world politics during a Trump presidency Trump campaigned on a pledge to Make America Great Again but also on promises to build an America first approach to the world. That means resolute rejection of the idea, central to US foreign policy since 1945, that America is the indispensable leader in world affairs. That will come as welcome news to many around the world who dont trust Washington, but Trumps view also implies a purely transactional approach to relationships, including with traditional allies. Want US support? Pay up. Want US protection? Pay more. Other governments will hear that a lot in 2017. Trump insists that the worlds sole superpower will spend its resources only in pursuit of core US interests without regard for the consequences for everyone else. On security, trade, and climate policy, says Trump, all treaties and alliances are up for review. This is not isolationism. Trump will use US power much less cautiously than Barack Obama has. Instead, this is an extreme unilateralism grounded in Trumps conviction that other governments are invoking traditional ties and common values to take advantage of US taxpayers. Unfortunately for Trump, and everyone else, hell have to learn from mistakes as he makes them. Hes the first person ever elected US president who has never served in either government or the military. He knows little about the rest of the world and has yet to determine which advisers and officials he can trust for sound advice. Read | Why a Trump presidency is bad news for the US and world The worlds most powerful nation is about to become much more unpredictable. In Europe, Trumps conditional support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato), his tilt toward Vladimir Putins Russia, and his political affinity with anti-European Union populists will leave the transatlantic alliance weaker than at any moment since the 1930s. In West Asia, the US energy revolution has steadily reduced US interest in the regions rivalries, leaving competing powers, inside and outside government, to fight for dominance. Trumps scepticism of international institutions like the United Nations and World Bank will undermine the work they do in managing conflict, in housing, feeding, and protecting refugees, and in investing in developing countries. Most worrisome is the growing risk of conflict between the US and a rising China. Chinese President Xi Jinping will use Trumps declaration of American independence to advance Chinas security interests across Asia and its economic interests everywhere. In recent speeches, he has vowed that China, not trade-sceptical America, will lead the further advance of globalisation. His appearance later this month at the World Economic Forums annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the first ever for a Chinese president, and his unprecedented support for Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, underscore this message. China is no longer a growing teenager thats not yet ready for leadership. The emerging power has fully emerged. Read | President-elect Trump says no North Korea missile will be capable of reaching US Trump will notice. He will see that traditional allies in southeast Asia, doubtful of US staying power, are shifting their allegiance towards Beijing. He will note that China is becoming more assertive in international meetings. He will recognise that Xi, who is preparing for a crucial political transition later this year, is pushing back hard on Trumps criticism of Chinas actions in the South China Sea or its trade and currency policies. Xi will denounce US behaviour that he believes is provocative. If Trump warms relations with Taiwan to pressure Beijing, if Xi feels that democracy activists in Hong Kong are embarrassing his government, if Chinas relations deteriorate with US ally Japan, or if an emergency centred in North Korea puts Washington and Beijing at cross purposes, US-Chinese relations will be sorely tested. Read | China navy says aircraft carrier conducted routine drills in South China Sea Under presidents Bush and Obama, Beijing and Washington have greatly improved communications. But in a year when the US and Chinese presidents both have something to prove, that progress will be threatened as never before. Ian Bremmer is president, Eurasia Group and author of Superpower: Three Choices for Americas Role in the World The views expressed are personal SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Driving around the blue barricades of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has become a routine for regular commuters of one of the busiest stretches of the Capital Ashram. Thirty eight-year-old Kareem Ahmed owns a grocery store in New Friends Colony, right at the intersection. He said that since an entire carriageway has been taken up for construction, vehicles crawl in the space available. A portion of the roads has been taken for construction and another portion is taken by vehicles, which are illegally parked on the sides of the road, Ahmed said. Commuters complain that since the past one-and-a-half years, when the Metro started construction on the stretch, traffic has been severely affected. Every few months the barricades are pushed a few inches towards the road and commuters are left on their own to navigate through it, with no help from either the traffic police or the Metro staff. First the barricades were placed right below the flyover and then it has kept moving as per their convenience. At every other station, which is under construction, there is some development but here the commuters have no relief, said Shantanu Srivastava, a resident of Okhla, who crosses the stretch regularly. According to Delhi Traffic Police, the Ashram intersection gets over 2 lakh vehicles every day during peak hours both in the morning and evening. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), on the other hand, says building the station here has been one of the most challenging projects. The station, which falls on the upcoming Pink Line (Mukundpur-Shiv Vihar), first hit a roadblock when the land allotted to DMRC by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had to be returned as some people managed to get a stay from the Delhi high court on the issue. Faced with space crunch, the DMRC had to dig deeper and add a third level to the underground station. At present, we have three barricaded areas on the stretch one each at the station entry and exit and another for the utility area. As civil work is completed, the cordoned off area would be gradually cleared, a DMRC official said. When asked about the delay and the impact construction is having on traffic, the DMRC said, Our senior officers are monitoring the site. We are also making subways for the station through station box which is why the barricades keep changing as we have to move along with the progress in construction. Our entire design of the station box had to be reworked. Everything from electrical lines to civil works had to be re-designed and in doing so, it is natural that patches of the roads would be taken for carrying out the works, the official added. In January last year, a middle-aged man with fractured feet almost snuck out of the Delhi airport with gold worth over Rs 1 crore. It was the saffron in his baggage that attracted the attention of customs officials. During checking, the officials noticed the plaster casts on his feet. When the passenger could not convincingly assure the officials as to how he got both his feet injured, they decided to undo the plaster wrap. Hidden neatly inside the plaster, four gold bars were found, weighing 1 kg each. It was because of the weight of gold that he was not able to walk properly. Everyone thought that it was because of the injury to his legs, said a senior customs official. Read | Green channel shifted to crack down on gold smugglers at Delhi airport Gold smugglers have turned innovative as the customs became vigilant to their ingenious tactics in 2016. From gold bars concealed in baby diapers, to stuffing the precious metal in a papaya, smugglers keep finding newer ways to hoodwink the authorities at the airport. Other dubious ways were gold stitched into a bra, stuffed in the rod of a baby walker, tied along thigh guards and waist. More than 6 kg gold was seized in 2012-13, This increased exponentially to 384 kg in 2013-14. It touched another record in 2014-15, with the customs officials seizing 574 kg gold. Due to heightened vigil by the customs, the figure came down to 220 kg in 2016, yet smugglers were found trying newer ways every day to bring in the precious metal. Official said that earlier the most common way of smuggling gold was hiding it in the sole of a shoe. In 80s and 90s when the gold smuggling was at its peak, smugglers used to often carry gold bars in the shoe sole. The shoes used to be especially customised for smuggling. Later, bags with false cavities were used to hide gold to avoid detection, an official said. Read | Customs dept heightens vigil to curb gold smuggling in festive season As per the rule, a woman who has stayed abroad for six months is allowed to carry gold worth Rs 1 lakh. For a male passenger, the limit is Rs 50,000. Beyond the permissible limit, a duty of 10% on gold jewellery and 6% on gold biscuits is levied. Officials said passengers coming in from the Gulf nations are on top of the suspects list. Apart from technology and latest human surveillance techniques, a strategic change in the location of the green channel also helped the customs arrest gold smugglers at the Delhi airport. The customs observed that the associates of smugglers used to wait at the arrival hall of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport for them. The smugglers used to hand over the gold to them. The customs department subsequently shifted the green channel so that people waiting at the entry hall cannot view the customs point. Gold prices ended steady at Rs 28, 300 per 10 grams on the first trading day of 2017 on Monday over scattered demand from local jewellers. Traders said that absence of cues from global markets, which are closed, mainly kept gold prices unaltered in Delhi. Read | Demonetisation effect: Man caught trying to smuggle gold out of country SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 3 Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenias Armed Forces have 38 times violated the ceasefire in different directions along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry said Jan. 3. The Azerbaijani army positions located in the Alibayli, Aghdam, Kokhanabi villages of Azerbaijans Tovuz district underwent fire from the Armenian army positions located in the Aygepar, Mosesgekh, Chinari villages and on nameless heights of Armenias Berd district. Moreover, the Azerbaijani army positions underwent fire from the Armenian positions located near the Armenian-occupied Goyarkh, Chilaburt villages of the Tartar district, Javahirli, Shuraabad, Namirli villages of the Aghdam district, Kuropatkino village of the Khojavand district, as well as from the positions located on the nameless heights of the Goranboy, Tartar, Khojavand, Jabrayil and Fuzuli districts. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Responding to a right to information query, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has refused to give information about whether the finance minister and chief economic advisor were consulted before the demonetisation decision was taken. They have claimed that this amounts to seeking an opinion. As per the Right to Information (RTI) law, information certainly covers any record that exists. In this case if there was a record of such consultation, it should have been provided. If there was no such record, this should have been stated. This query certainly did not require the Public Information Officer (PIO) to give his opinion. Information regarding the names and designations of officers who were consulted in the decision has also been refused claiming that giving this information would would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State. It was also claimed that this would endanger the life or physical safety of such persons. Read: Why were Rs 1000, 500 notes demonetised? RBI refuses to answer RTI query The RTI Act has ten exemptions for information which can be refused. However, the law requires that reasons must be given when denying a citizen her fundamental right. The Reserve Banks PIO has not given any reasoning behind how the interests of India would be affected if the names of officers who were consulted were revealed. It is also very fanciful to claim that revealing the names of officers would endanger their physical safety. It is apparent that the exemptions have been claimed falsely, without any legal grounds. The answers and the absurd claims for refusal give citizens reason to believe that either some external influences were in operation, or none of the officers were consulted. This is a blatant subversion of the law and a display of arrogance. The Supreme Court in a judgment ordering release of information by RBI in RTI on 16 December 2015 had stated, RBIs argument that if people, who are sovereign, are made aware of the irregularities being committed by the banks then the countrys economic security would be endangered, is not only absurd but is equally misconceived and baseless. ..it had long since come to our attention that the Public Information Officers (PIO) under the guise of one of the exceptions given under Section 8 of RTI Act, have evaded the general public from getting their hands on the rightful information that they are entitled to. In this judgment nine orders of the Central Information Commission were upheld and information was ordered to be disclosed. In this judgment the Supreme Court had also said: The baseless and unsubstantiated argument of the RBI that the disclosure would hurt the economic interest of the country is totally misconceived. Despite these stinging observations by the apex court, RBI continues to believe that it is above the Right to Information guaranteed to citizens under Article 19 (1) (a). It is again trying to subvert the sovereignty and rights of the citizens by flouting the law. Read: RBI says ban on Rs 1000, Rs 500 notes proposed hours before PMs speech Revealing the truth as it exists on record will lead to a greater faith in the institution and better governance. There is a very disturbing trend that RBI is displaying recently. It has on 30 November 2016 come up with a Non-Disclosure policy. In this most information which is likely to be sought has been classified as exempted information. Even information which the Supreme Court had specifically ordered to be disclosed has been included in this and two contempt petitions have been filed against RBI. Citizens must wake up and realize that if our right to information is allowed to be subverted our freedom of expression which is covered under the same provision of our constitution could be next. Shailesh Gandhi is a former information commissioner with the Central Information Commission and a right to information activist The Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), National Liberation Front of Twipra (NLFT) and the Peoples Democratic Council of Karbi-Longri (PDCK) are minor players in the Northeast scarred by insurgency for almost as long as Indias Independence. But the notice they served on Hindi speakers and Bengalis has underlined the racism prevalent in Assam. On January 2, the KLO, NLFT and the newly-formed PDCK ordered Hindi speakers and Bengalis to quit Assam, Tripura and parts of West Bengal or face dire consequences. Bengalis are 67% of the population of Tripura, once a tribal kingdom, and almost 34% of Assams population. Though Bengalis dominate West Bengal, the state comes in because the map of Kamatapur the self-rule homeland KLO wants straddles western half of Assam and northern half of West Bengal. Read | Leave by March 31, northeast rebel groups tell Hindi speakers, Bengalis The region has fewer Hindi speakers, but rebel groups believe they can draw the attention of the Hindi belt-dominated Indian political machinery by killing settlers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and other north, central and western Indian states. Unlike the mainland, polarisation in seven contiguous Northeastern states is not driven by caste. Religion is a factor in certain parts of the region, mainly Assam, but it is not as obvious as ethnicity and the language spoken by the two largest non-local groups Bengalis and settlers from Bihar westwards clubbed together as Hindi speakers. Read | Together for terror: Northeast rebels find shared enemy in nationalism Much before the outlawed Ulfa, in the early 2000s, made it fashionable for myriad militant outfits to identify Hindi speakers as representatives of colonial New Delhi, Bengalis were the prime targets of communal attacks. The fear of outsiders both settlers from mainland India and refugees from Bangladesh taking over land and resources of indigenous communities dictated the xenophobia that political parties capitalised on. The post-Independence lethargy in preventing non-locals from settling in the British-demarcated tribal blocks and belts of the region heightened this fear. But the allegedly pro-Hindi belt BJP, which rules New Delhi and Assam, has given the rebels a new reason to reinvent themselves as fighters for the rights of the communities they represent. The partys move to grant citizenship to non-Muslims from neighbouring countries, primarily Bengali Hindus from Bangladesh, angered several political parties and NGOs. The rebels seem to have harvested this anger. Hindi speakers and Bengali Hindus are believed to have voted for the BJP to power in Assam, thus displaying their increasing clout in importing a party primarily of outsiders, and so targeting these groups sends the right message. Read | BJP takes another Northeast state as Arunachal CM Khandu joins BJP with 33 MLAs In his book India Against Itself: Assam and the politics of Nationality, Sanjib Baruah underlined how the issue of official language led to conflicts between the Assamese and Bengalis in 1960-61. The Assam Agitation of 1979-85 too began on a similar note, but gravitated towards Bangladeshis with religious overtones. But racism in the Northeast is not only directed against non-locals who are called dkhars (Meghalaya), mayangs (Manipur), vais (Mizoram) and bohiragata (Assam). Various ethnic groups have been at loggerheads for ages, and a trivial incident is enough to spark violence such as the Garo-Karbi clashes of 2011 and the Karbi-Dimasa conflict of 2005. Extremist groups had controlled these clashes. The governments concerned now have the responsibility to ensure the KLO, NLFT and PDCK do not let their rejuvenation plan translate into communal bloodbath. Figures released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for 2015 have revealed that Madhya Pradesh saw the fourth highest number of students committing suicide, with 625 such cases. MP was only better off than Maharashtra (1230), Tamil Nadu (955) and West Bengal (676), with the state accounting for 7% of the total student suicides reported in the country. However, there has been a decrease of about 3% in such cases when compared to figures for 2014, with the number of suicides dropping from 645 reported cases. According to medical experts, a fear of failure in examinations, social pressures, anxiety, stress and depression are major reasons why students commit suicide. Failure in examination alone constitutes for 28% of the total student suicides in MP. Psychiatrist Dr Satyakant Trivedi said imparting knowledge about mental health to students can help them recognise stress and depression. A subject related to mental health and wellness should be added in the school curriculum. Only when the children get to know about the disorders in their formative years can they be aware about what they are suffering from and how they can seek help about it, he said. Ruk Jana Nahi was launched to give students a second chance We are aware of the alarming number of suicides and thus, a scheme called Ruk Jana Nahi was specifically launched to give students a second chance. Every school from now on will have counsellors to address the students emotional and mental problems, minister of state for school education Deepak Joshi said. Apart from the schemes, directives for a mandatory Yoga session, a period for extracurricular activities, comprehensive and continuous evaluation and counting the best of five marks are a few other reforms being adopted by state education department. The figures also compelled the state assembly to form a committee to look into its reasons and suggest remedial measures. The committee formed during the budget session of the state assembly in April has yet not submitted its report. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON After 54 days of the demonetisation move, queues outside banks and ATMs have shortened. Residents said they are not returning empty handed, but a majority of the banks are still resorting to cash rationing to cater to the maximum number possible. ATMs in the city have been calibrated for the new notes and a majority of them are stocked with money from time-to-time to cater to the increased withdrawal limit of 4,500 per day. Bankers are claiming that queues have reduced due to improved availability of cash. Residents, however, maintain that queues are shorter because of the shortage of cash and because the banks are issuing tokens so that customers can come to the premises at the appointed time to withdraw cash. Withdrawal of 24,000 is still not being allowed at some banks. Cash flow has been restored. Earlier, there was only a rush to withdraw money but now, people have started depositing money as well and this has restored the cycle. Dependence on RBI and currency chests for cash will eventually reduce in a few days, Ramesh Chandra Nayak, district lead bank manager, said. However, he said that flow of cash will not be similar as it was before the demonetisation and urged residents to acquaint themselves with cashless transaction modes. We are not allowing withdrawal of 24,000 in a single transaction to ensure that a maximum number of customers can be served. The cash situation has become better as deposits have also increased, Sudeep Kumar, manager of a private bank in Sector 31, said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sought 50 days for the situation to normalise. He had urged the public to wait till December-end and complain if the situation did not improve after that. There is no cash in ATMs and most of them are closed with shutters down. For withdrawal from banks, we have to either collect tokens in the morning or wait in queues, Vivek Kumar, a grocery merchant in Sector 40, said. Corporate employees being provided cash through mini ATMs in their office premises has also led to fewer people standing in bank lines, Nayak said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON British actor Michael Sheen does not believe in signing a film which does not challenge him. The 47-year-old who has been in critically appreciated films such as Damned United ( 2009) and Frost/Nixon (2008), along with commercial hits such as The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) spoke to us about his latest film Passengers alongside actors Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. I like to challenge myself by doing as many different things as possible. Thats how my acting career has been through the years and thats how I will be in future as well. So, when I read a script, the role has to excite me, he says. I love fantasy and sci-fi films. I think there are really good stories that come from there. Theres variety as well that pushes one to do different kind of projects. But I havent done it just for the sake of doing a different film. I have been part of big commercial projects before as well, but never been drawn to a project like Passengers before. Thats what excited me, he adds. Sheen, also lashed out at the British publication, The Guardian, for calling him and other British actors such as Simon Pegg and others as kooky foils to Hollywood smoothies. I finding the article mildly patronising. We are actors and we work in a film because of the characters we are given and not because of some other reason. As an actor, I have had lead roles in films that have widely appreciated as well. Wether I am playing the lead or supporting actor is strictly according to the script. I like doing varied characters and it doesnt matter how long or important my role is going to be, he says. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The late Robin Williams was gunning to play the friendly half-giant Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, but was rejected because of the producers self-imposed Brits only rule, the casting director has revealed. In an interview with Huffington Post, Janet Hirshenson, who joined Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone a few months after the casting process had begun, said Robin had called (director Chris Columbus) because he really wanted to be in the movie, but it was a British-only edict, and once he said no to Robin, he wasnt going to say yes to anybody else, thats for sure,it couldnt be. Robbie Coltrane, who was author JK Rowlings first choice to play Rubeus Hagrid, was picked instead. Robin Williams, battling depression and dementia, committed suicide in 2014. The search for Harry however, proved to be more troubling. According to Hishenson, only one American actor tested for the role: Liam Aiken, who later went on to star in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Actor Liam Aiken in a still from A Series of Unfortunate Events. We mustve had about six Harrys, only two or three Hermiones there wasnt a lot and there was probably five-ish Rons, Hirshenson said. Follow @htshowbiz for more By the Sea star Angelina Jolie and her six kids, who she shares with Brad Pitt, celebrated New Years Eve in Colorado without the actor. The 41-year-old star brought her children- Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and twins Knox and Vivienne, eight, to Colorado after they met Pitt over Christmas, amid his divorce custody battle with the actor, reported AceShowbiz. New ! #AngelinaJolie #angelinajoliepitt #knoxjoliepitt #ShilohJoliePitt A photo posted by PittsOnly (@keepingupwiththepitts) on Jan 2, 2017 at 7:29pm PST NEW!!!!! SHE IS SO BEAUTIFUL #angelinajolie A photo posted by Angelina Jolie Fanpage (@angiexjolie) on Jan 2, 2017 at 7:06pm PST #angelinajolie A photo posted by A,B,M,P,Z,S,K,V Jolie Pitt (@onlyjoliepittfamily) on Jan 2, 2017 at 7:05pm PST NEEEEWWWW!!!!! #angelinajolie A photo posted by Angelina Jolie Fanpage (@angiexjolie) on Jan 2, 2017 at 7:05pm PST #angelinajolie A photo posted by A,B,M,P,Z,S,K,V Jolie Pitt (@onlyjoliepittfamily) on Jan 2, 2017 at 7:05pm PST #angelinajolie #viviennejoliepitt #knoxjoliepitt #zaharajoliepitt A photo posted by Jolie-Pitt kids (@jolie.pitt.kids) on Jan 2, 2017 at 3:18pm PST #viviennejoliepitt #angelinajolie #knoxjoliepitt joliepitt #zaharajoliepitt A photo posted by Jolie-Pitt kids (@jolie.pitt.kids) on Jan 2, 2017 at 3:15pm PST Angie with Vivi, Knox and Zahara in Crested Butte, Colorado. #viviennejoliepitt #knoxjoliepitt #zaharajoliepitt #angelinajolie A photo posted by Brangelina forever (@_joliepittfamily_) on Jan 2, 2017 at 12:14pm PST Brad did see the kids at some point for a holiday gift exchange. (Brad) gave them presents and it was cordial, a source said. According to the sources, Jolie and her daughter Vivienne were spotted shopping at a local toy store on December 30. Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Deepika Padukone today confirmed that her xXx: Return of the Xander Cage co-star Vin Diesel will visit India on January 12. The 30-year-old star, who will mark her Hollywood debut with xXx: Return of the Xander Cage, shared the news on Twitter, by posting a special message to Diesel in Hindi. Vin, India is eagerly waiting for you. See you soon on January 12 and 13. Lots of love, she wrote alongside the poster of the film. , ! , ! ! pic.twitter.com/VYqJ76WkjG Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) January 3, 2017 Directed by DJ Caruso, the action-thriller will hit Indian theatres on January 14. Deepika plays Serena Unger in the film that also stars Donnie Yen, Nina Dobrev, Ruby Rose and Samuel L Jackson. The actor earlier said that she was proud to represent her country in the Hollywood franchise. I am very excited. This is my Hollywood debut. I am very, very nervous, but also excited. Today is the beginning of that journey. I feel very proud that I get to represent my country especially in this kind of an action franchise film. Follow @htshowbiz for more A day after the Supreme Court restrained political parties from seeking votes in the name of religion or caste, BSP president Mayawati on Tuesday unveiled her plan to woo all castes in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. Addressing a press conference in the state unit office of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Mayawati said: Rival parties allege that the BSP cares only for Dalits. I wish to make it clear that BSP works on the formula of sarvjan hitay (welfare of all communities). This philosophy reflects in ticket distribution as well. Releasing ticket distribution data, she said, I have given tickets to 87 Dalits, 97 Muslims, 106 other backward castes and 113 upper castes candidates. The names will be released after the announcement of poll schedule by the Election Commission (EC). When asked if the releasing this data was a violation of the apex court order, Mayawati said she respected the courts order. She called upon Muslims, who constitute 18% of the population, not to waste their vote by supporting the Samajwadi Party. The ruling party is embroiled in a family feud and votes will be divided in Shivpal and Akhilesh factions which will ultimately benefit the BJP, she said. Yadavs constitute merely 6% while Dalits form 25% of the states population. The winning combination of Dalits and Muslims can bring BSP to power, she said. BSP cares for upper caste and other backward castes voters and has given ticket according to their support to the party. The upper caste and OBC candidates will get the support of their brethren in respective constituencies, she added. A political observer, RK Gautam, said Mayawati was planning to grab power in UP with the same social engineering formula (winning support of Dalit- Brahmin-OBC) that brought BSP to power in the 2007 assembly elections. Among the upper castes, Brahmins have been given the lions share of 66 tickets followed by Thakurs (36) and Kayasthas (11). Upper caste and backward candidates have been given a large share of the seats to counter the BJPs onslaught. She also launched an attack against demonetisation asking BJP leaders to disclose their bank account information publically and announce the amount of recovery of black money from the note ban to the public. . SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has been extended for another six months in Nagaland. The Union home ministry, in a notification on December 30, extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958, in the entire area of Nagaland for another six months, a Nagaland home department official said. The notification issued by the home ministrys joint secretary Satyendra Garg said the Centre was of the opinion that the area comprising the state of Nagaland was in such a disturbed and dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary. Rights groups, various civil societies and political parties, especially the tribal-based parties in Northeastern states, described the law as draconian and have been demanding its withdrawal as the act gave huge powers to the army and para-military forces to conduct operations anywhere in the disturbed areas without any prior notice. The AFSPA is also in force in Manipur (excluding the Imphal municipal council area), some parts of Assam and in several districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Manipurs Irom Sharmila Chanu was on hunger strike since 2000 demanding the repeal of the Act but withdrew the strike in August, 2016. The Left-ruled Tripura in May, 2015 withdrew the AFSPA which gave sweeping powers and judicial immunity to security forces in conflict-hit areas. The law was enforced in the state 19 years ago to curb terrorism. The central government, various political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress hailed the Tripura governments decision. The Centre and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) had entered into a ceasefire agreement in August, 1997. Around 60 rounds of talks were held to end the insurgency that was said to have claimed 25,000 lives since 1947. The central government had also appointed interlocutor RN Ravi to continue the peace process with the NSCN (IM). The NSCN (IM) has been fighting for an independent Nagaland for over six decades. But since the peace talks began, it has scaled down the demand to a Greater Nagaland, including parts of three neighbouring states to unite areas inhabited by around 1.5 million Nagas. Three Northeastern states -- Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh -- have opposed the demand. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 3 Trend: Armenia leaves the appeals to return the body of the killed Azerbaijani serviceman unanswered, the State Commission of Azerbaijan on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing People told Trend Jan. 3. The authorities of Armenia refuse to reply to the insistent appeals of international structures regarding the return of the body of Azerbaijani Armed Forces soldier Chingiz Gurbanov, the Commission said. Armenia, without giving any specific reasons and arguments, deliberately delays the return of the body under various pretexts, the Commission said. Unfortunately, even the international mediators cannot do anything yet regarding such inhumane actions of Armenia, the Commission said. At the same time, we, for our part, continue efforts in this direction together with the state agencies and international organizations. A reconnaissance group of the Armenian Armed Forces tried to violate the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border on Dec. 29 morning. The Armenian group found itself in the ambush of the Azerbaijani army while violating the borders and suffered heavy losses. Chingiz Gurbanov, a serviceman of Azerbaijani Armed Forces, went missing during the fight. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Another patch-up bid between the warring factions of the Samajwadi Party fell flat on Tuesday as even after a three-hour meeting, CM Akhilesh Yadav and party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav failed to make peace. Both the factions, said sources, had submitted letters to the poll panel, staking claim to the party name and the election symbol a bicycle, the clearest indication yet that a reconciliation was unlikely in the Uttar Pradeshs ruling party. Uttar Pradesh and four other states are due for elections, the announcement could be coming any day now. Battered by the power struggle between Akhilesh and his uncle Shivpal, the party saw a ray of hope when the 43-year-old chief minister drove down to his fathers residence in the afternoon. Suddenly there was talk of a peace formula though there was no word from either faction. But after three hours, sources said, the talks had failed. Read | Ramgopal Yadav meets EC, stakes claim to bicycle as poll symbol for Akhilesh camp Mulayam, sources said, refused to revoke expulsion of cousin Ramgopal, who has backed Akhilesh in the battle for control of the party. Akhilesh, who took control of the party on Sunday after ousting Mulayam at an emergency national convention, was not ready to give back the state unit to Shivpal. The CM also didnt want parliamentarian Amar Singh in the party. Decisions to expel Singh and sack Shivpal as the state party chief were also taken at the convention, which was called by Ramgopal. Mulayam spoke to Singh before he met Akhilesh, sources said. The CM has on more than one occasion expressed reservations about his fathers close aide. Singh and Shivpal were with Mulayam when he met the election commission officials in Delhi a day earlier to stake claim to the party symbol. Akhilesh called on Mulayam within an hour of SP patriarchs return to Lucknow. Shivpal, who joined them later, didnt know about the meeting between the father and the son. I dont have any information about the meeting. If Netaji (Mulayam) calls me I will go, he told media. Read | History repeating itself? Mulayam followed Lohia, Akhilesh his father Earlier in the day, Ramgopal met chief election commissioner Nasim Zaidi to stake claim to the bicycle. We told the election commission that most party MPs, MLAs and MLCs are with Akhilesh. So the party led by him is the true Samajwadi Party and should get the party symbol, Ramgopal told mediapersons in Delhi. In the event of a split, the poll panel could freeze the symbol, as it doesnt have the time to verify the claimants legislative majority, required to retain the symbol. Both the factions would then go into the election with new symbols and new party names. Tuesdays peace bid, too, was initiated by senior minister Azam Khan who flew to Delhi on Monday night to meet Mulayam but could not as the patriarch was with Singh, sources said. Khans first attempt on December 31 -- at reconciliation barely lasted a day. He managed to convince Mulayam to revoke Akhileshs and Ramgopals expulsions which were ordered a day earlier. But on Sunday, Akhilesh staged the coup. (With inputs from Smriti Kak Ramachandran in Delhi) Senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan said the possibility of a patch-up between the two factions headed by chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh remains, asserting that anything is possible. Khan, who had prevailed on Mulayam to revoke the expulsion of Akhilesh and cousin Ram Gopal Yadav before they removed him from the party presidents post, said he will do what he can to bring about a reconciliation. Anything is possible. Who would have thought that their expulsion would be revoked, he told reporters. A bitter critic of Mulayams close aide Amar Singh, Khan is seen as the partys Muslims face and has maintained a neutral profile in public during the ongoing feud. Even if the UP assembly poll dates are announced it will not mean that all doors on their unity are closed, he said. Asked if the fight will adversely impact Muslim voters, a durable support base of the party, he said they would never want the SP government to go and will work to prevent the BJP from coming to power. There are upset and worried but there is still time left, he said. To questions about the removal of Mulayam by the rival faction, Khan claimed he was not informed much about any recent developments. Union minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday condemned Karnataka home ministers irresponsible comments over reports that several women were allegedly molested in Bengaluru during New Year celebrations while the police stood by, saying all the identified culprits should be arrested. We cant allow the shameful act of #MassMolestation go unpunished. Bangaluru is a vibrant city & women safety is must in a civilised society (sic), Rijiju tweeted. We can't allow the shameful act of #MassMolestation go unpunished. Bangaluru is a vibrant city & women safety is must in a civilised society Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) January 3, 2017 Bangalore Mirror alleged in a front-page report that unruly mobs started pawing, molesting and passing lewd remarks on women who had gathered for revelry on Bengalurus MG Road and Brigade Road. The alleged molesters forced many women to take off their shoes and run for help to the nearest policeman, the report added. Karnatakas home minister G Parameswara on Monday appeared to brush aside by saying these kinds of things do happen. They tried to copy the westerners, not only in their mindset but even in their dressing. So some disturbance, some girls are harassed, these kinds of things do happen, he said. Read | Such incidents do happen: Minister on reports of molestations in Bengaluru Nagaraj, an inspector at the Cubbon Park Police station, said no complaints had been made against such incidents. We had deployed 1,600 police personnel in the area for new years celebrations and around 60,000 people had come there that night. But we had the situation under control, he said. ...if such incidents did take place that night we urge people to come forward and file complaints, he added. But the Bangalore Mirror report quoted people who said the police were badly outnumbered by the drunk hooligans and could only intervene intermittently. Despite several complaints, no cases were filed, the reports added. A day after the Bangalore Mirror reported mass molestation of women in the citys busy MG Road and Brigade Road during new year celebrations, the police on Tuesday said they were yet to receive any complaints. However, some of the women who were subjected to the ordeal and many eyewitnesses have now come forward to confirm that mass hooliganism did take place. One such eyewitness told a news channel that inebriated men went berserk on that day. There were police personnel but the mob was unrelenting. Many women were groped and attempts were made to strip women, the eyewitness said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (central) Chandragupta said no complaints have been received so far. We have deputed 12 personnel to look at footage from 50 CCTV cameras in the area, and another 50 CCTV cameras belonging to shops and establishments that have provided us with footage. This is the reason for the delay in taking up suo motu cases, he said. Read | Bengaluru molestation: Politicians add hype, but where is the evidence? Another big problem for the police is the transfers of personnel that came into effect from January 1. Both Commissioner of Police Praveen Sood and Chandragupta took charge of their new postings on January 1, and hence were not responsible for the security arrangements for the December 31 event. Around 1,000 personnel were deployed on the stretch between MG Road and Brigade Road, Chandragupta said. A police officer who did not wish to be named said around 50,000 people had assembled in the area to celebrate. Read: Such incidents do happen: Minister on reports of molestations in Bengaluru KS Vimala of the All India Womens Democratic Association said: The police should have acted on the night when the incident happened. What is the point of asking women to come forward now. Meanwhile, home minister G Parameshwara was hauled up by the National Commission for Women, which also issued a notice to Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi for their insensitive comments on the issue. Congress MP BK Hariprasad also kicked up a storm after alleging that infiltration by the Hindutva brigade was the reason for the molestations. Social media was flooded with outrage over the incident, with the #Bengalurumolestation hashtag trending on Twitter. Even celebrities weighed in, with actor Aamir Khan saying he was hurt and saddened by the incident and called for swifter justice in such cases. Read: Bengaluru molestation: Rijiju condemns Karnataka home ministers remarks Defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said that India will select another single engine aircraft other than Tejas for indigenous manufacture under the Make in India initiative, which cuts down competition to just two fighters -- F-16 by Lockheed Martin and Gripen by Saab. The clarity of choice of single engine aircraft also means that double engine aircraft like F/A 18 by Boeing and Rafale by Dassault Aviation, both preparing for Indias next round of multi-billion deal for fighters, are out of the race. Retired air force chief Arup Raha had said India required about 200 medium weight category aircraft besides the 36 Rafale fighters. Parrikar also made it clear that navy will continue supporting the development of naval version of Tejas but the current one will be just a technology demonstrator. He said that the navy is seeking a double engine aircraft. He said when India decides to go for a twin-engine fighter to be made in New Delhi, the government will also consider the Rafale. But as of now there are no plans to procure any additional aircraft, he added. Talking about the next fighter competition of India, Parrikar said the need for a second production line for single engine aircraft is felt apart from Tejas. The second line of single engine requirement is also felt, for which we are thinking of using the strategic partnership route, he said. The defence minister said once the chapter on strategic partnership is finalised this month, his ministry will start moving in the direction of single engine fighter aircraft. He said by the end of this year, decisions on the next aircraft should be tentatively finished. Parrikar said few of the initial aircraft may come off the shelf by the rest would be made in India increasing the Indian capability in aviation. He said the process for the next fighter aircraft will include both selection through normal process and government- to-government contract. Selection of the local partner would be through a transparent and well defined process, he said, adding that capabilities and financial strength would also be looked into. Once you select the local partner, the OEM obviously will be selected through a process of the way we do it. It means who gives the best offer, transfer of technology and many other things and price. Weightage will be given to both, he said. Parrikar added that once the company is selected, there will be a government-to-government contract to ensure that the other government stands guarantee to the promises made by the firm in terms of technology transfer and other issues. As Gujarat readies for the eighth edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit (VGGIS) next week, the stage is set for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pitch India as an investment hot spot from the platform of the biennial event beginning January 10. Increasing its reach and span, the four-day business meet this year is being touted as the biggest ever summit, which was conceived and launched by Modi in 2003 when he was the Gujarat chief minister. Apart from industry captains, the summit will also host Nobel laureates along with several heads of states for the first time. The PM will hold a dialogue with heads of 35 international and 23 Indian companies at the global CEO roundtable on Transforming India at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar on the inaugural day. The roundtable aims to dig and brainstorm industrys expectations to make India an ideal investment destination, PK Taneja, additional chief secretary (industries and mines), said. John Chambers, chairperson of global technology giant Cisco; Bertrand-Marc Allen, president of Boeing International; and Jean-Bernard Levy, CEO of French electricity giant EDF, have already confirmed their participation in a special meeting with Modi. Besides, presidents of Kenya and Rwanda, prime ministers of Portugal and Serbia, and deputy prime ministers of Russia and Poland will be among the dignitaries at the inaugural ceremony. It will also see the participation of delegations from the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Sweden and France, among others. A Nobel Prize Series Exhibition wherein Nobel-winning scientists will interact with students, scientists, industry leaders and policy makers is being seen as one of the high points of the summit that has, so far, been projected as a platform for meeting of business minds. The five-week exhibition will be opened by Modi on January 10 at Science City in Ahmedabad. Among the scientists is Indian-origin Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, who shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2009 with Thomas A Steitz and Ada Yonath. This will be the first time that Nobel Prize winners in such a big number from across the world will hold a session in the country, chief secretary JN Singh said. The Nobel winners will take part in Nobel Laureate Dialogue at Mahatma Mandir on January 10, secretary of department of science and technology Dhananjay Dwivedi said. On January 11, these Nobel laureates will interact with students at various educational institutes such as IIT Gandhinagar, Gujarat University and MS University in Vadodara, he added. MoUs materialisation Opposition Congress has time and again questioned the success of VGGIS in terms of actual investment and employment generation against the pledge memorandum of understandings (MoUs) and promised jobs. However, leading industrialists led by RIL Group vice-president Parimal Nathwani last week came in defence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state, claiming a higher rate of MoUs actualisation. From the past seven summits, on an average 66% of signed MoUs have been either commissioned or are in the stage of implementation, chief secretary Singh said. The government, however, has shied away from giving total investment that has come due to the actualisation of the 66% of the MoUs. Fixed-pay workers threaten disruption Jan Adhikar Manch (JAM), a little-known outfit, has threatened to disrupt the summit if nearly 15 lakh fixed-pay and contractual workers are not enrolled permanently by January 7. Young leaders, including Jignesh Mevani and Alpesh Thakor who represent Dalits and OBC/SC/ST, respectively, have extended their support to JAM. We want that the government, which is organising a world class summit, must treat these 15 lakh workers on par with its employees, JAM convener Pravin Ram said. Deputy chief minister Nitin Patel on Monday said that the government will try to address the issue of the workers and file an affidavit on January 10 in the Supreme Court, which is hearing a case in this regard. Opposition Congress, however, said the governments assurance was just an eyewash. To avoid any sort of disruption during the summit, the government has given a lollipop by saying they would take a positive approach to resolve the issues of the fixed-pay workers, Congress national spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON BJP and Congress legislators clashed over alleged disrespect to the national anthem in the assembly on Tuesday. As the proceedings for the day started BJP members stood on their seats demanding apology from Congress members for showing disrespect to national anthem during the address of Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra to the joint session of the state legislature on Monday. Senior BJP leader Choudhary Sukhnandan raised the issue and asked Congress members to tender apology to the state and entire nation. Other BJP members including Sat Sharma, Rajesh Gupta, Ravinder Raina, Rajeev Jasrotia and Shakti Parihar too urged the speaker to seek an apology from Congress and shouted anti-Congress slogans. NC member, Devender Singh Rana accused the speaker of legislative assembly Kavinder Gupta of acting in partisan manner and behaving like a BJP speaker. Last night during a TV debate, we heard BJP national spokesman RP Singh saying that he will ask the speaker to take action against Congress for disrespecting national anthem, he said. Congress leader Nawang Rigzin Jora accused BJP of propagating fake nationalism. BJP member Ravinder Raina asked Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi to tender apology to entire nation for the act of their party legislators. The BJP demand, infuriated Congress members who called BJP members liars and both exchanged heated arguments. Later, PDP members and speaker Kavinder Gupta intervened and pacified both the parties. Meanwhile, taking cognizance of the disrespect shown by some members to the national anthem, the speaker on behalf of the house, strongly condemned the contemptuous action. The entire house strongly condemns the disrespectful behaviour exhibited by some legislators towards the national anthem, Kavinder Gupta said. Responding to the issue raised by the members of the treasury benches in the house, the speaker said that national anthem is the nations pride and identity. As law makers and representatives of the people, it is our responsibility to uphold the dignity of the national anthem, he said. Gupta hoped that such disapproving action will not be repeated in future. Ruling BJP will field candidates in 37 out of total 40 constituencies in upcoming Goa assembly elections and will support contestants in remaining three seats in Catholic-dominated Salcette taluka. BJP will contest 37 seats and support others in Vellim, Benaulim and Nuvem, BJP state unit president Vinay Tendulkar told reporters here on Tuesday. The party has already begun the process to shortlist nominees in various constituencies. Tendulkar said 22 candidates will be announced this week and rest later. He said the selection committee, also including defence minister Manohar Parrikar, is meeting party cadres in each constituency before deciding about the contestant. Till now the core committee of the party has met cadres from 22 constituencies. Entire process of meeting cadres would be over by January 9. The core committee will hand over the names to election committee before forwarding it to partys central election committee, the BJP leader added. BJP had won the 2012 assembly elections in the alliance with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)has filed a charge sheet against social activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband, Javed Anand, on charges of alleged violation of foreign funding laws. Besides the duo, the agency has also listed a company, Sabrang Communications and Publishing Private Limited, as an accused in the case. Both Teesta and Javed were directors in the company. The charge sheet was filed in a Mumbai court on Saturday. CBI spokesman RK Gaur said the chargesheet has been filed under Section 120 B of the Indian Penal Code (criminal conspiracy) along with the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010, and FCRA, 1976. The CBI registered a case against Setalvad and Anand in July 2015 alleging that Sabrang Communications got foreign funding in violation of FCRA, receiving $2.9 lakh from the Ford Foundation despite being ineligible. The alleged violations had come up during a review of foreign funding of NGOs run by Setalvad, considered a vocal critic of PM Narendra Modi. Sabrangs case was referred to CBI by the home ministry. In the meantime, the ministry cancelled the foreign funding licence of Teestas NGOs Sabrang Trust and Citizens for Justice and Peace. Teesta and Javed were granted bail by Bombay HC but the CBI petitioned Supreme Court to cancel it. The SC then granted them protection from arrest but asked them to cooperate with CBI. The Chinese government has imposed travel restrictions on Tibetans to block their travel to India for attending Kalachakra teachings, sources from the Tibetan government-in-exile claimed on Tuesday. News emanating from Tibet reported that the Chinese government began confiscating passports from Tibetans in Tibet since November this year, they said. Nepali media reported that China has reportedly issued a temporary travel restriction on its citizens visiting Nepal and asked its travel agencies and airlines to cancel all travel plans and bookings made until January 10 with immediate effect. According to these sources, Chinese authorities have instructed the family members of the pilgrims to inform them to return to Tibet by January 3 before the Dalai Lama begins his teachings. Kalachakra means wheel of time or time-cycles and it is usually used to refer to a complex teaching and practice in Buddhism. The sources quoted a Tibetan pilgrim who chose to remain anonymous as saying that the authorities had taken signatures from their family members to make sure that the pilgrims have been informed and that they must return to Tibet. In the light of these developments, the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama addressed the Tibetan pilgrims in Dharamsala, Delhi and Bodh Gaya advising them not to be disheartened. He said that during the Kalachakra initiation, which runs for three days -from January 11-13, Tibetans in Tibet whose faith and devotion remain invincible and stands undefeated, can pray from inside Tibet. From the Kalachakra ground, I will keep the Tibetans inside Tibet in my deepest prayers. The Dalai Lama said there are a substantial number of Chinese Buddhists in mainland China wishing to attend the Kalachakra and that he will remember them in his prayers. Distance cannot dampen the sacred ties between a lama and a disciple. You can all pray from the far-flung areas in Tibet and I assure you that you will receive the Kalachakra empowerment, said the Dalai Lama who arrived in Bodhgaya on December 28. The Kalachakra initiation began with a ritual preparation on January 2 and will end with a life-long prayer ceremony on January 14 and is streamed live on Tibet TVs YouTube (www.tibetonline.tv) and Facebook page. The 34th Kalachakra initiation is being organised by Central Tibetan Administration for the first time in Tibets history. The 13-day religious gathering will draw over 200,000 devotees from across the globe, officials in the Tibetan government-in-exile said. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 2 By Orkhan Quluzade - Trend: Turkey for over 10 years has been confidently advancing towards its goals of the "2023 Vision" - when the country will mark its centenary. This program envisages a lot of directions. One of those directions is to transform Turkey due to its geographical location into the logistics and energy hub. After the crisis in relations with Russia, Turkey realized the need to diversify its energy sources and intensified search in this direction. Having signed new agreements, implementing existing projects and having planned new ones, Ankara has advanced a step closer to its energy goals in 2016. Discount on Iranian gas The International Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of Turkey in the long-lasting gas dispute between Ankara and Tehran on February 2, 2016. According to the court decision, Iran must provide Turkey with a 10-15 percent-discount on gas purchased in 2011-2015. Ankara and Tehran are still negotiating on the issue. Iran is expected to supply gas free of charge instead of $2 billion, which the Islamic Republic is supposed to return to Turkey. The agreement on the supply of Iranian gas to Turkey was signed in 1996. Turkey has contracts with Iran for the supply of 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Akkuyu nuclear power plant The normalization of the Turkey-Russia relations after the incident with the Russian Su-24 bomber, has triggered the implementation of joint energy projects. One of the most important projects is the construction of Akkuyu nuclear power plant. The construction of Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey's southern Mersin province was still under preparation in 2016. Russia's Rosatom state nuclear energy corporation put up for sale a 49-percent share of the first nuclear power plant in Turkey in April. The Turkish Cengiz Holding A.S. showed interest in the acquisition of shares. Initially, only Cengiz Holding participated in the talks with the Russian side. Afterwards, Kolin Group of Companies and Kalyon Group joined the talks. It is planned to get a license in Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) for the construction of Akkuyu nuclear power plant in 2017. The intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Turkey on cooperation in the fields of construction and operation of the country's Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey was signed in 2010. The project of the Turkish first nuclear power plant includes four water-water energetic reactors. The capacity of each energy unit of the nuclear power plant to stand at 1,200 MW. The project's cost is some $20 billion. Turkish Stream Of course, the normalization of the Moscow-Ankara relations allowed to move forward with the Turkish Stream gas pipeline construction project. Russia and Turkey signed an intergovernmental agreement on the project on October 10. The document envisages the construction of two branches of the main gas pipeline through the Black Sea, the power of each branch being 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas. One branch is to supply gas directly to the Turkish market, the other to transit gas through Turkey to European countries. The realization of the second branch depends on Europe's interest in Russia's gas and getting necessary guarantees. The Turkish and Russian governments have already ratified the agreement on the Turkish Stream project. The State Duma (lower house of the Russian Parliament) is expected to consider ratification of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline deal in January 2017. South Stream Transport B.V. company, a 100-percent subsidiary of Russias Gazprom company, signed an agreement with Switzerlands Allseas Group S.A. on construction of the offshore section of the Turkish Stream pipelines first branch. Allseas will commence the pipelay work in the second half of 2017. 23rd World Energy Congress The 23rd World Energy Congress was held in Istanbul on Oct. 9-13 upon the initiative of the Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak. The congress was held under the auspices of Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The forum was attended by heads of state, energy ministers of oil and gas producing countries, as well as heads of hi-tech companies, international financial institutions, the UN and the EU agencies, investors, etc. Energy projects implemented by Turkey in the region, global energy security, world energy trends as well as oil prices were discussed at the congress. Normalization of relations with Israel Relations between Israel and Turkey deteriorated after the Freedom Flotilla incident in 2010, when a convoy of six ships, including one flying Turkey's flag, tried to approach the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid and activists on board. The flotilla was blocked and stormed by Israeli forces, with nine Turkish citizens being killed as a result. Turkey signed an agreement with Israel on repairing the relations June 28. The Israeli government paid a compensation of $20 million to Turkey for the Freedom Flotilla incident Sept. 30. The normalization of relations created an opportunity for Turkey to receive gas from the Eastern Mediterranean. One of such possible projects is the construction of a pipeline that will run under the Mediterranean Sea through Cyprus. Creation of infrastructure for liquefied natural gas terminals represents another possibility for Turkey to receive the Israeli gas. The countries are expected to hold intensive talks on this issue in 2017. Alternative energy sources Turkey keeps active interest in alternative energy sources. In this regard, the country built several solar and wind farms in 2016. Another similar projects is the construction of solar power plant in the Konya province. Previously, Turkeys Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak said that about $1 billion will be invested in this project. Albayrak also noted that big wind parks will be built in the country in 2017. Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) TANAP project envisages the transportation of gas from Azerbaijans Shah Deniz (as part of Stage 2 of the fields development) gas and condensate field from the Georgian-Turkish border to the western border of Turkey. The projects total cost is estimated at $8.6 billion. Initial capacity of the TANAP pipeline is expected to be 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The pipeline may be expanded up to 31 billion cubic meters of gas per year in the future. About six billion cubic meters of gas will be delivered to Turkey, and the remaining part to Europe. TANAP shareholders are: SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) 58 percent, Turkeys BOTAS (30 percent), BP 12 percent. TANAP pipeline is planned to be put into operation in 2018. Project status The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) approved the issuance of a loan worth $600 million, World Bank (WB) - $800 million for the TANAP projects implementation. Currently, shareholders of the TANAP Consortium discuss the issues of the projects financing with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and European Investment Bank (EIB), which plan to allocate $2.1 billion. An additional $3 billion is planned to be attracted from other financial institutions. Moreover, the Azerbaijani government plans to additionally allocate $2.1 billion. There is a decision on giving an 8-percent share out of the Southern Gas Corridor companys 58-percent share in TANAP to SOCARs subsidiary in Turkey SOCAR Turkey. It is expected that the deal will be concluded in the near future. The construction work as part of the TANAP project is 55 percent complete. Three companies - "Fernas Insaat A.S.", "Sicim-Yuksel-AKKORD Adi Ortakligi" and "TEKFEN Insaat ve Tesisat A.S." are contractors for the construction of the onshore area of TANAP with a length of 1337 kilometers. They will build a section of the gas pipeline till the Turkish city of Eskisehir. Turkish Borusan Mannesmann, Noksel Celik Boru and Erciyas Celik Boru companies will supply the pipes for the TANAP project. In October 2015, the consortium for the construction of the TANAP chose a company that will render services of establishing the SCADA system (supervisory control and data acquisition), as well as telecommunication system for the pipeline construction project. The winner of the tender was ABB Elektrik Sanayi A.S. A relevant contract was signed with this company. In November 2015, the consortiums of TAP and TANAP signed an agreement on cooperation during the pipelines construction. The document defines obligations for the construction of an interconnector as well as technical aspects for the connection of the two pipelines. In January 2016, the TANAP consortium defined a company that will build the 459-kilometer section of the pipeline from Turkey's Eskisehir up to the border with Greece. Punj Lloyd-Limak JV won the tender, and a corresponding contract was concluded with the company. In February 2016, Turkish company Tekfen won a tender for construction of compressor and measuring stations for the TANAP project. In July 2016, Malaysias SapuraKencana Petroleum Berhad company won the tender for the purchase of fiber optic cables and the implementation of construction works in Turkeys Dardanelles (Canakkale) Strait within the TANAP project. Floating LNG plant The first floating LNG (liquefied natural gas) plant of Turkey started working on December 2016 on the peninsula of Aliaga in Izmir city of Turkey. The plant will convert 5.3 million tons of LNG into gas. The plant will be able to transfer about 20 million cubic meters of gas per day to Turkey. Turkeys chairmanship in SCO Energy Club Turkey will chair the Energy Club of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2017, making it the first non-member country to do so. SCO Energy Club was created in 2013 with the participation of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkey, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan, Belarus and Sri Lanka. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @o_quluzade A CRPF officer was on Tuesday shot at and injured by militants in Pulwama district of south Kashmir, officials said. Assistant sub inspector BN Thakur was on duty in Muran Chowk, 32 kms from capital Srinagar, when he was shot at by unidentified militants from a close range, the officials said. They said the injured officer was immediately evacuated to hospital and a hunt has been launched to nab the assailants. Dense fog cover disrupted air and rail services in New Delhi with around 55 trains and 13 flights delayed on Tuesday morning as visibility dropped to less than 50 metre in many parts of the city.. Flight operations are affected when visibility drops below 200 metre. The Delhi IGI Airport reported zero visibility since 2:30am, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials. As a result, many passengers at the airport were stranded for over three to four hours. At least two domestic flights were also cancelled. The lag created in the morning is likely to affect operations throughout the day. This is the third episode of blinding fog in the national capital this season, according to IMD officials. Earlier, fog had disrupted services on December 2 and 14. The MeT department expects moderate fog over the next two days. According to railway officials, 55 inbound trains were delayed on Tuesday, 22 trains were rescheduled and five trains cancelled. Two trains scheduled for Wednesday have also been cancelled. The fog intensified with the onset of weaker, moisture-rich easterly winds brought on by the passage of a western disturbance in northern regions of India. These winds increase the humidity in the area, which when combined with lower temperatures, creates fog, according to officials at the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre. Temperatures dropped to 9.5 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, which is approximately two degrees above the normal average, and is not expected to peak over 25 degrees Celsius during the course of the day. India is hopeful that China will agree with its position on getting Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar designated as a terrorist by the United Nations, home minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday. Interacting with the media in New Delhi, Singh said, We still expect China to support our stand. On December 30 last year, China had blocked Indias proposal to list JeM chief and Pathankot mastermind Masood Azhar as a designated terrorist by the UN, triggering a sharp reaction from New Delhi that termed it as unfortunate blow and a step that confirms prevalence of double standards in the fight against terrorism. Indias proposal was submitted in February to the 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council. A fresh listing request will be required for Azhar to be banned by the UN, officials had said. However, India had said it will continue to push forward with resolute determination through the use of all options available with us to bring perpetrators of terrorist violence to justice. China had blocked Indias proposal citing lack of consensus on the issue. The ban would have forced imposition of asset freeze and travel ban on him by countries, including Pakistan. China was the only member in the 15-nation UN body to put a hold on Indias application with all other 14 members of the Council supporting New Delhis bid to place Azhar on the sanctions list. Exchange of Urdu couplets and light-hearted humour marked the farewell function for outgoing Chief Justice TS Thakur on Tuesday. In his inimitable style Justice Thakur won the hearts of advocates with his shero-shayri on his last day in office. One could hardly imagine that the same judge had a day earlier ousted BCCIs brass for obstructing court-ordered administrative reforms. On seeing the crowd here I told Justice JS Khehar that he was lucky to have an audience eagerly waiting for the first Sikh Chief Justice to take over. But, he replied that they were waiting for the exit of a terrible CJI, Justice Thakur said when he was asked to give his last speech. Calling for a strong and fearless judiciary for peaceful progress of India, he said development cannot be achieved fully unless judiciary got ready to handle the challenges in future. The country is in the cusp of great resurgence, country is growing and India is developing very fast. We will have issues like cyber laws, challenges of medico legal cases and issues of genetics and privacy to deal with in future, Justice Thakur said, asking young members of the legal fraternity to rise to the occasion. Your role is so critical that you must make sure all these progress is not possible, unless, there is peace in the society and that peace is possible only when the administration of justice and judiciary plays its role to the fullest, he said addressing the packed audience comprising his colleagues, former judges and senior advocates. However, Justice J Chelameswar who ran into a confrontation with the SC Collegium didnt attend the function. On his turn Justice Khehar recalled his days in Chandigarh where Justice Thakur served as the Chief Justice. When I first saw him in Chandigarh I found him so handsome. I wondered if he was so handsome to a man and then what would he be to a woman, he said, leaving the gathering in splits. Justice Khehar wished his predecessor good luck in whatever he chose to do. Once he was told to direct a film in judiciary, but he refused and said he would only act. So if he wishes to do so, we wish him all the best, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Finally, theres hope on the horizon for the drought-hit farmers of Tamil Nadu. After losing much of their kuruvai (summer) crop to the water-sharing dispute with Karnataka, agriculturists across the state watched haplessly as a weak northeast monsoon which usually accounts for 50% of Tamil Nadus overall rainfall failed to provide for their samba (winter) crop. Even the Cyclone Vardah couldnt bring about enough rainfall to alleviate the situation. The farmers, desperate to draw attention to their plight, resorted to the only tactics they could fall back on: Taking out protests, and when that failed, committing suicide. Reports say at least 60 farmers have killed themselves until now, and the number continues to rise. The Tamil Nadu government finally responded on Tuesday, with chief minister O Panneerselvam issuing a statement after meeting various farmer associations. The Northeast monsoon usually brings 440 mm of rainfall to Tamil Nadu, he said. However, only 163.8 mm of rain was received. Of the 32 districts in Tamil Nadu, 21 had a deficiency of 60%. The statement said drought relief measures can be announced only if 10% of all village crops are surveyed by committees formed by district collectors and senior civil authorities. The government also promised freebies to drought-affected families that possess ration cards. To ensure a happy Pongal (the Tamil harvest festival), a kilo of rice and sugar will be provided, besides cashews, raisins, cardamom, and two feet of sugarcane. Cauvery river water being realesed from the Kabini Dam at Heggadadevankote province, about 165 km south-west of Bangalore. (AFP file photo) Water woes Most of the affected farmers hail from the Cauvery delta the fertile breadbasket of Tamil Nadu comprising Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam. First, there was a river crisis because of the Cauvery dispute, said K Subramaniyan, assistant professor at the Madras Institute of Development studies. The failure of the northeast monsoon worsened the drought situation. Subramaniyan, an expert in the fields of agriculture and irrigation, said a drought is usually declared when a majority of the states districts receive less than 20% of the normal rainfall. This years northeast monsoon, which acts as a lifeline for Tamil Nadus farmers, was the worst in over a century with a 62% deficit. The government is too busy trying to stabilise itself to officially declare a drought, he added. The ruling AIADMK is currently in an uncertain position, with many in the party calling for newly appointed general secretary Sasikala Natarajan to take over as chief minister from O Panneerselvam. According to Subramaniyan, the type of crops sown and the technology used by farmers have also exacerbated the situation. Farmers do not know enough to change their crops depending on the groundwater available, he said. Instead of paddy fields, pulses and oil seeds would have been a better bet given the low groundwater supply in key reservoirs like Mettur dam. Read | Farmers forced to dump their produce as note ban turns bumper crop worthless Hope of assistance Farmer associations hailing from all parts of the state voiced their concerns before Panneerselvam and the minister of agriculture for over an hour on Tuesday. We told the chief minister about the immense struggles we are facing, said PR Pandian, president of the Coordination Committee of all Farmers Associations in the state. The poor monsoon, combined with the anguish caused by the Karnataka governments refusal to release Cauvery water and the resultant financial losses, left many farmers across Tamil Nadu with no option but to commit suicide. The farmer leader said Panneerselvam assured immediate assistance, and also promised to seek financial aid from the Centre after the coordination committee made 18 demands from him. A state-wide protest planned for January 5 has been indefinitely postponed because the farmers are satisfied with the governments response, he added. Opposition parties had already demanded that the state take urgent steps to alleviate the farmers problems. It is imperative for the state to declare a drought and extend financial support to the farmers, DMK leader MK Stalin said late last month, after presenting a list of demands to the AIADMK government. Read | Parched South: Drinking water woes, failed crops force people to migrate SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Eastern Army commander Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi may have pledged full support to army chief General Bipin Rawat but there hardly seems any possibility for cooperation in the coming weeks. Bakshi, who was overlooked for the army chiefs post despite being the seniormost, has gone on leave till January 26. It is rare for army commanders to go on long leave, a senior officer said. South Block sources confirmed to HT that Bakshi had sought and was granted one-month leave. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar said on Tuesday if seniority was the only criterion then the computer could have selected a service chief on the basis of date of birth and there was no need to follow rigourous procedure spanning months, analyse Intelligence Bureau reports of candidates or seek the approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. There would be no requirement of any Raksha Mantri, there would no requirement of Cabinet Committee on Appointment because then it is a computer job. Date of birth decides who becomes General, he said. Read | Lt Gen Bipin Rawats Kashmir experience gave him the edge The Kolkata-based Eastern Command is responsible for guarding the line of actual control, Indias undefined border with China. Bakshi went on leave on December 27, raising a few eyebrows as his junior Rawat replaced General Dalbir Singh as the army chief four days later. An Eastern Command spokesperson said Bakshi was on leave for personal reasons. The duration of Bakshis leave was not known till now. On the day Rawat took over as chief, Bakshi extended his best wishes and full support to him, ending speculation that he may resign. January is one of the most important months in the army calendar as several important ceremonial functions take place in the month, ranging from Army Day (January 15) celebrations to investiture ceremonies to Republic Day-related functions. Read | What about seniority: Cong questions new army chief Bipin Rawats appointment On December 31, Bakshi told officers over video conference that he would continue to serve with full professional sincerity. In promoting Rawat, the government ignored the seniority principle and the claims of Lieutenant Generals Bakshi and PM Hariz to the top job. Playing down the controversial supersession, Parrikar said all candidates considered for the army chiefs post were equally competent and due procedure was followed in making the appointment. He told reporters that the procedure laid down for selecting service chiefs nowhere said seniority was the norm. Bakshi and Hariz were commissioned in December 1977 and June 1978, while Rawat joined the army in December 1978. But Rawats experience in Kashmir and the Northeast tipped the scales in his favour. After taking over as army chief, Rawat said he had worked with both officers, had respect for them and everyone would cooperate to strengthen the army. Read | New army chief Bipin Rawat expects support from superseded generals Stressing that due procedures were perfectly followed by the government in appointing the new Army Chief, defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said if seniority were the only criterion, then a computer could have selected service chiefs based on date of birth. He added there would not have been the need for any due process or Cabinet Committee for Appointment if seniority alone was the criterion. He was responding to a question on whether the government intends to go in for deep selection and setting aside seniority principle when it comes to selection of service chiefs. First of all, I do not know where there is principle of seniority. There is a procedure set wherein all commanders are verified for their performance. I can assure you that those who were considered were all good. Too good and probably that is the reason why we could not take decision early, Parrikar said in a press conference here. The government has last month selected Gen Bipin Rawat as the new army chief superseding two other officers - Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi and Lt Gen P M Hariz - breaking away from the tradition of seniority principle since 1983. They are all good, capable. Circumstances probably required this selection...if you go by seniority principle then there would be no requirement of any procedure. There would be no requirement of any Raksha Mantri, there would no requirement of Cabinet Committee on Appointment because then it is a computer job. Date of birth decides who becomes General, he said. He questioned why the government needs to spend 4-5 months studying the profile of officers, taking Intelligence Bureau reports among others. I can tell you this much that procedure has been perfectly followed as laid down. You can read the procedure. No procedural violation has taken place, Parrikar said. The combined general and rail budget will be presented on February 1, the government said on Tuesday, ending a nearly century-long tradition of tabling separate financial documents for the countrys largest transporter. The date was finalised by the cabinet committee on parliamentary affairs which also decided to convene the budget session of Parliament on January 31, advancing the date by over three weeks. Finance minister Arun Jaitley was present at the meeting which was also attended by home minister Rajnath Singh, parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj. The BJP-led governments decision to scrap the railway budget is seen as a policy reform measure aimed at doing away with the culture of populism that has taken a heavy toll on the state-owned transporters financial health over the years. Read | My next budget will focus on higher spending to boost economy: Jaitley The merger will also help the government formulate an integrated transportation plan for the country by harmonising needs and requirements to develop different modes such as ships, roads and airlines, officials say. Officials expect the early budget session will also allow for earlier allocation of funds for government schemes and projects and lead to their better implementation. In the past, funds were usually not allotted from the beginning of the financial year on April 1, creating a backlog and choking of funds. Though the budget was presented in February, several tax proposals kick in only from June after Parliament passes the annual finance bill in May. A group of secretaries in the government had recommended advancing the budget to overcome the problem. The move will also allow individuals and companies more time to firm up savings and tax payout plans. Parliament passes the budget through a two-stage process. A vote on account is passed in March to meet necessary expenses on employees salaries and other costs for two to three months. The finance bill, which contains tax changes, and the demands and appropriation bill, which spells out full year expenditure details, are passed in May. Political pressures often force tax changes proposed in February during the finance bills passage in May. Read | What to expect from Union Budget 2017 Parliament had witnessed disruptions through the month-long winter session that was a virtual washout as opposition parties and the government clashed primarily over the recall of 500- and 1,000-rupee banknotes. The confrontation overshadowed Parliaments legislative business, including passage of key social and financial reforms bills. The Lok Sabha, where the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) enjoys a brute majority with more than 330 parliamentarians, managed to pass two bills in the winter session. The Rajya Sabha, where the NDA is in a minority, passed a single legislation. The allegations and counter-allegations ahead of elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and three other states could cast a shadow on the legislative agenda of the government in the budget session. Read | Budget 2017: Banks want more sops for digital push India has agreed to reconsider its refusal to join an international agreement that makes parental child abduction an offence punishable with a jail term. The women and child development (WCD) ministry has called a meeting of all stakeholders, including officials from home and external affairs ministry, on February 3 to discuss the Hague convention on civil aspects of international child abduction. We are considering what view to take on this (the convention) in light of the observations of the law commission, national and international stakeholders and a large number of women who have been affected, WCD minister Maneka Gandhi told HT. The ministry, after consulting the external affairs ministry, had last year decided against joining the treaty, which has 90 countries as its members. The Hague convention protects children under the age of 16 from wrongful removal or retention by a parent and ensures their prompt return to the state of their habitual residence. There has been a steady rise in parental abductions as more and more Indians go abroad to work or study. Children often bear the brunt of their parents marital disputes and are often forced to return to India by one of the quarreling parents. In most cases, it is the mother who returns with the child. We went to the law commission to get their view. The commission wants India to ratify the treaty with some conditions, a ministry official said. Signing the treaty will ensure that the child is sent back to his/her country of residence with the parent, who would be tried for abduction in the country he or she fled from. Besides the law commission, there was also pressure from the US, which reported maximum cases of child abduction, mostly by mothers, for India to join the treaty. But, the government had refused, saying it would amount to victimising women escaping a bad marriage. India will need a law in place at home to sign the Hague convention. Last year, the ministry was nudged into drafting the civil aspects of international child abduction bill by the Punjab and Haryana high court and law commission. But the bill is yet to get the cabinet nod. Punjab has a sizable population of people living abroad and marital disputes involving NRIs are common. The law commission has recommended one year in jail for the offending parent. Once approved, the law will allow the abducted child to be sent back to the country or city where the child had been living and forcibly taken away from. In the US and Europe, inter-parental child abduction is a serious offence, punishable with jail. Closer home, Sri Lanka, also a member of the Hague convention, has framed its own rules that allow the court to decide if a child should be sent back to the country from where she was removed. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Keralas tourism sector has registered an estimated loss of about Rs 1,000 crore, following a dip in the arrival of foreign and domestic tourists since the Centre announced demonetisation of high-value currencies, the state government said on Tuesday. The cash crunch has severely affected the sector and the loss was estimated to be about Rs 1,000 crore since the demonetisation of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes came into effect from November 8 last, state tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran told a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram. There was a decrease of 10-15% in the number of foreign tourists arriving while the number of domestic tourists dipped by 20-30%, he added. The fall in arrival of tourists was in contrast to an increase in the numbers of both foreign and domestic tourists before demonetisation, the minister said. He pointed out that the state netted a revenue of Rs 25,000 crore every year from the tourism sector. The currency crunch arose during the tourism season itself and so, things went wrong to a great extent, Surendran said, adding that foreign tourists were not getting enough cash at airports on their arrival. Even though several complaints were received in this regard, due to the Centres adamant attitude, the state was not able to do anything, he claimed. Tourists were also spending very little money in the state now which had affected the local traders, said Surendran. The houseboat business, one of the main attractions of backwater tourism in Kerala, was on the verge of collapse, he said and added that the state government would do everything possible to boost the tourism sector. A total of 79 new tourist spots would be identified and an environment-friendly green carpet project would be implemented at these places, the minister said, adding that a special package for tourism in the Malabar region would also be rolled out. The tourism department had sought Rs 1,000 crore from Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board. Of this, projects worth Rs 362 crore would be cleared soon, he said. Surendran, who also holds the co-operation portfolio, said the cooperative sector was in a bad shape and alleged that even though the Supreme Court had directed for provisions for cash in the sector, no step had been taken in that regard. News Story not available This story has been published on: 2022-11-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. This story is no longer available on our site. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 3 By Maksim Tsurkov Trend: Azerbaijan supplied 5.31 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas to Turkey in January-October 2016 as compared to 5 bcm in the same period of 2015, Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority said in a report on its website Jan. 3. Azerbaijan supplied 6.17 bcm of natural gas to Turkey in 2015 as compared to 6.07 bcm in 2014. The report said that in January-October 2016, Turkey imported 36.42 bcm of gas, of which 30.62 bcm were supplied via pipelines, while 5.8 bcm accounted for the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Some 14.57 percent of Turkey's total gas import accounted for Azerbaijan in January-October 2016. Turkey imports gas from Azerbaijan via the South Caucasus Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum). The country has a contract for purchasing 6.6 bcm of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas and condensate field annually. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov Accusing West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee of letting loose Trinamool Congress goons on BJP workers following arrests of her party MPs on corruption charges, the saffron party said on Tuesday she was scared the CBI probe will reach her doorsteps. BJPs national secretary Sidharth Nath Singh told reporters that 12 party workers were seriously injured in an attack allegedly by TMC members in Kolkata and charged that a ruling party MLA and councillor were leading the mob. Violence has no place in a democracy. It is unfortunate that in Bengal, violence has become a norm since the state government encourages acts of violence. The attack on BJP HQ (headquarters) in Kolkata by TMC- sponsored goons today is a direct reflection of Mamata Banerjees policy of promoting violence in the state. She and TMC should ponder why two of their elected representatives were arrested by CBI? he asked. He said the Kolkata Police headquarters is only 5 minutes away from the BJP office but it did not send reinforcement for almost 30 minutes. It clearly shows that violence unleashed on BJP today has blessings of the TMC administration, he said. Read | CBI arrests Trinamool MP in ponzi scam, Mamata livid; BJPs office targeted It is distressing but not surprising to see how a leader like Mamata Banerjee, seeing a dip in her popularity, is engaging in theatrics to stay relevant. She has converted All India Trinamool Congress to All India Theatrics Congress. We want to humbly ask you, Dont you feel ashamed and embarrassed that your party MP has been caught in a case of cheating the poor of your state? History will remember that Sharada, Narada & Rose Valley scams are the three main contributions of Mamata Banerjee to West Bengal, he said. She must introspect why TMC leaders are involved in chit fund scams, he said, adding the law will take its course whatever TMC does. By resorting to violence, your (Banerjee) supporters cannot get a clean chit for your MPs involved in chit fund scams. You are scared as the CBI probe is intensifying. Dots are being connected and you feel it will reach your doorsteps. That is why you have let loose TMC goons, he said. Singh, who is BJPs co-incharge for West Bengal, said the police were mute spectators. Indulging in violence has become TMCs character, he alleged, noting that the TMC chief had warned of riots across the country if the note ban decision was not reversed. Read | Mamata cries political vendetta after TMC MPs arrest, mob targets BJP office The CBI earlier in the day arrested TMC parliamentary party leader in the Lok Sabha, Sudip Bandopadhyay, in connection with the alleged Rose Valley chit fund scam. His arrest came close on the heels of the arrest of another TMC MP, Tapas Pal, on Friday. Apprehensive of Presidents rule being imposed in Manipur due to the prevailing law and order situation, chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh and other Congress legislators have rushed to Delhi to thwart any attempt by the Centre to indirectly rule the poll-bound northeastern state. Though political circles were abuzz that Manipur will be placed under Presidents rule in view of the nearly two-month-long economic blockade, Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday ruled out any such possibility. We have asked and written to the Manipur chief minister that the blockade should be removed. The Centre is not in favour of jumping to the option of imposing Presidents Rule in any situation, said the home minister. Speculation however, grew stronger after Manipur governor Najma Heptulla met Rajnath and minister of state (independent charge) for ministry of development of development of North-East region Jitendra Singh, earlier in the day. There are two views in the BJP on the issue. While one section wants immediate imposition of Presidents rule, the other is against the move arguing that it will hurt the BJPs chances in the coming elections. Manipur will go to polls in February-March along with Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand. But the Congress is sensing victory after the CM delivered a masterstroke by creating seven new districts which are being vehemently opposed by the Nagas. With this decision, Ibobi Singh has not only tried to woo the majority Meitei community but also pacified the Kukis who have been demanding a separate district of Sadar Hills for years. Meiteis constitute about 75% of the total population and control over 40 of the 60 seats in the state assembly. For its part, the Centre has sent strongly-worded missives to the CM asking immediate lifting of economic blockade enforced by the United Naga Council. The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Tuesday issued summonses to Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara and Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi over their objectionable remarks on the alleged incident of mass molestation of women in Bengaluru on New Year Eve. We have sent summonses to both of them (Parameshwara and Azmi) for their statements, NCW chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam said. It does not matter whether Abu Azmi belongs to one particular party or another. To be brutally frank, there are men across parties who make these disgusting statements. If men at this level say such things, where is the nation heading? she said. Read | Bengaluru molestation: Rijiju condemns Karnataka home ministers remarks I dont say all men are like that in the country, but a good 25% of this country seems to be full of patriarchal men who have no respect for women, she added. Taking strong exception to Parameshwaras remarks that youngsters western ways were reason behind the incident of mass molestation in Bengaluru, Kumaramangalam had on Monday demanded that he apologise and resign from his post. Taking suo motu cognisance of the incident, Kumaramangalam had written to the DGP, city police commissioner and home minister seeking a reply on what action has been taken immediately against those involved in the molestation incidents. Reacting to the incident, Samajwadi Partys Maharashtra unit chief Abu Azmi on Tuesday said though it was the duty of police to ensure safety of women on the New Year eve, women should not forget that security starts at home. Partying late night in half attire, blindly following western culture, has never been our culture. When few women in half dress come out on streets at late night with their friends, such incidents do occur, said Azmi, an MLA from Shivaji Nagar in suburban Mumbai. The alleged incidents of molestation occurred on Saturday night in and around the junction of Brigade Road and M G Road, where thousands had gathered to herald the New Year. Eyewitness accounts suggest that women were molested and groped and lewd remarks were also passed by miscreants late night on December 31 in the posh area even as it was claimed that 1,500 police personnel had been deployed to control the crowds. Read | Bengaluru molestation: Politicians add hype, but where is the evidence? An unidentified militant, believed to be a foreigner, was killed on Tuesday morning in an encounter with security forces in Sopore area of North Kashmirs Baramulla district, police said. Security forces of the 52 Rashtriya Rifles and Sopore police launched an operation at Haritar Tarzoo village on Monday night following information about movement of militants through the area. The militants reportedly opened fire when security officials were investigating the area. In the retaliatory firing, one militant was killed. Further details are awaited, the official said. (With inputs from agencies) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday advocated a new concept scientific social responsibility (SSR) for leading scientific institutions in the country, on the lines of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to promote scientific excellence in all stakeholders, including educational institutions. Inaugurating the 104th session of the Indian science congress at Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, the Prime Minister said the scientific institutions must create an environment for sharing ideas and resources. The brightest and best in every corner of India should have the opportunity to excel in science. This will ensure that our youth get high-end training exposure to the best of science and technology to make them job-ready in a competitive world, he said. Modi called upon the national laboratories to connect with schools and colleges to develop appropriate training programmes. Laboratories, research institutions and universities in each major city and region should be interlinked to function on a hub and spoke model. The hubs will share major infrastructure, drive our national science missions and be the engines that link discovery to application, he said. The Prime Minister announced that the ministry of science and technology was initiating a programme focused on students of classes 6 to 10. The programme will scout, mentor, reward and showcase ten lakh top innovative ideas focused on local needs from five lakh schools. By 2030, India will be among the top three countries in science and technology and will be among the most attractive destinations for the best talent in the world. The wheels we set in motion today will achieve this goal, he said. He called upon Indias best science and technology institutions to further strengthen their basic research in line with leading global standards. Translating this basic knowledge into innovations, start-ups and industry would help the country achieve inclusive and sustainable growth. He said science must meet the rising aspirations of our people. We must address the problems of urban-rural divide and work for inclusive development, economic growth and employment generation. To enable this, there is a need for a new overarching structure that will coordinate with all the relevant stakeholders, he said. He called for building a strong science and technology infrastructure that is accessible to academia, start-ups, industry and R&D labs. I am sure that our scientists will scale up their efforts ranging from the quality of basic sciences to technology development to innovation, he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet his senior ministers on Tuesday to discuss the impact of demonetisation and the subsequent steps taken by the government. The focus will be more on the slew of measures announced by the PM on the eve of the New Year, said a minister. While the Group of Ministersone of the few such informal groups that look into different raging issueswill meet on Tuesday, the PM will also start a five-day-long series of meetings with ten Group of Secretaries. Read | Economy to politics, banks to black money: What demonetisation did to nation Last year, Modi decided to form 10 panels of central government secretaries to give concrete and result-oriented suggestions on sectors like energy, administration, agriculture and transport. After having announced the new measures, Modis focus will be to ensure their proper implementation. The schemes are well-planned and there are no shortages of resources. All the ministries concerned, in fact, had given suggestions and inputs before the PM announced them in the aftermath of the demonetisation. So, theres no excuse for faltering, said a secretary of a social sector-related ministry. A source, however, indicated that the meetings with secretaries will also review the steps and plans taken by these groups last year and undertake a performance audit. On December 31, PM Modi had announced interest subvention in housing for poor and economically weak section, interest waiver for farmers and higher bank guarantee for loans to small and medium traders. University of Hyderabad (UoH) vice-chancellor Prof Appa Rao Podile was on Tuesday conferred the prestigious Millennium Plaques Honour by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in recognition of his key role in development of science and technology. The Millennium Plaques Honour has been instituted by the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA). The award was presented to Podile at the 104th annual meeting of ISCA which was inaugurated by Modi at Tirupati. However, a group of students of the varsity, which has been demanding Podiles removal from the post of VC and his arrest in the suicide case of research scholar Rohit Vemula in UoH premises, criticised the decision to bestow the award on Podile. Podile has been a member of the task force on bioagents for agriculture, set up by the Department of Biotechnology, and a member of the programme advisory committee on plant sciences, set up by the Department of Science and Technology. His group has exploited the potential of plant- associated bacteria for better plant health. Their ability to degrade second most abundant polymer, like chitin, was used to protect crop plants from a variety of diseases, the statement added. The efforts made in Prof Appa Raos lab not only have implication in understanding plants response to external stimuli, but also provide new leads to develop non-chemical approaches for plant protection, according to the release, it went on. Meanwhile, the students reiterated their demand that Podile step down from his post. His presence has disrupted the academic activities of the university, the release said. Fed up with the low prices of vegetables amid the impact of demonetisation, more than 200 farmers on Monday distributed their produce free of cost in the Chhattisgarhs capital Raipur as a mark of protest in support of their various demands. Thousands of people gathered at Dharna Sthal in the citys Budhatalab area where vegetables stored in mini trucks were being distributed. We distributed about 1 lakh kg of vegetables to about 30,000 people in protest, said Hitesh Varu, president of Chhattisgarh Yuva Pragatisheel Kisan Sangh. Varu insisted the protest was not about demonetisation, but some farmers said it was the prime reason the prices had gone down. A group of farmers claimed the protest was against demonetisation and issued a statement claiming the event was hijacked by some BJP leaders. We came here to protest against demonetisation. The people who were leading the protest are now not speaking against demonetisation and were influenced by some leaders of the ruling BJP. The vegetable prices have gone down because of demonetisation, said Danu Patel, a farmer leader of Durg district. In the last couple of days, the vegetable prices have come down in both wholesale and open markets in the state. When asked if demonetisation had a bearing on the prices of vegetables, Chhattisgarh agriculture minister Brijmohan Agrawal told HT there had been a slight impact initially and the situation would improve. He said traders from outside had stayed away from Chhattisgarhs vegetable markets initially and that led to the drop in prices. Read | Farmers forced to dump their produce as note ban turns bumper crop worthless SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers arrested on Tuesday Trinamool Congress parliamentarian Sudip Bandyopadhyay for his alleged involvement in the Rose Valley chit fund scam, sparking angry protests from the ruling party supporters who laid siege to the BJP office in Kolkata. Bandyopadhyays arrest came just four days after the central agency picked up Trinamool MP Tapas Paul on similar charges. The CBI action will further embarrass the ruling party that saw many of its leaders getting embroiled in the Saradha scam. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee reacted to Bandyopadhyays arrest by threatening to arrest BJP leaders in Bengal. I just cant believe Sudip Bandyopadhyay has been arrested. He is a senior leader of our party in the Parliament! she said. A member of Banerjees core team, 64-year-old Bandyopadhyay is the chief whip of the Trinamool Congress in the Lok Sabha. Elected to the house from Kolkata North constituency, he participates in debates on every issue of importance from GST to demonetisation both in Parliament and outside it. Protests erupt As the news spread, Trinamool activists took to the streets and allegedly attacked the BJP office with stones, and vandalised cars parked outside. The BJP said 15 of its activists were injured; a few bled from the head as they spoke to the media. Later at night, Rapid Action Force personnel were deployed outside the office in north Kolkata. Neither the state government nor the Centre sent these security personnel. My security was increased by the CRPF, because I get Y category security cover, said BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha. BJP state president Dilip Ghosh told HT that a ward office in the city was also demolished by supporters of the ruling party. Read | Mamata scared of CBI probe, thats why she let loose TMC goons: BJP As the police wont protect us, we may have to do it ourselves, he said, adding the attack on the BJP office has been brought to the notice of governor KN Tripathi and the Union home ministry. Protests by Trinamool workers spread to other districts too. In West Midnapore, party supporters staged a blockade on the NH-6 on Tuesday evening. Trinamool Congress activists shout slogans in front of the BJP office in Kolkata. (PTI) Politics heats up The Rose Valley chit fund scam, involving funds of over Rs 15,000 crore, is easily the largest in the state dwarfing even the Rs 2,500-crore Saradha scam. Rose Valley chairman Gautam Kundu has been languishing in jail since March 23, 2015. Bandyopadhyay was interrogated for over three hours at the CGO complex in Salt Lake before being taken into custody. He was asked a number of questions, including the identity of the person who introduced him to Kundu; the benefits (foreign trips, vehicles and jobs for relatives) he allegedly received from the group; and whether he promoted or campaigned for the group. Sources said the Trinamool MP denied receiving any kickbacks in money or in kind from Kundu. This is pure political vendetta. There will be a mass agitation against this arrest. If Tapas Paul and Sudip Bandyopadhyay are arrested, why cant the same be done to Narendra Modi and Amit Shah? asked a visibly angry Banerjee. Read: Mamata cries political vendetta after TMC MPs arrest, mob targets BJP office TMC in huddle The chief minister also called an emergency meeting of party MPs to formulate a response to the CBI action. She said party supporters would stage protests against the arrest of Paul and Bandyopadhyay in Bengal as well as other parts of the country including the national capital. Trinamool Congress MPs and state ministers visited the CBI regional office to express solidarity with Bandyopadhyay. We conveyed our solidarity, West Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim said. TMC MP Sudip Bandopadhyay being taken by CBI officers to Bhubaneswar for further inquiry. (PTI) Reactions pour in Neither the BJP nor the Left parties tried to hide their glee over the development. Tapas Paul was only the 12th man of the team. This time, an opener has been clean bowled. There are many other players who will follow them to jail, quipped BJPs Dilip Ghosh. BJP national secretary Sidharth Nath Singh said: Violence has no place in a democracy. It is unfortunate that in Bengal, violence has become a norm since the state government encourages acts of violence. CPI(M) MP Md Salim couldnt help but note the sudden fall in Bandyopadhyays fortunes. He walked in like a hero on Tuesday morning, but was arrested like a criminal a few hours later, he remarked. However, Bandyopadhyays wife Naina an MLA herself offered no comment to the media. The party will say whatever it has to, she said. The Congress rallied behind the Trinamool Congress, denouncing Bandyopadhyays arrest. The PM is indulging in politics of vendetta. He has been targeting Mamata Banerjee from the day she addressed a press conference with Rahul Gandhi, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, wondering why central minister Babul Supriyo was not arrested even though he was named in the scam. Trinamool leaders said Congress president Sonia Gandhis political secretary, Ahmed Patel, also telephoned Banerjee to express solidarity. (With agency inputs) West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday dubbed the arrest of Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay as vendetta politics by the Centre and announced nationwide protests against the Narendra Modi governments vindictive attitude. Bandyopadhyay was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the Rose Valley Chit Fund scam. The development came close on the heels of the arrest of another Trinamool Congress MP, Tapas Pal, on Friday. Paul, an actor-turned politician, is now in the CBI custody in Bhubaneshwar. Combative Mamata Taking on the Centre and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Banerjee demanded the arrest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. We strongly condemn the politically vindictive attitude of Modi and Amit Shah. They have arrested our Parliamentary Party leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay. He is a veteran politician and senior leader of our party. It is all because of our fight against NoteBandi (note ban). We are and will be with the people. Nothing can stop us from being with the people and we will continue with our protest against NoteBandi, Banerjee, who has been a fierce opponent of the governments demonetisation exercise, added. We condemn, condemn and condemn this, she said in a Facebook post. Protests erupt As news of the MPs arrest spread, hundreds of Trinamool activists took to the streets. A mob attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party office in Kolkata with stones and vandalised cars parked outside. The BJP said 15 of its activists were injured. A few bled from the head as they spoke to the media. Soon after, several Trinamool Congress MPs and MLAs reached the CBI office in Kolkata. However, only the MPs were allowed to go upstairs where the accused was kept after his arrest, TMC sources said. Turning the heat on the Centre, Banerjee said her party will launch pan-India protests. We will hold a demonstration in front of Kolkata RBI on January 9 and there will be dharnas in 10 different states including Delhi, Assam, Odisha and Tripura on January 10 and 11, she said. I also run a government and I also have the power to arrest certain people who are thieves, hooligans and extortionists. This arrest has been made under pressure from the PMO. Congress pitches in The Congress party, for its part, termed the arrest of Bandopadhyay as a political vendetta launched by the government against opponents. From the day Mamata Banerjee held a joint press conference with Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders, a new wave of vendetta has been unleashed by Modiji, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told ANI, referring to the meeting of eight opposition parties in New Delhi to protest the Centres decision of recalling high-value banknotes. BJPs response Refuting allegations of vendetta politics, BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh questioned why only TMC leaders were being found to be involved in all the chit fund scams. She should stop making these baseless allegations. The rule of law is the same for everybody. My question is why only TMC leaders are being found to be involved in all the chit fund scams across the state, he told PTI. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 3 By Maksim Tsurkov Trend: Turkey imported 19.17 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas from Russia in January-October 2016 as compared to 21.59 bcm in the same period of 2015, Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority said in a report on its website Jan. 3. Russia supplied 26.78 bcm of natural gas to Turkey in 2015 as compared to almost 27 bcm in 2014. The report also says Turkey imported 36.42 bcm of gas in January-October 2016, of which 30.62 bcm were delivered via pipelines, while 5.8 bcm accounted for the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Russia accounted for 52.6 percent of Turkeys total gas import in January-October 2016. Russia supplies gas to Turkey via the Blue Stream and Trans-Balkan pipelines. Blue Stream is a major trans-Black Sea gas pipeline with the capacity of 16 billion cubic meters per year that carries natural gas from Russia into Turkey. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a public interest petition demanding a court-monitored probe against scribes who were allegedly paid kickbacks in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter scam. A bench led by Justice Dipak Misra asked the petitioner, journalist Hari Jaisingh, to provide a copy of the petition to the ministry of home affairs, Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate. Jaisingh wants the agencies to submit a report to the top court in a sealed cover giving details of the status of the investigation, which the court said it will look into on the next hearing. A commission of inquiry under the stewardship of a retired Supreme Court judge has been sought in the petition as it turns the spotlight on the alleged role of journalists in the scam. Filed through advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, the petition alleged that Finmeccanica (parent company of AgustaWestland) had invited a group of Indian journalists on a fully paid for trip to Italy. According to him, an individual in New Delhi acted as the companys representative and was asked to be a facilitator to ensure smooth disbursement of funds allocated for managing key Indian officials and several influential members of the media. It has also sought direction from the Centre to seek affidavits of financial disclosures from the members of the media who have received funding and hospitality from foreign and domestic defence and other ancillary industries, and to make public this information and submit to the court on affidavit whether on these sums taxes have been paid or not. A proposal to acquire 12 helicopters for the use of VVIPs was cleared in 2010 by the Cabinet Committee on Security. The decision was taken after a long process that involved change in some parameters, evaluation and negotiations. Air Forces Communication Squadron was meant to use the helicopters. The deal was, however, later cancelled. The Saibaba temple in Shirdi, Maharashtra, received Rs 9.84 crore in donations between December 25 and January 2, a period during which more than nine lakh devotees visited the shrine, an official said on Tuesday. Sachin Tambe, a member of the Shree Saibaba Sansthan Trust (SSST), said of the total amount Rs 5.35 crore was received in temples various donation boxes, Rs 1.49 crore at counters through debit cards (Rs 27.32 lakh), cheques/drafts (Rs 65 lakh) and online (Rs 6.33 lakh). Among other modes, Rs 1.23 crore came through paid darshan passes (VIP) and Rs 2.31 lakh through money orders, Tambe added. Apart from cash donations, the trust also received gold, silver ornaments and other items. One Chhattisgarh-based devotee donated a golden plate (thali) weighing over 1kg, while a local woman, Sureskh Ranmale, gifted a gold-made mat to the temple, he said. A Samajwadi Party leader on Tuesday blamed late-night partying by women in half dress for a string of alleged sexual assaults during New Year eve celebrations in Bengaluru that has sparked outrage across the country. The comments by Maharashtras SP unit chief Abu Azmi came a day after Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara faced a backlash for criticising women dressed like westerners during the celebrations in the state capital. Partying late night in half attire, blindly following western culture, has never been our culture. Ladies hailing from well-to-do familiesthey come out in decent attire and mostly with their family members, PTI quoted Azmi as saying. But when few women in half dress come out on streets at late night with their friends, such incidents do occur, said Azmi, an MLA from suburban Mumbai. Read: Womens panel summons minister, Abu Azmi for Bengaluru molestation comments Activists blame widespread misogyny and a patriarchal mindset for the growing incidents of sexual assaults on women in India. The top leader of Azmis party, Mulayam Singh Yadav, had earlier faced flak for brushing away an incident of sexual assault by saying, boys will be boys. Though no complaint has been lodged till now, reports said several women were molested and groped and lewd remarks were passed by unidentified men in a posh area of Bengaluru. The state government said it had deployed 1,500 policemen for crowd control. Azmi also defended Parameshwara, saying the Karnataka minister said the harsh reality and added, these kind of things do happen when women try to copy the westerners, not only in their mindset but even in their dressing. Parameshwara, who later claimed to have been misquoted, was condemned for his televised comments, with the junior home minister Kiren Rijiju describing them as irresponsible. Home minister Rajnath Singh also said protecting modesty of women is duty of the state government. Read: Bengaluru molestation incident: Victims, eyewitnesses come forward; but no case yet The National Commission for Women chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam said summons have been issued to Parameshwara and Azmi over their remarks. Kumaramangalam had earlier said Parameshwara should resign over his comments. I want to ask this minister: are Indian men so pathetic and weak that when they see a woman in western clothes on a day of revelry, they get out of control? When will the Indian men learn to respect women? The minister should apologise to the women of the country and resign, Kumaramangalam said. Police said they are trawling through CCTV footage to see if they can identify any of the attackers. We have appealed to the public to come forward if they have evidence in any form, senior Bangalore police officer Malini Krishnamoorthy was quoted by AFP as saying. Read: Bengaluru molestation: Politicians add hype, but where is the evidence? In more than 60 years of insurgency, armed groups in the Northeast hardly stepped into each others territories except for use as passages to and from hideouts across international borders. They seem to have broken that unwritten rule now to help each other fight a common enemy a nationalistic, colonial India. Take the case of the December 3 ambush that killed two Assam Rifles personnel in Arunachal Pradeshs Tirap district. The SS Khaplang faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K) claimed responsibility, as did the Manipur-based Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) and the Paresh Barua-led United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (Ulfa-I). Each claim stressed that the ambush was a joint operation. Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts of Arunachal Pradesh are crucial for the NSCN-Ks hit-and-run guerilla strikes from its jungle bases across the border in Myanmar. The outfit has been fighting the rival NSCN (Isak-Muivah) faction for control of these districts that yield tax from cannabis growers. Manipur-based militants have no stakes in these districts, though the Ulfa-I members need the jungle paths for occasional raids in Assam. There were similar we did it together claims for two strikes in three days at Pengeri in eastern Assams Tinsukia district. Rebels fired at a cash van carrying wages for tea plantation workers on November 16, killing a civilian, and followed it up with an ambush on an army convoy, killing three soldiers. Militants in Assam were believed to have been almost neutralised till the Pengeri attacks. Read | ULFA(I) claims responsibility for attack on Army convoy in Assam The terror cooperative, as security analysts say, started with the ambush of 20 soldiers of the Dogra Regiment in Chandel district of Manipur on June 5 last year. The United National Liberation Front of Western Southeast Asia (UNLFW) formed two months before took credit for the hit along with CorCom, or Coordinated Committee, comprising six Manipur-based outfits. The NSCN-K, which walked out of a 14-year ceasefire with New Delhi, is the firepower behind the UNLFW that has five non-Manipur rebel groups. The brain behind the UNLFW is Paresh Barua, the fugitive military chief of Ulfa-I who hobnobbed with Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and reportedly works for the Ministry of State Security, the Chinese intelligence agency. Local nail, foreign hammer Almost all insurgent outfits in the Northeast have been defanged, security experts say. Their foreign handlers have made it clear they are not worth investing in if they are on their own. The emphasis is thus on a collective force that can keep the armed forces engaged in the Northeast, shifting focus from the western border with Pakistan. Every small nail, hammered in by an unseen foreign hammer, has a purpose. So one has to look beyond seemingly local incidents for the bigger picture involving China and Pakistan, GM Srivastava, former chief of Assam and Tripura police, told Hindustan Times. Read | Naga group claims army casualties in Indian ops against its rebels in Myanmar Security officials say the Chinese, with ISI in the periphery, have found in Ulfa-Is Paresh Barua a pointsman to continue to irritate India in the Northeast. Barua is said to become a major arms dealer for Chinese firms such as Norinco. Barua operates from the Myanmar-China border. Manipuri militants introduced him to Chinese officials soon after Ulfa was born in 1979. He stayed in Yunan for two years, can speak Cantonese and has earned the confidence of his Chinese handlers, a paramilitary officer said. EXTREMIST COLLECTIVES Rebels in Indias North-east have apparently redefined insurgency through two cooperatives UNLFW and CorCom UNLFW UNLFW expands to United National Liberation Front of Western Southeast Asia formed on April 17, 2015 in the Taga area of Myanmar for a "united and total struggle". Western Southeast Asia is what the rebels refer to the North-east as The backbone of UNLFW is the SS Khaplang faction National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K) that walked out on a 14-year-old ceasefire in March 2015 to renew its war against Indian armed forces Members of UNLFW are NSCN-K, Ulfa-I, National Democratic Front of Boroland (Songbijit), Kamatapur Liberation Organisation and Garo National Liberation Army CorCom CorCom expands to Coordinated Committee formed in Myanmar across Chandel district of Manipur in 2011 CorComs agenda is similar to that of UNLFW but is specific to Manipurs secession from India Members of this umbrella group are Kangleipak Communist Party, Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup, Peoples Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak, its Progressive faction (PREPAK-Pro), Revolutionary Peoples Front (political wing of Peoples Liberation Army) and United National Liberation Front (UNLF) Another outfit named United Peoples Party of Kangleipak was expelled from the group in 2013 Separately or together, UNLFW and CorCom have carried out several bombings and attacks on armed forces including the killing of 18 soldiers in an ambush in Manipurs Chandel district on June 5, 2015 and three soldiers at Assams Pengeri on November 19 PAST FRONTS North-east rebel groups had tried forming umbrella organisations twice before, both short-lived because of ceasefires and splits in major outfits The Indo-Burma Revolutionary Front, formed in 1989, had NSCN-K, Ulfa, Kuki National Front and Myanmar-based Chin National Front as its members NSCN-K and Ulfa formed United Liberation Front of Seven Sisters in 1995 Rebels in Indias North-east have apparently redefined insurgency through two cooperatives UNLFW and CorCom Targeting nationalists Assam Police DGP Mukesh Sahay admits there has been some resurgence of the Ulfa-I, perceived to have become a spent force, with help from other outfits in the region. The Ulfa-I has recruited some youth in recent times but we are ready to counter their activities. Security analysts have attributed the rebels resurgence to the upsurge in nationalist sentiments after the BJP came to power at the Centre. Read | Leave by March 31, northeast rebel groups tell Hindi speakers, Bengalis Indian nationalism is anathema for militant groups that regard Delhi and Hindi speakers as colonialists who replaced the British to exploit the Northeast. Targeting the armed forces, supposedly controlled by nationalists, sends the signal to both nationalists and foreign powers backing them, an army intelligence officer said. Attacks on security forces have been in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland over the past six months. Assam is ruled by an alliance led by the BJP, while NDA allies rule Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. In poll-bound Manipur, ruled by the Congress since 2002, the BJP is said to be gaining ground. The district administration of Kargil has taken people by surprise by issuing an unusual diktat. The deputy commissioner of Kargil has issued a circular making it compulsory to all district officers and subordinate officers to wear goncha/sulchaks (traditional dress) to work, twice a week every Monday and Saturday . According to an official circular, the decision has been taken considering the importance of the Ladakhi culture and tradition. However, the non-local officers have been exempted from the dress code. For the non-local officers, its not mandatory and if they wear, it will be highly appreciable, the circular reads. Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil and district administration is taking various steps in reviving the culture and traditional identity of the district. In this context, various programmes have also been organised at regular intervals. Kargil deputy commissioner Gulzar Hussain told media that the decision was taken during a function on New Year. It was felt that we should all respect our culture and to save the identity and culture of Ladakh, we should wear Goncha during office hours, he said.. Hussain also said, It will also be mandatory to wear the dress on Republic and Independence Day. The order found appreciation among the local population as J&K legislative council chairman Haji Anayat Ali attended the first day of the assembly wearing a Ladakhi goncha and said its an attempt on his part to showcase the tradition and cultural identity of Ladakh to the whole world. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A 25-year-old cart owner was killed on the Hardoi-Lucknow highway when the driver of Uttar Pradeshs rural development junior minister Omkar Singh Yadav ran the ministers official car into him Monday night. The minister was not present in the vehicle. Hardoi police superintendent Rajiv Malhotra said the cart owner died on spot. The accident took place at 9 pm. Police have arrested the driver, Mohit and registered an FIR. The cart owners death enraged the locals who then blocked the highway in protest. The police and district administration pacified the crowd and opened the road for traffic. Police claimed the driver told them that he had gone to Badaun to drop an associate of the minister and was returning to Lucknow. He said visibility was poor due to darkness and fog and he could not spot the cart owner on the highway. HT tried to contact the minister but there was no response. With questionable quality of service at pre-schools that cater to children under six years and run by Anganwadi centres as well as private agencies, the Union women and child development ministry is considering a policy framework to regulate the standard of such facilities. Union women and child development (WCD) minister Maneka Gandhi on Tuesday said the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has already readied the guidelines and put it in public domain for feedback. Schooling comes under the human resource and development ministry but regulating pre-school is a grey area as it does not come under them. We have been thinking for regulating pre-school and have now decided to come up with guidelines in this aspect, Gandhi said at a press conference. The guidelines will cover issues such as teacher-student ratio, curriculum, infrastructure and the age of admission to pre-schools apart from the safety and security aspects. The WCD ministry had on 2013 introduced the National Early Childhood Care and Education Policy to monitor pre-school education that is being provided in educational institutions under different names such as play schools, pre-schools, nursery schools etc. The aim of the guidelines framed and recommended by NCPCR is to remove ambiguity in such private educational institutions in India and achieve national as well as international commitment of pre-school education. Gandhi said that her ministry is also mulling setting up of a central tribunal for adoptions. The Indore civic body has seen a 12.33% jump in revenue collection during the current fiscal (2016-17) by collecting 214.60 crore revenue till December end against 191.03 crore collected during the same period in the previous fiscal (2015-16). The municipal body has an annual target of collecting 300 crore as revenue. Civic agencies across the country collected fantastic returns as people were taking advantage of schemes to clear longstanding tax dues with abolished 500- and 1,000-rupee notes. A majority of this tax has been collected after November 8, the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced scrapping of the high-value notes. According to sources, the Indore municipal corporation has seen a significant rise in property tax collection. A record 151.57 crore property tax was collected in the first nine months of the ongoing fiscal. In the previous fiscal, revenue collection from property taxation remained around 134.04 crore in the first three quarters. Revenue collection from water taxation also went up by 20% to stand at 24.17 crore. The municipal corporation had collected just 19.99 crore last year during the same period. (* All figures in crores) Revenue collection through water tax has improved significantly, but still there is a long list of defaulters. The corporation is losing a huge chunk of revenue on municipal water supply, said Balram Verma, a mayor-in-council member. At present, the corporation is losing about 67% of revenue from water tax due to leakages and non-payment of taxes. On the other hand, it incurs a significant expenditure on treatment of Narmada water at Jalud in Khargone district and transporting it for over 70 kilometres to supply across the city. According to a corporation engineer, the civic body spends 29 per 1,000 liters to purify, transport and supply drinking water to Indore. The corporation spends another 30.2 crore every month to supply water to the city, but the collection of water tax stands at less than 3 crore per month. The water supply system and revenue collection can only be channelised with introduction of GIS and hydraulic modelling using SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition). The central government has sanctioned 885 crore under AMRUT scheme to set our water distribution network right, said municipal commissioner Manish Singh. Among all revenue receipts, the IMC has seen a dip of about 40% under rented property. The municipal body could only collect 3.75 crore from rent on properties lent out to businesses, as against 6.17 crore in the same period last fiscal. A departmental inquiry was ordered against Dr Anubha Shrivastava, health officer at Indore district hospital for giving a wrong report in a medico-legal case pertaining to murder and rape of a 10-year-old on June 30, 2013. As per the orders issued from the office of Umakant Pandey, additional director complaints, Health department, Dr Shrivastava has been asked to furnish all the details of the case including testimonies of the witnesses, which led her to say that the case was not of rape. The case, though an old one, had hit the headlines owing to the gruesome nature of the incident. It was reported on July 1, 2013 that a goon-turned-property dealer, with the help of his girlfriend, had locked and raped the minor for a week in his flat in Aerodrome area of the city. The police had then sent the minors body for postmortem to district hospital, where health officer Dr Shrivastava had written a report that mentioned no definite opinion can be given about recent sexual intercourse. Patient is referred to MYH for X-ray for confirmation of age. However, when the body was taken to MY hospital, doctors confirmed the rape. A notice was therefore sent by the human rights commission in this regard. We have seen the orders and a probe will accordingly begin. Dr Shrivastava has been asked to answer to certain set of questions to which if she fails to give convincing replies, we will follow the points mentioned in the order, said Dr HS Nayak, chief medical health officer. Meanwhile, Dr Shrivastava was also in news a month ago for a departmental inquiry which was set up regarding her negligence in the case where an infant died at district hospital. This case caught attention as it was reported that the body was surrounded by ants. The case at present is being heard by the Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh high court. Vegetable farmers in Malwa region continued to suffer in the absence of aid promised by government to minimise the effects of demonetisation and cash crunch, which have forced them to sell their produce at lower prices. On December 24, Madhya Pradesh government announced plans to make cash van facility available at all vegetable mandis (markets) in the state following reports of crash in prices of agriculture commodities. It had also planned transport subsidy for vegetable growers. However, when HT visited Laxmibai Nagar and Choithram mandisthe largest in the regionthe promised facilities were not available. People buying vegetables at Choithram sabji mandi on Monday. (Shankar Mourya/HT photo) Farmers were getting poor prices for a range of vegetables and in some cases, such as green peas and tomatoes, they were not getting enough to even cover the input costs. Our condition has gone from bad to worse due to cash crunch and demonetisation. Today (on Monday) we are getting Rs 50-60 for a crate (25 kg) of tomatoes. That will barely cover the transport, hammali (porter) and mandi charges, said Hukumchand Makwana, a farmer from Piplu village, about 70 km from Indore. We have to pay labourers and also need money for paying interest on debt besides running our households. So we have no option but to sell our produce at low rates, said farmer Shantilal Chawra who has been staying at the mandi premises for past three days to sell his green peas, whose prices have come down to Rs 5 per kg, less than the input costs. The demand-supply equation has also turned against the farmers as production of seasonal vegetables has increased whereas people have tightened their purses. When asked about the support provided by the mandi administration after demonetisation, commission agent Ashok Bhilware said they have been left to fend for themselves. Commission agents act as a link between farmers and wholesale traders to keep the vegetable supply chain running and often lend money to farmers. Small farmers need cash for their daily requirements. Nowadays, there is liquidity crisis but farmers supplying vegetable do not accept cheques, he said. Officials told HT that no directive to provide special facilities to vegetable farmers has come from Bhopal. We have not received any such directive (to talk to the banks about providing cash vans or give transport subsidy) so far from the state government, Praveen Verma, deputy director, MP State Agricultural Marketing Board, Indore region, said. Choithram mandi in-charge B B S Tomar could not be reached for comment despite visit to his office, repeated calls and text messages. WOES MOUNT Prices of potatoes, onions, and seasonal vegetables including tomatoes and green peas have crashed. Transportation costs are increasing due to rise in fuel costs. On top of that farmers have to pay to hammals (porters) and also pay mandi charges. So in some cases, they have been unable to recover even the input costs. Facilities announced by the government including cash vans and transport subsidy have not been implemented SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 3 By Maksim Tsurkov Trend: Turkey imported 6.14 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas from Iran in January-October 2016 as compared to 6.25 bcm in the same period of 2015, Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority said in a report on its website Jan. 3. Iran supplied 7.83 bcm of natural gas to Turkey in 2015 as compared to 8.93 bcm in 2014. The report also says Turkey imported 36.42 bcm of gas in January-October 2016, of which 30.62 bcm were delivered via pipelines, while 5.8 bcm accounted for the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Iran accounted for 16.86 percent of Turkeys total gas import in January-October 2016. Turkey imports Iranian gas through Tabriz-Ankara pipeline with capacity of 14 bcm per year. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov Avijit Ghosal What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. No time to stand beneath the boughs And stare as long as sheep or cows. One hundred and five years after William Henry Davies published this lovely poem, a country of 1.3 billion people seemed to take it seriously. From the vast open fields of the Sunderbans to the Rann of Kutch, from the chilly upper reaches of the Himalayas to the dunes of Rajasthan, from the ultra-busy executive in Nariman Point to the wheeler dealer in Lutyens Delhi, the common man turned into a picture of patience and forbearance. Life came to a standstill and people on the move turned into a frozen silhouette against a tall steel-and-glass building, or dirty bylanes of a metropolitan city, near a crowded market in the suburbs or under the boughs in idyllic surroundings described by Davies. The Welsh poet was familiar with cows and sheep of the highlands, but was not fortunate enough to witness the common Indian at the end of 2016, who stood patiently in a queue ignoring responsibilities at home and office. Doctors left their patients behind, housewives their kitchens, teachers his students, pensioners their favourite television serials, actors his greenroom and sportsmen his games all to queue up in front of banks and ATMs. Farmers cared little for his fields, workers left his tools in the factory sheds, fishermen abandoned his net and the butcher dropped his knife to queue up. Mothers left newborns at home and fathers their occupation. Pharmacists reported increased sales of balms for sore feet, stiff legs and low back pain. But the patience never wore thin. Many scurried out of their homes even before the first rooster woke up and stood in queues that seldom melted away before midnight. Pensioners doubled up in pain, chirpy college goers constantly glanced at their watches but they didnt walk out of the queue. More than 100 men and women departed for their heavenly abode while waiting in these queues, countless fell ill. In a queue in Hooghly district of Bengal a fifty something man, suffered a cardiac arrest and slumped to the ground. But none from the dozens waiting with him abandoned his position in the queue to assist him. He died, his death scripting an immortal ode to a nation with infinite patience. Life blossomed too. In Kanpur, a woman delivered a baby while waiting in a queue. At a few places like UPs Fatehpur, police wielded lathis on those standing. But the lines didnt vanish. It was more special because a large part of the nation, particularly the younger citizens, was a stranger to long queues. They only heard of people eager to buy food and kerosene stood standing in serpentine lines in the fifties, sixties and seventies. They also read about unending queues in the Eastern bloc (for almost everything from potato to clothes) in books and newspapers. From the pages of history, queues rushed back to emerge as a national vocation in every corner of this land spread over 3.287 million sq kms. Queues, or lines, have a variety of meanings. In geometry lines are defined by its length compared to a negligible breath. Right from the morning of November 9, real life began to approximate what we learnt in mathematics classes with the queues continuously adding feet, their breath quickly became negligible compared to the length. Standing, or locus standi in Latin, has a wide meaning in law too. It defines a persons role or justification in any incident. Every one standing was given a locus standi he/she was helping in cleansing the economy. The queue became the weapon of mass cleansing another version of Swachh Bharat. As 2016 drew to a close, the common man of India stood the test of time and of patience, and as the ruling party would like us to believe, of patriotism. Irrespective of the driving motive, in 2016 the common man began to appreciate the appeal to stand and stare. Rarely does such a big and busy nation stand up in unison to respond to a poetic call. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday cautioned her party workers and the district administration not to harass industrialists, warning that disturbing them will hinder employment generation. I am asking the district administration and all concerned to cooperate with the industrialists and not disturb them. Remember, industrial peace is absolutely necessary for employment generation and full cooperation should be extended to industrialists so that they can function peacefully, the chief minister said while addressing the people during the inauguration of a battery making unit of Exide Industries in Haldia, an industrial township in East Midnapore. Referring to the recent demonetisation of high value notes, the chief minister said that the currency ban has already resulted in job losses for a number of people, especially in the small and medium enterprises segments. In such a situation, industrialists setting up new industries and providing avenues for employment generation should be especially thanked and given full cooperation so that they can generate more employment, the chief minister said. Significantly, there were quite a few complaints of arm twisting by local level party leaders and workers by entrepreneurs, especially during her first term (2011-2016). On Monday, the chief minister once again launched a scathing attack against the demonetisation drive and said her movement against such an anti-people step will continue. This action (demonetisation) has affected the average citizen. I am always in favour of the common people and so my movement against demonetisation drive will continue, she said. The chief minister also announced that the state government will quickly handover the additional 25 acres of land to Exide that the company has sought for the expansion of the Haldia plant. I have already directed the Haldia Development Authority to hand over the 25 acres to the management at the earliest, the chief minister said. Claiming that West Bengal has become a new investment destination, Mamata said that the primary reason why the mood in the industrial sector is buoyant is because of the restoration of peace and order in this sector. During the last six years, we have been able to bring down the loss of man days due to strikes to zero. Even the public and workers totally ignored the last two industrial strikes and kept the state moving. All these positive factors have resulted in the restoration of industrial confidence, the chief minister said. Speaking on the occasion, she also said that the state government has decided to set up an international convention centre at the popular beach town of Digha. Currently, it is in the planning stage and soon we will come out with the details of the project, the chief minister said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Come end-March and the countrys first bus to run on human and animal waste will debut in Kolkata and ferry passengers on the 17.5 km route between Ultadanga and Garia that are 17 kms apart at a nominal fare of R 1 irrespective of the distance covered. As many as 12 buses running on biogas will start plying on 12 routes in the city. Biogas is produced from animal and plant waste and principally consists of methane. It is a non-toxic, colourless and flammable gas that can be used as fuel for vehicles, cooking and generating electricity. Two other routes are Ultadanga--Tollygunge and Ultadanga--Sector V (Salt Lake). Nine other routes are yet to be finalised. Incidentally, the first bus to run on biogas in the UK was launched two years ago. The ones to run in Kolkata can travel 20 km on a kg of biogas that costs Rs 30 only, which explains the extremely low fares. The tank is of 80 kg capacity and, therefore, the vehicle can run 1,600 km on a full tank. Right now the buses are being built in Delhi. These will be 60-seater non-AC vehicles. Tata Motors chassis are being used for the vehicles. The Centre wants to promote the use of this ecofriendly and cheap fuel as it has the potential of becoming an alternative to fossil fuels in some segments. Biogas is the cheapest fuel. The lowest bus fare from Ultadanga to Garia is Rs 12, but we will bring it down to R 1. We can offer it and still have a margin that is enjoyed by the normal operators using diesel. All other parameters of performance such as vehicle speed will be the same as normal buses, said Jyoti Prakash Das, chairman and managing director of Phoenix. Das is a PhD in botany and has been working on biogas for the past eight years. Phoenix India Research and Development Group is an alternative energy company that has been selected by the union ministry of new and renewable energy for kick starting the use of biogas vehicles in Bengal. The Centre has selected a company to launch the use of this fuel in each state. Once the pilot run is successful, the ministry will plan introduction of this technology on a bigger scale. Apart from issuing route permits, the state transport department doesnt have much to do in this regard yet. Phoenix has set up a biogas plant in Dubrajpur of Birbhum district. Right now it can produce 1,000 kg of the gas which will be transport to Kolkata by tankers. The company has got the permission to set up 100 fuel pumps. The first pump one will come up at Ultadanga. If a commercial vehicle runs on this fuel, it is also exempted from the ban after 15 years. If a commercial vehicle switches over to biogas, it will also be exempted from the ceiling, said Das. Each bus will cost Phoenix Rs 13 lakh. The union ministry notification states that commercial vehicles - those are more than 15-year old and are already banned can continue to ply on roads, if the owners switch the diesel-engines of the vehicles to bio-fuel engines. It means, all the 12 new biogas buses we are manufacturing can run on roads forever, said Das. However, biogas buses cant be fitted with AC machines. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The special NIA court allowed the prosecution to bring photocopies of missing witnesses statements and confessions of the accused on record and lead evidence in support of the same, as none of the missing files have been traced so far. Three months after the NIA moved a plea to consider the photocopies of the statement of 13 witnesses and two confessions statement of the accused in 2008 Malegaon blast case, as part of secondary evidence, the special court set up for the case finally allowed the plea. These documents include confession statements of two accused, namely Sudhakar Dwivedi alias Dayanand Pandey alias Swami Amrutanand Devtirth and Rakesh Dhawde, and statements of 11 witnesses, mostly connected with the conspiracy meetings held between the accused persons, recorded before the magistrate. The court has finally allowed our plea. We are now allowed to lead evidence in support of these statements to substantiate the same, said special public prosecutor Avinash Rasal. Six months after the controversy of statements going missing, the NIA in September 2016 had moved court claiming that the agency had no role to play in the incident of the missing papers and the original statements were in the custody of the court. It is on record that the papers of this case were sent to various courts time-to-time by the court staff, including Sessions court at Nashik and the Supreme Court of India in different matters pending in the court as per the direction of the court. These said documents/case papers were in the custody of the MCOCA/NIA court and were sent to various courts as per their direction by the court staff. The prosecution had no access to these original documents, NIA claimed in its the three-page application submitted before the special court. The agency pleaded that since these statements are not traceable and the proceeding of the case is conducted on a daily basis, the secondary copies of the original statements be taken on record. Also read: Malegaon blast: Ex-cop claims missing accused were killed by ATS 8 yrs ago SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Teachers and classmates of Karan Jadhav and Vinay Shetty, who are feared to have drowned in the Ganga during their visit to Rishikesh, are shocked by the news of their disappearance. They are now anxiously waiting for the result of the ongoing search operation. The third-year students of bachelors of accounting and finance (BAF) were part of the 11-member group from Thakur College of Science and Commerce in Kandivali, that went to Rishikesh in Uttarakhand to usher in the new year. According to the police, Vinay was swept away by the water current, when he jumped into the water after a river-rafting session on Monday. When Karan got into the water to save him, he too was swept away. Both the students were in their early twenties. Chaitali Chakraborty, principal of the college, said that the college tried contacting the parents of the missing students parents but they had apparently left the city for Rishikesh. The police have also asked the other students to stay put, pending the search. It was not a college trip. They had gone on their own, she said. Many of the students classmates did not turn up for lectures on Tuesday after they came to know about the incident. There were very few students in the class. We can understand that they must have been traumatised by the news, said Nishikant Jha, the professor in-charge of BAF at the college. We were extremely upset when we heard about it on Monday night, said a classmate of Shetty and Jadhav. The classmates described the duo as creative. I had worked with Vinay while preparing for college events. He would design props for the drama shows, said Karan Sharma, Vinays classmate. Others, who did not wish to be identified, said that Vinay was quite fond of travelling and often planned trips with a close-knit group of friends. He was a pretty outgoing person. He was also quite adventurous and loved to ride his motorbike, he said. On the other hand, Karan was described as an introvert, who frequented the college library. Both of them were not only good at academics but were also active in extra-curricular activities and inter-collegiate competitions. We are praying that they return safely, said Jha. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Maharashtra government declared 581 doctors absconding on Monday, for being absent from duty without prior intimation for the past several years. The government sacked 104 of them and is in the process of firing the rest. It has also asked the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) to cancel their licenses as punishment. This would make it illegal for them to conduct their practice. The already short-staffed public health services provided by the government were further hit owing to these doctors absconding. The doctors that were employed at government hospitals and health centres did not even resign before quitting, forcing the government to declare them absconding in official records. To ensure that its hospitals in rural areas are adequately staffed, the government has made it mandatory for MBBS students studying in state or civic-run medical colleges to spend a year working in rural areas before getting their degrees. Dr Deepak Sawant, public health minister, said the government offers jobs to these doctors after they complete this one-year mandatory posting . Some of them accept the offer and some do not. As many as 581 doctors who had accepted the offer and had joined the services have gone missing. Taking this seriously, 104 of them have been sacked so far, said Dr Sawant. The process to terminate the rest of the doctors jobs is currently pending with the general administration department . We have asked the MMC to take action against these doctors for cheating the government. We are expecting a reply soon. If the MMC cancels their licences, they will not be able to continue their private practice, he told reporters. The government will also discuss the issue with law and judiciary department, said Dr Sawant. Meanwhile, the government had even offered doctors a last chance to resume work. Many of them have expressed a willingness to rejoin. The last date for accepting the offer was December 31, said the public health minister. Read Forensic medicine loses its lustre for Maharashtra doctors SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In a move that may defeat the objective of regulating hawkers in the city, the state government cleared the hawkers policy and said that anyone with a domicile certificate will be considered for a hawking licence. The government also decided to allow the sale of pre-cooked food on streets, after the high court prohibited roadside cooking . However, the government has constituted a cabinet sub-committee that will finalise the modalities of the policy for implementation. The decision was taken in the state cabinet meeting on Tuesday. According to the policy, all above 14 years of age with no other source of livelihood will be eligible for issuances of vending certificates. It has capped the number of licensees to 2.5 per cent of the total population. A central town vending committees headed by the municipal commissioner will demarcate areas for hawking, non-hawking zones. It also has to complete a survey within six months to ascertain the actual number of hawkers. The hawker will have the right to appeal against an order before a grievance redressal committee headed by the municipal commissioner and an appellate authority headed by the mayor. Hawkers will be classified into three categories mobile hawker, stationery hawker and permanent hawkers.. The policy will also have provisions for weekly markets, night markets, festival streets and temporary plazas that may be allowed even at private plots. They will be given a unique identification card that has to be displayed at their shops. READ Maharashtra govt to get its hawker policy ready before polls SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON What happens when the ruling party and the opposition comes together in one venue? If the previous winter session is anything to go by - chaos and, on the best of days, grudging debate. Political theatrics is so marked by acrimony that every fleeting sign of harmony is held up as glorious exceptions and one such case unfolded in Meghalaya to the soundtrack of The Beatles. Bizarre though it may sound, Meghalayas chief minister Mukul Sangma, leader of the legislative assemblys opposition Donkupar Roy and working president of the United Democratic Party Paul Lyngdoh got together onstage to sing a Beatles classic All My Loving. Theres videographic proof of this and naturally, it went viral on social media. The two-minute long video shows the politicians grooving on stage, complete with accompaniment and strobe lighting. The video has been viewed 138,000 times and shared nearly 3,000 times on Facebook since it was posted on Monday morning. Comments from Facebook users ranged from pride in Shillongs music culture to earnest hope for more such cool ministers in such depressing times. One of the more enthusiastic performers (note the one on the extreme left), identified as cabinet minister Prestone Tynsong, was a clear crowd favourite. This is not the first time that Meghalayas chief minister has been in the news for his musical skills. In a video uploaded on Youtube in 2012, he is singing another anthemic song I want to break free by Queen. Reports of alleged mass molestation of women on a busy thoroughfare in Bengaluru on New Years Eve are disturbing. It is particularly worrying for me: my college-going daughter lives in the city that we are proud of as Indias Silicon Valley, and I am concerned for her well being. I just told her to avoid crowds and revelry at the now infamous MG Road. But putting emotions aside, it is time to take a clinical look at whats fast snowballing into the countrys latest collective shame. Politicians have waded in, womens rights group are calling for quick action, all and sundry are demanding quick justice. Thats all fine. But where is the evidence? As a worried father and an inquisitive journalist, I have looked at the proof provided so far and I must say they are inconclusive. Yes, the paper that first broke the story, has splashed photographs of what seemed to be mayhem. They indeed show crowds of men and a few distraught women. There is also a photograph of a woman surrounded by men. But do they prove molestation? I hold no brief for Bengaluru. But to believe the city is as bad as Tahrir Square Cairos protest square where women get groped routinely I would demand proof. Till I get some, I wouldnt even compare what is being reported to have happened on MG Road to what occurred some years ago before Mumbais Gateway of India. There, a photographer had diligently clicked the nightmare that women underwent and there was no room for any doubt. I am a journalist and I demand proof upfront. I therefore find it incredulous that virtual mayhem has broken out in the alleged incidents aftermath without an iota of evidence. Politicians have waded in and the union home minister Kiren Rijuju has added to the decibel level by condemning the Karnataka home minister. While brushing off the incident, the state minister had reportedly said such things do happen. The minister has put his foot in his mouth as politicians routinely do. But would Rijuju have reacted with such alacrity had the state government been of the BJP? Politicians will indulge in politics and I dont blame them. But journalism calls for rigour and that is what I am demanding: from my reporter in the city to my peers. If women were molested en masse, how come not a single victim has come forward to lodge a police complaint? I find it difficult to believe that Bengaluru women are not brave enough to demand justice. Bengaluru should be safe so that my daughter, her friends and everyone else can be safe. Media chasing sensationalism isnt the best way for ensuring a citys safety. The politicians have already hijacked the headlines. The real issue is lost, for the want of evidence. The views expressed are personal. The author tweets from @Rubenbanerjee. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Following the tradition of pronouncing landmark judgments on retirement, a seven-judge Bench under Chief Justice TS Thakur on Monday reaffirmed the secular character of the Indian State, ruling that election candidates cannot seek votes on the grounds of the religion, caste, creed, community or language of voters. Chief Justice Thakur, judges SA Bobde, Adarsh Kumar Goel and L Nageswara Rao and Madan B Lokur formed the majority opinion. Three judges Adarsh Kumar Goel, UU Lalit and DY Chandrachud favoured a narrower interpretation and refused to go beyond what Parliament has explicitly stated. According to Section 123 (3) of the Peoples Representation Act of 1951, no candidate or his agent can appeal for votes on the grounds of religion, race, caste, community or language. Any violation of this would be deemed a corrupt practice under the law leading to disqualification of the candidate. Read | Elections a secular exercise, illegal to seek votes in the name of religion: SC Despite the law, Indias electoral process has been hijacked by religious fanatics, obscurantist casteists and communalists, who ask for votes not on the basis of party manifestos, competence or integrity of a candidate, but in the name of religion, caste and community, and political groups distribute tickets based on these narrow considerations. Read | Supreme Court verdict on misuse of religion jolts poll-bound Punjab This historic verdict could help us cleanse the electoral process and reduce the influence of religion in our polity. The BJP must treat this verdict as a setback in the Supreme Court after the decisions on the National Judicial Appointments Commission and quashing of presidents rule in Arunachal Pradesh. The case reached the apex court after there were claims that several candidates elected in the 1992 Maharashtra assembly polls had appealed to voters on religious grounds. Similar cases were also brought before the Supreme Court in 1996. However, that Bench decided to refer the case to a larger Bench. The five-judge Bench set up in 2014, in turn referred it to a seven-judge Bench. The Indian law favours polity-religion differentiation. But the governments additional solicitor general and other lawyers representing several BJP state governments wanted no change in the interpretation. They argued for the narrower interpretation of the law on three grounds: First, the consequences of being found guilty of corrupt electoral practice are too severe (election could be declared void and also disqualification for six years); second, freedom of expression cannot be curtailed by the law during the campaign, and third, the court should not unsettle the legal position as to the meaning of his (no candidate or his agent can appeal in the peoples representation act), arguing that it has been settled for decades that an appeal cannot be made in the name of the religion of the candidate. Read | Why judiciary needs to let electoral democracy evolve on its own The majority in the SC Bench did not agree with the literal interpretation request of the BJP-ruled states and favoured the purposive interpretation of expression his. Justice Lokur held that in the interpretation of law both the text of the law as well as the social context in which the law in question was enacted must be kept in view. He rightly said that the task of the court is to give effect to the Parliaments purpose. Judges have to be purposive constructionists and concluded that the pronoun his would include not only candidate but his election agent and even voters, if such an appeal had the consent of the candidate or his agents. Thus no candidate can escape from the Bar simply on the ground that the appeal to vote or refrain for voting was not made in the name of his own religion. With this judgment, there is now an urgent need to overrule the Hindutva judgment of 1995. If that is not done, we would be in a strange situation as no appeal can be made in the name of any other religion except Hinduism and Hindutva, which the court had held are ways of life not religion. For example, if a Christian candidate in Kerala seeks votes saying the state will be the first Christian state if his party is voted to power, it is a corrupt electoral practice but a similar appeal by the Shiv Sena for Kerala becoming first Hindu state will be fine. Faizan Mustafa is vice-chancellor, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad The views expressed are personal Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Jan. 3 By Demir Azizov Trend: President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulatory messages on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Uzbekistan National News Agency (UzA) reported Jan. 3. The sides reaffirmed their commitment to the multifaceted cooperation, according to the news agency. China, a confidently and dynamically developing country, which has a great reputation and influence in the world, has become Uzbekistans close and reliable partner, and we are tied by traditions of strong friendship, mutual understanding and respect, the Uzbek president said in his message. Mirziyoyev added that the joint statement signed during the visit of Chinese president to Uzbekistan in June 2016 has raised the Uzbek-Chinese relations to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership. Uzbekistan is interested in further enhancing the constructive cooperation with China within the UN, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and other influential international organizations and financial institutions, Mirziyoyev said in his message. Chinese President Xi Jinping in his message to President Mirziyoyev wished continuous strengthening and rapid development of friendship between China and Uzbekistan. I attach great importance to the development of the Chinese-Uzbek relations, Xi Jinping said in his message. China will continue to support the path of development chosen by Uzbekistan, as well as the countrys efforts to strengthen its independence, sovereignty and security, promotion of socio-economic development and the expansion of external relations. The family of Deepak Tandon, the 23-year-old Ludhiana youth who was allegedly killed during a brawl with the bouncers outside a pub in Delhi on the New Years eve, has alleged that Deepak was murdered. Victims family is in Delhi to receive his body. The deceased used to work with a city-based advertising agency. Gulshan Tandon, the father of the victim, said that to save the culprits, Delhi police are issuing contradictory statements instead of lodging a murder case against them. Meanwhile, Delhi police officials are claiming that Deepak had himself smashed a beer bottle on his head. We were told that CCTVs installed in the pub were not in working condition, but later, one video appeared. In another video, Deepak was seen with injuries on his face and head, said Gulshan, who runs a grocery shop in Durgapuri area of Haibowal. Deepak along with his friends Vikram Rana, Yash Malhotra and Anmol Milglani, went to Delhi on December 30 late evening for New Year celebrations. Deepak along with Vikram and Anmol checked into the pub at around 8:30pm for New Years party. Vikram Rana said, Deepak and I were dancing and enjoying drinks. Meanwhile, a bouncer came and asked us to leave, blaming us for overdrinking. It initiated an argument between Deepak and the bouncers and suddenly a bouncer hit him on his head with something. When I intervened, another bouncer punched me on the nose. My nose got fractured in the incident. One bouncer took me out of the pub and after a few minutes, they brought out Deepak also. Meanwhile, the police reached there and as policemen were taking Deepak towards their vehicle, he collapsed, added Rana. They were rushed to Safdarjung Hospital where Deepak died during treatment due to excessive bleeding. Deepak was the only brother of his two sisters. His elder sister Reena is married, while younger sister Neha is unmarried. Neha serves with the police department as a constable and is deputed at Saanjh Kendra. The excise and taxation department has initiated the process of selling properties of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA from Faridkot Deep Malhotra and his associates as they have failed to deposit excise fee to run liquor vends. This has come as a double blow for the sitting MLA as the Akali Dal has given ticket to Parambans Singh Bunty Romana from Faridkot to contest upcoming polls. The excise department has to recover Rs 30 crore from Malhotra and his associates for running liquor shops in Patiala, Sangrur, Moga and Fathegarh Sahib districts. The department has so far identified three prime properties in Delhis Punjabi Bagh, hotel in Pitampura and a bungalow in North Avenue. Following the orders of the excise and taxation commissioner, red entry has been made in the revenue records in Punjab and a letter has been written to Delhi government to do the needful. After this, the attachment process will be initiated and the properties will be auctioned, said an excise and taxation officer. Excise and taxation commissioner Varun Roojam could not be contacted as he was off to Delhi for a meeting. Earlier, the excise department had directed the banks to freeze Malhotras bank accounts, but later withdrew the orders. Malhotra could not be contacted for comments. The excise department has already fined Malhotra for running his own liquor distillery in violation of rules. Last month, the department had auctioned properties of the Ferozepur liquor contractor for not paying excise fee. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Nearly two months after 43 legislators in Punjab tendered their resignations from the assembly over an Supreme Court (SC) ruling on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal issue, there is uncertainty on their status. Forty-two legislators of the Congress, led by leader of Opposition Charanjit Singh Channi, and an independent legislator had tendered their resignations from the state assembly on November 11, 2016, to protest against the SC ruling. Punjab assembly speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal, who had called the legislators on Tuesday to verify their resignations individually, said that the legislators were unable to appear before him and they have communicated the same through a letter on Monday. According to a media statement from the speakers office, the letter was from the Punjab Congress Legislature Partys Secretary AC Kaushik, and it informed that the concerned MLAs could not present themselves before the speaker asking for 10 days time. It further said that in accordance with the norms, Atwal had called the concerned MLAs to his office earlier once more between December 20 and December 22, 2016, to ensure that the resignations by the MLAs were tendered of their own accord. But similarly in a letter from the secretary of the Punjab Congress Legislature Party on December 15, it was informed Atwal the MLAs, who had resigned, were busy in Delhi and could not present themselves before the Speaker. Earlier, too, a time frame of 10 days was requested said the communication from the speakers office. The speaker then called the MLAs on January 3, again. The statement from the speaker also said that the time for the next meeting would be fixed only after a written request in person was made along with the signature by the leader of Opposition. The apex court, which was hearing the SYL Canal matter on water-sharing between Punjab and Haryana, had ruled on November 10, that Haryana should get more water from Punjab. The Punjab government had refused to share any additional water with Haryana even after the ruling, leading to a stalemate over the matter.The Punjab assembly has a strength of 117 members. The resignations by the Congress lawmakers came at the fag end of the tenure of the outgoing assembly. Assembly elections in Punjab are likely to be held next month. Punjab Congress president and Lok Sabha MP from Amritsar Captain Amarinder Singh, who is a former chief minister of Punjab, also resigned from his parliamentary seat following the Supreme Court ruling. With the announcement of assembly polls in Punjab and four other states expected by January 4, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has sent an advisory to chief electoral officers (CEO) of these states to get into action immediately for subsequent enforcement of the model code of conduct. Along with the CEOs, chief secretaries have also been told to pitch in and make arrangements for activating flying squads soon after the announcement to check flow of liquor, cash and narcotics. Punjab CEO VK Singh, who has been called to Delhi for a meeting with chief election commissioner (CEC) Nasim Zaidi on January 3, hinted of the poll announcement soon after. Speaking on arrangements once the poll code is imposed, he said the entire machinery was in place and he was waiting for the announcement. The communique has also asked the CEOs to put in place a complaint monitoring system and activate the toll-free number 1950 besides SMS service and a website to receive the complaints and track the action taken by district-level poll officers. All unauthorised political advertisements in the form of wall paintings or posters at all public places, such as railway stations, bus stands, airports, railway bridges, roads, government buses and electric or telephone poles, should be removed within 48 hours from the announcement of the polls, state the directions to the poll-bound states of Punjab, Goa, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The communication, received from ECI senior principal secretary RK Srivastava, also seeks a ban within 24 hours on use of official vehicles by any political party, candidate or other persons connected with poll campaigning. No advertisement be issued in electronic, and print media, highlighting the achievement of the government at the cost of the public exchequer, the directions add, besides calling for removal of photographs of politicians from central or state government websites. The EC has already started the process to check paid news given by politicians, particularly in the print media. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Maoist Supai Tudu, wanted in connection with 25 extremist-related cases and carrying a reward of Rs 15 lakh on his head, was killed in an encounter with security personnel in Ramtandi jungle of East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand on Tuesday. The security forces comprising CRPF and district armed police personnel launched a massive anti-Maoist operation based on information that some Maoists of Kanu Munda squad had assembled in the forest, the police said. The operation was led by senior superintendent of police Anoop T Mathew. The ultras opened fire at the security personnel, forcing them to retaliate in self defence in which Supai was killed. Superintendent of police (rural) Shailendra Kumar Burnwal said Supais wife Sonali was arrested after the encounter. About a dozen cases were pending against Sonali, he said, adding that further search operation was on. The Jharkhand development council since its inception on August 15, 2015, on Tuesday met for the first time to chart out the states developmental goals, priorities and policies. Surjit Singh Bhalla, vice chairman of the council, former union secretary and chairman of the Institute of Rural Management Anand T Nandkumar along with chief minister Raghubar Das, 14 parliamentarians and legislators and heads five elected district boards and municipal corporations participated in the meeting. Sudesh Mahto, AJSU Party chief and the other vice chairman of the council skipped the meeting, raising questions about his partys relationship with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government in which it is a coalition partner. The council discussed about the institutional structure l and status of different socio-economic sectors where the state stands at present, said Amit Khare, finance secretary after the meeting. Jharkhand was a poor state compared to its neighbours but has emerged as a fast-moving state recording an annual growth rate 12% growth in 2016-17, which 5% more than the national growth rate, said Bhalla at a post-meet briefing. There are, however, problems that require a long term vision that are documented in the 15-year vision document of 2032 and a three-year short term strategic action that needs to be implemented to realize the goals, he said. He further listed the major problems in realizing the developmental goals as implementation hiccups and hindrances, a problem encountered at the national level he said. Proper documentation of field reports, analysis and monitoring were the key to success of any plan and the state needs to go one notch up to realize development plans to usher in and make tangible impact and difference in the lives of the people. Asked about the priority areas of the state that needed strategic intervention, he said: Poverty alleviation was the foremost goal in Jharkhand where 50-60% people are still poor. We will have to plan and implement keeping them in mind. He further said that education, health and irrigation were important sectors were work needs to be done. Chief minister Raghubar Das said qualitative augmentation of water power, knowledge, women empowerment, energy, technology and peoples power as pivots for the development for the state. As Donald Trump prepares to take oath on January 20, he is having a much lower favourable rating among Americans than prior US President-elects in his ability to handle an international crisis, use military force wisely and prevent major scandals in his administration, according to a new poll. At least seven in 10 Americans were confident in US President Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton in these areas before they took office. Forty-six percent of respondents are confident Trump can handle an international crisis, 47% believe he will use military force wisely, while 44% think he can prevent major scandals in his administration, Gallup poll said. However, Americans express somewhat more confidence in Trump to work effectively with Congress (60%), to handle the economy effectively (59%), to defend US interests abroad as President (55%), and to manage the executive branch effectively (53%), said Jeffrey M. Jones, a poll analyst with the Gallup. But even in these areas, Americans are far less confident in Trump than they were in his predecessors, when comparisons are available, Jones said. The results for Trump are based on a December 7-11 Gallup poll conducted via telephone interviews, with a random sample of 1,028 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia. The poll results are consistent with prior Gallup polling showing Trump having a much lower favourable rating than prior President-elects and a much lower approval rating for how he has handled his presidential transition, Gallup said. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 2 By Fatih Karimov Trend: Iran has announced that it is no longer interested in purchasing Russia's Sukhoi Superjet 100 passenger aircraft, due to technical problems. Purchase of the aircraft is no more on the agenda, Secretary of Association of Iranian Airlines Maqsoud Asadi Samani said, Mehr news agency reported Jan. 2. He further said that the plane is not well-known to Iranian airline companies, adding that the superjet suffers from a technical problem with its tail. Asadi Samani added that only three Iranian private airline companies have held talks with Russian aircraft manufacturer over leasing the plane. He said that the companies even may withdraw from renting the aircraft if the technical problem proves to be serious. Earlier Asadi Samani said that Iranian airlines are interested in purchasing the superjet, which was introduced to Iranian airliners on Dec. 13, 2016. Meanwhile, Russias Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin had said Moscow may deliver a big batch of Sukhoi Superjet 100 passenger aircraft to Iran by 2020. Sukhoi Superjet 100 is a 75-seat and 95-seat passenger plane being produced since 2000 commissioned for flights services by the airlines from 2008. A total of 64 Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft are currently in service, according to Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (SCA) data. The largest aircraft operators are Aeroflot (26 airplanes), Mexico's Interjet (19) and Gazpromavia (10 jets). Air strikes on a building in northern Syria used by an insurgent group formerly known as the Nusra Front had killed at least 25 people and wounded dozens more on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Britain-based observatory said it was unclear whether the strikes had been carried out by aircraft belonging to Russia or to the US-led coalition. Tuesday is the fifth day of a ceasefire in Syria but its sponsors, Russia and Turkey, say this excludes Islamic State and the Syrian Islamist militia Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly called the Nusra Front. Abu Anas al-Shami, a Jabhat Fateh al-Sham spokesman, said the attack, in the countryside of the northern province of Idlib, was carried out by the international coalition. More than 20 people were killed, he said. The headquarters targeted by the international coalition a short time ago are a main headquarters for that area and contains a number branch offices, leading to the killing of the brothers, he said in a statement. Jabhat Fateh al-Sham changed its name in July and announced it was severing ties with al Qaeda. The Observatory said eight Jabhat Fateh al-Sham fighters and leaders have been killed in air strikes around rebel-held Idlib in January. Indian origin businessman Sheikh Rafik Mohammed, who dropped out of school and went on to establish a multi-million dollar firm in Saudi Arabia, has been appointed a major general by Kyrgyzstan defence minister Ali Mirza. Mohammed, who belongs to a village near Kozhikode in Kerala, studied only up to Class VII and left for the Middle East when he was in his twenties. He heads the Gammon Group, which has been chosen to develop Jazan industrial city in Saudi Arabia. He was appointed a major general during an official ceremony held in Kyrgyzstan, Mohammeds media adviser Omar Abu Baker told Khaleej Times. It is a rare military position occupied by an overseas Keralite, Baker said. The Saudi-based entrepreneur was invited by the Kyrgyz government to take up the military position in view of his earlier contributions to the country. It could not immediately be ascertained if the position was ceremonial or Mohammed would have any responsibilities as a major general. Mohammed has Kyrgyzstan nationality that was conferred on him by former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Mohammed first met the Kyrgyz leader when he was in his twenties and working in Iran. He later went on to serve as an advisor to Bakiyev during 2005-10. After developing a steel plant in Iran, Mohammed went to Kyrgystan and presented a similar project to Bakiyev, then a governor who was preparing to contest presidential elections. After getting elected, Bakiyev appointed Mohammed as an advisor. According to Khaleej Times, Mohammed played a role in attracting foreign investment to Kyrgyzstan by suggesting easy tax regimes. He was later invited by Saudi Arabia to develop some projects on the free zone model of Dubai. Gammon Group has a presence in emerging markets in Asia, Middle East, Europe and North Africa. The group has interests in infrastructure and petrochemicals. According to its website, it employs 200,000 people in 28 countries. Chinas sole aircraft carrier conducted drills in the South China Sea, the navy said, days after neighbouring Taiwan said the carrier and accompanying ships had passed 90 nautical miles south of the island amid renewed tension between the two sides. The Soviet-built Liaoning aircraft carrier and accompanying warships sailed round the east coast of Taiwan in what China called a routine exercise complying with international law. The carriers J-15 fighters conducted flight exercises in complex sea conditions on Monday, the Peoples Liberation Army Navy said on its official microblog later on the same day. The carrier group also ran helicopter exercises, it said, but did not give details on the exact location. China claims most of the South China Sea through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Neighbours Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims. The drills also come at a time of heightened strain with self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, following US President-elect Donald Trumps telephone call with the islands president that upset Beijing. Last month, China conducted its first ever live-fire drills using an aircraft carrier close to Korea and announced on December 25 that the Liaoning and its accompanying fleet will carry out what it called routine exercises in the Western Pacific. Taiwans defence ministry on December 26 said the Liaoning and five accompanying ships had entered the top half of the South China Sea after passing south of Taiwan, and later docked at a base on Chinas Hainan island. The flotilla raised alarm in Japan when it steamed between the Japanese islands of Miyako and Okinawa. Japan said one of its maritime self defence force ships and a P3C patrol aircraft had spotted six Chinese naval vessels including the Liaoning travelling through the passage, and they also scrambled jets after a helicopter which took off from a Chinese frigate flew near Miyako Island. China has been angered recently by US naval patrols near islands that China claims in the South China Sea. This month, a Chinese navy ship seized a US underwater drone in the South China Sea. China later returned it. Chinas air force conducted long-range drills this month above the East and South China Seas which rattled Japan and Taiwan. China said those exercises were also routine. The British ministry of defence said an army soldier has died at a military base in Iraq under unexplained circumstances. The ministry named him on Tuesday as 22-year-old Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington from the Manchester area. The cause of Hetheringtons death on Monday was under investigation. The ministry said it did not result from enemy activity and called it a tragic incident. Hetherington, who had a daughter, was serving with the British Army. He is the first British soldier to die in Iraq since 2009. The British Army has soldiers in Iraq supporting the countrys fight against Islamic State extremists and to help stabilize the government there. British troops are training Iraqi forces in combat techniques at several camps around Iraq. Germanys interior minister today outlined plans for an overhaul of the countrys security apparatus, seeking greater federal powers on domestic intelligence and the enforcement of migrant expulsions in the wake of the Berlin truck attack. The minister, Thomas de Maiziere, also called for wider oversight for federal police as well as for a crisis management centre to be set up. We dont have federal jurisdiction to deal with national catastrophes. The jurisdiction for the fight against international terrorism is fragmented, he wrote in a guest column for the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The federal polices scope of action is restricted to railway stations, airports and border controls, he wrote, stressing that it is time to reexamine Germanys security set-up. After Tunisian suspect Anis Amri allegedly rammed a truck into a crowded Christmas market on December 19, it swiftly emerged that the asylum seeker had slipped through the net of security services. Amri had been under surveillance since March, but German police dropped their watch in September, thinking that he was a small-time drug dealer. The failed asylum seeker should also have been deported months ago but Tunisia had not provided the necessary paperwork until after the attack. De Maiziere said federal departure centres should be set up to hold asylum seekers in the weeks or days leading up to their expulsion. In order to close security gaps, De Maiziere said federal police must be given wider powers. The current remit of the federal police is too limited, he said. We need a set of common rules and better coordination, for instance in checking dangerous individuals, he said. Further, the federal government should take charge of domestic intelligence services, said the minister. De Maiziere is a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is running for a fourth term in a general election expected in September. Her government came under fire in the wake of the December 19 attack for its liberal border policy, which allowed in more than one million asylum seekers since 2015, and for allowing Amri to slip through the net despite documented security concerns. Queen Silvia of Sweden says the royal palace where she resides is haunted, according to a documentary to be aired on public television on Thursday. There are small friends... ghosts. Theyre all very friendly but you sometimes feel that youre not completely alone, Queen Silvia says in the documentary by SVT. Its really exciting. But you dont get scared, she adds. Drottningholm Palace, which is on the Unesco world heritage list, was built in the 1600s on Lovon island in Stockholm. It is the permanent residence of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, the 73-year-old daughter of a German businessman and a Brazilian woman. They were married 40 years ago, which makes her Swedens longest-serving queen. Princess Christina, the kings sister, backs the claims of the Drottningholm phantoms. There is much energy in this house. It would be strange if it didnt take the form of guises, Christina was quoted as saying the documentary. Theres stories about ghosts in all old houses. They have been filled with people over the centuries, she adds. The energies remain. Raja Krishnamoorthi was once called Roger Christian Murphy by a voter who wondered how and when the Irish reached India. A man he cold-called for a donation insisted he had already sent him a check, mistaking him for a lawmaker named Murphy. Krishnamoorthi, who takes these experiences with a chuckle, may fare better next time with his voters in Illinois when he seeks re-election. He may not have to run ads tagged, Just call me Raja. Krishnamoorthi will do, perhaps. Born in Delhis Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, the 42-year-old will be among five Indian-Americans a record turnout from a minority community of three million who will take the oath of office as members of the new US Congress on Tuesday. Raja Krishnamoorthi at an election night event in Schaumburg on November 8, 2016. (AP) The other four are Ami Bera, who starts his third term, Rohit Ro Khanna from California and Pramila Jayapal from Washington state for the House of Representatives and Kamala Harris, also from California, for the Senate. All five are Democrats, as are the bulk of Indian-Americans, despite the two Republican governors - Nikki Haley, who is still serving but has been nominated as US ambassador to the UN, and Bobby Jindal, who just finished his term. 2016 was a bumper year for the Indian-American community, with a record haul of four their number ranged previously between zero, mostly, and one, occasionally in the House of Representatives, and their first seat in the Senate. There were other firsts as well. Jayapal and Harris, who is also of Jamaican descent on her fathers side, were the first Indian-American women elected to Congress, and to their respective chambers, the House and the Senate. File photo of Ami Bera. ((Ami Beras website)) Dalip Singh Saund, who came to the US from Punjab around 1920, was the first Indian-American elected to Congress when he won a seat in the House from California in 1956. A Democrat, he went on to win two more terms. The next Indian-American would enter Congress after more than 40 years, when Jindal was elected to the House from Louisiana in 2004. He won a second term before returning to state politics in Louisiana. Bera, the third Indian-American elected to Congress, started in 2012. He won a second term in 2014 and will begin his third term on Tuesday. The senior-most Indian-American in the House, he also co-chairs the India Caucus. He has already assumed the role of a mentor to the first-timers. I like the fact that I can call or text Ami and ask him what does he think about x in terms of logistics, Krishnamoorthi said on a recent call with reporters. They are texting or calling each other as well. Mostly about mundane stuff, said Krishnamoorthi - about their offices and what gatherings or parties to attend, but the new congressman believes these conversations will get serious over time. File photo of Pramila Jayapal. (Courtesy pramilaforcongress.com) Probably once they are assigned to House committees, or of the Senate as the case would be for Harris, that have direct oversight over specific executive branch functions. Bera has been a member of the House foreign affairs committee, for instance. He is also on the subcommittee that oversees the conduct of US relations with Asia, including India, and was among the handful of lawmakers who travelled with President Barack Obama on his second visit to India in January 2015. Bera, a physician of Gujarati descent, has been a steadfast backer of India, and has been a key voice in support of India at hostile House hearings during which even long-time sympathisers were found flowing with bile. File photo of Rohit Ro Khanna. (Twitter) All five of them maintain strong links with India. Krishnamoorthi was in Chennai recently with his wife and their infant daughter to meet relatives in a low-key visit that seemed to have completely escaped media attention. Jayapal had her mother over from India to campaign for her, which, she has said, went off surprisingly well belying her initial trepidation. Harris has recalled her trips to India to meet her grandfather, on her mothers side, also in Chennai. For factoid freaks, in conclusion: three of the Fab Five trace their roots to Chennai - Krishnamoorthi, Jayapal and Harris - one to Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modis home state Bera and one to Delhis Nizamuddin area Khanna. The captain of an Indonesian tourist ferry that caught fire on New Years Day was arrested Tuesday for alleged negligence in a disaster that left at least 23 people dead, police said. The Zahro Express was carrying at least 247 people, mostly Indonesians celebrating the New Years holiday, from Muara Angke port in northern Jakarta to the resort island of Tidung when it caught fire Sunday. A total of 224 passengers were rescued and 23 bodies have been recovered. Seventeen people are reported as missing. The vessels captain, Mohamad Nali, was detained for questioning following the incident and was arrested on Tuesday, said the chief of Jakarta maritime police, Col Hero Hendrianto Bachtiar. He is accused of continuing to sail despite knowing that the number of passengers on the ferry far exceeded the 100 listed on the manifest, Hendrianto said. Nali, 51, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. The chief of the Muara Angke port authority has also been removed from his post for alleged negligence in overseeing the voyage. A search for the missing continued on Tuesday, but officials have not ruled out that those reported missing could be among 20 bodies found inside the ship that were burned beyond recognition. The cause of the fire is still not clear, though authorities suspect that it was caused by a short circuit in the engine room. Vienna An Austrian man has been arrested for falsely accusing a Syrian migrant of being a terrorist and sparking a major police operation out of jealousy, authorities said Tuesday. The 61-year-old was detained on a European arrest warrant while visiting relatives in Romania on December 29, said the prosecutors office in the western city of Innsbruck in the Tyrol state. The suspect sparked alarm in November when he sent an anonymous email to the interior ministry, alleging he had information that a 29-year-old Syrian was in fact an Islamic State commander who was planning an attack in Innsbruck. Acting on the tip-off, officers of Austrias elite Cobra force staged a major raid and arrested the Syrian on November 26. But they were forced to let him go 24 hours later after the Austrian admitted he had made up the whole story to stop his partner from attending an event with the Syrian. The motive was jealousy, Thomas Willam, a spokesman for the prosecutors office, told AFP. The European arrest warrant had been issued after the Austrian failed to notify police that he was leaving the country, Willam said. Romanian authorities have yet to confirm the mans extradition. Amid a chill in Indo-Pak ties, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday called a high-level meeting and reviewed the current status of the countrys ties with its neighbours and strategic partners. Sharif said Pakistan believes in peaceful co-existence with all countries of the region and looks forward to establish strong and mutually beneficial relations with them. He chaired a high-level meeting at the Prime Ministers House here and reviewed the current status of Pakistans relations with its neighbours and strategic partners, according to an official statement. Peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and economically integrated region must be our shared objective and we must strive for realising this objective. This could be possible only when we demonstrate a commitment to our aspirations of peace, progress and prosperity, Sharif said during the meeting. His remarks come amid severe chill in Indo-Pak ties after Pakistan-based terrorists attacked an Indian army base in Uri in September. Sharif added that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a cornerstone of our own quest for regional connectivity and shared prosperity. The meeting evaluated various policy options in response to different challenges in regard to foreign relations. It focused on issues pertaining to regional, external and internal security situation. It also reviewed bilateral and multi-lateral relations with neighbouring countries, future roadmap for regional stability and maintenance of mutually beneficial relations with all countries in the region and beyond. Finance minister Ishaq Dar, interior minister Nisar Ali Khan, army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, ISI chief Lt. Gen. Naveed Mukhtar, advisor on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz, special assistant to PM Tariq Fatemi, National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. (R) Nasser Khan Janjua and other senior officials attended the meeting. Tehran, Iran, January 3 By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend: Iran is pushing for one internationally viable home appliance brand as well as two or three nationally competitive ones by the year 2025 according to a national policy overview set up by the Ministry of Mine, Industry, and Trade. The international brand will have the ability to hold a good market in the countries that are neighbors with Iran, said Abbas Hashemi, director general of home appliances and metal industries department of the ministry, Trend correspondent reported from a press conference January 3. According to Hashemi, Irans annual import of home appliances is close to $500 million a year at the present. Home appliance completely built units (CBU) export is $170 million, while the import of such products is $485 million a year, he said. Hashemi said during the first eight months of the current Iranian fiscal year (since March 20, 2016), Iranian manufacturers produced 1.8 million small home appliance units, 650 thousand swamp coolers, 850 thousand gas heaters, 900 thousand ovens, 650 thousand refrigerators, 400 thousand washing machines, and 110 thousand sewing machines. However, he said several obstacles need to be removed before Iranian manufacturers can produce competitive products. One of the obstacles is the high banking facility interest rate which hovers somewhere between 22 and 30 percent, he said. The other problem, he said, is that although Iran is rich in resources, such as metal mines and petrochemical production, the prices of these material are influenced very much by the international market, making it risky for Iranian manufacturers of home appliances to make long-term plans. A Christmas message calling for prayers for those charged under Pakistans blasphemy laws has led to death threats against the son of a provincial governor killed five years ago for criticising the same laws. The case highlights the continuing influence in Pakistan of Muslim hardliners who praise violence in the name of defending Islam, despite a government vow to crack down on religious extremism. The hardliners have called for mass protests if police do not charge activist Shaan Taseer with blasphemy against Islam - a crime punishable by death. Taseers father, Punjab governor Salman Taseer, was gunned down by his bodyguard for championing the case of a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was sentenced to death under the blasphemy laws, which he said needed to be reformed. In a video message posted on his Facebook page, Taseer, a Muslim, wishes happy holidays and also asked for prayers for the woman and others victimised by what he called inhumane blasphemy laws. Taseer said on Monday that he had received very credible death threats from supporters of the hardline Muslim philosophy that inspired his fathers killer, bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri. They are sending me Mumtaz Qadris photos with messages that there are several Mumtaz Qadris waiting for me, he told Reuters late on Monday. Tens of thousands people attended Qadris funeral last March after he was put to death for killing the governor because they considered him a hero - showing the potential for this case to become another flashpoint. More than 200 people in Pakistan were charged under blasphemy laws in 2015 - many of them minorities such as Christians, who make up 1 percent of the population. Critics say the laws are often used to settle personal scores, and pressure for convictions is often applied on police and courts from religious groups and lawyers dedicated to pushing the harshest blasphemy punishments. At least 65 people, including lawyers, defendants and judges, have been murdered over blasphemy allegations since 1990, according to figures from a Center for Research and Security Studies report and local media. A spokesman for the hardline Islamist movement Sunni Tehreek said it was demanding police in Lahore charge Shaan Taseer with blasphemy against Islam. Police declined to comment, and a copy of the police report on the complaint did not mention Shaan Taseer by name. The police report did reference the Christmas message and opened an investigation the blasphemy laws Section 295-A, which bans hate speech against any religion. However, Sunni Tehreek has threatened mass street protests unless the younger Taseer is charged under Section 295-C - blasphemy against Islam or the Prophet Mohammad. Sunni Tehreek figure Mujahid Abdur Rasool told Reuters the group was in negotiations with the government over the case. When we gave them a warning for protests, a delegation of Punjab government met us today, Rasool said, adding they had set a deadline of Tuesday for police to meet their demands. He said Sunni Tehreek was not calling for Taseers murder, only his prosecution and eventual execution. Punjab government officials could not be reached for comment. Deaths linked to violence in Pakistan decreased significantly in 2016, dropping 45% compared with the previous year, a report released Tuesday said. Some 2,610 people lost their lives due to violence during the period compared with 4,647 in 2015, according to research by the Islamabad-based think tank, the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS). There was nearly a 45% reduction in the number of violence-related fatalities in 2016, which continued the trend of reduction from 2014, the report said. In fact, since 2014, there has been an overall reduction of nearly 66%. It added that December was the least violent month for the country during the year. Pakistans army launched an operation in June 2014 to wipe out militant bases in northwestern tribal areas and bring an end to a bloody insurgency that has cost thousands of civilian lives since 2004. It has involved a series of military offensives as well as concerted efforts to block the militants sources of funding. Last year, the country recorded its lowest number of killings since 2007 when the Pakistani Taliban was formed. But the remnants of militant groups are still able to carry out periodic bloody attacks. According to the CRSS report, the two provinces of central Punjab and southwestern Baluchistan had a marginal increase in violence during 2016. Baluchistan suffered the most fatalities as violence-related deaths rose from 719 in 2015 to 798 last year, an upsurge of nearly 10%, followed by central Punjab which lost 424 people during 2016 -- the highest number of fatalities in the province during the last four years. Both provinces were the targets of suicide attacks that increased the casualty count. Baluchistan had three suicide attacks, leaving 186 dead, while Punjab had one suicide attack at a park crowded with families on Easter Sunday, killing 75 including many children. President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter again to promise North Korea would not develop a nuclear missile capable of reaching US territory. His comments, on Monday evening, come a day after the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un, appeared to try to put pressure on Trump by announcing his country is in the final stages of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US, Trump tweeted. It wont happen! Although Washington has repeatedly vowed that it would never accept North Korea as a nuclear state, Trump has not previously clearly stated his policy on the isolated Stalinist state. Read | US condemns North Korea missile plan, warns against provocative actions The Republican billionaire has already upended precedent by routinely taking to Twitter since his election last month to lambast critics and issue statements -- sometimes about the most serious national security issues -- sending analysts scrambling to divine what they may mean for US policy once he takes office on January 20. He launched a solo bid to restart the Cold War arms race last month, tweeting that the United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capabilities. He has also angered China by tweeting accusations of military expansionism and currency manipulation. But he will need Beijing, Pyongyangs closest ally, to deal with North Koreas mounting confrontation. However, he appeared to complicate that prospect with his latest criticism on Monday evening following his vow about North Korea. China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the US in totally one-sided trade, but wont help with North Korea, he tweeted. Nice! In a 30-minute televised New Years speech on Sunday, Kim said Pyongyang had soared as a nuclear power, adding that it is now a military power of the East that cannot be touched by even the strongest enemy. Although he did not make a specific reference to the incoming Trump administration, he called on Washington to make a resolute decision to withdraw its anachronistic hostile North Korea policy. Analysts are divided over how close Pyongyang is to realizing its full nuclear ambitions, especially as it has never successfully test-fired an ICBM. Read | Experts believe North Korea worked through 2016 to build long-range missile However, North Korea carried out two nuclear tests and numerous missile launches last year in pursuit of its oft-stated goal -- developing a weapons system capable of hitting the US mainland with a nuclear warhead. Thae Yong-Ho, North Koreas former deputy ambassador to Britain who defected to the South in August, has said Kim was planning a prime time nuclear weapons push in 2017 to take advantage of leadership transitions in Washington and Seoul. The Chinese capital was on the second-highest orange smog alert in the depth of winter on Tuesday as city officials said the air quality was improving overall, citing data for the whole of last year. Over the new year holiday, hundreds of flights were cancelled and highways closed across northern China as average concentrations of small breathable particles known as PM2.5 soared above 500 micrograms per cubic metre in Beijing and surrounding regions. Pollution alerts are common in northern China, especially during bitterly cold winters when energy demand, much of it met by coal, soars. But the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau told state media that PM2.5 concentrations dropped 9.9% on the year to an average of 73 micrograms per cubic metre in the Chinese capital in 2016. The total number of blue sky days reached 198 in 2016, up 12 from the previous year. However, the average PM2.5 measure still exceeded national air quality standards by 109%, the bureau said. Despite a brief respite on Monday, smog returned to the Chinese capital on Tuesday, with PM2.5 readings again at hazardous levels. The city environment bureau said the orange alert was expected to last until Wednesday. A Chinese woman wears a protection mask near the headquarters of China's state broadcaster Central China Television in Beijing on Tuesday as China is engulfed in heavy smog. (AP photo) China is in the third year of a war on pollution aimed at reversing the damage done to its skies, soil and water after decades of untrammelled economic growth. It has created emergency response systems that restrict traffic and shut down factories and construction sites during periods of heavy smog, and it has also vowed to punish local officials and enterprises that break rules. During a bout of smog in December, inspectors identified 21 enterprises that had violated regulations by failing to close operations on time, and 10 more inspection teams were dispatched to cities across the region over the new year. But government officials have expressed frustration that persistently heavy winter pollution, brought about by unfavourable weather and the use of coal-fired urban heating systems, has overshadowed the genuine progress China has made to reduce smog. SpaceX plans to resume flights as early as next week after finding the cause of an explosion which destroyed a rocket and a satellite on a Florida launch pad in September. The Hawthorne, a California-based company, is aiming for a Sunday (January 8) flight from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The launch, however, still needs approval by the federal aviation administration. The company said its investigation of the September 1 explosion found that a tank failed within the larger, second-stage liquid oxygen tank. Highlights The blast on September 1, 2016 came as the unmanned Falcon 9 rocket was being fuelled ahead of a standard, pre-launch test in Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX had been due to carry into orbit the AMOS-6 communications satellite owned by Israels Space Communication . The satellite was also to help Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg bring high-speed internet access to remote parts of Africa. SpaceX now plans to launch 10 satellites for Iridium Communications Inc. SpaceX plans to launch 10 satellites for Iridium Communications Inc on a Falcon 9 rocket. The satellites will be used to provide mobile communications on land, sea and air. Read: SpaceXs Falcon 9 explodes on Florida launch pad during rocket test Iridium in a tweet said it was pleased with the SpaceXs announcement and the target launch date. SpaceX had said it expected to return to flight as soon as November. But the anticipated launch date slipped back to December, and then January. Clearly, they are being extra cautious, said Marco Caceres, senior space analyst for the Teal Group. SpaceX usually pushes ahead a lot faster. So it seems like they are not rushing ahead at this point, which is a good thing. The explosion at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station destroyed a satellite that was to be managed by Israeli satellite operator Spacecom and was also to help Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg bring high-speed internet access to remote parts of Africa. SpaceX on Monday said it poured through 3,000 channels of video and telemetry data which spanned just 93 milliseconds from the first sign of trouble to the explosion. The suspect in the slaying of a Pennsylvania state trooper sent a text afterward to his sons mother, apologising to her and acknowledging, I killed the cop, according to court records released on Tuesday. The arrest warrant, issued before suspect Jason Robison was shot and killed by police, said Trooper Landon Weaver came to Robisons home in Hesston on Friday to investigate a report that Robison had defied a protective order by contacting his sons mother. The 23-year-old trooper told Robison that his text exchanges with her violated a protection-from-abuse order issued in April. Robison, 32, replied he did not want to go to jail, police said. Sherry Robison, Robisons mother, told investigators that Jason Robison and Weaver had been in a mudroom beside the kitchen when Robison came into the kitchen, put a lighter on a counter and pulled a small black gun from his pants. She stated, Jason what are you doing? police wrote. Robison then stepped into the mudroom, and she heard a pop and saw Weaver fall face-down into the kitchen, bleeding, the document said. Sherry Robison yelled for her boyfriend, who was in the basement, and he called 911. Police said about 15 minutes later, Jason Robison sent three texts to his childs mother: I killed the cop, Shot him twice in the head he is dead. I love you! I always will! and Good bye sweetheart. Im Sorry. Police tracked Robison to an unoccupied mobile home nearby the next morning. Police said they shot and killed him after he refused orders and made threats. State police said Tuesday that Robison shot Weaver with a .32-caliber Beretta semi-automatic handgun. The gun owner did not realize it was missing, but the owners son, Bradley McMullen, 28, confessed that he stole the handgun from his father and traded it to Robison for five opioid pills, police said. He was charged Monday with theft and receiving stolen property and jailed on $25,000 bail. The protection-from-abuse application said Robison had attacked and threatened the woman repeatedly over the years, including in April, when he said he would kill her. Whitesel said a passing postal worker happened to see the attack and helped her escape. She said Robison had previously smashed her home, breaking six windows, a stove and her bedroom door. He has told me that nobody will want me when hes done with me, the woman said in the protective order application. Jason has threatened to knock all of my teeth out. When hes not threatening me, hes threatening to commit suicide. Their son was 6 years old when the order was granted by a judge April 18. Visitation for Weaver is Wednesday and the funeral is Thursday at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona, with burial at Fairview Cemetery in Martinsburg. He joined the state police a year ago and was assigned to the Huntingdon station in June. Syrian rebel groups said on Monday they had decided to freeze any talks about their possible participation in Syrian peace negotiations being prepared by Moscow in Kazakhstan unless the Syrian government and its Iran-backed allies end what it said were violations of a ceasefire. In a statement, the rebel groups also said that any territorial advances by the army and Iran-backed militias that are fighting alongside it would end the fragile ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey, which back opposing sides, that came into effect on Friday. The regime and its allies have continued firing and committed many and large violations, said the statement signed by the mainly moderate rebel groups operating under the umbrella of the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA). The UN Security Council on Saturday gave its blessing to the ceasefire deal, which are slated to be followed by peace talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana. The statement said the main violations were in an area northwest of Damascus in the rebel-held Wadi Barada valley, where government forces and the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group have been trying to press advances in an ongoing campaign. Rebels say the army is seeking to recapture the area, where a major spring provides most of Damascuss water supplies and which lies on a major supply route from Lebanon to the Syrian capital used by Hezbollah. Like previous Syria ceasefire deals, it has been shaky from the start, with repeated outbreaks of violence in some areas, but has largely held elsewhere. The rebel groups questioned Russias ability to force the Syrian government and their allies to abide by the terms of the ceasefire deal. It is an all-too-familiar Hollywood story: The out-of-work actor eking out an existence in cheap housing, earning minimum wage delivering pizzas, desperate for his big break. But for Jay Abdo -- one of the Arab worlds biggest stars before the conflict in Syria made him just another anonymous refugee on the mean streets of Los Angeles -- it has been particularly tough. Just a few years ago, the 54-year-old actor could not walk the streets in any Middle Eastern country without being mobbed by fans or dine out without being offered free meals. A household name and a veteran of 43 movies and more than 1,000 TV episodes, Abdo was admired not just for his acting skills but his willingness to speak his mind in public. I had a pretty beautiful life, he told AFP. People loved me, on screen and on talk shows when I spoke to people and expressed my culture and points of view. Jay Abdo in a Syrian TV show. Known in Syria by his real first name, Jihad, Abdo is best known for his role in Bab al-Hara (The Neighborhood Gate), one of the biggest soap operas in history, with up to 50 million viewers per episode. His path to Hollywood started in 2011 as tensions in Syria were escalating in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. His wife, painter and human rights lawyer Fadia Afashe, was a senior official in Syrias department of culture, and found herself having to flee Bashar al-Assads brutal regime after being caught meeting opposition activists during a trip to France. Torture She went to study public policy at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, intending to return to Syria after graduating. But Abdo himself was beginning to become a major annoyance to Assads crumbling regime after turning down numerous invitations to back the president at rallies and TV talk shows. Matters came to a head when he gave an interview to the Los Angeles Times during a trip to Beirut in which he accused Syrias secret service of torture and corruption. Strangers threatened him on his return to Syria, his car windows were smashed and he faced repeated demands to apologise to Assad on television. Having seen friends arrested or disappear -- some are still missing -- he uprooted in October 2011, leaving behind almost all his wealth and property, to join his wife in Minneapolis. The couple applied for asylum and drove for three days to Los Angeles with everything they owned so Abdo could find work. Jay Abdo with his wife, Fadia Afashe. I met so many people who were shocked that my name was Jihad, he says, explaining why he became Jay. They didnt know it was Christian and I was named after a Christian lawyer in Damascus -- a very good friend to my family. Even with a more palatable name, more than 100 failed auditions followed as the couple lived a desperate existence on just $3 a day. It took more than a year to find work with a florist and delivering pizzas for Dominos, earning up to $300 a week. Believing in destiny Abdos break finally came when he landed a part alongside Nicole Kidman and James Franco in Queen of the Desert -- Werner Herzogs biopic of the British archaeologist Gertrude Bell, due for release in spring. All my scenes were with Nicole, Abdo says. I cant praise her enough. Shes very sweet, extremely professional, a very good hearted woman -- very smart and sharp. Above all, she supported me from the first minute. Herzog has since described in interviews finally grasping how famous his Syrian hire was when they visited a souk in Marrakesh during filming in Morocco. Everyone wanted a photo with him. The merchants in the souk gave us everything for half price, the filmmaker told The Wall Street Journal. Jay Abdo with Tom Hanks during the filming of A Hologram for the King. In a sign that Tinseltown really does like its happy endings, the actors career is finally back on track. He has a part in the Amazon television series The Patriot and Bon Voyage -- a short film he made with Swiss director Marc Raymond Wilkins -- has just been shortlisted for an Oscar. Last year, he appeared alongside Tom Hanks in A Hologram for the King, a comedy about a failed corporate salesman trying to do business in Saudi Arabia. Devastated by the worsening plight of the Syrian people in the five years since he escaped the Assad regime, Abdo is unsure whether he will ever return. But he believes he could not be in a better place. From the beginning, Hollywood was not my objective, he said. I did not plan to come here. Its destiny that brought me. US President-elect Donald Trump broke with Republican lawmakers on Day One of new congress, slamming their move to gut an independent office that investigates ethics violations by members, their aides and staff of the House of Representatives. With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! Trump wrote in a pair of tweets. He signed off with #DTS, a reference to his election promise of ethics reforms to drain the swamp, to end the influence of special interests and lobbyists in Washington, of which reforming congress was to be a critical part. It was not immediately clear if House Republicans would persist with the vote, after the oath of office by the most ethnically diverse House in US history, despite this unequivocal rebuke from the president-elect himself. Other party leaders such as Speaker Paul Ryan have also opposed the move. The decision to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), an independent office comprised of private citizens not elected lawmakers was taken in a vote at a closed-door conference of Republican members of the House Monday. The OCE was created in 2008 by Democrats, who controlled the House then, in the aftermath of a corruption scandal involving DC lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a Republican party lawmaker and several congressional and White House officials. The Houses own ethics committee, drawn from members of the chamber, was found too timid to move on complaints about against other members and their aides. The OCE, comprising private citizens, would be more vigilant, it was argued. So it was, to the frustration of those it investigated. The office was empowered to act on its own on a tip from the public or news reports, investigate it and then give a report to the House ethics committee for further actions. The House Ethics Committee could reject the findings, and not act on them at all. But it was required to make the OCE report public, which in itself was sufficient deterrent for the committee to not seem to be too quick to dismiss the charges, and members. Republican lawmakers now intend to rename the OCE as the Office of Congressional Complaint Review, prohibit it from acting on anonymous tips and conduct investigation under close supervision of the House ethics committee. Poor way to begin draining the swamp, Tom Fitton, president of the conservative group Judicial Watch, said on Twitter, adding, Swamp wins with help of @SpeakerRyan, @RepGoodlatte (Representative Robert Goodlatte, who proposed the change). Nancy Pelosi, leader of House Democrats, said in a statement, Republicans claim they want to drain the swamp, but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions. Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress. With the move being slammed from all quarters for running counter to Trumps promise to drain the swamp, it was only a matter time before the president-elect himself jumped in himself. And he did, with a sharp rebuke. In another tweet targeting a US company, President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to slap a tax on General Motors for importing compact cars to the US from Mexico. But GM makes the vast majority of compact Chevrolet Cruzes at a sprawling complex in Lordstown, Ohio, east of Cleveland. Trump tweeted early Tuesday that GM is sending Mexican-made Cruzes to the U.S. tax-free. He told GM to make the cars in the US or pay big border tax! General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A.or pay big border tax! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 GM imports only hatchback versions of the Cruze from a factory in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, and it sold only about 4,500 of them in the US last year, spokesman Patrick Morrissey said. The company sold about 172,000 Cruzes through November. The hatchback, which went on sale in the US in the fall, is built in Mexico for global distribution, Morrissey said. GM shares fell by about 1 percent in premarket trading immediately after the tweet, but bounced into positive territory after the market opened Tuesday. Cruze hatchback production amounts to less than a day of output at the Lordstown plant, said Glenn Johnson, president of a United Auto Workers union local at the factory. The union, he said, is not protesting the move to build the hatch in Mexico. It makes for news, thats all, Johnson said of Trumps tweet. The Lordstown factory, he said, is not equipped to build the hatch. GM did import some Cruze sedans from Mexico last year to meet demand as it was rolling out a new version of the compact car, Morrissey said, but that has stopped and all sedans sold in the US are now made in Ohio, he said. The tweet was the latest threat from Trump to tax companies that move production to Mexico and ship products back to the US under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Last year Trump went after Ford for plans to shift production of the compact Focus to Mexico. Jobs at the Detroit-area factory that now makes Focuses would be preserved because the plant is to get a new small pickup truck and SUV. Fords CEO says the company will not change the plans. Trumps targets have ranged from US retailers and defense contractors, to tech companies. Amazon.com, Boeing and Macys have been the subject of Trump tweets in the past. Last year Trump touted a deal to keep 800 jobs at the Carrier furnace factory in Indianapolis from going to Mexico. He has promised to lower corporate tax rates to preserve factory jobs inside the United States, while threatening harsh penalties for companies that produce goods overseas to save on labor costs. On Twitter, Trump warned that he will impose a 35 percent tariff on the goods imported by companies that outsource production. In November, GM said it would lay off about 1,250 workers at the Lordstown plant due to sagging demand for cars as US buyers take advantage of low gasoline prices to buy trucks and SUVs. The workers on the third shift at Lordstown will go in indefinite layoff starting Jan. 23, although some may move to other GM factories. Sales of the Cruze were down more than 18 percent through November. Shifting demand from cars to trucks and SUVS is forcing General Motors to lay off more than 2,000 workers. Last month, 61.5 percent of US new vehicle sales were trucks and SUVs, according to Autodata Corp., and analysts say theres no sign that will change anytime soon. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 3 By Fatih Karimov Trend: The trade turnover between Iran and Turkey stood at $8.798 billion during the first eleven months of 2016, according to the latest statistics released by the Turkish Statistical Institute. The figure indicates a fall by 1.6 percent compared to same period of the preceding year. The trade turnover between the two countries reached $796.351 million in November 2016. The exports of Turkey to Iran in November 2016 valued about $320.976 million, meanwhile the country imported goods worth $475.375 million from Iran in the same month. Turkey's exports to Iran in the first eleven months of 2016 amounted to $4.635 billion, 41 percent more year-on-year. The country also imported $4.163 billion worth of goods from Iran in the period, 26 percent less compared to the first eleven months of 2015. The trade turnover between the two countries was $13.71 billion in 2014, which stood at $9.76 billion in 2015, indicating a 29-percent plunge. The man who gunned down 39 people, including two Indians, at an Istanbul nightclub on New Years Day in an attack claimed by Islamic State appears to have been well versed in guerrilla warfare and may have trained in Syria. The attacker, who remains at large, was identified as 28-year-old Kyrgyz citizen Iakhe Mashrapov by Turkish state broadcaster TRT on Tuesday. CNN Turk too said he was believed to be of Kyrgyz origin. The assailant has experience in combat for sure... he could have been fighting in Syria for years, a security source told Reuters, saying he was likely to have been directed in his actions by the Islamic State. Haberturk newspaper said police investigations had revealed the gunman had entered Turkey from Syria and went to the central city of Konya in November, travelling with his wife and two children so as not to attract attention. Mashrapovs wife, who was arrested in Konya early on Tuesday, said she did not know he belonged to the IS, according to police sources cited by Britains ITV channel. The attacker shot dead a police officer and a civilian at the entrance to the exclusive Reina nightclub on Sunday. He then opened fire with an automatic rifle inside, reloading his weapon half a dozen times and shooting the wounded as they lay on the ground. Haberturk cited a barman at the club as saying the attacker had thrown explosive devices several times during the shooting spree, apparently to disorientate people and give himself time to reload. Several witnesses who spoke to Reuters said there had been small explosions during the attack. In a statement claiming the attack on Monday, IS described the club as a gathering point for Christians celebrating their apostate holiday and said the shooting was revenge for Turkish military involvement in Syria. At least 27 of the dead were foreigners, Turkish officials said. Another 70 were injured. Turkish Twitter users posted a photo from Mashrapovs passport whose validity authorities in Kyrgyzistan were not immediately able to confirm, Kyrgyz news agency AKIpress reported. In the passport, Mashrapovs date of birth is shown as August 2, 1988 and the document was issued on October 21, 2016, a month before he arrived in Turkey. A manhunt is underway for the attacker. Turkish officials have not commented on details of the investigation but government spokesman Numan Kurtulmus said on Monday the authorities were close to fully identifying the gunman, after gathering fingerprints and information on his appearance, and had detained eight other people. A selfie video of the alleged attacker, apparently walking around Istanbuls central Taksim Square, was broadcast by Turkish news channels on Tuesday. Kurtulmus made no reference to the IS claim of responsibility but said it was clear Turkeys military operations in Syria had annoyed terrorist groups and those behind them. NATO member Turkey is part of the US-led coalition against IS and since August, has been conducting military operations inside Syria to drive the Sunni militants and Kurdish militia fighters away from its borders. IS has been blamed for at least half a dozen attacks on civilian targets in Turkey over the past 18 months. A couple in the United Kingdom narrowly avoided missing out on a New Year windfall after retrieving a winning lottery ticket worth 66,000 pounds thrown in a roadside dustbin. Joanne Joynson, 37, is now planning to marry her fiance of 15 years with that money. She said, First thing I did when I saw Dyllan was to remind him he had proposed 15 years ago and that we could now afford to get married. I have always wanted to get married but we have never had the money to do it until now. Joynson from Merseyside went to her local Betfred shop on New Years Eve and was amazed to discover the losing 3 pounds Spanish Lottery ticket she had thrown away three days earlier was in fact a winner. Her losing ticket proved a winner as part of a Betfred 10-week cash giveaway promotion where all the losing lottery tickets from the 11 lotto games go into a weekly draw meaning the tens of thousands of people who missed out are in with a chance of picking up 1,000 or 5,000 consolation prizes. But not all the cash prizes were claimed - and the prize fund rolled over into the 66,000 pounds won by Joynson on December 31. She raced the short distance home to rummage through the wheelie bin and 15 minutes later was back at the bookies clutching the ticket. Joynson, mother-of-two, said, It wasnt so bad because the bin men had been to take away the Christmas rubbish so there was only one plastic bag in there so I found it quickly enough. I go in Betfreds every day and have a go on the Spanish or Irish lotteries, the 49s or the goals galore coupon. I have won bits before but never ever anything like this, she added. United Airlines says a San Francisco-bound flight was diverted to New Zealand because of a passenger who failed to follow crew instructions. Passenger Neil Kay tells KNTV-TV that the disruptive passenger used misogynistic and homophobic slurs. Kay posted photos and videos on Facebook of the unnamed American man verbally harassing passengers and flight crew during a New Years Day flight from Sydney to San Francisco. United spokesperson Erin Benson says the flight was diverted to Auckland. The airline says the man was arrested there on Sunday. According to KNTV, the man will not be charged but will remain in custody until arrangements are made for his trip back to the US. The US administration has initiated a process for resolving a water dispute between India and Pakistan without waiting for an invitation to get involved in the matter, according to a Pakistani media report on Tuesday. The initiative stems from the fear the US administration shares with the World Bank that the dispute, if dragged, may harm the Indus Waters Treaty that has effectively resolved disputes between India and Pakistan for more than half a century, the Dawn newspaper quoted official sources as saying. The move follows a recent decision by the World Bank, which brokered the treaty, to pause separate processes initiated by India and Pakistan over two hydropower projects to allow the two sides to consider alternative ways to resolve differences. The projects are Kishenganga and Ratle in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan claims the projects violate the design parameters of the Indus Waters Treaty, a charge rejected by India. India took strong exception to the World Banks decision to set up a Court of Arbitration and appoint a Neutral Expert to go into Pakistans complaint against the two projects. During the Christmas holidays, US secretary of state John Kerry called Pakistans finance minister Ishaq Dar and discussed different options for an amicable settlement of the dispute. After the call, US ambassador David Hale too met Dar in Islamabad for further talks, the Dawn reported. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the World Bank acts as the main arbitrator and suggests measures for resolving disputes. World Bank president Jim Yong Kim wrote to India and Pakistan in mid-December and informed them that he had paused the requested arbitration. He also asked them to decide by the end of January how they want to settle the matter. On December 23, Dar told the World Bank that Pakistan still wanted the appointment of a chairman of the Court of Arbitration as soon as possible. This was followed by a phone call to Dar from Kim two days later. The report described the call from Kerry to Dar as unusual because the Obama administration completes its tenure on January 20, and such touchy issues are usually left for the next administration. But seriousness of this dispute, particularly the fear that it may harm the treaty, forced Mr Kerry to make this call, an official source was quoted as saying. The report quoted unnamed diplomatic observers in Washington as saying that the United States felt obliged to take a proactive role since it had facilitated the Indus Waters Treaty. Pakistan took its case to the World Bank last September after several meetings of the Permanent Commission for Indus Waters failed to resolve the matter. At least three of the four people on board a small plane were killed as the plane flying from Arizona to Colorado crashed northeast of the Phoenix area, sheriffs department and aviation officials said on Tuesday. The Cessna 210 crashed late on Monday in steep, rugged terrain about 24km north of Payson, Arizona, authorities said. The cause has not been determined. The three people confirmed killed were located at the crash site early on Tuesday morning by rescuers, but the fourth person aboard the plane has yet to be found, Gila County sheriff Adam Shepherd said by telephone. The victims were not immediately identified. The plane was en route from Scottsdale, Arizona, to Telluride, Colorado when the crash occurred. Deputies were able to locate the downed plane by asking a phone company to ping the cell phone of one of the people aboard the plane, Shepherd said. In general, phone companies can triangulate a phones location using networking satellites or communications towers. Deputies then spotted the wreckage with help from the Arizona department of public safety and the US Air Force Civil Air Patrol. A spokesperson for the federal aviation administration said the agency was investigating the crash along with the National Transportation Safety Board. Search parties hunted on Tuesday for a Venezuelan military helicopter that went missing five days ago in bad weather over the Amazon jungle with 13 people on board. Defense minister Vladimir Padrino said local indigenous communities were helping army rescuers search the densely-forested area on foot and by boat, but poor weather conditions were preventing overflights. As well as the four-man crew, the Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter was carrying four local indigenous inhabitants, five military personnel who were to relieve colleagues at a post, and supplies, when it went off the radar on December 30. We have had information from indigenous inhabitants who saw the helicopter fly over, Padrino said. But so far, by air its been practically impossible to reach the area where we presume there was a forced landing ... We keep faith that they are OK. Yemeni security officials say pro-government forces attacked al Qaeda militants in the countrys south, killing 15 jihadis but losing 11 of their own troops. The officials say the fighting began when security forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition that is fighting Yemens Shiite rebels elsewhere in the country, on Tuesday attacked an al Qaeda stronghold in the Marakasha mountains in Abyan province, east of the southern city of Aden. The area has long been a militant haven, attracting fighters in the 1990s returning from Afghanistan after fighting the Soviets. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to reporters. Impoverished Yemen has been at war since rebel Houthis swept into the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. In the ensuing chaos, al-Qaida extremists managed to grab some territory. Whether describing keeping warm in a cold-water fat, making change in a language she imperfectly under- stands or trekking across the bare hillocks and deep trenches of the battlefield at Douaumont, France, Margaret Halls voice is steady, self-deprecating and shrewd. At 42, Hall was among the elite Americans who could afford to pay their room, board and other expenses during volunteer service. Educated at Bryn Mawr, trained as a historian and comfortable in French and German, Hall brought other talents as well: a keen eye for detail and a gift for photography. All of these aspects are on display in Battle Country: The World War I Memoir of Margaret Hall, Halls 1919 recollections of a year spent in France during the closing months of World War I and its aftermath. Serving food and coffee to soldiers at a railroad station at Chalons-sur-Marne (today Chalonsen-Champagne), she was one of more than 16,000 American women who volunteered alongside the 2 million American soldiers who poured into France and helped turn the tide against Germany. Halls never-before published memoir and photographs are put in context by thoughtful historical commentary. Raised in a wealthy Boston family, Hall had visited Europe with her mother, whetting a lifelong appetite for travel and adventure. As Hall put it, In my day you could not get married and see the world. I chose to see the world. What she saw in wartime France, though, felt unreal: I cant believe that it is I who am seeing it with my eyes, living in something that is a reality and not a dream. It worries me sometimes for I am afraid it will disappear out of my memory like a dream, and I dont know just what to do to hold on to it. Fortunately, the camera she smuggled into the country allowed her to leave a remarkable record of what she witnessed: soldiers of various nationalities, volunteer aid workers and the destruction of French towns and cathedrals. Her deepest interest lay in seeing the combat zone, however, and she managed to do so briefly, after the war had ended, when she hitchhiked around northern France. Her photographs of deep and narrow trenches, the skeleton of a German soldier and an overturned German tank on a terrain as bleak as the moon bring the war home as no words can. Halls mournful photographs contrast with her brisk and sensible commentary. She chides the shortsightedness and chauvinism of American soldiers who complain about the scarcities and rough conditions in France after experiencing comparative abundance in German POW camps. And she displays breathtakingly steady nervesstaying in her fat during a bombing when others had headed to underground shelters and commenting, after learning of the suicide of two sisters who had also volunteered in France, that super-sensitive people should not come here. Hall would return to run the family business in Hull, Mass. But she spent the last months of her service helping wounded soldiers and refugees and documenting the deep commitment of the French to honor the servicemen who had lost their lives. Although some 70 percent of American soldiers killed in the war were shipped home for burial, the others were laid to rest in France, where the locals tenderly decorated their graves. Originally published in the February 2015 issue of American History. To subscribe, click here. Donald Trump doubts on a US intelligence finding that Russia meddled in the US election through computer hacking, a conclusion that led to US sanctions against Moscow. Trump declared that he wants them to be sure due to the seriousness of the charge. Donald Trump made this comment at his estate in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. He made observations on US intelligence, which said that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction many years ago. This was the pretext for the US-led invasion in 2003. Trump declared that this was a disaster and that they were wrong. He also that it was unfair to accuse Russia of hacking if there was any doubt. Trump knows things that other people do not know Trump declared that he knows a lot about hacking and that it is a very hard thing to prove. So it could be somebody else. Trump added that he also knows things that other people don't know, and so they cannot be sure of the situation. When asked about the things that other people do not know, Donald Trump stated: "You'll find out on Tuesday or Wednesday." When asked how important cybersecurity would be to his administration, he declared: It is very important. If you have something really important, write it and have it delivered by courier, the old fashioned way because I will tell you that no computer is safe. Donald Trump does not trust computers at all. Trump praised Putin for not expeling US diplomats The CIA and FBI agree that Russia meddled in the November US presidential election. Trump won the electoral college vote, while Hillary Clinton won the popular vote. Trump praised Russian President Vladimir Putin for not expeling US diplomats. We have to add that United States expeled 35 russian diplomats last week. There is a bit of tension now but it is believed that once that Trump becomes President, it will be different. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The 35 Russian diplomats expelled by President Barack Obama left US on Sunday, the plane took off with all the affected personnel and their families. Obama ordered the expulsion of the Russian diplomats due to the alleged hacking of the US Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton campaign during the presidential election. Donald Trump has serious doubts about the alleged hacking and promised a revelation about it. A spokesperson for the Russian embassy in the US confirmed the departure of the plane from Washington on New Year's Day, the aircraft was part of the Rossiya airline's special flight detachment group. Obama gave the diplomats just 72 hours to leave United States. Trump does not agree with the US sanctions Trump declared that Americans "ought to get on with our lives" rather than sanction Russia. He also declared that he knows some things that other people do not know and that he will make it public soon. The diplomats were suspected spies and the removals of diplomats are part of the sanctions against Russia. Obama also included other punishments such as the closure of Russian compounds in New York and Maryland. The cyberattacks were emails made public after they were stolen from the Democratic National Committee and from the campaign of Hilary Clinton, the nominee of the democrats. Vladimir Putin on this issue Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, declared that he would not stoop to irresponsible diplomacy, he attempts to repair relations when Donald Trump takes power. Trump considered the decision of Vladimir Putin as very smart. Russian President Vladimir Putin says he will not take immediate retaliatory action, instead he is waiting Donald Trump to take office on Jan. 20. Putin and Trump have good relations and it is supposed that diplomatic relations between United States and Russia will improve. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 3 By Emil Ilgar Trend: Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah has been continuing its presence in Syria despite having many martyrs there, Ali Akbar Velayati, director of the Strategic Studies Center of Irans Expediency Council, said Jan. 3 during a conference in Tehran, Mehr News Agency reported. After a meeting with Iraqi Vice President Nouri al-Maliki, Velayati said that Iran hasnt changed its principal position on the Syrian issue and continues supporting Syrian government and people. Russias President Vladimir Putin said Dec. 29 that agreements were achieved on a ceasefire in Syria and the readiness to start peace talks. Reports have just arrived that several hours ago there was a development that we all have for so long looked and worked for. Three documents have been signed. A ceasefire between the Syrian government and the armed opposition is one. A package of measures to control the ceasefire is another. And a declaration of readiness to enter peace talks on a settlement in Syria is the third, Putin said at a meeting with Russian foreign and defense ministers. North Korea Will Test Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), according to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He declared that research and development of the advanced tech weapons are progressing and strengthening their defense capabilities. He also claimed that the last stage preparation for the tests of the intercontinental ballistic rocket launch has been continuously succeeding. He stated that North Korea will keep increasing its military capabilities unless that US and its forces stop the nuclear threat. There's reason to take Kim's threats more seriously than in past years because in 2016 North Korea backed up its aggressive rhetoric with two nuclear tests. But even though the Kim regime has advanced on warhead development, it doesn't have enough technology to deliver a nuke, according to senior defense analyst Bruce Bennett. South Korean Warning The South Korean Unification ministry stated that South Korea and the international community will not tolerate North Korea's nuclear development. South Korea will increase the sanctions and pressure against North Korea unless that it follows the road of denuclearization. The US has 28,500 troops in South Korea while conducting joint military exercises every year. Musudan ballistic missile A successful ICBM test launch would be a great achievement for North Korea. ICBMs have a range of 5,500 km (3,418 miles), but some ICBMs can travel 10,000 km (6,214 miles) or more. California is just 9,000 km (5,592 miles) from North Korea. Advancing has not been easy for the Kim regime. There have been many challenges. When trying to deploy its intermediate-range Musudan ballistic missile, it succeeded just once in eight attempted launches last year. The Musudan is able to fly about 3,000 km (1,860 miles). This missile could reach South Korea, Japan, and maybe the US territory of Guam. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The first day of the trial that calls for the impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-hye was postponed today. This after the embattled leader, who is facing various corruption charges, failed to appear in court. Today's hearing is supposed to validate or strike down the parliament's decision to indict Park on corruption charges. The South Korean leader facing political turmoil late last year after she was being accused of using her power to give the due advantage to her family and friend. The scandal has caused a large group of Park's ruling Conservative party mates, who broke away to form a new conservative movement. The people that accordingly benefited from Park influence included her friend Choi Soon-sil and daughter Chung Yoo-ra. Chung is currently under the custody of Danish police as the South Korean government is working for her extradition. Choi is under arrest. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. SpaceX will officially resume launching of Falcon spacecraft on January 8. The company will use revised operational practices developed in response to an accident that occurred during routine ground preparations a short time ago. The suggested date for the blastoff of the Falcon 9 from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base is subject to results of the test that will take place this week. SpaceX plans to launch ten satellites on one Falcon 9 rocket for the company Iridium Communications. These satellites will be part of a new satellite constellation to provide mobile communications on land, ships, and airplanes. SpaceX stated that the explosion on the launchpad, which destroyed the rocket and a single commercial satellite, was the result of problematic fueling procedures instead of a manufacturing flaw or design. A pressurized helium bottle in the rocket ruptured, a few minutes before a test firing causing an explosion. It has been determined that there was a breach in the helium vessel which resulted in an ignition. SpaceX has been advancing in space technology Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, also known as SpaceX, has been founded by Elon Musk. He is also the chairman and chief executive. This company has made important steps in the development of space technology and is giving services to many companies and institutions. SpaceX has launch rockets for various customers including NASA supply missions to the International Space Station. The company is working to develop a crew capsule which will be able to ferry astronauts to the space station. That capsule will have its first flight test this November. It will be an uncrewed flight. The next step will be its first flight test with humans, it will take place in May 2018. SpaceX also plans to launch the Falcon Heavy, its heavy-lift rocket, this year for the first time. This rocket will be able to lift off from either Vandenberg or Pad 39A, which is the alternate launch pad of the company at Kennedy Space Center, which is close to being operational and it will be able to launch Falcon 9 rockets. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Professor Paul E. Wise is the Founding Director and a Professor of the University of Delaware's Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management program and serves as the program's Ambassador. He graduated from Penn State University with a B.S. degree in Hotel, Restaurant & Institutional Management and later received his M.B.A. from Michigan State University in Food Marketing. Professor Wise has operated restaurants and clubs in Pennsylvania, Panama and Alaska and has taught club management for Army and Air Force club managers at Fort Lee, Virginia. He served two tours in Vietnam; the first tour was with the First Logistical Command; the second tour was as a Vietnamese Advisor. Professor Wise is a graduate of the Command and General Staff College and National Defense University. He is the recipient of two Legions of Merit, two Bronze Stars and four Army Commendation Medals, retiring as a full colonel in 1982. During the last ten years of his association with the military, he was responsible for the operation of 670 Army clubs and hotels that produced annual revenues of over $300 million. Professor Wise is active in numerous hotel and restaurant associations. Currently he served as Vice Chairman of the Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau and as a past member of the Delaware Restaurant Association's Board of Directors. He is designated by the American Hotel and Lodging Association as a Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA) and as a Certified Catering Executive (CCE) by the National Association of Catering Executives. In 1988 he was chosen as the Pennsylvania State University Hotel and Restaurant Society Alumnus of the Year. Shortly after that, he was inducted into the International Military Club Executive Association Hall of Fame. The Educational Institute's Lamp of Knowledge award, in the "Outstanding Educator--Four-Year School" category was given to him in 1992 for his efforts to help the Institute better serve the needs of educators. He has served on the Certification Commission and Education Committee of the Educational Institute, American Hotel and Lodging Association, and is a past member of the Institute's Board of Trustees. Professor Wise has also served as a consultant and speaker to numerous corporations and associations. Wise came to UD in 1988 as founding director and HRIM chairperson. In less than 15 years, the program moved from temporary offices in a trailer to a top-ranked hospitality department. Industry experts have acknowledged the program's unprecedented rise to prominence was to a large degree the result of Wise's vision and tireless pursuit. Wise's part in HRIM's, including the creation of Vita Nova, UD's student-run restaurant, and the Courtyard Newark-University of Delaware hotel, both HRIM learning laboratories. When he retired from UD in 2000, the Paul Wise Executive-in-Residence Fund was established in his honor. The Wise Executive-in-Residence Fund sponsors an on-campus program--including lectures, workshops, consultation and advisement sessions with HRIM faculty and staff--by a recognized leader who personifies current best practice in hospitality management. There will be a viewing on Wednesday, January 4 from 6:00pm-8:00pm at Daniels & Hutchinson Funeral Home at 212 North Broad St., Middletown, DE 19709. The funeral service will be on Thursday, January 5 at Middletown Baptist Church which is located at 419 Armstrong Corner Rd., Middletown, DE 19709. There will be visitation with the family from 10:00am-11:00am followed by the service which will start at 11:00am. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the University of Delaware Hospitality Paul Wise Scholarship. http://www.udel.edu/giving. When you get to the site, please click on "Make Your Gift" and then choose "Other" and type in your giving for the UD Hospitality Paul Wise Scholarship. William Sullivan University of Delaware 302-444-9256 University of Delaware It looks like you've reached a page that doesnt exist (anymore). Please use the navigation or search above to find content on Hospitality Net. Go back to home Despite his business tactics being questioned by the likes of Lil Wayne, Tyga, and others, Birdman is still recruiting new artists. Broward County, Florida rapper Robb Bank$ is the latest rapper to align himself with the Cash Money mogul, announcing the partnership on Instagram Monday. While he never explicitly says hes signed to Cash Money, the suggestion is pretty clear. 2017 takeover, Cash Money n*gga, he says, shaking hands with Birdman before the logos for CM and Rich Gang logos fade in. A thread on KTT from November points to a post Robb Bank$ made of some Cash Money jewelry, speculating that the rapper was in the midst of signing back then. Bank$ also shared an image of himself in the studio with Birdman last October. While it seems clear that Bank$ has inked a deal with Birdman, weve seen artists like Young Thug drop similar hints only to sign elsewhere. Well have to wait and see what happens with Banks, but one things for sure, hes working closely with Birdman in the new year. Bank$ shared his C2: Death Of My Teenage tape earlier this year. Hes currently preparing a project titled FALCONIA. Its with a heavy heart that we bring you news of the death of Martin Murphy, the man who drummed up a storm in the late 80s/early 90s with the highly rated Dublin band, An Emotional Fish. The band were fronted by Jerry Fish and also featured Dave Frew on guitar and Enda Wyatt on bass and keyboards. Signed in 1989 by U2 to their Mother label, the four-piece later transferred to Atlantic Records and, in addition to charting here, dented the UK top 40 with their eponymous debut album, which was released in 1990. They also did well in Italy and other parts of Europe. For a while, it seemed to be a matter not of whether they were going to break through to the highest level but when. However, they never quite got the required momentum going to make it on the biggest stage and wound things down after the release of their third album, Sloper in 1994. Jerry Fish went on to become a major star in Ireland, following the release of the Jerry Fish & The Mudbug album in 2002. During their hey-day, An Emotional Fish were regulars for over four years on US Modern Rock radio, but despite incessant touring never scored the commercial breakthrough in the US that they deserved. Their biggest hit, Celebrate, which reached the Top 10 in Ireland in 1989, and also reached No.10 in the US Modern Rock chart, is still a radio staple and went ten times platinum when it was covered in 1993 by Italian superstar Vasco Rossi. An Emotional Fish made a long called-for return in March 2012, when they played a concert in aid of Barretstown, along with Engine Alley amd Republic of Loose. Martin is survived by his daughter Holly and by his father and brothers. Pic: An Emotional Fish on the front cover of Hot Press with Martin top right. Following the release of their debut single 'Eager' last month, Davis have today released their first EP Simple Words, Complex World. Drawing on the influence of the likes of Bon Iver and Ben Howard, this is the first release from Dublin cousins Gavin and Keith Davis. It is made up of songs written and refined over a two year period between 2014-2016. The release of the EP precedes Davis' headline performance at Whelan's on January 19. You can buy tickets for their gig here: whelanslive.com Listen to the EP in full here: Advertisement Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 3 By Orkhan Quluzade Trend: Turkeys parliament will this week discuss extending the state of emergency in the country for another three months, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Jan. 3, TRT Haber news channel reported. Yildirim said that Turkey will continue its resolute fight against terrorism. The recent terrorist attack in Istanbul was aimed at breaching the unity of the Turkish people, Yildirim said. An armed attack took place on New Years Eve at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul. There were about 700 people in the nightclub. Thirty-nine people were killed, 69 were injured as a result of the terrorist attack. The search for the attacker continues. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a state of emergency for three months after a failed military coup attempt in July 2016. On October 3, it was decided to extend the state of emergency for another 90 days. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @o_quluzade The seminal alternative music show has been resurrected online, and this time it's 100% independent... Frustrated by the lack of TV opportunities for emerging Irish artists, former No Disco presenter Donal Dineen and Myles OReilly of Arbutus Yarns renown have launched This Aint No Disco, an online 45-minute alternative music show showcasing the likes of Lynched, Patrick Kelleher, Katie Kim and Niwel Tsumbu. We are astounded at the range and quality of the music that is being made in this country and equally aghast at how absent it is from the mainstream media," reads their mission statement. "I strongly believe that we are living in a golden age of music in Ireland. There is a new generation of people making sounds that are widening our horizons inexorably. I salute them. They should be lauded, not ignored. But when it comes to broadcasting, apart from a few notable exceptions, the wires are down and the lights have all but been extinguished. The music lovers have been shafted and dispensed with all over the shop. It's become a numbers game. The lowest common denominator is the modus operandi at most radio stations. People are being denied exposure to anything new or challenging. As a result it's inevitable that tastes are being dulled. We need to seriously look at how we treat people who make such brilliant art. Enabling them to work on their practice with the benefit of some kind of funding is imperative. Some of the greatest music-makers I know have to work day jobs or are made feel like spongers. What a joke. Life would be so much duller without these heroes and soldiers on the ground. Something must change. Providing studio or rehearsal space would be a start. It's not difficult to discern who are the ones deserving of this. Their struggles should be our concern. The joy of experiencing great music is inestimable. When it's homemade it tastes all the better. The pride that comes with the recent success of Lynched is a prime example. There's an army of these people ready to represent us on the world stage but it seems like nobody in positions of power has the foresight to recognise this and act upon it. So in our own small way we made a decision to do our bit. In sharing it this way we are bypassing all the normal channels and cutting out the middleman. Let's face it. The middleman is a dope. Here's to the true believers. Hang on in there. For the young whippersnappers among you, the original No Disco aired from 1993-2003 on RTE and provided the likes of David Gray, The Frames, David Kitt and The Divine Comedy with invaluable early exposure. Variously presented by Dineen, the late Uaneen Fitzsimons and Leagues OToole, its sudden cancellation resulted in a petition signed by thousands, but which sadly failed to earn it a reprieve. This Aint No Disco has already clocked up over 100,000 views, which you suspect is a bigger audience than it would have got going out late night on RTE. London Grammar have released their first original material since 2013. Sliding into hibernation following the release of their debut album If You Wait late in 2013, London Grammar quietly released their new single 'Rooting For You' on New Year's Day. Despite not revealing any news about an when (or if) we can expect their sophomore release, the timing of this new single seems to suggest that the Nottingham trio have plans in store for 2017... Listen to 'Rooting For You' here: This article can only be read with a Premium Account This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON - After two decades representing the suburban area north of Houston in Congress, Rep. Kevin Brady knows how to work with, not against, the oil and gas industry. But as he attempts to overhaul the U.S. tax code toward growing an ailing American manufacturing sector, Brady, the powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has found himself in an unusual public fight with the sprawling complex of oil refineries around his home district. "We've had a couple talks," Brady, R-The Woodlands, said in an interview. "I don't expect industry to change on a dime. These are big changes so I've invited business leaders to engage with me." Following President-elect Donald Trump's victory in November, Brady and a coalition of Republicans that includes House Speaker Paul Ryan are promoting the most extensive rewrite of tax laws in decades, aiming to streamline what they describe as an overly complex and burdensome tax system to grow exports and jobs in manufacturing regions decimated in recent decades. Under their plan, not only would Americans' tax returns be simplified to a document the size of a post card, but businesses also would he shifted to what economists describe as an export-centric model. Instead of taxing the income of companies operating in the United States, as is the case now, Republicans would tax only the income that comes from activity within the country's borders - at a rate of 20 percent, not the current 35 percent. Any earnings from goods or services sold outside the United States would be left alone by the IRS. For cities like Houston, with large industrial and manufacturing operations that export heavily abroad, that could conceivably be a significant boost. The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank, estimates that the U.S. economy would grow 9 percent and wages increase 8 percent under Brady's proposal. The government would collect $191 billion less in taxes over that period, a decline of less than 1 percent. Only Brady and Republicans face a wave of opposition that includes some of the country's largest refining and petrochemical companies, along with retailers like Target and Whole Foods, which argue such a system amounts to a tax on imported goods, everything from iPhones and cookware made in China to the millions of barrels of oil that flow into U.S. refineries from the overseas each day. The trade group American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, which represents Texas refining and chemical giants like Phillips 66 and Valero, recently urged Brady to reconsider the imports tax, "given the amount of crude oil the U.S. imports and the potential impacts the provision could have on consumers." Brady, who only narrowly beat former state Rep. Steve Toth in the 2016 Republican primary last year, is left to try to defend a plan he says is essential to stopping American companies from relocating factories and headquarters overseas and bringing America in line with global shifts in trade policies since the last major tax overhaul in the 1980s. Made in America "It's what our competitors do to beat us daily," he said. "Without this provision you continue to give foreign products a tax advantage over made-in- America products." Brady's plan, which he dubbed the "blueprint for tax reform," languished in the House for months since he introduced it in June. But then Donald Trump won the White House on a populist platform of bringing back American jobs, and suddenly Brady's proposal had new life. "With the support of Paul Ryan, and now Trump has won, I think it's encouraged (Brady) to stay the course on a program that is highly controversial," said Curtis Beaulieu, a Washington tax attorney with clients across energy and other industries. Opposed by Kochs While the proposal has received praise from conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation and Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform - not to mention the National Association of Manufacturers - it has also attracted some high-profile opponents. Koch Industries, the private industrial corporation run by powerful GOP donors Charles and David Koch, came out against Brady's plan. A report by the Boston consulting firm Brattle Group, which was funded by the Kochs, forecast the scheme would not only raise the price on imported goods like cars, but also increase the price of gasoline by 13 percent in the United States - about 30 cents a gallon on average. With the costs going up on foreign oil, prices on domestic crude would likely go up as well, a windfall for drillers with large U.S. operations. But the hit to American consumers' pocketbooks, not to mention the refineries downstream, could be a tough sell politically. Brady, along with some high-profile economists like Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office under George W. Bush, counter that there might be an initial hit, but over time the proposed tax on imports would strengthen the U.S. dollar, making imported goods cheaper and offsetting the added tax costs. During an interview, Brady pointed to a similar move by the United Kingdom in the late 1970s to cut its corporate tax rate while raising taxes on goods consumed inside the country. Dubbed a value-added tax or VAT, it became standard practice in most all developed countries. "The pound adjusted up 13 percent in one month," Brady said. "Markets adjust. Currencies and supply chains adjust incredibly efficiently, as they have for decades." But not everyone is so sure history will repeat itself. "It's one economic theory," Beaulieu said. "If you look at Douglas Holtz-Eakin, he always says the word 'should' as opposed to 'will,' and 'should' gives me concern because it's not certain." Brady said he is working on provisions within the proposal that should ease the transition for companies that rely on imports as they wait for currency markets to adjust. In the meantime, plenty of details remain to be worked out before the legislation is heard by the Ways and Means Committee after the new Congress convenes in January. Not the least of which is getting the president-elect on board. Brady said his and Trump's own tax proposal were "80 percent identical." "We're working with them on the rest," he said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The world's largest food makers are trying to help you keep that New Year's resolution to eat healthier, and your success is tied to theirs. In the latest sign that snack and convenience food manufacturers are working harder to offer better products, Nestle has named a former health care executive as CEO. Ulf Mark Schneider took the reins Tuesday in what is expected to be a transformation of the chocolate company turned global food empire. Schneider comes from the German health care giant Fresnius, which does everything from selling health food to making medical equipment to running hospitals. Managing a wide-ranging conglomerate is good preparation for Nestle, which sells bottled water, coffee, frozen dinners and - wait for it - health food. In fact, health and wellness is the fastest growing segment of Nestle's business, while sales of Stouffer's dinners and KitKat bars remain sluggish. Nestle's board is banking on Schneider moving the firm away from these fading brands and into more profitable businesses. Nestle is not the only food company watching the popularity of its most-prized products fade. Pepsi Co., General Mills, Kraft Heinz and many others have felt the backlash against high-calorie brands loaded with corn syrup, sugar and trans-fats. They are trying to keep up with the times. General Mills has promised to eliminate artificial flavors from breakfast cereals by 2017, joining other industry leaders like Kraft Foods. Pepsi Co. has a program to offer dozens of new healthy products by 2025. These companies, though, are caught in a similar dilemma as the auto industry. When it comes to cars, Americans say they want greater fuel efficiency, but they end up buying SUVs. They also say they want to eat better, but when they reach for a snack, they buy chips and a soda. Pepsi set a goal in 2010 of tripling revenue from healthier food by 2020 to $30 billion. That goal has since been revised downward to having the sales growth of its nutritious products outpace' the rest of its portfolio by 2025. This is where the consumer's New Year's resolution comes in. These corporation can see sales growth slowing for their unhealthy products, and they are offering alternatives. But its up to us to buy those alternatives, not just for our health, but for their revenue growth. Nestle's new CEO is relying on you to do your part. Elon Musk's SpaceX said Monday that it has discovered the cause of a Sept. 1 rocket explosion and plans to return to flight as soon as Sunday. The conclusions of the company's investigation have yet to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, and the agency has yet to provide it a license to launch. But SpaceX's statement means that it has confidence that federal agencies will approve its remedies for the problem and that it will soon receive the green light. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket exploded while being fueled on a launchpad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station ahead of an engine test firing earlier this year. No one was on board the rocket, and there were no injuries. But the blast touched off a massive fireball and caused extensive damage, including the loss of a commercial satellite. In its statement, SpaceX said it traced the cause to a pressure vessel in the second-stage liquid oxygen tank. The tank buckled, the company said, and supercooled liquid oxygen pooled in the lining. The fuel was ignited by breaking fibers or friction. The company said that in the short term, it plans to change the way it loads fuel. Eventually, it plans to change the design of the pressure vessels to prevent buckling. SpaceX led the investigation, which was overseen by the FAA, the Air Force, NASA and the National Transportation Safety Board. Shortly after the explosion, Musk had said it was "turning out to be the most difficult and complex failure we have had in 14 years" and asked the public for help. Over the past four months, the investigation took several bizarre twists and turns. Musk said there was a mysterious "bang sound" that may have come from "the rocket or something else" seconds before the explosion. And at one point, SpaceX officials asked for access to the roof of a nearby facility used by rival United Launch Alliance, implying sabotage. The explosion was a major setback for SpaceX, which has a significant backlog of commercial satellite launches. The company is also under contract to fly cargo and, eventually, astronauts to the International Space Station. But the accident the company's second failure in less than two years touched off concerns about its ability to fly safely and reliably. In June 2015, a Falcon 9 flying cargo to the station blew up shortly after liftoff, destroying $118 million worth of equipment and experiments. If all goes according to plan, SpaceX plans to launch communications satellites for Iridium, a McLean, Va.-based company, on Sunday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. In an interview in November, Matt Desch, Iridium's chief executive, said he wasn't worried about entrusting its $3 billion worth of satellites to Musk. "We've been privy to the thinking and the analysis and the data involved at a very deep level," Desch said. "So, yes, we know why he is saying what's he's saying and concur that they have found the issue. We're encouraged, too, that it was procedural We are back on the path for a first launch and, yes, I feel very confident that the issue that was found won't be repeated for our launch." Still, he said on Twitter that the company would wait to load the satellites onto the rocket until after the prelaunch engine test. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate For homeowners with champagne taste and a beer budget - and, really, isn't that most of us? - it's time to take another look at tile. Whereas a full kitchen remodel might set you back a few years of savings, a smart mini rehab might involve only painting cabinets, replacing appliances and installing a stunning tile backsplash or flooring. "Tile is an easier splurge," says designer Kelly Emerson of Maryland's Aidan Design. "Tile is hundreds of dollars; very rarely is it thousands of dollars." And thankfully, tile trends tend to hang around for a while, so you can feel good about getting your money's worth. Today, they reflect larger design trends - such as graphic patterns - as well as advanced technology, which is letting individual tiles get bigger and thinner without compromising their strength. We spoke with Emerson, Samantha Klickna of Case Design/Remodeling and DeeDee Gundberg, director of product development for Ann Sacks, to determine which trends are worth following. The wood look "Wood planks are trending because they are durable, maintenance-free alternatives to wood," Klickna says. "They add depth and dimension to any space. They also give you the opportunity to have a wood effect in a wet area: bathrooms." Emerson likes the Weathered Wood Field Tile in a large hex ($7.41 per square foot, architecturalceramics.com). With a wood look, Emerson says, "you can choose a matte or a polish to change the vibe of the tile. It might have a rustic appearance, but if you select a polished finish and apply it to a wall, it becomes a very polished look." There are many varieties of woodlike finishes available today. The Tile Shop's 8-by-24-inch Fronda Perla Faux Wood Floor Tile ($4.99 per square foot, tileshop.com) has a rustic look. Designers are laying these linearly, as well as in herringbone and chevron patterns. Larger hex tiles Gundberg has been watching tile companies come out with larger sizes of the classic hexagon shape each year. At first, 16 by 16 inches was the new, bigger size. Then it was 18 by 18 or 24 by 24, she says. Recently, she has seen tile as big as 45 by 45. "It just keeps getting bigger and bigger." Much of this is driven by technological advances, which allow for thinner, larger tile. Traditional hex tile is beautiful but replicable. Popham Design's Hex Artichoke ($29 per square foot, annsacks.com), however, is at once funky, modern, retro, graphic and classy. Saigon Hexagon by Artistic Tile is Emerson's pick for a fun, large hexagonal tile ($11 per square foot, artistictile.com). It's inspired by the French Provincial style and comes in three patterns and three muted colors. Cement There is a general trend toward organic materials in the design industry, Gundberg says. Included in that is oxidized metals, chunky ceramics, textiles, natural woods - and, in a big way, cement tile. "This is purely about the aesthetic and the materiality of concrete," she says. If you choose a patterned tile with as much spontaneity as Cement Tile Shop's Patchwork Random ($22.20 per square foot, cementtileshop.com), let it be the life of a room's party, Klickna says. "Everything else becomes a backdrop." Cle Tile, based in Sausalito, Calif., is known for its artisanal encaustic cement tiles as well as its collaborations with designers. The 8-by-8-inch Star Bright in Kelly green ($14.49 per square foot, cletile.com) marries traditional and modern. "Look at the space as a whole and make sure that you're not going overboard on color and pattern," Klickna advises. "It's OK to be bold with one or two of your selections, but it has to be in moderation." Subway with a twist Subway tiles are as classic as you get. But homeowners and designers are getting adventurous, choosing long, exaggerated sizes or colored tiles. "Who said subway tile needs to be plain white?" asks Gundberg. They're arranging tiles vertically or in a chevron or herringbone pattern. They're even choosing contrasting grout, something that used to be a no-no but that Gundberg is seeing more often. "Grout is becoming more and more an integral part of design," she says. Subway tile comes at all price points, too - from simple, white porcelain styles for $2 or $3 a square foot to high-end glass or hand-glazed styles. Arrange a simple, budget-friendly option in a herringbone pattern with contrasting grout to give it a higher-end look. "Undulating and surface-textured ceramics will never go out of style," Emerson says. She likes Pratt & Larson's Textured Field tile ($37.50 per square foot, prattandlarson.com). Waterworks' Grove Brickworks tile has pinholes and irregular surfaces that complement darker grout, a tack Aidan Design took in a kitchen project (from $23 per square foot, waterworks.com). Shades of blue "Blue as a color is back, instead of white, cream, gray and metallic, which is really what we've seen for the last five years," Gundberg says. "To see blue is really nice." Everything from deep navy to blue-greens such as peacock is trending, largely because with ceramics, "you can get such intense, beautiful color," Gundberg explains. Klickna and Emerson use Walker Zanger's Cafe tiles (from $9.85 per square foot, walkerzanger.com) - which come in three field sizes, four trim sizes and eight colors - in their projects. The tile is handmade for the Los Angeles company. "Tile is something that the homeowner can appreciate and something that a guest can appreciate. It brings warmth into a space," Emerson says. Bold patterns "What makes a room exciting is when you walk into it and see something completely different and unexpected," Gundberg says. "You expect your furniture to be the statement, or the paint color, but you don't as often see decorative, stunning tile as the center of the room. When it's done in the right way, it's really effective." And nothing stands out more than a bold pattern. Gundberg is primarily seeing big, bold patterns inspired by Moroccan and French designs moving from backsplash mosaics to the floor. "Kitchen floors are huge for pattern." Grow House Grow's Otomi 8-by-8-inch tiles are made by mixing Portland cement, marble powder and natural pigments into a mold ($18.50 per square foot, growhousegrow.com). Moroccan patterns can be found at high and low prices. Overstock's Amlo Circle Handmade Cement and Granite Floor and Wall Tile is $104.99 for a pack of 12 8-by-8-inch tiles (about $20 per square foot, overstock.com). GALVESTON - Galveston was the brightest star on the Gulf Coast and in Texas when Congress approved money in 1890 to make it a deepwater port, giving it an advantage over a growing rival, Houston. Before the Hurricane of 1900 would devastate Galveston and begin a gradual decline, the announcement of $6.2 million to deepen the port seemed to ensure the city's prosperity and its nickname, "The Wall Street of the South." Wealthy businessmen financed a series of glittering celebrations labeled the "Deep Water Jubilee" for a project that promised to enrich the already gilded city. The Galveston Historical Foundation will remember the creation of the deepwater port and the apex of the island's economic and cultural success with a new Deep Water Jubilee, a months-long series of events that began Sunday with less glitz than the original but more culture. The Deep Water Jubilee is part of a larger foundation project, the Galveston History Project, that focuses on the lives of people behind historical events. The Jubilee also is an experiment in making those events more engaging, said W. Dwayne Jones, the foundation's executive director. "This is one of the trial stories," Jones said. "We want to re-engage people with Galveston's history and architecture in a different way than we have done in the past." The foundation is focusing on slices of island history to reveal the people from all walks of life who were part of it. "It's a real short snapshot of Galveston history," Jones said. Behind Bishop's Palace One of the characters whose life will be explored during the Jubilee in a series of lectures, tours, concerts and other events is Col. Walter Gresham, whose lobbying convinced Congress to fund the deepening of the Port of Galveston. Aside from his role in modernizing the port, Gresham is perhaps best known for building a mammoth tribute to 19th century architecture that became known as the Bishop's Palace at the corner of Broadway Boulevard and 14th Street. Gresham, a lawyer, was among the city elite vying to build the grandest house. Gresham hired renowned architect Nicholas Clayton to build a colossal structure of gray sandstone and granite equipped with four-story turrets, winged horses of Assyria, tiled cones and numerous chimneys and balconies. The house would have cost nearly $9 million in 2015 dollars. Gresham was a member of the Deep Water Committee, formed in 1881 by some of the most powerful and wealthy men in the city. There were no deepwater ports on the Gulf, but rival New Orleans was building one and an upstart Houston company, the Houston Direct Navigation Co., was taking business from the Port of Galveston. Two sand bars lay across the entrance to the channel that allowed only 8 feet of clearance, but most steamships needed 20 feet. Ships were forced to anchor outside the harbor while the cargo was lightered, placed on flat-bottomed scows that were pushed to the wharves by tug boats. The method was costly and many shippers were attracted to the cheaper lightering operation in Houston. The Houston Telegraph boasted that merchants there were finally "free of the extortions of Galveston's 'bete noir,' its hideous wharf monopoly," Gary Cartwright wrote in "Galveston, a History of the Island." Gresham was tasked with lobbying Congress, and he concentrated on states like Colorado and Kansas that were looking for a closer port to connect by rail to their growing markets. "Colorado was coming into statehood and they were looking for a closer port," said Renee Tallent, the foundation's collections manager. "It helped us be more competitive and helped us make an alliance with western states." With the support of politicians from other states, Gresham convinced Congress to appropriate the $6.2 million. The money financed the dredging of the port and the construction of two parallel jetties into the Gulf, one from the eastern end of Galveston Island and one from the western end of the Bolivar Peninsula. Engineers built a railroad trestle into the Gulf to bring 5-ton sandstone blocks that eventually formed jetties capped with 10-ton granite slabs. The jetties created a channel ranging from 27 to 40 feet deep that still protects the entrance to the Galveston and Houston ship channels. Celebrations galore After the money from Congress was secured, the city formed a committee to advertise to the world that Galveston was getting a deepwater port and to plan festivities to celebrate and honor the states that had helped secure the appropriation. "They invited partners and mayors from western cities and politicians," Tallent said. In November 1890, the city sponsored parades, fireworks, oyster roasts and a huge invitation-only banquet, but only men were invited, she said. Women were expected to help with the decorations but were not allowed to attend. Reviving Mardi Gras In February 1891, Galveston revived its Mardi Gras, which had withered into a few private parties over the decades, to celebrate the Deep Water Jubilee. The Krewe of Momus landed on the wharf with great fanfare, and the next day wagons decked with elaborate advertising displays paraded through the city in a display of commercial power. Mardi Gras was followed by a Saengerfest, a festival of German choral groups that had been a tradition in Texas since before the Civil War. Texas cities vied each year to be chosen as Saengerfest host, and Galveston had been chosen the previous year. The city made the Saengerfest part of its Deep Water Jubilee, lavishly funded by wealthy businessmen. The tradition likely died after the United States entered World War I and all things German became unpopular, Tallent said. The tale of the Deep Water Jubilee will be laid out in detail at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 21 in a lecture by Tallent at Menard Hall. A Galena Park pair is accused of passing out on drugs while driving with children in the car, according to court documents. Domingo Flores Jr., 37, was arrested Friday night after he conked out in a moving lane of traffic, prosecutors said in a criminal complaint filed in Harris County court. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The new year got off to a rocky start weather-wise, but the next few days should dry up, just in time for a cold front. The first Monday morning commute of 2017 featured torrential rain, pea-sized hail and high winds. The stormy early half of the day was largely as predicted, with a few reports of downed trees and power lines, although there were no indications of the isolated tornadoes forecast in weekend weather outlooks. At one point, flights at George Bush Intercontinental Airport were grounded due to lightning, but the thunderstorms did not affect planes to the south at Hobby Airport. Around 20,000 CenterPoint Energy customers lost power as the storm passed through the Houston area, but 99 percent of the system was back online by late afternoon. Fortunately for Houstonians, the bad weather system did not really pick up steam until after passing through to Louisiana. "The rest of the Southeast definitely got it worse than we did," said National Weather Service meteorologist Molly Merrifield, noting that the fast-moving storm already was in Mississippi and headed for Alabama by Monday afternoon. The next few days should provide a bit of respite for southeast Texas. The remainder of the week will be dry, Merrifield said, but Houstonians should be prepared for a winter-like drop in the mercury on Thursday. "We do have a front coming through tomorrow evening and that will cool off the temperature significantly heading into the latter half of the week," she said. While Tuesday's highs will be in the mid-70s, Wednesday and Thursday temperatures will be in the 50s. Friday will round out the workweek with highs in the 40s and 50s. It is not clear what weekend weather will bring, as the two main weather models NWS uses were offering divergent predictions Monday. Although December had record-setting highs in the Houston area, January is off to a fairly normal start. "This time of year is definitely a mixed bag. We can have severe weather out in front of a front," Merrifield said. "It's definitely not unusual." A Syrian migrant who arrived in Germany two years ago has been arrested on suspicion of seeking funds from Islamic State to drive truck bombs into a crowd, a German state prosecutor's office said on Monday, Reuters reported. The arrest follows an attack two weeks ago when a Tunisian whose asylum request had been rejected rammed a truck into a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 people. The man, Anis Amri, 24, was later shot dead by Italian police. In the latest case, the prosecutor in the western city of Saarbruecken said the 38-year-old Syrian was detained on Saturday and a formal arrest warrant was issued on Sunday on suspicion that he was trying to raise 180,000 euros ($189,000) to fund an attack. Prosecutor Christoph Rebmann said the man, whom he did not name, was suspected of seeking the money from Islamic State in Syria to buy trucks and load 400-500 kg (880-1,100 pounds) of explosives into each of them. "He is suspected of ... requesting 180,000 euros from a contact person in Syria on his cell phone from Saarbruecken in December, 2016 so that he could acquire vehicles to pack with explosives and drive them into a crowd," Rebmann said in a statement. The man has admitted making contact with Islamic State, which is also know as ISIS, but denied he had any plans to stage an attack. "He said he wanted the money from ISIS to support his family back in Syria," Rebmann told Reuters, adding that the Syrian had said he wanted to fool the jihadist group into sending him the money. The Syrian is from the city of Raqqa, Islamic State's main stronghold in the country. The prosecutor's office in Saarbruecken, near the French border, had been alerted to his activities by the BKA federal crime office. The Syrian came to Germany on Dec. 5, 2014, just before a wave of more than 1.1 million asylum-seekers arrived from the Middle East, Africa and Asia in 2015. He was given permission to stay in Germany on Jan. 12, 2015. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who made the now-controversial decision to open the country's borders to refugees in September, 2015, described Islamist terrorism on New Year's Eve as the greatest test facing Germany. She has also said she is sickened by the prospect that refugees Germany has tried to help could mount attacks. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said that failed asylum seekers who are regarded as a danger should be detained until they can be deported. He made the suggestion in a guest column in Tuesday's edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper. Political analysts, conservative allies and diplomats have said a major attack could damage Merkel's hopes of winning a fourth term in September's election. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has blamed her policies for the Dec. 19 Berlin attack. In October, a Syrian refugee committed suicide in prison after being arrested on suspicion of planning an attack on a Berlin airport. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A man was wounded while sitting at a red light in south Houston when his vehicle was sprayed with bullets, police said Monday. The victim a man in his mid-20s whose identity was not released is expected to survive the attack in the South Park neighborhood, according to Troy Finner, a Houston Police Department assistant chief. Witnesses said the man was alone in his vehicle at a stoplight on southbound Martin Luther King near Reed Road about 1:15 p.m. Monday when a white four-door Pontiac with tinted windows pulled up on the passenger side and someone inside began shooting, investigators said. The victim was struck in the torso, and a bullet grazed his head, Finner said. He was transported to a hospital, but police declined to identify which out of concern for the victims safety. The man is expected to recover, Finner said. The victim may be a gang member and probably was targeted, Finner said. Asked whether the area was known for gang activity, he demurred. I know personally a lot of good people in this neighborhood. ... With that said, when we find hot-spot areas, were going to beef up our patrol and make sure that we can prevent something like this, Finner said. After an incident like this, were going to move every resource we have to locate these suspects. The new police chief, Art Acevedo, briefly visited the scene, saying he had been driving in the area when he learned of the shooting. At his previous post in Austin, Acevedo was known for showing up at the scene of officer-involved shootings. Houston police officers say he has been visiting scenes and riding along with rank-and-file officers in his first month in command here. andrew.kragie@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Danny Francis was working with four others in a control room at DuPont's LaPorte plant at 3:30 a.m. Nov. 15 when he "heard a female voice on the radio that sounded 'frantic.' " Crystle Wise, a seasoned operator who had joined DuPont only eight months before, was trapped on the fourth floor of a hulkingpesticide processing unit about 50 yards away. She reported that she had been exposed to a chemical and was experiencing a reaction. But inside the control room, no alarms indicated a leak and no images on computer screens pinpointed her location as Francis donned a helmet, goggles and gloves. He headed to the Lannate building - part of what DuPont calls its Insecticide Business Unit - only a few minutes behind co-worker Robert Tisnado, according to accounts in newly released reports from the Harris County fire marshal and Sheriff's Office. Francis reached the fourth floor by climbing sets of metal stairs inside the foul-smelling pesticide unit, but couldn't find Wise or Tisnado. Harris County investigators' reports paint a picture of confusion, chaos and delays in those early morning hours as Wise, Tisnado, Tisnado's brother, Gilbert "Gibby" Tisnado, and Wade Baker all became overcome and died when 23,000 pounds of toxic gases accumulated from a leak inside the pesticide unit. The Houston Chronicle obtained the reports through a Texas Public Information Act request. Francis, 54, provides the only eyewitness account included in county reports. He still works at DuPont, but could not be reached for comment. Francis grabbed a plant phone inside the contaminated Lannate unit in the early hours of Nov. 15 to call control room supervisor David Scott. Scott told him others might still be in-between the third and fourth floors. Francis tried to turn back, but grew dizzy and fell down the stairs. It's unclear when Francis regained consciousness or whether he's the only worker who escaped. It was much later before someone told him there had been a major chemical leak. He learned from an ambulance crew member who transported him to Bayshore Medical Center, according to an account he gave a sheriff's deputy. The father of the Tisnado brothers, Gilbert Tisnado, said the newly released reports confirm that many people - from workers to managers to emergency responders - made mistakes on the day his sons died. Tisnado, who worked at the DuPont plant himself until he resigned Monday, said he believes plant culture wrongly painted strong-smelling methyl mercaptan as a chemical that was not particularly dangerous. "Obviously that was wrong," he said. Exempt from fire code County officials ruled the deaths accidental at 8 a.m. - before all four victims' bodies were recovered - and have closed their investigations. Harris County Fire Marshal Mike Montgomery said via email that the plant is exempt from the county fire code because it has "a fire brigade that conforms to requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration." The Fire Marshal's Office had no records of any previous inspection. OSHA had not inspected the plant since 2007. Separate probes by OSHA and by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board continue. Harris County sheriff's officials report that the first 911 call they received about the disaster came at 4:03 a.m. from someone who could not speak or simply hung up. A dispatcher called back and confirmed an emergency with four employees missing and a chemical leak detected. As sheriff's officials raced to the multistory pesticide unit, on dead-end Strang Road in La Porte, they scanned the skies for signs of toxic clouds and attempted to identify escape routes. Once on the scene, officers received conflicting information from DuPont personnel about when or if employees had managed to contain the leak of methyl mercaptan, a highly flammable toxic gas that can be lethal in doses as small as a drop in a soda can. It was two weeks later that DuPont revealed how much had been released - an amount that a former DuPont engineer told the Chronicle probably quickly displaced all available oxygen inside the pesticide unit. By 5:30 a.m., one DuPont shift supervisor told sheriff's officials that the leak was "contained" but added he was "not sure." At 6:22 a.m., another plant official reported that a major methyl mercaptan leak was still occurring. At 6:37 a.m., an operator said all toxic waste products from inside the building were "being incinerated and not releasing." But at 10 a.m., the control room supervisor, Scott, told officials that the "processing unit was experience(ing) serious blockage and pressure problems" and "may not be safe." There were conflicting reports, too, about how many DuPont employees were dead, injured or missing, reports show. At 5:16 a.m., DuPont's "incident commander" - an employee with firefighter training in charge of coordinating the company's emergency response - told a Harris County sergeant that only "three people" were down. Wise last to be found For hours, no one could find Wise, though she'd been the first to raise the alarm. Some speculated she might have "gone home." Would-be rescuers located Baker, 60, an experienced employee, near valves on the third floor. Robert Tisnado, 39, was found in another third-floor room near his brother's body. "Gibby" Tisnado, 48, had been the last to enter the unit. He died alongside tanks of air and respirators that he'd brought inside in a solo rescue effort made after the control room lost contact with his brother. Reports show rescuers appear to have made efforts to revive both brothers, but those came too late. It was three hours after Wise's distress call that officials arrived from Channel Industries Mutual Aid - a regional chemical disaster response network set up decades ago specifically to help in the worst kinds of refinery and chemical accidents in the Houston Ship Channel. CIMA officials were the ones who finally "cleared" the Lannate unit and authorized a body recovery operation. Wise, 53, who took the job in LaPorte to be closer to her daughter and grandson in Houston, was eventually found dead in a stairwell between the second and third floors. Nearby was a pair of glasses and the radio she'd used to call for help. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The inauguration ceremony for newly elected Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg on Monday was a family affair. Standing next to her partner of 32 years, Olivia Jordan, Ogg put her hand on a Bible held by their son Jack as her father, former state Sen. Jack C. Ogg, administered the oath of office. And as Ogg addressed the dozens of attorneys and investigators who work in the DA's office, it was obvious she considered them family, too. "I just want you to know how proud I am of everyone here," said an emotional Ogg to the hundreds of well-wishers packed into the Joe M. Green Jr. Auditorium at the South Texas College of Law Houston. Ogg, who defeated incumbent Republican Devon Anderson in November, was first sworn into office just after the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day. But Monday's event gave Ogg the opportunity to thank the people who supported her during her campaign and on the path ahead. " 'So how does it feel to be the Harris County DA?' That is the question that nearly everyone is asking. The answer is gratitude," she said. She reiterated many of her campaign promises, such as ending the jailing of suspects in low-level, nonviolent drug cases. Ogg plans to implement what is essentially a "cite and release" program in which police officers would ticket offenders caught with small amounts of marijuana. She also pledged to increase transparency in police shootings and to ramp up prosecutions of burglars and white-collar criminals. Ogg's takeover of the DA's office has not been without some strife as acrimony from the campaign spilled over into the transition. Ogg said Anderson refused to meet with her until almost a month after the election. Not long after that Ogg fired 37 prosecutors, many of whom were veteran attorneys. The move wasn't unexpected. Ogg has promised to reform the DA's office, which had been embroiled in a number of high-profile scandals, including the jailing of a mentally ill rape victim for almost a month to ensure she would testify against her attacker. During the inauguration ceremony, Ogg said she would seek justice above all, even convictions. She elicited thunderous applause when she promised to uphold the Michael Morton Act, a 2014 law named after a Williamson County man who was convicted in 1987 of killing his wife but was exonerated in 2011 by DNA evidence. The law requires prosecutors to share evidence with defense attorneys. Ogg said she would restore integrity back into the DA's Office by treating all crime victims with dignity, by using taxpayer money wisely and recognizing mental illness as a public health concern. "Welcome to a new era of criminal justice," Ogg said. A year and a half after possibly the most grueling ordeal of her life, Sandra Bland's mother has been made whole. At least in the legal sense. Geneva Reed-Veal and her lawyers jointly recently received $1.9 million, the full balance of the federal wrongful death settlement with state and Waller County officials, said her attorney, Cannon Lambert Sr. A portion of Reed-Veal's money will go to her legal team in Chicago and San Antonio. Reed-Veal has been somber since the checks arrived - one for $1.8 million from Waller County, the other for $100,000 from the Texas Department of Public Safety, Lambert said. "I think she's just now coming to grips with the fact that she can finally start to turn the page but with the holidays, she's very reflective right now," he said. Bland, a 28-year-old black woman, was stopped by a Department of Public Safety trooper on a rural road in Waller County on July 10, 2015, for allegedly changing lanes without using her blinker. She ended up in the county lockup for resisting arrest and was found asphyxiated in her cell three days later. Her death was ruled a suicide. Anti-racism activists cited her case as a glaring example of the disparate treatment of African-Americans by law enforcement. The DPS trooper who stopped Bland, Brian Encinia, lost his job and faces a misdemeanor perjury charge stemming from his alleged conduct in the Bland case. Bland's mother also sued Encinia and other law enforcement and jail officials for special, punitive and compensatory damages and emotional anguish, in a civil rights matter in federal court in the Southern District of Texas. The case went to mediation, shortly after depositions began last summer. A former guard made a statement under oath - during his deposition - that he falsified the jail records, indicating he had checked Bland's cell the morning before the time of her death, when he didn't. In August, the parties hammered out a settlement, which included payments from DPS and Waller County that are covered by the respective entities' insurance policies. The jail agreed to implement safeguards, streamlining cell checks and adding video appointments with a doctor. On the political front, one lawmaker has begun drafting a bill called the Sandra Bland Act, which would reform how officials handle investigations - stemming from how Bland was treated from the time she was pulled over to her suicide. State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, said his proposal would change the current racial profiling law, prohibiting police from stopping black drivers for minor pretexts, something he said happens disproportionately to African-Americans motorists. It also would mandate de-escalation training for state troopers, something DPS officials have said is in place. It would prohibit jailing a person for minor traffic violation, Coleman said. The Bland Act would add checks so people like Bland, who have an apartment and a job, can be released on non-monetary bond if they don't have the money, he said. The law would introduce - at rural jails across the state - changes that have been implemented in Waller County in the wake of Bland's death. Swipe card checks would be mandatory at jail cells, so guards cannot falsify cell checks. A new comprehensive jail intake form would become the statewide norm. Coleman also said he would push for grants to cover rural jails so they can afford to set up virtual hearings before a judge and virtual health and mental health visits with a trained medical professional for inmates. "Sandra Bland's case is the example of why we need criminal justice reform," Coleman said. "It is outrageous. What if this were your daughter? It's not acceptable and no one should be in a situation to die from a traffic stop." TYLER, Ala. - The hard clay soil in this rural Southern county has twice cursed Dorothy Rudolph. It is good for growing cotton and cucumbers, the crops she worked as a child and hated. And it is bad for burying things - in particular, septic tanks. So Rudolph, 64, did what many people around here do. She ran a plastic pipe from her toilet under her yard and into the woods behind her house. Paying to put in a septic tank would cost around $6,000 - a little more than half of her family's annual income. "It was a whole lot of money," she said. "It still is." Here in Lowndes County, part of a strip of mostly poor, majority-black counties that cuts through the rural center of Alabama, less than half of the population is on a municipal sewer line. While that is not a hardship for more affluent communities - about one in five American homes are not on city sewer lines - the legacy of rural poverty has left its imprint here: Many people have failing septic tanks and are too poor to fix them. Others, like Rudolph, have nothing at all. That is not so uncommon. Nearly half a million households in the United States lack the basic dignity of hot and cold running water, a bathtub or shower, or a working flush toilet, according to the Census Bureau. The absence has implications for public health in the very population that is the most vulnerable. Crumbling infrastructure has been a theme of this country's reinvigorated public conversation about race - for instance, a botched fix for old pipes in Flint, Mich., that contaminated the city's drinking water with lead. But in poor, rural places like Lowndes County, there has never been much infrastructure to begin with. "We didn't have anything - no running water, no inside bathrooms," said John Jackson, a former mayor of White Hall, a town of about 800 in Lowndes that is more than 90 percent black and did not have running water until the early 1980s. "Those were things we were struggling for." There is no formal count of residents without proper plumbing in Lowndes, but Kevin White, an environmental engineering professor at the University of South Alabama, said that a survey that he did in a neighboring county years ago found that about 35 percent of homes had septic systems that were failing, with raw sewage on the ground. Another 15 percent had nothing. "The bottom line is, I can't afford a septic system," said Cheryl Ball, a former cook who had a heart attack several years ago and receives disability payments. She lives in a grassy field on which only three of seven homes have septic tanks. Most banks now require proof that a home has proper sewage disposal before lending, but Ball paid cash for her mobile home - $4,000. This area, known as the Black Belt (so called more for its soil, than its demographics), is haunted by its history of white violence toward African-Americans and a deep, biting poverty. Lowndes is one of the poorest counties in the country, and its rural population, whose trailers and small houses dot the lush green landscape, often cannot afford the thousands of dollars it costs to put in a tank. Municipalities, with low tax bases, cannot afford extensive sewer lines. Rudolph, a retired seamstress, and her husband, a carpenter, live in a tiny, white clapboard house that he built after he, his parents and his siblings fled their home on land owned by a white man who forbade the family to vote. She remembers, as a young girl in the 1950s, not having electricity. They obtained running water in the early 1990s, she said, and used an outhouse until the mid-1990s. So their white toilet with a fuzzy green cover was a marker of progress. A plastic pipe carries its contents outside and empties into a wooded area not far from the house. There is no visible pooling of sewage, but there are other problems. "The smell gets so bad," said Rudolph, sitting on her porch guarding her chicken coop against a marauding fox. When it rains, she wages war with her toilet. One recent downpour brought its contents gurgling up to the rim. The problem is prickly for the state. Parrish Pugh, an official with the Alabama Department of Public Health, agrees that money plays a part. "That's where the rubber hits the road," he said. But Alabama law forbids the use of "insanitary sewage collection," and "the responsibility for that rests squarely with the homeowner," Pugh said. Resisting is not only illegal, but could have health consequences: Raw sewage can taint drinking water and cause health problems. "'My parents had a pipe that ran into the woods, and that's good enough for me,'" Pugh said, explaining a common argument. "But we didn't know as much about disease back then. People are more educated nowadays. They are more concerned." The state health department begs, cajoles, and eventually cites people who have problems and do not fix them. In the early 2000s, the authorities even tried arresting people. That prompted a public outcry and the practice soon stopped, but one person spent a weekend in jail and others were left with criminal records. The department cited about 700 people in the 12 months that ended in March, often because someone complained. The clay soil makes the problem worse. "Rural wastewater is usually managed with a septic tank and a drain field, which slowly infiltrates the wastewater into the ground," White said. "Well, it won't go into the ground here. Period." Some change is happening. The town of White Hall recently received funding to connect about 50 homes to sewer lines, the first in its history. Town officials are thrilled: City sewer lines are critical to attract businesses that would bring jobs. But the pace is glacial. Eli Seaborn, 73, a White Hall councilman, said progress would be slow, like the pace of civil rights gains, where legal discrimination is gone but lingers in other forms. Similar patience is required for sewage, he added. "Time is going to be the only thing that solves this problem," he said. "It took more than 50 years for it to happen. But hopefully, it won't take more than 50 years to fix it." Talk tough to your allies and ignore your enemies. That has become the foreign policy doctrine which will define our current President. President Obamas decision to abstain from voting on an anti-Israel United Nations (UN) resolution this week is a clear betrayal of our strong alliance and our enduring commitment to support Israel. The nation of Israel serves as one of our most outspoken allies to combat radical Islamic terrorism and is our strongest voice in the Middle East. Nonetheless, President Obama and Secretary Kerry not only ignored our ally in a time of need they even went one step further during a speech by Secretary Kerry in which they all but blamed Israel for the decades long conflict with Palestine. In his closing days in office, President Obama is revealing his global convictions that will come to define his presidency a belief that a weaker America, one that doesnt stand with its allies and one that doesnt follow through on lines drawn in the sand with our enemies, somehow increases the safety and security of American families. As the threat of terror grows and is carried out around the world and here in the United States, this is the exact wrong message to send. While these actions may have taken place thousands of miles away, the safety and threat of terror impacting those of us in southeast and south central Missouri, or any part of our country for that matter, is a major concern. The result of this decision for Israel could potentially be devastating, but sadly this isnt the first time President Obama has turned his back on our allies. The legacy that President Obama will leave behind is a long list of foreign policy failures that have left the world and the United States less safe than it was 8 years ago. President Obamas habit of alienating Americas allies while catering to our enemies has resulted in increased instability in the Middle East like the genocide of over 400,000 people in Syria and a strengthening of ISIS, chaos in Libya that led to American casualties in Benghazi, and the disastrous Iran nuclear deal that has only strengthened the leading world sponsor of terrorism. Meanwhile the President seems more concerned with making excuses and sanctioning Russia for Hillary Clintons failed Presidential run than standing up to those who actually want to do physical harm to American soldiers and families. If anything, the actions of the last week have further confirmed my belief that the time has come to end the use of American taxpayer dollars to fund the ineffective and scandal plagued United Nations. America should not be governed by an outside entity like the UN that treats our freedom like property and does not have our countrys best interests at heart. In fact, US taxpayers fund nearly 22% of the UNs annual budget while at the same time they prioritize attempts to reduce our sovereignty and security instead of promoting peace and the principles of democracy. Simply put, the United States need not participate in an organization which diminishes our countrys place and standing in the world. In response this week President-elect Trump vowed to stop allowing Israel to be treated with such total disdain and disrespect a promising sign that we will restore our long-standing alliance with Israel. Of course, the response from the Obama Administration, was to chastise the President-elect for not abiding by protocol and to refrain from meddling in decisions until after the inauguration. That response could not have been more indicative of a tone deaf administration that not only fails to acknowledge their own mistakes, but shows a dangerous arrogance in their commitment to inflict liberal ideology that stands at odds with the American people. It also demonstrates how out-of-touch and unaware the Obama administration is for what is coming the next four years a dismantling of its disastrous policies, real change to a broken system, and draining a swamp that now extends to an international level. Jason Smith represents Missouris 8th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. Contact him at 573-335-0101 or visit https://jasonsmith.house.gov Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. Syrian rebel groups announced on Monday that they had decided to freeze any talks about their possible participation in Syrian peace negotiations being prepared by Moscow in Kazakhstan unless the Syrian government and its Iran-backed allies end what it said were violations of a ceasefire, The Guardian reported. In a statement, the rebel groups also said that any territorial advances by the army and Iran-backed militias that are fighting alongside it would end the fragile ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey which back opposing sides that came into effect on Friday. The regime and its allies have continued firing and committed many and large violations, said the statement signed by a number of rebel groups. On Saturday the UN security council gave its blessing to the ceasefire deal, which is slated to be followed by peace talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana. The statement said the main violations were in an area north-west of Damascus in the rebel-held Wadi Barada valley, where government forces and the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group have been trying to press their advances. Rebels say the Syrian army is seeking to recapture the area, which contains a spring that provides most of Damascuss water and which lies on a major supply route from Lebanon to the Syrian capital which is used by Hezbollah. Like previous ceasefire deals in Syria, it has been shaky from the start, with repeated outbreaks of violence in some areas, but it has largely held. The rebel groups questioned Russias ability to force the Syrian government and their allies to abide by the terms of the ceasefire deal. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. Youre in HR at Seagate, the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech company, and youve just realized youve handed W-2 forms for some 10,000 employees to someone claiming to be the companys CEO. Or youre a payroll clerk at social media darling Snapchat, and youve given away personal information on current and former employees. Youve been phished, but at least youre not alone. There were more than 30 million phishing attacks in 2015, according to Internet security provider Kaspersky Labs. Many of these attacks happen because employees simply arent prepared adequately. Organizations need concrete internal strategies to help educate employees and mitigate the risk of successful attacks. It isnt that the attack strategies are any more advanced than normal; for the most part, cybersecurity is less about a digital army breaching a firewall and more about social engineering. Attackers effectively pose as someone trustworthy, taking advantage of peoples desire to help. The cyber-attacker might claim to be a company executive, a new employee, an IT representative or another colleague, and they simply ask for help. Sophisticated phishing scams start with a request for personal information from an email address you might recognize. Cyber criminals no longer claim to be Nigerian princes. Instead, they get more personal,seizing on a modicum of truth on whic... A Conservative leadership candidate is accusing Kevin OLeary of hiding on the sidelines to avoid a French-language debate this month. If Kevin wants to run, its time to fish or cut bait, Andrew Scheer said in a release Tuesday urging OLeary to quit stalling and formally get in the race in time for the Jan. 17 debate in Quebec City. Advertisement OLeary, a brash celebrity businessman and reality TV star, does not speak French. He launched an exploratory committee last month but has said he will not join the contest until others drop out. Scheers release noted Winnipeg doctor Dan Lindsay was the only contender to drop out last week ahead of the $50,000 compliance-fee deadline. There are still 13 candidates in the race to replace Stephen Harper as the next permanent Tory leader. Scheer said since it is clear OLeary is going to run, he owes it to French-speaking Conservatives to show up to the debate in two weeks. Advertisement Quebec was the only province where the Conservative party increased its seat total in the last election, Scheer said. We have a tremendous opportunity to build our support here. Its vitally important that every leadership candidate is in Quebec for the debate, speaking French and showcasing our Conservative principles. O'Leary can't speak French Scheer, a veteran MP from Saskatchewan and former House Speaker, grew up in Ottawa and is bilingual. Quebec MP Maxime Bernier, also considered a top tier contender, suggested last month that OLearys inability to speak French was disqualifying. "If (O'Leary) believes he can win an election without speaking a word of French, he is wrong,'' Bernier told The Canadian Press. And I think the members of the Conservative party are conscious of this. They are conscious of the need for a leader who can speak in French to Quebecers.'' "Quebec was the only province where the Conservative party increased its seat total in the last election." In a meeting with Tory MPs last month on Parliament Hill or Capitol Hill, as he called it in an online video OLeary said he would learn French in time for the 2019 election. He also said he understands Quebec, noting how he was born in Montreal and attended McGill University. This is a province I know very well. Will I learn French? Youre damn right Im going to try, he said. I have three years to do it. OLeary has also suggested since most young Quebecers are bilingual, its not crucial for him to speak the language right away. Last month, other Tory contenders who arent fluent in French slogged through a bilingual debate in Moncton, N.B. IPolitics put together a video of several contenders struggling. Advertisement OLeary has hinted he will join the race in February. With files from The Canadian Press, Althia Raj Also on HuffPost Its really hard to keep up with the Joneses when Chip Wilson is your neighbour. The Lululemon founders sprawling oceanfront Vancouver home is now valued at $75 million, according to the latest evaluation from B.C. Assessment. Thats a $12 million jump from what the 30,000 sq.-ft. property was valued at this time last year. His neighbours properties range from $2-$20 million. Advertisement Construction on Wilsons custom seven-bedroom house began in 2008 and sits on prime land in Vancouvers Kitsilano neighbourhood. It overlooks Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The property, excluding its buildings, is pegged at $41 million. This new valuation of the former Lululemon CEOs compound comes on the heels of city and provincial measures to curb Vancouvers skyrocketing spikes in real estate prices. Last year, B.C. implemented a 15 per cent foreign-buyers tax as a means of cooling the Metro Vancouver market. Vancouver city council also voted to approve an one per cent tax on empty homes a first in Canada as a means of increasing the number of units available to renters. Advertisement Also on HuffPost It looks like Michael Ignatieff was a pretty good tourist. Former Conservative cabinet minister Jason Kenney praised the brilliant scholar on Twitter and congratulated him for receiving the Order of Canada. During the 2011 federal election, Kenneys party constantly attacked the former Liberal leader for spending 30 years outside the country and then returning to run for politics. Advertisement Congratulations to @M_Ignatieff and all others receiving the Order of Canada today. A much-deserved recognition of a brilliant Canadian. Jason Kenney (@jkenney) December 30, 2016 The Michael Ignatieff: Just Visiting ads were effective Ignatieff resigned after leading the Liberal Party to its worst showing in Canadian history. Even during the 2015 election, after Justin Trudeau had taken over the party, the Conservatives couldnt help themselves. They continued to use Ignatieffs image and words in attack ads. Advertisement Their words apparently stuck. Most of the replies to Kenneys tweet show shock that someone who was just visiting Canada could be awarded the countrys highest honour and congratulated for it by a Conservative politician. @jkenney@M_Ignatieff but wait I thought he was just visiting. Gordonrox24 (@gordonrox24) December 30, 2016 @jkenney@M_Ignatieff Really? The man lived most of his life in the USA & thought he could swoop in & b appointed leader. Ridiculous Diane Dallas (@DianeDallas10) December 31, 2016 Advertisement Are you joking? one reply reads. Really? says another. The man lived most of his life in the USA & thought he could swoop in & b appointed leader. Ridiculous. [sic] Kenneys only other tweet to Ignatieff, sent in 2010, accuses him of threatening Canadians with jail time in order to extract personal information. Ignatieff supported the census. @M_Ignatieff By threatening citizens with fines and jail time to extract personal information? Jason Kenney (@jkenney) July 31, 2010 No longer a federal politician, Kenney is in Alberta attempting to unite the province's right wing. He hopes to lead the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta in a merger with the Wildrose Party. Also on HuffPost Jason Kenney's Gaffes See Gallery Sir Ivan Rogers, Britain's ambassador, has unexpectedly resigned from his role, just months before negotiations with the EU were due to begin, TASS reported. Rogers was due to finish his fixed-term role in October, but has told staff this afternoon that he will step down earlier than expected. The news came as the government prepares to trigger Article 50 in March. Having moved to Brussels in 2013, Rogers is one of the UK's most experienced EU negotiators. Sweating in the summer heat is just a way for your body to regulate its internal temperature, but sweating through your shirt before a big presentation is a sign of something much more serious. A new study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology has discovered a link between anxiety and depression in people who sweat excessively. Advertisement According to researchers from Anhui Medical University in China and the University of British Columbia, people with hyperhidrosis (a condition that causes excessive sweating) are more likely to have higher rates of anxiety and depression than those without the condition. Out of 2,000 test patients, 21 per cent of people with hyperhidrosis also had anxiety, while 27 per cent of people with the condition had depression. Only 7.5 and 9.7 per cent of people without hyperhidrosis in the study suffered from anxiety and depression, respectively. What is unknown, however, is whether or not the sweating is causing the mental health issues or if it is a result of them. Sweating while nervous or anxious is a fairly common occurrence because the fear creates a break in your fight or flight response causing your heart rate to increase, your pupils to dilate and your body to flood with adrenaline, explains the experts at the Calm Clinic. Advertisement But according to Dr. Dee Glaser, a professor of dermatology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine who was not involved in the study, the new findings don't necessarily mean controlling hyperhidrosis will alleviate mental health conditions, Health Day reports. Glaser says these new findings are important for dermatologists to be aware of as it can change their prescriptions and recommendations. While the Chinese and Canadian researchers are quick to note more research is required, Dr. Youwen Zhou, director of the Vancouver Hyperhidrosis Clinic at the University of British Columbia, says hyperhidrosis patients should speak to their doctors about any mental health symptoms or concerns. Also on HuffPost The tragic story of the Titanic still fascinates many people more than a century after its doomed maiden voyage. But one Irish journalist thinks the official story about how the ocean liner went down in 1912 is missing a crucial element. Advertisement Senan Molony claims in a new documentary called "Titanic: The New Evidence" that a fire burning for weeks in the boiler rooms actually sunk the ship, not the iceberg it collided with. Photos taken shortly before the vessels departure show a mark on its starboard side close to where the fire started, according to CNN. Engineers determined the 30-foot-long black mark was most likely due to a fire in one of the ships coal bunkers, according to The New York Times. Advertisement The mark is also close to where the iceberg damaged the vessel. Fire weakened steel on ship's hull Molony told CNN he thinks the fierce fire warped the steel of the ship's bulkhead and made it more brittle, compromising the ship and speeding up the sinking. "Titanic couldn't stay afloat long enough for an effective rescue," he said. He even claims the officers on board knew about the fire, and were told by the president of the shipbuilding company to hide it from passengers. The official Titanic inquiry branded [the sinking] as an act of God. This isnt a simple story of colliding with an iceberg and sinking," he said in the documentary, as reported by the Independent. "The fire was known about, but it was played down. She should never have been put to sea. The possible existence of the fire has also sparked another theory that the Titanic was travelling full steam through an area known for icebergs because the crew wanted to keep the fire under control and get to port as soon as possible to put it out. "She should never have been put to sea. But not everyone believes it played quite so big a role in the disaster. David Hill, a former honourary secretary of the British Titanic Society who has studied the ship's sinking since the 1950s, told The New York Times he thinks that while the fire may have led to the vessel sinking faster, the iceberg is still the main reason it went down. Advertisement He said the iceberg opened up too many of the ship's compartments and the weight of the water dragged the bow down so low that the ship eventually sank. Also on HuffPost U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's position on marijuana could cause some "discomfort" if Canada goes ahead with its plan to legalize, according to one expert. Trump has said he is going to keep marijuana illegal on a federal level, and plans to nominate Republican Senator Jeff Sessions as attorney general. Sessions is a vocal advocate against legalization, who once said that "good people don't smoke marijuana," according to The Washington Post. Advertisement W.A. Bogart, a law professor at the University of Windsor, told Bloomberg that this could spell some trouble for Canada's relationship with the U.S. "If Mr. Trump and Mr. Sessions decide this is part of the new Trump-land, that could cause a lot of discomfort ... for Canada and its compliance with international covenants, most of which are focused on prohibition. That could be a real wild card," Bogart said in an interview with Bloomberg TV Canada's Amanda Lang. "This is going to require some diplomatic skills ..." Canada will have to amend its position on international treaties that condemn cannabis possession and production treaties that the U.S. strongly supports. "This is going to require some diplomatic skills, depending on what Trump does," Errol Mendes, a constitutional and international law professor at the University of Ottawa, told The Canadian Press. Advertisement Donald Trump has said he intends to keep marijuana illegal on a federal level. However, some say that Trump's opposition to pot could actually help Canada's industry. U.S. companies who want to do research on marijuana's medical applications face plenty of hurdles thanks to the drug's status. That could leave a big opening for Canada. It creates a window of opportunity for us to do research without competition from America, Bruce Linton, CEO of medical marijuana company Canopy Growth, told Global News. Watch Bogart's interview with Bloomberg above. Follow The Huffington Post Canada on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Also on HuffPost In these turbulent times, are humanitarian and peace-support missions still essential, worth sacrificing blood and treasure? Are those missions' objectives well-defined, let alone attainable? Do individual nation-states have the necessary resources and force of will to sustain them? These are some of the many mission-planning questions the Canadian government, like others, is pondering when considering the deployment of national forces in support of a UN mission, such those currently under consideration in Mali and elsewhere in Africa. In fact, they are the same questions that Medecins Sans Frontieres and other NGOs have to answer before sending medical personnel to help some "Damnes de la terre." Advertisement They are also questions that journalists in general, and freelance photographers such as myself, have to ponder before deciding to go or not to go. Why do we still go to such countries, unheeding of official warnings? The simple answer is because it matters. According to Global Affairs Canada travel advisories, individuals should definitely avoid going to Mali due to the threat of terrorism and banditry. Despite such warnings echoed by other countries, the French aid worker Sophie Petronin stayed in Gao, knowing how vulnerable she was to kidnapping. She was abducted on Saturday Dec. 24, 2016. The same plight was bestowed upon 93 journalists killed in 2016 covering conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria. Why do we still go to such countries, unheeding of official warnings? The simple answer is because it matters. These individual actions make a difference for all the vulnerable people living in conflict areas for whom it is a question of life and death. Advertisement Did the actions of medical personnel in Syria change the outcome of the conflict? Alas, it didn't; but for so many of the thousands of innocent victims of this conflict who were saved by the heroic actions of so few, it was very significant. Ask yourself: if your family were in need of medical assistance, food or shelter in order to survive but another day, wouldn't you be grateful for such courageous personnel as those that went over to Syria, bringing with them not more suffering but rather assistance and relief? Wouldn't you want reporters to shine the spotlight on your predicament so the rest of the world notices, and believe that your life also matters? As an unarmed civilian, wouldn't you want mandated military forces to combat evil and create a safe zone? The answer to those questions is likely to be yes. It is time to demonstrate again with more than just words what we stand on guard for. As individual citizens of the same world or as countries within the international community, we cannot allow ourselves to become morally paralyzed as we have been so far with the Syrian conflict, or be content to remain what the Canadian minister of defence has called "an island of stability in an ocean of turmoil." In these early days of 2017, 150 years after the creation of this very same "island," it is time to demonstrate again with more than just words what we stand on guard for. On our behalf, the Canadian government must make the decision to go or not to go in Mali, or elsewhere in Africa, to provide assistance to peace-support operations. For your part, what decision would you have them take? Advertisement As for mine, it is taken: I am going. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook miflippo via Getty Images A vintage flag of the United States of America on white with copy space When I previously discussed why Canadians may be barred from the United States if they admit to smoking marijuana, I did not discuss what options might be available if a Canadian is actually barred by United States Customs and Border Protection ("USCBP") based on criminal grounds. I will now address this issue below. Overview of Criminal Grounds of Inadmissibility The Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA") contains several criminal grounds of inadmissibility, including the following (among others): Advertisement Controlled substance crimes - This ground includes offenses such as simple possession of a controlled substance. It results in a permanent bar to the United States if: (i) there is a conviction, or (ii) the foreign national admits to committing the offense. Controlled substance trafficking crimes - This ground includes the more serious offense of possession of a controlled substance for the purposes of trafficking. It results in a permanent bar to the United States and may be imposed even if there is no conviction or admission; it requires only that the USCBP officer have reason to believe that the foreign national has committed the offense. Crimes involving moral turpitude ("CIMT") - The term "moral turpitude" is not clearly defined but has been referred to as conduct that is "inherently base, vile, or depraved, contrary to the rules of morality and the duties owed between ... one's fellow man or society in general." This ground results in a permanent bar to the United States if: (i) there is a conviction, or (ii) the foreign national admits to committing the essential elements of the offense. Prostitution and commercialized vice - This results in only a ten year bar, rather than a permanent bar. However, it may be imposed even if there is no conviction or admission. Multiple criminal convictions - A foreign national who is convicted of two or more offenses will be barred if the aggregate sentence of confinement actually imposed was five years or more. This ground results in a permanent bar to the United States. Consider Whether a Criminal Ground of Inadmissibility Actually Applies Not all criminal offenses fall under the grounds of inadmissibility contained in the INA. For example, simple assault is typically not a bar. Similarly, driving under the influence is typically not a bar. These types of offenses can only result in inadmissibility if the foreign national has been convicted of multiple offenses and the aggregate sentence was five or more years of imprisonment. Advertisement It is also important to consider the definition of "conviction" contained in the INA. According to the INA, a "conviction" can exist if: A judge or jury has found the foreign national guilty, the foreign national has entered a plea of guilty, or the foreign national has admitted sufficient facts to warrant a finding of guilt; and The judge has ordered some form of punishment, penalty, or restraint on the foreign national's liberty to be imposed. Absolute discharges under Canadian law are generally not considered convictions since there is no punishment, penalty, or restraint imposed. However, conditional discharges are considered convictions, since a restraint (i.e. the condition) is imposed on the foreign national's liberty. Offenses that are adjudicated under juvenile offender statutes (i.e. the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the Young Offenders Act, or the Juvenile Delinquents Act) are also not considered convictions. So such offenses will not typically result in a bar to the United States. However, a minor who is tried in adult court will have a conviction for U.S. immigration purposes. Finally, there are two exceptions that may apply when a foreign national is potentially inadmissible under the CIMT ground of inadmissibility (but not under other criminal grounds). The most common exception is commonly referred to as the "petty offense exception." Under this exception, a foreign national will not be inadmissible where he or she has committed only one CIMT, the maximum penalty possible for the CIMT did not exceed one year of imprisonment, and the foreign national was not sentenced to confinement for a term greater than six months. Advertisement It should be mentioned that Canadian Record Suspensions (formerly known as Pardons) are not recognized under the INA. Therefore, a Canadian who has been convicted of an offense that falls under one of the criminal grounds of inadmissibility described in the INA will continue to be barred from the United States even if he or she has obtained a Canadian Record Suspension or Pardon. "Although immigration consultants, paralegals, and even Canadian lawyers (who are licensed only in Canada) frequently claim to be U.S. immigration experts, only U.S.-licensed lawyers are recognized by USCBP as valid legal representatives." Consider a Nonimmigrant Waiver of Inadmissibility Assuming that a Canadian is actually inadmissible under the INA, a nonimmigrant waiver of inadmissibility should be considered. Nonimmigrant waivers are used to temporarily waive grounds of inadmissibility for nonimmigrant purposes (i.e. work, study, or visit). The leading case on nonimmigrant waivers is Matter of Hranka, a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA"). In Matter of Hranka, the BIA concluded that the following factors must be weighed when deciding whether to approve a nonimmigrant waiver application: The risk of harm to society if the applicant is admitted; The seriousness of the applicant's prior violation(s) of criminal law; and The nature of the applicant's reasons for seeking entry. A waiver applicant should be prepared to demonstrate how the balancing of the above factors supports the grant of a nonimmigrant waiver. Nonimmigrant waivers may be granted for up to five years at a time, although it is common for applicants to receive only one year initially. It can take six months or longer to obtain a waiver from USCBP, so applicants should apply well in advance of their expected travel date. Choose the Right Representative Although immigration consultants, paralegals, and even Canadian lawyers (who are licensed only in Canada) frequently claim to be U.S. immigration experts, only U.S.-licensed lawyers are recognized by USCBP as valid legal representatives. For tips on how to choose a skilled lawyer, please read my article on the subject. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook InStock via Getty Images Founded in 1908, the UofA is located at Edmonton, Alberta. At various times in history, and in various places, the authorities have sought to crush anti-slavery speech, anti-Communist speech, and a multitude of political and religious doctrines deemed to be heretical. Censorship always stems from the same impulse: the authorities are firmly convinced they have the absolute truth, and are therefore entitled to suppress what they deem to be false. Advertisement A recent display of this censorship impulse occurred at the University of Alberta Law Faculty. In November 2016, a number of law students claimed to have been traumatized by an article in their students' newspaper, Canons of Construction. Titled "Desperate Drunk Girl Finds Self at Hal-LAW-ween," the satirical story describes a drunk law student "who has been single a little too long" making advances on other law students at a party, then bumping her head and falling down. The column concludes: "The very next day, she quit drinking, put on a chastity belt, dropped out of law school and enrolled at a yoga academy. She finally learned that she don't need no man to make her happy, and that praising the virtues of fair-trade, organic and environmentally sustainable armpit wax to yuppie moms in her trainee yoga instructor classes is way better than catching gonorrhea for the sixth time." Some students were outraged, claiming that this article perpetuates "dangerous" stereotypes about women, promotes "rape culture" and misogyny, creates "an unsafe environment for all women in law school," degrades women as a "marginalized group," and perpetuates sexual assault. How a fictional story about one promiscuous drunk woman can constitute "overt sexism," "misogyny", or "stereotyping" has not been explained. Advertisement The law library at the University of Alberta. (Gettystock) Should a fictional story about a drunk, promiscuous gay black male be banned as an attack on blacks, or as an attack on men, or as an attack on gays? Or as an attack on all three groups? The very notion of "stereotyping" casts a dangerous chill on healthy discussion of social, moral and cultural issues. To prohibit "stereotyping" is to destroy our freedom to think, speak and write about any person -- real or fictitious -- who might qualify for membership in a so-called victim group, i.e., female, gay, aboriginal, black, etc. Canons of Construction apologized to those who felt offended. The author explained that "satire is a vehicle for dialogue; for people to take a deep, hard look, internally and externally, at some of the nastier things that permeate around us." The editors then published the complaints they received (with permission from the writers) in the December issue of Canons of Construction. A good newspaper will publish criticisms and rebuttals. Unfortunately, this U of A story did not end with Canons of Construction publishing the rebuttals and criticisms of outraged law students. Advertisement Instead, the Law Faculty administration chose to intervene by hosting a "Town Hall" meeting to soothe the aggrieved and comfort the offended. Dean Paul Paton delivered a speech in support of "equity," "diversity," and "inclusivity." While the satire's author has not faced formal disciplinary proceedings, the dean's message is very clear: you are not truly free to express your opinions, unless they are the ideologically "correct" ones. "This is no way to prepare students for the practice of law -- let alone for adulthood and good citizenship." Sadly, the dean is not helping his students prepare for the practice of law, which requires debating your opponents, thinking through arguments, and presenting better ideas. Lawyers can feel upset by opposing counsel's arguments, but there is no way to silence opposing counsel, nor should there be. Dean Paton treats law students as fragile snowflakes, who will melt away when confronted by the heat of an idea they object to. This is no way to prepare students for the practice of law -- let alone for adulthood and good citizenship. Calgary lawyer John Carpay is president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (www.jccf.ca). This article is reprinted from the Calgary Sun, Dececember 27th, 2016 Advertisement Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook This past December marked a year since the Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act (Bill S-214) was re-introduced into Parliament by Senator Carolyn Stewart Olsen. On the anniversary of that milestone, another breakthrough in the Be Cruelty-Free Canada campaign (which works to ban cosmetic animal testing in the country) was reached when the Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act passed its second reading on December 14th, 2016 with strong Senate support. Advertisement If the Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act becomes law, it seeks to ban cosmetic animal testing in Canada and the sale of cosmetic products and ingredients that have been newly tested on animals outside of the country. "This is an important next step which brings us closer to ending cosmetic animal testing in Canada. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to pass this important Bill," stated Senator Stewart Olsen. The Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act will now be studied further by the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology. Launched in 2012, the Be Cruelty-Free Canada campaign is led by Humane Society International/Canada (HSI Canada) and Animal Alliance of Canada and they have been working closely with Senator Stewart Olsen to make this ban a reality. Advertisement On the recent news, Aviva Vetter, Be Cruelty-Free Canada campaign manager, said, "Already 35 major markets, including the EU, Israel, India, New Zealand and Taiwan, have enacted cosmetic animal testing and sales bans, and it's high time for Canada to join their ranks." Liz White, director of Animal Alliance of Canada, also added, "This is a very exciting move towards ending cosmetic animal testing in Canada. In this day and age animals should not have to suffer for our cosmetic products. Safety of new products can be assured using existing ingredients and non-animal testing methods and the majority of Canadians support ending cosmetics cruelty." Some companies still test new products and ingredients by forcing rabbits, mice and other innocent animals to suffer through cruel practices such as having lethal chemicals rubbed onto their skin or breathing in poisonous fumes without any pain relief administered. Until Canada officially bans cosmetic animal testing, you can easily shop for cruelty-free cosmetics by looking for the Leaping Bunny logo on products and by using the Leaping Bunny shopping guide available in easy-to-use formats. The Leaping Bunny program, which recently celebrated their 20th anniversary, was created by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics and certifies companies to be free of animal testing at all stages of product development. Advertisement "We are proud to have Animal Alliance of Canada in our coalition and wholeheartedly support their and HSI Canada's independent efforts to see that this ban is enacted," says Kim Paschen, program manager of Leaping Bunny. Another trustworthy cruelty-free cosmetics list is from Logical Harmony, a cruelty-free beauty and vegan lifestyle blog. This Cruelty-Free Brand List is updated weekly and for quick reference, you can add the list to your iPhone or Android in a few steps. With over 600 cruelty-free cosmetic companies available worldwide, there is no need to support cosmetic companies that continue to test on animals when shopping for a new shampoo or lipstick. Ottawa-based DEMES, maker of natural beauty and household products, is a great example of a company that does not participate in animal testing. DEMES is a partner of the Be Cruelty-Free Canada campaign and is certified cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny and Logical Harmony. "Many Canadians are surprised that cosmetic animal testing is still allowed in our country. It's archaic, it's cruel, and it's time to go, forever. That goes for the various ingredients used in cosmetics, to the final product being sold at the counter. No animal should suffer for beauty," says Michelle Groulx, president of DEMES. Advertisement On a final note, this past December also marked one year since I wrote It Is Time Canada Banned Cosmetic Animal Testing, where I spoke with Aviva Vetter about cosmetic animal testing, the Be Cruelty-Free Canada campaign, her passion to help animals from a young age and the steps that led to a career as an advocate for animals. It is fantastic to see the progress that the Be Cruelty-Free Canada campaign has made in 2016 and let's hope that 2017 will be the year that Canada will #BeCrueltyFree. You can show your support for the Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act by visiting www.becrueltyfree.ca and sending a letter to your Member of Parliament. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Matt Champlin via Getty Images The sun sets behind a large flapping American flag under a blue sky. It's being said that America is entering a post-truth era. It seems that truth is no longer of paramount importance or, as the Oxford dictionary more formally puts it, "objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion." If Thomas Jefferson came down tomorrow to proclaim that "honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom," Americans would ask him to move out of the way so they could finish watching the rest of Survivor or forward the latest fake news story. George Washington's cherry tree story would be pointless. Oaths like "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" will seem quaint. Many Americans won't be outraged by election tampering, even by a foreign country. The truth will no longer hurt. Advertisement But the fading of truth may be just one aspect of what is happening. In reality -- if one can still use that word -- America may be moving from a fact-based era to a faith-based era. Such a transition is nothing new; it has happened at least a couple of times already in the history of Western civilization. After the logic and science of the ancient Greeks and the technology of the ancient Romans, Europe moved into the faith-based Dark Ages. After several centuries, there was movement again via the Renaissance and the Enlightenment into the fact-based Industrial Revolution. And now, once again, the pendulum seems to be swinging the other way in America. Where facts and evidence are not important, education is not essential, analysis is not necessary, experts are powerless, and traditional news media is an anachronism. Facts can be complicated. Faith - like a tweet - is simple and difficult to argue against. And faith can morphed at will to support our thinking at any given moment in time. This shift from truth to non-truth and from fact-based to faith-based seems to be also accompanied by a move from global to national -- which seems to make sense. When searching for truth, you often look beyond yourself, your beliefs, and your borders. If you're not looking for truth but relying on faith, you tend to exclude those who threaten your beliefs and group with those who support it. By questioning its international treaties (defence, trade, climate), backing out of some, and criticizing the UN, America is moving from an era of globalization to an era of nationalism or isolation. Advertisement America is not alone in its shift. In fact, some nations are ahead of the curve. While much of America is now opposing the influx of Islamic immigrants, parts of the Islamic Middle East long ago had enough of American interference. As just one example, in 1953, the American CIA and the British MI6 helped to overthrow Iran's democratically-elected prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and replaced him with their own man, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to retain access to Iran's oil. Then in 1979, Iranians chose a similar path to what Americans are doing now. They wanted to return to a more religious, culturally protective, faith-based time, so they deposed their American-backed Shah and chose Ayatollah Khomeini. They wanted to turn their back on Western culture and influence and look inwards for their inspiration. Recently, Britain voted to leave the EU, preferring its own counsel. Now, the US wants to turn its back on the world and particularly Muslim immigrants. Other nations may soon be following suit. Trump's results may portend victories next year for France's Marine Le Pen and Germany's Frauke Petry. The utopian notion that there will be no states, no borders, and that we'll all share a common truth seems unlikely or at least, not sustainable. Our tribal instinct may be too strong. However, America's inward shift may not be all bad. It may give Americans time to reflect and repair, to not take their multitude of rights and freedoms for granted, to think of what they want for their own future, and determine what role they want to play internationally. All the world need not be their stage and Americans are not the only players. America entering the "Dark Ages" may be good for other nations as well, forcing them to become more self-reliant. Advertisement Countries that depend on American aid could learn how to wean themselves off this support. Countries that depend on American defense can learn how to protect themselves. The Middle East may be better off without America's hovering presence; its friends may have to govern with their peoples' welfare in mind, its enemies can have a chance to manage their countries without American hindrance, and Israel could at long last try to get along with its neighbours. Not having a hegemony of American culture blanketing the world may enable some countries to breathe easier and local cultures to flourish. Although I must admit, I'll miss episodes of Madame Secretary. Just as how China pulling up its drawbridge after circumnavigating the world in the early 1400's (having decided that there was nothing of import outside their own country) allowed for the rise of the Ottoman empire, the European empires, and most recently the American empire, the U.S. pulling up its drawbridge and withdrawing into itself will give other nations - and indeed other empires -- a chance to rise. Good morning 2017. Good night America ... wherever you are. The fireworks displays have faded and party favours have been put away. Canadians are waking up to a new year and making promises of the life they want to lead in the year ahead. There are all of the typical promises like resolving to get to the gym more often, or spending less and saving more, but this year I'm hoping we can all make a promise that has a bigger impact. In 2017, Canadians must resolve to put children first. As Canada enters its 150th year, it's a moment in which we can all resolve to invest in nation's greatest resource and asset -- our children. You may not think that our children need protection. As Canadians, we tend to expect that our kids fare quite well compared with their global peers. Yet this simply isn't true. When it comes to measuring the well-being of the world's children in industrialized nations, Canada doesn't score well. According to UNICEF's rankings of OECD countries, Canada ranks 17th out of 29 countries, and falls to the bottom ranks on key measures such as child poverty and kids' health and safety. Advertisement While there has been marked improvement in children's educational achievement and reducing the rates of teenage smoking, Canadian children are not faring well on other key metrics such as immunization, obesity and bullying, and we are ranked as one of the most unequal societies to raise a child due. When children were asked how they feel about their own quality of life, Canada's rankings sink even lower. The concerns are greatest when you look at specific groups of children, such as indigenous children, kids living in foster care, and immigrant and refugee children. The majority of us assume that the kids are alright. But the harsh reality is that the kids are not alright. It's time that our country takes some critical steps to do better by all of our children. Canada has just marked the 25th anniversary of ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). This international treaty was and still is a revolutionary tool in changing how the world sees children. It enshrines every child's rights to protection, survival, development and participation. Children and youth under the age of 25 are the first generation to grown up with their rights as children protected in law. But the vast majority of Canadian kids have never heard of the CRC, and are not aware of their rights or responsibilities. The sad reality is that millions of kids in Canada never get to achieve their full potential. Advertisement Millions of Canadian children never get to achieve their full potential. A recent study undertaken by Children First Canada and the Angus Reid Institute revealed that most Canadians have a misplaced sense of pride about the state of childhood in our country. The majority of us assume that the kids are alright. But the harsh reality is that the kids are not alright. Millions of kids in Canada are falling through the gaps: nearly one in five lives in poverty, one in three has experienced some form of child abuse, one in five has considered committing suicide, and one child dies every nine hours from preventable injuries and accidents. These statistics represent millions of children in our own borders whose lives are diminished every day, and who deserve far better. In 2004, the federal government released a groundbreaking national plan called "A Canada Fit for Children." Canada was lauded at the global level for its firm commitments to prioritize the interests of children. Yet over a decade later, the metrics for children's well-being remain unchanged. It's time to challenge the status quo. More than a decade after the government pledged a national plan to prioritize children's interest, the status of Canadian kids remains unchanged. Advertisement As we celebrate the dawning of a new year, let's resolve to build a Canada that is truly fit for all of our children. There are simple steps that each one of us can take to make this happen, for instance by volunteering with a local charity to help kids in your community or lending your time to help a national organization that serves kids across the country. You can donate your charitable dollars to invest in proven solutions that improve the lives of children and their families; every dollar invested in the years of a child's life saves nine dollars in future spending on services such as health care and social welfare. And you can raise your voice to spread awareness about the needs and rights of children, and to call on our government to invest in our youngest citizens. Beyond the individual actions that each one of us can take, we also need urgent action from our federal government to address the pressing issues of child poverty, violence against children, and children's mental and physical health and safety. An important first step is to establish a national Children's Commissioner, who would have the mandate to drive success for all of our children. As an independent official that should be established in legislation, they would be free of political influence, be responsible for creating a plan of action to improve the lives of children from coast to coast to coast, and be able to hold the government accountable. While children cannot vote, we must ensure that their voices are heard and that their interests are protected. We must ensure our childrens' voices are heard. In the lead up to Canada's 150th celebrations, when we wave the red and white flag and tell our children they live in one of the greatest countries in the world, let's also be prepared to work toward making that reality so. Our children deserve the best possible childhood -- let's resolve to make Canada the best place in the world for kids to grow up. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook At least eight Afghan police officers were killed and three were injured on Tuesday in an attack carried out by the Taliban militants in Lashkargah, the capital city of the countrys southern Helmand province, local media reported, citing a security official, Sputnik reported. The attack took place at the check post in the Bolan area late on Monday, according to the Pajhwok news agency. At the same time, the agency said Gen. Abdul Rahim Chakhansuri confirmed that the incident took place between the Taliban militants and security forces, without giving specific number of casualties. The militants have not claimed responsibility for the attack so far, the agency reported. Part of Sadler's Wells' Out Of Asia 2 season, the 16th century epic The Peony Pavilion is one of the most enduring love stories in Chinese literature. Originally performed as a Kunqu Opera in a 20-hour cycle, it is redrawn by director Li Liuyi and choreographer Fei Bo into a pioneering two-act fusion ballet, combining Western style choreography with traditional Chinese influences. First premiered in 2008, the work features an eclectic postmodern score that references Holst, Prokofiev and Debussy. I was able to interview Fei Bo before the National Ballet of China travelled to London to perform it. Advertisement Q: I know it is a difficult thing to do, but can you tell us a little about how your choreographic process works? Fei Bo: I don't always follow the same process during my creation [process]. Sometimes my ideas come from music, sometimes from stories. For a new theme, of course, it always starts with an impluse. A certain point [of inspiration] would urge me to put it into a choreography. Then, I will do my preparation and research on the theme or the story that I plan to work on. I will dig into the story, analyse the characters and look into the characters for something universal in humanity. Fei Bo: When I start my work with dancers, I don't necessarily need a very concrete idea. But there must be 'will' [a need or desire to produce], to make a move. And by following this will, a creation will gradually come out. If it is a storytelling ballet, I will have the basic dramatic structure. But I welcome [the arrival of] new possibilities during the creation process. Sometimes, something comes up during rehearsals which makes a big difference. By retaining an open mind and allowing new possibilities, we sometimes get more than we expect. Q: I understand that you use Eastern perspectives to converse with Western art. The Peony Pavilion is certainly an example of this. Can you share how your thinking about this process has evolved over the years? Advertisement Fei Bo: Yes, I have been exploring in this in recent years. But I think we should not put too much attention simply on whether it is a western or eastern art form. In China, it is acknowledged that for many years we are educated in more or less westernized education. It is a result of globalization and cultural integration. My wish to localize ballet art has something to do with my reflection on the dominant position of western art in the global context. After all these years of creation, I realize that we must find our way back to our own culture and work on ourselves. What we learn from western art forms is more like a tool or a method. It enables us to step back and take a careful look at ourselves. Distance helps us to discover the uniqueness of our own culture. Q: Can you share your memories of the first time you realised or decided you wanted to become a choreographer? If not, can you share your memories of when you were first aware that you wanted to be involved in dance? Fei Bo: I grew up in a traditional Chinese opera family. I've always been familiar to the theatre stage. My interest in dance came from a dance style called 'Disco', which was very popular among young people in the 1980s in China. At that time, just a child, I was totally fascinated by Disco from the very first time I saw my aunts and uncles dancing. I could watch them dancing all day without getting bored. I didn't really understand their dance, but their happiness infected me, and so I just bounced around after them with great joy. I think this was when I start to like body languages. Fei Bo: I did my first choreography for the graduation exam of my middle school. Normally we chose from existing repertoires for exams. But this time our teacher encouraged us to create something. So I did! It turned out that I was the only one in the class who did this. The freedom and happiness I felt at one moment during that exam was so strong it has stayed with me. I really enjoyed it. After this first creation, I started, little by little, to choreograph more, and slowly realised more and more pictures that had come from imagination, from my head. The Peony Pavilion is at Sadler's Wells from 29th November to 3rd December. Book it here. For more see their website www.en.ballet.org.cn I will be posting photographs and a short review on my blog dancetog.com Rawpixel Ltd via Getty Images You're pacing the ward, desperate to find space, only to discover some jargon-ridden management consultant hogging the desk with their templates, eager to advise you on 'new ways of working efficiently'. Seriously, 'eff-off!' It's reported that a whopping 640m of tax-payer money is spent on consultancy, but does it even work? Well, a radically new approach to consultancy is transforming the public sector around the world. 'Future Search' is a principle-based methodology for enabling multi-stakeholder engagement around complex issues. It is a refreshing approach to managing whole-system change. Advertisement With support from the Perspectivity network, we recently spent three days in Ireland to learn more about Future Search. The training, run by co-founder Sandra Janoff, gathered 23 participants from as far as South Africa, Australia and the USA. Why are problems so complex? Modern day world problems are plagued with complexity at every level. But instead of dissecting and embracing complexity, we choose to solve them through traditional linear means (if 'x' then 'y'). The healthcare system, however, is far from linear. Thousands of healthcare professionals, hundreds of specialities, millions of patients and tens of millions of interactions - all mutually influencing each other in real time. Add to this, an ageing population, diverse demographics, growing inequalities, workforce strain and rising patient expectations. Department of Health's knee-jerk response:- "We'll train extra medical students!". With multiple stakeholders (Government, CCGs, Trusts, GPs, Allied Professionals, Patients, HEE, Unions, etc.), each interested in their priorities, formulating plans that serve to please everyone is impossible. And so, plans are only made to please the electorate. Issues like teenage depression, suicide, childhood obesity and social care, are dealt with in silos. In areas that I have worked, namely Dudley, there is a huge disparity between primary and community services - we just don't work well together. Advertisement This is where Future Search comes in. How Future Search Works Sandra started by highlighting the fundamental principles that anchored Future Search: 1) Getting the 'whole system' in the room - ensuring every part of the system is reflected through the people present. 2) Explore the 'whole elephant' before seeking to fix a part. This prevents our natural myopic tendency of quickly converging onto a single idea or issue. 3) Focus on 'common ground and future actions', not conflicts. The process does not try to change the minds of people. Instead of wasting energy on things that cannot be agreed upon, it focuses on things that can. 4) Self-managing groups - adding another level of management just worsens the complexity. Instead, it encourages self-managing groups. Advertisement The Issue For the training to be real we selected an issue that most people agreed upon - "Healthcare in Dudley", or re-engineered to "Healthcare in Didley" for simulation purposes. For 60 hours, we worked on improving healthcare in this semi-fictitious city of Didley. Stakeholder groups (roles assumed by the attendees) included commissioners, GP practices, patients, local council and the hospitals. The Process Here is a very (very!) brief overview of the process: 1) Exploring a common past It started by creating a collaborative timeline over the last 30 years on a paper wall with events on a personal, local (Didley) and global level. Everybody had the freedom to post their stories, in the end generating a common narrative. The rigour of studying the past to better understand a present issue is unheard of in modern management practices. In the immortal words of Bob Marley, "In this bright future, you can't forget your past". 2) Visualising a shared present-day reality After generating a common past, Sandra enabled us to translate our stories into trends - trends that were affecting our present reality in Didley. These included: increasing healthcare costs, reduced funding, increased patient expectations, increased diversity of demographics, an ageing population, increasing mental health problems etc. Rather than trying to justify and fight for our personal opinions, the group were inspired to authentically share and embrace differences. The emphasis here was to build a shared common present day reality. Unless diverse stakeholders are able to view a whole system as a common reality, meaningful change is a far-fetch. Advertisement As a group, we highlighted the most important trends that were affecting the healthcare of Didley, thereby laying the foundation for the future. 3) Creating a shared future worth living into Using insights from the past and present day trends, the final task was to create concrete action plans for the future of Didley - the Didley of 2026. In self-managed groups, we developed concrete steps towards a common, created future. Summary Future Search is radical - it embraces complexity. It is democracy in action. It is collaboration for good, for progress. It's a methodology for developing common ground. Advertisement The NHS is an unrelenting beauty, where the ego of top-down policy-making will never quite work. It takes a level of maturity to stop oneself from prematurely offering solutions without embracing the whole system. The future is uncertain. With massive re-structuring all over the country, including the new MCP model in our dear town of Dudley, how can we ensure that everyone is valued? How can we create a common future that everyone wants to live into? Future Search in UK/Ireland is facilitated by Michael Donnelly. Contact him on Michael.Donnelly@perspectivity.org. By Heather Taylor A couple of weeks ago, we got to know more about one of Keeblers most famous icons: chief spokeself Ernie Keebler. While Ernie takes questions from curious visitors from the window above the front door of the Hollow Tree, few have glimpsed the inner workings of this magical bakery until today. Come join us on an exclusive factree tour filled with magic ovens, a subterranean fudge river, rainbow cannons, and a peek at how the elves do movie night! Outside, the Hollow Tree is deciduous and never drops its leaves even in winter. Inside, its a hub of elfin activity and incredibly vast with dozens of rooms, levels, hallways, and anti-chambers. The elves get around quite easily too, with perfectly pint-sized staircases, bannisters, and balconies at every turn. When Ernies visitors stop by, they get to check out the baking that occurs in the main room behind him. All sorts of scrumptious delights are created here with the magic oven baking everything from cookies to crackers, tortilla chips and even popcorn over the decades. This room is ever changing, depending on what activity is being featured in it, and inventory is well stocked. Ingredients ((flour, fudge, nuts, chips), supplies (cooling racks, tables, chairs, whisks, pots, pans, spatulas, rolling pins, aprons), and equipment (carts, wagons, wheelbarrows) are always in abundance. Advertisement Every now and then, visitors may spot the Fudge Shoppe out on the main floor. This is where the most indulgent cookies, like Fudge Stripes and Grasshopper, are produced. Our elves are dedicated to baking everything by hand, including drizzling cookies with fragrant chocolatey fudge and maintaining the mouthwatering toffee waterfalls. Perhaps nothing stands out more than the flowing fudge river, the Fudgeterranean Spring. Designed by animation director Sam Cornell, the spring is tapped into in order to fill fudge fountains. Look closely, as you might be able to spot a submarine! Advertisement While we may never know what all that goes on in the Hollow Tree, it has been speculated that deep within its roots is a cellar. Inside that cellar are secrets and prized elfin recipes. In this commercial, two Secret Service-esque agents accompany Ernie as he rides an elevator deep inside of the tree. Hes on a mission to make Fudge Stripe cookies irresistible. All it takes is the help of a secret ingredient, which may or may not be revealed in this spot Heading back upstairs, some of the more common rooms weve seen in commercials have included the bedrooms of elves like Ernie, Zoot, J.J., and Elwood. The Hollow Tree also has a deck where the gang gathers to celebrate fresh baked Town House crackers and seems to only be accessible via trap door. Theres even a bit of technology in the Hollow Tree, by way of a rotary telephone for Ernie to make calls to the team when a non-believer in elves has been spotted. Whenever that happens, the Rainbow Cannon is fired up to send an insta-rainbow in their direction to sway their minds. However, shooting the rainbows outside of the Hollow Tree is rarely done. The Cannons primary use is to collect the beams of a rainbow and separate them with a prism crystal to focus individual colors on candy-coated gems. Advertisement Once in a great while, the elves will step away from baking to gather together for a movie night. Held on the main floor, such an occasion has only been seen in commercials promoting The Ernie Awards. Here, the elves put their feet up and enjoy snacks while viewing black and white cinematic classics on a projector. Funnily enough, these films also include cameo appearances from the Munch Em snack crackers causing Ernie to swoon with delight at the magic of the silver screen meeting uncommonly good treats! Africa needs to accelerate the pace of industrialization to encourage broad-based growth. Africa's growth has been impressive over the past 15 years, picking up from an average of 2% during the 1980s and 1990s to just above 5% between 2001 and 2014. Growth has, however, dipped to just below 4% since 2014, largely in response to a global decline in commodity prices. This illustrates the continent's continuing dependence on commodity demand, and highlights the need to strengthen its economic base through further industrialization - currently, Africa accounts for less than 2% of global manufacturing, while manufacturing has been stagnant or declining as a percentage of GDP in all but a few countries. Regional integration must be a core component of industrialization. Among the various pathways to industrialization - strengthening democratic institutions and ensuring transparent and accountable governance, for example - regional integration is one of the most underutilized. While manufactured goods make up only 20% of Africa's total exports, they make up 60% of trade between African countries. Advertisement This highlights the opportunity that Africa represents as a buyer of its own manufactured products - especially those that are costly or difficult to import from more far-flung regions. Still, despite some improvements in opening borders, the continent remains highly fragmented - existing intra-regional trade levels are the lowest in the world - and the potential for intra-African trade remains largely untapped. For example, a truck delivering goods to supermarkets across borders in Southern Africa can be expected to carry up to 1600 documents to satisfy various legal requirements. Further, visa regulations make it harder for Africans themselves to travel within Africa than for North Americans or Europeans, and limit visits and exchanges that encourage trade. Restrictions like these make intra-regional trade in Africa the most expensive in the world - costs are 50% higher than in East Asia, for example - and, in many instances, create a situation where Chinese or European markets are 'closer' to many African countries than their neighbours. Open borders will open up markets and increase productivity. Free movement will boost our economies and help to transfer skills, knowledge, technology and best practice. While there has been commendable progress such as the launch of the African Passport and the African Openness Report, countries need to harmonise their policies to address the concerns hindering open borders across the continent such as security and immigration management practices. It is advisable that open border policies are firmed up at the Regional Economic Communities and then scaled up through grand regional Agreements. However, political goodwill and coordination are critical elements for successful integration. Infrastructure investment is a critical enabler of integration. Free movement of goods and people will only become a reality when African countries build links across the continent roads, railways, airports and ports that will allow people, goods, services and capital to move seamlessly around the continent. Reducing tariffs and easing legal restrictions on movement is crucial, but insufficient. Advertisement To boost integration and trade, dramatic improvements in Africa's connective infrastructure is needed. This includes not only investments in transport networks, but also those that create shared infrastructure to facilitate trade and exchange, such as investments in information and communications technology and regional markets for services - energy pools that allow power plants to distribute energy across multiple countries, for example. The African Development Bank estimates that there is an annual financing gap of $50 billion to meet Sub-Saharan Africa's infrastructure needs. Closing it will require drawing in greater private sector investment. One way to do this is make more strategic use of development finance and support. Investors often bemoan the lack of investable or 'bankable' infrastructure projects on the continent. While there are several facilities available to assist investors with the costs of identifying and preparing projects, awareness of these is low and facility design is often ill fitted to investor needs. There is a need to better match facilities with investors through initiatives like the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa's (ICA) and Project Preparation Facilities Network (PPFN), which aim to increase reach, collaboration and learning among support providers on the continent. New financial instruments can also help alleviate risk aversion in private investors. For example, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in partnership with the India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd. (IIFCL), has created a $128 million "project bond guarantee facility" that raises the credit rating of infrastructure bonds by absorbing a portion of risk. The Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) is an important continental initiative and policy framework designed to reduce the dire soft and hard infrastructure deficit in Africa through transport, energy, ICT and transboundary water networks. In order to realise PIDA's objectives realigning Africa's connectivity with global demands for accessibility and competitiveness within the set timelines (up to 2030), African governments, the coordinating Agencies (the African Union Commission, African Development Bank, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and NEPAD) and all African stakeholders have to work jointly and within the requisite enabling environment. Political and economic goodwill, ownership, partnerships and investment, collaboration, coordination and cooperation will enable efficient and effective implementation. The call for industrialization is not new for Africa, but we must now heed it in a different way. Global markets will play their part, but we must not forget the opportunities that lie on our own doorstep. Africa must take responsibility for the growth of its own economy and institutions. We have the means, partnerships and the capacity to do so. [Number of births & Birth Rate in Japan (Unit: %, person)(Red line: number of births/ black line: birth rate)] By AsiaToday reporter Kim Ye-jin - Recently, Japan's public broadcaster NHK attributed the lack of love life among Japanese youth to idol girl group AKB48's handshake session, triggering controversy. The recent episode of NHK's "Close-up Modern+" analyzed the reasons why young Japanese are so reluctant to get into relationships, and mentioned AKB48's handshake sessions, maid cafes, and manga as main culprits. Advertisement A "handshake session" is an event that gives fans the opportunity to meet and shake hands with their star, often an idol group. Obviously, it's a bit much to relate a handshake session with love life. Online media RocketNews24 reported that netizens left critical comments like, "It was such a bad guess that left me shocked," "The reason is not AKB, but long hours of work! I don't have time to love," and more. The media reported, "The broadcast did not provide detailed explanation about the matter. However, AKB48 is definitely popular, and there are many young people who put more emphasis on their support over their love life. But, it's questionable whether an handshake session of an idol group is the cause of young people avoiding romantic attachments." A declining interest in dating, marriage, and childbirth among young people has been a long-time problem for Japan. Buzzwords like "herbivore men" (shy guys who are don't make a move), and "fasting guys" (guys without willingness to date) have been around for a long time, and Japan's low birthrate and shrinking population have long been one of the serious social issues in Japan. According to the "Population Dynamics 2016" released by Japan's Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, the annual number of babies born in Japan slipped below 1 million in 2016 for the first time since records began, with the estimated figure at 981,000. Advertisement Japan's National Institution for Youth Education released a report on 4,000 men and women in their 20s and 30s across Japan in last November, and found that 20.3 percent of respondents do not want to get married, compared with 16.9 percent who said they hope to marry soon. It also found that 18.2 percent want to have a child soon if they marry, while 24.8 percent do not have such hope. Of unmarried respondents with any partner, 63.8 percent said they do not want to get married because of economic difficulties, followed by 50.4 percent who feel they like being alone and 48.3 percent who feel they are too busy with work. However, NHK's broadcast which caused 'female idol' controversy above has gained attention as it focused on the new marriage trend called "kosai zero nichikon": roughly translated as "marrying without dating". Professor Masahiro Yamada, a sociologist at Chuo University in Tokyo, pointed out many young Japanese feel pressure over financial commitments that come with dating, and that the priority is shifting to marrying whoever's convenient. This also proves that young people with economic barriers are avoiding dating and getting married. The Japanese government is also aware of this. It released a white paper on the country's low fertility rate in last May, and found that 37.3 percent are worried about the financial burdens of married life. The survey conducted to 700 men and women aged 20 to 49 years. Advertisement The Japanese government has been making efforts to promote marriage and boost the country's low fertility rate under its goal of raising the total fertility rate to 1.8 from 1.45 in 2015. Last year, the government set up an expert panel which will draw up a proposal to companies and private organizations this year. The proposal includes detailed measures to encourage young people to marry and start families. Besides, the Japanese government plans to increase its subsidies for "konkatsu" spouse-hunting events hosted by companies and other private organizations to 1,100 million in 2017 from 500 million last year. It is trying to raise the marriage rate of men and women aged between 23 and 49 who want to marry to 80% by 2020. The government will continue to support the married couple. Since April 2015, Japan has been allowing tax exemption for cash transfers up to 10 million yen to children and grandchildren for marriages, births and child rearing. Japan will also review support for long distance couples, and those undergoing fertility treatment. The government has decided to create a new system, such as holiday system, based on the survey results of companies to help married couples who want to undergo fertility treatment while going to work starting this year. This is because many women are forced to leave or take a break because it is difficult to work and undergo infertility treatment at the same time. In addition, the government is considering to provide tax credits to long distance couples for moving costs if they decide to get married as well as travel costs for meeting each other. The government is reviewing these measures to include in the tax reform 2017 in order to prevent long distance couples from giving up their marriage because of long distance. Advertisement Some companies are beginning to pay attention to low birth rates by providing childcare subsidies. Back in October, Hitachi started a childcare support system which provides its workers' child care expenses, up to 100,000 yen a year. Honda plans to introduce a system that will offer 20,000 yen per month for each child under the age of 18 of its employees starting in April this year. The maximum period of child care leave available to workers would be extended to two years. This year, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has decided to submit to the National Assembly the related amendment that allows working parents to take leave until their child reaches two years old. However, aggressive support of konkatsu activities has a downside. In last December, the Japanese government decided to abandon its "konkatsu mentoring program within companies" plan which was considered as a plan to encourage marriages. The plan was a system where a married worker advises an unmarried worker about marriage preparation. However, many criticized it because it can put much pressure to workers to get married in a workplace where you are disadvantaged if you don't follow the advice of your boss. Donald Trump has not yet been sworn in, but the Republican Congress has convened. Shortly it will begin hearings on Trump's appointments -- as a block more a Cabinet suited for a corporatist President Ted Cruz than populist candidate Trump. Trump and the Republicans control the White House and Congress. What they don't control - where they are weak - is the public conversation. Tweets turn out to be a good mechanism for getting headlines but not for creating a storyline - and that's our opportunity. The confirmation hearings should be used by concerned Democratic and Republican Senators to hold Trump accountable for delivering on his incoherent smorgasbord of promises. The two key environmental nominees are Rex Tillerson and Scott Pruitt. The media has focused around their opposition to action on climate, Tillerson saying "suck it up and endure climate chaos," Pruitt being a denialist. But it has not yet told the story of their full threat to our environment, our health, our economy and our national security. Below, to start this broader and more troubling dialogue, are ten questions the Senate must ask Tillerson and Pruitt before it votes on whether to confirm them. QUESTIONS FOR REX TILLERSON, NOMINEE FOR SECRETARY OF STATE Advertisement 1) Mr. Tillerson, Lee Raymond, your predecessor, made clear that he didn't view ExxonMobil as a US company, and didn't "make decisions based on what is good for the US." Your have stated that you signed oil leases that undercut US foreign policy in Iraq because "I had to do what was best for my shareholders." Q: Can you explain where, specifically, the interests of the oil industry might diverge from those of the average American? What advice you would give the President to ensure that the interests of the US prevailed over those of oil companies? 2) Following Russia's invasion of the Ukraine and the seizure of the Crimea, you and ExxonMobil visibly continued to support Russia's development of its offshore Arctic oil fields. You pursued partnerships with Russian oil interests faced with western sanctions. You clearly aligned with Russia. Q: Did you believe these actions served the interests of the United States? Or were you putting your shareholders first? 3) Russia's has refused to collaborate with international efforts to prevent human rights repression in Syria. This has resulted in the victory of the Assad regime and the butchery of Aleppo. The FBI and the CIA have concluded that Russia actively hacked American political parties in an effort to destabilize our democratic system and perhaps tilt the outcome. Q: Do you believe it is still in the interests of the United States for our oil companies, including ExxonMobil, to provide technical and financial support to assist Russia in becoming a more powerful oil producer? Do you still oppose sanctions against Russia for violating international norms in Syria, the Ukraine and around the US elections? 4) Russia has recently joined with OPEC to artificially rig the oil market. Prices have risen 20% as a result. US consumers are again paying more than a fair market price for gasoline and diesel. Q: What steps would you recommend the US take to discourage Russia from conspiring with OPEC to price-gouge? How would you recommend to the President that he ensure that the price of oil never again soars to $70, $80, $90 even $100 level? In your view, how important to the US are moderate - below $60 -- oil prices? Advertisement 5) You have repeatedly said that while you believe in climate change, it is not yet possible for the world to move beyond fossil fuels, because alternatives are not ready. Q: If we continue to rely on petroleum for 90% or more of our transportation energy, can you assure Americans that the price of getting around will never again spike to the levels we saw over the last decade? Is getting off oil just a climate issue, or is it also an economic necessity? If alternatives are not yet ready, would you urge the US to actively join with other oil-importing countries for a Manhattan style project to bring low-carbon transportation technologies to full competitiveness within the next four years? QUESTIONS FOR SCOTT PRUITT, NOMINATE AS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 1) Mr. Pruitt, ten percent of American women have dangerous levels of mercury in their bodies. But recent data shows that since the United States started cleaning up emissions from coal power plants, not only has mercury pollution in the North Atlantic fallen dramatically, so has the concentration of mercury in Atlantic fisheries. Mercury in Atlantic bluefin tuna is down 19% in only eight years. First of all I've introduced at the university De Montfort University Pride because unfortunately the actual pride festival that we have in our city in Leicester takes place when our students aren't here. It takes place end of August and I always felt our students missed out in engaging with Leicester Pride. So we have our own pride festival which is a series of cultural events, celebrations and talks in February. We always try to invite people who might not be as fortunate as us to enjoy some of the tolerance we're very lucky to have in the U.K. We obviously had our Parliament vote very recently to permit gay marriage and that was a great big moment I think for the U.K. as a country. So last pride we invited 10 members from the LGBT community of Russia who are suffering terrible persecution at the moment. There is tremendous intolerance in Russia as you know for members of our community and our students raised funds to pay for 10, generally people under 25, to come over to Leicester and I think they were here for upward of 2 weeks and they forged strong links with them going forward and I think that is a very important thing. Secondly I'm the honorary president of our local LGBTQ center in Leicester. There are only 5 centers left in the U.K. now which is in itself I think a rather horrifying figure actually. So I'm very pleased to be able to have it be all quite a cursory role but I do what I can to raise the profile at our center. There is nothing like a trip to our nation's capitol to get a reality check. A few weeks ago, I was in Washington for a conference: A Meeting to Construct the Peace After the War. It was sponsored by the No Labels Foundation, an organization which positions itself as a voice for the "New Center," the tens of millions of Americans who feel abandoned by both the Democratic and Republican Parties. No Labels also supports the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus in Congress, whose 80-plus members have called for a National Strategic Agenda that addresses job creation, Social Security and Medicare funding, balancing the budget and energy independence. There was a very insightful analogy presented at one discussion. If our government were a restaurant, all they've been offering on the menu is chicken and fish, which only appeal to the Left and the Right wings of the two parties. But the majority of the American people want steak because there's a real craving to solve problems and get things done. They're asking, "where's the beef?" and the only way for to get steak on the menu is for some kind of centrist coalition to start cooking in Congress. And if that recipe for success doesn't happen in the first 100 Days, I fear it never will. Advertisement With the Republican Party in control of the House and Senate, there is an opportunity to move new policy and legislation forward. And that calls for people that are willing to lead, negotiate and compromise. To cross the partisan divide, you have to advance policy and legislation that can give both sides something they want and infrastructure and tax reform are the two best avenues to accomplish that. According to research from the Stagwell Group, the number one and two campaign promises that Trump voters supported were building infrastructure and cutting taxes for individuals. One of the biggest obstacles to finding some common ground in Congress is the polarization of the voting public. A Pew Research study shows that 41 percent of Democrats see the Republican as a threat to the nation's wellbeing and 45 percent of Republicans see the Democratic Party as a threat to the nation's wellbeing. Given how bitterly estranged that the majorities of both parties are, how do you bring people back towards the center? Further complicating a move towards the center is that right now, the GOP seems mostly interested in repealing President Obama's major policies. Some of Trump's nominations and appointments are real head scratchers, where he's named people whose background and policy views suggest they're committed to dismantling the very departments they're supposed to run. Scott Pruitt, the choice to head the EPA is a close ally of the oil and natural gas industries and doubts the science of climate change. Andrew Puzder, the Secretary of Labor nominee has not only opposed raising the minimum wage, but having any minimum wage at all. Plus, his company has been fined for more labor violations than any company in the fast food industry. These appointments reflect Trump's lack of political experience and instincts. To so quickly sell out his base is truly astounding, but I've always doubted his economic commitment to working class people. Advertisement In terms of the discordant factions within the Republican Party, the Libertarians, the Evangelicals, the Tea Party, and the Establishment, the friction and fractures are not going to just go away. Winning has a way of sweeping problems under the carpet and right now, we have a kind of cease-fire. But if the establishment doesn't start to recognize the base's needs, those problems will become bigger, not smaller. What the Party needs to do is take advantage of this victory and use what political capital is available to try to address these issues. There is also the credibility factor or more aptly, the lack of creditability factor. When Trump says millions of people illegally voted, this is a clear denial of the facts. It was a flat outright, unsubstantiated lie. Paul Ryan could still acknowledge reality and not withdraw support from Trump, but when he says, "No, I don't really know how many people voted," that is just such a dereliction of duty. I expect that stuff from Reince Priebus, but Ryan should know better. What are GOP leaders trying to gain by not standing up to Trump on outrageous claims such as the CIA was wrong on Russian hacking? That doesn't mean abandoning him; it's just basic accountability. Speaking of lack of creditability, the media's is also at an all-time low. Many people who maybe don't follow the news as closely as we do say, "well, politicians are spreading false information, but the media is also doing it, so which is worse?" That's what makes it harder for the media to hold fake news-ers accountable. There are a lot of people that are going to believe what they want to believe and it really comes from a profound mistrust of the entire system. And many people are likely to get their news from outlets that reinforce their view of the world, which mean different versions and interpretations of events and policies. In this kind of political environment, there is no such thing as the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and without being forced to stick to the facts, Trump is able to manipulate the media on any given issue. And his use of Twitter as a platform to communicate directly to the American people ranges from masterfully calculating to ludicrously absurd. It's hardly a statesman-like image for the leader of the free world, when some of his tweets bring to mind an Alec Baldwin impersonation. Trump also doesn't get the dangerous position he's putting himself in by not separating himself from his businesses. I'm sorry, but putting his children in charge just doesn't pass muster. And his opponents may be complaining that he's not doing it, but they're secretly hoping he doesn't stop because it's going to be the best way for them to discredit and burden his presidency. Every decision he will make is going to be second-guessed because of this conflict of interest. We've never had this in the history of American politics; this is what Banana Republics do where the dictator has all these businesses that make money on the side. Trump's stubborn refusal could actually sink his administration. Advertisement While it's possible Trump may be commonsensical on policy, when it comes to personality, a 70 year-old man who has lived a consequence and structure-free life, doing whatever he wants to do, whenever he wants to do it, is the last person who is likely to change. I think of myself as a practical optimist, one who bases his worldview on hard fact rather than blind faith. Looking ahead to 2017, on the bright side, there's a good chance Trump will really try to get tax reform and infrastructure legislation done. On the other hand, it's hard to be optimistic because of his inexperience and character flaws. Lastly, despite what some apparatchiks have hubristically claimed, this election was not a mandate or a landslide victory. This is a very divided country. The working class base that Trump won is a very fragile, fickle electorate and he needs to focus on getting things done that will help working class Americans. Going back to the original concept of a "centrist restaurant" in Washington, the two parties must put aside partisanship to best serve our nation. But to start preparing some policies and legislation that will satisfy disgruntled voters requires two seasonings that the GOP removed from its cookbook during the Obama Administration; compromise and collaboration. The fact is Donald Trump is not a chef; all he wants is credit for glowing reviews from the critics. Over the next few months, there is a small window of opportunity for Republicans and Democrats to put some pragmatic steak on the grill. A bitter election that left a bad taste in so many of our mouths reflects an angry citizenry that is starving for change. Dave Spencer is the Founder of Practically Republican and a Member of the Executive Committee of the California Republican Party Former students from across the country today filed a blockbuster lawsuit against the collapsed for-profit college giant ITT Tech. The students' complaint, seeking to intervene in the ongoing bankruptcy proceeding filed by the company, draws on testimonials from hundreds of students -- veterans, single mothers, and more -- who say they were deceived and abused by ITT. The company, in the last 10 years alone, took more than $11 billion from students and from taxpayer-financed grants and loans. The students are asking the bankruptcy judge to block ITT from collecting on the private student loans that the company pushed on them. They also seek damages, meaning they want a stake in whatever monies are available, funds that are also being sought by the various vendors, marketers, and lobbyists who say ITT owes them money. Advertisement The students' complaint alleges that ITT, which shut down all 137 campuses in September after the Department of Education cut off federal aid, carried out "illegal actions pursuant to corporate policies and imperatives directed at churning students through a costly sham." The testimonials came through applications by the ex-students to the Department of Education to have their federal loans forgiven, applications that were gathered by the group Debt Collective, whose powerful advocacy has helped push Washington policymakers to stand up for aggrieved students at last. The students, who are represented in the lawsuit by the Project on Predatory Lending at the Harvard Law School legal services center, seek to sue on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of students whom they believe were wronged by ITT. (I proudly disclose that I am a consultant to the Harvard Law project and its team of tough, smart lawyers.) Advertisement But the new complaint digs even deeper than prior accounts, documenting every phase of the con. Students complain of coercive, deceptive ITT recruiting pitches that target the "pain" of prospective enrollees. The complaint cites a former ITT recruiter as saying his colleagues were trained "to make prospective students feel that enrolling in ITT was the only way out of their problems." The students say ITT lied to them about the costs and transferability of credits, about job placement rates and earnings of graduates. They say recruiters "used the false pretense of urgency to induce students to enroll by claiming that if the student didn't enroll immediately, they would be unable to enroll for another six months." In truth, ITT, desperate for dollars, was anxious to enroll new students at any time. One student who attended ITT from 2009 to 2011 was told that the school's tuition was "on par with Ivy Tech," a community college in Indiana, when, in fact, at $44,895, the cost of a 2-year associate's degree at ITT's Indianapolis campus was almost five times as much as a comparable Ivy Tech program. The new complaint alleges that ITT management relentlessly used quotas and pressure to push its employees to enroll new students, including students who read at a 4th grade level or otherwise were unlikely to benefit from the programs. They say the education was often poor: outdated equipment, pirated software, over-crowded classrooms, teachers who were apathetic, playing guitar at their desks, drunk, even sleeping. A nursing student reports, "We had 2 semesters of clinical s at the hospital where we spent 90 percent of the time in the cafeteria instead of on the floor learning. Then after the school was not allowed back at the hospitals we did our clinicals on you tube videos. There was also a class I had that we . . . [n]ever had a teacher." The students allege that ITT engaged in widespread grade falsification, apparently for the purpose of keeping students enrolled and keeping their financial aid rolling in. Also, perhaps, to boost ITT's published success rates; in 2015, ITT's President and COO claimed that ITT's graduation rates were double the rates of comparable community colleges. One student reports, "I had spoken with the Dean of Students at the time, telling him of my suspicions, that this school was passing people thru so they could get the federally secure[d] student loans. He came to me one day and said my suspicions were true, but he would never admit it if I brought it up again, because he had a family to feed." Advertisement The students also allege that ITT's financial aid officers relentlessly pressured them to take on new loans, pulling students out of class and demanding they sign immediately, and making threats to aggressively collect debts if students dropped out. The students say these financial aid officials often blurred the differences between grants, low-interest government loans, and high-interest private loans, leaving many students believing they had borrowed little or nothing but finding when they left that they had multiple loans obligating them to pay tens of thousands of dollars. Numerous students also claim that ITT signed loan paperwork for them without permission. The complaint also asserts that ITT threatened to expel students who complained about improper practices, and that the company coerced students into writing positive testimonials about the school. The students also allege that ITT offered dismal to no job placement assistance. One wrote, "I received emails from Career Services for job offers. These job offers were copied and pasted from Indeed.com. Most of these 'jobs' were for McDonalds part-time or working in a Call Center for under $10/hour. Absolutely nothing related to my degree. One particular email I received from the department was a scam, phony company trying to offer $20+/hour to work from home when it was actually the company trying to sell materials." Another ex-student says, "I tried for months working with job services to set up an interview after I graduated. I had several interviews from jobs I applied to on my own with no luck. The help I finally got from ITT Tech was them calling me telling me to hurry up, throw on some nice interview clothes and be there in thirty minutes. I got there and it was a guy interviewing me for a job as a clothes store manager. My degree was in Computer Networking. That was the only job interview that ITT Tech had helped me with." Advertisement Numerous students report actually being laughed at by prospective employers during interviews because they had attended ITT. One student said that "a technical recruiter finally told me that any resume or job application with ITT-Tech, University of Phoenix, or DeVry on it gets discarded immediately, before any other filtering is done." Indeed, the complaint alleges, some government and private sector employers have had policies against hiring ITT graduates. The statistics bear out how poorly ITT students have fared in the job marketplace. According to 2016 Department of Education data, ITT graduates earned on average about $28,218 in 2014. By contrast, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 2014 median earnings for a worker with a high school diploma but no college credits was $34,736. Finally, the complaint asserts that ITT Tech concealed bad student outcomes from the Department of Education and accreditors through various tricks that manipulated data without helping students. To take one example, ITT reported students as placed in jobs in their field where they had the same job they held before enrolling, or where they were placed in temporary one-month positions, or by counting a cashier job as placed in a computer networking position. The students allege that they have been severely harmed by ITT's abuses. They have been left with overwhelming debts. The complaint says that a conservative estimate of total ITT student debt created in the past 10 years is $7.3 billion, an amount that continues to grow as you read these words. The ex-students face aggressive debt collection and garnishment of their meager wages. They lost valuable years attending ITT when they could have been earning degrees from better schools. Their experiences have strained their family relationships and left some of them deeply depressed, even suicidal. One wrote: "It ruined my life, my credit, my employment opportunities, my significant other relationship, my family, and most of all they stole my future from me which I will never get back. [] The really sad part is I love to learn. I knew what I wanted to do with my life, I loved technology from when I was a kid. Every single night I think about this loan and how it has effected me, my family, and my significant other. I dont sleep, I have heart papulations from constant stress, and frankly I'm to exhausted to elaborate." Advertisement For its bad behavior, ITT has been under investigation or sued in recent years by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the attorneys general of New Mexico,Arkansas, Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington. But these actions have stalled, in part through intransigent legal tactics by ITT and now because of federal bankruptcy trustee has sought to halt them. And there has been no sign of efforts to hold accountable ITT executives like CEO Kevin Modany or long-time board members like DC lobbyist Vin Weber, once a member of the House GOP leadership. With no indication yet from the Obama Education Department that it will issue any last-minute forgiveness of federal loans of ITT students, these former students have taken matters into their own hands -- and again reminded the public of the billions of tax dollars, aimed at helping people train for jobs, that has been diverted to abusive college operators, from medium-size strip mall crooks to pedigreed Wall Street operators. With the former President of Trump University about to become the President of the United States, there is real concern that the federal government will again embrace predatory college operations, ending the progress that the Obama Administration has made to crack down on abuses. Certainly Republicans on Capitol Hill have enjoyed a 20-year love affair with the for-profit college industry, with campaign cash flowing from the industry and sympathetic votes coming from GOP lawmakers. But Trump has claimed he will fight against waste, fraud, and abuse with taxpayer dollars, so why shouldn't he apply that principle to one of the most egregious examples? There remain numerous for-profit colleges whose business models -- high-price, low-quality, deception -- mirror ITT Tech and that still receive millions, even billions, annually from taxpayers. Trump says he stands for working people, and so much of the money allocated for career education now is going to crooked, greedy operators, when we could be financing better programs that would actually train people for careers as medical assistants, mechanics, computer technicians. Moreover, the lobbying and influence-buying practices of this industry come from the darkest depths of the swamp that Trump has pledged to drain. Advertisement But even if the Trump team decides to let abusive for-profit colleges run wild again, actions like today's student lawsuit, plus probes by the honest law enforcement agencies still on the trail of fraud colleges, plus media coverage, will keep pushing accountability and getting useful information to investors and, most importantly, prospective students. The truth will still matter, and we can hope that the honest accounts of former students will save some future students from similar hardships. Woodrow Wilson, PhD was elected President of the United States in 1916. Upon taking office, Wilson, himself a southerner, immediately loaded his administration with his fellow Southern Democrats. This resurgence of the heirs of the Confederacy's bequest was shocking, as until then the Democrats had not done well since Lincoln's day. Wilson promptly re-segregated the federal government, and while feted for many of his economic policies, he set minorities back decades. It became hard for African Americans to get high-level civil service jobs. Washington led the resurgence of white Christian supremacy in making "White" and "Colored" restrooms. Wilson is known for several notable achievements. He created the Federal Reserve, thus freeing the country's economy from being so tied to Wall Street. He also started the Federal Trade Commission to enforce antitrust laws and prevent the unlawful suppression of competition. He was an advocate for women's suffrage, and they won the right to vote while he was in office. It can be argued that Teddy Roosevelt caused the United States to recognized as an emerging global force and that Wilson caused the world to view the U.S. as a global leader. It can also be argued that Wilson helped the atrocious Jim Crow Era gain its footing. President Wilson brought a lot of good to a lot of people, but at the expense of other Americans. A movie that glorified the KKK, "The Birth of a Nation" was screened at the White House with Wilson attending. Based on a novel, "The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan," it was written by a former classmate of Wilson's at Johns Hopkins University, Thomas F. Dixon. Wilson commented, "It is like writing history with lightning, and my only regret is that it is all so terribly true." A quote of Wilson' appeared in the movie, Advertisement "The white men were roused by a mere instinct of self-preservation... until at last there had sprung into existence a great Ku Klux Klan, a veritable empire of the South, to protect the Southern country." African Americans were portrayed horribly in the film and were devastated, feeling betrayed by their own president and country. One has to have questions about a country that could elect a figure like this after a calamitous Civil War brought us to the brink of extermination. Wilson was known as a devout Christian. His father had helped found the Presbyterian Church of the Confederacy. He claimed that God had brought him to the Oval Office. In a letter in which he courted Nancy Toy in 1915, he wrote, My life would not be worth living if it were not for the driving power of religion, for faith, pure and simple. I have seen all my life the arguments against it without ever having been moved by them ... never for a moment have I had one doubt about my religious beliefs. There are people who believe only so far as they understand -- that seems to me presumptuous and sets their understanding as the standard of the universe... I am sorry for such people. Advertisement Wilson's testimony makes it clear that no matter how devout a people are seen to be, it is not impossible for their politics overshadow their religious faith. Wilson rode the Jim Crow wave perhaps more than any president before or after. His administration brought only grief to African Americans. Once again, a century later, while many Americans rejoice, albeit a minority if the popular vote means anything, African Americans are mourning. One of my white friends describes her feelings, "I want to apologize. I want to say 'I'm not one of them,'" when she encounters people of color, to say that she does not co-sign to bigotry. That is how our country differs now from the days of Woodrow Wilson. There is a growing awareness of our mutuality, too. Because a policy works does not make it right, especially if it works only for the wealthy, while whittling away the hope of the rest. "Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it," wrote Edmund Burke. It seems we are doing just those two things: not knowing, and repeating. The present threat is more ominous than the pain we felt during the Reagan administration. Still, I am convinced that we are stronger this time. Far too many of us do know our history this time. Far too many of us are aware of our price-paying predecessors, this time. This is not 1916, and allies of my people are legion. We are combining with indigenous Americans, LGBTQ persons, and people in other countries to say that the days of white Christian supremacy are fading. Our solidarity is unprecedented, and it is exciting, but understandably, still many of us are quite sad. We are the country that elected Barack Obama, and came close to seeing a woman as president. Some of us imagined that we would, in our lifetimes, see more diverse representation at every level of government. We thought that we might see presidents who are Native American, Latino, Muslim, Asian, female and gay. We feel the loss, the sorrow of the setback, and yet I am hopeful that we are not alone. We know that we are fighting against disinformation, and even no information. There is the reality of "fake news" and yet we believe that we, together, will outlast the lies. In an earlier generation, African Americans had few counterparts in the dialogue. Advertisement Before World War II, Negro newspapers drew such little notice from their white counterparts that even when they clearly had the inside track on a story of national importance, the white press tended to ignore it. We had eyes to see back then, and we are not naive, now. No matter who ignores us, there are still eyes that see what some deny. We know there are infiltrators, sellouts, and people who have been lulled to sleep by their success, imagining themselves to be insulated from Wilsonian tactics. It will not be easy to move forward toward community, but we knew that there are eyes, and now not only we, ourselves, but the whole world is watching. Who knows what damage was done to the powerless by Woodrow Wilson? Even Reagan's legacy doesn't come close, and that may speak to the sensibilities of justice and humanity that each younger generation embraces to resist racism, preferring love to hate, and community to supremacy. The cause for justice has cost many lives, and will probably cost more, and yet that is not the reason for mourning. It's the reason for hope, because we have always had allies. We had John Brown, Helen Keller, Juliette Hampton Morgan, Rev. James Reeb, and today we have Father Michael Pfleger and Tim Wise. They are representatives of the millions of people who have a history of speaking up when others are silent. And we have ourselves. We have always had allies because we have always had us, and our existence, our survival, is compelling. We are fascinated with our own story. We are spellbound by our own achievers, our own authors, our own athletes, our own music, our own endurance, our own, creativity, our own inventiveness, our own love, our own language, our own hair... our own faith. While beautiful, loving people everywhere long to coalesce, it seems like there is a sluggishness among Christians. They'll side with country even if it means siding against God. Instead of leading the way with compassion, they are interested in building walls. It's not too late, though, for us enter the conversation. Just as there are churches that are intentionally segregated, there will be others that are intentionally open and free. Our Resistance The world slowly divested from South Africa during Apartheid and banned them from the Olympics. Because the resistance was both external and internal, embodied perhaps most in Nelson Mandela, the era ended without military intervention, although the country suffered decades of violent repression of its black-majority population and frequent volatile pushbacks from freedom fighters. Advertisement The global community, including the United States, failed Jews by refusing them refuge, and millions were murdered. Some of the history's greatest Americans were and are today subjugated by their own society, simply because they are not white, and we need allies. We have seen time and again that the community of western Christians are selective in their service. Some of them will certainly rise to the occasion. We cannot afford to wait for their initiative, though, because we can't wait. We must raise our voices and be broadly visible to those who want to know who we are. Humans are famous for coming together, becoming more generous and helpful, when under duress; there's nothing like a disaster to create heroes. We must remain committed to the understanding that community is far superior to empire. People who are comfortable with the policies of the powers are never satisfied with nonviolent resistance. What they want is no resistance. They are infuriated by Ferguson protestors, Colin Kaepernick, Black Lives Matter, Standing Rock, and pretty much anything else. We can't afford to let their patronizing smirks or pelting sneers put out our flame. Stay strong. You are saving lives. And world? We need you to do all you can. Now. My Resistance Patrice Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, said in an interview with Esquire, "We reflected on the time when marriage was illegal for black people and remembered when it was illegal, just months earlier, for LGBTQ people. We understood our love as an act of political resistance." Love is resistance. Hope is resistance. Joy is resistance. Let's live our lives as fully as we can, and raise our voices when we get the chance. I have often heard the appeal, "God has a wonderful plan for your life." I hope you know that there are multiple, joyful, pathways before you. A woman asked me once, "Our family is moving to the Midwest, and I don't know if it's God's will," to which I replied, "if it doesn't work out, move back, or somewhere else." Rigid adherence to the idea of "a plan for your life" evades the spontaneity of God. There are surprises out there waiting to be experienced. Advertisement My friend Ashley is Afro-Latina, and it is hard for her to think in binary when it comes to race matters. She also sees that people like her are our hope--in sort of a reverse Tower of Babel way--because of sharper chops for diplomacy. An hour with her might convince anyone that she is right, and gives reason for hope. The prerequisite is awareness. When a person is ashamed of herself, or a part of herself, her capacity to enter effectively into the tumultuous and sometimes raging debate will be limited. People deprived of their social dignity cannot be satisfied. Free people imagine they are satisfied, because their perception is a study in comparisons. Poet Emma Lazarus, is known mainly for her sonnet, "The New Colossus," on the Statue of Liberty's base. She once wrote, "Until we are all free, we are none of us free." We will therefore be in restive motion until that day comes, because those on the bottom will cry, "I can't breathe," and when the stranglehold is not released, their children will have the same chant. It is not a country, but its citizens who will find relief by opening our hearts. I get frustrated, I get tired, I feel like giving up sometimes, and so I am looking for your help. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks briefly to reporters between meetings at the Mar-a-lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. December 28, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's craving for approbation is boundless. His sensitivity to any slight is manifested in both Twitter rants and ubiquitous hollow threats to sue those who publicly accused him of the nefarious things he has done. But, though attacks and ridicule enrage him, they seem unlikely to alter his actions or policies. His base loves him, the GOP-controlled Congress will enable him -- through either shared conviction or fear of retaliation -- and, as President, he will exercise enormous power. But one day he won't be President. There is certainly a chance many of those who supported him, a minority of voters even at his moment of triumph in November 2016, will have become disillusioned by then. He will be unable to fulfill promises to those who wished to turn the clock back to the 1950s -- undisputed white supremacy, plentiful well-paid manufacturing jobs, a radical Christian version of Sharia law to limit women's rights, censor the arts and penalize sexual freedom. His foreign policy will be unable to control events abroad, or prevent occasional lone-wolf terror attacks at home. His ties to Vladimir Putin will make him appear more and more like a "useful idiot," a puppet, or even a Manchurian Candidate to those apparently large segments of the population susceptible to fantastical conspiracy theories. The blows to Trump's ego will be hard to contain and he will no longer be able to retaliate, except to a diminishing number of Twitter followers, who will still believe the @realDonaldTrump is not a fake, an incompetent, a traitor, or all the above. Advertisement On the other hand, Richard Nixon, who bore some resemblance to Trump in terms of character, and George W. Bush, who came closest to him in ignorance and intellectual laziness, both presided over disastrous wars and yet were re-elected. Trump could be too, especially if he creates Potemkin Village "accomplishments" and corresponding faux "evidence" amplified by Fox, Breitbart, Drudge, fake news sites and a gullible mainstream media which rarely subjects presidential claims to excessive scrutiny. Short of a major recession and an almost hard to imagine scandal that could fatally hurt his image -- none have before -- re-election can hardly be ruled out. But, come what may, unless the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution is repealed, Trump will be out of office by January 2025, at the latest. The historians will then begin their work and, given the overwhelming liberal political leanings of the profession, as well as the consequences of his policies and the undoubted legions of "insiders" willing to speak about the lunacy of what likely was happening "backstage," Trump will almost surely be savaged for posterity. This fact, above all others, if he understood it, might make him think twice about continuing to mollify his bigoted base and enact the Ayn Rand-inspired legislative program of Republicans in the Senate and House, who wish to roll back much of the past century's liberal social legislation. If Trump can think beyond the next five minutes, he might recognize his best chance for a positive report card by those who will fill it out for the ages will entail turning his back on everything he promised during his campaign, except for a massive New Deal-style infrastructure program. Is this possible? Advertisement Although very few septuagenarians change their nature, Trump has been ideologically inconsistent on many issues. In the past he has supported abortion, gun control, universal healthcare, and tax increases on the wealthy. He once believed in climate change and thought the economy did better when Democrats were in office. He also has a long history of egotism and personal betrayal without guilt; narcissism and psychopathy can produce a radical about-face in what he chooses to do. Already he has said that one of the things he promised over and over -- sending Hillary Clinton to jail -- was just "campaign rhetoric". So, might have been climate change denial, denunciations of mainstream media, promises of mass deportations and banning all Muslims from coming here. Even building The Wall. There is even an imperfect historical precedent for a "liberal to proto-fascist to liberal" politician's evolution: George Wallace. Wallace's ardent embrace of racial segregation was a departure from his earlier views and largely opportunistic. In later years, he sincerely repented. Trump would never do that and his returning to even moderate liberalism would be entirely cynical. A 180-degree turn would certainly be a long shot, especially since those he took to the dance will be needed for re-election. Trump might be reluctant to cross the base and the 90 percent of Republican voters who supported him, at least until a second term. His coterie of advisers now, like his cabinet selections, are virtually all from the far-right (secular and religious), with more than a few prone to conspiracy theories. It's hard to know what to make of it, except for ruling out his embracing the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun-Tzu's dictum, popularly attributed to Don Corleone in The Godfather: "Keep your friend's close, but your enemies closer." Only slightly more likely is a late stage ideological conversion. More plausible motivations are paying "debts" to those who stood by him (except for Rudy Giuliani and Chris Christie), or unwittingly employing the ancient proverb, which can be traced to a 4th century B.C. Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend.," to express his anger at liberals and Establishment Republicans who scorned him. But, if some Democrat who has his ear, especially President Obama -- who the President-elect seems delighted to talk to for the moment -- induces him to ponder if he wants "trump" to become a reviled synonym for political evil, like "quisling" was after Minister-President Vidkun Quisling's collaboration with the Nazi occupiers of Norway, there might be some surprises. Trump may start to do the right things for the wrong reasons if he could imagine and suddenly care about, despite routinely falsifying his own past, the judgment of history. His fans and entourage may applaud his deeds as President, but it will be historians writing about them, and it is ultimately by their work that Trump's will be forever measured. Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has sued the Environmental Protection Agency more than a dozen times to block air, water and climate protections. Nominating Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to run the Environmental Protection Agency gives lie to Donald Trump's claim that he is serious about protecting the public from pollution. While the president-elect has waffled on climate change, he has been unequivocal about toxics. "Clean air is vitally important," Trump declared during a Nov. 22 interview with The New York Times. "Clean water," he added, "crystal clean water is vitally important. Safety is vitally important." And when he announced Pruitt's nomination in early December, Trump vowed that the attorney general would "restore the EPA's essential mission of keeping our air and water clean and safe." Advertisement Putting aside the fact that the EPA has not forsaken that mission, Pruitt's track record indicates that he would do the exact opposite. Under Pruitt, the acronym EPA would stand for Every Polluter's Ally. Since he took office as Oklahoma's attorney general in 2010, Pruitt has repeatedly sued the EPA to block key safeguards limiting power plant pollution, most notably the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which limits sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, and the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), which curb mercury, arsenic, cyanide and other emissions. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are primary ingredients of soot and smog pollution, which cause a number of respiratory problems, including bronchitis and aggravated asthma, as well as cardiovascular disease and premature death. Some 25 million Americans suffer from asthma, alone. That's one out of every 12 people. Mercury and other toxic pollutants covered by MATS have also been linked to heart disease, neurological damage and birth defects. The potential benefits of the Cross-State Rule and MATS are considerable. Taken together, they are projected to prevent 18,000 to 46,000 premature deaths across the country and save $150 billion to $380 billion in health care costs annually. In Pruitt's home state, the two regulations would avert as many as 720 premature deaths and save as much as $5.9 billion per year. Advertisement Pruitt also has sued the EPA to prevent the agency from implementing a rule that would reduce the amount of ground-level ozone, or smog, which the American Lung Association says is the most widespread pollutant nationwide and one of the most dangerous. Produced when sunlight heats nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxide from power plants, industrial facilities and automobiles, ozone pollution has been linked to respiratory problems, cardiovascular disease and premature death. It is particularly harmful for the most vulnerable, including children, the elderly and people already suffering from asthma or another respiratory disease. No matter. In October 2015, Pruitt joined with four other states to challenge the new ozone rule in court, despite the fact that earlier that month, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality said the state could meet the new EPA limits. Pruitt has also targeted clean water safeguards. In July 2015, he sued the EPA over the Clean Water Rule, which the agency and the Army Corps of Engineers had just issued to clarify the scope of the Clean Water Act. The rule was in response to two Supreme Court decisions -- in 2001 and in 2006 -- that called into question whether the federal government had the authority to protect smaller streams, wetlands and other bodies of water that flow into drinking water supplies. From a scientific perspective, it's a no-brainer. As EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy explained in a statement: "For the lakes and rivers we love to be clean, the streams and wetlands that feed them have to be clean, too." Pruitt doesn't see it that way. In a March 2015 column he co-wrote with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul for The Hill, Pruitt called the Clean Water Rule "the greatest blow to private property rights the modern era has seen." Pruitt and Rand maintain that states should be responsible for protecting the environment within their respective borders, not the federal government. Never mind that air and water pollution do not honor political boundaries and state legislatures are all too often dominated by corporate interests. Besides Pruitt's disdain for air and water safeguards, he is no fan of federal efforts to address climate change, which he falsely insists is an open scientific question. Pruitt, who has received generous contributions from fossil fuel interests, is not only party to a pending lawsuit against the EPA over its Clean Power Plan to curb electricity sector carbon emissions, he also attempted unsuccessfully to overturn the agency's science-based "endangerment finding" that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare, a cornerstone of the EPA's climate work. Advertisement Public health advocates are rightly horrified at the prospect of Pruitt running the EPA. The response from Ken Kimmell, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, was typical. "The EPA plays an absolutely vital role in enforcing long-standing policies that protect the health and safety of Americans, based on the best available science," Kimmell said in a press statement. "Pruitt has a clear record of hostility to the EPA's mission, and he is a completely inappropriate choice to lead it. ... It's this simple: If senators take seriously their job of protecting the public, they must vote no on Pruitt." Chung Sye-kyun became speaker of the National Assembly when his Democratic Party of Korea swept to victory in the June elections last year. The conservative Saenuri Party had taken a tremendous fall because of the fading appeal of its neo-liberal policies. A senior figure in Korean politics with a balanced personality, Chung is not quick to make emotional judgments, but rather focused on creating harmonious relations within the political sphere. He has a passion for institution building. He has emerged as a central political figure in Korea during the impeachment proceedings of President Park Geun-hye. I had a chance to talk to him briefly about Korea's current political crisis and his perspective on the challenges, and possibilities, that lie ahead. As a man in the eye of the storm, he is perhaps best positioned to give an accurate assessment. Emanuel Pastreich: Recently, there have been massive demonstrations in Seoul every weekend which have attracted the attention of people around the world. The participation of ordinary citizens in these peaceful candlelight demonstrations suggests to many that there is a vitality in Korean democracy which is rare, not only in Asia, but around the world. What are your thoughts about the recent demonstrations? Advertisement Chung Sye-kyun Although the citizens of Korea held multiple demonstrations on a massive scale, there were no incidents or accidents and they carried out all their actions peacefully and respectfully. And the demonstrations even included cultural activities--that part surprised even me. I am certain that observers around the world were equally impressed by Korea's deep commitment to the democratic process. In fact, the proactive attitude of Korea's citizens towards democracy was so great that it offset for me the embarrassment that I previously felt about Choi Soon-sil scandal itself. Korea has at last come of age in our politics and taken center stage in the pursuit of due process and democratic accountability. I take pride in what our citizens have accomplished and I feel like boasting about it to our friends elsewhere in Asia, or around the world. That is how great the historical significance of these protests is for us. I said to my colleagues in the National Assembly, "Look at what is happening in the Gwanghwamun Plaza! The citizens have reached the highest level of commitment to democracy to be found anywhere. How can the National Assembly continue to be second rate, or even third rate in its politics? Shouldn't the National Assembly follow the model set by our citizens, at the very least?" We must put to good use the stunning energy, the enthusiasm unleashed at those demonstrations so as to solve the many problems that we face and there are many from youth unemployment to growing income disparity. We can turn this movement of the citizens into the engine that will drive reform in Korea and give our people hope for the future. Emanuel Pastreich: Korea will elect its new leader at its historic crossroads in its historical development. What virtues will be demanded of the leader of the country under these most critical circumstances? Chung Sye-kyun I think our leader must have a deep understanding of the full implications of the new era that we are entering. He or she must grasp the impact that the fourth industrial revolution will have on our society, for example. I believe that the leader should embrace a vision, and a strategy, that will take our country to the next level. We have done well over the last fifty years. But the world is constantly changing and we must have the imagination and bravery to create new methods to respond. We must strive to identify new trends early and respond to them quickly. And it is absolutely imperative that we focus on the problems faced by our youth. The low birth rate and the onset of an aging society in Korea impact them directly. They face tremendous challenges when they look for work and they are finding that the cost of housing places a home far out of their reach. We need a leader who has new ideas, new solutions, to address these problems and is ready to implement them. Emanuel Pastreich: Drawing on your considerable political experience, how do you interpret the stunning global shocks of last year? Certainly the approval of Brexit and the victory of Trump are developments for which Koreans were not prepared. How can Korea make the paradigm shift necessary to meet such changing geopolitical conditions. Advertisement Chung Sye-kyun There is an enormous amount we need to do still to meet these challenges. It will not be easy. We refer to Korea as a "small, open economy" and we have an imperative to cooperate closely with our partners. I would say that, ultimately, the greatest asset of Korea, the secret of its competitiveness, is its people. We call this concept of looking for ultimate strength within "jagang." If we Koreans cannot find that inner strength within ourselves, it will be hard to maintain our achievements in this turbulent world. New challenges are emerging on every front. That is why Koreans should never lose sight of that strength within us. We must take steps to further bolster the national strength we have acquired so far, in fields like science and technology. The effective utilization of our innate strengths will be the key to Korea's growth in the coming period of disruption in international relations. Koreans should not only make good use of our innovations, we should embrace our tradition of perseverance and of passion for work to drive us forward. This transition will be easiest if we have a strong and committed leader. We must focus on electing the right person this year, someone who is well-respected in the international community and who can rally to together the nations of the world to cooperate with Korea for peaceful coexistence and mutual prosperity. Emanuel Pastreich: The next administration in the United States under Donald Trump will be focused on Korea's trade policies, and perhaps may make some unprecedented demands. What do you think would be the wisest approach for Korea in dealing with trade in this unpredictable environment? What stance should Korea adopt in its negotiations with the new US Administration? Chung Sye-kyun My personal belief is that the economy, encompassing world trade, will be decided based on the principle of economy. Advertisement There are political approaches that can achieve certain effects for the short term. But in the end, over the long term, economic factors will be decisive. For this reason, if we can maintain Korea's economic competitiveness, Korea can maintain its position in global trade for the future regardless of the ideas of any one foreign leader. These challenges cannot be solved solely through politics or diplomacy. We must devote our efforts to our economy and maintain our competitiveness to respond to those challenges. For example, if the mark "made in Korea" denotes products that are of the highest quality at a competitive price, American consumers will continue to buy those products regardless of President Trump's opinion. There may be ways to purchase products directly, or there may be U.S. companies that may purchase those products and pass them on to American consumers. We do not have to focus constantly on what exactly the United States president is saying each moment. Emanuel Pastreich: The situation in Northeast Asia, and above all on the Korean Peninsula has grown tense recently. Tension between North and South is mounting because of North Korea's nuclear program and the consequent UN sanctions imposed on North Korea. How do you see the North Korea problem? Chung Sye-kyun The people of North Korea are watching closely the changing political dynamics in South Korea. This nuclear issue should be solved, not only for the sake of South Korea, but also for the sake of North Korea as well. Pyongyang's development of nuclear weapon has not been good for North Korea either. We need to work hard to convince North Korea to eliminate its nuclear weapons. But the way we approach this problem should not rely solely on international economic sanctions. What we need above all is a dialogue. Advertisement We should seek out a two-track approach with North Korea that combines possible economic sanctions with engagement through dialogue. Economic sanctions are only effective as a means of drawing the North into a dialog. Sanctions by themselves should not be our goal. If our actions, such as economic sanctions, make the situation difficult for the government of North Korea, we do so only because we want to solve the nuclear issue. We do not impose sanctions because we resent the citizens of North Korea, or because we want to cause them to suffer. It is for this reason that I believe that any sanctions must be combined with an ongoing dialogue. Emanuel Pastreich: The current government seems to be in a rush to deploy the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missile defense system. What are your thoughts on this matter? Chung Sye-kyun I have spoken out about the THAAD missile defense system deployment previously. I stated repeatedly that if the THAAD missile system is truly necessary for Korean security, the proposal must be approved through a debate in the National Assembly and we must consult fully with citizens who live near the possible locations for deployment of THAAD about their concerns and their needs. Also, the concerns of surrounding nations who will be affected by the deployment of this system must be carefully considered in our discussions. All these steps are required to make sure that there are no serious problems that will result from a decision to deploy the system. Specifically, I argued that we must follow a democratic process while we pursue this policy of deploying THAAD. Advertisement I ran into tremendous opposition from the ruling party concerning this point. I believe that even more important than the question of whether we should proceed with, or not, plans for deployment, is the nature of the process that we follow. If the procedure is democratic in nature, whether we agree with the conclusion or not, we must recognize it. Consequently, there will be a political consensus. The process for considering and approving the policy decision must be democratic. Government policy requires that THAAD must obtain approval in the National Assembly. This administration, however, has made the decision to deploy on its own without the required approval of the National Assembly. That approach is clearly a mistake. All treaties with foreign powers and other important policy decisions require the approval of the National Assembly. Among the policy decisions that require the approval of the National Assembly is the question of the financial burden resulting from policies. This purchase and deployment of THAAD must be paid for with the tax revenue from taxes paid for by our citizens. The constitution stipulates that projects that require the commitment of tax revenue require the approval of the National Assembly for the simple reason that citizens will bear the burden of the costs. So far, although such approval of costs is required, the current administration has claimed that "instead of giving cash to purchase the land that will be used for deployment of THAAD, the government will rather offer a swap with other land that the government already possesses." Well, it might seem at first glance that the land is being obtained without the transfer of cash, but the truth is that government's property would be transferred to some person, or corporation. That is the same as using the people's taxes for this purpose and therefore the approval of the National Assembly is required. If the National Assembly has not approved this project, it should be stopped. Advertisement Emanuel Pastreich: Recently, an agreement was signed for sharing of military intelligence between Korea and Japan known as the GSOMIA (General Security of Military Information Agreement). The reaction from the Korean public to this agreement is divided. Critics point out that this decision was rushed just like the decision to deploy THAAD. What are your thoughts? Chung Sye-kyun The GSOMIA agreement with Japan has significant ramifications, but it does not come close to the THAAD missile defense deployment in terms of the resulting ripple effect for Korea's security policy. However, the fact is that Japan and its military have committed serious wrongdoings in the past, and yet Japan refuses to acknowledge the truth, let alone to make a sincere apology. For this reason, even relatively small misdeeds on the Japanese will be subject to speculation and will take on tremendous proportions as a result of the emotions released in Korea. And that is not the only problem involved here. The current administration rushed this proposal through in haste, allowing no time for appropriate discussion or for due process. This case is similar to that of the deployment of THAAD in that respect. In the case of the GSOMIA agreement with Japan, we must consider both the emotional response of our citizens and the procedural missteps. But another problem is the possible unintended consequences of this hastily constructed agreement. There may be still some side effects that that were not anticipated. Perhaps, with the passage of time, some of the problems related to the GSOMIA agreement may cease to draw such attention. Nonetheless, we must make sure that we avoid such inappropriate approaches to governance. Emanuel Pastreich: China has increased restrictions on the import of Korean products and the distribution of culture contents as a response to Seoul's agreement to deploy THAAD. At the same time, the Trump administration is promising to push forward with an 'America-first' policy that might transform American diplomacy. It seems that Korea and its diplomacy faces a long and winding road ahead with challenges at every turn. How is the National Assembly preparing to respond to these challenges at this moment? Advertisement Chung Sye-kyun I believe that the best response for Korea is to abide by higher principles. The United States is our only ally and at the same time we have the biggest economic relationship with China. It follows that both countries are incredibly important to Korea. We must think very carefully about what is correct, what is rational, and then meticulously make our policy decisions. We must hold up our principles and not be swayed by political power. If a policy decision is the correct one, we should go forward and earnestly, passionately, explain our reasoning and ask for understanding. We have no choice but to follow the proper and appropriate direction. If we do not do that, we have no way of satisfying both sides It is critical that we show the maximum of sincerity and good will and that we follow the proper course as defined by national interests, international norms and common sense reasoning. Emanuel Pastreich: That is a very inspiring vision. The question is, do you think the people in Korea are ready for that sort of large vision of what is possible in Korea? Chung Sye-kyun Before the Choi Soon-sil scandal, around sixty percent of Koreans supported constitutional revision, thirty percent thought it was unnecessary and ten percent had no opinion. But since that scandal broke out, many more citizens, especially intellectuals, have come forth to address the problems in the constitution. Citizens are saying now, "This is exactly the reason why we should not have an imperial presidential system." Or, "This is not a problem with politicians, but rather a problem in the system itself." We need to fix the system. The candle vigils of our citizens helped to create a mood in which we could hold Choi Soon-sil accountable. But the final goal of these citizen's movements is not only to have the president to resign, but also to create an environment in which we are offered new options as we set out to change the system of government. Advertisement The Greek Way, Chapter 6, Question 3: What is meant by civilization is more than "telephones and electric lights"? Civilization means more than comfort, convenience, and material goods. These have to do with the physical. A soulless culture can also have these things. A civilization is much more than that. It has to do with the imponderables of life: meaning, purpose, and the things of the spirit; the sacredness of the human person as an end in itself, not as a beast of burden to be used, exploited, and then cast aside; human rights, care for the poor; ideals and values that make life worth living - for everyone. Food, clothing, shelter, and health care are also essential -- for everyone, and until this happens there is no civilization, despite sumptuous dining, costly apparel and palatial mansions -- for the few. What makes a civilization are old-fashioned ideals and virtues like compassion and kindness, concern for others, decency and humanity, honesty and integrity, fairness and justice. For when there is justice, there is no need for charity. Advertisement These virtues do not come easily. They require effort, and, at times, they may seem beyond our reach. However, man does not live by bread alone but by self-overcoming and the need to be better. We are human and sometimes we fall, but nevertheless, we continue to struggle. Self-dissatisfaction is an overlooked blessing that keeps us humble and urges us on. I'm sure that G. E. Lessing wouldn't mind if I altered his famous quotation to read: "Our true worth isn't determined by possessing a virtue, but by sincerely struggling toward attaining it. Possessing a virtue doesn't make us better, but passive, lazy, and proud." It's struggle that's important, for struggling reminds us we're human, a reminder that's good for the soul. And when we fall, we forgive ourselves, and try once again. These ideals are also imponderables that cannot be measured, because they're the measure of everything else. They're much more important than the measurable because they go to the heart of what it means to be human, what makes life worth living, and worth living for -- the values that sustain us as civilized beings and give our lives meaning. Once a civilization loses its reverence for the human person, every person, no matter what creed, color, or country of origin, that civilization loses its soul, forsakes its humanity, and is already dead -- however impressive its GNP. Advertisement A civilization is the conviction that every person is of infinite value, of far greater value than profits, and when it loses this conviction, something is terribly wrong with that culture. There is only one true measure of a nation's health - its care for its sick, its poor, its weak, and its helpless. There is another measure of a nation's decay - when its leaders allow these persons to perish lest the rich pay more taxes. At that moment, those leaders are no longer civilized, despite whatever excuses they make. They have lost the moral right to govern for all they're doing is protecting the rich. There are those who dismiss this view as delusion. They say:, "The world is a slaughterhouse in which the poor and the sick, the weak and the helpless should go to the wall. They are expendable and a burden on the wealthy, who alone own the earth and every government in it. This is the inexorable law of Nature, where there is neither morality nor pity, but only power and riches. There is no eternal moral order, but the eternal silence of an indifferent universe. " Thus speak Thrasymachus and his heirs down through the centuries in Plato's Republic, Books One and Two. "Who, then, decides what is moral? The rich! And what do they say is moral? Whatever will make them richer! And what is their justification for saying this? Since there is no objective moral law in the universe, only the rich can decide, for they alone can enforce their view, which will naturally be in their own best interests. Riches and power rule the world!" This, in essence, is the case that Thrasymachus makes to Socrates in the Republic, which has been read for 24 centuries. It stakes out the arguments, which Socrates refutes well enough, but that's not really the issue here. It goes without saying that the "Might Makes Right" argument devours itself, but the critical problem is how to keep Thrasymachus and his proxy, the Tyrant, from coming to power. For once they do, they will destroy a nation. It is a political problem that has never been solved. Advertisement Thrasymachus and his avatars are the wolves that prey on the weak and strive to make their plight even worse. They prefer a "civilization" of luxury for the few and poverty for the many, happiness for the elite and misery for everyone else. Theirs is a "civilization" that enshrines in its courts the law of the jungle for all but themselves and discriminates against whoever is different. Books Eight and Nine of the Republic deal with the Tyrant. He begins as a demagogue by exploiting the frustration of the people who are fed up with democracy because they are oppressed by the rich. He tells them that he is their hope and their champion, and that he alone can lead them to the Promised Land. However, once in power, he turns on them and becomes a tyrant. Too late, they discover that he has betrayed them is beyond all logic, law, and morality. Drunk with power, he makes his own laws. Disordered by his own inner demons, he is a troubled, tormented, and tortured creature, who will stop at nothing to get his way. We have seen this before in Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany. The press is muzzled, critics vanish, no one trusts anyone, and people feel helpless and frightened. They lose their freedom, their possessions, and finally their hope. It's all spelled out in this cautionary tale that is terrifying in its implications, an early warning system for the tell-tale signs of a coming tyranny. You cannot understand civilization as the embodiment of moral ideals unless you first understand someone like Thrasymachus and of what he is capable when coming to power. Would he be appalled at all the suffering he unleashes on a nation, or would it mean nothing to him, a cheap price to pay as a means for more riches? Advertisement It's the old, old story that people want to be lied to and there are always those who are only too willing to accommodate them by abusing their trust to promote their own ends. The tyrant's followers cannot fathom his heartlessness. After all his promises and all the rallies! "Gebt mir zehn Jahre Zeit und ihr werdet Deutschland nicht wiedererkennen." Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during the opening ceremony of Eurasia Tunnel in Istanbul, Turkey, December 20, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer It's not every country that has Santa Claus show up to kill nearly 40 nightclub patrons, but for Turkey, it's just another average day in President Erdogan's world, where there were more than 30 major terror attacks alone in 2016. In his quest to destroy his political rivals, Erdogan's policies are directly leading to this mayhem, which has spilled over to threaten the United States and West Europe. In particular, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to eliminate three enemies: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Kurds, and the followers of Fethullah Gulen. In doing so, he enabled ISIS to emerge, attack his country, offering a pathetic response to terrorism that flows through his country, on its way to America and Europe. And it's only going to get worse. Advertisement Act I: Target Syria's President, Help ISIS Emerge Erdogan could have realized his mistake, and worked to fight the Islamic State. But instead, he seems only capable of using his military to bomb the Syrian Kurds, the only group in the country able to give ISIS a decent fight. Act II: Eliminate the Kurds, Reap the Blowback Speaking of the Kurds, they were actually an Erdogan success story. When he was prime minister, he sought a dialogue with the Kurds. Relations between the two groups improved. But that goodwill only lasted until the Kurdish political party HDP got enough votes to keep Erdogan's political party (AKP) from winning enough votes to remake the Turkish constitution the way he wants it. As a result, Erdogan called off the cease fire and attacked the Kurds. Now he's seeking to arrest and imprison scores of HDP politicians. After the brutal attacks on Kurds, a new hardline splinter group, known as the "Falcons" have allegedly engaged in a bombing campaign. Whether it is this previously unknown Kurdish group or really ISIS launching the attacks is unknown, but with Turkish security in jeopardy, the last thing the country needs is this anti-Kurd campaign. Given that the Kurds have been battling ISIS in Syria and Iraq, targeting them only weakens the coalition against ISIS. Advertisement Act III: Arrest Every Gulenist, Destroy Domestic Security Finally, there's the case of the Gulenists. Followers of this liberal U.S.-based cleric were scapegoated for the July 2016 coup. Tens of thousands of police officers and security officials were fired and even arrested, simply for being followers of Gulen, an opponent of ISIS. New officers can either be planted by terrorists, or too inexperienced to catch them. Erdogan supporters have even sought to try and figure out how to tie each terror event to Gulenists. The Implications Of These Acts It's clear to everyone except for the most loyal Erdogan supporter that what's followed has been a disaster. A Russian Ambassador was gunned down on television. Buses, airports, nightclubs and even the Blue Mosque make up the litany of targets, most of which are perpetrated by ISIS. The Turkish President seems willing to blame everyone but ISIS, or even offer much of an anti-ISIS campaign. And who knows how many ISIS operatives have slipped through the country, or sought to inspire lone wolf or wolf pack attacks in the USA and West Europe. America is at its least secure time since before Bin-Laden was killed in a raid by U.S. forces. It deserves to know why, and what could be done to stop this new wave of terrorism. "Devolve power to your cities if you want to save the planet. Join the Global Parliament of Mayors." - Ken Livingstone. Globalism's associated and accelerating complexity of interconnected crises from migration to terrorism, from pandemics to climate change, define the new context of our 21st-century reality. Unmanaged technological change and an outdated economic ideology compound the already unfair burden these crises impose on global citizens. One need only consider the 18 percent approval rating of the United States Congress, the recent U.S. election, the EU/Euro fiasco, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Turkey (and more) to question whether the Nation State, a 400-year-old response to a different challenge in a different context, is up to the task. Ideological rather than pragmatic, a political abstraction that has no grounding in the concrete reality of where and how we live and how life-supporting ecosystems function, the Nation State, together with its political party structure, is not well equipped for today's most important globally interdependent challenges that cannot be solved through inter-State rivalries where self-interest and might rule the day. Advertisement The "City State" predates the Nation State; it endures. Rome is older than Italy, Alexandria is older than Egypt. Cities are expanding as we know. They are already home to more than half the world's population, and 80% in the developed economies. They are home to 85% of the global economy (and associated greenhouse gas emissions) and much of the evolution of our culture. Like it or not, we have become an increasingly urban species. Visionaries like Jonathan Rose are showing the way to regenerative cities with his timely publication of A Well-Tempered City. At the same time, rural culture, small towns, and life-sustaining rural landscapes, historically understood as essential extensions of the City State, have never been more vital, as I will discuss below. Cities are also where many of the world's great challenges must be met. The migration crisis and terrorism are urban affairs. Since most cities are on coastlines or rivers, climate change will increasingly dominate the agenda of cities. And cities will be the target of a nuclear attack if dangerous men go unrestrained. Wise and competent city governance is a matter of life and death, not political theater among self-important globalist and nationalist bureaucrats. In response to the governance failures of the global system of Nation States, political theorist Benjamin Barber wrote an important book in 2013 called, If Mayors Ruled the World: Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities. The Global Parliament of Mayors (GPM), which he inspired, held its inaugural meeting in The Hague, two months before rural America elected Donald Trump against the wishes of a strong democratic majority of citizens living in America's cities. Interesting. Mayors must be pragmatists first. Ineptitude, ignorance, and ideology give way to the concreteness of real problems of real people living in real communities. New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia once famously said, "There is no Democratic or Republican way of fixing a sewer." So too for dealing with rising sea levels or, God forbid, a nuclear attack. Advertisement When our centralized governing bodies fail to uphold their responsibilities, a power vacuum ensues, creating an opening for dangerous "strongman" responses, as we are now witnessing in the U.S and abroad. Our present moment is particularly dangerous, with the simultaneous failure of other critical and powerful institutions - banking and the media in particular - to uphold their civil responsibilities and serve the health of the whole rather than their narrow self-interests. Banking's consequential leadership failures are now a matter for the history books. But the media's complex leadership failures are still unfolding, perhaps best epitomized by CBS CEO Leslie Moonves' shamefully cynical comment at a Morgan Stanley analyst conference earlier this year: "It may not be good for America, but it's damn good for CBS," he said of the election circus. "Sorry. It's a terrible thing to say. But, bring it on, Donald. Keep going." Well, the young crowd at Morgan Stanley chuckled, "Donald kept going," and we have elected a man to the highest office in the land who numerous respected psychologists believe has a (dangerous to the world) incurable mental illness known as "Narcissistic Personality Disorder." Not so funny, is it, Mr. Moonves? Enjoy your good quarterly profits. Just as the reckless behavior of Wall Street was not funny, its ongoing consequences leading directly to the rise in authoritarian movements across the globe are not funny. Advertisement A core principle of sustainable systems is that a system must adapt to its changing context or it will collapse. The current context of accelerating, unpredictable (by definition) complexity and too powerful, dysfunctional critical institutions - Nation States, banking and finance, and the media, together providing much of the essential fabric of our modern democratic and free society - creates the pressure for real change and the very real prospect of possible collapse. Our response most certainly lies in the concept of subsidiarity, one of four tenets of Catholic social doctrine, balancing power away from the center and closer to where the inclusive and democratic will of the people is still expressed: the modern City State. Rise up Mayors! And, rise up regional banks and community newspapers! Looked at through a regenerative systems lens, this is a return to the natural "fractal" ordering of things, demanding an emergent network of City States to counterbalance the corrupted power at the center. Indeed, such a response is already underway with the numerous networks of city-based initiatives such as the prescient GMP, the C-40 focused on climate change, UN-Habitat, the Strong Cities Network, and numerous "Smart Cities" initiatives. Rural communities, too, have a vital role to play. In addition to preserving the ageless wisdom embedded in the diversity of rural cultures and communities, they have the critical responsibility to steward our essential landscapes - our forests, our soils, our watersheds, all under threat from our short-sighted, extractive, industrial economy. Critically, the regenerative management of forestry and agriculture, with the potential to massively increase natural carbon sequestration, now holds perhaps the missing critical dimension of our ability to respond in time to climate change. Therefore, City States have a self-interest in valuing and supporting the culture of land stewardship, the very foundation of human civilization and still very much alive in rural communities. No soil, no water, no life. We are passing from the 500-year-old Modern Era in which great progress including the Nation State emerged in response to pressures from a different context. We are entering the "Integral Era," in response to new pressures and a new context. Power is shifting from corrupted institutions of an extractive and overly powerful center to a regenerative and more distributed network of interconnected City States. Happy New Era! With the start of the new year and the thoughts of the money you'll spend making it memorable, you may find yourself thinking of ways to earn extra cash or income. Possibly another part time job, perhaps a freelancing stunt. You might even be thinking about renting your home out on a short-term basis using Airbnb, especially if you'll be away for the holidays. That seems like an easy way to get quick cash without really doing so much work, especially with the rising popularity of holiday rentals. However, it is essential to note the risks involved in renting out your home to a total stranger. Even though Airbnb has a solid system for screening would-be guests and requires Airbnbers to abide by a standard set of rules, unforeseen risks may still arise. So how do you do business through Airbnb, make cool cash, and mitigate some of these risks? Here are five tips for protecting yourself as an Airbnb host. Advertisement Guard your mail If your mail were to fall into the wrong hands, you could fall prey to identity theft. The contents of your letters and correspondence contain a lot of sensitive information about you: your financial details, your full name, and the services you subscribe to, to name a few. If this information were to fall into the wrong hands, you would be in trouble! Take extra care to ensure that your mail is protected while you are away. If your mailbox locks, then you're safe. Just lock it up and either take the key with you or stow it somewhere safe. However, if your mailbox doesn't lock, you may want to get a PO box. Your mail will be safer there. On the other hand, if you have neighbours who are trustworthy, you can get them to promise to collect your daily mail, though this tactic is not foolproof as they may forget on some days. All in all, choose a scenario that works best for you. Worst case scenario, you can stop your mail from the post office altogether and pick it up when you return from your vacation. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's better to be safe than sorry. And what's more, you have peace of mind wherever you are knowing that your personal details are not being poached by someone else. Advertisement Get a safe box and insurance Though Airbnb has an insurance system that covers certain types of damage, they don't protect debit or credit cards, cheques or financial papers, jewellery, etc. Get a safe deposit box to store all your important papers, birth certificates, passports, and any other items that would be very difficult to replace. The safe deposit box could be at home or at your bank, though I would advise you to get one at your bank. Just walk in and request a safe deposit box. It might cost you some money, but your security and peace of mind are priceless. Also make sure you have your own insurance even after getting a safe box. Don't rely on Airbnb's insurance alone. Speak to your insurance agent and find out what your existing policy coverage is and what amendments you can make to suit your renting endeavours. Protect yourself from hacking and malicious guests with a VPN router Using an unsecured router will leave you vulnerable to cyber thieves and hackers, so it's best to protect yourself with a VPN router. VPNs are commonly used by people who want to ensure that their online activities cannot be traced, tracked, and ultimately hacked. A router outfitted with a VPN will protect you as an Airbnb host. When guests connect to your home Wi-Fi, all of their browsing and online activity will run through the VPN. A VPN router gives all devices connected to the network a new, anonymized IP address, making it impossible to trace their online activity back to your home. A VPN router is essential because you never know if one of your guests may be engaged in illegal online activities, using your home network for their shady deals. The last thing you want when you come back from your holiday is a visit from the authorities--without a VPN, they could trace a malicious guest's internet activity back to your IP address and home, and you could be liable. Advertisement Screen guests by yourself and set an emergency plan When someone requests to book your space, personally check them out before you decide to host them. You have the final say. Go through their profile and read their reviews if they have any. Search for them on social networks and browse through their accounts. It might amaze you how much you can learn from an individual through his or her social network platforms. And after doing all your reviewing, go with your instincts. If someone doesn't feel right, simply decline. Even if your insurance is 101%, don't take the chance. You should also draw up a manual of in case of emergency. If there's a fire, it's important that your guests know where the fire extinguisher is. Make this piece of information very clear, conspicuous, and accessible on your home tab. This tab also includes important information like emergency numbers and emergency exit routes. Get a security system With a security system, you can monitor what goes on in your home. In addition, outfitting your home with a home security system may earn you more bookings as it provides your guests with an extra layer of security which may not be available in other rentals they are also considering. Invest in a home security system that allows home automation. This would let you control your security system from the ease and comfort of your mobile devices, allowing you to turn off or on the lights, lock the doors, or control the heating. However, before you install any security system, it's important that you're aware of the Airbnb security policies to avoid any legal implications. Avoid putting cameras in the guest rooms, but if you have off-limit areas, you could use monitors to track if a guest is intruding in your private spaces. Advertisement As we prepare to go to Cuba next week, I can't help but wonder what has happened to the airline industry and to us in the almost 50 years since we backpacked all over Europe for eight weeks. Back then, we threw a few changes of clothes and a handful of toiletries into our bags and were off. Now, for an eight-day trip, we have been packing and making lists for over two weeks. Life was simpler and travel easier back in 1968. Of course, a large part of this is being older. We need more stuff to sustain us. Medications. Shoes that don't hurt. Sunblock. Insect repellent. Enough clothing to wear for eight days (no way I'm washing underwear in a hotel sink like I did back in 1968). And for me, makeup. So yes, we need more than a backpack each to get by for over a week. We decided to travel to Cuba with a group called Road Scholar. The former name for this organization, back in the days when my parents used it, was Elder Hostel. Our hope is that, because it caters to seniors, Road Scholar will take good care of us. So far, we have received reams of information, all emphasizing that Cuba is basically a third world country. No cell phone service or Internet except maybe in our hotel. No handrails and lots of stairs and uneven pavement. No place to buy anything we have forgotten to bring. And if we get hurt or sick, we will need to pay cash for medical care. Advertisement Road Scholar provides lists suggesting what we need to bring. We are told to pack these all toiletries and medications, along with a change of clothing, in our carry-on bags in case our luggage is lost. But here's my question: How do we cram all of this stuff into the airline allotment of one quart-sized baggie each for all liquids, gels, aerosols, creams, and pastes? And while we are at it, which of the things I need to sustain me fits into these categories? I shop for the smallest travel size of shampoo, conditioner, face cream, sun block, foundation, hand cream, and hand sanitizer. My husband needs to add under-three-ounce sizes of contact lens supplies. But I'm still unsure if lipstick and mascara are liquid, despite reading the airline TSA rules. No matter how you slice it, those baggies are really hard to zip lock shut. Then there are the medications, which we are told have to arrive in Cuba in their original containers, accompanied by prescriptions. Back in 1968, maybe we brought a bottle of aspirin and a few band-aids for injuries. But now, we both have morning and evening pills to pack. Even sadder, without putting them in a pill sorter for travel, I'm pretty confident I will forget something. But rules are rules. Here's what keeps me up at night when thinking about this trip: The domestic flight to Miami has one set of rules. The flight from Miami to Cuba has different rules. I guess we repack when we get to our hotel in Miami. Maybe that's why Road Scholar has an orientation meeting and dinner to prepare us for traveling to the airport at 3:15 am for our flight to Cuba. Advertisement Back in 1966 when John Denver wrote 'Leaving on a Jet Plane', air travel was so much simpler. Here's how old I am. I remember the Chad Mitchell Trio's recording of the song from 1967 and Peter, Paul and Mary's 1970 version. So wish me luck on my Cuban adventure and, as the song says, "Tell me that you'll wait for me...'Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane... Oh babe, I hate to go." Water covers 70 per cent of the earth's surface. "It's always the same and it's never the same," says Finnish artist Elina Brotherus. Hear her, Olafur Eliasson, Bill Viola, Marina Abramovic and four other artists on the vital substance. Water: a place of danger and opportunity. American video artist Bill Viola, in whose work water is a stable participant, fell into a lake at the age of six and saw "probably the most beautiful world I've ever seen." Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson uses water as an "element of something moving in an otherwise static landscape" in his 2014 installation 'Riverbed' and Danish artist group Superflex uses water in their "post-apocalyptic movie" 'Flooded McDonald's'. A substance with many uses, meanings and possibilities, Nigerian architect Kunle Adeyemi - praised for his ability to build innovative architecture on water - says: "There's a whole life cycle in water, a whole economy." Advertisement Also featured in this video is Serbian artist Marina Abramovic, Czech artist Klara Hobza and American artist Roni Horn. Watch the full interview with Marina Abramovic here: http://channel.louisiana.dk/video/superflex-why-we-flooded-mcdonalds Watch the full interview with Kunle Adeyemi here: http://channel.louisiana.dk/video/kunl%C3%A9-adeyemi-living-water Watch the full interview with Elina Brotherus here: http://channel.louisiana.dk/video/elina-brotherus-human-perspective Advertisement Watch the full interview with Olafur Eliasson here: http://channel.louisiana.dk/video/olafur-eliasson-riverbed-inside-museum Watch the full interview with Klara Hobza here: http://channel.louisiana.dk/video/klara-hobza-diving-through-europe Watch the full interview with Roni Horn here: http://channel.louisiana.dk/video/roni-horn-saying-water Watch the full interview with Superflex here: http://channel.louisiana.dk/video/superflex-why-we-flooded-mcdonalds Watch the full interview with Bill Viola here: http://channel.louisiana.dk/video/bill-viola-cameras-are-keepers-souls Advertisement Produced and edited by: Roxanne Bagheshirin Lrkesen Copyright: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2016 Historically January is the coldest month of the year in most areas of the Northern Hemisphere. This is because the sun's angle is at its lowest during January. And because there is no sun at all above the Arctic Circle, when air masses regularly come down into the regions of the USA, they bring much colder temperatures with them. Also, starting this January, 2.5 million children and their parents will go homeless sometime this year starting with the coldest month of the year. Who makes up our homeless population? Some homelessness is caused by people losing their jobs and their homes in troubling economic times forcing entire families into homelessness. It is also made up of victims of domestic violence; people suffering from physical illness or mental illness; people addicted to drugs and alcohol; kids caught up in the transition from youth into adulthood; and people who have exhausted their personal relationships the same way other people exhaust their financial resources. According to the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) report released last month, 549,928 people experienced homelessness on a single night in 2016. 68% were staying in emergency shelters, while 32% were staying in unsheltered locations. 22% (120,819) are children and 40% (217,268) are female on any given night. Families make up 35% (194,716) of the homeless population. The encouraging news is homelessness declined by 3% between 2015 and 2016 and has declined by 15% since the great recession from 2007 to 2016, although 16 states did experience an increase. The puzzling news is that between 2015 and 2016 people in unsheltered locations (sleeping on the street) increased by 2%. Advertisement Over half of America's homelessness is concentrated in 5 states: California (22%), New York (16%), Florida (6%), Texas (4%) and Washington (4%). And in 4 states over half of the homeless live on the streets: California (66%), Oregon (61%), Hawaii (54%) and Nevada (53%). HUD has over $2 billion to spend to help the homeless, but this is really a town-by-town, city-by-city, state-by-state issue that must be solved on the local level with help from the HUD budget. Mother Jones reports that Salt Lake City has reduced its homeless population by 72% over the past nine years. A partnership between the city and nonprofit organizations works together by finding and building apartments where the homeless can live with no strings attached. This partnership is called the "Housing First Program." Tenants pay $50 a month or 30% of their income. The central idea of Housing First is to give people shelter first, then focus on drug abuse, mental disorders and other personal issues. NBC reports on a program called "Community First" in Austin, Texas, where the nonprofit Mobile Loaves & Fishes is utilizing the recent tiny home trend to provide affordable housing on a 27 acre lot for 250 homeless people. The Washington Post reports that Albuquerque, New Mexico created "There's a Better Way" program where the city hires the homeless for day jobs beautifying the city. In partnership with a local nonprofit that serves the homeless population, a van picks up the workers, pays them $9 an hour, provides a free lunch and at the end of the shift, the participants are offered overnight shelter. Last year they cleared 69,601 pounds of litter. Homelessness cannot be solved by the government alone, especially in times of government gridlock and lack of allocation of funds. This is a major problem that affects all of us, whether it involves the homeless classmates of our kids or the war hero who once was dedicated to protecting our country. We are not going to solve this by giving our spare change to those on the street. The only way we are going to solve this American issue is to get involved by volunteering at a nonprofit that helps the homeless; and if we can't do that, at least donate to organizations that make a difference. Contribute to Family Promise, which provides homeless families safe shelter, nutritious meals and helps them begin sustainable independence. Give to The Salvation Army, who provides group homes, emergency shelters and transitional living centers, as well as food. Donate to the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions which has 300 missions serving 50 million meals and provides 20 million nights of lodging. Help our youth by helping the Covenant House who is the largest privately funded charity providing care to the homeless, abandoned, abused, trafficked and exploited kids. Subsidize Stand Up For Kids, which provides lifesaving and outreach services for homeless, street kids and at risk youth. And at DollarDays and through our Facebook page, we are giving away five $500 shopping sprees to nonprofit organizations that serve the homeless, so make sure you nominate your favorite organization. Advertisement The murderer of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov had been collecting information on the diplomat for over two months before the assassination, Anadolu reported. According to the Anadolu news agency, the investigation of the murder has revealed that the perpetrator, Mevlut Mert Altintas, was looking for data on the Russian diplomat via his former roommate's computer back in October 2016. On December 19, Karlov was shot by Turkish off-duty police officer Altintas at the opening of an art gallery exhibition in Ankara. Three more people were injured in the shooting. The gunman was killed at the scene by the police. The Russian Foreign Ministry said it considered the attack a terrorist act. In December 2016, after weeks of secret negotiations, the lame-duck Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed the dangerous 21st Century Cures Act. The bill had been sold erroneously as a commonsense, bipartisan compromise that would enable scientific innovation and medical breakthroughs. But in reality, the legislation will provide a grab bag of goodies to pharmaceutical and medical device corporations and will undermine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements for ensuring that drugs and medical devices are safe and effective. The debate over the 21st Century Cures Act triggered one of the largest and most intense lobbying campaigns for a health care bill in recent years. During the past two years, more than 1,450 lobbyists representing 400 companies, universities and other groups including 108 pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech companies lobbied Congress in an effort to shape the legislation. PhRMA, the leading trade association for brand-name-drug manufacturers, spent nearly $25 million on lobbying for the bill. Some of the most troubling provisions buried in the nearly 1,000-page bill will: Create a double standard for FDA review of new uses of already-approved drugs, allowing the agency to approve new uses based on a much less rigorous review process than it uses for the drugs initial approval. Pressure the FDA to rush approval for new medical products, including antibiotics, stem cell therapies and devices, based on weak evidence of safety and effectiveness. Expand the pharmaceutical industrys ability to pressure insurance companies to cover uses of drugs that have not been approved by the FDA. Many members of Congress were persuaded to turn a blind eye to these harmful provisions by promises of nearly $5 billion in additional funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support research on cancer, brain disorders and precision medicine. But there is no guarantee that this funding which is to be doled out over the next 10 years will be approved by future Congresses. Permanently weakening the FDA in exchange for tenuous promises of increased NIH funding is a bad deal for patients. Yesterday, President-Elect Trump responded to Vladimir Putin's response to American sanctions on Russia for espionage with a tweet that read "Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!". Trump's tweet followed a Russian one, a day earlier, of the word "Lame" over a picture of a duck, also in response to sanctions. In the last couple weeks, the President-Elect has purportedly said "Let it be an arm's race" and otherwise made remarks the flippancy of which has shocked the foreign policy world. "Words," Hillary Clinton, said of Donald Trump's tendency to say outlandish things, "have consequences" and in the chess match of strategic relations where every statement and action historically has been pored over and studied before eliciting the optimal counter-move, his words have been generally condemned. Game theory predates the 20th Century but came into its own during the Cold War-- advanced by geniuses such as John Nash, Michael Spence and Thomas Schelling who would all go on to win Nobel prizes. Though developed at universities, it was applied by the Pentagon and security community to navigate the threat of nuclear annihilation through one false move. In games with frontiers, each move or statement counted and, in the type of games that became known as signaling games, signaling was never cheap. However, in 1982, two economists Vincent Crawford and Joel Sobel proposed a type of game, "Cheap Talk" in which talk is free. Advertisement In contrast to traditional signals--a costly college degree signaling intelligence to employers, for example, in the classic paper by Spence--in games of cheap talk, people can say anything at no cost. Sending signals or information in the real world had always been expensive. A call on the "red" hotline to Moscow--an idea championed by Schelling before JFK set it up in 1963 was expensive--requiring the resources of government to carry out--though that was far less expensive Schelling realized than an errant plane or bomb. Even in biology, signaling is typically costly--think peacocks and their plumage as a sign of strength. In the age of Twitter, however, information can be translated at minimal cost. Though Donald Trump is not an economist he is a bargaining savant and it is possible he has stumbled on cheap talk as a useful technique. When talk is free--or more specifically costless--it means people can literally say anything. They may tell the truth--or they may not. To be credible, however, there must be some chance that the signal is true. So people may include some signal in a sea of noise. Advertisement When participants have interests in common, Crawford and Sobel found, they can achieve a better outcome through cheap talk than otherwise. Subsequent work by other economists has confirmed that cheap talk can improve outcomes when two parties to a negotiation have similar interests. However when they have little to gain by cooperating, each will have an incentive to lie that will render the cheap talk increasingly meaningless. The benefits from cheap talk seem to max out when being truthful but also vague. Currently, the President-Elect's Twitter cheap talk approach and the traditional Cold War approach to strategic relations seem diametrically opposed. In the traditional way of doing things, every move is important, every stray word or posture, kabuki-like in its meaning and the best outcome requires carefully calculating each response. No doubt, that approach grew out of hard lessons--World War II, the Korean War and decades of wrangling with Moscow. A long series of proxy conflicts and outright wars in the Congo, Cuba and Vietnam, testify to the high cost of superpowers signaling military strength. In contrast, Cheap Talk is largely untested in strategic relations though the Internet has made it increasingly affordable. When interests align, theory suggests it may lead to higher outcomes. Russia and the US have some interests in common--the costs of war and benefits of peace that are always present in strategic relations--and now the desire to defeat Isis. Washington, D.C. On Tuesday, August 2, in the East Room of the White House, President Barack Obama, and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, of Singapore, held a joint press conference. (Photo by Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Some years ago, when I was living and working in Central Florida, my family and I attended a Sunday service at a congregational church in Winter Park. In his sermon that morning, the minister envisioned Jesus' long-prophesied return to our midst. In the preacher's telling, the Prince of Peace so alarms some of the populace with his public denunciations of rampant materialism and his insistence on ideals such as humility, forgiveness, charity and non-violence that he is soon murdered all over again. I've been thinking about that sermon lately as Barack Hussein Obama finishes his second and final term as President of the United States. And no, I do not believe that Obama was the Second Coming or any kind of messiah. He's just a bright, reasonable man with a strong moral compass and a pretty good jump shot, an alternately buoyant and contemplative fellow who tried to do a lot of the right things and got treated nastily by too many of his fellow Americans, including some who refused to believe he was in fact an American. Advertisement It's difficult to recall a president, with the possible exception of Jimmy Carter, who has behaved more like a Christian while in office. Some of those same doubters and haters continue to insist President Obama adheres to the Muslim faith which, if it were actually true, is perfectly permissible under our beloved Constitution. But the truly odd thing about this notion is that, regardless of his religion or lack thereof, it's difficult to recall a president, with the possible exception of Jimmy Carter, who has behaved more like a Christian while in office. Drone strikes and terrorist-hunting notwithstanding, much of Obama's POTUS playbook has been straight out of the New Testament, especially ideas about kindness, mercy and the like that Jesus articulated in the Sermon on the Mount. Obama made a vigorous effort to help the sick and the poor with the Affordable Care Act. He took a stand against state-sanctioned torture and attempted to shut down our infamous prison in Guantanamo, Cuba. He didn't have us invade any new countries and tried to get our soldiers out of countries his predecessor had. Advertisement Much of Obama's POTUS playbook has been straight out of the New Testament. Obama advocated for a saner, reasonable approach to weapons ownership. He encouraged us to be better, more conservative stewards of the miraculous planet we share symbiotically with countless other species. He asked us to be more inclusive, to at least respect our fellow citizens of different race, national origin, religion, gender and sexual orientation. All this plus helping to retrieve our economy from the cusp of catastrophe, demonstrating exemplary parenthood and lifting his voice at a funeral to sing "Amazing Grace," a Protestant hymn for which he needed no book or prompter. Yet none of it seemed to matter much to a sizable portion of our population, including quite a number who identify themselves as devoted followers of Jesus. If anything, it inflamed them. And thus we now have, slouching toward Washington as president-elect, a rough beast, a conspicuously acquisitive, vindictive braggart whose philosophy of life and lucre is more in sync with that of the late novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand, who was hostile to religion of any and all stripes and considered the Christian ideal of living for others to be the height of stupidity. It's almost enough to make a guy doubt the life lessons he learned in Sunday school. Almost. Yes, I see posts on Facebook almost every day by people whose comments and shares about scripture, salvation and Second Amendment rights would leave a reader to believe that "Blessed are the assault weapon owners" is one of the Beatitudes. But I also see as many or more posts and shares from folks -- some Christian, some Jewish, some Muslim, some nonbelievers - who firmly believe that Barack Obama is a man of conscience and good intentions whose Presidential actions, even though they haven't all worked out as he or we had hoped, are deserving of our gratitude, admiration and respect, not more slurs and false witnessing. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump talks to reporters as he and his wife Melania Trump arrive for a New Year's Eve celebration with members and guests at the Mar-a-lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. December 31, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst To repeat a hackneyed phrase, we are in unchartered territory. We have a president-elect who has already demonstrated that he places himself above the interests of the country. In continually denying the importance of Russian interference, he is issuing an open invitation for Russia, and others, to keep up their attacks on our country. Why does Donald Trump deny that this act of war is of no significance? Because of his insatiable narcissism, and sociopathic personality, Trump is incapable (note, not just unwilling, but psychologically incapable) of recognizing Russian involvement in our election because it compromises his own legitimacy, and because it was far deeper than commonly understood. In addition to hacking and leaking, there is good reason to believe that it was a massive, persistent, deliberate effort through social media to create illusions of enthusiasm and support. Advertisement While at the KGB, Vladimir Putin's activities focused on infiltration, deception and influence, skills he has also used as Russian president in the Donbass region in Ukraine and Crimea. The pro-Trump activities were variations on a theme from his well-worn playbook. The Russians found it embarrassingly simple to recognize Trump as their perfect patsy. Anyone in desperate need of flattery and money is a pushover. Indeed, there is grave concern that Trump may owe Russia, or Russians in Putin's inner circle, a lot of money. Do not forget that in the middle of the campaign, Donald ("Uday") Trump, Jr., jetted off to Paris for a meeting with a high Russian official. What was that about? Trump is not only the beneficiary of a foreign power hacking, he encouraged it, and, as David Frum has pointed out, embellished it. Considering the powers of the presidency -- lifetime appointments for judges, sending our men and women into war, repealing/creating executive orders, long-term appointments to commissions, pushing and signing legislation that negatively or positively impacts peoples' lives -- what does our country do with an election that was tipped by a foreign power? Advertisement The first order of business is to showcase and, yes, dramatize the illegitimacy. Exposing the illegitimacy can begin with the process of counting the electoral votes by Congress as set forth in 3 USC15. The process to object to the electors is as follows: Upon such reading of any such certificate or paper, the President of the Senate shall call for objections, if any. Every objection shall be made in writing, and shall state clearly and concisely, and without argument, the ground thereof, and shall be signed by at least one Senator and one Member of the House of Representatives before the same shall be received. [emphasis added] The "ground thereof" is the illegitimacy of the electors chosen due to the intervention of a foreign power. The procedure further prescribed in this section is for the Senate and House each to then meet separately to determine the outcome. Members and Senators could, then, demand a full airing of the Russian interference in the election before voting. Senators like McCain (R-AZ), Graham (R-SC) and Rubio (R-FL), who are honestly concerned about national security, would have a chance to express themselves about how this cyberattack is indeed an act of war, and, at least, secure McConnell's (R-KY) agreement to a Select Committee to investigate. With a 52-48 Senate, that trio plus Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) will have as much power as they care to wield by offering or withholding their votes. Advertisement Secondly, as this is played out, the American people would clearly see the facts and the implications for legitimacy of a Trump administration. It would provide a perfect backdrop for a 2018 campaign to "restore legitimacy" to our government and to attack Trump and Congressional Republicans for appeasement, because that is exactly what it is. Thirdly, we have already seen Donald Trump -- who never "just moves on" from anything -- so eager to move on that he is willing to overlook entirely this act of war against the United States. That he wants to move on is strong evidence that, as with his taxes, there is a lot to hide. What, though, beyond January 20th, when Trump will likely seize power? More on that, later. With 2017 upon us and a new administration in Washington prepared to take over, it's a good time to reflect on the federal role in public education. Broadly speaking, there are two schools of thought. Some liberals or progressives think the federal government should actively advocate for groups of kids who too often lose out: low-income, special education, minority, English-language learner, homeless, migrant and rural. They are lamenting the closing days of an administration that pushed hard on states to hold districts, schools and even teachers directly accountable for student outcomes. On the other hand, some liberals who are more in line with teachers unions have resisted accountability that is linked to standardized testing. They tend to agree with conservatives that the federal government should exercise minimal oversight and trust that states, districts, schools and educators will do the right thing for kids by setting a high bar, being transparent about results, and enabling local educators to innovate. Advertisement These unlikely allies part ways, however, on the issue of choice. The new administration strongly supports public charters and public vouchers for students to attend private schools and wants to expand the federal role in promoting choice. Many conservatives, however, think there is no federal role in education and won't even support a federal school choice program. They just want the department to go away and leave education entirely up to the states. So far, President-elect Donald Trump and his nominee for secretary of education, philanthropist Betsy DeVos, have not said much about the federally-required, state-designed systems of accountability. Like many conservatives, she believes that giving parents the ability to vote with their feet and choose their child's school is the best form of accountability and that government oversight, especially of charter schools, should be limited. If, however, DeVos is interested in winning over--or at least not alienating--the civil rights community and progressive education reformers, she will need to send two clear signals, starting with her upcoming Senate confirmation hearing. Advertisement 1. Does DeVos Advocate for All Kids? The first signal she must send is that she understands that her job is to advocate for all children, not just the 16 percent in private or public charter schools or who are home-schooled. The vast majority of children in America are educated in traditional public schools and she must devote a proportional amount of time and energy to them. 2. Does DeVos Appreciate the Federal Role? The second signal she needs to send is that she understands the historic role the federal government has played in protecting students who need protection. America has a long and sorry history of under-serving children with special needs, as well as low-income, minority and other marginalized sub-groups of kids. Until the middle of the last century, many states legalized segregation and, despite the change in the law, segregation by race and income still exists in practice in the form of school boundaries. The system also discriminates against low-income kids with inequitable funding and low expectations, and over-disciplining of students of color. Congress, in its politically-driven wisdom, decided that the Obama Administration over-reached with reform and reduced the federal role in the updated federal education law. They also restricted the federal government's ability to offer incentives in exchange for reform. Advertisement Anti-accountability liberals supported the new version of the law, precisely because it removes any obligation to intervene in all but the very worst schools; and even with them, the law is sufficiently vague that there is little likelihood of meaningful interventions. History shows that, in most cases, administrators choose the least aggressive and least effective intervention. Today, in a school system that is increasingly Black, Brown, poor and non-English speaking, and where more than 1 in 7 students has some kind of disability, the need for accountability has never been greater, while the conditions for retreat have never been more likely. Under the new law, the U.S. Department of Education still has an explicit role in approving state accountability plans in exchange for receiving federal education funding. The plans are due in the coming months with approval expected prior to next fall's school opening. First impressions matter. It will not take long to find out where Trump and DeVos stand on the issue of accountability. Let's hope they stand with kids. Robert Louis Stevenson, the famous writer and rambler, once explained that he traveled "not to get anywhere, but to go." The great affair, he said, was "to move." Sure, I would have replied had I been there in Stevenson's study, listening closely, single malt in hand. "Movement is just fine. But for me, the whole thing is, well, more liquid. I sail, and get on planes, and pilot my car in quest of interesting drinks." This is the point where Stevenson would have either refilled my glass, or sent me packing. But let me explain. It isn't daylight I like, but dusk. And similar to a ship at sunset, reaching a new port lets me moor for at least a night and taste (I should say sip) what it has in store. I find out more from the snap of a country's signature liqueur than by visiting sights or taking guided tours. Advertisement France, of course, has its Kir (a blend of creme de cassis and white wine) and England enjoys its "Pimm's Cup" (a gin drink using quinine and herbs). But, for a traveler, these are only a few of the world's top cocktail-hour pours. In Iceland recently for the first time, I ran smack into a juggernaut in a bottle called Brennivin and known to locals as the "Black Death." Similar to Aquavit in Scandinavia, Brennivin is a schnapps that's made from potatoes and jazzed up with the scent of caraway seeds. Much like a looming volcano -- like the Icelandic landscape, itself -- this national drink is a raw and mysterious thing. The scary-looking jet-black Brennivin label depicts Iceland's coastline, as if it were a tipple just for fishermen. In fact, while trying to get a glass of Black Death down, I learned that it is excellent for chasing away the taste of hakarl, an Icelandic delicacy derived from rotting shark meat. No one had any hakarl handy. And I didn't die from drinking my shot. But my throat and stomach felt like molten lava and my brain like a just-extinguished blaze. During a rainforest cruise on Brazil's Rio Negro, I was handed my first Caipirinha, a concoction that tastes as fresh as jungle fruits or flowers (that's the lime in there) but that coils inside you like a Cobra, waiting to strike. I started asking deckhands and discovered that Caipirinha comes from "caipira," meaning a person from the countryside. But after a second glass, the name of this national drink started to sound to me like Samba. Advertisement Caipirinha, Caipirinha, I sang out loud on the windswept deck. Copacabana, Ipanema. (This was the work of cachaca, a local sugar-cane based rum.) The cries of parrots overhead blended in with this, with splashes of fish and fat tropical drops from a storm. For the first time, I understood why Brazilians seem never far from a guitar. Sometimes a drink evokes what's been going on in a country's work life. For reasons I've never understood, alcohol has an eerie sense of economics and often reflects the pace of places where it is mixed and poured. An extreme example of this is the nation of Burma (sometimes called Myanmar), isolated for decades due to its recently-dissolved military government. Rural Burmese roads are clogged with herds of gentle cattle, and churning by on bikes and donkey carts, everyone smiles. When my wife and I asked about spirits in a shop, the owner dredged up a dusty bottle about three-quarters full. Noticing our hesitation, he rummaged cheerfully in back, and flashing a Colgate grin, presented us with a fifth of "Country Time"-brand Burmese gin. We bought it on the spot. An opposite universe, in many ways, was urban China. The busy Beijing restaurants I ate in pulsated with energy, with a zest for consumption that matched its most frenetic streets. Unlike Burma, the carts here transported Peking Duck, ready for slicing and jingling bottles of Baijiu, the country's ubiquitous "white liquor" that's distilled from sorghum and can be as strong as 120 proof. After a cup of the stuff was slid my way and I took some sips I began to feel that Baijiu was more than just a drink. It was Beijing in a bottle. It reminded me of riding in Chinese buses, of touring around a car-choked downtown. Advertisement What is this taste? I asked aloud, and a local at my table was quick to reply. "It tastes like diesel fuel!" he replied, clapping his hands and laughing delightedly beside four Baijiu-drinking friends. He was correct. I was slowly learning. The quiet charm of Jim Jarmusch's Paterson, his latest movie, about a poet evoking the time and place of predecessor wordsmiths William Carlos Williams and Allen Ginsberg, impresses with vitality, a life force. So much, that two-time Academy Award nominee for Best Actress, Sylvia Miles, quipped, she paid her academy dues just to nominate this work for a Best Picture Oscar: "It's the best film I've ever seen on a creative person." In a season of noisier films, will academy voters notice this gentle work of art? Adam Driver stars. Paterson is ensconced in the workaday life of a bus driver in Paterson, picking up his vehicle at the depot, picking up passengers on his route. He enjoys a happy home life with Laura (Golshifteh Farahani obsessed with circles or maybe orbs, and his neighborhood bar where he ties up his dog outside and retreats for a nightly beer, his routines as regular as the movements of the planets. Even his most casual observations, visions realized onscreen in a clever scrawl, recast all in the language of the eternal. The premiere party at the Jane Hotel with its posh yet old school feel came just as the cold snap of the holidays hit. Jarmusch was talking to documentarian Joe Berlinger about the anniversary screening of his Paradise Lost films. John Ventimiglia and Bob Gruen and his wife Elizabeth spoke about their projects in progress. Filmmaker Sara Driver, Jarmusch's partner, a longtime devotee of Paul and Jane Bowles, will finally see her Two Serious Ladies script made. Downtown, artists could relate to Paterson's quotidian. Advertisement Jarmusch had two films this year: Paterson and Gimme Danger, a documentary about Iggy Pop and the Stooges, both highlights of the 2016 New York Film Festival. Decades after his Stranger Than Paradise (1984) wowed audiences at New York's most decidedly uptown film venue, featuring the horse faced deadpan John Lurie and his unforgettable take on frozen tv dinners, Jarmusch still knows a thing or two about finding the miraculous in the mundane. "Unlike phenomena in physics," writes Professor Leonard Mlodinow, "events can often obey one theory or another, and what actually happens can depend largely upon which theory we choose to believe." This profound observation is my theme today. Mlodinow is a physicist turned student of the human mind, and in particular the unconscious mind - the mind that we are not aware of, but which is actually far more important than the conscious mind with which we reason and of which we are aware. The unconscious mind actually does much of our thinking, especially our creative thinking - which then bubbles up into our conscious mind, often when we least expect it. But the most important aspect of the unconscious mind is its ability to control our emotions and drive our actions. Our unconscious mind gives us optimism and a usefully-inflated view of our own abilities, especially our ability to control our environment. If we expect a lot of ourselves and other people, it magically comes to pass. For example, psychologists have proved that labelling children as gifted is a self-fulfilling prophecy. In one experiment described by Mlodinow in his book Subliminal, schoolkids were given an IQ test and their teachers were told which children were unusually gifted - the children were not told the results. In actual fact, however, the children identified as specially gifted had only average scores. Advertisement The kids were given another IQ test eight months later, and the results were truly shocking. Of those identified as brilliant, four out of five children had an increase in IQ of at least ten points. One fifth of the group actually scored thirty or more points higher. Yet the teachers had been instructed not to say anything particularly encouraging to the "brilliant" children and to treat their classes impartially. What appeared to have happened was that the teachers unconsciously influenced the identified kids to believe in their potential. If we are told we are brilliant, we believe it and we become brilliant. If we are told we are stupid, we are much less likely to become brilliant. And this works not only for what other people tell us, but for what we tell ourselves. "Evolution designed the human brain," say Mlodinow, "not to accurately understand itself but to help us survive ... if our natural view of the world is skewed, it is skewed for a reason." This is why optimism is so functional - people who are optimistic can often make that a self-fulfilling prophecy. By believing we can control our environment, we find ways to do precisely that. As Henry Ford once said, whether we believe we can achieve something or not, we are right. There are obvious limits - a belief that we can walk on water or repel the waves is not functional. "In order for your inflated self-image to serve you well," Mlodinow writes, "it must be inflated to just the right degree and no further." But if we truly believe that we will achieve a certain goal - which is objectively within our power, even if only just - we are quite likely to do so. Mlodinow reports that recent brain-imaging studies "show that when assessing emotionally relevant data, our brains automatically include our wants and dreams and desires." The unconscious mind then operates unseen and unsuspected to try to bring these to pass. But perhaps the most vital effect of the unconscious on how we live is nurturing a positive self-image. "Our unconscious is at its best when it helps us create a positive and fond sense of self, a feeling of power and control in a world full of powers far greater than the merely human... Those feeling good about themselves are more cooperative ... and more likely to find a constructive solution to their conflicts. They are also better problem solvers, more motivated to succeed, and more likely to persist in the face of a challenge." Advertisement Mind-Blowing Implications Let's construct some implications of the research on the "new unconscious": When we visit a new town or country, we are likely to find what we expect to find. When we try a new product, we are more disposed to like it if we have already been told how great it is. Within limits, we can construct our own reality. There is no reality "out there" which is not filtered through our perceptions and prejudices. We are more likely to succeed if we have already succeeded. It is often the case that highly ambitious and successful people had some early experience of success which then spurred them on to greater success ... and so on. It is therefore vitally important to take what I call "baby steps" to achieve success in some field - any field will do. One of the wonderful things about life is that there a zillion different routes to success. So if we have any talent or interest in any sphere - in music, in writing, in carpentry, in model-building, in repairing bicycles or cars, or in any field of knowledge at all - and can attain even modest success, that increases our confidence and the range of achievement that we think we can attain. We are more likely to succeed if we think well of ourselves. Therefore never ever tell your children or yourself that they or you are stupid. Do not give them or yourself a hard time. There are always mitigating circumstances. Actions may be stupid, but people are inherently creative and intelligent. One of the best things to praise in yourself and people around you is the ability to learn from your mistakes. Advertisement This is an example of "re-framing". One of things I learned when I was a management consultant in Bain & Company was the importance of re-framing any event in a positive way. So the client had just dropped a huge bundle of dollars in one of its businesses? Well, the good aspect was that it demonstrated that the company should get out of any market where it didn't have a strong competitive advantage, and focus on the few ones where it had a really strong hand. The chief executive had just made a foolish move? Well, she should "own" that mistake and draw out the positive implications for all her managers. A study had shown that a large customer was unprofitable? Well then, all customers should have their profitability examined. For those that were very profitable, the corollary was to expand the business you did with them in any way possible, and to find other similar customers. And for the loss-making customers - find a way of making them profitable by raising their prices or cutting the cost to serve them. And if that then made the customers go to a rival firm - good. Let them make a loss on the customers rather than make it ourselves. As Bill Bain was fond of saying, "the best way to start making money is to stop losing money." A company is more likely to be successful if it has a strong belief - a strong theory backing it up - that the firm will succeed. This is why consultants with a strong and valid model of success - such as the early "Boston Box" and its stress on the importance of star businesses and competitive advantage in all the businesses in which the firm invests - can be so beneficial. If you do not have a theory of why your firm will succeed, it is much less likely that it will. If you believe the theory and act consistently in accordance with it, success is more likely - whatever the theory (though some theories are better than others). In our personal lives, ask yourself which is likely to make for a good relationship with your romantic partner - a belief that they are attractive, talented, and good company, or one that their personality is badly flawed? If we have any form of contempt or believe our partner to be inferior in any important attribute, that belief will communicate itself to him or her even if we say absolutely nothing. So give your better half the benefit of the doubt, and think about their most positive attributes, and praise them. Advertisement If you are dating, or deciding whether to start a serious relationship, ask yourself if you consider your partner to be your equal or better in all ways that are vitally important to you. If you truly cannot say yes to that, and overlook other defects, do not start or continue the relationship. If you are the boss, take a positive view of the good attributes of your people and their potential. If you cannot do that, it is better to let the person go. Yet the most indispensable attitude we take is that to ourselves. If we should be kind to our children, our spouse, and our employees - not primarily because it is a duty, but because it will lead to the results we want and make a better world for everyone - how much more vital it is to be kind to ourselves and give ourselves the benefit of the doubt, and believe that we can achieve great things. If we truly believe that, we will. Action Implications Nurture high expectations and a high view of all the significant people in your life. Where you honestly cannot do that, ask yourself whether you are being too critical. Maybe you are, and are focussing on the wrong attributes and missing their great attributes and potential. If afterwards you really cannot take a kind and generous view of the people concerned, find a way to insulate yourself from them. Advertisement Nurture the best possible construction of yourself and what you can do in life. Imagine yourself as you would like to be, and take small steps to become more like that person. Commit yourself to becoming what you want to become. There has been endless discussion and much confusion over what kind of president Donald Trump will be. In foreign policy, is he the opponent of the Iraq War, or a leader staffing his administration with warriors? One day he meets with Al Gore, the next he appoints a climate change opponent to the Environmental Protection Agency. Who really is the next person to sit in the White House? To understand how Donald Trump will handle the presidency, it is best to assume that there will always be three Donald Trumps--the policy president, the political president, and the emotional president--each operating alongside the other, simultaneously. The policy president will be the most conventional. In the best article so far analyzing Trump's actual positions (as opposed to his rhetoric), Doyle McManus explained, "in Trump's picks for economic and domestic policymaking jobs, there's a consistent underlying thread. And no, it's not that so many of them are billionaires....It's Republican orthodoxy. Trump's choices have all been thoroughgoing conservatives who believe in the free market, deregulation and, wherever possible, privatization of government functions. Most of them could have been nominated by any GOP nominee...." Other evidence points to this conclusion as well. His economic leadership is as conventional a Republican business dominated team as he could pick, going with the same setup as George W. Bush, appointing Goldman Sachs veterans to head Treasury and the National Economic Council. The New York Times reported, "Business leaders, once wary, are now expressing excitement that one of their own is headed toward the White House. And Wall Street is bordering on the ecstatic. A month after Donald J. Trump's election, a series of pro-business cabinet nominations, along with promises to cut taxes, roll back regulations, invest in infrastructure and negotiate better trade deals, have conjured up the possibility, some executives say, of a 'Field of Dreams' economy." A subsequent article in that paper reported, "a majority of Republicans are overjoyed with Mr. Trump's other cabinet picks -- staunch conservatives in the world of education, health care and law enforcement...." In other words, when it comes to policy, Trump is an extremely conservative Republican, not a new model. Think Rick Santorum or Paul Ryan as president. Advertisement Then there is Trump the political president. This is the figure that will utter intensely divisive comments to gin up voters, who attacks media, political correctness, and any and every group he feels he can get mileage from: immigrants, Muslims, women, the disabled. For this aspect of his presidency the top adviser is Steve Bannon, a self-described "disrupter" who revels in attacking the status quo and fanning resentment. This is President Trump working crowds, seeking support and votes at the expense of many Americans, to win elections. And finally, there is the emotional president, the one who expresses neither policy nor political positions, nor the advice of advisers, but who has deep personal needs. A lot of what Trump does results from growing up with a father who, while economically successful, worked the low status outer boroughs like Brooklyn and Queens. Quick interlude: I grew up in the Bronx, of immigrant parents. Early in college I decided to get my mother a gift from Tiffany's. Walking into the flagship store on Fifty-Seventh and Fifth, I selected an inexpensive item. An incredibly genteel older woman took my order; sitting at her desk she wrote out my order and filled out the form. When she got to the address I mentioned the Bronx; she looked across at me and as sweetly as you could imagine, inquired "Do they have a Zipcode up there?" as if it was the wilds of North Dakota. Advertisement Donald Trump felt this resentment, instead breaking into the elite Manhattan real estate market, something his father never achieved. Yet the insecurity remains. This is the deferential Trump, seeking approval from Barack Obama, a sitting president, or during a meeting with the New York Times' editors and columnists. And this is also the president who tweets deeply personal resentments in the early hours of the morning. Lauren Batchelder, an 18 year old college student, had told Trump at a public rally she did not feel he "was a friend to women." Trump tweeted in reprisal that she was an "arrogant young woman" and a Clinton plant. Batchelder talked about what happened for the first time recently with a reporter for the Washington Post, and that paper described how, "Her phone began ringing with callers leaving threatening messages that were often sexual in nature. Her Facebook and email inboxes filled with similar messages. As her addresses circulated on social media and her photo flashed on the news, she fled home to hide. 'I didn't really know what anyone was going to do,' said Batchelder, now 19...." At the time Trump had 5 million Twitter followers; now he has 17 million. Nobel Prize winning Princeton economist Paul Krugman may view the rise of Trump to POTUS as an unmitigated catastrophe. As a fellow Trump loather I choose to take another view. I believe that a President Trump will create such a reaction to his cliptocracy that much good movement towards progressive legislation will result from his four years in office. After the GOP fails to replace Obamacare with a functioning program, America, under the next progressive president will demand and receive single payer Universal Health Care. This is but one of the benefits that await us because of the incompetence, bigotry and world class corruption that will soon be in charge of the government. None of the current Democratic leaders will be serving as the next Democratic President, or candidate. Sorry HRC, I loved your wonkiness, your decency, and your deep experience of government, but for all the popular votes you got, you failed in the worst way. You did not rise to leadership in the weeks following the theft of the Presidency by the Putin/Trump partnership, perhaps the greatest challenge that any President might face. Instead you have kept a discreet silence -- perhaps necessary for your pride but unacceptable at this dangerous time. Obama, I really loved ye, but helping to make a smooth transition to the Trump presidency was the last thing required of a man like you who dearly loves his country. We need noise, complaint, a rowdy takedown of the crooks and liars he has appointed to his cabinet. We may find our next leader during the confirmation process -- the one who asks the questions and will not stop until he gets answers -- but that leader is invisible at the moment. Nevertheless, the appointment of oligarchs, bigots, zealots, and ignoramuses, is the stuff out of which a great progressive leader is born in opposition to them. Advertisement There is a virtue in state and city run government -- the Ancient Greeks flourished with it -- and so shall we. As the federal government removes many of the liberties we have fought for since WW2, the right of choice for women, the right of a decent public school education for all children, the right for minorities to vote, the right to speak freely, indeed everything covered by the Bill of Rights and more -- those of us fortunate enough to live in progressive cities will maintain those rights -- come what may -- we do pay the taxes that keep the country going -- or at least we did until Federal taxation was removed by Trump on the very rich. State taxes and city taxes, wisely used, can run cities and towns effectively. Remember the first revolution cry of "No taxation without representation" and if we the people are not represented in the government that cry should be heard again...and again. It will take awhile for those who voted for Trump to realize the full depth and breath of his betrayal. Guys, your America is not coming back, and he has no plan to find a place or a job for you in his America. You bought the snake oil, now mix it with the beer. The free press should use every occasion to investigate this administration -- never since the Gilded Age of Mark Twain has there been so many flimflam men in power. We need an Ida Tarbel and a Lincoln Steffens to stand up and expose the reprobates and I believe that we shall find them. The crooks will fall over each other as the rape of our coffers, and the selling of our institutions begin. This will be our first Casino presidency -- dice loaded, wheel fixed, cards marked - all against the player. A true reform movement is sure to follow, embraced by Progressives and the few straggling GOP men of conscience. Advertisement Hiding in the next four years will do nobody any good. The robber who invades your home knows to look under your bed and in the closet for you. Boldness is the only way to protect yourself - be as large as you can be -- the meek may be blessed but they will not inherit Trump's earth. Minorities, African Americans, Latinos and Latinas, Muslims, your numbers are growing. Despite all the talk of deportation you will remain a large force in America. Make certain that your young are part of the voting force. And you will find your voice, your spokesman, because demographically, the old white men and the foolish middle class white women who put Trump in office together with the dancing bear in Moscow are no match for you, organized, educated, and prepared to take on your role as saviors -- not as the oppressed. Jews, sorry, you're are not safe because of Ivanka and Jared --in fact you are in greater danger than ever because of them. Trump may use talented Jews in his government but it is clear that he has no love for members of the tribe. He has surrounded himself with anti-Semites and any Jew who voted for him because they did not like the Clintons will learn a bitter lesson. He sees a Jew and he sees a progressive -- which means he sees an enemy. He will give such support to Israel's settlements as the backlash on Israel multiplies (and sadly the many Jews who opposed Bibi's expansionism will also suffer) because Trump is leading our ally towards becoming an apartheid nation -- unacceptable to the modern world. Israel faces a greater isolation in Trumpworld. There was a good case to be made that the fault was on both sides -- a reluctant Palestinian leadership refusing to accept the reality of Israel, and meeting the restoration of Palestinian lands with acts of terror, but the new settlements -- a bow to the right wing orthodox -- worsened the bad and turned it into the terrible so Trump will leave the Middle East in worse shape than he now finds it, and that is hard to do. By destroying the Iran nuclear agreement he will further isolate America from its allies, and help to create a new nuclear enemy. Voices must rise and shout out against this madness. The nation states of Europe will be having small fascist tantrums of their own, and sadly, we must watch the destruction of Estonia and other Eastern European countries because of Trump's future dismantling of NATO -- but the result will be an alliance against the Putin/TRUMP AXIS by the small Eastern Europen countries -- you know, the ones where the mail order brides are ordered and the Russian Bear seeks to expand. This is the bad news that I see. A Secretary of State willing to let Putin have his liebensraum in exchange for oil rights. The good news is that in four years fossil fuels will be more expensive and less valuable than thriving alternative sources of energy. Advertisement Oh, and one of our skilled writer-artists should be working on a graphic novel which shows in plain language how Trump has screwed his followers and that their lost jobs no longer exist, replaced by robotic automation -- and that the states will be the superhero that helps to train the young and pension off the old for the new economy. This should be distributed free to the voters who put Trump into the Presidency. The continuing starvation and alienation of the poor during the Trump years will ultimately make the villagers light their torches and march on Trumpenstein. Movies are a good precursor to life. ne of the first customers to buy a new iPhone walks out of an Apple store in Manhattan on September 16, 2016 in New York City. (Photo : Getty Images/Spencer Platt) In movies about the future, robots have replaced humans in almost everything. That kind of future is unfolding as Apple's iPhone Taiwanese manufacturers Foxconn plans to gradually replace its human employees using software and in-house robotics units which would be known as Foxbots. Advertisement The manufacturing giant is looking to automate its production that will leave only a few human employees in the company. Foxconn's Automation Technology Development Committee general manager Dai Jia-peng told DigiTimes that the company has three phases into full automation of its production. The first phase will place individual automated stations to replace humans for working on things they are unwilling to do or are dangerous. The second phase involves restructuring production lines to decrease the number of excess robots in use. The third and final phase, according to Dai, will leave the entire factories with only a few number of human employees designated for logistics, production, testing and inspection processes. Foxconn has factories in western China, southern China and northern China that have are already ongoing the second and third phases. In May 2016, the company replaced its workers with 60,000 robots, BBC News reported. The British news organization reported that Foxconn has reduced its 110,000 employees to just 50,000. Foxconn has already deployed more than 40,000 Foxbots to its factories in China and it is expected to deploy more as it produces 10,000 Foxbots per year. Foxconn's Zhengzhou factory is reported to produce 500,000 iPhones on a daily basis and Foxbots may be the reason behind the huge number of production. While the company is nearing the final phase of its plan, other companies are expected to follow the trend. The automation plan is a good plan for Foxconn as the company faced dreadful working condition following an explosion in May 2012 that killed four people and got 12 injured. The real downside is hundred thousands of Chinese workers would be left with no work. Watch the video below to see how the automation started last year: Showtime's provocative series "The Affair" follows the devastating aftershocks of an adulterous relationship between Noah Solloway (played by Dominic West), a married father of four, and a married waitress, Alison (Ruth Wilson). The mess that extends from their extramarital union includes the demise of two marriages, four troubled and bereft children, an unplanned pregnancy, an accidental homicide and an unjust incarceration. Maura Tierney, who plays a deeply affecting Helen Solloway, Noah's abandoned wife, has said of the drama: "My friends who are couples, don't like to watch it together." As someone who struggles with sexual jealousy, which I believe is hardwired into us, I get why a couple might not want to preview the ugliness and suffering in store if they fail the expectation of fidelity. (Especially as it plays out on this show!) The thought of sexual betrayal alone can feel unbearable. In an interview last summer, showrunner Sarah Treem put it this way: "A romantic relationship is like a triangle where both people lean in, creating a structure that holds both of them up. If one person is quote unquote "unfaithful," she said, "the structure collapses. If your relationship is the primary thing that holds up your house, and for most of us it is, then it's terrifying." Advertisement Author Dossie Easton, who co-wrote "The Ethical Slut," a guide to open relationships, has a less pragmatic and more philosophical -- and controversial -- take. She's long argued that sexual jealousy is a negative byproduct of the rigid expectations we've created around monogamy and marriage. She believes that the family structure would stay intact if we accepted our polyamorous natures and could "unlearn" sexual jealousy. "Sexual jealousy is supposed to be somehow unconquerable and immovable," Easton told me. "But that is a myth. It's really serious emotional work to unlearn jealousy and cultivate other ways to feel secure in a relationship, but it's possible. I've been doing it in my practice for the past 20 years and in my own life since 1969." Eminent family historian Stephanie Coontz's book "Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage" gives credence to Easton's claim. Coontz documents how marrying for love and expecting sexual fidelity for life is a fairly modern concept. Her research points to cultures across the globe and time, where people didn't exhibit signs of sexual jealousy in non-monogamous and non-romantic-love centric family structures. In ancient China, she reports, sisters recruited one another as "back-up" wives for their husbands. In Botswana, co-wives work with rather than against one another and value each other as mutual benefactors. "Among Tibetan brothers who share the same wife," Coontz writes, "sexual jealousy is rare." I wonder, though, whether it's simply not expressed in ways that are intelligible to Western ethnographers. Advertisement Surely, sexual jealousy is a multi-headed beast with origins unique to each individual's background, but I think the maniacal levels of jealousy many of us reach when romantic trust is threatened or broken is innate, and that it triggers our memory of the primal scene of abandonment -- birth -- the moment we were permanently severed from the oneness we knew in utero. Normally, wakes are sad but civil. Pay respects to the deceased and offer compassion to the family. I'm afraid, though, that even wakes and funerals will no longer be safe havens against meanness, intolerance and incivility. Giving the benefit of the doubt to our president-elect, and perhaps unintended on his part, incivility is on the rise as people say whatever they want to say -- politeness be damned. Take my recent experience at a wake. A prominent woman whom I had met before approached me with the initial traditional pleasantries. How are you? How is your family? Didn't she (the deceased) have a nice life? Then came a torrent of long-repressed feelings that has become acceptable in the new era of incivility. "Stuart, we're gonna take back our country," she said. "Who is 'we' and what are we gonna take back?" I asked. Advertisement "I'm Evangelical," she replied. "It's a new day in America. And we're gonna take back our country for God! There's no stopping us now." Engaging her in conversation, I tried to explain my point of view. "I applaud your intentions -- especially because I also feel devoted to my relationship with God. But being pragmatic, and recognizing that there are certain trends -- especially with Millennials -- that are gravitating against organized religion, might it be more effective to advocate that we all can be God-like and live God's values by how we treat each other every day? By living the Golden Rule. By doing acts of kindness." The torrent spilled over into an attack: "No, it has to be God. People have to acknowledge God. Values aren't good enough. I'm sick and tired of being lectured by people like you, and I don't have to take it any longer. I'm out of here." And she ran out of the room in a huff. She definitely made an impression on me, but it was that of an angry, intolerant, mean-spirited ideologue who has been given license by Donald Trump to say whatever she feels to suit her agenda, however "grating" that may be to others. Her's was not win-win; it was a zero-sum game about winning only for her particular ideology. Conversation and conciliation were not in her wheelhouse. Advertisement We have been accustomed to seeing bitter partisan wars in our politics, but are we prepared for religious wars, economic wars, ethnocentric wars and culture wars among acquaintances, friends, allies, co-workers, students and leaders? Will conversation devolve into conflict at every level of American society, including at wakes and funerals, confirmations and weddings? And what about business meetings -- will they be exempt? I fear that this kind of incivility tsunami will force a tipping point onto an America that has already been leaning that way. According to a report by The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 80 percent of American drivers engage in acts of road rage, ranging from non-verbal gestures, to purposely tailgating, to yelling, to ramming other vehicles, to shooting at other motorists. The report states that approximately eight million U.S. drivers engaged in extreme incidents of road rage in 2015, with male and younger drivers ages 19-39 leading the way. Nearly two-thirds of American drivers believe that road rage is a serious concern for their personal safety. Another example is the spate of recent teen-driven mall fights that simultaneously broke out across the country in at least fifteen major malls. As reported by the New York Times, police suspect that the skirmishes were loosely organized, like flash mobs, through social media. Some police blamed the incidents on teens having too much time on their hands. I believe that teens are mirroring the trend line of incivility. Teens have had too much time on their hands for decades and social media has been around for several years. But organized mob-like fighting across the country is something new to post-election 2016. Teens are the canary in the coal mine. Having co-founded a teen kindness and anti-bullying program 23 years ago, I have studied teen issues for at least that long. One principal explained teen behavior to me like this: "Whatever malaise is going on in the adult world, teens absorb it like sponges and then they copy and amplify it." Advertisement Increased road rage, election and post-election violence, teen fighting mobs, political protests, and riots on college campuses are some of the more obvious spikes in incivility that are overlays to already-tense police and racial relations in many communities. These -- and my encounter at the wake -- are symptoms of an out-of-the-closet incivility that has been sanctioned by the antics of the most recent presidential election. It continues, fueled in part by a "Twitter-in-chief" who insists on lashing out without tact or filter, as he did recently to Vanity Fair because its culinary reporter wrote a negative review about the Trump International Hotel's new restaurant in Washington, D.C. During the Holocaust, prominent psychiatrist Dr. Viktor Frankl, in his seminal work Man's Search for Meaning, wrote that there are two races of mankind: the decent and the indecent. The indecent come in all shapes, sizes, genders, political leanings, races and religions. So do the decent. Our country currently teeter-totters between the two. And as political, cultural and social influencers toggle between both, social norms about how we treat each other precipitously hang in the balance. Jerry Falwell, Jr., president of Evangelical-Christian Liberty University, said it best last week on Fox News Sunday when he declared that, "God wants us to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we each lived our lives that way, the world would be a different place." Something for all Americans -- and political leaders -- to think about as we enter 2017. Muszynski is Founder of Purple America, a national initiative of Values-in-Action Foundation to re-focus the American conversation to a civil, productive and respectful dialogue around our shared values. To see America's shared values and get involved, go to www.PurpleAmerica.us. Project Love is a school-based character-development program of Values-in-Action Foundation. To see information about Project Love school programming, go to www.projectlove.org. A 16-year-old Karen boy, swims in the Salween River at the Myanmar-Thai border. Adrees Latif/Reuters Thousands of protesters gathered in Myanmar's North Kachin state on October 4, as fresh violence and clashes between ethnic groups continue to mar the ongoing peace process. But hopes for economic development in the region remain high, particularly related to potential foreign investment in the country's growing hydropower infrastructure, as State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi signalled to US investors at an international conference in Washington in September. Environmental and human rights concerns One planned project would directly impact the Salween River, which supports a biodiversity comparable to the Mekong. Advertisement The Salween is Asia's last free-flowing international river, home to 7,000 species of plants, 80 rare or endangered animals and fish in China, as well as about 7 million people who depend on its ecosystem for their livelihoods. Currently, a total of 15 hydropower dams are planned on the mainstream of the Salween, eight within Myanmar. Human rights advocates have expressed concerns about the Salween development projects, which would affect populations in three countries. Known as Nu in China, Salawin in Thailand and Thanlwin in Myanmar, the river originates on the Tibetan plateau, flows through China's Yunnan Province, and passes through Myanmar, in places forming the border with Thailand, before emptying into the Andaman Sea. Globalisation and hydropower Geography may have shaped the river's historic trajectory, but today it is globalisation, as manifested in national strategies to promote economic growth and regional integration, that is shaping the Salween basin's development. Advertisement While large-scale infrastructure development is presented as a means for economic development and reducing poverty in developing countries, such projects pose considerable risks for local communities living along the river - and for the environment at large. If built, the Salween dams will not only alter the river's ecosystems and their monsoonal water-level fluctuations, but also transform a wide range of agricultural landscapes that local communities depend on for their livelihoods. In recent years, amid concerns over hydro-electric projects, international financial entities, such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), have started to focus on promoting the idea of sustainable hydropower. In Myanmar, this means a "basin-wide perspective" to effectively govern the hydropower planning in the country. Similarly, the Mekong River Commission, Asian Development Bank, and World Wildlife Fund have joined efforts to develop a Rapid Basin-Wide Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Tool as a way of reducing environmental impacts from hydropower. While in principle these efforts are commendable, it remains to be seen whether they will lead to meaningful environmental or human rights safeguards in the context of the Salween River. Indeed, sustainable and just development cannot be achieved if the views and needs of the poor and marginalised are not taken into account in natural resources management. Peace, conflict, and consultation on the Salween In the Karen state of Myanmar, for example, large-scale infrastructure projects have historically been linked to conflict. Recently, thousands of local villagers were forced to flee their homes due to the violent armed conflict occurring in the vicinity of the planned Hatgyi dam on the Salween. Advertisement With the long history of violent conflicts involving the Myanmar military and ethnic armed groups in various states, hydropower development on the Salween River is, in fact, closely linked to the wider discussion of Myanmar's ongoing peace process. The outcome of these infrastructure projects could have direct implications for the significance of the peace process. In its attempt to promote sustainable hydropower, the IFC is seeking to establish the sector's first Hydropower Developers' Working Group as a platform for hydropower companies to improve sustainability and business operations, and has arranged a series of dialogues between government agencies, civil society groups and NGOs about hydropower planning in the country. While these efforts could in theory open up room for debate, it is unclear whether they will act as a catalyst for change to empower local communities towards more informed, inclusive, and accountable water governance. Historically, hydropower decision making tends to occurs without local community involvement. Power asymmetries complicate the consultative process. Providing clear answers to communities living along the river on whether the generated electricity will be used for domestic consumption (for example, bringing electricity to rural areas) or mainly for export to neighbouring countries would be a first step toward a more effective, transparent discussion. Advertisement A promising advance in Myanmar was the establishment of Salween Peace Parks, which combine biodiversity protection, forest management and sustainable livelihoods. The mechanism is based on existing land-tenure management in Mudraw (Papun) District in Karen State, and has brought to light the crucial role that local communities, environmental NGOs, and the de facto ethnic government play in natural resource governance. Nir Elias/Reuters Don't forget about China Last but not least, hydropower development planning on the river in Myanmar cannot be analysed in isolation from what is happening in China. There, environmental NGOs have played an important role in achieving more comprehensive environmental assessments of proposed hydropower projects. In 2004, for example, critics were able to halt a plan for hydro-electric dams at the Nu River that, according to the initial asessments, would have forced the relocation of 50,000 people. When the plan was revived in 2013 after citizen input, the number of hydropower projects was reduced from 13 to five. Recently, economics has also been factored into a reassessment of hydroelectric development: China's economic slowdown has resulted in an oversupply of electricity generated from hydropower plants, making hydropower development not as attractive as it was before. Advertisement Whether you call it the Nu, the Thanlwin, or the Salween, this long, international river brings to light the complexity of hydropower projects in the developing world. It highlights once again that dam development should only take place if it serves a greater purpose for the local population (food security, for instance, ot flood prevention), including potentially affected communities, beyond its current positioning as way to promote economic growth. This is part of our ongoing series about water conflicts. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump appears at a campaign rally in Sioux City, Iowa, U.S. November 6, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri Thank You, Donald Trump Cross-posted with TomDispatch.com Know thyself. It was what came to mind in the wake of Donald Trumps victory and my own puzzling reaction to it. And while that familiar phrase just popped into my head, I had no idea it was so ancient, or Greek, or for that matter a Delphic maxim inscribed in the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo according to the Greek writer Pausanias (whom I'd never heard of until I read his name in Wikipedia). Think of that as my own triple helix of ignorance extending back to... well, my birth in a very different America 72 years ago. Anyway, the simple point is that I didnt know myself half as well as I imagined. And I can thank Donald Trump for reminding me of that essential truth. Of course, we can never know whats really going on inside the heads of all those other people out there on this curious planet of ours, but ourselves as strangers? I guess if I were inscribing something in the forecourt of my own Delphic temple right now, it might be: Who knows me? (Not me.) Advertisement Consider this my little introduction to a mystery I stumbled upon in the early morning hours of our recent election night that hasn't left my mind since. I simply couldnt accept that Donald Trump had won. Not him. Not in this country. Not possible. Not in a million years. Mind you, during the campaign I had written about Trump repeatedly, always leaving open the possibility that, in the disturbed (and disturbing) America of 2016, he could indeed beat Hillary Clinton. That was a conclusion I lost when, in the final few weeks of the campaign, like so many others, I got hooked on the polls and the pundits who went with them. (Doh!) In the wake of the election, however, it wasnt shock based on pollsters errors that got to me. It was something else that only slowly dawned on me. Somewhere deep inside, I simply didnt believe that, of all countries on this planet, the United States could elect a narcissistic, celeb billionaire who was also, in the style of Italys Silvio Berlusconi, a right-wing populist and incipient autocrat. Plenty of irony lurked in that conviction, which outlasted the election and so reality itself. In these years, Ive written critically of the way just about every American politician but Donald Trump has felt obligated to insist that this is an exceptional or indispensable nation, the greatest country on the planet, not to speak of in history. (And throw in as well the claim of recent presidents and so many others that the U.S. military represents the greatest fighting force in that history.) President Obama, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, John McCain -- it didnt matter. Every one of them was a dutiful or enthusiastic American exceptionalist. As for Trumps opponent, Hillary Clinton, she hit the trifecta plus one in a speech she gave to the American Legions national convention during the campaign. In it, she referred to the United States as the greatest country on Earth, an exceptional nation, and the indispensable nation that, of course, possessed the greatest military ever. (My friends, we are so lucky to be Americans. It is an extraordinary blessing.) Only Trump, with his "make America great again," slogan seemed to admit to something else, something like American decline. Advertisement Post-election, here was the shock for me: it turned out that I, too, was an American exceptionalist. I deeply believed that our country was simply too special for The Donald, and so his victory sent me on an unexpected journey back into the world of my childhood and youth, back into the 1950s and early 1960s when (despite the Soviet Union) the U.S. really did stand alone on the planet in so many ways. Of course, in those years, no one had to say such things. All those greatests, exceptionals, and indispensables were then dispensable and the recent political tic of insisting on them so publicly undoubtedly reflects a defensiveness thats a sign of something slipping. Obviously, in those bedrock years of American power and strength and wealth and drive and dynamism (and McCarthyism, and segregation, and racism, and smog, and...), the very years that Donald Trump now yearns to bring back, I took in that feeling of American specialness in ways too deep to grasp. Which was why, decades later, when I least expected it, I couldnt shake the feeling that it couldnt happen here. In actuality, the rise to power of Trumpian figures -- Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, Viktor Orban in Hungary, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey, Vladimir Putin in Russia -- has been a dime-a-dozen event elsewhere and now looks to be a global trend. Its just that I associated such rises with unexceptional, largely tinpot countries or ones truly down on their luck. So its taken me a few hard weeks to come to grips with my own exceptionalist soul and face just how Donald Trump could -- indeed did -- happen here. It Can Happen Here So how did it happen here? Lets face it: Donald Trump was no freak of nature. He only arrived on the scene and took the Electoral College (if not the popular vote) because our American world had been prepared for him in so many ways. As I see it, at least five major shifts in American life and politics helped lay the groundwork for the rise of Trumpism: Advertisement * The Coming of a 1% Economy and the 1% Politics That Goes With It: A singular reality of this century has been the way inequality became embedded in American life, and how so much money was swept ever upwards into the coffers of 1% profiteers. Meanwhile, a yawning gap grew between the basic salaries of CEOs and those of ordinary workers. In these years, as Im hardly the first to point out, the country entered a new gilded age. In other words, it was already a Mar-a-Lago moment before The Donald threw his hair into the ring. Without the arrival of casino capitalism on a massive scale (at which The Donald himself proved something of a bust), Trumpism would have been inconceivable. And if, in its Citizens United decision of 2010, the Supreme Court hadnt thrown open the political doors quite so welcomingly to that 1% crew, how likely was it that a billionaire celebrity would have run for president or become a favorite among the white working class? Looked at a certain way, Donald Trump deserves credit for stamping the true face of twenty-first-century American plutocracy on Washington by selecting mainly billionaires and multimillionaires to head the various departments and agencies of his future government. After all, doesnt it seem reasonable that a 1% economy, a 1% society, and a 1% politics should produce a 1% government? Think of what Trump has so visibly done as American democracys version of truth in advertising. And of course, if billionaires hadnt multiplied like rabbits in this era, he wouldnt have had the necessary pool of plutocrats to choose from. Something similar might be said of his choice of so many retired generals and other figures with significant military backgrounds (ranging from West Point graduates to a former Navy SEAL) for key civilian positions in his government. Think of that, too, as a truth-in-advertising moment leading directly to the second shift in American society. * The Coming of Permanent War and an Ever More Militarized State and Society: Can there be any question that, in the 15-plus years since 9/11, what was originally called the "Global War on Terror" has become a permanent war across the Greater Middle East and Africa (with collateral damage from Europe to the Philippines)? In those years, staggering sums of money -- beyond what any other country or even collection of countries could imagine spending -- has poured into the U.S. military and the arms industry that undergirds it and monopolizes the global trade in weaponry. In the process, Washington became a war capital and the president, as Michelle Obama indicated recently when talking about Trumps victory with Oprah Winfrey, became, above all, the commander in chief. (It is important for the health of this nation, she told Winfrey, that we support the commander in chief.) The presidents role in wartime had, of course, always been as commander in chief, but now thats the position many of us vote for (and even newspapers endorse), and since war is so permanently embedded in the American way of life, Donald Trump is guaranteed to remain that for his full term. Advertisement And the role has expanded strikingly in these years, as the White House gained the power to make war in just about any fashion it chose without significant reference to Congress. The president now has his own air force of drone assassins to dispatch more or less anywhere on the planet to take out more or less anyone. At the same time, cocooned inside the U.S. military, an elite, secretive second military, the Special Operations forces, has been expanding its personnel, budget, and operations endlessly and its most secretive element, the Joint Special Operations Command, might even be thought of as the presidents private army. Meanwhile, the weaponry and advanced technology with which this country has been fighting its never-ending (and remarkably unsuccessful) conflicts abroad -- from Predator drones to the Stingray that mimics a cell phone tower and so gets nearby phones to connect to it -- began migrating home, as Americas borders and police forces were militarized. The police have been supplied with weaponry and other equipment directly off the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, while veterans from those wars have joined the growing set of SWAT teams, the domestic version of special-ops teams, that are now a must-have for police departments nationwide. Its no coincidence that Trump and his generals are eager to pump up a supposedly depleted U.S. military with yet more funds or, given the history of these years, that he appointed so many retired generals from our losing wars to key civilian positions atop that military and the national security state. As with his billionaires, in a decisive fashion, Trump is stamping the real face of twenty-first-century America on Washington. * The Rise of the National Security State: In these years, a similar process has been underway in relation to the national security state. Vast sums of money have flowed into the countrys 17 intelligence outfits (and their secret black budgets), into the Department of Homeland Security, and the like. (Before 9/11, Americans might have associated that word homeland with Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union, but never with this country.) In these years, new agencies were launched and elaborate headquarters and other complexes built for parts of that state within a state to the tune of billions of dollars. At the same time, it was privatized, its doors thrown open to the contract employees of a parade of warrior corporations. And, of course, the National Security Agency created a global surveillance apparatus so all-encompassing that it left the fantasies of the totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century in the dust. Advertisement As the national security state rose in Washington amid an enveloping shroud of secrecy (and the fierce hounding or prosecution of any whistleblower), it became the de facto fourth branch of government. Under the circumstances, dont think of it as a happenstance that the 2016 election might have been settled 11 days early thanks to FBI Director James Comeys intervention in the race, which represented a historical first for the national security state. Argue as you will over how crucial Comeys interference was to the final vote tallies, it certainly caught the mood of the new era that had been birthed in Washington long before Donald Trumps victory. Nor should you consider it a happenstance that possibly the closest military figure to the new commander in chief is his national security adviser, retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, who ran the Defense Intelligence Agency until forced out by the Obama administration. No matter the arguments Trump may have with the CIA or other agencies, they will be crucial to his rule (once brought to heel by his appointees). Those billionaires, generals, and national security chieftains had already been deeply embedded in our American world before Trump made his run. They will now be part and parcel of his world going forward. The fourth shift in the landscape is ongoing, not yet fully institutionalized, and harder to pin down. * The Coming of the One-Party State: Thanks to the political developments of these years, and a man with obvious autocratic tendencies entering the Oval Office, its possible to begin to imagine an American version of a one-party state emerging from the shell of our former democratic system. After all, the Republicans already control the House of Representatives (in more or less perpetuity, thanks to gerrymandering), the Senate, the White House, and assumedly in the years to come the Supreme Court. They also control a record 33 out of 50 governorships, have tied a record by taking 68 out of the 98 state legislative chambers, and have broken another by gaining control of 33 out of 50 full legislatures. In addition, as the North Carolina legislature has recently shown, the urge among state Republicans to give themselves new, extra-democratic, extra-legal powers (as well as a longer term Republican drive to restrict the ballot in various ways, claiming nonexistent voter fraud) should be considered a sign of the direction in which we could be headed in a future embattled Trumpist country. Advertisement In addition, for years the Democratic Party saw its various traditional bases of support weaken, wither, or in the recent election simply opt for a candidate competing for the partys nomination who wasnt even a Democrat. Until the recent election loss, however, it was at least a large, functioning political bureaucracy. Today, no one knows quite what it is. Its clear, however, that one of Americas two dominant political parties is in a state of disarray and remarkable weakness. Meanwhile, the other, the Republican Party, assumedly the future base for that Trumpian one-party state, is in its own disheveled condition, a party of apparatchiks and ideologues in Washington and embattled factions in the provinces. In many ways, the incipient collapse of the two-party system in a flood of 1% money cleared the path for Trumps victory. Unlike the previous three shifts in American life, however, this one is hardly in place yet. Instead, the sense of party chaos and weakness so crucial to the rise of Donald Trump still holds, and the same sense of chaos might be said to apply to the fifth shift I want to mention. * The Coming of the New Media Moment: Among the things that prepared the way for Trump, who could leave out the crumbling of the classic newspaper/TV world of news? In these years, it lost much of its traditional advertising base, was bypassed by social media, and the TV part of it found itself in an endless hunt for eyeballs to glue, normally via 24/7 news events, eternally blown out of proportion but easy to cover in a nonstop way by shrinking news staffs. As an alternative, there was the search for anything or anyone (preferably of the celebrity variety) that the public couldnt help staring at, including a celebrity-turned-politician-turned-provocateur with the worlds canniest sense of what the media so desperately needed: him. It may have seemed that Trump inaugurated our new media moment by becoming the first meister-elect of tweet and the shout-out master of that universe, but in reality he merely grasped the nature of our new, chaotic media moment and ran with it. Unexceptional Billionaires and Dispensable Generals Lets add a final point to the other five: Donald Trump will inherit a country that has been hollowed out by the new realities that made him a success and allowed him to sweep to what, to many experts, looked like an improbable victory. He will inherit a country that is ever less special, a nation that, as Trump himself has pointed out, has an increasingly third-worldish transportation system (not a single mile of high-speed rail and airports that have seen better days), an infrastructure that has been drastically debased, and an everyday economy that offers lesser jobs to ever more of his countrymen. It will be an America whose destructive power only grows but whose ability to translate that into anything approaching victory eternally recedes. With its unexceptional billionaires, its dispensable generals, its less than great national security officials, its dreary politicians, and its media moguls in search of the passing buck, its likely to be a combustible country in ways that will seem increasingly familiar to so many elsewhere on this planet, and increasingly strange to the young Tom Engelhardt who still lives inside me. Its this America that will tumble into the debatably small but none-too-gentle hands of Donald Trump on January 20th. Festivals are a great way to experience a destination in a unique and different way. And with several hundred festivals all over the world every month - there are plenty to chose from! This post pulls together a collection of the Best Festivals Around The World in 2017 and showcases 3 festivals for each month of the year. Whether you're looking for the ultimate cultural experience, the glamour of a film festival or the sheer joy of a music festival - there is something here for everyone. Warning. This post will fuel your wanderlust - and make your Festival Bucket list super super long! With hundreds of festivals all over the world throughout the year, trying to pick just one can be overwhelming. Use this post as your ultimate guide to the best festivals in the world for 2017 - complete with recommendations from travelers who have experienced and loved each festival. Scroll through each month to see if there are any that fit with your plans! JANUARY FESTIVALS & CULTURAL EVENTS WAKAKUSA YAMAYAKI Where: Nara, Japan When: 28 January 2017 (or 29 January 2017 in case of bad weather) (c) Image: Wikimedia Commons The name of the festival literally translates as 'The Mountain Roast' and is where on the 4th Saturday in January each year, the dead grass on the hillside of Mount Wakakusayama is set ablaze - but until after one epic fireworks display. There are two theories of the evolution of the festival. The first claims that the burning of the mountainside began during boundary conflicts between Nara's great temples (Todai-ji and Kofuku-ji), while another claims the fires were used to drive away wild boars. Once set ablaze the mountain can burn for up to an hour and because of the mountains elevation it can be seen from anywhere in the city. Advertisement SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL Where: Park City, Utah - USA When: 19 January - 29 January 2017 (c) Image: thefilmstage.com Sundance is North America's most famous independent film festival, appealing to the non-conformist and rebellious film directors who do not want to play by Hollywood's rules. Located in a relatively small town, first time attendees may be surprised by the lack of glamour of where the films are shown, but there is a certain buzz about sitting in an old theater watching a mold-bursting indie film sat besides an actor about to hit super-stardom. If you love edgy, powerful films, Sundance may be just what you are looking for. Other awesome festivals in January: Harbin Ice & Snow Festival, China FEBRUARY FESTIVALS & CULTURAL EVENTS CARNIVALE DI VENEZIA Where: Venice - Italy When: 11 - 28 February 2017 Recommended by: Margherita @ The Crowded Planet I've been travelling around Italy chasing festivals for a couple of years, and Venice Carnival is one of my all time favourites. During the day, it's fun to wander around the ancient streets of the city surrounded by people in 18th century costumes - you'll feel as if you've jumped straight into Eyes Wide Shut. Just make sure you try and get away from the busy streets around San Marco Square - the Cannaregio and Dorsoduro areas offer great choices to party with locals, especially at night when most day trippers leave. MARDI GRAS Where: New Orleans, Louisiana - USA When: 28 February 2017 (Parades & celebrations run through 24 -28 February) Mardi Gras is synonymous with hedonism and debauchery, and with a motto of Laissez les bons temps rouler (Let the good times roll), it's no surprise that this is probably the wildest party in the United States. It may be a surprise to some, however, that Mardi Gras is the official final celebration before the period of Lent, the Catholic period of introspection and sacrifice. But whatever your religion - everyone is welcome! So grab your purple, green and gold (the festivals official colors representing justice, faith and power) and take to the streets for one of the biggest parties of your life. Advertisement SKY LANTERN FESTIVAL Where: Pingxi, Taiwan - Republic of China When: 10 February 2017 According to the elders of Pingxi, the Sky Lantern Festival originated in the Xing Dynasty, more than two thousand years ago. At that time, bands of outlaws frequently raided the lowland villages, forcing residents to seek refuge in the mountains. Village watchmen used "fire balloons" as signals to inform the residents that their houses were safe once again and when those hiding in the hills saw the celestial flares, they knew it was time to go home. Today these lanterns have two main purposes. One: they display scribbled messages of the hopes and dreams of the purchaser who then release them into the night sky by the power of fire; and Two: they represent the end of the Chinese New Year period and their release symbolizes the shedding of outdated ways and embracing the future. The Discovery Channels 'Fantastic Festivals of the World' show has highlighted the Lantern Festival as one of the best festivals in the world and something everyone should try and experience once in their lifetime. RIO CARNIVAL Where: Rio De Janeiro - Brazil When: 24 - 28 February 2017 The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is a festival held before Lent every year and considered the biggest carnival in the world with two million people per day on the streets. The typical Rio carnival parade is filled with revelers, floats, and adornments from numerous samba schools which are located in Rio. Dressed in beautiful costumes these amazing dancers parade through the Sambadrome; official balls & parties are held at Copacabana Palace. And the streets come alive with the mini festivals instigated by locals where formality and structure are left far behind as music and dancing become the order of the day. MARCH FESTIVALS & CULTURAL EVENTS HOLI Where: Mumbai, Dehli - India When: 13 March 2017 Recommended by Lina & David @ Divergent Travelers The annual Holi Festival celebration in India is known for its vibrant display of color and beautiful meaning of unity. Each year the Indian people come together to throw colors and celebrate how the color unifies them and washes away their differences for the duration of the day. Every person in India celebrates the holiday and it is truly a spectacle to behold for a foreign visitor. The festival starts out quite mild in the morning and grows into a crazy and colorful, almost out of control, party by the afternoon. It is mostly celebrated on the streets with loud music before people retreat to private house parties to eat and continue the celebration. Advertisement ST PATRICK'S DAY Where: Dublin - Ireland & New York - USA When: 17 March 2017 St Pats NYC recommended by Barbara @ Jet Settera St Patrick's day has taken place in New York City on March 17th since 1762. On this day, the whole city turns green, lots of people paint a green shamrock on their faces and even the Empire State Building is lit up in green. The Irish pubs are packed with Irish immigrants and many other nationalities who celebrate this fun holiday. Many Irish bake the traditional soda bread on this day. It is a bread made of raisins, baking soda, baking powder, flour, sugar, salt and margarine. It is one of the most fun days of the year in NYC every year, when the whole city turns into a big green party and many people get drunk. SXSW Where: Austin, Texas - USA When: 10 - 19 March 2017 Recommended by Gemma & Craig @ Two Scots Abroad Like free stuff? Yeah me too! Free food, drink (the hard stuff) and music sound good? Welcome to South By Southwest in Austin, Texas. SXSW is technically a festival for media types who work in the music, film and digital industries. March is chance for them to watch presentations, network and then party but there are also 'free' shows which Craig and I have attended for the past two years. You do have to pay but not by handing over cash, you have to give up some time by queueing but it is worth it to see popular acts like Chvrches and discover new music such as Daniel Wilson. Fancy it? Check out our guide on how to do SXSW for free. APRIL FESTIVALS & CULTURAL EVENTS KINGS DAY Where: Amsterdam - Netherlands When: 27 April 2017 Recommended by: Jessica @ A Wanderlust For Life Advertisement Every year on April 27 Amsterdam turns a very bright shade of orange for King's Day, which is the King's birthday (Willem-Alexander of the House of Orange). It's a crazy fun celebration when the center of the city is basically car, tram, and bike-free simply because there are too many people on foot. It has a contagious festival-like atmosphere with street vendors, a market day when anyone can sell pretty much anything (except alcohol), and an insane boat parade party on the canals that will have you dancing unconsciously. It's a festival that can put a smile on everyone's face! Tips: Bring a jacket, wear orange, bring cash. Want to know more? Read How to Have the Best King's Day Ever in Amsterdam SNOWBOMBING Where: Mayrhofen - Austria When: 3 - 8 April 2017 Snowbombing is the biggest party on the snow held in Mayrhofen, Austria in April every year. Primarily a festival about snow sports, it has grown to become the biggest music festival in the mountains over the past few years. Billed as a Ride N Seek event (a snowboard competition like no other) you'll see the pros of the industry throwing some serious tricks in the park by day and watch an eclectic mix of music acts each night. Add in a fancy dress day where the mountain is filled with colourful skiwear and fake mustaches - it's one of the best festivals on snow! SONGKRAN Where: Chaing Mai & Bangkok - Thailand When: 13 - 15 April 2017 Recommended by: Claire @ The Curious Explorers In Thailand the celebration of New Year is referred to as Songkran. The exact date varies every year depending on the lunar cycle but usually happens sometime in April. The traditional celebration of Songkran is to return to your families and pay respect to your elders by spraying a little scented water on their hands. However, Songkran has changed over the years and has become a public 3 day water fight. It is near impossible to walk down the street without being sprayed by water. Shop owners will sit outside their shops with giant containers of ice water ready to throw at anyone walking by, while others will roam the streets, sometimes in tuk tuks! Tourists from all over the world will travel to Thailand to take part in these celebrations. Advertisement Other awesome festivals in April: Coachella, California - USA MAY FESTIVALS & CULTURAL EVENTS STARS OF THE WHITE NIGHTS Where: St Petersburg - Russia When: May 2017 TBC White Nights isn't really one festival but a collection of events around the longest days of the year, from mid-May to mid-July. This festival is an extravaganza of the arts -- music, opera, ballet, film and outdoor celebrations including the Scarlet Sails, a fleet of red-sailed, tall ships with a gunpowder-packed fireworks show, Russian style. Long walks along the River Neva in almost constant daylight reveal roving gypsy bands, jugglers, sword swallowers, fire eaters, even stoic Russian mimes who might surprise you with their humor. CANNES FILM FESTIVAL Where: Cannes - France When: 13 - 24 May 2017 One of the leading film festivals around the world, it was originally a touristic social event rather than a competition. However over the years the number and quality of films has grown to make it one of the most prestigious events in the film industry calendar. It's a ritzy, glamorous affair, filled with fashion, and is somewhere you could arrive a nobody and leave a somebody. And even if you're not on the rise to critical acclaim, you can have a wonderful time celeb-spotting the ones who are! JUNE FESTIVALS & CULTURAL EVENTS GLASTONBURY Where: Pilton, Somerset - UK When: 21 - 25 June 2017 Recommended by Julianna @ The Discoveries Of Even though it only exists for a week every year, Glastonbury is one of my favourite places on earth. 150,000 people come together to listen to great music, dress up in silly outfits and have a wonderful time on a farm in Somerset. Yes, it can be muddy and rainy and wet but it's a festival like no other. Whichever way your musical tastes lean, there will be something to suit, plus there's theatre, comedy, parties and film showings when you (heavens forbid) decide you've had enough of the music. I've been going for seven years and love it and would very much recommend that you give it a try - just don't forget to bring your wellies. Advertisement SAN VINO WINE FIGHT Where: Haro - Spain When: 28 - 30 June 2017 Recommended By John @ Roaming Around The World Spain's annual Batalla de Vino, or Wine Battle, must be one of Europe's most unique and underrated annual festivals. Each year in the small village of Haro, thousands of revelers emerge to a hill just after sunrise to wage war on each other using red wine as their weapon! Water guns, insect sprayers, and buckets are all filled with the deep red liquid that leaves attendees stained from head to toe. This wild event takes place on the morning of June 29th each year. But the night before is when the party really gets started. The festivities draw a mostly local crowd, making it a fun cultural experience as you stay up all night drinking and dancing in the streets until the wine fight begins in the early morning hours. Want to Know More? Read Haro Wine Battalla del Vino DOWNLOAD Where: Donington Park, Leicestershire - UK When: 9 - 11 June 2017 Recommended by Claire @ CuriousClaire Download is a 3 day music festival in England that happens in Donington Park. It started in 2003 and as taken place every year since then. It is so popular that a Paris version launched in 2016. Music goers can either buy individual day tickets or a 3 day pass to the whole event. The 3 day pass also comes with the option of camping. Advertisement I'm an English girl who loves her music so I've been to a few festivals over the years but Download is the only music festival I keep returning to. I love the atmosphere here and the band selection is always spot on. They have a wide variety of acts from unknown bands waiting to get discovered, to popular bands and even rock legends. Last year I was very happy to see KISS play live! JULY FESTIVALS & CULTURAL EVENTS TOMORROWLAND Where: Boom - Belgium When: 21 - 30 July 2017 Recommended by Jo @ Wander With Jo I have always wanted to visit Tomorrowland and its high on my bucket list. I recommend making it for this ultimate EDM festival held every year in Brelgium as it is definitely one of the the best for music lovers. Started in 2004 by a few renowned DJ's, the festival these days attracts thousands if not millions of EDM lovers from across the globe. Held on a lovely summery weekend this place turns into pure megalomania. The extravagance of this festival with its psychedelic motifs and stages gets everyone going right from the start and it never stops. DJs like - Tiesto, David Guetta, Hard well, Afrojack are just some of the big names who perform every year to the sheer delight of the crowds in attendance. An open field with tents and camps all around for people to rest and sleep while enjoying the music. Meeting new people around the world who enjoy the same kind of music just pulsates the nerves and induces that feeling of belonging and that's enough to get anyone hooked to this festival. COMIC CON INTERNATIONAL Where: San Diego, California - USA When: 20 - 23 July 2017 Recommended by Joe @ Best of World Travel Advertisement With the rise in popularity of animated films, western cartoons and Anime as well as video games and other fantasy novels, the franchise of Comicon has been growing over the years since the 70's. Basically, this festival features a four-day event that is held at San Diego Convention Center in California. A wide variety of different genre in the fantasy world are all over the place during the whole event. Some famous movie and TV personalities can also be seen in this big event. In 2015, there were a lot of personalities that showed up in the event such as the all beautiful Gal Gadot (Wonderwoman), Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Jennifer Lawrence ("The Mockingjay"/ Mystique), and even the all popular and talkative Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds. The cool part here is not just meeting your idols but also by partaking in the hype of the fantasy world by cosplaying your favorite characters, talking with strangers and making friends with the same enthusiasm with you. It's a four-day event where you can act like a child and have fun like you don't care about the whole world. JUST FOR LAUGHS Where: Montreal - Canada When: 14 - 30 July 2017 For comedy lovers there is no other festival in the world better than Montreal's Just for Laughs. The event takes place at the end of July and if you visit you get to split your sides laughing, see some celebrity comics and tour one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Comics who have played Just for Laughs include: Jerry Seinfeld, John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson and Canadian homeboy favourite Russell Peters. The Festival concentrates most of its show in the Latin Quarter. During the day street performers delight the crowds and at night the city comes alive with comedy happenings scattered throughout the City. Advertisement AUGUST FESTIVALS & CULTURAL EVENTS EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL Where: Edinburgh - Scotland When: 4 - 28 August 2017 Recommended by Sam @ Alternative Travelers Theater, music, film, comedy, dance, musicals, spoken word, street performances, and exhibitions - Edinburgh Festival Fringe has it all. Known as the world's largest arts festival, each August the Fringe takes over Scotland's capital, drawing artists, performers, and attendees from around the world. Fringe developed 70 years ago (as an alternative to the selective Edinburgh International Festival) and is an open-access festival, meaning that anyone can participate or perform. You can either buy tickets in advance or just walk down the bustling Royal Mile and let the many promoters guide you to a cheap or free show. The festive atmosphere of the entire city is truly contagious and something to experience at least once! LA TOMATINA Where: Bunol, Valencia - Spain When: 30 August 2017 Recommended by Reuben @ Gamin Traveler La Tomatina Festival takes place in a Spanish town in Valencia (Bunol). I went there in 2008 and it was a crazy fun festival. At around 10 am, the tomato war is starting. A few small trucks go inside the town, bringing with them kilos and kilos of tomatoes. They let the tomatoes drop to the ground, and that signals the beginning of the party. If youve ever wondered if this is painful, then you shouldnt worry. Most of time, the tomatoes you will get are the mashed or crushed tomatoes that you can use to throw to your friends and even to strangers also partaking in the party. Youll definitely get dirty. There will always be nice locals who will take out their hose and will splash the people with water so they can get cleaned. Bringing goggles are highly recommended. The event is definitely so much fun! NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL Where: Notting Hill, London - UK When: 30 August 2017 Recommended by Julianna @ The Discoveries Of Notting Hill Carnival is one of the highlight's of London's summer calendar. Every August bank holiday weekend, the normally sedate Notting Hill explodes into a riot of steel drums, exuberantly decorated floats and those dancers. Those taking part in the carnival have put in months and months of preparation - but the joy for spectators is turning up, and embracing whatever comes your way. Everyone dances, even people who never dance - the music is just too infectious not to. You might not quite reach the standard of the carnivalistas on the float (I certainly don't anyway) but dance your feet off anyway. You'll have to wait another 364 days for the opportunity to come round again. SEPTEMBER FESTIVALS & CULTURAL EVENTS 2017 OKTOBERFEST Where: Munich - Germany When: 16 September - 3 October 2017 Recommended by Carole @ Berkeley & Beyond Every beer lover simply must attend the Oktoberfest once in their life! I recently checked it off my bucket list with great glee. I was sure there was no way I was going to drink TWO of those huge steins you see in pictures, but two were included with admission so two it was. No problem! Tent hopping is part of the fun and that means drinking even MORE beer. No problem! But thankfully there is a cafe tent where you can sober up with coffee and Black Forest cake, and then either dive in again or go back to your room in Munich to recover. Advertisement HAJJ Where: Mecca - Saudi Arabia When: 30 August - 4 September 2017 Hajj refers to a Muslim's pilgrimage to Mecca and is one of the five pillars of Islam. At least once in his or her lifetime, each Muslim is expected to undertake this pilgrimage the sacred city of Islam. This holy journey is called the hajj in Arabic. While a visit to Mecca is beneficial any time of the year, it must take place during the month of Dhu al-Hijja (the last month of the Islamic year) to fulfill the requirements of the hajj. As with the sawm (fasting), exceptions are made for those who are physically or financially unable to fulfill this obligation, and one is actually commanded not to make the hajj if to do so would cause hardship for his or her family. However, those unable to go themselves may fulfill their obligation by sending someone in their stead. Other Awesome Festivals in September: Burning Man OCTOBER FESTIVALS & CULTURAL EVENTS 2017 AUSTIN CITY LIMITS Where: Austin, Texas - USA When: 6 - 8 October & 13 - 15 October 2017 Recommended by Tatum @ Bon Voyage Bitches Austin City Limits can be described in one word, DYNAMIC. This amazing city boasts culture from all walks of life, contrary to most people's beliefs that Austin, Texas is home to guys dressed in cowboy boots and hats riding horses. ACL Festival is no different, the social scene is mixed with all genres of music and art installations in a live music setting. One minute you can be head bobbing to 21 Pilots, lip syncing to Drake, being serenaded by the Weeknd, to watching a theatrical performance by Florence and the Machine. Did I mention some big name Electronic Music Dj's make appearances here too? If diversity and overall different experience in an awesome town is what you look for in a festival, Austin City Limits is the place to be! EPCOT FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL Where: Orlando, Florida - USA When: 31 August - 13 November 2017 (that's 75 days!!) Recommended by Melly @ A Baker Abroad Advertisement As a Pastry Chef, self proclaimed 'foodie,' and lover of all things Disney there is nothing I look forward to more than The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival. Although the dates vary slightly each year the festival typically runs from September to mid-November, which prompts my singing of 'It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year' a little earlier than most because, well, it is the most wonderful time of the year at Disney! On top of the 11 countries permanently represented in EPCOT's World Showcase, the festival highlights food and beverage offerings from 19 other nations at themed stalls. In addition, they offer seminars and demonstrations from famous chefs, wine tastings, and even film ABC's The CHEW on site. My tips? Go during lunch on weekdays to avoid massive crowds and don't miss the incredible chocolate centrepieces in the Festival Centre. DIWALI Where: Mumbai - India When: 19 - 23 October 2017 Recommended by Claudia @ My Adventures Across the World I happened to visit India during the Diwali celebrations. Known as the "Festival of Lights", the Diwali is supposed to last for about five days and consists in exchanging gifts, burning butter and oil lanterns, and in fireworks. In fact, it actually lasts more than the official five days, and it is incredibly noisy, with fireworks exploding literally anywhere - so much so that the already dramatic pollution levels of India increase further. Advertisement Most Indians take their holidays during Diwali, or right after. Cities can get incredibly crowded with internal tourists - but the atmosphere is incredible! NOVEMBER FESTIVALS & CULTURAL EVENTS 2017 DIA DE LOS MUERTOS (DAY OF THE DEAD) Where: Mexico City - Mexico When: 31 October - 2 November 2017 Always a festival in Mexico, the opening scene's of the James Bond movie, Spectre depicted a lavish parade that has 'encouraged' the Mexican Government to turn it into a reality. And the first Day of the Dead Festival was held in Mexico City in 2016. The interest in the parade is so vast that Mexico anticipate it becoming as big as Rio's Carnival in the years to come. When not visit in 2017 before it gets too crowded?! LOY KRATHONG & YI PENG Where: Chiang Mai - Thailand When: (TBC) November 2017 Recommended by Nisha @ Lemonicks.com Loi Krathong is one of the most picturesque and most romantic festivals of Thailand, falling on the night of full moon of the 12th lunar month. The moon appears exceptionally bright, beautiful and full. Young couples draped in traditional finery, gather around lakes, rivers and canals to pay respects to the goddess of water by launching of the Krathong into the water. Krathong is a lotus shaped container made of banana leaves, containing a candle, incense sticks, flower and coins. People also make their way to these water bodies where they can float Krathongs and make their wishes. It is said that people congregate for floating away their sins and miseries and hope for a better future for their families. Click to Read More. Advertisement At the same people light lanterns which rise into the night sky (Yi Peng) which makes for one of the most amazing sights you will ever see. DECEMBER FESTIVALS & CULTURAL EVENTS MEVLANA WHIRLING DERVISHES Where: Konya - Turkey When: 7 - 17 December 2017 Men dressed in whites robes and tall hats spinning in circles doesn't sound as exciting as running with the bulls or dancing at Rio's Carnival, but the chance to watch the Whirling Dervishes will change you in a way you'd never expect. Based on the teachings and practices of the 13th-century poet Rumi, this 10-day festival will expose you to the power of devotion and show you that spinning can do more than just make you dizzy. KRAMPUSNACHT Where: Tyrol - Austria When: 5 December 2017 The mythical Krampus is horned half-goat, half-deamon who is meant to whip children into being nice at Christmas - and he's more than a little terrifying to the uninitiated. Bearing horns, long dark hair (fur), and fangs, the anti-St. Nicholas comes with a chain and bells that he lashes about, along with a bundle of birch sticks meant to swat naughty children. He then hauls the bad kids down to the underworld. Or so the story goes. In the Austrian Alps, a parade of Krampus take over the streets, their chains rattling as they walk through the snow covered streets, carrying torches of fire and whipping unsuspecting passersby. Go prepared.. I didn't sleep so well after attending this festival! HOGMANAY Where: Edinburgh - Scotland When: 30 December 2017 - 1 January 2018 Recommended by Inma @ A World To Travel Advertisement Picture the core of the city bustling with people partying, jumping from one stage to the other as 5 bands are usually playing at the same time all over the place, staring at fireworks as midnight approaches, having a blast even when the weather doesn't help and you will start understanding how much fun it is. And then add popular dances, an ice rink, Christmas markets, a ferris wheel, a torchlight procession on the 30th, a proper music festival on the 31st, the nuts Loony Dook race that ends up swimming in the not so warm waters by the Forth bridge on the outskirts of the city as weel as an art explosion taking over 9 bizarre venues called Scot:Lands. I doubt there is another place on earth rocking NYE as much as Edinburgh! And there you have it! The Best Festivals and Cultural Experiences in the World in 2017. Have you added any of these incredible events to your bucket list? Let us know which one's you'll be attending - and give us your reviews when you get back! Song Couple (Photo : YouTube/KBS World TV) During the 2016 KBS Drama Award on Dec. 31, when Song Joong-ki and Song Hye Kyo lost the Best Actor and Best Actress awards, the Soompi blogger found it weird that the two of the most popular South Korean stars of Descendants of the Son did not win acting awards. However, it turned out the big surprise was at the very end when the SongSong couple was given the Grand Excellence (Daesang) award. Finally, the network that aired the 16-episode blockbuster drama recognized that the acting of the two stars were a cut above the rest. Advertisement Second Choices It seems the drama with a record of second choices was destined to be first after all. For instance, Song Joong-ki was not the productions choice for the lead part of Army Captain Yoo Si Jin because he was a bit feminine looking. Song Hye Kyo also recently admitted she had second thoughts about accepting the role of a military doctor. But the biggest loser now is SBS which was initially approached by the producer of Descendants of the Sun, but the broadcast company rejected the idea because it found the theme of a love story between a military officer and surgeon not profitable when it comes to attracting advertisers, Inquisitr reported. Record Breakers The loss of SBS was KBSs gain because the drama broke viewership record not only in South Korea when the finale episode logged a 40 percent viewership in Seoul and attracted a lot of advertisers but also broke viewer records in China with more than 1 billion over iQiyi. Awards from different awards-giving bodies was just icing on the cake. The result is Descendants of the Sun opened a lot of doors for Song Joong-ki in terms of endorsement deals and new projects such as the upcoming movie Battleship Island. It gave Song Hye Kyo also more endorsements and helped in her victory in bagging the Queen of Asia title. Now, both stars are being flooded with congratulatory messages from their fans as they posted photos of their Daesang win on their Instagram accounts instead of the Om telolet om memes that inundated their accounts before Christmas. Kansas men's basketball wins exhibition game against Pittsburg State The Jayhawks may not have started this exhibition game well Thursday, but they were able to recover and come away with a win. Music Industry Legal Actions To Watch In 2017 Here music industry lawyer Erin M. Jacobson looks at what are expected to be some of the top music industry legal cases coming in 2017, what we can expect to see from them, and how their outcomes will affect the music business as a whole. __________________________ Guest post by Erin M. Jacobson of The Music Industry Lawyer This article was previously published on Forbes.com. Following are the top music legal cases to watch in 2017, what to expect, and how they could affect the industry as a whole. Global Music Rights v. The Radio Music Licensing Commission (and The Radio Music Licensing Commission v. Global Music Rights) Background: As explained here, The Radio Music Licensing Commission (RMLC) sued performance rights organization Global Music Rights (GMR) on anti-trust grounds for creating an artificial monopoly over and charging exorbitant licensing fees for works in its repertoire. In a separate and non-retaliatory suit (and explained here), GMR sued the RMLC claiming that the RMLCs committee of radio stations seeks to discourage competition amongst these stations with the common goal of keeping payments to songwriters and music publishers artificially low and using its collective power to do so. What you might expect: The parties will probably settle, as the implementation of judicial rate supervision would significantly curb GMRs objectives in negotiating higher rates for its writers. If GMR had to submit to judicial rate setting proceedings, it is probable Irving Azoff would find a way around the regulations to command higher compensation for GMR writers. How it could affect the industry: If radio does not want to pay GMRs rates, then radio stations can refuse to play works in the GMR repertoire. As a result, these artists would lose the promotion and performance income provided by radio airplay. It could also affect writers belonging to other performance rights organizations that have co-written songs with GMR writers or covered songs by GMR writers. The band Anthrax has already issued an open letter to Irving Azoff seeking to have its name disassociated with GMR, as the band is not a GMR client but is listed in the GMR repertoire because Anthrax covered Phantom Lord by Metallica (a GMR client) early in Anthraxs career. Anthrax is afraid this association could stop radio stations from playing all Anthrax songs. However, the radio stations themselves would also suffer because it would harm stations popularity with listeners if stations cannot play the music their listeners want to hear, resulting in a significant loss of advertising revenue. The Turtles v. SiriusXM Background: Flo & Eddie of The Turtles sued SiriusXM for playing their sound recordings without paying royalties. In the United States, all sound recordings made after February 15, 1972 are protected by federal copyright law. Prior to that date, sound recordings only had protection under state laws. In 1995, sound recordings were granted a digital performance right to earn royalties when played on digital media like satellite radio or streamed online. This case raised the question as to whether all sound recordings were entitled to the performance right or only those recorded post-1972. Flo & Eddie have been successful in several states to champion the right to royalties for owners of older recordings, but a New York appeals court just ruled against themsaying that the pre-1972 recordings are only entitled to protection provided by state laws. What you might expect: The outcome could go either way here, but its definitely one to watch. A settlement might also be possible for those involved in the lawsuit, however, a settlement would not dictate the future of royalties for other pre-1972 recordings not included in this class action suit. How it could affect the industry: If it is found that pre-1972 sound recordings are entitled to a digital performance royalty, then owners of these recordings and the artists who recorded them would be entitled to an income stream much needed for older catalogues that do not currently make much money in terms of sales or other uses. Satellite radio and other Internet services would have to pay an appropriate amount of royalties, which seems doable for a company like SiriusXM worth billions of dollars, but potentially less so for smaller providers. If the appeal is upheld, then satellite radio and Internet services would continue to play these early recordings without paying royalties to the owners and artists of these recordings and would further the financial hardships for older artists without current hits. Blurred Lines v. Got To Give It Up Background: Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke wrote and recorded a song (Blurred Lines) that they, as stated in interviews, wanted to sound like Marvin Gayes Got to Give It Up. The Estate of Marvin Gaye sued Thicke and Williams for copyright infringement and the closely followed trial yielded a jury verdict in favor of the Gaye family, with a judgment ultimately set at $5.3 million plus future royalties. The verdict inspired a string of similar lawsuits, including one challenging the originality of Stairway to Heaven. A major issue within the trial was whether to consider only the lead sheet (musical notes) deposited with the Copyright Office (protocol at the time Got to Give It Up was registered) and not the recording of the song. Insiders of the music community debate the finding of infringement when many of the actual notes were not an exact match in both compositions versus looking at patterns and other music elements that were similar and repeated within both songs. The case is now up for appeal. Thicke and Williams attorney claims that the trial courts verdict will chill creativity. The attorney for the Gaye family argues in his appellate brief that the copyright for Got to Give It Up is not thin, and states a reminder that the test for infringement is substantial similarity and not virtual identity. What you might expect: This case will once again be closely followed, but the verdict cannot be predicted at this time. A settlement is doubtful because the stakes have become too high for both sides. This case has become much bigger than just the two songs involved. How it could affect the industry: The impact of this decision could set an important precedent. If Thicke and Williams win, it would open the door to frequent usage of elements from older songs with little recourse for the copyright owners of the original songs. If the Gaye family wins, it would probably inspire even more lawsuits for infringement. Regardless of whichever party wins, this case may influence all future copyright infringement lawsuits involving music, as it may dictate which sources (lead sheets, recordings, etc.) can be considered in a copyright infringement suit and based on what is included in those sources, which elements of a composition can be protected and/or infringed. The Department of Justice v. ASCAP and BMI Background: Performance rights organizations ASCAP and BMI asked the Department of Justice (which oversees the consent decrees governing ASCAP and BMI) to reform the decrees based on todays digital age. Music publishers asked for the ability to negotiate directly with companies licensing music for digital uses. The Department of Justice ruled against all that was asked for by the music community and decided to implement a model of 100% licensing, which mandates that a performance rights organization can only license rights to perform a work if the organization controls 100% of that work. BMI appealed the decision and got an immediate verdict in BMIs favor allowing the industry practice of fractional licensing to continue. The Department of Justice has appealed BMIs victory and that appeal is currently pending. What you might expect: This is going to be an ongoing fight to the bitter end. How it could affect the industry: As explained in more detail here, a ruling in favor of the Department of Justice would force the entire music industry to completely change the way it does business, render hundreds of thousands of works to be unlicensable by ASCAP and BMI, place incredible burdens on composition owners to track performances, potentially require hundreds of thousands of contracts to be amended, and would also affect the music industry throughout the world due to the reciprocal agreements ASCAP and BMI have with performance rights societies in other countries. *This article does not constitute legal advice. Erin M. Jacobson is a music attorney whose clients include Grammy and Emmy Award winners, legacy clients and catalogues, songwriters, music publishers, record labels, and independent artists and companies. She is based in Los Angeles where she handles a wide variety of music agreements and negotiations, in addition to owning and overseeing all operations for Indie Artist Resource, the independent musicians resource for legal and business protection. Share on: Growth was the most notable development for Burns & Wilcox Canada in 2016, says Jodie Kaufman Davis, corporate vice president and managing director.The wholesale broker grew 20% in both premium and revenue over 2015, and, going into 2017, the company will continue to focus on growth, she told Insurance Business.Overall we are aggressively pushing to expand our expertise and provide more exhaustive products for our brokers in the coming year, Kaufman Davis explained.Expanded offerings in a number of key business areas, such as its environmental centre, ocean marine capabilities, and its P&C operations, will continue to drive growth, according to the vice-president.Our global ocean marine capabilities are industry leading and we are always striving to support brokers with commercial marine risks for their clients around the world, Kaufman Davis said.The firm also has a new security program, which includes competitive coverage for security guards, vacant buildings, and all protective services.Burns & Wilcox Canada has grown in both top and bottom line this year, despite a tough market.As the market has become more competitive our organization has stayed true to our business strategy by underwriting the best coverage for our clients, she said.By doing so, we are continuously supporting our markets to not only protect against large losses but also to spread risk throughout the marketplace.Cyber is another key focus for the future, and as technology continues to rapidly change the landscape, the firms underwriters pride themselves on staying atop of current events, Kaufman Davis said.For example, [we were] first to market to provide coverage for medical marijuana licensed producers and facilities in the nation, she explained.Consolidation will remain a constant challenge to brokerages in the coming year, Kaufman Davis said, and brokers should be strategic on where business is placed.To be successful, our retail clients should understand where they are sending their submissions and where they are creating partnerships, she said. Lloyds of London could be paying Disney $50 million in the wake of the sudden death of Hollywood legend Carrie Fisher.The acclaimed writer and actress best known as thefranchises indomitable Leia Organa died Dec. 27, four days after suffering a heart attack while on a flight.Disney, the company producing the newtrilogy, placed an insurance policy on Fisher before she signed a three-picture deal for the new movies, according to Business Insider. The policy was taken out in case Fisher couldnt fulfill her contract.Fisher starred in 2015s. She also completed filming for the forthcoming. But production onhasnt yet begun. That means Disney could receive a $50 million payment, according to Business Insider.The policy was underwritten by New Jersey-based managing general agent Exceptional Risk Advisors, according to The Insurance Insider. However, if the policy triggers the loss will be borne entirely by Lloyds.Its unclear if Disney had similar policies on Harrison Ford, who played Han Solo in The Force Awakens, or Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker in the films, according to Business Insider.Its also unclear how the franchise will deal with Fishers death in. Industrial Light and Magic used special effects to resurrect deceased actor Peter Cushing in Decembers Rogue One, but the company has said it doesnt plan to use that effect often. It's critical to help clients make the most of the plans they have Xi says 2016 was Extraordinary and Unforgettable for China Xi Jinping speaks. (Photo : Xinhua) Chinese President Xi Jinping said hard work and joint efforts in 2017 will make China and the world better in a New Year's message delivered Dec. 31. Xi described 2016 is an "extraordinary year for China" as it has achieved progress in many aspects. He urged the international community to work together to build a more peaceful and prosperous world. Advertisement "To Chinese people 2016 is an extraordinary and unforgettable year, as the country has made a good beginning of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020)," Xi said. China actively promoted economic growth; achieved breakthroughs in national defense and military reform; fully deepened reform; promoted the rule of law; advanced strict governance of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and resolutely cracked down on high-ranking and low-level corruption. At the 2016 G20 Hangzhou Summit from Sept. 4-5, China contributed solutions to addressing global issues. The Belt and Road Initiative is advancing while the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank began operations. "We adhere to peaceful development, and resolutely safeguard our territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," said Xi. "Chinese people will never allow anyone to get away with making a great fuss about it!" In 2017, the 19th CPC National Congress will be convened. He said China will make more efforts in building a well-off society in all respects, deepening overall reform, rule of law and strict governance of the Party. "There is no such thing as a free lunch, and only hard work will make dreams come true," said Xi. Although 10 million more people were lifted out of poverty in 2016, Xi said what he cared most about were the impoverished. It is the Party and the government's duty to address people's difficulties in employment, children's education, health care, and housing, among others. He urged the whole Party and the whole of society to continue to help people in poverty so the outcomes of reform and development will benefit more people. Seo Hyun Jin finally admits his feelings for Yoo Yeon in episode 14 of "Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim." (Photo : YouTube/DramaFever) Since it aired in November 2016, the blossoming relationship of Yoo Yeon and Seo Hyun Jin in "Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim" has been the central theme of the story. Running on its third month this January, the Korean TV drama already featured highlights from the couple's moments. Now that the two are really getting closer, take a look at the couple's top moments listed below according to Mobi Picker. Most of these moments came from the most recent episodes, 14 and 15. Advertisement The one-minute kiss from Episode 14 The first kiss of the couple in episode 14 solidified what the duo has been facing for so long, their impending romance. After confessing his love for Seo, Yoo placed a necklace around her. After declining Yoo's attempt to kiss her multiple times, Seo finally gives in which led the couple kissing for a minute. Embrace in a sunlit room from Episode 14 Although the one-minute kiss would be presumed as the episode's highlight by some fans, the couple's embrace in the sunlit hospital room was also notable. The scene came from a MERS scare with Yoo Yeon collapsing and Seo Hyun rescuing her by being by her side. Fake fight from Episode 15 Just to fool their colleagues around, the pair decided to have a fake fight. The two tried to look around to see other people's reactions while shouting at each other. Unfortunately, Im Won Hee discovered the two were just being playful. I love you from Episode 15 While Seo Hyun Jin was trying to not reveal their relationship yet to their colleages, Yoo Yeon utters "I love you," in the middle of nowhere. She immediately realizes what she has done and covers her mouth right after. It was during this episode when the couple's colleagues started asking them questions about their status. Yoo Yeon and Seo Hyun even started play-fighting while arguing if they should disclose their label already. In other "Romantic Doctor" news, the Korean drama ranked first in the overall viewership ratings for its latest episode aired last Dec. 27, 2016, according to TNmS Media Korea. During its 15th episode entitled, "The Cornered Stone Syndrome," "Romantic Doctor" reached a rating of 20.6 percent for the national, and 24.9 percent for the Seoul National Capital area. Watch the teaser of "Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim" upcoming episode in the video below. From the highly successful R-rated film John Wick, Keanu Reeves steps out of retirement from the underworld once again in John Wick: Chapter 2 where he reprises his role as the legendary hitman in the shadowy world of assassins. Directed by Chad Stahelski, John Wick: Chapter 2 heads to Rome where the worlds deadliest assassins set their killer contracts. Bound by a blood oath to help him, John travels to Rome where he squares off against some of the worlds deadliest killers. Reeves, in recent interviews revealed that that the film would deal with the duality of Wick where something from his past will come back to haunt him. There's John, the docile man who spent five years married to the love of his life. Then there's John Wick, the deadly assassin feared by the entire criminal underworld. A buffet of bullets and unprecedented action on screen when John Wick: Chapter 2 opens in cinemas on February 8 from Pioneer Films. Back to top Jeremy Jordan (Photo : Getty Images/Matt Winkelmeyer) "Supergirl" Season 2 star Jeremy Jordan recently shared some exciting details about his character, Winn, in the upcoming episodes of the hit The CW series. Warning: This article contains spoilers from "Supergirl" Season 2. Read at your own risk. While speaking with Comicbook, the actor acknowledged the fact that not much has been revealed about Winn's personal life. Unfortunately, Winn's fans still have to wait for quite some time before more information about his backstory is unveiled. At present, Jordan is pleased with how his character has developed from Season 1 to Season 2. Advertisement Since leaving CatCo, Winn has gone on to work at the Department of Extranormal Operations under director Hank Henshaw or J'Onn J'Onzz. While there, he works closely with Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh), as well Kara aka Supergirl (Melissa Benoist). Despite his character's very limited screen time, Jordan is still very happy to be part of "Supergirl." "I think we are seeing Winn as a person through how he handles his business and his confrontations with James," he said. In the midseason finale, Winn and James worked together in transforming the latter into a vigilante. His decision to help James so he could also help Kara in return proved how Winn can be more than just a fan boy. "He is trying to think of everybody's well-being and how things work out. At this point, there is not a whole lot that we see of Winn's personal life, but I certainly cannot discount it in the future. There is a lot of fun stuff coming up, he said. Meanwhile, there were previous rumors claiming that Winn will eventually be revealed to be gay or bisexual. Back in August 2016, fans though that Winn would come out to Kara. While speaking with TV Line, executive producer Greg Berlanti confirmed that they initially wrote a gay storyline for one of the characters, but it did not materialize. Unfortunately, he refused to name who this character is. In Season 2, Alex was revealed to be bisexual, and she is interested in dating Maggie (Floriana Lima). "Supergirl" Season 2 will return to The CW this month. Imperial Valley News Center Terrorist Attacks in Baghdad Washington, DC - We condemn in the strongest possible terms terrorist attacks this weekend in Baghdad and Najaf. On Saturday, Daesh claimed dual attacks in the commercial area of the Al-Sinek neighborhood in Baghdad which killed at least 28 people. Today, multiple attacks, also claimed by Daesh, have killed at least 35 more innocent civilians and injured scores of others. We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and hope for a speedy recovery of all those wounded. These vicious acts of mass murder are a sobering reminder of the need to continue coalition operations against Daesh and to eliminate the threat this terrorist group poses. The U.S. reaffirms its commitment to support the government and people of Iraq in this struggle, and remains steadfast in its commitment to the Global Coalition efforts to degrade and defeat Daesh. This Isnt Our Last Love Letter Dear Don Don, Way back in 92 I walked into the room and knew Never felt this way before I shook your hand while gazing into your eyes And the feeling grew As I took a seat I knew A love that would have my heart Forever I knew Way back in 92 They say love at first sight doesnt always last or isnt true We were the exception to that rule Our love had no where to hide A spark set fire As if this is how the universe started I never doubted our love or what we could do Together we grew Forming a bond everlasting That became our glue My euphoria was YOU Im eternally grateful for the love and life we shared For how fortunate we were : to have and to hold through sickness and in health Til death do us part Until we are together again This isnt our last love letter I love you with all my heart and soul Yours forever, Deirdre (Mrs. Hank Snow) Im fortunate to have fallen in love with, marry and make a life with the sharpest, coolest, funniest, most rare, bad ass, tender loving, loyal man on the planet, my husband Don Imus. A True American Hero I dont know why it has been so hard for me to write about my dear friend Don Imus. I certainly know what he meant to me, my family, my charity, my hospital and the millions of fans that listened and loved him for so many years. I keep reading all the beautiful condolences that people are writing about how much a part of their lives were effected by listening to him over the years. But what most people dont talk enough about is what he did for all of us. In every sense of the word, he was an American Hero. His work with children with so many different illnesses and his dedication to their future was unmatched by anyone I have ever known or heard about. Besides raising over $100,000,000 for so many causes, he took care of young people for over 20 years in a state where he could not breathe. Along with his incredible wife Deirdre, he created a world where children were not defined by their disease. That was a miracle! He was a miracle. I will miss him ever day for the rest of my life. I was blessed to be a part of his and Deirdes life. No one will ever do what he did. I love you Don Imus - A TRUE AMERICAN HERO David Jurist IMUS IN THE MORNING FIRST DAY BACK! Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyArts email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Rather than review the year gone by, I wanted in this column to look at a particularly haunting book, Ledio Cakajs When the Walking Defeats You. Its narrated by a young Ugandan student, pseudonym George, who was expelled from school and sent by his own family to join and fight with the Lords Resistance Army (LRA). He became a bodyguard to the groups infamous leader, Joseph Kony, who admired him for his learning. It haunts me in particular as back in 1982, I wandered through many of the parts of Uganda that George describes. I was there as part of a desultory international effort to rehabilitate the country after the hellish reign of Idi Amin. I found almost everything, everywhere I went, from Kampala to Kasese, to Gulu, to Jinja, in ruins. Sometimes, I navigated by compass, as the roads had become so overgrown by vegetation that nothing on the maps was left. When the still-reigning Yoweri Museveni won power in 1986, it briefly seemed as if Uganda had a chance at a new beginning but when religious radical Alice Lakwena rose up violently against the government soon afterwards, it was clear that Uganda was doomed to many years of division and conflict. Kony claims to be Lakwenas successor. The West knows him simply for atrocities, among them the kidnapping of children the boys forced to serve as child soldiers, the girls to be wives and concubines. Cakajs book examines the possible reasons why children fight (Getty) I used to imagine this motley crew walking around the wilds of northeastern Uganda and through the places I myself passed. Those memories drew me to Cakajs book, which chimes well with Christian Ryans 2012 book Children of War: Child Soldiers as Victims and Participants in the Sudan Civil War, based on her PhD thesis, which I supervised. Before Christine went to South Sudan for a year of fieldwork, during which she essentially lived among the former child soldiers of a terrible conflict, the received wisdom, certainly among the aid agencies, was that they had all been victims. Christine talked to them often, and one day one of them broke down and began to cry. Thank you for asking why we fought. No one has asked us before. Many of them, though young, didnt see themselves as only victims: they had had their own reasons for picking up guns. The story George tells in Cakajs book confirms something similar: that as a very young soldier in Uganda, he also had his reasons and reflections, fears and hopes, pride and premonitions. I have followed the conflict between Kony and Museveni for many years. I discussed it with the Ugandan officer who led the hunt for Kony, and asked: Why? For what reasons? To ascribe no reasons, no rationality, no belief, no principles for rebellion is a return to the old notion that Africans are mere savages a racist device of dismissal and non-enquiry. I myself wrote a fictional account of Konys rebellion in my 2012 novel, Joseph Kony and the Titans of Zagreb, in which I tried to demonstrate how the political machinations of a European capital city can be made to look just as atrociously ridiculous as a horrible rebellion in Africa. All you need to do is assume that the participants have put no reasoned thought into what theyre doing. Very early on in Cakajs book, George explains that what often defeats the LRAs young soldiers is the endless walking. A stationary army is a target, and the only way for the LRA to stay on the move is to walk for mile after mile every day. Child soldiers have to fight, kill and often walk to their deaths (Getty Images) George relates the killings along the way. He is anxious he is not asked to kill people by hand that is, with a machete. To kill with a rifle, with a gap that reduces a terrible intimacy, is one thing. To butcher someone up close is harrowing precisely because it is not only atrocious, but atrociously intimate. In the books most riveting moment, George gets the chance to talk with Kony himself. George is thankful he has been asked to cook; he serves alcohol with the meal, and its one of the very rare moments when Kony accepts a drink. The leaders tongue loosens a little, and he relates his trust in the Holy Spirit, who always warns him when Musevenis forces are near. He shows his battle scars. He talks politics, and laments how Museveni has ruined Uganda. When the other officers leave him and George alone, Kony asks after Georges uncle. He praises Georges love of books, and congratulates him on the good grades he had been receiving in school and then he makes two confessions: You need to know that if I had a choice I would not be doing this, this life in the forest like animals. I wish I could be a schooled man like you. He also wishes aloud that his children could go to school, saying: It is too late for me. I have all the wisdom in the world, thanks to the spirits who tell me everything. But then Kony tells George hes a hostage to these same spirits, bound to act on their instruction and instigation. Above all, he is captive to the Holy Spirit, who calls him to keep his army and his rebellion going fighting, killing, and walking to their deaths. Kony is to this day a hero to many of Ugandas Acholi people, who feel marginalised under Musevenis rule. Looked at in a particular way, he is perhaps not so unlike Joan of Arc, who also heard the voices of spirits; the English demonised her before finally capturing and burning her alive. Wanted worldwide for his heinous crimes, long since driven from Uganda and isolated with his greatly diminished forces, Kony is more likely to fade away. Georges telling is very much a narration of an encounter, not a psychological or intellectual inquiry. But it isnt cheap or glib, and the book as a whole raises profound questions. Perhaps there are reasons why children fight and perhaps even why madmen fight. Stephen Chan is Professor of World Politics, SOAS, University of London This article was originally published in The Conversation Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyArts email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Following Adolf Hitler's suicide in 1945, the rights to his infamous autobiography, Mein Kampf (translation: My Struggle) were transferred to the state of Bavaria, who refused to ever publish the controversial book in Germany. However, the countrys copyright law dictates that texts enter the public domain 70 years after the authors death, meaning anyone could publish the work from 2016 onwards. To some controversy, the Institute of Contemporary History (IfZ) released the first reprint of the anti-semitic manifesto last January, the two-volume book selling out on Amazon's German site within hours. The IfZ has since revealed that 85,000 copies of the heavily annotated Mein Kampf have sold since January, making it one of the years bestsellers in Germany. A sixth print of the book will reach bookstores later this month. A Day That Shook The World: Hitler elected German Chancellor Show all 3 1 /3 A Day That Shook The World: Hitler elected German Chancellor A Day That Shook The World: Hitler elected German Chancellor 541841.bin Getty Images A Day That Shook The World: Hitler elected German Chancellor 541843.bin Getty Images A Day That Shook The World: Hitler elected German Chancellor 541842.bin Getty Images Many commentators have expressed their worry that the IfZ is inadvertently spreading Nazi propaganda. Addressing these controversy surrounding the reprint, Andreas Wirsching, the director of the IfZ, told The Guardian: To the contrary, the debate about Hitlers world view and his approach to propaganda offered a chance to look at the causes and consequences of totalitarian ideologies, at a time in which authoritarian political views and rightwing slogans are gaining ground. The institute reportedly collected data from regional booksellers that pointed to customers primarily being interested in politics and history as well as educators, and not reactionaries or rightwing radicals. Despite various countries expressing an interest in the annotated version, for now, only translations to French and English are planned. For much of the year, Mein Kampf was increasingly difficult to get a hold of, something one Professor discussed earlier this year with The Independent. Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Emma Watson's taking on a pretty monumental task with Beauty and the Beast - attempting to breathe new life into one of Disney's most beloved princesses, Belle. After a clip of her singing the classic 'Something There' leaked online, Disney has now released an official version of the snippet; offering a first proper listen of the star's vocals in the film. A new TV spot also offers us a better look at Watson's Belle, alongside Dan Stevens' fearsome CGI Beast and the castle's gang of magical objects - Lumiere (Ewan McGregor), Cogsworth (Ian McKellen), and Mrs. Potts (Emma Thompson). The film, directed by Bill Condon (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn), takes clear advantage of the original fairytale's French Rococo setting in order to deliver sumptuous, romantic production design worthy of one of Disney's most iconic stories. This is going to be the visually lush production to beat in 2017, for certain. Narrative-wise, things don't appear to be straying particularly far from the original 1991 animation, with all the familiar elements in place: the wolf attack, the granting of Belle's library, falling in love in the snow, Belle finding the rose, and (of course) the iconic ballroom scene. First Look at Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast remake Show all 5 1 /5 First Look at Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast remake First Look at Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast remake Emma Watson as Belle Laurie Sparham First Look at Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast remake Emma Watson stars as Belle and Kevin Kline is Maurice, Belle's father. Laurie Sparham First Look at Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast remake The Beast (Dan Stevens) and Belle (Emma Watson) in the castle library Disney First Look at Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast remake The mantel clock Cogsworth, the teapot Mrs. Potts, Lumiere the candelabra and the feather duster Plumette Disney First Look at Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast remake L-R: Josh Gad as Le Fou and Luke Evans as Gaston. Laurie Sparham The film also stars Luke Evans as Gaston, Josh Gad as LeFou, Stanley Tucci as Cadenza, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Babette, Kevin Kline as Maurice and Audra McDonald as Wardrobe. Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken has re-recorded the original animation's beloved songs - with some slight alterations - alongside penning three new musical numbers with the aid of lyricist Tim Rice. We've also heard details about how Belle's iconic yellow dress will make its transition to screen, alongside a feminist twist added to the princess' backstory. Beauty and the Beast hits UK cinemas 17 March, 2017. Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Independent Climate email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A record number of oil and gas companies became insolvent last year, according to a new study which environmentalists said highlighted the need for the UK to prepare for the move to a low-carbon economy. They warned that the loss of jobs in the sector when it becomes clear that fossil fuels can no longer be burned because of the effect on global warming would lead to desolate communities unless people were retrained to work in the new industries of the 21st century. The study by accountancy firm Moore Stephens found 16 oil and gas companies went insolvent last year, compared to none at all in 2012. First commercial flight powered by renewable energy takes to skies After oil prices fell from about $120 a barrel to under $50 for most of the past year, smaller firms in the sector were unable to cope, Moore Stephens found. Jeremy Willmont, who carried out the research, said: The collapse of the price of oil has stretched many UK independents to breaking point. The last 15 years has seen a large increase in the number of UK oil and gas independents exploring and producing everywhere from Iraq to the Falkland Islands. Unless there is a consistent upward trend in the oil price, conditions will remain tough for many of those and insolvencies may continue. His report said North Sea oil producers were facing more headwinds because of the need to decommission a number of offshore rigs. Dr Doug Parr, chief scientist at Greenpeace UK, warned the ultimate demise of the fossil fuel industry would create desolate communities unless the Government took steps to help the country move to a low-carbon economy. As the warnings from climate science get stronger, now is the time to realise as a utility chief recently warned that the future is not in fossil fuels, Dr Parr said. Its also time for Government to recognise that we should not leave the workers stranded, but provide opportunities in the new industries of the 21st century. The utility chief cited by Dr Parr is Thierry Lepercq, head of research at French energy company Engie, who recently told Bloomberg that the growth in renewable energy could push the cost of oil down to as low as $10 in less than 10 years. Even if oil demand continues to climb until 2025, its price could drop to $10 if markets anticipate a significant fall in demand, he said. Engie, the worlds largest private power production company, is increasingly investing in renewables and selling off coal-fired power stations and fossil fuel exploration rights. The firm recently carried out research which found the Provence-Alpes-Cote dAzur region, home to about five million people, could save 20 per cent on energy costs by 2030 by switching to 100 per cent renewable sources. And Mr Lepercq added: The promise of quasi-infinite and free energy is here. However Joseph Dutton, an associate research fellow with Exeter Universitys Energy Policy Group, said fossil fuels would be around for some time to come. Theres a real battle between fossil fuels and renewables in power generation, he said. But in terms of renewable transport, we are so far behind where we need to be to tackle climate change. In fuels and chemicals, I think fossil fuels are set to remain for the foreseeable future. 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke filled with the carbon that is driving climate change drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan And Mr Dutton said any oil and gas supplies held by the insolvent companies would have been taken over by larger companies. Their assets are being picked up by the bigger companies. Its not as if they are falling out of the picture. The companies might be, but the oil and gas reserves are going to different companies, he said. It may well be that what they hold will still be produced further down the line. Whether this represents a shift away from fossil fuels to renewables is maybe too early to say. Sign up to IndyEat's free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyEats email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Tasting, making and drinking beer all day long is a dream job that is a reality for Jamie Floyd: a brewmaster in the US state of Oregon. As a brewmaster and co-founder of Ninkasi Brewing, Floyd not only ensures fermentation goes smoothly but also uses his knowledge of ingredients to create new beer recipes and prepare mixtures. Floyd started out in professional brewing in 1995. A decade later, he opened up Ninkasi with his friend Nikos Ridge in the small Oregonian city of Eugene. The firm, based in the second largest hop growing region in the US, specialises in IPAs, helles lagers, and stout brewed with oatmeal and vanilla. In that time, Floyd has watched as craft beer and home brewing has nipped at the heels of major manufacturers. Such is the popularity of this market that Honest Brew, a craft beer subscription service, recently warned that multinationals are entering the industry under the guise of craft beer. Jamie Floyd is a brewmaster in the US (Ninkasi Brewing ) (Ninkasi Brewing) Meanwhile, Floyd has watched his profession go from a relative unknown to one of the most sought-after gigs around. When I started I had been home brewing since I was 17 and worked at a brewery as kitchen manager and it didnt occur to me that I could be a brewer until the head brewer asked if I was interested. I think now it must seem easy to folks to do it as there is so many opening but 20 years ago it was hard to get into the trade. Brewing beer has been one of my passions for all of my adulthood, says Floyd, who is keen to highlight that beer is steeped in history. After all, his company is named after Ninkasi, the Sumerian goddess of fermentation - a civilisation which existed over 3,000 years ago in what is modern-day Iraq. We have a special relationship with beer as it is the first recipe we made for ourselves in civilization. I think every person should make beer at least once. To see how the process works that helped us become agrarian instead of hunting and gathering. Once you have had the first pint of your own beer you will not only feel proud but gain an understanding of what the brewer who makes every pint does and appreciate it even more. The poshest beers Show all 10 1 /10 The poshest beers The poshest beers Budweiser Budweiser, famous for its bullfrog adverts, came in 5th. 38 per cent of those who buy the beer are middle class. Spencer Platt/Getty Images The poshest beers Peroni Italian beer Peroni topped the list, as 50 per cent of its customers are middle class Jason Carter Rinaldi/Getty Images for Peroni The poshest beers Heineken Dutch beer Heineken came second. 45 per cent of its customers are middle class. Getty Images The poshest beers Kronenbourg 1664 Tastemaker Alex James joins the celebrations of the 350th anniversary of the first Kronenbourg brewery at Le Cafe Du Marche Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for Kronenbourg The poshest beers Beck's Beck's, a German beer, came 4th with 38 per cent of its customers being middle class The poshest beers A Belgian beer, Stella Artois came 6th with 36 per cent Mark Renders/Getty Image The poshest beers 35 per cent of the customers of Dutch beer Grolsch are middle class Piutus/Flickr CC The poshest beers Fosters lager Australian beer Fosters came in 8th. 33 per cent of its customers are in the AB social group GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images The poshest beers Carling 31 per cent of Carling customers are middle class Graeme Robertson/Getty Images The poshest beers Carlsberg came join last with Carling, with 31 per cent. Niklas Morberg/ Flickr CC Fast-forward a few thousand years and billions of cans, bottles and kegs are consumed each year. In that time, beer has come a long way and Floyd is open to experimentation. I am a fan of blending fruit juice and beer but at service in a more traditional way, not in cans and bottles. Most do not taste very good and they can lead to exploding cans or bottles if not handled properly. I think putting them in cans is pretty gimmicky. Looking to the future, Floyd predicts that top-fermented, yellowy Kolsch beers will fall out of favour, and hopes that Helles, often overlooked outside of Bavaria, will become more popular. I think Kolsch has reached its time. Every brewer wants to make a perfect one because they are hard to do right but they never reach big markets. There are Kolsch fans for sure but people have so many choices for lighter styles of beer now that they dont buy a lot of it but brewers keep making them. Helles is arguably the most drinkable style of beer as it was designed to be consumed by the litre so it is delicious when it is cold and bubbly and pretty darn good when it is warm and flat. Most folks search for Pilsner which is good but for drinkability I love Helles. Camden Town Brewery in London already creates a widely available tipple called Camden Hells, a "lovechild" of Helles and Pilsner. In spite of everything, the life of a brewmaster isnt as glamorous as it sounds, stresses Floyd. Those interested in entering the trade might be surprised by what they are getting themselves into. It takes a lot to turn your house into a brewery. Brewing beer is like being a glorified janitor. We clean, scrub, rinse and sanitise just about everything. In a brewery it is set up to do it. At home you have to make adjustments and many brewers mess up by not knowing how or being willing to do the cleaning necessary to make constant beer." So, what is a brewmasters favourite drink when one becomes fed up of constant beer? Water. I know it sounds funny but I live where we have some of the best drinking water in the continental US and it tastes great and it makes great beer. I am known to have wine, spirits, tea and the occasional coffee. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} US President-elect Donald Trump temporarily wiped almost a quarter of a billion dollars off the stock market value of General Motors on Tuesday after threatening to impose a big border tax for making its Chevrolet Cruze model in Mexico. General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to US car dealers-tax free across border. Make in USA or pay big border tax! Trump said on Twitter. GM, which owns Vauxhall and Cadillac among other brands, saw its shares fall 0.7 per cent in pre-market trading after the tweet, before recovering as the US stock market opened strongly. The incident will cause embarrassment to GM chief executive Mary Barra who last month agreed to join the new Presidents economic advisory panel. GM defended against Mr Trump's accusation, saying: "All Chevrolet Cruze sedans sold in the US are built in GM's assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio. "GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, with a small number sold in the US" The tweet is the latest example of Mr Trumps online comments hurting multinational companies. In December shares in aerospace giants Lockheed Martin and Boeing also tumbled after Mr Trump criticised the cost of their US government contracts. Mr Trump blasted GM and other US car manufacturers on the campaign trail for their Mexico operations as he appealed to disenfranchised working class voters who have lost out amid increasing globalisation and the dismantling of trade barriers with lower wage economies. Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year. I am fighting hard to bring jobs back to the United States, Trump said in a statement in June. Many companies like Ford, General Motors, Nabisco, Carrier are moving production to Mexico. He has consistently attacked the North American Free Trade Agreement which has helped to speed up the transition of manufacturing jobs to Mexico. The United Auto Workers Union has called for NAFTA to be scrapped but US car-makers say access to low-cost Mexican labour is crucial to their competitiveness. Mr Trump has also threatened import tariffs of 35 per cent on companies that shift production from the US. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Britains index of leading shares surged to another record high on Tuesday as financial and commodity-related companies saw solid growth. The FTSE 100 followed European markets which started the new year strongly on Monday while British traders enjoyed a day off. Shares rose 0.9 per cent to hit a fresh record high of 7,205.21 points, the first time it has broken through the 7,200 mark. It later fell back slightly to end the day at 7,177.89. Mining stocks continued to gain ground amid hopes of strong US growth and an infrastructure spending boom when Donald Trump assumes the presidency later this month. Not all big companies fared well, however Next shares were under pressure after Deutsche Bank downgraded its rating on the stock to hold from buy. The sharp decline in the value of the pound against the US dollar since the UK voted to leave the EU has helped the FTSE gain ground as many companies on the index make a significant proportion of their profits in other currencies. Recommended Why the FTSE 100 reaching record high is not necessarily good news While the index has reached a new record in sterling terms, when measured in dollars it is still around 4 per cent down over the last twelve months. Many economists have made gloomy predictions for the year ahead as prices rise and the UK begins to manage its withdrawal from the EU. On the continent, the pan-European STOXX 600 index continued its rise, up 0.7 per cent in early trading to hit its highest level since December 2015. Among individual stock movers, Italian banks were once again among top risers, with newly-merged Banco BPM gaining 4.6 per cent on its second day of trading, building on a strong rise in the previous session. Fellow banking stocks Credit Suisse and Bank of Ireland were also among top STOXX gainers, with the European banking index SX7P rising 1 per cent. Additional reporting by Reuters For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Republicans have dropped controversial plans to scrap an independent ethics office after widespread criticism from the public and and questions from President-elect Donald Trump. On Monday, Republicans in the US House of Representatives voted to gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics. Republican leaders in the House opposed the change. On Tuesday, in the first example of how Republican in the new Congress may clash with the White House, Mr Trump said he did not think the move was a priority. Amid the criticism including a reported barrage of calls from constituents the Republicans changed course, shortly after the new Congress was sworn in. In a reversal, the House GOP decided on Tuesday to strip the provision from a package of rule changes that lawmakers will vote on later in the day. Congressman Tom Cole of Oklahoma told the Associated Press: People didnt want this story on opening day. On Monday night, in a meeting that was not advertised and appears to come as a surprise to many gathered in Washington, it was announced that Republicans in the House had voted to effectively kill off the office. Congressman Robert Goodlatte, a Republican of Virginia and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, announced that the House Republican Conference had approved the change. The office was established in 2008 to investigate allegations of misconduct by lawmakers following several bribery and corruption scandals. Republican leaders in the House had opposed the move. And on Tuesday morning, hours before the new Congress was to be officially sworn in, Mr Trump posted a pair of tweets in which he revealed his disagreement with the move. Trump's advisor suggests Obama's sanctions against Russia are to 'box in' the incoming President With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority, he wrote. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS Mr Trumps decision to speak out against the move may be the first incident when Republicans on Capitol Hill find themselves out of tune with some of the political beliefs of the Republican president. Mr Trump has already shown his willingness to break with Republican orthodoxy on a number of issues, including trade and foreign affairs. His criticism of the decision to scrap the ethics board will likely go down well with many of Mr Trumps core supporters, who were attracted to him by his willingness to criticise Washington politicians. If the decision approved by House Republicans is passed by the new Congress, in place of the ethics office, Republicans would create a new Office of Congressional Complaint Review that would report to the House Ethics Committee, which has been accused of ignoring credible allegations of wrongdoing by politicians. Mr Goodlatte defended the action in a statement, saying it would strengthen ethics oversight in the House while also giving politicians better protections against what some of them have called overzealous efforts by the Office of Congressional Ethics. The OCE has a serious and important role in the House, and this amendment does nothing to impede their work, he said. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} SpaceX is about to start launching rockets again after finding the cause of a strange and controversial explosion in Florida. The company hasnt sent up any rockets since one of them spectacularly and mysteriously exploded on its launchpad later last year. The event was met with widespread confusion and even suggestions that it might have been deliberately interfered with or attacked. Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Show all 30 1 /30 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An image from Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows a 200,000 mile long solar filament ripping through the Sun's corona in September 2013 Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa Celebrates 50 Years of Spacewalking For 50 years, NASA has been "suiting up" for spacewalking. In this 1984 photograph of the first untethered spacewalk, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless is in the midst of the first "field" tryout of a nitrogen-propelled backpack device called the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Hubble Cosmic Couple The spectacular cosmic pairing of the star Hen 2-427 more commonly known as WR 124 and the nebula M1-67 which surrounds it ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Veil Nebula Supernova Remnant Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled in stunning detail a small section of the Veil Nebula - expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago Nasa's most stunning pictures of space The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launch The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, carrying three new astronauts to the International Space Station. It also took caviar, ready for the satellite's inhabitants to celebrate the holidays Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth from the ISS From the International Space Station, Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Terry W. Virts took this photograph of the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Gulf Coast at sunset Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Black Hole Friday Nasa celebrated Black Friday by looking into space instead sharing pictures of black holes Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space NuSTAR X-rays stream off the sun in this image showing observations from by NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, overlaid on a picture taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Cassiopeia A c A false colour image of Cassiopeia A comprised with data from the Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes and the Chandra X-Ray observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Orion Capsule splashes down The Orion capsule jetted off into space before heading back a few hours later having proved that it can be used, one day, to carry humans to Mars Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth Observations From Gemini IV in 1965 This photograph of the Florida Straits and Grand Bahama Bank was taken during the Gemini IV mission during orbit no. 19 in 1965. The Gemini IV crew conducted scientific experiments, including photography of Earth's weather and terrain, for the remainder of their four-day mission following Ed White's historic spacewalk on June 3 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Frosty slopes of Mars This image of an area on the surface of Mars, approximately 1.5 by 3 kilometers in size, shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater. The image was taken by Nasa's HiRISE camera, which is mounted on its Mars Reconaissance Orbiter Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Yellowstone from space NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman shared this image of Yellowstone via his twitter account Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Saturn This near-infrared color image shows a specular reflection, or sunglint, off of a hydrocarbon lake named Kivu Lacus on Saturn's moon Titan Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Worlds Apart Although Mimas and Pandora, shown here, both orbit Saturn, they are very different moons. Pandora, "small" by moon standards (50 miles or 81 kilometers across) is elongated and irregular in shape. Mimas (246 miles or 396 kilometers across), a "medium-sized" moon, formed into a sphere due to self-gravity imposed by its higher mass Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An X1.6 class solar flare flashes in the middle of the sun in this image taken 10 September, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Mars Rover Spirit Nasa's Mars Rover Spirit took the first picture from Spirit since problems with communications began a week earlier. The image shows the robotic arm extended to the rock called Adirondack Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Morning Aurora From the Space Station Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station Nasa/Scott Kelly Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Launch of History - Making STS-41G Mission in 1984 The Space Shuttle Challenger launches from Florida at dawn. On this mission, Kathryn Sullivan became the first U.S. woman to perform a spacewalk and Marc Garneau became the first Canadian in space. The crew of seven was the largest to fly on a spacecraft at that time, and STS-41G was the first flight to include two female astronauts Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Fresh Perspective on an Extraordinary Cluster of Galaxies Galaxy clusters are often described by superlatives. After all, they are huge conglomerations of galaxies, hot gas, and dark matter and represent the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Sees a Galactic Sunflower The arrangement of the spiral arms in the galaxy Messier 63, seen here in an image from the Nasa Hubble Space Telescope, recall the pattern at the center of a sunflower ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Pluto image Four images from New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were combined with colour data from the Ralph instrument to create this enhanced colour global view of Pluto Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Fresh Crater Near Sirenum Fossae Region of Mars The HiRISE camera aboard Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this closeup image of a "fresh" (on a geological scale, though quite old on a human scale) impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars. This impact crater appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Peers into the Most Crowded Place in the Milky Way This Nasa Hubble Space Telescope image presents the Arches Cluster, the densest known star cluster in the Milky Way NASA & ESA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space An Astronaut's View from Space Nasa astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this photo from the International Space Station on 2 September 2014 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Giant Landform on Mars On Mars, we can observe four classes of sandy landforms formed by the wind, or aeolian bedforms: ripples, transverse aeolian ridges, dunes, and what are called draa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Expedition 39 Landing A sokol suit helmet can be seen against the window of the Soyuz TMA-11M capsule shortly after the spacecraft landed with Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan (NASA/Bill Ingalls) Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Jupiter's Great Red Spot Viewed by Voyager I Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and perhaps the most majestic. Vibrant bands of clouds carried by winds that can exceed 400 mph continuously circle the planet's atmosphere Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Chandra Observatory Sees a Heart in the Darkness This Chandra X-Ray Observatory image of the young star cluster NGC 346 highlights a heart-shaped cloud of 8 million-degree Celsius gas in the central region But the company said its investigation of the 1 September explosion found that a tank failed within the larger, second-stage liquid oxygen tank. SpaceX plans to launch 10 satellites for Iridium Communications Inc. on a Falcon 9 rocket. The satellites will be used to provide mobile communications on land, sea and air. Iridium says it in a tweet that it is pleased with the SpaceX's announcement and target launch date. SpaceX had said it expected to return to flight as soon as November. But that anticipated launch date slipped back to December, and then January. "Clearly, they're being extra cautious," said Marco Caceres, senior space analyst for the Teal Group. "SpaceX usually pushes ahead a lot faster. So it seems like they're not rushing ahead at this point, which is a good thing." The explosion at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station destroyed a satellite that was to be managed by Israeli satellite operator Spacecom and was also to help Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg bring high-speed internet access to remote parts of Africa. SpaceX said Monday that it pored through 3,000 channels of video and telemetry data that spanned just 93 milliseconds from the first sign of trouble to the explosion. Additional reporting by Associated Press For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The line between reality tv and reality continues to blur. Omarosa Manigault, a contestant in the first season of The Apprentice, is to get a White House job. The Associated Press said that Ms Manigault, one of Mr Trumps most high-profile African-American supporters, will work in public engagement for the next president. Ms Manigault was spotted last month at Trump Tower (AP) This will be her second tour of duty at the White House. She worked in the office of Vice President Al Gore during the administration of Bill Clinton. Donald Trump lavishes praise on Dubai business partner during New Year's Eve speech The Trump transition team did not respond to inquiries about Ms Manigault's role. The former reality star joined New Years Eve celebrations in New Yorks Times Square hosted by Fox News. She told the channel she had supported his campaign because hes a winner. Asked if she would be getting a White House job, she replied: Of course. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Long before he was won the election, questions were being asked about the possible conflict of interest between Donald Trumps business interests and those of the country. Such questions have only intensified since the tycoon with a myriad of business interests around the world, has become the US President-elect. On New Years Eve, at a speech delivered before 800 paying guests at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Mr Trump celebrated his election victory, and then heaped praise on his business partners in Dubai and elsewhere. Many observers said the speech encapsulated Mr Trumps challenge in trying to disentangle his business and official functions. In a vide of the speech obtained by CNN, Mr Trump can be seen name-checking various prominent people at the event, including Hussain Sajwani, a business partner in Dubai. Mr Sajwanis compay, DAMAC Properties, has built the Trump International Course Dubai. Mr Sajwani's son, Abbas, posted a number of images on social media of their visit to Florida. Hussain and the whole family, the most beautiful people, are here from Dubai tonight. And they're seeing it and theyre loving it, Mr Trump said. Political law expert Ken Gross told the network: President-elect Trump is using his largesse as President-elect to enhance his existing business relationships. He added: Apparently, in his view, this practice does not run afoul of the representations he has made to date regarding the disentanglement of his business and official functions. It remains to be seen if this will ever get sorted out. Trump's advisor suggests Obama's sanctions against Russia are to 'box in' the incoming President However, Mr Trumps transition team has said the President-elect and Mr Sajwani did not discuss their business partnership in Florida. They had no formal meetings or professional discussions. Their interactions were social, said Hope Hicks, Mr Trumps spokeswoman. Kellyanne Conway, a top Trump adviser, added: This man is allowed to have a New Year's Eve celebration with his friends, or his business partners, or his acquaintances. She added: I spent a lot of time at Mar-a-Lago during this break. I had dinner with the Hussains one night - Hussain and his wife, absolutely lovely people. If you took that example to it's extreme, nobody would be able to be friends with anybody else. Mr Trump cancelled a December news conference in which he was due to announce his plans to address his conflicts of interests. Mr Trump has now said he will make an announcement sometime before the inauguration. Speaking this weekend at Mar-A-Lago, he appeared to suggest there was not a big problem, It is not a big deal. You people are making that a big deal, the business, he said. Its actually a very simple situation. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A man has been shot dead by police on the side of the road on the M62 in West Yorkshire following a pre-planned operation. The fatal incident occurred near Huddersfield at around 6pm on Monday and three people were also arrested at the scene. A further two people were arrested in a related incident in Bradford on Tuesday morning but police had said the incident is not linked to terrorism and have referred it to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). The death marks the first time a police officer has fatally shot a suspect in 2017 but overall deaths caused by firearms officers in the UK remain rare. According to justice charity Inquest, a total of 23 people have been killed by police in shootings in England and Wales between 2006 and 2016. But it is a very different story in the US, where far more police officers are armed. In 2016 alone, the Washington Post reported 957 deaths caused by police shootings and a community project, killedbypolice, claims six people have already been killed in 2017. The chart below shows the number of deaths per million people in the UK and US between 2015 and 2016. Even when adjusted for their total population sizes, the UK estimate is 64.1m and the US 318.9m, it shows that the fatal police shooting rate in the US is roughly 64 times that of the UK. Data used in the chart has been collected from a study conducted by the Washington Post because although the FBI does attempt to record the number of shootings it is not compulsory for forces around the country to submit their data. In contrast, in the UK all fatal shootings are immediately referred to the IPCC for investigation. Police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparks riots in Charlotte Show all 7 1 /7 Police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparks riots in Charlotte Police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparks riots in Charlotte Police officers clash with protesters after police fatally shot Keith Lamont Scott in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Charlotte REUTERS Police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparks riots in Charlotte Charlotte Police officers were searching the apartment complex for a suspect with an outstanding warrant when they gunned down Scott. The victim was not the person they were originally trying to find REUTERS Police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparks riots in Charlotte The shooting occurred at 4 pm on 20 September, a day after police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, released video showing the shooting death of Terence Crutcher by one of their officers REUTERS Police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparks riots in Charlotte Scott reportedly exited his vehicle at his apartment complex, but got back inside when he saw officers. The police report said Scott then re-emerged from his vehicle armed with a firearm and posed an imminent deadly threat to the officers REUTERS Police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparks riots in Charlotte Police officers wearing riot gear block a road during protests REUTERS Police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparks riots in Charlotte Police identified two-year veteran Brentley Vinson as the officer who fired the shots. A law enforcement source told WBTV that Mr Vinson is African American REUTERS Police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparks riots in Charlotte Protesters demonstrate in front of police officers REUTERS The figures are only available from the beginning of 2015 because this is when the first definite data for US shootings is available - Inquests records on deaths in England and Wales stretch back to 1999. The charity, which primarily focuses on deaths in police custody, said it had collected the data from its own monitoring and casework rather than relying on Home Office figures. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A British man has been killed fighting against Isis. Ryan Lock, 20, is said to have died during an offensive by anti-Isis forces in a bid to retake the northern city of Raqqa, considered to be the terrorist group's capital. The former chef with no previous military experience from Chichester, West Sussex, had joined Kurdish militia after telling his family he was going on holiday to Turkey in August. The People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish military force, reportedly told Mr Lock's family that he had died along with four other fighters on December 21. Mr Lock's father, Jon, told the Guardian that his son was a "very caring and loving boy who would do anything to help anyone" and "had a heart of gold". The YPG said he had "crossed continents for the destiny of our people and humanity". Images posted on Facebook in October and November appear to show Mr Lock holding an AK-47 and wearing military gear. Mark Campbell, who was with a group of Kurdish activists who visited Mr Lock's family, told the BBC their main concern was that Mr Lock's remains are returned to the UK. "We hope the UK Government will also use all their diplomatic powers to give practical assistance to the family to help bring Ryan's remains home for burial," he said. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "The UK has advised for some time against all travel to Syria. "As all UK consular services there are suspended, it is extremely difficult to confirm the status and whereabouts of British nationals in Syria. "Anyone who does travel to these areas, for whatever reason, is putting themselves in considerable danger." Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Claims that leaving the EU customs union and striking free trade deals elsewhere will create nearly 400,000 jobs in Britain are entirely fictional, a senior economist has said. Change Britain, a pro-Brexit campaign group backed by prominent Leave supporter Michael Gove, said that a number of countries including the US, India, China and Canada had already expressed an interest in new deals with the UK. If these were struck it could create around 240,000 jobs, it claimed in new research. This could rise to 400,000 if the UK was able to strike trade agreements with other economic partners including Japan, the group said. It arrived at this conclusion after studying figures from the European Commission. But Professor Jonathan Portes, of Kings College London, dismissed the claims. During an interview with the BBCs Today programme, he said: The point of trade deals is to increase exports, or exports to the countries we make deals with, and imports. Change Britain are counting the number of jobs that they claim would be created by those extra exports, but just ignoring the jobs that would be lost because of those extra imports. And that, obviously, makes no sense. Prof Portes, a senior fellow of the UK in a Changing Europe research group, added: In practice, most economists would expect that free trade deals, theyre a good thing, but the jobs created would be pretty much balanced out by the jobs destroyed. Theyve just got some facts wrong as well. For example, they score the benefits of a free trade deal that we could do with Korea if we were outside the European Union. The fact is the European Union already has a trade deal with Korea. Potentially we could lose that if we leave the EU. Theyre counting something as a benefit when its a cost. More broadly they are correct that outside the customs union we would have an extra flexibility, but the important point is there are costs and benefits. Simply counting the benefits without counting the costs is just nonsense. I think the important thing for experts, as it were, like me, is to make the point that its not true to say we dont know anything about anything; equally its wrong to put simply hard numbers on them. And on Twitter, he joked: Production of fictional statistics is up 579 per cent. Brexit Concerns Show all 26 1 /26 Brexit Concerns Brexit Concerns Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs Brexit will put British patients at the back of the queue for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice. Getty Images Brexit Concerns London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks One of Germanys top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as gateway to Europe for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the BundesbankGermanys central banktold a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were equivalent between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market, the BBC reports. Jason Hawkes Brexit Concerns Exodus The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union Shutterstock Brexit Concerns Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEOs performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterlings fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors. Rex Brexit Concerns Theresa May: UK to leave single market Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all". Getty Brexit Concerns Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court Getty Brexit Concerns Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns Migrants with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais Getty Brexit Concerns Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Brexit Concerns The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today EPA Brexit Concerns Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain Reuters Brexit Concerns Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry Getty Brexit Concerns Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote PA Brexit Concerns The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging Getty Brexit Concerns Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities Getty Brexit Concerns A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses Getty Brexit Concerns Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes Getty Brexit Concerns A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU Getty Brexit Concerns Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum Getty Brexit Concerns Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU Getty Brexit Concerns NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit Getty Brexit Concerns The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future Getty Brexit Concerns A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain Reuters Brexit Concerns The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions Getty Brexit Concerns The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market Getty Change Britains research claimed that over 100,000 jobs would be in manufacturing (including car, ships and aircraft production) and over 170,000 of these would be in services. This would create jobs across the country including 36,000 in the North West, nearly 30,000 in Scotland and over 87,000 in London, it said. Lord Digby Jones, one of the groups founding supporters and former Confederation of British Industry director general, said: The only way we can make the most of these huge opportunities is to leave the EUs customs union and take back control of our trade policy. This will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs in a range of industries right across the UK. We can then take our place as one of the global champions of free trade. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The UK's top diplomat in the EU has made a veiled attack on Britain's Brexit negotiations in a lengthy resignation email to staff. Sir Ivan Rogers urged his colleagues in Brussels to challenge "muddled thinking and...speak truth to power" as he quit just weeks before Theresa May is due to trigger the process of leaving the union. Sir Ivan called on his staff to challenge "ill-founded arguments" and said that "serious multilateral negotiating experience is in short supply in Whitehall". Farage calls for more resignations after Sir Ivan Rogers quits The ambassador also said that ministers needed to hear "unvarnished" and "uncomfortable" views from Europe. In what many will interpret as implicit criticism of Ms May, he went on to say in the final paragraphs of his email: "I hope you will continue to challenge ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking and that you will never be afraid to speak the truth to those in power. I hope that you will support each other in those difficult moments where you have to deliver messages that are disagreeable to those who need to hear them." Sir Ivan Rogers issued a note to civil servants criticising 'muddled' thinking over Brexit (AP) His resignation has been branded a wilful and total destruction of expertise, amid fears he has been hounded out by hostile pro-Brexiteers. Politicians warned his expertise in Brussels would be very difficult to replace at such short notice. Nicholas Macpherson, the former Treasury permanent secretary, led the warnings, saying Sir Ivan was the latest in a worrying line of experienced figures to walk away. Writing on Twitter, he said: Ivan Rogers huge loss. Cant understand wilful and total destruction of EU expertise. Sir Ivan had been expected to stay in his post until at least the end of 2017, however, clear tensions with No 10 were laid bare in mid-December when it was reported that he had warned the Government it could take 10 years to complete a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU. He was afterwards lambasted by the pro-Brexit Tory MP Dominic Raab, who accused the diplomat of being pessimistic. The Daily Mail at the time reported that the knives were out for Sir Ivan, and that Eurosceptics were demanding for him to be replaced with a diplomat who is energetically pro-Brexit. There was even speculation that his comments were deliberately leaked to the BBC, last month, to undermine his position. Nick Clegg said he had first worked alongside the ambassador 20 years ago and suggested he had been hounded out by hostile Brexiteers in government. The former Deputy Prime Minister said: The resignation of somebody as experienced as Sir Ivan Rogers is a body blow to the Governments Brexit plans. If the reports are true that he has been hounded out by hostile Brexiteers in government, it counts as a spectacular own goal. What experts have said about Brexit Show all 11 1 /11 What experts have said about Brexit What experts have said about Brexit Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond The Chancellor claims London can still be a world financial hub despite Brexit One of Britains great strengths is the ability to offer and aggregate all of the services the global financial services industry needs This has not changed as a result of the EU referendum and I will do everything I can to ensure the City of London retains its position as the worlds leading international financial centre. Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Yanis Varoufakis Greece's former finance minister compared the UK relations with the EU bloc with a well-known song by the Eagles: You can check out any time you like, as the Hotel California song says, but you can't really leave. The proof is Theresa May has not even dared to trigger Article 50. It's like Harrison Ford going into Indiana Jones' castle and the path behind him fragmenting. You can get in, but getting out is not at all clear Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Michael OLeary Ryanair boss says UK will be screwed by EU in Brexit trade deals: I have no faith in the politicians in London going on about how the world will want to trade with us. The world will want to screw you that's what happens in trade talks, he said. They have no interest in giving the UK a deal on trade Getty What experts have said about Brexit Tim Martin JD Wetherspoon's chairman has said claims that the UK would see serious economic consequences from a Brexit vote were "lurid" and wrong: We were told it would be Armageddon from the OECD, from the IMF, David Cameron, the chancellor and President Obama who were predicting locusts in the fields and tidal waves in the North Sea" PA What experts have said about Brexit Mark Carney Governor of Bank of England is 'serene' about Bank of England's Brexit stance: I am absolutely serene about the judgments made both by the MPC and the FPC Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Christine Lagarde IMF chief urges quick Brexit to reduce economic uncertainty: We want to see clarity sooner rather than later because we think that a lack of clarity feeds uncertainty, which itself undermines investment appetites and decision making Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Inga Beale Lloyds chief executive says Brexit is a major issue: "Clearly the UK's referendum on its EU membership is a major issue for us to deal with and we are now focusing our attention on having in place the plans that will ensure Lloyd's continues trading across Europe EPA What experts have said about Brexit Colm Kelleher President of US bank Morgan Stanley says City of London will suffer as result of the EU referendum: I do believe, and I said prior to the referendum, that the City of London will suffer as result of Brexit. The issue is how much What experts have said about Brexit Richard Branson Virgin founder believes we've lost a THIRD of our value because of Brexit and cancelled a deal worth 3,000 jobs: We're not any worse than anybody else, but I suspect we've lost a third of our value which is dreadful for people in the workplace.' He continued: "We were about to do a very big deal, we cancelled that deal, that would have involved 3,000 jobs, and thats happening all over the country" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Barack Obama US President believes Britain was wrong to vote to leave the EU: "It is absolutely true that I believed pre-Brexit vote and continue to believe post-Brexit vote that the world benefited enormously from the United Kingdom's participation in the EU. We are fully supportive of a process that is as little disruptive as possible so that people around the world can continue to benefit from economic growth" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Kristin Forbes American economist and an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England argues that the economy had been less stormy than many expected following the shock referendum result: For nowthe economy is experiencing some chop, but no tsunami. The adverse winds could quickly pick up and merit a stronger policy response. But recently they have shifted to a more favourable direction Getty The Government needs all the help it can get from good civil servants to deliver a workable Brexit. The former Chancellor George Osborne defended Sir Ivan, calling him a perceptive, pragmatic and patriotic public servant. And the Labour MP Stephen Kinnock said Ms May was recklessly sailing our country into uncharted waters. Sir Ivan had been playing an absolutely pivotal role in the Brexit process and his departure was a major blow, Mr Kinnock said. He said: And with Boris [Johnson] and the Brexiteers blundering around like bulls in a china shop, we know that the work of our diplomatic corps has never been more important. Sir Ivans resignation, seemingly out of the blue, raises serious concerns about the Governments shambolic approach. Theresa May is recklessly sailing our country into uncharted waters, without a map or a compass. Lord Mandelson, a former European trade commissioner, warned top civil servants were increasingly nervous about giving objective opinion and advice. The Labour peer said: In terms of knowledge and experience of the EU, Sir Ivan Rogers is second to none in Whitehall. His resignation is a serious loss for us in Brussels. I would not expect him to comment further but everyone knows that civil servants are being increasingly inhibited in offering objective opinion and advice to ministers. Our negotiation as a whole will go nowhere if ministers are going to delude themselves about the immense difficulty and challenges Britain faces in implementing the referendum decision. 2016: The year of Brexit Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform think-tank, tweeted that the UK had lost one of its most experienced EU negotiators at a crucial moment. He said: Ivan Rogers resignation makes a good deal on Brexit less likely. One of the v few people at top of Brit govt who understand EU. The [EU] 27 will take Rogers resignation as a sign that Mays government prefers to placate hardline sceptics than keep its top EU expert. Some observers were struck by how the resignation appeared to have come as a complete surprise to the Government. The Foreign Office took two hours to release a brief statement suggesting he had gone a few months early although it is believed Sir Ivan had intended to stay until November. But a gleeful Nigel Farage, suggested a lot more British diplomats should follow Sir Ivan Rogers and resign. The former Ukip leader said: The world has changed. The political establishment in this country and the diplomatic service just doesnt accept the vote. Mr Farage also said Theresa May should welcome it with open arms and put a firm Brexiteer in the position. Somebody who recognises that the world has changed, somebody tough, so we can get on with Brexit, he added. A Government spokesman said: Sir Ivan Rogers has resigned a few months early as UK permanent representative to the European Union. Sir Ivan has taken this decision now to enable a successor to be appointed before the UK invokes Article 50 by the end of March. We are grateful for his work and commitment over the last three years. Sir Ivan's resignation came days after Theresa May appealed for unity over Brexit (PA) Nevertheless, the loss of Sir Ivan will be seen as a blow to the Treasury and the rest of the Government as it wrestles with what Theresa May has promised will be a smooth Brexit. Sir Ivan represented the UK at weekly meetings in the EU Council, dealing largely with political, financial, justice, policing and foreign policy issues. But, last month, he infuriated Eurosceptics with his warnings to the Government over the timetable for a free-trade deal with the EU. Publicly, Downing Street insisted the ambassador had simply been communicating the views of some European leaders, rather than giving his own assessment. A recent book about the EU referendum campaign revealed how some Conservatives blamed Sir Ivan for preventing David Cameron from demanding more from his EU renegotiation. In All Out War, The Sunday Times political editor Tim Shipman quoted one Cameron adviser saying he had been beholden to Sir Ivan and his own EU adviser, Tom Scholar. The extract read: They were status quo. They were happy to take No for an answer, happy to believe things werent possible when they could be possible. Ive lost count of the number of times Ivan threatened to resign. The ambassador was said to have gone over advisers heads directly to Mr Cameron, after dismissing their arguments. He would send emails that were the stuff of legend, saying why didnt we know anything? We were just politicos, we didnt understand, the aide added. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Britain's ambassador to the EU has resigned, the Government has confirmed. But what does the little-known role do, and what does Sir Ivan Rodgers' resignation mean for the UK's Brexit process? Who is Sir Ivan Rogers? He was the Permanent Representative to the European Union, known informally as Britains ambassador to the EU. He was appointed to the job in 2013 by David Cameron. He leads a team in Brussels called the Permanent Representation to the European Union, known to eurocrats as UKRep. What did he do? The team he leads is in charge of explaining British policies to the various pillars of the EU the European Commission, the European Parliament and other EU member states. He also sits on the catchily-named Coreper II committee, or Committee of the Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States to the European Union. That committee draws up the agenda for the European Council which is when Theresa May, Francois Hollande, Angela Merkel and all the other heads of EU states and governments meet together. Theres also a Coreper I but its less important. Why did he step down? The Government says he was going to step down anyway in November, and that his early departure will mean that one person will be in charge of the Article 50 process (starting in March) from the very beginning until the end. He previously told ministers it could take 10 years to negotiate a free trade deal, apparently suggesting a distance between his own views and those of the more optimistic Brexiteers around Theresa May. A former top civil servant Nicholas Macpherson said Rogers had been frozen out of the loop and that this all amounted to a wilful and total destruction of EU expertise. What is the effect of this? Its difficult to say. Rogers was supposedly going to leave anyway, so in that sense, not a huge amount. But his early departure does underscore how uncomfortable many officials actually doing the nitty-gritty in Government and the EU actually are about Brexit enacting a policy many of them suspect might be a disaster. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A senior aide to former Ukip leader Nigel Farage faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to masterminding a scam to extort money from drug dealers. George Cottrell, 22, was arrested in July as he and Mr Farage disembarked from a plane at Chicago O'Hare airport and was extradited to Arizona, where he has been held behind bars since. Cottrell previously ran Mr Farage's private office and was part of Ukip's media team. He posed on the so-called dark web as "Bill" where he was contacted by undercover FBI operatives posing as drug traffickers who proposed to send him between $50,000 and $150,000 of drug money each month. Paul Nuttall: Who is Ukip's new leader? Court documents said he arranged for the agents to send him 15,500 which he intended to keep for himself. He then demanded 62,000 in bitcoin and threatened to alert authorities if they refused. In his plea agreement, seen by The Mirror, he admitted: "I falsely claimed that I would launder the criminal proceeds through my bank accounts for a fee. "Rather than launder any of the money, though ... I intended to retain the money." Key Faces of UKIP Show all 11 1 /11 Key Faces of UKIP Key Faces of UKIP Nigel Farage Getty Key Faces of UKIP United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) Migration spokesman Steven Woolfe addresses supporters and media personnel in central London Getty Key Faces of UKIP Robert Kilroy-Silk, former television presenter and newly elected member of the European Parliament for the UK Independence Party (UKIP), shows a placard against the European Constitution in front of the Houses of Parliament Getty Key Faces of UKIP Mark Reckless, Director of Policy Development addresses party members during the UK Independence Party annual conference at Doncaster Racecourse Getty Key Faces of UKIP Gerard Batten MEP poses with protesters outside parliament Creative Commons Key Faces of UKIP Diane James gives an address at the UKIP Autumn Conference in Bournemouth Getty Key Faces of UKIP Douglas Carswell MP speaks to party members and supporters during the UK Independence Party annual conference Getty Key Faces of UKIP Suzanne Evans, Deputy Party Chairman of UK Independence Party (UKIP) speaks during the launch of UKIP's election manifesto Getty Key Faces of UKIP Peter Whittle, the UK Independence Party Member of the London Assembly, is interviewed in central London Getty Key Faces of UKIP MEP Mike Hookem during a visit to Concept Metal Products & Co Ltd Getty Key Faces of UKIP Paul Nuttall, Deputy Leader of the UK Independence Party speaks at a Say NO, Believe in Britain debate at Carn Brea Leisure Centre in Pool near Redruthon Getty Cottrell was originally charged with 21 counts of fraud, money laundering and extortion. After he plead not guilty to all of them, prosecutors agreed to drop all but one, wire fraud, in exchange for a guilty plea. He will be sentenced in March and could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The Ukip aide was expelled from Malvern College before he sat his A-levels and went straight into what he described as "private banking". He is surrounded by influential family figures, including his uncle Lord Hesketh, who set up a Formula One team and worked for the Thatcher government. His mother, Fiona Cottrell, was a glamour model and was linked to Prince Charles in the 1970s. Ukip is yet to comment on Cottrell's admission, but have previously said they were unaware of his activities. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A Government promise to build thousands of cheaper starter homes for young first-time buyers this year has run into immediate controversy. Housing minister Gavin Barwell pledged that 2017 would see the first wave of the discounted homes built on brownfield sites in 30 local authority areas around England. But Labour and the housing charity Shelter said it was a nonsense to describe them as affordable when they would cost up to 450,000 each. Furthermore, Mr Barwell was unable to say how many homes would be built this year making the original target of 200,000 by 2020 impossible, Labour said. Ministers had suggested that under Theresa Mays leadership the Government would refocus the starter homes project to include some properties to rent, as well as to buy. But the houses to be built this year will be made available exclusively to first-time buyers aged between 23 and 40, at a discount of at least 20 per cent below market value. That means a cap of 250,000 outside London but a ceiling of an eye-watering 450,000 in the capital. Yet, most controversially, the starter homes will count towards the Governments target to build 400,000 new affordable homes. Mr Barwell said: This Government is committed to building starter homes to help young first-time buyers get on the housing ladder. This first wave of partnerships shows the strong local interest to build thousands of starter homes on hundreds of brownfield sites in the coming years. One in three councils has expressed an interest to work with us so far. The first 30 local authorities had been selected because they had the potential to build the homes quickly, under a 1.2bn Starter Homes Land Fund. But John Healey, Labours housing spokesman, said: These so-called starter homes are a symbol of the Conservative record on housing. Ministers launched them in 2014, but will only start to build the first in 2017, promised theyd be affordable for young people when theyll cost up to 450,000, and pledged to build 200,000 by 2020 but no-one now believes thats possible. And Roger Harding, Shelters director of communications, said: Efforts to build more homes are welcome, but these starter homes are only likely to benefit people who are better off and already close to buying. The Government recently signalled that it wanted affordable to start to actually mean affordable when it comes to building homes. We would urge them to keep to this rather than continuing with starter homes, which have been shown not to work. The Government believes the new developments will support wider growth and regeneration, including in some town centres. The first areas will begin construction later this year along with sites supported by the Homes and Communities Agency. The Local Government Association called for councils to be given discretion on building starter homes, to ensure enough properties to both buy and rent are available in developments. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Britains ambassador to the EU has suddenly resigned, just weeks after his warning that striking a new trade deal could take a decade sparked a major row. Sir Ivan Rogers was expected to stay in his post until at least the end of 2017, but has walked out early - leaving officials in shock over the loss of one of Britains most experienced EU negotiators. He did not explain the reasons for the move, according to people who have seen his note to diplomatic staff, the Financial Times reported. However, clear tensions with No.10 were laid bare when he warned it could take until the early mid-2020s for the EU to agree and ratify a comprehensive trade deal with Britain. The Daily Mail claimed the knives were out for Sir Ivan, with demands for him to be replaced with a diplomat who is more energetically pro-Brexit. There was even speculation that his comments were deliberately leaked to the BBC, last month, to undermine his position. Today, a Government spokesman said: Sir Ivan has taken this decision now to enable a successor to be appointed before the UK invokes Article 50 by the end of March. Nevertheless, the loss of Sir Ivan will be seen as a blow to the Treasury and the rest of the Government as it wrestles with what Theresa May has promised will be a smooth Brexit. Hilary Benn, the Labour chairman of the Commons Brexit Committee, told the BBC the resignation was not a good thing. Mr Benn said I think that it means that the Government will have to get its skates on to make sure there is a replacement in place so he or she can work with Sir Ivan in the transition, the handover," The United Kingdom Permanent Representation to the European Union (UKRep) is the Governments face in negotiations that take place in Brussels. 2016: The year of Brexit Sir Ivan Rogers represented the UK at weekly meetings in the EU Council, dealing largely with political, financial, justice, policing and foreign policy issues. But, last month, he infuriated Eurosceptics when it emerged he had warned the Government a free-trade deal with the EU could take full decade to achieve. Publicly, Downing Street insisted the ambassador had simply been communicating the views of some European leaders, rather than giving his own assessment. But Dominic Raab, a former minister and a Leave campaigner, said Sir Ivan was "scarred by his own pessimistic advice in the past". A recent book about the EU referendum campaign revealed how some Conservatives blamed Sir Ivan Rogers for preventing David Cameron from demanding more from his EU renegotiation. What experts have said about Brexit Show all 11 1 /11 What experts have said about Brexit What experts have said about Brexit Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond The Chancellor claims London can still be a world financial hub despite Brexit One of Britains great strengths is the ability to offer and aggregate all of the services the global financial services industry needs This has not changed as a result of the EU referendum and I will do everything I can to ensure the City of London retains its position as the worlds leading international financial centre. Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Yanis Varoufakis Greece's former finance minister compared the UK relations with the EU bloc with a well-known song by the Eagles: You can check out any time you like, as the Hotel California song says, but you can't really leave. The proof is Theresa May has not even dared to trigger Article 50. It's like Harrison Ford going into Indiana Jones' castle and the path behind him fragmenting. You can get in, but getting out is not at all clear Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Michael OLeary Ryanair boss says UK will be screwed by EU in Brexit trade deals: I have no faith in the politicians in London going on about how the world will want to trade with us. The world will want to screw you that's what happens in trade talks, he said. They have no interest in giving the UK a deal on trade Getty What experts have said about Brexit Tim Martin JD Wetherspoon's chairman has said claims that the UK would see serious economic consequences from a Brexit vote were "lurid" and wrong: We were told it would be Armageddon from the OECD, from the IMF, David Cameron, the chancellor and President Obama who were predicting locusts in the fields and tidal waves in the North Sea" PA What experts have said about Brexit Mark Carney Governor of Bank of England is 'serene' about Bank of England's Brexit stance: I am absolutely serene about the judgments made both by the MPC and the FPC Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Christine Lagarde IMF chief urges quick Brexit to reduce economic uncertainty: We want to see clarity sooner rather than later because we think that a lack of clarity feeds uncertainty, which itself undermines investment appetites and decision making Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Inga Beale Lloyds chief executive says Brexit is a major issue: "Clearly the UK's referendum on its EU membership is a major issue for us to deal with and we are now focusing our attention on having in place the plans that will ensure Lloyd's continues trading across Europe EPA What experts have said about Brexit Colm Kelleher President of US bank Morgan Stanley says City of London will suffer as result of the EU referendum: I do believe, and I said prior to the referendum, that the City of London will suffer as result of Brexit. The issue is how much What experts have said about Brexit Richard Branson Virgin founder believes we've lost a THIRD of our value because of Brexit and cancelled a deal worth 3,000 jobs: We're not any worse than anybody else, but I suspect we've lost a third of our value which is dreadful for people in the workplace.' He continued: "We were about to do a very big deal, we cancelled that deal, that would have involved 3,000 jobs, and thats happening all over the country" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Barack Obama US President believes Britain was wrong to vote to leave the EU: "It is absolutely true that I believed pre-Brexit vote and continue to believe post-Brexit vote that the world benefited enormously from the United Kingdom's participation in the EU. We are fully supportive of a process that is as little disruptive as possible so that people around the world can continue to benefit from economic growth" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Kristin Forbes American economist and an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England argues that the economy had been less stormy than many expected following the shock referendum result: For nowthe economy is experiencing some chop, but no tsunami. The adverse winds could quickly pick up and merit a stronger policy response. But recently they have shifted to a more favourable direction Getty In All Out War, the Sunday Times political editor Tim Shipman quoted one Cameron adviser saying he had been beholden to Sir Ivan and his own EU adviser, Tom Scholar. The extract read: They were status quo. They were happy to take No for an answer, happy to believe things werent possible when they could be possible. Ive lost count of the number of times Ivan threatened to resign. The ambassador was said to have gone over advisers heads directly to Mr Cameron, after dismissing their arguments. He would send emails that were the stuff of legend, saying why didnt we know anything? We were just politicos, we didnt understand, the aide added. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Theresa May says cash handouts of overseas aid in Pakistan will continue because they get help to those who need it most. Downing Street refused to order a review after the Daily Mail and a senior Conservative MP likened the programme giving around 10 a month to the poorest families to exporting the dole. Nigel Evans, a former Commons deputy speaker and member of the International Development Select Committee, claimed the cash transfers were clearly open to fraud. Recommended Tory MP compares foreign aid to handing out the dole But a spokeswoman for the Prime Minister staunchly defended both the programme and the foreign aid budget, after both came under renewed fire in right-wing newspapers. She told a Westminster briefing the effectiveness of cash transfers had been recognised by the National Audit Office, Whitehalls spending watchdog. And she said: In the last four years, cash transfers supported by UK aid have helped almost nine million of the worlds poorest people to buy food, medicine, and clean water. There are robust systems in place to make sure that they are not being exploited for fraud and corruption. We think it is a respected system for getting aid to those that need it most. We would only pursue such an option where we were clear that results had already been achieved and verified. The UK aid budget helps fund the Benazir Income Support Programme, offering the cash to some of the poorest Pakistani families, in a country where 60 million people live on less than 1 a day. More than 235,000 families were helped in 2012, a figure which could potentially rise to 441,000 families by 2020. The Daily Mail reported that the budget had risen from 53m in 2005 to an annual average of 219 million in the period 2011-15. It claimed people in a village on the outskirts of Peshawar were taking out money from cashpoints with cards they said they had been given after paying kickbacks to officials. Mr Evans urged the Government to step in, saying: It seems like were exporting the dole to Pakistan, which is clearly not a clever idea. Anything that involves money needs to be properly scrutinised and is clearly open to fraud with money siphoned away when it ought to be directed to those most in need. But Government officials believe that offering cash directly to those people cuts out any middlemen, reducing the risk of fraud and minimising the cost of the programme. It also means that the recipients can decide to spend the money on their most urgent needs, such as food, rent, education or medicine. Ms Mays spokeswoman added: We are providing a small contribution to a much bigger programme run by the government of Pakistan, where there are already proven results. Before Christmas, both No 10 and Chancellor Philip Hammond suggested the law requiring 0.7 per cent of gross national income to be spent on aid would be reviewed before 2020. The hints followed fierce attacks by Conservative MPs and newspapers of the 12bn annual legal commitment, while domestic spending is cut. But, after the latest criticism, the spokeswoman said: The Prime Minister has made it clear that our aid budget is an investment in our security and national interest, and that it is right to honour the commitments that we have made. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A marching band from one of the oldest black colleges in the US South, has sparked controversy by accepting an invitation to perform at Donald Trumps inauguration. Organisers of the event in Washington DC on January 20, have been hampered by the slew of performers and groups who have refused to play for Mr Trump. While a number of historically black universities said their bands would not perform at the event, the group from Talladega College, Alabamas oldest private, historically black college, has accepted an invitation. The decision has sparked huge debate, both among current students and members of the colleges alumni. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_thly6vVJpE We were a bit horrified to hear of the invitation, Shirley Ferrill, who graduated from the college in 1974, told the Associated Press. I dont want my alma mater to give the appearance of supporting him. Ignore, decline or whatever, but please don't send our band out in our name to do that. The news agency said the move had lit up Talladega Colleges social media sites with debate. Some people voiced strong opposition, while others support the band's participation. After how black people were treated at Trumps rallies, youre going to go and shuck and jive down Pennsylvania Avenue? For what, said Seinya SamForay. What they did is a slap in the face to other black universities. The Presidential Inaugural Committee announced last week that the Talladega College Marching Tornadoes were among 40 groups, including high school bands and military organisations, scheduled to perform in the parade. Ron White of Atlanta, a 1997 graduate of another historically black college, Fort Valley State University in Georgia, said he questioned why band members from Talladega should be playing all these patriotic tunes for someone who has degraded us. Talladega College was founded in 1867, by the descendants of the slaves who helped to build its first building, according to historical documents on the colleges website. Passions have become so high at the college, that two rival petitions age been set up. Student Dollan Young started his petition supporting the trip after the seeing the criticism the ban had received for accepting the invitation. We believe that this parade is not about politics, it's about seeing first hand the process of a transition, it says. Its not to support any political party, its about the experience that the students will obtain. Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Independent Climate email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Officials in Wisconsin removed information about climate change on a state government website and replaced it with unfounded claims that the science behind global warming is still a matter of debate within days of Donald Trumps US election victory, it has emerged. The Earths atmosphere has already warmed by nearly one degree Celsius in little over a century and the basic science demonstrating that carbon dioxide emissions have driven this process and will continue to do so is undeniable. The head of the American Association for the Advancement of Science recently suggested disputing the reality of climate change was as ludicrous as denying the existence of gravity. In June, 31 scientific bodies wrote to Congress with the central message that climate change is real. However, Americas President-elect has dismissed the science as a hoax and climate change denial is alarmingly common among rightwing American politicians. In the new guidance, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) does not actually mention climate change although it does appear in the URL of its webpage. Headlined The Great Lakes and a changing world, it reads: As it has done throughout the centuries, the Earth is going through a change. The reasons for this change at this particular time in the Earths long history are being debated and researched by academic entities outside the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The effects of such a change are also being debated but whatever the causes and effects, the DNRs responsibility is to manage our states natural resources through whatever event presents itself; flood, drought, tornadoes, ice/snow or severe heat. This is a standard line used by climate science deniers and sceptics. Previously the same page, headlined Climate Change and Wisconsins Great Lakes, echoed the scientific consensus and stated a number of simple, verifiable facts. Earths climate is changing. Human activities that increase heat-trapping (greenhouse) gases are the main cause, it said. Earths average temperature has increased 1.4 F [0.4C] since 1850 and the eight warmest years on record have occurred since 1998. Increasing temperatures have led to changes in rainfall patterns and snow and ice cover. These changes could have severe effects on the Great Lakes and the plants, wildlife and people who depend on them. While no one can predict exactly what climate change will mean for our Great Lakes, scientists agree that the following changes are likely if climate change patterns continue. 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke filled with the carbon that is driving climate change drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan The page also used to state that increased temperatures would result in greater evaporation and lower levels of warmer lake water. This would reduce the habitat for cold-water species and result in a loss of critical wetland areas. And the lower water levels could have severe economic consequences for our valuable shipping industry, lakeshore recreation, and coastal businesses, the webpage had warned. However, it added: The good news is that we can all work to slow climate change and lessen its effects. Trump comments on Paris Climate deal A spokesman for the DNR told the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel: The updated page reflects our position on this topic that we have communicated for years, that our agency regularly must respond to a variety of environmental and human stressors from drought, flooding, wind events to changing demographics. Our agency must be ready to respond to each of these challenges. Adaptation has been our position on this topic. As you know the causes and effects of any changes in climate are still being debated and research on the matter is being done in academic circles outside DNR. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has accused Barack Obama of attempting to delegitimise Donald Trump ahead of his inauguration later this month. Speaking from the Ecuadorean embassy in London, the whistleblower suggested the incumbent US President was trying to derail Mr Trumps ascent to the White House by accusing Russia of interfering in the election. The 45-year-old Australian told Fox News the Obama administration was trying to delegitimise the Trump administration as it goes into the White House". They are trying to say that President-elect Trump is not a legitimate President, he added. Trump vs Clinton Like 'Cholera vs Gonorrhoea' - Assange at Green Party Convention Last week President Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats in retaliation for the hacking of email accounts linked to the Democratic Party. US security officials believe Kremlin-backed hackers accessed the servers to help Mr Trump win the presidency. The files, taken from Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, were then released by Wikileaks. But Mr Trump has refused to accept the conclusion that Moscow was behind the hacking. Incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer said "there doesn't seem to be conclusive evidence" that the Russians were responsible. Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural Show all 14 1 /14 Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A lesbian couple kisses in front of mural depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, on the walls of a barbecue bar 'Keule Ruke' on May 19, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Barcroft Media/Getty Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A lesbian couple kisses in front of mural depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, on the walls of a barbecue bar 'Keule Ruke' on May 19, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Barcroft Media/Getty Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural VILNIUS, LITHUANIA - NOVEMBER 23: A woman walks past a mural showing U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (R) blowing marijuana smoke into the mouth of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the wall of a bar-b-que restaurant on November 23, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Many people in the three Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are concerned that Russia, because Trump has expressed both admiration for Putin and doubt over defending NATO member states, will be emboldened to intervene militarily in the Baltics. Sean Gallup/Getty Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A woman walks past a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive. Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural AP Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A child walks past a graffiti depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, on the walls of a bar in the old town in Vilnius, Lithuania, Saturday, May 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis) AP Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural People walk past a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive. Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A man photographs a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive. Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural AP Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A young woman walks past a mural showing U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (R) blowing marijuana smoke into the mouth of Russian President Vladimir Putin with the slogan "make everything great again," in reference to Trump's campaign slogan of "Make America Great Again," on the wall of a bar-b-que restaurant on November 23, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Many people in the three Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are concerned that Russia, because Trump has expressed both admiration for Putin and doubt over defending NATO member states, will be emboldened to intervene militarily in the Baltics. Sean Gallup/Getty Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A morning commuter stops to look at a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive. Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural Restaurant owner Dominykas Ceckauskas pose next to a mural on the wall of his establishment depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive. / AFP / Petras Malukas (Photo credit should read PETRAS MALUKAS/AFP/Getty Images) Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A passerby photographs a mural showing U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (R) blowing marijuana smoke into the mouth of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the wall of a bar-b-que restaurant on November 23, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Many people in the three Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are concerned that Russia, because Trump has expressed both admiration for Putin and doubt over defending NATO member states, will be emboldened to intervene militarily in the Baltics. Sean Gallup/Getty Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural Getty Questioned on Russias involvement, Mr Assange insisted Vladimir Putins administration was not involved. We can say, we have said, repeatedly that over the last two months that our source is not the Russian government and it is not a state party," he said. If you look at most of his [Obamas] statements, he doesnt say that. He doesnt say that Wikileaks obtained its information from Russia, worked with Russia. Asked if the Podesta files changed the course of the election, Mr Assange replied: Who knows, its impossible to tell. But if it did, the accusation is that the true statements of Hillary Clinton and her campaign manager, John Podesta, and the DNC [Democratic National Committee] head Debbie Wasserman Schultz, their true statements is what changed the election. Wikileaks posted a message on New Years Day promising the release of more documents in the coming year. A tweet from the groups official account read: If you thought 2016 was a big Wikileaks year 2017 will blow you away. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The New York Times appears to have stopped naming its reporters in Turkey following the Istanbul nightclub attack. A story about the New Year's Day massacre featured the byline "An Employee of the New York Times" in place of a reporter's name. A number of other articles filed from the country were similarly bylined. It comes after a series of reports about journalists being arrested in the country, along with judges, military personnel and teachers. In many cases authorities have claimed those detained are linked to terrorism or an attempted coup in the country last year. On New Year's Eve, the Wall Street Journal said its reporter Dion Nissenbaum had been detained by Turkish authorities for two-and-a-half days without access to a lawyer, before being released. Ebru Umar, a columnist for the Dutch Metro newspaper, was detained for questioning after allegedly insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in April. The Committee to Protect Journalists, an American non-profit group, said that as 2016 drew to a close, police detained 45 former employees of the state outlet Turkish Radio and a court formally arrested 29 of them. Turkey currently ranks 151st out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders' ranking of press freedom around the world. The disguised byline (New York Times) The country's government regularly bans in-country coverage of terror attacks and other events. In November courts ordered a blackout on reporting the arrests of nine staff members at the Cumhuriyet newspaper, including the editor. It is unclear what prompted the bylines in the Times and the revered newspaper had not responded to a request for comment from The Independent at the time of publication. The decision nonetheless prompted debate among media experts. Conservative pundit Michelle Malkin claimed the move was the "byline version of pixelating Mohammed". But Politico magazine editor Blake Hounsell said: "Its the byline version of not getting someone killed or arrested." Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump has insisted North Korea will not develop a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the US. The President-elect addressed the issue on Monday evening on Twitter. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had hinted that his country would test an intercontinental ballistic missile in the new year. Mr Trump tweeted: "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen!" It was unclear if Trump meant he would stop North Korea or he was simply doubting the country's capabilities. His aides did not immediately respond to questions seeking clarification. Also on Twitter, Mr Trump then berated North Korea's most important ally, tweeting: "China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice!" Kim said in his annual New Year's address that preparations for launching an ICBM have "reached the final stage", He did not explicitly say a test was imminent. Earlier on Monday, experts said North Korea's claims regarding an ICBM were plausible. They said the isolated state had testing rocket engines and heat-shields for such a missile while developing the technology to guide an ICBM after re-entry into the atmosphere following lift-off. While Pyongyang is close to a test, it is likely to take some years to perfect the weapon. Once fully developed, a North Korean ICBM could threaten the continental United States, which is around 9,000 km (5,500 miles) from the North. ICBMs have a minimum range of about 5,500 km (3,400 miles), but some are designed to travel 10,000 km (6,200 miles) or further. North Korea's state media regularly threatens the United States with a nuclear strike, but before 2016 Pyongyang had been assumed to be a long way from being capable of doing so. "The bottom line is Pyongyang is much further along in their missile development than most people realise," said Melissa Hanham, a senior research associate at the U.S.-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California. Additional reporting by agencies Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} House Republicans voted to eviscerate the Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent body created in 2008 to investigate allegations of misconduct by lawmakers following several bribery and corruption scandals. The move is part of a package of rules the full House will vote on Tuesday on its first day of sitting after Christmas. The change, proposed by Virginia Congressman Bob Goodlatte, means the non-partisan office will now fall under the control of the House Ethics Committee which is run by politicians and would now be known as the Office of Congressional Complaint Review. It means "any matter that may involve a violation of criminal law must be referred to the Committee on Ethics for potential referral to law enforcement agencies after an affirmative vote by the members, a statement from Mr Goodlattes office. This would give lawmakers the final say as to whether their colleague should face criminal charges. The new rules will also give the Republicans, who control both houses of Congress, the power to punish lawmakers if there is a repeat of the Democratic sit-in last summer over gun control. House Republicans voted 119-74 in favour of the measure even though it drew notable opposition from House Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Mr Ryan and Mr McCarthy failed to convince rank-and-file Republicans of the important of an independent regulator as many felt they had been unfairly targeted by the OCE. Donald Trump with a campaign contributor in Iowa in January 2016 (Getty) The move came ahead of the inauguration of Donald Trump on as Republican president on 20th January. On the campaign trail the billionaire former reality star had vowed to drain the swamp by ridding the Capitol of special interest groups, lobbyists and politicians who could be easily bought. He claimed his rival Hillary Clinton was in the pocket of elite special interests such as Goldman Sachs as she was dependent on campaign contributions from donors whereas he was incorruptible because he was already really rich. Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Show all 14 1 /14 Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Isis: "Some of the candidates, they went in and didnt know the air conditioner didnt work and sweated like dogs, and they didnt know the room was too big because they didnt have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS?" Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On immigration: "I will build a great wall and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me and Ill build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Free Trade: "Free trade is terrible. Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have stupid people." PAUL J. RICHARDS | AFP | Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Mexicans: "When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best. Theyre sending people that have lots of problems. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists." Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On China: "I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them?... I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On work: "If you're interested in 'balancing' work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable." AP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On success: "What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate." Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On life: "Everything in life is luck." AFP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On ambition: "You have to think anyway, so why not think big?" Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On his opponents: "Bush is totally in favour of Common Core. I don't see how he can possibly get the nomination. He's weak on immigration. He's in favour of Common Core. How the hell can you vote for this guy? You just can't do it." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Obamacare: "You have to be hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor, to use it, because the deductibles are so high. It's virtually useless. And remember the $5 billion web site?... I have so many web sites, I have them all over the place. I hire people, they do a web site. It costs me $3." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Barack Obama: "Obama is going to be out playing golf. He might be on one of my courses. I would invite him. I have the best courses in the world. I have one right next to the White House." PA Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On himself: "Love him or hate him, Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On America: "The American Dream is dead. But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before and we will make America great again." GETTY On 9th December, Mr Trump announced he had appointed the Chief Operations Officer of Goldman Sachs, Gary Cohn, as his top economic adviser. The House Minority Leader, Democrat Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi denounced the move: "Republicans claim they want to 'drain the swamp,' but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions. "Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress." Additional reporting by AP Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A majority of Americans lack confidence in Donald Trump's ability to handle an international crisis, according to a new poll. It also found 47 per cent doubted his ability to use military force wisely. Ahead of the President-elects inauguration on 20 January, 44 per cent believed him to be incapable of averting major scandals during his time in office. The previous three presidents have all had the confidence of 70 per cent of Americans in these areas. The results from market researcher Gallup, appear to lend weight to the idea that Americans are sceptical of Mr Trumps capacity to handle his presidential duties. They came as Mr Trump criticised China and North Korea on Twitter. While 60 per cent of Americans expressed confidence in his ability to work effectively with Congress, and 59 per cent believed he would manage the economy well, the results were far less favourable compared to his predecessors. The results also showed a clear split between Republican and Democrat voters, with the latter expressing low confidence in his capacity to lead. However, between 77 per cent and 90 per cent of those polled from Mr Trump's Republican Party expressed confidence in their choice of leader. The poll shows Mr Trump will take office with a majority of voters viewing him unfavourably. He will have less support than outgoing President Obama. However, Mr Trumps Democrat opponent Hillary Clinton also had highly unfavourably ratings, with 2016s candidates being two of the least well-liked in modern presidential history. The results were based on telephone interviews conducted between 7 and 11 December, with a random sample of 1,028 adults, aged 18 and older, living in 50 US states and the District of Columbia. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Cambodian police said they planned to arrest three suspects for photoshopping an image of the countrys king into a gay porn scene. The image, which appeared on social media, is a rare insult to King Norodom Sihamoni, who is widely respected in the region. Of the three suspects, two are in Cambodia and one is believed to be in Thailand. Criticism of the monarchy in Thailand can lead to decades in prison but this does not cover foreign rulers. We have got orders to arrest them. If we don't take action against them, more people might follow their act, a spokesman for the Cambodian Interior Ministry said, the Daily Mail reported. The king represents the whole nation and they are insulting the king, which is like they are insulting the whole nation. King Sihamoni is unmarried and has no children. He became king in 2004 when his father abdicated. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The 63-year-old has fulfilled his symbolic role as head of state and steered clear from politics. He is fluent in several languages and established a ballet company before taking the throne. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} An Indian minister has sparked outrage by suggesting that a "mass molestation" of women in one of the country's busiest nightlife hubs took place because they dressed "like westerners". Multiple women were groped during New Year celebrations in Bangalore, the capital of Indias southern Karnataka state, according to local and social media reports. Photographs of distraught women rushing out of crowds and seeking help from police appeared on both. But Karnataka State Home Minister, G Parameshwara, caused uproar after said the alleged attacks were the result of Western influences. They tried to copy the Westerners, not only in their mindset but even in their dressing, he said. So some disturbance, some girls are harassed, these kinds of things do happen. The minister's comments have sparked uproar, with National Commission for Women chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam telling local media: Such remarks from the Home Minister is unacceptable and regrettable. "I want to ask this Minister are Indian men so pathetic and weak that when they see a woman in Western clothes on a day of revelry, they get out of control? The "brazen, mass molestation of women took place between as revellers gathered for New Year celebrations, according to the Bangalore Mirror. "All hell broke loose close to midnight as hooligans in the garb of revellers started pawing, molesting and passing lewd remarks on women on the streets, forcing some of them to literally take off their stilettoes and run for help," the paper reported. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty "The police asked them to identify the men, but they couldn't. It was a mob frenzy." Chaitali Wasnick, a photographer, wrote on Facebook that a man tried to grope her with "so much ease he did as if he thought il (sic) not utter a word" as she made her way home in another part of the city. But she had "punched and kicked" him until he ran away. She told the Independent there were no police officers nearby and there was "nothing I could do" after the assault. Police said they have received no complaints but were examining CCTV footage for evidence of molestation. We had deployed 1,600 police personnel in the area for new years celebrations and around 60,000 people had come there that night," Nagaraj, a police inspector, told the Hindustan Times. But he insisted: "We had the situation under control.... If such incidents did take place that night we urge people to come forward and file complaints." The stigma around sexual assault in India means it largely goes unreported. In 2015, Police were reported to have sent text messages to 600,000 men who had previously been accused of sexual misconduct, ahead of the New Year celebrations. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Rodrigo Duterte has said his family members may be members of Isis. The President of the Philippines linked the extremist group to two recent bomb attacks, acknowledging the possibility of an Isis presence in the country. Isis seems to be everywhere, he told the editor of Rappler, an online news site based in the Philippines. Mr Duterte said his cousins were members of local Islamist separatist groups the Moro Islamic Liberation Front [MI] and the Moro National Liberation Front [MN]. He said they may also have joined the so-called Islamic State. To be frank, I have cousins on the other side, with MI and MN. Some, I heard, are with Isis. The world leader said two explosions one at a night market in the city of Davao that killed 14 and wounded 70 in September, and a blast outside a church in the Cotabato region on Christmas Eve that wounded around 13 were connected to Isis. He told the news site he was not ready to share his information on the matter, although he said he had discussed the threat posed by the group with other heads of state. Turkey releases video of air strikes on more than 100 Isis targets in Syria after Istanbul nightclub attack Isis-affiliated militant group Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility for the Davao attack, but at the time, Mr Duterte said investigators were looking at the possible involvement of drug syndicates. Abu Sayyaf is based in the south west of the Philippines, where Islamist Moro groups have led a violent insurgency for decades. Mr Duterte became president in June after a landslide election victory and has launched a deadly war on drugs in which thousands of people have been killed by police and vigilantes. The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Show all 9 1 /9 The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On killing drug addicts These sons of whores are destroying our children. I warn you, dont go into that, even if youre a policeman, because I will really kill you. If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Message to China I will go there on my own with a Jet Ski, bringing along with me a [Phillipino] flag and a pole, and once I disembark, I will plant the flag on the runway and tell the Chinese authorities, Kill me AP The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Christmas message to law-breakers If you do not want to stop, and just continue committing crimes, then this would be your last Merry Christmas AP The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On sex life I was separated from my wife. Im not impotent. What am I supposed to do? Let this hang forever? When I take Viagra, it stands up AFP/Getty Images The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On the drugs trade None of my children are into illegal drugs. But my order is, even if it is a member of my family, kill him'" AP The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Insulting the Pope We were affected by the traffic. It took us five hours. I asked why, they said it was closed. I asked who is coming. They answered, the pope. I wanted to call him: Pope, son of a wh**e, go home. Do not visit us again AFP/Getty Images The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Joke about rape I saw her face and I thought, 'What a pity... they raped her, they all lined up. I was mad she was raped but she was so beautiful. I thought, the mayor should have been first AFP/Getty The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Insulting Barack Obama "Mr Obama should be respectful and refrain from throwing questions at me about the killings, or son of a bitch, I will swear at you in that forum" REUTERS The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On Abu Sayyaf Islamic militants "If I have to face them, you know I can eat humans. I will really open up your body. Just give me vinegar and salt, and I will eat you. If you annoy me to the fullest... I will eat you alive. Raw" EPA There have been 5,927 deaths linked to Mr Dutertes extreme crackdown on drug dealers and users since 1 July, according to CNN. During the interview, Mr Duterte described what could take place if he met his cousins who may have joined Isis. Let's be understanding to each other. You are you and I am I, and I said, if we meet in one corner, so be it, he said. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Facebook has asked an Italian art historian to remove a picture of the sea god Neptune from her page. The 3.2 metre high bronze statue stands in the Piazza del Nettuno, in Bologna, Italy. Elisa Barbari chose the photo for her Facebook page, called "Stories, curiosities and views of Bologna". However, Facebook told her the image violates its guide lines because it "presents an image with content that is explicitly sexual". The 3.2 metre high bronze statue stands in the Piazza del Nettuno, in Bologna, Italy (ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images) I wanted to promote my page but it seems that for Facebook the statue is a sexually explicit image that shows off too much flesh. Really, Neptune? This is crazy! Ms Barbari said, according to The Daily Telegraph. Facebook told her: "The use of the image was not approved because it violates Facebooks guide lines on advertising. It presents an image with content that is explicitly sexual and which shows to an excessive degree the body, concentrating unnecessarily on body parts." It added: The use of images or video of nude bodies or plunging necklines is not allowed, even if the use is for artistic or educational reasons. Facebook U-turn: 'Napalm girl' photo permitted In a post on Facebook, Ms Barbari wrote: "Back in the 1950s, during celebrations for school children graduating, they used to cover up Neptune. Maybe Facebook would prefer the statue to be dressed again." She asked: "How can a work of art, our very own statue of Neptune, be the object of censorship? In November, Facebook was forced to apologise for removing a photograph of a former firefighter with severe burn scars. The social media site twice took down a picture of Lasse Gustavson after his friend Bjorn Lindeblad posted the photograph to celebrate his 60th birthday. The company only restored the image when more than 10,000 people shared a third post by Mr Lindeblad, criticising their disgusting policy. Instagram censorship controversies Show all 11 1 /11 Instagram censorship controversies Instagram censorship controversies Rupi Kaur uploaded an image onto the social networking site for a menstruation-themed photo series developed by her and her sister Prabh. The image, which was taken by Prabh, shows Ms Kaur lying down on a bed fully clothed with two spots of blood visible on her clothes and on the sheet. It was removed from Instagram twice for violating its community standards. Ms Kaur challenged the removal and the image was eventually restored on the site Instagram censorship controversies Harley Weirs Instagram account was deactivated, after she shared images from a shoot for i-D magazine. Weir was photographing nude models for the magazine's The Female Gaze edition from her series, Portraits of a Woman. Weir, who also shot the controversial Calvin Klein erotica themed campaign, shared a shot of one model, who was on her period, with her 91,000 followers. Menstrual blood was visible on the models legs and the image was removed Instagram censorship controversies Chrissy Teigen uploaded an image of herself taken for the W Magazine, in which Teigens nipple was visible. The picture was later determined to violate Instagrams usage guidelines and the image was removed. To challenge the policy Teigen later posted a selfie on Instagram with a strategically placed can of hairspray covering her nipple Instagram censorship controversies Scout Willis was banned from Instagram for posting a photograph of a sweatshirt she designed featuring two topless women. The 22-year-old actress, who is the daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, went on a topless jaunt around New York City to highlight her disagreement with policies against female nudity Instagram censorship controversies Rihanna is known for notoriously challenging Instagram's censorship. In the latest spat with the site her topless photo from the cover of French magazine Lui was banned Instagram censorship controversies Instagram was heavily criticised for deleting photos of women showing off their post-baby bodies. That prompted women who wanted to show how the motherhood really looks like, to form the group The 4th Trimester Bodies Project and post images of their changed bodies Instagram censorship controversies Blogger Meghan Tonjes posted an image of her butt to Instagram as a body-positive message to her followers. The picture was quickly removed as it was considered as inappropriate and violating site's guidlines. Tonjes however believed that it was taken down due to her size Instagram censorship controversies User Samm Newman posted a selfie in her underwear to celebrate her plus-size figure but Instagram decided to take the image down. The social platform was later questioned about the controversial censorship, as many believed it was an example of fat-shaming Instagram censorship controversies Comedian Chelsea Handler challenged the nudity policy with an image in which she tried to recreate a shirtless photo of Russian president Vladimir Putin. The post was removed by Instagram and Handler called the move sexist, saying, If a man posts a photo of his nipples, it's OK, but not a woman? Are we in 1825? Instagram censorship controversies Many women have had their Instagram photos removed and accounts shut down because of breastfeeding photos. In a protest against censoring photos of mothers taking part in something as natural as breastfeeding groups such as @normalizebreastfeeding dedicated their accounts to fight the stigma Instagram censorship controversies Australian online magazine Sticks and Stones had its Instagram account removed after posting the photo of two women with pubic hair peeking out of their swimsuits Facebook also made a u-turn over its decision to censor an iconic image of a child victim of the Vietnam War under its nudity guidelines. The company initially defended the move, saying in a statement: While we recognise that this photo is iconic, its difficult to create a distinction between allowing a photograph of a nude child in one instance and not others." But following intense backlash, Facebook said they would reinstating the image and allow uses to share it due to its status as an iconic image of historical importance. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Finland has become the first country in Europe to pay its unemployed citizens a basic monthly income, in a radical pilot project aimed at reducing poverty and joblessness, while also cutting national spending and bureaucracy. Two thousand people will receive 560 euros (480) every month for two years, without having to report whether they are seeking employment or how they are spending the money. This will be deducted from any benefits they are already receiving. The scheme has been created by KELA, the government agency which is responsible for the country's social benefits. Citizens who receive unemployment benefits will be randomly selected, said KELA's Olli Kangas, who added that it had been designed to solve the disincentive problem among the jobless. If a participant finds work, they will continue to receive the payments, preventing fears that they would lose out by finding employment. The problem of refusing work because people feel better off on benefits is particularly acute under Finland's generous and complex social security system. Recommended Elon Musk calls for universal income after robots take human jobs It's highly interesting to see how it makes people behave, said Mr Kangas. Will this lead them to boldly experiment with different kinds of jobs? "Or, as some critics claim, make them lazier with the knowledge of getting a basic income without doing anything? More than eight per cent, or around 213,000 Finns were out of work in November, a figure unchanged from the previous year. The scheme is part of the measures by the centre right government of Prime Minister Juha Sipila to tackle Finland's joblessness problem. Mr Kangas said the basic income experiment may be expanded later to other low-income groups such as freelance workers, small-scale entrepreneurs and part-time workers. The average private sector income in Finland is 3,500 (2980) per month, according to government data. 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 Hanna Mantyla, the Finnish minister of social affairs and health, previously said the project was needed because the country's social security system faced big challenges in the future if it was not simplified. There have already been successful pilot schemes in Africa and India, and a basic income system is also being considered in Switzerland, the Netherlands and France. Scotland is also set to trial a programme, with Labour-run fife and Glasgow councils designing pilots set to run in the next two years. Interest in universal basic income has been growing in Scotland, particularly after the Scottish National Party passed a motion in support of the policy at its conference last year. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The life of an American man was likely saved by his mobile phone, after it took the full force of a bullet fired in an attack on an Istanbul nightclub, his brother has said. William Jacob Raak, a business owner from Pennsylvania who goes by the name Jake, was celebrating New Year's Eve in Turkey when he was caught up in the massacre. Some 180 bullets were sprayed at a 600-strong crowd at the exclusive Reina club on the shores of the Bosphorus river leaving 39 people dead. Footage shows gunman unleash wave of bullets outside Istanbul nightclub "When he got shot the bullet hit his phone," Jake's brother Michael Raak told NBC10. "It went from his hip to his knee but the bullet didnt hit any major arteries". Doctors told him the mobile likely saved his brother's life, WPVI-TV reported. Surgeons removed the bullet, and Jake was due to be discharged soon, Michael said. Recommended Istanbul attack latest example of terrorism plaguing Turkey Jake who lives in Greenville, Tennessee and is originally from Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, was visiting Istanbul with his friends, his brother said. He was captured on video of the aftermath of the shooting "I was shot in the f****** leg man. These crazy people came in shooting everything." Later, Jake recalled the attack to NBC News: "Somebody said that there were shots fired and I initially did not believe it until I saw the gunman and he started shooting up the whole place," He added that he survived the attack by pretending to be dead after he was shot. "I just let him shoot me," he said. "You just have to stay as calm as you can [...] I took a bullet." In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party Show all 9 1 /9 In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party People talk to medics in an ambulance near the scene of an attack in Istanbul on 1 January 2017 AP In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party People near the scene of an attack in Istanbul on 1 January 2017 AP In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party Police secure area near an Istanbul nightclub, Turkey, January 1, 2017. Reuters In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party Ambulances line up on a road leading to a nightclub where a gun attack took place during a New Year party in Istanbul, Turkey Reuters In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party Turkish special force police officers and ambulances are seen at the site of an armed attack January 1, 2017 in Istanbul Getty In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party People embrace near the scene of an attack in Istanbul, on New Year's Day AP In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party Medics carry a wounded person after an attack at a popular nightclub in Istanbul on 1 January AP In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party Turkish police secure the area at Ortakoy district under Bosphorus Bridge after the attack on Reina nightclub Getty Images In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party People leave a nightclub in Istanbul after it was attacked on 1 January AP Jake also said he was "the luckiest person", in the attack that injured 70. Nearly two-thirds of those killed were foreigners, many from the Middle East. Isis have since claimed responsibility for the massacre. Jake is not the first thought to be saved from more serious injury by a mobile phone. During terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015, one man at the Stade de France said a projectile hit his phone, preventing his "head from being blown to bits", he claimed. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Selfie footage has emerged of the man Turkish police claim attacked the Reina nightclub in Istanbul on New Year's Day. Police released images of the suspected attacker and said they had information about his fingerprints. The gunman killed a policeman and another man outside the club in the early hours of 2017, before entering and firing at an estimated 600 people partying inside. Some 180 bullets were sprayed at the crowd, leaving 39 people dead. One man survived only because a bullet struck his phone. The new footage showed the man in Taksim Square, Sky News reported. Police, acting on a tip-off, were carrying out an operation at a home in Istanbul's Zeytinburnu neighbourhood, Haber Turk news channel reported. The private Dogan news agency said the operation was being carried out by special operations police with backing from a helicopter. Earlier Turkish authorities had said they were close to identifying the gunman and have arrested eight other people, the government's spokesman said. "Information about the fingerprints and basic appearance of the terrorist have been found. In the process after this, work to identify him swiftly will be carried out," Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told a news conference. The brutal nightclub assault lasted seven minutes. It is thought the attacker then changed his clothes and disappeared. Footage shows gunman unleash wave of bullets outside Istanbul nightclub Citing Justice Ministry officials, the Anadolu news agency reported that 38 of the 39 dead have been identified. The report said 11 of them were Turkish nationals, and one was a Turkish-Belgian dual citizen. It adds that seven victims were from Saudi Arabia; three each were from Lebanon and Iraq; two each were from Tunisia, India, Morocco and Jordan. Kuwait, Canada, Israel, Syria and Russia each lost one citizen. Mehmet Dag, who watched the catastrophe unfold from the street, said: The man targeted the security there ... he took most of them down and went inside. Once he went in, we dont know what happened. There were gun sounds and after two minutes, the sound of an explosion. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Marine Le Pen has given her backing to Vladimir Putins claims over Crimea, insisting the widely condemned 2014 annexation was not illegal. In an interview with French channel BFM TV, the French far-right leader sided with the Kremlin in a dispute that has contributed to the worst East-West ties for decades. Asked for her views on the diplomatic crisis, Ms Le Pen, who leads the Front National in France and is a candidate in Aprils presidential election, said: I absolutely disagree that it was an illegal annexation: a referendum was held and residents of Crimea chose to rejoin Russia. Mr Putins forces swept into the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in February 2014. Marine Le Pen claims no difference between her policies and Ukip The Kremlin organised a referendum a month later which saw more than 95 per cent of voters in Crimea back joining Russia. The British Government branded the referendum farcical and illegitimate. Russia was subsequently hit with sanctions and fierce criticism by the EU and UN as well as national governments including the UK and France. Russian military activity in Crimea Show all 11 1 /11 Russian military activity in Crimea Russian military activity in Crimea Ukraine-russian13-ap_1.jpg AP Russian military activity in Crimea Ukraine-russian9-ap.jpg AP Russian military activity in Crimea Ukraine-russian12-ap.jpg AP Russian military activity in Crimea Ukraine-russian11-rtp.jpg Reuters Russian military activity in Crimea Ukraine-russian10-afpgt.jpg AFP/Getty Images Russian military activity in Crimea Ukraine-russian7-rt.jpg Reuters Russian military activity in Crimea Ukraine-russian6-afpgt.jpg AFP/Getty Images Russian military activity in Crimea Ukraine-russian8-rt_1.jpg Reuters Russian military activity in Crimea Ukraine-russian-navy1-rt.jpg Reuters Russian military activity in Crimea Ukraine-russian4-ap_1.jpg AP Russian military activity in Crimea Ukraine-russian3-ap.jpg AP However, the far-right candidate, who has promised to work more closely with Mr Putin if she wins the presidency on April 17, said she saw no reason to dispute the result of the referendum. I see no grounds whatsoever to question this referendum, she said. Asked if she viewed Crimea as a part of Russia, Ms Le Pen replied, Yes. According to international law, Crimea is still legally a part of Ukraine and French, British and American leaders have refused to recognise the vote or Moscow's claims to the majority-Russian speaking territory. Ms Le Pens comments are not the first time a French official has sparked outrage over their views on Crimea. A group of around 10 mainly centre-right Republican Party MPs visited the disputed region on two occasions, once in the summer of 2015 and again a year later. Russian media reported at the time that former transport minister Thierry Mariani, who led the delegation, backed the outcome of the referendum. He said: The referendum on Crimeas accession to Russia reflected the will of the people. The controversial visits were criticised both by French politicians and officials in Ukraine. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A British former chef has been killed while fighting Isis alongside Kurdish forces in Syria. Ryan Lock, 20, from Chichester, West Sussex, died last month during an offensive against the Isis-held city of Raqqa, the group's de facto capital. He was killed on 21 December, two months before he intended to return to the UK, his family and Kurdish activists said. Kurds capture Isis fighter Mr Lock, who had no military background, left for Syria in August after telling his friends and family he was going to Turkey on holiday. In a message posted to Facebook on 31 August, he wrote: Im on my way to Rojava. I lied about going to Turkey. "Im sorry I didnt tell anyone. I love all of you and I will be back in six months. Once there, he joined the People's Defence Units (YPG), a Syrian Kurdish militia fighting Isis. In pictures: The rise of Isis Show all 74 1 /74 In pictures: The rise of Isis In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Fighters of the Islamic State wave the group's flag from a damaged display of a government fighter jet following the battle for the Tabqa air base, in Raqqa, Syria AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Fighters from Islamic State group sit on their tank during a parade in Raqqa, Syria AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Fighters from the Islamic State group pray at the Tabqa air base after capturing it from the Syrian government in Raqqa, Syria AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Fighters from extremist Islamic State group parade in Raqqa, Syria AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis kidnapping A video uploaded to social networks shows men in underwear being marched barefoot along a desert road before being allegedly executed by Isis Getty Images In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis kidnapping Haruna Yukawa after his capture by Isis In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis kidnapping Khalinda Sharaf Ajour, a Yazidi, says two of her daughters were captured by Isis militants Washington Post In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Spokesperson for Isis Vice News via Youtube In pictures: The rise of Isis A pro-Isis leaflet A pro-Isis leaflet handed out on Oxford Street In London Ghaffar Hussain In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Isis Jihadists burn their passports In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis controls Syrian Aid A man collecting aid administered by Isis in Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis controls Syrian Aid A woman collecting aid administered by Isis in Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis controls Syrian Aid Local civilians queue for aid administered by Isis. Since it declared a caliphate the group has increasingly been delivering services such as healthcare, and distributing aid and free fuel In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces detain men suspected of being militants of the Isis group in Diyala province In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Mourners carry the coffin of a Shi'ite volunteer from the brigades of peace, who joined the Iraqi army and was killed during clashes with militants of the Isis group in Samarra, during his funeral in Najaf In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An Iraqi Shiite Turkmen family fleeing the violence in the Iraqi city of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, arrives at a refugee camp on the outskirts of Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi A photograph made from a video by the jihadist affiliated group Furqan Media via their twitter account allegedly showing Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi delivering a sermon during Friday prayers at a mosque in Mosul. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared an Islamist caliphate in the territory under the group's control in Iraq and Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Islamic extremists destroying mosques in Iraq Shiite's Al-Qubba Husseiniya mosque explodes in Mosul In pictures: The rise of Isis Islamic extremists destroying mosques in Iraq Smoke and debris go up in the air as Shiite's Al-Qubba Husseiniya mosque explodes in Mosul. Images posted online show that Islamic extremists have destroyed at least 10 ancient shrines and Shiite mosques in territory - the city of Mosul and the town of Tal Afar - they have seized in northern Iraq in recent weeks In pictures: The rise of Isis Islamic extremists destroying mosques in Iraq A bulldozer destroys Sunni's Ahmed al-Rifai shrine and tomb in Mahlabiya district outside of Tal Afar In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces celebrate after clashes with followers of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi, in front of his home in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces arrest a follower of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi after clashes with his followers in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces arrest a follower of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi at his home after clashes with his followers in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces arrest a follower of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi after clashes with his followers in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis A vehicle burns in front of a home of a follower of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi after clashes with his followers in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An Iraqi woman holds her exhausted son as over 1000 Iraqis who have fled fighting in and around the city of Mosul and Tal Afar wait at a Kurdish checkpoint in the hopes of entering a temporary displacement camp in Khazair In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees Displaced Iraqi women hold pots as they queue to receive food during the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, at an encampment for displaced Iraqis who fled from Mosul and other towns, in the Khazer area outside Irbil, north Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria A militant Islamist fighter waving a flag, cheers as he takes part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa. The fighters held the parade to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters wave flags as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province Reuters In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters travel in a vehicle as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Fighters from the Isis group during a parade with a missile in Raqqa, Syria. Militants from an al-Qaida splinter group held a military parade in their stronghold in northeastern Syria, displaying U.S.-made Humvees, heavy machine guns, and missiles captured from the Iraqi army for the first time since taking over large parts of the Iraq-Syria border In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters during a parade in Raqqa, Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Fighters from the Isis group during a parade in Raqqa, Syria. Militants from the splinter group held a military parade in their stronghold in northeastern Syria, displaying U.S.-made Humvees, heavy machine guns, and missiles captured from the Iraqi army for the first time since taking over large parts of the Iraq-Syria border In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters hold a military parade in their stronghold in northeastern Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters during a parade in Raqqa, Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria A member loyal to the Isis waves an Isis flag in Raqqa In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi anti-government gunmen from Sunni tribes in the western Anbar province march during a protest in Ramadi, west of Baghdad. The United Nations warned that Iraq is at a "crossroads" and appealed for restraint, as a bloody four-day wave of violence killed 195 people. The violence is the deadliest so far linked to demonstrations that broke out in Sunni areas of the Shiite-majority country more than four months ago, raising fears of a return to all-out sectarian conflict In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces hold up a flag of the Isis group they captured during an operation to regain control of Dallah Abbas north of Baqouba, the capital of Iraq's Diyala province, 35 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Iraq Isis fighters parade in the northern city of Mosul In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Isis group, demonstrate their skills during a graduation ceremony after completing their field training in Najaf In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Kurdish Peshmerga troops fire a cannon during clashes with militants of the Isis group in Jalawla, Diyala province In pictures: The rise of Isis Lieutenant General Qassem Atta speaks during a press conference Iraqi Prime Minister's security spokesman, Lieutenant General Qassem Atta speaks during a press conference about the latest military development in Iraq, in the capital Baghdad. Iraqi forces pressed a campaign to retake militant-held Tikrit, clashing with jihadist-led Sunni militants nearby and pounding positions inside the city with air strikes in their biggest counter-offensive so far In pictures: The rise of Isis A police station building destroyed by Isis fighters An exterior view of a police station building destroyed by gunmen in Mosul city, northern Iraq. Iraq's new parliament is expected to convene to start the process of setting up a new government, despite deepening political rifts and an ongoing Islamist-led insurgency. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani issued a decree inviting the new House of Representatives to meet and form a new government In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Iraq Smoke billows from an area controlled by the Isis between the Iraqi towns of Naojul and Tuz Khurmatu, both located north of the capital Baghdad, as Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces take part in an operation to repel the Sunni militants In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An elderly Iraqi woman is helped into a temporary displacement camp for Iraqis caught-up in the fighting in and around the city of Mosul in Khazair In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An Iraqi Christian woman fleeing the violence in the village of Qaraqush, about 30 kms east of the northern province of Nineveh, cries upon her arrival at a community center in the Kurdish city of Arbil in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An Iraqi woman, who fled with her family from the northern city of Mosul, prays with a copy of the Quran AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Iraq The body of an Isis militant killed during clashes with Iraqi security forces on the outskirts of the city of Samarra Reuters In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi civilians inspect the damage at a market after an air strike by the Iraqi army in central Mosul EPA In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Members of the Al-Abbas brigades, who volunteered to protect the Shiite Muslim holy sites in Karbala against Sunni militants fighting the Baghdad government, parade in the streets of the city AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Shia tribesmen gather in Baghdad to take up arms against Sunni insurgents marching on the capital. Thousands have volunteered to bolster defences AFP/Getty In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis A van carrying volunteers joining Iraqi security forces against Jihadist militants. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced the Iraqi government would arm and equip civilians who volunteered to fight AFP/Getty In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Fighters of the Isis group parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces armored vehicle down a main road at the northern city of Mosul In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq An Islamist fighter, identified as Abu Muthanna al-Yemeni from Britain (R), speaks in this still image taken undated video shot at an unknown location and uploaded to a social media website. Five Islamist fighters identified as Australian and British nationals have called on Muslims to join the wars in Syria and Iraq, in the new video released by the Isis In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Al-Qaida inspired militants stand with captured Iraqi Army Humvee at a checkpoint belonging to Iraqi Army outside Beiji refinery some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Baghdad. The fighting at Beiji comes as Iraq has asked the U.S. for airstrikes targeting the militants from the Isis group. While U.S. President Barack Obama has not fully ruled out the possibility of launching airstrikes, such action is not imminent in part because intelligence agencies have been unable to identify clear targets on the ground, officials said In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants attacked Iraq's main oil refinein Baiji as they pressed an offensive that has seen them capture swathes of territory, a manager and a refinery employee said In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants from the Isis group parading with their weapons in the northern city of Baiji in the in Salaheddin province In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq A smoke rises after an attack by Isis militants on the country's largest oil refinery in Beiji, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of the capital, Baghdad. Iraqi security forces battled insurgents targeting the country's main oil refinery and said they regained partial control of a city near the Syrian border, trying to blunt an offensive by Sunni militants who diplomats fear may have also seized some 100 foreign workers In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants of the Isis group stand next to captured vehicles left behind by Iraqi security forces at an unknown location in the Salaheddin province. For militant groups, the fight over public perception can be even more important than actual combat, turning military losses into propaganda victories and battlefield successes into powerful tools to build support for the cause In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq An injured fighter (C) from the Isis group after a battle with Iraqi soldiers at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Fighters from the Isis aiming at advancing Iraqi troops at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Fighters from the Isis group taking position at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Fighters from the Isis group inspecting vehicles of the Iraqi army after they were seized at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq One Iraqi captive, a corporal, is reluctant to say the slogan, and has to be shouted at repeatedly before he obeys Sky News In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Iraqi captives held by the extremists Sky News In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Iraqi captives held by the extremists Sky News In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants of the Isis group force captured Iraqi security forces members to the transport In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants of the Isis group transporting dozens of captured Iraqi security forces members to an unknown location in the Salaheddin province ahead of executing them In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq A major offensive spearheaded by Isis but also involving supporters of executed dictator Saddam Hussein has overrun all of one province and chunks of three others In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants of the Isis group executing dozens of captured Iraqi security forces members at an unknown location in the Salaheddin province In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Isis militants taking position at a Iraqi border post on the Syrian-Iraqi border between the Iraqi Nineveh province and the Syrian town of Al-Hasakah In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Isis rebels show their flag after seizing an army post AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Isis militants waving an Islamist flag after the seizure of an Iraqi army checkpoint in Salahuddin Getty Images In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Demonstrators chant slogans as they carry al-Qaida flags in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad. In the week since it captured Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, a Muslim extremist group has tried to win over residents and has stopped short of widely enforcing its strict brand of Islamic law, residents say. Churches remain unharmed and street cleaners are back at work In a letter to his family, a spokesperson for the YPG said: Ryan joined actively in our offensive against the terror threat that Isis caused upon Rojava, Kurdistan. "Here, on the dark hours of 21 December 2016, we lost our brave companion Ryan and four other fighters in Jaeber village." It added: Ryan was not only a fighter providing additional force to our struggle. In fact, with his experience and knowledge he has been an example for younger fighters. "While he has reached a vast amount of achievement up in our frontlines, Ryan has served the purpose of a very important bridge between us, the Kurds of Rojava. "He crossed continents for the destiny of our people and humanity. In a statement sent to The Guardian, Mr Lock's father said: Ryan was a very caring and loving boy who would do anything to help anyone. "He had a heart of gold. We ask for privacy to allow our family to grieve. The YPG is backed by the United States, who consider them to be their most effective allies in the fight against Isis. Mr Lock is one of several young men and women from the UK to join the fight against Isis after they seized control of vast swathes of Syria and Iraq and declared its caliphate in 2014. He is the third Briton to be killed fighting alongside Kurdish forces. Konstandinos Erik Scurfield, 25, a former Royal Marine from Barnsley in south Yorkshire, died from a mortar wound while fighting Isis militants in March 2015. Dean Carl Evans, 22, from Reading, was killed during an offensive to take back the city of Manbij from Isis in August 2016. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} At least 6,878 Iraqi civilians were killed in violence mainly inflicted by Isis last year, new figures from the United Nations Assistance Mission to Iraq (UNAMI) show. The number is considered the absolute minimum as many conflict deaths, as well as lives lost to the secondary effects of violence such as lack of food, water, adequate healthcare and exposure to the elements, could not be verified. The UNAMI report comes as the Iraqi government struggles to maintain security in the country in the face of an increase in Isis car and suicide bombings, while Iraqi forces try to dislodge Isis militants from their last stronghold in Mosul in the north. At least 12,388 people were wounded in 2016. This figure does not include civilian casualties from the restive Anbar province for the months of May, July, August and December. According to UNAMI figures, the recorded numbers of deaths is slightly down on 2015, when at least 7,515 civilians were killed during the fight to remove the extremists from the third of Iraqi territory they captured in the summer of 2014. The worst Isis attack in 2016 occurred in July, when a massive suicide bombing in a bustling market area in central Baghdad killed almost 300 people. The incident was the single deadliest attack in the capital in the 13 years since US forces invaded the country to remove Saddam Hussein. 2017 has begun in a similarly bloody manner. Sixty-four people died on Monday alone in five different car bombings across Iraq, and twin bombs in Baghdad on New Years Eve killed another 24 people. This is, no doubt, an attempt by [Isis] to divert attention from their losses in Mosul and, unfortunately, it is the innocent civilians who are paying the price, Jan Kubis, the special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq, said in a statement. Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Show all 10 1 /10 Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis An Iraqi Christian prepares for the first Sunday Mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh Reuters Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi priests hold the first Sunday mass Reuters Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christian soldiers attend the first Sunday mass at the Grand Immaculate Church since it was recaptured from Islamic State in Qaraqosh Reuters Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis An Iraqi Christian soldier holds his weapon during the first Sunday mass Reuters Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis An Iraqi Christian soldier lights a candle Reuters Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi priests hold the first Sunday mass at the Grand Immaculate Church since it was recaptured from Islamic State Reuters Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi priests hold the first Sunday mass Reuters Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Reuters Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Reuters Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Reuters The latest report did not include casualties among Iraqs security forces, which have been fighting to eject Isis from Mosul since October. The province in which it is located, Nineveh, saw the highest number of recorded deaths. Mosul is the second largest Iraqi city and the last urban stronghold the group maintains in the country, but two and a half months in, fighting to recapture it has slowed to a gruelling pace, with just half of the east of the city retaken. More than 2,000 Iraqi special forces soldiers lost their lives in fighting in November but the Iraqi government has declined to release figures for government troops and paramilitary forces or release any further data on troop casualties. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The operation to oust Isis from its last stronghold in Iraq may not be completed until the summer, several observers have said, as attempts to drive militants from the city of Mosul have slowed to a gruelling street-by-street fight. The US-led coalition is currently facing fierce counterattacks including suicide bombings, sniper fire and improvised explosive devices (IUDs) which have caused heavy losses. A perceived lack of pre-battle planning before Operation Inherent Resolve began has also been criticised. Officials had previously claimed when the assault began on October 17 last year that Isis would be driven from the city by Christmas. Recommended US military admits Mosul hospital airstrike may have killed civilians Now, with just 60 per cent of the eastern side of the city reclaimed after two and a half months of fighting, many observers expect the fight could take much longer than originally thought - and claim many more lives in the process. Iraqi officials say the pace of the battle has slowed as Iraqi troops and allied militias try to minimise civilian casualties. Isis has also stepped up its attacks on civilians elsewhere in the country since the fight for Mosul began. Sixty-four people died on Monday alone in five different car bombings across Iraq, and two bombs in Baghdad on New Years Eve killed another 24. Iraqs Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said last week that he estimated it would take three months to eliminate Isis from the country, but on Monday, during a visit to a French base near the Iraqi city of Irbil, French Prime Minister Francois Hollande echoed Mr Abadis comments, as well as pushing the timeline back until mid-2017. 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 It was confirmed to us that we could possibly achieve this goal in spring, in any case before summer, he told a media conference. Analysts gave similar estimates. I would think that summer 2017 would be the long estimate on recapturing Mosul, Joel Wing, the analyst behind the Musings on Iraq blog, told local news. There doesn't appear to be any consensus on how western Mosul will be like compared to the east. Heavy fighting and future pauses could all lead to the campaign being finalised by the summer. The US commander of the campaign has said that the entire war against Isis - ending their ability to hold land in both Iraq and Syria, where Isis clings onto its de facto capital of Raqqa - could take as long as two years. People need to rest, Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend told The Daily Beast. They need to assess how things are going because they are not going as fast as we thought. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The US-led coalition has admitted killing at least 188 civilians in its bombing campaign in Syria and Iraq, with several reported massacres still under investigation. The latest assessment carried out by Central Command (Centcom), which coordinates the anti-Isis Operation Inherent Resolve, confirmed 15 more civilian deaths in ground and air strikes. A spokesperson said coalition members, including the UK and France, take extraordinary efforts to strike military targets in a manner that minimises the risk of civilian casualties but claimed that in some incidents casualties are unavoidable. The deadliest incident was on 6 November, when seven people in two stationary vehicles were unintentionally killed by a missile that hit an approaching car carrying Isis fighters in Shahid-Younis as-Sab, Iraq. Another civilian died in a strike targeting Isis militants in a moving vehicle near Raqqa in Syria on 26 November, while two more were killed on the same day in a blast that hit jihadis near Mosul in Iraq. On 21 November, two civilians were killed in near al-Salahiyah, Syria, in a strike on Isis-held buildings and on 29 November, three others died when they entered a missiles target area shortly before impact near Mosul. In each of the incidents, the investigation assessed that although all feasible precautions were taken and the decision to strike complied with the law of armed conflict, unintended civilian casualties unfortunately occurred, a spokesperson for Centcom said. Several civilian deaths have been reported since the start of the coalition-backed advance on Mosul (Getty) We regret the unintentional loss of civilian lives resulting from Coalition efforts to defeat Isil [Isis] in Iraq and Syria and express our deepest sympathies to the families and others affected by these strikes. The reports bring the total number of civilian deaths confirmed by the US-led coalition since August 2014 to 188, although observers and humanitarian groups including Amnesty International believe the real total is far higher. Five incidents reported in November remain under investigation, from areas including the Isis strongholds of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, carried out between September 2015 and November 2016. Centcom said it was also reviewing an air strike that reportedly killed civilians at a hospital near Mosul on 29 December. Isis released footage appearing to show the bodies of men killed at the Ibn Athir Hospital via its Amaq propaganda agency, as well as damaged medical facilities around a destroyed van in the car park. American officials said Isis militants had been firing an SPG-9 anti-tank gun from the vehicle, which had been struck in what was later determined to be a hospital compound parking lot. Airstrike on weapons facility in Mosul, Iraq The US military has accused Isis of using hospitals, mosques and other civilian infrastructure including a pharmaceutical plant as weapons storage facilities, fighting positions and bases for its operations Empty school buildings were struck in Mosul on 1 January because they were being used by Isis militants firing mortars at Iraqi forces fighting to drive militants out of their stronghold, Centcom said. Officials said buildings protected from conflict under international law were increasingly being used by Isis as troops advance on the city, which is the terror groups last major stronghold in Iraq. While the Coalition takes extraordinary effort to protect civilians and strike appropriate military targets, we will continue to strike Isil [Isis] wherever and whenever our partner's lives are in danger in accordance with the law of armed conflict, a Centcom spokesperson said, adding that all strikes n Iraq were approved by the countrys government. Centcom found 13 reports of civilian casualties received in November to be non-credible, meaning there was insufficient information available to confirm deaths from coalition bombing. President Barack Obama and American commanders have repeatedly described the strikes as the most precise air campaign in history but the toll is likely to rise as investigations into other reported civilian casualties continue, with the results released on a monthly basis. The US, Britain, France and other members of the coalition have conducted more than 16,000 strikes so far as part of the anti-Isis Operation Inherent Resolve, with about two-thirds taking place in Iraq and the rest in Syria. British jets prepare for air strikes in Syria Show all 10 1 /10 British jets prepare for air strikes in Syria British jets prepare for air strikes in Syria A Tornado jet takes off from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, as RAF Tornado jets carried out the first British bombing runs over Syria British jets prepare for air strikes in Syria Pilots and ground crew prepare combat aircraft Panavia Tornados at RAF Marham at RAF Marham, UK Getty British jets prepare for air strikes in Syria A Eurofighter Typhoon jet takes off from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, as RAF Tornado jets carried out the first British bombing runs over Syria British jets prepare for air strikes in Syria A RAF Tornado arrives at RAF Akrotiri to begin operations in Akrotiri British jets prepare for air strikes in Syria A Tornado jet ahead of taking off from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, as RAF Tornado jets carried out the first British bombing runs over Syria, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed. The air strikes were carried out within hours of a vote by MPs in the Commons to back extending operations against Isis from neighbouring Iraq British jets prepare for air strikes in Syria Personnel work on a British Tornado after it returned from a mission at RAF Akrotiri in southern Cyprus British jets prepare for air strikes in Syria Two RAF Tornado GR4's, both with remaining weapons ordnance, approach RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, as they return to the base after carrying out some of the first British bombing runs over Syria British jets prepare for air strikes in Syria A RAF Tornado takes off from RAF Akrotiri, on the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus British jets prepare for air strikes in Syria A Tornado jet leaving RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland British jets prepare for air strikes in Syria AKA RAF Tornado arrives at RAF Akrotiri to begin operations in Akrotiri, Cyprus. The RAF has sent two further Tornado aircraft and six Typhoons to bolster aircraft now flying sorties to both Iraq and Syria A report by Amnesty International claimed that at least 300 civilians were killed in just 11 air strikes by the US-led coalition in Syria, with a report released in October finding adequate precautions were not always taken to minimise deaths and damage. Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at the groups Beirut office, urged US authorities to come clean about the full extent of casualties. We fear the US-led coalition is significantly underestimating the harm caused to civilians in its operations in Syria, she added. Some of these attacks may constitute disproportionate or otherwise indiscriminate attacks. With the vast majority of strikes hitting territory under Isis control, the true number of casualties and the victims identities are difficult to verify. Centcom admitted it was unable to fully investigate all reports of possible civilian casualties using traditional investigative methods, such as interviewing witnesses and examining the site, saying it instead interviews pilots, reviews strike footage and analyses information from partner forces, governments, humanitarian groups, traditional and social media. The Ministry of Defence said it carries out its own assessments of operations carried out by British planes and that none of the incidents detailed by Centcom involved UK assets. There is no evidence that any of our strikes have caused civilian casualties so far, a spokesperson told The Independent. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Israel's education minister is preparing to submit a bill to annex one of the country's largest illegal Jewish settlements. Far-right minister Naftali Bennett said he will introduce a bill to formally declare the settlement block part of Israel later this month. Maale Adumim, to the east of Jerusalem, is one of the largest Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. John Kerry lays into Netanyahu for Israeli settlement-building After being here for 50 years, the time has come to end military rule," Haaretz reported Mr Bennett as saying. He made clear he saw the annexation as the first step in reclassifying large parts of the West Bank that remain under Israeli control, known as Area C. Mr Bennett added: For this reason, by the end of the month, we will submit the bill for applying [Israeli] law to Judea and Samaria [a name used by Israelis for the Palestinian territories] and will embark on a new path. "We will present to the cabinet a bill for applying Israeli law in Maale Adumim. Israeli housing in any form outside of the 1967 Green Line is viewed as illegal by the international community. The West Bank Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim (Reuters) They are also seen as one of the major stumbling blocks to any lasting peace deal in the decades-old stalemate. Mr Bennett heads the Jewish Home Party, which is affiliated with the West Bank settler movement. Speaking after the election of Mr Trump as President of the United States, he declared: "The era of a Palestinian state is over". Mr Trump has been vocal in his support for the Israeli government, calling a resolution adopted by the UN to condemn settlements - with a historic abstention from the US - "extremely unfair to all Israelis". "As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20th," he tweeted. Last month, the education minister proposed a bill which would recognise 3,881 "wildcat" housing units originally built without permission on private Palestinian land in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. "With this law, the state of Israel has moved from the path leading to the creation of a Palestinian state to the path leading to [Israeli] sovereignty" over most of the West Bank, he said at the time. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Turkish authorities have detained two individuals of foreign nationality attempting to leave the country through Istanbul's main Ataturk Airport, local media has reported. The arrests on Tuesday came three days after a gunman opened fire on New Year's Eve partygoers in a nightclub in the city, killing 39 and injuring 46 people. The pair were detained at Ataturk airport and taken to central Istanbul for police questioning, Dogan News Agency said. The suspected killer is believed to still be at large. Police have released photos of the man they think carried out the deadly seven-minute-long rampage, and Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Monday that the authorities have records of the suspect's fingerprints. Isis boasted on social media channels on Monday that a "soldier of the brave caliphate" was responsible for the attack which killed 11 Turkish nationals, three Lebanese, three Iraqis, two each from Tunisia, India, Morocco and Jordan, and Kuwaiti, Canadian, Israeli, Syrian and Russian nationals. Turkey releases video of air strikes on more than 100 Isis targets in Syria after Istanbul nightclub attack CCTV footage from the exclusive Reina nightclub showed a man killing a police officer and a security guard on Saturday night before entering the club and spraying the 600-strong crowd with bullets. He shot at those already lying on the floor before changing his clothes and fleeing the scene, police believe. Eight people have already been detained in connection to the attack before Tuesday's arrests at the city's airport. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Turkey says it has killed 18 Isis fighters and injured 37 more in the aftermath of a deadly attack on an Istanbul night club. Isis claimed responsibility on Monday for the massacre at the exclusive Reina bar on the banks of the Bosphorus, in which at least 39 people died and around 69 injured. The terrorist group, which declared Syria part of its caliphate in 2014, said the nightclub attack was revenge for Turkeys operations in the war-torn country. Turkey releases video of air strikes on more than 100 Isis targets in Syria after Istanbul nightclub attack Announcing the casualties on Tuesday in a summary of its operations over 24 hours, the military said its warplanes had destroyed four Isis targets and that Russian aircraft had hit jihadis in Dayr Kak, eight kilometres south-west of the Isis-controlled town of al-Bab. Turkeys Chief of General Staff told the state-owned Anadolu Agency Turkey had struck more than 100 jihadist targets in Syria immediately after the nightclub attack. He said Turkish jets had struck eight Isis targets while tanks and artillery opened fire on 103 targets near the al-Bab stronghold. Anti-terrorism squads have meanwhile arrested eight people in connection with the attack on the Istanbul nightclub, in which more than 100 bullets were fired into a 600-strong crowd of people celebrating the New Year. Yet a manhunt is still underway for the gunman, believed to be from a Central Asian Nation, and Turkish media have released a video of a man they believe carried out the attack. The footage shows a man filming himself with a mobile phone at Istanbul's Taksim square. It wasn't immediately clear if it was filmed before or after the massacre at the nightclub. No details have been released as to why the authorities might think the man on the video is a suspect in New Year's attack or how the footage was obtained. Isis' Amaq news agency said the attack was carried out by a heroic soldier of the caliphate who attacked the nightclub where Christians were celebrating their pagan feast. It said the man fired an automatic rifle and detonated hand grenades in revenge for God's religion and in response to the orders of Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Rumours that Baghdadi was dead were dispelled in December when the Pentagon confirmed they thought he was alive. Police have identified similarities between the nightclub shooting and the high-casualty attack at Ataturk Airport in June, and are investigating whether the same Isis cell carried out both attacks, the Hurriyet and Karar newspapers reported. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the country, which lost hundreds of citizens to terrorism over the course of a year, will fight to the end against terror. Mr Erdogan said: As a nation, we will fight to the end against not just the armed attacks of terror groups and the forces behind them, but also against their economic, political and social attacks. They are trying to create chaos, demoralise our people, and destabilise our country with abominable attacks that target civilians. We will retain our cool-headedness as a nation, standing more closely together, and we will never give ground to such dirty games. Four of the 69 injured were said to be in a serious condition. In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party Show all 9 1 /9 In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party People talk to medics in an ambulance near the scene of an attack in Istanbul on 1 January 2017 AP In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party People near the scene of an attack in Istanbul on 1 January 2017 AP In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party Police secure area near an Istanbul nightclub, Turkey, January 1, 2017. Reuters In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party Ambulances line up on a road leading to a nightclub where a gun attack took place during a New Year party in Istanbul, Turkey Reuters In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party Turkish special force police officers and ambulances are seen at the site of an armed attack January 1, 2017 in Istanbul Getty In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party People embrace near the scene of an attack in Istanbul, on New Year's Day AP In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party Medics carry a wounded person after an attack at a popular nightclub in Istanbul on 1 January AP In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party Turkish police secure the area at Ortakoy district under Bosphorus Bridge after the attack on Reina nightclub Getty Images In pictures: Istanbul nightclub attacked during New Year party People leave a nightclub in Istanbul after it was attacked on 1 January AP Turkish tourism industry professionals have marched to the nightclub in a show of solidarity and in protest against a spate of attacks that has crippled the sector. About 200 people, including restaurateurs, hotel owners and gastronomy students, took part in the protest, marching behind a large banner that read: We won't be daunted! For our tomorrows. Security in Turkish cities had been heightened during the run-up to the New Year and 17,000 police officers, some reportedly camouflaged as Santa Claus, were deployed. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Pro-government forces pressed on with their offensive targeting the water-rich Barada Valley northwest of the Syrian capital Tuesday, as a group of Syrian rebel groups said they were suspending talks about planned peace negotiations because of what they describe as ongoing government violations of a four-day old cease-fire deal. The cease-fire, brokered by Russia and Turkey, is to be followed by talks to be held later this month in the Kazakh capital of Astana, between mainstream rebel factions and government representatives. The U.N. Security Council on Saturday unanimously adopted a resolution supporting efforts by Russia and Turkey, which support opposing sides of the Syria war, to end the nearly six-year conflict in Syria and jump-start peace negotiations. But the country-wide cease-fire is looking increasingly shaky, with opposition factions angered in particular about the ongoing military offensive in the strategically-important Barada Valley outside Damascus. In a statement posted late Monday, 10 rebel factions said they are suspending any talks related to the Astana negotiations or any discussions related to the cease-fire "until it is fully implemented." They include the powerful Army of Islam group which operates mainly outside the Syrian capital. It said the violations in the Barada Valley are continuing and "threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents." The statement also said that the opposition will consider any military changes made on the ground to be a serious violation of the cease-fire agreement. The Barada Valley, which is controlled by rebels and is surrounded by pro-government forces including the Lebanese Hezbollah group, is the primary source of water for Damascus and its surrounding region. But recent unrest there has resulted in a severe water shortage in the capital since Dec. 22. 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 Images from the valley's Media Centre indicate its Ain al-Fijeh spring and water processing facility have been destroyed, apparently in airstrikes. The government says rebels spoiled the water source with diesel fuel, forcing it to cut supplies to the capital. The cease-fire agreement is supposed to pave the way for the government and the opposition to meet for talks for the first time in nearly a year in Astana in the second half of January. Those talks will be mediated by Russia, Turkey and Iran, though Russian officials have said other key players including the United States are welcome to participate. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Better late than never appears to be an adage Vladimir Putin stands by religiously. The Russian leader has earned a reputation for keeping other world leaders waiting, and even royalty and the Pope cant force the Kremlin chief to stick to a tight timetable. In fact, the Russian leader has such poor timekeeping skills that aides are often kept waiting hours on end. But his tardiness extends to dignitaries and high-powered officials too. (Statista (Statista) Data compiled by Statista for The Independent shows how on one occasion in 2014 the Russian President kept his German counterpart Angela Merkel waiting for four hours and 15 minutes. In close second is former Ukraine president Viktor Yanukovych, who in 2012 waited four hours for his meeting with Mr Putin. But waits of up to three hours are also common, with leaders of countries as varied as Japan, Mongolia and Israel forced to wait to speak with the former KGB operative. Mr Putins penchant for arriving late for meetings first hit the headlines in 2003 when he kept Queen Elizabeth II waiting for almost a quarter of an hour. Longer delays were experienced by the kings of Spain and Sweden. Pope Francis was left standing for almost an hour before he met Mr Putin at the Vatican City in 2015. Putin celebrates his 63rd birthday playing hockey Show all 5 1 /5 Putin celebrates his 63rd birthday playing hockey Putin celebrates his 63rd birthday playing hockey Russian President Vladimir Putin spent his 63rd birthday on the ice, playing hockey with NHL stars against Russian officials and tycoons Putin celebrates his 63rd birthday playing hockey Vladimir Putin takes part in a gala game opening match of the Night Hockey League new season in Sochi EPA Putin celebrates his 63rd birthday playing hockey Vladimir Putin takes part in a gala game, opening a new season of the Night Ice Hockey League in Sochi, Russia EPA Putin celebrates his 63rd birthday playing hockey Vladimir Putin (C) shows off his hockey skills during the match of the Night Hockey League new season in Sochi EPA Putin celebrates his 63rd birthday playing hockey Vladimir Putin and Night Hockey League President Alexander Yakushev attend a gala opening match of the Night Hockey League new season in Sochi EPA And even US President Barack Obama was forced to delay his plans by 40 minutes in 2012 as Mr Putin was running late. But why does the Russian leader have such a poor record on timekeeping for some of the most important people in the world? He may be a busy man but so are the other world leaders forced to fit their schedules around his. Some put his tardiness down to psychological games, given that he is often on time for press conferences and television interviews. Putin quotes After the delayed meeting with Pope Francis, Mr Putin took the unusual move of instructing his aides to issue a statement explaining the late start. His spokesman Dmitry Peskov said an earlier meeting had overran and went on to blame Italian traffic. Others say Mr Putin keeps other leaders waiting to stamp his authority on the world stage. Those more sympathetic to the Russian leader say he is often late because he likes to check pertinent facts before a high-level meeting. An anonymous source quoted by Moscow daily newspaper Moskovskij Komsomolets said: Before important meetings he often double-checks sources of information, delves into things, as a result he gets behind schedule. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A new year means a new start and that means it could be time for you to take the plunge and try a workation. Because the rapid increase in freelance and remote working particularly among millennials has seen the workation or mini-life trend really take off. Its when digital nomads pack up their laptops to live in the worlds coolest cities for a few months at a time, running their businesses online from co-working spaces or cafes all over the globe. Modern conveniences have helped make this dream a reality on demand services like Airbnb and Uber make settling into new cities even quicker and, if you pick wisely, you could be spending less time at your desk, and more precious moments actually exploring the world. We look at five cities that have become flames to the mini-lifer moth. Living in Lisbon is cheap and cheerful (Shutterstock) Lisbon, Portugal Lisbon has become something of a digital hotspot in the last few years, often hosting digital nomad events and digi-industry conferences that attract Silicon Valley types. There are plenty of Airbnb rentals (try Alcantara for a hipster-on-a-budget vibe) and for those who need to be in contact with the UK or US, the time zone is ideal (theres no difference between Portuguese and UK time). When it comes to food and drink, Lisbon is eternally welcoming to those who want to pay less and eat well. Great bottles of wine cost a few pounds and drinking while lounging in a park on a warm night is positively encouraged. You wont be alone. Chiang Mai, Thailand Perhaps the capital for digital nomads, Thailands northern city has long been associated with the freelance, free and easy lifestyle that comes from knowing youre living well for a fraction of what it costs back home. And because there are so many nomads or freelancers in town, a well-established network of events, socialisers and support groups exist (theyve even had their own TEDx talks). This might be your idea of hell, but if you dream of running a start-up, dirt-cheap cocktail in hand Chiang Mai is ground zero. Ubud, Bali If youre thinking of kicking off a whole new career during your workation, perhaps you need a new perspective. Hubud in Bali, a gorgeous bamboo co-working and networking space, certainly offers a beautiful way to ease yourself into the freelance world. Dont be surprised to find entire dev teams beavering away on beta testing and CEOs sat looking over the paddy fields while running their businesses. They even have a soft landing package where theyll introduce you to your new downshifted life in Bali, finding you a place to stay, arranging a scooter to rent and even turning up at the airport to greet you, new sim card in hand. The cool co-working space in Hubud, Bali (Hubud) Cape Town, South Africa With the exchange rate not working so much in our favour, living costs are something to factor in. Hello, Cape Town. The South African party town is a bastion of low cost, Western-style living for British travellers. Set yourself up in a co-working space in City Bowl (which has the best broadband), book an Airbnb in affluent Sea Point or gentrifying Woodstock and get out there. Youve got wine tours, diving and kite-boarding, safari tours and beaches all on your doorstep. The challenge will be turning on the laptop. It's easy to rent a desk in Cape Town (workandco.co.za) Medellin, Colombia While South America isnt as easy to run a global business from as South-East Asia or Europe, it is possible and Medellin in Colombia seems to be the city of choice for most modern nomads. Co-working spaces, cool cafes (try around Parque Lleras in El Poblado), plenty of short-term rentals and fast internet are all ticks and a standard visa gives you three months to explore the country. Theres a Facebook group with over 1,000 digital nomads and online guides to how to move and operate in the city as a freelancer. Click here to view Asian tours and holidays, with Independent Holidays. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} If, as seems likely, Sir Ivan Rogers resignation as the UKs ambassador to the European Union was political rather than personal, it suggests that the signs of disarray in the higher reaches of Government about the Brexit plan are indeed correct, with ministers, and perhaps No 10, refusing to accept impartial advice from a dedicated diplomat who tells it like it is. If ministers prefer to inhabit a fantasy world in which the European Union and its member states are prepared to allow the British to have their cake and eat it, and will shoot any messenger who brings them contrary news, then the prospects for successful negotiations are grim indeed. Sir Ivan was a man praised by everyone who worked with him, including the last Conservative Chancellor, George Osborne, as a pragmatic, shrewd and successful negotiator. Just the sort of chap, in other words, that Britain needs in Brussels at a time such as this. Even if his departure signalled nothing about what was happening in Whitehall and Brussels, his skills will be missed. As it is, it does appear to be symptomatic of a wider malaise in the process of extricating Britain from the European Union. Sir Ivans departure follows that of Jonathan (Lord) Hill, the UK's EU Commissioner, who quit after the vote in the summer. As of now, the Government has no published Brexit plan (though it has promised Parliament and, presumably, the Queen it will have one by the end of March), no top diplomat in Brussels and no trade negotiators to speak of. It is not a position of strength. It is unsurprising that the Prime Minster, the Foreign Secretary, the International Trade Secretary and the Brexit secretary dont want to be told that it will take a decade, or more, for the UK to achieve a new trade deal with the EU, as Sir Ivan reportedly has. Ministers are supposed to decide policy, and diplomats to implement that policy, dutifully. Yet No 10 can no more change the laws of gravity than it can the reality of life in the Brussels machine, and if Sir Ivan says it will take 10 years to get things sorted out and the evidence of experience of trade talks supports that view then they should take that advice as read. Moreover, some of the leading Brexit editors on the other side have demonstrated their hostility to the UK having anything like a cushy deal on stand-by for the day Britain emerges from the EU. Irrational or not, chauvinism will play its part in these talks, and the prospect of the UK having to fall back on World Trade Organisation rules before a fresh bespoke arrangement is negotiated is becoming ever more likely. Britain will have to suffer and be seen to suffer, to borrow an apt phrase from Voltaire, pour encourager les autres to stick with the EU project. Some, such as Michael Gove and his Change Britain group welcome the UK leaving the single market and the customs union. It appeals to their buccaneering spirit, though their personal livelihoods do not depend on trade. Business fears it, because it does depend on trade. Falling back on WTO rules could easily happen, though, whether ministers wish it or not. That reality is slowly coming into focus among the more thoughtful members of the Government, including the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, who has emerged as the most reluctant of Brexiteers, for which he has been plainly sidelined. Mr Hammond, oddly for a politician, has been more cautious on the point than the civil servant Sir Ivan, but, in front of the Treasury Select Committee at the end of the last parliamentary term, he pushed the notion of a transitional arrangement lasting some years before Brexit finally means Brexit. One wonders how long Mr Hammond will stay patient and in post while the economy suffers irreparable damage. The truth, and it will continue to be that, is that the UK will have to negotiate principally with the EU bureaucracy rather than some of the more friendly nation states, such as Germany, and that, whatever the British idea of a Brexit plan turns out to be, and however skilled our diplomats and negotiators, it takes two to make a settlement. Still, Sir Ivan would have made a difference, the best of a bad job. He has been ill-used by those he has served with great dedication. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The cause of LGBT rights has found an unlikely champion in the form of The Sun newspaper. It has found no problem in arguably encouraging Islamophobia by calling on gay rights charities such as Stonewall to fight Islam. Yes, that is the headline they used. This, its worth remembering, is from the same newspaper which launched the Eastbenders campaign to remove the BBC soaps first gay characters, and which ran the headline Straight sex cannot give you Aids official, which I would suggest whipped up hatred towards gay people living with HIV. Never mind the apparent hypocrisy, this is an example of how important social issues such as gay rights can be used to stoke up bigotry elsewhere. This is how Islamophobia has become normalised within our society, where 37 per cent now say they would be likely to support a political party that promised to reduce the number of Muslims in Britain, and where more than 30 per cent of young children think Muslims are taking over England. Louis Smith says he has death threats 'every day' because of Islamophobic video Another example of this tactic is womens rights: consider Trevor Kavanagh, who normally does not discuss feminist issues in his column in the equality-loving Sun. Yet here he makes an exception. He calls on feminists to fight for Muslim women and to stand up against the veil. Or what about animal rights? Katie Hopkins, a staunch defender of fox hunting, shows her strong belief in animal rights as she rails against halal slaughter. Rod Liddle goes on a rampage against halal slaughter without stunning (15 per cent of all halal meat in the UK) but chooses to entirely ignore kosher slaughter (100 per cent of which is without stunning). Recommended Racism is rife in the LGBT community We would be hard-pressed to call these columnists passionate activists for gay rights, womens rights or animal rights yet they are using these issues to create a semblance of moral and ethical righteousness with which to mask their bigotry. The result is clear and undeniable: the bully pulpit stokes hatred and turns marginalised groups against each other. It foments an anti-Muslim narrative and strengthens the far right by allowing them a mainstream source for their anti-Muslim hatred. Of course gender equality, LGBT rights and animal rights are evolving social issues that both religious and non-religious communities can find challenging to navigate. They are emotive subjects. But the line between fighting the cause and fomenting hatred is thin; it is a line that must be trod carefully, with minority groups standing up united against bigotry and hatred. If we dont stand together, we risk strengthening the far right the only group which is thriving in an environment where their anti-Muslim views have been allowed to slip into the mainstream. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The festive period is always a bit of a weird time for non-religious people who, like me, were raised in religious families. I havent attended church regularly since I was 16, but I'm still enchanted by the magic of a Christmas Eve midnight service the candlelight and the carols, and the chance to hug and kiss lifelong friends as the clock strikes midnight. So I can understand how Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who was brought up in a Jewish household, came to the conclusion, after a period of questioning things, that he does not consider himself an atheist. Like him, the older I get, the more I believe that religion really can be very important. Of course, Zuckerberg has inevitably come in for questioning over his comments, and I can understand that too. Religion has a lot to answer for, from the spreading of discrimination and prejudice, to division, hatred and conflict. It was a combination of division and doubt that first drove me away from the Church as a teenager but I've also seen first-hand how powerful religion can be as a source of love, support and strength. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg reveals his home-made Jarvis AI In November I lost someone whose impact on my life has been far bigger than Carrie Fisher, George Michael or David Bowie. My Aunty Grace was a shining beacon of light in my childhood and teens, a woman of enormous warmth, strength, hospitality and, above all, faith. At her funeral, sat between my mother and grandmother, I was struck by how many people described her as Christ-like. The term made me cringe at first until I thought more deeply about what it means. Earlier this year, Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook about meeting Pope Francis with his wife, Priscilla Chan. We admire his message of mercy and tenderness, and how he's found new ways to communicate with people of every faith around the world, he said. You can feel his warmth and kindness, and how deeply he cares about helping people. Profound meetings like this have informed Zuckerberg's newfound belief in the importance of religion, just as my own change of heart is so influenced by the memory of Aunty Grace. For her, being Christ-like meant embodying love and charity in all that she did. It meant supporting the marginalised, loving people however messed up they were, however much she disagreed with them, and staying unwaveringly true to what she believed. But her faith was also distinct from religion. She wasn't a fanatic, a gullible fool, or someone who believed she could simply tick the right boxes and be granted a visa to heaven. Recommended Theresa May cannot pick and choose on human rights Her son described how she hated religious ritual and pomp; how hers was a living faith, expressed through loving people unconditionally. Having been turned off by the trappings of organised religion myself, his words brought her faith to life for me. She modelled herself on the way she believed that God loved. When life felt overwhelming, it was a conviction that someone else was in control that kept her going. In my work with charity Women for Refugee Women, too, I've seen the importance of religion to so many asylum-seeking women; the strength, hope and courage that faith gives them in their desperate situations; the compassion they show each other, regardless of their differing beliefs and backgrounds, and despite their own problems. Though religion isn't a prerequisite for any of these things, I've seen it provide comfort at the bleakest and most hopeless of times. Maybe it's something about growing up, and the renewed sense of spirituality that comes from loving and losing, but my view of religion has certainly softened. Like Zuckerberg, I'm still not necessarily sure what I believe in, if anything. But as a humanist I can't deny the good I've seen religion do, as well as the harm that's done in its name. On the cusp of 2017, when the world feels so uncertain and frightening, I need a faith like my Aunty Grace's more than ever. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The abrupt decision by House Republicans to abandon their bid to gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics not only averts a PR disaster for the party as it prepares to take full control of Washington. It has also revealed the ability of the unpredictable Donald Trump to change politics here with a tweet. Hours after the surprise vote on Monday to remove many of the watchdogs powers a vote of which no prior word was given the president-elect strongly criticised its timing, if not its substance, on Twitter. The OCE might be unfair, he said. But do they really have to make its weakening their number one act and priority? Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! Mr Trump added the hashtag DTS, Drain The Swamp, evoking his campaign promise to clean up Washington. The tweet hits the problem on the head. This was supposed to be a day highlighted by the swearing in of the new 115th Congress, and a swift and public start to dismantling the Obama legacy, starting with the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Instead, had the OCE changes gone ahead, it would have been dominated by a move that would further tarnish the already abysmal reputation of Congress, and an approval rating barely out of single digits. In fact, the OCE, set up in 2008, has drawn anger from both Republican and Democratic Congressmen who have been its targets, for the watchdogs over-zealous investigations and its reliance on anonymous outside tips. But at the closed door meeting where the decision was taken, the two top House Republicans, Speaker Paul Ryan and majority leader Kevin McCarthy, urged their colleagues to drop the idea, arguing that it could only put Congress in the worst possible light, making it look like an insider body out to protect the interests of its members. To no avail. The Republican rank and file that had caused enough trouble in the previous Congress, once again refused to follow the leaderships advice until Mr Trumps intervention by Twitter. Donald Trump lavishes praise on Dubai business partner during New Year's Eve speech Thus far, the president-elects efforts at swamp-draining have been less than impressive. Lobbyists are as influential as ever. He has appointed the personally wealthiest cabinet in history, and seems oblivious to the countless potential conflicts of interest between his official duties and his business interests. But the OCE affair offers a glimpse of how Mr Trump is not going to play by the old rules of Washington, and of the unpredictable consequences that might follow. The episode is also a sign of how the goals of Mr Trump and the new Congress are not perfectly aligned. After six years of frustration at Barack Obamas veto pen, House Republicans have been champing at the bit to unleash their agenda on the country. In some respects this agenda coincides with that of Mr Trump, including the swift repeal of Obamacare, de-regulation, and cuts in taxes as well as reform of the tax code. But in others it does not most notably Mr Ryans ambitions of sweeping reforms in entitlement programmes like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, which the President-elect has indicated should not be touched. Overshadowing everything is the issue of Russian hacking of the 2016 election, where Mr Trump is virtually alone in his dismissal of the unanimous conclusion of US intelligence agencies that Moscow was involved. Key Capitol Hill Republicans, notably Senate Armed Services committee chairman John McCain, are pressing for a full and bipartisan Congressional investigation. In personal terms too, many Congressional Republicans are still wary of Mr Trump, even though he appears to have improved his once lukewarm relations with Mr Ryan, and is much helped by the popularity on Capitol Hill of his vice-president Mike Pence, a former Congressman. The Central Bank has begun laying the groundwork to accommodate a significant number of London-based financial services firms looking to move operations to Dublin in the wake of Brexit. Gerry Cross, the Central Bank's director of policy and risk, said it was poised to help businesses "think constructively" about relocation, and would take a practical approach as firms look to get their business models approved and their companies authorised. Mr Cross said the bank had seen "inquiries and interest" from a significant number of firms. "These firms are of many different types and cover a wide range of activities," he said. "We recognise the practical constraints that firms are facing. "Particularly around some of the timing issues, for example setting up businesses in Ireland, getting authorisation and thinking about model approval. "We have no objection to thinking constructively with firms about how this sequencing challenge might be addressed, without undermining our commitment to our responsibilities." Trade London's financial firms are waiting with bated breath to discover whether the UK can hold on to the passporting rights that allow them to trade freely across the EU. Last week, the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) said more than 100 companies, many based in the City, had inquired about relocating to the country after Brexit. "There is also the important question of group-wide models and how they might operate," Mr Cross said. "This can be a very complex question with many aspects including questions of supervisory reliance. "The Central Bank of Ireland's good and long-standing relationship with UK and other authorities means that we will be in a good position to work through these aspects effectively and efficiently." The Central Bank is bolstering staff numbers in its insurance supervision directorate by more than a quarter as it looks to welcome insurers from London. However, the bank has moved to deny reports that Ireland was discouraging firms wanting to move investment banking or trading operations to Dublin because of regulatory concerns. In a speech earlier this month, Cyril Roux, the Central Bank's deputy governor, said: "We have not sought to dissuade any such entities from seeking authorisation, nor are we planning to do so." The Central Bank has made clear that it does not want firms setting up small operations in Ireland just so they can access EU passporting rights. Mr Cross said firms must demonstrate they had "proper business models, with convincing risk identification and management, suitable products, sound finances, and strong boards and executives" before gaining approval in Ireland. "The Central Bank has not ruled out, and is not planning to rule out, any particular business model on financial stability grounds," he said. The Central Bank has moved to quash speculation that there was tension between it and the Government over firms planning to relocate to Dublin post-Brexit. "The Government and the Central Bank communicate well," he said. "There is no material difference of view as to the role and approach of the Central Bank. We understand each other's roles well, and their different respective natures." Dairy farmers could drive profits by an extra 500/ha to 700/ha by introducing greater crossbreeding in their herds and introducing more clover into grass swards. Well-known Cork dairy farmer Michael Murphy described the improved performance which crossbreeding and clover delivered as the "single biggest research breakthrough" he had seen in 50 years working in the sector. He said the developments had the potential to "turbocharge returns" from Irish dairying, and increase operating margins to 2,800/ha for the very best farmers at a milk price of 32c/l. "For most people a 30pc lift in profits, or 500/ha, is attainable. But up to 700/ha is possible for the top operators," Murphy maintained. He said that for a 100ha unit this equated to an annual lift in profits of between 50,000 and 70,000. Murphy was speaking ahead of Positive Farmers Conference which takes place on Wednesday and Thursday (January 11 and 12) of next week at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Little Island, Cork. He said the increased profits that crossbreeding and clover could provide for farmers would be central to the presentations and discussions at the two-day event. "I am not making these claims lightly. There is very strong back-up evidence from research carried out by Teagasc on which the figures are based," Murphy insisted. He said the research findings - mainly from Moorepark and Clonakilty - would be teased out at the conference. Feed conversion While the Cork dairy farmer accepted that more targeted breeding of Friesian-Holsteins had closed the gap in terms of performance on crossbreds, he maintained that the latter remained more fertile and easier to manage. However, he argued that the stronger feed conversion potential of crossbreds as compared to traditional Friesian-Holsteins was a more important factor in their superior performance. "Feed conversion has been overlooked in the dairy industry, but it is a critically important area and one where there is a very large difference between crossbreds and Friesian Holsteins," Murphy pointed out. Just 6pc of the national herd is crossbred and Murphy accepted that changing their breeding policy was a major decision for farmers. However, he said it would be "madness" for farmers to "turn a blind eye" to the possibility of improving operating profits by 500 to 700/ha. "Finding an outlet for crossbred bull calves can be a challenge, but this has to be balanced against cows with better milk solids, better health, better fertility and better feet," Murphy said. "In addition, crossbreds are easier to calve and have around 16pc higher conception rate to first service," he said. In terms of clover, he said paddocks could be over-sown in the spring. However, he admitted to concerns regarding the performance of clover on heavier soils. A mix of Irish and international speakers will take part in next week's Positive Farmers Conference. Kevin Lane of Ornua will look at the global dairy market outlook. Teagasc dairy specialists Brendan Horan and John Maher will look at grass utilisation and stocking rates, while Kevin Ahern and John McNamara from the Shinagh Farm near Bandon will outline how they improved compact calving results. Robert Troy from north Cork will discuss approaches to slashing the spring workload. Tadhg Buckley of AIB will give a presentation on how farmers should deal with banks. More information is available from positivefarmers@gmail.com or Mary O'Keeffe at 087 645 7987. It pays to be an expatriate in Switzerland. Expats living in the home of global giants including UBS Group, drug maker Novartis and commodity trader Glencore earn an average salary of $188,275 (180,000) a year. Thats the highest in the world and almost twice the global average, according to data published yesterday by global bank HSBC. Switzerland also tops the banks expat career ranking for a second year. Expats ranked Switzerland highly for both financial and personal well-being criteria, said Dean Blackburn, head of HSBC Expat. The combination of high salaries and excellent work culture has placed Switzerland at the top of the careers league table, Mr Blackburn said. Switzerland, which hosts the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, ranked the best all-round destination for a career abroad. Of those surveyed by HSBC, 69pc said their work-life balance had improved while in Switzerland, and 61pc said the work culture was better than their home country. The ranking is based on a survey of 26,871 expats in more than 100 countries. Germany and Sweden ranked second and third overall, despite salaries that were at or below the global average, according to HSBC. European countries took six of the top 10 spots. Ireland ranked 27th, up from 31st place in 2015. Expat workers based here rated Ireland highly for family life, but high personal taxes here mean this country scored poorly in terms of disposable income. While important, pay isnt necessarily decisive for those moving to take up a job. Expats in Sweden and Germany enjoy benefits outside the financial side of work, said Mr Blackburn. Germany offers the best job security for expats. Sweden, as well as topping the tables for work culture, is praised by 79pc of expats for its excellent work-life balance. In contrast, previous data released by HSBC showed that while Switzerland ranks first in financial well-being for those working abroad, it ranks close to last in cultivating relationships and social life. The cost of living in Switzerland is also notoriously high, with Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung last month reporting that the price of food is 70pc above the European average, while healthcare expenses are more than double. The best employment packages including health benefits, accommodation allowances and trips home are found in Middle East countries such as Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, according to HSBC. Hong Kong and Singapore topped the ranking for career development with 68pc and 62pc respectively of respondents agreeing that these were good places to improve their careers. Lifestyle, however, suffered for some upon moving to Asia as 30pc of expats in Singapore and 50pc in Hong Kong reported a decline in work-life balance. (Bloomberg) To share with friends and brethren The Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (the Everlasting Gospel), and to prepare a people to stand when He returns to redeem His remnant. Also, to share relevant information of current events, and to show how they relate to prophecy; By means of articles, editorials, opinions, scripture readings, and poetry. 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Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior general interest in receiving similar information for research and educational purposes. Most entrepreneurs will have realised that the product switch is one of the toughest things to do in business. According to Keith Cunningham, if you're not clear about your ideal target customer, then you're playing pin the tail on the donkey. "Just because you have a new idea or you're selling a product that is faster, cheaper, lighter, longer-lasting or tastier, doesn't mean that everyone who is using the competition's product will auto automatically switch to yours," he said. "And if they do switch, I promise you that it will not be about your passion for the brilliance of your product." Knowing who your target customer is requires clarity on exactly: Who you are trying to attract What problem they are trying to solve For more from Cunningham, he will be speaking at the Pendulum Summit in Dublin next January. 'Unleash Your Warrior Mindset' Pendulum Summit will take place at The Convention Centre Dublin on January 11 and 12, 2017. Tickets for the event are on sale here. Proudly partnered by UrbanVolt, Irish Independent, Sunday Independent, RTE Media Sales, Dublin City Council, The Marker Hotel, Front Row Speakers. Mike Roney has now succeeded Michael Chadwick as Chairman of Grafton Group. The appointment - which was announced at the end of March 2016 by the international Builders Merchanting and DIY Group - came into effect from January 1 this year. "I am delighted that the Board has chosen Mike Roney to succeed me as Chairman," Mr Michael Chadwick said. "His outstanding track record during a ten and a half year tenure as Chief Executive of Bunzl plc and his international business experience demonstrate that the Board will benefit in the years ahead from his strategic insights and leadership skills." American Roney (61) held the CEO role at Bunzl from 2005 until April 20 last year. He graduated with a MBA from University of Michigan and is a Certified Public Accountant. He was also a non-executive director of Johnson Matthey from 2007 to 2014 and is currently a non-executive director of Brown-Forman Corp. "We wish Michael Chadwick continued success in the future and thank him sincerely for his remarkable contribution and legacy to Grafton over 41 years including 26 years as Executive Chairman and for his excellent stewardship of the Board as Non-Executive Chairman for the last five and a half years," said Mr Roney. Toyota has once again solidifed its position as the best-selling car brand in Ireland on the back of sales of 15,530 passenger vehicles. Last year the overall motoring market experience growth of 17.5pc with the popular car manufacturer enjoying 18.5pc year on year growth. Toyota now boasts an overall market share of 10.6pc as demand for model across the entire range stays strong. The firm's best-selling passenger vehicles were the Corolla with sales of 3,751, followed closely by the Yaris with 3,727 sales, Auris with 2,854 sales, RAV4 with 2,349 sales and the Avensis with 1,663 sales. Toyotas range of hybrids also continue to be extremely popular with a total of 1,958 hybrids sold last year, an overall year on year growth of 115pc compared to 2015. Toyota believe that this trend will continue into 2017, with the launch of the critically acclaimed new 5 door SUV, the C-HR, expected to significantly contribute to the growth of hybrid as well as the imminent arrival of new Prius-Plug in Hybrid. Expand Close A new Toyota Corolla / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A new Toyota Corolla Steve Tormey, Chief Executive, Toyota Ireland said that last year "was a great year for Toyota". "We are proud to have once again regained the status of being the best-selling car brand in Ireland," he said. "Particularly pleasing was the continuing strong demand we experienced right across our range coupled with significantly increased consumer movement into hybrid vehicles. We believe this trend will continue with our newest model, the C-HR as well as other new model introductions later this year. THE State is to issue a new 20-year syndicated bond deal imminently in what looks set to be the first fundraising of the year by any European government. The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has mandated Barclays, Cantor Fitzgerald, Danske Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley as "joint lead managers" to manage the sale of the new bonds. In traditional government bond auctions the debt is issued, or sold, to investors through primary dealers. In a syndicated bond the debt is underwritten by a group of banks, who then in effect sell on the risk to investors. In January last year, the NTMA in Dublin raised 3bn through the syndicated sale of 10-year debt at a yield of 1.156pc. That was the third year in a row the agency ran a sale on January 7. First-time buyers can recoup up to 20,000 in a tax refund The new Help-to-Buy scheme for first-time buyers, announced in the Budget last October, opens for applications today. First-time buyers can recoup up to 20,000 in a tax refund to put towards the cost of purchasing a property. Just last week, the Central Bank said that first-time buyers would only need a 10pc deposit, no matter what value the property is, under new relaxed rules. New buyers also qualify for a 5pc rebate under the Government's help-to-buy scheme for new homes. This means they could acquire a new property with a deposit as low as 5pc. But those who previously bought property need a 20pc deposit. Read More It has been claimed that people that need to move home to support a growing family are being discriminated against by rule changes and the Government's help-to-buy schemes, it has been claimed. Experts said the changes to Central Bank mortgage rules and the Government's help-to-buy scheme has left second-time buyers at a massive disadvantage in the property market. New buyers would be able to bid more, squeezing out existing owners who needed to move house for a job or to accommodate an expanding family. Meanwhile, the latest house price report by popular property website Daft.ie found that house prices rose on average by 8pc over 2016. Mark Zuckerberg has revealed he is no longer an atheist after years of claiming to have no faith. The Facebook founder, one of the world's richest men with a net worth of around 40bn, said he believed religion was "very important". It comes after a year in which Zuckerberg, who was raised Jewish, met the pope and praised Buddhism. Last week, Zuckerberg posted a message on his own Facebook page wishing followers a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah. In response to a comment asking if he was atheist, he said: "No. I was raised Jewish and then I went through a period where I questioned things, but now I believe religion is very important." Zuckerberg previously identified as an atheist, listing the belief on his Facebook page. The Facebook founder has previously praised the Buddhism of his wife Priscilla Chan, posting a photo of himself praying during a visit to a pagoda in Xi'an. He also had a high-profile audience with Pope Francis last year, although at the meeting, during which Zuckerberg gave the pope a model of Facebook's solar-powered internet drone, the two mainly discussed bringing connectivity to the developing world. Zuckerberg and Chan have often discussed their moral values, and have pledged to give away 99pc of their wealth to good causes such as advancing medical technology, but it is the first time that the Facebook founder has confirmed his faith. Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] Twitter might finally let people fix their bad tweets. The troubled company's CEO, Jack Dorsey, has suggested that he might have the site add an "edit" button so that updates can be fixed after they are posted. It was just one of a range of new year's resolutions that he made after taking requests from its users. Mr Dorsey admitted that the site needs such an edit button, but said also that he will need to think more about how it can be rolled out. The suggestion came after Mr Dorsey sent out a tweet asking users what they would want to see change about the site in 2017. A range of responses followed, including a number of people who asked for tweets to be allowed to be changed once they had been posted. Is it more important to edit for spelling/corrections? 5 minute window to edit mistakes or do you need to be able to edit anytime? he asked users who suggested button. We're thinking a lot about it, he added, writing that he too had needed to delete and re-post tweets a number of times because of mistakes he has made. The edit button was by far the most common suggestion but others some of which were highlighted by Mr Dorsey included a way of letting people bookmark tweets and better safety and abuse options to make it easier to have bullies removed from the site. Despite playing a central role in the US election and other news events, Twitter is struggling to keep its active users and to make money from the people who use it. Its share price has been plunging in recent months and it has been repeatedly criticised for not dealing with abuse and other problems. Twitter has added a range of features in recent months, including changes to the way that conversations work that were rolled back just hours after they were pushed out. It has been criticised for the fact that those updates have a tendency to focus on cosmetic and minor updates while ignoring what some users say is an abuse problem that is rife across the network. An edit button has long been one of the site's most requested features. People doing so have included Kim Kardashian, who has sent a number of tweets requesting the feature and once said she had personally emailed Twitter asking for it to be implemented. Donald Trump has sent a tweet which appears to warn the worlds third biggest automaker about their practises. The President-elect blasted General Motors, telling his 18.5 million followers that the car company sends their Chevy Cruze model over the Mexican-US border tax-free. "Make in U.S.A.or pay big border tax!," Mr Trump said. Early December last year, Mr Trump took aim at Boeing over costs for the replacement Air Force One. Boeing fell by 1.5pc after the tweet but ended the trading day positive. Barely a week after taking shots at Boeing, Donald Trump took a swipe at Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jet program, saying the cost was out of control". The slowdown suggests the pharmaceuticals industry may be returning to more normal productivity levels. Stock Image The US Food and Drug Administration cleared just 22 new medicines for sale last year, the lowest number since 2010 and sharply down on 2015's tally of 45. Here, the European Medicines Agency recommended 81 new prescription products against a 2015 total of 93. Unlike the FDA, the EMA includes generic drugs in its list. Expand Close John Jenkins, the FDA's director of the office of new drugs / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp John Jenkins, the FDA's director of the office of new drugs The slowdown suggests the pharmaceuticals industry may be returning to more normal productivity levels after a spike in approvals in 2014 and 2015, when the haul of new drugs reaching the market hit a 19-year high. Several factors led to the fall in the approval rate in 2016, John Jenkins, the FDA's director of the office of new drugs, told a conference last month. Notably, five new drugs that had been scheduled for approval in 2016 ended up winning an early green light at the end of 2015. There was also a decline in drugs being filed for approval and the FDA rejected or delayed more applications in 2016 than in the previous two years. Some of the delayed drugs may yet go on to win approval in 2017, including Roche's multiple sclerosis treatment Ocrevus and Sanofi and Regeneron's sarilumab for rheumatoid arthritis. Most industry executives remain upbeat about the hunt for new medicines, given recent advances in fighting cancer and an improved understanding of the genetic basis of other diseases, which has resulted in full development pipelines at many firms. But it remains challenging to get new drugs through the approval process and to secure a decent financial return once they are launched, given resistance from healthcare insurers and governments to the rising cost of medical treatment. According to consultancy Deloitte, returns on research and development investment at the top 12 pharmaceutical companies fell to just 3.7pc in 2016 from a high of 10.1pc in 2010. Increasing political pressure over the high prices of many modern medicines is a growing challenge at a time when biotech and pharma companies are developing more drugs targeted at niche patient populations. The issue is exemplified by the last drug to win FDA approval in 2016. Spinraza, from Biogen and Ionis Pharmaceuticals, is the first medicine to treat patients with spinal muscular atrophy, a rare and often fatal genetic disease. It costs $125,000 (120,000) per dose. That price, implying a total cost of $625,000 to $750,000 for patients in the first year and $375,000 in subsequent years, is likely to invite "a storm of criticism, up to and including presidential tweets", according to Leerink analysts. Donald Trump has said he will bring down drug prices. (Reuters) Mr Happy: A few things to make you smile from 2016 Credit: PA If you are feeling pretty depressed about the way 2016 panned out, then here are a few things that may just cheer you up. 2016 has been a pretty terrible year, with the deaths of much-loved icons including David Bowie, Leonard Cohen and Prince adding to the blue mood. It has been dubbed officially the worst year in the history of the universe on social media, with another adding: 2016 can end any time now. Tumblr user helthehatter has responded to the gloomy outlook by creating a list of good things that have happened in 2016 to cheer everyone up. Helthehatter told BuzzFeed that her list of heart-warming moments was inspired by an uplifting Reddit thread. She lists new chemotherapy breakthroughs, a decrease in child mortality rates and donations from the Ice Bucket Challenge funding a potential ASL breakthrough as just a few of the good things. The blogger also shared some heartwarming stories, including 200 strangers attending the funeral of a homeless WW2 veteran with no family and a teenager battling cancer marrying his sweetheart. "Any year spent with loved ones, be they family or friends, is a good year. Trust me," she wrote. She asked for others to share their own good news stories, adding: "Even if it's something small like you ate cheesecake THAT is good news." Many have also been tweeting using the hashtag #goodthingsin2016 Sports photo of the year? We all fell in love with Robbie Brady that night. All the emotions. The beautiful game #GoodThingsIn2016 #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/7nXip9dZ14 Declan Pierce (@DecPierce) December 31, 2016 Male suicide rate down for 2 consecutive years for 1st time post-recession: esp in middle-aged men who have highest risk. #goodthingsin2016 louis appleby (@ProfLAppleby) December 30, 2016 This year I got my Charlie Doge. Here are some of my favorite photos of her. #GoodThingsIn2016 pic.twitter.com/iBssT6ECqT Tina (@TinaDayton) December 28, 2016 I broke up with my ex earlier this year and I've never felt so alive being single ! #goodthingsin2016 KrissieCosplay (@JokerrQuinn) December 31, 2016 Adopting Moose and giving him a comfortable home. #GoodThingsIn2016 pic.twitter.com/Fl0HUdQZ3c Simon Capstick (@HTBug) December 28, 2016 This girl... who chose to be a hot dog on princess day.#GoodThingsin2016 pic.twitter.com/FRVrofTJRo Kelli Russell Agodon (@KelliAgodon) December 17, 2016 #GoodThingsIn2016? Oh I don't know, how about getting freaking married pic.twitter.com/rkNv0S64dl Eamon Hamilton (@eamonhamilton) December 30, 2016 Video of the Day Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] Mariah Carey pauses due to technical issues during her concert in New Yorks Times Square. Photo: Reuters The production company behind the botched New York New Year's Eve special has hit back at Mariah Carey's claim that it sabotaged her live performance. The pop diva's disaster during the New Year's Rockin' Eve event made international headlines when she vocally stumbled through her short set, failing to sing for most of it despite a pre-recorded track of her songs playing in the background. Carey was visibly upset during the performance. Her representative, Nicole Perna, blamed technical difficulties. "She was not winging this moment and took it very seriously," Ms Perna said. "A shame that production set her up to fail." Ms Perna said Carey's earpiece was not working and she flagged the issue to the production team but was told it would be OK when she got on stage. "However, that was not the case, and they were again told that her earpiece was not working," Ms Perna said. But in a statement, the production company called the claims "absurd". "As the premier producer of live television events for nearly 50 years, we pride ourselves on our reputation and long-standing relationships with artists," it said. "To suggest that DCP (Dick Clark Productions), as producer of music shows including the American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, New Year's Rockin' Eve and Academy of Country Music Awards, would ever intentionally compromise the success of any artist is defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd." Actress/director Sharon Horgan and talent Carrie Fisher speak on stage at Tribeca Tune In: Catastrophe at SVA Theatre 2 on April 19, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival) Sharon Horgan has fondly remembered her Catastrophe co-star Carrie Fisher in an emotional written tribute. Writing in The Guardian, Horgan recalled the moments she shared with Fisher in the week leading up to her death. Fisher had been in London filming Catastrophe, which stars Horgan and Rob Delaney as a newly married couple raising two young children, just days before she passed away. In the sitcom, she played Delaney's particularly heinous (and absolutely hilarious) mother Mia Horgan recalled how the night before Fisher boarded her flight to Los Angeles, the two women enjoyed dinner with Salman Rushdie. The Drogheda writer and actress explained that she had tried to get out of the dinner, blaming a hangover and inferiority complex for her decision, but Fisher wasn't having any of it. Expand Close Carrie Fisher in Catastrophe with her beloved dog Gary / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Carrie Fisher in Catastrophe with her beloved dog Gary "She reminded me that she dragged her ass all the way out to Hackney to see me the week before and I should return the favour. So I did. Thank the dark lord, I did." It would be the last time that she saw her friend. Horgan described Fisher as a caring and down-to-earth friend who always made sure people in her company were looked after. She was interested in people. She asked questions. She listened to them. But Horgan reserved the most praise for Fisher's bravery in tackling a male dominated film industry and calling out its double standards and sexism. "My God, girls, we owe her a lot. Not many women of her generation called out the double standards of the film industry the way she did. And how it treats women of a certain age. "She knew that she had to keep mouthing off about it. And she did it with great wit. But it hurt her. Make no mistake about that. Expand Close Carrie Fisher and husband Paul Simon (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Carrie Fisher and husband Paul Simon (AP) Horgan explained that Fisher, like most women, criticised her own looks but that it's "hard not to when the world is telling you that you're not allowed to age like a regular person". In her tribute, Horgan listed Fisher's traits and urged fans to remember her for the many great things she was. Video of the Day "I want everyone to remember her and all the great things she was. A wonderful writer, a fine actress, a great mother, a caring daughter, a loyal friend, a wit, a prolific present giver, a lunatic, a legend". Padraig Clifford and David O'Shea of Beaufort Drama group (seated) presenting cheques for 1,000 to Agnes Rooney of the Buy A Bus Fund for KPFA and Susan English of Beaufort Defibrillator Group, with (front) Bernie Costello, Colette Courtney, Anges Rooney, Padraig Clifford, Susan English, David O'Shea, Rosemary Mangan (back from left) Fiona Landers, Marie Coffey, Austin Rooney, Rory Clifford, Lorraine O'Shea, Neilie O'Sullivan, Caitriona Kelly and Noel O'Sullivan at Beaufort bar Restaurant, Beaufort, Killarney on Saturday. The funds were raised from their recent production.Photo by Michelle Cooper Galvin A quick-thinking 'Christmas elf' has been hailed for saving the life on an elderly man on Christmas Eve after his heart stopped. St John's Ambulance volunteer Ciara O'Callaghan (20) was working as in a card shop in Cork city centre, dressed festively as an elf, when she was called to assist the man who had taken ill nearby at around 2pm on Christmas Eve. She realised that his heart had stopped immediately started CPR. Ciara was also able to use a defibrillator which was located nearby. She continued CPR and gave the patient two shocks before the arrival of the paramedic crew. The man is now recovering well in hospital. "Someone came in shouting to see if anyone knew CPR and I just ran out," she told Independent.ie. Ciara, who has been a volunteer with St John's since she was 17, said her training kicked in instantly. It was her first time performing CPR on a patient. "We've practised it so many times in training that it just kicked in," she said. The UCC student said the episode brought home for her the importance of CPR training and having a publicly accessible defibrillator. "It definitely gave him the best chance," she said. "It's a skill everyone should have because you never know when you'll need it. You just don't know what could happen and you could be the only person with the patient," she said. The defibrillator used in the rescue had recently been vandalised and the ambulance service has said "it's timely replacement assisted in saving the life" of the man in question St John's Ambulance said in a statement. It comes after three youths in Arklow vandalised a defibrillator worth around 2,000 in the early hours, ripping it off the wall and smashing the life-saving device beyond repair. Read More The community in Arlkow has rallied and been donating money to replace the device, which is maintained by the Arklow First Responders volunteer group. A garda investigation was launched following the incident which was captured on CCTV. The Home Sweet Home secured more than 4,000 signatures of support for the petition. Photo: Jason Kennedy Housing activists have handed an open letter to Finance Minister Michael Noonan, calling on him to order the use of vacant, state-controlled properties to house the homeless. Residents of Apollo House - an empty office block in Dublin city centre occupied and refitted as a shelter by the Home Sweet Home campaign before Christmas - led the petition. The building was once used by the civil service and is now controlled by receivers after property loans were taken over by the state's bad-bank Nama. Irish Housing Network activist Tommy Gavin said: "The Minister for Finance is failing in his duty to the people of Ireland by not exercising his powers under the Nama act to direct Nama to make proper and adequate housing stock immediately available to local authorities around Ireland. "The housing crisis is bigger than Apollo House." The Home Sweet Home secured more than 4,000 signatures of support for the petition. There were more than 1,200 families homeless in the last week of November, according to official figures, including 6,985 people staying in emergency accommodation last month with 2,549 of them children. The open letter to Mr Noonan calls on the Government to identify properties, loans, land and other assets which are controlled by Nama and could be used to house homeless people. It said the minister should intervene directly and order Nama to prioritise its social mandate, including the delivery of social, public or affordable housing within a set time. The campaigners also said Apollo House or an alternative property should be made available immediately for sheltered accommodation for homeless people for at least six months. Rosi Leonard, from Home Sweet Home, said that 33 residents have been provided with 6 month beds, which proves there is "not a problem with resources." She said: "We dont know where these units where before but It is proof that it is not a problem with resources. Six month beds are like gold dust in this country, a lot of those people taking those beds are people who did not know where they were going to be sleeping night by night for a number of years. Ms Leonard added that they won't leave the building until all residents are "sorted out." We wont be able to leave this building if everyone is not sorted out, theres no way we can, she said. Everyone in there needs stability and the governments silence on this is not stability, other people have been offered those six months beds and they have said no more, Ms Leonard said. A resident of Apollo House, whose name was given as Mitzalo, said: "The Government is forcing us into hostels where the people next to you are using drugs and smoking. "We have great facilities at Apollo thanks to the generosity of Irish people. We have our own rooms. We have everything we need. They should keep this place open until the government builds social housing that they've failed to build time and time again." The occupation has support from musicians Hozier and Glen Hansard, film maker Jim Sheridan and actress Saoirse Ronan among many others. The campaigners are facing eviction later this month after the High Court gave them until January 11 to leave the building, which has been empty since 2015. Home Sweet Home said Apollo House provided shelter to 40 people and helped another 205 people access shelter over the Christmas period. It said Nama-controlled buildings should not be used as "honeypots for private development", but as public housing and high quality accommodation to end the homelessness crisis. Mr Noonan's office said the Government was aware of its powers which can be applied to Nama. It said the bad-bank has offered almost 7,000 units to local authorities for use as social housing but that only about 2,400 have been taken up. "The availability of housing is the key priority for Government and has been the focus of a number of measures introduced under the Government's Rebuilding Ireland Plan. The Department of Finance, the Minister for Finance, and Nama continue to support that work," Mr Noonan's office said in a statement. A GARDA has been charged with more than 200 counts of deception and receiving corrupt payments. Garda John OHalloran appeared before a special sitting of Cork District Court charged with a total of 212 counts. These ranged from alleged receiving corrupt payments to deception and theft charges involving various locations in Cork city. Judge Olann Kelleher was told that Mr OHalloran (45) made no reply to Gardai when he was arrested, cautioned and charged with the matters. A precise figure for the sums involved was not available but it could extend to tens of thousands of Euro. Inspector Fergal Foley told the court that the accused was arrested at his home at South Douglas Road, Cork shortly after 9am (Tuesday). Inspector Foley confirmed that Mr OHalloran was taken to Togher Garda Station where he was subsequently charged. The charges involve dates between 2009 and 2014 and ranged from alleged acceptance of corrupt payments to deception and theft counts. Some of the theft charges involve sums of less than 100. The largest amount involved is 2,500. A number of charges were also brought under the Prevention of Corruption Act. These charges alleged that Mr OHalloran obtained or accepted a payment or a gift for the provision of his services as a serving member of the Gardai. Judge Kelleher was told that Gardai were seeking to have the matter adjourned until February 16 next. This is to allow preparation of a book of evidence in the case which was described as involving a very long, complicated and detailed investigation. Judge Kelleher was informed the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has already instructed that the matter be dealt with before Cork Circuit Criminal Court and a judge and jury. Gardai stressed that there was no objection to the defendant being remanded on bail once specific conditions were met. These included that he not have any contact with potential witnesses in the case, that he enters an independent surety, that he surrender his passport and undertake not to apply for a new one and that he reside at an address specified to Gardai. Defence solicitor Dan Murphy said all conditions would be fully complied with. Judge Kelleher was told that the defendant was providing, as required. an independent surety of 5,000 with a cash lodgement of 1,000. He remanded the defendant to appear again before Cork District Court on February 16. Kildare has been named as the cleanest town in Ireland, according to a new national litter league. The annual league, which is produced by Irish Business Against Litter (Ibal), was released today and it confirms the top spot has gone to the Lillywhiltes. The town finished finished ahead of Roscommon and Ashbourne, with Waterford City in fourth. A special public sculpture will be commissioned for the town to mark the achievement. 70% of the 40 towns and cities surveyed in 2016 were at least as clean as their European equivalents, a decrease on the previous year. An Taisce, which conducts the surveys on behalf of IBAL, commented in its report on Kildare: It is rare to find a town in such spotless condition throughout. The Link Road and both approach roads into Kildare Town got the top litter grade and this high standard was sustained for all sites surveyed. It wasn't all good news as Dublin North Inner city was listed as "seriously littered in the survey". Expand Close The annual league downgraded Dublin's north inner city from 'littered' to 'seriously littered'. Photo: Tony Gavin / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The annual league downgraded Dublin's north inner city from 'littered' to 'seriously littered'. Photo: Tony Gavin Out of the 40 areas across the country examined, Galvone in Co Limerick and Farranree in Co Cork were also judged to be "seriously littered". Social Democrat councillor and north inner city resident Gary Gannon described the litter as "disgusting". "There is a real need for an effective and efficient system," he said. "The private waste management companies have been unsatisfactory, and I think people would be willing to pay for a real, effective system. "We're finding ourselves in a situation where people will resort to the black economy and there will be more and more dumping in the inner city." An Taisce inspectors, who helped compile the league, highlighted a number of blackspots within the north inner city. Gardiner Lane was found to be "very neglected", with vandalism, graffiti and dumping in evidence on Railway Street and playgrounds in the area. Aldborough Place, Rutland Street and Poplar Row were all seriously littered, according to the report. "We have seen the efforts and investment of Dublin City Council in this area, and this result is a disappointment after the progress of the previous year," Conor Horgan, from Ibal, said. "Managing an urban area of this nature is problematic, and we hope this is just a blip on the way to sustained improvement." "I can't see what they see, and I am very much opposing it," Sinn Fein councillor for Farranree, Kenneth Collins, said. "Calling us the litter louts is wrong. This is an area where the demographic is very old and people like to look after the area." Anti Austerity Alliance councillor for Limerick East Paul Keller said the league was "overly critical of what was wrong". He said despite cutbacks in the budget, "the council has been making huge efforts to try to reduce the problem". A total of 70pc of the towns and cities surveyed by An Taisce on behalf of Ibal were found to be "clean to European norms", compared with 85pc two years ago. Ashbourne, Kildare, Roscommon, Thurles and Waterford City were listed at the cleanest, with the winner to be announced on this afternoon. The HSE has issued a warning that rates of influenza and respiratory illnesses have nearly doubled across the country in the past two weeks. According to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, there have been several outbreaks of the illnesses in care facilities and acute hospitals, particularly in the Dublin region. The HSE is now warning those who are vulnerable and have not received vaccinations to do so and said "it is not too late". One person has died as a result of the flu this winter and the latest figures show that almost 100 people were hospitalised with the illness. This rate is expected to further increase in the coming weeks. Most cases have involved people 65 years of age and older. Those who are suffering from flu-like symptoms are advised to drink plenty of fluids, to get lots of rest and to eat healthily. In a statement the HSE said: The latest Influenza surveillance report from Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HSPC) shows an almost doubling of the influenza like illness rate (ILI) to 46.7, compared with 25.8 for the previous week. The ILI rate is expected to increase further in the coming weeks. In Ireland East Hospital Group, St. Lukes General Hospital in Kilkenny/Carlow has recorded the highest incidence of Flu Nationally. The HSE added: Due to a high incidence of admissions through the Emergency Department and AMAU of people suffering from influenza, some of our hospitals have issued localised statements to the media advising the public that visiting restrictions will be put in place effective immediately and that access will be restricted to all areas of the hospital except for example, if visiting children or those who are critically ill in ICU/CCU/Stroke Units. We are asking that only parents be authorised to visit children and in the case of visiting maternity units, that it is limited to partner /next of kin. The Ireland East Hospital Group is supporting all of their hospitals and join them in asking members of the public to only visit the hospital if it is absolutely necessary and not to visit if they have had flu-like symptoms in the previous four days. Tallaght Hospital, along with other hospitals around the country, have also seen a high level of emergency admissions in recent days primarily due to increasing numbers of influenza and norovirus illnesses in the community. The Hospitals full capacity protocol is in place and the public is asked to attend their GP in the first instance where appropriate, stated the hospital. We apologise for any delays in waiting times as patients in the Emergency Department are prioritised according to clinical need. Beaumont Hospital also wished advise that visiting restrictions are in place in its premises. Like many other hospitals across the country, Beaumont is requesting that patients with cold and flu symptoms who may be considering coming to the ED first contact their GP. Monday's attack is the second high-casualty terrorist attack in the Iraqi capital in three days Egypt has strongly condemned the suicide bombing in a densely-packed Baghdad neighbourhood on Monday which left at least 32 dead and dozens injured, a foreign ministry statement read. "Iraq has Egypt's full solidarity and support in the face of terrorism, which aims to destabilise its security and stability," the statement added. The ministry's statement also reiterated Egypt's "unwavering stance on the necessity of international cooperation to fight the abominable phenomenon of terrorism, and of studying the reasons behind it and draining its financial resources." Baghdad's Monday attack is the second high-casualty terrorist attack in the Iraqi capital in three days. At least 27 people were killed by twin explosions in a busy market area in central Baghdad on Saturday, in the deadliest terrorist attack in the Iraqi capital in two months. No group has claimed Monday's suicide blast; however, the Islamic State group has claimed similar attacks recently. Search Keywords: Short link: RADIO and television presenter Eoghan McDermott has revealed that a vicious attack on St Stephen's Day left him with a severe concussion and several other injuries. McDermott told Joe Duffy on RTE Radio One's Liveline that he was trying to get a taxi home after a visit to The Laurels pub in Clondalkin when the incident happened. Expand Close Eoghan McDermott shared this picture with his new girlfriend Aoife on Instagram / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Eoghan McDermott shared this picture with his new girlfriend Aoife on Instagram He said : "I just went to see [friends in Clondalkin] and wish them happy Christmas and whatnot. I was leaving a pub there... [I ] left the pub and was on the phone to my girlfriend walking towards a taxi rank and I don't remember anything after that until I was up in Tallaght hospital. "As per my girlfriend's account, she heard a yell on the phone, then there was silence, then about 30 seconds later another girl picked up the phone that I had dropped and said I had been attacked from behind and was unconcious. My girlfriend asked that girl to stay with me and she rang my friends who were in the pub and they came out and got me to hospital." Initial symptoms suggested there could be lasting affects from the attack. "I was [at the hospital] for probably 10 or 11 hours and I had a brain scan and thankfully it came back all clear, but my tooth was knocked through my lip and I was all bust up and I couldn't see properly and I was all nauseous and whatnot. After the scan I started vomiting pretty violently and they said that was a tell-tail sign so I'd have to stay in for some observation, but I was ultimately released. "I went home for a day, my vision started to go... I had a ringing in my ears and my head was absolutely pounding. My girlfriend is actually a doctor and she said "we should bring you back to hospital" so I went back and had another brain scan and took in fluids and painkillers and whatnot. In the end they said... it is just a severe concussion." Although there will be no lasting side-effects, McDermott was told that it will take three to four weeks before his symptoms subside. Head still getting shooting pains, ears ringing, vision blurry. Taking week off @Eoghan2FM -thanks @BlathnaidT @jayhartigan for stepping in Eoghan McDermott (@eoghanmcdermo) January 3, 2017 The DJ added that he was particularly startled by the "unprovoked nature" of the attack and has since made a statement to the Gardai. The girl who picked up his phone said she saw two suspects running away from the scene. "I went and made my formal statement yesterday... There are a lot of cameras in the area, but it depends whether it falls into a blind-spot, whether they can identify the person" he added. Security was tight as mourners attended the funeral of shooting victim Noel Kirwan in Dublin. A mourner at the funeral of the latest victim of the bloody Kinahan-Hutch feud has prayed his death would mark an end to the spiral of violence that has claimed 11 lives. The body of Noel 'Duck Egg' Kirwan (62) was brought to Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Sean McDermott Street yesterday amid tight security and a heavy garda presence. It was the same church where Kirwan stood with Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch, as he buried his murdered brother Eddie Hutch Sr in February last year. Gardai believe such a public show of support for Hutch at that funeral may have ultimately cost Kirwan his life when he was gunned down in west Dublin on December 22. "We pray to our Lord that this is the end to this violence that has devastated so many families," a female mourner said in the prayers of the faithful at Kirwan's funeral yesterday. Read more: 'We pray that this is the end to this violence' - Mourner at funeral of Noel Kirwan Fr Hugh O'Donnell, the former parish priest, said Noel was baptised in the same church and had grown up in the area. He spoke of the tragedy of his death, saying an innocent man had been gunned down in his prime. "The family are deeply in shock, and certainly stunned, and so is the community," he said. Gardai are continuing to hunt for two men they suspect of stabbing a pensioner on her front doorstep. Bridie Smith (72) was attacked in broad daylight at her home in Oranmore Road, Ballyfermot, on New Year's Day. It is believed she was stabbed between 9.30am and 10am. Mrs Smith suffered a number of knife wounds to the chest and was taken to St James's Hospital where she remains in a critical condition. Expand Close A garda forensics officer at the house in Oranmore Road, Ballyfermot, where Bridie Smith was stabbed / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A garda forensics officer at the house in Oranmore Road, Ballyfermot, where Bridie Smith was stabbed One theory being investigated is that the attack was linked to a dispute between two families in the area. Shot One of Ms Smith's sons, Andrew (32), was jailed in 2015 for two-and-a-half years for assaulting one of her neighbours, a 72-year-old great-grandmother who was left with serious facial injuries. Another son, Stephen, was shot in an unrelated incident in February. Detectives from Ballyfermot Garda Station are investigating the attack on Mrs Smith and are appealing for anyone with information to contact them. No arrests have yet been made, but gardai are looking for two men who were seen fleeing the area following the stabbing. Members of the Armed Support Unit (ASU) kept watch at the scene after the attack. Mrs Smith's home was sealed off as a garda forensic team carried out an examination. Residents of the Oranmore Road area expressed sadness at the stabbing of their neighbour. "I'm terribly shocked," said a 38-year-old mother-of-five. "The guards came to my door asking if I saw anything, but I hadn't. "I'm just hoping she'll make a full recovery. She was the same age as my mam. It's terrible." Local man Seamus Pender (59) said: "We heard that one of her sons may have been in bed at home when she was attacked. "We're all very shocked. The family have been living here for a long time. "The first I heard about it was when the guards came to the door asking if anyone had seen anything." The grieving sister of a woman who died of a suspected drug overdose has spoken of her anguish after learning about the death on Facebook. Joanne Bowman, who was also known as Joanne Kirk, was found dead at a house in west Belfast on St Stephen's Day. Her 26-year-old sister, Denise Bowman, said that Joanne, who had been suffering mental health problems and battling drug addiction for three years, was let down by the system. The retail worker also revealed that she warned professionals at least six months ago that 21-year-old Joanne's life would be in danger if they didn't step in to help her. Speaking ahead of Joanne's cremation on Tuesday, Denise told of the frantic hours spent in search of her young sister, before she discovered the dreadful truth. "We saw a post on Facebook at 10.44am on December 26 about a young girl being found dead in Ballymurphy, but we didn't know that it was Joanne," she said. Expand Close Joanne Bowman as a baby with mum Christine / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Joanne Bowman as a baby with mum Christine "By the time the police came to my mum's house at 4pm with a description of someone we didn't think was Joanne, we were still driving about looking for her. "I keep a spare key for her house and I went there but she wasn't in. "Then I went to her friend's house and she wasn't there either. "I went everywhere looking for her. Then I started phoning police stations." She added: "It wasn't until 9.45pm that night that the police phoned us back to confirm that it was definitely Joanne." When Denise went to the morgue to identify Joanne's body at 10.30am the following day, she said she was still clinging to the hope there had been a mistake. "At the back of my mind I was still thinking that it wasn't going to be her, that they'd got it wrong," she said. "I didn't believe it until I saw her with my own eyes. "It was heartbreaking." Denise said her mum Christine (53) is angry at the pointless death of Joanne, who leaves behind four sisters and five brothers. Their father Joey died when they were young. "My mum's distraught and hurt - we all are," she said. "I watched her try to get help and no-one listened. Then I watched her suffer. I don't think the anger will ever go, because Joanne was let down a lot by professionals. "After an incident during the summer, Joanne was on the floor begging to be admitted to hospital. "She was crying. She got assessed three or four times, but they kept sending her away." She added: "On Christmas Day, she obviously ended up in a bad place but we don't know what happened. "We have to wait on the toxicology report. All we know is that Joanne died in her sleep." Following her sister's death, Denise said she has been inundated with calls from others in similar circumstances. "I know Joanne dabbled in drugs," Denise said. "I don't know what kind of drugs, or how frequently, but I think she was self-medicating because she wasn't getting the right help. "Since we lost Joanne, so many people have contacted me to say they're in the same boat - trying to get help and struggling. "It's unbelievable. Someone should have a responsibility to look after young kids in Northern Ireland with mental health issues and drug issues, but they're not dealing with it properly and kids are self-medicating." She added: "Joanne had mental health issues before she took drugs. My mum and I took Joanne as far as we could and then the system failed her." Joanne will be cremated after a 10am service today at Roselawn Cemetery. Meanwhile, the family of west Belfast teenager Gerard Hall, who died suddenly last week, have denied his death was drug-related, saying that he died of natural causes. His funeral will take place at St Agnes's Church in west Belfast at 10am on Wednesday. If you've been affected by this article, call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org The report confirmed it provided legal services to 38 new potential victims in 2015 this compares to 16 under the same heading in 2014. Stock image The numbers of potential victims of human trafficking provided with services by the Legal Aid Board more than doubled in 2015. The 2015 Legal Aid Board (LAB) Annual Report shows that between 2009 and the end of 2015, the LAB provided legal services to 144 potential victims of human trafficking. The report confirmed it provided legal services to 38 new potential victims in 2015 - this compares to 16 under the same heading in 2014. The report stated that of the 38 cases in 2015, 11 were referred in relation to sexual exploitation, 14 in relation to labour exploitation, two in relation to labour and sexual exploitation, six in relation to forced criminality, one in relation to forced begging and four were for unspecified reasons. At the end of December 2015, 97 potential victims of human trafficking were still registered as clients of the board, the report said. Of the 97 clients, 80 were female and 17 were male, 95 were adults, one was an unaccompanied minor and one was an accompanied minor. The Refugee Documentation Centre (RDC) operates under the aegis of the board and provides an objective research and query service to agencies and individuals involved in the international protection process. A sample of the queries sought in 2015 included honour killings in Pakistan; Juju rituals and practices in Nigeria; forced recruitment by the Taliban in Afghanistan; treatment of LGBT people in Malawi; xenophobic attacks in South Africa; and the security situation in Iraq. As a result of the sharp rise in those seeking asylum here in 2015, the number of new clients registering at the LAB for international protection services rose by 70pc to 1,537. The report also stated that it granted 846 legal aid certificates in international protection cases in 2015 to enable representation before the Refugee Appeals Tribunal. Deportations from Ireland rose by 70pc in the past year. Stock Image Deportations from Ireland rose by 70pc in the past year after the Government introduced a new law making it easier for authorities to expel people here illegally. Some 425 people were deported up to December 7, Department of Justice data obtained by the Irish Independent revealed. This compared with just 251 deportations in 2015 and 111 in 2014. Expand Close Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald. Photo: Kyran O'Brien / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald. Photo: Kyran O'Brien Officials said the increase was due in part to changes under the International Protection Act last March. These allow an immigration officer or a garda to arrest, detain and deport someone who has ignored a deportation order without needing a warrant. The legislation was brought in by Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald amid concern over a sizeable number of illegals ignoring deportation orders. Of those deported during 2016, some 178 were returned to Nigeria, 59 to China, 16 to Ghana, 14 to Brazil, 13 to Albania and 13 to South Africa. The deportations included a Jordanian national who had been living here since 2000 but had suspected involvement in providing logistics support for Isil fighters. The man, who was an associate of Irish-born Isil suicide bomber Khalid Kelly, was deported in July after failing to convince a court that he was at risk of torture in his home country. He was suspected of being the main Irish-based facilitator and recruiter of Isil fighters, but was never charged with any terror offences here. The Irish Independent understands the man, who cannot be named by order of the High Court, was detained for a period on his return to Jordan. Following his deportation, Ms Fitzgerald said she would "make no apology" for expelling suspected extremists in situations where it was not possible to bring criminal prosecutions against them here. The State is also seeking to deport a north African man over alleged links to Islamic terrorism. Last July, it emerged an Iranian refugee living in Ireland for the past 25 years had been refused citizenship amid concerns over "national security". The man failed in a High Court bid to have the decision reviewed and for him to be supplied with an outline of a "secret report" which was considered by Ms Fitzgerald. The decision means he could face deportation in future. A department spokesman also said many other illegals had voluntarily removed themselves before deportation orders were made, while others left when orders were made, rather than being forcibly removed. Pressure continued to mount on Arlene Foster last night to stand down as republicans suggested the scandal over a botched energy scheme could collapse Stormont. Sinn Fein's Declan Kearney MLA warned that the continuing fallout over the Renewable Heating Incentive (RHI), often referred to as 'Cash for Ash', which left Northern Irish taxpayers facing a potential 490m (575m) bill over the next 20 years, could see power sharing crumble. Writing in 'An Phoblacht', he said: "Political institutions cease to have value when they do not reflect equality, mutual respect and parity of esteem, and have become detached from the lives of the citizens they are meant to serve. "The political process has now been dragged recklessly by the DUP, culminating with the RHI crisis towards an unprecedented tipping point." His comments echoed those of SF's Matt Carthy who told a republican commemoration on Sunday the institutions at Stormont were facing their greatest challenge in a decade. Opponents, however, claimed Sinn Fein has softened its position in order to strike a deal that would see the crisis defused. A press release on Mr Kearney's article originally called for a full public inquiry into RHI. But within hours he backtracked to demand a "time-framed, comprehensive, independent investigation - led by an international jurist - to be established". The party dismissed the change as a mistake, but SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone accused Mr Kearney of "rolling over". "Sinn Fein is in complete disarray on how to respond to the biggest financial scandal in the history of devolution," he said. "When the public needs strong leadership, they have met DUP arrogance with equivocation, confusion and weakness." Mr McGlone said a judge-led public inquiry would bring out the truth of RHI. Ms Foster told the Assembly before Christmas that her involvement was the biggest regret of her political career. Pressure last night continued to mount on Arlene Foster to stand down as republicans suggested the scandal over a botched energy scheme could collapse Stormont. Sinn Fein's national chairman Declan Kearney warned that the continuing fallout over the Renewable Heating Incentive (RHI) scheme could see power-sharing crumble. Writing in republican newspaper An Phoblacht, he said: "Political institutions cease to have value when they do not reflect equality, mutual respect and parity of esteem, and have become detached from the lives of the citizens they are meant to serve. "Political parties and leaders in the north need to be above scandal and corruption. They should be above reproach, not continuously reproachful towards political opponents. The political process has now been dragged recklessly by the DUP, culminating with the RHI crisis, towards an unprecedented tipping point." His comments echoed a hard-line assessment from Sinn Fein MEP Matt Carthy, who told a republican commemoration on Sunday that the institutions at Stormont were facing their greatest challenge in a decade. Opponents, however, claimed that Sinn Fein may have softened its position in order to strike a deal that would see the crisis defused. A Press release on Mr Kearney's article originally called for a full public inquiry into RHI. But within hours he backtracked to demand a "time-framed, comprehensive, independent investigation - led by an international jurist - to be established". The party dismissed the change as a mistake, but SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone accused Mr Kearney of "rolling over". He said: "Sinn Fein are in complete disarray on how to respond to the biggest financial scandal in the history of devolution. At a time when the public needs strong leadership, they have met DUP arrogance with equivocation, confusion and weakness." Mr McGlone said only a judge-led public inquiry would bring out the truth of RHI. Read More "The public are wise to the Sinn Fein two-step," he stated. "They know the difference between a transparent, independent inquiry and an internal probe carried out behind closed doors and vulnerable to interference from interested parties. They know now that Sinn Fein are in Arlene Foster's pocket and they will not tolerate a repeat of Nama or Charter NI, where again Sinn Fein gave the DUP a soft landing." The botched RHI green energy scheme could cost the taxpayer 490m over 20 years. Mrs Foster originally approved the scheme in a previous ministerial role in 2011, but has blamed the mishandling of the initiative on officials. She told the Assembly before Christmas that her involvement was the biggest regret of her political career, but refused to step down. Tonight the fallout over RHI is expected to continue on Belfast City Council. A Motion from former DUP member Ruth Patterson calls for Mrs Foster to step down during a full public inquiry. But a Sinn Fein amendment calls for a time-limited investigation. The amendment also states that Attorney General John Larkin should appoint an independent judicial figure from outside to conduct the probe. Ms Patterson said Sinn Fein was airbrushing a public inquiry out of the whole motion. "They're really caught between a rock and a hard place on this one," she said. "We hear Martin McGuinness call for Arlene Foster to stand aside, which in my book is the right thing to do, and yet we hear Sinn Fein calling for an investigation into this and nothing more. "I will not be accepting the amendment to my motion. I sincerely hope all my other councillor colleagues will do the right thing and vote for the motion as it stands. Read More "There would be no admission of guilt if Arlene Foster were to step aside, it's purely to allow the inquiry to take place and let the public know the truth." Later this month Sinn Fein will raise the matter of RHI in Stormont in what could be a defining moment for the future of the Executive. In an interview with The Times newspaper, DUP MLA Jim Wells said that any attempt to make Mrs Foster step down would be blocked by a petition of concern. Sinn Fein Health Minister Michelle O'Neill responded: "Any abuse of a petition of concern by the DUP to block the reasonable motion put forward by Sinn Fein will only further damage public confidence in the political institutions and accentuate the political crisis." PUP leader Billy Hutchinson said he would reject anything less than a full judge-led public inquiry. "The people of Northern Ireland deserve much, much better," he said. "If the First Minister truly wishes to work for her country, she will put their needs before hers, stand aside, and permit a full, public, independent and judge-led inquiry to establish the facts of RHI. "We can accept no less. The public deserve no less." Gerry Adams has clashed with Hollywood comedian Roseanne Barr over claims by the Sinn Fein leader that Jesus was a Palestinian. Writing on his blog just after Christmas, Mr Adams said Jesus was probably was a little swarthy skinned black haired wee lad from Palestine. Just like three year old Aylan Kurdi lying drowned on a beach in Turkey or other wee kids we see on television fleeing war and poverty and being rescued in the Mediterranean Sea, or scrambling for food in a refugee camp or playing in a bomb site in Gaza city, Mr Adams said. The Sinn Fein leader also said Mary, the Mother of Jesus, reared a good sonlike many Palestinian mammies. Expand Close Roseanne Barr / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Roseanne Barr His comments led to a divisive online debate with members of the Jewish community insisting Jesus was a Jew from Bethlehem, which is currently a city in the Palestinian held West Bank. Ms Barr, who was the star of the 1990s sitcom Roseanne, responded to Mr Adams with a series of bizarre comments on Twitter. Imperialist Vatican Banks & Swiss Knights Templars r trying 2 destroy & erase Tribal Rights of Tribe of David in City of David (sic), the comedian said. That is Y they r attempting 2 create ONE WORLD religion, Ms Barr added. El-Tayeb is set to deliver a message of peace and mutual existence to the country's religious populations The Grand Imam of Egypts Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayeb inaugurated on Tuesday the Muslim Council of Elders conference that aims to open a dialogue on the Muslim minority situation in Myanmar, a country which has been witnessing sectarian discrimination against the Rohinga minority since the early 1990s. During the Cairo conference being held by Al-Azhar, the worlds oldest seat of Sunni Muslim learning, El-Tayeb is set to deliver a message of peace and co-existence to the country's religious populations. Last December, Al-Tayeb urged the elimination of injustice against the Muslim minority in the Southeast Asian nation, as well as granting them their full rights as citizens. Myanmar's government has been accused of committing mass executions and rape crimes against the Rohingya Muslim community, though it has denied the accusations. In December, Amnesty International accused Myanmar's security forces of unlawful killings, multiple rapes and the burning down of houses and entire villages in a campaign of violence against Rohingya people that may amount to crimes against humanity. The United Nations described the 1.3 million Rohingya Muslim population in Myanmar as the world's most persecuted minority in 2013, accusing authorities of carrying out "ethnic cleansing" of the Rohingyas. More than 120,000 of the Rohingya have been trapped in squalid displacement camps since violence erupted in 2012 in Rakhine state, where they are denied citizenship, access to healthcare and education. Myanmar, commonly known as Burma, is a multi-religious country with no official state religion, but the government shows preference to Theravada Buddhism, the majority religion in the country. Search Keywords: Short link: HEALTH Minister Simon Harris has refused to call the record number of people languishing on trollies in the countrys overcrowded hospitals following a serious flu outbreak a national emergency. Mr Harris said hospital staff were under pressure which was above and beyond what was expected during a typical winter season due to the current outbreak of flu. The minister said older people were especially vulnerable to the strain of flu which resulted in a massive 612 people left on hospital trollies today. This is only the second time trolley numbers have gone past the 600 mark the last time was January 2015. Speaking a press conference this afternoon, Mr Harris said his predecessors called previous trolley crises national emergencies but inisted he was more focused on finding solutions for the problem. We can all come out with a soundbite or a buzz word to try and address the issue of the day but what is happening here is much more important, he said Rather than having headlines about national emergencies or whatever else the headline and message I would like to get out today is the absolute importance of the vaccination and the absolute importance for all us as citizens doing everything we possibly can to minimise the spread of the flu, he added. He said nobody could have prepared for the outbreak of flu which is crippling services in the countrys hospitals. The minister outlined a number of initiatives he plans to enact to tackle the overcrowding problem. The moves include: *Opening hospital diagnostic services until 8pm *Reviewing the length of stay of patients who were admitted during Christmas period *Support nursing homes staff so older people can be treated for flu on site. *Give GPs direct access to consultants. Rather than having headlines about national emergencies or whatever else the headline and message I would like to get out today is the absolute importance of the vaccination and the absolute importance of all us as citizens doing everything we possibly can to minimise the spread of the flu Mr Harris also said he was open to expanding the vaccination scheme to more people. Responding, the HSE said as part of the key measures of the Winter Initiative to address increased demand for health services, the number of patients waiting to be discharged from hospitals has reduced to 436 by end December down from 659 in September and exceeding the Winter Initiatives target of 500 by year end 2016. An additional 10 million in funding has been provided for homecare measures to help patients to leave hospital or to avoid hospital admission. "The plan is delivering an additional 950 Home Care Packages (HCPs) targeting 10 specific hospitals from September 2016 to February 2017 including Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda, Mullingar Hospital, Cork University Hospital, South Tipperary Hospital, Waterford University Hospital, University Hospital Limerick, Galway University Hospital, Tallaght Hospital & St.Jamess Hospital and Beaumont Hospital. "An additional 55 acute beds are being provided in hospitals. To date, beds have opened in Beaumont Hospital and in the Midlands Regional Hospital, Mullingar. In addition, 18 step down beds are open in the Mercy University Hospital Cork "Community Intervention Teams have been developed and expanded across the country. There are now 13 teams in place in to provide rapid and integrated care to patients. Additional funding has been provided to address orthopaedic and scoliosis waiting lists in Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital, Our Ladys Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin and Tallaght Hospital. "5m has been spent in on aids and appliances, with over 3,400 patients benefiting from provision of these aids and appliances to facilitate hospital avoidance/ hospital discharge since the beginning of October." A senior garda officer has written to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner over Noirin O'Sullivan's use of her private gmail account for official business, the Irish Independent has learned. The high-ranking garda is understood to have sought information over whether an internal promotion process, in which he was involved, was discussed in correspondence sent by the Garda Commissioner from her private account. Commissioner O'Sullivan faced criticism in November after it emerged she sent potentially sensitive information via the commercial email service. Gardai subsequently began the process of trawling through six years of her emails to ensure her account had not been hacked. But the latest development involving the senior officer and his decision to directly contact the Data Protection Commissioner will be viewed as significant. An Garda Siochana refused to comment on the issue. However, a Garda spokesman insisted that there was "no evidence" any devices issued to the commissioner had been compromised. "An Garda Siochana has strict security controls in relation to the use and access to Garda IT systems. Devices issued to the commissioner are secured by secure connections and utilise strong encryption technologies. Access to the PULSE database on any Garda Siochana devices is segregated by secure containers which does not store any Garda data on the device. This is coupled with strong users password policies and strong authentication," the spokesman told the Irish Independent. "The commissioner is well aware of her obligations to protect national security and policing operations and would under no circumstances allow them to be compromised." The officer in question who contacted the Data Protection Commissioner is of very senior rank and highly respected within the force. The move, however, is another illustration of the tensions that exist between Commissioner O'Sullivan and some of her senior colleagues within the force. As previously reported by this newspaper, a number of senior civilian officers recently wrote to the Deputy Garda Commissioner Donal O Cualain following the introduction of a series of new controls introduced in Garda headquarters. Senior civilians said they felt isolated and of the view that their roles had been seriously diminished as a result of the changes brought in by Commissioner O'Sullivan. Then, in October, Commissioner O'Sullivan was openly challenged at a meeting of her senior management team after she proposed to "name and shame" under-performing Garda districts at an upcoming summit of superintendents. However, one of her greatest challenges lies ahead in 2017. Tanaiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald is preparing to publish a report by retired judge Iarfhlaith O'Neill which has examined allegations of a smear campaign against garda whistleblowers. The report is expected to recommend a commission of inquiry. Ministers believe that Commissioner O'Sullivan may come under pressure to step aside, at least on a temporary basis, if an inquiry is set up by the Government. Home Sweet Home campaigners occupying an empty office block said they were turning away 20 homeless people a night as they prepared to march to the Department of Finance today. The group, ordered to vacate the Tara Street building on January 11 under a court ruling, claimed it had no choice but to refuse people a place to stay, as the building was at capacity. Dublin City Council and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive said there were appropriate emergency beds for all rough sleepers, including those in Apollo House. Rosi Leonard, of the Irish Housing Network, who volunteers at Home Sweet Home, said: "The hostels are in dire conditions. But we can only accommodate 40 people, and every night we are turning away around 20 and have to offer them sleeping bags." Read More The campaigners said that 205 homeless people had slept in the building since they took over the Nama-owned property on December 15. More than 30 have been rehomed with the Peter McVerry Trust with six-month beds, which Ms Leonard said were "like gold dust". "We still have 40 a night and we won't be leaving until everyone has a home," she said. "The residents are very worried, but when a bed is available we'll fill it. We're asking again for the Government and Dublin City Council to meet with us. "Even if the Apollo House people are housed, it still won't solve the national homeless and housing crisis in Ireland." Dublin City Council said: "So far, 33 people from Apollo House have been accommodated in city council-commissioned emergency bed spaces, including several to the new hostels opened by Dublin City Council just before Christmas. "There were a significant number of available/unused bed spaces throughout the hostel system during the Christmas/New Year period. We advise the organisers to refer people to the many homeless services and facilities in the city and to engage with staff from the McVerry Trust, available in Apollo House each day. Expand Close David Collins in his room at Apollo House Picture: Colin O'Riordan / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp David Collins in his room at Apollo House Picture: Colin O'Riordan "The court order referred specifically to 40 persons and we're asking, when that number have been accommodated, no further persons should be allowed to occupy Apollo House." A Peter McVerry spokesman said: "We have assessed the accommodation needs of 49 individuals resident at Apollo House: 33 have moved to alternative accommodation. Some have indicated they'll not take up offers of alternatives accommodation until January 11." Department of Housing figures show almost 7,000 adults and children are homeless across the country. In a separate incident, a 74-year-old man died following an accident at Corby Rock Mill near Monaghan Town yesterday. He was taken to Cavan General Hospital where he later passed away. Photo: Lorraine Teevan A man in his 80s has died in a farming accident in Co Wexford, while another pensioner died following a separate incident at his workplace. The Wexford accident happened at a farm near Adamstown, New Ross, yesterday morning with gardai at Duncannon attending the scene at approximately 11.20am. The accident, which is understood to have involved a tractor, was at a farm in The Boola, Adamstown. The man was pronounced dead at the scene and brought to Waterford University Hospital. He is said to have been a member of an extensive farming family in the Adamstown area. A post-mortem examination is due to be carried out and the scene at the farm has been preserved. It is the first farming accident of 2017 and one of two workplace fatalities to happen yesterday. In a separate incident, a 74-year-old man died following an accident at Corby Rock Mill near Monaghan Town yesterday. He was taken to Cavan General Hospital where he later passed away. "It's a tragic accident for any family and particularly after Christmas. I would like to extend my sympathies to the family at this difficult time," local councillor Paudge Connolly said. Last year 21 people lost their lives in farming accidents, including an 84-year-old man in Galway just days before Christmas. On average 19 people die on Irish farms every year. Pat Griffin, senior inspector with the Health and Safety Authority of Ireland, with responsibility for agriculture, said ongoing efforts by the HSA to reduce the number of farm deaths would continue to focus on education and raising awareness of the dangers on farms. "We approach the agricultural sector in a more preventative role, different to other sectors," he told the Irish Independent. "Inspections are never going to solve the problem. We have 130,000 farm units and with 2,500 or 3,000 farm inspections a year, it's going to take a long time to visit every farm. "Farm inspections are a way of sampling what is out there and seeing where the major risks are." A woman has been taken to hospital after she was stabbed in the neck during an attempted mugging outside the Archbishop's House in Dublin this evening. Independent.ie has learned that the victim (36) was approached near the home of Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin in Drumcondra by another female at approximately 6.15pm. The attacker demanded that the woman hand over her handbag before stabbing the innocent victim. She was stabbed in the neck during the incident. Emergency services were called and the victim was brought to the nearby Mater Hospital. Her injuries are not believed to be life threatening. Expand Close Gardai are investigating the stabbing of a woman during an attempted mugging in Drumcondra, Dublin. Picture: Arthur Carron / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gardai are investigating the stabbing of a woman during an attempted mugging in Drumcondra, Dublin. Picture: Arthur Carron Noel Rock, TD for Dublin North West, said: "This is a dreadful unprovoked attack in a normally peaceful part of the city. "It's simply not good enough that someone can't walk down one of the main pedestrian routes in our city in the early evening for fear of this kind of incident." The Fine Gael TD said: "Gardai need to improve their presence in Drumcondra, and the City Council must improve the lighting here as soon as possible. It's pitch black in parts. "My sympathies go to the victim and I hope she makes a full recovery." No arrests were made and a Garda spokesperson confirmed that they are appealing for witnesses to contact them in Mountjoy station. The incident happened while commuters were travelling home from the city this evening. The area, on the busy Drumcondra road, has been sealed off for a forensic examination. The Warmth & Well-being pilot scheme provides extensive energy-efficiency upgrades free of charge to the homes of people who are in energy poverty and living with respiratory conditions. In 2016, the scheme was open to people over the age of 55. In 2017, it will be broadened to include families with young children who have a chronic respiratory condition. It was previously available only to residents of Dublin 12 and 24. Now it is being extended to Dublin 8, 10 and 22. Ireland has some of the highest rates of respiratory illness in the world. In Ireland, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is estimated to affect over 380,000 adults, is responsible for 10pc of all hospital admissions and almost a quarter of all deaths. It is also estimated that more than 470,000 adults and children suffer from asthma. This results in an extra 20,000 A&E hospital visits, leading to 15,000 bed nights being taken up by asthma sufferers in our hospitals each year. The party season has come to an abrupt end and you now face back to work, tired. You may have made every effort to be moderate in all things. Hopefully you did not drink and drive. You may have avoided making a fool of yourself at the karaoke in front of your workmates, and the unwanted attentions of your boss were rebuffed. But most agree that Christmas Day is one to celebrate. And for some New Year's Eve has now been added to the list. Even with sensible eating and drinking, late nights are impossible to avoid at this time of year. So on January 1 you are likely to feel sluggish and rundown in spite of your sobriety, although this is mild compared to how you felt in your wilder years. It seems difficult to accept that despite your moderation, things are still not right. One of the reasons for this is because your circadian rhythms are disturbed. The circadian rhythm is the 24-hour physiological cycle or clock that is present in humans. This means that certain activities of our body are programmed to vary over a 24-hour period, and when this pattern is disturbed, we feel unwell. It is these circadian rhythms that cause people to feel more energetic early in the morning or drowsy in the afternoon. Late-night partying is one cause. Those who are kept awake, such as mothers and fathers with babies, and people on night call-out, such as hospital doctors, will often describe a dramatic dip in mood during those dark hours. Insomniacs who wake during sleep, at 4am to 5am, will often feel that the world is terrible, a place of sorrow and gloom, of fear and terror; yet this is a perspective that shifts seismically during daylight hours to optimism and joy. It is the surge in the depressant hormone cortisol during this period that is largely responsible for these mood dips. And this may explain why some episodes of self-harm occur most often during the hours of darkness. Other bodily functions are also affected by circadian rhythms, including pain thresholds, which are higher in the afternoon. So, if you are considering having a tooth filled, you may need less pain relief if you visit your dentist in the afternoon. Similarly if you want to exercise, you will be able to do so with greater ease in the afternoon. On the other hand, deaths peak in the morning due to increases in clotting properties of blood at that time of day. Interestingly, it's not only humans that have such rhythms but also plants, animals and even bacteria and fungi. It is tempting to try and change this internal clock to a longer one, because if our routine could be determined by a 36-hour cycle, we could potentially achieve much more, both personally, with our families, friends and professionally. However, it seems that the programming of this clock is fairly rigidly set at 24 hours. Some experimental researchers tried to extend this to 25.5 hours in the last decade, but without much success. The timekeeper is located in the base of our brain. Called the suprachiasmatic nuclei, these receive signals from outside influences, known as zeitgebers of which light, social contact and sleep are the most obvious. If you have partied into Christmas and beyond, remember that your body, even in the absence of alcohol and rich food, will try to set its 24-hour clock each night. If you go to bed after midnight on a regular basis, you will suffer the equivalent of jet-lag, as your timekeeper cells misread the actual time. You will feel exhausted in the morning and napping during the day may make things worse as will having a lie-in or hitting the snooze button. The solution is to restore your regular, predictable and boring time schedule. Your granny may be old and unhip, but she was also wise and learned when she told you that when sleeping is concerned, one hour before 12 is worth three after. Endowments Minister Mokhtar Gomaa stressed the need to establish the principle that the sanctity of the church is the same as the sanctity of the mosque Egypt's endowments minister visited on Tuesday Pope Tawadros II in the Abbasiya Cathedral to extend his good wishes prior to the Eastern Coptic Christmas on 7 January, state news agency MENA reported. During the visit, Endowments Minister Mokhtar Gomaa stressed the need to establish the principle that the sanctity of the church is the same as the sanctity of the mosque. "I call for emphasising the common aspects between us," Gomaa was quoted as saying, "only the idiot searches just for the differences." Gomaa added that the endowments ministry, which is responsible for administering mosques and Islamic centres, is working on shutting down sources of extremism and reinforcing cultural learning in society. Pope Tawadros emphasised the importance of "national awareness campaigns," especially in Egyptian villages and hamlets, to protect against any religious misinterpretation. "A good reader is a good leader," the pope stated. On Monday, Pope Tawadros had received a number of leading army figures including Defence Minister Sedky Sobhy along with the air defense forces Commander General Ali Fahmy and naval forces commander General Ahmed Hassan to extend their good wishes for the Coptic Christmas. Since taking office in July 2014, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi became the first president to attend a Coptic Christmas mass in 2015. He also attended the mass for the second year running in 2016. It is still unclear if the president will attend this year's mass on the night of 6 January. The Coptic Church is celebrating this year's Christmas in the aftermath of a suicide bombing on 11 December in St. Peter and St. Pauls Church, which is part of Abbasiya's Coptic Orthodox cathedral complex in central Cairo. A total of 27 people, mainly women and children, died in the attack, which was later claimed by the Islamic State militant group. Search Keywords: Short link: Polish fans in Dublin ahead of an Ireland v Poland soccer match in 2015. Links between the two nations date back to at least 1693, when a Kerryman became personal physician to the king of Poland. Photo: Caroline Quinn In times when France and Germany are hectoring other countries on what it means to be a good European, it is worth noting that it was Ireland, Britain and Sweden that first removed all restrictions on eastern Europeans. In fact, Germany and France imposed much harsher restrictions on eastern European immigrants than any European country put on any migrants last year. In 2003, then French president Jacques Chirac attacked countries hoping to join the EU, saying they missed a great opportunity to "shut up". But when it comes to how Ireland is perceived in Poland, Irish soft power prevails over French or German hard power. For example, the prominent journalist Rafal Ziemkiewicz devoted the entire 45 minutes of his TV programme 'Kontrowersje' to the Great Famine. After all, in America, where the "Know Nothing" movement was attacking the civil rights of Irish Catholics, the Pole Wiktor Karlowski - a journalist and writer - decided to fight against the anti-Irish sentiment in the US, and in 1886, he even published, at his own expense, a brochure in Chicago called 'How The Irish Lost Their Land'. Even earlier, in 1693, a persecuted Irish Catholic, Kerryman Bernard O'Connor, emigrated to Poland, where he became a personal doctor to the most powerful Polish king ever - Jan Sobieski III. Grzegorz Kolodziej Bray, Co Wicklow Drama honoured 1916 hero A hushed hall with only the stage lights revealing a solitary forlorn figure awaiting death by firing squad provided the backdrop to the final showing of the 1916 commemorative drama 'O Pheann an Phiarsaigh' by Noel O Gallchoir in Halla na Paroiste Gort A' Choirce on the evening of December 28, 2016. This was an honourable and selfless achievement by a man who to all intent and purposes shuns the spotlight, apart from when it shines directly on him as he re-enacted Padraig Anrai Mac Piarais's life, from the cradle to the grave. Padraig was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist and political activist, and one of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising. Noel exemplified his life on the same stage where Padraig may have stood on the second of his two visits, when he last came in 1912; the first was in 1906. Noel's brother, Sagart an Pharoiste, an tAthar Sean (Johnny Shean) O Gallchoir acted as Fear an Ti for the evening, which began with haunting Gaelic music and the words, 'Mise Eire' opening the one-man play. The sound of a pin dropping would have echoed like thunder had it happened as Noel narrated his way through an hour-and-a-half of memorised script containing in the region of 10,000 words that pieced together this entire dramatic accomplishment. His only pause was to take a few sips of water to revitalise the vocal chords. A captivated audience listened intently as they took in every word that flowed effortlessly in a beguiling narrative of an Phiarsaigh's life in the Teanga Duchas from Noel. Noel, accompanied by his wife Olive (who only missed two showings), criss-crossed all 32 counties accruing a tally of 60 showings in the process, which included one in Glasgow. Noel's interest in Piarais's life was shaped through a lifetime of teaching history and Gaelic, where one of his tasks was to aid students researching Irish history for their Leaving Cert exams. He spent the last 17 years of his career as principal of Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair. This was an evening of culture, tradition and remembrance in every sense of the word that brought to an end the many important historical events that were held throughout the country to commemorate the 1916 Easter Rising. It has revitalised interest in a very much unexpressed but important history that had far-reaching implications for liberty and independence on the world stage. This historic drama has been recorded, and the recording is available to the public. I would expect a play of such historical significance would be shown on RTE or TG4 in the not too distant future. It was left to the cream of talented sean nos singers and musicians born and raised in the Donegal Gaeltacht to bring the evening to a close. They had the crowd in awe as they sang one of Piarais's songs 'Oro Se do Bheatha 'Bhaile' plus other songs that had people swaying and tapping their feet in perfect unison. Every cent raised on the night was donated to the Donegal Hospice. James Woods Gort an Choirce, Dun na nGall A sound bit of research Apparently, new research tells us that Guinness can combat hearing loss. Pint taken. Tom Gilsenan Beaumont, Dublin 9 Every life is worth celebrating The year 2016 saw the passing of some immensely talented singers, writers, comedians and broadcasters. I bought a copy of Anthony Cronin's novel 'The Life of Riley' three weeks before he died. I watched Debbie Reynolds in that iconic scene from 'Singing in the Rain' just two days before she died. I always liked the haunting music of Leonard Cohen. Alan Rickman was first class, I thought, in the 'Michael Collins' film, and I'll never forget Zsa Zsa Gabor in the series 'Green Acres', which I loved to watch as child on a black-and-white TV. These and others are such a loss to their professions and to humanity. But I can't help feeling that the attention given to celebrities in death, as in life, can completely overshadow the lives of the people who pass away with scarcely a word written or broadcast about them. I've just got the local parish newsletter and I've read through a long list of people who died during the year: all precious human beings to their friends and loved ones, each death a staggering loss. Each one of the names on the "departure list", if I may call it that, means the world to at least one other person. He or she is a star, shining brightly in remembrance as surely as any of the ones that light up a crisp winter's sky. Life is so precious and so vulnerable that surely everyone's stint on this planet is worthy of celebration, even if one hasn't achieved celebrity status as categorised by those who define such things. John Fitzgerald Callan, Co Kilkenny A scene from the Christmas special of Call The Midwife, which was set in South Africa (BBC) Call The Midwife won the Christmas Day ratings battle, with more than nine million people tuning in to the BBC One drama. The channel aired eight out of the top 10 programmes broadcast on Christmas Day, consolidated ratings show. Some 9.2 million tuned in to watch the nuns and nurses of Nonnatus House travel to South Africa to try to prevent a hospital from closing down. Heidi Thomas, creator and writer of the show, said: "We are always so proud to be part of BBC One's Christmas Day schedule, and absolutely delighted that so many people joined us on this year's journey to South Africa. "At this special time of year it really feels as though the cast, crew and audience of Call The Midwife are one big family, and we can't wait to share series six with everyone." The new series returns to BBC One later this month. The Mrs Brown's Boys Christmas special came a close second in the consolidated ratings, with 8.98 million tuning in, and 8.94 million people watched Len Goodman's farewell on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special, while 8.21 million watched The Great Christmas Bake Off. Coronation Street, ITV's flagship soap, pulled in 8.1 million and Emmerdale drew 6.2 million. The other broadcasts in the top 10 were Doctor Who, EastEnders, The Queen's Christmas Message and the Disney film Frozen. The Christmas Day ratings are the lowest since the current system began, failing to match the 10.9 million drawn to the final episode of Downton Abbey last year or the 16.2 million that watched Wallace And Gromit: A Matter Of Loaf And Death in 2008. Soldiers help an elderly woman as she and her family flee fighting between Iraqi security forces and Islamic State militants in Mosul (AP) Violence claimed the lives of at least 6,878 civilian Iraqis last year, the United Nations said, as the Iraqi government struggles to maintain security nationwide and to dislodge Islamic State group militants from areas under their control. The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, known as UNAMI, said its numbers "have to be considered as the absolute minimum" as it has not been able to verify casualties among civilians in conflict areas, and of those who lost their lives due to "secondary effects of violence ... due to exposure to the elements, lack of water, food, medicines and health care". UNAMI said in a statement that 12,388 other civilians were wounded in 2016. It added that last year figures did not include casualties among civilians in Iraq's western Anbar province for the months of May, July, August and December. According to UNAMI figures, at least 7,515 civilians were killed in 2015. The monthly UN casualty report for December 2016 showed that a total of 386 civilians were killed and another 1,066 were wounded. The worst affected area was the northern province of Ninevah, where government forces are fighting to retake the IS-held city of Mosul, with 208 civilians killed and 511 injured. The capital, Baghdad, came next with 109 civilians killed and 523 injured. IS, known locally by the Arabic acronym Daesh, has claimed responsibility for a string of bombings in Baghdad that have killed more than 50 people in the last week alone. The deadliest IS attack was in July when a massive suicide bombing in a bustling market area in central Baghdad killed almost 300 people, the bloodiest single attack in the capital in 13 years of war. "This is, no doubt, an attempt by Daesh to divert attention from their losses in Mosul and, unfortunately, it is the innocent civilians who are paying the price," Jan Kubis, the special representative of the UN secretary-general for Iraq, said in the statement. Backed by the US-led international coalition, Iraqi government troops and paramilitary forces launched the campaign in mid-October to dislodge IS from Mosul - Iraq's second-largest city and the last major IS urban bastion in the country. Unlike other reports, last month's report did not include casualties among security forces. The UN came under criticism from the Iraqi military last month after reporting that nearly 2,000 members of the Iraqi forces had been killed in November. The Iraqi government has not publicised the casualty figures for government troops and paramilitary forces fighting in Mosul and elsewhere in northern Iraq. AP Benjamin Netanyahu has denied what he calls the 'baseless' reports that he received gifts from two businessmen Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been quizzed for more than three hours by police investigators, opening what could be a politically-damaging criminal investigation into suspicions he improperly accepted gifts. Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly denied wrongdoing but the arrival of the national fraud squad indicated questions raised about him are considered serious enough to merit an investigation. Police said Mr Netanyahu was questioned "under caution", a term signalling he is a suspect. Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said Mr Netanyahu was questioned on "suspicions he received benefits". She said there would be no further details released at this stage. The police team did not speak to journalists but Israeli media said they are looking into suspicions Mr Netanyahu inappropriately accepted expensive gifts from two businessmen. A black screen had been placed in front of the building in apparent anticipation of the investigators' arrival and to obstruct the view of journalists seeking to film them. Mr Netanyahu has denied what he calls "baseless" reports that he received inappropriate gifts, a point he reiterated at a meeting of his Likud faction earlier on Monday. "We've been paying attention to reports in the media, we are hearing the celebratory mood and the atmosphere in the television studios and the corridors of the opposition, and I would like to tell them, stop with the celebrations, don't rush," he said. "There won't be anything because there is nothing." Israel's Channel 2 TV has said Mr Netanyahu accepted "favours" from businessmen in Israel and abroad and that he is the central suspect in a second investigation that also involves family members. The newspaper Haaretz said billionaire Ronald Lauder, a long-time friend of Mr Netanyahu, was linked to the affair. Channel 10 TV has reported that Mr Netanyahu's oldest son, Yair, accepted free trips and other gifts from Australian billionaire James Packer. In October, Mr Lauder was summoned by police for questioning "related to a certain investigation conducted by them and in which Mr Lauder is not its subject matter," said Helena Beilin, Mr Lauder's Israeli attorney. "After a short meeting, he was told that his presence is no longer required and that there shall be no further need for additional meetings." Israel's Justice Ministry declined to comment. A campaign is under way by Erel Margalit, an opposition lawmaker of the Zionist Union party, seeking for Mr Netanyahu to be formally investigated over suspicions of prominent donors improperly transferring money for the prime minister's personal use as well as reports that Mr Netanyahu's personal attorney represented a German firm involved in a 1.5 billion US dollars (1.2 billion) sale of submarines to Israel. AP The 48-year-old also allegedly concealed pornographic home videos in covers bearing the names of various pope Stock Image An Italian priest is being investigated for allegedly organising orgies in his rectory and pimping out up to 15 lovers. Catholic Father Andrea Contin, a parish priest in the northern city of Padua in Veneto, is under police investigation on suspicion of living off immoral earnings and psychological violence. A variety of sex toys and videos, purportedly showing orgies taking place on the San Lazzaro church premises, have been seized after complaints from three female parishioners. The 48-year-old also allegedly concealed pornographic home videos in covers bearing the names of various popes. He is accused of farming out some of his lovers to men on wife-swapping websites, according to The Times. The priest also allegedly took his female friends for stays at a naturist and swingers resort in Cap dAgde on the southern French coast. Complaints were reportedly first made to the local bishop last summer but church authorities did not police, saying they had not yet completed their own investigation. One 49-year-old church volunteer, who says she had an affair with Father Contin and had sex with him in the rectory, told Il Mattino di Padova: There were a lot of women hovering around him. I didnt understand that at first, only later. The same news website reported that Father Contin was on holiday in Croatia, where his family visit yearly. It quoted city mayor Paolo Tonin as saying: They are also trying to protect him from the clamour of this story that has now gone national. Father Contin has not been arrested but a prosecutor was investigating the allegations. The dead man's identity has not been released and police are yet to confirm any further details about the operation. At the scene a silver Audi had bullet holes in its windscreen and bonnet A man has been shot dead by police during an operation near a motorway. He was killed during a "pre-planned" swoop on a car near junction 24 of the M62 in Huddersfield at around 6pm on Monday. At the scene a silver Audi had bullet holes in its windscreen and bonnet. A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said the operation was not terror related and that a car had also been stopped in the Chain Bar area of Bradford at around the same time. Five people were arrested across the two vehicle stops, three in Huddersfield and two in Bradford. Several of those arrested needed hospital treatment for injuries "not related to firearm discharge" but no police officers were hurt, a force spokesman said. M62 slip west bound at Junc 24 CLOSED as man dies after being shot by police last night @BBCNews pic.twitter.com/iZHcxj1ndo Phil Bodmer (@philbodmer) January 3, 2017 The dead man's identity has not been released and police are yet to confirm any further details about the operation. The force said it had informed the Independent Police Complaints Commission and was "fully co-operating" with the watchdog's investigators. Expand Close At the scene a silver Audi had bullet holes in its windscreen and bonnet / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp At the scene a silver Audi had bullet holes in its windscreen and bonnet The eastbound carriageway of the M62 is open at junction 24 but all other sliproads remain closed while the investigation continues. A police spokesman said: "During a pre-planned policing operation near to the M62 in Huddersfield a police firearm was discharged and a man has died. Expand Close The dead man's identity has not been released and police are yet to confirm any further details about the operation. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The dead man's identity has not been released and police are yet to confirm any further details about the operation. "An immediate referral has been made to the Independent Police Complaints Commission who are in attendance in West Yorkshire and West Yorkshire Police are fully co-operating with their investigation." Witnesses reported seeing "five or six" police cars, a Mercedes E Class and a Jaguar at the scene. Local councillor Gemma Wilson said she was driving home from the cinema when she saw at least five or six police cars go past. She said: "The police cars were used as a barricade to stop people getting on to the motorway. "The initial speculation was it was a crash and I assumed it was some sort of massive pile-up." People try to put out a fire driven by strong winds in Valparaiso (AP/Luis Hidalgo) Fire driven by strong winds swept over forest land in the hills outside the Chilean port of Valparaiso, destroying dozens of homes and injuring at least 19 people. The a uthorities said the blaze started on Monday afternoon in the Laguna Verde area and spread to Playa Ancha hill, where many wooden houses are located. About 400 people were ordered to evacuate as a precaution. Interior undersecretary Mahmud Aleuy said about 100 homes had been damaged, and Governor Gabriel Aldoney said 500 more houses were "at risk". Mr Aleuy said 16 of those injured had respiratory problems. Firefighters, soldiers and forest workers were in the hills combating the blaze, which was fuelled by winds up to 25mph, low humidity and high temperatures. The operation was complicated because the area includes many ravines, the roads are narrow and water mains are scarce. People in Valparaiso wore masks if they ventured into the streets trying to protect themselves against the smoke and fumes. In 2014, a forest fire destroyed 2,500 homes and killed 15 people in the hills that surround Valparaiso. The colonial-era city known for colourfully painted cliff-top houses was designated a UN World Heritage Site in 2003. AP The worlds oldest killer whale, who was born a year before the Titanic sank, has not been seen in her pod since October, leading to fears that she has died. The female orca, affectionately known as Granny by scientists studying her, was the oldest of a group of whales that researchers have been following for the past four decades. The family of killer whales lives in an area known as the Salish Sea - close to Vancouver and Seattle - and Granny was first observed and photographed by Dr Ken Balcomb of the Centre for Whale Research since 1976. Dr Balcomb said he last saw the whale on 12 October, 2016, when she swam north far ahead of the others. It was thought she could be as old as 105, meaning she was born in 1911, a year before the Titanic sank. "Perhaps other dedicated whale-watchers have seen her since then," he said. "But by year's end she is officially missing from the Southern Resident Killer Whale population, and with regret we now consider her deceased." Recently British scientists have been following Grannys pod to study whale menopause. Only humans, orca and short-finned pilot whales go through the menopause in the entire animal kingdom, and scientists were hoping to find out why. Granny, whose official name was J2, was one such post-reproductive leader, who help care for young and pass on knowledge of good feeding grounds to young members. Prof Darren Croft from the University of Exeter who leads this evolutionary biology research, told BBC News: "It was inevitable that this day was going to come but it is very sad news and a further blow to this population. Prof Croft said that it was "just incredible" to think of what Granny lived through. "She lived through the live captures and in recent years her world has changed dramatically with dwindling salmon stocks and increases in shipping threatening the survival of this incredible population, he said. "Although J2 is gone we will continue to benefit for many decades to come, from the incredible data collected on her life over the last 40 years by the Center for Whale Research." Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] Defence Minister Sedki Sobhi also discussed operations being carried out by Egypts armed forces battling militants in North Sinai Egypts Defense Minister Sedki Sobhi spoke on Tuesday with several commanders from the military to discuss Egyptian efforts in contributing to the peace and stability of the Middle East and North Africa region. During a video conference, Sobhi spoke to several army officers and soldiers and congratulated some commanders on assuming new duties. In December, Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi appointed in his capacity as the commander in chief of the armed forces new commanders for the Air Defense and Navy Forces. Sobhi discussed the latest domestic and regional developments, focusing on efforts by the Egyptian army to persevere in assisting the unity of allied nations in coordination with international institutions. In December, the Egyptian armys chief of staff Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Hegazy issued a joint statement of support for a declaration of principles aiming to address Libyas ongoing civil conflict following a Cairo meeting with Libyan public figures, media personnel and rights groups. The declaration asserted four main principles to be adhered to in Libya's transition: the preservation of a united country, support for state institutions, non-interference by foreign bodies, and the maintenance of a civil state. The defense minister also spoke about ongoing efforts being carried out by the armed forces in Sinai, praising the steps that have been undertaken through the militarys Martyrs Right operation. The operation was launched in September 2015 to eliminate terrorist groups while also to implement developmental plans for Sinai residents. Since 2013, the army has been launching major anti-terror campaigns in several areas in central and North Sinai to eradicate terrorist elements who have killed hundreds of security forces in the governorate. Search Keywords: Short link: The military helicopter went missing in the Amazon rainforest in Venezuela Venezuelan teams are searching in the Amazon rainforest for a military helicopter that went missing with as many as 13 people on board. Communications minister Ernesto Villegas said the Russian-built aircraft was supposed to have landed in the tiny settlement of La Esmeralda on Friday. He did not say how many people were on board, but local media reported the army helicopter was carrying 13 people, including five civilians. Mr Villegas said eight military aeroplanes were in the area and would continue their search until the aircraft was located. A family member weeps as she waits for the identification process of the victims (AP) The captain of an Indonesian tourist ferry that caught fire on New Year's Day has been arrested for alleged negligence in a disaster that left at least 23 people dead, police said. The Zahro Express was carrying at least 247 people, mostly Indonesians celebrating the New Year holiday, from Muara Angke port in northern Jakarta to the resort island of Tidung when it caught fire on Sunday. A total of 224 passengers were rescued and 23 bodies have been recovered. Seventeen people are reported as missing. The vessel's captain, Mohamad Nali, was detained for questioning and was arrested on Tuesday, said the chief of Jakarta Maritime Police, Hero Hendrianto Bachtiar. He is accused of continuing to sail despite knowing that the number of passengers on the ferry far exceeded the 100 listed on the manifest, Hendrianto said. Nali, 51, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. The chief of the Muara Angke port authority has also been removed from his post for alleged negligence in overseeing the voyage. A search for the missing continued Tuesday, but officials have not ruled out that those reported missing could be among 20 bodies found inside the ship that were burned beyond recognition. The cause of the fire is still not clear, though authorities suspect that it was caused by a short circuit in the engine room. AP Relatives of prisoners wait for information outside the Anisio Jobim Penitentiary Complex in Manaus (Futura Press/AP) The inmates responsible for the killings of 56 rivals at a prison in the Amazon will be transferred to high-security federal institutions as well as being prosecuted, according to authorities in Brazil. Many of the victims were beheaded or dismembered in the worst bloodshed at a Brazilian prison since 1992. Three other prisons in the state of Amazonas also saw riots on Sunday and Monday. In total, 60 inmates died and 184 escaped. Only 48 have been recaptured, according to police. Amazonas governor Jose Melo said the transfers to federal prisons are likely to focus on members of the local Family of the North gang who attacked those of Sao Paulo-based First Command, Brazil's biggest criminal organisation. The two are clashing over the control of prisons and drug routes in northern Brazil. "They are fighting for space outside the prisons, and this time it was inside the penitentiary," Mr Melo said in a press conference after meeting federal authorities. "This is part of a national movement that happened in prisons of Roraima, Acre and Rondonia states. Now it is with us. What shocked us was the aggressive way it was done." Transfers of gang leaders to federal prisons have often been followed by more violence and Amazonas authorities said they are worried that the First Command may retaliate in the coming days. The Anisio Jobim Penitentiary Complex in Manaus held 1,224 inmates when the riot began, although it is designed for only 592, the state public security office said. The prison is run by a private company that is paid according to the number of inmates. The governor also announced a public-private partnership to invest millions in a new penitentiary with capacity of 3,200 inmates to address the state's growing problem of crowded prisons - an issue all over Brazil. Late on Monday, Mr Melo ordered that 130 prisoners linked to the First Command be transferred to a prison built in 1907 that had been deactivated in October due to poor conditions. Justice minister Alexandre de Moraes said the federal government is sending 17 million dollars (14 million) extra to help Amazonas. Part of that will go to help forensic experts who are having difficulties identifying the bodies due to the brutality of the killings. The incident was the most deadly in a Brazilian prison since at least 111 inmates were killed by police during a 1992 riot at the Carandiru prison in Sao Paulo. AP Relatives of prisoners react near riot police at a checkpoint close to the prison. Photo: Reuters At least 60 inmates have died and up to 300 escaped in a bloody prison riot in the Amazon jungle city of Manaus, sparked by a war between rival drug gangs. Officials described it as the worst violence in more than two decades in Brazil's overcrowded prison system. Sergio Fontes, head of security for Amazonas state, said the death toll could rise as authorities get a clearer idea of the scale of the rebellion. Several of the dead had their decapitated bodies thrown over the prison wall - and most of those killed came from one gang. "This was another chapter in the silent and ruthless war of drug trafficking," said Mr Fontes. Pedro Florencio, the Amazonas state prison secretary, said the massacre was a "revenge killing" that formed part of an ongoing feud between criminal gangs in Brazil. The riot began late on Sunday and was brought under control by around 7am local time yesterday. Authorities were still counting the prisoners to determine how many had escaped but it could be as high as 300, he said. Just as the riot began in one unit of the Anisio Jobim prison complex, dozens of prisoners in the second unit started a mass escape in what authorities said was a co-ordinated effort to distract guards. Overcrowding is extremely common in Brazil's prisons, which suffer endemic violence and what rights groups call medieval conditions with cells so crowded prisoners have no space to lie down, and food is scarce. The Anisio Jobim prison complex currently houses 2,230 inmates despite having a capacity of only 590. Watchdog groups have sharply criticised Brazil for its prisons where deadly riots routinely break out. "These massacres occur almost daily in Brazil," said Father Valdir Silveira, director of Pastoral Carceraria, a Catholic centre which monitors prison conditions in Brazil. He added: "Our prisons were built to annihilate, torture and kill." In the latest riot, a group of inmates exchanged gunfire with police and held 12 prison guards hostage in the largest prison in Manaus, an industrial city on the banks of the Amazon River. Mr Fontes said that 74 prisoners were taken hostage during the riot, with some executed and some released. A suicide bomber driving a van loaded with explosives struck a bustling market in Baghdad, killing at least 36 people in an attack claimed by Isil hours after French President Francois Hollande arrived in the Iraqi capital. The bomb went off in a fruit and vegetable market that was packed with labourers, and injured another 52 people. During a press conference with Mr Hollande, Iraq Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the bomber pretended to be a man seeking to hire day labourers. Once the workers gathered around, he detonated the vehicle. Isil claimed the attack in a statement circulated on a militant website often used by the extremists. It was the third Isil-claimed attack in as many days in and around Baghdad, underscoring the lingering threat posed by the group despite a string of setbacks elsewhere in the country over the past year, including in and around the northern city of Mosul. The attack took place in Sadr City, a vast Shi'ite district in eastern Baghdad that has been repeatedly targeted by Sunni extremists since the 2003 US-led invasion. Dead bodies were scattered across the bloody pavement alongside fruit, vegetables and labourers' shovels and axes. A minibus filled with dead passengers was on fire. Asaad Hashim, an owner of a mobile phone store nearby, described how the labourers pushed and shoved around the bomber's vehicle, trying to get hired. "Then a big boom came, sending them up into the air," said the 28-year old, who suffered shrapnel wounds to his right hand. He blamed "the most ineffective security forces in the world" for failing to prevent the attack. The new UN secretary-general has said he is "no miracle maker" but he has big ambitions to shake up the global body and get all 193 member nations to come together to solve the "terrible problems" facing the world. Speaking on his first day at UN headquarters after taking the organisation's reins from Ban Ki-moon, Antonio Guterres said conflicts are multiplying and interlinked, and have triggered "this new phenomenon of global terrorism". At the same time, he said, there are massive human rights violations and inequalities "have grown quite dramatically". In a world which has become globalised and interconnected, Mr Guterres said exclusion is "even more unbearable because people now can see how others live, can see the prosperity in other parts of the world". He added "that more easily triggers revolt, anger, and becomes a factor in the instability" of conflicts. The former Portuguese prime minister and UN refugee chief said "only global solutions can address global problems, and the UN is the cornerstone of that approach". But Mr Guterres said this belief is not shared by many people around the world, pointing to the growing divide between the public and governments and political establishments in many countries. "We also see in relation to international organisations like the UN a lot of resistance in many parts of the world. There's a lot of scepticism about the role the UN can play." One such sceptic, US President-elect Donald Trump, questioned the United Nations' effectiveness after the Obama administration allowed the Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank on December 23 in a stunning break with past practice. "The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!," Trump tweeted on December 26. Mr Guterres, asked whether he was concerned about the "good time" remark, replied "no". But he said he is concerned about "all the terrible problems we face in the world" and "I hope we will be able to come together to solve these problems". This has proven impossible in the past, with Syria the most visible example. Mr Trump has also shown little interest in multi-lateralism and great attachment to an "America First" agenda. The new secretary-general told several hundred UN staff and diplomats at a welcome ceremony that it is very important to be proud of what the UN has done to help millions of people. But he said it is also crucial to recognise the UN's shortcomings and failures and "to recognise situations where we are not able to deliver as we should for the people we care for". He said the UN needs to be able to respond to the aspirations, concerns and anxieties of people around the world - "and let's be honest, we are not yet entirely ready to do it properly". He called for reform and "collective engagement" to address the shortcomings, pointing to the UN's failure to prevent and resolve conflicts, difficulties in recognising that peace, security, development and human rights must be tackled together, and getting rid of the "straitjacket of bureaucracy that makes our life so difficult in many of the things we do". Mr Guterres won the UN's top job after receiving high marks from almost every diplomat for his performance in the first question-and-answer sessions in the General Assembly for the 13 candidates vying to replace Mr Ban, whose second five-year term ended on December 31. Referring to the expectations his election generated, Mr Guterres said: "I think it's useful to say that there are no miracles, and I'm sure I am no miracle maker, and the only way for us to be able to achieve our goals is to really work together as a team." AP The image of Jeremy Meeks that went viral. A man dubbed 'the world's hottest felon' has been posting a series of photos online showing his newly found lavish lifestyle. Jeremy Meeks shot to fame two years ago when his mugshot went viral online. The former gang member from California was jailed on weapons charges in 2014, but his photo, posted on the Stockton police Facebook page, had women begging to be locked up with him and had modeling agencies lining up at his cell door. After his release in March last year the former criminal became a social media star with over 600,000 followers online. Good to be home A photo posted by JEREMY MEEKS (@jmeeksofficial) on Nov 2, 2016 at 4:52pm PDT And it is going pretty well for him from the looks of things. Recently the 32-year-old posed with a $150,000 (144,000) Maserati in front of his huge mansion. He put the picture on Instagram and captioned it "good to be home". Another shot, in which he poses topless in front of the luxury home, reads: God is good. The sad news for all those looking to bag a date with the freed con is that he is happily married and the couple recently celebrated their eight year anniversary. A New York City Police officer assigned to protect U.S. President-elect Donald Trump walks past a picture of Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York, U.S. January 2, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (bottom R, wearing cap) boards his plane at Palm Beach International Airport to depart for travel to New York after spending the holidays at the Mar-a-lago Club, in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. January 1, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst U.S. President-elect Donald Trump talks to reporters as he and his wife Melania Trump arrive for a New Year's Eve celebration with members and guests at the Mar-a-lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. December 31, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo Donald Trump has insisted that North Korea will not develop a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the United States. The president-elect addressed the issue Monday evening on Twitter. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said on Sunday in his annual New Year's address that preparations for launching an ICBM have "reached the final stage". He did not explicitly say a test was imminent. Mr Trump tweeted: "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US It won't happen!" It was unclear if Mr Trump meant he would stop North Korea or he was simply doubting the country's capabilities. His aides did not respond to questions seeking clarification. Mr Trump then berated North Korea's most important ally, tweeting: "China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the US in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice!" Earlier on Monday President-elect Donald Trump was showing little sign of forgiving his critics as he prepares to move into the Oval Office. Expand Close U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (bottom R, wearing cap) boards his plane at Palm Beach International Airport to depart for travel to New York after spending the holidays at the Mar-a-lago Club, in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. January 1, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (bottom R, wearing cap) boards his plane at Palm Beach International Airport to depart for travel to New York after spending the holidays at the Mar-a-lago Club, in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. January 1, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst The incoming president tweeted: "Various media outlets and pundits say that I thought I was going to lose the election. Wrong..." He continued: "I thought and felt I would win big, easily over the fabled 270" electoral votes. Mr Trump's continued focus on his unexpected November 8 victory comes as he works behind closed doors to shape his new administration. He is set to be sworn into office in just 18 days. His twitter campaign also included a complaint about the cover photo of him used in a new book released by CNN, and a suggestion that Chicago might need federal help over its rising murder rate. Expand Close A New York City Police officer assigned to protect U.S. President-elect Donald Trump walks past a picture of Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York, U.S. January 2, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A New York City Police officer assigned to protect U.S. President-elect Donald Trump walks past a picture of Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York, U.S. January 2, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Meanwhile incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer has defended cryptic comments by Mr Trump that he knows "things that other people don't know" when it comes to allegations of Russian hacking. Mr Spicer said Mr Trump is getting national security briefings "on a daily basis" and "there doesn't seem to be conclusive evidence" Russians were behind the hacking of Democratic emails during the election. Mr Spicer dismissed a report released by the FBI and Homeland Security Department supporting the accusations against Russia, calling it a "how-to" manual on basic cybersecurity for Democrats. FM Sameh Shoukry called for a meeting with the foreign ministers of Sudan and Ethiopia before the African summit in Addis Ababa later this month Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed on Tuesday with his Ethiopian counterpart minister Workineh Gebeyehu Egyptian-Ethiopian bilateral relations and congratulated him on becoming the countrys top diplomat. According to a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shoukry told Gebeyehu in a telephone call that they should arrange a meeting before the African summit in Addis Ababa by the end of the month. Shoukry also suggested that that the Sudanese foreign minister should join the meeting to discuss the latest developments of the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam and the progress of the ongoing technical studies. The two ministers also discussed bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries. Workineh Gebeyehu was appointed as the foreign affairs minister of Ethiopia in November. The news of the telephone call between Shoukry and Gebeyehu comes to ease the tension between the two countries as the Ethiopian government accused the Egyptian government of supporting Ethiopian opposition groups in the last three months. Egypt dismissed the accusations of Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome claiming that Egyptian elements are supporting armed opposition groups in his country with the aim of preventing Ethiopia from building the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam, which Cairo fears could reduce its share of Nile water. In March 2015, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan signed a trilateral declaration of principles that guarantees that all parties will take steps to ensure the dam will not harm the interests of all parties concerned. Search Keywords: Short link: Hundreds of UN-sponsored observers are being deployed to 20-plus camps across Colombia United Nations observers are in hot water in Colombia over a video showing them dancing with leftist rebels while deployed to watch over the guerrillas as part of a peace deal. The short video was shot by Spanish news agency EFE from inside a jungle camp in northern Colombia during a New Year's Eve party. It shows two men wearing blue vests with UN insignia dancing hip-to-hip with female guerrillas. The images, dismissed by some as a display of Colombians' love for revelry in even the most adverse circumstances, drew a sharp rebuke from opponents of the peace deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Conservative legislator Maria Fernanda Cabal tweeted: "What a joke. How can we trust in the UN delegates' impartiality when they go partying with the Farc?" The UN mission said in a statement that it would take appropriate measures. "This behaviour is inappropriate and doesn't reflect the values of professionalism and impartiality of the mission," it said without identifying the officials by name or nationality. As part of a peace deal ratified last month, hundreds of UN-sponsored observers, mostly from Latin American nations, are being deployed across the country to 20-plus camps where guerrillas will soon begin turning over their weapons. The UN mission is charged with receiving the weapons and providing periodic reports on the two sides' adherence to the peace deal that seeks to bring to an end decades of bloody fighting. AP The first babies of the New Year have arrived. Carolinas HealthCare System NorthEast reported the first birth of 2017 at 12:41 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 1. Jackson Gabriel Overcash clocked in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and 21 inches long. Jackson's parents are Kara Fox and Matthew Overcash, who declined to provide a photo. The family lives in the Concord Mills area. The parents chose the name Jackson for their son because it is a significant name for both families; Fox has a relative whose middle name is Jackson, and the name is also reflective of the street that Overcash used to live on. Dr. Brian McCollough, Dr. Frank Long and Dr. Achint Patel delivered Jackson. Novant Health Rowan Medical Centers first baby of 2017 was Jahmir Aayan Hancock, born at 4:35 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 1, and delivered by Dr. Michael Mills. Jahmir weighed in at 6 pounds, 13 ounces, and 20 inches long. Parents are Kiilantra Mashore and Jacob Hancock of Salisbury. Other family members welcoming Jahmir were 1-year-old brother, Jachellius King Hancock and Aunt Atavia Mashore. Smart Start Rowan provided a welcome basket with items that promote reading and learning. Smart Start Rowans vision is that every child will receive the education, nurturing and support needed to provide the foundation for them to grow into healthy, productive citizens. The organization builds brighter futures by early care and education, family support, health and safety and literacy. KANNAPOLIS- It was December 31, 1993, around 10 p.m. when the call came in to the Kannapolis Police Department from Tony Edwin Sherrill that he wanted to turn himself in on some outstanding warrants. Officer Roger Dale Carter responded to the call. Retired Kannapolis Police Officer Tim Lord relates the story of that night in his words. Roger Dale Carter was my best friend and also my partner that worked the zone next to mine. When given the call, I arrived on the scene and all I could see was Roger laying on the concrete drive and my Lieutenant was kneeling over him. Roger was ambushed as he stepped out of his patrol car. He had been shot eight times at close range with a 223 rifle. Roger was a tactically sound officer and had excellent judgment. He was shot as he stepped out of his vehicle, which is a situation no one can prepare for. Roger was able to draw his weapon but was unable to fire. I had spoken with Roger during our shift one night and he stated that things on the job were getting so dangerous and that he thought he would find another job. He told me that he wanted to be around to raise his children. I explained to him that he would not be happy doing anything else because he loved what he was doing. I often regret that conversation. The murderer, Tony Edwin Sherrill, left and went several blocks away from the scene where he shot and killed himself. The investigation revealed that he had been listening to cop-killer music that day and had another 125 rounds of ammunition on him. It is speculated he was planning to kill every officer that responded that night. After the incident I was able to go to the hospital but then the task turned to riding with my chief to tell Rogers family about what had happened which was a task that I never want to repeat. Officer Roger Dale Carter was 31 years of age. He was killed just several hours from turning 32 on January 1. Roger had been with the Kannapolis Police Department since June 1989. He left behind his wife and four children. As for the character and type of man Officer Carter was, Chief of Police Woody Chavis describes him as a positive Christian influence to everyone. His positive Christian influence still lives in those of us who knew and worked with him. His legacy will always be faith, forgiveness, and compassion. We should all strive to be the type of man that he was. He will never be forgotten, Chavis said. Vickie Carpenter, the mother of Kannapolis Police Officer Vernon Poston, has placed a banner and sign in front of the Kannapolis Police Department as a way for all to remember Officer Carter and his sacrifice and as a way to say thank you to the men and women who step out each and every day and night putting their lives on the line to serve and protect the citizens of Kannapolis. Carpenter wants to remind every citizen that now more than ever they must stand up for police officers. She said people must show them that they are respected. According to the Officer Down Memorial Page there have been 138 line of duty deaths so far this year with 62 of these being by gunfire, which is a 68 percent increase over 2015. To raise awareness for the citizens of Kannapolis about the Kannapolis Police Department and things the citizens can do to support them, Carpenter has started forming an organization called Concerned Citizens for the Kannapolis Police Department. If you are interested in being part of this group you can contact Carpenter by email at : CCKPD16@gmail.com or by Facebook at Concerned Citizens for the Kannapolis Police Department. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Tuesday charged that some of his opponents were disseminating fake reports of bombings in Baghdad to undermine him. Abadi, who has faced relentless challenges from within his own bloc and across the political spectrum since taking the helm in 2014, said media outlets had been fed reports of bombings that never happened. "There are parties exaggerating the situation... I always say that one fallen martyr is one too many, but spreading fear among the people, that's called a fifth column," he told reporters. A suicide car bomb attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) militant group killed at least 35 people in northeastern Baghdad on Monday, multiple security and hospital sources told AFP. However, a number of other smaller bombings were reported by local news outlets and on social media subsequently across Baghdad, and Abadi claimed these reports were fabricated. "Look at the series of bombings announced in Baghdad" on Monday, he told reporters at a press conference after his weekly cabinet meeting. "You are journalists -- go to the alleged spots in Baghdad. Were there victims there, were there really bombs there, were there any martyrs?" he asked. Abadi accused some of his political opponents, without naming them, of deliberately trying to paint the security situation as worse than it already is. "Those groups work among us, some of them have a problem with the prime minister. Let them sort it out with the prime minister but not this way, by scaring the people," he said. "They claim that they back the security forces on the front lines and then they stab them in the back," Abadi said. "Using innocent blood for the sake of a political feud is not right." Abadi said recent weeks had seen a spike in criminal activity across Baghdad, and stressed that IS militants were not the only ones with an interest in stretching Iraq's security forces. Tens of thousands of Iraqi fighters -- including from the federal police -- are currently deployed in the north to take part in operation to retake second city Mosul from IS. "Why is there an increase in organised crime at this time? Who wants to muddy the situation, who wants to keep our security forces busy with kidnappings? That causes a shortage in security personnel," he said. "Among the criminal gangs, there are no differences. Some come up with arguments suggesting there is a difference between Sunnis and Shias... but criminals have no sect. Their interest is just the money -- they don't respect religion or doctrine," Abadi added. Among the Iraqis recently kidnapped in the Baghdad area is Afrah Shawqi, a female journalist who was abducted from her home by gunmen last week after publishing an article taking aim at Shia militia groups. Abadi said information from early in the investigation suggested the kidnapping was both politically and criminally motivated, and added that the security forces were actively following several leads to secure the release of the 43-year-old. Search Keywords: Short link: The CPA accused the two companies of marketing for the new fourth-generation (4G) service which it said had not yet been officially launched Egypt's Consumers Protection Agency (CPA) referred on Tuesday the mobile service companies of Orange and Vodafone to prosecution for "misleading consumers and providing them with false information," the governmental body said in statement. The statement accused the two companies of marketing for the new fourth-generation (4G) service which it said had not yet been officially launched. The National Telecom Regulatory Authority had confirmed that the 4G service is not yet commercially in use, according to the statement. The agency, therefore, finds that the content of the advertisements provided by Orange and Vodafone includes "nothing more than promises" and are accordingly misleading. According to the statement, providing consumers with misleading information violates the law for the protection of the consumer. Head of the Consumers Protection Agency Atef Yaqoub told Ahram Online that the 4G service so far is in trial and accordingly companies cannot claim in their advertisements that they provide a better or higher quality service. "This is misleading the consumer and that is against the law," Yaqoub said. Orange PR supervisor Tamer Zakaria told Ahram Online that the company is yet to provide an official reply. Orange Egypt, the country's second-largest mobile operator, was the first mobile company in Egypt to acquire the new 4G internet services licence after signing a $484-million agreement with the national telecom regulator last October. Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat Misr, the two other mobile operators in Egypt, followed signing the license agreement for $335 million and $535.5 million respectively. Vodafone Egypt also has not yet released a statement in response. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt began a trial run for the fuel smart card system on Sunday, with official assurances that the system does not limit individuals' share of subsidised fuel The Egyptian cabinet has dismissed media reports about a new wave of fuel price hikes or limiting individuals' shares of subsidised petroleum products after the government's decision to implement the fuel smart card system. The Egyptian's cabinet Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) said on its website on Tuesday that it communicated with officials in the petroleum ministry who described reports of fuel prices increase as "inaccurate." Egypt began a trial run for the fuel smart card system on Sunday, with official assurances that the system does not limit individuals' share of subsidised fuel. The fuel card system at Egyptian gas stations is part of a governmental programme to prevent the leakage of subsidised petroleum products onto the black market and into the hands of smugglers. In 2014, the government embarked on an economic reform programme to phase out energy subsidies in an attempt to curb the growing state budget deficit, which is estimated at 12.3 percent in the fiscal year 2015/16. On 3 November 2016, prices rose up between 35 to 50 percent for all kinds of fuel, after the central bank's decision to float the Egyptian pound. The government plans to trim the petroleum subsidy bill in the 2016/17 budget by 43.5 percent to reach EGP 35 billion. The state budget was approved by parliament in July. Search Keywords: Short link: Prevent Unauthorized Transactions in your demat / trading account Update your Mobile Number/ email Id with your stock broker / Depository Participant. Receive information of your transactions directly from Exchanges on your mobile / email at the end of day and alerts on your registered mobile for all debits and other important transactions in your demat account directly from NSDL/ CDSL on the same day." - Issued in the interest of investors. KYC is one time exercise while dealing in securities markets - once KYC is done through a SEBI registered intermediary (broker, DP, Mutual Fund etc.), you need not undergo the same process again when you approach another intermediary. No need to issue cheques by investors while subscribing to IPO. Just write the bank account number and sign in the application form to authorise your bank to make payment in case of allotment. No worries for refund as the money remains in investor's account." www.indiainfoline.com is part of the IIFL Group, a leading financial services player and a diversified NBFC. The site provides comprehensive and real time information on Indian corporates, sectors, financial markets and economy. On the site we feature industry and political leaders, entrepreneurs, and trend setters. The research, personal finance and market tutorial sections are widely followed by students, academia, corporates and investors among others. Indian Country in the Donald Trump era. Graphic by Mark Trahant / Trahant Reports Reflecting on the dangers and promises of the Trump era #NativePolicyDebate By Mark TrahantTrahant Reports A terrible year? Elias Boudinot considered 1832 as such. The year started with the Cherokee Nation winning its case in the U.S. Supreme Court, only to be followed by a message of so what? from President Andrew Jackson. Boudinots home was slated for auction by the state of Georgia; the idea being that settlers would then force Cherokees to flee their own homes. And, Boudinot resigned his job as editor of The Cherokee Phoenix because he believed the Chief John Ross was dictating the newspapers positions. He wrote: I do conscientiously believe it to be the duty of every citizen to reflect upon the dangers with which we are surrounded; to view the darkness which seems to lie before our people, our prospects, and the evils with which we are threatened; to talk over all these matters, and, if possible, come to some definite and satisfactory conclusion. Boudinot had three goals for The Cherokee Phoenix. To inform tribal citizens as a free paper, one that would always be open to free and temperate discussions on matters of politics, religion, &c. Second, to publish a defense of our rights. And, third, the representation of our grievances to the people of the United States. He was particularly troubled by the last idea, reaching out to Americans. We can say nothing which will have more effect upon the community, than we have already said, Boudinot wrote. The public is as fully apprised as we can ever expect it to be, of our grievances. It knows our troubles, and yet never was it more silent than at present. It is engrossed in other local and sectional interests. And so we shift to 2017. Our challenges, of course, are different. But the idea of a serious reflection, a public discourse, about the policy choices ahead are as important now as it was then. I have been thinking about 1832 for two other reasons: First, Donald Trump will be a president unlike any weve seen since, well, Andrew Jackson. And, that era, like this is one is where reason and facts are discounted. There is a meanness in our public square. On top of that, our next president makes things up and yet some still people believe him. So, I guess, the public is once again as fully apprised as we can ever expect it to be. Of course Trump supporters from Indian Country tell a different story. They see him as a new champion of tribal sovereignty, especially when the focus is on energy development. (Previous: The deep divide on energy and climate issues .) The problem with this is that folks who think fossil fuels are our future are on the wrong side of history. In order to buy the logic of more oil, gas, and coal, you have to pretend that climate change is neither real nor human caused. The trade off requires believing that profits and perhaps a few jobs are better measures than science. And, to do this at a time when the rest of the planet is moving on. Linking Indian Countrys future to fossil fuels locks us into declining technology and shrinking markets. One way a Trump administration could really help Indian Country is infrastructure. But we know so little about the president-elects plan and how that could impact American Indian and Alaska Native communities. (Other than pipelines, that is.) The president-elect has called building roads, water systems, electricity grids, and telecommunications as a golden opportunity for accelerated economic growth. But that plan has two serious obstacles for tribal nations. Trump promises to use private partnerships to pay for these projects. And, he wants the initiative to give maximum flexibility to the states. Watch for this phrase in the coming weeks and tribes. The Congress and the Obama administration often inserted that language into law and public policy to open options for tribes that were similar in scope to state governments. Will that continue? Or is giving states maximum flexibility a single paradigm? That brings me to the two greatest challenges ahead in a Trump administration, the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and the severe budgets that are ahead. Repealing the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, will likely be the first vote in Congress. But repeal is the easy part. Then what? is a much more difficult question. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, recently told the Journal-Sentinel that a replacement bill will take time. He saidclearly there will be a transition and a bridge so that no one is left out in the cold, so that no one is worse off. The purpose here is to bring relief to people who are suffering from Obamacare so that they can get something better. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, has said any replacement of the Obamacare should include a new version of Indian Health Care Improvement Act. Thats the ideal. But what about funding? The Indian Health Service has been historically underfunded. And the Affordable Care Act has added money, especially through Medicaid expansion. That may be the most successful element of the law and it nets the Indian Health System substantial resources, money that is supposed to remain at local clinics and hospitals. Its important to remember that the Affordable Care Act has substantially reduced the number of uninsured Americans, including American Indians and Alaska Natives (from 16 percent in 2013 to a historic low of 10 percent in 2015). This is the number to think about: More than half (51 percent) of Native children are insured via Medicaid and the Childrens Health Insurance Program. This is important because those who have insurance are more likely to get a broader range of health care services than those who only rely on IHS for care. So depending on how the repeal and replace legislation unfolds between 11 million and 60 million people could lose health insurance coverage. And the Indian Health system could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding streams. Then the issue of money for American Indian and Alaska Native programs might be the toughest one of all. I have been writing for years about austerity as a trend . We have been lucky during the Obama years because Indian Country was mostly held harmless (especially in the health arena). But President-elect Trumps choice for the Office of Management and Budget is Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-South Carolina. Hes one of the most strident voices in Congress against federal spending (even voting against his own party when budgets were not harsh enough). While in Congress Mulvaney championed reducing the size of the federal workforce by at least ten percent. One of his proposals would have limited agencies to one hire for every three departures. He advocates increased work by contractors while reducing total costs. Mulvaney defended the 2013 sequester a disaster in Indian Country as something that bodes well for the future. We are, all of us, Democrats, Republicans and independents alike, having a national dialogue about what is really important for our government, and what our government could do without, Mulvaney wrote. And it has been much too long since we have done that. That conversation will define 2017. Join the Conversation The man who hacked Kareena Kapoor Khan's IT Account wasn't looking for any monetary benefits. Confused? Well, a PTI report claims that the man who hacked Kareena's IT account actually just wanted her personal mobile number. An employee of central paramilitary forces was arrested by the cyber police here for accessing Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor's Income Tax e- filing account, police said tonight. BCCL BCCL/representational image Kareena's chartered accountant had last year approached the police with the complaint that somebody had hacked her IT e-filing account and tampered with it. Cyber-police tracked down the culprit today. AP The accused files income tax returns for people as a part-time job while working with paramilitary forces, police said, without disclosing his name. Further probe was on. After 2016 proved to be a thrilling year for space, where Indias first global navigational system became fully operational and NASAs Jupiter probe finally entered the planets orbit after a five-year-long journey, 2017 also has much celestial wonderment in store. 1. Space clean-up Representational image/NASA While humans have done a great job of trashing the Earth (sarcasm intended), weve also ended up trashing space in the 56 years that humans have been travelling to space. This year, the Surrey Space Centre and the European Commission will launch the Remove Debris mission, which will test a fishing-net like device to capture junk orbiting in space. 2. Chinas mission to the moon If all goes according to plan, China will be sending the first mission to the moon to bring back lunar samples to Earth for the first time since 1976. According to their mission statement, scientists will send a robotic lander to pick up samples from the far side of the moon which will find its way back by early 2020. 3. NASA's Saturn Probe Will Meet Its End NASA NASAs Cassin space probe that has been orbiting Saturn for over a decade now is gearing up for an explosive ending. In September 2017, Cassini will embark on 22 dangerous orbits between the planets inner rings and Saturn itself and capture images and information, before diving into the planets atmosphere and burning itself. 4. ISRO will launch a record number of satellites in space udayavani The Indian Space Research Organisation will launch a record number of 83 satellites in one go in January, which is the first mission of its kind for India. Three of these satellites are made in India, while the rest were manufactured in the United States, Israel, Switzerland, Netherlands and Kazakhstan. 5. Penumbral eclipse of the moon On February the world will witness a Penumbral lunar eclipse, where the full moon will pass very deep into the outer shadow of the Earth, causing a silhouette on 99% of the moons surface. Krishna Mohan 6. Venus will put on a show Representational image/Space answers If youre lucky to catch clear skies in the polluted urban skies of India, then you will see the beautifully dazzling Venus laminating the night sky in January and February. For the first two months of 2017, the brightest planet of our solar system will be setting nearly four hours after sunset. 7. Blue Origin's test launch Space Amazons CEO, Jeff Bezos has a private space firm, Blue Origin and it plans on getting people into space this year. It has plans to launch a manned test flight but will remain in sub-orbit. If successful, then commercial sales of the flight will begin in 2018. 8. Mercury, moon, mars will come together Earthsky The moon, the smallest planet and the red planet will come together in March to form a triangle and Mercury will be especially bright and higher, making this event doubly special. Unlike Venus, its hard to spot Mercury so March 29 is the perfect time to check this planet off your bucket list. 9. NASAs hunt for exoplanets will continue NASA NASAs search for life on distant planets will carry on next year. Its Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) launches in 2017-18 and it will identify planets orbiting the brightest stars just outside our solar system using whats known as the transit method. TESS aims to search for drops in brightness of a star when a planet passes in front of it, which can lead to more information about a planet. 10. SpaceX will test launch (again) NASA Last year, this American space agencys attempt of launching Falcon 9 rocket failed when it suddenly exploded during a pre-launch test. SpaceX has now reportedly figured out the fault that led to this mishap and will launch again this year. Definitely something to watch out for! Afghanistan on Sunday prohibited the entry of Pakistani nationals without proper documents. AFP The move came after Pakistan ordered stringent border control measures seven months back in order to contain the alleged arrival of terrorists from Afghanistan. However, despite both countries taking hard stand against one another, tribesmen, main Pashto speaking people who live on both sides of the border will face a lot of issues in visiting their relatives now. The Afghan authorities displayed banners at various points in Torkham reminding Pakistanis they would be permitted to cross the border and enter Afghanistan without passport from 1st January, 2017. Reuters Security on the Pak-Afghan border was also tightened and extra contingents of security personnel deployed at various points. According to officials, the Shinwari tribals, living on both sides of the Durand Line, have been exempted as they possess temporary Rahdari cards issued by the Khyber Agency political administration. However, others who had fled to Afghanistan would be properly interrogated on suspicion of links to Taliban. Afghans have long blamed Pakistan for violence by Taliban insurgents in their country, an allegation that Islamabad rejects. Home loan rates have fallen to their lowest level in six years with the State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, cutting the effective rate to 8.6% from 9.10%. While the SBI cut its one-year marginal cost of lending rate (MCLR) the benchmark to which home loans are linked to 8%, against 8.9% earlier, it kept the spread above MCLR at 60 basis points, against 20 basis points earlier. PTI So, home loans up to Rs 75 lakh, earlier available at 9.1%, can now be taken at 8.6%. For others, the rate would be 8.65%, against 9.15% earlier. Besides SBI, the Union Bank of India and the Punjab National Bank also cut rates. Private sector banks like ICICI Bank are expected to follow suit. TOI had carried a frontpage report on January 1, saying the SBI and other banks were set to cut rates following a prod from PM Modi to signal that benefits of demonetisation in the form of record deposits are being shared with the poor and middle class. The reduction in lending rates by several public sector banks will make the affordable home loan scheme, announced by PM Modi on Sunday, available at a little over 4% for borrowers seeking loans of up to Rs 9 lakh. Details of the scheme are yet to be announced. The reduction in MCLR will mean that new borrowers will get loans at the cheaper rates. Since home loans are linked to one-year MCLR, the rates are locked in for 12 months. Older loans will get the benefit of the new rates only after their one-year lock-in ends. Those who had availed loans before April 2016 would have their EMIs linked to the earlier benchmark, the base rate. These borrowers will have to enter into a fresh contract with the bank (by paying a small fee) to get loans linked to MCLR. Reuters SBI has also reintroduced a teaser rate loan, where loans will be avilable at 8.5% for the first two years and at a floating rate in subsequent years. These loans were discontinued five years ago after the RBI frowned on them. Other banks which have announced lower rates with effect from the New Year include State Bank of Travancore, IDBI Bank and Indian Overseas Bank. Top officials of the SBI said that home loans would provide the bank with an alternative to parking funds in government bonds where the return is less than 7%. Meanwhile, banks expect the interest subvention on loans for affordable homes and home extensions and small enterprises to counter the slowdown caused by monetary contraction following demonetisation. Reuters The impact of the schemes is expected to be felt in lending and on the overall economy in the first quarter of FY18. "Today, 45% of bank loans is going to only 300 companies. The extreme concentration of bank credit on the top end of the corporate sector has begun to border on the ridiculous," said Rajiv Lall, MD & CEO, IDFC Bank. He added that the announcements by the Prime Minister would help rebalance this by encouraging loans to small business where the framework has already been created with the help of payment systems and bank accounts. Lall also welcomed the fact that the government was encouraging small lending through market related programmes as compared to the past when priority sector lending was in the form of a diktat. AP "From our perspective this is extremely positive and will help us further in penetrating into the segments we serve. With these announcements, the challenges that all faced following demonetisation would clearly be history," said Kapil Wadhawan, chairman and MD, Dewan Housing Finance Corporation. According to Gagan Banga, vice chairman and MD, Indiabullls Housing Finance, subsidised home loans will find many takers as the EMI cheque will now be smaller than the rent cheque. "This is a tremendously positive announcement coming on the back of many directed steps to realise the 'Housing for All' objective," said Banga. Army Chief Bipin Rawat has said that dynamics of terrorism is constantly changing, and that Army must think ahead in that direction. BCCL "The fact that terrorists infiltrating from adversary's side means that they are getting support from them (Pakistani forces)," the Army Chief said in an interview with Times Now. "We also have to think ahead, and ball has already rolling in that direction," the new Army Chief said. On surgical strikes, Rawat said that it was well thought through operation and India has sent across a message with the strikes that attacks won't be tolerated. He further said Indian Army will not shy away from a second surgical strike if peace in the region is disrupted. ALSO READ: 10 Things You Need To Know About Lt. Gen. Bipin Rawat, Who Takes Over As Army Chief BCCL On superseding two of his seniors, General Rawat said he accepted the government's decision to appoint him as the chief with all humility. He said he has tremendous support from two of his senior officers, and that in the Army they are taught to work for the organisation. General Rawat said his selection has come as a surprise for him. General Rawat had superseded two senior most Lt Generals --Praveen Bakshi and P M Hariz. General Bipin Rawat had yesterday taken over as the 27th chief of the 1.3 million strong Indian Army succeeding Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, who retired after 42 years of service. Googles Doodle today paid tribute to social worker and poet, Savitribai Phule, on her 186th birth anniversary. Considered to be the countrys first woman teacher, she is also credited with laying the groundwork for education opportunities for women as well as advancing womens rights in India during British Raj. Google 1. Savitribai was born into a family of farmers and was married to Jyotirao Phule when she was 12 (as was the tradition then). The couple took a progressive stance and adopted their son, Yashvantrao from a widowed Brahmin. 2. She is considered a pioneer in modern Marathi poetry. Her poems focused on the importance of education and also discrimination. She campaigned against Sati tradition, untouchability and child marriage, among other social evils. bhavans.ac.in 3. Along with her husband, Savitribai started a school in 1848 with just nine students attending. 4. Not only did she set up a care centre for widows but she also encouraged them to remarry. indiatoday 5. In 1852, then British government honoured both husband and wife for their contributions to womens education. 6. Maharashtra government has established an award in her name to honour women working for the rights of women. A woman like Savitribai Phule should be celebrated everyday, particularly at a time when India is doing so much to give equal opportunity to women in every walks of life. He contributions will be remembered by the generations to come. Ever since the government has made the service charge at restaurants "optional" there has been a confusion over what it means and how it will actually work in real terms. While some of the foodies might be happy at the given choice, the restaurant owners have taken a strong exception to this ruling. The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has claimed, "Inclusion of service charge in a restaurant bill is a common and accepted practice, and has been recognised as such by various concerned Central/State Government departments." Read more here 1. Pakistan Gives Its Hindu A 'New Year's Gift', Legalises The Hindu Marriage Bill praveenpn4u flickr The Pakistan Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights has approved the Hindu Marriage Bill, enabling the nation's Hindu community to get their marriages registered and to appeal in courts of law in cases of separation. This comes a day after a Senate committee approved the landmark draft legislation, nearly four months after it was passed by the National Assembly The bill allows Hindus to finally have a proof of marriage document, and allows separated Hindu persons to remarry. The document is called the shadiparat, similar to the nikahnama for Muslims. 2. After India, UK Is Demonetising The Pound Coin. It Took Them Just 5 Years! A new 12-sided 1 pound coin will make its debut in March, phasing out circa 1983 'round-pound', the 1 pound coin. 433 million pounds in 1 pound coins are in circulation by the British, and it will cease to be legal tender on the 15th of October. The final design for the 12-sided coin was unveiled, and is made of two metal, a gold-coloured outer ring and a silver-coloured inner ring. The '' symbol changes to to the number '1' when the coin is seen from different angles and is thinner and lighter than the current coin. Read more here 3. Former Hyderabad Banker And Drug Addict Grows Cannabis In His 2-BHK Flat, Lands Behind Bars YouTube Syed Shahed Hussain had been a drug addict since his teens. Making its way into adulthood, his dependency on drugs made Hussain a scientific pro at cultivating cannabis in his 2-bedroom flat with controlled temperatures that allowed the cannabis to grow from seed to flower. All this with the help of an American friend with expert tips. However, Hussain's peddling to Mumbai's drug circuit came to an abrupt end when the Special Task Force raided his flat and took possession of the 40 plants he was nurturing with humidifiers and LED lights. 33-year-old Hussain was arrested on New Year's day while selling ganja to customers at Golconda. Read more here 4. In A Sweet Gesture, Mumbai Cops Surprise 83-Year-Old Woman On Her Birthday With Cake! deepak salvi Octogenarian Lalita Subramanyam, resident of Wadala in central Mumbai, was in for a pleasant surprise when police landed at her doorstep. Subramanyam has been living alone in her flat for the last 25 years and is on local polices list of `senior citizens requiring care and protection. Two of her children live in the United States while another son lives in Bengaluru. As her children could not visit her on her 83rd birthday on Monday, Matunga police, who help her with chores such as medicine-purchase and bank transactions, decided to give her a surprise. Officials from the police station reached her house with a cake and bouquet of flowers. Read more here 5. More Trouble As Banks May Again Start Charging For More Than Five ATM Withdrawals BCCL With the announcement of demonetisation, the government had also waived off the transaction fees on ATM usages even across banks. However, things are returning back to what they were before November 8. "The first five transactions will be free of cost. After that it will be left to the discretion of the banks and the card category of the customer. Banks generally have an agreement with individual customers on charges levied. Many banks were not charging premium customers before demonetisation," V Balasubramanian, president, transaction processing and ATM service, FSS told The Times Of India. Before demonetisation, banks like State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and ICICI Bank were charging Rs 15 per transaction as they had a wider ATM network and larger users than other banks. Most other banks charged Rs 20 per ATM transaction before the November 8 announcement. Read more here Ever since the government has made the service charge at restaurants "optional" there has been a confusion over what it means and how it will actually work in real terms. While some of the foodies might be happy at the given choice, the restaurant owners have taken a strong exception to this ruling. The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has claimed, "Inclusion of service charge in a restaurant bill is a common and accepted practice, and has been recognised as such by various concerned Central/State Government departments." BCCL Reacting to the government's move which made the service charges optional for the customers the NRAI in a statement said there are even judicial pronouncements to support that service charge can be charged by hotels and restaurants. The statement also added that it was a matter of policy for a restaurant to decide if service charge is to be levied or not, and that it is clearly mentioned in the menu cards whether service charges are applicable in a particular restaurant. While the government decision was widely welcomed by the general public, many in the industry has questioned the move. BCCL Many in particular had a problem with the term "unfair trade practices". NRAI president Riyaaz Amlani told The Times of India that restaurants follow the same Consumer Protection Act that is being used to justify the move to penalise those who levy it without the consent of consumers. BCCL "The act stops us from indulging in any unfair method or deceptive practice. We clearly mention the service charge we levy on our menus. We are not indulging in any unfair trade practice," he said. Amlani added that the service charges were employee incentives distributed evenly among the work force. Rather than scrap the service charge, Amlani said, many restaurants would politely ask customers if they were willing to pay a service charge and, if not, tell them they would have to dine at a place that didn't levy one. BCCL Others said the government's decision was "ambiguous" and that the Department of Consumer Affairs should have waived the charge. The government decision came in the wake of a number of complaints that hotels and restaurants are following the practice of charging "service charge" in the range of 5-20 per cent, in lieu of tips, which a consumer is forced to pay irrespective of the kind of service provided to him. Syed Shahed Hussain had been a drug addict since his teens. Making its way into adulthood, his dependency on drugs made Hussain a scientific pro at cultivating cannabis in his 2-bedroom flat with controlled temperatures that allowed the cannabis to grow from seed to flower. All this with the help of an American friend with expert tips. TOI However, Hussain's peddling to Mumbai's drug circuit came to an abrupt end when the Special Task Force raided his flat and took possession of the 40 plants he was nurturing with humidifiers and LED lights. 33-year-old Hussain was arrested on New Year's day while selling ganja to customers at Golconda. YouTube "Shahed installed ACs in both rooms to maintain a conducive temperature. He also kept LED lights above the plants to maintain natural light-like situation and kept table fans in swing mode to give them sufficient air," said Task Force additional DCP, N Koti Reddy. Hussain would buy the cannabis from suppliers in Visakhapatnam, East Godavari and Tandur for Rs. 3,500/kilo and peddle it to customers in Hyderabad for Rs. 16,000/kilo! YouTube With the help of his US-based pal, Garith Christopher, Hussain would take video tips and learn how to cultivate ganja in the right environment. He would grow the plants himself after buying the ingredients locally. Such was his dedication that Hussain never allowed anyone inside the flat located in Friends Colony, Manikonda. With the announcement of demonetisation, the government had also waived off the transaction fees on ATM usages even across banks. However, things are returning back to what they were before November 8. BCCL Before 31 December, the customers did not have to pay the Rs 20 transaction charge for any extra usage, even if it was for using the ATM of another banks. This is likely to change as the government has not extended the December 31 deadline, till when it was applicable. The RBI has also not hinted at any extension of the same, which in effect made banks resume charging the ATM transaction fee. BCCL "The first five transactions will be free of cost. After that it will be left to the discretion of the banks and the card category of the customer. Banks generally have an agreement with individual customers on charges levied. Many banks were not charging premium customers before demonetisation," V Balasubramanian, president, transaction processing and ATM service, FSS told The Times Of India. Before demonetisation, banks like State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and ICICI Bank were charging Rs 15 per transaction as they had a wider ATM network and larger users than other banks. Most other banks charged Rs 20 per ATM transaction before the November 8 announcement. BCCL The move is likely to increase the suffering of people, especially in rural areas as the cash shortage still persists. Even after the ATM withdrawal limit has been increased to Rs 4,500 many of the ATMs are still dry or are not functional. BCCL It is estimated that only 20 per cent of the ATMs across the country are operational despite the best efforts of the banks. This is mostly in rural areas, where even over the counter cash withdrawals from bank branches are rationed by the banks themselves owing to the short supply of currency notes. Every year since 1914, more than 30,000 scientists have come together and met at the annual meetings of the Indian Science Congress Association. This year is no different, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the five-day annual Indian Science Congress at the Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. The event will be held from January 3-7 and 6 Nobel Prize winners from different countries such as the US, Japan, Israel, France and Bangladesh will also take part in it. Moreover, more than 14,000 scientists and scholars from across the country will attend the event. PM @narendramodi at 104th Indian Science Congress at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. pic.twitter.com/HpyvEnxFFX PIB India (@PIB_India) January 3, 2017 But the organisation, started with the agenda that scientific research in India could be stimulated if an annual meeting of research workers was held, somewhat on the lines of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, has reached another level. Leaving for Tirupati, where I will join the Indian Science Congress. Looking forward to interacting with scientists from all over India. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 3, 2017 Somehow over the years, Hindu mythological claptrap has swept in, and science has taken a back seat. Take last year's meet for instance, where a paper was presented, stating 'Lord Shiva Is A Great Environmentalist'. Could it benefit society, when the brightest minds in the country are shackled by mythology and superstition? In the same meeting, an IAS officer claimed that it was possible for white hair to turn black. I mean no offence, but is this the forum for such a proposition? In fact, the association has a history of projecting bogus ideas, sans validation. On one occasion, it said, "Hindu epics are all we need to understand the ancient world and we shouldn't rely on modern evidence or research." In another, back in 2014, some highly intellectual minds at the program claimed the aeroplane was a vehicle discovered in the Vedic age which could not only move from one country to another, but also from one planet to another. "In those days aeroplanes were huge in size, and could move left, right, as well as backwards, unlike modern planes which only fly forward," said Captain Anand J Bodas, one of the speakers. And now is no different. Sudershan Rao, who was recently appointed as the head of the Indian Council of Historical Research by Modi, added another bizarre claim to the list. He said that the art of fiction writing hadn't been invented until the last century and because the Mahabharata has been proved to be written at least two millennia ago, they must obviously be accurate and true. Joining the aforementioned bandwagon, the PM said that the Hindu god Ganesh's head was evidence of ancient plastic surgery. Modi further said that the Kauravas from the Mahabharata were all test-tube babies as they had been born outside their mother's womb. Meanwhile, this is what the Indian PM aims for this year. #1 Seeding the power of ideas & innovation in schoolchildren will broaden the base of our innovation pyramid & secure future of our nation: PM PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 3, 2017 #2 There is a need to develop and exploit these technologies in services and manufacturing sectors: PM @narendramodi PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 3, 2017 #3 We need to keep an eye on the rise of disruptive technologies and be prepared to leverage them for growth: PM @narendramodi PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 3, 2017 #4 Nation will always be grateful to scientists who have worked tirelessly to empower our society by their vision, labour, and leadership: PM PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 3, 2017 #5 Government is committed to supporting different streams of scientific knowledge: PM @narendramodi PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 3, 2017 We'll have to wait and see the bombs that drop this year. The killing of a police constable by terrorists on Saturday in Kupwara district has triggered an intense resentment and anger against the terrorists and people who are angry after cops killing deemed this act an act of terrorism. "If they call killing anybody Jihad, we don't accept it. Ask his widow, who will be delivering child today. Ask his children," Abdul Gani Sheikh, a neighbour was quoted by NDTV. 2016 had seen immense violence in the valley after Burhan Wani, commander of Hizbul-Mujahideen was killed by Indian army in July. Soon after his death, people had taken to streets and over 100 people died during clashes in a period of three months. Representational Image, AFP But this is an unexpected turn around as the same set of people who would support these terrorists in name of Jihad are now calling the act of killing cop terrorism. "Whoever killed him, I will never call him a Mujahid. He is a terrorist. I'm categorically saying this, whatever the consequences may be. It is terrorism and this terrorism should stop," said his relative Abdul Kabir. Over the last few months, Kashmir has been witnessing an upsurge in the number of mourners at the funerals of terrorists. But on Sunday, thousands attended the funeral of Abdul Kareem. AFP Constable Abdul Kareem, 40, was killed on Saturday after he was shot by a group of terrorists whom he had intercepted at a road crossing Chougal, on Kupwara - Srinagar road. "This is not jihad. It is against Islam," said another local, Mohammad Jamal. "We will say good bye to such jihad where people are being murdered." Kareem had worked as a Special Police Officer for over 12 years. He was recruited as regular cop in 2013. According to locals, he never harassed anybody and was always ready to help the people. Despite being a billion dollar company that has the world's best minds at its disposal, Facebook can't seem to figure out when an image is vulgar, and when it isn't. kosalabandara The company again courted another controversy after reportedly asking an art historian to block photo of Italy's famous Neptune statue from her page for being "sexually explicit". This Kerala Couple Got Facebook To Shut Down A Page Promoting Pedophilia. And They Are Not Done Yet! The social media giant later termed the censorship a mistake, media reports said Elisa Barbari, a local writer, chose the statue to illustrate her Facebook page, called "Stories, curiosities and views of Bologna", the Daily Telegraph reported on Monday. The 16th century statue of the sea god dominates Piazza del Nettuno, a grand square in the heart of Bologna. But the social media giant objected to the image, which shows a naked Neptune - Nettuno in Italian - holding a large trident. Facebook told her that "The use of the image was not approved because it violates Facebook's guide lines on advertising". "It presents an image with content that is explicitly sexual and which shows to an excessive degree the body, concentrating unnecessarily on body parts. The use of images or video of nude bodies or plunging necklines is not allowed, even if the use is for artistic or educational reasons," said Facebook. "I wanted to promote my page but it seems that for Facebook the statue is a sexually explicit image that shows off too much flesh. Really, Neptune? This is crazy!" Barbari told the Telegraph. A Facebook spokesperson later said in a statement that the censorship was a mistake "Our team processes millions of advertising images each week, and in some instances we incorrectly prohibit ads. This image does not violate our ad policies. We apologise for the error and have let the advertiser know we are approving their ad," the spokesperson was quoted as saying. Nudity And Fake Names Are The Top Reasons Social Platforms Take Down Your Posts The Pakistan Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights has approved the Hindu Marriage Bill, enabling the nation's Hindu community to get their marriages registered and to appeal in courts of law in cases of separation. This comes a day after a Senate committee approved the landmark draft legislation, nearly four months after it was passed by the National Assembly praveenpn4u flickr The bill allows Hindus to finally have a proof of marriage document, and allows separated Hindu persons to remarry. The document is called the shadipatr, similar to the nikahnama for Muslims. Clause 17 of the bill states that a Hindu widow "shall have the right to re-marry of her own will and consent after the death of her husband provided a period of six months has lapsed after the husband's death". Minority member in National Assembly Ramesh Kumar Vankwani called the move a new year's gift for Hindus living in Pakistan hafsite "Today, we are proud to be Hindu Pakistanis after the approval of the bill. Hindus will now be able to get registered their marriages and also apply for divorce under family laws," he said. Earlier, in September, the National Assembly had passed the Hindu Marriage Bill 2016, paving way for the adoption of a comprehensive and widely-acceptable family law for Hindus living in Pakistan, reports the Dawn. Hindus make up approximately 1.6 per cent of Pakistan's Muslim-majority 190 million population, but they have not had any legal mechanisms to register their marriages since independence in 1947. Christians, the other main religious minority, have a British law dating back to 1870 regulating their marriages. ALso read: Hindu, Christian Girls Are Being Forcibly Converted To Islam In Pakistan A 30-year-old man, Isyaka Dahiru, has got tongues wagging after he married two women at the same time in Nasarawa State. The event which took place on New Year eve, brought the number of his wives to three. Dahiru, a graduate of Accountancy from the state Federal Polytechnic, shared his pre-wedding photos with the two brides, Khadijat and Rashida. He wrote: The family of late Mallam Dahiru Ahmed invites the general public to the weeding fatiha of his son Isyaka Dahiru (Smiling Judge) and Khadijat and Rashida, which is scheduled to take place on 31/12/2016 at Muhd Adi residence behind RCM School Doma, off Ruttu Road by 10am. The second wedding took place an hour later at Sakora Dakashi Street off Lafia Road, while reception followed immediately at the grooms residence along Lafia Road in Doma Local Government Area. Facebook users blasted the he-goat after he made the announcement. A user, Eedris Sule said, Because your religion permits you to marry up to four wives does not mean you should turn yourself into a he-goat. Makarfi Adams wrote: Such a person will die young. You are 30 and have 3 wives already? Just dig your grave. Idiot. Desmond_Folks wrote: And he gladly made this public. You shoyld be ashamed. I dont even blame you, I blame the women. Two on the same day? What are the women thinking sef? Source: Dailypost A Donald Trump-themed fish restaurant has opened in Dohuk, Iraqi Kurdistan. Nadyar Zawiti, an Iraqi Kurd, got so happy on the outcome of the US presidential election that he decided to name his restaurant after Trump, and using the president-elects face as part of the restaurants logo: The restaurant opened in early December and sells roasted fish. What I admire about Trumps personality is that hes decisive, hes tough, and hopefully with that toughness hell finish ISIS off, Zawiti told CNN. Zawiti told the network he would someday like to have a Trump Fish near the White House in Washington. Zawiti had previously stated in an interview with Reuters that Trump is a beloved figure in Iraqi Kurdistan. I personally love Trump for this, Zawiti said of Trumps promise to support Kurds and their peshmerga fighters. The name Trump is beloved in Kurdistan. Over 30,000 ex-militants in Niger Delta have appealed to the federal government to pay their outstanding five months salaries. The ex-militants collect monthly allowance under the Presidential Amnesty Programme. They have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on the ministry of finance to release fund for the payment of arrears. The quick intervention of President Buhari, they said, would douse the tension that is already mounting in the region over the unpaid money. Mr. Salvation Ibina-Rufus, Chairman of Presidential Amnesty Programme, Phase Two in Bayelsa State, said the government should take immediate action to avoid another round of restiveness. We equally want to use this medium to appeal to President Buhari to instruct the Minister of Finance to release the N30 billion approved by the Presidency to the Amnesty Office to enable Boroh to perform his work effectively. We are optimistic that President Buhari is aware of the sufferings and pains Christians suffered during the Christmas celebration due to non-release of salaries by the Ministry of Finance, he said. Ibina-Rufus made the appeal, as he sympathised with the aggrieved ex-militants, encouraging them to exercise patience with the government. He noted that based on the meeting held with Special Adviser to the President on Amnesty, Brigadier General Paul Boroh (rtd), he was hopeful that beneficiaries of the scheme would be paid immediately after the New Year celebration. The former militant believes that the delay in payment that they were experiencing was due to the Ministry of Finances inability to release funds for the Amnesty office to commence payment. He then commended his members for their patience and understanding, saying, this is really a tempting time so I am advising you to maintain the existing peace. He rationalized that Boroh had shown sincerity and commitment to ensuring the payment of all their arrears and advised other former militants to maintain peace and order, assuring them that he is very optimistic that their salaries would be paid immediately after official duties resumes. Source: NAN An American couple in Texas is suing tech giant Apple after claiming its FaceTime video chat app distracted a driver who slammed his vehicle into their car, killing their 5-year-old daughter. James and Bethany Modisette were driving on the highway with their two daughters on Christmas eve in 2014 when they were forced to stop their Camry ahead of a blockage caused by police activity. Driving behind them, Garrett Wilhelm failed to stop and his SUV rammed into the car at 105km/h, tearing it apart and riding up over the top. Bethany and the older daughter, Isabella, were injured but managed to escape the car, while James and the younger daughter, Moriah, had to be extracted by rescue workers. Moriah, who was strapped into a booster seat at the time of the crash, was flown to a nearby hospital but died. The lawsuit filed by the couple in California Superior Court in Santa Clara County claims that Apple failed to warn users that the product was likely to be dangerous when used or misused or to instruct on its safe usage. They are suing Apple for damages on the basis that the electronics giant failed to install and implement a safer, alternative design for FaceTime that would have helped to prevent a driver from using the app while travelling at highway speed, ABC News reported. As a result of that distraction, his Toyota 4Runner, while travelling at full highway speed (65 mph), struck the Modisette family car from behind, causing it to be propelled forward, rotate, and come to a final rest at an angle facing the wrong direction in the right lane of traffic, the suit says. Wilhelm told police at the scene that he was using FaceTime on his iPhone at the time of the crash, and the police located his iPhone at the crash scene with the FaceTime application still active, the suit claims. The Modisettes contend in their suit that, At the time of the collision in question, the iPhone utilised by Wilhelm contained the necessary hardware (to be configured with software) to automatically disable or lock-out the ability to use [FaceTime] However, Apple failed to configure the iPhone to automatically lock-out the ability to utilise FaceTime while driving at highway speeds, despite having the technical capability to do so. Wilhelm was indicted on manslaughter charges by a grand jury in Denton County, Texas, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle. He has been out of jail on bail since August, and a jury trial in the case is scheduled for February 27. The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) on Monday confirmed the death of three persons in a road accident involving a black Honda CRV Jeep and a white DAF trailer in the Sagamu axis of the Lagos /Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State. FRSC Sector Commander in the state, Mr Clement Oladele, gave the confirmation in an interview with reporters in Sagamu as he added that the accident could have been caused by overspeeding. The accident occurred around 2 pm and the rescue team were on ground to immediately manage the situation. The accident , which involved a black Honda CRV with registration number KRD 933DD and White Daf Trailer with registration number JJJ 107 XD , was caused by route violation and speed limit violation. The accident involved five persons, two male and three female, in which one male and one female got injured while one male and two female died , he said. Oladele explained that both the injured and the dead were taken to Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH) , Sagamu. The sector commander advised motorists to avoid speeding and also to obey traffic rules and regulations. The Jigawa State House of Assembly have impeached the Speaker, Idris Garba, after resumption from the festival holidays this morning and elected Alhaji Isa Idris as the new speaker. Garba is the third Speaker to vacate his position in recent weeks across Nigerian States after Abia and Rivers have also replaced their Speakers. According to reports, Alhaji Hussaini Ali, the Clerk of the House had earlier announced receiving an impeachment notice signed by 25 of the 30 assembly members, and which he read on the floor of the house. Ali disclosed that members of the assembly impeached the speaker due to alleged high handedness and abuse of power. Presiding over the House during the impeachment process, the Deputy Speaker, Alhaji Ahmed Garba, read the impeachment notice on the floor of the house attended by 23 members, and also confirmed the number of members that signed the notice. He said 25 of the 30-member assembly that endorsed the impeachment notice showed that it met the constitutional requirement of two third to impeach any of its principal officers. With this development, I hereby declare the seat of the Speaker vacant and a fresh election should be conducted to elect the new speaker, he said. According to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria, Alhaji Isa Dutse of Dutse Municipal constituency and Isa Idris of Gwaram constituency were nominated for the election to replace the impeached Speaker. Isa Idris, however, defeated Isa Dutse with 12 to six votes, while five members were indifferent. The new Speaker promised to run an open door policy and solicited members support and cooperation Nigerian newspaper headlines January 3, 2017. Punch The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has uncovered fresh evidence against one Esther Oba, an alleged front and cousin of Dame Patience Jonathan, the wife of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. Thisday Officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja have discovered parcels of whitish substance that tested positive for cocaine inside foot wears. Guardian The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Saad Abubakar, yesterday asked President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Nasir El-Rufai to arrest and prosecute suspected killers in southern Kaduna. Vanguard By the end of this year, the Federal Government would have spent, at least, N14.35 billion on the up-keep of former presidents, vice presidents and their families, over a period of 12 years, Vanguards checks have revealed. The Sun Domestic airlines are recording huge patronage on some local routes as most aircraft designated to fly from Lagos and Abuja airports to the South-east and South-south are fully booked on their economy class. Leadership Donald Trump praised Vladimir Putin as very smart for not engaging in a tit-for-tat row with the US over the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats accused of espionage. Premium Times The Federal Government has commenced the payment of N5,000 monthly to one million vulnerable Nigerians. The Nation Media aide to the Olubadan Oba Saliu Adetunji, Adeola Oloko, has said the reported removal of the Iyaloja of Ibadanland, Chief Labake Lawal, had yet to be formally presented to the traditional ruler. Nigerian newspaper headlines January 2, 2016. Punch The Federal Ministry of Works says the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway has reached 40 per cent completion. Thisday The Christian Association of Nigeria, Taraba state chapter, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to give attention to the issue of Fulani herdsmen terrorising farmers across the country in the same way he did to the Boko Haram sect. Guardian The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has berated President Muhammad Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over their failure to create the three million new jobs they pledged in their campaign manifesto. Vanguard Lagos, yesterday, experienced light vehicular traffic on most major roads in the metropolis, while there was human traffic on some roads. Leadership The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has passed a vote of no confidence on the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari over the federal governments poor handling of current crisis in the Niger Delta region. Premium Times For asking him to step down for a democratically elected president, the Gambian leader, Yahya Jammeh, has accused West African regional body, ECOWAS, of declaring war against his country. The Sun A group, the Yoruba Redemption Forum (YRF) has tasked the incoming governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, to consolidate on the achievements of the administration of Governor Olusegun Mimiko. The Nation he General Officer Commanding (GOC) the newly-created 6 Division in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, Maj.-Gen. Kasimu Abdulkarim, yesterday displayed the AK-47 rifle and uniforms of Mohammed Alkali, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Mobile Police Unit 48 and his orderly, Sgt. Urukwu Nwachukwu. A woman simply identified as Mama Emeka was arrested on Tuesday by the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly burning her 16-year-old half sister with a hot iron. The incident according to a report by The Nation, occurred on the 25th of December, the suspect was reportedly arrested today following the intervention of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence team in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Social Development. It was gathered that the woman has been maltreating the teenager, whose mother reportedly abandoned her after the death of her father. According to sources, residents of the street revolted against the woman who also used razor blade to cut the victims thighs and shaved her hair. They alleged that the woman usually forced the victim to hawk and work into later hours of the night. The residents, according to the sources mobilized to ensure the woman was apprehended and handed over to policemen from Ketu Police Division, while the victim was taken into protective custody. English Premiership referee Mike Dean is getting a hammering after sending off Sofiane Feghouli early on in West Hams clash with Manchester United. Dean took just 15 minutes for him to be at the centre of controversy as he sent Feghouli packing after a tackle on Phil Jones. The tackle seemed a legitimate 50/50, with Jones winning the ball. And on replay, it appears the same apart from a closer look at Jones over-the-top reaction. RT if you think Mike Dean needs his eyes checked! pic.twitter.com/pwRz5pS1uJ Football Stands (@TheFootyStands) January 2, 2017 But Dean awarded a foul to United and collected his thoughts before showing Feghouli a red card. This has led to the bashing of the experienced referee on Twitter. Below are some posts: https://twitter.com/Leemoorehall/status/815989689886838784 Mike Dean: Lets make this one about the players Also Mike Dean: New year, same me pic.twitter.com/F05DEdrDxb B/R Football (@brfootball) January 2, 2017 https://twitter.com/WillsSensei/status/815989801107210240 I don't rate Mike Dean william (@williammaru_) January 2, 2017 https://twitter.com/JonyMurphy/status/815988881132756992 The Sokoto State Government has said that it will begin to conduct proficiency test for teachers working in public schools. Governor Aminu Tambuwal disclosed this on Tuesday while meeting with the Chairman of the states Committee on Emergency in Education, Prof. Riskuwa Shehu. In a statement on Tuesday, Malam Imam Imam, Spokesman to the governor noted that the committee is expected to present a report to the government on the needs assessment of schools conducted in November last year. Imam stated that the proficiency test was aimed at ensuring that the knowledge base of the teachers met required standards, while their postings matched their qualifications. He added that the test will also improve our data base on the number of teachers in public service which will, in turn, be used to harmonize records available with different agencies and departments of government. This is also part of measures taken under the emergency on the education initiative to shore up standards. However, this does not mean that those who may fall below the required standard after the test will be sacked. Alternatively, we will redeploy them to other sectors befitting of their qualifications and expertise. Government will continue to benefit from their services as to the terms of their employments. The spokesman noted that Gov. Tambuwal had vowed to leave no stone unturned in uplifting the standard of the education sector in the state. Imam quoted the governor as reiterating his commitment to adequately fund the sector at all levels, adding that that is why even in 2017, education retained the highest allocation in our budget. Our thinking is that no amount of money allocated to the education sector is too much and we will not waver in this direction. Spanish authotities have arrested two Moroccans following a daring attempt to smuggle immigrants into Spains North African enclave of Ceuta in a car as well as a suitcase. One person was found squeezed into the cars dashboard while another was hiding beneath a hollowed out seat at the back of the car. The third person was found squeezed in a suitcase. Troops of the Nigerian Army on Tuesday repelled an early morning attack by fleeing Boko Haram insurgents on Dar village in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa. Confirming the attack, Alhaji Yusuf Mohammed, the Chairman of Madagali Local Government, said the attack was contained by the prompt response of security operatives in the areas. He lauded the efforts of security agencies and local vigilantes, and urged for more support to secure the area. Also speaking on the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the 28 Task-Force Battalion, Mubi, Maj. Akintoye Badare, said the attack was successfully repelled with no casualty on the military side. All I can confirm to you now is that there was attack on Dar village but we successfully repelled it; no casualty on our side, Badare said. He further stated that the situation in the area had since normalized while soldiers remain on full alert. Emergency crews in California, USA embarked on a 20-hour mission to rescue a raccoon trapped inside a drain. Wildlife Emergency Services arrived to the scene to rescue a raccoon which was found trapped after a homeless man reportedly heard grunts coming from a pipe in a local market. I was on scene by 3:00 p.m. The animals moans were unlike anything Id ever heard, Rebecca Dmytryk said in a Wildlife Emergency Services blog post . Its unusual for an adult animal to cry out, so, this meant the animal was in extreme distress. Just heartbreaking. Crews discovered an adult raccoon trapped about 8 feet inside the pipe as water began to collect around the animals body. The crews used shovels to remove sludge and drain the water away until Watsonville Utility Crew Leader Henry Cervantes arrived and suggested it was necessary to cut through the asphalt to the pipe in order to rescue the raccoon. That plan didnt set well with Bill, the property manager, Dmytryk said. He would not grant us permission to dig up the newly paved parking lotbut, the property owner, Shirley a real animal lover, gave us the go-aheadunder one condition that we put it back the way we found it. Several crew members volunteered beyond their work hours to help free the raccoon by attempting to cut through the asphalt with a handheld masonry saw. The saw was only able to cut so deep before Cervantes was forced to call for a giant utility truck which allowed the crew to jackhammer down to the pipe. By 9 p.m. one of the crew members managed to grab a hold of the raccoon, but the trapped creature would still not budge from its spot. About an hour and a half later the crew managed to use crowbars to open up the pipe enough to pull the raccoon to safety where it was placed on top of warming pads. Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi is weighing up a move to Valencia after holding talks with representatives of the Spanish club on Christmas Day. Los Che sporting director Jesus Garcia Pitarch confirmed this, saying the club have held talks with the Chelsea midfielder over a transfer. Mikel has not featured for Chelsea this season and will become a free agent in the summer, meaning the Blues would be likely to let him go at a bargain price in the January transfer window. In the case of Obi Mikel, with Chelseas permission, I met with him in London on Christmas day, explained Garcia Pitarch. I informed him of the option [of joining Valencia]. He said he would think about it. The 29-year-old has also been linked to Inter Milan, Marseille and clubs in the Chinese Super League, as his departure from Stamford Bridge looks to be imminent. Mikel has made 374 appearances for Chelsea since joining from Norwegian side Lyn in 2006, scoring six times. The Yoruba movie industry has recorded its first death of 2017 as one of its own, Toyin Majekodunmi, died today. The veteran actress, popularly known as Iya Kike in Yoruba movie circles, did on Monday. The cause of her death is not yet officially announced. Married to a fellow actor, Solomon Majekodunmi aka Baba Kekere, the news of her death was shared by actress and movie producer, Bimbo Success. Repeated calls to her husband were not answered but a top Yoruba actress cum producer, Bose Alao, who is close to the couple, told PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone chat, that her death was health-related. The late Mrs. Majekodunmi featured in numerous Yoruba movies and often starred alongside her husband. Prior to launching her movie career, she worked with the Lagos State Ministry of Information for many years. Her husband also worked in International Banking Division Department at First Bank Plc . A delight on stage and in movies, the late actress was married for 37 years and was blessed with three children two daughters and a son. Her colleagues and fans alike have taken to social media to eulogize the late movie star. Source: PremiumTimes A US woman from Texas fell right over the stage as her boyfriend proposed to her. Endyugi Soedarsono was caught off balance as her boyfriend Jeff Jackson got on one knee at a show to ask her to marry him while the moment was caught on camera by Colton Carlyle. In the comments on his post, Carlyle was quick to assure his Facebook followers that everything turned out okay, though his first video cut off when he put his phone down to help Soedarsono. According to the Mirror, Carlyle was filming content for a music festival called Lights All Night in Dallas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciE66jletIg Microsoft has been making major strides in allowing management of devices, users, and information across the Exchange and Office 365 ecosystem, with an emphasis on eventual shift to Office 365 from System Center using a unified approach across desktop and mobile devices. But the systems are complex to deploy and expensive to subscribe to, even with small-business-oriented offerings available. Thats one reason many schools have switched to using Chrome OS laptops (aka Chromebooks) and Google Apps for Education (GAFE), the schools' version of the G Suite web-based productivity, communications, and sharing suite. Smaller business and even some enterprises might want to consider the (perhaps partial) switch as well to Googles business version of G Suite on Chromebooks. John Becker has deployed Chromebooks and GAFE at three private K-8 schools (combined elementary and junior high school) in Illinois, moving away from the previous combination of Microsoft Active Directory and Apple iPads. The schools are St. Joseph School in Downers Grove, St. Joseph School in Manhattan, and Most Blessed Trinity Academy in Waukegan. Active Directory is too capable for its own good In fact, what many enterprises like about Active Directoryits rich capabilities and heavy customizationis what made it a poor fit for the schools, Becker says. In that strength are two weaknesses: the amount of customization and granularity of possible settings leads to inherent complexity, and the complexity leading to it being administrated by professionals with significant amounts of training and coursework. That complexity rules out many schools. Compared to managing users and devices via Microsofts Active Directory, working with GAFE is much simpler, Becker says. In fact, the admins at each of the three schools are not traditional IT staff because schools cant afford such expertise. Theres no Active Directory in their job descriptions, he wryly notes. The admin controls in GAFE separate the management of the devices from the users, whereas in Active Directory they are intermingled, Becker notes. Active Directorys complexity means it can handle much more tailored permissions, but the schools dont need that level of permissions specificityand they cant afford the tools or staff to implement them anyhow. Furthermore, GAFE makes it much, much simpler to support users outside the schools, such as teachers, parents, and students who access school files from their home networks or from personal devices, rather than from the school-issued Chromebooks on the school network. In a traditional Exchange environment, Becker says, extending the Active Directory environment and data storage to the homeor wherever the student is doing homeworkbecomes necessary. The result is a cumbersome, support-intensive exercise. As a result, its too breakable and the support costs are a nightmare. Plus, you need a giant hardware platform to run Office [meaning the laptops and the back-end Exchange servers], and the apps are super-duper mega-overkill. Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides very simple by contrast. Becker did consider Office 365, which relieves the schools of having all those servers and even PCs, since the apps can run from the cloud via a browser. But Office 365 didnt really work four years ago when the schools had to decide what to do. Even today Office 365 doesnt work reliably across platforms in some of its components. The Office 2016 productivity apps today work nicely, but OneDrive is still hinky, Skype for Business only now has production versions for non-Windows devices, and Teams hit beta very recently. Googles software has its own issuesHangouts is still wonky, Becker notesbut Google has nailed the core functionality like document sharing. And the GAFE admin consoles are really simple and straightforward to use and managea big deal when you have new students every year and existing students leave every year, as well as have several classes and teachers every day. Thats something a tool like Active Directory doesnt understand natively, he says. Plus, theres no local data to worry about; GAFE by defaults prevents document downloads, though admins can enable users to download to their devices. The schools Becker works for separate private information on the back end, so theres little to no sensitive data in the form of downloadable documents to begin with. By contrast, Office 365s OneDriveand competitors like Dropbox and Boxsync cloud files to local devices by default, with no option to disable that behavior. The case for the Chromebook-GAFE combo The use of Chromebooks marries the ease of GAFE with inexpensive devices that parents and school districts can more easily afford. The schools in fact originally used GAFE on Windows PCs, but as those PCs were retired, they shifted to Chromebooks for cost reasons. Macs were ruled out as well for cost reasons. Becker notes that you dont need to use Chromebooks to take advantage of GAFE; GAFE works on Windows PCs and Macs. Chromebooks happen to be a very low-cost device on which to access the environment, but it is not the environment. The browser is the environment, and it keeps users away from potential damaging complexity and settings that a Windows or MacOS has. But GAFE isnt so available on mobile devices like iPads and Android tablets, where the web client rarely works and the native apps are less capable than on a desktop or Chromebook browser. Where Chromebooks and GAFE dont fully deliver Despite the advantages of their simplicity, Chromebooks and GAFE dont meet all needs, and they've struggled to make their case outside the student deployment. For example, Google Slides is quite primitive, and teachers strongly favor using PowerPoint, which requires a PC, Mac, or Office 365 license for web use. Getting teachers to use Docs and Sheets is easier, given their greater functionality, but most people have been trained on the Office apps, so convincing them to switchespecially to less-capable apps, even if they dont use most of the featuresis not easy. Teachers also heavily use an electronic-whiteboard system called SmartBoard, which has historically been Windows-only. There is now a Chrome component, but its very expensive, Becker notes. So many teachers still have their Windows PCs in the classroom. Still, Becker is trying to wean them from those PCs by testing the mounting the PCs to the whiteboard and having the teachers remote in via a VNC connection from their Chromebooks to the SmartBoard-controlling PC. The idea is to get the teachers to use the Chromebook as the default computer. Theres also some software that isnt available in Chrome OS, such as education software for young children. The dearth of such apps has kept the kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade kids on iPads, for which such software is readily available, despite their higher cost. Small children also struggle with physical keyboards, so the iPads touchscreen is better suited for them. However, with touchscreen Chromebooks that can work as tablets now appearing, Becker hopes the schools might be able to adopt Chrome OS tablets for the young childrenif the apps come too. Google has also thrown its own irritants into the mix. For example, a management license is required for each device, but that license cant be transferred to a Chromebook from a newer generation than the one it was initially deployed on. That adds a small cost ($26) but a big hassle when replacing old Chromebooks with new models, such as when they cant be repaired. Also, the license is good only for five years, and schools face having to buy new licenses en masse in the next two years. The costs are not huge, but they still matter for cash-strapped schools, especially when they come all at once. Free now, unaffordable later? The reason that GAFE is so inexpensive is that Google is subsidizing it. Becker fears that subsidy may one day end, such as if Googles fortunes decline or its focus changes. That would then force schools to spend a lot more money to do what they do today, money they and their parents rarely have. For now, Google is subsidizing both GAFE and device management, thus making managed computing possible to those schools. Should Google stop subsidizing Chromebook management, Becker is keeping is eye on Neverware, a provider of a Chromium-based Chrome OS derivative that can run on existing PC laptops and MacBooks as a separate operating system. (Chromium is the open source version of Chrome.) Neverwares OS is at this point inexpensive, and even if Google keeps its subsidies for the long term Neverware could let schools expand their Chromebook deployments to older laptops they and their parents already have, saving on new hardware costs. Education-specific workflows get the love For the education market specifically, GAFE has the core workflows built in, so theres no need for custom or third-party add-ons, as there would be for general-purpose management tools in Active Directory or Office 365. Thats another boost for schools, even if it's not helpful for other industries. Because GAFE was designed for schools, the data flow as it applies to the classroom is impeccable. Going beyond basic sharing, the free Google Classroom option in GAFE allows teachers to assign resources, links, and homework; set due dates; and receive homework from students. This enforces accountability on students and eases the teachers workload. Students and teachers can communicate via email if needed, and teachers can also assign collaborative homework that groups of students may work on one assignment together, says Gabby Lynch, the admin at St. Joseph School in Downers Grove. Gone are the days of I lost my flash drive, Lynch says. All homework is assigned and tracked via Google Classroom with date and time stamps. So, if little Jimmy says he worked for hours, but the time stamps say 15 minutes, little Jimmy has some explaining to do. Do you have the nasty habit of knocking your laptop around? Meet Acers tough-as-nails Chromebook 11 N7, designed to withstand a serious beating. The Chromebook 11 N7 has an 11.6-inch screen and is fortified with layers of protection to withstand drops. Acer has been so meticulous in ruggedizing the laptop that its even difficult to remove key caps from the keyboardwhether by accident or on purpose. [ Give yourself a technology career advantage with InfoWorld's Deep Dive technology reports and Computerworld's career trends reports. GET A 15% DISCOUNT through Jan.15, 2017: Use code 8TIISZ4Z. ] Why did Acer construct such a Chromebook? Its targeted at educational institutions that issue laptops to students, who may be clumsy with PCs. The Chromebook 11 N7 is certainly more durable than the iPad, which has been given to students and can crack easily if mishandled. The laptop will ship in North America this month starting at $229.99. It will ship in Europe, Middle East and Africa next month starting at 299 ($315). The Chromebook 11 N7 can withstand drops of up to 122 centimeters thanks to a reinforced casing around the laptop. It has been tested to the U.S. militarys MIL-STD 810G standards, a specification used by PC makers to measure the resistance of laptops to harsh environmental conditions, drops and shocks. The laptop also has its own internal gutter system that drains out liquid spilled on the keyboard. The goal is to protect the internal components, and the laptop can withstand a spill of 330 milliliters of water, which is the amount of liquid in a soda can. Other laptop makers like Lenovo and Dell have similar gutter systems on keyboards. It weighs roughly 1.35 kilograms and offers 12 hours of battery life. Support for Android apps will come to the Chromebook in a few months, Acer said. But while the durable design is solid, and the low price appealing, the Chromebook lags on technology. It has Intels year-old Celeron N3060 chip, which is based on older Braswell architecture. Intel has since started rolling out newer Celeron and Braswell processors, code-named Apollo Lake, to replace the older Braswell chips. The Acer Chromebook 11 N7 will come in two modelsthe C731T, which will have a touchscreen, and the C731, which wont have a touchscreen. The screen resolution is 1366 x 768 pixels, which feels outdated as many PC makers are including full HD displays in entry-level laptops. The laptop has up to 32GB of eMMC storage, and up to 4GB of memory. It also has two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI slot, an SD card reader and a 720p webcam. It lacks a multipurpose USB Type-C port, now appearing in many new laptops for charging and hooking up monitors and external storage. Wireless connectivity options include 802.11ac and the older Bluetooth 4.0. Many new laptops are getting Bluetooth 4.2 and chipsets now include Bluetooth 5.0. Acers had success with Chromebooks, which are gaining in popularity in educational institutions. Google originally positioned Chromebooks as a replacement PC for Windows, but Chrome OS hasnt caught on yet with consumers. Chromebooks are mostly for those doing computing online and who dont need a full-fledged OS on their computer. At the head of a new year, we speculate on what lies ahead economically, politically, and even globally. To offer easily disproven predictions would seem an act of columnist suicide. Its not. Just ask Charles Krauthammer or any other perennially wrong opinion maker: Making wildly incorrect claims about the future has absolutely no impact on ones job prospects. Its with that in mind that I point to my unhedged predictions from 2015. Twelve months ago, I correctly called some things: The economy will continue to do what its been doing: Grow steadily, if not swiftly; at least one major hedge fund will turn itself into a family office; The great American pension-risk transfer tidal wave will not occur this year, either. And I was disastrously wrong about others, e.g. Hillary Clinton will win the White House. But as with Mr. Krauthammer, being wrong doesnt mean I dont get to try again. Thus, my unhedged institutional investing predictions for 2017: 1) The passive or bust narrative will hit an institutional wall. There are too many barriers the requirement for high portfolio returns regardless of what the market provides, the equating of active with intelligence and thus career advancement for a wholesale shift towards passive investing. Never mind that passive investing doesnt actually work without active participants... 2) That said, Vanguard will win the sales war for the fourth year running. 3) Alternative fees wont change in any substantial way except for the smartest of allocators. Those asset managers who earn the pay will continue to receive it, and those who dont will continue to benefit from the perverse investing logic that pay equates to skill, and not vice versa. 4) Anthony Scaramucci will both advise Donald Trump on financial regulation and host the largest SkyBridge Alternatives (SALT) conference in its nine-year history. 5) He will be lambasted in the press for this. He will, in turn, lambast the press. 6) Linked to the above, the implementation of the fiduciary rule will be delayed or simply not enforced by the Department of Labor under new Secretary Andrew Puzder. 7) Taking a page from the new President, at least one prominent hedge fund billionaire will be revealed to have stopped paying his business bills. 8) American tax reform will not happen in any serious way, leaving in place the capital gains preference. Not that it would impoverish those who take advantage of it far from it, in many cases. 9) There will be no actual US-China trade war in 2017. However, President Trump will claim on Twitter that one has occurred, and he has won it. 10) Asset management M&A activity will accelerate. There are too many regional firms looking with envy at deals such as Janus-Henderson to not see at least three blockbuster mergers in the coming year between US and non-US firms. 11) While not a merger, the TA Associates rejuvenation of Russell Investments will be touted as an incipient success. Word on the street is that the private equity owners changes are starting to improve Russells margins. 12) Asset allocators technology budgets, long far below their rational level considering the importance of monitoring and managing risk and return, will remain far below their rational level. 13) We will continue to see turnover at American endowments and foundations as oversight committees fail to grasp that CIOs can only position the portfolio optimally, not garner returns from thin air. I predict at least two CIOs of top-20 E&Fs will depart for family reasons. This is not unrelated to #12 governance is at the root of both problems. 14) The London Collective Investment Vehicle (CIV) will enter the pension discussion elsewhere, including in America. It will be met with heavy political resistance from entrenched interests. 15) Call me crazy (or optimistic), but we havent seen the end of the Brexit decision. UK Prime Minister Theresa May, along with European leaders, will find a way to claim victory while changing little about the current UK-EU relationship because its in all their interests to do so. 16) Given my abysmal 2016 record I incorrectly called both the Brexit and American presidential election I hesitate to weigh in here, but Marine Le Pen will not become the French president in 2017. 17) There will be no American recession in 2017. That will come in 2018. Which poses a political problem for Donald Trump and the Republicans: The earlier the recession, the easier it will be to blame it on Barack Obama and the Democrats. Think Im wildly off base or extremely prescient? Let me know either way, at kip.mcdaniel@institutionalinvestor.com. Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the $870 billion Government Pension Fund of Norway, has named Geir Oivind Nygard to the role of CIO for Asset Strategies. Nygard, who previously served as global head of portfolio management for the Norwegian bank, was named interim CIO in December after the departure of previous investment head Oyvind Schanke. Norway's Government Pension Fund Global is the worlds largest sovereign wealth fund. In his new role Nygard will have broad responsibility for the funds fixed income and equities strategies. Before heading up portfolio management, Nygard, who reports to CEO Yngve Slyngstad, was global head of equity asset strategies. Nygard joined the bank in 2007, having previously worked for Arkwright Consulting. This December Norges Bank advised the Ministry of Finance which has ultimate oversight for the way the government pension fund is managed that the government pension plan should increase its equity allocation to 75 percent from 60 percent, based on forward-looking return expectations and other factors. In a December 1 letter to the Ministry of Finance recommending the change, the bank stated that the expected average annual real return on a portfolio with 40 percent bonds and 60 percent equities is estimated at 2.1 percent over 10 years and 2.6 percent over 30 years. If the equity allocation is increased to 75 percent, the expected average annual real return over 10 years increases to 2.5 percent and to 3.5 percent over 30 years, although the investment manager recognizes that a higher allocation to equities would result in more volatility. The manager expects the transition to a new 75 percent equity allocation to take place over time. In November Schanke was named CIO of Skagen Funds, the $9 billion Norwegian mutual fund company. This content is from: Video Inflation remains the primary concern for the worlds central banks, which have engaged in the broadest and fastest tightening regime in history, according to Alejandra Grindal, chief economist at Ned Davis Research. Reflecting on 2016, Jared King , head of client and broker engagement at AIG Australia, says the company is currently undergoing significant transformation, creating a leaner, more profitable and focused organisation.Our focus and execution in Australia has predominantly been on underwriting improvement; that is, matching pricing with risk exposure, he says.We also announced two further Managing General Agent agreements with Nautilus Marine and MECON This is breaking ground for AIG in Australia, and we are really excited and encouraged by the level of professionalism and leadership of these underwriting agencies.King believes organisations that make innovation a business priority, while recognising new entrants or disruptors, will possibly set themselves up for greater success down the track.Continuing to talk challenges, King says, I believe the pace at which the digital world is moving its challenging us all to be flexible in our thinking, and what the world offers tomorrow will be very different to that today. While most of what we see so far might have more relevance to consumer buyers, the evolution of sharing economies may [impact] how SME business is traded in the not too distant future.He adds, Regrettably, cyber risk threats and exposures to consumers and businesses alike will continue, so there is an increasing need for awareness, resilience and a strategic risk management plan.Turning discussion to next year, King believes the industry will find it challenging to achieve financial targets with increasing shareholder expectations of acceptable profit margins accompanied by sustainable growth and reduction in management expenses.In 2017, King says AIG will continue to focus on its intermediated distribution sources and partnerships as it expands its footprint into SME and middle market commercial businesses.We have some exciting opportunities on the horizon and the key for us will be to execute these in a timely manner while improving processes and efficiency, and above all provide a level of claims service which is valued by brokers and clients alike, he said. An ASX-listed company said that in order to ensure timely adoption and compliance and to prevent anti-competitive, delaying tactics in Australia's banking and insurance sectors, a system for securely sharing customer data between institutions should be mandated.In response to a recent Productivity Commission report, insurance comparison website iSelect said the launch of open data application programming interfaces (API) could help consumers get a fairer deal,) reported."Over our 16 years of operations, we have encountered numerous occasions where businesses have used high levels of industry jargon, excessive complexity in product development and marketing around frustrating access to data which, under the nebulous guise of customer 'retention,' we believe is tantamount to anti-competitive behaviour, Scott Wilson, iSelect CEO, said in the company's submission."iSelect recommends that the new data framework incorporates the mandating of an open API system for banks and other organisations to securely share their consumer data, and be subject to strict customer consent parameters."Wilson expressed concern that in the banks' and insurers' desire to retain consumers, the companies might delay settlement or only offer a discount once a customer decides to move to another bank, the report said."The bit that is anti-competitive is if you intentionally frustrate a customer and, for us, we see the apathy of consumers who get overwhelmed by the process," Wilson said. "We have a fundamental belief that consumers should have access to their own information and make an informed choice."A study by the Queensland University of Technology found that Aussies waste $11.6 billion annually by staying with their incumbent provider instead of shopping around,said.iSelect's submission was made in response to a report released by the Productivity Commission at the end of last year. The report indicated that implementing technology-based laws to regulate customer data sharing across industries might not be the best solution,reported."The great difficulty with specifying a technology [such as APIs] to be used for a purpose of exchange in a regulatory fashion is that you get stranded laws which refer to a specific technology and risks hampering innovation in the future, said Peter Harris, Productivity Commission chairman.In November, the parliamentary inquiry into the banks called for aggressive timelines for the creation of an open-access regime for customer data, in the hope of boosting competition and make pricing more transparent.Harris said that while he supported the parliamentary inquiry findings, he hoped that rather than legislating based on current technology options which could quickly become outdated broader legislation that enshrined standards and principles of openness would be adopted."Surprising though it may be to many, individuals have no rights to ownership of the data that is collected about them, Harris said. Data is increasingly an asset, and when you create an asset you should have the ability to use it, or not, at your choice."We are proposing the creation of a comprehensive right to data control for consumers that would give people the right to access their data, and direct that it be sent to another party, such as a new doctor, insurance company or bank, he said. Plus an expanded right for people to opt out of data-collecting activities. And existing privacy laws would all remain in place."George Lucas, chief executive of fintech Acorns Australia, did not agree that mandating for an open API system would solve the problem."The issue is about legalising the existing ePayment code as recommended in the Financial System Inquiry and privacy rules so it is clear to the banks that they don't own the data, that customers can consent to who access their data held by banks, that banks can't block this access if the client has given consent, who is liable if there is a breach," he said. "Basically the banks want to control on what terms and what data can be shared."In its draft report, the commission stressed that the "private sector is likely to be best placed to determine sector-specific standards for its data sharing between firms."This recommendation is supported by the National Australia Bank (NAB) in its submission, which said that statutory requirements for data sharing would be expensive and hamper innovation,reported."In principle, NAB agrees with sharing customers' data with other institutions, providing the appropriate security arrangements are in place and that institutions which received this data accord the same high premium to data protection as NAB does," NAB said. "NAB urges caution against the adoption of statutory mandatory requirements for data sharing due to the impact on innovation already occurring, the cost of mandating and ensuring appropriate security concerns."On the other hand, Wilson said that iSelect recommended that Australia follow Britain's lead and require banks and other organisations securely share data with third parties from 2018, the report said."By opening their history, financial services customers will be able to shop to find a product which better suits their needs," he said. "This is especially important in the home loans area, where the major banks still control more than a 70 per cent market share."The financial services sector needs a shake-up in competition levels and empowering consumers with better information and educating them on their choices would improve Australia's productivity and economy, while cutting costs, Wilson added.The inquiry report is expected to be released to the government in March. New York States Department of Financial Services (DFS) in December issued a new regulation that prohibits insurance companies from denying commercial crime insurance coverage to New York businesses employing people with criminal convictions. The regulation, called Insurance Regulation 209, serves as the first of its kind in the U.S. and is set to take effect on July 1, 2017, with respect to all insurance policies issued, renewed or delivered in New York state on or after that date. The regulation defines commercial crime coverage as coverage under a policy of commercial risk insurance that provides burglary and theft insurance or fidelity insurance. Its aim is to make it easier for businesses across New York state to hire formerly incarcerated employees, as well as help those businesses obtain coverage for any loss or damage caused by an employee with a criminal record. New York, like California, Illinois, Delaware and a few other states, often sets the tone for development of regulation and law. There is no reason other states wont follow suit, especially in light of New Yorks decision. Some in the industry have applauded these efforts as a step forward in ending discrimination and enabling Americans with criminal records to find jobs and integrate back into society. We support Governor Cuomos efforts to provide employers with commercial crime insurance that does not exclude coverage for individuals on the basis of their past criminal records, Andrew Potash, chairman of Distinguished and a board member of The Osborne Association, said in a press release issued by the New York State DFS. John S. Kiernan, president of the New York City Bar Association, added in the release that the new regulation will not only help to increase employment opportunities for individuals with criminal records, but it is also consistent with the states public policy and efforts to support its communities. It will eliminate the catch-22 currently faced by employers trying to comply with state law but also to obtain the insurance they need to protect their businesses, he said. Paul King, senior vice president, national MPS director and cyber practice leader at USI Insurance Services added that increased premium levels in a historically depressed crime market could be one benefit seen from the new regulation. Other potential benefits include justification for increased deductibles and self-insured retentions due to increased risk, as well as New York insureds having to implement better processes and controls due to increased risk of loss, he added. Challenges for Insurers That said, others in the insurance industry are not as optimistic, expressing concerns about increased losses for insurers and difficulty for underwriters due to the new regulation. I dont see much in the way of benefits, said Tim Dodge, assistant vice-president of research at Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York Inc. Its pretty clear from the comments that [the industry has] misgivings about this. One big challenge insurers see with the new rule is that they will now have to provide coverage in situations where an employee with a past felony record steals from his employer, Dodge explained. Underwriters will have to evaluate these employees when deciding whether or not to offer crime insurance to a given employer. They will have to weigh factors such as the seriousness of the prior offense, how long ago it happened, signs of rehabilitation or recidivism and job duties, he said. These are evaluations they dont currently have to make. So the challenge for insurers will be complying with the regulation while still underwriting the risks in ways that will be profitable. Increased losses on crime policies in aggregate dollars, percentage of book or both are an anticipated challenge at the top of many insurers minds, King said. Insureds are likely correct in thinking it could give rise to increases in premium or deductibles, he said. For brokers and insurers alike, making sure clients/insureds do not run afoul of regulatory issues will increase workload, etc. There are other lines of cover that must be considered beyond just crime coverage EPL insurance, contractual/MSA impact, etc. These will all need to be considered in light of this new law. Insurers have until next summer to file new policy forms that comply with the regulation, Dodge said. They will then phase in the new forms as individual accounts are newly written or renew through the second half of the year. While its possible that underwriters may become more cautious about offering crime insurance, and they may start charging higher premiums, I do not foresee this change causing them to make the coverage less available, he added, stating that while there is a lack of enthusiasm from the industry regarding the new regulation, he anticipates it will have minimal impact on the market as crime insurance produces relatively low premium volume compared to other lines of coverage such as liability, property and workers compensation. Background on the Regulation According to the press release issued by the New York State DFS, 2.3 million people in New York have a criminal conviction on their record. This new regulation will ensure employers can obtain this coverage after considering a set of eight factors outlined in New York States Correction Law that oversee the hiring of employees with criminal convictions. These factors include whether the offense is related to the duties the employee will perform, the time that has passed since the conviction and evidence of good conduct by the applicant. This first-in-the-nation action will further break down artificial barriers that prevent previously incarcerated New Yorkers from obtaining work and turning their lives around, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in the release. We are taking one more step to restore fairness and dignity to our society while also increasing public safety by providing opportunity and reducing recidivism. This move comes as commercial crime insurance policies in New York are often found to have provisions excluding coverage for loss or damage caused by an employee who has been convicted of a criminal offense, where the employer knew about the conviction prior to the loss or damage, according to the regulation. This puts employers in the untenable position of either not being able to obtain insurance or violating the Correction Law by not hiring the individual, even though a review of the Correction Law factors would weigh in favor of employment, the regulation states. Because of this, New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo determined that it would be an unfair method of competition or an unfair or deceptive practice in the insurance industry in New York for an insurer that writes commercial crime insurance policies to exclude coverage where the employer has weighed the factors set out in New York law and decided to hire the employee, according to the regulation. It is simply inexcusable for an insurer in New York to exclude a potentially valuable employee from insurance coverage just because he or she has a criminal conviction, Superintendent Vullo said in the release. So long as every business owner follows the letter of the law, we should encourage more companies to hire prospective employees rather than punish someone for a mistake in the past. How Crime Insurance Works Crime insurance is often written as part of a package policy that includes liability and property coverages, but it is seldom written by itself, Dodge said. Probably the single biggest factor underwriters consider is the controls the employer has in place to prevent or detect crime losses, Dodge said. For example, they want to see multiple people involved with bookkeeping, so the person reconciling the books is not the same person who writes the checks. Theyre interested in supervision of employees who may have the opportunity to steal money or property. If an employer has a history of past employee dishonesty losses, the underwriter will want to know what the employer is doing differently now to prevent future losses, and a higher deductible than the one the employer requested may be a condition of offering coverage. There is typically a standard crime insurance application process that asks questions about background check practices, any known losses caused by employees at current or previous places of employment, what control procedures are in place to ensure dual controls and checks/balances around money. A history of frequent losses and/or inadequate controls in place to prevent losses would most likely cause an underwriter to decline to offer coverage. It is not arduous, but it is a standardized process that either results in a quote or request for additional or supplemental information, King said. What Happens Next? Going forward, insurance application forms will need to be changed to address this new regulation, most likely via endorsement for New York insureds until the carveback becomes standardized, King said. For forms that do not exclude insureds who hire employees with past convictions, the changes should be minimal, he added, stating that most crime policies have a prior dishonesty clause stating crime coverage terminates for any employee as soon as the employer becomes aware of any prior dishonest or fraudulent act. Because the New York State DFS adopted this regulation due to obligations employers have under New York States Correction Law, if other states have similar requirements in their laws, they could be seen adopting this regulation as well, Dodge said. New York, like California, Illinois, Delaware and a few other states often sets the tone for development of regulation and law, said King. There is no reason other states wont follow suit, especially in light of New Yorks decision and the ability of the plaintiffs bar to point to that development, specifically in bringing actions against employers in other states. The new regulation is the latest recommendation offered by Governor Cuomos Council on Community Reentry and Reintegration in support of criminal justice reform. Beginning last spring, the Governors Council engaged in a series of conversations with employers across the state about the challenges and rewards they experienced in hiring people with criminal convictions. The Council heard from business owners repeatedly about not having access to loss or damage insurance coverage for this group of employees. Topics Carriers Legislation Profit Loss Commercial Lines Fraud New York Underwriting The Andrew Agency, a Richmond, Va., headquartered insurance broker, has acquired Wallace & Wallace, a Cabin John, Md., based provider of commercial and personal lines property and casualty insurance for high net worth clients. The acquisition is effective January 1, 2017. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. With this acquisition, The Andrew Agency plans to expand its footprint into Maryland and Washington D.C. Employees of Wallace & Wallace will join The Andrew Agency team, which will continue to operate under its existing name. Going forward, The Andrew Agency is pursuing continued growth through targeted acquisitions of specialized property and casualty agencies throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, according to a company press release. As we continue to grow, we are seeking specialized agencies throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, said Ryan Andrew, president of The Andrew Agency, in the release. Wallace & Wallace will further strengthen our high net worth division and increase our commercial client base. Source: The Andrew Agency Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Maryland Marsh, the wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Cos., said it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Bluefin Insurance Group Ltd., a subsidiary of AXA UK plc, from AXA Group. Founded in 2008, Bluefin has approximately 1,500 colleagues based in 45 locations around the UK, providing guidance on creating insurance solutions to over 150,000 businesses and individuals. It also operates an extensive broker network and growing managing general agent business. Marsh will combine Bluefin and Jelf into a single business, led by Phil Barton, CEO of Jelf, and a management team drawn from both firms. The combined unit brings together two leading community brokers with complementary regional offices across the UK, now serving over 250,000 clients in 80 locations. It also includes around 400 network broker members as well as a strong affinity and digital offering. In todays increasingly uncertain environment, businesses want the very best advice that enables them to manage the risks they face, said Mark Weil, Marshs CEO for UK & Ireland. By bringing Jelf and Bluefin together, we will be creating one of the UKs leading insurance brokers for mid-size and SME companies, offering them market-leading services and solutions, delivered locally. We are delighted to welcome the Bluefin team to the firm. AXA said the sale of Bluefin resulted in an exceptional negative impact of 82 million ($86.2 million), which will be accounted for in its 2016 net income. Source: Marsh and AXA Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Agencies AXA XL A federal jury has awarded $250,000 in compensatory damages to a former employee of Costco Wholesale Inc. who was harassed and stalked by a Costco customer, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced. The federal agency alleged that Costco, the Washington-based international warehouse club, failed to prevent a male customer from harassing and stalking a Costco female employee, in Costcos Glenview, Ill., warehouse for more than a year. The alleged harassment included unwelcome touching, unwelcome advances, and stalking. Although the employee reported the customers conduct to Costco management, and the customer himself repeatedly reported his ongoing contact with the employee to Costco, the store took no effective action to prevent the harassment. As a result, the employee was forced to obtain a restraining order against the customer. At trial, EEOC Trial Attorneys Richard Mrizek and Laura Feldman argued that Costco knew about the customers conduct, but failed to take appropriate steps to correct the harassment and prevent it from recurring. According to EEOC, this conduct created a hostile working environment for the employee, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which requires an employer to take reasonable steps necessary to maintain a workplace free from harassment based on ones sex. The eight-person Chicago jury unanimously found for EEOC and rejected Costcos arguments that the employee was unreasonably sensitive to harassment and that the harassment was not sufficiently sexual. Judge Ruben Castillo presided over the seven-day trial, concluding litigation that lasted more than two years. EEOC filed its lawsuit, Civil Action No. 14-CV-6553, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, after first attempting to settle the matter through its conciliation process. Source: EEOC Topics Illinois The Louisiana Department of Insurance announced a rate filing from the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) for a statewide decrease of 9.8 percent in workers compensation rates has been approved. Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said rates for workers comp policies are falling for the fourth year in a row. Louisiana businesses are again reaping the benefits of lower workers compensation rates. Rates have had a cumulative drop of 34 percent over the last ten years and 50 percent over the last 20 years, Donelon said in the departmental announcement. Robust competition and a lower frequency of claims are resulting in workers compensation insurance being more affordable for business owners and thats good news for Louisiana. Lower claims are the result of fewer incidences of nonfatal injuries and illnesses on the job in Louisiana. The state participates in a yearly, ongoing survey by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics in which Louisiana improved from approximately 40,000 incidents in 2005 to approximately 26,000 incidents in 2015 for workers in private industry. Incidents include any non-fatal, workplace related injuries and illnesses. The Louisiana Department of Insurances actuaries reviewed the NCCI filing and Commissioner Donelon approved the decrease to take effect May 1, 2017. The previous NCCI filing that was approved was a 2.7 percent decrease which took effect May 1, 2016. The Louisiana workers compensation market is estimated to be more than $950 million in total premium. NCCI is an organization that analyzes workers compensation data and files loss costs or rates in 35 states. Source: Louisiana Department of Insurance Topics Trends Workers' Compensation Louisiana Pricing Trends A Gainesville, Texas, clinic owner has pleaded guilty to insurance fraud and was ordered to repay $1 million after an investigation by the Texas Department of Insurance found that he billed for chiropractic services without having a licensed chiropractor on staff. In a case like this, were able to reduce fraudulent claims and improve the quality of care people get, TDI Fraud Director Chris Davis said in the departments announcement. Insurance fraud is never a victimless crime, but the problem is magnified when someone puts patients at risk. Mark A. Cox entered a guilty plea to first degree felony insurance fraud in December and was sentenced to 10 years deferred probation and ordered to pay $1 million in restitution. The TDI investigation found that Cox had submitted billings for chiropractic services from 2010 through 2015 but wasnt a licensed chiropractor. The restitution is equal to the amount he received in insurance payments for the services. The Cooke County District Attorneys Office was a great partner in this case, said TDI investigator Donald McWhorter. John Warren helped us get a search warrant and a resolution thats good for insurance consumers across the state. TDI investigators are certified peace officers and work closely with law enforcement authorities around the state when investigating fraud cases. Source: TDI Topics Texas Fraud North Carolinas new insurance commissioner was sworn in just as soon as 2017 began. Repub lican Mike Causey of Guilford County held his swear-in ceremony just after midnight at a fire station at the Guil-Rand Fire Depnoartment in Archdale. The insurance commissioner also serves as the state fire marshal. Causey defeated Democratic incumbent Wayne Goodwin in November. My message of More Choices, Better Service and Lower Rates resonated with the voters. A special thanks to Commissioner Goodwin for his years of service in state government, Causey said at the time in a statement to Insurance Journal. Causey and Goodwin battled it out for the post once before in 2012, with Goodwin winning then by 4 percentage points, according to Ballotpedia. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics North Carolina Authorities say about 30 homes show impacts from a storm with strong winds that swept through Pensacola, Fla., early Sunday. Escambia County Public Information Officer Joy Tsubooka told the Pensacola News-Journal that no injuries were reported. The county said Lipscomb Elementary School had been damaged. A park had to be closed because officials said debris across several of its fields made the area unsafe. Some roads were closed because of debris or standing water. Gulf Power reported over 1,000 customers were affected by power outages. Emerald Coast Utilities Authority issued a notice of a sanitary sewer overflow caused by a 15-minute loss of power from a lightning strike. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Florida Windstorm Property Even six years after the Panama Papers leaked a confidential list of offshore accounts held by the global elite, tax morality is still very much on the table. 404 File Not Found We're sorry the file that you are trying to access cannot be found. If you think that you have reached this page in error please refresh your web browser. If problems continue you can contact webmaster@iowacentral.edu. If you are seeing this message as a result of clicking on a search result, the search engine may be re-indexing the site. Please try your search again later. 2387 job opportunities waiting for you to apply! Select Categories Select City Find jobs Police in Istanbul are understood to have launched an operation in the city in connection with the new year nightclub attack that killed 39 people. Haber Turk news channel reports that police, acting on a tip-off, are carrying out an operation at a home in Istanbul's Zeytinburnu neighbourhood. Pope Francis has exhorted Catholic bishops worldwide to do what is needed to ensure children are protected from sexual abuse by clergy. The Vatican on Monday released the text of a letter Francis sent to bishops on December 28 about injustices to children, focusing on slave labour, malnutrition, lack of education and sexual exploitation - including abuse by priests. In the letter, Francis decried "the sufferings, the experiences and pain of minors who were abused sexually by priests". He wrote: "It is a sin that shames us. Persons responsible for the protection of those children destroyed their dignity." The church's reputation has been stained in several countries during the last few decades as people have come forward to report that parish priests or other Catholic clergy raped or molested them as minors. The allegations showed that local bishops sometimes knew about and covered up child sex abuse involving problem priests and triggered multimillion-pound legal actions, as well as several criminal prosecutions. Expressing the church's regret, and begging forgiveness, the Pope denounced the "sin of what happened, the sin of failing to help, the sin of covering up and denial, the sin of the abuse of power". Francis also asked bishops for "complete commitment to ensuring that these atrocities will no longer take place in our midst". He added: "Let us find the courage needed to take all necessary measures and to protect in every way the lives of our children, so that such crimes may never be repeated. "In this area, let us adhere, clearly and faithfully, to 'zero tolerance'." The pontiff himself has received mixed reviews on how the Vatican handles sex abuse. Francis has laid out procedures to oust bishops for negligence, if they mishandle investigations into alleged abuse. But he dismayed advocates for abuse survivors by appointing a Chilean bishop accused of covering up for a notorious paedophile. The Vatican also took no immediate action after deaf students from Italy, in a 2014 letter to the Pope, said a priest sexually abused them for years in Italy and now works at a school in Francis's native Argentina. The priest was arrested last year and charged with raping deaf students at a school in Argentina. AP The two ministers had what Mr Creed described as a very positive pre-Christmas exchange of views in London as the situation relating to Brexit developed. Meanwhile, the first in a series of All-Island civic dialogues to discuss the implications for the agri-food and fisheries sectors was hosted by Mr Creed in Gormans-town, Co Meath. A great deal of uncertainty remains as to the likely direction of events in relation to Brexit, but it is already clear that the challenge will be an enormous one, he said. Mr Creed announced that since the UK referendum on EU membership, cumulative additional resources of over 1.6m have been made available for Bord Bia programmes to support the Irish food and drink industry. In particular, this was to assist companies to ease market volatility impacts, provide consumer and market insight, deepen customer engagement, extend market reach, and address marketing challenges. As the Brexit debate intensifies, it is clear a lot is at stake for both countries with CSO figures here showing that in 2015 the Republic exported almost 5.1bn worth of agricultural products to Britain while imports from the UK were worth 3.8bn. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) had previously estimated that the potential reduction in bilateral trade flows could be as high as 20%, with an even higher impact on agriculture, food, and beverages. And an analysis by Teagasc found that, depending on the assumptions made, the minimum impact could be a reduction of 1.4%, or 150m, per annum in the value of Irish agri-food exports, with a possible worst-case scenario involving a reduction of over 7%, or 800m, per annum. Brexit also poses a serious situation for the fisheries sector. The UK is our second largest market for seafood after France but the most complex fisheries issues are those related to the possibility of restricted access to fishing grounds and resources. Meanwhile, a report by the British House of Lords European Union committee recently called on the British government to pursue a special Brexit deal with Ireland. The 80-page document, Brexit: UK-Irish relations, suggested that a special quota-based trade agreement might enable continued cross-border trade in agricultural produce between Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Britain. Irish Farmers Association (IFA) president Joe Healy said it is important that access to the British market remains as free as possible, with the minimisation of any barriers to trade. The potential economic damage for the agri-food sector that would arise from a hard Brexit is too serious to ignore. Our first position is that the UK would remain a full member of the EUs single market, including free trade on agricultural products, he said. Mr Healy said this is also the position represented by the National Farmers Union in the UK, with whom the IFA remains in regular contact and works closely in Brussels through the European farmers umbrella body, COPA. Brexit is likely to be the dominant issue during 2017 as British Prime Minister Theresa May finally triggers the mechanism that will lead to her government negotiating Britains exit from the EU. Mr Creed said he believes that, given the high levels of agri-food trade between Ireland and the UK and the highly integrated nature of that trade, it is in the interests of both to maintain the existing relationship to the maximum extent possible. He said his meeting with Ms Leadsom provided a useful opportunity for him to emphasise the importance to Ireland of the potentially significant impacts for the agri-food and fisheries sectors arising from Brexit, and to assess UK thinking in this regard. It also allowed us to identify Brexit-related issues in respect of which we have a common interest. As such, I think it built very positively on the bilateral contacts that have already taken place at official level, and which we have agreed should continue over the coming months, he said. In the course of their discussions both ministers acknowledged the long tradition of trade in agri-food between the two countries, and agreed that they want this to continue. Further afield, the value of Irish food and drink exports to France will need to increase by some 40%, to 1bn, if the industry targets in FoodWise 2025 are to be met. That is the view of Bord Bia chief executive Aidan Cotter, who is due to retire. He will be succeeded by Tara McCarthy, currently the chief executive of Bord Iascaigh Mhara. Mr Creed said Ms McCarthy will bring a wealth of domestic and international experience to the role at an important juncture in the agri-food industry during this period of challenge and transition. The minister paid tribute to Mr Cotters leadership skills combined with his qualities of strength and leadership. These, Mr Creed said, have delivered excellence in Bord Bia market insight, quality and promotion services, and a close partnership with the agri-food sector in driving sustainable growth. With uncertainty over the potential impact on Irish food and drink exports to Britain likely to continue for some time, other markets have taken on an added importance. CSO trade data for the first nine months of 2016 have indicated renewed growth in Irish food and drink exports to France Irelands third largest market in these sectors, behind Britain and the US. These were up 4% in value and 6% in volume on the same period in 2015, respectively, driven by growth in the seafood, lamb, and beverages categories. France continued to be Irelands largest eurozone export market for food and beverages in 2015, accounting for 6.6%, or 703m, of export revenue. France is Irelands most important customer for lamb and seafood, second largest customer for beef behind Britain, and the third largest export market for Irish whiskey globally. Irish foods visibility in the French foodservice sector was also enhanced recently by Bord Bias partnering with one of the leading restaurant guide books in France, Gault et Millau, to promote Irish meat to over 900 high-end French chefs in six different regions in 2017. Noting that exports to France were valued at some 700m in 2015, Mr Cotter said it is vital that Bord Bia and exporters make the most of every opportunity to deliver growth. Meanwhile, the European Commission has announced a roadmap to begin designing the Common Agricultural Policy of the future. President Jean-Claude Juncker and commissioner Phil Hogan disclosed the move at a conference in Brussels. A wide-ranging public consultation will begin shortly with a view to publishing a document by the end of 2017. It follows a commission commitment to modernise and simplify the CAP so that it makes a stronger contribution to job creation targets and sustainable development goals in the EU. The CAP, which has an annual budget of roughly 59bn, allows the EU to protect 22m farmers and m jobs which depend on agriculture twice the number of employees in the European auto and aviation sectors combined. However, Mr Juncker said the CAP must be simplified to reduce the administrative burden on farmers. It must be modernised to meet the challenges of the 21st century and must meet the objectives in sustainable development, he said. Mr Hogan said Mr Junckers announcement reflects a commitment to take forward work and consult widely. Without prejudicing the outcome, I believe that there are a small number of key principles that should inform this important work, which will affect the life of every European citizen, said Mr Hogan. I am convinced, based on our market experiences as well as our international commitments, that the CAP has to ensure greater market resilience, more sustainable agricultural production; and progress on generational renewal. Mr Hogan said he had stressed at last years conference that the CAP needs to be fit for purpose to meet the challenges ahead. Mr Hogan said while the last couple of years have been challenging, they have also shown that there are opportunities for European farmers and agri-businesses. Yes, the CAP makes great demands of our farmers when it comes to maintaining food safety and quality standards. We have the most stringent requirements of any agri-food system on the planet, he said. And that will not change. If anything, the expectations will only become greater. Put simply, the new CAP will have to have a higher level of environmental ambition. And that is because it is the right thing to do. Our farmers and related actors will have to focus on the challenge and innovate as never before. But this challenge also provides huge and unquestionable opportunities for our producers. Mr Hogan said the EU stands for high quality and high standards and this is a principle on which we should never waver. There can be no question of joining any race to the bottom. Our standards are our reputation, he said. COPA and Cogeca, the umbrella bodies for European farmers and their co-ops, said a simpler, common, stable, and stronger CAP is needed to ensure a competitive, market-oriented EU agriculture sector. Secretary general Pekka Pesonen said the EU agriculture and forest sector is vital to ensure quality food supplies as well as to maintain attractive and viable rural areas, growth, and jobs and to combat climate change. You may, perhaps, be wondering how you are still here after that election result, last February, but there we are. It is time to jot a few ideas on the pad. The voters certainly have added to your headache and were not just talking about Irish voters. You preside over one of the worlds most open, trade- dependent economies yet a global trade war now seems a real possibility. America has just elected a blustering new President who is tweeting tough policy declarations. Donald Trump is not yet in the White House and already the Chinese and his incoming team are leaping at each others throats. His newly-appointed Trade Representative, Peter Navarro, has signalled it is time to take on the Chinese before they amass so much economic power through trade they start to really threaten the US militarily. Will Mr. Trumps nominee for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, the Texan oilman, assuming he is confirmed, be able and willing to restrain Mr. Navarro and the other hawks? Slapping large tariffs on China could stoke even further the fires of nationalism in a very proud country, the old Middle Kingdom which views us Westerners as rather barbarian. A trade war could lead to a disruption in supply chains that could spark price rises and even shortages of certain items in the shops. You are long enough in the tooth to remember those queues outside 1970s petrol stations. Peter Barry was hardly a wet week in the Department of Transport in his first Cabinet job when the country started running out of juice. Do we really want to go there again? Are the diplomats in Washington DC on the case? Most of the eggs will have been in the Clinton basket, but surely a few lines are out to the Trump team. Vice President designate, Mike Pence, says he is proud to be Irish. Time for a game of golf with Mike. Those matches sure helped to warm old Joe Biden. What about our nearest neighbour? We were getting on so well up until June 23. Nobody speaks well of Tony Blair these days, but you have to hand it to him. He did warm the pot when it came to Anglo-Irish relations and David Cameron kept the flame going. But could things be about to go pear-shaped? Theresa May do you have a handle on her? Very hard to get to know. Time to get onto Foreign Affairs. What the hell is happening in London? Is the British Government getting real over Brexit? They seem to think they have won the war - again. A bit smug, if you ask me. Well were not, what with the hordes driving up to Newry and the mushroom people shutting up shop. British Government members have been making soothing noises about trade across the border, but do they really know what is coming down the tracks once Article 50 is triggered. Do any of us? Youve been over in Brussels and you will know just how the mood has grown sour. It is election time in France, in Holland, in Germany and who knows, perhaps Italy too. Will they ever reach a final deal with the UK? At least people know you have been around the block a few times. Youve been at more summits than some have hot dinners. You will need to play the peacemaker. No doubt about it, the Brits are in the doghouse out there they wont even have Theresa to the dinners. And now some of the EU Commissioners, the Dane Margrethe Vestager, who fancies herself, and the Frenchman, Moscovici, are leaning on Ireland over Apple. Theyre pretending to offer us 13bn in back taxes if we play ball. Dont you touch that with a barge pole, but all the same, are we getting just a little too hugger-mugger with the Apple lads? We are a sovereign nation, after all. Ireland would want to be careful. Were making enemies in Europe just when we dont need them, but what we do need is the foreign investment. Time to tweak the strategy. It has hardly changed in years. You could call in Martin Shanahan from the IDA and Julie Sinnamon from Enterprise Ireland. Put together a deal on housing and childcare aimed at the young techies who are threatening like the Web Summit man, Paddy Cosgrave to up sticks and move elsewhere. Time to come up with a tax package for start-ups, a generous one that will coax people to get out there and take a punt. It could be like the artists tax exemption - something that puts Ireland on the map. Line up the venture capitalists, put a rocket under the banks. Theyre getting all that cheap money from Mario Draghi and what are they doing with it? Were always blathering on about culture, but what are the politicians and bureaucrats, who run the place, actually doing for the industries that help to put Ireland on the map. Officials need to acquaint themselves with the creative economy and think about what some of the people could do for job creation. You could give Simon Coveney a tinkle by the way, see how hes getting on with the housing strategy. If he doesnt get motoring, theyll have every empty Nama building under occupation around the capital. Mr. Coveney is a good man, but something a bit more radical may be in order. A tax on properties that are vacant for no good reason? Try to get Fianna Fail onside on this? Ease charges on housebuilders for a couple of years - the FFers will certainly go along with that! You will well know that the public servants are looking for their pound of flesh. Full pay restoration now - no more talk about waiting until 2018. Fine, but can it be afforded? Of course not. The good boys who stuck with Lansdowne Road will have to get a pay deal now that the Gardai have broken through, but it is time to deliver a few home truths. Danny McCoy is right - you have to throw the public pensions bill into the equation. Public servants are living longer and longer, on average, like the rest of us. The difference is their pensions will be costing more and more unless something is done. We have to think about real restructuring, reducing the ranks of managers across the system. And talking about the Gardai - is it not time to introduce proper professional development and a few more outsiders to shake up the organisation? You seem confident you will get to meet the Pope as Taoiseach in 2018, but why not stir things up before then, be a real reformer, with some help from Fianna Fail? Given what is coming down the tracks towards us all, you may have little choice in the matter for it looks like the old ways of doing things will not work anymore. While Rebel sauce may not have quite the same meaning in the Emirates as it does in Cork, company founder Paul Moore believes the brand name will work well for export precisely because it can have different meanings in different places. He chose it partly because his company is located in the Rebel county but mainly because chilli is a rebellious flavour for an Irish company. Two years after becoming one of only a tiny number of Irish companies dedicated to producing hot chilli sauce, he now has five sauces and is selling to 300 stores in Ireland, including 50 Dunnes Stores outlets. Named, at the end of 2016, as Best Start-Up by Cork City Local Enterprise Board, Rebel Chilli has just won 15,000 in prize money and secured a place in the national finals of the Best Young Entrepreneur Awards being held in February. Back in 2010, chilli sauce-making started out as a way for Mr Moore to make pocket money while studying for a Business Information Systems degree in UCC. My brother and I made a fresh natural chilli sauce with no additives or preservatives for marinating and dipping and sold it at festivals, farmers markets and some shops, he said. When he finished his degree in 2014 he decided to give chilli-making a try for a year. Chilli was becoming popular - we were doing well at festivals and I thought I could make it work. Making sweet hot red chilli sauce in his mothers (HSE-approved) kitchen in Bishopstown, he started selling to independent stores around Cork and also a few restaurants. A gold Blas na hEireann award for Best Sauce, at the end of the year, boosted sales and also brought an investor on board. In 2015, Mr Moore moved Rebel Chilli to a kitchen unit in Farranferris and also secured an employment grant from Cork City Local Enterprise Office. In February, Rebel Chilli got into its first SuperValu store in Clonakilty and by the end of the year I had moved outside Cork and was selling in Dublin, Waterford, Kilkenny and Galway. By the start of 2016, he had increased his range of products to five which, following requests from customers, included an extremely hot, five chilli-rated, sauce called Chillionare. In January, on the day I turned 24, I shipped out my first export order to Dubai containing 700 bottles . During the summer I attended a food and drink expo in Birmingham which resulted in orders from some independent stores. A few months later I got an order from a restaurant in Bradford for 700 litres of sauce. While attending the Bloom garden festival in Dublin during the summer Rebel Chilli secured an order from Dunnes which has now become the largest stockist of its sauces. Operating on a shoestring budget Mr Moore has used events such as Bloom as well as social media to publicise Rebel Chilli. We now have 4,000 followers on Facebook, 1,300 on Twitter and have recently launched on Instagram. Welcoming his win in the Cork City LEO Start-Up awards, he has immediate plans for the prize money which will enable him to take on a part-time employee to help with the workload. His goal is to maintain last years growth rate of 30% and his plan is to target the multiples here and in the UK. Hoping to enlist the aid of Bord Bia, he wants to do more marketing in the UK with a view to getting a listing from Waitrose. In Ireland, he wants to see Rebel Chilli selling in 100 Dunnes Stores outlets by the end of 2017 and also to get it into more than the 25 SuperValu stores it currently sells to. Top priorities for 2017 include the launch of a new chilli sauce which will be hot and different. Mr Donohoe, who is seen as a reluctant contender to be Mr Kennys successor, has said the Taoiseach has an important role as leader of the underdog minority Government. In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Mr Donohoe was pressed on the matter of the Fine Gael leadership and was asked did he think his party would see a new leader this year. No. Because while it is a matter for the Taoiseach as to when he stands down as leader, his personal agenda and the Governments agenda is very full for 2017, he said. He has already given an indication he is not going to lead the party into the next general election. Mr Donohoe said he is aware of the constant speculation linking him to the leadership role, despite his repeated insistence he is not interested. However, the Dublin Central TD says that, whenever Mr Kenny does decide to stand down, his name will not be in the ring. I dont pay any attention [to the speculation], he said. I am very privileged to be in this job. I went through a general election and got re-elected. Those things I am extremely proud of. I didnt think I would be sitting down with you in December 2016 in this position a year ago. I do hear my name and the speculation. But that speculation and chatter would quickly disappear if I couldnt get the next budget through. To borrow a phrase, this job to me is the only show in town. I want to leave this jersey in better condition than when it was given to me. He acknowledged his denials may be greeted with some cynicism but he insists in his case they are true. Why rule myself out? said Mr Donohoe. I think it is important that I do given the job I have to do. I have to deal with my colleagues all the time. No one else has the daily contact with all of my colleagues I do. And all my colleagues need to know that my only focus is trying to do the right thing for the Government and therefore the people of Ireland. I have no other agenda at play. When the leadership election happens and a winner emerges from that, my name will not be in the ring. I will make my own assessment as to whether to support someone I will decide then. Mr Donohoe is one of four contenders to be linked with the position of Fine Gael leader. The others include Housing Minister Simon Coveney, Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar, and to a lesser extent, Tanaiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald. In a series of pre-Christmas interviews, Mr Kenny refused to rule out the possibility of leading Fine Gael into a third general election. He also said he did not expect the next election to take place for three years. The research ranks Ireland as having a high rate of non-fatal shootings and a medium-high rate of both fatal shootings and seizures of firearms. The European Commission funded project gathered data from 28 EU member states over the period 2010 to March 2015. During that period there were: 194 shootings in Ireland; 76 deaths as a result of shootings; 267 seizures of firearms; 405 firearms seized. The FIRE Project, co-ordinated by the Transcrime research centre in Italy, said there was a total of 3,875 recorded firearms seizures across the 28 states in the period, totalling more than 18,700 weapons. It said 243 of these were large-scale seizures (of more than 10 firearms), comprising nearly 13,000 firearms. The interactive project provides details on each seizure for each country, including Ireland. The biggest seizure here was in June 2013, when 17 firearms were confiscated in Dublin. It comprised 10 revolvers, three pistols, three shotguns, and a submachine gun. Highlighting the international nature of firearms trafficking, two Polish men were among nine arrested in the seizure of six pistols in April 2014 in Dublin. And underscoring the type of firepower available, three submachine guns along with a pistol were seized in an operation in Clondalkin, west Dublin, in February 2015. The project also provides information on the gender of those arrested, where the firearms were stored and if ammunition was seized. Dublin accounts for the bulk of shootings 134 of the 194 recorded. Limerick had six shootings during that time period, Louth had six, and Cork recorded five. Breaking Ireland into two regions, it showed that the southern and eastern region recorded 232 seizures (358 firearms), while the Border, midland, and western region recorded 35 seizures (47 firearms). In relation to shootings, the southern and eastern region recorded 167 shootings (63 deaths), while the Border, midland, and western region recorded 27 shootings (13 deaths). Comparing Ireland to the other 27 EU states analysed, and based on population, the project ranked Irelands southern and eastern regions in the medium-high range for firearms seized and both regions as medium-high for deadly shootings. It ranked the southern and eastern region as high for non-deadly shootings, while the Border, midland, and western region was medium-high. The report said there was a high concentration of shootings in countries with traditional organised crime groups and gangs. However, it shows that, across the 28 countries, family disputes and interpersonal rows accounted for 66% of deadly shootings and 60% of non-deadly shootings. Organised criminal groups were behind 21% of fatal shootings and 16% of non-fatal shootings. Pistols were involved in almost half of shootings and rifles in nearly 30% The project said that their research was an under- estimation of the real market and only provided a partial picture of the illegal trade in firearms. fireproject.eu The group is inviting the public to gather at Ballybricken in the city at 2pm on January 14. The South East Patient Advocacy Group (SEPAG) said round-the-clock cardiac care is a life and death issue. We already sent a very strong message to this Government that we will not stand idly by and allow them to continue to strip away our vital services, SEPAG said. All we have heard since September is mere lip service and no delivery of the 24/7 cardiac services for the south-east region. Apart from Health Minister Simon Harris unannounced visit to University Hospital Waterford (UHW) last month, nothing has been said or done to implement the vital 24/7 cardiac services, the group claims. The minister probably thinks he can pull the wool over our eyes by putting the issue on the long finger in the hope that we will just go away. If so, Minister Harris and the Government will do do at their peril. Hilary ONeill of SEPAG said yesterday: We are urging everybody in the whole of the south-east region to unite again at Ballybricken. Our major concern is if they cut one more service at UHW our regional hospital could be downgraded to a general hospital. This would be an unmitigated disaster for every single person living in the whole of the south-east region. Every extra voice makes us stronger and every extra pair of feet on the street makes it harder for this Government to ignore us. Yvonne Cooney of SEPAG said: We should not be forced to again take to the streets to beg for a service that every other regional hospital has. Our pleas appear to be falling on deaf ears up in Leinster House, but they will ignore us at their peril. If the 24/7 service is not delivered soon this will become a major issue in the run-up to the next general election. Agriculture Minister Michael Creed made the call just 24 hours after Taoiseach Enda Kenny said Irish Water will not bring down the Government and has already proven its worth. Speaking to the Irish Examiner amid ongoing calls for people who have already paid the now suspended fees to be refunded, the Cork North West TD warned that despite a groundswell of support from both within and outside Government for a refund system to be introduced, debtors should still be forced to pay. Asked if he agrees with Housing Minister Simon Coveney, who has responsibility for water services, that non-payers must be pursued, Mr Creed said refunds are a non-starter and should not be allowed. I cant see grounds for refunds, he said. People got a service and they paid for it. I dont think those who paid should be disadvantaged. I think, where theres a debt, where people have a debt, it should be paid. Were moving to a system where theres a generous water allowance so if Ive paid my water bills, which I hasten to add I have, I think if I over-use in the future then I should be charged, and if I havent over-used, therell be an opportunity to pursue the debts owed. The comments are likely to infuriate a growing number of Fine Gael and Independent Alliance TDs who believe the committee should agree to allow water charges to be refunded when it makes its recommendations to the Dail in March. However, they will prove popular among some rural communities which have paid for water services for decades . Asked about the same issue by reporters, Mr Kenny said he will not reveal his personal views on whether water charge debtors should be pursued and if a refunds system should be introduced. The Oireachtas committee will return on January 12 for a public meeting on public ownership, before further public meetings on water service funding (January 18 and 25), metering (February 1), transparency (February 8), regulators including the EPA (February 15), conservation (February 22), and whether to provide refunds or to pursue non-payers (March 1). It is due to publish its recommendations, including whether to scrap charges or allow them to return and whether to allow refunds instead of pursuing debtors, on March 11. Describing himself as an outsider and a dissident minister, Mr Ross said Fine Gael hardliners, including Taoiseach Enda Kenny, have sought to bypass himself and minister of state for disabilities Finian McGrath at the Cabinet table. Yes. I think they regarded us as inconvenience, an add-on, and we didnt feel that was the case, and we needed to flex our muscles early on, Mr Ross told the Irish Examiner. This wasnt the role we were going to play... It is not a Fine Gael government. After months of ferocious rows, Mr Ross and his Alliance colleagues met with Mr Kenny and other Fine Gael ministers before Christmas to clear the air. Mr Ross said relations between the Alliance and Fine Gael were very stressed after Mick Wallaces abortion bill, which almost caused the collapse of the Government. We were very surprised when this blew up when it looked like Fine Gael were requiring us to vote on an issue of conscience, said Mr Ross. So we felt we had to take a stand. We werent in the business of bringing the Government down, but it was a defining moment and we had to put down a marker. There was a stand-off for a while and, of course, the result was we got the free vote. But relations were very stressed for a while. According to Mr Ross, the showdown meant an understanding was arrived at in the hope of saving the fragile minority Government. Mr Ross said: There is a better relationship now but, in the initial stages, they regarded us as a couple of guys at the Cabinet table to be bypassed, really. It has, however, emerged that the two sides are on a fresh collision course over promises to improve services at Waterford Hospital, which has been a major priority for Independent Alliance junior minister John Halligan. Mr Halligan has met strong resistance from Health Minister Simon Harris to develop a second cardiac laboratory at the hospital and has threatened to quit Government if promises made are not delivered. The stand-off has escalated in recent weeks after a Department of Health briefing note said the case for a second cardiac laboratory at University Hospital Waterford was not a top investment priority which has angered Mr Halligan. However, Mr Ross has said the Alliance is standing full square behind Mr Halligan. We made it absolutely clear that we were 100% behind John Halligan and we werent going to divert from that, Mr Ross said. I think John is so committed to this, it would be unreasonable for him to continue to behave in a compliant way if he doesnt get comfort on it. I know he has made some colourful interventions which have been regarded as very disloyal from time to time. But, in very difficult circumstances, he has voted with the Government. We are going to support John all the way. We dont want to get into a big confrontation but, you know, we will support him all the way. According to Mr Ross, one option may be a mobile cath lab: That was discussed at some length and it is agreed it is taken as one of the options, fairly urgently. On the day I meet Amy Huberman, she has 348,200 Twitter followers. She is a hugely successful actress, author, jewellery and shoe designer. Shes a happily-married mum of two, one half of Irelands favourite celebrity couple. With all this under her belt, youd think shed be happy to sit back and soak up the success. Instead, shes giving something back, encouraging new acting talent as a judge for the Bord Gais Energy Student Theatre Awards, which was created to recognise and reward participation in the dramatic arts in primary and secondary schools around Ireland. For everyone, and youngsters in particular, a willingness to participate fully in life serves to combat the miasma that is the soul-diminishing outcome of excessive spare time spent naval-gazing and contemplating ones lot. For that reason, its an excellent thing that BGE places its focus on participation rather than on talent alone. No surprise so that the awards have generated great interest. More than 1,000 schools have participated since 2013, with 2,888 entries received last year. Cork students have been holding their own. In 2015/2016, Oskar Smith and Orla Scally brought home top prizes for their performances while representing the Carrigaline Educate Together NS, and the Sacred Heart Secondary School Clonakilty respectively. 2017 will see the beautiful and gifted actress and writer, Amy Huberman, join the awards judging panel for the third time. Asked about the BGE focus on participation rather than talent she says: The awards are a great platform for talent, but participation is a really big part of it. In theatre, its all about teamwork. Nobody does it entirely alone. Every award, whether Best Female Performer or Best Male Lead, comes about as a result of the excellent collaboration that is the weaving together of a dedicated team. But its a competition, so surely talent must matter as well? It does, says Huberman. Amy Huberman is again judging the Bord Gais Energy Student Theatre Awards. Picture: Leon Farrell/Photocall We keep a look-out for stand-out talent. But throughout, theres a feelgood participation vibe that generates a positive buzz for all who take part. Huberman excels in all of the fields in which she participates and comedy is one of them. Shes a funny lady, but even so, comedy is not for the faint-hearted. So how does she approach it? Does she feel the fear and do it anyway or is she inherently fearless in matters comedic? Definitely I get afraid, she says. But my approach is to do it anyway. My approach is: do it, try it, and move on. When I try, it either works or it doesnt but I try anyway. I try because I love the buzz and challenge of it. Theres a subtlety about engaging in comedy. Its an inexact science. You nearly have to figure it out as you go along. Often, comedy is about going with the braver option but, in the process, its important that you dont gag others, that you know your place. Instinct is important. Of actors escaping into their roles, she says: It can be nice to simply get lost in another world the acting world and play. I sometimes do that. She says that in a dreamlike way. But is she highly driven, high energy? I am high energy but Im not competitive at all. For me, its about the feeling of love I have for the work I do. I love being creative. For me, a creative platform offers new challenges and new possibilities that bring new adventures my way. Along with all the talent and wit, and glitz and glam, Huberman is an inherently nice lady, one who is tremendously popular on social media. I mention her 348,200 Twitter followers; its a fact that neither fazes nor enthrals her: I enjoy social media but try not to take it or me too seriously. Instead, I try to have fun with it. I dont think about the number at all. With all things, if you overthink, you can become scared. As a schoolgirl she wanted to be a vet, an animator, an occupational therapist or a social worker. Who were her role models back then? I wouldnt describe her as having been a role model for me, but I liked Kylie Minogue when I was a kid. Scrap that. I adored her, she laughs. I was even a member of her fan club! These days Hubermans name is often linked with her Bourbon shoe and Newbridge jewellery collections. Does she enjoy being bejewelled? I am, she replies, deadpan. Does she, like Carrie Bradshaw, have a great fondness for fine footwear? I do. But Im trying to be quite good in that I try hard not to hoard them. Its her habit to give shoes away to her friends. But as she has Cinderella-esque sized feet, only her gal-pals who wear a size 3 can benefit from her laudable largesse. From couture to comedy, Amy Huberman (pictured with husband Brian ODriscoll) is a star, and is delighted to help with the Bord Gais Energy Student Theatre Awards. Being a mum sometimes stretches the feet. It doesnt seem to have done that to Huberman. But has motherhood changed her at all? Oh yes, definitely. It brought a whole new level of joy into my life. It changed my priorities. It changed the amount of time I have for other things. She says she has tried in recent times to stop pretending about the fact that sometimes having a family and kids means shes not available for other things: When I say pretending I mean pretending it isnt entirely normal and apologising for the fact that because I have a family, there are things that I will turn down, she explains. I have reached a point where I fully accept my priorities and know theyre entirely natural for a woman at my stage in life. Were all getting older, and getting older changes us and our priorities. I think there needs to be more honest and open discussion about this and more acceptance of it as well. Huberman is comfortable with who she is, and laughs easily at herself. Im not a great cook, she says. Id feel intimidated if I had to cook for a crowd. But therell be none of that on Christmas Day as first were going to my folks and then to Brians. Im so looking forward to that and thrilled that I wont be cooking at all. Brian, is of course her husband, the former rugby captain Brian ODriscoll. When they first met who knew first that the pair would be forever? Oh, Id get into so much trouble if I were to answer that She laughs then, thinks a bit then concedes: From the very beginning there were no games with us. It felt easy. It was easy. It just seemed to work from the get go. Bringing her back to the Bord Gais Energy Student Theatre Awards, I ask if acting stars are born or made. Some have innate talent, she says. But no matter how much of that anyone might have, theres always room to hone your craft. Whats vital is having the ballsyness to stick at it. The Bord Gais Energy Student Theatre Awards are open to primary school students from third to sixth class, and to all secondary school students. The deadline for production category entries is January 27, and for written category entries, February 10. To find out more and to enter, visit www.bgesta.ie. LISMORE FOOD COMPANY Biography: Formed in 2014, the Waterford-based company has found a niche in the market selling luxury biscuits, both sweet and savoury. When three biscuiteers Beth-Ann Smith and brothers Owen and Ken Madden came together to create a new product, they were determined to aim to be the top-end of the market. We thought there was a great opportunity for a premium Irish biscuit, made with great ingredients but driven by pure Irish butter, Ken says. We were interested in unique, interesting flavours that werent on the market already. When we launched Lismore Food Company we started with five sweet flavours. These included Golden Ginger and Cacao Nibs and Dark Chocolate and Cardamom, as well as the more traditional shortbread. When youre making biscuits, unless youre mass-producing, its very hard to compete at the lower or mid-level, says Ken. See, we thought: Lets go premium, lets package them beautifully and maybe people will be willing to pay a little more for that, which they were. They were slightly taken aback by their early success. When they first started making enquiries in autumn 2014, they had a wishlist of a dozen or so stores they hoped would take their product, but by Christmas that year, were in 50 outlets. After that initial success, they were led in their next direction by customer demand. We were doing tastings and met a lot of people who said sweet flavours werent their thing and looked for something savoury. The result was an Irish digestive with wild Atlantic sea salt and a caraway and seaweed Irish biscuit. And their next move? Our family has a great connection with Fred Astaire, who spent summers in Lismore Castle, where his sister lived, says Ken. He was a regular visitor to the Madden family pub and became close to Ken and Owens father so they have decided to pay tribute in their range. Were tipping our hat to him with a wonderful biscuit. AYLE FOODS Biography: Based in Oola, Co Tipperary, Ayle Foods is a farm run by Peter and Lorraine Randall, producing artisan chutneys, juices, relishes, cooking sauces, and preserves. Peter and Lorraines adventures in food brought them on a winding path before a enormous crop of tomatoes resulted in their current business making award-winning chutneys and sauces. First came a restaurant in Doon village on the Limerick-Tipperary border. It closed, but their next move evolved from it. I was making school lunches out of the restaurant, Peter explains. When we left and came to the farm we converted one of the outbuildings into a kitchen and proceeded to make school lunches there for several years. The recession put paid to that business but installing a polytunnel on the farm helped lay the groundwork for their current venture. I ended up with about 70 kilos of tomatoes and I thought, what on earth am I going to do with this lot? So I made a load of chutney, we did our first Christmas fair and there seemed to be an appetite. So I started experimenting. His expanding range won awards in Blas na hEireann in 2013 and 2014 and a place in the Supervalu/Enterprise Board venture food academy brought the business to the next level commercially. The range has now expanded to include jams, chutneys, juices, and cooking sauces. Peter focuses on quality ingredients; what he cant grow himself he buys locally wherever possible. The plans are to grow more ourselves next year, says Peter. I buy apples in Tipperary and juice my own veg which I then mix to make my own recipe; I want to grow more of my own produce for that. I noticed lots of people are doing fruit juices but very few vegetable-based juices. Their commitment to natural ingredients and no additives in Ayle Foods has attracted both the gluten intolerant and also those watching their weight. The people at Slimming World love them because theyre virtually fat-free. HODGINS SAUSAGES Biography: Hodgins Sausages is run by craft butcher Mervin and his wife, Monica, who produce their speciality ranges of sausages and puddings in Mitchelstown, Co Cork. Like all businesses, Hodgins Sausages saw sales affected by the economic downturn but have weathered the storm by maintaining quality and widening their market appeal.Owner Mervin worked as a butcher in Mitchelstown before making the move in 1996 to selling his own sausages. They initially worked from a traditional recipe, but in recent years have seen their product make the leap from the breakfast plate to the dinner table. We found that the market slipped in the food service end [during the recession] but the retail end increased, says Mervin. People have changed. With traditional sausages you just had them for breakfast, whereas now they can be a dinner option too. We do premium sausages with all different flavours and thats becoming very popular. Were trying to tap into the dinner market. Its a nice option and its quick for people coming home in the evenings sausage, mash, and beans, it couldnt be easier. The other area of growth for Hodgins Sausages has been the gluten-free market. They recognise that busy families would rather not have to cook separate meals and have worked to offer products that are not just edible to those with intolerance but appealing to the whole household. Over the years weve seen consistent growth in the gluten-free market. People are getting diagnosed much earlier, says Mervin. Were finding that if theres one coeliac in the house, everyone will eat those foods if they get the right quality product. Were finding more and more, thats where the sales are coming from. They supply gluten-free black and white puddings in addition to sausages and also catered to coeliacs over the festive period. What is very big for us around Christmas is sausage meat for stuffing the turkey and we do traditional sausage meat and a gluten-free option, Mervin adds. STONEWELL CIDER Biography: A family-run craft cidery, located in Nohoval, Co Cork. Daniel and Geraldine Emerson, owners of Stonewell Cider, found success in the market by being creative and applying the principles of wine-making to his craft cider. My wife comes from a family of wine-growers in France and my father-in-law bought me a press, Daniel explains. He and his family had moved back to his. family home, in Nohoval in Cork, although he travelled frequently for work. We had a few apple trees so I started making cider. My cider at the time wasnt particularly polished but it was around the time my son was born and I took some time off. With time away from his consultancy work he researched cider and found that Ireland was one of the highest per capita consumers of cider in the world. I thought, right, maybe I can turn this hobby into a viable business and spend more time with my young family, Daniel says. Daniel went to Gloucester, the heart of cider country in England for training in the craft. They started with a medium cider, then added a dry and have also developed a number of niche products, including a low-alcohol version and a cider port. Production started on their own property a few miles from Kinsale. But as the business grew, they moved production to a larger premises in nearby Carrigaline. The company will need all the space available to it in 2017, with a recent distribution deal keeping them busier than ever. We had been ticking away with small importers in a number of countries but we signed a deal with a subsidiary of Carlsberg France earlier this year and that is a real game-changer. We are the only cider in their portfolio. Were delighted with that and were really keen to see if we can grow the business and replicate our success overseas, Daniel says. TOONS BRIDGE DAIRY Biography: Based outside Macroom, Co Cork, Toons Bridge Dairy is bringing the art of Italian cheesemaking to west Cork. Jenny Rose Clarke and partner Toby Simmonds have made the leap from selling imported cheeses to making their own. As co-owners of The Real Olive Company, based in the the English Market in Cork for more than 20 years, they sold Italian cheese alongside other products. With cheesemakers in Ireland tending to produce very different types to those they were selling, they saw a gap in the market and Toons Bridge Dairy was born. Situated in a townland of the same name outside Macroom, the dairy now produces a range of cheeses, the majority Italian. Jenny explains: The way it came about was that we knew we had a market and we both also loved Italian cheese, plus, we knew it was a very different style to existing cheeses being made in Ireland. We use milk from local farmers, cows mostly, with some sheep milk, and we make seven different cheeses. They have maintained the Italian influence in their choice of workers in the business. The head cheesemaker is Italian and we have two other Italians working in the dairy, as well as an Irish guy, she says. Their range includes mozzarella, an award-winning smoked scamorza, and ricotta, as well as a non-Italian cheese, halloumi. The couple had already expanded their English Market stall to include a cafe and have now done the same at the dairy. We have a shop and a cafe open at Toons Bridge at weekends and we do wood-fired pizzas. Its about the ingredients: We only use cheeses made in the dairy and we have all the toppings from The Real Olive Company. Pizzas seem the best way to show off everything that we have. People from further afield also get the chance to try out their product range, as they have stalls at markets nationwide. MILSEAN Biography: Based in Bandon, Co Cork, Milsean has grown from humble beginnings during the recession to producing a range of award-winning chocolate sold throughout the country. Ian Graham made a career move from planning and design in the construction industry to confectionery, thanks to a combination of the economic downturn and a lifelong sweet tooth. Like so many others in the building industry, he saw his jobs and income fall away as the recession bit deep in 2007 and 2008. He had recently met a confectioner through his work, and Ian, who has always loved sweet treats, saw a mutual opportunity. Ian learned about the art of chocolate while developing the business at farmers markets, trade shows, and with independent shops. We got some bags and printed off some labels and tried to give it a go, he says. Looking back on it, we were so green. It wasnt a very successful beginning but it gave us an awful lot of learning experience. Eventually, his former client moved on to other opportunities and Ian was close to doing the same when fate intervened. A last-minute dropout led to him being offered a place at a showcase for Musgrave/SuperValu buyers. A confectionery buyer was so taken with Ians products and branding, he was offered a store listing within weeks. It happened so fast that initially Ian knew he would struggle to make enough product. Then I was able to make about 50 bars of chocolate at a time, says Ian. Three years later, thanks to a combination of help from the SuperValu Food Academy, investment and Local Enterprise assistance, were making about a 1,000 bars a day. The increased production has led to Milsean being stocked in about 60 SuperValu shops and 140 Centras, in addition to independent shops and spreading from a base in Cork to almost nationwide. The accolades have grown alongside production, with Ians chocolate products winning multiple Blas na hEireann and Great Taste awards in the intervening years. MOONRIVER CHOCOLATE Biography: Specialist chocolatiers, based in Limerick, which has built up a nationwide clientele since starting out in 2012. In 2012, Louise OBrien took a chance and decided to see if she could turn a lifelong passion for baking and sweet treats into a career. Four years later, her company, Moonriver Chocolate, is supplying high-end, custom-made treats to shops and hotels around the country. In the early days, Louise went to learn from the best. I always loved baking and cooking, especially sweet things, so I decided to get in the business of making chocolate, she says. I went to Belgium, to a chocolate academy, and learned to be a chocolatier. When she returned to Ireland, she dipped a toe into the waters in her native Limerick, to see if there was a market for her products. I developed my own recipes and initially started in the Milk Market in Limerick, to test the market and see how it went, she says. Louises enthusiasm for her craft is evident: Its all about taste. With fresh chocolate you get that burst of flavour. Every year I develop new products and I will always aim to win an award with the recipes. Its both a business and a hobby because I have great passion for the whole process. This hobby has helped drive Moonriver Chocolate to national and international attention, winning both Blas na hEireann and Great Taste Awards. A place in the SuperValu Food Academy helped her bring her products to market all around Munster and now Louise operates from a small factory outside Limerick. There she employs two workers and between them they make all their products by hand. As an artisan producer, you can only make so much, says Louise. Everything is hand done, its not a fast process so we concentrate on producing bespoke products for our customers. In addition to SuperValu, she sells to specialist shops around the country and also makes custom products for hotels. HORGAN FOODS Biography: A family-owned company based in Mitchelstown, Co Cork, supplying meats, cheeses, and deli products nationwide. From humble beginnings almost 100 years ago, Horgan Foods has grown into a thriving business, supplying nearly 900 products to shops nationwide. Michael Horgans grandfather started a butchers in 1921. Following the illness and death of his father, Michael found himself at the helm aged just 15. I was thrown in at the deep end early, says Michael. Then in 1977 we started a wholesale business, manufacturing some products and representing other companies by distributing their products. The business flourished and eventually outgrew the original premises. By 1986, we were bursting at the seams. They built a new premises on their own land on the outskirts of Mitchelstown, where Horgan Foods remains to this day. Its range has expanded to include not just meats but a wide range of cheeses, pate, dips, and antipasti. Back in the early days, a delicatessen had a block of cheese, one ham, and a corned beef, says Michael. Michael believes that the advent of travel is a big factor in the change, with many more Irish people going abroad and finding new foods that they then looked for back home. He also sees certain areas of the country as being particularly eager to have access to a wide range of foods, with West Cork a clear example. Many continental people have lived there over the years and with the artisan food industry in the area, it makes it a marvellous place to see speciality foods, he says. Despite growing to a business with 46 full-time employees and more at peak times, Horgans Foods is still very much a family concern. Michaels sister, two sons, and a daughter-in-law all work with him; the next generation, his grandchildren, are learning the ropes. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Polands de facto leader, has become, next to Donald Trump, an avatar of the populist threat to the Western democratic model. As we await Trumps inauguration as US president on January 20, it is worth pondering the first year of populist rule in Poland. The results have run contrary to expectations. The conventional view of what awaits the US (and possibly France and the Netherlands) in 2017 is an erratic ruler who enacts contradictory policies that primarily benefit the rich. The poor will lose, because populists have no hope of restoring manufacturing jobs, despite their promises. And massive inflows of migrants and refugees will continue, because populists have no plan to address the problems root causes. In the end, populist governments, incapable of effective rule, will crumble and their leaders will either face impeachment or fail to win re-election. Kaczynski faced similar expectations. Liberal Poles thought that he would work for the benefit of the rich, create chaos, and quickly trip himself up which is exactly what happened in 2005-2007, when Kaczynskis Law and Justice Party (PiS) last governed Poland. But the liberals were wrong. PiS has transformed itself from an ideological nullity into a party that has managed to introduce shocking changes with record speed and efficiency. Other countries currently anticipating populist rule should take note of its key hallmarks. No to neoliberalism In 2005-2007, PiS implemented neoliberal economic policies (for example, eliminating the highest income-tax bracket and the estate tax); this time, it has enacted the largest social transfers in Polands contemporary history. Parents receive a 500 zloty (113) monthly benefit for every child after their first, or for all children in poorer families (the average net monthly income is about 2,900 zloty, though more than two-thirds of Poles earn less). As a result, the poverty rate has declined by 20-40%, and by 70-90% among children. The list goes on: In 2016, the government introduced free medication for people over the age of 75. The minimum-wage now exceeds what trade unions had sought. The retirement age has been reduced from 67 for both men and women to 60 for women and 65 for men. The government also plans tax relief for low-income taxpayers. The restoration of order Independent institutions are the most important enemy of populism. Populist leaders are control freaks. For populists, it is liberal democracy that leads to chaos, which must be put in order by a responsible government. Media pluralism leads to informational chaos. An independent judiciary means legal chaos. Independent public administration creates institutional chaos. And a robust civil society is a recipe for chronic bickering and conflict. But populists believe that such chaos does not emerge by itself. It is the work of perfidious foreign powers and their domestic puppets. To make Poland great again, the nations heroes must defeat its traitors, who are not equal contenders for power. Populist leaders are thus obliged to limit their opponents rights. Indeed, their political ideal is not order, but rather the subordination of all independent bases of power that could challenge them: courts, media, business, cultural institutions, NGOs, and so forth. Electoral dictatorship Populists know how to win elections, but their conception of democracy extends no further. On the contrary, populists view minority rights, separation of government powers, and independent media all staples of liberalism as an attack on majority rule, and therefore on democracy itself. The political ideal that a populist government strives for is essentially an elected dictatorship. And recent US experience suggests that this can be a sustainable model. After all, everything depends on how those in power decide to organise elections, which can include redrawing voting districts or altering the rules governing campaign finance or political advertisements. Elections can be falsified imperceptibly. Might makes right Populists have benefited from disseminating fake news, slandering their opponents, and promising miracles that mainstream media treat as normal campaign claims. But it is a mistake to think that truth is an effective weapon against post-truth. In a post-truth world, it is power, not fact-checking, that is decisive. Whoever is most ruthless and has the fewest scruples wins. Populists are both unseemly and ascendant. Trumps supporters, for example, have come to view tawdriness as evidence of credibility, whereas comity, truth, and reason are evidence of elitism. If people are worse off under liberal democracy, so much the worse for liberal democracy. Those who would resist populism must come to terms with the fact that truth is not enough. They must also display determination and ruthlessness, though without becoming the mirror image of their opponents. The current situation in Poland can serve as a useful example. After a year of retreating, the two largest opposition parties have begun to occupy the Sejm (Polands parliament) to protest an illegal vote on the state budget. They are laying a trap for Kaczynskis government: back down or resort to violence. Either way, he loses. Nationalism is not dead Unfortunately, what wont lose, in Poland and elsewhere, is nationalism the only ideology that has survived in the post-ideological era. By appealing to nationalist sentiment, populists have gained support everywhere, regardless of the economic system or situation, because it is being fuelled externally, by the influx of migrants and refugees. Mainstream politicians, especially on the left, currently have no effective message on the issue. Opposing migration contradicts their ideals, while supporting it means electoral defeat. But the choice should be clear. Either populisms opponents drastically change their rhetoric regarding migrants and refugees, or the populists will continue to rule. Migrants and refugees lose in either scenario, but in the second, so does liberal democracy. Such calculations are ugly and, yes, corrosive of liberal values but the populists, as we have seen, are capable of far nastier tradeoffs. After a year of populism in Poland, Kaczynski has succeeded in establishing control over two issues near and dear to voters: Social transfers and immigration. As long as he controls these two bastions of voter sentiment, he is safe. Those who seek to oppose Trump or Frances Marine Le Pen in Aprils presidential election can draw their own conclusions from that fact. Slawomir Sierakowski, founder of the Krytyka Polityczna movement, is director of the Institute for Advanced Study, Warsaw. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2017. Ian Paisley seemed to lead the vocal campaign against the Anglo-Irish Agreement in Northern Ireland, but state papers just released hint strongly of a somewhat different attitude behind the scenes, although he could hardly have been more acerbic in his public pronouncements. During a sermon in his church, for instance, he denounced Margaret Thatcher in trenchant terms. O God, he said, we pray this night that Thou wouldst deal with the Prime Minister of our country. O God in wrath take vengeance upon this wicked, treacherous, lying woman. Behaving as an archetypal demagogue, he represented the visceral antagonism of Unionists outside City Hall in Belfast before a quarter-of-a-million people in November 1985. He denounced Thatcher for saying the Republic of Ireland must have a say in Northern Ireland. We say never, never, never, never, roared Paisley. Unionists were considering a general strike on the lines of the Workers Strike that brought down the Sunningdale Agreement of 1974. UUP leader James Molyneaux was in favour, but Paisley advised against it. Paisley and Molyneaux met with Thatcher in London on February 25, 1986. Though she refused to suspend the Anglo-Irish Agreement, she was clearly rattled by the intensity of the unionist opposition, so she offered new arrangements to allow the unionists to make their views known to her government, as well as consultations about the handling of Northern Ireland business at Westminster. Molyneaux and Paisley agreed to reflect on her suggestions, but Paisley was in for a stormy reception when he got home, according to information secretly supplied to David Donoghue of the Anglo-Irish Secretariat at Maryfield. Paisley was met at his home that evening by Peter Robinson, and representatives of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), Apprentice Boys, and the Orange Order. The meeting began in friendly terms but quickly turned acrimonious, according to Donoghues informant. Paisley felt that he and Molyneaux had brought back something from London which could be represented as a concession by Mrs Thatcher. What youve got is not enough, Robinson insisted. These boys want a strike, he said, alluding to the others present. A series of heated exchanges ensued, with Paisley opposing a strike, while Robinson was insisting on one. The others, apparently, agreed with Robinson, because they let him do most of the talking for them. There has been some speculation that he is pushing the strike idea in an effort to wrest the DUP leadership from Paisley, Donoghue added. Robinson was apparently planning to have East Belfast as the model area for the strike. It would easy to cut off the area because there was only a couple of main arteries, and the workforce in the three major plants Shorts, Harland & Wolff, and Sirocco had traditionally been sympathetic to such strike action. The strike on March 3, 1986, was deemed A Day of Action. About 90% of the civil servants reportedly turned up for work, but as the day went on there were complaints of intimidations and violence from various areas. The British Army remained out of sight, and there were numerous reports of the RUC refusing to intervene to stop intimidation. Downtown Radio reported rioting in Belfast in the mid-afternoon, following a rally at City Hall addressed by Peter Robinson. Up to 50 youths overturned a lorry and set it on fire. A car was also set on fire on a nearby street. Belfast airport was completely closed by road blocks. Saracens factory in Lurgan was attacked, and Radio Ulster reported a fire at the factory. The intimidation was highlighted in the British media, and this seriously diluted the effectiveness of the strike in the eyes of the British public. Loyalists lost media sympathy and also political support in sections of the Conservative Party. Peter Robinson downplayed the violence. The strike wasnt violent at all, he declared in an interview. Nobody was killed during that day, nobody was seriously injured, he added. There was some cars burnt, there were some lorries burnt, there were some premises damaged. By Northern Ireland standards, the violence was really minimal, he insisted. Michael Lillis reported to the Department of Foreign Affair from Belfast on April 30 that Northern Secretary Tom King believed that Molyneaux and Paisley were serious about their desire for peace and compromise. King thought they were alarmed at the extent to which they had initially sowed extreme opposition to the agreement. King believes that only the fragile survival of Molyneaux and Paisley stands between him and a chaotic summer. Paisley was in the forefront of the campaign against the agreement, Thatcher later wrote. But far more worrying was the fact that behind him stood harder and more sinister figures, who might all too easily cross the line from civil disobedience to violence. Burma DKBA Splinter Group Joins Northern Alliance Col. San Aung photographed while speaking at a remote base in Myaing Gyi Nyu Township, Karen State. / Supplied A Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) splinter group led by Col. San Aung joined forces with the Northern Alliance in northern Shan State while seven of its soldiers surrendered to the Burma Army, Col. San Aung told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. We got agreement to become a member of the Northern Alliance, he told The Irrawaddy on the phone from an MNDAA-controlled area on the Chinese border in northern Shan State, adding that he had moved his troops from Karen State to northern Shan State and that a formal statement would follow. Seven members of the DKBA splinter group surrendered to the Burma Army in Myawaddy Township, Karen State on Jan. 1 after disagreeing with Col. San Aungs actions, according to the Ministry of Defense. Moulmein-based Hinthar media reported that the surrendering soldiers had refused to go to northern Shan State and fight alongside the Northern Alliance. The Northern Alliance of four ethnic armed groupsthe Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and the Arakan Army (AA)launched an offensive on Burma Amy positions in several townships including Muse, Kutkai, and Namkham in Shan State on Nov. 20. A TNLA secretary Col. Tar Phone Kyaw confirmed that the Col. Aung Sans soldiers had joined the alliance and would be working together to fight the Burma Army. Col. San Aung stressed that his group will continue to have a presence in Karen State, where his splinter group lost ground in the Mae Tha Waw area of Hlaingbwe Township during clashes with the Burma Army in October. The Northern Alliance shared the Karen peoples view of autonomy and self-determination, according to the colonel. As we could not be active in our former area we have moved to a new area to continue our revolution, he said, adding that one day the Northern Alliance may come south to aid Karen ethnic armed groups. Col. San Aung said that ethnic armed group leaders were committed to peace, as shown by their attendance at the 21st Century Panglong Union Peace Conference, but that the Burma Army continued to attack ethnic armed groups. He accused the Burma Army of using artillery and air strikes against ethnic armed groups but said that this could not destroy his groups revolutionary spirit. Burmas civil war will not end if they keep acting like this. The war even could go on for another 60 years, he said. At the time of the Northern Alliances first offensive the TNLAs Col. Tar Bong Kyaw expressed a similar sentiment that the attack came because of persistent Burma Army action against the ethnic armed groups. The Burma Army has launched a lot of military offensives in ethnic areas. For the TNLA, it has become hard to be based in the jungle, he said. Col. San Aung, who is on the Burma Army watch list, has made long and arduous journeys across the country to join ethnic armed groups in the past. He was once based in Wang Hai with the Shan State Army-North and recently fought with the AA in Arakan State. He said that it was nothing special to travel to the corners of the country to fight for his alliance and that he was determined to fight to destroy the military regime. We will die for our people, but our time has not come yet, he said. I dare to die for our people. Burma Judiciary Grievances Top Publics Complaints Upper House Speaker Mahn Win Khing Than was photographed at a parliamentary session in Naypyidaw in March 2016. / Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy RANGOON The parliamentary Public Complaints Committee received some 4,000 complaints from the public last year with more than half relating to dissatisfaction with the judiciary, according to the committee chair. The Upper Houses Public Complaints Committee received a total of 4,071 letters of complaint with more than 2,000 letters expressing discontent with court decisions, alleged corruption of judicial servants, and the slow judicial process, the committee chair U Sann Myint told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. Our committee cannot interfere with the judiciary, he said. We forwarded the complaint letters to the Union Supreme Court with relevant suggestions and recommendations. Other complaints highlighted incidents related to government ministries and departmentsof which the military-controlled Ministry of Home Affairs received the most complaints, U Sann Myint added. Among the 4,000 complaints received during 2016, the committee assessed about 3,000 cases and cooperated with relevant authorities and ministries for further action, he said. In the first six months of 2016, government ministries were not able to reply to complaints efficiently due to the government transition [in April], he said. We have received feedback from about 1,500 cases so far. According to the committee, complaint letters came from across the country either via the postal service or respective lawmakers of the constituencies. Among 14 states and divisions, Rangoon Division ranked top in the origins of the complaints followed by Mandalay and Irrawaddy divisions. The Public Complaint Committee is a smaller version of Parliament which reflects the needs of the public, he said. We have to handle even the complaints addressed to the Speaker of the Upper House. In November, Burmas de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi also called for the public to submit complaints against corrupt government officials, addressed to the State Counselors Office. She ensured that all content in the submissions would be kept confidential and would not be disclosed. Burma Land Dispute Erupts Between Actor Lwin Moe and a KNLA Official Lwin Moe spoke to journalists at Orchid Hotel on Monday in Rangoon. / Chanson / The Irrawaddy A land dispute has risen between the well-known Burmese actor Lwin Moe and a major with the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), an armed ethnic Karen organization. Both parties claim they own more than 2 acres near the famed Golden Rock in Kyaikto Township, Mon State. The KNLA, the military wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), controls some area in Mon State. Speaking at a press conference in Rangoon on Monday, actor Lwin Moe told journalists that he purchased the land worth 400 million kyats (about US$300,000) in May 2016. However, KNU official Major Saw Nay Blut claimed he bought the land in 2001. Lwin Moe said, He [Maj Saw Nay Blut] said he bought the land on March 9, 2001. At that time, the KNU had not reached a peace agreement with the government. They were fighting. How did a KNU major buy land near Kyaikto [which is under the government control] while they were fighting? The KNU signed a bilateral ceasefire agreement with the government in 2012. It also signed the former governments nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) in 2015, becoming one of the eight NCA signatories. Lwin Moe questioned how the KNU major Saw Nay Blut could have 20 million kyats (about $15,000) at a time when many KNU leaders did not own businesses. Kyaw Thura Hlaing, the previous owner of the disputed land, spoke at the conference in support of Lwin Moe. I will take legal action against anything that will harm my dignity or my personal matters, said Lwin Moe. The KNU major plans to hold a press conference on Thursday and asks journalists to attend the event. In his invitation, Saw Nay Blut accused Lwin Moe and Karen States Border Guard Force (BGF) of unfairly occupying his land. Actor U Lwin Moe and armed BGF soldiers came in by force and built a fence on the land that I bought, read the notice, adding that the press conference would stand to clarify the injustice. Maj Saw Nay Blut who was also described in the letter as Aung Zabu Soe and managing director of a local company, Kaw KMu Khu Co., Ltd. Lwin Moe is believed to have a good relationship with Maj-Gen Saw Chit Thu, the influential leader of the BGF in Karen State and a powerful businessman. Sources close to the KNU headquarters, however, are unaware of the details of the dispute at this point. Major Saw Nay Blut is said to belong to the KNLAs Brigade 7. The Irrawaddy couldnt reach KNU leaders for comment on Tuesday. Burma Local Administrator Alleges Extortion on Kyunthaya Island A welcome sign at the entrance to Myebon Township. / Myebon Community / Facebook RANGOON Local administrators allege that the army has extorted fisherman on Kyunthaya Island for decades and have filed a complaint letter to concerned parties. Former village administrator U Saw Hla Thein of Kyunthaya Island, located 30 kilometers south of Myebon Township in Arakan State, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the army has extorted monthly fees from fishermen in the area for almost two decades. In early December, U Saw Hla Thein and current administrator U Maung Win Lwin signed and delivered a complaint letter to Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu, the Sittwe branch army commander, the home affairs ministry, Myebon Townships administrative body, and Union lawmaker U Pe Than. The statement said army privates and some officials had bullied and regularly collected protection money (6,000 kyats per month) from every fisherman since the battalion was established on the island in 1993. Many households on the island rely on fishing for their livelihood but operate without official fishing licenses from the governments fishery department. Over the years, officials have been transferred in and out but the extortion has not ended, said U Saw Hla Thein. Over the past two months, drunken soldiers physically abused villagers and opened fire in the middle of the village, according to the former village administrator. U Saw Hla Thein was included in those victims beaten by army soldiers. On Dec. 3, soldiers kicked and punched U Saw Hla Thein in his home. He sought medical treatment at Myebon Hospital and filed a case at the local police station. When speaking with The Irrawaddy, U Saw Hla Thein said his teeth and jaw still ache from the beating last month. On December 2, a group of soldiers allegedly lashed Kyunthaya villager U Maung Win Chay with a rattan rod and tortured him for days. An official from the Myebon Police Department confirmed reports of these attacks. He also stated that police could not solve the issue of extortion so the matter was referred elsewhere. U Saw Hla Thein said that after filing the complaint letter, army officials stopped asking the fisherman for money. Lower House Arakanese lawmaker U Pe Than confirmed that he received the letter in December and urged the army to take legal action against the soldiers who committed these violations. He has so far received no response from the army. U Pe Than said, That [physical abuse] has always happened on that island. U Saw Hla Thein said when he filed a case at the police station, authorities promised to take action against the offenders. But he does not know if his attackers were punished or not. The Irrawaddy could not reach the army for comment. Politics USDP to Field Most Candidates in Upcoming By-Elections A polling station officer holds a voting slip during the 2015 elections in Rangoon. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy RANGOON Burmas main opposition and former ruling party the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) will field 19 parliamentary candidates in the upcoming by-elections in April while the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) will put forward just 18. The Union Election Commission (UEC) approved 95 candidates88 candidates from 24 political parties and seven individualsaccording to the final candidate list released on Monday. Burmas two biggest political parties pledged to contest all vacant seats in the by-elections scheduled for April 1 in Rangoon, Sagaing and Pegu divisions, and Shan, Karenni, Mon, Chin and Arakan states. An NLD secretary U Nyan Win, however, told The Irrawaddy that the partys nominated candidate to contest the regional seat of Karenni states Hpruso Township failed to register his candidacy with the district election sub-commission between Nov. 28 and Dec. 7 last year. U Nyan Win described the NLD nominee as not diligent. The absence of an NLD candidate means Hpruso voters will choose between National Progressive Party, USDP and All Nationals Democracy Party (Kayah State) nominees. According to the UEC a total of 16 women will run in the by-elections among the 95 candidates. The NLD has nominated two women candidates for an Upper House seat in Pegu Division and regional seat in Shan State, while the USDP didnt nominate a female candidate. Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP) will field five female candidates, the most of any party. The 19 seats in the by-elections were left open due to ministerial appointments, which require selected lawmakers to vacate their seats, as well as three deaths. Elections for representatives in six constituencies in Kesi (Kyethi) and Mong Hsu townships of central Shan State were cancelled due to armed conflict during the 2015 election. In the 2015 election, the NLD won 886 out of 1,150 elected seats across the Union and regional parliaments. The USDP came second with 117 seats, followed by the Arakan National Party with 45 and the SNLD with 40. 5 Steps for Proactive Cyber Risk Management The holidays are often prime time for cyberattacks. Both companies and consumers have their guard down businesses are closed or fewer employees are on call or monitoring the networks and more people are accessing the internet away from their secure connections. However, this holiday season was surprisingly quiet, with no major attacks that have been reported (as of yet, anyway). That doesnt mean there wasnt any news in the cybersecurity space. Perhaps the biggest news story was about the laptop at a Burlington, Vermont utility that was hacked, with reports that the malware code found on the computer matched a Russian malware code. The electric grid itself wasnt in danger, as the laptop was not connected to that network. But it was enough to ring the alarm bells. As Tim Erlin, senior director of IT Security and Risk Strategy with Tripwire, told me in an email comment: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report included indicators of compromise specifically to allow other organizations to identify this malware and similar malicious activity. States and other organizations should use the indicators released by DHS to search their systems for evidence of the Grizzly Steppe malware. Malware is meant to be reused, so it shouldnt be surprising to find evidence of this particular tool in other organizations. Actual attribution of an incident to a particular attacker isnt as simple as finding a specific piece of malware. Attribution generally requires information about the tools, techniques and other behaviors of the attacker to be conclusive. Today, however, reports are walking back the hacking story somewhat, as The Hill reported: A list of internet addresses said to be tied to the attacks included some that were common to other uses, too, including those used by thousands of users from the Tor internet anonymity service. A list of pseudonyms for the attackers included Powershell backdoor, which is a type of attack, not a specific attacker group. . . . Upon further investigation, it appears to have been infected by a common hacker toolkit not connected to the Russian attacks. The initial news of the laptop hack came, ironically, on the same day that President Obama announced the consequences for the alleged Russian attacks on the U.S. electoral process. It may have been that the media reporting the story wanted to create the connection and did so before all of the facts came out (not to mention, the mainstream media have quite a learning curve in reporting cybersecurity). However, this incident shouldnt be focused on who did it, but rather that our critical infrastructure is at risk. A story that broke right before the holidays involved an alleged cyberattack on the power grid in Kiev, something that we should be paying attention to, Michael Patterson, CEO of Plixer, told me in an email: The attack on the Ukrainian power grid may have been just a test for a much larger planned attack on the USA. The air gaps on our military systems that were proposed by Donald Trump should be enforced on our nations utilities as well. Despite improvements in malware detection, defenses against computer viruses are falling short more than ever before. The holidays are behind us now. I am appreciative that there was no major attack that threatened networks, data or critical utilities. I dont expect this lull to last. Sue Marquette Poremba has been writing about network security since 2008. In addition to her coverage of security issues for IT Business Edge, her security articles have been published at various sites such as Forbes, Midsize Insider and Toms Guide. You can reach Sue via Twitter: @sueporemba A number of conspiracy theorists have recently claimed that ancient artwork could possibly hide various signs that aliens have visited the human race before. They revealed that several centuries-old paintings, possess certain drawings and tapestries that allegedly expose the symbols and shapes that resemble to that of UFOs and extraterrestrial life forms. Conspiracy Theorists Claim Signs Of UFO Can Be Seen In Ancient Paintings According to reports revealed by Daily Mail, art enthusiasts have already clarified that these claims are just mere examples of simple misreadings of religious symbols or figures. Such as the famous painting by Italian artist Carlo Crivelli in 1486, the 'Annuciation with Saint Emidius'. Conspiracy theorists suggest that the ring depicted in the top left, shining light onto Mary, is a UFO spacecraft. However, art experts say that it was just simply a small collection of angels that has been gathered around a circle of clouds. Experts have added that the ring and light allegedly is used to symbolize the holy spirit descending towards the Virgin Mary. Furthermore, as reported by The Ancient Aliens, the Baptism of Christ which depicts a particular scene from the Bible has allegedly been perceived as more than just that. Conspiracy theorists say that there is apparently the presence of a flying saucer hovering over the scene with beams of light shining down and illuminating the event. Consequently, as art experts describe it, it turns out that Aert de Gelder, the painter of the said ancient painting, who is known to be one of the elite artists during his time, is most likely to intend his work to be taken seriously and not meant to show that Jesus had ties to aliens and perhaps was of alien origins. It was found that other art masterpieces include the Japanese illustration from 'Ume No Chiri', in 1844. Conspiracy theorists say that the painting depicts the UFO-like object, which Hitachi sailors discovered floating in the ocean. As well as the renowned Madonna with Saint Giovannino, which has been painted on the 15th Century, as per various conspiracy theorists, an alien spacecraft is reportedly strangely flying in the right portion of Mary's background. The Huawei Mate 9 is one of the best Chinese smartphones of 2016 and it is out for free. But before you can get your hands on this awesome device, there are several steps you need to do before you can have a chance to win it. Don't worry, it is quite easy and simple. About The Contest Huawei has partnered with a YouTube channel named Android Authority for a free smartphone giveaway contest. The contest last for a week and the winner will be announced on Sunday. Here are the steps join the contest: Steps First, on the YouTube video, click the contest page link written in the video description. Once you ger there, you can either check out what's new or you can just directly scroll down to the contest widget. After that, you have to log-in to the widget and you're ready to get started. Options There are several options on how to win the contest. The first option that can really increase your chances of winning is by tweeting the "giveaway" tweet on Twitter which can earn you 3 contest entries. However, this has a minor setback, you can only tweet this post once a day. But if you are able to complete it, it will earn you up to 21 contest entries until Sunday (that is if you didn't miss a day and started right after the contest begun). The second option is to subscribe to Huawei Mobile's YouTube channel. Subscribing to the channel can give you 5 contest entries. And if you're thinking about subscribing and then unsubscribing back and forth to accumulate contest entries, I don't know think that will work. The third option is to follow Huawei Mobile on Twitter which will give you 4 contest entries. The fourth option is to visit Huawei's Facebook page that will earn you 3 contest entries. For this part according to the video source, you don't have to hit the like button or write a comment. You just have to visit the page. As for the fifth option, you can earn another 3 contest entries by leaving a comment on the contest page. You can write whatever you think about the Huawei Mate 9, negative or positive. Just be sure to pop your username into the contest widget so that you won't miss getting the 3 contest entries. And lastly for the final option, once you're done doing the other 5 options, just head to the refer-a-friend section widget where you will find your custom link. Share that link to other people and when each person enters or uses your link, it will earn you 2 contest entries. And just like the first option, this also has its setback, because the link can only earn up to a maximum of 20 contest entries. About The Device The Huawei Mate 9 Pro features 5.9-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen (16M colors) with a screen resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels (~373 ppi pixel density). It runs on Android 7.0 Nougat and is powered by a Hisilicon Kirin 960 chipset. It has an internal memory storage of 64 GB with 4 GB of RAM. It features a dual 20 MP +12 MP rear camera and a 8 MP front camera. The wildly popular peer-to-peer sharing site Kickass Torrents, also known as KAT, is back. A few months back in 2016, KickAss Torrents was shut down by the United States Justice Department. Artem Vaulin, the Ukrainian brains behind the sharing site, was detained in Poland on July 21, 2016. A motion was filed to have the charges dismissed, but the US court vehemently denied this, claiming that KAT was a flea market for infringing. KickAss Torrents is reportedly worth around $54 million while its annual advertising revenue is about $12.5 million to $22.3 million. It's no shocker since the site attracts a million of visitors per day. The founding staff of Kickass Torrents, called KATcr, have apparently set the site into motion once more, according to Torrent Freak. "The majority of our original Staff, Admins and Moderation team joined us after Kat.cr went down - which is something we're very proud of," says the KATcr staff to Torrent Freak. The staff claims that it shows the loyalty, dedication and real love for KAT that they share. KATcr is expecting to evade future shutdowns. While the look and feel of the new site are the same as the old one, it boasts a DMCA takedown procedure. The staff says this takedown procedure is the same as YouTube's, saying that they do not actually store any copyrighted material on their servers. The staff strongly states that KAT is a community-based forum and torrent search engine, adding that torrents are not illegal. Many of KickAss Torrents known uploaders are also back on the site to put up new content for users to get their hands on. Torrent users are sure to be delighted with this revival treat just right after the short time The Pirate Bay went down and other similar sites like ExtraTorrent were under several cyber attacks. Virtual reality is here, in the sense that all of the big names in VR have released or are very close to producing their VR platforms. VR is a fascinating way to put you somewhere else through the wonders of technology, using a headset and motion tracking allows you to look around a virtual space as if you are actually there. It's also been a promising technology for years. Here is the first wave of VR which we think are the best based on the rumors we've gathered. Oculus has unveiled the consumer-ready Rift, HTC and Valve have put out the Steam-friendly Vive. Google's getting ready to let its Daydream. While, Samsung continue to improve with The Samsung Gear. There are a lot of aspiring headsets across a lot of different prices and range. Let's check out what they cover. The HTC's Vive An all-inclusive package that includes a headset, two motion controllers, and also two base stations for defining a whole-room VR area. It's relatively impressive and is the only VR system that tracks your movements in a 10-foot cube rather of from your seat. Also, includes a set of motion controllers more enhanced than the PlayStation Move. With a price tag of $800 pretty hard to refuse and PC-tethered VR systems just like the Vive which need plenty of power, with HTC suggesting at least an Intel Core i5-4590 CPU and a GeForce GTX 970 GPU. The Oculus Rift The Oculus Rift has become convertible with VR, even if the brand has lost some of its brilliance against the HTC Vive. The retail version of Oculus Rift is already out, and while it's more pricey than the developer kits were, it's also much more upgraded. From a technical angle, the headset is nearly identical to the HTC Vive. Rift costs $200. The Samsung Gear VR The Gear VR presents quite a challenge in terms of resolution, as you can imagine, an Ultra HD image displayed from a 6-inch smartphone will likely pale in comparison, and graphics performance is limited by smartphone hardware. Gear VR features controls built into the headset with a pass-through connector to keep your phone charged and is kind of comfortable to wear. The Google Daydream View Daydream has new apps and games which include Netflix VR, HBO Now VR and Also the Lego BrickHeadz Builder VR. Google Daydream View is ready to revolutionize your next Android phone into an enchanting virtual reality headset for a convincing price of only $113.00 Huaweis sub-brand Honor will announce an incredible and "epic" new smartphone tomorrow at the CES 2017, which would compete against the most important mobile devices that will be released this year, as the iPhone 8, Galaxy S8, Galaxy Note 8 and Microsoft Surface Phone. Honor made the revelation in a tweet posted on December 30 in which it promised something spectacular, but it didn't divulge any details. The New Honor Smartphone Would Probably Sport A Dual-Camera Setup According to Android Authority, Honor made a series of tweets in which it showed a photo taken with the mobile device showing an incredible quality in the image, which clearly suggests that the handset would probably feature a dual-camera setup. In the tweets there were lines as "A phone has never been so scrumptious", "R U brave enough to expect more?" and "Fiercely unlocked." Although the tweets are not precisely explicit, is expected that Honor simple use the CES platform to unveil the US release of one of its current handsets, which could make Huawei compete in a market that is totally dominated by major brands as Samsung or Apple. In fact, the Chinese company has confessed that one of its main objectives in midterm is to beat Apple and become the second largest smartphone maker in the world. The New Honor Smartphone Would Come With The Android 7.0 Nougat As reported by Daily Tech, the Honors mobile device would probably come with the Android 7.0 Nougat as the operating system, which could turn this mobile into something unbelievable. Apparently, this update will also be available to other Honor smartphones as the series 8, in February. Although theres no more details about this new Honor mobile device, many analyst believes that along with the Huawei P10 and Mate 10, this new phone will be another important flagship from the Chinese company in order to increase its relevance in the smartphone business, since it has already conquered emerging markets as Latin America, several Asian nations, and many parts of Africa. The struggle with weight has been a long struggle, for Oprah Winfrey weight loss has been a goal and now she seems to have achieved it. The media tycoon appears on the cover of Weight Watchers magazine for the first time and shares her life lessons on dealing with obesity. Setting clear intentions has been the key to losing 42 pounds. Oprah Winfrey stated that the most powerful principle in her world is intentions. She said that she does nothing in her life without first thinking about why she is doing it. According to Oprah, her intention to live more fully is her intention. This is now the focus of Weight Watchers campaign, "Live Fully" and a new commercial where the media mogul is featured sharing an outdoor dinner with people in the program. Theresa DiMasi, the magazine's editor in chief, stated that when people struggle with weight or living healthier, having clear-cut intentions helps with achieving the goal of losing weight, DiMasi told ABC News. Oprah still eats tacos and pastas which she loves. Being on Weight Watchers does not make her feel deprived. Oprah stated that she is striving to take at least 10,000 steps a day as a form of exercise. According to Oprah, being on Weight Watchers is easier than any other weight loss program that she has been on. Before joining the program, Oprah Winfrey weight loss has somewhat been a difficult struggle. She further stated that it is a way of eating and a way of living that is so freeing. Weight Watchers' shares have seen a jump of up to 17 percent after Oprah Winfrey's announcement this week as reported by CNN. Weight Watchers have dominated for years in the field of weight loss, although recently it has faced competition in the forms of free apps and sites that offers calorie count point systems similar to that of the program. The Eloy Immigration Detention Center has a detainee that died of blood clots in her lungs. 36-year old woman, Raquel Calderon de Hildago, had difficulty walking. Dr. Gregory Hess said that blood clots travelled from her leg to her lungs. Her autopsy shows that there were blood clots all over the lobes of her right lung. The Guatemalan detainee had difficulty walking when she was placed under arrest by the Boarder Patrol. She was taken to a hospital for evaluation, the autopsy said. Following the protocol Calderon was transferred to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She was detained in the Eloy Immigration Detention Center awaiting for deportation to Guatemala. During her stay at the Eloy Immigration Detention Center, she experienced a series of seizures. She was taken to the Banner CASA Grande Hospital as her seizures continue on the way there. Subsequently, there she died November 27. According to The Washington Times, Calderon was being held at one of the largest immigrant lockups in the country awaiting deportation to Guatemala when she experienced a series of seizures at the detention center about 60 miles south of Phoenix. Grace Meng senior researcher for U.S. programs at Human Rights Watch said that it is not clear whether Calderon's death was preventable. However, it raises concerns on the number of deaths tied to the Eloy Immigration Detention Center. Meng called the attention of ICE to fully investigate Calderon's death. She added that the privately run Eloy Immigration Detention Center be held liable for every the agency finds. She also said that ICE had histories of being able to determine deficiencies but not resolve them. ICE contracts with the Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America to operate the 1,550-bed Eloy Detention Center. CCA is one of the largest private-prison operators in the country. It is located in Pinal County, 60 miles south of Phoenix. According to the Azcentral, a July report of the Human Rights Watch concluded that substandard medical care contributed to the deaths of the detainees. One of these is the suicide death of Jose de Jesus Deniz-Sahagun. He is a 31-year-old immigrant from Mexico found dead in his cell in Eloy Immigration Detention Center in May 2015. This was the fifth suicide committed inside the detention center. The 15 deaths tied to the Eloy Immigration Detention Center represent nine percent of 165 detainees who died om ICE custody since 2003. The Obamacare Law otherwise known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act also called the Affordable Care Act was designed to provide medical insurance to Americans but is widely unpopular. Republicans in Congress has vowed to roll back the law once they take the reign. However, taking swift actions to repeal the law will prove more difficult than previously thought. The core legal structure for an individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act will remain in place. President Donald Trump has also stated that he will preserve other key aspects of the law, such as requiring that children under 26 be covered under their parents' plan and a ban on insurers denying coverage for preexisting conditions. Most important of all, although Republicans will try to dismantle the law, they have not decided on a replacement plan or when the said plan will take effect. The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that the resultant effect of this law change will jeopardize the health coverage of around 20 million Americans who have gained coverage under the Obamacare Law as reported in an article by The Washington Post. Another 7.3 million people would stand to lose insurance coverage due to the ripple effect of market upheavals. Insurers might abandon the market as they lose confidence. A major concern for the insurers is that they will lose government subsidies, but still leave the insurers to cover for people's health problems. It is estimated that rhe number of people without insurance would rise to 59 million by the year 2019 and the nation will have a greater number of people who are uninsured than those of 2010 when the Affordable Care Act was passed according to a report by NBC News. Although the federal government may stand to save tens of billions of dollars, it will come with a hefty political price in the form of political backlash and social dislocation. Four minors succumbed to gas poisoning in Texas after resident used pesticide to fumigate a home. In Amarillo, Texas fire officials told media that a 17-year-old was found dead while three others was brought to a local hospital where they later died. According to authorities, a pesticide that contained aluminum phosphide, when mixed with water this chemical releases phosphine gas. Phosphine gas is odorless, colorless, flammable and toxic. Phosphine is an irritant to the respiratory tract. When inhaled, the chemical attacks the cardiovascular and respiratory system causing cardiac arrest and failure. The gas poisoning Texas Fire Department Captain Larry Davis in Amarillo has told the media that the family may have been exposed to the gas for several days according to a report by Reuters. Several other family members and rescuers exposed to the poisonous gas are now being treated at a local hospital. According to a journal published by Agency for Toxic Substance & Disease Registry, people can be exposed to phosphine through inhalation, ingestion and skin and eye contact. The symptoms of phosphine toxicity may include restlessness, irritability, abdominal pain, shortness of breath, tremors, drowsiness cough, and the loss of control of bodily movements. The poison during acute exposure damages the heart and lungs and most deaths occur during 12 to 24 hours of exposure and deaths are caused by heart failure. If the person survives the first 24 hours of exposure, ECG readings usually returns to normal which indicates that the heart damage is reversible. Other systems of the body are also affected by this toxic substance which includes the lungs, the stomach and the intestines, the liver and the kidneys. Exposure to very small amounts of phosphine over long periods of time may cause anemia, bronchitis, visual, speech and motor disturbances. Chronic exposure may be more significant to children because of their potential longer latency period. Researchers and alien enthusiasts try to explain the mystery of 'alien coffins' found in Egyptian Pyramid. The mysterious coffin-like boxes made of granite were discovered in 1850 in a serapeum northwest from the Pyramid of Djoser. The precision of the boxes, which was believed to be at least at 20th or 21st century standard leading to speculations about how these boxes were made. According to experts, the 100-ton black granite boxes with lids weighing at least 30 tons were made very skillfully. The stones were cut in precisely flat surfaces and right-angled corners. Although Egyptians were known to have advanced skills in Mathematics and Geometry which they applied in building perfect pyramids, experts can't explain how they were able to make the 'alien coffins' with extremely high precision. "The precision is very 21st century, or at least 20th century," alien and UFO theorist Brien Foerster said according to the Daily Star. He added that the construction of the surfaces and the angles are "within a few ten thousandths of an inch" UFO hunters suggest the granite boxes might be made by aliens with superior technology who visited ancient Egypt. They pointed out that the precision engineered boxes do not match the inscriptions found around its surface. The body of the boxes is inscribed with hieroglyphics which are of very low quality, which makes it hard to believe that they were made by the same skillful hands who made the boxes. Egyptologists admitted to the low quality of the inscriptions but added that it is not a surprise ancient Egyptian engineers were capable of such extraordinary engineering feat with their advanced mathematical skills. The researchers added that the alien boxes were made for the burial of Apis bulls, which Egyptians worshipped as incarnations of the god Ptah, cited the Daily Express, and were made to hold the mummified remains of the bulls. However, the boxes were found to be empty leading alien believers to theorize they were made for the burial of extraterrestrial aliens but they left earth soon after before they die. Forrester predicts that more than 500,000 internet of things (IoT) devices will suffer a compromise in 2017, dwarfing Heartbleed. Drop the mic enough said. With the sheer velocity of how the distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks spread through common household items such as DVR players, makes this sector scary from a security standpoint. Today, firms are developing IoT firmware with open source components in a rush to market. Unfortunately, many are delivering these IoT solutions without good plans for updates, leaving them open to not only vulnerabilities but vulnerabilities security teams cannot remediate quickly, write Forrester analysts. The analyst firm adds that when smart thermostats alone exceed over 1 million devices, its not hard to imagine a vulnerability that easily exceeds the scale of Heartbleed. Security as an afterthought for IoT devices is not an option, especially when you cant patch IoT firmware because the vendor didnt plan for over-the-air patching. Alex Vaystikh, co-founder/CTO of advanced threat detection software provider SecBI, says small-to-midsize businesses and enterprises alike will suffer breaches originating from an insecure IoT device connected to the network. The access point will be a security camera, climate control, an old network printer, or even a remote-controlled lightbulb. This was demonstrated in September in a major DDoS attack on the web site of security expert Brian Krebs. A hacker found a vulnerability in a brand of IoT camera and caused millions of them to simultaneously make HTTP requests from Krebs site. [ MORE PREDICTIONS: What 2017 has in store for cybersecurity ] It successfully crashed the site, but DDoS attacks are not a great way to make money. However, imagine an IoT camera within a corporate network being hacked. If that network also contains the companys database center, theres no way to stop the hacker from making a lateral move from the compromised camera to the database, Vaystikh said. This should scare organizations into questioning the popular BYOD mentality. We are already seeing a lot of CCTVs being hacked within organizations. Florin Lazurca, senior technical manager at Citrix, believes that consumers will be a target of opportunity in 2017. Innovative criminal enterprises will devise ways to monetize on potentially billions of internet-facing devices that many times do not meet stringent security controls. Want to browse the internet? Pay the ransom. Want to use your baby monitor? Pay the ransom. Want to watch your smart TV? Pay the ransom, Lazurca says. Want to browse the internet? Pay the ransom. Want to use your baby monitor? Pay the ransom. Want to watch your smart TV? Pay the ransom. Florin Lazurca, senior technical manager at Citrix Mike Kelly, CTO of Blue Medora, says, more connected devices will create more data, which has to be securely shared, stored, managed and analyzed. As a result, databases will become more complex and the management burden will increase. Those organizations that can most effectively monitor their database layer to optimize peak performance and resolve bottlenecks will be in a better position to exploit the opportunities the IoT will bring, he says. Lucas Moody, CISO at Palo Alto Networks, says security has to be baked into the IoT devices not be an afterthought. The bloom of IoT devices has security practitioners in the hot seat, with industry analysts suggesting a possible surge up to 20 billion devices by 2020. Given the recent upward trend in both frequency and intensity of DDoS attacks of late, 2017 will introduce an entirely new challenge that security teams will need to contend with; how do we secure devices, many of which are by design dumb and, for that matter, cheap?, he says. Large corporations are still challenged with finding security talent to manage security in the traditional sense, leaving IoT startups to fend for themselves in a digital economy. Moody asks, can they keep up? For the interconnected future of cars, televisions and refrigerators, maybe, but maintaining the security of smaller and seemingly less critical items such as toasters, thermostats, and pet feeders, it seems unlikely. Security has to be baked into these technologies from the conception and design stages all throughout development and roll-out. Security practitioners will need to do more than just scramble to develop strategies to address this pivotal trend, he says. Corey Nachreiner, CTO at WatchGuard Technologies, predicts that IoT devices will become the de facto target for botnet zombies. With the shear volume of internet-connected devices growing every year, IoT represents a huge attack surface for hackers. More disturbingly, many IoT manufacturers do not create devices with security in mind, and therefore release devices full of potential vulnerabilities. Many of their products have vulnerabilities that were common a decade ago, providing easy pickings for cyber criminals. Many IoT devices coming on the market have proprietary operating systems, and offer very little compute and storage resources. Hackers would have to learn new skills to reverse engineer these devices, and they dont provide much in terms of resources or data for the attacker to steal or monetize. On the other hand, another class of IoT products are devices running embedded Linux. These devices look very familiar to hackers. They already have tools and malware designed to target them, so pwning them is as familiar as hacking any Linux computer. On top of that, the manufacturers releasing these devices seem to follow circa 2000 software development and security practices. Many IoT devices expose network services with default passwords that are simple for attackers to abuse, Nachreiner says. He cited the leaking of the source code for the Mirai IoT botnet. This botnet included a scanner that automatically searched the internet to find unsecured, Linux-based IoT devices, and take them over using default credentials. With this leaked code, criminals were able to build huge botnets consisting of hundreds of thousands of IoT devices. They used these IoT botnets to launch gigantic DDoS attacks that generated up to 1Tbps of traffic; the largest ever recorded. In 2017, criminals will expand beyond DDoS attacks and leverage these botnets for click-jacking and spam campaigns to monetize IoT attacks in the same way they monetized traditional computer botnets. Expect to see IoT botnets explode next year, he says. Mike Davis, CTO at CounterTack, believes IoT will continue to be a part of the threat conversation in the coming year, but fundamentally there will be a massive change in the risks associated with the devices it wont be about security, it will be about patching. Hold your IoT security hypberbole Stan Black, CSO at Citrix, says we need to dispel security myths around emerging technology like IoT, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Many people are afraid to adopt these emerging technologies for fear that they may be their security downfall, but as with any technology, the same security 1-2-3s apply. Change the admin username and password, allow and enable devices on separate networks (separate from the networks used to pass sensitive data), create management and access policies, and above all, make sure that employees are educated about how, when and where to use these kinds of technologies, he says. Adoption of emerging tech like IoT can actually have more security benefits than challenges, if implemented correctly, Black says. The same goes for machine learning. The security wave of the future includes these technologies, so its best for businesses to learn about them early, learn about the benefits and reap the rewards of clouds, devices and networks that can learn from, and adapt to, changing behaviors to make for a stronger security posture. The wave of the future will be computers that can grant or deny access based on fingerprinted keyboards that can sense the normal amount of pressure your fingers normally apply. Taking advantages of benefits like these will help companies move to a new security infrastructure and mindset, he predicts. The mobile devices we depend on every day are loaded with sensors, heat, touch, water, impact, light, motion, location, acceleration, proximity, etc. These technologies have numerous applications including sensing motion and location to ensure people are safe when they travel, Black adds. These devices are rarely protected or maintained with the same vigor as corporate IT systems, making them generally more vulnerable to being compromised and drafted into a zombie army. This situation is nothing new, but in the next year we can expect to see personal networks of things reside in homes with gigabit internet connections like those offered by Google and AT&T and so make home networks far more interesting, especially if vulnerabilities in popular home devices can be exploited mechanically (e.g., how the Mirai botnet was built). Consumers will need to protect their personal networks from this new version of Mirai botnets, creating demand for services that safeguard them. More importantly, vendors will need to adopt better standards for protection of devices. If the Mirai botnet is any indication, the lack of security in device design is still quite profound, Black says. Speaking of standards Steven Sarnecki, vice president of federal and public sector at OSIsoft, pointed to the National Institutes of Standards and Technologys (NIST) National Cyber Center of Excellence for a glimpse of what is to come. NIST is currently piloting a project to assess how energy companies can better utilize connected devices to integrate and increase security with hopes of sharing those best practices and insights across the energy sector. As more companies wake up to the reality of IoT security threats, these solutions will become more commonplace, enabling enterprises to markedly increase their security footprint with only minimal incremental cost, he says. Sarnecki adds that in 2017 he would expect a large portion of IoT users, especially within the enterprise and industrial spaces, to begin to seriously consider the internet of threats aspect posed by IoT to their networks. Energy companies, water utilities, and many other critical infrastructure sectors rely on connected devices to support their missions. [ ALSO: Security and the Internet of Things are we repeating history? ] Jeannie Warner, security manager at WhiteHat Security, agrees that new guidelines will emerge from organizations such as NIST requiring that application security vendors partner with device manufacturers and testing labs to deliver secure IoT systems. The internet of things is growing daily, with smart devices and controlling applications at the core of every business from healthcare to smart cars and smart buildings. Its essential to protect smart anything from attackers attempting to exploit their vulnerabilities, she says. In the same way manufacturing safety testing via the American National Standards Institute controls new releases in devices, she believes NIST SP 800 or a similar body will form guidelines for a comprehensive security assurance through the integration of dynamic application scanning technology and rigorous device controls testing. Commonalities in all IoT systems include controls for tracking and sensing interfaces, combined with web- or mobile-enabled control applications that combine to expand the borders of the security ecosystem, she says. New guidelines will (ideally) force more application security vendors to partner with device control testing labs to support manufacturing earlier in the development process, helping the innovative organizations to manage risk by identifying vulnerabilities early in development, continue to monitor challenges during testing, and help release more secure products. Big data The enterprise has paid attention to IoT for some time, though 2017 will be the year we move past the wow phase and into the how do we do we securely and effectively bring IoT to the enterprise, how do we handle the high speed data ingest, and how do we optimize analytics and decisions based on IOT data, says Redis Labs Vice President of Product Marketing Leena Joshi. Mark Bregman, Chief Technology Officer at NetApp, believes 2017 will be about capitalizing on the value of data. The explosion of data in todays digital economy has introduced new data types, privacy and security concerns, the need for scale and a shift from using data to run the business to recognizing that data is the business. Off-line data analytics and threat hunting become endless money pits, says Gunter Ollmann of Vectra Networks. Were told, and we observe, that each year our corporate data doubles. That power-of-two exponential growth, after merely four years of storing, mining, and analyzing logs for threats, means a 16-fold increase in overall costs with an accompanying scaled delay in uncovering past threats. th the launch of a stalone app last fall, Android Auto removed the need to purchase a new car to take advantage of its hs-free navigational tools. Soon, you might not even need a phone. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is showing off a new collaboration with at CES that will use Android to power the in-car infotainment system. The technology merges FCAs Uconnect system with Nougat to create an integrated system that bakes Androids best features Assistant Maps, along with popular apps like ra Spotifyright into the dash. The system is still in the concept stage, but Fiat Chrysler will be demoing the tech inside a Chrysler 300 sedan at the s Vegas expo this week. The company is working closely with on the system, which exps beyond the capabilities of Android Auto to include things like radio tuning climate controls. had previously shown off in-car Android Auto integration at its I/O conference last year in a Maserati Quattroporte that used Nougat to power the entire console, including the speedometer other gauges. However, Fiat-Chrysler looks to be the first automaker to bring the technology to market. The two companies also announced a partnership last May to turn 100 cifica minivans into autonomous vehicles. The results of that collaboration were spotted late last year as continues to hone its self-driving system. y this matters: ile the press release doesnt divulge how much of the system will rely on a smartphone, its clear that s vision for Android Auto is one where turning on your car is an extension of your smartphone. ile the technology is still in development, the day isnt far off when youll be able to make calls, send texts, get the best route to work even if youve forgotten your phone in the house. Get unlimited access to all content and features at ivpressonline.com with our Full Online Access Subscription. Read our E-Edition, the digital replica of the print newspaper online, access content in exclusive sections including Family, Teen, Business, Databases, Farm and more. This option does not include daily home delivery of the Imperial Valley Press newspaper. For home delivery service, please select Premium or Premium Plus. Email Links to our top local news stories of the day, Monday through Saturday. A man was being held in the Forsyth County jail after he was charged with two counts of statutory rape and one count of statutory sex offense, State lawmakers are expressing dismay that the state is contesting a court order that was intended to compensate landowners who have lived under development restrictions in the path of the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway. N.C. Sen. Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth, said shes already heard from some of the property owners, and said she will keep lobbying the N.C. Department of Transportation officials to move forward on the land cases so that the owners can get what they deserve for their property and move on. It is the biggest injustice I have ever seen in government, Krawiec said, referring to the long wait that hundreds of landowners have endured in the path of the beltway. Some 200 property owners in the beltways path are suing the N.C. Department of Transportation in an effort to get the department to buy their lands, which have been under Map Act development restrictions for some 20 years in many cases. The restrictions limit the ability of a landowner to develop a property and, according to the lawsuits, have actually destroyed the market for the affected properties. The landowners and their supporters scored a win at the N.C. Supreme Court last June, when the states highest court said that the Map Act restrictions brought about a taking of fundamental property rights. The court sent the cases back to Forsyth Superior Court to determine how much of a loss each property owner suffered. Forsyth County Superior Court Judge John Craig issued an order on Oct. 3 calling on the state to begin making appraisals and to deposit money with the court in the amount of the estimated loss to each property owner. Thats when the state started its latest round of appeals. State attorneys are appealing Craigs order to the N.C. Court of Appeals, expressing objection to the financial payments and claiming other legal objections to carrying out Craigs order. In their motion asking for an appeal, state attorneys argued that Craigs order improperly shifted the burden of proof to the state and that it imposed a blanket liability on the department without engaging in a property by property analysis as required by (law). The state strongly objected to the part of Craigs order calling on the state to deposit payments that the landowners could withdraw before the state had a chance to contest the amount of loss. No timetable for hearing the appeal has been set. Krawiec thinks it looks like the state is still continuing to find excuses to keep from paying these people. The Supreme Court has already ruled, and it looks like the state is trying to relitigate it, she said. Ive known a lot of these folks for many, many years. It is a travesty what has been done to these folks. It never should have happened. It was wrong from the beginning and it is wrong now. The state Attorney Generals office has declined to comment on the appeal. That office has handled all the litigation for the state. The Attorney General, Roy Cooper, is governor-elect and will be replaced by Josh Stein, who won election in November. The potential effect on the beltway litigation, if any, is unknown. Sen. Paul Lowe, D-Forsyth, said that while he has not had a chance to become acquainted with the latest legal twist, the state has put property owners in a precarious position. I cant fully speak on it at this point, but I think that is an awful position for the folks to be in, Lowe said. We need to take a look at it and see what we can do at the state level. We want all our citizens treated fairly. N.C. Rep. Evelyn Terry, D-Forsyth, was reluctant to speak without more details about the appeal, but said the issue of landowner payment has been going on too long, and we should honor the highest courts decision. N.C. Rep. Debra Conrad, R-Forsyth, said she plans to bring the states appeal to the attention of the transportation committee chairman when the N.C. House goes into session. I thought the Supreme Court settled the issue and that the landowners were going to get paid very quickly, she said. Im not too happy that the DOT is continuing to cause trouble for these individuals. In 2016, the General Assembly revoked existing road corridors set up under the Map Act, and put in place a yearlong moratorium on creating new ones. Conrad said that was done to come up with a better road-planning method: We have to come up with a more equitable plan that balances the need for roads and corridors with property rights, Conrad said. WASHINGTON The opportunity for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may already have expired. The question going forward, then, is what kind of democracy Israel intends to be. The Obama administrations frustration with the situation is understandable. The continued building of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is indeed unhelpful, and the decision to abstain on a U.N. Security Council resolution declaring the settlements illegal brought renewed focus and urgency to the problem. To what end, however, is unclear. When everyone stops shouting, Israel will remain one of the United States closest allies and, courtesy of President Obama, the recipient of a $38 billion aid package that will ensure the Jewish states military dominance over its neighbors. Palestinian leaders in the West Bank will remain wary of negotiating any sort of two-state deal from a position of weakness. And the passage of time will make facts on the ground expanding settlements and the ongoing security threat ever more stubbornly entrenched. Secretary of State John Kerrys speech last week on the conflict reflected his and Obamas annoyance with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has stayed in power by indulging the Israeli far right and the settler movement. But why would Netanyahu listen to Kerrys advice when Donald Trump is about to be inaugurated as president? Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching! Trump tweeted last week. Kerry argued that Israel would never be able to improve relations with Arab states until it made peace with the Palestinians. But Israel and key nations such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt now have a common enemy in Iran, which is growing in power and confidence. The proverb about the enemy of my enemy being my friend is always relevant in the Middle East. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he would restart peace negotiations if Netanyahu, in the wake of the Security Council vote, declared a freeze on further settlements. I see no reason to expect Netanyahu to comply, especially since doing so would cost him vital political support and since the next American president is already encouraging him to stay strong. So the bitter stalemate continues. What vexes Obama and increasingly angers leaders in Europe is that the map of a two-state solution was drawn years ago and is gathering dust on disappointed diplomats shelves. It involves swaps in which Israel annexes parts of the West Bank that are heavily populated by settlers and the Palestinians receive slices of Israeli land in return. Israel insists that a Palestinian state be essentially demilitarized, which would make it less than fully sovereign. Netanyahu also demands that the Palestinians recognize Israel not just as a state, but as a Jewish state. Which raises the question of what Israel becomes in the absence of a two-state deal. Today, there are ... a similar number of Jews and Palestinians living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, Kerry said. They have a choice. They can choose to live together in one state, or they can separate into two states. But here is a fundamental reality: If the choice is one state, Israel can either be Jewish or democratic it cannot be both and it wont ever really be at peace. In several interviews with me over the years, Netanyahu has essentially countered that it is easy to make such observations from the comforts of Foggy Bottom, Whitehall or the Elysee Palace, far beyond the range of the deadly rockets that too often fall on Israeli towns and cities. He is right in this. But Kerry was also right when he said that the status quo is leading towards one state and perpetual occupation. And Netanyahu is dreaming if he does not think this has profound long-term implications for Israel. How long will it take for the world to conclude that a de facto one-state solution exists? Another year? Five? Ten? The moment will eventually come, and focus will shift to the political rights of the 2.8 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. With Arabs constituting about 35 percent of the population living under Israeli government control (including 1.7 million who already live in Israel proper), how can such a huge minority be permanently denied full participation in the nations civic life? Israel is a vibrant democracy that takes seriously the moral and ethical requirements of Judaism. These are incompatible with perpetual occupation of the West Bank and the denial of basic rights to those who live there. There is no way around this contradiction. Something has to give. Secretary of State John F. Kerrys dreadfully long and condescending speech rationalizing the U.S. decision to abstain from a one-sided vote casting Israel as an international law breaker will convince no one not already in agreement with the Obama administrations Israel-bashing posture. It will fortify the new Congress, the president-elect (who tweeted before the speech: We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect. They used to have a great friend in the U.S., but ... not anymore. The beginning of the end was the horrible Iran deal, and now this (U.N.)! Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching) and pro-Israel groups to make a definitive break with this administrations rhetoric and policy. How bad was it? Here are 10 reasons it was among the very worst foreign-policy addresses in U.S. history (the others being some of President Obamas and Kerrys previous harangues): 1. Kerry continued to insist the explosion of settlement activity necessitated the action. Administration officials cite a 100,000 person increase in population beyond the 1949 armistice lines. Rick Richman ably responds: The figure of 100,000 sounds significant until you realize that 80 percent of it has been in the settlement blocs everyone knows Israel will retain in any conceivable peace agreement. The 20,000 person increase east of the separation barrier, established to stop the wave of Palestinian mass murders against Israelis, translates into less than one percent of the population in the disputed territories, over a period of eight years. It is ludicrous to argue that the settlements are an obstacle to peace, because they were not an obstacle to offering the Palestinians a state on three separate occasions: (a) in July 2000 at Camp David; (b) in the Clinton Parameters six months later; and (c) in the Olmert offer at the end of the one-year Annapolis Process in 2008. Each time, the Palestinians rejected a state on substantially all of the West Bank and Gaza with a capital in Jerusalem. Since then as Rhodes numbers show the vast majority of Israeli settlement activity has been within settlement blocs that no one can realistically expect Israel to dismantle. Israel already committed to a 10-month settlement freeze with no reciprocal move by the Palestinians. Moreover, the vast number of additional units are within the confines of existing blocs pursuant to an agreement memorialized in an exchange of letters between President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2004. 2. There is genocide occurring in Syria. Russia has invaded multiple countries. Iran is chiseling away on the JCPOA and seeking to destabilize multiple countries. Egypt and Turkey are engaged is an unprecedented crackdown on civil liberties. But in the final days of the administration, Kerry chose to single out our ally Israel. No wonder our friends do not trust us. 3. He revealed that the United States didnt have the courage to vote for the resolution although it had a hand in it. He acknowledged telling other countries the United States would not block it if it was balanced and fair. The resolution, incidentally, never required the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. 4. Kerry never addressed the role of Iran, Syria and others who fund Hamas and its attacks on civilians. 5. He blatantly cast Hamas (terrorism) as equivalent to home building for Jews, much of it in Israel and in Jewish blocs elsewhere The truth is that trends on the ground violence, terrorism, incitement, settlement expansion and the seemingly endless occupation are combining to destroy hopes for peace on both sides, and increasingly cementing an irreversible one-state reality that most people do not actually want. This is moral idiocy. 6. He asserted that the Palestinian state must be contiguous. This raises the question whether he is demanding some connective corridor between Gaza and the West Bank. This would be a new demand. 7. He hypocritically acknowledged only direct negotiations can solve the crisis. He and the resolution, however, do not demand, for example, Palestinians give up the right of return. He is either intentionally obtuse or lying about the resolutions predetermination of key issues between the parties. 8. Kerry neglects to mention that Palestinians are not supportive according to recent polling of the steps needed to achieve peace: A deal that would mark a final end to the conflict and an end to claims was supported by 64 percent of Israeli Jews, but only 40 percent of Palestinians. Making the new Palestinian state entirely demilitarized gets the backing of 61 percent of Israeli Jews but only 20 percent of Palestinians. The speech was designed to hold one party, Israel, responsible for the conflict. 9. The speech was pointless, simply an empty rhetorical jab designed to respond to criticism of the administration. 10. Kerry is very concerned about Israels democracy. If only he would spend as much time criticizing the Palestinian Authority for lack of elections, massive corruption and failure to establish viable civil institutions. William Dudley Pelley was not a native North Carolinian, but he was for a time perhaps the best known North Carolinian in the world. A prolific published writer, he lived here during the time his politics got him into trouble and eventually prison. Born in Massachusetts in 1885, Pelley wrote for small newspapers around New England, turning around a few of the financially troubled ones and selling them for a profit. While on a writing project in the Far East for the Methodist Episcopal Church, he was hired by the YMCA to scout sites where Christian canteens could be established to serve the troops from many nations fighting in Siberia to turn back the Bolsheviks. From that experience, he concluded that international Jews were attempting to make Russia their homeland. He leaped further to concluding that Jews were Communists. With this truth in mind, Pelley returned to the U.S. but kept his politics in check for a time. He continued writing successful fiction and movie scripts, and was published prominently in numerous magazines. In May 1928, Pelleys life changed. He later wrote that he had an out-of-body experience and was imbued with prophetic powers and mystical insights. He said he was visited by Jesus Christ and thereafter was guided by clairaudient voices. Looking for a place to establish a college to teach his new beliefs and spiritual understanding, Pelley chose Asheville. In 1932, he chartered the Foundation for Christian Economics and founded Galahad College in the old Womens Club building. Rumors in Asheville soon abounded of some rather strange and bothersome teachings there about extra sensory perception and reincarnation. Pelleys spiritual writings and teaching soon turned political; and, when Adolf Hitler became German Chancellor on Jan. 30, 1933, Pelley accepted this as a sign to proceed with a plan he believed he was called to undertake. He founded the Silver (Shirts) Legion of America, a national, quasi-military vigilante organization, claiming their mission was to save America as Mussolinis Black Shirts and Hitlers Brown Shirts were doing for Italy and Germany. This was an American Aryan Militia, emphasizing patriotism and militant Christianity. Battle Hymn of the Republic was its official song. Their uniforms were blue corduroy trousers and leggings, service hat, tie and a silver shirt with a scarlet L for Liberation on the shoulder. In 1935, Pelley established the Christian Party. As its self-appointed candidate, Pelley ran for U.S. president. Calling it the Poor Mans Party, Pelley found some reception among those suffering economically during the Depression. He spoke boldly against Jews and Communists; he promised to uphold Christian principles. Pelley pledged to establish good relations with Germany. In the 1936 campaign, Pelley proposed to create a Christian Commonwealth, taking over the assets of the country with a giant corporation administering it all. Each newborn would receive one share in the corporation and could earn additional shares by merit, through exhibiting personal initiative and rugged individualism. Pelleys vision for a Christian America included establishing one community for Jews in each state, in which, and only there, could Jews own property and enjoy other rights of citizenship. This was for their protection, Pelley argued. It was more humane to gather them together for protection than to let them be subjected to the ire of maddened Americans, further maddened, one supposes, by Pelley. In the 1936 election, the Christian Party appeared on the ballot in only one state, Washington. Pelley claimed that a conspiracy had prevented his being on other state ballots. He received 1,598 votes compared to nearly a half-million in Washington for Franklin D. Roosevelt. Pelley claimed that the levers on the voting machines had been plugged thus preventing the massive number of votes for him from being recorded. Even though voters ignored him, authorities did not. Since 1934, Pelley had been investigated by Congress; and, North Carolina aggressively pursued charges against him for illegally selling stock. A predecessor of the House Committee on Un-American Activities under Congressman Martin Dies pursued charges of sedition against Pelley during World War II. Convicted, Pelley served several years in prison until 1952. Upon his release, he continued writing about spiritualism from Noblesville, Ind. Eighty years of subsequent history shows that Americans made a wise choice in 1936 in eschewing the appeals of a charismatic, self-adulating, xenophobic zealot and would-be authoritarian intending to collaborate with an enemy of freedom. It is good to know that North Carolina authorities of the day also participated in opposing such a threat to American democracy. Rarely-seen episodes of a classic variety series are among the TV-on-DVD releases due out for the first week of 2017. The Red Skelton Hour in Color, being released on DVD today from Time Life, is a three-disc set with 12 episodes of the show, including some footage that has not been seen since its original broadcast 50 years ago. Among the guest stars who get to interact with some of Skeltons trademark characters are Tim Conway as a hippie who meets Freddie the Freeloader; John Wayne, reprising his movie role as Rooster Cogburn to meet Sheriff Deadeye; and Boris Karloff and Vincent Price, in the role of mad scientists who take an interest in Clem Kadiddlehopper. Other guest stars in the episodes include Phyllis Diller, George Gobel and Mickey Rooney. A single-disc version will also be available with four episodes. Both releases include new interviews with Bobby Rydell and Vicki Lawrence. Other new and recent releases include: Girls: The Complete Fifth Season, with 10 episodes of HBOs acerbic comedy, created by and starring Lena Dunham, about a group of friends coming to terms with adulthood. Bonus features include more than 24 deleted and extended scenes. It is also available on Blu-ray or as a digital download. The show starts its final season on Feb. 12. Bones: The Complete 11th Season, with 22 episodes of the popular, quirky cime drama starring Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz. This series too is about to come to an end; the 12th and final season, which is scheduled to run 12 episodes, will begin at 9 p.m. today on Fox. Sleepy Hollow: The Complete Third Season, with 18 episodes of the series, which was originally filmed in North Carolina but moved production starting in season three after the end of the states incentives program. A fourth season will begin at 9 p.m. Friday on Fox. Hairspray Live!, a single-disc release with the recently broadcast NBC musical special, based on the popular movie by John Waters and subsequent Broadway production, with a cast including Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Kristin Chenoweth, Derek Hough and Martin Short. About 200 bags of diapers, hygiene essentials and other related products will be available free-of-charge to expecting moms, who register for the "Shower for Life" event being held on Nov. 5, from 1-3 p.m., at St. Paul's Anglican Church, located at 316 W. Carolina Ave in Summerville. Read more'Shower for Life' calls all expecting mothers Reddit Email 0 Shares By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | Irans pundits are confident that the country is sitting in the catbird seat. They are elated over the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad proving victorious, with Russian help in Aleppo. They are exulting in their newly strengthened ties with Moscow. They believe that the Obama administrations policy, of allying with the Sunni Arab gulf monarchs to back fundamentalist Sunni militias in Syria has been all but quashed. They even see signs that Turkey has made its peace with the survival of the al-Assad regime. Writing in the reformist Sharq daily, Sayed Sadegh Haghighat argues that Iran has substantial points of policy overlap with the incoming Trump administration. Both Tehran and Trump are determined to crush Daesh (ISIS, ISIL), the hyper-Sunni fundamentalist terrorist organization that fancies itself a new state in the region. Both Tehran and Trump have a friendship with Vladimir Putin of Russia. Both Tehran and Trump are happy to have Putin impose a solution on Syrias civil war. It is also true that Donald J. Trump has pledged to tear up the UN Security Council deal with Iran to limit its nuclear program solely to civilian purposes. But even there, Iranian analysts show a good deal of confidence. Behrouz Poursina writes in the reformist Mardom Salari that the nuclear deal in essence ended the Obama administrations tight alliance with the EU, Russia and even China in imposing severe sanctions on Iran. Now, that alliance has been scattered by the very success of the agreement. He says that if Iran had walked out on the talks, as the hard liners had wanted, it would have lost the opportunity for a substantial strategic breakthrough. Sanctions and hostility toward Iran would have continued unabated, and the great powers would have continued to be allied in this regard. Poursina says that it was the breakthrough of the nuclear deal that allowed Russia to buck the US and establish a robust alliance with Tehran. In turn, that alliance led to Russian intervention on the regime/Iran side in Syria. That is, without the JCPOA nuclear agreement, Iran would not have achieved the great victory of Aleppo. Interestingly, Poursina supports the reformist side with an argument that diplomacy laid the groundwork for military victory in Syria. According to BBC Monitoring, the hard line Khorsan delighted that the US is gradually being squeezed out of Syria as a player by the troika of the Damascus Regime, Russia and Iran. The US is not even represented at the Astana talks in Kazakhstan. (24 Dec. 2016) Iranians have been so badly used by the US that they for the most part are not expecting that situation to change merely with a change in administration. But after Aleppo, the Iranian press is clearly infused with a new sense of optimism about Syria, and a new sense of security from the bond with Putin. In short, Tehran doesnt seem all that worried about Trump, in large part because of the Russian connection. The commentaries dont mention Trumps choice for Department of Defense, Gen. James Mattis, who considers the Tehran regime Americas most deally strategic challenge, or the other Iranophobes Trump is bring in with him. - Related video: AP: Iran on Russia, Turkey brokered Syria ceasefire Reddit Email 0 Shares By Lauren McCauley, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) | Cost, impossible logistics, political opposition, and community resistance could spell the end of the president-elects anti-immigrant scheme. President-elect Donald Trump built his campaign on a pledge to build a wall and deport two to three million undocumented immigrants, but the likelihood that his promises will be kept are looking increasingly slim, as reality takes hold and lawmakers and community leaders begin to build their resistance. The failure to execute Trumps oft-repeated deportation plans could be one of the first reality checks on his administration, Politico reported Friday. Speaking with experts and former immigration officials, reporter Ted Hesson outlined what it would take to implement the plan: Trump would need tens of billions of dollars in new spending approved by Congress. Hed also need years to hire and train new legions of enforcement agents, and to deploy hundreds of judges to relieve the nations severely backlogged immigration courts. . . According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the average cost for each deportation is $12,213, excluding personnel salaries. So, to deport two million people, would add up to more than $24.4 billion over four years. On top of that, a study published earlier this month by the San Francisco-based Immigrant Legal Resource Center found that Trumps pledge to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program would cost businesses an estimated $3.4 billion and reduce Social Security and Medicare funds by $24.6 billion over 10 years. Cost aside, Hesson notes that there dont appear to be anywhere near three million immigrants, legal or undocumented, who are deportable based on past criminal convictions. This would mean that the administration would have to target many immigrants living in the U.S. legallywho can legally be deported in the case of felonies and certain misdemeanorsas well as undocumented immigrants who are low-level offenders, amounting to a policy that is aggressive and inhumane. In addition to the myriad logistical roadblocks, the Trumps deportation plans are facing political obstacles as well. Republican Senators Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) are banding together with their Democratic colleagues to resist Trumps plans to cancel DACA and will introduce a bipartisan measure to that effect after Congress convenes on Jan. 3. Further, Bloomberg reported Friday, the desire to build a wall along the entire 1,933-mile border with Mexico has evaporated among GOP members of both chambers, who instead support more fencing, border patrol agents, drones, and other resources to curb illegal entry. Outside the halls of the Capitol, resistance to Trumps anti-immigrant proposals has taken an even bolder form. A national coalition of progressive mayors, spearheaded by New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, has been reinvigorated since the election, the New York Times reported Thursday, as they have begun to rally their collective power to push local officials as well as outgoing President Barack Obama to pass measures in anticipation of the next administration. Any one city could say that were not going to turn our police forces into immigration enforcers, de Blasio told the Times. But wouldnt it be stronger if 200 cities said it and did it simultaneously? The newspaper reports: In a template for coordinated action, immigration officials from nine of the countrys largest cities, including Atlanta, Los Angeles and Chicago, and led by New York, held a conference call this month with the White House to press the Obama administration for swift changes on immigration before Inauguration Day . . . At the same time, the sanctuary city movement has also grown to a total of 47 cities, according to a recent tally, 37 of which reaffirmed their commitment after the election of Trump. We saw a presidential campaign based on fear and a desire to ostracize anyone who could be categorized as different, Joseph A. Curtatone, mayor of Somerville, Mass., a sanctuary city since 1987, wrote in an open letter last month. That may have swung an election, but it provides us with no roadmap forward. Tearing communities apart only serves to tear them down. But polling has shown that even Trumps ardent supporters dont necessarily support his deportation plans. In an October survey conducted by Pew, 80 percent of all voters and full 60 percent of Trump voters said undocumented immigrants should be able to stay in the U.S. if they meet certain requirements, compared with 37 percent who said they should not. Only 32 percent of Trump supporters said there should be a national law enforcement effort to deport all undocumented immigrants. Via Commondreams.org This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License - Related video added by Juan Cole: CNN: California Democrats ready to fight Trump Reddit Email 0 Shares London (Informed Comment) With the New Year terrorist attack in Istanbul now being claimed by the Islamic State (IS) movement, it is clear that Turkey has suffered yet more blowback from its earlier tolerance of the Middle Easts most vicious terrorist network. The rampage, suspected to have been carried out by a Central Asian extremist, happened at an upmarket nightclub and killed at least 39 people, including 16 foreign citizens. The Turkish news agency Anadolu has reported that Saudi Arabian, Moroccan, Lebanese and Libyan nationals were among the foreign victims, who were overwhelmingly from Muslim majority countries. The latest attack highlights a continuing trend towards political instability for Turkey, which saw an attempted military coup last summer and suffers from an ongoing civil war with its Kurdish minority top on of the spread of political violence from Syria and Iraq into its towns and cities.The strike also fits in with the typical pattern of IS attacks in Turkey, which have mostly struck at soft targets in crowded civilian areas. In retaliation the Turkish armed forces said that they had carried out a number of air raids and also shelled IS targets near al-Bab, a Sunni Arab settlement in Syria where the Turkish armed forces and rebel proxies are presently battling the jihadist group. The current Turkish struggle with IS is a complete reversal from the early years of the Syrian civil war, when Turkey leant heavy support to the armed opposition against Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. However this policy was something which contributed much to the eventual rise of Islamic State, especially once it seized control of a number of strategic border crossing areas where arms, aid and foreign fighters could reach the Syrian half of its self-declared caliphate. Turkey has long denied supporting hardline Islamist factions in Syria but many of the fighters it allowed to cross into Syria quickly joined Islamic fundamentalist groups like IS. At the same time it and other terrorist groups took the opportunity to establish a rear base in Turkey, with networks of sleeper cells, recruiters and safe houses. This gave IS the infrastructure it needed to launch repeated terrorist attacks when it decided that the time had come to turn on its Turkish hosts. It is important to note that IS directed acts of terrorism in Turkey have long predated Operation Euphrates Shield, Ankaras military intervention against the group in Syria which only began in August last year. IS carried out a string of devastating attacks in Turkey in 2015 and 2016 at Suruc, Ankara and Istanbul, and has claimed responsibility for bombings and shootings as far back as 2013. That year the group threatened Turkey with suicide bombings in Ankara if it didnt reopen border posts it had shut to cut back on the amount of men and material reaching IS controlled areas of Syria. Despite repeated provocations however, Ankara only intervened military against the group when it became concerned about countering increasing Kurdish power in northern Syria. There were repeated accusations that Turkey preferred to allow the existence of an IS presence along its border with Syria as a way of splitting the territory under the control of Syrias Kurds into two cantonments and preventing a second Kurdish entity from emerging to join the one in Iraqi Kurdistan. Indeed it was Turkish inaction in the face of an IS onslaught against the Syrian Kurdish border town of Kobane in 2014-15 which ultimately proved to be the spark that led the military wing of the banned Kurdish PKK movement to return to violence. Following the Suruc massacre of students in a suicide bombing by a Turkish Kurd with links to IS, Ankaras failure to fully implement an agreed upon peace deal came back to haunt it. Despite a two year ceasefire between Kurdish militants and the state, good relations were poisoned by events in Syria, which convinced Turkeys suspicious Kurds that Ankara had never truly intended to allow them the political autonomy they desired. Deep suspicions that President Erdogans political ambitions would lead him to try and undermine the Kurds political representatives also helped relight the Kurdish conflict inside Turkey itself. But the contrast between Turkish treatment of hardline Islamist terrorist groups and the mainly secular leftist Kurdish fighters in Syria made conflict in Turkey much more certain. Nonetheless by the end of 2017 IS itself will probably have been eliminated as a territorial entity, as offensives against it in Syria and Iraq by Turkey, Iran, the West, Russia and the Kurdish, Syrian and Iraqi authorities all combine to take its remaining urban strongholds. But IS has demonstrated an organisational ability to survive without a territorial base during its earlier incarnations, before it had spread from Iraq to other Middle Eastern nations. There are clear signs its cells in Turkey may manage the same during 2017. The return to war with the Kurds and the military intervention into Syria last year meant that Turkeys security services suddenly found themselves facing multiplying threats during a period when their effectiveness was in decline. This stemmed from the failed coup of last summer, which saw a huge purge begun of anyone suspected of ties to the Gulenist movement who were blamed for mounting it. This purge has unsurprisingly weakened Turkeys military, police and intelligence services. Simultaneously the high profile slaying of the Russian ambassador to Turkey by an off-duty policeman in Ankara indicates that some Turkish units may have been infiltrated at a low level by hardline Islamist sympathisers. Sadly therefore Turkey has probably not seen the last attack by IS militants on its soil this year, as the groups leaders have called for more such outrages abroad in order to offset the loss of prestige the gradual collapse of its caliphate in Syria and Iraq has caused it. Nonetheless the fact that IS is being driven underground in Syria and Iraq will probably reduce the numbers of international militants keen to act out on the groups orders, and limit the reach of its local fighters more closely to attacks on Syrian and Iraqi targets. Turkey may yet reach the end of this year in a better position to end the groups operations against it than it began the year in. Neil Thompson is a freelance writer who has lived and travelled extensively through East Asia and the Middle East. He holds an MA in the International Relations of East Asia from Durham University, and is now based in London. Related video added by Juan Cole: Aljazeera English: Inside Story Why is ISIL targeting Turkey? JURIST contributing editor Allen Rostron of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law discusses recent developments in lawsuits seeking to impose tort liability for negligent sale of firearms. While gun dealers continue to face a substantial risk of liability for negligence, gun manufacturers enjoy a higher degree of immunity Fifteen years ago, the gun industry faced a nation-wide wave of lawsuits. Today, gun companies are no longer under the same degree of legal pressure, thanks in large part to a federal law [PDF] that gives the industry a special immunity from liability in many instances. The recent settlement of a case against a Missouri gun store for $2.2 million shows that tort litigation remains an important way to hold firearm dealers responsible for practices that are unreasonably and unnecessarily dangerous. However, the dismissal of a case brought against a gun manufacturer by families of the Newtown shooting victims illustrates that it remains more difficult to hold manufacturers accountable. The Missouri case arose out of a tragic set of circumstances that led a troubled young woman to kill her father. According to the allegations [PDF] in the case, Colby Sue Weathers had a long history of mental illness and substance abuse. In May 2012, she was suicidal and suffering from intense hallucinations, but managed to purchase a pistol from a gun store in Odessa, Missouri. She planned to kill herself with it, but her parents found out and disposed of the gun. A month later, as Weathers mental condition continued to deteriorate, her mother called to warn the gun store about Weathers mental illness, her suicidal tendencies, and the fact that Weathers would soon be receiving a Social Security check, and was likely to come back to the store to purchase another gun with those funds. Weathers mother begged the gun store not to sell Weathers another gun, even giving the store her daughters name, date of birth and social security number and asking that the information be posted near the cash register so that all of the stores employees would know about the situation. According to the allegations in the case, the gun store refused to take any special precautions. Two days later, Weathers walked into the store and purchased a pistol. She then drove home, loaded the weapon, and used it to kill her father. Weathers is now confined and receiving care at a state psychiatric hospital. With the help of Missouri lawyers aided by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, her mother filed a lawsuit against the gun store. To succeed on tort claims about the sale of a firearm, lawyers must find a way to navigate around the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act [PDF], a federal statute that generally preempts claims for harm caused by criminal misuse of firearms. The Act contains a few exceptions. In the Missouri case, the plaintiffs attorneys focused on the exception for negligent entrustment claims. Negligent entrustment is a longstanding and widely recognized type of tort claim, covering situations where the defendant provides a dangerous instrument to a person despite knowing or having reason to know the person cannot be trusted with the instrument and is likely to cause harm to others. For example, the owner of an automobile could be negligent for allowing it to be used by a terribly dangerous driver. The Missouri case seemed like a good fit for the negligent entrustment exception, for the store allegedly provided a gun to Weathers despite knowing or having reason to know she should not be trusted with it. Precedent in Missouri was not favorable for the plaintiffs side, however, for some past court decisions in Missouri had suggested that liability for negligent entrustment does not exist if one sells or otherwise transfers ownership of an item, rather than merely allowing the dangerous person to temporarily use it. In other words, liability could exist if one lends a car to a horribly dangerous driver, but not if one sells the car to that person. Based on those precedents, the trial court dismissed the case. The Supreme Court of Missouri reversed, overruling the past cases and recognizing that negligent entrustment can apply where an item is purchased by a dangerous person rather than just temporarily borrowed. With the claim revived by that legal victory, the case moved forward until the gun store recently agreed to pay $2.2 million to settle it. The settlement demonstrates how even after the enactment of the federal preemption statute, tort litigation remains a potent tool for ensuring that gun dealers conduct business with reasonable care. But, while the case shows how those who sell guns at the retail level face a substantial risk of liability for careless practices, the federal law continues to give gun manufacturers a broad and unwarranted exemption from legal responsibility for their actions. Since manufacturers sell through distributors and dealers, rather than directly through the public, they have had a hard time convincing courts that any of the federal preemption statutes exceptions should apply. A lawsuit brought by families of the Newtown shooting victims provides a striking example. Four years ago, a disturbed young man used an AR-15 style rifle when he murdered twenty children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Families of the victims sued [PDF] the manufacturer of that rifle, as well as the wholesale distributor and retail dealer who sold it. This fall, a Connecticut judge dismissed the case against the manufacturer, concluding that the case could not fit within the negligent entrustment exception or any of the other exceptions provided under the federal immunity statute. The Connecticut Supreme Court will hear an appeal of that ruling. If they do not reverse it, the case will serve as another example of how the federal immunity statute remains an unfortunate obstacle for those seeking to hold gun-makers accountable under normal principles of tort law. If the manufacturer of the rifle acted negligently, it should be responsible for the harm caused by that negligence. If it did not act negligently, it should prevail in the case on that basis, not because of a special immunity from tort law bestowed on one industry by Congress. Allen Rostron is Associate Dean for Students and the William R. Jacques Constitutional Law Scholar and Professor of Law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and a former senior staff attorney for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Suggested citation: Allen Rostron, Tort Litigation About Guns Will Continue, JURIST Academic Commentary, December 31, 2016, http://jurist.org/forum/2016/12/allen-rostron-tort-litigation-about-guns-will-continue.php. [JURIST] Some senior Israeli politicians are calling for Israeli soldiers and police to kill Palestinians who they suspect of harming Israelis, even if the suspects are not currently dangerous, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy site] reported [advocacy site report] Monday. The organization documented numerous statements since October 2015 which encouraged soldiers to use deadly force. The Israeli government should issue clear directives to use force only in accordance with international law, said Sari Bashi [official bio], the Israel/Palestine advocacy director at HRW. According to the United Nations [official website], deadly force [official guidelines] should only be used when anothers life is in danger, and there is no other alternative. According to HRW, 150 Palestinians suspected of attacking Israelis were killed by Israeli security forces since October 2015. Palestinians have killed 33 Israelis during this time. Recent conflicts between Israel and Palestine over settlements in the occupied West Bank have raised concerns over possible human rights violations. In December, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Raad Al Hussein, expressed concern [JURIST report] over proposed legislation in Israel that would retroactively legalize the Israeli outposts constructed on privately-owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. In November the Israel High Court of Justice ruled that the controversial Amona settlement in the West Bank must be dismantled [JURIST report] by December 25. Earlier the same month Israels Ministerial Committee for Legislation unanimously approved [JURIST report] the Formalization Bill to legalize the West Bank outposts, which was intended in part to stop the evacuation of Amona outpost. In March the spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern [JURIST report] over the apparent extra-judicial execution of a Palestinian man in the West Bank. In January Human Rights Watch urged [JURIST report] businesses to cease operations in Israel settlements. In August 2015 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged both sides of the conflict [JURIST report] to reconcile and move towards peace after an attack occurred in the West Bank village of Duma, where Jewish extremists allegedly set fire to a Palestinian home while a family slept inside. [JURIST] The Supreme Court of India [official website] ruled [judgment, PDF] Monday that seeking votes based on religion, caste, community, race, or language is not permitted. Religion and caste have previously affected elections in several Indian states, some of which have upcoming assembly elections. The ruling was a response to petitions [Times of India report] before the Court questioning whether a religious leaders endorsement of a political party violated the Representation of People Act. The majority stated [BBC report], Religion has no role in electoral process, which is a secular activity. Of the seven judges, three dissented, saying that religion and caste are legitimate concerns for voters, especially minorities. The dissent also interpreted the existing Representation of People Act to mean candidates cannot use their own religion to win votes. India is not the only democratic nation where religion influences elections. In August, former president of France Nicolas Sarkozy stated that he would ban the burkini [JURIST report] if reelected in April. The religious debate surrounding abortion [JURIST opinion] has been an issue in US presidential elections since Roe v. Wade . A similar religious debate is also occurring in Poland [JURIST report] and Ireland [JURIST report]. NEWSLETTER Sign up Tick the boxes of the newsletters you would like to receive. Just Drinks Daily News The top stories of the day delivered to you every weekday. Just Drinks Weekly News A weekly roundup of the latest news and analysis, sent every Monday. Just Drinks Magazine The industry's most comprehensive news and information delivered every quarter French group Labeyrie Fine Foods is considering an initial public offering by 2018, as one of the companys key shareholders prepares to sell its stake, according to CEO Pierre-Yves Ballif. Ballif told French business daily Les Echos the IPO move will take place when private-equity firm PAI Partners goes ahead with the planned sale of its 43% stake in Labeyrie. The strategic plan in this regard will be finalised in April, Ballif was quoted as saying. He said the IPO would seek to raise additional funds for further acquisitions to boost the groups presence internationally. A spokesperson for Labeyrie told just-food the company will not make further comments for the time being. PAI Partners did not respond to a request for comment on Ballifs remarks. Labeyries other key shareholder, French Basque food co-operative Lur Berri, also holds a 43% stake in the group. Labeyries management holds the remaining 14%. Labeyrie was formed in 2012 after the group operated for several years as part of the Icelandic seafood group Alfesca. In November 2015, Labeyrie announced it would take a 50% stake in trout supplier Aqualande, after confirming a month earlier it was taking a majority stake in local snack maker Sales Sucres. Last February, Labeyrie announced the acquisition of Belgian firm Pere Olive and Dutch company King Cuisine to expand its reach in gourmet snacking. King Cuisine specialises in ready meals and also manufactures products including dips and olives. Pere Olive packages and sells Mediterranean olives. Lamex Food Group, the UK-based global frozen and chilled food group, has acquired Dutch meat peer Liberty Holdings for an undisclosed sum. Free Report Whats the forecast for the food and grocery industry? Market drivers and inhibitors Five-year forecasts and the impact of COVID-19 The performance of the online channel versus offline Major trends in the market including rapid delivery, ambient retailing, supply chain disruption, and inflation Assess developments within this sector to help your business thrive in 2022 and beyond. The food and grocery sector thrived during the pandemic, largely due to the shutdown of the food service industry and the sectors subsequent necessity, panic-induced bulk purchasing, and spending more time at home. The market has grown as a result of inflation. Consumer unwillingness to go out and socialize, and the reopening of several hospitality facilities, helped maintain the demand for groceries, particularly online, in 2021. As consumer behavior changes, we consume more food and drink at home, and inflation increases basket sizes. GlobalData predicts that the sector will continue to hold a higher share than had been predicted prior to the pandemic. This is true despite the fact that the food and grocery sector's share of overall retail will decline from its peak in 2020. This report will discuss market forecasts and key themes in the global food & grocery industry in 2022 and beyond. It covers:Assess developments within this sector to help your business thrive in 2022 and beyond. by GlobalData Enter your details here to receive your free Report. Please enter a work/business email address Country United Kingdom United States Afghanistan Aland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, The Democratic Republic of The Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D"ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and Mcdonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People"s Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People"s Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Timor-leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Download free Report By clicking the Download Free Report button, you accept the terms and conditions and acknowledge that your data will be used as described in the GlobalData privacy policy By downloading this Report, you acknowledge that we may share your information with our white paper partners/sponsors who may contact you directly with information on their products and services. Visit our privacy policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address. Thank you.Please check your email to download the Report. Lamex said the purchase of Liberty, the holding company for meat and poultry business Kappers Foods and other companies operating in the Netherlands, will see Lamex solidify its position in the growing imported poultry market and add depth to the volume of goods and geographic areas within which it operates. It is planned that both companies will continue to operate independently for the foreseeable future, Lamex said. Mark Ryder, a director of Lamex, told just-food: Kappers Foods has long been active in global markets similar to ours and this acquisition enables Lamex Food Group to further strengthen and broaden the scope of its activity in this sector. Privately-owned Lamex was formed in 1966 and has 18 offices outside the UK. The company said its shareholders all work within the business and operate across a wide spectrum of product areas, including poultry, meat, fruits, vegetables, fish and honey. Sales in the year to 31 March 2016 were EUR1.12bn (US$1.16bn). Kappers Foods, established in 1978, operates predominantly in poultry and meat. The company employs 37 and has a number of companies involved in importing poultry from Thailand, Brazil and China. Kappers annual sales in the year to 31 December 2015 were EUR255m. Related Companies Meat processor OSI Group has acquired UK foodservice supplier Flagship Europe from fellow US company Flagship Food Group. Free Whitepaper What is the impact of historically high inflation on the UK consumer landscape? Inflation in the UK: The Impact of Historically High Inflation on the UK Consumer Landscape, to better understand shifts in consumer behavior and their impact on spending patterns, as well as the implications for UK businesses. This whitepaper covers: Why has global inflation returned with a vengeance? What is the current inflation situation in the UK? What impact is inflation having on UK retail sales? What tactics are businesses relying on to tackle the effects of high inflation? How are consumers changing their behaviors to cope with the higher cost of living? Which industry sectors are most vulnerable to reduced consumer demand? How is the government responding to high inflation? How long will high inflation last in the UK? How can your company survive and thrive in a high inflation environment? Enter your details here to receive your free whitepaper and ready your business for these increasingly uncertain times. The average UK consumer is experiencing a severe cost-of living crisis as inflation surges to a forty-year high and the price of goods continues to rise. This shock is the result of the sharply increasing costs of commodities, energy, and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and is threatening FMCG manufacturers, retailers, and foodservice operators ability to survive and grow. Inflation will have a profound effect on many consumer-facing industries in 2022 and beyond. Consult GlobalDatas new whitepaper,, to better understand shifts in consumer behavior and their impact on spending patterns, as well as the implications for UK businesses. This whitepaper covers:Enter your details here to receive your free whitepaper and ready your business for these increasingly uncertain times. by GD50 Custom Enter your details here to receive your free Whitepaper. Please enter a work/business email address Country United Kingdom United States Afghanistan Aland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, The Democratic Republic of The Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D"ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and Mcdonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People"s Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People"s Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Timor-leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Download free Whitepaper By clicking the Download Free Whitepaper button, you accept the terms and conditions and acknowledge that your data will be used as described in the GD50 Custom privacy policy By downloading this Whitepaper, you acknowledge that we may share your information with our white paper partners/sponsors who may contact you directly with information on their products and services. Visit our privacy policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address. Thank you.Please check your email to download the Whitepaper. OSI Group pointed to Flagship Europes range, including frozen poultry, pies and condiments. Adding Flagship to our OSI Europe business further broadens OSIs presence in Europe, OSI Group COO David McDonald, President and Chief Operating Officer of OSI Group. The companys portfolio of products and brands complements OSIs current processing strengths while broadening our capabilities to best serve the evolving needs of our customers. The deal, announced just before Christmas, came two months after Flagship Europe acquired UK food-to-go supplier Calder Foods. Flagship Europe chief executive Russell Maddock said: This is another exciting and progressive development for Flagship Europe. The increased resources that will become available to us, along with the access to new clients and global markets as part of the OSI Group, will strengthen our position in the marketplace, improve our proposition and open up new opportunities that will enable us to serve our customers better and support our already successful business. Rob Holland, the CEO of Flagship Food Group, told just-food the sale would help the company grow its retail brands. In short, we sold our European foodservice division to OSI because we believed that it was an excellent fit for those two businesses, and because it allows us to focus on our fast-growing brands like 505 Southwestern, Lilly Bs, and TJ Farms. We believe that 505 Southwestern is the countrys fastest-growing, nationally-distributed Southwestern brand. Our organic and good-for-you brand Lilly Bs has quadrupled in size in the past year, and we are fully committed to growing these key assets. Thus, selling our European food service business provided us with the resources and focus to accomplish this. Related Companies Yildiz Holding, the Turkey-based food company, has offloaded part of its majority shareholding in local biscuits business Ulker Biskuvi to Pladis, the groups UK-based subsidiary. Pladis, which Yildiz set up last year to house its international snacks assets including United Biscuits and DeMets Candy, has acquired 21% of Ulker. Shares in the publicly-listed Ulker fell after the transaction was announced on 23 December. Some investors were reportedly concerned the move was a sign Yildiz is moving assets out of Turkey, where businesses have been investigated after the failed coup against the countrys government last summer. Yildiz and Pladis however, sought to dismiss those concerns. A spokesperson for Pladis said the transaction was in line with the business strategy to further unite the companys biscuit and confectionery brands following Pladis global launch in June 2016. The spokesperson added: This does not impact Yildiz Holdings 60% majority share of Ulker. Murat Ulker, the chairman of Yildiz, also took to social media to underline the companys reasons for the move. On Instagram, Mr Ulker posted a piece from Reuters that cited a statement from Yildiz that said the company strongly and clearly rejected any claims the sale of the stake was made due to mistrust in Turkeys economy. Last month, Pladis sold Belgian biscuits maker Delacre to the private investment vehicle of Giovanni Ferrero, the head of the Italy-based Ferrero confectionery group. In November, French newspaper Le Figaro reported Pladis could be about to sell local biscuits maker BN, also known as la Biscuterie Nantaise. Pladis declined to comment. In October, Pladis CEO Cem Karakas told just-food the company was increasing its investment in order to grow sales in the global chocolate and biscuit categories. "Construction companies have been building identical apartments throughout the country without proper planning, showing just how crazy Koreans are about apartments," said Jun Sang-in, a professor at Seoul National University's Graduate School of Environmental Studies. Around 80 percent of the 7.28 million housing units built since 1995 were apartments. Today, one in every two housing unit in Korea is an apartment. Until 1985, there were only 820,000 apartments across the country, but this increased eight-fold to 6.62 million in 2005. Some 112 apartment complexes across the country have stood empty for more than three years because construction was halted before completion, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs. The concrete shells are the result of speculative construction by property developers without proper research on potential demand, simply in the belief that they will find buyers amid the boom. Construction companies are not the only ones to blame for Korea becoming a "republic of apartments." Regional governments issued almost unlimited permits for apartment construction without discretion because they believed it would help develop their regions and increase tax revenues. The government is also to blame. The Korea Housing Corporation (now the Korea Land and Housing Corporation) is building apartments even in small regional towns where there is already an oversupply of housing to follow the government's policy to increase housing supply for low-income families. The first apartment block was built in Korea in 1958. It was a five-story building in Jongam-dong in northern Seoul. At that time, apartments were such a novelty that people referred to them as landmarks. Fifty years on, they have become icons of Korea's housing culture. With the spread of mass-produced apartments, the country was able to overcome a chronic housing shortage. In 1970, it was able to meet only 78 percent of total housing demand, but the figure reached over 100 percent last year. "Apartments allowed us to boost both the number and quality of houses over a short period of time," said Korea Housing Institute president Nam Hui-yong. But as they have proliferated, more attention is now being paid to the adverse effects. Reckless construction has damaged beautiful landscapes across the country, while trillions of won have been borrowed to build apartments on spec, forcing construction companies to the brink of bankruptcy. The overall result, experts say, is a burden on the country's economy and society. Construction has been halted in many areas outside Seoul after builders failed to find buyers. There are around 130,000 unsold apartments, and although there has been some improvement recently, the number of unsold apartments contrasts starkly with the figure during 2001 to 2003, when there were only around 30,000 unsold. Developers risk defaulting on around W13 trillion (US$1=W1,183) as apartments remain unsold, or around W100 million per unit. There has already been a wave of bankruptcies. Seoul, where there is always more demand than supply, also poses problems as developers think that the answer is to build more apartments faster, without concern for the overall design of the city and the appearance of its skyline. "Even taking a shortage of housing supply in the capital into account, apartments will become eyesores in Seoul in 10 or 20 years unless their designs become more diversified and they're built further apart from each other," said Han Ki-young, director of architectural firm Gansan Partners. Trump's statement comes just a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin made similar comments Thursday, saying his country's own nuclear arsenal needs to be "considerably increased." U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says he wants to "greatly strengthen and expand" the nuclear capabilities of the United States. Trump said in a tweet Thursday the United States must take such action "until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes". During a speech to recount the various military campaigns Russia launched in 2016, Putin said improvements are needed to "neutralize any military threat." "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," he said. The United States and Russia both currently hold comparable stockpiles of nuclear weapons, with 7,100 and 7,300 respectively, according to the nonpartisan U.S.-based Arms Control Association. Trump's call for an expansion of nuclear arms also comes a day after he met with several top military officers at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. It is not clear, though, whether nuclear weapons were discussed at the meeting. During his presidential campaign, Trump made comments that suggest he believes more nuclear weapons would make the world a safer place. "Wouldn't you rather, in a certain sense, have Japan have nuclear weapons when North Korea has nuclear weapons," he said during a CNN town hall. But later, in an interview with the New York Times, he said he thinks "it's a very scary nuclear world." "Biggest problem, to me, in the world, is nuclear, and proliferation," he said. Should Trump ultimately choose to expand the U.S. nuclear arsenal, it would come as a major change to recent U.S. foreign policy, which has been to reduce the number of nuclear weapons during the past several decades. Turkish authorities say they are close to identifying the gunman being sought in connection with the New Year's attack on an Istanbul nightclub that left 39 people dead, many of them foreigners. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the assault. Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told reporters Monday that authorities have obtained the fingerprints and basic description of the gunman. A grainy image of the suspected assailant taken from security camera footage has been released across Turkish media. Kurtulmus also confirmed that eight people have been detailed in connection with the deadly assault. The attack began early Sunday with the gunman killing a police officer and a civilian outside the Reina nightclub before going inside. There were about 600 people, many of them foreigners, in the club at the time, some of whom jumped into the Bosporus strait in order to escape. Authorities said the shooter blended in with people leaving the club. In addition to those killed, about 70 people were injured. IS Claims Responsibility In a statement Monday, Islamic State said one of its "heroic soldiers" carried out the attack and that it targeted Turkey for siding "with countries of the cross." The group said the night club was targeted because it was a place where "Christians celebrated their apostles." "It was certainly expected that Islamic State would one way or another be linked to the attack," said political analyst Sinan Ulgen, of EDAM, an Istanbul-based political research group. "Looking at both the nature of the target, a popular night club, [and] the timing, New Year's Eve, made it likely to be Islamic State." In a video released last week, Islamic State called on its supporters to launch attacks in Turkey. The video came against the backdrop of the Turkish military's ongoing battle to wrest control of the strategically important Syrian town of al-Bab from the jihadist group. Citing security sources, Turkish media reported Monday the gunman in the nightclub attack is believed to have come from a Central Asian country, either Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan. Many Islamic State fighters are drawn from Central Asian countries and have used Istanbul as a base before traveling to fight in Syria. Flowers and pictures of the victims are placed near the entrance of Reina nightclub, which was attacked by a gunman, in Istanbul, Turkey on Jan. 2, 2017. /Reuters Experts say Turkey is paying for the government's earlier Syrian policy. "Turkey did choose to support Islamist-leaning groups of the Syrian rebel opposition, with the view and expectation that support would accelerate regime change in Syria," notes analyst Ulgen. "What we have seen is these groups have taken advantage of the position of the Turkish government to set up (terror) cells within Turkey, which are now being used against Turkey." Local media, citing a police report, said that three days before the nightclub attack, 63 suspected Islamic State militants were detained across Turkey, including in Istanbul. The same report said many of those held were from foreign countries and that the same jihadist cell which carried out Junes attack on Istanbul's Ataturk airport could be behind this latest deadly attack. Funerals Funerals are continuing for those killed in the New Year's attack, which was the fourth deadly IS attack in Istanbul in a year. For one unnamed mourner there was both anger and despair. "This is where words fail. What word, what sentence can depict this pain? After life is gone, the heart is gone. Terror is not only the problem of this country, it is the problem of every living person, but they just cannot find a solution," the mourner said. The PKK Kurdish rebel group has also carried out bombings in Turkey's main cities, including last month in Istanbul. The government has promised to step up security. But the security forces are struggling to cope with mass purges within their ranks after July's failed coup attempt, which Turkey's government has blamed on followers of the Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen. Analysts say anti-terror units have been among the worst hit. "That ... conclusion can be reached because the Turkish government has not been able to preempt or prevent a series of attacks in recent months," said Ulgen. The Justice Ministry promised via Twitter to crack down on supporters of terrorism on social media and called on people to report such statements. Crackdown on Jihadists One of the first to be affected by the crackdown appeared in a video on Twitter with a group of people calling for the defense of secularism and for Turks to stand up to "jihadist gangs." Aysegul Basar was detained after someone lodged a complaint about the video with the Interior Ministry. Deputy Prime Minister Kurtulmus warned Monday that the current state of emergency, introduced after July's botched coup, will remain in force until the terror threat ends. Analysts note similar statements have been made after every attack, and there is a growing sense in the country that its increasingly overstretched security forces are incapable of stopping the terror attacks. China will not allow anyone to use Hong Kong as a base for subversion against mainland China or to damage its political stability, Beijing's top official in the territory told state television. Chinese leaders are increasingly concerned about a fledgling independence movement in Hong Kong, which returned to mainland rule in 1997 with a promise of autonomy known as "one country, two systems", and recent protests in the city. In an interview with state television broadcast late on Sunday, Zhang Xiaoming, the head of China's Liaison Office in Hong Kong, said Beijing will not interfere in matters that purely affect Hong Kong's autonomy. "As far as Hong Kong is concerned, nobody is permitted do anything in any form that damage the country's sovereignty and security, they are not allowed to challenge the central government's authority or that of Hong Kong's Basic Law, they are not allowed to use Hong Kong for infiltration subversion activities against the mainland to damage its social and political stability," Zhang said. An unexpected snag comes up to interfere with I-kyeong's plans. To the credit of writer Han Ji-hoon, I-kyeong doesn't respond with the increasingly annoying cliche of "I anticipated your every move". I-kyeong is genuinely surprised to meet resistance. But she expresses only the most minimum concern and never drops the poker face for a second. I-kyeong has to consider whether she has the right counters to the situation, and alter the plan accordingly if necessary. In the end, this is just business after all. Se-jin is, odd though it may seem, more concerned with I-kyeong psychological welfare and countenance than I-kyeong herself. It's a little sad watching Se-jin make such a sincere effort to be a good friend, only to have I-kyeong rebuff her time and again. Although I suppose that is the entire point of her character. Goodness knows Se-jin and Gun-woo are far too reactive as characters to make much of a dent on actually influencing the plot directly. Poor Gun-woo. He doesn't even get to be in the Japanese scenes this time, and all he really does is here is be the generally ineffectual superior to Se-jin who pretty clearly outclasses him in competence. Gun-woo is just such a non-entity there's times I wonder why he's in "Night Light" at all. Even random members of I-kyeong's team show more concern over the ongoing situation than he does. My best guess as to how this might work long term is that Gun-woo knows I-kyeong thinks nothing of sentimental gestures. Se-jin hasn't figured this out yet. So Gun-woo is focusing on more tangible achievements in the hopes that it will impress I-kyeong into realizing that maybe using her evil genius to destroy the corporate world is not the best use of their talents. It does figure that just when we get a good idea what I-kyeong's plan is, that just leaves us wondering what exactly Gun-woo is planning in response to that. The generally bad pacing doesn't help matters. We're really not at the points where cliches like "it's not the end it's the beginning" can be thrown out there. I don't think this is even the first time we've heard that one either. Even when director Lee Jae-dong is able to spotlight some peaks in the character relationships, he can't do much with the general sparseness of action. Whose idea was it to make this a twenty episode drama anyway? Source:HanCinema U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has asked for an intelligence briefing on North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Reuters reported Sunday. "Trump's first, and at that time only, request for a special classified intelligence briefing was for one on North Korea and its nuclear weapons program," the news agency said citing a senior U.S. intelligence official. "North Korea and its nuclear program has also been of interest to retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, Trump's choice for national security adviser." The U.S. State Department swiftly condemned North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's claim in his New Year's address that the North is close to test-launching a ballistic missile that can reach the U.S. mainland. "We call on all states to use every available channel and means of influence to make clear to the [North] and its enablers that launches using ballistic missile technology are unacceptable, and take steps to show there are consequences to the [North's] unlawful conduct," State Department spokeswoman Anna Richey-Allen said. ARAPAHOE - Guides and dogs help hunters locate wildlife in the Arapahoe area. Hunt Nebraska, a commercial hunting business, has been drawing people to Arapahoe for 19 years, says owner John Koller. When it began, there might have been three or four similar operations in Nebraska, according to Koller. "There might be 180 to 190 in the state now," he said. The enterprise attracts people to Arapahoe from all over the state and the nation. In fact, Koller says, "You can go all over the United States and find people who've heard of Arapahoe, Neb., because of Hunt Nebraska." Its headquarters building has about 3,000 square feet that includes dining facilities, a large lounge, and a sauna and whirlpool. For entertainment at the close of a day's hunting, there's pool, shuffleboard and a pro shop where hunters can purchase a variety of equipment and memorabilia. Koller tells of a hunter from New York City who purchased a lariat from the pro shop. "He said, 'I can't buy anything like this where I live.'" Koller and Johnny Hemelstrand, who manages Hunt Nebraska, say that 60 percent to 70 percent of the supplies purchased for their guests come from Arapahoe. Hunt Nebraska guests sleep in a local motel. Koller says, "Hunt Nebraska has a definite impact on the economy of Arapahoe." With the help of guides and dogs, hunters can seek out pheasants, quail, Hungarian partridge, wild turkeys, whitetail deer and coyotes, and test their marksmanship on prairie dogs at distances of 300 yards and more. Hunting is done in controlled areas, some of which Hunt Nebraska owns, and farm ground in the conservation reserve program that is leased from several individuals. Almost all hunting is within 20 miles of Arapahoe. Hemelstrand can call on a staff of guides that includes people such as Neal Lewis of Kearney's Park and Recreation Department; Dusty Rodiek, who supervises Kearney's Cottonmill Park; Steve Ninegar of Elm Creek; and Gary Percival of Oxford. The guides have their own dogs, but some guests bring their dogs too. Hemelstrand grins. "That means the wives sometimes come along, too," and the men share a moment of laughter. Koller explains that some of those dogs are the wives' pets. "She'd no sooner let him bring the dog unless he brought her, to make sure that dog was treated right." Hunt Nebraska begins receiving guests about Oct. 1 and it continues nearly six months. Waterfowl are not hunted. Hunters have come from all the states including Alaska, and from Italy and Germany. As many as 200 hunters arrange to hunt out of Arapahoe each year, and Koller says it's become a family like event. Close friendships have been formed as well as an attachment to the beauty of the Republican River valley. Hemelstrand books guests, arranges for guides, hires the staff and runs the operation from a huge recliner and a wheelchair. Six years ago, he fell asleep at the wheel of his vehicle. His neck was broken, and he injured his spinal cord. He was at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln for 2 months and directed the Hunt Nebraska operations from his hospital bed. Koller also owns Applied Communications Technology, an outgrowth of Arapahoe Telephone Co., which Koller's father acquired in 1953. e-mail to: We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! 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The carmakers said on Monday that they sold a combined 7.88 million cars, down 1.7 percent from a year earlier and short of their year-end target of 8.13 million cars. Hyundai saw its domestic sales plunge 7.8 percent to 658,642 cars, with a 1.2 percent drop in overseas sales. Kia's domestic sales grew 1.4 percent to 535,000 cars, while overseas sales slipped 1.5 percent. Overall, Hyundai sold 4.86 million cars and Kia 3.02 million. Korea's three other carmakers outperformed last year. Renault Samsung's overall sales rose 12 percent on-year to 257,345 cars to have its second best year in its history, largely due to the release of new models such as the SM6 sedan and QM6 SUV. Its domestic sales jumped 39 percent to 111,101 cars. GM Korea sold 180,275 cars at home, the highest since its founding in 2002. The Malibu sedan and Spark subcompact drove its sales. Ssangyong sold 103,554 cars at home, breaking the 100,000 mark for the first time in 13 years. Its exports grew 15.9 percent due to brisk sales of its Tivoli compact SUV in Europe, Iran and Latin America. Danish police have asked a court there to extend the arrest warrant for Chung Yoo-ra until the extradition process begins. Chung appeared in a Danish court on Monday which decided to extend her detention until Jan. 30. Chung's lawyer said he would appeal the decision. Chung was arrested in the Danish town of Aalborg on Sunday and is wanted here as a key witness in the scandal. The independent counsel investigating the presidential corruption scandal has asked Denmark to expedite the deportation of Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of President Park Geun-hye's longtime crony Choi Soon-sil. Independent counsel Park Young-soo has also asked Interpol to put Chung on the wanted list after she refused to respond to repeated summons, but that has not happened yet. Once it does, she could be extradited immediately. Chung is herself a suspect in the scandal since she is believed to have been a major beneficiary of her mother's extortion racket and has billions worth of assets in Germany, where Samsung bought her a pure-bred horse and stables. She is also accused of receiving special favors from Ewha Womans University thanks to her mother's relationship to the president. The independent counsel was seeking to invalidate her passport in late December and procedures take about a month, so it is expected to happen by Jan. 20. Chung, who was arrested in the company of a two-year-old boy that now turns out to be her son, a nanny in her 60s, and two young men, was quoted as saying Monday that she would voluntarily return to Korea if she is allowed to stay with her child. If Chung's lawyers decide to contest her extradition, it could take years before she returns to Korea. That problem arose in the case of Yoo Sum-na, the daughter of ferry owner and crackpot cult leader Yoo Byung-eon, whose reckless practices are blamed for the 2014 ferry disaster that killed hundreds. Yoo bolted to France and has been fighting extradition there for two years with no end in sight. Burgeoning business is prompting Korean low-cost airlines to expand their fleet and routes after foreign travel has reached record figures. Korea's largest budget carrier Jeju Air will buy six new aircraft this year and plans to expand the number of regular routes from 41 to around 50. Jin Air, the nation's No. 2, plans to buy three new planes. Smaller low-cost carriers are also expanding, bringing the total of new planes this year to 20, which is bigger than each of their individual fleets. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, budget carriers accounted for just 2.3 percent of total air traffic in 2010 but for 21 percent last year. A Jin Air staffer said, "Low-cost carriers have targeted niche routes flagship carriers do not offer, and that's paid off." And more players are coming into the market. Air Seoul, Asiana Airlines' new budget spin-off, was launched in July last year and began operating international flights in October. Fly Yangyang, based in Yangyang, Gangwon Province, applied for authorization last month, and two or three more low-cost airlines are preparing for launch. Low-cost carriers are usually limited to short- and medium-haul flights, but more recently some in Korea have struck code-sharing deals with international airlines to offer a wider variety of routes. For example, Jeju Air is offering Incheon-Hong Kong flights, and Singapore's Tiger Air flies from Hong Kong to Sydney. Flyers have to transfer to a different plane in Hong Kong, but tickets cost 30 percent less than for direct flights. But the intensifying competition could squeeze an already stretched market as price slashing eats into earnings. Huh Hee-young at Korea Aerospace University said, "If Chinese low-cost carriers enter the market for Asian routes, competition will grow even more intense. We need to look for more options than merely cutting ticket prices." 176 Shares Share In 2014, a jury in Massachusetts awarded $16.7 million in damages to the daughter of a Bostonian lady who died from lung cancer at 47 for a missed cancer on a chest X-ray. The verdict reminds me of the words of John Bradford, a heretic who was burned at the stake: There, but for the grace of God, go I. Many radiologists will sympathize with both the patient who died prematurely and the radiologist who missed a 15-mm nodule on her chest X-ray when she presented with a cough to the emergency department a few months earlier. The damages are instructive of the tension between President Obamas health care laws push for both resource stewardship and patient-centeredness and between missed diagnosis and waste. But the verdict speaks of the ineffectualness of evidence-based medicine (EBM) in court. If EBM is a science, then this science is least helpful when most needed, like when trying to influence public opinion, for example. EBM tells us that had the patients cancer been detected thirteen months before it was, it would have made little difference to her survival, statistically speaking. Researchers from Mayo Clinic examining the impact of frequent chest X-rays in screening for lung cancer in a significant number of smokers found that the intensively screened group knew about their cancers earlier, had more cancers removed, but did not live longer as a result. This is known as lead-time bias, where early detection means more time knowing that one has the cancer, not more time one is alive. This means that had the nodule been seen on the patients initial chest X-ray she would probably though not certainly not have survived much beyond 47. Lead-time bias is a fundamental concept in the statistics of screening. Physicians have it drilled in them. Recognition of this artifact curbs therapeutic and screening optimism. Why does lead-time bias not enter the courtroom? Why did no one successfully convince the jury that early detection would not have made a difference? Why is a fact, which can be demonstrated in 1000 people, not applicable to any one of the 1000 people in courts? There are a few factors. The arrow of time flies in only one direction in a court: chest X-ray presentation with cancer death. Lead-time bias is an inverse problem, and inverse problems are difficult to think about, even for academics who spend time thinking about inverse problems. Youre turning the clock back. Death presentation with cancer chest X-ray. Youre asking, Would early detection have made a difference? You have to answer this question with the knowledge that the radiologist missed a finding. This tests our rationality. Youre saying to the plaintiff, shit happens. Shit is not supposed to happen in the United States, which has three times as many lawyers per capita as Britain. And Britain is where modern law was invented by William Blackstone. Plaintiffs lawyer need to entertain only a possibility that early detection could have cured the cancer to prevail in a suit. Though cure in this case was improbable, it was not impossible. Statistics predict. Statistics dont prophesize. Evidence-based medicine speaks of the probable. The plural of anecdote is not evidence, but the singular of evidence can still be an anecdote, a possibility. And possibility beats probability in court. Or, as a defense attorney for medical malpractice confided, The last thing I want is to call the plaintiff a statistic. Thats a guaranteed turn off for the jury. The burden of proof in medical malpractice is not as high as the burden of proof in suspected homicide. In the latter, proof of guilt must be beyond reasonable doubt. In medical malpractice, the evidence for negligence need only be marginally more than the doubt that there has been negligence a 52:48 margin, rather like presidential elections. This is for a sensible reason. If youre wrong about the guilt of a person suspected of homicide, that could cost an innocent his life. If youre wrong about the negligence of a doctor big deal. The insurer pays the money and the society readjusts the costs. The doctor is a bit emotionally roughed up, but he or she will get over it. In tort, there is a concept known as the Calabresian principle. It is named after Guido Calabresi who analyzed the cost of accidents. According to Calabresi, in an accident, the costs of the tort should be internalized by the lowest cost avoider the person who could have avoided the accident with the smallest amount of effort. In this case, assuming the patient was a non-smoker, the avoiders of the accident were fate (or unlucky genes) and the radiologist. Now you cant do much about cosmic injustice. So it is clearly the radiologist who was the lowest cost avoider. He could so easily have recommended a CT. Whats another CT if it can save someones life? He should have been in more doubt about the chest X-ray than he was. Whats a bit of doubt if it can save someones life? This case, and similar cases, has implications. Physicians are asked to be mindful of the population, not just the individual patient. The message from policy makers is that we must be sensitive to limited resources. Were chastised for overutilization of imaging. Yet, its hard to see how excess utilization can be curbed unless courts respect evidence-based medicine. Its at times like this that meaningful tort reform appears painfully conspicuous by its absence from Obamacare. You might counter that had the radiologist picked up the lung nodule, the lawsuit would never have occurred that a miss is a miss, regardless of the outcome. Alas, that, too, is not so simple. Perceptual errors are common in interpreting chest X-rays. Researchers have found that a large number of cancers can be seen, in hindsight, on chest X-rays. So much so, that an appeals court once judged that a perceptual error is not necessarily negligence. This case reminds me of the wisdom of one of my professors during residency. A leading radiologist of his time, he cautioned that, The first ten thousand chest X-rays are easy. Puzzled then, but having now interpreted well over ten thousand chest X-rays, I understand what he meant. Im more aware than before of what I might miss. This has created an odd combination of expertise and insecurity. When the insecurity gets the better of me, I imagine shadows on X-rays, and recommend CAT scans to rule out a mass. Sometimes I catch a cancer. But more often than not, I raise false alarms, inconveniencing the patient and wasting resources. Option traders can avoid trades that are low on the upside and high on the downside. Radiologists do not have that luxury. Paid barely $10 for a chest X-ray, with a multi-million-dollar bounty for missing cancer and a Russian roulette for perceptual errors, radiologists will simply recommend more CAT scans rather than take the risk in declaring that the X-ray is normal. The net cost of such verdicts to society is more than $16.7 million. Saurabh Jha is a radiologist and can be reached on Twitter @RogueRad. This article originally appeared in the Health Care Blog. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 127 Shares Share For soldiers, there are many fears. Will I do my job? Will I succeed in my mission? Will my colleagues in arms be harmed? Will I be injured? Will I die? For the American Muslim who volunteers to engage the enemies of the United States on foreign soil, there is a new worry. What will my home country do to my family while I am gone? Recently, Dr. Ghazali A. Chaudry, MD, FACS, lieutenant colonel and surgeon, United States Army, shipped out to Iraq. There he will work to save the lives of our injured warriors, as well as those of our allies and even, at times, those against whom we struggle. He will take months away from his practice and career. He will leave behind his community. He will risk his life for our country for each of us. Dr. Chaudry has young children, family, and friends, entrusted to us, his nation. Every soldier should have the comfort and confidence that that those they leave behind will be safe and supported. However, in a cynical twist of national attitude, in a swelling of ignorant bias and nationalistic fear, we accept without hesitation his sacrifice, his willingness to go in harms way to protect our values, our way of life, but we hesitate to express those values of openness, acceptance and justice toward the community he leaves behind. The Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America, New Jersey Chapter (APPNA), gave a send-off dinner for Dr. Chaudry, honoring his willingness to serve their country. Most who attended are first and second generation immigrants, now citizens who have built lives in the United States. They have businesses, families, and vital communities. They are philanthropic and have a culture of volunteer support for their towns. They feed the poor, heal the sick, build toward new tomorrows. They, like all immigrants before them, represent the future of America. Nonetheless, despite the sacrifices they have made, the gifts of blood and sweat to build here, they are anxious and confused. Powerful examples of the successful American Dream, they sacrifice, work hard, create, and worry we are abandoning them. The talk that night spoke of anxiety and fear. They are stunned by a national conversation that is attacking them for how they pray, the god they hold. Suddenly, this nation doubts their loyalty, commitment and cannot seem to tell the difference between men and women who love America, and those who would tear it down. They are confused how a polyglot country which was been built almost completely by immigrants, cannot tell friend from foe. They are stunned the definition seems to come to a single word: Islam. In every religion, through all time, there have been those who twist faith toward violent, bigoted and nationalistic ends. When people are in pain, hungry and frightened, when they are impoverished, angry and ignorant, religion, God himself, may become a false flag under which demagogues gather their flock. It is not the religion which truly calls; it is fear, disconnection and twisted sociopathic vision. Religions of peace which build community and justice, which bring communities together, become tools of power, dominance, and war. If any nation in the history of the world should know this lesson, it is the United States. We have intentionally built a country of many religions, of many communities. We balance and celebrate the critical need for individual freedom, local community, and a unified national vision. This diversity is our greatest strength, as it brings an extraordinary wealth of ideas, belief, and vision. It makes us passionate, curious, fluid and is a deep well of knowledge. We are strong because we salute being many. The immigrant experience in the United States has never been easy. Each of us, each of our families, earned the opportunity to be here. Dr. Chaudreys sacrifice and service are part of that tradition. But, there are two parts to that social contract. He gives, struggles and makes all of us a little safer, a little stronger. In return, we support him and his family. Therefore, we must be concerned when we attack that bond, that national commitment, by any conversation which threatens the communities we leave behind, especially when that talk is based on manipulation by prejudice. Those that would attack our diversity, would tear us down. American Muslims are part of who we are. They are threads in our national fabric. We must support every one of them, as we would support any other citizen who strives to make this a better nation. The faiths we hold, Christian, Jew, Hindu, atheist, Muslim, is what makes each of us strong. Our belief in protecting every faith, is what makes the United States of America remarkable, exceptional and powerful. Together we are all Americans. I wish Lieutenant Colonel Chaudry a successful journey and deployment. We salute and need him. We will hold his family dear and, together, pray for his safe return. James C. Salwitz is an oncologist who blogs at Sunrise Rounds. Image credit: Shutterstock.com House Representatives very nearly did away with an office that investigates them. The plan to put the Office of Congressional Ethics under themselves has been reversed. The decision would have weakened accountability within the House of Representatives. The Office of Congressional Ethics is an independent entity. The decision made on Monday would have put it under the control of lawmakers. Reviewing allegations of misconduct made against any member, officers or staff of the House is evaluated by this office. On Monday night, republicans held a meeting behind closed doors. They voted 119-74 to put this office under their oversight. Congressman Henry Cuellar did not vote in this GOP-led decision, but was glad to hear it was reversed. Had it passed, it could have prevented information about investigations from being released. The decision drew significant backlash from watchdog groups and scholars. Some of those groups expressed how helpful this committee had been since it's creation in 2008. Republican President-Elect Donald Trump addressed this issue, saying Congress has other priorities to work on. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. Kingstree, SC (29556) Today Mostly sunny skies. High 77F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Clear skies with a few passing clouds. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Use your technology. Your computer and smartphone are often purveyors of stress, but theyre also a good source of guided meditation instruction. Tara Brach, a psychologist and popular meditation instructor based in Washington, D.C., offers free guided meditation podcasts (some are recorded at her Wednesday evening guided meditation sessions at a Bethesda, Md., church). You can find the podcasts on iTunes or at www.tarabrach.com/talks-audio-video (opens in new tab). UCLA offers guided meditations of varying lengths at www.marc.ucla.edu/mindful-meditations (opens in new tab). Sessions range from three to 19 minutes. Feeling stressed at work? Try the five-minute breathing meditation. You can do it without leaving your desk. Take a class. For a more human touch, look for a lunchtime or daylong program. At Spirit Rock Meditation Center (www.spiritrock.org (opens in new tab)), in Woodacre, Calif., one of the most popular meditation centers on the West Coast, you can attend a drop-in class for $15 to $30. Diana Winston, director of mindfulness education at the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center, offers a free class every Thursday at 12:30 at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. The class has proved so popular that other institutions, such as Seattles Frye Museum and the Asia Society in New York City, have introduced lunchtime meditation sessions. Check with your local museum, college or university for classes in your area; many yoga studios also offer meditation instruction. Subscribe to Kiplingers Personal Finance Be a smarter, better informed investor. Save up to 74% Sign up for Kiplingers Free E-Newsletters Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplingers expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail. Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplingers expert advice - straight to your e-mail. Sign up Go on a retreat. If youre ready for a deep dive, consider signing up for a meditation retreat. Options range from a weekend at a monastery, such as the Holy Cross Abbey, in Berryville, Va. (www.virginiatrappists.org/retreat-house (opens in new tab); $200 to $350, depending on your means), to a two-week (or more) getaway at a luxury resort. The Shambhala Mountain Center, in Red Feather Lakes, Colo., which offers more than 100 programs each year, is located on 600 acres in the Colorado Rockies. When youre not in class, you can hike on the eight miles of trails without distractions because there isnt any cell-phone service. Costs range from $79 a night for a dorm room to $263 for a suite in one of the lodges. For those on the East Coast, a popular meditation destination is the 40-year-old Insight Meditation Society (opens in new tab), in central Massachusetts. The nonprofit charges fees on a sliding scale, based on participants ability to pay; the cost for a weekend retreat starts at about $215. HANOI, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Here's a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchange rates in the official market and indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi at 0130 GMT. Jan 3 Dec 30 USD/VND mid-point 22,158 22,159 USD/VND interbank 22,750/22,770 22,764/22,768 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.05/36.57 35.73/36.55 NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016 the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting the mid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in a band of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by a band. Interbank quotes are indicative bid/ask prices. One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co, the gold manufacturer. Interbank offered rates are indicative, quoted from market sources. For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom) HANOI, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Here's a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchange rates in the official and unofficial markets, indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi and interbank offered rates at 0506 GMT. Jan 3 Dec 30 USD/VND mid-point 22,158 22,159 USD/VND interbank 22,700/22,780 22,764/22,768 USD/VND unofficial 23,070/23,100 23,000/23,050 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.05/36.47 35.73/36.55 Interbank offered rates Overnight 3.0-5.0 3.0-5.0 1 week 4.0-5.1 4.0-5.0 1 month 5.0-5.5 5.0-5.5 3 months 5.2-5.5 5.2-5.5 NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016, the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting the mid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in a band of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by a band. Interbank offered rates are the latest indicative bid/ask prices, quoted from market sources. One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co. For more interbank rate fixings released at 0400 GMT, click on . For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) By Teis Jensen COPENHAGEN, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Denmark's central bank will remain on high alert in 2017 to defend its safe-haven currency, which is expected to face more upward pressure from booming U.S. investments and political risks in Europe, the country's biggest bank said on Tuesday. The Danish crown , considered a hedge against political uncertainty in the euro zone by many investors, reached its strongest level against the euro since 2012 in December . A large share of Danish pension savings are invested in U.S. stocks, so the recent rally there has resulted in "substantial wealth gains for Danish savers" and further strengthened the foundation under the crown, Danske Bank A/S said in a 2017 outlook note. Upcoming elections in The Netherlands, France, Germany and potentially also Italy, and the negotiations about Britain's exit from the European Union, could also strengthen the crown further. "We could see additional DKK (crown) buying if EU and euro opposition gains further ground this year," Danske said. A strengthening of the crown would in turn lead the central bank to intervene by selling crowns for foreign currency. Under Europe's Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM2), a surrogate for euro adoption, the crown is pegged within plus or minus 2.25 percent of a central rate of 7.46038 per euro. In practice, Denmark's central bank has held it in a much tighter range of 0.50 percent either way, via periodic currency interventions and, more rarely, changing the certificate of deposit rate. Danske said it expected the key rate to remain at the current -0.65 percent throughout 2017. The central bank will disclose its foreign exchange reserves as of the end of December at 1500 GMT on Tuesday. (Editing by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, editing by Larry King) (New throughout) By Lisa Lambert WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - The top U.S. derivatives and commodities regulator officially offered his resignation on Tuesday, saying he would step down on Jan. 20, the day of the presidential inauguration. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Timothy Massad had said he expected to leave once President-elect Donald Trump took office and he hoped for a smooth transition in handing the regulatory reigns over to the sole Republican commissioner, J. Christopher Giancarlo. Massad plans to stay on as a commissioner for a few weeks after stepping down to close out administrative matters, according to the CFTC. Since he took the chair two and a half years ago, Massad has raced to set up regulations for carrying out the many new responsibilities the CFTC was given by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law. Massad said in a statement that the commission had made "significant progress" in creating regulations for swaps and in "the areas posing the greatest risk to the financial system." Giancarlo has already signaled that he will move the CFTC's agenda beyond implementing Dodd-Frank and has repeatedly criticized the commission's work with its international counterparts. By implementing new rules on derivatives trading first, the United States has given markets in other countries an advantage and created "regulatory arbitrage," he has said. Massad countered Giancarlo's position in his good-bye statement on Tuesday. "We have improved international coordination by harmonizing rules in many areas, strengthening relationships, and working with other regulators on oversight of markets, all of which has reduced inconsistency and the risk of regulatory arbitrage," he said. "And we have taken action to address the new challenges and opportunities in the derivatives markets, particularly cyber threats, clearinghouse resilience, and the increased use of automated trading," he also said. (Additional reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by Eric Beech and Sandra Maler) You can now donate to Kiwiblog A few days ago Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu made an angry phone call to Murray McCully threatening some sort of retaliation if NZ supported the UN Security Council resolution. Today it is reported Netanyahu is being questioned by detectives on suspicion of illegally accepting valuable gifts. Even for McCully, that is impressively quick work Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp More Pinterest Print Tumblr Chris Trotter writes: The political consensus at the beginning of 2017 election year is that the National-led Government will hold on to power. Not in its own right, as might have happened had John Key led them into battle, but with sufficient parliamentary support to govern comfortably. The identity and character of Nationals support will likely prove the most intriguing electoral story of the year. The most significant political event of 2017, however, could well be the collapse of the Labour Party and the emergence of the Greens as New Zealands leading party of the centre-left. Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Rain. Thunder possible. High around 45F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall may reach one inch.. Tonight Occasional rain with some snow mixing in late. Low 32F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 100%. By Lee Han-soo South Korean prosecutors have raided pharmaceutical company Huons' headquarters over alleged kickbacks to doctors and pharmacists. Investigators from the Busan Eastern District Prosecutors' Office raided the company on Monday afternoon and secured computer hard drives, accounting books and other material. A Huons spokeswoman said the company was raided, but denied any link to kickbacks. Under the law, all parties, including pharmaceutical companies, pharmacists and doctors, can be punished for giving or receiving kickbacks. By Park Jae-hyuk Pizza Hut Korea has been fined 526 million won ($437,000) for compelling store owners to pay unlawful franchise fees totaling 6.8 billion won over a decade, the nation's antitrust watchdog said Tuesday. The Korean branch of the U.S. pizza chain has illegally collected a franchise fee called an "administrations fee" since 2003 for providing administrative support, including purchase, marketing, sales and quality control, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC said the head office did not include the administrations fee in contracts with store operators until May 2012, only mentioning 6 percent of sales for royalties and 5 percent of sales for advertising. "The company in 2012 began to unilaterally notify store operators about the fee without any prior consultation or agreement procedure with new store owners and those who renewed their contracts," the FTC said in a press release. "It raised the fee from 0.55 percent of sales to 0.8 percent of sales at that time as well, even though the stores were facing continuous decreases in their sales." The FTC also pointed out that Pizza Hut directly received 62 million won in franchise fees as an educational budget from 29 store owners between March 2013 and April 2015. The current law orders franchises to deposit their educational budget, rather than receive it directly. "The recent measure is meaningful as both business franchises and store owners are in difficult situations these days amid harsh competition among restaurants and weakening consumer sentiment," the FTC said. "Franchises will be reluctant to earn illegal gains from store owners after this measure." Pizza Hut Korea has also been embroiled in legal disputes against owners of Pizza Hut stores since June 2015. The store owners filed suits against the head office for the administrations fee, urging the head office to return the illegal gains. In July last year, the court ruled Pizza Hut Korea to return the administrations fee to the store owners, but the company appealed the decision, claiming it was part of a tacit agreement. Kim Young-sik, CEO of Chunho Food By Park Jae-hyuk Chunho Food has come under criticism again for selling fake red ginseng concentrate. This comes after its CEO Kim Young-sik drew fire in November for disparaging massive anti-Park candlelit rallies held in Gwanghwamun, downtown Seoul. The health supplement food maker's selling of fake pure red ginseng concentrate, made with starch syrup and caramel coloring, was revealed by the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office on Dec. 29. The prosecutors at that time indicted seven suppliers of the fake ingredients, including the head of the Korea Ginseng Association, and also indicted 18 accomplices without detention. Chunho Food, which received the fake ingredients from them, has been ordered by the food authorities to halt sales of its four red ginseng products and recall the products expiring this year. The company offered no apology for the fake ingredients until after several news outlets reported on it. The company posted an apology to its consumers on its website on Monday for promoting that the products were made with red ginseng concentrate and purified water only, but it denied the allegations of deceiving consumers on purpose. "Chunho Food has strictly controlled quality for our products and followed government standards, such as GMP and HACCP, when we choose suppliers," the company wrote on its official website. "However, visual inspections and chemical experiments aren't enough to screen for fake ingredients, when suppliers add such ingredients in small quantities on purpose." The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, which ordered Chunho Food to recall the ginseng products, refuted the company's claim. "Chunho Food should have stricter control over its ingredients," an official of the ministry said. "If the company considers itself a victim, it should file a suit against the government." The Busan-based medium-sized company had been in the spotlight among consumers for its cornus fruit juice TV commercial, which showed the CEO saying "Cornus fruit is really good for men, but there's no way to explain it." The CEO, however, came under fire again in November for posts in an online forum criticizing anti-Park candlelit rallies and political declarations by professors. "I hate to watch the news these days. I don't know why people keep talking about old stories like the candlelit rally," he wrote on the forum. He also posted a video made by a conservative group. Some consumers boycotted products of Chunho Food at that time. By Lee Han-soo South Korean prosecutors have raided a second pharmaceutical company, LG Life Science, over alleged kickbacks to doctors and pharmacists. Investigators from the Busan Eastern District Prosecutors' Office raided the company headquarters in Gwanghwamun on Tuesday. It came a day after the Busan prosecution raided another drug company, Huons, sparking allegations that an investigation into a "big scandal" is under way. Speculation is that the latest raid is related to LG's new diabetes medicine, Zemiglo. The company had sales of 502 billion won ($41.7 million) with the product last year, up 82 percent year-on-year. Zemiglo is Korea's first locally produced medicine to exceed 500 billion won in sales. LG Life Science and LG Chem merged on Jan. 1. By Lee Hyo-sik Takehiko Kikuchi, Nissan Korea CEO Kim Hyo-joon, BMW Korea CEO Michael Kirsch, Porsche Korea CEO The Korean branches of Nissan, BMW and Porsche have admitted fabricating emissions-related documents to more easily obtain government sales approval for some of their vehicles, according to company officials, Tuesday. The officials said the three brands will follow Ministry of Environment guidelines to correct the emissions data and re-file applications for state certification. The admissions came a day after the environment ministry revoked state certificates for 10 Nissan, BMW and Porsche vehicles. The ministry also imposed a combined 7.17 billion won ($6 million) fine on the three companies after discovering defects in their emissions-related certification documents. Carmakers, both Korean and non-Korean, must get certification from the National Institute of Environmental Research, affiliated with the environment ministry. The certificates prove that vehicles meet government-set standards for emissions, noise and other environment-related criteria. The ministry first detected the irregularities last November and officials have been investigating to discover how and why the three foreign brands forged the emissions related papers. Following Volkswagen's emissions-cheating scandal, the Korean government decided to review all environment-related documents submitted by foreign automakers. "In October, we discovered errors in our emissions documents for two models: the Qashqai compact SUV and the Infinity Q50 2.2 Diesel," a Nissan Korea official said. "Since the discovery, we stopped selling the two vehicles. We will take necessary steps as soon as possible to receive sales certifications for them." The local unit of Japanese carmaker Nissan, headed by CEO Takehiko Kikuchi, was ordered to pay a 3.2 billion won fine. Porsche Korea, headed by CEO Michael Kirsch, also said the company will seek state certification again for seven Cayenne, Macan and other models whose emissions data was rigged. "We stopped selling the models at issue on Nov. 29 when we first became aware of our mistakes," a Porsche Korea official said. "We immediately notified the prosecution of the errors in our emissions documents submitted to the environment ministry." The environment ministry imposed a 3.6 billion won fine on the Korean unit of Volkswagen's luxury brand, but decided not to refer the company to the prosecution, saying it voluntarily reported to the authorities. BMW Korea, headed by CEO Kim Hyo-joon, was fined 370 million won for fabricating emissions reports for its X5M SUV. But it was not referred to the prosecution by the ministry, which said its violation was minor. "We brought emissions-related documents concerning the X5M from our German headquarters and submitted them to the environment ministry for state certification," a BMW Korea official said. "We never manipulated the documents. The problem was that we should have drawn up the papers in accordance with the Korean standards. We will file an application soon after correcting the errors." No adverse effects on sales An automobile industry official said the revocation of certificates will not adversely affect sales of the three import brands because four of the 10 affected models are no longer on the market. "Being ordered to pay a fine for manipulating emissions reports certainly does not help improve the corporate brand image or increase sales," the analyst said. "But what BMW, Nissan and Porsche did was remotely different from what Volkswagen did. Their vehicles all meet environment-related standards set by the government. So, what they have to do is revise the documents and apply for sales certification again. They will soon be able to resume sales of the six models." By Yoon Sung-won LAS VEGAS Samsung Electronics will unveil an upgraded model of its Internet of Things (IoT) refrigerator dubbed "Family Hub" at the world's largest consumer electronics fair here this week, the company said Monday in local time. The Family Hub has already helped Samsung Electronics boost its share in the market for premium French-door refrigerators priced over $4,000 to 72 percent in the third quarter last year. The company expects the upgraded product will continue to bolster its dominating presence in the sector. "Samsung's Family Hub 2.0 is an innovative product that will bring IoT features into real lives," Samsung Electronics' home appliances division head Seo Byeong-sam said. "The company will continue to expand the lineup of products and services that make customers' lives smarter." Samsung Electronics stressed that the Family Hub 2.0 has an improved voice recognition feature. Following the users' orders, the device can read recipes and help them shop hands-free. Its 21.5-inch full high-definition touch screen provides communication between multiple users by sharing pictures and memos through the screen. Samsung Electronics said it is also widening partnerships with more diverse online recipe and food information providers to expand content. It has signed to a partnership with the world's No. 1 recipe download website Allrecipes to allow users to search for popular recipes on the screen. Under the cooperation with commerce businesses such as MasterCard, E-mart, Lotte Mart and EATALY, users can easily shop for groceries from the device. In the United States, the device supports a location sharing service by Glympse to check current locations of family members to help them communicate to better arrange for meals together, the company said. By Kwon Mee-yoo Wolincheongangjigok was designated a national treasure, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Cultural Heritage Administration The Korean government designated "Wolincheongangjigok," the first-ever book printed in Korean metal movable type in 1449, a national treasure, Tuesday. The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) announced that the "Wolincheongangjigok Gwonsang" (the first of three volumes of "Wolincheongangjigok") has been designated National Treasure No. 320, and a seated stone statue of Buddha at Woljeongsa Temple in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, as National Treasure No. 48-2. In addition, the CHA designated six treasures including the seal of the state from late Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), returned from the United States in 2014. "Wolincheongangjigok" is an epic poem about the life of Buddha written by King Sejong of Joseon, who invented the Korean alphabet Hangeul. It consists of three volumes and is one of the oldest remaining songs in Korea. The book was discovered in 1914 in a Buddhist statue and donated to the Academy of Korean Studies by textbook publisher MiraeN. It was designated as Treasure No. 398 in 1963 and declared a national treasure Tuesday. The Woljeongsa Temple's Seated Buddha Statue makes a pair with the Octagonal Nine Story Stone Pagoda of the same temple, which is National Treasure No. 48. The CHA said a statue matched with a stone pagoda is unique to Korea. Three great seals were appointed as treasures "Hwangjejibo" is the seal of the State produced by King Gojong in 1897; "Yuseojibo" is the seal used for appointing government officials in 1876; and "Junmyeongjibo" used for teachers of the crown prince in 1889. A Sarira Reliquary commissioned by Yi Seong-gye, founder of Joseon; "Hyeopjumyeonghyeonsipchosi," a collection of 300 poems by Korean and Chinese writers; and a portrait of Park Dong-hyeong, who contributed to suppress the Musin Revolt in 1728 are also designated as treasures. The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a regulation on removing import tariffs on egg products in the latest move to resolve a supply shortage sparked by the worst outbreak of bird flu in South Korea, officials said. The move will allow local companies to import 98,000 tons of shell eggs, powdered eggs and six other types of egg products without tariffs between Wednesday and June 30. The government said it will later decide whether to extend the temporary lifting of tariffs by taking into account the supply and demand situations of eggs, the officials said. Currently, South Korea imposes 8 to 30 percent tariffs on imported egg products. South Korea has been in talks with the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Spain on importing egg products, though it remains unclear when the egg imports could begin. South Korea's Constitutional Court is to hold its first hearing Tuesday on the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye over a corruption scandal involving her and her longtime friend. Park, who has been suspended from performing her duties till a decision is made by the court, was impeached by the National Assembly on Dec. 9 on suspicions she was an accomplice in a string of wrongdoings committed by Choi Soon-sil. Choi, a daughter of Park's late mentor Choi Tae-min, has been accused of abusing her ties to the president to gain various business and personal favors despite having no position in the government. Tuesday's hearing, set to begin at 2 p.m., will be presided over by all nine justices, including Court President Park Han-chul, and look into each argument for and against the impeachment. The president, who has been asked to attend the session, is widely expected to be absent. She has denied all of the allegations against her, saying she only received simple advice from Choi and carried out her presidential duties faithfully. The key issues under review are whether Park violated the people's sovereignty and the rule of law, abused her power, infringed on the freedom of the press, neglected her duty to protect the right to life, and took part in bribery and other crimes. Should Park be absent, the court can set another date for the hearing and later proceed in her absence through a proxy. Currently, two additional hearings have been scheduled for Thursday and next Tuesday, during which some of the key suspects in the case have been asked to appear before the court. They include Choi; An Chong-bum, former senior presidential secretary for policy coordination; and Jeong Ho-seong, former secretary for private presidential affairs. The court has 180 days to decide whether to unseat or reinstate Park. In the meantime, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn is serving as the country's acting president. (Yonhap) By Ko Dong-hwan A man who killed his pregnant girlfriend also attempted to murder his ex-lover, a court said Monday. Daejeon High Court, sitting as an appeal court, sentenced the man, 37, whose name has been withheld, to 35 years' jail, increasing the initial 30-year sentence because of his "inhumane sin." The court said the man went to Jeju Island with his girlfriend last November to search for a place to open a restaurant. The couple spent a night at a motel and next morning had an argument over financial issues. The man then tried to strangle the woman because she "disrespected him." When he found she was not dead, he made another attempt using a hairdryer cord. Daejeon High Court The man then put the woman's body into their rental car and set the vehicle alight to make her death look like it was the result of an accident. "The criminal knew that the victim was pregnant with his baby," the court said, criticizing him for "being incapable of feeling responsible for respecting and protecting a human life." The court, appealed to by the accused and prosecutor, said the man committed the crime less than a year after finishing a prison term for attempting to murder his ex-girlfriend. South Korea's parliamentary committee looking into the influence-peddling scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon-sil on Tuesday accused the incumbent and former cultural ministers of perjury during hearing sessions. The committee decided to accuse Cultural Minister Cho Yoon-sun and former minister Kim Jong-deok, as well as an ex-deputy minister, for delivering false testimonies during the hearings. The parliament said Cho lied before the National Assembly by claiming she was not aware of the "blacklist" of cultural figures who are deemed critical of the government. The independent counsel looking into the alleged corruption of Park and Choi, however, reportedly secured evidence that indicates Cho was involved in the creation of the blacklist. The committee had hosted several hearings at the parliament, summoning key witnesses from business tycoons to key acquaintances of Choi. (Yonhap) By Jun Ji-hye Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in, a leading opposition presidential hopeful, said the Kim Jong-un regime in North Korea will have no future should it stick to nuclear and missile development. "North Korea's provocative and aggressive attitude, which was seen in Kim's New Year's message, poses a serious threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula," said Moon, the former chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), in a statement Monday. "Kim created a state of anxiety and tension on the peninsula after even mentioning pre-emptive nuclear strikes." The comments came after the North Korean leader said Sunday that Pyongyang is in the final stage of test-firing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The North's KN-08 road-mobile ICBM with a range of more than 10,000 kilometers is capable, in theory, of hitting targets on the U.S. mainland. Kim also said Pyongyang will beef up its capability for pre-emptive nuclear strikes if South Korea and the United States do not suspend their annual joint military exercises. "I once again issue a warning. The North will not be able to develop its economy and nuclear weapons at the same time," Moon said. "The only way the North can survive is abandoning its nuclear and missile ambitions and complying with all agreements it has made with South Korea and the international community." Moon also said the year 2017 is a great watershed moment to decide on whether or not the two Koreas will be able to achieve peace. "Our people will never accept North Korea engaging in inappropriate behavior amid a power transition in South Korea," he said. Moon's remarks came after possible conservative presidential candidates attacked his views on national security, apparently mindful that North Korea is expected to be a key issue in the presidential campaign. Rep. Yoo Seong-min of the newly created New Conservative Party for Reform recently called on Moon to speak clearly about issues related to inter-Korean affairs, such as the deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery, claiming that "Many people think Moon has a wavering view of national security." By Yi Whan-woo Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appears to be bolstering his efforts to expand his support base before he returns home possibly next week by commenting on political issues. He recently backed former People's Party co-chairman Ahn Cheol-soo's proposal for the parliamentary constituency regulation to be revamped so more than one lawmaker can be elected from a single district, Ban's aides said, Tuesday. Ban, who completed his U.N. tenure on Dec. 31, may return home on Jan. 12, three days earlier than he initially planned, according to his aides. Analysts speculated that Ban's support for Ahn is aimed at joining forces with established politicians, especially conservatives and those from the center-right. By Kang Seung-woo Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung, an outspoken liberal presidential contender, said Tuesday that South Korea should brace for a possible pullout of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK). He also claimed Seoul should not be intimidated by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's claims on defense costs, saying the country already pays much more than Japan and Germany do. Lee, who belongs to the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), is emerging as a dark horse from the opposition bloc whose outspoken remarks have increasingly resonated with progressive voters in the wake of President Park Geun-hye's impeachment. According to most public polls on potential presidential candidates, he ranks third behind former DPK chairman Moon Jae-in and former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "We need to prepare ourselves in the event of a USFK withdrawal," Lee said in a radio interview. "The USFK is not deployed here only for defense against a possible North Korean invasion. Its operational range is expanding beyond the Korean Peninsula to Northeast Asia. Depending on U.S. interests, it may be moved off the peninsula." Currently, some 28,000 USFK troops are stationed here. Last week, the U.S. magazine Foreign Policy said in an article that if Lee or Moon was elected president, they will let the USFK leave the peninsula without a fight, which made headlines in Korean news reports. However, Lee said local media outlets misinterpreted the article. "The latter part of the article regarding the pullout was left out," Lee said. Mentioning a possible USFK withdrawal, the article also said, "If that were to happen, America's standing in the Pacific region would plummet." Lee said the Korean military should boost its self-defense capacities in preparation for a possible pullout of the USFK that has been officially deployed here since the 1950s. "We are heavily dependent on the USFK although our military expenses are at least six times higher than that of North Korea's. In addition, the South outranked the North in military power, according to a leading U.S. analytical agency," Lee said. "Despite such advantages, some are still worried South Korea will not be able to defeat North Korea without the USFK if a war breaks out." He also claimed South Korea should regain wartime operational control (OPCON) of its forces from the U.S., stressing that there is no independent country in the world that gives OPCON to another country. The timetable for OPCON transfer is estimated to be in the mid-2020s. As Donald Trump is scheduled to take the oath of office as the 45th president of the United States, Jan. 20, there are growing concerns here that he may demand that South Korea pay more for the USFK presence. During his election campaign last year, he criticized South Korea's "free-riding" on the U.S. defense budget, threatening to withdraw troops from the peninsula if Seoul does not pay its "fair share" of the costs. However, Lee, dubbed "South Korea's Trump" by some, said South Korea should pay less of the defense-cost sharing with Washington, claiming that the USFK is stationed here for the U.S.'s own interests. "South Korea's defense-sharing cost should be on a par with that of Japan," he said. According to the South Korean government, it paid 932 billion won ($775 million) for U.S. troops here, which it says was about 50 percent of the total costs estimated to be around 2 trillion won. "Germany and Japan pay 18 percent and 50 percent, respectively," he added. Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of President Park Geun-hye's confidant Choi Soon-sil, gets out of a police car after her court hearing in Aalborg, Denmark, Monday. While the court ordered her to be detained there for four weeks, the Korean authorities are trying to get her returned to Korea for questioning over her involvement in the Choi scandal. / AP-Yonhap By Jung Min-ho The special prosecution team investigating the Choi Soon-sil scandal is unlikely to be able to get her daughter extradited from Denmark any time soon. Chung Yoo-ra was detained Sunday (local time) with four other Koreans, including her son, in the northern Danish city of Aalborg on charges of staying in the country illegally. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she attended a hearing the next day at a local court, which ordered her to be kept in custody for four weeks. This may mean a long battle ahead for the independent counsel team, led by special prosecutor Park Young-soo, which has been trying hard to have Chung return promptly for questioning over her involvement in the wide-ranging corruption scandal. The most realistic way for them to bring her back is via an extradition request by the Ministry of Justice. Depending on her legal response, the process is expected to take from several weeks to months. The Danish Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, which handles extradition requests from other countries, said in a statement that it has not received a request yet and asked the Korean ministry to make one. If she takes the extradition issue to a Danish court, she may be able to stay there for months to avoid questioning here. By Ko Dong-hwan Divorce once seen as a taboo subject is becoming more common around the world, including Korea, as couples choose it over an unhappy marriage. And the trend is driving a revision of relevant laws to make divorces fairer in terms of dividing financial pies. Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare said Monday it will revise the National Pensions Act to mandate that divorcing couples divide their pensions based on the time actually spent together. The present law says the annuity should be divided based on the legal marriage period, regardless of how long the couple lived together. The revision came after the Constitutional Court ruled on Dec. 29 that Article 64, Clause 1 of the National Pensions Act which states that when divorcing, pensions must be divided in half for the legal marriage period "violates property rights" and is against the Constitution. Unless parliament comes up with an alternative before June 30, 2018, the split annuity regulation will be annulled, according to Chosun Ilbo. The revision came after National Pension Service statistics showed that those eligible to claim a split annuity in Korea who paid monthly pension fees for five years or longer and were aged over 61 increased from 4,600 in 2010 to nearly 20,000 in 2016. With those in their 40s and 50s having the highest divorce rate of 8-10 percent of the population, the number of people claiming a split annuity in future is likely to skyrocket. But the revised law is expected to cause a flurry of legal challenges because there is no standard to determine the difference between the time the couples spent together and the legal marriage period. "We still need time to determine whether to use official dossiers or the judicature's decisions in acknowledging the times spent in living separately or away from home," a Ministry of Health and Welfare official said. Divorce also has increased in Japan, where "posthumous divorce" is a new trend. The custom refers to those mostly women who, after their partners die, file for divorce so they can legally detach themselves from in-laws. Legal relations with in-laws can be cleared with the submission of a letter of request to government offices, without agreement from the deceased spouse or his or her family. "Posthumous divorces" jumped from 1,770 in 2005 to 2,800 in 2015, according to KBS. Japan's anti-in-laws sentiment is not so different to Korea's, where women have long been taken for granted in providing services and sacrifice freedom participating in family events for in-laws. "Many women were lost in finding the true meaning of marriage amid years of wedlock with violent or nonchalant husbands and unpleasing in-laws," the reports said. "Through the symbolic act of cutting off relations,' they have embarked on an exploration in search of their egos." Meanwhile, some Korean celebrities are splitting relatively quickly after their marriages. Actors Lee Chan and Lee Min-young separated in just 12 days, while actress Kim Chung decided to divorce in only 13 days. Most stars filed for divorce in less than three years, all reasoning that their "characters did not match." South Korea has extended its travel ban on six countries in the Middle East and Africa as part of its effort to protect its people, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. South Koreans will be banned from traveling to Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Afghanistan and some regions in the Philippines until July 31. It is a 6-month extension of the previous ban that was scheduled to end Jan. 31. The move was aimed at protecting South Korean people's lives and property from those countries and regions suffering political instability, frequent terror threats and poor security infrastructure, the ministry said. Anyone who violates the travel ban will face an up to one-year imprisonment and fine of 10 million won ($8,270), the ministry said. (Yonhap) By Rachel Lee Korea provides a successful example for Belarus of how a nation's intellectual capital can be used effectively, particularly technological development, which is Minsk's priority, a top Belarusian envoy says. Ambassador Andrei Popkov, who took office in September, said he was privileged to be in the Asian country that "focuses on technological innovation, science and education as critical sources of its national wealth and prosperity." "Belarus is motivated to go on the path of an innovative economy and information society," he said. "These common strategic features of development are decisive for our interest to extend bilateral cooperation in the scientific, technological, IT, educational and investment domains." The diplomat believes the two nations since establishing ties in 1992 have had some meaningful achievements, mainly in information and communication technologies. In May last year, the fourth session of the Belarus-Korea Joint Committee on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation was held in Minsk, assessing achievements and raising topics for cooperation. In September last year, Belarus' Ministry of Communications and Informatization and the National Information Society Agency of Korea signed an agreement to establish and operate the Information Technologies Cooperation Center for 2017-2019 in Minsk. The second session of the Joint Committee on Science and Technology will be held this year, with expectations that it will "identify prospects for further research collaboration and exchanges in fields such as energy, precision engineering, robotics, electronics and aerospace," the diplomat said. With this fruitful collaboration, Popkov expressed his will to increase Koreans' awareness of Belarus during his term. He believes the two countries have a lot in common, including attention to family values, respect for the elderly and pursuit of stability and peace. "Both Belarus and Korea are located at economic and geopolitical crossroads linking great world powers," he said. "Maintaining effective and long-lasting cooperation with our neighbors as reliable partners is very important for our countries." Despite similarities, Koreans know little about Belarus, he said. Because of this, the embassy is planning events to introduce Belarusian culture, history and language, in cooperation with Korean universities, academia and cultural associations. "Belarus is a country with a beautiful nature, and rich cultural and historical heritage," he said. "Our country is known as a country of lakes, rivers and forests. We have several national parks in which we preserve unique flora and fauna." Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And 19 topographical points of the Struve Geodetic Arc a chain of historic survey markers also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are in Belarus. "This year, which marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, will add momentum to our relations and reach a mutual understanding on various issues," Popkov said. For the two sides to strengthen ties, the ambassador stressed the importance of establishing a reciprocal visa waiver agreement. Belarus is the only European country that Koreans need an entry visa for. "Belarus initiated the process of concluding a visa waiver agreement in 2013 and sent this proposal to the Korean side," Popkov said. "At the moment, signing of the agreement is still under consideration. "This year also marks the 500th anniversary since Francisk Skorina, a famous Belarusian humanist and scientist, printed his edition of the Bible. He was the first book printer in Eastern Europe and his legacy had a great influence on Belarusian culture and the culture of neighbouring countries. I hope we will be able to make Francisk Skorina and his legacy better known to Koreans." Belarus is a landlocked country bordered by Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. On denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Popkov said Minsk adheres to international obligations on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, and complies with relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions. "We support all peaceful initiatives for maintaining stability and security and believe that actions that can lead to the aggravation of tension in the region should be avoided," he said. "Our consistent stance on this issue was expressed many times on different occasions at the U.N. and in other international forums." He said peace and stability can only be achieved on the "basis of partnership and dialogue." This is the "Year of Science" in Belarus, which will certainly give additional impetus to many scientific projects and events, the envoy said. "The embassy will explore new ways of enhancing ties between our countries in the years ahead using all shared values and welcoming the new ideas and proposals of Korean friends and partners." According to the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce, the industry accounts for the largest portion of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) with 26.4 percent. Next are net taxes on products (13.7 percent), trade and repair of motor vehicles (12.5 percent) and transport and communications (7.7 percent). The country's core manufactured goods include freight vehicles, chemical fibers, fertilizers and meat products. A fundraiser for Seoul expat musician Roger Peacock will be held at the Alley Bunker in Haebangchon, Seoul, Saturday. Featuring eight artists, the event is to raise funds for his medical bills following a Christmas accident in the area that left the musician with a concussion. The visit to the emergency room required 20 stitches, a CT scan and the cost of a hospital room. "As far as we can tell from the scene we found, he hit the back of his head on a brick wall and got concussed, losing a ton of blood in the process," a witness said. All proceeds from the event will go to helping Peacock pay his hospital bills. "We will have truly talented artists playing all night for you, as well as a raffle for items donated from community businesses," the event organizer said in the invitation. Music starts at 7:30 p.m. and the lineup includes 30-minute sets from Jason Lisko, Zoe Yungmi Blank, Seth Martin, Maggie Crossett, Just in Time, 2Much, T.C. Costello and the Pyrate Queen, and Grey Watson. There will be a small fee of 5,000 won at the door. Search Facebook for "Benefit for Roger Peacock" for more information. Novelist Jo Jung-rae / Korea Times file By John Redmond Barry Welsh The Seoul Book and Culture Club will host a meeting with Jo Jung-rae, one of Korea's most important living writers, at the Seoul Global Cultural Center, Saturday. Presented by Barry Welsh of the book club, Jo, who has dedicated his writing career to illuminating modern Korea's conflicted history, will be interviewed in Korean and English, answer questions and sign books. Jo is best known for the 10-volume novel "The Taebaek Mountains" (1989), the 12-volume "Arirang" (1995) and the 10-volume "The Han River" (2002). Together these three epic works offer a broad perspective of Korea extending from the period of Japanese occupation to independence and the Korean War and its development into a high-tech industrialized nation. More than 10 million copies of these novels have been sold a record in Korean publishing. The Korea Times spoke with Welsh about his decision to invite the author. He is a scholar and columnist for the Hankook Ilbo, a sister paper of the English newspaper. Q: Why did you choose Jo Jung-rae? A: Jo Jung-rae is such a titan of Korean literature that when the opportunity arose to have him appear as a guest at the book club I leapt at it. I wanted to talk to him because his work covers such huge swathes of Korean history and culture. He doesn't shy away from the big issues. He's been writing about Korea for decades and is loved by millions of readers here. Q: The author's works are considered modern classics. Was it difficult to get him to participate in the event? A: It's actually quite a funny story. I write a monthly column for the Hankook Ilbo. And a couple of months ago I wrote a column about Jo Jung-rae. I had just read two of his books and wanted to read more. But I had read almost everything available in English. So I wrote a column to basically say what a shame it is that despite his vast body of work and his huge reputation within Korea that his work is underrepresented internationally in terms of English translations. A few weeks later I received an email out of the blue from his regular translators Bruce and Ju Chan Fulton. They said Jo Jung-rae had been at an event in Los Angeles and had quoted my column. I couldn't believe it. So I politely inquired if they thought Jo would be interested in being a guest at the book club. They asked. He said yes. And here we are. So it was just a very lucky sequence of events that led to him being a guest at the book club. Q: Have you featured any other Korean authors? A: Over the past five years I have featured many Korean novelists. Indeed that is the main aim of the book club to host bilingual events where people can meet Korean novelists. And I am proud to say (even if it sounds like I am blowing my own trumpet) that many of the most famous Korean novelists alive have been guests. Guests so far include Kim Young-ha, Shin Kyung-sook, Gong Ji-young, Hwang Sok-young, Han Kang and many more. Q: When did you become interested in Korean literature and culture? A: I have always been interested in literature. My biggest hobby is reading. So when I came to Korea I was interested to read some Korean writers. The first book I picked up was by Kim Young-ha. And since then I have read everything I could get my hands on. I have been fortunate too that in recent years there has been a growing number of excellent books in translation. Q: What can people expect this Saturday? A: People can expect an intimate meeting with one of Korea's most famous writers. They will be able to ask him questions and get their books signed. I have met him before and he is an incredible charming and insightful man with lots to say about Korea and the modern world in general. The event will be from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and the entrance fee is 5,000 won. English interpretation is provided. The Seoul Global Cultural Center is in Myeong-dong, central Seoul. Visit facebook.com/groups/seoulbookandcultureclub for more. Estonia's electro trio I Wear* Experiment / Courtesy of Renee Altrov By Jon Dunbar Estonia's electro trio I Wear* Experiment returns to Korea this week for gigs in Seoul and Busan. They first played in Korea last October at the Zandari Festa, Korea's biggest indie music showcase. After they performed in Veloso and the DoIndie Showcase at Club Steel Face, things happened fast for the band. MTV Asia picked up the music video for their single "Patience" equal parts innovative electro-rock and catchy synth-pop. And they signed a distribution deal with Korean music production company Leeway, according to a local organizer. "Playing at Zandari Festa and getting to know the nice people and city of Seoul was an amazing experience," said Hando Jaksi, who plays guitar, keyboards and other instruments in the band. "It seems the right people were in the right spot at the right time because now we are coming back and our album will be released in Korea in the following months." This time around, they're headlining shows on their own, first this Friday at Freebird Cosmic Live and then on Saturday at Busan's Vinyl Underground. The Seoul show also features local bands Silica Gel, Asian Chairshot and DTSQ, while the Busan show includes 57, Leaves Black and 3Volt. Both shows are presented by DoIndie, a bilingual Korean music website run by British expat Patrick Connor. Impressively, ticket prices are kept low, with the Seoul show costing 15,000 won in advance or 20,000 won at the door and the Busan show 5,000 won cheaper. "This time we are more prepared," Jaksi said. "Besides the shows, we'd like to see more tourist sites as last time we really did not have so much time. Of course we need to go out and eat some Korean barbecue and drink soju." The trio tour has a sound engineer and lighting designer to ensure their shows are "sonically and visually well thought out and banging," Jaksi added. "If an artist goes on stage, gives all the energy he/she has and manages to trigger strong emotions from the audience then it really doesn't matter if it's an orchestra or a USB stick," Jaksi said. For more information visit facebook.com/iwearexperiment for more details. By Bernard Rowan I didn't think Trump had a chance. His campaign rhetoric didn't reveal much knowledge of global affairs. Beyond the pedestrian, it showed a demagogue hell-bent on thumping illegal immigrants and socking it to convenient enemies. However, Trump did win, and he'll soon raise the hand as the next American President. There's no better way to learn that serving as President isn't the same as running for president than occupying the office. Trump will serve as the Commander in Chief and Chief Diplomat for a dizzying array of American threats and opportunities. Russia, Iran, ISIL and global terrorism, climate change, and the Arab-Israeli conflicts stand out. However, the Obama "pivot to Asia" will need Trump and Co.'s time. It's fashionable now to say that Trump is unpredictable. Chief executives court disaster when they sow misperception. Of course, he's not even started, so there's no pattern. Nonetheless, a few predictions and speculations stand in order about Trump and Asia. Trump suggests he'll be a zealous supporter for U.S. interests and more even profit and burden sharing in trade deals and alliance maintenance. He'll have to fix his vision through policy proposals and diplomatic stances. I think he's serious about preserving American military power and will work to increase defense spending. America can't afford a three-front (or more) world morass of spending: China/N. Korea/Asia, Russia/Europe, and Middle East/ISIL/global terrorism. While the U.S. aims for interests on these fronts, three expensive policy areas compete with an American economy still seeking its 21st foothold. His supporters expect action at home before action abroad. Playing the "scapegoat the foreign powers and problems" routine has limits, even for a qualified isolationist. China. I mean can one afford alienating this rising superpower? Internationally and regionally, Trump's limited insurance is the significant interdependence of the Chinese and American economies. I don't think the phone call with Taiwan forecasts a major gambit. U.S interests do want checking Chinese ambitions in the South China seas. In the end, there'll be a renewal of trade arrangements with modest U.S. gains. Trump will make concessions too. There's a chance Trump can envisage a better Sino-American accord, but he'll have to build trust first. N. Korea. I don't think resolving the division awaits Trump meeting with Kim. The South Korean presidential interval suggests status quo. Look for Trump to talk about burden sharing with US-ROK. The North faces her own internal issues, and any stupid moves will meet with a response. Japan. Trump is friendly with Abe so far, just as was Obama. Abe wants to further his nation's slow return to military participation. His economy needs a positive global image on which to build. The United States can ill-afford a full tilt to Japan. That would alienate Korea and China. Yet, there's a need to work with this large and important global economy and a military ally as well. Trade. I hope Trump works to further American manufacturing through international trade arrangements. Gone are the days of autarkic national economies. Connected global markets suggest a quick primer in the law of comparative advantage. Trump will work to further uphold U.S. interests in trade disputes. South Korea, under the interim president and beyond, should continue to build positive trade relations with all comers. I think it's important that Seoul not mimic any contrary short-term Trumpian impulses. Our two countries should work to shore up and develop further their second-and-third tier business chains through visionary agreements in technology development, including green technologies. The South can continue to exert a mediating leadership among the great powers and assume leadership in regional arrangements and issues. It's time for Seoul to assume greater responsibility and authority in our military alliance. This plays to Trump's rhetoric. Seoul has laid the groundwork for many profitable and stabilizing arrangements with other Asian nations in trade and cooperation. Bernard Rowan is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University, where he has served for 23 years. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University. Reach him at browan10@yahoo.com By Ghia Nodia MOSCOW This New Year's Eve marks the 25th anniversary of the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union. But, rather than celebrating, many Russians and some people in the West are ambivalent about that outcome. Russian President Vladimir Putin tops the list of doubters. He made known his position on the USSR's disintegration in 2005, when he called it "a major geopolitical tragedy of the twentieth century." And some in the West consider the new states that emerged from the wreckage Ukraine and the Baltic republics, in particular to be the primary source of Russia's ressentiment and revanchism in the post-Cold War world. These doubts stand in sharp contrast to the consensus that prevailed for many years after the collapse of communism in Europe in 1989-1991. It was widely accepted that the end of the Cold War marked not only the liberation of Central and Eastern Europe, but also the triumph of liberal ideas. But the end of the USSR could also be seen as a victory for nationalism. Indeed, it was fear of nationalist violence that led then-US President George H.W. Bush and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl to try to help the USSR's last president, Mikhail Gorbachev, hold the Soviet Union together (though only after having allowed the Baltic States to secede). They failed and later claimed victory for the full demise of the Soviet empire. In reality, the Belovezha Accords, which formalized the break-up of the USSR, completed a process of dissolution that started in 1989. The differences between the Warsaw Bloc countries and the Soviet republics were important, but one similarity was crucial: in all of these countries, the Kremlin had imposed communism at gunpoint. The USSR could have survived only as long as Russia maintained control of the empire and only if Gorbachev had been willing to use force to prolong that control. Many Western strategists and scholars based their assessment on a false assumption: the Soviet Union could also become free, if only its name was properly edited and the right constitution drafted for it. But that was hopeless. The peoples that comprised the USSR had different histories long before Russian domination; and, under the Soviet system's nationalities policy, their identity as members of distinct political units had actually been consolidated. After the demise of the USSR, they quickly displayed very different social and political preferences. One cannot imagine even a partly free political space, as Russia was becoming, that they could share. Of course, after gaining their independence, some of these new nation-states have been struggling to develop democratic institutions and viable economies. Others, no surprise, became outright dictatorships. But before embarking on those routes, the word "freedom" could be meaningfully applied only to the idea of liberation from Kremlin control. The dissolution of the Soviet Union deserves to be celebrated, because it created a new chance for development across the vast landmass that the USSR once controlled. But it should also be celebrated because this dissolution was achieved in such a relatively orderly and peaceful manner. To be sure, in some countries, especially my own, Georgia, there was a period of civil war and chaos. But that was our responsibility. In the heyday of the Soviet Union, when Georgians of my generation dreamed about the eventual demise of the empire (because all empires eventually break up), we did not dare to imagine that it would happen in a peaceful and orderly manner. And yet, despite its peaceful and orderly dissolution, the Soviet Union still refuses to die completely. Putin has decided to turn bitterness about Russia's loss of control over its immediate neighbors into the centerpiece of his policies, both domestically and internationally. The invasions that he has ordered in Georgia (2008) and Ukraine (2014) brought temporary satisfaction to beleaguered Russians in need of national affirmation. But Putin's aggressive behavior has also instilled fear among his neighbors, along with widespread concern and confusion within the international community. What other political projects Putin will seek to implement to restore Russia's lost greatness remain to be seen. But whatever he does, the Belovezha Accords created a new reality that can be revised only at the margins. Most of the nations of the former Soviet Union have squandered many opportunities over the past 25 years; nonetheless, they are now accustomed to being the masters of their own fate. Putin will find this almost impossible to reverse. Ghia Nodia is president of the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy, and Development in Tbilisi, Georgia. Copyright belongs to Project Syndicate. Chung is key to uncovering truth in bizarre scandal The independent counsel team is doing its utmost to bring back Chung Yoo-ra, daughter of Choi Soon-sil, who was arrested in Denmark Sunday for overstaying her visa, as soon as possible. Danish authorities detained Chung, the woman at the center of the corruption scandal that led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, and three or more people, including a child believed to be her son, in the northern Danish city of Aalborg. Discovering Chung's whereabouts is sure to be a green light in getting to the bottom of the bizarre scandal involving President Park and Choi. But it remains to be seen whether Chung can be extradited quickly. The Aalborg District Court ruled that she would be detained for four weeks, according to the AFP. During the court hearing, she denied any wrongdoing and "tearfully" asked the court not to detain her, saying she was worried about her 19-month-old son. The Korean government reportedly ordered Chung to turn in her passport in a bid to pressure her to return home and face investigation. Seoul's diplomats in Denmark met Chung in person and delivered the order. Under a relevant law, her passport will be invalid in a week, which could prompt the Danish authorities to deport Chung who will become an illegal sojourner. But Chung's early extradition is still murky, given that Denmark could regard Chung's visa as valid even after her passport is nullified. Denmark is also reportedly in the position of deciding about her extradition after a separate legal review, although it received an official request from the Korean government. What is encouraging is that Chung's detention might prompt Choi, President Park's longtime confidant, to change her mind. The chance is that Choi has remained tight-lipped to protect President Park, but she might begin opening her mouth to protect her daughter. There are many reasons to quicken the process of getting Chung returned home quickly. Of course one can be sympathetic with Chung, 20, who is in hiding abroad with her child. But the former member of the national equestrian team allegedly took advantage of her mother's relationship with President Park to get unwarranted favors from Ewha Womans University. It's no exaggeration to say that she caused even the university entrance exam, the last bastion of our fair society, to be tainted with corruption. In addition, details of how Samsung offered favors to Choi and her daughter have not been revealed yet since all those involved in the scandal deny the accusations. Given that these are core issues related to Park's impeachment trial, the independent counsel team should step up efforts to quicken Chung's extradition in close cooperation with the Danish authorities. By Lee Min-hyung With the government planning to scrap the telecom subsidy cap regulation in October, calls are growing for new measures to be implemented to curb mobile carriers from offering excessive paybacks for customers. The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) said last week that it would not renew the Mobile Device Distribution Improvement Act, three years after its enactment in October 2014. At that time, the MSIP set an upper limit on handset subsidies, in a bid to stop mobile carriers and retail stores from providing large subsidies to "steal" customers from their rivals. The much-hyped law, however, was unpopular as customers wanted to buy handsets at cheaper prices. Since the legal measure took effect, critics said that it only helped fatten the revenue of mobile carriers and handset manufacturers here, as the subsidy restriction prevented customers benefiting from discounts when buying new handsets. Local telecom firms SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus were able to reduce marketing costs and stabilized their profits. They said the subsidy regulation helped "normalize abnormalities" and boost fair competition in the telecom industry. Expectations are that customers will be able to buy handsets at lower prices, with the subsidy cap being scrapped. But concerns are still rampant that "abnormal" telecom competition will arise again. "It is true that the regulation generated outcomes to some extent, as it helped minimize the information gap among customers," a telecom industry source said, reflecting that before the regulation, those with information about excessive subsidies could buy handsets at a cheaper price, while others failed to do so. He added the move to scrap the subsidy cap restriction should be more thoroughly reviewed unless the government wants to go back to the previous market environment. In October 2014, the MSIP introduced the act, prohibiting handset makers and mobile carriers from offering more than 330,000 won ($274) in subsidies per handset, as part of its efforts to terminate controversies surrounding large subsidies and encourage fair competition in the industry. "The abolition of the act can bring forth side effects, even if it is aimed at maximizing customers' benefits," the source said. "Mobile carriers have a limit to their spending on marketing. The subsidy cap regulation allowed us to offer equal subsidies to each customer. But its abolition, in itself, will likely stir up the previous cutthroat competition again, with some customers falling victim to possible discrimination from mobile carriers due to excessive subsidies." tvN drama Guardian/Goblin slowly revealed the identity of Grim Reaper and Sunny and their relationship with the Goblin. While the actors give their New Years note to viewers to thank them for their support. Guardian/Goblin Episode 10 aired on Dec. 31 began to unveiled the identity of Grim Reaper and Sunny. It appeared that Sunny, the owener of Olive Chicken Barbeque restaurant is the younger sister or Kim Shin, the Goblin. While Grim Reaper may be the king of Goryeo who must live as a Grim Reaper due to his past sin. In Korean folklore, Grim Reaper is someone who had committeed a grave sin in their past life. In order to redeem their sins, they must live as Grim Reaper and the memory of their past life is to be erased. Af first, Goblin suspected that Grim Reaper is the reincarnation of his sister, Kim Sun, because Grim Reaper suddenly cried as he saw the picture of her. Watch the highlight of Guardian/Goblin Episode 10 below, as Grim Reaper slowly regained his memory as he saw the past life of Sunny. In terms of ratings, Guardian/Goblin continues to soar. It currently exceeds the tvN drama Signal as the second highest ratings drama in the cable channel as reported by Seoul Daily News. Guardian/Goblinreached average of 13.6 percent ratings with a maximum of 15.4 ratings, surpassing the 8.8 percent average and maximum 12.6 percent maximum of Signal. The number one spot for cable drama ratings of all-time is still held by theReply 1988 with average 9.6 percent and highest 21.6 percent. Following the successful 2016. the entire cast of the Guardian/Goblin posted a photo of them to the tvN social media to wish the viewers a 2017 New Year as reported by STOO News. Gong-Yoo, Kim Go-Eun, Lee Dong-Wook, Yoo In-Na and Yook Sung-Jae posted their New Years wish to viewers. United Airlines says it is investigating after a vendor employee was found unharmed in an aircraft's cargo hold following a flight from Charlotte, N.C., to Washington Dulles International Airport. The airline said in a statement on Monday that United Express flight 6060, operated by Mesa Airlines, landed safely at Dulles on Sunday. The statement says, once at the gate, someone found an employee of the airline's ground handling vendor in the cargo area. United Airlines didn't release the employee's name. A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority directed questions to United. Gambia gets hot as handover nears. Will the military be used against President Jammeh? Why did the Electoral commission head flee? Hmm. The man who oversaw the last presidential elections in the Gambia has reportedly fled the country following death threats on his life. Local media portals say his family confirmed that he was no longer in the Gambia but would also not disclose his location. Alieu Momar Njai, Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) had earlier vowed to defend the validity of the results he declared on December 2 last year. He was forced out of his office by security officials on December 13. Momar Njai has previously been defiant after President Yahya Jammehs questioned the validity of the election result, which he lost to opposition coalition candidate, Adama Barrow. Njai said the ruling party was likely to lose any poll petition arising from the elections. If it goes to court, we can prove every vote cast. The election results were correct, nothing will change that, he told Reuters weeks back. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Chinese-Egyptian Culture Year wraps up with great achievements From:chinadaily.com.cn | 2017-01-03 11:46 Activities held during the 2016 Chinese-Egyptian Culture Year have made Egyptians know more about China, not only as an economic power, but also a cultural power.[Photo/Xinhua] The 2016 Chinese-Egyptian Culture Year drew to an end successfully as some 150 various kinds of cultural activities were held in both countries, which is seen as a breakthrough. In January 2016, the Egyptian Ministry of Culture and the Chinese Embassy in Cairo launched the 2016 Sino-Egyptian Culture Year which marks the 60th anniversary of joint diplomatic relations. After upgrading the relations between the two countries to a "comprehensive strategic partnership," the culture year came to boost friendly ties and enhance mutual understanding and future development between the peoples of the two nations, whose relations have deep roots back in history. Actually, marking 2016 as a culture year was the fruit of agreement between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi during their meeting in Beijing in December 2014. To highlight its importance, the opening ceremony of the culture year was attended by Xi and Sisi in the ancient city of Luxor in January 2016, as the two leaders vowed to boost cultural and people-to-people exchanges. During the opening ceremony show, more than 200 elite performers from both countries staged a cultural dialogue; both have deep roots in their ancient civilizations. "We achieved 'new high' in this culture year on the quality and quantity of the cultural activities we held," said Chen Dongyun, Head of the Chinese Culture Center and Cultural Councilor of the Chinese Embassy in Cairo. "The show in Luxor was a big success, reflecting the new spirit of the two oldest civilizations in this new era," she stressed, referring to the opening show of the culture year. Other activities, Chen said, also made Egyptians know more about China, not only as an economic power, but also a cultural power. Previous Page 1 2 3 Next PagePrevious Page 1 2 3 Next Page President Xi extends good wishes in New Year speech From:Xinhua | 2017-01-01 10:27 Chinese President Xi Jinping extends New Year greetings to all Chinese compatriots and people around the world in his New Year speech in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 31, 2016. President Xi said 2016 was an extraordinary year for China as it achieved progress in every aspect, and urged the international community to join hands to build a more peaceful and prosperous world.(Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) BEIJING, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday extended New Year greetings to all Chinese compatriots and people around the world, saying hard work and joint efforts in 2017 will make China and the world better. He said 2016 is an extraordinary year for China as it has achieved progress in many aspects, urging the international community to work together to build a more peaceful and prosperous world. In the address transmitted by state broadcasters and on the Internet, Xi extended good wishes to Chinese people of all ethnic groups, compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, overseas Chinese, as well as people in other countries and regions. "To Chinese people 2016 is an extraordinary and unforgettable year, as the country has made a good beginning of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020)," the president said. China actively promoted economic growth, fully deepened reform, achieved breakthroughs in national defense and military reform, promoted rule of law, advanced strict governance of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and resolutely cracked down on high-ranking and low-level corruption, Xi added. He said China made great progress in its space program in 2016, and its athletes gained excellent achievements in the Olympics Games. Reforms have facilitated urbanization and the school conditions of children in poverty-stricken areas have improved. At the G20 Hangzhou Summit, China contributed its wisdom and solutions to addressing global issues. The Belt and Road Initiative is advancing in fast paces, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank went into operation, Xi said. "We adhere to peaceful development, and resolutely safeguard our territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," Xi said. "Chinese people will never allow anyone to get away with making a great fuss about it!" The president also expressed his condolences to victims of natural disasters and accidents in 2016 as well as Chinese soldiers having sacrificed their lives in UN peacekeeping missions. He said the 95th anniversary of founding of the CPC and the 80th anniversary of victory of the Long March were commemorated in 2016. "We will always bear in mind our predecessors who made contributions to the Chinese people and the Chinese nation, and stay true to the mission and move onwards." In 2017 the 19th CPC National Congress will be convened, and the country will make more efforts in building a well-off society in all respects, deepening overall reform, rule of law and strict governance of the Party. "There is no such thing as a free lunch, and only hard work will make dreams come true," Xi said. Although 10 million more people were lifted out of poverty in 2016, Xi said what he cared most about was impoverished people. It is the Party and the government's duty to address people's difficulties in employment, children's education, health care, and housing, among others. He urged the whole Party and the whole of society to continue to help people in poverty, so that the outcomes of reform and development will benefit more people. "As long as our 1.3 billion-plus people are pulled together for a common cause, as long as the Party stands together with the people and we roll up our sleeves to work harder, we will surely succeed in a Long March of our generation," Xi said. The Chinese people hope for a better life for people in other countries as well as for themselves, Xi said, noting that at the present time people in some countries and regions are still plagued by wars and poverty, and many people have been stricken by diseases and disasters. "I sincerely hope that the international community can join hands and uphold the concept of a community of shared future for mankind in a bid to make our planet more peaceful and more prosperous," the Chinese president said. NBC4 and On Scene TV Austin Raishbrook, an owner of RMG News source of a lot of the night crime and mayhem video that shows up on TV news was photographing a stalled SUV in the fast lane on the northbound 110 Freeway early Sunday morning night when another car plowed into the stalled vehicle. The SUV burst into flames and Raishbook ran to help extricate the driver, who was unconscious and about to be burned alive. Here's the initial crash. As you can see, the dark-colored SUV was sitting there with no lights on. This was 3:30 a.m. on New Year's Day. @RMGNews cameraman drags man from burning car after fiery crash is #caughtoncamera *NOT FOR BROADCAST* pic.twitter.com/pWTZOAQkJf RMG News (@RMGNews) January 1, 2017 From City News Service: "It was completely blacked out," Raishbrook told CNS. "Unfortunately, some of the drivers didn't see the vehicle. First, it was side-swiped by two vehicles and then it was rear-ended by a vehicle I estimate was going at least 65 miles per hour." Raishbrook said the impact sent the SUV careening into the center divider where it burst into flames. Raishbrook was videotaping the crash, but he said he dropped his camera when the vehicle started burning. "I didn't know if anyone was in the SUV because it was all dark, but I grabbed my fire extinguisher and flashlight and ran to the burning car," Raishbrook continued. "I smashed the passenger side window with my fire extinguisher and looked in but the car was nearly fully engulfed and it was hard to see through the smoke," he said. "Finally, I saw there was a man slumped over the steering wheel." It took Raishbrook two tries to free the man from his seatbelt and get him clear of the fire. The man was taken to a hospital and has some injuries but is on the mend. Raishbrook got singed. Raishbrook was the technical advisor for the 2014 movie "Nightcrawler" about the videographers who chase stories in late-night Los Angeles. Jake Gyllenhaal was the star. Raishbrook made an appearance in the film, which also included LA television news people Sharon Tay, Rick Chambers, Pat Harvey, Kent Shocknek and Rick Garcia. Added: Forgot this. In 2008, Joel Rubin of the LA Times did a Column One about Raishbook and his twin brother Howard, as the co-owners of RMG News. PRESS RELEASE South Korean Lawmakers Head for China To Discuss THAAD Deployment Jan. 2, 2017 (EIRNS)Eight South Korean lawmakers from the nations main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), including the current leading Presidential hopeful Moon Jae-in, will visit China on Jan. 4 for a three-day visit. The visits purpose is to attempt to ease tensions with Beijing over the planned deployment of U.S. missile defense systems in South Korea, one of the delegates told Sputnik today. The South Korean lawmakers are expected to hold a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during their visit. "We will tell Beijing that our presidential candidates, including Moon, are calling [for] the THAAD issue to be reconsidered in the next government," DPK member Song Young-gil told the South China Morning Post. Plus, we will also discuss Chinas role in resolving icy relations between South and North Korea. The purpose of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, which South Korea agreed in 2016 could be deployed on its territory by the end of 2017, was supposedly to counter threats from North Korea. Now, it has become one of the main irritations in Beijing-Seoul relations, Sputnik reports. China and Russia have repeatedly voiced their opposition to the deployment of THAAD, arguing that its real aim is to deter the strategic weapon systems not only in the Korean peninsulas North, but primarily in Chinas hinterlands and Russias Far East regions. PRESS RELEASE Obama Complicit in Genocide in Yemen Through Billions in Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia Jan. 2 (EIRNS)A couple of weeks ago, Obama, in a move that was no more than a fig leaf, restricted the sale of guidance kits for air-dropped munitions to Saudi Arabia. This is blasted as meaningless in an article in The National Interest by Trevor Thrall, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute who is also an associate professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. Despite the carnage that the Saudi campaign as wrought in Yementhousands of civilian deaths and bringing the country to the edge of famine"the United States has continued to provide arms, refuel coalition planes, share intelligence, and assist with targeting for the Saudis." Obamas "pullback," Thrall writes, is not nearly enough to absolve the United States of its involvement in Yemen, which otherwise continues to pour gasoline on a raging fire. The Foreign Military Sales program, through which U.S. arms sales are approved, states that its mission is to " strengthen the security of the U.S. and promote world peace," but "its hard to see how enabling the destruction of Yemen accomplishes either of those goals," writes Thrall. All the rest of the $112 billion in arms sales to the Saudis that Obama has approved over his presidency, like the arms sales to Saudi Arabias coalition partners in that war, as well as all the other support that the United States is providing to the Saudis in their genocidal war in Yemen, continue unabated. Thrall calls for a complete cutoff of U.S. arms sales to the Saudis and their partners. "This approach wouldnt end the war in Yemen, or magically bring peace and stability to the region," he concludes. "But it would ensure that the United States isnt underwriting illegal and counterproductive conflicts. And that is a good place to start." Virginia wont be for lovers anymore if the states Board of Education moves forward with a proposal that would require schools to notify students parents about sexually explicit texts assigned in classes, the Washington Post reports. The Board of Educations proposed rules would force school districts to send parents a list of any possibly objectionable reading assignments used in classes, and allow parents to request alternate material for their children instead. The proposal is a reprise of last years House Bill 516, which was passed by the states Legislature in May. The bill, known as the Beloved bill after the Toni Morrison book that spurred a parental complaint in Fairfax County, was vetoed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe in April. Advertisement But Sam Coleman, a spokesman for McAuliffe, signaled that the governor wasnt necessarily opposed to the Board of Educations proposal. The governor ultimately believes that the decision lies with the Board of Education, Coleman said. Theyre given those powers for a reason, and they make that determination. Virginia schools have found themselves in the spotlight recently over attempts to ban books in schools. Last month, the school district in Accomack County drew criticism after it pulled Mark Twains Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird from schools after a parent objected to the use of the N-word in the novels. Days later, the district reversed course and reinstated the books, following a national outcry over the ban. Free speech groups were quick to denounce the new proposal by the education board. Claire Guthrie Gastanaga of the states American Civil Liberties Union chapter registered the groups objection to the potential new rules. This is not good policy, and its treading on dangerous legal ground, Gastanaga said. Well be evaluating what happens at every step of the way. Cynthia Cave, the assistant superintendent of the state Board of Education, defended the proposal, saying it wasnt the boards goal to make teachers jobs more difficult. Theres nothing that says were going to ban these materials, she said. Theres nothing that says other students whose parents do not object may not use them. Whats important is to let parents know. The education board will discuss the proposal at a meeting on Jan. 26. The View Park residence where singing duo Ike and Tina Turner once made their home has sold for $870,000, according to the Multiple Listing Service. Ike Turner, who died in 2007 at 76, purchased the mid-century modern house in 1964 after receiving a $40,000 signing bonus from Juggy Murray, the head of Sue Records, according to the book Tina Turner: Break Every Rule. He and Tina lived there for more than a decade before selling the property after their divorce in the late 1970s. Advertisement Built in 1956, the time-capsule-like house retains the spirit of the era with such details as multicolored tilework, flashy chandeliers and patterned wallpaper. In the family room, a rock wall fireplace is accompanied by a pond and waterfall feature, and the wet bar has a built-in fish tank. The vintage kitchen has a breakfast nook and a pass-through that opens to the dining room. There are four bedrooms and 2.75 bathrooms, including a master suite with a step-up bed platform. Outdoors, concrete decking surrounds a curvy swimming pool. Theres also a two-car garage. The property came up for sale in September for $999,000 and sold in about two months, records show. Ken Conant of RE/MAX Estate Properties was the listing agent. Branden Lowder of Keller Williams Beach Cities represented the buyer. The Turners formed the Ike & Tina Turner Review in 1960 and scored numerous hits in the years to follow, including Poor Fool, Its Gonna Work Out Fine and Nutbush City Limits. neal.leitereg@latimes.com Twitter: @NJLeitereg MORE FROM HOT PROPERTY: X-Men star Shawn Ashmore snags a new-look contemporary in Studio City Emily Blunt and John Krasinski sell their retreat in Ojai for $2.4 million Restored house in Los Feliz embraces its Modernist roots Vampire Slayer star Alyson Hannigan settles on contemporary lair in Encino Ivanka Trump wants you to know she cares. She cares about the environment. She cares about children. She cares about women. Ivanka is smooth, composed and in control. Sure, Daddy might be a little rough around the edges. But how bad could Donald Trump really be if he produced such a visibly self-possessed and accomplished young woman? That seems to be the message emerging from Trump Tower as Ivanka assumes an unprecedented role in her fathers administration. Within days of Trumps stunning upset election victory, there was his second (and, by most accounts, favorite) child at a meeting between him and the Japanese prime minister. Next, she was listening in on a phone call with Argentinas president. Later, it was reported that Ivanka might assume White House office space normally reserved for the first lady (the long-suffering Melania Trump having decided to spend most of her time in New York). Showing off her environmentalist bona fides, Ivanka arranged an improbable meeting between Trump and former Vice President Al Gore. Throughout the campaign, she spearheaded her fathers initiatives on childcare policy and stoutly defended his record as a great advocate for the women in the workforce. Its easy to be seduced by Ivanka she really is smooth, not to mention beautiful but keep your guard up: This is a trap. Ivanka is nothing more than pretty window dressing to the explicitly authoritarian, racially divisive, conflict-of-interest-laden presidential campaign (soon-to-be administration) of her father. Advertisement For all the talk about how shes so much classier and more dignified than Dad, the avaricious apple doesnt fall far from the Trump tree. Ivanka, too, is using the American presidency for influence peddling and buck making. Just a day after appearing with the rest of her family on 60 Minutes, Ivankas jewelry brand sent out an email to fashion writers hawking the $10,800 gold bracelet she had worn on air. As part of a charity auction, she offered a 45-minute coffee date to the highest bidder. Only after critics accused the Trump camp of creating a pay to play conflict of interest was the item which had earned a top bid of $70,000 scrapped. If the first daughter serves a role in government while simultaneously overseeing the Trump Organization, as has been rumored, that will edge this country closer to resembling a post-Soviet, family-run kleptocracy like Azerbaijan. Good luck challenging Ivanka about the propriety of her self-dealing, or anything else. When a reporter for Cosmopolitan, not a publication exactly known for its hard-hitting political coverage, asked if her fathers family leave program would apply to same-sex couples, Ivanka suddenly transformed from Princess Grace to Cruella de Vil. I think you have a lot of negativity in these questions, she snapped. I dont know how useful it is to spend too much time with you on this if youre going to make a comment like that. In other words, let them eat cake. Its easy to feel sympathy for Ivanka. Try to imagine the emotional damage wrought by a father like Donald Trump, an admitted sexual predator who publicly boasted that hed date you if you werent his offspring, and giddily consented when a radio shock jock asked if he could call you a piece of ass. Children, after all, cannot choose their parents. They can, however, choose whether to support their parents irresponsible and dangerous behavior. Like a spouse who quietly condones her partners drink-fueled binges, Ivanka is an enabler. Shes actually worse than that, providing feminine cover and a bogus veil of responsibility for the most crudely misogynistic and immature man ever to occupy the Oval Office. In this sense, Ivanka resembles not so much any previous member of the first family than she does the scion of another obscenely rich, quasi-royal dynasty: Mariela Castro. Daughter of Cuban president Raul Castro and niece of the recently departed Fidel, Mariela has in recent years adopted LGBT rights as a pet cause in a country that once herded gay men into concentration camps and quarantined AIDS victims. Who could have a problem with that? But a wealthy, well-connected straight woman like Mariela can only claim the mantle of gay rights because the Cuban Communist Party muffles grass-roots LGBT activists, just as it suppresses labor unions, non-government newspapers and all forms of political activity independent of the regime. Gay rights, such as they are, will be meaningless as long as Cuba remains a totalitarian society. Marielas purpose is not improving the livelihood of her LGBT countrymen so much as its fooling credulous Western progressives into thinking that Cuba is anything other than a one-party state run by a mafia clan. Mariela Castro and Ivanka Trump are what happen when privileged entitlement meets political depravity. Los Angeles Times James Kirchicks book, The End of Europe: Dictators, Demagogues and the Coming Dark Age, is forthcoming from Yale University Press. Follow him on Twitter @jkirchick. From eating in the desert to a new izakaya in Echo Park, heres whats happening in the food and drink world: Desert tacos: Chef Carlos Salgado, whose Costa Mesa restaurant Taco Maria has been among the top five restaurants on Jonathan Golds best restaurants list for the last two years, is heading to the desert. Salgado was recently named a culinary partner at the Ace Hotel Palm Springs, and hell be responsible for revamping the hotel restaurant and bar. The chef took over for Brooklyns Five Leaves, the hotels former food and beverage partner. Salgados new menus will be available Feb. 1. 701 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, (760) 325-9900, www.acehotel.com/palmsprings. For the record: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Charles Namba was the chef de cuisine at Bouchon. He cooked there but did not hold that title. Also, Nina Clemente most recently cooked at the the Plaza at the Standard, High Line, not the Standard in Los Angeles. Koreatown favorite closes: Romeros Mexican restaurant has closed after 29 years on Western Avenue. The small restaurant, which housed just a handful of tables and a small counter-top space, was known for its giant smothered burritos and combination plates. 516 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 480-8438. Advertisement Blue Bottles: Oakland-based roaster Blue Bottle Coffee has opened another Los Angeles location, this time in the Bradbury Building in downtown L.A. This will be the companys sixth L.A. cafe, with others planned for South Beverly and Los Feliz. As with all Blue Bottle cafes, you can count on excellent coffee; with that coffee, there will be Blue Bottles own pastries, and bread from Travis Letts Gjusta in Venice. 300 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, bluebottlecoffee.com. Echo Park izakaya: Tsubaki, an izakaya by chef Charles Namba (formerly of Bouchon in L.A.) and Courtney Kaplan, is scheduled to open in Echo Park at the end of the month. The restaurant takes over the former Kush Sake Bar space. Instead of sushi and ramen, expect seasonal plates meant to be shared. All the food is designed to be accompanied by beer, wine or sake. Kaplans beverage program will include small production sake and spirits, along with chu-hi (a shochu -based Japanese drink) cocktails made with juice and barley spirits. 1356 Allison Ave., Los Angeles, www.tsubakila.com. All smiles: Partners Matt Kliegman, Carlos Quirarte and Melia Marden of the Smile and Smile to Go restaurants in New York City are opening the Di Alba restaurant in the downtown L.A. Arts District on Wednesday. Chef-partner Nina Clemente, who most recently cooked at the Plaza at the Standard, High Line in New York City, will be making focaccia with seasonal accompaniments and salads. The restaurant will be open for breakfast and lunch daily. 827 E. 3rd St., Los Angeles, (646) 329-5836, www.eatdialba.com. Still hungry? A location of the Cajun Creole restaurant the Oyster Bar SKC will open in Pasadena. Sweetgreen has opened the Lab test kitchen in addition to its new location in Culver City, where the company will test and create new menu items. Chocolate Malted Krunch fan for life. Follow me on Twitter & Instagram @Jenn_Harris_ ALSO: Our 15 favorite recipes of 2016 Make your own dumplings for dinner tonight. Its easier than you think. Stranger Things cocktails and crispy spatchcock chicken at the new Terra Cotta in Koreatown UPDATES: 9 a.m.: This post has been updated to remove a reference to Shuhari Matcha Cafes plan to open at Westfield Century City. The cafe no longer plans a location there. This article was originally published Jan. 3, 2017 at 9 a.m. For months, despite criticism from President-elect Donald Trump, Ford Motor Co. executives insisted that they would not alter their intention to spend $1.6 billion to build a new factory in Mexico. But with Trump poised to be take office and showing no hesitation to use his new clout to publicly pressure companies over their practices, Ford abruptly reversed course. On Tuesday, the automaker announced that it was scrapping plans to build a $1.6-billion plant in Mexico. Instead, Ford said it would invest $700 million to expand a Michigan plant to build hybrid, electric and autonomous vehicles that will add 700 jobs there in a move that Chief Executive Mark Fields described as a vote of confidence in Trumps economic policies. Advertisement Fords decision, combined with a Trump tweet targeting rival General Motors Co., signaled his broader intentions to use jawboning, and perhaps trade penalties, to convince automakers to stop expanding production in Mexico and create more jobs in the U.S. President-elect Trump is having an impact on the auto industry right off the bat, said Michelle Krebs, senior analyst at online vehicle marketplace Autotrader. Fords decision might have been a preemptive move to try to tamp down prospects for a border tax, which would add a levy on vehicles imported into the U.S., she said. Theres a chess game going on and pieces are being moved, Krebs said. What we cant see is the full picture yet. Fords announcement highlighted the importance of hybrid and electric vehicles to its future. The company said it would produce hybrid versions of its popular Mustang sports car and F-150 pickup truck by 2020. Ford isnt abandoning expanded production in Mexico. The automaker said that to improve company profitability it would build its next-generation Ford Focus at an existing plant in Hermosillo, Mexico, starting in 2018. The production is being moved from Wayne, Mich. But in the wake of criticism by Trump of companies moving manufacturing jobs south of the border, Ford said it would cancel plans announced in April for a major new factory in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, that would have produced the Focus compact cars. One of the factors that we see is a more positive U.S. manufacturing business environment under President Trump, Fields said Tuesday in an interview on CNBC. This is a vote of confidence in what we think the president-elect is going to pursue, and its right for our business. The 700 jobs to be added at Fords Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan over the next four years are a small amount for an economy that created an average of 180,000 net new jobs a month last year. And Ford had insisted that the planned Mexico factory, which was to have led to 2,800 hires there by 2020, would not have siphoned jobs from the U.S. Still, Trump was quick to trumpet Fords move. He shared articles via Twitter about the companys decision and posted a message on his Twitter and Instagram accounts saying, Instead of driving jobs and wealth away, AMERICA will become the worlds great magnet for INNOVATION and JOB CREATION. A few hours before Fords announcement, Trump complained via Twitter that GM was selling Mexican-produced Chevrolet Cruze vehicles tax-free in the U.S. Make in U.S.A. or pay big border tax! Trump tweeted. GM responded that most Chevy Cruze vehicles sold in the U.S. are made here. All Chevrolet Cruze sedans sold in the U.S. are built in GMs assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, the company said. GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, with a small number sold in the U.S. Of the 190,000 Cruze vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2016, just 4,500 were Mexican-built hatchbacks, GM said. Automotive production has been growing in Mexico, which ranked seventh in the world in 2015 with 3.6 million vehicles produced, according to the U.S. Commerce Departments International Trade Administration. Since the start of 2010, U.S. and foreign automakers have announced more than $24 billion in investments in Mexico, according to the Center for Automotive Research think tank, which forecasts vehicle production there could double this decade. Fords announcement was in the works well before Trumps GM tweet, said Joe Hinrichs, president of Fords Americas group. Our commitment to the U.S. has always been there. Its our home. Its our largest market, Hinrichs said in an interview. This reinforced that commitment we have to the U.S. economy and U.S. manufacturing. The company outlined detailed plans for seven of the 13 new hybrid or electric vehicles it plans to introduce in the next five years. The moves are part of a $4.5-billion investment in electric vehicles by 2020. The $700-million expansion of Fords Flat Rock Assembly Plant over the next four years will enable the factory to make a new small utility vehicle with extended battery range as well as fully autonomous vehicles for ride-hailing services, Ford said. It said the plant will also make the Ford Mustang and Lincoln Continental. Shifting Focus production to Hermasillo, Mexico, from Wayne, Mich., will enable that U.S. plant to make two new iconic products there that will safeguard 3,500 jobs, Ford said. Hinrichs would not reveal what those models would be. The Wayne factory has two shifts of workers producing the Focus, whose production will move to Mexico in 2018. One of the new vehicles to be built at the plant will begin production in 2018 and the other in 2020, so by then there will be at least two shifts operating there for existing workers, Hinrichs said. Shortly after Trump was elected in November, he tweeted that Ford had decided to keep a Lincoln plant in Kentucky rather than move it to Mexico. Ford said it had decided to keep producing a small Lincoln utility vehicle at its Louisville Assembly Plant and had not intended to move all its production from its Kentucky facilities. The changes announced Tuesday should not have a dramatic effect on Fords suppliers, Hinrichs said. We use largely the same supply base around the world, he said. Some large products that are difficult to ship, such as seats, are produced near Ford factories, so the expansion in Michigan should lead to some additional work there for suppliers, Hinrichs said. jim.puzzanghera@latimes.com Follow @JimPuzzanghera on Twitter ALSO The era of super-low interest rates might be ending. Whats in it for you? Trumps victory could spell the end of the FCCs net neutrality regulations Trump hammered the Federal Reserve as a candidate. As president, he could quickly reshape it UPDATES: 3:35 p.m.: This article has been updated with comments from Michelle Krebs of Autotrader and additional details and analysis. 12:05 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details from an interview with Joe Hinrichs, president of Fords Americas group, and comments from Chief Executive Mark Fields to CNBC. This article was originally published at 9:40 a.m. For much of each week, UC Berkeley senior Caelle McKaveney studies chemical signaling in spiders, nucleotide coding patterns and other serious science. But Monday evenings were different last semester. She was able to nerd out in a non-textbook way in a class designed by students for fellow students who shared a childhood obsession: Harry Potter. In a class called UC Hogwarts: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, McKaveney could leave the muggle world of the nations top public research university behind and bond with fellow Potter geeks over Hermiones feminism and the metaphorical links between werewolves and those afflicted with HIV/AIDS. She let loose and channeled her inner Snape during a class skit, allowing her long hair to cover her face and dropping her voice to the deep tones of the brooding master of the dark arts. Advertisement Berkeley is definitely a highly academic environment, and its easy to get sucked into the academic struggles of grades and being successful, said McKaveney of San Diego, who is majoring in integrative biology. The Harry Potter class turned out to be a really nice break. Harry Potter may not be a lure for everyone. But courses created by Berkeley students cover a dizzying array of other topics nearly 200 across 60 departments, taken by as many as 4,000 students each semester. The courses in DeCal short for Democratic Education at Cal arent graded, so there is little stress. But they count for one or two credits. And they have their roots in Berkeleys landmark free speech movement from five decades ago, when students pressed for and won greater academic rights. DeCal marked the nations first experiment with classes created and led by students, who enlist faculty sponsors to oversee the curriculums they concoct. Similar programs have been launched at more than a dozen other universities, including UCLA, Stanford, Tufts and Rice. At Berkeley, students can debate political strategy as seen in Game of Thrones or discuss relationships through the lens of Modern Family. They can learn the art of lion dancing and the secrets of a Rubiks Cube. They can stoke their social activism with courses on human trafficking and mass incarceration. They can indulge research interests in stem cells, surgery, human genetics and 3-D bioprinting. Or they can explore spirituality through Koran recitation, Sufi meditation and the study of Christian thought. Intro to Baking offers an irresistible opportunity to invite that cute classmate over to have cupcakes. The Aliens class seeks to reconcile science with UFO sightings and conspiracy theories. No topic is too crazy if there is a set of guiding questions or a line of inquiry, said Elizabeth Keithley, a DeCal advisor and program director at the schools Student Learning Center. DeCal has survived some embarrassing close calls. In 2002, allegations that students in a class on male sexuality had an orgy and visited a strip club got the class suspended and nearly ended the program. Last September, an executive dean suspended a DeCal class on Palestine after pro-Israel groups complained it was anti-Semitic. The class was reinstated after some faculty members and students said shutting it down was a violation of academic freedom. By and large, however, the program has thrived. Its a chance for students to seek out unfamiliar experiences. Cody Dean Jr. is a conservative Christian and libertarian from Orange County who wanted to engage with quintessential Berkeley liberals. A DeCal class on Game of Thrones the HBO megahit about political power struggles in the mythical Seven Kingdoms was a cool vehicle by which to do so, he said. He found allies among people he might not otherwise have met when he suggested that Robb Stark the doomed scion of Winterfell might have defeated the Lannisters if he had aligned himself with one of the Baratheon brothers. Huy Ha and Alexis Tran wanted to share their Vietnamese heritage in their class on Asian lion dancing. Hailey Buck, a freshman from Mission Viejo, was eager to learn. In class, she held aloft a lions head made of colorful paper, pompoms and fake fur, and danced to the beat of cymbals and drums. I love dance of all cultures, said Buck, a theater major. She said she was intrigued by the forms creative differences from jazz dancing, and its coordinated leaps, swoops and bends provided plenty of exercise. Those who come up with classes often spend months creating a curriculum, planning activities and finding a faculty sponsor. The personal payoff, many say, makes the investment well worth it. Growing up in Los Angeles County, Matthew Aaron Plinck survived poverty and homelessness, a broken home, gangs, crime and drugs. He was kicked out of high school but earned his GED at 25. Matthew Plink leads his Cognitive Karate class at UC Berkeley. (Peter DaSilva / For The Times ) Along the way, Plinck learned how to improve himself using science, psychology and philosophy. He decided to share the knowledge in a course he called Cognitive Karate and said he hoped the class would help students grow one cognitive karate chop at a time. I was so excited by the class because it offered me leadership experience and helped me believe in myself, said Plinck, who recently graduated with honors in psychology. Most of all, I hope students better their lives. Erin Kaya combined a love of art and medicine in her offering: Art Anatomy. She opened a recent class with a brief presentation on the nervous system, including a fun fact about a chicken that survived a beheading because the ax left its brain stem intact. Then students went to work on creative anatomical drawings. Some said the class which drew 200 inquiries for 30 spots gave them a chance to work out emotions through art. Freshman Alina Bieschke said her charcoal drawing of cartilage in a muscular man rowing through rapids helped ease her anxiety as she navigated the early days of college. Dano Nissen is obsessed with the 1998 film The Big Lebowski. So he made it the focus of a DeCal class, with readings per his course description to include some Eastern thing (Taoism), philosopher Bertrand Russell and crime writer James Ellroy. Ultimately the class will provide students with a theory of everything. And if you think this is a giant waste of taxpayers money to fund a class about a stoner movie, yeah, well, you know, thats just, like, your opinion, man, Nissen wrote. teresa.watanabe@latimes.com Twitter: @teresawatanabe ALSO UC freshman applications shatter records, with gains among all racial groups How will Californias newest laws affect you? California schools chief urges districts to declare themselves safe havens The California Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday in San Francisco on a preservation groups lawsuit challenging the Newport Beach City Councils approval of a proposed development at Banning Ranch. The Banning Ranch Conservancy, which seeks to preserve the sprawling coastal property in West Newport as open space, is accusing the city of violating its own general plan when, in 2012, the council approved a large residential and commercial development for the area. The group contends the general plan prioritizes open space in West Newport and that city officials failed to work with the California Coastal Commission to prioritize sensitive habitat areas. The conservancy also says the projects environmental impact report was inadequate. Advertisement At the time, developer Newport Banning Ranch sought to build 1,375 homes, a 75-room hotel and a commercial area on about 95 acres of the 401-acre property, which has been an active oil field since the 1940s. Newport Banning Ranchs plans were downgraded by September this year, when it looked to build 895 homes as well as the 75-room hotel, a 20-bed hostel and 45,100 square feet of retail space on 62 acres. The Coastal Commission rejected that plan, and in November the developer sued in Orange County Superior Court, challenging the denial and requesting damages of at least $490 million. The Banning Ranch Conservancy lawsuit was filed in Superior Court soon after the councils decision in 2012. The following year, a county judge ruled in the conservancys favor. City officials challenged that ruling, which sent the matter to state appeals court. In May 2015, an appellate judge ruled in favor of the city and the developer. The conservancy then appealed to the state Supreme Court, which agreed to review the case. Banning Ranch Conservancy Executive Director Steve Ray said his group was always prepared for the lawsuit to reach the states highest court. That was truly the only place where we could hope to win, Ray said. We built our case upon arguments that will resonate in the Supreme Court. He said the conservancys ultimate plan is to acquire the property whose market value is a matter of dispute and manage it for public use. Newport Beach City Atty. Aaron Harp contended that the city did an exhaustive environmental analysis of the property and that the court should defer to the city to interpret its own general plan. A spokesman for Newport Banning Ranch declined to comment. Each side will receive 30 minutes Wednesday to speak to the courts seven justices. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. It will be broadcast live on the courts website, courts.ca.gov/supremecourt.htm. ALSO Developer sues over Coastal Commissions rejection of Banning Ranch project Is the Banning Ranch proposal really dead? A look at where the O.C. coastal project goes from here A massive 895-home development on Southern Californias coast is shot down Mass murderer Charles Manson has been taken from a Central Valley prison to a hospital for an undisclosed medical issue, two sources familiar with the situation said. One of the sources said Manson was seriously ill but could not provide specific information. The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Advertisement Officials with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation declined to comment, citing federal and state laws and saying inmates medical information is private. We do not disclose inmate movements for safety and security reasons, said Terry Thornton, a department spokeswoman. However, she said: He is alive. 1 / 6 The five victims slain the night of Aug. 9, 1969 at the Benedict Canyon Estate of Roman Polanski. From left, Voityck Frykowski, Sharon Tate, Stephen Parent, Jay Sebring, and Abigail Folger. The next night, it happened again. Rosemary and Leno LaBianca, a wealthy couple who lived across town, were stabbed to death in their home. (Associated Press) 2 / 6 Charles Manson is led back to his cell after court appearance in 1970. (Bill Murphy / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 6 Four young female members of the Charles Manson family kneel outside the Los Angeles Hall of Justice on March 29, 1971, with their heads shaved. The women kept a vigil at the building throughout the long trial in which Manson and three others were convicted of murdering actress Sharon Tate and six others. (Wally Fong / Associated Press) 4 / 6 Charles Manson is escorted to court for preliminary hearing in 1969. (Bill Murphy / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 6 Charles Manson receives the news that he was denied parole in 1997, for the ninth time in March, 1997. (Eric Risberg / Associated Press) 6 / 6 Charles Mansion in the high security area of the Corcoran State Prison in 1998. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times) On Wednesday, a San Joaquin Community Hospital of Bakersfield spokeswoman told The Times that Manson was not a patient at the facility or receiving treatment in any way. The hospital is one of two in the area that treats patients from Corcoran state prison. At least one source, who was not authorized to discuss the matter, said Manson was admitted to Mercy Hospital earlier this week. Officials at Mercy Hospital in downtown Bakersfield have refused to comment. The hospital regularly treats patients from the state prison, and its emergency room is where many inmates end up when sudden life-threatening illness or injuries occur. Manson and other members of his so-called family were convicted of killing actress Sharon Tate and six other people during a bloody rampage in the Los Angeles area during two August nights in 1969. Prosecutors said that Manson and his followers were trying to incite a race war that he believed was in the Beatles song Helter Skelter. Tate, the wife of director Roman Polanski, was 8 months pregnant when she was killed at her hilltop home in Benedict Canyon on Aug. 9, 1969. Besides Tate, four others were stabbed and shot to death: Jay Sebring, 35; Voytek Frykowski, 32; Abigail Folger, 25, a coffee heiress; and Steven Parent, 18, a friend of Tates caretaker. The word Pig was written on the front door in blood. The next night, Manson rode along with his followers to the Los Feliz home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, then left three members to kill the couple. Manson, now 82, has had hundreds of rules violations, prison officials say, and has been in trouble for having a cellphone and a homemade weapon while incarcerated. Manson has been denied parole 12 times. His next parole hearing is scheduled for 2027, when he will be 92. He has been in prison since 1971 and is serving his time at Corcoran State Prison. In 2014, Manson and Afton Elaine Burton, a 26-year-old Manson devotee, were granted a marriage license, but it expired before the two could marry. Last week, state parole officials postponed a decision on granting parole to Patricia Krenwinkel, a Manson follower and convicted killer, after her attorney made new claims that she had been abused by Manson or another person. Krenwinkel was sent to death row in 1971 after a Los Angeles jury convicted her in the Tate murders. Several Bakersfield media outlets said a corrections department van was parked outside Bakersfields Mercy Hospital. The Bakersfield Californian reported Manson was admitted there Sunday under a Joe Doe name. The paper said Manson was not in the intensive care unit. richard.winton@latimes.com @LAcrimes hailey.branson@latimes.com @haileybranson ALSO Decision on former Manson follower Patricia Krenwinkels parole postponed after attorney makes new claims YouTube daredevil breaks feet jumping off Laguna Beach hotel, asks for money State water officials are optimistic despite gloomy California snowpack survey UPDATES: 12:00 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from hospital officials. 7:43 a.m., Jan. 4: This article was updated with information about Manson follower Patricia Krenwinkels parole hearing and a report that Manson was not in intensive care. 7:40 p.m.: Updated with more information about the hospital where Manson is being treating. 4:40 p.m.: This post was updated with more background. This story was originally published at 2:59 p.m., Jan. 3. Los Angeles City Hall gets back to work this week, facing an ambitious and, in some ways, divisive agenda ahead of several key elections. The council will take up some hot-button issues tied to immigrants, the new economy and homelessness. In the shadow of all this is Mayor Eric Garcettis reelection bid and a citywide vote on a growth measure. Heres a rundown of whats ahead: Street vending law Even before Donald Trump won the presidential election, the City Council was weighing a plan to legalize street vending a practice thats illegal in Los Angeles. Now, some city officials want to hurry up and pass a law amid concerns over Trumps planned illegal immigration policies. Many street vendors in L.A. are in the country illegally, and officials worry those workers will be deported if theyre ticketed for street vending. Backers also say legalization will help protect vendors from being extorted by local gangs and ensure vendors follow county health regulations. Advertisement Los Angeles is the only large city in the U. S. that hasnt legalized vending, said Branimir Kvartuc, spokesman for City Councilman Joe Buscaino. The current vending system is a mess. Airbnb rules The City Council is expected to finally pass a law to regulate short-term housing rentals. Despite the widespread popularity of companies like Airbnb, its still illegal in much of Los Angeles to rent out a residence for less than 30 days at a time, according to planning department officials. Airbnb critics argue home-sharing companies cannibalize rental housing and changes the character of neighborhoods by filling apartments with travelers. Under the proposal being considered by the council, housing covered by the citys Rent Stabilization Ordinance believed to be about 80% of the citys rental stock couldnt be rented out on home-sharing companies. Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival, said home-sharing companies are hurting L.A.s stock of affordable housing. They must be restricted, Gross said of Airbnb. Measure S The battle over Los Angeles development takes center stage in March when voters weigh in on Measure S, a ballot measure that would put a two-year moratorium on construction projects requiring a zone change or other major change to city building rules. The goal, Measure S supporters say, is to rein in the type of overdevelopment thats led to denser neighborhoods. Opponents argue the ballot would hurt the citys economy and drive up rental prices. The Coalition to Preserve L.A., which is spearheading Measure S, has raised more than $1.4 million, according to its September campaign filings. Nearly all of that money has come from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which sued the city last year over the approval of the Palladium Residences, a project planned next door to its Hollywood headquarters. Opponents, which include unions, homeless advocates and business groups, have raised about $1 million to fight Measure S. Garcetti also intends to campaign against the measure in the coming months. Digital billboards City Hall faced major criticism a decade ago when lawmakers allowed digital billboards across the city, a move that was ultimately struck down by the courts. Now, digital displays are again being debated for some areas of Los Angeles. The L.A. City Council is expected to consider a plan to allow digital billboards in so-called sign districts and to grandfather in some existing, illegal billboards. Business groups and unions support allowing more digital signs, while some neighborhood groups and activists argue the displays are a form of visual blight that reduce property values. Digital billboards remain a controversial issue, so expect a vote on the sign law after the March election, when 10 City Hall officials face reelection. Homeless storage City Hall wants to locate storage facility sites so the citys estimated 28,000 homeless can safely secure their medicines, paperwork and other personal items. However, the plan is already facing some push back from community members. A proposed storage facility in San Pedro was shelved this fall after locals complained the site was too close to a school. A Venice site and other spots will be considered by the City Council in the coming months. The council will also consider a plan for a mobile storage bus that would drive around the city. People need an alternative to keeping their stuff on the sidewalk, said David Graham-Caso, spokesman for Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin. Its something that weve heard from neighbors and homeless advocates alike. dakota.smith@latimes.com Twitter: @dakotacdsmith A man was arrested Monday night after he vandalized 30 vehicles with a small blade in a Koreatown neighborhood, police said. William Michael Ramirez, 32, was taken into custody on suspicion of felony vandalism after he was caught in the act, said Officer Irma Mota, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department. At about 9 p.m., officers spotted Ramirez smashing a vehicle window with the blade near Third and Berendo streets, she said. Advertisement They soon realized it wasnt the only car window that had been destroyed. Officers discovered 29 vehicles had been vandalized. veronica.rocha@latimes.com For breaking news in California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter. ALSO Watch as SUV explodes in flames on 110 Freeway and videographer drags motorist to safety Avalanche warning issued as Sierras hit by major snowstorm; 4-5 feet expected this week Man arrested in deaths of 2 women whose bodies were found in Newport Beach after home fire A man was arrested Monday in connection with the deaths of a woman and her friend after a house fire in Westminster led authorities to their bodies, which were found miles away. Christopher Ireland, 37, of Huntington Beach was taken into custody on suspicion of murder, according to the Westminster Police Department. According to police, Ireland and the victims were acquaintances. This crime appears to be an isolated incident and we do not believe any other suspects are outstanding, Commander Cameron Knauerhaze said in a statement. The motive for the crime is still under investigation. Advertisement The investigation began to unfold about 5:30 a.m. Sunday, when firefighters were called to a home in the 5000 block of Northwestern Way in Westminster, police said. When authorities arrived, the homeowner, Yolanda Holtrey, and her friend were nowhere to be found. Due to the suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire, an arson investigator responded along with detectives from [Westminster Police Department], police said in a statement. As detectives began digging into the womens disappearance, they uncovered information that led them to their bodies on Tuesday. Holtrey, 59, and her friend, a 49-year-old Huntington Beach woman who has not been identified, were found on a road off Bonita Canyon Drive and Ford Road in Newport Beach, KTLA-TV reported. Evidence found at Holtreys home led investigators to Ireland, the television news station reported. Ireland is a Realtor, according to Orange County Sheriffs Department booking records. veronica.rocha@latimes.com For breaking news in California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter. ALSO Hollywood sign could get extra security after New Years Day Hollyweed prank After six years of drought, this is the winter weather were supposed to be getting, meteorologists say Can a $100,000 grant revive the Triforium, L.A.'s weird, strange beacon? Higher elevations of Northern California were hit by heavy snowfall overnight, prompting avalanche warnings, as the region braced for a week of intense weather. The National Weather Service said it expected 4 to 5 feet of snow in some Sierra areas and encouraged drivers to avoid mountain roads. One location, Kingsvale, got 23 inches of snow in just the last 24 hours. The Sierra Avalanche Center on Monday issued a warning for some areas hit by heavy snow. Human triggered wind slab avalanches occurred yesterday in a variety of locations. The ongoing combination of new snow and wind will keep this problem ongoing today, the group said. Advertisement The northern half of the state has already seen impressive rains this fall and winter, filling reservoirs and replenishing the Sierra snowpack, a key source of water for California cities and farmlands. Several feet of snowfall expected across the higher terrain of #NorCal thru mid-week. Mountain travel is discouraged! #CAwx pic.twitter.com/HkcrfWpayJ NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) January 3, 2017 A storm system is expected to bring rain and snow throughout the week in Northern California, and a foot of snow is expected Tuesday in the Sierra Nevada with an additional foot or two predicted for Wednesday, said Johnnie Powell, a weather forecaster with the National Weather Service. This is what were supposed to be getting, Powell said. After six years of a drought, I love saying that. This is normal rain and snow that were supposed to be getting in December and January. We've gathered up the latest storm total snow reports with @NWSReno! Many FEET to come! #cawx pic.twitter.com/39ssSoC1UX NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) January 3, 2017 That same system might bring much-needed moisture to Southern California by the middle of the week. But thats just a precursor to a bigger storm, NWS meteorologist Joe Sirard said. The main event, a stronger storm system, is expected to move into the Los Angeles County area late Saturday and continue until Monday. There is the potential that if the main moisture feed into Southern California lines up over Ventura and L.A. counties, we could be under the gun for many inches of rain, Sirard said. Steady rain since the fall has pulled 15% of the state all of it up north out of drought conditions, according to the National Weather Service and the U.S. Drought Report. But while Northern California has begun to rebound from the drought, Southern California remains dry. Los Angeles marked a sober milestone last year, when the NWS announced that the last five years were the driest ever documented in downtown L.A. since official record-keeping began almost 140 years ago. Precipitation during that period totaled just 38.79 inches roughly half the normal amount. But December turned out to be a boon for Southern California, with a series of storms dumping decent amounts of rain and snow. It ended up being the wettest December since 2010. State officials have said its far too early to declare the six-year drought over, though they acknowledge the improvements in Northern California. In late December, officials said the Sierra Nevada snowpack was at 72% of normal. They expect that number to increase in the coming weeks. Northern Californias improving fortunes help Southern Californias drought picture but only to a point. Though Southern California still gets some water from the Sierra, about 50% of its supply comes from local sources such as groundwater and reservoirs. Ready for at atmospheric river? Uncertainty as to where the moisture stream will set up, but CA will likely get heavy rain! #cawx #LArain pic.twitter.com/fq0CtvxQ02 NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) January 3, 2017 Decembers conditions and cold temperatures across the state have provided a winter wonderland view in both Southern California and the Bay Area, with mountain peaks getting strong dustings of snow. The Grapevine was closed for periods in recent weeks because of heavy snowfall, and some motorists were temporarily stranded on mountain roads. For more California breaking news, follow @AngelJennings. She can also be reached at angel.jennings@latimes.com. ALSO Hollywood sign could get extra security after New Years Day Hollyweed prank Quake swarm near the Calif.-Mexico border gets scientists attention Massive Orange County coastal development goes before California Supreme Court UPDATES: 10:24 a.m.: Updated with additional maps. 9:05 a.m. Jan. 3: Updated with new developments and snow conditions. This article was originally published at 7:41 p.m. Jan. 2. Sixty-four U.S. police officers died in shooting incidents during 2016, according to final figures compiled through New Years Eve. But at least Officer Mike McClaughry appears to be winning his struggle not to make it 65. If we ask him to wiggle his right leg, most of the time he will. Raise his right arm, hell do it. His eyes mostly remain closed, his daughter April McClaughry said Tuesday. Hes made a ton of progress, but its still day by day. For two weeks, Officer Mick, as the 31-year police veteran is known to many, has been in critical condition, partially comatose, and watched around the clock in an intensive care unit. He was shot in the head, allegedly by a serial felon in the farming community of Mount Vernon, Wash., population 32,000, a rain-nourished piece of heaven as the Chamber of Commerce calls it, an hour north of Seattle. Advertisement The 60-year-old married father of three was airlifted to Seattles Harborview Medical Center on Dec. 15 with a bullet hole in his skull. He was rushed into surgery in a weakened and unresponsive condition. McClaughrys progress, though slow and minimal, is still good news to Mount Vernon and Skagit County, where lately there had been no shortage of grief. The town was still recovering from the October mass murder of five people at nearby Cascade Mall in Burlington, and only a week before McClaughry was shot, a police officer was slain in Tacoma, 90 miles south. The death of Tacoma Officer Reginald Jake Gutierrez, 45, and the wounding of McClaughry came about the time the region paused to remember four Lakewood, Wash., officers ambushed and gunned down as they dined at a coffee shop seven years ago. At the memorial ceremony Nov. 29, retired Lakewood Police Chief Bret Farrar recalled the publics outpouring of support helped his department heal. Now the public is rallying around McClaughry and Gutierrezs family. On Nov. 30, Gutierrez became the nations 61st officer shot dead in 2016 ambushed while trying to resolve a domestic dispute. A televised funeral procession showed more than 750 law officers attending the Tacoma Dome service for Gutierrez, a 17-year veteran of the force. Other officers later fatally shot Gutierrezs killer, a gun-toting barber named Bruce Randall Johnson, 38, who used two children as shields and was described in court records as just damn mean. After Gutierrez was buried and McClaughry was shot, another officer in the Northwest became a target. Oregon state Trooper Nic Cederberg was critically wounded Christmas night by another violent ex-con in King City, southwest of Portland. The suspect, 30-year-old James Tylka, was killed by police after a pursuit. The flag-draped casket bearing the body of Tacoma Officer Reginald Jake Gutierrez is carried outside the Tacoma Dome before a public memorial service in Tacoma, Wash., on Dec. 9. (Ted S. Warren / Associated Press ) Cederberg and McClaughry became part of what seemed to be a regional death watch, with regular updates on their mostly unimproved conditions. In particular, the white-haired McClaughry, as a cop on the beat, was a father figure to many in the community, police spokesman Lt. Christopher Cammock said, citing McClaughrys efforts in launching educational programs to help kids get off drugs. Well-wishers flooded the hospital and police headquarters with cards, messages, kiddie drawings and flowers while also contributing $49,000 to a GoFundMe drive to aid his recovery. Then came something of a Christmastime miracle. Last Wednesday, as nurses were turning the still-critical McClaughry over in his hospital bed, he suddenly said Ouch! It was his first word since being shot and remaining mostly comatose since Dec. 15. He was also breathing well on his own, said his cautiously optimistic daughter, April McClaughry. She announced the breakthrough Thursday on a Facebook page, stoking a round of cheerful comments and 1,800 likes. April McClaughry says her fathers road to recovery will be long and unpredictable. Hes also not hearing too well out of his right ear, which is the side the bullet exited, she said in an interview, adding: He isnt doing any more talking, but you can tell hes listening to you. She cant say for sure if he hears the doughnut jokes she and others work into the conversation for comic relief. She hopes he got a lift, though, from a letter sent by a young boy. He suggested McClaughry deserved a Purple Heart because you sacrificed your head for others safety. After he was shot, McClaughry was rescued by fellow officers who also took fire, but werent hit. A lengthy standoff ended with the arrest of Ernesto Lee Rivas, 44, a gang member whose criminal record includes eight felony convictions. He is charged with attempted first-degree murder. Two teenagers in the home were also charged. As for Oregon trooper Cederberg like McClaughry, still in critical condition it turns out hes on a comeback as well. Last Wednesday, he was able to speak to his family for the first time since the shooting. He was pretty emotional and sincerely thanked each and every doctor, nurse and all of the support staff, said his brother Jeff Cederberg in an update on the troopers GoFundMe page. So far, donors have pledged $65,000 to aid his recovery. By the end of last week, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund released its annual figures on fallen law enforcement officers in the U.S.: the body count had risen to the highest level in five years, with 64 dying in gun-related incidents and 71 others killed by traffic accidents and other causes during 2016. It was a long list, 135 names. But if nothing else, McClaughry and Cederberg werent among them. Anderson is a special correspondent. ALSO: Hillary and Bill Clinton will attend Donald Trumps inauguration Utah may lower the legal alcohol limit to .05% a first in the nation House Republicans reverse course on gutting congressional ethics office after a firestorm of criticism The inauguration of the next president won't play out quite the way they had envisioned. But Bill and Hillary Clinton will still attend inaugural ceremonies for President-elect Donald Trump at the Capitol on Jan. 20, aides for both Clintons confirmed Tuesday. Protocol dictates that former presidents, and their spouses, are given prominent seats to witness inauguration. But never has a former first lady lost the election, and it had not been a given that either Clinton would attend. Hillary Clinton's attendance, in particular, will be an important symbol about the peaceful transfer of power in America despite one of the most bitter campaigns in recent memory. Both Clintons spoke with Trump to congratulate him on his victory. A spokesman for former President Clinton said they have not spoken since. Mitt Romney, who lost the 2012 election to President Obama, did not attend Obama's second inaugural, opting to spend the day in La Jolla. He had dropped by the White House weeks before for a post-election lunch with Obama. Previous election losers, including Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) were on hand for the inaugurations. Al Gore, as the outgoing vice president, also attended George W. Bush's first inaugural in 2001 despite the close election result and recount battle in Florida. Bush, the 43rd president, will also attend Trump's inauguration as the 45th, as will former President Jimmy Carter. Former President George H. W. Bush will not attend due to health issues, CNN reported . One of 2016s most spectacular examples of government dysfunction was the U.S. Senates outrageous refusal to consider President Obamas nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. That dereliction of duty by the Republican majority not only denied a sitting president his constitutional prerogative to fill vacancies in the court (so that the appointment would go instead to a hoped-for Republican successor). It also prevented the court from resolving a handful of cases because of a 4-4 split and probably discouraged the justices from accepting other cases because of the possibility of a similar deadlock. Less well known is the fact that the Senate also failed to hold floor votes on 24 Obama nominees for lifetime federal judgeships who had been cleared by the Senate Judiciary Committee. They are among 59 aspiring judicial appointees whose nominations will expire when the 114th Congress fades into history this month. Of the 24 nominees left stranded, three had been selected for federal appeals courts, two for the U.S. Court of International Trade and 19 for federal district courts. Some of the nominees have been waiting for Senate action for months, including U.S. District Judge Lucy Haeran Koh, who was nominated to the San Francisco-based U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals by Obama in February and recommended by the committee in September. Advertisement The failure [by Senate Republicans] to act on these lower-court nominations is extreme and inexcusable. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, accused Senate Republicans of setting a record for inaction on judicial nominations. Whereas a Democratic-controlled Senate confirmed 68 of George W. Bushs judicial nominees in the last two years of his presidency, only 22 Obama nominees have been confirmed in the comparable period, Democrats note. Republicans counter by citing other statistics, such as the fact that Obama has had more judicial nominees confirmed overall than Bush did in his two terms 329 to Bushs 326. Its also true that a Democratic-controlled Senate ended its business in 2008 without having confirmed 26 Bush judicial nominees. And both parties have a history of refusing to act on highly qualified judicial nominees proposed by a president of the other party. Yet Leahys indictment is on point: As with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells stonewalling of the Garland nomination, the failure to act on these lower-court nominations is extreme and inexcusable. As we noted above, it represents a partisan attempt to prevent Obama from exercising his right, as the Constitution puts it, to appoint judges by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Sabotaging the exercise of that authority is offensive not only because it undermines the Constitution but because it perpetuates a partisan grudge match over the federal courts. It would be utterly understandable if Senate Democrats now retaliated by making it difficult for President-elect Donald Trump to win confirmation for his judicial nominees, especially those slotted for seats that Obama had every right to fill. Democrats will be especially reluctant to support a Trump nominee to the Supreme Court, who likely would move the court to the right, after Republicans cheated Obama out of his opportunity to shape the court in a more liberal direction by appointing Garland. We recognize that the selection of federal judges is an inherently political process, one in which both presidents and members of the Senate consider not only a nominees technical qualifications and legal philosophy but also his or her ideology and party label. Even so, both parties need to eventually find a way back to a state of affairs in which a president, regardless of party, will receive prompt Senate consideration of his judicial nominees and an affirmative vote if they are well qualified and not extreme in their philosophy (as we fear some Trump nominees may be). That should be the process regardless of which party controls the Senate. That is important because denying qualified judicial nominees a vote harms the federal judiciary by denying it needed personnel and by telling lawyers who might aspire to the bench that their nominations could languish for months and ultimately perish not because of any failing on their part but because of partisan gamesmanship. And it isnt just lawyers and judges who suffer. As White House Counsel W. Neil Eggleston told the Washington Post: There is a real impact on real people. There are people and companies who are not having their cases heard because there are no judges around. Trump can make a significant gesture toward restoring a measure of normality to the confirmation process. He should resubmit the names of the nominees who received bipartisan support on the Judiciary Committee but were left stranded because of the delaying tactics of his fellow Republicans. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Of all Barack Obamas costumes, the most ill-fitting is that of the hawk. The guise doesnt fit for all sorts of ideological and historical reasons. Plus theres the fact that hes rushing to put on the outfit as hes heading out the door. The new sanctions against Russia are fine with me on the merits, even if they are remarkably tardy and being sold in no small part for domestic, political reasons. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been undermining American interests for a long time now. From the annexation of Crimea and a shadow war in Ukraine, to his unabashed support for the butcher President Bashar Assad in Syria, Putin has given the Obama administration every excuse to punch back. But until last week, Obamas response has been to offer various and sundry diplomatic off-ramps and a little bit of tongue-lashing. General dovishness combined with single-minded pursuit of a deal with Iran led Obama to insist that we should avoid provoking Russia. Advertisement Simply by taking office while holding what once were conventionally pro-Israel positions, Trump can play the role of Israels defender. The satirist Iowahawk cut to the chase on Twitter: Russia invades Crimea: oh well Russia shoots down airliner: mistakes happen John Podesta falls for phishing scam: RESTART THE COLD WAR Obamas volte-face should be seen in the larger context of his last-minute legacy padding and his widely alleged desire to box in his successor. The president is preparing to spend the next few decades as a celebrity in liberal circles. Creating national monuments in Utah and Nevada, banning offshore oil drilling in the Arctic and the Northeast, deleting the database of Muslim men at DHS: All of these things will earn him toasts at all the right parties. Despite a remarkable lack of evidence that the Russians hacked the election (as opposed to their obvious complicity in the WikiLeaks shenanigans), the conviction that Hillary Clinton lost because of Putins skulduggery is rapidly gelling into liberal conventional wisdom. These sanctions give Obama yet another useful talking point in retirement. Theyre also having the desired effect on the Trump team, which for obvious reasons hates any suggestion that the Donalds election was less than legitimate. But will they actually box-in a President Trump? It seems unlikely. Putin is cleverly not taking the bait, preferring to run out the clock on the Obama presidency. When Trump is sworn in three weeks from now, he will have more leverage over Putin thanks to Obamas bad cop act. While it would be politically tricky to lift the sanctions immediately upon taking office, Trump has long vowed to improve relations with Russia. Having more bargaining chips for some grand deal whatever that might look like only improves his position. A similar dynamic is at play with Obamas execrable maneuver at the U.N. Security Council. The decision to clear the path for a resolution holding that the Western Wall is actually a Palestinian possession is a serious blow to our ally (and our honor) and proof that Obamas rhetorical support of Israel was always more about political necessity than personal conviction. Even as the move will please some though by no means all leftists on the party circuit, it is nevertheless a political gift to the two politicians Obama (probably) detests most: Bibi Netanyahu and Donald Trump. For almost eight years, Netanyahu has argued domestically that the deteriorating relationship with the United States isnt his fault, but Obamas. The president just settled that argument for him. Meanwhile, the resolution helps Trump enormously. Simply by taking office while holding what once were conventionally pro-Israel positions, Trump can play the role of Israels defender, both domestically and abroad. It is lamentable that Israel is now a partisan issue in America, but Obama ceded the winning side of the issue to his Republican successor. Much has been written about how Obama has left the Democratic Party and ideological allies in shambles by putting his perceived interests and ego ahead of everything else. As he leaves office, he has turned that domestic story into an international one too. jgoldberg@latimescolumnists.com Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trumps choice to lead the State Department, has spent 41 years at the oil and gas company Exxon Mobil. He rose through its ranks to CEO, but he was so cloistered in its corporate culture that he could not appreciate the decline of an outdated business model. As a case study for MBA students, thats perhaps instructive; as a biography of the nominee to be secretary of State, thats frightening. Tillersons essential failure as chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil has been that he viewed climate change as a threat to the companys bottom line rather than a signal to change course. When business environments and markets shift, companies must adapt or die. Tillerson must have understood the scientific consensus about climate change for decades; after all, Exxon Mobil is one of the most science-based corporations in the world. As revealed in the Los Angeles Times and InsideClimate News in 2015, internal Exxon documents dating back to the late 1970s confirmed that the burning of fossil fuels was destabilizing Earths climate and would likely cause catastrophic damage to the worlds ecosystems as well as immense human suffering. That would have been a good time for Exxons management, including Tillerson, to reassess the long-term viability and ethical rationality of their business. Fatefully, however, the company took the Big Tobacco approach and deceived the public. Exxon spent tens of millions of dollars funding scientists and organizations that would misrepresent the growing scientific consensus on climate change. It also funded right-wing think tanks that would amplify and lend credence to such misrepresentations. Tillersons predecessor as CEO, Lee Raymond, got into the act personally, regularly disparaging climate science, infamously claiming in 1997 that the planet might be facing global cooling. Advertisement Exxon Mobils disregard for the health of the planet isnt the only thing that is disturbing about the prospect of a State Department led by Tillerson. Out of the public eye, however, as the Times 2015 report also noted, Exxon was simultaneously making other business decisions based on climate science, such as fortifying its infrastructure in the Arctic and using projections of dwindling sea ice to plan future oil drilling opportunities. In other words, while Exxon was trying to confuse the public about the dangers of continuing to burn fossil fuels, it was also figuring out how to profit from its products damage to the planet. When Tillerson ascended to CEO in 2006, he changed the companys rhetoric, but not its actions. Exxon Mobil finally acknowledged that climate change is real. Still, Tillerson frequently equivocated and sometimes misstated the facts about climate change. In 2015 he said global temperatures had been flat for a decade (but they werent). He said climate models were too inconsistent to justify policy prescriptions (although climate models have been remarkably consistent for decades). Exxon under his leadership claimed it would stop funding groups such as the American Legislative Exchange Council that deny and obfuscate climate science (but it still hasnt). Most profoundly, Tillerson has never backed down from Exxon Mobils position that it can pump and burn all its known fossil fuel reserves. The scientific consensus, affirmed by the Paris agreement on climate change, is that only one-third of the worlds known reserves can be used at all if we hope to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. Exxon Mobils disregard for the health of the planet isnt the only thing that is disturbing about the prospect of a State Department led by Tillerson. The company and its CEO have shown shaky regard for the traditions of free speech and transparency and have attacked the credibility of professional journalists. After nongovernmental organizations, including the one I work for, criticized Exxons decades of climate deception, the company used legal processes to bully us and repeatedly accused us of conspiracy, a criminal act. When investigated for possible fraudulent statements to its shareholders on its understanding of climate science and how it accounts for its oil reserves, Exxon Mobil sued the Massachusetts and New York attorneys general rather than root out any internal corporate wrongdoing. Given this record, is there reason to believe that Tillerson understands the U.S. tradition of defending human rights and a free press abroad? Will he demand transparency of his own State Department? Exxon Mobils lobbying and political muscle helped stymie climate legislation that would have hurt the companys antiquated business model. Will Tillersons first instinct be to protect those same interests from international threats? If so, it seems certain that the $500-billion joint Russia-Exxon Mobil project to develop oil and gas in Siberia and the Russian Arctic which was halted by U.S. sanctions after Russia invaded Ukraine will resume. For the next four years a fossil-fuel-friendly Trump administration and Vladimir Putins Russia could be aligned around one goal: sell as much oil and gas as possible, climate change be damned. If Tillerson is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Exxon Mobils abhorrent decision to prioritize short-term oil profits over humankinds shared future will become the shared policy of two of the worlds great powers. Lee Wasserman is director of the Rockefeller Family Fund. The Fund has made grants to the Columbia Journalism Schools Energy and Environment Reporting Project and InsideClimate News, but has no involvement in articles they produce. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook MORE FROM OPINION Obamas last-minute own-goals A fake news history of 2016 The Times Editorial Boards 2017 wish list In one of the quickest reversals in recent political history, House Republicans on Tuesday scuttled a plan to change the rules in a way that would have weakened the independent Office of Congressional Ethics. The office, created in 2008 after a series of scandals involving House members, serves as a kind of grand jury for the House Ethics Committee and issues reports that are made public. The new rules proposed by Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte (R-Va.) would have reduced the autonomy of the watchdog office in several ways: by preventing the release of the results of its investigations without permission of the Ethics Committee; by stopping it from following up on anonymous complaints; and by prohibiting it from referring possible criminal wrongdoing to prosecutors without Ethics Committee approval. The office also would have gotten a new name: the Office of Congressional Complaint Review. The last-minute shelving of the new rules, which had been approved by Republicans at a meeting Monday, was a major victory for aggressive ethics enforcement. As a 2010 Los Angeles Times editorial argued, the OCE has made it harder for the Ethics Committee to engage in backdoor cover-ups and deal-making. Advertisement But who should get credit for the rescue of the office? Could it be President-elect Donald Trump? It would be easy for readers of news coverage of the turnabout to get that impression. Several noted that Trump had criticized the proposed rules change in a tweet posted Tuesday morning. Heres the sub-headline of the story in BuzzFeed: Amid criticism from Donald Trump, Democrats and ethics experts over their move to severely limit the Office of Congressional Ethics powers on day one, House Republicans unanimously voted to kill the amendment Tuesday. USA Today quoted Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) who opposed the rules change, saying: Never underestimate the power of a Donald Trump tweet. Not so fast. First of all, Trumps two-part tweet was hardly a ringing endorsement of the OCEs work or current independence. What he actually wrote was this: With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS Except for the hashtag (an abbreviation for Drain the Swamp), there was little in the tweet to encourage supporters of OCE. Trump seemed to be criticizing the priority congressional Republicans were attaching to gutting the office, not their ultimate objective of defanging an unfair watchdog. Also, Trump wasnt the only or the most important factor in the backlash. As the Los Angeles Times story noted, Good-government and watchdog groups warned Republicans to switch course. Furthermore, a torrent of news articles Monday evening and Tuesday morning brought the Republicans attack on the office to the attention of the House members constituents. As Brian Beutler of the New Republic complained on Twitter: Amazingly, the OCE outcome is the direct result of quality journalism, yet journalists are falling over themselves to hand credit to Trump. (Its also worth noting that this isnt the first attempt to weaken the OCE it has been under attack before, from both Republicans and Democrats. And both good-government groups and newspaper editorialists opposed previous attempts to rein in the office.) No doubt Trumps tweet had some effect on House Republicans, who arent eager to antagonize the Republican who will be sworn in as president on Jan. 20. But this was not an example of I alone can fix it. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook In early December, a wildfire raged through the Great Smoky Mountains and destroyed nearly 1,000 homes in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Thousands were evacuated. Close to 200 people were injured or made ill by the blaze. Fourteen were killed. In the midst of this tragedy, numerous messages appeared on social media that were as despicable as they were dispiriting. One man sent out a tweet that said, Laughing at all the Trump supporters in Gatlinburg as their homes burn to the ground tonight. Too bad its not the whole state burning. Someone else tweeted that a few confederate flag flying hillbillies losing their mobile homes isnt newsworthy. Another suggested maybe its god punishing them for voting for Trump. And another seemed to think empathy for one group negates empathy for another: Honestly? White privilege is mourning Gatlinburg while ignoring Standing Rock and Im not having any of that st today. Advertisement Obviously, as conservative commentator Zach Montanaro noted after listing many of the offensive tweets, not all liberals feel this way. These are just a small group of nut-jobs. Nevertheless, the nut-jobs who are willing to openly say these things represent a malign spirit that seems pervasive from one end of the political spectrum to the other. Far too many Americans are willing, and even eager, to think the worst and often say the worst about their fellow citizens. 1 / 51 la-1491523602-y7ephyarj1-snap-image (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 51 la-1491368625-0bgh58ihw8-snap-image (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los angeles Times) 6 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 51 Trump inspires millions to take to the streets -- to oppose him. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 51 Cartoon caption contest winner at the DENT conference in Sun Valley, Idaho: Jon Duval, executive director of the Ketchum Community Development Corporation. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 51 Old radicals and big media descend on Selma (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 51 Horsey imagined the creation of the Ann Coulter phenomenon in this cartoon from 2007. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 51 This David Horsey drawing is a reconfiguration of a cartoon he first published in 2006. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 51 Donald Sterling, owner of the L.A. Clippers, should give Cliven Bundy a call. After Sterling loses his NBA franchise and the deadbeat Nevada rancher loses his cattle, the two old racists will both need a buddy. Maybe they can team up together and open an all-white rodeo. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 51 Besides sending a chill up the spine of the international community, Vladimir Putin has accomplished one other thing by seizing Crimea and threatening the rest of Ukraine: Putin has brought back the bear. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 51 The right-wing insurrection at the Bundy ranch in Bunkerville, Nev., has taken another weird turn with new revelations about the family history of Cliven Bundy. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 43 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 51 David Horsey / Los Angeles Times (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 46 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 47 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) It is not just a liberal versus conservative or Republican versus Democrat thing; the level of anger and antipathy between supporters of Hillary Clinton and backers of Bernie Sanders has not abated much over the months since the Democratic nomination was decided. Still, the political madness may have reached a new zenith last month when Edgar M. Welch, an earnest young family man from North Carolina, drove to the Comet Ping Pong pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C., and began shooting up the place with an AR-15 rifle. His actions were inspired by a fake news story that claimed Hillary Clinton and the Democrats were running a child sex ring out of the pizza shop. Was Welch alone in his willingness to believe such an outrageously absurd allegation against a politician and a party he did not like? Hardly. A friend with close ties to the Chinese-American community in Los Angeles tells me she has had conversations with a number of prominent, well-educated people in that community who voted against Clinton because they readily accepted as true the fake news stories about the Democratic Party nominee having sex with small children. Americas toxic political climate has been fueled by these kinds of malicious, false stories spread on the Internet, as well as by talk radio hosts, bloggers and TV commentators who profit from broadcasting conspiracy theories and fomenting fear and resentment. Social media has given a very loud megaphone to those on both the left and right who want to turn healthy, sharp discourse into caustic slander. Has all of this changed the way Americans perceive each other, or have such hateful feelings always been a part of who we are? Responding to one of my recent columns, an American expatriate in Bangkok wrote, Americans really dont like each other. Pretending that class and racial antipathy doesnt exist is a Pollyanna understanding of how society really is. It is not hard to find plenty of evidence throughout this countrys history to back up that view, from the Civil War to the civil rights movement, from bloody clashes over workers rights to pogroms against Irish immigrants in the East and Chinese and Japanese immigrants on the West Coast. We have fought each other about as often as we have pulled together, and the impulse toward separating so-called real Americans from those we do not consider authentic gets passed from generation to generation. A disturbing example of this occurred the Wednesday after election day when white students at Royal Oak Middle School near Detroit began chanting build a wall! as two Latino girls both U.S. citizens entered the school lunchroom. I have always chosen to believe that, when it comes down to it, whatever our differences may be, we all stand together as Americans. Am I wrong? One reader sent me a note recently saying that, when he looks at liberals and urban blacks and immigrants, he sees people with whom he has absolutely nothing in common. Is the divide really that deep? Judging by those who so quickly seized on the Gatlinburg tragedy as a chance to vilify suffering people for no good reason but politics, maybe it is. Still, what I do know is that, in all the many times I have traveled to different parts of this country, I have met good people everywhere people of every political persuasion, of every religion (or no religion), every ethnicity and every race people with whom I always find common ground. What seems to be disappearing is our commitment to find common ground in our political life. Perhaps we need to learn from Michael Reed, a man who lost his wife and two daughters in the Gatlinburg disaster. Reed wrote an open letter offering forgiveness to the two adolescent boys who were arrested for starting the wildfire. As humans, it is sometimes hard to show grace, Reed wrote. We hold grudges. We stay angry. We point the finger and feel we have to lay the blame somewhere. Its human nature and completely understandable. But I did not raise my children to live with hate. I did not teach my girls or my son to point the finger at others. I do not know who Reed voted for in the presidential election. I do know he is an example for all of us, an example we need to emulate if we want to have a republic that is worth keeping. David.Horsey@latimes.com Follow me at @davidhorsey on Twitter Gov. Jerry Brown had to pick an attorney general faster than he expected (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) The phone call that Gov. Jerry Brown made on Wednesday night was unusual. A governor who marches to his own methodical timetable for decisions was having his hand forced by the politics of Capitol Hill, and the job of California attorney general hung in the balance. In the end, Brown got the man he wanted: Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles). But it was Becerras effort to make a big career move that complicated things. In interviews with advisers to the governor and those close to Becerra, a portrait emerged of two veteran politicians who have mutual admiration but dont really know each other very well. In fact, the 12-term congressman plans to spend part of this weekend meeting with Brown in Sacramento. It was Becerras angling for an unexpectedly open high-profile post leading Democrats on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee that sparked the circumspect governor into action. Nancy McFadden, the governors top staffer, decided she did not want to be attorney general. (Robert Durell / For The Times) In Sacramento, those close to the governor said that the list of potential replacements for Kamala Harris was short, much shorter than the ones circulated by political watchers. Advisers confirmed that either First Lady Anne Gust Brown or the governors top aide, Nancy McFadden, could have had the job if they had wanted it. Neither did, perhaps knowing the importance being placed on picking someone who would be willing to run for a full term in the job in 2018 (though Becerra declined to talk about future plans when asked on Thursday). Becerra, on the other hand, intrigued the governor. Not only did he have the right credentials -- a former deputy attorney general, former state legislator, veteran member of Congress -- but advisers said the governor also valued diversity. And the chance to select the states first Latino attorney general was important. While few jobs are as important to Brown, himself a former attorney general, the leading contender never came in for an in-person interview. Becerra, who grew up in Sacramento, had been in town just before election day to stump for the reelection of Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove). He met with McFadden on that visit, but not the governor. And so the two men, who had no deep personal relationship, made the big decision long distance. When they talked, McFadden said in an interview, the man matched the resume. Becerra had been looking for somewhere to land. Out of places to move in House leadership and nearing the limit on how much longer he could lead the House Democratic Caucus, the vocal advocate for Hillary Clinton had spent the last year campaigning for her across the country with hopes it might lead to a new position. Clintons loss Nov. 8 put an end to that speculation, and for a while Becerras next move didnt seem clear. Surprise news Tuesday afternoon that the ranking Democrat on Ways and Means, Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) would not seek the position again led Beccera to quickly announce his plans to seek the position and lobby colleagues to back him. Levin quickly endorsed Becerra over Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Richie Neal, who had sought the job before. Word of Becerras effort quickly reached the state Capitol and the governors inner circle sprang into action. Perhaps fewer than a half dozen people knew of Browns decision until news began to spread early Thursday morning. Becerra called the offer sudden and said with Congress in session he hadnt even had a chance to talk with Brown about the job in person. It went very quickly when it started to move, he said. I was as stunned as you probably were and others were. Congressional Republicans, despite pledging to quickly repeal the Affordable Care Act, are struggling with what parts of the law to roll back and how to lock up the votes they will need, particularly in the Senate, to push their ambitious plans. Settling these questions may delay any major repeal vote for months. Just as importantly, a protracted debate could force President-elect Donald Trump and GOP lawmakers to preserve parts of the healthcare law they once swore to eliminate. And this all must be resolved before they even turn to the question of how to replace the law. Repeal is not going to be as simple as some people might have thought, said G. William Hoagland, a former Senate GOP budget official who is now senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center. Advertisement There are a number of Republicans, particularly in the Senate, who are going to be very nervous about voting to repeal something without knowing what this process may ultimately produce. It could get a lot messier than people appreciate. Amid the simmering internal GOP discussions, Trump has said very little about how he wants to approach repealing and replacing the healthcare law, though he has kept up his criticism. He called the law lousy healthcare on Tuesday. Trump is sending Vice President-elect Mike Pence, a former member of Congress, to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to meet with House Republicans to discuss the planned repeal push. Among other things, Republicans are still debating whether to scrap hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes that have helped extend health insurance to more than 20 million previously uncovered Americans, driving the nations uninsured rate to historic lows. That money is viewed as critical to paying for any replacement that Republicans ultimately may develop and has already prompted several GOP lawmakers to voice misgivings about eliminating the tax revenues. Some in the GOP, particularly in state governments around the country, also are deeply concerned about rolling back federal aid that has allowed states to cover more low-income Americans through Medicaid. Thirty-one states, including many with Republican governors, have expanded Medicaid through Obamacare and could lose billions of dollars if the law is cut back. And in recent weeks, several state Republican leaders, including Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Montana House speaker Austin Knudsen, have voiced concerns about the loss of Medicaid coverage in their states. Adding to the uncertainty, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), one of the Senates most conservative members, urged Congress on Monday not to repeal Obamacare without first developing a replacement. In Washington, Republicans are also struggling to figure out what to do with Obamacare insurance marketplaces that Republicans worked for years to dismantle. In a reversal, GOP leaders now are trying to figure out how to prevent their collapse, which would jeopardize coverage for millions more Americans. Insurance experts, including leading industry officials, have repeatedly warned Republicans over the past several months that repealing the health law without a replacement risks destabilizing insurance markets and will push many insurers to simply stop selling health plans. On top of the uncertainty over repeal is the absence of a plan to actually replace Obamacare, a policy challenge that has stumped the GOP for more than six years and which Republicans now say will take years more to resolve. That has made even many conservative health policy experts increasingly critical of the GOP legislative plan to repeal large parts of the law now while delaying a replacement. We do not support this approach to repealing and replacing the ACA because it carries too much risk of unnecessary disruption to the existing insurance arrangements upon which many people are now relying to finance their health services, and because it is unlikely to produce a coherent reform of healthcare in the United States, Joseph Antos and James Capretta of the American Enterprise Institute wrote in the journal Health Affairs. Not long ago, GOP leaders were trumpeting their readiness to rapidly sweep the health law from the books. With a Republican president, there is a clear path to repealing Obamacare, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said last January after congressional Republicans sent President Obama legislation that eliminated many of the healthcare laws key pillars. That bill, which was crafted using budget rules that allow Republicans to circumvent filibusters in the Senate, was supposed to be the template for repeal. It removed the unpopular insurance mandates in the law that require Americans to have health insurance or pay a fine, rolled back federal aid for Medicaid, scrapped federal insurance subsidies for low- and moderate-income consumers and eliminated a Medicare surtax on high-income households and other taxes on medical device makers and health insurance companies that fund the law. To allow Republicans time to develop an alternative, the bill delayed implementation of the repeal for two years. (Obama vetoed the bill.) Senior Republicans on Capitol Hill have said they still hope to send Trump a repeal bill early this year that largely parallels this approach. Under the strategy being discussed, the House and Senate over the next couple weeks will pass what is known as a budget resolution that will direct Congress to develop a repeal bill through a process called budget reconciliation. The House would then craft the repeal legislation, pass it and send it to the Senate. Under budget rules, Republicans, who have a 52-48 edge in the Senate, would need only a simple majority to pass the bill and send it to Trump. But this approach is fueling an escalating criticism from healthcare groups representing doctors, hospitals and patients, including the American Diabetes Assn. and the advocacy arms of the American Cancer Society, which have warned that the GOP repeal strategy threatens insurance protections for tens of millions of Americans, beyond just those covered through Obamacare. This week, four more leading physician groups the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists urged congressional leaders not to repeal the law without first developing a replacement. Enactment of such a repeal, delay and replace bill would create chaos in insurance markets, causing plans to pull out of the markets, with more than 7 million losing coverage in 2017 alone, Dr. Nitin S. Damle, president of the American College of Physicians, wrote in a letter to Senate leaders. Our commitment to ensuring that patients have access to affordable coverage and medical care obligates us to urge the Senate to vote no on the budget resolution, Damle wrote. Twitter: @noamlevey ALSO: Trump and the GOP are charging forward with Obamacare repeal, but few are eager to follow Rolling out Obamacare was chaotic, but a repeal could be much worse Trump pledged to protect Medicare. His choice for health secretary has other ideas Welcome back to Essential Politics. Im Sarah Wire I cover the 55 members of Californias congressional delegation and Im taking over the Monday newsletter for the next few months. Californias largely Democratic delegation today will be be sworn into the 115th Congress, which is opening with an ambitious Republican agenda. (Last night, House Republicans voted privately to gut an ethics office.) Five House members and Sen.-elect Kamala Harris will join the countrys largest congressional delegation. Californias state Legislature also returns today, and well be tracking the first day of the new Congress and Legislature over on our Essential Politics news feed. But first lets take a look at whats been happening as president-elect Donald Trump prepares to take the oath of office Jan. 20. Advertisement Trumps preparations have included announcing plans to shutter his controversial foundation, and taking to Twitter to wish his many enemies a happy new year. Theres a lot waiting for Trump after he takes the oath. David Savage reported that more than 100 seats on the federal courts are waiting to be filled, including the vacant spot on the Supreme Court. Del Quentin Wilber took an in-depth look at Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Trumps choice for attorney general, and why questions about race could come up during his confirmation hearings. And Chris Megerian has the story of a federal government scientist in California who hopes to convince Trump that climate change is real. President Obama will channel George Washington (and many other departing presidents) when he gives a farewell address in Chicago Jan. 10, and Vice-President Biden gave his parting advice to Democrats in an interview with Michael Memoli. Get the latest on the Trump transition on Trail Guide and follow @latimespolitics. CALIFORNIA, THESE ARE YOUR NEW LAWS Over the weekend, hundreds of new laws took effect in California, including added controls on guns, harsher sanctions against criminals, extra rules for ride-hailing businesses like Uber and Lyft, and much more. In all, the Legislature approved and Gov. Jerry Brown signed 898 bills in 2016, with 801 of them taking effect on Jan. 1. So how will Californias new laws affect you? STATE OF THE RACE TO REPLACE BECERRA Ten candidates have announced plans to run to replace Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles) if he is confirmed as Californias next attorney general. Christine Mai-Duc reports that the latest entrants include Raymond Meza, a Los Angeles-based union organizer who helped coordinate the Fight for $15 campaign to raise the minimum wage; Steven Mac, a felony prosecutor for L.A. County; and Alejandra Campoverdi, a former White House staffer who once worked for The Times. You can catch up on the rest of whos in and whos out in the race here. Becerras seat is not the only potential vacancy political watchers are keeping an eye on right now. Other members who are leaning toward retirement will likely announce their plans in the next few months. AN END TO THE THELMA AND LOUISE PARTNERSHIP The start of the next Congress also marks the official end of the 24- year partnership of Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, who were the first pair of women elected to represent the same state. Feinstein and Boxer originally pitched themselves as the dynamic duo and, until a fight over a water bill in the final days of Boxers last session, largely avoided any major disagreements over policies affecting California. I spoke with the senators about their relationship and whether the maneuvering over the water bill would change it. ASIAN AMERICAN DONORS BANKING ON JOHN CHIANG Phil Willon reports California Treasurer John Chiangs 2018 bid for governor has gotten a major financial lift from well-to-do Asian Americans, including business leaders whove usually stayed on the sidelines for state elections. Chiang raised $2.2 million in the first month and a half of his campaign and the overwhelming majority of his biggest donors were Asian American business leaders and entrepreneurs. CALIFORNIAS FIVE MOST EXPENSIVE HOUSE RACES Winning a seat in Congress isnt cheap. In the last two years, more than $150 million was spent trying to help or hurt the candidates running for one of Californias 53 House seats. Javier Panzar has the story on Californias most expensive House races. The list includes some perennially contested seats, and sleepy districts that were suddenly thought to be competitive because of Trumps spot at the top of the GOP ticket. MARIJUANA TWEAKS Theres a campaign underway to ban billboards advertising marijuana from all state highways in an effort to prevent the marketing of pot to minors. Its stupid. It shows you how ignorant they still are, comedian Tommy Chong said of the effort. He appears on one such billboard. Two state lawmakers also say they plan to introduce legislation explicitly prohibiting smoking marijuana while driving. Proposition 64, the states new law legalizing marijuana, allows a citation for having an open container of marijuana in a vehicle. TODAYS ESSENTIALS Gov. Jerry Brown pardoned 112 convicted criminals and shortened the sentence of another in his traditional pre-Christmas act of clemency. Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) has introduced a bill to end a state mortgage interest deduction for the second homes of almost 200,000 California taxpayers and redirect the $300 million a year to fund low-income housing. Browns longtime shadow, the corgi dog Sutter, died over the holidays. John Myers has the story of the role the famous first dog played in California politics. Juan Rodriguez, who served as Harris campaign manager, joined the San Francisco-based political consulting team led by veteran Ace Smith. Harris made several hires for her new Senate office, bringing in Hillary Clintons Iowa spokeswoman as communications director and snagging a few longtime Hill staffers. Ed Reinecke, the California lieutenant governor who resigned after being convicted of perjury in a Watergate-era scandal, died on Christmas Eve. Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Los Angeles chapter and a California delegate to this years Democratic National Convention, triggered a social media uproar on Christmas Day when he sent out a tweet that appeared to imply he wished more people died in a Syria-bound Russian military plane that crashed. Ayloush soon realized he had erred. An assemblywoman rang in 2017 with a surprise marriage to a former lawmaker. -- A state Senate Democrat from Santa Barbara is trying extend California family leave laws to small businesses after the governor vetoed her proposal last year. California lawmakers say an unintended consequence of reducing theft and drug crimes to misdemeanors is a drop in the collection of DNA evidence that is hurting cold case investigations. Theyve introduced legislation that would order investigators to gather swab samples, blood specimens and fingerprints from offenders in certain misdemeanors. L.A. County politicians and donors had the most campaign law violations in California this year, according to the state Fair Political Practices Commission. LOGISTICS Essential Politics is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You can keep up with breaking news on our politics page throughout the day for the latest and greatest. And are you following us on Twitter at @latimespolitics? Miss the last newsletter? Here you go. Please send thoughts, concerns and news tips to politics@latimes.com. Did someone forward you this? Sign up here to get Essential Politics in your inbox. A firefighter was taken to a hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation after battling a blaze at a Costa Mesa home Sunday afternoon. Costa Mesa firefighters received a report at 12:05 p.m. from residents of a single-story home in the 700 block of Olympic Avenue that they were in their car in the driveway when they heard a pop and saw smoke coming from the rear of their house, Capt. Chris Coates said. When fire crews arrived, the house was in flames and the fire appeared headed to a neighboring home. Firefighters knocked down the blaze in less than an hour, Coates said. The home where the fire started sustained significant damage. An outdoor storage area at the house next door had some minor damage, but the home was unaffected, Coates said. The cause of the fire is under investigation, he said. No residents were injured. The firefighter who suffered smoke inhalation was treated at a hospital and released the same day. hannah.fry@latimes.com Twitter: @HannahFryTCN Israeli police interrogated Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday in what the attorney generals office said was a criminal investigation into allegations that the prime minister illegally accepted favors from business executives. Investigators questioned the prime minister for three hours at his official residence in Jerusalem. Afterward, the attorney generals office released a statement saying that a preliminary police inquiry it had announced six month ago with little explanation had been upgraded to a criminal investigation into possible corruption. Advertisement The statement said that investigators did not turn up sufficient evidence to support widely reported allegations that Netanyahu had engaged in campaign financing improprieties or that he had accepted payments from business tycoons to cover expenses on trips abroad. The Haaretz newspaper reported that the prime minister was also facing more serious allegations. The attorney generals office did not say what those might be, only that its preliminary inquiry determined that more investigation was needed. The findings of the probe form grounds of evidence to justify the interrogation of the prime minister, its statement said. The Israeli press has been reporting for months that the inquiry was about possible corruption. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and said that he was the victim of a witch hunt. There wont be anything because there isnt anything, Netanyahu said Monday to applause at a meeting of lawmakers from his Likud Party. Netanyahu was investigated during his first term as prime minister in the late 1990s on allegations of fraud and breach of public trust. Though the police recommended an indictment, the attorney general at the time decided not to pursue the case for lack of evidence. It was a corruption investigation into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who was forced to resign in 2008 and is now serving a jail term for a bribery conviction that paved the way for Netanyahus return to power in 2009. Opposition leaders were muted in their reaction to the announcement of a criminal investigation. Yair Lapid, a member of the Yesh Atid party, urged investigators to finish the inquiry swiftly to dispel the uncertainty surrounding the prime minister. If two consecutive prime ministers in the state of Israel are brought down because of corruption, it will be very difficult to rehabilitate public faith in government in the state of Israel, Lapid told reporters. The investigation isnt expected to have any immediate effect on Netanyahus ability to govern. Members of his party and politicians from the prime ministers coalition parties have come to his defense. Hes pretty strong right now, said Tal Schneider, an Israeli political analyst. It will be difficult for someone within the party to come out against him right now. Mitnick is a special correspondent. ALSO At least 56 inmates killed in prison riot in northern Brazil People are dying because of an audacious cash policy that India says will modernize its economy Islamic State claims responsibility for Istanbul nightclub attack that killed 39 US carmaker scraps plans to build a $1.6bn plant in Mexico in a move announced hours after Trump took aim at GM and the cars it produces in Mexico Samsung's new monitor for gamers and pro users - CH711 to be unveiled at CES 2017 staff@latinoshealth.com By Staff Writer Jan 02, 2017 11:56 AM EST Since its inception in 2014, the Samsung line of curved monitors has surpassed 1 million in sales. Now to make another successful addition to the line, Samsung has announced the unveiling of a new curved monitor at CES 2017. In a Samsung press release dated December 29th, 2016, it was announced that a new curved 'quantum dot' monitor would be unveiled at CES 2017. This curved monitor, named CH711, is reported to have been designed keeping rich gaming and multimedia experiences. Seoggi Kim, Senior VP of Samsung Electronics reportedly said that the 2017 line up will offer a more brilliant design, richer color and deeper contrast than ever before. Her statement raises the expectations from the specs of the CH711. The CH711 is available in 27-inch to 31.5-inch variations with an '1800R' curvature. (The lower the curvature number, the higher the curvature - explained in 'The Amazing Secrets of Samsung Curved Monitors' infographic.) Previous models have had curvatures of 3000R or more. This means that this is Samsung's most curved monitor released yet. Speaking of the curvature, the CH711 also boasts of a 178 degree viewing angle. Curvature wise the monitor seems to be completely immersive in nature. The monitor also possesses a resolution of 2560 x 1440 and WQHD picture. The 'W' means that the screen has a wide aspect ratio ( 16:9 ) and QHD denotes that the screen has 4 times the definition of a standard 720p HD display. The CH711 also has a 125% sRGB color coverage. This means that it surpasses other standard monitors in color reproduction. These specs indicate a high-performance product and are clearly designed for gamers and pro users. The wide resolution, high definition and accurate color reproduction make for an immersive gaming/professional experiences. According to the CES 2017 website, the summit will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada from January 5 - 8, 2017. The CH711 is expected to be a prime attraction with users flocking to see yet another marvel of technology. Subscribe to the latinos health newsletter! Critical Energy Issues in 2017: Four Energy Issues To Watch In Trump's Presidency staff@latinoshealth.com By Surav Thakrar Jan 02, 2017 08:29 AM EST After the election of Donald Trump as the new president of United States of America, the regulations and restrictions on energy sources set during the eight-year administration of Obama seem to be doubtful for Trump himself. The majority of his cabinet members rejects the present climate science which was set by Barack Obama during his term as a president. Many cabinet nominees in Trump's cabinet ignore the present connection between fossil fuel energy use and global warming. From the fossil fuel industry, Trump visualizes oil, gas and coal development for nation's energy development and independence. According to the Scientific American, when a company sets their motive to mine for coal or drill for oil resources or even frack the sand for natural gas, it has to undergo a strict procedure of bidding and obtaining a permit. Now it is to be seen whether Trump streamlines the processes in starting from 2017. The Forbes say, in 2017 the earliest regulation to fall can be the coal leasing moratorium which Obama placed in early 2016. Trump's presidency will decide how early this temporary prohibition will be removed. The federal policy initiated a Clean Power Plan which will encourage the states to create renewable energies and not depending on power plants which are coal-fired. Trump's administration will have a full control on the renewable energy resources from federal lands and waters including more areas to be covered to develop energy resources. A new coastal wind farm has also been completed in U.S. in December contributing to the underdeveloped wind industry of United States. Trump is expected to facilitate the growth of wind resources as well by wind leasing programs. Various states in the U.S. is likely to invent few self-built plans for the energy resources being efficient and renewable energy standards in 2017 with four critical energy issues, such as coal, natural gas, wind, and oil. Subscribe to the latinos health newsletter! Solar All Set To Replace Coal As The Cheapest Power With the shortage of fossil fuels in various ends of the world, Solar power is being considered as the prime source of unconventional energy. According to Bloomberg, countries like the United Arab Emirates and Chile have pioneered in this change by producing electricity at a rate of 3 cents a kilowatt-hour. Oher countries like Saudi Arab, Jordan and Mexico are coming up with plans and auctions to curtail the expenses even further. Because of subsidies scarcity at home, companies like Italy's Enel SpA and Dublin's Mainstream Renewable Power are looking to take advantage and develop new markets abroad. According to Adnan Amin, an Abu Dhabi-based intergovernmental group - International Renewable Energy Agency 's director general, the reduction in production cost due to solar energy infusion has been huge, almost by 20 percent. The head of solar analysis for New Energy Finance, Jenny Chase said there will be almost a 36 percent drop when the average 1 megawatt-plus ground mounted solar system will cost 73 cents compared to the $ 1.14 now. In the Asian solar market China, the biggest player will find costs curtailed below coal by 2030, though in some parts of the country, solar plants have been forced to close down due to congestion on the grids. It is also helpful in the global fight against climate changes and global warming. In UK as well usage of solar panels have been on a steady rise reports Independent. According to the recent surveys solar power has generated much more electricity than that of coal and has caused a dramatic turnaround in UK's electricity supplies. But a fossil fuel free future in energy generation has been hit hard by the sudden and severe changes in Government policies, said James Court, head of policy at Renewable Energy Association. Independent also reports that the Renewable Energy Association has come out with figures showing almost 35 grid-scale electricity storage projects and at least 1,500 residential ones adding up to a sum of 3.2 GW in UK alone. Apart from being economical, a clean coal free future through the unconventional power generation sources like solar energy will also help the planet to control global warming to some extent. Subscribe to the latinos health newsletter! A Compound Found In Chili Pepper Could Stop Breast Cancer [STUDY] staff@latinoshealth.com By Aboki Basira Jan 03, 2017 03:30 AM EST A recent study has identified the various subtypes of breast cancer that respond to different types of treatment. The researchers found that the triple-negative breast cancer is particularly aggressive and difficult to treat. This new study may have discovered a molecule capable of slowing down this kind of cancer. Genetic research has enabled scientists to classify breast cancer into subtypes, which respond differently to various kinds of treatment. The subtypes are categorized based on the presence or absence of three receptors known to promote breast cancer namely, estrogen, progesterone and epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Breast cancers that test positively for HER2 responds well to treatments, but there are breast cancers that test negative for HER2, estrogen and progesterone known as the triple-negative breast cancer. Studies have found that the triple-negative cancer is more difficult to treat, with chemotherapy being the only option, according to MNT. The researchers at the Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, tested the effects of a spicy molecule on cultivated tumor cells of the triple-negative cancer. A compound in chili pepper could help slow this subtype of breast cancer, the study authors said. The researchers led by Dr. Hanns Hatt and Dr. Lea Weber, collaborated with several institutions in Germany, including the hospital Herz-Jesu-Krankenhaus in Dernbach, the Augusta clinics in Bochum and the Centre of Genomics in Cologne. They experimented on the effects of an active ingredient commonly found in chili pepper called capsaicin on SUM149PT cell culture - a model for triple-negative breast cancer. Capsaicin has also been used to kill cell and inhibit the growth of cancer cell in several cancer types including colon and pancreatic cancer. They were motivated by the findings of existing research on the topic, which suggests that several transient receptor potential (TRP) channels influence cancer cell growth. The researchers explained that TRP channels are membranous ion channels that conduct calcium and sodium ions, and can be influenced by several stimuli including changes in temperature or pH, according to World Times 24. The TRP channel that plays a key role in the development of diseases is the olfactory receptor TRPV1 - proteins located on olfactory receptor cells lining of the nose which binds smell molecules together. The researchers investigated the expression of TRP channels in a vast amount of breast cancer tissue and also analyze how TRPV1 could be used in breast cancer therapy. They found several typical olfactory receptors in the cultivated cells and the TRPV1 receptor appeared more frequently. The olfactory receptor was activated by capsaicin and also by helional - a chemical compound that produces the scent of fresh sea breeze. The scientist found TRPV1 in the tumor cells of nine different samples from breast cancer patients. They added capsaicin and helional to the culture for several hours and even days which activated the TRPV1 receptor in the cell culture. Following the activation, the cancer cells died slowly but tumor cells died in larger numbers thus leaving the remaining ones weak and unable to move as quickly as before. This suggests that their ability to metastasize was reduced. However, the authors note that the intake of capsaicin through food or inhalation would not be sufficient to treat the triple-negative cancer, but a specially designed drug might help. Breast cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer in women around the world, with up to 1.7 million new cases diagnosed in 2012. It is also the most common type of cancer in women in the U.S., irrespective of race or ethnicity. The researchers published their findings in Breast Cancer: Targets and Therapy. Subscribe to the latinos health newsletter! Breathtaking Meteor Fireball Passes Over Erupting Volcano Leading To UFO Rumours [VIDEO] A flying fireball flew past the erupting Turrialba volcano in Costa Rica causing an uproar among the gossip mongers. The brief but spectacular sight was rumored to be a UFO visit. As mentioned by Mirror Turrialba is one of the biggest volcanoes in Costa Rica and is under scrupulous monitoring by National University's Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute. It was on Tuesday night at around 10:22 pm local time, when an observatory camera caught a shooting star passing over the volcano while it was erupting. Despite it being not a major eruption for the 12,533 feet high volcano, the rare combination garnered tremendous buzz and global attention. The flying fireball is believed to be a meteor flying around 3100 miles above the sea level. Though it appears that the space rock disappeared within the cloud of ash coming out of the volcano soon after being seen. An interesting take on the event by Mail Online mentions the rumors of UFO sighting. According to them a similar event that took place at the Colima volcano in Mexico, an UFO like object was spotted. It was allegedly transporting "someone or something" into what can be assumed as a base right beneath the volcano. While the volcano was up in flames for quite some time, the mysterious object appeared to be nearing the volcano and after the alleged delivery of the mysterious "package" hid in the cloud of smoke, dust and flames onto the other side and gradually disappeared in the night sky. Reportedly a member of the Costa Rican Astronomy Association Victor Fung termed it as a meteoric object only smaller in size. "It has all the appearance of being a meteor of a size of a grain of dust. The shooting stars are pebbles the size of a grain of sand. As they move at high-speed and enter the atmosphere, they burn and we see the result," the expert concluded. The trailblazer over the Costa Rican volcano has given the scientific, astronomical and media world a topic of endless speculations while the common public is more than happy seeing and sharing the stunning video again and again. Subscribe to the latinos health newsletter! Qualcomm already gave hints that its upcoming Snapdragon 835 processor would be something out of the ordinary, and it's currently ready to show all its cards now that it's at the CES event. According to Engadget, battery life is one of the chip's strongest features, but Qualcomm has also revealed that the Snapdragon 835 also features a ton of upgrades that would reflect a rapidly changing mobile landscape. Snapdragon 835 to feature improved VR capabilities Take virtual reality, for instance. On top of 25% faster Adreno 540 graphics, it also improves positional audio and reduces the lag between motion tracking and what you see on-screen. You won't likely feel seasick or turn the wrong way, in simpler terms. Photography will also be improved Along with several features and improvements that the Snapdragon 835 will be offering, reports have also confirmed that the chip will also improve camera features. The zoom and image stabilization should be smoother thanks to both the updated graphics to go along with a newer signal processor. You should encounter fewer issues in terms of focusing your shots, as well. The 835 will be supporting both dual photodiodes in cameras (much like the Galaxy S7) and some improvements to hybrid autofocusing systems. Qualcomm's chip can also help combine multiple shots to improve the sharpness of the photo, along with reducing noise and adding high-dynamic range effects. Snapdragon 835 - Less and more features According to Newsdump, the Snapdragon should be more efficient. It's Qualcomm's very first 10-nanometer CPU, and that results in a physically smaller chip that uses 40% less power even as it runs up to 27% faster. In theory, that leads to thinner phones that will still have plenty of room for larger and powerful batteries. With all things being said, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 will become one of the most powerful chips to arrive this year. Russia is all set to double the number of space missions as the year 2017 approaches. Director General Igor Komarov highlights that Roscosmos - Russia's state space organization responsible for the country's space missions will be doubling the amount of launches for the upcoming year. According to Space Daily, Director General Komarov made it clear last Wednesday that Roscosmos aims to achieve high as the corporation is planning to send more number of rockets to space in the year of 2017. "The launch program for the next year comes with a considerable increase [in space launches]. Next year, we will effectively see the number of launches double," Komarov announced. Komarov assured that the team is very well acquainted with the fact of efficient ground infrastructure in order for successful launches. The Director General has also made it clear that all essential steps have been taken for smooth launches of the spacecrafts. As the year kicks off, the initial launch is programmed for the first month of January at Kazakhstan's Baikonur and Guiana space centers. The Plesetsk Space Centre will begin active space operations in February. As far as the Vostochny Cosmodrome is concerned, a large amount of half-finished work is still pending. Roscosmos is the Russian governmental organization which deals with Russia's intensive aerospace research and analysis. In the previous year of 2016, Roscosmos was acknowledged in launching 19 space missions out of which 18 were deemed successful and one was failed. The failed mission was named as Progress MS-04 and marked the end of the year 2016 in terms of last space missions. The Director General seems to be very hopeful as far as the upcoming space launches are concerned. Necessary ground dealings have been initiated already for successful space missions, but the success and failure of the impending space missions is still unknown. Till now the Russians have been positive in terms of space launches and their success rate comes at the rate of more than 95%. Jan 3, 2017, 10:19am ET CES: Hyundai's Blue Link gets Google Assistant integration Hyundai is expanding the connected car at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show. Hyundai is adding Google Assistant functionality to its Blue Link telematics system. Hyundai will first demonstrate the compatibility between the two systems at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Hyundai's Google Assistant functionality is available via the Google Home voice-activated speaker. Once linked with Hyundai's Blue Link, owners can use the Google Assistant to send commands to their vehicle, such as "Ok Google, Tell Blue Link to start my Santa Fe and set the temperature to 72 degrees, "Ok Google, Tell Blue Link to send the address of the Mandarin Oriental, in Las Vegas to my Sonata, and "Ok Google, ask Blue Link to lock my car. "Our customers are finding smart home integrations like the one we are showcasing with Google Home to be very useful and convenient, said Manish Mehrotra, director, digital business planning and connected operations, Hyundai Motor America. "We will continue to add layers of convenience to the Blue Link connected car system and our cars, making features like remote EV charge management, remote locking, temperature and remote start easier than ever while sitting on the couch and saying Ok Google'. When using commands like, "Ok Google, tell Blue Link to send the address to my Santa Fe, no security code is required. However, tasks like starting a vehicle require a Blue Link code that can be given verbally to Google Home. Hyundai is planning to add more features before officially rolling out Blue Link's Google Home compatibility to the general public. Hyundai has not announced a specific date for when the functionality will be available. Jan 3, 2017, 10:09am ET Trump threatens 'big border tax' for Mexico-made Chevy Cruze [Update] The company last year announced plans to build the next-generation Cruze in Mexico. [Updated with GM statement] President-elect Donald Trump has turned his NAFTA criticism from Ford to General Motors, threatening to impose tariffs for the next-generation Chevrolet Cruze. Every US-market Cruze sedan is currently manufactured at GM's Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant. However, the company does import a small number of Cruze Hatchbacks from Mexico. The company last year announced plans to invest $350 million at its Ramos Arizpe plant in Northeastern Mexico to produce the next-generation model. "General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to US car dealers -- tax free across border," Trump wrote in a Twitter rant. "Make in USA or pay big border tax!" The Cruze's departure was part of a larger $5 billion plan to expand production capacity south of the US border. The US-market Cruze hatchback is already imported from Mexico. To be clear, GM previously claimed it would continue to build the Cruze in Lordstown once the Ramos Arizpe plant ramps up. Some of the factory output will be sold locally, eliminating the need to import the cars to Mexico from South Korea, but the company has not explicitly ruled out an eventual reduction or elimination of output from Ohio. As car sales struggle to maintain momentum amid strong demand for crossovers and SUVs, many automakers have begun to shift production to Mexico where profit margins are padded by cheap labor. Cruze sales fell by more than 18 percent in the first 11 months of the year. Trump initially focused on Ford but appears to have moved on to other targets after the Blue Oval killed plans to move the Lincoln MKC to Mexico. Interestingly, GM chief executive Mary Barra will soon get a voice in the matter when she joins Trump's economic advisory panel. She expressed hope to "contribute to a constructive and open dialogue about key policy issues." Mexico almost certainly will be high on the list of potential topics. Trump's NAFTA comments appear to call call for tariffs for products that shift from American-made to made-in-Mexico under Trump's presidency. Such a penalization system presumably requires a new regulatory framework that has not been formally introduced. If retribution is applied retroactively, GM is unlikely to retool Lordstown to build the Cruze hatch and would presumably weigh the tariff costs against pulling the model from the US market. A Northampton County man admitted Tuesday to raping two girls and sexually assaulting a third over seven years in Allentown. Antonio Rosario, 21, of the first block of Oakwood Court in Bath, pleaded guilty to two counts of rape of a child, and a single count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. He was set to go to trial Tuesday before Lehigh County Judge Maria Dantos. Rosario will be sentenced later this year. Under the plea deal, the sentences for all three counts will run concurrent, or at the same time. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years. Assistant District Attorney Sarah Heimbach said the victims, their parents and police all agreed with the plea deal. In the meantime, Rosario will be evaluated to see if he is a sexually violent predator. While the crimes carry automatic lifetime registration under the state's Megan's Law, a sexually violent predator determination would add treatment requirements. Rosario, who was initially freed on unsecured bail, remains in Lehigh County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. Allentown police said detectives began investigating the case in December 2015. The victims -- who were 11, 13 and 15 when the investigation began -- reported Rosario sexually assaulted them on a regular basis from 2008 to 2015, police said. When police interviewed Rosario, he admitted to sexually assaulting the two younger girls and raping the older teen, police said. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Two Bethlehem City Council members are proposing a new city ethics law that could force elected officials from abstaining from voting on measures benefiting campaign donors that gave them more than $250. Bethlehem Councilwoman Olga Negron-Dipini and Councilman Michael Colon announce their new city ethics ordinance Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. After a year's work, Councilwoman Olga Negron-Dipini and Councilman Michael Colon held a press conference Tuesday morning to announce the draft ordinance aimed at increasing government transparency, fairness and accountability. It would create an independent, nonpartisan city Board of Ethics to deal with complaints and increase elected official's ethics education. The proposal tackles pay-to-play, political activity, campaign finance, preferential treatment and the revolving door. "We are trying to shine a little more light on what goes on here at town hall," Colon said. The proposal is on city council's agenda Tuesday night as correspondence. Colon and Negron-Dipini are asking council to refer it to committee for debate and fine tuning. "This is a timely initiative as we seek to act proactively to avoid the scandals that have plagued so many communities including our neighboring cities," Negron-Dipini said. The Lehigh Valley's major cities take different approaches to government ethics. Neighboring Allentown, which is embroiled in its own pay-to-play scandal, in 2015 created an anti pay-to-play law that forbids significant political contributors from getting city contracts. Easton created an ethics board as part of its home rule charter years ago. Bethlehem requires campaign contribution reports to be filed and published online. And last year Mayor Bob Donchez established a no gifts policy for city employees. During their campaigns, Colon and Negron-Dipini promised to strengthen city ethics. After taking office they joined forces with a grassroots effort of residents, the League of Women Voters and Lehigh University's South Side Initiative and held a public meeting on the effort in November. The two council members say they are eager to work with the rest of council to strengthen the measure and are interested to hear feedback. Colon noted that Council President J. William Reynolds is holding a Jan. 10 press conference outlining his eight-initiative vision for the city dubbed Bethlehem 2017. Reynolds said it is aimed at making city government more transparent and progressive. Colon said he looks forward to seeing how that may dovetail into their ethics proposal. The grassroots movement to create a city Ethics Board and ordinance began in 2015 after city council voted to rezone the land around Martin Tower, resident Barbara Diamond, who helped to draft the proposal, said. It came to light during hearings on the rezoning that Reynolds and then-Councilman Michael Recchiuti each received $4,000 campaign donations from the site's owners. Hotel Bethlehem managing partner Bruce Haines asked them to recuse themselves from the vote, which they did not do. Public records requests also shed light on Donchez and his administration's behind-the-scenes correspondence with the property owners, showing the developers were involved in the rezoning from the start; contrary to assertions the proposal came from the administration. Negron-Dipini, who reviewed the rezoning as a planning commission member before her November 2015 election, vowed then to tackle pay-to-play because she felt lied to and pressured on the Martin Tower issue. Diamond emphasized the new proposed ordinance is not retaliation in anyway for the Martin Tower vote. It just highlighted the weaknesses of the city's code of ethics. "This is so much stronger, more robust," Diamond said of the new proposal. "That's what we need." The proposal includes the key components of education, guidance and oversight to help elected officials handle conflicts of interest and the perception of impropriety, Negron-Dipini said. Colon said he would never tell someone their motivations for voting one way or another. But elected officials need to be aware of public perception, he said. "When you talk about campaign contributions, it can add a fog to what people are thinking about is going on in town hall," Colon said. He noted it is not always black and white that the elected official who receives a donation from a developer says yes to a project while those who don't say no. Colon did not receive any campaign donations from developer Dennis Benner but he still supported the new South Bethlehem parking deck that's critical to Benner's major project at Third and New streets, he noted. _________________________________________________________________ What does the proposed ordinance do? It bans elected officials and city employees from conflicts of interest -- defines what constitutes ones -- and lays out how to deal with them. Requires the annual filing of financial interest statements. It also sets guidelines and restrictions on receiving gifts. It requires the disclosure of conflicts of interest and abstention on related matters that come before council. Sets election years campaign contribution limits of: $2,600 per individual and $10,000 limits on contributions from organizations and political committees. It also sets limits for non-election years. Sets up procedures for entering into no-bid contracts, which includes a review by the Board of Ethics that looks at political contributions. It bans elected officials and city employees from awarding contracts or entering into agreement with a former employer within two years of their election/hire. It creates a five-member city Board of Ethics that would offer advice, training and deal with ethics complaints. Board members, who cannot be political candidates, campaign workers or active party leaders, would be nominated by designated non-partisan civic organizations and subject to city council confirmation. If a citizen wishes to lodge an ethics complaint, they would file it with the city clerk, who would forward it in a sealed envelope to an independent investigative officer to determine its legitimacy. If found to be legitimate, the board would be informed the nature of the complaint and launch its own investigation. Punishments include admonishments, public censure, suspension and termination recommendations, ineligibility to hold public office or employment and referrals for criminal prosecution. The board can impose fines of $1,000 per violation and restitution. It also includes fines for frivolous complaints. Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Four teens are jailed following a robbery outside the Giant supermarket in Bethlehem Township. Charged are Jonathan Tyler Velez, 18, of the 1500 block of North 25th Street in Allentown; Branden William Sircus, 19, and Alex Phillip Sircus, 16, both of the 1200 block of Country Lane in Allentown; and Anthony Joshuah Rosado, 16, of Philadelphia. Police at 1:16 a.m. Tuesday were dispatched to the parking lot of Giant at 3926 Nazareth Pike (Route 191) for a report of an armed robbery. A 20-year-old male victim told police he arrived at the parking lot with his 20-year-old girlfriend to sell marijuana. When customer Jonathan Tyler Velez arrived, the victim allegedly told police he gave Velez the marijuana. At that point, two males got out of the customer's vehicle and a male later identified as Anthony Rosado brandished a gun and pointed it at the victims, according to police. The female victim told police one of the males was yelling for her to give him "everything that she had." The victim threw her belongings at the male in fear of her life, police said. When another male began rummaging through her car, the female victim called 911, police said. The suspects fled in their car and later were stopped by Colonial Regional police. Police arrested the four, who later were identified by the victims as the suspects in the crime. Investigators recovered the stolen items -- $155 in cash and an Anne Kline wallet, as well as an Elite Force 6mm BB gun. In an interview with police and with his parents present, Alex Sircus claimed he wanted to buy marijuana from the drug dealer previously and the dealer sold him tobacco for $15 -- not marijuana. Alex Sircus and the three other males then decided to rob the victims, according to court records. Alex Sircus told police Velez then set up a buy with the dealer because they didn't know each other. Alex Sircus allegedly borrowed the Airsoft BB gun from a friend to make the robbery look realistic. Branden Sircus, his brother, then allegedly drove the three to Wal-Mart in the same shopping center, where they bought BB gun pellets and loaded the gun. Alex Sircus claimed Branden Sircus ended up staying at Wal-Mart while the other three headed to the parking lot because just Velez was supposed to be making the transaction; the other two crouched down in the backseat, police said. After Velez exchanged the cash for marijuana, he gave a signal the deal was made, which led to Rosado and Alex Sircus exiting the vehicle for the robbery, Alex Sircus told police. Rosado allegedly began shooting the BB gun pellets at the male victim, emptying the 15-round magazine. The trio then stole the items, picked up Branden Sircus at Wal-Mart and fled. Additionally, the suspects allegedly stole an iPhone and a small amount of marijuana from the victims and tossed it from the vehicle, police said. Police also interviewed Velez, who allegedly admitted to his role in the crime. He also told police the four suspects found the male victim's address on social media and planned to rob his home. All four are charged with robbery, criminal conspiracy engaging in a crime, making terroristic threats, reckless endangerment and possessing instruments of crime. They were arraigned before District Judge Patricia Broscius, who set bail at $10,000 for Alex Sircus; $10,000 for Velez; $1,000 for Rosado; and $5,000 for Branden Sircus. All were sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of bail. The judge ordered all four to enroll in Pretrial Services, stay away from the victims and submit to random drug and alcohol screening. The judge allowed 10 percent of all the bails if Pretrial Services approved it. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. John Morganelli Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli at a news conference on Jan. 3, 2017. (Rudy Miller) Northampton County's district attorney has authorized charging a Saucon Valley High School teenager for shooting a racist video about a fellow student. District Attorney John Morganelli said the then-14-year-old student who shot the video faces charges of cyber harassment and ethnic intimidation for the October video shot at his school. The 14-year-old white student called a 16-year-old black student the "n-word" while the 16-year-old ate chicken, Morganelli said. The 14-year-old mentioned the chicken and referenced Kentucky Fried Chicken and welfare in the video. He then shared the video over the social media platform Snapchat. "I found the video to be outrageous, insulting, demeaning and a video that seriously disparages the African American male's physical characteristics and specifically his African American race," Morganelli said. Morganelli will allow the 14-year-old to seek an "informal adjustment" in juvenile court. If he completes the probationary requirements, he will not be charged with the crimes. The same goes for the 16-year-old, who was charged with simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment for a retaliatory attack on the 14-year-old. Morganelli said the black student had previously been the subject of discrimination from a group of students calling themselves "the rednecks." He said he had a confederate flag thrown on him when he transferred to the school from out of state. "We cannot be harassing students based on their race," Morganelli said, later adding, "This is just not the kind of behavior we expect of our kids." After Morganelli announced his investigation in December, he said he came under fire from critics who say the white student's remarks are constitutionally-protected free speech. Morganelli said the student crossed the line when he harassed the other student, in particular due to his race. "Resorting to epithets or personal abuse is not in any proper sense of communication ... guarded by the Constitution, and its punishment as a criminal act raises no such question," Morganelli said. Attorney Gary Asteak, who represents the 16-year-old black student, praised Morganelli's decision. "Words matter. Hate speech has no place in our society, certainly not in our schools," Asteak said. "By taking action today, the district attorney is sending a message to law enforcement and school officials they must be sensitive to this issue. That teachers and parents are responsible for teaching their children not to hate and to respect others." Attorney Michael Moyer, who represents the 14-year-old white student, said his client will agree to the informal adjustment. While he's happy his client can escape without a blemish on his record, he said the boy suffered a concussion from the retaliatory attack and he continues to need physical therapy and occupational therapy. "I believe my client was the true victim in this case," he said. Morganelli said the 14-year-old will likely have to finish some sort of racial sensitivity program and may have to complete some community service. He said the goal of the program is to help offenders learn from their mistakes. "These are young kids. They need to understand that this is unacceptable," he said. "Hopefully what happens in juvenile court, they're going to probably put him through some kind of program so he'll understand how hurtful and how wrong this is." WHAT HE SAID Morganelli did not release a copy of the video but did read from a transcript. The video depicts the 16-year-old eating chicken wings in the Saucon Valley High School cafeteria with a running commentary by the white 14-year-old. As the black student ate, the white student said, "So there's a chicken wing eating contest here. This f-----g (n-word) is taking his time. He's getting free f-----g chicken, you (n-word). It has been a minute and he's on the same f-----g wing. Oh, now the black kid is taking the wings back up to his seat. What, are you that broke?" The statement "his welfare check canceled" flashes on a banner on the screen as the video was played, Morganelli said. Morganelli said the black student didn't know about the video until a friend of his saw it on Snapchat and shared it with him. Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook. A homeless man accused in two Easton robberies threatened to shoot a man if he didn't hand over cash, city police said. Eric Lites (Courtesy photo) Eric Henry Lites, 45, was the sole suspect in robberies of people Dec. 11 in the new city parking garage at 123 S. Third St. and Dec. 23 near Pine and South Bank streets, police said. A witness told police during the South Bank Street robbery that Lites approached a man, grabbed him from behind and threatened to shoot him if he turned around. Lites took money from the victim and ran toward the parking garage, dropping his backpack as he fled, according to police. The victim followed Lites' path while calling police. "I did it, I just robbed someone," Lites allegedly told the witness. Lites was arrested about 5:20 p.m. Saturday without incident on the Dr. George Smith Memorial Bridge near Route 611, where the city's Downtown merges with South Side. A warrant had been issued for his arrest. In an interview with police Saturday, he allegedly admitted to pushing a lighter into the victim's back on South Bank Street. He told investigators he grabbed between $80 to $100 out of the victim's wallet and dropped the backpack to avoid detection, police said. In the earlier parking garage robbery, Lites on Dec. 11 is accused of approaching a victim about 7 p.m. and demanding money without displaying a weapon. Lites is charged with robbery, theft and receiving stolen property in both crimes. He was arraigned before District Judge Patricia Broscius, who set bail at $100,000. In lieu of bail, Lites was taken to Northampton County Prison, where he remained Tuesday. In August, Lites also was accused of stealing a 2001 Chevrolet Malibu parked outside the Days Inn in Easton. He was arrested in that crime after running into a wooded area near the Lehigh River, police said. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Former professional wrestler Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka will not face trial in the death of his mistress almost 33 years ago in the Lehigh Valley. In a decision filed Tuesday afternoon, Lehigh County Judge Kelly Banach dismissed charges of third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter against the aging wrestler. "The Court is satisfied that the defendant remains incompetent and the Court is satisfied that the defendant will not regain competency and that it would be unjust to resume the prosecution," Banach said in her order. Asked about the judge's decision, Meg Wieand, spokeswoman for the Lehigh County District Attorney's office, said, "We're considering our options and will decide at the appropriate time what actions we'll take." Snuka's attorney, Robert Kirwan, said the attorneys and the judge met in her chambers earlier Tuesday, where he gave an update on Snuka's medical condition. The 73-year-old wrestler was hospitalized again on Dec. 17 due to recurring infections, Kirwan said. Snuka was previously hospitalized in late November for the same issues. After her ruling, Kirwan said he called Snuka and his family in Florida to give them the news. "He understood it was a good day. I'm not quite sure he understood the news," Kirwan said, adding Snuka's family is happy the criminal case is over. "Its been difficult for them to maintain their silence," Kirwan said of the gag order issued in the case in November 2015. "They would love to have gone out and spoke about the things they know...It wasn't exactly how the Commonwealth suggested it was." With the criminal charges dismissed, Kirwan said he will work now to clear Snuka's name. Kirwan, a former prosecutor, said his investigation into the case unearthed new information that he plans to release "at the appropriate time." "This isn't the end of the chapter, it's just the beginning," Kirwan said. The order was not unexpected. The judge ruled June 1 that due to his dementia and other factors, Snuka was not competent to stand trial in the case. The charges remained, however, and prosecutors asked he be ordered into in-patient treatment. Banach immediately denied that request. Then, in August, prosecutors asked the judge to either send the former wrestling star to treatment, or dismiss the murder case against him. Banach pushed the decision to the December hearing, saying if Snuka was at the same mental capacity or worse, she would dismiss the charges. The killing of Nancy Argentino The ex-wrestler was charged in September 2015 in the death of Nancy Argentino, following a Morning Call story about Argentino's death and a subsequent grand jury investigation. Snuka came to the Lehigh Valley on May 9, 1983, to wrestle at Agriculture Hall at the Allentown Fairgrounds. Police were called to the old George Washington Motor Lodge in Whitehall Township, and found the 23-year-old Argentino unresponsive in a bed in the couple's room. Argentino was taken to what is now Lehigh Valley Hospital, where she was pronounced dead in the early morning of May 11, 1983. Argentino had a skull fracture, and her death was caused by craniocerebral injuries, the coroner ruled. "The weight of the evidence clearly indicates that James Snuka repeatedly assaulted Nancy Argentino on May 10, 1983, and then allowed her to lie in their bed at the George Washington Motor Lodge without obtaining the necessary medical attention," the grand jury presentment says. "His assaultive acts and his failure to obtain medical attention resulted in her death by homicide at 1:50 a.m. on May 11, 1983." Snuka's account of what happened ranged from him telling people he pushed Nancy, to claims that she fell on the side of the road and hit her head on the pavement. Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said he decided to re-open the case after receiving a letter from Argentino's family. In January 2015, Martin announced the case was going to the grand jury. Snuka claimed he was not competent to testify before the grand jury, but Judge Maria Dantos, the supervising judge of the grand jury, rejected the diagnosis. Snuka took the witness stand, but did not testify before the grand jury. Snuka did testify before Banach at a handful of hearings, where he said he did not know the current president or president-elect, where the courthouse was located, or the season. Asked at the Dec. 2 hearing if he's wrestled in any matches lately, Snuka told the judge, "I wish I could go back," doing what I loved to do. Prosecutors accused Snuka of being a malingerer and an actor faking his mental health maladies. The prosecution's expert witness testified to the same in May. The defense's psychologist testified multiple concussions and dementia left Snuka "a shell of a man." When Banach issued her ruling, she said "I find that Mr. Snuka is suffering," and gave a handful of reasons why she found him incompetent. At the Dec. 2 hearing, Carole Snuka testified via video that her husband is in hospice care, and is receiving morphine and other drugs to make him "medically comfortable." Snuka, who was living in Waterford Township, N.J., in Camden County when he was charged, has been living in Florida since the judge ruled he was incompetent to stand trial. He was free on 10 percent of $100,000 bail. Kirwan said the doctor's prognosis is that if Snuka's health continues to worsen, he may die in the next six months. Prosecutors said they were told by a doctor that Snuka is terminal. New information "There's no doubt in my mind that this case would be dismissed one way or another," Kirwan said on Tuesday. "There's information from my investigation that would turn (the prosecution's) case upside down." Kirwan noted proseutors lost the only audio recording of Snuka's alleged confession in the case, and that two of three police officers present at the interview are dead. "It was a doomed prosecution from the beginning," Kirwan said. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. The massive two-week manhunt for a man accused of killing his estranged wife last month ended Monday with his capture, New Jersey State Police said. Details on where Jeremiah Monell, 32, of Cedarville, was taken into custody were not immediately available. CBS in Philadelphia reported that he was caught in a wooded area behind a pizza shop in Folsom, a small borough in Atlantic County. He is accused of killing 35-year-old Tara O'Shea-Watson at her Commercial Township residence on Dec. 18. She was found unconscious the following morning and pronounced dead. Later that day, Monell was charged with her murder. According to the 911 call to police about O'Shea-Watson's death, her son found her stabbed and ran to a neighbor's house for help. Authorities searched for Monell and focused part of their search in Lawrence Township, where Monell's truck was found ditched near railroad tracks in the wooded area by Factory Road. According to court records, Monell violated a restraining order by showing up at O'Shea-Watson's residence in the Laurel Lake section of Commercial Township and was involved in a domestic dispute that led to her death. He was also charged with weapons offenses and will be held in the Cumberland County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail. As the search continued for Monell, New Jersey State Police posted a $1,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office added an additional $2,500 to that amount -- totaling $3,500. According to friends and family, O'Shea-Watson was planning on moving to Tennessee with her two children that she had with Monell to escape him and that she was a victim of domestic violence. A funeral was held for O'Shea-Watson on Dec. 23. A vigil was held in front of her residence on Dec. 22. A Bangor man wanted on drug charges filed by Lower Saucon Township police was arrested New Year's Day in Carbon County, Pennsylvania State Police said. Jordan Hughes, 28, was stopped for a traffic violation about 5:11 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Routes 209 and 443 in Lehighton and taken into custody on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, police said. He was also held on a warrant following his arrest Aug. 3 in Lower Saucon on charges of drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia. Hughes was scheduled for formal arraignment Dec. 8 in Northampton County Court in that case, and the bench warrant was issued that day. He had been free on unsecured $5,000 bail in the Lower Saucon incident. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Two bank robbers responsible for three previous holdups in and around Philadelphia struck again Monday in the city, the FBI said. Federal investigators and Philadelphia police asked for the public's help in identifying and locating the duo. Monday's holdup occurred about 2:02 p.m. at TD Bank, 2267 E. Butler St. in Philadelphia, according to a news release fro the FBI. The pair entered the branch and approached the counter, where one brandished a handgun as they demanded money from a teller. They fled east on Butler Street with an undisclosed amount of cash. The same two male perpetrators are believed also responsible for previous armed robberies: Dec. 17, 2016, at Citizens Bank, 8616 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. Dec. 17, 2016, at TD Bank, 5501 Ridge Ave., Philadelphia. Dec. 23, 2016, at TD Bank, 2200 Garrett Road in Drexel Hill, Upper Darby Township, Delaware County. Subject No. 1 is described as a black male in his early to mid-30s, about 5 feet 10 inches to 5 feet 11 inches tall, with a medium complexion, wearing a dark gray hooded sweatshirt, black scarf or mask concealing the lower part of his face, black knit cap and black pants. He carried a compact black semiautomatic handgun. Subject No. 2 is described as a black male in his late 20s to early 30s, about 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 11 inches tall with a light complexion. He had on a light gray hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, a black scarf or mask concealing the lower part of his face, black gloves and black pants. Authorities say the pair are considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information about these robberies or these subjects is urged to call the FBI at 215-418-4000. There is a reward for information leading to these subjects' arrest; tipsters can remain anonymous. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. ANM: De vineri temperaturile incep sa scada / Care vor fi maximele la sfarsitul lunii noiembrie si cat de mari sunt sansele sa avem zapada la iarna The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisations (INMO) Trolley/Ward Watch figure has found that there was a record number of 612 patients, admitted for care, on trolleys in hospitals this morning. Todays record figure comes at a time when the Organisations Trolley/Ward Watch analysis, for 2016, confirmed there were 93,621 admitted patients on trolleys, during 2016 which is also a record figure for a calendar year. Hospitals in the region showed that today there were 23 patients on trolleys in Sligo University Hospital, 32 in the Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar, 18 in Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe and 1 in Cavan General Hospital. Figures for 2016 show that there were 2,308 patients admitted on trolleys in Sligo University Hospital, 4,849 in the Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar, 892 in Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe and 771 in Cavan General Hospital. Todays record figure was, in the view of the INMO, entirely predictable arising from the trend running right through November/December, which saw a significant deterioration in the daily trolley watch figures compared to previous years. In that regard questions must be asked as to what measures were taken, over the past 8 weeks to alleviate the situation and, in particular, to plan for the predictable surge in the early days of every new year. It should also be noted that todays record figure, of 612, must be compared to the figure of 495, which occurred in March 2006, when the situation was declared a national emergency. Against the backdrop of todays figure, and the trend of recent weeks, the INMO believes the following questions must be answered by the HSE/Department of Health: - What special steps/initiatives were taken, both during November/December and, particularly, over the recent Christmas/New Year period, in response to the deteriorating overcrowding situation; - What steps have been taken to implement the recommendations, of an expert group report last August, which called for additional nursing posts to be created and filled, to look after all admitted patients in Emergency Departments and extra patients on wards; and, - What immediate exceptional measures will be put in place to provide the additional nursing hours required to ensure these ill admitted patients can have the care they require provided to them? The INMO believes health management must address these questions immediately and we await their reply. Speaking today, INMO General Secretary Liam Doran said: 612 patients, admitted for care, for whom there is no bed, is a truly shocking figure. The compromising of care, not to mention the loss of privacy and dignity, cannot go unchallenged and must be acknowledged and addressed by health management. We cannot allow this to become just another statistic and it must result in a fundamentally new approach to our health system as overcrowding, as the 2016 figures confirm, continues to grow. "The stark reality is that in 2007, after it was declared a National Emergency, the number of patients on trolleys was recorded as 50,402. However, in 2016 this has increased by 86% to 93,621. This confirms that successive governments approach, to the public health service, have failed to address this problem and it must now become a top priority for a government wide response in 2017. Mr Doran concluded, Our genuine fear is, based upon a number of factors including the incidence of influenza and closed beds due to staff shortages, that, in the coming days, the situation may deteriorate still further. An emergency response is now required and this must be forthcoming, from health management, immediately. The court held that employees who have not exercised the option to join the Employees Pension Scheme must be given a further chance of 6 months to do so. This is something I read in a conversation online. The political climate in both Britain and the world at large is, I suspect, something a great many people are worried about at the moment. 2016 has been hard. Tragedies like Berlin and Orlando, the pure horror of Aleppo, the deaths of so many of our heroes, aggressive and violent political discourse in multiple countries. If you have this disturbing suspicion that 2016 was sent by some wrathful God, specifically to beat you down into submission, then believe me, you are not alone. It feels as though the world is coming undone. The progress made in Britain in the last 40 years may be undone by Brexit, whether as a direct result of the decision, or by the fallout that comes with the process separating our country from the EU. The progress of the Obama administration may come unstitched, thread by thread, by an unchecked Trump administration. It feels as though this aggressive new wave of populist politics is here to stay. Fighting against it, in favour of rational, cooperative politics, may be a pointless fight, that we cannot hope to win. Im not writing this to dismiss this feeling. It is real, and there is nothing wrong with feeling afraid of what 2017 and beyond may hold. What I want to do here, is consider our history; The workers of one hundred years ago or more, working in inhospitable conditions for basically no pay at all. The rights we take for granted today must have seemed an unreachable dream for them. LGBT people, who were once considered insane or criminal, routinely attacked in the streets and in their homes. Now we have 35 LGBT MPs in Parliament more than any other country in the world proudly representing the needs of LGBT citizens and all British people. Emily Davison who, a hundred years ago, hid in a cupboard at Westminster, and was killed in an attempted protest, all to bring attention to the plight of British women. Now we have our second female Prime Minister. People of minority races, religions, ethnicities, creeds once enslaved or hunted down and slaughtered for the crime of their very birth. Now we have fine actors like Idris Elba, influential businesspeople like Alan Sugar, and last year, a young Muslim mother won the heart of the entire nation, via a baking competition, of all things. All these battles are still ongoing, and I dont present these things in order to say look how hard they had it as a dismissal of our current problems. What I want to say is this; the good fight is always hard, and theres nothing wrong with feeling hopeless, but dont let that feeling consume you. If those that came before us had let it consume them, we would not be here today, and we owe it to those who come after us to keep up the fight. The success of the Stop Funding Hate campaign, the start of More United, the election of Sarah Olney in Richmond. These things have motivated me to keep fighting, to keep standing up for the things I believe in. 2016 has been hard, but it is over now. 2017 may be easier, or it may be harder well find out soon enough. But one thing is clear, and that is that we must continue fighting the good fight, for our country, for people all over the world, for our ancestors, for our children, and for ourselves. * Nathan Sinclair is a Liberal Democrat in Lewisham GARDAI in Limerick are investigating an assault that occurred in a peaceful city estate, which led to a young man being hospitalised after being attacked with a shovel. According to a Garda spokesperson, a 26-year-old man reported an assault at Abbey Court on Fr Russell Road at approximately 5am on January 1. From initial investigations, it appears that the injured party was struck on the head with what is described as a shovel. The injured man was taken to hospital (University Hospital Limerick), he received a minor wound over his ear. The spokesperson said that no arrests have been made, and investigations are ongoing. Deputy metropolitan mayor, Cllr Daniel Butler, who lives close to the area, expressed his surprise when he heard of the assault. I was surprised to learn of this vicious attack in what is a very peaceful and safe neighbourhood. Reports of such incidents are rare in the area but must be taken very seriously. It is with that in mind that I would appeal to any members of the public in the area at that time who may have any information at all to contact Roxboro gardai immediately. He added: This kind of behaviour is unacceptable in our community and indeed any community and it is all our responsibility to work with the gardai to deal with this swiftly and successfully. I wish the victim of the attack a full and speedy recovery. Russell Court residents assocation chairperson Michael Cussen said that similar incidents of anti-social behaviour and assaults are common. He added that there is a lack of gardai and local services for the very large population in the area. The problem is the same wherever you go, Mr Cussen said. Anyone with information in relation to the incident is asked to contact Roxboro Road garda station at 061-214240, or the garda confidential line at 1800-666111. Jan 2, 2017, 2 PM The Cherrystone auction included this 1863 cover from Khartoum to Vienna, the only such cover known franked with stamps and mailed prior to the opening of the Egyptian post offices in Sudan. It sold for $10,925 in the late November sale. A postmarked top margin block of four of Brazils 60-reis Bulls Eyes stamps sold at the Nov. 29-30 auction of worldwide stamps and covers conducted by Cherrystone in New York City. By Matthew Healey, New York Correspondent Cherrystone Auctions held a sale Nov. 29-30 in New York City of worldwide stamps and postal history. A beautiful block of four Brazilian Bulls Eyes was among the standout lots. In 1843, Brazil became just the second country in the world to issue stamps, after Great Britain, and the design of its first issue consists of nothing more than the figure of value on an ornately engine-turned background pattern. The intricate, circular design and crisp black printing earned the stamps their nickname. Connect with Linns Stamp News: Sign up for our newsletter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter The 60-reis was the middle value (Scott 2), and surviving used multiples are scarce. This top margin block, showing an intermediate amount of plate wear and postmarked Cidade de Nictheroy, is considered one of the finest known. In 2008, it was reported to have sold for $8,050; this time, it sold for $16,100, including the 15 percent buyers premium added by Cherrystone to all lots. An 1863 cover from Khartoum to Vienna was one of the very few covers posted from Sudan prior to the opening of the Egyptian Post Offices (1867) and the only one known franked with stamps, according to an accompanying certificate from the well-known Austrian expert, Ulrich Ferchenbauer. The letter most likely traveled first by camel runner that iconic figure familiar to generations of stamp collectors from the long-running series of Sudanese stamps that began in 1898. The camel probably took it to the nearest Egyptian post office along the Nile. From there, it would have gone down the river to Cairo and over to Alexandria, where a pair of 15-soldi Austrian Offices in the Turkish Empire stamps (Scott A19) were added and postmarked in blue. This remarkable cover sold for $10,925. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page. The potato blight that killed about a million people in Ireland in the 1840s originated in South America, a new genetic analysis finds. Until now, the origin of the fungus-like blight that devastated potato crops in Ireland and throughout Europe had not been pinned down. Now researchers at North Carolina State University and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology Museum say the blight was caused by a pathogen with a particular genetic lineage, dubbed FAM-1. The researchers conducted a new analysis of 183 samples of this pathogen, the oldest dating back as far as 1941. They found that the genetic strain that caused the European blight likely made its way from South America to the United States and then to Europe via potato shipments and the seed trade, they reported Dec. 28 in the journal PLOS ONE. [27 Devastating Infectious Diseases] The Great Famine Beyond killing hundreds of thousands of people, Ireland's Great Famine of 1846 to 1851 triggered an exodus of emigrants from the island to North America. The potato blight that caused all of this death and destruction had actually been detected on U.S. shores in 1843, two years before it showed up in Europe, wrote study leader Jean Ristaino, a plant pathologist at NC State. (Ireland was particularly hard-hit by the widespread blight because the potato was a staple in that country and because of pre-existing poverty exacerbated by British policy, scientists noted.) The origin of the blight had been a source of scientific and historical debate, however. Some studies suggested that the strain of the blight-causing pathogen, Phytophthora infestans, arose in Mexico. Others pointed to the Andes. Ristaino and her colleagues cast a wider net than any previous research, sequencing genomes from both modern P. infestans samples and historical samples from Mexico, Central America, South America, Europe and the United States. The U.S. samples spanned the time period between 1855 and 1958 and included the oldest known sample of the pathogen still in existence today from North America. Likewise, the European samples dated from between 1846 and 1970 and included the oldest surviving European sample. The oldest samples from South America dated to 1913, and the oldest from Central America were from 1941. The oldest Mexican samples were from 1948. The researchers sequenced portions of the nuclear genomes and one segment of the mitochondrial genome the separate genetic sequence that resides in the cell's mitochondria, a structure that converts energy into a useable form. The researchers also sequenced 12 microsatellites, or simple sequence repeat (SSR) segments, of DNA. These repeating chunks of DNA have a high mutation rate, which allows researchers to detect mutations and changes over time. Global spread The researchers found that both New World and Old World blight outbreaks were caused by pathogens with an SSR lineage that they dubbed FAM-1. (Previous research by another group had suggested the culprit was a different genetic variant called HERB-1, but that variant was not exclusive to the P. infestans pathogen, Ristaino wrote.) After analyzing the patterns of mutations in these samples, the researchers used computer models to determine the probability of scenarios that could have led to those patterns. They determined that the most likely scenario was that the pathogen strain originated from a South American ancestor and then split into U.S. and Mexican strains. The FAM-1 variant hung around long after it caused Ireland's famine. The same sequence was found in samples in the United States 100 years after 1843, when it first showed up around ports in New York City and Philadelphia, the researchers reported. It was also present in samples from 1913 in Colombia and in samples from 1942 in Costa Rica. "FAM-1 was widespread and dominant in the United States in the mid-to-late 19th century and the early 20th century," Ristaino said in a statement. It was later displaced by a genetic strain of the pathogen called US-1, she said, which in turn has been replaced by a strain of Mexican origin that is still active. Original article on Live Science. A new law in France bans spanking of children, making it the 52nd country to prohibit the practice. The law, known as the "equality and citizenship bill," was passed in France on Dec. 22, according to Marta Santos Pais, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on Violence against Children. It forbids "all cruel degrading or humiliating treatment, including corporal punishment," by parents, according to the SRSG. The ban falls under the country's civil law, which means that people who break the law will not face criminal charges. "This law is a very strong symbolic act to make parents understand just how all violence can be harmful for the child," Dr. Gilles Lazimi, who led an anti-spanking campaign for the Foundation for Childhood in France, was quoted as saying by the Telegraph. "Above all, it removes the notion of a threshold: There is no small or big violence. There is violence, full stop." [10 Scientific Tips for Raising Happy Children] A growing body of research suggests that spanking poses risks to children. A 2016 analysis of more than 50 years of research found that children who are spanked are more likely to defy their parents, develop mental health problems and show antisocial behavior and aggression. Most countries in Europe now ban spanking, with the exception of the United Kingdom, Italy, Switzerland and the Czech Republic, the Telegraph said. The United States allows spanking. Original article on Live Science. The space at the back end of a Midtown strip mall looks more like an art gallery than a casual Asian eatery. The long room with glass on one side and gallery-fresh white walls on the other is marked by a clean, white-on-white aesthetic. Works by local artists dot the snowy expanses breaking up the spare, crisp void. But not all the art is on the walls at Maba Pan-Asian Diner at 510 Gray. Chef/owner Wayne Nguyen is sending out swoon-worthy dishes atypical of traditional platings at casual Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants in Houston that are ready for their social media close-ups in this digital age where diners snap and post before touching their food. And judging from the many five-star reviews on Yelp, the food at Maba isn't just attractive, it's delicious too. Nguyen and his wife Tammy and owner/partner Chris Cardenas quietly opened their sleek restaurant a week and a half ago. Their 150-seat restaurant was cleverly designed, to be sure. But it's chef Nguyen's menu that has been getting good, early buzz. Pan-Asian, as it is named, is a good description for the well-edited menu that is invested with Vietnamese, Chinese, and Japanese flavors. The menu, with about a dozen appetizers and 16 mains, is fairly well priced, to boot: starters are $4 to $9 and entrees are $8 to $18. The Vietnam-born Nguyen recently traded his finance background for a new career as a chef/restaurateur (his wife, Tammy, meanwhile, comes from a local restaurant family). Even before Maba had a physical home, the restaurant got a strong boost with local diners when it was among the restaurants featured at the sold-out Luckyrice festival in Houston in October. There were long lines for Maba's pork wontons drizzled with Vietnamese fish sauce. Those wontons are now on the Menu at Maba: delicate, snowy purses filled with ground pork and Chinese sausage, and presented in a painterly manner on a rectangular dish garnished with Thai chile, jalapeno, and micro cilantro. Two long wands of grilled chicken skewers sit crisscross atop a hill of vermicelli shot through with Asian herbs. A dish called the Trung Sisters is another skewered knockout: six bacon-wrapped, head-on shrimp littered with Thai basil resting on a bed of shrimp fried rice. The chef's interpretation of General Tso's chicken is both unusual an inviting: the generous portion of chicken is pan seared and served skin-on (the lacquered skin is glossed with a sauce that includes five-spice powder) in slices atop a pool of General Tso sauce. There is a mound of rice alongside that is decorated with a lusty swirl of steamed yu choy, a Chinese green. It's a beautiful dish that in no way resembles the traditional breaded, deep-fired, goopy General Tso. "Sending out a pretty plate is a sign of respect for our diners," Nguyen said. By that measure the chef is showing his customers tremendous respect. His tofu appetizer looks like cubes of milky jewels topped with Chinese sausage and micro greens on a plate dotted with yuzu sauce. His whole pan-seared fish is a simple, picture-perfect presentation: the bronzed tilapia resting on a shallow bed of white rice, yu choy and seared Brussels sprouts. Those same gorgeous sprouts, shiny with bacon and spicy hoisin sauce, can be had as an appetizer. So much more to enjoy: a Toss of seasoned beef and cai lan (Chinese broccoli); pork belly banh mi; fried chicken wings paired with shrimp fried rice; Singaporean vermicelli flavored with curry in a jumble of chicken, onion, carrots, and green onion; and a pork belly taco filled with Asian herbs and sriracha in a Taiwanese flour pancake. And don't pass up an order of pho fries: crispy hot fries dusted with ground pho spices. It's a very clever take on fries. The whole of Maba is clever. Even the counter service seems refreshing because it doesn't feel like you're being short-changed, service-wise. Maba may be a true newbie but it already has the buzz of a winner. Maba Pan-Asian Diner, 510 Gray, Suite D, 832-834-6157; mabahouston.com Vincent Hogan wrote a brilliant piece about the Mayo team on Monday, December 19 last, and in a wide ranging article opined that most GAA coverage today communicates a sanitized, vacuum sealed message where, by and large, the only GAA copy we get to read is that directed by PR people who see art in banality and triumph in evasion. Much truer than most GAA officers would be comfortable reading. Theyd instinctively reach for their inbuilt manuals to look up some suitably obscure message to muddy the obvious meaning contained therein. We see this all the time. In every county of Ireland, the GAA is sadly preoccupied with PR posturing and little thought for truth, or transparency. Indeed it's widely acknowledged that the avoidance of truth is paramount. Consequently, any coverage from the GAA official world is hardly worth asking for, since so much of it is wooden and vacuous. This applies to several variously unsuccessful county boards, not just Longford. Enquirers are going to receive a sanitized version, maybe nothing approaching the reality. Either way, the tendency to preserve some amount of relative secrecy is beyond ignoring. Repairing the stand in Pearse Park became a waiting game. Meanwhile weve all been kept waiting, waiting, and waiting.until suddenly Brendan Gilmore stood up and blew his top in Croke Park, and told Croke Park officials a few home truths. He wasn't going to be intimidated by officials in the Holy Ground; he'd learned his trade in combat with the best in '65, '66, and '68. So finally, at last, a dissenting voice. What the Chairman says, matters. In Longford we are lucky to have excellent officers in all departments now, and I sincerely wish Eamon Reilly well in his new role as Chairman. I hope he retains the sense of being his own man, because if he does that, he has a lot to offer Longford County Board. A great deal, in fact. The role of Chairman is a huge responsibility, and Eamon is very well equipped and qualified to make his presence felt by following his own accord. No self respecting chairman should be said and led by anyone, and on that premise alone will Eamon be judged. He must make his own mind up. Longford GAA has, without doubt, some brilliant administrators, but even some of the best administrators need firm guidance, and instruction. Croke Park must always be told what the actual feeling is, in Co Longford regarding any works being considered. The current investigation of the stand situation is a glaring case in point. Once Croke Park was told that clubs wanted the stand refurbished, that was that. On the spot Croke Park made an about turn and authorised that to happen. The consistent lethargy prevailing in the GAA, whereby transparency is a word to be lauded, but not practiced, is suffocating an otherwise wonderful association. Maybe Eamon Reilly might change established practices. And maybe the Longford team could begin to assume some national importance. We shouldn't be happy to be sidelined as some non-entity, deserving of little respect. Eamon has finally assumed the highest office in Longford. His services are provided free gratis. It's great to see him in place, and we eagerly look forward in anticipation of someone who works to the best of his ability for Longford in the coming years, We wish him well in the formidable task ahead. Kevin Hughes, Mrs Hughes' son, in his evidence to the Medical Council fitness to practice inquiry, said his mother lived an active life until 2008. My mum was a country woman, he said. Mum got onshe played an active role in the family and in my sisters family. Mr Hughes said that in November 2010, after the initial diagnosis of cervical cancer in Mullingar, he and his siblings drove his mother to St Jamess hospital in Dublin. There the cancer diagnosis was confirmed. We were told her condition was advanced, said Mr Hughes. The doctor recommended palliative care in the form of radiotherapy, and the family concurred. Mrs Hughes passed away on 20 May 2011. Mr Hughes, who made the complaint to the Medical Council, said he didnt know what to think of his mothers condition when she first began suffering from bleeding. Mum was a very private person, said Mr Hughes. For her, to be bleeding was embarrassing. She didnt want male involvement. She didnt want to trouble me. Mrs Hughes former GP, Dr Kevin Flanagan, said he first saw her in relation to her bleeding in March 2008. Dr Flanagan, who runs the College Medical Centre in Longford along with his wife, said Mrs Hughes suffered a great deal in April-May 2010. Mary suffered a lot of pain. She was very distressed, he said. Dr Flanagan said he was told the results of the hysteroscopy in May 2014 were normal. Going back, she should have had more internal investigations, Dr Flanagan said. I was worried that we were missing something. He visited Mrs Hughes regularly at a local nursing home, where she lived in the months leading up to her death. My overall memory was that she was a bit more comfortable there than she had been, he said. The announcement by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD that recent new entrant farmers will be eligible for the Sheep Welfare Scheme has been welcomed by Macra na Feirme national president Sean Finan. Mr Finan said that the new welfare scheme provided for those who were farming sheep from January 2016 to the closure of the scheme on January 31 next. I welcome Minister Creeds commitment to new entrant sheep farmers following lobbying by Macra na Feirme on this issue, he added. Meanwhile, the organisation has proposed that the agri Minister increases the flexibility of the scheme for young farmers under the age of 40, who were established in the reference years and have grown sheep numbers since the reference years, so that they can become eligible to apply on their current sheep stock numbers. Young farmers starting out have their own ambition and development plans to reach a certain stocking number to be financially viable and sustainable, continued Mr Finan. This is not generally achievable in year one or two for many young farmers who reach their ideal stocking rates over a number of years. These young farmers should be given the option of using either the reference years or their current stocking number. Local News, Crime, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: January 03 2017 This marks the first round of executive youth pardons since the Governor announced this first-in-the-nation action in December 2015. Albany, NY - December 30, 2016 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today issued the first conditional pardons to more than 100 New Yorkers who were convicted of a non-violent crime when they were minors, and who have since lived crime-free for 10 years or more. This marks the first round of executive youth pardons since the Governor announced this first-in-the-nation action in December 2015 and is the largest number of clemencies issued in any year since taking office in 2011. "These New Yorkers have spent at least a decade proving their rehabilitation, but have been unable to fully reenter society due to the stigma of conviction and the barriers that come with it," said Governor Cuomo. "New York is a state of opportunity and today, we are granting these individuals and others a second chance to live up to their full potential, provide for their families and give back to their communities. With these actions, we have taken one more step toward a more just, more fair and more compassionate New York for all." By pardoning New Yorkers who committed crimes at a young age, the Governor is helping people who present little danger to the public while recognizing that those with an adult criminal record are often burdened with having a harder time to attain employment, get admitted to college, find housing, and become licensed in certain occupations. Pardons granted through this program are conditional, meaning that if a person defies the odds and is reconvicted, it will be withdrawn. Any person eligible for this pardon is invited to apply through the Governors website . Each person will undergo a careful screening process and agency staff will make a recommendation to the Governor to grant a pardon if: The person was 16 or 17 at the time they committed the crime for which they were convicted. At least 10 years have passed since the person was either convicted of the crime, or released from a period of incarceration for that crime, if applicable. The person has been conviction-free since that time. The person was convicted of a misdemeanor or a non-violent felony. The person was not originally convicted of a sex offense. The person is currently a New York State resident. The person has paid taxes on any income. The person is a productive member of his or her community, meaning that the individual is working, looking for work, in school or legitimately unable to work. 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 Islamic States Amaq News Agency claims that the so-called caliphate carried out at least 1,141 martyrdom operations (suicide attacks) in Iraq, Syria and Libya in 2016. The overwhelming majority of these, 1,112 in all, were launched in Iraq and Syria. On Jan. 1, Amaq posted an infographic (seen on the right) summarizing 107 martyrdom operations in Iraq and Syria for the month of Dec. 2016. As The Long War Journal repeatedly documented last year, Amaq produces a similar image each month. The total for all twelve months of 2016 is 1,141 suicide bombings, including 29 in Libya. If Amaqs figures are accurate, then the Islamic State set a new record high for suicide attacks in 2016. Indeed, the scale of such operations is incredible, even by the standards of modern jihadist organizations. For example, the Taliban claims that its members were responsible for just 32 martyrdom attacks during the same time frame. Earlier today, Amaq also published an infographic (seen on the right) summarizing the groups 1,112 martyrdom operations in Iraq and Syria. The majority of these, 761 (or 68 percent), were aimed at Iraqi government forces or Kurdish Peshmerga fighters. The infographics do not separately list those bombings that targeted Iranian-backed Shiite militias that fight alongside the Iraqi government. Kurdish fighters from the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG), which is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), were the second most frequent target of the Islamic States martyrs. According to Amaq, 135 such operations targeted the PKK/YPG. Most of these took place in northern Syria, where the two sides have been engaged in heavy fighting. The PKK is a US-designated terrorist organization. The YPG has helped deliver some of the Islamic States biggest losses since 2014, including in Kobane. Another 133 suicide bombers struck fighters loyal to Bashar al Assads regime in Syria. The two sides frequently clash in the Homs and Deir Ezzor provinces. The Islamic State also carried out high-profile martyrdom operations against the Syrian regime elsewhere in 2016 as well. The remaining 83 martyrs were deployed against Turkeys armed forces and allied rebel organizations in northern Syria. Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield in August and quickly claimed territory from the so-called caliphate along the border. Abu Bakr al Baghdadis loyalists have been trying to stymie the Turkish-led offensive on Al Bab, a town in the northern part of Syrias Aleppo province, and some of the bombings took place in the neighboring villages. The Islamic State has become particularly adept at using vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs). According to Amaq, 797 of the 1,112 suicide attacks in Iraq and Syria in 2016 relied on VBIEDs. Another 18 were dual operations involving vehicles. Therefore, fully 73 percent of the bombings used VBIEDs. The remaining suicide operations used explosive belts (214), bomb vests (82), or a motor bike (1). The Long War Journal has noticed a small discrepancy in Amaqs reporting. The Islamic States propaganda arm listed suicide attacks in Libya on several of its monthly infographics in 2016, but stopped doing so in the latter third of the year. For instance, Amaq separately reported that tanks and various other vehicles belonging to General Khalifa Haftars men were destroyed in a martyrdom operation in the customs zone west of Benghazi on Dec. 18. However, this bombing is not listed on Amaqs infographic for December (seen above). This means that some suicide attacks reported by Amaq in Libya, as well as elsewhere, are not included in the organizations tallies. The infographic tallying 1,112 suicide attacks in 2016 excludes Libya entirely. The battle for Mosul In October, the US military, Iraqi government, Kurdish forces, Iranian-backed militias and others began an offensive to retake Mosul, which is located in Nineveh province. Mosul is one of the Islamic States two de facto capitals, so it is unsurprising that the group has dispatched an incredible number of suicide bombers in its defense of the city. In fact, according to Amaq, 220 martyrdom operations were carried out during the first ten weeks of the battle for Mosul. The bombings during this ten week period, which began in mid-October and ended on Dec. 26, account for nearly 20 percent of the claimed suicide attacks in 2016 across Iraq and Syria combined. The figure for the battle of Mosul is based on separate infographics produced by Amaq specifically for the fight in and around the city. The infographics for the first seven weeks of the battle for Mosul were previously reproduced by FDDs Long War Journal. [See: Islamic State defends Mosul with dozens of suicide bombers and Islamic State has claimed more than 1,000 suicide attacks thus far in 2016.] The infographics for weeks eight through ten of the battle can be seen below. Claiming suicide bombings at a historically high rate As The Long War Journal has previously reported, the Islamic State claims to have carried out suicide bombings at a historically high rate in 2016. Amaqs infographics indicate that the group launched an average of 93 martyrdom operations in Iraq and Syria per month throughout the year. This figure does not include the suicide bombings in Libya and elsewhere, which would only make the average even higher. According to open source data compiled by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), all terrorist organizations around the globe carried out 906 (76 per month) suicide attacks in 2015 and 739 (62 per month) in 2014. The year 2015 was the previous high water mark for suicide bombings. Many of those attacks in 2014 and 2015 were orchestrated by the Islamic State, but other organizations martyrs are included in the totals as well. Therefore, the Islamic States figures suggest that the organization set a new record for suicide bombings in 2016 all by itself. However, there are important caveats to keep in mind when assessing Amaqs claims. First, it is not possible to validate the total figures provided by Amaq. The Islamic State propaganda arm does post individual claims for many of the martyrdom operations tallied on its infographics. These statements indicate a location and target for each martyr, but this is not independent verification as it comes from the same source (Amaq). Furthermore, while open source reporting corroborates many such operations, it is unlikely that all of the suicide attacks are tracked in publicly-available sources. The fog of war often makes it difficult to document the precise details of bombings in chaotic war zones. The identities of many of these attackers are not known. The Islamic State has used children or adolescents in at least some of its martyrdom operations. Such young people cannot be truly considered willing martyrs. Some suicide bombers fail to reach their intended targets, but are probably included in Amaqs totals anyway. Press reports have detailed how many Islamic State operatives fail to hit their mark prior to blowing themselves up. The US and its allies often destroy VBIEDs before they can do any damage. It is also possible that Amaq exaggerates the efficacy of the groups martyrdom operations by overstating the casualties caused and the total number of targets destroyed (including enemy vehicles) in the resulting explosions. Most of the Islamic States suicide bombings are now defensive in nature, meaning that a large number of martyrs are being deployed as the caliphates grip on territory loosens. This can be seen in and around Mosul, north of Raqqa, Syria as well as in Sirte, Libya. All three cities are considered key to the Islamic States caliphate claim. As the groups hold on Sirte began to slip during the summer of 2016, for example, the jihadists used a number of suicide bombers to slow their enemies approach. Eventually, Sirte fell to local Libyan forces backed by the US and its Western allies anyway. The same methods are being employed around Mosul and north of Raqqa. It is also important to remember that suicide attacks are just one of the many tactics employed by the Islamic State. Still, there is no question that Baghdadis men are relying on suicide bombers at a remarkable pace. If Amaqs data are accurate, the two months that witnessed the most suicide bombings by Baghdadis operation were October (120) and November (132). September saw the fewest suicide attacks with 53, according to Amaq. Amaq News Agencys infographics for weeks eight through ten of the battle for Mosul: Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal. Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here. Mark Chayka writes in with a problem picking type for Mail in macOS: I would like to permanently change the default font setting from Helvetica 14pt to Helvetica Neue Light 14pt in my mail application so that my messages appear as this one does. (Trust me that his message did arrive in 14-point Helvetica Neue Light.) IDG You can set the default font and size for viewing and other macOS Mail elements. I suggested he change Mail preferences: in the Mail app, choose Mail > Preferences > Fonts & Colors, click the Select button next to the Message font item (which shows the currently set font and size), and then use the Fonts selector that appears to choose your new options. (You also need to be sure that in the Composing preferences you set Message Format to Rich Text, not Plain Text, or the font choice wont be set.) However, Mark tried this, and while changing the Message Font did switch existing email messages display, it didnt automatically use those font settings when he composed a new message. I tried the same steps on my Mac, and it worked without a hitch. Forum posts on Apples site and elsewhere reveal this isnt uncommon. Some number of people cant make Fonts & Colors change the default composition type settings. If you have this problem and want to test whether or not its system-wide, you can create a new macOS account, log in, set up Mail with an email account for testing, and then see if changing Message Font works for newly composed emails. Mark tried this and had the same problem. I consulted Apple Mail guru Joe Kissell, who has wrangled Mail for iOS and macOS as much as any human, and he was stumped as well, though he agreed the stationery feature, while clunky, would work. Reinstalling macOS might help (not a clean install, even) by knocking out some setting or kruft thats causing this to happen. Joe has an ebook on upgrading to Sierra that can help with this. Theres a workaround that doesnt require system reinstallation, but which adds a few steps: use Mails stationery feature. (Another workaround is to pick an alternate email program!) Create a new email message and set the type and other options the way you want. Type a word both to test that the settings are correct and to leave in place in the template. (If you omit typing something, the stationery doesnt pick up the font change.) Choose File > Save as Stationery. Name the stationery descriptively and click Save. IDG Creating stationery can work around a Mail bug. Now, when you want to compose a message, you have to add a couple of steps, but you dont have to make font menu selections: Create a new email message. Click the Show Stationery Pane button at the upper right. From the stationery list, scroll down to show Custom, and click it. Select your custom template. Click the word you typed, and then you can edit the message. Stationery can only be applied to new messages, not replies. At one point, at least one Mail plug-in would provide additional template and font features, but Apple changed the apps architecture a few releases ago. Ask Mac 911 Weve compiled a list of the most commonly asked questions we get, and the answers to them: read our super FAQ to see if youre covered. If not, were always looking for new problems to solve! Email yours to mac911@macworld.com including screen captures as appropriate. Mac 911 cannot reply to email with troubleshooting advice nor can we publish answers to every question. The vessel M/S "CITY OF TOKYO" was detained in Antwerp (Belgium) on 23rd October 2015 and left the port of Antwerp on 21st October 2016 but failed to call at the repair yard in Dubai as agreed, before 30th November 2016. The ship flies the flag of Panama, which is white on the current Paris MoU WGB list. In accordance with Section 4.2 of the EU Council Directive 2009/16/EC1, and the provisions of the Belgian shipping act the ship will be refused further access to any port and anchorage in the Paris MOU region, except a port and anchorage of the ship's flag State, until the provided evidence shows that the ship fully complies with all applicable requirements of the conventions and is satisfactory to the Belgian administration Your attention is drawn to the provisions of Section 4.4 of the Paris MOU, Article 21.6 of EU Council Directive 2009/16/EC1, which allow access to a specific port and anchorage in the event of force majeur or overriding safety considerations, or to reduce or minimize the risk of pollution or to have deficiencies rectified, provided that adequate measures to the satisfaction of the competent authority of such State have been implemented by the company or the master of the ship to ensure safe entry. ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said, on Tuesday that, "He is looking forward to establishing strong and mutually beneficial relations with all the countries in the neighbourhood including India." Pakistan Prime Minister and the newly appointed Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa held a meeting in Islamabad which saw rare pakistan's civil-military accord. Peaceful co-existence, mutual respect and economically integrated region must be our shared objective. This could be possible only when we demonstrate a commitment to our aspirations of peace, progress and prosperity, Mr. Sharif said at his residence while addressing the people. Pakistan has had troubled relations with both India and Afghanistan since Pathankot, Uri and Kabul attack and is making all the necessary efforts to make them better. Also Pakistan has repeatedly denied its role in any involvement in these attacks. Also read: "It wont happen", says Donald trump on North Korea's missile... Road mishap kills 25 in Thailand 24 killed in Baghdad, IS claims responsibility A friend of mine got kicked out of the house by her dad and step-mom this weekend. That doesnt sound too unusual. What is unusual is the reason she got kicked out. My friend doesnt drink, or smoke, or do drugs, or gamble. She isnt difficult to get along with; in fact, shes one of the more upbeat people Ive ever met. I once spent a week at her previous home, and she couldnt have been kinder or more accommodating. No, the reason she got kicked out was pretty simple: The folks in church had started talking. You know how it goes. Someone at church said my friend was running from something and hiding terrible secrets. For the record, she wasnt and isnt, but Im sure it was pretty exciting to speculate about over Sunday lunch. Once they found themselves under the withering microscope of the church rumor mill, my friends parents did the only thing they could think of: They presented their daughter with a formal letter asking her to leave their home by the weekend. Im leaving out a lot of details here all of them similarly unflattering but thats because I dont want to start a witch hunt. Im not sharing this story to fire up another rumor mill. This column isnt about this specific incident, necessarily, and thats why Ive left it intentionally vague. This is a column about hypocrisy. We have just entered a new year. It is a time for resolutions, for looking back on our actions in the previous year and reflecting. Maybe its a good time to ask ourselves the following question: Why do we go to church? We have churches in this area that do wonderful things. Our churches are community gathering spots where people can meet and have fellowship. They are places where people can learn the scripture and its practical applications in day-to-day life. They are also places that offer unique services for those in need, from food pantries to child care to warming centers. At their best, our churches are friendly spiritual centers open to all walks of life. Our churches are these things because they must be these things. Jesus commanded that his followers care for the least of these. If the poor and marginalized do not have a place in our churches, then where do they have a place? But some churches can also become cliques. They can become havens for gossip and judgment, places unfriendly to newcomers. And the consequences as my friends example shows can be truly upsetting. What could be more hypocritical than a church whose members are actively opposed to the teachings of Christ? There is an article at focusonthefamily.com, written by Robert Velarde, that addresses hypocrites within the church. Hypocrites are unavoidable, the article says, and no one is perfect, which is certainly true. On the other hand, the article says, Christians should not act hypocritically, lest we provide critics with a flimsy reason to reject the gospel message. This year, my New Years resolution is to never tell anyone that Im a good person. Im going to try to be a good person and let them decide for themselves. Actions speak louder than words, and the impact of our actions lasts far longer than words ever could. agawam-police-headquarters.jpg An Agawam police officer has been indicted in connection with allegedly stealing more than $10,000 from the Agawam Police Patrolman's Association. (MassLive [file]) SPRINGFIELD An Agawam police officer has been indicted for allegedly stealing more than $10,000 from the Agawam Police Patrolman's Association, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced Tuesday. Gary Nardi Jr., 45, of Ludlow, was indicted on Friday by a Hampden Superior Court grand jury on three counts of larceny over $250. He will be arraigned in Hampden Superior Court at a later date. "We allege that this police officer abused his position as union treasurer by stealing funds in order to pay his personal bills," Healey said. "We will prosecute those who abuse their position of trust for personal profit." Healey's office began an investigation in May. Since then, Nardi has been on paid administrative leave by the police department. From 2011 through May 2016, Nardi was treasurer of the Agawam Police Patrolman's Association, where he was responsible for managing financials, according to the attorney general's office. The union is funded by monthly dues from members. Authorities allege that Nardi stole the money through three different schemes. In the first, he allegedly took cash from the union by withdrawing funds from an ATM without authorization. In second, he allegedly paid his own bills using money from the union without authorization. In a third scheme, authorities allege Nardi wrote checks to himself from the union's bank account without authorization. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Vasiliades of Healey's Criminal Bureau. The investigation was handled by Sallyann Nelligan, director of Healey's Financial Investigations Division, and state police assigned to the AG's office. Doc The funding of a survey on end-of-life options indicates a willingness on the part of Massachusetts physicians to reconsider their historical stance against medically assisted death. (Associated Press) The Massachusetts Medical Society has indicated willingness to bend in its historic opposition to physician-assisted death. The policy-making body last month agreed to fund a $25,000 survey of members asking attitudes toward "medical aid in dying," according to The Boston Globe. Despite the decisive support the initiative to fund the survey received, "deep divisions" still surfaced during the meeting at which the vote occurred. Some participants philosophized about "death with dignity" while others cited the promises of the Hippocratic Oath -- namely, "do no harm," The Globe reports. Supporters and critics, according to The Globe report, refer to the practice in different terms. The former say "medical aid in dying," the latter, "physician-assisted suicide." In states where the practice is legal -- California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Montana -- doctors may prescribe an ill person a lethal dose of drugs, if the person is both mentally sound and deemed deemed by clinicians to have less than six months to live. Patients administer the drugs themselves. Meanwhile, states like Tennessee, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Maryland are considering legislation enabling the practice. Support among physicians for the practice continues to grow. According to Medscape, 57 percent of physicians believed terminally ill patients should be given the option of assisted death -- compared with 54 percent support in 2014 and 46 percent in 2010. Support among the general public is even more dramatic. A 2015 Gallup poll of 1,024 adults found support for the practice jumped 10 percent -- to nearly 70 percent total -- in the past year alone. The figure has fluctuated over the past decade, from 68 percent in 2001 to a low of 51 percent in 2013, according to Gallup. Massachusetts Medical Society comprises a total of 25,000 physicians and medical students. When a ballot initiative to legalize the practice was introduced in 2012, the society joined with the Catholic church and some disability groups to defeat it. One Society member -- Falmouth physician Dr. Roger Kligler -- suffers metastatic prostate cancer and in October filed a state lawsuit "arguing he has a constitutional right to obtain a lethal dose of medicine," The Globe said. Kligler addressed the membership on the issue, saying, "Now on the receiving end of modern medicine, I understand even more acutely how we physicians must share decision-making with our patients. I also understand the value of control." The Gallup poll concludes, "The number of U.S. adults supporting physician-assisted suicide now ties the highest level seen in more than a decade and represents a rebound in support after it receded early this decade." The writers added, "Even the use of the word 'suicide' in the description of medical euthanasia appears not to have tempered national support, a break from past years when its inclusion seemed to make some difference in national perceptions." cn.jpg Bill Chu, center, needs a new kidney. Han, his mother, is to the left and his father Tu Chu, right. (Diane Lederman/The Republican) AMHERST -- Wildwood Elementary School fourth-grader Bill Chu is still waiting for a new kidney. Bill, 10, has end-stage renal disease. He recently had two surgeries in Boston -- one to insert a catheter because he has begun dialysis while he waits for a kidney transplant. The second surgery was to remove his left kidney because doctors were concerned about masses in it, according to an email from his father, Tu Chu, an employee in auxiliary services at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. That caused complications and a lot of pain for his son, he wrote, including severe headaches and temporary vision loss. Bill spent three weeks in the intensive care unit but is slowly recovering, his father wrote. Bill was able to come home for Christmas, and his father explained he "needs more recovery before (the) transplant will be able to (be) processed." But he still needs to find a donor. Chu wrote that the first group of potential donors, including family and friends, was rejected for various reasons. The family is waiting on test results for three other potential donors to see if any of them are a match. After he recovers from his most recent surgeries, Bill's name will be placed on a national transplant list, which provides organs from people who have died, Chu wrote. "Not every kid can find kidney easily," he wrote. "Bill is not lucky so far, therefore we continue looking for donor screening. We welcome all who step out and want to help." Bill has to go to Boston for dialysis while he waits. While they wait, nearly a little more than $27,000 has been raised for Bill via the Children's Organ Transplant Association website. The goal is $50,000. The family, meanwhile, is looking for volunteers to take them to Boston Children's Hospital for dialysis. For more information, people can visit the Bill's Transplant Journey Facebook page. Methuen fentanyl bust.jpg Methuen police took more than $1 million worth of fentanyl, a potent opioid playing a fatal role in the nation's heroin overdose crisis, off the city's streets on Monday. (Courtesy: Methuen Police Dept.) METHUEN - Police took more than $1 million worth of fentanyl, a potent opioid playing a fatal role in the nation's heroin overdose crisis, off the city's streets on Monday. Robinson Rojas-Rosario, 32, of Queens, N.Y., was arrested while sitting in a taxi with a duffel bag allegedly containing 15 kilos of the powerful drug. Police estimated the value at $1.2 million. The arrest came at around 9 a.m. when Methuen Police received a 911 call reporting a man with a gun sitting in a taxi on Glen Avenue, police said in a news release announcing the arrest. The caller said the man had emerged from the taxi, taken a gun out of a duffel bag and stored it on his person, then got back into the vehicle. Responding officers found the drugs and placed Rojas-Rosario under arrest on charges of major fentanyl trafficking. "Our streets are safer now," said Mayor Stephen Zanni. "Any effort we can make in fighting the opioid epidemic is progress, but removing such a large amount of this deadly substance from our streets is a huge success." Police Chief Joseph E. Solomon praised the 911 caller, saying the arrest is "a great example of why we tell people to say something if they see something." "Thanks to the keen observations of this witness and the quick response from police, we were able to take an extremely large amount of fentanyl off of our streets," said Solomon. The arrest comes three days after Methuen police officers and Lawrence General Hospital staff saved the life of a 10-month-old baby who was exposed to fentanyl. The child was flown by medical helicopter to Tufts Medical Center for further treatment and is now in state custody. These two cases do not appear to be related. Rojas-Rosario is being held on $100,000 bail pending his arraignment at Lawrence District Court. HOLYOKE - Officials on Tuesday identified the third fatality in Sunday's apartment building fire as Trevor R. Wadleigh, 34, of Easthampton. Wadleigh's body was found Monday in the wreckage of the 5-story building at 106 North East St. The identification was delayed until his family could be notified. Two other people, Maria Cartagena, 48, and Jorge Munoz, 55, both of Holyoke were also killed in the fire. A total of 49 people were left homeless. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by Holyoke Fire and Police Departments and the Massachusetts State Police assigned to both the Office of the State Fire Marshal and the Office of Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni. This is a developing story and more information will be added as it is known. Just after noon on Monday, Montanas 150 legislators were sworn in as leaders in both the House and Senate made a call for Democrats and Republicans to work together and handle disagreements with civility. At 11:58, a House clerk cut through the crowd of legislators and their family members, imploring everyone to take a seat so the 65th Montana Legislature could officially begin. At a few minutes past noon in both chambers, the gavel hit the lectern and legislators were asked to "please come to order." By HOLLY MICHELS and JAYME FRASER [email protected] [email protected] Full Story: http://helenair.com/news/politics/state/montana-house-senate-pledge-to-work-together-as-th-legislature/article_daea164a-4f17-56e3-8f16-c51e33b09894.html Having spent weeks learning to manipulate metal through the application of extreme heat, 10 inmates at the Montana Womens Prison graduated from the prisons introductory welding program last week in an emotional ceremony that suggested something else had been forged in the workshop. "I know I can succeed because Ive seen the success. Ive seen success on the faces of the other inmates in the program" Erin Gravelin, an inmate and program graduate, said during the ceremony. "I can show you the success in my weld." MIKE KORDENBROCK [email protected] Full Story: http://missoulian.com/lifestyles/hometowns/welding-class-graduates-at-montana-women-s-prison-in-billings/article_42d1a602-7392-5775-ab44-5718d46476a2.html Brand Africa launched Brand Africa | Africas Best Places, the pan-African initiative to recognize and rank the best places for tourism, investment and citizen mobilisation in Africa. The goal of the initiative is to inspire pride, raise the standards and grow the competitiveness of African places countries, cities and destinations. The inaugural awards and rankings of the Brand Africa | Africas Best Places will be celebrated and published on 1 September 2022. The Brand Africa | Africas Best Places initiative builds on the inaugural Brand Africa Forum in 2010 which convened African and global place branding decision makers and thought leaders to reflect on how African nations individually and the continent collectively can develop a supranational competitive advantage. Every year since then, Brand Africa has announced the Brand Africa 100 | Africas Best Brands the widely referenced pan-African survey and ranking of brands in Africa, which over the past 10 years, has established that only 20% of the most admired brands in Africa are African. The initiative was announced by Brand Africa Chairman, Thebe Ikalafeng, on the sidelines of the Intra-Africa Trade Fair 2021 (IATF2021) which is taking place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa from 15 to 21 November 2021. Despite being rich in valued mineral resources, enviable indigenous fauna and flaura, a youthful population and being the second most populous continent accounting for 17.5% of world population, Africa attracts roughly only five percent of the worlds inbound tourism and FDI, says Ikalafeng. Recognizing Africas Best Places will inspire pride in African places, enhance their reputations and competitiveness, grow tourism and investment, and ultimately contribute to the greater development and image of the continent, he concludes. Thebe Ikalafeng Founder and Chairman of Brand Africa The Brand Africa | Africas Best Places initiative is structured into two primary categories: (1) adjudicated awards and (2) rankings. In the adjudicated awards category, African private and public institutions, agencies and practitioners can submit entries for initiatives and campaigns for tourism, trade and investment, economic development and citizen mobilization implemented internally in Africa or externally for Africa. In the rankings category, an independent pan-African survey among citizens, visitors and investors will be undertaken to determine the best places for tourism, investment and to live. Reflecting on the pandemic and the context of the IAFT2021 whose theme is focused on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which aims to accelerate intra-Africa investment and trade from 18% to 50% in 2030 through a single market for goods and services across 55 countries, Ikalafeng, whos been to every country in Africa, believes that by highlighting Africas Best Places and championing made in Africa brands, will inspire and mobilize African entrepreneurs, grow tourism, trade and investment, and accelerate industrialization, which ultimately will contribute to Africas growth, competitiveness and distinctiveness in a post-pandemic world where nations are increasingly having to look internally for sustainability. Dr. Keith Dinnie, the global authority in city, region and country brand management and author of the worlds first textbook on nation branding: Nation Branding Concepts, Issues, Practice and editor of the book City Branding Theory and Cases, Kwame Senou, Vice-President at Opinion & Public in Benin and Ivory Coast and Vice-Chairman for Brand Africa Francophone Africa and Central Africa, New York based Eloine Barry, the CEO of Africa Media Agency, Kwakye Donkor, the CEO of Africa Tourism Partners, and broadcaster, actor, traveller, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Masego Maponyane are the inaugural members of the advisory council. The awards are open to global and African private and public institutions, agencies and practitioners. Entries open 1 January 2022 and close 30 April 2022. The adjudication, by a diverse and representative global African panel of eminent of place branding experts, thought leaders, academia, policy and decision makers and practitioners. The inaugural awards will be presented live 1 September 2022. Interested parties can register at www.brand.africa/places to receive further information. This portal will also be the channel to enter the awards. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires In recognition of the first-ever World NTD Day, the END Fund is bringing together private and public sector stakeholders to imagine a world free from diseases caused by parasitic worms that have held back human progress for millennia. Today, the END Fund announces its Audacious project the Deworming Innovation Fund in four strategic countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe. In April 2019, The Audacious Project announced its support of the END Fund and seven other organizations. The Audacious Project is a collaborative funding initiative between TED and leading nonprofits that convenes funders and social entrepreneurs in order to scale solutions to the worlds most urgent challenges.By facilitating initial funding for the Deworming Innovation Fund, The Audacious Project has helped to catalyze additional commitments. Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of parasitic and bacterial infectious diseases affecting more than 1.7 billion of the worlds population, with about 40% of this burden concentrated in Africa. Two of the most common NTDs are intestinal worms and schistosomiasis, both of which are parasitic worm infections. Treatments for these diseases, commonly known as deworming, reduce stunted growth in children and improve food and vitamin absorption. Studies have shown that children who are dewormed are 25% more likely to attend school, and adults are able to increase their earnings by 20%. Moreover, deworming also improves labor productivity and long-term economic gains. Slated to run through 2025, the Deworming Innovation Fund aims to accelerate progress towards tackling parasitic worm infections that affect more than 40 million children in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, and Kenya. The END Fund will leverage drug donations from key pharmaceutical companies and coordinate with governments and partners to create robust delivery systems. Over the next five years, people at risk of intestinal worms and schistosomiasis in these four strategic countries will benefit from life-changing deworming treatment. Thus, ensuring that nobody is left behind and that at-risk demographics often overlooked in treatment campaigns, like women of reproductive age and children who are not yet in school, are reached. With initial funding raised through The Audacious Project, the END Fund garnered additional support for the Deworming Innovation Fund, which enables us to accelerate progress even faster than we had envisioned, said CEO Ellen Agler. This groundbreaking capital allows us to reduce the burden of intestinal worms and schistosomiasis in the four countries, and invest in innovative approaches to treatment, prevention, and sustainability, said Agler. In these four countries, local and national leaders have made trailblazing commitments to their national deworming programs. The generous and unwavering level of support to end NTDs continues to provide an opportunity to scale up proven approaches, trial new innovative approaches, and foster increased levels of community partnership. Through the Deworming Innovation Fund, the quality of life for millions can be improved because of the significant improvement to mental, physical, and social health. The END Fund is proud to stand with other global change-makers on this World NTD Day to ensure that these diseases get the necessary attention and investment that they deserve. Anchor funding for this initiative has been committed through a collaboration of Audacious Project partners including The ELMA Foundation, Delta Philanthropies, Sir Christopher Hohn (administered via the Childrens Investment Fund Foundation), Rosamund Zander and Hansjorg Wyss for the Wyss Medical Foundation, and Virgin Unite. Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of the END Fund. ABOUT the END FUND The END Fund is the only private philanthropic initiative solely dedicated to ending the five most common neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), which affect more than 1.7 billion people globally. It efficiently puts private capital to work, advocating for NTD programs that are innovative, integrated, and cost-effective. It facilitates strong partnerships with the private sector and has supported national disease control programs in 30 countries. Since its founding in 2012, with its partners, the END Fund has provided over 740 million donated treatments worth over $1 billion, over 12,900 surgeries for people suffering from the effects of the advanced stages of elephantiasis and trachoma, and trained more than 1.4 million people in NTD control and elimination efforts. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires Authorities said Tuesday they arrested an Old Fort pair and charged them with stealing vehicles and tools from separate businesses in October. Before he retired, former Detective Lynn Greene of the McDowell County Sheriffs Office charged 39-year-old James William Effler, of 311 Mashburn Branch Road in Old Fort, and 43-year-old Jennifer Deanne McMahan, of 138 Meadow Ridge Drive in Old Fort, each with larceny of a motor vehicle, larceny, burglary and larceny after breaking and entering. On Oct. 10, an employee of J&T Auto Parts, on Major Conley Road in Marion, reported that someone broke into a gate at the business and took a 2008 Chevrolet pickup truck and a flatbed trailer, worth a total of $8,500, from the property. Then, on Oct. 11, an employee of Ameritech Slope Constructors reported that someone broke into a trailer parked at a construction site on U.S. 221 South in Glenwood and removed $7,360 worth of tools. An investigation led to Effler and McMahan in both cases. J&Ts truck and trailer were recovered, as well as some of Ameritechs tools. Effler received a $40,000 bond; McMahan received a $30,000 bond. A Marion woman charged in 2015 with beating her boyfriends son was given at least 13 months in prison during a recent term of McDowell County Superior Court. Samantha Lee Brasecker, 24, of Geneva Drive, Marion, was found guilty of negligent child abuse, inflicting serious injury. She was sentenced to 13 to 25 months in prison. She was given credit for 27 days time served. During the time of the initial report, investigators with the McDowell County Sheriffs Office received information from the Department of Social Services that the 2-year-old son of Randy Lynn Stilwell Jr., 32, of Geneva Drive, Marion, was bruised over his entire body, including his face, ears, abdomen, back, arms and legs. According to Detective Billie Brown, further investigation showed that both suspects had repeatedly beaten the child for at least a month. The victim and a 1-month-old boy were removed from the home. During the week of July 18 of this year, Stilwell pleaded not guilty and was found guilty of felony child abuse while inflicting serious injury. He was sentenced to 60 to 84 months in prison. He was given credit for 64 days time served. The following cases were heard in McDowell County Superior Court during the week of Dec. 12: Kelly Dawn Byers, 35, of Summey Road, Old Fort, was found guilty of two counts of felony probation violation out of county. She was given credit for 59 days time served. April Marie Byrd, 33, of P.G. Baptist Church Road, Marion, was found guilty of probation violation. Her probation was revoked. She was given credit for three days time served. Andrew Garrett Fisher, 27, of Crane Hollow Drive, Marion, was found guilty of probation violation. His probation was revoked. He was given credit for 205 days time served. Roger Allen Hoyle, 46, of Burma Road, Marion, was found guilty of felony probation violation. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail. Gregory Cole Lowery, 38, of Linville Road, Nebo, was found guilty of two counts of probation violation. His probation was revoked. He was given credit for 30 combined days time served. Chanda Marie McFalls, 26, of Sugar Hill Road, Marion, was found guilty of probation violation. Her probation was revoked. She was given credit for 31 days time served. Joel William Robinette, 38, of Shady Lane Loop, Marion, was found guilty of four counts of probation violation. His probation was revoked. He was given credit for 284 days time served. Phil Eaglesham, a Corporal in the UKs Royal Marine Commandos, caught Q fever while serving in Afghanistan and lost his ability to walk due to the disease. He partnered with the Medical Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre to overcome some of the downsides of existing wheelchairs and create a new useful mobility device. The Victor powered wheelchair has a modular design so that it can be adapted to the needs of people with various disabilities. Large, rough-treaded wheels let it maneuver through rough terrain and even climb over curbs. One particularly useful features is being able to raise the seat to match the eye level of people standing nearby thanks to a built-in pneumatic system. The company setup to develop the project, Conquering Horizon, is currently raising crowdsourced funds to push it toward production. Heres a video promoting the Victor to potential investors: Link: Victor Mobility Via: Medical Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre by Thom Forbes @tforbes, January 3, 2017 Having been, once upon a time, a general assignment reporter covering the streets of New York City, I know how mayhem sells newspapers. It also attracts the most eyeballs online, apparently, as most of the stories making 2016s Top 10 Top of the News stories below, based on readership, are more about conflict than resolution. The two exceptions involve Victorias Secret no secret why there and a new Dyson hair dryer. Go figure on that one. Chevy Is Punching Holes - Literally - In 'Built Ford Tough' June 9, 2016 Chevrolet has uploaded a three-minute comparison spot in which an 825-pound load of cobblestones is dumped first into the steel bed of one of its Silverado pickups, then into the aluminum bed of a Ford F-150. Guess which fares better under the pressure? advertisement advertisement Riding High On Hype 6 Months Ago, Theranos Faces Grim Diagnosis April 14, 2016 Theranos, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based blood-testing laboratory that has attracted $9 billion in backing from investors and tons of upbeat coverage for founder Elizabeth Holmes, who famously dropped out of Stanford to launch the company in 2003, is teetering on having its license revoked by federal regulators. Red Lobster Lambasted For Response To Beyonce's 'Formation' Shout-Out February 10, 2016 Red Lobster yesterday said that sales spiked 33% over the previous Super Bowl Sunday in the wake of Beyonces sexually charged mention of the restaurant in a single and YouTube video released Saturday prior to her appearance on the half-time show the next day. But that good news was tempered by the hammering the chain took in social media for its delayed, and then half-baked, response to the more than 300,000 tweets it generated. New Balance Burned By Tweet Igniting Anti-Trump Sentiment November 11, 2016 Call it the Boston Bonfire, social media style. Boston-based New Balance sneakers found itself a symbol of anti-Trump sentiment yesterday after a spokesman told the Wall Street Journals Sara Germano it was hopeful the President-elect would kill the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, as he has threatened to do during the campaign. Its sneakers were burned, trashed and vilified. Study Faults Coke And Pepsi's Funding Of Health Groups October 11, 2016 Coca-Cola and PepsiCo provided funding to 96 health organizations from 2011 through 2015 at the same time that they were lobbying against 29 pieces of health-related legislation that could have reduced consumption of sugar-laden sodas or improved nutrition, according to research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The study found fault with both the givers and the takers. Victoria's Secret Goes Public With Reorganization Plans April 8, 2016 In a move thats being hailed by one analyst as unusual for its foresight, Victorias Secret is laying off 200 people and reorganizing into three business units Victorias Secret Lingerie, PINK and Victorias Secret Beauty while its at the top of its game. But another is less appreciative of the moves hailed by Leslie H. Wexner, chairman and CEO of parent L Brands. Chipotle Cooperating With Fed Criminal Probe As Sales Worsen Jan. 7, 2016 Chipotle Mexican Grill not only told investors yesterday that its sales had been harder hit than it initially anticipated by the reaction to recent outbreaks of E. coli and other food-borne illnesses, it also revealed that it received a grand jury subpoena last month for an investigation by federal authorities into a norovirus outbreak in August at a restaurant in Simi Valley, Calif. Dyson's New Hair Dryer Efficiently Generates Gushing Reviews April 28, 2016 Well save the price for later suffice to say that this is the sort of thing that the Chobani nouvelles might covet if they werent so darn grounded but Sir James Dyson is looking to do for the human head what he did for the shag rug. The Dyson Supersonic hair dryer is, simply and elegantly, the hair dryer re-thought. Samsung Under Fire For Its Handling Of Note 7 Crises Oct. 10, 2016 Samsung is suspending production of its Galaxy Note 7 in order to take further steps to ensure quality and safety matters, it said this morning in Seoul as it continues to fumble its way through a mounting crisis steps behind social media posts of devices catching fire. Trump Takes On Boeing; Businesses Wonder Who's Next? Dec. 7, 2016 President-elect Donald Trump yesterday tweeted that costs are out of control at Boeing for a new Air Force One still in the planning stages and called for canceling the order. He followed up by telling reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower, I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. As Leonard Cohen said during his final press conference, If I knew when the good songs came from, Id go there more often. On a more mundane plane, I look forward to continuing to try to hunt down the top marketing story of the day for you in 2017. by Sara Guaglione , January 3, 2017 Penske Media Corporation is partnering with Rockbridge Growth Equity in a joint venture to expand the 40-year-old luxury title Robb Report. Robb Report curates luxury products and services in categories such as private aircraft, boating, automobiles, wine and watches. The brand publishes 17 international editions in nine languages. Brian Hermelin, managing partner for Rockbridge Growth Equity, stated on December 30 that the partnership with Penske Media Corporation (PMC) will accelerate and drive Robb Reports future growth. The joint venture will focus on expanding Robb Reports digital reach, print subscription and event business, as well as improve its print distribution and product suite across its channels. PMC stated it hopes to attract a broader global audience to Robb Report by building up its technology, analytics and digital platforms. advertisement advertisement Financial terms and details of the partnership were not disclosed. Robb Report will continue to operate as an independent brand, but its New York and Malibu offices will move into the PMC headquarters on Fifth Avenue and PMC Tower on Santa Monica Boulevard, respectively. Rockbridge Growth Equity, which is owned by businessman Dan Gilbert, acquired Robb Report in December 2014. This time last year, PMC acquired film and TV news and reviews site IndieWire.com. The company owns over 20 digital media brands, including Variety, WWD and Deadline. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is a term for several chronic health conditions that reduce lung function. The outlook for a person with COPD depends on the stage of the disease and their overall health. COPD causes airflow obstruction, impacting a persons ability to get enough oxygen into their lungs and move it through their body. The disease progresses in stages with stage 1 being mild and stage 4 representing very severe COPD. Because the body requires oxygen to survive, COPD can be fatal. Chronic lower respiratory disease was the fourth leading cause of death in the United States in 2016, mainly due to COPD. Exacerbations can also make the outlook worse. These episodes are when symptoms flare up and damage the lungs. If a person does not receive treatment, the disease may progress further. It is not possible to reverse lung damage when a person has COPD, and the condition tends to become worse over time. Currently, there is no cure for COPD. In this article, we explain how doctors work out the life expectancy for people with COPD and ways to improve a persons outlook. Measuring outlook Share on Pinterest Many factors can affect the outlook of a person with COPD. There is no single life expectancy for people with COPD. Many factors are involved when working out an individuals life expectancy. One of the strongest predictors of life expectancy with COPD is the forced expiratory volume (FEV1) percentage. There are several systems in place that use FEV1 and other factors to assess life expectancy. GOLD The FEV1 test measures how much air a person can expel from their lungs in 1 second. Its results show as a percentage of the airflow that doctors would predict for that person, according to their weight, height, and race. A system called the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) helps many doctors assess the severity of a persons COPD. Its most recent guidelines involve the FEV1 test results as an indicator of severity. A doctor will use these results to decide the disease grade. GOLD has four grades, each more severe than the previous one: GOLD 1: FEV1 less than or equal to 80% predicted FEV1 less than or equal to 80% predicted GOLD 2: FEV1 5080% predicted FEV1 5080% predicted GOLD 3: FEV1 3050% predicted FEV1 3050% predicted GOLD 4: FEV1 less than 30% predicted GOLD also takes into account symptoms such as breathing difficulties and the number of exacerbations, or flare-ups, that occur. People with a higher GOLD grade have a lower life expectancy than those whose grade is a lower number. BODE Another measurement tool for COPD is the BODE scale. BODE stands for body mass index (BMI), obstruction, breathlessness, and exercise capacity. BODE scores also take FEV1 results into account, as well as the following factors: 6-minute walk test distance: This measures the distance a person can safely walk in 6 minutes. This measures the distance a person can safely walk in 6 minutes. BMI: This represents how a persons body weight compares to their height, gender, and bone structure. This represents how a persons body weight compares to their height, gender, and bone structure. Level of breathing difficulty: Those who become more easily winded will have higher scores on the BODE scale. BODE scores range from 010. People with a score of 10 have the most impaired function and the worst outlook. People can click here to find an automated calculator to determine their BODE score. Predictive tests such as GOLD, BODE, and other scales are only a doctors best estimate of life expectancy. Many people live longer, while others may have shorter expectancies. Doctors use symptoms, several measurements of lung function, and a persons overall health to determine the severity of COPD. Another system that doctors commonly use is the ADO scale, which stands for age, dyspnea, and obstruction. Some experts also use the dyspnea, obstruction, smoking, and exercise capacity (DOSE) scale. Management Share on Pinterest Oxygen therapy is one possible way to help manage symptoms of COPD. Doctors will consider the symptoms each individual is experiencing, along with their other medical conditions, to prescribe the best medication regime. While there is no cure for COPD, medicines can help to reduce severe symptoms and may help a person with COPD to enjoy a better quality of life. Medications commonly used to manage COPD include: Bronchodilator therapy: This involves medications that immediately open up the airways, such as inhaled albuterol. This involves medications that immediately open up the airways, such as inhaled albuterol. Maintenance medications: Long acting bronchodilators and other medications that people can take daily can help to keep airways open and reduce mucus production. Long acting bronchodilators and other medications that people can take daily can help to keep airways open and reduce mucus production. Corticosteroids: These drugs include oral and inhaled steroids to reduce inflammation in the lungs. These drugs include oral and inhaled steroids to reduce inflammation in the lungs. Oxygen therapy: Those who have difficulty maintaining a healthy oxygen level may benefit from wearing an oxygen mask at home or permanently. Pulmonary rehabilitation involves sessions with a respiratory therapist or lung specialist who teaches techniques for better breathing. Rehabilitation options may also include nutrition counseling and education about COPD. These options are most suitable for people with stable COPD and whose symptoms are not getting noticeably worse over time. A person with COPD is likely to experience episodes in which their routine symptoms suddenly become worse. These attacks are known as COPD exacerbations. Exacerbations may require different drugs, hospitalization, or ventilator support until a doctor can control the flare. In some instances, a person might need lung surgery, such as a transplant, to manage COPD. However, a transplant is only appropriate for a small number of individuals with COPD. Here, learn more about the use of steroids in COPD treatment. Hospice and palliative care Hospice and palliative care services can provide significant support in end stage COPD. Palliative care services can provide specialist assistance to reduce symptoms whenever possible. They also offer support to the family and make the persons quality of life and comfort a priority. Hospice care is for those whose symptoms indicate that COPD may soon be fatal. Examples of these symptoms can include: oxygen dependence experiencing one or more hospitalizations related to COPD within a year weight loss, muscle wasting, or decreasing ability to perform daily activities an age of 70 years or older having other health concerns that may reduce lifespan, such as heart disease, kidney disease, or liver problems having an FEV1 that is less than 30% of the predicted value Many insurance companies cover hospice and palliative care services. A doctor can advise about available options. Read more on the final stages of COPD. Although implants and medication are available for individuals who have lost erectile function, there is currently no one-size-fits-all treatment. However, using an innovative heat-activated memory metal, researchers recently tested a new device and the results are promising. Share on Pinterest Erectile dysfunction is surprisingly common and can be difficult to treat. Although technology related to the penis can draw childish sniggers, it is a serious business. For instance, losing ones erectile function through cancer or injury can be a life-altering event. Erectile dysfunction is not uncommon; an estimated 40 percent of men aged 40-70 have some level of erectile dysfunction. Of these 40 percent, an estimated one-third do not respond to drugs such as Viagra. Brian Le, from the Department of Urology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, recently investigated new technology that may, eventually, provide a reliable alternative. Le joined forces with Alberto Colombo and Kevin McKenna at Northwestern University, IL, and Kevin McVary at Southern Illinois University. Le says that: Its a survivorship issue restoring function can help people feel whole in their bodies again. Current treatments for erectile dysfunction Beyond Viagra and similar drugs, there are two interventions that can restore some level of function. The best solution on the market is an inflatable implant. However, due to the multiple components including a reservoir of water and a pump the surgery can be complicated. The implanted pump can also be awkward for the user, with the potential to cause medical complications, including water leakage from the internal reservoir. The simplest device currently in use is a malleable implant. It is relatively cheap and easy to install, making it more popular in developing countries than in the United States. There are, however, drawbacks to this method. These include the fact that it provides a permanently erect penis, that it can change shape during use, and that it has the potential to put pressure on surrounding areas, therefore damaging tissue. The inflatable pump technology was first designed in the 1970s and, since then, little progress has been made. Because neither of these interventions are ideal, and because the potential marketplace is large, discovering alternatives could be lucrative. For these reasons, Boston Scientific are supporting Les innovative work in this field. Imagine you're navigating a city like New York, or any other that's laid out on a grid. Suppose you run into a roadblock as you're heading north. How do you know that you can turn to your left, say, and then take a right at the next intersection to continue in your original direction? According to research from the University of California San Diego, it may be thanks to some newly identified neurons in an area of your brain called the subiculum. In a paper published by Nature Neuroscience, the researchers say they have found neurons that help an animal align itself within a cognitive map of its environment. Working with rats, the researchers observe that cells in the subiculum seem to encode an animal's current axis of travel. The neurons signal "I'm on this line, in this orientation." "We're describing an entirely new and unexpected form of neural activity," said senior author Douglas Nitz, a professor of cognitive science in the UC San Diego Division of Social Sciences. "The cells fire when the animal travels in either direction along a single axis." The rats ran on six interconnected routes much like a city grid, and the researchers took recordings from single neurons in the subiculum. Neurons that the researchers have dubbed "axis-tuned" fired when the animal traveled in either direction on a particular line - one of these firing, for example, when the animal moved north to south or south to north, but staying quiet for east-west. Others were activated for other lines of travel. "The novel representation here is that the rat is mentally grouping these different locations," said first author and UC San Diego Department of Cognitive Science Ph.D. student Jacob Olson. "Functionally, the routes are all the same, and what the axis-tuned neuron appears to do is encode the functional similarity among different paths. It encodes how multiple pathways are oriented to each other and connected." Like humans, Nitz said, rats tend to create and travel on pathways. But the researchers also checked if these neurons worked during open-field foraging. They did not. They fired only when the rats were traveling on paths. The neurons appear to be distinct from head direction cells discovered earlier, the researchers write, for two reasons: Head direction neurons fire when an animal's head is pointed a certain way but not in the opposite direction. They also fire in an open field. The axis-tuned cells account for about 10 percent of the subiculum neurons, the researchers estimate. The subiculum is one of the primary outputs of the hippocampus, they note, a region of the brain known to be involved in orientation, location and episodic memory. But what kind of signal the subiculum produces has been a bit of mystery. "This neural activity is a brand new kid on the block in a rich field of literature," said Nitz. The axis-tuned cell adds to what we already know about orientation encoding in the brain, he said, and takes its place among other cells important to navigation and orientation: place cells, grid cells and head direction cells. Next steps for the research include studies on how much experience a rat needs with a path before the axis-tuned cells begin functioning, and on whether the representations show up in humans as well. UC San Diego undergraduate student Kanyanat Tongprasearth is also a coauthor on the paper. The research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (IOS-1149718) and the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind (#2015-055). The law is now widely seen as not fit for purpose. Abortion care in the UK is "heading towards a crisis" and reform of the law is just one of the many obstacles that needs to be overcome, argues an expert in the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care. Among the challenges women seeking abortion face include inequitable access, a lack of trained staff, stigmatisation, and a culture of exceptionalism, explains Dr Sandy Goldbeck-Wood, editor in chief of the journal, and clinical lead for abortion services at Cambridge University Hospitals. She argues that "problems of access and stigma, familiar worldwide, are compounded in the UK by an abortion law that is now widely seen as not fit for purpose" which is considered to be "out of step with technical advances in safe medical abortion and current UK social values." Most women believe they have a right to make their own decision about abortion, but British law still requires the identification of serious physical or mental health risk by two doctors not necessarily qualified, and who may not know the woman personally. The law is, therefore, widely seen by clinicians as "hypocritical and anachronistic," explains Dr Goldbeck-Wood. Another problem is that abortion care has become artificially separated from the rest of reproductive health care, she adds. In the UK, a high proportion of abortion care is provided in specialist organisations outside the NHS. 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. "As well as reinforcing stigma, this deprives trainees of valuable learning opportunities," she says 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 health 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 health care. "Abortion care remains a high-volume, under-researched and under-integrated area of women's healthcare," she writes. "2017 is an excellent time for practitioners to be challenging hypocrisy and exceptionalism in UK abortion care, and leading respectful debate centred on women's needs, with complexity acknowledged." A study led by Dr Louise Keogh, from the University of Melbourne, assessed the decriminalisation of abortion in the Victoria state of Australia in 2008. It found 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. Commenting on the study, Sally Sheldon, professor of law at Kent University, says that the abortion law reform in Victoria has vital lessons for the UK. She says that 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. Much more work is needed to remove stigma, encourage doctors to provide terminations, and improve "equitable access to excellent, modern abortion services," she concludes. Editorial: Reforming abortion services in the UK: less hypocrisy, more acknowledgment of complexity, Sandy Goldbeck-Wood, Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care, doi:10.1136/jfprhc-2016-101696, published online 22 December 2016. Commentary: Abortion law reform in Victoria: lessons for the UK, Sally Sheldon, Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care, doi:10.1136/jfprhc-2016-101676, published online 22 December 2016. Article: Intended and unintended consequences of abortion law reform: perspectives of abortion experts in Victoria, Australia, L A Keogh, D Newton, C Bayly, K McNamee, A Hardiman, A Webster, M Bismark, Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care, doi: 10.1136/jfprhc-2016-101541, published online 22 December 2016. A new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) is the first to show exactly how the drug Arbidol stops influenza infections. The research reveals that Arbidol stops the virus from entering host cells by binding within a recessed pocket on the virus. The researchers believe this new structural insight could guide the development of future broad-spectrum therapeutics that would be even more potent against influenza virus. "This is a very interesting molecule, and now we know where it binds and precisely how it works," said study senior author Ian Wilson, Hanson Professor of Structural Biology, chair of the Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology and member of the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology at TSRI. The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Treatment Can Target Many Strains of Influenza Arbidol (also called umifenovir) is an anti-flu treatment sold in Russia and China by the Russian pharmaceutical company Pharmstandard. The drug is currently in stage-four clinical trials in the United States. The drug targets many strains of influenza, giving it an advantage over seasonal vaccines that target only a handful of strains. The new study sheds light on exactly how it accomplishes this feat. Scientists had long been curious whether Arbidol bound to the viral proteins used to recognize host cells - or with the viral "fusion machinery" that enters and infects host cells. To answer this question, the researchers used a high-resolution imaging technique called X-ray crystallography to create 3D structures showing how Arbidol binds to two different strains of influenza virus. The structures revealed that Arbidol binds to the virus's fusion machinery, as some had suspected. The small molecule binds to a viral protein called hemagglutinin, stopping the virus from rearranging its conformation in a way that enables the virus to fuse its membrane with a host cell. "We found that the small molecule binds to a hidden pocket in hemagglutinin," said study first author Rameshwar U. Kadam, senior research associate at TSRI. He added that the drug acts as a sort of "glue" to hold the subunits of hemagglutinin together. "Arbidol is the first influenza treatment shown to use a hemagglutinin-binding approach," he said. This vulnerable pocket is "conserved," meaning it is likely important for viral function - and more difficult to mutate as the virus spreads - suggesting why Arbidol has relatively broad use in fighting many strains of the virus, including emerging strains. The new findings also help scientists understand how Arbidol compares to influenza treatments such as Tamiflu. Wilson explained that Tamiflu prevents the virus from getting out of cells, while Arbidol prevents it from getting in. This means Arbidol, or future drugs that take a similar approach, could be given as a preventative treatment before an outbreak hits. "When we had the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, the vaccine came too late," said Wilson. "If we had a front-line therapeutic, that could have worked much better until a vaccine was ready." Wilson said the next step for researchers is to discover and/or design other small molecule therapeutics that can bind even more tightly with the hemagglutinin. This study, "Structural basis of influenza virus fusion inhibition by the antiviral drug Arbidol," was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grant R56 AI117675) and an Early Mobility Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation. This study used resources funded in whole or in part by the National Cancer Institute (grant Y1-CO-1020); the National Institute of General Medical Science (grant Y1-GM-1104); the U.S. Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science (contracts DE-AC02-06CH11357 and DE-AC02-76SF00515); the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Biological and Environmental Research and by the National Institute of General Medical Science (grant P41GM103393). Article: Structural basis of influenza virus fusion inhibition by the antiviral drug Arbidol, Rameshwar U. Kadam and Ian A. Wilson, PNAS, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1617020114, published online 21 December 2016. Male hypogonadism is a condition that diminishes testosterone levels in approximately 30% of older men, but currently available therapies can produce serious side effects. In a study published December 22 in Stem Cell Reports, researchers developed an alternative approach involving the direct conversion of adult skin cells into functional testosterone-producing cells. When transplanted into male rodents with hypogonadism, these so-called Leydig-like cells survived and restored normal testosterone levels. "Our study is the first to report a method for generating Leydig cells by means of direct cell reprogramming," says senior study co-author Yadong Huang of Jinan University. "This alternative source of Leydig cells will be of great significance for basic research and provides the attractive prospect of clinical application in the field of regenerative medicine." Male hypogonadism is characterized by symptoms such as mood disturbances, sexual dysfunction, decreased muscle mass and strength, and decreased bone mineral density. One primary cause is the dysfunction of testosterone-producing Leydig cells in the testes. Testosterone replacement therapy can alleviate some symptoms resulting from Leydig cell failure, but it may also increase the risk of prostate and cardiovascular complications, such as the formation of blood clots. Leydig cell transplantation could be a promising alternative to hormone replacement therapy, providing physiological patterns of hormone for a longer period of time. However, stem cell-based approaches are costly, time-consuming, and limited by ethical concerns and the risk of tumor formation. Huang and co-senior study author Zhijian Su of Jinan University reasoned that the direct conversion of adult skin cells into Leydig cells would be a faster, safer regenerative medicine approach. To test this idea, the researchers screened 11 transcription factors that could affect the ability of Leydig cells to produce testosterone. Using lentiviral vectors to force the expression of three of these transcriptional factors, Dmrt1, Gata4, and Nr5a1, they were able to directly reprogram mouse skin cells into functional Leydig-like cells, which showed normal gene activity and were capable of producing testosterone. When transplanted into the testes of rats or mice with hypogonadism, these cells survived and restored normal testosterone levels. According to the authors, future studies should aim to improve the efficiency of the approach to generate a pure population of cells that closely mimic adult Leydig cells. For their own part, the researchers are examining in more detail the mechanisms underlying the direct conversion of skin cells into Leydig-like cells. To make the findings more relevant to patients, they are also examining direct cellular conversion strategies using small molecules and other non-viral methods. "In the end, we are hopeful that this research will pave the way for clinical trials testing a novel regenerative medicine approach to treat androgen deficiency in men," Su says. The work is supported by the NSFC, National Key New Drug Creation of China, Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, Science & Technology Plan Project of Guangzhou, Project of Research Development and Industrialization of Guangdong Province, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities Project, and the Guangdong Province Higher Vocational Colleges & Schools Pearl River Scholar Funded Scheme (2012-2017). In a new study, young children showed signs of kidney damage if their mothers smoked while pregnant. The findings, which appear in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN), add to the list of negative health effects that can result from maternal smoking during pregnancy. Because smoking is a well-known risk factor for kidney failure in adults, a team led by Koji Kawakami, MD, PhD, Maki Shinzawa, MD, PhD, and Motoko Yanagita MD, PhD (Kyoto University, in Japan) wondered whether maternal smoking during pregnancy might affect children's kidney health. The researchers conducted a population-based retrospective study using a database of health check-ups from pregnancy to 3 years of age in Japan. The investigators looked for the presence of proteinuria - or elevated protein the urine, which is a sign of reduced kidney function - in urinary tests from 44,595 children. In the population examined, 4.4% of women smoked only before pregnancy and 16.7% continued smoking while pregnant. The frequencies of proteinuria in the child at age 3 were 1.7% when mothers continued to smoke during pregnancy, 1.6% when mothers stopped smoking during pregnancy, and 1.3% when mothers were nonsmokers, respectively. Maternal smoking during pregnancy was associated with a 1.24-times increased risk of child proteinuria compared with no exposure to maternal smoking during pregnancy. "Maternal smoking during pregnancy is known to be associated with preterm birth, low birth weight, and neonatal asphyxia. The findings from this study suggest an additional adverse effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy," said Dr. Kawakami. "Prevention of child proteinuria is important since child proteinuria can lead to development of chronic kidney disease in adulthood and ultimately end stage renal disease." Article: Maternal Smoking during Pregnancy, Household Smoking after the Child's Birth, and Childhood Proteinuria at Age 3 Years, Maki Shinzawa, Shiro Tanaka, Hironobu Tokumasu, Daisuke Takada, Tatsuo Tsukamoto, Motoko Yanagita, Koji Kawakami, Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN), doi: 10.2215/CJN.05980616, published online December 2016. We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. Please complete this form and we'll send you a personalised information that is requested You may use this for your own reference or forward it to your friends. Please use the information prudently. If you are not a medical doctor please remember to consult your healthcare provider as this information is not a substitute for professional advice. Advertisement Though the WHO is planning to change that, it could take a long time. The WHO had not removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders until 1990.The progressive nation announced the plan for the reclassification back in May 2016.The proposal to declassify sexual orientation in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems was first put forward to the WHO in 2014, but a decision is not expected until sometime later in the year.Denmark's Health Minister Sophie Lohde expressed frustration with the pace of the WHO which is planning to address the issue. The minister said Denmark was no longer prepared to wait for the global organization.Soren Laursen, head of the Danish LGBT national association told that the move would remove the stigma associated with being transgender."The change is symbolic, but important. It's important for transgender people to not be branded mentally ill when we are not." Linda Thor Pedersen, a spokesperson for LGBT Denmark said.Thor Pederson said that during the discussion with the country's health department, it was ensured that words including 'dysphoria', 'incongruence', 'disorder' or 'problem' would not feature any more.The new decision in Denmark comes as the country reports a spur in the number of young transgender people accessing services.The Sexological Clinic at Rigshospital in Copenhagen had expected to assist around 50 young people each year, but had over 130 clients in 2016.Like most countries, gender reassignment surgery in Denmark is not allowed until after a person is 18 years of age. But a person can undergo hormone treatment, which is reversible, before turning 18 years.Before a person is given access to hormone replacement therapy or sex reassignment surgery he/she must undergo rigorous psychological assessment.The change in classification does not make any change to the amount of psychological assessment a person must undergo.The move to remove the classification was supported by all political parties.Source: Medindia Advertisement "They (such doctors) come, appear for the interviews, collect their appointment letters and join the department. After a few days, they just leave. We are not able to stop them, nor can the courts. Ideally, they should submit their resignation before going," he said.The government has informed the Maharashtra Medical Education Department and Maharashtra Medical Council who will decide the future course of action against these medicos."Out of these 581 doctors, some of them have not reported for duty for 10-12 years and others for 12-15 years. They haven't been paid salaries during the period of absence," noted Sawant.While a majority of these cases are mainly from the rural areas, the process of issuing notices has already been taken up, even making a request to them to rejoin duties.Responding to the notices, some of them said they preferred to switch over to lucrative private practice, or taken up better job offers in different hospitals, while it came to be known that a few left the country for higher studies or employment. Some others just ignored the government communication.The matter was raised in the Maharashtra legislature on several occasions in the past and the government had assured strict action against the 'absconder' medicos.The government is also toying with the idea of approaching the Medical Council of India to suspend the licenses of these 'absconders' to serve as a warning to other potential defaulters.Department officials said that such irresponsible behavior created immense difficulties for the government in providing medical services and facilities to the poor and people in moffussil areas.Since the appointed medicos continued to remain on the records, the government could not show new vacancies or make fresh appointments, due to which the existing staff were under severe strain.Source: IANS Old Monk has been a constant favourite for almost every guy for as long as men and alcohol have existed! So, if its going to be cocktails, its going to have to be an Old Monk special! Weve rounded up 10 easy-to-create Rum-based cocktails from 10 popular cafes and bars in Mumbai so that you can spice up your next house party without breaking the bank. 1. Rum Sling Bar Bar Bar Bar Bar Bar the citys wholesale Bar, has added a quick orange-y twist to good ol rum. Whats in it: 30ml Bacardi 30ml Old Monk 5 to 6 Fresh Oranges 60ml Orange Juice 15ml Lime Juice How to make it: Mix all ingredients with ice. Stir and pour into a chilled glass. Garnish with a fresh orange slice. 2. Monks Mule Socials Social Offline Our favorite neighborhood place shares the secret to that Old Monk cocktail you always order and love to drink and it is incredibly easy to make! Whats in it: 60ml Old monk 15ml Fresh ginger juice 8 pieces of Mint leaves 60ml Pineapple juice 1 can Ginger Ale 10ml Sugar syrup 10ml Fresh lime juice How to make it: Muddle the mint leaves along with sugar syrup and fresh lime juice in a tall glass. Fill the glass up with ice cubes. Add ginger juice, pineapple juice and rum (Old Monk). Top the drink with ginger ale and garnish with candied ginger and a mint sprig. 3. Bombay Gulabo Bombay Cocktail Bar Bombay Cocktail Bar Mumbai got its first cocktail bar recently and theyve come up with a Bombay special with Rum! Whats in it: 45ml Old Monk Fresh orange chunks 30ml Rose syrup/ Roohafza 20ml Fresh lime juice Handful of mint leaves Pinch of jal-jeera Splash of soda Orange wedge and mint spring How to make it: Take a tall glass, add all of the ingredients and mix well, garnish with an orange wedge and mint spring. 4. Monk of the east Dashanzi, JW Marriott Juhu JW Marriott Literally from the east! Whats in it: 60ml Cardamom infused dark rum 15ml Freshly squeezed lime juice 15ml Simple syrup Splash of Ginger Beer Garnish with a mint sprig How to make it: Add all ingredients, mix well, splash some beer and garnish with mint sprig! 5. Rum Barrel Asado, The Cocktail Street Asado Asados cocktails, are quirky and DELICIOUS! Try this one. Whats in it: 90ml Old Monk 30ml sugar syrup 120ml mango juice (chilled) 60ml pineapple juice (chilled) 15 - 20ml lemon juice 15ml grenadine or cranberry juice Splash of soda (Chilled) How to make it: Add the juices, sugar syrup and rum. Splash some chilled soda, mix well before serving. 6. Roorkee True Tramm Trunk True Tramm Trunk We are all big fans of T3s cocktails, which hilariously represent the different states in India. This one is easy and delicious: Whats in it: 90ml Old Monk 10ml Coca Cola 1 cup Coffee beans How to make it: Mix a batch of Old Monk with coffee beans and let them sit overnight. Strain and add Coca-Cola to it. Mix well. Serve chilled. 7. Rum Cafe Gola Woodside Inn Woodside Inn Gola is and will always be a fun beverage, always. So recreate a nostalgic moment and enjoy an old memory along with some amazing booze! Whats in it: 60ml Old monk 30ml Expresso 60ml Condense milk Garnish with coco powder How to make it: Make a crushed ice Gola with clean hands. Pour the drink on the gola. Garnish with a drizzle of condensed milk and a generous sprinkle of cocoa powder. 8. Dark N Stormy Reise All-day Bar & Kitchen Reise For someone who likes their booze with a bitter taste! Whats in it: 60ml Old Monk 180ml ginger ale dash of lime juice dash of bitters (Angostura bitters) How to make it: Top the Old Monk, lime juice and bitters with some ginger ale and mix well. Serve with dry ice 9. T for Tonic The Lighthouse Cafe The Lighthouse Cafe This one will leave you feeling all fresh and ready to take on the world! Whats in it: 10ml Ginger Juice(Fresh) 10leaf Curry Leaves 60ml Sour Mix 45ml Old Monk 1 can Tonic Water 6 cube Ice How to make it: Add and mix in the same order given as above. 10. Zoomonk Zoobar Zoobar A tangy sweet and sour experience youll never forget! Whats in it: Few chunks of Fresh Pineapple 60ml Pineapple Juice 10ml Sweet and Sour Mix 45ml Old Monk Basil Leaves for garnishing How to make it: Mash up the fresh Pineapple, mix all the ingredients together in a shaker and strain it in a Collin glass. Garnish the drink with a Basil leaf and serve. Whenever we go to a new place, we plan to make memories with our loved onescutting a long story short, we take a lot of selfies and pictures. But guys, no matter how adventurous you are, there is fine and ultra thin line between being brave and being stupid. Taking close shots of animals is bravery to some extent but clicking selfies with them is outright dangerous and stupid and you are the one who will be hurt. Twitter Well, it seems that most people didnt learn any lessons from incidents like the death of Harambe, the gorilla and continue creating problems for themselves as well as the animals. Thats exactly what happened with a 41-year-old French woman, Muriel Benetulier, who was bitten by a crocodile while posing for a selfie in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand. WTF? Was she expecting the crocodile to smile or strike a pose? Or maybe the crocodile bit her because the selfie wasnt up to the mark? According to the National Parks authorities, Benetulier was trying to take a photo so she moved closer to the ferocious reptile, but as she stood up; she lost balance and tipped on one side. Thats when the crocodile was startled and bit her left leg. She wanted to take a selfie with the crocodile who was lying down near a stream, a park official said. Benetulier came to the park with her husband. Twitter The officials further added that the particular area has been home to two dangerous Siamese crocodiles for years and there are warning signs laid out as well. Whats more, the tourists had been requested to stay on the set path with staff members stationed along the route to assist them. The woman was immediately rushed to the hospital and is expected to recover from the gruesome bite. She was seen being carried on a stretcher with a thick bandage wrapped around her knee, by a park ranger dressed in camouflage. While we totally sympathise with the womans pain, but we still cant support her because she was responsible for putting herself in danger. So children, what lesson do we learn from this? This isnt any selfie challenge and you should definitely not get too excited around dangerous animals. Or just stop taking stupid selfies instead. Source: NDTV WhatsApp is probably the most popular and most used instant messaging platform since it launched. It has over one billion active users and has dominated the messaging app industry ever since. It was earlier reported by the company that it would end support for some older phones that are running Android 2.2 Froyo and below, iPhones that are running iOS 6 and below and Windows 7 phones. WhatsApp It was decided that the Facebook-owned company would end support for these phones on December 31st and they have stuck to their word. One must also take into account that these phones only accounted a mere 0.1 percent of the market share. YouTube WhatsApp was supposed to terminate support for some Blackberry and Nokia Symbian phones however they later decided to provide support for an additional six months i.e. till 30th June 2017. In order to make the transition smooth for everyone, WhatsApp is asking users to upgrade their phone so that they can still enjoy services. If you are still using an older handset, we suggest you either upgrade the OS or your phone altogether if you still want to keep in touch with your loved ones. Tangerines Export to Increase in Ukraine and Armenia The citrus season is now in its active phase, and tangerines remain one of the most important export products for Georgian agriculture. The orange vintage starts at the end of November and continues until December. The Minister of Agriculture, Lasha Komakhidze, talked about the statistics and results of the Adjaran orange vintage and answered the questions.Mr. Komakhidze, what is the current situation concerning the orange vintage?Statistics show that 21,000 tons of tangerines have been exported, and 9200 tones are already cultivated.What are the statistics compared to last year; what is the comparative analysis?Last year, there were 9000-9500 tons of tangerines cultivated, and this year we already exceeded 9200 tones. It is difficult to make a prediction but I think it might be 11,000 or 12,000 tones; however, as I already mentioned, it is difficult to predict the exact data.Are cultivated tangerines exported efficiently?The concentration export model works very well. There are two factories in this field. GM Group is one of the largest factories which collaborate with big international companies, and it is currently cultivating an agreement with Japan. It has also made partnerships with the Netherlands, Italy and France.Which are the major countries importing tangerines from Georgia?This year, 55% of the export is going to Russia, 30% to Ukraine, and we have good news that we entered the new markets of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Poland.It has to be noted that exports to Ukraine has increased by 65%. It is also important that exports to Armenia tripled compared to last year. Therefore, there are positive trends considering export.The export of tangerines will take place mainly in January but smaller quantity will be exported in February and March. 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. Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias will meet at the Foreign Ministry at 10:00 on Thursday, 5 January, with the UK Minister of State for Europe and the Americas, Alan Duncan. The website was developed using the open source software Elxis CMS by the Web Development Team of Foreign Ministry's ST2 Directorate for Telecommunications and Information Technologies PARIS TOWNSHIP Fast action by a Parisville Dairy worker helped save a woman and three children from a fire at a home located at 3657 Parisville Road early Sunday morning. According to Sherman Township Fire Chief Kurt Geiger, firefighters were called to the property around 5:45 a.m., after the worker noticed flames coming through the roof of the house and quickly alerted the family inside, waking them up and helping them get out safely. Geiger said something in the attic started on fire and eventually caught the roof of the older, two-story farmhouse on fire as well. UNIONVILLE The only county-owned park in Tuscola will receive some upgrades in the spring, and a grassroots group is talking about reviving the one-time popular Muskrat Festival that used to be held at the park. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) awarded more than $1.4 million in Recreation Passport Grants to communities for local park improvements to 36 counties. Tuscola County received a $10,700 grant for Vanderbilt County Park and Campground improvements. The money will go towards renovation and improvements such as: installation of a portable water line, campfire rings, picnic tables, gravel driveways and accessible paths to park facilities. Because the park at 4446 Bath Road, which is between Quanicassee and Unionville, doesnt have water or beach access, it has had a rocky history since the late Frank Vanderbilt donated it at the turn of the 19th century. The rustic park has been open, closed, open, closed and opened again over the years in an effort to save money. Even during the times the park was previously closed, there were still expenses because the lights had to be kept on and insured, so for the last few years the park has been open, county Controller Mike Hoagland explained The 18 acre Vanderbilt County Park and Campground is a rustic site. It has 24 campsites with electricity and eight rustic campsites. The park has playground and volleyball equipment, picnic areas, grills, rustic restrooms and fire rings. The grant money will allow upgrades. Although the park doesnt have water access, it is a hot spot for parking for those who want to ice fish on Saginaw Bay. Plus, there is a renewed interest in the park by area residents. A grassroots group is trying spark interest in having activities again at the park. There used to be an Easter egg hunt, and Muskrat Festival complete with young ladies competing for the title of Miss Muskrat. 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Paypal Shows Promise With Strong Buy Rating The 3-Stock Retirement Blueprint (Ad) Energy Transfer Raises Guidance, But Stock Lower On Revenue Miss Papa Johns Falls Flat On Earnings, Shares Set To Rise The 3-Stock Retirement Blueprint (Ad) Bank of England makes biggest interest rate hike in 30 years Mid-Caps CommScope, Dycom Outperform Broader Telecom Industry S&P 500 3,719.89 DOW 32,001.25 QQQ 260.49 Harnessing Neuroplasticity Allows You to Actually Change the Way You Think. Here's How. New Battery "Could Eat Lithium's Lunch" (Ad) eBay or Etsy: Which Is The Better Buy? Paypal Shows Promise With Strong Buy Rating The 3-Stock Retirement Blueprint (Ad) Energy Transfer Raises Guidance, But Stock Lower On Revenue Miss Papa Johns Falls Flat On Earnings, Shares Set To Rise The 3-Stock Retirement Blueprint (Ad) Bank of England makes biggest interest rate hike in 30 years Mid-Caps CommScope, Dycom Outperform Broader Telecom Industry The following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen France SAS, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Suzhou Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel Ireland Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Brooks Instrument LLC, Brooks Instrument Shanghai Co. Ltd, Buell Industries Inc., CCI Realty Company, CFC Europe GmbH, CS Australia Pty Limited, CS Mexico Holding Company S DE RL DE CV, Calvia Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnosci, Capital Ventures Australasia S.a r.l, Capmax Logistica S.A. de C.V., Celeste Industries Corporation, Coeur, Coeur Asia Limited, Coeur Holding Company, Coeur Inc., Coeur Shanghai Medical Appliance Trading Co. Ltd, Compagnie Hobart, Compagnie de Materiel et d'Equipements Techniques-Comet, Constructions Isothermiques Bontami C.I.B., Crane Carrier Company, Denison Mayes Group Limited, Despatch Industries, Diagraph Corporation Sdn. Bhd, Diagraph ITW Mexico S. de R.L. De C.V., Diagraph Mexico S.A. DE C.V., Dongguan Ark-Les Electric Components Co. Ltd., Dongguan CK Branding Co. Ltd., Duo Fast de Espana S.A.U., Duo-Fast Korea Co. Ltd., Duo-Fast LLC, E.C.S. d.o.o., E2M Production B.V.., E2M Technologies B.V.., E2M Technologies Inc.., ECS Cable Protection Sp. Zoo, ELRO Grosskuchen GmbH, ELRO Holding AG, ELRO-WERKE AG, Elro Group, Eltex-Elektrostatik-Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Envases Multipac S.A. de C.V., Eurotec Srl, Exhibit 21, FEG Investments L.L.C., Filtertek De Mexico Holding Inc., Filtertek De Mexico S.A. de C.V., Filtertek SAS, GC Financement SA, Gamko B.V., Gun Hwa Platech Taicang Co. Ltd., HOBART Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hartness International, Hobart Andina S.A.S., Hobart Belgium B.V., Hobart Brothers International Chile Limitada, Hobart Brothers LLC, Hobart Dayton Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Hobart Food Equipment Co. Ltd., Hobart International Singapore Pte. Ltd., Hobart Japan K.K., Hobart Korea LLC, Hobart LLC, Hobart Nederland B.V., Hobart Sales & Service Inc., Hobart Scandinavia ApS, Hobart Techniek B.V., Horis, ILC Investments Holdings Inc., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Ampang Industries Philippines Inc., ITW Appliance Components EOOD, ITW Appliance Components S.A. de C.V., ITW Appliance Components S.r.l.a, ITW Appliance Components d.o.o., ITW Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITW Australia Property Holdings Pty Ltd., ITW Australia Pty Ltd, ITW Automotive Components Chongqing Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Components Langfang Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Japan K.K., ITW Automotive Korea LLC, ITW Automotive Parts Shanghai Co. Ltd, ITW Automotive Products GmbH, ITW Automotive Products Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Bailly Comte, ITW Befestigungssysteme GmbH, ITW Belgium B.V., ITW Brazilian Nominee L.L.C., ITW Building Components Group Inc., ITW CER, ITW CP Distribution Center Holland BV, ITW CS UK Ltd., ITW Canada Inc., ITW Celeste Inc., ITW Chemical Products Ltda, ITW Chemical Products Scandinavia ApS, ITW China Investment Company Limited, ITW Colombia S.A.S., ITW Construction Products AB, ITW Construction Products AS, ITW Construction Products ApS, ITW Construction Products CZ s.r.o., ITW Construction Products Italy Srl, ITW Construction Products OU, ITW Construction Products OY, ITW Construction Products Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Construction Products Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW Construction Services Manila Inc., ITW Contamination Control B.V., ITW Contamination Control Wujiang Co. Ltd., ITW Covid Security Group Inc., ITW DS Investments Inc., ITW DelFast do Brasil Ltda., ITW Denmark ApS, ITW Deutschland GmbH, ITW Diagraph GmbH, ITW Dynatec, ITW Dynatec Adhesive Equipment Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Dynatec GmbH, ITW Dynatec Kabushiki Kaisha, ITW EAE B.V., ITW EAE Mexico S de RL de CV, ITW EF&C France SAS, ITW EF&C Selb GmbH, ITW EU Holdings Ltd., ITW Electronic Business Asia Co. Limited, ITW Electronic Components/Products Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Electronics Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Epsilon Sarl, ITW Espana S.L., ITW European Finance Co. Ltd., ITW European Finance II Co. Ltd., ITW European Finance III Co. Ltd., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW GH LLC, ITW GSE ApS, ITW GSE Inc., ITW Gamma Sarl, ITW German Management LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones, ITW Global Investments Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Thailand Ltd., ITW Great Britain Investment & Licensing Holding Company, ITW Group France Luxembourg S.ar.l., ITW HLP Thailand Co. Ltd., ITW Holding Quimica B.C. S.L. Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Holdings X Limited, ITW Holdings XI Limited, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW Materials Technology Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. De R.L. de C.V., ITW Mexico Holdings LLC, ITW Morlock GmbH, ITW Mortgage Investments II Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments III Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments IV Inc., ITW Netherlands Administration BV, ITW Netherlands Beta B.V., ITW Netherlands Finance Alpha BV, ITW New Universal LLC, ITW New Zealand, ITW Ningbo Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Novadan Sp. Z.o.o., ITW PPF Brasil Adesivos Ltda., ITW Packaging Technology China Co. Ltd., ITW Participations S.a r.l., ITW Pension Funds Trustee Company, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers Wujiang Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Poly Mex S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Polymers Sealants North America Inc., ITW Pronovia s.r.o., ITW Pte. Ltd., ITW Qufu Automotive Cooling Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Real Estate Germany GmbH, ITW Residuals III L.L.C., ITW Residuals IV L.L.C., ITW Rivex, ITW SMPI, ITW SPG Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Simco-Ion Shenzhen Co. Ltd., ITW Slovakia s.r.o., ITW Spain Holdings S.L., ITW Specialty Film LLC, ITW Specialty Films France, ITW Specialty Materials Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Sverige AB, ITW Sweden Holding AB, ITW Test & Measurement Equipment Shanghai Co. Ltd, ITW Test & Measurement GmbH, ITW Test and Measurement Italia Srl, ITW Test and Measurement Services Industry and Trade Ltd., ITW Texwipe Philippines Inc., ITW Thermal Films Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW UK, ITW UK Finance Beta Limited, ITW UK Finance Delta Limited, ITW UK Finance Gamma Limited, ITW UK Finance Limited, ITW UK Finance Zeta Ltd., ITW UK II Limited, ITW Universal II LLC, ITW Welding, ITW Welding AB, ITW Welding GmbH, ITW Welding Products B.V., ITW Welding Products Group FZE, ITW Welding Products Group S. DE R.L. De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Illinois Tool Works Chile Limitada, Illinois Tool Works ITW Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Inc., Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, Instron Shanghai Ltd., Instron Thailand Limited, International Leasing Company LLC, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., Itw Spraytec, KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft S.L., Loma Systems, Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems Canada Inc., Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, MTS 2 LLC., MTS 3 LLC., MTS China Holdings LLC, MTS Europe Holdings LLC, MTS Holdings France S.a.r.l., MTS Japan Ltd.., MTS Korea Inc.., MTS Systems China Co. Ltd., MTS Systems Corporation, MTS Systems Danmark ApS., MTS Systems Europe B.V., MTS Systems Finance C.V.., MTS Systems Germany GmbH, MTS Systems Holding B.V.., MTS Systems Hong Kong Incorporated, MTS Systems Limited, MTS Systems Norden Aktiebolag, MTS Systems S.r.l, MTS Systems., MTS Systems.., MTS Sytems Do Brazil, MTS Testing Solutions India Private Limited., MTS Testing Systems Canada Ltd., Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology Suzhou Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited Enping, Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners Shanghai Co. Ltd., Peerless Machinery Corp., Polyrey, Premark FEG L.L.C., Premark HII Holdings LLC, Premark International, Premark International LLC, Prolex Sociedad Anonima, QSA Global Inc., Quimica Industrial Mediterranea S.L., R&D Engineering A/S., R&D Prague s.r.o., R&D Steel ApS., R&D Test Systems A/S., R&D Tools and Structures A/S., RDGDK Engineering Private Limited, Ramset Fasteners Hong Kong Ltd., Rapid Cook LLC, Refrigeration France, S.E.E. Sistemas Industria E Comercio Ltda., ST Mexico Holdings LLC, Sealant Systems International Inc., Sentinel Asia Yuhan Hoesa, Shanghai ITW Plastic & Metal Co. Ltd, Simco Japan Inc., Simco Nederland B.V., Societe de Prospection et dInventions Techniques SPIT, Speedline Holdings I Inc., Speedline Holdings I LLC, Speedline Technologies GmbH, Speedline Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Speedline Technologies Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Stokvis Celix Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Stokvis Danmark ApS, Stokvis Holdings S.A.R.L., Stokvis Promi s.r.o, Stokvis Prostick Tapes Private Limited, Stokvis Tapes B.V., Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, Stokvis Tapes Hong Kong Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes Italia s.r.l., Stokvis Tapes Limited, Stokvis Tapes Limited Liability Company, Stokvis Tapes Norge AS, Stokvis Tapes Oy, Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp Z.O.O., Stokvis Tapes Shanghai Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes Sverige AB, Stokvis Tapes Taiwan Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes Tianjin Co. Ltd., Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., Subsidiaries, Technopack Industria Comercio Consultoria e Representacoes Ltda., Teknek China Limited, Teknek Japan Limited, Teksaleco Ltd., The Miller Group Ltd, Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligny, Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Kunshan Co. Ltd., Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta Global Limited, Vesta Guangzhou Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Viltronics Soltec, Vitronics Soltec B.V., Wachs Canada Ltd., Wachs Subsea LLC, Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC, Weigh-Tronix UK Limited, Wilsonart International Holdings LLC, Wynn Oil South Africa Pty Ltd., Wynn's Automotive France, Wynn's Belgium BVBA, Wynn's Italia Srl, Wynn's Mekuba India Pvt Ltd, and Zip-Pak International B.V.. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Thermo Fisher Scientific: 236 Perinton Parkway LLC, 27 Forge Parkway LLC, ABR--Affinity BioReagents, ACI Holdings Inc., ARG Services LLC, ASPEX Corporation, Abgene Inc., Abgene Limited, Acoustic Cytometry Systems Inc., AcroMetrix LLC, Acros Organics B.V.B.A., Advanced Biotechnologies Limited, Advanced Scientifics (ASI), Advanced Scientifics Inc., Advanced Scientifics International Inc., Affymetrix Biotech Participacoes Ltda., Affymetrix Biotech Shanghai Ltd, Affymetrix Inc, Affymetrix Japan K.K., Affymetrix Pte Ltd, Affymetrix UK Ltd, Afora S.A.U., Ahura Scientific, Alchematrix Inc., Alchematrix LLC, Alfa Aesar, Alfa Aesar (China) Chemical Co. Ltd., Alfa Aesar (Hong Kong) Limited, Allergon AB, Alphine Mountain Limited, Ambion Inc., Apogent Denmark ApS, Apogent Finance Company, Apogent Holding Company, Apogent Technologies Inc., Apogent Transition Corp., Apogent U.K. Limited, App-Tek International Pty Ltd, Applied Biosystems B.V., Applied Biosystems Finance B.V., Applied Biosystems International Inc., Applied Biosystems LLC, Applied Biosystems Taiwan LLC, Applied Biosystems Trading (Shanghai) Company Ltd., Applied Biosystems de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Applied Scientific Corporation, Avances Cientificos de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Avocado Research Chemicals Limited, B.R.A.H.M.S. Biotech GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. UK Ltd, BAC BV, BAC IP BV, Barnstead Thermolyne LLC, Beijing Phadia Diagnostics Co Ltd, Bender MedSystems GmbH, BioTrove Corporation, BioTrove International Inc., Bioanalysis Labsystems S.A., Biochemical Sciences LLC, Biolab, BmT GmbH Laborprodukte, Bonsai Tecnologies - Sistemas para Biotecnologia e Industria Unipessoal Lda, Brammer Bio, Bumi-Sans Sendirian Berhad, CAC Limited, CB Diagnostics AB, CB Diagnostics Holding AB, CEPH International Corporation, CHK Holdings Inc., CRS Robotics, CTPS LLC, Capitol Scientific Products Inc., Capitol Vial Inc., Cellomics Inc., CellzDirect Inc., Cenduit GmbH, Cenduit LLC, Cezanne S.A.S., Chase Scientific Glass Inc., Chromacol Limited, Clintrak, Clintrak Clinical Labeling Services LLC, Clintrak Pharmaceutical Services LLC, Cohesive Technologies (UK) Limited, Cohesive Technologies Inc., Columbia Diagnostics Inc., Compendia Bioscience Inc., Comtest Limited, Consolidated Technologies Inc., Consultores Fisher Scientific Chile Ltd, Core Informatics, Core Informatics LLC, Core Informatics UK Ltd., D-finitive Technologies Inc., DCG Systems B.V., DCG Systems C.V., DCG Systems G.K., DCG Systems GmbH, DCG Systems Korea Ltd., DCG Systems LLC, DPI Newco LLC, DSM Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Dharmacon, Diagnostix Ltd., Dionex (China) Analytical Ltd, Dionex (Switzerland) AG, Dionex (UK) Limited, Dionex Austria GmbH, Dionex Benelux B.V., Dionex Brasil Instrumentos Cientificos Ltda, Dionex Canada Ltd., Dionex China Limited, Dionex Corporation, Dionex Denmark A/S, Dionex Holding GmbH, Dionex I LLC, Dionex Pty Ltd., Dionex S.A., Dionex S.p.A., Dionex Singapore Pte Ltd., Dionex Softron GmbH, Dionex Sweden AB, Distribution Solutions International Inc., Doe & Ingalls Investors Inc., Doe & Ingalls Limited, Doe & Ingalls Management LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties II LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties LLC, Doe & Ingalls of California Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Florida Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Maryland Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Massachusetts Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of North Carolina Operating LLC, Doublecape Holding Limited, Doublecape Limited, Drakeside Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Duke Scientific Corporation, Dynal Biotech Beijing Limited, EGS Gauging Ltd., EGS Gauging Technical Services Company, EP Scientific Products LLC, Ecochem N.V., EnviroEquip Pty Ltd, Epsom Glass Industries Limited, Equibio Limited, Erie Electroverre S.A., Erie Finance Limited, Erie LP Holding LLC, Erie Scientific Company of Puerto Rico, Erie Scientific Hungary Kft, Erie Scientific LLC, Erie U.K. Limited, Erie UK 1 Limited, Erie UK 2 Limited, Erie UK Holding Company, Erie UK Senior Holding Limited, European Laboratory Holdings Limited, Eutech Instruments Europe B.V., Eutech Instruments Pte Ltd., Eutech Instruments Sdn Bhd, Ever Ready Thermometer Co. Inc., FEI Asia Pacific Co. Ltd., FEI Australia Pty Ltd, FEI CPD B.V., FEI Company, FEI Company Japan Ltd., FEI Company of USA (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd., FEI Czech Republic s.r.o., FEI Deutschland GmbH, FEI EFA Inc., FEI EFA International Pte. Ltd., FEI Electron Optics B.V., FEI Electron Optics International B.V., FEI Europe B.V., FEI France SAS, FEI Global Holdings C.V., FEI Hong Kong Company Limited, FEI Houston Inc., FEI Italia Srl, FEI Korea Ltd., FEI Melbourne Pty Ltd., FEI Microscopy Solutions Ltd, FEI Munich GmbH, FEI Norway Holding AS, FEI SAS, FEI Saudi Arabia LLC, FEI Servicos de Nanotecnologia Ltda., FEI Technologies Inc., FEI Technology de Mexico S.A. de C.V., FEI Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., FEI Trondheim AS, FEI UK Ltd., FHP LLC, FRC Holding Inc. V, FS (Barbados) Capital Holdings Ltd., FS Casa Rocas Holdings LLC, FS Mexicana Holdings LLC, FSI Receivables Company LLC, FSII Sweden Holdings AB, FSII Sweden Holdings I AB, FSIR Holdings (UK) Limited, FSIR Holdings (US) Inc., FSUK Holdings Limited, FSWH Company LLC, FSWH II C.V., FSWH International Holdings LLC, Fermentas China Co. Ltd, Fermentas Inc., Fermentas International, Fermentas Sweden AB, Fermentas UK Limited, Fiberlite Centrifuge LLC, Finesse Scientific Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Finesse Solutions AG, Finesse Solutions Inc., Finnzymes Oy, Fisher Alder S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Asia Manufacturing Ventures Inc., Fisher Bermuda Holdings Limited, Fisher BioImage ApS, Fisher BioPharma Services (India) Private Limited, Fisher BioSciences Japan G.K., Fisher BioServices Inc., Fisher Bioblock Holding II SNC, Fisher CLP Holding Limited Partnership, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 1, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 2, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 3, Fisher Canada Limited Partnership, Fisher Chimica BVBA, Fisher Clinical Logistics LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services (Bristol) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Colombia) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Korea) Co. Ltd, Fisher Clinical Services (Mexico) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Peru) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services Colombia S.A.S., Fisher Clinical Services GmbH, Fisher Clinical Services Inc., Fisher Clinical Services Japan K.K., Fisher Clinical Services Latin America S.R.L., Fisher Clinical Services Limited Liability Company, Fisher Clinical Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Clinical Services Peru S.R.L, Fisher Clinical Services Pte Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services U.K. Limited, Fisher Emergo B.V., Fisher Germany Holdings GmbH, Fisher Hamilton China Inc., Fisher Hamilton Mexico LLC, Fisher Holdings ApS, Fisher Internet Minority Holdings L.L.C., Fisher Laboratory Products Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Fisher Luxembourg Danish Holdings SARL, Fisher Manufacturing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Maybridge Holdings Limited, Fisher Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific (Austria) GmbH, Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Fisher Scientific (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific (SEA) Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific A/S, Fisher Scientific AG, Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Limited, Fisher Scientific Biotech Line ApS, Fisher Scientific Brazil Inc., Fisher Scientific Central America Inc., Fisher Scientific Chile Inc., Fisher Scientific Colombia Inc., Fisher Scientific Company, Fisher Scientific Company L.L.C., Fisher Scientific Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Fisher Scientific Europe Holdings B.V., Fisher Scientific GTF AB, Fisher Scientific Germany Beteiligungs GmbH, Fisher Scientific GmbH, Fisher Scientific Holding Company LLC, Fisher Scientific Holding HK Limited, Fisher Scientific Holding U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific Holdings (S) Pte Ltd, Fisher Scientific International LLC, Fisher Scientific Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Fisher Scientific Ireland Investments Unlimited, Fisher Scientific Ireland Limited, Fisher Scientific Japan Ltd., Fisher Scientific Jersey Island Limited, Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd, Fisher Scientific Latin America Inc., Fisher Scientific Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Fisher Scientific Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific Mexico Inc., Fisher Scientific Middle East and Africa Inc., Fisher Scientific Norway AS, Fisher Scientific Operating Company, Fisher Scientific Oxoid Holdings Ltd., Fisher Scientific Oy, Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific S.A.S., Fisher Scientific S.L., Fisher Scientific SPRL, Fisher Scientific The Hague I B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague II B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague III B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague IV B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague V B.V., Fisher Scientific U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company 2, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company Limited, Fisher Scientific Unipessoal Lda., Fisher Scientific Venezuela Inc., Fisher Scientific Worldwide (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Holdings I C.V., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Inc., Fisher Scientific de Mexico S.A., Fisher Scientific of the Netherlands B.V., Fisher Scientific spol. S.r.o, Fisher Servicios Clinicos (Chile) LLC, Fisher Servicios Clinicos Chile Ltda, Fisher WWD Holding L.L.C., Fisher Worldwide Distribution SPV, Fisher Worldwide Gene Distribution SPV, Flux Instruments, Fuji Partnership, G & M Procter Limited, G V Instruments Limited, GV Instruments Canada Ltd., GV Instruments Inc, Gatan Inc, General Scientific Company Sdn Bhd (M), Genomed molekularbiologische und diagnostische Produkte GmbH, Gerhard Menzel B.V. & Co. KG, Gold Cattle Standard Testing Labs Inc., Golden West Indemnity Company Limited, Goring Kerr Detection Limited, Greenville Service Company Inc., HENO GmbH i.L., Hangar 215 Inc., Helmet Securities Limited, Henogen, HighChem, HyClone International Trade (Tianjin) Co. Ltd, Hybaid Limited, I.Q. (BIO) Limited, IDnostics AG, ILS Laboratories Scandinavia AB, Inel Inc., Inel SAS, InnaPhase Inc., InnaPhase Limited, IntegenX, Intrinsic BioProbes Inc., Intrinsic Bioprobes Inc., Invitrogen (Shanghai) Investment Co. Ltd., Invitrogen Argentina SA, Invitrogen BioServices India Private Limited, Invitrogen Europe Limited, Invitrogen Finance Corp., Invitrogen Holdings LLC, Invitrogen Holdings Ltd., Invitrogen Hong Kong Limited, Invitrogen IP Holdings Inc., Invitrogen Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ion Torrent Systems Inc., Ionalytics Corporation, JSC Thermo Fisher Scientific, Jouan LLC, Jouan Limited, Jouan SA, Kendro Containment & Services Limited, Kendro Laboratory Products Ltd, Kettlebrook Insurance Co. ltd., Keystone Scientific, KonTEM GmbH, Kyle Jordan Investments LLC, LIFE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, LTC Tech South Africa PTY Ltd., La-Pha-Pack GmbH, Lab Vision (UK) Limited, Lab Vision Corporation, Lab-Chrom-Pack LLC, Lab-Line Instruments Inc., Labomex MBP S. de R. L. De C.V., Laboratoire Service International - L.S.I, Laboratory Management Systems Inc., Laboratory Specialties Proprietary Ltd., LambTrack Limited, Laser Analytical Systems Inc., Liberty Lane Investment LLC, Liberty Lane Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Life Sciences International (Poland) SP z O.O, Life Sciences International Holdings BV, Life Sciences International LLC, Life Sciences International Limited, Life Technologies AS, Life Technologies Australia PTY Ltd., Life Technologies BPD AB, Life Technologies BPD UK Limited, Life Technologies Brasil Comercio e Industria de Produtos para Biotecnologia Ltda, Life Technologies Chile SpA, Life Technologies Clinical Services Lab Inc., Life Technologies Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Czech Republic s.r.o., Life Technologies DaAn Diagnostic (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Europe B.V., Life Technologies Finance Ltd., Life Technologies Finland Oy, Life Technologies GmbH, Life Technologies Holdings PTE Ltd., Life Technologies Inc., Life Technologies International B.V., Life Technologies Japan Ltd., Life Technologies Korea LLC, Life Technologies Limited, Life Technologies Magyarorszag Kft, Life Technologies New Zealand Ltd., Life Technologies Norway Investments US LLC, Life Technologies Polska Sp z.o.o., Life Technologies SA, Life Technologies SAS, Life Technologies s.r.o, Linkage Biosciences Inc., Linkage Biosciences S.a.r.l., Loftus Furnace Company, Lomb Scientific, Lomb Scientific (Aust) Pty Limited, MTI-GlobalStem, Marketbase International Limited, Matrix MicroScience Inc., Matrix MicroScience Ltd., Matrix Technologies Corporation Limited, Matrix Technologies LLC, Maybridge Chemical Company Limited, Maybridge Chemical Holdings Limited, Maybridge Limited, Medical Analysis Systems Inc., Medical Analysis Systems International Inc., Medical Diagnostics Systems Inc., Metavac LLC, Microgenics Corporation, Microgenics Diagnostics Pty Limited, Microgenics GmbH, Microm International GmbH, Microm Laborgerate S.L.U, Molecular BioProducts Inc., Molecular Probes Inc., Molecular Transfer Inc., NAPCO Inc., NERL Diagnostics LLC, NOVODIRECT GmbH Labor- und Industrie- Megerate, Nalge (Europe) Limited, Nalge Nunc International (Monterrey) LLC, Nalge Nunc International Corporation, Nanjing WeiKangLe Trading Industrial Co Ltd, NanoDrop Technologies LLC, National Scientific Company, Navaho Acquisition Corp., Neomarkers Inc., New FS Holdings Inc., NewcoGen PE LLC, Nihon Dynal K.K., Niton Asia Limited, NovaWave Technologies Inc., Nunc A/S, ONIX Systems Inc., OXOID CZ s.r.o., Odyssey Holdings Corporation, Odyssey Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 1 S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 2 S.a r.l., Odyssey Venture Corporation, Omega Data Systems, One Lambda Inc, Onix Holdings Limited, Orme Scientific Limited, Owl Separation Systems LLC, Oxoid (ELY) Limited, Oxoid 2000 Limited, Oxoid AS, Oxoid Australia Pty. Limited, Oxoid Company, Oxoid Deutschland GmbH, Oxoid Holding SAS, Oxoid Holdings Limited, Oxoid Inc., Oxoid International Limited, Oxoid Investments GmbH, Oxoid Limited, Oxoid N.V., Oxoid New Zealand Limited, Oxoid Pension Trustees Limited, Oxoid Senior Holdings Limited, Oxoid UKH LLC, PAX - DSI Acquisition LLC, PE AG, Pacific Rim Far East Industries LLC, Pacific Rim Investment LLC, Panomics L.L.C., Panomics S.R.L., Patheon, Patheon API Inc., Patheon API Manufacturing Inc., Patheon API Services Inc., Patheon Austria GmbH & Co KG, Patheon B.V., Patheon Banner U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon Biologics (NJ) LLC, Patheon Biologics Australia Pty Ltd, Patheon Biologics B.V., Patheon Biologics LLC, Patheon Calculus Merger LLC, Patheon Cooperatief U.A., Patheon Development Services Inc., Patheon Finance LLC, Patheon France SAS, Patheon Holdings B.V., Patheon Holdings I B.V., Patheon Holdings II B.V., Patheon Holdings SAS, Patheon I B.V., Patheon I Holding GmbH, Patheon Inc., Patheon International AG, Patheon Italia S.p.A., Patheon KK, Patheon Life Science Products International GmbH, Patheon Manufacturing Services LLC, Patheon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Patheon Pharmaceuticals Services Inc., Patheon Puerto Rico Acquisitions Corporation, Patheon Puerto Rico Inc., Patheon Regensburg GmbH, Patheon Softgels B.V., Patheon Softgels Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings LLC, Patheon UK Limited, Patheon UK Pension Trustees Limited, Pelican Acquisition Corporation, Perbio Science (Canada) Company, Perbio Science AB, Perbio Science BVBA, Perbio Science France SAS, Perbio Science Inc., Perbio Science International Netherlands B.V., Perbio Science Invest AB, Perbio Science Nederland B.V., Perbio Science Projekt AB, Perbio Science Sweden Holdings AB, Perbio Science Switzerland SA, Perbio Science UK Limited, Phadia AB, Phadia Diagnosticos Ltda, Phadia GmbH, Phadia Holding AB, Phadia International Holdings C.V., Phadia Korea Co. 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Ltd., ThermoLase LLC, ThermoSpectra Limited, Trek Diagnostic Systems LLC, Trek Diagnostic Systems Ltd., Trek Holding Company II Ltd., Trek Holding Company Ltd., Trex Medical Corporation, USB Corporation, Union Lab Supplies Limited, United Diagnostics Inc., VG Systems Limited, Westover Scientific Inc., ZAO PE Biosystems, eBioscience GmbH, eBioscience Ltd, eBioscience SAS, and picoSpin LLC. Read More 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... Here are five news stories and events to start your week, from the editors at Military.com. 1. Still No VA Secretary Nominee President-elect Donald Trump still hasn't named a nominee to take over the Veterans Affairs Department, which with its nearly $180 billion budget is second in size only to the Defense Department. A selection was expected before the holidays and after the candidate pool was narrowed down to two frontrunners: Dr. Delos "Toby" Cosgrove, an Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam and president and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, and Luis Quinonez, an Army veteran of Vietnam and founder of IQ Management Services, which provides health care services to the government and the private sector. But both candidates over the weekend dropped out of consideration, according to an article by Leo Shane, a reporter for Military Times. While many vets groups want Trump to keep current VA Secretary Robert McDonald on the job, the president-elect appears to want a new face to reform the agency in part by giving vets more access to private care. Others under consideration are Scott Brown, a former Republican senator from Massachusetts; and Pete Hegseth, a Fox News contributor and former chief executive of Concerned Veterans for America. 2. First Female Marines to Graduate Boot Camp This month, the Marine Corps expects to see its first female recruits with infantry contracts graduate boot camp, bringing them one step closer to billets in combat arms units. The news comes a little more than a year after Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered the services to open previously closed ground combat jobs to women. Capt. Gregory Carroll, a spokesman for the service's boot camp at Parris Island in South Carolina, told Military.com that nine women with infantry contracts are currently in boot camp at the base. "These are the first women to arrive to recruit training with infantry contracts, and they have all met the required gender-neutral standards," Carroll said. "This serves as a testimony to the Marine Corps' goal of leveraging every opportunity to optimize individual performance, talent and skills to maximize our warfighting capabilities. All nine women remain in recruit training, and the first group is scheduled to graduate in January 2017." They're among a larger pool of 31 female Marines who have signed enlistment contracts for jobs in ground infantry, artillery, vehicle and air support. 3. Health Experts Warn Troops on Energy Drinks U.S. military health officials warned service members that chugging too many energy drinks can have harmful side effects. Loaded with caffeine and sugar, energy drinks come in small and large cans with labels that promise increased energy and performance. They became the beverage of choice for many service members during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research analyzed data collected during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2010 and found that nearly half of deployed service members consumed at least one energy drink daily. About one in seven reported drinking three or more per day. But high amounts of caffeine can lead to increased blood pressure, panic attacks, heart palpitations, anxiety, dehydration, insomnia and even bowel irritability when energy drinks are mixed with alcohol, according to Patricia Deuster, professor and director of the Consortium for Health and Military Performance at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Similarly, high amounts of sugar -- and potentially even artificial sweeteners -- can cause blood-sugar levels to increase, heightening risk for weight gain. Meanwhile, the neuroendocrine effects of a key ingredient -- the amino acid taurine -- are poorly understood. 4. Air Force Kicks Off Two Big Acquisition Programs The Air Force during the last week of the year moved forward on two multi-billion-dollar acquisition programs: the $16 billion T-X trainer and the $7 billion Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft. The service formally kicked off the competition to develop a new trainer aircraft by soliciting bids from defense contractors. It plans to award a contract this year as part of a program to eventually buy 350 aircraft to replace its current Northrop Grumman Corp.-made T-38 Talons. In addition to Northrop, firms competing for the business include Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co. Meanwhile, the Air Force has moved closer to launching the JSTARS competition by releasing a draft request for proposals as part of an effort to replace its fleet of 16 Northrop-modified E-8C planes. The service plans to award a contract for that effort next year. Both types of aircraft are scheduled to begin flying missions around 2024, according to the Air Force. 5. McCain Calls Hearing on Russian Cyberattacks Sen. John McCain, a Republican from Arizona and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, plans to hold a hearing at 9:30 a.m. Thursday "to receive testimony on foreign cyber threats to the United States," according to the agenda. McCain, who spent the holidays visiting NATO's Baltic states in a show of support against Russian military activity in the region, has said of Russia's alleged meddling in the U.S. presidential election, "When you attack a country, it's an act of war. And so we have to make sure that there is a price to pay so that we can perhaps persuade Russians to stop this kind of attacks on our very fundamentals of democracy," according to a transcript of his remarks on Ukrainian television, CNN reported. Meanwhile, Trump and members of his transition team have repeatedly sought to downplay Russia's role in the incident, most recently telling reporters that "no computer is safe" and that "hacking is a very hard thing to prove," the Associated Press reported. -- Richard Sisk, Hope Hodge Seck, Oriana Pawlyk and Matthew Cox contributed to this report. -- Brendan McGarry can be reached at brendan.mcgarry@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Brendan_McGarry. U.S. airmen will see more training exercises with NATO counterparts this year as part of an effort to support allies amid increased Russian military activity in the region. Units under U.S. Air Forces Europe-Africa should expect a drill boost beginning this spring, according to the head of the command. "[We are] working to maximize the number of training events we have this spring all the way through the summer, but we're also careful not to overload the troopers with training events that might not be fruitful for what we expect they might have to do," Gen. Tod Wolters said in a recent interview with Military.com. "We anticipate in the areas of strike superiority, surveillance, rapid global mobility and command and control that we'll have a wide array of exercises here in the European region," he added. That means the Air Force -- with help from National Guard and Reserve units -- will bring in a number of different aircraft to the region, from intelligence and surveillance planes to fighters and bombers and airlifters. In addition, there might be even more personnel rotations into the region as part of a so-called theater security package, or TSP, of forward-deployed aircraft and units that conduct various missions across the continent over six months to reassure NATO and other allies amid Russian aggression from the east. USAFE units will train with the joint services, "and train with allies like there's no tomorrow," Wolters said. "Our objectives are to make sure that the training is supreme and that our folks are as combat ready as they can possibly be to respond to any contingency." Funding Bump USAFE went from "2014, a famine of funding, to a feast with the [European Reassurance Initiative] funding in 2015, and that's when training and exercises kicked off," added Lt. Col. Bradley Brandt, branch chief of operations and training for the command. The funding -- rebranded the European Deterrence Initiative in the latest budget documentation and supported by both Congress and President Barack Obama -- is slated to increase from $789 million in 2016 to $3.4 billion in 2017. Brandt said in prior years, airmen would do one to two exercises a year, but with the funding hike, the scheduling has picked up to two to three, "meaning a big one, a 2-to-3 weeks [long exercise] going to said country to train with them, test out the airspace, test out the infrastructure of the field," he said in a recent interview. Some yearly exercises include Baltic Operations, or BALTOPS, in the Baltic Sea; U.S. Army Europe-led Saber Strike throughout Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania; and Swift Response in Poland, all of which receive aerial reinforcements. Depending on the exercise, hundreds to thousands of U.S. and NATO partner troops participate. The Air National Guard and Reserve have provided aircraft such as F-15 Eagles and F-16 Fighting Falcons, plus C-130 Hercules, air refueling tankers, and close-air-support A-10 Thunderbolt IIs to a number of training locations. "The [Air Reserve component] has really jumped at the opportunity to come over and train in a new environment," Brandt said. "If I know I don't have enough USAFE assets, I look to my Guard and Reserve liaisons and they go out and canvass prospective volunteers. "And we have tankers tied to exercises that can refuel our aircraft, but can also refuel our allies at no cost to our allies except for the fuel. They don't have to pay any other cost," he said. Bottom line, the European Reassurance Initiative has allowed for units to reacquaint themselves "to deploy quickly," Brandt said. Stretching Further Additionally, the service is looking to do more exercises in different locations to "stretch the system," he continued. "We want to go out and learn from operating in new locations, and it's not just good for the country we go to, but good for us, to set up a bare base with a minimal Air Force or [U.S Defense Department] footprint," Brandt said of additional eastern countries. Now, officials and planners are "just fine-tuning it," he said. It's remains to be seen how or whether Russia will respond to any increased training exercises. Also unclear is whether the incoming Trump administration may seek to change the effort, given his previous statements that NATO states must contribute more to their collective defense. RELATED: California Guard May Send More Troops to Ukraine in 2017 President-elect Donald Trump has criticized the U.S. for acting as the backbone to the NATO alliance and left the door open on whether the U.S. would automatically defend countries that don't spend enough on defense. For example, this summer he suggested the U.S. would provide aid only if they "have fulfilled their obligations to us." He has also recently criticized major defense acquisition programs designed to operate in contested airspace, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the upgraded Air Force One. For now, the Air Force's obligations to the Baltic countries -- which lack capable air forces -- will continue in 2017 in part under the European Deterrence Initiative, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James recently said, "to reflect that our presence does more than reassure." "Presence, joint training and political resolve are extremely important at this point in time," she said Dec. 19. Meanwhile, in Africa -- which remains under the purview of the command -- the use of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft helps in the effort to stamp out terrorist organizations such as Al-Shabab and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, and the countries plagued by such insurgents. Wolters said, "That's probably the one area that we use the most [ISR]; we flex to support our number one objective, which is to develop partner-nation capabilities on the African continent, [and it] happens to be the utilization of ISR assets." Brandt added that, aside from regular train and advise missions to the continent, "We don't have an 'ARI' like we have an ERI, so the money for Africa -- I have not seen an increase in budget for them, so the number of exercises we have done in Africa [has] stayed the same." Wanted: Fifth-Gen Aircraft, More Pilots Wolters said the Air Force's current inventory of combat platforms are "all eligible candidates" for upcoming training exercises and overwatch. The need for fifth-generation platforms, such as the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II, is something leaders are looking to invest in on the European front as well, he said. In August 2015, the Air Force deployed four F-22s to Europe for the first time ever as part of the ERI. Months later, a dozen F-22s from Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, traveled across the continent, coming close to Russia's borders with a quick deployment to Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania. Brandt said, "We've learned lessons from bringing the F-22 -- a fifth-gen capability -- over, so we are ready for the F-35 and we would like to get [F-35s] here for training and exercises." "Speed and information are 21st-century musts for conflict," Wolters added, which needs to be fused for a "fighter-friendly format" -- one the F-35 can deliver. "Information at the speed of war is critical so we can outperform anyone who wants to fight us," Wolters said, echoing other Air Force officials such as Air Combat Command chief Gen. Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein, and Pacific Air Forces leadership, among others. Whether the F-22 will make another appearance in the region is unknown. "[We're working with] something along those lines that will probably be approved next step, but right now we're working on all of those issues," Wolters said of a future Raptor deployment. Other issues on the horizon include training partner nation aviators to bring foreign pilots up to speed with U.S. counterparts. The Air Force has been challenged to train a rising number of foreign aviators while simultaneously facing a shortfall of several hundred fighter pilots itself, James bemoaned in September. RELATED: Facing Pilot Shortfall, Air Force Challenged to Train Foreign Aviators "Trying to fit in [an] ever-increasing number of pilots from overseas locations is a tough proposition," she said at the time. "We're doing the best we ... can do." But the goal has not been side-stepped, Wolters said. "We work very, very hard at this, all of our air forces, the U.S. and NATO we are all joining together at the hip to ensure we are scouring the entire playing field to ensure that every training slot that could exist in all of the countries is closely monitored, and that we're maximizing the output," he said. "All of the air forces are working together to combat this problem. We know that we're a lot better off if we work together." -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. Related Video: Only a few hundred of the California National Guardsmen who wrongly received bonuses will have to pay back the money, the Pentagon said Tuesday. The vast majority of the estimated 17,500 soldiers who mistakenly received bonuses before 2011 won't have to pay the money back and those who did will be reimbursed, a top Defense Department official said. Instead, the Defense Department was focusing on "only a few hundred cases" of soldiers who "knew or should have known" that they were wrongly receiving re-enlistment and student loan bonuses. They now face the possibility of having their cases heard by the Army Board for the Correction of Military Records, said Peter Levine, the acting undersecretary for personnel and readiness. Recouping money wrongly paid out is a "fact of life" in the military, Levine said, but the vast majority of the California National Guard soldiers "may have been misled" into taking the bonuses and their debts will be forgiven. "If the service members fulfilled their service commitment and there's no obvious reason to believe that they knew or should have known that it was an erroneous payment, then we don't need further review to get rid of that case," Levine said at a Pentagon briefing. Those who honestly took the bonuses and then paid back the government will be reimbursed, Levine said. The review of cases and the reimbursements should be completed by July, he added. Soldiers who have been cleared should be getting notification of the dismissal of their cases within a month, Levine said. In addition, the Pentagon will notify credit bureaus and attempt to help any troops whose credit was adversely impacted by the bonus errors that mainly resulted from fraud committed by Guard administrators. Despite reports that wrongful bonus payments were widespread in other states, Levine said the issue is largely limited to California. He said his review "determined there was no other state in which there was the kind of massive problem there was in California. We don't see more than few dozen [cases] in any other state." The bonus issue resulted from the Pentagon policy to boost incentives for re-enlistment during the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to meet the demand for troops. According to department figures, the Army National Guard spent $3.2 billion for its Selected Reserve Incentive Program from 2005 to 2010. The cost to taxpayers from errors in the program was expected to amount to "a few million dollars," Levine said. Army audits found that the authority to issue bonuses was held by state "incentives managers," who worked with little supervision. In California at the time, Master Sgt. Toni Jaffe was the sole person in the California Guard responsible for approving bonuses. In 2011, she pleaded guilty in federal court to filing false claims and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. In October, as the California National Guard scandal gained national attention, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter named Levine to conduct a review and institute reforms. Carter directed him to ensure the "fair and equitable treatment of our service members. We are on track to meet all those objectives," he said. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. The Diamondbacks have agreed to re-sign right-hander Rubby De La Rosa to a minor league contract, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. De La Rosa will earn $750K upon making the big league roster and also can earn an additional $3.5MM via incentives, Piecoro reports. Though De La Rosa has worked as a starter in previous seasons with the D-backs, Arizona will move him to a relief role in an attempt to keep him healthier after he missed the bulk of the 2016 season battling elbow issues, Piecoro adds. De La Rosa had Tommy John surgery as a prospect, but there was some fear in 2016 that hed require a second TJ operation due to the aforementioned elbow troubles. As a means of avoiding that fate, the 27-year-old underwent stem cell therapy in September. Piecoro notes that there are still no guarantees on De La Rosas health, which will remain somewhat of a mystery until hes able to face live hitters and throw off a mound during Spring Training. Many scouts have tabbed De La Rosa as a reliever, as weve noted here at MLBTR over the years. De La Rosa typically shows good velocity, averaging between 94 and 95 mph as a starter, but he lacks a quality third offering and has long struggled against left-handed batters (career .286/.363/.489 batting line allowed). A shift to the bullpen will conceivably allow De La Rosas velocity to play up even further and can help to limit the number of lefties he faces (while also potentially making him more effective versus lefties by way of increased velocity). If De La Rosa does make the roster and perform well over the life of a full big league season in his new role, hed remain controllable for the Diamondbacks for one more winter. De La Rosa was non-tendered by the D-backs a month ago due to the fact that the team didnt want to risk a projected $3MM salary for him, and he has just four years, 97 days of big league service, so hell remain arbitration-eligible next winter. The Nationals are prepared to discuss a new deal with manager Dusty Baker this offseason, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reports. As of yet, however, the Washington organization has yet to engage in any chatter with the skippers reps. Baker, 67, guided the Nats to a 95-win season and a National League East title, the organizations third in the last five years. But D.C. fell agonizingly shy of making it out of the divisional round yet again, falling to the Dodgers in five games. Having signed only a two-year pact when he took the helm before the 2016 season, Baker already occupies lame-duck status. It seems only natural for the sides to come together on a new deal, then; as Castillo explains, all parties have expressed pleasure with what appeared to be a mutually beneficial relationship. Just how long Baker hopes to keep the gig isnt known, but it appears the team will be receptive to an extension. Managerial contracts have never been a straightforward matter for the Nats, however. Even Bakers hiring came with some drama, rising out of the ashes of the clubs dalliance with Bud Black. MASNsports.coms Pete Kerzel recently discussed that recent history in assessing Bakers current situation; his piece, too, is well worth a read. Assuming that the sides are able to see eye to eye on the term of a contract presumably, Baker wont be trying to achieve a particularly lengthy pact itll remain necessary to work out a new salary. The current pact promises the veteran skipper $4MM over its two years, with $3MM worth of incentives also available. On this week's Ag Report on , Ken Nobis, president of the , discusses Michigan Milk's partnership with , and its recognition this fall as an . "As the Michigan Milk Producers Association closes out our 100-year anniversary celebration, we were honored to be recognized with the Key Partner Award at MSU Extension's annual conference, a nod to dairy farmers' longtime support of our state's land grant university," says Nobis. In bestowing the award, Michigan State noted that partnerships with MMPA have educated dairy farmers about the latest technology in the industry, helped farm families achieve success, and expanded programs statewide. Michigan's dairy farmers also worked closely this year with MSU Extension to provide healthy food to families that were affected by the Flint water crisis. This included several earlier in 2016. "We're proud of our work together and we are honored to be named a Key Partner by MSU Extension for 2016," Nobis says. You can hear this week's report . The Ag Report on is brought to you by the . It airs weekly on and features voices from Michigan's growing agriculture sector. Huron_River_watershed_protection.jpg A map showing areas of focus for Huron River watershed protection through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program. Map provided by Legacy Land Conservancy and Six Rivers Land Conservancy. (Courtesy image) ANN ARBOR, MI - Roughly $1.8 million in federal funding is being awarded to a group of regional partners to help protect the Huron River watershed. Over the next five years, the funds are expected to be used to protect lands through new conservation agreements and support agricultural landowners who implement best practices with respect to water quality. "We're very excited about these additional Farm Bill funds coming to our watershed to boost land protection and stewardship efforts," Laura Rubin, executive director of the Huron River Watershed Council, said in a statement. "The river is only as healthy as the lands that drain to it." The Huron River Watershed Council website includes a link to this map showing all of the creeksheds of the Huron River watershed. The money is being provided through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program as part of the 2014 Farm Bill passed by Congress, and it is expected to augment local funds already devoted to land conservation efforts. It will fuel the work of several regional partners, including the Legacy Land Conservancy, Ann Arbor's Greenbelt Program, Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation, Six Rivers Land Conservancy, Huron River Watershed Council, Ducks Unlimited and the Natural Resource Conservation Service. The partnership is designed to keep the Huron healthy by preserving natural and agricultural lands in the river's headwaters and by applying land-use practices that protect water quality. The area of focus is the upper portion of the watershed, just upstream of Ann Arbor to the headwaters near White Lake. Thus, the project affects most of the water upstream of Barton Pond, Ann Arbor's drinking water source, the city notes. "This partnership will bring significant resources to our region for agricultural best-management practices, and especially for the permanent conservation of significant farmland," Douglas Koop, executive director of Legacy Land Conservancy, the project's lead partner, said in a statement. This is the sixth RCPP project funded in Michigan since the program's inception in 2014, but only the second in southeast Michigan. U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a major architect of the program in her role on the Senate Agricultural Committee, called the funding great news for farmers and local partners who are committed to restoring the Huron River watershed. She said it builds on historic investments in land and water conservation across Michigan. "When we established this program in the Farm Bill, it was exactly these types of innovative partnerships -- along with the ongoing partnerships to protect the Saginaw Bay, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, St. Joseph, and others -- that we envisioned," Stabenow said in a statement. According to the Huron River Watershed Council, which also is taking legal action to try to protect the watershed from the Gelman dioxane plume, the Huron River's main stem flows 126 miles from its origin at Big Lake and the Andersonville Swamp in Oakland County to its mouth at the shores of Lake Erie. "Through a complex series of wetlands and lakes, the river meanders in a southwesterly direction from its headwaters to Portage Lake where it begins to flow south to the Village of Dexter in Washtenaw County. There, the river turns to the southeast and proceeds to its final destination at Lake Erie," the Watershed Council writes on its website. "Between its headwaters at Big Lake and its point of entry into Lake Erie, the Huron River drops 446 feet. Along its course, 24 major tributaries flow into the main stem. However, the Huron is not a free-flowing river system. 17 impoundments are located on the river's main stem. Throughout the whole system, at least ninety-seven dams segment the river system. This number does not include undocumented dams." According to a news release from the city of Ann Arbor, the watershed is home to more than 500,000 people who rely on the Huron River for various purposes, including drinking water, tourism and recreation. Through scientific analysis and community input, the city's news release states, the project partners developed a list of properties that are priorities for conservation to maintain the Huron River's water quality. The Ann Arbor News/MLive has requested a copy of the list. The news of the extra $1.8 million for the Huron River watershed isn't the only conservation news being celebrated locally. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, is applauding the recent reauthorization of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act. Dingell promoted the legislation, which she co-sponsored, at a visit to the Washtenaw Food Hub in Ann Arbor Township last August. "Water is a part of who we are in Michigan, and as someone who grew up on the St. Clair River, protecting the Great Lakes is personal to me and to so many who call our state home," Dingell said in a statement. "I'm pleased the president signed into law this critical legislation that will protect the wildlife habitats that make our state unique and provide countless opportunities for recreation, support economic development, create jobs and benefit our environment." The Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act of 2016 authorizes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to provide assistance to local groups for cooperative conservation, restoration and management of fish and wildlife and their habitats. It also makes it easier for local groups to come up with matching funds for conservation and restoration projects that improve water quality, protect species habitat and improve access for outdoor recreation. BPN On the Grill 3 (Paul L. Newby II) The Washtenaw County Public Health Department's restaurant inspections for November, 2016 are in. Of the 144 restaurants and food service facilities inspected in November, 24 had two or more priority violations, which are the most serious violations that are most likely to lead to food-borne illness. Thirteen restaurants this month had three or more priority violations, and three restaurants had four priority violations. This month, 69 restaurants had zero priority violations, and 26 restaurants and institutions had no violations at all. Below is a searchable table of November 2016 inspection results. You can search by restaurant name or city, or you can click the search button without selecting either restaurant name or city to get a list of all results. Each of the columns in the table is sortable by clicking on the column header. to load this Caspio You can to search the Washtenaw County Public Health Department's restaurant inspection reports to see specific details about the violations noted by the inspectors. A description of the different types of violations can be found at the end of this post. Here are excerpts from the November restaurant inspection reports, with a focus on the restaurants with the largest number of priority violations: Blue Tractor Bbq & Brewery (211 E. Washington, Ann Arbor) had four priority violations and a total of eight violations overall. Observed cleaning cloths being used to cover biscuit dough during prep. To correct - do not use cloth / linens in direct contact with food to prevent risk of contamination. Corrected - PIC removed cloths from food item. Repeat - improper cleaning frequency: 1) slicer used to slice turkey observed with dried food debris. 2) food-contact surfaces of cookline cutting board and utensils cleaned every shift, which is 4 or 5 hours. To correct - clean and sanitize slicer after used. All food-contact surfaces in continuous use must be cleaned and sanitized every 4 hours or less. Develop policy/procedure and train staff. * a follow-up inspection will be held to evaluate correction. As this had repeated on 2 consecutive routine inspections, please complete and return a risk control plan to address your corrections. See last page for details. Sauces in squeeze bottles are being held at room temperature. Sauces are house-made and heat treated. To correct - hold sauces at proper cold or hot temperatures unless laboratory testing is obtained to demonstrate that they are not TCS (potentially hazardous) food. Temporary correction - PIC discarded sauces and will discuss a new method for holding sauces. * a follow-up inspection will be held to evaluate correction. Facility using time rather than temperature control for cooked jalapeno chips. Pan of chips observed without required 4 hour discard time. Per PIC, cooked off 2 hours ago. To correct - provide 4 hour discard time on chips. Train staff on your written procedure. Correction - staff placed proper discard time on container. * a follow-up inspection will be held to evaluate correction. Tio's on Liberty (401 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor) had seven total violations in the November report. Four of them were priority violations. Observed raw pork sausage and raw chicken stored on the same sheet pan inside walk in cooler. Raw animal products shall be stored separate from each other to prevent the potential for cross contamination.To correct, re-organize WIC in a manner the separates different raw animal food products from each other. The above violation has been repeated on 08/07/2007 and 11/03/2015. Found copper mugs for drinking at bar. Copper is not an approved drinking medium. PIC corrected by removing from premises to prevent further use. Observed unapproved "hot shot no-pest strip" installed under 3-compartment sink in bar area and at the mop sink. This type of device is not for use in food service establishments or where inhabited by people >4 hours a day as it can be hazardous to human health. PIC corrected by removing strip immediately and discarding. Dishwashing machine used for glassware and utensils did not have a detectable level of chlorine. PIC called for repair at time of inspection. To correct, call when unit has been serviced so that the health department may verify repair has been made. Subway #4316 (1010 E. Michigan Ave.) had four total violations. All of them were priority violations. Observed employee not washing hands for 15-20 seconds, was washed less than 10. Employees shall wash hands 15-20 seconds. To correct rewash hands and retrain staff. Corrected by re-washing hands and retraining staff in question. Observed: 1. Salami, pepperoni and chicken over filled on main life at 50-52F for about an hour. 2. Three different cheeses left out on counter for about an hour at 55F. TCS food that is to be cold shall be held at 41F or below. To correct move all noted food to the cooler for rapid chill to 41F and discontinue over filling all containers and leaving food out. Corrected by moving all food to cooler. Observed all sanitizer at 0ppm quat. Was made at 8am. Note: Time at testing was 1 pm. A chemical sanitizer used in a sanitizing solution shall be used in accordance with EPA-registered label use instructions. To correct remake all note items and test using the test kit. Corrected by remaking and testing noted sanitizer to 200ppm Quat. Observed tomato slicer soiled with food in hard to reach areas. Food contact surfaces shall be cleaned every 4 hours and before storage. To correct purchase a brush that gets into the hard to reach areas and clean item. Corrected by cleaning item and by stating a brush will be purchased. Where can I see the inspection results? Washtenaw County posts links to all inspection reports for restaurants, University of Michigan foodservice establishments and facilities inspected by the State of Michigan, such as grocery stores, food processing plants and convenience stores. Click here for access to all Washtenaw County food service inspections! What do the violations in the reports mean? Washtenaw County Public Health's Environmental Health Division is responsible for inspecting all food service establishment operations in Washtenaw County. These food service establishments are regulated under the State of Michigan's Food Law and Michigan Modified Food Code. * Priority violations are the most serious. Correcting these eliminates or reduces a problem directly associated with foodborne illness. Examples include improper food temperatures and lack of hand washing. * Priority foundation violations are problems that can lead to a priority violation. Correcting these problems may keep priority violations from occurring. Examples include not having an appropriate food thermometer, not having sanitizer test strips and not having soap or paper towel at a hand sink. * Core violations are related to general sanitation and facility maintenance. Examples include dirty floors and improper facility lighting. Priority and priority foundation violations must be corrected immediately at the time of inspection or within 10 days. Core violations must be corrected within 90 days of the inspection. How frequent are inspections? Routine inspections take place twice per year (or once per year if the business is only open seasonally). Routine inspections are typically unannounced. Each inspection is a snapshot in time, and conditions found at the restaurant are not necessarily the conditions that could be found in the restaurant at other times. Sanitarians (otherwise known as health inspectors) ask many questions about the menu, operations and procedures to get the best possible idea of the day-to-day conditions of the restaurant. Environmental Health conducts additional inspections if a foodborne illness or other complaint is reported. What if I have a complaint? Environmental Health responds to general restaurant complaints as well as foodborne illness complaints. Please call our office at 734-222-3800 to file a complaint or to report a suspected foodborne illness. Washtenaw County Public Health promotes health and works to prevent disease and injury in our community. Visit us online at http://publichealth.ewashtenaw.org. Letters To A Young Muslim Omar Saif Ghobash is the Russian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and is visiting Ann Arbor Monday, Jan. 9 to discuss his new book, Letters to a Young Muslim. (Courtesy photo) ANN ARBOR, MI - What's it like to be a Muslim in today's world? What are the struggles and how can they be navigated? Omar Saif Ghobash Omar Saif Ghobash, the United Arab Emirates ambassador to Russia, is tackling those issues in his book, "Letters to a Young Muslim," and bringing that discussion to Ann Arbor on Monday, Jan. 9, at the Rackham Amphitheater, 915 E. Washington St. This event is free and open to the public. Literati Bookstores is hosting the 7 p.m. event which includes a book reading and conversation with Ghobash, whose book consists of letters addressed to his sons and takes on the question of how Muslims can stay true to Islam in a modern world. Joining the discussion is Dave Serio, an educator at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn and director of the Arab Film Festival. "Letters to a Young Muslim" is available Jan. 3 in bookstores and online, and is the first publication for Ghobash, who studied law at Oxford University and mathematics at the University of London. He later founded the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in collaboration with the Booker Prize in London and currently sponsors the Saif Ghobash-Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation, named for his father, who was assassinated in 1977. In an article published by Foreign Affairs in January, Ghobash talks about the aftermath of 9/11 and the Islamophobia and violence that has since become part of the world. "I want my sons and their generation of Muslims to understand how to be faithful to Islam and its deepest values while charting a course through a complex world," Ghobash wrote. "I want them to discover through observation and thought that there need be no conflict between Islam and the rest of the world." It is that mission that resulted in "Letters to a Young Muslim," a "clear-eyed inspiration for the next generation of Muslims to understand how to be faithful to their religion and still navigate through the complexities of today's world," according to a Literati blog post. The book reading and discussion in Ann Arbor is one of four stops for Ghobash on his American book tour. "This is a hugely exciting event for us and for the community," said Mairead Small Staid, event coordinator at Literati Bookstores. "Ambassador Ghobash is making very few stops in the United States on this book tour, and we're thrilled that Ann Arbor is one of them." Editor's note: This video came from the University of Michigan YouTube account. ANN ARBOR, MI - The University of Michigan kicked off its bicentennial in 2017 with a new television ad that looks forward while paying homage to its storied past. U-M has posted the bicentennial advertisement via its YouTube channel. The video shows a number of famous landmarks from its Ann Arbor campus, including Burton Memorial Tower, Hill Auditorium and its famous law library. The video also notes some of U-M's most noted accomplishments, like the development of the polio vaccine and highlights some of its most famous visitors to campus, including John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King in 1962. "We are Michigan," the video's voice over says. "And after 200 years, we can never forget why we lead: to advance knowledge, to serve the public, to do good. That is our way forward." U-M has been working since 2011 to organize events throughout the coming year in recognition of its 200th anniversary. The university plans to host a trio of events that look back at the evolution of the American university as well as look forward to where higher education is headed. The university also has scheduled a number of other events, including seasonal festivals and guest appearances from some of its most celebrated alumni, which is scheduled for April 8 during the UMich200 Spring Festival. BAY CITY, MI -- Three years ago, Cassandra M. Rambo was hospitalized after a drunken traffic crash left her severely injured and her husband dead. Now, she's the latest in Bay County to face heroin-related criminal charges. About 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19, Bay County Central Dispatch received a call of a drug dealing taking place at a home on Bay City's West Side. The caller said numerous cars had pulled up to the residence and only stayed a few minutes. Police went to the residence and saw a brown GMC Caballero parked out front. After a short time passed, officers observed Rambo, 24, exit the home, enter the car, and drive off, court records show. Police followed the car and noticed one of its taillights wasn't working, court records show. They pulled over the Caballero as it turned west onto East Wilder Road from North Henry Street. Rambo, the car's lone occupant, told police she was leaving a friend's house. As she leaned over, officers saw she had been sitting on a glass smoking pipe, court records show. Rambo told the officers the pipe was for her to smoke medical marijuana. Police asked Rambo to hand them the pipe, but before she did so, she started scraping out its bowl with her finger, court records show. Officers then ordered her from the car, but she resisted and had to be pulled out, according to police reports contained in court files. The officers then handcuffed Rambo and put her in a patrol vehicle. The smoking pipe did not appear to have contained marijuana, police noted. On searching the Caballero, police found a burnt Chore Boy scrubbing pad behind the driver's seat. Copper wool is often used in smoking crack cocaine, serving as a screen in a pipe. In Rambo's purse, officers found a plastic tube containing five suspected crack rocks. They searched her wallet and found a Keno slip folded into a rectangular bindle, which contained a brown powdery substance believed to be heroin. They also found a bottle labeled "medical cannabis" containing suspected marijuana. "Due to recent dangers with cutting agents, the suspected crack cocaine and heroin were not field tested," police wrote in their reports. Recently, area police have been advised not to field test suspected heroin as it may have been cut with carfentanil, a substance used to tranquilize large animals that even in minute amounts can be fatal to humans. "Whatever they find it in, they're to put that in an evidence bag and send it for testing," Bay County Sheriff Troy R. Cunnigham recently said. "It's too dangerous for officers and the public to potentially send it airborne." Police read Rambo her Miranda rights and she declined to answer their questions. She was transported to the emergency room at McLaren Bay Region hospital after complaining of suffering " a panic attack and anxiety from levels of radiation she had received today," court records show. On being discharged from the hospital, Rambo was arrested and lodged in the Bay County Jail. Officers sent the substances they recovered from the Cabarello to the Michigan State Police Crime Lab. Staff there completed their analysis on Nov. 17 with their report indicating the substances amounted to 0.82 grams of cocaine base and 1 gram of heroin, court records show. Rambo on Wednesday, Dec. 28, appeared in Bay County District Court for arraignment on two counts of possessing less than 25 grams of a narcotic or cocaine, second offense. The charge is normally a four-year felony, but the second offense clause doubles the maximum sentence to eight years. The arraigning judge set Rambo's bond at $15,000 cash-surety or 10 percent. She is to appear for a preliminary examination at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 10. Rambo on June 9, 2013, was a passenger in a 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix that crashed on Kawkawlin River Drive near State Park Drive in Bangor Township. Killed in the wreck was her 20-year-old husband, Robert A. Rambo. At the time of his death, Robert Rambo was home on leave from the U.S. Army and was slated for deployment in Afghanistan. Cassandra Rambo suffered injuries including a broken femur, ankle, finger and orbital fractures. Two other passengers were also injured. The Pontiac's driver, Brandon J. Reno, pleaded no contest to single counts of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing death and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing serious injury. In April 2014, Bay County Circuit Judge Harry P. Gill sentenced Reno to concurrent terms of 43 months to 15 years and 40 months to five years in prison, with credit for 205 days already served. Reno, now 24, is serving time at the Woodland Center Correctional Facility in Whitmore Lake. His earliest possible release date is April 15, 2017. Detroit Police Car door.jpg (Tanya Moutzalias | MLive file) The Detroit Police Department plans to publicly release preliminary crime data for 2016 reflecting an overall decline in crime, despite increases in rape, homicide and auto theft, the Associated Press reports. Detroit police declined to release the data to MLive until a press conference planned for 3 p.m. Wednesday. Detroit police tell the AP there were 302 homicides last year. The figure is up from 295 reported to the FBI in 2015, and 298 reported in 2014. Police reported 27 more rapes in 2016, a nearly 5 percent increase from 2015, according to the AP; and 500 more auto thefts, bringing the 2016 total to nearly 8,500, about 15.6 stolen vehicles per day. Police told the AP there were 150 fewer carjackings in 2016, compared to the year prior; as well as decreases in aggravated assaults, burglaries and larceny. Ford Motor Co. announced some major news Tuesday morning, days before Detroit's North American International Auto Show. Ford CEO Mark Fields said in a news conference that the Dearborn automaker will invest $4.5 billion in new electric vehicles, and $700 million to "transform and expand" the Flat Rock Assembly Plant. Fields also announced plans for production of 13 all-new electric vehicles to be made in the next five years, with details on seven of them. Ford is canceling plans for a new $1.6 billion Mexico assembly plant and will instead invest $700 at home in Flat Rock, Fields said. The automaker will build its next-generation Focus at the Hermosillo, Mexico plant to "improve company profitability." The expansion in Flat Rock will include a new manufacturing and innovation center, which is expected to result in the addition of 700 direct jobs. UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles called the investment in Michigan "the equivalent to a new assembly plant." Currently, the Ford Mustang and Lincoln Continental are made at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant. Settles said he broke down in tears of joy when he told his staff of the news, because he thought they would "bring this to the west coast and not here." "It's about time," he said. "You all made a wise decision." The new vehicles include: Hybrid Ford Mustang in 2020, which will feature V8 power and low-end torque, which will make it "more fun to drive," according to Fields. Hybrid Ford F-150, which will be built in Dearborn and will feature increased capability and can even double as a mobile generator capable of powering a worksite. Two new "pursuit-rated" hybrid police vehicles to be built in Chicago. Ford Transit custom plug-in hybrid to be released in 2019 in Europe. Test fleet of 20 transit-connect hybrid taxis to be tested in major cities across the U.S. An all-new, fully electric SUV to be made at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant and released by 2020 in North America, Europe and Asia. Plans call for the new vehicle to have a range of at least 300 miles. Ford also announced a wireless technology pilot program that will aim to make recharging an electric vehicle as "easy as pulling into a parking spot." See below for two videos provided by Ford: 1 Possibly overshadowed in Tuesday's major Ford announcements was the news that the Dearborn-based automaker will add an electrified Mustang and F-150 to its line by 2020. Ford is canceling plans for a new $1.6 billion Mexico assembly plant and will instead invest $700 million at home in Flat Rock, Ford CEO Mark Fields said at a Tuesday morning, Jan. 3 news conference. Fields also said that Ford Motor Co. will invest $4.5 billion in new electric vehicles, and $700 million to "transform and expand" the Flat Rock Assembly Plant. Plans call for 13 new electrified vehicles, with details coming on seven of them at the Tuesday news conference. Fields said its hybrid Ford Mustang will arrive in 2020, and will feature V8 power and low-end torque that will make it "even more fun to drive." It will be built at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant and will first release in North America. The hybrid F-150 pickup truck will also be available in 2020, and will be sold in North America and the Middle East for starters. The best-selling truck will be manufactured at the Dearborn Truck plant and will include more powerful towing and payload capacity, as well as the capability to operate as a mobile generator. See below for a rundown of additional details on other vehicles: Two new "pursuit-rated" hybrid police vehicles to be built in Chicago. Ford Transit custom plug-in hybrid to be released in 2019 in Europe. Test fleet of 20 transit-connect hybrid taxis to be tested in major cities across the U.S. An all-new, fully electric SUV to be made at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant and released by 2020 in North America, Europe and Asia. Plans call for the new vehicle to have a range of at least 300 miles. As for the expansion in Flat Rock, changes will include a new manufacturing and innovation center, which is expected to result in the addition of 700 direct jobs. UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles called the investment in Michigan "the equivalent to a new assembly plant." Settles said he broke down in tears of joy when he told his staff of the news, because he thought they would "bring this to the west coast and not here." "It's about time," he said during the news conference. "You all made a wise decision." Currently, the Ford Mustang and Lincoln Continental are made at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant. The automaker will build its next-generation Focus at the Hermosillo, Mexico plant to "improve company profitability." "I am thrilled that we have been able to secure additional UAW-Ford jobs for American workers," Settles added in a Ford news release. "The men and women of Flat Rock Assembly have shown a great commitment to manufacturing quality products, and we look forward to their continued success with a new generation of high-tech vehicles." #PM-trapped miners PM urges utmost efforts to rescue 2 trapped miners Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Friday called for utmost efforts to rescue two miners trapped underground for 10 days. They have been isolated in a vertical shaft about 190 mete... Close Fox News has announced that host Sean Hannity will present an exclusive sit-down interview with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The two are set to discuss the incoming Trump administration, Russian hacking, Barack Obama's presidency and the 2016 presidential election overall. It will air Tuesday on Fox News Channel. Hannity will travel to London to speak with Assange, who is currently in the Ecuadorian embassy under political asylum. The founder of WikiLeaks sought refuge in the embassy from a Swedish investigation that lead to rape allegations from when he visited the country in 2010. This will be the first time Assange will appear in a face-to-face interview on cable news, although the founder of WikiLeaks had spoken to Hannity in public before. In December, Assange called into Hannity's radio show. The Fox host praised Assange, saying "you've done us a favor," referring to exposing mishaps in US cybersecurity. Over the years, Hannity has changed his opinion on Assange and WikiLeaks. A former critic, Hannity once told Assange, "Part of me, in the beginning, was conflicted about you," Variety reported. The Fox News reported has since interviewed Assange several times over phone and radio. WikiLeaks made the headlines ahead of Election Day, upon publishing emails from John Podesta on its website, Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman. Emails from Democratic party officials were also made public by WikiLeaks before the Democratic National Convention in July. Recently, Assange and WikiLeaks have been linked to the Russian hacking. Assange denied the allegations that he received the hacked emails from Russia and released a statement saying that WikiLeaks wan not trying to rig the result of the election, albeit being critical of Clinton. Sean Hannity's one-on-one interview with Julian Assange will air on January 3 at 10 pm on Fox News Channel. Additional portions of the interview will be aired throughout the week. Copyright 2020 Mobile & Apps, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. business Gold import has increased in the last one month, says MMTC Gold import has increased in the last one month, says Ved Prakash, CMD of MMTC. you are here: NORRISTOWN A court ruling on Tuesday ordering that undated Pennsylvania mail-in ballots be segregated wont change much in Montgomery County, according to election officials. With regard to dated and undated ballots, theres still some litigation surrounding them. So our plan is to handle that exactly how we did in the primary, Montgomery County Elections Director Dori Sawyer said on... Ex-choir director in Bucks County pleads no contest to molesting two students, secretly filming another Rabbis installation at Keneseth Israel will get a boost of student creativity January 03, 2017 U.S./UK Paid "White Helmets" Help Blocking Water To 5 Million Thirsty Syrians The blockade of water from Wadi Barada to 5 million people in Damascus is taking an interesting turn. The U.S. and UK financed White Helmet organization seems to be directly involved in it. This increases the suspicion that the illegal blockade of water to civilians in Damascus is part of a organized campaign under U.S. command. The campaign is designed to block utilities to government held areas as revenge for the liberation of east Aleppo. As we described it yesterday: After the eastern part of the city of Aleppo was liberated by Syrian government forces, the local rebels and inhabitants in the Barada river valley were willing to reconcile with the Syrian government. But the al-Qaeda Takfiris disagreed and took over. The area is since under full al-Qaeda control and thereby outside of the recent ceasefire agreement. On December 22 the water supply to Damascus was suddenly contaminated with diesel fuel and no longer consumable. A day later Syrian government forces started an operation to regain the area and to reconstitute the water supplies. Photos and a video on social media (since inaccessible but I saw them when they appeared) showed the water treatment facility rigged with explosives. On Dec 27th the facility was blown up and partly destroyed. The Syrian government is ready to send repair teams to rehabilitate the water flow to the millions of civilians in Damascus. But access to the site is denied and the Syrian army is now trying to push al-Qaeda and its allies away from it. Curiously some "civil" groups today offered access under several (not agreeable) conditions: Hassan Ridha @sayed_ridha - 2:10 AM - 3 Jan 2017 Wadi Barada statement: we will let teams to fix water spring if SAA-Hezb stop attack, siege lift & monitor ceasefire by intl observers [attachment] EHSANI2 @EHSANI22 - 6:43 AM - 3 Jan 2017 Offer by opposition to trade access to water source for #Damascus with halting of military operations by army [attachment] Here is the attachment to both tweets. Note who signed it: bigger Check the logos of the undersigning organizations You will probably recognize the middle one in the second row. Here it is magnified. And here is the original of that logo taken directly from the website of the Syrian Civil Defense organization aka The White Helmets: The organizations who make an offer to lift the water blockade of Damascus obviously think they have the power to do so. They then must also be held responsible for keeping the blockade up. They must also have intimate relations with the al-Qaeda fighters who currently occupy the damaged water facilities. The U.S. and UK government created and paid White Helmets are "impartially", "neutrally" and "for all Syrians" blocking the water supply to 5 million Syrians in Damascus. U.S. military and CIA officers run the "operations rooms" in Jordan and Turkey that direct the insurgency. This increases suspicion that the blockade is part of an organized response by the enemies of Syria to the recent liberation of east-Aleppo. As noted yesterday: This shut down is part of a wider, seemingly coordinated strategy to deprive all government held areas of utility supplies. Two days ago the Islamic State shut down a major water intake for Aleppo from the Euphrates. High voltage electricity masts of lines feeding Damascus have been destroyed and repair teams, unlike before, denied access. Gas supplies to parts of Damascus are also cut. Even after 14 days of water crisis in Damascus the "western" media are not reporting about the al-Qaeda blockade of water for 5 million Syrians. We can be sure that not a word will be written by them about this illegal hostages taking of millions of civilians in Damascus by their favorite propaganda organization White Helmets. Posted by b on January 3, 2017 at 18:23 UTC | Permalink Comments next page A local Boy Scout recently put his skills to good use for a Burke County middle school, and earned himself the rank of Eagle Scout in the process. Trenton Longhurst from Troop 224 in Morganton recently completed his Eagle project of renovating an outdoor classroom space at Heritage Middle School in Valdese. The troop has a charter with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Morganton, said Trentons father, Wayne Longhurst. The Boy Scout eagle project is a service project that is helpful to any religious institution, any school or area in the community, according to www.scouting.org. The outdoor space at the school is used for various purposes but had fallen into disrepair so was not used for much lately. The project restored the space back to useful condition. There were three areas in need of improvement, including three trails, 10 benches and a picnic table. The project took 94 man-hours, 28 volunteers, five weekends and one safety training class. Trenton Longhurst, 14, improved the space by clearing paths, replacing a table and benches and building a wooden stage. The overgrown area of rotting wood was restored to a clean, useable space for the students and teachers who used the outdoor classroom. During the project, Longhurst and the volunteers cleared out the paths of weeds and fallen trees, replaced all the benches and the picnic table with weather-proof materials. The 10-foot by 12-foot wooden stage will help provide opportunities for skits or plays and will help to keep supplies off the ground. Longhurst used the first four out of five weekends to plan the project, and to cut and drill lumber in preparation for the big install day, which, with help from volunteers, only took three hours. Nearing the building part of his project, Longhurst led a safety training seminar to prepare all volunteers for the hazards of the project and to assign the volunteers to specific tasks. The Morganton congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints uses the Boy Scouts of America program in its young mens activities, with most young men attaining the highest BSA honor, the rank of Eagle Scout. The troop has 11 prospective Eagle Scouts, with several of them either working on or completing community service project. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has supported the Boy Scouts of America for more than 100 years. The Scouting program teaches principals that help boys and young men live their duty to God and develop upright moral behavior. Morganton Troop 224 has a meeting at 6:30 p.m. every second, fourth and fifth Wednesday at the church building, located at 901 Bethel Road in Morganton. The Scouts conduct service projects to help the community and are available to assist in any worthy project. The troop has a goal to campout at least every two months, with a winter campout after Christmas and a week-long summer campout. Any young men ages 12 to 17 interested in Boy Scouts can contact Ted Brothers at 828-455-9122. Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against the brothers accused of killing a man who rented a room to them. Prosecutors made the announcement during Catawba County Superior Court on Tuesday that they will not pursue capital punishment in the murder case against Rodney Adam Ball, 27, of Cedar Bluff, Va. But prosecutors made clear that he still faces the possibility of life in prison without parole. Prosecutors announced last month that they will not seek the death penalty against Balls brother, Thomas Gregory Ball, 38, of Hickory. The brothers are accused of killing Benny Daniels, 78, of Long View. Daniels body was found in a shallow grave on his property on Oct. 12 after he went missing on Oct. 8. The brothers were arrested and charged in connection with the murder and concealment of Daniels body, according to a release from District Attorney David Learners office. Catawba County Sheriff Coy Reid said that Daniels rented out a room to Ball, according to a previous News Herald article. He didnt know them, but he opened up his home to them, Reid said in a previous interview. While Reid could not speak to a motive, he said that investigators believe an argument led to a physical struggle inside the home, the article said. Investigators have ruled out breaking and entering. Catawba County Sheriffs Office and the North Carolina SBI continues their investigation in the case, according to the District Attorneys Office. All this week, Morningstar.co.uk will be bringing you a Guide to Investment Ideas for 2017; stock picks, market reactions and political forecasts from the investment professionals. Mining stocks rose from the bottom to the top in 2016; becoming the best FTSE 100 performers of 2016, reversing their losing streak of 2015. If this is the case in 2017, the worst performing stocks in 2016 listed below might provide investors with some investing ideas. Return year to date: -54.1% Capita provides business process outsourcing and professional support services. The company announced two profit warnings in 2016, as it outlined plans to sell of some of its businesses in an attempt to combat difficult market conditions that it expects to continue into 2017. Last month the company said the BBC had agreed to extend the partnership covering television licence collections for a further two years until June 2022. The current contract between the two has been running for eight years and was due to expire in June 2020. Over the remaining term of the contract, both parties will continue to work closely together to further improve revenue collection rates, reduce evasion and decrease the cost of collection for the BBC. The company will introduce further enhancement to its insight and analytical capability, and introduce new technologies to enhance the service experience for the Licence Fee payer. Capita Chief Executive Andy Parker said the company now collects 3.7 billion in licence fees on behalf of the BBC, and said efficiencies had been delivered over the contract that have reduced collection costs to below 3.0 pence in every pound. The stock is not rated by Morningstar analysts. easyJet (EZJ) Return year to date: -39.3% EasyJet PLC operates as a low cost airline company in Europe. The company issued a profit warning after the EU referendum as shares fell 18% on the result. Last month EasyJet warned its full-year profits may face a bigger hit from post-Brexit sterling weakness than previously anticipated. In September EasyJet was under threat of strikes by its pilots over concerns about fatigue, however the issue is ended in November after a new agreement is reached. The stock is not rated by Morningstar analysts. Next (NXT) Return year to date: -29.1% Next is a UK-based multi-channel fashion retailer. In November the retailer said full-price sales in the third quarter to the end of October fell by 3.5% year-on-year, as retail sales dropped by 5.9% and sales from the directory business remained flat. The stock is not rated by Morningstar analysts. Dixons Carphone (DC.) Return year to date: -28.2% Dixons is an electrical & telecommunications retailer and services company. The company offers electrical and mobile products, supported by after sales services from the Geek Squad and Knowhow. It is not rated by Morningstar analysts. Return year to date: -25.9% Royal Bank of Scotland is a dominant U.K. bank that has made considerable progress on its transformation, according to Morningstar analysts. The bank received 45 billion in UK government bailouts but has since lost its all, and then some, on dodgy assets and misconduct, said Stephen Ellis, director of financial services equity research for Morningstar. While the road ahead is increasingly clear, Ellis expects it to be a bumpy ride. Ellis said the additional clean-up costs to credits, estimated at another 4.3 billion through 2017, along with 2.8 billion of additional misconduct provisions, will eat up much of the bank's operating profits through 2017 or 2018. Ellis added that RBS' loss-making corporate and investment bank to turn to profit in 2017, but it faces uncertain outlook and short-term headwinds as Brexit reduces capital-markets activity. The stock is rated three-star by Morningstar analysts, meaning analysts believe the stock is trading at their fair estimate for the share price. International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) Return year to date: -24.5% International Consolidated Airlines is an operator of international and domestic scheduled air services for the carriage of passengers and cargo. It operates British Airways and Spanish carriers Iberia and Vueling. The company reported growth in its group traffic and capacity for the month of November 2016. The stock is not rated by Morningstar analysts. Travis Perkins (TPK) Return year to date: -23.5% Travis Perkins operates based building materials and products distribution businesses. It supplies products for all types of repair, maintenance and improvement projects. In October 2016, Travis Perkins said it will close more than 30 UK branches and said the outlook for 2017 is clouded by uncertainty. The restructuring at the group, which will put 600 jobs at risk, was blamed on weak demand in the UK. Market capitalisation of the company is now below the entry level for the FTSE 100 and the company was from the index on December 19 2016. Barratt Developments (BDEV) Return year to date: -21% Barratt is engaged in acquiring and developing land, planning, designing and constructing residential property developments and selling the homes it builds throughout Britain. Shares prices of the company were hammered after the EU referendum outcome. This is due to concerns on the UK economy that will likely result in a slower growth in the UK house market. In November 2016 Barratt Development said market conditions remain healthy, while consumer demand is strong supported by good mortgage availability and an undersupply of homes. The company expects to deliver further good progress on operating performance in 2017. It expects to deliver cash returns of 1 billion of dividends in the three year period to November 2017. Berkeley Group Holdings (BKG) Return year to date: -20.8% Berkeley Group is engaged in the residential-led property development focusing on urban regeneration and mixed-use developments in London and the south of England. This high-end housebuilder said both revenue and profit grew in the first half of its financial year in 2016, and it remains on track to deliver on its target of 2 billion in profit for the three years ended April 2018. Berkeley added higher property transaction costs and uncertainty relating to the Brexit vote have impacted transaction levels throughout 2016. However, Berkeley added that pricing remains resilient, and in overall terms, its prices have moved in line with the market. At higher price points, Berkeley said it has absorbed the impact of the rise in stamp duty charges, though said this was "more than offset by increases elsewhere". ITV (ITV) Return year to date: -20.3% ITV operates a commercial television network in the UK. The broadcaster has agreed to sell UTV Ireland to Virgin Media Ltd in November 2016. This was subject to regulatory and competition approval. It has also kicked off the search for the long-term successors to both its chief executive and finance chief this month. I have asked Chad Kusner to address this question for this week's Ask the Expert Column. Contact Chad Kusner at 888-927-7760 or [email protected]. My clients call and say they have already obtained their own credit report. Then I run their report and my results are significantly different. How do I make sense of it all? Allison from Indiana In the world of credit reporting, the facts and figures behind the industry are complex and can be very confusing to those new to the subject matter. To best explain much of the content I teach, I use analogies to describe the functionality of credit reporting and scoring. One of the common misconceptions about credit is that we as consumers have a credit score that is "on file" in our record. I often hear people say "I have a 750 credit score" or "my score is 676 on Equifax." The reality is, these statements may technically be and are often inaccurate. Truth be told, their credit scores may have been what they claim at the time the report was pulled, but it does not mean that at the time they claimed to know their scores they were accurate. See what I mean about confusing? This is why I use analogy and leads me to today's topic/analogy, "Your Credit Report: The Movie! Our credit reports are very much like a movie. The opening credits begin when we add our first account and begin our credit history. Throughout our lives our "credit movie" is always playing behind the scenes. Sometimes it may look like a comedy, an action movie, or sometimes it can be a tragedy. The type of movie playing depends on our personal spending habits and life events. Much like a movie, no two credit reports are exactly the same. So what does this have to do with my credit score, you ask? Well, here we go. When you are watching a movie and hit pause, what happens? It freezes that frame at that exact moment and displays an image. What you see is what you get and you can only see what is on the screen at that exact moment. Fast forward 20 seconds and the view can be entirely different. When a lender hits submit and requests a copy of your credit and scores, the same principle is applied. Whatever information is reporting on your credit file is freeze framed at that moment. What it looked like 24 hours ago has no meaning and of course we can't fast forward our credit as much as some would like to! More on the movie analogy next week. Chad Kusner Dave Hershman has been the leading author and a top speaker for the industry for decades with six books authored and hundreds of articles published. His website is www.originationpro.com. If you have a reaction to this commentary or another question you would like answered in this column? Email Dave directly at [email protected]. Courtesy Photo Greenwood High School sophomore Chyenne Allen was among 650 cheerleaders and dancers from the U.S. who participated in the New Years Day Parade Monday in London. Allen, the daughter of Devin and Meranda Allen, was invited to perform after being nominated as an All-American cheerleader at a summer camp hosted by Varsity Spirit, according to a press release from Varsity. "After I left the last treatment center, I knew what made me happy," Selena explains, "and it was a connection." But on the advice of her doctor, Selena's planned philanthropic visit to Kenya to see the schools she was helping to raise New members inducted into Institute of ... Sonora, CA An organization that advocates on behalf of water agencies across the Sierra Nevada says a new proposed state water plan has many detrimental effects. We reported last month that multiple state agencies, including the California Department of Water Resources and the State Water Resources Control Board, worked to put together a plan entitled Making Water Conservation A California Way Of Life. The state water leaders note that 75-percent of California remains in severe drought and cite a report from UCLA that projects Californias annual Sierra Nevada snowpack will drop by 50-percent by the end of the century, due to climate change. The plan calls for stricter oversight of agricultural irrigation, a ban on hosing driveways and excessively watering lawns, and researching new techniques and technology to detect water loss. John Kingsbury, Executive Director of the Mountain Counties Water Resource Association, counters that it would also have many negative impacts. Its the topic of a new myMotherLode.com blog he has authored, entitled, Managing for Sustainability: Are you ready for permanent water rationing? You can read it by clicking here. The Mountain Water Resources Association is a non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of water agencies in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Members include local water districts like the Tuolumne Utilities District, Twain Harte Community Services District, Calaveras County Water District and the Amador Water Agency. A 2-year-old boy saved his twin brother who was trapped after a dresser tipped over on them. Twin saves other twin after dresser tips over on them Captured on video by bedroom security campaign The incident was captured by a bedroom security camera. The Utah twins' father released the video to raise awareness about securing heavy furniture. In the video, the twins, Brock and Bowdy, can be seen climbing on the dresser when it tips over, trapping Brock. Bowdy tried to pick up the furniture from different angles before pushing the dresser just enough for his brother to slide out from underneath it. We are so grateful for the bond that these twin brothers share, said Ricky Shoff, the twins' dad. We know Bowdy was not alone in moving the dresser off of Brock. Shoff told a Utah television station he and his wife were upstairs and didnt hear the dresser fall or any crying. He said his wife came back downstairs a few minutes later and saw the dresser on the floor, but the boys were fine, so they didnt realize what had happened until they saw the video. The original video in our story of the twin boy pushing a dresser off his brother was removed due to licensing issues. Do you want to see President-elect Donald Trump take the oath of office in D.C.? Charlie Crist aims to help. Crist offering tickets to Trump inauguration People selected need to pick them up in DC RELATED: Full coverage of the inauguration of Donald Trump The Democratic congressman said in a news release that he has tickets for constituents to attend the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Jan. 20. Interested constituents will be notified if they have been selected to get tickets. The release did not say how many tickets will be given out. In addition, those who do get the tickets can pick them up at the congressman's office on 427 Cannon House Office Building, 27 Independence Ave. SE, Washington, D.C. between Monday, Jan. 16, and Thursday, Jan. 19, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Crist is not able to help with travel plans, the news release said, but his office advises people who get tickets that D.C. is quite cold in January and to expect large crowds. Anyone who wants to go can email the following information to this email address: FL13ticketrequest@gmail.com and include: Full name Phone number Preferred email address Home address (residence must be confirmed to be within Florida's 13th Congressional District, which can be verified by visiting http://www.house.gov/ and entering your zip code into the box at the top right-hand corner of the homepage) Number of tickets (limit of two per individual request) The deadline is noon, Monday, Jan. 9. Additional information can be found here. Amendment 2 officially becomes Florida law on Tuesday, but it could be more than a year before people can get their hands on medical marijuana. Lawyer John Morgan said that Amendment 2 won by 'a landslide' He believes there will be a decrease in drug use It could be until 2018 before medical marijuana is dispensed RELATED: Medical marijuana in Florida On the eve of Amendment 2 becoming law, John Morgan who pushed for years for the measures passage talked candidly to News 13 about why he believes the new law will decrease drug use, about the obstacles it faces and why he wont be pushing for medical marijuana across the country. Morgan said he is happy his push to legalize medical marijuana in Florida won a huge victory. It was 71 percent, and in politics, thats a landslide, Morgan said. But he knows medical marijuana will not be dispensed when law takes effect on Tuesday. Theres still a lot of bureaucracy between now and whenever, Morgan said. First, state lawmakers are expected to discuss and come up with regulations on the dispensing of medical pot. State health officials are not expected to begin implementing those regulations until July. Depending on those regulations, it could be 2018 before the first doses of medical marijuana are dispensed. And several counties and cities across Central Florida have passed moratoriums to restrict when and where it can be sold. Yet, Morgan believes it will happen sooner than later. Its going to happen a lot sooner than Charlottes Web did, and heres why: There are billions of dollars at stake here in profit and taxes, said Morgan as he mentioned Charlotte's Web Medical Hemp Act of 2014. Morgan laughs off claims that medical marijuana will create problems. He says it wont increase drug use. Its ridiculous, Morgan said. More drug use, you mean more opioid drugs, you mean more Percocet, Darvocet, Zanex, Oxycontin, Fentanol? No, its going to reduce drug use. As for the concerns about medical marijuana finding its way to children through candy forms, Morgan said state lawmakers can protect people through regulations. He added that marijuana is far less lethal than other drugs. Not one person has ever died from an overdose of marijuana, legal marijuana, illegal marijuana, medical marijuana, recreational marijuana, Morgan said. Although, some experts have stated that there are negative side effects of marijuana, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. But Morgan says he will not try to push to legalize medical marijuana in states across the country that have not legalized it. This fight was hard enough in Florida, I cant even imagine the pushback I would get trying to pass this federally, Morgan said. Morgan said he is not interested in pushing for the legalization of medical marijuana at the federal level. He believes the federal government will respect the decision of voters in states like Florida, who overwhelmingly passed the new law. DES MOINES, Iowa Agriculture Deputy Under Secretary Lanon Baccam on Dec. 29 announced that beginning Jan. 9, 2017, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will offer an early termination opportunity for certain Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts, making it easier to transfer property to the next generation of farmers and ranchers, including family members. The land that is eligible for the early termination is among the least environmentally sensitive land enrolled in CRP. This change to the CRP program is just one of many that USDA has implemented based on recommendations from the Land Tenure Advisory Subcommittee formed by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in 2015. The subcommittee was asked to identify ways the department could use or modify its programs, regulations, and practices to address the challenges of beginning farmers and ranchers in their access to land, capital and technical assistance. The average age of principal farm operators is 58, said Baccam. So, land tenure, succession and estate planning, and access to land is an increasingly important issue for the future of agriculture and a priority for USDA. Access to land remains the biggest barrier for beginning farmers and ranchers. This announcement is part of our efforts to address some of the challenges with transitioning land to beginning farmers. Baccam made the announcement while touring the Joe Dunn farm in Warren County, located in central Iowa near Carlisle. Dunn is the father-in-law to Iowa native and former Marine Aaron White, who with his wife, are prospective candidates for the early termination program. Baccam was joined by Farm Service Agency Iowa State Executive Director John Whitaker when meeting with Dunn and White. The chance to give young farmers a better opportunity to succeed when starting a farming career makes perfect sense, said Baccam. There are Conservation Reserve Program acres that are rested and ready to be productive, an original goal of CRP. The technical teams at USDA will tell us which ones can terminate from the program with little impact on the overall conservation efforts. When they do, well be ready to help beginning farmers like military veteran Aaron White. Normally if a landowner terminates a CRP contract early, they are required to repay all previous payments plus interest. The new policy waives this repayment if the land is transferred to a beginning farmer or rancher through a sale or lease with an option to buy. With CRP enrollment close to the Congressionally-mandated cap of 24 million acres, the early termination will also allow USDA to enroll other land with higher conservation value elsewhere. Starting the next generation of farmers and ranchers out with conservation and stewardship in mind is another important part of this announcement, Baccam said. The land coming out of CRP will have priority enrollment opportunities with USDAs working lands conservation programs through cooperation between the Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Acres terminated early from CRP under these land tenure provisions will be eligible for priority enrollment consideration into the CRP Grasslands, if eligible; or the Conservation Stewardship Program or Environmental Quality Incentives Program, as determined by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. According to the Tenure, Ownership and Transition of Agricultural Land survey, conducted by USDA in 2014, U.S. farmland owners expect to transfer 93 million acres to new ownership during 2015-19. This represents 10 percent of all farmland across the nation. Details on the early termination opportunity will be available starting Jan. 9 at local USDA service centers. For more information about CRP and to find out if your acreage is eligible for early contract termination, contact your local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office or go online at www.fsa.usda.gov/crp. To locate your local FSA office, visit http://offices.usda.gov. It will be difficult to tear your eyes away from the drama unfolding on Earth in 2017. But what might Donald Trump mean for Americans in space? Traditionally, transitions are a time to set new destinations. When President Obama took office, he axed the Constellation program, which would have sent astronauts to the moon, and set his sights on Mars. NASA has been working toward a human mission to the Red Planet with a pit stop at an asteroid, though the agency looks unlikely to meet its 2030s deadline at current levels of funding. Trump's election could signal a pivot back to the moon - a destination historically favored by Republicans. During the campaign, Trump offered few specifics about his vision for NASA but said the agency should focus on exploring deep space and being "inspirational." A new moon mission would meet those criteria. It would be an infrastructure project for the ages, one that fit with Team Trump's nostalgia for bygone moments of American "greatness." Plus, there is international interest in building a lunar base, and studies suggest that such a base could be a (comparatively) cheap way station en route to Mars. NASA has already been working on a heavy-lift Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule - spacecraft that could be retooled for a potential moon mission. If the moon is Trump's goal, we might expect to hear about it during his first 100 days, when most presidents set their agendas. Then again, the president-elect's emphasis on reining in the budget might mean that NASA goes nowhere in the next four years. Funding for the agency has historically tracked with overall non-defense discretionary spending, which Trump plans to cut to historic lows. Even if most of NASA's budget stays intact, there's a good chance the space agency's Earth-observing programs will be slashed - bad news for climate scientists, meteorologists and others who rely on data from NASA satellites. The year could also be big for private space explorers. Moon Express has permission to launch a commercial lunar lander; if it happens, it will be the first private mission to ever leave Earth's orbit. SpaceX is slated to shuttle astronauts to the International Space Station - the first crewed space station launch from U.S. soil in years. And Blue Origin (whose owner, Jeff Bezos, also owns The Washington Post) is racing to catch up; the company wants to put astronauts in space by the end of the year. A scientist would caution against drawing conclusions without data, and Trump hasn't given us much data to work with. For now, space-watchers will have to do what they have always done: wonder what's out there as they contemplate the chilly unknown. DETROIT In another tweet targeting a U.S. company, President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to slap a tax on General Motors for importing compact cars to the U.S. from Mexico. But GM makes the vast majority of compact Chevrolet Cruzes in Lordstown, Ohio, near Cleveland. Trump tweeted early Tuesday that GM is sending Mexican-made Cruzes to the U.S. tax-free. He told GM to make the cars in the U.S. "or pay big border tax!" GM imports only hatchback versions of the Cruze from a factory in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, and it amounts to only a small percentage of the 172,000 Cruzes sold by GM through November, spokesman Patrick Morrissey said. He was working to get the exact number. The hatchback is built in Mexico for global distribution, Morrissey said. GM shares fell by about 1 percent immediately after the tweet, but have bounced ahead of the opening bell Tuesday. Cruze hatchback production amounts to less than a day of output at the Lordstown plant, said Glenn Johnson, president of a United Auto Workers union local at the factory. The union, he said, is not protesting the move to build the hatch in Mexico. "It makes for news, that's all," Johnson said of Trump's tweet. The Lordstown factory, he said, is not equipped to build the hatch. GM did import some Cruze sedans from Mexico last year to meet demand as it was rolling out a new version of the Cruze, Morrissey said, but that has stopped and all sedans sold in the U.S. are now made in Ohio, he said. The hatchback version just went on sale in the fall. The tweet was the latest threat from Trump to tax automakers that move production to Mexico and ship products back to the U.S. under the North American Free Trade agreement. Last year Trump went after Ford for plans to shift production of the compact Focus to Mexico. Jobs at the Detroit-area factory that now makes Focuses would be preserved because the plant is to get a new small pickup truck and SUV. But Trump's targets have ranged from U.S. retailers and defense contractors, to tech companies. Amazon.com, Boeing and Macy's have been the subject of Trump tweets in the past. Four men killed in separate shootings over a violent four-day stretch in San Francisco, including two gunned down on the first day of 2017, were identified by authorities on Tuesday. The string of slayings happened in neighborhoods throughout the city including the Mission District and the Tenderloin. No arrests have been made. The first shooting occurred at 5:14 p.m. Thursday on the 200 block of Golden Gate Avenue, just north of the Civic Center and U.N. Plaza. Laurice Barrett, a 39-year-old San Francisco resident, was shot near the front entrance of the Service Employees International Union. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. A 41-year-old man was also hit in the shooting, but his injuries were not life-threatening, police said. A little over an hour after Barrett was slain, 39-year-old Mathew Fiame was killed by gunfire outside the Burma Love restaurant on the 200 block of Valencia Street in the Mission District. Fiame of San Francisco was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Police continued their search Tuesday for a 35-year-old suspect in that killing. On Sunday, shootings claimed the lives of two men. Ernesto Rosales, a 21-year-old San Francisco resident, suffered a gunshot wound to the chest in San Franciscos first killing of 2017, police said. The shooting occurred at about 2 a.m. at 26th and Shotwell streets in the Mission District. Later that day, Mitchell Smith, 35, was killed in the Bayview neighborhood. The San Francisco resident was found with a gunshot wound to his face at about 11:25 a.m. at Third Street and Oakdale Avenue. Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani Rafe Swan/Getty Image A 24-year-old man suspected of breaking into several homes in San Mateo, including two residences where he allegedly sexually assaulted men, was arrested Monday when police saw him climbing out of a window of a burglarized residence, officials said Tuesday. Police received multiple calls of a man breaking into houses in the area of North Kingston Street and North Bayshore Boulevard. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Last month Big Bob's Burgers made a plea to San Antonians to help save their last remaining restaurant and the community responded, helping to keep the location afloat, and now the business wants to pay it forward. Owner Bob Riddle made a cry for help via Facebook on Dec. 11, describing a "tough year," which put his 447 W. Hildebrand location in jeopardy. In the days following, Riddle kept his profile updated with good news: lines that were "out the door," keeping the dining room busy and the burger joint above water. RELATED: A cry for help from Big Bob's Burgers Riddle was not immediately available to return requests for comment as of this write, but did start the new year with a revelation a Parkinson's disease diagnosis. "It sucks but because of all the love and support your have given me and Big Bob's Burgers I know I am not alone," the Jan. 2 Facebook post said. "We were two weeks away from closing and because of all your help, we have a lot of hope and more time." RELATED: Burger Fest crowns new San Antonio burger champion Riddle, a Culinary Institute of America graduate, started Big Bob's Burgers on Harry Wurzbach Road in 2008, then moved to Hildebrand Avenue in 2011. He added a second Big Bob's location at The Vistana apartment building on North Santa Rosa Street in 2013, then a third on North Loop 1604 West in 2015. The Vistana and 1604 locations have since been shuttered. Riddle continued with his plans moving forward, including how he wants to "pay back for all the kindness showed." RELATED: Looking for a good bloody mary? Start with these The business owner asked people to recommend any school, church or civic organization that he could help. "We don't have money but we have food, space and lots of time to help," he said. "This is what life is about and it amazes me how often I forget that." Staff writer Mike Sutter contributed to this report. mmendoza@mysa.com Twitter: @MaddySkye A delicate balance in the state Senate could be disrupted by the upcoming appointment of a new Republican state auditor, a $180,000-a-year post being eyed by at least two GOP members of the dead-locked chamber. State Sen. Rob Kane, R-Watertown, whose district includes Seymour, Oxford and Bridgewater, has emerged as a contender for the full-time watchdog opening, Hearst Connecticut Media has learned. The five-term incumbent could face competition from fellow Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield, who has more seniority than Kane but comes from a district that isnt a solidly as Republican. The last thing Republicans want is to tip the balance of power back to Democrats in Senate, where there is a tie for the first time since 1893. Each party controls 18 seats, which could leave GOP leaders scrambling to come up with a succession plan to replace Kane or Kissel in a special election. The timing could be tricky, as Republicans would not likely want to leave the Senate with a Democratic advantage while they wait for a special election. Both Kane and Kissel declined to comment Tuesday about the post, which opened up with the retirement of Republican Bob Ward. State GOP Chairman J.R. Romano said he isnt worried about giving up ground to Democrats, saying that momentum is on the side of Republicans after their November pick-ups in the Senate and House. Obviously, if theres going to be a vacancy, we have to have a special election, Romano said. Each party gets to appoint an auditor of public accounts who has broad powers to review the books and accounts of the states constitutional officers, including the governor, treasurer and comptroller, as well as state agencies. Appointees must be confirmed by the Legislature. Requests for comment were left Tuesday for the GOP leaders of both chambers, Sen. Len Fasano, of North Haven, and Rep. Themis Klarides, of Derby. Last year, the auditors office uncovered that state negotiators may have squandered $700,000 when a computer-services contractor walked away from a $3.7 million job upgrading an online system in the state Workers Compensation Commission. An audit revealed that a Houston-based vendor on the scuttled project kept the money, which the state attorney general is trying to recover. If Republicans choose Kane or Kissel to fill the post, either senator would be in line for a huge bump in pay. The base annual salary for a senator, which is considered a part-time position, is $28,000. Senators get an additional $5,500 for expenses, plus 57.5 cents per mile for travel to the Capitol. In November, Kane formed an exploratory committee for statewide office. Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, a Democrat, wields the tie-breaking vote in the Senate, which will have committee co-chairs from each party under a power-sharing agreement. Ward, 64, has been the Republican auditor since 2011. He was previously motor vehicles commissioner and before that House GOP leader. neil.vigdor@scni.com; 203-625-4436; http://twitter.com/gettinviggy Houston Chronicle AUSTIN -- A trial is set for the day before the legislative session begins in the lawsuit against the group that claimed to have covertly filmed lawmakers and lobbyists at the Texas Capitol and elsewhere in Austin during the last session back in 2015. Next Monday Jan. 9, the lawsuit against the American Phoenix Foundation filed by veteran lobbyist Steve Bresnen is set for a trial on the merits in a Travis County courtroom. Montrose Avenue is a heavily-traveled thoroughfare just west of downtown Houston. It paves the way to trendy restaurants, museums and vintage shops offering all the funkiness of the neighborhood in the form of eclectic furniture and knickknacks. At the corner of the avenue and West Dallas Street, a 1940s art-deco marquee from the Montrose Management District was recently installed. The marker at the intersection is the first in a total of 13, said a representative for the district Thursday. The markers, all of which are to be installed by the time the Super Bowl comes to town in February, will have neon lights and are choreographed with the lighted bridges over the Southwest Freeway. The district, which exists by way of taxes from area businesses, has operated under the radar of most residents' awareness, but business owners in the neighborhood are long-familiar, and some are not in favor of the district, least of all the $576,000 marquee project. "What good is a marker?" said John Holzer, an attorney and rental property owner who had to lobby the district to remove him from its tax-roll after he discovered the number of units he owns is lower than the required number to be included in the assessments by the district. The district refunded 100 percent of the $7,000 he paid over about six years without any complaints, he said. But he never felt good about where his money was going during the years he was included. "If I was a management district, I would canvass the area and ask business owners, 'What do you want us to do?' The things that improve an area are low crime rates, and if there's blighted properties, they should work with the landlords to make the place better," he said. In response to these concerns, the representative for MMD said in an email that the marker project fits into the group's mission to make the area a safer and greener place to live and work. The timing of the markers comes just weeks after Judge Joseph Halbach ruled in a lawsuit brought by one area business owner, that MMD made unlawful assessments and should repay the $6.5 million it collected illegitimately, and that the petition that originally gave the district the ability to collect the fees is invalid. "None of the levied assessments were valid and are void as a matter of law," court documents show. "Bob Rose is the hero of the century to have the courage and pocketbook to do this," said Jim Bartley about the plaintiff who filed the lawsuit. Bartley is a rental property owner in Montrose who has been taxed by the district since 2007. "Montrose is small mom and pop businesses, these are little people that get stuck with this tax," he said. Both landlords say the district doesn't do a good job listening to their constituents. And after petitions circulated around town that garnered around 80 percent of commercial property owners asserting they thought the district should disband, Holzer says MMD officials should have immediately met with the group to hear their concerns. Bartley thinks improvements to the landscaping around Montrose, like the ones on Post Oak Boulevard or Kirby Drive, would have been more beneficial than markers that will require electrical upkeep and more money in the future. Despite Halbach's order stating, "The West Montrose Management District must reimburse its unlawful assessment to those who paid them," MMD posted on its website: "The Montrose Management District remains in full compliance with all state and local laws...No refunds are currently being planned while the case remains pending." On Thursday, Halbach and attorneys in the lawsuit talked in a closed-door meeting, said sources close to the case, and said the judge reasserted his position that the taxes are illegal, and it could be as early as next week that new developments in the case are announced. "We're all for improving Montrose," said Holzer. "I didn't see any benefit, they don't patrol my streets, they don't provide me with any information on how to be a better landlord. We were not getting any value for the taxes we pay." Ilis niamet, volore veriustrud te feum iusciduisi. Pit, si et aut ver sit venisl utpatin heniat dolobore dio odolor ad et eumsandigna commy num veratem quam, secte dolore corper accummy nullummod dolesto et prat, quat adignibh esectet praesequisi. Aliquamcon utpat atum zzrilit, con ut alit il iure conummo dolore magna facillum quiscil laoreet la consenis eu feuis ex ea feugait ilit loPeriuscilit lummy nostin volore ming eum ilit velenis modiam et ut niam irit nonsendio euismolore core do consequat augait ulput aci bla feuisl dio od tatin ut nos ex ercinisi. Con henit praessequis aut pratem in venim num in et laor sectet am vel dolorero od delit lor alis alis at, velis at, quat at. Lore te tinim iliquat, quatet dolutpat. Ut iriusti onsendit acil il dolore delessi te tem aut nos nis nostiscilla feuisl delisci duisim dunt volorer aesequa metuerosting euismodipis nim velit am velendiam irillan hendre er sim zzrilit accum dipit, quatue dolorperos augait iurem eros dolessi bla consectet, sim zzriuscip eugait, quat. Ut pratin utpate modiatumsan henit wisl ulla faccum num autpationum vel doloreetue minci tatet ute dipisci elis aut prat. Lan henit atummy nonseAt. Agniam del eugiam ipsuscilis esectet wis am, In just a few short days, our attentions will change to politics - both state and national. On Tuesday, Jan. 10, the 85th Texas Legislature will begin its session. The 140-day session is scheduled to end May 29. Throughout that time, legislators will be introducing more bills and pushing through what they believe are the laws that Texans want enacted. There will be deliberations on education spending, transportation funds, healthcare and even some wrangling on legalizing marijuana in Texas. To date, more than a half dozen bills legalizing or limiting penalties on marijuana have been introduced. Pre-filing of bills began on Nov. 9, 2016, and will continue until Jan. 9. Legislators have until March 10 to introduce bills. Then bills are debated in committees where, if they manage to get out, they then go before the House of Representatives or the Senate. The last date for bills to be approved by one house and sent to the other is May 9. Miss that date, and the bill dies. If a bill beats that date, it is then debated, voted upon, changed, sent back or passed. It could then head joint committee to hammer out any differences between the representatives and senators. Finally, if the bills pass both houses, they head to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk for approval or veto. As Texans, we all have a stake in what the Legislature is doing this time of year. If you have a concern, you should call, email or write your local representatives in the House and Senate and let your voice be heard. Go to the Legislature's web page at www.capitol.state.tx.us to track bills or get contact information for your state officials. To find out who represents you, go to www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us and enter your address. All your elected state and federal elected officials will be listed along with addresses and phone numbers. On the federal side, Inauguration Day 2017 is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 20. That is when President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office. It was a contentious vote in America and there assuredly will be protests on Inauguration Day. However, whether you voted for him or not, Trump will be sworn in as president. Prior to the inauguration, the 115th Congress was scheduled to start on Jan. 3. In a bit of weirdness that is American politics, outgoing Senate President Joe Biden, our current vice president, will preside over the first couple of weeks of the Senate until Mike Pence is sworn in as vice president on Jan. 20. For people in the greater Houston region, there is no change in the Congressional delegation. The men and women who represented this area in the last session are still there. If you do not know who represents you in Congress, again that information is available at www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us. One issue that will assuredly be examined during both the Texas Legislature and the 115th Congress is the balance of power that resides squarely with the Republicans. The GOP controls all the executive and legislative branches both in the state and nationally. Will there be any bipartisanship or will everything be dominate by the party in power? Only time will tell that. What you need to know is all your elected officials are representing you and your wishes. If you have a question, concern or complaint, contact them. Most U.S. representatives have a team of people locally who can help you out, too. Part of the political process is getting your voice heard. Whenever you have a question, issue or concern, reach out to your representative and see what can happen. It is all part of the political process. Tomball City Council is exploring the potential for a municipal utility district after members held a workshop session late last year to discuss the implementation of an in-city MUD. An attorney from the firm Allen Boone Humphries Robinson LLP, Steve Robinson, recently addressed the board, detailing some of the pros and cons of implementing a MUD within city limits. He said residential and commercial developers have already expressed interest in investing in Tomball should it move in that direction. He illustrates the different arrangements a city may have with a MUD. He said the city can provide infrastructure (water, sewer, drainage) funded through its tax base; a city can have the developer provide infrastructure; or the implementation of an in-city MUD where the developer creates a "financing structure" to fund the infrastructure as part of MUD. "The reason we utilize them is because they have ability to levy property tax that is utilized for financing infrastructure and is far more efficient way to pay for infrastructure than grossing up lots to pay for infrastructural costs," he said. He added that the entity can sell bonds although they must be approved by the TCEQ and the city, which in turn, means higher quality infrastructure (including parks and other recreational facilities) can be expected too. "Taxpayers within the area are the only ones paying for growth in their area," he said. A MUD incentivizes developers. While subject to city ordinances, the MUD can levy property taxes in the district to reimburse the developer for the cost of the infrastructure created. They provide water, sewage, drainage and other services within the MUD boundaries and are governed by an elected board of directors. They're used throughout Texas to develop of tracts of land or areas outside of cities - driven by lack of utilities, Robinson said. While less common, he said in-city MUDs have been more extensively used, particularly in last 15 years. MUDs are "designed to create high quality, affordable housing [and] communities who can provide highly amenitized developments," Robinson said. The city has implemented public improvement districts - PIDs - but is seeking other means to fund infrastructure and encourage long-term development in the city. Tomball mayor, Gretchen Fagan, said the presentation was merely for council members to better understand the intricacies of a utility district's creation and management. "If someone wants to do it, they'll make a presentation," she said, adding that the subject won't revisit until developers formally approach the city with their proposals. She expects the talks to land on the council agenda later this month or in February. A primary concern she has is the confusion an in-city MUD might cause for residents who would see differing tax rates compared to those within the MUD. She's also concerned how this will affect the city's bond rating as the total indebtedness of an area's taxpayers is taken into consideration, she said. A potential MUD could be located on an open piece of land behind Wal-Mart near Texas 249 off of S. Cherry St. and Holderrieth Rd., Fagan said. The utilization of an in-city MUD is primarily about a more efficient way to grow, Robinsion suggests. "Infrastructure will be paid for in one way or another. It's a matter of what's more efficient," he said. "There's no free lunches." After experiencing unseasonably warm weather for most of December, Old Man Winter has made a return visit to the region. The National Weather Service said the first of a series of cold fronts moved through the Texas Panhandle-South Plains on Tuesday morning. Another push of cold air will arrive on Thursday, and lows on Friday morning should be in the teens for most of the region. A slight chance of snow showers are possible across the southern Texas Panhandle and portions of the South Plains late Thursday and Friday. Light snow accumulations will be possible late Thursday night into Friday as a passing storm system couples with cold air that will move in early on Thursday, the NWS reported in a hazardous weather outlook at 2:35 p.m. Tuesday. Currently it appears a dusting to an inch of snow will be possible over parts of the South Plains region, with the southern Texas Panhandle most favored. The same storm system is expected to bring significant snow accumulations and strong winds to Northern New Mexico. Preceding the storm, a strong back-door cold front will bring subfreezing temperatures to the eastern New Mexico plains with low temperatures dropping to the single digits and teens as early as Wednesday night. More cold air will spill into northern and eastern New Mexico from the north early Friday. Some of the coldest temperatures should occur across the northeast plains where readings will probably remain below freezing from Wednesday night until Saturday afternoon. Theres a potential for 1 to 2 feet of snow accumulations in the northern mountains Thursday and Friday, and around a half-foot in surrounding lower elevation locations. Elsewhere across northern New Mexico and the eastern plains, a few inches of snow or more will be possible. Wind gusts of around 50 mph along the eastern slopes will cause periods of drifting snow and very low visibility. For the Texas Panhandle-South Plains, snowfall amounts are expected to be light with most areas likely to receive an inch or less. The Plainview-area forecast calls for a low of 16 Wednesday night, high Thursday near 28, and low Thursday night around 12 with a 20 percent chance of snow and sleet. On Friday, snow chances remain 20 percent with a high near 35. Friday night will be clear and cold with a low around 14. Saturdays high will be near 38 with low Saturday night around 19. Sunday will be sunny with a high near 48 and a low around 31. Monday will be sunny with a high near 62. The two biggest challenges of working from home are undoubtedly concentration and organization. It is far too easy to become distracted by family demands, the beckoning view out the window, or the nearby refrigerator. And there are days when laundry duty seems more appealing than completing a long-overdue project. The secret comes down to structuring your work-at-home environment in a way that makes you more focused and most productive. Here are some tips to help you design your perfect setup. Make the best of what you've got Create a convenient workspace complete with everything you would have in an outside office: a desk, comfortable office chair, file cabinets, good lighting and proper equipment. Whether you work from your spare bedroom, basement or garage, size does not matter. Last year I sold my house and moved into an 800-square-foot boathouse in Mount Dora, Florida. Although it was small, I managed to operate my office while watching the boats and the wildlife go by on Lake Dora. I was pleasantly surprised that all I really needed was a small writing desk and some inspiration to keep my business going. Related: Get a Spotless, Organized Home Office in One Week Enjoy the view It doesnt do much for your creative side to be stuck in a dreary, windowless space, considering that you may spend most of the day (and night) in your office. If possible, select a space with a view outside. The natural light will invigorate you, as well as provide a restful scene to relax your eyes after staring at a computer screen for a long period of time. If you want to create a Feng-Shui-friendly space, avoid having your back to the door and try not to face a wall. Facing a wall can make it seem as though you will never get ahead, as your progress is blocked. If there is no way to avoid this, place a small mirror on your desk to reflect the office entrance. Related: Work Smarter: 8 Ways to Boost Focus in a Home Office Assign a work schedule Assign work hours and stick to them. Keep a small, spiral-bound notebook handy to write down your daily to-do list. At the end of each day, review what you want or need to accomplish the following day. Control your own schedule by blocking out work hours, appointment hours, and family and leisure time. Get comfortable Youll be able to sit and concentrate for a longer period of time in a more comfortable environment, so keep your work area tidy, clean and functional. Get an ergonomic chair that you can inhabit for many hours at a time. Always keep a bottle of water at your desk at all times so you dont get dehydrated. Be sure the temperature and lighting are also optimal. I use a mini oscillating fan on my desk to circulate the air on warm days and a portable heater at my feet when its chilly outside. Related: 5 Benefits of Getting Outside the Home Office Every Day Create a desk for success Stock your office with all the office supplies you will need including paper pads, stapler, stamps, scissors, pens, paper clips and chargers. That way, you wont need to stop work and find something whenever you need it. While living in my boathouse, I kept all of my files and supplies in a nearby closet. Set an atmosphere Do you work better with tunes? If so, set up a playlist that can inspire you throughout your workday. Or try a music-streaming service like Pandora, Spotify and iHeartRadio to keep you relaxed, invigorated or motivated. Light a candle and spread a little aromatherapy within the office. If you enjoy nature, open the windows and breathe in the fresh air. If your office tends to get a little stuffy, investing in an air purifier. Decorate with pictures that inspire you, affirmations, or motivational quotes. Dress for the job you want You may be most comfortable in workout gear, however, being too comfortable may not activate your mind to take work seriously. Dress and groom yourself appropriately for the office and you will feel and act more professionally. You never know, you may have to run out and meet a client spur of the moment, or interface with a client or colleague through Skype or Facetime. The dream of working in your pajamas is in reality, just that -- a dream. To be successful, you must look and act and operate like a true business. Start by following the guidelines above as a way to add positivity and balance to your desk and to your life. Related: Creating an Organized and Productive Home Office That's Cozy Too Guia de bolsillo para arrancar un negocio desde tu casa Offices of the Future Won't be Modeled on Factories of the Past Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed on Tuesday a new free tuition program for students from families of modest and low incomes who attend a state college. Speaking in Queens alongside former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who made free college tuition a central theme of his presidential campaign, Cuomo called the program the first of its kind in the United States. "It's once again New York leading the way, the way we did on raising the minimum wage, the way we did on paid family leave, the way we did on passing marriage equality, the way we did on gun safety," Cuomo said. "And it should be a wake-up call to this nation. To say if you really want to be competitive globally, we have to have the best-educated workforce, and that means we have to have college for every child, man or woman, who wants to attend. Other countries have already done it. It's time this country catches up. It's time this country says to every citizen, you can be whatever you want to be in America." Under Cuomo's proposal, students accepted to SUNY or CUNY schools would be eligible if they or their family earns $125,000 or less per year. Tuition to a four-year SUNY school is $6,470. Tuition to a two-year SUNY school is $4,350. The cost of Cuomo's program, dubbed the Excelsior Scholarship, is estimated at $163 million, though according to the New York Times the administration acknowledges that that figure could fluctuate based on participation. The program would be fully implemented in 2019. Sanders called the proposal revolutionary and said it would reverberate across the nation. He said if the Legislature approves Cuomo's proposal this year, other states will follow in the coming years. "What today's message is about is if you are in the 4th or 5th grade, if you start studying hard, you will in fact be able to get the college education you need to make it to the middle class regardless of the income of your family," Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, said. "That is revolutionary." Regardless of cost, paying for the program may be an arduous task. The state faces a revenue shortfall for the current fiscal year, and the governor acknowledged in December that "the budget is going to be tighter than in past years." "Past budget years the difficult came from the abundance of options," he said on Dec. 21. "We had funding 'What's the best thing to do with the funding?' 'I think education.' 'I think economic development.' ... This discussion is going to be a harder conversation where we won't have enough money to do everything we all jointly agree that we want to do." Cuomo's announcement comes as Republicans take greater control of Washington, D.C., and as murmurs about the governor's own political future continue. The progressive proposal is just the latest Cuomo has put out as he has continued his leftward tack since re-election in 2014. The governor has sought to parry national Republican rhetoric, particularly that of President-elect Donald Trump. This proposal could strike a better balance between progressive rhetoric and realistic chances of passage than other higher-education plans that he and other state Democrats have pushed in recent years. For example, though Cuomo and Assembly Democrats have been on board with the DREAM Act, which would allow undocumented students to receive state financial aid for college, state Senate Republicans have been averse to the idea. Instead, senators last year proposed and won increased funding for regular tuition assistance. In 2015, Cuomo discussed with the Obama administration what New York's contribution would be for a proposed federal program to provide free tuition at community colleges. At the time it was reported that Cuomo discussed chipping in $500 million. Though the new plan likely will lead to praise for the governor, he must contend with state lawmakers if he wants to implement it. At the state Capitol, some legislators, who are set to return for the start of the legislative session on Wednesday, have fumed over the way in which unsuccessful negotiations on raising lawmakers' pay went last month. There were various free tuition proposals introduced by lawmakers during the last legislative session, but they went nowhere. Whether they will play ball with the governor's proposal remains to be seen. The free tuition plan is one of the first pieces of Cuomo's 2017 State of the State address to be unveiled. The governor also has plans for a $650 million investment to boost life sciences research in New York. He is to hold six regional speeches across the state, including one in the Capital Region, at some point this month to fully roll out his Albany plans. He must submit his executive budget proposal by Jan. 17. Jef Chaison Russell III, a former Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau director whose specialty was tourism but whose life calling was kindness, died Saturday after collapsing in his home the day after Christmas. He was 68. U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, who on Tuesday began his second two-year term in Congress, said Russell was with him when he took his first oath in January 2015. "I've known him since kindergarten," Babin said. "He was a fine, fine fellow. He was a very fine community servant and citizen." Another classmate of Russell's was auto dealer Joe Bob Kinsel, who gave Russell his nickname of "Heavy Duty." Kinsel said he and Russell, improbably, were both on the track team, assigned to throwing the discus and shot put. "I could hardly pick it up," Kinsel said of the shot put, which in those days likely was a 16-pound iron sphere. "Jef was powerful." The nickname "Heavy Duty" stuck, even after Russell went to the University of Texas, where he had the initials "HD" monogrammed on his shirts. Russell, a seventh-generation Beaumonter, served for more than 10 years as the executive director of the Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau, leaving in 2000 to take a similar job in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Previously, he led Fort Worth's tourism bureau when one of its attractions was the Western Co. of North America's Energy museum, which is now the Texas Energy Museum in Beaumont. In 1988, Russell returned to Beaumont to lead the CVB. In the 15 years he was gone, many of Beaumont's newer downtown structures went from blueprints to buildings, including City Hall, the Civic Center, the police department, library, the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, the renovated Tyrrell Historical Library and Edison Plaza. Russell, known for his optimism, said Beaumont was "in an enviable position" for developing tourism. "One thing I want to do is to promote what's already here," he said in a September 1988 interview. "This is like a greenhouse here. It's so lush, so much water and trees. If you come in from West or North Texas, I guarantee you'll notice it." Dean Conwell, the current Conventions and Visitors Bureau director said he's known Russell for 30 years. "He helped me a lot when I accepted the position. He was passionate about the city and about tourism," Conwell said. "He was a Beaumont hero. He wanted the right things to happen here. He knew so much and cared so much." Vivian Todd, a real estate agent, agreed with a sentiment posted on social media about Russell that he was a "Renaissance" man. "He was a huge fan of the city of Beaumont," she said. "He was always happy and upbeat. You loved to be around him." DWallach@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/dwallach This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Back in 2014, Jeremy Meek was arrested and convicted for felony weapon charges at the age of 30 and his mugshot shared by the Stockton Police Department went viral. Two years later, Meek, 32, is out of jail and is back with his family, living in a California mansion and driving a Maserati. "I want to thank my family and everybody for all your love, support and prayers," Meek wrote on his Instagram page when he was released from jail back in March. "I'm overwhelmed and grateful for what lies ahead. I'm ready." COURTHOUSE REPORTER: Don't judge a felon by the tattoo Since his release, he has been working with manager Jim Jordan of White Cross Management to pursue his modeling career. He is seen in modeling shots taken with Bella and Gigi Hadid's brother, Anwar, and Meek's manager is excited about his future. MODEL FAMILIES: Anwar Hadid a part of the hottest modeling family today "We're so excited for what's around the corner for our star @jmeeksofficial," White Cross Management says on their Instagram page. The fruit of his modeling and internet fame has seemed to pay off as he most recently posted photos of himself and his family in their new California mansion celebrating Christmas and New Years. "Through thick and thin," is the caption he wrote on a post with his wife, as they celebrate their 8-year anniversary at a vineyard with a bottle of wine. Meek maintains his positive attitude about his future and it's clear he is thrilled about his future. "Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future," Meek captioned one of his most-liked Instagram posts. A hotly contested legislative session in 2015 led to two controversial gun laws: One that allows for the open carry of handguns and another that permits the concealed carry of handguns on Texas college campuses. Now, one lawmaker is looking toward the upcoming legislative session with the hope to pass a bill that would give all Texans the right to openly carry a firearm with or without a permit. House Bill 375 authored by State Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford is known as constitutional carry and it would make the licensing process and classes to obtain a permit optional. The idea, according to Stickland, is that Texans shouldnt be forced to take a course and pay a fee to exercise their Second Amendment rights. If passed, Texas would be the 11th state to allow constitutional carry. A number of Texas Democrats oppose the proposal. State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, a critic of both the campus carry and open carry laws, said constitutional carry "seems to be an unnecessary thing." And Moms Demand Action, a group that advocates for tighter gun control, will fight the constitutional carry proposal, according to a spokeswoman, Nicole Golden of Austin. Under Stickland's bill, there would be no way to tell whether people carrying handguns in public have a permit or have been trained, she said. That obviously concerns those of us who live and raise our families in Texas, said Golden, a mother of two. Last session, the Legislature made Texas the 45th state to allow the open carry of handguns. Senate Bill 17 which took effect in January 2016 allows roughly 826,000 handgun license holders to openly carry their weapons in a hip or shoulder holster. Currently, Texans who choose to carry are required to have a permit. According to Stickland, however, this shouldnt be the case. Carrying a firearm is a big personal responsibility, and taking a couple of classes for a couple of hours doesnt mean youre necessarily ready to carry, said Stickland. For most gun owners, they put more time and training into it than the state mandates. We just think its time to restore the constitutional rights to Texas. Through spokeswoman Ciara Matthews, Gov. Greg Abbott declined to comment on whether he'd support a constitutional carry bill. In a statement to The Texas Tribune, however, Matthews said the governor will always consider legislation aimed at preserving our right to keep and bear arms. Abbott previously advocated for Texans who wanted to openly carry to go through the same training and background checks as concealed handgun license holders. Stickland has a track record of championing pro-gun legislation. During the last legislative session, he supported open carry and authored House Bill 195, a constitutional carry bill that never received a committee hearing. Stickland said hes hopeful HB 375 wont suffer the same fate since both open carry and campus carry are now law. I think the next logical step for gun rights is to pass this bill, said Stickland. And Stickland is not alone among lawmakers wanting to make handguns easier for Texans to obtain and purchase. Within the first month of bill filing for the 2017 legislative session, state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, and state Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, each filed bills that would eliminate any fees needed to obtain a license to carry. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a Nov. 30 news release he strongly support[s] Nichols legislation Senate Bill 16 and his dedication and leadership to further support Second Amendment Rights." "Texas has one of the highest license to carry fees in the country, Patrick wrote of the roughly $140 Lone Star State residents must pay for an application fee, assuming they dont qualify for discounts. SB 16 will make lawful carry more affordable for law abiding citizens across the state. No Texan should be deprived of their right to self-protection because of onerous licensing fees imposed by the state. Patricks words were echoed by Abbott's spokeswoman, who said in a statement that Texas shouldnt impose a fee on those wanting to obtain a license to carry. The governor believes Texans shouldn't have to pay a price to exercise their Second Amendment rights, and he looks forward to signing legislation that will achieve that goal, said Matthews. Meanwhile, Democrats have filed bills such as Howard's House Bill 391, which would allow public universities to opt out of the campus carry law. Currently, only private colleges are given that option. "I think it's pretty telling that all but one and that was a very small private university opted to not have guns on campus because they determined that was not in the best interest of their campus," said Howard, referring to Amberton University in in the Dallas area. Stickland told the Tribune hes expecting a lot of attention surrounding his constitutional carry bill and that several lawmakers have already reached out and pledged their support. I know there are going to be thousands of people making phone calls this session about this bill specifically, said Stickland. But I dont think theres a Republican in the state of Texas who wants to go back home and explain a no vote on constitutional carry when it's in our platform and an overwhelming majority of the grassroots Republican voters want it." NORWALK Gigi Priebe never set out to write a book. But on Monday, nearly a decade after spontaneously joining a writing group while living in London, she held her first published childrens book, The Adventures of Henry Whiskers, in her hand, a day ahead of the books official launch online and in stores. Im so new to this whole thing, Priebe said. I picked it up and flipped to the back and panicked because I thought theyd printed the wrong ending, but then I realized it was just the first chapter of the next book. Its been really fun and a little awkward. Published by Simon and Schuster, a Big Four publisher, and written for children ages 7 to 10, the book follows the life of a 25th generation mouse, Henry Whiskers, who lives with his family in the Windsor Castles most famous exhibit: Queen Marys Doll House. When the dollhouse undergoes unexpected repairs and his sister goes missing, Henry Whiskers must courageously risk everything in a race against time to save her. Before its all over, Henry and his best friend face scary rats, an evil cat and a tail-curling car ride, according to the books description. The book is illustrated by Daniel Duncan. Priebe came up with the idea for the story while living in England, walking distance to Windsor Castle. She visited the historic landmark often when visitors came from out of town, and became familiar with the famous dollhouse, which was a gift for Queen Mary in the 1920s. Built on a scale of one inch to one foot, the house is three feet tall with four floors, forty rooms, two working elevators hot and cold running water and electricity. It has toilets that flush, a garage filled with luxury cars and a grandfather clock that chimes. The library is filled with leather-bound books by famous authors and miniature portraits of Queen Mary and King George V. The house was certainly not meant for children, or even really dolls. More Information For more Information visit www.gigipriebe.com or www.simonandschuster.com. See More Collapse I got to know the exhibit pretty well, and one day I just thought, What if a family of mice lived in the storage drawers? Preibe said. I didnt really have a storyline but I wrote a lot of scenes and when I moved back (to the U.S.) I was encouraged to study with Patricia Reilly Giff ... I put the book aside a few times, but I kept coming back to it. I really loved the story. Signed to a two book contract with Simon and Schusters Alladin imprint, the same division that produced Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, Priebe has already written the second book in the Henry Whiskers series, and has started on the third. While the first book took eight years to complete, she had just nine months and a strict deadline to complete the second. For the third she plans to go someplace quiet for a few weeks to write without distraction. The second book was harder because I had a deadline, Priebe said. It definitely felt more forced. Some days stink ... writing is a lonely experience, and its hard for me. The craft is still very new, but Im learning and I love the challenge. Its really challenging and thats part of what kept me at it. The book is not Priebes first foray into the world of childrens learning. Shes the founder of Norwalks Stepping Stones Museum, though she shies away from the title, calling it awkward. The story behind the book is a little like the story behind the museum, Priebe said. I never consciously set out to start a museum and I never consciously set out to write a book. It happened with a lot of support and teamwork. Stepping Stones opened 17 years ago after about eight years in the making. With input from area parents, educators and museum professionals, Priebe sought to create an interactive museum designed to nurture curiosity and help teach young visitors something about the world around them. Priebe will return to the museum later this month for her first official book signing and launch event, a fitting location for the new author. The Adventures of Henry Whiskers was officially released Monday, and a daylong book release celebration is planned for January 21 at Stepping Stones. The event will begin with a members-only meet and greet from 10 to 11 a.m., followed by a public reception from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Activities include Henry Whiskers mask making, a photo booth, book sales with author signing, a welcome desk display and more. Attendees will also be able to purchase books for themselves, as well as to donate to Circle of Care, a Connecticut nonprofit that provides resources to families with children diagnosed with cancer. A lot of what this place does has very little to do with what happens on the (museum) floor, said Stepping Stones Community Advocacy Director Robert Townes. We do a lot to give back to the community so its great that this can be a part of that mission ... Our mission is also to serve children from birth to 10, and one of the things we have to try harder at is reaching older kids who see the museum as a place for babies. This is definitely helping us to reach that upper age range and engage them. KKrasselt@scni.com; 203-354-1021; @kaitlynkrasselt LUBBOCK - The Texas Department of Transportation is hosting a series of regional public workshops to gain insight from the public regarding the federal Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities program. A Lubbock workshop is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18, at South Plains Association of Governments (SPAG) office, 1323 58th St. During these meetings, which have taken place or will take place across Texas during December and January, the public will have the opportunity to learn about rural public transit from local providers and to provide input. Following presentations from local providers, those present will help identify and prioritize issues and needs facing the transportation program. "The needs of seniors and individuals with disabilities are at the center of the Section 5310 program, so we need input from local stakeholders such as transit users, organizations serving seniors and individuals with disabilities, nonprofit agencies, transit districts, and local governments to help guide Section 5310 funding decisions for the next two years," said Kari Banta, the Section 5310 program manager for TxDOT's Public Transportation Division. Simultaneous meetings at satellite locations will be taking place on a number of the dates. In addition, the meetings will be available over the internet, so the public can listen in and view the presentations, as well as offer input, from their homes or from locations more convenient to them. A schedule of the meetings, as well as instructions for joining via webinar, will be updated regularly on www.txdot.gov , under the Hearings and Meetings Schedule. Additionally, citizens can leave remarks, give input or ask questions via a hotline at 512-360-0668 and take an online survey. The survey link is located on the meetings page. Public transportation provides mobility options, reduces traffic congestion, conserves fuel, improves air quality, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and supports emergency preparedness in the areas it serves. TxDOT promotes and supports public transportation by collaborating with local governments, non-profit entities and other transportation providers. TxDOT provides funding to assist the needs of elderly individuals and persons with disabilities when current transportation service is unavailable, insufficient or inappropriate. If you have accommodation needs, please contact Eric Garcia, public transportation coordinator, at Eric.Garcia@txdot.gov or 432-498-4768. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate More than a year and a half after she was kidnapped from a Vallejo home and tormented for two days an ordeal initially dismissed by police as a hoax Denise Huskins continues to face attacks. Strangers online have kept up a campaign to berate the 31-year-old woman with dehumanizing vitriol, while accusing her of making up the ordeal, despite Vallejo police officials conceding the crime happened, and the suspect being caught and pleading guilty. Huskins and her 31-year-old boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, who was also victimized in the attack, shared a particularly vile message from a stranger on Sunday Just one example of countless messages that I have received, she wrote on Facebook. Are you that horrible lying woman who faked her own kidnapping??? Oh wow you are such a horrible person, the troll wrote in part. You are going to hell for the bull u have done. Id like to slap u a few times. Huskins who said she has post-traumatic stress disorder from the 2015 kidnapping and sexual assaults described her torment after seeing the message. My eyes are sore and red from uncontrollable tears, she wrote. I am thoroughly exhausted, every inch of my body is tired from the fit of terror it was battling. This was his goal, and I couldnt fight it. Congratulations, person I have never met, never heard of who hates me so much that he went out of his way to message me this disgusting, demeaning, dehumanizing outrage. Quinn also posted the message, saying the wave of hate has been inspired by law enforcements flat out lie. Huskins and Quinn filed a federal civil lawsuit against the city of Vallejo and its Police Department in March after investigators accused the couple of making up the home invasion and kidnapping-for-ransom. On March 23, 2015, Huskins disappeared from her boyfriends Mare Island home, causing intense media interest and a sweeping search and manhunt after Quinns bizarre account of the abduction. He said hed been drugged and tied up after at least one masked stranger dressed in black broke into his home in the middle of the night and took Huskins. The kidnapper set up surveillance equipment to monitor him, while demanding two payments of $8,500 for Huskins ransom. Quinn eventually went to police, who accused him of being involved in his girlfriends disappearance. But Huskins later turned up safe near her familys home in Huntington Beach (Orange County), saying shed been driven to Southern California by her captor and released after two days. Upon her return, Vallejo police Lt. Kenny Park held a news conference in front of a bank of national television cameras and accused the couple of making the whole thing up. Given the facts that have been presented thus far, this event appears to be an orchestrated event and not a kidnapping, Park said, adding that the couple owe this community an apology. Vallejo police, though, changed their tune after 39-year-old disbarred San Francisco immigration lawyer Matthew Muller was caught after a similar home invasion in Dublin. Police used a cell phone left at the crime to track down Muller, a Marine and graduate of Harvard Law School, at his parents South Lake Tahoe vacation home, where they found evidence linking him to the Huskins crime. He has since pleaded guilty to kidnapping in Sacramento federal court and awaits sentencing in March. Muller agreed to the plea in exchange for prosecutors not recommending he be sentenced to a prison term longer than 40 years. U.S. District Court Judge Troy Nunley, though, will consider several factors in his decision, which could result in a life sentence for Muller. Huskins in the meantime is looking to the future as 2017 begins while warning others about the power of their words. Lets not meet each other with hate and anger. It truly hurts, she said in her Facebook message. It has profound impact on each others lives, their feelings of safety and self-worth. It doesnt help anyone. Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky Midland County Sheriffs Office A Midland man was arrested Sunday after he was allegedly involved in a wreck that injured a man, according to court documents. Alejandro Medina, 22, was being held Tuesday on a $25,000 bond for a second-degree felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and a $500 bond for a Class B misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated. Police are searching for two men who shot a worker during a robbery at a store late last year along U.S. 59 in northeast Houston. The armed robbery occurred about 2 a.m. Dec. 24 at Katz Boutique at 14707 Eastex Freeway, according to the Houston Police Department. Photos of items abandoned in the desert along the U.S.-Mexico border - a stuffed toy lion, a laminated prayer card, ragged underwear, a small tin of Vicks VapoRub - are poignant in themselves. Knowing that the owners died attempting to enter the U.S. illegally gives their possessions a profound quality. Wednesday is the last day of the Morning Drive radio show as listeners know it. Robert Hallmark and Kurt Verlei are signing off for the last time as a team, calling it quits and moving on to their next challenges -- which likely means waking up a lot later, enjoying more family time and missing their daily conversations with a faithful West Texas community. The Morning Drive with Robert Hallmark and Kurt Verlei on radio station KCRS (AM 550) was not only the No. 1-rated local news talk show, but competed as one of the top local morning programs, no matter the format and no matter the modulation. After 14 years together, Hallmark and Verlei are going out on top. As a duo, Hallmark and Verlei were social media before Twitter and Facebook became a staple with so many. They provided their listeners an opportunity to talk about whatever was on their minds. Many times that topic was politics, bond issues and headlines of the day; other times that meant talking about a fundraiser coming up, family traditions and the not-so-serious. It was the privilege of being invited into a lot of peoples lives, Verlei said. They invited us in. ... Based on the comments I have received, we were an important part of their mornings. It was humbling. It was a trust. It reaffirms why I stay in West Texas. Verlei, 66, plans to remain in the area, teaching his marketing classes at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. He no longer will have to leave evening functions early with his wife, Janace, because of an alarm clock scheduled to go off at 3:30 a.m. I have had a grandchild who put me to bed, Verlei said. There is something fundamentally wrong what that. Hallmark, the constant of the Morning Drive show that actually started 16 years ago, is going to tackle retirement after 42 years in the radio business in places such as Abilene, Waco and Little Rock, Arkansas. He will be 60 this year, and the time is right, he said, for him and his wife, Jill, to move closer to their grandchildren. In 2000 the owners of KCRS gave Hallmark the opportunity to be the morning voice of Midlands oldest radio station -- named after Clarence and Ruth Scharbauer (hence the CRS). Two years later, he was joined by Verlei, a veteran advertising man in the region with very conservative leanings, and the show hit its stride. Fourteen years later, Hallmark is proud that the Morning Drive is still relevant in peoples lives, having provided a place where people feel their opinion still means something. While todays social media age has saturated peoples senses with more information and opinion, Hallmark said the talk-radio format is stronger than ever. Both men said the recent presidential election provided material for the daily conversation with their listeners. Some of that conversation was draining and antagonistic, Hallmark said. The Morning Drive also grew in its reach during the years. Not only is it the flagship local program on KCRS radio, but its parent company -- ICA broadcasting -- also simulcasts the show on one of its TV stations. Along the way, Hallmark and Verlei took the show where its listeners wanted, made intelligent talk a requirement, and even found a way to make polka music mainstream to their listeners with Polka Fridays. I dont envy the person taking our place, Hallmark said. That will be an act to follow no matter what you are doing. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SAN ANTONIO Three people were injured in two separate shootings Monday night on the Northeast Side. In the first incident, a 33-year-old man was shot at about 5:45 p.m. in the back of the Artisan At Salado Falls apartment complex, according to the San Antonio Police Department. Detectives are still investigating what exactly occurred, but police said the man was shot in the back of the complex and drove to the entrance where he collapsed. Investigators said he was grazed by a bullet in the face and hit in the chest by another, which then continued into his arm. He was taken to San Antonio Military Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition, police said, adding that he was awake and talking. Police said they have one suspect they were trying to locate Monday night. The second shooting occurred at about 7:30 p.m. in the parking lot of a restaurant in the 4300 block of Thousand Oaks. A man and woman in their late teens were sitting in their vehicle when a car pulled up alongside them and fired several shots, police said. When officers arrived, they found the woman had been hit in the chest, while the man was struck in the head. Both were taken to San Antonio Military Medical Center, where the boy was listed in critical condition. Police did not have any suspects identified as of Tuesday night. jbeltran@express-news.net Twitter: @JBfromSA As soon as investigators and medical personnel examined the severe injuries of a 1-year-old girl who was reportedly attacked by dogs, they knew her injuries didnt match the story her relatives told authorities, said Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar. The baby, he said, suffered life-threatening injuries consistent with a brutal sexual assault. Police arrested two people in connection with the alleged incident, including the childs relative, Crystal Herrera, and her boyfriend Isaac Andrew Cardenas. Cardenas, 23, was being held on a charge of super aggravated sexual assault. Bail was set at $300,000. Authorities said Herrera, 22, was providing false information to keep detectives from finding out what occurred. She was booked in the Bexar County Jail on a charge of injury to a child by omission. I cant even begin to describe to you the level of depravity that went into this crime, Salazar said. Its a horrendous case. Police said Herrera called 911 at 9 a.m. Saturday, saying the girl had wandered out of their South Bexar County home in the middle of the night and was attacked by dogs. But as detectives spoke to Herrera and Cardenas, they noticed their stories didnt add up, Salazar said. Later, Bexar County animal control officers told police that the dogs they were sent to pick up showed no aggression. Medical personnel examining the childs injuries quickly determined she had suffered life-threatening stab wounds. Authorities said the stab wounds on her upper body and private parts were nonaccidental. Ive got seasoned detectives and emergency room personnel that have all agreed that this is one of the worst cases theyve seen, Salazar said during his first news conference since being sworn in as sheriff. This is one of those cases, Ill be honest with you, its something that I havent even seen the pictures, I dont want to see the pictures, Salazar said. Its been described to me and just imagining it is enough to chill any of us. The child was transported to University Hospital, where she was in stable condition Tuesday. You cant even imagine what would possess somebody to do something like this to anyone, much less an innocent child thats totally defenseless, Salazar said. Salazar said detectives are looking into any history of abuse of the girl, who is to be put in the custody of Child Protective Services. A child this small to suffer these types of injuries shes going to carry this with her for the rest of her life, physically, emotionally, and also as a family he said. Its a heartbreaking case. jbeltran@express-news.net Twitter: @JBfromSA A statue of Deng Shichang at a memorial in Changchun, Jilin province. [Photo/VCG] Beiyang (literally meaning "the northern ocean") Fleet was established by the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in 1871 as one of four modernized regional navies when the dynasty faced a crisis and launched a series of reforms. Though it was the weakest among the four, the Beiyang Fleet got a big boost when Viceroy Li Hongzhang allotted funding to it in the 1880s. By the eve of the First Sino-Japanese War, it was in theory the most powerful fleet in Asia, with two battleships, eight cruisers, six gunboats, four torpedo boats and more auxiliary ships. Except for one cruiser that was manufactured in Fujian province, all the remaining major ships in the fleet were built in Newcastle and Birkenhead in England, and Stettin in Germany (present-day Szczecin in Poland). British navy officers were hired to supervise training. However, in the Battle of Yalu River, the fleet suffered heavy losses. Five ships, including Zhiyuan, sank and three were severely damaged. The fleet was finally annihilated in the aftermath of the Battle of Weihaiwei, lasting from Jan 20 to Feb 12, 1895, in Shandong province. That defeat also led China to lose the First Sino-Japanese War. Most of the surviving ships of the Beiyang Fleet were taken by Japan as war booty. Many officers in the fleet had a Western education. For example, Deng Shichang once attended a missionary school in Shanghai, and Chen Jinkui participated in a government-sponsored program to study in the United States for six years. Some other officers even had naval experience in the United Kingdom. Astronomy in the Park with the San Antonio Astronomical Association starts at 5:30 p.m. in the parking lot at Raymond Rimkus Park, 6440 Evers Road. Come learn about the night sky. Open to the public. Its believe to be the longest running free public star party in the San Antonio metro area. If the weather is iffy, check the groups Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SanAntonioAstronomy/ Contact: 262-8384 San Antonio League of Sidewalk Astronomers will set up telescopes for public use 6 p.m.-8 p.m. at Great Northwest Library, 9050 Wellwood. Weather permitting. Contact: 207-9210 Thursday, January 5 Second Chances Thrift Shop, which benefits the Helotes Humane Society, is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at its new location, 10671 Shaenfield Road. Volunteers are needed; donations are welcome. Some items cant be accepted, however, See list at hhsanimals.org Contact: 372-1255 Friday, January 6 Lions Club Bingo is at 7 p.m. at the Helotes Lions Club, 14690 Bandera Road, on the east side of the highway between Floores Country Store and El Chaparral. Contact: 695-2356 Saturday, January 7 Hike the Protected Habitat Area at Government State Canyon Natural Area 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Members of the Activities Committees of the Friends of Government Canyon and Trail Patrol members lead a hike to the protected habitat of the canyon. Must be at least 14 years old and physically able tohike 12 to 13 miles over broken, rocky terrian with a good portion of elevation gain and loss. Dress in layers appropriate for the weather. Carry at least 3 liters of water per person, snacks, lunch, sunscreen, hat and raingear. Participation is limited; reservations are required. Deadline is noon Jan. 6. Reserve online at friendsofgc.org/events/ Contact: 688-9055 MarketPlace at Old Helotes is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at 14391 Riggs Road. The family friendly event features all kinds of artisans selling their unique jewelery, crafts, artwork, clothing, food items and more. And theres plenty of good food and drink, too. For a booth map, go tohttp://www.helotesmarketplace Safe a life: Donate blood at Igo Library,13330 Kyle Seale Parkway, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. The Southwest Blood & Tissue Center will have its bloodmobile set up in the parking lot. Must be at least 17 and weigh at least 110 pounds. Contact: 207-9080 Sunday, January 8 San Antonio Heartwarmers: Blankets for Critters meets 2 p.m.-4 p.m. at Great Northwest Library, 9050 Wellwood. Join the group that gets together once a month to sew, knit, crochet and/or knot blankets for rescue dogs. Its a good way to do help the pups and make new like-minded friends. Any materials you bring would be appreciated. Contact: 207-9210 Lions Club Bingo is at 2 p.m. at the Helotes Lions Club, 14690 Bandera Road, on the east side of the highway between Floores Country Store and El Chaparral. Contact: 695-2356 John T. Floores Country Store, 14492 Old Bandera Road, is closed today. Contact: 695-8827 Coming up Ladies Night Out in Old Town Helotes, 14391 Riggs Road, takes the fun to the streets Jan. 11. Shops are open late tonight and there will be food trucks, live music and free wine. Affordable Care Act assistance will be provided 1-5:30 p.m. Jan. 11 at Cody Library, 11441 Vance Jackson, by certified navigators from the Daughters of Charity Services of San Antonio. By appointment; call 790-5584 or 334-2335. Contact: 207-9100 Hike the Government Canyon State Natural Area, 8:30 a.m.-noon Jan. 14. Friends of Government Canyon and the Sierra Club jointly lead the group on one of the many trails in the area. Hike ranges from 4 to 7 miles, depending on the group; wear sturdy footwear for hiking over rough terrain. Open to ages 13 and older; minors must be accompanied by an adult. No pets. Bring two liters of water per person and a snack. Be at the Visitor Center, 12861 Galm Road, no later than 8:15 a.m. to give you time to pay the entryee and be ready for the hike, which starts promptly at 8:30 a.m. Contact: 688-9055, ext. 2009 An Unknown Country: The Jewish Exiles of Ecuador, a documentary, will be shown at 2 p.m. Jan. 14 at Great Northwest Library, 9050 Wellwood. The film tells the story of European Jews who fled persecution in Nazi Germany to find refuge in the South American country. After the film, Eva Balcazar, who was in Berlin during the Night of Broken Glass (Kristallnacht) in 1938 will talk about her familys escape to Ecuador. Contact: 207-9210 Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be celebrated Jan. 16. Most federal, state, county and city offices, including public libraries, will be closed. Wine to Coffee Art Walk is 4 p.m.-9 p.m. Jan. 21 in Old Town Helotes, 14743 Old Bandera Road. Stroll between Wine 1010 Wine & Tapas Bar and The Cracked Mug coffee house, enjoying wine, coffee, art and crafts. Meet the artists! Contact: KTCAwinetocoffee@gmail.com All numbers have a 210 area code unless otherwise noted. To have your event listed, send the details, including date, time, place and contact phone number, to dfuentes@express-news.net SAN ANTONIO A 38 year-old man who was found deceased at a motel Sunday on the West Side has been identified by the medical examiners office. Mario Hernandez died of blunt and sharp force injuries in a homicide that occurred sometime before 8:30 a.m. Sunday in a room at the Camino Vista Motel in the 400 block of Enrique M. Barrera Parkway. Courtesy/Grapevine Police Department Grapevine police are searching for a man who donned an employee vest as he stole from a Wal-mart store in November, they said. A man wearing a black, long sleeve T-shirt entered a Wal-mart store on State Highway 114 Nov. 21 northwest of Dallas and proceeded to take two baskets full of merchandise, according to a Grapevine Police Department news release. At one point, the man put on a blue, Wal-Mart employee vest. He was driving a black Dodge Ram at the time, police said. The holiday season is enjoyed a little differently in the Land Down Under. A small town in Queensland, Australia spent New Year's Eve worrying about an 11-foot crocodile that had wandered into a residential area. California has gone rogue. More specifically, Democrats in the Golden State have turned renegade against the federal government. Like spoiled children upset that they didnt get their way, they insist they will not follow any order from Washington that they disagree with. As a Generation Xer who majored in American history in college, I always wanted to live in the 1960s. Now Im there. The New West has become the Old South. With a new president threatening to get tough on illegal immigration, California Democrats are blocking the jailhouse door. The day after the election, state Senate leader Kevin de Leon and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon vowed to fight Donald Trump at every turn. Yes, you must be careful with the unpleasantness of democracy. Other lawmakers have announced bills that would provide publicly funded attorneys to defend illegal immigrants, refuse to help the federal government compile a registry of Muslim immigrants, and prohibit cities and counties from contracting with private companies to detain immigrants. How do you like that? If Democrats from the Left Coast wanted to act like a president, they should have put in for the job. All they had to do was challenge Hillary Clinton for the partys nomination and endure the underhanded dirty tricks that torpedoed Bernie Sanders. Still, there is a palpable fear in immigrant communities in California and around the country that the Trump administration will attack them, divide them, pick on them, turn them into scapegoats all because of politics. But where have these folks been? Those communities have been ravaged for the last eight years by President Barack Obama who to please blue-collar workers who hate competing with immigrants for jobs broke his promise to deliver immigration reform, deported nearly 3 million people, and broke up hundreds of thousands of families. For an encore, Obama indefinitely locked up Central American refugees mostly women and children in detention facilities without access to legal counsel. As this horror was unfolding, most liberals said nothing. At least one of those refugee camps was in California, and I remember when a group of state legislators was given a tour. One Latina lawmaker told a reporter how disturbing it was. Yet given that Obama was essentially the landlord of those properties, she wasnt disturbed enough to publicly condemn the leader of her own party. But when Trump was elected president, everything changed. This being the home of Hollywood, Democrats are casting themselves as the saviors of immigrants and acting like they care about people theyve never cared about. California is ready for its close-up. It wants to be the un-Trump, the anti-Trump, the counterweight to anything that even hints of Trump. The president-elect has scaled down his vision for a big beautiful wall, acknowledging now that it wont cover the entire length of the border (nearly 2,000 miles) and that itll probably be a wall-fence hybrid. In other words, Trump voters who are counting on concrete and barbed wire to make America white again should brace themselves for what theyll probably get: Wall Lite. California Democrats arent about to let pass the opportunity to make political points of their own with Latinos, immigration reformers, liberals, Trump haters by drawing a line in the sand over the wall. So theyve proposed a bill that would prevent the federal government from building a wall along the California portion of the U.S.-Mexico border without the approval of California voters. The idea is loony and a little late. At that portion of the border, you already see triple fencing and other barriers that were installed by Democratic presidents Obama and Bill Clinton with no objection from California Democrats. Thanks to the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, Americans know how this movie ends. When state officials tangle with the federal government, they tend to lose. For those of us who believe in federalism, thats a good thing. ruben@rubennavarrette.com SEBEWAING This fall, 35 Unionville-Sebewaing Area FFA members raised 100 chickens from when they were tiny chicks to the dinner table. They decided to give back to their community, and donated 200 meals through the chickens to the Trinity United Methodist Church Caring and Sharing Program. The Trinity United Methodist Church is located in Sebewaing, and uses the food and monetary donations they receive from the community to make presents and meal boxes to give away to around 100 local families that need a little extra help during the holiday season, according to information submitted to the Tribune. The USA FFA decided this past summer that they wanted to make a larger difference in their community during the 2016-2017 school year. "At the beginning of the year, we decided to make a bigger effort to give back to the community, and found a great opportunity to turn the chickens into a way to help families in need within the area," said USA FFA Chapter President Chelsea Faber. WILTON A Wilton man is facing drunken driving charges after officers saved him from a burning vehicle back in November, police said. Hunter Stanfield, 26, surrendered himself to police on Jan. 3 on charges of operating a vehicle while under the influence and for failure to drive in the proper lane. He posted the $5,000 bond, and is expected in court on Jan. 13. The charges stem from an incident where six Wilton officers teamed together to save Stanfield from the burning wreckage after he crashed his car into trees along New Canaan Road. Upon arriving at the scene, Sgt. Arnault Baker, Sgt. David Hartman, Sgt. Gregg Phillipson and officers Mark Canepari, Brandon Harris and Malcolm Hayes found Stanfield trapped in the drivers seat of a 2001 Range Rover with fire quickly spreading from the cars engine to the cabin. After attempting to open the front doors of the vehicle to no avail, the officers gained access to the cars cabin by opening up the back hatch and rear doors of the vehicle. However, once in the vehicle, the officers struggled to free Stanfield. More for you Wilton police save man from burning vehicle As Hartman and Phillipson worked on freeing Stanfield from the front seat, four more officers, as well as fire trucks from both Wilton and New Canaan fire departments arrived on scene. Despite the officers best efforts, however, Stanfield remained trapped in the seat as the fire quickly spread from the engine basin to the cabin of the vehicle. Stanfield, who was incapacitated by the accident, was unable to assist the officers police said. As fire fighters fought to keep the advancing fire at bay, the officers combined their efforts to extricate Stanfield and, at last, just as the officers said that the fire began to break out in the cars cabin, he was finally pried free the drivers seat. As police and emergency services administered first aid to the driver, the entire car burst into flames, police said. They saved his life, theres no question about that, Lynch said of the officers heroism. It was a very intense, emotionally draining experience, but the end result compensates for that. Stanfield was transported to Norwalk Hospital with minor injuries. Lynch said that he suffered some cuts from the being trapped in the car, but suffered no physical burns. In his efforts to free Stanfields legs, Hartman cut open his hand on some of the cars debris and inadvertently inhaled some of the extinguisher fluid. He went to Norwalk Hospital as a precaution, but checked out okay. ptomlinson@hearstmediact.com; (203) 354-1046; Tomlinson_PE Li Chen's representative work, The Border Town, is adapted from a novel by Shen Congwen. [Photo provided to China Daily] Like many of his peers born in the 1960s, Li Chen was a fan of Chinese picture books in his childhood. "I think all Chinese people of our generation were nourished by picture books," says Li, who clearly remembers exchanging picture books with his friends and borrowing books from stands for a few cents when he was a child. However, unlike most adults who eventually abandoned picture books, Li chose to become an illustrator, telling Chinese stories with a pencil and paper. His debut serial pictures work, Premier Zhou Enlai at Meiyuan New Village, was shown at an exhibition of arts in his hometown city, Yingkou, Liaoning province, when he was still in high school. In 1979, when he was 16, Li joined the army and mainly served as a projectionist. After leaving the army, he went to study in the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, and graduated in 1983. Then he was assigned to work in several institutions, including the National Police University of China and Liaoning Administrators College of Police and Justice. "I kept painting through those years," says Li. Now a professor at the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts and deputy director of Chinese Serial-Picture Art Council, Li is an advocate of serial pictures on an easel. "Picture books are just one form of serial pictures. Serial pictures can also be displayed at the easel and in exhibitions. Compared with picture books, easel serial pictures are richer in representation and more delicate," Li explains at the 4th Easel Serial Pictures Art Exhibition, which was launched in Dalian in November and toured Beijing in December. He was the curator of the exhibition. 1 Impeachment trial: South Koreas Constitutional Court formally opened President Park Geun-hyes impeachment trial on Tuesday, despite the absence of Park, whose lawyers said she was unlikely to attend any of the proceedings. The nine-member court has until June to decide whether Park, whose powers have been suspended since the National Assembly voted on Dec. 9 to impeach her over a corruption scandal, will be reinstated or removed from office. By law, Park cannot be compelled to testify. If she declines to appear for a second time, the court can proceed without her. Park has been accused of conspiring with a longtime friend and confidante, Choi Soon-sil, to extort $69 million from South Korean businesses. 2 Britain police shooting: An investigation has been started after British police fatally shot a man during an operation in which five other people were arrested. West Yorkshire police said the operation related to information received about criminal possession of a firearm, and was not related to terrorism. The man who was killed was identified as 27-year-old Mohammed Yassar Yaqub of Huddersfield. His family issued a statement through a lawyer saying they are in shock and distraught. Police shootings are rare in Britain and there is an automatic investigation when someone is killed. Britain's Queen Elizabeth stands on Horse Guards Parade during the ceremonial welcome for Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, and his wife, Maria Clemencia Rodriguez de Santos, in central London, Britain in this November 1, 2016 file photo. [Photo/Agencies] LONDON - Britain's Queen Elizabeth will not attend a New Year's Day church service on Sunday because of a heavy cold, Buckingham Palace said in a statement. "The Queen does not yet feel ready to attend church as she is still recuperating from a heavy cold," the statement said. The 90-year-old monarch had already missed a church service on Christmas Day. A GROUP of war veterans opposed to Zanu PF rule has given thumbs up to opposition MDC Alliance presidential candidate, Nelson Chamisas pledge to improve the welfare of former combatants, saying the youthful opposition leader had politically matured and risen above partisan politics. The Non-Partisan Freedom Fighters (NPFF) in a communique last week, castigated their colleagues in the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA), particularly spokesperson Douglas Mahiya for exhibiting partisan political conduct and failing to address former combatants concerns. As freedom fighters, we categorically dissociate ourselves from utterances of the ZNLWVA spokesperson Douglas Mahiya who in the course of a recent political debate, admonished presidential aspirant Nelson Chamisa for allegedly meddling with issues concerning the welfare of war veterans, when it is common knowledge that those issues were patently and pertinently matters within the realm of public policy, part of the communique read. The NPFF is made up of former Zipra and Zanla top commanders who include Happyson Nenhi, whose liberation war name was Webster Gwauya, Bernard Manyadza (alias Parker Chipoyera), Ngoni Chitauro, Cyprus Tshuma and Thomas Ndlovu, among others. Chamisa last month promised to address the welfare of the former freedom fighters if he is voted into power in the July 30 elections but immediately drew the wrath of the Zanu PF-aligned ZNLWVA that has openly declared its allegiance to President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Mahiya accused Chamisa of seeking political relevance by meddling in war veterans issues. The NPFF castigated the stance taken by some top Zanu PF officials that they would not recognise a victory by an opposition presidential candidate. The war combatants also urged the military to respect the Constitution and refuse to be dragged into Zanu PF partisan politics The re-incarnation of these ill-conceived and frivolous political machinations which are manifest in statements made by prominent members of the ruling elite, deputy Finance minister Terrence Mukupe, Masvingo Provincial Affairs minister Josaya Hungwe and Zanu PF commissar Engelbert Rugeje, insinuating military intervention by armed forces on behalf of the ruling party are cause for concern and should be condemned in strongest terms The averments that remind the nation about the regrettable comments attributed to the late General Vitalis Zvinavashe that implied the Office of the President in Zimbabwe was a preserve for those with liberation war credentials the strait jacket mantra are not only mischievous but should be viewed as unconstitutional and prosecutable, the war veterans said. NewsDay Breaking News via Email High value banknotes in the offingRBZ to drip feed $50, $100 & $200 denominations THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) will soon introduce a new set of higher denomination banknotes to increase physical money supply, curb cash shortages and improve transacting convenience. Authorities have approved the introduction, into circulation, of new $50, $100 and $200 banknotes this year. Our Harare Bureau has gathered that the $50 note will be introduced first, while plans to introduce the other notes are still in the works. Designs of the new $50 dollar note are awaiting the Presidents approval before printing can commence. Zimbabwe has $2, $5, $10 and $20 notes in circulation. Transacting using these notes has become cumbersome, with huge wads of cash now required to complete small transactions due to inflation. Cash shortages have triggered queues at banks and an illegal market where premiums are charged to convert electronic money into cash. The shortages have also created a multi-tier pricing system where prices of a single product differ depending on the customers mode of payment. Introduction of the new notes is expected to enhance convenience to the transacting public and eliminate the illegal cash market. Stability of the Zimbabwean dollar over the last six months has also reinforced authorities confidence that the value of the new notes will not be wiped away by inflation. Inflation has been falling gradually since mid-last year following a raft of interventions by authorities to protect the value of the local unit from speculative behaviour in the market. Currently, around $1,4 billion in cash is circulating up from around $400 million a year and half ago. RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya did not respond to questions from our Harare Bureau while his deputy Dr Kupukile Mlambo said he was on leave. A member of the RBZ Monetary Policy Committee, Mr Eddie Cross, said the new notes will be introduced shortly. The only new note which is due to come in shortly is the $50 note and Im not certain when that is going to be available but it is in the process of preparation, he said. There are already plans to introduce some higher denomination notes this year. Some time ago we made a decision in the MPC to introduce new $200, $100 and $$50 dollar notes. I understand that this is being dealt with by the Governor working with the President because the President has to approve the designs and everything else. But I understand that the $50 note will be available early in the New Year. Mr Cross said the new notes will be drip-fed into circulation throughout the year. It has also been learnt that the Central Bank is mulling decommissioning small denomination coins, whose value has been wiped by inflation with most retailers now refusing to accept them. Mr Cross said soiled notes will also be gradually removed from circulation. What I am concerned more about is the proliferation of spoiled notes which are unfit for distribution and use, he said. I think the Reserve Bank should start removing them from the market and replace them with new notes. In terms of decommissioning it means we should decommission all of the coins for example and replace them. The difficulty with all of that is having adequate physical currency to replace them, and as long as we have got shortages of cash in the marketplace, it will be difficult. So its on the agenda and its being discussed but there are logistical problems. Mr Cross said the $1,4 billion currently in circulation represents a small percentage of the money in the economy. There are much more US dollars in circulation than there are Zimbabwean dollars. A lecturer in the Department of Economics at the University of Zimbabwe, Mr Edgar Muhoyi, said higher denomination notes will improve transacting convenience. What higher denomination notes will do is that they will increase transacting convenience, said Mr Muhoyi. For example the price of a loaf of bread is around $90 while the highest denomination we have is the $20 note. This means that one would need not less than five $20 notes to buy a loaf of bread. But if we have higher denomination notes like a $50 note, then such a transaction can be done using just two notes. The other thing the RBZ should look at when they introduce these higher denomination notes is to increase the individual withdrawal limits so that one does not need to go to the bank regularly. He said the cash shortages should be addressed by injecting more physical cash into the market. In my opinion, the issue of cash shortages is not about the shortage of higher denomination notes; it is about the amount of physical cash in the economy. Money supply in the market has not been adequate and this will not be addressed by injecting higher denomination notes. This can only be addressed by the quantity of money in the economy. The RBZ should inject a proportion of money which is equivalent to a certain percentage of the countrys Gross Domestic Product into the economy and this will be a better way of addressing the cash shortages. SundayNews Breaking News via Email Later this month, the fast-casual chain will no longer accept cash for payment, relying completely on plastic payments and digital ordering. NEW YORK Fast-casual salad chain Sweetgreen is making a bold move to go completely cashless in 2017, reports Business Insider. Sweetgreen, which has roughly 60 locations in the Northeast and California, will soon accept payment only via its app or credit/debit card. Beginning January 18, all locations in New York, California, Illinois and Pennsylvania will stop accepting cash, while locations in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., will go cashless in March. Boston, where state laws require businesses to accept cash, will be exempt from the new policy. The news source notes that Sweetgreen is one of the largest chains in the United States to abandon cash payments, but the company doesnt believe the switch will affect too many customers: cash purchases make up less than 10% of Sweetgreen sales. Going cashless "started with an imperative that we've always had at Sweetgreen: How do we simplify things?" Sweetgreen cofounder Jonathan Neman told Business Insider, noting that the company began testing its cashless theory at six locations in January 2016and with success. Neman added that by cutting cash transactions, they could reduce theft/robbery, as well as speed up service by 10% because staff didnt have to spend time counting money. Sweetgreen also sees cashless as a way to enhance its online and mobile ordering. The news source notes that customers who rely on digital ordering make up 30% of the chains sales. However, refusing cash does have its downsides. Business Insider notes that the biggest obstacle will be educating consumers on the new policy, and making sure employees are trained to communicate to cash-carrying customers why it will no longer be accepted as a viable payment option. Furthermore, about 7% of the U.S. population is bankless, meaning Sweetgreen could be viewed as refusing to serve this group of potential customers. Neman commented that Sweetgreen hopes to address this issue through community outreach, and exploring new store formats that fit different customers needs. Other initiatives in the works at Sweetgreen include increasing online orders, launching an app that is more focused on engagement, and collecting data that allows for greater knowledge on everything from kitchen prep to customer preferences, notes the news source. By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Spoiler alert: Yes, it may, owing to what would charitably be called ambiguity in the drafting, and yes, it does, because powers granted to the Acts Global Engagement Center apply to U.S. citizens on US soil who work in media. To be fair, the sponsors of the Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act (the Act) say differently, so lets hear from them first. The Act was written by Rob Portman (R-OH) and co-sponsored by Chris Murphy (D-CT). From Portmans press release on the Act: WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) today announced that their Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act legislation designed to help American allies counter foreign government propaganda from Russia, China, and other nations has passed the Senate as part of the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Conference Report. The bipartisan bill, which was introduced by Senators Portman and Murphy in March, will improve the ability of the United States to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation by establishing an interagency center housed at the State Department to coordinate and synchronize counter-propaganda efforts throughout the U.S. government. To support these efforts, the bill also creates a grant program for NGOs, think tanks, civil society and other experts outside government who are engaged in counter-propaganda related work. This will better leverage existing expertise and empower local communities to defend themselves from foreign manipulation. And, a week after the Act was passed and the ruckus kicked up on numerous small web outlets, Chris Murphy: The United States wouldnt be picking the messaging. The United States wouldnt be censoring anyones newspaper or web site, Murphy said. We simply would be offering to help other countries in their efforts to produce more independent journalism to counter this Russian propaganda narrative. The legislation puts the State Department in the business of funding overseas news sites in hopes that could counter fake news propagated in their countries, such as a false story that President-elect Donald J. Trump hung up on the presidents of the Baltic nations. U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said Tuesday that passage last week of a bipartisan measure he co-sponsored will strengthen the U.S. governments ability to track and combat disinformation and propaganda overseas, especially by Russia. So, the Global Engagement Center will have no domestic effects at all. Its all about other countries. Thats what Portman and Murphy say. But what does the Act say? Lets take a look. Portmans original, standalone bill (S.3274 Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act bill) was folded into S.2943 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, signed by Obama on December 23, at SEC. 1287. Global Engagement Center. Drafting Ambiguities in the Purpose of the Global Engagement Center Section 1287(2) of the Act establishes the Centers purpose: (2) PURPOSE.The purpose of the Center shall be to lead, synchronize, and coordinate efforts of the Federal Government to recognize, understand, expose, and counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts aimed at undermining United States national security interests. There are two ambiguities here. The first and most obvious: Does the adjective foreign apply (a) only to state propaganda, or (b) to state and non-state propaganda? Some readers chose (b), but my reading was (a), probably because I took foreign state for a noun phrase, and so dont distribute the adjective foreign over both state and non-state. In other words, if the statute were to mean foreign state and [foreign] non-state propaganda, I feel that the drafters would have written foreign state and foreign non-state propaganda. And fortunately, in my quest for the meaning of non-state actor (which well get to in a moment) I found an example where drafters did exactly that. From H.R.4681 Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015: Report.Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National Intelligence shall submit to the congressional intelligence committees, the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives a report on the threat posed by man-made electromagnetic pulse weapons to United States interests through 2025, including threats from foreign countries and foreign non-state actors. That is, because the drafters meant foreign countries and foreign non-state actors, they did not write foreign countries and non-state actors, as did the drafters of the Act. So, if non-state progaganda can be produced by domestic entities, then clearly the Act does not apply only in other countries, as Senator Murphy would have it, and, contra Snopes, could very well apply to American independent or alternative media. The second ambiguity is the source of the propaganda which, after all, has to come from somewhere. The origin of state propaganda is clear: The state. But what is the origin of non-state propaganda? There must be an agent somewhere, and in an attempt to discover that agent, I searched legislation (both proposed and enacted) for the usage of the phrase non-state actor. In most cases, non-state actor is never defined. In the context of nuclear proliferation, non-state actors are presumbly the sort of terrorist (or international terrorist) organization that would wish to acquire a nuclear weapon. In the context of the Israeli-Palestian conflict, non-state actors are organizations like Hamas or Hezbollah; in Syria, non-state actors can be vetted. Non-state actors can also be international criminal groups, and paramilitary groups. Besides recognized terrorist groups, non-state actors can also be individuals, mobs, vigilante groups, anti-government insurgents, [and] militant organizations. Clearly, the meaning of non-state actor is elastic. I found the following three definitions. (There are others, but it seems to me that the definitions that matter when consturing the law of the United States come from the law of the United States.) From an early version of the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act: (11) non-state actor .The term non-state actor means a nonsovereign entity that (A) exercises significant political power and territorial control; (B) is outside the control of a sovereign government; and (C) often employs violence in pursuit of its objectives.; Since none of those numerous small web outlets control any territory, they are clearly not non-state actors, hence are not within the scope of the Act. The second, from a less restrictive version of the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act: (11) non-state actor .The term non-state actor means a non-sovereign entity that exercises significant political power and is able to exert influence at a national or international level but does not belong to or ally itself to any particular country and often employs illegal violence in pursuit of its objectives.; This definition probably does not apply to any of those numerous small web outlets, depending on the meaning of significant political power. (It might apply to WikiLeaks, though.) And the third definition, from H.R.1323 Shahbaz Bhatti International Religious Freedom Act of 2015: (14) non-state actor .The term non-state actor means any entity outside of government, including an extremist group or terrorist organization.. This definition, the least restructive, clearly does apply to, for example, Naked Capitalism, since NC is any entity outside of goverment (i.e., the whole of civil society). At this point, its worth noting that some legislation requires the President to list non-state actors formally. S.3117 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2017 (e) Designation of non-state actor s.The President shall, concurrent with the annual foreign country review required by section 402(b)(1) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)(1)), review and identify any non-state actor s in such countries that have engaged in particularly severe violations of religious freedom, and designate, in a manner consistent with such Act, each such group as a non-state actor of particular concern for religious freedom operating in such reviewed country or surrounding region: Provided, That whenever the President designates such a non-state actor under this subsection, the President shall, as soon as practicable after the designation is made, submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees detailing the reasons for such designation. The Act does no such thing. So, summarizing, we can certainly build a case that the Act applies domestically to alternative media. First, there is a colorable claim that the Act is intended to apply to non-state actors whether foreign or not; and second, there is a colorable claim that the alternative media, as entities within civil society, are non-state actors.[1] Domestic Data Collection and Domestic Funding by the Global Engagement Center Lets look at the functions of the Global Engagement Center. From the Act: (b) Functions.The Center shall carry out the following functions: (1) Integrate interagency and international efforts to track and evaluate counterfactual narratives abroad that threaten the national security interests of the United States and United States allies and partner nations. Regardless of whether maintaining a Chinese Wall between counter-factual narratives abroad and counterfactual narratives that reach the shores of the United States for example, that the British government has learned of yellowcake uranium in the Iraq WMDs disinformation campaign note that narratives abroad is qualified with abroad. I would argue that means that functionality not so qualified can be performed domestically. (2) Analyze relevant information, data, analysis, and analytics from United States Government agencies, United States allies and partner nations, think tanks, academic institutions, civil society groups, and other nongovernmental organizations. Since relevant information, data, analysis, and analytics is not qualified with foreign or abroad, that means the information can be American, including American media. (Which makes sense if you want to track information propagation, or counter it, but gives the lie to the assertion that the Act does not apply to American independent or alternative media.) (3) As needed, support the development and dissemination of fact-based narratives and analysis to counter propaganda and disinformation directed at the United States and United States allies and partner nations. The argument above applies here. (10) Maintain, collect, use, and disseminate records (as such term is defined in section 552a(a)(4) of title 5, United States Code) for research and data analysis of foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts and communications related to public diplomacy efforts intended for foreign audiences. Such research and data analysis shall be reasonably tailored to meet the purposes of this paragraph and shall be carried out with due regard for privacy and civil liberties guidance and oversight. Here is 5 U.S. Code 552a Records maintained on individuals: (4) the term record means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, his education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and that contains his name, or the identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a finger or voice print or a photograph; Readers, Ill leave you to imagine what the Global Engagement Center is going to do with your financial records, and what reasonably tailored and due regard might mean. But Ill again point out that this function gives the lie to the assertion that the Act does not apply to American independent or alternative media.) Now lets follow the money. There is an Information Access Fund: (1) AUTHORITY FOR GRANTS.The Center is authorized to provide grants or contracts of financial support to civil society groups, media content providers, nongovernmental organizations, federally funded research and development centers, private companies, or academic institutions for the following purposes: Note again theres no foreign or abroad qualifier. So even if one grants that the purpose of the Act applies to foreign non-state actors as well as foreign states (which I regard as at best not proven), nothing says that money cant go to domestic non-state actors to study foreign propaganda[2]. Indeed, federally funded research and development centers says as much. Therefore, the Act dangles the pleasant prospect before American media content providers the Times, for example, or even Jeff Bezoss vanity project of being funded for the purposes listed.[3] (A) To support local independent media who are best placed to refute foreign disinformation and manipulation in their own communities. Note theres no foreign or abroad qualifier on local. (B) To collect and store examples in print, online, and social media, disinformation, misinformation, and propaganda directed at the United States and its allies and partners. Note again the lack of a qualifier. The Center could store every post from every outlet on PropOrNots defamatory list, and get Federal funding for it. (D) To support efforts by the Center to counter efforts by foreign entities to use disinformation, misinformation, and propaganda to influence the policies and social and political stability of the United States and United States allies and partner nations. Counter how? The origin of the information might be foreign, but the counter might well be domestic. I suspect Obamas head of the OMB, Cass Sunstein, would have some suggestions: See his paper on cognitive infiltration here, and Glenn Greenwalds commentary. Obviously, if small web outlets with comments sections were cognitively infiltrated by paid trolls, that could have a severe impact on the quality of their communities and sucking up management time that would be better spent delivering product, with both factors combining to decrease profitability, and making it even harder for independent media to survive. This, too, would give the lie to the assertion that the Act does not apply to American independent or alternative media.) Conclusion A careful reading of the Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act shows there is good reason to fear an impact on American independent or alternative media. As these numerous small web outlets are non-state actors, the Act can be colorably construed to apply to them, and many of the Acts functions and funding opportunities impact them. Maintaining Records on US Citizens NOTES [1] Snopes writes: Numerous small web outlets inaccurately asserted that President Obama signed a Christmas bill criminalizing alternative media in December 2016. The provision is aimed at countering foreign sources of disinformation and does not apply to American independent or alternative media. Snopes, at least as far as whats on the page goes, did not check the wording of the statute; it relied only claims from the authors of the bill. [2] Had Clinton won the election, the Act might well have been entitled The Correct the Record Rice Bowl Act of 2016. [3] One can imagine more defamatory stories like the Posts on PropOrNot being funded under the aegis of counting false narratives. The mind reels, as will the numerous small web outlets being given the Posts treatment, again giving the lie to the assertion that the Act does not apply to American independent or alternative media.) APPENDIX I: State Actors in the Law By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Readers, weve been having intermittent outage problems today, and as a result, I am behind (and the last post was behind). Please check back in an hour, and in the meantime, talk amongst yourselves! lambert UPDATE Here ya go. lambert Politics Our Famously Free Press For those who came in late to the whole fake news thing, heres a link on the White House Iraq Group, the marketing arm of the White House whose purpose was to sell the 2003 invasion of Iraq to the public. And heres WaPos story on the same topic, five (5) years later: Two days later, WHIGs product placement was on display. It began with a front-page story in the Times describing Iraqs clandestine purchase of aluminum tubes that, the story said, could be used to produce weapons-grade uranium. The story said that information came from senior administration officials.' The aluminum tubes story was, naturally, fake; see here for Lie by Lie: A Timeline of How We Got Into Iraq (see 8/17/02, 9/19/02, Oct 2002, 10/4/02, 1/9/03, 1/24/03, and 1/28/03). Russian government hackers do not appear to have targeted Vermont utility, say people close to investigation [WaPo]. Yeah, people like the utility itself, as we pointed out Friday. How The Washington Posts Defense Of Its Russian Hacking Story Unraveled Through Web Archiving [Forbes]. he Post not only did not fact check the story until after it was published live on its website, but in its defense of the story, the Post made a number of false statements about what was written when, which the Internet Archives Wayback Machine reveals. In fact, it was not until an hour after publication, somewhere between 8:47PM and 9:24PM that the Post finally updated its story to include the statement above that it had contacted the two utilities for comment. The Post lies like a rug. Im shocked. Trump Transition Republicans are to drop a plan to gut the independent body that investigates political misconduct, after an outcry [BBC]. President-elect Donald Trump had criticised Republicans after they voted to strip the Office of Congressional Ethics of its independence. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! Mr Trump said in a tweet. Well, well. Then again: He isnt telling congressional Republicans to save the OCE. Hes telling them to gut it later, under the cover of bigger news [The New Republic]. Quite possibly. But to me, the important part of the story is that hes telling them. 2016 Post Mortem Democrats, stop blaming Putin and look in the mirror [Will Bunch, Philadelphia Daily News]. [U]ltimately, the real reformers and anti-Trump newcomers will need to tackle the on-the-ground jobs like ward leader or committee person, the unglamorous soul of the Democratic Party machine. And the more predictable party hacks should expect primary challenges. Those are the kind of things that make party insiders cringe but they ought to be cringing after Novembers debacle. Bunch is right. And any party, even the purest snowflake of parties, needs ward heelers. Democrat nomenklatura thrashing like wounded animals: June: HRC was just more popular than racist Bernie November: Of course the DNC does shady stuff, this is normal December: Russia is invading the xmas haver (@martsendo) December 29, 2016 From July 24, 2016 [Wall Street Journal, Hillary Clinton to Take Command of a Changed Democratic Party]. It doesnt matter whats in the party platform, said Mr. Cowan of Third Way. Shell have absolutely no choice but to govern from the center, otherwise shell have a dead presidency.' Realignment and Legitimacy Gov. Andrew Cuomo calls for free tuition at New York public colleges [AP]. Cuomos plan would provide free tuition to a State University of New York or City University of New York college, including two-year community colleges, for residents whose families earn less than $125,000. The Democrat unveiled his plan Tuesday morning at LaGuardia Community College in Queens alongside U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. This never would have happened without Sanders running, not a million years. (Cuomo is Putins tool stories starting in 10, 9, 8, counting, 7.) And its also in New York State, Clinton territory, so its starting to look like the wooden stake, the garlic, and the silver are doing what they ought to be doing. Its quite rare to see class bias expressed so nakedly: Editor: Our mascot's a man in a top hot with a monocle whose name is Dandy but I'm worried that's not snobby enough Cartoonist: Say no more pic.twitter.com/UmHXHmqU5i Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) January 2, 2017 Particularly ironic since a controlled flight into terrain is going to kill those New Yorker-reading pilots too, along with the proles back in cattle class. UPDATE Well, maybe not that rare: Top Trump Candidate: Plutocracy Is Just What America Needs' [Vanity Fair] Larry Kudlow, candidate for CEA chair: Why shouldnt the president surround himself with successful people? Wealthy folks have no need to steal or engage in corruption. (Folks is just as much a tell when a right-wing economist uses it as when Obama or anybody else in the Beltway uses it; it conceals power relations.) This argument is the mirror image of the liberals conflict of interest argument, and both are wrong. Capital is neither theft nor conflict of interest (as we conceive those things); see the bearded one for detail. It does seem like the Beltway hive mind has finally come to the conclusion that the long Clinton grift is over. But there are holdouts: I don't know whether to cackle like a maniac or to weep at this depth of liberal delusion. Guess I'll flip a coin. pic.twitter.com/DiwQPEcWau Taheerah Barney? (@fleshandbrand) December 29, 2016 Ohio became the most recent state to pass a preemptive law, this time in relation to minimum wage, on December 19th when Ohio Governor John Kasich signed Senate Bill 331 [Progressive Army]. The bill got to Gov. Kasichs desk because of local elected officials. In particular, Nonpartisan Cleveland City Council President Kevin Kelley and Democrat Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, asked the Republican-controlled state legislature to rescue their own constituency from the opportunity to choose for themselves as the measure was just slated to be on an upcoming local ballot. The state legislators quickly heeded their request and the bill signed into law by Kasich puts this initiative on ice for the time being. State officials say its been hard to plan long term and recruit and train candidates in off-election years due to inconsistent funding from the DNC. Under Dean, the national party installed and paid several staff members in each state. But that program ended after Obamas election. State parties began to receive monthly payments of anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000, an amount that varies depending on the year. At some point, the parties have received no money at all. The DNC does provide some money to state parties for elections based on the states competitive races and other factors [ABC]. Read this for the horrible details. Obviously, letting Obama anywhere near any state-level initiatives is like handing an arsonist a match and a can full of gasoline. Stats Watch Purchasing Managers Manufacturing Index, December 2016: The report describes both new orders and production as remaining robust and leading to a year-and-a-half high for hiring. The strength is especially reflected in pre-production inventories [Econoday]. Institute For Supply Management Index, December 2016: a very strong December [Econoday]. New orders are the clear highlight of the report. And: Above consensus and a twenty-three month high [Economic Calendar]. But: Based on this survey and the unusually unified district Federal Reserve Surveys (all in expansion, one would expect the Feds Industrial Production index to be improved in December (note that the hard data last month contradicted all the surveys). Overall, surveys do not have a high correlation to the movement of industrial production (manufacturing) since the Great Recession [Econintersect]. Commodities: China to become net importer of some rare earths [Mining.com]. by 2025 Chinas domestic demand for neodymium oxide for permanent magnets alone is poised to exceed total global production of neodymium oxide by 9,000 tonnes in our base case scenario, highlighting the imminent need for additional sources of supply. When I lived in Canada, I followed Canadian gold mining stories with interest. Are rare earth metals an equally sporty game? Construction Spending, November 2016: Construction had been lagging through most of 2016 but, like the factory sector, appears to have picked up steam going into year-end [Econoday]. The breadth of gains is most impressive in this report, one that will give a lift to fourth-quarter GDP estimates. But: Public construction and private construction are in expansion. Overall, construction is now trending STRONGLY up. The rolling averages STRONGLY improved [Econintersect]. But the confusion is that construction spending does not correlate to construction employment casting doubt on the validity of one or both data sets. The Bezzle: Silicon Valleys obscure unicorns could boost 2017 IPO market [Reuters]. Similar firms now looking to go public realize they have a marketing challenge ahead as they seek to capture investor interest before their market debuts. With names that trip up a spell checker and arcane business-model descriptions, they need to educate investors on their niche strategies and to start those efforts long before the typical two-week investor road shows that precede IPOs. The Bezzle: [Wall Street Journal, Twitter Seeks a Little Help From Its Users]. Despite its challenges, Twitter has become more relevant than ever, largely due to President-elect Donald Trumps frequent use of the platform to air his views on subjects from foreign policy to Vanity Fair magazines business prospects. No, not largely due. You can curate your own timeline on Twitter, unlike Facebook. Thats invaluable. It would be nice if the neighborhood werent quite so rough, but Twitter isnt obsessive about nailing your real life identity so they can sell it, either. That too is invaluable. So I hope Dorsey doesnt screw it up. The thread is here. The Bezzle: I hope this is not true (a commenter points out the the ad isnt in the correct ratio): "My friend rents an apartment that comes with a tablet for changing the temperature and showing ads" https://t.co/yWSVN6uv2N pic.twitter.com/lwQq9ACL2U Internet of Shit (@internetofshit) January 2, 2017 Globalization: Angela Merkel to skip Davos summit [Politico]. Stick a fork in Davos man? The Rapture Index: Closes up 1 on Israel [Rapture Ready]. US and Israel relations hits an Obama Admin. low. That is, Bibi going nuclear brings The Rapture closer, which is good! Record High, October 10, 2016: 189. Current, January 2: 184. Todays Fear & Greed Index: 63 Greed (previous close: 59, Greed) [CNN]. One week ago: 70 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Jan 3 at 1:51pm. The doldrums. Imperial Collapse Watch During his interrogation, Hussein revealed that by 2003 he had largely turned over power to his aides so he could concentrate on writing a novel. There was no program of weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein was also deeply critical of al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups inspired by Wahhabism. During the interrogation, Hussein also had a warning for the United States about Iraq. He said, You are going to fail. You are going to find that it is not so easy to govern Iraq. You are going to fail in Iraq because you do not know the language, the history, and you do not understand the Arab mind' [Alternet]. Gaia With enough evidence, even skepticism will thaw [WaPo]. Doing science on the Greenland ice sheet. Class Warfare A Distant Elite: How Meritocracy Went Wrong [The Hedgehog Review]. Quoting Daniel Bell: There can never be a pure meritocracy because high-status parents will invariably seek to pass on their positions, either through the use of influence or simply by the cultural advantages that their children inevitably possess. Thus after one generation a meritocracy simply becomes an enclaved class. Fear of Trump Triggers Deep Spending Cuts by Nations Second-Largest Union [Bloomberg]. Because the far right will control all three branches of the federal government, we will face serious threats to the ability of working people to join together in unions, SEIU President Mary Kay Henry wrote in an internal memo dated Dec. 14. These threats require us to make tough decisions that allow us to resist these attacks and to fight forward despite dramatically reduced resources. After citing the need to dramatically re-think how to implement the unions strategy, Henrys all-staff letter announces that SEIU must plan for a 30% reduction in the international unions budget by Jan. 1, 2018, including a 10 percent cut effective at the start of 2017. News of the Wired Liberation Permaculture by Toby Hemenway (podcast) [Creative Destruction]. How To Be Good [The New Yorker]. Moral philosopher Derek Parfit, RIP. [H]e learned that [his book] Reasons and Persons was being memorized and chanted, along with sutras, by novice monks at a monastery in Tibet. A Smuggling Operation: John Bergers Theory of Art [Los Angeles Review of Books]. Berger: A question which Marx posed but could not answer: If art in the last analysis is a superstructure of an economic base, why does its power to move us endure long after the base has been transformed? And: The function of the work of art, Berger sums up Raphael, is to lead us from the work to the process of creation which it contains.' Sadly, I cant verify this quotation. But its too good not to be true Remember these words from Tsar Nicholas II's diary: "The year 1916 was cursed; 1917 will surely be better!" ? Happy New Year! Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) January 1, 2017 * * * Readers, feel free to contact me with (a) links, and even better (b) sources I should curate regularly, and (c) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi are deemed to be honorary plants! See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. And heres todays plant: This is sadly an old plant, because for some reason I cant get todays plant to upload. Perhaps in an hour or so I shall be able to do so. UPDATE And here is the new plant (Rainbow Girl): Rainbow Girl writes: Farewell 2016 its so last year! Salt pond New Years Day ~ peace, clarity, beauty and a plant growing on a small rock island in mid-pond! Readers, Ive gotten many more plant images, but I can always use just a few more; having enough Plantidotes is a great angst deflator. Plants with snow and/or ice are fine! Readers, Water Cooler is a standalone entity, not supported by the very successful Naked Capitalism fundraiser just past. Now, I understand you may feel tapped out, but when and if you are able, please use the dropdown to choose your contribution, and then click the hat! Your tip will be welcome today, and indeed any day. Water Cooler will not exist without your continued help. Yves here. From a legal standpoint, the arguments that Google is making in its defense in an employee lawsuit are lame. Of course, it could be saving its real case for the court. Oddly, the summary below omits a key issue as to why Googles surveillance and secrecy policies are problematic. From the underlying story at Information: The lawsuit alleges that Google warns employees to not put into writing concerns about potential illegal activity within Google, even to the companys own attorneys, because the disclosures could fall into the hands of regulators and law enforcement. It also alleges that confidentiality provisions include a prohibition on employees writing a novel about someone working at a tech company in Silicon Valley, without Google signing off on the final draft. Among other things, this makes it impossible for Google to have any sort of internal whistleblower program, even when most are strictly cosmetic. Most corporate governance experts deem them to be necessary as a liability shield for management. Moreover, these agreements also violate the SECs whistleblower rules, which bar companies from hindering employees contacting agency officials regarding suspected abuses. Googles top brass appear convinced that their internal code of omerta plus their connections means that they can dispense with that sort of thing. Googles internal non-disclosure agreements apparently didnt contain standard outs, the most important being that the signer can disclose information when compelled to by judicial decree, as long as they inform the company first and give them the opportunity to contest the order. I hope California readers will tell me about the reputation of the firm suing Google. The claim looks to be spare (a good sign) and well argued. Even though the usual rule of thumb with employee suits is that the big companies have a huge advantage by being able to hire better counsel, Google looks to have overreached to such a remarkable degree that the employee may well prevail. It would also help if outside parties take interest and provide amicus briefs on behalf of the plaintiff. By Michael Arria, an associate editor at AlterNet and AlterNets labor editor. Follow @MichaelArria on Twitter. Originally published at Alternet Tech news site the Information reports that a former Google employee is suing the company, claiming it maintained an internal spying program that encouraged workers to rat each other out. The lawsuit was filed by a former product manager who claims that the alleged program violates California labor law. The same person filed a National Labor Relations Board complaint against Google and its sister firm Nest this June. The NLRB complaint alleged that the employee was terminated after making a social media post that was critical of the company. The allegation also contends that the companies illegally monitored workers electronic devices to prevent them from airing criticisms of Google. The lawsuit points out that employees should be able to discuss workplace conditions without fearing retaliatory action. Google has called the lawsuit baseless. The Information piece quotes a statement from the company: Were very committed to an open internal culture, which means we frequently share with employees details of product launches and confidential business information. 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. If the lawsuit ends up being successful, it could be extremely expensive for Google. The Information report breaks down the math: Google could be fined up to $100 for each of the 12 alleged violations in the suit, multiplied by 65,000 employees. If an allegedly unlawful policy lasted for more than one pay period, the fine doubles to $200 per pay period, per employee, for up to a year. If Doe prevails on every allegation in the lawsuit, the maximum fine would be $3.8 billion, with about $14,600 going to each Google employee. Read the entire article at the Informations website. By Rev. Dr. William Barber, President, North Carolina NAACP and Pastor, Greenleaf Christian Church. Originally published at the Institute for New Economic Thinkings website Extract from the keynote speech by the Rev. Dr. William Barber III at the Institute for New Economic Thinking conference on race and economics in Detroit on November 11 Fifty years ago, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. proposed that America launch a broad-based, gigantic Bill of Rights for the disadvantaged and a Marshall Plan for the poor and the hurting. He said if we were willing to rebuild Europe after World War II, then America should be willing to rebuild Appalachia where poor whites were; the inner cities of Detroit and Chicago; and the Deltas of Mississippi and Alabama. While Negroes form the vast majority of Americas disadvantaged there are millions of poor whites who would also benefit from this kind of bill, he wrote, referring to a massive bottom-up stimulus. The moral justification for the special measures for the negro is rooted in the robberies of the institution of slavery, Dr. King wrote, but hastened to add, many poor whites, however, were the derivatives of the victims of slavery. As long as labor was cheapened by involuntary servitude of the black man, the freedom of white labor, especially in the South was little more than a myth. He called for a Federal program of public works that would retain jobs for all so that none, white or black, will have cause to feel threatened. Dr. King understood that saving communities should be first over saving corporations, that we should not treat corporations like people and people like things. He understood that if you ignore the poor, eventually there will be an implosion. What were really beginning to experience, as University of Maryland political economist Gar Alperowitz wrote, is a process of slow decay, punctuated by a recurring economic crisis, one in which reforms achieve sporadic gains. But the long term trends of growing inequality, economic dislocation, failing democratic accountability, deepening poverty, ecological degradation, greater invasions of liberty and growing imprisonment especially of minorities, continues to slowly and quietly challenge the belief in the capacities and moral integrity of the overall system and its governing elite. It is important to recognize the wisdom of Otto Scharmer, who wrote, There is a blind spot in American economic theory. Its called consciousness. Our refusal to have an economic theory that looks and sees that we are all integrated and we all really need each other. The question we face, is how can the nations wealth ultimately be shifted institutionally to benefit the vast majority of people? Because we cannot live in isolation. For years we were taught that what was good for Wall Street was good for your street and our street, but that no longer holds true. As Dr. King warned 50 years ago, when you ignore the poor, the whole system will collapse. The first thing we must recognize, is that economic justice is a moral issue. And economics cant be separated from moral questions. It was never intended that way. As far back as the Torah, Deuteronomy says caring for the stranger and being just to the poor must be the hallmark of a nation. The Psalmist said relieving the poor and the oppressed is a moral value we need in the public square. Every prophet of the Old Testament: Jeremiah, Malachi, Ezekiel always began their criticism of Israel, their criticism of the nation, with a critique of systems of poverty. Jeremiah says taking care of children and the vulnerable and the innocent must be the call of leaders and their society, and in fact, Jeremiah 22 says go to the palace and tell the king, Do not hurt the poor and the widows; otherwise, this palace will become rubble. Isaiah 10 says this: Woe unto those who legislate evil and rob the poor of their rights, and make women their prey. Isaiah 58 says Secure the rights of the poor; in fact, in Isaiah 58, were supposed to call for the loosing of the bands of wickedness. Do you know what loose the bands of wickedness means? In Hebrew, it means pay people what they deserve. Pay a living wage, because if you dont, its not merely considered conservative ideology. In the Bible, if you do not pay people a living wage, it is called wickedness. Ezekiel says to refuse dishonest gain, and refuse to be or to give status to economic predators. In fact, in Ezekiel 22, Ezekiel says whenever the preachers and the politicians stand on the side of greed and hurt toward the least of these in the poor, whenever the morality preachers and the policy people come together to engage in bad policy that hurts the poor, Ezekiel describes them as acting like rabies-infested wolves. And Jesus you know, that brown-skinned, Palestinian Jew that I follow, who never charged the leper or sick person a co-pay, always gave free healthcare, and who was eventually killed by the state? In his first sermon, he said The spirit of the Lord is upon me for he hath anointed me to preach good news to the poor. And the word poor in Greek is patokos. There are three other words for poor: One has to do with somebody being lazy; the other one has to be with somebody suddenly becoming poor because they are suddenly sick. But the word patokos means people who have been made poor by economic systems of exploitation, by stratification that existed in the Roman Empire, where the 1 percent demanded that all the rules operate in their favor, while the 99 percent suffered. And it was those people that Jesus said were at the center of the attention of God, and better be the center of the attention of your community and your nation if you plan that nation to survive the judgment of God. Watch Reverend Barbers speech on A Moral Challenge to Economists Washington Post cant stop faking the news: U.S. electrical grid penetration story a complete fabrication In a desperate effort to discredit Donald Trump and create mass hysteria across Americas gullible left, the Washington Post has, for the last several months, deliberately engaged in a shameless campaign of fabricating fake news stories. Even as each story is proven to be based on pure fiction, the Washington Post rolls out yet more fake stories to try to justify their previous fake stories. The latest example of that came on Friday, when the WashPost completely fabricated another delusional paranoia episode in a story that claimed Russian hackers penetrated U.S. electricity grid through a utility in Vermont, officials say. Click here for the current version of that story (which has already been radically altered from the original story). Fanning the flames of delusional paranoia even higher, Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy took the rhetoric to a whole new level by asserting a diabolical Russian plot to shut down the U.S. electrical grid in the middle of wintera move that would most certainly kill off half the states population in an instant, reports Zero Hedge. Glenn Greenwald from The Intercept adds this observation: The article went on and on in that vein, with all the standard tactics used by the U.S. media for such stories: quoting anonymous national security officials, reviewing past acts of Russian treachery, and drawing the scariest possible conclusions (The question remains: Are they in other systems and what was the intent? a U.S. official said). The media reactions, as Alex Pfeiffer documents, were exactly what one would expect: hysterical, alarmist proclamations of Putins menacing evil. Reuters even picked up on the story, reporting the same false narrative the Washington Post fabricated, claiming: A malware code associated with Russian hackers has reportedly been detected within the system of a Vermont electric utility. The problem with all this? The Washington Posts original story was completely fabricated. The Washington Post made it all up They made it up. This is how the Washington Post now engages in journalism. As Zero Hedge explains: Alas, there was just one minor problem, namely that the entire article was completely fabricated. Apparently the esteemed journalists of the Washington Post didnt even bother to contact the Burlington Electric Department to confirm their bogus storyand why should theyit fit the Russian hacking narrative so perfectly therefore it must be true, right? Well, apparently not. The quick spread of WaPos fake news story forced the Burlington Electric Department to issue a clarifying statement assuring worried residents that, indeed, their electricity grid had not been hacked, but rather a single laptop not connected to the grid had been found to have a malware virus. In other words, the electric grid wasnt penetrated by Russian hackers. What really happened is that somebody found a virus on a laptop. Yeah, thats it. And the virus they found can be downloaded by anyone. Its not a super secret Russian spy virus. Its just a readily available off-the-shelf virus on a regular laptop that wasnt even connected to the grid. Washington Post alters headline, adds editors note admitting the entire story was bogus Caught in yet another totally fabricated lie, the Washington Post began to backpedal on its original story. It also added this editors note: Editors Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Russian hackers had penetrated the U.S. electric grid. Authorities say there is no indication of that so far. The computer at Burlington Electric that was hacked was not attached to the grid. In other words, the Washington Post just made s##t up and called it news. Glenn Greenwald at The Intercept immediately ripped the WashPost for getting caught yet again completely fabricating false news: There was no penetration of the U.S. electricity grid. The truth was undramatic and banal. Burlington Electric, after receiving a Homeland Security notice sent to all U.S. utility companies about the malware code found in the DNC system, searched all its computers and found the code in a single laptop that was not connected to the electric grid. Apparently, the Post did not even bother to contact the company before running its wildly sensationalistic claims, so Burlington Electric had to issue its own statement to the Burlington Free Press, which debunked the Posts central claim (emphasis in original): We detected the malware in a single Burlington Electric Department laptop not connected to our organizations grid systems. So the key scary claim of the Post story that Russian hackers had penetrated the U.S. electric grid was false. All the alarmist tough-guy statements issued by political officials who believed the Posts claim were based on fiction. Even worse, there is zero evidence that Russian hackers were even responsible for the implanting of this malware on this single laptop. The fact that malware is Russian-made does not mean that only Russians can use it; indeed, like a lot of malware, it can be purchased (as Jeffrey Carr has pointed out in the DNC hacking context, assuming that Russian-made malware must have been used by Russians is as irrational as finding a Russian-made Kalishnikov AKM rifle at a crime scene and assuming the killer must be Russian). As the actual truth emerged once the utility company issued its statement, the Post rushed to fix its embarrassment, beginning by dramatically changing its headline. The Washington Post now exists as a propaganda fiction rag that routinely fabricates delusional scare stories as click bait The Washington Post is now officially a click bait rag. The journalism conducted by the paper is laughable and insulting to any intelligent person. They didnt even bother to call the Burlington power company to confirm anything before running their fabricated scare story that dredged up fictional facts out of thin air. The WashPost did do us one big favor in all this, however: It demonstrated yet again how mainstream media publishers are the kings of fake news. This isnt a one-time thing, either: The WashPost keeps getting caught again and again, knowingly and deliberately fabricating false news to scare America half to death. Ive dubbed this practice journo-terrorism, and in an article describing journo-terrorism, I explain the real agenda of the Washington Post, NYT and CNN: Their job in the leftist ecosystem of psychological warfare is to unleash vast fields of mental landmines that innocent American stumble into, setting them off and blasting apart their cognitive constructs. Once the old belief systems are eliminated, new beliefs are inserted through info-doctrination i.e. repeated, daily news streams consisting of fear and lies that create trigger conditions in the minds of those being hypnotized. Its fascinating that planting actual land mines on battlefields is often considered a crime against humanity, but when journo-terrorists plant cognitive land mines across the psychological battlefield of America, its all fact checked into reality by Politifact, Snopes or the Washington Post. Suddenly the land mines are perfectly acceptable to the leftists. It is these land minds that are right now responsible for the massive psychological trauma being experienced by the crying, wailing leftists whose brains have been shattered by journo-terrorism from MSNBC, CNN, the NYT, the LA Times and so on. Thats why I continue to call for the prosecution of anti-American journo-terrorists who are deliberately working to subvert America through the spreading of bogus, fabricated propaganda thats knowingly created to harm Americas interests and terrorize its citizens. We must stop the psychological terrorism being carried out by radical left-wing journo-terrorists Journo-terrorism is psychological warfare, and it is being deliberately carried out every single day at the Washington Post, NYT, CNN, MSNBC and other fake news media outlets. These acts of journo-terrorism pose a grave danger to the American psyche and are deliberately pursued to undermine our Republic through the spreading of false fear. These acts of journo-terrorism by the Washington Post are not mistakes. They are deliberate. They are premeditated. They are scripted with an intended purpose and that purpose is rooted in subversion and the ginning up of baseless hysteria for political aims. Free speech aside, the Washington Post is now knowingly yelling fire in a crowded room even when theres no fire. Theyve gone far beyond anything resembling free speech and have solidly become subversive enemies of the American people. Let us hope the new administration will do something to stop them before they are able to carry out more damaging propaganda campaigns against the American psyche. Angling development projects in Tipperary awarded funding from Inland Fisheries Ireland 50 angling development projects to receive support Ireland as engaged rural communities show huge demand for angling development Two angling development projects in Tipperary have been awarded funding to improve angling access in the area. 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 2million. In Tipperary, the following projects were selected to receive funding: River Suir, North Bank between Clonmel and Carrick on Suir, Co. Tipperary River Suir Angling Access Improvements (10,000) by Tipperary County Council. This project aims to improve angling access facilities between Clonmel and Carrick-On-Suir. This includes the upgrade of car parking and the upgrade of an access laneway on the outskirts of Carrick on Suir. River Suir, Killsheelan, Co. Tipperary River Suir Kilsheelin Angling Access Project (5,360) by Clonmel & District And Trout Association.Installation of ladders and stile for access to River Suir at Kilsheelin. Sean Kyne TD, Minister with responsibility for the Inland Fisheries Sector, said: I would like to congratulate the community groups who have been awarded this funding. The projects receiving funding are located in 19 counties across the country. They include the provision of angling boats and trailers to allow for improved access for education/youth initiatives and tourist anglers, upgrades to access roads and car parks at angling sites, construction of new fishing stands, styles and footbridges and the provision of informational signage. The Capital Works Fund was announced in October 2016 with local groups and individuals including local development associations, tidy towns, angling clubs and others invited to apply for funding. The scheme is part of Inland Fisheries Irelands National Strategy for Angling Development. The Strategy aims to ensure that Irelands fish stocks and angling infrastructure are protected and enhanced with a view to ensuring a sustainable habitat and delivering the economic, health and recreational benefits they offer to communities across Ireland. Inland Fisheries Ireland is aiming to grow the angling sectors socio-economic contribution of 836 million per year by an additional 60 million annually through the strategy. This will be achieved by driving angling participation among domestic and overseas visitors, which in turn is supported by improving access to fishing and developing angling infrastructure. Suzanne Campion, Head of Business Development at Inland Fisheries Ireland said: The Capital Works Fund has been overwhelmed by strong project applications and following a considered review process, we are delighted to announce the 50 projects which have secured support which includes projects in Tipperary. The demand for improvements in angling access and development is evident. Rural communities across Ireland are engaged with angling and recognise the value of the fisheries resource to their local area. Inland Fisheries Ireland has worked closely with angling clubs, individuals, community groups and chambers of commerce to inform them about the fund and the overall National Strategy for Angling Development. We hope to empower these stakeholders to improve access to angling in their areas and as a result deliver long term recreational and economic benefit to their communities. Inland Fisheries Ireland received 90 Expressions of Interest across 21 counties in addition to the applications received for the Capital Works Fund. Feedback has been given to those who completed Expressions of Interest and potential has been identified across a number of projects. It is anticipated that Inland Fisheries Ireland will have further funding for projects in this area in the New Year. For more information on Inland Fisheries Irelands Capital Works Fund and the projects across the country receiving funding in this funding call, visit www.fisheriesireland.ie/funding. Since the Dodd-Frank Act was passed in 2010, bank industry representatives have confidently predicted that the next year would bring significant changes, only to see their hopes dashed amid partisan divisions over proposed fixes. Until now. 2017 is shaping up to be the year in which sizable changes are finally enacted, thanks to Republican victories in the White House, House and Senate. But that does not mean it's going to be easy or that a complete rollback of the financial reform law is in the cards. Washington insiders and analysts note that the Republican majority in the Senate remains razor thin, and other issues like tax reform or infrastructure may take precedence. "I don't that think they are going to be able to just rip it out root and branch. That would be very difficult to do and they would have to spend a lot of political capital to do that," said Brian Knight, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Brian Gardner, a policy analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, agreed. "There is a very ambitious agenda on tap and there are only so many hours in the day," he said. "Not only is Congress going to have to consider the legislative agenda that is planned for early next year, but the Senate is going to have to deal with an enormous number of nominations." So rather than dismantling Dodd-Frank in one fell swoop, Republicans are likely to deploy a multipronged strategy that attacks the law in stages. Below are four ways that Republicans can start to revamp the financial reform law: Appointments New leadership at the financial regulators will be the first, and perhaps the most effective, way to alter the course of regulation. "I expect there to be some sort of directive to reduce regulatory burden on your own at the agency level," said Oliver Ireland, a partner at Morison & Foerster. Former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins a known opponent of Dodd-Frank is heading the Trump transition team's assessment of the independent financial agency efforts and will play a major role in guiding their future. In total, there are 34 Senate-confirmable positions at the federal financial regulators that are currently being held by 28 people, according to a Bipartisan Policy Center analysis. The discrepancy comes from the fact that the heads of some of the agencies need to be confirmed twice, once as a board member and then again as either a chair or vice chair. Justin Schardin, director of BPC's Financial Regulatory Reform Initiative who did the analysis, said in a note that "President-elect Trump should be able to fill most of these agencies with his appointees by the end of 2017." Senate Democrats ended the filibuster for most nominations after Republicans blocked President Obama's picks, so they are likely to be ineffectual in denying Trump choices such as Treasury Secretary-designate Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs executive. But they can still slow down the process. "While the filibuster is gone on those nominations, the 30-hour debate requirement is not, and I think Democrats, depending on the nominee, are going to slow walk some things," said Gardner. Regardless, the heads of the federal regulators can quickly change the direction of an agency. The Federal Reserve Board has two open governor positions and a member from the board of governors can be selected to fill the vacant vice chair of supervision position. That latter role would give the new administration a way to quickly change banking regulation. A Trump-appointed "vice chairman for regulation at the Fed would change the direction of their regulatory policy pretty substantially and would draw into question the continuation of [current Fed] Gov. Daniel Tarullo as the main driver at the Fed," said Edward Mills, a managing director at FBR Capital Markets. Ireland also said the way Democrats structured a number of the agencies during the writing of Dodd-Frank may come back to haunt them. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is headed by a single director rather than a board, while the Treasury Secretary was given chairmanship of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, an interagency council. "You created a lot of power in those agencies and that is fine as long you control those agencies," Ireland said. Republicans are already gunning to make the CFPB subject to congressional appropriations and change it to a five-person board, changes that Democrats have adamantly opposed. That could change if Trump makes a move to fire CFPB Director Richard Cordray and replace him with his own pick. "If the Republicans have a director in place by the spring, I think Democrats will ease up on their opposition to a board," said Mark Calabria, a former Senate Banking Committee staffer and director of financial regulations studies at the Cato Institute. Cordray's term isn't up until July 2018, but a pending court case in the D.C. Circuit Court could give Trump the ability to replace Cordray at will. The court case will likely take months to play out, but Trump could also make a more controversial attempt to fire Cordray "for cause." "You certainly could have a scenario where the Republicans have their own director for about a year before a board gets set up," said Calabria. Congressional Review Act The Congressional Review Act is a rarely used tool that gives Congress the ability to overturn a federal agency rule that was completed within the last 60 legislative days. The Congressional Research Service estimates that rules written as far back as June would be eligible. However, while there are a number of rules that have been targeted, the major Dodd-Frank rulemakings would fall outside the scope of what is possible. Most major Dodd-Frank rulemakings, including those governing capital standards, the Volcker Rule, new mortgage disclosures and other steps have long since been completed. The congressional review law could be used to halt a few CFPB rules, but some of the most controversial ones including those governing arbitration and payday lending haven't yet been finalized. The Choice Act House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling is working on an updated version of a bill passed out of his panel in September that would significantly reshape the financial regulatory world and is likely to be the blueprint for a regulatory reform bill this Congress. The legislation, called the Financial Choice Act, would allow financial institutions to opt-in to an alternative regulatory framework if they meet a 10% capital requirement. While the bill has a good chance in the House, it is likely to face challenges in the Senate, considering that many of its provisions including those that would revamp the CFPB are strongly opposed by Democrats. The "Choice Act was not a realistic legislative plan," said Gardner. "They were political documents to point out a direction in which the Republicans want to govern." Calabria said Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, who is expected to take the reins of the Senate Banking Committee, will have to work more closely with Democrats and arrive at something closer to what Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., introduced last year. That bill was more limited in its vision of reform, but it still drew opposition from Senate Democrats. "Crapo will start with something like where Shelby was before," said Calabria of Shelby's bill, which wasn't as far reaching as Hensarling's. A Dodd-Frank regulatory relief package has an easier path to enactment given that the GOP now controls the White House in addition to both chambers of Congress. Senate Democrats also face a tough electoral map in 2018, with more than two dozen of their number up for reelection. There are 10 Democrats running for re-election in states that voted for Trump, including four Democrats on the banking panel and they may feel compelled to get something done so they can highlight their achievements back home. "There will likely be an initial effort to find bipartisan initiatives and to proceed on a more regular order basis," said Timothy Jenkins, a partner at Nossaman. However, things could quickly go south if the political environment turns hostile, he said. "The critical litmus test will be the tenor of the first several months," he said. "It will unravel in a hurry if the Republican Leadership and administration use extreme measures to achieve partisan outcomes, including doubling down on reconciliation and potentially removing Cordray for cause. In this situation, some Dodd-Frank reform and other potential bi-partisan efforts are likely off the table." Isaac Boltanksy, an analyst at Compass Point Research & Trading wrote in a client note that "we do not expect passage of a substantive financial services regulatory relief package until late 2017 at the earliest. We are cautious regarding the timeline given the already overburdened Congressional agenda, the persistency of the filibuster in the Senate, and our belief that the House will want to cut far deeper than the Senate." Reconciliation Finally, lawmakers could turn to a process known as "reconciliation" an adjunct to the annual budget process which directs committees to change legislation that has a budgetary impact to make alterations to Dodd-Frank. Changes made during this process must have a demonstrated budgetary impact, but are not subject to the filibuster, giving the GOP a chance to enact some more controversial changes. "I do think there will be attempts to do things via budget reconciliation if for no other reason than as a stick to bring Democrats to the table," said Calabria. When the Congressional Budget Office scored the Dodd-Frank Act, several key areas were identified as having a significant budget impact, including big bank resolutions, as well as the creation of the Financial Stability Oversight Council and the CFPB. Big bank resolutions in particular scored high because while the odds of another failure are relatively small, dissolving a large bank would be particularly costly. Republicans could also introduce legislation that would make changes to the ability of FSOC to designate systemically important financial institutions even if the CBO ruled that such a move increases the deficit. (To compensate, lawmakers would have to find offsets in other areas to balance it out.) But going this route also carries political risks, and would virtually guarantee that Democrats will not cooperate on other financial policy legislation. "I think that determination of whether to pursue the reconciliation path or not is critical because I presume Congress will only get one bite at the apple," said Gardner. "It will be very difficult to change Dodd-Frank both in a reconciliation bill and regular order." The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's decision to offer a special-purpose charter for fintech firms may entice more players than expected, including mortgage lenders and even some payday lending shops. In the leadup to the charter's release last month, most had expected it to focus on marketplace lenders and others with a more technologically oriented business model. But the wording of the charter is broader, potentially allowing other nonbank players a way to enjoy the benefits of federal preemption and avoid state by state registration. "The way they characterized the charter in the white paper has more people seeing greater possibilities," said Pete Mills, the senior vice president of residential policy and member engagement at the Mortgage Bankers Association. "What is the technology aspect of this that makes you eligible for the fintech charter?" Observers said there is an argument that such firms, particularly given the use of new technologies to reach their customers, should qualify for the new charter. "The fact that I take the application over the internet, does that make me a fintech?" said Jeffrey Taft, a partner at Mayer Brown. "Is the OCC going to look at that very broadly?" Allowing mortgage lenders to apply for the charter would also address what some view as an unequal treatment by regulators of mortgage lenders and national banks. The state-by-state licensing system "puts nonbank mortgage lenders at a very substantial disadvantage to national banks that do mortgage lending," said Gerard Comizio, the chair of the global banking practice at Paul Hastings. Some attorneys are even hearing interest in the charter from payday lenders. Though it might be a long shot for them to obtain the OCC's blessing, observers say that the agency might at some point prefer to handle these companies through direct supervision. "If the [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's] payday lending proposal is ultimately implemented, it's going to steer a lot of those companies into a more regulated and from the CFPB's perspective consumer-protective space," said John ReVeal, a partner at Bryan Cave. This "could make the OCC more comfortable" in dealing with payday lenders. In a statement to American Banker, OCC Chief Counsel Amy Friend cast doubt on the possibility of payday lenders ever obtaining a national charter, but seemed to leave a door open to other types of companies not explicitly cited in the agency's fintech charter paper in December. "The national banking charter does not dictate business models," Friend said. "But, to be clear, the OCC took steps in the early 2000s to eliminate abusive practices common to payday lenders at the time. As a result, abusive payday lending was virtually eliminated in the federal banking system. The agency has no intention of allowing these abusive practices to return." Whether the fintech charter will appeal to actual fintech firms, however, is still unclear. So far, smaller firms are keeping their distance, aware that some of the OCC's mandates for the charter such as capital and liquidity requirements and the necessity of developing a plan for failure could be extremely costly. The charter would also not in itself allow the companies to take deposits, a cheap source of funding. "The fintech charter feels like a good opportunity for the largest, most sophisticated fintech firms with the most amount of capital," said Alex Acree, the managing director at the venture capital firm Fenway Summer. "It doesn't really solve the problems of the smaller fintech firms." Even larger fintech firms are still waiting to hear more details about the plan before filing a formal application. "Most are going to bide their time and think about what the return on investment might be, what the cost might be and what the saving opportunity might be," said Joseph S. Rubin, the senior counsel and co-chair of government affairs and public policy at Arnall Golden Gregory. In the short term, the existence of a national charter for fintech companies will likely not change the frenemy dynamic of fintech-bank partnerships. For one, fintech companies that partner with banks for funding will still need access to deposit-fueled cash. "I don't think that need will go away," said Pratin Vallabhaneni, an associate at Arnold & Porter. Even companies that partner with banks for other reasons, like access to compliance resources or payments rails, will not go away anytime soon. The pool of small to midsize fintech companies interested in these types of relationships with banks will still be there, even if some do end up applying for the national charter. "Traditional banks will continue to explore innovation activities with nonbank fintech companies," Acree said. "It's not likely that it's going to change the status quo in terms of bank-fintech relationships as much I think as people were hoping." Indeed, one bank has already extended an olive branch to fintech companies interested in the OCC's charter. "We identify with our partners that a change to the status quo is needed," Cross River Bank CEO Gilles Gade said in a statement a few days after the OCC's announcement. "Banks such as CRB are well equipped to advise and prepare the fintech applicants for a limited charter, if they so choose that route." On the flip side, it is also not clear whether the OCC fintech charter will create significantly more competition for community banks in the form of newly fortified fintech companies. The rivals will remain the usual suspects. "I don't think that means the virtual currency company will now go and compete with the community bank for services that have nothing to do with virtual currency," said Vallabhaneni. (Natural News) The US healthcare safety net, according to the liberal, lying mass media, is under attack and about to be dismantled. Obamacare, on most fronts, is a complete failure and has spiked peoples premiums to unaffordable heights, only to worsen in 2017. President-elect Trump vows to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act for several reasons, some that go beyond what is allowed to be discussed on television or even in the newspapers. One of the main problems with Obamacare is that it forces Americans to buy coverage, and even medical services that dont work and that millions do not even believe innamely vaccinations. California is one state that already force-medicates all children with dozens of injections of mercury and formaldehyde, or else threatens to keep them out of school, public and private. Tens of millions of Americans feared this would be the norm a virtual medical police state across the country had Hitlery Clinton won the White House; however, that not being the case, in about six weeks the Trump Effect begins, and his choice for the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services has some doubts about vaccine safety himself, and righteously so. Meet Americas new Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Orthopedic Surgeon Tom Price Tom Price is an orthopedic surgeon and Congressman from Georgia who belongs to a medical organization called the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). AAPS rejects certain scientific consensus about sweeping generalizations that are made in the medical community about such topics as vaccines. There seems to be, in America, a fake consensus that all vaccines, including flu shots, are 100% safe and 100% effective, and that no doctors, scientists, or even injured patients should ever question this absurd rhetoric. Whatever happened to relying on scientific evidence, right? Members of AAPS are known to speak out in opposition to the academicians and officials who deny any chance of a link between vaccines and autism, and vaccines and neurological disorders, for starters. Its not an all or nothing argument either, as many vaccine fanatics would have us all believe, its more of a matter of personalized medicine, just the same that is practiced in virtually all other areas of medicine today. Why should vaccines be any different? Dr. Tom Price and AAPS are opposed to one size fits all medicine Consider this: the US government doesnt round up all the children and force them to take psych meds or chemotherapy, or force all teens to get their wisdom teeth removed, or all women to have double mastectomy to preempt breast cancer, so why round up children for forced vaccination? Who else remembers the 2007 Maryland vaccine cattle-style roundup of children? AAPS condemned the vaccine roundup that was executed in Prince George county in Marylanda power play that completely obliterated parental rights and informed consent, as laid out in the American Medical Associations very own code of ethics. AAPS is one of just a handful of national physician groups that refuses corporate funding from pharmaceutical companies, so that they cant be leaned on in times like these. It was like a cattle round-up (herding of children) with the state wielding syringes, while attorneys issued summons to more than 1600 parents of children who didnt provide immunization certificates. Parents were to subject their children to on-the-spot state-mandated vaccines of 17 doses or face jail time. All this at a time when autism cases have jumped from 1 in 10,000 children 20 years ago to 1 in 50 kids today. Donald Trump has stated that too many vaccines too close together could be the culprit. This is part of the reason he has appointed Dr. Tom Price to steer the US health ship in the right direction. A common-sense, patient-centered health policy about to take effect in America despite media propaganda about Trump The mass media in America is not a free press but a propaganda arm of medical and pharmaceutical predators who wanted nothing more than to enforce Obamacare on all the healthy people of this nation in order to fund the whole chemical-medical Ponzi scheme thats ironically failing miserably. Certain media trolls are now criticizing Trumps HHS Secretary choice and AAPS, but these critics leave much to be desired in the form of anything credible. One such huckster uses the name ORAC to disguise his real identity, which is a breast cancer surgeon who has horrific patient reviews online. His real name is David Gorski. Gorski calls AAPS supporters of anti-vaccine mercury militia scientists just because they question the safety of using mercury (thimerosal) in vaccines. NYMAG.com writer Jesse Singal cites Gorskis criticisms of Tom Prices choices and Singal himself comments that the AAPS isnt any kind of group you join if you have any faith in government but then again, whos heeding the warnings from Dr. David Gorski, who runs his own quack cancer surgery business and ponzi scheme from the dark barbaric quarters of the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit? Gorski is the same psycho-blogger who writes 20,000-word rants on medical boards to terrorize anyone who questions the dangers of injecting mercury, aluminum, MSG and formaldehyde into infants and children (nearly all vaccines contain these). Dr. David H. Gorski, kingpin of quackery, fraud and medical malfeasance, and former cohort of convicted murder Dr. Farid Fata calls AAPS scary Vaccine industry front man, spokesperson and ultimate vaccine apologist for the blogosphere, David H. Gorski, a.k.a. (pen name) ORAC, leads the pack in his efforts to obscure the vaccine-autism connection, promoting mercury in vaccines and calling everybody a skeptic who doesnt bow down to chemical medicine. Gorski has been accused (Published May of 2012 by the Refusers) of fraudulently impersonating disease-injured families and making insane comments on message boards and vaccine freedom websites like Age of Autism, Mothering Magazine and even on Amazon forums. This is called pro-vax trolling and its an abomination. On July 10th, 2015, another Detroit area oncologist (and Gorskis hero), Farid Fata, M.D., was sentenced to 45 years in prison for administering chemotherapy on healthy patients, some of whom died, and for defrauding Medicare and private insurance companies to the tune of $34 million in filed claims. Bottom line? Be mindful what sources you use to verify credibility regarding the Trump effect, because if its mainstream media, you can count on lies, lies, and more lies. Sources: AAPSOnline.org AAPSOnline.org AAPSOnline.org NYMag.com www.TruthWiki.org TruthWiki.org Tuesday, January 03, 2017 by: Natural News Editors Tags: cancer , glyphosate , GMOs , health , Monsanto , science This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author (Natural News) As you sit down to your various holiday feasts during the next week or so, maybe you ought to think about whats in your food. Do you really know the chemicals and GMO ingredients, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) probably EVEN doesnt know many of them due to Monsantos probable unreported and/or hidden science not surrendered as part of the approval process for either glyphosate, Roundup and Roundup Ready seeds for soy, corn, canola, alfalfa, cotton, and sorghumwith wheat under development! (Article by Catherine J Frompovich, republished from NaturalBlaze.com) Its bad enough that numerous crops are staged with glyphosate spraying several days before harvest, which impregnates them with glyphosate residues, and that could be a contributing factor and reason for gluten intolerance. Genetically modifying wheat is NOT a good idea, since wheat is the western worlds grain, similar to rice being the eastern worlds grain. And Golden Rice hasnt been accepted very well either. Monsantos lobbyist, Patrick Moore, refuses to drink some Roundup after proclaiming it wont hurt you because, as he says, Im not an idiot! What does it tell you about that herbicide and, especially, Monsantos own lobbyist, who was promoting GMO Golden Rice, and their products? Heres an interesting article from the Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences website titled Why Roundup Ready Crops Have Lost Their Allure. Still, corporate interests are pushing federal approval agencies to inundate the human and animal food chains with many more GMOs. [1] EcoWatch produced the article 15 Health Problems Linked to Monsantos Roundup, which include: ADHD, Alzheimers disease, Anencephaly (birth defects), Autism, Brain cancer, Cancer, Celiac disease and gluten intolerance, chronic Kidney disease, Colitis, Depression, Diabetes, Heart disease, Hypothyroidism, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBS) and Leaky Gut Syndrome, Liver disease, Lou Gehrigs disease (ALS), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Parkinson disease, Pregnancy problems (infertility, miscarriages, stillbirths), Obesity, Reproductive problems, and Respiratory illnesses. [2] Theres been a rather interesting rumor circulating around Monsanto and GMO foods for quite a while now and it is: In the Monsanto corporate dining room, only organically-grown foods must be served! Can a whistleblower come forth to provide proof of that? If that is factual, then thats something not only the public must know, but all regulatory agencies dealing with approving their respective aspects of GMOs: the U.S. FDA, USDA and EPA! In the meantime, Food Democracy NOW has a petition website going titled Tell the EPA to Release ALL of Monsantos Hidden Data on Glyphosate and GMOs. I heartily recommend readers read and sign now. Are you aware that in 1985, the EPAs own scientists declared glyphosate to be a Category C possible human carcinogen after reviewing studies submitted by Monsanto during the original approval? However, there are photographs of two-year-old rats from GMO feed studies that resulted in massive tumors. Monsantos studies presented for GMO approvals stopped at 90 DAYS, not the normal two-year-life-cycle of rats! Relative to Monsantos 90-day study, EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) stated, With respect to the detection of potential unintended eects in whole GM food and feed, it is unlikely that substances present in small amounts and with a low toxic potential will result in any observable (unintended) eects in a 90-day rodent feeding study, as they would be below the no-observed-eect-level and thus of unlikely impact to human health at normal intake levels. Laboratory animal feeding studies of 90-days duration appear to be sucient to pick up adverse eects of diverse compounds that would also give adverse eects after chronic exposure. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2008.1057/epdf (Pg. S-4) However, Seralinis long-term study linking glyphosate to rat tumors was unfortunately retracted from the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology due to pressure from Monsanto lobbyists. The results of the study have since been republished in Environmental Sciences Europe. [3] Look whats happened to food in Europe, which previously was relatively clean of GMOs! In June 2015, EFSA issued a new guidance document on the information that companies need to provide when applying for renewed authorisation to import GM plants for food and feed into the European Union. The European Commission grants authorizations to place GM food and feed on the European market for a period of ten years. [4] Could that impact your food shopping and buying practices regarding foods produced in Europe? It certainly ought to affect what previously was considered GMO-free foods coming from European countries. What do you think? Arent consumers entitled to know whats in the food we are eating, e.g., GMOs and how that food was grown or produced/manufactured? Shouldnt there be reverse advertising on all food labels, e.g., no GMOs or GMO-free? Shouldnt the PLU identity number 8 be mandatory for all foods containing GMOs or grown as GMOs? [5] Currently, the PLU identity number 9 identifies organically-grown food. Wont you please tell the EPA what you think about GMOs and sign the petition? Thanks! Read more at: NaturalBlaze.com References: [1] Harvard.edu [2] EcoWatch.com [3] GMO.news [4] Elingreso.com [5] EFSA.Europa.eu (Natural News) A team of nine scientists has recently uncovered a link between mercury-laden dental amalgams and autism. The researchers, from leading universities and medical schools, have confirmed a casual role in mercury exposure and the onset of autism. The study analyzed the level of urinary porphyrins as biomarkers for mercury poisoning in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The researchers also studied the correlation between the intensity of the potential mercury exposure and the severity of the childrens autism, and measured the levels of lead and mercury in their bloodstream. One hundred children participated in the new research, 40 of whom had been diagnosed with ASD. Another 40 of the children were healthy individuals, and the remaining 20 were the healthy siblings of children with autism. What the team discovered was that there was a strong relationship between mercury toxicity and the presence of ASD. They also found that there was a direct link between the level of mercury toxicity and autism severity. The findings also indicated that children on the autism spectrum exhibited substantially higher amounts of mercury toxicity when compared to their healthy siblings and peers. Unsurprisingly, children with the highest levels of mercury also displayed the most severe symptoms of ASD. A similar finding was observed in autistic kids when it came to porphyrins, as well. Children with autism also exhibited higher levels of lead and porphyrins compared to healthy children. The team also notes, Mothers of ASD children showed a higher percentage of dental amalgam restorations compared to the mothers of healthy controls suggesting that high Hg [mercury] levels in children with ASD may relate to the increased exposure to Hg from maternal dental amalgam during pregnancy and lactation. In other words, the researchers found that having more dental fillings that were comprised of mercury-containing dental amalgams are likely exposing their children to mercury toxicity during pregnancy and after birth simply by having the filling in their mouth. One might also wonder if these mercury-containing fillings are actually increasing the risk of ASD before the child is even born though that particular viewpoint was not explored within the context of this study. However, many other studies have been examining the potential relationship between mercury exposure and autism risk. For example, a 2009 paper published by the journal Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis led by David Geier from the Institute of Chronic Illness explored the potential relationship between mothers mercury-containing dental amalgams and autism severity. Geier and his team found that the risk of autism in children born to mothers with six or more mercury-containing dental fillings increased by 3.2 times. The researchers noted, Furthermore, the risk of increasing autism severity became significantly manifest among those study subjects with 6 or more maternal dental amalgams during pregnancy in comparison to those study subjects with 5 or fewer maternal dental amalgams during pregnancy. Another study, published in 2013 by the journal Biological Trace Elements Research, also found that children diagnosed with autism had higher levels of heavy metals circulating in their bloodstream when compared to their non-autistic peers. In the study, researchers from Arizona State University examined 55 children with ASD and compared them to 44 healthy children. The researchers found that children in the autism group had substantially higher levels of lead in their red blood cells to the tune of 41 percent more than the control group. The children with autism also had urinary lead levels that were 74 percent greater than the controls. When compared to the healthy control group, kids with ASD had thallium levels 77 percent greater, their tin levels were 115 percent greater, and their tungsten levels were 44 percent greater. While mercury was not tested for in this study, you can see the trend here: kids with ASD seem to have a lot of toxic heavy metals circulating in their blood stream. Study after study, all the evidence continues to indicate that heavy metals are playing a role in the onset of autism regardless of how exposure is obtained. Dental amalgams, environmental toxins, vaccines whatever the form, a toxin is still a toxin. Sources: Link.Springer.com EcoWatch.com AmalgamSkaDeFonden.se ScienceDaily.com SafeMinds.org (Natural News) China continues to show a lack of regard for human health with the news that a Chinese biotech seed company is planting corn seeds that have been genetically modified. If you think they are growing this abomination in Beijing because the company in question, Origin Agritech Ltd, is based there, think again. They are actually planting them right here in America at a USDA greenhouse. The firm is hoping to launch what will be the first Chinese GMO corn products in our country. Field tests are set for next summer that will make use of herbicide tolerance and insect resistance technologies that were developed in the communist nation. The company recently opened its first office outside of China in Des Moines in a move that CEO Bill Niebur, who once worked for Dupont Pioneer, said will help them transition from a firm focused on selling seeds to one that sells seed genetics to other companies. The global biotech seed industry, which is highly competitive, has been dominated mostly by Monsanto and Dupont Pioneer until now, and Origin Agritech will be looking to establish a foothold in the market. Meanwhile, the China National Chemical Corp has reached an agreement to buy Syngenta for $43 billion, indicating that Chinese players are extremely serious about entering the U.S. market. China wants to become GMO superpower Despite Chinas extremely poor track record when it comes to pollution, GMO food has not been widely embraced there. In fact, the countrys biggest province in terms of grain production, Heilongjiang, has announced a five-year ban on the growing, processing and selling of GM crops, even as the central government positions itself to turn the country into a GMO superpower. The cultivation of GMO crops is not currently allowed in China, with an exception being made for papaya and cotton. GMO soybeans can be imported for animal feed use. However, the ban comes after Beijing announced plans to start developing GMO crops like corn and soybeans as the president called for China to dominate the high points of GMO techniques. The Heilongjiang ban will apply not only to soybeans and corn but also rice. China and Monsanto have a lot in common It shouldnt be too surprising that China aspires to become more like one of the worlds most evil corporations, Monsanto. After all, they have a lot in common, particularly their disregard for human health. Monsanto has known for at least 35 years about the link between the main ingredient in its Roundup weed killer, glyphosate, and cancer in humans they just dont seem to care. The World Health Organization classifies it as a probable carcinogen, which is bad enough, but there is enough evidence that many scientists believe it is a clear carcinogen. China has a similar fondness for putting profits over peoples well-being. When levels of lead, a toxic heavy metal, in Chinas water supply were recently found to be 700 times the national limit, residents in the affected town of Jixi reported that officials take extreme measures to protect the graphite mining firms and look the other way when they contaminate the water and air because it is so lucrative. If they dont care about clean water and air, it makes perfect sense that GMO crops wouldnt bother them, either. Sources: Reuters.com NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com DesMoinesRegister.com China just announced a major turning point in the fight against illegal poaching -- banning ivory trading and processing by the end of March 2017. The announcement was made by the Chinese Government on the last day of 2017, almost a year after the country, through China's President Xi Jinping pledged to enact "nearly complete bans" on the import and export of ivory. As reported by the National Geographic, global ivory trade has been banned since 1989, but during recent years large-scale poaching has resumed, and elephant numbers have fallen as low as 415,000. In mainland China alone, between 800 and 900 cases of ivory smuggling are uncovered each year. The Chinese Government said that not only will the ban save the elephants and the environment, but it would also save their government by eliminating corrupt officials, as they are usually the ones who engage in illegal ivory trade. China's State Council said African ivory, a status symbol, is priced at around $1,100 (891) per kilo. The big win for elephant conservation was celebrated by environmentalist and activists all over the world. Carter Roberts, president and CEO of WWF said, "The large-scale trade of ivory now faces its twilight years, and the future is brighter for wild elephants. With the US also ending its domestic ivory trade earlier this year, two of the largest ivory markets have taken action that will reverberate around the world." Meanwhile, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William who is also rallying to ban illegal ivory trade in UK, also applauded the ban. In a statement, he said, "'China's decision to ban its domestic ivory trade by the end of the year could be a turning point in the race to save elephants from extinction." The state-owned Xinhua news agency says the ban will affect 34 processing enterprises and 143 designated trading venues. China will start to revoke some business licenses by March 2017. UC Berkeley officials say campus Republicans will have to pay about $10,000 for security to host ultra-conservative journalist Milo Yiannopoulos on Feb. 1. In an interview last week, campus spokesman Dan Mogulof said the amount is "only a ballpark figure," which university police would pin down once the Berkeley College Republicans files the required paperwork to request campus police services. "The final estimate is based solely on objective criteria," Mogulof said, which includes the number of people expected to attend the event, entrance fees, whether the speech is open to the public, the venue, its location and number of exits. Yiannopoulos is a critic of feminism, was vocal during the "Gamergate" controversy, and has been called a spokesman for the alt-right. He was permanently banned from Twitter in July 2016 for what the company described as "inciting or engaging in the targeted abuse or harassment of others." The majority of students and professors at UC Berkeley campus, on the other hand, lean left. An organization called Antifa Berkeley is organizing a counter-protest on Feb. 1. The group is dedicated to anti-fascist action, according to its Facebook page, and is also meeting on Sunday, Jan. 8 to plan for direct action during Yiannopoulos' speech. Charging student groups for security costs is standard practice at UC Berkeley. "Additional security costs that come as a result of attributes of events. Those are security costs that the campus must assume," he added. Celine Bookin, Berkeley College Republicans spokeswoman, complained to the Daily Californian that the high estimate would indirectly block to Yiannopoulos' speech because her group couldn't raise enought money to pay for security for the event. David Craig, the organization's treasurer, told the student newspaper that the College Republicans get a grant of about $7,500 from the Associated Students of the University of California. Campus officials said the College Republicans' invitation doesn't mean the university is endorsing Yiannopoulos or his views. The First Amendment prohibits the university from censoring events or banning speakers, Mogulof said. As a separate legal entitiy, the College Republicans invited and will host Yiannopoulous. "While we realize that the presence of certain speakers is very likely to upset some members of our campus community, the U.S. Constitution, and thus university policy, prevent campus administration from barring invited speakers from campus based on the viewpoints those speakers may express," Mogulof said in a written statement. Surveyors plunged a pole into the Sierra Nevada snowpack on Tuesday and took the first manual measurement of the wet season, finding water content was about half of normal as California flirts with a possible sixth year of drought. At Tuesday's reading at Phillips Station, the water content measured at 53 percent of normal, said Frank Gehrke, chief snow surveyor at the state Department of Water Resources. Despite the lower water-content level, he called it a good start because higher elevations were doing better. Surveyors took the reading at 6,000 feet near Lake Tahoe as major cold and windy storms were expected to dump four to five feet of snow through Thursday in areas above 4,500 feet in Northern and central California, while mountain areas below that could get two to three feet, forecasters said. The storms were expected to boost the snowpack that provides roughly a third of California's water in normal years for drinking, farming and wildlife when it melts in warm, dry months. What surveyors find between now and April 1 will guide state water officials in managing the water supply of the nation's most populous, agriculture-rich state. Electronic monitors at elevations throughout the Sierra in late December showed the overall snowpack with 72 percent water content. Gehrke also took the survey at an elevation below the snowline for December's storms. A year ago, the snowpack was slightly above normal levels, but Gehrke recalled that the rain and snow essentially stopped in February and March, leaving the state at a nearly average year for precipitation on April 1. "This year, it looks like (storms are) lined up off the coast and will continue to increase the snowpack," Gehrke said as he stood on about three feet of snow. Elsewhere, rain was expected starting Tuesday afternoon throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Winter storm advisories will go into effect from 4 a.m. Wednesday until 4 a.m. Thursday, said Bob Benjamin, a National Weather Service forecaster. Avalanche alerts were issued for high elevations and flooding was possible in the foothills. A second, stronger system was expected to hit the region over the weekend, bringing the possibility of as much as five additional feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada. "It looks like it's going to be wet all week, and possibly into next week," Benjamin said. Southern California, which has remained relatively dry in recent months, was expected to see light showers this week, forecasters said. At the height of the drought in 2015, snowpack surveyors stood on a dirt patch for the April 1 measurement at Phillips Station, finding the least snow since records had been taken in 1950. Gov. Jerry Brown responded by ordering residents statewide to use 25 percent less water, letting lawns turn brown or tearing them out and flushing toilets less often. The drought eased last year and so did regulations. Sierra Getting Ready for Snow Season In February, the state water board will again consider the conditions and decide whether the state needs to take a stronger stand on conservation. "If the skies dry up, we'll be looking at something different," board chair Felicia Marcus said. "We're playing this one moment to moment." This winter started strong. More rain fell in October than in the same month over the past three decades, raising the state's major reservoirs in Northern California along with hopes that the drought would soon end. Doug Carlson, a spokesman for the state's Department of Water Resources, said it is too early to predict if the wet weather will end the drought. "It could change immediately and stop snowing and raining," he said. San Mateo police officers on Monday arrested a 24-year-old man on suspicion of breaking into single men's homes, groping them as they sleep, and then stealing their valuables. However, this isn't the first time the suspect, identified as Ismael Espinoza Vasquez, has been nabbed for inappropriate conduct. Police believe he fondled a man in 2014 at a 24-Hour Fitness. Monday morning's instances of sexual battery and theft occurred near the area of North Kingston Street and North Bayshore Boulevard, said police, who credited neighbors for reacting quickly and dialling 911. Responding officers apprehended Vasquez after arriving on scene and pursuing him on foot, according to police. Vasquez put up a fight and managed to injure an officer while he resisted arrest, but was eventually taken into custody and charged with multiple transgressions. Vasquez has been booked into the San Mateo County Jail on five counts of burglary, two counts of attempted burglary, three counts of sexual battery, assault on a peace officer, and obstructing/delaying a peace officer, police said. The victims were "shocked" by the "odd, disturbing crime," said Sgt. Amanda Von Glahn with the San Mateo Police Department. Ray Zamora, who lives in the neighborhood, was concerned by Vasquez's alleged crimes. It's "scary" because "if you're in your sleep, someone might do something to you," he said. Police consider Vasquez a sexual predator, but they fear his victim list could be a lot longer. Officers believe some men might not come forward out of embarrassment, especially if they responded to Vasquezs advances, then found out they were later robbed. Police are urging men, who may have stayed silent, to contact them. A little boy from Utah is being hailed as a hero for pushing a fallen dresser off his twin brother. Both boys are OK, but furniture falling is a persistent threat to climbing children, according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, which encourages parents of young children to secure furniture to the wall. "Not all children are that lucky. Tragically, one child dies every two weeks and a child is injured every 30 minutes when TVs or furniture tip over in the U.S.," CPSC Spokeswoman Patty Davis said in a statement. The nanny-cam video, initially posted to YouTube on New Year's Eve, shows the boys playing on open dresser drawers before the whole piece of furniture tips over. As NBC affiliate KSL reported, Bowdy Shoff crawled out from underneath the dresser, but his brother, Brock, was pinned. After a couple of attempts to free his brother, the 2-year-old was able to push it off Brock. "They have that twin bond, and that's just what you do for your brother," mother Kayli Shoff said on MSNBC Tuesday, with her boys tagging along. She has since secured the drawer to the wall, which the CPSC recommends for large furniture that childen may want to climb on. The CPSC is investigating this incident, Davis said. She said it was miraculous that Bowdy was able to push the dresser off Brock. Shoff also took knobs off all the drawers and added latches to the bottom drawers, so the boys have a harder time scaling the dresser. "I don't want this to happen to anyone else's child, because I know how I felt in the moment," Shoff said, when asked why she shared the video. "It's just not something that you think about every day." Last year, Ikea issued a massive recall of 29 million dressers that were blamed in the deaths of six children and the injuries of three dozen more. It also offered wall anchor kits to any owners. The CPSC says securing furniture to a wall is quick and easy and saves lives. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said Tuesday that it was a miracle neither of the boys was hurt. "Horrifying incidents, like the one appearing in this video, show why we need strong, enforceable stability standards for furniture that can harm children," he said in a statement, adding that he intends to reintroduce legislation in Congress to make safer furniture that won't tip over. Police say a woman arrested following the hanging a Dakota Access pipeline protest banner from the roof of U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis during a Minnesota Vikings' game is suspected of burglary. Police spokesman Officer Corey Schmidt said Monday that the 27-year-old woman is also accused of obstructing legal process. Police haven't released details of her role in the incident Sunday afternoon during the Vikings' season finale against the Chicago Bears. Two other people accused of sneaking onto a truss in the roof of the stadium and rappelling down to unfurl the banner have been arrested for trespass and burglary. Formal charges against the three are expected Tuesday. The pipeline would carry oil from North Dakota to Illinois. Opponents fear it could harm the environment and American Indian artifacts. The pipeline developer disputes that. Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith has used his Keith Relief charity to help countless families dealing with the financial burdens of medical crises, and next month he will host a charity concert in Chicago to help raise funds for the organization. The concert will take place on Friday, Feb. 24 at Joes Bar on Weed Street, according to a press release issued by the Blackhawks. The evening will include a concert by country music artist Tyler Farr and will also include a silent auction and a live auction to help raise funds for Keith Relief and Ronald McDonald House Charities. General admission tickets to the event are $80 each, and VIP tickets are available for $275, and will be available at 10 a.m. on Friday morning. For fans that purchase VIP tickets, they will have the opportunity to meet with Keith and with other Blackhawks players that will be in attendance. Last years benefit concert for Keith Relief raised over $120,000 for the charity, but it isnt the only way that the foundation has been raising money in recent years. Keith also got creative in 2016 with his line of breakfast cereal, which was called Keith Krunch and also helped raise money for the charity. Chicagos former police superintendent, Garry McCarthy, said in an interview over the weekend that a nationwide movement aimed at saving black lives is instead getting black lives taken. Whats happening is, and this is ironic, that a movement with the goal of saving black lives, at this point is getting black lives taken. Because 80 percent of our murder victims here in Chicago are male blacks, McCarthy told New York radio host John Catsimatidis Sunday. The interview looked to dissect Chicagos historic violence problem after the city recorded one of its most violent years with 762 homicides in 2016, the most in two decades. The rising number of shootings and homicides even prompted a response from President-elect Donald Trump, who tweeted at Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel saying, "If Mayor can't do it he must ask for Federal help." Chicago is probably the worst example of something thats happened across the country and over the last couple of years starting with the Ferguson situation and continuing on to places like Baltimore and Charlotte and here in Chicago, McCarthy said. Theres been a political atmosphere of anti-police sentiment that has swept across this country over the last few years and the simplest way to describe it is that weve created an environment where we have emboldened crminals and we are hamstringing the police. So thats creating a state of lawlessness and that leads to more murders across the country. McCarthy, who was fired by Emanuel last year following the release of dashcam video showing a white officer shooting a black teen 16 times, blamed noncompliance with police for a majority of police-involved shootings, saying almost without exception any one of these bad incidents that you see, it starts with non compliance. That noncompliance is being legitimized by whats happening politically, he said. Theres a lot of accountability to go around, this goes from the White House to local elected officials and community leaders here in places like Chicago and Baltimore, across the country. Legitimizing that noncompliance is leading to disorder and Chicago is getting the worst of it. The nation's third largest city saw 1,100 more shooting incidents last year than it did in 2015, according to data released Sunday by the Chicago Police Department. The statistics underline a story of bloodshed that has put Chicago at the center of a national dialogue about gun violence. The numbers are staggering, even for those who followed the steady news accounts of weekends ending with dozens of shootings and monthly death tolls that hadn't been seen in years. The increase in homicides compared to 2015, when 485 were reported, is the largest spike in 60 years. McCarthy said, in part, that Chicagos violence took a turn following the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald. Less than half of 1 percent of all the shootings in this city involve police officers shooting civilians, McCarthy said in the interview. But one shooting, and granted its a bad shooting and the officer needs to be held accountable, whether its outside of policy or whether its criminal and he deserves a trial, just like any other citizen in this country, and the officer has to answer for his actions, but the solutions that are being applied as a result of that particular incident, have it that people are dying in record numbers here. Does that make any sense? McCarthys statements were somewhat echoed by Chicagos current police superintendent, Eddie Johnson. Johnson said during a news conference Sunday that Chicago is among many U.S. cities that have seen a spike in violence, including in attacks on police. He said anger at police, including in the wake of the Laquan McDonald dashcam release, has left criminals "emboldened" to violent crimes. [Officials] need to have a conversation with the police about how to do their job, instead of a conversation about the police not involving the police. And thats where we are today and that political environment has to change, McCarthy said. People have to be fed up with it, I know people are fed up with it here in Chicago, but different places across the country, this has just got to stop. I think the Trump election quite frankly is a reaction to that, I think the people are tired of career politicians who never really had a job, telling us what we should think and how we should act. I think America is fed up with that. For a sitting, massively rich Republican governor who just added $50 million in personal cash to his re-election campaign, a sitting Chicago alderman with a measly $50,000 probably doesnt seem much of a threat. And perhaps pro-business, union-critic Governor Bruce Rauner has nothing to worry about from 47th Ward Alderman Ameya Pawar, a liberal (progressive, if you prefer) who has decided to take him on. Pawar, 36, in an exclusive interview with NBC Chicagos Ward Room, made it official as of Tuesday. I am running because weve gotten to a point in this country where wealth worship is the only qualifier for public office, trumping public policy. Chopping benefits or declaring strategic bankruptcy or selling companies off in pieces for profit is somehow seen as the secret ingredient for an Illinois utopia, said Pawar. The case he plans to make? In his words, Government should be aspirational. People like to tell us how terrible government is but it was the federal government after the Great Depression that created the middle class. And sent a man to the moon. Pawar, an Indian-American, who holds three graduate degrees in urban planning, disaster management and social policy, is accustomed to being discounted. It was in the Spring of 2011 in the Machine fortress 47th ward that Pawar was written off by a pile of prominent progressives like Mike Quigley, Forrest Claypool, Heather Steans, Bridget Gainer, and last but not least, Rahm Emanuel whose Ravenswood house is in the ward. The whole pack of them went with retiring alderman Eugene Schulters anointed pick, Tom ODonnell. But Pawar, earnest and intelligent, outworked and outguessed them all, knocked on every door, and resonated with fed-up homeowners who complained they hadnt seen or heard a new idea from their politicos in a long, long time. And so Pawar beat the machine and the Progressives with 50.8 percent of the vote, enough to win free and clear without a runoff. The best piece written about his victory was done by The Readers Ben Joravsky: Its a great read and, following the general election of 2016 where we once again saw conventional political wisdom upended, its a reminder that we sometimes fail to see the rebellion thats right in front of us. Pawar, for his part, has tried to be a consensus builder in City Council. Sometimes to his credit, sometimes not. But he has worked hard, been thoughtful, and so far, is still idealistic enough not to be under the yoke of the Mayor nor a member of the Old Guard. Nor is he a full partner of the Progressive Caucus. One of his greatest fights has been in behalf of quality public high schools in his ward. Does Pawar have the wherewithal to go up against the potential primary election cash of Democratic billionaires (Chris Kennedy & JB Pritzker)? Or to take on, maybe, a couple of state senators (Kwame Raoul & Andy Manar), a pair of congresswomen (Robin Kelly & Cheri Bustos) or an Attorney General named Madigan? Hes decided to try. And so, as of early Tuesday morning, Ameya Pawar tells Ward Room hes in. President Barack Obama confirmed Monday that he will deliver a farewell address at McCormick Place on the evening of Jan. 10, but where can supporters watch the historic event? The speech will be available to stream for free on both the White House's website and Facebook page. The White House is encouraging Americans to follow the event on social media using the hashtag #YesWeCan, a slogan made famous during Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. Additionally, a public ticket distribution will take place at McCormick Place on Jan. 7, according to the White House. Tickets are free, and one ticket per person will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Doors for the speech are scheduled to open at 5 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to arrive at or before that time. Those arriving late may not be permitted to attend. Obama, in a written statement released Monday, explained that the American people have helped him lead during his presidency, a theme he plans to highlight in his speech. "I'm thinking about [my remarks] as a chance to say thank you for this amazing journey, to celebrate the ways you've changed this country for the better these past eight years, and to offer some thought on where we all go from here," he wrote. The U.S. president's farewell address, Obama noted, is a tradition that dates back to 1796, when George Washington said goodbye to Americans before transferring power to his successor, John Adams. Congressman-elect Raja Krishnamoorthis swearing in Tuesday comes just weeks before President-elect Donald Trumps inauguration and Krishnamoorthi isnt taking that lightly. What keeps me up is the feeling were dividing as a country sometimes, he said. Along those fault lines, religion, party, where people came from. As a Democrat, Krishnamoorthi is concerned that Obamacare may be repealed. Twenty to 30 million people might lose their health coverage and it could cost Illinois almost $100,000 jobs and $12 billion in lost gross domestic product for Illinois, he said. Born in India, Krishnamoorthis family moved first to New York then Peoria, where his father was a professor at Bradley University. Krishnamoorthi became a successful small businessman after graduating from Harvard Law School and says he will keep the middle class his priority. A lot of people feel ignored by Washington D.C., especially people in the middle class, he said. People who are working hard and playing by the rules but are seeing the cost of education, healthcare and child care and everything else going through the roof, while their pay remains stagnant. A dozen years ago, Krishnamoorthi worked in the Obama Senate Office as his issues director. His first two tries at public office ended in defeat. This time, he blanketed the airwaves with TV ads for his recent 8th District Congressional race. On Tuesday, Krishnamoorthi will be joined by a large contingent from his Peoria home and his family as they watch him join Congress. A statewide Amber Alert in Indiana was canceled after two young boys who were believed to have been abducted were found, police said. It was not immediately clear how the children were found, but police said just before 8:30 p.m. that the children had been located and were safe with their grandparents. "We would like to say thank you to everyone involved in helping us locate the children this evening," police said in a Facebook post. "We were able to locate them 2 hours and 15 minutes from when the Amber Alert was issued." The Princes Lakes Police Department initially said it was investigating the abduction of Avery Rader, 10, and Zek Rader, 6, who were believed to have been taken by their non-custodial father John Rader. Police said the father did not have legal custody and the children were considered to be in danger. The children were last seen at 3:40 p.m. CT in Princes Lakes, 39 miles south of Indianapolis. One child takes medication and it was taken when the boys were abducted, police said. John Rader is a 40-year-old white man, standing 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes and an extensive crminal background, police said. Raders vehicle is described as a white 2007 Ford 500 with black tinted windows and two breast cancer stickers on it with Indiana plate number 727MIO. Police said the father may be traveling to Texas from statements he had made. Avery Rader is a 10-year-old boy, about 4 feet tall and 60 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. Zek Rader is 6 years old, about 3 feet tall and about 40 pounds. Its unclear what clothes either boy was wearing. Anyone with information on the children is asked to call the Princes Lakes Police Department at (888) 582-6237 or 911. Police are searching for two men they believe followed a mother and son home from a casino in northwest Indiana, then beat them and stole hundreds of dollars before fleeing. A 71-year-old woman and her 45-year-old son were returning to their house on Arthur Ave in suburban Brookfield as winners from the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana, around 3 a.m. on Monday when they were attacked, according to police. "They're just coming home in the dark and walking up to their door and two masked up guys come out of nowhere and attacked them," said Brookfield Police Chief James Episcopo. "It does appear that they were followed home," Episcopo said, adding that the victims were unaware they were being pursued for the 28 mile journey until they got out of their car and were confronted. The men demanded and got away with more than $600, according to police, and the victims were taken to an area hospital and treated for head injuries - leaving area residents on edge. "What kind of monster does that?" asked Stan Skarbek, who was one of the neighbors involved in establishing a GoFundMe account to cover the victims' medical bills and help them recoup their losses . "I wanted to run outside but I was a little, kind of like, I don't know what I'm getting myself into," said neighbor Patti Hummel. Police said they're working with the casino to pull surveillance footage that could show if the men followed the victims from inside the casino. "We want to solve it. We'd like to put this kind of thing to a stop," Episcopo said. "We're working closely with Indiana authorities. Can't comment beyond that," the casino said in a statement. No one is in custody and authorities continue to investigate. A DuPage County sheriffs deputy fatally shot a person after responding to a violent domestic battery call early Monday near west suburban Villa Park. About midnight, the first deputy to arrive at the home near Standish Lane and Ardmore Avenue got into an altercation with a suspect, prompting the deputy to open fire, according to a statement from the sheriffs office. The suspect was taken to Elmhurst Hospital, where he died. Police withheld the names of the suspect and the deputy who shot him. The DuPage County coroners office could not immediately be reached for information. Illinois State Police are investigating, and the DuPage County states attorneys office has been notified, police said. Chicago police are asking for the publics help in finding a man who robbed and sexually assaulted a woman on New Year's Day on the citys West Side. The 31-year-old woman was inside her home in the 2100 block of West Concord Place around 11 p.m. Sunday when a man broke in and threatened her with a gun before tying the woman up and touching her inappropriately, according to police. The man then stole some of the womans belongings in the home invasion, including an iPad and road bike, police said, before taking off through of the homes back door. Bucktown residents near the home, located on a typically quiet side street, told NBC 5 they are hoping the crime doesnt become a trend in the neighborhood. The only thing similar was that Bucktown creeper guy that was down the road on Leavitt [Street], said neighbor Alex Young. So they still seem to be pretty rare occurrence, but when they do happen theyre pretty frightening. The suspect was described as a standing over 6 feet tall, according to the Chicago Tribune, weighing 170 to 175 pounds and was wearing a black hooding and light blue jeans at the time. Area North Detectives is investigating the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call police at (312) 744-8263. An Arkansas woman died while broadcasting on Facebook Live, police confirmed Monday. Kieana Herndon, 25, was broadcasting live from a friends home last Wednesday when "something seemed to happen" to her, Sgt. Christopher Lutman of the El Dorado Police Department confirmed in a phone conversation with NBC News. She started squinting like someone who had a headache, said Lutman, who has seen the video. He added that after she started squinting, Herndon stopped moving. Her eyes rolled, and eventually she appeared to pass out. The only person with Herndon in the home at that time was her 1-year-old son, Lutman said. Someone who was viewing the broadcast contacted the friend with whom Herndon was staying. The friend then returned home and called authorities upon finding the 25-year-old mother unconscious. Right now, the case is being considered an unattended death, and authorities have no suspicion of foul play. Lutman called it a sad, tragic occurrence. The video has been removed from Facebook. Some of Herndons family members have talked to local news outlets and reported that the woman suffered from a medical condition. Herndons mother, Mary Morgan, told local ABC affiliate KATV that her daughter had thyroid problems." "The thyroid messes with everything and it triggered her heart," Herndon's mother said. "Its a tragedy, I know that much, and I know one thing, I would love to have my baby back with me. The medical examiner performed an autopsy, but he said further testing would be done to try to determine an official cause of death. Herndons body will be returned to her family Tuesday. Some reports indicated that there were thousands of people watching the Facebook Live stream when Herndon died, but police disputed this detail. Lutman said that when police reviewed the broadcast, there appeared to be only a couple dozen viewers during the time Herndon was actively broadcasting. Herndon was reportedly talking in the video about going back to school and responding to messages from friends when she passed out. Lutman said that while there have been other cases of people dying on Facebook Live streams, this one stands out because Herndon did not appear to be doing anything high-risk or irresponsible. People showboating, or whatever, being silly and then something tragic happens," Lutman said. "In this case it was just a conversation with friends. Someone who appears to know the family created a page on the GoFundMe website to raise support for the family, including Herndons two awesome little boys. The campaign has more than $2,000 in donations out of its $10,000 goal as of Monday afternoon. Police are investigating why a 10-month-old baby stopped breathing twice after being exposed to the opioid fentanyl in Methuen, Massachusetts. There was drug paraphenalia found in the baby's mother's car, according to police. Methuen police said they were called to a Treetop Way residence at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday for a report of a baby who was not breathing. Upon arrival, emergency personnel immediately began treating the child before transporting her to Lawrence General Hospital, where she stopped breathing twice and had to be revived by hospital staff. The child was later flown to Tufts Medical Center in Boston via MedFlight helicopter and has since been released from the hospital. Hospital tests indicated that the baby had fentanyl in her system. The type of drug and amount ingested has not been released. The baby lives with her mother and grandparents in Methuen, according to Michael Quinn, an attorney and family friend. There are a lot of questions and they have no answers, Quinn said. Quinn says the mother found the baby unresponsive Saturday after a nap and the grandfather started CPR. The babys mother has struggled with drugs, but has been clean for several months, according to Quinn. She has no idea how this happened, even before she delivered the baby she was in a program and she has been drug free ever since and that hasnt changed, she has had negative drug tests the whole time, there hasnt been anything, Quinn said. They are still cooperating with police and whoever wants to talk about it and whatever the investigation shows, theyd like answers as well. "It's disconcerting," Methuen Police Lt. Michael Pappalardo said. "It's heartbreaking, to say the least. It's a 10-month-old baby. It's very difficult to deal with a young child that has become a victim." "The opioid epidemic knows no boundaries," added Methuen Mayor Stephen Zanni. "We must continue to be vigilant in ensuring that children do not have access to harmful substances and to do everything we can to fight the disease of addiction." Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid medication that is similar to morphine but 50 to 100 times more potent. It is often mixed with or substituted for heroin. Methuen Police Chief Joseph Solomon said his department's focus now is to determine where the drug came from and how it wound up in the baby's system. No arrests have been made, but police said charges are still possible. The Department of Children and Families is investigating in collaboration with Methuen Police, Massachusetts State Police and the Essex County District Attorney's Office. The baby is now in the custody of an aunt. A DCF hearing is scheduled to be held on Tuesday. Woodbridge police said a female suspect robbed the Peoples United Bank on Amity Road Monday afternoon. According to police, around 3 p.m. a female entered the bank with a coat, hat, and a white scarf wrapped around her face and passed a note to the teller demanding money. Employees handed over a small amount of cash and the suspect fled on foot. Woodbridge police believe the same suspect also robbed a bank in West Haven last month. Peoples United Bank is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the identity of the suspect. Connecticut State police responded to assist with the investigation. Anyone with information on either incident or who recognizes the suspect pictured above is asked to contact Woodbridge police at 203-387-2512. Senator Richard Blumenthal said our nation is engaged in a cyber war with Russia that requires a robust response. On Monday, Blumenthal said the attacks we have seen so far will increase if the country fails to repsond, but the response may be premature if you ask the president-elect. On the eve of being sworn in to his second term in Washington, the senator warns that the recent reported hack on a Vermont utility is part of a more widespread plan by Russia to hit U.S. infrastructure, transportation, power grid, and financial system. The average business or homeowner here in Connecticut ought to be very, very understanding even apprehensive about the threat that's represented by potential Russian aggression and cyber attacks, said Blumenthal. Eversource addressed concerns about the state of Connecticut. In a statement to NBC Connecticut, an Eversource spokesperson said: We are aware of the reports of an incident involving a laptop at a Vermont electric utility and are staying up to date on any information from authorities as well as other utilities on any safeguards that need to be put in place. President-elect Donald Trumps press secretary says dont be so fast to jump to conclusions. On The Today Show, Sean Spicer said I think he does know things, that is why he is the president elect. He is informed of things that Americans aren't clear to get that information and I think what he is trying to get it is there is there is a degree of certainty that this happened. Blumenthal said he wants to establish a select committee to investigate how widespread Russian hacking could be, followed by strong sanctions that ban Russian oil exports to the U.S. and impact Russian access to American banks. And he wants to put such legislation before the president-elect as soon as Trump arrives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The bodies of Corey Saunders and his son Nathan were found in Lake Tawakoni after they were reported missing Monday night. [[409482665,C]] A Texas Game Warden said the 26-year-old man, his 5-year-old son and their dog took a boat onto the lake from Caddo Landing in the area of Farm-to-Market Road 2101 near Boles Home at about 5 a.m. Game Warden officials said the boy's mother reported them missing when he and his father didn't return home from a duck hunting trip. They began searching the lake and found the boy's body at about 11:30 p.m. Monday, according to Texas Game Warden Capt. Steve Stapleton. A woman reported her husband and 5-year-old son missing when they didnt return home from a duck hunting trip on Lake Tawakoni Monday, said Texas Game Warden Capt. Steve Stapleton. The search for the father resumed Tuesday morning. Game Warden officials said they recovered the man's body at about 10:30 a.m. The Hunt County Sheriff's Office said they will release more information at a later time. Grapevine police are searching for a man they say dressed as a Wal-Mart employee to steal merchandise. On November 21, surveillance photos show a man walking into the Wal-Mart located on State Highway 114. The man eventually puts on a blue Wal-Mart employee vest over his shirt. The man filled up two shopping carts with merchandise and walked out of the store without paying, according to police. He was last seen driving a dark colored Dodge Ram pickup truck. If your recognize the man in the photos or have additional information, contact Grapevine Police Sgt. Spillers at 817-410-3243 or wspillers@grapevinetexas.gov. A Southwest Airlines flight from San Antonio to Orlando, Florida was forced to land after a pressurization issue Monday night, the Dallas-based airline said. All 133 passengers on board Southwest Flight 3556 exited the aircraft safely at Jacksonville International Airport shortly before midnight. A passenger told NBC News the plane was flying through a storm near Orlando when the oxygen masks dropped. He said the plane felt warm and he could smell smoke. In a statement, a Southwest spokesman said the flight was diverted to address a pressurization issue. The plane was taken out of service for an inspection. Passengers boarded a different plane and continued onto Orlando, arriving at about 1:30 a.m. Two North Texas men are warning people about the dangers of shooting guns into the air to celebrate the new year after they were hit by random bullets falling from the sky. Jerry Serrano rang in the new year in his own front yard Saturday night in North Fort Worth. "The whole yard was full with the family, you know, a bunch of us out here," he said. But instead of fireworks, he said his neighborhood was full of another loud sound. "You could hear guns machine guns, handguns, I mean everything," the 36-year-old factory worker said. "They were going off, 'pow, pow,' like non-stop." Without warning, a 38-caliber bullet hit him in the shoulder. "I felt something hit me in the back of my back," Serrano said. About the same time in Dallas, Adam Murnan was home in bed. "I decided to stay in and make it a good new year," he said. "I woke up and I didn't know what had happened. I was in pain." A lot of pain. "I was holding my leg, screaming," he said. He and his friends noticed a bullet hole in the window. "That's when I figured I had been shot," he said. His leg is broken. It could take eight weeks to recover from the gunshot wound. "(The police) said it was probably a random bullet people shooting their guns off for New Year's," he said. "So yeah, not much to do for it, I guess." The two men share similar stories and now the same message. "If a bullet is going to go up, it has to go down. I mean, it's just common logic. It doesn't make sense to shoot a gun in the air. Someone can get hurt," Murnan said. "I was one of those who said, 'Nah, it's not going to happen.' It happens. Like they say, what goes up must come down," Serrano said. Police have no suspects in either case. Dallas police reported a total of 711 calls about random gunfire between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. on the night of New Year's Eve. And in South Texas a state lawmaker was struck in the head by what he believes was celebratory gunfire. Rep. Armando Martinez, D-Weslaco, said he was in a home near the town of Weslaco when he felt like he had been struck in the head by a sledgehammer. It was discovered that he'd been shot and he later underwent surgery to have the bullet removed. UPDATE (Tuesday): The police officer has been taken off street duty until an investigation is complete, and the teenager allegedly admitted to slapping the officer in the face before the barrage of punches by the cop, a department spokesman said. Click here for more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Police are investigating a brawl in Southwest Philadelphia that occurred Monday afternoon, including a physical confrontation caught on video that shows a city police officer repeatedly punching a teenager. As many as 30 people were involved in a street fight at 54th Street and Springfield Avenue about 3:30 p.m., police said. Family members of some of the brawlers called police from a nearby house, according to one witness, Takeema Bundy. As responding officers attempted to break up the fight, two videos posted to social media showed the fighting. A video posted on Instagram first pans across the street, capturing the scope of a mass melee. Within a few moments, the video focuses in on a female police officer who is pushing a teen girl away from the center of the fracas. The teenager yells at the officer, then begins to shove the officer and grabs the officer's arms. For about a second, the video moves away, but when it returns to the officer and teenager, the officer is seen throwing the teen girl to the ground. The officer then straddles the teen and repeatedly punches the teen as the teen swings back. The officer then pulls the teen girl up by her hair as other brawlers swarm around the two and another officer comes into the frame. The video then ends. They threw me against the car and they slammed her on the ground, the teens legal guardian, who did not want to be identified, told NBC10. [NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More Another video posted on Facebook also shows the incident between the officer and the teen, though it does not show the large brawl that occurred right before. Toward the end of the Facebook video, a second assisting officer can be seen separating some of the brawlers from surrounding the initial female officer and teenager. Bundy, who is also a friend of the teen, claimed the girl was actually trying to break up the brawl but threw a punch at someone before she was confronted by the police officer. She also told NBC10 the teen's mother died two weeks ago. I just feel like she didnt deserve it, Bundy said while in tears. She lost her mom. She dont got nobody and I feel she was there for me and look where shes at. The teenager is currently in police custody. Philadelphia police say theyre aware of it and its being investigated by the Internal Affairs Division. Shes 16 years old, Bundy said. I dont think she deserves that. The cop shouldnt have done that. That lady was like 30 something. Warning: These videos contain violence and strong language The 115th Congress was gaveled into session earlier on Tuesday with House Republicans re-electing Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as Speaker and Senate Republicans introducing legislation that's a precursor to repealing much of the Affordable Care Act. Successful passage of the measure would allow a detailed follow-up repeal bill to pass through Congress without fear of a filibuster by Senate Democrats. Tuesday's measure doesn't contain any policy language. Repealing President Barack Obama's signature health care law is the top priority of President-elect Donald Trump and his GOP allies on Capitol Hill. The measure directs top congressional committees to cast votes to assemble the repeal legislation by Jan. 27. That means there's no time for trying to add legislation to replace so-called Obamacare. The measure is officially called a budget resolution. Senate debate begins this week and the House is likely to follow next week. Meanwhile, the House convened at noon Tuesday, with 241 Republicans and 194 Democrats, including 52 freshmen. Ryan was re-elected Speaker of the House, receiving the majority of his colleagues' votes (239). Ryan said his message to the American people is that "we hear you, we will do right by you and we will deliver." Ryan said Americans have been looking to Washington for leadership but all they've gotten is condescension. Ryan said it's time not to be timid. He said: "You can feel the winds of change." Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said House Democrats will seek common ground with Republicans when they can on issues such as investing in the nation's infrastructure and making sure taxes and foreign trade are fair to worker. She said Democrats will stand their ground on attempts to harm Medicare, Social Security or the Affordable Care Act. He pledged to American voters, We hear you, we will do right by you and we will deliver. In the Senate, seven new members of the Senate joined those who won re-election in receiving the oath of office from Vice President Joe Biden. Biden is the president of the Senate until Trump becomes president Jan. 20. Then Mike Pence will take over. Each senator was joined at the dais by current and former senators. They then took their new desks and chatted with fellow lawmakers. There are two new Republican senators and five Democrats. The Republicans are Indiana Sen. Todd Young and Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy. The Democrats are Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan, California Sen. Kamala Harris and Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth. Duckworth, a double-amputee Iraq war vet, walked to the dais and stood for the oath. Members of the 115th Congress are setting off an aggressive campaign by Republicans who control the House and Senate to dismantle eight years of President Barack Obama's Democratic policies. The first and biggest target is Obama's signature health care law, which Republicans have long sought to gut and blamed as a primary cause for a lackluster economic recovery. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday encouraged a wholesale overhaul of the system, tweeting hours before the new Congress convenes "Obamacare just doesn't work," is unaffordable "and, it is lousy health care." Majority Republicans also are targeting decades-old programs that millions of Americans rely on every day, such as Social Security and Medicare as they seek to shrink both the size of the federal budget and the bureaucracy in Washington. "We have a lot to do and a lot to undo," House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said in a letter to fellow Republicans. There were signs of Republican-on-Republican drama even before the new Congress officially opened on Tuesday. House Republicans on Monday night voted to defy their leaders and gut the chamber's independent ethics panel created in 2008 to probe charges of lawmaker misconduct after several corruption scandals sent members to prison. But on Tuesday, they reversed the course under pressure from Trump. In two tweets on Tuesday, Trump reacted to the closed-door vote. Trump's first tweet said, "With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it." He followed up with a second that said. "Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS" "DTS" stands for "drain the swamp." Democrats will try to block the far-reaching conservative agenda by swaying public opinion and using the power they have in the Senate to filibuster legislation. But that strategy has its political limitations. Twenty-three Senate Democrats are up for re-election in 2018, including 10 from states won by President-elect Donald Trump, and they could break ranks and side with the GOP. "What we will always do is hold the president-elect and his Republican colleagues in Congress accountable," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in prepared remarks Tuesday. "We will be a caucus that works to make sure the president-elect keeps his commitment to truly make America great, in its finest sense and tradition." Obama plans a rare trip to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to meet with congressional Democrats and discuss strategy for saving the health care law. Vice President-elect Mike Pence will meet with Republicans. The first week of the new Congress will be a preview of the hectic pace planned by Republicans. Votes also are expected on resolutions to denounce the United Nations for condemning the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Republicans blasted the Obama administration for refusing to veto the decision. Ryan pledged "to reverse the damage done by this administration, and rebuild our alliance with Israel." James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, is scheduled to testify Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee on an intelligence community assessment that Russia interfered in the U.S. election by hacking into Democratic email accounts. Allegations of Russian meddling in the U.S. political process will be examined by individual congressional committees, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has rejected a bipartisan call for a special, high-profile select panel to investigate. Obama last week slapped Russia with sweeping penalties over the hacking allegations, yet Trump has not publicly accepted the conclusion Moscow was behind the election year intrusions. Incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday on Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends" that "there doesn't seem to be conclusive evidence" that the Russians were responsible. The House is slated to vote Friday to certify Trump's victory in the presidential election over Democrat Hillary Clinton. She is the fifth presidential candidate to win the popular vote and lose the Electoral College. She received nearly 2.9 million more votes than Trump, according to an Associated Press analysis, giving her the largest popular vote margin of any losing presidential candidate and bringing renewed calls to abolish the Electoral College. Other must-do items on the GOP's agenda are an overhaul of the U.S. tax code. Conservatives also want to scuttle rules on the environment and undo financial regulations created in the aftermath of the 2008 economic meltdown, arguing they are too onerous for businesses to thrive. The Senate plans to begin repealing Obama's health care law on Tuesday, with consideration of a procedural measure that will shield the initiative from Democratic filibusters. Lawmakers will then spend the next few months working on legislation canceling broad swaths of the law. Likely to go are its mandate that people buy health insurance or face IRS fines, and its expansion of Medicaid coverage to more lower-earning Americans. But several elements of the repeal likely wouldn't go into effect for two to four years. Amid the busy legislative schedule, the Senate will exercise its advice and consent role and consider Trump's picks for his Cabinet. A 37-year-old Huntington Beach man was arrested Monday on suspicion of killing two women in Westminster, whose bodies were found in Newport Beach, and then possibly setting one of the women's homes on fire, police said. Christopher Ireland was taken into custody by Westminster police on Monday morning and booked on two counts of murder in the deaths of Yolanda Holtrey, 59, and her friend, whom family identified as 49-year-old Michelle Luke. The bodies of the two women were found in a field in Newport Beach Monday morning, according to authorities. This drama began when Orange County Fire Authority firefighters responded to a fire at Holtrey's home in the 5000 block of Northwestern Way on New Year's Day. The fire was reported at 5:21 a.m., according to OCFA Capt. Larry Kurtz. "It took about 30 minutes to put out," Kurtz said. "There is no confirmed cause for the fire yet, but it's possibly arson." That's a sentiment shared by Westminster police. Authorities believe Ireland may have set the fire to cover up the murders. After the fire at the house was put out, authorities could not locate Holtrey, a fact that sparked the murder investigation and the grisly discovery of the two women's bodies made this morning. Ireland was arrested after he appeared at the fire scene with his wife, who said they arrived to help. Authorities said his arrest came after neighborhood surveillance video appeared to connect Ireland to the crimes. Ireland, Westminster police Corporal Alan Aoki said, has had no prior run-ins with law enforcement in Westminster. "It doesn't make sense," said Samantha Ireland, the suspect's wife. "There was no motive, no fight, no argument." Samantha Ireland said she and her husband returned home from a New Year's party at Holtrey's house at around 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning. They both went to sleep, she said. "I don't remember him leaving the house in the middle of the night; he doesn't remember anything," said Samantha Ireland, who believed her husband may have been sleepwalking. The two victims and the suspect's wife worked together at Stein Mart in Huntington Beach. Christopher Ireland is a licensed real estate agent working for Realty One Group, Inc. in Rancho Cucamonga with no disciplinary actions on his record, according to California real estate records. Ireland was first licensed as an agent this past August. He had planned to help Holtrey sell her home, Samantha Ireland said. "I don't know any realtors that would kill their clients," she said. "That's stupid -- why would he do that?" Aoki said it didn't appear that anyone else but Christopher Ireland was involved in these crimes. The Orange County Sheriff's Department was assisting Westminster police in this investigation. Ireland was currently being held in Orange County jail without bail, according to jail records. He is scheduled to head to court on Wednesday for his arraignment. City News Service contributed to this report. A judge Tuesday ordered the onetime attorney for a now-deceased man who allegedly defamed actor James Woods on Twitter to reveal the true name of his former client, who to this point has been referred to in court papers only by aliases. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joseph Kalin also directed lawyer Kenneth White to identify the heirs of the defendant, the personal representative of the man's estate and where he died. He directed that the information be given to Woods' lawyers within 10 days. Woods' lawyers said after the hearing that while they are not conceding that the defendant -- identified in court papers only as "Abe List" and "AL" -- actually died in August as they have been told, they can research whether the estate has any assets once they obtain his name. White told the judge the estate would not contest the suit because there are few assets left. He also said he was obligated to force Woods' lawyers to bring a motion and let a judge decide whether his former client's identity should be revealed. He said to do so simply upon an informal request would possibly violate the attorney-client privilege, be an invasion of Abe List's privacy and subject the personal representative to harassment on Twitter by Woods, who White said has about 450,000 followers. Lawyer Michael Weinsten, on behalf of Woods, said the actor has "sat silent" and will not be bothering anyone. "My client has not sent out a tweet since the case began," Weinsten said. "He has no intention of harassing the family.'' White refused to answer questions about Abe List's name and the circumstances of his client's death when the lawyer was deposed on Nov. 14, according to court papers filed by Woods' attorneys, who argued that Abe List lost his right to privacy when and if he died. Woods filed suit against the defendant in July 2015. The actor says the defendant's allegations on Twitter that he uses cocaine and is a sex offender are false and have hurt his reputation, built during a 45-year Hollywood career. "I have not now, nor have ever been, a coke fiend or cocaine addict," the Oscar-nominated actor says in a sworn declaration. "In fact, I have never done cocaine. I am also not, and have never been, a registered sex offender." Woods, 69, says the false statements have "jeopardized my good name and reputation on an international scale." The defendant's attorneys argued in a motion to dismiss the case that Woods' lawsuit is "a petulant abuse of the judicial system to punish and suppress speech that upsets him." Judge Mel Red Recana denied the motion and a defense appeal of the ruling was later dropped after the defendant died. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti unveiled a proposed Department of Water and Power "customer bill of rights" Tuesday that he says will guarantee improved service for residents, but some critics questioned whether it would actually have any impact. "Today we are rolling out a customer bill of rights, something that may not sound revolutionary, but for this department it is brand new and it is," Garcetti said, adding that it would guarantee certain levels of service for customers and financial rebates and credits if the promises are not kept. The document includes assurances that call wait times will not exceed three minutes on average, bills that exceed three times the average historic use for the same billing period will automatically be reviewed before being sent out and requests to start a new residential account will be processed within one business day. Customers will receive rebates or credits if the guarantees are not met. For example, if the department takes longer than 10 days after the final inspection to process a new business service connection of 200 amps or less, that business will receive a $25 credit. "If approved, I have full confidence in the Department of Water and Power's ability to meet each of these goals, because I know a few years ago we wouldn't have been able to meet these promises," Garcetti said before a meeting of the DWP commission, which deferred a vote on the bill of rights until a later meeting. The board's members are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council. If approved by the commission, the bill of rights would also have to be voted on by the City Council. When David Wright was confirmed by the council in September as the DWP's general manager, Garcetti said one of the first tasks he wanted him to undertake was developing and implementing a customer bill of rights. Wright said Tuesday the department is ready to stand by the bill of rights thanks to the increased personnel that have been hired over the last two years, including 300 customer service representatives and several hundred new billers. The LADWP has been rocked publicly by a number of scandals in recent years, and the customer bill of rights directly addresses some of the problems that have emerged. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge granted preliminary approval in November to a class-action settlement expected to result in at least $67.5 million refunded to DWP customers over a glitchy billing system several years ago that resulted in some customers receiving wildly inflated bills and others receiving no bills at all. Customers who received the inflated bills also had to contact the department themselves to try to sort out the issue, and sometimes would get more erroneous bills. The proposed bill of rights calls for the department to red flag any bills over three times the average before they are sent out. Customers also were reported to have call wait times of up to 40 minutes, but LADWP officials said the wait times have been under a minute for the last 10 months. "We have now been able credibly to promise that the wait time for a customer to call the DWP on any number of issues -- and they won't be calling as often because the issues have largely been addressed -- but the wait time is guaranteed to be under three minutes," said Board of Commissioners President Mel Levine. Jack Humphreville, president of the DWP Advocacy Committee, which represents Los Angeles neighborhood councils in matters related to the department, said his committee had not been consulted on the bill of rights. He said he is skeptical it will have any true impact. As for service guarantees, Humphreville told City News Service there was "nothing objectionable" in the bill of rights but "that is sort of 101, they should be doing that already. Yes, it sounds good, but it is no big deal." Humphreville was critical that the bill doesn't talk about any guarantees for ratepayer fees, and also said he was concerned the department might eventually use the document to justify rate hikes. "It doesn't talk about rates or the impact on homeowners. It doesn't talk about the impact on businesses and stuff like that," he said. Inflated bills and long wait times aren't the only problems the department has experienced lately. In June, the department sued PricewaterhouseCoopers, which handled the troubled rollout of the billing system, saying its officials had intentionally over-billed the city and spent the money, in part, on prostitutes and two lavish bachelor parties in Las Vegas. In April of 2015, City Controller Ron Galperin and City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana released audits of two trusts that receive a combined $4 million in annual payments from the DWP and were highly critical of them, saying they lacked methods of tracking and controlling their spending on contracts and travel expenses. The department ranked last in J.D. Power's 2016 Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking for large electric utility companies on the West Coast, and in 2011 it was ranked the 13th "most-hated company in America" by the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Glenn Bailey, treasurer of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition, complained that the bill of rights was scheduled for a commission vote Tuesday without any public notice of its details. The wording of the bill of rights was not included on the meeting agenda, which was made publicly available late last week, but it did state there would be a vote on it. Representatives of the mayor's office and the LADWP on Friday told City News Service the details were still being worked on and would not be ready until Tuesday morning. "Instead, the LADWP posted the proposed policy just a few hours ago on its website in an obscure location, even though the item had been on the (commission's) agenda since it was distributed four days ago," Bailey said. "How can the public, let alone the commissioners, provide meaningful and thoughtful input prior to adoption of this policy with essentially no notice?" Bailey suggested withholding of the details of the bill of rights could be a violation of the Brown Act, a state law that guides public government meetings and states that supporting materials produced by the city must be made public 72 hours in advance of a public meeting where a vote on the issue is going to be held. The DWP's Joe Ramallo told City News Service the details of the bill of rights were not completed until over the weekend and because of the New Year holiday could not be made public until Tuesday morning. Because only materials that are completed are supposed to be made public before a meeting, he said the department does not believe there was a Brown Act violation. To view the full text of the LADWP Customer Bill of Rights, visit www.ladwp.com/customerbillofrights If you think back, to the autumn, 'round about the beginning of November, you'll recall a freeze-in-place phenomenon sweeping social media, one that asked its participants to keep a pose for several seconds. It was the Mannequin Challenge, of course, and office staffs, school groups, and celebrities alike tried their best to not move a muscle. Of course, we here in Southern California know that the whole "don't move an inch" thing has been polished and perfected in Laguna Beach, to the delight of the public, for over 80 years. One is tempted to call the famous Pageant of the Masters the original Mannequin Challenge, but, of course, tableau vivant, or the artful act of standing as though one is in a painting or a part of a sculpture, boasts a centuries-old timeline. Still, the Orange County hold-still spectacular is certainly one of the world's, and history's, most celebrated versions of the form. And that you could actually be a part of it yes, you is a very real possibility. For the annual open casting call for The Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts stage-based staple are just ahead, on Friday, Jan. 6, Saturday, Jan. 7, and Sunday, Jan. 8. "No theater experience is necessary," says the audition announcement, though you will need to be available for the multi-week run of the summer show. A show which bears the thrilling, travel-nice theme "A Grand Tour" in 2017, so if that floats your particular boat, get jazzed. Will you be picked and then placed inside an Impressionist watercolor? Or as part of a triptych or over-sized vase? Even if your eyelid itches while you're on stage, or you see your aunt in the front row, you'll need to stay strictly, and with total stillness and chillness, in character. It's a fabled California tradition, the Pageant of the Masters, and a fine way for someone who has always wanted to try their hand at being on a big stage, sans the acting chops, to give it a go. Good luck to all of those who step up, and then stay completely in place, to audition. Playing a figure in a painting is quite the challenge, as many people around the planet found out, via a whimsical and wacky phenom, in November. Three days a week Douglas Hier dances with his work sign at an intersection in Murrieta to help his family make ends meet. "I try working as hard as I can to help out with whatever way I can," he said. To 22-year-old Douglas, finding a job can be hard for anyone -- but it's even more difficult for him because he has a learning disability caused by a mild form of autism. "Disability and all, I just try my best," he said. On Saturday, while Douglas was working at the intersection of Kalmia Street and Madison Avenue, a dark red PT Cruiser slowly drove up to the corner to make a right turn. Douglas then noticed the driver was yelling at him. "I didn't hear him at the time cause I had headphones on," he said. Seconds later, Douglas said a blond male who had bad acne suddenly pulled out a handgun and shot at him multiple times. "He started to shoot me, then I tilted the sign to where I would guard my face because that way I wouldn't get hurt," he said. The gun turned out to be a BB gun, so Douglas didn't suffer any serious injuries, only minor bruising. But to Douglas, it's the emotional pain that hurts the most. "It hurts my feelings a lot," he said. "It makes me feel like my job is no longer safe." Douglas' mother, Therese Hier, was furious and hopes Murrieta Police will catch the two men soon. "Be kind," Therese said. "Stop what you're doing. Grow up. Get a life." There was no surveillance video to help detectives because the cameras at nearby stores are not pointed toward the street. Douglas' family is relying on witnesses to help detectives find out who did this. Anyone with additional information should contact Murrieta police. Automaker Ford is canceling a plan to build a nearly $2 billion plant in Mexico so it can invest nearly half that money into a plant in Michigan, the company said Tuesday. Doing so will safeguard about 3,500 jobs at a facility in Wayne, Michigan, the company said in a press release, and the investment in a new "Manufacturing Innovation Center" in Flat Rock will add 700 new jobs. That plant will build a new, electric SUV with a range of at least 300 miles one of several new vehicles the company announced Tuesday. The move comes as President-elect Donald Trump insists that companies should focus manufacturing in the United States, rather than outsourcing to places like Mexico. Tuesday morning, Trump took aim at the Chevy Cruze, which he said is manufactured south of the border, though Chevy disupted that. High-level sources in Ford told NBC News that Trump had nothing to do with the company's decision to expand U.S. production and hire more employees. But CEO Mark Fields said at a news conference that he feels tax and regulatory reforms espoused by Trump and his party are encouraging. "We're also encouraged by the pro-growth policies that President-elect Trump and the new Congress have indicated that they will pursue," Fields said. "And we believe that these tax and regulatory reforms are critically important to boost U.S. competitiveness and of course drive a resurgence in American manufacturing and high-tech innovation." Miami Police are searching for a shooter they say opened fire on a group of people late Monday night, hitting three of them in a Coconut Grove neighborhood. The shooting took place around 11:30 p.m. near the intersection of Elizabeth Street and Grand Avenue. Three victims two men and one woman who is seven months pregnant were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital after being shot. The mother of one victim told NBC 6 her son, Clarence Leonard, is in critical but stable condition after being shot in the stomach and hand. Sandra Riley says her son's girlfriend, Chelsea Rogers, is the pregnant woman who was hit in the left arm. The third victim was struck in the leg. "The guy went to shooting his friend, and they were in the way I guess," said Riley. Witnesses nearby described hearing the gunfire in the late hours of the night. "I heard shots fired and we all came out (of the business) worried because of all the gunfire," said Balmeore Rodriguez, who works near the scene. "It was a chaotic scene, people running all over the place running from the gunfire." Miami Police continue their search for the shooter, who they say is a black man in his late 20's who fled the scene wearing a black v-neck shirt. Officers say they found the weapon at the scene. Anyone with information is asked to call Miami-Dade CrimeStoppers at 305-471-TIPS. A multi-state outage for Customs and Border Protection that was affecting travelers at South Florida airports Monday evening was fixed after a few hours. Travelers reported being stuck in long lines at both Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. An official for MIA said passengers on more than 30 international flights that arrived after 6 p.m. were affected by the outage. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the outage started at 5 p.m. and ended at 9 p.m. The CBP said in a statement that it took "immediate action to address the issue." Officials said there was no indication the outage was malicious in nature. One traveler at MIA, Carlos Rico, told NBC 6 that two people passed out while waiting in line. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to Customs to treat travelers complaining of heat, fatigue and exhaustion. Miami International Airport tweeted that its A/C was on the coolest setting. @AmericanAir feeling a warm welcome here in Miami. Standstill at the passport control, and we've barely moved for half an hour. Please help! pic.twitter.com/gmKqPdWCDU Carlos Rico (@carlosrico011) January 2, 2017 A man traveling from Montego Bay, Jamaica had a connecting flight to St. Louis which he missed due to the outage. "They were having to do everything manually. They didn't try to expedite people trying to get a connecting flight," said Michael Desyllas. Please be advised, @CustomsBorder outage is nationwide. They are working to restore. Thanks for your patience. Miami Int'l Airport (@iflymia) January 2, 2017 Customs and Border Protection has nationwide outage. Expect delays in passenger processing until the system is restored. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Int'l Airport (FLL) (@FLLFlyer) January 3, 2017 The outage was also affecting Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Logan International Airport in Boston. A Connecticut mother is in custody after her 7-year-old son was found wandering the streets Tuesday morning, according to police. Police Sgt. Darrin McKay says a good Samaritan found the boy inside an apartment building in Meriden at about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday and took him to the police station. He was soaking wet, cold and upset, and police said it was clear he had been outside. Police fed, dried, and warmed the child while looking for his parents. Police located the childs mother, who told them she had walked to a nearby 24-convenience store and had only been gone 10 minutes. However, police said her son appeared to have been outside much longer than 10 minutes. The mother, identified as Yadira Morales, 34, of Meriden was arrested and charged with risk of injury to a child and reckless endangerment. She was held on a $5,000 bond. If she does not post bond, she will be arraigned at Meriden Superior Court Tuesday. It wasn't immediately clear if she had an attorney who could comment on the allegations. Get the top headlines of the day in your morning briefing from NBC 4 New York, Monday through Friday. Sign up for our newsletter here. GOP Lawmakers Gut Ethics Office House Republicans on Monday voted to eviscerate the Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent body created in 2008 to investigate allegations of misconduct by lawmakers after several bribery and corruption scandals sent members to prison. The ethics change, which prompted an outcry from Democrats and government watchdog groups, is part of a rules package that the full House will vote on Tuesday. The package also includes a means for Republican leaders to punish lawmakers if there is a repeat of the Democratic sit-in last summer over gun control. "Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said. Search for Suspect in Istanbul Attack The Islamic State group on Monday claimed responsibility for the New Year's attack at a popular Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people and wounded scores of others. Turkish police meanwhile detained eight people in connection with the attack but were still hunting for the gunman who disappeared amid the chaos of the attack. The IS-linked Aamaq News Agency said the attack was carried out by a "heroic soldier of the caliphate" who attacked the nightclub "where Christians were celebrating their pagan feast." Meanwhile, NBC interviewed a Delaware business owner who survived the massacre by playing dead. Outage Leads to Outrage at Airports A four-hour, nationwide outage for Customs and Border Protection left throngs of people dealing with significant delays in South Florida, Atlanta and Boston, multiple airports reported Monday evening. A spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the agency was experiencing an outage of its processing systems at various airports. "At this time, there is no indication the service disruption was malicious in nature," the agency said. New Yorks JFK Airport was among those affected. Travelers took to social media to post photos and videos of the long lines and annoyed customers, and two people reportedly passed out while waiting in line. Rush Hour Tests 2nd Avenue Subway A couple days after it officially opened to the public, the Second Avenue subway will get its first true test Tuesday: servicing thousands of commuters as they race to work during the morning rush. Thousands of people have already piled into the three new stations to take their first ride on the long-awaited line, but with the New Year holiday now over for most businesses, it's sure to be a lot busier Tuesday morning. The line is expected to carry about 200,000 riders a day. Major Jewelry Heist in Midtown Police are searching for three men who looted a jewelry wholesaler in Korea Town for millions of dollars in gems Saturday night. While millions of revelers, and an unprecedented number of police officers, were focused on the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square, the men stole approximately $6 million in jewelry from two safes inside the store. The heist comes just a week after thieves smashed their way into the Dennis Basso store on the Upper East Side and stole $1 million in fur. Police recently identified the man they say stole a bucket of gold flakes worth nearly $1.6 million from an armored truck in midtown back in September. Twins Born in Separate Years A family celebrated the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017 in an unusual way: the birth of twin boys in two different years. "I definitely was not expecting to spend the holiday, but I am glad they're here and healthy," said Cassandra Martinez, the twins' mother. A hospital says twin brothers born on different days in different years, may be as rare as a one-in-a-million occurrence, according to some estimates. Nanny Cam Captures Dresser Tip A mother is warning parents to secure their heavy furniture after a nanny cam captured a dresser tipping over on one of her toddlers. The video is hard to watch, but it also shows the incredible moment the boys twin brother helps rescue him. What to Know John Edward Taylor, also known as Jay, allegedly ripped off multiple women over five years Prosecutors say he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in a scheme that involved posing as a wealthy businessman on dating sites When the unassuming ladies met him, in hotels or restaurants, they often found hed forgotten his wallet and credit cards, complaint says A man who claimed he was a billionaire and an oil tycoon on major dating sites scammed about 15 women out of up to $360,000 in New York and elsewhere, collected naked photos of them and threatened to release them when confronted, the FBI claims. The FBI's complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York in June 2016, alleges John Edward Taylor, sometimes known as Jay Taylor, ripped off multiple women over five years. Taylor had a habit of logging onto dating sites like Match.com, eHarmony, Craigslist and Seeking Arrangements and pretending he was a wealthy businessman, the FBI said. In one case, he told a victim he was a billionaire, the complaint alleges. In another, he was a wealthy businessman with oil refineries and land interests in North Dakota, the complaint says. But when the ladies met with their online love interest, in hotels or restaurants, they often found hed forgotten his wallet and credit card. Through lies and deceit, Taylor would trick women into relationships in order to steal their identities and get access to their bank accounts, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the complaint. Some victims turned up to hotel rooms to find Taylor had "forgotten his wallet." Others thought they were being hired by Taylor, then were convinced to put up money for expensive office rentals. Some women just noticed thousands of dollars missing from their accounts. When they confronted him, Taylor would often then threaten to send naked photos of them to their workplaces, the FBI said. Text messages from Taylor were seen by the feds telling one of his victims "Have fun at [work]," "I'm sending them all," the complaint said. Another victim was told: "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 going to" [sic], according to the complaint. One of his victims was so scared by the threats she sent him another $1,700. Taylor, who law enforcement sources say was living in his car throughout the alleged charade, was eventually arrested at a country club in Yardley, Pennsylvania. In New York he faces charges of wire fraud, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and threatening interstate communications. Attorney information for Taylor wasn't immediately available. The NYPD is searching for a red Mustang that they say struck and killed a man in Queens over the weekend. Bradley Thomas Jr. was pronounced dead after he was hit by the red Mustang near JFK Airport in South Jamaica early Sunday morning, according to police. Police said the 52-year-old Queens man was trying to cross South Conduit Avenue, near Rockaway Boulevard, when he was struck. The vehicle drove off after hitting him. On Monday, police released surveillance video of the Mustang they are searching for. They said it has damage to its front passenger side and is missing a passenger side mirror. Police are searching for the robber who slashed a 25-year-old woman after she gave her purse to him in downtown Manhattan Monday evening. Melissa Leslie was walking on Water Street in the South Street Seaport, on her way to watch football with her friends at a bar, when she felt someone tug on her purse, police said. Moments later, Leslie saw a knife come up to her throat and heard a man telling her to hand over her purse. "I didn't feel it, I just saw it," she told NBC 4 New York. "I gave him the purse and I think in the midst of him taking it, hit my hand with the blade." The attacker ran down Beekman Street, and Leslie ran for help. "She just ran into the bar very frantic," said friend Steve Portland. "When I saw her hand, we ran out of the bar and got to the hospital as quickly as possible." Leslie went to New York Downtown Hospital, where she had to get nine stitches for the laceration on her hand. She's going to have surgery in a few weeks. She's seen the surveillance video, and says it's difficult to watch. "It's a little surreal to see it actually happen," she said. "I appreciate that they do have footage, and hopefully they catch him." Leslie said her bartending job is on hold for now, but her real concern is that her attacker get caught. The suspect, who police said is in his early 30s, was last seen walking westbound down a darkened Beekman Street. He got away with cash, bank cards and a pair of glasses. An off-duty New Rochelle police officer has been charged following a fatal car crash that left a Dobbs Ferry man dead, White Plains police officials said. Police were on scene at Mamaroneck Avenue and Rutherford Street after receiving reports of a motor vehicle accident just after 3:00 a.m. Monday. Officers found a heavily damaged 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee against a tree, a the New Rochelle Public Safety Commissioner said. A nearby parking sign and meter were also knocked down. The truck's driver screamed for help, while the passenger was unreponsive. Authorities said cops called the fire department to help extricate the 27-year-old men from the crashed vehicle. The passenger, Isaac Ward, went into cardiac arrest. Paramedics performed CPR before taking him to White Plains Hospital, where the Dobbs Ferry resident was prounounced dead shortly before 3:40 a.m, officials said. The driver, Harry Kyreakedes, was taken to Westchester Medical Center, where he underwent surgery for serious leg injuries. He is expected to survive. Kyreakedes is an off-duty New Rochelle police officer. In a statement to NBC New York, White Plains Police Department City Manager Chuck Strome said the 27-year-old has been with the department for a little over a year. His blood alcohol content was allegedly three times the legal limit at the time of the accident, authorities said. Once out of surgery, Kyreakedes will be charged with vehicular manslaughter in the second degree and driving while intoxicated. The Jeep has been impounded, and the investigation is ongoing. A man wearing a tie, jacket and black dress shoes tried to rob a midtown parking garage at gunpoint Monday, posing as a customer and flashing the weapon as he demanded an employee to take him to the safe. Police say the man walked up to a worker at MPC Manhattan Plaza Parking Lot on 42nd Street around 8:30 a.m. and showed the gun. She complied with his demand to take him to the safe, but couldn't open it and the man ran off, police said. Authorities released surveillance footage of the man, wearing a tie and knit cap, holding a green folder, presumably covering the weapon, as he talks to the worker. Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). A former transportation official and mentor to New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie won't be sentenced in a bribery scheme until March. David Samson, who once headed the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, admitted pressuring United Airlines to restart a money-losing flight from Newark to South Carolina so he could travel to a weekend home. Samson was to be sentenced Thursday. No explanation was given in court documents Tuesday or by the federal prosecutor's office for the postponement, and an attorney representing Samson didn't return a message seeking comment. Samson, who is in his mid-70s, faces up to two years in prison. Last July, Samson pleaded guilty to a bribery charge and acknowledged he schemed with a lobbyist to delay approvals on a project sought by United at Newark Liberty International Airport as a way of getting the airline to re-launch the flight, which insiders jokingly referred to as the "Chairman's flight." The lobbyist, former New Jersey transportation commissioner Jamie Fox, was charged in the scheme but hasn't been indicted. United, the dominant carrier at the Newark airport, discontinued the flight days after Samson resigned from the Port Authority in March 2014. United's CEO and two other high-ranking officials were forced out last year over their dealings with Samson, and the company agreed to pay more than $2 million in civil penalties. In addition to Newark's airport, the Port Authority operates JFK and LaGuardia airports in New York; bridges, tunnels, ports and the World Trade Center. Samson was a former New Jersey attorney general who was appointed to the Port Authority post by Christie in 2011. He headed the Port Authority during the closure of access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in 2013 that led to the "Bridgegate" scandal and the convictions last fall of two former Christie allies in an alleged political revenge plot. Samson wasn't charged, but trial testimony painted him as knowing about the scheme in advance, an allegation he has denied. Police are searching for three men who looted a jewelry wholesaler in Korea Town for $6 million in gems Saturday night. The suspects entered the KGH Holdings store at around 11 p.m., police said. They allegedly pried and hammered their way into the store near 36th Street and Sixth Avenue. While 1 million revelers, and an unprecedented number of police officers, were focused on the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square, the men stole approximately $6 million in jewelry from two safes inside the store. The suspects had been waiting inside the building since 10 p.m. and entered through a freight entrance after climbing the stairs to the sixth floor, authorities said. Police told NBC 4 New York the thieves stuffed their backpacks with rings, diamonds, necklaces and even an 18 karat gold bracelent before fleeing down a sixth-floor stairwell. There were no injuries reported as a result of the incident. The New Year's Eve Heist follows a million-dollar break-in on Christmas Eve, when thieves smashed their way into the Dennis Basso fur store on 69th Street and Madison Avenue. Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS. Hundreds of tow truck drivers, some from as far away as Pennsylvania, gathered in New York Tuesday to pay tribute to own of their own, killed in a hit-and-run on the I-95 last week. Salvatore Brescia, a 32-year-old driver for Vincent's Service Station, was struck and killed on the I-95 in Yonkers while he was loading a vehicle onto his truck bed just before 7 a.m. last Thursday, police said. The driver fled the scene, and Brescia died at the hospital. A funeral procession passed the site on the highway Tuesday where he was killed. "It's heartbreaking. Lots of guys work out here every day. It's a very terrible thing," said Rick Kressman of Mark's Towing. Co-worker Billy Avery said, "Sal was a very funny guy, down to earth, loved working here." Brescia had just bought a house in Stamford and was set to get married in July. His colleagues said he was a family guy, excited for the future. "He was looking forward to spending the rest of his life with his wife," said Avery. Mamoreneck Mayor Norman Rosenblum said, "This is a stab in the heart. These are people, whether it be tow truck driver or EMS, police, fire, that go out and help." The move-over law requires drivers to move over for emergency vehicles, as well as tow trucks, snow plows and other construction vehicles on the side of the road. Brecia's colleagues said many driver ignore the law. "We are out there helping people and nobody wants to move over," said Anthony Riale of LMR Towing. "We have families we want to get home to but unfortunately people are worried about getting home to their own families, not worrying about us," he said. State police are still looking for the driver, and are going through surveillance cameras from the nearby toll plaza. Anyone with information is asked to call the New York State Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-866-313-TIPS. Family and friends are still holding out hope for a 28-year-old Farmington Hills, Michigan, woman who has been missing for a month. Danielle Stislicki has not been seen since leaving work around 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2, according to police. Stislicki works at MetLife, a life insurance company in Southfield, a northern suburb of Detroit, less than 10 miles from her Farmington Hills apartment. People who spoke to her earlier that day say she was planning on stopping home after work before meeting her best friend for dinner that evening. Stislicki never showed up to her scheduled dinner, according to police, and concern quickly grew when calls to her cell phone were being forwarded directly to voicemail. "Danielle would never just disappear on her own," Ann Stislicki, Danielle's mother, told Dateline. "We're terrified that she's been taken and that someone has her, and she can't come home." Stislicki has worked at MetLife for nearly a decade, her family says. Her mother Ann also has worked for the company for 25 years, but was not in the office that Friday. Farmington Hills police say Stislicki was wearing a sky blue Eddie Bauer jacket, jeans, a black zip-up shirt and burgundy boots the day that she disappeared. Her car, a 2015 Jeep Renegade, was found by authorities the next day, around 6 p.m. on Dec. 3, parked in front of her apartment building in the Independence Green Apartment Complex. "Everything was there: her cat, her ID, cash, credit cards," Danielle's mother Ann told Dateline. "We don't think she even made it inside her apartment after work." The Farmington Hills Police Department issued a statement Dec. 19 that said it is believed the young woman was the victim of a crime. Authorities are also searching for Danielle's set of keys, according to NBC News, which they say have a distinctive key charm: a smiling yellow figure with a green body and yellow legs. Danielle's cell phone, a Samsung Galaxy Core Prime in a rose-colored case, is also missing. "It's a tremendously busy street that MetLife is on, her mother Ann told NBC News. Someone had to have seen that Jeep or Danielle driving that day. We just need to reach that one or two people who saw something. A Find Danielle Stislicki Facebook page created by friends has since grown to nearly 30,000 followers. More than $29,000 has been raised in a Go Fund Me campaign set up for a reward for information leading to her whereabouts. After both her employer MetLife and Independence Green Apartments contributed $50,000 to the cause, the total reward amount stands at $129,000. A website, finddani.org, has also been set up that allows volunteers to print fliers to join the effort. Danielle is a wonderful human being who has many family and friends who love her dearly, the Go Fund Me campaign writes. We want Dani home and need everyone's help. Stislickis parents, Ann and Richard Stislicki, were among nearly 500 people who gathered in Southfield last month for a candlelight vigil, pushing the message of positivity and perseverance. Its been a month now, so you can imagine whats in our minds, Ann Stislicki told the Detroit Free Press of herself and her husband, Richard. We try not to go to that dark place, but that gets harder the longer this goes on. Farmington Hills police have told the Stislickis they are working day and night on the case of their missing daughter, according to the Detroit Free Press, but any additional details surrounding the investigation have not been made public. "Investigators have collected evidence currently under analysis and examination," Farmington Hills police said in a statement. "No information will be released regarding the specifics of the case in order to maintain the integrity of an active investigation." Authorities searched a home in Berkley, Michigan, in relation to the case, the Detroit Free Press reports, but Farmington Hills Police Chief Chuck Nebus declined to say what the connection is. Its hard to stay positive. ... You cry a lot, Ann Stislicki told the Detroit Free Press. Shes strong and can get through this. Everyone wants to give Danielle a hug. We miss her, and we want her to come home. The focus is to keep Danielle Stislicki's name and story in the public's eye, her family said in an interview with NBC News. "We're screaming from the top of the mountain," Ann Stislicki told NBC News. "People have seen Danielle. We will not stop until we have her home with us. It's not even a thought." Anyone with information regarding the case, or who may have seen Danielle or her Jeep on Dec. 2, is urged to call the Farmington Hills Police Department at (248) 871-2610. An Arlington family celebrated the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017 in an unusual way, with the birth of twin boys in two different years. Medical City Arlington says Cassandra Martinez was due to deliver her third and fourth babies on Jan. 20, but they came early. J'aiden Alexander Sanchez was the first to arrive at 11:46 p.m. on Dec. 31 while Jordan Xavier Sanchez arrived at 12:12 a.m. on New Year's Day, making him the first baby born at Medical City Arlington in 2017. "I definitely was not expecting to spend the holiday in the hospital, but I am glad they're here and healthy," said Cassandra Martinez, the twins' mother. In addition to having different birthdays, the Sanchez twins are the third set of twins of this generation in their father's family. The hospital says twin brothers born on different days in different years, may be as rare as a one-in-a-million occurrence, according to some estimates. A Philadelphia father fired back when two armed home invaders forced their way into his familys home during a robbery attempt. The 27-year-old man and his family four daughters ages 4 and under had just come home to the 1900 block of Pratt Street in the citys Frankford section around 11 p.m. Monday. "The mother brought the four girls... upstairs and was putting them to bed and that's when there was a knock on the door," said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small. The father opened the door to find two armed men, said police. "There was a struggle between the 27-year-old homeowner and these two males and one of the perpetrators did shoot the homeowner two times," said Small. The resident was shot in the mouth and leg but was able to fight back, grabbing his gun. "The homeowner returned fire striking and killing one of the perpetrators," said Small. Officers arrived to find the suspect dead in the living room of a gunshot wound to the head, said police. The second suspect ran out of the home and fled west on Pratt Street. In total 11 shots were fired, said investigators. The resident was hospitalized, said police. "Although the homeowner... was shot by one of these perpetrators we are still very fortunate that his wife nor any of his four children were struck by gunfire or injured in any way," said Small. Police didnt immediately say if any charges would be filed. Police sources told NBC10 the unidentified father had four pounds of what was believed to be marijuana inside the home worth an estimated street value of $36,000. They continue to investigate. [NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More A judge has dismissed the murder charges against former pro wrestler Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, deeming him mentally incompetent to stand trial in the 1983 death of his girlfriend. The ex-wrestler was charged in September 2015 in the death of 23-year-old Nancy Argentino, whose body was found in their Whitehall Township hotel room in 1983. Authorities reopened the investigation after The Morning Call newspaper raised questions about the case in 2013. Prosecutors alleged she was beaten, while Snuka has maintained that she died from a fall. The defense argued Snuka, 73, couldn't stand trial because he suffers from dementia, partly due to the head trauma he suffered over a long career in the ring. The prosecution argued Snuka's brain showed normal signs of aging and suggested he was faking symptoms. "Hearing the news today that it's finally over," Snuka's attorney Robert Kirwan told NBC10 Tuesday. "Case is closed. It's done. Charges are dismissed. That sense of relief is overwhelming." Kirwan said his client was in hospice care in Florida and had six months to live. "I'd like for him to leave this world with a clean record and everybody knowing he's an innocent person," Kirwan said. NBC10 reached out to the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office for comment on the judge's dismissal. "We are considering our options and will decide at the appropriate time what action we'll take," a spokeswoman wrote. Argentino's sisters Louise Argentino and Lorraine Salome also reacted to the decision and said they were disappointed but not surprised by the ruling. "It's really been a travesty of justice from the beginning," said Louise Argentino. "Thirty years ago my sister had bruises all over her. He had told all the authorities that he pushed her and they had a fight. And they just let him walk away." [[238427591, C]] A proposal to build a $58 million middle school in rural northwest Montgomery County is expected to garner strong turnout at a public hearing Wednesday. The forum is a state-required step in the process of building a new school for Upper Perkiomen School District. Since the district school board voted last year to move forward with the project, some residents have formed a group called Upper Perk Concerned Citizens. One of the members said Tuesday that they have gathered a few hundred signatures for a petition calling for renovation of the current middle school instead of new construction. Advocates for the new school, which would be built on Montgomery Avenue in Upper Hanover, say a growing student population and an aging district infrastructure make a new school essential to the region. The regional district serves seven municipalities: East Greenville, Green Lane, Pennsburg, Red Hill, Marlborough and Upper Hanover in Montgomery County, and Hereford in Berks County. The number of students in these communities on the fringe of the Philadelphia region has grown each year this decade and is forecast to continue growing into the next. Superintendent Alexis McGloin has said taxes would go up $484 over the next four years on properties assessed at $200,000. She said that represents a 8.6 percent increase. "We havent had a project like this in a long time," McGloin told NBC10.com last month. "Its something very valuable to the school district." Next year, the district's only middle school, at Fifth and Jefferson streets in East Greenville, will turn 70 years old. It has had five additions built onto it since its construction in 1947. "The feasibility study shows that the building enrollment is currently exceeding the functional capacity of approximately 768 students," a report on the proposed new school said. Originally, the building was the East Greenville High School, and became a middle school in 1966. "The District does not believe it would be prudent to once again expand an aging building," the report said, adding that the building is "currently in fair condition." It would be converted into a school for fourth and fifth graders under the proposal. The current middle school is already over capacity and there is "clearly" a need to improve infrastructure, according to a recent district report. A car struck a South Jersey girl about to board her school bus Tuesday morning. The Toyota Corolla struck the unidentified girl believed to be around middle school age along Route 9 at W Ocean Avenue in Upper Township, Cape May County, New Jersey State Police told NBC10's Ted Greenberg. The girl was rushed to the Trauma Unit at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City with undisclosed injuries, said police. The car driver and school bus driver both stopped at the scene. It wasnt clear where the Sheppard Bus Service bus was headed. Expect traffic trouble in the area. It's a been a good year for San Diego grocery shoppers. They now have more choices than ever before with stores like Aldi, WinCo and Smart & Final Extra moving into town. "It puts a lot of pressure on a Vons, a Ralphs or an Albertsons," said San Diego State marketing professor Miro Copic. That pressure comes from discount chains selling store brand and bulk items at lower prices. Some of those stores save money by requiring shoppers to bag their own groceries or by not accepting credit cards. There has also been a growth from surplus chains like Grocery Outlet and 99 Cents Only stores. Some of these stores have expanded since Haggen declared bankruptcy. The Washington State-based grocery chain closed nearly 30 stores in San Diego. On top of that, national food prices for things like beef and eggs dropped in 2016 for the first time in decades according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. So are local shoppers seeing a difference? Miro Copic believes so: "In a household you're talking 20, 30 or 50 dollars a month depending on what you buy." SeaWorld San Diego staff will produce its final One Ocean show this Sunday, ending a decades-old practice of including killer whales as park entertainers. "We will conduct an interim orca educational presentation in the pool that is also used for underwater viewing... while we remove the existing theatrical moving screens and show set in the stadium and replace them with a natural backdrop that will reflect the natural world of the orca," said SeaWorld San Diego spokesperson Dave Koontz. California banned killer whale breeding in 2016, affecting the company that operates the popular marine animal theme park located just north of downtown San Diego. SeaWorld announced in March that it was no longer breeding orcas and would stop making whales do tricks at its amusement parks. Koontz said the new feature, Orca Encounter, will open in summer 2017. The new orca displays will be added to the company's other parks in Orlando and San Antonio by 2019. The new year brought new worries for the D.C. government as new council members were sworn into office Monday. While the city is growing and is financially stronger than ever, leaders fear the new conservative Republican Congress and White House may interfere with or overturn some of the liberal city's laws. Eleanor Holmes Norton, longtime delegate to the United States Congress representing the District of Columbia, put it more bluntly. Any changes in our criminal justice should be initiated and recommended by the District of Columbia, not the Congress of the United States, Norton said. Mayor Muriel Bowser met briefly President-elect Donald Trump in New York in December, but neither has released details. She said D.C. has more than 20 years of balanced budgets and said she'll try to work with Congress. Our approach, of course, is to see what the new landscape is at the White House and the Congress, Bowser said. Ward 6 Councilman Charles Allen is the new chairman of the judiciary committee. He said the city has to be especially wary now. I think we're going to have to be on guard and probably a little bit on the edge of our seat for this, Allen said. We've seen we've had a hostile Senate and Congress, sometimes, toward the district, and we've always had President Obama as a backstop. We don't have that anymore. District civic leaders said the city has to put aside political differences at home to withstand Congress. That is going to be a concern, said Earl Williams, president of the Federation of Citizens Associations. They're going to have to stand strong and support the residents of the city and not let us get run over by a new administration. Former mayor Vincent Gray and other new council members were sworn in during Mondays council meeting. Gray, who will represent Ward 7, at-large Councilman Robert White and Ward 8 Councilman Trayon White all took the oath of office while Bowser and others watched. Bowser defeated Gray for mayor two years ago. She sat nearby as Gray, a potential opponent again in 2018, offered veiled criticism of Bowser sloganeering instead of action. Too many people in our city have watched while some neighborhoods have prosperity while others remain stagnant, Gray said. Gray blames his loss as mayor a long-running federal investigation into his 2010 campaign. He was not charged in the investigation, but 12 people pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the investigation, which uncovered evidence of more than $3.3 million in illegal contributions to various campaigns between 2006 and 2011. He said he is looking ahead. People ask me all the time about running again for mayor, he said. It is not a decision Ive made. As Ive said to you, before, a number of times, it is certainly something weve not ruled out. Bowser said she's running again but hasn't set up a campaign committee. D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine, another potential candidate for mayor, said he'll make any career decision later this year. The District of Columbia's delegate to Congress is urging House Republicans to expand her voting powers. Democratic Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton can vote in committees but not on the House floor. However, she has been granted a floor vote in the Committee of the Whole when Democrats have controlled the House. Norton will hold a news conference on Tuesday urging House Speaker Paul Ryan to restore that committee vote, which was taken away when Republicans regained control of the House six years ago. There's no indication that Ryan will honor Norton's request, but Norton points out that he did vote for a bill in 2007 that would have given the District full voting rights in the House. Homicides are down in Washington, D.C., but some of the area's larger counties saw an uptick in murders in 2016. There were 135 homicides in the District last year, a 17 percent decrease, according to the Metropolitan Police Department's website. Of those murders, 70 percent have been closed. But some of the District's most notable cases remain unsolved, including the murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich. While the District has seen a slight decrease in homicides, Prince William County in Virginia and Prince George's County in Maryland are dealing with a notable increase. Last year, 22 people were killed in Prince William County, which has 450,000 residents. There were 10 homicides there in 2015. Last year's homicides are the most the county has seen since it started keeping records in 1975, according to The Washington Post. Prince William County Police Officer Ashley Guindon was shot and killed in February by a man who apparently shot and killed his wife before officers arrived. Guindon, who was 28, was only hours into her very first shift. Prince William County Police Chief Barry Barnard said arrests have been made in 18 of the 22 slayings. He said most cases involved people who knew each other, but that doesn't "diminish the tragedy," according to the Washington Post. A police officer was also among Prince George's County's 98 homicides in 2016. Officer Jacai Colson, 28, was fatally shot by a fellow officer as a gunman attacked a police station in the county. Colson, who was dressed in plainclothes, tried to neutralize the shooter. He was shot when another officer did not recognize him. Domestic violence was also a root issue in many cases in Prince George's County. The county's domestic violence issue was highlighted in several high-profile cases last year, including a shooting spree that crossed into Montgomery County. Gladys Tordil was fatally shot by her estranged husband, 62-year-old Eulalio Tordil, as she sat in the parking lot of a Prince George's County high school, police said. Investigators say Eulalio Tordil then drove to Montgomery County, where he fatally shot two people during botched carjacking attempts. Santa Lizama, Tarekka Jones and NeShante Davis were also killed as a result of domestic violence, Prince George's County police say. Fairfax County in Virginia also saw a slight increase in homicides in 2016. Last year, there were 18 murders; 5 more than in 2015. The most recent homicides in the county were reported just days before Christmas. Henok Yohannes and Kedest Simeneh, both 22, were found shot to death two miles apart. Yohannes was found in his home while Simeneh's body was found in the backyard of a home in Springfield, Virginia. Police say their deaths are connected, but no arrests have been made. But not every jurisdiction has seen an increase in homicides. Homicides dropped 50 percent in Montgomery County, where 15 murders were reported in 2016. See the homicide rates for the D.C. metro area in 2016 and 2015 below: Washington, DC 2016 = 135 2015 = 162 Prince George's County 2016 = 98 2015 = 77 City of Alexandria 2016 = 7 2015 = 4 Arlington County 2016 = 1 2015 = 2 (Note: 1 homicide was an officer-involved homicide that was later deemed justified) Prince William County 2016 = 22 2015 = 10 Fairfax County 2016 = 18 2015 = 13 Montgomery County 2016 = 15 2015 = 30 Loudoun County An accomplished local rapper died after three masked men shot into his Capitol Heights, Maryland, home last week. Khalil Wiggins, who performed as Big Lyl, suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the home in the 3900 block of Byers Street about 8:40 p.m. Thursday, Prince George's County police said. Wiggins, 44, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police do not know a motive for the shooting. "There were three masked suspects that were involved in this incident, so we're asking for the public's help," Prince George's County Police Cpl. Lamar Robinson said. "If they have any information, you can remain anonymous." Wiggins, who was Muslim, prayed after her was shot, witnesses told his brother, Jeyone Muhammad. Wiggins' rap group, Section 8 Mob, signed to a major label record deal in the late 1990s and appeared in the 2003 movie "Guilty by Association," starring Morgan Freeman. "This was in the '90s, so I was away at school in Michigan and I remember one day sitting in my dorm watching BET and their video came on," friend Gerald McNeal said. Wiggins also worked with children, teaching them music, production and writing. He was laid to rest Sunday. "His spirit was so uplifiting that he would make you feel like you could conquer the world," his brother said. "So this is a terrible situation. This is senseless, and my family is really feeling the brunt of it." Anyone with information for homicide detectives is asked to call 301-772-4925. Tips may be made anonymously by calling 866-411-TIPS, sending a text message to CRIMES that begins with PDPD or visiting www.pgcrimesolvers.com. A reward of as much as $25,000 is offered. A Big Lyl tribute is planned for 8 p.m. Jan. 12 at Takoma Station at 6914 Fourth St. NW Washington, D.C., where Wiggins hosted open mic nights. A man who thought he was being pursued by police hit more than a dozen cars before crashing into a light pole in Northeast Washington. Investigators say the man was not being pursued, but when he saw officers in the area of H Street NE, he began driving erratically. Police say the SUV backed into a D.C. police cruiser and hit several parked cars along the 1700 block of H Street NE. The driver also struck three unmarked Prince George's County police cruisers that were in the area for an unrelated investigation. Police say nine vehicles, not including the SUV, were damaged. Michael Burwell, 25, has been charged with assault on police officers, leaving the scene of an accident, unauthorized use of a vehicle and resisting arrest. The 15-year-old boy suspected of killing a 16-year-old girl inside her own bedroom in Ellicott City, Maryland, early New Year's Day has died, police say. Sean Crizer, also of Ellicott City, died after he shot 52-year-old Suzanne Zaremba; her teenage daughter, Charlotte Zaremba; and then himself. Howard County police identified him for the first time Tuesday morning and said they still have not found any indication of a relationship between Charlotte Zaremba and the boy who police say killed her. Crizer used a gun that was reported stolen from the Zarembas' neighborhood, police said. Investigators believe the teen burglarized at least two homes in the area in the weeks leading up to the murder. Charlotte Zaremba was shot inside her bedroom on the 4800 block of Knoll Glen Road. According to the preliminary investigation, Charlotte Zaremba's parents left home on New Year's Eve to pick up their daughter from a party. They returned home, and a short time later, Suzanne Zaremba heard a scuffle in her daughter's bedroom. She entered and saw someone wearing a mask. He shot the mother and then turned the gun on her teen daughter. Then, he shot himself in the head, police said. Charlotte Zaremba was taken to Howard County General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Suzanne Zaremba was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center. She was treated for a gunshot wound and released. Crizer also was taken to Shock Trauma, where he initially was in critical condition with a life-threatening injury. Both the mask and the gun were recovered in Charlotte Zaremba's bedroom. Crizer and Charlotte Zaremba lived less than a half-mile from each other and both attended Howard High School, but police have no indication they had any kind of relationship. Police say they still do not know Crizer's motive, nor whether he was targeting Charlotte Zaremba or her home. Authorities said there is no indication anyone else was involved in the shooting, which occurred in a residential neighborhood about 25 miles northeast of Washington, D.C. Charlotte Zaremba was sweet and strong-minded, her self-defense instructor, Brian Kushner, told WBAL TV in Baltimore. "She was a great person," he said. The investigation is ongoing. anyone with information for police is asked to call 410-313-STOP or email HCPDcrimetips@howardcountymd.gov. Stay with News4 for more details on this developing story. A Virginia woman fleeing state police after a traffic stop rammed a state troopers vehicle at more than 100 mph, police said. A state trooper pulled over 27-year-old Dema Jamal Hadieh of Vienna on Interstate 495 in Fairfax County at 9:24 a.m. Saturday for driving 88 mph in a 55 mph zone, police said. Hadieh pulled the Honda SUV she was driving onto the shoulder at Eisenhower Avenue. During the stop, Hadieh gave the trooper false information, and as the trooper questioned her, she put the car in gear and drove away from the trooper, police said. The trooper pursued Hadieh with support from two others who helped her surround the Honda, police said. Hadieh accelerated to an estimated 113 mph and rammed the back of the Chevrolet Impala of the trooper who initially stopped her, police said. The collision caused Hadieh to lose control and veer to the right and into the jersey wall on I-495 just east of Route 1 in Alexandria, police said. Police took her into custody and charged her with reckless driving, eluding police and attempted malicious wounding of a law enforcement officer. The trooper whose vehicle Hadieh struck suffered a minor shoulder injury and received treatment at the scene, police said. Hadieh did not suffer injuries. Passengers returning from international flights at Boston's Logan Airport had to deal with long lines and delays on Monday due to a nationwide computer outage by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The delay was also reported at airports in South Florida and Atlanta. One family who was returning to Boston from a vacation in London said they spent about two hours at customs. "It looked like the machines were broken, the green cards werent working, it was a mess in there," said David Nowell of Grafton, Massachusetts. "It took forever. Hour and a half maybe to get through the whole thing. Im ready to go home." After enjoying a long trip to Turkey, the Crawley family had to endure the long lines to get through customs and back home to Cambridge, Massachusetts. "It took about 3 hours to get from the plane landing to get to here," said Peter Crawley. Passengers said because of the outage, customs was processing people by hand. "Normally you can get through in 30 minutes. This was like two hours," Nowell said. Some passengers said they didn't just wait in one long line, they waited in several. "We had to wait in another line to get into another line to get into another line to get through, so it was long," said Samantha Flynn from Enfield Connecticut. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman released a statement regarding the disruption: "U.S. Customs and Border Protection is experiencing a temporary outage with its processing systems at various air ports of entry and taking immediate action to address the technology disruption. CBP officers continue to process international travelers using alternative procedures until systems are back online. Travelers at some ports of entry are experiencing longer than usual wait times and CBP officers are working to process travelers as quickly as possible while maintaining the highest levels of security." A Connecticut man is facing charges after police say he led officers on a motor vehicle pursuit from Massachusetts to Vermont. According to Vermont State Police, Elvin Gonzalez, 39, of Hartford, fled a Massachusetts State Police officer who tried to stop him on Interstate 91 Monday night around 11:30 p.m. Officers noticed the suspects vehicle near mile marker 24 in Vermont and tried to stop him, but Gonzalez allegedly fled in his vehicle. The chase continued to mile marker 39, where three of his tires were disabled with spikes. Gonzalezs vehicle went across the median and into the woods on the other side of the highway. He fled on foot and was later located and arrested. He is facing charges of attempting to elude, driving under the influence, excessive speed and gross negligent operation. Gonzalez was ordered held on $50,000 bail and is due in court Tuesday. Plow problems persist in Parsonsfield, Maine a small town in York County, where the only plow truck driver for most of the municipality has quit. Its an emergency situation, said Select Board member Tiffany Brendt. Many roads are still packed with snow from last weeks norreaster, and more snow is on the way this week. Brendt said contractor Peter Smith was responsible for plowing two-thirds of the town, but his truck broke down while attempting to plow a foot of snow. He just couldnt do the job, she said. Now, residents like Gary Taylor are trying to plow out their own way out of their houses. Were in a tough situation, Taylor said, adding that he thinks his road should be posted and closed due to poor conditions. Its a liability. Taylor said he is worried about school buses and EMS vehicles being able to get around. There will be a public meeting for town officials and residents to discuss the issue at Parsonsfield Town Hall Tuesday night. Brendt said other plow truck drivers have been pitching in, as a temporary solution. Roads will get plowed, sanded and salted, she assured. necn was able to reach Peter Smith by phone Tuesday, but he declined to be interviewed instead referring to his mechanic, and spokesman, Heath Edgerly. Bad luck and old vehicles led to this conclusion, said Edgerly. He called the Parsonsfield contract for plowing antiquated, because drivers need two AWD or four-wheel drive plow trucks. Edgerly said drivers need to special order the type of equipment the town requires, and the town awarded the contract too late for Smith to do so. Massachusetts State Police are investigating how a person was killed in Boston's O'Neil tunnel on Monday evening. Police spokesperson Dave Procopio said troopers responded to reports of debris on Route 93 north, just inside the tunnel, at about 7 p.m. When troopers arrived, they discovered a person who appeared to have been struck by a vehicle. The body was located in the left and center lanes, according to Procopio. Both lanes were closed for a couple of hours while the scene was cleared. The exact cause of the crash is under investigation by Massachusetts State Police detectives, but police say preliminary evidence shows no foul play is suspected. A Clinton, Connecticut, man who posted online videos of flying drones shooting a gun and a flamethrower in his backyard has been arrested and accused of possessing child pornography again, police said. Austin Haughwout first made headlines when he built a drone with a semi-automatic gun attached and posted a video of it on YouTube with the title "flying gun." The video showed a gun affixed to a drone discharging several times while hovering several feet off the ground in a wooded area. Since the FAA's investigation into the flying-gun-shooting drones, Haughwout has been arrested mutliple times and kicked out of school. Haughwout was expelled from Central Connecticut State University for allegedly threatening to shoot people in 2015. Police said in July of that year he was charged with attacking police officers in the lobby of the Clinton Police Department. The 20-year-old denied threatening allegations and said the drones were the real reason for being kicked out. On June 29, 2016, he was arrested on child pornography and attempted sexual assault charges. Last year, Haughwout turned himself in to police for an outstanding warrant and was charged with enticing a minor, fourth-degree attempted sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor last year in October. Haughwout was released on a promise to appear and will appear in court on Jan. 10. A Vermont man accused of shooting two people in a truck outside his home on Monday and killing one of them, has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. Prosecutors said a dispute over driveway access sparked a violent encounter that left one man dead in the middle of the road and another hospitalized in very critical condition. "It's a shocking and sad event," said Jim Hughes, the state's attorney for Franklin County. Investigators said Ethan Gratton, 26, was mad that two loggers had wanted to back a flatbed hauler into his family's driveway in the town of Georgia. Prosecutors said a physical fight between the men ensued, then the suspect went to get a handgun and turned it on the two in the truck. Gratton allegedly shot 57-year-old Dave Hill of Fairfax in the back and the head, killing him. He's also accused of shooting 27-year-old Mark Brito of Fairfax in the face. A bullet became lodged in Brito's brain, Hughes told reporters after the arraignment of Gratton. As of Tuesday afternoon, Brito was hospitalized in intensive care with life-threatening injuries at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. "I just lost a cousin and a very, very good friend for no reason," Bryce McNall, Hill's cousin, told necn. "For stupidness." Gratton pled not guilty to one charge of second-degree murder, and another charge of attempted second-degree murder. Judge Gregory Rainville ordered Gratton jailed without bail until at least his next court hearing. An attorney representing Gratton at his arraignment claimed this was self-defense, saying the suspect was outnumbered and punched in the face. "One of the two individuals punched him in the eye, broke his nose with the second punch and knocked out his front tooth with the third," attorney Steve Dunham told the court. But the state's attorney countered that claim, saying no way was this self-defense. Hughes argued the accused killer had already fully gotten away from that fight before he grabbed the handgun. The defense said Gratton had the gun in the pocket of his hoodie the whole time. Mark Brito's father, Steve Brito, declined to say much Tuesday, telling reporters after the hearing he would have more to say about the case at a later date. Brito called his son a "great kid" before leaving court. Gratton did not previously have a criminal record, Hughes said. If convicted of the charges filed Tuesday, Gratton could face a potential maximum sentence of life in prison. A New Hampshire woman has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of her toddler daughter and has been sentenced to 21 to 42 years in prison as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. Katlin Paquette apologized for her actions in Hillsborough Superior Court in Manchester on Tuesday. She had said she was attempting to force 21-month-old Sadence "Sadie" Willott to sit down for a bath when her daughter hit her head on the cast-iron bathtub. Authorities said the toddler suffered a brain injury on Sept. 5, 2015, and died the next day. The medical examiner ruled her death a homicide caused by blunt impact head injuries. The case is one of several that led to reviews of the state Division of Children, Youth and Families. The agency had had contact with the family before Willott's death. Police have arrested a woman who allegedly stabbed a man during an argument at a Portland, Maine residence. Portland police responded to a domestic disturbance around 3 a.m. on Sunday, according to WCSH6. Officers found Alyssa Keating, 22, arguing with Anthony Peters, 23, and said the woman stavved the man during the fight. Keating was arrested on a charge of domestic violence aggravated assault. She is being held in Cumberland County Jail. Peters was treated with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries at Maine Medical Center. He was summonsed for criminal mischief and trespass. Norwich church accepts Israeli food gifts for poor Norwich church accepts Israeli food gifts for poor In a gesture of community friendship, members of East Anglia Friends of Israel (EAFI) in Norwich united with similar groups across the UK to buy packaged Israeli food from local supermarkets to give away to less fortunate families over the winter season. Mike Wiltshire reports. Although the East Anglia group was only formed in May 2016, this was in fact the second annual food donation by numerous friends of Israel groups across the UK and nine other countries to Jewish and non-Jewish foodbanks and homeless shelters at a time of increased demand from families facing financial pressures. In Norwich, at Alive Church, in Nelson Street, where Pastors Phil and Jo Thorne host the Community Cafe, they took delivery of food items donated by EAFI members. Were delighted to accept these donated food gifts on behalf of the community, said Pastor Phil. This year's food distribution initiative which began with an IsrAction Day in December - was endorsed by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis for the first time and was supported by Jewish and Christian community groups in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, South Africa, Germany, Belgium and Norway. Across the UK, friends of Israel groups this year raised over 50,000 worth of food for those in need we reached the length and breadth of the country. It went way beyond expectations and has done a lot of good, said national organisers. The grassroots campaign is a chance to not only help people in need but also support Israel, and help beat boycotts of Israeli products. The East Anglia donation was presented by EAFI officers, the Rev Nigel Fox, Jill Gower and Paul McHenry at Alive Church. Norwich pastors Phil and Jo Thorne also mentioned that they were so delighted by an unforgettable first visit to Israel three months ago that they are encouraging other Christian leaders to visit the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem in October, 2017. The Feast of Tabernacles a celebration organised by the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem that attracted 35,000 Christians and Jews from around 140 nations. Phil said he was also encouraged to hear about the recent seasonal greeting by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who visited the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem. I'm so proud of our relations with our Christian brothers and sisters, said Mr Netanyahu. I wonder for many of you if you remember the experience you had when you first visited Israel, when you saw the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or the Via Dolorosa or the Sea of Galilee or Nazareth? I'm sure it moved you deeply. And it moves us deeply to have this bond with you because we all know that this land of Israel is the land of our common heritage. Yet, we also know that it is under attack these days, that the forces of intolerance, of barbarism that attack all religions attack Christians with particular vehemence. We stand with you and I'm proud of the fact that in Israel, this is the one place in the Middle East that the Christian community not only survives but thrives and it's no accident. Its because of our commitment to religious freedom; it's because of our embrace of our heritage; it's because of our embrace of our common future. Pictured above, from left to right : Pastors Phil and Jo Thorne at Alive House, Norwich, with EAFI officers Rev. Nigel Fox, Paul McHenry and Jill Gower. Last month I wrote a post highlighting the differences between a security fabric and platform. Of all the security vendors, for which there are literally hundreds, no one has evangelized the topic and value of a fabric more than Fortinet. One of the drivers of Fortinets security fabric has been to secure the cloud. To get a better understanding of what the challenges are and the role of the security fabric for cloud environments, I interviewed the founder, president and chief technology officer (CTO) of Fortinet, Michael Xie. Zeus: What has been driving cloud adoption? Michael: The digital economy is changing the way IT operates. Companies are driving business value by using technology to connect users, devices, data, goods and services to a common network. Success in the digital era requires the adoption of a number of new technologies and architectures to drive a higher level of business agility, meet market demands and be more relevant to customers. The rise in the number of connected endpoints has created unprecedented amounts of data, and building more and larger data centers is a time-consuming, expensive task. To combat this, businesses have turned to the cloud because it provides the elasticity and almost infinite scaling that organizations require. Zeus: How is the cloud impacting IT security? Michael: Workers require access to data and applications regardless of where they are or what device they are using. The cloud enables on-demand and location-independent computing environments where workers can perform any task at any time, regardless of location. IT is becoming more dynamic and distributed, and this has affected every aspect of the network and created a number of distinct security challenges that cannot be addressed with the traditional approach of building a network and bolting security on after the fact. For example, when a new virtual server or workload is provisioned, the network needs to intrinsically understand critical security issues, such as what devices and applications are allowed to talk to the virtual machine and where it can or cannot send data. These questions become exponentially more complicated as more physical and virtual devices are added and removed from the network. Securing the cloud means applying the right security tools at the end user and at the cloud. Securing these highly dynamic environments requires tightly integrated security and network technologies that share intelligence and collaborate to detect, isolate, and respond to threats in real time. Security solutions need to meet extreme performance requirements and be available on demand, and they need to be provisioned and deprovisioned in real time as the environment they are protecting adapts to demands. In our opinion, only a security fabric can do this. If companies dont rethink their security architectures to meet the requirements of the cloud and have security that can essentially follow their data wherever it goes, their businesses will suffer as more and more data, workloads and applications are being offloaded to the cloud, especially via IoT devices. + Also on Network World: Cybersecurity fabric vs. a security platform: Fabric wins + Traditional security architecture was simple: apply security to a well-defined perimeter. This is no longer sufficient. In fact, our data shows that 84 percent of respondents to a recent survey were dissatisfied with traditional tools applied to the cloud. Securing the cloud means applying the right security tools at the end user and at the cloud. Our security fabric makes this much easier to deploy and manage. Zeus: Can you please expand on end user security. Why is it a challenge and what is needed? Michael: Cloud services are encrypted, which makes the traffic invisible to most security tools. As many applications that are currently in house move to the cloud, a simple application-level policy is no longer sufficient. What Fortinet provides is deep packet inspection for cloud applications that includes malware inspection, DLP (data loss prevention) and IPS (intrusion prevention). We also have other technologies needed to directly interact with cloud application providers for added security, both with respect to authentication, such as two-factor or SAML, and with security services. We build many of these capabilities into the silicon, allowing it to scale quickly. Software-only solutions often run out of horsepower when heavy loads are placed on it. Zeus: And how do you deliver security for cloud providers? Michael:Fortinet delivers security to the cloud and for the cloud. We support all major cloud deployment scenarios, whether public or private. This provides customers the ability to choose and migrate where and when they need. We partner with AWS, Azure, Google and others to offer a variety of deployment choices, a common operating system, and a management platform across IoT to cloud. With cloud providers, performance is everything, particularly for encrypted sessions. Specifically, Fortinets security processing unit (SPU) technology provides an advantage, as the process of decrypting and encrypting is very processor intensive and requires scale in silicon. Also, cloud providers rely heavily on virtualization, which requires deployment flexibility. Our solution can run as standalone hardware but also as virtual instances, making it highly agile. Also, the ability to virtualize security services means that cloud providers can focus on a very high-performance security need, such as black listing or port-based security, without having to deploy a full enterprise-grade solution. Zeus: Is there an aspect of the cloud that benefits Fortinet? Michael: Absolutely. Leveraging the cloud, we can aggregate security information from all over the world to help block threats within minutes from when it is discovered. Every URL/file used to be separate incidents, but now with our cloud platform, we can collect the data and find incidents quickly across the globe. Also, we have built a threat intelligence exchange where we partner with various government and non-government organizations, as well as some of our competitors to build a bigger database of knowledge. By Express News Service CHENNAI: The auto industrys tale of woe took a turn for the worse in December, with the demand crunch arising out of the note ban pushing most companies sales south. December sales figures released by most firms saw a fall in sales compared to the previous year, with two wheeler major with high rates of exposure to the rural markets taking the worst hit. Bajaj Auto, Hero Motocorp and TVS Motor Company all saw a sharp slump, especially in the motorcycle segment. Bajaj Auto saw a reported a 22 per cent decline in total sales in December at 2,25,529 units, an 18 per cent drop in motorcycle sales and a whopping 46 per cent decline in commercial vehicle sales. Meanwhile, TVS Motor Company recorded a 8.47 per cent decline in total sales, with two wheelers falling by 7.47 per cent. Hero Motocorp saw the worst dip, posting a 33.91 per cent dip in its total sales in December. As for four wheelers, the countrys largest automaker Maruti Suzuki India recorded a drop of 1 per cent, while rivals Hyundai Motor India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Ford India also reported a decline in their domestic sales for the month. Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) said its domestic sales in December were at 40,057 units as against 41,861 units in the same month previous years, down 4.3 per cent. HMIL Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Rakesh Srivastava had stated that demonetisation impacted consumer sentiment creating a challenge and walk-ins at showrooms were down by around 40 per cent while overall retail sales were down by 24-25 per cent immediately after the note ban. Mahindra & Mahindras sales in the domestic market were down 1.5 per cent to 34,310 units last month as compared to 34,839 in the year-ago period. The auto industry continues to go through challenging times, grappling with the short-term effects of demonetisation as well as reduced and postponed purchase decisions. However, we believe there will be a gradual pick-up in demand starting next few months, M&M Chief Executive (auto division) Pravin Shah said in a statement. Experts state that the decline was only to be expected. As for the few companies that saw sales increasing, most were riding on the delivery of vehicles that were booked in advance. The most affected, as expected, have been the companies with high exposures to rural markets. This situation is likely to continue for the next few months as demand is likely to remain poor, pointed out Abdul Majeed, partner and auto expert, Pricewaterhouse Cooper. CHENNAI: The auto industrys tale of woe took a turn for the worse in December, with the demand crunch arising out of the note ban pushing most companies sales south. December sales figures released by most firms saw a fall in sales compared to the previous year, with two wheeler major with high rates of exposure to the rural markets taking the worst hit. Bajaj Auto, Hero Motocorp and TVS Motor Company all saw a sharp slump, especially in the motorcycle segment. Bajaj Auto saw a reported a 22 per cent decline in total sales in December at 2,25,529 units, an 18 per cent drop in motorcycle sales and a whopping 46 per cent decline in commercial vehicle sales. Meanwhile, TVS Motor Company recorded a 8.47 per cent decline in total sales, with two wheelers falling by 7.47 per cent. Hero Motocorp saw the worst dip, posting a 33.91 per cent dip in its total sales in December. As for four wheelers, the countrys largest automaker Maruti Suzuki India recorded a drop of 1 per cent, while rivals Hyundai Motor India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Ford India also reported a decline in their domestic sales for the month. Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) said its domestic sales in December were at 40,057 units as against 41,861 units in the same month previous years, down 4.3 per cent. HMIL Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Rakesh Srivastava had stated that demonetisation impacted consumer sentiment creating a challenge and walk-ins at showrooms were down by around 40 per cent while overall retail sales were down by 24-25 per cent immediately after the note ban. Mahindra & Mahindras sales in the domestic market were down 1.5 per cent to 34,310 units last month as compared to 34,839 in the year-ago period. The auto industry continues to go through challenging times, grappling with the short-term effects of demonetisation as well as reduced and postponed purchase decisions. However, we believe there will be a gradual pick-up in demand starting next few months, M&M Chief Executive (auto division) Pravin Shah said in a statement. Experts state that the decline was only to be expected. As for the few companies that saw sales increasing, most were riding on the delivery of vehicles that were booked in advance. The most affected, as expected, have been the companies with high exposures to rural markets. This situation is likely to continue for the next few months as demand is likely to remain poor, pointed out Abdul Majeed, partner and auto expert, Pricewaterhouse Cooper. By PTI NEW DELHI: With parent Suzuki's Gujarat plant set for commissioning later this month, the country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) expects to significantly reduce the waiting period for its high selling models Vitara Brezza and Baleno. At present, the two models have a waiting period ranging between 20-24 weeks depending upon the variants. "Our major difficulty in 2016 has been inadequate manufacturing capacity, which resulted in quite large waiting period for the Baleno and the Vitara Brezza. The commissioning of the Gujarat plant this month should give relief in 2017-18," MSI Chairman R C Bhargava told PTI. Suzuki Motor Corp's Hansalpur-based facility, which is the Japanese company's first wholly-owned unit in India, would roll out Baleno from the first assembly line. Bhargava said MSI had to adjust production of all its other models last year in order "to reduce the waiting time for Vitara Brezza and Baleno to the extent possible". On an average, the company is selling around 10,000 to 11,000 units of the Baleno and Vitara Brezza every month. MSI expects to receive around 10,000 units of premium hatchback Baleno from the plant this fiscal. Currently, company's two units at Gurgaon and Manesar have a total production capacity of 1.5 million units annually. Suzuki has envisaged a total investment of around USD 1,400 million on the plant which will house two vehicle assembly lines of 2.5 lakh units per annum each and an engine plant. The Japanese auto maker will supply vehicles and components exclusively to MSI from the plant. India is the biggest market for Suzuki, which owns 56 per cent of Maruti Suzuki India - the country's biggest automaker controlling nearly half of the market. Commenting on the company's performance in the last year, Bhargava said that the year "in terms of growth and profits, has also been a very satisfactory". He said that demonetisation in November did see a drop in the bookings, but sales did not go below the company's targeted figure and "production continues as planned". On outlook for rest of the fiscal, Bhargava said: "We are cautiously optimistic about the rest of the year though are not indicating any number for the likely sales. We do expect to continue to fully utilise our production capacity." Bhargava lamented that various agencies continue to target cars for air pollution despite scientifically collected data showing that cars were a very minor and insignificant contributor to the poor air quality in the Delhi area. "Various agencies appear to be ignoring the data and continue to target cars in their efforts to improve the air quality. This will hurt job creation and growth, and will not make any measurable difference to air quality," he noted. NEW DELHI: With parent Suzuki's Gujarat plant set for commissioning later this month, the country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) expects to significantly reduce the waiting period for its high selling models Vitara Brezza and Baleno. At present, the two models have a waiting period ranging between 20-24 weeks depending upon the variants. "Our major difficulty in 2016 has been inadequate manufacturing capacity, which resulted in quite large waiting period for the Baleno and the Vitara Brezza. The commissioning of the Gujarat plant this month should give relief in 2017-18," MSI Chairman R C Bhargava told PTI. Suzuki Motor Corp's Hansalpur-based facility, which is the Japanese company's first wholly-owned unit in India, would roll out Baleno from the first assembly line. Bhargava said MSI had to adjust production of all its other models last year in order "to reduce the waiting time for Vitara Brezza and Baleno to the extent possible". On an average, the company is selling around 10,000 to 11,000 units of the Baleno and Vitara Brezza every month. MSI expects to receive around 10,000 units of premium hatchback Baleno from the plant this fiscal. Currently, company's two units at Gurgaon and Manesar have a total production capacity of 1.5 million units annually. Suzuki has envisaged a total investment of around USD 1,400 million on the plant which will house two vehicle assembly lines of 2.5 lakh units per annum each and an engine plant. The Japanese auto maker will supply vehicles and components exclusively to MSI from the plant. India is the biggest market for Suzuki, which owns 56 per cent of Maruti Suzuki India - the country's biggest automaker controlling nearly half of the market. Commenting on the company's performance in the last year, Bhargava said that the year "in terms of growth and profits, has also been a very satisfactory". He said that demonetisation in November did see a drop in the bookings, but sales did not go below the company's targeted figure and "production continues as planned". On outlook for rest of the fiscal, Bhargava said: "We are cautiously optimistic about the rest of the year though are not indicating any number for the likely sales. We do expect to continue to fully utilise our production capacity." Bhargava lamented that various agencies continue to target cars for air pollution despite scientifically collected data showing that cars were a very minor and insignificant contributor to the poor air quality in the Delhi area. "Various agencies appear to be ignoring the data and continue to target cars in their efforts to improve the air quality. This will hurt job creation and growth, and will not make any measurable difference to air quality," he noted. By IANS MUMBAI: The RBI on Tuesday said the supply of currency notes in rural areas was not adequate and asked banks to send at least 40 percent of the supply to their rural branches. "The bank notes, being supplied to rural areas, at present, are not commensurate with the requirements of the rural population," the Reserve Bank of India said in a notification. With a view to ensure that at least 40 percent bank notes were supplied to rural areas, the banks were advised to increase the issue of currency towards the main channels of distribution in these areas. "Banks should advise their currency chests to step up issuance of fresh notes to rural branches of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) and commercial banks, white label ATMs and post offices on priority basis which are considered main rural channels of distribution," it said. RBI asked the banks to issue notes in denominations of Rs 500 and below in rural areas with liberal issuance of existing stock of notes below Rs 100. It also asked the bank chests to obtain supply of coins on priority basis and if required even get it issued from the central bank. As the rural requirements could vary depending on variations in the rural and urban mix of each district, a certain percentage of allocation has been assigned to each district by RBI to facilitate a need based approach. "The indicated proportion may be maintained on weekly average basis at each chest level as it may be difficult to stick to the proportion on daily basis," RBI said. MUMBAI: The RBI on Tuesday said the supply of currency notes in rural areas was not adequate and asked banks to send at least 40 percent of the supply to their rural branches. "The bank notes, being supplied to rural areas, at present, are not commensurate with the requirements of the rural population," the Reserve Bank of India said in a notification. With a view to ensure that at least 40 percent bank notes were supplied to rural areas, the banks were advised to increase the issue of currency towards the main channels of distribution in these areas. "Banks should advise their currency chests to step up issuance of fresh notes to rural branches of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) and commercial banks, white label ATMs and post offices on priority basis which are considered main rural channels of distribution," it said. RBI asked the banks to issue notes in denominations of Rs 500 and below in rural areas with liberal issuance of existing stock of notes below Rs 100. It also asked the bank chests to obtain supply of coins on priority basis and if required even get it issued from the central bank. As the rural requirements could vary depending on variations in the rural and urban mix of each district, a certain percentage of allocation has been assigned to each district by RBI to facilitate a need based approach. "The indicated proportion may be maintained on weekly average basis at each chest level as it may be difficult to stick to the proportion on daily basis," RBI said. By Express News Service BENGALURU: Home Minister G Parameshwara said on Monday that there was adequate police force was deployed and that such incidents do happen on New Year day and Christmas. He was reacting to reports of women being allegedly molested during the New Year Eve celebrations in the city. The police had taken adequate precautions. There was proper police security and 1,500 personnel were deployed in the area, he said. Some women were allegedly molested by miscreants on Saturday night on MG Road. Police, however, said no complaint was filed and that they were examining CCTV footage to take appropriate action, including filing a suo motu case. The Home Ministers comments came under fire from womens rights activists and even the chairperson of the State Womens Commission. Politicians are insensitive. They blame victims instead of taking action against those who molested and misbehaved with women, said Geetha Menon from Stree Jagruti Samiti. Nagalakshmi Bai, Chairperson of State Womens Commission, said such statements send a wrong message to the society. According to her, Parameshwara should take action against those who failed to provide security to women and not make such statements. I have issued a notice to the Police Commissioner seeking a detailed report on the incident, she said. Jyothi A, state president of National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), said, Police should book cases against the perpetrators. What is the use of CCTV cameras if the perpetrators are not punished even when they are identified? Women and young girls, in particular, hesitate to register a complaint due to lack of societal support. It is sheer police inefficiency that has led to the crime on New Year Eve. More police should have been deployed with effective measures proportionate to the mob on the night. BENGALURU: Home Minister G Parameshwara said on Monday that there was adequate police force was deployed and that such incidents do happen on New Year day and Christmas. He was reacting to reports of women being allegedly molested during the New Year Eve celebrations in the city. The police had taken adequate precautions. There was proper police security and 1,500 personnel were deployed in the area, he said. Some women were allegedly molested by miscreants on Saturday night on MG Road. Police, however, said no complaint was filed and that they were examining CCTV footage to take appropriate action, including filing a suo motu case. The Home Ministers comments came under fire from womens rights activists and even the chairperson of the State Womens Commission. Politicians are insensitive. They blame victims instead of taking action against those who molested and misbehaved with women, said Geetha Menon from Stree Jagruti Samiti. Nagalakshmi Bai, Chairperson of State Womens Commission, said such statements send a wrong message to the society. According to her, Parameshwara should take action against those who failed to provide security to women and not make such statements. I have issued a notice to the Police Commissioner seeking a detailed report on the incident, she said. Jyothi A, state president of National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), said, Police should book cases against the perpetrators. What is the use of CCTV cameras if the perpetrators are not punished even when they are identified? Women and young girls, in particular, hesitate to register a complaint due to lack of societal support. It is sheer police inefficiency that has led to the crime on New Year Eve. More police should have been deployed with effective measures proportionate to the mob on the night. By Express News Service NEW DELHI/BENGALURU : The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Tuesday issued summonses to Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara and Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi over their objectionable remarks on the alleged incident of mass molestation of women in Bengaluru on New Years eve. We have sent summons to both of them for their statements, NCW chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam said. It does not matter whether Abu Azmi belongs to one party or another. To be brutally frank, there are men across parties who make these disgusting statements. If men at this level say such things, where is the nation heading? she said. I dont say all men are like that in the country, but a good 25 per cent of this country seems to be full of patriarchal men who have no respect for women, she added. Taking strong exception to Parameshwaras remark that youngsters western ways was reason behind the incident of mass molestation in Bengaluru, Kumaramangalam on Monday demanded that he apologise and resign from his post. Taking suo motu cognisance of the incident, Kumaramangalam had written to the DG&IGP, city police commissioner and the Home Minister seeking a reply on what action has been taken against those involved in the incidents. Samajwadi Partys Maharashtra unit chief Abu Azmi on Tuesday said though it was the duty of the police to ensure the safety of women on New Years eve, women should not forget that security starts at home. Partying late night in half attire, blindly following western culture, has never been our culture. When a few women in half dress come out on streets late in the night with their friends, such incidents do occur, Azmi, an MLA from Shivajinagar in Mumbai, said. The alleged incidents of molestation occurred on Saturday night in and around the junction of Brigade Road and MG Road where thousands had gathered for the New Year. Eyewitness accounts suggest that women were molested and groped and lewd remarks were passed by miscreants on December 31 even as it was claimed that 1,500 police personnel had been deployed in the area. NEW DELHI/BENGALURU : The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Tuesday issued summonses to Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara and Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi over their objectionable remarks on the alleged incident of mass molestation of women in Bengaluru on New Years eve. We have sent summons to both of them for their statements, NCW chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam said. It does not matter whether Abu Azmi belongs to one party or another. To be brutally frank, there are men across parties who make these disgusting statements. If men at this level say such things, where is the nation heading? she said. I dont say all men are like that in the country, but a good 25 per cent of this country seems to be full of patriarchal men who have no respect for women, she added. Taking strong exception to Parameshwaras remark that youngsters western ways was reason behind the incident of mass molestation in Bengaluru, Kumaramangalam on Monday demanded that he apologise and resign from his post. Taking suo motu cognisance of the incident, Kumaramangalam had written to the DG&IGP, city police commissioner and the Home Minister seeking a reply on what action has been taken against those involved in the incidents. Samajwadi Partys Maharashtra unit chief Abu Azmi on Tuesday said though it was the duty of the police to ensure the safety of women on New Years eve, women should not forget that security starts at home. Partying late night in half attire, blindly following western culture, has never been our culture. When a few women in half dress come out on streets late in the night with their friends, such incidents do occur, Azmi, an MLA from Shivajinagar in Mumbai, said. The alleged incidents of molestation occurred on Saturday night in and around the junction of Brigade Road and MG Road where thousands had gathered for the New Year. Eyewitness accounts suggest that women were molested and groped and lewd remarks were passed by miscreants on December 31 even as it was claimed that 1,500 police personnel had been deployed in the area. By AFP CHENNAI: By day, Arvind Venkatraman works as a software engineer in India's tech hub Chennai. But in his spare time, he is an international art detective whose efforts have helped bring back some of his country's most valuable antiquities. Venkatraman is part of a group of art enthusiasts known as the India Pride Project (IPP) who are using Facebook and other social media to identify religious artefacts stolen from temples around the country and secure their return. Art theft is big business all over India. But the richest pickings are in Venkatraman's home state of Tamil Nadu, where centuries-old religious artefacts with huge potential sale values in the West lie largely unprotected in out-of-the-way rural temples. Two years ago, the IPP claimed a significant victory when the National Gallery of Australia returned a $5 million bronze statue of the Hindu god Shiva that had been stolen from a Tamil Nadu temple. At first Venkatraman says the gallery, which is now suing the Manhattan dealership that sold it the statue, was reluctant to entertain the idea that its purchase was stolen. So the IPP organised a social media campaign using images comparing the stolen idol with the one on display at the museum. "Initially typically there is a denial," he told AFP in Chennai. "Whether it's Australia, Europe, Singapore or the US, initially there will be resistance from the museum curators... because they've spent a lot of money and they wouldn't want to let go of an object." The idol is among those allegedly trafficked by Subhash Kapoor, a former Manhattan art dealer who was the subject of a massive US federal investigation known as Operation Hidden Idol. Kapoor was arrested in Germany in 2012 and is now on trial in India, accused of conspiring in the theft, trafficking and sale of religious idols. He denies all charges. Many of the antiquities he dealt in dated back to the 11th and 12th centuries, when the Chola dynasty presided over a flourishing of Hindu art in Tamil Nadu. "This operation went on for many years," said Prateep V Philip, who heads Tamil Nadu's Idol Wing -- India's only police team dedicated to tackling art theft. "He (Kapoor) was himself not on the scene, but he was the mastermind." Philip said Kapoor won over the international art world by donating millions of dollars' worth of pieces to museums in the United States. He ran his own freight company in India, allegedly concealing priceless antiques among modern replicas. "Whenever a theft took place in the past, sometimes people were not even aware," said Philip, describing the thousands of small shrines that dot the state as "easy prey". "It would be a derelict temple only visited at certain times of the year. So when a theft took place it was discovered long after." This means much of India's stolen sacred art is never even registered as missing, allowing it to be bought and sold on the international market. Donna Yates, who lectures in antiquities trafficking at the University of Glasgow, said she was "absolutely flabbergasted" when it emerged the Australian gallery's statue was stolen. "If you'd asked me in 2011 (before Kapoor's arrest) whether this kind of thing was still possible, Id have said no. I believed the due diligence of museums had vastly improved," she said in a phone interview. Since the arrest, Washington has returned hundreds of artefacts recovered under Operation Hidden Idol to India. But idols are still disappearing. This year, Philip's team arrested an art dealer in Chennai after recovering hundreds of metal and stone statues of Hindu gods from a warehouse. Yates believes the grassroots work of the IPP in documenting cases of theft and bringing them to public attention is crucial -- and unmatched anywhere in the world. "The amount that theyve been able to do with zero resources is amazing. It has happened nowhere else," she said. The volunteers, who are all passionate about Indian art, go through old catalogues from auction houses, using any blemishes or imperfections to match lots with idols stolen from temples. Founded by two Singapore-based art enthusiasts, it now includes activists from all over the world. The work is unpaid, but Venkatraman says it is all worth it when an idol is returned to the temple it belongs in. "When finally the idol is restituted, the temple comes alive," he said. "It's a kind of cycle... Once that cycle is complete it's like saying, ok, the puzzle is finally solved." CHENNAI: By day, Arvind Venkatraman works as a software engineer in India's tech hub Chennai. But in his spare time, he is an international art detective whose efforts have helped bring back some of his country's most valuable antiquities. Venkatraman is part of a group of art enthusiasts known as the India Pride Project (IPP) who are using Facebook and other social media to identify religious artefacts stolen from temples around the country and secure their return. Art theft is big business all over India. But the richest pickings are in Venkatraman's home state of Tamil Nadu, where centuries-old religious artefacts with huge potential sale values in the West lie largely unprotected in out-of-the-way rural temples. Two years ago, the IPP claimed a significant victory when the National Gallery of Australia returned a $5 million bronze statue of the Hindu god Shiva that had been stolen from a Tamil Nadu temple. At first Venkatraman says the gallery, which is now suing the Manhattan dealership that sold it the statue, was reluctant to entertain the idea that its purchase was stolen. So the IPP organised a social media campaign using images comparing the stolen idol with the one on display at the museum. "Initially typically there is a denial," he told AFP in Chennai. "Whether it's Australia, Europe, Singapore or the US, initially there will be resistance from the museum curators... because they've spent a lot of money and they wouldn't want to let go of an object." The idol is among those allegedly trafficked by Subhash Kapoor, a former Manhattan art dealer who was the subject of a massive US federal investigation known as Operation Hidden Idol. Kapoor was arrested in Germany in 2012 and is now on trial in India, accused of conspiring in the theft, trafficking and sale of religious idols. He denies all charges. Many of the antiquities he dealt in dated back to the 11th and 12th centuries, when the Chola dynasty presided over a flourishing of Hindu art in Tamil Nadu. "This operation went on for many years," said Prateep V Philip, who heads Tamil Nadu's Idol Wing -- India's only police team dedicated to tackling art theft. "He (Kapoor) was himself not on the scene, but he was the mastermind." Philip said Kapoor won over the international art world by donating millions of dollars' worth of pieces to museums in the United States. He ran his own freight company in India, allegedly concealing priceless antiques among modern replicas. "Whenever a theft took place in the past, sometimes people were not even aware," said Philip, describing the thousands of small shrines that dot the state as "easy prey". "It would be a derelict temple only visited at certain times of the year. So when a theft took place it was discovered long after." This means much of India's stolen sacred art is never even registered as missing, allowing it to be bought and sold on the international market. Donna Yates, who lectures in antiquities trafficking at the University of Glasgow, said she was "absolutely flabbergasted" when it emerged the Australian gallery's statue was stolen. "If you'd asked me in 2011 (before Kapoor's arrest) whether this kind of thing was still possible, Id have said no. I believed the due diligence of museums had vastly improved," she said in a phone interview. Since the arrest, Washington has returned hundreds of artefacts recovered under Operation Hidden Idol to India. But idols are still disappearing. This year, Philip's team arrested an art dealer in Chennai after recovering hundreds of metal and stone statues of Hindu gods from a warehouse. Yates believes the grassroots work of the IPP in documenting cases of theft and bringing them to public attention is crucial -- and unmatched anywhere in the world. "The amount that theyve been able to do with zero resources is amazing. It has happened nowhere else," she said. The volunteers, who are all passionate about Indian art, go through old catalogues from auction houses, using any blemishes or imperfections to match lots with idols stolen from temples. Founded by two Singapore-based art enthusiasts, it now includes activists from all over the world. The work is unpaid, but Venkatraman says it is all worth it when an idol is returned to the temple it belongs in. "When finally the idol is restituted, the temple comes alive," he said. "It's a kind of cycle... Once that cycle is complete it's like saying, ok, the puzzle is finally solved." By Express News Service Giving an ancient Chinese painting a contemporary transformation through photographs, Chinese artist Dai Xiang, through photographs, Chinese artist Dai Xiang, through his work The new along the river during the Qingming festival 2014 for Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) 2016, is piquing the interest of art lovers with its detailing and magnification of history through the lens of current times. The 25 m, panoramic photo installation comprising more than 1,000 photographs strikes a chord with 12th century Chinese painting River side scene at Kim Ming festival by Zhang Zeduan. The characters and situations from the original painting of Zeduan are completely altered by Dai Xiang in his work. Compiling 1 TB data and processing almost 10,000 layers of photos, Dai Xiangs work took nearly three years to complete. Xiang has portrayed himself as a character in 90 photos out of the 1,000 characters featuring in his art work. Breaking national boundaries, Xiangs photos sketch the current realities in China through a dramatic approach and point a finger at issues bothering China. A 21st century interpretation of a painting from Song dynasty, Xiangs work was a topic of discussion in the Chinese social media. The digital panorama on display at Aspinwall House will give an impression of Zeduans painting at first, but once you look at the detailing carefully, the crisis and issues of modern China will get clearer to the eyes. The Chinese officials with chenguan title who are shown in conflict with street vendors, real estate entrepreneurs who force native people out of their houses, streets of sex workers, luxury cars, scenes of accidents, amidst all these, unbothered, relaxed tourists walking with cameras in hand; likewise the panorama uses symbols that communicate with the new world. Xiangs panorama has included real incidents also. The death of three university students while trying to rescue children drowning in a river in 2009 is an intriguing image. The high prices demanded by fishermen to find the corpses of the students sparked huge protests in China. The scene where the son of a police officer escapes from the tragic scene using his fathers name is also included in the panorama. Xiangs panorama got worldwide attention for reflecting the transformation of modern China into a corporatised society. The representation of China, a nation which always had a conventional view, undergoing a conflict between westernisation and transformation after liberalisation is being revealed in my panorama, said Dai Xiang. Ive tried to incorporate vivid perspectives to portrait an in-depth narrative, said the artist. The I factor is also included as the artist himself appears as an outsider and also as a part of the project throughout the panorama. The stories, similarities and paradoxes experienced during the journey towards modern China are included in the photos, says Dai Xiang. Born in Chinas Tianjin province, Dai Xiangs works are based on his hometown and Beijing. It was during his college days that he had a chance to learn about the traditional Chinese paintings of Zang Zeduan, which has paved the way for his KMB 2016 work. Giving an ancient Chinese painting a contemporary transformation through photographs, Chinese artist Dai Xiang, through photographs, Chinese artist Dai Xiang, through his work The new along the river during the Qingming festival 2014 for Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) 2016, is piquing the interest of art lovers with its detailing and magnification of history through the lens of current times. The 25 m, panoramic photo installation comprising more than 1,000 photographs strikes a chord with 12th century Chinese painting River side scene at Kim Ming festival by Zhang Zeduan. The characters and situations from the original painting of Zeduan are completely altered by Dai Xiang in his work. Compiling 1 TB data and processing almost 10,000 layers of photos, Dai Xiangs work took nearly three years to complete. Xiang has portrayed himself as a character in 90 photos out of the 1,000 characters featuring in his art work. Breaking national boundaries, Xiangs photos sketch the current realities in China through a dramatic approach and point a finger at issues bothering China. A 21st century interpretation of a painting from Song dynasty, Xiangs work was a topic of discussion in the Chinese social media. The digital panorama on display at Aspinwall House will give an impression of Zeduans painting at first, but once you look at the detailing carefully, the crisis and issues of modern China will get clearer to the eyes. The Chinese officials with chenguan title who are shown in conflict with street vendors, real estate entrepreneurs who force native people out of their houses, streets of sex workers, luxury cars, scenes of accidents, amidst all these, unbothered, relaxed tourists walking with cameras in hand; likewise the panorama uses symbols that communicate with the new world. Xiangs panorama has included real incidents also. The death of three university students while trying to rescue children drowning in a river in 2009 is an intriguing image. The high prices demanded by fishermen to find the corpses of the students sparked huge protests in China. The scene where the son of a police officer escapes from the tragic scene using his fathers name is also included in the panorama. Xiangs panorama got worldwide attention for reflecting the transformation of modern China into a corporatised society. The representation of China, a nation which always had a conventional view, undergoing a conflict between westernisation and transformation after liberalisation is being revealed in my panorama, said Dai Xiang. Ive tried to incorporate vivid perspectives to portrait an in-depth narrative, said the artist. The I factor is also included as the artist himself appears as an outsider and also as a part of the project throughout the panorama. The stories, similarities and paradoxes experienced during the journey towards modern China are included in the photos, says Dai Xiang. Born in Chinas Tianjin province, Dai Xiangs works are based on his hometown and Beijing. It was during his college days that he had a chance to learn about the traditional Chinese paintings of Zang Zeduan, which has paved the way for his KMB 2016 work. Dhinesh Kallungal By Express News Service KOCHI: Call it a New Year gift from the European Union. Much to the delight of all parties involved, the EU has lifted the ban imposed on the export of taro, bitter gourd, snake gourd and eggplant from the country. Now, the CIAL authorities, in particular, can afford a full-hearted chuckle. The Kochi airport is the second largest exporter of vegetables and fruits from India after Mumbai airport. Prakash Rao, assistant director, plant quarantine section (export/import), Union Agriculture Ministry, said the ban on four vegetables from the country was lifted this month. He said the farmers and cargo exporters were now allowed to export vegetables and fruits to the EU. The four vegetables and mango were banned by the EU in May 2014 for a period of 20 months following the detection of fruit flies in some consignments. The ban on mango was lifted in January 2015. The export of these four vegetables can be carried out only by complying with the guidelines issued by the 28-member EU bloc. There will be strict monitoring and in-house certification is required for the export of perishable goods, he said. An EU delegation had recently inspected farms and pack houses in India. The Union Ministry has also made pack-house certification by the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) mandatory. Gopalakrishnan Nair, the proprietor of Geekey International Exports Imports and Trade, Mumbai, said the ban had its own effect on farmers/exporters and dented the goodwill towards Indian products in the EU. But he said the overall impact was minimal because the annual export of these four vegetables accounts for less than 5 percent of Indias total farm exports to the EU - approximately $1.9 million. Experts, however, said the EU accounts for more than 50 per cent of the total exports of fruits and vegetables from the country. The UK, followed by the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium are some of the major destinations of Indian exporters in the EU. According to CIAL officials, their cargo section has exported 55,132 tonnes of various vegetables and fruits to different destinations - mainly to West Asia - in the 2015- 16 fiscal even after the EU ban. The CIAL has also exported 63,095 tonnes of cargo to various destinations in 2015-16 and netted a revenue of Rs 19.34 crore. They said the vegetables and fruits accounted nearly 80 percent of the total cargo exports. KOCHI: Call it a New Year gift from the European Union. Much to the delight of all parties involved, the EU has lifted the ban imposed on the export of taro, bitter gourd, snake gourd and eggplant from the country. Now, the CIAL authorities, in particular, can afford a full-hearted chuckle. The Kochi airport is the second largest exporter of vegetables and fruits from India after Mumbai airport. Prakash Rao, assistant director, plant quarantine section (export/import), Union Agriculture Ministry, said the ban on four vegetables from the country was lifted this month. He said the farmers and cargo exporters were now allowed to export vegetables and fruits to the EU. The four vegetables and mango were banned by the EU in May 2014 for a period of 20 months following the detection of fruit flies in some consignments. The ban on mango was lifted in January 2015. The export of these four vegetables can be carried out only by complying with the guidelines issued by the 28-member EU bloc. There will be strict monitoring and in-house certification is required for the export of perishable goods, he said. An EU delegation had recently inspected farms and pack houses in India. The Union Ministry has also made pack-house certification by the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) mandatory. Gopalakrishnan Nair, the proprietor of Geekey International Exports Imports and Trade, Mumbai, said the ban had its own effect on farmers/exporters and dented the goodwill towards Indian products in the EU. But he said the overall impact was minimal because the annual export of these four vegetables accounts for less than 5 percent of Indias total farm exports to the EU - approximately $1.9 million. Experts, however, said the EU accounts for more than 50 per cent of the total exports of fruits and vegetables from the country. The UK, followed by the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium are some of the major destinations of Indian exporters in the EU. According to CIAL officials, their cargo section has exported 55,132 tonnes of various vegetables and fruits to different destinations - mainly to West Asia - in the 2015- 16 fiscal even after the EU ban. The CIAL has also exported 63,095 tonnes of cargo to various destinations in 2015-16 and netted a revenue of Rs 19.34 crore. They said the vegetables and fruits accounted nearly 80 percent of the total cargo exports. In this photo released by the Spanish Guardia Civil on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, a 19 year-old migrant from Gabon is photographed in a suitcase, in Ceuta, Spain. Border guards have recently detained two Moroccans for attempting to smuggle migrants concealed in a suitcase and in a car as they crossed the border into Ceuta, Spains enclave in North Africa. Custom officials found a 19 year-old migrant from Gabon hidden in a suitcase pushed on a trolley by a woman who tried to cross the land border from Morocco on December 30, said a spokesman with the Guardia Civil in Ceuta. (AP Photo/Spanish Interior Ministry, via AP) MADRID (AP) -- Guards on the border of Ceuta, Spain's enclave in North Africa, say they have recently detained one Moroccan suspected of attempting to smuggle migrants concealed in a suitcase and another suspected of hiding migrants in a car. Custom agents found a 19-year-old migrant from Gabon hidden in a suitcase pushed on a trolley by a woman who tried to cross the land border from Morocco on Dec. 30, said a spokesman for the Guardia Civil in Ceuta. According to the spokesman, who spoke anonymously in accordance with the organization's rules, the 22-year-old Moroccan woman raised suspicions by trying to avoid security checks. When officials asked her to open the luggage, they found the man curled up in the poorly ventilated space. Police said the man received immediate medical attention. On Monday, border police found two more migrants hidden in false compartments built into a car arriving from Morocco. The migrants, both from Guinea, were found when the vehicle was stopped for an inspection as it entered Ceuta. The 20-year-old man was found between the rear seats of the car and the trunk and the woman, 24, in a hidden bottom built into the dashboard, guards said. The driver was a 30-year-old Moroccan national who allegedly forged the number plates of the vehicle, stolen two years ago in Barcelona, police said. Thousands of sub-Saharan African migrants living illegally in Morocco try to get to Europe each year by sea, often in small craft unfit for open waters. Hundreds also risk their lives by climbing the 20-feet-tall (6-meter-tall) barbed-wire fences surrounding Ceuta and Melilla, Spain's other North African enclave. On Sunday, around 1,100 African migrants stormed a border fence and attempted to enter Ceuta, leaving more than 50 Moroccan and Spanish border guards injured. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Following surgical strike on black money, PM Narendra Modi wooed middle class and farmers with multiple initiatives. While Modis new year address brought smile to the faces of common people with scores of pro-poor and pro-farmer schemes, it came with warning for those indulging in corrupt activities. In his eagerly awaited address to the nation, the PM also talked about digital and cashless economyand announced many initiatives to promote this to eradicate black money and corruption. The PM also urged the banks to protect the honest people and to help them in day to day life. Announcing relief under PM housing scheme, Modi said, So many years after independence, lakhs of poor don't have their homes. As black money grew, homes became out of reach of the poor and the middle class. In 2017, villagers who want to build their homes or expand them will get loans. For loans up to 2 lakh - 3% interest relief; 9 lakh - 4% interest relief; 12 lakh - 3% interest relief will be given. Modi also informed about the fact that only a few are paying taxes to the government. There are just 24 lakh people in country who admit their income is more than 10 lakh. Every city you see, has people with large bungalows and cars. Don't you think the fight against black money and corruption deserves more power, he asked Warning those indulging in corrupt activities, the PM said, law will do its job, punish the guilty. But for the government what is a priority is how the honest are secured and how honesty is more widely established. This government is a friend of the honest and hopes to bring the dishonest back on the right track. Modi also hit on red tapism as he said, You often have poor experiences with red tapism, and bureaucracy. Whether it is Central government or state government, all are responsible for the welfare of the ordinary people and seclusion of the dishonest. Mentioning some instances of corruption among bank officials, the PM said, Yes, some serious crimes have been revealed and the people responsible wont be spared Keeping in mind the independence of banks, I want to appeal to them to focus on the middle class and the underprivileged.. Announcing relief for farmers, Modi said, Government will take care of interest for 60 days for farmers who had taken loans from district coop, central bank. Rs 20,000 crore in NABARD fund to give loans to farmers. In 3 months, 3 crore Kisan Credit Cards will be transformed to RuPay credit cards. Farmers had to go to banks to withdraw money. With this they will be able to sell and buy at any place. Similarly, the PM also announced some relief for small and medium industries. He said that for small entrepreneurs, credit guarantee raised from 1 crore to 2 crore and loans by non-banking financial companies will also be covered in this. In a bid to promote digital transactions, Modi said, For entrepreneurs dealing in such transaction, tax will be calculated at 6 per cent, not 8. The PM also announced a national scheme for pregnant women, saying, Pregnant women will get Rs 6,000 for their delivery, vaccination, for nutritious meals. This will help reduce the reduce deaths of mothers during childbirth. Modi also brought smile on the faces of senior citizens as he said that they will be assured 8 per cent interest on their deposits up to Rs. 7.5 lakh. Modi also talked about role of black money in political funding saying, When corruption and black money is brought up, political funding becomes a large part of it. Time has come for all political leaders to understand the people. He further talked about electoral reform and said, the time has come when politicians shun holier than thou mentality and work towards reforming the political system. Even the President has spoken on this. Modi also invoked Mahatma Gandhi as he said, In 1917, under Mahatma Gandhi's leadership, the first Satyagraha was launched in Champaran. A hundred years later, we see Indians still have the same strength. Mahatma Gandhi is not anymore but people have shown that his spirit lives on. NEW DELHI: Following surgical strike on black money, PM Narendra Modi wooed middle class and farmers with multiple initiatives. While Modis new year address brought smile to the faces of common people with scores of pro-poor and pro-farmer schemes, it came with warning for those indulging in corrupt activities. In his eagerly awaited address to the nation, the PM also talked about digital and cashless economyand announced many initiatives to promote this to eradicate black money and corruption. The PM also urged the banks to protect the honest people and to help them in day to day life. Announcing relief under PM housing scheme, Modi said, So many years after independence, lakhs of poor don't have their homes. As black money grew, homes became out of reach of the poor and the middle class. In 2017, villagers who want to build their homes or expand them will get loans. For loans up to 2 lakh - 3% interest relief; 9 lakh - 4% interest relief; 12 lakh - 3% interest relief will be given. Modi also informed about the fact that only a few are paying taxes to the government. There are just 24 lakh people in country who admit their income is more than 10 lakh. Every city you see, has people with large bungalows and cars. Don't you think the fight against black money and corruption deserves more power, he asked Warning those indulging in corrupt activities, the PM said, law will do its job, punish the guilty. But for the government what is a priority is how the honest are secured and how honesty is more widely established. This government is a friend of the honest and hopes to bring the dishonest back on the right track. Modi also hit on red tapism as he said, You often have poor experiences with red tapism, and bureaucracy. Whether it is Central government or state government, all are responsible for the welfare of the ordinary people and seclusion of the dishonest. Mentioning some instances of corruption among bank officials, the PM said, Yes, some serious crimes have been revealed and the people responsible wont be spared Keeping in mind the independence of banks, I want to appeal to them to focus on the middle class and the underprivileged.. Announcing relief for farmers, Modi said, Government will take care of interest for 60 days for farmers who had taken loans from district coop, central bank. Rs 20,000 crore in NABARD fund to give loans to farmers. In 3 months, 3 crore Kisan Credit Cards will be transformed to RuPay credit cards. Farmers had to go to banks to withdraw money. With this they will be able to sell and buy at any place. Similarly, the PM also announced some relief for small and medium industries. He said that for small entrepreneurs, credit guarantee raised from 1 crore to 2 crore and loans by non-banking financial companies will also be covered in this. In a bid to promote digital transactions, Modi said, For entrepreneurs dealing in such transaction, tax will be calculated at 6 per cent, not 8. The PM also announced a national scheme for pregnant women, saying, Pregnant women will get Rs 6,000 for their delivery, vaccination, for nutritious meals. This will help reduce the reduce deaths of mothers during childbirth. Modi also brought smile on the faces of senior citizens as he said that they will be assured 8 per cent interest on their deposits up to Rs. 7.5 lakh. Modi also talked about role of black money in political funding saying, When corruption and black money is brought up, political funding becomes a large part of it. Time has come for all political leaders to understand the people. He further talked about electoral reform and said, the time has come when politicians shun holier than thou mentality and work towards reforming the political system. Even the President has spoken on this. Modi also invoked Mahatma Gandhi as he said, In 1917, under Mahatma Gandhi's leadership, the first Satyagraha was launched in Champaran. A hundred years later, we see Indians still have the same strength. Mahatma Gandhi is not anymore but people have shown that his spirit lives on. By IANS JAMMU: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday asked Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to accept responsibility for the civilian killings during the six-month unrest in the valley. After Speaker Kavinder Gupta allowed an adjournment motion moved by the opposition, the National Conference leader said there had also been unrest in the valley in 2008 and 2010 but "we did not blame the opposition" for that. "The situation in 2010 cannot be compared with that of 2016," he told the assembly. "We did not blame Pakistan or the opposition for the situation. I did not blame my officials in 2010. "In 2016, the media was attacked and newspaper offices were raided. "We made mistakes and I accepted making mistakes while handling the situation." Taking a dig at Mehbooba, Omar Abdullah said: "You blamed Jawaharlal Nehru, my father, my grandfather and police for militancy in the state. "Did you ever blame yourself for your failure to restore normalcy in Kashmir?" Omar Abdullah said the state government had completely failed in dealing with the situation after the killing of militant Burhan Wani on July 8 last year. Instead of blaming the opposition, the Chief Minister should accept the responsibility for the failure of her administration and the killings of nearly 100 civilians during the unrest, he said. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs continued to seek an apology from the National Conference and the Congress for allegedly disrespecting the national anthem on Monday during the joint session of the assembly. Earlier, the opposition disrupted proceedings in both the assembly and the council seeking discussion on the valley's unrest. The Speaker had allowed the discussion after the treasury benches said they had no objection to discussing the unrest. JAMMU: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday asked Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to accept responsibility for the civilian killings during the six-month unrest in the valley. After Speaker Kavinder Gupta allowed an adjournment motion moved by the opposition, the National Conference leader said there had also been unrest in the valley in 2008 and 2010 but "we did not blame the opposition" for that. "The situation in 2010 cannot be compared with that of 2016," he told the assembly. "We did not blame Pakistan or the opposition for the situation. I did not blame my officials in 2010. "In 2016, the media was attacked and newspaper offices were raided. "We made mistakes and I accepted making mistakes while handling the situation." Taking a dig at Mehbooba, Omar Abdullah said: "You blamed Jawaharlal Nehru, my father, my grandfather and police for militancy in the state. "Did you ever blame yourself for your failure to restore normalcy in Kashmir?" Omar Abdullah said the state government had completely failed in dealing with the situation after the killing of militant Burhan Wani on July 8 last year. Instead of blaming the opposition, the Chief Minister should accept the responsibility for the failure of her administration and the killings of nearly 100 civilians during the unrest, he said. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs continued to seek an apology from the National Conference and the Congress for allegedly disrespecting the national anthem on Monday during the joint session of the assembly. Earlier, the opposition disrupted proceedings in both the assembly and the council seeking discussion on the valley's unrest. The Speaker had allowed the discussion after the treasury benches said they had no objection to discussing the unrest. Manish Anand By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Wary of a re-run of the Bihar poll debacle, the BJP has decided to change tack for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and avoid negative campaigning against its political rivals. The BJP campaign strategy, which applies to Prime Minister Narendra Modi also, is to attack the political rivals sparingly, while the thrust would be to use the plank of development to win the crucial state elections. The mid-course change in the BJP strategy has apparently come against the backdrop of a ground-level assessment, which suggested that party leaders attack on the BSP chief Mayawati was helping her consolidate her core Dalit constituency. The BJPs assessment has also found that the people in the state largely have a positive perception about Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. UP politics is not suited for negative campaigning on the part of the BJP and even the prime minister. It has been decided that there will be no personal attacks against any of the political rivals. The ground reports suggests that any negative campaigning against Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav will only end up helping them build sympathy for them among their core constituencies. The prime minister too will largely talk only about their governance failures, said a BJP national general secretary. Modis frontal attack against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during the 2015 polls were exploited by the JD (U) supremo, who was aided by the ace communication strategist Prashant Kishore, to build a groundswell against the BJP. The negative campaigning in Bihar proved to be a double whammy for the saffron party, as Modis onslaught against RJD supremo Lalu Prasad had also polarised Yadavs to aggressively vote against the party. The BJP stands to gain by drumming up support among the people by seeking an alternative mandate against the existing pattern of either the SP or the BSP. That the BJP is an alternative in the state with a clear focus on development should be the main campaign plan, added the BJP leader. The BJP is apparently growing wary for the fact that the core vote base of the BSP is largely silent, while Akhilesh is being seen holding the victim card close to his chest after the family feud for political control of the SP erupted. NEW DELHI: Wary of a re-run of the Bihar poll debacle, the BJP has decided to change tack for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and avoid negative campaigning against its political rivals. The BJP campaign strategy, which applies to Prime Minister Narendra Modi also, is to attack the political rivals sparingly, while the thrust would be to use the plank of development to win the crucial state elections. The mid-course change in the BJP strategy has apparently come against the backdrop of a ground-level assessment, which suggested that party leaders attack on the BSP chief Mayawati was helping her consolidate her core Dalit constituency. The BJPs assessment has also found that the people in the state largely have a positive perception about Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. UP politics is not suited for negative campaigning on the part of the BJP and even the prime minister. It has been decided that there will be no personal attacks against any of the political rivals. The ground reports suggests that any negative campaigning against Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav will only end up helping them build sympathy for them among their core constituencies. The prime minister too will largely talk only about their governance failures, said a BJP national general secretary. Modis frontal attack against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during the 2015 polls were exploited by the JD (U) supremo, who was aided by the ace communication strategist Prashant Kishore, to build a groundswell against the BJP. The negative campaigning in Bihar proved to be a double whammy for the saffron party, as Modis onslaught against RJD supremo Lalu Prasad had also polarised Yadavs to aggressively vote against the party. The BJP stands to gain by drumming up support among the people by seeking an alternative mandate against the existing pattern of either the SP or the BSP. That the BJP is an alternative in the state with a clear focus on development should be the main campaign plan, added the BJP leader. The BJP is apparently growing wary for the fact that the core vote base of the BSP is largely silent, while Akhilesh is being seen holding the victim card close to his chest after the family feud for political control of the SP erupted. By PTI MUMBAI: The special court for NIA cases here today allowed the prosecution to rely on 'secondary evidence' in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, as some of the important documents were not available with the investigating agency. "The court allowed us to lead with secondary evidence," special public prosecutor Avinash Rasal said. NIA told the court that statements of some of the witnesses and some confessional statements were untraceable. With the court allowing use of secondary evidence, the prosecution can now rely on copies available with the defence lawyers and the court registry when citing these statements, Rasal said. Twin blasts at Malegaon in North Maharashtra on September 29, 2008, killed seven people and injured around 100 others. MUMBAI: The special court for NIA cases here today allowed the prosecution to rely on 'secondary evidence' in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, as some of the important documents were not available with the investigating agency. "The court allowed us to lead with secondary evidence," special public prosecutor Avinash Rasal said. NIA told the court that statements of some of the witnesses and some confessional statements were untraceable. With the court allowing use of secondary evidence, the prosecution can now rely on copies available with the defence lawyers and the court registry when citing these statements, Rasal said. Twin blasts at Malegaon in North Maharashtra on September 29, 2008, killed seven people and injured around 100 others. By IANS MUMBAI: Google dedicated a Doodle on Tuesday to mark the 186th birth anniversary of India's 19th-century social reformer Savitribai Jyotirao Phule, considered the first feminist of the country. Savitribai K. Patil was born on January 3, 1831, in a rich and influential farming family and at the age of nine was married off to the 13-year old Jyotirao Phule. She was taught to read and write by her husband and when she turned 17, the couple founded India's first school for girls and women in Bhidewada, Pune. It started with just nine girls from different castes enrolled as students - but it became a historic step when female education was considered taboo in the orthodox Indian society prevalent then. The Phule couple - who had no children of their own - launched a crusade against social discrimination based on caste and gender, and sparked the flame for women's equal rights during the British ruled India. At a time when women had no say in anything, Savitribai's campaign covered child marriages, child widows, rape victims becoming pregnant, the practice of 'Sati', educating women and fighting for equal rights for all women. The colourful Doodle shows a simple Savitribai spreading her sari 'pallu' wide to encompass women from all sections of society for education and empowerment. The simple 'Goodle' (Google Doodle) shows a group of demure women assembled outside what could be a school for education in a sky blue starry background which also doubles as her blouse. Over the next few years, the Phules set up 18 more schools across the state of which Savitribai became the teacher, headmistress and principal. Nearly 18 decades later, the Maharashtra government renamed the Pune University as 'Savitribai Phule University' as a tribute to the Phule's sheer courage and pioneering efforts in the field of education, women empowerment, social reform and gender equality. MUMBAI: Google dedicated a Doodle on Tuesday to mark the 186th birth anniversary of India's 19th-century social reformer Savitribai Jyotirao Phule, considered the first feminist of the country. Savitribai K. Patil was born on January 3, 1831, in a rich and influential farming family and at the age of nine was married off to the 13-year old Jyotirao Phule. She was taught to read and write by her husband and when she turned 17, the couple founded India's first school for girls and women in Bhidewada, Pune. It started with just nine girls from different castes enrolled as students - but it became a historic step when female education was considered taboo in the orthodox Indian society prevalent then. The Phule couple - who had no children of their own - launched a crusade against social discrimination based on caste and gender, and sparked the flame for women's equal rights during the British ruled India. At a time when women had no say in anything, Savitribai's campaign covered child marriages, child widows, rape victims becoming pregnant, the practice of 'Sati', educating women and fighting for equal rights for all women. The colourful Doodle shows a simple Savitribai spreading her sari 'pallu' wide to encompass women from all sections of society for education and empowerment. The simple 'Goodle' (Google Doodle) shows a group of demure women assembled outside what could be a school for education in a sky blue starry background which also doubles as her blouse. Over the next few years, the Phules set up 18 more schools across the state of which Savitribai became the teacher, headmistress and principal. Nearly 18 decades later, the Maharashtra government renamed the Pune University as 'Savitribai Phule University' as a tribute to the Phule's sheer courage and pioneering efforts in the field of education, women empowerment, social reform and gender equality. By Express News Service At least 16-17 countries are in discussion with Indian shipyards to acquire warship from India including Vietnam, Bangladesh and UAE, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said in a brief interaction with media on sidelines of a event in national capital. "We are exporting warships to many countries like a private shipward is giving to Vietnam. Several other countries like Bangladesh and UAE are among 16-17 nations are in discussions with India for supply of warship." Manohar Parrikar. While on exporting BrahMos supersonic missile to Vietnam, Parrikar said," we are willing to give BrahMos missile to any friendly nation and Vietnam is a friend." Parrikar also said that India has already decided to give training to Vietnam Air Force for their newly inducted Sukhoi fighter jets. New Delhi's engagement with Vietnam is seen as counter measures to contain China's growing influence in the region. At least 16-17 countries are in discussion with Indian shipyards to acquire warship from India including Vietnam, Bangladesh and UAE, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said in a brief interaction with media on sidelines of a event in national capital. "We are exporting warships to many countries like a private shipward is giving to Vietnam. Several other countries like Bangladesh and UAE are among 16-17 nations are in discussions with India for supply of warship." Manohar Parrikar. While on exporting BrahMos supersonic missile to Vietnam, Parrikar said," we are willing to give BrahMos missile to any friendly nation and Vietnam is a friend." Parrikar also said that India has already decided to give training to Vietnam Air Force for their newly inducted Sukhoi fighter jets. New Delhi's engagement with Vietnam is seen as counter measures to contain China's growing influence in the region. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: In an attempt to get away from the tag of worlds largest arms exporter, Indias defence industry is gearing up to find a good market for export, as PM Narendra Modi led government has planned to export weapon systems worth over $2 billion (two billion dollars by the end of 2019. If it happens, it will be one of the biggest push to local defence industry as part Make in India, which is exporting nearly Rs. 2000 Crores this year. Talking to media in an event in the national capital, defence minister also said that at least 16 to 17 countries have evinced interest in Indian systems like Brahmos, Akash and Astra missiles part from howitzer guns. Manohar Parrikar added that India was keen to sell weapons systems to friendly countries and Vietnam, UAE and Mauritius figured in this list. Moreover, the ministry was pushing private and public sector defence undertakings to promote products like bridge laying machines. An independent export promotion body will help the Indian industry to achieve the target of two billion dollars by 2019.The government will initially hold the export panels hand and later it will be self-sustaining body, Parrikar said. Maintaining that export never got priority in the past, he said the present regime was determined to give a fillip to promote Make in India products through exports and managed to touch the Rs 2,060 crore mark for the current fiscal year from Rs 1,100 crore two years back. Parrikar also said that at least 17 countries are in discussion with Indian shipyards to acquire warship from India including Vietnam, Bangladesh and UAE. "We are exporting warships to many countries like a private shipward is giving to Vietnam. Several other countries like Bangladesh and UAE are among 16-17 nations are in discussions with India for supply of warship." Manohar Parrikar. Countries like Vietnam had already shown interest in buying the indigenously designed and manufactured Brahmos supersonic missile capable of hitting a target at 290km. Asked if the deal was in the offing, Parrikar refrained from giving a direct reply and said Vietnam is a friendly country. He added that India was training Vietnam pilots for SU-30 fighter jet flying and helping that country in capacity building. Replying to another question if India was considering supplying arms to Afghanistan, Parrikar said if is a sensitive issue but added Afghanistan is a friend. Meanwhile, on setting up another production line for single engine fighter jets, Parrikar said a decision will be taken once the Strategic Partnership clause for producing weapons is finalized in the next few months. This partnership entails selecting a foreign equipment manufacturer who will forge a joint venture with an Indian company to build strategic systems like fighter jets and warships. NEW DELHI: In an attempt to get away from the tag of worlds largest arms exporter, Indias defence industry is gearing up to find a good market for export, as PM Narendra Modi led government has planned to export weapon systems worth over $2 billion (two billion dollars by the end of 2019. If it happens, it will be one of the biggest push to local defence industry as part Make in India, which is exporting nearly Rs. 2000 Crores this year. Talking to media in an event in the national capital, defence minister also said that at least 16 to 17 countries have evinced interest in Indian systems like Brahmos, Akash and Astra missiles part from howitzer guns. Manohar Parrikar added that India was keen to sell weapons systems to friendly countries and Vietnam, UAE and Mauritius figured in this list. Moreover, the ministry was pushing private and public sector defence undertakings to promote products like bridge laying machines. An independent export promotion body will help the Indian industry to achieve the target of two billion dollars by 2019.The government will initially hold the export panels hand and later it will be self-sustaining body, Parrikar said. Maintaining that export never got priority in the past, he said the present regime was determined to give a fillip to promote Make in India products through exports and managed to touch the Rs 2,060 crore mark for the current fiscal year from Rs 1,100 crore two years back. Parrikar also said that at least 17 countries are in discussion with Indian shipyards to acquire warship from India including Vietnam, Bangladesh and UAE. "We are exporting warships to many countries like a private shipward is giving to Vietnam. Several other countries like Bangladesh and UAE are among 16-17 nations are in discussions with India for supply of warship." Manohar Parrikar. Countries like Vietnam had already shown interest in buying the indigenously designed and manufactured Brahmos supersonic missile capable of hitting a target at 290km. Asked if the deal was in the offing, Parrikar refrained from giving a direct reply and said Vietnam is a friendly country. He added that India was training Vietnam pilots for SU-30 fighter jet flying and helping that country in capacity building. Replying to another question if India was considering supplying arms to Afghanistan, Parrikar said if is a sensitive issue but added Afghanistan is a friend. Meanwhile, on setting up another production line for single engine fighter jets, Parrikar said a decision will be taken once the Strategic Partnership clause for producing weapons is finalized in the next few months. This partnership entails selecting a foreign equipment manufacturer who will forge a joint venture with an Indian company to build strategic systems like fighter jets and warships. By PTI SRINAGAR: An unidentified militant was today killed in an encounter with security forces in Sopore area of North Kashmir's Baramulla district, police said. Security forces had laid an ambush at Haritar in Sopore during the intervening night following information about the movement of militants through the area, a police official said. He said security forces on noticing suspicious movement in the wee hours challenged the persons who opened fire. "In the retaliatory firing, one militant was killed. Further details are awaited," the official said. SRINAGAR: An unidentified militant was today killed in an encounter with security forces in Sopore area of North Kashmir's Baramulla district, police said. Security forces had laid an ambush at Haritar in Sopore during the intervening night following information about the movement of militants through the area, a police official said. He said security forces on noticing suspicious movement in the wee hours challenged the persons who opened fire. "In the retaliatory firing, one militant was killed. Further details are awaited," the official said. Fayaz Wani By Express News Service SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday said the militants killed in attacks on army camps in Uri and Nagrota have not been identified yet and disclosed that 59 youth have joined militancy in Valley after killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. The government also revealed that 150 militants and 81 security men were killed in militancy violence in the State in 2016. The militants killed in attacks on army bases in Uri and Nagrota last year have not been identified yet, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who also holds home portfolio, said in a written reply in Legislative Assembly, which is in session in Jammu, winter capital of the State. Four militants reportedly belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad had attacked heavily fortified army base in Uri, close to Line of Control (LoC) in North Kashmir on September 18. At least 19 army men were killed and over two dozen injured in the attack. All the four attackers were also killed in the retaliatory firing. On November 30, three heavily armed militants stormed an army camp at Nagrota in Jammu killing seven soldiers including two Major-rank officers. All three militants were also killed in the retaliatory firing. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over probe in both the cases. In response to a question by NC MLA Mubarak Gul about how many locals joined militancy after July 8, Mehbooba in written reply informed the House, As reported by the CID headquarters, 59 youth have joined militant ranks in Valley after killing of HM commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8. To encourage the misguided youth/militants who undergo change of heart and abjure violence, as also accept the integrity of India and the constitution, to join national mainstream and lead a normal life, the state government on 16-6-1997 notified a Surrender Policy. The policy was revised on January 1, 2004 and named Rehabilitation Policy, she said. According to CM, the incentives offered under the policy include FDR of Rs 1.50 lakh, payment of monetary incentive for surrender of weapons and stipend for a period of three years at the rate of Rs 2000/month from the date of surrender. To a query by Congress MLA Vikar Rasool on steps taken by government to remove Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFPSA) as per the promise made in Common Minimum Programme, Mehoboba in written reply said, The need and desirability of revocation of AFSPA in various areas of the State requires critical review of the security situation and other relevant factors. She also informed the house that 81 security personnel including Army, BSF, CRPF, SSB and policemen were killed in militancy violence in the State last year. 150 militants were also killed during the same period. SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday said the militants killed in attacks on army camps in Uri and Nagrota have not been identified yet and disclosed that 59 youth have joined militancy in Valley after killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. The government also revealed that 150 militants and 81 security men were killed in militancy violence in the State in 2016. The militants killed in attacks on army bases in Uri and Nagrota last year have not been identified yet, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who also holds home portfolio, said in a written reply in Legislative Assembly, which is in session in Jammu, winter capital of the State. Four militants reportedly belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad had attacked heavily fortified army base in Uri, close to Line of Control (LoC) in North Kashmir on September 18. At least 19 army men were killed and over two dozen injured in the attack. All the four attackers were also killed in the retaliatory firing. On November 30, three heavily armed militants stormed an army camp at Nagrota in Jammu killing seven soldiers including two Major-rank officers. All three militants were also killed in the retaliatory firing. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over probe in both the cases. In response to a question by NC MLA Mubarak Gul about how many locals joined militancy after July 8, Mehbooba in written reply informed the House, As reported by the CID headquarters, 59 youth have joined militant ranks in Valley after killing of HM commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8. To encourage the misguided youth/militants who undergo change of heart and abjure violence, as also accept the integrity of India and the constitution, to join national mainstream and lead a normal life, the state government on 16-6-1997 notified a Surrender Policy. The policy was revised on January 1, 2004 and named Rehabilitation Policy, she said. According to CM, the incentives offered under the policy include FDR of Rs 1.50 lakh, payment of monetary incentive for surrender of weapons and stipend for a period of three years at the rate of Rs 2000/month from the date of surrender. To a query by Congress MLA Vikar Rasool on steps taken by government to remove Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFPSA) as per the promise made in Common Minimum Programme, Mehoboba in written reply said, The need and desirability of revocation of AFSPA in various areas of the State requires critical review of the security situation and other relevant factors. She also informed the house that 81 security personnel including Army, BSF, CRPF, SSB and policemen were killed in militancy violence in the State last year. 150 militants were also killed during the same period. Santwana Bhattacharya By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Who among the two feuding Samajwadi Party factions will get the cycle symbol? An Election Commission rule dating back to 1968 will come into play to decide the dispute, which will have a massive bearing on how the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections will be fought. The symbol rule is not part of the Representation of People Act but is the binding legal framework under which the EC allots symbols for electoral contests. Under Clause 19 of the rule, it is upon the commission to decide which claimant can be allotted a symbol in the event of a split in an existing political party or any case of two groups laying claim on the same symbol.This does not mean it is purely a matter of discretion there is a crucial quasi-legal precedent here. Post-1968, while adjudicating on such disputes, the EC has ruled in favour of the group which could prove majority." A senior member of the ECs legal team, speaking to Express, indicated that the group which can furnish satisfactory documentary proof of a majority is likely to be allotted the symbol.SPvice-president Kiranmay Nanda harped on the point of majority backing. Nanda had presided over the party convention in Lucknow on Sunday where Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav was chosen as the national party president replacing his father Mulayam Singh Yadav. Nanda told Express, Netaji (Mulayam) will always remain the neta in our hearts. But the majority backs Akhilesh 92 per cent of MLAs, four of the five members of the Yadav family, 90 per cent of the Parliamentary Board, MPs, National Executive, district-level units are with the chief minister. The dispute reached the ECs door on Monday with Mulayam driving down to Nirvachan Sadan to stake a claim to the cycle symbol. Akhileshs camp has also sought an appointment with the EC over the symbol. His case will be heard on Tuesday. NEW DELHI: Who among the two feuding Samajwadi Party factions will get the cycle symbol? An Election Commission rule dating back to 1968 will come into play to decide the dispute, which will have a massive bearing on how the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections will be fought. The symbol rule is not part of the Representation of People Act but is the binding legal framework under which the EC allots symbols for electoral contests. Under Clause 19 of the rule, it is upon the commission to decide which claimant can be allotted a symbol in the event of a split in an existing political party or any case of two groups laying claim on the same symbol.This does not mean it is purely a matter of discretion there is a crucial quasi-legal precedent here. Post-1968, while adjudicating on such disputes, the EC has ruled in favour of the group which could prove majority." A senior member of the ECs legal team, speaking to Express, indicated that the group which can furnish satisfactory documentary proof of a majority is likely to be allotted the symbol.SPvice-president Kiranmay Nanda harped on the point of majority backing. Nanda had presided over the party convention in Lucknow on Sunday where Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav was chosen as the national party president replacing his father Mulayam Singh Yadav. Nanda told Express, Netaji (Mulayam) will always remain the neta in our hearts. But the majority backs Akhilesh 92 per cent of MLAs, four of the five members of the Yadav family, 90 per cent of the Parliamentary Board, MPs, National Executive, district-level units are with the chief minister. The dispute reached the ECs door on Monday with Mulayam driving down to Nirvachan Sadan to stake a claim to the cycle symbol. Akhileshs camp has also sought an appointment with the EC over the symbol. His case will be heard on Tuesday. Jan 3 (Reuters) - Advance Synergy Bhd * Says fire incident occurred on 30 dec at holiday villa arosa located at Switzerland, a hotel owned by Posthotel Arosa Ag * At this juncture, the board is unable to finalise the financial impact to ASB group * Says the cause of the fire is still unclear Source text (http://bit.ly/2hLNFjj) Further company coverage: By ANI HARDOI: At least one person was killed when the car belonging to Uttar Pradesh state minister Om Prakash Singh hit a handcart in Hardoi. Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajiv Malhotra told ANI that the probe in the matter is underway and the driver has been arrested. Malhotra also said that liquor bottles were recovered from the car. The driver is arrested and the car is taken into custody. Liquor bottles were also recovered from the car. Probe is currently underway, he said. More details of the incident are awaited. HARDOI: At least one person was killed when the car belonging to Uttar Pradesh state minister Om Prakash Singh hit a handcart in Hardoi. Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajiv Malhotra told ANI that the probe in the matter is underway and the driver has been arrested. Malhotra also said that liquor bottles were recovered from the car. The driver is arrested and the car is taken into custody. Liquor bottles were also recovered from the car. Probe is currently underway, he said. More details of the incident are awaited. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday made it clear that re-promulgation of an ordinance was like a fraud on the Constitution and the satisfaction of the President or the Governor to promulgate an ordinance was not immune from judicial review. A seven judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur by a majority ruling of 6:1 said that, laying of an ordinance before the parliament or state legislature, as the case may be, is mandatory. The court also held that the satisfaction of the President under Article 123 and of the Governor under Article 213 while issuing ordinances is not immune from judicial review. The bench also held that the question as to whether rights, privileges, obligations and liabilities would survive an ordinance which has ceased to operate must be determined as a matter of construction. The majority judgment, delivered by Justice DY Chandrachud, said that failure to place the ordinance before parliament or State legislature is a serious constitutional fraction. Justice SA Bobde, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, and Justice L Nageswara Rao supported this view, while Chief Justice Thakur gave a concurring judgment with separate reasoning. Holding that re-promulgation of an ordinance is a fraud on the constitution, the majority judgment said that the satisfaction of the President or that of the Governor was not immune from judicial review, if the satisfaction had an oblique motive. The court also made it clear that no legal rights would get conferred on the beneficiaries of the ordinance after its expiry or its re-promulgation. However, Justice Madan B Lokur, in his dissenting judgment, said that there may be several exigencies for not placing the ordinance before the parliament or the state legislature and the same per se cant be said to be illegal. Chief Justice Thakur said that the question on the tabling of the ordinance before the parliament or state legislatures was not before the court for adjudication and the left the same open for future adjudication. The ruling came on the case wherein the appointment of teachers by the Bihar government by taking ordinance route and it was re-promulgated about four times. However, the successor government refused to re-promulgate the ordinance and thus the appointment of teachers got rejected. The satisfaction of the President under Article 123 and of the Governor under Article 213 is not immune from judicial review particularly after the amendment brought about by the forty-fourth amendment to the Constitution, it said. NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday made it clear that re-promulgation of an ordinance was like a fraud on the Constitution and the satisfaction of the President or the Governor to promulgate an ordinance was not immune from judicial review. A seven judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur by a majority ruling of 6:1 said that, laying of an ordinance before the parliament or state legislature, as the case may be, is mandatory. The court also held that the satisfaction of the President under Article 123 and of the Governor under Article 213 while issuing ordinances is not immune from judicial review. The bench also held that the question as to whether rights, privileges, obligations and liabilities would survive an ordinance which has ceased to operate must be determined as a matter of construction. The majority judgment, delivered by Justice DY Chandrachud, said that failure to place the ordinance before parliament or State legislature is a serious constitutional fraction. Justice SA Bobde, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, and Justice L Nageswara Rao supported this view, while Chief Justice Thakur gave a concurring judgment with separate reasoning. Holding that re-promulgation of an ordinance is a fraud on the constitution, the majority judgment said that the satisfaction of the President or that of the Governor was not immune from judicial review, if the satisfaction had an oblique motive. The court also made it clear that no legal rights would get conferred on the beneficiaries of the ordinance after its expiry or its re-promulgation. However, Justice Madan B Lokur, in his dissenting judgment, said that there may be several exigencies for not placing the ordinance before the parliament or the state legislature and the same per se cant be said to be illegal. Chief Justice Thakur said that the question on the tabling of the ordinance before the parliament or state legislatures was not before the court for adjudication and the left the same open for future adjudication. The ruling came on the case wherein the appointment of teachers by the Bihar government by taking ordinance route and it was re-promulgated about four times. However, the successor government refused to re-promulgate the ordinance and thus the appointment of teachers got rejected. The satisfaction of the President under Article 123 and of the Governor under Article 213 is not immune from judicial review particularly after the amendment brought about by the forty-fourth amendment to the Constitution, it said. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre why high courts judges and chief justices were not being transferred despite collegium recommendations and asked it to file a status report on such pending transfers with detailed reasons in two weeks. Continuance of judges in the same high courts despite being transferred is giving rise to speculation and misgivings. If you (the Centre) have any problem with the recommendations then send it back to us. We will look into it. There is no point sitting over it, a bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur told Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi. Justice Thakur, who is demitting office on Tuesday, has been regularly questioning the government over the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary. The Centre and the judiciary are at loggerheads with each other over the issue. Rohatgi, representing the government, said the collegium had sent back 37 names of judges to the government, which was looking at them. What about the transfers of judges which has been recommended by the collegium? You are sitting over them for over 10 months, a bench also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said. Rohatgi sought three weeks of time to reply. Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani said the top law officer of the government should have all the information, adding that the transfer recommendation of Justice M R Shah of the Gujarat High Court has been pending since February 2016. I do not understand why is the government so interested to keep this man over there, he said. Toeing the same line, senior advocate Yatin Oza said, Why has the government not cleared Justice Shahs file when other files dated prior, post and simultaneous to this file has already been processed? Things are really bad. I cannot say a lot of things in open court in the presence of journalists and the media. The attorney-general, however, reiterated that there were no files pending with the government and said the state high courts judiciary was to blame for the delay in filling up the vacancies. The apex court had said it would not tolerate the logjam in judges appointment and would intervene to fasten accountability as the justice delivery system is collapsing. NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre why high courts judges and chief justices were not being transferred despite collegium recommendations and asked it to file a status report on such pending transfers with detailed reasons in two weeks. Continuance of judges in the same high courts despite being transferred is giving rise to speculation and misgivings. If you (the Centre) have any problem with the recommendations then send it back to us. We will look into it. There is no point sitting over it, a bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur told Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi. Justice Thakur, who is demitting office on Tuesday, has been regularly questioning the government over the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary. The Centre and the judiciary are at loggerheads with each other over the issue. Rohatgi, representing the government, said the collegium had sent back 37 names of judges to the government, which was looking at them. What about the transfers of judges which has been recommended by the collegium? You are sitting over them for over 10 months, a bench also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said. Rohatgi sought three weeks of time to reply. Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani said the top law officer of the government should have all the information, adding that the transfer recommendation of Justice M R Shah of the Gujarat High Court has been pending since February 2016. I do not understand why is the government so interested to keep this man over there, he said. Toeing the same line, senior advocate Yatin Oza said, Why has the government not cleared Justice Shahs file when other files dated prior, post and simultaneous to this file has already been processed? Things are really bad. I cannot say a lot of things in open court in the presence of journalists and the media. The attorney-general, however, reiterated that there were no files pending with the government and said the state high courts judiciary was to blame for the delay in filling up the vacancies. The apex court had said it would not tolerate the logjam in judges appointment and would intervene to fasten accountability as the justice delivery system is collapsing. By PTI MUMBAI: Samajwadi Party's Maharashtra unit chief Abu Azmi today said though it was the duty of police to ensure safety of women on the New Year eve, women should not forget that "security starts at home", and that partying late night is not in the Indian culture. "Partying late night in half attire, blindly following western culture, has never been our culture. Ladies hailing from well-to-do families, be it from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan or UP, they come out in decent attire and mostly with their family members," he said, when asked about alleged harassment of women in Bangaluru during the New Year eve. "I am saying what happened is very unfortunate. Undoubtedly, making security arrangement to thwart any eventuality is police's job. But, as far as Bengaluru molestation is concerned, women and their guardians must also take precautions and think that security starts at home. Our women must think about their own security themselves," Azmi told PTI. New Year revelry turned into a nightmare for several women who were allegedly molested despite huge police presence at a large gathering at Bengaluru's downtown region, sparking widespread outrage. "But when few women in half dress come out on streets at late night with their friends, such incidents do occur," said Azmi, an MLA from Shivaji Nagar in suburban Mumbai. He also recited Urdu verses, "Achchi soorat bhi kya buri shay hai, jisne bhi dali...buri nazar dali". "The women are pride of our family and country. Therefore, it is our duty to safeguard them. If we allow them to follow western culture blindly, then I am sorry to say that people will misbehave them in such ways," the SP leader said. Azmi also defended Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara who had stoked a controversy by blaming the youngsters' "western ways" for the incidents. "He (Parameshwara) said the harsh reality. These kind of things do happen when women try to copy the westerners, not only in their mindset but even in their dressing," he said. Eyewitness accounts suggest that women were molested and groped and lewd remarks were also passed by miscreants late night on December 31 in a posh area of Bengaluru even as it was claimed that 1,500 police personnel had been deployed to control the crowds. National Commission of Women (NCW) Chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam had come down heavily on the police and slammed Parameshwara's remarks, demanding that he should resign. The NCW as well as the Karnataka State Commission for Women also sought separate reports from administration and police over the incidents. MUMBAI: Samajwadi Party's Maharashtra unit chief Abu Azmi today said though it was the duty of police to ensure safety of women on the New Year eve, women should not forget that "security starts at home", and that partying late night is not in the Indian culture. "Partying late night in half attire, blindly following western culture, has never been our culture. Ladies hailing from well-to-do families, be it from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan or UP, they come out in decent attire and mostly with their family members," he said, when asked about alleged harassment of women in Bangaluru during the New Year eve. "I am saying what happened is very unfortunate. Undoubtedly, making security arrangement to thwart any eventuality is police's job. But, as far as Bengaluru molestation is concerned, women and their guardians must also take precautions and think that security starts at home. Our women must think about their own security themselves," Azmi told PTI. New Year revelry turned into a nightmare for several women who were allegedly molested despite huge police presence at a large gathering at Bengaluru's downtown region, sparking widespread outrage. "But when few women in half dress come out on streets at late night with their friends, such incidents do occur," said Azmi, an MLA from Shivaji Nagar in suburban Mumbai. He also recited Urdu verses, "Achchi soorat bhi kya buri shay hai, jisne bhi dali...buri nazar dali". "The women are pride of our family and country. Therefore, it is our duty to safeguard them. If we allow them to follow western culture blindly, then I am sorry to say that people will misbehave them in such ways," the SP leader said. Azmi also defended Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara who had stoked a controversy by blaming the youngsters' "western ways" for the incidents. "He (Parameshwara) said the harsh reality. These kind of things do happen when women try to copy the westerners, not only in their mindset but even in their dressing," he said. Eyewitness accounts suggest that women were molested and groped and lewd remarks were also passed by miscreants late night on December 31 in a posh area of Bengaluru even as it was claimed that 1,500 police personnel had been deployed to control the crowds. National Commission of Women (NCW) Chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam had come down heavily on the police and slammed Parameshwara's remarks, demanding that he should resign. The NCW as well as the Karnataka State Commission for Women also sought separate reports from administration and police over the incidents. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: With an aim to reaching a consensus on holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and Assemblies in 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to call an all-party meeting in the run-up to the upcoming Budget session of Parliament. The BJP-led NDA government at the Centre appears to have set the ball rolling on the one nation, one election slogan, with a top BJP source saying political consensus was necessary as the move would entail constitutional amendment. The government is also keen to push amendments in the rules to effect changes in election funding. The issue of one nation, one election will take a lot of time for building the ground as there will be a need to amendment the Constitution to prolong and shorten tenures of a few state Assemblies to allow the holding of simultaneous elections. The government is eyeing a 2024 rollout of simultaneous elections. The prime minister is keen to listen to the views of the leaders of all political parties on the issue and discuss with them a road map to achieve the target, added the BJP leader. The prime minister had mentioned the simultaneous elections demand on a couple of occasions. While addressing the Diwali Milan last year at the BJP headquarter, Modi stated that even while the political leaders favour the idea in private conversations, they develop cold feet when asked to state their positions publicly. Modi had reasoned at that time that every year there are elections in parts of the country, which present logistic and security challenges, besides forcing a pause on governance. The Election Commission of India has also in the recent times strongly argued for a few reforms in the funding of the elections, which necessitate discussions with the broader spectrum of political parties. The prime minister will like the all-party meeting to take up the issue and initiate a larger discussion on changes in the rules for election funding, the source added. Meanwhile, the Election Commission on Tuesday convened a meeting of chief electoral officers and nodal officers of poll-bound states to review the final leg of preparedness before announcing the schedule of Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur. NEW DELHI: With an aim to reaching a consensus on holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and Assemblies in 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to call an all-party meeting in the run-up to the upcoming Budget session of Parliament. The BJP-led NDA government at the Centre appears to have set the ball rolling on the one nation, one election slogan, with a top BJP source saying political consensus was necessary as the move would entail constitutional amendment. The government is also keen to push amendments in the rules to effect changes in election funding. The issue of one nation, one election will take a lot of time for building the ground as there will be a need to amendment the Constitution to prolong and shorten tenures of a few state Assemblies to allow the holding of simultaneous elections. The government is eyeing a 2024 rollout of simultaneous elections. The prime minister is keen to listen to the views of the leaders of all political parties on the issue and discuss with them a road map to achieve the target, added the BJP leader. The prime minister had mentioned the simultaneous elections demand on a couple of occasions. While addressing the Diwali Milan last year at the BJP headquarter, Modi stated that even while the political leaders favour the idea in private conversations, they develop cold feet when asked to state their positions publicly. Modi had reasoned at that time that every year there are elections in parts of the country, which present logistic and security challenges, besides forcing a pause on governance. The Election Commission of India has also in the recent times strongly argued for a few reforms in the funding of the elections, which necessitate discussions with the broader spectrum of political parties. The prime minister will like the all-party meeting to take up the issue and initiate a larger discussion on changes in the rules for election funding, the source added. Meanwhile, the Election Commission on Tuesday convened a meeting of chief electoral officers and nodal officers of poll-bound states to review the final leg of preparedness before announcing the schedule of Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The ball is now in the election commissions court on who would get the symbol cycle that belongs to Samajwadi party. A day after Mulayam Singh approached the election commission, Ram Gopal Yadav reached Delhi on Tuesday to stake a claim on the party symbol. After pleading the case of UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav to the election commission on Tuesday afternoon, Ram Gopal Yadav said "We have said to the election commission that 90 per cent of MLAs are supporting Akhilesh Yadav ji and hence party led by him must be considered as SP." Meanwhile, Mulayams supporters insisted on Tuesday that last Saturday's expulsion of Akhilesh and Ram Gopal was never revoked on paper, and was conditional upon Akhilesh not holding a convention. Because of these two reasons, Akhilesh and Ram Gopal are technically still disqualified. They also argued that because of this Mulayam is the real owner of the party and symbol should go with him. However, officials said that the poll panel will look into the facts and documents submitted by both the sides and any decision can be taken only after that. It may freeze the original symbol and issue new symbols to both the factions, said an official. Ram Gopal Yadav, cousin of Mulayam Singh Yadav has been standing firm behind Akhilesh. He has been considered as one of key decision makers of the party. Akhilesh on Sunday at an emergency national convention appointed himself as the national party president removing his father Mulayam Singh from the post. He also replaced state unit chief Shivpal Singh Yadav and expelled Amar Singh who had to cut short his London tour to reach Delhi. However, the convention was declared illegal and unconstitutional by Mulayam Singh. After the conclusion of the special national convention on Sunday, Ramgopal Yadav, dispatched a letter to the EC intimating it about the election of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav as the new national president of the party. NEW DELHI: The ball is now in the election commissions court on who would get the symbol cycle that belongs to Samajwadi party. A day after Mulayam Singh approached the election commission, Ram Gopal Yadav reached Delhi on Tuesday to stake a claim on the party symbol. After pleading the case of UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav to the election commission on Tuesday afternoon, Ram Gopal Yadav said "We have said to the election commission that 90 per cent of MLAs are supporting Akhilesh Yadav ji and hence party led by him must be considered as SP." Meanwhile, Mulayams supporters insisted on Tuesday that last Saturday's expulsion of Akhilesh and Ram Gopal was never revoked on paper, and was conditional upon Akhilesh not holding a convention. Because of these two reasons, Akhilesh and Ram Gopal are technically still disqualified. They also argued that because of this Mulayam is the real owner of the party and symbol should go with him. However, officials said that the poll panel will look into the facts and documents submitted by both the sides and any decision can be taken only after that. It may freeze the original symbol and issue new symbols to both the factions, said an official. Ram Gopal Yadav, cousin of Mulayam Singh Yadav has been standing firm behind Akhilesh. He has been considered as one of key decision makers of the party. Akhilesh on Sunday at an emergency national convention appointed himself as the national party president removing his father Mulayam Singh from the post. He also replaced state unit chief Shivpal Singh Yadav and expelled Amar Singh who had to cut short his London tour to reach Delhi. However, the convention was declared illegal and unconstitutional by Mulayam Singh. After the conclusion of the special national convention on Sunday, Ramgopal Yadav, dispatched a letter to the EC intimating it about the election of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav as the new national president of the party. Prasanta Mazumdar By Express News Service GUWAHATI: The Peoples Party of Arunachal (PPA), which was left to lick its wounds after 33 of its MLAs including Chief Minister Pema Khandu defected to the BJP, now set its sights on ministerial berths. The party is unlikely to move court to challenge the merger of its MLAs with the BJP or suspended Khandus continuance as the chief minister. Khandu and 18 other MLAs were suspended by the PPA leadership on two different days last week for alleged anti-party activities. The suspension had triggered the en bloc defection. The PPAs ground of contention for ministerial berths for its MLAs is that it is a constituent of North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA). NEDA is a conglomerate of non-Congress political parties of the Northeast in which BJP is a major player. It was floated in May last year with an aim of Congress-free Northeast. It was learnt that NEDA convener and Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is with the BJP, will visit Arunachal capital Itanagar on Wednesday to discuss differences arising out of the defection of the MLAs. The NEDA convener is coming day after tomorrow. We will place our demands before him. If they want us to continue in the NEDA, then they should give us our due share. If not, we will remain in the Opposition and fight them, PPA president Kahfa Bengia told Express. If the alliance has to be maintained, they should give us ministerial berths. If not, we will no more be there in NEDA. Then the message will go very badly to the people of the country. Well form a political committee and go to UP to tell people that this party (BJP) has become untouchable for all of us, he said. The PPA president also accused the BJP of speaking something and doing something else. Following the latest political development, the PPA is left with just 10 MLAs. The NEDA convener is coming day after tomorrow. We will place our demands before him. If they want us to continue in the NEDA, then they should give us our due share. If not, we will remain in the Opposition and fight them, PPA president Kahfa Bengia told Express. If the alliance has to be maintained, they should give us ministerial berths, he said. The PPA president also accused the BJP of speaking something and doing something else. The PPA has now just 10 MLAs. The BJP has 45 and Congress 3. GUWAHATI: The Peoples Party of Arunachal (PPA), which was left to lick its wounds after 33 of its MLAs including Chief Minister Pema Khandu defected to the BJP, now set its sights on ministerial berths. The party is unlikely to move court to challenge the merger of its MLAs with the BJP or suspended Khandus continuance as the chief minister. Khandu and 18 other MLAs were suspended by the PPA leadership on two different days last week for alleged anti-party activities. The suspension had triggered the en bloc defection. The PPAs ground of contention for ministerial berths for its MLAs is that it is a constituent of North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA). NEDA is a conglomerate of non-Congress political parties of the Northeast in which BJP is a major player. It was floated in May last year with an aim of Congress-free Northeast. It was learnt that NEDA convener and Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is with the BJP, will visit Arunachal capital Itanagar on Wednesday to discuss differences arising out of the defection of the MLAs. The NEDA convener is coming day after tomorrow. We will place our demands before him. If they want us to continue in the NEDA, then they should give us our due share. If not, we will remain in the Opposition and fight them, PPA president Kahfa Bengia told Express. If the alliance has to be maintained, they should give us ministerial berths. If not, we will no more be there in NEDA. Then the message will go very badly to the people of the country. Well form a political committee and go to UP to tell people that this party (BJP) has become untouchable for all of us, he said. The PPA president also accused the BJP of speaking something and doing something else. Following the latest political development, the PPA is left with just 10 MLAs. The NEDA convener is coming day after tomorrow. We will place our demands before him. If they want us to continue in the NEDA, then they should give us our due share. If not, we will remain in the Opposition and fight them, PPA president Kahfa Bengia told Express. If the alliance has to be maintained, they should give us ministerial berths, he said. The PPA president also accused the BJP of speaking something and doing something else. The PPA has now just 10 MLAs. The BJP has 45 and Congress 3. Fayaz Wani By Express News Service SRI NAGAR: As expected, the budget session of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly had a stormy start on Monday in Jammu with Opposition members staging protests and resorting to sloganeering, prompting the Governor N N Vohra to cut short his address and leave the House even as the national anthem was playing. National Conference and Congress legislators from Kashmir carrying placards with slogans such as Revoke PSA, Order Judicial Probe Into Summer Unrest, Stop Killings, Stop Telling Lies, protested as Vohra entered the Central Hall of the legislature in the morning. The Opposition members waved the placards and chanted anti-government slogans to protest against the killing of about 100 civilians during the over-five-months-long unrest in the Valley triggered by the killing of 21-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8. Some Opposition members were also wearing black robes. Chanting slogans against the use of pellet guns, the legislators said those involved in civilian killings during the unrest should be severely punished and demanded the release of arrested persons. They also demanded a ban on the use of pellet guns and PAVA shells. They alleged that the PDP-BJP government was dealing with people with goli (bullets) instead of boli (dialogue). The PDP is implementing the RSS strategy in the border state, they further charged. Independent MLA Er Sheikh Abdur Rashid waved a banner in the Assembly demanding a plebiscite in Jammu & Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Amid the pandemonium, the governor continued his address. The Opposition members threw their placards towards the well of the House. But when the noise increased, Vohra cut short his speech and left the central hall. The Assembly members later met for obituary references. The members observed silence to pay homage to the deceased legislators, civilians killed in the unrest and soldiers killed in three militant attacks in the Valley last year. Speaking during the obituary references, senior Congress leader Nawang Rigzin Jora described the unrest as a mass uprising, which evoked strong protests from the BJP and PDP members. It was a mass uprising against the PDP-BJP unholy alliance..., he said. SRI NAGAR: As expected, the budget session of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly had a stormy start on Monday in Jammu with Opposition members staging protests and resorting to sloganeering, prompting the Governor N N Vohra to cut short his address and leave the House even as the national anthem was playing. National Conference and Congress legislators from Kashmir carrying placards with slogans such as Revoke PSA, Order Judicial Probe Into Summer Unrest, Stop Killings, Stop Telling Lies, protested as Vohra entered the Central Hall of the legislature in the morning. The Opposition members waved the placards and chanted anti-government slogans to protest against the killing of about 100 civilians during the over-five-months-long unrest in the Valley triggered by the killing of 21-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8. Some Opposition members were also wearing black robes. Chanting slogans against the use of pellet guns, the legislators said those involved in civilian killings during the unrest should be severely punished and demanded the release of arrested persons. They also demanded a ban on the use of pellet guns and PAVA shells. They alleged that the PDP-BJP government was dealing with people with goli (bullets) instead of boli (dialogue). The PDP is implementing the RSS strategy in the border state, they further charged. Independent MLA Er Sheikh Abdur Rashid waved a banner in the Assembly demanding a plebiscite in Jammu & Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Amid the pandemonium, the governor continued his address. The Opposition members threw their placards towards the well of the House. But when the noise increased, Vohra cut short his speech and left the central hall. The Assembly members later met for obituary references. The members observed silence to pay homage to the deceased legislators, civilians killed in the unrest and soldiers killed in three militant attacks in the Valley last year. Speaking during the obituary references, senior Congress leader Nawang Rigzin Jora described the unrest as a mass uprising, which evoked strong protests from the BJP and PDP members. It was a mass uprising against the PDP-BJP unholy alliance..., he said. Anand ST Das By Express News Service PATNA: Two days before Prime Minister Narendra Modis scheduled visit to Patna on the occasion of Prakashotsav amid fear over possible disruptive activities by Khalistani separatists, Patna police on Tuesday placed under suspension 23 constables due to their alleged negligence in security duties. Modi would spend spend two hours in the Bihar capital on Thursday, during which he would attend a function at Gandhi Maidan related to Prakashotsav, the 350th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Gobind Singh, with other dignitaries. At least four lakh Sikh devotees from across the country and abroad are currently attending the celebrations in Patna City area, where the birthplace of Guru Govind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru, is located. An order issued by the district police headquarters said 23 constables had been placed under suspension for dereliction of duty. The order, which bore the names of the constables, merely said that they were found absent from their sites of duty during the specified duty hours. The step was taken after noticing gross instances of negligence. This is a serious security lapse during the important occasion like Prakashotsav, said Patna SSP Manu Maharaj. Sources said police do not want to take any chances with the security of the prime minister, who would land in a special plane at 11.55am on Thursday. After the Nabha jailbreak incident in Punjab, in which some Khalistani terrorists escaped, intelligence agencies have issued warning that terrorists owing allegiance to the Khalistani cause could disrupt Modis visit of Patna. A rally Modi had addressed in Patnas Gandhi Maidan in October 2013 as the prime ministerial candidate had suffered serial bomb blasts. Indian Mujahideen (IM) had allegedly carried out those blasts. After the capital punishment recently awarded to five IM members, including Yasin Bhatkal, intelligence agencies have also been on high alert about possible disruptive activities by IM sleeper cells. Nearly 15,000 police personnel have been deployed for security arrangements during Prakashotsav. About 1,000 cops will be engaged in managing the PMs security on Thursday, said sources. PATNA: Two days before Prime Minister Narendra Modis scheduled visit to Patna on the occasion of Prakashotsav amid fear over possible disruptive activities by Khalistani separatists, Patna police on Tuesday placed under suspension 23 constables due to their alleged negligence in security duties. Modi would spend spend two hours in the Bihar capital on Thursday, during which he would attend a function at Gandhi Maidan related to Prakashotsav, the 350th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Gobind Singh, with other dignitaries. At least four lakh Sikh devotees from across the country and abroad are currently attending the celebrations in Patna City area, where the birthplace of Guru Govind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru, is located. An order issued by the district police headquarters said 23 constables had been placed under suspension for dereliction of duty. The order, which bore the names of the constables, merely said that they were found absent from their sites of duty during the specified duty hours. The step was taken after noticing gross instances of negligence. This is a serious security lapse during the important occasion like Prakashotsav, said Patna SSP Manu Maharaj. Sources said police do not want to take any chances with the security of the prime minister, who would land in a special plane at 11.55am on Thursday. After the Nabha jailbreak incident in Punjab, in which some Khalistani terrorists escaped, intelligence agencies have issued warning that terrorists owing allegiance to the Khalistani cause could disrupt Modis visit of Patna. A rally Modi had addressed in Patnas Gandhi Maidan in October 2013 as the prime ministerial candidate had suffered serial bomb blasts. Indian Mujahideen (IM) had allegedly carried out those blasts. After the capital punishment recently awarded to five IM members, including Yasin Bhatkal, intelligence agencies have also been on high alert about possible disruptive activities by IM sleeper cells. Nearly 15,000 police personnel have been deployed for security arrangements during Prakashotsav. About 1,000 cops will be engaged in managing the PMs security on Thursday, said sources. By Express News Service LUCKNOW: At a time when Uttar Pradeshs ruling Samajwadi Party is hit by intense infighting and ugly ego clashes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a blistering attack on all the three rival parties of his BJP the SP, BSP and the Congress calling them parties of pariwar, paisa and beta (family, money and son), which were least concerned about the common man. Addressing a mammoth rally the first since the demonetisation grace period got over attended by over six lakh people cramped to the brim at the venue with the capacity of five lakh in Lucknow on Monday, the prime minister said change was imminent in the state. People are fed up as the ruling party is busy saving its family grace. The other one is weighed down by corruption and laundering charges and is busy saving its money while the one with a minimal presence is trying to secure its leaders political future, said Modi. Praising the good governance delivered by the previous BJP governments in the state, headed by Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta and Rajnath Singh, Modi said there had been a 14-year exile for development in the state since the BJP governments went out of power. Now this exile is about to end. Which is very much reflected by the presence of such a huge sea of humanity which has turned up in support of change, said the prime minister. For us this election is not an issue of victory or defeat. Rather, it is a responsibility towards the people to take them along and move on the path of development (sabka saath, sabka vikas), said the prime minister. Stressing on the development plank and seeking a majority mandate, Modi said it was imperative to develop the state to ensure Indias growth. Taking a jibe at the SP and BSP, Modi said though they always bayed for each others blood, the adversaries were together on a common platform on the issue of the note ban. I say remove corruption and black money. They say remove Modi. Now you have to decide, the prime minister said. As for the Congress, he said, There are some parties which are nowhere in picture. There is one party which has been trying in vain for the last 15 years to establish the son. There is another party whose worry is where to keep money. It is looking for banks far and wide, Modi said in an apparent swipe at thw BSP, which has come under scanner for alleged huge bank deposits post demonetisation. Modi also praised Ambedkar for his understanding of economic issues and claimed that the launch of the BHIM App to promote digital transactions had caused distress to certain political quarters. LUCKNOW: At a time when Uttar Pradeshs ruling Samajwadi Party is hit by intense infighting and ugly ego clashes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a blistering attack on all the three rival parties of his BJP the SP, BSP and the Congress calling them parties of pariwar, paisa and beta (family, money and son), which were least concerned about the common man. Addressing a mammoth rally the first since the demonetisation grace period got over attended by over six lakh people cramped to the brim at the venue with the capacity of five lakh in Lucknow on Monday, the prime minister said change was imminent in the state. People are fed up as the ruling party is busy saving its family grace. The other one is weighed down by corruption and laundering charges and is busy saving its money while the one with a minimal presence is trying to secure its leaders political future, said Modi. Praising the good governance delivered by the previous BJP governments in the state, headed by Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta and Rajnath Singh, Modi said there had been a 14-year exile for development in the state since the BJP governments went out of power. Now this exile is about to end. Which is very much reflected by the presence of such a huge sea of humanity which has turned up in support of change, said the prime minister. For us this election is not an issue of victory or defeat. Rather, it is a responsibility towards the people to take them along and move on the path of development (sabka saath, sabka vikas), said the prime minister. Stressing on the development plank and seeking a majority mandate, Modi said it was imperative to develop the state to ensure Indias growth. Taking a jibe at the SP and BSP, Modi said though they always bayed for each others blood, the adversaries were together on a common platform on the issue of the note ban. I say remove corruption and black money. They say remove Modi. Now you have to decide, the prime minister said. As for the Congress, he said, There are some parties which are nowhere in picture. There is one party which has been trying in vain for the last 15 years to establish the son. There is another party whose worry is where to keep money. It is looking for banks far and wide, Modi said in an apparent swipe at thw BSP, which has come under scanner for alleged huge bank deposits post demonetisation. Modi also praised Ambedkar for his understanding of economic issues and claimed that the launch of the BHIM App to promote digital transactions had caused distress to certain political quarters. R Prithvi Raj By Express News Service I stepped down from the Tirupati Satragachi Super Fast Express on platform number 5 of the Rajahmundry railway station at 5a.m. on an unusually nippy morning, rare even in winter in the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh. Rajahmundry bills itself as the cultural capital of the state, where on the banks of the serene Godavari the poet Nannaya Bhattaraka is said to have composed the first Telugu version of the Mahabharata. I walked over to the riverfront and found an early dawn fisherman cleaning his nets at Kotlingala Revu. Its a huge bathing ghat in a state that prides itself in that sort of a thing, its said to be the biggest in the country. Havent you gone fishing yet, I called out but the whippy wind flung the words back at me. The fisherman noticed me and waded to the bank. We sat down on the tiled steps of the ghat for a chat as the first rays of the sun warmed the horizon. Potahabattula Nagaraju said he was a bit late today. He and his wife set out at 4 a.m. and return at 1 p.m. His prized catch is the bommidai, which is much sought after in the town. Its a freshwater spiny eel Macrognathus panaculus. Today he hauled in 4 kg, an OK day. Nagaraju said he hasnt been making much lately, perhaps Rs 300 per day. What were his hopes for the new year? If I get Rs 500 per day, Id be happy, he said. He has two sons, the elder one in school and the younger one a toddler. He said he wouldnt allow his sons to become fishermen. Except a better catch every day and a better life for my children, I have no other ambition in life, he said. Later that morning, I went into a college and asked a teacher whether she would let me talk to her students. They were an eager lot, excited to be talking to a reporter. Mahalakshmi, in her first year of BSc, spoke easily and disarmingly about her hopes for her poor family. Her father, she said, toils in the sand mines every day. She wanted to do well in the exams and get a job and support the family. I asked her if it was a hard life for her. No, we dont miss out on our enjoyment too. I take part in cultural programmes in college and spend a good time with my friends, she said. In the college canteen I was introduced to a lecturer. I asked if it would be a good year. He poured out. Im a part-timer. We do a lot of the drudgery here. Im paid Rs 10,000 per month. My colleagues are even worse off. They get between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000. Even a daily wage labourer earns more, he said. His animation attracted his colleagues and they contributed their indignation. The Supreme Court has said equal pay for equal work. Why should a UGC employee get Rs.1.5 lakh per month and a part-time lecturer only Rs 6,000? This is sheer nonsense, said a woman lecturer. Write this in your paper, she said fiercely as I took leave. Back in town, I met a chartered accountant. V Bhaskar Rams discontent stemmed from demonetisation. Its been shoddily handled, he said. Demonetisation has increased our work because our clients want us to clean up their books. I think they should wind up the income-tax department and bring in a banking transaction tax instead. I asked whether that would be a good idea for auditors. Well still have work, he reassured me. Well work as consultants. Later that evening I met a rueful doctor. Dr Y S Guru Prasad told me its become difficult to be a doctor these days, with patients not accepting that death is sometimes the inevitable result of ailment. Earlier when a patient was brought to us in a critical condition, we used to do our best to save him. These days, we hesitate. Thats because doctors are being attacked if patients die, and the police only tell us to compromise by paying some money to the patients relatives. Soon well have hospitals with bouncers, he said, mixing sarcasm with lament. Dr Prasad has a small practice, and he is particularly peeved with the new law passed by Parliament mandating what kind of infrastructure a hospital should have. I will have to shut shop and retire from the profession. How will small doctors survive? he asked. I took the bus to Kakinada. Its to be a smart city, one of three in AP, but the first thing I met on the concourse was a very large pig leading her brood to the gutters. Kakinada, I discovered later, is something of a haven for pigs. I saw the species everywhere. The citizens seemed to have learnt to live them. It was the sight of a boy and a girl deep in conversation that diverted my attention from the pigs of Kakinada. They were siblings. Ruksana is a medical intern at Rangaraya Medical College and was hoping to land a seat for post-graduation. Dariya Vali is also a medical student at AIIMS Delhi, and he was visiting his elder sister. Two young people with much to look forward to, or so I thought as I got to know them. The boy surprised me. Dariya Vali said he was anguished by the strikes on Muslims in Syria. Their unending agony troubles me, he said. And his great hope for 2017 was there would be peace in Syria. As I left the siblings wondering about the range of issues that might engage the mind of Indians in this midst, I saw an elderly man stuffing what looked like medical reports into the box of his scooter. I walked over to introduce myself. Mr Rangadham was a retired employee of the Cooperation Department. I asked him what the papers were about. They are my medical records, he said frustration clearly writ on his face. I first went to a doctor who said my ECG showed something wrong. Then I went to another who said there was no problem at all. Now I am visiting a third. Leaving Mr Ranganadham, I said I hoped 2017 would prove the second doctor right. His smile lit up the street. On the bus out of Kakinada, I spoke to the bus conductor, who turned out to be a very happy man. Last year was very good, he said. I sold my land and built a house in Kakinada. It cost me Rs 10 lakh. Now I have a happy home. If only my bosses were a little liberal and allowed me leave, I could spend more time with my family, said Tejeswara Rao. I stepped down from the Tirupati Satragachi Super Fast Express on platform number 5 of the Rajahmundry railway station at 5a.m. on an unusually nippy morning, rare even in winter in the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh. Rajahmundry bills itself as the cultural capital of the state, where on the banks of the serene Godavari the poet Nannaya Bhattaraka is said to have composed the first Telugu version of the Mahabharata. I walked over to the riverfront and found an early dawn fisherman cleaning his nets at Kotlingala Revu. Its a huge bathing ghat in a state that prides itself in that sort of a thing, its said to be the biggest in the country. Havent you gone fishing yet, I called out but the whippy wind flung the words back at me. The fisherman noticed me and waded to the bank. We sat down on the tiled steps of the ghat for a chat as the first rays of the sun warmed the horizon. Potahabattula Nagaraju said he was a bit late today. He and his wife set out at 4 a.m. and return at 1 p.m. His prized catch is the bommidai, which is much sought after in the town. Its a freshwater spiny eel Macrognathus panaculus. Today he hauled in 4 kg, an OK day. Nagaraju said he hasnt been making much lately, perhaps Rs 300 per day. What were his hopes for the new year? If I get Rs 500 per day, Id be happy, he said. He has two sons, the elder one in school and the younger one a toddler. He said he wouldnt allow his sons to become fishermen. Except a better catch every day and a better life for my children, I have no other ambition in life, he said. Later that morning, I went into a college and asked a teacher whether she would let me talk to her students. They were an eager lot, excited to be talking to a reporter. Mahalakshmi, in her first year of BSc, spoke easily and disarmingly about her hopes for her poor family. Her father, she said, toils in the sand mines every day. She wanted to do well in the exams and get a job and support the family. I asked her if it was a hard life for her. No, we dont miss out on our enjoyment too. I take part in cultural programmes in college and spend a good time with my friends, she said. In the college canteen I was introduced to a lecturer. I asked if it would be a good year. He poured out. Im a part-timer. We do a lot of the drudgery here. Im paid Rs 10,000 per month. My colleagues are even worse off. They get between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000. Even a daily wage labourer earns more, he said. His animation attracted his colleagues and they contributed their indignation. The Supreme Court has said equal pay for equal work. Why should a UGC employee get Rs.1.5 lakh per month and a part-time lecturer only Rs 6,000? This is sheer nonsense, said a woman lecturer. Write this in your paper, she said fiercely as I took leave. Back in town, I met a chartered accountant. V Bhaskar Rams discontent stemmed from demonetisation. Its been shoddily handled, he said. Demonetisation has increased our work because our clients want us to clean up their books. I think they should wind up the income-tax department and bring in a banking transaction tax instead. I asked whether that would be a good idea for auditors. Well still have work, he reassured me. Well work as consultants. Later that evening I met a rueful doctor. Dr Y S Guru Prasad told me its become difficult to be a doctor these days, with patients not accepting that death is sometimes the inevitable result of ailment. Earlier when a patient was brought to us in a critical condition, we used to do our best to save him. These days, we hesitate. Thats because doctors are being attacked if patients die, and the police only tell us to compromise by paying some money to the patients relatives. Soon well have hospitals with bouncers, he said, mixing sarcasm with lament. Dr Prasad has a small practice, and he is particularly peeved with the new law passed by Parliament mandating what kind of infrastructure a hospital should have. I will have to shut shop and retire from the profession. How will small doctors survive? he asked. I took the bus to Kakinada. Its to be a smart city, one of three in AP, but the first thing I met on the concourse was a very large pig leading her brood to the gutters. Kakinada, I discovered later, is something of a haven for pigs. I saw the species everywhere. The citizens seemed to have learnt to live them. It was the sight of a boy and a girl deep in conversation that diverted my attention from the pigs of Kakinada. They were siblings. Ruksana is a medical intern at Rangaraya Medical College and was hoping to land a seat for post-graduation. Dariya Vali is also a medical student at AIIMS Delhi, and he was visiting his elder sister. Two young people with much to look forward to, or so I thought as I got to know them. The boy surprised me. Dariya Vali said he was anguished by the strikes on Muslims in Syria. Their unending agony troubles me, he said. And his great hope for 2017 was there would be peace in Syria. As I left the siblings wondering about the range of issues that might engage the mind of Indians in this midst, I saw an elderly man stuffing what looked like medical reports into the box of his scooter. I walked over to introduce myself. Mr Rangadham was a retired employee of the Cooperation Department. I asked him what the papers were about. They are my medical records, he said frustration clearly writ on his face. I first went to a doctor who said my ECG showed something wrong. Then I went to another who said there was no problem at all. Now I am visiting a third. Leaving Mr Ranganadham, I said I hoped 2017 would prove the second doctor right. His smile lit up the street. On the bus out of Kakinada, I spoke to the bus conductor, who turned out to be a very happy man. Last year was very good, he said. I sold my land and built a house in Kakinada. It cost me Rs 10 lakh. Now I have a happy home. If only my bosses were a little liberal and allowed me leave, I could spend more time with my family, said Tejeswara Rao. By Express News Service ITCHAPURAM: Condemning the State government's alleged negligence over the victims with kidney problems in the Uddanam region of Srikakulam district, actor and JanaSena Party (JSP) chief Pawan Kalyan demanded the Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP government to form a special committee on the issue, to ascertain the mystery behind the disorder. Pawan Kalyan who visited Itchapuram town of Srikakulam district to a meet with the victims of kidney disorders also demanded the government to allocate Rs 100 crore for the kidney patients of Uddanam region. Pawan Kalyan also said that it surprises him as the ministers and public representatives from both Central government and State government have not taken any step regarding the chronic disorders, even though thousands have been dying every year. "The State government has funds to conduct Pushkarams and to build a capital city. When people have been dying for years for unknown reasons, why is the government negligent towards them? Jana Sena party condemns this attitude of the government", said Pawan Kalyan. Expressing concern over the fate of orphaned children in the region, Pawan requested the government to take immediate measures within 48 hours to secure their future. "A number of kids have become orphans after their parents died due to these unknown kidney disorders. The government should either provide financial aid or adopt them completely," Pawan added. On behalf of his party, the JSP president appointed a committee comprising doctors and party members including Dr Hari Prasad, Dr Ashok Yadav, Dr Krishna Murthy, Sandeep and a few others, who would give a detailed report on the Uddanam kidney disorders in 15 days. He also said that he would hand over the report directly to chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, seeking his intervention in the matter. ITCHAPURAM: Condemning the State government's alleged negligence over the victims with kidney problems in the Uddanam region of Srikakulam district, actor and JanaSena Party (JSP) chief Pawan Kalyan demanded the Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP government to form a special committee on the issue, to ascertain the mystery behind the disorder. Pawan Kalyan who visited Itchapuram town of Srikakulam district to a meet with the victims of kidney disorders also demanded the government to allocate Rs 100 crore for the kidney patients of Uddanam region. Pawan Kalyan also said that it surprises him as the ministers and public representatives from both Central government and State government have not taken any step regarding the chronic disorders, even though thousands have been dying every year. "The State government has funds to conduct Pushkarams and to build a capital city. When people have been dying for years for unknown reasons, why is the government negligent towards them? Jana Sena party condemns this attitude of the government", said Pawan Kalyan. Expressing concern over the fate of orphaned children in the region, Pawan requested the government to take immediate measures within 48 hours to secure their future. "A number of kids have become orphans after their parents died due to these unknown kidney disorders. The government should either provide financial aid or adopt them completely," Pawan added. On behalf of his party, the JSP president appointed a committee comprising doctors and party members including Dr Hari Prasad, Dr Ashok Yadav, Dr Krishna Murthy, Sandeep and a few others, who would give a detailed report on the Uddanam kidney disorders in 15 days. He also said that he would hand over the report directly to chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, seeking his intervention in the matter. By Express News Service BENGALURU: Former minister V Srinivas Prasad along with scores of his supporters formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party here on Monday. I have joined BJP and decided to continue in public life to redeem my pride, which was dented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, he said defending his move. Addressing the gathering after his induction into the party, the senior dalit leader launched an offensive against Siddaramaiah for the way he was dumped from the ministry. I have always practised dignified politics without compromising on my self-respect. Siddaramaiah dented my pride and self-respect by treating me shabbily when he revamped his ministry. I cannot tolerate anything that pricks my pride. So I quit Congress, he said. Defending his decision to join BJP, Prasad rejected the view that BJP is anti-dalit. It is not appropriate to brand BJP as anti-dalit or anti-backwards. BJP has been voted to power at the Centre and the party had also received peoples mandate in the state earlier. This is not possible without the support of the dalits and backward communities, he said. He also lauded Prime Minister Modis governance and social commitment, which he said motivated him to join BJP. Prasad, who is expected to be BJPs candidate for the soon to be held by-poll for the Nanjangud assembly constituency, said that he has joined BJP unconditionally. My only request was not to do anything that could hurt my pride. BJP leaders and workers have extended me a grand welcome. I have decided to extend my innings in politics by a few years to redeem my pride, he said. Apart from BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa, Union ministers H N Ananth Kumar, D V Sadananda Gowda, Ramesh Jigajinagi, BJP National General Secretary in-charge of party affairs in Karnataka Muralidhara Rao, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Jagadish Shettar were among those present on the occasion. BENGALURU: Former minister V Srinivas Prasad along with scores of his supporters formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party here on Monday. I have joined BJP and decided to continue in public life to redeem my pride, which was dented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, he said defending his move. Addressing the gathering after his induction into the party, the senior dalit leader launched an offensive against Siddaramaiah for the way he was dumped from the ministry. I have always practised dignified politics without compromising on my self-respect. Siddaramaiah dented my pride and self-respect by treating me shabbily when he revamped his ministry. I cannot tolerate anything that pricks my pride. So I quit Congress, he said. Defending his decision to join BJP, Prasad rejected the view that BJP is anti-dalit. It is not appropriate to brand BJP as anti-dalit or anti-backwards. BJP has been voted to power at the Centre and the party had also received peoples mandate in the state earlier. This is not possible without the support of the dalits and backward communities, he said. He also lauded Prime Minister Modis governance and social commitment, which he said motivated him to join BJP. Prasad, who is expected to be BJPs candidate for the soon to be held by-poll for the Nanjangud assembly constituency, said that he has joined BJP unconditionally. My only request was not to do anything that could hurt my pride. BJP leaders and workers have extended me a grand welcome. I have decided to extend my innings in politics by a few years to redeem my pride, he said. Apart from BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa, Union ministers H N Ananth Kumar, D V Sadananda Gowda, Ramesh Jigajinagi, BJP National General Secretary in-charge of party affairs in Karnataka Muralidhara Rao, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Jagadish Shettar were among those present on the occasion. Hemant Kumar Rout By Express News Service On the journey from Bhubaneswar to Berhampur, one topic is ubiquitous: migration. Its like everyone is everywhere else in southern Odisha including Naveen Patnaiks constituency. The three-hour journey from Bhubaneswar to Berhampur by the Visakha Express is a different sort of journey, quite distinct from the passage through the mining heartland of Odisha up north. This is a dash through the power corridor of the state down to Berhampur, once considered the nerve centre of southern Odisha. Its a journey through a very different socioeconomic situation and a different moodscape. The passengers are a collection of commuters, day-trippers and vacationers. Apart from this flock, people from across Khurda and Ganjams varied economic and social spectrum get on and off at stations along the way. I hopped on to compartment S5 of the Visakha Express one wintry morning to find it almost full. Hardly anyone was speaking to each other, most of the passengers hiding behind newspapers or glued to cell phones. A few miles out, a young man broke the ice, reading aloud to no one in particular a few lines from his newspaper. The chief minister has once again promised to fulfill the promises his party made in the the last Assembly poll. The panchayat elections are around the corner, he said scoffingly. This was the cue to other passengers to join the conversation. The young man introduced himself as Sunil Sonar. Hes an MBA grad who works for a finance company. Freshly after his graduation in 2006, he had had to leave Berhampur as he could not find a job locally. So he had to move to Bengaluru to work for a private bank. Not a single big industry has come up in Ganjam in the last three decades. Which is why young people are migrating to other states, he said. If Naveen Patnaik really focussed on industrialisation, they wouldnt have to go, he said. As railway journeys go, cribbing about the government is a safe conversation topic and several other passengers joined in. Prafulla Padhi, a high school teacher, said migration was indeed a major problem. You bump into people from almost all blocks of my district in Surat, Mumbai and Chennai. But who cares? Nobody is bothered, he said in typical railway passenger fashion. A trader, Jayant Gupta, pointed out that even people in the CMs own constituency of Hinjili have had to migrate to Mumbai and Surat. I had had my introduction to migration as the lingua franca of Odishas railway journeys right at Bhubaneswar. In the second class waiting room there, a railway station official had pointed out to me three persons who had come back home after a bitter migration ordeal. The three men from Chikili village in Khallikote block had just returned from Chennai where they gone to work, lured by a labour contractor who promised them wages at the rate of Rs 250 per day plus food and lodging. It was my first experience outside Odisha, said one of them, Madhab Dakua a man of fifty or so and a father of five. The contractor promised us a regular salary. However, apart from the train fare and weekly allowance of Rs 300, he gave us nothing more. The food was poor. The trio landed in Chennai on Dec. 2, and lived through that citys nightmare fortnight of death, demonetization and cyclone devastation. They couldnt stand it and decided to leave. The contractor still owes us. He has assured to pay us on January 10. We have to wait, said Dakua. After hearing that snatch of conversation about Naveen Patnaiks constitutency on the Visakha Express, I decided to hop off the train at Berhampur to take in Hinjili. About 20 km by road is Kanchuru, a town in Hinjili, where I chatted up a betel leaf seller, Kanha Sahu. Migration was on the tip of his tongue too. My brother left home and has been working in a garment factory in Mumbai for the last 15 years. I too would have left but my father needed me to help him in running the shop. Elsewhere in the village, people told me there was not a household that did not have members eking out a livelihood elsewhere. More than 200 people from this village and 1,300 from nearby Saru village have migrated. The marriage season is when they come back to visit and then the place looks like its former self again. Sahu pointed to a house in the locality. Its the Bijay Mohanty household. All of his four sons work away from Odisha. Two of them, Satyanarayan and Sadananda Mohanty who work on the power looms in Surat,are back visiting. The absent two are in Mumbai and Vijayawada. Satyanarayan told me its a struggle in Surat. Hes been there more than a decade. We struggle to get work but finding a job there is easier than it is here. We are not matriculates and we dont have land. Thats why we decided to move out rather than become agricultural workers. We make Rs 12,000-14,000 a month. The Surat locality in which the brothers live, Satyanarayan said, is called Amruli also known as Mini Odisha.. Seventy per cent of the people are Odias. There are no official figures for migration out of southern Odisha. NGOs put it close to 10 lakh of which Ganjam district accounts for 5.5 lakh alone. On an average, 25,000 to 30,000 workers migrate from Hinjili, Aska (Naveens former constituency) and Purusottampur blocks every year. Satyanarayan Mohanty sees light at the end of the tunnel. We migrant workers are trained in looming and weaving. So if power looms or apparel industries are set up here, we can return and contribute to the states economy, he added. On the journey from Bhubaneswar to Berhampur, one topic is ubiquitous: migration. Its like everyone is everywhere else in southern Odisha including Naveen Patnaiks constituency. The three-hour journey from Bhubaneswar to Berhampur by the Visakha Express is a different sort of journey, quite distinct from the passage through the mining heartland of Odisha up north. This is a dash through the power corridor of the state down to Berhampur, once considered the nerve centre of southern Odisha. Its a journey through a very different socioeconomic situation and a different moodscape. The passengers are a collection of commuters, day-trippers and vacationers. Apart from this flock, people from across Khurda and Ganjams varied economic and social spectrum get on and off at stations along the way. I hopped on to compartment S5 of the Visakha Express one wintry morning to find it almost full. Hardly anyone was speaking to each other, most of the passengers hiding behind newspapers or glued to cell phones. A few miles out, a young man broke the ice, reading aloud to no one in particular a few lines from his newspaper. The chief minister has once again promised to fulfill the promises his party made in the the last Assembly poll. The panchayat elections are around the corner, he said scoffingly. This was the cue to other passengers to join the conversation. The young man introduced himself as Sunil Sonar. Hes an MBA grad who works for a finance company. Freshly after his graduation in 2006, he had had to leave Berhampur as he could not find a job locally. So he had to move to Bengaluru to work for a private bank. Not a single big industry has come up in Ganjam in the last three decades. Which is why young people are migrating to other states, he said. If Naveen Patnaik really focussed on industrialisation, they wouldnt have to go, he said. As railway journeys go, cribbing about the government is a safe conversation topic and several other passengers joined in. Prafulla Padhi, a high school teacher, said migration was indeed a major problem. You bump into people from almost all blocks of my district in Surat, Mumbai and Chennai. But who cares? Nobody is bothered, he said in typical railway passenger fashion. A trader, Jayant Gupta, pointed out that even people in the CMs own constituency of Hinjili have had to migrate to Mumbai and Surat. I had had my introduction to migration as the lingua franca of Odishas railway journeys right at Bhubaneswar. In the second class waiting room there, a railway station official had pointed out to me three persons who had come back home after a bitter migration ordeal. The three men from Chikili village in Khallikote block had just returned from Chennai where they gone to work, lured by a labour contractor who promised them wages at the rate of Rs 250 per day plus food and lodging. It was my first experience outside Odisha, said one of them, Madhab Dakua a man of fifty or so and a father of five. The contractor promised us a regular salary. However, apart from the train fare and weekly allowance of Rs 300, he gave us nothing more. The food was poor. The trio landed in Chennai on Dec. 2, and lived through that citys nightmare fortnight of death, demonetization and cyclone devastation. They couldnt stand it and decided to leave. The contractor still owes us. He has assured to pay us on January 10. We have to wait, said Dakua. After hearing that snatch of conversation about Naveen Patnaiks constitutency on the Visakha Express, I decided to hop off the train at Berhampur to take in Hinjili. About 20 km by road is Kanchuru, a town in Hinjili, where I chatted up a betel leaf seller, Kanha Sahu. Migration was on the tip of his tongue too. My brother left home and has been working in a garment factory in Mumbai for the last 15 years. I too would have left but my father needed me to help him in running the shop. Elsewhere in the village, people told me there was not a household that did not have members eking out a livelihood elsewhere. More than 200 people from this village and 1,300 from nearby Saru village have migrated. The marriage season is when they come back to visit and then the place looks like its former self again. Sahu pointed to a house in the locality. Its the Bijay Mohanty household. All of his four sons work away from Odisha. Two of them, Satyanarayan and Sadananda Mohanty who work on the power looms in Surat,are back visiting. The absent two are in Mumbai and Vijayawada. Satyanarayan told me its a struggle in Surat. Hes been there more than a decade. We struggle to get work but finding a job there is easier than it is here. We are not matriculates and we dont have land. Thats why we decided to move out rather than become agricultural workers. We make Rs 12,000-14,000 a month. The Surat locality in which the brothers live, Satyanarayan said, is called Amruli also known as Mini Odisha.. Seventy per cent of the people are Odias. There are no official figures for migration out of southern Odisha. NGOs put it close to 10 lakh of which Ganjam district accounts for 5.5 lakh alone. On an average, 25,000 to 30,000 workers migrate from Hinjili, Aska (Naveens former constituency) and Purusottampur blocks every year. Satyanarayan Mohanty sees light at the end of the tunnel. We migrant workers are trained in looming and weaving. So if power looms or apparel industries are set up here, we can return and contribute to the states economy, he added. Hemant Kumar Rout By Express News Service We discover a feeling of a loss of El Dorado on board the Chakradharpur-Barbil-Puri Intercity Express chugging out of Barbil, the centre of Odishas mining hinterland that has gone quiet since a scam doused the boom in 2009. Its a pleasant Monday morning at Barbil, the first railway station in Odisha if one is travelling from Jharkhand down to Bhubaneswar via Keonjhar. My train is the 18415 Up Chakradharpur-Barbil-Puri Intercity Express. Its a familiar blue train, the railway grime deposited on its window sills, bars and awnings giving this the feel of a familiar Indian journey. There are only a handful of passengers on the platform, including a couple of teenagers. The youngsters are a surprise. This is not the backpack trail. Barbil is the heart of Odishas mine country. Its the centre of a hinterland that is reputed to have the fifth largest deposits of iron ore and manganese ore in the world. It used to be a major source of revenue for both the central and state governments. However, this morning, theres no evidence of boom town prosperity around the railway station. Barring a couple of tea stalls and betel leaf kiosks, theres nothing to buy or sell here. This has been the scene for the last few years since they cracked down on illegal mining in 2009, Biswamitra Giri tells me. Hes the quintessential railway man -- Grade-1 Fitter, he tells mm having been at this post for 32 years. Once upon a time, this station used to be crowded throughout the day since 18415 Up was the only train connecting Barbil with Odishas capital, Bhubaneswar. People from Jharkhand got off here to work in the mines. And local workers would board the train upto Bansapani and Sukinda Road to work in the ore processing plants. So where are they now? Then the mines were closed and thousands of them lost their jobs, Giri tells me. Trades that had flourished dwindled. His voice trails off in the manner of railway raconteurs finishing a sad story. The train enters the station and the Grade I Fitter moves on. He has work to do on the locomotive. You dont have to rush, he tells me. The train halts for 10 minutes and will not leave before 9.25 am. On the train, I chatted up a man in his mid-40s perhaps. He had come rushing as the train began to move -- at the very time decreed by Mr Giri -- carrying a blanket in the crook of his arm. He appeared to me a daily-wager. But really how can we tell? Turns out, hes a cook in the kitchen of a mining company. As is polite among Indian railway travelers, I did not ask his name before asking him what he did. Not much of crowd, I said, to break the ice. He took me up and told me the mining story that Mr Giri had already told me. Two of his mates had lost their jobs. We used to cook for 150-200 drivers, helpers and supervisors of a mining company. Now only 18 persons are having food in the mess. I cook three times a day and get Rs 7,000 per month with food. I was not thrown out because I am good with non-veg and biryani, said the man whose name I did not know. Earlier, he used to earn Rs 15,000 a month with tips from the guests. Now no guests ever come. After what I thought was a polite interval, I asked him his name. He said he was Mahendra Gope, a native of Dangoaposi. He was going back home to attend the final rites of a relative. The decline of a mining town is a good conversation ice-breaker, I discover. Bijay Ram, an autorickshaw driver, takes up the story. The number of businessmen frequenting the town has come down considerably. I am one of the worst hit, he says, his voice acquiring an emphasis. I used to ferry people from Keonjhar to Joda, Barbil and Balani but the business is gone. Bijay Ram earned earned Rs 11 lakh between 2005 and 2008. Sensing from my face the question how he had kept count, he explains, You may not believe it but it is a fact. One night I picked up a Jharkhand trader from Keonjhar and dropped at Balani. He gave me Rs 1,500. I used to earn at least Rs 25,000 a month. But now it is difficult to get Rs 5,000. That period was a golden era. And then the sad-tale diminuendo. The mood on the train changed after hundreds of passengers boarded the 18415 Up at Bansapani and Jurudi. By the time we arrived at Keonjhar, my compartment was fully packed. Most of the newcomers were headed towards Sukinda Road, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. Wedged tight between two portly gentlemen, I could only converse with the passenger opposite me. This too was a mining story. The fifty-fivish man told me he was from Duburi in Jajpur district. He used to be what is called a helper of a truck before becoming the driver of a 12-wheeler that transported iron ore to Paradip Port. After the closure of the mines, he was unemployed for two years. Thanks to an official, I now drive a truck engaged by a PSU. He said his name is Dinabandhu Bindhani. And he added, But my son is jobless now. He too used to work in a mine. I looked around the packed compartment for a sense of the gloom. All around me I saw the familiar bustle of passengers making themselves as comfortable as the confines would allow, two sharing the seat of one, seat seekers squeezing past people in the aisles and sharing a quick lunch. Who among these were the ejects of a boom gone bust, the workers and managers and owners of dhabas, petrol pumps, spare-parts shops, repair workshops that used to be ancillary to a gold rush town? Barbils economy, I had learnt before boarding 18415 Up, went south after the Rs 68,000 crore mining scam was unearthed in 2009. It led to the closure of 200 mines. Over 25,000 trucks went off the roads. Hundreds of migrant workers from Jharkhand and Bihar fled. One of the young men who got on the train at Jurudi joined the conversation. He came here from Raipura in Banaras district of UP and grew to own a popular roadside eatery. It is now reduced to a make-shift tea and snacks stall on the Tiria bypass. It is now difficult to make Rs 150 a day. I cant go back home because I bought a house here, he said. His name was Manoj Jaiswal and he was 34 years old. I got off the train at Tiria and went in search of a hotel and found one not far from the rail tracks. As he signed me in, I asked the manager how business has been. Bookings have come down drastically, he began. There used to be 16 good hotels here, six have shut down. The rest are struggling to stay afloat. Getting 20 guests a month is a dream now. Here again is the story Ive been hearing all morning, I thought as I picked up the keys from Abhay Mohantys desk. We discover a feeling of a loss of El Dorado on board the Chakradharpur-Barbil-Puri Intercity Express chugging out of Barbil, the centre of Odishas mining hinterland that has gone quiet since a scam doused the boom in 2009. Its a pleasant Monday morning at Barbil, the first railway station in Odisha if one is travelling from Jharkhand down to Bhubaneswar via Keonjhar. My train is the 18415 Up Chakradharpur-Barbil-Puri Intercity Express. Its a familiar blue train, the railway grime deposited on its window sills, bars and awnings giving this the feel of a familiar Indian journey. There are only a handful of passengers on the platform, including a couple of teenagers. The youngsters are a surprise. This is not the backpack trail. Barbil is the heart of Odishas mine country. Its the centre of a hinterland that is reputed to have the fifth largest deposits of iron ore and manganese ore in the world. It used to be a major source of revenue for both the central and state governments. However, this morning, theres no evidence of boom town prosperity around the railway station. Barring a couple of tea stalls and betel leaf kiosks, theres nothing to buy or sell here. This has been the scene for the last few years since they cracked down on illegal mining in 2009, Biswamitra Giri tells me. Hes the quintessential railway man -- Grade-1 Fitter, he tells mm having been at this post for 32 years. Once upon a time, this station used to be crowded throughout the day since 18415 Up was the only train connecting Barbil with Odishas capital, Bhubaneswar. People from Jharkhand got off here to work in the mines. And local workers would board the train upto Bansapani and Sukinda Road to work in the ore processing plants. So where are they now? Then the mines were closed and thousands of them lost their jobs, Giri tells me. Trades that had flourished dwindled. His voice trails off in the manner of railway raconteurs finishing a sad story. The train enters the station and the Grade I Fitter moves on. He has work to do on the locomotive. You dont have to rush, he tells me. The train halts for 10 minutes and will not leave before 9.25 am. On the train, I chatted up a man in his mid-40s perhaps. He had come rushing as the train began to move -- at the very time decreed by Mr Giri -- carrying a blanket in the crook of his arm. He appeared to me a daily-wager. But really how can we tell? Turns out, hes a cook in the kitchen of a mining company. As is polite among Indian railway travelers, I did not ask his name before asking him what he did. Not much of crowd, I said, to break the ice. He took me up and told me the mining story that Mr Giri had already told me. Two of his mates had lost their jobs. We used to cook for 150-200 drivers, helpers and supervisors of a mining company. Now only 18 persons are having food in the mess. I cook three times a day and get Rs 7,000 per month with food. I was not thrown out because I am good with non-veg and biryani, said the man whose name I did not know. Earlier, he used to earn Rs 15,000 a month with tips from the guests. Now no guests ever come. After what I thought was a polite interval, I asked him his name. He said he was Mahendra Gope, a native of Dangoaposi. He was going back home to attend the final rites of a relative. The decline of a mining town is a good conversation ice-breaker, I discover. Bijay Ram, an autorickshaw driver, takes up the story. The number of businessmen frequenting the town has come down considerably. I am one of the worst hit, he says, his voice acquiring an emphasis. I used to ferry people from Keonjhar to Joda, Barbil and Balani but the business is gone. Bijay Ram earned earned Rs 11 lakh between 2005 and 2008. Sensing from my face the question how he had kept count, he explains, You may not believe it but it is a fact. One night I picked up a Jharkhand trader from Keonjhar and dropped at Balani. He gave me Rs 1,500. I used to earn at least Rs 25,000 a month. But now it is difficult to get Rs 5,000. That period was a golden era. And then the sad-tale diminuendo. The mood on the train changed after hundreds of passengers boarded the 18415 Up at Bansapani and Jurudi. By the time we arrived at Keonjhar, my compartment was fully packed. Most of the newcomers were headed towards Sukinda Road, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. Wedged tight between two portly gentlemen, I could only converse with the passenger opposite me. This too was a mining story. The fifty-fivish man told me he was from Duburi in Jajpur district. He used to be what is called a helper of a truck before becoming the driver of a 12-wheeler that transported iron ore to Paradip Port. After the closure of the mines, he was unemployed for two years. Thanks to an official, I now drive a truck engaged by a PSU. He said his name is Dinabandhu Bindhani. And he added, But my son is jobless now. He too used to work in a mine. I looked around the packed compartment for a sense of the gloom. All around me I saw the familiar bustle of passengers making themselves as comfortable as the confines would allow, two sharing the seat of one, seat seekers squeezing past people in the aisles and sharing a quick lunch. Who among these were the ejects of a boom gone bust, the workers and managers and owners of dhabas, petrol pumps, spare-parts shops, repair workshops that used to be ancillary to a gold rush town? Barbils economy, I had learnt before boarding 18415 Up, went south after the Rs 68,000 crore mining scam was unearthed in 2009. It led to the closure of 200 mines. Over 25,000 trucks went off the roads. Hundreds of migrant workers from Jharkhand and Bihar fled. One of the young men who got on the train at Jurudi joined the conversation. He came here from Raipura in Banaras district of UP and grew to own a popular roadside eatery. It is now reduced to a make-shift tea and snacks stall on the Tiria bypass. It is now difficult to make Rs 150 a day. I cant go back home because I bought a house here, he said. His name was Manoj Jaiswal and he was 34 years old. I got off the train at Tiria and went in search of a hotel and found one not far from the rail tracks. As he signed me in, I asked the manager how business has been. Bookings have come down drastically, he began. There used to be 16 good hotels here, six have shut down. The rest are struggling to stay afloat. Getting 20 guests a month is a dream now. Here again is the story Ive been hearing all morning, I thought as I picked up the keys from Abhay Mohantys desk. Hemant Kumar Rout By Express News Service The witch doctor rules in the heart of tribal Odisha, and belief in sorcery reigns without challenge It was half past 11 pm when the Bhubaneswar-Junagarh Link Express arrived at Berhampur. This is the only train connecting Berhampur to Rayagada. Most passengers were fast asleep. The train pulled out of Berhampur and at about 3 am, Jagannath Tripathy boarded got on at Vizianagaram. Principal of a residential college at Bhawanipatana, he was returning from Hyderabad after visiting his ailing father. I took my father to Hyderabad for a bypass surgery since there is no big hospital here, he told me after he had settled. A co-passenger Ramesh Mishra woke up to join this hushed middle-of-the-night conversation. He is a doctor, and had a different take. Though we blame tribal people for not trusting modern medicine, I think its a failure of the government. No one takes the responsibility, the doc said. In tribal southern Odisha, people prefer a Bejuni (priest) to a doctor. Superstition is deep-rooted in the tribal tradition. Counseling of tribal priests and regular awareness campaigns would help, he said. Dr Mishra said he served 30 years in Koraput and Kalahandi before giving up his government job. He now practises at three locations in Kalahandi district. I would be happy if you call me a social worker, not a doctor because it is no longer a noble profession, he said. The doctor suggested to me a visit to Kalyansingpur block if I wanted to know about some real public health issues. The train reached Rayagada at 5.45 am. From here, one part of the Link Express goes on to Junagarh Road and another travels as the Hirakhand Express to Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh. Since Kalyansingpur is not connected by train, I had to take a bus to see what the doctor meant. At 10 am, the bus left Rayagada with 18 passengers including 10 women and children. A young man, Shyam Nachika got on at JK Pur Square. I asked him about the tribal preference for witch doctors. My father was a victim of sorcery. He died on April 7 after being bedridden for nearly three years. A fellow villager was his enemy and he invoked black magic on my father, Nachika said to me. Shyam Nachika is a native of Kurukuti village in Kalyansinghpur. He is a Plus-II commerce student at Rayagada (Autonomous) College. He was not ready to accept that sorcery was nothing but superstition. His family, he said, consults the Bejuni first and then a doctor. Through the window of the bus the landscape was picturesque with the highway cutting through cotton fields, sunflower farms and vegetable patches. At Kultiguda, more people hopped on, among them Ramaya Miniaka and Chintamani Praska, who were going to meet the block development officer (BDO) to request him to issue a work order to a local resident for their village road. Last time someone from Jurunda bagged the work order. We cant use the road during rains. Last year, a pregnant woman died on the way after delivering a baby on this route, Praska said. At 12.30 pm and after 22 stoppages a long the 45 km stretch, the bus rumbled into Kalyansingpur. Ghagudimalo village, 4 km away, was in the headlines back in September. That was where a pregnant woman, Hansabansa Dhanya, died while being taken to hospital on a cot. I went to meet Dhanyas mother Nagabansa Padma. She remained as the news reports had described her back then: no compensation received, no house under IAY or Mo Kudia Yojna sanctioned. Rayagada has been in the news a lot lately, be it for sorcery-related crime, branding children with hot iron rods and taking patients to hospitals in cots. This was where 24 tribal people died after eating mango kernel gruel in Kashipur in 2001 and where there were outbreaks of cholera in 2007 and 2008. Last July, seven persons died of cholera in Kalyansingpur alone. Though there are reports of hunger deaths here anymore, health services are still a far cry. Rayagada has everything, yet nothing. It has bauxite and silicon reserves. Odisha has 62 per cent of the bauxite deposits in the country and Rayagada accounts for 84 per cent of that. The witch doctor rules in the heart of tribal Odisha, and belief in sorcery reigns without challenge It was half past 11 pm when the Bhubaneswar-Junagarh Link Express arrived at Berhampur. This is the only train connecting Berhampur to Rayagada. Most passengers were fast asleep. The train pulled out of Berhampur and at about 3 am, Jagannath Tripathy boarded got on at Vizianagaram. Principal of a residential college at Bhawanipatana, he was returning from Hyderabad after visiting his ailing father. I took my father to Hyderabad for a bypass surgery since there is no big hospital here, he told me after he had settled. A co-passenger Ramesh Mishra woke up to join this hushed middle-of-the-night conversation. He is a doctor, and had a different take. Though we blame tribal people for not trusting modern medicine, I think its a failure of the government. No one takes the responsibility, the doc said. In tribal southern Odisha, people prefer a Bejuni (priest) to a doctor. Superstition is deep-rooted in the tribal tradition. Counseling of tribal priests and regular awareness campaigns would help, he said. Dr Mishra said he served 30 years in Koraput and Kalahandi before giving up his government job. He now practises at three locations in Kalahandi district. I would be happy if you call me a social worker, not a doctor because it is no longer a noble profession, he said. The doctor suggested to me a visit to Kalyansingpur block if I wanted to know about some real public health issues. The train reached Rayagada at 5.45 am. From here, one part of the Link Express goes on to Junagarh Road and another travels as the Hirakhand Express to Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh. Since Kalyansingpur is not connected by train, I had to take a bus to see what the doctor meant. At 10 am, the bus left Rayagada with 18 passengers including 10 women and children. A young man, Shyam Nachika got on at JK Pur Square. I asked him about the tribal preference for witch doctors. My father was a victim of sorcery. He died on April 7 after being bedridden for nearly three years. A fellow villager was his enemy and he invoked black magic on my father, Nachika said to me. Shyam Nachika is a native of Kurukuti village in Kalyansinghpur. He is a Plus-II commerce student at Rayagada (Autonomous) College. He was not ready to accept that sorcery was nothing but superstition. His family, he said, consults the Bejuni first and then a doctor. Through the window of the bus the landscape was picturesque with the highway cutting through cotton fields, sunflower farms and vegetable patches. At Kultiguda, more people hopped on, among them Ramaya Miniaka and Chintamani Praska, who were going to meet the block development officer (BDO) to request him to issue a work order to a local resident for their village road. Last time someone from Jurunda bagged the work order. We cant use the road during rains. Last year, a pregnant woman died on the way after delivering a baby on this route, Praska said. At 12.30 pm and after 22 stoppages a long the 45 km stretch, the bus rumbled into Kalyansingpur. Ghagudimalo village, 4 km away, was in the headlines back in September. That was where a pregnant woman, Hansabansa Dhanya, died while being taken to hospital on a cot. I went to meet Dhanyas mother Nagabansa Padma. She remained as the news reports had described her back then: no compensation received, no house under IAY or Mo Kudia Yojna sanctioned. Rayagada has been in the news a lot lately, be it for sorcery-related crime, branding children with hot iron rods and taking patients to hospitals in cots. This was where 24 tribal people died after eating mango kernel gruel in Kashipur in 2001 and where there were outbreaks of cholera in 2007 and 2008. Last July, seven persons died of cholera in Kalyansingpur alone. Though there are reports of hunger deaths here anymore, health services are still a far cry. Rayagada has everything, yet nothing. It has bauxite and silicon reserves. Odisha has 62 per cent of the bauxite deposits in the country and Rayagada accounts for 84 per cent of that. By Express News Service PUDUCHERRY: Former Puducherry Assembly speaker VMC Sivakumar (65) was murdered in broad day light at Niravi near Karaikal on Tuesday. When he had gone to review the construction of a marriage hall in Niravi, a gang hurled a bomb at him and murdered him. Sivakumar, the son of Ganapathipillai and Pushpavalli Ammal entered in to politics in 1969 as an elected president of students federation when he was pursuing graduation in Economics at Tagore Government Arts College, Puducherry. In 1977, he made his maiden debut into the State politics as DMK MLA candidate for Neravy Thirupattinam and he lost to V M C Varadhapillai who represented Janata Party. In 1980, he defeated V M C Varadhapillai who contested as an ADMK candidate and became MLA for the first time at Neravy Thirupattinam constituency. Subsequently he became the minister of agriculture, animal husbandry, consumer affairs and fisheries department. He was the speaker of Puducherry Legislative Assembly from 1996 to 2001. After extending his support to AINRC as a 16th MLA, he was awarded with the post of the chairman at Pondicherry Distilleries and later he was also given the position of chairman at Karaikal Development Council. In October 2015, he called on Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, and acted as an unannounced supporter until he joined AIADMK in May 2016. He had contested in the 2016 Assembly election on an AIADMK ticket, however, he the lost the seat. PUDUCHERRY: Former Puducherry Assembly speaker VMC Sivakumar (65) was murdered in broad day light at Niravi near Karaikal on Tuesday. When he had gone to review the construction of a marriage hall in Niravi, a gang hurled a bomb at him and murdered him. Sivakumar, the son of Ganapathipillai and Pushpavalli Ammal entered in to politics in 1969 as an elected president of students federation when he was pursuing graduation in Economics at Tagore Government Arts College, Puducherry. In 1977, he made his maiden debut into the State politics as DMK MLA candidate for Neravy Thirupattinam and he lost to V M C Varadhapillai who represented Janata Party. In 1980, he defeated V M C Varadhapillai who contested as an ADMK candidate and became MLA for the first time at Neravy Thirupattinam constituency. Subsequently he became the minister of agriculture, animal husbandry, consumer affairs and fisheries department. He was the speaker of Puducherry Legislative Assembly from 1996 to 2001. After extending his support to AINRC as a 16th MLA, he was awarded with the post of the chairman at Pondicherry Distilleries and later he was also given the position of chairman at Karaikal Development Council. In October 2015, he called on Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, and acted as an unannounced supporter until he joined AIADMK in May 2016. He had contested in the 2016 Assembly election on an AIADMK ticket, however, he the lost the seat. By Express News Service HYDERABAD: The Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC), headed by Prof M Kodandaram, which has been picking holes in the policies of the state government by undertaking various programmes, has now expanded its battleground even to the virtual world. In order to increase participation of people in its programmes, being undertaken against the policies of the government, the organisation has set up its own website, http://telanganajac.wixsite.com/tjac, besides intensifying its efforts to bring out a magazine to publicise the activities of the TJAC. The organisation, which is already active on social media and is also using chatting messengers to create awareness among people, will henceforth keep all the reports compiled by it on issues such as farmers suicides and problems faced by various sections of people in its website for public consumption. Kodandaram unveiled the website at the organisations headquarters in Nampally here on Monday. Speaking on the occasion, he said that despite the repressive measures being adopted by the government towards TJAC, the organisation would continue to fight for the sake of people within the purview of the constitution. Continuing his tirade against the state government, Kodandaram took strong exception to the way government had denied permission to the TJACs proposed dharna in Hyderabad, recently, against new land bill. Repressive measures on democratic protests will do more harm to the government. Our organisation will continue to strive hard for achieving a better Telangana on all fronts, he pointed out. Professor Kodandaram said that being a peoples organisation, TJAC needs to interact with various political parties to undertake agitations on issues concerning people. We (TJAC) are working for the betterment of all sections of people. Hence, we need to meet various political parties and seek their support to undertake agitations to force the government to address the concerns of people. I dont think that TJAC interacting with leaders belonging to opposition is any wrong, he said. The TJAC will hold Vidya Parirakshana Yatra from January 7. The proposed yatra is aimed at making the state government drop its decision to allow private universities to set up their centres in the state, TJAC leader Nallapu Prahlad announced. HYDERABAD: The Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC), headed by Prof M Kodandaram, which has been picking holes in the policies of the state government by undertaking various programmes, has now expanded its battleground even to the virtual world. In order to increase participation of people in its programmes, being undertaken against the policies of the government, the organisation has set up its own website, http://telanganajac.wixsite.com/tjac, besides intensifying its efforts to bring out a magazine to publicise the activities of the TJAC. The organisation, which is already active on social media and is also using chatting messengers to create awareness among people, will henceforth keep all the reports compiled by it on issues such as farmers suicides and problems faced by various sections of people in its website for public consumption. Kodandaram unveiled the website at the organisations headquarters in Nampally here on Monday. Speaking on the occasion, he said that despite the repressive measures being adopted by the government towards TJAC, the organisation would continue to fight for the sake of people within the purview of the constitution. Continuing his tirade against the state government, Kodandaram took strong exception to the way government had denied permission to the TJACs proposed dharna in Hyderabad, recently, against new land bill. Repressive measures on democratic protests will do more harm to the government. Our organisation will continue to strive hard for achieving a better Telangana on all fronts, he pointed out. Professor Kodandaram said that being a peoples organisation, TJAC needs to interact with various political parties to undertake agitations on issues concerning people. We (TJAC) are working for the betterment of all sections of people. Hence, we need to meet various political parties and seek their support to undertake agitations to force the government to address the concerns of people. I dont think that TJAC interacting with leaders belonging to opposition is any wrong, he said. The TJAC will hold Vidya Parirakshana Yatra from January 7. The proposed yatra is aimed at making the state government drop its decision to allow private universities to set up their centres in the state, TJAC leader Nallapu Prahlad announced. By Associated Press ISTANBUL: At least 39 people were killed and nearly 70 injured in the mass shooting that took place in front of and inside a popular Istanbul nightclub in the first hours of New Year's Day. The victims included citizens of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, France, Tunisia, India, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, Canada, Israel, Syria, Belgium, Germany and Russia. Among them was a police officer and a security guard employed to keep revellers safe, a tour guide escorting visitors during a night on the town and young adults who had travelled to Turkey for the holidays. A look at what is known so far about the victims and their nationalities. ___ Alaa Al-Muhandia has been identified as the Canadian woman killed, the Canadian government confirmed. She was a 29-year-old mother of two from Milton, Ontario. ___ Mehmet Kerim Akyil, 23, had traveled from Belgium to Istanbul for a New Year's vacation. His father, Ali Akyil, told state-run Anadolu news agency that they were a Turkish family who loved their country. ___ Bulent Sirvan Osman, 38, a married father of two from Erbil, Iraq, was in Istanbul for business, according to Anadolu. ___ Abdullah Ahmed Abbolos, a 32-year-old Palestinian living in Saudi Arabia, had come to Istanbul to celebrate the new year, Anadolu reported. ___ Abis Rizvi from Mumbai was one of two Indian victims of the attack. The 49-year-old builder wrote, produced and directed a Bollywood movie "Roar: The Tigers of Sunderbans," in 2014 aimed at spreading awareness about tigers. The other Indian victim was named as Khushi Shah, a fashion designer from Vadodara, a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. ___ Hatice Karcilar, a 29-year-old private security guard, was among the Turkish victims of the attack, state-run Anadolu news agency reported. She is survived by her husband and a 3-year-old daughter, it said. ___ Turkish police officer Burak Yildiz was shot and killed outside the Reina nightclub, Anadolu reported. The 22-year-old from the southern city of Mersin had been on the force for 1 years. ___ Ayhan Arik, a 47-year-old Turkish travel agent and a father of two, was shot in the head outside the club, reported the private Dogan news agency. ___ The Lebanese Foreign Ministry identified three of its citizens among the dead as Elias Wardini, Rita Shami and Haikal Musalam. The wounded included Bushra El Douaihy, the daughter of parliament member Estephan El Douaihy, it said. ___ Leanne Nasser, an 18-year-old Arab-Israeli from the town of Tira, was celebrating with friends when the gunman broke in and opened fire. Ruaa Mansour, also 18, was moderately wounded in the attack. Two other friends were unharmed. ___ The U.S. State Department confirmed that a 35-year-old Delaware businessman originally from Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, wounded in the attack. William Jacob Raak told the Dogan news agency that he was in the club with nine people, seven of whom were shot. Raak suffered a leg wound. ___ France's foreign minister says one French citizen was killed and three others wounded in the shooting. Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in a statement that a woman with both French and Tunisian citizenship died in the attack early Sunday. The woman's Tunisian husband also died, he said. ___ Dubai-based broadcaster Al Arabiya reported that seven people from Saudi Arabia were killed and 10 were wounded in the attack. ___ Two people from Bavaria are among the dead, according to Germany's Foreign Ministry. Spokesman Martin Schaefer declined to name them, but said it appeared one was a German-Turkish dual citizen and the other was believed to have had only Turkish nationality. Three German citizens were wounded in the attack, he said. ___ Jordan's Foreign Ministry said two of its citizens were killed and six were wounded in the attack. ___ Kuwait's Consul-General Mohammad Fahad al-Mohammad said one Kuwaiti was killed and five others were wounded in the shooting. ISTANBUL: At least 39 people were killed and nearly 70 injured in the mass shooting that took place in front of and inside a popular Istanbul nightclub in the first hours of New Year's Day. The victims included citizens of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, France, Tunisia, India, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, Canada, Israel, Syria, Belgium, Germany and Russia. Among them was a police officer and a security guard employed to keep revellers safe, a tour guide escorting visitors during a night on the town and young adults who had travelled to Turkey for the holidays. A look at what is known so far about the victims and their nationalities. ___ Alaa Al-Muhandia has been identified as the Canadian woman killed, the Canadian government confirmed. She was a 29-year-old mother of two from Milton, Ontario. ___ Mehmet Kerim Akyil, 23, had traveled from Belgium to Istanbul for a New Year's vacation. His father, Ali Akyil, told state-run Anadolu news agency that they were a Turkish family who loved their country. ___ Bulent Sirvan Osman, 38, a married father of two from Erbil, Iraq, was in Istanbul for business, according to Anadolu. ___ Abdullah Ahmed Abbolos, a 32-year-old Palestinian living in Saudi Arabia, had come to Istanbul to celebrate the new year, Anadolu reported. ___ Abis Rizvi from Mumbai was one of two Indian victims of the attack. The 49-year-old builder wrote, produced and directed a Bollywood movie "Roar: The Tigers of Sunderbans," in 2014 aimed at spreading awareness about tigers. The other Indian victim was named as Khushi Shah, a fashion designer from Vadodara, a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. ___ Hatice Karcilar, a 29-year-old private security guard, was among the Turkish victims of the attack, state-run Anadolu news agency reported. She is survived by her husband and a 3-year-old daughter, it said. ___ Turkish police officer Burak Yildiz was shot and killed outside the Reina nightclub, Anadolu reported. The 22-year-old from the southern city of Mersin had been on the force for 1 years. ___ Ayhan Arik, a 47-year-old Turkish travel agent and a father of two, was shot in the head outside the club, reported the private Dogan news agency. ___ The Lebanese Foreign Ministry identified three of its citizens among the dead as Elias Wardini, Rita Shami and Haikal Musalam. The wounded included Bushra El Douaihy, the daughter of parliament member Estephan El Douaihy, it said. ___ Leanne Nasser, an 18-year-old Arab-Israeli from the town of Tira, was celebrating with friends when the gunman broke in and opened fire. Ruaa Mansour, also 18, was moderately wounded in the attack. Two other friends were unharmed. ___ The U.S. State Department confirmed that a 35-year-old Delaware businessman originally from Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, wounded in the attack. William Jacob Raak told the Dogan news agency that he was in the club with nine people, seven of whom were shot. Raak suffered a leg wound. ___ France's foreign minister says one French citizen was killed and three others wounded in the shooting. Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in a statement that a woman with both French and Tunisian citizenship died in the attack early Sunday. The woman's Tunisian husband also died, he said. ___ Dubai-based broadcaster Al Arabiya reported that seven people from Saudi Arabia were killed and 10 were wounded in the attack. ___ Two people from Bavaria are among the dead, according to Germany's Foreign Ministry. Spokesman Martin Schaefer declined to name them, but said it appeared one was a German-Turkish dual citizen and the other was believed to have had only Turkish nationality. Three German citizens were wounded in the attack, he said. ___ Jordan's Foreign Ministry said two of its citizens were killed and six were wounded in the attack. ___ Kuwait's Consul-General Mohammad Fahad al-Mohammad said one Kuwaiti was killed and five others were wounded in the shooting. By Associated Press WASHINGTON: A state-run Chinese tabloid says Donald Trump is "pandering to 'irresponsible' attitudes" after the U.S. president-elect accused China of not stepping in to curtail the North Korean nuclear program. The Global Times newspaper says Pyongyang's nuclear program "stokes the anxieties of some Americans" who blame China rather than looking inward. The Communist Party-controlled newspaper published its report a few hours after Trump tweeted Monday that China "won't help with North Korea." China is North Korea's principal ally and economic lifeline. While Beijing has publicly reprimanded Pyongyang after nuclear tests, critics say China hasn't done enough to tighten economic pressure on North Korea. Since winning the November election, Trump has repeatedly criticised China. He also spoke to the president of Taiwan, the self-governing island China considers part of its territory. WASHINGTON: A state-run Chinese tabloid says Donald Trump is "pandering to 'irresponsible' attitudes" after the U.S. president-elect accused China of not stepping in to curtail the North Korean nuclear program. The Global Times newspaper says Pyongyang's nuclear program "stokes the anxieties of some Americans" who blame China rather than looking inward. The Communist Party-controlled newspaper published its report a few hours after Trump tweeted Monday that China "won't help with North Korea." China is North Korea's principal ally and economic lifeline. While Beijing has publicly reprimanded Pyongyang after nuclear tests, critics say China hasn't done enough to tighten economic pressure on North Korea. Since winning the November election, Trump has repeatedly criticised China. He also spoke to the president of Taiwan, the self-governing island China considers part of its territory. CAMBRIDGE, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - Jan 3, 2017) - Cambashi, a leading global industry analyst and market consulting firm today announced the 12th annual release of its industry-focused eLearning training courses. Created for organizations selling into manufacturing industries, the courses are structured to improve sales effectiveness, and client relationships, by delivering a better understanding of client business issues. The training curriculum covers manufacturing, distribution, and energy industries in a set of 11 industry-specific courses, as well as a foundation course on industry fundamentals. The courses are designed to equip sales and service professionals with a combination of process, strategy, and dialogue skills to help them identify where their solutions best support a customer's business initiatives. The courses are ideal for use in graduate on-boarding programs, or for experienced hires getting up to speed with new accounts. The courses can be accessed on-demand through Cambashi's e-learning system, the client's own learning management system (LMS), or can be delivered onsite worldwide with an instructor. "For companies with a vertical go-to-market approach, competitive advantage depends on sales and technical professionals understanding how their services can be harnessed to solve real business problems for clients," said Rory Christian, Cambashi Training Practice Principal. "The training provides the high-level industry background for engagement in relevant business discussions, which leads to more effective conversations and stronger relationships." The new course material also combines the company's industry analysis expertise with its latest market intelligence as well as feedback from its blue-chip user base to provide a unique resource for rapid, cost effective acquisition of industry knowledge. Cambashi has further strengthened its eLearning offer with a set of mobile-ready industry wikis designed to give mobile salespeople on-demand, 'in-the-field' access to industry information, updated in real-time. Story continues The wikis can also be customized to link to personalized marketing collateral and product information, so sales people can position company products and services in the context of real-world industry issues. About Cambashi Cambashi is a leading market research, industry analysis and consulting firm that operates globally from its headquarters in Cambridge, UK. Its independent research and analysis delivers compelling insights on the use of IT to address business issues in manufacturing, process, distribution, energy, utilities and construction industries. In addition to its unique web-based industry training curriculum, Cambashi develops a set of Market Observatories that provide companies worldwide with the objective information needed to clarify decisions, assess trends and develop effective marketing strategies. www.cambashi.com. By PTI HOUSTON: An American couple is suing Apple, claiming that the tech giant's FaceTime video chat app distracted a driver who rammed his vehicle into their car, killing their 5-year-old daughter. James and Bethany Modisette were driving on the highway in Texas with their two daughters on Christmas eve in 2014 when they were forced to stop their Camry ahead of a blockage caused by police activity. Driving behind them, Garrett Wilhelm failed to stop and his SUV slammed into the car at 105km/h, tearing it apart and riding up over the top. Bethany and the older daughter, Isabella, were injured but managed to escape the car, while James and the younger daughter, Moriah, had to be extracted by rescue workers. Moriah, who was strapped into a booster seat at the time of the crash, was flown to a nearby hospital but died. The lawsuit filed by the Texas couple in California Superior Court in Santa Clara County claims that Apple failed "to warn users that the product was likely to be dangerous when used or misused" or to instruct on its safe usage. They are suing Apple for damages on the basis that the electronics giant failed to install and implement a "safer, alternative design" for FaceTime that would have helped to prevent a driver from using the app while travelling at highway speed, ABC News reported. "As a result of that distraction, his Toyota 4Runner, while travelling at full highway speed (65 mph), struck the Modisette family car from behind, causing it to be propelled forward, rotate, and come to a final rest at an angle facing the wrong direction in the right lane of traffic," the suit says. "Wilhelm told police at the scene that he was using FaceTime on his iPhone at the time of the crash, and the police located his iPhone at the crash scene with the FaceTime application still active," the suit claims. The Modisettes contend in their suit that, "At the time of the collision in question, the iPhone utilised by Wilhelm contained the necessary hardware (to be configured with software) to automatically disable or 'lock-out' the ability to use [FaceTime] ... However, Apple failed to configure the iPhone to automatically 'lock-out' the ability to utilise 'FaceTime' while driving at highway speeds, despite having the technical capability to do so." Wilhelm was indicted on manslaughter charges by a grand jury in Denton County, Texas, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle. He has been out of jail on bail since August, and a jury trial in the case is scheduled for February 27. HOUSTON: An American couple is suing Apple, claiming that the tech giant's FaceTime video chat app distracted a driver who rammed his vehicle into their car, killing their 5-year-old daughter. James and Bethany Modisette were driving on the highway in Texas with their two daughters on Christmas eve in 2014 when they were forced to stop their Camry ahead of a blockage caused by police activity. Driving behind them, Garrett Wilhelm failed to stop and his SUV slammed into the car at 105km/h, tearing it apart and riding up over the top. Bethany and the older daughter, Isabella, were injured but managed to escape the car, while James and the younger daughter, Moriah, had to be extracted by rescue workers. Moriah, who was strapped into a booster seat at the time of the crash, was flown to a nearby hospital but died. The lawsuit filed by the Texas couple in California Superior Court in Santa Clara County claims that Apple failed "to warn users that the product was likely to be dangerous when used or misused" or to instruct on its safe usage. They are suing Apple for damages on the basis that the electronics giant failed to install and implement a "safer, alternative design" for FaceTime that would have helped to prevent a driver from using the app while travelling at highway speed, ABC News reported. "As a result of that distraction, his Toyota 4Runner, while travelling at full highway speed (65 mph), struck the Modisette family car from behind, causing it to be propelled forward, rotate, and come to a final rest at an angle facing the wrong direction in the right lane of traffic," the suit says. "Wilhelm told police at the scene that he was using FaceTime on his iPhone at the time of the crash, and the police located his iPhone at the crash scene with the FaceTime application still active," the suit claims. The Modisettes contend in their suit that, "At the time of the collision in question, the iPhone utilised by Wilhelm contained the necessary hardware (to be configured with software) to automatically disable or 'lock-out' the ability to use [FaceTime] ... However, Apple failed to configure the iPhone to automatically 'lock-out' the ability to utilise 'FaceTime' while driving at highway speeds, despite having the technical capability to do so." Wilhelm was indicted on manslaughter charges by a grand jury in Denton County, Texas, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle. He has been out of jail on bail since August, and a jury trial in the case is scheduled for February 27. By Associated Press SPRINGFIELD: Former Bishop Thomas Dupre, the first Roman Catholic bishop in the United States to be indicted on a sexual-abuse claim during the flood of abuse accusations against church officials, has died. He was 83. Dupre died Friday, the Diocese of Springfield said. He died outside the diocese, but the location and the cause of his death weren't disclosed. Dupre, who became the bishop in the mid-1990s, cited health reasons for his sudden retirement in 2004. Months later he was indicted on charges he raped two boys in the 1970s, but the case was dropped because prosecutors determined the statute of limitations had expired. Before Dupre became bishop he had been an aide of Bishop Joseph Maguire, who led the diocese from 1977 to 1992 and faced allegations following retirement that clergy sex abuse and a cover-up of that abuse had happened on his watch. In 2009, a man alleged in a lawsuit a known pedophile priest molested him at St. Patrick's Parish in Williamstown in the early 1980s, when he was a boy. He said Maguire and Dupre knew the priest had abused other boys but assigned him to the church anyway. Dupre testified for a deposition in the man's lawsuit but repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Dupre's lawyer tried unsuccessfully to have the judge impound a videotape of the deposition, saying the accuser merely wanted to use it to embarrass Dupre and embarrass the church. In 2012, the man reached a $500,000 settlement. Maguire apologized for the man's suffering, saying, "I only wish that in 1976, as a new bishop, I could have foreseen the true nature of one who violated our trust with such devastating harm to his victims." Dupre was defrocked by the Vatican in 2006. The priest also was defrocked. Maguire died in 2014 at age 95. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, which covers western Massachusetts and has more than 200,000 members, has paid more than $12 million to sex abuse victims since 2004. It said in 2008 it had paid $4.5 million to 59 victims in a settlement that included a personal donation from Dupre. Three people who said they were abused by Dupre were included in the settlement, and the prelate gave his own money to fund a portion of payments to two victims, diocese spokesman Mark Dupont said. Dupre's funeral arrangements will be private, Dupont said on Monday. SPRINGFIELD: Former Bishop Thomas Dupre, the first Roman Catholic bishop in the United States to be indicted on a sexual-abuse claim during the flood of abuse accusations against church officials, has died. He was 83. Dupre died Friday, the Diocese of Springfield said. He died outside the diocese, but the location and the cause of his death weren't disclosed. Dupre, who became the bishop in the mid-1990s, cited health reasons for his sudden retirement in 2004. Months later he was indicted on charges he raped two boys in the 1970s, but the case was dropped because prosecutors determined the statute of limitations had expired. Before Dupre became bishop he had been an aide of Bishop Joseph Maguire, who led the diocese from 1977 to 1992 and faced allegations following retirement that clergy sex abuse and a cover-up of that abuse had happened on his watch. In 2009, a man alleged in a lawsuit a known pedophile priest molested him at St. Patrick's Parish in Williamstown in the early 1980s, when he was a boy. He said Maguire and Dupre knew the priest had abused other boys but assigned him to the church anyway. Dupre testified for a deposition in the man's lawsuit but repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Dupre's lawyer tried unsuccessfully to have the judge impound a videotape of the deposition, saying the accuser merely wanted to use it to embarrass Dupre and embarrass the church. In 2012, the man reached a $500,000 settlement. Maguire apologized for the man's suffering, saying, "I only wish that in 1976, as a new bishop, I could have foreseen the true nature of one who violated our trust with such devastating harm to his victims." Dupre was defrocked by the Vatican in 2006. The priest also was defrocked. Maguire died in 2014 at age 95. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, which covers western Massachusetts and has more than 200,000 members, has paid more than $12 million to sex abuse victims since 2004. It said in 2008 it had paid $4.5 million to 59 victims in a settlement that included a personal donation from Dupre. Three people who said they were abused by Dupre were included in the settlement, and the prelate gave his own money to fund a portion of payments to two victims, diocese spokesman Mark Dupont said. Dupre's funeral arrangements will be private, Dupont said on Monday. P K Balachandran By Express News Service COLOMBO: Sri Lankas minorities have got a good deal from the Electoral Delimitation Committee, panel member Dr. P.Balasundaram Pillai told Express on Tuesday. The minorities have a good deal whether the constituency concerned is to elect a representative on the Proportional Representation System or the First Past the Post System, Pillai said. The interest of the parties of the majority community has also been safeguarded, he noted, and added that the proceedings of the multi-party committee showed complete agreement on the principles adopted. Any issues that still remain will be sorted out when Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe meets all the political parties in parliament on January 9, Pillai said. However, the process was disrupted when two of the five committee members representing the ruling United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Sirisena faction), did not sign the report. Nevertheless, the chairman of the committee, Asoka Peiris, decided to submit the report because the majority of the members had signed it. He also wanted to meet the criticism that the committee was taking too much time over the report. But when it was submitted to Local Government Minister Faizer Mustapha he refused to accept it saying that two members had not signed it. According to Prof.Pillai, the Minister said that the two members must say in writing, why they did not sign, or submit a dissenting note. I expect them to sign or do as the Minister said, in the next few days. However, I I believe the matter will be sorted out when the Prime Minister meets the political parliament in parliament on January 9, Pillai said. Trick to Delay Elections The Rajapaksa faction of the SLFP, which goes by the name Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), views the development as nothing but another trick to delay elections to the local bodies which have been due for the past year and a half. SLPP chief, Prof.G.L.Peiris told Express that the UNP-SLFP (Sirisena) coalition government has been trying every trick in the book and outside the book to thwart the local bodies elections. These elections have been delayed by an year and a half only because the UNP-SLFP (Sirisena) coalition is scared of losing them, he said. Indefinite postponement of elections is a gross violation of a citizens fundamental right because suffrage or franchise, is a basic right in a democracy, Peiris said. He accused the leaders of the UNP and SLFP (Sirisena) of asking their representatives in the Delimitation Committee not to sign the report. He also recalled committee chairman Asoka Peiris telling a local newspaper that the government had been asking him to go slow on the report. When it was to be submitted at the end of December, nobody from the government was available to take it, and when it was submitted this month, the Minister refused to take it, Peiris said. COLOMBO: Sri Lankas minorities have got a good deal from the Electoral Delimitation Committee, panel member Dr. P.Balasundaram Pillai told Express on Tuesday. The minorities have a good deal whether the constituency concerned is to elect a representative on the Proportional Representation System or the First Past the Post System, Pillai said. The interest of the parties of the majority community has also been safeguarded, he noted, and added that the proceedings of the multi-party committee showed complete agreement on the principles adopted. Any issues that still remain will be sorted out when Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe meets all the political parties in parliament on January 9, Pillai said. However, the process was disrupted when two of the five committee members representing the ruling United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Sirisena faction), did not sign the report. Nevertheless, the chairman of the committee, Asoka Peiris, decided to submit the report because the majority of the members had signed it. He also wanted to meet the criticism that the committee was taking too much time over the report. But when it was submitted to Local Government Minister Faizer Mustapha he refused to accept it saying that two members had not signed it. According to Prof.Pillai, the Minister said that the two members must say in writing, why they did not sign, or submit a dissenting note. I expect them to sign or do as the Minister said, in the next few days. However, I I believe the matter will be sorted out when the Prime Minister meets the political parliament in parliament on January 9, Pillai said. Trick to Delay Elections The Rajapaksa faction of the SLFP, which goes by the name Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), views the development as nothing but another trick to delay elections to the local bodies which have been due for the past year and a half. SLPP chief, Prof.G.L.Peiris told Express that the UNP-SLFP (Sirisena) coalition government has been trying every trick in the book and outside the book to thwart the local bodies elections. These elections have been delayed by an year and a half only because the UNP-SLFP (Sirisena) coalition is scared of losing them, he said. Indefinite postponement of elections is a gross violation of a citizens fundamental right because suffrage or franchise, is a basic right in a democracy, Peiris said. He accused the leaders of the UNP and SLFP (Sirisena) of asking their representatives in the Delimitation Committee not to sign the report. He also recalled committee chairman Asoka Peiris telling a local newspaper that the government had been asking him to go slow on the report. When it was to be submitted at the end of December, nobody from the government was available to take it, and when it was submitted this month, the Minister refused to take it, Peiris said. By Associated Press NEWARK: An upscale New Jersey town violated anti-discrimination laws by insisting that a proposed mosque have more parking spaces than churches or synagogues because of its unique worship times and traditions, a federal judge has ruled. The ruling issued Saturday by U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp stated that Bernards Township violated the Religious Land Use and Institutional Persons Act by applying a different standard to Muslims. Shipp found the township's planning board had "unbridled and unconstitutional discretion" because of its vague parking requirements. The Islamic Society's application to build the mosque was denied after more than three years and 39 public hearings. The group sued the township in March. The Islamic Society's attorney, Adeel Mangi, had argued that parking requirements were the tool municipalities used to thwart construction of mosques. "This truly is a landmark ruling with national impact," Mangi told NJ.com. Bernards Mayor Carol Bianchi issued a statement criticising the judge's ruling. The town had argued that it was completely appropriate to insist a mosque provide more off-street parking than a comparably sized church or synagogue because of its unique worship times and traditions. "The Township vehemently disagrees with the court's decision and awaits a full analysis of the 57-page decision by its attorneys, who only learned of the decision on New Year's Day," the statement said. "The Township will consider how to best move forward including appealing the decision when ripe for appeal." The mosque has said its peak worship time was likely Friday afternoon prayers. Township planners determined that because congregants would most likely be arriving straight from work, every worshipper would require a parking space. Shipp, though, noted that the township had not conducted individual assessments of worship habits when churches or synagogues came before its boards. By its own admission, the town applied a different standard to Muslims, he wrote. Shipp did not take into account the sentiments expressed in emails from township officials that were revealed in documents filed in the case, Mangi noted. In those, officials disparaged the Islamic Society's president, former mayor Mohammed Ali Chaudry, and passed around jokes calling President Barack Obama a Muslim. NEWARK: An upscale New Jersey town violated anti-discrimination laws by insisting that a proposed mosque have more parking spaces than churches or synagogues because of its unique worship times and traditions, a federal judge has ruled. The ruling issued Saturday by U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp stated that Bernards Township violated the Religious Land Use and Institutional Persons Act by applying a different standard to Muslims. Shipp found the township's planning board had "unbridled and unconstitutional discretion" because of its vague parking requirements. The Islamic Society's application to build the mosque was denied after more than three years and 39 public hearings. The group sued the township in March. The Islamic Society's attorney, Adeel Mangi, had argued that parking requirements were the tool municipalities used to thwart construction of mosques. "This truly is a landmark ruling with national impact," Mangi told NJ.com. Bernards Mayor Carol Bianchi issued a statement criticising the judge's ruling. The town had argued that it was completely appropriate to insist a mosque provide more off-street parking than a comparably sized church or synagogue because of its unique worship times and traditions. "The Township vehemently disagrees with the court's decision and awaits a full analysis of the 57-page decision by its attorneys, who only learned of the decision on New Year's Day," the statement said. "The Township will consider how to best move forward including appealing the decision when ripe for appeal." The mosque has said its peak worship time was likely Friday afternoon prayers. Township planners determined that because congregants would most likely be arriving straight from work, every worshipper would require a parking space. Shipp, though, noted that the township had not conducted individual assessments of worship habits when churches or synagogues came before its boards. By its own admission, the town applied a different standard to Muslims, he wrote. Shipp did not take into account the sentiments expressed in emails from township officials that were revealed in documents filed in the case, Mangi noted. In those, officials disparaged the Islamic Society's president, former mayor Mohammed Ali Chaudry, and passed around jokes calling President Barack Obama a Muslim. By AFP SEOUL: South Korea said Tuesday that US president-elect Donald Trump had sent a "clear warning" to North Korea with a tweet dismissing Pyongyang's ballistic missile claims. "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US," Trump tweeted. "It won't happen!" Trump's tweet came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un appeared to try to pressure the incoming president by announcing his country is in the "final stages" of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Kim also said his country had significantly bolstered its nuclear arsenal last year. Washington has repeatedly vowed that it would never accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed nation, but Trump has not previously clearly stated his policy on the isolated Stalinist state. "President-elect Trump's message is significant since it is his first mention of North Korea's nuclear programme and can be seen as a clear warning," South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-Hyuck told a briefing. Cho said the incoming US administration was clearly aware of the "gravity and urgency" of Pyongyang's nuclear threat thanks to South Korea's "active outreach". US policy on the North would remain largely unchanged, he said. "They are maintaining an unwavering stance on the need for sanctions on North Korea," Cho said. Trump also blasted Beijing for not doing enough to help stop North Korea's nuclear programme. "China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the US in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea," he tweeted. "Nice!" Following Trump's remarks, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman again declared that Beijing would "stay committed to denuclearisation" on the peninsula. "Efforts made by the Chinese side are obvious for all to see. We hope that relevant parties would refrain from words and deeds that will lead to the escalation of tension," Geng Shuang told reporters. In a New Year's speech on Sunday, Kim did not make a specific reference to the incoming Trump administration. But he called on Washington to make a "resolute decision to withdraw its anachronistic hostile North Korea policy". Analysts are divided over how close Pyongyang is to realising its full nuclear ambitions, especially as it has never successfully test-fired an ICBM. However, it carried out two nuclear tests and numerous missile launches last year alone in pursuit of its oft-stated goal -- developing a weapons system capable of hitting the US mainland with a nuclear warhead. SEOUL: South Korea said Tuesday that US president-elect Donald Trump had sent a "clear warning" to North Korea with a tweet dismissing Pyongyang's ballistic missile claims. "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US," Trump tweeted. "It won't happen!" Trump's tweet came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un appeared to try to pressure the incoming president by announcing his country is in the "final stages" of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Kim also said his country had significantly bolstered its nuclear arsenal last year. Washington has repeatedly vowed that it would never accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed nation, but Trump has not previously clearly stated his policy on the isolated Stalinist state. "President-elect Trump's message is significant since it is his first mention of North Korea's nuclear programme and can be seen as a clear warning," South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-Hyuck told a briefing. Cho said the incoming US administration was clearly aware of the "gravity and urgency" of Pyongyang's nuclear threat thanks to South Korea's "active outreach". US policy on the North would remain largely unchanged, he said. "They are maintaining an unwavering stance on the need for sanctions on North Korea," Cho said. Trump also blasted Beijing for not doing enough to help stop North Korea's nuclear programme. "China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the US in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea," he tweeted. "Nice!" Following Trump's remarks, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman again declared that Beijing would "stay committed to denuclearisation" on the peninsula. "Efforts made by the Chinese side are obvious for all to see. We hope that relevant parties would refrain from words and deeds that will lead to the escalation of tension," Geng Shuang told reporters. In a New Year's speech on Sunday, Kim did not make a specific reference to the incoming Trump administration. But he called on Washington to make a "resolute decision to withdraw its anachronistic hostile North Korea policy". Analysts are divided over how close Pyongyang is to realising its full nuclear ambitions, especially as it has never successfully test-fired an ICBM. However, it carried out two nuclear tests and numerous missile launches last year alone in pursuit of its oft-stated goal -- developing a weapons system capable of hitting the US mainland with a nuclear warhead. PK Balachandran By Express News Service COLOMBO: The much-hyped Sri Lankan constitution making process has hit a serious snag. President Maithripala Sirisena has told the Buddhist high priests in Kandy that he would once again consult the masses on the nature of the constitution, setting aside the report of the Public Representations Committee done after an exhaustive island-wide survey. The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe governments promise that a draft new constitution will be ready by 2016 has not been met and chances of it being fulfilled in the foreseeable future appear to be dim. On Sunday, President Sirisena met the Chief Prelates (Mahanayake Theras) of the Malwatte and Asgiriya chapters of the Buddhist Sangha (Ven. Tibbotuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Mahanayake Thera and Ven.Warakagoda Gnanaratna Thera respectively) and told them that he does not intend to include any divisive elements in the new constitution. By this he meant that the constitution will be a unitary and not a federal one; that the Northern and Eastern Provinces will not be combined to form a united Tamil-speaking province and that Buddhism will not be denied the foremost place in the country. The President said that the constitution will not be drafted without the blessings of the Mahanayake Theras. Going further he assured the high priests that he would consult the masses again. This could well mean that the report of the Public Recommendations Committee, drafted after holding painstaking consultations in all parts of the county will be jettisoned in favor of a fresh exercise. Though the committee did not say whether the Sri Lankan constitution should be unitary or federal, it had made some radical suggestions. It wanted to turn the now powerful Provincial Governors into rubber stamps of the Chief Ministers and had sought powers over land and police for the provinces. These recommendations had set off alarm bells among the majority Sinhalese who considers the recommendations to be secessionist. The main opposition group, the Joint Opposition and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), both indirectly led by former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa, are opposed to the drafting of a new constitution. In fact they had successfully campaigned against the intention to draw up an entirely new constitution when parliament began the process of drawing up a constitution. What the country needs is not an entirely new constitution but the setting up of a Second Chamber in parliament and electoral reform, Rajapaksa told foreign correspondents here recently. COLOMBO: The much-hyped Sri Lankan constitution making process has hit a serious snag. President Maithripala Sirisena has told the Buddhist high priests in Kandy that he would once again consult the masses on the nature of the constitution, setting aside the report of the Public Representations Committee done after an exhaustive island-wide survey. The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe governments promise that a draft new constitution will be ready by 2016 has not been met and chances of it being fulfilled in the foreseeable future appear to be dim. On Sunday, President Sirisena met the Chief Prelates (Mahanayake Theras) of the Malwatte and Asgiriya chapters of the Buddhist Sangha (Ven. Tibbotuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Mahanayake Thera and Ven.Warakagoda Gnanaratna Thera respectively) and told them that he does not intend to include any divisive elements in the new constitution. By this he meant that the constitution will be a unitary and not a federal one; that the Northern and Eastern Provinces will not be combined to form a united Tamil-speaking province and that Buddhism will not be denied the foremost place in the country. The President said that the constitution will not be drafted without the blessings of the Mahanayake Theras. Going further he assured the high priests that he would consult the masses again. This could well mean that the report of the Public Recommendations Committee, drafted after holding painstaking consultations in all parts of the county will be jettisoned in favor of a fresh exercise. Though the committee did not say whether the Sri Lankan constitution should be unitary or federal, it had made some radical suggestions. It wanted to turn the now powerful Provincial Governors into rubber stamps of the Chief Ministers and had sought powers over land and police for the provinces. These recommendations had set off alarm bells among the majority Sinhalese who considers the recommendations to be secessionist. The main opposition group, the Joint Opposition and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), both indirectly led by former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa, are opposed to the drafting of a new constitution. In fact they had successfully campaigned against the intention to draw up an entirely new constitution when parliament began the process of drawing up a constitution. What the country needs is not an entirely new constitution but the setting up of a Second Chamber in parliament and electoral reform, Rajapaksa told foreign correspondents here recently. Express News Service COLOMBO: Eight Members of the Sri Lankan parliament belonging to the Pro-Mahinda Rajapaksa Joint Opposition have written to President Maithripala Sirisena appealing to him to scuttle the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Framework Agreement signed between the government and the China Merchant Ports Holding Company on the management of the Hambantota port. The MPs, led by Dinesh Gunawardena, pointed out loopholes, infirmities and mysteries in the agreement, which had replaced a more favourable one signed in September 2014 under the Rajapaksa Presidency. Tracing the history of the agreements on the construction of the port, the MPs said that in September 2014, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), had entered into an agreement with the China Merchant Holdings (International) Company Ltd and the China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd, to lease the Hambantota Port (Phase II) on a Supply, Operate and Transfer (SOT) basis for 35 years. But this agreement was subsequently nullified and the China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd and China Merchant Ports Holding Company Ltd, tendered separate proposals. But the criteria for their selection were not defined. The China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd proposed an initial payment of approximately US$ 730 million for a 50-year lease period, during which, a payment structure similar to a royalty was proposed, which made the value of this proposal US$ 1.5 billion. This was reported as the option preferred by the SLPA, as it would have benefitted it and the country. But the proposal selected was that of the China Merchant Ports Holding Company for a one-time payment of US$ 1.08 billion, and a 99 year lease, extendable for a further 99 years. The question arises as to why China Merchant Ports Holding Company was selected, and who selected it, the Joint Opposition pointed out. In the original proposed joint venture company, the SLPA suggested a share split, but this was subsequently changed by the government to 80% to China Merchant Ports Holding Company Ltd and 20% to the SLPA. The question arises as to how, why and on what basis, all these critical calculations and changes were made by the Government, the MPs said. On the SLPAs valuation of the project at US$ 1.4 billion, the Joint Opposition wanted to know on what basis this figure was arrived at. As far as we know, no proper valuation of the Hambantota Ports facilities, infrastructure and land (including the 110 acre island) was done. Only construction costs had been taken into consideration. So, the agreement is based on an undervaluation of the assets, the MPs contended. The Government of Sri Lanka has agreed to be responsible for the debts of the SLPA. Therefore, the joint venture will not be responsible in the event the project goes bankrupt. The government of Sri Lanka will have to pay the debts, the MPs pointed out. According to them , the Attorney General had opined that Articles 4, 5, 8 and 16 of the agreement are beyond the scope and/or the statutory powers vested with the SLPA. The MPs charged that the Cabinet Appointed Negotiating Committee (CANC) was not given sufficient time to examine the case, and laid down procedures were not followed. Further, the grant of 15,000 acres adjacent to the Hambantota Port, depriving farmers of their land, has no justification, the MPs said. The China Merchant Ports Holding Company Ltd has agreed to invest US$ 1.12 billion in the joint venture project, paying US$ 5 million as a security deposit, 10% of the investment value, including the security deposit, within one month; 30% of the investment value within 3 months and 60% of the investment value within 6 months. COLOMBO: Eight Members of the Sri Lankan parliament belonging to the Pro-Mahinda Rajapaksa Joint Opposition have written to President Maithripala Sirisena appealing to him to scuttle the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Framework Agreement signed between the government and the China Merchant Ports Holding Company on the management of the Hambantota port. The MPs, led by Dinesh Gunawardena, pointed out loopholes, infirmities and mysteries in the agreement, which had replaced a more favourable one signed in September 2014 under the Rajapaksa Presidency. Tracing the history of the agreements on the construction of the port, the MPs said that in September 2014, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), had entered into an agreement with the China Merchant Holdings (International) Company Ltd and the China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd, to lease the Hambantota Port (Phase II) on a Supply, Operate and Transfer (SOT) basis for 35 years. But this agreement was subsequently nullified and the China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd and China Merchant Ports Holding Company Ltd, tendered separate proposals. But the criteria for their selection were not defined. The China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd proposed an initial payment of approximately US$ 730 million for a 50-year lease period, during which, a payment structure similar to a royalty was proposed, which made the value of this proposal US$ 1.5 billion. This was reported as the option preferred by the SLPA, as it would have benefitted it and the country. But the proposal selected was that of the China Merchant Ports Holding Company for a one-time payment of US$ 1.08 billion, and a 99 year lease, extendable for a further 99 years. The question arises as to why China Merchant Ports Holding Company was selected, and who selected it, the Joint Opposition pointed out. In the original proposed joint venture company, the SLPA suggested a share split, but this was subsequently changed by the government to 80% to China Merchant Ports Holding Company Ltd and 20% to the SLPA. The question arises as to how, why and on what basis, all these critical calculations and changes were made by the Government, the MPs said. On the SLPAs valuation of the project at US$ 1.4 billion, the Joint Opposition wanted to know on what basis this figure was arrived at. As far as we know, no proper valuation of the Hambantota Ports facilities, infrastructure and land (including the 110 acre island) was done. Only construction costs had been taken into consideration. So, the agreement is based on an undervaluation of the assets, the MPs contended. The Government of Sri Lanka has agreed to be responsible for the debts of the SLPA. Therefore, the joint venture will not be responsible in the event the project goes bankrupt. The government of Sri Lanka will have to pay the debts, the MPs pointed out. According to them , the Attorney General had opined that Articles 4, 5, 8 and 16 of the agreement are beyond the scope and/or the statutory powers vested with the SLPA. The MPs charged that the Cabinet Appointed Negotiating Committee (CANC) was not given sufficient time to examine the case, and laid down procedures were not followed. Further, the grant of 15,000 acres adjacent to the Hambantota Port, depriving farmers of their land, has no justification, the MPs said. The China Merchant Ports Holding Company Ltd has agreed to invest US$ 1.12 billion in the joint venture project, paying US$ 5 million as a security deposit, 10% of the investment value, including the security deposit, within one month; 30% of the investment value within 3 months and 60% of the investment value within 6 months. This Spring, the Two Theatrical Groups will Create Original Theater Pieces in Text and Movement LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 3, 2017 / The founders of Children's Shakespeare Theatre (CST) are pleased to announce the upcoming collaboration of Children's Shakespeare plus Piano Theatre. This spring, CST and The Piano Theatre Company from Russia will join forces to create beautiful and memorable theatre pieces. To learn more about Children's Shakespeare Theatre and the upcoming visit from Russia's Piano Theatre, please visit http://www.childrensshakespeare.org/. As a spokesperson for CST noted, arts and theatre has the ability to span the borders of countries and cultures, bringing together fans of performance to bond over their shared passions. "The Children's Shakespeare Theatre company (CST) is excited to team up with Russia's Piano Theatre, a company of deaf children that perform through interpretive movement," the spokesperson said, adding that the companies first met at the World Festival of Children's Theater in Stratford, Ontario in June of 2016. The team at CST was inspired by the Russian company's beautiful and compelling performance technique that spanned multiple language barriers and knew they wanted to work with them again. CST is now sponsoring Piano Theatre to come to New York in May of 2017. The co-teaching workshop will offer lessons to both kids and adults around the tri-state area. As the spokesperson noted, the upcoming collaboration between the two groups is already creating quite a buzz in the theatre and childrens arts spaces. "The workshops will incorporate clowning, movement, dance, and a little bit of Shakespeare into the mix. A performance festival in New York City and Nyack, New York will be the finale to this wonderful, joy filled workshop," the spokesperson said. Performances will also be taken to local schools which will combine Shakespearean sonnets with interpretive movement, all translated in ASL by local students. Both teams are enthusiastically bringing their unique methods to the arts community, joining the two countries and cultures through theatre and bringing participants along for the ride. Story continues About Children's Shakespeare Theatre and The Piano Theatre Company: In the Spring of 2017, Children's Shakespeare Theatre will join with The Piano Theatre Company from Russia to create original theater pieces in text and movement that will be translated by local ASL students. The performance will be the culminating highlight of a 2-week visit from The Piano Theatre Company, during which they will teach workshops in movement, theater, and storytelling. For more information, please visit http://www.childrensshakespeare.org/. Contact: Debbie Hernandez admin@rocketfactor.com (949) 555-2861 SOURCE: Children's Shakespeare Theatre The China Caixin manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) climbed in December, marking its fastest rate of improvement in three years, figures released Tuesday showed. In December, the Caixin PMI reading came in at 51.9, up from November's 50.9. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below signals contraction. That compared with China's official manufacturing PMI, released Sunday, coming in at 51.4, down slightly from November's 51.7. The official non-manufacturing PMI, which takes a reading on the services sector, came in at 54.5 in December, down from November's 54.7. The official figures tend to focus on larger companies, while the private Caixin data focus on smaller and medium-sized firms. The data likely indicated that the mainland economy, which had been expected to slow, was stabilizing. "A further rise in production at Chinese manufacturers supported the higher PMI reading in December. Notably, the rate of output growth accelerated to a 71-month high, with a number of panelists commenting on stronger underlying demand and new client wins," the Caixin data statement said. "Data indicated that improved domestic demand was the key driver of new business growth, however, as new export sales were unchanged in December." While the manufacturing PMI data tends to be more closely watched, China's pivot toward domestic consumption and away from manufacturing- and investment-led growth means the service sector, which includes consumer industries such as real estate, retail and leisure, has become the majority of the mainland economy. It is also a key barometer of consumption, accounting for more than 50 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Concerns have persisted over the mainland economy's health, as private-sector debt has surged even as the amount of growth from additional debt has declined. But the economy in recent months has received a fillip from a pickup in the property sector. The surprise win by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has also been a concern for the mainland's export-oriented economy. Story continues On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly accused China of manipulating its currency (Exchange: CNY=) in order to give its exports an advantage over U.S.-made goods, and he threatened to slap a tariff of up to 45 percent on Chinese imports. On Tuesday, he upped the ante on anti-China rhetoric , saying via Twitter that "China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice." But the latest Caixin data showed that the new export orders index was at the neutral 50.0 level, with 90 percent of the survey's respondents saying there was no change in new business from overseas. "A number of panelists commented on relatively muted foreign demand in the latest survey period," the survey statement said. But it wasn't clear how sustainable the manufacturing pickup might be. Dr. Zhengsheng Zhong, director of macroeconomic analysis at research firm CEBM, said in the Caixin statement that the mainland's manufacturing economy continued to improve, but he added, "it is still to be seen if the stabilization of the economy is consolidated due to uncertainties in whether restocking and consumer price rises can be sustainable." Other economists were also doubtful of the sustainability of the pick up. Andy Xie, an independent economist and former managing director at Morgan Stanley, told CNBC's " Squawk Box " on Tuesday that he wasn't optimistic the bump up could be sustained. "Industrial production has been on an upswing for about six months or so, mainly because of the surge in property sales last year. Property developers and local governments got money and they've been spending the money," he said, noting that for the past several years, every economic cycle has been driven by the property market. "It usually doesn't last very long," he said. By CNBC.Com's Leslie Shaffer; Follow her on Twitter @LeslieShaffer1 Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. HONG KONG, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Sinosoft Technology Group Ltd , in which Alibaba Group Holding has a 13.32 percent stake, on Tuesday dismissed as groundless the allegations by a Chinese short-seller that the Hong Kong-listed company had inflated its revenues. Shares of Sinosoft, which has a market value of HK$3 billion ($387 million), jumped as much as 5 percent after the company said the allegations - made in a second report by Zhongkui Research - contained "various misrepresentations". The gains outstripped a 0.8 percent rise in the Hang Seng Index. Little-known short-seller Zhongkui Research first issued a report on Sinosoft on Dec. 28, accusing the supplier of application software products and solutions of grossly exaggerating its revenues and profits. Calling Sinosoft "a serial fraudster at large", the report said the firm had fabricated its financials when it was listed in London and continued to do so after it listed in Hong Kong. Sinosoft suspended trading in its shares on the same day the report was released. On Dec. 29, it issued a statement saying the allegations were groundless, but its shares still plunged to a 17-month low. Zhongkui Research issued another report on Dec. 29 containing further allegations of fraud. The second report "has made further allegations which again are groundless and contains various misrepresentations, malicious and false allegations and obvious factual errors of the group", Sinosoft said in its latest statement. The report was the latest from an independent researcher questioning corporate practices at a Chinese company. Alibaba, Sinosoft's second-largest shareholder, declined to comment on the short-seller report when contacted by Reuters. Zhongkui Research's website, which carried the report, says it is "a highly experienced group of analysts intent on uncovering and exposing fraudulent companies globally". ($1 = 7.7569 Hong Kong dollars) (Reporting By Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Himani Sarkar) 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 Cloudy with gusty winds developing during the afternoon. High 74F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Windy. Thunderstorms becoming likely later at night. Low around 60F. Winds SSE at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Higher wind gusts possible. Canadas University of Windsor (UOW) researchers are testing therapeutic values of Ashtanga yoga for survivors of breast cancer. A two-year study at UOW, jointly by its psychology professors Kendall Soucie and Josee Jarry, and kinesiology professor Cheri McGowan; aims to find out whether Ashtanga yoga benefits breast cancer survivors. They will test how survivors of breast cancer will respond physically and psychologically to Ashtanga yoga. It has received $70,000 grant from Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation, according to news published on its website. The psychological aspect of the study will gauge mental health benefits by surveying participants on increased self-esteem, decreased anxiety and depression, and improved interpersonal relationships. A specialized yoga routine tailored to survivors of breast cancer will be developed, yoga sessions will be filmed and analyzed, and there will be focus groups; it adds. According to Jarry: The research suggests that when healthy adults practice Ashtanga yoga, there is a significant improvement in self-esteem, body image and interpersonal functioning, as well as a reduction in depression and anxiety. Survivors of breast cancer who are finished with chemotherapy and radiation treatments and are cleared for light exercise by their doctors may be eligible to participate in this study. Meanwhile, Hindus have welcomed UOW efforts to explore yogas ability to help breast cancer survivors. Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that although introduced and nourished by Hinduism, yoga was a world heritage and liberation powerhouse to be utilized by all. According to Patanjali who codified it in Yoga Sutra, yoga was a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical. Yoga, referred as a living fossil, was a mental and physical discipline, for everybody to share and benefit from, whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization, Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, pointed out. According to US National Institutes of Health, yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress. According to a 2016 Yoga in America Study, about 37 million Americans (which included many celebrities) now practice yoga; and yoga is strongly correlated with having a positive self image. Yoga is the repository of something basic in the human soul and psyche, Rajan Zed adds. Ashtanga Yoga (eight-limbed yoga) finds mention in Patanjalis ancient Yoga Sutra, foundational text of yoga. Outer limbs are yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara; while inner limbs are dharana, dhyana and samadhi. New Delhi: The powerful GST Council headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will meet the representatives of six crucial sectors, including IT, telecom, banking and insurance on Tuesday, to assess the implementation hurdles under the new GST regime. Representatives of the Civil Aviation and Railways will also make their presentation at the two-day GST Council meeting. Software association Nasscom is likely to express concerns over issues such as tax treatment of software, and also make a case for single registration under the new GST regime. "We support the introduction of GST but its should not complicate the business operations of IT companies," R Chandrashekar, President of Nasscom, had said. Nasscom's concerns pertain to areas like classification of software, import of services from related parties, and taxation rules based on location of receiving services. Stating that the first draft of GST law had classified all 'intangibles' as services thereby ensuring a uniform tax rate, the revised law removed the clarification. "This could lead to a situation where software classification can be disputed even under the GST regime. Electronic downloads should be treated as services as the majority practice prevalent globally," according to Nasscom's recent representation to the Revenue Department. Nasscom also contends that revisions in the draft GST law does not facilitate offering a single interface for overseas/domestic clients in cases where large service contracts are supplied to multiple client sites from single or multiple delivery centres. Also, the revised draft potentially makes onsite services delivered overseas at customer site liable to payment of GST, followed by a refund which blocks capital and complicates the transaction, it added. "This will therefore imply that onsite services are imported into India, GST discharged, and then exported, and the GST paid on the onsite service then filed for refund - additional unnecessary transactions for companies which operate in a Branch office model, and associated compliance and working capital troubles," says Nasscom. Nasscom is also of the view that the legislation should clearly provide for centralised registration of central taxes of IGST (Integrated-GST) and CGST (central GST), which is within the Central Government power itself. The GST Council among other things will deliberate on the issue of jurisdiction of assessees in the new regime. This will be the eighth meeting of the Council since it met for the first time on September 22, 2016. At the end of the last meeting of the GST Council on December 23, 2016, Jaitley had said that the Council has made a 'reasonable headway' on supporting legislations and a discussion on Integrated GST law will take place in the next meeting. The dual control over assessees is also part of the Integrated-GST legislation that Parliament needs to pass before the new regime is rolled out. The stumbling block in the GST roll out is the issue of dual control issue -- which deals with which taxpayers should be controlled by the Centre and who should be governed by the states after a single tax will replace levies like central excise, service tax and VAT. States like West Bengal and Kerala are unrelenting on their position of being given right to control all assesses with up to Rs 1.5 crore annual turnover. (With PTI inputs) New Delhi: Reacting to assault on women on the New Year's Eve in Bengaluru, Samajwadi Party leader from Maharashtra, Abu Asim Azmi, blamed the 'attire' of the women for attacks on them.This came after Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara blamed women for dressing provocatively and inviting harassment while reacting to the Bengaluru case.Azmi also compared women with petrol saying, You have to keep petrol away from fire. And if there is sugar, ants will come automatically to it.""In today's world, the more a woman is nude, the more she is considered modern and educated. Such things are on rise in the country. Western culture is a black spot on country's cultre and it should be stopped at the earliest. And we need to focus on out famous Indian culture," he said.Reacting to Azmis comments, activist Lalitha Kumaramanglam said, It is the job of the security agencies and state government to ensure the safety of the people. It is ridiculous to say that we did not have adequate force to deploy, this is a irresponsible statement.Biocon chairman Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said, I am not shocked, this is absolutely shocking and appalling on how men talks about how women dress. This reflects education that these so called responsible leaders have. Bengaluru actually is a civilized society. I don't expect this to happen in Bangalore.After being criticized, Azmi went on defensive and said, "If my sister is going outside home after sunset with a boy to celebrate New Year, it cannot be expected that people will behave with her in a respectable manner. Many people may get disappointed with my remarks but I don't care. And this is the fact."He added, "I am not against the freedom to women but we need to take precaution.''SP spokesperson Juhie Singh distanced her party with Azmi's remark and sought an apology from him. Hyderabad: A 33-year-old man has been arrested in Hyderabad for cultivating Ganja in his three-bedroom flat in Manikonda, police said on Tuesday Police have managed to seize 8.6 kg of Ganja and 40 pots containing Ganja plants. In an attempt to earn maximum profits by evading the police and the danger of procuring Ganja from outside, Syed Shahed Hussain came up with this unique idea of growing cannabis indoors. On January 1, after specific information, Syed Shahed Hussain was arrested by police when he was selling ganja to customers. On questioning he revealed that he has been procuring Ganja from his self grown mini field inside his flat. When police officials raided his house, they were shocked to see that he was cultivating Ganja in a scientific way under controlled temperatures. N Koti Reddy, Additional DCP, Task force told CNN news 18, "About three months back the accused thought of growing cannabis indoor. He contacted one of his friend by the name Garith Christopher, residing in U.S.A. and as advised by him he saw some videos and learnt the art of cultivating ganja indoors. He had locally purchased all the requirements and started cultivating Ganja in his house on a trial basis." During the raid police also seized LED lights which were used to produce artificial heat to the plants, table fan to ensure free flow of air and various chemicals which were used for better growth of the plants. Encounter b/w security forces and terrorists end in Baramulla distt (J&K). Total of one terrorist killed; arms & ammunitions recovered. pic.twitter.com/nrn27xjQMY ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 One terrorist was killed on Tuesday during a gun battle at Haritar Tarzoo area in Baramullah district in Jammu and Kashmir.Accordingly to preliminary reports, the encounter took place when the joint forces were engaged in a combing operation.Police sources, out of two terrorists, one was killed in a gun battle and another is believed to hiding in the area.The slain terrorist has been identified as Umar Khataab of LeT and he was active since 4 years in the valley."We have seized arms and ammunition and efforts are on to neutralise one more terrorist who is believed to be hiding in the area," he said. New Delhi: Some political parties like the Shiv Sena and Indian Union Muslim League may have to change their names following the Supreme Court ban on religion in politics, former Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami has said, even while raising doubts on how the order could be implemented. Gopalaswami said party names bearing "heavy religious words" will have to be changed to avoid violating the SC order. There are parties like Akali Dal, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Shiv Sena, and Indian Union Muslim League who may have to change their names after the SC verdict, he told News18 on Tuesday. Former CEC SY Quraishi echoed Gopalaswamis views, saying the need for changing names is high after the SC verdict. BJP is already questioning the names of a few political parties. I think parties with religious names should change their names after the apex court verdict, but courts will take the last call, Quraishi said. The Shiv Sena and the IUML promptly dismissed the suggestion. While reconsidering the 1995 Hindutva case, a seven-judge Constitution bench of the SC headed by CJI TS Thakur had on Monday ruled that religion and politics should not be mixed and that any candidate seeking votes in the name of religion is committing a corrupt practice. The dissenting judgment by three of the judges termed it an exercise in judicial legislation. Calling the majority verdict "high on idealism" and the dissenting judgment "more on the ball", Gopalaswami said it is not easy to get parties to change their names. All political parties have leaders who are thick-skinned. Such court verdicts do not matter to them unless an individual challenges the name in court and the court compels them to change their names. But who knows again after years of trial, the minority view of yesterday's verdict may become the majority then? the former CEC said. His view was firmly opposed by Shiv Sena, with party spokesperson Manisha Kayande saying his party will fight such a move "tooth and nail. Shiv Sena derives its name from Chhatrapati Shivaji and we have been a firm believer that every person should get things according to their merit. Yes, we have always fought for the oppressed Hindus but the Hindu stamp on us has been given by the Muslim appeasement policy followed by the Congress. No one can ask us to change our name, he said. Kayande said that even BJP may have to change its party symbol if one went by that logic. BJP has often said that Goddess Lakshmi sits on the lotus, so in a way even their symbol represents Hinduism and even that should be challenged, Kayande told News18. Indian Muslim League leader PV Abdul Wahab said the apex court should give more clarity on the matter. "The SC verdict is nothing new and is only reiterating what was there in the RP Act of 1951. There is The Hindu newspaper, but does that mean it caters only to Hindus? Obviously no, and I think there is no case for any change of name, Wahab said. Tirupati: For Vice-Chancellor of University of Hyderabad, Prof Appa Rao Podile, a prestigious 'Millennium Plaques Honour' from Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the inaugural session of the 104th annual meeting of Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) at Tirupati has sparked a controversy. The students of the University who have been demanding removal and arrest of V-C Appa Rao Podile post Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula suicide in 2016, condemned the honour bestowed upon him. Scholars who were suspended along with Rohith Vemula alleged, "Appa Rao is a stooge who has been rewarded for the services to his masters in BJP. This man is chosen out of turn and by overlooking several eminent scholars. This was done by the Government clearly to suppress Dalit student assertion on the campus. He is just not a plagiarist but also a criminal accused under Sc/St atrocities act." Rohith Vemula's suicide on January 17, 2016, sparked massive protests in the campus. The University administration along with central BJP led government were accused for being anti-Dalit and discriminatory. The confrontation aggravated on March 22nd after Appa Rao returned to campus and angry students ransacked his house, after which many students were even arrested by the police. However, press release from the University mentioned that "ISCA honours key individuals for their significant and lifetime contribution to the development of Science and Technology in the country. ISCA, in the award letter, admired the contributions against various odds. ISCA stated that it is an attempt to pay humble respects and also to salute the renowned scientists in India. ISCA, in its letter, appreciated his key role in the development of science and technology. It added that Prof. Appa Rao has been an institution builder and shaped the way the Science and Technology should develop in future". Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi sparked a controversy on Tuesday after he blamed the Bengaluru sexual assault on the clothes the women were wearing. But the party is no stranger to controversies over sexist comments. This is what the SP leaders have said over the years: Naresh Aggarwal (2013) Commenting on Lakhimpur gang rape in Assam, said, Such things happen on a daily basis. Ive read about them in Delhi as well. I understand why the media sometimes focuses on one rape but almost ignores other rapes. Shiv Charan Prajapati (2015): The SP MLA from Hamirpur said, "Women are more responsible for rapes" Ram Gopal Yadav (Etawah) 2013: Bollywood heroines are more vulgar than Mumbais bar dancers. Mulayam Singh (Barabanki) 2012: Only women from the affluent classes can get ahead in life, but remember you rural women will never get a chance because you are not that attractive. Naresh Agarwal, SP Leader: Companies are now scared to hire women. Mulayam Singh (Muradabad) 2014: Men do commit mistakes but giving death penalty is wrong, if we come to power, we will amend the law Mulayam Singh (Parliament House) 2010: Parliament will be filled with women who will invite catcalls and whistle. Abu Azmi (2013): Women are precious like gold. If you expose them, they'll be looted Abu Azmi (2013): Fashion and nudity responsible for the current situation in India. Abu Azmi (2014): Rape is punishable by hanging in Islam. But here, nothing happens to women, only to men. Even the woman is guilty. There are reports of violent protests in Kolkata following the arrest of Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyaya, for his alleged involvement in Rs 60,000 Cr Rose Valley ponzi scam. Local TV channels showed a bunch of TMC supporters pelting stones and trying to ransack the BJPs state unit in central Kolkata. A few BJP workers reportedly sustained injuries in the stone-pelting. The protests came shortly after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the arrest was an attempt by the Centre to terrorise the Opposition. As it happened. Read all the Latest News , Breaking News , watch Top Videos and Live TV here. New Delhi: The Supreme Courts historic judgment banning seeking votes on the ground of religion on Monday was passed by a panel of seven judges. CNN News18 brings you the details on how it was passed. Of the seven judges, four passed the majority and concurring judgment saying seeking votes on grounds of religion from voters is corrupt practice - CJI TS Thakur, Justice Madan Lokur, Justice S A Bobde and Justice L Nageshwar Rao. Three judges differed with the conclusions of the majority - for these three, Justice Chandrachud wrote the dissent for himself and Justice A K Goel and Justice U U Lalit. Justice Lokur Keeping in view todays social and technological context, it is absolutely necessary to give a purposive interpretation to law rather than a literal or strict interpretation. For maintaining the purity of the electoral process and not vitiating it, any appeal made to an elector, his agent or by any other person with the consent of a candidate to vote or refrain from voting on the ground of the religion, race, caste, community or language amounts to corrupt practice under the RPA. Justice Bobde It is unreasonable to hold that only an appeal referring to the religion of the candidate who made the appeal is prohibited and not an appeal which refers to religion of the voter. Justice Thakur The elections to the State legislature or to the Parliament or for that matter or any other body in the State is a secular exercise just as the functions of the elected representatives must be secular in both outlook and practice. Constitutional ethos forbids mixing of religions or religious considerations with the secular functions of the state. Religion, race, caste, community or language would not be allowed to play any role in the electoral process and should an appeal be made on any of those considerations, the same would constitute a corrupt practice. The State can and indeed has in terms of Section 123(3) forbidden interference of religions and religious beliefs with secular activity of elections to legislative bodies. Dissent Judgment by Justice Chandrachud The Indian state has no religion nor does the Constitution recognize any religion as a religion of the state. Yet, the Constitution does not display an indifference to issues of religion, caste or language. On the contrary, they are crucial to maintaining a stable balance in the governance of the nation. Electoral politics in a democratic polity is about mobilisation. Social mobilisation is an integral element of the search for authority and legitimacy. Hence, it would be far-fetched to assume that in legislating to adopt Section 123(3), Parliament intended to obliterate or outlaw references to religion, caste, race, community or language in the hurly burly of the great festival of democracy. To prohibit a person who seeks to contest an election from speaking on the legitimate concerns of citizens that the injustices faced by them on the basis of traits having an origin in religion, race, caste, community or language would be remedied is to reduce democracy to an abstraction. There is no warrant for making an assumption that Parliament while enacting Section 123(3) intended to sanitize the electoral process from the real histories of our people grounded in injustice, discrimination and suffering. The purity of the electoral process is one thing. The purity of the process is sought to be maintained by proscribing an appeal to the religion of a candidate (or to his or her caste, race, community or language) or in a negative sense to these characteristics of a rival candidate. The his in Section 123(3) cannot validly refer to the religion, race, caste, community or language of the vote. The statute does not prohibit discussion, debate or dialogue during the course of an election campaign on issues pertaining to religion or on issues of caste, community, race or language. Discussion of matters relating to religion, caste, race, community or language which are of concern to the voters is not an appeal on those grounds. The Constitution does not deny religion, caste, race, community or language a position in the public space. Discussion about these matters - within and outside the electoral context is a constitutionally protected value and is an intrinsic part of the freedom of speech and expression. The spirit of discussion, debate and dialogue sustains constitutional democracy. A sense of inclusion can only be fostered by protecting the right of citizens freely to engage in a dialogue in public spaces. Dialogue and criticism lie at the heart of mobilising opinion. Electoral change is all about mobilising opinion and motivating others to stand up against patterns of prejudice and disabilities of discrimination. The actual unfolding of democracy and the working of a democratic constitution may suffer from imperfections. But these imperfections cannot be attended to by an exercise of judicial redrafting of a legislative provision. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the five-day 104th Indian Science Congress at the Srinivasa Auditorium in Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati on Tuesday. Science must meet rising aspirations of people. Our infrastructure and social welfare ministries must make use of science, Modi told the audience of eminent scientists, including five Nobel laureates. By 2030 India will be among top three countries in science and technology, PM Modi added. Modi said that his government is committed to supporting different streams of scientific research and hoped that Indias best scientific institutions should strengthen basic research in line with global practices. Read all the Latest News , Breaking News , watch Top Videos and Live TV here. Los Angeles: Actress Angelina Jolie and her six children celebrated New Year in Colorado amid her ongoing divorce and custody battle against estranged husband and actor Brad Pitt, who was not with them during the vacation. According to a source, Jolie and her children arrived in Colorado after Christmas, reports aceshowbiz.com. Jolie brought her six children, Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh and twins Knox and Vivienne to Colorado after they met Pitt on Christmas. She and her daughter Vivienne were spotted shopping at a toy store on December 30. Another source claimed that Pitt was left "broken and tearful" after his Christmas reunion with his six kids. He apparently told his friends that this had been the worst holiday season of my life. "Brad's anguish is palpable... He desperately misses having his kids with him at Christmas and New Year. These supervised visits are sheer hell on him. He's broken down in tears so many times. He's not ashamed to cry any more," the source said. Wowwww Madame Tussaud will throw half her museum out for this ..Want to touch feet of designer and director and who convinced mega star pic.twitter.com/P9uud4mW6j Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) January 1, 2017 This is upper limit of the height of narcissm and the lower limit of the depth of its opposite ..Wilhelm Hegel would have kissed Mega Star pic.twitter.com/l2zo0cqFlT Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) January 1, 2017 Can I please have the name,number and address of the designer and others around Mega Star who convinced him to put out a pose like this pic.twitter.com/c2B4mNnHEy Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) January 1, 2017 Designer of this look is going to have a page forever in the annals of history for involuntary perpetuation and voluntary disorientation pic.twitter.com/c3iCysvN2F Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) January 1, 2017 Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, known for his brazen humour, has lashed out at the recently released poster of Chiranjeevi's Telugu actioner Khaidi No 150, calling it "height of narcissism"."Wow. Madame Tussaud will throw half her museum out for this. I want to touch the feet of designer and director and who convinced megastar," Varma tweeted, and also shared the poster which features Chiranjeevi posing with a machete."This is upper limit of the height of narcissism and the lower limit of the depth of its opposite. Wilhelm Hegel would have kissed megastar," he wrote, and went on to ask the names and contact details of those people who convinced Chiranjeevi to pose like this.An official remake of Tamil blockbuster Kaththi, V.V. Vinayak-directed "Khaidi No 150" is gearing up for release during the Sankranti festival.On a concluding note, Varma tweeted: "Designer of this look is going to have a page forever in the annals of history for involuntary perpetuation and voluntary disorientation." Jammu: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday asked Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to accept responsibility for the civilian killings during the six-month unrest in the valley. After Speaker Kavinder Gupta allowed an adjournment motion moved by the opposition, the National Conference leader said there had also been unrest in the valley in 2008 and 2010 but "we did not blame the opposition" for that. "The situation in 2010 cannot be compared with that of 2016," he told the assembly. "We did not blame Pakistan or the opposition for the situation. I did not blame my officials in 2010. "In 2016, the media was attacked and newspaper offices were raided. "We made mistakes and I accepted making mistakes while handling the situation." Taking a dig at Mehbooba, Omar Abdullah said: "You blamed Jawaharlal Nehru, my father, my grandfather and police for militancy in the state. "Did you ever blame yourself for your failure to restore normalcy in Kashmir?" Omar Abdullah said the state government had completely failed in dealing with the situation after the killing of militant Burhan Wani on July 8 last year. Instead of blaming the opposition, the Chief Minister should accept the responsibility for the failure of her administration and the killings of nearly 100 civilians during the unrest, he said. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs continued to seek an apology from the National Conference and the Congress for allegedly disrespecting the national anthem on Monday during the joint session of the assembly. Earlier, the opposition disrupted proceedings in both the assembly and the council seeking discussion on the valley's unrest. The Speaker had allowed the discussion after the treasury benches said they had no objection to discussing the unrest. Lucknow: BSP chief Mayawati on Tuesday cautioned Muslims in Uttar Pradesh not to split their votes and said Dalits won't be swayed by hollow words. Mayawati told the media in the city that Muslims would have to be extra cautious in the coming assembly elections and not waste their vote on the Samajwadi Party which she said was on the verge of splitting. "The Samajwadi Party has been divided into two. Muslims have to be very careful. They should not divide their votes," she said. Mayawati rubbished accusations that she believed in caste-based politics. "We believe in the concept of Sarvjan Hitaya (wellbeing of all) and had allocated seats to all castes," she said, giving a break up how many caste and religious groups got how many seats to contest the last time. She added among the upper caste, Brahmins were given 66 seats to contest, Kshatriyas got 36 seats and other groups were allocated 11 seats. Luring both Muslim and upper caste votes, Mayawati said her regime took care of the upper castes. "Our party advocated finance-based reservation for the upper castes, Muslims and other religious minorities in Parliament," she said. The Congress was in a bad shape in the state, the BSP leader said. And in an obvious reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said Dalits would not be lured merely by taking the name of Bhim Rao Ambedkar and merely announcing schemes in his name. "Don't think Dalits to be naive, they know everything very well... incidents like the murder of Rohit Vemula and lynching of Dalits in Una in Gujarat can't be forgotten." Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday met his father and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav in an attempt to patch up differences. According to sources, Akhilesh wants to be made the CM face and have a say in candidate selection. He is reported to have voiced the same concerns during his meeting with Mulayam. Mulayam was reportedly annoyed at how the national convention was held without his permission. Mulayam heard Akhileshs proposals but there was no assurance from him, said the source. Earlier, Ram Gopal Yadav met the Election Commission to present a case to allot SP cycle symbol to the Akhilesh camp for the polls. Read all the exciting political action in this LIVE BLOG: Read all the Latest News , Breaking News , watch Top Videos and Live TV here. New Delhi: The power struggle between Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav in the Samajwadi Party has become a cause of concern for the Muslim community in Uttar Pradesh. Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati recently cautioned the Muslim community about not splitting their vote something that is a cause of concern for the community leadership as well. With Muslim constituting 18% of the population in the state, political parties are scrambling to take advantage of SPs mess. Muslims in the state overwhelmingly vote for SP but the crisis can bring a dent in that base, fears SP MLA Zameer Ullah Khan. He told News 18, The formation of two camps has sent a wrong signal to the community and now they are thinking that if the family cant be together then how can it defeat the fascist forces? The father-son duo has to be united to form the next government with Akhilesh as CM. In his opinion, Muslims have not forgotten the way Mulayam worked for the minority community and stood against communalism in the 90s. "SP will work best when the family is together, he said. The problem of votes splitting is worrying community leaders as well with many waiting for things to settle down to make any decision. One of them is the Shia cleric Kalbe Jawad, convenor of Majlis-e-Ulema-e Hind, an outfit of Muslim ulemas who believe in Sufi thought. They have been working on Shia-Sufi-Sunni Muslim alliance for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls in 2017. Jawad said, The situation is different from the past ones. None of the parties have done anything for the development of the community neither Akhilesh nor Mulayam. Who has worked for the progress of Muslims? No one. Nothing can be said right now, as things are uncertain and also there is time for elections. In the mean time there will be a meeting of 1000 ulemas under the banner of Majlis-e-Ulema-e Hind and decision shall be taken by all of us on the right leader for us. The only thing we are going to consider is development, he added. When asked by News18 what he meant by Sufi, he said, Anyone who believes in the true tenets of Islam is a Sufi, who oppose wahabi ideology. The meetings will also focus on avoiding a split of votes and bringing about the consolidation of votes. There are 2,200 ulemas with this outfit across India. Maulana Khalid Rasheed, Farangi Mahli from Lucknow, will also be visiting mosques and addressing the Muslims to avoid any split of votes before polls. He said that he does not believe in making open declarations on "choice of vote" as it leads to polarization that benefits the communal parties but subtly spreads the message. The feud or split in the SP is not very likely to affect the Muslim vote base, he believes. The SP crisis will not affect the Muslim vote base if a Bihar like alliance can happen in Uttar Pradesh. If Congress and SP come together they will get the minority communitys votes, he told News18. The focus of the community leaders is on voting in a government that works for security and employment of Muslim youth, he said. There are 60% Muslim youths in the state and our primary concern is to have a government that works for their security and employment, he added. When asked about a split in Muslims votes in UP, Aftab Alam, a professor of Aligarh Muslim University, said, Muslims do not vote en bloc but have different choices, many studies have proved that. They vote for development and have issues on their mind as well. "Their votes are consolidated on the grounds of defeating fascist forces though, he added. Speaking on the crisis in the SP family, Alam said, Akhilesh is the future while Mulayam is the past the son has no charges of corruption, has brought about development projects. He has a lot of promise. Rest time will tell. Beijing: China has launched its first freight train to London over 12,000 kilometers away as part of efforts by the worlds second largest economy to expand rail links to different areas across the globe to improve its dwindling exports and stabilise slowdown. The train departed from Chinas international commodity hub Yiwu in Zhejiang Province yesterday. It will travel for about 18 days and more than 12,000kms before reaching its destination in Britain, the China Railway Corporation (CRC) said. Yiwu is known for producing small commodities, and the train mainly carried such goods, including household items, garments, cloth, bags and suitcases. It will pass through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France before arriving in London, state- run Xinhua news agency reported. London is the 15th city in Europe added to China-Europe freight train services. The service will improve China-Britain trade ties, strengthen connectivity with western Europe, while better serving Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, an infrastructure and trade network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient trade routes, the CRC said. Chinas exports totalled to $2.27 trillion in 2015 slowing down from $2.34 trillion in 2014. Its economy grew at 6.9% in 2015, slipping below 7% in a quarter of century. As part of its efforts to stabilise its exports and economy, China has embarked on multi-billion dollar global connectivity project called the One Belt One Road (Silk Road) Rome: A charity rescue ship has picked up 114 migrants from the Mediterrrean including eight women and 22 children, of whom 16 were unaccompanied The rescue took place overnight amid calm seas and were carried out by the Aquarius, which is operated by the international charities Sos Mediterranee and Doctors without Borders. The migrants were plucked from a white, inflatable dinghy early on Monday and were mainly from Senegal and from Guinea, but also from Uganda, Mali and Ivory Coast. The migrants told rescuers they had been at sea for around four hours after setting sail from the Libyan coast at around midnight on Sunday. Sos Mediterraneee saved over 10,000 migrants in the Mediterranean last year in more than 50 rescue operations. Over 358, 400 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2016 through 21 December, arriving mostly in Greece and Italy, the International Organisation for Migration said on 23 December. Last year was the deadliest on record in the Mediterranean with 5,000 perishing during their attempt to reach Europe from North Africa, according to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR. Manila: A warship of Russia's Pacific Fleet docked on Tuesday in Manila for an unusual "goodwill" visit to mark the Philippines' rapprochement with Moscow and Beijing. The Admiral Tributs, a 7,480-tonne Udaloy-class anti-submarine destroyer, will remain in Filipino waters till Saturday and participate in several joint naval drills, the Filipino navy said. The Russian warship's visit - the third ever in history and the first in four years - seeks to promote goodwill and cement ties between Manila and Moscow, Efe news reported. The move has confirmed a shift in the Philippines' defence and foreign policy after the election of Rodrigo Duterte as the President in June. He promised to do away with the traditional military alliance with the US. Duterte, 71, has threatened to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement, in force since 1999, that permits, among other things, the use of Filipino bases by US troops and regular joint military drills. The estrangement between Duterte and Obama comes after the US severely criticised an ongoing anti-drugs movement in the Philippines that has over the past six months claimed more than 6,100 lives of alleged drug traffickers and addicts. Manila has also been working towards developing better defence ties with Beijing - with whom it is also embroiled in territorial disputes in the South China Sea - and Moscow. Kiev: New Year's Eve passed off peacefully enough in war-torn Ukraine - until a senior lawmaker shot a man in the leg during a testosterone-charged road rage incident. Ukrainians bored by a relative lack of news over the holiday period have been gripped by accounts of the fight between the man and the senior politician that also involved an assault with a bottle. Local media interviewed the gunshot victim Vyacheslav Khimikus from his hospital bed. He admitted that he had attacked the MP with a bottle before being shot. Khimikus was helping to push a broken-down bus just outside Kiev after stopping his own car but forgetting to switch on his flashing emergency lights. Into this scene rolled deputy Sergiy Pashynskiy and his wife in a Mercedes Benz. Khimikus said the lawmaker's wife rolled down her window and began swearing at him. This prompted Khimikus to challenge Pashynskiy -- who was in the passenger seat -- to come out "and settle things man-to-man". The ensuing duel saw Khimikus whack Pashynskiy in the head with a bottle before the lawmaker shot him in the leg. "I used the gun only after being hit by a glass bottle and firing a warning shot in the air," various media quoted Pashynskiy as saying. The deputy added that his gun was licensed and his actions legal. One of the biggest mysteries intriguing Ukrainians was why he was carrying a gun in the first place. Pashynskiy heads parliament's security and defence committee but is not required by law to carry a weapon. People were also asking why he was in a Mercedes Benz car -- a luxury vehicle few Ukrainian officials can afford. The lawmaker has immunity from prosecution and may not be investigated for any crime while in office. But Ukrainian media reported that he has had a series of other run-ins with the law. The former Soviet republic is infamous for having a raucous parliament in which fistfights and all-out brawls are not uncommon but gun use by Ukrainian officials is rare. The plan was to start small. We were just going to do the best we could, Kate Goodman, director of development and marketing at Rush Homes, said last week as she described Lynchburgs first Chase the Chill event planned for this Friday in downtown Lynchburg. Started in 2008 in Easton, Pennsylvania, Chase the Chill is an event that encourages knitters to make dozens upon dozens of items to keep people warm and then display them en masse in public. In Chase the Chill cities, knitters have mobbed stands of trees and empty fences looping scarves around and through empty spaces. Those who need an item are invited to help themselves. Chase the Chill has grown to 37 cities across the United States and Canada, and Lynchburg knitting group Styx and String, which Goodman is a member of, signed the city up this October. Lynchburg is the only city in Virginia listed as a participant on the nonprofits website, with the next closest participants being Greensboro and Charlotte in North Carolina. When Goodman called to sign Lynchburg up meet a few small criteria and the group shares its logo she was warned: They said Dont be discouraged, Goodman recalls. But having gotten a taste of knitting for a cause last year when the group made a quilt for a charity auction, Styx and String would not be dissuaded. They wanted to yarn bomb something, and they wanted the woven explosion to send a message. We wanted to yarn bomb something downtown with something homeless or needy people might need, Goodman said, explaining the group intentionally chose First Friday, a night when more privileged residents and visitors alike descend upon downtown Lynchburg to soak up the arts. So we can raise awareness about poverty and homelessness in Lynchburg, said Goodman, whose group includes Lynchburg City Manager Bonnie Svrcek; Marjette Upshur, the citys director of economic development; and women who work in education and with those who have disabilities and mental health issues. According to the United States 2015 census, Lynchburg has 79,812 residents, and 18,437, or 23.1 percent, live in poverty. By comparison, 15 percent of Amherst County residents, 14.2 percent of Appomattox County residents, 9.1 percent of Bedford County residents, 11.7 Campbell County residents and 13.9 percent of Nelson County residents live in poverty, according to the census. In addition to the high poverty, every year in Lynchburg, about 800 individuals experience homelessness according to Miriams House Executive Director Sarah Quarantotto. Although the city has been able to significantly reduce the amount of time families spend being homeless, it has yet to find a way to prevent it. Miriams House serves homeless women and mothers and their children. The number of individuals during the span of a year who experience homelessness is a reflection of the poverty in the community, according to Quarantotto, whose agency just received federal grant funding to assist chronically homeless women with disabilities. It is a particularly vulnerable population, and dozens of local women stand to benefit, according to Quarantotto, who said the new program will begin in April. When the knitters approached her with the idea to start Chase the Chill in Lynchburg, she not only supported it but allowed participants to solicit yarn donations under Miriams Houses 501c3. National distributors like Knitting Fever Inc. and Red Heart Yarn donated yarn to the local effort, according to Goodman. I think its a really great way for Lynchburg to demonstrate that they care, Quarantotto said. It is also just a really powerful statement that the community cares. Styx and Strings members, anywhere from six to eight when they meet every two weeks, reached out to other knitting groups and individual knitters on social media. A group that meets at the Lynchburg Public Library joined in, knitters in Altavista and at Westminster Canterbury began sending contributions and soon strangers were dropping off hand-crafted cowls, scarves and hats. Chase the Chill gives knitters the opportunity to showcase their skills, do what they love and give to someone less fortunate, said Styx and String member Belva Shelor. I like a lot of variety in my knitting so I have knitted a couple of cowls. It gives me an excuse to try new patterns and to try different things that Ive never done before, Shelor said. For myself, I only need so many scarves, I only need so many hats and my family has only a need for so many scarves and so many hats. [Chase the Chill] gives us a way to continue knitting, continue working on projects without adding to the stacks of things I have at the house. Its so much nicer to step outside of yourself and do things for someone else. Its so much more important and worthy. The group is floored by the outpouring of support. On Monday, Goodman and fellow knitters met to tag more than 300 hand-knit pieces that would be put on display Friday afternoon. Im so excited I can barely stand it, said Goodman, who will, with her fellow knitters, attach the items to the fence in front of Lynchburgs Department of Social Services on Friday afternoon. Its going to be a whole lot of fun. We are not hanging out. We will put things up, and then we will leave, Goodman said. What our intent is is to bring a little bit of warmth and happiness to someone who might not get enough of that. When passersby see the items, Shelor hopes they realize homelessness and poverty is an issue in their own backyard. I think again, to me, the most important thing is that there are people in this city that as we get ready to go through the coldest part of the year that are going to be cold, they are going to be hungry even though weve got homeless shelters and outreaches available to them, they dont access them or know about them, and we as a community need to be aware that there are people out there that might need a little extra help to stay warm this winter, Shelor said. More work needs to be done to prevent homelessness, and Quarantotto hopes the display is a reminder everyone can play a part. I hope that everyone in our community realizes that each of us are part of the solution in small and big ways, so even just offering a scarf to someone who needs it is a really tangible way of helping, she said. It doesnt have to be a grandiose gesture. It can be as small as offering a hat to someone in need. RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is promising to veto legislation banning abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, saying such a "socially divisive" proposal hurts the state's image. The legislation, proposed by a Republican delegate, mirrors similar measures supported by Congressional Republicans and one signed into law in Ohio last month. Abortion-rights opponents have been emboldened by the election success of Donald Trump and the Republican Party and plan a broad push both at the state and federal level this year. McAuliffe, a Democrat, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he wants to send a clear message to the Republican-controlled General Assembly not to "waste time" trying to be part of that effort. The General Assembly's 2017 legislative session starts next week and McAuliffe does not typically comment on proposed legislation until after it passes both chambers. But the governor said he needed to make clear to companies looking to invest in Virginia that the legislation had no hope of passage. "I can't sit back and have that sitting out the same time I am traveling the globe recruiting businesses to Virginia," McAuliffe said, adding that he is going on an important recruiting trip this weekend. "If there's something that would be damaging toward business, and to our image around the country and the globe, I'll veto it, you bet I will." He also noted that he has a perfect record of having his vetoes upheld in the General Assembly. The abortion legislation failed to pass the House last year, but the bill's sponsor, Del. Dave LaRock said public support is growing. "It's outrageous for a person with any compassion to turn a blind eye while this torture takes place," LaRock said. The legislation is based on the assertion that fetuses can feel pain at 20 weeks, which opponents characterize as scientifically unsound. Lawrence W. Falwell, 94, of Lynchburg, Va., went to be with the Lord on Saturday, December 31, 2016. Lawrence was born Sunday, January 29, 1922, in Campbell County, Va., a son of the late Charles Warren Falwell, Jr. and Etta Watkins Tanner Falwell. He was also predeceased by his loving wife of 71 years, Jean Calhoun Falwell and his brother, W. Calvin Falwell. Lawrence is survived by his son, James C. Falwell, and his wife, Beth Falwell; sister, Edna Falwell Twiddy; grandchildren, Katherine D. Falwell and Kyle W. Falwell; andgreat-grandchildren, Caroline Yonaitis Falwell, Fields Harrington Falwell, Tully Mason Walcutt, and Candler Thomas Pacot. Lawrence was a longtime member of Fairview Christian Church and the Loyal Sons and Daughters Sunday School Class. Lawrence was involved in numerous activities and ventures around Central Virginia. He and his brother, Calvin founded Falwell Airport in 1946, as well as Truck Body Corporation and Falwell Corporation in 1947. Lawrence was an avid HAM radio operator and spent much of his spare time speaking with friends around the world on his always growing HAM radio system. He also spent much of his time with family at his lake home on Buggs Island Lake, but for those who knew him best, knew that his true passion was aviation. Lawrence earned his pilot's license at the age of 22 years old, and subsequently earned many other ratings on his way to becoming a Designated Pilot Examiner for the F.A.A. Among many of the he awards received, one was for 50 years of flying with no accidents or incidents, as well as he and his brother Calvin being inducted to the Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame in 1986. His warm smile and helpful nature will be missed by all. A celebration of Lawrence's life will be held at Fairview Christian Church with Pastor Jonathan Falwell and Pastor Curtis Wheeler officiating at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, January 4, 2017. The family will receive friends one hour prior at the church. Interment will follow the service in Fort Hill Memorial Park. Memorial contributions may be sent to Fairview Christian Church, 2701 Campbell Avenue, Lynchburg, VA 24501. Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Lynchburg, is assisting the family. To send condolences please visit tharpfuneralhome.com. Peake backed for Virginia Senate Peake a strong conservative We need our Virginia General Assembly operating at Peake performance. And there is no better way to achieve that than by sending Mark Peake to Richmond as our next 22nd District state senator. Peake has lived and worked here in Central Virginia for over a quarter century. As an attorney with a thriving law practice and a wife and five children, he has strong first-hand knowledge of how the laws coming out of Richmond affect each and every one of us personally as well as our family finances. In addition to his legal qualifications, he served on the Commonwealth Transportation Board providing him with a unique understanding of Virginias infrastructure needs. He has strong conservative principles and believes we need more freedom and less government in our lives. Along with whichever committee responsibilities he may be assigned, he is very concerned about the residents of the Central Virginia Training Center and what will happen to them, as well as what will happen to the facility. As public safety is a core function of government, he sees the need to address pay for state troopers and local sheriffs deputies. He promises to be a fiscal conservative on the budget and believes we need less regulation and taxation to help our business environment. Lets get our Virginia Senate operating at its Peake for all of us. Vote Peake for state senator from the 22nd District on Jan. 10. JOHN E. BYRUM Madison Heights Peake knows the issues There is a special election on Jan. 10 for the 22nd Senate district seat vacated by Congressman-elect Tom Garrett. Im writing to voice my support for Mark Peake. Hes endorsed by Garrett, U.S. Rep. Dave Brat, former U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode and a host of others. Ive known him for several years and have found him to be a man of integrity and solid values. He and his wife have five children he knows the myriad challenges facing families in Central Virginia. He has served on the Commonwealth Transportation Board and is well aware of issues facing our roads and transportation. He is concerned with the issues and burdensome regulations driving small businesses from Central Virginia. He is a constitutional conservative and will work tirelessly toward lower taxes, smaller government, free enterprise and protecting our civil liberties. Garrett left some pretty big shoes to fill, and Peake is the one to do it. Please vote for him Jan. 10. JIM LAMPMAN Lynchburg We need Peake in the Assembly Jan. 10 is a special election day for a very special reason. To each of you in the 22nd Senate District, it should be a very special day to you. If you want the Republicans to retain control of the Virginia Senate, Jan. 10 is the day that you need to go to the polls and vote for Mark Peake. Call your family and friends who live in the 22nd Senate District and make sure they vote for Peake, also. I have known him for about 10 years, as a neighbor and friend. I also served on the Lynchburg Republican Committee Executive Board with him for five years. He is approachable, engaged, fair-minded and effective in all aspects of his life and profession. He has my highest level of respect both personally and professionally. I ask that you mark Jan. 10 on your calendar now, and I ask you to vote for Mark for the office of senator for the 22nd Senate District. DORIS SMITH Lynchburg By Bernie Woodall and David Shepardson FLAT ROCK, Mich./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) said Tuesday it will cancel a planned $1.6 billion factory in Mexico and invest $700 million at a Michigan factory, after President-elect Donald Trump had harshly criticized the Mexico investment plan. The second largest U.S. automaker said it would build new electric, hybrid and autonomous vehicles at the Flat Rock, Michigan plant and add 700 jobs. Ford Chief Executive Mark Fields said the decision to cancel the new Mexico factory was the result of sagging demand for small cars in North America and not because Trump was elected president. He told Fox Business that the automaker would have made the same decision even if Trump had not been elected. "There was no quid pro quo because there was no negotiation" with Trump over the decision to cancel the plant, Fields said. Fields told reporters the decision related to the need to "fully utilize capacity at existing facilities" amid declining sales of small and medium sized cars such as the Focus and Fusion. Fields also endorsed "pro growth" tax and regulatory policies advocated by Trump and the Republican-led Congress. "This is a vote of confidence for President-Elect Trump and some of the policies he may be pursuing," Fields said. Trump repeatedly said during the election campaign that if elected he would not allow Ford to open the new plant in Mexico, which he called an "absolute disgrace" and would slap hefty tariffs taxes on imported Ford vehicles. Ford executive chairman Bill Ford Jr. told reporters he spoke with Trump to notify him of the decision. The company said the decision was influenced by Trump's policy goals such as lowering taxes and regulations but that there were no negotiations over the decision announced on Tuesday. By contrast, Trump's team held talks with United Technologies Corp (UTX.N) in November before the company agreed to keep about 800 jobs at its Carrier air conditioning unit in Indiana out of 2,100 set to go to Mexico. Trump has also held high profile meetings with the chief executives of Boeing and Lockheed Martin to talk about the cost of military contracts. Story continues Also on Tuesday, Trump threatened to impose a "big border tax" on General Motors Co (GM.N) for making some of its Chevrolet Cruze cars in Mexico. The New York businessman, who has vowed to bring back American jobs that have been outsourced overseas and be tough on illegal immigration from Mexico, takes office on Jan. 20. Fields said Ford will build a battery electric SUV with a 300-mile driving range at the Michigan plant by 2020 -- taking on companies like Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O), Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) and GM -- and will launch production there by 2021 of a fully autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel or a brake pedal for use in ride services fleets. Ford also plans new hybrid versions of its F-150 pickup truck, Mustang and police vehicles by 2020 as the auto industry faces rising fuel efficiency mandates. Ford will add 700 jobs at the Flat Rock plant, Fields said, to cheers from union workers gathered at the factory for the announcement. TRUMP PREDICTION Ford in April announced it would invest $1.6 billion in the new plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico to build small cars. The company said it will shift production from Michigan of its Focus to an existing plant in Hermosillo, Mexico. When Trump announced his campaign in June, 2015, he said Ford would cancel its planned Mexico investments. "Theyll say,Mr. President weve decided to move the plant back to the United States were not going to build it in Mexico. Thats it. They have no choice," Trump said. Trump tweeted a link on Tuesday to a story about the decision. Ford shares rose 3.3 percent to $12.54, up $0.41 a share, while the Mexican peso fell on Tuesday to touch its weakest level in seven weeks. Ford said it will add two new unnamed products at its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, where the Focus is manufactured today. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Alistair Bell) Vision, Falcon, Black Widow, and 7 more Marvel characters you might not know date back to the '30s and '40s Marvel's Golden Age of the '30s and '40s had a much bigger influence on the modern Marvel Universe than you may realize Bring The Great Gatsby to life Hundreds of students from forms three - six from secondary schools, including Vessigny Secondary School and Arima Government Secondary School, gathered at the Cheryl Greaves Auditorium on that night as they accepted the invitation to one of the greatest experiences of their lifetime. They were not only able to have a visual representation of the text The Great Gatsby that they have been studying for the past few months (its a text under study in the Literatures in English Syllabus); but they get the opportunity to dress up like dolls and old sports of the era as they experienced a two hour long theatre in the round, cocktail party theatrical presentation directed and produced by the founder of Milwaz Productions Mr Janieka Tudor, a teacher at Bishop Anstey & Trinity College East sixth form, of Literatures in English and Communication Studies. They got a chance to live in the moment. Milwaz Productions specialises in educational theatre; focusing on deepening and challenging students powers of analysis; when given the opportunity to watch words escape pages and see actors bring words to life, therefore adding dimensions to craft almost 100 years old, yet still studied; and thus fulfilling anticipation of a literary thirsty audience. Something powerful happens when students not only get the opportunity to view a live play but to experience all that the era offers; the music, the fashion, the language, the furniture and even the dances. Literatures in English then no longer remains attached to stigmas of tedious readings, it escapes those walls and forces its way into the students lives permitting them the opportunity to relive the past. Dr Murray is dead He was former Tobago West MP, founder of the Tobago Community College, and an advocate for the creation of the Tobago House of Assembly in 1980. Known for his strong views on Tobagos identity, Murray was a member of the Democratic Action Congress (DAC) under the late Arthur N R Robinson, former President and Prime Minister. He studied Spanish and History at Howard University, and also attended the National University of Mexico and Georgetown University, and then taught at Morgan State and Washington Universities. New Caricom chairman calls for better regional integration Let us resolve to play our part in strengthening our Caribbean Community and to making regional unity a living, breathing experience, Granger said in a message ahead of taking over from Dominicas Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit from January 1. Granger, who will hold the position for the next six months, said that 2016 marked the mid-point of the Five-Year Strategic Plan which he described as a foundational element in the Communitys Reform Process. That process is geared towards ensuring that our people feel the impact of the integration movement in their daily lives. Integration is not merely about systems and institutions. It is mostly about people. Get the news faster. Tap to install our app. Access Newser even faster. Click here to install our app on your desktop. X Stocks (^DJI, ^GSPC, ^IXIC) are rallying at the midday mark, though the major indices have backed off earlier highs. Telecom (IYZ) is leading the way up, and real estate (XLRE) and utilities (XLU) are in the red. Alan Valdes, director of floor operations at Silverbear, joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange. To discuss the other big stories of the day, Alexis Christoforous is joined by Yahoo Finances Rick Newman and Myles Udland. Ford cancels plans to build $1.6B plant in Mexico; investing $700M in US Ford just announced it is canceling plans to build a new plant in Mexico. Instead, it will invest $700 million in a Michigan plant, creating 700 new U.S. jobs. Is Mark Fields bowing down to Donald Trump? How US companies can avoid being singled out in Trumps Tweets Sticking with the theme of how American manufacturers can deal with public attacks from the president-elect, is doing what Ford just did a way other companies can get out in front of this issue and avoid Trumps Tweets? Conduent separates from Xerox, lists shares on NYSE Weve all heard of Xerox, the company that became synonymous with copy machines. But its business process service unit has quietly become the worlds largest in its field. Called Conduent, it is completing its separation from Xerox today by listing its own shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Joining us now is Ashok Vemuri, the CEO of Conduent, live from the exchange. (Newser) Book lovers rejoice: There exists in this world a library that welcomes visitors hoping to stay the night. Gladstone's Library, located about 200 miles northwest of London in the quaint village of Hawarden in Wales, is named after former British Prime Minister William Gladstone, who was himself a bibliophile and wanted his own collection to remain in Wales and available to the public, reports the Telegraph. In fact, 32,000 of the library's 250,000-plus books are from Gladstone's own collection, and the library has been residential since it opened in 1904, not long after Gladstone's death. The residential quarters feature 26 rooms, all sans TVs"because you didn't come all the way to a library just to watch TV," notes Conde Nast Traveler, and the library says this is a place to "sleep with books." For a room that costs about $80 a night, guests enjoy extended access to the library all the way until 10pm (it closes to the public at 5pm). Several reading rooms feature large sofas, desks, Persian rugs, fireplaces, an honesty bar, and a kitchen that works up a full-on Sunday roast. The library is run by Gladstone's family and self-funded, so the prices on rooms and meals are intentionally low with his mission of ready access to books in mind. In recent years, Gladstone's has become a hot spot for writers (there's even one in residence), and guests visit from all over the world. (The world's oldest library is reopening in Morocco.) (Newser) On Dec. 8, 1596, 48 people were burned at the stake in what Haaretz calls one of the "most dramatic" autos-da-fe the New World had seen. Among those to die was 30-year-old Luis de Carvajal the Younger, born in Spain to a family of Jewish "conversos"forced to convert to Catholicism but carrying out Jewish rituals in secret. Under torture, de Carvajal betrayed more than 120 clandestine Jews, reports the Times of Israel. It is de Carvajal's diary, written in minuscule script on paper measuring 4 inches by 3 inches and later found hidden in his clothing, that has long captivated historians as perhaps the earliest surviving artifact to offer insights into the arrival of Jews in the New World. Now, more than 80 years since it went missing, a collector has found it, and paid generously to return it to Mexico, reports the New York Times. In December 2015, a London auction house listed the manuscript, without any connection to de Carvajal, as having been in a Michigan family's possession. It was then listed for sale, this time as a transcript of de Carvajal's original, last year at Swann Auction Galleries in New York. Leonard Milberg, 85, decided to buy the copy from Swann, only to be told by the experts he consulted that it was indeed the 180-page booklet missing since the 1930s from Mexico's National Archives. Milberg has since paid tens of thousands of dollars to ensure that it be returned to Mexico, but asked that it first be displayed at the New York Historical Society, where it will be through March 12. He says the artifact, which highlights how integral Jews were to the development of the New World, is his way of "getting back at anti-Semitism." (A Jewish "lost tribe" has been found.) (Newser) A powerful storm system that moved across the South on Monday killed four people in Alabama and left a trail of damage over several states, officials say. The line of severe thunderstorms spawned several possible tornadoes, and the threat continued into early Tuesday for southern Alabama, southwest Georgia, and the Florida Panhandle, the AP reports. Four people were killed Monday evening when a tree fell on their mobile home in Rehobeth, Ala., according to a spokeswoman for the Dothan Houston County Emergency Management Agency. The National Weather Service had issued a tornado warning for Houston County in the southern part of the state Monday evening. In Georgia, some of the heaviest rains were expected late Monday night and into the overnight hours of early Tuesday, forecasters said. State emergency officials reported no injuries or deaths in Louisiana and Mississippi, but a trip to Walmart was memorable for shoppers in Marksville, La., as severe weather blew out skylights in the store, sending water and glass cascading onto shoppers. Marksville Fire Chief Jerry Bordelon says a fireworks stand in the parking lot was tossed 30 or 40 yards and mangled. The storm also knocked over 18-wheel truck trailers and punched holes in the Walmart's roof. The fire department ordered shoppers to leave the store, but some didn't want to leave. "Believe it or not, we had some people in there who were still trying to shop," Bordelon says. (Read more extreme weather stories.) (Newser) Mark your calendars for Jan. 11, for that's the day President-elect Donald Trump is planning to do something he hasn't done for months: hold a press conference. "I know that's the current plan," adviser Kellyanne Conway told CNN's Anderson Cooper Monday night, per CNNMoney. Conway threw the Jan. 11 date out when Cooper pushed her on the presser issue, though she hedged a bit by saying it's contingent on whether "the lawyers and the compliance officers feel like we're ready." Although presidents-elect typically hold some sort of news gathering after being elected, Trump has instead relied on Twitter and rallies, as well as sporadically answering questions during informal interviews. Per CNN, Trump last held a "full-fledged" presser on July 27, or 160 days agomeaning he's inching up on the 179 days without a press conference he blasted Hillary Clinton for in a May tweet. He was supposed to hold one in mid-December, but backed out at the last minute, citing the complexity of distancing himself from his many businesses. CNN notes some reporters "have expressed doubts that the president-elect will hold a press conference at all." (Read more Donald Trump stories.) (Newser) Israeli police investigators descended on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home Monday to continue a corruption probe, and while officials are being tight-lipped on what was discussed, a police spokesman revealed that questioning revolved around Netanyahu being "under caution on the suspicions of receiving benefits," CNN reports. The Jerusalem Post reports that Netanyahu was grilled for more than three hours at his Jerusalem residence, which had a black barrier erected at the gates to keep media from peeking in, and that further Q&A sessions are anticipated. Meanwhile, before the cops showed up at his door, Netanyahu asserted his innocence, warning his political enemies and the media to "hold off partying" and proclaiming that "nothing will happen, because there is nothing," per the BBC, which details other allegations against Netanyahu over the years. Israeli AG Avichai Mandelblit said later that Netanyahu, accused of accepting "improper gifts" from two businessmen, is now subject to a full criminal investigation into supposed ethics transgressions. Mandelblit says a new inquiry involving Netanyahu began in July, with this specific accusation being lobbed three months ago. The AG adds four allegations first broached over the summer, including those swirling around illegal 2009 election activity, have been dismissed. The Post notes rumors of a second "more serious" case against the PM that may involve attempted bribery. Israel's opposition pols are currently responding in a "fairly subdued" manner, the New York Times reports, with Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog noting it's "a tough day for Israel" and "we are not expressing satisfaction at another's misfortune." (Netanyahu has been busily attacking John Kerry.) (Newser) The experts Reuters spoke with described it as feasible, but Donald Trump wasn't among that cohort: In a Monday night tweet, the president-elect addressed Kim Jong Un's Jan. 1 assertion that North Korea is nearly ready to test an intercontinental ballistic missile: "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US. It won't happen!" The Washington Post notes that Trump has provided no other details on how a Trump administration might prevent such a thing from happening, though Reuters quotes a rep for South Korea's foreign ministry who says "because of our active outreach" Trump understands the severity of the North Korean nuclear threat and won't budge on the current policy of sanctions. Another thing Trump doesn't seem to be budging on: his needling of China. In a second tweet on the topic of North Korea, Trump wrote, "China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice!" China's official reply is that its "responsible attitude" regarding a denuclearized North Korea is apparent and evidenced in the resolutions it has passed with other members of the UN Security Council. The state-run tabloid Global Times suggested Trump was the one with a responsibility issue, writing that he is "pandering to 'irresponsible' attitudes," per the AP. NBC News points out that Defense Secretary Ash Carter in September said China bore responsibility for Pyongyang's nuclear progress. (Read more Donald Trump stories.) (Newser) After swinging at China Tuesday morning on Twitter, President-elect Donald Trump set his sights on this continent, tweeting, "General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A.or pay big border tax!" Politico reports that Trump has advocated for the imposition of a 35% tax on American companies that import foreign-made goods into the US. USA Today sees the tweet as a salvo in what's shaping up to be a Trump vs. Auto Industry battle over free-trade policiesand a battle that has thus far targeted Ford. The paper describes Trump as a "noted fan" of the GM-produced Cadillac. But as far as retorts go, GM's can basically be paraphrased as "small potatoes." In a statement reported by CNBC, the manufacturer states that all Chevrolet Cruze sedans are made domestically, in Lordstown, Ohio. It's only the hatchback model that's made in Mexico, with most of those distributed to foreign markets. Of the 190,000 Cruzes purchased in the US in 2016, about 2.4% (or 4,500) were Mexican-made hatchbacks. The AP has a list of the companies Trump has targeted pre- and post-election on Twitter. A sample: "If @amazon ever had to pay fair taxes, its stock would crash and it would crumble like a paper bag. The @washingtonpost scam is saving it!" Trump tweeted on Dec. 7, 2015. More from that list here. (Read more Donald Trump stories.) (Newser) Megyn Kelly, one of Fox News' biggest stars, is leaving her network of 12 years to join NBC News, in what the New York Times calls a "seismic shift." Kelly herself confirmed the news, notes Fox News, posting on Facebook that "I am delighted to be joining the NBC News family and taking on a new challenge. I remain deeply grateful to Fox News, to Rupert, Lachlan and James Murdoch, and especially to all of the FNC viewers, who have taught me so much about what really matters." Kelly's new gig is an ambitious offer from NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack to host a daytime news show, anchor a Sunday night news show, and play a role in special programming. The anchor is reportedly pulling in $15 million in the last year of her contract with Fox, which ends this summer, and had been offered $20 million per year to stay put, per the Times. NBC News and other networks previously said they wouldn't be able to match that sum. But Kelly wrote in her recent memoirin which she alleged former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes had sexually harassed herthat price wasn't the most important factor in helping her decide her next career move. Instead, she said she wanted a role in which she could balance family and her goal to expand her repertoire beyond politicssomething the NBC deal provides, per the Times. The sources cited in the report declined to discuss salary details. (Read more Megyn Kelly stories.) (Newser) Not in the job description for a priest: organizing sex parties and running a side gig as a pimp. But that's what Italy's Father Andrea Contin is accused of doing, per the New York Daily News. A bishop got complaints about the 48-year-old, a parish priest in Padua, over the summer, and the church asked Contin to leave while it completes its own investigation. But three female parishioners have since complained to police, leading authorities to do their own investigation, the Times reports. Contin is accused of holding orgies in his church's rectory and pimping out as many as 15 women to men on wife-swapping websites for a fee. Police have reportedly seized videos showing orgies on church property, sex toys, and porn movies concealed in boxes with the names of popes written on the covers, the International Business Times reports. Contin, who has not been arrested, is also accused of taking fancy vacations with lovers, including one holiday to a "naturist and swingers resort" in France. Police are investigating whether to charge him for crimes related to prostitution, the Inquisitr reports. (Read more priest sex abuse stories.) (Newser) For a while there, it looked like Jimmy Carter was going to be the only ex-president at Donald Trump's inauguration. But CBS News reports a spokesperson for George W. and Laura Bush said Tuesday the couple will be attending. "They are pleased to be able to witness the peaceful transfer of power," the spokesperson says. More surprisingly, two sources close to the Clintons tell New York Magazine Bill and Hillary will also be in attendance. The decision was reportedly made after Hillary spent weeks discussing it with friends and advisers. The sources say Bill and Hillary are going out of a "sense of duty and respect for the American democratic process." The fourth and final living president, George HW Bush, is staying home. (Read more inauguration stories.) Sorry! This content is not available in your region Bengaluru: New Year revelry turned into a nightmare for several women who were allegedly molested despite huge police presence at a large gathering in citys downtown region. The incident drew widespread outrage even as the state Home minister stoked a controversy by blaming the youngsters western ways for the incidents. National Commission for Women chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam came down heavily on the police and slammed home minister G Parameshwaras remarks, demanding that he should resign. The NCW as well as the Karnataka State Commission for Women also sought separate reports from administration and police over the incidents. Police on Tuesday said they were looking for the culprits involved in the alleged incidents on Saturday night in and around the junction of Brigade Road and M G Road, where thousands had gathered to herald the New Year. Eyewitness accounts suggest that women were molested and groped and lewd remarks were also passed by miscreants late night on December 31 in the posh area even as it was claimed that 1,500 police personnel had been deployed to control the crowds. While women without any male companions had to seek protection from women police personnel, who were very few in number on the spot, men who had come with female friends had a tough time protecting them, according to eyewitnesses. Speaking to reporters, Home Minister G Parameshwara said It is not good. Definitely we will look into it and see that it is not repeated. There was need to look into how such events can be organised and regulated... We cannot have 10,000 police men, he said. Speaking to a TV news channel, he said: Unfortunately, what is happening is as I said days like new year Brigade Road, Commercial Street, M G Road, large number of youngsters gather. Youngsters who are almost like westerners, they try to copy the westerners not only in the mindset, but even the dressing. The ministers remarks drew an angry response from the NCW chairperson who demanded the Home Minister should resign and apologise to the women of the country for making such remarks. Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir Government suspended a senior doctor of the Government Medical College and Hospital for a week. The doctor had allegedly molested a girl, a final year MBBS student. Sanction is hereby accorded to the placement of Dr Bhupesh Khajuria, Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, Government Medical College, Jammu under suspension with immediate effect, a government order read. The order said that the doctor will remain attached in the Directorate of Health Service, Jammu, during the period. Dr Khajuria who was the Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine, was booked on December 27 last following a written complaint by the girl, a final year student of MBBS. She had alleged that the doctor called her to his room for discussing the result of her examination and after sometime, he tried to molest her. In her complaint she alleged that somehow she managed to run out of his room and then contacted her parents. Soon after the complaint the administration of GMC had attached the accused doctor to the Principals office and had constituted a five members committee to look into the matter. The Congress Legislative Party Leader Nawang Rigzin Jora raised the issue in the assembly on Tuesday and urged the chief minister Mehbooba Mufti to look into the issue and take action against the accused doctor. Los Angeles: Producer Bill Marshall, who co-founded the Toronto International Film Festival in 1976, has died in Toronto. He was 77. The festival and his family said that he died of cardiac arrest while in the hospital on Sunday, reported Variety. Marshall was also a film producer, producing the noted Canadian film Outrageous! and 12 other feature films, as well as many documentaries. He also produced live theater productions such as the Toronto production of Hair. In a statement, TIFF said, We are deeply saddened by the passing of our friend and TIFF Chair Emeritus Bill Marshall. Founder of the Festival of Festivals in 1976 (along with Co-Founders Henk Van der Kolk and Dusty Cohl), Bill was also the organizations Director in its first three years. He was a pioneer in the Canadian film industry and his vision of creating a public Festival that would bring the world to Toronto through the transformative power of cinema stands today as one of his most significant legacies. Without his tenacity and dedication, the Toronto International Film Festival would not be among the most influential public cultural festivals today. Marshall moved to Canada from Glasgow, Scotland in 1955. He served as campaign manager and chief of staff for three different Toronto mayors and an advisor to Canadian politicians. In addition to TIFF, he helped establish the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, The Toronto Film and Television Office, and he was past president of the Canadian Association of Motion Picture Producers. He is survived by his wife Sari Ruda, his children Lee, Stephen and Shelagh, and six grandchildren. For all the Latest Entertainment News, Hollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Mumbai: Superstar Aamir Khan has condemned the New Year Eve molestation incident in Bengaluru, terming it as extremely shameful and saddening. New Year revelry turned into a nightmare for several women who were allegedly molested despite huge police presence at a large gathering on December 31 at Bengalurus downtown region, sparking widespread outrage. What happened in Bangalore was very sad. We all are saddened and feel ashamed when something like this happens in our country. Every state government should take a step for this, Aamir told reporters in Mumbai on Tuesday. Also read | Salim Khan urges PM Modi on Twitter to immediately address mass molestation The 51-year-old actor feels it is high time the law and order becomes strong and works rapidly to set an example. You see in America, if an incident like this happens, within two-three months the guilty person is punished and the case is closed. When this happens, I feel there will be a big change. #WATCH Aamir Khan reacts to women's molestation on New Years in Bengaluru, says speedy trials of such cases important to instil fear of law pic.twitter.com/GzfG190ECB ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 Aamir says it is important to punish the culprits so that a strong message is sent across. Also read | NCW sends summons to SP leader Abu Azmi, Karnataka HM for their remarks on Bengaluru molestation row In todays age, people who misbehave with girls think nothing will happen to us. When such examples come in front of us, that whoever did this is behind bars within 2-3 months, and continuously if we see this, situation will change. There will be fear among people, which is a very important thing. The actor was speaking at the launch of Satyamev Jayate Water Cup second edition. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Just two days after some goons went on a molestation spree in Bengaluru on the New Year eve, Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi sparked a controversy by blaming the victims for the incident. Samajwadi Partys Maharashtra unit chief Abu Azmi on Tuesday said though it was the duty of police to ensure safety of women on the New Year eve, women should not forget that security starts at home, and that partying late night is not in the Indian culture. Partying late night in half attire, blindly following western culture, has never been our culture. Ladies hailing from well-to-do families, be it from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan or UP, they come out in decent attire and mostly with their family members, he said, when asked about alleged harassment of women in Bangaluru during the New Year eve. I am saying what happened is very unfortunate. Undoubtedly, making security arrangement to thwart any eventuality is polices job. But, as far as Bengaluru molestation is concerned, women and their guardians must also take precautions and think that security starts at home. Our women must think about their own security themselves, Azmi told PTI. Read | Bengaluru: Women molested on New Year eve, minister blames 'western ways' New Year revelry turned into a nightmare for several women who were allegedly molested despite huge police presence at a large gathering at Bengalurus downtown region, sparking widespread outrage. But when few women in half dress come out on streets at late night with their friends, such incidents do occur, said Azmi, an MLA from Shivaji Nagar in suburban Mumbai. He also recited Urdu verses, Achchi soorat bhi kya buri shay hai, jisne bhi dali...buri nazar dali The women are pride of our family and country. Therefore, it is our duty to safeguard them. If we allow them to follow western culture blindly, then I am sorry to say that people will misbehave them in such ways, the SP leader said. Azmi also defended Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara who had stoked a controversy by blaming the youngsters western ways for the incidents. He (Parameshwara) said the harsh reality. These kind of things do happen when women try to copy the westerners, not only in their mindset but even in their dressing, he said. Eyewitness accounts suggest that women were molested and groped and lewd remarks were also passed by miscreants late night on December 31 in a posh area of Bengaluru even as it was claimed that 1,500 police personnel had been deployed to control the crowds. National Commission of Women (NCW) Chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam had come down heavily on the police and slammed Parameshwaras remarks, demanding that he should resign. NCW has sent summons to both - Karnataka Home Minister and SP leader Abu Azmi for their statements. "Few men across parties have made disgusting statements. If men at this level say such things, where is nation heading?, asked NCW Chief, Lalitha Kumaramangalam. (With PTI Inputs) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Samastipur: A journalist was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Samastipur district of Bihar on Tuesday. Assailants fired seven bullets till BrijKishore, correspondent of Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar, died on the spot.A However Police has refused to comment anything on this brutal murder incident. Bihar: Brij Kishor, a journalist by profession, shot dead by unidentified persons in Samastipur a ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 This is not the first incident when a journalist was killed in Bihar. In May, Rajdeo Ranjan, a senior journalist of Hindi daily Hindustan, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Siwan district. Alleged gangster and RJD leader Shahbuddin was under the scanner of investigation agencies in the case. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: In the wake of upcoming assembly elections in five states, the Election Commission on Tuesday held a meeting with Chief Electoral Officers of poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa to fine tune the arrangements. The law and order situation in Manipur due to road blockade by some Naga groups was the focus of attention of the Commission in todays meeting, sources said. At the meeting, the assessment of the law and order situation, deployment of polling personnel, safety and electronic voting machines and strict implementation of the model code of conduct also came up for discussion. In its report to the EC, the Union Home Ministry has conveyed that ground situation in Manipur following the blockade of National Highway 2 by United Naga Council and the state governments alleged failure to resume normal traffic even after 60 days. In the report, the Home Ministry told the EC about the ongoing tension and grave situation prevailing in Manipur. The EC may independently make an assessment of the situation so that election can be conducted properly, a top Home Ministry official had told PTI on Monday. Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry will provide around 85,000 security personnel for deployment in the upcoming assembly elections in the five states. At a high-level meeting with the Election Commission yesterday, top officials of the Ministry led by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi conveyed that it would provide around 750 companies of paramilitary forces for smooth conduct of the election process in the five states. In addition, around 100 companies, most of which belong to State Armed Police Forces and India Reserve Battalions, will also be drawn from different states for deployment of election duties. A company of paramilitary force comprises of around 100 personnel.As of now, the Commission plans to hold seven-phased assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and single-phased in the other states. But with situation in Manipur assuming alarming proportions, the poll body may go for multiple phases in thenorth-eastern state. But there is no official word on it. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Jammu: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Tuesday demanded that Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti resign for adopting a casual approach and taking wrong steps to control the situation during the unrest in the Valley. Do you find yourself responsible for the situation?... If anyone is responsible for it, it is you and your government, he said in the state Assembly. Abdullah said the chief minister has not right to continue if she was unwilling to take responsibility. You do not have any right to sit on the chief ministers chair if you are unwilling to take responsibility for the situation. The leader has to own his mistakes and learn from it, he said. The former J&K chief minister said when the news of the killing of three militants, including Burhan Wani, trickled in, from the experience we have, we got to know the situation was not good. When you heard that one of those killed was Burhan Wani, did you analyse the situation properly? What was your preparation? When we talked to the officers, we came to know that a casual approach was adopted to deal with the situation, he said. Surprisingly, the situation was by and large normal where Wani was buried but the rest of the Valley was on fire. Wrong steps were taken one after another. There was no governance and it was not known whether the situation was being handled from Srinagar or New Delhi. Different statements came from different people who had nothing to do with the situation, he said. The ADG of CID had told a press conference that the chief minister, who also holds the home portfolio, was informed about the encounter, the NC leader said. We want to know how much the chief minister was aware of the situation and what steps she took after that, he said. The situation worsened after July 8. People died and many were injured. After a few days, the chief minister said accountability would be fixed if excessive force was used. But she said parents should control their children and keep them at home, he said. We know it is difficult to control kids after a certain age, but shifting governments responsibilities to others is not justified. I am aware that when a reply would come from treasury benches, they would refer to 2008 and 2010. You cannot compare 2008 and 2010 to 2016. I have never held anybody else responsible for 2010. I never blame the parents of those kids for that situation, Omar said. He said he never blamed Pakistan or his officers for the violence in 2010 and did not make anyone a scapegoat or point fingers at Opposition. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The CBI on Tuesday arrested Trinamool Congress parliamentary party leader in the Lok Sabha Sudip Bandyopadhyay in connection with the alleged Rose Valley chit fund scam, the second of a party MP within a week. Bandopadhyay, who arrived at the CBI office in Kolkata at around 11 am, was subjected to more than four hours of intensive interrogation by CBI, after which he was arrested. The TMC MP had been summoned thrice earlier by the investigation agency. His arrest in the alleged Rose Valley scam came close on the heels of the arrest of another Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Pal on Friday. Paul, an actor-turned politician, is now in the CBI custody in Bhubaneshwar. Aslo read | Rose Valley chit fund scam: TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay faces CBI grilling On reaching the CBI office on Tuesday, Bandopadhyay told waiting reporters that he had come to face interrogation and know what the charges were against him. The TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee termed the arrest as 'vindictive politics'. Banerjee announced that she will stage a sit-in protest against Central Govt to oppose Bandyopadhyay's arrest. An emergency meeting of the party's parliamentary committee has been called as well. Also read | Arrested TMC leader Tapas Pal undergoes medical tests after complaining of health problems As it happened: CRPF deployed outside BJP's Kolkata office pic.twitter.com/uCLszWIklz ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 #CBI isssues statement on TMC leader's arrest: "The Central Bureau of Investigation has today (Tuesday) arrested a Member of Parliament in an on-going investigation of a Chit Fund case. "The instant case was registered on June 5, 2014 under section 420/408/409/120-B/34of IPC and Sections 4, 5 and 6 of Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978, on the orders of the Honble Supreme Court dated May 9, 2014 passed in Writ Petition No 401 of2013 and 413 of 2013 against then Chairman of a private Group of Companies and others on the allegations that the said company had collected around Rs 17,000/- crore illegally from general public after enticing them with false promise of paying higher rate of interest. "After investigation, chargesheet was filed on Jan 1, 2016 under section 420,409, 120B of IPC and 4 and 6 of Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978 against four persons including then Chairman; then Managing Director; then Director and Ex Director of said Group of Companies and three private companies of said Group. Further investigation is continuing as per provisions of Section 173(8) CrPC to examine the roles of other accused persons to find out aspects of larger conspiracy and money trail. "The arrested accused will be produced before the Competent Court." #WATCH TMC workers protest outside BJP's Kolkata office after TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay's arrest pic.twitter.com/WttBqJxz0H ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 #TMC MP Idris Ali denied any possibility of an attack on BJP office by party supporters, "I have no knowledge of any such attack, TMC can't do any such thing." #Derek O'Brien says, "Wednesday at 2.30 we will protest in Delhi, we will be protesting at Parliament. We will not stop. Our leader Mamta Banerjee has said we will protest everywhere against this political vendetta," he added. TMC workers protest, pelt stones and try to enter BJP's Kolkata office after TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay's arrest; pic.twitter.com/DiMB2VYnUT ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 #BJP office attacked again, stone pelting begins: Reports #TMC MLAs & MPs including Saugat Roy, Dinesh Trivedi & Partha Chatterjee reach Kolkata's CBI Office to stage protest against Bandopadhyaya's arrest (Read full story here) #Breaking: BJP office in Kolkata attacked by TMC students' wing after TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay's arrest #Sudip Bandhopadhyay booked under IPC section 420 (cheating), 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 120b (criminal conspiracy) #Tomorrow (Jan 4) will protest in Kolkata over arrest (of TMC MP Sudip Bandhopadhyay). On 9 Jan protest to start in 10 states on demonetisation: WB CM #TMC MP Sudip Bandhopadhyay will be taken to Bhubaneswar (Odisha) by CBI on Tuesday night #We strongly condemn the political vindictive attitude of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah: Mamata Banerjee #For no reasons arrests have been made. Only reason is Note Bandi: Mamata Banerjee #We will be with the people. This is not only financial emergency. This is full-fledged emergency: Mamata Banerjee #Amit Shah, Narendra Modi should be arrested, PM Modi does not understand Indian politics: Mamata Banerjee, WB CM #Many political parties are scared, but are not able to speak out. Emergency situation is going on: Mamata Banerjee, WB CM #People should come out on roads against #DeMonetisation move, people will teach them a lesson: Mamata Banerjee, WB CM #If they think that after the arrest (of TMC MP Sudip Bandhopadhyay) we won't protest, they are wrong: Mamata Banerjee, WB CM #I challenge PM, he cannot do anything, can't suppress the voice of the people: Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal CM #Will take the legal battle forward, will seek justice from the court: Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal CM on TMC MP Sudip Bandhopadhyay's arrest #Will protest outside RBI Kolkata on 9th January, and on 10th and 11th January in Delhi: Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal CM Rose Valley Chit Fund Scam According to CBI, the West Bengal-based Rose Valley group cheated investors of Rs 17,000 crore, making the chit-fund scam seven times bigger than the Saradha scandal that generated a lot of political heat in the eastern state. The hospitality-to-real estate group robbed millions of investors, most of them from low-income group, in at least 10 states, including West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, promising exaggerated returns, the reports said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. London: A 20-year-old British chef who had gone to Syria to fight against dreaded Islamic State terrorists has died in the war zone. Ryan Lock from Chichester in West Sussex had travelled to join the People's Defence Units (YPG), the Kurdish military force fighting in northern Syria in August last year. The chef had no military experience. In a letter seen by the BBC, the YPG said he was killed on December 21 2016 in Jaeber village in the battle for the Syrian city of Raqqa. The letter offered condolences to the family of Ryan, given the Kurdish name Berxwedan Givara. "Ryan was not only a fighter providing additional force to our struggle. In fact, with his experience and knowledge he has been an example for younger fighters," the letter said. It added that while Ryan's family had lost "their beloved son" and "we the YPG lost our daring and courageous companion". "Ryan was a very caring and loving boy who would do anything to help anyone. He had a heart of gold. We ask for privacy to allow our family to grieve," his father John Lock said. Lock is believed to have joined Kurdish militia after telling his family he was going on holiday to Turkey. "The UK has advised for some time against all travel to Syria. Anyone who does travel to these areas, for whatever reason, is putting themselves in danger," a UK Foreign Office spokesperson said. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Seoul: South Korea said on Tuesday that a clear warning had been sent to North Korea by US President-elect Donald Trump's tweet dismissing Pyongyangs ballistic missile claims. North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US, Trump tweeted. It wont happen! Trumps tweet came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un appeared to try to pressure the incoming president by announcing his country is in the final stages of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Kim also said his country had significantly bolstered its nuclear arsenal in 2016. Washington has repeatedly vowed that it would never accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed nation, but Trump has not previously clearly stated his policy on the isolated Stalinist state. President-elect Trumps message is significant since it is his first mention of North Koreas nuclear programme and can be seen as a clear warning, South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-Hyuck told a briefing. Cho said the incoming US administration was clearly aware of the gravity and urgency of Pyongyangs nuclear threat thanks to South Koreas active outreach. US policy on the North would remain largely unchanged, he said. They are maintaining an unwavering stance on the need for sanctions on North Korea, Cho said. In a New Years speech on Sunday, Kim did not make a specific reference to the incoming Trump administration. But he called on Washington to make a resolute decision to withdraw its anachronistic hostile North Korea policy. Analysts are divided over how close Pyongyang is to realising its full nuclear ambitions, especially as it has never successfully test-fired an ICBM.However, it carried out two nuclear tests and numerous missile launches last year alone in pursuit of its oft-stated goaldeveloping a weapons system capable of hitting the US mainland with a nuclear warhead. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. A NEW route is being considered which would take the proposed 5.6 billion Central Railway line and its freight trains away from the High Wycombe area. Consultants have been commissioned by the South East England Development Agency (Seeda) to draw up an alternative line for the southern end of the north-south route. This would go east of London, not west. Its report should be ready in about three months. The decision to reconsider the Central Railway route was taken after a meeting of county council leaders and officers at Gerrards Cross a few weeks ago. It was hosted by David Shakespeare, leader of Buckinghamshire County Council and chairman of the South East Regional Assembly, and Seeda chairman Allan Willett. They realised they must support the strategy of getting heavy freight traffic off roads and on to rail, but if they were not to have a route they didn't like they would have to come up with their own. The current proposed route travels through the middle of Buckinghamshire and along the Chiltern Line through Haddenham, Princes Risborough and High Wycombe. The proposal created an outcry from people along this part of the line, who say they gain no immediate benefit, only noise. After the Gerrards Cross meeting, Cllr Shakespeare told the Free Press the feedback he had from it was that the line went round the wrong side of London. It should go through Milton Keynes and via the area known as Thames Gateway a growth area. Regional assembly leaders in the north of England are in favour of the Central Railway project with only the south-east region against it. Central Railway wants the Government to introduce another bill in the Commons. People would give evidence at the committee stage and there would be no need for two or three years of planning inquiries. Chris Williams, the council's chief officer, said there was lots of pressure for the scheme from northern regions. "They get lots of benefits from it, which is the opposite of the south, which gets disbenefits," he said. County councillor David Rowlands, vice-chairman of a consortium of county councillors looking at public transport, said he had discussed the idea with members. "I am pleased that Seeda has commissioned W S Atkins to review the route," he said. But he said leaders in the north wanted it to go west of London so that there would be good links to the M25 and the motorways to the west of the country. A Central Railway spokesman said: "Central Railway has undertaken extensive engineering studies using international consultants, and the route to the west of London emerged as our preferred route." Ending three months of declines, at 100.49, the Paychex | IHS Small Business Jobs Index closed 2016 on an uptick, 0.10 percent over the previous month and 0.12 percent over the prior year.Click here for high-resolution version ROCHESTER, NY--(Marketwired - January 03, 2017) - The national index grew 0.10 percent from previous month The East South Central continues to lead regions for small business employment growth Tennessee overtakes Georgia as the top-ranked state Atlanta surpasses Seattle to lead among metros Seven of eight industries analyzed increased in December, while Manufacturing declined The Paychex | IHS Small Business Jobs Index rebounded 0.10 percent in December, increasing to 100.49, and ending three months of declines. Despite a series of positive and negative swings throughout the year, small business employment growth levels are 0.12 percent higher than the same period a year ago. Among regions, the East South Central continues to experience the strongest growth, up 3.02 percent from last year. Tennessee surpassed neighboring Georgia as the top-ranked state for small business employment. After nine months as the top metro index, Seattle was overtaken by Atlanta. Construction showed the strongest gains in December, while Education and Health Services had the best year-over-year growth. "A year-end increase brought the Paychex | IHS Small Business Jobs Index 0.12 percent above a year ago. The average index level of 100.62 during 2016 surpassed 2015's average of 100.59," said James Diffley, chief regional economist at IHS Markit. "The increase of the national index in December seems to mirror the overall sentiment of optimism for small business owners right now. According to the latest data from the NFIB, optimism among small business owners surged following the election," said Martin Mucci, Paychex president and CEO. National Index Ending three months of declines, at 100.49, the Paychex | IHS Small Business Jobs Index closed 2016 on an uptick, 0.10 percent over the previous month. The year, however, was marked with volatility, with the national index averaging 100.72 during the first half of 2016 and 100.53 during the second half. Seven of eight industries analyzed increased in December, while Manufacturing declined. Story continues Regional Employment Keeping pace, the South Atlantic once again reported strong small business job growth. With an index level of 101.89 in December, the South Atlantic averaged 101.88 during the past seven months to close out 2016. The East South Central region increased to a record level, 103.15, to continue as the top-ranked regional index. Conversely, the East North Central region fell 0.31 percent in December and is below the national baseline for the third time in 2016. At 100.70, the Middle Atlantic region increased 0.99 percent in 2016. Another positive in the Northeast, New England regained upward momentum following four consecutive declines with the strongest one-month growth rate, 0.39 percent. Down to 100.09, the Pacific region slowed six straight months to end 2016 after beginning the year with four straight months of gains. State Employment Trend Georgia and Washington slipped in December as Tennessee vaulted to the position of top-ranked state. BLS all-employment data also shows Tennessee surging late in the year. Up more than two percent for the second consecutive year, New Jersey is at a record index level and now ranks fourth among states. New Jersey has steadily improved, rising from ranking last at 97.81 in December 2014, to 100.01 in December 2015, and 102.25 in December 2016. Despite the weakest 12-month growth rate, -2.82 percent, Texas had the best one-month growth among states, 0.58 percent. The Texas index is tied with California for 16th place. Ranked last among states in August 2016, Maryland has improved 1.64 percent and eleven spots during the last four months. Note: Analysis is provided for the 20 largest states based on U.S. population. Metropolitan Employment Trend At 102.73, Atlanta is the top-ranked metro for the first time in more than five years. Averaging 102.65 during 2016, Atlanta's growth was driven in part by strong performance in the Leisure and Hospitality and Construction industries. After nine months in the top spot, Seattle fell to second place in December. At 101.75, Washington's index is at a five-year high, increasing 0.62 percent this month and 2.28 percent this year. Nearby Baltimore also had a strong 2016, gaining 3.24 percent during the past 12 months, the best among metros. Tampa Bay fell for the eighth time in 2016, as its index is currently ranked 15th among metros and just above the national baseline at 100.07. Only four of the 20 metros analyzed are below 100 -- Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Houston. Note: Analysis is provided for the 20 largest metro areas based on U.S. population. Industry Employment Trend Up 0.31 percent to 101.00 in December, Construction had the strongest one-month growth rate, jumping two spots to become the second-ranked industry. Other Services (except Public Administration) ranked first, up a modest 0.28 percent during the past 12 months. Ranked last every month since March 2015, Manufacturing was the only industry to decline in December, 0.15 percent. At 97.67, the Manufacturing index is at its lowest level since July 2010. Up 0.45 percent compared to December 2015, Education and Health Services has the best 12-month growth rate among industries. Just ahead of Education and Health Services, at 100.89, Leisure and Hospitality increased for the third consecutive month to 100.92. Note: Analysis is provided for eight major industry sectors. For more information about the Paychex | IHS Small Business Jobs Index, visit the index website. Plus, view and download the December 2016 Paychex | IHS Small Business Jobs Index infographic. Or, sign up to receive monthly alerts on the Paychex | IHS Small Business Jobs Index. *Information regarding the professions included in the industry data can be found at the Bureau of Labor Statistics website. About the Paychex | IHS Small Business Jobs Index The Paychex | IHS Small Business Jobs Index is released each month by Paychex, Inc., a leading provider of payroll, human resource, insurance, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- to medium-sized businesses, and IHS Markit, a world leader in critical information, analytics and expertise, providing analysis of small business employment trends across the U.S. The index analyzes same-store, year-over-year worker count changes to identify and track small business employment trends using real small business payroll data from the Paychex client base. The index is based on aggregated data from approximately 350,000 small businesses with fewer than 50 workers across the United States, one of the largest sample sizes of any small business index or report in the country, and provides timely, accurate insight into national, regional, state, metro, and industry employment activity. About Paychex Paychex, Inc. (PAYX) is a leading provider of integrated human capital management solutions for payroll, HR, retirement, and insurance services. By combining its innovative software-as-a-service technology and mobility platform with dedicated, personal service, Paychex empowers small- and medium-sized business owners to focus on the growth and management of their business. Backed by 45 years of industry expertise, Paychex serves approximately 605,000 payroll clients across more than 100 locations and pays one out of every 12 American private sector employees. Learn more about Paychex by visiting www.paychex.com, and stay connected on Twitter and LinkedIn. About IHS Markit (www.ihsmarkit.com) IHS Markit (INFO) is a world leader in critical information, analytics and expertise for the major industries and markets that drive economies worldwide. The company delivers next-generation information, analytics and solutions to customers in business, finance and government, improving their operational efficiency and providing deep insights that lead to well-informed, confident decisions. IHS Markit has more than 50,000 key business and government customers, including 85 percent of the Fortune Global 500 and the world's leading financial institutions. Headquartered in London, IHS Markit is committed to sustainable, profitable growth. IHS Markit is a registered trademark of IHS Markit Ltd. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners 2016 IHS Markit Ltd. All rights reserved. Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/12/30/11G126266/Images/20170103_badge-e673474c25b5b335a9ea76bd334d2e70.jpg Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/12/30/11G126266/Images/20170103_national-24f5a1c946809ccaafa4fb4407a649c1.jpg Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/12/30/11G126266/Images/20170103_map-024de48f1999a870bbd5fe84dea76bba.jpg Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/12/30/11G126266/Images/20170103_state-533a6083b8bfb24d8c10cb445eef94d8.jpg Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/12/30/11G126266/Images/20170103_metro-3925def47bfa9215a3b2b81c1dea1f3e.jpg Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/12/30/11G126266/Images/20170103_industry-dc1e7bd0ad66a767aa0024a1155fed8c.jpg Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/12/30/11G126266/Images/infographic-2016-dec-9dc750b3f49080c7a3cd474d59f11d1e.jpg / Scott Mullin DANBURY - The annual lottery for admission to the citys global-themed magnet school for elementary students is open until Jan. 23. The Western Connecticut Academy for International Studies encourages students to use a global perspective, according to a release. The international curriculum includes the study of countries and cultures. Spanish is taught in Kindergarten, the release said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BROOKFIELD The Brookfield Housing Authority plans to apply for a $2.3 million grant to update the Brooks Quarry complex. The Housing Authority will apply for a capital needs grant from the state Department of Housing to improve the streetscape and modernize amenities at the a 35-unit, state-supported, affordable-housing complex for elderly and disabled residents. Brooks Quarry does not have a waiting list, in part because the apartments are outdated, Housing Authority Board Chairman Michael Steele said. Right now, we dont look very competitive compared to newer developments that are available for people to consider as alternatives, Steele said. We want to make this place very attractive to individuals with limited income and various options. We want this to be their residence of choice. Steele said he hopes Brooks Quarrys new management will help bring in tenants. The Housing Authority Board last month voted to contract with DeMarco Management Company to handle day-to-day operations at the complex. At first, the proposal was unpopular with some residents and led to Executive Director Richard Groskis resignation. But some residents changed their minds after speaking with DeMarco representatives at a public meeting last month. DeMarco specializes in management of public housing, especially complexes for the elderly and disabled, and often has long waiting lists for its properties, company representatives said at the meeting. We think DeMarco will do a much better job marketing our property than we were able to do ourselves, Steele said. DeMarco, along with two consultant groups, will help the Housing Authority apply for the grant. DeMarco has a lot of experience in putting together these applications and were looking forward to the contribution theyre going to make, Steele said. The application is due by the end of April and the Housing Authority will learn whether it will receive the funds over the summer. It would then start construction in late this year or early 2018. While the Housing Authority has updated the complexs windows, heat pumps and some lighting, it has not improved other amenities since it was built in 1982, Steele said. If the Housing Authority receives the grant, it could update kitchen cabinets, bathrooms, stoves and water heaters, and replace asbestos flooring, Steele said. At last months meeting, residents described their cabinets as outdated and said their toilets often overflowed. Steele said residents are excited about the grant. Theyre all looking forward to it, Steele said. Were all hopeful that it will be granted and well be able to update the cosmetics and the actual infrastructure of their units. The complex has completed a nine-month sewer upgrade with a $650,000 critical-needs grant from the state Housing Finance Authority. The complex has one central sewer system, instead of one for each of the nine buildings. The town now maintains the sewer system, rather than the Housing Authority. Trump taps former Georgia Governor for agriculture post, media report United States,Politics, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS New York, Jan 3 (IANS) US President-elect Donald Trump has tapped former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue to be Agriculture Secretary, local media reported on Monday. After weeks of speculation, Perdue had become the favourite to take over the agriculture portfolio, according to members of the presidential transition team cited by the news web site politico.com. Perdue, 70, governed Georgia from 2003-2001, and two weeks after Trump's victory in the November 8 election, he travelled to New York to be interviewed by the President-elect at Trump Tower, EFE news cited CNN. Anticipation of Perdue's nomination had been rising in recent days, despite the increase in voices calling for Trump to appoint a Latino to the agriculture post to quell criticism over the lack of diversity in his picks for his Cabinet and other top government posts so far. --IANS lok/ Trump to realign trade power in a few select members of his administration United States,Politics,Business/Economy, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Washington, Jan 3 (IANS) US President-elect Donald Trump will consolidate trade policy decisions in the hands of a few select members of his administration rather than the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), local media reported on Monday. "The core of trade power appears to be shifting away from the Office of the US Trade Representative, an agency that has led negotiations on a series of complex trade deals, including the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) and a deal between the United States and the European Union," Xinhua news agency cited The Hill, a top US political website, which also noted that Trump has criticised the USTR for negotiating bad trade deals. Wilbur Ross, Trump's nominee for Commerce Secretary, is expected to lead the charge on trade policy going forward, with Peter Navarro, Director of the newly-created National Trade Council at the White House, serving as a liaison to Trump, the report said, adding that Navarro is expected to "play a more personal role in negotiating trade policies with countries like China" . But there is still "plenty of uncertainty" around whether Jason Greenblatt, Trump's special representative for international negotiations, would work with the USTR or supersede that agency's role, the report said. Sean Spicer, Trump's senior communications adviser, said last week that the USTR will remain the principal negotiator on trade deals, but Navarro, Ross and Greenblatt will also "be part of that process". Trump has not yet named his pick for the USTR. "Given the announced structure of the incoming administration, the USTR may not even be the second-most important voice on trade, behind Ross and Navarro,"said Phil Levy, senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, adding the USTR will "have a difficult time" winning respect abroad when matched against ministers. Trump had made trade as a centrepiece of his presidential campaign and called for dramatic changes in US trade policy. He had vowed to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and pull the United States out of the controversial TPP trade deal, but hadn't provided details on what steps he might take. --IANS lok/ Trump dismisses North Korea nuclear threat United States,Politics,Defence/Security, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Washington, Jan 3 (IANS) United States President-elect Donald Trump on Monday responded on Twitter to North Korea's threats, stating that Pyongyang would not develop a nuclear weapon that could endanger US security. Trump was responding to the New Year's speech given on Sunday by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who announced that Pyongyang is finalising preparations to launch another intercontinental ballistic missile, underscoring once again the regime's commitment to its nuclear and missile programmes, EFE news reported. In a tweet, Trump said, "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the United States. It won't happen!" A few minutes later, Trump hit out at China for benefiting from trade with the US while not helping to rein in Pyongyang. He said: "China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the US in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice!" During the election campaign, Trump called Kim a "maniac", but later said that the North Korean leader had to be given credit. North Korea has launched six intercontinental ballistic missiles on six occasions, claiming that the launches were to orbit observation satellites. However, the North Korean tests failed to achieve accuracy. If its goal is reached, North Korea would have atomic weapons that could reach US territory and be used as a deterrent to ensure the survival of the regime. For decades, Pyongyang has been irked by joint military exercises conducted annually by South Korea and the United States, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice never replaced by a definitive peace treaty. --IANS lok/ Trump's threat and the challenge before new UN chief (Comment: Special to IANS) Delhi,National,Opinion/Commentary,Diplomacy, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS US President-elect Donald Trump's controversial tweet on the 193-member UN comes at a time when former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres has assumed office as its ninth Secretary General. Trump questioned the United Nations' efficacy, calling it a "club of people to get together, talk and have a good time". In a previous tweet, Trump also cautioned that when he takes office, "things will be different at UN". This tweet has brought out in open the vulnerability of the UN. It also speaks volumes of how one powerful nation, through its funding, can direct the functioning of the global body. There is widespread speculation that the Trump administration may defund the UN in whole or partially. The US contributes the highest share of 22 per cent to the UN budget. Of the 193 member nations, the top 20 countries contributed a whopping 83.78 per cent, while 173 countries contribute 16.22 per cent of the $5.6 billion budget for 2016-17. Of these, the contribution of 135 countries is as low as 0.1 per cent. Interestingly, the top 10 contributors account for 68.89 per cent of the total funds received. This proves how badly placed financially the UN today is. It is clearly an important area for the new Secretary General to free the UN from the supremacy of a superpower and build consensus to make every country equal at the UN table through an equal funding mechanism. The fundamental principle behind the global body is to ensure world peace. Unfortunately, people across the globe are facing serious issues of terrorism and human rights violations. Where does the UN stand today to address these basic issues affecting global peace? Critics are asking one question: Is the UN behaving more as a NGO today than as a global peace broker? According to these critics, instead of focusing its attention on terrorism and rights violations, the UN's scattered humanitarian development engagement in different countries is weakening its position as an acceptable global body. There are specialised agencies, NGOs, who are closer to the communities and with better local development solutions to address local problems. So, why should the UN enter these areas, the critics ask. While the UN's developmental budget is measured in billions of dollars, its Counter-Terrorism Centre has an annual budget of only $20 million. Statistics show that the total cost of terrorism amounted to $106 billion last year. This reflects how badly the world is affected by terrorism and is a reminder of the UN's basic mandate of maintaining world peace. The seriousness of the UN on terrorism can be explained with one recent example. The whole world knows that Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar is a global terrorist and operates from Pakistan to spread his terror activities in South Asia, particularly in India. But the global body failed to ban this person as a terrorist on the behest of China. The reason China has made every effort to hold back India's move is to please Pakistan for geostrategic reasons at the cost peace in the region. This move by China is helping terrorism to grow in the South Asian region. This is an area the new Secretary General should focus on. Another daunting task for the new Secretary General is to take open criticism positively and implement reforms to make the UN more relevant as a global peace broker. Today there are about 1,200 country offices of the UN around the globe in 100 nations with more than 10 UN country offices in each country. At these country offices, with a budget of $8-9 million and a staff of 5-6, 60 per cent of the resources go for operational expenses, leaving a small budget for programmes. Furthermore, many organisations within UN bodies have overlapping mandates. There are sectors such as water and energy and health in which more than 20 UN agencies are engaged and compete among themselves to tap the limited resources available. Ten years ago, the UN had formed a panel co-chaired by the then Prime Ministers of Mozambique and Norway and Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer to suggest reforms. The report was very critical of the way "UN officials had to almost beg for money from national governments, making it difficult for the organisation to do any meaningful intervention". The report also pointed out how large numbers of support staff doing ill-defined jobs account for 2/3rd or more of many UN agencies' outgoings. This is another area the new UN chief needs to focus on and take a call on something that is affecting the UN's efficiency. On the positive side, be it the Haiti earthquake, the Ebola outbreak or the Indonesian tsunami, the UN has delivered its services efficiently. But will the new Secretary General look beyond an NGO prism and build up a structure to make the UN a vibrant body for combating natural disasters and a specialised body as a peace broker as it is doing so well in Central African Republic Mali and Lebanon? (Sachi Satapathy is an international development practitioner. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at sachisatpathy@yahoo.com) --IANS sachi/vm/sac S.Korea asks Denmark to extradite 'female Rasputin's' daughter South Korea,Politics,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Seoul, Jan 3 (IANS) South Korean police on Tuesday issued an extradition order to get back the daughter of the so-called "female Rasputin", the woman at the centre of the country's biggest corruption scandal, after she was arrested in the Danish city of Aalborg. The National Police Agency confirmed that it sent the request to Danish authorities through Interpol, Efe news reported. A Danish court has extended the detention of 20-year-old Chung Yoo-ra until January 30, pending her extradition. Chung was arrested in Aalborg on Sunday on charges of illegal residence in Denmark, after local police received information from a South Korean journalist about her whereabouts. She told the Danish authorities that she is willing to return voluntarily to her home country if she is allowed to be with her one-year-old son, Yonhap news agency reported. The prosecutors investigating the case asked Interpol on December 27, 2016, to place Chung on its red notice list after she was called to testify in court in South Korea. Chung's mother, Choi Soon-il, is believed to be at the centre of the corruption plot and influence-peddling that led to the impeachment in December of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who is now waiting for the constitutional court to decide whether the impeachment vote is valid. Choi, a close friend of Park, is accused of involvement in state affairs despite not holding any official government role, and of using her influence with the president to extort large sums from Korean companies, among other charges. The prosecution believes that the Samsung group, the country's largest conglomerate, signed a contract worth some 22 billion won ($17.4 million) with a company based in Germany owned by Choi, and also provided financial support for the equestrian training of her 20-year-old daughter. Choi, her daughter and her grandson were in Germany when the scandal erupted. She returned to South Korea on October 30, 2016, and has since been held in custody. --IANS ksk/ap Facebook blocks photo of nude Neptune statue, retracts United Kingdom,Media,Technology,Art/Culture/Books, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS null London, Jan 3 (IANS) Facebook courted another controversy after an art historian claimed it blocked a photo of Italy's famous Neptune statue for being "sexually explicit". The social media giant later termed the censorship a mistake, media reports said. Elisa Barbari, a local writer, chose the statue to illustrate her Facebook page, called "Stories, curiosities and views of Bologna", the Daily Telegraph reported on Monday. The 16th century statue of the sea god dominates Piazza del Nettuno, a grand square in the heart of Bologna. But the social media giant objected to the image, which shows a naked Neptune -- Nettuno in Italian -- holding a large trident. "I wanted to promote my page but it seems that for Facebook the statue is a sexually explicit image that shows off too much flesh. Really, Neptune? This is crazy!" Barbari told the Telegraph. Facebook told her that "the use of the image was not approved because it violates Facebook's guide lines on advertising". "It presents an image with content that is explicitly sexual and which shows to an excessive degree the body, concentrating unnecessarily on body parts. The use of images or video of nude bodies or plunging necklines is not allowed, even if the use is for artistic or educational reasons," Facebook said. A Facebook spokesperson later said in a statement that the censorship was a mistake, the Guardian reported. "Our team processes millions of advertising images each week, and in some instances we incorrectly prohibit ads. This image does not violate our ad policies. We apologise for the error and have let the advertiser know we are approving their ad," the spokesperson was quoted as saying. Over the past year Facebook found itself in the midst of several controversies for prohibiting seemingly innocuous images, and also for the spread of fake news on the social media platform. Recently, it was criticised for removing an iconic photograph of a girl fleeing a Napalm attack taken during the Vietnam war. However, Facebook later allowed the photo to be posted on the platform. --IANS gb/ap null Al-Attiyah claims opening stage of Dakar Rally Paraguay,Sports,Motorsports, Tue, 03 Jan 2017 IANS Asuncion, Jan 3 (IANS) Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah has claimed the first stage of the Dakar Rally as he aims to win the off-road endurance race for a third time. The 46-year-old finished the 38.5km Asuncion-Resistencia special stage in 25 minutes 41 seconds in his Toyota on Monday, comfortably ahead of former world rally champion Xevi Pons, who was 24 seconds behind in his Ford Ranger, reports Xinhua news agency. Pons' fellow Spaniard Nani Roma was third in his Toyota, a further five seconds off the pace. Nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb was sixth - 55 seconds behind Al-Attiyah - while last year's champion Stephane Peterhansel crossed the line in 12th, 1 minute and 34 seconds adrift of the leader. After the stage, Al-Attiyah revealed that he had to content with a fire in his vehicle. "About a dozen kilometres out from the finish we smelt smoke by (co-driver) Matthieu's (Baumel) seat and there was a bit of a fire," Al-Attiyah told reporters. "We slowed down to finish the stage and were able to put it out at the finish." Earlier, Australia's defending champion Toby Price clinched the opening stage of the motorcycle event on his KTM. The 2017 Dakar Rally will feature 12 stages, covering more than 9,000km in Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina before ending in Buenos Aires on January 14. --IANS ajb/vm By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-led U.S. Congress had a rough start to its first session of the Donald Trump era on Tuesday when a public outcry that included a dressing-down from the president-elect prompted the House of Representatives to backtrack on its plans to defang an ethics watchdog. It was supposed to have been a ceremonious beginning in which lawmakers set plans to enact Trump's agenda of cutting taxes, repealing Obamacare and rolling back financial and environmental regulations. With Trump set to be sworn in as president on Jan. 20, Republicans will control both the White House and Congress for the first time since 2007. The moment was overshadowed, however, by a an uproar over a surprise move by Republicans in the House of Representatives in a closed-door meeting late on Monday to weaken the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, which is in charge of investigating ethics accusations against lawmakers. Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to "drain the swamp" and bring ethics reform to Washington, was not pleased by the timing. "With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority," he said on Twitter on Tuesday. "Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance!" The ethics office was created in 2008 following several corruption scandals. Some lawmakers have charged in recent years that it has been too quick to investigate complaints from outside partisan groups. Lawmakers wanted to have greater control of the watchdog, and inserted changes into a broader rules package, set to pass when the House convened on Tuesday. Even before Trump's tweet, many House Republicans, including top leaders, had opposed the measure and worried about its ramifications. Trump's tweet prompted an emergency meeting and a quick change of course by Republicans. "It was taken out by unanimous consent ... and the House Ethics Committee will now examine those issues," said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan. OBAMACARE IN SIGHTS As expected, Ryan was re-elected speaker on a vote of 239-189. He was first elected speaker in October 2015 after predecessor John Boehner retired following repeated revolts by House conservatives. The speaker election was part of the ceremony involved in the first meeting of the 115th Congress, as the 435 members of the House of Representatives and a third of the 100-member Senate were sworn in. Ryan, who kept his distance from Trump during his campaign only to embrace him after his Nov. 8 victory, said Republicans understood from the 2016 election that Americans were dissatisfied with Washington. "We hear you. We will do right by you and we will deliver," Ryan said. Trump has made clear he wants to move swiftly to enact proposals he outlined during the campaign such as simplifying the tax code and slashing corporate tax rates. He also promised to make good on a Republican pledge to repeal and replace Democratic President Barack Obamas 2010 signature Affordable Care Act - a law better known as Obamacare. "People must remember that ObamaCare just doesn't work, and it is not affordable," Trump said on Twitter on Tuesday, adding: "It is lousy healthcare." In the first step of a process that could take years, Republican Senator Mike Enzi introduced a resolution on Tuesday to provide for repeal of the law. House Republicans also took a step to clear the decks later for Obamacare repeal by approving a procedural rule making it harder for Democrats to impede progress on such legislation. But Republicans face a dilemma on a replacement program to provide health insurance to people who do not have a plan at work or cannot afford private coverage. The White House says the law has expanded coverage for 20 million Americans, including an estimated 13.8 million people who buy insurance on exchanges, many who receive tax credits to make it affordable. "If Republicans repeal the Affordable Care Act they'll be hastening the demise of Medicare that millions of seniors rely upon for their basic healthcare needs," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not address Obamacare in remarks on the Senate floor on Tuesday. He has said his top priorities for the new Congress were dealing with the "massive overregulation" he said had been a brake on the U.S. economy and making changes in the tax code to stop companies from moving jobs out of the country. Republicans might use upcoming spending bills funding government agencies to try to kill some environmental and banking regulations. Trump also is expected to try to use his executive powers toward that end. OBAMACARE DEFENCE Leading Democrats warned of a fierce battle over Obamacare and said they planned to mobilize grassroots support for it. Obama is scheduled to meet on Wednesday with congressional Democrats to discuss strategies for fending off the Republican attacks on Obamacare. But Senator Charles Schumer, in his first floor speech as the top Democrat in the Senate, said he was ready to work on some issues with Trump. "If the president-elect proposes legislation that achieves that - on issues like infrastructure, trade, and closing the carried interest loophole, for instance - we will work in good faith to perfect and, potentially, enact it," Schumer said. "When he doesnt, we will resist." House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told a packed House chamber that Democrats would work with Trump wherever we can, including reforming taxes and trade deals. Pelosi also warned that Democrats would stand our ground and fight Trump and Republicans if they attempt to weaken environmental regulations or civil rights protections. (Additional reporting by Doina Chaicu, Jeff Mason and Steve Holland in Washington and Gina Cherulus in New York; Writing by Richard Cowan and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Bill Trott and Peter Cooney) Trump urges Obama to halt prisoner transfers from Guantanamo United States,Politics, Wed, 04 Jan 2017 IANS Washington, Jan 4 (IANS) US President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday urged the Obama administration to halt prisoner transfers from the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba, calling the detainees "extremely dangerous people". "There should be no further releases from Gitmo. These are extremely dangerous people and should not be allowed back onto the battlefield," Xinhua news agency quoted Trump as saying on Twitter. US President Barack Obama had vowed to close the prison during his tenure and his administration has signalled it is trying to transfer more detainees before the President leaves office on January 20. During the presidential election campaign last year, Trump had opposed Obama's plan to shutter the prison, vowing to keep it open and "load it up with some bad dudes". --IANS lok/ OTTAWA, Dec. 31, 2016 /CNW/ - Their Excellencies the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, and Mrs. Sharon Johnston will celebrate New Year's Eve and the launch of the 150th anniversary of Confederation by attending a national ceremony on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, on Saturday, December 31, 2016, at 7:30 p.m. The Governor General will deliver remarks on this occasion. "I look forward to joining thousands of Canadians on Parliament Hill on December 31st for this national celebration," said His Excellency. "The 150th anniversary of Confederation offers us a rare, once-in-a-generation chance to think about Canada and to look to the future. Let's seize this opportunity to innovate and to strengthen our country, and to continue to build a smarter, more caring Canada." New Year's Eve in Canada: "Road to Confederation," a National Celebration is organized by the Department of Canadian Heritage, in collaboration with Ottawa 2017. The event will be broadcast nationally on CBC/Radio-Canada. Media wishing to attend the event must contact the Department of Canadian Heritage. Follow GGDavidJohnston and RideauHall on Facebook and Twitter. SOURCE Governor General of Canada For further information: Media information: Marie-Eve Letourneau, Rideau Hall Press Office, 613-998-0287, 613-302-0912 (cell), [email protected]; Department of Canadian Heritage, Media Relations, 819-994-9101, [email protected] MONTREAL, Jan. 2, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - Ms. Sylvie Vachon, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Montreal Port Authority (MPA), invites the media to the 178th Awarding of the Gold-Headed Cane. This ceremony will mark the arrival of the first ocean-going vessel to reach the Port of Montreal without a stopover in 2017. This ceremony will also mark the Montreal's 375th Anniversary and the Canada's 150th Anniversary. The event will take place on Wednesday, January 4th, at 11:00 a.m., at the Montreal Port Authority Building, 2100 Pierre-Dupuy Avenue, Wing 1, in the presence of representatives of the marine industry, the political community and the Montreal business community. Ms. Vachon will meet with the media after the ceremony. She will be available for interviews. Notice Space will be reserved for camera operators and photographers at the back of the room (about 30 ft. from the podium). Camera operators and photographers are also authorized to shoot throughout the room before the ceremony starts. January 4, 2017 WHAT 178th Awarding of the Gold-Headed Cane Press briefing WHO Sylvie Vachon, President and CEO of the Montreal Port Authority (MPA) Other maritime and political scene personalities WHERE Montreal Port Authority Building 2100 Pierre-Dupuy Avenue, Wing 1 Dominic J. Taddeo Room WHEN 11:00 a.m. SOURCE PORT OF MONTREAL For further information: Melanie Nadeau, director of Communications, Montreal Port Authority, Phone: 514 283-1385, [email protected] Related Links http://www.port-montreal.com/ (Adds analyst, PSD leader, detail) * Leftists return to power after one-year break * PM-designate Grindeanu has yet to announce cabinet * New government set to win parliament support on Jan. 4 * Romania among the poorest, most corrupt EU members By Radu-Sorin Marinas BUCHAREST, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Romania's president accepted Sorin Grindeanu for the post of prime minister on Friday after rejecting the Social Democrat Party's (PSD) previous nominee, clearing the way for a new leftist government to be formed next week. Grindeanu, 43, a mathematician and former deputy mayor of the city of Timisoara, will seek a vote of confidence on Jan. 4 in parliament, where the PSD and a junior ally have a majority. The PSD returns to power after being ousted just over a year ago when a deadly fire in a Bucharest nightclub brought public anger and protests over corruption and public administration failings. Run by an official convicted of electoral fraud, which he denies, the PSD appears to have won the support of many Romanians with promises of increased social spending and economic security. But its rule will be closely watched by Romania's European Union partners because the PSD is considered to be soft on corruption and budgetary prudence. "I got an SMS in the morning ... I didn't have this number. It only said: 'Good luck! - Klaus Iohannis'," Grindeanu told reporters about his presidential endorsement. PSD leader Liviu Dragnea told reporters on Friday a new cabinet should become fully functioning on Wednesday: "We've reached the final stretch so that our governing programme can be enforced the way we designed it," Dragnea said. The PSD's first pick to lead the cabinet was Sevil Shhaideh, a close associate of Dragnea, whose conviction in a 2012 vote-rigging case ruled him out of the job. Iohannis rejected the nomination of Shhaideh, a 52-year-old woman from Romania's 65,000-strong Muslim community, without giving a reason. "The (PSD) are about to rule in a very comfortable governing formula, with solid support in parliament, having a young but experienced politician from the PSD's new generation," said political commentator Cristian Patrasconiu. Story continues "A new budget will surely go as they plan, sometime in January." Some economists warn the PSD is likely to burst the EU's budget ceiling of three percent of GDP next year. A cut in value-added tax and a big hike in the minimum wage and state pensions are scheduled for next year, fulfilling PSD campaign promises. A 15 percent wage increase for health and education workers has also been approved by parliament, while the PSD also wants to hike other welfare spending. (Editing by Janet Lawrence) IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 22, 2016 /CNW/ -- At CES 2017, TCL Communication Technology Holdings Limited (TCT) will unveil an evolutionary first in the mobile industry, which will include the addition of the new BlackBerry brand of smartphones, complimenting the company's current portfolio. TCT will share a business update as it transitions from the number four handset manufacturer in North America to a tier one portfolio brand. This view will include a first look at how the BlackBerry brand legacy will live on in a new generation of smartphones. Leading the company's growth in recent years, and at the forefront of this portfolio evolution, Steve Cistulli, President and General Manager for TCL Communication (TCT), North America commented: "We've reached a point in our industry when we must boldy go where no other handset manufacturer has gone before; evolving how we serve our customers and consumers. Business and market growth must go beyond just delivering value-focused handsets, and must now include a much more complete portfolio of devices and brands." Cistulli goes on to add: "We'll unveil more news at CES around our plans, showcasing the legacy of the BlackBerry smartphone brand, while also giving a glimpse into what new BlackBerry smartphones will offer as part of our bold new brand portfolio within TCT. These are just the building blocks of our new growth strategy, with additional announcements to come in 2017." For more information about TCL Communication (TCT), please visit www.TCTUSA.com. If you're interested in a press briefing about this news at CES 2017, please contact us at [email protected]. About TCL Communication TCL Communication Technology Holdings Limited (TCT) with its North America headquarters based in Irvine, California, is a wholly owned company of TCL Corporation, a global consumer electronics brand with products currently sold in over 160 countries throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. With a mobile handset product portfolio that includes devices from Alcatel and BlackBerry, TCT is currently the fourth largest handset manufacturer in North America. The company also operates nine R&D centers worldwide and employs over 13,500 people globally. For more information, please visit www.TCTUSA.com. TCL is a registered trademark of TCL Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Alcatel is a trademark of Alcatel-Lucent used under license by TCL Communication. BlackBerry and related trademarks, names and logos are the property of BlackBerry Limited and are registered and/or used in the U.S. and countries around the world. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. BlackBerry is not responsible for any third-party products or services. SOURCE TCL Communication For further information: Jason Gerdon, Email: [email protected], http://www.TCTUSA.com Related Links http://www.TCTUSA.com OTTAWA, Dec. 31, 2016 /CNW/ - The Governor General of Canada wishes to share Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's New Year's message addressed to all Canadians. "I am delighted to offer all Canadians my best wishes and congratulations on the 150th anniversary of Confederation. Countries throughout the Commonwealth and, indeed, around the world, rejoice with you as you embark on this special year. Throughout the years, particularly since your Centennial year, I have watched Canada develop into a remarkable nation. You have earned a reputation as a welcoming, respectful and compassionate country. Fifty years ago, on the eve of the Centennial, I encouraged Canadians to continue to embody the values of equality, freedom and inclusion. Today, these values remain deeply rooted in the Canadian experience. Your country, while still young, has the maturity needed to follow its passions. Throughout the coming year, you will have the opportunity to remind the world of the importance of protecting those values and of passing them on to future generations. On this eve of national celebrations, my family and I are with you in spirit. We pray that God will bless Canada and that, over the next 150 years, Canadians will continue to build a better country and a better world. As you prepare to mark this important milestone in your country's history, I send my warmest good wishes to you all." Elizabeth R. The message can be viewed here: http://www.gg.ca/pdf/2016-12-31_HMQ_Canada_150th_Anniversary_Message_EN.pdf SOURCE Governor General of Canada For further information: Media information: Marie-Eve Letourneau, Rideau Hall Press Office, 613-998-0287, [email protected] Highly flexible antenna options provide optimal performance for CE applications TORONTO, Dec. 15, 2016 /CNW/ - Peraso Technologies Inc., a leader in Wireless Gigabit (WiGig) chipsets, today announced the availability of its W120 WiGig phased array chipset for consumer electronics. The W120 builds on the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WiGigTM W110 Chipset, with support for high-bandwidth applications such as wireless routers, VR devices and wireless displays. Key features of the Peraso W120 WiGig chipset include: Blazing fast 4.6 Gb/s throughput 802.11ad STA, PCP and AP support Support for WiGig beam forming and beam tracking Support for 8 high performance Tx/Rx antennas USB 3.0 interface The W120 chipset offers users unparalleled flexibility with a variety of antenna configurations. Initial configurations include: Multi-direction arrays providing full omni coverage for compact USB adapter form-factors Multi-direction, multi-radio, arrays providing full omni coverage for desktop form-factors High performance patch arrays providing half omni coverage for display form-factors "The W120 WiGig phased array chipset provides a very important component in the evolution of WiGig into the CE marketplace," explains Brad Lynch, Senior VP of Product Development at Peraso. "With the introduction of a highly efficient phased array product, Peraso expands the price/performance options available to our customer base, making WiGig more readily available to end-users." The extremely high WiGig data rates, more than 5x that of 802.11ac, facilitates a host of applications not available through standard Wi-Fi connectivity. As Internet access quickly advances to gigabit data rates, WiGig wireless connectivity ensures that consumer electronic devices keep pace with the entire network. High throughput is critical for data-intensive, cloud-based applications. With the rapid growth of VR, WiGig is the only wireless technology that can provide a high resolution, no lag, wireless VR experience. Using WiGig, large media files are transferred between devices in a matter of seconds, not only providing the consumer with next generation convenience, but done so wirelessly. "The introduction of the Peraso W120 WiGig phased array chip set is very important for our customer base in 2017," stated Jack Hong, ODM Sales VP, Acelink. "For example, we can provide access point customers with a USB upgrade kit that allows them to enjoy the benefits of 802.11ad without replacing their existing router." Peraso's WiGig chipsets and solutions will be on display at the Westgate Las Vegas, CES 2017 - Jan 5th - 8th. To arrange a private demonstration, please contact: [email protected]. About Peraso Technologies, Inc. Peraso is a fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The company is focussed on the development of 60 GHz chip sets and solutions compliant with the IEEE 802.11ad specification. 60 GHz has been adopted for interoperability certification by the WiFi Alliance under the WiGig brand, and WiGig has seen strong industry endorsement by tech giants such as Samsung, Qualcomm and Intel. For more information, visit www.perasotech.com Follow Us: Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter SOURCE Peraso Technologies Inc. For further information: Company Contact: John Tryhub, Peraso Technologies, Inc., [email protected]; PR Contact: Melinda DeNicola, Peraso Technologies, Inc., [email protected] Commemorating 70th Anniversary of the First Canadian Citizenship Ceremony in 1947 OTTAWA, Dec. 22, 2016 /CNW/ - In celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the Canadian Citizenship Act, and the first ever Canadian citizenship ceremony, the Honourable John McCallum, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship will host a special citizenship ceremony in the same location as the ceremony of 1947- the Supreme Court of Canada. This ceremony marks the first in a series of enhanced citizenship ceremonies celebrating Canada 150 in 2017. The first Canadian Citizenship Act came into force on January 1, 1947, marking the beginning of Canadian citizenship as a legal status. On January 3, 1947, 26 candidates, including Prime Minister Mackenzie King, received Canadian citizenship at the Supreme Court of Canada. Date: Tuesday, January 3, 2017 Time: 1:30 p.m. (local time) Place: Supreme Court of Canada 301 Wellington Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0J1 Notes for media: Journalists who are not members of the National Press Gallery will require accreditation from the Press Gallery in advance. For more information, contact Marc Fortier at [email protected] . SOURCE Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada For further information: (media only): Media Relations, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, National Headquarters, 613-952-1650, [email protected] Related Links http://www.cic.gc.ca TORONTO, Jan. 3, 2017 /CNW/ - Integrated Team Solutions ("ITS"), in partnership with the City of Saskatoon, announced that construction of the Saskatoon Civic Operations Centre ("COC") successfully reached substantial completion on December 31, 2016. The new facility relocates the City of Saskatoon's Transit Operations and houses the City's first permanent Snow Management Facility. The facility officially opened its doors with a ribbon cutting ceremony on December 13, 2016 as the project was completed two weeks ahead of schedule and on budget. Saskatoon COC is LEED certified and designed to encompass a number of buildings and facilities. The 450,000 square foot transit facility is a full-service shop, providing complete convenience during vehicle maintenance. Some of these features include a transmission shop, inspection pits, body shops and fuelling stations. Additionally, the facility has an indoor capacity to house 224 busses so that they will never be stored outside. Integrated Team Solutions ("ITS"), a consortium led by Fengate Real Asset Investments ("Fengate") and EllisDon Capital, was awarded the contract by Saskatoon City Council to design, build, finance and maintain the facilities of the Saskatoon Civic Operations Centre in winter 2014, operating under a 25-year contract. The ITS team includes EllisDon Design Build Inc. ("EllisDon"), as design builder and Engie Services Inc. as facility manager. "EllisDon is pleased to have partnered with ITS and the City of Saskatoon to bring the design and construction of this project to a successful conclusion," said Michael Kazda, VP & Area Manager, EllisDon. "Safely delivering a quality project, ahead of time and on budget, requires a tremendous team effort that everyone associated with the new Civic Operations Centre project should be proud of." "Fengate is very proud to be part of the team that delivered the new Saskatoon Civic Operations Centre on budget and ahead of schedule," said Marco Di Carlantonio, Executive Director at Fengate. "This facility supports the City's growing transit operations and enhances Fengate's robust portfolio of social infrastructure projects while delivering long-term cash flows to our investors." The Snow Management Facility, operated by the City's Roadways and Operations Division includes a 14-acre pad that will be able to store up to 1 million cubic metres of snow. This also includes a storm water and meltwater management pond with inlet sand, oil and grit separators to protect groundwater from contamination. "The Civic Operations Centre is a tremendous step forward for our Transit Operations and for snow and ice management in our city," said Mayor Charlie Clark, City of Saskatoon. "Our Transit Operations outgrew the old bus barns long ago, and our staff has been making do in cramped facilities for many years. This LEED-certified facility, built ahead of schedule and on budget, has perfect timing as we prepare to modernize Transit in Saskatoon." Both facilities will be fully operational in January 2017. EllisDon is an employee-owned construction services company with revenues in excess of $3.5 billion annually that delivers construction expertise to clients throughout the world. In addition to offering construction and project management services, EllisDon effectively takes on client risk with a range of capital; intelligent building; virtual design and construction; and furniture, fixtures, and equipment procurement services. For more information, please visit www.ellisdon.com. Fengate Real Asset Investments is a leading alternative asset management firm specializing in the management of investment funds on behalf of Canadian and international pension funds. Fengate has $2.9 billion in capital under management with expertise in infrastructure, real estate and private equity. With significant experience in public-private partnerships, independent power projects and real estate developments, Fengate targets high quality, long-term investments across North America and select international markets. For more information, please visit www.fengate.com. SOURCE Fengate Capital Management For further information: Dustin Luchka, EllisDon, (905) 896-8900 ext. 36273, [email protected]; Larysa Golymbiowsky, Fengate, (905) 491-6572, [email protected] Related Links www.fengatecapital.com OTTAWA, Dec. 31, 2016 /CNW/ - The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement to mark the New Year: "Happy New Year, everyone. "Tonight is 150 years in the making, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ring in the New Year together. From coast to coast to coast, spectacular events are planned to usher in Canada's 150th birthday. "Before we leave 2016 behind, I want to thank you. Over the last year, we have accomplished a great deal together to strengthen the middle class and those working hard to join it. "We cut taxes on middle-class Canadians, and put more money in the pockets of nine out of ten families through a new, more generous Canada Child Benefit; we also signed one of the most progressive free trade deals in history that will benefit Canadians across the country. "As we mark Canada 150 over the next year, we will honour the generations of Canadians who have come together to create opportunities for one another. We will celebrate the courage and vision of those who came before us, and the hard work and ambition of Canadians like you who have made Canada the success story that it is today. "For my part as Prime Minister, I will always stand against the politics of fear and division, and focus on what brings us together that is my New Year's resolution to you. "In 2017, and beyond, our government will take further steps to help the middle class and those working hard to join it. And, together, I know we will continue to build the diverse and prosperous country that we are all so proud to call home. "Canada, let's make this year our year. "On behalf of our family, Sophie and I wish you a wonderful night and all the best in 2017. This document is also available at http://pm.gc.ca SOURCE Prime Minister's Office For further information: PMO Media Relations: 613-957-5555 Related Links http://pm.gc.ca/ OTTAWA, Jan. 3, 2017 /CNW/ - As Canada begins its festivities for the nation's sesquicentennial anniversary, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is kicking off its own celebrations. For 150 years, the CMA has provided leadership and guidance to Canada's physicians and has ensured the public has access to high-quality health care across the country. 150 years ago, three months after the birth of our country, 146 doctors gathered in Quebec City with the goal of creating a national medical body. Today, the CMA comprises over 85,000 members and continues to be the national voice for the highest standards for health and health care. The CMA is proud to have made contributions to a wide range of public health issues over the course of its existence. This includes the creation of the CMA Code of Ethics, advocating for mandatory seatbelt legislation in the 1990's and developing policy to reduce tobacco use in Canada, among many other issues. More recently, the CMA has provided the critical physician and patient perspective on the issue of medical aid in dying. "The 150th anniversary of the CMA represents an opportunity to not only celebrate the immense accomplishments of Canada's physicians but also to look forward to the work that urgently needs to be completed to enhance the health of Canadians," explains Dr. Granger Avery, the CMA's president. The CMA will continue to work with its partners in 2017 on a number of issues, including the creation of a framework for legalizing marijuana and the establishment of a new Health Accord with a focus on seniors care. Over the course of 2017, the CMA will be sharing interesting facts from its rich history across various social media channels and at cma.ca/150. The celebrations will continue throughout the year, with the 150th edition of the association's Annual Meeting and General Council in August bringing physicians back to where it all began in Quebec City. For 150 years, only the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) has united the broad expertise of the medical community for the benefit and well-being of all Canadians. The CMA currently represents over 85,000 physicians, comprises 12 provincial and territorial medical associations and is affiliated with over 60 national and international medical organizations. SOURCE Canadian Medical Association For further information: To schedule an interview or for further information, please contact: CMA Media Relations: [email protected], 613-806-1865 Related Links http://www.cma.ca MONTREAL, Jan. 1, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - The Port of Montreal is pleased to welcome the first ocean-going vessel in 2017 to cross its downstream limits at Sorel, without a stopover, today at 03 :16. The ship is the Chem Sirius, flying the Liberia flag. The Chem Sirius, under the command of Captain Danel Ju, is a chemical tanker operated by Ace Tankers CV and represented in Montreal by the SMK Tanker Agency. The Chem Sirius left the Port of Antwerp in Belgium on December 19. On Wednesday, January 4, the Port of Montreal will award the 178th Gold-Headed Cane at the ceremony celebrating the arrival each year of the first ocean-going vessel to reach Montreal without a stopover. This ceremony will mark this great tradition in the marine community as well as the 375th anniversary of the City of Montreal and the 150th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada. About the Port of Montreal Operated by the Montreal Port Authority (MPA), the Port of Montreal is the second largest port in Canada and a diversified transshipment centre that handles all types of goods: containerized and non-containerized cargo, liquid bulk and dry bulk. It is a leading container port served by the largest container shipping lines in the world. The Port of Montreal has its own rail network directly dockside. It is connected to the two national rail networks and a highway system. The Port operates a passenger terminal. All other terminals are run by private stevedoring firms. Port activity supports 16,000 jobs and generates $2.1 billion in economic benefits annually. SOURCE PORT OF MONTREAL For further information: Melanie Nadeau, Director of Communications, Montreal Port Authority, [email protected], T: 514-283-1385 Related Links http://www.port-montreal.com/ Countries along Beijings flagship Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-century Maritime Silk Roadbetter known as One Belt, One Roadwill be among the first in line to plug into Chinas new satellite-navigation services, according to a government policy paper on the countrys space program. The China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund have around $140 billion in capital between them to finance infrastructure across two great arcs of Chinese trade: the land-based belt to the north stretching across Central Asia and Russia to Europe, and the maritime road to the south, encompassing East Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. The space policy paper, issued by the State Council Information Office, hints at how China plans to use its space technology to support its wide-ranging programs on the ground and further tie partner nations into the Beijing blueprint. Navigation and positioning services will form one element of a Belt and Road Initiative Space Information Corridor that China aims to set up over the next five years, the paper says. Earth observation, communications and other satellite services are also part of the package. Beidou helped Chinese companies generate around $29 billion in revenue in 2015, just two years after its commercial launch, according to state media reports citing Miao Qianjun, secretary-general of the Global Navigation Satellite System and Location-based Services Association of China. As the systems coverage area expands, neighboring countries including Thailand and Vietnam are using Beidou to deliver navigational data. China also seems to be banking on Beidou stimulating the economies that use the system, boosting trade along its new Silk Road and channeling benefits back to China. Though Beijing is spending an estimated $25 billion putting the satellites into orbit, the total market for satellite services in telecommunications and other sectors should be worth around $60 billion within the next few years, according to the systems operator, the China Satellite Navigation Management Office. China is gearing up for the Beidou system to deliver global coverage in 2020, the policy paper adds. But countries that join Chinas terrestrial One Belt, One Road will be first to share in its unearthly achievements, getting access to Beidou two years earlier. In 2017, three to four launches of BeiDou satellites will occur. BDS will provide basic services to the countries along the Belt and Road region by 2018, and possess global service capability by 2020. BDS will keep improving its nationwide reference station network and steadily enhance its service performance. The dense reference stations for the nationwide frame network will be constructed by 2018, providing meter and decimeter level real-time location services for users in China, even centimeter level service in some areas. BDS will carry out the design, validation and construction of SBAS in accordance with international civil aviation standards. The first GEO satellite of BDSBAS will be launched in around 2018. The satellite-based augmentation services covering China and surrounding regions will be provided from 2020, to provide CAT-I services to civil aviation users. The free civilian service has a 10-meter location-tracking accuracy, synchronizes clocks with an accuracy of 10 nanoseconds, and measures speeds to within 0.2 m/s. The restricted military service has a location accuracy of 10 centimetres, can be used for communication, and will supply information about the system status to the user. To date, the military service has been granted only to the Peoples Liberation Army and to the Military of Pakistan. BeiDous current accuracy is about 10 meters compared to the US GPSs 1 meter. China aims to improve the system a hundred-fold that it would be more accurate than the popular American GPS. China is developing ground based augmentation to achieve centimeter realtime accuracy and millimeter accuracy for post processing within cities like Beijing Spacex plans to resume rocket launches on Jan. 8, using revised operational practices developed in response to a fiery accident that occurred during routine ground preparations last fall. The tentative blastoff date for the Falcon 9 from Californias Vandenberg Air Force Base is subject to results of testing later this week, industry officials said, and still could change. But if everything checks out, Iridium Communications Inc., which has been eagerly waiting to get the first 10 of its next-generation communications satellites into orbit since the September 2016 fireball, can anticipate a launch next Sunday morning. SpaceX said the extensive investigation concluded the accident was likely due to accumulation of oxygen between the vessels aluminum liner and what is called the composite overwrap. The company said testing revealed that supercooled fuel can pool in a void or buckle in the liner, subsequently breaking carbon fibers or creating an ignition source. But the statement also highlighted the complex, somewhat tentative nature of the detailed conclusions. SpaceX noted that in the end, investigators identified several credible causes for the failure of the helium container, and that corrective actions address all credible causes. See more Targeting return to flight from Vandenberg with the @IridiumComm NEXT launch on January 8. Update: https://t.co/15yMaiobpX SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 2, 2017 The immediate past governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, is facing severe criticisms from people in the state for sauntering int... The immediate past governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, is facing severe criticisms from people in the state for sauntering into a state function in Uyo with his aides and a crowd of followers, while his successor, Udom Emmanuel, was taking a Bible reading.The incident, seen as a breach of protocol, happened at the Ibom Hall grounds, IBB Avenue, Uyo, on Monday during a state-sponsored religious ceremony the Akwa Ibom State Annual Solemn Assembly.There was a temporary disruption of proceedings as the crowd kept on hailing Mr. Akpabio.Governor Emmanuel paused for some minutes until Mr. Akpabio, who is the Senate Minority Leader, was seated, before he could continue with the Bible reading.When Akpabio walked in with his wife and aides, the whole place looked as if it were a political rally, Franklyn Isong, a newspaper publisher and public affairs commentator in Uyo, revealed.Mr. Isong took to Facebook, few hours after the solemn assembly, to condemn Mr. Akpabios action.This act of former Governor Akpabio to always attempt to belittle his successor at public functions has been taken too far to be ignored by sane people, Mr. Isong wrote in a Facebook post, adding that the senate minority leader should be called to order.If he cannot sit at state function(s) before the arrival of Governor Emmanuel, he has the option of joining the governors convoy or stay back from such function when the governor is seated.Mr. Isong insisted that Mr. Akpabio was deliberately undermining the governor.Mr. Akpabios protocol team must have been there in advance at the venue of the ceremony and must have been updating the senator on the proceedings before his (Akpabios) arrival, Mr. Isong said.Patrick Ifon, a former chairman of Onna Local Government Area, also took to Facebook to condemn Mr. Akpabios action as being totally unacceptable and childish.Etok Ekanem, a former Commissioner for Agriculture during Mr. Akpabios government, said the senators action was humiliating to Governor Emmanuel.Mr. Ekanem, who is a professor in the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Uyo, said many people in the state, including himself, had been complaining about how the senator regularly breached the governors protocol in public functions.I am pretty sure Akpabio would not take (that) from anyone during his tenure as governor, Mr. Ekanem said on Facebook.Was it not the practice in those days that Idongesit Nkanga (a former military governor of Akwa Ibom) was characteristically made to sit and wait for hours, at times very long hours, before he could meet His Excellency, Governor Godswill Akpabio?Let me most respectfully add to the appeal to Senator Akpabio to please, refrain from this practice.Des Wilson, a professor of mass communication at the University of Uyo, said of the incident, Events like this just annoy me to no end.Mr. Wilson continued: And the security operatives who would not spare a second to whip other Nigerian citizens would helplessly behave as if the man is still in charge.Maybe the governor also gives him the impression that he is in charge. And the former governor enjoys the indecency of disrupting state functions by his noisy entry.Let him try that at a Buhari function and he will know that khaki no be leather. If the man cannot be disciplined enough to respect constituted authority, whether he facilitated the installation or not, then the people must be ready to physically stop him next time.And those empty stooges who disrespect their governor by cheering an egotistic split personality when they should be booing him for coming late are also to blame for this repeated misbehaviour, Mr. Wilson said.The attack on Senator Akpabio has dominated the social media for two days now, with some people calling on Governor Emmanuel to fire his protocol team.Mr. Akpabios spokesman, Anietie Ekong, said it was untrue that Mr. Akpabio was habitually breaching the governors protocol.Mr. Ekong cited the last Akwa Ibom State Christmas Carol Night as one of the instances he said the senator was seated before the governor walked into the ceremony.He said the issue was a minor one, and that he suspected that it was being promoted by people who want to see both men engage in a fight.I am sure Governor Udom Emmanuel knows that Senator Akpabio will never undermine his administration.Akpabio has been the prime mover of the Divine mandate that Governor Udom is carrying. At a point when many people did not believe in Governor Emmanuel, Akpabio stuck out his neck and stood by him.Akpabio will always support Governor Emmanuel till the very end. Recall that a few days ago Senator Akpabio convened stakeholders meeting of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District and passed a vote of confidence on Governor Emmanuel, and endorsed him for a second term. Popular Nigerian crossdresser, Idris Bobrisky Okuneye, may have finally caught the attention of his soulmate. A man who claims to be... A man who claims to be an American living in Texas and working with the National Aeronautics andSpace Administration has expressed profound desires to hook up and even marry Bobrisky.The request was sent to popular relationship blogger and psychologist, Adejoro Olumofin.The yet to be named lover introduced his email by expressing anger at Olumofin for not linking him up with Bobrisky despite sending about six emails on the request alone.I have come to fall in love with someone in Nigeria, he wrote.His name is Bobrisky. I love this guy so much, he is so real, but Nigeria is not ready for him.The unnamed man also offered to take Bobrisky out of Nigeria where he can then marry him.He described Bobrisky as his soulmate, adding that he is addicted to his (Bobriskys) Snapchat.It may come as a surprise to Bobrisky who was recently in London for a meet and greet event whichattracted 20 as entry fee.The 26 year old Nigerian has denied being gay many times before now. A serving local government chairman in Borno State, Shettima Mafa, was last week arrested and detained by the military for allegedly keepi... A serving local government chairman in Borno State, Shettima Mafa, was last week arrested and detained by the military for allegedly keeping a suspected Boko Haram militant in his Maiduguri home.News of his arrest, which began as rumours, suddenly generated an uproar in the state when it began to trend in the social media.The Borno State government confirmed the incident on Sunday, describing it as a worrisome twist in the war against Boko Haram insurgency.At the weekend, the news got to the media that a council chairman, whose local government was one of the strongholds of Boko Haram, was picked by the military for allegedly keeping a suspected insurgent in his house.He was said to have been picked from his home to the military barracks. He has not been released since then.The authorities at the 7 Division Nigeria Army, Maiduguri and those in the Theater Command of Operation Lafiya Dole, have not issued any statement to this effect.Apparently embarrassed by the trending news about one of its most trusted council chairmen, the Borno government released a statement on the matter.The statement, released by the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, said the government doubted the complicity of the council chairman in the activities of Boko Haram.The commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs, Usman Zanna, said the arrested council chairman had been in the forefront of assisting security operatives in the fight against Boko Haram. As such, he should not be the one being linked with the insurgents.The Commissioner said he had to speak because his ministry supervises the chairmen of the 27 local government areas in Borno State.Mr. Zanna said, his Ministry neither questions the judgment and authority of the military nor exonerates the chairman of any wrongdoing in order not to preempt the outcome of ongoing investigation.If not because of media reports on this matter, the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs which oversees the affairs of the 27 local government areas in Borno State, would have preferred not to make public comment over a matter that is still being investigated by our competent and patriotic military establishment involved in the fight against Boko Haram.It has become necessary that this statement is issued in order to put some records straight. First of all, contrary to media reports, the caretaker chairman in question was not arrested. He actually reported himself to the military command in Maiduguri after he got information that he was needed by the military.Secondly, contrary to reports by the media that he was arrested at the 1,000 housing estate along Maiduguri-Damaturu road, there was never any issue at all at 1,000 estate. The Chairman lives at 505 housing estate, which is located on an entirely different route, along Dikwa and Mafa which is the way to the Chairmans office in Mafa.The Chairman actually reported himself to the military last week and was detained pending the outcome of ongoing investigations being conducted by the military.While we do not intend to question the intelligence gathering, judgment and authority of the military, to us at the Ministry for Local Government and Emirate Affairs, the whole development is a worrisome twist.It is a twist because, for years, the caretaker chairman has been known for his courage in joining hunters to go into front lines to battle Boko Haram fighters. His commitment in the fight against insurgents is known to different Army Commanders that served in Mafa local government area in the last two years. The likes of Major Manga can bear testimony to this. It is mainly due to his passion for the fight against insurgency that he has been successively reappointed as caretaker Chairman of Mafa for renewable term of six months as provided by laws of Borno State.The Chairman is also known to champion the course of citizens fleeing from communities after attacks by insurgents. From information available to the military, the Chairman recently got involved in assisting some citizens trapped in a village within his local government area and he is believed to have Internally Displaced Persons living in his residence at 505 estate like most adults in Maiduguri, Jere and parts of Konduga do have fleeing relatives and friends living with them.There is an information that a certain suspected member of the Boko Haram might have joined some of the citizens he helped last week but whether he knew the identity of the suspect and deliberately hid him and for whatever purpose is what we look forward to being determined by the military.This investigation is particularly important to us because it affects the safety and integrity of the Ministry. As we acknowledge, it would amount to sitting on a keg of gun powder if anyone dealing with the Ministry, involves in harbouring any criminal, especially insurgents that have killed our parents, wives, sons and daughters in addition to sending our families out of their communities to now live with us in pains.We assure citizens of the 27 local government areas; other concerned Nigerians and the International community that we are usually very thorough in identifying those appointed either as local government chairmen, ward councillors, traditional rulers, vigilantes and members of the Civilian JTF deployed to the 27 local government areas of Borno State. As can be confirmed by security agencies, we do not engage any youth as vigilante or in the Civilian JTF unless he or she is verified by the Department of State Security in addition to fingerprints and photographs of everyone captured into a database.We anxiously look forward to the outcome of the investigation while we shall abide by publicly known position of Governor Kashim Shettima that anyone found having any connection with insurgents is an enemy of Borno State and its people, Mr. Zanna, said. President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met behind closed-doors with the immediate past Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, at the Presi... President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met behind closed-doors with the immediate past Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.Oshiomhole visited the President for the first time since leaving office last November.The ex-governors visit coincided with reports tipping him for the position of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), presently occupied by Babachir David Lawal, who is trying to clear his name from several alleged misconducts.Oshiomhole is also being touted for a ministerial job by political analysts and opinion leaders in the country.When State House correspondents asked him to speak on the purpose of his visit to the President, Oshiomhole said he was in the Villa to exchange pleasantries with President Buhari following the New Year celebration. The Federal Government has began payment of N5,000 monthly stipends to poor Nigerians in nine states. The Federal Government has began payment of N5,000 monthly stipends to poor Nigerians in nine states.The Programme is part of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) of the President Muhammadu Buharis administrations Social Investment Programmes (SIP) for which N500 billion was appropriated in the 2016 Budget.Many beneficiaries were reported to have started receiving their first payments last week Friday in the nine states making up the first batch.The nine states, according to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande,are Borno, Kwara, Bauchi, Cross Rivers, Niger, Kogi, Oyo, Ogun and Ekiti.Of the nine states, he said that Borno, Kwara and Bauchi have started receiving the money while the rest of the states would commence the CCT payments soon.He said: Funds for the commencement of the payments in four states were released last week to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) the platform that hosts and validates payments for all governments social intervention programmes. Funds for another set of five states to complete the first batch of nine states would follow soon.The sequence for the payment of the money would be operationally managed by NIBSS.The nine pilot states were chosen because they have an existing Social Register that successfully identified the most vulnerable and poorest Nigerians through a tried and tested community based targeting (CBT) method working with the World Bank.However other states have already begun developing their Social Registers and would be included in subsequent phases of the CCT implementation. He addedAccording to him, more beneficiaries of the CCT would be captured by the social registers already existing in 8 states.He said that the process was both transparent and credible.He said: Beneficiaries of the Conditional Cash Transfer of the Federal Government would be mined from the Social Register, initially developed by 8 States through a direct engagement with the World Bank. Those states are featured in the first batch, with the added inclusion of Borno States where a validated list of IDPS were compiled in addition to the Social Register which is expected to go round the country.Working with the World Bank, the CBT process has now been adopted for developing the Social Register in the other States around the country, for transparency, objectivity and credibility in the selection of the poorest and most vulnerable beneficiaries for the programme.The Federal Government will actually commence community mobilization for the creation of the Register in more States soon, to expand the scope and reach of the CCT across the country. He saidHe said states such as Plateau, Jigawa, Adamawa, Anambra, Benue, Enugu, Katsina and Taraba have so far complied with the stipulated framework provided, and are set for the community based targeting method for the development of their Social Register within their jurisdictions.The States, he said, are to be followed by Delta, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Imo and Ogun States.Once the community mobilization, identification and selection processes are completed, the information garnered from the poorest households would be entered onto the Social Register in the states and the National Register at NIBSS, after which the cash transfers would be disbursed to the beneficiaries.All the funds approved for the Federal Governments Social Investment Programmes, SIP, are domiciled with the Ministry of Budget and National Planning. In addition, the payment information and processes for all beneficiaries of the Federal Governments SIP are hosted at NIBSS, as the Consolidated Beneficiary Register, to ensure and fortify efforts at authentication and verification, as well as for effective and efficient programme management. He said.He recalled that the administration has also kicked off the N-Power programme where graduates numbering 200,000 were engaged and paid N30, 000 per month, National Homegrown School Feeding Programme and the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, (GEEP).He said that payment had already begun in States like Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Delta, Imo, Kwara, Kano, Katsina, Lagos, Osun, Oyo, Ogun, Kogi States and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.He said that the payment stopped temporary during the Yuletide but would be resumed soon.He said that the government is committed to touching more lives and get many homes out of poverty through the packages.He said: Besides the CCT, the N-Power Volunteer Corps designed to hire half a million unemployed graduates which has now engaged 200,000, and the National Homegrown School Feeding Programme now running in three states, the Buhari administration has also kicked-off the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, (GEEP).Under GEEP, soft loans ranging from N10,000 to 100,000 have been designed for artisans, traders, market women among others.Already, thousands of cooperatives, market women associations, farmers and enterprising youths, have been identified and registered for the purpose, on an ongoing basis, and the disbursement of the soft loans through the Bank of Industry have started since Nov 25, 2016.At the last count, for the first phase, beneficiaries have been drawn from the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Delta, Imo, Kwara, Kano, Katsina, Lagos, Osun, Oyo, Ogun and Kogi States.However, disbursements were halted and deferred until after the festive season. Vetting and approval of beneficiaries are now being continued through the month, with the expectation and plan that by month-end disbursements would have been made to 33,000 beneficiaries.Regarding the 200,000 beneficiaries of the N-Power programme, close to 50% of the graduates, have now been physically verified, and started receiving their monthly stipends of N30,000 last week. A second batch of 300,000 unemployed graduates are expected to be selected early this year to make up the half a million target set by the Buhari administration.The verified graduates are now being deployed to work as assistant teachers in schools, as community health aides and as agricultural extension workers, in more than 20 States of the Federation. These States include; Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Anambra, Benue, Cross Rivers, Borno, Gombe, Edo, Jigawa, Katsina, Plateau, Kogi, Osun, Rivers, Zamfara, Niger, Sokoto, Ogun and Taraba.Government has also started the implementation of the National Home-grown School Feeding programme designed to feed 5.5 million school children for 200 school days in the first phase of the programme.Although the initial design was to feed pupils in 18 States, funding challenges had affected an earlier take-off. But the programme has now commenced in Osun, Kaduna and Anambra States. More states are expected to join this new year.In the new year, it is the plan of the Federal Government to scale up the implementation of the SIP to touch the lives of millions of Nigerians in fulfillment of its promises and in furtherance of its Change agenda he stated. The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra on Monday warned the Igbo to beware of their romance with former Pre... The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra on Monday warned the Igbo tobeware of their romance with former President Olusegun Obasanjo.It described a recent closeness of Obasanjo to some Igbo leaders as ominous.It warned the Igbo, especially politicians, to be careful of their relationship with the former President.A statement made available to our correspondent by the leader of MASSOB, Uchenna Madu, read inpart His current political antics, romance and friendship in Igbo land is suspect and dangerous to thepolitical survival of Ndigbo in Nigeria.During his eight year tenure as Nigeria President, he consciously and wilfully created politicalproblems for Ndigbo.He initiated several political frustration against Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Imo states during the tenure of Orji Uzor Kalu, Chinwoke Mbadinuju, Chimaraoke Nnamani.Obasanjo denied Igbo land infrastructural development, he politically witch haunted our people.He also mesmerised Ndigbo by changing Igbo senators five times in office of Senate president.Today Igbo governors of Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu States are celebrating him by inviting him tocommissioned projects in their respective states.The agitators added that During his eight year rule, he never visited Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu orshowed concerns to his position as Igbo leader.The group alleged that Obasanjo was working secretly through some disgruntled Igbo politicians todestabilise the developing cohesion among Igbo leaders. The controversial Ponzi scheme, Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox (MMM), Nigeria subscribers are undaunted despite temporary closure of the operati... The controversial Ponzi scheme, Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox (MMM), Nigeria subscribers are undaunted despite temporary closure of the operations as they plan to meet with the House of Representatives committees on finance and banking and currency to seek for governments recognition of the scheme.The MMM community in Abuja, which is coordinating the planned meeting, said it hopes to submit a proposal for the amendment of the Banking and Other Financial Institutions Acts (BOFIA) to legalise the operations of the scheme and similar money initiatives in the country.A member of the steering committee of the MMM community, Chief Mike Chukwuma, who told New Telegraph, that MMM has helped immensely in easing the pains of recession.He said instead of discouraging Nigerians from participating in the financial self-help scheme, the government should rather legalise its activities so that it could be monitored and regulated.Recall that theHouse of representatives had, in November last year, passed a resolution seeking the abolition of the financial policy and probe of its promoters in the country.The resolution was sequel to the adoption of a motion moved by Saheed Akinade Fijabi (APC, Oyo) who lamented the widespread acceptance by Nigerians of the unregulated scheme, established in 1989 by three Russian nationals with a promise that participants would make 30 per cent on investment after 30 days. US President Barack Obama will deliver a farewell speech next week from his political stronghold of Chicago, one of the last times he wil... US President Barack Obama will deliver a farewell speech next week from his political stronghold of Chicago, one of the last times he will be able to advocate for his policies before the inauguration of Donald Trump.The Republican political novice has vowed to rip up key Obama initiatives such as the socalled Obamacare healthcare reform act, to back out of climate change agreements and to reassess ties with foreign allies and foes.Obama will hand over the reins of power to Trump on January 20.On Tuesday, January 10, Ill go home to Chicago to say my grateful farewell to you, even if you cant be there in person, Obama said in a short statement released Monday, noting that the tradition of a presidential farewell speech dates back to George Washington.Obama, who is returning to Washington on Monday after a twoweek family vacation in Hawaii, said he was just beginning to write his remarks.Im thinking about them as a chance to say thank you for this amazing journey, to celebrate the ways youve changed this country for the better these past eight years, and to offer some thoughts on where we all go from here, he said.On Sunday he said in a tweet: Its been the privilege of my life to serve as your President.I look forward to standing with you as a citizen.Obama celebrated his election to the White House eight years ago in front of a huge and ecstatic crowd in Chicago, his adopted hometown.He will deliver his speech next week from the McCormick Place convention center, the site of his victory speech after winning reelection in 2012. Teodorin Obiang, the eldest son of Equatorial Guineas president, was put on trial in absence on Monday in France. Teodorin Obiang, the eldest son of Equatorial Guineas president, was put on trial in absence on Monday in France.He is accused of buying palatial Parisian properties and exotic cars with money plundered from his native country, a small oil-rich state on Africas west coast.Mr Obiang, who is also a vice-president of the country, denied the charges of laundering embezzled public funds, which expose him to a sentence of 10 years in jail and huge fines if convicted.The case is the first of several to reach court in a broader judicial investigation into allegations of illicit acquisitions in France by long-time leaders and family relatives in several African countries including Gabon and Congo Republic.Obiang stayed away but his lawyer requested that the trial be suspended on the grounds that his client had not been given enough time to properly prepare his defence in a complex case, having been summoned to trial just three weeks ago.Were not talking about a moped theft charge, Emmanuel Marsigny, his lawyer in Paris, told Reuters.Among the acquisitions at the centre of the trial is a large property bought for 25 million Euros in 2005 on Pariss upmarket Avenue Foch, with gymnasium, hammam steam room, hair-dressing studio and a discotheque with cinema screen.In addition to luxury clothing and jewels, prosecutors say Mr. Obiang, 48, built up an exceptional collection of costly cars, which along with clothes, jewels and real estate took the value of all his assets to around 100 million Euros ($105 million).Mr. Obiang says his purchases were above-board.But prosecutors say the assets do not tally with his salary at the time of the purchases. According to a parallel U.S. inquiry, he earned $80,000 a year as farming and forestry minister, a post that obliged him to refrain from other business dealings.Beyond Mr. Obiangs case, the broader French probe known as the ill-gotten asset investigation concerns purchases in France by the family of Gabon leader Ali Bongo as well as Congo Republic leader Denis Sassou Nguesso.Those two strands of inquiry, police say, concern more than 60 properties in Paris and 200 bank accounts.The court said when it opened proceedings that it would decide on Wednesday whether the trial slated to end by mid-January would go ahead as planned or be suspended in response to the request from Obiangs lawyer. Gazebo New Jersey's estate tax is on the way out. (penywise/morguefile.com) Q. I have a trust, but with the change in the New Jersey estate tax, I don't think I will need it anymore. How can I decide if I should get rid of it and what do I do? -- Planning ahead A. It sounds like you need a visit with your estate planning attorney. Part of the question to consider is whether the trust has been funded. If it has, then before you terminate a trust that was established as part of your overall estate plan, you need to determine the tax consequences -- income and transfer tax -- of a termination, said Catherine Romania, an estate planning attorney with Witman Stadtmauer in Florham Park. Even if there is no immediate tax consequence, Romania said there may be other reasons to maintain the trust even though New Jersey is on schedule to repealed its estate tax effective Jan. 1, 2018. For example, it's possible that by 2018 or sometime after, the New Jersey legislature could reinstate the estate tax, Romania said. Another possibility is that you may move to a state that has an estate tax and then you'd need to recreate the trust, while keeping the trust intact does no harm. Alternatively, Romania said, the trust may have been established for reasons unrelated to taxes. "Some trusts are created to allow management and creditor protection of assets, especially if the beneficiaries are young or otherwise unable to handle large sums of money," she said. "If a beneficiary is disabled or is receiving certain government assistance, a trust may have been established as a special needs trust and therefore termination of such a trust and payment of monies outright to the beneficiary could cause a beneficiary to lose governmental benefits." In second marriages, sometimes trusts are funded to make sure the surviving spouse is cared for during his or her lifetime, but that any remainder passes to the children of the decedent's first marriage and not to the surviving spouse's children or other third parties, Romania said. Although New Jersey has eliminated its estate tax effective Jan. 1, 2018, there remains a federal estate and gift tax subject to an exemption of $5.49 million on Jan. 1, 2017. "President-elect Donald Trump has proposed changes to the federal estate and gift tax law which may influence your decision with respect to retaining the trust and/or an attorney's decision as to how to revise the trust, therefore, you may wish to wait until such proposed changes are specified before taking any action," Romania said. Also note that New Jersey's inheritance tax is sticking around, at least for now. Because there are many reasons for creating a trust in an estate plan and not all of them are for reduction of the New Jersey estate tax, talk to an attorney experienced in estate planning before unwinding a trust that was created as part of an overall estate plan, Romania said. "Failure to consider all of the consequences may result in taxes, additional costs, as well as other unanticipated outcomes," she said. Email your questions to Ask@NJMoneyHelp.com. Karin Price Mueller writes the Bamboozled column for NJ Advance Media and is the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Follow NJMoneyHelp on Twitter @NJMoneyHelp. Find NJMoneyHelp on Facebook. Sign up for NJMoneyHelp.com's weekly e-newsletter. UPDATE: 'I miss all my brothers,' injured soldier says PHILADELPHIA -- Police are investigating the alleged beating of a 19-year-old New Jersey man whose family claims he was targeted because of his U.S. Army service. Lori Freni told Fox29 that her son, Austin Freni, was attacked while walking with her after the Mummers parade on New Year's Day by a group of young men who made comments to him about his army jacket. He is now being treated for a broken jaw and other injuries at Jefferson University Hospital, police confirmed. His mother, of the Atco section of Waterford Township, told the station that his jaw will have to be wired shut for eight weeks. It's not clear what the injuries will mean for his future service in the army. Austin Freni, a recent Hammonton High School graduate, was home for the holidays from Fort Benning in Georgia and was preparing to deploy to the Middle East, his mother told Fox29. Sgt. Eric Gripp, a spokesman for the Philadelphia Police Department, said the incident reportedly occurred on the corner of Oregon Avenue and 3rd Street at 11:09 p.m. on Jan. 1. Witnesses told police that a group or 11 or 12 men started making comments to the victim about the army and, after what Gripp called an "exchange of words," the men started beating the victim in the face and body. Lori Freni also told the television station that she and her son's girlfriend were also hit in the face as they tried to pull the men off of her son. Gripp said two witnesses, whom he could not name, were treated for minor injuries. Gripp said the preliminary police report did not indicate how, or if, the group of men fled the scene. He said he has not heard of any other recent reports of soldiers or veterans being targeted in Philadelphia. Investigators are now looking for surveillance video footage to help them identify the young men, he said. Police are also asking anyone who witnessed the incident to contact police. Tips can be submitted via telephone at (215) 686-TIPS, by texting a tip to PPD TIP or 773847, or with an online form. Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook. BRIDGETON -- A Cedarville man accused of killing his estranged wife is scheduled to make his first appearance in court Wednesday afternoon. New Jersey State Police arrested Jeremiah Monell, 32, in Folsom Monday after a two-week manhunt. Monell was charged with the murder of Tara O'Shea-Watson after she was found stabbed in her Commercial Township residence on Dec. 19. An unidentified witness contacted troopers at Buena Vista station around 2:45 p.m. Monday that Monell was seen in the area of Folsom, a tiny borough area. Police found Monell in a wooded area off the Black Horse Pike -- behind a pizzeria -- and was arrested without incident. After his arrest, he was taken to the hospital to be evaluated. According to State Police, Monell was still at Inspira Medical Center Vineland as of Tuesday afternoon. A medical evaluation is not unusual for someone on the run for that long, said SFC Gregory Williams. A $3,500 reward was being offered for information leading to Monell's arrest. The amount was pooled together from New Jersey State Police and Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office. When asked Tuesday afternoon, police offered no details as to whether an individual will receive the reward. Monell is scheduled to appear before Judge Cristen D'Arrigo in Cumberland County Superior Court on Wednesday. In addition to murder, Monell is charged with weapons offenses and violating a restraining order. According to friends of 35-year-old O'Shea-Watson, Monell was abusive to his estranged wife and she was a victim of domestic violence. "I would like to say on behalf of all Tara O'Shea's family and friends, we are extremely grateful for the hard work and dedication of the New Jersey State Police and everyone that helped catch Monell," said Jen Messeck, a friend of O'Shea-Watson. "We pray for justice in this case and Tara's story to live on!" According to court records, Monell allegedly stabbed O'Shea-Watson repeatedly on Dec. 18. Authorities arrived the next morning after her son found his mother's body and ran to the neighbors for help, according to the 911 tape. Later that day, Monell was charged with the death of his estranged wife and a manhunt commenced. The search for Monell was concentrated in a wooded area of Lawrence Township after authorities found his truck ditched near some railroad tracks. Don E. Woods may be reached at dwoods@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @donewoods1. Find NJ.com on Facebook. The massive two-week manhunt for a man accused of killing his estranged wife last month ended Monday with his capture, State Police said. Authorities arrested Jeremiah Monell, 32, of Cedarville, in Folsom, a small borough in Atlantic County, in a wooded areas off Route 322. A witness contacted New Jersey State Police about Monell's whereabouts at 2:45 p.m. Monday. He is accused of killing 35-year-old Tara O'Shea-Watson at her Commercial Township residence on Dec. 18. She was found unconscious the following morning and pronounced dead. Later that day, Monell was charged with her murder. According to the 911 call to police about O'Shea-Watson's death, her son found her stabbed and ran to a neighbor's house for help. Authorities searched for Monell and focused part of their search in Lawrence Township, where Monell's truck was found ditched near railroad tracks in the wooded area by Factory Road. According to court records, Monell violated a restraining order by showing up at O'Shea-Watson's residence in the Laurel Lake section of Commercial Township and was involved in a domestic dispute that led to her death. He was also charged with weapons offenses and will be held in the Cumberland County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail. As the search continued for Monell, New Jersey State Police posted a $1,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office added an additional $2,500 to that amount -- totaling $3,500. According to friends and family, O'Shea-Watson was planning on moving to Tennessee with her two children that she had with Monell to escape him and that she was a victim of domestic violence. A funeral was held for O'Shea-Watson on Dec. 23. A vigil was held in front of her residence on Dec. 22. Monell was taken to a local hospital for a medical evaluation before being transported to jail. Don E. Woods may be reached at dwoods@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @donewoods1. Find NJ.com on Facebook. NEWARK -- Officers busted a drug deal on the street in Newark on Monday and arrested the buyer and a dealer who tossed a loaded, high-capacity weapon as he tried to flee, police said. Joseph Brown, left, was arrested Monday on drug and weapons charges, and Vershawn Griffin, on drug charges, Newark Police said. Newark detectives assigned to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Narcotics Task Force saw the drug deal on West End Avenue just after 12 p.m., the city's public safety director, Anthony Ambrose, said. Ambrose said the detectives moved in and arrested the buyer, Vershawn D. Griffin, 46, of Newark, without incident. He was charged with possession of heroin. The dealer, Joseph Brown, 24, of Newark, tried to flee on foot, and tossed away a 9 mm handgun loaded with 16 rounds as he ran, Ambrose said. Brown was caught and faces multiple drug and weapons charges. Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Sandra is a 61-year-old woman from Guatemala who has been suffering from a schizophrenia/paranoid disorder since she was in her early 20s. At one time in her life, she was hospitalized in a New York hospital for eight months due to a severe psychotic episode. After her release, she became pregnant and did not know who was the father of her child. Because of her illness and her inability to take her medication because she lacked medical insurance, her baby was removed from her care and her sister was given full custody through the New York Family Court. Throughout her adult life, Sandra was admitted to several psychiatric hospitals. When she moved to New Jersey, she sought help from the Family Service Bureau, where she has remained many years receiving psychotherapy, medications and referrals for housing and an adult medical center, which she attends five days a week. At the moment, she lives comfortably in a housing project, has secured furniture, medical insurance and is socializing and complying with her appointments. She has taken upon herself the task of helping others in need and is fully committed to it. With the support of therapy and medications, her condition has radically improved. The Family Service Bureau would like for her to continue on this path to being independent. With the help of the Greater Newark Holiday Fund, Family Service Bureau will be able to continue to serve individuals such as Sandra. To make a donation to the Greater Newark Holiday Fund, visit 2016.holidayfund.org/nj. For more stories about the Greater Newark Holiday Fund, click here. Emaciated puppy NJSPCA.jpg This emaciated puppy was found with two adult dogs in an apartment where animal welfare officials said they had been left to die. (NJSPCA) An emaciated "skin and bones" puppy found abandoned in a New Jersey apartment with two adult dogs is recovering well and the investigation remains ongoing into the ownership of the dogs, authorities said Monday. The discovery of the dogs by state Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on New Year's Eve prompted criticism of a municipal animal control officer who initially refused to take the dogs due to the holiday weekend and lack of room at a local animal shelter. The SPCA has declined to identify the town or the animal control officer involved, saying only that the apartment is in Central Jersey. "SPCA staff found this response completely unacceptable and reminded the ACO (animal control officer) that as a full-time employee with a salary and benefits, the ACO is mandated by state law to provide animal control services 24 hours a day, seven days a week," the NJSPCA said in a statement Sunday. NJSPCA spokesman Matt Stanton said Monday in a text that the puppy is recovering well at rescue facility. The puppy was described as "skin and bones" and in need of urgent medical care. In the statement, the NJSPCA did not identify the animal control officer or the city where the dogs were found. However, multiple online commenters named the city as Trenton, which was later confirmed by a source familiar with the case. A city spokesman did not return requests for comment on Monday. Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook. A 21-year-old New Jersey man allegedly threatened to kill his former girlfriend, a male friend of hers and shoot up the college in Pennsylvania she attends, according to a report. Jamie J. Zannino, of Manchester, is charged with six misdemeanors -- counts of terroristic threats, three counts of harassment, and one count of stalking, DailyLocal.com reported. The woman, also a New Jersey resident, showed West Chester University police texts messages she received from Zannino, the report said. He also made threats by phone, authorities allege. Police learned of the alleged threats after being contacted by the woman's mother in early December. In one text, Zannino wrote that he would mail Pfister her friend's head and have a scavenger hunt for his body parts. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. By Susan Russell In a sharply criticized opinion, an appellate panel in New Brunswick allowed the state Fish and Game Council to continue its pretense that a modified steel-jaw leg-hold trap is not a steel-jaw leg-hold trap. The tweaked trap has spring-loaded, co-acting jaws that clamp shut with 60 pounds of force on the leg or foot of an animal. That is the core function of any steel-jaw trap, and why the device breaches state law that bans any "type" of steel-jaw leg-hold trap. The council claimed that the jaw isn't really a jaw because "only one part moves" and got away with it. The court's decision was "absurd, " wrote the state's largest newspaper. "Dishonest" said another. The Assembly had already voted, twice, to invalidate the regulation because it violated the plain language and intent of the law. What happened? Deference. Typically, courts allow automatic and, some say, excessive leeway to administrative bureaucracies. The ruling is the result of a deference that was too casual and too broad. The council is not objective; it represents only special interests, in this case commercial trappers, not the public. The council nominates the director of the Division of Fish and Wildlife, which "serves" the council. Legislative and legal records unexamined by the judges show that the council and division worked with the fur trade to regulate a modified leg-hold trap in 1985. Then, as now, they contended that the device was "technically different" from the outlawed traps. The tactic of moving a few parts around and giving the trap a new name is called "hypertechnical." The Kean administration wouldn't allow it. Attorney General Irwin Kimmelman informed the council that the ban is "absolute, " "unambiguous, " and applies to "technical modifications." The report upon which the Appellate Court panel relied was written by a division employee described as a member of the small trapping club that requested the trap in the first place. In 1985 and 2016, the council, division, and commercial trappers used trap tests coordinated by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, a group that represents state wildlife employees and the industries they regulate. The association's recent tests were performed by fur trappers with no real supervision. Its so-called "best management practices" involved only industry - trappers' groups and the Fur Institute of Canada. The latter represents commercial fur sealers, trappers, fur farmers, wholesale fur dealers, fur manufacturers-processors, fur retailers and support industries. The industry's "Meet the Fur Trade" featured the Association employee who oversaw the trap research and testing. His photograph appears under the heading, "Meet more of our family." It is hardly surprising that in 1985, the attorney general called this group and its earlier tests "biased." Tests involved irregularities, and injuries sustained by animals were "serious" and "painful." Incredibly, the appellate panel based its decision entirely on the council and division's report and the association's representations and tests ("scientific literature"), allowing both to supersede the New Jersey law that a different attorney general and court protected in 1985. This is not the 1930s, when such coziness between regulators and trade was business as usual. The Legislature was clear in what it sought to ban. It twice rejected amendments to exempt a modified leg-hold trap from the scope of the law. The Assembly changed amendment language to ensure that the ban was not limited to leg-hold traps then "currently in use" but to future models as well. As noted in the Superior Court's 1986 opinion, these changes "clearly indicate" that the "Legislature did not intend to permit use of, or even the study of, modification of steel-jaw traps. Clearly, these amendments are highly probative of the Legislature's intent to prohibit all traps of the steel-jaw leghold type." The Superior Court further held that the act "banned all jawed leghold traps." The Appellate Division's presumption that only fur trappers, game managers and the trade are entitled to pronounce on the traps, let alone their cruelty, defies credulity and modernity.The traps are banned as unspeakably inhumane worldwide. In any event, trade opinions are immaterial: the controlling law is that ordinary meaning applies. The public is left with a ransacked law. It is time that the deference pendulum swing toward duly enacted statutes. Susan Russell is wildlife policy director for the Animal Protection League of New Jersey and a former vice president for wildlife of Friends of Animals. The following exchange between former New Jersey governors Brendan T. Byrne and Tom Kean took place via telephone prior to the holidays. Q: Looking back on 2016, with Brexit and Donald Trump and other developments, do you see a fundamental attitude shift in the citizenry in Western democracies? GOV. BYRNE: No. We're seeing a lot of cynicism right now, so maybe that's a shift in attitude. But I don't think it's fundamental. GOV. KEAN: There are serious problems. Large numbers of people are dissatisfied with their governments. Machines are replacing people's jobs. Globalization is also costing workers money. Income inequality is spreading. Folks are questioning whether traditional democracies are what it takes to solve the problems they and their families face. Q: Democrats are looking badly battered as we enter a new year and administration. How does the party revitalize itself? BYRNE: Well, we've got to come up with some peppier candidates for office, for one thing. I thought the Democrats were going along very well, but all of a sudden the party is in stagnation. But I think we'll see some good gubernatorial candidates who will put Democrats back in the running. KEAN: Democrats just need to clear out the old leaders and make room for the new. People 65 and over, like the Clintons, Sanders, Pelosi and Elizabeth Warren need to move aside. When they do, you'll see the new Democratic Party emerge. Q: Do you see anyone out there now who could be a future leadership voice for Democrats? BYRNE: In terms of New Jersey, I think Tom Byrne could be a voice for Democrats. I'm not sure he wants to do it, but he could. Nationally, there are strong leaders like Cory Booker out there. KEAN: Yes, there are a lot of new leaders in the Democratic Party and we're starting to hear their voices. In New Jersey, Tom Byrne, certainly, as well as Cory Booker and Phil Murphy. In other states you have young congressmen and some emerging governors. I have no worries about the Democrats. Q: Internationally, should we expect that foreign governments and organizations will be looking to test the new administration early, and if so, could this have security implications? BYRNE: Perhaps there will be testing, but I don't see security implications being involved. But I defer to you on that, Tom. KEAN: I expect Russia, China and a number of other countries to test the Trump administration in the first six or eight months of the new year. If they respond to those tests with a calm strength and resolve, we will be just fine. Q: Does the fact Gov. Christie wanted to start writing a book while he was still in office offer any support to the charges that he's lost some interest in the job he was elected to do? BYRNE: Lots of elected officials write books while in office. Bill Bradley wrote one when he was a U.S. Senator. Cory Booker published a book last year. New Jersey has a law against profiting from a book while you're a sitting governor, but I don't think Christie wanting to write one means he's lost interest in his job. KEAN: I wrote a book as governor. Nobody paid much attention. But the state's facing big problems. In his last year, the governor can work to ameliorate these, or he can try to avoid them and leave them to his successor. That's going to be the test of whether Christie has lost interest. Q: At some point, is some New Jersey governor going to have to take fiscal actions that are enormously unpopular, like a big tax increase or a big cut in services? BYRNE: Very likely. But every major commitment has its unpopular aspects. KEAN: I don't see the chance of a big tax increase in the immediate future. We already have some of the highest taxes in the country. Further increases will cost jobs and people. If, however, we don't face up to the pension crisis, then there may have to be cuts of services we now enjoy. Q: Two think tanks have reported that New Jersey has one of the largest income gaps between rich and poor. Is this a cause for concern or just a function of our demographics? BYRNE: It's a concern, but it's also the demographics. Geographically, we're a small state with poor cities and rich suburbs, so income disparity is a natural aspect of the landscape. KEAN: This is a problem facing all the western democracies. We've got to act to lessen the gap, but I don't believe there's a lot we can do in New Jersey. It's going to take national or even international action. Follow NJ.com Opinion on Twitter@NJ_Opinion. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. WASHINGTON -- The 115th Congress convenes Tuesday with Republicans controlling both the House and Senate, albeit with smaller majorities than in the just-concluded 114th Congress. The New Jersey congressional delegation will have one new face, Democrat Josh Gottheimer, the former White House speechwriter who ousted seven-term incumbent Republican Rep. Scott Garrett in the 5th District. Gottheimer will be sworn into office Tuesday with a target on his back; his district is sure to be one of the House Republicans' top priorities in 2018. The state also will get its first full committee chairmanship since the House GOP leadership removed Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th Dist.) as head of the Veterans Affairs Committee in 2005 for defying the Republicans and supporting more funding for veterans. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11th Dist.) will take over the chairmanship of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, which writes the annual legislation funding the federal government. Here are five questions about the 115th Congress. 1. What are the priorities of the Republican Congress? Both incoming President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have promised to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would take away health insurance from more than 20 million Americans, as soon as possible. In New Jersey, 528,000 individuals would lose the coverage they now receive under Medicaid, according to N.J. Policy Perspective, and another 205,242 individuals would no longer receive the tax credits that allows them to afford health insurance, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. 2. Will the Democrats do to Trump what the Republicans did to Obama? Groucho Marx's ditty, "Whatever it is, I'm against it," could have been the theme song of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky during the six years the GOP was in the minority during President Barack Obama's administration. McConnell and Senate Republicans required a supermajority of 60 votes to pass any legislation, preventing Obama from enacting his agenda and holding up dozens of appointments to his administration. New Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer of New York now is in the same position as McConnell was. While Schumer has expressed a willingness to work with Trump on issues such as rebuilding U.S. roads and bridges, he and the other Democrats also are expected to oppose Trump's tax cut plan and efforts to roll back environmental, consumer and banking regulations. They have 48 seats in the Senate, more than enough to filibuster legislative proposals and a U.S. Supreme Court nominee who they deem out of the judicial mainstream. 3. Will the Republican Congress stand up to Trump? Much of the GOP establishment shunned Trump during the primaries and general election but most have fallen in line behind him since Nov. 8. Congressional Republicans are aligned with Trump in eliminating the Affordable Care Act and in cutting taxes on corporations and the wealthiest Americans. Those actions would increase the federal deficit. On some issues, however, there are enough Senate Republicans with an independent streak, such as Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona, and Susan Collins of Maine, who could cross party lines and join Democrats in blocking some of Trump's nominees and proposals. In the House, a group of conservative Republicans have opposed federal spending under Obama in order to reduce the federal deficit. Will they apply the same test to Trump? 4. Will New Jersey have more clout on Capitol Hill? In a word, yes, thanks to Frelinghuysen ascending to the Appropriations chairmanship. In addition, Rep. Leonard Lance (R-7th Dist.) will gain in seniority on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee and Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-9th Dist.) will become the second most senior Democrat on the House Budget Committee, which will be in the forefront of the battles against Trump's spending priorities. Pascrell joined Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th Dist.), the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on the Democratic panel that makes appointments to House committees. That gives the state two voices to advocate for their New Jersey colleagues to fill vacancies on the House panels. In the last Congress, the state was ranked 23rd of the 50 states in clout despite being 11th in population, according to an analysis by NJ Advance Media. 5. What role with Sen. Cory Booker play? Booker (D-N.J.), who was on the short list of Hillary Clinton's vice-presidential candidates, already is talked about as a potential Democratic presidential nominee in 2020, the same year he would have to run for re-election to the Senate. His prime-time address at the 2016 Democratic National Convention garnered him national attention and he has been a oft-requested speaker before progressive groups. He already has called on his allies to "speak truth to power, fiercely defend those who are bullied, belittled, demeaned or degraded, and tenaciously fight for all people and the ideals we cherish." In the new Congress, Booker will sit on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, helping him develop some foreign policy expertise in advance of the next presidential election. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook Springsteen Clinton Bruce Springsteen performs during a rally for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at Independence Mall in Philadelphia on Nov 7, 2016. (Lori M. Nichols | For NJ.com) TRENTON -- Bruce Springsteen was openly critical of Donald Trump in the months leading up to the 2016 presidential election, dismissing him as a "moron" and a "flagrant, toxic narcissist." Now, the politically minded New Jersey rocker says he's feeling afraid as Trump, a Republican, prepares to be sworn in as America's 45th president later this month. "I've felt disgust before, but never the kind of fear that you feel now," Springsteen, a famed liberal, said this week during an appearance on on Marc Maron's "WTF" podcast. "It's as simple as the fear of is someone simply competent enough to do this particular job? Forget about where they are ideologically. Do they simply have the pure competence to be put in the position of such responsibility?" But don't expect Springsteen to unleash a protest album as Trump, a former Atlantic City casino mogul, assumes the White House. "I haven't written about it," the Freehold native said of Trump's victory. "It takes a while to digest all those things. I don't know if I will, 'cause, I don't go, 'Okay, I need a Trump album. That's what's got to come next.'" Despite his trepidation, Springsteen said he has faith that "America is still America." "I still believe in its ideals, and I'm going to do my best to play my very, very small part in maintaining those things," he said. Springsteen has long backed Democratic candidates, playing concerts supporting the presidential campaigns of John Kerry, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton over the last 12 years. He and fellow Jersey icon Jon Bon Jovi played at a rally for Clinton, Trump's opponent, in Philadelphia a day before Election Day. A Gallup poll released Monday shows a majority of U.S. adults have little or no confidence that Trump would be able to prevent a major scandal in his administration, use military force wisely, or handle an international crisis. Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Sean O'Flaherty of Connecticut Farms Boy Scout Troop 68 of Union received the rank of Eagle Scout on December 7, 2016. Sean crossed over into Troop 68 in 2011 after completing his Arrow of Light Award as a Cub Scout in Pack 68. Scouting has been a part of his life for a long time. As a Boy Scout he has completed 28 merit badges and served as a Den Chief and Assistant Patrol Leader. He has camped for 76 nights and hiked over 16 miles. Sean's Eagle Project was completed at Saint Joseph's Social Service Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey. His project involved cleaning, painting, building shelves and painting the floor in a storage room at the center. The project was completed in two months with about 160 hours of service time with the help of family and friends. "I chose St. Joseph's because I had volunteered there on several occasions at the Saturday soup kitchens, and saw a need for shelves and a closet that would help organize their many donations." said O'Flaherty. O'Flaherty is a junior at Union High School. He is a member of marching band and plays the trombone for the school's jazz band. He is currently visiting colleges and planning out his next journey in life. This item was submitted by Dawn O'Flaherty. Welcome to non league daily news now - your number one spot for all things relating to the National League System. Our dedicated reporters have come straight from the sidelines to bring you news fresh from the dugout - but not before theyve stopped off at the burger van first! We know that non league football fans are full of heart, passion, and belief. You trust the manager, you believe in the team, and, for some strange reason, you trust those rickety stands, too! Here at Non League Daily, we hope we can become your trusted non league news resource - a platform thats just as passionate about non league daily news now as you. Come rain or shine, well be out reporting on the latest non league fixtures. Well also be scouring the news, refreshing social media, and sourcing information from team websites in the hopes of finding the latest breaking non league daily news for our readers. As youll soon see, weve got exclusive match reports on the Vanarama National League, weve got transfer speculation thatll affect the National League South, weve found great stories thatll spice up the National League North, and weve even got news on the latest giant killers of the FA Cup. We may not be able to agree on who is going up this year, but we can all agree that any news on the NLS worth knowing will be published here, at Non League Daily. Environmentalists plan a rally next week in downtown Hammond for the "Whiting 41" activists who were arrested for trespassing during a protest of the BP Whiting Refinery in May 2016. The demonstration will take place during the final hearing on their legal case, which is set for Jan. 13 at the Lake Superior Court in Hammond. Their attorney, Roy Dominguez, said Tuesday the Lake County Prosecutor's Office agreed to dismiss criminal charges against all of the activists and put them in a pre-trial diversion program that will require a fine and good behavior for six months. Police in riot gear arrested the climate change activists last spring while they sat in a circle, chanted and sang in front of the main refinery gate as part of a global Break Free from Fossil Fuels campaign pushing for a shift to renewable energy. Protesters have repeatedly targeted the BP Whiting Refinery after a $4.2 billion project that enabled it to process heavier Canadian tar sands oils was completed in late 2013. The heavier crude produces more byproducts like petcoke that environmentalists object to. BP says it is making ongoing investments to make the refinery more environmentally friendly, including a new hydrotreater that will reduce the amount of sulfur in the gasoline it makes. The refinery supplies gasoline to seven Midwestern states. Local environmental activists plan a rally in support of the Break Free from Fossil Fuels protesters outside of the courthouse at 232 Russell Street in Hammond at 9 a.m. Friday, Jan. 13. "This will be a fun, non-confrontational event," organizers said in an announcement. "Bring your singing voices. There will be a choir, a band, and street theater." The protesters then plan to march to U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly's office in the Federal Plaza to insist he reject cabinet nominees who deny climate change. "350 Indiana-Calumet and other regional activist groups are organizing a rally on the day of the hearing to show our support of the 'Whiting 41,' and also to visibly demonstrate that the election of two climate change deniers and free speech suppressionists to the White House will not deter our commitment to organize and speak out in defense of all life on the planet,'" the Gary-based climate change activist group 350 Indiana-Calumet said in announcement. PORTAGE A Portage man was looking for the police station Sunday morning when he was stopped by police. Jerry Bartholomew, 35, had come home Sunday morning and gotten into an argument with his wife, according to a police report. The fight became physical and when he pushed her down, she threatened to call police. He threw her phone and then said "he would just go to the police himself," the wife told officers. Less than an hour later police stopped Bartholomew in the area of Irving Street and Swan Avenue, the site of the former police station. He wasn't aware the department had recently moved to a new station on Central Avenue. According to the officer, Bartholomew said he was trying to find a police officer because he was concerned his wife was going to make a false claim of domestic abuse. Instead, Bartholomew, who seemed intoxicated and registered a 0.139 on a portable breath test, nearly twice the legal limit, was charged with three counts of operating while intoxicated and transported to Porter County Jail. INDIANAPOLIS Gov.-elect Eric Holcomb can hardly wait to get started on implementing his agenda that he believes will take the state "to the next level." The Republican, who will be sworn in as Indiana's 51st governor on Jan. 9 at the state fairgrounds, said he didn't expect at the start of 2016 that he'd become the state's chief executive in 2017 but he's ready for it. "There will be no higher honor in my life, right up there with wearing that Navy uniform, than serving as your governor," Holcomb said. "I take both the trust and the responsibility that Hoosiers have placed in me seriously, and I'm chomping at the bit to lead this team." Holcomb declared at December's Bingham Greenebaum Doll Legislative Conference that his four-year term will "relentlessly be focused, every day, to make Indiana a jobs magnet. "We've laid a strong foundation. Where we sit right now bodes well ... for where we are going. In this world of uncertainty, Indiana has become a place of certainty," Holcomb said. "We've become a national model for advanced manufacturing, for aeronautics and defense development, for precision agriculture and life sciences." Going forward, Holcomb vowed to continue telling Indiana's story: that Hoosiers believe in "hard work, playing by the rules, getting the basics right and playing to your strengths," so "new companies plant their flags on our Hoosier soil and existing companies continue to reinvest and grow and innovate right here in the heart of the heartland." Legi session convenes Thursday The governor-to-be plans to announce the specifics of his legislative agenda on Thursday after both the Republican-controlled House and Senate convene for their four-month sessions. He said his plan will cover five key areas that Holcomb believes are essential to ensuring Indiana is not just competing but also winning on the world stage starting with strengthening and diversifying the state's economy. "If we don't get our economic ecosystem in place," Holcomb said, "we can't do much of anything else." He then wants to invest in "transformational" infrastructure projects, such as double-tracking the South Shore commuter rail line between Gary and Michigan City, that will pay long-term dividends in terms of new residents, businesses and state tax revenue. "Being the Crossroads of America is not just a motto to us. It has to be our mission," Holcomb said. "We have to continue to further leverage one of our greatest assets location, location, location if we're going to continue to be a national logistics leader." Holcomb also believes Indiana needs to put in place programs, including pre-kindergarten, to recruit, educate and train a "21st century workforce" that can capably fill the projected 1 million job vacancies in the state over the next 10 years. In addition, he said Indiana must "kill the drug epidemic that our state is grappling with" and restore the commitment to "deliver good state government at great taxpayer value" by measuring everything the state does, keeping what works and dumping what doesn't. Holcomb will try to persuade legislators and Hoosiers alike to embrace his goals on Jan. 17 when he delivers his first State of the State address to a joint session of the General Assembly and a statewide television audience. He said he is confident that his plan truly is what Hoosiers want for their lives and what Indiana needs for its future. "As I travel throughout our beautiful state, I'm constantly both inspired and reminded that we do indeed live in a very special place and at a very special time, all because of what people are doing each and every day," Holcomb said. MICHIANA SHORES A recently released audit alleges bookkeeping and other financial reporting errors at the town from 2011 to 2014. According to the Indiana State Board of Accounts, two former town clerk-treasurers should be charged a total of more than $11,000 for shortfalls in cash balances along with penalties, interest and fees. The audit, released Dec. 29, states Patrick Margraf should be held accountable for $1,713. in penalties, interest and fees. Margraf served from January 2012 to December 2013. Margraf did not return a call for comment. The audit also calls for the collection of $9,961 from Steven Millick, who served from January 2008 to December 2011. Millick died July 20. According to the audit, Millick was not preparing bank reconciliations and ledgers were not maintained. Additionally, penalties, interest and fees were paid to the Internal Revenue Service, the Indiana Department of Revenue, the LaPorte County Sheriffs Department and a collection agency for late payment and reporting of withholding taxes. About $7,800 of penalties and fees were reported during Millicks tenure. Margraf racked up $1,713 in fees and penalties during his tenure, the audit states. The audit also outlines a series of other record keeping and procedural errors. From 2011 to 2013, receipts were not written for every collection of money by the town. Of those collected, 90 percent were for water surcharges and refuse collection. Receipts were not issued for county tax distributions, interest income, cell tower collections and state distributions. Payroll earnings records were not available for examination. Auditors found gas, electric and telephone services, along with wages for Street Department employees, were paid from the local road and street fund, which, according to state law, cannot be used for utility or wage payment. The audit also found errors in the billing of water customers and for garbage collection. A 1992 ordinance set a rate of $75 per user per year, but the clerk-treasurer's office billed users $95 per year in 2011, 2012 and 2013. A 1981 ordinance set a garbage collection fee of $100 per year. Auditors found in 2014 the town billed water customers $100 for the year and $95 for garbage collection. The errors meant water customers were overcharged $25 for the year, and refuse customers were undercharged $5 for the year. In 2013 and 2014, tax dollars collected by LaPorte County were disbursed into the towns general fund and rainy day fund, not to various individual funds specified by the county auditor. The audit has been forwarded to the state attorney generals office for review. CROWN POINT J.B. Whitelow Jr. was sentenced Tuesday to 35 years in prison in the killing eight years ago of childhood friend Jurrel Butler in Hammond. Whitelow's sentence will be served consecutive to an 89-year prison sentence the 34-year-old defendant is currently serving for the murder of a security guard at a bar in Hammond. Butler's mother, Ella Anderson, told the court at Tuesday's sentencing hearing she initially refused to believe Whitelow shot her son, because Butler had known Whitelow since middle school. Why did you do it, Anderson asked Whitelow. You never even had a squabble. Butler, 27, was found dead of gunshot wounds Dec. 27, 2008, in a van parked in the 3400 block of Stevens Court in Hammond. Whitelow was identified as a suspect after a witness told police Whitelow admitted to shooting Butler and robbing him of marijuana and $2,000. Whitelow initially pleaded guilty to murder in Butler's killing and was sentenced in August 2010 to 45 years in prison, but that conviction was overturned on appeal, according to court records. Whitelow entered his new plea Dec. 16 to voluntary manslaughter with a deadly weapon in an agreement with prosecutors, records state. Whitelow is currently incarcerated for the murder of 40-year-old Eric Lowe, a security guard shot and killed on Sept. 21, 2008, at McTavern's bar, which has since closed. A third murder charge was filed against Whitelow in 2006, but it was dismissed after the disappearance of a state witness. Whitelow has also been convicted in Illinois of armed robbery and unlawful possession of a handgun. MERRILLVILLE The town had a strong round of road construction in 2016. Merrillville saw three large projects become substantially completed during the year with Mississippi Street, 73rd Avenue and Madison Street each widened and reconstructed. Town Councilman Shawn Pettit said each of the projects bring their own benefits. The Mississippi work, which increased the size of the road to four lanes from 83rd Avenue to just south of 93rd Avenue, addresses a capacity issue and is expected to bring more economic development there, Pettit said. A Holiday Inn Express is being built at 8460 Mississippi St., and Pettit believes more development will come in the future. We'll continue to see more activity, he said. Improving traffic flow was among the objectives of the 73rd Avenue and Madison Street projects, Pettit said. To accomplish that, center turn lanes have been added to the two roads to help alleviate congestion. Town Manager Bruce Spires said the installation of an underground drainage system also was a large improvement during the Madison Street project. The 73rd Avenue work occurred between Madison Street and Interstate 65. The construction area on Madison included an area 100 feet north of 80th Place to 73rd Avenue. Although the three projects are substantially completed, there is some additional work left to finalize them. Pettit said a retaining wall needs to be created along Mississippi Street. Spires said landscaping will take place on Madison to finish that project. All of the work should take place in the spring, he said. The Mississippi improvements had a price tag of more than $9 million, and federal funding was used to pay for 80 percent of it. The town used Mississippi Street tax increment financing district dollars to pay its portion. The 73rd Avenue and Madison Street work cost about $6 million and was funded with town TIF money. LAPORTE A heavily intoxicated man was accused of killing a pet donkey during a domestic dispute with his girlfriend Sunday, according to LaPorte County Sheriff's Office. At around 9 p.m., sheriff's deputies responded to a domestic disturbance in the 8600 block of North Wilhelm Road to find the boyfriend and girlfriend arguing, the report states. Both were intoxicated, and the female accused the male of physically battering her. One of the deputies then came upon a domestic donkey that was bleeding from the head. Before a veterinarian could arrive, the donkey died. He was named Jack, was approximately 5 years old and had been shot in the head near the left eye. Olvydas Abromavicius, of Union Pier, Michigan, was charged with class A misdemeanor domestic battery as well as domestic violence animal cruelty, a level 6 felony, for killing "a vertebrate animal with the intent to threaten, intimidate, coerce, harass, or terrorize a family or household member." Abromavicius was initially taken to LaPorte Hospital due to a high level of intoxication before being booked into the LaPorte County Jail on $1,505 cash bond; his blood alcohol level was reported at the hospital to be 0.3 percent. He is scheduled to appear Tuesday in LaPorte Superior Court. Community Civility Counts will hold its second annual World Civility Day events on Thursday, April 13, 2017. A full-day of civility-themed activities and an awards dinner in the evening will be held at the Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond and Avalon Manor in Merrillville. Community Civility Counts started as a partnership of the Gary Chamber of Commerce and The Times Media Co. in 2015 and has been expanding. The idea began in the Gary Chamber, and the initiative was announced at a press conference in Gary. As the executive director of the Gary Chamber of Commerce and speaking on behalf of our board of directors, I am elated over the scope and success of the Community Civility Counts initiative, said Chuck Hughes. We could not have envisioned early on that CCC would now be recognized in several areas of the world. Its first World Civility Day event, April 14, 2016, was sold out with 300 people from Indiana and nine other states and three countries. UN Ambassador Dr. Clyde Rivers gave the keynote address at the packed Majestic Star Casino ballroom in Gary. Dr. Rivers is expected to return for the second World Civility Day. We hope to attract representatives of more civility-themed groups this year and provide networking opportunities as well as takeaways for all guests, said Bob Heisse, editor of The Times Media Co. World Civility Day on April 13. 2017, will include a kickoff lunch and workshops at the Indiana Welcome Center. Workshop themes will include civility in the classroom and workplace civility. The dinner, held at the Avalon Manor, will include featured speakers and the first awards presented by Community Civility Counts. The National Civility Center is a partner and sponsor of the day. In recent months, The Times Media Co. has won the Associated Press Media Editors Innovator of the Year Award and a Lee Enterprises Presidents Award for the Community Civility Counts initiative. Sponsorships and tickets for World Civility Day events are available through the Gary Chamber of Commerce at (219) 885-7407. Tickets are $25 for the afternoon lunch and workshops and $60 for the dinner and can be obtained by calling the chamber. To follow the activities of Community Civility Counts, visit nwi.com/civilitycounts and visit and like the Civility Counts page on Facebook. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy The New York City Police Department is looking for a man they say tried to rape a woman in Brooklyn over the holiday weekend. It happened around 10:30 p.m. Sunday in Ditmas Park. They say the man followed the 22-year-old into her apartment building's elevator and attacked her. Police say she screamed for help once the elevator doors opened, and the suspect ran off. The victim was treated by paramedics at the scene. Police say the man they're looking for is about 20 years old, 5'9" tall and weighs 160 pounds. Anyone with information on the case should contact the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS, or text CRIMES and then enter TIP577, or visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com. Governor Andrew Cuomo teamed up Tuesday with former Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders to announce an ambitious plan to provide free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students in the State and City University systems. State House Reporter Zack Fink has the details. He made the announcement alongside Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens. Sanders made reducing student debt a cornerstone of his unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Under Cuomo's Excelsior Scholarship Program, students would be eligible for free tuition if their household makes less than $125,000 a year. The free tuition would not be available to undocumented immigrants looking to attend the schools. Both Cuomo and Sanders say the financial barriers to higher education must come down. "It is incredibly expensive, and the debt is so high it's like starting a race with an anchor tied to your leg," Cuomo said. "It is basically insane to tell the young people of this country, we want you to go out and get the best education you can. We want you to get the jobs of the future. Oh but by the way after you leave school, you're gonna be 30, 50, 100,000 dollars in debt," Sanders added. Tuition at four-year SUNY schools is $6,470 for state residents; at two-year community colleges the cost is $4,350. Tuition at CUNY schools is $6,330 per year. Cuomo's program would still require legislative approval, but Cuomo hopes to begin a three-year rollout starting this fall. Joyce Appleby, a distinguished historian and author who argued that ideas about capitalism and liberty were fundamental in shaping the identity of early Americans, died on Dec. 23 at her home in Taos, N.M. She was 87. The cause was complications of pneumonia, her daughter, Ann Lansburgh Caylor, said. Dr. Appleby, a former journalist who began her Ph.D. training at 32 while caring for three children, rose to the top ranks of the discipline, serving as president of the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association and the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic. She wrote several books, contributed to others and edited several more; she was 84 when her final book, Shores of Knowledge: New World Discoveries and the Scientific Imagination, was published. She was also a scholar of Thomas Jefferson and wrote a brief biography of him, published in 2003. Dr. Appleby was part of a generation of historians who examined the ideologies and beliefs that animated the American Revolution. These scholars took seriously the ideas of the founding generation, breaking with Progressive Era historians like Charles A. Beard, who had dismissed revolutionary ideas as rhetorical cover for the founders economic interests. But the scholars were not united in their interpretation. Heres another: With the possibility that the Trumps administration will undo net-neutrality laws that allow content companies to transmit unlimited data over cable company pipes, Netflix will finally accept a takeover bid from Disney, which has been looking for a way to create an even stronger direct relationship with its customers. It would be Robert A. Igers final megadeal before his contract expires in 2018. It would also pave the way for Mr. Iger to hire digitally savvy Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook, a Disney board member, to take over for him. Final unthinkable prediction: Uber will buy its main competitor, Lyft. Uber lost about $800 million in its third quarter, even after selling its business in China to Didi Chuxing. Its China unit was bleeding some $2 billion in losses already. What does all this mean? The ride-sharing business is harder to turn a profit on than some people thought. Uber decided it was too hard to compete in China, so it sold to its larger competitor there for a 17.5 percent stake in the combined company. Yet Uber still needs to subsidize rides in many major American cities because it is in a heated battle with Lyft and others. Why not just buy Lyft, which has made noise about trying to sell itself and which remains unprofitable as well? Would regulators allow it? Sure. The reason these businesses have struggled is because there is almost too much competition in many markets. Leaving Wells Fargo John G. Stumpf, the chairman and chief executive of Wells Fargo, wasnt supposed to end his career this way. He is a reasonable and dare I say decent man, yet he led a bank engaged in one of the most blatant financial scandals in recent memory. Wells opened up millions of accounts without the permission of its customers, just to goose internal numbers. In truth, customers lost only $1.5 million, which, if were being honest, is minuscule for a bank the size of Wells Fargo. The problem is that Mr. Stumpf treated it as a blip on the radar screen and ignored the significant damage his bank was doing to real people. And when he was called to account, he didnt have the right answers. Ultimately, he resigned, which was the right decision. But it could have and should have all been avoided. The Theranos Mystery Somehow, Theranos is still in business. Elizabeth Holmes is still the chief executive. And otherwise credible professionals like the lawyer David Boies remain on the companys board. This is all quite a head-scratcher because the companys technology has been called a fraud; the government is investigating for fraud; the companys partners, including Walgreens, have dropped the service from its stores; and Ms. Holmes has been barred from the blood-testing business for at least two years in California. When does it end? We might have to wait until the film version comes out. Adam McKay, who wrote and directed The Big Short, is working on a script for a movie tentatively titled Bad Blood and starring Jennifer Lawrence as Ms. Holmes. Parting Word for Obama President and Michelle Obama couldnt make it to dinner (the venue might have been a turnoff). But whatever you think of his stewardship of the nation, he deserves our thanks. For those of us who pay attention to economic statistics, Mr. Obama walked into the worst economic crisis in recent history. We are now in the longest economic expansion and monthly job creation in history. Was he alone responsible? No, but it happened on his watch. Could we have gone faster with different policies? Very possibly. We will see just how much faster we can grow and if there is a cost to doing so under the next administration. Was he perfect? Of course not. But in a town thats filled with scandals and red flags about conflicts of interest which are often skewered in this annual column the Obamas stand out for avoiding those questions. The new film 20th Century Women begins in 1979 in Santa Barbara, Calif., where Dorothea, a free-spirited mother played by Annette Bening, has just watched her Ford Galaxie burst into flames. She hates to see her beloved clunker burn, but born in 1924, she has survived worse. So she thanks the firefighters and invites them over to the house, mortifying her teenage son, who complains, You know, when the firemen come, people dont usually invite them over for dinner. Dorothea, unconcerned by what other people do or dont do, simply says: Yeah? Why not? A few scenes later, when a school official says her son cant just stay home, she asks: Why not? Why cant he skip school? If he has a legitimate need to be away? It may be impossible to draw a single thread through every performance to neatly cinch together a great actresss legacy. But if one thing connects Ms. Benings many onscreen women, it is the mischievous confidence she brings to that simple, irreverent question, Why not? She broke through in 1990 with her Academy Award-nominated turn in The Grifters as a sexy, unapologetic con artist who figured: Why not use what Mama gave her? In Bugsy, her brassy dame wondered: Why not double-cross a mobster? In The American President, her spitfire lobbyist asked: Why not fall in love and spar with the most powerful man in the world? In American Beauty, Being Julia and Mrs. Harris, Ms. Benings women ultimately concluded: Why not fight to be free, even if it means finally owning up to an affair, destroying a young rival onstage or killing your beloved? A day after presiding over the opening of a subway line in Manhattan that had been discussed for nearly a century, Thomas F. Prendergast announced on Monday that he would retire as head of the New York City regions sprawling transit system. Mr. Prendergast has led that agency, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, since 2013, staying on in no small part to help complete the first phase of the Second Avenue subway, which opened to the public on Sunday. He spent New Years Day with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York and thousands of riders, many of them emotional about witnessing transit history. Through a spokeswoman, Mr. Prendergast declined a request to discuss his departure. But a news release said he would retire early this year. The new line is expected to offer long-needed relief to subways on the East Side of Manhattan, the most crowded lines in the nation. He has promised a blanket hiring freeze, even though the size of the civilian federal work force has been declining over the last 50 years. Mr. Trump has said that having 10 percent fewer workers would make it easier to police them for corruption, as if they were the housekeeping staff in one of his hotels instead of a labor force of 2.5 million. Mr. Trumps transition team sent a questionnaire to the Department of Energy which safeguards the nations nuclear arsenal and underwrites clean energy projects asking for the names of workers whod been involved in climate change initiatives. No less ominously, he then named former Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who once said hed like to kill off the entire department, as his pick for its secretary. Almost two weeks ago, diplomats at the State Department were rattled by another transition team request, this one seeking information on the costs and staffing of existing programs and activities to promote gender equality, a favored initiative of Hillary Clintons when she was secretary of state. Was the request meant to gauge the programs cost-effectiveness, or was it a prelude to abolishing them? The transition team wasnt saying. The reputation of the federal work force is not helped by revelations of mismanagement at the Department of Veterans Affairs, self-dealing among regulators overseeing the oil industry, swanky conferences for General Services Administration employees and scandals at the Secret Service. Even before Mr. Trump won, Newt Gingrich was advising him to abolish Civil Service protections to make it easier to fire incompetent or unethical performers. But just as Mr. Gingrichs own ethical lapses unfairly tar honest politicians, a relatively tiny number of corrupt workers tarnish the vast majority of civil servants who are, as the Trump team has said, great and committed people, often forgoing higher private-sector salaries for public service. Further, as Mr. Gingrich must know from hard experience, it costs taxpayers plenty when political grandstanders wage broad attacks on the federal government: Mr. Gingrich did that twice in the 1996 fiscal year, when, as House speaker, he shut down the government, and the resulting lost revenue and disruption of government services and contracts cost jobs and about $2 billion in todays dollars. Even though government employees can be prosecuted for working during a shutdown, many did so anyway, laboring without pay to keep vital projects running. Today is the first day of the 115th United States Congress. In less than three weeks, this Congress will join with President-elect Donald J. Trump to claim a mandate they do not have for policies that most Americans do not support. Together, they will seek to enact a bigoted and anti-democratic agenda, threatening our values and endangering us all. But Americans have the power to resist this dangerous turn. We know because weve seen it before. We served as congressional staff members during the early years of the Obama administration. It was an exhilarating time to be a progressive in Washington: An inspirational new president was taking office, accompanied by a majority in the House and a supermajority in the Senate. But by February 2009, something had begun to change. Small protests calling themselves tea parties were popping up all over the country. In April, their Tax Day demonstrations dominated the news. In August, routine hometown events got unexpectedly rough for members of Congress. At a neighborhood event at Randalls, a grocery store in Austin, Tex., Congressman Lloyd Doggett came face to face with a group of tea party patriots, carrying signs that said No Socialized Health Care. In Austin and in congressional districts across the country the tea partyers chanted what became their battle cry: Just say no! Their tactics werent fancy: They just showed up on their own home turf, and they just said no. Heres the crazy thing: It worked. ATLANTA A federal judge refused on Monday to declare Dylann S. Roof, the white supremacist who murdered nine black worshipers at a Charleston, S.C., church, incompetent to face the sentencing phase of his death penalty trial. The decision, by Judge Richard M. Gergel of Federal District Court, was an unsurprising but crucial echo of a separate ruling in late November, when Judge Gergel said that Mr. Roof did not meet the legal standard to be deemed incompetent. Mondays ruling, announced after a lengthy closed hearing, was another setback for the court-appointed defense lawyers whom Mr. Roof does not intend to use during the sentencing proceedings. After fully considering all of the evidence presented, the court ruled from the bench that Defendant remains competent to stand trial and to self-represent, the judge wrote in an order, one of a handful of court filings on Mr. Roofs health that have been made public. The motion that prompted Mondays hearing was submitted under seal. Taken together, Judge Gergels ruling and Mr. Roofs apparent resolve to act as his own counsel mean that the sentencing phase will open Wednesday, one day later than scheduled, with an air of uncertainty and a measure of worry. Mr. Roof has said that he will deliver an opening statement it is not clear what he intends to say but that he will not call witnesses or present any evidence to the jurors who will decide whether he is sentenced to death or to life in prison. Mr. Trump would need to expand the basket to include immigrants living in the United States illegally who have been charged but not convicted of crimes, those who have overstayed visas, those who have committed minor misdemeanors like traffic infractions, and those suspected of being gang members or drug dealers. Targeting workers for immigration-related offenses, such as using a forged or stolen Social Security number or drivers license, produced a significant uptick in deportations under Mr. Bush. But the practice was widely criticized for splitting up families, gutting businesses that relied on immigrant labor and taking aim at people who went to work every day, rather than dangerous criminals. During Mr. Bushs second term, deportations increased to 360,000 from 246,000, while the number of immigrants convicted of crimes who were deported remained virtually stagnant, according to government statistics. And a 2007 report by the National Council of La Raza and the Urban Institute that analyzed work site raids in Massachusetts, Colorado and Nebraska said a majority of the children affected by the arrest and deportation of their parents were United States citizens and were infants, toddlers or preschoolers. In 2009, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that federal identity-theft laws may not be used against illegal workers who used fake Social Security numbers to get jobs, unless those workers knowingly used numbers that belonged to real people. This is the low-hanging fruit in the system: nondangerous undocumented immigrants with families, said John Sandweg, a former acting director of ICE under Mr. Obama. Those people dont hide. Criminals hide. Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security secretary under Mr. Bush, defended workplace raids. He said these sweeps proved a potent way to protect workers by tamping down on the ecosystem of smuggling, which emboldens migrants to sneak into the country and empowers employers to hire them to work illegally, in unregulated and often inhumane conditions. We found it to be effective in a targeted way, Mr. Chertoff said in an interview. We didnt willy-nilly stop at a workplace and raid it. Richard M. Nixon told an aide that they should find a way to secretly monkey wrench peace talks in Vietnam in the waning days of the 1968 campaign for fear that progress toward ending the war would hurt his chances for the presidency, according to newly discovered notes. In a telephone conversation with H. R. Haldeman, who would go on to become White House chief of staff, Nixon gave instructions that a friendly intermediary should keep working on South Vietnamese leaders to persuade them not to agree to a deal before the election, according to the notes, taken by Mr. Haldeman. The Nixon campaigns clandestine effort to thwart President Lyndon B. Johnsons peace initiative that fall has long been a source of controversy and scholarship. Ample evidence has emerged documenting the involvement of Nixons campaign. But Mr. Haldemans notes appear to confirm longstanding suspicions that Nixon himself was directly involved, despite his later denials. Theres really no doubt this was a step beyond the normal political jockeying, to interfere in an active peace negotiation given the stakes with all the lives, said John A. Farrell, who discovered the notes at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library for his forthcoming biography, Richard Nixon: The Life, to be published in March by Doubleday. Potentially, this is worse than anything he did in Watergate. Mr. Murphy is among many hospital executives now anxious about the possibility of seeing a bump in uninsured patients if the health law is repealed, while not getting back the federal funds they gave up under the health law. I do think it would be problematic if part of the deal was changed and not the whole deal, he said. Mr. Pence expanded Medicaid only after the Obama administration agreed to let Indiana do it in its own way: Instead of getting virtually free coverage, as Medicaid recipients in many other states do, people enrolled in Indianas expansion pay up to 5 percent of their income toward it. Mr. Trump appears interested in promoting Indianas personal responsibility model: He has picked its chief architect, Seema Verma, to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Since Mr. Kloski had no income when he enrolled, he paid $1 a month; he has since been classified as medically frail and does not have to pay anything. Medicaid has paid for virtually all of his cancer care, including a one-week hospitalization after the diagnosis, months of chemotherapy, and frequent scans and blood tests. But Mr. Kloski and his mother, Renee Epperson, are still not fans of the health law over all. They believed that it required that Mr. Kloski be dropped, when he turned 26, from the health plan his mother has through her job at Target not understanding that it was the law that kept him on the plan until he was 26. Mr. Kloski paid a penalty for going uninsured in 2014 rather than even explore whether he might qualify for a subsidy and find an affordable private plan through the marketplaces. There were so many horror stories about how expensive it was going to be, Ms. Epperson, 47, recalled. Justin said, Im not even going to try it, Mom. OTTAWA It was 7 a.m., and 99 passengers and six crew members were aboard a 737 on the tarmac at Calgary International Airport, bound for a sunny holiday in Cancun, Mexico. There was one problem, however. The flights captain was passed out in the cockpit, apparently from drinking. The police in Calgary, Alberta, arrested the pilot, Miroslav Gronych, 37, on Saturday and have charged him with two alcohol-related offenses. This is a new one, and obviously this had a very significant potential to cause great harm had the pilot actually been allowed to fly this plane, Staff Sgt. Paul Stacey of the Calgary Police Service said at a news conference. Theres just so many checks and balances, it just doesnt surprise me that he got caught before this plane was able to leave the gate. Nevertheless, Inspector Ken Thrower, the commander of the Calgary Police Services traffic and airport unit, said his officers, along with airport officials and inspectors from Transport Canada, the aviation regulator, will begin trying to figure out how the pilot managed to pass through several checkpoints, including airport security, while obviously inebriated. Faced with a threat from North Korea that it might soon test an intercontinental ballistic missile, President-elect Donald J. Trump took to Twitter on Monday to declare bluntly, It wont happen! Mr. Trump made his post on Twitter, where he often tests out his first thoughts on developing issues in the United States and abroad, a day after North Koreas young leader, Kim Jong-un, declared that the final stage in preparations was underway for a test of such a missile. Mr. Kim offered no time frame. North Korea has routinely tested short- and medium-range missiles, with some successes and many failures, but it has so far stopped short of testing a long-range missile, which could reach Guam or the West Coast of the United States. North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S., Mr. Trump wrote, somewhat misstating Mr. Kims warning. Pyongyang has already tested nuclear weapons underground; the latest threat concerned what Mr. Kim called a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. But Mr. Kim also boasted last year that the North had conducted the first H-bomb test, and experts say there is no evidence for that claim. After his first Twitter message, Mr. Trump added: China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade, but wont help with North Korea. Nice! That appeared to reflect briefings Mr. Trump has received about how Chinese leaders fear instability and collapse in the North more than the status quo. BAGHDAD A suicide bomber detonated a pickup truck loaded with explosives on Monday in a busy Baghdad market, killing at least 36 people hours after President Francois Hollande of France arrived in the Iraqi capital. The Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the attack. The bomb went off in a produce market that was packed with day laborers, a police officer said, adding that another 52 people were wounded. During a news conference with Mr. Hollande, Haider al-Abadi, Iraqs prime minister, said the suicide bomber had pretended to be a man seeking to hire day laborers. Once the workers gathered around, he detonated the vehicle. The Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, claimed the attack in a statement circulated on a website that is often used by the group. It was the third such attack in three days in or near Baghdad, underscoring the lingering threat posed by the extremist group despite a string of setbacks for it elsewhere in the country over the past year, including in and around the northern city of Mosul. At the moment, David Gordons life is plastered all over the walls of the Vincent Astor Gallery. The writer, director and choreographer a founding member of the postmodern 1960s collective Judson Dance Theater holds little back in David Gordon: Archiveography Under Construction, a manic and magical installation drawn from his archives. Its like standing in the middle of a collage. (Wear red, black and white to really blend in.) But beyond Mr. Gordons visual finesse he spent years designing windows for the now-defunct store Azuma this tactile exhibition is also personal. Its gallery, in the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, includes photographs of Mr. Gordons early life, which blur into his artistic career. His wife and muse, Valda Setterfield, a British-born dancer and actress, figures prominently. Rugby shirts from Dancing Henry Five, worn by dummies, are draped over a ladder. Red Groomss sets and objects from the Obie-winning play The Mysteries and Whats So Funny? spill out from a corner. And racks of costumes, including blue lame overalls that Mr. Gordon wore in a 1970s performance, sprout from the center like a bouquet. In short, Archiveography Under Construction, which runs through April 6, is not a typical exhibition at the performing arts library. Its alive. I did say at some point to the library people, Does anybody actually ever come in here? Mr. Gordon, 80, recalled on a recent afternoon in the gallery. Mostly the way this room is set up is boring and tedious and things are in glass cases. Instead, he said he was determined to try and make a performance happen its like making a dance out of the past. It seems significant that one of the most heart-stopping characters on the London stage over the last 12 months went simply by Her. Billie Piper may have loomed especially large as this anguished, motherless character, but the luminous actress was by no means alone during a theatrical year in which women held pride of place. Ms. Pipers vehicle was the 1934 Federico Garcia Lorca classic Yerma, refashioned for the present in a Young Vic production from the Australian writer-director Simon Stone. She played a young married Englishwoman rendered so bereft by her inability to have children that she careered toward madness. Her apple-cheeked robustness seemingly hollowed out by the final curtain, Ms. Piper vaulted in a single performance to the top ranks of distaff talent in a town where women across the spectrum of age and experience reigned supreme in 2016. As a narrator, David Cesarani, the author of Becoming Eichmann, employs a timbre that is clear and somber, the voice of classical realism, as he eschews explicit emotional and moral commentary for the most part, in order not to displace the cumulative impact of his witnesses. Not that Cesaranis opinions and simmering moral outrage are ever in doubt, as he dispenses with one lingering taboo: Almost every attack and atrocity against Jews was accompanied in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine by rape and sexual violence against Jewish women, sometimes by Germans, sometimes by their local helpers. In Warsaw, well-dressed women were targeted from the start of the occupation, especially those still wearing fur coats. When the mass deportations to Chelmno were underway, many of the Jewish gravediggers were executed at the end of each days shift. The Polish ones made themselves so helpful to the SS that they were rewarded by having Jewish women handed over to them. After one or several nights they too were driven into the mobile gas vans and buried in the forest. Male atavism and excess and sexualized violence were everywhere. Final Solution is not an account that will find favor in the new Eastern Europe. Dividing many of his chapters into one slow year at a time, Cesarani achieves a sense of profound claustrophobia by tracing the extreme difficulty of hiding without being caught, blackmailed, denounced and handed over to the Germans in most of occupied Eastern Europe. In Poland, he writes, village elders, mayors, police officials, firemen, forest rangers and upstanding citizens all took part in Jew-hunts and sought to profit from the mythical wealth of the Jews. So too did sections of the resistance and partisan movements in Poland and Ukraine. For the approximately 250,000 Jews in Poland who went into hiding, it was the near-hostile environment that made their chances of survival so slim: Making it through 1943 and into 1944, Cesarani writes, was a mountainous challenge. Robbing Jews continued after their deaths, as people dug into the ash pits of Sobibor and Treblinka looking for valuables that the SS had missed. Peter Hayes is more circumspect than Cesarani in Why?, suggesting that the Poles who actively helped to hide Jews and those who persecuted them were actually both minorities, but that all the institutions of power were stacked on the side of the persecutors. While acknowledging that helping to hide Jews often carried a stigma in postwar Poland, he also points out that over 1,000 Poles were executed by the Germans for doing just that. With his judicious, thoughtful and balanced answers to difficult and often inflammatory questions, Hayes, a professor emeritus at Northwestern, has provided an intellectually searching and wide-ranging study of the Holocaust in a modest, didactic form. He provides just enough thumbnail narrative to frame his very thoughtful answers for a lay audience, as each chapter of the book addresses a particular question Why the Jews? Why murder? Why didnt more Jews fight back more often? Hayess answer to this last question is characteristically balanced and astute, as he sketches out the different courses set by four different ghetto leaderships. Whether it was Adam Czerniakow in Warsaw, Chaim Rumkowski kowtowing in Lodz or Jacob Gens in Vilna and Jewish leaders in Minsk who tried to assist Jewish partisan groups, it ultimately made no difference. As Hayes concludes, whatever the Jewish leaders did kill themselves, aid the resistance, appease the Nazis the outcome was the same. Theirs were truly choiceless choices. Contemporaries may have debated the right course of action, and Cesarani recounts the confrontation between Rabbi David Kahane and Henryk Landsberg, the respected lawyer and head of the Jewish Council in Lvov, in which Kahane declared that it is better that all die and not one Jew be delivered to the enemy, while Landsberg countered that the rabbis were not living in the prewar world. But neither Hayes nor Cesarani has any time for the old accusation leveled by Raul Hilberg and Hannah Arendt that without the collusion of the Jewish Councils, the Nazis could not have carried through the Final Solution to the same extent. Cesarani faults the Jewish leaders in Poland not for things over which they had no control, but for their venality and social conservatism when it came to allocating the scant resources they possessed. Cesaranis central claim to originality is to reconnect the Final Solution with the military campaigns of World War II. As he argues, recent historiography has shown that making war was the central mission of Hitler and the Third Reich, but that their preparations for war were erratic; that the decisive victories over France, Britain and the Soviet Union in 1940-41 were achieved mainly thanks to the mistakes of their opponents; and that the regimes response to the changing military tide thereafter was marked by inadequacy. There are obvious dividends to breaking down the artificial compartments that often separate Holocaust and military historians from one another: It is clear that deporting and murdering the Jews was not allowed to interfere with military priorities. Indeed, one reason the Lodz ghetto was established in December 1939 in a city that had just been formally incorporated as a German city within the Reich was that winter coal shortages curtailed all noncritical rail traffic. The same exigency returned two years later, just as the decision to expel all Jews from the Reich and murder them was being communicated to Nazi leaders in Berlin. Again, actual deportation plans were put on hold until the winter crisis on the Eastern front was over. The nations consumer watchdog agency on Tuesday ordered the credit-reporting agencies TransUnion and Equifax to pay more than $23.2 million in fines and restitution for deceiving customers about the usefulness of credit scores and the cost of obtaining them. The watchdog agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said the payments would resolve charges that TransUnion and Equifax had lured consumers into enrolling in credit services advertised as free or costing only $1, but which could cost more than $200 a year. TransUnion will reimburse $13.93 million to consumers and pay a $3 million civil fine, while Equifax will reimburse $3.8 million and pay a $2.5 million civil fine, the bureau said. Both companies will also modify their marketing practices. Among the changes, they will obtain customers consent to enroll them in services in which fees begin after free trials and make it easier for them to cancel services they do not want. Anshu Jain is giving himself a shot at investment-banking redemption. A former co-chief executive of Deutsche Bank, Mr. Jain has joined Cantor Fitzgerald as president, with a mandate to help the scrappy capital markets outfit grow. It isnt the prominent job Mr. Jain might have once coveted, probably because the German lenders travails have curtailed his options. But it could suit him. Other former investment bank bosses have sought to restore their reputations by choosing to expand smaller banks or businesses. John A. Thain, Merrill Lynchs former chief executive, chose to run CIT, from which he retired last year after largely managing to restructure the midmarket American lender. By contrast, Jon S. Corzine, a former top Goldman Sachs executive and a former New Jersey governor and senator, led MF Global into bankruptcy after expanding it too quickly. Unlike those firms, however, Cantor Fitzgerald is privately held. The lack of public scrutiny will be welcome to Mr. Jain, who became used to quarterly drubbings from analysts, politicians and the media as Deutsche Bank underperformed. Less limelight could help Cantors push into new areas. As it manages its own capital, some restrictions on proprietary trading may not apply. Smaller banks like Jefferies have also managed to lend more for private equity deals as a proportion of the initial equity investment than bigger rivals. LONDON Euronext said on Tuesday that it had offered to buy the French arm of the London Stock Exchange Groups majority-owned clearing business, as the British company looks to win regulatory approval for a merger with Deutsche Borse. The London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Borse agreed in March to a merger, which would create Europes largest stock market operator by far, combining exchanges in Britain, Germany and Italy. In July, shareholders from the two exchanges approved the deal, the companies third attempt to come together since 2000. But European regulators opened an investigation into the deal in September looking at the impact it could have on competition in financial markets. The clearing of trades is one of several areas being explored in the inquiry, which is expected to conclude this year. The announcement on Tuesday came about two weeks after the London Stock Exchange Group said it was in exclusive talks with Euronext over the sale of LCH S.A., the French operating arm of the LCH.Clearnet Group. The London exchange said at the time that it was seeking to address proactively antitrust concerns raised by the European Commission. Happy New Year, DealBook readers. Last year, companies of all types had their checkbooks open, hoping to buy a technologically savvy start-up that could revolutionize the way they work. Shareholders are judging management teams on their ability to be bold and not just make short-term moves, said Aryeh Bourkoff, the founder and chief executive of the investment bank LionTree. The bold C.E.O.s are the ones that play to the future. What can we expect in 2017? More of the same when it comes to mergers and acquisitions, as companies look for deals that can propel them ahead of the competition in a world of connected homes and driverless cars. For American tech behemoths operating in Europe, this year could be even more painful than the last and 2016 was no cakewalk for them: Google faces antitrust charges; Apple is trying to appeal its tax bill of 13 billion, or about $13.7 billion; Facebook is being investigated over how it tracks people and has to respond to charges that it misled regulators when it sought approval for its takeover of WhatsApp; the European Court of Justice will rule on whether Uber is a transportation service or a digital platform; Amazon is being investigated over its tax treatment in Luxembourg. Is American democracy broken? There are precedents around the world for the kind of political jolt the United States experienced in November. They usually include a political firebrand who promises to sweep away a system rigged to serve the powerful rather than the interests of ordinary people. They usually end badly, when the popular champion decides to read electoral victory as an invitation to bend the institutions of democracy to the force of his will. Most Americans, Im sure, never expected to worry about that sort of thing in the United States. And yet concern is decidedly in the air. Did a combination of globalization, demographic change, cultural revolutions and whatever else just upend Americas consensus in support of liberal market democracy? Did American democracy just succumb to the strongmans promise? Im skeptical that the United States is about to careen down the path taken by, say, Venezuela, governed by the whim of President Nicolas Maduro the handpicked successor of the populist champion Hugo Chavez, who was elected in the late 1990s on a promise to sweep away an entrenched ruling class and proceeded to battle any democratic institution that stood in his way. Still, the embrace by millions of American voters of a billionaire authoritarian who argues that the system has been rigged to serve a cosmopolitan ruling class against the interests of ordinary people does suggest that American democracy has a unique credibility problem. We thank Megyn Kelly for her 12 years of contributions to Fox News, the statement read. We hope she enjoys tremendous success in her career and wish her and her family the best. Though the loss of Ms. Kelly is a blow to Fox News, the network has a winning formula that has kept it atop the ratings for many years, and helped it to avoid the fall-offs its rivals experienced in the weeks after Election Day, as The Associated Press reported. And now the nation has a new Republican president whose approach speaks to the sensibilities of many of Foxs viewers. Company executives said the Murdochs knew Ms. Kelly was a flight risk; their offer included keeping her in prime time, and she had made it clear she was seeking a job that would give her more time for her family. Ms. Kelly had spoken with top executives at ABC News, CNN and in the syndication industry, as well as NBC News, but NBC remained largely under the radar as a landing spot. One person briefed on Ms. Kellys deliberations said that Mr. Lack won her over by starting the talks with a question about what she was seeking, instead of flatly offering possibilities. He then came back with a deal that was tailored to her preferences. A daytime show would give her a schedule that would allow her to see her children off to school and to have dinner with them and her husband, Douglas Brunt, a novelist. People briefed on the talks, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, declined to disclose what Ms. Kellys new annual salary would be at NBC. Fox News rivals who sought to hire Ms. Kelly away, including NBC News, had indicated that they could not match the $20 million offer from Fox, the cable news leader for the last 15 years running. But even a modest raise for Ms. Kelly would place her among televisions highest-paid journalists. The Wall Street Journal recently reported she was to collect $15 million for the final year of her contract. While the bigger pasta companies cannot subsist on Italian wheat alone, for smaller manufacturers, it is an increasingly appealing option. Mr. Felicetti began his foray into domestic wheat 16 years ago, inspired by another Italian specialty: grappa. In the early 1970s, Italian distillers, which had long made virtually indistinguishable grappas from mounds of undifferentiated grape pomace the freshly crushed skins, seeds and pulp began using the carefully selected pomace of single grape varieties. Once, there was grappa, period, Mr. Felicetti said. Now there are monovarietal grappas chardonnay, pinot nero, etc. He added: Around 2000, I began thinking you could do something similar with pasta. Instead of using a mix of Italian and imported grains, we could use monovarietal grains, grown in a specific place. Certainly, it would be a lot more complicated, but it would have a distinctive value and a competitive advantage. In 2004, after extensive experimentation to determine which wheat varieties performed best in particular regions, Pastificio Felicetti began manufacturing a line of pasta called Monograno, or one grain. Tasting notes on the packaging resemble the jottings of a sommelier: stone cooked bread, butter and bamboo shoots or peanut butter and red date. Pastificio Felicetti makes about 400 tons of Monograno pastas annually, about 15 percent of its total production. In 2014, its Monograno Spaghettoni, made from a variety of wheat called Matt, grown in Apulia in southern Italy, won the Specialty Food Associations Sofi Award in the pasta, rice or grain category. Another Monograno pasta won the same prize in 2016. In 2013, Pastificio Felicetti began using only Italian wheat for all of its pastas, although Mr. Felicetti emphasized that the decision had more to do with streamlining production than it did with concerns about the quality of his ingredients. We dont necessarily consider Italian durum wheat to be the best, he said, but for us, getting wheat from Italy simplifies control of the supply chain. When the first Sweetgreen opened in 2007 in Washington, customers moved along an assembly line and faced a new staff member at each station. It seemed efficient at first, but people got tired of hearing What do you want? over and over, Mr. Jammet said. The company now uses a one-on-one model: A single server escorts a guest all the way down the line. Sweetgreen also offers a mobile app for customers who want to order, dart in, grab a bagged order off a shelf and dart out. Its fast, but no way to build brand loyalty. So the company added what Mr. Jammet calls a concierge during peak hours to make sure that the grab-and-go contingent gets help if need be, and to welcome and placate the people in line. Its the thought, not the magnitude of the effort, that seems to count. Even if its just, Hey, how are you doing, heres your salad, have a great day, Mr. Jammet said, it can be a small moment thats pretty genuine. The Talking Chef Not everyone, however, seems to require a human touch. In September, Wilson Tang, who owns two full-service restaurants, including the 97-year-old Nom Wah Tea Parlor in Chinatown, opened a 35-seat spinoff called Nom Wah Nolita, where a large measure of impersonality is built in. The small kitchen staff creates specials and a vegan broth, but most of the food is supplied by his other restaurants including about 40,000 dumplings each month from the Chinatown kitchen, half of them made by hand, the other half by Taiwanese robots. Customers place orders and pay on iPads at the counter. Its easy to eat a meal without ever acknowledging an employee. This is not the type of dining experience Mr. Tang, 39, is used to; he admits to feeling old when he stops by. On a damp Sunday afternoon, he surveyed the crowd and shook his head. Most of the customers were in their early 20s, apparently satisfied with the chefs social media announcements of limited-run specials. Aside from the occasional thanks when food appeared, they didnt talk to the staff. Still, Mr. Tang makes sure that his employees are prepared for the unexpected overture. He refers to the NoLIta outlet as chef casual, instead of the more impersonal fast casual, and trains his people to take the initiative. Hofstadter did not usually describe his ideal intellectually minded citizens as members of an elite. That word conveyed something different a ruling class that held direct political and economic power. The most famous articulation of this view came from the sociologist C. Wright Mills, in his 1956 assessment of Americas power elite. They rule the big corporations, Mills wrote. They run the machinery of the state and claim its prerogatives. They direct the military establishment. In Millss view, these people were tied together not by culture or ideology but by their positions at the helms of large, ever-more-complex institutions. As individuals, they might be Republicans or Democrats, and might live in Ohio or California. The point was that they were in charge of things. But that vision never gained much traction in mainstream politics, where a more partisan, targeted definition was starting to emerge. William F. Buckley Jr. carved out some essentials in his first book, God and Man at Yale, drawing a neat distinction between respectable Ivy-educated men like himself and the socialistic eggheads of the professoriate. Ronald Reagan chose the term elite to bring it all together in his famed 1964 speech, A Time for Choosing, delivered on behalf of the Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. This is the issue of this election, he said: whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American Revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capitol can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves. Lyndon Johnson won that election in a blowout, but Reagans vision of a smug and detached liberal elite helped spark the oncoming culture wars, pitting a supposedly indignant Middle America against the liberal snobs of the coasts. By the 1990s, with the rise of right-wing media stars like Rush Limbaugh and Bill OReilly, bashing the liberal elite had become a favorite blood sport of the American right. Despite all the abuse hurled their way, some liberal elites have accepted at least part of their detractors critique, particularly on the progressive left. It was during Bill Clintons presidency that the social critic Christopher Lasch published The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy, which mourned that upper-middle-class liberals had turned into petulant, self-righteous, intolerant scolds, thoroughly out of touch with the concerns of Middle America. Since then, the torch has passed to a younger generation of writers, including MSNBCs Chris Hayes, whose 2012 Twilight of the Elites called for rethinking the entire ethos of liberal meritocracy a system, he argued, that tends to fuel self-congratulation and incompetence at the top while offering little but contempt and dim prospects for those at the bottom. So as 2017 begins, we find ourselves in a strange and uncertain political moment. Antipathy toward a wealthy, preening managerial class seems to be gaining popularity across the political spectrum and, oddly, to have helped elect a wealthy, preening incoming president. Meanwhile, both liberal and conservative elites are scrambling to figure out what happens if the president-elect continues to reject basic political norms and even routine intelligence briefings. Under a Trump presidency, such elites may have no choice but to attempt a radical redefinition of their role in American life. Otherwise, the man in the White House will do it for them. New York already offers in-state students one of the lowest tuition rates in the nation. Current full-time tuition at four-year State University of New York schools for residents is $6,470; at two-year community colleges, the cost is $4,350. Full-time costs for City University of New York schools are about the same. The state also provides nearly $1 billion in support through its tuition assistance program, which has an adjusted gross income limit of just under $100,000. Those awards top out at $5,165; many grants are smaller. Costs for the state could also rise as enrollment rises. Some 400,000 students attend state or city universities full time, but the administration projects that the lure of a tuition-free system could increase the student population by 10 percent by 2019. Estimates for other free-tuition proposals have said that costs would be even higher. A 2015 report by the citys Independent Budget Office put the cost for the citys community colleges alone at $138 million to $232 million. But Mr. Malatras expressed confidence in the administrations estimate, saying it had calculated costs considering a variety of factors, including the number of students receiving money through federal Pell grants, the state tuition assistance program and tuition credits. But even some supporters expressed some doubt about how much Mr. Cuomos plan could cost the state. The cost estimate of $163 million begs the question: If it costs so little, why havent we done it before? said Assemblywoman Deborah J. Glick, the chairwoman of the Assemblys Higher Education Committee. The tuition plan will require legislative approval, a potential challenge when the governor and lawmakers have been at odds over a raise and other issues. On Tuesday, Democrats and Republicans offered qualified support for the plan, saying they wanted more details on the proposal and adding that each party had also worked to lower tuition. We are pleased to see the governor join us in our efforts, said Michael Whyland, a spokesman for Carl Heastie, speaker of the Democrat-dominated Assembly, noting that his fellow Democrats had made similar proposals for free tuition in the past. Scott Reif, a spokesman for the Republicans, who rule the Senate with the help of a group of breakaway Democrats, said his party had been fighting for years to expand TAP eligibility, referring to the tuition assistance program. This proposal appears to move us in a positive direction, he said. Bruce Gyory, an Albany-based political consultant, said the governors announcement would appeal to the voters who flocked to Mr. Sanders during the Democratic presidential primaries last year and to voters with some college education but no degree, who swung to Donald J. Trump in the general election. Such voters made up nearly a third of the electorate, according to exit polls, Mr. Gyory said. Alicia Rivera, a 35-year-old single mother with four children and big dreams, must budget her money and her time wisely. I got my kids, Ms. Rivera said. I dont want to waste my time. Ms. Rivera and her children Joaquin, 17; Nelson, 16; Alyssa, 11; and Rafael, 2 live in a three-bedroom apartment in the Bronx, near the southern tip of the Bronx River Parkway. The past few years have sometimes been overwhelming for her as she tries to raise her children by herself, get an education and lay the foundation for a professional career. When she was seven months pregnant with Rafael, Ms. Rivera injured her back while working as a home health aide. Soon after he was born, she switched to another job, helping Spanish-speaking people navigate complicated real estate and tax forms and other paperwork. Ms. Rivera makes about $100 every week. She also receives $216 a month in Supplemental Security Income and $506 a month in food stamps. With a monthly rent of $308, she needs to keep a frugal budget. But Ms. Rivera has a plan. She is on track to receive an associate degree from Plaza College in April. Her goal is to then earn a bachelors degree and a masters degree, both in business, from Metropolitan College of New York. States are wisely backing away from the severe drug sentencing policies that filled prisons to bursting beginning in the 1980s and 90s and eventually drove corrections costs to bankrupting levels. But to repair the civic damage, lawmakers also need to question other counterproductive forms of punishment from what is now known as the war-on-drugs era. Consider, for example, drivers license suspensions. Historically, people lost their licenses after being convicted of offenses like drunken or reckless driving, but they generally got them back after completing a mandatory drivers education course. It was understood that licenses should be taken away only when drivers become dangerous, because people need them to work, care for their families and get medical care. These reasonable considerations fell by the wayside during the war on drugs, when states adopted three-strikes laws, mandatory minimum sentences and a host of measures that denied drug offenders all kinds of public services. Congress accelerated the trend toward lifting licenses in the 1990s, when it threatened to cut highway funding to states that did not automatically suspend the licenses of people convicted of drug offenses. Many states added license suspension to existing criminal penalties. But a majority of states used a federal law that let them opt out of the program and keep highway funding once they saw how harmful the automatic suspensions were and how much time and money it took to administer them. According to a new report by the nonprofit Prison Policy Initiative, 12 states and the District of Columbia still suspend licenses for drug offenses. To the Editor: Re In American Towns, Pumping Private Profit From Public Works (Bottom Line Nation series, front page, Dec. 25): As The Times lays bare, our country faces an infrastructure crisis, and private equity is not the answer. Yet the investigation merely scratches the surface of the failures of the private water industry. Not only has the water industry increased rates for millions from California to New Jersey, but it has also worsened service and public health crises like the one in Flint, Mich. In Pittsburgh, the private company Veolia switched the citys corrosion control measures without proper authorization, leading to lead levels that increased above Environmental Protection Agency standards. In Flint, the same company failed to warn residents of possible lead contamination despite well-documented evidence of corrosion. And in Hoboken, N.J., Suez, the company charged with maintaining the water system, denies responsibility for a series of main breaks. It has insisted that the city and its taxpayers invest more of their own funds in infrastructure improvements. This article is part of the Opinion Today newsletter. You can sign up here to receive more briefings and a guide to the section daily in your inbox. In politics fabled grass roots, Democrats have largely been getting thumped. Republicans hold two-thirds of all state legislative bodies across the country and 33 governors offices. Today, Republicans will formally take control of the 115th Congress. Eighteen days from now, a Republican will occupy the White House too. How could this have happened, given the Democratic Partys popular-vote success in presidential elections (having won six of the last seven)? Part of the answer is circumstances beyond the partys control. Democratic-leaning voters are clustered in major metropolitan areas, which makes many legislative districts and states tilt Republican. To the Editor: In Pastor, Am I a Christian?, by Nicholas Kristof (column, Dec. 25), the news media once again allows evangelical Christianity to stand as normative Christianity. Christianity is more diverse and the nature of belief more subtle than the Rev. Timothy Keller, whom Mr. Kristof interviews, allows. In general, Pastor Keller makes Christianity too individualistic, an unhelpful and characteristically American and modern reading of the tradition. The beauty of the creeds and the beliefs they uphold is that they apply to communities together; they describe norms of belief for communities but are not tests of faith for individuals. Pastor Kellers analogy that a climate-change denier would be taken off the board of Greenpeace is a false equivalency. Christianity has no board, and the virgin birth is not central. Christs saving power, effected by love, mercy and forgiveness, is the core message. Normal leaders come up with policy proposals in a certain conventional way. They gather their advisers around them and they debate alternatives with briefing papers, intelligence briefings and implementation strategies. Donald Trump doesnt do that. Hes tweeted out policy gestures in recent weeks, say about the future of Americas nuclear arsenal. But these gestures arent attached to anything. They emerged from no analytic process and point to no implemental effects. Trumps statements seem to spring spontaneously from his middle-of-night feelings. They are astoundingly ambiguous and defy interpretation. Normal leaders serve an office. They understand that the president isnt a lone monarch. He is the temporary occupant of a powerful public post. Hes the top piece of a big system, and his ability to create change depends on his ability to leverage and mobilize the system. His statements are carefully parsed around the world because presidential shifts in verbal emphasis are not personal shifts; they are national shifts that signal changes in a superpowers actual behavior. Donald Trump doesnt think in that way, either. He is anti-system. As my PBS NewsHour colleague Mark Shields points out, he has no experience being accountable to anybody, to a board of directors or an owner. As president-elect, he has not begun attaching himself to the system of governance hell soon oversee. The location was never entirely remote. Tracks for freight trains ran nearby, providing access to and from the market stalls. The market district is also bounded by the major streets of Florida and New York Avenues. And so it survived and even thrived, through the Great Depression, war and peace. What has made Union Market even more, well, marketable has been the coming of the Metro rail line a few blocks to the west. A station opened there in 2004, spurring development in the adjoining neighborhood of NoMa and now spreading east to the market area. The line between Union Market and NoMa is more a map than a reality, said Doug Firstenberg, principal of StonebridgeCarras, a major developer in NoMa, short for North of Massachusetts Avenue. They are just going to blend into each other. Brian T. Kenner, deputy mayor for economic development, agrees. Youre very much seeing development move east in most directions, he said. Union Market is just in that path. Its going to be a very exciting place over the next five to 10 years. The flurry of activity follows the acquisition since 2007 of several parcels in the market district by Edens, a firmed based in Bethesda, Md., that has developed, owns and operates 120 shopping centers in the United States. Edens and its partners account for about 40 percent of the districts privately owned land. Here, the company found a neighborhood where we felt the authentic soul of the city was really reflected in the place, said Jodie W. McLean, chief executive of Edens. We value your privacy. Focus Taiwan (CNA) uses tracking technologies to provide better reading experiences, but it also respects readers' privacy. Click here to find out more about Focus Taiwan's privacy policy. When you close this window, it means you agree with this policy. 2017 is shaping up to be a year of big change for travelers. In addition to a new president whose policies could affect where and how Americans travel, there are also major changes on the way from leading travel and hospitality brands, including new airplane cabins, hotel loyalty programs and theme park expansions. Below, a guide to what to expect in the new year. Changes to Airplanes and Lounges UNITED AIRLINES In February the company plans to roll out its new United Polaris business-class seats on a Boeing 777-300ER fleet a move that United is calling its most significant product transformation in more than a decade. Each seat can be turned into a bed and has its own direct-aisle access. Mattress cushions will be available upon request, and pajamas will be available, also by request, on flights longer than 12 hours. Polaris business-class lounges with daybeds, showers and hot meals are also coming. (Theres only one so far, at Chicago OHare International Airport.) At the same time that United is souping up its business class, its also beginning to offer basic economy fares. Travelers who buy these lower-priced fares will not know their assigned seat until the day of departure, will be among the last to board, and will not be allowed to use the overhead bins (their carry-on item will have to fit under the seat in front of them). Not happy? Neither is Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, who in December issued a news release saying that this poses one of the most restrictive policies on airline passengers we have seen in a long time. DELTA AIR LINES All of the legacy carriers are segmenting their main cabins into basic and not-so-basic, and Delta has led the way. It already offers basic economy as well as two other types of main cabin seats. In 2017, Delta plans to introduce a new experience, known as Delta Premium Select, on certain international flights. Travelers in these seats will have up to 38 inches of pitch; blankets and pillows; seasonal menus; a Tumi amenity kit with Malin + Goetz products; power ports; and priority check-in, security and boarding. For business-class passengers, the airline will roll out its Delta One suites, each of which will have direct aisle access, a seat that becomes a bed, and its very own sliding door. AMERICAN AIRLINES Like Delta, American plans to segment its main cabin, creating basic and premium economy classes. First and business-class passengers can expect new, larger lounges, and there will be free tableside meal service for first-class customers. The flagship dining experience will be introduced at John F. Kennedy International Airport, but it is expected to be offered in more airports, including Dallas-Fort Worth International, Los Angeles International and Miami International. At first, Zachary was skeptical about meeting. Zachary, who killed Cameron My first response was, Why did they want to meet with me? If that was my kid, theres no way I could show my face in the courtroom because Im probably going to kill him kill the person who killed my kid. To be able to sit in a room and meet with someone who stole my son from me. Paul Freeman, victims father He could be anybodys son. I wanted to meet him. See what kind of person he was. And I wanted him to know who Cameron was. I wanted the world to know what they lost that day. I wanted Zachary Harrison to know. Zachary I was thinking, What are they after? It was more confusing than anything. Shelley Freeman, victims mother Cameron wasnt perfect. He was a human being. And so was Zachary Harrison. I wanted some assurance this wasnt going to happen to another family. Zachary Holly said they wanted to get to know me. I thought that was weird. Holly Chavez, program coordinator Everyone has a thing they want to know. They said they just wanted him to know who Cameron was. Zachary I remember telling my mom, I just dont see this happening. It took awhile to break his wall down, Ms. Chavez said. After months of talking with Ms. Chavez, Zachary said it was her persistence and refusal to cast blame that ultimately persuaded him. Zachary She wasnt there to point fingers or judge. She did actually care about me and my side of the story. Mr. Freeman When he said yes, it was, Oh my God, hallelujah. Zachary They had a lot of questions. They wanted to know what my plans were when I got out. They wanted to know about family support. Where would I stay? They wanted to know about how my rehabilitation was going and where I was headed when I got out. They had a few questions about that night, but it was more about where I was going. Ms. Chavez About halfway through, he was remorseful, human. The morning of the accident, he had been asked if he was remorseful, and he was not. Zachary felt he didnt belong in prison because he didnt remember anything. The critical moment: Bringing everyone together. Mr. Freeman It was like a wedding. You question yourself: Do I really want to do this? Expectations, worries Mrs. Freeman Two weeks before, I got physically sick. Oh my, what am I doing? Zachary I was ready, Lets just do this. I didnt care how I felt. I was tired of the meetings going over the same things. Ms. Chavez Up to the very end, he was saying, Why do they want to do it? Zachary I knew that day was going to suck. That day, I got nervous. I didnt know what to expect. Mrs. Freeman I hadnt prepared words. My first word was Namaste (a reference to the good she saw in Zachary). Zachary They started talking about Cameron and showing pictures and stuff. What kind of person he was. Thats what I was curious about, what kind of person he was. Mrs. Freeman We asked about his life. Zachary We had two different upbringings. You knew he was a fun guy. He had to be very smart, very outgoing, very fun, probably pretty witty. Zachary They asked me a few details about that night what I could remember and I really didnt have anything for them they asked about the family, my plans. Mrs. Freeman He put his hands on the table and said, I will never drink again. Zachary We met for four or five hours. It was emotional. It was intense in there. Mrs. Freeman Reginald Gaskin normally just loads the suitcases or packages onto aircrafts at the North Carolina airport where he works as a baggage handler. But on Sunday, he ended up being taken for a ride after a regional flight took off with him still inside the cargo hold. He emerged unharmed over an hour later in another state. On Tuesday, aviation authorities said they are investigating how Mr. Gaskin, 45, made the journey in the hold of United Express Flight 6060. The flight left Charlotte-Douglas International Airport at 3 p.m. on Sunday and landed at Dulles International Airport in Washington at 4:16 p.m., flight records show. It certainly does not happen often, Kathleen Bergen, a regional communications manager for the Federal Aviation Administration, said in a telephone interview. She added that the department was looking into the event. Another of the administrations communications managers, Ian Gregor, said in an emailed statement that the department would determine whether the baggage contractor, G2 Secure Staff, has proper procedures to ensure personnel are out of the cargo hold before the doors are closed, and whether the procedures were followed. Protesters from the N.A.A.C.P., including its national president, were arrested on Tuesday after an hourslong sit-in at the Mobile, Ala., office of Senator Jeff Sessions, where they demanded that he withdraw his name from consideration as President-elect Donald J. Trumps attorney general. Almost two dozen civil rights activists occupied the office around 11 a.m. to denounce what they called the senators hostile attitude toward civil rights and the Voting Rights Act, which was weakened by a Supreme Court decision in 2013. The sit-in ended shortly after 6:30 p.m. when the protesters refused an order from the buildings management to leave the premises. It was not immediately clear how many people had been arrested, but a live-stream broadcast on Facebook by Lee Hedgepeth, a local journalist, showed at least six people agreeing to be arrested and kneeling before the police in prayer. Despite the steady decline in the percentage of Americans who identify as Christian, the proportion of congressional members who say they are Christian has remained very close to what it was in the early 1960s, according to a new report. The report, released on Tuesday by Pew Research Center, found that 91 percent of the members of the new session of Congress, the 115th, identified as Christian. More than half a century ago, in 1961, 95 percent of United States representatives and senators said that they were Christian, the report said. As the report notes, an analysis of the General Social Survey, a survey of Americans that has been taken regularly since 1972, suggests that the percentage of Christians among the United States population is declining, particularly among young adults. In a phone interview on Tuesday, Aleksandra Sandstrom, the reports author, said that the steadiness of Congresss religious composition was striking given the broader change in the countrys population. WASHINGTON The new Congress convenes Tuesday, and Republicans have a long list of promises to keep. But with a Republican president in Donald J. Trump, they are vowing to end gridlock in Washington. What should you watch for? Here is our cheat sheet. How quickly will Republicans vote to repeal the health care law? The majority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, promised that repeal would be the first order of business. But this does not mean the end of the Affordable Care Act, at least not any time soon. Republicans will most likely wind their way through a complex process known as budget reconciliation, setting instructions that congressional committees would then have to follow to draft final repeal legislation. And because Republicans have yet to agree on how to replace the law, leaders may postpone for years the effective date for any repeal measure. How will Democrats handle Mr. Trumps nominees? Senate Democrats do not have the votes to block any of the cabinet nominees, though they can slow the process. But absent any major disqualifying revelations, Mr. Trumps choices are likely to prevail. Mr. Pence will make a return to the Capitol where he served for many years as a House member from Indiana on Wednesday. He will be there to discuss next steps to repeal and replace #Obamacare, Speaker Paul D. Ryan said on Monday on Twitter. Bipartisan letter to Trump: Sell your businesses A handful of Republicans including several former governors and members of Congress have joined with liberal ethics activists in pressing Mr. Trump to sell his business assets to prevent White House conflicts that could be seriously damaging to the presidency. The letter sent to Mr. Trump includes the signatures of two former Republican governors, five former Republican members of the House and a collection of prominent ethicists, including Peter Schweizer, the editor at large of Breitbart and the author of Clinton Cash, a book that criticized Hillary Clintons connections to the Clinton Foundation. In a number of cases, the Republicans who signed the letter have been critics of Mr. Trump since before the election, such as former Representatives Peter Smith of Vermont and Mickey Edwards of Oklahoma. Some Republican signers, such as Arne Carlson, a former governor of Minnesota, and Christine Todd Whitman, a former governor of New Jersey, supported Mrs. Clinton for president. But the letter suggests that Mr. Trump is beginning to face calls from a broadening universe of people to take more aggressive steps to eliminate potential conflicts, such as selling off his real estate holdings and businesses before taking office. The only way to solve the problems you face remains divesting into a blind trust managed by an independent trustee or the equivalent, the letter says. As long as you continue to maintain ownership of the Trump Organization, no other steps that you take will prevent the serious conflicts of interest. The letter was organized by two former White House ethics lawyers Richard W. Painter, who served under George W. Bush, and Norman Eisen, who served in the Obama administration as well as Fred Wertheimer, the founder of an ethics in government group called Democracy 21. House Republicans voted in a private meeting on Monday to strip the powers of the Office of Congressional Ethics. But by Tuesday, facing a firestorm of criticism from Democrats and the public, as well as a pointed question from President-Elect Donald J. Trump, they moved to reverse that plan. What happened? On Monday evening, with little warning, Republicans announced that they had voted to strip the office of its independence. The vote took place in a House conference, a private meeting of Republicans. The office was set up in 2008, after several members of Congress were convicted of crimes and sent to jail. It can conduct investigations of House members and employees who have been accused of violating laws, rules or congressional norms. If youve recently signed up for a simple FilmStruck account (as opposed to a joint FilmStruck and Criterion Collection account) and dont know where to start, watching these movies before they expire this month might be a good point of entry. Note that movies in the Criterion Collection section of FilmStruck will remain available there past their expiration dates for the main service. Au Hasard Balthazar (Jan. 6) The French director Robert Bresson weaves together a beautiful story that is both emotional and unsentimental in this 1966 film about a small-town girl, her beloved pet donkey and the cruelties they endure throughout their lifetimes. The Stunt Man (Jan. 13) If you only know Peter OToole as the star of Lawrence of Arabia, then treat yourself to one of his more deliciously comedic roles as a conniving movie director. OTooles Hollywood big shot hides a man fleeing from the police (Steve Railsback) by disguising him as a stunt man on his set. But the director soon exploits his position as protector and pushes for more dangerous stunts. Akira Kurosawa Films (Jan. 20) Watch the epics Throne of Blood and Seven Samurai and the fractured drama of Rashomon while you can. The latter film is quite different from the first two, with their sword fights and slings of arrows. Its a puzzling crime story told from four different perspectives. (Also see: Stray Dog, The Bad Sleep Well, High and Low and The Hidden Fortress.) NEW DELHI News of a mass molestation surfaced swiftly in the Indian news media: Numerous women being groped, harassed and chased on the streets of Bangalore by an unruly crowd on New Years Eve. And almost as swiftly, the government official who is ultimately responsible for keeping order on those streets, the home minister of Karnataka State, said the women were to blame because of the way they looked and acted. Youngsters were almost like Westerners, said the official, G. Parameshwara, in a televised interview on Monday. They tried to copy the Westerner, not only in their mind-set but even in their dressing. So some disturbance, some girls are harassed, these kind of things do happen. Public outcry over sexual assault and street safety in India has grown in recent years as such cases have come to light, including the 2012 rape of a 23-year-old woman on a bus in New Delhi who later died of her injuries. Though the government has since imposed harsher punishment for sexual assault, politicians and the police have been criticized as failing to take the issue seriously and blaming the victims for the violence committed against them. It was an honest, mundane customer service job, advising the customers of Delta Air Lines on such matters as lost baggage and frequent-flier miles, for a mediocre monthly salary of $150. He was sitting on a waiting room sofa when he picked up The Times of India and read that 700 of his co-workers had been detained the night before. The first person he contacted was Ms. Broder, to tell her that the raid had hit the same operation he had described to her. That night, he and Mr. Dubey, who had left the Mira Road center after contacting Ms. Broder, celebrated over drinks. We brought it down, Mr. Dubey said. It started out as fun, then it got boring, then we truly understood the good and dirty parts of the job. Then we decided to bring it down. Whistle-blowers motives are often murky, and in their early conversations, Ms. Broder wondered fleetingly whether the two friends were calling on behalf of the schemes organizers to determine what American investigators knew. In an interview with The New York Times, the two men acknowledged being fired from the call center after getting into an altercation with co-workers. Their claim to have brought down the center is unfounded, according to Indian and American investigators, who said that the raid in Thane was carried out entirely by the local police, without assistance from American officials. The Thane police said their informant was not employed by the swindlers. The raid was international news, and in the weeks that followed, the number of fraudulent I.R.S. calls to Americans dropped 95 percent, according to the Better Business Bureau. But those who believe that the drop is permanent should consider this: In the weeks after Mr. Poojary and Mr. Dubey left the center, several lucrative job opportunities were presented to them. Each involved a phone scheme targeting Americans, they said. There was the Viagra scam, in which callers offered to sell cut-rate Viagra; there was a low-interest loan scam, in which people were asked to deposit $1,000 as proof of income. There was a tech scam, which warned Americans that their computer had been infected by a virus, and an American Express scam, which involved gathering personal information to break through security barriers on online accounts. Even if you shut down 400 buildings in India, it will not stop, said Mr. Dubey, now known by his Delta clients as Jacob Davis. The two friends say they have given up on the notion of getting rich quickly, or of being paid by the United States government for the information they provided. It has been replaced by a new hope that, perhaps as a result of the public service they have provided, they will be granted visas to the United States, the home of so many of their favorite things: The Fast and the Furious, Vin Diesel and Robert Downey Jr. Ive spent so much time getting to know it, familiarizing myself with its states, talking to its people, Mr. Dubey said. I feel a bond. SEOUL, South Korea South Koreas Constitutional Court formally opened President Park Geun-hyes impeachment trial on Tuesday, despite the absence of Ms. Park, whose lawyers said she was unlikely to attend any of the proceedings. The nine-member court has until June to decide whether Ms. Park, whose powers have been suspended since the National Assembly voted on Dec. 9 to impeach her over a corruption scandal, will be reinstated or removed from office. The court, which had held three preliminary hearings on Ms. Parks impeachment, convened in full for the first time on Tuesday, with the intent of inviting her to respond to the National Assemblys charges and answer questions. But she did not appear, and the hearing was adjourned after nine minutes. A lawyer for the president, Lee Joong-hwan, said after the hearing that Ms. Park would make her case through her attorneys. She wont appear in court unless there is an exceptionally special reason to do so, Mr. Lee said. German prosecutors have added six counts of murder and war crimes to the charges against an imprisoned Islamic State member from Germany who attracted global attention after claiming disillusionment and disgust with the terrorist group. The new accusations, announced by the prosecutors on Tuesday, were brought three months after a video surfaced suggesting that the recruit, Harry Sarfo, 28, had taken part in a Syrian mass killing. But in previous interviews, he told the authorities and reporters that he had never killed anyone. Mr. Sarfo, a German of Ghanaian descent, was convicted last year in a Hamburg court of membership in a terrorist organization after his arrest upon returning to Germany in July 2015 from Syria, where he traveled three months earlier to join the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Described by German judicial officials as a model prisoner who had avidly cooperated in providing information about the Islamic State, Mr. Sarfo was given a reduced prison term of three years and was allowed to provide interviews to a number of news organizations, including The New York Times. Mr. Albanese then addressed the prisoners, who sat facing him on stools listing the temperatures at which different wines should be served and how to store them in cellars. For a finale, he offered a crowd-pleasing tip. Do remember, even if you had Trump over for dinner, the pope would still be served first. The clergy does come first, even before heads of state, he said, to raucous laughter. The prisoners, whose identity is being protected by the prison, were not allowed to be interviewed or photographed for this article. Roberto Giannone, who works for the local sommelier association, then demonstrated how to open a bottle, neatly slicing off the capsule covering the bottleneck in three cuts, inserting the corkscrew and smoothly pulling out the cork. Once the cork is out, he said, use a napkin to show it to your customers. Its an easy way to be polite and avoid objections. Since the 1970s, the Italian penal system has focused on re-education for inmates. However, a lack of funds for rehabilitation, as well as chronic overcrowding, means that thousands of incarcerated men and women have little to do all day. That has sparked some innovative rehabilitation programs, including a restaurant inside a medium-security prison near Milan in which the waiters and cooks are inmates. But the sommelier class at the Lecce prison is believed to be unique in Italy. LONDON Complicating his countrys already fraught preparations for exiting the European Union, Britains top diplomat in Brussels resigned unexpectedly on Tuesday, less than three months before withdrawal negotiations are scheduled to start. The decision by the diplomat, Ivan Rogers, the permanent representative to the European Union, deprives Britain of one of its most knowledgeable officials as it tries to form a coherent strategy for untying more than four decades of European integration. It also underscores some of the tensions at the highest level of government as Britains exit, known as Brexit, dominates the political agenda after last years referendum, in which voters opted to leave the bloc. Mr. Rogers did not offer a public explanation for his departure, but in an email to colleagues he appeared to suggest that warnings about the complexity of Brexit had strained relations with politicians who want to put a more positive gloss on the withdrawal process. I hope you will continue to challenge ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking and that you will never be afraid to speak the truth to those in power, Mr. Rogers wrote, according to copies of the message published in the British media. LONDON Maybe it wasnt just the iceberg. Ever since the Titanic sank more than 104 years ago, killing more than 1,500 men, women and children, mystery has swirled around the tragedy. No one doubts that the ship collided at high speed with an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland. But a new documentary posits that the sinking of the ship hailed at the time as the largest ever built, and praised for its professed unsinkability may have been accelerated by a giant coal fire in its hull that appeared to have started as long as three weeks before it set off on its fateful journey to New York from Southampton, England. In the documentary, which was broadcast on Channel 4 in Britain on New Years Day, Senan Molony, an Irish journalist who has spent more than 30 years researching the Titanic, contends that the fire, in a three-story-high bunker next to one of the ships boiler rooms, damaged its hull, helping to seal its fate long before it slammed into the iceberg. Its a perfect storm of extraordinary factors coming together: fire, ice and criminal negligence, he argues in the documentary, Titanic: The New Evidence, which will air in the United States on the Smithsonian Channel on January 21. The fire was known about, but it was played down. She should never have been put to sea. JERUSALEM He has dominated the Israeli political scene for years, outmaneuvering or outlasting one opponent after another, the ultimate survivor in a system that has chewed up many of his predecessors. But after a nighttime visit by police investigators who read him his rights before asking him if he was corrupt, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now faces a new kind of challenge. The opponent who just might sink him is none other than Benjamin Netanyahu himself. Abraham Diskin, a political scientist at the Academic Center of Law and Science outside Tel Aviv who has advised Mr. Netanyahu, said on Tuesday that it was not very clear that Netanyahu is going to escape some kind of indictment. And once there is an indictment, Professor Diskin added, he will have to resign. Details of the graft investigation remain murky the truth is that we dont know anything, Professor Diskin said but the questions it raises are clear: Could an appetite for high living abetted by wealthy business executives ultimately undercut Mr. Netanyahu as it has so many other politicians in Israel and around the globe? White Robes long and winding road to Karaka Wayne Stewart Photo: Trish Dunell Three fillies at the New Zealand Bloodstock Select sale will have a unique claim to fame.The trio who make up White Robe Lodge's 2017 draft will have clocked up the longest Kiwi road trip by the time they check into Barn I.Accompanied by White Robe Lodge stud manager Wayne Stewart, the fillies will set out from Wingatui around January 20 with a long and winding trip ahead of them."We will travel to Christchurch, stay the night and then, early morning about 4am head to Blenheim," Stewart said. "Previously we would connect with the ferry and get as far as Bulls that night. Now we stop at Blenheim and get the ferry the next morning."The decimation of State Highway One during the Kaikoura earthquake has added an extra day to their trip north and will take them via an inland road which a spokeman for Majestic Horse Floats said is not really built for what it is being used for now. "It is very narrow in parts. It's a bit of a nightmare," he said.Once through the three hour ferry trip, Stewart and his draft will head up to the Majestic depot at Bulls for another over-nighter and an early morning departure for Karaka."I will give them four or five days at a property 10 minutes from the sales complex," he said.Like any good, keen, southern man, Stewart is fairly pragmatic about the lengthy trip to Karaka, choosing to see the benefits."It is a big trip, but they definitely grow up, it sets them up for the future," he said. "With the floats these days, they are very good with great facilities. And, apart from the mishap this year, the roads are better than they were 10 or 20 years ago."The Anderton family's White Robe Lodge has been part of the tapestry of yearling sales history in New Zealand for the past 60 years but in 2016, for the first time, the stud was not represented at Karaka."We kept them back for the South Island sale and this year we have kept our colts back for that sale too, but these are three nice fillies so we thought we would target Karaka with them," Stewart said. "They are out of good winning mares, who between them have won 25 races."The first of the White Robe Lodge draft to go through the ring is by Gallant Guru out of the two-time Group Three winner Inferno. The winner of 10 races is a half-sister to stakes winner Ortem Fire, who will have a Reliable Man filly at the sale. "The hope was that Reliable Man will take the family to the next level," Stewart said.Ortem Fire, herself a daughter of Gallant Guru, was the joint top filly on the 2012-13 three-year-old Free Handicap. The Reliable Man filly is her first foal.The third filly is by Zacinto out of Of The Essence, the winner of 10 races and from the same family as top Southern galloper A Gordon For Me.Of The Essence and Inferno are both daughters of Yamanin Vital, whose son Who Shot Thebarman has flown the flag for White Robe Lodge."Him still going around helps keep the stud name out there," Stewart said. "Having our own racing team helps too."Included in that racing team is Who Shot Thebarman's half-sister Serve de Aunt, and the stud also has two half-sisters by Raise The Flag."We have a half-brother by Ghibellines to market at the sales in 2018," Stewart said."With a new sire to promote we will be taking yearlings to Karaka as it will give him [Ghibellines] better opportunities."With luck the 2018 draft will face a slightly shorter road trip. Republicans are expected to lose control of the South Coast Air Quality Management District board when an outspoken liberal Democrat is sworn in this week to serve on the panel. The district regulates air pollution in the sea-to-mountains air basin covering Orange County and the urban portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Supervisor Sheila Kuehl of Santa Monica will serve as Los Angeles Countys representative, replacing conservative Republican Michael Antonovich, who served on the air board since 1988. He was termed out of office. In addition, the Dec. 26 death of Riverside County Supervisor John Benoit, a Republican, leaves another opening. He had a year left in his appointment. Riverside County supervisors will pick his successor. The shift could bring policy changes to an important board that last year turned to the right. In early 2016, the air district shifted toward a more business-friendly approach after Dwight Robinson, a Lake Forest councilman, joined the board, giving Republicans a one-vote majority. The board then voted 7-6 along party lines to fire the air districts 19-year executive officer, Barry Wallerstein, despite objections from public health and clean-air advocates, who credited him for years of steady air-quality improvement. The board later hired former Bush administration official Wayne Nastri to run the agencys staff. Nastri has since proposed a 15-year air cleanup plan that emphasizes cash incentives for polluters to reduce emissions. Now Kuehl, 75, will have a say on the plan, which is expected to go to the air board in February. Her offices were closed for the holidays, and she could not be reached for comment. But she is a former state legislator who has been critical of the boards shift to the right. She has for a long time supported strong policies in Sacramento that protect the health of people, said Adrian Martinez, a Los Angeles attorney for the national environmental group, Earthjustice. Martinez said its not clear whether Kuehls addition will bring a dramatic shift in policies. She is expected to be sworn in Friday. He noted that some of the boards Democrats last year voted for an industry-backed plan to cut factory emissions of smog-forming nitrogen oxides by 12 tons a day by 2022 even after Wallerstein recommended a reduction of 14 tons a day. Wallerstein said such cuts were needed to meet federal health standards. John Husing, an Inland economist and consultant for the warehousing industry, said he expects Kuehl to find the incentives proposed by Nastri are needed. Command-and-control regulations have done just about everything they can do, he said. Both Husing and Martinez praised Benoit, who died of pancreatic cancer, as a thoughtful and independent voice on the air board. Contact the writer: 951-368-9471 or ddanelski@scng.com Bill Craig was a waterman who loved Hawaiian culture so much, he brought a taste of it to Orange County. Craig was known as many things an entrepreneur, a teacher, even an Olympic gold medalist but in Newport Beach, hes fondly remembered as the co-founder of Billys at the Beach, a gathering place with a tiki theme that sits on the picturesque Newport Beach harbor. Craig died Jan. 1 after a long battle with Parkinsons disease. He was 71. Craig spent his early years in Glendale before attending USC, where he excelled at swimming, a sport that took him to the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. The breaststroke specialist won a gold medal in the mens 4100-meter medley relay and, in the process, the team set a world record in the event with a time of 3:58. His first wife, Jeanne Hallock, also was a member of the USC swim team and an Olympic swimmer. Hallock and Craig moved to Newport Beach in 1970 to be closer to Craigs mother and other family members. The pair split in the mid-70s. Over the years, Craig held several different jobs, including a stint in finance and a teaching position. Craig owned a second home on Oahu, where he, along with his second wife, Patty, would take his three children for annual vacations. The waterman and surfer was immersed in Hawaiian culture, and even was a member at the famed Outrigger Canoe Club on Oahu. It was in 1993 that he and his then-25-year-old son Rick, who had worked several restaurant jobs, decided to open a Hawaiian-style eatery in Newport Beach. He thought I knew what I was doing, and I thought I knew what I was doing, Rick, now 49, said with a chuckle on Tuesday. I was probably a bit over my head. Craig knew that the affluent residents of Newport Beach were familiar with the islands, as he was, and there wasnt anything like Billys at the Beach around town at the time. The customers flooded in, partly for the mai tais, but also because of Craigs outgoing, welcoming nature. We had a real tight-knit group of customers, Rick said. He was a universally loved figure. Craig was a regular at the Balboa Bay Club, where he would lap the pool. The club is where he met Patty about 25 years ago. They were married in Hawaii and have a 10-year-old son, Christian. A lesson Rick said he took away from his father: Its a lot easier to go through life being gracious and nice to people than not. He also taught him to live life to the fullest. I think he lived his life that way, Rick said. He didnt have a whole lot of regrets. Friends and acquaintances took to the restaurants Facebook page to mourn Craig as they learned of his passing. Thank you Billy for creating such a great place to relax with friends and enjoy a deep breath of aloha on the mainland, one person wrote. Craig began his battle with Parkinsons about 10 years ago and he and his son sold the business to family friend Fletcher Jones in 2011. Its a terrible illness that robs you of your abilities. All the things he loved, he couldnt do with this disease, Rick said. Plans are in the works for two memorial services, one at the Balboa Bay Club and another at Billys at the Beach. No dates have been set. The family plans to spread Craigs ashes in Hawaii. Patty Craig said her husband was a wonderful, caring, giving man who will be sorely missed by the family. We will cherish all the memories he gave us, she said Tuesday. Our world wont be the same without him. Craig is survived by wife Patty; sons Rick, 49, and Christian, 10; and daughter Kimber, 46; along with two grandchildren, Taylor, 17 and Jordan, 14. Contact the writer: lconnelly@scng.com WASHINGTON Kamala Harris will take the oath of office Tuesday as Californias 45th U.S. senator and the Democratic Partys Great Blue Hope. Harris, the states first new senator in 24 years, its first African American senator and its first Indian American senator, arrives in Washington carrying heavy expectations as a symbol of her partys new generation and a defender of Californias interests in an unknown new political order. As the representative of a state where one of every eight Americans lives, and voted against Donald Trump in a landslide, Harris is expected to take a leading role against any Republican policy proposals that run counter to Californias interests. That she is coming onto the national stage at a time when the Democratic Party is looking for new, young leadership raises the stakes even higher for the 52-year-old Harris. No sooner had she won the Senate seat vacated by the retirement of Barbara Boxer than pundits began floating her name as future vice presidential or even presidential material, a kind of incarnation of President Obama, with whom she shares similar personal histories both were born to immigrant black economist fathers, raised by their mothers in middle-class homes, and spent some of their childhoods out of the country, Obama in Indonesia and Harris in Canada. Incredible expectations are on her shoulders, said Sacramento political consultant Doug Elmets, a Republican who opposed Trumps candidacy. In an interview Monday, Harris dismissed presidential talk as a distraction, and said she is entirely focused on the defending Californias interests amid an aggressive policy agenda shaping up under the GOP-led Congress and the new Trump administration. Theres no question the stakes are very high, Harris said. This is going to be a moment, as Ive been thinking and talking about it, (that will be) challenging all of us to fight for the ideals of our country. Harris said she will make a go of working in a bipartisan way, but where we differ on policy or principle, then were going to have to fight. I think thats where we are. California has a disproportionate stake in huge areas of federal policy immigration, the environment and health care, to name just three and conflicts loom with a Trump administration filled with a deeply conservative Cabinet and a Republican-led Congress determined to roll back Obama administration policies across the board. California has an estimated 2.3 million immigrants living here without permission, 20 percent of the national total and more than any other state, and they would be vulnerable should Trump follow through with his promised crackdown. California also has more Dreamers, or children of immigrants in the country without permission, than any other state, and they, too, could be subject to deportation. The state has nearly 5 million people enrolled under the Affordable Care Act, which Republicans have vowed to repeal as their first order of business. California has the most aggressive climate targets in North America and many state environmental regulations that exceed federal standards. Republicans could move to preempt these with weaker federal rules, denying California waivers to go beyond federal policy as they did during the George W. Bush administration when California sought tougher rules on tailpipe emissions. Harris is positioned to be at the center of Democratic resistance in the Trump era. Republicans control all branches of government, but their weakest grip is in the Senate, where their 52-48 majority is far short of a filibuster-proof 60 votes, giving Democrats leverage to block legislation. Although she will be but one minority-party freshman in a chamber of 100, Harris is no shrinking violet, said Elmets of the former San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general. She didnt get to the U.S. Senate by not taking chances, he said. Harris described her approach as examining how a policy affects Californians on every level, including how it will affect a child. Democrats have tools beyond the filibuster, she said, including educating the public about the implications of policy proposals, and what she called the sorely underused power to convene. Most people have the majority of issues in common, Harris said. We can break through the silos and do a better job, frankly, of creating coalitions. Yet if theres a rap on Harris, its that she has been too cautious as the states attorney general for the past six years. Critics said she failed to act aggressively to investigate police shootings in San Francisco, prosecutorial misconduct in Orange County and other areas of criminal justice. Harris backers strongly dispute the charge. I hate that description, said Tim Silard, who worked with Harris as a prosecutor in Alameda County, where she began her career. Shes a lawyer. Is she very thorough and meticulous in her process? Absolutely. Silard, now president of the Rosenberg Foundation, a San Francisco philanthropy, said many people mistake thoroughness for caution. Harris, he said, did things that no other district attorneys in the country were doing, attacking crime through job programs for low-level drug dealers and truancy prevention for elementary schoolchildren. Harris outlined those approaches in her 2009 book Smart on Crime. At the time, they ran counter to prevailing 1990s orthodoxy that demanded prison time for low-level offenders, but have since been widely embraced by top national law enforcement figures. She had done her homework, producing evidence, Silard said, that the vast majority of young murder victims and perpetrators are high school dropouts, a pattern that begins with truancy in elementary school and winds up costing taxpayers billions. All of her criminal justice stuff was incredibly groundbreaking back in the early 2000s he said. Harris allies also point to one of her last acts as attorney general, when on Dec. 22 she opened an investigation the first of its kind in California into alleged police misconduct, including use of excessive force, at the Bakersfield Police Department and Kern County Sheriffs Office. Friends and former colleagues describe Harris as hard working and demanding. Fierce is an understatement. Seriously, said Lateefah Simon, executive director of the Akonadi Foundation in Oakland, whom Harris met when Simon operated a peer-run group for troubled girls, and later hired in the San Francisco district attorneys office. Kamala is the toughest boss anybody will ever work for, Simon said. Shes always the first in the office and the last to leave. She reads everything. For fun, Harris said loves to cook, and starts many mornings at Soul Cycle. I love Soul Cycle, she said of the fitness chain. Its like going to the club. When things get really stressful, she said, I read recipes. Born in Oakland on Oct. 20, 1964, Harris was raised with her younger sister, Maya, in an African American neighborhood in Berkeley and later in Oakland and Montreal. Her father, Stanford University economist Donald Harris, and her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, a renowned breast cancer researcher, met in graduate school at UC Berkeley, and divorced when the children were young. The girls were raised by their mother, who sent them to Baptist choir and Hindu temple. She died in 2009. Harris described her mother as by far one of the biggest influences on her life. Her general philosophy was speak the truth and be honest and be clear of purpose, Harris said. Describing Californias enormous ethnic, geographic and economic diversity, she said, What my mother would definitely advocate is youve got to go in and be true to the people who brung ya. Harris got her undergraduate degree at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., and her law degree at UCs Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. In 2014, Harris married Los Angeles attorney Douglas Emhoff. The couple live in Los Angeles County. She gained national recognition in 2011 when she rebuffed pressure from the Obama administration by refusing to sign off on a mortgage settlement with banks reached by a coalition of state attorneys general. Harris prevailed, ultimately raising the payout for California homeowners from $4 billion to $20 billion. Seven years earlier, Harris had tangled with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, now her California Senate colleague, after refusing to support the death penalty for the killer of San Francisco police Officer Isaac Espinoza. At Espinozas funeral in St. Marys Cathedral, packed with more than 2,000 uniformed police officers, Feinstein famously called for the death penalty as Harris sat in the front row. Harris didnt budge but spent years afterward wooing back police unions. Feinstein has welcomed Harris to the Senate, letting the incoming junior senator use her hideaway office as a temporary work space. Feinstein will walk Harris down the aisle in the Senate chamber Tuesday to take her oath of office. For all the expectations on Harris to be an instant leader, political professionals say she might be better served by taking a more low-key approach, modeled on Hillary Clintons freshman year in the Senate. The celebrated former first lady morphed into a dutiful freshman, quietly learning the ropes, broadening her portfolio and cultivating allies in the clubby institution, moves that later paid dividends. A lot of the base in California is going to expect adamant opposition and outrage at Trumps policies, said Stanford University political scientist Bruce Cain. While senators are expected to defend their states interests, Cain suggested that Harris avoid grandstanding and instead build coalitions with unlikely allies from Trump-friendly red states that also stand to lose billions of federal dollars from such policies as dismantling the Affordable Care Act. Theres a lot of possibilities for creating coalitions to stop some of the things that Trump has said hes going to do, Cain said. But it cant just be because its unfair to California. Its got to be more clever than that. Simon is confident her former mentor will succeed. She is the most powerful African American elected woman in the country, Simon said. The most powerful Indian American woman in the country. Thats a lot of weight. But cant nobody take this on like Miss Harris. A Georgia man who served among the first black U.S. Marines during World War II died Tuesday just a few years after Congress honored him and fellow Montford Point Marines for their pioneering role in a segregated military. Angus Hardie Jamerson, known as Jay to his family and friends, died peacefully in his sleep at age 89, said his daughter, Wendy Jamerson. He lived in Villa Rica, 35 miles west of Atlanta, and would have celebrated his 90th birthday later this month. Jamerson was a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta when he was drafted in 1945 and sent to Camp Lejeune, N.C. Thats where Montford Point, a segregated training facility, had been established in 1942 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the Marine Corps to begin accepting black recruits. Jamerson would recall stepping off a bus into a mosquito-infested camp where trainees lived in crude wooden huts and were often subjected to cruder behavior, his wife, Doris Jamerson, said. On their first day, she said, Jamerson and fellow black recruits were slapped across the face by a white instructor. Throughout their service, the black Marines were barred from setting foot onto neighboring Camp Lejeune without a white escort. Jamersons service lasted about 18 months, most of it spent performing postal duties. After leaving the Marines in 1946, he graduated from Morehouse and later earned a law degree while living in California. He returned to the Atlanta area in 1979 after starting a cosmetics company. He started out wanting to serve and ended up making a historical difference, his wife said. But he had no idea of the significance of it at all. Neither did most Americans. Unlike the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and the Armys Buffalo Soldiers formed after the Civil War, blacks who served in the Montford Point Marines received scant recognition for decades. Its estimated 20,000 of them trained from 1942 until 1949, when the Marine Corps was ordered to desegregate. Fred Codes said he had served in the Marines for a decade before he first heard of Montford Point in the 1980s. Now Codes serves as Southern regional vice president for the National Montford Point Marine Association. They actually fought for the right to fight, said Codes, who counted Jamerson among the members of the groups Atlanta chapter. The history was really, really buried. That changed somewhat in 2011 when U.S. lawmakers voted to award the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor given by Congress, to the surviving Montford Point Marines. Codes said his group estimates only about 300 of them are still living, and their numbers are rapidly declining. Jamerson was among 15 Montford Point veterans in the associations Atlanta chapter to accept the medal at a banquet four years ago, Codes said. After Jamersons death, only nine remain. Wendy Jamerson said her father didnt know about the congressional award until he read about it in the newspaper. She said he appeared nonchalant, telling her: Well, you know, theyre going to give me a medal. But Jamersons pride was unmistakable. He did sleep with it for a couple of nights, his wife said. We couldnt get it off him. After mixed messages from fortunetellers, psychics, even Nostradamus himself about what to expect in 2017, I finally realized I should turn to experts to find out what the future holds. Turns out, about the only thing certain for next year is uncertainty. Yet in the words of Jyn Erso, the hero in the new Star Wars movie, We have hope. Last week, two separate polls found that most Americans are hopeful, optimistic and excited about the new year. So, with confidence at our backs, lets examine five hot-button issues that are likely to stay hot in 2017. Marijuana haze Navigating the labyrinth of the Golden States new pot law quickly produces a daze of confusion. With the passage of Proposition 64 in November, pot has become something like booze. If youre 21 or older, you can possess weed, smoke it, ingest it, share it with other adults just so long as its an ounce or less and it doesnt involve driving. You can even buy it. Well, eventually. Heres the catch: No one can legally sell recreational weed until Jan. 1, 2018, when the Bureau of Marijuana Control can begin issuing licenses for recreational marijuana shops. At the federal level, cannabis remains a Schedule I drug, same as heroin. The nominee for attorney general, Jeff Sessions, has described pot as a very real danger. Some say DEA raids are possible. Additionally, in speaking with law enforcement agencies throughout Southern California, Ive found blunt agreement about legalizing weed: They say its dangerous and dumb. The foremost concern is that fatal traffic collisions will increase as a result of more persons driving under the influence of marijuana, says Los Angeles County sheriffs Capt. Jeff Scroggin. There is also concern that use by juveniles will increase and with this (an) increased loss of opportunities (that) may cost them. Still, its possible well see more pot stores open this year. Los Angeles residents in March will vote on a ballot proposal that would repeal the citys current ban on all but a few medical marijuana dispensaries. In its place, the proposed measure would set up regulations and taxes for stores selling recreational marijuana. However, just like some towns can opt to be dry and not sell booze, Prop. 64 allows cities to curtail marijuana. While the new law allows indoor cultivation of up to six plants, cities can ban outdoor growing. Municipalities such as Santa Ana a city where its legal to sell medical marijuana are gearing up to do just that. Immigration battles Few immigration experts believe Donald Trump will complete a wall along Americas southern border in 2017. But after promising voters to be exceptionally tough on immigration, experts also agree the nations 45th president probably will do something on that front, and probably soon. On his first day in office, Trump could direct federal agencies to crack down on immigration laws and enforce deportation. He could order high-level scrutiny of immigration applications. He could roll back some of President Barack Obamas policies. Then again, Trump could soften. Of young people brought to the U.S. by immigrant parents, the president-elect recently said, Were going to work something out thats going to make people happy and proud. If true, Trumps promise could offer at least some relief for millions of fearful undocumented immigrants as well as their friends and families. It also would please the leaders of Southern Californias dominant religious group, Roman Catholics. Bishop Gerald Barnes, of the San Bernardino and Riverside diocese, recently said, Our healing process includes an urgent need to stand in solidarity with our migrant and undocumented brothers and sisters, and other groups who are experiencing fear due to statements made by President-elect Trump during his campaign. We are committed to journey with them and work so that their dignity and human rights may be respected. A few days ago, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles referred me to Archbishop Jose H. Gomezs latest statement about immigration: We are deeply concerned about the president-elect because of his drastic campaign promises. Already, cities across Los Angeles County, including Los Angeles, have renewed pledges to serve as sanctuary cities. San Bernardino signed up as well. In Orange County, Santa Ana recently followed suit. More municipalities are expected to follow. Hot housing market Drive through the outskirts of Los Angeles, Riverside or San Bernardino counties and you can see marked differences from four years ago. Where vacant malls and empty homes once stood, there are now bustling communities. Land is so pricey that urban density is coming to many places that were once traditionally suburban. Instead of building out, many developers will be building up in 17, stacking condos and apartments above retail outlets. Since the end of the recession, home prices and rents have shot up. Last year, 2016, saw jumps of nearly 5 percent. In Orange County, Zillow states the median home value is now $671,000, and Register real estate writer Jeff Collins reports that the median price for a new home in Orange County is $934,250. He adds that the average summer rent in the county hit $1,965 a month, with studio units going for about $1,550. That soon might change. Its not likely to be drastic, but some believe prices will cool this year. Still, two of the nations top 10 housing markets are Los Angeles and Riverside and thats unlikely to change. This is absolutely a sellers market and has been for quite some time, says Nancy Dennis, a vice president at American Financing Corp. We do not feel Donald Trumps win will negatively affect the market for those looking to sell. But perhaps the best news is that the housing boom has created a jobs boom. My recent review of Orange Countys 34 cities and its unincorporated areas shows a whopping 103,500 houses, condominiums and apartments recently built or in the pipeline. Thats the equivalent of a city the size of, say, Gotham. Climate change Dont expect the recent series of storms to continue. But pack an umbrella anyway. With a weak La Nina condition already in place across the Pacific Ocean, the National Weather Service predicts above-average temperatures and below-median precipitation for the next six months. Still, the weather service covers its, um, flank by adding that March and April might see above-average precipitation. But the more significant question is this: Whats up with Trump? The president-elect has stacked his Cabinet with climate change skeptics and vowed to back out of the Paris climate agreements. California, however, stands strong against climate change so dont give up on that plan for solar just yet or for overpriced catalytic converters. Aiming directly for Trump, Gov. Jerry Brown declared, California can make a significant contribution to advancing the cause of dealing with climate change, irrespective of what goes on in Washington. I wouldnt underestimate Californias resolve if everything moves in this extreme climate denial direction. That may mean some businesses this year will leave the Golden State because of higher regulatory costs. But like YouTubes Honey Badger, California doesnt care. The state has one of the 10 largest economies in the world. Entertainment This category may explain why most of us are so optimistic about 2017 almost all new TVs will be 4K and produce butter-smooth video. Wait, it gets better. Netflixs Stranger Things, The Crown and Daredevil will return. HBO will crank out more Westworld. And regular cable will continue to ramp up its game with well-regarded dramas like Mr. Robot. Not thrilled? Theres more. Beyonce, Taylor Swift, U2 and Bruno Mars are expected to tour. New(ish) movies will include Alien: Covenant, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Star Wars: Episode VIII. Still not throwing in your strike zone? We can cheer or pray for a better Rams team, root for an improving Lakers squad, yell for the Clippers, applaud the mighty Ducks and Dodgers, wish for good things to happen to the Angels. As the polls by The Associated Press and Morning Consult confirmed, we are hopeful. Contact the writer: dwhiting@scng.com The body of the Iraqi prisoner was found naked and badly bruised in 2003, outside a detention center in southern Iraq run by U.S. Marines. The 52-year-old man had been beaten, deprived of sleep, forced to stand for long periods and interrogated by Marines about his alleged role in a fatal ambush of U.S. forces. James N. Mattis, President-elect Donald Trumps nominee for secretary of defense, was then a lieutenant general and the commander of the Marine division in Iraq responsible for the center. He quickly convened an inquiry into the death, which led to courts-martial, and banned the harsh techniques used at the prison. Gen. Mattis was all up in arms over this, Ralph Dengler, then a lieutenant colonel, testified at a military hearing in January 2004. He added that the commander, who arrived hours after the discovery on a planned visit with his British counterpart, had immediately described the death as the worst thing that happened under his watch in the Iraq War. I was surprised that he would have felt that strongly about it, considering many of the other deaths, including American deaths, Dengler said. Colleagues say the generals handling of the episode reflects his firmly held views against torture and prisoner mistreatment, which are shared by many military leaders and could put them at odds with the new commander in chief. Trump, in a New York Times interview in late November, said he had been surprised to learn that the man he was considering to lead the countrys 2.2 million service members did not believe in torture. During the presidential campaign, Trump advocated bringing back the now-banned practice of waterboarding, adding that only a stupid person would say it doesnt work. Mattis does not support abusive techniques, let alone waterboarding. Give me a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers, he told Trump during their meeting in November, according to the president-elect, and I do better with that than I do with torture. The generals beliefs were shaped by his military training, but also by his experiences in dealing with issues related to torture or mistreatment, according to an examination of his nearly half-century career and interviews with former colleagues and friends. Mattis led the U.S. Central Command from August 2010 to March 2013. Lt. Col. T.G. Taylor, who was Mattis spokesman during much of that time, said in an interview that the commander had spoken of the United States as needing to hold the moral high ground. Failing to uphold important principles makes it easier for a soldier or a Marine to ask, What am I fighting for? Taylor said. That is something that Gen. Mattis is keenly aware of, he added. As a young officer, Mattis would have been instructed in the laws of war, including the Geneva Conventions, which, among other protections, require humane treatment of prisoners of war. A Marine who enlisted in 1969 while attending college part of an ROTC program during the height of the Vietnam War he did not deploy to Vietnam. But, several friends say, he believed that U.S. prisoners of war were more likely to be tortured by the Viet Cong if the United States tortured enemy captives. In 2006, Mattis supported Gen. David H. Petraeus of the U.S. Army and other military leaders in the development of a new counterinsurgency field manual that highlighted limits on interrogation tactics. Torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment is never a morally permissible option, even if lives depend on gaining information, the manual said. Lose moral legitimacy, lose the war. Mattis later agreed in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that it was inappropriate for the military to support the use of abusive techniques on detainees including waterboarding, forced nudity and sensory deprivation, tactics inflicted on prisoners during interrogations in secret CIA prisons in the years after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Those techniques had been modeled on a military training program operated by the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency, which later fell under the generals command. That program, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape, also known as SERE, exposed U.S. soldiers and other service members to techniques that an enemy violating the laws of war might use so that Americans could be better prepared to resist them. The experience typically led trainees to conclude that tortured prisoners of war will say whatever they need to in order to stay alive, whether true or not. A recent investigation by The New York Times found that many terrorism suspects subjected to harsh tactics in CIA jails or U.S. military prisons had lasting mental health problems that were similar to those experienced by some U.S. former POWs who suffered horrific abuses in Vietnam or Korea. As a commander in Afghanistan and later in Iraq, and as an overall leader of the U.S. war effort, Mattis often grappled with the consequences of the CIAs treatment of prisoners and the harsh conditions at the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They became a powerful recruiting tool for jihadis who threatened U.S. forces in the field. Testifying at a Senate hearing in 2015 after his retirement, Mattis opposed the release, before the end of hostilities, of prisoners who had fought against the United States. However, he added, they should be treated humanely, in accordance with international and domestic law. I would go by the Geneva Conventions, and maintain them, with Red Cross oversight, until the war is over, he told lawmakers. Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman for Trumps transition team, declined requests for more detail on the president-elects discussions with Mattis or on the source of Mattis beliefs and any further thoughts Trump has had about the use of torture. Mattis declined to be interviewed. Many U.S. military leaders maintain that the Bush administrations departure from established practices in allowing harsh coercive techniques government lawyers had said they did not meet the legal definition of torture, and had declared that detainees were not protected by the Geneva Conventions tainted the United States reputation while not yielding results. Ineffective, war crime, against our values, moral high ground, et cetera, Donald J. Guter, a retired rear admiral and the dean of the South Texas College of Law, said in explaining objections to brutal treatment. A very practical reason is that it opens the door for our own troops to be tortured, and we have no basis to object. If we torture, weve lost who we are. JERUSALEM Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was grilled by police investigators for over three hours at his official residence Monday night, opening what could be a politically damaging criminal investigation into suspicions that he improperly accepted gifts from wealthy supporters. Netanyahu has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, but the involvement of the national fraud squad indicated questions raised about him are considered serious enough to merit an investigation. Police said Netanyahu was questioned under caution, a term signaling that anything he said could be used as evidence against him. Israels Justice Ministry later issued a statement saying Netanyahu was questioned on suspicion of receiving benefits from business people. The ministry said investigators also had looked into suspicions of campaign finance irregularities and double billing for travel expenses, but determined there was not enough evidence to merit criminal charges. Netanyahu has denied what he calls baseless reports about the investigation. Weve been paying attention to reports in the media, we are hearing the celebratory mood and the atmosphere in the television studios and the corridors of the opposition, and I would like to tell them, stop with the celebrations, dont rush, he told a meeting of lawmakers from his Likud Party earlier Monday. There wont be anything because there is nothing. Israels Channel 2 TV has said that Netanyahu accepted favors from businessmen in Israel and abroad and that he is the central suspect in a second investigation that also involves family members. The newspaper Haaretz said billionaire Ronald Lauder, a longtime friend of Netanyahus, was linked to the affair. Channel 10 TV has reported that Netanyahus oldest son, Yair, accepted free trips and other gifts from Australian billionaire James Packer. In late September, Lauder was summoned by police for questioning related to a certain investigation conducted by them and in which Mr. Lauder is not its subject matter, said Helena Beilin, Lauders Israeli attorney. After a short meeting, he was told that his presence is no longer required and that there shall be no further need for additional meetings. Netanyahu, who took office in 2009, has long had an image as a cigar-smoking, cognac-drinking socialite, while his wife, Sara, has been accused of abusive behavior toward staff. Opponents have portrayed both as being out of touch with the struggles of average Israelis. Over the years, reports have been released about the high cost of the Netanyahus housekeeping expenses. In one case, he was chided for spending $127,000 in public funds for a special sleeping cabin on a flight to London. But he has never been charged with a crime. However, a mounting investigation could put pressure on him to step down, as his predecessor, Ehud Olmert, did in 2008 just months before he was formally indicted on corruption related charges. Olmert is now serving a prison sentence after being convicted of accepting bribes. A campaign is underway by Erel Margalit, an opposition lawmaker of the Zionist Union party, seeking for Netanyahu to be formally investigated over suspicions of prominent donors improperly transferring money for the prime ministers personal use as well as reports that Netanyahus personal attorney represented a German firm involved in a $1.5 billion sale of submarines to Israel. After the explosion in September of one of its rockets, SpaceX is now ready to get back into the business of sending payloads to space, the company announced Monday, with its next rocket headed to orbit as soon as Sunday. If all goes according to plan, SpaceX plans to launch communications satellites for Iridium, a McLean, Va.-based company, on Sunday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. SpaceX has facilities in Hawthorne. In a statement, SpaceX or more formally, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. said an investigation had determined the likely cause: an unexpected interplay of supercold helium and oxygen with carbon fibers and aluminum. The statement Monday added technical details about what went wrong, and the company said it had devised workarounds to prevent a recurrence. The cascade of explosions on Sept. 1 that destroyed a Falcon 9 rocket on the launchpad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida was perplexing and concerning, because it occurred during what is usually regarded as a safer portion of operations the fueling of propellants about eight minutes before the ignition of the engines for a planned test. The trouble appeared to start near the liquid oxygen tank on the second stage of the two-stage rocket, and in less than a tenth of a second, that section was in flames, followed by the destruction of the entire rocket and a $200 million communications satellite. The investigation narrowed in on three helium containers within the second-stage liquid oxygen tank. The containers consist of an aluminum liner with an outer layer of strong carbon fibers. During launch, as the liquid oxygen is consumed, the helium is heated and released to maintain pressure within the tank. In December 2015, SpaceX began using an upgraded Falcon 9 design that uses supercooled liquid oxygen at minus 340 degrees, 40 degrees colder than what is typically used. The lower temperature makes the oxygen denser, which improves engine thrust. But the helium was even colder. As the carbon and aluminum cool, they shrink at different rates, opening gaps into which liquid oxygen could flow. In addition, the helium may have been below the temperature at which oxygen freezes, and some of the trapped oxygen may have become solid. Really surprising problem thats never been encountered before in the history of rocketry, Elon Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX, said in an interview on CNBC in November. The Washington Post contributed to this report. It was the last chance to drop for the Tower of Terror before it disappeared forever into the Twilight Zone of yesterland and many fans dropped in at Disney California Adventure on Monday to take a final ride. Caitlyn McNulty drove in from Las Vegas for the last day. I wouldnt miss the funeral of my favorite ride, she said. The ride is getting a makeover to a more sci/fi fantasy theme. When it reopens this summer, it will be called Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout! It will feature characters from the Marvel movie series and a whole new look. The makeover was announced last summer by Marvels producer Kevin Feige at the San Diego Comic-Con, and is the first ride at the Disneyland Resort based on a movie from the Marvel Comics universe. It will retain the elevator-drop that has been a key part of Tower of Terror. Many people visited the park to ride it one last time before it drops away forever. We drove four hours just to get here and ride it today, said Lynn Merritt of Visalia. She was there with her husband Dan. We dont want it to go and we want to write to someone and dont know who to write to, she said. It was added to the theme park in 2004 as a major attraction, three years after Disney California Adventure opened to disappointing business. It became an anchor to Hollywood Land, and was based loosely on The Twilight Zone television series, similar to its sister attraction at Disney Hollywood Studios in Orlando. While some lamented the loss of the current version, others were looking forward to the first Marvel-based ride at the Disneyland Resort. Im optimistic for the change, I think it will be cool, said Jayna Bosse of Dana Point. Cast members running the attraction on Monday were busy dealing with long lines with wait times of more than two hours. People are being pretty good about the wait, said Christine Tran, a lead on the ride. This is one of the attractions where you can really immerse yourself. The new version is scheduled to open with the release of the sequel to the Guardians of the Galaxy movie in May. The movie stars Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, and will feature Disney Legend Kurt Russell. Contact the writer: meades@scng.com or follow on twitter @markaeades ISTANBUL The Islamic State issued a rare claim of responsibility on Monday for the New Years Day attack on an Istanbul nightclub that killed at least 39 people, describing the gunman who carried out the assault and who has not been identified or captured as a hero soldier of the caliphate. Turkish authorities are still searching for the gunman, who killed a police officer guarding the Reina nightclub before going on a shooting rampage with a rapid-fire rifle, leaving 39 dead, but the state news media reported that eight suspects had been detained in connection with the attack. Authorities on Monday released two photographs of the person suspected of being the gunman, captured by security cameras, that showed a dark-haired, cleanshaven man in a dark winter coat. The governments spokesman, Numan Kurtulmus, said at a news conference that investigators believed they found the assailants fingerprints and that they were close to identifying him. Kurtulmus did not mention the Islamic State specifically, but he said Turkey would press the fight against terrorism. Referring to the attack, which happened just after midnight Sunday morning, Kurtulmus said, The fact that it was done during the first minutes of 2017 gives an important message. The message is, We will go on to menace Turkey in 2017. And we say to them, we will break into your caves wherever you are. The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported Monday that the gunman might be from Kyrgyzstan or elsewhere in Central Asia. The Russian news agency Interfax quoted Aiymkan Kulukeyeva, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry in Kyrgyzstan, as saying, According to preliminary information, this information is doubtful, but we are checking all the same. The Islamic State asserted in a statement that the attack had been carried out in continuation of the blessed operations that the Islamic State is conducting against Turkey, the protector of the cross. A hero soldier of the caliphate attacked one of the most famous nightclubs, where Christians celebrated their pagan holiday, read the statement from the Islamic State. They used hand grenades and a machine gun and transformed their celebration to mourning. In an apparent reference to Turkeys role in the conflict in Syria, the statement warned that the government of Turkey should know that the blood of Muslims, which it is targeting with its planes and its guns, will cause a fire in its home by Gods will. The statement did not name the assailant, and it was not clear whether the Islamic State had organized the attack or had merely inspired the gunman. But the shooting came just days after a pro-Islamic State group, the Nashir Media Foundation, published the latest in a series of messages calling for attacks on clubs, markets and movie theaters. For years, Turkey looked the other way, according to analysts and regional diplomats, as jihadi groups moved fighters and supplies across the border, establishing deep networks in Turkish border towns. Committed to supporting the uprising against President Bashar Assad of Syria, Turkey felt the jihadis could be managed while they fought with forces loyal to the Syrian government. But that policy ultimately changed, as Turkey worked to secure its borders as it took in millions of Syrian refugees and as terrorist attacks rocked the country. Turkey began a military intervention in northern Syria in August that put its forces on the front lines against Kurdish militants as well as Islamic State fighters. This turned the jihadis decidedly against Turkey. The Turkish military said Monday that it had struck Islamic State targets in Syria, killing at least 22 militants. Defying the wishes of their top leaders, House Republicans voted behind closed doors Monday night to rein the independent ethics office created eight years ago in the wake of a series of embarrassing congressional scandals. The 199-74 vote during a GOP conference meeting means that the House rules package expected to be adopted Tuesday, the first day of the 115th Congress, would rename the Office of Congressional Ethics to the Office of Congressional Complaint Review and place it under the oversight of the House Ethics Committee. The OCE was created in 2008 to address concerns that the Ethics Committee had been too timid in pursuing allegations of wrongdoing by House members. Under the current House ethics regime, the OCE is empowered to release a public report of its findings even if the Ethics Committee chooses not to take further action against a member. President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to drain the swamp and has proposed a series of his own ethics reforms. Both House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., opposed the amendment to the House rules package, speaking out against it in the Monday evening conference meeting, according to two people in the room. But the measures sponsor, Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said in a statement that it builds upon and strengthens the current arrangement and that it improves the due process rights for the House members under investigation and witnesses interviewed in the course of OCE probes. Ethics watchdog groups warned Monday that the amendment could undermine public confidence in Congress. Democrats pounced Monday on the Republicans move. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement that the GOP has acted to weaken ethics and silence would-be whistleblowers and that the proposed arrangement would functionally destroy the OCE. Republicans claim they want to drain the swamp, but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions, Pelosi said. Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress. In the Senate, there is no equivalent of the OCE. WESTMINSTER The bodies of two women were found Monday after a suspicious fire and a man was booked on two counts of suspicion of murder in their deaths. Westminster police on Monday said Christopher Ken Ireland, 37, Huntington Beach, was arrested in the deaths of Yolanda Holtrey, 59, Westminster; and her friend, a woman from Huntington Beach, 49, whose name wasnt immediately released pending notification of next of kin. Officials didnt immediately say how the women were killed. The deceased and the suspect were not related but were acquaintances, said Westminster Police Cmdr. Cameron Knauerhaze, an agency spokesman. http://launch.newsinc.com/js/embed.js var _ndnq = _ndnq || []; _ndnq.push([embed]); Police said the investigation started Sunday morning, when Westminster officers were called to assist Orange County Fire Authority firefighters who had extinguished a house fire in the 5000 block of Northwestern Way in Westminster. The fire damaged the interior of the home, Knauerhaze said. Because of suspicious circumstances, OCFA arson investigators and Westminster detectives were called to the scene. The homeowner, Holtrey, and her friend could not immediately be located. The bodies of Holtrey and her friend were found Monday in brush near the Newport Hills Shopping Center off San Miguel Drive in Newport Beach, Knauerhaze said. This crime appears to be an isolated incident and we do not believe any other suspects are outstanding. The motive for the crime is still under investigation, Knauerhaze said in a statement. Holtrey worked at a local Stein Mart store, where the other victim was employed as well, said longtime friend Rebecca Eloise Miranda. Miranda, who has known Holtrey for more than three decades, described Holtrey as religious, reliable and diligent. She worked at the perfume counter at Macys during the holidays to make extra money, Miranda said. News of her death was just a shock to me, she added. Police said that anyone with information on the crime is urged to contact Westminster Det. Wilson at 714 898-3315. Tips can also be provided anonymously through Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS or at OCcrimestoppers.org. Contact the writer: lleung@scng.com Technology is seeping into everything, even restaurant tableware. Quince, a Michelin-starred restaurant in San Francisco has recently swapped ol fashioned porcelain plates with Apple iPads for a couple of its most popular dishes. Restaurants have been using tablets instead of classic menus for years now, and some have even introduced app-powered ordering and payment options, but until not too long ago, plating seemed to be immune to this high-tech trend. Theyre feeling the heat now, though, as more and more restaurants swap them out for futuristic tablet-based dishes, in an effort to attracts tech aficionados with and appetite for fine cuisine. The latest to join the exclusive restaurants where tablet plating is actually a thing is Quince, a San Francisco eatery run by Michael and Lindsey Tusk. They are serving a dish called A Dog in Search of Gold on an Apple iPad thats playing a video of a dog hunting for truffles. If youre wondering about the connection, the dish is composed of white truffle croquettes. And in case youre not into truffles, Quince also serves frog legs on top of iPads playing videos of frogs in a pond. Photo: Instagram/dyhuang23 The idea was simply about taking the guest on a voyage to being out truffle hunting then having a moment when the truffle is dug from the ground, Michael Tusk told Inside Scoop SF. Living in San Francisco for over twenty years I have witnessed the tech boom, and I wanted to combine a little bit of gastronomy with technology and a little bit of education. Local chef Richie Nakano caused quite the stir on social media after posting a photo of the A Dog in Search of Gold that a friend had ordered. Some people complained about the spicy $220 price tag of the dish, others wondered what the point of the iPads was, but most expressed concerns about hygiene. This is so unhealthy, one person commented. Do people not remember how much microbes are on touchscreens? Photo: Yelp Things got a bit out of hand over that last one, so Tusk took to Facebook to clarify. The iPad and the custom walnut box it rests in combine a little bit of gastronomy, technology, education and whimsy, he wrote. As to the construction and design of the box we commissioned local wood worker and friend Luke Bartels to create a housing for the iPad a simple frame with a plexi glass cover that protects the screen. The food does not directly sit on top of the iPad. The removable plexi sheath is washed and sanitized after every use in keeping with all other plate ware. Interestingly, Quince is reportedly the first U.S. restaurant to use tablets as plates, but definitely not the first in the world. The Daily Mail reports that restaurants in the UK have been using them for the last two years, and the Arzak restaurant, in San Sebastian, Spain, is famous for its unique glass plates with iPads encased in them. Photo: Richie Nakano/Twitter Whats next, fully automated, high-tech restaurants that do away with human interaction? Oh, wait Archive Nov 2022 (3) Oct 2022 (20) Sep 2022 (20) Aug 2022 (23) Jul 2022 (15) Jun 2022 (21) May 2022 (21) Apr 2022 (19) Mar 2022 (19) Feb 2022 (20) Jan 2022 (21) Dec 2021 (19) Nov 2021 (22) Oct 2021 (23) Sep 2021 (19) Aug 2021 (22) Jul 2021 (14) Jun 2021 (18) May 2021 (19) Apr 2021 (20) Mar 2021 (22) Feb 2021 (20) Jan 2021 (21) Dec 2020 (19) Nov 2020 (15) Oct 2020 (22) Sep 2020 (21) Aug 2020 (19) Jul 2020 (21) Jun 2020 (23) May 2020 (20) Apr 2020 (27) Mar 2020 (29) Feb 2020 (19) Jan 2020 (19) Dec 2019 (17) Nov 2019 (16) Oct 2019 (21) Sep 2019 (20) Aug 2019 (22) Jul 2019 (21) Jun 2019 (16) May 2019 (22) Apr 2019 (22) Mar 2019 (11) Feb 2019 (20) Jan 2019 (22) Dec 2018 (14) Nov 2018 (18) Oct 2018 (23) Sep 2018 (18) Aug 2018 (23) Jul 2018 (17) Jun 2018 (21) May 2018 (22) Apr 2018 (21) Mar 2018 (21) Feb 2018 (20) Jan 2018 (20) Dec 2017 (15) Nov 2017 (20) Oct 2017 (22) Sep 2017 (21) Aug 2017 (24) Jul 2017 (11) Jun 2017 (17) May 2017 (22) Apr 2017 (20) Mar 2017 (23) Feb 2017 (20) Jan 2017 (21) Dec 2016 (16) Nov 2016 (21) Oct 2016 (21) Sep 2016 (22) Aug 2016 (21) Jul 2016 (20) Jun 2016 (22) May 2016 (21) Apr 2016 (21) Mar 2016 (23) Feb 2016 (21) Jan 2016 (19) Dec 2015 (16) Nov 2015 (19) Oct 2015 (23) Sep 2015 (21) Aug 2015 (12) Jul 2015 (23) Jun 2015 (23) May 2015 (19) Apr 2015 (23) Mar 2015 (25) Feb 2015 (20) Jan 2015 (20) Dec 2014 (15) Nov 2014 (18) Oct 2014 (24) Sep 2014 (22) Aug 2014 (22) Jul 2014 (20) Jun 2014 (22) May 2014 (21) Apr 2014 (22) Mar 2014 (21) Feb 2014 (20) Jan 2014 (22) Dec 2013 (16) Nov 2013 (19) Oct 2013 (23) Sep 2013 (20) Aug 2013 (17) Jul 2013 (21) Jun 2013 (22) May 2013 (23) Apr 2013 (22) Mar 2013 (22) Feb 2013 (21) Jan 2013 (22) Dec 2012 (21) Nov 2012 (19) Oct 2012 (24) Sep 2012 (21) Aug 2012 (23) Jul 2012 (22) Jun 2012 (22) May 2012 (26) Apr 2012 (22) Mar 2012 (22) Feb 2012 (21) Jan 2012 (23) Dec 2011 (23) Nov 2011 (21) Oct 2011 (22) Sep 2011 (22) Aug 2011 (27) Jul 2011 (22) Jun 2011 (24) May 2011 (21) Apr 2011 (21) Mar 2011 (28) Feb 2011 (22) Jan 2011 (24) Dec 2010 (25) Nov 2010 (23) Oct 2010 (22) Sep 2010 (24) Aug 2010 (22) Jul 2010 (21) Jun 2010 (26) May 2010 (19) Apr 2010 (26) Mar 2010 (25) Feb 2010 (20) Jan 2010 (19) Dec 2009 (23) Nov 2009 (19) Oct 2009 (24) Sep 2009 (22) Aug 2009 (24) Jul 2009 (22) Jun 2009 (23) May 2009 (20) Apr 2009 (24) Mar 2009 (24) Feb 2009 (21) Jan 2009 (28) Dec 2008 (25) Nov 2008 (20) Oct 2008 (25) Sep 2008 (28) Aug 2008 (28) Jul 2008 (25) Jun 2008 (27) May 2008 (31) Apr 2008 (30) Mar 2008 (33) Feb 2008 (36) Jan 2008 (41) Dec 2007 (33) Nov 2007 (24) Oct 2007 (24) Sep 2007 (12) Aug 2007 (16) Jul 2007 (15) Jun 2007 (14) May 2007 (14) As he readied to move this fall from the East Coast, the veteran musicians puzzled friends quizzically echoed the name of his new city: Omaha? Yep, Omaha. And after two months, the well-traveled Marcus Dagan likes it just fine, thank you. Very nice, he said. People are very friendly, they say hello on the street. Its very clean. And musically? Lots of jazz and blues. Dagan (pronounced DGan) is not an up-and-comer trying to break into music, but a been-around-the-block guy who will play as long as he can. And play, he can. For more than four decades, he has traveled the world entertaining with distinctive phrasing and what a 2007 reviewer called his smoky voice, seductive piano stylings and endless repertoire of original and classic songs. Years ago he played piano for Frank Sinatra at the Sands Casino in Atlantic City, and he tells a story he swears is true. (Marcus includes it in his 2007 book, Songs and Their Stories.) The manager asked him to stay into the early hours, but Marcus demurred, saying his then-wife had an early meeting and he promised to take their daughter to day care. Plus, he had an audition at 9:30 a.m. Insisted the manager: You cant say no to Frank. It was too late to change plans, the young keyboardist said, just as Guess Who walks in with men named Jimmy and Jilly. Frank, the manager said, heres the guy who said he couldnt stay for you. Whats the story, kid? the legendary crooner demanded. After Marcus explained, Frank said: Thats OK, but the rest of the week you stay till I tell you to go home. For the next four nights, Marcus had the distinct honor of playing with the legend until 4 a.m. Dagan has played plenty of other places in various countries, and now has moved to the middle of the country because his wife, Debra Fuller-Dagan, accepted a position in Omaha as an autism researcher. Marcus has played and sung at a few places in Omaha, wearing a cool trilby-type hat with its narrow brim and sharp peak over his 5-foot-9, 140-pound frame. Weve struck up an acquaintance, noting that were two weeks apart in age 68, though we wryly agree age is just a number and, after all, 68 is the new 67. Seriously, its good to keep moving. And Marcus has spent much of his life on the move. He was born in London, where his musician father sat him at a piano at 4; at 17, Marcus received a diploma from Londons Royal Academy of Music. His mother bought him a camera, fostering his lifelong love of photography. He debuted professionally in Amsterdam at 26, and has performed in cabarets and restaurant lounges from Tokyo to Honolulu, from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Washington, D.C., singing at times in Hebrew, French, Greek and English. Marcus has lived in France, Holland, Israel, Japan and Bermuda, as well as in New York, Las Vegas, Philadelphia and Baltimore. He and his first wife had two children of whom he is proud. He never tried for fame or even fortune, he says, but regrets that his focus on music often kept him away from the family and led to divorce. He wrote We Just Ran Out of Love, which includes: I thought we were set for life. Now it feels like ice. Many great songs are sad, he said, written from wells of pain and passion. But he sings good-time cocktail songs, too, as well as movie classics and standards, all with his own interpretive phrasing. If his voice is described as smoky, its interesting that during a long run at Chelsea Place restaurant in New York, he wrote Smoky Music. I like that smoky music, and the smoky life I lead, it says. And this very smoky room ... a honky-tonky saloon. No one can smoke in restaurants and lounges anymore, he notes in his book, and even though he realizes smoking is stupid, he misses the old hazy atmosphere and still steps outside after each set for a drag. For a decade after 2000, he lived in Bermuda and performed at sea for Norwegian Cruise Lines, enjoying a different audience each week. On 9/11, he said, the ship docked in St. Petersburg, Russia, where the countrys Border Patrol saluted the mostly American passengers. On the shore, ordinary Russians were weeping. On cruise ships over the years, he became friends with a Massachusetts couple, Debra and her husband, Randy Fuller; he died six years ago from leukemia. Marcus and Debra married in 2014. Before moving to Omaha, they lived in Baltimore. He had spent several years there and wrote an anthem, Baltimore, You Are My Harbor. Maybe hell enjoy Omaha enough to write one for us. You can see his photography at 1-poets-eye.artist websites.com and hear samples of his performing at youtube.com/marcusdagan. The music scene Ive been exposed to so far in Omaha is quite good, Marcus said. Im especially amazed at the turnout on Monday nights at the Ozone (the lounge at Anthonys Restaurant, 72nd and F Streets). Its wonderful to hear a big band again. But we need more cabaret and Broadway. He quipped: Thats why Im here! The ads started popping up about a decade ago on social media. Instead of selling alcohol with sex and romance, these ads had an edgier theme: Harried mothers chugging wine to cope with everyday stress. Women embracing quart-sized bottles of whiskey, and bellying up to bars to knock back vodka shots with men. In this new strain of advertising, womens liberation equaled heavy drinking, and alcohol researchers say it both heralded and promoted a profound cultural shift: Women in America are drinking far more, and far more frequently, than their mothers or grandmothers did. And alcohol consumption is killing them in record numbers. White women are particularly likely to drink dangerously, with more than a quarter drinking multiple times a week and the share of binge drinking up 40 percent since 1999, according to a Washington Post analysis of federal health data. In 2013, more than a million women of all races wound up in emergency rooms as a result of heavy drinking, with women in middle age most likely to suffer severe intoxication. This behavior has contributed to a startling increase in early mortality. The rate of alcohol-related deaths for white women ages 35 to 54 has more than doubled since 1999, according to the Post analysis, accounting for 8 percent of deaths in this age group in 2015. It is a looming health crisis, said Katherine M. Keyes, an alcohol researcher at Columbia University. Although independent researchers are increasingly convinced that any amount of alcohol poses serious health risks, American women are still receiving mixed messages. Parts of the federal government continue to advance the idea that moderate drinking may be good for you. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a division of the National Institutes of Health, is overseeing a new $100 million study, largely funded by the alcohol industry, that seeks to test the possible health benefits of moderate drinking. Meanwhile, many ads for alcohol appear to promote excessive drinking, which is universally recognized as potentially deadly. These ads also appear to violate the industrys code of ethics, according to a Post analysis of alcohol marketing. For example, when girl-power heroine Amy Schumer guzzled Bandit boxed wine in the movie Trainwreck, Bandits producer, Trinchero Family Estates, promoted the scene on social media. Young women responded with photos of themselves chugging Bandit. Within months, Trinchero said, sales of boxed wines sometimes called binge in a box jumped 22 percent. We saw it first with tobacco, marketing it to women as their right to smoke. Then we saw lung cancer deaths surpass deaths from breast cancer, said Rear Adm. Susan Blumenthal, a former U.S. assistant surgeon general and an expert on womens health issues. Now its happening with alcohol, and its become an equal rights tragedy. Alcohol marketing is regulated primarily by industry trade groups, but dozens of studies have found lapses in their record of enforcing the rules. As a result, an international group of public health experts convened by the World Health Organizations regional office in Washington, D.C., plans to call in January for governments worldwide to consider curtailing alcohol ads. The laws would be similar to those passed a decade ago that sharply decreased tobacco advertising. The industrys system of self-regulation is broken, said Thomas F. Babor, a professor at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine who is aiding the effort. Officials with the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, one of the largest U.S. trade groups, defend their record of oversight, saying it has received high marks from federal regulators. The council tells members that ads should not in any way suggest that intoxication is socially acceptable conduct. The Beer Institute tells members that their marketing materials should not depict situations where beer is being consumed rapidly, excessively. And the Wine Institute prohibits ads that make any suggestion that excessive drinking or loss of control is amusing or a proper subject for amusement or that directly associate use of wine with social, physical or personal problem solving. But these rules appear regularly to be flouted, particularly on alcohol companies websites and social-media feeds, which are soaking up a growing share of the more than $2 billion the industry is expected to spend on ads this year. And the trade groups acknowledge that they do not investigate possible violations unless they receive a formal complaint. Some of the edgiest ads appear on social media Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Jokes about becoming inebriated are common. One Twitter ad features a woman with a bottle the size of a refrigerator tilted toward her lips. Its contents: Fireball Cinnamon Whisky. Women also are frequently shown drinking to cope with daily stress. In one image that appeared on a company website, two white women wearing prim, narrow-brimmed hats, button earrings and wash-and-set hair confer side by side. How much do you spend on a bottle of wine? one asks. The other answers, I would guess about half an hour ... At the bottom is the name of the wine: Mommys Time Out. Another ad on a company website features a white woman wearing pearls and an apron. The most expensive part of having kids is all the wine you have to drink, it says above the name of the wine: Mad Housewife. An ad on the Etsy marketplace website promotes a stemmed glass big enough to hold an entire bottle of wine with the line: She will be telling the truth when she says I only had 1 glass. And Urban Outfitters a retailer that markets to 18- to 28-year-olds stocks whole-bottle wine glasses that say: Drink until your dreams come true and This is how you adult. Urban Outfitters did not respond to calls and emailed messages. Alcohol marketing experts see a feedback loop between alcohol advertising and popular culture. They cite Trincheros repurposing of Schumers scene in Trainwreck as a prominent example. The rise in hazardous drinking among women is not all due to the ads. But the ads have played a role in creating a cultural climate that says its funny when women drink heavily, said Jean Kilbourne, who has produced several films and books about alcohol marketing to women. Most importantly, theyve played a role in normalizing it. Multiple experts on alcohol marketing said Trincheros use of the scene to promote its wine violated industry standards. Wendy Nyberg, Trincheros marketing vice president, defended the companys behavior, saying Trinchero officials had no role in the production of Trainwreck and no control over how their wine was portrayed. We have to promote moderation in everything that we do. We stick to the code of ethics. The owner of Mommys Time Out did not respond to requests for comment. Compared with most lunch sandwiches, the lobster rolls that Alex Robinson sells from the side of his blue Happy Lobster Truck in downtown Chicago were already pricey. So he was worried that customers would go elsewhere after he started charging $17 instead of $15, to cover higher costs. Turns out Americans still have a crush on the crustaceans, and many are more than willing to pay up. Even after the price increase this year, Robinson said he hasnt lost any business. The 4 ounces of wild-caught Maine lobster that he drizzles with butter and a touch of mayonnaise on a bread roll remain his best-selling item. We havent had anyone who said it wasnt worth it, said Robinson, who owns the truck. Prices are going up, and its still staying popular. Four years after a glut led to the cheapest lobsters since the 1980s, prices on average were up 37 percent last year and the highest on record going back decades. While U.S. and Canadian fishermen have caught more than ever in recent years, output hasnt kept pace with demand. Exports to China surged, and American restaurants used to low-cost seafood have added lobster to spice up everything from soups and salads to macaroni and cheese. The market now is outstripping the supply, said Bernie Berry, president of the Yarmouth, Nova Scotia-based Cold Water Lobster Association, which represents fisherman in Canada. I dont think we can catch enough lobsters. Canadian claw and knuckle meat a common variety used in lobster rolls averaged $28.31 per pound last month, up 7 percent from a year earlier and well above the 10-year December average of $17.85, according to Urner Barry, a New Jersey-based researcher that has been tracking food prices since 1858. In July, the average reached $29.44, the most ever. In the U.S., where most of the lobsters come from Maine, output last year was 146 million pounds, more than any other country, according to data from the National Marine Fisheries Service. While that haul was below the record of 150 million pounds in 2013, it was 66 percent higher than a decade earlier, and the catch in each of the past four years has been well-above average. While supply has improved, so has demand. Euromonitor International estimates U.S. lobster consumption jumped 38 percent in the past decade. Canadian live lobster exports to the U.S., the biggest buyer, rose 11 percent in 2015, government data show. RENWICK, Iowa (AP) Once-bustling Renwick, Iowa, lost its grocery store, hardware store, school and Ford dealership years ago, but when its sole bar closed last June, it seemed to some residents there wasnt much of a town left. So a group of seven friends and spouses who had met for beers at the bar for decades took matters into their own hands. One of them bought the place and the others pooled their money to fix it up, showing up after work to replace floors and walls on steamy summer nights before reopening in September as the Blue Moose Saloon. It was an impressive achievement but one that is becoming more common. Its not just bars but groceries, cafes and other stores. As population continues to trickle away from rural America, residents of some towns are scrambling to hold onto at least a few places where people can still get together. They dont expect to turn around their communities prospects, but after watching so many businesses shuttered, they feel they had to draw the line somewhere. There are two places not too far, over in Lu Verne, but its not our place, said one of the Blue Moose owners, Ron Oberhelman, a 59-year-old farmer who has seen the population fall from about 500 to 235 residents. Its not our hometown. When your local place closes up, youre pretty much lost. Renwicks wide streets are usually empty, apart from a trickle of people who stop at the small post office, do business at the towering silver Gold Eagle grain elevators or work at a seed production plant. But cars and pickups begin pulling up to the Blue Moose not long after it opens each afternoon at 4, offering a refuge from the icy winter wind that blows off the snowy farmland surrounding the community about 90 miles north of Des Moines. Its a similar situation in the Missouri River village of Decatur, Nebraska, where a dozen people put up money to help the owners rebuild when the Green Lantern Steakhouse burned in 2008. The restaurant, established in 1956, was what brought people into town and served as the main meeting spot in the community of 450 an hours drive north of Omaha. Its not very easy to have a strong, active small town, said Matt Connealy, who lives on a farm just outside town. You have to do things that dont always make the best sense financially. Once reopened, the restaurant resumed its place as the communitys hub, home to high school graduation parties and baby showers. Near the entrance, notices cram a bulletin board, so as Connealy notes, If you want to find out whats happening, thats where you go. U.S. Census figures show more than one-third of rural counties have lower population now than in 1930. In Iowa, about two-thirds of the states 99 counties have lost population for decades. In addition to fewer customers, businesses in rural areas face stiff competition from online shopping and from urban chain stores offering big savings for those willing to drive 30 or 40 more miles. Charles Fluharty, who heads the Rural Policy Research Institute at the University of Iowa, said hes seen an increase in rural neighbors joining to save local spots. Some create cooperatives or seek government and private grants. Without gathering places, the residents fear that people in town wont know one another. They wont know whos getting married, whos sick, who needs help. Theres a sense of, Weve got to take care of ourselves, and that means weve got to take care of one another because were all weve got, Fluharty said. In Kiester, Minnesota, the 486 residents went so far as gaining approval from the Legislature for the city to own the local food store. Residents later formed a co-op, and the Kiester Market sign notes, Proud to be community owned. Marcia Dahleen, until recently the market manager, said the grocery store relies increasingly on volunteer help. It delivers to elderly people at home and takes special orders for meat. We try to bend over backward to help people in town, she said. Residents of Bowdon, North Dakota, population 135, also created a co-op to save a meat-cutting plant after the owner died. Although it employed only a few people, co-op board member Larry Crowder said that it was the busiest place on Main Street and that residents feared Bowdons cafe and co-op grocery could fail if the plant wasnt there to draw people into town. They managed to sell 100 shares at $5,500 apiece to help fund a new plant. They did it to save the town, Crowder said. Copyright 2017 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. A 35-year-old Gothenburg, Nebraska, man was charged Friday with attempted theft of more than $20,000 in electronics from Nebraska Furniture Mart in Omaha. A Douglas County judge ordered the man held on $200,000 bail. The man is being held in the Douglas County Jail. Omaha police officers were called to Nebraska Furniture Mart on Wednesday for a man attempting to pick up merchandise using a false identity. A store loss prevention officer told police that the man was loading $20,005 of merchandise into a trailer, according to an Omaha police report. A search of the suspect turned up a credit card that didnt belong to him as well as large amounts of paperwork that allegedly showed that he was opening lines of credit under seven names. A loaded handgun was found in the center console of the suspects vehicle. The man also has been charged with being a prohibited person in possession of a gun and carrying a concealed weapon. Northerly winds and Arctic air will send temperatures down to the teens and single digits and overnight wind chills below zero the rest of this week. By the weekend, though, winds are expected to turn to the south and warmer air flows in. This morning and Thursday morning, wind chills could dip to 5 to 15 below zero in parts of eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, the National Weather Service office in Valley said. The lowest wind chills are expected along the Nebraska-South Dakota border, with the wind chills bottoming out about 20 below zero. Ryan McPike, a meteorologist at KMTV, said it might be the weekend before the Omaha area catches a break from the cold. Right now, its just an Arctic cold front settled over us for the rest of the week, he said. Corey Mead, a meteorologist at the weather service office in Valley, said the cold and wind are due to a high-pressure system out of Canada that slipped in behind Mondays fog and misty conditions. And the colder air mass isnt going anywhere soon, he said. Tonight, there is a 40 percent chance of snow in the Omaha area, with up to half an inch of accumulation in the metro area and a little more south of Interstate 80. As far as accumulation, Mead said, it doesnt look like well get a lot. Highs today and Thursday are expected to be in the teens and overnight lows in the single digits. By Friday highs could reach the mid-20s in the Omaha area, with the overnight low again back into the single digits, the weather service said. Saturday, Sunday and Monday are forecast to be partly to mostly sunny with highs in the low 20s to mid-30s. Overnight lows are forecast about to be 10 degrees to the low 20s. ***** Salvation Army will open metro-area warming centers The Salvation Army will open its centers this week to people needing to stay warm. Each location will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the exception of the Council Bluffs center, which will close at 4 p.m. The locations are: Kroc Center, 2825 Y St.; North Corps Community Center, 2424 Pratt St.; Lied Renaissance Center, 3612 Cuming St.; Council Bluffs Salvation Army, 715 N. 16th St.; and Citadel Corps, 3738 Cuming St. Skinny orange and white cones separate the northbound and southbound lanes of traffic on U.S. Highway 75 from Bellevue to Plattsmouth. One day this stretch of highway will be a four-lane expressway carrying thousands of cars a day. Its an ongoing headache and area of concern for motorists whose commutes have been slowed by construction. But residents in the Normandy Hills and Cedar View neighborhoods south of the city are worried about the permanent headache the project will bring. For years, the neighborhoods had two entry points from Highway 75, to the north at Grenoble Drive and at the south on Normandy Boulevard. But as the project continues, those intersections will be closed, and a single access road being built to the north will become the only way in and out of the area, which has neighbors concerned. The construction involves bridge and pavement work that will create the expressway and realign several county and frontage roads to provide access to new interchanges at Platteview and Bay Roads. Its scheduled to be completed in 2019. Vicki Kramer, a spokeswoman for the Nebraska Department of Roads, said the plans to close the roads have been public for more than a decade. And she said residents in the neighborhood of some 250 houses and apartment buildings were consulted. When the project was first presented, in September 2003, the plan was to close the Highway 75 intersections at Normandy Hills and at Grenoble Drive and provide access along a frontage road parallel to the expressway that went south to a relocated Platteview Road. But after hearing from residents that they preferred to travel north to Fairview Road, the plan was revised and presented once again in September 2006, Kramer said. It got favorable feedback, Kramer said, and it was set in place. Many of the current residents, however, said they didnt live in the neighborhood a decade ago when the decision was made. And they say they werent told about the decision when they purchased their homes. Now theyre concerned about having only one road in and out of the neighborhood. The Grenoble Drive exit has already been blocked. Homeowner Sarah Hirz worries that having only one entrance will make it more difficult for first responders to get into the subdivision or for plows to get in and out for snow removal. I understand the state has budget constraints, Hirz said. But this is something I believe is going to impact property values, safety and health. My concern is if you take one access road and just annihilate it, theres no escape. Kramer said the Department of Roads has agreed with Sarpy County to provide emergency access through a locked gate, in addition to the access road under construction. Its a pat on the head, Hirz said of the emergency access. She sees the plan as proof that there are legitimate concerns about safety and access. Confronted by residents complaints, the Sarpy County Board discussed four potential new access points for the neighborhood in October. But because the work on Highway 75 is being done by the state, Sarpy County is limited in its options and each would be expensive. Sarpy County Engineer Denny Wilson said the county will have a better idea of what needs to be done, if anything, when the construction on Highway 75 is complete more than two years from now. Until then it will be hard to judge the permanent safety issues and traffic congestion caused in the area by the finished freeway, he said. Wilson said the county is not making any promises, but if its determined that another entrance is needed, then it could be six or more years until the money and resources are available. Sarpy County Board member Don Kelly, who represents the area, said the only acceptable outcome is another entry point for the neighborhoods. Whats done is done, Kelly said. The most productive use of time now is trying to find a way to fix it and make it right. Hirz said it doesnt feel like the state has taken residents concerns seriously and she doesnt think an alternative access to the neighborhood will ever be built. The thing that bothers me is that the human factor is missing in the equation, Hirz said. She said she hopes a solution can be found for the neighborhoods, but as for herself, shes planning to move to Texas. World-Herald staff writer Hailey Konnath contributed to this report. Look at just about any region of the world, and youll find heated disputes between countries or regions when it comes to sharing water. Sometimes disagreements get violent. Consider what happened in India in September. More than 15,000 law enforcement and security officers had to be deployed to quell large-scale rioting to protest a water-distribution order from the countrys Supreme Court. The court ordered the Indian state of Karnataka to share river water with downstream residents in a neighboring state. Farmers in the two states depend on the water for irrigation, and severe shortages have raised the allocation stakes to a desperate level. There are no easy solutions in some situations, but Nebraska has provided an important positive example in how it has worked with Colorado and Kansas in recent years to find agreement on managing the Republican River. After years of disagreement, experts from the three states began serious negotiations in 2014. They settled a series of issues and ultimately worked out a long-term, mutually acceptable management plan signed by the three governors. Thats a big contrast to some river disputes elsewhere in the country, especially two being handled by special masters who were appointed by the U.S. Supreme Court: Texas and New Mexico legal jousting involving the Rio Grande, and courtroom warring by Florida and Georgia over management of the Apalachicola River. The special master in the Florida-Georgia case will soon announce his recommendations. The two states remained recalcitrant after he urged them to settle, warning them: I can guarantee at least one of you will be unhappy with my recommendation and perhaps both of you. You cant both be winners. But you can both be losers. That kind of realization has spurred California, Arizona and Nevada to pursue fruitful negotiation for Colorado River management, one of our countrys most complicated water-stress situations. Oklahoma had good news this year with approval of an agreement resolving longstanding tensions pitting the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes against Oklahoma City over municipal water diversions from a major lake in Indian country. The international front provides some encouraging examples, too. A notable case is a multi-faceted U.S.-Canadian agreement involving the Great Lakes. In many other situations, though, water disagreements spur ill will among countries when governments fail to resolve matters. Thats the situation involving the Nile River, with Egypt and Ethiopia at odds. China provides a particular example. Its downstream neighbors, from India to the west and Vietnam to the east, are expressing concern as Beijing approves dams that reduce water flow southward. The Japan Times newspaper reports that re- engineering transboundary water flows is integral to Chinas strategy to employ power, control and influence to fashion a strongly Sino-centric Asia. ... With as many as 18 downstream neighbors, China enjoys riparian dominance of a kind unmatched in the world. Water-distribution disputes around the globe come in many different forms. Tackling them can be complex and challenging. Through cooperation with two of its neighbors on managing the Republican River, Nebraska sets a noteworthy example of the right way to achieve practical solutions. The writer is a former religion editor at Newsweek. This essay is adapted from his book Getting Religion: Faith, Culture, and Politics From the Age of Eisenhower to the Era of Obama. He wrote this for the Chicago Tribune. Whether out of anger or of angst, Bill Clinton spoke from the core of Democratic Party presumption when he told a Westchester County, N.Y., journalist recently that Donald Trump doesnt know much but does know how to get angry white males to vote for him. This was supposed to be the Republicans season of discontent. Instead, Democrats emerged from the election with less political clout on the national and state levels of government than at any time since 1928. And Hillary Clinton was again denied her appointed role in history. If Trump pursued the politics of resentment in courting white, working-class voters and their rural cousins, Democrats succumbed to what I call the politics of righteousness in overlooking their concerns and underestimating their power. By righteousness I mean the tendency of the Democratic Party to assume ownership of the moral high ground whenever cultural values and social norms are at issue in American politics and to presume that those who disagree are, as Hillary Clinton put it, a basket of deplorables. If Democrats want to recapture their old self-image as the peoples party, their political self-examination will have to go deeper than strategy and farther back than millennials can remember. The partys alienation from the white working class began in the streets of Chicago outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention. There, antiwar protesters and activists for a host of countercultural causes fought the police of Mayor Richard J. Daley while the nation watched on television. As President Bill Clinton later observed in the first volume of his memoirs, Vietnam was only one point of contention in what was really a wider clash between generations, social classes and moral cultures. The 1968 convention marked the end of the New Deal coalition that had shouldered Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson to the White House. It wasnt that white working-class Americans turned away from the party so much as that political reformers representing the young, the newly wealthy, the suburban and the higher educated deliberately cut party ties with them. Boss Daley, the authoritarian Irish Catholic mayor from the blue-collar Bridgeport neighborhood, became the poster boy for all that was bigoted and socially regressive in neighborhood-based, white ethnic America. Over the next four years, a commission on party structure and delegate selection, with Sen. George McGovern as chairman, introduced a series of reforms ensuring that, culturally as well as politically, the delegates to the 1972 Democratic convention would resemble the young activists who had battled the police in Chicago more than delegates who had been seated inside. The McGovern Commission also established an informal quota system for state delegations to assure greater representation of racial minorities, youths and women that by 1980 became a mandate that half of every state delegation must be women. The 1972 Democratic platform formally introduced the partys commitment to identity politics, summoning Democrats to rethink and reorder the institutions of this country so that everyone women, blacks, Spanish speaking, Puerto Ricans, Native Americans, the young and the old can participate in the decision-making process inherent in the democratic heritage to which we aspire. There was also this: We must restructure the social, political and economic relationships throughout the entire society in order to ensure the equitable distribution of wealth and power. McGovern naively took for granted the traditional party loyalty of union leaders and the white working class. But these pillars of the New Deal collation recognized that McGoverns creation of a new coalition of conscience built around opposition to the war, identity politics and a redistribution of wealth excluded some of their own conscientiously held moral convictions. McGovern went on to lose every state but Massachusetts and the District of Columbia and with them the party allegiance of blue-collar workers, union leaders and (what often amounted to the same voters) conservative Roman Catholics. Jimmy Carter had his own powerful sense of moral righteousness, one he derived from his Southern Baptist heritage of personal rectitude. There was much in that mix that was admirably righteous, especially the instinct to protect racial and sexual minorities from social oppression. The problem is that pursuing righteousness by expanding individual rights at the expense of communal values often creates greater social conflict. The punitive side of political righteousness was on full display at the Democrats 1992 convention. New York Gov. Mario Cuomo opened the proceedings by praising his fellow Democrats as the party of inclusion. But the big tent he boasted of was too small to include Gov. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania. Casey was the most progressive governor in the country but was a pro-life Catholic. The line between political righteousness and party self-righteousness is wavy and easy to cross. The temptation to do so is all the greater when, as now, political party attachments are more divisive than even religion in this country used to be. Democrats have been humbled politically in ways that allow no room for arrogance. They should leave arrogance to the president-elect and embrace the politics of humility as a way of putting their own house back in order. The criminal charges against a growing number of defendants in the Flint, Mich., water scandal last month should send two powerful messages to officials at all levels of government. Their primary duty is to protect their constituents, and improvements to the nations infrastructure are urgently needed, especially in communities left bereft by deindustrialization. Flints water wasnt treated for lead between April 2014 and October 2015, after officials switched water sources and began using the Flint River to supply homes and businesses. The failure to properly treat the water exposed consumers to unhealthy levels of lead, which is especially dangerous for children, and also has been implicated in an outbreak of Legionnaires disease, which killed 12 people. Making matters worse, when consumers began reporting illness and complained about the color and smell of the water, officials were slow to respond. So far, 13 people have been charged in the crisis that, when it came to light, caused widespread panic and a run on bottled water. The latest charges came against four former officials, including Darnell Earley and Gerald Ambrose, who were emergency managers appointed by the state to oversee Flints fiscal difficulties in 2014 and 2015. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has alleged that a fixation on finances and balance sheets overrode concern for the public health in Flint. While it is easy to deride officials incompetence or indifference, the larger issue is deindustrialization, including the loss of the Buick manufacturing complex that sustained Flint for decades. When a citys tax base goes, so does money for infrastructure projects, such as upgrading the water pipes. Instead, officials put long-term projects on the back burner and start scrounging the couch cushions for change. Just keeping the police employed, lights on and parks open is a challenge. Flint officials once bought water from a Detroit system but decided to go another route to save money. As in many parts of the country, Flints water system relies on aging pipes that can contribute lead to the water supply. Communities need to improve their drinking water infrastructure as much as they do their crumbling highways, bridges and water navigation systems. Such investments will keep Americans safe, put them to work and keep the economy humming. Recently, President Barack Obama signed the $10 billion Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, which authorizes hundreds of improvement projects nationwide, including replacement of three locks and dams on the Ohio River and $170 million for infrastructure upgrades and other aid to Flint. But much more is needed. Consider the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Parts of the toll road havent been touched since the 1940s, for example, yet the agencys 10-year, nearly $5.8 billion capital budget calls for less spending than occurred under the preceding 10-year plan. The next Congress should make sure infrastructure development is a national priority. Flints calamity is a clarion call for change. Far too easy to offend In regards to the Dec. 29 column Stop Telling Women to Smile, I couldnt even get through the article without shaking my head. What is this country coming to? Citizens in the past had to fight for their rights and, at times, for their lives. Now people are offended because of something that was meant to be positive was said to them. There are more important things we can be worried about than these peoples hurt and angry feelings. The intended message fell flat in my opinion. Kent Smith, Howells, Neb. Bipartisan answers needed I just read the Dec. 29 article Bipartisan committee recommends Nebraska develop action plan on climate change and am so impressed by the Nebraska Legislature for finding common ground on this very difficult political issue. State Sen. Ken Haar of Malcolm is right to wish that Congress would take a lesson from the example your Legislature is setting. In fact, last year a bipartisan House caucus the Climate Solutions Caucus was established to study climate solutions. There are currently 20 members 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats. I hope Nebraskans encourage all three of their House representatives to join the caucus and work for bipartisan national climate policies that will benefit the country economically and environmentally. Judy Weiss, Brookline, Mass. Two ideas that are obsolete The unicameral Legislature created by Sen. George Norris was to provide more transparency to the voters. According to the official website of the Nebraska Legislature, Norris said, Every act of the Legislature and every act of each individual must be transacted in the spotlight of publicity. Apparently voting for leadership is so important we the citizens must be protected from such activities. And the Nebraska Public Power District and the Omaha Public Power District have monopolies on providing electrical power to much of Nebraska, correct? If that is the case, then why would public power be reluctant to share their generating costs with the citizens who have granted them this monopoly (Unbundled billing for utilities is his goal, Dec. 28 World-Herald). The reason for secrecy given by NPPD was that it was for competitive reasons. What competition would that be? In 1930 it obviously made sense to the citizens of Nebraska to give sole legislative power to one house and to give a monopoly in electricity generating to one entity. Clearly, 2017 is not 1930. Perhaps now, on the 150th anniversary of the State of Nebraska, it is time for the citizens to reconsider these monopolies. Michael S. Mapes, Omaha The worldview of a liberal To liberals, progressives and Democrats: Free speech is hate speech. Border protection is racism. Terrorism is caused a lack of employment or because we use our air conditioners. Being able to protect ourselves from imminent lethal danger is immoral. Wanting people who are young and healthy to learn to carry their own water in life rather than have others support them is a form of oppression. Financial security is evil. Maintaining sovereignty as a nation is wrong, despite the countless husbands, brothers and fathers who lost their lives to make it so. A U.S. flag is silly symbolism and cool to insult. Education is liberal indoctrination, not career preparation, and it should be free. The Constitution that helped make us great is obsolete. Listening to the Clinton machine concoct bogus reason after reason why their candidate lost is far more fun than any late night show. No, liberals. Real patriots and the backbone of America just didnt want any more of the last eight years. Mark Jorgensen, Omaha Letting the nanny care for us President-elect Donald Trump desires and promises to bring back many blue-collar jobs to the United States, along with the companies who have left the U.S. because of this countrys crippling restrictions and high taxes. There is also a much cheaper labor pool in the foreign countries. My worry is that if he is successful, this country will not be able to fill those new jobs. Not because we dont have the labor force to meet the demand but because we have created a nanny state. This nanny state has provided enough aid to those who cannot work but more importantly to those who choose not to take a low-paying job when they can subsist on government largesse. Why work when nanny provides subsistence? I know that there will be jubilation in some quarters if new jobs are made available. There are many who truly want to work and will jump at the chance to work. Their work ethic mandates they be self-sufficient. But my negative side says we have made it too comfortable for many. We will never return to being competitive if we do not realize that there is a world out there that will work, that will take those jobs, that will eat our lunch! Al Faltys, Omaha Bengaluru molestation: 3 days on, police await complaint Bengaluru oi-Anusha By Anusha Ravi Recommended Video Siddaramaiah says BJP is going against Constitution in Karnataka | OneIndia News Bengaluru, Jan 3: For over three days now the entire nation has been outraging about alleged incidents of mass molestation during the New Year celebrations in Bengaluru. However, the police are yet to get any formal complaints. The Bengaluru police appealed to victims and eyewitnesses through their social media pages to share details or file official complaints. Also read: Bengaluru molestation case: Politicos, public slam K'taka home minister for anti-women remarks The police have been verifying CCTV footages from the spot to gather evidence and are yet to finish verification of the same. The police claim that they have not found any evidence of molestation so far from the footage that they are verifying. Meanwhile, the Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwar had said that necessary action will be taken and a suo moto case will be registered. While people claiming to be eyewitnesses have been giving interviews to media houses, none have come forward to help the police initiate action. The police have now asked media houses to share original footage, based on which allegations of molestation were made, to see if the same can be used as evidence. The heavily crowded MG Road and Brigade Road witnesses a complete blackout for a minute before New Year's and this is when the police suspect incidents of alleged molestations may have taken place. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, January 3, 2017, 20:29 [IST] Man rapes 8-year-old to use her blood for removing obstacles to his marriage A funeral in J&K: This time for a cop and not a terrorist India oi-Vicky Srinagar, Jan 3: The scene was a bit didfferent this time around in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir. The state, which has witnessed so many funerals of terrorists being attended by large numbers, decided to pay homage to a cop slain by terrorists. [Also Read: Terrorist killed in encounter at Baramulla, J&K] Constable Abdul Kareem was killed on Saturday by terrorists at Chougal in Kupwara. The funeral led by Langate Member of Legislative Assembly Engineer Rashid, known for his pro-separatist views was a different sight all together. One of Kareem's neighbours was quoted by the media, "This is not fair, this is anti-Islam. If the terrorists think this is Jihad then ask the constable's wife who is delivering a child today.". The times, they are a'changin'? The funeral accorded to Kareem is indeed a sign that things are gradually changing in the Valley. When one thinks of the situation there, the thought immediately goes back to July 9 when Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani's funeral was attended by scores of people chanting anti-India slogans. The Wani funeral is not the only instance. There have been several more such incidents where thousands of people have turned up at the funerals of terrorists. It had become an extremely worrying sign for the government to witness such a large number of locals attend funerals of terrorists. Kareem's death needs to be condemned in the harshest possible manner. However, in his death this brave policeman has changed the face of the Valley. To witness a large number of people attending his funeral is a sign that things changing gradually in the Valley. Those who attended the funeral were vocal about their views. A majority said that this is anti-Islam to kill a policeman. Those who killed Kareem are not soldiers, but terrorists, the people in the crowd said. OneIndia News AgustaWestland: After saying witness may have died, ED cites a little birdie to say he is alive AgustaWestland: SC seeks response on PIL alleging media's role in chopper scam India oi-Vicky The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought a response from the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate on a petition that sought to know the role played by journalists in the AgustaWestland scam. A petition had been filed in the SC alleging that journalists were paid off Rs 50 crore to write in favour of the AgustaWestland deal. Since the scam broke out there have been allegations of some journalists in Delhi being paid off huge sums of money to back the deal. It was alleged that while one journalist was paid off Rs 5 crore another was taken on a junket by the chopper firm. The pay-offs in the AgustaWestland deal amounts to Rs 360 crore according to the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation. Out of the Rs 360 crore that was earmarked to bribe influential people, an amount of Rs 50 crore was set aside for the media alone. [Also Read: AgustaWestland to Rafale: Journalists under ED scanner] While the ED has learnt that an amount of Rs 28 lakh had been spent on a journalist and his wife, the ED is also looking into another transaction of Rs 5 crore that was paid off to one journalist. Rs 50 crore pay off: The ED has been hot on the trail of the Rs 50 crore that was spent by James Christian Michel the middleman in charge of handling the media. Documents which have been accessed by the Enforcement Directorate suggest that a large chunk of the Rs 50 crore was spent on a media junket to Italy. [Also Read: AgustaWestland: Finmeccanica's junket for journalists back on CBI scanner] The ED says that not all those who went on the junket were part of this scam. However, there are a few names we have with us who we suspect had ensured that the narrative in the news was in favour of AgustaWestland. There is a journalist for whom Michel had earmarked Rs 28 lakh. This looked like a suspicious transaction since the money was spent on the wife of the journalist as well. [Also Read: AgustaWestland spent Rs 28 lakh on this journalist] Another journalist has come under the scanner of the ED. The ED suspects that middlemen had paid off this journalist a sum of Rs 5 crore. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, January 3, 2017, 12:17 [IST] Samajwadi Party feud: Akhilesh meets Mulayam India oi-PTI Lucknow, Jan 3: Amid intense power tussle, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday met his father Mulayam Singh Yadav at his residence, leading to speculation that efforts were being made for a patch-up which the faction led by the Chief Minister discounted. Though there was no official word from either faction on the meeting, there were speculation about patch-up effort. However, some senior party leaders close to Akhilesh denied any such thing, saying it was "too late". Akhilesh reached Mualyam's residence here after the latter returned from New Delhi where he had knocked at the doors of the Election Commission to claim the 'cycle' symbol. The father and son were together for over two hours. Shivpal Yadav, Mulayam's brother who is at loggerheads with Akhilesh, also joined them after coming back from Delhi. At the airport when asked about the meeting, Shivpal said, "I dont have any information about the meeting. If 'netaji' (Mulayam) calls me I will go". After the meeting, a senior party leader close to Akhilesh told PTI that "it too late. There is no scope for any settlement. EC will decide who will have SP's cycle". Earlier in the day, Akhilesh, who was anointed by his faction as the SP president on Sunday, reportedly spoke to Mulayam over phone. Both Mulayam and Akhilesh factions of SP have staked claim over the party and its cycle symbol before Election Commission. PTI Bengaluru molestation case: Politicos, public slam Ktaka home minister for anti-women remarks India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer Bengaluru, Jan 3: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara has been severely criticised for making anti-women comments in the wake of Bengaluru molestation case. In a public celebration during the New Year's Eve, several women were sexually-assaulted by a group of goons, right in front of policemen in the city. Instead of admitting to the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, Parameshwara blamed the victims and raised questions about their sartorial preferences. Union Home Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday tweeted, "I condemn d irresponsible comment made by Karnataka home minister." He added, "We can't allow such shameful act of #MassMolestation go unpunished. Bangaluru is a vibrant city & women must be safe in a civilised society." Historian Ram Guha also condemned the minister's reaction to the whole issue. "The Karnataka home minister drags his non performing government further into the muck. His statement on dress and molestation was despicable," Guha tweeted. In a television interview on Monday, the senior minister in the Congress government said, "These kinds of things do happen." He also blamed young people for 'copying the West' in how they dress. In spite of large-scale protests against the incident and his comments, the Home Minister is yet to apologise. In fact, several groups have asked the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to sack the minister from his post. OneIndia News 40 down and counting: Forces on the verge of wiping out Pakistani terrorists in Valley BJP leader demands Sonia, Rahul's apology over ruckus in J-K assembly India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ravinder Raina on Tueday demanded Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi's apology over the uproar in Jammu and Kashmir assembly on Monday, said reports. Unfortunate;Rahul Gandhi & Sonia Gandhi must apologise before nation: Ravinder Raina,BJP on Cong, NC disrupt national anthem in J&K Assembly pic.twitter.com/t5QDgZCKGw ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 The Jammu and Kashmir assembly witnessed chaos as National Conference and Congress members created uproar even as national anthem was being played in the house. Such was the scene that it forced Governor NN Vohra to cut short his address and walk out of the house. This triggered criticism from the PDP-BJP legislators who accused the opposition and even the governor for disrespecting national anthem According to reports, the opposition wants a discussion on civilians killed during the last year's unrest, before taking up any other issue. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's remark on the National Conferance added fuel to the fire, as her party took strong exception to the remarks and protested vociferously. "People who sowed seeds of secession by demanding plebiscite in the state also rigged elections in 1987 to give birth to militancy," IANS reported the chief minister had told the house as saying. They shouted slogans against killings of civilians in the valley during the five-month of unrest following the killing of militant Burhan Wani in July. They also shouted slogans against the use of pellet guns by security forces. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, January 3, 2017, 11:05 [IST] Cash-strapped populace fears comeback of debit card, ATM usage fees India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer Chennai: With the country still reeling in the aftermath of demonetisation, people are upset that the Centre has not yet rolled back ATM usage charges or capped debit card transaction fees. Before November 8, several banks, including State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and ICICI Bank were charging Rs 15 per transaction as they had a wider ATM network and larger user base than other banks, who mostly charged Rs 20 per transaction. The RBI has said that merchant discount rate on transactions will be capped at 0.5 per cent for transactions up to Rs 1,000, and 0.25 per cent for Rs 2,000 in 2017. However, although the MDR has been capped, merchants on many occasions have not passed down the waiver to customers before or after December 31. The RBI had waived all transaction charges for debit and credit cards up till the year's end, but several customers complained of being charged by jewellery and clothing retailers. "The market was expecting the waiver on ATM transaction charges to continue even after December 31," Navroze Dastur, managing director, NCR Corporation, India and South Asia, told The Economic Times. Speaking with The Economic Times, V Balasubramanian, president, transaction processing and ATM service, FSS, said, "The first five transactions will be free of cost. After that it will be left to the discretion of the banks and the card category of the customer. Banks generally have an agreement with individual customers on charges levied. Many banks were not charging premium customers before demonetisation." "Cash is not freely available. There are only about 20 per cent of ATMs operational. The government should seriously look to subsidising digital transactions by creating the Dipayan fund, as recommended by Ratan Watal. Because if going digital is a forced measure, customers should not be bearing the full cost of it," Balasubramanian added. Karnataka Rajyotsava 2022: Add these 5 songs to your playlist to hum Kannada glory Caught on cam; Karnataka BJP MP assaults hospital staff India oi-Anusha By Anusha Ravi In a clear case of high handedness, BJP MP Ananthkumar Hegde assaulted hospital staff at Sirsi in Uttar Kannada. The incident took llace on Monday night and was caught on camera. In the CCTV footage the MP is clearly seen assaulting the hospital staff.. It is said that he was upset because the staff was not taking proper care of his mother who is admitted there for prolonged illness. No case has been registered as yet by the police who say that they are waiting for a complaint from the staff. However, the police can register a suo motu case based on the CCTV footage. OneIndia News Demonetisation has caused problems for Naxals: Rajnath India oi-PTI New Delhi, Jan 3: Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said demonetisation has increased problems for Naxals, underlining that intelligence inputs suggest that they have weakened. The minister refused to give any specific estimates about the damage inflicted on the guerillas but said the information suggests that massive problems are being faced by them post notes ban. "It is correct that Naxals have weakened post- demonetisation. The intelligence information received by us shows their problems have increased. Their strength has reduced," Singh said. On November 8, the government had announced that Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes ceased to be legal tender. When asked about the attack on women in Bengaluru on New Year's eve, Singh said, "It is not possible to keeping seeking reports from the state on every issue. I believe that protecting the modesty of women is the duty of every state government and they should take it seriously." On the issue of recent riots in West Bengal, Singh said ministry is in the know of every big problem. "We don't do politics of confrontation. We will talk it out," he said when asked about reports of a rift between the West Bengal government and the Centre. He also refused to give any clear response whether his views were taken on the issue of demonetisation. Singh said efforts are going on to bring back Dawood Ibrahim but those cannot be disclosed in public. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, January 3, 2017, 17:20 [IST] Disabled may get 5 pc quota in colleges from next session India oi-PTI New Delhi, Jan 3: The government is keen to finalise the rules of the recently passed Disabilities Bill by April 14 which will allow disabled persons to avail 5 per cent reservation in higher education institutions from next academic session. According to the bill, specially-abled persons with benchmark disability between the age group of 6 and 18 years will also have the right to free education. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, which was passed in the Winter Session, provides for raising reservation in government jobs for persons with benchmark disabilities from 3 to 4 per cent and in higher education institutes from 3 to 5 per cent. "The Disabilities Bill was passed by Parliament in the Winter Session and it has already been notified. Now I'm keen for earliest implementation of this act. We are working on to finalise its rules by April 14, including reservation benefits for the disabled," Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot told PTI. He further said that this very important legislation would be a game changer for disabled persons and it brings Indian laws in line with the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Under the newly enacted Act, the government has increased the types of disabilities from the existing seven to 21. The newly added types include mental illnesses, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, chronic neurological conditions, specific learning disabilities, multiple sclerosis, speech and language disability, thalassemia, hemophilia, sickle cell disease, multiple disabilities, including deaf blindness, acid attack victims and Parkinsons disease. Also, disability has been defined based on an evolving and dynamic concept and government will have the power to add more types of disabilities. As per the Act, assaulting, insulting, intimidating, denying food to a person with disability or sexually exploiting a differently-abled woman and performing a medical procedure on such women without consent which may lead in termination of pregnancy will draw a jail term up to five years once the law is passed. Any person who contravenes any provision of the act will be punished with a maximum fine of Rs 5 lakh. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, January 3, 2017, 16:18 [IST] Earth Day 2022: Google Doodle shows impact of climate change at various location using real time-lapse imagery Google pays tribute to feminist Savitribai Jyotirao Phule India oi-IANS By Ians English Mumbai: Google dedicated a Doodle on Tuesday to mark the 186th birth anniversary of India's 19th century social reformer Savitribai Jyotirao Phule, considered the first feminist of the country. Savitribai K Patil was born on January 3, 1831, in a rich and influential farming family. At the age of nine, she was married off to 13-year-old Jyotirao Phule. She was taught to read and write by her husband and when she turned 17, the couple founded India's first school for girls and women in Bhidewada, Pune. It started with just nine girls from different castes enrolled as students - but it became a historic step when female education was considered taboo in the orthodox Indian society prevalent then. The Phules - who had no children of their own - launched a crusade against social discrimination based on caste and gender, and sparked the flame for women's equal rights during the British rule. At a time when women had no say in anything, Savitribai's campaign covered child marriages, child widows, rape victims becoming pregnant, the practice of Sati, educating women and fighting for equal rights for all women. Over the next few years, the Phules set up 18 more schools across the state of which Savitribai became the teacher, headmistress and principal. The colourful Doodle shows a simple Savitribai spreading her sari pallu wide to encompass women from all sections of society for education and empowerment. The simple Doodle shows a group of demure women assembled outside what could be a school for education in a skyblue starry background which also doubles as her blouse. Nearly 18 decades after her passing, the Maharashtra government renamed the Pune University as Savitribai Phule University as a tribute to her sheer courage and pioneering efforts in the field of education, women empowerment, social reform and gender equality. IANS For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, January 3, 2017, 12:48 [IST] How the Doval doctrine brought the unrest in Kashmir to a halt India oi-Vicky "Do not overreact, it will pass off as they cannot sustain beyond a point." This is one of those very famous lines from National Security Advisor Ajit Doval's doctrine for Jammu and Kashmir. The unrest in Kashmir in 2016 was bad and never showed any signs of dying down. The separatists of the Valley were relentless in orchestrating the violence in a bid to get the government to blink. The government came under criticism for not talking to the separatists. However the government decided to implement Doval's doctrine and it did pay off. The calendar of protests issued by the separatists have stopped completely, normalcy in the Valley has been restored and more importantly the ego of the separatists has been hurt. Do not buckle in front of separatists: The government for once did not buckle in front of the pressure that was been created by the separatists. An senior official in New Delhi explained that talking to the separatists was not an option. It is not as though they would tow the line of the Indian government had we tried speaking to them, he also said. The approach towards the Kashmir problem was based on the Doval doctrine. He had made it clear that there was no need to overreact as these troublemakers could not sustain beyond a point. That is what happened in Kashmir and the separatists withdrew their protests as they began losing local support and also could not sustain. In 2010 when Kashmir was witnessing massive protests, Doval had said, "Do not overreact, it will pass off as they cannot sustain beyond a point." The broader message that Doval was sending out is that appeasement will not work and if these people in the Valley do manage to sustain beyond a point then there would be a price to pay. Doval says that the biggest problem was the policy of appeasement that was being followed since 1947. He felt that the focus should have been to vacate the Pakistan forces out instead of going to the United Nations. Also, by accepting Article 370 in the state, it only made the people of Jammu and Kashmir look different and this led to separatism. He also felt that such policies only gave Pakistan the upper hand in setting the agenda. Pakistan decided when to engage India in war or peace, he also had said. Doval had said in 2010 and says it even in 2016 that the protests are not due to an uprising by civil society. Instead it is a manufactured and orchestrated move by Pakistan to keep the Valley on the boil. He even spoke about the clarion calls for protests and stone pelting that would be issued from the mosques. He even justified the use of force while ascertaining that in most cases the protestors had a murderous approach. Doval, however, emphasised that use of force against innocents was wrong. The NSA had emphasised on the need to give Pakistan a decisive blow. Pakistan must realise and understand that it cannot take on India. Pakistan has this belief that it can take on India and only through a decisive blow will they understand that they thinking is wrong, Doval said. He also said that with such action, the separatists too would realise who the real power is. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, January 3, 2017, 12:35 [IST] 40 down and counting: Forces on the verge of wiping out Pakistani terrorists in Valley 2 non-local labourers shot at by terrorist in J&K's Anantnag J-K: Sub-inspector injured in Pulwama terrorist attack India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer Terrorists on Tuesday opened fire at CRPF Jawans in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, said reports. One sub-inspector was injured in the incident. The incident took place at Muran Chowk area of Pulwama. #FLASH One Asst. Sub-Inspector injured after terrorists open fire at CRPF Jawans in Muran Chowk, Pulwama, J&K ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 One terrorist was killed on Tuesday morning in an encounter with security forces at Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir. The security forces recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition. The incident comes five days after a similar encounter had taken place at Bandipore district in North Kashmir. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, January 3, 2017, 14:31 [IST] JNU at loggerheads with students' union again India oi-PTI New Delhi, Jan 3: The Jawaharlal Nehru University's administration has issued a notice to student union president Mohit Pandey and warned him of action if the protests at the administrative block are not stopped. Following chaos in the academic council meeting, the administration has also sought police presence for the executive council meeting scheduled for Tuesday. Nine students were suspended for allegedly 'disrupting' the Academic Council meeting along with a teacher, who was served notice for addressing them. "The series of show-cause notices and suspensions are just an attempt by the administration to attack the student unity and destroy the protest culture at the varsity. The suspended students have refused to appear before the enquiry committee and we will protest outside the EC meeting venue as well," said Pandey. The JNU Teachers Association has also announced its support to the agitating students and requested the EC members not to endorse the proclaimed academic council's decisions and send the matters back to it for a proper discussion. Last year, JNU's student union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on charges of sedition. He was, however, released later by the order of Delhi high court. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, January 3, 2017, 15:02 [IST] All about the Rs 15,000 cr Rose Valley scam that has rattled TMC leaders Mamata denounces Trinamool leader's arrest, to protest India oi-IANS By Ians English Kolkata, Jan 3: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday dubbed the arrest of Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay as "vendetta politics" by the Centre and announced nationwide protests against the Modi government's "vindictive attitude". Bandyopadhyay was earlier arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the Rose Valley Chit Fund scam. Banerjee demanded the arrest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah instead. "We strongly condemn the politically vindictive attitude of Modi and Amit Shah. They have arrested our Parliamentary Party leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay. He is a veteran politician and senior leader of our party. "It is all because of our fight against NoteBandi (note ban). We are and will be with the people. Nothing can stop us from being with the people and we will continue with our protest against NoteBandi," she added. "We condemn, condemn and condemn this," she said in a Facebook post. Banerjee said her party will launch pan-India protests against the Centre's vindictive attitude. "We will hold a demonstration in front of Kolkata RBI on January 9 and there will be dharnas in 10 different states including Delhi, Assam, Odisha and Tripura on January 10 and 11," she said. "I also run a government and I also have the power to arrest certain people who are thieves, hooligans and extortionists. This arrest has been made under pressure from the PMO. "This is vendetta politics because the Trinamool is fighting against the Centre over demonetisation," she told the media earlier. IANS Manipur situation is 'grave', says Union Home Ministry ahead of assembly polls India oi-PTI New Delhi, Jan 3: Ahead of the assembly polls in Manipur, the Union Home Ministry on Monday submitted a report to the Election Commission about the prevailing "grave" situation in Manipur where normal life has been crippled following blockade of a key highway. [Also Read: Will take on Manipur CM in Assembly polls: Irom Sharmila] In its report to the EC, the Union Home Ministry has conveyed that ground situation in Manipur following the blockade of National Highway 2 by United Naga Council and the state government's alleged "failure" to resume normal traffic even after 60 days. "In the report, the Home Ministry told the EC about the ongoing tension and grave situation prevailing in Manipur. The EC may independently make an assessment of the situation so that election can be conducted properly," a top Home Ministry official told PTI. Assembly election in Manipur is expected to be held along with four other states next month. Due to the blockade, normal life in Manipur has been badly affected and prices of essential commodities have sky rocketed. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had twice written to Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh to ensure reopening of the national highway while Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju personally visited Imphal last fortnight to convey the Central government's concern over state government's 'failure' to reopen the NH-2. However, despite the Central government's initiatives and sending around 7,000 paramilitary forces, the highway continues to be seized by the UNC. Since November 1, the UNC has been protesting against creation of seven new districts in Manipur. PTI Mayawati, defiant of SC verdict, lures Muslims, Dalits to vote for BSP India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer Barely 24 hours after the Supreme Court verdict, the BSP's supremo Mayawati called on Muslims and Dalits to not 'waste their votes'. The SC, had in a landmark verdict said that it was illegal to seek votes in the name of caste, religion and language. The BSP chief on Tuesday cautioned Muslims in Uttar Pradesh not to split their votes and said that Dalits will not be swayed by hollow words. "Muslims will have to be extra cautious in the coming assembly elections and not waste their vote on the Samajwadi Party," she said. While rubbishing allegations that she believed in caste-based politics, Mayawati said that she believes in the well-being of all and allocated seats to all castes. While luring the Muslims and Dalits she said that her party took care of the upper castes as well. On Monday, the SC held that religion has no role in electoral process and this is a secular activity. "Mixing state with religion is not constitutionally permissible. The relationship between man and God is an individual choice and the state is forbidden to have allegiance to such an activity," the SC had said. "An appeal in the name of religion, race, caste, community or language is impermissible under the Representation of Peoples' Act, 1951 and would constitute a corrupt practice sufficient to annul the election in which such an appeal was made regardless whether the appeal was in the name of the candidate's religion or the religion of the election agent or that of the opponent or that of the voter's," the majority on the Bench held. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, January 3, 2017, 16:03 [IST] No question of disrespecting the National Anthem: Jora India oi-PTI Jammu, Jan 3: The Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Rigzin Jora today lashed out at the ruling parties in the Government for "misinforming" the people of the state that the opposition has "disrespected" National Anthem and said there is no question of disrespecting the national anthem. "There is no question of disrespecting the National Anthem", he said tonight. Jora said the Congress does not need sermon about nationalism and patriotism from the BJP. He said "there was din and confusion in the House that National Anthem was almost inaudible and the Governor also walked out from the Hall amidst confusion and chaos". The opposition held protest against the alleged "oppression and misrule" of the Government, which is the basic right of every elected representatives, he said. "We as representatives of the Congress party will continue to play our role and make the voice of common man of the state resonate in both houses of Legislature", he said. PTI Omar Abdullah asks Mehbooba Mufti to accept responsibility for civilian killings India oi-IANS By Ians English Jammu, Jan 3: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday asked Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to accept responsibility for the civilian killings during the six-month unrest in the valley. After Speaker Kavinder Gupta allowed an adjournment motion moved by the opposition, the National Conference leader said there had also been unrest in the valley in 2008 and 2010 but "we did not blame the opposition" for that. "The situation in 2010 cannot be compared with that of 2016," he told the assembly. "We did not blame Pakistan or the opposition for the situation. I did not blame my officials in 2010. In 2016, the media was attacked and newspaper offices were raided. "We made mistakes and I accepted making mistakes while handling the situation." Taking a dig at Mehbooba, Omar Abdullah said: "You blamed Jawaharlal Nehru, my father, my grandfather and police for militancy in the state. "Did you ever blame yourself for your failure to restore normalcy in Kashmir?" Omar Abdullah said the state government had completely failed in dealing with the situation after the killing of militant Burhan Wani on July 8 last year. Instead of blaming the opposition, the Chief Minister should accept the responsibility for the failure of her administration and the killings of nearly 100 civilians during the unrest, he said. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs continued to seek an apology from the National Conference and the Congress for allegedly disrespecting the national anthem on Monday during the joint session of the assembly. Earlier, the opposition disrupted proceedings in both the assembly and the council seeking discussion on the valley's unrest. The Speaker had allowed the discussion after the treasury benches said they had no objection to discussing the unrest. IANS For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, January 3, 2017, 15:28 [IST] Rahul Gandhi's right to privacy should be respected: Pallam Raju India oi-PTI Bhopal, Jan 3: Former Minister of State for Defence and Congress leader M M Pallam Raju has said that All India Congress Committee (AICC) vice-president Rahul Gandhi's "right to privacy should be respected." "Rahul has every right to be private. He will soon be back when the party will hit the roads to protest against demonetisation," Raju told journalists here on Tuesday while defending AICC vice-president's "short holiday trip". Raju was here to review preparations for the proposed country-wide agitation of Congress against demonetisation on January 6. He said demonetisation and subsequent occurrences were an evidence of "monumental mismanagement." "They (BJP) had not even anticipated that ATMs need to be recalibrated. They did it all without any back-up plan," he maintained. The former union minister alleged that BJP regime took this step (demonetisation) at the cost of the country as has been pointed out by all the renowned economists. "Country's financial health has suffered. This would have a long term impact on GDP, FDI, employment and industrial production among others. Perishable commodities are being sold at a loss or being thrown away. "Government needs to take immediate action to alleviate such problems being faced by the poor," he added. PTI RBI turns away people wanting to exchange old notes India oi-PTI New Delhi, Jan 3: Hundreds thronging the RBI office to exchange old Rs 500 and 1,000 notes returned empty handed as the central bank is allowing the facility only for NRIs or those who were abroad during the 50-day demonetisation period. People were seen arguing with security guards at designated RBI branch saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised that old notes could be exchanged till March 31 at RBI. Even the RBI on November 8 statement said, "Any person who is unable to exchange or deposit the specified banknotes in their bank accounts on or before December 30, 2016 shall be given an opportunity to do so at specified offices of the Reserve Bank or such other facility until a later date as may be specified by the Reserve Bank." The central bank on December 31 designated its five offices -- Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, and Nagpur -- to exchange defunct currency notes post 50-day demonetisation period that ended on December 30. Also read: Demonetisation has caused problems for Naxals: Rajnath Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation on November 8 had said, "There may be some who for some reason, are not able to deposit their old 500 or 1,000 rupee notes by December 30, 2016. "They can go to specified offices of the Reserve Bank of India up to March 31, 2017 and deposit the notes after submitting a declaration form." RBI has imposed conditions for availing extended facility for note exchanges. It had said that NRIs and Indians returning from abroad will have to physically show the junked 500 and 1,000 rupee notes to Customs officials at the airport and get a declaration form stamped before they can deposit the demonetised currency in RBI during the grace period. Indians who were abroad during November 9 to December 30 have been given a 3-month grace period till March 31 to deposit the junked notes, while for the NRIs, it is 6 months till June 30. While there is no limit on deposit of defunct notes by an Indian national who was abroad when the 50-day window was in operation, NRIs can deposit only Rs 25,000 as per FEMA law restrictions. However, this facility is not available for Indian citizens resident in Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The government had declared 500 and 1,000 denomination bank notes as illegal tender from November 9, 2016. Subsequently, the President approved the promulgation of the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Ordinance, 2016 on December 30. It makes holding, transfer and receiving of the demonetised notes a criminal offence, punishable with a fine of Rs 10,000 or five times the cash held, whichever is higher. PTI Rose Valley Chit Fund case: TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay arrested India oi-IANS By Ians English New Delhi, Jan 3: Lok Sabha MP and leader of Trinamool Congress parliamentary party Sudip Bandyopadhyay on Tuesday was arrested in connection with the Rose Valley chit fund scam. Speaking to the media, the TMC leader said, "I have come to CBI office to clarify my position on whatever question they have." Bandyopadhyay, who was summoned twice in December last year by the CBI, skipped the meeting stating his engagement at the parliamentary session. Last week the CBI arrested actor-turned-Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Pal in connection with the Rose Valley chit fund scam. Also, Tapas Pal's daughter Sohini appeared before the CBI for interrogation in Bhubaneswar for the second time. The Rose Valley scam is seven times bigger than the Saradha scam. The ED had earlier arrested Gautam Kundu, the chairman of Rose Valley Group of Companies and several officials. OneIndia News SC decision in Mhadei water dispute case 'victory from jaws of defeat' for Goa: Parrikar India oi-IANS By Ians English Panaji, Jan 3 Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar called the Supreme Court's decision Monday directing the Karnataka government file a fresh petition with the Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal in connection with the water dispute with Goa a "victory from the jaws of defeat". "Karnataka has been asked by the Supreme Court to withdraw the SLP. This is a great victory for Goans which has been snatched from the jaws of defeat," Parrikar said, while speaking at a function here. The apex court had allowed the neighbouring state of Karnataka to file a fresh petition with the Tribunal, while asking it to withdraw its special leave petition filed last year. The Karnataka government had filed the SLP, after the Supreme Court in August last year, had dismissed the Tribunal had dismissed its petition to released 7 TMC water from the Mhadei river, which flows into Goa from Karnataka into the Kalsa-Bhandura canal, which had sparked protests across the Southern state. Goa and Karnataka are currently battling out a dispute over the latter's controversial Kalsa-Bhandura dam project across the waters of the Mhadei river at a central tribunal. Mhadei, also known as the Mandovi river, is known as a lifeline in the northern parts of the state. It originates in Karnataka and meets the Arabian Sea in Panaji. While the river traverses 28.8 km in Karnataka, it is 81.2 km in length in Goa. Karnataka plans to construct seven dams on the river, aimed at diverting the waters into its water-starved Malaprabha basin in North Karnataka. "It was neither easy, nor cheap to re-establish it (Goa's claim over the river water). I think it was important for the survival as well as the future of Goa... We won because we put up a fight," Parrikar said, while also blaming the actions of earlier governments, which he claimed allowed Goa's claims over the river water to be diluted. IANS Terrorist killed in encounter at Baramulla, J&K India oi-Vicky By Vicky Baramulla, Jan 3: One terrorist has been killed in an encounter with security forces at Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir. The security forces have recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition. On Tuesday an encounter broke out between terrorists and security forces at the Haritar Tarzoo area in Baramulla district. The security forces had suspected that two terrorists were part of the operation. While one has been killed a search is on for the other. The incident comes five days after a similar encounter had taken place at Bandipore district in North Kashmir. It is still unclear as to which outfit these terrorists belong to. A senior official said that the operation is still underway and more details would be made available soon. OneIndia News Vodafone plea against TRAI recommendation premature: Centre India oi-PTI New Delhi, Jan 3: The Centre today termed as "premature" the plea by telecom major Vodafone challenging TRAI's recommendation to impose Rs 1,050 crore penalty on it for not providing interconnectivity to Reliance Jio. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain, appearing for the Centre, argued before Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva that Vodafone's plea was a "complete abuse of process of court" as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had only made a recommendation and the government was yet to form an opinion. The ASG opposed the maintainability of the petition, saying once the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) of the Ministry of Communication takes a decision, then it is an appealable order. He also questioned whether the telecom major had any material with it to show that the government would be influenced by TRAI's recommendation. The court, thereafter, gave the Ministry and TRAI two weeks time to file their reply on the issue of maintainability of the petition and listed it for hearing on February 6. PTI Who will ride SP's cycle- Mulayam or Akhilesh: Here are ECI's options India oi-Vicky By Vicky New Delhi, Jan 3: Mulayam Singh Yadav, the patriarch of the Samajwadi Party held a 40 minute meeting with officials of the Election Commission of India in which he staked a claim over the party's symbol. The SP's cycle symbol is ours and Ram Gopal Yadav could not have taken any decision as he has been expelled, Mulayam told officials in the ECI. It may be recalled that on Sunday, a convention of the SP led by Ram Gopal had declared Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav as the chief. The meeting was declared unconstitutional by Mulayam. The ECI would now have to wait for a counter claim and in the absence of such an event it would have two options before it. First would be to freeze the symbol and ask both sides to pick a new one. Second would be to see which of the sides has a majority and the symbol would be allotted to that party accordingly. Previous cases: In a March 2004 order, the ECI had quoted a Supreme Court verdict while stating that the test of majority applied in the case of a split which was a valid and relevant test. In all such cases, the ECI has been applying the same formula of numerical majority in the legislature wings. In February 2004, the ECI directed both factions led by P S Sangma and Sharad Pawar to chose a new symbol. Both parties staked a claim for the clock symbol. In 2011, two factions of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal staked a claim for the party symbol, 'Chair." The ECI went ahead and approved two new symbols in this case. In the case of the SP while the commission can go ahead and approve two new symbols it could also take into consideration the test of relative majority. In the SP, there is no official split as yet. However if the side led by Akhilesh stakes a claim the ECI could apply the test of relative majority. In such a case the side would have to back their claim by submitting a letter with signature of the legislators. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, January 3, 2017, 6:45 [IST] Adolf Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' German bestseller: publisher International oi-PTI Berlin, Dec 3: The first reprint of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" in Germany since World War II has proved to be a surprise bestseller, heading for its sixth print run, its publisher said on Tuesday. The Institute of Contemporary History of Munich (IfZ) said around 85,000 copies of the new annotated version of the Nazi leader's anti-Semitic manifesto had flown off the shelves since its release last January. However, the respected institute said that far from promoting far-right ideology, the publication had enriched a debate on the renewed rise of "authoritarian political views" in contemporary Western society. It had initially planned to print only 4,000 copies but boosted production immediately based on intense demand. The sixth print run will hit bookstores in late January. The two-volume work had figured on the non-fiction bestseller list in weekly magazine Der Spiegel over much of the last year and even topped the list for two weeks in April. The institute also organised a successful series of presentations and debates around "Mein Kampf" across Germany and in other European cities, which it said allowed it to measure the impact of the new edition. "It turned out that the fear the publication would promote Hitler's ideology or even make it socially acceptable and give neo-Nazis a new propaganda platform was totally unfounded," IfZ director Andreas Wirsching said in a statement. "To the contrary, the debate about Hitler's worldview and his approach to propaganda offered a chance to look at the causes and consequences of totalitarian ideologies, at a time in which authoritarian political views and rightwing slogans are gaining ground." The institute said the data collected about buyers by regional bookstores showed that they tended to be "customers interested in politics and history as well as educators" and not "reactionaries or rightwing radicals". Nevertheless, the IfZ said it would maintain a restrictive policy on international rights. For now, only English and French editions are planned despite strong interest from many countries. The institute released the annotated version of "Mein Kampf" last January, just days after the copyright of the manifesto expired. Bavaria was handed the rights to the book in 1945 when the Allies gave it control of the main Nazi publishing house following Hitler's defeat. For 70 years, it refused to allow the inflammatory tract to be republished out of respect for victims of the Nazis and to prevent incitement of hatred. But "Mein Kampf" - which means "My Struggle" - fell into the public domain on January 1 and the institute said it feared a version without critical commentary could hit the market. Partly autobiographical, "Mein Kampf" outlines Hitler's ideology that formed the basis for Nazism. He wrote it in 1924 while he was imprisoned in Bavaria for treason after his failed Beer Hall Putsch. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, January 3, 2017, 19:01 [IST] Hindus in Britain are very well behaved, smart and rich Britain's top EU Ivan Rogers diplomat in Brussels resigns International oi-IANS By Ians English London, Jan 3: Britain's ambassador to the European Union, Ivan Rogers has quit his job in Brussels, according to a media report on Tuesday. A spokesman with the British government also said in a brief statement that "Sir Ivan Rogers has resigned a few months early as UK Permanent Representative to the European Union," Xinhua reported. The sudden decision came just weeks after Rogers was accused of damaging Britain's Brexit negotiations. Rogers warned that it would take a decade to forge a new trade deal with Europe, saying that was the view of the other 27 member states with the bloc. Political commentators said the relationship between Rogers and the government had become strained over the grim warning of a prolonged Brexit. Rogers was appointed to the role of permanent representative in 2013 by former Prime Minister David Cameron. He had been expected to play a key role in Brexit talks expected to start within months after Cameron's successor at 10 Downing Street Theresa May triggers the exiting process in March. Rogers was due to quit his job in Brussels towards the end of this year, but has decided to go earlier "after tensions with Downing Street," according to the Financial Times report. Rogers' resignation triggered mixed reactions in political circles with some expressing dismay and others delighted. The Daily Telegraph said news of the resignation prompted concerns that Britain would get a worse Brexit deal than it would have done if he was part of the team. At the think-tank, the Centre for European Reform, director Charles Grant, said "Ivan Rogers' resignation makes a good deal on Brexit less likely. One of the very few people at top of British government who understands EU." But the campaign group Leave. EU was delighted over Rogers' leaving. The pro-Brexit campaign group said on its website: "Pessimist Rogers, who warned Brexit would take 10 years, is to leave his post as UK Ambassador to the EU. Good - time for some optimism!" Meanwhile, some, including Labour MP Hilary Benn who chairs the Brexit select committee in the House of Commons, are urging for a quick appointment of a new ambassador to replace Rogers. "It couldn't be a more difficult time to organise a handover," Benn told local media in London. Oxford-educated Rogers, as Britain's Permanent Representative to the EU, has overall responsibility for the work of the mission and represents the British government at weekly meetings of the Committee of Permanent Representatives in the Council of the European Union. The committee deals largely with political, financial, justice, policing and foreign policy issues. So far the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London has not commented on the resignation. IANS Donald Trump in favour of handing power to select few in administration International oi-IANS By Ians English Washington, Jan 3: US President-elect Donald Trump will consolidate trade policy decisions in the hands of a few select members of his administration rather than the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), local media reported on Monday. "The core of trade power appears to be shifting away from the Office of the US Trade Representative, an agency that has led negotiations on a series of complex trade deals, including the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) and a deal between the United States and the European Union," Xinhua news agency cited The Hill, a top US political website, which also noted that Trump has criticised the USTR for negotiating bad trade deals. Wilbur Ross, Trump's nominee for Commerce Secretary, is expected to lead the charge on trade policy going forward, with Peter Navarro, Director of the newly-created National Trade Council at the White House, serving as a liaison to Trump, the report said, adding that Navarro is expected to "play a more personal role in negotiating trade policies with countries like China" . But there is still "plenty of uncertainty" around whether Jason Greenblatt, Trump's special representative for international negotiations, would work with the USTR or supersede that agency's role, the report said. Sean Spicer, Trump's senior communications adviser, said last week that the USTR will remain the principal negotiator on trade deals, but Navarro, Ross and Greenblatt will also "be part of that process". Trump has not yet named his pick for the USTR. "Given the announced structure of the incoming administration, the USTR may not even be the second-most important voice on trade, behind Ross and Navarro,"said Phil Levy, senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, adding the USTR will "have a difficult time" winning respect abroad when matched against ministers. Trump had made trade as a centrepiece of his presidential campaign and called for dramatic changes in US trade policy. He had vowed to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and pull the United States out of the controversial TPP trade deal, but hadn't provided details on what steps he might take. IANS Donald Trump warns Obama against more Guantanamo releases International oi-PTI Washington, Jan 3: US President-elect Donald Trump warned on Tuesday against releasing any more terror suspects from the Guantanamo Bay prison, in a bid to preempt any moves before Barack Obama leaves office. "There should be no further releases from Gitmo. These are extremely dangerous people and should not be allowed back onto the battlefield," tweeted Trump. There are 59 prisoners remaining at the controversial detention center, only a handful of whom have been tried for alleged crimes. There should be no further releases from Gitmo. These are extremely dangerous people and should not be allowed back onto the battlefield. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 Many are in legal limbo. Obama came to office vowing to shutter the facility, saying detention without trial did not reflect American values. But he has run up against political and legal hurdles, Pentagon foot dragging and stubborn Republican opposition in Congress. Also read: US to become world's greatest magnet for job creation: Trump With Guantanamo's closure blocked, Obama's White House has focused on whittling down the number of inmates. George W Bush had released or transferred around 500 inmates before leaving office, Obama has released or transferred around 179. Obama's administration is reportedly eyeing further transfers before Trump is sworn in on January 20 -- the president-elect having on the contrary vowed to "load (Guantanamo) up with some bad dudes" once in office. Around 20 of the remaining inmates have been cleared for release. But finding countries to take them has often proven time consuming. Trump's declaration is the latest in a series of public disputes between Obama and the outspoken president-elect, who has jettisoned the notion there is "one president at a time." PTI Indian-origin teenager stabbed to death in Israel after brawl at birthday party Israel: Netanyahu questioned over corruption charges International oi-IANS By Ians English Jerusalem, Jan 3: Israeli police have interrogated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over corruption allegations, a statement said. Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit had earlier ordered probe over two separate corruption charges against Netanyahu. Mendelblit said the interrogation ended at around 23.00 (local time) on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported. It was the first time the Attorney and the police officially acknowledged that the probe was conducted. Mendelblit said Netanyahu was interrogated over suspicions that he received 'benefits' from businessmen. He confirmed that Netanyahu was investigated as a suspect, with "a slew of allegations that the Prime Minister allegedly committed offences". The investigation led to several other affairs, Mendelblit said. The probe had begun several months ago but in December the investigators found evidence that "changed the situation of the case", leading to Monday's questioning, he added. Black screens were placed outside the Prime Minister's official residence on Monday to keep the media out. Netanyahu's office rejected the allegations as "baseless". In a meeting of his Likud party ministers, he said investigations will not find anything, as there is nothing to hide. Netanyahu is under criminal investigation over suspicion that he and his family received "favours", including gifts and money, from businessmen. According to local media, Ron Lauder, an American billionaire, was linked with the case. Lauder was Netanyahu's close friend until their relation soured. Lauder was investigated by the police when he arrived in Israel for the funeral of the late President Shimon Peres in September. Lauder then confirmed that he had given Netanyahu "various gifts and also financed a trip abroad for the Prime Minister's son Yair". IANS For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, January 3, 2017, 10:20 [IST] Istanbul attack: Kyrgyzstan probing citizen's involvement International oi-PTI Bishkek, Jan 3: Kyrgyzstan is investigating whether one of its citizens was involved in the New Year's attack at an Istanbul nightclub that left 39 dead, the central Asian country's intelligence services have said. "The National Security Committee (GKNB) is looking into the possible involvement of a citizen of Kyrgyzstan in the attack in Istanbul," said Rakhat Soulaimov, spokesman for the intelligence service, adding that investigators have been in touch with their Turkish counterparts. He later added that the authorities had detained and questioned a 28-year-old Kyrgyz national, Lakhe Machrapov, upon his return from Turkey after Turkish media reported he was a possible suspect in the attack. "Members of the GKNB transferred him to a regional bureau where he was questioned. The details will be released later," Soulaimov told AFP. Speaking to Kyrgyz media, Machrapov denied any involvement in the attack, explaining that he arrived in Istanbul on January 1 "on business" before leaving today after being briefly questioned by Turkish police due to his resemblance to a suspect in the killing. The foreign ministry in Kyrgyzstan said it was "improbable" that one of its nationals was involved but said it was "checking anyway." Turkish police have released pictures of the suspect who went on the rampage at the plush Reina nightclub on New Year's night, spraying some 120 bullets at terrified guests before slipping away into the night. PTI Pope to bishops: Maintain 'zero tolerance' for child abuse International oi-PTI Vatican City, Jan 3 Pope Francis has exhorted Catholic bishops worldwide to do what's needed to ensure children are protected from sexual abuse by clergy. The Vatican today released the text of a December 28 letter Francis sent to bishops about injustices to children. They included slave labour, malnutrition, lack of education and sexual exploitation, including abuse by priests. In the letter, Francis decried "the sufferings, the experiences and pain of minors who were abused sexually by priests". "It is a sin that shames us," the pope wrote. "Persons responsible for the protection of those children destroyed their dignity". The church's reputation has been stained in several countries during the last decade-and-a-half as people have come forward to report that parish priests or other Catholic clergy raped or molested them as minors. The allegations showed that local bishops sometimes knew about and covered up child sex abuse involving problem priests and triggered multi-million-dollar lawsuits, as well as several criminal prosecutions. Expressing the church's "regret," and begging forgiveness, the pope denounced the "sin of what happened, the sin of failing to help, the sin of covering up and denial, the sin of the abuse of power". Francis also asked bishops for "complete commitment to ensuring that these atrocities will no longer take place in our midst." "Let us find the courage needed to take all necessary measures and to protect in every way the lives of our children, so that such crimes may never be repeated," the pope said. "In this area, let us adhere, clearly and faithfully, to 'zero tolerance.'" The pontiff himself has gotten mixed reviews on how the Vatican handles sex abuse. Francis has laid out procedures to oust bishops for negligence, if they mishandle investigations into alleged abuse. But he dismayed advocates for abuse survivors by appointing a Chilean bishop accused of covering up for a notorious pedophile. The Vatican also took no immediate action after deaf students in Francis' native Argentina, in a 2014 letter to the pope, said a priest sexually abused them at school. AP Sudan: Eight people killed by gunmen International oi-PTI Khartoum, Jan 3: Gunmen in military uniforms have killed eight people in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, residents and an NGO said, as rebels accused the army of being behind the attack. The shooting happened on Sunday in Nertiti in the Jabal Marra area, where sporadic clashes between the army and rebels have continued despite a government-announced unilateral ceasefire. Ashafih al-Saleh, who heads an association that supports displaced people in Darfur, on Monday said: "Eight people, mostly women, were killed inside their homes." He accused the army of carrying out the attack "to avenge the death of a soldier whose body was found" in Nertiti. Resident Faisal Ashaq said his 13-year-old daughter was killed in the attack. "Gunmen in military uniforms appeared suddenly in their four-wheel-drives, shooting with guns and machine guns fixed on to their vehicles," he said. A medical source said around 60 people were wounded. The Sudan Liberation Army - Minni Minnawi rebel group accused pro-government forces of conducting the attack. A statement said "the attack contradicts" President Omar al-Bashir's decision on December 31 to extend by a month a unilateral ceasefire in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan regions. "Bashir's decision is aimed at covering up the crimes committed by his militias, under his instructions," it added. The conflict in Darfur -- a region of the size of France -- erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Bashir's Arab-dominated government, accusing it of marginalising the region. At least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in Darfur since the conflict first erupted in 2003, the UN says. Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes and genocide charges related to Darfur, which he denies. Sudan insists that the conflict in Darfur has ended. PTI What does the US actually want in Syria? Syria: Ceasefire under threat International oi-PTI Beirut, Jan 3: Syria's ceasefire appeared under threat as government forces intensified their attacks near Damascus and around 10 rebel groups said they were suspending talks about planned peace negotiations this month. The talks are due to take place in the Kazakh capital Astana in late January but the rebels said they were pulling out of discussions due to "violations" by Damascus of a four-day old truce. The talks are being organised by Russia, which supports the Syrian regime, and Turkey and Iran, which back the rebels. "As these violations are continuing, the rebel factions announce... the freezing of all discussion linked to the Astana negotiations," they said in a joint statement. The rebels said they "respected the ceasefire across the whole of Syria... but the regime and its allies have not stopped shooting and have launched major and frequent violations, notably in the (rebel) regions of Wadi Barada and Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus. For the past two weeks, even before the start of a nationwide truce brokered by Ankara and Moscow, Syria's air force has launched almost daily bombing raids on Wadi Barada, some 15 kilometres from Damascus. "Any (advance) on the ground goes against the agreement and if things don't return to how they were before, the accord will be considered null and void," the rebel statement added. On Monday, the Syrian army backed by air strikes and artillery fire advanced as it battles to capture the area, which is key to the capital's water supply, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "Regime forces and fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah group are advancing in the region and are now on the outskirts of Ain al-Fijeh, the primary water source in the area," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the monitoring group. He said government troops and allied fighters were engaged in fierce clashes with rebels, including former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front, a claim denied by opposition fighters. Two civilians were shot dead by snipers and two other civilians were killed in bombardment of the town of Rastan in central Homs province, the Observatory added. Government forces have surrounded Wadi Barada since mid-2015, but the siege was tightened in December as the army piled on the pressure. The Syrian government says rebels have targeted key water infrastructure, causing leaking fuel to poison water supplies and then cutting it off altogether. The United Nations says at least four million people in Damascus have been without water since December 22. PTI At least 60 people were killed in a prison riot in Brazil's Amazon region when fighting broke out between rival gangs, an official said on 2 January. The riot happened on Sunday at a prison in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, said the head of the state's prisons administration, Pedro Florencio. The bloodbath took place at Carandiru prison in Sao Paulo state. 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. He is the Eurosceptic gift that just keeps on giving. Indeed, he is possibly the greatest weapon at the Brexiteers' disposal more so even than Nigel Farage or Boris Johnson, or those bonkers EU regulations on the correct shape of bananas. But for how much longer? Because time is now surely running out for European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker following the latest evidence of his rank hypocrisy not to mention his pivotal role in a monumental tax dodge... ROBERT HARDMAN: Why the EU's hypocrite-in-chief is a prime example of the hubris that could tear it apart By Robert Hardman for the Daily Mail 3 January 2017He is the Eurosceptic gift that just keeps on giving. Indeed, he is possibly the greatest weapon at the Brexiteers' disposal more so even than Nigel Farage or Boris Johnson, or those bonkers EU regulations on the correct shape of bananas.But for how much longer?Because time is now surely running out for European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker following the latest evidence of his rank hypocrisy not to mention his pivotal role in a monumental tax dodge.As many have argued since last summer's EU referendum, if the member states of the European Union had not appointed Mr Juncker to run the European Commission in 2014, Brexit might very well not have happened.A less arrogant, less abrasive, less fanatical Euro-federalist might well have shaved a crucial couple of percentage points off the final 52:48 result.Fortunately for the Leave camp, the finger-wagging former prime minister of Luxembourg just kept on riling the British public right up to polling day.Indeed, he was at it again just the other day when he warned other member states not to follow the stupid Brits by holding an in/out EU referendum. 'It is not wise to organise this kind of debate,' he said.'Not only because I might be concerned about the final result but because this will pile more controversy on to the huge number [of crises] already present at the heart of the EU.'This week, however, a fresh series of leaked documents show the extraordinary extent to which Mr Juncker has spent years blocking EU attempts to crack down on the predatory tax loopholes constructed in his native Luxembourg for the benefit of international corporate giants such as Amazon.The same documents go on to show how he has also vetoed any public disclosure of these discussions.So, here we are at the start of a year in which the EU faces the gravest existential threat in its history from a series of national elections in France, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy. And despite crystal-clear demands for greater EU transparency and accountability, the man in charge of the EU apparatus has been rumbled as the architect of a huge tax avoidance cover-up.As yet, we haven't heard a squeak from Mr Juncker. Not that we should necessarily believe what he might deign to share with us. This is the man who, while handling the 2011 eurozone crisis, blithely declared: 'When it becomes serious, you have to lie.'Well it's certainly looking serious now.The latest scandal follows the leak of classified documents involving a secretive EU committee set up to establish a code of conduct on tax policies. The idea was to prevent 'harmful competition' between member states.Since the committee was created in 1998, when Mr Juncker was both prime minister and finance minister in his native grand duchy, the committee has made repeated attempts to toughen regulation.These have included proposals for investigations of private corporate tax deals with big international corporations. At every stage, these plans were blocked by Luxembourg thanks to a rule requiring unanimity on all the committee's decisions.Exasperated by this stalemate, a number of countries including Germany and Sweden then argued in favour of a majority vote. 'Nein,' said Luxembourg and vetoed that, too.So a country with 0.1 per cent of the EU population (think Northamptonshire with fewer people), has been frustrating serious reform of offshore tax avoidance for years.Then, when it was proposed that the committee's deliberations might be made public, that also received a big fat thumbs down from Mr Juncker and his compatriots.Given all the bile which Mr Juncker has directed over the years at the British for being 'bad' Europeans, and for obstructing the great European dream, we now find that he has been throwing spanners in the works and getting away with it for years.There must now surely be serious doubts about this man's ability to remain at the helm of the world's most bloated bureaucracy (one in which 10,000 people earn more than the British prime minister).It was in 2014 that the first revelations surfaced about Mr Juncker's involvement in cosy Luxembourg tax deals during the 18 years he spent as PM, before being forced out in a phone tapping scandal.The so-called 'LuxLeaks' episode revealed the extent to which companies such as Fiat and McDonald's had been enjoying potentially illegal arrangements with Luxembourg on his watch deals which certainly help to explain why it is one of the world's richest nations.Several EU investigations have since been commissioned, and Fiat has been ordered to repay tens of millions of euros in unpaid tax, while the McDonald's case is ongoing. Mr Juncker has supported the EU's competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager in pursuing these matters.No doubt Mr Juncker had hoped all these pesky leaks had gone away. Instead, the new disclosures amplify the arrogance of a man who has repeatedly voiced his contempt for the democratic process.'I am for secret, dark debates,' he said in 2011. He also said: 'We all know what to do. We just don't know how to get re-elected after we've done it.'His attitude towards the inconvenient simpletons the rest of us call 'voters', is probably best summed up in his half-jokey, half-menacing prognosis ahead of the 2005 French referendum on a proposed European Constitution: 'If it's a Yes, we will say: 'On we go.' And if it's a No, we will say: 'We continue.' 'No doubt there will be some in Brussels who will try to explain away the latest leaks as rabble-rousing by ghastly Eurosceptic British newspapers such as the Mail.Actually, the latest Luxembourg leaks have come via German radio, the Left-wing Guardian newspaper and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists hardly a cabal of scheming Brexiteers. Indeed, it is increasingly hard to find anyone with positive things to say about the 62-year-old uber-bureaucrat, who makes no secret of his own contempt for the UK.During Mr Juncker's quest to become president of the Commission, even that arch-Europhile Lord Mandelson couldn't come up with anything more enthusiastic than: 'He may or may not be the nightmare candidate.'Perhaps now, some of Mr Juncker's senior colleagues will come to their senses and realise what a liability they have in the man still running the Commission. Then again, perhaps not.We need only look at the vast new palace which the EU grandees have just unveiled in Brussels. Called Europa or the 'Space Egg' it is beautifully emblematic of the ivory-towered otherworldliness of the EU elite.Originally commissioned for 210 million in 2004, it has finally been finished four years late and 80 million over budget.Multi-coloured floors and ceilings look like a paint chart but are apparently the work of a Belgian artist-c um-essayist called Georges Meurant, who only paints in squares.This is supposed to be the new conference centre for both the European Council and the Council of the European Union, with the bowels earmarked for the media and the top floor fitted out as a very grand private dining room. Offices, conference rooms and restaurants fill the space in between.Indeed, the building has 25 per cent more space for eating and drinking (5,800 square metres) than for actual meetings (4,600 square metres), but then that should come as no surprise to those who have spent any time in Brussels, as I did recently.Mr Juncker would certainly approve. He is well-known for his love of a traditional European working lunch; one local paper chronicled his heroic consumption of a Campari, three glasses of wine and three Sambucas in just two hours. It's one of his more endearing traits.2017 is going to be a very serious year for the EU, one in which voters will decide on its very survival. And yet it continues to be dominated by a pantomime villain who has blamed Britain's Brexit vote on 'lies and so many half-truths' when, by his own admission, his own career has been littered with the very same. PR Newswire Asia 03 Nov 2022 BEIJING, Nov. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The 5th China International Import Expo (CIIE), which will be held on November 5 to 10 in.. When the Ford Motor Company took the veils off the 2019 Transit Connect, the Blue Oval promised to add the 1.5-liter EcoBlue turbo.. autoevolution 11 Jul 2019 Eurasia Review 01 Sep 2022 He has survived death threats and attempts on his life since February 1989. But Salman Rushdies luck just about ran out at the.. 4 children dead, 6 people hospitalized following 'HAZMAT incident' in Amarillo 4 children dead, 6 people hospitalized following 'HAZMAT incident' in Northeast Amarillo komonews.com AFD said someone at the residence had sprayed a pesticide, which is now identified as Weevil-Cide, containing aluminum phosphide underneath the house. At some point, a person living at the home tried to wash away the pesticide with water. This caused a chemical reaction that created phosphine gas, which is extremely dangerous. Phosphine gas causes pulmonary edema and extreme respiratory distress. From Consortium News Russian President Vladimir Putin, following his address to the UN General Assembly on Sept. 28, 2015. (Image by (UN Photo)) Details DMCA Many top Democrats are stoking a political firestorm. We keep hearing that Russia attacked democracy by hacking into Democratic officials' emails and undermining Hillary Clinton's campaign. Instead of candidly assessing key factors such as longtime fealty to Wall Street that made it impossible for her to ride a populist wave, the party line has increasingly circled around blaming Vladimir Putin for her defeat. Of course partisan spinners aren't big on self-examination, especially if they're aligned with the Democratic Party's dominant corporate wing. And the option of continually fingering the Kremlin as the main villain of a 2016 morality play is clearly too juicy for functionary Democrats to pass up -- even if that means scorching civil liberties and escalating a new cold war that could turn radioactively hot. Much of the current fuel for the blame-Russia blaze has to do with the horrifying reality that Donald Trump will soon become president. Big media outlets are blowing oxygen into the inferno. But the flames are also being fanned by people who should know better. Consider the Boston Globe article that John Shattuck -- a former Washington legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union -- wrote in mid-December. "A specter of treason hovers over Donald Trump," the civil libertarian wrote. "He has brought it on himself by dismissing a bipartisan call for an investigation of Russia's hacking of the Democratic National Committee as a 'ridiculous' political attack on the legitimacy of his election as president." As quickly pointed out by Mark Kleiman, a professor of public policy at New York University, raising the specter of treason "is simply wrong" -- and "its wrongness matters, not just because hyperbole always weakens argument, but because the carefully restricted definition of the crime of treason is essential to protecting free speech and the freedom of association." A Liberal Zeitgeist Is Shattuck's piece a mere outlier? Sadly, no. Although full of gaping holes, it reflects a substantial portion of the current liberal zeitgeist. And so the argument that Shattuck made was carried forward into the new year by Robert Kuttner, co-editor of The American Prospect, who approvingly quoted Shattuck's article in a Jan. 1 piece that flatly declared: "In his dalliance with Vladimir Putin, Trump's actions are skirting treason." The momentum of fully justified loathing for Trump has drawn some normally level-headed people into untenable -- and dangerous -- positions. (The "treason" approach that Shattuck and Kuttner have embraced is particularly ironic and misplaced, given that Trump's current course will soon make him legally deserving of impeachment due to extreme conflicts of interest that are set to violate the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution.) Among the admirable progressives who supported Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign but have succumbed to Russia-baiting of Trump are former Labor Secretary Robert Reich and Congressman Keith Ellison, who is a candidate for chair of the Democratic National Committee. Last week, in a widely circulated post on his Facebook page, Reich wrote: "Evidence continues to mount that Trump is on Putin's side." But Reich's list of "evidence" hardly made the case that Trump "is on Putin's side," whatever that means. A day later, when Trump tweeted a favorable comment about Putin, Rep. Ellison quickly echoed Democratic Party orthodoxy with a tweet: "Praising a foreign leader for undermining our democracy is a slap in the face to all who have served our country." Some of Putin's policies are abhorrent, and criticizing his regime should be fair game as much as criticizing any other. At the same time, "do as we say, not as we do" isn't apt to put the United States on high moral ground. The U.S. government has used a wide repertoire of regime change tactics including direct meddling in elections, and Uncle Sam has led the world in cyberattacks. Intervention in the election of another country is categorically wrong. It's also true that -- contrary to conventional U.S. wisdom at this point -- we don't know much about a Russian role in last year's election. We should not forget the long history of claims from agencies such as the CIA that turned out to be misleading or downright false. Late last week, when the Obama administration released a drum-rolled report on the alleged Russian hacking, Democratic partisans and mainline journalists took it as something akin to gospel. But the editor of ConsortiumNews.com, former Associated Press and Newsweek reporter Robert Parry, wrote an assessment concluding that the latest report "again failed to demonstrate that there is any proof behind U.S. allegations that Russia both hacked into Democratic emails and distributed them via WikiLeaks to the American people." Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Of the last 11 Presidents, starting with and including JFK, only 5 were legitimately elected. The rest (including Ford, who replaced Nixon and pardoned him, and was not elected President ) took power either through treason or the electoral fraud we call the Electoral College, which overturned the actual vote of the public. This means that in most cases, our President has gained power not by fairly campaigning and winning the vote of the people, but through either murder, sabotage of a sitting President, or through using the Electoral College to overturn the actual vote count, declaring the losing candidate to be the winner. In any other nation, this would be called a coup, but since it has been institutionalized since the slave owning class created it to block the popular vote, it has become a coup that is accepted as normal, tho there has been no electoral coup since 1888, until our new Century, where it is now the new normal. Let us begin with the assassination of JFK. Most informed people are aware that this murder was engineered by the CIA, with the cooperation of LBJ, the Mafia, and likely Bush I, the former CIA chief. Many books and the Oliver Stone film have highlighted this conspiracy, and the Congress in 1976 determined that the murder was "likely a conspiracy." A recent book, Mary's Mosaic, written by a person close to all the major players including his own father and Mary Pinchot's husband, both high level CIA officials, makes a daunting case that the assassination of JFK and then his lover, who had undertaken a transformative journey from mainstream Cold War thinking to a vision of a world at peace was executed to stop this transition to a world at peace, a world without nuclear weapons, and a world without the Pentagon and the CIA running a shadow government, commonly called the Deep State. The reasons for the JFK murder, which was the first coup in this now normal series, were: 1) he stood up to the Pentagon generals (and some in his own staff) who wanted to use nukes against North Vietnam and in "local conflicts" in Southeast Asia. He said No. Then, when the CIA invaded Cuba in the disastrous Bay of Pigs, he was told to send air support, and he said No. Then When the Cuban Missile Crisis heated up, the generals told him the US should nuke Russia, that we could win if we made a first strike, and he said No. As a result of these conflicts, he fired Allen Dulles, the first civilian director of the CIA who had made it a tool of Wall St, pursuing a rogue foreign policy involving assassinations, proxy wars, and economic sabotage. and he then signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty with Russia, with the goal of banning all nukes. He had also written a Presidential directive to withdraw all troops from Vietnam and reverse the Cold War Doctrine embraced by Truman and Eisenhower to attack "independent" or "neutral" nations as pawns of the Communists. And finally, he said he was going to splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces. Soon after, he was shot down from both the front and the back in broad daylight. From flickr.com: .Glorious Victory., Diego Rivera (Image by elycefeliz) Details DMCA LBJ could not wait to arrive back in Washington to be sworn in, so as the autopsy went on, with the FBI and CIA manipulating the scene to prepare for the lies of the Warren Commission (on which sat the fired Allen Dulles), LBJ was sworn in on the flight back with the traumatized Jackie Kennedy at his side. Immediately, LBJ repealed the JFK directives and issued new directives calling for an escalation which led, eventually to 500,000 troops (and with the help of the next saboteur, Nixon) and up to 3 million deaths. So I count LBJ as the first President in modern times to have come to power illegitimately, through a murder of the President he was known to hate and whose policies he was eager to reverse. The second illegitimate President was Richard Nixon, who it is now known through both released archives and audio tapes, sabotaged Johnson's peace negotiations with North Vietnam. Nixon sent his emissaries to the North Vietnamese to offer a better deal if they would blow off Johnson and wait for him to be elected. They bit, just as the Iranians would bite when Reagan did the same to defeat Carter, who was leading in the polls. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Titan: Pluto's big brother - The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft and the darkest moon of Saturn http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1998LPI....29.1868E https://codex-regius.eu Codex Regius, with a foreword by Dr Rainer RiemannDecember 201615.70 | $20.50 | 150 pages | 1541307453 978-1541307452I can still exactly recall that 14 January 2005 when I was waiting in ESAs control centre for the first images and measured data. The Cassini Orbiter made even more fascinating discoveries during those twelve years after the landing, and it is these that this book informs us about.Dr Rainer Riemann, astrophysicist, Heidelberg, GermanyMars is not the world that would be suited best for human settlement. That is - despite its huge distance from Earth - Saturns moon Titan which, today, looks to us like a big brother of Pluto. That which the doomed Cassini-Huygens spacecraft has shown us is a world that looks homely to human eyes and yet immeasurably alien. Including a foreword by Dr Rainer Riemann, active contributor to the Cassini-Huygens mission.Following their successful Pluto & Charon The New Horizons spacecraft at the farthest worldly shores from June 2016, Codex Regius are continuing their series on lesser worlds in the solar system with Titan: Pluto's big brother The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft and the darkest moon of Saturn about another world currently explored by NASA spacecraft. Saturn's largest moon Titan bears in fact so much resemblance to a larger and milder Pluto that the authors advocate categorising both worlds in a common class, despite one of them orbiting a larger body (Saturn, and the other, a smaller one (Charon).Following the layout and structure of the previous Pluto & Charon volume, Titan: Pluto's big brother begins with an overview of the world discussed as NASA's space probe approaches it, continues with a summary of the descent of the Huygens lander and a brief retrospective of early Earth- and space-based observations. The next three chapters are dedicated to the surface with prominent landmarks described in more detail, the chemistry of the ground and the atmosphere and the weather and climate patterns. A discussion of Titan as a potential host of native lifeforms (whether on the surface or deep under its icy crust) follows, and the concluding chapter presents a few proposals of follow-up missions to Cassini that will meet a fiery end in September 2017.The book aims at amateurs and armchair astronomers with a bit of background knowledge in natural sciences and the solar system, and it is illustrated both with original NASA/ESA images and illustrations produced by the authors.'We have learned a lot about Titan since Huygens landed in 2005,' say Codex Regius, 'most of it, however, is hidden way in profound but unaffordable textbooks with only a few tantalising glimpses available online. Below the professional level, there opens a huge gap on the market that we have tried to fill with this book like with the previous volume on Pluto and the New Horizons mission.'Codex Regius is the pen name and label of two authors: Andreas Mohn from Wiesbaden, Germany, and Metka Klemencic from Ljubljana, Slovenia. Metka is a university engineer of chemistry and has spent her time trying to convey the wonders of the Periodic Table to mostly unreceptive students, she is particularly interested in the chemistry of other worlds and their compositions. Andreas, a graduate of physical engineering, has worked as a technical editor before Codex Regius set up a freelance translation business and their own publishing company. Both of them are also long-term members of the Urania astronomy club of Wiesbaden, Germany, and frequently presenting results from latest research in the solar system to interested audiences.Dr Rainer Riemann is astrophysicist based in Heidelberg, Germany, and was actively involved in the conception of the Cassini-Huygens mission and in the LunarSat proposal (). He is also an occasional contributor to magazines like 'Sterne und Weltraum', 'Astronomie heute' and member of the Urania astronomy club of Wiesbaden, Germany.Andreas Mohn & Metka KlemencicMuhlborngasse 1D-65199 WiesbadenGermanyinfo@codex-regius.eu Summation IT- A Trusted Offshore Web Development Company http://www.summationit.com/ Summary: Summation IT continues to provide excellent Web development services at their offshore development center with expertise on PHP and PHP Frameworks.Hyderabad, November 17: Summation IT is continuously meeting their clients satisfaction levels since its inception. They are delivering excellent services with proved results. Serving clients of more than 17 countries with high levels of client satisfaction levels, is an achievement for them. Getting a project and delivering it is every company can do, but the core skill of Summation IT is to help the clients to establish themselves with the developed product/service and render highest ROI from their product/service, Said Mr. Sai, Project Manager- PHP Team.One of their happiest client from USA, Tina has said Being located on the other side of the globe I was really worried to outsource a work, but working with SummationIT I gained confidence. I now feel your presence is not required to complete a job. They are responsive, perfect at communication, Highly Ethical. These statements show clients trust on the company.Summation IT established itself as a Web development company located its headquarters in Hyderabad, India. Their expertise offshore services include, PHP and PHP frameworks, Angular JS, Node JS, ASP.Net and other web development technologies. It sounds good, when your client appreciates for your good work and ethics, Said Mr. Jay- PM- Web Team.Being in Offshore business they have been delivering excellent results to their clients. They are an Interactive and trusted offshore partner with extended services like E-Commerce website development, Mobile App Development and Software Testing.About Summation IT:Summation IT Pvt. Ltd is an emerging software development service provider based at Hyderabad, India. Summation IT has clients across different countries US, Europe, Australia and Asia since its inception. The company is equipped with state of art facilities and SumITians always strive to achieve excellence which shows in customer satisfaction. Summation IT has worked with premium clients from US and Europe on challenging and complicated technologies.Please visit our website for more information:Level 1, am@10,MB Towers, H.NO. 8-2-624/A/1, Road no. 10, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad U.S., Europe & Japan Disc Printers Market Will Hit at a CAGR of -3.0% During 20162026 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-na-2033 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-na-2033 www.futuremarketinsights.com According to a recent market report published by Future Market Insights titled Disc Printers Market: U.S., Europe & Japan Industry Analysis & Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026 the U.S., Europe & Japan disc printers market was valued at US$ 929.6 Mn in 2015, and is expected to register a declining CAGR of -3.0% from 2016 to 2026. Increasing demand for online media content, continuous adoption of cloud-based storage services and other media storage devices, high raw material cost and technological innovation with efficient alternatives for accessing data are the major factors affecting the growth of the disc printers market in U.S., Europe & Japan.Disc printing is the process of printing text, data or images on the surface of the optical disc. Two different approaches for printing CD-R on-demand are - Thermal disc printing and Inkjet disc printing. A thermal disc printer employs pressure and heat to apply text and graphics to the disc surface. The print surface of thermal printed discs is more durable. Thermal disc printing produces colour custom labels that are waterproof, scratchproof and do not require any additional coating. However their colour printing capability has limitations that preclude its use in cases when label has complex colour graphic content. Inkjet printers utilise a mechanism in which the print head has several tiny nozzles/jets that spray ink onto the disc, as the disc moves past the print head, forming the characters or images. Inkjet disc printers may employ a single cartridge for different colours or several cartridges, with one for each colour depending upon different models, and are priced accordingly.Request For Report Sample@Segmentation highlightsThe U.S., Europe & Japan disc printers market is categorised on the basis of printer type as thermal disc printers and inkjet disc printers. On the basis thermal disc printers, the market is further segregated on the basis of technology (direct thermal printing and thermal retransfer & dye-sublimation printing) and ribbon type (monochrome black, colour and photo). On the basis of inkjet disc printers, the market is further segregated on the basis of technology (continuous ink technology and drop on demand technology) and head design (fixed head and replaceable head).The inkjet disc printers segment is a major segment offering 55% market revenue in 2015The thermal disc printer sub-segment was valued at US$ 418.3 Mn in 2015 and is anticipated to register a CAGR of -2.5% during the forecast periodThe inkjet disc printer sub-segment was valued at US$ 511.3 Mn in 2015 and is anticipated to register a CAGR of -3.4% during the forecast period.Regional market projectionsThis report also covers trends driving each segment and offers analysis and insights regarding the potential of thermal and inkjet disc printers in regions including U.S, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Japan. Among these regions, Western Europe accounted for the largest market share in 2015. This is majorly due to inclination of service providers towards offering packaged services such as disc printing, duplication and packaging services, in turn allowing key players to attract price-sensitive customers and gain the competitive advantage in the long term.Send An Enquiry@Vendor insightsSome of the key market players identified across the U.S., Europe & Japan disc printers market value chain are Rimage and Formats Unlimited (MF Digital) that are operating in both the thermal printing and inkjet disc printing market. TEAC America Inc. and Microboards Technology are specifically operating in the thermal disc printers market while Seiko Epson Corporation and Primera Technologies Inc. are specifically operating in the inkjet disc printers market.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comPress@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Global Benzotrifluoride Market To Gain From Rising Application Across Agricultural And Chemical Sectors http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/855882 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ The report is titled Global Benzotrifluoride Market (Derivatives And Sub-Derivatives): Analysis By End-User Industry, By Region, By Country (2016-2021) By Derivatives And Sub-Derivatives (Amino, Chloro, Bromo, Hydroxy):By End-User Industry (Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Agricultural, Others):By Region (APAC, North America, Europe And ROW):By Country (China, South Korea, India, Japan, US, Canada, Germany, U.K, France, Brazil, Saudi Arabia) and is available for sale on the company website.Analysts estimated the market to report a CAGR of 4.3% between 2016 and 2021. Demand for benzotrifluoride is expected to rise considerably from the chemical and agricultural industries. Among the regions exhibiting prospects for the market, Asia Pacific will thus emerge dominant. Besides boasting a widespread agricultural sector, leading economies of APAC also observe regulatory policies supporting growth of the agricultural industry. This inevitable creates lucrative growth opportunities for the global benzotrifluoride market.According to the report, Asia Pacific dominance in the global market is largely due to the increasing consumption levels and the rising disposable income of middle-income people living in the region. The regions increasing population demands improved crop yield, which in turn fuels the demand for efficient chemical systems. The scenario is conducive to the growth of the global benzotrifluoride market.For Sample Copy, click here:Besides the agricultural and chemical sectors, the demand for benzotrifluoride has also significantly risen across the pharmaceutical industry. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the factors encouraging the uptake of benzotrifluoride across diverse sectors. Besides this, an assessment of the factors limiting its sale is also included in the report.The report classifies the market based on various parameters to provide insights into the factors supporting expansion of the global benzotrifluoride market. The regional analysis carried out by analysts on the other hand is intended to help manufacturers identify the most lucrative pockets for sale of benzotrifluoride. Using Porters five forces, the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers is gauged. The analysis also provided information pertaining to the threat from substitute and new entrants. It also helps estimating the degree of competition prevailing in the market.In order to study the vendor landscape of the market, the report profiles some of the leading players operating therein. These companies are Navin Fluorine International Limited, Zhejiang Weihua Chemical Co., Ltd., Miteni SpA, Kingchem-Liaoning Chemical Co., Ltd., HE Chemical, Wylson-Chem Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi International PolymerTrade Corporation, Zhejiang Kangfeng Chemicals Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Fenghua Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., and Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.The report analyzes the production capacity of the companies profiled, besides providing information on their product portfolio. Strategies adopted by these companies to gain prominence in the market are evaluated as well.MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Relatively New Novel Oral Anticoagulants (NOACs) Slated To Boost Global Venous Thromboembolism Drugs Market http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/855951 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ The report titled PharmaPoint: Venous Thromboembolism - Global Drug Forecast And Market Analysis To 2025 provides a detailed overview the market for venous thromboembolism (VTE) drugs, including projections for its growth from 2015 to 2025.The introductory part of the report presents a description of venous thromboembolism, covering aspects such as etiology, pathophysiology, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. VTE, which is a blood clot (thrombus) in the deep vein, results primarily in two life-threatening conditions: deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). VTE can occur and re-occur in both non-hospitalized and hospitalized individuals and can result in chronic complications, namely post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) or chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). Though most commonly seen in adults and in the elderly, VTE can happen to people in any age group. Young patients afflicted by the malady usually have strong influencing factors, namely leg fractures, multiple trauma, or indwelling central vein lines.Moving on, the report presents a list of growth drivers in the global VTE drug market. It points out that the relatively new drug called novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) will be a major factor pushing the growth of the VTE market. NOACs, namely Xarelto, Pradaxa, Savaysa, and Eliquis present doctors with different treatment options, depending upon the patients condition. The report makes a comparative analysis of the drugs in terms of sales. It also details other forms of drugs such as arixtra (fondaparinux), heparins, and anti-platelets such as aspirin (widely genericized).For Sample Copy, click here:The report delves into the clinical practices and trends in countries such as France, Italy, the U.S., Germany, Spain, Japan, and the U.K., vis-a-vis VTE. It discusses various unmet needs and opportunities in the market. These include optimal therapy for cancer patients, inadequate prophylaxis in acutely ill patients, best therapy for patients with moderate and severe renal failure, complicated dose adjustments with new oral anticoagulants, etc. The research study also outlines the scope for drug development in the VTE market.Owing to extensive research and development, many drugs are already being developed and are slated to hit the market sooner or later. The report provides a peek into their clinical trial mapping and the countries that are developing them. It lists betrixaban (betrixaban) and xarelto (rivaroxaban) as the two of the most promising up and coming drugs. Further, the market study talks about other drugs in the pipeline, including anticoagulants, which are at a very early stage of development, and NOACs, which are in the most advanced stage of clinical trials.Some of the big-ticket companies operating in the industry listed in the report are Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Daiichi-Sankyo, and Pzifer.MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Forces have first year since 1968 with no one killed on operations Deaths on recent operations (Combat deaths only. Not including training, exercise, sickness and other causes) Afghanistan (2001 to present) - 456 Iraq (2003 to 2011) 178 Balkans (1992 to present) - 72 Falklands (1982) 237 Northern Ireland (1969 to 2007) 1,441 Source: MoD Ben Farmer, defence correspondent1 January 2017The TelegraphThe Armed Forces have marked their first year in nearly five decades without a soldier, sailor or airman being killed on operations.Ministry of Defence figures show that 2016 was the first year without the death of a serviceman on operations since 1968.The end of Britains fighting in Afghanistan, a political unwillingness to put troops into combat missions and a current focus on instead training local forces away from the front line have contributed to a lower chance of casualties, military sources said.But one former military leader said he was concerned there was also now a nervousness among politicians about using the Armed Forces.British forces have found themselves almost constantly deployed to dangerous conflict zones for more than 70 years since the end of the Second World War.Until now, the only year without British personnel killed on operations since 1945 was 1968, immediately before troops were deployed to Northern Ireland during the Troubles.Lord West, a former First Sea Lord and security minister, said: Im absolutely delighted that not a single member of our Armed Forces has been killed on operations.But I hope it isnt because in this very, very dangerous world that our nation is not willing to use our military for the security of our country.I fear theres a nervousness in our nation about using the Armed Forces and that worries me.The last British personnel to die on operations were Flt Lt Alan Scott, 32, and Flt Lt Geraint Roberts, 44, who died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan in October 2015.Their Puma helicopter crashed coming in to land at Nato headquarters in Kabul after it struck a cable tethering a surveillance blimp.Several members of the Forces died in 2016 while training, or on exercise.L/Cpl Joe Spencer, 24, of 3rd Bn The Rifles, was shot dead at RAF Tain, near Inverness, in November. Pte Conor McPherson, of 3rd Bn The Royal Regiment of Scotland, was shot dead on a night-time training exercise at Otterburn, Northumberland, in August.Around 4,500 British servicemen and women are currently taking part in 25 operations in almost 30 countries.The biggest is Britains war on Islamic State, codenamed Operation Shader. RAF air crew fly daily air strike and reconnaissance missions over territory held by Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (Isil), but commanders say politicians have insisted on keeping Army training teams teaching Kurdish and Iraqi forces well away from the dangers of the front line.Around 500 troops are also still in Afghanistan, but are not involved in combat missions.Meanwhile, in a New Years message, Sir Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, said 2017 will be the Year of the Navy.The Royal Navys 70,600 tonne, long-awaited new carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, will leave Rosyth to begin sea trials in the spring and then enter its new home in Portsmouth. Its sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, will take to the water for the first time this year.The MoDs focus on the Navy in 2017 comes after continuing worries about cuts, equipment problems and undermanning throughout 2016.Last week the Telegraph disclosed that the Armed Forces are preparing for further cuts because there is not enough money available for the various spending commitments in place.The 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), which was supposed to fix defence plans for the rest of the decade, may have to be effectively reopened. Sulphur Recovery Technologies Market Segments and Key Trends 2014-2020 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-171 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-171 www.futuremarketinsights.com Petroleum industries are gaining high momentum in their sales revenue with the increasing demand for sulphur across various industry segments. Today, 97% of the sulphur is recovered as a by-product of oil and gas industry followed by coal gasification (2%) and 1% from mined sulphur. Sulphur recovery is the process of harnessing sulphur from hydrogen sulphide (H2S). Sulphur constitutes 3% of earths total mass and is the 16th most abundant element in the world. Its end use application is seen in fertilisers, rubber, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries.Sulphur has both, merits as well as demerits. It needs to be removed during the coal gasification and extraction process so as to avoid catalyst poisoning and prevent fouling of the downstream component. Chemical industries constantly engage in technical innovation in order to offer an efficient approach for removing sulphur from this process and using it for various other industry verticals ranging from agricultural sectors to cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.Companies these days are focusing on extracting sulphur in most feasible way so as to minimise the operational cost and enhance the revenue generation. Claus process, tail gas, direct oxidation, acid gas enrichment, oxygen enrichment, cold bed adsorption and Frasch methods are the techniques most employed by industries. Of all these methods, Claus and CBA (Cold Bed Adsorption) are the most commonly used in extraction of sulphur. The reason behind its popularity is the increasing market share of oil and gas production.Request for sample report:Canada is the largest exporter of sulphur in the world, while China is the largest market for sulphur. Other potential market sites for sulphur are India, U.S., Morocco and Brazil. The current scenario reveals that sulphur production is dependent on Chinas economy. Since 1990, it has been importing sulphur to meet its various industry verticals need. However, the market seems to be in the doldrums because of the large gap between demand and supply. With major oil and gas fields operating in Canada, Russia, and MEA, the market is set to witness large production of sulphur which will surpass the demand for it. The Turkmenistan gas project alone is set to produce 2.4 million tonnes of sulphur. The decline in the demand for sulphur foretells a gloomy prospect for the industries producing sulphur. However, this downward trend will be a short term one and is expected to show improvement with sulphurs increasing use in rubber and agriculture sectors.It is predicted that the world population will increase to 8.3 billion by 2030 from 6.9 billion in 2010. This will lead to increase in food demand by 50%. With limited agricultural land, soil will need high amount of micro and macro nutrients to meet the good demand in coming years. Sulphur is one of the most important nutrient for plants. Deficiency in sulphur can result in reduced yields. The global agriculture market, including countries such as China, India, and U.S., will need sulphur to meet their crop production. High demand of sulphur in crop production offers good market scope for chemical industries operating in sulphur recovery technologies.Request for TOC:The rubber industry is also a potential end use market for sulphur-producing regions. Sulphur offers durability to natural rubbers. On account of the surge in demand for rubbers in the automotive industry, Asia followed by Europe and North America have become lucrative markets for business enterprises operating in sulphur recovery technologies. Asia alone consumes 17,191 metric tonnes of rubber. China, Japan, and India are the major automotive hubs, and hold the potential to generate high returns on investment for chemical industries. Germany is the largest market for sulphur in Europe with a majority of the automotive parts being manufactured there.With tremendous growth potential in the fertiliser, automation and mining sectors, the sulphur recovery technology market looks optimistic. APAC will see the highest CAGR growth in 20142020 followed by MENA and the North American region.About us:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705T (UK): + 44 (0) 20 7692 8790Email:sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Japan Traffic Management Systems Industry Analysis, Shares, Technology Advances, Key Drivers, Future Challenges, 2016 Market Research Report http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/659380 http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/pressreleases http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ The Japan Traffic Management Systems Industry 2016 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Traffic Management Systems industry.The report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Traffic Management Systems market analysis is provided for the Japan markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and Bill of Materials cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.The report focuses on Japan major leading industry players providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out. The Traffic Management Systems industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered.Request For Sample Copy Of This Report:With 153 tables and figures the report provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Table of Contents1 Industry Overview1.1 Definition and Specifications of Traffic Management Systems1.2 Classification of Traffic Management Systems1.3 Applications of Traffic Management Systems1.4 Industry Chain Structure of Traffic Management Systems1.5 Industry Overview of Traffic Management Systems1.6 Industry Policy Analysis of Traffic Management Systems1.7 Industry News Analysis of Traffic Management Systems2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Traffic Management Systems2.1 Bill of Materials (BOM) of Traffic Management Systems2.2 BOM Price Analysis of Traffic Management Systems2.3 Labor Cost Analysis of Traffic Management Systems2.4 Depreciation Cost Analysis of Traffic Management Systems2.5 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Traffic Management Systems2.6 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Traffic Management Systems2.7 Japan Price, Cost and Gross of Traffic Management Systems 2011-20163 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Japan Key Manufacturers in 20153.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Japan Key Traffic Management Systems Manufacturers in 20153.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Japan Traffic Management Systems Key Manufacturers in 20153.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Japan Traffic Management Systems Key Manufacturers in 20154 Production Analysis of Traffic Management Systems by Regions, Type, and Applications4.1 Japan Production of Traffic Management Systems by Regions 2011-20164.2 Japan Production of Traffic Management Systems by Type 2011-20164.3 Japan Sales of Traffic Management Systems by Applications 2011-20164.4 Price Analysis of Japan Traffic Management Systems Key Manufacturers in 20154.5 Japan Capacity, Production, Import, Export, Sales, Price, Cost and Revenue of Traffic Management Systems 2011-20165 Consumption Volume and Consumption Value Analysis of Traffic Management Systems by Regions5.1 Japan Consumption Volume of Traffic Management Systems by Regions 2011-20165.2 Japan Consumption Value of Traffic Management Systems by Regions 2011-20165.3 Japan Consumption Price Analysis of Traffic Management Systems by Regions 2011-2016About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.To View The Latest Industry Press Releases:ContactTel: +1-518-621-2074E-Mail: sales@marketresearchreports.bizWebsite:MarketResearchReports.biz supports your business intelligence needs with over 100,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Global Slurry Pump Market Overview and Industry Forecast to 2021 Market Research Hub http://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=905729 http://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=enquiry&repid=905729 http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/global-slurry-pump-market-forecast-to-2021-report.html http://www.marketresearchhub.com/ Albany, New York, January 03, 2017: A recent forecast report focusing on the Slurry Pump market has been added to the wide portfolio of Market Research Hub (MRH). It is entitled as, Global Slurry Pump Market Forecast to 2021 which has been equipped by in-depth market examination with inputs from the industry experts. It covers the current market scenario and also its future growth prospects primarily.Request for Sample Report:A slurry pump is a type of water pump intended for use in situations where solids are accidentally or intentionally suspended in water. Slurry pumps are widely used to transport corrosive/abrasive and high concentration slurry in many industries such as Gold, Silver, Iron ore, Tin, Steel, Coal, Titanium, Copper, Mineral sands, Lead and Zinc. Various other industries include Molybdenum, Electric Utilities, Oil Shale, Water & Sewage Utilities, Building areas, Sand & Gravel, Tobacco and Agriculture (hog, poultry).Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Slurry Pump in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversMetso, Weir Group, ITT Goulds Pumps, Grundfos, Flowserve, KSB, Tsurumi Pump, EBARA Pumps, Xylem, Shijiazhuang Industrial Pump, Shijiazhuang Kingda Pump, LEO Group, Excellence Pump Industry, Schurco Slurry.Make an Enquiry:Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers North America (USA, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) Latin America, Middle and Africa Market Segment by Type, covers Horizontal slurry pumps Vertical slurry pumps Submersible slurry pumps Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into Mining and Mineral Construction Metallurgy & Chemical Industry Pulp and Paper Power generationBrowse Full Info with TOC:There are 13 Chapters to deeply display the global Slurry Pump market.Chapter 1, to describe Slurry Pump Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Slurry Pump, with sales, revenue, and price of Slurry Pump, in 2015 and 2016;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2015 and 2016;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Slurry Pump, for each region, from 2011 to 2016;Chapter 5, 6, 7 and 8, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 9 and 10, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2011 to 2016;Chapter 11, Slurry Pump market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2016 to 2021;Chapter 12 and 13, to describe Slurry Pump sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, appendix and data source.Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite: Breast Imaging Market worth 4.14 Billion USD by 2021 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=897 The report "Breast Imaging Market by Type (Ionizing Technologies (Mammography, Digital Mammography, 3D Mammography, MBI, PET-CT, CBCT, PEM) Non-ionizing Technologies (Breast MRI, Breast Ultrasound, AWBU, Breast Thermography, Optical Imaging)) - Forecast to 2021", analyzes and studies the major market drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the world (RoW).This report studies the breast imaging market over the forecast period of 2016 to 2021. The market is expected to reach USD 4.14 Billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 8.5% from 2016 to 2021.Download PDF Brochure @Based on type, the global breast imaging market is segmented into ionizing breast imaging technologies and non-ionizing breast imaging technologies. The ionizing breast imaging technologies segment is subsegmented into analog mammography, full-field digital mammography (FFDM), 3D breast tomosynthesis, positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), molecular breast imaging/breast-specific gamma imaging (MBI/BSGI), cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), positron emission mammography (PEM), and electric impedance tomography. The non-ionizing breast imaging technologies segment includes breast MRI, breast ultrasound, optical imaging, automated whole-breast ultrasound (AWBU), and breast thermography.Growth in the breast imaging market is driven by factors such as the rising incidence of breast cancer globally; growing government investments and funding for breast cancer treatment and related research; increasing awareness about early detection of breast cancer; rising geriatric population; technological advancements in breast imaging modalities; and launch of advanced breast imaging systems capable of detecting cancer in women with dense breast tissues. In addition, the growing demand for breast imaging in emerging Asian countries, and technological advancements in breast cancer detection are expected to offer high growth opportunities for market players. However, factors such as high installation cost of breast imaging systems, side-effects of radiation exposure, and errors in breast cancer screening and diagnosis are restricting the growth of the global breast imaging market.North America is estimated to be the largest regional segment in the global breast imaging market in 2016, followed by Europe. However, the Asia-Pacific market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 9.5% from 2016 to 2021. A number of factors, such as the growing patient population, increasing healthcare expenditure, improving healthcare infrastructure, growing government spending on breast cancer research studies, and implementation of several initiatives to create awareness about the early detection of breast cancer are expected to drive the market in the Asia-Pacific region.Hologic, Inc. (U.S.), GE Healthcare (U.K.), Siemens Healthcare (Germany), Philips Healthcare (Netherlands), Fujifilm Holdings Corporation (Japan), Gamma Medica, Inc. (U.S.), Toshiba Corporation (Japan), Sonocine, Inc. (U.S.), Aurora Imaging Technology, Inc. (U.S.), and Dilon Technologies, Inc. (U.S.) are some of the key players operating in the global breast imaging market.About MarketsandMarketsMarketsandMarkets is the worlds No. 1 firm in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors.Contact:Mr. RohanMarkets and MarketsUNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZMagarpatta city, HadapsarPune, Maharashtra 411013, India1-888-600-6441Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Ovarian Cancer - Therapeutics Pipeline Review, Overview, H2 2016 Market Research Hub http://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=905722 http://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=enquiry&repid=905722 http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/ovarian-cancer-pipeline-review-h2-2016-report.html http://www.marketresearchhub.com/ Albany, New York, January 03, 2017: A recent forecast report focusing on the Ovarian Cancer Market has been added to the wide portfolio of Market Research Hub (MRH). It is entitled as, Ovarian Cancer - Pipeline Review, H2 2016. Latest Pharmaceutical and Healthcare disease pipeline guide Ovarian Cancer Pipeline Review, H2 2016, provides an overview of the Ovarian Cancer (Oncology) pipeline landscape.Request for Sample Report:Ovarian cancer is any cancerous growth that may occur in different parts of the ovary. The majority of ovarian cancers arise from the epithelium (outer lining) of the ovary. Signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer include pelvic discomfort or pain, indigestion, gas or nausea, changes in bowel habits, such as constipation, loss of appetite and low back pain. The predisposing factors include age and family history. Treatment includes surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.Report HighlightsGlobal Markets Direct's Pharmaceutical and Healthcare latest pipeline guide Ovarian Cancer Pipeline Review, H2 2016, provides comprehensive information on the therapeutics under development for Ovarian Cancer (Oncology), complete with analysis by stage of development, drug target, mechanism of action (MoA), route of administration (RoA) and molecule type. The guide covers the descriptive pharmacological action of the therapeutics, its complete research and development history and latest news and press releases.The Ovarian Cancer (Oncology) pipeline guide also reviews of key players involved in therapeutic development for Ovarian Cancer and features dormant and discontinued projects. The guide covers therapeutics under Development by Companies /Universities /Institutes, the molecules developed by Companies in Pre-Registration, Filing rejected/Withdrawn, Phase III, Phase II, Phase I, IND/CTA Filed, Preclinical, Discovery and Unknown stages are 3, 2, 15, 115, 119, 7, 195, 31 and 2 respectively. Similarly, the Universities portfolio in Phase II, Phase I, Preclinical and Discovery stages comprises 11, 11, 34 and 8 molecules, respectively.Make an Enquiry:Ovarian Cancer (Oncology) pipeline guide helps in identifying and tracking emerging players in the market and their portfolios, enhances decision making capabilities and helps to create effective counter strategies to gain competitive advantage. The guide is built using data and information sourced from Global Markets Directs proprietary databases, company/university websites, clinical trial registries, conferences, SEC filings, investor presentations and featured press releases from company/university sites and industry-specific third party sources. Additionally, various dynamic tracking processes ensure that the most recent developments are captured on a real time basis.Note: Certain content / sections in the pipeline guide may be removed or altered based on the availability and relevance of data.Scope- The pipeline guide provides a snapshot of the global therapeutic landscape of Ovarian Cancer (Oncology).- The pipeline guide reviews pipeline therapeutics for Ovarian Cancer (Oncology) by companies and universities/research institutes based on information derived from company and industry-specific sources.- The pipeline guide covers pipeline products based on several stages of development ranging from pre-registration till discovery and undisclosed stages.- The pipeline guide features descriptive drug profiles for the pipeline products which comprise, product description, descriptive licensing and collaboration details, R&D brief, MoA & other developmental activities.- The pipeline guide reviews key companies involved in Ovarian Cancer (Oncology) therapeutics and enlists all their major and minor projects.- The pipeline guide evaluates Ovarian Cancer (Oncology) therapeutics based on mechanism of action (MoA), drug target, route of administration (RoA) and molecule type.- The pipeline guide encapsulates all the dormant and discontinued pipeline projects.- The pipeline guide reviews latest news related to pipeline therapeutics for Ovarian Cancer (Oncology)Browse Full Info with TOC:Reasons to buy- Procure strategically important competitor information, analysis, and insights to formulate effective R&D strategies.- Recognize emerging players with potentially strong product portfolio and create effective counter-strategies to gain competitive advantage.- Find and recognize significant and varied types of therapeutics under development for Ovarian Cancer (Oncology).- Classify potential new clients or partners in the target demographic.- Develop tactical initiatives by understanding the focus areas of leading companies.- Plan mergers and acquisitions meritoriously by identifying key players and its most promising pipeline therapeutics.- Formulate corrective measures for pipeline projects by understanding Ovarian Cancer (Oncology) pipeline depth and focus of Indication therapeutics.- Develop and design in-licensing and out-licensing strategies by identifying prospective partners with the most attractive projects to enhance and expand business potential and scope.- Adjust the therapeutic portfolio by recognizing discontinued projects and understand from the know-how what drove them from pipeline.Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite: Wood Flooring Manufacturing Market - Global Industry Analysis 2016 -2024 Wood Flooring Manufacturing Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1510 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ http://globalresearchmarket.blogspot.in/ The global wood flooring manufacturing market is seeing a steady upswing currently on account of the increased preference for wood flooring due to its durability and restorability. The market can be segmented into solid, acrylic impregnated, and engineered wood. Bamboo flooring also falls under the ambit of wood flooring. Wood flooring comes in different shapes such as parquet, strips, and planks. Raw materials used in wood flooring include birch, oak, walnut, ash, maple, birch, beech, etc. Among them, oak is the most popular due to its strength, lesser cost, appearance, and wide availability. In fact, red oak accounts for about a majority of wood flooring sales.In the report, Transparency Market Research provides a detailed analysis of the global wood flooring market by segmenting it based on various parameters and presenting an in-depth analysis of each segment. It studies the various growth drivers and restraints in the market, besides evaluating the prevailing trends. The report also includes sagacious inputs from experts in the industry.A detailed assessment of the current vendor landscape is presented in the report. It not only profiles the prominent players operating in the market, but also brings to the fore their strengths and weaknesses. Using industry-leading analytical tools, the report gauges the threats and opportunities that these companies may face over the course of the forecast period between 2016 and 2024.GET PDF BROCHURE FOR MORE PROFESSIONAL AND TECH-NICAL INSIGHTS:Global Wood Flooring Manufacturing Market: Drivers and TrendsDriving the demand in the global wood flooring manufacturing market is the increasing housing construction and remodeling activities. With the rapid pace of urbanization worldwide, the housing industry has received a major fillip. There has been a continued uptick in activity in the commercial real estate and building remodeling and renovation works. This has majorly contributed to the market along with increasing purchasing power of discerning consumers, who are increasingly opting for green buildings. The rising popularity of pre-finished products and manufactured floors has also driven demand in the market. Additionally, wood products are being increasingly recycled. This is another cause for the soaring popularity of wooden floors.Countering the growth in the market are unstable prices of wood and other raw materials, strict regulatory norms, and rising cost of production. Another crucial market restraint is the growing thrust on environment which has led to strict policies against rampant deforestation. Further, stiff competition from substitutes such as ceramic tiles, carpet, and vinyl is also thwarting the growth in the market.A trend noticed in the manufacturing process is the increased thrust on automating processes to boost efficiency and improve safety. Although labor is used in the industry to craft products, operators are increasingly investing in enhanced technologies to cut down on manufacturing costs.Global Wood Flooring Manufacturing Market: Geographical OutlookGeography-wise, the global wood flooring market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World. Among them, North America and Europe are leading markets. This is mainly on account of the cold climate prevailing in most of the countries in the two continents which results in increased demand for wooden floors that helps in maintaining warmth. Asia Pacific is expected to be a significant contributor to this market too on account of the changing lifestyles in the region. Robust construction activities in emerging economies of the world such as Brazil, India, and China is slated to further propel the market in the near future.Key Players Mentioned in the ReportTo present an in-depth assessment of the competition prevailing in the global market for wood flooring manufacturing Wood Flooring International, Mohawk Industries, A&W Woods, Tembec, Tarkett, and Armstrong World Industries.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insights for decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, TMR employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog: Cement Market - Global Industry Analysis 2016 -2024 Global Cement Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1453 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ http://globalresearchmarket.blogspot.in/ The cement market is expected to soon witness an annual increase in demand, which could exceed supply, with the recent decline in capacity addition, especially in Asia Pacific (APAC) countries such as India. This may also prepare a platform for an imposing price appreciation in the future. However, new government regulations or changes in the nations financial system could affect the demand; for instance, the recent demonetization in India. Nevertheless, even with a small revival in the cement industry, the volume growth is anticipated to improve.Some of the African cement companies have taken a new route to better their market penetration tactics. BUA Cement in Nigeria would be embarking on productive operational framework and effective service delivery to augment its market share and reach a mammoth production target in a few years time.In a comprehensive report, Transparency Market Research (TMR) analyzes the global cement market through conclusive segmentation. One of the key classifications mentioned in the report is type, which introduces two significant varieties of cement.GET PDF BROCHURE FOR MORE PROFESSIONAL AND TECH-NICAL INSIGHTS:An in-depth evaluation of the international cement market discussed in the report explores the product value chain and intensity of competition on the basis of Porters five forces model. Taking into account decisive factors such as the threat of new entrants, bargaining strength of buyers, and alternative products, the report presents an all-encompassing study of the markets competitive landscape. It also studies the vital elements of the market using SWOT analysis, including the impact of their presence.Global Cement Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe cement industry immensely relies on construction and building activities. Concrete and mortar are two of the most common products in the construction industry that use cement as a major ingredient. Any escalation in the global construction or building activities will spur the market largely. Other factors that could influence the rise in the worldwide market include escalating number of nuclear families, rising need for accommodation, development in technology, and excessive disposable income.If the restraints are considered, the global cement market could experience a cutback in its flourish in terms of expansion with the energy-intensive manufacturing procedure for cement production. The danger of getting exposed to diseases such as lung cancer is another restraint that could arrest the growth of the market.Global Cement Market: Regional OutlookIn terms of consumption, APAC outpaces other regions in the global cement market by securing the largest share on the back of developing economies of countries such as China and India. With a considerable increase in the number of business and residential installations, APACs emerging nations have remarkably added to the demand for cement in the region. North America and Europe are predicted to invite a stable demand in the market with a profitable growth rate. Riding on disposable income and swift industrialization and urbanization, Brazil is foreseen to witness a tremendous growth potential.Global Cement Market: Company ProfilingIn a detailed study about the leading vendors in the international cement market, the report interprets their sales and marketing schemes, top mergers and acquisitions, latest innovations, and other critical factors. CNBM, Dangote, Mitsubishi Materials, CEMEX, Siam, Jaypee Cement, China National Materials Co., Lafarge SA, and Titan are the key players evaluated.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insights for decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, TMR employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog: High Temperature Plastics Market - Global Industry Analysis 2016 - 2024 High Temperature Plastics Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1398 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ http://globalresearchmarket.blogspot.in/ When plastics are capable of sustaining a service temperature of above 150C, it is industrially called high temperature plastic. The demand for these materials rise from the fact that they are dimensionally more stable and exhibit excellent mechanical properties despite being exposed to wide-ranging temperature. Some of the most crucial features of high temperature plastics are abrasion and hardness, resistance to wear and UV, chemical resistance, and resistance to fire. polysulfones, high performance polyamides, polyimides, Based on product, the report segments the global high temperature plastics market as fluoropolymers, liquid crystal polymers, polyketones, polyphenylene sulfides, and others. It presents a detailed assessment of the various factors supporting the markets growth across all its segments. Compiled with the intent of updating stakeholders about the prevalent market dynamics, the report covers product definition, segmentation based on various parameters, and prevailing vendor landscape.Global High Temperature Plastics Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe aerospace industry is flourishing and has been a major contributor to the revenue raked by the high temperature plastics market. Besides the aerospace industry, the increasing demand from the coatings industry will also help the global high temperature plastics market gain pace through the course of the reports forecast period. For construction purposes, the demand for lightweight materials is significantly high within the aerospace industry. It is also important for these materials to be able to sustain higher temperatures. These factors have proven conducive to the rising demand for high temperature plastics market.GET PDF BROCHURE FOR MORE PROFESSIONAL AND TECH-NICAL INSIGHTS:In addition, the increasing use of plastics as a replacement to metals used in different machine parts such as gears and pulley is expected to help the market register considerable growth over the course of the reports forecast period. On the downside, the comparatively higher cost of high temperature plastics could emerge as a major restraining factor. Nonetheless, as automakers increasingly use high temperature plastics for building engine parts, the demand from the market is forecast to spur at a high pace.Global High Temperature Plastics Market: Regional OutlookRegionally, the global high temperature plastics market is segmented into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and Rest of the World. Among these regions, Asia Pacific and North America have emerged as the top two consumers. The increasing demand from countries such as the U.S. and China is considered the chief factor supporting spike in revenue generated by high temperature plastics market in the aforementioned regions, which as per TMR will continue exhibiting robust growth through the forecast period.Besides this, the rising scope in developing nations such as India and Brazil will assist the market rise at a rapid pace in the near future. The growing opportunities in the domestic sector will further aid the markets expansion.Global High Temperature Plastics Market: Vendor LandscapeTo study the competition prevailing in the market, the report also profiles some of the leading players operating in the market. These include companies such as Daicel Chemical Industries Ltd., Rhodia Engineering Plastics, Eastman Chemical Company, BASF SE, Celanese Corporation, Arkema SA, The Dow Chemical Company, and Bayer Material Science AG. Using SWOT analysis, the strengths and weaknesses of these companies are profiled. The analysis also presents insights into the opportunities and threats that are likely to influence the markets trajectory over the course of the forecast period.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insights for decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, TMR employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog: Ultrasonic Sensors Market - An Insight On The Important Factors And Trends Influencing The Market. http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=9269 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ultrasonic-sensors-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The global market for ultrasonic sensors has been covered under the scope of this report. The ultrasonic sensors are used for liquid level measurement, object detection, distance measurement, anti collision detection and pallet detection among others. Reflective sensors, ultrasonic through beam sensors and ultrasonic 2 point proximity switches are the various types of ultrasonic sensors. The usage of ultrasonic sensor improves operational efficiency and the safety standards. These are some of the major factors fueling the demand for ultrasonic sensors globally.The ultrasonic sensors market is anticipated to experience a stable growth during the forecast period from 2015 to 2023. For better understanding of the market, the global ultrasonic sensors market has been categorized by type, application, and industry. By types, the market has been segmented into ultrasonic proximity sensor, ultrasonic through beam sensor, ultrasonic retro reflective sensor, and ultrasonic 2 point proximity switches. The application segment includes liquid level measurement, object detection, distance measurement, anti collisions detection and pallet detection among others.PDF Sample For Technological breakthroughs is @On the basis of industry, the global ultrasonic sensors market can be bifurcated into automotive, power and oil & gas, chemical, agriculture, construction, pulp and paper, material handling, food and beverage, aerospace and defense, medical and healthcare, and others. In addition, this report also provides the cross sectional analysis of all the above segments across different countries within the various regions such as North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and Rest of the World (RoW).This report focuses on the current position of the global ultrasonic sensor market and provides a forecast from the period of 2015 to 2023. Furthermore, the report also highlights the current market synopsis and the driving factors that are predicted to have an impact on the future demand of ultrasonic sensor globally. In addition, the various micro economic and macro-economic factors that are anticipated to affect the growth of global ultrasonic sensor market are also provided in this report.Among the various types of ultrasonic sensors, the ultrasonic proximity sensors segment held the largest market with more than 40% market share in terms of revenue in 2014. The ultrasonic through beam sensors segment is predicted to be the fastest growing market during the forecast period. Among the various industrial applications of global ultrasonic sensors, the power and oil & gas industry contribute the largest market share in 2014.Globally, Europe occupied the largest market share of ultrasonic sensors market, accounting for more than 35% market share in 2014. Increasing application of these sensors for parking assistance, blind spot detection and automated steering control among others in automotive industry is boosting the demand of ultrasonic sensors in Europe. The ultrasonic sensors market of Europe is followed by Asia Pacific.However, this region is anticipated to be the fastest growing market due to extensive use of ultrasonic sensors across various application segments such as automotive and power and oil & gas industry.The key players operating in the global ultrasonic sensors market are, Pepperl+Fuchs GmbH, Siemens AG, Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Rockwell Automation Inc. and OMRON Corporation among others.Market Insight can be Viewed @Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Transparency Market Research90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Achiote Powder Market Growth, Trends, Absolute Opportunity and Value Chain 2016-2026 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1997 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-1997 www.futuremarketinsights.com Achiote powder is extracted from the seeds of ever green shrub Bixa Orellana, commonly known as annatto. Achiote is traditionally being used as spices, food color, and medicinal purpose and as commercial dye. Achiote is originated from Mexico and being used for decoration, rituals and in paintings since 16th century. It is traditionally being used as coloring and flavoring agent in Latin America.In central and South America seeds were originally used to make red body painted and lipstick, and hence achiote is sometimes called as lipstick tree. Oil can also be extracted from achiote and used in different dishes for giving them nice color. Apart from seeds plant leaves have medicinal properties and also used in skin diseases treatment.Request Free Report Sample@As looking at achiotes properties and important uses achiote powder global market demand is high.Achiote PowderMarket SegmentationAchiote powder market is segmented on the basis of its applications in different industries. In condiments or spices, as a dye in textile industries, as food colorant in bakery and other food products, in cosmetics and in Pharmaceutical industries. Achiote powder is traditionally being used and sold as spice in the South American market. As containing color pigments it is being used in textile industry as natural dying agent .Uses of achiote powder in cosmetic industry is quite popular as traditionally being used in lipsticks as well as in skin infections. It has been popular as medicine recently due to its therapeutic properties like antifungal, antimalarial laxative, antibiotic and many more, and its medicinal properties have derived its market demand.Achiote powder market is further segmented on the basis of its forms. Achiote powder is available in market in different forms as water soluble extracts, mainly used in the water based food items and water based products. Another form is oil soluble extract for oil soluble products and cosmetics. And dry spray form is also available in market.Archiote powder market is later segmented on the basis of region asLatin America, North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia pacific excluding Japan and Japan. Where Peru from America and Kenya from Africa are the major exporter of achiote. Japan possess major import market for achiote powder as all synthetic coloring is banned in japan.Request For TOC@Achiote Powder Global Market TrendsAchiote powder possess significant demand in all the regions due to its therapeutic, food ingredient applications. Increasing emphasis on Ayurveda medicines, natural dyes, and natural food colorants is a major trending factor for achiote powder market.Also banning of certain synthetic pigments/colorants by major players like Japan. And research and development in plant medicines sector is another market trend setter for achiote powder market due to its therapeutic properties.Achiote Powder Market DriversAchiote powder is in high demand due to its applications in several industries. Principle factor driving market demand are continuous rising demand for natural colorants products due to rising regulations on uses of synthetic color agents in food and other materials by various governments. Also growing health consciousness in consumers and hence rising market demand for natural products based cosmetics and pharmaceutical products becoming another market driver for achiote powder.In countries like Peru achiote powder uses and production is high as traditionally known for its medicinal properties. In Japan, Europe and North America markets achiote powder is highly sought due to high regulated uses of synthetic colorants. In Japan market the uses of synthetic colorants are banned and hence recent years Japanese market has grown as another major exporter of achiote powder. In Europe Netherlands and UK are the major users of achiote powder as a colorant for hard cheese and uses in margarine. In North America U.S. market is the major exporter of achiote powder from Peru.Achiote PowderMarket Key Players:Achiote tree has been traditionally grown and marketed in Latin American countries, however Peru and Kenya are the major exporters of the achiote powder.Small volume producers and exporters market includes the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Colombia, Angola in Africa, and India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines in Asia.Key players operating in achiote powder market include Brownana Gh Ltd.,MG Natura Peru SAC, Mama Sitas, Marven bio chem, Amerilure, Kolorjet Chemicals Pvt.Ltd., Denton Spice Company, SENSIENT Pharmaceuticals etc.Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.compress@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: ABC News(NEW YORK) Donald Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said Tuesday morning that while the president-elect is putting North Korea "on notice," hes also "not making policy at the moment" regarding his tweet that North Korea will not be able to develop a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the United States. Trump's tweet referred to the annual New Year's address given by North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, in which he said that his country is in the "final stages" of preparing an intercontinental ballistic missile, which can deliver a nuclear weapon. North Korea has conducted several medium and long-range missile tests, and has been rebuked in the past by U.S. leaders for its nuclear ambitions. The UN Security Council has passed a series of resolutions aimed at curtailing North Korea's nuclear program since the country conducted its first test in 2006, including sanctions, which have been strengthened in recent years. Conway categorized Trump's remarks about North Korea as a warning to North Korea against pursuing such ambitions, which she said "could be deployed to reach Seattle almost immediately," according to experts who she did not name. "The president of the United States will stand between them and missile capabilities," Conway said of North Korea. Conway also sought to clarify other remarks made by Trump over the holiday weekend, in which he expressed continued skepticism over whether Russia was responsible for computer hacks of Democratic party officials. Trump cautioned against being quick to place judgment on Russia for hacking U.S. emails in a conversation he had with reporters while entering a New Years Eve celebration at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday evening. I just want them to be sure, because its a pretty serious charge, he said, he said of American intelligence agencies. If you look at the weapons of mass destruction, that was a disaster, and they were wrong. Trump went on to say that the hacking could be done by a country or organization other than Russia. "I also know things that other people dont know," he added. Conway suggested on GMA that Trump was referring to briefings he received from top intelligence officials. "Presidents and President-Elects have to know things that you and I dont know--I hope they do," Conway said, without specifying what kind of information Trump might have. "Hes privy to intelligence briefings of all sorts." ABC Breaking News | Latest News Videos Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Becky Headley announced today that she has joined Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative, the nations largest home-based travel agent franchise network in the industry. Affiliation means Headley now offers travelers exclusive pricing on a wide range of cruise and destination wedding packages, private cruise sales, as well as cabin upgrades and special amenities such as shore excursions, discounted fares, travel gifts and more. As a Cruise Planners travel advisor, Headley also provides specialized land vacation and tour packages to the most sought-after destinations around the world. Everyone travels, and its important to use a trusted travel specialist to help get the most value out of a vacation, Headley said. As a Cruise Planners travel expert, I take the stress and hassle out of planning a vacation for my clients. Through the resources available to me, I am able to make educated recommendations based on value, destination, group size and seasonality, among other things to customize the best vacation possible. Since Cruise Planners has achieved top-producer status with every major cruise line and with many major travel partners, I am able to provide my customers with the best value along with my expertise and personalized service. The cruising trend has continued to evolve and cruisers today are more adventurous and youthful. Theres also been a surge of multi-generational cruisers families who take their cruise vacations together. Many travelers are experiencing culturally immersive European river cruises, which is increasingly popular for savvy travelers. No matter the cruise line or destination, cruises offer a satisfying, convenient and value-oriented way to travel. Many travelers are also opting to go on land-based vacations, enjoy all-inclusive resort stays, explore foreign countries via a guided tour and experience high-adventure trips around the world. As a Cruise Planners franchise, I sell complete vacation packages from exotic getaways to romantic retreats and culturally-immersive European experiences to customized African safaris and of course cruises, Headley said. Some people want to go on a cruise one year, and then a land-based vacation the next I offer them a one-stop-shop with a personalized touch. As an American Express Travel Services Representative agency, Cruise Planners offers special programs for both American Express card holders and non-card holders, offering even more added value to vacationers. About Cruise Planners Cruise Planners, an independently owned and operated home-based franchise, is part of the American Express Travel Representative network and the nations largest home-based travel agent franchise company in the travel industry. Cruise Planners travel professionals independently book amazing vacation and travel experiences for their clients around the world. Cruise Planners franchise owner Becky Headley is based in Plattsmouth and specializes in land and cruise travel. For more information, please visit www.landandcruiseadventures.com Passive Fire Protection Materials Market - Global Industry Analysis 2016 - 2024 Passive Fire Protection Materials Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1188 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ http://globalresearchmarket.blogspot.in/ The global market for passive fire protection derives much of its growth from the increasing demand for enhanced fire safety standards in the residential and commercial buildings sector. The rising emphasis to deploy passive fire protection products in buildings by the regional governments is likely to drive the growth of this market over the next few years. The growing usage of passive fire protection in the oil and gas industry to avert the structural damage in case of explosive fire accidents is also projected to boost this market significantly in the near future.Additionally, the surge in the demand for fire protection products that can go on for a longer period is likely to reflect positively on the demand for passive fire protection materials over the forthcoming years. However, the price volatility of raw material prices may hamper the markets growth to some extent in the near future.This research study provides a detailed analysis of the global market for passive fire protection materials. It acts as a highly dependable business tool by assisting in recognizing prominent trends and growth prospects of this market at both, global as well as regional levels. It also offers an unbiased and deep insights into the competitive landscape of this market by reviewing the profiles of the key companies on the basis of their market shares, business strategies, product details, revenue structure, and latest development. A SWOT analysis of each of the participants has also been carried out in this report to identify their potential growth trajectory.GET PDF BROCHURE FOR MORE PROFESSIONAL AND TECH-NICAL INSIGHTS:Global Passive Fire Protection Materials Market: Trends and OpportunitiesCementitious materials, intumescent coatings, and fireproofing cladding, specifically intumescent coatings, are the registering a significant demand in the global market for passive fire protection materials market, thanks to their growing usage in various industries, such as the construction, energy, warehousing, and oil and gas sectors.Among these, the oil and gas industry has emerged as the leading end user of passive fire protection materials across the world and the scenario is likely to remain same over the next few years.Global Passive Fire Protection Materials Market: Geographical AnalysisNorth America has been leading the global market for passive fire protection materials, thanks to a well-established industrial sector, the rising demand of consumers for enhanced fire safety of buildings, and the growth in the expenditure by the regional governments on improving the overall infrastructural security of the region. The growing usage of these products in the aerospace industry to avoid the damage in the aircraft structure and minimize the asset loss is anticipated to fuel the demand for passive fire protection in North America over next few years, ensuring its dominance.On the other hand, Asia Pacific is likely to witness strong growth due to the increasing demand from various industries, such as the manufacturing, construction, automotive, and warehousing industries. The rising willingness of consumers to pay and the growing awareness pertaining to fire safety are anticipated to boost the demand for these products in Asia Pacific in the coming years.Companies Mentioned in the Research ReportThe global market for passive fire protection materials demonstrates a highly fragmented and competitive landscape with the presence of a number of regional as well as international companies. The leading players operating in this market are Carboline, Leighs Paints, HILTI, Rudolf Hensel GmbH, Sherwin-Williams, Hempel, 3M, Sharpfibre, Nullifire, and Lloyd Insulations (India) Ltd.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insights for decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, TMR employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog: Hard Surface Flooring Market - Global Industry Analysis 2016 -2024 Hard Surface Flooring Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=337 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ The demand for hard surface flooring is predicted to increase in the years to come across many regions. This is because of the rebound in residential improvements, housing completions, and repair expenditures. Recession in building construction projects had affected the global demand for hard surface flooring. However, the recovery of the building construction market from the recession has benefited the market. Advancements in the construction spending have also assisted the growth of the global hard surface flooring market. Currently, the residential construction market is driven by revolutions in the global housing industry, which is one of the major factor expected to propel the global hard surface flooring market.Earlier, preference was given to rugs and carpets, but today the preference is for hard surface floorings. This is because hard surface floorings are more durable and visually pleasing. The demand for hard surface flooring is expected to increase not only from the residential market but also from the non-residential sectors such as offices, commercial buildings, and industries. This is expected to further propel the global demand for hard surface floorings. Factors such as longer durability and minimum maintenance have increased the popularity of hard surface floorings than the carpets and rugs. The non-residential market is supporting the global hard surface flooring markets growth in a big way.GET PDF BROCHURE FOR MORE PROFESSIONAL AND TECH-NICAL INSIGHTS:Based on product type, the global hard surface flooring market is classified into resilient flooring and non-resilient flooring. The report focuses on key companies operating in the global hard surface flooring market. For a competitive analysis, the report had divided the global market into many segments and sub-segments. The research briefs readers about the changing trends and dynamics in the market. It uses SWOT analysis and graphics to better study the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the market. Analysts use a forward-looking perspective to study the global hard surface flooring market.Overview of the Hard Surface Flooring MarketThe resilient flooring product segment is classified into vinyl flooring, vinyl sheet, vinly composition tile, rubber flooring, cork flooring, asphalt flooring, linoleum flooring, and others. The non-resilient flooring product segment is sub-divided into seamless flooring, wood flooring, and laminate flooring. Key companies are concentrating on introducing new kinds of hard surface floorings to meet the changing demands and trends. By market type, the global hard surface flooring market is divided into residential building, non-residential building, and transportation equipment.The rising application of hard surface flooring in transportation equipment is a key factor expected to propel the global market in the long run.By region, the global hard surface flooring market is divided into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and Rest of the World. Key players are spreading their services across various regions, which is another factor expected to contribute towards the growth of the global market.Companies Mentioned in the Hard Surface Flooring Market ReportSome of the key companies operating in the global hard surface flooring market are Alloc, American Marazzi Tile, Apex Foodservice Matting, Beaulieu International Group NV, Berry Group, Burke Industries, Roppe Corporation, Shaw Industries Group, Stankiewicz International, Surface America, Tarkett SAS, TOLI Corporation, UnilinBA, Witex Flooring Products GmbH, and Superior Manufacturing Group Incorporated.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insights for decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, TMR employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: New Innovations by DENSO UR20 Scanner Series with RFID Technology The new UR20 series by the DENSO Auto-ID Business Unit provides enormous time savings at the POS and in storage areas. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHp4Yboj7IccPlSeRxQ6yBQ DENSO launches the two new scanners UR21 and UR22 in spring 2017.Inventor of the QR Code launches a new scanner series. / UR21 and UR22 with modern RFID technology. / New innovations for retail and logistics. / Scanners can be used effectively in clothing stores. / DENSO Auto-ID Business Unit are experts for mobile data capture. / Further information on the QR Code, handheld terminals and scanners, mobile data capture and DENSO Auto-ID can be found at the company's website.Dusseldorf. The DENSO Auto-ID Business Unit, part of the Toyota group, is launching the new UR20 scanner series in spring 2017. These innovative readers, UR21 and UR22, are both equipped with the most modern RFID technology (Radio Frequency Identification). These new features are especially beneficial in retail and logistic environments. Today, RFID technology has found its way into clothing stores as well, where the installed RFID devices make it possible to capture data from numerous tags with just one scan. Further information on the scanners and handheld terminals, RFID and NFC, the QR Code, solutions for mobile data capture, and the DENSO Auto-ID can be found at http://www.denso-autoid-eu.com/en.html.The UR21 scanner is ideal for use at the Point of Sale. The scanner can be installed under the checkout counter with a VESA compatible antenna fixture that can be purchased separately. Due to its ultra-thin design it can be placed neatly in a small area and does not take up a lot of space. With the RFID technology, it is now possible to record numerous RFID tags with just one scan and as a result, not every single piece of clothing has to be scanned separately anymore. The customers clothing items can be put on the checkout counter and they are then scanned by the installed UR21 in just one single movement across the checkout counter. This results in huge time savings and eliminates long queues at the Point of Sale. The communication range of the UR21 is approximately 80 centimetres. Therefore, only items in its direct range are scanned. The items of the next customer or on adjacent checkout counters will not be read. The communication range of the ultra-thin scanner can be adjusted to eight different levels, in accordance to the positioning of the individual POS stations. There is also the option to install a second antenna, so a larger scanning area can be covered. Further information on all DENSO products, such as handheld terminals and scanners for mobile data capture, the QR Code and on the DENSO Auto-ID Business Unit can be found at the company's website.The second scanner in the UR20 series the UR22 is mainly used in transport and logistics. It has a wide communication range of approximately 2.6 metres and can be installed on the upper part of a gate to capture the incoming and outgoing goods. Hence, the employees do not have to manually read or identify the tags as the UR22 automatically scans them. The circular polarized antenna enables 360degree scanning of RFID tags, so the users do not have to worry about the direction or position of the tags. Due to its compact design with a slim antenna, the small scanner can be installed practically anywhere. VESA-compliant mountings make it easy to install the scanner in different places. In addition, the communication range of the UR22 can be adjusted individually and in accordance to the environment. This means, the data capture range can be reduced or expanded optionally with a second antenna. Further information about RFID and all DENSO products, such as handheld terminals and scanners for mobile data capture, the QR Code, and DENSO Auto-ID is available at the company's website.The new UR20 series by the DENSO Auto-ID Business Unit, part of the Toyota group, provides enormous time savings at the POS and in storage areas. With the RFID technology, security tags that are now magnetically attached to clothing items could be replaced in the future with RFID tags. This technology is already integrated in the tags on clothing items and can be deactivated when scanned with a UR20. By installing an RFID barrier with an alarm at the exit, an end could be put to shoplifting in the future even if the security tags have been removed. This new innovation promoted by the DENSO Auto-ID Business Unit convinces also with its precision when scanning RFID tags and with the durability of the products. The VESA compatible fixture for both the UR21 and the UR22 makes it easy to install the scanners in many different locations.For the European market, the DENSO Auto-ID Business Unit is the contact window for all enquiries on QR Codes, mobile data capture, handheld terminals and scanners. The durable and robust terminals and scanners manufactured by DENSO are to be found in storage, logistics, POS, production and field & sales automation applications. Short and informative video clips about the terminals, scanners and solutions from the DENSO Auto-ID Business Unit can now be viewed on YouTube. The clips include the 20th anniversary of the QR Code, a company presentation, and introductions to the various devices for mobile data capture such as the BHT-1500, BHT-1400 and the GT20 scanner. For more information, click on the link below:QR Code is a registered trademark of DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED.DENSO is one of the worlds leading manufacturers of mobile data capture devices. We follow one mission: Driven by Quality maximum quality in mobile data capture. Decision-makers in the fields of retail, logistics and production rely on DENSO for their business requirements and in implementing the Internet of Things. DENSO is a member of the Toyota Group and is exclusively represented in Europe by the DENSO Auto-ID Business Unit of TT Network Integration Europe: http://www.denso-autoid-eu.com/en.html.DENSO Auto-ID Business UnitImmermannstr. 65 BD-40210 DusseldorfPhone +49 (0)211 88 252 450Fax +49 (0)211 88 252 502Managing Director:Takashi HaraMarketing Assistant:Sina HauptPhone +49 211 88252 403E-Mail:Sina.Haupt@denso-autoid-eu.comWebsite:http://www.denso-autoid-eu.com/en.htmlPress Contact:PPR HamburgRafael R. Pilsczek, M. A.Sinstorfer Kirchweg 18D-21077 HamburgPhone +49 (0)40 32 80 89 80Fax +49 (0)40 32 80 89 81Mobil: +49 (0)170 310 79 72 Fall Detection System Market to Exceed US$ 448.1 million by 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/8878 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/fall-detection-system-market/toc http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/8878 According to the latest market report published by Persistence Market Research titled Global Market Study on Fall Detection Systems: North America to Witness Highest Growth by 2021, the global fall detection system market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 4.9% during the forecast period (2015-2021).A sample of this report is available upon request@Fall detection system is a device that is used to alert emergency services in the event of a fall. Such devices have the potential to mitigate some of the adverse consequences of a fall. The fall detection systems market accounted for US$ 321.3 Mn in 2014 and is expected to increase to US$ 448.1 Mn by 2021 at a CAGR of 4.9 % over the forecast period.The market for fall detection systems, though shrouded by the high cost of equipment, false positives of equipment and lack of awareness, presents lucrative opportunities for manufacturers and service providers alike, as these offer ease of accessibility, affordability, and effective administration to potential customers.The report analyses the global fall detection system market in terms of market value (US$ Mn), by product type, sensing modalities, technology, end use, and region. It also provides information regarding market dynamics, value chain, competitive landscape, current trends, market estimations and forecast.North America is expected to dominate the global fall detection market throughout the forecast period, driven by increasing number of falls among the geriatric population, rising prevalence of chronic diseases, the proliferation of smartphones and adoption of fall detection systems as a supportive tool for independent living. The U.S. is the largest market for fall detection systems in North America. The fall detection systems market in the U.S. is expected to increase from the current estimated value of US$ 124.7 Mn in 2015 to US$ 175.0 Mn by 2021, registering a CAGR of 5.8% over the forecast period. Rising number of falls among the geriatric population, increasing demand for fall detection systems due to their superior effectiveness, and increased focus on maintaining the superior quality of life are factors expected to boost overall demand for fall detection systems, worldwide, in the near future.By product type, the fall detection system market is segmented into automatic fall detection systems and manual fall detection system. The automatic fall detection systems segment is expected to dominate the overall fall detection systems market by the end of 2021. The segment is projected to register an above average growth rate over the forecast period.By sensing modalities, the fall detection system market is segmented into wearable and non-wearable segments. Among these, the wearable segment is expected to dominate the overall market by 2021, owing to the ease of use and portability of these devices and rising number of falls among the aging population and increasing adoption of new technologies by the elderly to live independently and safely at home.By technology, fall detection system market is segmented into GPS systems, mobile phones, and sensors. Among these, sensors segment is expected to gain high demand in comparison to all another segment over the forecast period.By end user, fall detection system market is segmented into home care settings and senior assisted living facilities. Among these, home care settings segment is expected to remain the most attractive, and is estimated to account for 69.8% share of the global by 2015 end, and further increase to 72.1% by 2021.Request to View Tables of Content @Key market participants covered in the report include Koninklijke Philips N.V, LifeWatch USA, Tunstall, ADT Security Services, Medical Guardian LLC, MobileHelp, Bay Alarm Company, and MariCare Oy.To Buy Full Report for a Single User @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated re-search, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Con-sumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs en-gagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Transplant Diagnostics Market is Expected to Gain Popularity Across the Globe http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4768 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4768 Organ transplantation is the need to relocate organ in order to treat organ failure such as liver, pancreas, lungs, kidney, and heart. Human leukocyte antigens are the antigens found on the surface of the cell that regulates the body recognition and rejects foreign tissue transplant. It is the major histocompatibility complex in the human beings, which is controlled by the genes located on the chromosome six. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) diagnostic testing is performed to determine the tissue compatibility between the donor and recipient in organ and bone marrow transplant. In addition, a close match between a donor and recipient HLA marker is essential. It increases the probability of graft survival and minimizes severe immunologic transplant complications. It is performed with the help of non-molecular assay and molecular assay. The non-molecular assay includes serological assay and mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) assay. In addition, molecular assay comprises PCR-based assay (sequence -pecific primer PCR, and sequence-specific oligonucleotide PCR), and sequencing-based assay (Sanger sequencing and next-generation sequencing). Hospitals, transplant centers, research laboratories, academic institutes, and commercial service providers are the major end-users of transplant diagnostics.A sample of this Report is Available Upon Request @North America dominates the global market for transplant diagnostics due to continuous reduction in the average cost of gene sequencing, private-public funding for the development of HLA typing technology and rising number of stem cells, and solid organ-based transplantation in the region. Asia is expected to show a high growth rate in the next five years in the global transplant diagnostics market with China and India being the fastest growing markets in the Asia Pacific region. The key driving forces for the transplant diagnostics market in developing countries are the large pool of patients, improving healthcare infrastructure, rising public and private support to develop human leukocyte antigen typing technologies, and growing focus of life science companies in the region.Growing geriatric population, rising number of soft tissue, solid and stem cell based transplantation, rising prevalence of chronic diseases, growth in robot-assisted laboratory automation of diagnostic procedures, and technological advancement in the field of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing are some of the key factors driving the growth of the global transplant diagnostics market. In addition, increase in public-private investment to develop innovative human leukocyte antigen (HLA) testing products, rising application of HLA typing products in clinical diagnostics, improving healthcare infrastructure in developing countries, continuous reduction in average cost of gene sequencing, and increasing installation base of PCR and NGS instruments are driving the growth of the global transplant diagnostic market. However, factors such as high cost of PCR and NGS instruments, limited medical reimbursement for transplantation procedure, and a huge gap between organ donation and transplantation annually act as major restraints for the growth of the global transplant diagnostics market.To view TOC of this Report is Available Upon Request @Increasing shift of preference from serological assay method to genome-based HLA profiling, and rising market penetration in developing countries to develop transplant diagnostic products would pose further opportunities for the growth of the transplant diagnostic market. New product launches and product development are among the major trends for the global transplant diagnostics market.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated re-search, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Con-sumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs en-gagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Chromatography Reagents Market is Expected to Gain Popularity Across the Globe http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4787 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4787 Chromatography is a separation technique used to separate components and solutes in the moving fluid stream through chromatographic reagents.Chromatography has numerous applications in biological and chemical fields. The technique is widely used in biochemical research for the separation and identification of chemical compounds. In the petroleum industry, the technique is employed to analyze complex mixtures of hydrocarbons. In addition, chromatography techniques are also used in the food and beverages industries, and cosmetic industry.A sample of this Report is Available Upon Request @The global chromatography reagents market is categorized based on the various types of chromatography reagents, bed shapes, by mobile phase, separation mechanisms, and end users. Based on types of reagents, the report covers silylation reagents, alkylation and esterification reagents, acylation reagents, ion-pairing reagents, solvents, and buffers. The bed shape segment is further sub-segmented into the column and planar chromatography reagents. Based on the physical state of mobile phase, the report covers gas chromatography reagents, liquid chromatography reagents, and super critical fluid chromatography (SFC) reagents. Liquid chromatography reagents include high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) reagents, ultra high-pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) reagents, and low-pressure liquid chromatography (LPLC) reagents. The separation mechanism segment is further sub-segmented into adsorption, partition, ion-exchange, size exclusion, and affinity. Based on end-users, the report covers pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, academic research institutes, food and beverages industries, hospitals and clinics, cosmetic industry, environmental agencies, nutraceutical companies, and others.In terms of geography, North America dominates the global chromatography reagents market. This is due to increasing research on drugs and biologics in the region. In addition, rising government support for the development of novel drugs is also supporting the growth of chromatography reagents market. The U.S. represents the largest market for chromatography reagents in North America, followed by Canada. In Europe, Germany, France, and the U.K. hold major shares of the chromatography reagents market. The chromatography reagents market in Asia too, is expected to show high growth rate in the next five years. This is due to the fact that a lot of companies are setting up drug manufacturing facilities in the region. Growing demographics and economies in the developing countries such as India and China are expected to lead the growth in the medical membrane devices market in Asia. India, China, and Japan are expected to be the fastest-growing markets for chromatography reagents in Asia.Increasing government supports in the form of funding for the development of novel drugs is a key driver for the global chromatography reagents market. Besides, increasing demand of chromatography reagents in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries, and the introduction of novel reagents with advanced properties has fueled the growth of this market.To view TOC of this Report is Available Upon Request @However, the presence of a number of alternatives techniques hampers the growth of the global chromatography reagents market. Moreover, the high cost of chromatography reagents and stringent government regulations for the approval of chromatography reagents also hinder the growth of the market. An increasing number of mergers and acquisitions of the reagents manufacturing companies is a key trend of the global chromatography reagents market.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated re-search, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Con-sumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs en-gagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Corrugated Box and Folding Carton dominate the US Paperboard Packaging Market on the Basis of Revenues https://www.kenresearch.com/automotive-transportation-and-warehousing/logistics-and-shipping/us-paperboard-packaging-industry/47688-100.html Paper packaging industry is an integral part of the packaging industry. Paper packaging only takes into accounts the packaging products that are made of paper and paperboard as the only raw material. The overall packaging industry uses many other raw materials such as glass, plastic, metal, fiber and many more to produce the final product.The paper board packaging industry in the US encompasses production of paper packaging goods such as corrugated boxes, folding carton, paper bags and other paper board packaging products. The paper packaging industry in the US largely operates under the organized system. There are many large and medium players in the industry. The paper packaging industry caters to the needs of many sectors in the economy such as Food & Beverages, Automobile, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Pharmaceuticals, Durable goods, Tobacco and many more. Rising retail sector in US and robust growth in the e-commerce industry from past five years had driven the market of paperboard packaging industry in the country.The industry had made significant investments in the past few years which contributed robust growth of the industry in the US. The acquisition of number of small and medium size companies by the dominant companies have increased their market share in the country. The companies are continuously investing in technologies and up gradation of mills to increase their manufacturing and production capacity.Paperboard packaging production cost can be brokendown into labor charges, energy required, Freight packaging, chemicals and raw materials. Labor cost had contributed majorly in the production cost followed by raw materials cost.Rising industrial activities in the country had driven the size of the manufacturing cluster in the country. The major manufacturing cluster of the US paper board industry lies in South region of US. The states of Georgia, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina encompasses of major manufacturing plants of the Paper board packaging in the country. The region is known for its established transport network and energy infrastructure, as well as competitive rates for land and labor costs and an attractive business climate. Attractive government initiatives, research hubs, access to trade ports have encouraged number of paperboard manufacturers to expand in states of Southern Region.Kraft paper had contributed majorly in the revenues of overall paperboard packaging industry in 2015.Kraft papers are majorly used for making corrugated boxes. They are strong and can handle heavy weights easily. Duplex Board is the second largest contributor in the revenues of paperboard packaging industry. Duplex board is used to manufacture paper packaging products for goods having light or medium weight. This type of paper has as a high tensile strength and does not get fractured easily as the other boards.For more information on the market research report please refer to the below link:Ken Research is a Global aggregator and publisher of Market intelligence research reports, equity reports, data base directories and economy reports.KEN RESEARCH PVT. LTD. 27A, TOWER B-2, SPAZE I TECH BUSINESS PARK, SOHNA ROAD, SECTOR 49GURGAON, HARYANA - 122001, INDIA Womens Health Rehabilitation Products Market Worth US$ 4 Billion by 2024 Womens Health Rehabilitation Products Market https://www.marketresearchengine.com/requestsample/womens-health-rehabilitation-products-market https://www.marketresearchengine.com/reportdetails/womens-health-rehabilitation-products-market https://www.marketresearchengine.com/ New York, January 03: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Womens Health Rehabilitation Products Market By Product type (Breast Cancer, Lymphedema, Osteoporosis, Introduction, Orthopedic, Urinary Incontinence, Pelvic Pain, Pregnancy and Post-partum) - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2016 - 2024How Big is the Womens Health Rehabilitation Products Market?The womens health rehabilitation products market is expected to exceed more than US$ 4 Billion by 2024; Growing at a CAGR of around 5% in the given forecast period.Download Free Sample Report:In the most recent couple of years, the frequency of constant diseases has significantly expanded among ladies. Be it the adjustment in way of life or the rising geriatric populaces, specialists extends this predominance to keep ascending in the imminent years too, hence making ladies well being recovery more basic than any other time in recent memory. Medical rehabilitation is an exceedingly checked movement considered essential for helping with the change general well being status after a drawn out ailment. Interest for women restoration has in this way considerably expanded in the late years. The expanding maternal passing, particularly in creating countries, rising wounds because of street mischance, and the expanding commonness cardiovascular sicknesses bringing on death of women have constrained governments to concentrate more on women rehabilitation and health.The major driving factors of womens health rehabilitation products market are as follows:Rising developments for community based rehabilitation centersTechnological developmentIncreasing aging female populationThe restraining factors of womens health rehabilitation products market are as follows:Low approval of some productsHigh product costThe womens health rehabilitation products market is segmented on the lines of its product and regional. Based on product segmentation the womens health rehabilitation products market covers osteoporosis, lymphedema, breast cancer, pregnancy and post partum, pelvic pain, urinary incontinence and orthopedic. The womens health rehabilitation products markets geographic segmentation covers various regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Each geographic market is further segmented to provide market revenue for select countries such as the U.S., Canada, U.K. Germany, China, Japan, India, Brazil, and GCC countries.Browse Full Report:This report provides:1) An overview of the global market for womens health rehabilitation products and related technologies.2) Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2013, estimates for 2014 and 2015, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2024.3) Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for womens health rehabilitation products.4) Discussion of research and development, and the demand for new products and new applications.5) Comprehensive company profiles of major players in the industry.REPORT SCOPE:The scope of the report includes a detailed study of global and regional markets for Womens Health Rehabilitation Products Marketfor variations in the growth of the industry in certain regions.The report covers detailed competitive outlook including the market share and company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Access Health (Victoria, Australia), GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, U.K.), Carib Rehab Ltd. (St. Michael, Barbados), GPC Medical Ltd. (New Delhi, India), Meyer Physical Therapy (New York, U.S.), Pelvic Health & Rehabilitation (San Francisco, U.S.), Rehab Plus (Timmins, Canada), Sportstek (Oakleigh, Australia), Win Health Medical Ltd. (Jedburgh, U.K.). Company profile includes assign such as company summary, financial summary,business strategy and planning, SWOT analysis and current developments.The Top Companies Report is intended to provide our buyers with a snapshot of the industrys most influential players.The Womens Health Rehabilitation Products Market has been segmented as below:By Product Segment AnalysisOsteoporosisLymphedemaBreast cancerPregnancy and post partumPelvic painUrinary incontinenceOrthopedicIntroductionBy Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificRest of the WorldAbout MarketResearchEngine.comMarket Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging, niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies.Media ContactCompany Name: Market Research EngineContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862, +91-860-565-7204Country: United StatesWebsite:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States Vascular Access Devices Market to Reach US$ 8.0 Billion by 2024 Vascular Access Devices Market https://www.marketresearchengine.com/requestsample/vascular-access-devices-market https://www.marketresearchengine.com/reportdetails/vascular-access-devices-market https://www.marketresearchengine.com/ New York, January 03: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Vascular Access Devices Market By Product Type (Central Catheters ( PICC, CVC, Dialysis Catheters, Implantable Ports), Peripheral Catheters ( PIV Catheters, Midline Catheters), Accessories); By Application (Medication Administration, Administration of Fluid & Nutrition, Transfusion of Blood Products, Diagnostic Testing); By Route of Insertion (Subcutaneous and Intravenous); By End-users - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2016 - 2024How Big is the Vascular Access Devices market?The Vascular Access Devices market is expected to exceed more than US$ 8.0 Billion by 2024; Growing at a CAGR of more than 6% in the given forecast period.Download Free Sample Report:Vascular access devices are medical apparatus used to gain access to the bloodstream which are flexible and hollow tubes. These tubes are made by silicone, latex and other materials introduce in veins, to deliver medicine, nutritional compounds, administer fluids and collection blood products and blood. The expansion of the global vascular access devices market will be attributed to growing geriatric population and the rising frequency of kidney failure, diabetes, cancer and many diseases. Technical development in the field of vascular access has resulted in the expansion of new and an inventive product includes drug coated catheters and anti microbial coated catheters which minimized the occurrence of catheter related infections and complications.The major driving factors of Vascular Access Devices Market are as follows: Technological innovations Enhance in the number of lifestyle diseases Rising medical tourism Reimbursement policies Demographic changes Governments changing focus towards providing better healthcare services. Increase in incidences of target diseasesThe restraining factors of vascular access devices market are as follows: Lack of regulatory approvals. Catheter associated risks. Pricing pressureThe vascular access devices market is segmented on the lines of its product type, application, route of insertion, end user and regional. Product type is further segmented into accessories, central and peripheral. Central type consists of implantable ports, dialysis catheters, CVC and PLCC. Peripheral type contains midline catheters and PIV catheters. Based on application segmentation it cover diagnostic testing, transfusion of blood products, administration of fluid and nutrition and medication administration. Under end user segmentation it covers hospitals, clinics, ambulatory surgery centers and diagnostic centers. The vascular access devices market's geographic segmentation covers various regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Each geographic market is further segmented to provide market revenue for select countries such as the U.S., Canada, U.K. Germany, China, Japan, India, Brazil, and GCC countries.Browse Full Report:This report provides:1) An overview of the global market for vascular access devices and related technologies.2) Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2013, estimates for 2014 and 2015, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2024.3) Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for vascular access devices.4) Discussion of research and development, and the demand for new products and new applications.5) Comprehensive company profiles of major players in the industry.REPORT SCOPE:The scope of the report includes a detailed study of global and regional markets for Vascular Access Devices Market with the reasons given for variations in the growth of the industry in certain regions.The report covers detailed competitive outlook including the market share and company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Becton, Dickinson and Company, Fresenius Medical Care,C. R. Bard, B. Braun Melsungen AG, Cook Medical Inc., Siemens Healthineers, Baxter International, and Medtronic, Inc.Company profile includes assign such as company summary, financial summary, business strategy and planning, SWOT analysis and current developments.The Top Companies Report is intended to provide the buyers with a snapshot of the industrys most influential players.The Vascular access devices Market has been segmented as below:By Product Type Analysis Accessories CentralImplantable portsDialysis cathetersCVCPLCC PeripheralMidline cathetersPIV cathetersBy Application Analysis Diagnostic testing Transfusion of blood products Administration of fluid and nutrition Medication administrationBy Route of Insertion Analysis Subcutaneous IntravenousBy End User Analysis Hospitals Clinics Ambulatory Surgery Centers Diagnostic CentersBy Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificRest of the WorldAbout MarketResearchEngine.comMarket Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging, niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies.Media ContactCompany Name: Market Research EngineContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862, +91-860-565-7204Country: United StatesWebsite:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States Transcatheter Embolization and Occlusion Devices Market to Cross US$ 4.5 Billion by 2024 Transcatheter Embolization and Occlusion Devices Market https://www.marketresearchengine.com/requestsample/transcatheter-embolization-and-occlusion-devices-market https://www.marketresearchengine.com/reportdetails/transcatheter-embolization-and-occlusion-devices-market https://www.marketresearchengine.com/ New York, January 03: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Transcatheter Embolization and Occlusion Devices Market By Product Type (Embolization Coils, Embolization Particles, Coiling Assist Devices, Flow Diverter Devices, Liquid Embolics, and Accessories); By Application (Peripheral Vascular Disease, Neurology, Oncology, Urology); By End-users - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2016 - 2024How Big is the Transcatheter Embolization and Occlusion Devices Market?The Transcatheter Embolization and Occlusion Devices market is expected to exceed more than US$ 4.5 Billion by 2024; Growing at a CAGR of more than 7.5% in the given forecast period.Download Free Sample Report:Transcatheter embolization is a method of insertion synthetic material or medication called embolic agent into blood vessel during catheter to block the blood flow in the direction of a specific area of the body. Embolization is a very efficient method to prevent anomalous bleeding and is simply enveloping as compared to open surgery. The transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices market have observed physically powerful development in the past few years because of the increasing focus on improvement, resulting in superior product approvals and product launches around the word. The market is also differentiating by considerable research and progress leading to numerous technological innovations.The major driving factors of Transcatheter Embolization & Occlusion devices market are as follows: Increasing prevalence of cancer Rising approval of minimally invasive surgeriesThe restraining factors of Transcatheter Embolization and Occlusion devices market are as follows: High rate of the products. Need of skilled professionalsThe transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices market is segmented on the lines of its product, end user, application and regional. Product is further segmented into accessories, embolization particles, embolization coils, liquid embolics and flow diverter devices. Accessories consist of catheters, guidewires and others. Under embolization particles segmentation it covers drug eluting beads, microspheres, radio embolization particles and others. Under embolization coils segmentation it covers balloon assisted coiling, stent assisted coiling, coiling assist devices, detachable and pushable. Based on end user segmentation it covers hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers and clinics. Based on application segmentation it covers peripheral vascular disease, neurology, oncology, urology and others. The transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices market on geographic segmentation covers various regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Each geographic market is further segmented to provide market revenue for select countries such as the U.S., Canada, U.K. Germany, China, Japan, India, Brazil, and GCC countries.Browse Full Report:This report provides:1) An overview of the global market for transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices and related technologies.2) Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2013, estimates for 2014 and 2015, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2024.3) Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices.4) Discussion of research and development, and the demand for new products and new applications.5) Comprehensive company profiles of major players in the industry.REPORT SCOPE:The scope of the report includes a detailed study of global and regional markets for Transcatheter Embolization and Occlusion Devices Market with the reasons given for variations in the growth of the industry in certain regions.The report covers detailed competitive outlook including the market share and company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include St. Jude Medical, Inc., Abbott Laboratories,Medtronic plc, BTG plc, Boston Scientific Corporation, Cook Medical, Inc., Edwards Lifesciences, Johnson & Johnson, Merit Medical Systems, Inc., Penumbra, Inc., Pfizer, Inc., Sirtex Medical Limited, Stryker Corporation, and Terumo Corporation. Company profile includes assign such as company summary, financial summary, business strategy and planning, SWOT analysis and current developments.The Top Companies Report is intended to provide our buyers with a snapshot of the industrys most influential players.The Transcatheter Embolization & Occlusion Devices Market has been segmented as below:By Product Segment Analysis Accessorieso Catheterso Guidewireso Others Embolization particleso Drug eluting beadso Microsphereso Radioembolization particleso Others Embolization coilso Balloon assisted coilingo Stent assisted coilingo Coiling assist deviceso Detachableo Pushable Liquid embolics Flow diverter devicesBy End-user Analysis Hospitals Ambulatory Surgical Centers ClinicsBy Application Analysis Peripheral Vascular Disease Neurology Oncology Urology OthersBy Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificRest of the WorldAbout MarketResearchEngine.comMarket Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging, niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies.Media ContactCompany Name: Market Research EngineContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862, +91-860-565-7204Country: United StatesWebsite:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States PLATTSMOUTH A Lincoln man admitted Tuesday afternoon that he had committed multiple criminal violations on two separate trips to Eagle in the past 13 months. Michael S. Osborn, 28, appeared in Cass County District Court for a plea hearing on three charges. He pled guilty to one Class II felony of use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony and one Class IIIA felony of possession of controlled substance with intent to distribute-marijuana. He also pled guilty to one Class I misdemeanor charge of third-degree domestic assault. Osborns appearance in Cass County District Court came shortly after a similar hearing in Lancaster County District Court. He pled guilty to two additional felony charges in that court. Osborns first Cass County violations took place on Dec. 29, 2015. Deputy County Attorney Steven Sunde told the court a Cass County Sheriffs Office deputy was on his way to an address on 1st Street in Eagle for a report of a domestic violence incident. He stopped Osborn after seeing that his pickup truck matched the description of a vehicle that had been at the 1st Street address. The deputy searched Osborns vehicle after smelling a distinct odor of marijuana. Sunde said the deputy found a loaded .22 pistol armed with a silencer inside the pickup. The deputy also discovered more than one ounce of marijuana and a drug scale that contained both marijuana and methamphetamine residue. A total of $538 was near the drug scale. The second Cass County violation happened during a two-day span of Sept. 20 and 21. A female victim told authorities Osborn had appeared at the 1st Street address with a loaded nine-millimeter pistol on Sept. 20. She was able to convince him to not use the weapon to harm anyone. Sunde said Osborn and the female had agreed to meet on Sept. 21 in order for the female to give Osborns cellphone back to him. Osborn and another male appeared at the house much earlier than the agreed-upon meeting time. He first tried to force his way into the windows of her house before confronting the victim outside the front portion of the residence. Sunde said Osborn became angry and tackled the victim at running speed. The momentum of the tackle caused both Osborn and the female victim to crash through a glass storm door and a screen door. They both landed forcefully in a front foyer area of the house. Osborn then began punching the victim while she was on the floor. The victim later told authorities she estimated Osborn punched her more than 20 times. The assault took place in front of a young child. CCSO deputies soon responded to the scene and found the female crying and holding an ice pack to her face. Sunde said deputies saw numerous visible cuts on her face and lips and bruises over her body. The victim told deputies Osborn had recently left alarming voicemails on her phone. Authorities listened to the voicemails and heard Osborn threatening to destroy many of the females items. Osborn remains lodged in Cass County Jail. The court set a sentencing date of March 13 for all three charges. Global And U.S. Pharmaceutical Packaging Market- Industry Size 2018 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1527 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pharmaceutical-packaging-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The global market for pharmaceutical packaging is evaluated in a recent market study published by U.S.-based market intelligence firm Transparency Market Research. The report is titled Global And U.S. Pharmaceutical Packaging Market - Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2012 - 2018.The global and U.S. pharmaceutical packaging market is expected to develop at a positive, albeit moderate, CAGR of 5.6% between 2012 and 2018.Get More Information:The report states that the market is expected to rise to US$73.04 billion by 2018 as compared to the market valuation of US$50.07 billion in 2011.The report offers detailed insights into the pharmaceutical packaging market from a global perspective, with a particular focus on the U.S. regional market, and provides forecasts based on current statistics, a number of industry-best analysis tools, and expert analysis.The report states that the regional market of Asia Pacific will play a crucial role in sustaining the overall growth prospects of the global pharmaceutical packaging market owing to factors such as a rise in contract manufacturing, the flourishing pharmaceutical industry, and the rising geriatric population in this region. The global pharmaceutical packaging market is also expected to benefit from technological advancements such as the introduction of nano-enabled packaging, the packaging type that currently provides the most enhanced barrier properties against moisture, light, and mechanical forces.The report broadly segments the global pharmaceutical packaging market based on two criteria: product types and key regional markets. The segmentation by product types includes parenteral containers, plastic bottles, blister packaging, closures, other primary packaging, and labels. Geography-wise, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.Of the key product types of pharmaceutical packaging studied in the report, the product segment of plastic bottles held the largest market share, nearly 20% in 2011. During the reports forecast period, however, the product segment of parenteral containers is expected to witness growth at the fastest pace, owing to the introduction of better injected therapies in the market.Geography-wise, the regional market of North America held nearly 30% of the global pharmaceutical packaging market, owing to huge demand from the flourishing pharmaceutical markets in Canada and the U.S. During the forecast period, Asia Pacific is expected to acquire a major share in the global market and come up as the leading regional market for pharmaceutical packaging by 2018.Browse the full Global And U.S. Pharmaceutical Packaging Market report at:The report also presents a comprehensive analysis of the competitive landscape of the global pharmaceutical packaging market. The market is highly fragmented and had the top five companies accounting for a combined share of less than 25% in 2011. Becton Dickinson, MeadWestvaco, Gerresheimer AG, Rexam PLC, and Amcor were some of the key manufacturers in the market. Of these, Amcor dominated its competitors and seized the largest share of the overall market. Other prominent players in the global pharmaceutical packaging market include Ypsomed, 3M, Schott, Tear and Tape, West Pharmaceutical Services, Consort Medical, and Nypro.Key Segments of the Global And U.S. Pharmaceutical Packaging Market:Pharmaceutical Packaging Market: Product Segment AnalysisPlastic BottlesParenteral ContainersBlister PackagingOther Primary PackagingClosuresLabelsOthersPharmaceutical Packaging Market: Regional AnalysisNorth America>United StatesEuropeAsia PacificRest of the World (RoW)About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Congratulations 166 PIBM students on their biggest achievement, PIBM Placements 2015-17 Top mba colleges in pune, mba, pgdm www.pibm.in www.himachalcampus.pibm.in www.guwahaticampus.pibm.in We are delighted to announce that our 166 students got placed in different MNCs. Like ICICISecurities, JKTYRE, CafeCoffeeDay, CeaseFire, CALPRO, RelianceCommunications, Amul, LexiPen, Shoppers Stop, Dmart, Xpansion, Hero Cycles Limited, Bandhan Bank Ltd, Disha Microfin, Allstate Corporation, AXA Business Services, AEROPURE UV SYSTEMS PVT. LTD, SS World Group, Suryoday Micro Finance Ltd, Just Dial, Wipro Limited, Pantaloon etc. May you have many more years of success and higher achievementsCongratulations for now and bright future. You have made us proud.Pune Institute of Business Management (PIBM) is one of the top Management Institutes in India offering advanced management programs PGDM (AICTE Approved) and MBA (Affiliated to University of Pune). We skill students by imparting Specific Domain Training, developing their IT skills required by the industry, improving communication & shaping overall personality. Since inception, PIBM has placed more than 3000 highly skilled managers at top Multi-National companies from diverse sectors.Gut No. 605/1 Lavasa Road, Pirangut, Tal - Mulshi, Paud Road, Pune, Maharashtra. lobal and U.S. Conveying Equipment Market - Industry Analysis 2018 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1489 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Driven by widespread introduction of mass production and assembly line methodologies in varying industries, the Global and U.S Conveying Equipment Market, which stood at US$30.76 billion in 2011, is projected to reach US$34.71 billion by the end of 2018. According to the report titled Global and U.S. Conveying Equipment - Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2012 - 2018 the global conveying belt market will grow at a CAGR of 1.8% during the forecast period from 2012 to 2018.Published by Transparency Market Research, the study observes that the surge in demand for automobiles worldwide coupled with the growing requirement for customized conveying equipment is expected to boost the demand for conveying equipment in the global scenario. However, volatility in demand from the durable goods industry might have a profound impact on the conveying equipment market. The findings of the report indicate that a growing incidence of ecommerce together with a paradigm shift in the distribution networks of products from manufacturers to merchants and from merchants to clients, along with the expansion of the food and beverage industry that follows a linear path for both production and mobility of goods, is anticipated to create fresh opportunities for the market to capitalize on in the next 4-5 years.View exclusive Global strategic Business report:The unit handling equipment segment emerged as the largest segment of the market in 2011, accounting for 44.9% of the market. This equipment found use in both manufacturing and shipping of industrial products, which also made them a primary requirement for several industries. However, over the forecast period, the parts and attachment segment is projected to emerge as the fastest growing segment in the conveying equipment market, registering growth at a projected CAGR of 2.2% between 2012 and 2018. Similarly, the report predicts the global market for bulk handling equipment will surpass US$11 billion by the end of 2018. The global market for conveying equipment was dominated by Europe in 2011. The region accounted for 35.9% of the overall market. The expansion of the market in this region was bolstered by the presence of many leading automobile manufacturers in countries such as Italy, France, and Germany.The conveying equipment market in North America alone is expected to be worth US$8,457.8 million by 2018. The U.S. was the largest contributor to the North America conveying equipment market. The country accounted for revenue of about US$6,618.2 million in 2011. However, the analysts foresee tremendous growth for the conveying equipment market in Asia Pacific. The region is expected to emerge as the fastest growing market over the forecast period at an estimated CAGR of 2.3%. The rapid expansion of industries mainly in India and China will drive the demand for conveying equipment in Asia Pacific. The conveying equipment market in the U.S. is dominated by unit handling equipment, which accounted for 33% of the overall market in 2011. It is expected to reach US$3,452.3 million by the end of 2018. The market for parts and attachments in the U.S. will grow at a 2.3% CAGR.The report also profiled leading market players such as Fenner Dunlop, Rexnord, Dematic, Nordstrong Equipment Ltd., Webster Industries, Intelligrated Inc., and Sandvik AB.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Global Implantable Medical Devices Market will witness expansion at a healthy 4.9% CAGR over the period between 2016 and 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/global-implantable-medical-devices-market.htm http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=13946 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Implantable Medical Devices Market: SnapshotAn implantable device is a device that is placed into a surgically or naturally formed cavity of the human body if it is intended to remain there for a period of 30 days or more. In recent past, the global market for implantable medical devices has undergone rapid growth, and the expansion is expected to continue in the near future. The expansion of the market is attributed to the technical innovations in the field of implants, which is motivating implantable device manufacturers to infuse more capital in the research and development of their products. However, high price of sophisticated implantable devices often demotivates the end-users and in turn is hindering the growth rate of the market.The opportunity in the global market for implantable medical devices was valued at US$32.3 bn in 2015. Rising at a healthy CAGR of 4.9% during the forecast period of 20162024, the valuation is estimated to reach US$49.8 bn by the end of 2024. This substantiality and sustainability of the market is also attributed to factors such as rising geriatric population, and the rise in the incidences of musculoskeletal, dental, and other chronic degenerative health conditions.Read Full Report:Rising Geriatric Population Driving Reconstructive Joint Replacement Sub-segmentDamage to the joint is highly painful and results in loss of agility and hampers the normal activity of an individual. Such damage can be treated through pharmacological therapies and arthroscopy. But depending upon the severity of the damage to the joint, physicians often prescribe joint replacement, which is the most in-demand sub-segment of the orthopedic implants segment in the global implantable medical devices market. The other sub-segments of orthopedic implants are spinal implants, orthobiologics, and trauma fixation implants.The market for reconstructive joint replacements is primed for the fastest growth rate during the forecast period due to the increase in the instance of orthopedic disorders and growth in aging population. In addition, focus on the development of less invasive surgeries for joint replacement and awareness about its advantages will spur the demand for reconstructive joint replacement. Pricing pressures by bulk buyers will be the major holdback of this market. However owing to the advantages of products such as cement-less implants, patients will continue to opt for reconstructive joint replacement. The other product segments of the global implantable medical devices market are cardiovascular implants, dental implants, intraocular lens (IOLS), breast implants, and other implants.Download exclusive Sample of this report:Japan Emerging as Second Most-lucrative MarketNorth America currently contributes to the most prominent demand for implantable medical devices, accounting for nearly 42% of the revenue in the global market in 2015. The demand is expected to sustain in the region due to factors such as the well-established healthcare infrastructure, effective reimbursement policies, rising geriatric population, increasing number of obese people, and high purchasing power. The U.S. currently is the most profitable country-market for implantable medical devices in the region of North America, serving 92% of the overall demand. However, the Asia Pacific implantable medical devices market is expected to expand at a faster rate due to a vast population base, of which major chunk is geriatrics, and investments by governments in the region toward improving their healthcare infrastructure. Japan is the second-most-prominent country-wise market globally. Factors that are augmenting the demand for implantable medical devices market in Japan are high life-span among the population, which is leading to rising prevalence of orthopedic conditions, and the demand for advanced technologies.This is a fairly consolidated market with the top five companies accounting for more than 50% of the share in 2015. These five companies are Johnson & Johnson, Zimmer Biomet, Medtronic plc, Institut Straumann AG, and Stryker Corporation. Other key vendors in the market include Abbott Laboratories, Smith & Nephew plc, Danaher Corporation, Dentsply Sirona, and Boston Scientific Corporation.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a U.S.-based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Non-Halogenated Flame Retardants Market - Global Industry Analysis 2018 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1273 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/non-halogenated-flame-retardants.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com A new report titled Non-Halogenated Flame Retardants Market for Polymers - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth and Forecast, 2012 - 2018 published by Transparency Market Research covers the overall market study of the global non-halogenated flame retardant market for polymers.Download exclusive Sample of this report:The report states that the demand for non-halogenated flame retardants was 1,077.8 kilo tons in 2011 and is however, expected to reach 1,730 kilo tons in 2018. The market is growing at an impressive CAGR of 7.1 % from 2012 to 2018. Considering the non-halogenated flame retardants market in terms of revenue, the overall market was valued at US$1.26 billion in 2011 and is expected to reach US$2.15 billion in 2018. In terms of volume, the market growth is marked at a CAGR of 8.1% from 2012 to 2018.Halogenated retardants are considered toxic. Owing to such reasons several end-use industries are now shifting to the use of non-halogenated flame retardants. Flame retardants are popularly used as additives in polymers in order to increase the fire resistance during fire accidents or in case of ignition. Citing this is as one of another key growth factor for the global demand for non-halogenated flame retardants, the drive by fire safety regulations regarding risk of fire hazards in various end-use industries including construction and electrical has boosted the market too. Moreover, increasing polymer usage in multiple industries is also leading to high demand for flame retardant polymers.However, certain issues in functional properties like loading levels and setbacks in cognitive operations of non-halogenated flame retardants are growth restraining factors expected to hinder the market growth in the coming years.The non-halogenated flame retardant report is categorized based on key polymers such as epoxy resin, PVC, unsaturated polyester, UPE, rubber, polyolefin, Engineering Thermoplastic (ETP), styrenics and others (polyurethane, synthetic fibers, etc.). Transportation, textile, construction, electrical, furniture, among others are some of the major applications.Browse the full Global Non-Halogenated Flame Retardants (Aluminum Hydroxide, Phosphorus and Others) Market for Polymers (Polyolefin, Epoxy Resin, PVC, ETP, UPE, Rubber, Styrenics and Others) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth and Forecast, 2012 - 2018 report at:Worldwide, the construction industry widely utilizes the non-halogenated flame retardants for paints, coatings, building materials, wires and cable applications. The construction industry collectively accounted for 41.4% market share in 2012. Similarly, the electrical industry is growing at a CAGR of 7.6% for the period from 2012 to 2018 and is expected to be the upcoming fastest growing end-use industry due to the widespread use of non-halogenated flame retardants in electrical equipment.Engineering Thermoplastic (ETP) retardant demand is expected to surge due to its estimated growth rate of 7.6% CAGR from 2012 to 2018, whereas, Polyolefins accounted for 23.1% share of the market in 2012 and is likely to grow at a moderate rate over the forecast period.Geographically, North America accounted for 41.8% of the global non-halogenated flame retardants market in 2012. This region was then followed by Europe and Asia Pacific which together accounted for 33.3% and 22.5% market share, respectively. Between the two, Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing market for non-halogenated flame retardants due to the growth of major end-use industries in China and India.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Geotextiles Market - Global Industry Analysis 2018 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=860 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/geotextiles-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Geotextiles Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2012 - 2018, a global geotextiles market report published by Transparency Market Research provides significant inputs about the global state of the current market of geotextiles industry along with a forecast about the opportunities, drivers and restraints in the market during the years 2012 and 2018, the forecast period of the report.According to the report, the global market of geotextiles was worth nearly USD 3.2 billion in 2011. By observing growth at a CAGR of 10.3% during the forecast period, the market could reach a market value worth nearly USD 6.4 billion by 2018. Volume-wise, the geotextiles industry observed demands worth nearly 1,904.0 million square meters in 2011. This is expected to grow to 3,398.4 million square meters by 2018, by observing growth at a CAGR of 8.6% during the forecast period, adds the report.Interpret a Competitive outlook Analysis Report with PDF Brochure:Applications of geotextiles are on a constant rise in the area of construction of roadways, dams, bridges and other infrastructure amenities, especially in the BRIC countries. A continuous rise in the number of infrastructure development projects in this region is expected to drive the global market of geotextiles.The favorable regulatory support for use of geotextiles in construction activities in these countries is also expected to favorably impact the growth of this industry.However, elementary factors that inversely affect the growth of any market such as the fluctuating prices of raw materials polypropylene and polyester in this case are expected to hinder growth of this industry to some extents during the forecast period of the report. In addition to this, the absence of a specified set of physical and mechanical standards for geotextiles across various countries is a significant factor that could challenge the growth of this market.Browse the full Geotextiles Market report at:The report segments the market in three major product sections in this industry : woven, non-woven and knitted.Product-wise, the segment of non-woven geotextiles emerged as the largest consumer segment and acquired nearly 60% shares of the market in 2011. However, the report estimates that it could be the market segment of woven fabrics that would gain substantial and rapid growth during the forecast period of the report.Application wise, the segment of road-construction led the global geotextiles market in 2011 and valued nearly USD 1,502.8 million.Geographically, the region of Asia Pacific dominated this industry in 2011. It held nearly 41% shares of this market in terms of volume. The report estimates that the European geotextiles market could value USD 1,647.7 million by 2018. During the reports forecast period, geotextiles market in the region of North America is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.9%.Some of key manufacturers in the industry include GSE Holdings, Royal TenCate, Maccaferri, Officine and NAUE among others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Global Microbiology Culture Market Revenue, by Media Type, 20152023 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/microbiology-culture-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=3232 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ According to the research study, the worldwide market for microbiology culture presented an opportunity worth US$4.51 bn in 2014. Progressing at a CAGR of 5.90% during the period from 2015 to 2023, the market is likely to reach US$7.59 bn by the end of the forecast period. Bacterial culture has gained prominence in the global market and is expected to retain it over the period of forecast, expanding at a CAGR of 6.70%.The intense rivalry between Merck Millipore, Thermo Fisher, Sigma-Aldrich, and Becton, Dickinson and Co. characterizes the competitive landscape of the global microbiology culture market, finds a research study by Transparency Market Research (TMR). In 2015, these four players held a share of nearly 53% in the overall market.Read Full Report:With leading participants focusing aggressively towards product innovation and reaching new breakthroughs, the competition within the market is likely to remain high over the next few years. These companies are looking to expand their bases to emerging economies, such as India, Brazil, and China, in order to exploit the untapped opportunities they hold.Growing usage of Antibiotics in Bacterial and Protozoan Infection Therapeutics to Boost Demand for Microbiology CultureThe increasing demand for antibiotics is the key factor behind the rising the practice of microbiology culture, states the author of this study. With the growing usage of antibiotics for the treatment of various bacterial and protozoan infections, the need for its large-scale production has increased substantially as the available quantity of naturally-occurring antibiotics is very less. As a result, microbes are being cultured under controlled conditions to raise their biomass and separate antibiotics from them, which eventually, is leading to a remarkable rise of the global microbiology culture market.On the flip side, the high costs of culture media and the constant operation of fermentation vessel over a number of weeks may create obstacles to the growth of this market over the next few years. The difficult procedure of alternative nutrient source identification for the progression of various microorganisms in a bid to meet the exact requirements and the urgent need to decrease the cost of large-scale fermentation are also projected to limit microbial culture practices in the coming years, states the research report.Download exclusive Sample of this report:Significant Rise in Government Funding to Ensure North Americas LeadThe report also analyzes the global market for microbiology culture on its geographical presence. As per the study, Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Rest of the World are the main geographical sections of this market. With the significant rise in the government funding to increase research and development activities in microbiology, Europe and North America have emerged as the leading contributors to the global market. Researchers project North America to retain its position with a share of nearly 35% by the end of the forecast period.On the similar line, Asia Pacific is also anticipated to witness strong growth over the forecast period, thanks to the rise in the disposable income of consumers, advancement in healthcare infrastructure, and the high prevalence of infectious diseases.ransparency Market Research (TMR) is a U.S.-based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Healthcare Contract Research Outsourcing Market looking Forward to Reach US$65.03 bn by 2018 http://bit.ly/2iyBg0K http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/hcro-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Given the shortage of resources for administrative operations, among healthcare providers, it becomes very difficult to deliver high quality patient care. The high cost of having an in-house healthcare research facility not only takes effort, but also time and money. This is creating a demand for healthcare contract research outsourcing so as to enable high level of patient care as with improved drugs and diagnostics. Various healthcare organizations have identified the long-term benefits of using healthcare research outsourcing solutions and services around the world and this is increasing the partnerships with contract research organizations to outsource research activities so as to cut down on production costs without affecting or compromising with the quality of products.Obtain the Future Market Trends of Healthcare Contract Research Outsourcing at:The global healthcare contract research outsourcing market is expected to rise from US$25.08 bn in 2011 to be worth US$65.03 bn by 2018, expanding at a healthy CAGR of 14.70% from 2012 to 2018. A reduction in productivity coupled with huge healthcare research costs are behind the growth of the healthcare contract research outsourcing market. A decrease in the development projects of new drug formulations is another important reason, boosting the global healthcare contract research outsourcing market. Additionally, the globalization of drug development processes is also pushing the markets development. However, quality issues within the performed research and long duration of approval process will challenge the markets growthBy service type, the healthcare contract research outsourcing market is segmented into clinical trial services, drug discovery, and preclinical studies. Of these, the clinical trial services led the market and was worth US$14.21 bn in 2010. It is expected that this segment will continue to retain its leading position. By destination research group, the market is segmented into contract research organization (CROs), academic medical centers, and clinical trial laboratories. In terms of geography, North America led in the market and is expected to do so in the coming years, trailed by Europe. The Asia Pacific market for healthcare contract research outsourcing is expected to grow remarkably in the coming years. The availability of diverse population is creating ease in patient recruitment and this is one of the major reasons behind the estimated growth of the Asia Pacific healthcare contract research outsourcing market.It has been observed that owing to data security, drug makers as well as other enterprises functioning with the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical devices are showing apprehension regarding partnerships with healthcare contract research outsourcing providers. This is one of the key factors impeding the growth of the market. The lack of supervision of data research processes is the reason behind their apprehension.Read the Present Market Status of Healthcare Contract Research Outsourcing at:Some of the key players operating in the healthcare contract research outsourcing, which are profiled in the report are Quintiles, Covance, PPD, Icon, Plc. Parexel, CRL, Medidata Solutions, InVentiv Health, and Theorem Clinical research. Players in the market are forming alliances to enhance the market presence by providing services over an extensive market space. This is helping them to improve their client-contractor relationship.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Cellular Imaging Market will generate new growth opportunities by 2020 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3217 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/3217 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Cellular imaging is a technology used to detect and analyze organelles and macromolecules with the help of microscopy and computer programming. It also helps in measuring properties of cells including shape, size and protein presence. Cellular imaging also helps in knowing biomolecules nature. Confocal laser scanning microscopy, fluroscence resonance energy transfer and multiphoton are some of the advanced cellular imaging techniques which helps in understanding molecular and functional systems in the cell. Hospitals, academic institutions, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology companies uses cellular imaging systems as an important tool for drug discovery, research and diagnosis. Cellular imaging also helps in generating high throughput mode to discover the biomarkers and drug target candidates. Microscopic and macroscopic techniques are two types of intravital cellular imaging technologies.A sample of this report is available upon request @North America is the largest market for cellular imaging followed by Europe due to increasing incidence of cancer and rising number of R&D activities. Asia is expected to experience high growth rate in next few years due to rising government investments for cell based research activities. In addition, growing demand for outsourcing of drug discovery services is also fuelling the growth of cellular imaging market in Asia.In recent times there is increased use of cellular imaging due to increasing cancer treatment and diagnostics. Improved accuracy of cellular analysis, cellular imaging and rise in government funding for cell based research activities are some of the key factors driving the growth of global cellular imaging market. In addition, growing healthcare and medical spending is also fuelling the growth of cellular imaging market. However, huge capital requirements and lack of skilled personnel for carrying out the high content screening process are some of the major factors restraining the growth of global cellular imaging market.Availability of less number of skilled and knowledgeable professionals poses major challenge for the global cellular imaging market. Adoption of cell analysis for cell identification and cell signaling pathways and rising number of contract research organization are some of the key opportunities for the global cellular imaging market.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Some of the major companies operating in global cellular imaging market are Agilent Technologies, Inc., Beckton, Dickinson and Company, Danaher Corporation, Olympus Corporation, GE Healthcare, Promega Corporation and Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Automotive Plastics Market - Global Industry Growth 2018 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=253 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/automotive-plastics-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com As the automotive and automobile industry increasingly inclines toward the use of lightweight materials in place of conventionally-used metals, automotive plastics will be a US$32,985.4 million by 2018, a latest report by Transparency Market Research now shows. The report, titled Automotive Plastics Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2012 - 2018, conducts an in-depth study of the demand automotive plastic and its various segments through 2018. TMR analysts expect the global automotive plastics market to register a healthy growth rate through the forecast period of this report.View exclusive Global strategic Business report :While the automobile industry has conventionally relied on the use of materials such as aluminum and iron, the trend is now shifting toward plastics, essentially because they are lighter, more versatile and in many cases, cheaper. Plastics also offer other advantages such as corrosion resistance and durability. Automotive parts and components such as fenders, doors, and bumpers are now customarily made of plastic because these materials typically weigh up to 50% less than conventional metals.The report studies the following applications of automotive plastics: Electrical components, power trains, interior and exterior furnishings, chassis, under the hood, and others.TMRs analysis shows that automotive plastics will be widely deployed in two major areas: Interior and exterior furnishings and electrical components. These two segments together accounted for the highest demand in the automotive plastics industry as of 2012. However, it might be a while before the pervasiveness of automotive plastics becomes evident in other application areas such as power trains, chassis construction, and under-the-hood components. This, however, opens up several opportunities for market players wanting to engage in R&D activities in these areas.Browse the full Automotive Plastics Market report at:The report also meticulously studies the various types of plastics that are widely used in the automotive plastics market. These include: Polyethylene (PE), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane (PU), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polypropylene (PP), and polyamides (PA) such as Nylon 6 and Nylon 6-6. The growth prospects of the polypropylene (PP) segment are reported as being the strongest. Besides, this segment is also currently the first choice of players in the automobile industry. That said, the demand for biodegradable plastics will be sizeable because of regulatory mandates and efforts by big brands to prove their green credentials. Biodegradable plastics that are currently in use in the automotive plastics market are: Starch-based, PHA-, PLA-, PCL-, and PBS-based. Given the massive potential that biodegradable plastics carry, the report analyzes them thoroughly in a separate section within the report.The automotive plastics market report provides an in-depth competitive outlook by studying the following leading companies: BASF SE, Ascend Performance Materials, Delphi Automotive PLC, AkzoNobel N.V., Johnson Control Inc., Evonik Industries, Magna International Inc., and Solvay Plastics. The Company Profiles section of this report is composed of a company overview, SWOT analysis, business strategy overview, a financial overview, and recent developments reported by the company.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: The Fremont Area Art Association will host a four-week Moving Out of My Box watercolor workshop. The class will meet from 2-4:30 p.m. Jan. 12, 19 and 26, and Feb. 2. Watercolor artist, Lois Smith, will provide instruction. This workshop is designed for beginning to advanced adult painters. Students will learn how different surfaces react to watercolor, discuss value and scales and challenge themselves by looking at things with a new eye for an unusual point of view. Smith has been named a signature member of the Association of Nebraska Art Clubs, and was juried into the 25-member Impact Nebraska Artists. She has received the All-Nebraska Artist designation and was given the Citizen Volunteer Award by the Columbus Chamber of Commerce in recognition of her art support to the youth of the city. The cost is $80 for members and $90 for non-members. Registration is requested by Thursday. Download the supply list and registration form at www.92west.org/classes-workshops/. You also may register by calling 402-721-7779 or emailing gallery92west@92west.org. Asia, Europe, and South America Anti-aging Market Will Reflect Significant Growth Prospects during 2014 - 2020 http://bit.ly/2hMUfYi http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/asia-europe-south-america-anti-aging-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Restoring the younger looks and thereby finding solutions against signs of aging has been a mission for cosmetologists and health care professionals for centuries. As a result, market for anti-aging products is experiencing continuous growth since decades. Various products and services are perpetually entering into the market to serve the agenda of restoring younger looks.Obtain the Forthcoming Trends of Anti-aging Market at:Presently, various anti-aging products such as UV absorbers, dermal fillers, Botox, anti-stretchmark products, hair color, and anti-wrinkle products are widely used.The anti-wrinkle products segment was valued at USD 8,088.3 million in 2013 in Asia. The dominance of this segment was primarily due to increasing adoption of anti-wrinkle products among the population. The anti-aging products market in Japan is growing swiftly owing to reasonable costs and rising awareness about the availability of aesthetic products. According to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ISAPS), a total of 146,150 Botox injection procedures were registered in Japan in 2010. The number further increased to 208,313 in 2011. Considering all the above mentioned factors, Japan was leading the overall anti-aging products market in Asia in terms of revenue in 2013. While on the other hand, China is expected to show significant growth in the anti-aging products market during the forecast period. Factors such as anticipated rise in the aging population coupled with rising awareness about commercially available anti-aging products are primarily driving the growth of the market in China.The anti-aging services market is growing rapidly in Europe owing to steady recovery from the economic crisis, and consequently, rising disposable income and increasing demand. Italy was a leader in the anti-aging services market in the overall Europe in 2013 due to higher demand for breast augmentation and hair restoration treatments. While on the other hand, Spain anti-aging services market is expected to record highest growth during the forecast period. Adoption of sclerotherapy is anticipated to primarily boost the growth of the Spain anti-aging treatment services market owing to the increasing prevalence of varicose vein due to aging and obesity. The growth of the geriatric population coupled with rise in obesity are some of the other factors driving the growth of sclerotherapy services segment in the country.Brazil dominates the aesthetic procedures industry among South American countries. Brazil registered 1,447,213 aesthetic procedures in 2011. Affordable rates, availability of advanced techniques and a well-defined regulatory infrastructure are the prime drivers for the growth of the aesthetic industry in Brazil. As a result, people around the world travel to Brazil for aesthetic treatment. Thus, increasing demand for aesthetic procedures in the country is observed that would boost the growth of aesthetic devices in Brazil. Similarly, adoption of laser treatment and radiofrequency treatments is observed to be higher in Brazil owing to the safety and efficacy of these treatments. Therefore, in 2013, the laser aesthetic and radiofrequency devices segments accounted for the largest market of USD 59.0 million and USD 19.2 million, respectively.Read the Current Market Status of Asia, Europe, and South America Anti-aging at:Some of the key players operating in the anti-aging market include Allergan, Inc., Alma Laser Ltd., Beiersdorf AG, Coty, Inc., Cynosure, Inc., LOreal SA, Solta Medical, Inc. (Valeant Pharmaceutical International, Inc.), and PhotoMedex, Inc.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Home Healthcare Market Valuation Metrics & Cutting-edge insights to protect & boost your HC business in CANADA http://bit.ly/2it4sZ6 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/canada-home-healthcare-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Canada home healthcare market represents a wide range of home medical devices and services to support patients with chronic disease conditions. The risk and prevalence of chronic and lifestyle related diseases are constantly increasing in Canada which would drive the acceptance of home medical devices and services, consequently leading to the growth of the market. Moreover, changing demographics in Canada further supports the growth of Canada home healthcare market. Statistics Canada projected that around 5 million people in Canada were aged over 60 65 years in 2011 and the number is expected to double in the next 25 years (10.4 million). Such change in demographics will shift a substantial portion of population to the higher risk level for illnesses that demand continuous medical intervention. Thus, this factor would in turn increase the utilization of home healthcare devices and services hence driving the market growth. Moreover, advancement in technologies, increasing sedentary lifestyle and growing preference for alternatives to hospital based long-term care also supports the Canada home healthcare market growth. However, high costs coupled with strict regulatory environment restraints the market growth. The Canada home healthcare market is estimated to be USD 10,449.1 million in 2013 and is expected to reach USD 18,939.9 million by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 8.9% from 2014 to 2020.Know the Upcoming Trends and Insights prevalent in Canadian Home Healthcare Market at:The Canada home healthcare market has been studied from three perspectives: by device types, by services and by provinces. Based on device types, the market has been segmented into four categories: diagnostic and monitoring devices, therapeutic home healthcare devices, home mobility assist devices and medical supplies. Among these, diagnostics and monitoring devices are accounted for the largest market, capturing over 30% of the total Canada home medical devices market in 2013. Efforts of the Canadian government to increase awareness about hypertension, diabetes and sleep apnea management through home monitoring drives the growth of diagnostics and monitoring devices segment. Moreover, home mobility assist devices market segment recorded the lowest revenue in 2013 owing to the low cost of market constituents such as cranes and crutches, walkers and rollators and others.According to the report, the Canada home healthcare market is primarily driven by the rising number of patients who suffer from ailments such as diabetes, arthritis, cancer, and multiple chronic diseases. This rising prevalence of diseases, coupled with a growing population of geriatric Canadian citizens, is boosting the Canada home healthcare market at a rapid rate.Other drivers of the Canada home healthcare market include technological advancements that allow for a more efficient healthcare service that can be delivered at an optimum time, and a growing awareness of citizens towards the Canada home healthcare market and its services.Between the different segments of the Canada home healthcare market according to type, the market is led by diagnostics and monitoring devices, a segment that held over 30% of the market in 2013. This segment is boosted by consistent government efforts taken to increase awareness among citizens regarding the existence of diagnostic and monitoring devices and their benefits.The home mobility segment earned the lowest revenue for the Canada home healthcare market in 2013. This is attributed to the low market cost of the instruments sold in the home mobility segment, such as walkers, crutches, cranes, and rollators.In terms of services, the Canada home healthcare market is led by the segment of telehealth and telemedicine. The segment is progressing at a CAGR of 11.0% by 2020. The telehealth and telemedicine segment generated 2% of the usual revenue recorded in the Canada home healthcare market in 2013. The Canada home healthcare market services are constantly driven by factors such as high cost-effectiveness, easier access to rural locations, and high quality care of patients.Interpret the Present Market Status of Home Healthcare in Canada at:From a geographical perspective, the Canada home healthcare market was led by the province of Ontario in 2013. At the same time, the Canada home healthcare market in the Quebec is expected to rise at a rapid CAGR of 9.2%. The report cites increasing population of chronically ill people as the key reason for the high growth rate of the Canada home healthcare market in Quebec.Key players involved in the Canada home healthcare market are Home Care Ontario, The Canadian Home Caress, We Care Health Services, GM Healthcare, 3M Healthcare, Omron Healthcare, and Johnson & Johnson.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Porters Five Force Analysis of the Global CSF Management Market 2015 - 2023 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/csf-management-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=2590 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Some of the key players in the global cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) management market are Medtronic plc, DePuy Synthes (a J & J Company), Sophysa S.A., Spiegelberg GmbH & Co. KG, B. Braun Melsungen AG, BeckerSmith Medical, Inc., Moller Medical GmbH, and Integra LifeSciences Holding Corporation. The global market for CFS management was valued at US$1.13 bn in 2014. Expanding at a healthy CAGR of 5.5% during the forecast period of 2015 to 2023, the revenue in the market is estimated to reach US$1.84 bn by the end of 2023.In order to maintain their stronghold, these players actively focus on innovations and developments related to technology and application in the market for cerebrospinal fluid management in order serve the multi-dimensional needs of the consumers. For instance, Medtronic plc recently announced the clearance of StrataMR valves and shunts by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This is an addition to Medtronic portfolio of Strata Adjustable Valve Systems, which are used to treat patients with hydrocephalus and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) disorders. The approval will help Medtronic to complete its portfolio of systems designed for access to full-body MRI, such as pacemakers, deep brain stimulation (DBS) systems, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), and spinal cord stimulators.Read Full Report:Asia Pacific Emerging Lucrative MarketBy type of product, the cerebrospinal fluid management market is segmented into CSF shunts and CSF drainage systems, which can be further sub-segmented into ventricular drainage system and lumbar drainage system. In 2014, CSF shunts were most in demand and, are expected to remain the dominant segment throughout the forecast period. Although, the segment of CSF drainage system is also projected for the strongest CAGR in the market. Geographically, the report studies the regional markets of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Rest of the World. North America contributed most of the demand for CSF management in 2014 and is likely to remain the most lucrative region during the forecast period. The report also rates Asia Pacific as a region that players could focus on, owing to factors such as increasing demand for minimally invasive surgeries, growing medical tourism in emerging nations, and rising geriatric population.Increased Government Funding Supporting GrowthAccording to the United Nations (US), there were 841 million people aged over 60 in the world. The UN expects this number to exceed to 2 billion by the end of 2050. Since geriatrics generally suffer from neurological diseases such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons, this exponential rise in geriatric population is the primary reason for the extending demand for CSF management. The report also observes overall rise in the incidences of neurological diseases, increased funding by government and private organizations, and the escalating demand for minimally invasive surgeries are some of the other factors that will support the growth rate in the global market for cerebrospinal fluid management. Conversely, risk of infection during surgery is expected to negatively influence the growth rate.Download exclusive Sample of this report:The author of the report concedes, The countries with emerging economies such as China, India, and Brazil comprise profitable future markets for CSF management. These nations have vast populations and the disposable income among the urban population is on the rise, which is enhancing their purchasing power.The information presented in this review is based on a Transparency Market Research report, titled, Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Management Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2015 - 2023.Key Segments of the Global Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Management MarketGlobal CSF Management Market, by ProductCSF ShuntsCSF Drainage SystemsVentricular Drainage SystemLumbar Drainage SystemGlobal CSF Management Market, by GeographyNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaEuropeU.K.GermanyFranceRest of EuropeAsia-Pacific (APAC)ChinaJapanRest of APACLatin AmericaBrazilRest of Latin AmericaRest of the WorldSouth AfricaRest of Rest of the WorldTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a U.S.-based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Processed Food & Beverage Preservatives Global Market During The Period 2018 - 2024 ResearchMoz http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=905677 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=905677 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Processed Food & Beverage Preservatives Global Market During The Period 2018 - 2024" to its huge collection of research reports.Global Processed Food and Beverage Preservative: OverviewThis report covers the analysis and forecast of the processed food & beverage preservatives market on a global and regional level. The study provides historic data of 2015 along with forecast for the period between 2016 and 2024 based on volume (kilo tons) and revenue (US$ Mn).The study provides a decisive view of the processed food & beverage preservatives market by segmenting it based on product type, form, function, application, and regional demand. Product type segmentation includes analysis on type of preservatives used in processed food & beverage and their future projections. Form segment includes analysis on solid and liquid preservatives and their current and future trends. Function segments have been analyzed based on current trends and future potential. The market has been estimated from 2016 to 2024 in terms of revenue (US$ Mn) and volume (kilo tons). Regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. These have been further sub-segmented into countries and regions with relevance to the market. The segmentation also includes demand for product type, form, function, and applications in all regions.Global Processed Food and Beverage Preservative: Divers and TrendsThe study covers the drivers and restraints governing the dynamics of the market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. Additionally, the report includes potential opportunities in the processed food and beverage preservatives market on the global and regional level.We have included competitive landscape of the market. The study encompasses market attractiveness analysis, wherein all the segments have been benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate, and general attractiveness for future growth.The market has been forecast based on the amount of different form of preservatives in demand. Demand for processed food and beverage preservatives vary in each region as a result of the food habits of consumers in the region and climatic conditions that prevails in each region. Individual product type, form, functions, and application have been taken into account while estimating and forecasting overall revenue and volume.Global Processed Food and Beverage Preservative Market: ScopeMarket estimates for this study have been based on revenue and volume. The factors for use of preservatives in each application have been considered in calculating the revenue of the market. Demand for processed food and beverage preservatives has been derived by analyzing the global and regional demand for processed food and beverage preservatives in each application. The global processed food and beverage preservatives market has been analyzed based on expected demand. Market data for each segment is based on corresponding revenues and volume. Factors considered for calculation of revenue and volume is drivers, restraints, and opportunities.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The report provides the size of the processed food and beverage preservatives market in 2015 and the forecast for the next nine years up to 2024. The size of the global processed food and beverage preservatives market is provided in terms of revenue and volume. Market revenue for regions is defined in US$ Mn and volume in kilo tons. The market size and forecast for each product segment is provided in the context of global and regional markets. Numbers provided in this report are derived based on demand generated from different products, form, function and application. Market dynamics prevalent in North America and Asia Pacific have been taken into account for estimating the growth of the global market.Forecasts have been based on the expected demand from processed food and beverage preservatives applications. We have used the top down and bottom - up approach to estimate the market, split into regions. The application split of the market has been derived using a top-down approach for each regional market separately, with the global application segment split being an integration of regional estimates. Companies were considered for their product portfolio, revenue, and manufacturing capacity. In the absence of specific data related to the sales of processed food and beverage preservatives of several privately held companies, calculated assumptions have been made in view of the companys product portfolio and regional presence along with the demand for products in its portfolio.Key Players Mentioned in the Research Report are:The report covers a detailed competitive outlook that includes market share and company profiles of key players operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Celanese Corporation, Koninklijke DSM N.V., E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Kerry Group Plc, Galactic SA, Hawkins Watts Limited, Innophos Holdings Inc, Kemin Industries, Inc., Cargill, Incorporated, Akzo Nobel N.V., Albemarle Corporation, Naturalin Bio-Resources Co., Ltd, Shandong Kunda Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Shanghai Ruidian Trading Development Co., Ecochem Group Co., Ltd, Ningbo Pangs Chem Int'l Co., Ltd. Zhejiang Silver Elephant Bioengineering Co., Ltd., Shandong Tong Tai Wei Run Chemical Co., Ltd., Laiwu Taihe Biochemistry Co., Ltd., and SEEBIO BIOTECH (SHANGHAI) CO.,LTD.Global Processed Food & Beverage Preservatives Market, by Product TypeNaturalSaltSugarAlcoholVinegarRosemary ExtractsOthersSyntheticBenzoatesSodium BenzoateBenzoic AcidNitritesSulfiteSulphur DioxidePotassium SorbatePropionatesOthersGlobal Processed Food & Beverage Preservatives Market, by FormSolidLiquidGlobal Processed Food & Beverage Preservatives Market, by FunctionAntimicrobialsAntioxidantsChelating AgentsOthersGlobal Processed Food & Beverage Preservatives Market, by ApplicationBakeryConfectioneryMeat, Poultry & Sea FoodDairyBeveragesGlobal Processed Food & Beverage Preservatives Market, by Geography: The market is broadly segmented on the basis of geography into:North AmericaU.S.Rest of North AmericaEuropeMake an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Market For Industrial Protective Clothing Fabrics At The Global And Regional Level ResearchMoz http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=905682 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=905682 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Market For Industrial Protective Clothing Fabrics At The Global And Regional Level" to its huge collection of research reports.Global Industrial Protective Clothing Fabrics Market: OverviewIndustrial protective clothing fabrics are used to manufacture protective clothing for industrial applications. These fabrics can possess properties such as flame resistance, cut resistance, chemical resistance and arc resistance. Protective clothing made from these fabrics are used protect workers exposed to extreme heat, flame, arc flash, and molten metals on a daily basis. Protective clothing is used in a wide range of application segments including oil & gas, utilities, electricians, combustible dust, welding, molten metals, food services and mining. Europe dominates the global industrial protective clothing fabrics market in terms of production and demand. Emerging regions are anticipated to grow at a fast pace during the forecast period. Countries such as China, India and Brazil are likely to provide lucrative opportunities to the industrial protective clothing manufacturers during the next decadeThis report analyzes and forecasts the market for Industrial Protective Clothing Fabrics at the global and regional level. The market has been forecast based on revenue (US$ Mn) from 2016 to 2024, considering 2015 as the base year. The study includes drivers and restraints of the global Industrial Protective Clothing Fabrics market. It also covers impact of these drivers and restraints on demand for Industrial Protective Clothing Fabrics during the forecast period. The report also highlights opportunities in the Industrial Protective Clothing Fabrics market at the global and regional level.Global Industrial Protective Clothing Fabrics Market: Scope of the StudyThe study provides a decisive view of the global Industrial Protective Clothing Fabrics market by segmenting it in terms of end-users such as building & construction, electrical, plastics, automotive, lubricant additive, and others (including rubber goods). These segments have been analyzed based on present and future trends. Regional segmentation includes current and forecast demand for Industrial Protective Clothing Fabrics in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa.The report provides the actual market size of Industrial Protective Clothing Fabrics for 2015 and estimated market size for 2016 with forecast for the next eight years. The global market size of Industrial Protective Clothing Fabrics has been provided in terms of revenue. Market revenue is given in US$ Mn. Market numbers have been estimated based on key end-users of Industrial Protective Clothing Fabrics. Market size and forecast for numerous end-users have been provided in terms of global, regional, and country level markets.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Global Industrial Protective Clothing Fabrics Market: Research MethodologiesIn order to compile the research report, we conducted in-depth interviews and discussions with a number of key industry participants and opinion leaders. Primary research represented the bulk of research efforts, supplemented by extensive secondary research. We reviewed key players product literature, annual reports, press releases, and relevant documents for competitive analysis and market understanding. Secondary research includes a search of recent trade, technical writing, Internet sources, and statistical data from government websites, trade associations, and agencies. This has proven to be the most reliable, effective, and successful approach for obtaining precise market data, capturing industry participants insights, and recognizing business opportunities.Secondary research sources that are typically referred to include, but are not limited to company websites, annual reports, financial reports, broker reports, investor presentations, SEC filings, internal and external proprietary databases, and relevant patent and regulatory databases such as ICIS, Hoovers, OneSource, Factiva and Bloomberg, national government documents, statistical databases, trade journals, market reports, news articles, press releases, and webcasts specific to companies operating in the market.The global Industrial Protective Clothing Fabrics market has been segmented as follows:Oil & GasUtilitiesElectriciansCombustible DustWeldingMolten MetalFood ServicesMiningOthersIndustrial Protective Clothing Fabrics Market: Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaMexicoEuropeGermanyItalyFranceU.K.Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Senegal Telecom Market: Launch of 4G and Mobile Data Services to Drive Market Growth ResearchMoz http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=904543 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=904543 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG ResearchMoz presents this most up-to-date research on "Launch of 4G and Mobile Data Services to Drive Telecom Market Growth In Senegal".The telecommunications market in Senegal is estimated to be $953.0m in service revenue in 2016. The telecom services revenue in Senegal is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.9% during 2016-2021, driven by growth in mobile data and fixed broadband. Mobile data will be the fastest-growing segment in the telecom market. Going forward, operator focus on network upgrades, improving Internet connectvity and investments in 4G technology will provide opportunities for investors.Key FindingsThe overall telecom service revenue in Senegal is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.9% during 2016-2021, mainly driven by data segment.- Operators are focusing on modernizing existing networks and launching new service offerings such as value-added services to increase revenue.- Mobile revenue will account for 81.3% of the total telecom revenue in 2021; mobile data will be the fastest-growing segment over 2016-2021.- The Senegal telecom market will be dominated by Orange Senegal. Operators will focus on offering VAS and improving network infrastructure to improve their market position.Synopsis"Senegal: Launch of 4G and Mobile Data Services to Drive Telecom Market Growth" a new Country Intelligence Report by Pyramid Research, provides an executive-level overview of the telecommunications market in Senegal today, with detailed forecasts of key indicators up to 2021. Published annually, the report provides detailed analysis of the near-term opportunities, competitive dynamics and evolution of demand by service type and technology/platform across the fixed telephony, broadband and mobile sectors, as well as a review of key regulatory trends.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The Country Intelligence Report provides in-depth analysis of the following:- Regional context: telecom market size and trends in Senegal compared with other countries in the region.- Economic, demographic and political context in Senegal.- The regulatory environment and trends: a review of the regulatory setting and agenda for the next 18-24 months as well as relevant developments pertaining to spectrum licensing, national broadband plans, number portability and more.- A demand profile: analysis as well as historical figures and forecasts of service revenue from the fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice and mobile data.- Service evolution: a look at changes in the breakdown of overall revenue between the fixed and mobile sectors and between voice and data from 2016 to 2021.- The competitive landscape: an examination of key trends in competition and in the performance, revenue market shares and expected moves of service providers over the next 18-24 months.ReasonsToBuy- This Country Intelligence Report offers a thorough, forward-looking analysis of Senegal's telecommunications market, service providers and key opportunities in a concise format to help executives build proactive and profitable growth strategies.- Accompanying Pyramid Researchs Forecast products, the report examines the assumptions and drivers behind ongoing and upcoming trends in Senegal's mobile communications, fixed telephony and broadband markets, including the evolution of service provider market shares.- With more than 20 charts and tables, the report is designed for an executive-level audience, boasting presentation quality.- The report provides an easily digestible market assessment for decision-makers built around in-depth information gathered from local market players, which enables executives to quickly get up to speed with the current and emerging trends in Senegal's telecommunications market.Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Singapores Non-Life Insurance: Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020 ResearchMoz http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=903642 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=903642 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Singapores Non-Life Insurance: Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020" to its huge collection of research reports.Timetrics 'Non-Life Insurance in Singapore Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides a detailed outlook by product category for the Singaporean non-life insurance segment, and a comparison of the Singaporean insurance industry with its regional counterparts.It provides values for key performance indicators such as written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, commissions and expenses, combined ratio, total assets, total investment income and retentions during the review period (20112015) and forecast period (20152020).The report also analyzes distribution channels operating in the segment, gives a comprehensive overview of the Singaporean economy and demographics, explains the various types of natural hazard and their impact on the Singaporean insurance industry, and provides detailed information on the competitive landscape in the country.SummaryTimetrics 'Non-Life Insurance in Singapore Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides in-depth market analysis, information and insights into the Singaporean non-life insurance segment, including:The Singaporean non-life segments detailed outlook by product categoryA comprehensive overview of the Singaporean economy and demographicsA comparison of the Singaporean non-life insurance segment with its regional counterpartsThe various distribution channels in the Singaporean non-life insurance segmentTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @ScopeThis report provides a comprehensive analysis of the non-life insurance segment in Singapore:It provides historical values for the Singaporean non-life insurance segment for the reports 20112015 review period, and projected figures for the 20152020 forecast period.It offers a detailed analysis of the key categories in the Singaporean non-life insurance segment, and market forecasts to 2020.It provides a comparison of the Singaporean non-life insurance segment with its regional counterpartsReasons To BuyMake strategic business decisions using in-depth historic and forecast market data related to the Singaporean non-life insurance segment, and each category within it.Understand the demand-side dynamics, key market trends and growth opportunities in the Singaporean non-life insurance segment.Assess the competitive dynamics in the non-life insurance segment.Identify growth opportunities and market dynamics in key product categories.Key HighlightsThe Singaporean non-life direct written premium increased at a review-period CAGR of 6.0%.Telematics, or usage-based insurance, is emerging rapidly in Singapore for both the passenger and commercial vehicle segments.The mixed economy and numerous commercial partnerships of Singapore gives countries such as China, India, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong access to its financial services industry. This enables the non-life segment especially the property category to generate business from overseas markets.According to AIG Singapore, demand for cyber insurance in Singapore is expected to increase by 50% in 2016, as businesses look to mitigate the high reputational and financial risks associated with cyber breaches.Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Industry Demand For Global C4ISR Market 2017-2026 ResearchMoz http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=904537 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=904537 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Industry Demand For Global C4ISR Market 2017-2026" to its huge collection of research reports.The Global C4ISR Market 2016-2026 report offers a detailed analysis of the industry, with market size forecasts covering the next ten years. This report will also analyze factors that influence demand for C4ISR systems equipment, key market trends, and challenges faced by industry participants.Key Findings- The global C4ISR systems market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.85% over the forecast period.- The market consists of four categories: Land-based Systems, Airborne Systems, Naval Systems and Space-based Systems. It is expected to be dominated by the Land-based Systems segment, followed by Airborne Systems, Naval Systems and Space-based Systems. The North American region is forecasted to dominate the sector with a share of 44%, followed by the Asia-Pacific market, which is dominated by China, India, Japan and South Korea. Russia, France and the UK account for major market share in the European region.Synopsis- The demand for C4ISR systems is expected to be driven by rise of asymmetric warfare and the growing need for interoperability and integrated solutions among military strategists. Given such situations, C4ISR systems are considered by most nations to be the most important tools for victory in a conflict. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have also highlighted the growing importance of C4ISR systems in modern warfare- Demand for land-based C4ISR systems is expected to increase with the greater implementation and deployment of Network Centric Warfare (NCW) principles, as these necessitate the use of battlefield command systems, data and communication security systems, and the sensors required for surveillance and observation platformsTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @In particular, the report provides an in-depth analysis of the following:- Market size and drivers: detailed analysis during 20162026, including highlights of the demand drivers and growth stimulators. It also provides a snapshot of the spending and modernization patterns of different regions around the world- Recent developments and industry challenges: insights into technological developments and a detailed analysis of the changing preferences of C4ISR segments around the world. It also provides trends of the changing industry structure and the challenges faced by industry participants- Regional highlights: study of the key markets in each region, providing an analysis of the key segments of the market that are expected to be in demand- Major programs: details of the key programs in each segment, which are expected to be executed during 2016-2026- Competitive landscape and strategic insights: analysis of the competitive landscape of the global market. It provides an overview of key players, together with information regarding key alliances, strategic initiatives, and financial analysisReasonsToBuy- Determine prospective investment areas based on a detailed trend analysis of the global C4ISR systems marketover the next ten years- Gain in-depth understanding about the underlying factors driving demand for different C4ISR systems segments in the top spending countries across the world and identify the opportunities offered by each of them- Strengthen your understanding of the market in terms of demand drivers, industry trends, and the latest technological developments, among others- Identify the major channels that are driving the global C4ISR systems market, providing a clear picture about future opportunities that can be tapped, resulting in revenue expansion- Channelize resources by focusing on the ongoing programs that are being undertaken by the defense ministries of different countries within the global C4ISR market- Make correct business decisions based on thorough analysis of the total competitive landscape of the sector with detailed profiles of the top C4ISR systems providers around the world which include information about their products, alliances, recent contract wins and financial analysis wherever availableMake an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Global MRI Scanner Market 2016 Global QYResearch http://globalqyresearch.com/download-sample/142144 http://globalqyresearch.com/global-mri-scanner-market-research-report-2016 http://globalqyresearch.com/checkout-form/0/142144 https://www.linkedin.com/company/global-qy-research https://twitter.com/gqyresearch This report studies Global MRI Scanner Market 2016, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Taiwan and India, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with capacity, production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringFujifilm HoldingsGE HealthcareSiemens HealthcarePhilips HealthcareShimadzu CorporationToshiba Medical Systems CorporationCarestream HealthHitachi Medical CorporationHologicEsaoteThe TakeawayAnkeBasda MedicalEKSV MedicalFonarHitachiNeusoftSina HealthcareDownload Sample this Report:Market Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate of MRI Scanner in these regions, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), likeNorth AmericaChinaEuropeJapanTaiwanIndiaRowSplit by Product Types, with production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoLess than 0.5 T0.5T to 1T1T to 2T2T to 3TGreater than 3TSplit by applications, this report focuses on consumption, market share and growth rate of MRI Scanner in each application, can be divided intoHead MRIChest MRIAbdomen and Pelvis MRI ScansBone and Joint MRIsOthersView Full Report With Complete TOC, List Of Figure and Table:7 Global MRI Scanner Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Fujifilm Holdings7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 MRI Scanner Product Types, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Type one7.1.2.2 Type two7.1.3 Fujifilm Holdings MRI Scanner Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.2 GE Healthcare7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 MRI Scanner Product Types, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Type one7.2.2.2 Type two7.2.3 GE Healthcare MRI Scanner Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.3 Siemens Healthcare7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 MRI Scanner Product Types, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Type one7.3.2.2 Type two7.3.3 Siemens Healthcare MRI Scanner Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.4 Philips Healthcare7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 MRI Scanner Product Types, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Type one7.4.2.2 Type two7.4.3 Philips Healthcare MRI Scanner Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.5 Shimadzu Corporation7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 MRI Scanner Product Types, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Type one7.5.2.2 Type two7.5.3 Shimadzu Corporation MRI Scanner Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.6 Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.6.2 MRI Scanner Product Types, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Type one7.6.2.2 Type two7.6.3 Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation MRI Scanner Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.7 Carestream Health7.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.7.2 MRI Scanner Product Types, Application and Specification7.7.2.1 Type one7.7.2.2 Type two7.7.3 Carestream Health MRI Scanner Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.8 Hitachi Medical Corporation7.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.8.2 MRI Scanner Product Types, Application and Specification7.8.2.1 Type one7.8.2.2 Type two7.8.3 Hitachi Medical Corporation MRI Scanner Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.9 Hologic7.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.9.2 MRI Scanner Product Types, Application and Specification7.9.2.1 Type one7.9.2.2 Type two7.9.3 Hologic MRI Scanner Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.10 Esaote7.10.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.10.2 MRI Scanner Product Types, Application and Specification7.10.2.1 Type one7.10.2.2 Type two7.10.3 Esaote MRI Scanner Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.11 The Takeaway7.12 Anke7.13 Basda Medical7.14 EKSV Medical7.15 Fonar7.16 Hitachi7.17 Neusoft7.18 Sina HealthcareTo Purchase this Premium Report:Global QYResearch is the one spot destination for all your research needs. Global QYResearch holds the repository of quality research reports from numerous publishers across the globe. Our inventory of research reports caters to various industry verticals including Healthcare, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Technology and Media, Chemicals, Materials, Energy, Heavy Industry, etc. With the complete information about the publishers and the industries they cater to for developing market research reports, we help our clients in making purchase decision by understanding their requirements and suggesting best possible collection matching their needs.Unit1, 26 Cleveland Road, South Woodford, London, E182AN, United KingdomContact: +44 20 3239 2407Email: sales@globalqyresearch.comFollow us:Twitter: Prodapt, a Leading IT Services Organization, Chooses Talentpool www.thetalentpool.co.in www.thetalentpool.co.in Pune, December 27, 2016: Prodapt, a known name in the software, engineering, and operations services, chose Talentpool to streamline their hiring process. Prodapt is a part of 120 year old business conglomerate, Jhaver Group. With over 15,500 people across 64+ locations around the world, the group has businesses in - IT Services, Healthcare, Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Agro-chemicals, Textiles, Apparel accessories & BPO industry. Deloitte has recognized Prodapt twice as the one of the fastest growing companies in Deloitte Technology Fast50 India and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 APAC (2011 & 2015)."We are proud to be associated with one of the oldest business conglomerates of India. It will be a great experience working and in some ways, supporting the growth of one of the top 250 IT companies of India." said Ashish Turkane, CEO of Talentpool.About Prodapt:Prodapt is a leading provider of software, engineering, and operations services with a singular focus on the communications industry. Prodapt works with leading global communications service providers (CSPs), independent software vendors (ISVs), and network equipment manufacturers (NEMs). Prodapt has partnered with several leading organizations in the telecom industry including Fortune 500 customers. Over 15 years, Prodapt has been home to telecom-savvy business, technical leaders from the market including talents from several leading OSS/BSS product vendors and System Integrators.Prodapt is a CMMi Level 3, ISO: 9001 and SSAE16 organization with headquarters in Chennai-India and offices in US, Europe and South Africa.About Talentpool:Talentica Software launched Talentpool in 2006. Talentpool is an enterprise-ready software which is specifically built to address the needs of Indian enterprises. With an intuitive interface and easily-configurable workflow, Talentpool is a smart, integration ready, recruitment software that empowers your frontline recruiters. Talentpool provides you the much required flexibility, whether you are a Recruiter, HR Manager, Line Manager or CHRO.It has helped known organizations like Tata Steel, Huawei, SBI Life, Siemens, SpiceJet, and many others, to automate and streamline their hiring processes. Headquartered in Pune, Talentpool has its operational presence in Bangalore and sales presence in Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi.For more information on Talentpool, visitTalentica Software,3rd floor, IRIZ, Baner-Pashan Link rd., Baner, Pune-411045Email: ushakiran.racherla@thetalentpool.co.inTel no.: 020 64008587 First Lutheran Church will host an American Red Cross Bloodmobile from 7:30 a.m. to noon Sunday in the fellowship hall. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor or drivers license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental permission) may be eligible to donate blood. Zika Virus Vaccines Market Expected to Reach $18,697 Million, by 2022, Globally Allied Market Research https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/zika-virus-vaccines-market https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-free-sample/1817 A new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, Potential Market for Zika Virus Vaccines: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20172022, projects that in moderate growth scenario the potential market for Zika virus vaccines would reach $14,500 million in 2017 and is expected to reach $18,697 million by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2017 to 2022. Key opportunities include the need for vaccines for immunization & prevention of further spread of Zika virus infection and for treatment of Zika-linked birth defects.Access Full Summary of Zika Virus Vaccine Market:Zika virus belongs to Flavivirus, a genus of the viruses in the Flaviridae family, and it is transmitted via Aedes mosquito, blood transfusion, sex, and from an infected pregnant woman to her fetus. The infection of this virus can cause adverse effects such as neurological problems and congenital birth defects in the fetus.Request for Sample at:Zika virus is affecting people staying in Zika-infested regions and also the infection is linked with many babies being born with underdeveloped brains. says Hemali Narkhede, Manager, Healthcare Research at Allied Market Research. She further adds, This is attributed to the high risk of infection. Zika virus vaccines are gaining popularity, and FDA has passed priority review voucher system for it.The outbreak of Zika virus infection in Latin American Countries, especially in Brazil, in last two years; its continuous spread in North America, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East & Africa; and lack of effective medicinal solutions for the prevention & treatment are major challenges faced by the healthcare and government agencies. To overcome these challenges, government agencies and various research institutes encourage and support pharmaceutical companies, in terms of investment and funding, for the development & manufacturing of related vaccines. These initiatives have given rise to a renewed interest among companies to invest and capitalize on the available opportunities. Multiple players are in process of vaccine development based on various techniques such as recombinant, live attenuated, whole inactivated, nucleic acids, and viral vectors.LAMEA showed the highest growth rate, accounting for major share in 2015, and is projected to continue this trend. Currently, nearly more than 22 countries of Latin America have reported active Zika virus infection. The market growth in this region is supplemented by large pool of population infected with Zika virus. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the second largest region, in terms of market value.Key findings of the Zika Virus Vaccines Market study:- LAMEA accounted for approximately half of the share of the global market in 2015, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.0%.- Asia-Pacific is the second largest potential market, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.6%- Brazil has the highest potential and projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period in rapid adoption scenario.Multiple key players in the global pharmaceutical & vaccine manufacturing industry focus on the development of Zika virus vaccine and collaborate with the government organizations for the same. Key players engaged in the development of the vaccine include Immunovaccine Inc., Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Bharat Biotech International Ltd., NewLink Genetics Co., Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., GeneOne Life Science Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc., Sanofi S.A., and Hawaii Biotech Inc.Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions". AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.5933 NE Win Sivers Drive#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesToll Free : +1-800-792-5285UK : + 44-845-528-1300Hong Kong : + 852-301-84916India (Pune) : +91 20 66346060Fax : +1855550-5975help@alliedmarketresearch.com Fluorocarbon Gases Market is Expected to Gain Popularity Across the Globe http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/11161 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/11161 The compounds and the products utilizing fluorocarbons subsidize significantly to the quality of life while. Over the years many new technologies are being introduced that are fuelling investments in industrial in fluorocarbon gases market to utilize its properties to produce electrical equipment and products at a large scale. The improved technologies in air conditioning in buildings, food-preserving refrigeration, insulation systems, motor vehicles and others.A sample of this report is available upon request @There are numerous recent attempts wherein businesses are working to make alterations to compounds with more environment protection without disturbing its basic attributes such as low toxicity, non-flammability and lot more. The market is being majorly driven by the growing electronic appliances and electronics manufacturing. There are numerous industries where a fluorocarbon gases is a prerequisite. Some other prominent industries where fluorocarbon gases are used are automotive, chemicals, semiconductors among others. CFCs emanates a very prominent usage in aerosol format products, as sterilants of equipment of medical usage, and in a lot of diverse applications including tobacco expansion, food freezing, cancer therapy and fumigation. The rising demand from different end use sectors is driving growth in global fluorocarbon gases market.The industry is entering into a fast moving phase. Growing number of industry players is rising the competition into unprecedented heights. Many fluorocarbon gases have a very high global warming potentials. Fluorinated gases are removed only in the upper atmosphere when they are damaged by sunlight. In general, fluorinated gases are the most long lasting type of gases emitted by human activities.The growing need of high-end industrial activities in different industrial applications is pushing the end users to invest in and deploy fluorocarbon gases, subsequently growing the global fluorocarbon gases market. The demand is growing in industrial applications such as electronics manufacturing, semiconductors, home appliances etc. which is acting as one of the biggest driver for the increasing demand of the fluorocarbon gases and global fluorocarbon gases market dispersion.Request to view Table of content @In spite of of being in flammable, compact, and reliable source raw material/compound the fluorocarbon suffers from some challenges such as the changing legislations and strict mandates upon its usage. The gases are ozone depletion substances whose production and usage are controlled under an international agreement called Montreal Protocol. In some of the regions, usage of CFCs and HCFCs is phased out under this international agreement, and are being replaced by HFCs. This is expected to restrain the global fluorocarbon market from growing.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride Market : Global Market Snapshot by 2026 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/11230 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/11230 Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride, commonly known as CPVC, is obtained by post production chlorination of poly vinyl chloride. Polyvinyl Chloride is chlorinated via free radical chlorination process wherein, the chlorine content varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. It is a thermoplastic polymer and has excellent corrosion resistance property. It also exhibits relatively good resistance to heat and can resist up to 90oC temperature. It exhibits relatively high resistance to acids and alkalis. Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride has excellent thermo-mechanicals performance and can be cut, machined, fabricated and welded. CPVC exhibits several properties that are identical to PVC. One of the major areas of application for CPVC is in manufacture of pipes & fittings.A sample of this report is available upon request @CPVC resins are primarily used in manufacture of heat resistant pipes. As CPVC replaces copper based pipes. Thus, growing use of CPVC in several applications across diverse industries is expected to drive the growth of global Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride (CPVC) market during the forecast period. One of the major applications of CPVC is that it is used in fire sprinklers. Increasing safety regulations and increasing use of fire sprinklers across the globe are expected to drive the growth of global chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) market during the forecast period. Also, CPVC pipes are relatively less expensive as compared to metal pipes. Thus, there is a shift towards the use of relatively cheaper yet effective and durable CPVC pipes & fittings. However, brittle nature of the pipes manufactured using CPVC and relatively higher cost of repairs associated with leak damages in case of CPVC pipes are expected to result in increasing demand for alternative materials.Request to view Table of content @The global chlorinated polyvinyl chloride market is segmented into seven key regions such as North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan and Japan. Among the aforementioned regions North America accounts for major share in global chlorinated polyvinyl chloride market value. However developing countries in Asia-Pacific region are expected to drive the CPVC market growth during the forecast period. Increasing constructions and manufacturing units in these developing countries are expected to n turn result in increasing demand for chlorinated polyvinyl chloride products in these regions during the forecast period. Asia-Pacific market is followed by Europe and Latin America CPVC markets during the forecast period.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Global RFID Lock Market to grow at a CAGR of 16.71% during 2016-2020: Key Vendors such as Samsung, Dormakaba, MIWA Lock, ASSA ABLOY Hospitality http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=902773 http://www.researchmoz.us/equipment-market-reports-115.html http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG http://deep-research-report.blogspot.com/ ResearchMoz added Latest Research Report titled " Global RFID Lock Market 2016-2020 " to it's Large Report database.About RFID LocksRFID technologies are gaining attention from multiple sectors, especially hospitality, where property owners are harnessing the technology in providing enhanced customer experience. The hospitality industry relies on consumer comfort to build brand loyalty. As a result, property owners are increasingly investing in enhancing the aesthetics of their property. Door locks are the first thing in the hotel rooms a consumer interacts with. Also, the traditional form of locks with the key is outdated. The advent of electronic locks with technologies like biometric, radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), and keypad provide hassle-free access to consumers and also enhance security and safety. The concept of RFID-based electronic locks are very similar to traditional locks and it uses a card or key fob to open a door. The technology finds application in various luxury apartments, government offices, residential properties, and in the industrial domain.Download free Sample PDF report with TOC:Technavios analysts forecast the global RFID lock market to grow at a CAGR of 16.71% during the period 2016-2020.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global RFID lock market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the sales of RFID locks.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:North AmericaAPACEuropeROWRead All Equipment Market Research Reports @Table of ContentPART 01: Executive summaryHighlightsPART 02: Scope of the reportMarket overviewVendor segmentationTop-vendor offeringsPART 03: Market research methodologyResearch methodologyEconomic indicatorsPART 04: IntroductionKey market highlightsPART 05: RFID technology landscapeComponents of an RFID systemRFID systems supply chainRFID value chainRegulations and policiesRegulatory agencies and compliance requirementsPART 06: Market landscapeMarket overviewGlobal electronic lock marketGlobal RFID lock marketFive forces analysisPART 07: Geographical segmentationGlobal RFID lock market by geographyRFID lock market North AmericaRFID lock market in EuropeRFID lock market in APACRFID lock market in ROWAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the world's fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMoz's service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Contact Us:Mr. Nachiket90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074 / Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:Follow me on Blogger at: Portable Power Fuel Cell Market - Global Industry Analysis 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=700 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Portable power fuel cells are a relatively recent addition to the global power scenario and have witnessed a steady rise in demand despite some notable drawbacks. Portable power sources are a vital need in areas where connectivity with the main power grid may not be adequate.The report segments the global portable power fuel cell market on the basis of technology into proton exchange membrane fuel cells, direct methanol fuel cells, and solid oxide fuel cells. Of these, proton exchange membrane fuel cells are a leading segment of the portable power fuel cells market. By end use, the global portable power fuel cells market is segmented into military, marine, telecommunications, research, and residential. The report provides detailed data illustrating the volume of use of portable power fuel cells in each consumer category and projections regarding the market shares of each category till 2024.The report provides a thorough overview of the development trajectory of the global portable power fuel cells market and presents readers with reliable predictions regarding the markets growth prospects till 2024. The leading revenue generators in the global portable power fuel cells market are examined in the report, which includes detailed data about the hierarchy of the portable power fuel cells market by each key criterion.Get Free PDF Brochure for more Professional and Technical Insights:Global Portable Power Fuel Cells Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe global portable power fuel cells market has been helped immensely by the steady technological development in fuel cell technology over the past few years. This has led to the availability of highly efficient and power-dense portable fuel cells, which have become some of the key revenue generators for the global portable power fuel cells market.Another key driver for the global portable power fuel cells is the variety of fuels that can be used to power portable fuel cells. Methanol, ethanol, butane, diesel, and hydrogen are some of the most popular fuels used in portable power fuel cells. The relative ease of acquiring hydrocarbon fuels such as methanol, ethanol, and butane has helped the global portable power fuel cells, as it has made operating them easier and affordable.On the other hand, portable power fuel cells are limited by an inherent feature of their design: Since portable fuel cells may need to be refilled at a remote location, the user needs to carry the highly flammable fuels along with the fuel cell.In addition to this obvious risk, portable power fuel cells are also at risk of becoming redundant in the coming years. Due to the notable government support afforded to power grid enhancements and the development and adoption of smart grids, grid power is becoming easily available in even previously unreachable areas. In addition, the use of locally self-sustainable forms of energy generation such as solar, wind, and small-scale hydropower has also become a more viable and, in the long run, cheaper alternative to portable fuel cells. The need for portable power sources in urban areas is also scant, as sharing power sockets in public areas such as hotels and public transportation has become a common practice in urban areas across the world.Global Portable Power Fuel Cells Market: Competitive DynamicsThe report provides readers with detailed profiles of leading players in the global portable power fuel cells market such as Horizon, ICM Plastics, Johnson Matthey, Ballard, Fuel Cell Components and Integrators, Masterflex AG, Mechanical Technology Incorporated Gore, Angstrom Power, Asahi Glass, GrafTech International, Heliocentris Fuel Cells AG, BASF, Medis Technologies, Ceramic Fuel Cells, Manhattan Scientifics, and Altair Nanomaterials.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Transparency Market ResearchUS Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Biogas Upgrading Market - Global Industry Analysis 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=631 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The growing need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the globe is one of the primary factors projected to boost the demand for biogas upgrading solutions in the next few years. Moreover, the strict government regulations concerning the emissions are expected to encourage the growth of the market in the near future. The key players in the market are focusing on developing innovative technologies in order to establish their presence across the globe.The market intelligence report on biogas upgrading market offers an in-depth analysis, focusing on the potential opportunities in the market. The research study throws light on the current trends in the biogas upgrading market, along with the key dynamics that are estimated to determine the growth of the market in the next few years. In addition, the study provides a thorough overview of the market, including the past performance and forecast statistics of the market.The research report further identifies the leading product, technology, and geographical segments in the global biogas upgrading market. It also presents insights into the various trends influencing these segments in the overall market. The key social and economic factors propelling and curbing the growth of the biogas upgrading market have also been highlighted and discussed at length in the study. Furthermore, the research study further provided with strategic inputs by industry specialists to guide the leading players of the market in formulating effective business strategies.Get Free PDF Brochure for more Professional and Technical Insights:Overview of the Biogas Upgrading MarketThe global market for biogas upgrading is projected to reach a value of US$338.5 mn by the end of 2016. This market is expected to witness robust growth in the coming years, thanks to the growing demand for waste treatment and the rising shift towards renewable sources of energy. Moreover, the growing awareness among the population regarding the advantages of using biogas and the rising environmental concerns across the globe are projected to augment the growth of the global biogas upgrading market in the near future.Among the key geographical segments, Europe is expected to contribute significantly towards the development of the market and reach a value of US$250.5 mn by the end of 2016. On the other hand, Asia Pacific is projected to reach US$83.9 mn by 2016, owing to the growing demand for renewable energy in this region. At present, Asia Pacific occupies a leading position in terms of the total number of biogas plants. Nevertheless, most of these plants are small-scale and are serving a community or a single house.The leading players in the market are making remarkable efforts to introduce innovative technologies and upgrade biogas, making it available to consumers at a reasonable price. Moreover, the rising number of industrial and residential applications and the cost effectiveness of biogas are encouraging the growth of the overall market.Companies Mentioned in the Research ReportThe biogas upgrading market is competitive in nature with the presence of several prominent vendors engaged in the market. The key players in the market are focusing on developing innovative products and solutions to sustain in the market and expand their consumer base in the next few years.Some of the prominent players operating in the biogas upgrading market across the globe are Dreyer & Bosse Kraftwerke GmbH, Malmberg Water, MT Energie, Air Liquide, DMT Environmental Technology, Kohler and Ziegler, Ros Roca Envirotec, Carbotech, Acrona Systems, DGE GmbH, Prometheus Energy, Van Der Wiel Stortgas, Guild Associates, Cirmac, Xebec Adsorption, and Greenlane Biogas.Key Segments of the Biogas Upgrading MarketGlobal Biogas Upgrading Market: By TechnologyPressure Swing Adsorption SystemsChemical Absorption UnitsWater ScrubbersUnits Based on Cryogenic TechnologyMembrane SystemsPhysical AbsorptionTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Transparency Market ResearchUS Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Energy Storage Technologies - Global Industry Analysis 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=128 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Energy storage refers to a process of transfiguring energy from the traditional sources to a form that can be easily stored and then again converted back to the original state as per requirement. This process helps in storing energy that can be later used at peak demand and consumption periods, high generation costs, and low energy production. A robust rise in the demand for energy across the globe is expected to bode well for the growth of the global energy storage technologies market. Rising need to develop advanced low carbon energy technology is anticipated to drive the deployment of energy storage technologies across various industries.In addition, the mounting requirement for reliability and resiliency of the energy grid coupled with the integration of the available renewable energy resources is further expected to accelerate the progress of the global energy storage technologies market. Energy storage technologies are also anticipated to a play a prominent role in the energy industry in terms of de-carbonization by efficiently connecting electricity with heat networks. Energy storage technologies can shift the balance of supply and demand of energy for a short period of time. This helps in avoiding blackouts and also corrects load imbalances.Get Free PDF Brochure for more Professional and Technical Insights:The research report is an examination of the growth trajectory based on the historical, current, and future opportunities of the global energy storage technologies market. It provides an evaluation of the dynamics that are anticipated to affect the progress of the market and the predominant trends have also been stated in the study. The report also presents a diverse viewpoint on the competitive landscape of the market through the value chain and Porters five forces analysis. The report mentions the research and development projects, mergers and acquisitions, details on collaborations and licensing. The study provides insights into the marketing strategies, products, and shares of the key players operating in the global energy storage technologies market.Global Energy Storage Technologies Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe growth of the global energy storage technologies market can be attributed to the growing demand for energy across the globe along with the rising need for low carbon emitting technologies. Energy storage technologies have application in cooling and heating networks, off-grid applications, and electricity grids. However, the most efficient and cost effective energy storage devices also face difficulties in terms of harsh regulatory and market conditions that are expected to hinder their deployment. Research and development may help in addressing these issues and are also likely to provide companies lucrative growth opportunities.Based on technology, the global energy storage technologies market has been segmented into solid state batteries, flow batteries, flywheels, compressed air energy storage, thermal energy storage, and hydro-power. Initial high investment and capital cost is further expected to restrict the growth of the market. In spite of the high cost, the pumped storage hydropower segment is likely to gain traction in the near future.Global Energy Storage Technologies Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the global energy storage technologies market is classified into Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World. Among these, North America is expected to emerge as the potential consumer region owing to its technological diversity. With the introduction of high-end storage projects, Europe and Asia Pacific are also expected to follow the trail.Companies Mentioned in the ReportThe key companies in the market are SEEO Inc., S&C Electric Company, Hawaiian Electric Company Inc., Eos Energy Storage, Convergent Energy + Power, General Electric, AES Corporation, ABB Ltd., and Alstom.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Transparency Market ResearchUS Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Interventional Cardiology Devices Market is Looking Forward to Beat all Expectations and Reach US$11.16 bn by end of 2022 http://bit.ly/2hNgxsY http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/interventional-cardiology-devices.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ The primary driver of the demand for interventional cardiology devices is the increasing prevalence of coronary artery diseases. Organizations such as the WHO and CDC are consistently calling out the rampant growth in the number of patients suffering from heart problems and coronary artery complications. It has been predicted by the WHO that coronary artery disease will be responsible for almost 23.3 mn deaths by 2030. The causes of this growth in projected patients range from the increasing geriatric population to the obesity epidemic that has especially gripped the developed economies of the world. Both causes are at very high priority in terms of being causes for heart complications and relevant steps need to be taken to treat the increasing number of patients.Download Exclusive Sample of this Report at:From the technological perspective, a lot of focus has been given to the development of existing interventional cardiology devices and the innovation of new ones. For instance, the advancements in diagnostic tools and monitoring tools have drastically improved the success rate of coronary artery disease treatment. Another parallel aspect driving the demand for interventional cardiology devices is the increasing demand for minimally invasive surgeries. Such procedures can dramatically reduce pain of surgery and healing period for heart problem treatments. Therefore, the inculcation of minimally invasive interventional cardiology devices into the healthcare industry on larger scales will certainly promote their use.The global market for interventional cardiology devices is, however, currently subject to an intense level of competition. Market players are locked in a battle to increase sales volumes and are resorting to price cuts in order to achieve this. This practice is followed largely by regional players and globally prominent companies have to follow suit to hold the majority in global market values. This severely reduces the funds available for further research and development of interventional cardiology devices.The global market for interventional cardiology devices is expected to be valued at US$9.36 bn by the end of 2016 and US$11.16 bn by the end of 2022. It is projected at a CAGR of 2.9% from 2014 to 2022.North America is expected to continue leading the consumption of interventional cardiology devices. By the end of 2022, North America is expected to generate a revenue of US$4.04 bn through its demand for interventional cardiology devices. This dominant share in the market is attributed to an advanced healthcare infrastructure that largely provides premium medical devices and is more open to incorporating innovative devices. This allows interventional cardiology device manufacturers to maintain profits while achieving a higher rate of research and development, thereby creating a constant cycle of improvements. The North America market for interventional cardiology devices is, however, expected to saturate over the coming years owing to a slower growth in the demand for relevant surgical procedures.On the other hand, the growth of demand for interventional cardiology devices in Asia Pacific has just begun. This region houses a rapidly developing healthcare infrastructure. Coupled with the rising rate of medical tourism and the introduction of minimally invasive interventional cardiology devices, Asia Pacific is projected to show a CAGR of 4.8% from 2014 to 2022 in this market.Stents have consistently taken up the majority share in interventional cardiology device types. By the end of 2022, a projected US$6.89 bn will be generated through the sale of stents. Bare-metal, drug-eluting, and bio-absorbable stents are now commonly found. However, drug-eluting stents currently hold the greater demand, primarily due to their higher efficiency of treatment and the significantly reduced chances of the patient needing in-stent restenosis. The overall advantages of using drug-eluting stents are far greater than their predecessors, the bare-metal stents. At the same time, bio-absorbable stents have not caught on yet, although they are showing a steep increase in demand. This currently puts drug-eluting stents and their manufacturers at an advantage till 2022.Interpret the Current Market Trends of Interventional Cardiology Devices at:The top providers of interventional cardiology devices in the world include Boston Scientific, Abbott Vascular, Medtronic, St Jude Medical, and Volcano Corporation.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: What The Afterlife Is Like - Multi Award Winning Author Brian McLaughlin Chosen As One Of '50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading' For 2016 Author Brian McLaughlin http://www.brianmclaughlinbooks.com Brian McLaughlin, author of 'A Flight Without Wings' has been chosen as one of 50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading' in the 2016 Book Awards program. McLaughlin was chosen from a field of hundreds of authors through a public voting process. This is the second year in a row he has qualified for the award.Brian McLaughlin is one of very few people who have had the near death experience. The simple message he offers as the result of his NDE holds the key to peace, freedom from fear and the power to change the world and everyone and everything in it.Brian McLaughlin shows us clearly in his book how, through a single key concept, we can experience a life filled with peace in the midst of discord. We can find freedom from fear when faced with uncertainty. We can overcome any form of anxiety, even while facing down threats from within and without. Depression, despair and dismay can easily be transformed into peace, confidence, contentment and joy in one single stroke. What is this most powerful concept that will allow us achieve these states?The key is to accept that the afterlife really does exist - without question. This has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with truth. While the afterlife cannot be proven using a scientific method based in the physical, it can be proven through one's experience. McLaughlin is one of very few people who have had that experience. He speaks from that experience and his readers and audiences reap the benefits.Recently McLaughlin stated: Each Near Death Experience that people might return from, offer similarities. The differences appear to be mostly in the different presentations. Although I never set out to write something to be specifically different from most of the other accounts, it became unique by the way it spoke to the readers."In explaining my experience in my book, I tried to engage the readers by being honest and simple. I left room for each individual to gather support of their own belief systems without having to subscribe to anything outside their comfort zone . I have stated before that my concept of Heaven was not met in my experience, but it was never the less, profound in its own right."I was not disappointed in what I saw and felt, it just lacked the fanciful pre-conceived notion that I had of Heaven. I didnt make the comparison until I returned, when I thought back and realized that I hadnt seen any halos or wings or archangels. What I experienced was pure and simple.'A Flight Without Wings' offers readers a look at the near death experience from an unbiased point of view. It is the presentation of the material that sets this book apart from the other books about the near death experience. It is raw and it's real. There is no embellishment and no hidden agenda. While his book has a spiritual flavor certainly, there is no preaching and no religious messages. It is his near-death experience, just as it happened.McLaughlin's experience changed the course of his life forever. It instilled in him what we all seek - certainty about life after death. And with that a peace of mind that can never be shaken, nor can it be doubted. His near death experience brought a sense of clarity. It brought a sense of real, lasting peace. He now knows with certainty that we exist forever and it is that message he hopes to bring back in the interest of giving back. It is that simple message he offers to his audience through his book, at his speaking engagements and in his media appearances.Brian's upcoming media engagements include:Chapters Rap TV - Dr. Jeff Fox, Pure Dental. Dr. Fox traveled with Medical Wings International, a team of ten medical, dental and vision care professionals along with in-country American Airlines employee partnership, joined forces and committed their resources towards helping those less fortunate than themselves. They treated over 1200 patients in a non-stop, three day medical mission and provided services to the people of Ataco, El Salvador.Reviews of 'A Flight Without Wings' have been overwhelmingly positive. Dr. Penny Sartori, author of 'The Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences', said "This book will help others who have had an NDE to make sense of their experience and will also help those close to someone who has had an NDE because NDEs affect close family members and friends too."Jack Magnus, a reviewer with Readers Favorite, called the book a "well written and moving memoir that neither delves into the fanciful or dogmatic,... "Well worth reading, and is highly recommended." Another stated, "Being a mother who lost her only child I found it to be a great comfort to me." Another said, "I have read many accounts such as these, but this beautifully written account simply touched my heart in ways that previous ones have not."Mark Feuerstein, Actor (Royal Pains, USA Network) wrote: I have read it and I think its an inspiring tale of deep insight and so personal and yet so universal . . . such profound perspective.Brian McLaughlin is available for media interviews and can be reached using the information below or by email at bamplaya@msn.com. 'A Flight Without Wings' is available at Amazon, Payhip and other book retailers. More information is available on his website.Brian McLaughlin is the award-winning author of 'A Flight Without Wings'. In his inspirational book, Brian vividly depicts his journey into Heaven and his following return to life caused by a massive head trauma sustained while vacationing in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico twenty-one years ago.PO Box 1613Shallotte, NC 28459 CAS Datalogggers Exhibiting at AHR 2017 http://www.ahrexpo.com/ www.dataloggerinc.com www.dataloggerinc.com Worlds Largest HVAC Show, Jan 30th-Feb 1st in Las VegasThe Worlds Largest HVAC event is about to get underwaythe annual AHR expo in Las Vegas! This years show is held Jan 30th-Feb 1st. CAS DataLoggers Sales Mgr. Peter Martin is proud to attend along with Japans #1 datalogger manufacturerT&D! With prices starting at just $300, T&D products give businesses and organizations an affordable way to monitor and alarm a wide variety of values.At CAS DataLoggers we offer T&D products along with FREE technical supportcall us at (800) 956-4437 to learn more! Come see us at Booth #N9442 to see our cutting-edge HVAC solutions for performance validation, energy audits, and more! For more show info visit. If you have to miss the show, just visitwhere you can find the ideal T&D model for your own application.Save Time and CostGo Wireless!Are you working in an HVAC application such as temperature monitoring in offices, humidity recording in wine cellars, or logging CO2 levels in schools? T&D Wireless data loggers are popular with our customers due to their ability to automatically upload data to T&Ds free cloud storage service, saving time otherwise spent retrieving data! Their wireless capability sends readings to the cloud for later analysis, sharing, and presentation. T&D data loggers can monitor several common environmental parameters including Temperature, Humidity, and CO2. Other T&D data logger models can monitor additional measurement values such as current, voltage, event and more.Check Data or Alarms from Your Smartphone!With T&D Wireless LAN data loggers, theres no need to take manual recordings yourself. T&D dataloggers have automatic data retrieval capabilities which wirelessly send all data to remote PCs AND mobile devices in real-time. T&D TR-7wf data loggers are 2-channel thermo recorders featuring wireless communication and the ability to push data directly to T&Ds free cloud storage site. In Access Point mode, users can view recorded data directly from their smartphones and tablets without a network.FREE Cloud Webstorage ServiceThe FREE T&D WebStorage Service provided along with T&D dataloggers gives you instant online access to your recorded data for monitoring, saving, analyzing, printing, and more! This service also allows for remote viewing, sharing and usage of data by multiple parties, providing businesses with increased data transparency. User-friendly graph software is also included.The Data Logger ExpertsCAS Data Loggers is a US distributor of HVAC monitoring solutions, specializing in dataloggers. We have been in business for over 20 years and we want to help you select the most appropriate product for your application. We can also recommend sensor and transducers to go with the data logger, along with FREE on-call technical support on all of our products.For more info on T&D Wireless LAN Data Loggers, or to find the ideal solution for your application-specific needs, contact a CAS Data Logger Applications Specialist at (800) 956-4437.Computer Aided Solutions, LLC. dba CAS Data Loggers is a distributor of data loggers, paperless recorders and data acquisition equipment.CAS DataLoggers, Inc.8437 Mayfield Rd.Chesterland, Ohio 44026(440) 729-2570(800) 956-4437sales@dataloggerinc.com The funeral Mass will be 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church with the Rev. An Duy Phan as celebrant. Burial with military honors will be in St. Wenceslaus Cemetery with lunch following at the church hall. Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday with a vigil service at 7 p.m., all at the church. Industrial Adhesive Market Professional Survey about Supply, Consumption, Sales 2016 Analysis and Forecasts to 2022 Industrial Adhesive Market Drivers https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample-request/1927 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/industrial-adhesive-market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/packaged-water-treatment-system-market Market HighlightsOver the past few years, the global market has witnessed a remarkable growth due to increasing demand of fasteners like Adhesive. This has brought out a higher growth rate of the global Industrial Adhesive Market at the end of forecasted period. The applicant industries like automobile, Electronics and electrical, medicines have seen a phenomenal growth over a period. As per analysis, emerging economies like China, Brazil and India are increasing production with rise in use of Adhesive. APAC has seen as key market player in economy followed by North America, Europe and Row.Key Player Henkel AG & Co. KGaA H.B. Fuller The Dow Chemical Company Sika AG Cytec Industries Inc Hitachi Chemical Co Avery Dennison Bostik SA RPM international Inc Wacker Chemie AGGet a Sample Report @Scope of the studyBy Typeo Acrylico Polyvinyl acetateo Epoxyo Polyurethaneo Ethyl vinyl acetateBy Applicationo Automobileo Constructiono Electronics and electricalo Personal utilitieso Medical deviceTaste the market data and market information presented through more than 85 market data tables and figures spread over 135 numbers of pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content (TOC) & market synopsis on the Global Industrial Adhesive Market Research Report- Forecast to 2022Regional AnalysisAsia-Pacific is projected to be the largest market during the forecast periodGeographically, Asia-Pacific is expected to be the largest market for Industrial Adhesive accounting more than XX% of the total market. This share is contributed more towards growth of emerging economies, cheap labor cost in APAC and economical material used for production process.Intended Audience Manufacturers and distributors of Industrial Adhesive. Suppliers and traders of industrial adhesive. Government, associations and industrial bodies. Investors and Trade experts. Consulting in chemical experts.Browse Report @The global Industrial Adhesive market has seen a growth over a period and is expected to grow at same pace during forecasted period. Industrial Adhesive are particularly used in the automotive, medicines, constructions. The main reason behind stable growth of Industrial Adhesive market is its physical properties, easy replaceable in costlier market and ease in production process. With economic development, countries like China, Brazil are innovative technology which causes adhesive market to rise in future. Industrial Adhesive has low shelf life can cause problem in future if climate is not supporting industries worldwide. The global Industrial Adhesive market is expected to reach US$ XX Billion at the end of the forecasted period and is expected to grow at CAGR of more than XX % from 2016 to 2022.Related ReportGlobal Packaged Water Treatment System Market Information by Type (MBR, MBBR, SBR, extended aeration, Reverse Osmosis, and others), by Application (Industrial, Municipal, and others) and Region - Forecast to 2022About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com Micro-Irrigation Systems Market Projected to Grow at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2016 to 2022 Micro-Irrigation Systems Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1949 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/micro-irrigation-systems-market Market Research Future published a Half Cooked Research Report on the Micro-irrigation Systems Market. Global Micro-Irrigation Systems Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 5% Post 2022Market OverviewMicro-irrigation is an approach to irrigation which helps to reduce the water demand; it has been driven by commercial farmers in dry regions of United States of America and Israel in farming areas where water is scarce. Many parts of the world are now using micro-irrigation technology especially small scale farmers in developing countries are slowly adopting this technique. A number of organizations are looking at the way to reduce the cost of micro-irrigation and coming up with different innovative approaches such as drip irrigation and pipe irrigation.Market ForecastGlobal Micro-irrigation Systems Market is mainly driven by increasing concern over exhausting water resources and need of efficient use of water especially in regions where water is scarce. Many local governments are encouraging farmers to implement micro-irrigation systems as a standard practice to conserve water which is also driving market growth. Reduction in rainfall due to climate change and pressure to fulfil demand of quality products is supporting the growth of market.These factors will play a key role to grow Micro-irrigation Systems Market at CAGR of 5.2% during forecast period.Request a Sample Copy of Report @Market Players and Competitive Analysis:The major key players in Micro-irrigation Systems Market are Akplas (Turkey), Netafim Ltd Corporate (Israel), Jain irrigation systems (India), Irritec (Italy), Rivulis (Israel), Hunter Industries (U.S.), Antelco (Australia), Lindsay Corporation (U.S.), The Toro Company (U.S.) and Weishi Huifa Machinery Plant (China)In recent years many key players have introduced new micro-irrigation systems. Netafim has launched its next generation low flow drippers whereas Toro introduced Aqua traxx flow control pipe to increase efficiency to save more waters.Taste the market data and market information presented through more than 60 market data tables and figures spread in 110 numbers of pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content TOC & market synopsis on Global Micro-irrigation Systems Market Information from 2011 to 2022"Access Report Details @Downstream Market AnalysisDepend upon amount of water available and type of a crop and farming method, different types of micro-irrigation techniques are used. Drip irrigation system is considered as most efficient micro-irrigation technique. People from South Australia have recently developed the new micro-irrigation technique named Measured irrigation which basically operates on rain water and sunlight. Farmers from developing countries prefer to buy affordable and efficient micro-irrigation technique and it is mainly influenced by government initiatives in that particular region. Irrigation system based on real time sensor is becoming popular in developed countries.Regional AnalysisThe global Micro-irrigation Systems Market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW). Among this North America region has major market share followed by Europe and APAC. Mexico, U.S., India, Australia and France are major importers of micro-irrigation systems from last few years. Micro-irrigation is being newly implemented in developing countries especially from Asia and AfricaAbout Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com Plinko Board Shipped to Cuba Highlights International Opportunities The Industry's Leading Promotional Equipment Resource. www.PromoQuip.com www.PreceptPartners.com PromoQuip Plinko Board ordered to celebrate Jet Blues direct flights to Cuba; Michigan manufacturers multi-language website key to continued expansion in global marketplaceCedar Springs, MI; January 3, 2017 PromoQuip, a leading designer and manufacturer of custom promotional equipment recently shipped their first order to Cuba. The custom Plinko Board was ordered by Jet Blue, to celebrate being among a small group of air carriers authorized to provide direct flights from the US to the island nation. PromoQuip is based in western Michigan.David Sanderson, president of PromoQuip said, We worked with Jet Blue on this project after they were invited to be a sponsor of a community event to celebrate Jet Blues approval for direct flights into and out of Cuba. Were proud to play a small part in Jet Blues celebration.Jeffrey Antisdel of Precept Partners added, We developed PromoQuips multi-language website to better serve the global marketplace with real-time translation of the sites extensive content from English to Spanish, French, German and Portuguese. . Precept Partners has provided website design, development and e-marketing services for PromoQuip since 2010.The multi-language website project was partially underwritten by the SBA MI-STEP program to promote export-related activities. Antisdel continued, PromoQuips latest project with Jet Blue confirms growing international opportunities for exporting high-quality, innovative products made in the USA.PromoQuip clients include global brands like Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Shell Oil, Frontier, TD Bank, Arbys, Hanes, Castrol, the Florida Marlins, the New York Yankees, New Balance, Sprint, CitiBank and Jet Blue, as well as many small and mid-sized businesses across many industries.About PromoQuipSince 2002, PromoQuip has grown to become Americas premier resource for custom promotional equipment and supplies. Based in western Michigan, PromoQuip marketing professionals assist each client with designing a solution that fits their particular needs with high-quality promotional equipment including Plinko Game Boards, Cash-n-ator Money Blowing Booths, Prize Wheels, Inflatables, Trade Show Displays, the Vault Prize Safe, and other promotional equipment and supplies. Find complete details in five languages atAbout Precept PartnersEstablished in 2003, Precept Partners provides Internet strategies, website design, development and online marketing services to clients in e-commerce, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, technology, the arts, and not-for-profit sectors. Recognition for their work includes coverage in The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, NPR, and Inc magazine, with client awards that include the Inc 500, the Internet Retailer 500, the Hot 100 Best Retail Websites award, the Webby award and many others. More atDavid Sanderson255 Church Street CourtCedar Springs, MI 49319866-274-2442equip@promoquip.com With a cold week ahead, Portland events turn indoors this weekend, with promises of outdoor adventures to come. No Pants Max Ride UPDATE: Organizers have postponed the 2017 ride to Sunday, Jan. 15, because of icy conditions. Do you ever ride public transit and think, "This would be much better if no one was wearing pants"? If so, Portland has you covered with its contribution to the global No Pants Subway Ride phenomenon. And even while leaving your pants behind, you can still bring donations of pants, hats and gloves for downtown shelters. 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8; Skidmore Fountain, Southwest Ankeny Street and Southwest First Avenue; $2.50 to ride MAX; more information at the PDX No Pants MAX Ride Facebook page Portland Boat Show We're still a good six months out before prime boating weather hits, but it's never too early to ogle the year's fancy new crafts. Various times Wednesday, Jan. 11-Sunday, Jan. 15; Portland Expo Center, 2060 N. Marine Dr.; $10; otshows.com Build, Remodel & Landscape Show Here's a good New Year's resolution: fix up the house. Get all the inspiration you could need at this gathering of contractors itching to make your home sweet home even sweeter. Various times Friday, Jan. 6-Sunday, Jan. 7; Oregon Convention Center, 777 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.; $6; homeshowcenter.com Curious Gallery Catch a look at what things were like before museums, when private citizens gathered obscure objects and curiosities for display in wonder cabinets. You'll find taxidermied critters, unfamiliar stones, bits of strange material, and a whole lot more you would never expect. Not to mention workshops on hand-poked tattooing and bone cleaning basics. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 7-8; Crown Plaza Portland Downtown Convention Center, 1441 N.E. 2nd Ave. $15-$25; curiousgallerypdx.com Rose City Gun & Knife Show Maybe you want to stock up for a new year of hunting, or maybe you're just looking for a new piece for target practice. Either way, the first Rose City Gun & Knife Show of the year will have you covered. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7 and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8; Portland Expo Center, 2060 N. Marine Dr.; $10; wesknodelgunshows.com/portland -- Dillon Pilorget OBESITY.JPG Declining life expectancy could have its roots in obesity. (File photo, courtesy the Mayo Clinic) By The Washington Post Editorial Board "This doesn't happen." That's how Princeton researcher Anne Case reacted to Post reporter Lenny Bernstein, discussing one of the most concerning pieces of news this year: that U.S. life expectancy declined in 2015, for the first time since 1993. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, Americans died at a younger age, on average, because of increasing mortality from heart disease, strokes, drug overdoses, diabetes, accidents and other causes, pushing the death rate up 1.2 percent. As the incoming administration prepares to reshape the nation's health-care system and budget, it should keep in mind the public-health challenges that cannot be solved without government research money, government health campaigns and government support for low-income people. In fact, the challenges may be getting more severe, because baby boomers are aging, requiring more care, and because Americans of many age groups may be living less healthy lives. One reading of the government's numbers focuses on "diseases of despair" - suicide, alcoholism and other dangerous drug use - that some research suggests increasingly afflict white Middle America. But it would be too easy to conclude that pressing forward on President-elect Donald Trump's promises to revitalize white working-class communities would be a magic-bullet response. Too easy, first, because Trump so far has offered no plan to bring prosperity back to downscale communities and, second, because the government's numbers suggest a broad problem. Mortality among African-American men rose about as much as it did among white men. Relative to the population as a whole, deaths increased from a wide range of causes. Heart disease was the biggest killer. Some experts suggested that the long-term rise in obesity is taking its toll. Doctors' prescribing patterns are a major driver of deadly opioid addiction. Other major developed nations are not seeing comparable increases in mortality. Cancer, though still a major killer, claimed proportionally fewer lives than it did the year before. This could be in part because research is delivering new tools that allow doctors to tailor treatments to specific tumors and encourage people's immune systems to fight cancerous cells on their own. This is one fruit of federal investment in scientific research. People also are smoking less - a result of government anti-tobacco efforts, one of the most important public-health campaigns ever. You can't tell from a single year of data whether we are seeing a trend. Even if not, the public-health challenges are huge: Too many people are dying of preventable causes, and many more are dying of diseases for which research could eventually deliver cures. The next Congress and president appear set on significantly curbing government health programs. They should target real waste, not hobble the government's ability to improve Americans' health. (c) 2017, The Washington Post By Rich Lowry We've come a long way from Daniel Patrick Moynihan excoriating the U.N.'s 1975 "Zionism is racism" resolution in one of the finer exhibits of righteous indignation in the history of American speechifying. The Obama administration acceded to -- and, reportedly, assisted behind the scenes -- a less notorious but still noxious Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements. By the administration's lights, the action is clever -- it will be extremely difficult to reverse and will increase Israel's international isolation. But the bipartisan outrage over a resolution that, once again, demonstrates the U.N.'s hostility to our closest ally in the Middle East affords an opportunity to force an overdue crisis in the U.S.-U.N. relationship. We are the chief funder of a swollen, unaccountable U.N apparatus that has been a gross disappointment going on more than 70 years now. Proving that no country is perfect, we came up with the idea for the United Nations in the first place. Franklin Roosevelt thought that the Four Policeman of Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union and China (with France eventually added as well) would keep the peace in the post-World War II world. Spot the flaw in this plan. This vision immediately foundered on the reality of power politics. The first major event in the U.N.'s life after the Security Council began meeting in New York City was a threatened Soviet walk-out. The Soviets used their Security Council veto about 50 times in the U.N.'s first years of existence. It turned out that states with different interests and values weren't going to act as a band of righteous international enforcers. In fact, as demonstrated in Rwanda and the Balkans, when confronted by hideously predatory forces bent on mayhem and murder, U.N. peacekeepers would simply stand aside. In the decades after the U.N.'s founding, the influence of Third World dictatorships grew, and so did the institution's anti-Western and anti-Israel orientation, culminating in the Zionism resolution that U.S ambassador to the U.N. Moynihan so memorably inveighed against. That vote was finally reversed in 1991, but prejudice against Israel has become one of the U.N.'s core competencies -- as well as impenetrable bureaucracy. As early as 1947, a U.S. Senate committee flagged "serious problems of overlap, duplication of effort, weak coordination, proliferating mandates and programs, and overly generous compensation of staff within the infant, but rapidly growing, UN system." And those were the early, lean years. We pay more than anyone else to keep the U.N. in business, about 22 percent of the U.N.'s regular budget. As Brett Schaefer of The Heritage Foundation notes, "the U.S. is assessed more than 176 other U.N. member states combined." Because nothing involving the U.N. is clean or straightforward, it's hard to even know how much the U.S. pays in total into the U.N. system. But it's probably around $8 billion a year. We should withhold some significant portion of it, and demand an end to the U.N.'s institutional hostility to Israel and the implementation of reforms to increase the organization's accountability. There are individual U.N. agencies that do good work, and we can continue to support those. Realistically, though, the U.N. will always be a disappointment. The fact is that the closest thing to what FDR envisioned in the U.N. is NATO, a like-minded group of nations that has been a force for peace, order and freedom. This is why President-elect Donald Trump should embrace NATO and turn his critical eye to the U.N., where there is the genuine opportunity to, if nothing else, save the U.S. some money and rattle the cages of people taking advantage of our beneficence. Charles de Gaulle dismissively called the U.N. "the thing." The thing will always stumble on, but maybe Donald Trump can teach it a lesson or two about how we truly value our ally and its nemesis, Israel. Rich Lowry can be reached at comments.lowry@nationalreview.com (c) 2017, King Features Syndicate Last year, many Epcot fans were disappointed to see the Margarita stand close down to make way for the expansion of the Norway pavilion. Earlier today, the Walt Disney World Resort confirmed that a new offering will soon take its place. In early 2017, Guests will be able to visit Choza Tequila , an authentic outdoor tequileria, just outside the Mexico pavilion. The location will serve hand-crafted margaritas, tacos, empanadas, chips, fresh guacamole, and much more. Here is the official logo of the new location, which was officially unveiled on the Disney Parks Blog: My heart is breaking. I can no longer remain silent on an issue that is affecting thousands, while the world watches in silence. Since 2012, rebel forces have been trying to gain control of Aleppo, the largest city in Syria. These forces have been successful in controlling western Aleppo, but thanks to pro-government efforts, east Aleppo has been regained. The war between those loyal to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and those fighting to overpower him, has cost the city much more than just money. Aleppo has already lost thousands of its civilians during this war, and it only seems to be escalating. People from Aleppo have kept the world informed as they tweet or post about the circumstances until their last minutes alive. Other than that, the media seems to obscure just how devastating the reality of this is. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry described the matters as the worst catastrophe since World War II. So why arent we seeing more about this on the news? I have witnessed myself, comments made by others in regards to Aleppo, and it makes me think about where we stand as a nation in terms of morality and empathy. Many seem to think that circumstances such as the ones in Aleppo should not be on our news here at home, but I think otherwise. Why should we only care about what happens on our home turf and not in other parts of the world? This also prompts the question, why should we care? I am not here to push my beliefs on anyone who reads this, but my goal is to make people think about more than just themselves. I challenge readers to care and to do their part in becoming informed on issues, even if they might not be happening right here in Fremont, Nebraska. This means that this is more than just Aleppo, this is more about caring for the human race, caring for those who need us, and caring about the world as a whole. Realize that in situations like the ones in Aleppo, for many it is tough to just leave. Recent evacuations have saved lives, and the government recently was able to take control once again, but it has left the city in ruins, and many historical landmarks and things of importance can never be replaced. So if you pray, pray for those who need your prayers, even in distant lands, if you dont pray, keep these people in your thoughts, and remember to inform others about what you know. Being silent is not the answer. That gets nothing done, and in fact only makes matters worse. Use your voice to create positive change when you can, we all can. I challenge you all who read this, that for this new year 2017, you create opportunities for yourself and those around you, to help and to care for those who really need that help, and most importantly, to do so without expecting anything in return. The world needs you, so please do not let differences make you think that these issues should not matter to you, or those around you. They should. As she spoke to family and friends on Facebook live, Keiana Herndon looked to a future of going back to school. She also showed off her 1-year-old son, Rylee. Then, the 26-year-old Herndon began rubbing her eyes and face during the Dec. 28, 2016 broadcast. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A new year, and maybe even a new life: Starting with the 2017-18 school year, Michigan students will be required to learn CPR and the use of automated external defibrillators before graduating from high school. Students between grades seven and 12 will be required to learn the lifesaving methods as part of the health curriculum under new legislation signed by Lt. Gov. Brian Calley days before 2016 drew to a close. The American Heart Association says nearly 357,000 people suffer cardiac arrest outside of a hospital every year and only 8 percent survive. CPR can nearly triple survival rates for cardiac arrest by providing assistance until EMTs arrive, according to the association. Senate Bill 647, now Public Act 388 of 2016, states instruction would have to either be developed by the American Red Cross or American Heart Association or be based on nationally recognized, evidence-based guidelines for CPR. Students would need to be present for instruction, but are not required to obtain a certificate and may learn a simpler hands-only technique of CPR. The bill passed in the House by a 98-8 vote. The Senate voted unanimously in support. Locally, feelings are mixed. The nearly 1,500 students at Midland High School currently arent required to learn CPR. In May, as the measure cruised through Senate committees and a full vote, Superintendent Michael Sharrow said legislators intentions are not a bad idea, but that because costs could be large to implement CPR instruction, they need to provide resources for training and equipment. This would be another unfunded mandate passed on to local school boards, Sharrow said by email in May. This decision should be left to local school boards. In many local communities, the fire department or American Red Cross provide this type of training. At Coleman High School, CPR instruction has been part of the freshman health curriculum since 2013. Physical education and health teacher James Cronk in May told the Daily News hes a strong advocate of CPR, and that hes gotten feedback from 15 or so parents in the past three years about the training. The majority of students are happy to learn CPR, said Cronk, who in 2012 became a certified CPR instructor through the American Heart Association. The district funded instruction through a $3,361 grant authorized by the Midland County Youth Action Council, a project of the Midland Area Community Foundation. Weve spent the entirety of the grant, Cronk told the Daily News in May. Well need to continue to raise more funds. There are costs every year; mannequins break down and parts need to be replaced, Cronk said. You have to have materials. You have to have books, he said. The school recoups some costs through the $3 fee some students pay to get a CPR certification card. They all get taught CPR, its just not all of them end up wanting the card, Cronk said. State Rep. Gary Glenn, R-Midland, said in May that the proposal was a common sense proposal that would become a natural part of the school curriculum. Both Glenn and Rep. Kevin Cotter, R-Mount Pleasant, voted in favor of the bill. At least 30 other states have similar requirements for students. Netflix's 'Spectral' Is Perfect For the Streaming Giant's Movie Ouvre By Jodi Smith | Film | January 2, 2017 | Though Spectral was released on December 9th, it was not until January 1 of this new year that I decided to give it a watch. It had been popping up in my Facebook feed intermittently as something people were watching, but I assumed from the name that I knew exactly what was happening. I was wrong. I started out watching the flick on my laptop, until my husband started doing that thing where you lean in and start watching over someones shoulder. I quickly took the movie to the television and we spent an enjoyable 107 minutes watching the war/sci-fi/horror movie about Dr. Mark Clyne (James Badge Dale), a scientist who is summoned to Moldova to troubleshoot goggle technology he created for the war being fought. Soldiers are seeing disturbances through the goggles and then being killed via the disturbance flying through them, freezing their organs and killing them instantly. CIA officer Fran Madison (Emily Mortimer) thinks the disturbances are cloaking devices, which, how? The soldiers arent sure whats happening and Dr. Clyne decides to find out whats really going on. I may have assumed ghosts was the answer, but I never could have dreamed up the actual reveal of the entities and their origin. Well-played, if poorly executed. However, Spectral sticks to the lessons of previous movies where it is the military against an unknown, possibly alien or supernatural foe. You have groups of soldiers learning to listen to an outsider (Clyne) and coming together in order to destroy the things threatening their lives. Youve got montages of weapons being made and preparation taking place. There are some satisfying ideas in Spectral, but nothing ground-breaking. I think thats why it feels so at home as a Netflix release and not theatrical, where it would have been ignored. Instead of going for huge stars, awkward and unneeded backstories, and bloat, Spectral manages to pack in just what a viewer needs to enjoy the plot and journey placed before them. Nothing more, nothing less. In a sea of expensive garbage and remakes, that means a lot. Jodi Smith is a Senior Reporter, Film & Television at Pajiba. You can email her or follow her on Twitter. DELAVAN Officials with the Illinois National Guard will meet soon with Delavan city officials to discuss the future of the Illinois Army National Guard Armory in the Tazewell County community. The details havent been finalized yet, but officials with the Illinois National Guard have reached out to the mayor and the plan is to have a meeting in the first part of January, said Lt. Col. Brad Leighton, a spokesman for the Guard. In February, Guard officials announced they were considering closing the facility that dates back to 1938. The announcement came as part of the Armys 202 Redesign Plan intended to modernize facilities across the country. On Dec. 9, the 1144th Transportation Motor Transport Battalion cased its colors during a ceremony, marking the units deactivation. The functions of the unit will move to Florida. State Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, and Delavan Mayor Liz Skinner attended the ceremony. This is a frustrating event, as the Illinois National Guard far exceeds their recruitment targets, while states which don't meet their Guard recruitment receive additional missions, Butler said. I will continue to work with the Illinois National Guard as we attempt to convince Washington to add force structure in Illinois, not reduce it. Skinner said she remains optimistic the armory will remain open. We knew the 1144th was leaving and so this meeting is a follow-up to that, she said. We are hopeful that a new unit will come and the armory will stay open. I dont know if thats going to happen, but we have to stay hopeful. And if it does close, then the next question is to find out what we can do with it that will benefit Delavan. The Guard is considering closing the armory because it would take between $3 million and $5 million to modernize it for modern military use, Leighton said. The closure is tentatively scheduled for September 2017. We wont be giving up this fight until the very bitter end, Skinner said. We will continue to make phone calls and write letters to anyone who can help us keep this open. I guess the next step is to wait until the meeting in January, see what the verdict is, and just go from there. LINCOLN Central Illinois residents will be wearing those mittens they unwrapped for Christmas as much colder temperatures arrive Tuesday, bringing with them below-zero wind-chill factors that will linger for several days. A cold front Tuesday will keep temperatures in the teens, and wind gusts of 30 mph will be possible, according to the National Weather Service in Lincoln. A sunny sky and temperatures in the 20s on Wednesday will give way to lows around 10 degrees overnight. But that's not the worst part of the forecast, said meteorologist Heather Stanley. "It doesn't get better as the week goes on because throughout the night, it will be colder. It's not really good news," said Stanley. Thursday should be partly sunny with a daytime high of around 18 but overnight wind-chill factors of around zero will usher in the first round of frigid weather of 2017. Friday's forecast shows the mercury moving to the low 20s. The recent chilly weather that gripped the area was a practice session for the early January deep freeze, said Stanley. "The cold snap we had not that long ago was actually a warm-up," said Stanley. The mild, mid-40s temperatures on Monday were almost 10 degrees above normal for early January, according to weather service data. When the weather pattern escorts in temperatures near the zero mark this week, things will be colder than normal for this time of year. The weather service is keeping an eye on a weekend weather system that is not expected to cause any major problems. The bitter cold is not expected to be accompanied by any precipitation a small bit of good news for drivers. As usual, the year's end brings reflections and ruminations on what was and what is to be. This time around, however, it feels as though an era is coming to an end. That gentle frisson between past and future about which columnists customarily write feels vaguely apocalyptic as we enter a new year. The usual regrets too much ice cream, not enough exercise, too quick with a retort, not enough thank-you notes all feel quaintly irrelevant juxtaposed against a collection of very real fears about the future. During a year-and-a-half of bitter political infighting sister against sister, neighbor against neighbor we've lost a better part of ourselves and unleashed armies of vengeful strangers. To put a fine point on it, Donald Trump's election has released a malevolent spirit upon the land. He invoked the magic message essentially them vs. us and the demons disembarked from their dark hiding places. He raided the lost ark, lifted the lid and the whirlwind of humankind's worst impulses escaped. Hyperbolic, yes. But when the next leader of the free world casually comments that we need to build up our nuclear arsenal and seems to welcome a return of the Cold War alarm expressed in the strongest terms possible is required. When such alarm did find expression around the nation and the world, the president-elect huddled in his "fake news" bunker and claimed that his remarks were quoted incompletely. He took special aim at NBC News, tweeting that the network "purposely left out this part of my nuclear quote: 'until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.' Dishonest!" If NBC left out the balance of his tweet, shame on them, but the rest of what he said adds nothing to assuage the larger concern that he thinks we need more nukes. Or, since this apparently needs pointing out, that he believes having more nukes will have no effect whatsoever until the rest of the world comes to its senses. My guess is the rest of the world is thinking the exact same thing: This president-elect is not in his senses and he makes no sense. Trump's complete original quote, as usual offered via Twitter, was: "The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes." Really? By "greatly" expanding our already huge nuclear arsenal, other leaders will come to their senses regarding nukes? Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed earlier on the same day that he wishes to boost his country's nuclear strength, too. Just great. And, really, again. What's with making such war-mongering threats when you're not in the White House yet? Tweeting on matters of such import is unpresidential, not to mention unmanly. Also, it's insane! I could pause here and write verbatim the emails and social-media comments certain to follow these observations. They're as predictable as a 3 a.m. tweet from Trump Tower. This, too, is part of what's frightening as we leave 2016. People who voted for Trump refuse to critique his behavior through any lens but that of having won a contest. "We won, you lost get over it" is what now passes for a serious dialogue about matters of immense importance. The notion that people who still express concerns including a growing list of psychiatrists and psychologists who've signed a letter suggesting the man isn't well are just sore losers is nonsense. When the president-elect of the United States so cavalierly threatens to unravel the fragile threads that hold civilization together, there are no winners. He or she who is not worried is not paying attention. My personal stake, other than the fears herein described, is well and good. What's bad for the republic is good for columnists and cartoonists, though this time, I admit, the muse's generosity is less enjoyable. These are also not simple partisan fears. Many Republicans I know are "slightly terrified," as one Trump voter recently put it to me. That most, if not all, Democrats are, too, doesn't have to mean they're all excessively disappointed, though many surely are. Nor, as the incensed have written, does my non-support of Trump translate to support for Hillary Clinton. We call that a non sequitur. And when it comes to abusing logic, Trump wins hands down. Chicago Sun-Times When people run for public office, they always promise to make government more efficient and less expensive. Republican or Democrat, they say it every single time. Then, if they win, they hope you forget they ever said it. Who? Me? Making government more efficient and less expensive means stepping on toes. The abstract becomes specific. Jobs must be cut, budgets cut and fiefdoms wiped out. Most politicians, once elected, hate to step on toes. Nobody should be surprised, then, that a plan hatched last summer to push the consolidation of redundant local government units a particularly expensive problem in Illinois is going nowhere. And it will continue to go nowhere unless the more principled elected officials and the public demand otherwise. In July, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill that had bipartisan support that requires every county board in Illinois to submit a report listing redundant units of local of government that could be dissolved or consolidated. The reports don't require them to consolidate anything; it's just a way to get everyone focused on the possibilities. The deadline for the reports was Jan. 1. But as of two weeks ago, according to the bill's Senate sponsor, Tom Cullerton, the only county that had filed a report was his own, DuPage. Maybe everybody else has been so bogged down with all the government waste and inefficiency, they haven't had time to comply with the state law. The opportunities to save taxpayers money are real and substantial. Illinois has nearly 7,000 units of local government, far more than any other state. We have elected township assessors who don't assess, and local highway departments that have almost no highways. Myriad opportunities for consolidation and financial savings exist, without a reduction in service, among overlapping districts for mosquito-abatement, transit, schools, parks, libraries, waste-disposal, drainage, fire protection, townships, municipalities, airports, and sanitation. Voters like the idea. All it takes is a willingness to step on toes. The (Champaign) News-Gazette Sometimes little things can be big things. Gov. Bruce Rauner signed bipartisan legislation last month to make it easier for former prison inmates to make a smoother transition back into society. It requires the Secretary of State's Office to issue a standard identification card to those released from either adult or juvenile corrections facilities. To qualify, recipients must present a birth certificate, Social Security card or some other form of identification. Rauner appears committed to reducing the state's prison population by 25 percent before 2025. If that effort is going to be successful, while not posing a safety threat to the public, many of society's least successful people are going to have to make big changes in their lives. That, naturally, will require an ID card, whether it's to get a job or open a bank account. One could ask why something so easy to do wasn't done earlier. But at least it's done now. Kotkamills Appoints Kimmo Kohvakka as Director, Consumer Boards Jan. 2, 2017 Kotkamills has appointed Kimmo Kohvakka as Director, Consumer Boards Business Unit, effective Jan. 1, 2017. Formerly Kohvakka held the position of Director, Industrial Products. Kohvakka replaces Pirjo Etelainen, who decided to leave her position as Head of Consumer Boards and take sabbatical leave from the business. Etelainen will return to work in in the third quarter of 2017 when she will take up a new position in the company. In a related move, Ville Seppala has been appointed Director, Industrial Products business unit and member of Kotkamills Senior Management Team, effective Jan. 1, 2017. Kotkamills is a forest products company based in Finland. The company specializes in laminating paper, coated bulky paper, sawn products and consumer boards (in 2016). To learn more, please visit: www.kotkamills.com. SOURCE: Kotkamills Oy Lindsay Lohan, whose banner 2016 remains peerless, rocketed headfirst into the new year, posting this original poem which feels vaguely connected to the horrific ISIS-wrought terrorist attack in Istanbul, Turkey on New Year's Eve, as well as the ongoing horror in Syria. Lindsay, who became an overnight advocate of the Turkish government, spent time there this past November visiting with Syrian refugees at various hospitals, and appeared on Turkish television to sing the praises of the country's president, Recep Tayyip Erdog. As recently as this weekend, Lohan told CNN that Turkey's efforts in welcoming Syrian refugees are "phenomenal." She also noted how personal tragedy has helped her understand the plight of the Syrian people. Losing half of my finger and getting it back was one of the best things that's ever happened to me. If that didn't happen to me, if I didn't lose a part of myself essentially and I weirdly think about this when I meditate I wouldn't have stayed in Turkey. I wouldn't have stayed there, and I wouldn't have understood what it feels like to lose a limb. There you go! Header photo via Lindsay's Instagram Two toddlers have been in danger after they got involved in a reckless driving incident caused by a man who was suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol. The toddlers, 3 years old and 2 years old, were inside a car when it hit a curb off the Spring Street's right lane. Luckily, the two kids were saved and the driver was arrested. Police officers found two toddlers inside a car, which got involved in a reckless driving violation. They found a 3-year-old toddler in the back seat of the vehicle and a 2-year-old boy in the front seat after they stopped and checked a car that violated three traffic rules, including hitting the limit of Spring Street's right lane. Police arrested the 37-year-old driver, Freddy Manrique Santos, for driving under the influence of alcohol after they smelled a strong scent of alcohol on him. Troopers of Pennsylvania said they have seen the dark green Honda Accord in the area of Spring Street and Lincoln Way East at Chambersburg about 11:35 p.m. on Nov. 19. They noticed it has violated traffic rules so they decided to stop the car. When they made contact, Santos identified himself as the vehicle driver and they said they noticed the eyes of Santos were glassy and red. Santos admitted to the police that he had some beers earlier in the evening of the incident. To verify, the police asked Santos to do many standard field sobriety tests that the police said has shown the driver could be considered driving under the influence of alcohol. He also underwent a breath test, which displayed a positive result for alcohol. Public Opinion reported that on Dec. 29, Santos has received a summons for charges of driving under the influence by general impairment, putting the lives of children in danger and violating three traffic violations. He was scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 10, the report added. Fortunately, the two toddlers were not harmed and were both safe. According to a research posted in National Center for Biotechnology Information, three kids below the age of 15 in the United States were killed and 469 were injured in motor-vehicle crashes every day in 2010. For more related news, watch the video below. In 2016, bilingual education was particularly one of the teaching methods that was exceedingly focused upon. In California, which owns one of the most linguistically diverse populations in the United States, voters said "yes" on Proposition 58 that overturned the state's requirement of allowing English Language Learners (ELLs) to receive English-only instructions. According to a study from the Academy of Arts and Sciences, the lack of language education resulted in an extremely low percentage of people who could speak dual languages. In fact, only 20 percent of bilingual people were found despite the reports saying bilingualism has proven to improve a person's quality of life. The slope of a student's achievements can actually be raised through dual-language assessment. The complexities of the native language can be tackled using the learning of a second language. Nelson Mandela can rightly be quoted in this situation. Fordham University's Graduate School of Education associate professor Dr. Dianne Rodriguez told Fordham News that Mandela once said, "speaking in a language that someone understands gets the words into the person's head while speaking in the person's native language goes to the person's heart." Rodriguez further stressed the importance of bilingual education saying, "the demands of global trade and international connectivity make bilingualism an asset and a need." Bilingual education can also be useful in the interaction between different people. Exposure to another language can help people directly immerse into different cultures and heritages and can get to know more about the people around the world. Moreover, bilingual education can also promote the following aspects: metalinguistic awareness, cognition, social achievement and cross-cultural awareness and understanding. And all of this has now become a necessity for global trade and international connectivity, according to ASCD. Making a law in the favor of bilingual education can only create an opportunity but the right policy decisions can really help in seizing the moment and broadening educational excellence. Strong literacy skills have now become a need of the world's population. With that said, steps should be taken by authoritative people to improve the situation of the individuals and the country, using the phenomenal opportunity of bilingual education. How will such an experience help? According to The Education World, the answer can be found through the real life experience of a student. There has been a lot of talk about big changes in U.S. education in 2017, particularly with new leaders taking over for the Trump government. Speculations have given rise to uncertainty because President-elect Donald Trump's education stance differ from the previous administration of President Barack Obama. Local governments, on the other hand, are poised to also push new agenda to foster better education for American students. Experts believe that the following issues below will be hot topics for students, teachers, parents and the education community in 2017. School choice will be in forefront of debates and discussion among education leaders. As Trump has chosen Betsy DeVos to head the Education department beginning 2017, many believe that she will be pushing for this agenda being a staunch supporter of charter schools, voucher programs and private religious schools. The Washington Post highlights the Trump government's intention to spend $20 billion for charters and vouchers expansion. This could potentially leave public schools with little wiggle room to manage and operate, thus public school education's quality will continue to dwindle. The Common Core education standards could finally end with DeVos as Education secretary. New York Post cites that she spoke about it in a recent meet with Trump supporters. The pronouncement has left advocates hopeful that the choice in education standards will be given to local government. "When state and local leaders make their own decisions on school standards, they are much more likely to reach pragmatic decisions that will last," pro-Common Core Marc Porter Magee said. Transgender issues in school could accelerate in 2017 as more and more students will likely register are transgender students. Some schools have already set up policies and guidelines to protect the rights of transgender, but its scope could still evolve as society's understanding also evolve. Schools might shift from making suspension the default action in dealing with students who misbehave. In 2016, mindfulness reforms to replace punishments have seen a rise in schools and it could become one of the focus of discipline methods beginning this year. Outgoing First Lady Michelle Obama impacted students' lunch program during her husband's term, paving the way for schools to tackle America's growing childhood obesity problem. Education advocates say schools must remain committed to keeping this program intact under the Trump government, according to Fortune. It must uphold the program by opposing policy changes to school lunches, should there be one. Children do not learn just academics from school. The students are also taught discipline and guided to develop values that can help them become well-adjusted adults. Despite set standards, schools have different approaches in dealing with the children's behavior and disciplinary issues. A research site has looked into U.S. schools to determine the gravity of disciplinary problems among students and how these are handled, according to Start Class. Researchers used the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) from 2013 to 2014 for their study and learned that 19 states still employ corporal punishment in schools. This involves physically punishing erring students to correct their behavior or implement discipline. Corporal punishment remains a controversial topic of debate among parents, community, local government and school leaders. Outgoing Education secretary, John King Jr., has even called for its abolishment, according to Express-News. But with King stepping down come January, it's unclear if there will be new policies in place in dealing with this. Meanwhile, the research has identified the following states with the highest number of disciplinary problems in schools: New Mexico (10), Oklahoma (9), Mississippi (8), Connecticut (7), Montana (6), Indiana (5), Kansas (4), South Carolina (3), Missouri (2) and Illinois (1). This is based on the percentage of students that have been either been arrested, referred to law enforcement, expelled or suspended. It should be noted, however, that the Start Class research has some limitations as not all schools have fully disclosed their disciplinary report with the CRDC. New Law Will Regulate Illinois School Discipline Policies https://t.co/CGBz9bZPce 23 WIFR (@23WIFR) November 20, 2015 In 2015, the Illinois government established a school disciplinary reform called Senate Bill 100 that would take effect in the 2016-2017 school year. Its aim is to bring down the incidence of arrest, expulsion or suspension among students. It also aims to reduce harsh punishment, which has been proven to only increase the incidence of violence among the youth. The move was welcomed by different civic groups supporting students' welfare. "Illinois now provides more tools for schools to create environments where all students are valued and supported in their learning," Dalia Mena of the Voices of Youth in Chicago Education said, according to Huffington Post. Whether this will be a success for a state with the most disciplinary problems remains to be seen. The reform is supposed to cover all public schools and charter schools in Illinois. The Taking of Constantinople: 1204, by Palma Giovane (1544-1628) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] *** (1998) ***** With reluctance, sadness, and regret, Catholics must forthrightly address the issue of the sacking of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire (hence the center of Orthodoxy), in 1204 by the Latin Crusaders. Ideally, the numerous historical sins which members of both sides have committed given the mutual acknowledgement of wrongdoing should be left, for the sake of unity and good will, for the historians to mull over. Yet this incident was so tragic and has ever since been recalled with such pain and anger amongst Orthodox (and hence used as an argument against the Catholic Church) that it simply cannot be ignored even in the context of friendly ecumenical discussion. Bishop Kallistos Ware comments: Eastern Christendom has never forgotten those three appalling days of pillage . . . What shocked the Greeks more than anything was the wanton and systematic sacrilege of the Crusaders. How could men who had specially dedicated themselves to Gods service treat the things of God in such a way? As the Byzantines watched the Crusaders tear to pieces the altar and icon screen in the Church of the Holy Wisdom, and set prostitutes on the Patriarchs throne, they must have felt that those who did such things were not Christians in the same sense as themselves . . . Can we wonder if the Greeks after 1204 also looked on the Latins as profani? Christians in the west still do not realize how deep is the disgust and how lasting the horror with which Orthodox regard actions such as the sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders. (The Orthodox Church, New York: Penguin Books, revised 1980 edition, 69) One would be hard-pressed to find a Catholic historian (or any Catholic who learns the details) who would defend what took place in this abominable, reprehensible catastrophe. Warren Carroll, one of the best orthodox Catholic historians of our time, candidly admits in his major series of volumes, A History of Christendom: The sack that followed was one of the worst in all of history . . . No man, woman or child was safe from the ravagers. Robbery and rape were almost universal, mindless destruction widespread. Westerners . . . killed indiscriminately, without mercy or restraint . . . For this to have been done by crusaders men actually wearing the Cross of Christ was an ineffaceable disgrace . . . The Greeks never forgot the sack of Constantinople in 1204; its memory, more than anything else, has prevented the healing of the Greek schism from that day to this, despite several major efforts at reunion. (The Glory of Christendom, Front Royal, Virginia: Christendom Press, 1993, 157-158) So the first thing to be noted is that this horrific event is morally indefensible, and that Catholics know and accept this. Secondly, and most importantly, the pope at the time, Pope Innocent III, neither knew about nor sanctioned in the least this massacre and sacrilegious pillage. In fact, he had forbidden the Crusaders, on pain of excommunication, to attack Byzantium, instructing the leader, Boniface of Montferrat, that: The crusade must not attack Christians, but should proceed as quickly as possible to the Holy Land. He only found out the full horror of what had happened more than eight months later, and wrote to Cardinal Peter Capuano, denouncing the sack in no uncertain terms: These soldiers of Christ who should have turned their swords against the infidel have steeped them in Christian blood, sparing neither religion, nor age, nor sex . . . They stripped the altars of silver, violated the sanctuaries, robbed icons and crosses and relics . . . The Latins have given example only of perversity and works of darkness. No wonder the Greeks call them dogs! (cited in Carroll, ibid., p. 158; from Mann, Popes of the Middle Ages, vol. 12,266-267) Yet there had been several similar scandalous atrocities or unsavory, treacherous incidents which occurred before the sack, on the part of the Byzantines, which have not received their due attention. For the sake of fairness and historical objectivity (not polemics and controversy), we will review some of these. Warren Carroll notes: Horrible and utterly indefensible as the sack was, it should in justice be remembered that it was not totally unprovoked; more than once (as in the massacre of 1182) the Greeks of Constantinople had treated the Latins there as they were now being treated . . . Historians who wax eloquent and indignant with considerable reason about the sack of Constantinople . . . rarely if ever mention the massacre of the westerners in Constantinople in 1182 . . . a nightmarish massacre of thousands [about 2000 Greeks were killed in Constantinople in 1204, according to secular historian Will Durant: The Age of Faith, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1950, p. 605], . . . in which the slaughterers spared neither women nor children, neither old nor sick, neither priest nor monk. Cardinal John, the Popes representative, was beheaded and his head was dragged through the streets at the tail of a dog; children were cut out of their mothers wombs; bodies of dead Westerners were exhumed and abused; some 4,000 who escaped death were sold into slavery to the Turks. (Carroll, ibid., 157, 131) Bishop Ware also honorably writes about the Orthodox share of the blame in these massacres: Each . . . must look back at the past with sorrow and repentance. Both sides must in honesty acknowledge that they could and should have done more to prevent the schism. Both sides were guilty of mistakes on the human level. Orthodox, for example, must blame themselves for the pride and contempt with which during the Byzantine period they regarded the west; they must blame themselves for incidents such as the riot of 1182, when many Latin residents at Constantinople were massacred by the Byzantine populace. (Ware, ibid., 70) Catholic historian Warren Carroll recalls two other lamentable Byzantine incidents: In 1171, on the orders or at least with the tacit approval of the Byzantine government, thousands of Venetians in the Eastern empire had been killed, mutilated, or arrested and held for years in prison. (Carroll, ibid., 150) [In 1188] Frederick Barbarossa . . . requested permission of the Eastern Emperor, Isaac II Angelus, for passage of his army through Byzantine dominions on the way to the Holy Land, and for the right to purchase food for his troops within them. Isaac said he agreed . . . but in fact Isaac was resolved to oppose the passage of the crusaders, and made contact with Saladin [the Muslim commander] to concert plans to delay and destroy the German army. About this Byzantine treachery there is no doubt; even the many modern Western historians sympathetic to Byzantium and hostile to the Crusades have to admit it [e.g., Emperor Isaac, in 1187, had written Saladin to congratulate him for his great achievement of re-taking Jerusalem from the Latin crusaders] . . . [Fredericks envoys, imprisoned for a time] returned to Frederick . . . with infuriating (and accurate) reports of the Byzantine alliance with Saladin, plans to destroy the crusading army as it crossed the Dardanelles, and the violent anti-Western attitude of Patriarch Dositheus of Constantinople, who had offered unconditional absolution to any Greek killing a Westerner. Frederick passed on this information to his son Henry, . . . to ask the Popes approval for a crusade against the Eastern Empire because of its treachery and dealings with the enemy. No Papal approval was given and Frederick soon thought better of the idea . . . Though a war against Christians was indubitably a perversion of the crusading ideal, Emperor Isaacs acts against the crusaders had clearly been acts of war . . . Everything that the Fourth Crusade later did to Christendoms discredit, Frederick Barbarossa refused to do, though he was directly provoked as the leaders of the Fourth Crusade never were. The extent of Byzantine provocation of the Third Crusade is obvious from the sequence of events. It would be a long time before anyone in the West would trust them again. (Carroll, ibid., 130, 132-133) In conclusion, it is altogether to be expected that certain adherents (real or supposed) of both parties in any massive, long-running dispute such as that between Eastern and Western Christianity, will be guilty of serious sin. It has been established that the indefensible sacking of Constantinople was not without previous precipitating events on the part of the Byzantines, scarcely any less evil or immoral. Thus, the sin or corruption argument (as with Catholicism and Protestantism) cuts both ways (as is always the case). As such, it ought to be discarded, and ecumenical discussions profitably confined to matters of theology, liturgy, ecclesiology and moral theology. In any event, the sacking of Constantinople in no wise disproves Catholic theological or ecclesiological claims, especially in light of the fact that the pope at the time, Innocent III, forbade such military travesties against fellow Christians on pain of excommunication, and excoriated the perpetrators for their abominations. These renegade crusaders were simply not acting as Catholics, neither in the sense of Catholic moral teaching, nor in terms of any sanction of papal authority. To draw a modern analogy, if some nominally Orthodox Serbian soldiers had wantonly massacred or raped Bosnian Muslims (as indeed occurred), it would not be at all fair for Catholics to say that this reflects ill upon Orthodoxy per se. * * * * * The foregoing is not an attempt to tone down the events in 1204 (lest Orthodox think that). Quite the contrary. All I am doing is showing that the Orthodox did the same sort of things; in fact, one might say they were a major precipitating cause of 1204. This is not to say that the sad events of 1204 were excusable inway, shape or form . . . but there are causes for things as well. The sack of 1204 was abominable; unspeakably hideous and evil. Some Orthodox who object to the above presentation need to distinguish between minimizing and explaining the background of. They are different things. I would never contend that these events didnt have an enormously negative effect on the Eastern Christian consciousness. To do so would be sheer stupidity. Many Orthodox, on the other hand, seem to think their side has never or rarely committed any atrocities against western Christians, which is patently false. Catholic-bashing is very fashionable: secularists, Protestants, and Orthodox alike indulge in it with impunity. I think its time that the other side (ours) was heard for a change. There is abundant sin to point out anywhere one looks. I say it has nothing to do with the bottom-line issues of which party more truly represents and embodies the apostolic Church. This doesnt disprove the institution of the papacy, or overthrow biblical proofs for same, or resolve the filioque question, or the relationship of faith and reason, or the other bones of contention. I am basically arguing an immoral equivalency (all men being burdened by original sin), not that the Orthodox were worse. That is not the same as saying that the sack of Constantinople was better or worse than anything else. Even if it were the worse sin ever committed by a so-called Christian army in history (which wouldnt surprise me), that in my mind has nothing to do with the relative claims of Orthodoxy and Catholicism. Nor would it prove that Catholics are bad guys and Orthodox good guys. Such talk is kindergarten history and moral thinking. I argue the same way vis-a-vis the 16th century events and Protestants, or concerning the Allies in World War II, or the North in the Civil War. This is my standard approach. Many Orthodox, on the other hand, casually assume that the West was worse historically. That said, I should point out that I am not very fond of the Crusades in general. It was a noble idea in theory which went radically and tragically wrong in practice (with a few notable exceptions). It is true, however, that the history of the Crusades has been distorted and abused, like virtually all history involving the Catholic Church at all (look at, e.g., the Spanish Civil War, where more than 3,000 clergy were massacred by the so-called Republicans, or secular accounts of Columbus, or the Black Legend of Spain). I am happy to acknowledge Catholic sins. Our Church has made various statements. The recent one about the Holocaust comes to mind. Many Jews also forget all the Catholic and Protestant and Orthodox martyrs to the Nazis, and continue to slander Pope Pius XII, who saved (by Jewish estimates) 800,000 Jewish lives. Why are Orthodox too often reluctant to recognize similar Orthodox sins? To repeat: this material is offered as an attempt to balance the scales. This is one of those events which is habitually presented in a one-sided fashion: all against the Catholic Church, and not a word about Orthodox sins. But events do not happen in an historical vacuum. As with my materials on Protestant Intolerance and Persecution, I seek to show that there are often no good guys to be found when we are considering the tragic events of history. A view which holds that either the Orthodox or Protestants were and are significantly morally superior to Catholics (either personally or institutionally) is absurd and farcical, and I consider this self-evident. As Solzhenitsyn (the Orthodox albeit nominal that I admire most) said, the line between good and evil runs through each individuals heart. Why the perpetual one-sided presentations? I suspect because they are a convenient club to beat us over the head with. This is an old tactic: ignore what the Church and the facts of history say on any given scandal or atrocity, and also ignore the similar skeletons in ones own closet. My view again is simply to maintain that sin is universal, and that it proves nothing one way or the other as to who possesses true doctrine and theology. It is when sin is institutionally sanctioned that I personally draw the line and make my choice as to what body preserves apostolic and traditional Christian morality. It is noteworthy in this regard that the massacres of Venetians in 1171 were perpetrated, according to Carroll, on the orders or at least with the tacit approval of the Byzantine government. The treachery of 1188 against Frederick Barbarossa and the Crusaders, by Eastern Emperor Isaac II, was obviously (by definition) from a position of high authority also (as the Byzantine Emperor was by nature also a leader in the Orthodox Church). Frederick asked the pope for approval for a crusade against Isaac but was turned down by the pope and soon thought better of it. Likewise, Patriarch Dositheus of Constantinople offered unconditional absolution to any Greek killing a westerner. In other words, the Orthodox sins of this period against Latins were perhaps more serious, since they were authorized from the highest authority hence institutionalized, whereas the pope in no way, shape or form sanctioned the sack of 1204. It comes down to the same old tragic flaw of caesaro-papism precisely where the papacy differs from the Eastern outlook, since it transcends all human governments, rather than being co-opted and bought so to speak by them. But when all is said and done, I see no point in adding up bodies for both sides. The point is that there is enough sin to go around, and the whole thing should be dropped, in my opinion, for the sake of unity. Both sides have acknowledged wrongs and it is time to move ahead. We cant change the past. I refuse to view the horrible event of 1204 in isolation, because that is the truly biased and unbalanced (even bordering on infantile) method of reading history, and mitigates against learning from its lessons. It is a fundamentally liberal mindset which never looks back at history to learn (and speculate) why things happened the way they did why we are in the boat we are in now. The fact remains that 1204 was not sanctioned from the top, whereas Eastern massacres and treachery in 1171, 1182, and 1188 were.To me, that is the cogent point in all this trading of horror stories, because it illustrates the difference in the integrity and principle of authority between the two camps at the highest levels. I wonder why this incident is always brought up amongst Orthodox? What is the purpose of that? To prove the Catholic Church is evil? I think thats ludicrous. If it does not prove the evil nature of the Western Church, then of what use is it to constantly talk about this, when no one in their right mind (knowing the facts) defends it? I would never have written about either Orthodox or Protestant atrocities and unsavory incidents (as I prefer the proactive, positive approach) if my separated brethren had not bandied Catholic historical sins about with great disdain (and too often, glee). Once that is done, then I must balance the historical record, just as (to use an analogy from politics) Rush Limbaugh gives the antidote to pervasive leftist bias in the media. Its always an uphill battle for us Catholics, because we labor under this avalanche of misinformation and emotional hostility. The sad fact is, that the sack of 1204 is brought up far too often, and I dont think that is conducive to the desired goals of unity and ecumenism (especially once all the facts about it and its precipitating causes are understood). If we can hold a 795-year-old grudge, why not go further back? Lets hold a grudge against the Egyptians for enslaving Moses and the Hebrews back in 1400 BC or so. Lets begrudge Italy because the Romans sacked Jerusalem in 70 AD. Lets get mad at Greece (Macedonia?) for Alexander the Greats many conquests. If time has no bearing on sin, then why not do that? The Serbians remember their battle of 1389 like yesterday, we are told, so why not 1204, too? Even secular society does better at forgetting than that. Look at our friendly attitude towards the Germans and Japanese, for example a mere 50 years after they were both our mortal enemies in the greatest war of world history. Cant the Church do a little better than that? * * * * * My friend William Klimon, an expert on Orthodoxy (who became a Greek Catholic on May 20, 1998), adds some relevant thoughts: When Chad Gardner, owner of Palm Springs restaurant Pho 533, watched Juzo Itamis 1985 film Tampopo, he enjoyed not only the films approach to food, but also its comedic elements. In my mind its got a great sense of humor, he said of the culinary film, which begins when a truck driver arrives at a noodle shop. What ensues is a movie that critics hail for its deft ability to capture the funny things about human nature, such as table manners. Gardner ended up watching the film not for any old reason, but because his restaurant was asked to participate in the Palm Springs International Film Festivals Dinner and a Movie event. The event, which happens Jan. 9 and 11, gives audiences a movie before moving them to a restaurant to enjoy a multi-course meal loosely based on that movie. On Jan. 9, the pairing will be Tampopo, followed by dinner at Gardners restaurant. On Jan. 11, viewers will see Brett A. Schwartzs Insatiable: The Homaro Cantu Story about a chef who creates inventive dishes followed by dinner at eclectic lounge Eight4Nine. At Pho 533, guests will be served a four-course meal. They will start off with a flash-fried tempura in a tamari ginger sauce before moving onto a spring roll with Japanese-inspired elements and a Tokyo-style ramen. For dessert: A matcha green tea cheesecake. Gardner said the ramen which comes with a poached egg, roasted pork loin, roasted pork belly, green onion and kamaboko fish cake is the focus of the meal. Its inspiration came from a scene in the movie about how a person is supposed to eat the food. (The scene) shows an older gentleman showing a younger gentleman how to eat ramen and the proper way to pay homage to the ramen in the dish, Gardner said. Gardner said hes most looking forward to enhancing guests movie-going experience. Were going to go out and talk about a scene and say this is our culinary interpretation of this scene, he said. Were going to be as much a part of the experience as the movie was, which is kind of fun. At Eight4Nine, the menu will be completely based on molecular gastronomy a food science that looks at transforming the texture, color and taste of food through different chemical reactions. The meal will include charcuterie with honey caviar, a broccoli blossom bisque, scallops with dashi, sourdough encrusted sea bass and a berry desert. Cantu, the chef featured in Insatiable, is a molecular gastronomy genius. Were taking some of the techniques that chef used and using them here at Eight4Nine, said co-owner Willie Rhine. Rhine said that at a restaurant like Eight4Nine, which focuses on eclectic and unique menu items, the prospect of trying molecular gastronomy is something hes looking forward to. Im excited to bring people over to try a new technique at the restaurant, he said. Contact the writer: 951-368-9693, agroves@scng.com or @AlexDGroves on Twitter. The incoming Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government has assured there will be an absolute non-interference in the private sector. It says it would build the capacity of local contractors in an effort to cut back on foreign labour and also minimise governments engagement of foreign expatriates. This was revealed by the Deputy Volta Region communications director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Enoch Makafui Amegbletor, who was addressing a youth group and party faithful of both the NPP and National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Kpando Constituency. He reiterated promises of the President-elect to the Region with a few days to his inauguration as president of the Republic of Ghana. Mr Amegbletor re-echoed the partys promises including the promise of improving the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the revival of the National Identification Scheme which he says will create a reliable database for job creation for the country. According to him, Nana Akufo-Addo will work with a formidable team and thus assured the gathering of enough opportunities, whiles urging the youth to prepare strategically for opportunities. The Communications Director criticised the outgoing Mahama administration of spending less on education reiterating the incoming administration would place a premium on the sector by spending over 5.5 percent of the nation's GDP on education. He also indicated that the free Senior High School (SHS) policy currently being implemented by the NDC will be greatly improved as it is one of the priority areas of the Nana Akufo-Addo. North Dayi NPP constituency chairman, Kudzo Attah, told Joy News there is a lot to be achieved from the new government and called for the support from the people. Source: JFM Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Ghanas President, H. E John Dramani Mahama, seems to have his plans all set out when he eventually hands over power to the President elect, Nana Akufo-Addo on January 7, 2017-and from all indications his next adventure will be in farming. The charming President, who has been dubbed Commissioner in-chief on account of the hundreds of legacy projects he was able to complete and commission in his first term, dropped the hint of his next line of action in an interaction with our Editor in-Chief, Dele Momodu in Accra. Bashorun Momodu, who spent the New Year as guest of President Mahama, was taken on a tour of a farm that the President is setting up, and Momodu posted a few pictures of the private visit on his instagram and twitter pages with the #Mahamaretiresintofarming. President Mahama, it would be recalled, lost the December 7, 2016 Presidential Election to his NPP rival, Nana Akufo-Addo in a keenly contested election, a situation most Ghanaians have bemoaned considering the six years of infrastructural achievements the country experienced while he held sway.Responding to the development on Momodus Instagram page, followers have decried Mahamas retirement, saying that they expect to see him again in 2020 to come and continue the good works he is known for. In the six years that Mahama ruled Ghana, first as an emergency President following the death in 2010 of his principal, H.E President John Evans Atta-Mills, and winning the election in 2012 to begin his first tenure, Ghana, has experienced a great infrastructural turnaround in all facets of the countrys economy including a complete overhaul of the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, now famously called Ghanas Dubai, which is the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa. Source: ghanaweb.com/thebossnewspapers.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 Stanbic Bank posted a flyer on its Facebook page, bearing a photo of Miss Martha Amakye, indicating that she was wanted by the police. The bank stated that Miss Martha Amakye, a Personal Solutions Consultant had been running a fraudulent operation from their own premises, Tema Community 1 Branch. And in a typical employer runway from liability manner, Stanbic added that Martha Amakye is an outsourced staffmeaning, she was an agency staff and not a direct employee of the bank. Thats pretty stupid and unnecessary to state: as if it makes what she did right or will in any way mitigate the gargantuan loss suffered by the many who trusted the bank to effectively check the activities of its employees, especially when being run smoothly from their own premises. After speaking to a few people, Ive fairly gathered what happened as the this: Apparently, Miss Martha Amakye who was recently awarded as Stanbic Banks star banker of the month and with her photo gigantically plastered at their Tema Community 1 has for many months been running a scheme from the comfort of the bankan enterprise the bank now claims to have had no idea about. Miss Martha Amakye is said to have successfully signed up several customers to some sort of high-interest investment packagewhere she promised them that the low-key investment package being run by Stanic rewards customers with as much as over 14 percent monthly interest on their deposits. From what I am told, many that trooped to be signed-up met her at the bank and in broad day light, she signed them upgiving them dozens of what seemed like Stanic banks official documents to sign. According to a young woman who wants to remain anonymous, Martha actually opened bank accounts for individuals who signed up for her special investment package and deposits were made normally at the counter into these accounts. Interestingly, it emerged during my conversation with the above person that, some people actually got a bit of the said interest paidand they even received alerts of interest payments via text messages, such as banks normally do in Ghana. Therefore, from a normal unsuspecting customers perspective, the scheme was genuineconsidering the obvious fact that the signing up for many took place at a recognised Stanbic Bank branch. And also what was more re-assuring was the fact that you could easily see Marthas poster/picture of having been awarded the best/star employee of the month the moment you enter the banking hall. Who will reasonably doubt such a person selling an investment package to you in a bank? The question I kept asking during a related conversation is: what is Stanbic Bank going to do about all the monies Martha Amakye, their own worker even if she was outsourced from an agency has brilliantly swindled customers out of? I wouldnt be far from the truth if I say, its going to be a touch battle for those who have lost their monies, in light of Stanbic Banks posture, on the back of the fact that they saw it necessary to mention that this beautiful thief was not really their direct employeesomewhat thinking it makes them less culpable. Reasonably, it doesnt matter if Martha Amakye was directly employed by Stanbic Bank or was an outsourced staff. The ordinary customer does not care about such technicalities, mainly instituted to escape certain legal liabilities and f*ck-ups like this. To the victims of this scam, Martha represented Stanbic Bank, used the banks premises and stationaries to run what seems like a mini-Ponzi scheme in an open mannerin a way any reasonable supervision from the bank would have exposed it. Thus, whether she was an in-house or agency staff is completely irrelevantand that shouldnt even have been mentioned at all. Source: ghanacelebrities.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video More persons continue to pledge huge sums of money for informants whose efforts will lead to the whereabouts of the missing Kumasi-based journalist with Ashh Fm Daasebre Adjei Dwamena. Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Bernard Antwi Bosiako a fortnight ago, gave GH10,000 to management of the station to in turn hand over to anyone who will provide the police with information leading to either the arrest of persons holding the journalist hostage or his whereabouts. A group calling itself Society of Adventists in Media (SAM) of which the missing journalist is a member, has also made various contributions in monetary terms to that effect bringing the current figure to about GH32,000. The group led by one Adu Gyamfi Yeboah, President of the Society, visited the home of the disappeared journalist to console her 72-year old mum who is said to be grief-stricken since Daasebre traveled to Bekwai and never returned three weeks ago. Dasebre Adjei Dwamena it would be recalled, disappeared since December 7, 2016 after it emerged that he traveled to at Akyeremade,his hometown. It is not immediately known if the journalist has been abducted or was involved in accident but sources at the station claim on the day of the election, he went to the area to exercise his franchise and was scheduled to report for his station in and around Kokofu in the Bekwai Constituency on the election day but nothing has since been heard of him. Neither his employers nor family and friends have had knowledge of his whereabouts and all attempts to reach him on his cell phone till date has been successful as the phone is reported to have been switched off. The last time he was seen on WhatsApp was December 7 at 6.13am with the Status post: I am proud of myself and am very grateful to God for making me who I am. Management of Ashh fm has officially reported the matter to the police and the Ashanti Regional Police Command has commenced investigations into the matter The Ashanti Regional branch of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) is yet to be officially informed of the disappearance. Source: ultimatefmonline.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 Presidentelect, Nana Akufo Addo is under pressure to revoke the purported appointment of Samuel Abu Jinapor as Deputy Chief of Staff. Reports emanating from credible sources close to the President-elect indicate that a former Minister under the Kufuor government, Frema Osei Opare will be appointed Chief of Staff with Abu Jinapor being one of her deputies. However, some NPP youth activists believe Mr Jinapor is not qualified for the job because they claim he did not show enough commitment to the party after the 2012 elections, warning that the position is too sensitive for someone who has commitment issues. They further pointed out, Abu Jinapor who is the junior of John Jinapor, Deputy Minister for Energy, had 'been sitting on the fence' for a very long time and only became visible few months to the December election . These vociferous activists are using social media to state their case and warned that Nana Akufo Addo would be sending wrongs signals with regards to party loyalty and commitment if Jinapor is indeed appointed Deputy Chief Staff. The same social media that sparked Nana Akufo Addo's Kalypo craze is sending a strong signal to him with regards to the supposed appointment of Abu Jinapor as Deputy Chief of Staff Well those who have eyes let them see..Underestimate the power of Social Media at your own peril, Nana Sarpong, a staunch NPP sympathizer posted on his wall, In the absence of Frema Opare, Prof Frimpong Boateng, Hajia Halima, Dr Akoto Ken Ofori Atta, Alan Kyeremanteng and others will be reporting to Abu Jinapor....or???...Asem b3ba daabi oo....ayoo!! he added in a subsequent post. Samuel Abu Jinapor disappeared from the political landscape after we lost the elections. His excuse was that he was schooling. After School, his excuse was that he was concentrating on law practice. There are hard working young NPP lawyers who closed their chambers to campaign for Nana. It's such ppl who shd be given such sensitive appointments not those who go n come as and when they wish. It sets bad precedent and demoralises the hard working young ppl in the party,Kofi Ofosu, another strong NPP activist fired . Their concerns appear to resonate with many party activists on social media . However , Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, a close confidante of the president elect is urging caution ,adding that it is unfair to form opinions based on rumours and speculations. This is the longest transition period ever in Ghana's democratic history. It has prolonged the lobbying and speculations. What is dangerous, however, is to form a strong, emotive opinion on a particular speculation. The speculated matter may soon evaporate but your caustic words may stay to tag you. Let's be cool, he posted on facebook page Monday night after the debate reached a crescendo. The office of the president-elect has so far not commented on the matter , which has sparked some form of civil war amongst the partys youth on social media . Source: atinkaonline.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 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. The incoming government cannot blame the Mahama administration when the power crises known as Dumsor returns this year. This is according to a former Chief Executive of the Volta River Authority VRA Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby. Already, the African Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) has warned that Ghana may face power crisis due to a potential disruption in gas supply, a prediction the outgoing government has dismissed. But speaking to Joy News, the former VRA boss insists Ghanaians will not entertain any excuse if dumsor persists under the Akufo-Addo led administration. "There is so much expectation. When the baton has been passed over you can no longer say Mahama has caused dumsor. It becomes your responsibility. "You need to sustain the power supply. All the issues that we raised now become your issue. "I think one of the problems of the transition process is that too much time is being spent on trying to find the status report from the outgoing administration."They will put their best foot forward but Reagan used to say, trust but verify. Do your own independent investigation," he advised. Ghana has suffered an acute power paralysis for the past four years which have crippled businesses, led to many fire outbreaks and deaths. The country at some point endured a 24-hour-off-12-hours-on load shedding management which was nuisance to many. Even though the situation improved dramatically in the election year, 2016, the situation has not been entirely resolved with some areas facing intermittent long hours of outages even in 2017. But the suspended NPP member believes his party will have no excuse if it fails to resolve the matter. Dr. Wereko Brobby also wants the incoming government to review the energy sector levies and taxes imposed in December 2015 insisting it has brought untold hardship on Ghanaians. "We must separate the recovery of the cost of production from loading a whole lot of taxes on top of the recovery cost. There are a whole lot of levies put on the cost of recovery that you need to ensure that there is a sustained power industry going on. Those levies and taxes need to be looked at again," he said. He added that power must not be used as a vehicle for raising revenue for government. Source: Joy News 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 Cards on the table here, just about all of us have hit the sauce a little too hard and woken up somewhere unfamiliar without much recollection of how we got there. A few of us have even been confronted first thing by complete strangers looking at us with quizzical expressions. Its just that, in the majority of cases, theres always a mostly logical explanation for how we ended up there. Or a light and whimsical story that well relate to our mates later on in the day once our dignity regenerates. What Im getting at here is that no matter how cooked weve gotten, not a lot of us have had to commit several crimes in succession in order to find somewhere to snooze. Yet here we are in the blessed early throes of 2017, and Victoria Police are on the hunt for a random bloke who apparently broke into a house, made a bed for himself, fell piss-ass asleep, only to be disturbed in the morning by the owners of said house, both of whom were understandably quite miffed about the whole situation. On the list of things you should do if by some ridiculous miracle you find yourself in this position, threaten the home owners with a knife should not be in your top 5. Owners of a home in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Donvale discovered a home intruder sound asleep in a bed when they arrived home at around 11am on December 29th. The young man, who investigators believe to be in his early 20s, had allegedly dragged a bed out of a bedroom and into the living room of the house, where he was found asleep. After waking him, the man threatened the residents with a knife, who then turned a camera on him and filmed the incident. The man then fled the house on foot after police were called. No one was physically hurt in the incident, and nothing was stolen from the house. Victoria Police have released the footage captured by the residents to media, in a bid to identify the unknown intruder. In some bizarre news, police have released footage showing an intruder accused of falling asleep inside a home hed broken into! #9Today pic.twitter.com/Aep8nQtAqj The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) January 2, 2017 Police are urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers. We strongly suspect this bloke might have some hot intel: Source: Victoria Police. Photo: Victoria Police. A young couple tragically killed in the attack on a Turkish nightclub on New Years Eve posted a photo together just hours before they were killed by an armed gunman. Rita Chami and Elias Wardini, both 26 and students at the American University of Science and Technology in Lebanon, were celebrating the new year at Istanbuls Reina nightclub when it was stormed by the attacker at 1:30am. #newyear2017#??#?????? A photo posted by Elias Wardini (@eliaswardini) on Dec 31, 2016 at 7:42am PST The photo, posted to Wardinis Instagram, has been flooded with outpourings of grief for the couple. Chami and Wardini were among the 39 people killed and further four injured when the as-yet unknown attacker opened fire in a club estimated to contain around 700 people before fleeing the scene. Turkish authorities have claimed that they are close to catching the perpetrator, releasing footage of the prime suspect taking a video selfie: #BREAKING ?stanbul gunmans selfie video is released by Turkish media. He is seen in Taksim Square pic.twitter.com/t2yeYGwbnM Rag?p Soylu (@ragipsoylu) January 2, 2017 ISIS have claimed responsibility for the attack, describing it as revenge for Turkeys military intervention in Syria. Source: News.com.au. Photo: Instagram / @EliasWardini. Very-recently-former One Nation senator Rod Culleton has been injured outside a Perth court today, in what is variously being described as an incident, a fracas, an altercation and a charged kerfuffle (okay I made that last one up). A spokesperson from Senator Culletons office said he was injured after leaving Perth Magistrates Court just before 11am Perth time, after an attempt was made to serve him papers that resulted in him falling over and potentially breaking his wrist: He was at court filing a VRO. It had ended and he was leaving court as all this unfolded. As he left, some people were trying to serve him papers of some sort. And then as that was all unfolding, there has been a bit of an ambush and the senator has fallen to the ground and injured himself. The witness statements are being taken right now. I do know he is being x-rayed on his wrist to see if its broken or not. WA Police confirmed they were looking into an incident involving two men outside Perth Magistrates Court at 10:45am and are reportedly reviewing CCTV footage. According to witness Frank Bertola, the man who started the altercation was One Nation member Anthony Fels, who was attempting to serve bankruptcy papers while one of Culletons supporters, Craig Hutton, tried to intervene: Craig Hutton pushed in between again and Craig and Rodney fell to the pavement. And with that Anthony was in a position to drop the documents on Rodney and say You are served. Oddly, Culleton was in court that day seeking to get a restraining order against Frank Bertola, who had previously been ejected from one of Culletons bankruptcy hearings. Culleton has had an extremely weird 2016, undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, having the legitimacy of his seat disputed thanks to a conviction from around the time of his election, and experiencing a very public feud with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson that both saw him resign from the party and also gave us this beautiful This is fine. moment: Chin up mate, 2017 cant be any worse. Source: SMH. Photo: Channel 9. The recent epidemic of suspected irukandji jellyfish stings around Fraser Island continues, with a snorkeller in hospital becoming the ninth alleged case in just over a week. The 19-year-old man was stung on the lip while swimming in Coongul Creek on the western side of the island about 11am on Tuesday. He was treated at the scene by paramedics before being flown to Bundaberg Hospital. The man reportedly didnt see the jellyfish in question, but reported severe nausea and vomiting both telltale signs of an irukandji sting. The extremely small size of the lethal box jellyfish means that it often isnt spotted before or after a sting. The irukandji jellyfish has been identified as responsible for one of the recent stings, and it is highly suspected that it is the culprit for the other eight. Paramedic Phillip Switzer told the AAP that theres no evidence either way. We have no evidence to say they are or are not Irukandji. There are certainly jellyfish floating but no ones actually caught one so we cant disprove that theyre not Irukandji or a jellyfish in the same family that produced the symptoms of an Irukandji jellyfish. Swimmers are being warned that the jellyfish which is normally found in far northern Queensland waters, is moving southward, and may be found on the Sunshine Coast within two decades. Swim safe, folks. Source: News.com.au. Photo: Getty Images. Two women accused of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol in separate incidents have also been charged with endangering children who were their passengers. Brittany Duncan New Holland police said Brittany Duncan, 25, was charged Jan. 2 with driving under the influence of marijuana after a Dec. 15 traffic stop in the 300 block of West Main Street. Three children were found in her vehicle, and she was also charged with three counts of reckless endangerment and driving with a suspended license, police said. And in Franklin County, state police in Chambersburg are charging Victoria Terria Lewis, 22, of Chambersburg, with DUI, endangering welfare of a child and reckless endangerment after a Dec. 17 one-vehicle crash on I-81 south in Greene Township. Police said her three-year-old child had a head injury and had not been properly secured in a child safety seat. One Man's Opinion: In a sea of spam, where are our true leaders? columns 29 international companies to bid for Iran oil, gas projects Iran discloses giants eligible for new oil plans DUBAI Petroleumworld.com 01 03 2017 Iran has named 29 companies from more than a dozen countries as being allowed to bid for oil and gas projects using the new, less restrictive Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC) model, the oil ministry news website SHANA reported on Monday. The list of pre-qualified firms included Shell, France's Total, Italy's Eni, Malaysia's Petronas and Russia's Gazprom and Lukoil , as well as companies from China, Austria, Japan and other countries. Iran hopes its new IPC, part of an effort to sweeten the terms it offers on oil development deals, will attract foreign investors and boost production after years of sanctions. The list did not include oil major BP. The Financial Times said BP had opted out of the bidding because of concerns over possible renewed U.S.-Iran tensions after President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. Trump has said he will scrap the deal between Iran and world powers that imposed curbs on Tehran's nuclear projects and lifted sanctions on the Iranian economy last January. State-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) signed the first oil output contract under the IPC model in October with an Iranian firm identified by the United States as part of a conglomerate controlled by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The IPC model has been delayed several times due to opposition from hardline rivals of President Hassan Rouhani. It ends a buy-back system dating back more than 20 years under which Iran did not allow foreign firms to book reserves or take equity stakes in Iranian companies. The new IPC has more flexible terms that take into account oil price fluctuations and investment risks, a senior Iranian oil official told Reuters in November. Oil majors have said they would only go back to Iran if it makes major changes to the buy-back contracts, which companies such as France's Total or Italy's Eni said made them no money or even incurred losses. For a full list of the companies: here Manny Martinez, 13, who lives in Vineland, vows to continue to "fight (for) and express my right" to peaceful, respectful dissent. Read more Among the 120 or so columns I wrote in 2016, the two that generated the most reactions, and the most heated, were both about South Jersey teenagers who refused to abandon their principles. So I'm pleased to provide this Happy New Year update: Transgender high school student Mason Catrambone, 14, and 13-year-old middle schooler Manny Martinez - who sits silently in class during the Pledge of Allegiance - are holding fast, hanging in, and doing well. Both also have changed schools. "I'm back on track after coming out and all the publicity," Mason says from his family's Monroe Township home. "Living life as I've always wanted to - that's what I'm trying to do." Manny, who lives in Vineland, vows to continue to "fight [for] and express my right" to peaceful, respectful dissent. "I'll be doing this for the rest of my school years," he says. When I first met and interviewed Mason in early September and Manny at the beginning of December, I came away impressed by their intelligence, sincerity, and clarity. Their youthful, idealistic convictions had led them to take deeply personal stands on contentious public issues, which abruptly turned the two otherwise ordinary South Jersey youngsters into public figures. Some online comments were supportive. But many were not. The notion that a teenager would come out as a female-to-male transgender person, and then want to attend a Catholic school, struck some people as preposterous or worse. And a young person of color protesting Donald Trump's election by sitting out the pledge - a protected choice we all enjoy - enraged some and seemed even to unhinge others. "People just didn't get it. They were too busy being critical of a 13-year-old who's got a mind," says Manny's mother, Loretta Evans. She and her son say that while students at Wallace Middle School backed him for sitting in silence as others throughout the school stood for the internally televised daily flag salute, a small number of employees, including a teacher or two, made their displeasure known. District and school administration officials publicly said Manny's rights would be respected, but Evans says the situation remained difficult. She has since pulled her son out of classes at Wallace and enrolled him elsewhere. So far, she says, so good. "This is a kid who's not out there doing bad things," adds Evans. "He's into politics, into the world of issues. He's into history, and he's finding his way." Mason came out to his parents as transgender last spring, a couple of months after he was accepted, as Madelyn, into Camden Catholic High School's Class of 2020. After revealing that his identity is in transition, he was told that an openly transgender student would not conform with the school's own identity - that of a Catholic institution. So Mason and his parents, Frank Catrambone and Annmarie Kita, opted for an online learning program. By December, Catrambone says, it was clear that cyber school was, quite literally, no place for Mason. "Loneliness, the lack of interaction with people, and missing his friends came into play," Catrambone says. After discussions with officials at Williamstown High School, where administrators and others "were just incredible," Frank says, Mason started classes Dec. 19. "At first I was borderline terrified," says Mason, who went through the township's elementary and middle schools as Madelyn. "But people are meeting me as Mason for the first time. Which is really cool, because Mason is who I really am." He's also been bonding with other trans kids who attend a monthly support meeting in Marlton, where some group members have read the column about him. As for some of the less-than-charitable online comments, "I totally expected reactions like that," Mason says. "Those people seem to think they're going to have some sort of impact on how I feel. But I'm in a whole new headspace. I feel comfortable." Likewise, Loretta Evans sees her son growing from his experience. "This could be the biggest lesson he will ever get," she says. "He's going to be so much better because of it. I know that whatever he is going to do, he's going to be successful." kriordan@phillynews.com @inqkriordan 267-815-0975 Police arrested a New Jersey man Monday who had been on the run for two weeks after allegedly killing his estranged wife. Jeremiah Monell, 32, of Cedarville, was wanted on murder and weapons charges in the death of Tara O'Shea-Watson, 35, at her home in Commercial Township, Cumberland County, New Jersey state police said. She was found dead Dec. 19. State police named Monell as a suspect the next day and announced his capture Monday evening. A resident spotted Monell in Folsom, Atlantic County, on Monday afternoon, police said. Troopers found him hiding in a wooded area off Route 322. He was transported to a hospital for evaluation, police said, and would later be taken to jail. According to the 911 call reporting O'Shea-Watson's death, her son found her dead and ran to his mother's friend's house for help the morning of Dec. 19. "Oh, my God, she's been murdered," a man who identified himself as the husband of O'Shea-Watson's best friend said in a recording of the 911 call made public. A state trooper told the Atlantic City Press that O'Shea-Watson died of "multiple puncture wounds." State police and the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office had offered rewards totaling $3,500 for information that led to Monell's arrest. A judge set his bail at $1 million as state police led a manhunt. The day after O'Shea-Watson's death, state police said they found Monell's pickup truck off Sawmill Road in Cedarville. O'Shea-Watson's funeral was Dec. 23. mccrystal@phillynews.com 610-313-8116 @Lmccrystal Geekologie has shut down. Thank you to everybody. Now go be happy. DES MOINES One big Medicaid question has been hanging in the air since Republicans took control of the Iowa Statehouse this past November what will oversight look like? In April the state handed over management of its $5 billion Medicaid program with more than 600,000 enrollees to three private insurers AmeriHealth Caritas Iowa, Amerigroup and UnitedHealthcare of the River Valley. Since then, providers have complained of late and inaccurate payments and the managed-care organizations have reported more than $100,000 in losses. The Senate Democrats regularly used their authority as the majority party last session to question Department of Human Services officials and leaders of the MCOs. They also worked with Republicans to create oversight, which provides funding for a managed-care ombudsman, requires external quality reports and offers expanded duties for the Medical Assistance Advisory Council. Legislators from both parties in the House and Senate also met twice outside the legislative session to review quarterly data put out by the DHS and speak with the heads of the MCOs. Sen. Amanda Ragan, D-Mason City, said during the final December meeting that intensive, ongoing oversight of privatized Medicaid is absolutely essential. Thats something both parties appear to agree on. Well continue oversight, but there is some tweaking that needs to be done, said Sen. Mark Costello, R-Imogene, vice chairman of the human resources committee and chairman of health and human services subcommittee. We want to solve problems and help improve peoples lives while also making sure we be efficient in how we use state funds, he said. Costello said some of the data the MCOs report could be made more useful and compared more easily. Its also important to ensure providers continue to be paid properly, he said. We want to make sure those who depend on Medicaid get the care they need and the folks who provide that care get paid for services, said Scott McIntyre, spokesman for the Iowa Hospital Association, which represents the states 118 hospitals. Its the job of oversight to ensure those two things happen and that the MCOs are held accountable. How (oversight) is going to play out in this new environment, how it will function and (Republicans) priorities is not clear yet, McIntyre said. We probably wont get clarity until were underway. The hospital group was an outspoken critic of the move to managed care when plans were first announced, going as far as to ask a district judge to delay implementation in late 2015. It now has strengthening Medicaid oversight as one of its legislative priorities, saying 2016 laid out a good first step but doesnt go far enough. More evaluative measures are needed to determine if the programs objectives are being met, the hospital association said. There are still things we need to pay attention to, said Sen. Liz Mathis, D-Robins. Well have to iron out the difficulties. Mathis, one of the transitions more vocal opponents in the Senate, said its important for there to be a smooth handoff between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate, so that Republicans have a clear understanding of the health care climate. This also gives us the opportunity to share information and to work together instead of being conflicted, she added. Kelly McGarry was the epitome of good. If I had to pick one person to be the face of happiness and positivity for the world, it would be this one atop a gigantic body with bright long hair; the easiest to pick out in a crowd so you always know where the biggest, happiest smile is. Anyone who had ever met this giant beam of sunshine knows how awesome and genuine he was. - Cam Zink Photo Credit: Sven Martin January 27th - January 29th 2017 In true McGazza spirit, this three-day celebration of Kelly McGarrys legacy welcomes riders of all ability levels to Queenstown, New Zealand for a unique mountain bike experience in honour of a fallen legend. January 27th - January 29th 2017.The weekend kicks off on Friday night with the McGazza Memorial Megatrain. The train will proceed down the Queenstown Bike Park trails and through downtown Queenstown to Atlas Beer Cafe on Steamer Wharf - a favourite of Kellys and locals alike for craft beers. Kellys 2013 Red Bull Rampage bike has been restored and will be hanging permanently above the bar.On Saturday, The Fernhill Loop Group Ride and Memorial unveiling will take place at the top of the trail where Kelly passed. There will be an unveiling of a huge macrocarpa timber table that has been lovingly built and placed there to honour Kelly and let riders Chill with McGazza. Riders are encouraged to share McGazza memories as they bear witness to the dedication of the memorial and location with the hashtag #mcgazzaforever.Saturday's celebrations continue with the Wynyard/Dream Track Jump Jam. This spectator-friendly jam is not to be missed. QMTBCs Wynyard Bike Parks Dream Track jumps were Kellys local stomping ground and have been featured in countless mountain bike photos and films over the past decade.Saturday night sees the official launch party of the Kelly McGarry Foundation upstairs at Lonestar Queenstown. The foundation will announce key projects for 2017, raffle prizes, and auction mountain bike parts and gear throughout the evening. All proceeds will benefit the foundation.On Sunday, the weekend wouldnt be complete without visiting the QMTBCs renowned Gorge Road dirt jumps. Riders and spectators alike are welcome to join in Sundays noon send-off session, featuring a casual jump jam, barbecue and D.J.Kellys good friend and business partner Tom Hey:Please join us for a weekend of riding and a celebration of the legend Kelly hosted by The Kelly McGarry Foundation,The Kelly McGarry Foundation would like to extend its thanks to the Queenstown Mountain Bike Club (QMTBC), Lonestar, Vertigo Bikes, Sensus, Goldman Lawyers, Heli Glenorchy, and YT Industries for their unwavering support.The Kelly McGarry Foundation:For more information and media pack, please visit www.McGarryFoundation.com The plan Axiom plans to build the core of its space station at the ISS before the international laboratory retires, which is currently scheduled for 2024 but could be delayed until 2028. When the ISS finally calls it quits, Axiom's station will detach and become a fully independent commercial complex. The company's first module, called the "Multi-Purpose Module," or simply, Module 1, would launch in late 2020. The current plan is to heave it into space all in one shot, providing Axiom can find the right rocket; at about 9 meters long and 5 meters wide, Module 1 will be a huge payload. (An alternative concept is launching the module in pieces and assembling it in space.) Module 1 has its own propulsion system, meaning it will fly to the ISS under its own power after being dropped off in orbit. Axiom is currently proposing NASA connect the module to the forward-most port of the ISS, where a new mating adapter was recently installed to accommodate commercial crew vehicles. That mating adapter could then be moved to Module 1 and still be used for U.S. crew vehicle access. Axiom and NASA have conducted a feasibility study on the concept, and are currently discussing all this under a Space Act Agreement; formal commitments have yet to be made. Officials at the agency's Johnson Space Center did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The extent to which Axiom's customer astronauts would interact with the rest of the ISS is still unclear, but Module 1 will be self-sustained from the get-go. It has its own life support systems, sleeping quarters, restroom, galley, and experimentation and storage areas. Axiom says the module can support up to seven astronautsthough there probably won't be a lot of elbow room until the company adds up to two more modules between 2020 and 2024. I recently spoke with Amir Blachman, the company's vice president of strategic development, and asked him who would build Module 1. "Structurally, we're going to be utilizing one of the companies that built most of ISS," he said, adding the module would have a rigid structure and be similar in appearance to existing ISS components. Axiom expects to formally announce which company will build Module 1 around May or June of this year. Initially, the company won't employ its own astronauts. The space station will serve as an off-world co-working habitat, with Axiom training crewmembers that want to use its facilities. The training will be conducted by SGT, the aforementioned contractor that currently trains NASA astronauts. In 2019, Axiom plans to send a customer's astronaut to the ISS for a short-duration stay before the first module arrives. Because of the time required to prepare for the mission, the astronaut will begin training this yearmeaning Axiom is set to begin generating revenue. The company hasn't formally booked a ride to orbit, but but Blachman said it would likely be on either a Soyuz or Dragon flight. Commercial market According to Axiom, a private space station can address a market of up to $37 billion between 2020 and 2030. The actual figure will be lower if the ISS remains operational beyond 2024, but Axiom still expects a substantial revenue stream as soon as Module 1 is in place. I told Blachman I was skeptical: If such a huge market exists, why hasn't anyone already stepped in to fulfill it? He said the company's top funding source would be sovereign countries wanting to send their own astronauts into space. "There are more than 20 countries that want to send astronauts into space," he said. Some of those already have human spaceflight programs, while others want to develop one for reasons that include national prestige and fostering STEM education and technology development. There is a currently a backlog of these would-be astronauts, Blachman said, due to limited ISS capacity and a shortage of launch vehicles. The ISS can only support about seven crew members at a time. There are always two NASA astronauts, and even after Russia's decision to reduce its crew complement to two, either ESA or JAXA has an astronaut on board at least half of the time. The other limiting factor is Soyuz seats. The stalwart Russian spacecraft can only hold three people, which keeps the station's staff count at six, until SpaceX and Boeing begin flying crew vehicles in 2018. But even then, NASA wants an extra astronaut of their own aboard in order to conduct agency-sponsored research. Axiom's station, then, offers a commercial alternative for sovereign astronauts. CEDAR RAPIDS Its all but certain the Iowa Legislature will have a minimum wage debate this year. Maybe two. Republicans, who will control state government when the Legislature convenes Jan. 9, dont like the hodge-podge of minimum wages being set by county boards in Linn, Polk, Wapello and Johnson counties. That means there will be attempts to pre-empt local government from setting their own minimum wage rates. Whats less clear is whether they also will raise the states 10-year-old $7.25-an-hour minimum wage. Attempts to raise the minimum wage occur almost every year, but the current debate is being driven by those county decisions. In September, the Linn County Board of Supervisors voted to establish an $8.25 per hour minimum wage with annual increases raising it to $10.25 on Jan. 1, 2019. That followed decisions in Polk County to go to $10.75 by 2019, and $10.10 in Johnson this year and in Wapello County by 2019. That patchwork system doesnt work, House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, said, echoing comments by her colleague House Majority Leader Chris Hagenow, R-Windsor Heights, and Gov. Terry Branstad. Certainly, I do know today that the vast majority of lawmakers are concerned with pre-emption. Thats the focus, but I dont know where it ends, Upmeyer said. The patchwork of minimum wages is a burden to business, especially those which operate in multiple counties, according to Mike Ralston, president of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry. Even in Johnson County, there are different minimum wages in effect because four cities returned to $7.25 and one approved a rate between the state rate and the county-approved minimum wage. He called the wage differentials an impediment to business development that also increases administrative costs for employers. Branstad, who signed a bill in 1989 that created Iowas minimum wage then at a $3.35 hourly rate, agrees the various rates creates confusion and a hardship on employers. Branstad has been coy about whether he would support an increase this year. Lawmakers must look at whats fair and realistic, the governor said, but added that $15 an hour is unrealistic. However, Democratic lawmakers and liberal interest groups argue that even $15-an-hour is not enough to support Iowa families. A report from the Iowa Policy Project showed that in many counties a single parent with two children would need a wage of at least $20 an hour to meet family expenses without government support. Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement spokeswoman Bridget Fagan-Reidburn and Progress Iowas Matt Sinovic said their groups will oppose pre-emption legislation that would lower workers wages. Thats because it is politically untenable for Republicans to simply pre-empt the local wage ordinances and force Linn County, Johnson County, Wapello County and Polk County back down to $7.25 an hour because they would be voting to reduce wages for thousands of Iowans, Senate Minority Leader Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, said. Republicans arent going to lower anyones wages, Upmeyer said. Were going to clarify what is the state minimum wage. (Employers) can pay whatever they like, she said. Besides, House Majority Leader Chris Hagenow, R-Windsor Heights, said, Its because those individual counties have deviated that we need to act. Some Republicans agree with Hogg that its time to raise the minimum wage, Hagenow said, but they havent landed on a number yet. In 2015, Sen. Rick Bertrand, R-Sioux City, a business owner, joined Democrats in voting for a minimum wage hike. In addition to raising the minimum wage, House Minority Leader Mark Smith, D-Marshalltown, would like to see the state follow Johnson Countys lead to tie future increases to the cost of living. Hoggs not entirely sure the hodgepodge Branstad complains of is a bad thing. I actually see benefit of local control because different parts of the state are in different places, he said. For some communities, raising the minimum wage is a way to attract workers. I can see a role for local control because it allows communities to compete for workers. Democrats generally support minimum wage increase, Hogg said, but that is only part of a more comprehensive approach we have to good jobs, good benefits and broad prosperity. The minimum wage is a straight-forward, easy issues to understand, but there are a lot of other things we need to be doing, he said. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print The Democratic National Committee has responded to the Republican move to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics. In a statement, Deputy Communications Director Eric Walker says, Here is the DNC's response to the House GOP's attempt to cripple an independent ethics entity pic.twitter.com/Tz67oZPjjz DNC Press (@dncpress) January 3, 2017 The move has drawn widespread criticism, including from Donald Trump though less from principle than from priorities. People For the American Ways Executive Vice President Marge Baker responded by stating, Republicans are swinging the doors wide open for corruption. By gutting the OCE, theyve taken away the only independent entity to investigate members of Congress for ethics violations, and theyve signaled to their members that they frankly dont care about corruption in their ranks. Money-in-politics watchdog Every Voice also released a statement, saying, House Republicans proposal to gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics will enable more corruption and less accountability, said David Donnelly, president and CEO of Every Voice. No American, save a few members of Congress and those who want to do business in backrooms, supports this. Speaker Paul Ryan said he opposed the measure, and he should show leadership by calling for the Office of Congressional Ethics to be reinstated. If this proposal does move forward, Donnelly continued, there must be a public roll call vote on this particular amendment so Americans know where their member of Congress stands. People deserve to know whether their member of Congress is fighting for them or fighting for more corruption. Everyone seems to get the importance of preventing corruption in Congress except the Republican Party. Even Donald Trump did not say the OCE was not an impediment to the GOPs favorite pastime. He simply criticized the timing of the move. Donald Trump has set the stage for what will be an extremely corrupt administration, and congressional Republicans were not slow to get into the act. As the DNC and others have warned, we can look to rampant corruption in Congress again, this time with a president to match. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print On Monday night, in what the American Enterprise Institutes Norman Ornstein called a shameful act, House Republicans voted 119-74 to gut House Office of Congressional Ethics. This was the Houses outside ethics watchdog, independent of the House, now placed under the oversight of the members it was supposed to watch. It doesnt take much imagination to see the problems with this. As Ornstein put it, House Republicans say goodbye to ethics! Despicable move. This is something even the inept and corrupt John Boehner never tried to do, despite a complaint filed in 2015 against 23 House Republicans for misusing taxpayer funds. This was the work of Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and not, as you might suspect, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who opposed the move, as did House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). In the spirit of corruption pervading Trumps New Order, the rank and file rebelled and in the spirit of swampy Trumpism, decided to put themselves above the law. There was no warning whatsoever this was coming. Goodlatte claimed in a statement, It also improves upon due process rights for individuals under investigation, as well as witnesses called to testify. The (ethics office) has a serious and important role in the House, and this amendment does nothing to impede their work. The House Office of Congressional Ethics can no longer review violations of criminal law by House members but must refer them to the House Ethics Committee, which routinely ignores ethics complaints, or to the appropriate GOP-controlled federal law enforcement agency. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was quick to say so much for draining the swamp: Tmrw @HouseGOP will destroy the office that provides independent ethics process. So much for draining the swamp. https://t.co/8k04mZt7t0 Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) January 3, 2017 In her statement, she said: Republicans claim they want to drain the swamp, but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions. Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress. Sen. Elizabeth Warrens reaction was scathing: And now the @HouseGOP is gutting its ethics office in the middle of the night hours before the new Congress is sworn in. Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 3, 2017 Former Bush and Obama ethics lawyer Norman Eisen of nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said, If the 115th Congress begins with rules amendments undermining (the ethics office), it is setting itself up to be dogged by scandals and ethics issues for years and is returning the House to dark days when ethics violations were rampant and far too often tolerated. There were, as one might expect, some rather strong reactions from the usual social media sources, with Newsweeks Kurt Eichenwald, tweeting, Trump supporters: Serious question, serious answer plz. How u feel bout House GOP trying 2 gut ethics oversight? I see it as swamp continues Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) January 3, 2017 Filmmaker and producer Rob Reiner expressed himself in even stronger terms: No press access,no ethics committee. Most powerful country on earth being governed by tweets of a mentally unstable liar. Goodbye Democracy Rob Reiner (@robreiner) January 3, 2017 As AMJoy host Joy Reid says, Any Republican who goes on television this week should be asked, repeatedly until they answer, about the gutting of the ethics office. Goodlatte pretends this is an improvement to existing ethics rules but it does nothing of the sort. Rather, it puts House members in charge of monitoring their own ethics, a proven recipe for disaster. The full House will vote today. As Tom Fitton, President of Judicial Watch, tweeted in response, Poor way to begin draining the swamp, @SpeakerRyan. Honestly, it would have been more of a surprise that with all impediments of democracy removed, Republicans would have done any differently. You can at least take comfort in the fact that House Republicans sank to the occasion. Its what they do. Matthew Gertz, Research Director at Media Matters for America, quipped, They warned us that if a majority of Americans voted for Hillary Clinton wed get historic corruption in Washington. They were right. Just not for the reasons they said. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Continuing her impersonation of fantasy fictions Mouth of Sauron, Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway claimed on Tuesdays Today show that the ethics body House Republicans just gutted, the Office of Congressional Ethics, was guilty of being overzealous in investigating consumer complaints. Matt Lauer asked, given Trumps campaign promise of draining the swamp, doesnt the Republican gutting of the OCE do the opposite? Conway answered, It does not, Matt, and complained, Theres been an overzealousness in some of the processes over the years. Watch courtesy of Today: Do you remember when Newt Gingrich said the way to resolve Donald Trumps ethical obstacles was to change the rules so he would no longer be violating the law? Thats Conways solution too: Theres a new office, and this new office will really cut down on the overzealousness. There have been 100 complaints. Well, if the shoe fits So rather than just stop being corrupt, the way to fix the Houses corruption problem is to stop complaining about it so much. Actually, as The Washington Posts Sarah Binder tells us in response, Contrary to claims Tuesday morning by Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, there is little evidence of overzealousness of investigations under the current regime. Binder goes on to point out the real reason Republicans have chosen this moment to gut the OCE: This time, lawmakers led by legislators targeted by the OCE have finally gutted the office. It is a lot easier to be corrupt if nobody is watching you. This is something Donald Trump understands very well. This has become an all-too-typical Republican response to rules telling them theyre not allowed to turn their terms into get-rich-quick schemes at the publics expense. According to Conway, The full Congress will have an opportunity to speak out on this and vote (Tuesday), so a bunch of Republicans voting to enable Republican corruption means everything will be okay. Feel better? Of course, you do. As for what Donald Trump has to say, she assures us, He is not at the moment, (but) Im sure that when he feels the urge to weigh in on something he certainly does. As if anyone will be surprised by the ever-corrupt Trumps support for freedom from ethics oversight. As for Conway, if you parse her words, what you get it that Congress ethics watchdog unfairly targeted corrupt Republicans for having no ethics. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print *The following is an opinion column by R Muse* As one who makes use of printed words on a daily basis, it is imperative to have at least a rudimentary comprehension of what those words actually mean; it is why dictionaries exist. One word that everyone, including small children as young a four, completely understands the meaning of perfectly is lie, falsehood, or fib. There is really no way to categorize a lie by either its size or frequency of use because it is likely one of the few things in a human beings existence that are, frankly, only black or white; kind of like dead or alive. In fact, there is really no justification for a lie and even Mormons dont demure about lying for the lord; they never call it miscommunicating, misconstruing, or misstating for the lord. A lie is simply a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; nothing more, nothing less. Apparently, the editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal, Gerard Baker, understands how important words are, but he is more than hesitant to use them appropriately when it comes to Donald Trump. It isnt clear if the WSJs editor is terrified of Trump due to his storied reputation as a malicious and vindictive cretin, or whether the Wall Street Journal and Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch laid down some archaic linguistic decrees the Journal writers have to obey. Whatever the case, Baker announced that the Wall Street Journal will not be calling Donald Trumps lies lies. Obviously it is the WSJs resolve to, as the saying goes, not change horses midstream; or why start being real journalists instead of Republican shills just because the election is over? Mr. Baker was making an appearance on Meet the Press on Sunday and spent a minute or two describing some of duplicitous Dons blatant lies as what Republican media outlets apparently call questionable and challengeable statements; but never in print or broadcast media. It is noteworthy that most of mainstream media was disinclined to even call any of Trumps lies questionable or challengeable; they just pretended he was telling the truth and it is something that hardly occurs in any other area of life. Seriously, no parent on the planet, or elementary school teacher for the matter, would tell their young wards that the lie they just told was only questionable or challengeable; they would call them a liar. However, it is likely that parents or elementary school teachers are not horrified into idiocy of an inept television celebrity just because he is going to the White House. And, it is prescient to add that deceitful Donald would not be going to the White House if the woefully deficient mainstream media had ever performed as journalists and recounted disingenuous Donalds lies as what they always were; dirty lies that have continued unabated. Apparently in Gerard Bakers mind, when dirty Don tells lies, they are not deliberate and they are certainly not uttered to mislead the American people. Maybe he thinks Trumps honest-to-dog mountain of lies are just coincidences, or that his mendacity is founded on a lack of up-to-date facts in the stinking digital information age. Computers may befuddle and complicate Trumps life, but he lies about things unrelated to access to accurate information making his lying a deliberate intent to mislead which is what Baker refuses to accuse Donald Trump of doing. In fact, Baker handed out a little conservative advice to the rest of the media and said, Id be careful about using the word lie. Lie implies much more than just saying something thats false. It implies a deliberate intent to mislead. As far as the consequences of not calling Trumps lies what they are and instead report them as cold, hard accurate statements and facts, Baker said I think its then up to the reader to make up their own mind to say, This is what Donald Trump says. This is what a reliable, trustworthy news organization reports. And you know what? I dont think thats true. One would remind Mr. Baker that if a news organization is reliable and trustworthy, then it would duly report that when Donald Trump says something that is not true, he is lying. However, this is America and the media has been remiss to ever report the truth if any Republican is involved; especially when they lie with the deliberate intent to mislead. The media was absolutely horrid in not reporting each and every one of dishonest Donnies lies throughout the presidential campaign, and except for a couple of mainstream outlets like the New York Times, Newsweek and the Washington Post that decided late in the campaign to start calling a lie a lie, Trump lied with veritable impunity; something he may have reconsidered doing if the press would have actually called him a liar and reported that he lied at the same frequency and most humans breathe. It was so bad that the New York Times waited until two months prior to the election to decide to even announce they would start calling Trumps lies what they are lies. For dogs sake even the Internal Revenue Service confirmed that Trump lied about why he couldnt release his tax returns, but the mainstream media never reported it; this column did. Of all the despicable reasons Trump is going to live in Washington, a lazy and frightened of a television celebrity press has to be at the top of the list. Look, journalism can be time-consuming and often arduous, but it is a fairly simple proposition; report the truth. What that means in Trumps case is calling nearly every utterance from his dirty mouth exactly what they are dirty lies. And although all lies are bad, Trumps lies are dirty because they are made with the measured intent to mislead the American people and enrich Donald J. Trump and his elitist cohorts in the corporate class; and that is the truth. Though fuel costs are on the rise, S.C. now offers lowest gas prices in nation Emanuel AMEs former secretary is suing the church and the Rev. Norvel Goff for ending her employment after she questioned the handling of donations that poured into the church after a gunman killed nine worshippers. Read moreFormer secretary at Emanuel AME sues for unpaid wages Though the clock is falling back, fun is still springing up all around the Lowcountry. Immerse yourself in Scottish heritage at the Charleston Scottish Games and Highland Gathering, head to Summerville for the Timrod Library's 125th birthday, or spend a night with friends celebrating Charleston Beer Week. Read moreMy Charleston Weekend: Beer, Bagpipes, and a Birthday Bash 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 WATERLOO | Waterloo police have arrested a Wisconsin woman for allegedly leaving her children alone in a car in a Waterloo hospital parking lot in December. Kristy Kay Waedekin, 29, and her sons, ages 3 and 6 years, had been reported missing by Wisconsin authorities. On Dec. 19, the children were found in a parked car at Covenant Medical Center, but Waedekin was nowhere to be found. On Dec. 24, three days after Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers posted Waedekins photo online, Waedekin turned herself in to police and was arrested on two counts of misdemeanor child endangerment. She was taken to the Black Hawk County Jail, and her bond has been set at $5,000. Waedekin and her children had been the subject of alerts put out by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the North Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Police Department in mid-December. Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier 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 The pandemic stressed us all, but its impact was compounded among pregnant women and those who had just given birth; their rates of mood and anxiety problems doubled during that time. That should not come as a major surprise, given how the stresses around this life-giving, life-changing even Read moreEditorial: Important outreach to SC's expectant and new mothers There are five candidates vying for three open seats on Clemson City Council. We asked the two incumbents and three newcomers what they think is most important for Clemson's residents and council. Read moreMeet the candidates: 5 vying for 3 seats on Clemson City Council Nothing may be more pleasurable at day's end than a well-crafted cocktail. The clink of ice on glass, the magical mix of sweet, sour and alcoholic it's a great way to unwind and be merry, especially during the holiday season. But who says a great drink has to be cold? This time of year, when Jack Frost nips at more than just your toes, warm cocktails just might be the thing to heat you back up from the inside. But don't just take this mulled cider lover's word for it; take it from a professional. "When you come in from the cold chill you get here in Pittsburgh, there's nothing better than a hot toddy, Irish coffee or mulled wine," says bartender extraordinaire Sean Enright of Pittsburgh's Tiki Lounge and the after-hours Carrick Literary and Social Association. ADVERTISEMENT Warm mugs of boozy coffee or citrus-spiced wine are not just the stuff of a ski vacation. They can be had during staycations, too. You don't have to be a mixologist to create a winning winter cocktail or haul out any special equipment. In fact, some of the best winter sippers can be done in three steps: pour, stir, enjoy. While warm-weather cocktails are often thirst quenchers (a good margarita goes down way too fast and easy), winter cocktails are meant to be lingered over, savored. Enright likes to warm the body and soul during cold snaps with concoctions that feature richer, darker spirits think whiskey, rum, brandy and cognac and the dessert-style spices cinnamon, cloves, allspice and ginger. "They go hand in hand with the other things you're eating," he says. One of his favorite winter cocktail is Irish coffee spiked with Jameson's. He's also a huge fan of the hot toddy, a simple drink of a brown liquor such as brandy, whiskey or rum mixed with honey, lemon juice and boiling water, and, when the mood strikes, also a tea bag. (See, we told you this wasn't brain surgery.) "It couldn't be easier, and you can mix it however you want," he says. At Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, Pa., bartenders use another seasonal drink a mug of hot apple cider as a base for the signature Moonshine Cider. A shot of caramel moonshine from Tall Pines Distillery in nearby Salisbury, Somerset County, gives the hot cocktail its adult kick. Former Pittsburgher-turned-New York cookbook author and "Today" show contributor Casey Barber suggests cocoa spiked with bourbon and hazelnut-flavored liqueur if you want something hot, sweet and chocolatey. "I love hot chocolate so much that I can down a whole mug in four big glugs, so I need something that makes me drink it more slowly and enjoy it," she says. Enter bourbon, "which makes everything better, and turns it into more of a sipping drink." The marshmallow on top is completely optional, but definitely makes it more of a luxury. ADVERTISEMENT For larger gatherings, where making many individual drinks could be a drag, nothing beats a large pot of red wine mulled with a few ounces of cognac, slices of citrus, cinnamon sticks and dash of peppercorn. It's easy, relatively inexpensive and ladles up a dose of antioxidants. While you want a winter cocktail to warm you up on the inside, you don't want the drink's heat to beat you over the head or burn your lips. So think "really, really warm" instead of "scalding hot." Enright, whose book "Pittsburgh Drinks: A History of Cocktails, Nightlife & Bartending Tradition," with co-author Cody McDevitt, arriving on store shelves in March, also suggests reaching for the good stuff when making individual cocktails. "The cheaper the alcohol, the less impressive it will be," he says. MASON CITY Carolyn A. Hoefer, 70, of Mason City, died Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017, at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa. A memorial Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, at Epiphany Parish-St. Josephs Catholic Church, 302 Fifth St. S.E., Mason City, with Rev. Neil Manternach officiating. Inurnment will take place in Seward Cemetery in Seward, Nebraska, at a later date. A gathering of family and friends will be 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6, at Major Erickson Funeral Home. Memorials may be directed to the Carolyn Hoefer memorial fund in care of the family. Arrangements are with Major Erickson Funeral Home in Mason City. MANKATO Authorities have identified the Mankato police officer who shot and killed a former Stewartville man who allegedly created a disturbance and resisted arrest at a Mankato hotel Saturday. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, in a statement Monday afternoon, identified the officer who fired his weapon as Officer Gary Schnorenberg. Schnorenberg, who has been with the Mankato Department of Public Safety for 30 years, is on standard administrative leave. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner confirmed the man he shot as Chase Anthony Tuseth, 33, of Chanhassen. Tuseth was a 2001 graduate of Stewartville High School and a 2008 graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato. According to the BCA, an employee at the Country Inn and Suites in Mankato called 911 at 4:02 a.m. Saturday and reported that a man was behind the hotel desk and was throwing items. Officer Schnorenberg arrived and confronted the man, identified as Tuseth, in a hotel hallway. After several verbal commands weren't obeyed, the officer "successfully" used his stun gun, according to the BCA, but Tuseth broke free and began hitting and kicking Schnorenberg while he attempted to handcuff him. During that struggle, Schnorenberg "fired his weapon, striking Tuseth," according to the BCA, and "resuscitation efforts at the scene were unsuccessful." ADVERTISEMENT Schnorenberg was injured in the confrontation and was treated at Mayo Clinic Health System and released. No weapons were recovered at the scene. The Mankato Department of Public Safety and the Minnesota State Patrol responded to the incident. The Mankato Department of Public Safety doesn't use body-worn cameras, according to the BCA. Tuseth, a teacher at Shakopee Public Schools since 2016, worked at the district's Tokata Learning Center as a science, health and physical education teacher. The district released a statement about Tuseth Sunday. "Chase was an outstanding teacher who had a passion for working with at-risk students," said Eric Serbus, principal of the learning center. "He was always looking for better ways to engage and connect with his students. He helped lay the foundation for project-based learning at the Tokata Learning Center. His warm smile, innovative teaching, and desire to help students will be greatly missed." The BCA investigation is ongoing. Once complete, its findings will be reviewed by the Blue Earth County Attorney's Office. ST. PAUL Minnesota lawmakers begin a new legislative session today with some lingering bad feelings between two of the Capitol's key players. DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt had a public falling out last month over a proposed special session to address rising health insurance costs, tax cuts and public construction projects. Their failure to reach agreement on those generally popular issues was a troubling preview of the even tougher negotiations that lie ahead. Asked about the implications, Dayton offered a bleak prediction for the 2017 regular session. "A very difficult one. Very, very contentious. Very charged with the politics of 2018, people running for governor and wanting to stage confrontations to build their standing with their own party and their visibility," Dayton said. ADVERTISEMENT Dayton isn't seeking re-election. Daudt and a few other legislators are mentioned as likely Republican candidates for governor in 2018. Daudt, R-Zimmerman, described his relationship with Dayton as "damaged" after their public squabbling over the failed special session. He also said it's up to the governor to repair it. "This is a relationship business," Daudt said. "The governor is going to put forth an agenda, a budget that he's going to want to get passed. He needs relationships in the Legislature to pass his agenda. There's no other way to get it done. He can't sign a bill that we don't send him." Dayton tried to defuse the tensions by inviting Daudt over for a private lunch last week. The governor said they parted on very good terms. "We have an important professional relationship, important responsibilities to our respective constituents as well as to all of the people of Minnesota, and I don't foresee that that's going to be a problem moving forward," he said. Dayton said he plans to introduce a bonding bill proposal this month that looks similar to the list of public construction projects left unresolved last session. Daudt, however, said a bonding bill might not happen this year. A new player at the negotiating table is Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-Nisswa. Republicans won control of the Senate for the first time since 2011 and 2012. Gazelka, who was then part of a new class of senators, says the approach will be different this time with a narrow one-seat advantage. "That was the first time that Republicans had had the House and Senate in over 40 years," Gazelka said. "There was some exuberance about how and what we thought we could get done." ADVERTISEMENT Gazelka says the emphasis in 2017 will be on health care changes, tax relief, transportation funding and a budget that slows the growth of government. He also wants to set a productive tone in working with the governor. "We already know where, if we come in conflict with the governor, where we're going to just never come to a solution," he said. "So those things, we know we don't have to keep fighting those battles. We know where we stand." Dayton's budget proposal is due by Jan. 24. He'll base his recommendations on the recent economic forecast that showed the state with a $1.4 billion surplus. Dayton began his first term as governor in 2011 facing a $6 billion budget deficit. The memory of that year's challenges is why Dayton has been urging budget caution. He stressed he won't accept Republican efforts to give back the entire surplus as tax cuts. "We've again gone from chronic deficits to so far sustained surpluses, and that's something I intend to protect," the governor said. Dayton said he'll propose tax cuts similar to those lost when he vetoed last session's tax bill due to a potentially expensive math error. Republicans are expected to go bigger on taxes, including an exemption on Social Security income. House Minority Leader Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, also is new to the leadership ranks. Hortman is urging Republicans to listen to Democrats more often and to pass bills early to avoid end-of-session chaos. "It will be rather clear from the outset, from the governor's budget and from certain strongly held DFL values, that there are some things that are nonstarters, and inclusion of those things in final budget bills are likely to create problems. We can see the train wrecks coming before the train wrecks happen," Hortman said. ST. CLOUD Katrina Phifer remembers asking herself, "What have we gotten ourselves into?" when The Salvation Army's SMART Kids program launched in May. An elementary-aged girl threw a "toddler tantrum" after simply being told "no." The stress from being homeless had affected how the girl reacted to things. Six months later, that same girl is more independent. Phifer, an aide for the SMART Kids program, recently saw the girl comforting a peer who was frightened because she recently had been in a car accident. "From her first day here when she couldn't even handle a 'no, that's not what we're going to do' without falling apart to now she's leading, she's being a good friend that's just a cool transition to see," Phifer said. This transition is just one of many seen at the SMART Kids program, which provides after-school programming for children experiencing homelessness. The program provides dinner and snacks, homework help, access to games and materials for projects and, most importantly, positive experiences with adults other than their parents who care about them. ADVERTISEMENT Before the program started, many kids needed to go along with their parents to required meetings with case workers. SMART Kids offers children an escape from that stress, said Chad Johnson, program coordinator. "(The parents are) experiencing a lot of trauma, a lot of crisis, so when the kids are always there with them, they're experiencing that right alongside them," Johnson said. The program targets children at The Salvation Army shelter but also is open to children living at other area shelters or motels or couch-surfing at someone else's house. "There (had) never been any established programs for the kids in the shelter, especially since there's been such a rise in children experiencing homelessness in the area," Johnson said, noting there's been a 50 percent increase in families experiencing homelessness since 2012. Foundation grant A $100,000 grant from the Bremer Foundation allowed Johnson to create the SMART Kids program. He was able to hire Phifer and part-time staff. A number of volunteers also spend time with the children. Both Johnson and Phifer have children of their own. Johnson said he had experience with kids' programming before this job. Phifer grew up in a home that offered foster care. "I'm familiar with kids that come from difficult places," she said. For both Johnson and Phifer, the goal for the program is to help the kids in whatever way they can. ADVERTISEMENT "We want to prevent (homelessness) from happening in the future. These kids are surrounded by it. It's the only life that they know," Johnson said. "I want more for them, and if there's not people out there to care to invest their time and show these kids that we care, then who else will?" Despite some of the behavioral problems, the kids are working really hard, Phifer said. "When you think about what they're overcoming, ... I think they're stronger than most of us think," she said. "You forget just how hard they're working to keep it together and to grow despite what they've been given." Fun place For many of the kids involved, SMART Kids just feels like a fun place where they get to play games and get snacks. Sarah, a 7-year-old participating in the program, lives with her family in a blue house. She said she likes the program because it's fun. "We get to play on the Wii," she said. "Sometimes we go to other places, like all the places in the world." Johnson clarified that SMART Kids participants sometimes get to go on field trips. In December, the group went rollerskating. ADVERTISEMENT "I tripped like 100 times," Sarah said with a laugh. During a journaling activity with volunteers from the St. Cloud Times, Sarah colored pictures about herself and her life. She drew a picture of a police badge because she wants to be a police officer when she grows up, and she wrote that she is "smart and funy." When asked to draw what she cannot live without, Sarah drew a picture of money. "I want a hundred dollars," she said. And what would she spend the money on? "A car and a house and my own toys," she said. 'I like all of them' Nay'llah, a 6-year-old SMART Kids participant, lives with her family in the same blue house as Sarah. One of her favorite SMART Kids memories is winning second place in a paper airplane contest with St. Cloud Times reporters. In her journal, Nay'llah said she wishes for a "unicorness," which is a unicorn with a horn and wings. Isaiah Juster, 8, is another SMART Kids participant. His favorite thing to do at home and at The Salvation Army is to play video games. He said he likes SMART Kids and school. His favorite subject? "I just cannot pick any one. I like all of them," he said. Juster was living in The Salvation Army shelter when SMART Kids started. Now, his family has moved to a mobile home. Because The Salvation Army shelter looks like a hotel it's actually in a former hotel building many kids don't seem to be stigmatized about living in a shelter, Johnson said. "I've never heard any of our kids self-identify as homeless," Phifer said. "I think for most of them, this is just where we live right now." The constant change can be draining for both the children and staff. "I think my most challenging part is No. 1, the constant transitions. We'll just be forming a relationship with some of the students, and then they're gone," Phifer said. Another difficulty is not being able to help every child. If a kid could be dangerous and hurt themselves or someone else, SMART Kids isn't for them, Johnson said. "I just want to make sure the kids, when they're here, they feel safe, they feel secure," he said. "Because if they don't feel safe, they're not going to be able to grow at all." Johnson and Phifer said they sometimes hear complaints about the childrens' parents, who might be making poor choices. For Salvation Army staff, that's not a good reason to abandon the children. "It's a cliched saying, but the cycle of poverty is true. It really is a cycle," Phifer said. "Their parents that are making the bad decisions, at one point were kids that, odds are, didn't get what they needed from parents. "If you're a 5-year-old that doesn't get what you need, and you're growing up in chaos, your chances ... of being able to make good decisions as an adult just aren't there," Phifer continued. "Somebody needs to stop the cycle, and the cycle stops when the kids get the help they need. "If we abandon them, the cycle will continue." In other words In the summer of 1858, Abraham Lincoln stood before his state convention and warned, "a house divided against itself cannot stand." The apt re Read moreThe danger of an island divided I sometimes wonder whether Disney movies featuring talking animals are responsible for the sentimentalization of nature at the heart of popular environmentalism. Case in point is the recent video everyone is going nuts over featuring a polar bear petting a dog (35 seconds): The Washington Post reports that The man who shot the video praised the bear for showing that kind of heart toward another animal.' Now, if you have any sense at all, youll know that at best all thats happening here is that the bear is playing with its food. Kudos to the Post for pointing out the common sense of the matter: But reality soon intervened. Canadas CBC News reported that officials had removed three polar bears from the same property in Churchill after one killed and ate another dog. The owner of the site, who raises the sled dogs, told the network that the slaughter had occurred on the only day we didnt feed the f bears, the only night we didnt put anything out. The irony of the two incidents spawned commentary on the perils of the attributing human emotions to animals and imposing a moral code the creatures cant possibly be expected to live up to. . . To me, its like its trying to see if the foods ready or not, [wildlife biologist Tom] Smith said, laughing. Its not surprising that it would try to explore this dog . . . but I guarantee if you left that bear there long enough, it would say, I wonder what this dog tastes like? Id be sorely disappointed in a bear that didnt ultimately eat that dog. What do you want to bet that the predatory polar bear has an Inuit name that translates to Harambe? Related: Tourist bitten by crocodile after trying to take a selfie with it A French tourist was bitten by a crocodile after posing next to the enormous reptile in a misguided attempt to take a selfie, according to reports. The 41-year-old woman was exploring Thailands Khao Yai National Park with her husband when the duo came across the giant female reptile, reported The Mirror. The couple squatted down next to the crocodile, which then reportedly sank its teeth into the womans thigh as the picture was taken. Charles Darwin, call your office. So when did the Washington Post hire Emily Litella as an editor? Having reported a couple days back that those evil Rooskies, who were never much of a threat during the Cold War remember, had hacked the power grid in Vermont!, the Post now saysnever mind! Russian government hackers do not appear to have targeted Vermont utility, say people close to investigation By Ellen Nakashima and Juliet Eilperin As federal officials investigate suspicious Internet activity found last week on a Vermont utility computer, they are finding evidence that the incident is not linked to any Russian government effort to target or hack the utility, according to experts and officials close to the investigation. . . The Post initially reported incorrectly that the countrys electric grid had been penetrated through a Vermont utility. Now, you may be wondering how it is possible to hack the Vermont power grid in the first place, since it runs on windmills, fermented granola, and the secondary waste heat of Bernie Sanders speeches. But hey, when youve got a narrative to feed, stories like this are just too good to check out. Meanwhile, is the media starting to wake up to the fact that Trumps tweeting habits may not be entirely random, but that there may be a method to his seeming madness? Remember Salena Zitos observation that the media took Trump literally but not seriously, while Trumps supporters took him seriously, but not literally? Seems the Wall Street Journals Gerald Seib is catching up: Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy The Obama administration denied that it coordinated the introduction and passage of the infamous United Nations Security Council resolution that allocated to the Palestinian Arabs all the land taken by Israel in its defense in 1967, including the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem. The Obama administration goes so far as to concede that it its abstention allowed the passage of the resolution. It hasnt explained why it abstained rather than voted in favor of it. Given Obamas legislative record in Illinois, it may be a case of old habits being hard to break. If the Obama administration has an operative principle other than betraying allies and supporting enemies of the United States, it would be prevarication. It gives us prevarication as a political principle. If past practice is any guide, the Obama administrations fingerprints are all over that UN Security Council resolution. The Israelis say they have solid information to that effect and have proven more reliable sources than President Obama, Secretary Kerry, Susan Rice, Ben Rhodes et al. Indeed, the government of Iran has proven a more reliable source of relevant information than the Obama administration. Its almost unbelievable. Note the limits of White House spokesman Eric Schultzs denial of the Israelis attribution of responsibility to the Obama administration. Schultz issued a statement stressing that the administration did not draft the resolution. The Egyptians, in partnership with the Palestinians, are the ones who began circulating an earlier draft of the resolution, Schultz said. The Egyptians are the ones who moved it forward on Friday [December 23]. And we took the position that we did when it was put to a vote. It bears the quality of a Nixonian nondenial denial. The truth will emerge after the scoundrels have left the building. In the meantime, the invaluable MEMRI translates the report of an Egyptian daily close to Egyptian intelligence revealing the minutes of the secret Palestinian Authority meeting with John Kerry and Susan Rice. The reported minutes show U.S.-Palestinian coordination on the resolution and a preview of more in store. Joe Asch at Dartblog has the story of how President Obama engineered the reappointment of Jim Kim ten months prior to the end of his term as president of the World Bank. Readers may recall that Kim served briefly as president of Dartmouth College. We wrote about that particular disaster here, here, and here. When Kim moved on to the World Bank in 2012, Scott stated that Dartmouths problem is now the worlds. Thanks to manipulation by the Obama administration, the problem will persist. Joe explains what happened: Jim Kims original appointment as President of the World Bank was announced on March 23, 2012, and six weeks later, after some jostling with other candidates, his appointment was confirmed. He began work on July 1, 2012. Total elapsed time between announcement and start of work: three months and seven days. During the interval, there was time for two Third World candidates to put their names forward, people who had been preparing for the appointment process in the preceding months as the previous Presidents statutory term wound down. This time around, however, the appointment process began without warning in surprise, surprise August of the preceding year, over ten months before the end of the Presidents term, and well before any other candidates had had time to organize. The nomination period, in case you missed it (everyone else did; there were no other nominees), was a scant three weeks long, and the U.S. government weighed in immediately to support Kim, thereby chilling any other candidacies. Theres no mystery associated with Obamas expedited handling of Kims reappointment. Had the process taken place three to four months before the end of his term, as occurred when Kim was originally selected, Obama would no longer have been in office to select him. And had time and space been allowed for opposition, Kim might not have kept his job. Nancy Birdsall, president of the Center for Global Development, called Kims re-appointment a kind of insider coup by the United States. She noted that a World Bank Staff Association letter termed the process a charade. Both descriptions are apt. In an open letter to the Financial Times, 42 former senior officials of the World Bank wrote to express their deep concern about the shameful action of governments around the world in bypassing good governance and transparency in the selection of the next president of the World Bank. Devesh Kapur, a professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, criticized both the selection process and the selectee: [A]s the incumbent, Kim can grant favors to win support: make loans that play to influential shareholders pet preferences, promise certain countries spots on the leadership roster, and stamp the Banks imprimatur on particular governments own domestic initiatives. Given the contents of Kims political toolkit, this match was never going to be played on a level field. Many people can stomach questionable means if they consistently generate positive ends, but this has not been the case with Kim, who is among the worst presidents in World Bank history. His administration has been marked by authoritarianism and capriciousness, and he has forced out senior managers at unprecedented rates, sometimes requiring the Bank to reach quiet settlements with those affected. In four years, the presidents office has had five chiefs-of-staff, and several of the Banks senior women have left, hinting at a wayward leadership culture. (Emphasis added) No one who observed Jim Kims tenure as president of Dartmouth should be surprised if Kim is one of the World Banks worst presidents. Nor should anyone be surprised that Obama went out of his way to inflict Kim on the World Bank for another term. Experience has taught us to treat skeptically all early news reports of dramatic events like terrorist attacks, because such reports nearly always turn out to be wrong, at least in part. But the attack on the night club Reina in Istanbul seems particularly mysterious, especially given how many witnesses there were. It is still not entirely clear whether there was just one attacker, as the authorities maintain, or several, as a number of witnesses in the night club claim. The portions of the attack that can be seen on surveillance video, however, show only one gunman. Early reports that the attacker wore a Santa Claus suit now appear to be false. Several eyewitnesses say that the gunman screamed Allahu Akbar, but many news sources, like CNN, have not reported such relevant evidence of Islamic terrorism. ISIS claims that the terrorist (or terrorists) was a heroic soldier of the caliphate. There is no reason, so far, to doubt that this assertion is correct. The Turkish government has rounded up eight people, who presumably are associated with radical Islam, but the authorities do not claim to have caught the gunman. He is still at large. The authorities have a suspect, and have released a photo of him that is so grainy as to be useless: There is also a much clearer selfie-video of the suspect that generally resembles pre-attack videos that have been recorded by quite a few Muslim mass murderers, except that he doesnt actually say anything. You can see the video here. This is a still: The Turkish police also say that they have the killers fingerprints, so one would think he should be in custody before long. To me, this is the most mysterious aspect of the attack: the terrorist approached the night club and, not being a complete moron, began by shooting the clubs only guard. (The Islamic terrorist who attacked the gay night club in Florida did the same thing.) He then went on a rampage inside the club, reportedly with a Kalashnikov automatic rifle and hand grenades, which lasted seven minutes. He then escaped. At some later point, large numbers of Turkish policemen arrived and sealed off the area. Given that the murders occurred in the heart of fashionable Istanbul, shortly after midnight on New Years Eve, it is hard to understand why the police response was so slow. The noise made by the Kalashnikov and, as reported, hand grenades, would have been very loud. Possibly there is a good reason for what seems like an agonizingly slow response, or likely it was mere ineptitude. But one remembers the fact that the Turk who murdered the Russian ambassador was himself an elite police officer. Is it possible that the police response in Istanbul may have been compromised by one or more sympathetic Islamic radicals? That, no doubt, is highly unlikely, but if I were a Turk, I would wonder whether my countrys police force is entirely on my side. UPDATE: One more thought. In most instances, Islamic terrorists either kill themselves or engage in shootouts where they inevitably are killed by police. This terrorist didnt do that. He was no suicide attacker, he changed clothes and escaped. Did he know that he had official cover, or at least a few minutes to get away? Again, it no doubt is a long shot, but the Turkish authorities should at least look into the question whether this terrorist had official help. Van Jones was a favorite of White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett. Ooh. Van Jones. We were so delighted to recruit him to the White House, Jarrett told a conference of left-wing bloggers in 2009. We were watching him for as long as hes been active out in Oakland. Jarrett had secured Jones an appointment in the Obama administration as the green jobs czar in the rosy dawn of the Age of Obama. Given Joness background, that should have been green jobs commissar or the like. In 1994, for example, Jones was one of the founders of STORM, a Marxist-Leninist group whose hero was Chinese Communist dictator Mao Tse Tung. But what did Mr. Jones in, Jack Kelly recounted in an entertaining retrospective column on Joness departure from the Obama administration, was the revelation that in 2004 he had signed a petition calling on then-New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer to investigate whether the Bush administration had been behind the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Not to worry though. Jones landed on his feet. Indeed, Joness friends in the mainstream media have found him a sage source of political commentary. In a recent interview with Jake Tapper on CNN, Jones declared DNC chairman wannabe Keith Ellison the man for the job (video below, less than a minute). I doubt that Joness public support is helpful to Ellisons cause Im pretty sure Ellison has the Marxist/Leninist brigade locked down already but many Power Line readers support the vindication of Joness hope in this case for their own mischievous reasons. Via Tyler ONeil/PJ Media. This article originally ran on PR Daily in January of 2017. You have a PR problem, because you have an actual problem. Leona Lansing, the fictional cable news executive on HBOs The Newsroom, was on to something when she said that to a fellow exec. The public has seen ita lot: Those organizations each resorted to a news conference, a press release, a catchy marketing slogan or TV interviews in the hope the problem would go away. PR can minimize the damage caused by operational and managerial missteps, but it cant fix stupid. When you hear the name Rick Perry, you might recall that time during the 2012 Republican presidential primary race where he forgot the name of a government agency he wanted to eliminate: The Department of Energy. A responsible leader doesn't forget the name of a government agency that he wants to shut down. A responsible leader studies the department in detail, learning all of the things that it does, and thinks about how things would change if the department were abolished. And so for Perry, that "oops" moment was enough to persuade voters that he lacked the firm grasp of the facts needed in a presidential candidate. He soon abandoned the race. But it seems like in the Republican Party now, leaders are not rewarded for being responsible and informed. Instead, the party's leaders are rewarded for finding new targets, justified or not, for the outrage of their voter base. Unfortunately, this impulse for wanton destruction seems to be present at the intellectual level as well. In a recent op-ed in the Washington Examiner, economist Peter Grossman of Butler University called for the Energy Department to be closed. Unlike Perry, Grossman can at least remember his target; he's written a book calling U.S. energy policy a failure. But the case he lays out is weak and unpersuasive. Grossman views the Energy Department as a panicked response to 1970s-era theories of looming fossil-fuel scarcity: "The DOE was conceived in dark and pessimistic beliefs and forecasts that have proven totally wrong. ... The original legislation justified a Department of Energy because ... we were (supposedly) rapidly running out of fossil fuels, especially oil and natural gas." In reality, the department was created in an effort to increase government efficiency by combining of a bunch of existing agencies. One of these was the Energy Research and Development Administration, the successor to the Atomic Energy Commission, which itself grew out of the Manhattan Project. That agency managed the U.S.'s nuclear weapons programs. This is still one of the Energy Department's jobs -- it includes the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees the safety of the U.S. nuclear stockpile. Let that sink in a moment. Grossman is proposing to abolish the agency that keeps U.S. nuclear weapons safe. He doesn't appear to have thought very carefully about who would take over that task, or whether valuable experience and knowledge would be lost in the hand-off. He also doesn't seem to have thought about what would happen to the department's extensive system of national labs, which research all sorts of next-generation technologies. But even if we forgive these oversights, Grossman's story doesn't add up. The Energy Department's roots in nuclear energy also show that it wasn't simply a response to high oil prices. Government support for nuclear power boomed in the 1950s, when oil was cheap. The goal wasn't to avert a fossil-fuel crunch, but to give humanity even cheaper sources of power. That's still the department's goal. As Bloomberg New Energy Finance reports, solar energy is now cheaper than coal power in many places, even without government subsidies, and is getting cheaper still. As a partial result of this technological improvement, coal is on the wane, while solar is booming. Scaling plays a huge part in this process. Solar's rise hasn't come because of a fundamental technological leap but because of learning curves. As production rises, prices tend to fall. That means the Energy Department's subsidy programs, which encouraged solar growth back before the economics made sense, probably had a hand in jump-starting the era of abundant energy that we now see stretching before us. Grossman doesn't acknowledge this. He writes that "the only energy breakthrough of the last four decades has been fracking." That's a bit like saying that the only new piece of consumer electronics in the last four decades was the flat-screen TV. So no, we shouldn't heed Grossman's call to abolish the department. More to the point, we should just stop rewarding intellectuals and politicians for casually calling for the abolition of government agencies in the absence of understanding what they actually do. No doubt, my call is likely to fall on deaf ears, at least while the Trump administration is in power. Perry has been nominated to head the Energy Department. South Africas ruling African National Congress (ANC) has rebuked the opposition mayor of Pretoria for visiting Taiwan last month. It called the visit a violation of its foreign policy that recognises only the Peoples Republic of China. The ANC said any officials making trips at odds with South Africas foreign relationships should be stripped of their passports. China is South Africas biggest trading partner. Africas part in the long-running global diplomatic row over Taiwans disputed independence from China drew new attention last month after the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe reversed its position and recognised only Beijing. Relations between Africa and Beijing are important in part because China is a major investor in many African economies. The mayor of Pretoria, Solly Msimanga, travelled to Taipei last month to woo investors, the countrys main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party, which governs the South African capital, said. The South African government, which was an ally of Taiwan during the era of white minority rule but which has recognised only Beijing since 1997, described the Msimangas visit as highly regrettable. We were made aware of the visit and advised Mayor Msimanga not to undertake it as it would constitute a breach of our One China Policy, the foreign ministry said. The ANC called on the Foreign Ministry to confiscate all official and diplomatic passports from officials who are found to be wilfully undermining our foreign policy. The ANC also urged the ministry to issue a strong protest over Msimangas Taipei invitation to Taiwans liaison office in South Africa. However, the Democratic Alliance rejected pressure not to have contacts with Taiwan. A DA statement said that neither the ANC nor the national government it runs can dictate who DA mayors meet with in order to obtain job-creating investment. The ANC suffered its worst election results since the 1994 end of apartheid in an August vote that swept DA candidates including Msimanga to power as mayors in three major cities. Donald Trump, U.S. President-elect, put in question the one-China policy followed for decades by Washington and Beijing when he accepted a congratulatory phone call from Taiwans leader shortly after his Nov. 8 victory. (Reuters/NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook Americans have little confidence in President-elect Donald Trumps abilities to handle his presidential duties, with less than half of them saying they trust him to prevent major scandals, handle an international crisis, or use military force responsibly. According to a Gallup poll released by TIME, Americans have significantly less faith in Trump than they had in his predecessors. Only 44 per cent said they were confident Trump would avoid major scandals in his administration, 46 per cent said they are confident in Trumps ability to handle an international crisis, and 47 per cent said they trust him to use military force wisely. When the same questions were asked at the start of outgoing President Barack Obamas and former Presidents George W. Bushs and Bill Clintons terms, roughly three-quarters of Americans said they had confidence in the newly elected President in these areas. When compared with Gallups averages of confidence polling in his predecessors, Trump comes up short. The incoming president has a 32-point confidence deficit in his ability to avoid scandals in his administration, a 29-point deficit in his ability to use military force well and a 28-point deficit in his ability to manage the executive branch. Most Americans (60 per cent) believe Trump will be able to get things done with Congress, but even there he comes up far behind his predecessors the average number of Americans with confidence in Obama, Bush and Clinton to work with Congress was 82 per cent. The data also reflects a more polarised America than Obama or Bush faced when they came into office. On average, only 21 per cent of Democrats have confidence in Trumps ability to handle the various responsibilities of the presidency. By contrast, roughly two-thirds of Republicans had some confidence in Obama and the same was true for Bush and Democrats. But Trump even has a confidence deficit among members of his own party. Only 84 per cent of Republicans have confidence in his abilities as President, compared with 94 per cent of Democrats who trusted Obama and 95 per cent of Republicans who had faith in Bush. The polls sample included 1,028 adults and had a margin of error of +/- 4 per cent. (NAN) Six days after being ousted from office, Martins Azubuike, the former Speaker, Abia House of Assembly, says his uprightness cost him the job. Mr. Azubuike, who made the disclosure on Sunday at a reception by his community, Umunneato-Ngwa, said he was impeached because of not consenting to sharing of funds meant for projects. He said instead: I chose to deploy available funds to projects and not sharing it among members. The reception was organised by Umunneato-Ngwa, a socio-cultural body. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the group comprises three sister-local government areas of Osisioma Ngwa, Isiala Ngwa North and Isiala Ngwa South of the state. He told the audience that he committed no impeachable offence but was removed because he did not accede to demands to share allocations to the house among the members. Mr. Azubuike, revered by workers in the House of Assembly for his experience as a third-term legislator, listed the projects executed during his more than one year tenure as Speaker. According to him, the projects include the completion of an office complex for the 24 legislators which was started in 2007. Mr. Azubuike said other projects were the computerisation of the operations and a website for the Assembly to enable members track its activities from within and outside the complex. He said he also procured vehicles for the members and two buses for committee assignments by members. These monetary achievements were the challenges I had with the members because I did not agree that the money should be put on the table to be shared by members, Mr. Azubuike said. He also reeled out a number of constituency projects he executed in his Isiala Ngwa North, to include the grading of roads in the area and bursary award to 100 students. The former speaker said he organised free medical services for people of the area as well as schools competitions during which scholarships were awarded to the best students among other projects. Mr. Azubuike said that at the inception of the sixth Assembly, his leadership articulated a roadmap for 2015/2019 on how to drive development in the state. According to him, whatever the present administration of Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu has achieved from inception to date was as a result of the initiatives by the House under his watch. He said since his emergence as Speaker, he supported the governor against the background that it was the first time a person of Ngwa extraction became governor since the creation of Abia. Mr. Azubuike, however, expressed his readiness to continue to support the governor to ensure his success. He also assured his people that he would continue to provide effective representation in the House. I am not going to take the back seat but I will take the front seat because I do not see anybody in the House that can do it better than I. The former Speaker also thanked the organisers of the event and elders of the area for the honour done to him. He said that he had been consoled by their solidarity and kind words which he hoped to cherish all his life. Speaking with journalists, Mr. Azubuike said he was not served a notice of impeachment to enable him defend himself against the allegations. Eminent politicians and leaders of the group, in their separate speeches, discredited the action of the legislators, describing their reasons for the impeachment as not only flimsy but untenable. The Chairman of Isialangwa North, Ginger Onwusibe, said the reason adduced by the House for impeaching Mr. Azubuike was to give a dog a bad name, in order to hang it. What happened to our brother is what a lot of people did not understand. He is not the final destination, we know the final destination and that is why we should stand united to defend our son, the governor, who we all struggled to enthrone. Ikpeazu represents the collective destiny of the Ukwa Ngwa people, Mr. Onwusibe said. He said many people thought the youth of the area would mobilise to block the Ngwa axis of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway to protest Mr. Azubuikes removal. He said that they would not take any action that would undermine Mr. Ikpeazus administration. This administration is the one we all struggled to install. We cannot destroy the house we jointly built, Mr. Onwusibe said. The leader of the group, Emmanuel Adaelu, expressed utter disappointment that no legislator, including those from Ngwa ethnic nationality told him the sins Mr. Azubuike committed to warrant his removal. When I made phone calls, none of the legislators from our area could tell me what Azubuike did yet they all signed his impeachment notice, Mr. Adaelu said. Other speakers exonerated Mr. Azubuike of the allegations leveled against him. They admonished him not to be demoralised by the action but to aspire to greater heights believing that when one door closes, God will open another. The leader, Nzuko Ohaneze Ukwa Ngwa, Saint-Moses Ogbonna, underscored the need for cohesion among the legislators from the area, saying there was strength in unity. There was also a consensus among the people on the need for everybody to rally support for Ikpeazus administration. The people also resolved to take actions to secure Ikpeazus second tenure, saying that Abia South Senatorial District must serve two terms like other districts. Mr. Azubuike was impeached on Dec. 29, 2016 by 20 of the 24 legislators for alleged financial recklessness and autocratic leadership style among other allegations. Other highlight of the event was a novelty match in which Isiala-Ngwa North defeated Isiala-Ngwa South 4-2. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook In 2014, Donald Trump called computer hacking within the United States by Russia (as well as China) a "big problem." Insofar as Russia is concerned, he appears to have been right. So why isn't the president-elect demanding an investigation into an allegation by the CIA of Russian use of cyber attacks in an effort to disrupt the U.S. presidential election this year? Good question. A CIA assessment, shared with members of the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this month, concludes Russia employed computer hacking in an attempt to interfere with this year's election for president. FBI Director James Comey and National Intelligence Director James Clapper agree with the assessment. In an interview with Fox News earlier last month, Trump said of the charge: "It's just another excuse. I don't believe it." On Wednesday, Trump added this: "We ought to get on with our lives." Trump should support a full, bipartisan congressional investigation into exactly what happened. Congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, said they support investigation. Any foreign breach of our cybersecurity measures is disturbing, and I strongly condemn any such efforts, McConnell said. The Russians are not our friends. Clearly, the Obama administration believes the assessment. On Thursday, in fact, President Obama announced a range of retaliatory sanctions against Russia. This election-focused drama produces broader questions as well. Among them: Do U.S. intelligence leaders believe cyber attacks by Russia against U.S. organizations and individuals continues? If so, what is America's response? The charge by the U.S. intelligence community of Russian computer hacking within our borders isn't a partisan political matter, it's a domestic cybersecurity matter. All Americans, including Trump and his incoming team, should demand to know the full story. -- By the Sioux City Journal, like the Globe Gazette a Lee Enterprises newspaper. Police body cameras would restore public trust, proponents said. They would infuse transparency into the murky, complicated human interactions in which officers daily find themselves, they promised. They would be a hard defense against police abuse, they swore. So many promises. So little transparency to see it through. In the past two years, proponents of body cameras often police departments made a lot of promises about the expensive, potentially invasive technology. But as last week's denial of a Freedom of Information request by Bettendorf's city attorney proves, the promise of body cameras hinges on Iowa lawmakers' commitment to presumed transparency. So far, they've done nothing, opting instead to permit Iowa's Freedom of Information Act to fall further out of date. The body camera problem is mounting throughout the country. Only six state legislatures have shown the grit to update FOIA to include the new technology. In almost all cases, state lawmakers often backed by the very same police unions that championed body cameras have gutted the promised transparency by all but fully exempting the footage from public view. In North Carolina, for instance, the move was in direct response to fervor over a police shooting of yet another young, black man ironic because it's that very same issue that first propelled body cameras into the forefront of modern policing. Quashing public access superseded accountability. Iowa, on the other hand, has done nothing. In many respects, it's no better than North Carolina's crackdown. Body cameras achieve their oft-stated purpose only if the public has access to questionable cases. Make no mistake, there's very real privacy concerns surrounding the footage. Dashboard footage is confined to a cruiser's anterior view. Officers wearing body cameras catch significantly more intimate moments, often inside people's homes, police regularly note. Clearly, any update to Iowa's FOIA should include specific exemptions for these scenarios. It would have to exempt video integral to an active investigation. That's all fair. But fostering a situation where body camera footage is, by default, shielded from public view is not. Illinois' FOIA offers sweeping exemptions for body camera footage, which troubles many watchdogs. But at the very least, it generally requires release following a police-involved shooting. Iowa's FOIA should require the release of any video associated with a police-involved shooting. That requirement alone would compel Bettendorf to release last month's shooting of a man wielding an airsoft-type toy weapon in a major retail store. It should require the release of any video related to founded allegations of an officer's abuse of power. In short, it should codify the stated intent of body cameras. The technology in Iowa protects cops, sure. It does not, however, serve the public. As it stands, individual departments are, largely without oversight, drafting their own rules. As in Bettendorf, those informal rules tend to favor secrecy while FOIA's very soul exists within the presumption of access. It's hardly a recipe for accountability. Until then, body cameras in Iowa will be nothing more than another prosecutorial tool. They indeed will protect officers from false allegations of abuse. But body cameras will do little to protect the populace footing the bill or to restore confidence among perpetually over-policed communities. A lot of promises were made when body cameras crashed onto the scene, especially after Ferguson, Missouri, burned. And, on its face, body cameras do offer potential for real accountability. They can prove that most cops are noble public servants thrown into no-win situations. And they root out instances in which an officer acted as judge, jury and sometimes executioner. The potential of body cameras is undeniable. But it only works if the public can see the footage. -- By the Quad-City Times, like the Globe Gazette a Lee Enterprises newspaper. Pobierz zdjecie Przeczytaj o zasadach pobierania zdjec President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda (photo by Grzegorz Jakubowski / KPRP) (1) Ladies and Gentleman, Dear Compatriots! In the year going by, reforms carried out in many areas have produced and continue to produce tangible benefits to Polish families. Electoral commitments, both made in the presidential campaign and before general elections, are and will continue to be meticulously fulfilled. We are nowadays a state which features more solidarity, takes care of the weaker ones, levels the playing field. The launch of the programme 500+, raising minimum wages, free medication for the elderly, reduction of the age of retirement: all those changes restore in many Poles the sense of dignity and the faith in more equitable rules. We also are a safer state, among others thanks to the results brought by the NATO Summit in Warsaw. On our soil, Allied troops will be permanently deployed. Soon we will be able to greet American soldiers by the Vistula river. That being said, we must also work to reinforce ourselves. The year 2017 will feature profound modernization of the Polish Armed Forces. Our troops, our air force and navy must rest assured that they have top modern equipment and state-of-the-art weaponry at their disposal. Ladies and Gentleman, Our security relies not only on military alliances, but also on the political ones. Poland is one of the biggest and most important countries of the European Union. The level of support to the common European project in the Polish society ranks among the highest in the Old Continent. More than anyone else, we should show great solicitude for the European Union to overcome all the crises which have been pestering it this year, and probably will unfortunately spill over onto 2017. Regardless of differing views about the future of the European Union, the functioning of its institutions or allocation of the most important jobs in the EU, one thing is undeniable: it is in the interest of Poland to see a stable and united Europe driven by solidarity. A secure state is also a strong economy. Therefore, the government should guarantee to Polish entrepreneurs possibly broadest freedom of operation. We should be open to foreign investors but primarily we should promote Polish capital and Polish high-tech. Just as it was the case in the previous year, also in the coming one I am going to lend support to Polish companies. Especially those, which courageously and without any inferiority complex go out to conquer foreign markets. No matter if this is a large power concern or a small company producing computer games, Polish enterprises may count on the support from the President. Welfare and sustainable development of our Home Country also depend on social peace. In those particular days, I wish to urge all my compatriots: let us not allow ourselves to be carried away with political emotions. Let us engage in a civilised dialogue. Let us work together for the benefit of Poland respecting the rules of democracy. I wish to assure you, that as the President of Poland I shall spare no effort to tone down unnecessary conflicts and to soothe disputes. Dear Compatriots! May all your dreams come true and may your most challenging ambitions be achieved. May 2017 be the time of hearth and home, and of professional success, of good courage and optimism to all of you. All the best! Polish President Andrzej Duda sent messages of condolence to Turkey in connection with a terrorist attack in Istanbul. In his message to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, the Polish head of state wrote that he had received the news with pain and sadness. "On behalf of the Polish people and my own let me convey words of sympathy to the families and close ones of the victims of the terrorist act," the president wrote, condemning the heinous act against defenceless people. The Polish president declared that the international community would answer brutality of terrorists with a consistent struggle against perpetrators of such acts of terrorism. (PAP, own information) ( Read 5415 Times) Source : MUMBAI: On the occasion of New Year, different people celebrate in different ways but the people at Shri Radhe Guru Charitable Trust celebrated the New Year in very unique style. On 1st January 2017, they went to the Aadivasi childrens school Madhyamik Ashramshaala Parli in Wada Taluka at Parli in Palghar(Maharashtra) and distributed blankets, books and copies as gifts when they came to know that in winter, the poor children there do not have proper clothes to wear to ward off the chilling cold weather. The people of the Trust often go there and to other places nearby to offer help.On behalf of the Trust, Sanjeev Gupta says, We are always at the service of the people at large. It was indeed an overwhelming experience to spend our time with the children at the Madhyamik Ashramshaala Parli there. There is lack of facilities for living, reading, eating, drinking as well as tools for studies and the government should concentrate on them and ameliorate their living conditions. According to Radhe Maa, service to the people is also one kind of worshipping God. All of us help the needy by organizing different kind of programmes. If we have been gifted with lives as human beings by God, we should not let it go to waste and help people around us and be of use to them. The day we start helping people nearby us, the society we live in and the villages in which we live, there will be a positive change as far as the nation is concerned and hardly any one will be sad or face harsh difficulties. We should forget mutual hatred for each other, religious bigotry as well as caste distinction and be united to work for the betterment of the country. ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) A plan to build windmills off the New Jersey coast that has already burned through nearly $11 million and remains dead in the water is being cut off from further government funding. The U.S. Department of Energy says Fishermen's Energy failed to meet a Dec. 31 deadline to have a power purchase agreement in place. The department is revoking most of the $47 million in funding it pledged to the project in 2014; about $10.6 million has been spent already on preliminary work. The project would have involved building six windmills about three miles off the coast of Atlantic City, which could have generated enough electricity to power 15,000 homes. In a written statement to The Associated Press on Tuesday, the energy department said the Atlantic City project missed a key deadline. "Under the Energy Department's award, Fishermen's Energy must have secured a power offtake agreement by December 31 to be eligible for another round of funding," the department said. "The criteria were not met by that date, so we have initiated the close-out process for the project." Company CEO Chris Wissemann said Fishermen's Energy hopes a last-ditch effort to secure a power deal will succeed. But if it doesn't, he says the company will wait until New Jersey officials adopt friendlier policies toward wind energy development. "We sincerely appreciate the support of the DOE over the past few years seeking to drive down the cost of offshore wind and bring this job intensive industry to the U.S.," he told the AP on Tuesday. "We will continue to seek a customer for our power so that we can eventually build the project, hopefully working with the DOE. We have a short period of time to complete a Hail Mary pass." Wissemann said the company will try to keep the project viable even without the federal funding, even if that means waiting until a new administration is in place next year in Trenton following the departure of Republican Gov. Chris Christie. A spokesman for the state Board of Public Utilities did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rhode Island recently opened a wind farm off Block Island, becoming first in a market New Jersey had once hoped to lead. U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, called the withdrawal of funding a lost opportunity. "At a time when New Jersey's economy continues to struggle and lags behind the nation in job creation, Fishermen's Energy was poised to deliver the kind of good-paying, clean energy jobs Atlantic City and its working families desperately need," he said. "It is deeply frustrating and defies common sense that the state would turn away a nearly $50 million federal investment and turn its back on New Jersey's hardworking families." New Jersey energy regulators have rejected the plan three times, saying among other things that a Chinese company that would have owned 70 percent of the project did not demonstrate financial integrity. Fishermen's Energy says it has cut ties with that firm. A key concern for wind energy projects has been their affordability and whether they will need substantial subsidies to prevent the cost of the power they generate from being too expensive to make it viable. ___ Follow Wayne Parry at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC (tncms-asset)45f666cc-d1d6-11e6-942d-00163ec2aa77(/tncms-asset)ATLANTIC CITY Mayor Don Guardian had a sunny outlook on 2016 when he gave last years unofficial state of the city address. But a year later, Guardians annual speech will be about the state of the state-controlled city. Guardian will deliver his speech around 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Metropolitan Business & Citizens Association Winter New Year Kick Off Luncheon at Golden Nugget Atlantic City. Last years talk included blue-skied optimism for a year of progress after four casinos closed in 2014. But 2016 turned out to be a bad year for the resort, too. In addition to the takeover, a fifth casino closed. Im so glad 2016 is over, Guardian recently said. 2016 hit bottom for Atlantic City.(tncms-asset)a13f555a-02d2-5fab-b3b6-7b34f8c7835d(/tncms-asset) This time, the speech will be about resiliency, said Chris Filiciello, Guardians chief of staff. Filiciello declined to give more details on the speech, which he said was still in progress. We will hear from Mayor Guardian on the steps the State is taking and how the City and State can work together for the betterment of Atlantic City, a flier previewing the speech said. This year could be better if a few things break the citys way. The former Revel casino, now known as TEN, plans to reopen. A new campus for Stockton University and a headquarters for South Jersey Gas should be near completion. A giant observation wheel should arrive at Steel Pier. This year also will be big politically in the city. Guardian faces re-election in November, and Council President Marty Small and Councilman Frank Gilliam are expected to run for mayor. The Associated Press contributed to this report. TOMS RIVER A Toms River pedestrian killed Christmas Day was struck by an NJ Transit bus, the Ocean County Prosecutors Office said Tuesday. An investigation by detectives found Keith Elliot, 45, was struck by the bus at Highland Parkway and Herflicker Boulevard, officials said. The bus driver, Wilford Anderson Jr., 60, of Sicklerville, was questioned by detectives. No charges have been filed, but the Prosecutors Office said the investigation is continuing. On Dec. 25, police responded to a call of a man lying in the street. Police said Elliot was found dead at the scene. The initial investigation found Elliot had been walking from his home on Messenger Street to the bus terminal to go to Lacey Township to spend the holiday with family. The day after the incident, investigators went back to the scene to observe traffic. At about the same time of the crash, an NJ Transit bus traveling north on Highland Parkway made a right turn onto Herflicker. This bus was stopped and the driver, Anderson, was questioned about the prior days pedestrian death, officials said. According to the Prosecutors Office, Anderson said he had worked the previous day in a different bus and allowed a pedestrian to cross in front of the bus and continued his route but was unaware the pedestrian was struck. Anderson told investigators he believed the pedestrian continued walking away from the bus toward the terminal as he made his turn onto Herflicker to continue his route. Security footage and an examination of the bus used Christmas Day confirmed Elliot being hit by the vehicle, officials said. {span}Officials said interviews with bus passengers indicated they were not aware that Elliott had been struck.{/span} 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. FORM 8.3 PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code") 1. KEY INFORMATION (a) Full name of discloser: Jupiter Asset Management Ltd (b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a): The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named. (c) Name of offeror/ offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates: Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree Deutsche Boerse AG (d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree: (e) Date position held /dealing undertaken: For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure 30th December 2016 (f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer? If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state "N/A" Yes London Stock Exchange Group PLC 2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security. (a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any) Class of relevant security: Tendered Ordinary Interests Short positions Number % Number % (1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 6,431,131 3.44 (2) Cash-settled derivatives: (3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell: TOTAL: 6,431,131 3.44 All interests and all short positions should be disclosed. Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions). (b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors' and other employee options) Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists: None Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages: None 3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in. The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated. (a) Purchases and sales Class of relevant security Purchase/sale Number of securities Price per unit Ordinary - Tender Sale 11,917.00 EUR 77.6973 (b) Cash-settled derivative transactions Class of relevant security Product description e.g. CFD Nature of dealing e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position Number of reference securities Price per unit None (c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options) (i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit None (ii) Exercise Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit None (d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities) Class of relevant security Nature of dealing e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable) None 4. OTHER INFORMATION (a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer: Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none" None (b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to: (i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or (ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced: If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none" None (c) Attachments Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO Date of disclosure: 3rd January 2017 Contact name: Nabeel Ashraf Telephone number: 0203 817 1407 Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service and must also be emailed to the Takeover Panel at monitoring@disclosure.org.uk. The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129. The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk. The strategic alliance grants APR Energy exclusivity around the globe as the rental provider of GE mobile gas turbines under 50MW. As part of the agreement, APR Energy will acquire new Generation 8, GE TM2500+ mobile turbines in connection with its initiative to upgrade and standardize its fleet. In addition, GE and APR Energy will collaborate on leads for customers looking for interim or rental power solutions as a bridge to more permanent power solutions. The acquisition of the new mobile turbines further strengthens APR Energy's position as the world's leading provider of mobile gas turbine power, expanding its total fleet capacity to more than 2GW enough to power the equivalent of two million U.S. homes. Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GE, said, "We are very pleased to continue our partnership with APR Energy. We have been impressed with their high level of customer service and ability to deliver turnkey power generation projects in remote locations all around the world. With this strategic alliance, customers will benefit from APR Energy's expertise, and can use GE technology as a bridging solution while their permanent GE power plants are under construction." "We are very excited about the mutual benefits our renewed alliance brings, and appreciate the increased collaboration between our two companies," said John Campion, Chairman of APR Energy. "Our partnership will provide APR Energy access to new leads and opportunities throughout the GE global network, helping to support our business growth and thereby increasing demand for GE equipment. The alliance also provides us with the latest generation of TM2500+ units, giving us the newest fleet in the industry, while benefiting customers with the latest advancements in fuel efficiency and emissions controls." The original strategic alliance agreement between APR Energy and GE was signed in October 2013. The renewal includes continuation of the supply and services agreement, ensuring that GE will continue to provide support to current and future clients of APR Energy. About APR Energy APR Energy is the world's leading provider of fast-track mobile turbine power. Our fast, flexible and full-service power solutions provide customers with rapid access to reliable electricity when and where they need it, for as long as they need it. Combining state-of-the-art, fuel-efficient technology with industry-leading expertise, our scalable turnkey plants help run cities, countries and industries around the world, in both developed and developing markets. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.aprenergy.com. About GE GE (NYSE: GE) is the world's Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the "GE Store," through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry. www.ge.com About GE Power GE Power is a world leader in power generation with deep domain expertise to help customers deliver electricity from a wide spectrum of fuel sources. We are transforming the electricity industry with the digital power plant, the world's largest and most efficient gas turbine, full balance of plant, upgrade and service solutions as well as our data-leveraging software. Our innovative technologies and digital offerings help make power more affordable, reliable, accessible and sustainable. For more information, visit the company's website at www.gepower.com. Follow GE Power on Twitter @GE_Power and on LinkedIn at GE Power. Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/453070/APR_Energy_GE_Australia.jpg Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120207/FL48583LOGO Related Links http://www.APRenergy.com SOURCE APR Energy LONDON, January 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- 3 January 2017 BCRE - Brack Capital Real Estate Investments N.V. ("BCRE" or the "Company") Subsidiary announces refinancing of loan facilities The Company is pleased to announce that the Company's subsidiary Brack Capital Properties N.V. ("BCRE Germany"), whose shares are traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange ("TASE"), announced the refinancing of four loan facilities, amounting to approximately EUR 42 million, obtained from two different German banks. The new facility, amounting to approximately EUR 56 million, has a 7 year term. For ease of reference, the uncertified English translation of the announcement together with the original announcement which was published on the TASE in Hebrew, is available on the Company's website www.brack-capital.com. ENQUIRIES: BCRE - Brack Capital Real Estate Investments N.V. Ariel Podrojski, Chief Executive Officer Nansia Koutsou, Chief Financial Officer / Chief Operating Officer +31 20 514 1004 Novella Communications Tim Robertson Toby Andrews +44 203 151 7008 About BCRE BCRE is an international real estate development and investment group, headquartered in the Netherlands and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Through its subsidiary and associated undertakings, the Company is interested in, develops and operates an international portfolio of real estate assets, predominantly located in the USA, Germany and Russia. The Company has established local management team platforms with significant local market expertise in the US, Germany, Russia, India and the UK with exclusive access to over 550 staff. At present, the Company has offices and teams in New York, London, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Moscow, Kazan, New Delhi, Amsterdam and Limassol. This is a disclosure announcement from PR Newswire. SOURCE BCRE - Brack Capital Real Estate Investments N.V. GOTEBORG, Sweden, Jan 03, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Capio Narsjukvard AB has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares in Backa Lakarhus AB "Backa" in Sweden. Backa operates eleven primary care centers and nine rehabilitation centers in Region Vastra Gotaland, and one medical care center in Region Halland. Estimated net sales for 2016 is MSEK 345. The acquisition of Backa complements and strengthens Capio's presence and medical offering within primary care in the western parts of Sweden. The largest part of the operations, including the eleven primary care centers and nine rehabilitation centers, is operated under free healthcare choice. The medical care center located in Kungsbacka south of Gothenburg is operated under a publically procured contract valid until December 31, 2018. The primary care and rehabilitation centers are located in the Gothenburg area and in other growing areas north of Gothenburg. In total, Backa has 83,000 listed patients and is since its inception in 2002 a well-established healthcare provider in the region. The primary care operations are remunerated based on Region Vastra Gotaland's free healthcare choice models for primary care and rehabilitation and represents more than 90% of Backa's net sales. The company has a strong brand reputation and is known among its patients for high availability and good service. After the acquisition, Capio will have 24 primary care centers and nine rehabilitation centers with more than 200,000 listed patients in western Sweden. In total, the business area Capio Proximity Care will have primary care centers including rehabilitation centers at 87 different locations spread over twelve county councils and regions in Sweden, with a total of more than 750,000 listed patients. "The acquisition of Backa will further distinguish Capio Proximity Care as a leading primary care provider in Sweden. It strengthens our presence in the growing western region of Sweden and offers a broader platform to further develop and drive e-health solutions", says Thomas Berglund, President and CEO of Capio AB. The owners and board of Backa are happy to receive Capio as a strong and long-term owner. Following Capio's high quality and care for its patients and employees, it feels good to hand over Backa to Capio", says George Eliasson, Chairman of the board. Enterprise value is MSEK 300 and the acquisition is estimated to be closed and included in the Capio Group from March 2017. Backa will be part of the Nordic segment and yearly synergy effects of in total approximately MSEK 10 are expected to be realized over the coming two years. The acquisition, which is subject to approval by the affected county councils (Region Vastra Gotaland and Region Halland) and subject to unconditioned approval from the Competition Authority, is expected to contribute positively to Capio's earnings during 2017. For information, please contact: Kristina Ekeblad, IR manager Telephone: +46 708 31 19 40 Henrik Brehmer, SVP Group Communication and Public Affairs Telephone: +46 761 11 34 14 This information is information that Capio AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08:00 CET on January 3, 2017. CONTACT: This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/capio-ab/r/capio-to-acquire-the-swedish-healthcare-group-backa-lakarhus,c2159416 The following files are available for download: SOURCE Capio AB STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Jan 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Tobii, the global leader in eye tracking, is poised for another year of industry-leading innovation as it brings eye tracking solutions to multiple new consumer technology categories including VR, personal computing and smartphones. Building on rapid 2016 growth with the introduction of six consumer eye tracking devices, including the Alienware 17 gaming notebook and several monitors from Acer's Predator gaming line, Tobii will showcase what this year has in store at the 2017 International CES in Las Vegas, Jan. 5-8. "In the past 12 months we've seen The Eye Tribe acquired by Facebook, EyeFluence acquired by Google, FOVE take its first pre-orders and multiple consumer integrations of our own technology with Alienware, Acer, Huawei and MSI," said Oscar Werner, president of Tobii Tech. "If 2016 was an indicator of the growing interest in eye tracking, it's only the beginning; 2017 is going to be an even more interesting year for Tobii." At CES, Tobii will discuss its leadership in the following areas: Virtual Reality 2017 will be the year that Tobii, in partnership with manufacturers and developers, will bring consumer-grade foveated rendering technology to both VR and PC gaming devices. Removing one of the greatest barriers to the widespread adoption of consumer VR, foveated rendering significantly enhances graphics performance while reducing GPU demands, bringing consumers closer to untethered and more immersive VR experiences. With over eight years of wearable eye tracking expertise, a full scale, in-house VR R&D team and the world's largest eye tracking patent portfolio, Tobii has both the technological acumen and operational flexibility to deliver industry leading innovations for VR. Beyond this major milestone, Tobii is innovating in other key areas of eye tracking for VR, including social cues, character interaction and dynamic content. Most recently, the company announced its participation in the Khronos Group VR Standards Initiative with industry leaders Oculus VR, Google VR, Valve and NVIDIA as well as plans to invest $50M in its own large scale VR and smartphone initiatives Personal Computing Unveiled today, the Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro is the world's first general consumer notebook with integrated eye tracking. Through the use of dynamic multitasking features like 'Touch at Gaze' and 'App Switcher,' eye tracking creates smoother workflows and easier navigation between apps. For example, with 'Touch at Gaze', users only need to place their finger on the precision touchpad (PTP) and the mouse pointer appears in the area they want it. When users scroll the computer will know what window to scroll in automatically, since you are already looking at it. Smartphones Tobii has also made its first mobile integration with Huawei's Honor Magic smartphone. Announced in December and only available in China, the device uses Tobii EyeCore algorithms and a near infrared camera to acquire information on the user's presence and attention, making it more responsive and intuitive. With a user facing intelligent sensor, the Honor Magic has greater insight into the user's intention and is better able to accommodate their actions. A first step in the mobile category, Tobii is exploring additional applications and use cases for eye tracking in smartphones. PC Gaming As it continues its aggressive expansion in PC Gaming, Tobii will also debut two new major eye tracking titles, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Dying Light at CES 2017. Now available in over 45 titles at TobiiGaming.com including, WATCH_DOGS 2, Steep, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Tom Clancy's The Division and Elite: Dangerous several new eye tracking enhanced games are added monthly. Tobii expects 100 eye tracking enhanced games by the end of 2017, including several more upcoming AAA titles. These titles provide gamers greater immersion through a steadily growing number of gaming devices, suiting a wide variety of gamer preferences, including peripherals: Tobii EyeX, Tobii Eye Tracker 4C and SteelSeries Sentry; gaming notebooks: Alienware 17, Predator 21X and MSI GT72; and monitors: Predator Z271T, XB251HQT and XB271HUT. "Founded over fifteen years ago with the vision of an eye tracker in every computer, we're very happy to bring our tech to a wider array of consumer markets and continue our position as the clear market leader," continued Werner. Visit Tobii to go hands-on with its latest eye tracking product at CES 2017 in the Las Vegas Convention Center, South Hall 2, Booth 26602. CONTACT: Contact Stephan Floyd, Head of Content, PR and Brand, Tobii Tech +1-781-223-2005 Stephan.floyd@tobii.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com The following files are available for download: SOURCE Tobii Tech NEW YORK, Jan. 03, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The following statement is being issued by Levi & Korsinsky, LLP: To: All persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired American Depositary Shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (NYSE:EDU) between September 27, 2016 and December 1, 2016. You are hereby notified that a securities class action lawsuit has been commenced in the USDC for the District of New Jersey. To get more information go to: http://www.zlk.com/pslra/new-oriental-education-edu or contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. either via email at jlevi@zlk.com or by telephone at (212) 363-7500, toll-free: (877) 363-5972. There is no cost or obligation to you. The complaint alleges that during the Class Period the Company made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) New Oriental engaged in college application fraud; and (2) as a result, Defendants statements about New Orientals business, operations and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. On December 2, 2016, Reuters reported that eight former and current New Oriental employees informed the news outlet that the Company engaged in college application fraud, including writing application essays and teacher recommendations, and falsifying high school transcripts. On this news, shares of New Oriental fell $6.99 per share from its previous closing price to close at $42.00 per share on December 2, 2016, damaging investors. If you suffered a loss in New Oriental you have until February 13, 2017 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesnt require that you serve as a lead plaintiff. Levi & Korsinsky is a national firm with offices in New York, New Jersey, California, Connecticut, and Washington D.C. The firms attorneys have extensive expertise and experience representing investors in securities litigation, and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for aggrieved shareholders. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. SAN FRANCISCO, January 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The global cognitive computing market size is expected to reach USD 49.36 billion by 2025, according to a new study conducted by Grand View Research, Inc. The surge in demand for the cognitive computing technology across North America and Europe is anticipated to drive the industry growth over the next nine years. It enables business organizations to incorporate advanced data analytics technology in their business processes to measure the risk associated with the strategic initiatives. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150105/723757 ) Industry players are progressively investing a significant amount to adopt the modern cognitive solution by profound research and development. Since 2010, several mergers and acquisitions have taken place by large enterprises to utilize this inherent technological platform into the organization. The incorporation of features, such as Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things that enables automated integration between software, hardware platform, and the consumer, is energizing the industry growth prospects. These features subsequently influence the market dynamics and accelerate the growth momentum to rise to its optimal level. The increasing consumer preference toward profound data analysis is a favorable trend observed in the market. The continuous development of cloud computing platform and on-premises hardware equipment for the safe and secure data storage is instrumental to the widespread adoption of cognitive solution across diverse industrial verticals. The cognitive computing solution has the potential to perform analysis and support business decision making against a huge amount of data generated daily across various industries. It also has the potential to identify anomalous behavior in the data by inspecting usage patterns to block the cyber-attacks. Browse full research report with TOC on "Cognitive Computing Market Analysis By Technology (Machine Learning), By Deployment (On-Premise, Cloud), By Application (BFSI, Healthcare, Security, Retail, IT & Telecom, Aerospace) By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2014 - 2025" at: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/cognitive-computing-market Further key findings from the study suggest: The natural language processing technology segment dominated the industry, accounting for over 40% of the overall volume due to the surging demand for pattern recognition Cloud systems are expected to gain momentum as they facilitate secure and integrated data storage solution according to the business requirements The Asia Pacific region is predicted to emerge as the fastest growing market owing to the rise in small and medium enterprises in emerging countries, such as India and China region is predicted to emerge as the fastest growing market owing to the rise in small and medium enterprises in emerging countries, such as and Prominent vendors operating in the market include Google, IBM, Microsoft Corporation, Oracle Corporation, SAP, Statistical Analysis System (SAS), and Saffron Technology Increased focus on research and development activities and adoption of artificial intelligence are being observed in the industry Browse related reports by Grand View Research: Smart Water Meters Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/smart-water-meters-market Transportation Systems And Analytics Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/transportation-systems-analytics-market Waste Derived Biogas Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/waste-derived-biogas-market 3D Gaming Console Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/3d-gaming-console-market Grand View Research has segmented the global cognitive computing market on the basis of technology, deployment, application, and region: Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2025) Natural Language Processing Machine Learning Automated Reasoning Information Retrieval Deployment Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2025) On-premises Cloud Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2025) Healthcare Retail BFSI Security IT & Telecom Aerospace & Defense Others Cognitive Computing Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2025) North America U.S. Canada Europe UK Germany Asia Pacific China Japan India Latin America Brazil Mexico Middle East & Africa About Grand View Research Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare. Read Our Blogs - Cognitive Computing Market Outlook: A new trend in data analytics Contact: Sherry James Corporate Sales Specialist, USA Grand View Research, Inc Phone: 1-415-349-0058 Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519 Email: sales@grandviewresearch.com Web: http://www.grandviewresearch.com SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc. STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on the information available for the period October-December 2016, G5 forecasts quarterly revenue of approximately SEK 184 M, which corresponds to achieving 82 per cent revenue growth versus comparable figures for the same period 2015. For the full year 2016, G5 forecasts revenue of approximately SEK 516 M, which corresponds to achieving 34 per cent revenue growth versus comparable figures for 2015. The group's Year-end report for 2016 will be released on February 23, 2017. More information about the Company can be found on www.g5e.se/corporate. CONTACT: For further information, please contact: Vlad Suglobov, CEO, investor@g5e.com Stefan Wikstrand, CFO, 46 76 00 11 115 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/g5-entertainment-ab/r/preliminary-results-october-december-2016,c2159472 The following files are available for download: Related Links http://www.g5e.se/corporate SOURCE G5 Entertainment AB KISTA, Sweden, Jan 03, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Proact IT Group AB (publ) has, via its own shares and cash, acquired all the shares of Teamix GmbH. The total purchase price is 9 MEUR, which corresponds to a P/E ratio of 8. The operation will be part of the Proact Business Unit West, and will be operated as a separate entity under the name Proact IT Germany GmbH. It is strategically important for Proact to be present in the German market. Proact founded a "greenfield" operation in Germany in 2014. The acquisition of Teamix, an established, growing and well-managed company, will accelerate Proact's growth in Germany and increase the earnings per share of Proact. For Oliver Kuegow and Richard Muller, co-founders of Teamix, it's especially the international aspects and the power of a larger corporation that made them interested in being part of the Proact Group. "Joining forces with Proact enables us to deliver improved levels of projects and services for the benefit of our customers, at the same time we will gain operational synergies in the service business" says Oliver Kuegow and Richard Muller. Both of them will remain as Directors in Proact IT Germany GmbH. Teamix is a skilled provider of technology and services to a diverse customer base in Germany. Teamix has strong capability in all the core Proact areas of datacenter architecture and associated services. Teamix will also augment Proact's existing networking and security portfolio with their own specialist and dedicated expertise. In addition, Teamix will align well with Proact's core values of integrity, commitment and excellence. The company has 85 employees with an annual turnover of approximately 35 MEUR. Teamix is headquartered in Nurnberg, with additional offices in Bayreuth, Mainz and Munich. Proact's CEO Jason Clark says "Teamix is a perfect match for Proact when it comes to culture and capability. With the addition of such an established and successful business, and a capable management team, Proact achieves scale and competence in a core European market. I look forward to enhancing our customer value, with a new and stronger team in Germany". CONTACT: For further information, please contact: Jason Clark, CEO and President, Proact IT Group AB, Tel 44 1246 266300 Peter Javestad, Vice President IR, Proact IT Group AB, Tel 46 733 56 67 22, E-mail : peter.javestad@proact.eu This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/proact-it-group/r/proact-acquires-teamix-gmbh-to-strengthen-its-position-in-germany,c2159386 The following files are available for download: SOURCE Proact IT Group OSLO, Norway, Jan 03, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Telia Company has renewed and expanded the cooperation with NextGenTel for providing tele and data communication services to Telia Company's Nordic corporate customers located in Norway. The duration of the contract is until the end of 2019 with an option to prolong. Today, Telia has approximately 2,500 sites with tele and data communication services delivered by NextGenTel in Norway. The contract includes among others the following services; Business Internet, DataNet and DataNet 4G (L3VPN), and DataNet Service Center Connection to Telia Entry (Managed Voice) and represents an annual revenue of 75 MNOK for NextGenTel. "NextGenTel is proud and humble about the renewal and expansion of the contract to deliver tele and data communication services to Telia Company's Nordic corporate customers located in Norway," says Eirik Lunde, CEO in NextGenTel. "The contract confirms our position as one of Norway's largest providers of broadband and broadband services. At the end of September 2016, NextGenTel had 144,700 broadband lines in operation, of which 17,900 in the business segment. Based on our national presence and own network structure it is possible for our company to customize services, delivery volumes and terms to customers' various needs and requirements to the delivery of broadband." CONTACT: This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/nextgentel-holding-asa/r/renewal-and-expansion-of-telia-s-cooperation-with-nextgentel,c2159610 SOURCE NextGenTel Holding ASA Furthers Mission to Address Unmet Medical Needs Across the Globe TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Teewinot Life Sciences Corporation (Teewinot), a global leader in the use of biosynthetic processes for the production of kilogram quantities of pharmaceutical grade cannabinoids, announced today that its Irish subsidiary, Full Spectrum Laboratories, Ltd. (FSL), was granted a U.S. patent entitled Chemical Engineering Processes and Apparatus for the Synthesis of Compounds. U.S. Patent No. 9,526,715 ("the '715 patent") was granted on December 27, 2016. The '715 patent claims are directed to biosynthetic processes for making cannabinoids. Teewinot's CEO Jeff Korentur stated "Our intent is to create disruption in the pharmaceutical cannabinoid manufacturing space. We have demonstrated that these proprietary equipment and methods improve a wide range of API production metrics, and we look forward to partnering with customers that could benefit from these advantages." Teewinot's Executive Vice President Dr. Richard Peet stated that "Teewinot's Irish subsidiary, FSL, owns a rapidly expanding patent portfolio covering processes for manufacture of cannabinoids, cannabinoid prodrugs and cannabinoid analogs. FSL's patent portfolio also covers novel cannabinoid prodrugs, cannabinoid analogs and treatment therapies. With federally licensed laboratories in Canada, an Irish subsidiary, and global headquarters in Tampa, Florida, Teewinot is well positioned to be a worldwide leader in the manufacture and delivery of cannabinoid-based therapies." About Teewinot Life Sciences Corporation Teewinot Life Sciences Corporation is an international biopharmaceutical company focused on the use of novel biosynthetic processes such as biocatalysis and synthetic biology, as well as sophisticated formulation technologies, for the production and delivery of cannabinoid-based therapies. With headquarters in Tampa, Florida, Teewinot is an industry leader in the development and implementation of technologies for the cost-effective manufacture of pharmaceutically pure authentic cannabinoids. Teewinot's global technology and intellectual property portfolio represent a breakthrough in the manufacture and delivery of cannabinoid-based pharmaceuticals. For more information, please visit www.tlscorp.com or follow us on Twitter (@teewinot_corp). For More Information: Teewinot Life Sciences Corporation Drew White drew@nisonco.com (631) 520-1435 SOURCE Teewinot Life Sciences Corporation - Leading cockpit electronics supplier consolidates its leadership position in cockpit domain controllers - Slated to introduce second SmartCore program on global vehicle platform in 2020 KARLSRUHE, Germany, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Visteon Corporation (NYSE: VC), a leading cockpit electronics supplier, has secured a second major customer vehicle program for its industry-leading cockpit domain controller technology, SmartCore. Visteon is the only supplier offering an automotive-grade, integrated domain controller approach that can independently operate the infotainment system, instrument cluster and potentially other features on one System on Chip (SoC). Visteon is scheduled to launch the first SmartCore-based solution in 2018, for a European vehicle manufacturer. This second SmartCore business win, also with a European automaker, offers instrument cluster and infotainment features and expands the platform to high-end applications with industry-first 3-D display and augmented reality head-up display capabilities. "This second major business win further validates SmartCore as a viable solution to manage the increasing cost and complexity of in-vehicle electronics," said Sachin Lawande, Visteon president and CEO. "Visteon is well-positioned to lead the consolidation of electronic control units in the cockpit space, and we are in active dialogue with several automakers to adopt this technology into their vehicles." The SmartCore architecture is fully scalable and cyber-secured through virtualization of the different cores and controlled firewalls. This enables independent functional domains with different levels of ASIL requirements initially driver information and infotainment while future domains can be added to operate separately and securely. "For the automaker, SmartCore offers a cost-effective, space-saving cockpit electronics solution that is fully scalable and can be updated over-the-air," Lawande continued. "Drivers and passengers will benefit from an enhanced instrument cluster and infotainment experience, boosted by a single seamless human machine interface, offering access to multiple levels of information." SmartCore is designed to integrate infotainment, instrument clusters, information displays, head-up displays, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and connectivity providing a foundation for the evolution to autonomous driving. About Visteon Visteon is a global company that designs, engineers and manufactures innovative cockpit electronics products and connected car solutions for most of the world's major vehicle manufacturers. Visteon is a leading provider of instrument clusters, head-up displays, information displays, infotainment, audio systems, telematics solutions and SmartCore cockpit domain controllers. Visteon also supplies embedded multimedia and smartphone connectivity software solutions to the global automotive industry. Headquartered in Van Buren Township, Michigan, Visteon has approximately 10,000 employees at more than 40 facilities in 18 countries. Visteon had sales of $3.25 billion in 2015. Learn more at www.visteon.com. Follow Visteon: www.twitter.com/visteon www.youtube.com/visteon http://blog.visteon.com www.google.com/+visteon www.linkedin.com/company/visteon https://www.facebook.com/VisteonCorporation https://www.instagram.com/visteon http://www.slideshare.net/VisteonCorporation Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/352910/visteon_corporation_logo.jpg Related Links http://www.visteon.com SOURCE Visteon Corporation ALBANY, New York, January 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Transparency Market Research observes that the competitive landscape in the global hygienic and aseptic valves market has quite a few leading players. Currently the players are focusing on expanding their business in emerging markets to cater to the huge potential in the developing regions. "Furthermore, companies are also looking at providing solutions to sectors such as biotechnology and pharmaceuticals to strengthen their market position," states the lead author of this research report. Some of the key players operating in the global market are Alfa Laval AB, SOX Flow, Inc., ITT Corporation, GEA Group AG, and Pentair PLc. The research report states that the global hygienic and aseptic valves market is expected to be worth US$9.0 bn by the end of 2025 as compared to US$6.0 bn in 2015. The market is expected to show progress of 4.8% CAGR during the forecast period. Download PDF brochure for this Report: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=17798 Hygienic Single Seat Valves Show Robust Growth Rate as Companies Comply to Sanitation Norms On the basis of types of valves, the global market is segmented into hygienic single seat valves, hygienic double seat valves, hygienic butterfly valves, hygienic control valves, and aseptic valves. Of these, the hygienic single seat valves are expected to outperform all other segments. By the end of the forecast period, the segment is expected to acquire a share of 26.0% in the global market. The dominant share of this segment will be attributable to the ability of these valves to meet the strict regulations pertaining to aseptic and hygienic processes in industries such as pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, and dairy. In terms of geography, North America is leading the global market due to region's continuous investment in expanding manufacturing facilities. The region is expected to rise at a CAGR of 7.1% between 2016 and 2025. Automation and Modernization of Production Processes Boosts Global Market Analysts state that the demand for hygienic and aseptic valves is likely to be on the rise in the coming years. The demand is likely to be fueled by the need to eliminate the usage of food preservatives in the food industry. Presently, several fitness-conscious and health-conscious people are focused toward reducing the consumption of food preservatives due a growing awareness about their negative impact on the human body. The majority of the processed food and beverages includes preservatives that are hampering the natural metabolism of the body. Thus, to cut down the usage of these harmful substances, food manufacturers are deploying hygienic valves in several industrial sectors. Browse Regional PR: http://www.europlat.org/hygienic-aseptic-valves-market.htm The market is also expected to grow against the backdrop of increasing focus on sanitary regulations especially in the food and beverages industry. The market is also being supported by growing initiatives of modernization in countries such as the U.S., China, Brazil, and India. The cooperation from several large organizations to comply with sanitary, safety, and modernization norms are collectively expected to boost the growth of the market. In the coming years, efforts to incorporate plant automation are also likely to augment the demand for these valves, state analysts. Poor Logistics to Hamper Sales of Hygienic and Aseptic Valves The steady future of the global hygienic and aseptic valves market is likely to be hampered by the unreliable supply of hygienic aseptic valves. The wavering quality of these valves due to changes in suppliers and poor distribution system is expected to hamper the progress of the global market. However, several companies are focusing on establishing steady logistics and supply chain solutions to solve this issue. The review is based on Transparency Market Research's report, titled "Hygienic and Aseptic Valves Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2025." The Hygienic and Aseptic Valves market has been segmented as below: The Hygienic and Aseptic Valves Market, By Valves Type Hygienic Single Seat Valves Hygienic Double Seat Valves (Mixproof Valves) Hygienic Butterfly Valves Hygienic Control Valves Aseptic Valves The Hygienic and Aseptic Valves Market, By Application Dairy Processing Food Processing Beverage Pharmaceuticals Biotechnology The Hygienic and Aseptic Valves Market, By Country/Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa & South America Related Research Reports by TMR: Control Valves Market: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/control-valves-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/control-valves-market.html Actuators and Valves Market : http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/actuators-valves-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/actuators-valves-market.html Fuel Delivery System Market : http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/fuel-delivery-system-market.html About Us Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge. Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMR's syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement. US Office Contact Transparency Market Research 90 State Street, Suite 700 Albany, NY 12207 Tel: +1-518-618-1030 USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453 Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com Website: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Google+: https://plus.google.com/+Transparencymarketresearch SOURCE Transparency Market Research WuXi NextCODE COO Hannes Smarason will provide a full corporate overview and update on recent partnerships and milestones in the company's strategy to provide a fully-integrated, global standard platform for using large-scale genomics data to improve healthcare, medicine and wellness for people and populations around the world. About WuXi NextCODE WuXi NextCODE is a fully integrated global contract genomics organization. With offices in Shanghai; Kendall Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Reykjavik, Iceland, we offer comprehensive services that enable population, precision medicine, diagnostics and wellness initiatives and enterprises to use the genome to improve health around the world. Our capabilities span study design, sequencing, secondary analysis, storage, and interpretation and scalable analytics all backed by the most proven and widely used technology for organizing, mining and sharing genome sequence data. We are also applying the same capabilities to advance a growing range of sequence-based tests and scans in China. WuXi NextCODE is a subsidiary of WuXi AppTec. Visit us on the web at wuxinextcode.com. Contact: WuXi NextCODE Edward Farmer, PhD EVP, Communications and New Ventures efarmer@wuxinextcode.com +1 781 775 6206 Related Links http://wuxinextcode.com SOURCE WuXi NextCODE HOUSTON, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- American Gilsonite Company ("American Gilsonite", or "AGC"), the world's principal commercial miner and processor of uintaite, the unique mineral marketed under its trademark name "Gilsonite," today announced that it has completed its financial restructuring and has emerged from the chapter 11 process. David G. Gallagher, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We have expeditiously emerged from this financial restructuring with a significantly stronger balance sheet and a sustainable capital structure. The ad hoc committee of second lien bondholders was supportive and helpful in navigating and successfully completing the process. Today, American Gilsonite is well positioned both financially and operationally to build and drive the business for the benefit of our customers, employees, and business partners. A just outcome for an iconic company." On October 24, 2016, American Gilsonite and its affiliates filed voluntary petitions for protection under chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in order to implement the terms of a prepackaged plan of reorganization (the "Plan") that had been agreed upon by its key financial stakeholders. The Plan was confirmed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on December 12, 2016. The Company emerged from chapter 11 on December 31, 2016. American Gilsonite was represented by Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Evercore Partners while the second lien bondholders were represented by Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP and Houlihan Lokey. Forward-Looking Statements The information above includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. As a result of these factors, actual results may differ materially from those indicated or implied by such forward-looking statements. About American Gilsonite Company (www.americangilsonite.com) AGC operates as an industrial minerals company and is the world's primary miner and processor of uintaite, a variety of asphaltite, a specialty hydrocarbon which AGC markets to industrial customers under its registered trademark name "Gilsonite". Gilsonite is a glossy, black, solid naturally occurring hydrocarbon similar in appearance to hard asphalt and is believed to be found in commercial quantities only in the Uinta Basin in northeastern Utah. Because of its unique chemical and physical properties, Gilsonite has been used in more than 160 products. The Company sells its products to customers in four primary markets: (i) oil and gas, (ii) inks and paints, (iii) foundry and (iv) asphalt. AGC is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Contact Peter Hill Kekst and Company 212-521-4800 [email protected] SOURCE American Gilsonite Company Related Links http://www.americangilsonite.com HANGZHOU and SHAOXING, China, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascletis announced today it has successfully completed US$100 million (RMB 700 million) series B financing. The investment was led by C-Bridge Capital, joined by a number of new investors including QianHai Equity Investment FOF, FOCUS Media Jiangnanchun Foundation, WTT Investment, together with the current investors Goldman Sachs, Tasly Pharmaceutical which participated in series A financing. Ascletis plans to use the proceeds from this financing to expand its product portfolio and sales force. Ascletis is dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing new treatments for Liver Diseases. Currently chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is its primary focus. With two novel direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs), Danoprevir (ASC08) and Ravidasvir (ASC16), Ascletis provides two regimens for CHC patients: Triple therapy and all-oral interferon-free therapy. The clinical study results show that with 12-week treatment, the cure rate (SVR12) of both regimens exceeded 95% in genotype 1 CHC patients. Danoprevir is awarded as the National Science and Technology Major Project for "Innovative Drug Development" and the New Drug Application (NDA) for Danoprevir was recently accepted by China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA). Ravidasvir is given Priority Review Designation by CFDA. The successful completion of the series B financing secures funds for Ascletis to expand its product portfolio into other liver disease areas such as chronic hepatitis B. "We're very pleased with the support and commitment of our current investors and the participation of new investors. We're excited that our accomplishments, especially Danoprevir NDA filing, are recognized by more and more investors," said Jinzi J. Wu, Ph.D., Ascletis' founder, President and CEO. "US$100 million series B financing at the beginning of the New Year will definitely bring an extraordinary 2017 for Ascletis. We aim to make the historical step of being the first Chinese company to launch in 2017 an innovative medicine treating CHC patients in China. We will expand our liver disease pipeline to provide more high quality medicines for Chinese and global markets." "Ascletis is one of the most innovative drug developers in China. We are happy to see the remarkable progress it has made since our first investment in 2015," said Mr. Wei Fu, CEO of C-Bridge Capital. "With this second investment of US$100 million, we are excited that Ascletis will extend its pipeline into hepatitis B and other liver disease indications. We will continue to support Ascletis' innovation and future growth working together with all new and existing investors." Mr. Haitao Jin, Chief executive partner of QianHai Equity Investment FOF, commented, "QianHai Equity Fund is an innovative fund that invests in both funds and corporations. Biomedical area is one of our most important and valuable areas of investment focus. Ascletis' new generation Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) treatment represents the most advanced HCV treatment developed by China. It will benefit and provide an effective new treatment option for Chinese HCV-infected patients as well as help bringing China's Hepatitis C disease control effort to a new era. We are very optimistic about Ascletis' products and have faith in its growth potential. QianHai Equity Fund will provide its full support to Asceltis' business growth and IPO effort." Ascletis secured US$55 million in Series A financing led by C-Bridge Capital and Goldman Sachs during the second half of 2015. About Ascletis Ascletis is a biotechnology company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing new treatments for liver diseases. Ascletis has assembled an entrepreneurial management and senior scientific team with a track record of successful pharmaceutical discovery and development at major global pharmaceutical companies. To date the company has added four late-stage candidates to its product portfolio: Danoprevir (ASC08), an NDA-filed HCV protease inhibitor, licensed from Roche; Ravidasvir (ASC16), phase 2 completed HCV NS5A inhibitor, licensed from Presidio Pharmaceuticals; ASC06, a clinical stage, first-in-class, RNAi therapeutic for the treatment of liver cancers, licensed from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; and ASC09, a phase 2a completed HIV protease inhibitor, licensed from Janssen, a Johnson & Johnson company. For more information, please visit www.ascletis.com. SOURCE Ascletis Bioscience Co., Ltd. Related Links http://www.ascletis.com SMITHFIELD, Va., Jan. 03, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smithfield Foods, Inc. today announced that Fitch Ratings, a leading provider of credit ratings, commentary and research, has assigned Smithfield an investment grade Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of BBB, with a stable outlook. Fitch is the second rating agency to formally assign an investment grade rating to Smithfield, following Standard & Poor's assignment of a BBB- Corporate Credit Rating in October 2016. In its assignment of a BBB IDR, Fitch noted Smithfield's leading position in the global pork industry, its continued improvement in product mix towards higher margin packaged meats, as well as Smithfield's and its parent companys prudent approach to leverage and liquidity. We are pleased to achieve this rating from Fitch, said Kenneth M. Sullivan, president and chief executive officer of Smithfield Foods. This rating is a clear recognition of Smithfield's continued strong operating performance, prudent financial management, the power of its integrated business model, and the clear benefits of its relationship with its parent company in setting a path towards future growth and success." Smithfields rating was upgraded one level due to the relationship with its parent company, WH Group, a Hong Kong-based and publicly traded company with shareholders around the world, including numerous investors in the United States. Fitch assigned a BBB+/Stable rating to WH Group while Smithfield earned a stand-alone of BBB-. Recognized by Fitch in its analysis, Smithfields relationship with WH Group provides the worlds largest hog producer and pork processor with greater access to China, the largest and fastest growing pork market. More information about Smithfield Foods may be found at smithfieldfoods.com. This news release may contain "forward-looking" information within the meaning of the federal securities laws. The forward-looking information may include statements concerning the company's outlook for the future, as well as other statements of beliefs, future plans and strategies or anticipated events, and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. The forward-looking information and statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These risks and uncertainties include availability and prices of livestock, raw materials and supplies, livestock costs, livestock disease, food safety, product pricing, the competitive environment and related market conditions, ability to make and successfully integrate acquisitions, operating efficiencies, access to capital, the cost of compliance with environmental and health standards, adverse results from ongoing litigation and actions of domestic and foreign governments. About Smithfield Foods Smithfield Foods is a $14 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan's Famous, Farmland, Armour, John Morrell, Cook's, Kretschmar, Gwaltney, Curly's, Margherita, Carando, Healthy Ones, Krakus, Morliny and Berlinki. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com. SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bluewater Technologies Group, Inc. is pleased to announce the opening of its sixth facility. In order to accommodate the continued growth and forecast of new employees required to support increased demand, Bluewater has moved part of its audio visual integration operations to a newly renovated 26,000 sq. ft. space in Farmington Hills, Michigan. This move will support Bluewater's on-going growth plans. Core Values graffiti by Antonio "Shades" Agee Lobby Collaboration Space "This is an exciting time in our company's growth," said Jeff Day, CEO of Bluewater. "As inventors of technology and audio-visual experiences for strong brands, we deliver the exceptional experiences that customers crave. And while the move increases our ability to scale our operations, we have an added benefit of drawing upon and recruiting talent to southeast Michigan." The move provides current employees an exciting new work environment that they will be eager to come to every day. Additionally, it will allow Bluewater to continue expanding and creating new jobs. "Our rapid growth drove our need to find more office and warehouse space," said Tobi Tungl, Vice President of Operations. "The additional space allows us to address our growth needs and maintain the essential elements that are most important to our team." This site features an open floor plan, huddle rooms, and unique personal spaces. We have created an environment that reflects our culture and supports us as a destination where employees love coming to work every day. Local Detroit artist Antonio "Shades" Agee was commissioned to provide interpretive graffiti, drawing out Bluewater's unique personality. This work represents the organization's personality and how it envisions the exceptional experiences found at the intersection of technology and creativity. Shades has provided other signature work for Bluewater in other facilities. A ribbon cutting ceremony has been scheduled for January 26, 2017, at 1 p.m. For inquiries on attending contact Bluewater marketing at [email protected] About Bluewater Technologies Group, Inc. Bluewater works with agencies, producers, exhibit houses, architects, and consultants to create moving live event and AV technology experiences for strong brands. Founded in 1985 in Southfield, MI as a rental shop, Bluewater now operates four distinct business units: Meeting & Event Technology, Audio Visual Integration, Experiential, and Fixtures & Displays. All of our employees work toward a commitment to deliver flawlessly on every project we engage. To learn more visit www.bluewatertech.com or contact us at [email protected]. Media Contact: Scott Schoeneberger 248.356.4399 x474 [email protected] Related Images image1.jpg image2.jpg This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com/. SOURCE Bluewater Technologies Group, Inc. Related Links http://bluewatertech.com STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Jan 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Tobii, the global leader in eye tracking, is poised for another year of industry-leading innovation as it brings eye tracking solutions to multiple new consumer technology categories including VR, personal computing and smartphones. Building on rapid 2016 growth with the introduction of six consumer eye tracking devices, including the Alienware 17 gaming notebook and several monitors from Acer's Predator gaming line, Tobii will showcase what this year has in store at the 2017 International CES in Las Vegas, Jan. 5-8. "In the past 12 months we've seen The Eye Tribe acquired by Facebook, EyeFluence acquired by Google, FOVE take its first pre-orders and multiple consumer integrations of our own technology with Alienware, Acer, Huawei and MSI," said Oscar Werner, president of Tobii Tech. "If 2016 was an indicator of the growing interest in eye tracking, it's only the beginning; 2017 is going to be an even more interesting year for Tobii." At CES, Tobii will discuss its leadership in the following areas: Virtual Reality 2017 will be the year that Tobii, in partnership with manufacturers and developers, will bring consumer-grade foveated rendering technology to both VR and PC gaming devices. Removing one of the greatest barriers to the widespread adoption of consumer VR, foveated rendering significantly enhances graphics performance while reducing GPU demands, bringing consumers closer to untethered and more immersive VR experiences. With over eight years of wearable eye tracking expertise, a full scale, in-house VR R&D team and the world's largest eye tracking patent portfolio, Tobii has both the technological acumen and operational flexibility to deliver industry leading innovations for VR. Beyond this major milestone, Tobii is innovating in other key areas of eye tracking for VR, including social cues, character interaction and dynamic content. Most recently, the company announced its participation in the Khronos Group VR Standards Initiative with industry leaders Oculus VR, Google VR, Valve and NVIDIA as well as plans to invest $50M in its own large scale VR and smartphone initiatives Personal Computing Unveiled today, the Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro is the world's first general consumer notebook with integrated eye tracking. Through the use of dynamic multitasking features like 'Touch at Gaze' and 'App Switcher,' eye tracking creates smoother workflows and easier navigation between apps. For example, with 'Touch at Gaze', users only need to place their finger on the precision touchpad (PTP) and the mouse pointer appears in the area they want it. When users scroll the computer will know what window to scroll in automatically, since you are already looking at it. Smartphones Tobii has also made its first mobile integration with Huawei's Honor Magic smartphone. Announced in December and only available in China, the device uses Tobii EyeCore algorithms and a near infrared camera to acquire information on the user's presence and attention, making it more responsive and intuitive. With a user facing intelligent sensor, the Honor Magic has greater insight into the user's intention and is better able to accommodate their actions. A first step in the mobile category, Tobii is exploring additional applications and use cases for eye tracking in smartphones. PC Gaming As it continues its aggressive expansion in PC Gaming, Tobii will also debut two new major eye tracking titles, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Dying Light at CES 2017. Now available in over 45 titles at TobiiGaming.com including, WATCH_DOGS 2, Steep, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Tom Clancy's The Division and Elite: Dangerous several new eye tracking enhanced games are added monthly. Tobii expects 100 eye tracking enhanced games by the end of 2017, including several more upcoming AAA titles. These titles provide gamers greater immersion through a steadily growing number of gaming devices, suiting a wide variety of gamer preferences, including peripherals: Tobii EyeX, Tobii Eye Tracker 4C and SteelSeries Sentry; gaming notebooks: Alienware 17, Predator 21X and MSI GT72; and monitors: Predator Z271T, XB251HQT and XB271HUT. "Founded over fifteen years ago with the vision of an eye tracker in every computer, we're very happy to bring our tech to a wider array of consumer markets and continue our position as the clear market leader," continued Werner. Visit Tobii to go hands-on with its latest eye tracking product at CES 2017 in the Las Vegas Convention Center, South Hall 2, Booth 26602. CONTACT: Contact Stephan Floyd, Head of Content, PR and Brand, Tobii Tech +1-781-223-2005 [email protected] This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com The following files are available for download: SOURCE Tobii Tech LOS ANGELES and FORT WASHINGTON, Pa., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cetera Financial Group ("Cetera")*, a leading network of independent broker-dealer firms, and Lincoln Investment Capital Holdings, LLC today announced the completion of the sale of Legend Group Holdings, LLC ("The Legend Group") by Cetera affiliate First Allied Holdings, Inc. to Lincoln Investment Capital Holdings. The transaction was first announced in September 2016. Financial terms were not disclosed. Lincoln Investment Capital Holdings, LLC is the parent company of Lincoln Investment Planning, LLC ("Lincoln Investment"), a leading full-service independent broker-dealer and registered investment adviser. The Legend Group includes an independent broker-dealer and registered investment adviser focused on supporting the delivery of professional guidance by financial advisors to 403(b) retirement savings plans, which are typically available to employees of public education organizations and non-profits nationwide. Ed Forst, president and chief executive officer of Lincoln Investment, said, "We're very excited to complete this transaction, which reinforces Lincoln Investment's leadership position in the market for retirement plan advice. We welcome The Legend Group's financial advisors to the Lincoln Investment community, and we look forward to supporting them in growing their businesses by effectively providing the professional advice their mass affluent and high net worth clients need." Robert Moore, chief executive officer of Cetera, said, "We are very pleased to close the sale of The Legend Group within our originally projected timeframe for completion. The completion of this transaction coincides nicely with the start of a new year and a new stage of growth for Cetera, characterized by our emphasis on delivering an advice-centric client experience for the retail investors supported by our financial advisors and institutions. We have entered 2017 with considerable positive momentum, and we're excited about our future." For this transaction, Lazard served as financial advisor to Cetera. About Cetera Financial Group Cetera Financial Group ("Cetera") is a leading network of independent retail broker-dealers empowering the delivery of objective financial advice to individuals, families and company retirement plans across the country through trusted financial advisors and financial institutions. Cetera is the second-largest independent financial advisor network in the nation by number of advisors, as well as a leading provider of retail services to the investment programs of banks and credit unions. Through its multiple distinct firms, Cetera offers independent and institutions-based advisors the benefits of a large, established broker-dealer and registered investment adviser, while serving advisors and institutions in a way that is customized to their needs and aspirations. Advisor support resources offered through Cetera include award-winning wealth management and advisory platforms, comprehensive broker-dealer and registered investment adviser services, practice management support and innovative technology. For more information, visit www.ceterafinancialgroup.com. * "Cetera Financial Group" refers to the network of retail independent broker-dealers encompassing, among others, Cetera Advisors, Cetera Advisor Networks, Cetera Investment Services (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions), Cetera Financial Specialists, First Allied Securities, Girard Securities, and Summit Brokerage Services. About Lincoln Investment Lincoln Investment Planning, LLC is a leading full-service independent broker/dealer and registered investment adviser providing investment, wealth and retirement planning services nationwide through a network of financial advisors. The company currently has more than 300 employees and over 800 financial advisors with 300 branches in 34 states. Lincoln Investment serves over 270,000 individual investors, with over $24 billion in assets including over $10.6 billion in fee-based assets and provides retirement plan services to employees of more than 2,500 employers nationwide. For more information, visit www.lincolninvestment.com. About The Legend Group The Legend Group Holdings, LLC includes Legend Equities Corporation, an independent broker-dealer, and Legend Advisory Corporation, a registered investment adviser. The Legend Group empowers the delivery of quality investment solutions and personalized service by financial advisors with a primary focus on the 403(b) plan space. The Legend Group provides investment solutions for retirement, education savings plans, insurance needs, income generation and professional portfolio management. For more information, visit www.legendgroup.com. Lincoln Investment Media Contacts: Cetera Media Contacts: Denis Houser Joseph Kuo Lincoln Investment Haven Tower Group 215-881-4619 424.652.6520 ext 101 [email protected] [email protected] Linda Heist Matthew Griffes Lincoln Investment Haven Tower Group 215-881-4611 424.652.6520 ext 103 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Cetera Financial Group Related Links http://www.ceterafinancialgroup.com SAN DIEGO, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On December 21st 2016, TuSimple, a Chinese autonomous driving startup signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the government in Caofeidian District of Tangshan, Hebei Province, China. According to the agreement, TuSimple has been given permission to test its autonomous trucks in Caofeidian District and it is expected to begin its first trial operation of inter-city automated logistics in October, 2017. This makes it possible for TuSimple to realize commercialization of autonomous trucks earlier than American companies like Otto and Peloton. Caofeidian District, conveniently situated in the center of Bohai Bay, is adjacent to two big cities -- Beijing and Tianjing. There are a number of major highways within the District, which provide favorable conditions for the development of automated logistics. In recent years, the Chinese government intends to expand the scope of Beijing as a regional radiation center. To achieve this goal, the government has incorporated Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei into the collaborative development plan and attempts to turn Caofeidian into a demonstration and experimental zone of modern industrial development. Therefore, the autonomous driving trial program in Caofeidian immediately gained policy support from the government. The Caofeidian government stated in the agreement that the government will coordinate policies and regulations regarding test site and infrastructure. TuSimple will set up a R&D center in Caofeidian to modify autonomous trucks, conduct closed-venue and highway road tests, collect data and optimize algorithms. TuSimple uses a deep learning super-computer plus low cost vision/radar sensors to achieve reliable perception. Without using costly LiDar, this solution is particularly easy to commercialize. Earlier this year, its state-of-the-art technology broke 10 world records and ranked No. 1 in KITTI and Cityscapes, the most influential public leaderboard in autonomous driving. TuSimple has also joined hands with many Chinese heavy truck manufacturers and logistics companies to develop the first autonomous truck in China. After successful road tests, TuSimple will cooperate with logistics companies to establish an Automated Logistics Zone in Caofeidian, realizing the world's first commercial operation of automated logistics. Once the pilot program proves successful, TuSimple will expand its business in logistics and transportation nationwide by establishing joint venture plants, mass manufacturing driverless trucks and undertaking automated transportation of major highways. Statistics show that in China, there are about 7.2 million trucks and 16 million truck drivers responsible for inter-city freight transport, producing over 300 billion worth of productive value. However, the cost of hiring truck drivers accounts for around 40% of the total cost, which takes a toll on trucking companies' profit margins. TuSimple provides a technology that allows a single driver to lead a fleet of unmanned trucks, which effectively solves problems like labor shortage, population aging, fatigue driving and thus helps reduce accident rates of long-distance driving. Unlike complex road conditions in the urban scenarios, situation of highway automatic driving is relatively simpler and easier to commercialize. Besides TuSimple, Baidu, the Chinese search engine giant, has also developed its driverless trucks and cooperated with a Beijing truck manufacturer to produce super trucks, aiming to offer similar solutions. Thanks to low-cost solutions and regulation supports from the Chinese government, TuSimple and Baidu may be the first to realize commercialization of autonomous trucks in the world. Contact: Email: [email protected] SOURCE TuSimple LANDESK's leadership in providing software to simplify IT complexity is further strengthened by HEAT's Cloud-based Service Management (CSM) and Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) software solutions. HEAT delivers flexible, scalable, and secure CSM, UEM, and endpoint security solutions, along with a robust, global, and rapidly growing SaaS platform that is complementary to LANDESK's product portfolio. The combination will provide additional geographic reach and vertical depth, and will enable the company to better serve IT organizations with solutions to manage and secure end user environments. The combined company will be led by LANDESK CEO Steve Daly and will be headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT. John Ferron, a Clearlake Operating Advisor and the current CEO of HEAT, will serve as Executive Chairman of the company's Board of Directors. The combined company will operate under a new corporate name, which will be announced at a later date. "This is an exciting day for LANDESK. We are thrilled to work with Clearlake in this next phase of our growth trajectory, as they bring significant endpoint security software domain expertise and cloud experience that will be critical to continue to build our platform organically and through acquisition," said Steve Daly, CEO of LANDESK. "We are grateful for the partnership with Thoma Bravo over the years and are excited about this new chapter of growth for our business, particularly the addition of HEAT to our platform. HEAT's products align well with our mission to help our customers build modern, user-centered IT organizations and will provide additional expertise and capabilities as we accelerate our investments in the cloud." "We are pleased to welcome LANDESK to the Clearlake portfolio as a new platform investment. We've been impressed with LANDESK's vision, and its ability to build shareholder value through consistent organic and inorganic growth initiatives," said Behdad Eghbali, a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Clearlake. "Together, LANDESK and HEAT are well-positioned to deliver market-leading solutions that continue to expand their security and cloud offerings and accelerate growth." "At HEAT, we are dedicated to providing customers with cloud solutions that make their businesses more efficient, compliant, and secure," added John Ferron. "This is a marriage of two organizations with a shared vision. Together, we will offer our customers a one-stop shop for IT solutions that solve everyday business challenges." "There is a critical need for enterprise IT to better understand what is happening in the user environment, while securing critical assets and data, and to have the operations management tools to take action when needed. We believe this transformational combination with HEAT will further enhance LANDESK's scale, breadth of capabilities, and resources to deliver comprehensive solutions to address these complex IT security challenges and risks," added Prashant Mehrotra and James Pade of Clearlake. "We are excited to partner with the team to continue to build on LANDESK's 30-year track record of delivering world-class products and robust solutions that grow with the needs of its customers." The transaction is expected to close in January 2017. The combined organization will have a strong market position, with over 1,600 employees in 23 countries serving over 22,000 broadly diversified customers across industries and managing and securing more than 40 million endpoints. Morgan Stanley, Evercore, Barclays, and Jefferies served as financial advisors to HEAT and Clearlake. Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., Barclays, Jefferies, Golub Capital, Macquarie Capital, and Nomura have provided fully committed financing for this transaction. UBS Investment Bank served as financial advisor to Thoma Bravo. About Clearlake: Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. is a leading private investment firm founded in 2006. With a sector-focused approach, the firm seeks to partner with world-class management teams by providing patient, long-term capital to dynamic businesses that can benefit from Clearlake's operational improvement approach, O.P.S.SM. The firm's core target sectors are software and technology-enabled services; industrials and energy; and consumer. Clearlake currently has over $3 billion of assets under management and its senior investment principals have led or co-led over 90 investments in traditional buyouts, corporate carve-outs, recapitalizations, turnarounds and restructurings, structured equity and credit, and other special situations as well as public equity and secondary debt. To learn more, visit www.clearlake.com. About LANDESK: LANDESK is the global authority on modern, user-centered IT. By integrating and automating IT tasks, LANDESK helps organizations balance rapidly-evolving user requirements with the need to secure critical assets and data. LANDESK is headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT, and has offices all over the world. To learn more, visit www.landesk.com. About HEAT: HEAT is a leading provider of Cloud Service Management and Unified Endpoint Management software solutions for organizations of all sizes. HEAT manages millions of service interactions and millions of endpoints every day for thousands of leading organizations across IT, HR, Facilities, Finance, Customer Service and other enterprise functions. Its customers deliver world-class service while maximizing operational efficiencies with reduced cost and complexity. To learn more, visit www.heatsoftware.com. Press Contacts For Clearlake and HEAT: Kristin Celauro Jennifer Hurson Owen Blicksilver Public Relations, Inc. Owen Blicksilver Public Relations, Inc. +1 732-264-1131 +1 845-507-0571 [email protected] [email protected] For LANDESK: Leslie Bonsteel Amberly Asay LANDESK Method Communications +1 801-208-1773 +1 801-461-9776 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE LANDESK Related Links http://www.clearlake.com NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dashlane, the leader in online identity management, announces a collaboration with Intel to deploy Intel Software Guard Extension (SGX) technology with Dashlane's award-winning password manager. Dashlane's industry-leading and patented security software combined with Intel SGX will provide an unrivaled layer of online protection. Unrivaled Software + Hardware Security Combination Massive security breaches dominated the headlines in 2016. As such, consumers and businesses are more concerned than ever about cybersecurity risks. That's why Dashlane is proud to announce support for Intel Software Guard Extensions, a powerful security technology built into the latest Intel Core processors. Dashlane is the only password manager with a USPTO patented security architecture. A user's data is safeguarded by their master password- the key that unlocks all of their data locally on their device. This password, which Dashlane requires to be a mix of at least eight characters, is not stored on any Dashlane servers and no Dashlane employee ever has access to it. Dashlane also encrypts all data with AES-256 and hosts it on Amazon's AWS, the most respected and secure hosting solution on the market. This proprietary backend technology provides Dashlane users with a world-class level of security and the addition of Intel SGX will provide an extra layer of hardware-based protection. When combined with Dashlane, Intel SGX can be used to protect the user's data and seal them to the device, even if a hacker did export data to another machine. When merged with Dashlane's industry-leading software, Intel SGX will provide users with an unparalleled layer of password protection. Cutting Edge Innovation "Dashlane is committed to staying on the cutting edge of security," states Emmanuel Schalit, CEO, Dashlane. "The new Intel Core processors provide a powerful new way to protect your passwords. Dashlane is taking full advantage of Intel's built-in hardware security to make our users' passwords safer than ever." "The collaboration to bring Intel hardware-based security with Dashlane's easy to use password manager is a remarkable step in protecting users against the most current password related breaches." says Rick Echevarria, Vice President, Software and Solutions Group, and General Manager, Platform Security Division. Get the powerful Dashlane + Intel SGX security combination at: http://www.dashlane.com/lp/intelsgx About Dashlane Dashlane makes identity and checkouts simple with its password manager and secure digital wallet app. Dashlane allows its users to securely manage passwords, credit cards, IDs, and other important information via advanced encryption and local storage. Dashlane has helped over 6 million users in 150 countries manage and secure their digital identity. The app is available on PC, Mac, Android, and iOS, and has won critical acclaim from top publications, including: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. Dashlane is free to use on one device, and Dashlane Premium costs $39.99/year to sync between an unlimited number of devices. Dashlane was founded by Bernard Liautaud and co-founders Alexis Fogel, Guillaume Maron, and Jean Guillou. The company has offices in New York City and Paris and has received $52.5 million in funding from Rho Ventures, FirstMark Capital, and Bessemer Venture Partners. Learn more at Dashlane.com Intel and Intel Core are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries. SOURCE Dashlane "Spirit of Hawaii," celebrates Dole Packaged Foods' rich history and beginnings in the Hawaiian Islands dating back to 1899 when James Dole first traveled to the tropical paradise. The float featured colorful and floral sculpted animals including parrots, sea turtles and geckos decorated in tropical flowers, a 10-foot tall sculpture of Hawaiian King Kamehameha and an erupting volcano. With the mission to encourage people to live healthy vibrant lifestyles, the float featured non-GMO fruits provided by Dole Packaged Foods, including bananas, pineapples, and mangoes. Four waterfalls flowed throughout the float, utilizing 2,000 gallons of recycled water, showcasing Dole Packaged Foods' commitment to preserving natural resources around the world. Keeping with the Rose Parade theme, "Echoes of Success," Dole Packaged Foods partnered with Ventura County's regional food bank, FOOD Share, part of Feeding America, to collect non-perishable food items in the month leading up to the Rose Parade to benefit FOOD Share partners throughout the San Gabriel Valley. Dole selected FOOD Share President and CEO Bonnie Atmore to ride on Dole's Rose Parade float in honor of her commitment to feeding, nourishing, and educating the hungry. Created by Fiesta Parade Floats, "Spirit of Hawaii" stood at 55 feet long, 18 feet wide and over 28 feet tall. Fiesta Parade Floats also designed and built, with the help of Dole employees, Dole Packaged Foods' previous award-winning entries 2016 "Soaring Over Paradise" (Directors' Trophy), 2015 "Rhythm of Hawaii" (Sweepstakes Trophy), 2014 "Sunrise at the Oasis" (Sweepstakes Trophy), 2013 "Dreaming of Paradise" (Sweepstakes Trophy), 2012 "Preserving Paradise" (Sweepstakes Trophy), and its 2011 entry "Living Well in Paradise" (Sweepstakes Trophy). About Dole Packaged Foods Dole Packaged Foods LLC is a world leader in growing, sourcing, distributing and marketing fruit and healthy snacks. Dole sells a full-line of packaged ambient fruit, frozen fruit, dried fruit, and juices. The company focuses on four pillars of sustainability in all its operations: water management, carbon footprint, soil conservation and packaging. For more information please visit www.dolesunshine.com or www.doleintlcsr.com. SOURCE Dole Packaged Foods Related Links http://www.dolepackaged.com The acquisition diversifies Elanco's U.S. companion animal portfolio by adding vaccines for a range of common concerns such as bordetella, Lyme disease, feline leukemia, rabies, and parvovirus. Product will be made available by Elanco immediately, with no interruption in supply to veterinarians who rely on these products to keep pets living longer, healthier lives. "With a growing portfolio addressing both prevention and treatment of disease, Elanco is now able to offer our U.S. customers a comprehensive suite of solutions to some of pets' most common issues," said Eric Graves, president, Elanco North American operations. "These new offerings will come with the Elanco expertise that veterinarians and pet owners have come to know and trust, including pet health case management, technical support, and resources for supporting the human-animal bond." Under the terms of the agreement, Elanco acquired the BIVI portfolio for approximately $885 million, including the estimated cost of acquired inventory. The impact of the acquisition, which closed on January 3, 2017, will be reflected beginning in Lilly's first quarter 2017 financial statements. The acquired vaccines portfolio has experienced revenue growth over the past three years, and Lilly expects the acquisition to be accretive to GAAP earnings in 2019 and to non-GAAP earnings in 2018. Jefferies LLC is acting as the exclusive financial advisor and Paul Hastings LLP and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP are acting as legal advisors to Elanco and Lilly in this transaction. The product lines include: Canine: Duramune Duramune Lyme Bronchi-Shield ULTRA Duramune Feline: Fel-O-Vax ULTRA Fel-O-Vax Fel-O-Guard Rabies: Rabvac About Elanco Elanco provides comprehensive products and knowledge services to improve animal health and food-animal production in more than 70 countries around the world. We value innovation, both in scientific research and daily operations, and strive to cultivate a collaborative work environment for more than 6,500 employees worldwide. Together with our customers, we are committed to raising awareness about global food security, and celebrating and supporting the human-animal bond. Founded in 1954, Elanco is a division of Eli Lilly and Company. Elanco US, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lilly, is the U.S. entity acquired as part of the Novartis acquisition. Our worldwide headquarters and research facilities are located in Greenfield, Indiana. Visit us at Elanco.com. About Eli Lilly and Company Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and www.lilly.com/newsroom/social-channels. This press release contains forward-looking statements (as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) about the benefits of the acquisition of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc's U.S. feline, canine and rabies vaccines portfolio. It reflects Elanco's and Lilly's current beliefs. However, as with any such undertaking, there are substantial risks and uncertainties in the process of implementing the transaction and in animal health drug development. Among other things, there can be no guarantee that Lilly and Elanco will realize the expected benefits of the transaction, that the pipeline products will be approved on the anticipated timeline or at all, or that the current portfolio and product pipeline will be commercially successful. For further discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, see Lilly's most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, Lilly and Elanco undertake no duty to update forward-looking statements to reflect events after the date of this release. C-LLY SOURCE Elanco Related Links http://www.elanco.com DALLAS, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Elephant Auto Insurance, the 8th fastest growing Property and Casualty insurer in the US (2015), is looking for talented professionals to join its new Dallas team. As its customer base continues to grow, Elephant will have new roles for sales agents followed by customer service and claims roles later in 2017. The Carrollton office is to become an integral part of Elephant with a wider range of business functions. There is no need to have insurance or sales experience as long as you have a willingness to learn and a passion for customer service. Elephant provides all necessary training for agents to become licensed insurance professionals. Since operations began in 2009, Elephant has hired 1,507 people and generated double-digit growth rates in all of its existing states. The expansion has been most pronounced in Texas, where many Texans are realizing the great auto insurance savings and service they can achieve through Elephant's mantra of more care, less cost. "It's a pleasure to announce this investment in the Dallas Fort Worth area, where the labor force is well educated, friendly, hard-working, honest, analytical, and creative," Kevin Chidwick, CEO of Elephant, said in a statement. "We are excited to start recruiting for our brand new office in Carrollton, helping people build a long and rewarding career with Elephant." A 2016 winner of The Richmond Times Dispatch Top Work Places Award, Elephant is looking to bring its unique work culture to Dallas. In the 2016 Great Place to Work survey 86% of employees state "Taking everything into account, I would say this is a great place to work" and 95% believe that it is a friendly place to work. Elephant believes that people who like what they do, do it better, and offers competitive starting salaries as well as a comprehensive benefits package, educational support programs, a generous parental leave policy, and community engagement. All employees are shareholders, receiving a free stock plan operated by the Admiral Group. For information on the roles available, and deadlines to apply, visit ELEPHANT.COM/CAREERS. About Elephant Auto Insurance Founded in 2009, Elephant Auto Insurance is a direct-to-consumer insurance company offering auto, home, motorcycle, and life products to customers. Elephant prides itself on providing quality services and great prices. Headquartered in Richmond, VA, Elephant is a wholly owned subsidiary of Admiral Group, plc, one of the leading insurance companies in the United Kingdom. Elephant believes people who like what they do, do it better and therefore encourages a climate of individual contributions, long-term commitment and profitable growth within the organization. Elephant was named one of the 2015 Best Places to Work in Virginia and awarded the 2015 Stevie Award for the success of their contact center. To learn more about Elephant or to get an insurance quote go to Elephant.com, or call 1-855-ELEPHANT. CONTACT: Richard Lewis, [email protected] SOURCE Elephant Auto Insurance Related Links http://www.elephant.com LEXINGTON, Ky., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Fazoli's, America's largest fast casual Italian chain, announced today the signing of a lease agreement for the first restaurant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota located at 4224 West Empire Place across from the Empire Shopping Gallery. The new restaurant, which will be owned and operated by SD Faz I, LLC, is slated to open summer 2017. "We're thrilled to bring Fazoli's fast, fresh Italian food to Sioux Falls," said Carl Howard, president and chief executive officer of Fazoli's. "The expansion into South Dakota marks a major milestone for the brand. Fazoli's has experienced 14 consecutive quarters of same-store sales results and new franchised restaurants are continuously setting company-wide records. We're confident that our new franchisee, Brian Hagan, and his team will be successful in growing their business in the market." The 3,606-square-foot restaurant will feature Fazoli's all new contemporary design along with a drive-thru for residents seeking to order a variety of freshly prepared, high-quality menu items on-the-go. Hagan, who is the president and an owner of Hagan Barron Intermediaries, a third-party administration company in Sioux Falls, has plans to open additional restaurants in the area over the next several years. "There's an abundance of opportunity for Fazoli's growth and success in Sioux Falls," said Hagan. "We're thrilled to have found a great location for our restaurant and confident that the brand will be well received. We look forward to serving the community for many years to come." About Fazoli's With approximately 220 restaurants, Fazoli's is America's largest Italian fast casual chain, serving freshly prepared entrees, Submarinos sandwiches, salads and pizza. One of the New York Post's five breakout fast casual restaurants and a Fast Casual.com Brand of the Year, Fazoli's franchisees are experiencing record sales growth. Visit www.ownafazolis.com for details on development opportunities. Contact: Alexya Williams Fish Consulting 954-893-9150 [email protected] SOURCE Fazoli's Related Links http://www.ownafazolis.com SAN RAMON, Calif., Jan. 03, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AMF Media Group (AMF), an award-winning full-service marketing agency, welcomes Geoff McGann as executive creative director. McGanns wealth of experience in campaigns such as Nikes Just Do It makes him an invaluable asset to AMFs growing client list. McGann joins AMF from McGann and Partners, where he was chief creative officer. Over the past 35 years, he has been a creative force behind powerful campaigns for both non-profit and commercial clients, including prominent brands such as Miller Lite, MTV and Gap. McGann will lead the agencys creative team, develop brand strategy and manage the design and production of creative assets from the agencys Los Angeles office. AMF is also pleased to announce the promotion of Joe Lopez from associate creative director to creative director. Prior to joining AMF two years ago, Joe served at top-notch agencies including BBDO, FCB and Doner. Joe will oversee the agencys creative operations from its headquarters in San Ramon, California. Geoff McGann brings tremendous success and experience in driving campaigns for household brands, such as Nike, to our growing agency, said Vintage Foster, president of AMF Media Group. His industry reputation as an innovator makes him extremely valuable to AMF, and we look forward to continuing to bring results-driven, award-winning campaigns to clients of all shapes and sizes. Previously, at Wieden+Kennedy Portland, Geoff McGann was one of the initial, principal creative forces behind Nikes Just Do It television and print campaign. He has also worked at 72andSunny and Public Interest, a non-profit advertising agency/production company dedicated to socially-aware, cause-marketing initiatives, founded by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. AMFs boutique size and major-league team gives it the unique ability to be agile and serve clients with evolving needs, said Geoff McGann. It appealed to me as an opportunity to leverage the various aspects of my background to deliver true impact for clients. Geoff has extensive experience as a creative director, writer, executive producer and manager of creative teams, account teams, production vendors and clients. He also gained prominence as an artist and fine art photographer, hosting private and public gallery shows. Hes received Gold award accolades from the Cannes Lions, The One Show and Communication Arts. Outside of work, Geoff is an award-winning Jiu Jitsu artist. About AMF Media Group AMF Media Group is a full-service agency that delivers a comprehensive and clear approach on brand strategy and marketing, public relations, crisis communications, internal communications, multimedia production, web design and development, and event planning and management. Clients include: Blue Shield, Jamba Juice and Kaiser Permanente. AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- As the number and variety of communication technologies employed in connected vehicles continues to grow, the risk of a security breach increases profoundly. FEV is a leader in the development and testing of electronics systems and subsystems, and has created a comprehensive suite of services that make it a "one-stop shop" for design, development, testing, and deployment of cyber security and ADAS solutions, among other connected/smart vehicle technologies. Some of these technologies will be demonstrated at the company's suite at the Bellagio Hotel during the CES in Las Vegas, Jan. 5 8, 2017. FEV's Cyber Security and ADAS services focus on Smart Vehicles and its numerous components and interfaces. These services encompass the entire product end-to-end lifecycle, from concept to in-field support through management, testing, hardware and software design solutions, and on to integration and validation. Working together with the company's partners, FEV also addresses specific IT related threats and solutions. FEV assists its customers in designing and integrating advanced ADAS and Autonomous Driving (AD) features and functions. The company's benchmarking, development and implementation tasks leverage in-depth powertrain, chassis, body, infotainment, and connectivity sub-system knowledge that FEV has acquired over many years of experience in performing customer projects. Technology to be exhibited at the company's 2017 CES Suite at the Bellagio in Las Vegas includes: A cyber security solution for electronic control modules with partner Karamba Security This demo will showcase FEV's Connected Vehicle Gateway (CVGW) module hardware operating with the unique Karamba Security (Karamba) cyber security software solution for protection from cyber attacks. Karamba is a provider of autonomous cybersecurity software for connected and autonomous vehicles. Karamba's embedded software products automatically harden the electronic control units (ECUs) of connected and autonomous cars, preventing hackers from manipulating and compromising those ECUs and hacking into the car. The solution demonstrated in FEV's suite will provide protection from arbitrary code execution during in-memory and external attacks. The FEV-Karamba solution locks down factory settings and prevents in-memory attacks, as well as offers incident response capabilities. Other in-car cyber security solutions can trigger false positives, putting driver safety at risk. The FEV-Karamba solution hardens the ECU against cyber attacks and is immune to false positives. Trusted Platform Module (TPM)/Hardware Security Module (HSM) based solution with partners Infineon and GlobalSign This security integration solution provides a robust Root of Trust for electronic control modules. The FEV-Infineon-GlobalSign solution provides a strong and extended authentication through a secure device identity implementation. The TPM represents a mature and public standard-based fully functional security module, which acts as a Root of Trust for electronic control modules. It supports enhanced authentication, verification of platform trust and platform integrity, remote attestation, and secure key storage. TPM plays a pivotal role for secure and trusted boot requirements. The solution employs both TPMs and X.509 certificates which represent mature and well-defined standards. By utilizing Infineon's automotive security chips and GlobalSign PKI services, FEV can offer a complete security solution to automotive customers who want to easily integrate these into their production environments and cars. The FEV-Infineon-GlobalSign IP is transferable and customers can obtain an external certification after integration. The individually certified hardware and software components from Infineon and GlobalSign allow the customer to obtain security certification for the entire solution. Infineon Technologies AG is a world leader in semiconductor solutions that make life easier, safer and greener. Infineon is recognized as the world's leading supplier of security solutions for Trusted Computing. Visit infineon.com for more information. GlobalSigns identity and security solutions allow Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to embed robust device integrity and authentication features into their IoT devices. Learn more about GlobalSign at globalsign.com. FEV and its partners will demonstrate various capabilities that support the development of an effective cyber security system, beginning with security management. FEV supports its customers with threat and risk modeling services, including prioritized threat and incidence response analysis as well as real time intrusion detection. Security testing as well as hardware and software design are also FEV strengths that are leveraged to support the company's customer base. ADAS / LiDAR technology together with LeddarTech Together with LeddarTech, FEV will demonstrate its capabilities in the development of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and specifically benchmarking of ADAS components. FEV's benchmarking program includes test plan development, instrumentation, testing, and comprehensive data analysis. LeddarTech is the developer and owner of Leddar, a patented solid-state LiDAR sensing technology that constitutes a novel approach in object detection and ranging. For more information on LeddarTech, visit leddartech.com. ADAS and functional safety for driver-assistive truck platooning, together with Peloton Technology FEV assists its customers in designing and integrating advanced safety and Automated Driving (AD) features and functions. The company's development and implementation tasks leverage in-depth powertrain, chassis, body, infotainment, and connectivity sub-system knowledge that FEV has acquired over many years of experience in performing customer projects. At CES, FEV, with partner Peloton Technology will demonstrate an example of its capabilities in the development of automated driving systems and specifically functional safety in the area of SAE Level 1 driver-assistive truck platooning. The Peloton system links the active safety systems between pairs of heavy trucks to form aerodynamic platoons for fuel savings. As an SAE Level 1 technology, the Peloton system keeps all drivers fully engaged in the driving task at all times. The system integrates best-in-class active safety systems, cloud-based management and over-the-horizon alerts for drivers, making trucks safer both when solo and in platoon. Combining advanced safety systems, driver-assistive automation and vehicle connectivity, the Peloton system enables drivers and fleets to achieve new levels of safety and efficiency. Specifically, FEV will showcase an overview of Peloton's driver-assistive platooning system and FEV's support in functional safety plan implementation. The project includes assistance in development of functional safety processes, training of Peloton personnel, formal functional safety documentation, and interaction with Peloton's OEM and braking partners to ensure synchronization between functional safety system efforts. Peloton Technology is a connected and automated vehicle technology company dedicated to improving the safety and efficiency of the $700 billion U.S. trucking industry and other global automotive markets. For more information, visit Peloton at peloton-tech.com. FEV Cyber Security Gateway Module FEV's Cyber Security Gateway prevents malicious attacks from causing harm to a vehicle or its occupants. The Gateway can be used either as a standalone or as an integrated solution that is connected to the vehicle communication bus to detect and prevent malicious activities. Through a unique set of software functions and algorithms for Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) as well as specific vehicle adaptation and calibration, the Gateway significantly reduces the cyber security risks faced by today's connected vehicle, and can function as a firewall between numerous, external interface threat entry points, such as WiFi, Bluetooth, Cellular and OBDII and the vehicle bus. OEM or large fleet owners are able to deploy the technology quickly to protect their products. About FEV Group The FEV Group is an internationally recognized powertrain and vehicle engineering company that supports the global transportation industry. FEV offers a complete range of engineering services, providing support across the globe to customers in the design, analysis, prototyping, powertrain and transmission development, as well as vehicle integration, calibration and homologation for advanced internal combustion gasoline-, diesel-, and alternative-fueled powertrains. FEV also designs, develops and prototypes advanced vehicle / powertrain electronic control systems and hybrid-electric engine concepts that address future emission and fuel economy standards. The company has expanded its engineering capabilities to include full vehicle systems and now offers broad expertise in electronics, telematics and infotainment system engineering. The FEV Testing Solutions division is a global supplier of advanced test cell, instrumentation and test equipment. The FEV Group employs a staff of over 4,000 highly skilled specialists at advanced technical centers on three continents. FEV North America, Inc. employs over 450 personnel in its North American Technical Center in Auburn Hills, MI. For more information, visit www.fev.com SOURCE FEV North America, Inc. Related Links http://www.fev.com DALLAS, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- First Marblehead has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for certiorari1 for the opinion rendered in First Marblehead Corp. v. Massachusetts Commissioner of Revenue, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, No. SJC-11609, August 12, 2016 ("the 2016 decision"). The question at issue was whether Massachusetts could source student loans to Massachusetts under the financial excise tax apportionment provisions, when the taxpayer had its commercial domicile in Massachusetts and no other physical location. Prior to the 2016 decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, id., the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court had previously ruled in favor of the state2, in 2015 ("the 2015 decision"). The U.S. Supreme Court reviewed the 2015 decision and remanded the case to Massachusetts, with the instructions that the case must be analyzed in light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Comptroller of the Treasury of Md. v. Wynne, 135 S. Ct. 1787 (2015). Wynne examined the "internal consistency" test found under the dormant commerce clause. Under Massachusetts law, G. L. c. 63, 2A (e) (vi) (B), if a loan is assigned by the taxpayer to a place outside the Commonwealth that is not a "regular place of business," the statute creates a presumption, rebuttable by the taxpayer, that the loan is properly assigned to the Commonwealth if, at the time the loan was made, the taxpayer's "commercial domicile" was in Massachusetts. The 2016 decision held that this provision did not violate the internal consistency test as defined by Wynne. First Marblehead has once again petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to examine the 2016 decision and answer the following questions. One, whether the application of the Massachusetts apportionment formula passes the "external consistency" test, as it related to the question does the tax fairly relate to the activities undertaken by the taxpayer in the taxing state. Two, whether the Massachusetts statute fails the "internal consistency" test, as double taxation could exist if the taxpayer were to source property to other states in which it did not have a regular place of business, and to Massachusetts under the "commercial domicile" provision. This case is important to watch as it gives the U.S. Supreme Court the opportunity to evaluate whether the Massachusetts court correctly interpreted and applied its decision in Wynne. 1 Petition for certiorari filed December 15, 2016. 2 First Marblehead Corp. v. Commissioner of Revenue, 470 Mass. 497, 498 (2015). TECHNICAL INFORMATION CONTACTS: Mark Nachbar Principal Ryan 630.515.0477 [email protected] Mary Bernard Director Ryan 401.272.3363 [email protected] SOURCE Ryan FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Gale, a Cengage company, has launched Making of Modern Law: American Civil Liberties Union Papers, 1912-1990. The timely archive includes records from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and focuses on civil rights, race, gender, and issues relating to the U.S. Supreme Court. Topics covered are intensely relevant to today's curriculum and current debates at both national and local levels. Part of the growing Gale Primary Sources program, the archive represents Gale's focus on publishing material that supports diversity studies and provides historical context around current topics. "The papers of the ACLU are among the most-visited and most-requested of library collections," said Phil Faust, vice president for academic products at Gale. "The launch of this archive highlights Gale's extensive effort to bring to the forefront material crucial for the study of civil liberties and identity. We're living in exceptional times and the study of these topics has never been more relevant." Sourced from Princeton University and the ACLU, American Civil Liberties Union Papers, 1912-1990 contains more than 2 million pages of material. Included in the collection are internal documents such as memoranda and committee reports; correspondence from clients, members of the board of directors, government bureaucrats, attorneys, and other sources; materials relating to local organizations affiliated with the ACLU, as well as records of hundreds of organizations with which the ACLU had supportive or adversarial relations; and legal briefs and newspaper clippings. Some of the key events covered include the first and second "Red Scare," the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, and the ACLU's involvement around important events including the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement. Events related to free speech, censorship and gay rights are also covered. American Civil Liberties Union Papers, 1912-1990 is available on the Gale Primary Sources platform, meaning it is cross-searchable with other Gale Primary Source collections. Students, faculty and researchers will benefit from the platform's textual analysis features such as "term cluster" and "term frequency" tools. These tools sort through the text and index terms from the content, generating visual displays of information to help researchers discover new insights and identify relationships between themes, events, individuals and more. In addition, content from within the archive can be purchased in multiple formats to aid customers in their own digital humanities projects. For more information on Making of Modern Law: American Civil Liberties Union Papers, 1912-1990, please visit www.gale.com/aclu. For more information on all of the Gale Primary Source collections supporting the study of race, gender, identity and civil liberties and political science, please visit www.gale.com/primary-sources/. About Cengage and Gale Cengage is the education and technology company built for learners. The company serves the higher education, K-12, professional, library and workforce training markets worldwide. Gale, a Cengage company, provides libraries with original and curated content, as well as the modern research tools and technology that are crucial in connecting libraries to learning, and learners to libraries. For more than 60 years, Gale has partnered with libraries around the world to empower the discovery of knowledge and insights where, when, and how people need it. Gale has 500 employees globally with its main operations in Farmington Hills, Michigan. For more information, please visit www.gale.com. Media Contact : Kristina Massari Cengage (203) 965-8694 [email protected] SOURCE Cengage Learning Related Links http://www.cengage.com A grand welcoming ceremony for passengers on the maiden flight was held by Hainan Airlines in Auckland Airport. Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Auckland Acting Consul General Luo Binhui, Auckland Airport CEO Adrian Littlewood, Hainan Airlines President Sun Jianfeng as well as Hainan Airlines' VIP customers and established media organizations in the region took part in the welcoming ceremony, in celebration of the exciting moment for the maiden voyage of Hainan Airlines' non-stop service between Shenzhen and Auckland. The most distinctive Maori dance at the welcoming ceremony showed genuine Maori culture and New Zealand characteristics for tourists and guests. The new service is expected to provide convenient transportation for political, economic and cultural exchanges as well as promote cooperation and common prosperity between the two regions. The aircraft serving the Shenzhen-Auckland route are all wide-body Airbus A330s with spacious cabins. The airline provides its Business Class passengers with 180-degree, 74"-long, lie-flat seating with in-seat massage function, a wide HD LCD screen, an individual touch screen LCD TV and an adjustable reading light complemented by an airborne cuisine menu that includes a variety of both Western and Oriental style meal choices, assuring a comfortable and pleasurable experience for the traveler. In addition to Hainan Airlines' five-star services, travelers choosing the new route for their journey to New Zealand will also have access to a variety of benefits including all-inclusive travel packages, priority in seat selection, private limo service and cabin upgrades. Hainan Airlines attaches great importance to the launching of the new Oceania routes. Auckland is the airline's third destination in Oceania following Sydney and Melbourne as well as the first destination in New Zealand. The new service is expected to significantly facilitate exchanges in and cooperation concerning culture, economy, trade and tourism between the two cities, demonstrating Hainan Airlines' support in enhancing mutual exchanges between China and New Zealand. Hainan Airlines' Shenzhen-Auckland Flight Schedule: (All departure and arrival times are listed in local time) Flight No. Aircraft Days Departure City Departure Time Arrival Time Arrival City HU7931 330 Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday Shenzhen 13:55 06:30+1 Auckland HU7932 330 Wednesday, Friday, Sunday Auckland 08:30 15:25 Shenzhen SOURCE Hainan Airlines Co., LTD SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Healthcare IT companies seeking strategic tips and advice for their 2017 public relations efforts can start by checking out a series of blog posts from Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and healthcare IT public relations and marketing agency. In brief, here are Amendola's top posts of 2016 covering a range of topics from how to land national press to leading your company out of a healthcare PR crisis. "Be a Media Darling." A media darling is someone who knows how to engage the media by delivering pithy sound bites that reporters love and audiences remember. Being engaging not only helps build your brand, it keeps you high on a reporter's list of go-to sources as well. Here is an example of how being quotable got Amendola's client, Chris Bowen, chief privacy and security officer at ClearDATA, mentioned in USA Today. In the article, It's East vs West in Healthcare, Bowen said, "Sometimes it's not as comfortable as you think, straddling a barbed-wire fence like that." Here's a tip: Before your next scheduled media interview, write down the key message you want to convey. Then go the extra step of formulating a sound bite. "How to Get Your Startup Covered by The New York Times." The Times' coverage of healthcare IT seems to consist almost entirely of IBM Watson Health (it helps to be one of the world's great brands) and of large health insurance and pharmaceutical companies. Conspicuously absent from their coverage is your average startup with a Series A round in the low 8-figures, and two or three marquis clients who may or may not be willing to talk to the press. The odds of such a company getting ink in the New York Times are slightly worse than the odds of being struck by lightning while speeding. And yet, sometimes, under the right circumstances and with the right preparationlightning does strike. Case in point: Amendola client Zipongo, a three-year-old San Francisco-based startup with about 50 employees, $10 million in funding, and one brilliant idea. "Getting Noticed at HIMSS: Four Insider Tips from Industry Journalists." With 125 credentialed press floating among a sea of 43,000-plus attendees and over 1,300 HIMSS exhibitors, rising above the noise takes hard work, tactical planning, and a little bit of luck to land the coverage your company desires. So how can you make the most out of your HIMSS investment and improve your chances of getting noticed among press, analysts, and ultimately, potential customers? We asked four respected healthcare IT journalists what advice they would give to attending vendors to maximize their efforts, remain relevant, and stand out among an overly "transformative," "disruptive," "innovative," and "solution"-saturated HIMSS conference world. "7 Factors for Finding Your Agency Soul Mate." Selecting a PR agency is much like selecting a spouse. It's an intimate relationship; we often talk with our own clients several times a day on the phone and email, so we know how important it is for agencies and their clients to "click." As for finding this perfect PR match, it's a lot like real life dating. With 25 years of experience running an agency, our founder and CEO Jodi Amendola has identified a foolproof vetting process with 7 key factors. "What HIT Writing Needs is More Cowbell." If the headline to this blog post made you smile, conjuring up visions of Will Farrell in a shirt two sizes too small and Christopher Walken being, well, Christopher Walken, it proved an important point: At the end of the day, clinicians and HIT leaders put their pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else. Even if they don't make hit records once their pants are on. Yes, there is a time to be serious and straightforward, such as in a journal article or a white paper. But in many other materials, a reference to pop culture, common quotes or other more consumer-oriented areas can put just the right amount of cowbell into your message. Vlog: "How to Handle a Media Crisis." In this video blog listen to Marcia Rhodes, Regional Managing Director at Amendola Communications, explain why preparing a PR crisis plan is as important as having a fire escape route. "The Rise of Sponsored ContentOr Is It Content MarketingOr Is It Native Advertising?" These terms have some subtle and not-so-subtle distinctions they are anything but one and the same. It's important to understand the difference to ensure digital marketing program execution follows your strategy. Amendola's blog posts cover all things public relations and marketing. A go-to source for communications professionals, the blog publishes on a weekly basis and features over a dozen authors who are subject matter experts in every aspect of publicizing and marketing healthcare technology companies. Tweet this: #PR insiders share tips for getting noticed at #HIMSS, securing coverage by @nytimes and more http://bit.ly/2aLriaQ | #HIT @AmendolaComm About Amendola Communications Amendola Communications is an award-winning national public relations, marketing communications, social media and content marketing firm. Named one of the best information technology (IT) PR firms in the nation four times by PRSourceCode, Amendola represents some of the best-known brands and groundbreaking startups in the healthcare and HIT industries. Amendola's seasoned team of PR and marketing pros delivers strategic guidance and effective solutions to help organizations boost their reputation and drive market share. For more information about the PR industry's "A Team," visit www.acmarketingpr.com, and follow Amendola on Twitter and LinkedIn. Media Contact: Marcia Rhodes, Amendola Communications, 480.664.8412 ext. 15 / [email protected] SOURCE Amendola Communications Related Links http://www.acmarketingpr.com STAMFORD, Conn., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- High Ridge Brands Co. ("High Ridge Brands"), a leading Stamford, CT based personal care consumer products company and a portfolio company of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, announced today that it has recently acquired Dr. Fresh, LLC ("Dr. Fresh" or the "Company"), a leading provider of oral care products, from a private equity fund co-advised by NexPhase Capital, LP ("NexPhase") and Moelis Capital Partners LLC ("MCP"). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1998 and based in Buena Park, CA, Dr. Fresh is a leading provider of quality oral care products for all ages sold under well-known brands such as Firefly, REACH, Dr. Fresh, Binaca and Dazzling White. Its products are sold through retailers across mass, dollar, food and drug channels primarily in North America and Europe. Dr. Fresh's portfolio, which includes manual and power toothbrushes, travel kits, rinse and floss items, holds leading market positions across its attractive niche oral care categories such as children's, value and travel kits. The Company has a strong reputation for best-in-class innovation, bringing several innovative features to consumers at affordable prices. For example, the Firefly brand, a leader in children's oral care, has revolutionized the market by encouraging healthy oral care habits through features such as flashing lights for optimal brushing time, suction cups that reduce bathroom mess and popular characters children love (e.g., through its licenses of Star Wars, Spiderman and Hello Kitty). For adults, the well-known REACH brand enjoys a leadership position in the value manual toothbrush category based on its focus on providing innovative ways to clean hard to reach places. In addition, the Dr. Fresh brand enjoys a leading position in oral care travel kits which are demanded by consumers of all ages looking for convenience; these typically include various combinations of a toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss. The transaction will extend High Ridge Brands' portfolio beyond its personal cleansing and hair care brands into the attractive oral care category, while deepening its talent bench and broadening its global distribution platform. Dr. Fresh's asset-light operating model, portfolio of high-usage, consumable products with resilience through economic cycles, and strong cash flow characteristics, are well aligned with High Ridge Brands and its acquisition criteria. The transaction, which will enhance High Ridge Brands' overall margin profile, was funded with a combination of cash on hand, debt and equity financing. "We are delighted to announce this acquisition which brings well-known, trusted oral care brands such as REACH, Firefly, and Dr. Fresh to our portfolio," said James Daniels, President and CEO of High Ridge Brands. "In today's economy, consumers are looking for ways to stretch their budgets without compromising quality and performance. The Dr. Fresh transaction will help further solidify our position as the "Champions of Value", providing our retail partners and the consumers they serve with innovative, benefit-rich personal care products at a compelling value. We are excited to welcome the Dr. Fresh team to the High Ridge Brands family." Doug Corbett, Chief Executive Officer of Dr. Fresh and NPC Operating Partner, added, "Over the last four years, the MCP/NexPhase team has worked closely with Dr. Fresh's founder and Company management to achieve our mutual goal of building the largest independent branded oral care company through organic growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions. We believe the Company is poised for continued growth and success with High Ridge Brands." William Blair & Company served as the exclusive investment banking advisor to NexPhase and Dr. Fresh, and Kaye Scholer LLP served as legal counsel to the Company. Holland & Knight LLP and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP served as legal counsel to High Ridge Brands. BMO Capital Markets led the committed financing for this transaction on behalf of High Ridge Brands. About Dr. Fresh Dr. Fresh LLC is a leading designer and marketer of branded, licensed and private label oral care and personal care products, including REACH, Dr. Fresh, Firefly, and Binaca, which are sold primarily through food, drug, mass merchant and value retailers. Dr. Fresh is headquartered in Buena Park, California. For more information, please visit www.drfresh.com. About NexPhase Capital NexPhase Capital is a New York-based private equity firm that targets equity investments between $25 and $75 million in leading middle market, growth-oriented companies. NexPhase was formed in 2016 by the former principals of MCP to execute, on an independent basis, a sector-focused strategy of control investments in lower middle market companies. NexPhase specializes in the healthcare, industrial services, software and consumer sectors. Led by Co-Managing Partners Kurt Larsen and Ted Yun, NexPhase continues to co-manage approximately $872 million of MCP's legacy private equity capital. For more information, please visit www.NexPhase.com. About Moelis Capital Partners Moelis Capital Partners LLC, a subsidiary of Moelis Asset Management LP, is a middle market private equity firm founded in 2007. MCP co-manages approximately $872 million of committed private equity capital with NexPhase Capital in traditional private equity investments. For more information, please visit www.moeliscapital.com. About Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Founded in 1978, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice is a private investment firm with an investment strategy predicated on producing financial returns through building stronger, more profitable businesses. Since inception, CD&R has managed the investment of $22 billion in 70 companies, representing a broad range of industries with an aggregate transaction value of approximately $100 billion. The firm has offices in New York and London. For more information, visit www.cdr-inc.com. About High Ridge Brands High Ridge Brands, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is primarily focused on providing families with high quality personal care products at great value. Today, High Ridge Brands has a portfolio of nine trusted brands, serving primarily North American personal cleansing and hair care markets, including Zest, White Rain, Alberto VO5, Coast, LA Looks, Zero Frizz, Rave, Salon Grafix and Thicker Fuller Hair. The company operates an asset-light model, outsourcing all of its manufacturing needs, and has approximately 50 employees. For more information, please visit www.highridgebrands.com. NexPhase Media Contact: Lex Leeming, Partner & Head of Business Development T: 212-878-6005 [email protected] High Ridge Brands Media Contact: Diya Talwar, SVP Business Development & Strategy T: 203-674-8080 [email protected] SOURCE Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Adam Robinson, CEO of Hireology, will join the lineup of customer service experts, motivational speakers and brand executives to showcase "Your Team: The Only Sustainable Competitive Advantage." Summit attendees will learn that their ability to create a sustainable competitive advantage is dependent on the ability to find, hire and retain the right team members. They will also learn the four factors that predict success in service-based roles, and will leave with effective tools. Join Robinson and other expert speakers at the premier #cx #custserv event of 2017: www.secretservicesummit.com/register "Hireology is thrilled to once again be part of the Secret Service Summit for the second year in a row. Delivering world class service starts with hiring great people, and we're looking forward to giving attendees actionable insights that help them build their best possible team in 2017," said Robinson. "Having a company like Hireology once again be part of the Secret Service Summit is a critical piece to our goal of making the Secret Service Summit the best educational event our attendees have ever attended," says John DiJulius, President of The DiJulius Group. "Many of our own consulting clients already use Hireology and rave about their work and the difference they have made in organization. Hireology provides two major benefits to Summit attendees: 1) A subject matter expert providing breakout sessions during the Summit on how to attract, hire, and retain the right talent that will allow your company to provide a World-Class Customer Experience organization internally and externally, and 2) A resource for our clients be able to utilize post Summit to tap into their expertise and tools to make sure their organization's culture is significantly different six, twelve and eighteen months from now." About Hireology Based in Chicago, Hireology was founded on a simple but powerful concept: by analyzing the behaviors of top-performing employees, organizations can create highly accurate systems for identifying the best candidate for the job. Hireology helps business owners build successful companies by assembling better teams. Hireology's Intelligent Hiring Framework and industry expertise help businesses streamline and improve their hiring process, resulting in smarter hiring and stronger company performance. Over 2,500 businesses trust Hireology to make better hiring decisions, lower turnover, and increase productivity and profitability. For more information, visit www.hireology.com or follow the brand on Twitter at @Hireology. About The DiJulius Group The DiJulius Group (http://www.thedijuliusgroup.com), headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is the leading authority on world-class customer experience. The DiJulius Group's relentless mission is to help your organization change the world by creating a customer service revolution. To learn more about The DiJulius Group or the Secret Service Summit, contact David Wagner, [email protected], or call 440-443-0022. SOURCE The DiJulius Group Related Links http://www.thedijuliusgroup.com "Our customers are finding smart home integrations like the one we are showcasing with Google Home to be very useful and convenient," said Manish Mehrotra, director, digital business planning and connected operations, Hyundai Motor America. "We will continue to add layers of convenience to the Blue Link connected car system and our cars, making features like remote EV charge management, remote locking, temperature and remote start easier than ever while sitting on the couch and saying 'Ok Google'." Google Home is a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant that can provide real-time answers, activate streaming music services, smart home devices, and now, cars. Blue Link brings seamless connectivity directly into Hyundai cars with technology like Remote Start with Climate Control, Destination Search powered by Google, Remote Door Lock/Unlock, Car Finder, Enhanced Roadside Assistance, and Stolen Vehicle Recovery. Blue Link services can be easily accessed from the buttons on the rearview mirror and center stack, the Web or via the Blue Link owners' smartphone app. In addition to the Action on Google Assistant, some of these features can also be controlled via the latest Android Wear and Apple Watch smartwatch offerings. How It Works To send commands to the Hyundai Vehicles via the Google Assistant on Google Home, engineers developed a way to link a customer's Blue Link Account with the Google Assistant voice activated services. Once a customer has successfully linked his or her account, Remote Service commands will only be sent to Hyundai vehicles after the Google Assistant prompts owners for their Blue Link Personal Identification Number (PIN). Examples of Exchanges between Google Home and Hyundai Blue Link Example User Statement to Google Assistant Example Google Assistant's Response to User "Ok Google, Find me a great steakhouse in Las Vegas." "The address I found for a great steak house in Las Vegas is SW Steak House at 3131 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109. Do you wish to send it to your Sonata?" "Ok Google, tell Blue Link to send the address to my Santa Fe." "The destination has been sent." "Ok Google, what is the weather like today?" "Today's forecast for Ann Arbor is 38 degrees with rain and snow." "Ok Google, ask Blue Link to Start my Tucson and set the temperature to 75 degrees." "To remote start and set climate control of your Tucson please say your Blue Link PIN." "9115." "Your request to remote start and set climate control of your Tucson has been sent." "Ok Google, Tell Blue Link to start charging my IONIQ" "Please say your Blue Link PIN." "1978." "Your request has been sent. Your IONIQ is now charging. Blue Link Action on Google Home demonstration features include: Sending a destination to the car's navigation system Remote horn/lights Start and stop charging of Hyundai plug-in vehicles Remote Start with Climate Control Hyundai will have more features before launching this Action on Google Home into production. HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co. of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through more than 830 dealerships nationwide. All Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. are covered by the Hyundai Assurance program, which includes the 5-year/60,000-mile fully transferable new vehicle limited warranty, Hyundai's 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty and five years of complimentary Roadside Assistance. Hyundai Blue Link Connected Care provides owners of Hyundai models equipped with the Blue Link telematics system with proactive safety and car care services complimentary for one year with enrollment. These services include Automatic Collision Notification, Enhanced Roadside Assistance, Vehicle Diagnostic Alert, Monthly Vehicle Health Report and In-Vehicle Service Scheduling. For more details on Hyundai Assurance, please visit www.HyundaiAssurance.com. Please visit our media website at www.hyundainews.com and our blog at www.hyundailikesunday.com. Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook SOURCE Hyundai Motor America Related Links http://www.hyundainews.com BOSTON, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The three John Hancock closed-end funds listed below declared their monthly distributions today as follows: Declaration Date: January 3, 2017 Ex Date: January 11, 2017 Record Date: January 13, 2017 Payment Date: January 31, 2017 Ticker Fund Name Distribution Per Share Change From Previous Distribution Market Price as of 12/30/2016 Annualized Current Distribution Rate at Market HPI Preferred Income Fund $0.1400 - $20.35 8.26% HPF Preferred Income Fund II $0.1400 - $20.25 8.30% HPS Preferred Income Fund III $0.1222 - $17.74 8.27% A portion of a Fund's current distribution may include sources other than net investment income, including a return of capital. Investors should understand that a return of capital is not a distribution from income or gains of a Fund. As required under the Investment Company Act of 1940, a notice with the estimated components of the distribution will be sent to shareholders at the time of payment if it does not consist solely of net investment income. Such notice will also be posted to the Funds' website at www.jhinvestments.com . The notice should not be used to prepare tax returns as the estimates indicated in the notice may differ from the ultimate federal income tax characterization of distributions. After the end of each calendar year, investors will be sent a Form 1099-DIV informing them how to report distributions received during that year for federal income tax purposes. Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined by the United States securities laws. You should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on forward-looking statements because they are subject to uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Fund's control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. An investor should consider a Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. About John Hancock Investments John Hancock Investments provides asset management services to individuals and institutions through a unique manager-of-managers approach. A wealth management business of John Hancock Financial, we managed more than $136 billion in assets as of September 30, 2016, across mutual funds, college savings plans, and retirement plans. About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial John Hancock Financial is a division of Manulife Financial, a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, the Company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were C$966 billion (US$736 billion) as of September 30, 2016. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at manulife.com. The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers and administers a broad range of financial products, including life insurance, annuities, fixed products, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com. SOURCE John Hancock Investments Related Links http://www.jhinvestments.com DALLAS, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- JRjr33, Inc., doing business as JRJR Networks [NYSE MKT: JRJR] today announced it filed its Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2016 on Friday, December 30, 2016. John Walker, the Chief Financial Officer commented, "We are pleased to file the Q by the original filing extension for the September 30, 2016 10-Q granted by the Exchange. This filing comes just three weeks after the December 6, 2016 filing of the 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2016. While the Exchange provided an additional extension to file the September 10-Q until January 31, 2017, the organization felt it was important to demonstrate the seriousness in which we have taken this issue. I believe this speaks of the Company's commitment to adhering to the listing requirements of the Exchange and the importance of this information for our shareholders. While it has been a trying and costly exercise regaining compliancy, we are very pleased with the conclusion of this process and will now start work on our annual audit. I am also pleased to report higher year to date gross revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, which are up 16% percent over the prior year. Improvements in our restructuring programs yielded a $782 thousand savings in general and administrative expenses for the quarter. While it has been a challenging year, we are pleased to have the distracting issues facing the business behind us and look forward to focusing on our business and growth initiatives in 2017. We are reviewing several interesting opportunities that will continue to enhance the brand and business model that we are committed to. We look forward to beginning 2017 with a series of operating initiatives focused on brand supremacy, sales penetration and additional operational enhancements." Financial Highlights Gross Revenue for the third quarter was approximately $34.1 million, compared to last year's revenue of $37.0 million. The revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 increased to approximately $106.6 million, compared to $91.9 million during the same period for the prior year, an increase of $14.7 million, or 16%. Net revenue for the third quarter was approximately $28.5 million, which is comparable to last year's net revenue of $31.1 million. The net revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 was approximately $88.8 million, compared to $79.8 million during the same period for the prior year, an increase of $9.0 million, or 11.3%. Gross profit was approximately $19.4 million, compared to $21.4 million in the same quarter last year. The gross profit for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 was approximately $60.0 million, compared to $55.8 million during the same period for the prior year, an increase of $4.2 million, or 7.5%. Gross profit margin during the quarter was 56.9% of revenue, compared to 57.9% of revenue in the prior year. The gross profit margin for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 was 56.3%, compared to 60.7% during the same period for the prior year. The decrease in gross profit margin is primarily due to our acquisition of Betterware which has lower gross profit margins compared to the other companies in the portfolio. Operating loss for the third quarter improved to approximately $4.1 million, compared to $4.4 million in the prior year, a change of $0.3 million. The operating loss increased to approximately $15.5 million, compared to $11.1 million in the prior year, a change of $4.4 million. The operating loss decreased in the third quarter due to a decrease in the gross profit which was a result of lower profit margins. Net loss attributable to JRjr33, Inc. for the third quarter was approximately $4.7 million, or a loss of 13.8% of revenue, increased compared to the $3.9 million, or a loss of 10.5% of revenue, experienced during the third quarter of last year. The net loss attributable to JRjr33, Inc. for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 was approximately $16.1 million, or a loss of 15.1% of revenue, compared to $7.6 million, or a loss of 8.3% of revenue, during the same period for the prior year, an increase of $8.5 million. The net loss increased as a result of the increase in operating losses as well as the increase in interest expense as a result of the Company taking on additional debt in quarter four of last year as well as $859 thousand in late filing penalties to Dominion. Adjusted EBITDA (losses) for the quarter was approximately $1.7 million, or a loss of 4.9% of revenue, which is consistent with the prior year's loss of $1.7 million, or a loss of 4.5% of revenue. The adjusted EBITDA (losses) for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 was approximately $8.0 million, or a loss of 7.5% of revenue, which has increased from the prior year's loss of $2.4 million, or a loss of 2.6% of revenue. The Company will hold a conference call Wednesday January 4, 2017 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, to discuss the Company's third quarter 2016 financial results. To participate in the conference call, please dial toll free 888-428-9470. For international callers, please dial (toll) 719-325-2366. An audio replay of the conference call will be available in the investor relations section of the Company's website following completion of the call for approximately 30 business days. JRjr33, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) (in thousands, except share and per share data) September 30, 2016 December 31, 2015 Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,872 $ 6,482 Marketable securities 832 5,306 Accounts receivable, net 5,079 4,828 Inventory, net 19,162 20,799 Other current assets 4,055 2,303 Total current assets 31,000 39,718 Assets held for sale 998 1,111 Restricted cash 2,857 Sale leaseback security deposit 4,414 4,414 Property, plant and equipment, net 3,382 5,387 Property under capital leases, net 14,217 14,654 Goodwill 5,076 5,427 Intangibles, net 7,637 8,801 Other assets 37 135 Total assets $ 66,761 $ 82,504 Liabilities and stockholders' equity Current liabilities: Accounts payable $ 16,298 $ 15,937 Related party payables 1,936 1,605 Accrued commissions 4,660 3,033 Accrued liabilities 8,562 7,303 Deferred revenue 4,351 2,307 Taxes payable 6,440 4,830 Current portion of long-term debt 9,853 3,048 Other current liabilities 1,041 777 Total current liabilities 53,141 38,840 Deferred tax liability 795 744 Long-term debt, less current portion 4,381 12,784 Capital lease obligation, less current portion 15,943 16,332 Other long-term liabilities 2,836 2,864 Total liabilities 77,096 71,564 Commitments and contingencies (Note 12) Stockholders' equity: Preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share, 500,000 authorized; -0-issued and outstanding Common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 250,000,000 shares authorized; 36,863,719 and 35,718,279 shares issued and outstanding, at September 30, 2016 and at December 31, 2015, respectively 4 4 Additional paid-in capital 60,102 58,837 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (3,661) (586) Accumulated deficit (61,340) (45,255) Total stockholders' equity attributable to JRjr33, Inc. (4,895) 13,000 Stockholders' equity attributable to non-controlling interest (5,440) (2,060) Total stockholders' equity (10,335) 10,940 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 66,761 $ 82,504 JRjr33, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, (in thousands, except share and per common share data) 2016 2015 2016 2015 Revenue $ 34,100 $ 36,954 $ 106,589 $ 91,915 Program costs and discounts (5,603) (5,838) (17,796) (12,141) Net revenues 28,497 31,116 88,793 79,774 Costs of sales 9,107 9,727 28,833 23,985 Gross profit 19,390 21,389 59,960 55,789 Distributor expense 8,718 10,205 27,373 27,541 Selling expense 4,033 3,861 13,284 10,331 General and administrative expense 9,467 10,249 31,969 27,351 Share based compensation expense 58 1,087 107 (109) Depreciation and amortization 640 920 2,007 2,228 Gain on sale of assets 599 (532) 487 (615) Impairment of goodwill 191 192 Operating loss (4,125) (4,401) (15,458) (11,130) Loss (gain) on sale of marketable securities (3) 2 (12) 9 Gain on acquisition of a business (2,819) Interest expense, net 1,554 564 3,422 1,906 Loss before income tax provision (5,676) (4,967) (18,868) (10,226) Income tax provision (benefit) 194 (29) 605 356 Net loss (5,870) (4,938) (19,473) (10,582) Net loss attributable to non-controlling interest 1,172 1,043 3,388 2,935 Net loss attributable to JRjr33, Inc. $ (4,698) $ (3,895) $ (16,085) $ (7,647) Basic and diluted loss per share: Weighted average common shares outstanding 36,322,360 34,367,095 35,996,384 32,842,579 Loss per common share attributable to JRjr33, Inc., basic and diluted $ (0.13) $ (0.11) $ (0.45) $ (0.23) JRjr33, Inc. EBITDA (losses) Reconciliation (Unaudited) Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, (in thousands) 2016 2015 2016 2015 Net loss $ (5,870) $ (4,938) $ (19,473) $ (10,582) Interest, net 1,554 564 3,422 1,906 Income tax expense 194 (29) 605 356 Depreciation and amortization 781 920 2,430 2,228 EBITDA (losses) (3,341) (3,483) (13,016) (6,092) Capital market expenses 85 289 328 1,124 M&A expenses 280 290 1,105 932 M&A infrastructure expense 536 685 1,825 2,183 Other EBITDA Adjustments 763 555 1,776 (533) Adjusted EBITDA (losses) $ (1,677) $ (1,664) $ (7,982) $ (2,386) Cautionary Note Regarding Adjusted EBITDA This news release includes information on Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure as defined by SEC Regulation G. Management believes that Adjusted EBITDA, when viewed with our results under GAAP and the accompanying reconciliations, provides useful information about our period-over-period growth. Adjusted EBITDA is presented because management believes it provides additional information with respect to the performance of our fundamental business activities and is also frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of comparable companies. We also rely on Adjusted EBITDA as a primary measure to review and assess the operating performance of our company and our management team. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. We calculate adjusted EBITDA by taking net income, and adding back the expenses related to interest, income taxes, depreciation, and amortization, stock compensation expenses, non-cash compensation, deferred rent, inventory write-off adjustments, gains/losses in relation to the sale of an asset, asset impairment costs such as goodwill or other identifiable intangible impairment, asset fair value adjustments, and debt forgiveness expenses, as each of those elements are calculated in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as a substitute for net income (loss) (as determined in accordance with GAAP) for the purpose of analyzing our operating performance or financial position, as Adjusted EBITDA is not defined by GAAP. A reconciliation is provided above in this press release. About JRJR Networks (www.jrjrnetworks.com) JRJR Networks is a growing platform of direct-to-consumer brands. Within JRJR Networks, each company retains its separate identity, sales force, product line and compensation plan, while JRJR Networks seeks synergies and efficiencies in operational areas. JRJR Networks companies currently include The Longaberger Company, a 42-year old maker of hand-crafted baskets and other home decor items; Your Inspiration At Home, an award-winning maker of hand-crafted spices and other gourmet food items from around the world; Tomboy Tools, a direct seller of tools designed for women; Agel Enterprises, a global seller of nutritional products in gel form as well as a skin care line, operating in 50 countries; Paperly, which offers a line of custom stationery and other personalized products; Uppercase Living, which offers a line of customizable vinyl expressions for display on walls in the home; Kleeneze, a 95-year old UK-based catalog seller of cleaning, health, beauty, home, outdoor and a variety of other products, and Betterware, a UK-based home catalog seller. JRJR Networks also includes Happenings, a lifestyle publication and marketing company. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "can," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," or "will" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology and include statements regarding the opportunities under review and the continued enhancement of the brand and business model. These forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations and assumptions from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, our ability to expand leadership activities in support of our sales, our ability to continue to grow, our ability to integrate the entities that we have acquired, our ability to strengthen our internal controls and the other risks outlined under "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for our fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 and our other filings with the SEC, including subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release on account of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. Contact : Investor Relations: Tucker Gagen ([email protected]) Media Contact: Brenton Baker ([email protected]) SOURCE JRJR Networks Related Links http://www.jrjrnetworks.com SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 03, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alzamend Neuro, Inc. (Alzamend) announced today it has launched its Regulation A+ Tier II Offering online at www.AlzamendRegA.com. The Companys campaign targeted to raise $50M in equity capital to take investment immediately. On December 8, 2016, the Company was notified by the SEC that it had qualified its Form 1A Application allowing the Company to move forward with the Offering which will leverage the key component of the Reg. A+ Tier II rules which allows for the solicitation of the general public as well as traditional investors and financial institutions. Today begins the realization of a vision that began more than 6 years ago, with my desire to help in the battle against Alzheimers. From my decades of Wall Street experience, I intuitively knew, when President Obama signed the JOBS Act in 2012, that this could be the mechanism by which everyone who cares about this battle could make a difference, said Milton Todd Ault, III, the Founder and Chairman of Alzamend Neuro, Inc. This story started a long time ago when as a young man, I watched my grandmother and other relatives suffer with the devastating effects of Alzheimers and the toll it took on our family and the caregivers that were involved. More recently I have lived with two very, very dear people who suffer from Alzheimers; my mother-in-law who has since passed away and my father who has early stage Alzheimers. My family and I understand all too well the impact that Alzheimers has close-up and on a national scale. It is the most feared disease by many growing older. As a resolution for 2016, I set a goal, and this past February, Alzamend Neuro was formed. Some have asked me why I founded Alzamend Neuro. In sharing our story, we hope that people understand that we are searching for a cure; not just for our family, but for families all over the world. The proceeds of the Offering will be used support the continuance of research led by Dr. Cao from the University of South Florida Health Byrd Alzheimers Institute (USF), the Companys operations and the Companys investment in and procurement of licenses for other therapies and cures in development. The Company conducted over the past several months an Indication of Interest Test the Waters campaign online to gauge potential investor interest in the going-public Offering. The Company measured public support by targeting family, friends, customers, associates, anyone known to the management along with the general public as it sought to raise working and investment capital to support its research and marketing strategies and surpass its operational goals. The Company reports it received over 4,000 investors indicating interest for over $20M in potential new capital. The Company cited that Regulation A+ is a big win for entrepreneurs because it helps open access to capital and a win for investors as more people will have the investment opportunities that they simply didnt have access to before. With the passage of this disruptive legislation, the crowdfunding of cause based biotech investments like Alzamend Neuro became a real option. We believe that CAO22W will be a positive step forward in the fight against Alzheimers and look forward to moving the research through to product commercialization as fast as possible, said Philip Mansour, President and CEO of Alzamend Neuro, Inc. Mr. Mansour continued, I am both thrilled and hopeful that the path we have started on today will be meaningful to so many who have suffered with the devastating effects to loved ones, family, and friends. From the success of Elio Motors this time last year, and others since, who have blazed this path before us, I have observed that the average American cares about what a company does and is becoming more educated about their new ability to invest. They are eager to support private companies they believe in and management that affirms their values. Historically, non-accredited investors have been left on the sidelines for many investment opportunities, such as Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) and venture capital. Regulation A+ opens more investment opportunities for everyday people. In the past, only wealthy investors, venture capitalists, and private equity firms have had the opportunity to invest via special securities in private to public transactions. This changed in April 2012 through the passing of the Jump Start Our Business Start-up (JOBS) Act. In March 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission finalized rules under Title IV of the 2012 Act, paving the way for private companies to raise up to $50 million from non-accredited investors. These new rules are known as "Regulation A+ and became effective in June 2015. Empowered by this monumental change for small businesses and how capital can be raised, the Company is looking to attract traditional investors (investment banks, financial institutions, and accredited investors) as well as the general public and anyone who cares about supporting Alzheimers. The Companys Regulation A+ Tier II Offering will be presented to investors in the order they participated in the Test the Waters campaign and open to anyone else interested in the Offer. Alzamend qualified the Offering with Federal regulators before any actual investment into this Regulation A+ Tier II Offering occurred. Prior to doing so, no money or other consideration was being solicited, and if sent in response, was not accepted by the Company and returned promptly. Offers to buy securities could not be accepted, and no part of the purchase price could be received until the offering circular on Form 1-A was qualified by the SEC. Any offer can be withdrawn or revoked at any time before notice of its acceptance is given after the qualification date of the offering circular. An indication of interest made by a prospective investor is non-binding and involves no obligation or commitment of any kind. The Company recommends any investors to read its Form 1A Statement and other public reports and financials filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for further information. All public filings, financials, management profile and other Company information are available on the Companys web site. The Companys web domain is www.Alzamend.com and its Regulation A+ Tier II Offering web domain is www.AlzamendRegA.com. About Alzamend Neuro, Inc. Alzamend Neuro, Inc. is a Delaware corporation registered in the State of Utah. The mission of Alzamend Neuro is to support the full product development life cycle of treatment and cures for Alzheimers believing that strong support of research is the foundation for true innovation. Providing current hope though the commercialization of existing patented intellectual property and know-how while simultaneously funding future hope through advanced research and development. As its first step in its vision, Alzamend Neuro, has licensed a patented mutant peptide for use in immunotherapy from the University of South Florida. It is one of the Companys strategic goals to support the continuing research by the team at the USF Health Byrd Alzheimers Institute and to develop and commercialize their results into meaningful solutions. From his familys personal experience with 6 relatives having been afflicted with AD, Mr. Ault diligently studied the status of treatments and the landscape of medical technology. Mr. Ault selected the Byrd Institute and their formative intellectual property and formed the Company. With twenty-five years of experience on Wall Street buying and selling companies as an activist driven by his relentless passion for business and technology, Mr. Aults efforts have culminated in a commitment to depart from the traditional while forging ahead with an innovative yet disruptive path to financing the commercialization and the discovery of future solutions. Forward-looking & Safe Harbor Statement Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and those statements are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, other than statements of fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential plans and objectives of the Company, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company cautions that these forward-looking statements are further qualified by other factors. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any statements in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. OAKLAND, Calif., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans, opened the doors at three new medical offices in Santa Cruz County today and began caring for members. The opening of the new offices in Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley and Watsonville means Santa Cruz County residents now have convenient access to Kaiser Permanente's unique blend of high quality, affordable health care and coverage. The organization first announced its plans to provide health care in the county in April, 2016. "Improving the total health of our members and the communities we serve is a core part of our mission," explained Janet Liang, president of Kaiser Permanente Northern California. "We are so pleased to begin providing our award-winning care and coverage in Santa Cruz County and look forward to being actively involved in these wonderful communities." "Our physicians are nationally recognized for their expertise in prevention, chronic disease management and treatment of the most complex medical problems," said Robert Pearl, MD, executive director and CEO of The Permanente Medical Group. "Trained at the leading programs in the United States, they will provide superior quality and personalized service to their patients in Santa Cruz County." Kaiser Permanente's new medical offices are located at 5615 Scotts Valley Drive in Scotts Valley; 115 Locust Street in downtown Santa Cruz; and at 1931 Main Street in Watsonville. Appointments are available from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Urgent care is available at the Scotts Valley office, Monday through Friday from 12:00 p.m. to 8 p.m., and on weekends, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. "These medical offices are designed to enhance our members' care experience by using technology and space to make receiving medical care easier, more convenient, and focused on choice," said Irene Chavez, Kaiser Permanente senior vice president and area manager. "For example, our exam rooms feature 40-inch screens to facilitate real-time video conferences with specialists, translation services, and health education." Kaiser Permanente's medical office in Santa Cruz features a decorative tribute to "surf city" with three beautiful surfboards created by a local designer. In Watsonville, the 19,000 square-foot facility includes local artwork and an eye-popping entrance mural. The two-story, 20,000 square-foot Scotts Valley Medical Office features tree-top views through large windows, bringing the outdoors inside. All three locations offer primary care services, including internal/family medicine, obstetrics/ gynecology, and pediatrics, as well as psychiatry and other mental health and wellness services. The medical offices at Watsonville and Scotts Valley include laboratory, pharmacy, general radiology and mammography services. Members have access to specialists either in person, by phone appointments or through video visits. Initially, there are more than 40 Kaiser Permanente specialty and primary care physicians serving Santa Cruz County and more will be added as membership grows. "The majority of the Kaiser Permanente primary care physicians practicing in Santa Cruz County actually already live in the community," explained Raj Bhandari, MD, physician-in-chief for Kaiser Permanente. "They know this area well and are looking forward to working in the same community where they live." Coverage for new members started on January 1. Local hospital services and inpatient care, including labor and delivery, are being provided by Watsonville Community Hospital and at nearby Kaiser Permanente medical centers in Santa Clara and San Jose. For more information about Kaiser Permanente in Santa Cruz County, visit KP.org/SantaCruz. About Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 10.6 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/share. Contact: Karl Sonkin, (408) 528-5168 SOURCE Kaiser Permanente Related Links http://www.kaiserpermanente.org KEY LARGO, Fla., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- With unforgettable sunsets and sparkling waters, Key Largo Bay Marriott Beach Resort adds to the vacation experience with the completion of its recent renovations. With a newly designed lobby, a modernized spa and a re-equipped fitness center, Key Largo Bay Marriott Beach Resort raises the bar on the vacation experience. From meeting with friends in the lobby to getting a full body wrap at the spa, getaway vacations are redefined at Key Largo Bay Marriott Beach Resort. Luxury accommodations with pillow-top mattresses, crisp linens and fluffy pillows are made available to guests. Also provided are three distinct on-site restaurants - from a poolside bar to Guests will feel the ambience of the newly redesigned lobby as they step onto the 17 acres of waterfront property. Feel immersed in the Florida vibes with new locally inspired decor and furnishings within. The Key Largo hotel welcomes travelers and lets them know they've entered paradise. With a quaint setting and stylish seating, meeting with friends and family in between sunbathing and evening adventures is effortless. Serenity is within reach at the Key Largo resort thanks to the recently modernized hotel spa. From hot stone massages to therapeutic heat wraps, spa goers can choose from a variety of services to enjoy. The new design creates a tranquil ambiance that enhances each moment of restoration and makes it easy for patrons to enter a relaxed state-of-mind. The engaging beachside atmosphere and decadent spa services are just a reservation away. Guests craving a little more activity can find a way to keep up with their workout routine without ever leaving the property with the newly remodeled fitness center. Well-managed equipment including cardio machines and free weights are available to help travelers get their heart pumping. The hotel also provides several off-site outdoor activities including bike riding, jet ski rentals, fishing excursions and kayaking. The hotel also features three on-site eateries perfect for any occasion. Visit Gus' Grille for a romantic dinner with a memorable view, or for a more relaxed dining experience, enjoy the lighter fare offered at Breezer's Tiki Bar or Flipper's Pool Bar. Breezer's has also gone through a recent remodel that is inspired by its Florida Keys surroundings. New decor and floor to ceiling sliding doors have been added to allow the warm breeze in. After a relaxing or adventure-filled day, visitors can retire to the relaxed rooms and suites of the resort where pillow-top mattresses with custom duvets await. Complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi, large flat-screen TVs and bathrooms with marble finishing add to the Floridian getaway. To reserve a room at the modernized Key Largo Bay Marriott Beach Resort, visit www.marriott.com/MTHKL or call 1-305-453-0000. About Key Largo Bay Marriott Beach Resort Key Largo Bay Marriott Beach Resort at 103800 Overseas Highway, MM 103.8 in Key Largo, Florida offers easy access to Everglades National Park, USS Spiegel Grove and Theater of the Sea. Within the four floors of this beachside resort are 133 rooms, 20 suites, an on-site spa, an outdoor pool, a fitness center and three different hotel restaurants and bars. The hotel also boasts 8 versatile event rooms with a total of 10,932 square feet of space and a max capacity of 350 attendees in the largest space. For more information, visit www.marriott.com/MTHKL or call 1-305-453-0000. Like Key Largo Bay Marriott Beach Resort on Facebook. Sign up now for Marriott Rewards and get on the fast track to earn points for free hotel stays, room upgrades, flights, credit card purchases and deals with Marriott partners. Learn more about Marriott International Inc. PRESS CONTACT Valerie A. Pagan 305-453-7150 [email protected] SOURCE Key Largo Bay Marriott Beach Resort Related Links http://www.marriott.com SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The LADWP's pledge to give customers a bill of rights is a step forward, but the LADWP remains in need of a major bureaucratic overhaul, Consumer Watchdog said today. "These are common sense reforms that should be standard business practice and shouldn't need a board of commissioners' vote," said Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court. "This is like putting a customer bill of rights on the wall of a Russian Gulag. What's needed is to tear down the walls and create an independent voice for ratepayer problems rather than entrusting a failed bureaucracy to fix itself. The definition of insanity is trusting the same failed bureaucrats to try to fix their own problems without new accountability. The current ratepayer advocate, a former Enron employee, should be fired as well if ratepayers are to have a voice at DWP when his contract is up this year." The LADWP overbilled customers $67.5 million when a new billing software system malfunctioned in 2013 after management was warned the system was not ready. While ratepayers owed a refund still haven't seen one, the City has already paid out millions of dollars to utility consultants and lawyers. Meanwhile, ratepayers are often terminated for nonpayment of bills they don't believe they owe or that are wildly inflated on the basis of "estimates." "The big missing pieces from this bill of rights are the right to redress without termination when a bill is wrong, independent third party review of billing problems outside of the DWP bureaucracy, and a real ratepayer advocate independent of the DWP to report what's really going on," said Court. "Relying on the same DWP bureaucracy to be more responsive is crazy because these bureaucrats have proven to be inept at following the current rules. Now it looks like DWP is just creating new rules to follow without accountability to an outside authority for audits and review." The LADWP's bill of rights does not address how the LADWP will handle overbilling problems and customer termination of service. Consumer Watchdog says this is the key issue, as well as why computer billing errors occur in the first place. "It's a no brainer that people should be sent their bills within a few days of a meter read, or that a bill should be automatically reviewed if it's suddenly for usage three times higher than average," said consumer advocate Liza Tucker. "The question remains why customers are being terminated for nonpayment of bills that they honestly believe, and that evidence shows, they can't possibly owe. Right now, ratepayers are still left holding the bag on hundreds or thousands of dollars they don't oweand paying those bills to avoid cutoff." Tucker said that the LADWP has dragged its feet for a year in providing documentation under the Public Records Act on customer terminations for nonpayment of bills and three months for records documenting problems with its billing system. Consumer Watchdog has waited four months for detailed billing records pertaining to lawyers and consultants paid millions of dollars to negotiate a class action settlement and review the methodology LADWP is using to calculate refunds. "The LADWP has put off responses to requests for most of 2016, and claimed many of the documents are privileged," said Tucker. "We should start with real accountability at the LADWP via transparency about what ratepayers are bankrolling." Real reform, Consumer Watchdog said, should include an immediate overhaul of Public Record Act response times and release of records at DWP. Visit our website at: http://www.ConsumerWatchdog.org SOURCE Consumer Watchdog Related Links http://www.consumerwatchdog.org What are the most awaited products that Deepoon VR plans to showcase at the exhibition? Deepoon VR's next-generation PC headset E3 and E-Polaris positioning solution make their world debut As a result of its high quality and reputation, Deepoon VR's E2 has been dominating the offline PC headset market since its launch. Deepoon, a Chinese VR company which is renowned for its pursuit of excellence, is likely to release its next-generation PC headset E3 at CES 2017 as the timing would be right given the product cycle. At both the Kai Ying VRonline Press Conference and the Deepoon Connect Developers Conference held in early December, 2016, Deepoon VR CEO Chen Chaoyang revealed that E3 will probably make its world debut at the exhibition. A few highlights that the design sketch for the E3 reveals about the new product Deepoon VR's next-generation, slimmer-designed, lighter PC headset E3 will exert no pressure on the wearer's head. The headset will come equipped with E-Polaris positioning interactive technology, delivering a spacious, multi-player, virtual interactive experience. The solution will dramatically expand the playability of both VR games and physical VR experience halls. Chen indicated that the E3 is expected to outperform the best PC headsets currently available in the market when it comes to appearance, quality and technological performance. Deepoon VR's new all-in-one VR headset M2 Pro to debut at the exhibition Deepoon VR released its next-generation all-in-one VR headset, the M2 Pro on December 23, 2016. The crowdfunding project for the M2 Pro exceeded its goal in less than three days following its launch on Taobao's crowdfunding platform, serving as a testament to the product's high degree of popularity among Chinese VR fans. The M2 Pro, an enhanced version of the M2, offers several new features, including soft light technology for protection of the user's eyes, an upgrade in performance and optimization of the interface, in addition to the features that were built in to the M2, including wireless portability and rich content. The M2 Pro is compatible with the latest mobile VR spatial positioning interactive system. As a result, expectations are high that it will be on display at the exhibition as Deepoon VR's flagship product. M-Polaris mobile positioning interactive system to make appearance in Las Vegas M-Polaris, a mobile VR positioning interactive system recently launched by Deepoon VR, has also drawn attention of both industry insiders and hobbyists. The user-friendly, easy-to-install solution enables full millimeter-grade positioning, assures stable operation, and can work with Deepoon VR's all-in-one VR products, the M2 and the M2 Pro. Notably, Deepoon VR is already mass producing the developer version of M-Polaris at a time when other VR vendors' positioning interactive solutions, including Oculus' Insideout, are still at the experimental and demo stage. As the world's first consumer-grade VR positioning interactive system, the M-Polaris is expected to receive a lot of attention at CES 2017. A demo video recently published by Deepoon VR shows a 30-second segment during which a person plays one of the simplest online games, Fruit Ninja, while experiencing the system for the first time. It is expected that both developers and consumers will find a lot of value in the detailed field demonstration featuring the M2 Pro and Deepoon VR's more advanced products. Leisure VR equipment complements Deepoon VR's exhibit portfolio Deepoon VR will also showcase the VRmassage, a VR device designed for massage armchairs. By combining VR with massage chairs, the device allows the wearer to observe the technique of the masseur or masseuse as he or she works on the wearer's head, shoulder, hip, legs and feet. The device comes in several versions, including a version for 4-hands massage. In addition to these exhibits, Deepoon VR said it may unveil some of its "secret weapons", a series of products which the developer has been keeping under wraps. The developer further explained that some of the new items are sure to turn heads at the show. All visitors to CES are welcome to stop by the Deepoon VR booth and see what the VR product developer has to offer. SOURCE Deepoon 1) the appearance of both a low-cost resource definition opportunity and a near term production opportunity; 2) the overall project size fits well within the capability of a junior company seeking to quickly define reserves and establish production facilities; 3) the property is well situated within the Salar de Atacama, the highest-grade lithium salar in the world; 4) within the Salar de Atacama, lithium brines exist within 140 feet of surface resulting in low costs of exploration and extraction; 5) the Purickuta Concession lies relatively near existing pumping and solar evaporation installations; 6) the Purickuta Concession is close to power, labour, communications, transportation and other infrastructure. The Company intends to undertake a preliminary resource definition program upon receipt of the National Instrument 43-101 report, which is expected to be completed in February, 2017. "We are excited about the opportunity to earn a significant interest in a lithium concession located in the world's most prolific lithium brine deposit, Chile's Salar de Atacama. Having two lithium giants, SQM and Albemarle, as neighbours in the salar gives us confidence that we will be able to develop this concession alongside our Chilean partner, Durus Copper, for the benefit of our shareholders." says Tim Fernback, LiCo's Chief Operating Officer. Click here to see maps About the Purickuta Project: https://licoenergymetals.com/purickuta/ The Purickuta Project consist of 160 hectares and is one of a few "exploitation concessions" granted within the Salar de Atacama, home to approximately 37% of the worlds Lithium production. The property is contained within an existing exploitation concession owned by Sociedad Quimica y Minera ("SQM"), and lies approximately 3 km north of the exploitation concession of CORFO (the Chilean Economic Development Agency). About 22 km south-east from the Purickuta Concession, both SQM and Albemarle Corp. have large-scale production facilities within the CORFO concession mentioned above. These two facilities collectively produce over 62,000 tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent annually and account for 100% of Chile's current lithium output. Salar de Atacama is a salt flat encompassing 3,000 km2 being about 100 km long and 80 km wide. The salar possesses a very high grade of both lithium (1,840mg/l) and potassium (22,630mg/l). It has a high rate of evaporation (3,200 mm per year) and extremely low annual rainfall (15mm average per year). These characteristics make Atacama's finished lithium carbonate easier and cheaper to produce than its peer group globally. Structure of the LOI and subsequent Agreement: The proposed transaction to acquire an interest in the Project up to 60%, shall be effected by payment of the amounts described below: (a) payment of US$100,000 in cash by the Company to be paid to Durus Copper on the date that the Company receives a title opinion acceptable to LiCo, and in any event no later than December 31, 2016 (paid). (b) the Company shall pay the sum of US$300,000 in cash and issue an aggregate of 5,000,000 common shares of the Company to Durus Copper within five (5) business days of date of TSX Venture Exchange approval (the "Effective Date"); (c) the Company shall pay the sum of US$2,000,000 in cash to Durus Copper no later than six (6) months from the Effective Date; (d) the Company shall pay the sum of US$2,000,000 in cash to Durus Copper on the earliest date that is 12 months from the Effective Date or the date of the receipt of a positive preliminary economic assessment on the Property; (e) the Company shall pay the sum of US$2,000,000 in cash to Durus Copper upon the completion of a positive feasibility report on the Property and at the latest 18 months from the Effective Date; (f) the Company shall pay the sum of US$2,000,000 in cash to Durus Copper upon receipt of a special lithium operation contract (the "CEOL") regarding the Property; and (g) the Company shall have the exclusive right to accelerate all payments due under this agreement. Once LiCo has completed the foregoing conditions and as a result has exercised the option to acquire an initial 50% interest in the Purickuta Project (including the completion of the Work Commitment described below), and during a period not to exceed 12 months from the date the CEOL is executed, LiCo has an option to commence construction of a plant to achieve production at a minimum rate of 2,000 TPA or up to a maximum rate of 4,000 TPA. The Parties may agree to increase the production rate by mutual consent. For the first US$10 million invested by LiCo in plant construction, LiCo will acquire an additional 10% interest in the Property from Durus Copper, to complete the acquisition of the 60% interest in the Purickuta Project. Work Commitments: LiCo shall be required to complete the following under its "Work Commitment" obligations as follows: (a) the receipt of an acceptable title opinion in regards to the Purickuta Project, as required for the first US$100,000 payment; (b) the completion of a NI 43-101 compliant report; (c) the Preliminary Economic Assessment; (d) the Project Feasibility Study; and (e) the procedure and application for the execution of the CEOL. The transaction will be subject to TSX-Venture approval. Finders fees are payable in connection with the sourcing and negotiation of the potential acquisition of the Purickuta Project. Qualified Person: The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Alan Morris CPG. About LiCo Energy Metals: https://licoenergymetals.com/ LiCo Energy Metals Inc. is a well funded Canadian based exploration company who's primary listing is on the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company's focus is directed towards exploration for high value metals integral to the manufacture of lithium ion batteries. The Company has an option to earn 100% ownership, subject to a royalty, in the Teledyne Project located near Cobalt. Ontario. The Property adjoins the south and west boundaries of claims that hosted the Agaunico Mine. From 1905 through to 1961, the Agaunico Mine produced a total of 4,350,000 lbs. of cobalt and 980,000 oz. of silver. A significant portion of the cobalt that was produced at the Agaunico Mine located along structures that extended southward onto property currently under option to LiCo Energy Metals. The Company has an option to acquire a 100% interest, subject to a 3% NSR, on a large lithium exploration project at the Humboldt Salt Marsh in Dixie Valley, Nevada. The geologic setting and presence of lithium in active geothermal fluids and surface salts in Dixie Valley match characteristics of producing lithium brine deposits at Clayton Valley, Nevada and in South America. The Company has entered into an option agreement whereby the Company may earn an undivided 70% interest, subject to a 3% Net Smelter Return Royalty, in the Black Rock Desert Lithium Project that consists of 199 placer claims (3,980 acres, or 1,610 hectares) in southwest Black Rock Desert, Washoe County, Nevada. The Company has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with Durus Copper Chile Spa, of Santiago, Chile whereby LiCo can earn up to a 60% interest in the Purickuta Lithium Exploitation Concession located within Chile's Salar de Atacama, the world's largest and purest active source of lithium. The Company is planning an exploration programs for all its properties over the next several months. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Rick Wilson, President & CEO Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information: This news release may contain forward-looking statements which include, but are not limited to, comments that involve future events and conditions such as TSX Venture Exchange approval of any Option Agreement for the acquisition of an interest in the Purickuta Project, the satisfaction of any obligations and conditions that may be contained in such Option Agreement, and the Company's ability to exercise the Option, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Except for statements of historical facts, comments that address resource potential, upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt and security of mineral property titles, availability of funds, and others are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may vary materially from those statements. General business conditions are factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from forward-looking statements. Contact: 1220-789 West Pender St Vancouver BC V6C 1H2 Phone : +1-(236)-521-0207 [email protected] LiCoEnergyMetals.com SOURCE LiCo Energy Metals Inc. Related Links https://licoenergymetals.com DALLAS, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Innovative real estate developer Marcus Hiles, who singlehandedly altered the Texas real estate market with his creation of luxury apartments and townhomes, has maintained the highest standards for protecting the environment. With upscale rentals that are seamlessly integrated into the natural landscape, utilizing sustainably minded building practices and featuring state-of-the-art, energy-efficient amenities, Marcus Hiles' Western Rim has made elegance eco-friendly. In all of the communities built and managed by Marcus Hiles throughout Texas, residents enjoy resort-style living and upgraded conveniences. From the rich wood and Italian marble flooring to the cooling radiant barrier roofing in the attics of Western Rim's Estates, Towers and Mansions brand properties, lavish interiors and green construction go hand in hand. The striking design of extra-tall, dual pane windows reduces heat loss in colder months by as much as 75 percent, minimizing cooling requirements during summer. Water-conserving irrigation systems feed opulent baths outfitted with jetted tubs and rainwater showerheads, while ENERGY STAR stainless steel Whirlpool brand appliances provide stylish and sustainable choices for the refined gourmet chef-quality kitchens. In addition to the environmentally minded details of the properties, Marcus Hiles ensures that green space within Western Rim's developments stands as a top priority. Communities center on expansive urban and private parks, often providing on-site walking trails and dog run areas, while preserving existing trees and vegetation on and around the properties; As Hiles has continued to build upmarket homes in the Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio suburbs, he has also increased the tree canopy beyond their pre-developed statemore than 3,000 trees were planted last year alone. Marcus Hiles, Fort Worth property development authority and philanthropist, has spent more than three decades creating properties that embody his unique vision of luxury living for working class Texans. While growing his residential communities, Marcus Hiles has personally donated more than 59 acres of parkland to the general public to preserve wildlife habitats and offer residents accessible green spaces. He is deeply committed to education and has donated over $2.5 million to support children and universities. Marcus Hiles - Chairman & CEO of Western Rim Property Services: http://www.MarcusHiles-News.com Western Rim Property Services - Marcus Hiles - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Western-Rim-Property-Services-Marcus-Hiles-1013270532051763/ Marcus Hiles (@marcus_hiles) - Twitter: https://twitter.com/marcus_hiles Marcus Hiles - New Luxury Apartments in Frisco, TX - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmsJNbfOh-g SOURCE Marcus Hiles Related Links http://www.marcushiles-news.com PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- MetricStream, a leading provider of Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) Apps, announced today that the company has been positioned in the "Leaders" Quadrant of the December 13, 2016 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Operational Risk Management Solutions Report, authored by Gartner analysts John A. Wheeler and Jie Zhang. The ORM technology market continues to evolve at a rapid pace, driven by emerging risks, changes in the regulatory environment, and rapid technological innovation. As Operational Risk Management becomes more interconnected with areas like vendor risk, IT and security, regulatory compliance, and other business functions, customers look to MetricStream's unified GRC platform and cloud Apps, functionality, and analytical capabilities to provide a real-time and forward-looking view that enables them to balance risk and opportunity effectively. MetricStream's Operational Risk Management App can integrate with the rest of its portfolio of 20 GRC cloud Apps to support any number of solutions for customers who have risk management as a critical element in their compliance programs, strategic initiatives, or business performance goals. MetricStream Apps enable large, as well as small and mid-sized organizations to preserve their corporate integrity, protect their brands and reputations, and drive superior business performance. Built using an agile and intuitive system of risk intelligence, MetricStream Apps enable high performing enterprises to navigate the complex and changing business landscape while providing clear direction through predictive and prescriptive analytics capabilities. According to the report, "Security and risk management leaders are seeking to integrate their risk management solutions to gain a more holistic view of risk across the enterprise. Operational risk management solutions serve as the core element of integrated risk management." The report continues, "The critical capabilities of ORM solutions center on providing business leaders with a more effective means of assessing risk and control effectiveness, identifying operational risk events, managing remediation efforts, and quantifying the associated operational risk exposure across the enterprise." "We are happy to be recognized once again as a Leader in the 2016 Magic Quadrant for Operational Risk Management Solutions by Gartner," said Gaurav Kapoor, Chief Operating Officer at MetricStream. He continued, "As markets continue to evolve, and as the velocity and complexity of risk continues to increase, organizations need a governance and risk framework in place in order to understand and act swiftly on the vast amount of operational information available internally and externally." MetricStream believes this report is a validation of our significant investments in product capabilities around taxonomy, risk assessments, metrics, loss data management, reporting, analytics and modeling, as well as a testament to our strong global execution. The company also believes the report to be reflective of the accelerated adoption of MetricStream Operational Risk Apps and Solutions by many of the largest global financial institutions, as well as dozens of mid-tier institutions over the last year. MetricStream has enabled these organizations to accelerate collaboration between the first, second, and third line of defense, in turn creating more high performing organizations. To access a complimentary copy of the report, please click here. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. About MetricStream MetricStream is the market leader in enterprise-wide Governance, Risk, Compliance (GRC) and Quality Management Solutions. MetricStream solutions are used by leading global corporations in diverse industries such as Financial Services, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Energy and Utilities, Food, Retail, CPG, Government, Hi-Tech and Manufacturing to manage their risk management programs, quality management processes, regulatory and industry-mandated compliance and other corporate governance initiatives. MetricStream is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA (www.metricstream.com). Media Contact: Molly Palm US: +1 (925) 451-1468 [email protected] SOURCE MetricStream DENVER, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The law firm of Messner Reeves LLP is pleased to announce Michelle L. Harden has been named equity partner. Ms. Harden joins founder Bryant S. "Corky" Messner, John Shunk, David Reeves, Bruce Montoya, Robert B. Hinckley, Jr., Douglas C. Wolanske, Mark B. Schellerup, Caleb Meyer, Torben Welch, Jeremy Wysocki, and J.C. Mazzola as an owner of the firm. Ms. Harden represents individuals and businesses, large and small, striving to identify common sense solutions for difficult problems. Having worked as a nurse prior to attending the University of Colorado Law School, Ms. Harden brings a unique perspective and expertise to her practice. She has an active litigation and trial practice, appearing in state, federal and administrative courts. She serves as a trusted advisor to many clients on a wide variety of topics and serves as outside counsel for several businesses including a large publicly traded company overseeing litigation throughout the United States. Martindale-Hubbell has certified Ms. Harden as AV-Preeminent, a testament to the fact that her peers rank her at the highest level of professional excellence. She was recognized as a Colorado Super Lawyer Rising Star in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and in 2017 was recognized as a Colorado Super Lawyer. She's also been named to the 5280 Magazine Top Lawyers list in 2016 and 2017. Messner Reeves believes in letting lawyers build the practice that's right for them. The result is a firm of dedicated lawyers doing what they love, practicing law and helping their clients achieve their goals. Founder Bryant S. "Corky" Messner expressed, "Ms. Harden is a brilliant attorney who embodies the Messner Reeves culture in all respects; she is hardworking and an incredibly loyal team player." Messner Reeves LLP is honored to add Ms. Harden to our distinguished group of shareholders. About Messner Reeves LLP With offices in Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and New York, Messner Reeves counsels a diverse group of clients, from Fortune 500 companies to individual entrepreneurs. Messner Reeves has earned a distinguished reputation for offering effective legal counsel, quick response, and the highest level of professional integrity in the following areas of practice: Banking/Financial Service, Healthcare, Corporate, Litigation, Labor & Employment, Real Estate, Restaurant & Hospitality, and Tax & Private Client Services. At Messner Reeves, our core values drive our business. We are confident in our single-minded commitment to provide the best legal service possible. We understand business. We are energetic, available, accountable and solution-oriented. We work to earn the trust of our clients. More information on Messner Reeves LLP at www.messner.com. SOURCE Messner Reeves LLP Related Links http://www.messner.com MILWAUKEE, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Milwaukee Urban League announced today that Dr. Eve Hall, currently President and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin (AACCW), has been named its next President and CEO. Dr. Hall replaces Ralph E. Hollmon who has led the Milwaukee Urban League since 2002. "Dr. Hall is the ideal choice to build on the momentum of the Milwaukee Urban League at a pivotal time for our community," said Noah Fenceroy, Chair of the MUL Urban League and search committee. "Her non-profit management experience, passion for the mission of the Urban League and deep ties locally and nationally will enable her to take the work and impact of the Milwaukee Urban League to the next level." Dr. Hall has extensive leadership experience in education, government and non-profit. The core of her work has been fundraising, building programs and partnerships to increase education and career opportunities for students, enhancing professional training and development for adults while leveraging the power of education, business, government and community working together. Past roles have included Chief Innovation Officer/Vice President of Programs/Executive Director for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund; Vice President of Public Affairs for Family Service of Milwaukee; MPS School to Work Administrator reporting to the Superintendent, and Director of former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson's Milwaukee Office. Clifton Phelps, AACCW Board Chairperson stated, "When Dr. Hall was selected President/CEO in 2012 her goals were not only to strengthen the foundation of the organization, but invigorate its members and standing in the Community. We are happy to say she not only accomplished her goals but exceeded them. The African American Chamber of Commerce has a strong board, significant membership base, signature programs, and an annual breakfast which last year drew 500 attendees. She returned AACCW to a position of prominence in the Community and our Board of Directors is forever grateful." Phelps added, "Though we are sad to see her go, we are proud of the work we have been able to do together to renew the chamber. We look forward to continued collaboration with the Milwaukee Urban League on issues that affect all of us. The AACCW now looks forward to raising the organization to an expanded level of impact and effectiveness for our members throughout the State of Wisconsin." Dr. Hall received a B.S. degree in educational psychology from Florida A&M University, a M.S. in administrative leadership from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Cardinal Stritch University. "I am honored to have the opportunity to lead the Milwaukee Urban League to build on the same mission that has guided my work at the African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin for almost five years," said Dr. Hall. "Both organizations are focused on economic vibrancy for African American families and communities through education, employment and economic development and I can envision strong collaboration between the two organizations and others as we all work together to make Milwaukee a stronger city." AACCW's search will begin immediately to select Dr. Hall's successor. Dr. Hall takes the helm at the Milwaukee Urban League on January 23, and Hollmon has agreed to serve as an advisor for a period of time to ensure a smooth and seamless transition. "We are grateful to Ralph Hollmon for all he has done for the Milwaukee Urban League and the broader Milwaukee community," said Fenceroy added. "During his tenure, he has significantly improved the overall financial condition and stewardship of the organization, while being an advocate for students and adults who have benefitted from the critical education, employment and racial inclusion programs the League offers." "It has been an honor to lead the Milwaukee Urban League for the past 14 years, and I am very proud of the impact we have had and will continue to make in this community," Hollmon said. "None of this would have been possible without outstanding Board members, a great staff and the generosity of the philanthropic, business and corporate community." About the Milwaukee Urban League The Milwaukee Urban League (MUL), was established in 1919 as an affiliate of the National Urban League (NUL) and has been a catalyst for social justice and change in the Milwaukee community for nearly 100 years. Through education, employment and economic development programs, the Milwaukee Urban League continues to pursue its mission to enable African Americans and other persons of color who are economically distressed to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights. About the African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin AACCW supports the growth and sustainability of African American owned businesses through access to capital, advocacy, business development, and strategic partnerships and promotes economic and educational vibrancy in communities of color. SOURCE Milwaukee Urban League Top names in 2016: Noah Olivia Liam Emma Ava Emma comes in at No. 4, although it used to occupy the No. 3 spot as late as July of this year. The girls' and boys' lists have shown no change over the course of the year. Those lineups are as follows: For Girls: Olivia Emma Ava Sophia Isabella For Boys: Noah Liam Mason Michael Elijah Parents can use Mom365's baby-name list to sort by gender as well as the top 100 U.S. monikers. The breakdown will update again starting in 2017, which is sure to not only add new names, but change the order of trending names as well. About Mom365 One of the current top resources for all things parenting, Mom365 provides advice on topics from pregnancy and birth to preschool and beyond. Moms and dads will find updated guidance and tips to help them raise their children from infancy. Mom365 was the first company in the industry to offer color processing for in-hospital newborn photography in the 1960s. With a new business model that offers parents order-from-the-hospital services, the company became an industry leader for digital imaging products and services for newborn photography. Today, Mom365 photographers provide free newborn portrait sessions to more than 1 million new moms and babies every year. Media Contact: Mom365 Robbin Chaber Allen Vice President Strategic Alliances 203-848-5894 [email protected] SOURCE Mom365 BISMARCK, N.D., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., a division of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE: MDU), today announced it signed a 25-year agreement with a subsidiary of ALLETE Clean Energy (ACE) to purchase the power from a wind farm expansion in southwest North Dakota. The agreement also includes an option for Montana-Dakota to buy the project at the close of construction. The expansion of Thunder Spirit Wind, located near Hettinger, ND, will boost the combined production at the wind farm to approximately 150 megawatts of renewable energy and will increase Montana-Dakota's generation portfolio from approximately 20 percent renewables to 25 percent. The original 107.5-megawatt Thunder Spirit Wind project was constructed by ACE and included 43 turbines; it was purchased by Montana-Dakota in December 2015. The expansion includes 13 to 16 turbines, depending on the turbine size selected, and will be constructed by ACE. It is expected to be online in December 2018. "Our relationship with ACE on the first phase of Thunder Spirit Wind proved to be a winning formula. We are in need of additional energy to meet our growing demands, and with the easements, interconnection to the grid and permits already in place from the first phase of Thunder Spirit Wind, it makes this a great project for Montana-Dakota," said company President and CEO Nicole Kivisto. If Montana-Dakota buys the project, the capital will be incremental to the Nov. 22 announcement by MDU Resources regarding the utility group's capital expenditure forecast of $1.24 billion for 2017 through 2021. Construction costs for the project are estimated to be $85 million. Forward-Looking Statements The information in this release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements contained in this release, including capital expenditure forecasts, estimated construction costs and statements by the president and CEO of Montana-Dakota Utilities, are expressed in good faith and are believed by the company to have a reasonable basis. Nonetheless, actual results may differ materially from the projected results expressed in the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, refer to Item 1A Risk Factors in MDU Resources' most recent Form 10-K and Form 10Q. About Montana-Dakota Utilities Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. distributes natural gas and generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides related services in the northern Great Plains. The company serves approximately 142,700 electric customers and 267,500 natural gas customers in 262 communities in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. Montana-Dakota is a division of MDU Resources Group, Inc., which provides essential products and services through its regulated energy delivery and construction materials and services businesses. It is traded on the New York Stock Exchange as "MDU." For more information about MDU Resources, visit the company's website at www.mdu.com . For more information about Montana-Dakota, visit www.montana-dakota.com. Contacts Financial: Janelle Steiner, assistant treasurer, 701-530-1031 Media: Mark Hanson, senior public relations representative, 701-530-1093 or [email protected] SOURCE MDU Resources Group, Inc. Related Links http://www.mdu.com SAN DIEGO, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- NewVac LLC reported meeting all primary endpoints in the Phase II Clinical Trial of Quisinostat, novel selective oral histone deacetylase (HDAC1) inhibitor, which NewVac licensed from Janssen Pharmaceutica NV. The clinical trial is evaluating the efficacy and safety of Quisinostat in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer in combination with Paclitaxel and Carboplatin. The detailed results will be presented in an upcoming clinical research meeting in 2017. The main advantage of Quisinostat its unique pharmacokinetic (PK) properties, particularly the ability to selectively accumulate in target tissues, providing high potential in treatment of solid tumors, which has been demonstrated in the Phase II trial. Quisinostat may present a safe and effective therapeutic solution to patients by restoring sensitivity to chemotherapy in platinum-resistant cases. The efficacy and safety of Quisinostat will be further explored in clinic. In 2016 chemistry, manufacturing, and control (CMC) activities were initiated to support a Phase III clinical trial. The results of a Quisinostat Phase Ib clinical trial were recently presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2016 scientific congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Quisinostat demonstrated good safety profile and promising efficacy in metastatic platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, showing the highest objective response rate (ORR) among other patient groups within the trial. Preclinical studies have shown that Quisinostat amplifies HDAC-repressed expression of E-cadherin, leading to a reversal of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). The latter is associated with platinum-based chemotherapy resistance. Quisinostat has been investigated in six clinical trials conducted by NewVac or Janssen Pharmaceutica in Europe and the US. Overall, it has been tested in more than 200 patients with hematological and solid malignancies. NewVac is preparing to study additional indications of Quisinostat in combination with proteasome inhibitors to treat translocation-associated sarcomas in adolescents and young adults; and in combination with check-point inhibitors to increase efficacy in solid tumors (gynecologic cancers and NSCLC). About Phase II Trial This is a multicenter, open-label study of safety and efficacy of Quisinostat in combination with Paclitaxel + Carboplatin chemotherapy in patients with metastatic or locally advanced epithelial ovarian cancer, primarily peritoneal or fallopian tube carcinoma, resistant to first line platinum and Paclitaxel based chemotherapy. The study consists of a screening period of 3 weeks before the start of Quisinostat administration, followed by the treatment period of approximately 18 weeks (up to 6 cycles and 21 days for each cycle), a safety follow-up of 4 weeks after the last administration of the study therapy and post-treatment follow-up aimed at the determination of progression-free survival, time to disease progression and overall survival rate in the study population. About Ovarian Cancer Ovarian cancer ranks 5th in the world list of causes of death of women from malignant tumors. Among the countries are USA, West and North Europe. Ovarian cancer is also a leading cause of death from tumors of gynecological nosologies, i.e. it causes more deaths per year than any other type of female reproductive system cancer. The average age at diagnosis is 58 years, and 90% of diagnoses are established in women over 40 years old. In the case of ovarian cancer, the median 5-year survival rate is 36.3%. After a debulking surgery, the standard of care for first-line diagnosed ovarian cancer is platinum- and paclitaxel-based chemotherapy. However, there is still a very high risk of recurrence with a very poor outcome. There is an urgent need to develop new and better treatment options both for first-line patients and those that relapse. The populations of patients who progress within 1-6 months are considered to be platinum-resistant patients. For these patients, re-treatment with the same chemotherapy regimen is futile (<10% response rate). However, by adding a potential resistance modifier such as Quisinostat, a re-treatment with the original regimen in combination with the experimental agent is the best test of proof of concept. About NewVac NewVac LLC, a ChemRar Group company, focuses on novel therapeutic and diagnostic approaches to detecting and treating cancer. NewVac, a privately owned biotech, is a member of Skolkovo innovative biocluster in Moscow, Russia. Media Contacts: Ronald Demuth +1(858)-794-4860 x321 [email protected] SOURCE NewVac LLC DALLAS, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- NexPoint Capital, Inc. (the "Company"), a non-traded publicly registered business development company and affiliate of Highland Capital Management, L.P., today announced the expiration and final results for its tender offer (the "Tender Offer") for up to 2.5% of its outstanding common stock ("Shares") at a price equal to 90% of the offering price per Share in effect on the Expiration Date (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) (the date of repurchase) and any unpaid dividends accrued through the expiration date of the Tender Offer. The Fund's Tender Offer expired on December 30, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. New York City time. 4,168.881 shares of the Company were tendered for repurchase in the Tender Offer. Any questions regarding the Tender Offer can be directed to the Company's Tender Agent, DST Systems, Inc., at 1-844-485-9167. The Company's current offering price for its Shares, as well as other information, including information about management and the healthcare-focused investment strategy, are available at http://nexpointcapital.com. The information on or accessible through http://nexpointcapital.com is not incorporated by reference herein. About NexPoint Advisors and NexPoint Capital, Inc. NexPoint Capital, Inc. is a healthcare-focused business development company sponsored and managed by NexPoint Advisors, L.P., an affiliate of Highland Capital Management, L.P. NexPoint Advisors, L.P., is an SEC-registered investment advisor to the closed end fund, NexPoint Credit Strategies Fund. About Highland Capital Management, L.P. Highland Capital Management, L.P. is an SEC-registered investment adviser which, together with our affiliates, has approximately $15.3 billion of assets under management. Founded in 1993 by Jim Dondero and Mark Okada, Highland is one of the largest and most experienced global alternative credit managers. Highland specializes in credit strategies, such as credit hedge funds, long only funds and separate accounts, distressed and special situation private equity, and collateralized loan obligations (CLOs). Highland also offers alternative investments, including emerging markets, long/short equities, and natural resources. Highland's diversified client base includes public pension plans, foundations, endowments, corporations, financial institutions, fund of funds, governments, and high net-worth individuals. Highland is headquartered in Dallas, Texas and maintains offices in New York, Sao Paolo, Singapore, and Seoul. Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements. These statements may involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including the performance of financial markets, the investment performance of NexPoint Advisors, L.P.'s or Highland Capital Management L.P.'s sponsored investment products, general economic conditions, future acquisitions, competitive conditions and government regulations, including changes in tax laws. Readers should carefully consider such factors. Further, such forward-looking statements speak only on the date at which such statements are made. NexPoint Advisors, L.P. and Highland Capital Management L.P. undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statement. This material has been distributed for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. Neither the Company, nor the Company's Board of Directors, nor NexPoint Advisors, L.P., makes any recommendation as to whether to tender or not to tender any Shares in the Tender Offer. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without express written permission. For information on the Tender Offer: Financial Advisors: 855-498-1580 Shareholders: 844-485-9167 Highland Media Relations: 972-419-6272 SOURCE NexPoint Capital, Inc. Related Links http://nexpointcapital.com NORFOLK, Va., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) will announce its fourth-quarter financial results during a conference call and live Internet webcast at 8:45 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017. Quarterly earnings results will be released at 8 a.m. EST on Jan. 25, and a press release will be posted at www.nscorp.com under the Investors section. What: Norfolk Southern Fourth-Quarter 2016 Earnings Conference Call When: Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017, at 8:45 a.m. EST How to participate: Teleconference: 877-869-3847 (please dial in several minutes prior to call start). Live webcast: Go to www.nscorp.com under the Investors section. Presentation materials will be posted at www.nscorp.com in the Investors section. Audio Replay: Following the live broadcast, an audio replay of the conference call will be available until Feb. 1, 2017, by dialing 877-660-6853 and access number 13651817. The replay also will be available as an MP3 downloadable podcast in the Investors section of the company's website. For electronic notification of earnings events, subscribe to NSInvest, Norfolk Southern's email distribution list for news releases on earnings and issues pertaining to the financial performance of Norfolk Southern Corporation. About Norfolk Southern Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation's premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway Company subsidiary operates approximately 20,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal, automotive, and industrial products. SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation Related Links http://www.nscorp.com NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP today announced that Matteo J. Rosselli and Renee M. Zaytsev have been named counsel to the firm effective January 1, 2017, both in the firm's Litigation Practice. "We are delighted to name Matteo and Renee counsel to the firm," said Lori Marks-Esterman, Practice Group Leader for Olshan's Litigation practice. "They are both outstanding lawyers who have made a significant contribution to the firm and our clients through their legal talent and dedication to the profession." Matteo J. Rosselli focuses on complex commercial disputes representing clients in general commercial litigation in federal and state courts, as well as in arbitration and regulatory enforcement matters. He has represented Fortune 500 and middle-market companies, financial institutions, real estate developers, and private investment funds in a wide variety of commercial disputes, including breach of contract, licensing, employment, and shareholder suits. Mr. Rosselli also assists clients in intellectual property matters in federal court, including trademark and copyright claims. Renee M. Zaytsev is engaged in sophisticated commercial and securities litigation. She has represented private investment funds, investment advisers, financial institutions, shareholder activists, and real estate companies in various disputes in federal and state courts, Delaware Chancery Court, and arbitration venues including FINRA. About Olshan Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP, a law firm based in New York, represents major businesses and entrepreneurs in their most significant transactions, problems and opportunities. Olshan's clients range from public companies, hedge, venture capital, private equity and other investment funds to entrepreneurs and private companies worldwide. Clients choose Olshan for innovative strategies and sophisticated, game-changing advice in corporate, securities law, equity investment and shareholder activism, complex commercial, corporate and securities litigation, real estate, intellectual property, bankruptcy and creditors' rights, and advertising. Since its founding, Olshan has offered an alternative to the AmLaw 50 law firm business model with responsive, independent and client-focused legal counsel provided by the firm's senior lawyers. Contact: Madelaine Miller Strauss [email protected] 646.331.2691 SOURCE Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP Related Links http://www.olshanlaw.com JERUSALEM, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Jack Graham, the Pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Texas, visited the Friend of Zion museum during his visit to Jerusalem this week. Prestonwood Baptist Church is one of the nation's largest, most dynamic congregations. When Dr. Graham came to Prestonwood in 1989, the 8,000-member congregation responded enthusiastically to his straightforward message and powerful preaching style. Now thriving with more than 40,000 members, Prestonwood continues to grow. Pastor Jack Graham visited the Friend of Zion museum on his recent Trip to Jerusalem. In this picture: Pastor Jack Graham, Jerry Frazer (tour operator), Shmulik Smaja (tour operator) and Ilan Scolnik (director of marketing and sales FOZ museum) Pastor Graham is a well known supporter of Israel, and on his latest visit to the holy land, he was accompanied by a large delegation composed of over 140 Prestonwood members. Pastor Graham was filled with praise after experiencing the Friends of Zion museum tour: "The visit was a tremendous experience. The museum is the story of a legacy, of a life lived, a life-changing story of the history and fate of Israel. I was personally very moved by it and I am now filled with motivation to tell that story, of the amazing people who, throughout the generations, helped the land of Israel." The FOZ Museum is one of the newest attractions in the very heart of Jerusalem inviting visitors from all over the world to experience the courageous stories of Christians who have supported the Jewish people and the State of Israel in the last 200 years. Among the inspiring heroes presented are US President Harry Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Pastor George Bush, Major-General Orde Wingate and Righteous Among the Nations Irena Sendler, Oskar Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg, and the Ten Boom family, who risked their lives to save Jews persecuted throughout the world, as well as many others who, through their faith, have forged an everlasting bond between Jewish and Christian people. Magnificently told, the FOZ Museum uses groundbreaking technology, allowing visitors to experience the unfolding story as though stepping back in time. Exhibits employ a wide range of integrated and interactive technologies, from 3D presentations and giant touch screens to video mapping projections on unique sculptures and complex roto scope animations that transform live-action video footage into a painted media. The FOZ Museum opened in Jerusalem in 2015 with the vision of serving as a bridge, enabling people from around the world to join the scores of people throughout history who have supported the people, the promise and State of Israel. Friends of Zion Museum, 20 Yosef Rivlin Street, Jerusalem. A reservation is recommended for museum visits: website: www.fozmuseum.com, email: [email protected], or phone: +972-2-532-9400. Contact: Hofit Shalev PR360 +972505877044 [email protected] SOURCE Friends of Zion Museum Related Links http://www.fozmuseum.com CHICAGO, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- As 2017 begins, Fastweb (www.fastweb.com), the leading website for scholarship and financial aid information and a member of the Monster network, encourages students to focus on paying for school by applying to the exciting new scholarships and utilizing the important online tools available now. Fastweb has highlighted excellent scholarships for new and returning college students in their Fastweb's 2017 Scholarships article. There are valuable opportunities open now and throughout the school year accepting applications. Those opportunities include: The Toshiba ExploraVision Science Competition with 8 awards up to $10,000, the Hans P. Loewen Scholarship with an award amount of $2,000, the Fountainhead Essay Contest with multiple awards up to $10,000 and the Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest with an award amount of $20,000. These, and the many other opportunities highlighted, are for college bound students as well as existing college students and graduate students. "As we begin a new year, we hope to motivate students to prioritize looking for ways to pay for school and achieve their educational goals," said Mark Nelson, Vice President of Product Management at Fastweb. "Our college bound and existing college students can look forward to outstanding opportunities being identified and added to our industry leading scholarship database throughout the year." Since October 1, 2016, students have been able to fill out the FAFSA for the 20172018 school year. In the past, the FAFSA open date was the first day of the year. Fastweb urges students who have not yet filled out the application to do so now to initiate the federal student aid process. Understanding the FAFSA and the financial aid process is crucial for all students and many online tools can be found in Fastweb's Financial Aid section. Resources are available to help students understand the FAFSA, Budgeting and Personal Finance. Get more information on scholarship opportunities and financial aid on Fastweb.com. All resources are available online and always at no charge. About Fastweb: Fastweb, a top site in the Monster Worldwide network, is the nation's recognized leader in helping students pay for school, by providing scholarship and financial aid information, as well as information on jobs and internships. One out of three college-bound seniors use the site and more than 50 million users have benefitted from Fastweb's information and services. Fastweb lets students create personalized profiles that can be matched against its expansive databases of colleges and scholarships. As the oldest and most popular free online scholarship matching service, the database has more than 1.5 million scholarships totaling over $3.4 billion. To learn more about Fastweb, visit www.fastweb.com and follow Fastweb on social media for the latest on paying for school all year long: Twitter (at @PayingForSchool); Facebook; Pinterest; Google+. About Monster Worldwide: Monster Worldwide, Inc. is a global leader in connecting people to jobs, wherever they are. For more than 20 years, Monster has helped people improve their lives with better jobs, and employers find the best talent. Today, the company offers services in more than 40 countries, providing some of the broadest, most sophisticated job seeking, career management, recruitment and talent management capabilities. Monster continues its pioneering work of transforming the recruiting industry with advanced technology using intelligent digital, social and mobile solutions, including our flagship website monster.com and a vast array of products and services. For more information visit monster.com/about. SOURCE Fastweb Related Links http://www.fastweb.com "Every time we give the gift of mobility, we are truly changing a wounded warrior's life forever," said PenFed President and CEO James Schenck. "We are proud to support Segs4Vets in their efforts to empower our nation's military heroes." "If you've never been in a wheelchair, you can't fathom the freedom that an ALLY Chair gives you," said Segs4Vets Founder and President Jerry Kerr. "Permanently disabled veterans can now go virtually anywhere, places their wheelchair couldn't. This solves many of the mobility issues facing these veterans. It also rekindles their desire to serve themselves, their families, and their communities. So the impact extends to their wives, husbands, children, mothers, fathers, and other family members and friends whose lives have been turned upside down." "We have seen videos of paraplegics using ALLY Chairs to carry mattresses, push snow blowers, and race up and down hills with their children," said Schenck. "The greatest gift we can provide for other permanently disabled veterans is to give them back their quality of life." About PenFed Credit Union Established in 1935 as the War Department Credit Union, PenFed Credit Union is one of the largest credit unions in the country, serving over 1.5 million members worldwide with more than $21 billion in assets. Its long-standing mission has been to provide superior financial services in a cost-effective manner, while being responsive to members' needs. PenFed Credit Union offers market-leading mortgages, automobile loans, credit cards, checking, and a wide range of other financial services with its members' interests always in mind. PenFed Credit Union serves a diverse population, and no military service is required to join. We offer many paths to membership, including numerous employee groups and association affiliations. It's easy to apply. We invite you to come see why you belong at PenFed Credit Union. PenFed Credit Union is federally insured by the NCUA and is an equal housing lender. To learn more about PenFed Credit Union, visit PenFed.org, like us on Facebook and follow us @PenFed on Twitter. Interested in working for PenFed? Check us out on LinkedIn. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. About Segs4Vets Segs4Vets, a highly acclaimed nonprofit organization, awards Segways and ALLY Chair adapted Segways to men and women of the United States military who have sustained injuries resulting in permanent disability while serving our nation in Operation Iraqi Freedom and/or Operation Enduring Freedom. The program began in 2005 as an unprecedented grassroots effort by volunteers who passionately believe when those serving our nation are sent into harm's way and are severely injured, they must have access to every resource available in which will allow for their successful reintegration into their communities and encourage them to follow a path of independence rather than dependence upon return. That same objective continues today: to enhance our recipients' mobility, to provide them with role models and a road map so that they can remove or avoid frustrations that might inhibit their ability to live an independent, joyful, purpose-filled life. The Segway is a universally designed mobility device which does not draw attention to one's physical disability. In 2014 Segs4Vets, in addition to awarding Segways, began fabricating and awarding ALLY Chairs, adapted Segways which are operated in a seated position, for those who have unique needs and cannot make productive use of the Segway standing. These unique tools are solving many of the mobility issues facing our disabled veterans in a manner which is both psychologically uplifting and physically beneficial. It rekindles the desire and the motivation for them to continue to serve themselves, their families and their communities. The impact of the program resonates well beyond our recipients; it extends to their spouses, children, parents, family members and friends whose lives have also been turned upside down. The program's impact has resulted in dramatic positive changes in family dynamics for those military families. SOURCE PenFed Credit Union Under the terms of the framework agreement, ReneSola will be responsible for the engineering, procurement and construction of the projects, while Beijing Enterprises Clean Energy will provide financing for the projects during construction. Upon completion, ReneSola will sell the projects to Beijing Enterprises Clean Energy Group. The projects are anticipated to be completed by June 30, 2017. Xianshou Li, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ReneSola, commented, "This agreement confirms our belief that rooftop solar distributed generation projects will be promising in China. We entered the China distributed generation market a few months ago and have made impressive progress as we continue to develop more distributed generation pipelines. This new business opportunity together with our successful utility scale project development business will contribute meaningfully to our profitability in the year ahead. Distributed generation project development fits into our long-term strategy to drive profitable growth by shifting our efforts towards project development and LED distribution business." About ReneSola Founded in 2005, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2008, ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) is an international leading brand and technology provider of energy efficient products. Leveraging its global presence and expansive distribution and sales network, ReneSola is well positioned to provide its highest quality green energy products and on-time services for EPC, installers, and green energy projects around the world. For more information, please visit www.renesola.com. About Beijing Enterprises Clean Energy Beijing Enterprises Clean Energy was incorporated in Cayman Islands with limited liability and shares of which are listed on the main board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, stock code: 1250. The single largest controlling shareholder of Beijing Enterprises Clean Energy is Beijing Enterprises Water Group Limited (a company listed on the main board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, stock code: 371). Beijing Enterprises Clean Energy has positioned itself strategically as a leading corporate in China and abroad on electricity generation and sales of photovoltaic power, specializing in photovoltaic power business as its core focus and other clean energy businesses as its supplementary businesses. Beijing Enterprises Clean Energy's businesses comprise development, acquisition, construction and operation of grid-connected and ground-mounted photovoltaic power plants, distributed photovoltaic power plants and micro-grid and off-grid energy storages. Meanwhile, Beijing Enterprises Clean Energy actively researches opportunities to venture into other clean energy areas such as wind power, hydropower and geothermal energy. For more information, please visit Beijing Enterprises Clean Energy's website at: http://www.bece.com.hk Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Whenever you read a statement that is not simply a statement of historical fact (such as when the Company describes what it "believes," "plans," "expects" or "anticipates" will occur, what "will" or "could" happen, and other similar statements), you must remember that the Company's expectations may not be correct, even though it believes that they are reasonable. The Company does not guarantee that the forward-looking statements will happen as described or that they will happen at all. Further information regarding risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's annual report on Form 20-F. The Company undertakes no obligation, beyond that required by law, to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made, even though the Company's situation may change in the future. For investor and media inquiries, please contact: In China: ReneSola Ltd Ms. Rebecca Shen +86 (21) 6280-9180 x106 [email protected] The Blueshirt Group Asia Mr. Gary Dvorchak, CFA +86 (138) 1079-1480 [email protected] In the United States: The Blueshirt Group Mr. Ralph Fong +1 (415) 489-2195 [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080506/CNTU030 SOURCE ReneSola Ltd. COLEBROOK, N.H., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Granite Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of First Colebrook Bancorp, Inc. (OTCQX:FCNH), announces the appointment of Scott A. Cooper as President and Chief Executive Officer succeeding Loyd W. Dollins, who has retired after over 40 years in banking. Cooper transitioned from his role as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer to President and CEO on January 1, 2017, and remains based out of the bank's Colebrook, New Hampshire office. "Scott's knowledge of the banking industry and experience makes him a vital asset to continuing to expand our community bank. Scott's commitment to the communities Granite Bank serves is proof that he will continue putting customer's needs first," said Granite Bank Chairman Judith Dalton. Cooper served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Vermont-based First Brandon National Bank. More recently he was Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Management Officer of a large community bank in Minnesota. For over three decades Cooper held roles ranging from Chief Risk Management Officer, Chief Credit Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Cooper attended New Hampshire College, now Southern New Hampshire University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in accounting. He is also a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at University of Colorado, Graduate School of Bank Investments and Financial Management at the University of South Carolina and other bank related schools. About Granite Bank Founded in Colebrook, NH in 1889, Granite Bank is a New Hampshire-owned community bank, operating from offices in Amherst, Colebrook, Concord, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Serving the banking needs of individuals and small businesses across the state for 127 years, the bank is an SBA Preferred Lender and has received the New Hampshire SBA's Outstanding Partner Award for consistent and sustained annual growth in SBA loans. Media Contact: John Pratt 603-430-4458 [email protected] SOURCE Granite Bank Related Links https://www.granitebank.com Four galas are scheduled on Sunday, Jan. 8, in The Woodlands, Texas, as well as Chicago, Illinois, Miami, Florida, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Also lending their support this year are St. Jude supporters who are hosting home viewing parties across the country on behalf of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Before the telecast, the galas will include a reception, live auction (bidding open online), dinner and St. Jude patient family speakers. Additionally, there will be a watch party for St. Jude patient families sponsored by Lancome at the St. Jude Target House residential facility in Memphis, Tennessee. Among the families will be St. Jude cancer survivor Isabelle whose acting repertoire includes scenes in Halle Berry's new movie "Kidnap" and the television show "NCIS." St. Jude supporters, Michael and Berit Francis, launched the first St. Jude Red Carpet for Hope event in Minneapolis, Minnesota, four years ago as a way to give back to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital following the treatment of their daughter's brain cancer. Thanks to generous donors at events like the St. Jude Red Carpet for Hope, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. "Having the support from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to shine a light on the life-saving mission of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a gift," said Richard C. Shadyac Jr., President and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. "Since opening our doors in 1962, St. Jude has helped increase the overall survival rate of childhood cancer from 20 percent to 80 percent. And we believe every child with cancer should grow up to be healthy and strong. With the support from events like St. Jude Red Carpet for Hope, we hope childhood cancer patients and their families will get more chances to star in their dreams." Search #stjuderedcarpet to follow St. Jude Red Carpet for Hope activity on Instagram and Twitter. About St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent since the hospital opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude is working to drive the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90 percent, and we won't stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude freely shares the discoveries it makes, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Join the St. Jude mission by visiting stjude.org, liking St. Jude on Facebook (facebook.com/stjude) and following us on Twitter (@stjude). SOURCE St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Related Links http://stjude.org MIAMI, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- VTEX has announced a strategic partnership with Adyen that will support the reach of e-commerce businesses as they expand into the global market. Adyen, known worldwide as the leading payments technology company facilitating global commerce, adds additional versatility to the already powerful VTEX name as they continue to offer better services in the international commerce market. Through the addition of Adyen and its proprietary risk tools, sites run on VTEX can expect an even greater level of conversion rates. This strategic partnership will enable a vast array of digital commerce businesses to grow and expand into the worldwide marketplace seamlessly with the addition of integrated and centralized payment methods. In select emerging markets, VTEX leads the market with 84% of the market share, and its scalable digital commerce platform has proven to be highly successful for its users. "We are breaking barriers to reach new markets and encourage significant growth in the sector, counting on the quality and support of this important partnership between two innovative companies," said Jean Christian Mies, Adyen SVP. Additionally, he stated: "We are capable of providing data insights that can generate additional revenue through advanced technology, while allowing businesses to provide a simple and safe shopping experience to consumers." Mariano Gomide de Faria, co-CEO for VTEX remarked: "We are present in the world's most competitive countries regarding tax incentive policies for exports. Allowing companies to make their local net sales available to over 120 countries is the first pragmatic step to consolidating them on the global retail map." ABOUT VTEX VTEX is the only True Cloud Commerce platform in the digital commerce market with an auto-scaling elastic cloud infrastructure that leads to higher conversion rates, stronger customer loyalty and lower TCO. Utilizing the exclusive patent-pending SmartCheckout technology - a secure, intuitive and easy password-free process, VTEX presents an excellent option for digital commerce. Companies running the VTEX platform have seen a 54% increase in conversion rates, and a significantly lower rate of cart abandonment. Since 2000, VTEX's pioneering R&D teams have provided customers all over the world with a comprehensive, fully-adaptable, omni-channel solution that keeps pace with ever-changing customer expectations. VTEX has been recognized for its innovative approach to handling digital commerce by Gartner, Inc. and Forrester Research and is trusted by over 1,000 clients worldwide including Walmart, Danone, Whirlpool, Electrolux, Pandora, Avon and Lego. For more information, please contact Alexandre Soncini, North American GM at +1 (954) 843 3564 or [email protected]. CONTACT: Alexandre Soncini VTEX Cloud Commerce +1 (954) 843 3564 [email protected] http://en.vtex.com/ SOURCE VTEX Related Links http://en.vtex.com VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Tahoe Resources Inc. ("Tahoe" or the "Company") (TSX: THO; NYSE: TAHO) is pleased to announce the appointment of Chuck Jeannes to the Company's Board of Directors effective January 1, 2017. Mr. Jeannes brings to Tahoe over 30 years of mining industry experience. Most recently, he served as President and CEO of Goldcorp Inc., leading the Company's development into one of the world's largest and most successful gold mining companies. Before assuming that role, he served as Goldcorp's Executive Vice-President, Corporate Development. Mr. Jeannes joined Goldcorp in November 2006 following the Company's merger with Glamis Gold Ltd., where he held a number of senior positions and played a key role in acquiring, financing and developing the Marlin, El Sauzal and Penasquito mines. Prior to joining Glamis, he served as Vice President of Placer Dome Inc. and also practiced law for 11 years, specializing in mining transactions. Mr. Jeannes holds a B.A. degree from the University of Nevada (1980) and graduated from the University of Arizona College of Law with honors in 1983. Kevin McArthur, Tahoe's Executive Chair, commented: "We are delighted to welcome Chuck Jeannes to Tahoe's Board. We have worked with Chuck extensively in the past and have the greatest respect for his abilities and experience in building successful, large-scale mining companies. He brings to our Board a tremendous combination of business expertise and technical knowledge. His contribution will prove very beneficial as Tahoe moves forward with its plans to significantly grow gold production in Canada and Peru, while continuing to operate one of the world's largest and lowest-cost silver mines in Guatemala." About Tahoe Resources Inc. Tahoe's strategy is to responsibly operate precious metals mines, to pay significant shareholder dividends and to grow by developing long-term, low-cost assets in the Americas. Tahoe is a member of the S&P/TSX Composite and TSX Global Mining indices and the GDX and Russell 3000 on the NYSE. The Company is listed on the TSX as THO and on the NYSE as TAHO. For further information, please contact: Tahoe Resources Inc. Mark Utting, Vice President, Investor Relations [email protected] Tel: 416-703-6298 SOURCE Tahoe Resources Inc. Related Links http://www.tahoeresourcesinc.com NOVATO, Calif., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/-- The Republic of Tea is celebrating a quarter-century of providing its Citizens (customers) an unmatched and elevated experience of sipping premium tea. The company milestone commemorates the dedication of the family-owned business to producing a collection of all-natural premium teas and herbs that are as delicious as they are healthful. To commemorate the 25th anniversary, The Republic of Tea is thrilled to unveil a decadent new blend, Ginger Peach Chocolate Truffle Black Tea. A celebratory variation of the beloved Ginger Peach Black Tea, the Ginger Peach Chocolate Truffle Black Tea features a luxurious blend of sweet cocoa, roasted mate and smooth rooibos. With a flavor profile reminiscent of hints of cinnamon, ginger, chicory, sweet blackberry leaves and bourbon vanilla, the Ginger Peach Chocolate Truffle Black Tea makes for a sweet and savory sip that excites the senses whether served hot or cold. The tea retails for $11.50 and is now available at republicoftea.com. Throughout the past 25 years, The Republic of Tea has seen impressive growth at a swift yet steady pace, with a continued, dedicated emphasis on enriching people's lives with the finest premium teas that taste incredible and deliver a vast range of health benefits. Founded in 1992 with the bold idea of creating and leading a tea revolution, The Republic of Tea introduced 21 teas the first year, and has since grown to offer Citizens and Embassies (sales outlets) a collection of more than 300 all-natural premium teas and herbs as well as unique sipware. "Since our inception, we have always been about enriching people's lives through premium teas, education and innovation. To do that, we have progressed and evolved as a company, innovating an impressive collection of quality and delicious teas for our Citizens," says Todd B. Rubin, Minister of Evolution and President of The Republic of Tea. "We look forward to the next 25 years as we continue our pursuit of delivering award-winning teas and herbs, and instilling a Sip by Sip Rather Than Gulp by Gulp lifestyle for all of our Citizens." As a leading purveyor of premium teas and herbs, The Republic of Tea successfully spearheaded the release of a variety of pioneering teas that led to significant growth in the past quarter-century, including: organic SuperGreen Teas, HiCAF Teas, Sonoma Teas, Downton Abbey Teas, Biodynamic Teas, Cuppa Cake Teas, organic SuperHerb Teas and U-Matcha teas. Additionally, The Republic of Tea has secured its status as a pioneer in the specialty tea industry, most notably developing its signature round tea tin, forever altering the standard for tea packaging, as well as being the first company to bring Yerba Mate and Rooibos teas to the United States. In addition to the celebratory Ginger Peach Chocolate Truffle Black Tea, this 25th anniversary year will usher in an assortment of new varieties that will further bolster The Republic of Tea's innovative collection of premium teas and herbs. For more information on The Republic of Tea's past 25 years of premium tea innovation, and to view its selection of more than 300 all-natural premium teas, please visit www.republicoftea.com. About The Republic of Tea: The Republic of Tea enriches people's lives through its premium teas and herbs, education and innovation, as it emphasizes a "Sip by Sip Rather Than Gulp by Gulp" lifestyle. Founded in 1992, The Republic of Tea sparked a specialty tea revolution. Today the brand delivers an unequaled selection of the highest-quality teas, herbal blends, books and nature-inspired sipware. The Republic of Tea's collections boast over 300 all-natural premium teas and diverse product offerings which include, but are not limited to: organic SuperGreen Teas, HiCAF Teas, Downton Abbey Teas, Biodynamic Teas, organic Superfruit Teas, Be Active Teas, organic SuperHerb Teas, 100-Percent White Teas, U-Matcha, tea ware and a collection of unsweetened, premium glass-bottled iced teas crafted exclusively for fine restaurants and hotels. Further, The Republic of Tea is mindful of how its actions impact the greater community and actively supports worthy organizations like Action Against Hunger, The Ethical Tea Partnership, Xerces Society and The Whole Planet Foundation. Certifications include Demeter USA Certified Biodynamic, Fair Trade certification, Gluten-Free certification, Non-GMO Project verification, OU Kosher certification, Rainforest Alliance certification and USDA Organic certification. For more information, please visit www.REPUBLICofTEA.com or call 1.800.298.4832. Follow The Republic of Tea on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @RepublicofTea. Media Contact: Dina Rosenberg, 415-325-5519 or [email protected]. SOURCE The Republic of Tea Related Links http://www.republicoftea.com SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Thoma Bravo, a leading private equity firm, has entered into a definitive agreement to sell LANDESK, a global leader in endpoint security and systems lifecycle and IT service management, to Clearlake Capital. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. This exit culminates a six-year partnership between LANDESK and Thoma Bravo, during which Thoma Bravo's support helped LANDESK successfully expand its reach and solidify its leadership position in IT systems management. Thoma Bravo acquired LANDESK in 2010 through a successful carve-out from Emerson. Following the acquisition, LANDESK completed seven strategic add-on acquisitions including Shavlik and AppSense to create a more robust product portfolio and accelerate revenue growth. "LANDESK was an opportunity that aligned perfectly with Thoma Bravo's buy and build strategy, and our partnership with the company's management has proven to be very successful. Since our acquisition, the company has improved performance across multiple metrics, including revenue, earnings and operating margins," said Seth Boro, a managing partner at Thoma Bravo. "This growth is a product of the positive, productive relationship we've enjoyed with LANDESK's management team. We're proud of the value Thoma Bravo has been able to contribute to the company, and look forward to following their successes under Clearlake's ownership." "With Thoma Bravo, we saw a clear opportunity for LANDESK employees, customers and partners," said Steve Daly, CEO at LANDESK. "Thoma Bravo's expertise in and dedication to innovation, operational best practices and strategic investment opportunities proved invaluable to us. We are now better positioned than ever to fulfill our mission to be the market leader in helping customers build modern, user-centric IT organizations." Pending regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close in early 2017. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Thoma Bravo. UBS Investment Bank served as financial advisor to Thoma Bravo. About Thoma Bravo Thoma Bravo is a leading private equity firm focused on the software and technology-enabled services sectors. With a series of funds representing more than $17 billion in capital commitments, Thoma Bravo partners with a company's management team to implement operating best practices, invest in growth initiatives and make accretive acquisitions intended to accelerate revenue and earnings, with the goal of increasing the value of the business. Representative past and present portfolio companies include industry leaders such as Blue Coat Systems, Deltek, Digital Insight, Global Healthcare Exchange, Hyland Software, PowerPlan, Riverbed, SolarWinds, SonicWall, Sparta Systems and TravelClick. The firm has offices in San Francisco and Chicago. For more information, visit www.thomabravo.com. About LANDESK: LANDESK is the global authority on modern, user-centered IT. By integrating and automating IT tasks, LANDESK helps organizations balance rapidly-evolving user requirements with the need to secure critical assets and data. LANDESK is headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT, and has offices all over the world. To learn more, visit www.landesk.com. Press Contacts Leslie Bonsteel Matthew Gorton LANDESK Hiltzik Strategies 801-208-1773 212-776-1161 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Thoma Bravo, LLC Related Links http://www.thomabravo.com LAS VEGAS, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today,TrackR, a leader in personal item management innovations, announced a new partnership with GeoZilla family safety assistant app to put precious belongings on the family radar. TrackR is a cloud-based platform that offloads the task of having to remember where things are to a computer so consumers can focus on more important things. The platform connects to Bluetooth-enabled devices to ensure precise short-range locating, and leverages Crowd GPS technology to help locate items lost outside of Bluetooth range. GeoZilla's family safety assistant app helps families to always know the location people they care, monitor devices and communicate securely. With this new integration, consumers can connect TrackR to GeoZilla, adding important family items - car keys, pets, remotes, backpacks, etc - to the family radar. Simply open the GeoZilla app and push the button on your TrackR to pair. Then the TrackR-ed item will appear on the GeoZilla map. "With this partnership we want to help families relieve the stress of having to constantly think where their valuables are," said Igor Gonebnyy, CEO of GeoZilla. "You have all of them on the map, as well as your family. Left your wallet at home? Ping whomever is at home via GeoZilla to get it for you." Once a TrackR is paired with the GeoZilla app, GeoZilla users will have all of the functionality of the TrackR app within GeoZilla; they can find items, make the TrackR ring, use Crowd GPS, and more without having to toggle back and forth between the two apps. GeoZilla will work with TrackR bravo, along with TrackR pixel and TrackR wallet 2.0, which were unveiled yesterday. "The team at GeoZilla does family location extremely well, which is why we are so excited to partner with them," said Chris Herbert, CEO and Co-founder of TrackR. "No one is busier or has more stuff to keep track of than families; this integration will allow them to focus on more important things while we stay on top of where their important belongings are." TrackR has shipped 4.5 million devices to date, while GeoZilla is offering its free family location platform to over half a million families worldwide. The full integration will roll out by Spring 2017. About TrackR TrackR was founded in 2009 to make lost items a thing of the past. The company's app software, cloud databases and wireless devices revolutionize how consumers keep track of their items and is creating a world where valuables are no longer lost. TrackR has shipped more than 4.5 million devices, has been ranked #1 as the fastest growing company by Pacific Coast Business Times and #155 by Inc. 500. TrackR is backed by The Foundry Group, Resolute Ventures, IncWell Capital, Amazon Alexa Fund and Orange Fab. With TrackR, your search is over. TrackR's suite of products is available at www.TheTrackR.com and retail outlets worldwide. About GeoZilla GeoZilla is offering the free family safety platform since January 2016 and has grown to over half a million families worldwide. GeoZilla gives people peace of mind by tracking the location of their family, using their phones third party trackers. The AI-based backend learns the family's patterns, such as the usual routes and timing to/from school, and raises an alarm when something is out of order. E.g., when a kid fails to reach school on time for one reason or another, parents get a notification. AI is there to learn what's ordinary for any given family, then raise alarm when things go out of ordinary. GeoZilla is a small, enthusiastic team of entrepreneurs, engineers, and designers based out of Palo Alto, CA, with offices in Ukraine. The engineering team's core competencies are in the fields of mobile geolocation and backend technologies. GeoZilla is passionate about building the best AI-powered family location platform out there and offering it to every family around the world. Learn more at www.geozilla.com. Press Contact TrackR Molly Wade (508) 864-1404 [email protected] GeoZilla Igor Gonebnyy, CEO (650) 471-4591 [email protected] Skype: Igor.Gonebnyy http://geozilla.com LinkedIn:http://linkedin.com/in/igonebnyy SOURCE TrackR Related Links http://www.TheTrackR.com Ty Stafford joins Impark from Securitas USA, Inc., a security services company. He led a network of 80 field offices and 14,000 employees as President of the South Region. His progressive leadership in driving profitable growth, implementing strategic solutions, and enhancing customer service solidified their position as the market leader. Ty will be relocating to Chattanooga, TN with his wife Lisa and their son, Cole. Henrik Slipsager, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Impark said, "We would like to take this opportunity to thank Allan for his tremendous commitment over the past years. Under Allan's leadership the organization doubled in size, and achieved a strategic expansion of its U.S. footprint. We also welcome Ty to Impark. Ty is an experienced senior level manager with a track record of success in the facilities management business through his role at Securitas. His experience positions him well to lead Impark through its next phase of growth." Mr. Stafford stated, "I'm thrilled to be joining the Impark family and very honored to be leading such a talented team. I see a lot of parallels between security and parking services, so I'm looking forward to collaborating on best practices to drive new services, connect deeper with our valued clients and leverage technology to improve the company's agility." Imperial Parking Corporation (Impark), with U.S. headquarters in New Jersey and corporate headquarters in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, is one of the largest parking management companies in North America with approximately 3,400 locations, and over 9,000 employees. www.impark.com SOURCE Impark Related Links http://www.impark.com However, with the company two-thirds of the way to its goal, and with a deadline of Saturday, January 7, Victor founder and app creator Greg Jumes a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan needs help. "In Chicago alone we have 82,000 veterans that are looking for community, looking for connections, looking to ensure that they are successful as civilians. In short, they're looking for their next battle, and Victor is building the platform that can help them succeed." While designed for all veterans, Victor aims to help the group it finds the most underserved: the 250,000 post-9/11 military vets who transition to civilian life each year. Free for veterans, Victor App lets the business world market to these transitioning servicemen and women offering them access to product and service discounts that only they can receive. Businesses download the app and can reach out to these vets regardless of the kind of business, and whether or not the business has any veterans on staff. It's part job board because hiring vets is great business and part daily deal site but only offering perks for those who served. Jumes continued: "People often ask me how they can help veterans. We think that Victor has the potential to become one of the most powerful platforms for veterans and the businesses that want to help them. We're grateful for any support through our Indiegogo campaign, and we believe we can all make a difference through the launch of the Victor App." Learn more at Victorapp.io, and visit them on Facebook and Twitter. SOURCE Victor Related Links http://Victorapp.io NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The following event roundup from Virtual Press Office is a list of featured exhibitors for CES 2017, the world's gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies, which takes place from January 5-8 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES 2017 press kits, news releases and photos are available on Virtual Press Office's dedicated news page for the event, managed by Virtual Press Office/PR Newswire: http://ces.vporoom.com/ CES 2017 press kits on Virtual Press Office A&D Medical Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/AnDMedical Since 1977, A&D Medical has manufactured and distributed a full line of advanced biometric monitoring solutions including blood pressure monitors, weight scales, activity monitors, and other health monitoring devices for consumer and professional use. A&D Medical is a worldwide leader in connected health and biometric measurement devices and services for consumer wellness and chronic condition management, marketing under the A&D brand globally and also the LifeSource brand in North America. A&D Medical is a division of A&D Company, a global manufacturer of measurement equipment, with operations around the globe. For general information about A&D Medical, please visit andmedical.com ACCUWEATHER, INC. Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/AccuWeather Over 1.5 billion people worldwide rely on AccuWeather to help them plan their lives, protect their businesses, and get more from their day. AccuWeather provides hour-by-hour and minute-by-minute forecasts with Superior Accuracy with customized content and engaging video presentations available through smart phones, tablets, free wired and mobile Internet sites via AccuWeather.com, award winning AccuWeather apps, connected TVs, wearables, smart homes, and connected cars, as well as radio, television, newspapers, and the AccuWeather Network cable channel. Established in 1962, AccuWeather also delivers a wide range of highly-customized enterprise solutions to media, business, government, and institutions, as well as weather news, content, and video for more than 180,000 third-party websites. accuweather.com Audio-Technica Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/Audio-Technica For more information, visit audio-technica.com Casio America, Inc. Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/CasioAmerica Booth # 14106 Casio America, Inc., Dover, N.J., is the U.S. subsidiary of Casio Computer Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, one of the world's leading manufacturers of consumer electronics and business equipment solutions. Established in 1957, Casio America, Inc. markets calculators, keyboards, digital cameras, mobile presentation devices, disc title and label printers, watches, cash registers and other consumer electronic products. Casio has strived to fulfill its corporate creed of "creativity and contribution" through the introduction of innovative and imaginative products. For more information, visit casiousa.com. Cleer Inc. Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/Cleer For more information, visit cleer.us DisplayLink Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/DisplayLink Booth # 36705 For more information, visit displaylink.com HDMI Licensing Administrator Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/HDMILicensing LVCC South Hall 1, Booth # 20930 HDMI Forum, Inc., a non-profit, mutual benefit corporation, is comprised of the world's leading manufacturers of consumer electronics, personal computers, mobile devices, cables and components. An open trade association, The HDMI Forum's mission is to foster broader industry participation in the development of future versions of the HDMI Specification and to further expand the ecosystem of interoperable, HDMI-enabled products. HDMI Licensing Administrator, Inc. (HDMI LA) is the agent appointed by the HDMI Forum to license Version 2.x of the HDMI Specification and is the agent appointed by the HDMI Founders to license all earlier HDMI Specifications. hdmi.org JYRO Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/JYRO Booth #44372 in Tech West, Sands Hotel For more information, visit jyro.com Kodak PixPro Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/Kodak Booth #26412 KODAK PIXPRO is a leading brand at the forefront of award winning 360 VR camera technology. Preview the latest line up of 360 cameras and software for B2B, prosumers and consumers debuting in 2017. KODAK PIXPRO will also showcase its full line of bridge, mirrorless and point and shoot models. kodakpixpro.com Merkury Innovations Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/MerkuryInnovations Booth # 31260 For more information, visit merkuryinnovations.com MobileHelp Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/MobileHelp Headquartered in the Research Park at Florida Atlantic University, MobileHelp is a leading provider of mobile Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS) and health management technology. MobileHelp's PERS devices are integrated with nationwide wireless voice, data and GPS technology to provide real-time medical alert monitoring services and expedited personal emergency assistance. In addition, MobileHelp offers proactive health management services such as activity tracking, medication reminders and a telehealth platform MobileVitals, for both consumers and healthcare providers. For more information about MobileHelp, please call 1-800-989-9863 or visit the website at MobileHelp.com/healthcare. MOON by Simaudio Ltd. Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/Simaudio MOON by Simaudio has been designing and manufacturing innovative, leading-edge audio and video products since 1980. MOON products have been globally recognized for their world-class performance, garnering numerous accolades for this outstanding achievement. Our products are engineered and built in Canada with this philosophy always in mind: To convey the SPIRIT and EMOTION of music through products of distinction. Respect, Honesty, Integrity. At MOON by Simaudio, great music matters. However, great music for a lifetime matters most. simaudio.com Parks Associates Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/ParksAssociates Booth # 41073 in Sands A-D Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting firm specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Our expertise includes new media, digital ent., home networks, OTT, digital health, mobile apps, CE, energy mgmt., and home systems & controls. parksassociates.com Peraso Technologies Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/Peraso Peraso is a fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The company is focussed on the development of 60 GHz chip sets and solutions compliant with the IEEE 802.11ad specification. 60 GHz has been adopted for interoperability certification by the WiFi Alliance under the WiGig brand, and WiGig has seen strong industry endorsement by tech giants such as Samsung, Qualcomm and Intel. For more information, visit perasotech.com. Petcube Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/Petcube For more information, visit petcube.com PicoBrew Inc. Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/Picobrew Sands, Halls A-D Booth # 42157 (Robotics Marketplace) The PicoBrew mission is to get the world brewing great tasting beer with our line of craft beer brewing appliances. Our patented technology ushers in a new era of modernist beer-making, and enables for the first time a beer brewing appliance that puts a craft brewery in kitchens around the world. picobrew.com Roland Corporation U.S. Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/Roland LVCC, Central Hall Booth # 18138 Roland is a leading manufacturer of electronic musical instruments and cutting-edge pro A/V products used by professionals and hobbyists alike. With offerings that include keyboards, synthesizers, electronic percussion, guitar products, and digital recording and video gear, Roland and BOSS have set the standard in the music industry for more than 40 years. With the recent addition of V-MODA, the award-winning maker of world-class high-fidelity headphones and audio devices, Roland is positioned to offer the next generation of innovative consumer electronics products. Roland.com RT-RK llc Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/RT-RK Meet us at CES: rt-rk.com/news/215-meet-us-at-ces-2017 RT-RK LLC is a R&D company and national research institute that delivers development services and own products in the arena of real time embedded systems, with strong focus on consumer electronics and automotive. Headquartered in Novi Sad, with offices in Belgrade (Serbia), Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Osijek (Croatia) with over 800 engineers, RT-RK is one of the biggest development houses in Southeast Europe. RT-RK is professionally engaged in embedded system design, automotive software development, home automation technology, TV software development, testing of set-top box and multimedia devices, UI/UX design, digital signal processing, and FPGA rapid prototyping. Solus Audio Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/SolusAudio Venetian Suites 29-220 For more information, visit solusaudio.com Sprimo, Inc. Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/Sprimo For more information, visit sprimo.com Syndiant Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/Syndiant LVCC, South Hall 2 - 26229 Syndiant is a leading LCoS microdisplay solutions provider. Syndiant's LCoS panels, drivers and optical modules provide best in class imaging technology for the applications of Near-Eye Augmented Reality Head-Mounted Displays, Head-Up Displays, Laser/LED projectors, and embedded projection displays. syndiant.com Wacom Technology Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/Wacom For more information, visit wacom.com WowWee Press Kit: lidt_ces.vporoom.com/WowWee Booth # 45342 For more information, visit wowwee.com Xentris Wireless Press Kit: ces.vporoom.com/XentrisWireless Booth #35729 For more information, visit xentriswireless.com The above press kits will continue to be updated throughout the show. Please check back during CES 2017 for the latest news. Virtual Press Office (http://www.vporoom.com/) is a PR Newswire company. Follow us on Twitter @VPOEventZone or subscribe to our RSS feed for more trade show news. If you have questions about Virtual Press Office services, or if you would like to offer feedback on this exhibitor profile roundup, please email [email protected]. SOURCE Virtual Press Office TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Care1st Health Plan Arizona, Inc. and One Care by Care1st Health Plan of Arizona, Inc. (together, "Care1st Arizona"), formerly subsidiaries of Care1st Health Plan, a Blue Shield of California affiliate. With approximately 115,000 Medicaid and Medicare members in Maricopa and Pima counties, each of the Care1st Arizona entities are now wholly owned subsidiaries of WellCare. Additionally, Scott Cummings was named WellCare's state president of Arizona upon closing of the transaction. In this role, Cummings continues to lead the health plan and has responsibility for WellCare's Medicaid and Medicare Advantage businesses across the state, including strategy, regulatory compliance, network management, sales and marketing, medical management, finance and administration. Cummings will report to Kelly Munson, executive vice president of WellCare's Medicaid business. "We are pleased to announce the completion of this acquisition and welcome Care1st Arizona to our family of health plans," said Ken Burdick, WellCare's chief executive officer. "This acquisition marks our entrance into our eleventh Medicaid state, further geographically diversifying our business in an attractive market." "Scott has deep experience leading successful health plan operations in Arizona," said Munson. "I expect his leadership to contribute significantly to our efforts to work in partnership with providers and the state to deliver quality health care and service for Arizonans." "I spent nearly 10 years leading the Care1st Arizona business and am excited to join WellCare, which shares our strong commitment to delivering high-quality care for Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries," said Cummings. "We will continue to support our members' health care needs through our integrated, community-oriented approach." Cummings was the chief administrative officer for Care1st Arizona. Prior to joining Care1st Arizona, he served in other executive roles, including chief operating officer at Phoenix Health Plan/Abrazo Advantage Health Plan and administrative director for Cigna Community Choice. Cummings has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Kent State University in Ohio. He serves on the Arizona Health e-Connection Board and Network Leadership Council, is a board officer of the Arizona Association of Health Plans, and a board member of the Pima Community Access Program. For more information, Care1st Arizona (Medicaid) members and providers can visit www.care1st.com/az or call toll-free 866-560-4042, and One Care (Medicare) members and providers can visit www.care1st.com/az/medicare or call toll-free 877-778-1855. About WellCare Health Plans, Inc. Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) focuses exclusively on providing government-sponsored managed care services, primarily through Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans, to families, children, seniors and individuals with complex medical needs. The company serves approximately 3.8 million members nationwide as of Sept. 30, 2016. For more information about WellCare, please visit the company's website at www.wellcare.com or view the company's videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/WellCareHealthPlan. SOURCE WellCare Health Plans, Inc. Related Links http://www.wellcare.com DENVER, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Colorado media titan Westword has selected Leafbuyer.com as its official cannabis deals partner. The new partnership allows cannabis consumers in Colorado and other states to easily search for the best deals in their area. Westword, one of six publications owned by Voice Media Group, Inc, printed its first issue in 1977 and now dominates print and digital lifestyle advertising in the state. Leafbuyer is the nation's leading deal-centric dispensary finder connecting cannabis consumers with dispensaries and product manufacturers. Scott Tobias, CEO of Voice Media Group, praised the partnership. "We are thrilled to work with Leafbuyer, the undeniable leader in online cannabis deal advertising," Tobias said. "Colorado locals and tourists visiting Westword.com will appreciate the chance to sort through thousands of marijuana coupons." Beginning in mid-December 2016, a customized online application will appear on www.Westword.com. The tool will take the hassle out of searching online, allowing users to discover Leafbuyer deals on their favorite cannabis-related products without ever leaving the Westword site. These include marijuana flower and concentrate deals at dispensaries and exclusive deals at grow stores and head shops. Users can search by city or even for specific businesses. Andre Leonard, marketing manager for Leafbuyer, said he views the partnership as an important step for his start-up. "Joining forces with established media platforms like Westword is crucial as we expand into new markets in every legalized state," Leonard noted. Leonard added that Leafbuyer will begin promoting the app to its current cannabis business clients. About Leafbuyer: As the world's largest cannabis deals source, Leafbuyer's mission is to connect consumers with cannabis companies and then help them save money on their purchases. Leafbuyer works with businesses to showcase their unique products and build loyal consumers. Additional features like a jobs board, strain information and a reviews section add to the consumer experience. The Leafbuyer deals database is the largest in the cannabis market, with nearly 6,500 active offers. Learn more at www.leafbuyer.com About Westword: Westword is the flagship publication for Voice Media Group, the nation's leading publisher of alternative websites and weekly newspapers, including LA Weekly, Phoenix New Times, Miami New Times, the Dallas Observer and the Houston Press. VMG also is the owner of fast-growing V Digital Services, a full-service marketing agency and trusted Premier Google Partner providing local businesses across the country with an array of digital and traditional marketing strategies. Learn more at westword.com For more information, contact: Andre Leonard, +901.326.1170 [email protected] SOURCE Leafbuyer Related Links http://www.leafbuyer.com KENT, Wash., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- By offering up to $500,000 in new scholarships, WGU Washington is helping smooth the pathway for midcareer adults whose New Year's resolutions include earning a university degree. Students who apply to WGU Washington by March 31, 2017, are eligible to apply for the New Kind of You Scholarship, which provides up to $2,000 per student for up to 250 students. You can learn more about WGU Washington's New Kind of You Scholarship at washington.wgu.edu/newyou and by following @WGUWashington on social media. The New Kind of You Scholarship will be applied at the rate of $500 per six-month term, renewable for up to four terms, toward WGU Washington's already low tuition of about $6,000 per year for most programs. Students enrolling in any of WGU Washington's 60 bachelor's and master's degree programs are eligible to apply for the scholarship from now through March 31, 2017. WGU Washington uses an innovative approach to learning called competency-based education (CBE). CBE focuses on measuring learning rather than time spent in class. Students earn their degrees by demonstrating mastery of the subject matter they need to be successful real-world competencies developed in collaboration with employers and industry experts. Designed to meet the needs of adult learners, CBE allows students to utilize their existing knowledge and experience to move quickly through material they already know. That, in turn, lets students focus on what they still need to learn. WGU Washington faculty members work one-on-one with students as mentors, offering guidance, support, and individualized instruction. While WGU Washington's degree programs are rigorous and challenging, competency-based learning makes it possible for students to accelerate their progress, saving both time and money. This scholarship is open to new WGU Washington students who have been officially admitted to the university. While many scholarships will be awarded, it is a competitive program. Scholarships will be awarded based on the candidate's academic record, readiness for online study, and current competency, as well as other considerations. For more information on the New Kind of You Scholarship and additional WGU Washington scholarships, visit the university's website. About WGU Washington WGU Washington was established by the State Legislature in 2011 in partnership with nationally recognized and accredited Western Governors University to expand access to higher education for Washington residents. The state-endorsed, online university offers more than 60 bachelor's and master's degree programs in Business, Information Technology, Teacher Education and Health Professions, including Nursing. WGU Washington's competency-based learning model is designed to meet the needs of working adults by providing an affordable, flexible option for earning an accredited, respected college degree. It's non-profit and receives no money from the state. Degrees are granted under the accreditation of Western Governors University, which is regionally accredited through the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). Teachers College programs are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and Nursing programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE*). * One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 5380, Washington DC 20036, 202-877-6791 Follow WGU Washington: http://www.facebook.com/WGUWashington http://www.linkedin.com/companies/western-governors-university http://twitter.com/wguwashington http://www.youtube.com/wguwashington Contact for media inquiries: Jake Riddell Public Relations Manager (206) 512-0025 [email protected] Contact for enrollment information: 877.214.7004 washington.wgu.edu SOURCE WGU Washington Related Links http://washington.wgu.edu ALBANY, New York, January 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Transparency Market Research observes that the competitive landscape in the global hygienic and aseptic valves market has quite a few leading players. Currently the players are focusing on expanding their business in emerging markets to cater to the huge potential in the developing regions. "Furthermore, companies are also looking at providing solutions to sectors such as biotechnology and pharmaceuticals to strengthen their market position," states the lead author of this research report. Some of the key players operating in the global market are Alfa Laval AB, SOX Flow, Inc., ITT Corporation, GEA Group AG, and Pentair PLc. The research report states that the global hygienic and aseptic valves market is expected to be worth US$9.0 bn by the end of 2025 as compared to US$6.0 bn in 2015. The market is expected to show progress of 4.8% CAGR during the forecast period. Download PDF brochure for this Report: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=17798 Hygienic Single Seat Valves Show Robust Growth Rate as Companies Comply to Sanitation Norms On the basis of types of valves, the global market is segmented into hygienic single seat valves, hygienic double seat valves, hygienic butterfly valves, hygienic control valves, and aseptic valves. Of these, the hygienic single seat valves are expected to outperform all other segments. By the end of the forecast period, the segment is expected to acquire a share of 26.0% in the global market. The dominant share of this segment will be attributable to the ability of these valves to meet the strict regulations pertaining to aseptic and hygienic processes in industries such as pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, and dairy. In terms of geography, North America is leading the global market due to region's continuous investment in expanding manufacturing facilities. The region is expected to rise at a CAGR of 7.1% between 2016 and 2025. Automation and Modernization of Production Processes Boosts Global Market Analysts state that the demand for hygienic and aseptic valves is likely to be on the rise in the coming years. The demand is likely to be fueled by the need to eliminate the usage of food preservatives in the food industry. Presently, several fitness-conscious and health-conscious people are focused toward reducing the consumption of food preservatives due a growing awareness about their negative impact on the human body. The majority of the processed food and beverages includes preservatives that are hampering the natural metabolism of the body. Thus, to cut down the usage of these harmful substances, food manufacturers are deploying hygienic valves in several industrial sectors. Browse Regional PR: http://www.europlat.org/hygienic-aseptic-valves-market.htm The market is also expected to grow against the backdrop of increasing focus on sanitary regulations especially in the food and beverages industry. The market is also being supported by growing initiatives of modernization in countries such as the U.S., China, Brazil, and India. The cooperation from several large organizations to comply with sanitary, safety, and modernization norms are collectively expected to boost the growth of the market. In the coming years, efforts to incorporate plant automation are also likely to augment the demand for these valves, state analysts. Poor Logistics to Hamper Sales of Hygienic and Aseptic Valves The steady future of the global hygienic and aseptic valves market is likely to be hampered by the unreliable supply of hygienic aseptic valves. The wavering quality of these valves due to changes in suppliers and poor distribution system is expected to hamper the progress of the global market. However, several companies are focusing on establishing steady logistics and supply chain solutions to solve this issue. The review is based on Transparency Market Research's report, titled "Hygienic and Aseptic Valves Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2025." The Hygienic and Aseptic Valves market has been segmented as below: The Hygienic and Aseptic Valves Market, By Valves Type Hygienic Single Seat Valves Hygienic Double Seat Valves (Mixproof Valves) Hygienic Butterfly Valves Hygienic Control Valves Aseptic Valves The Hygienic and Aseptic Valves Market, By Application Dairy Processing Food Processing Beverage Pharmaceuticals Biotechnology The Hygienic and Aseptic Valves Market, By Country/Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa & South America Related Research Reports by TMR: Control Valves Market: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/control-valves-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/control-valves-market.html Actuators and Valves Market : http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/actuators-valves-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/actuators-valves-market.html Fuel Delivery System Market : http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/fuel-delivery-system-market.html About Us Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge. Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMR's syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement. US Office Contact Transparency Market Research 90 State Street, Suite 700 Albany, NY 12207 Tel: +1-518-618-1030 USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Google+: https://plus.google.com/+Transparencymarketresearch SOURCE Transparency Market Research "I know how it feels to receive a package from home how thankful you are that people you have never met took the time, energy, and money to show support," said National Guard veteran Christina Eggros. Assisting others through program events like this empowers wounded veterans to embody the WWP logo of one warrior carrying another during his or her time of need. "I have been deployed during the holidays and know how important it is that there are people back home taking time to package these things and sending them," said Marine Corps veteran Eric Hogue. "It also lets those deployed know people are thinking about them. For me, doing this is a way to not only pay it forward but also to pay back." The gathering helped bring families together for a cause. "The best feeling for me, as a U.S. Navy veteran participating in this, was to watch my daughter enjoy working on a team project that will have a positive outcome," said Navy veteran Andrea Varner. "I was proud she felt a sense of accomplishment along with being part of a team. This is something our service men and women share with one another during critical missions, and it helps strengthen the bonds between one another when they are away from loved ones." Warriors also had the chance to socialize with other veterans. Isolation is one of the most significant struggles wounded warriors deal with after serving their country. It can be difficult knowing how to overcome that challenge and rekindle bonds similar to those formed in the military. In a WWP survey of the injured warriors it serves, more than half of survey respondents (51.7 percent) talked with fellow Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, or Operation New Dawn veterans to address their mental health issues. The only resource used more frequently was VA Medical Centers (69.1 percent). "WWP events are a way to connect to other warriors and the services available to us," Christina said. "When we transition out of the military, our uniforms never really come off. It is imprinted on our hearts," Andrea said. "The values we obtained from our service never leave. They are our identity, and WWP is a way for us to serve outside of uniform." "WWP helps empower me to work through challenges and live a 'normal' life even with my wounds," Eric said. "It is hard living up to civilian standards while suffering from invisible injuries. No amount of medicine can help with that like WWP does." WWP offers a variety of programs and services that assist injured veterans with mental health, physical health and wellness, career and benefits counseling, and connecting with other warriors and their communities. Generous donors make it possible for wounded warriors to take part in outreach activities and benefit from program resources at no cost to them. To learn more about how WWP's programs and services are making an impact on the lives of wounded warriors, visit http://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/. To find photos from this event, click on multimedia, then images. About Wounded Warrior Project We Connect, Serve, and Empower The mission of Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors. WWP connects wounded warriors and their families to valuable resources and one another, serves them through a variety of free programs and services, and empowers them to live life on their own terms. WWP is a national, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. To get involved and learn more, visit woundedwarriorproject.org. About Move America Forward Move America Forward, a registered 501(c)(3) charity, based in Sacramento, supports our troops and their missions in the war on terror. Move America Forward is supported by hundreds of thousands of pro-troop activists, veterans and military families across the nation. To date, they have shipped over 345 tons of care packages to our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Despite claims that the war is drawing to a close, there are still over 15,000 troops serving, training Afghanistan security forces or advising the Iraqi army in their fight against ISIS, so care packages are still needed. Move America Forward has noticed a sharp increase in the number of care package requests received on their website over the past few weeks. The Department of Defense continues to activate reserve units and rotate new troops into dangerous areas around the world, fighting the War on Terror, so sending support is still as important and valuable to troop morale as ever. Move America Forward is also celebrating after recently being named a "Top-Rated Nonprofit" by the charity-rating group Great Nonprofits for the third year in a row. Great Nonprofits is the leading site for donors and volunteers to find reviews and ratings of nonprofits. Reviews on the site influence 30 million donation decisions a year. Visit www.greatnonprofits.org for more information. SOURCE Wounded Warrior Project Related Links http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Dimapur/New Delhi, Dec 29 : National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) has alleged a New Delhi-Imphal nexus in tackling the economic blockade of Manipur, saying that sending additional central forces to the area would go against the interests of the Nagas. "The existing problem of Manipur is simply created by Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh out of his sheer desperation. At his behest the central government is sending additional central forces against the Nagas. Where is the sincerity of the government to solve the problem," questioned a statement issued by the NSCN-IM. Manipur is simmering due to an economic blockade called by the Nagas under the banner of United Naga Council (UNC) in Manipur. Though the blockade started on November 1 when the state government was planning to create new districts bifurcating existing Naga dominated districts, it intensified after the government ignored the agitation and went ahead to declare Jirbam as a full fledged district. The state government also created new districts of Kangpokpi, Tengoupal, Pharzol, Kakching, Noney and Kamjongin. The NSCN-IM said that the creation of new districts out of Naga territory without their consent is a deliberate act to supress the rights of the Nagas. Emphasisng that Manipur Governor Najma Heptullah has apparently the blessing of the central government as she gave the assent for the creation of the seven new dictricts, the NSCN-IM said: "It is clear to the Nagas that the central Government is instrumental in using Manipur CM Ibobi Singh all along the way to please the Meiteis at the expense of the Nagas." "Is this now treacherous attempt to undermine the peace talks on the part of Central Government?" the group questioned. Bhubaneswar, Dec 31 : A court here on Saturday rejected the bail plea of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Tapas Paul and allowed the CBI to take him on three-day remand. Paul would be in the investigating agency's remand for further questioning in connection with the multi-crore Rose Valley chit fund scam. The Special CJM court of CBI here allowed the Central Investigation Bureau (CBI) to take the TMC MP on remand. The investigating agency had requested the court to take him on a five-day remand for further questioning into the chit fund scam. After arresting Paul on Friday from Kolkata for his alleged links with Rose Valley chit fund scam, the agency brought him to Bhubaneswar. CBI sources said they would question the TMC MP to elicit more information about his financial transactions with the chit fund firm. However, Paul's counsel said his client's arrest in politically motivated. "He has been made a victim under political pressure since he is a celebrity and an MP. Some are trying to take political mileage over the issue," Paul's laywer Arun Acharya told the mediapersons here. After four hours of investigation, Paul was arrested in Kolkata. A CBI official said the investigating agency was not happy or satisfied with the answers provided by Paul. The TMC MP said this is vendetta politics and he would contest this arrest in the court of law. According to the official, Paul was involved in "financial transactions" with the Rose Valley chit fund organisation. The actor-turned-politician was summoned by the agency on Tuesday along with Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay for questioning in relation to the ponzi scam. Following the summon, the Trinamool Congress accused the central government of doing vendetta politics and using central agencies to scare the party as they were protesting the demonetisation move. Srinagar, Dec 31 : A local policeman was killed in a militant attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district on Saturday, police said. "Militants fired at a police 'naka' (checkpost) in Chowgal area of Handwara tehsil in Kupwara district. One police constable has been killed in this attack," a police official said here. "Searches have been launched to trace the militants," the official added. Hyderabad, Jan 1 : Facing an uncertain future, the 14-year-old conjoined twins were on Sunday shifted from the local Niloufer Hospital to the State Home. On New Year's Day, Veena and Vani stepped into the state-run shelter, moving out of the children's hospital, which had been their home since their parents abandoned them due to poverty in 2006. With the risk in surgery increasing and chances of separating them slimming, the Telangana government shifted them out of the hospital. The staff and residents of the State Home welcomed the conjoined twins with New Year greetings. A girl was holding placard with the New Year greetings as the twins reached the shelter run by the Department of Women Development and Child Welfare for women in distress and victims of atrocities. The state government took the decision in August last year to shift the twins but it could not be implemented as the girls were reluctant. The twins had been living in a hospital room for over 11 years and had developed a bonding with the caretakers. On many occasions, they had stated that they want to stay at the hospital. However, taking care of the Siamese twins was proving a burden for the cash-strapped hospital. The hospital authorities were of the view that taking the girls out of the hospital was also essential for their psychological development. The hospital officials had earlier asked the parents to take home the girls. However, N. Murali, a daily-wage labourer in Warangal district, and his wife Nagalakshmi said they have no means to take care of the twins in this condition. No surgery could be performed to separate them due to the risks involved. They were examined by experts from Singapore and London in the past. In 2015, doctors from the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) had visited Hyderabad and examined the twins. Although the Telangana government came forward to bear all the expenditure for the surgery, it could not be performed as the doctors said this could endanger the lives of the twins. London, Jan 1 : Majority of British people believe that fascist views are on the rise globally in the wake of Donald Trump's victory, Brexit and the spectre of the far-right in mainland Europe, according to a survey. There were surges of hate crime in the US following Trump's victory and in Britain after the Brexit vote, not to mention the brutal murder of MP Jo Cox by a man with far-right links, said the study by BMG Research, conducted for the Independent newspaper. Home Secretary Amber Rudd also recently proscribed a far-right organisation for the first time in Britain, making its membership a criminal offence. BMG pollsters, who are members of the British Polling Council, asked participants whether they thought "the number of people with fascist views in the US is increasing, decreasing or about the same?" A majority of 53 per cent said they believed it is growing, just three per cent said they thought the number of people is decreasing, while 20 per cent said it is about the same. When the same question was put in relation to Britain, some 46 per cent said they believe the number of people with fascist views in Britain is growing, with three per cent saying it is decreasing and around a third believing it is about the same. Looking at Europe, the figures were broadly similar, with 48 per cent saying they believe the number of people with fascist views is growing, the Independent reported on Sunday. BMG Research Director Michael Turner said: "With age comes experience, which may explain why our polling shows that it's older Britons who are most likely to feel that fascist views are on the rise, particularly in Europe." He added: "Remainers are much more likely than Leavers to feel that fascist views are increasing at home. Around six in ten, 59 per cent, of those who voted to stay in the European Union feel that fascism is on the rise in Britain, whereas just four in ten Leavers, 41 per cent, feel the same." "However, both Remainers and Leavers are much more united on the view that fascism is rising on the continent, with some 57 per cent of Remainers and 52 per cent of Leavers saying so in the poll." According to reports, some 900 incidents of hate crime occurred in the US in the 10 days following the Tump's shock victory. Official Home Office statistics have, as in the US, revealed an equally worrying hate-crime spike in Britain since the vote to quit the EU. In July, there was a 41 per cent increase in the number of racially or religiously aggravated crimes recorded by the police. They correlated with earlier figures which showed the number of alleged racially or religiously aggravated offences rose by 58 per cent in the week following the June Brexit vote. Srinagar, Jan 3 : A militant was killed by the Indian Army in an ambush near Sopore town of Kashmir on Tuesday. "Following information about the movement of militants in the area, the army laid an ambush in Haritar Tarzoo village during the night (Monday night)," a police official said here. The militants opened fire as they were passing through the area early on Tuesday. But one of them was killed in the operation. "The identity of the slain militant is being established." Damascus, Jan 3 : Several rebel groups have said they were freezing talks on planned peace negotiations with the Syrian government, citing "major violations" by the government forces to an ongoing ceasefire. The rebels on Monday said they were freezing talks on the peace negotiations that were planned to take place soon in Kazakhstan capital Astana, Xinhua news agency reported. They claimed it was a response to the "major violations" by the government forces to the ceasefire that was reached in an agreement under the shepherd of Russia and Turkey. "Due to the worsening situation and the continuation of the violations, the (rebel) factions declare freezing any talks related to the Astana negotiations... until the full implementation of the cease-fire deal," a statement from the rebels said. They called it repeated violations by the government forces, including the escalation of military offensives on the rebel-held town of Wadi Barada in Damascus, and Rastan area in the central province of Homs. The Syrian government refused to acknowledge its attacks as breaches to the ceasefire, saying it was fighting the Nusra Front and the Islamic State militant group, both excluded from the ceasefire as both have been designated as terrorist organisations by the UN. Moreover, for the government forces, Wadi Barada is controlled by the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously known as the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which has already been excluded from the truce. The rebels in Wadi Barada has cut off the main water supply line into Damascus since December 22, leaving the government with few options to restore the water source in that area, which feeds the capital's over five million inhabitants. The ceasefire went into force at midnight on Friday, with opposition activists saying it was still holding on Monday, despite the "breaches". The recent ceasefire is the third in Syria after two previous failing ones. The first was reached last February, which lasted for three months before collapsing, and the second one was established in September, which was observed for only a week. Mumbai, Jan 3 : Google dedicated a doodle on Tuesday to mark the 186th birth anniversary of India's 19th century social reformer Savitribai Jyotirao Phule, among the country's first to speak up for the rights of women. Savitribai K. Patil was born on January 3, 1831, in a rich and influential farming family and at the age of nine was married off to the 13-year old Jyotirao Phule. She was taught to read and write by her husband and when she turned 17, the couple founded India's first school for girls and women in Bhidewada, Pune. It started with just nine girls from different castes enrolled as students - but it became a historic step when female education was considered taboo in the orthodox Indian society prevalent then. The Phule couple - who had no children of their own - launched a crusade against social discrimination based on caste and gender, and sparked the flame for women's equal rights during the British rule in India. At a time when women had no say in anything, Savitribai's campaign covered child marriages, child widows, rape victims becoming pregnant, the practice of 'Sati', educating women and fighting for equal rights for all women. The colourful Doodle shows a simple Savitribai spreading her sari 'pallu' wide to encompass women from all sections of society for education and empowerment. The simple 'Goodle' (Google Doodle) shows a group of demure women assembled outside what could be a school for education in a skyblue starry background which also doubles as her blouse. It has a narration by New Delhi-based NGO Zubaan, with colourful paintings by Malvika Asher on the different historical aspects of Savitribai's life starting as a toddler, a child bride, her love for knowledge and learning, opening the first girls school, (1848), and other social institutions, adopting Yeshwant, the son of a Brahmin widow, and honoured by the British government as the Best Teacher in the state in 1852. It continues onto the death of Jyotirao Phule in 1890, when defying all prevalent social norms, she lit his funeral pyre and carried on the legacy of his Satyashodhak Samaj, and finally her social work during the bubonic plague in Maharashtra which claimed her life in 1897. The Phules had set up 18 more schools across the state of which Savitribai was the teacher, headmistress and principal. Nearly 18 decades later, the Maharashtra government renamed the Pune University as 'Savitribai Phule University' as a tribute to Phule's sheer courage and pioneering efforts in the field of education, women empowerment, social reform and gender equality. Since the past few years, several social-political organisations have been demanding that the Phule couple be conferred India's highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna, which was supported by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Srinagar, Jan 3 : A Pakistani guerrilla from the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit was killed in an ambush by the security forces at the outskirts of north Kashmir's Sopore town on Tuesday. Abu Umar Khatab was killed after the army and police laid an ambush in Haritar Tarzoo village on Monday night, a police officer said here. The militants opened fire as they were passing through the area early on Tuesday. But one of them was killed in the operation. New Delhi : US President-elect Donald Trump's controversial tweet on the 193-member UN comes at a time when former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres has assumed office as its ninth Secretary General. Trump questioned the United Nations' efficacy, calling it a "club of people to get together, talk and have a good time". In a previous tweet, Trump also cautioned that when he takes office, "things will be different at UN". This tweet has brought out in open the vulnerability of the UN. It also speaks volumes of how one powerful nation, through its funding, can direct the functioning of the global body. There is widespread speculation that the Trump administration may defund the UN in whole or partially. The US contributes the highest share of 22 per cent to the UN budget. Of the 193 member nations, the top 20 countries contributed a whopping 83.78 per cent, while 173 countries contribute 16.22 per cent of the $5.6 billion budget for 2016-17. Of these, the contribution of 135 countries is as low as 0.1 per cent. Interestingly, the top 10 contributors account for 68.89 per cent of the total funds received. This proves how badly placed financially the UN today is. It is clearly an important area for the new Secretary General to free the UN from the supremacy of a superpower and build consensus to make every country equal at the UN table through an equal funding mechanism. The fundamental principle behind the global body is to ensure world peace. Unfortunately, people across the globe are facing serious issues of terrorism and human rights violations. Where does the UN stand today to address these basic issues affecting global peace? Critics are asking one question: Is the UN behaving more as a NGO today than as a global peace broker? According to these critics, instead of focusing its attention on terrorism and rights violations, the UN's scattered humanitarian development engagement in different countries is weakening its position as an acceptable global body. There are specialised agencies, NGOs, who are closer to the communities and with better local development solutions to address local problems. So, why should the UN enter these areas, the critics ask. While the UN's developmental budget is measured in billions of dollars, its Counter-Terrorism Centre has an annual budget of only $20 million. Statistics show that the total cost of terrorism amounted to $106 billion last year. This reflects how badly the world is affected by terrorism and is a reminder of the UN's basic mandate of maintaining world peace. The seriousness of the UN on terrorism can be explained with one recent example. The whole world knows that Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar is a global terrorist and operates from Pakistan to spread his terror activities in South Asia, particularly in India. But the global body failed to ban this person as a terrorist on the behest of China. The reason China has made every effort to hold back India's move is to please Pakistan for geostrategic reasons at the cost peace in the region. This move by China is helping terrorism to grow in the South Asian region. This is an area the new Secretary General should focus on. Another daunting task for the new Secretary General is to take open criticism positively and implement reforms to make the UN more relevant as a global peace broker. Today there are about 1,200 country offices of the UN around the globe in 100 nations with more than 10 UN country offices in each country. At these country offices, with a budget of $8-9 million and a staff of 5-6, 60 per cent of the resources go for operational expenses, leaving a small budget for programmes. Furthermore, many organisations within UN bodies have overlapping mandates. There are sectors such as water and energy and health in which more than 20 UN agencies are engaged and compete among themselves to tap the limited resources available. Ten years ago, the UN had formed a panel co-chaired by the then Prime Ministers of Mozambique and Norway and Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer to suggest reforms. The report was very critical of the way "UN officials had to almost beg for money from national governments, making it difficult for the organisation to do any meaningful intervention". The report also pointed out how large numbers of support staff doing ill-defined jobs account for 2/3rd or more of many UN agencies' outgoings. This is another area the new UN chief needs to focus on and take a call on something that is affecting the UN's efficiency. On the positive side, be it the Haiti earthquake, the Ebola outbreak or the Indonesian tsunami, the UN has delivered its services efficiently. But will the new Secretary General look beyond an NGO prism and build up a structure to make the UN a vibrant body for combating natural disasters and a specialised body as a peace broker as it is doing so well in Central African Republic Mali and Lebanon? (Sachi Satapathy is an international development practitioner. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at sachisatpathy@yahoo.com) New Delhi, Jan 3 : President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday greeted the people and the government of Myanmar on the eve of the country's Independence Day. Extending warm greetings and felicitation to the people of Myanmar and President U Htin Kyaw, Mukherjee in a message said: "India and Myanmar cherish our long standing close and friendly relations." "I warmly recall your visit to India in August 2016 when we reviewed our bilateral relationship and jointly identified the areas of shared interest where we would like to strengthen our cooperation to our mutual benefit." The President said he was confident that their "efforts will meet with success and contribute to the realisation of our respective developmental goals". Myanmar attained freedom from the British colonial rule on January 4, 1948 and became an independent republic. Agartala, Jan 3 : Indian Police Service officer Abhijit Saptarshi has been adjudged 'Policeman of the Year' in Tripura for his outstanding performance in dealing with crime and other law and order situation, the state police announced. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on Tuesday conferred the award to 37-year-old Saptarshi at a function here on the occasion of the 'Police Week -- 2017'. According to a senior police official, Saptarshi as district police chief of West and North Tripura districts has done brilliantly to curb inter-state and domestic crimes, besides successfully dealing with many political troubles and agitations. Saptarshi is an IPS officer of the 2008 batch and hails from Mumbai. The official said Saptarshi, who holds a Master's degree in Science for Urban Policy, took some innovative steps bringing down the number of crime cases sharply in West Tripura in 2015 compared to 2014. The second battalion of Tripura State Rifles was awarded for being the best TSR battalion, while Kalyanpur police station in Khowai district was adjudged the best police station. Budhu Debbarma, a sub-inspector of police in Unakoti district, got the best investigator's award. The police week is observed in Tripura every year to evaluate the performance of the police administration and to bring the people-police relation closer. While addressing the police here, Sarkar asked all ranks of the state police to remain alert for possible terror situation in the state. "We have tamed the decades-old militancy in our state but the terrorists are not yet finished. They have hideouts and camps in Bangladesh. We should not be complacent in our success," Sarkar said. "Though the state government is trying hard to modernise the state police forces, the central government did not help the state appropriately," Sarkar said, asking the policemen here to deepen their friendship with the people. London, Jan 3 : An Indian woman in Britain gave birth to the country's first baby of 2017 at 12.01 a.m., just a minute into the New Year, the media reported. Bharti Devi, 35, gave birth to baby girl Ellina Kumari just seconds after the Big Ben on the Westminster stopped chiming, said a report in the Daily Mail on Monday. Speaking from her hospital bed, the housewife, who also has a two-year-old son with husband Ashwani Kumar, 26, said: "She is doing well and is healthy." The mother-of-two arrived at City Hospital in Birmingham on December 31 and was induced later in the evening. The couple is from Handsworth in Birmingham. "I was five days overdue so we expected her to be born in 2016 but the longer the labour went on I thought it might go into 2017," said Bharti Devi. "It is really exciting to think she is the first baby born in Britain in 2017, it is definitely something special to tell her when she is grown up," she said. Her husband Ashwani, who works as a sales assistant here, added: "I am an extremely proud dad... it is incredible to think she is the first baby of the whole year. New Year will be extra special from now on." New Delhi, Jan 3 : The AAP on Tuesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reveal his deal with Paytm - the mobile payment and e-commerce platform - and say why no government mobile wallet has been promoted yet. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also questioned why Paytm was sponsoring political rallies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj said Modi first appeared in an advertisement of Paytm and recently Paytm sponsored BJP's political rally in Inderpuri area in west Delhi. "People want to know what kind of deal PM Modi has signed with Paytm, a company having Chinese investment. BJP leaders were not only present in a Paytm-sponsored rally but they also promoted the company," Bharadwaj told reporters. AAP national spokesperson Richa Pandey said: "Why is Paytm sponsoring BJP's political rallies? Are companies like Paytm running the BJP through Modi?" "Why has no government mobile wallet been promoted yet?" Pandey asked. Kolkata, Jan 3 : After the December 29 coal mine cave-in in Jharkhand, that left over a dozen dead, Union Mines Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday ordered a safety audit of all mines in the country. "I have ordered a safety audit of all the mines on a priority basis," the minister said. "We have made three lots of mines. We are taking those which have five million cubic metres of composite production annually, first. There are 58 such mines," he said. "Then, we take those with one to five million cubic metres of annual composite production and then take those which have less than one million cubic metres...," he added. "We look at safety audit from all aspects -- fire, gas, inundation, etc," Goyal said, after reviewing safety measures with the officials of Coal India and its subsidiaries here in the light of the recent Jharkhand accident. "I was explained various causes for the unfortunate incident and we have drawn up a roadmap of what could be done going forward so that the standards of safety can be taken to the highest level to ensure as far as possible zero accident in coal mining activities in India," he said. Goyal said the Centre and Coal India officials have taken several decisions in terms of strengthening safety infrastructure and safety audits. "We are committed to spending on the most modern equipment which will help us in terms of forewarning to prevent accidents," he said. Goyal said all the safety audits will be conducted by the Director General of Mines Safety (DGMS). "If any third-party expert assistance is required, I am open to it. We are taking up (safety) measures immediately for the larger mines first and then go down to each (mines)," he said. The minister said in the Jharkhand mine that caved in, 18 bodies were recovered so far and rescue operations were still going on. "I have ordered a detailed investigation through the DGMS as well as a team of experts will be studying the accidents and causes of it," he said. In Jharkhand, mining operations were stopped a few weeks back. The accumulated overburden was being moved to make the land more stable and at that stage there was some fault line in the solid strata, he said trying to explain the cave-in. Goyal, who is in charge of Power Ministry, said two states were also joining UDAY (Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojna) scheme on Wednesday and a week after one more state would be joining it. Bhubaneswar, Jan 3 : Hundreds of animals were sacrificed as part of a tribal custom during the "Sulia Yatra" in Odisha's Bolangir district on Tuesday. The sacrifice of animals was carried out to appease the gods. Hundreds of animals, such as goats and buffalos, were killed during the puja while the district administration and police remained mute spectators. Tribals of the district argued that they have been observing this ritual for a long time and support animal sacrifice during the celebrations. "We performed the puja to appease the gods. People offer animals as their wishes are fulfilled following the blessings of gods," said Harihar Kanhar, chief priest. As part of the custom, tribals first bathe the animals to be sacrificed and anoint them with turmeric. The animals are then hacked in the presence of thousands of people. The district and police administrations only appealed to maintain law and order during the annual festival. Bolangir Sub-Collector Bimal Prasad Mohanty said adequate security arrangements have been made to maintain law and order during the Sulia Yatra. Around four platoons of police force and senior officers have been deployed to maintain law and order. New Delhi, Jan 3 : Samsung India on Tuesday launched a nationwide television and digital campaign named "Wherever You Are, We'll Take Care of You", showcasing its initiative to take customer service to the doorsteps of users. "Our new initiative of expanding to rural India, right up to the taluka level, helps us in taking care of our valued customers, wherever they are," said Ranjivjit Singh, Chief Marketing Officer, Samsung India, in a statement. With this, Samsung's reach will extend to customers in over 6,000 talukas - or sub-districts -- across 29 states and seven Union Territories. The campaign film "#SamsungCares", which has gone viral, showcases the journey of a young Samsung engineer on his way to provide the services in a remote village in India. In October 2016, Samsung launched 535 service vans, to ensure timely service to customers in the remotest corners across the country. Mumbai, Jan 3 : Calling the molestation in Bengaluru on New Year's Eve a shame, veteran screenwriter Salim Khan has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the issue immediately. Salim Khan expressed concern over the act by some of the Indian youngsters in Bengaluru during the New Year celebration. "Honourable PM Narendra bhai, you have time and again mentioned that India's youth will drive the country forward. It's a shame what the youth have done in Bengaluru. Such acts are happening repeatedly all over. We were also young once, but never have such things happened," the screenwriter tweeted on Tuesday. "Narendra bhai, the power of the youth is double-edged. It can go either way. You need to address it immediately," the father of superstar Salman Khan wrote on Twitter. Seoul, Jan 3 : The number of North Koreans who defected to South Korea in 2016 rose by 10.9 percent as compared to the previous year, according to figures published on Tuesday by Seoul's Ministry of Unification. A total of 1,414 North Koreans had defected to the South last year, up from 1,275 in 2015, Efe news reported. The ministry attributes the increase to tough economic sanctions imposed by the international community and the United Nations on the Kim Jong-un regime for conducting nuclear missile tests. Moreover, a greater number of North Korean diplomats and labourers working overseas have defected to the South, including Thae Yong-ho, a top diplomat in the North Korean embassy in London and 13 employees of a Pyongyang-run restaurant in China, in the summer. This is the first time that the number of deserters has risen since 2011, the year when Kim Jong-un came to power and imposed strict control along the border with China, the main escape route of North Koreans seeking to defect to the South. In 2009, a record 2,914 North Koreans had fled the country and so far, a total 30,258 North Koreans have defected to the South. The two countries are technically still "at war" because the Korean Conflict (1950-1953) had ended with a ceasefire that was never replaced by a definitive peace treaty. Kolkata, Jan 3 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday dubbed the arrest of Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay as "vendetta politics" by the Centre as her supporters attacked the BJP office here, leaving some 15 people injured. A furious Banerjee also announced nationwide protests against the Modi government's "vindictive attitude". Bandyopadhyay was earlier arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Rose Valley Chit Fund scam after being calle3d to the CBI office for interrogation. Banerjee demanded the arrest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah instead. "We strongly condemn the politically vindictive attitude of Modi and Amit Shah. They have arrested our Parliamentary Party leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay. He is a veteran politician and senior leader of our party. "It is all because of our fight against NoteBandi (note ban). We are and will be with the people. Nothing can stop us from being with the people and we will continue with our protest against NoteBandi," she added. "We condemn, condemn and condemn this," she said in a Facebook post. As news of the MP's arrest spread, hundreds of Trinamool activists took to the streets. A mob attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party office here with stones and vandalized cars parked outside. The BJP said 15 of its activists were injured. A few bled from the head as they spoke to the media. Banerjee vowed to launch pan-India protests against what she said was the Centre's vindictive attitude beginning on Wednesday. "We will hold a demonstration in front of Kolkata RBI on January 9 and there will be dharnas in 10 different states including Delhi, Assam, Odisha and Tripura on January 10 and 11," she said. "I also run a government and I also have the power to arrest certain people who are thieves, hooligans and extortionists. This arrest has been made under pressure from the PMO.A "This is vendetta politics because the Trinamool is fighting against the Centre over demonetisation," she told the media. Banerjee urged people to hit the streets against the Centre. "I challenge the PM, he cannot do anything, can't suppress the voice of the people. He can't bulldoze people. Many political parties are scared, but are not able to speak out. "Emergency situation is going on. People should come out on roads against demonetisation, people will teach them a lesson," she said. Dismissing the allegations, BJP leader Piyush Goyal said the central government "never interferes" in any investigation process. "We never interfere in any investigation process," Goyal said here. Asked about opposition protests against demonetisation, Goyal said: "This is political opposition. People of India have supported the move." Kolkata, Jan 3 : Central Reserve Police Force personnel were posted in large numbers near the BJP state headquarters here as an agitation and stone pelting by enraged Trinamool Congress activists continued for over three hours over the arrest of party MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay on Tuesday. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Secretary Rahul Sinha said the presence of the troopers, who provide security to him, was bolstered after his party's state headquarters was attacked by the Trinamool activists. "The Chief Minister has instigated the agitation with her comments after the Trinamool MP's arrest. In this situation, we do not feel secure under the surveillance of state police. "I get CRPF protection. For my security, more CRPF personnel have been deputed in view of the ongoing violence," Sinha told IANS. "Our workers, who got injured in the initial attack, have still not been shifted to the hospital. Trinamool is trying to terrorise us, but their tactics would not work," he added. Rapid Action Force personnel were also deployed to control the situation, city police said. As the news of the MP's arrest spread, hundreds of Trinamool activists took to the streets. Traffic had to be diverted from the Central Avenue in the heart of the city, close to the BJP headquarters in Muralidhar Sen Lane, due to the resultant chaos, police said. The Trinamool supporters shouted slogans and blocked the entrances to the BJP office. A few BJP workers bled from the head as they spoke to the media. Some cars parked in the alley leading to the office were vandalised and stones pelted at the building. The situation became worse in the evening as thousands of Trinamool supporters broke police barricades and jostled with police personnel posted in front of the BJP office. Police said no one had been arrested yet in connection with the violence. The BJP workers present in the office during the alleged attack said the assault was "pre-planned and unprovoked". "We were sitting inside the party office when some Trinamool goons attacked our party office and hurled bricks at us without any provocation. Around 15 of our party workers got injured in the incident," a BJP worker claimed. State BJP President Dilip Ghosh strongly condemned the attack. "This attack was expected. The Trinamool Congress has become scared after the arrest of their Lok Sabha leader and is resorting to violence. This shows who is doing 'vendetta politics' in the country," Ghosh said. BJP MP Roopa Ganguly accused the city police of not taking action against the Trinamool supporters involved in the violence. "Police could have easily arrested the people who were hurling bricks at our party office. But no action was taken as they were related to the ruling party," Ganguly said. New Delhi, Jan 3 : Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and the state Congress legislators reached Delhi on Tuesday to meet President Pranab Mukherjee over the ongoing tensions, caused due to the economic blockade by Naga groups. The blockade started soon after creation of seven new districts in the state. "The Chief Minister and all the Congress MLAs have reached Delhi. They have sought an appointment to meet the President tomorrow (Wednesday)," said a senior officer at Delhi's Manipur Bhawan. The Manipur legislative assembly has 49 Congress members in the house of 60. Informed sources told IANS: "The CM may talk against the imposition of President's Rule demanded by the United Naga Council and also about postponement of upcoming elections in the state." The Imphal Valley is simmering after violent protests broke out following the creation of seven new districts -- Jiribam, Kangpokpi, Tengoupal, Pharzol, Kakching, Noney and Kamjongin. A blockade was called by Naga groups to oppose the state's decision to create Sadar Hills and Jiribam as full-fledged districts. The United Naga Council -- the representative group of all the Nagas in Manipur -- said creation of new districts would bifurcate the ancestral lands of the Nagas living in Manipur. Although Jiribam was made a district, the same could not be done with Sadar Hills due to strong opposition from the Nagas. Dharamsala, Jan 3 : The Tibetan parliament-in-exile on Tuesday appealed to the United Nations to reaffirm its commitment and conviction on the resolutions adopted by its general assembly on Tibet and restart the Sino-Tibet dialogue. In a letter addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, it said: "The situation inside Tibet continues to remain grim and alarming despite China's lofty claims of having liberated and developed Tibet for the past 66 years." "Since 2009, over 145 Tibetans in Tibet have resorted to self-immolation in protest against China's rule in Tibet... Therefore, we are optimistic on the resumption of Sino-Tibet dialogue and the resolution of the Tibet issue during your term," the letter added. The UN General Assembly has passed three resolutions on Tibet and the last one was on December 18, 1965. The Dalai Lama fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese Communist rule in 1959. The government-in-exile is based in Dharamsala but has not won recognition from any country. New Delhi, Jan 3 : Manipur Governor Najma Heptullah on Tuesday met DoNER Minister Jitendra Singh here, and said that she is personally interacting with different sections -- political and social -- to ensure peace and amity in the state. During the meeting, Heptullah also shared the written chronological record of various meetings held by her and the deputations received by her during the last two to three months over the development works in the state. According to an official statement, Heptulla was told that the central government is not only keeping a close watch on the recent developments in the state but also constantly offering all kinds of possible cooperation and assistance to the state government. New Delhi, Jan 3 : The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) on Tuesday recommended starting the budget session of Parliament from January 31, official sources said here. The CCPA met on Tuesday morning and decided that the first half of the budget session should be held from January 31 to February 9. This is around a month earlier than the usual time for the Budget session. The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, among others. The recommendation will now be sent to President Pranab Mukherjee for his consent. Informed sources said the general budget is likely to be presented on February 1, which would be a first. The budget so far has usually been presented at the end of February. In another first, the Railway Budget is likely to be merged with the General Budget this time. The Finance Ministry had constituted a five-member committee comprising senior officials of the ministry and the Indian Railways to work out the modalities for the merger. The Budget session so far has been divided in two halves. However, there was no information on the second half of the session. The recently concluded Winter Session of Parliament proved to be almost a washout amid protests over demonetisation. The Chairs of both houses made it a point to express their displeasure at this as no significant business could be transacted during the 21 sittings. The Lok Sabha could transact just 17.39 per cent of its scheduled business in the 19 hours that it worked, while the Rajya Sabha transacted 20.61 per cent of the listed business in its 22 working hours. New Delhi, Jan 3 : The Union Home Ministry has submitted a detailed report to the Election Commission on the untoward incidents in Manipur before the state elections. "The Home Ministry has apprised the Election Commission about the prevailing blockade by the Nagas under the banner of United Naga Council (UNC). The poll panel will analyse the situation and decide on the election dates," government sources told IANS on Tuesday. The assembly election in Manipur is expected to be held next month. Manipur is simmering due to an economic blockade called by the Nagas under the banner of UNC in Manipur. Though the blockade started on November 1 when the state government was planning to create new districts bifurcating existing Naga dominated districts, it intensified after the government ignored the agitation and went ahead to declare Jirbam as a full fledged district. The state government also created new districts of Kangpokpi, Tengoupal, Pharzol, Kakching, Noney and Kamjongin. According to the UNC -- the apex representative of Nagas living in Manipur -- the creation of new districts out of Naga territory without their consent is a deliberate act to suppress the rights of the Nagas in the state. In December last year, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said the central government will extend all assistance to restore normalcy in the state. Apart from sending 150 companies of para military forces to Manipur when the blockade started, the central government also sent seven additional companies of para military forces, a step condemned by the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim-Isak-Muivah(NSCN-IM). Following the additional deployment of forces , the NSCN-IM questioned the seriousness of the central government to solve the Manipur issue. The UNC also demanded President's Rule in Manipur following the deteoriating conditions and refusal by the Manipur CM to roll back the creation of the seven new districts. Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, along with his 49 Congress MLAs, on Tuesday reached Delhi to meet President Pranab Mukherjee over the prevailing tension in the state. Bhubaneswar, Jan 3 : The Central Bureau Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday took Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Paul in custody for three more days for further interrogation in the Rose Valley chit fund scam. A special CBI court here granted the investigating agency the custody of Paul for the second time. Earlier, the court granted three-day remand. Sohini Paul, daughter of Tapas Paul, also appeared before the CBI here. She appeared before the agency for the second time. Sources said the central investigating agency quizzed Sohini on the designation she held at Rose Valley Group and monetary transactions by her. Notably, Tapas Paul was a director at Rose Valley Group. The Trinamool MP was arrested from Kolkata by the CBI on December 30. He was brought to Bhubaneswar by the CBI on December 31. CBI sources said the agency will bring another arrested Trinamool Congress MP, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, to Bhubaneswar for further interrogation. Bandyopadhyay was arrested on Tuesday by the CBI for his alleged involvement in the Rose Valley Group chit fund scam. New Delhi, Jan 3 : Rollout of the GST regime may only be possible by June-July, as the possibilities of meeting the April 1 deadline are bleak now in view of the negative impact of demonetisation on states' tax revenues, some GST Council members said on Tuesday. "Rollout will definitely not be in April. If the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill is passed in the Budget session of Parliament, then June or July could be a possibility," Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac told reporters here at the end of Day 1 of the Council's meet. West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra said that the council could not reach a consensus on defining a state's jurisdiction under the Integrated GST (iGST) and has not even resolved the dual control issue, which is fundamental to the indirect tax regime. "Today's discussion veered around major issues relating to the iGST. We could not reach a consensus on defining the state's jurisdiction, i.e. whether states can charge GST within 12 nautical miles from the state or not. "I don't want to make predictions on the timeline, but we have not yet passed the iGST," Mitra told reporters after the meet. The iGST will now go to the Law Ministry for its opinion on the jurisdiction over the 12 nautical miles distance from the state. "We haven't been able to even touch the dual control issue, which is fundamental to this process. This will be taken up tomorrow (Wednesday). Once the council passes the draft GST law, rules have to be framed," Mitra added. The issue of dual control or cross empowerment, which deals with assessee's jurisdiction, has been a major bone of contention between the Centre and the states, and the Council has been unable to find a common ground on it so far. The Kerala Finance Minister on the issue of dual control said that the state is very firm that dealers and service providers below Rs 1.5-crore turnover should be entirely under the state's control. The Day 1 of the council meet also saw various sectors, like telecom, banking and insurance, make presentations to the Council and asking for a single registration under the GST. Mitra said that states' tax revenues have fallen around 30-40 per cent owing to the depressive impact of the November 8 demonetisation measure, which has complicated the issue of compensation to states for future losses arising from the GST implementation. "The model of compensation under GST from a separate cess-funded corpus of Rs 55,000 crore that the GST Council had decided on is no longer valid, because now after demonetisation, everybody's compensation will go up," he said. "If you assume a 30 per cent decline in tax revenues, instead of the earlier four-five states, which were assumed as requiring compensation because they did not have the minimum annual 14 per cent growth in tax revenue, now 10-12 states will require compensation," Mitra said. Noting that the compensation fund would, therefore, require to have a much larger corpus of around Rs 80,000-90,000 crore, Mitra also said that the GST Council will now take a call about the Centre taking responsibility for fully compensating states for the loss of revenue. Shillong, Jan 3 : Civil society groups in Meghalaya on Tuesday asked police to issue a red alert notice to arrest Independent legislator Julius Dorphang, who has been accused of raping minor girl. The groups comprising of a powerful women's group Civil Society Women's Organisation and Thma U Rangli, a progressive political outfit of Meghalaya, also reiterated their demand for the resignation of Home Minister H.D.R. Lyngdoh after his son's guest house was used for sexual exploitation. Dorphang, a former rebel leader of the outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council, is supporting the ruling Congress-led government, went into hiding after police registered a case against him. Among other things, he was charged under the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act (ITPA). "A red corner notice should be immediately issued to all states in the country including all exit and entry points of the state to arrest the legislator," the groups said in a statement. They also asked Assembly Speaker Abu Taher Mondal to take action against Dorphang. "The Chief Minister ought to take full responsibility and ensure action against the two legislators who are members of the Meghalaya United Alliance government," they added. The Home Minister said he would not step down but assured that he would not interfere in the investigation. "I leave it to the police to freely and fairly investigate the case, and those involved should face consequences according to the law," Lyngdoh told IANS. Police have arrested five persons, which include three women pimps. A waitress at the Home Minister's family-run guest house has also been arrested. New Delhi, Jan 3 : Delhi Police apprehended eight juveniles on charges of robbery here, a senior officer said on Tuesday. Police said all the juveniles were involved in robbing Shambhu Kumar, a resident of Shakurpur, on Monday night. "The juveniles looted Kumar while he was going to his residence. They overpowered Kumar at Britania Chowk and escaped with his cash and other belongings," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Milind Mahadeo Dumbere said. While the juveniles were fleeing from the spot, Kumar caught one of them and raised an alarm for help, following which some people gathered at the spot, Dumbere said. "Kumar later informed local police. On the basis of information from the captured juvenile, police then apprehended seven other juvenile gang members by raiding various places," the DCP added. The officer said that police is looking for one of their associates, who is still at large. Kolkata, Jan 3 : In a fresh blow to West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress, its Lok Sabha leader and former union minister Sudip Bandyopadhyay was on Tuesday arrested in the Rose Valley Chit Fund scam, its second MP to be taken into custody by the CBI in five days. The move, coming after the December 30 arrest of Trinamool MP Tapas Paul in the scam, sent political temperatures soaring, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee calling nationwide protests against the Modi government's "vindictive attitude". A crowd believed to be made up of Trinamool supporters attacked the BJP state headquarters here, leaving 15 activists injured in stone pelting. A few cards were vandalized. The Rapid Action Force was later deployed at the BJP office. Heavyweight Trinamool leaders, including ministers, MPs and state lawmakers, also marched to the Central Bureau of Investigation's regional office at Salt Lake demanding to meet their arrested leader. Bandyopadhyay, 64, a four-time Lok Sabha member and a minister of state in the Manmohan Singh government, was summoned by the CBI and arrested after questioning, the agency said. CBI sources said Bandyopadhyay failed to give satisfactory answers to many questions and was found to be uncooperative. He was being flown to Bhubaneswar for further questioning. He would be produced before a court on Wednesday. Bandyopadhyay went to the CBI office during the day after the agency issued the third summons to him for questioning in connection with his alleged role in the scam. Earlier, he was summoned twice in December but he skipped the meeting, pleading his engagements in Parliament. On learning about Bandyopadhyay's arrest, a fuming Chief Minister and Trinamool supremo Banerjee lashed out at the Centre and sought the arrest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah instead. She alleged the involvement of BJP and Akali Dal leaders with a chit fund company. She also claimed that Bandyopadhyay was arrested under pressure from the PMO and announced pan-India protests. "We strongly condemn the politically vindictive attitude of Modi and Amit Shah. They have arrested our Parliamentary Party leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay. He is a veteran politician and senior leader of our party. "It is all because of our fight against NoteBandi (note ban). Nothing can stop us from being with the people and we will continue with our protest against NoteBandi," she said. Banerjee also demanded the arrest of other leaders including BJP MP Babul Supriyo and CPI-M's Md. Salim and Sujan Chakraborty. "We will hold a demonstration in front of Kolkata RBI on January 9 and there will be dharnas in 10 states including Delhi, Assam, Odisha and Tripura on January 10 and 11," she said. "I also run a government and I also have the power to arrest certain people who are thieves, hooligans and extortionists," she said. TMC spokesperson Derek O'Brien said its MPs will protest against the Centre in New Delhi on Wednesday. As news of the arrest spread, hundreds of Trinamool activists took to the streets. BJP leader Piyush Goyal said the central government "never interferes" in any investigation process. But Congress spokesman Randeep Surjewala said the arrest was "nothing but vendetta". CPI-M leader Md Salim said Bandyopadhyay's arrest was "much awaited" and accused the Modi government of delaying it. The CBI had earlier arrested former Trinamool Rajya Sabha member Srinjoy Bose and suspended Rajya Sabha member Kunal Ghosh besides then West Bengal Transport Minister Madan Mitra for their alleged involvement in the multi-crore rupee Saradha group scam. Having cast its net across West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Odisha, Jharkhand and Maharashtra among others, the Rose Valley Group is alleged to have illegally raised around Rs 17,000 crore from the public after wooing them with false promises of paying high rates of interest. The group is also being investigated by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and the Enforcement Directorate which had arrested Kundu in 2015 and in September this year attached assets worth Rs 1,250 crore of the company. Bishkek, Jan 3 : A Kyrgyz citizen named by Turkish state broadcaster Trt as the suspected gunman in the deadly New Year Eve attack on an Istanbul nightclub pleaded his innocence on Tuesday after he flew home from an alleged two-day business trip to the city. Iakhe Mashrapov, 28, was cited as telling Kyrgyz news agency Turmush that he was a market trader who travelled to Turkey on business and had nothing to do with the attack at Istanbul's popular Reina club on December 31. The suspect in Saturday's attack killed 39 people at the Reina, at least 27 of them foreigners, and injured 70 more in a seven-minute shooting spree during which he fired some 180 bullets at New Year's Eve revellers. The Islamic State jihadist group claimed the attack. Mashrapov's passport photo was posted and retweeted on social networks on Tuesday as the alleged gunman after Turkish security officials removed him from a flight from Istanbul to the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek and quizzed him for an hour, Mashrapov told Turmush. "I departed from Bishkek to Istanbul on January 1. I finished my business related to trade there. I came to the airport in Istanbul (on Monday) and right after I boarded the plane. Turkish law enforcers took me from the plane for questioning," he told Turmush. "The plane bound to Bishkek was delayed for one hour in this regard," he added. "They (Turkish police) explained that I was questioned because I slightly resembled the suspect in the photo. They apologized and let me board my plane," he said. Turkish investigators have released CCTV images of a man of Asiatic appearance taken inside the Reina club on the night of the attack and from a bureau de change where the suspect earlier changed money as well as a selfie-style video of him walking around Istanbul's Taksim Square. Mashrapov said he arrived in Manas airport in Bishkek early on Tuesday from Turkey. He then travelled from Bishkek to Osh city. As soon as he reached his home in the Osh region's Kara-Suu district, Kyrgyz security officials took him in for questioning, he told Turmusch. "When the terrorist attack took place December 31, I was in Kyrgyzstan. I have no relation to the terrorist attack in Turkey. I've been visiting Istanbul since 2011 on business purposes," Mashrapov told Turmush. "I have no idea who the suspect is and have no idea how my passport photo got onto the social networks. I am from Kara-Suu. I have been trading at the Kara-Suu market (Turatali) since 2011," he stated. Mashrapov said he flew from Kyrgyzstan to Istanbul last Wednesday and returned home on Friday. He then flew back to Istanbul on Sunday before returning to Bishkek on Tuesday. We rely on your support to make local news available to all Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2022. Donate today Tehran, Jan 3 : Iran has denied that it has reached an agreement with Kurdistan in Iraq for laying joint oil pipelines, Iran's Petro-Egergy Information Network (SHANA) reported on Tuesday. Iran has made no agreements with Iraqi Kurdistan for construction of two pipelines to receive crude oil from the region, the public relations office of the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum said. "Any decision in this regard will be made during the upcoming visit of Iranian Minister of Petroleum, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, to Iraq," according to the statement quoted by Xinhua. Earlier, media reported that Tehran and Kurdistan have made a deal for laying joint oil pipelines to transfer crude oil to Iran. Kolkata, Jan 3 : Automobile major Bajaj Auto said on Tuesday that its sales for December were down due to demonetisation. "After demonetisation, the mood of overall economy, two wheeler companies and us is hard. We were gearing up for a record Q3 third quarter sales after good monsoon but that is not the case," company's President (Business Development) S. Ravikumar said in an interview with BTVi. "We like to concentrate on domestic sales because that is the focus area now. In domestic motorcycle sales, the industry has a de-growth of 25 per cent in December while in Bajaj Auto our domestic sales in motorcycle segment is down by 11 per cent. That itself reflects internal strength and products," he said. The automaker reported that its overall sales in December were down by 22 per cent. Ankara, Jan 4 : The Turkish parliament on Tuesday approved to extend the state of emergency for another three more months, Dogan News Agency reported. Turkey declared a state of emergency on July 20, 2016, days after a failed military coup, which Ankara blames on the US-based exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, Xinhua news agency reported. Under emergency rule, the government can bypass the parliament to enact new laws and limit or suspend rights and freedoms. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Tuesday that debates on a bill to change the Turkey's constitution will start in parliament next week. The draft will be submitted to the General Assembly on January 9 and is expected to be approved by the end of the month. The bill grants extended power to the President and allows the President to remain the head of his or her political party. The Turkish government said it would put the constitutional changes to a referendum, even if the proposals had gained enough support from lawmakers to pass through the parliament. The updated, responsive site features a clean, minimalistic design with an intuitive user interface that provides a flawless experience for users across mobile and desktop devices. Gateway Arms Realty Corp, Staten Islands Premier Full-Service Real Estate and Property Management Firm Since 1977, announced the launch of their newly redesigned website at http://www.gatewayarmsrealty.com. The updated, responsive site features a clean, minimalistic design with an intuitive user interface that provides a flawless experience for users across mobile and desktop devices. The new site also provides a more custom and interactive experience for clients and demonstrates the best trends in the real estate industry, with simplified navigation, modern styling, and robust MLS search capabilities that make it easier for buyers, sellers and renters to find exactly what theyre looking for. We are excited about the newly redesigned website. It will now offer improved functionality for visitors and give them quick and easy access to essential real estate information, explains Laura L. Volsario, CRS, SRES- Director of Operations, NYS Licensed Real Estate Associate Broker. Weve created a one-stop-shop which will allow users to have very positive online brand experience, as we continue to increase our market presence in the North Shore of Staten Island and beyond. The site includes an extensive library of enhanced content, blogs and infographics that help visitors gain a better understanding of critical real estate topics, in-depth industry news, featured listings and testimonials. One of the most exciting new features of the site is a For Residents tool which allows tenants to see necessary mailing lists, pay bills and rent online, contact property management, request maintenance service, and access other important online forms. Another restricted area of the site allows co-op boards to manage their properties quickly and easily online. In addition, the new website reflects Gateway Arms ongoing commitment to helping real estate professionals gain a competitive advantage that will draw even more clients to them. One of the keys to capturing the online real estate buyer/seller is to make their search experience as easy as possible on mobile, with this new responsive website design, says Fitzsimmons Volsario. By updating to a dynamic website design, our agents and brokers can gain a competitive edge that will draw more clients their way. Gateway Arms excels at offering that edge, and now our newly expanded web design will help realtors understand that. As a family-owned and operated agency, building a strong community is important to Gateway Arms. Agents all live in Staten Island, working together to make a positive mark in the area they love. Fitzsimmons Volsario says, Were excited to use our updated website as a vital tool to strengthen the online community and emphasize our commitment to residents on Staten Island. This is just the first step in our ongoing efforts to connect with residents, owners, buyers and sellers. About Gateway Arms Realty Corp Gateway Arms Realty Corporation, a full-service real estate sales agency providing property management services in Staten Island, New York, was founded in 1977 by Robert J. Fitzsimmons, who developed the highly successful and respected firm from a modest start. Robert J. Fitzsimmons Jr. and Laura Fitzsimmons Volsario later joined their father, with a passion for the business. Both determined to make a positive mark in their community while providing a vast amount of services to buyers, sellers, investors, property owners and tenants. They have achieved a reputation, for themselves, their team of agents and company that, by every measure, distinguishes Gateway Arms Realty Corporation in the highly competitive arena of Staten Island real estate as clearly one of the best. We were approached to perform the intricate laser welding of the fastening device within the fluid coupling mechanism that went into production last year. Both our company and the laser welding process we planned to use had to be qualified by the customer Electron Beam Engineering, Inc. (ebeinc.com), an established precision electron beam and laser beam welding company, has announced that it has been approved for the laser welding required in the hydraulic fuel system of the Airbus A320neo engine. We were approached to perform the intricate laser welding of the fastening device within the fluid coupling mechanism that went into production last year, said Grant Trillwood, general manager at Electron Beam Engineering (EBE). Both our company and the laser welding process we planned to use had to be qualified by the customer. Nut fastening devices for the aerospace industry often require the welding of two or three components during assembly. This is where laser and electron beam welding are beneficial because both processes help to maintain the heat treatment of the materials and to minimize any deformation of the threads. After a meeting with the customer, it was decided that a laser weld would be more cost effective and EBE recommended the welding specification AWSD17.1, which covers material and design, fabrication, inspection, and qualification. EBE developed the laser welding parameters and produced cross-sectioned samples for testing and to confirm that the weld met the depth and strength requirements for this application. Once signed off, EBE was able to record the welding parameters and submit the weld schedule to the customer for final approval. The assembly and fit-up of the components are crucial in order to ensure that the weld parameters produce the same integrity of weld as the qualification samples. These requirements for laser and electron beam welding are very often overlooked so that when production begins, the welds may not meet the quality requirements because of inconsistent machining tolerances. EBE advised the customer about the significance of maintaining critical dimensions to insure consistent welding. Even a small amount of mismatch in the joint can cause welding irregularities, which result in rejected parts. The EBE team was able to design a multi-use fixture that is interchangeable for various sizes of nuts, added Trillwood. This enables us to maintain 100% on time delivery as the production quantities increase combined with an acceptance rate of over 99.8%! To learn more about Electron Beam Engineering and their welding advisory service for electron beam and laser beam welding, please visit ebeinc.com or call 1.800.EB.WELDS (1.800.392.3537). You can also follow EBE on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Electron Beam Engineering Electron Beam Engineering provides precision electron beam welding and laser beam welding services throughout the United States, Europe, and Australia. EBE is located in Anaheim California and specializes in working with complex components for a variety of applications including medical, sensor, aerospace, and automotive. Richard Trillwood, CEO, founded EBE in 1991 and is the designer of the worlds first compact production electron beam welding machine from which he has developed a wide range of precision laser and electron beam welders. In 2010, EBE was awarded Manufacturer of the Year by the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce and has earned a number of certifications in the welding, medical, and aerospace industries. ebeinc.com. # # # All trademarks in this release are the property of their respective owners. Police are looking for a mugging suspect who allegedly attacked a victim with a knife in lower Manhattan yesterday evening. The incident occurred around 7:45 p.m. in front of 217 Water Street, by the South Street Seaport. According to the NYPD, a 25-year-old woman was "walking when she felt a tug on her purse and saw a knife being held at her throat. An unknown individual told her to give him the purse and she complied. The individual then slashed the back of her right hand with the knife as he fled the scene on foot westbound on Beekman Street." The victim received nine stitches for the laceration at New York Downtown Hospital. Her purse contained cash, bank cards and a pair of glasses, police say. Authorities released surveillance video of the suspect, who is described as about 30 years old, 5'8" tall and 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a dark blue hoodie, blue jeans, black shoes, and possibly a dark cap. Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential. If heartless politicians think we are going to give up on our communities in 2017, they are sorely mistaken. We will be bold, we wont be punished, and we arent going anywhere. All* Above All is rolling out a new campaign to call out extreme anti-abortion politicians who support the Hyde Amendment and other policies that punish women who need abortion care. The campaign and the ad buy refer to Trumps comment during his campaign that he would punish women who seek abortions, a remark he walked back despite his support for policies which target poor women for denial of abortion coverage. The new campaign exposes the Trump-Pence agenda to shame, bully, and punish poor women and mobilizes supporters to demand that members of Congress stand up to Trump. The Hyde Amendment, a rider attached to annual budget legislation, withholds coverage for abortion from women enrolled in Medicaid, and disproportionately harms women of color, low-income people, immigrants, and rural communities. The We Will Be BOLD. We Wont Be PUNISHED campaign includes a six-figure ad buy on the ground in Washington, D.C., and nationwide ads aimed at cultural and political leaders. The media buy includes print newspaper wrappers, digital takeovers, taxi videos, mobile billboards, and social media ads. This campaign is our rallying cry for resistance. We will never let Trump, Pence or other anti-choice politicians get away with punishing poor women and women of color by making the Hyde Amendment permanent, said Destiny Lopez, co-director, All* Above All. If heartless politicians think we are going to give up on our communities in 2017, they are sorely mistaken. We will be bold, we wont be punished, and we arent going anywhere. I hope Trump knows whats waiting for him on day one: a nation full of powerful women ready to fight every move he makes. People around the country have spent years mobilizing in support of lifting abortion coverage bans. Americans know that the Hyde Amendment literally takes away a poor womans decision making about abortion. By disrespecting poor women, these politicians are disrespecting all women and we will not stand for that. We are starting when Congress comes back to D.C., we will continue during the inauguration, and we wont let Trump or Pence shred our reproductive rights, said Kierra Johnson, Executive Director, Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity (URGE). This new campaign launches on the heels of a bold move by 100 members of Congress who wrote to Trump calling for the elimination of the Hyde Amendment, and builds on momentum generated by the introduction of the EACH Woman Act, legislation to lift coverage bans, a nationwide poll showing support for such a bill, and the first-ever United for Abortion Coverage Week of Action that took place from September 25th to October 1st, 2016. The content of the ads includes messages like the one included below. To request to see all the ads, please reply to this email. The Trump-Pence Agenda for women? Priority #1. Bully/shame/punish poor women for seeking abortions. Stand against the Hyde Amendment. Get the Facts. ### ALL* ABOVE ALL unites organizations and individuals, including 130 partner organizations, to build support for lifting bans that deny abortion coverage. All*Above All reflects our powerful belief that each of us, not just some of us, must be able to make the important decision of whether to end a pregnancy without interference. Our vision is to restore public insurance coverage so that every woman, however much she makes, can get affordable, safe abortion care when she needs it. Learn more at allaboveall.org and follow our social media at @allaboveall. Photo galleries available: If you are looking for photos to accompany your coverage of abortion and related issues, please check out these galleries. Working with 7thonline now enables us to move away from a regional allocation approach to a corporate-wide allocation strategy with the flexibility to tailor assortments based on consumer needs. 7thonline, Inc., a leading provider of cross-channel demand planning and execution solutions to the Apparel, Footwear and Accessories (AFA) industries, today announced the go-live of its Allocation solution with the 7000-store Danish fashion retailer Bestseller Fashion Group (China). Bestseller Fashion Group (China), headquartered in Beijing, operates close to 7000 stores in more than 300 cities in mainland China under four key brand names for men and women: ONLY, Jack & Jones, Vero Moda, and Selected. With roots in Denmark, Bestseller is one of the largest fashion apparel retailers in China. In order to streamline processes and improve inventory productivity for this extensive network of stores, the management at Bestseller (China) set out to select a modern allocation system to bring in more science and accuracy to its operations. Bestseller chose to partner with 7thonline for its recognized demand-driven approach to merchandise management, robust proprietary algorithms tailor-made for the fashion industry, and personalized support and services. With the successful system go-live, Bestseller is able to now move away from manual processes and leverage advanced sales forecasting and algorithms to scientifically distribute products by color and size based on each stores propensity to sell. Working with 7thonline now enables us to move away from a regional allocation approach to a corporate-wide allocation strategy with the flexibility to tailor assortments based on consumer needs. This allows us to create a consistent brand message to our customer while still maintaining a level of localization. said Ming Liu, Director of Strategy and Project Management of Bestseller (China). Economies of scale are also evident as system logic determines where, when and more importantly, how much should be moved between locations. We are delighted to be partnering with a leading company like Bestseller in the worlds largest retail market. Says Benjamin Lentini, Vice President of Planning Solutions at 7thonline. The successful go-live of the Allocation solution is a result of great collaboration, and we look forward to driving best practices together to both enhance our product offerings and strengthen Bestsellers leadership position in China. To learn more about 7thonline Allocation, contact us today or visit us at the upcoming NRF Big Show (Jan 15 17, 2017, Booth #1311). Schedule a time to meet at NRF by following link on http://www.7thonline.com. About Bestseller Fashion Group (China) BESTSELLER Fashion Group (Tianjin) CO., LTD. is an independent company with headquarter in Beijing, China. We currently market four BESTSELLER brands: ONLY, JACK & JONES, VERO MODA and SELECTED in more than 300 cities with over 6500 concept stores. For more information, please visit our websites http://www.bestseller.com.cn or http://www.only.cn. About 7thonline 7thonline is a leading provider of cross-channel merchandise and assortment management solutions to the Apparel, Footwear, and Accessories industries. Deployed in the cloud or as enterprise software, 7thonline solutions enable more effective merchandise planning, forecasting, and allocation for fast-growing, omni-channel brands. With embedded business intelligence and rich analytics, the companys solutions offer complete demand visibility, unique planning and allocation capabilities for wholesale, retail, and e-commerce businessesenabling increased sales, reduced markdowns, improved margins, and enhanced profitability. Customers include Bestseller, Brooks Brothers, Calvin Klein, Fast Retailing USA, G-III Apparel Group, GRI Retail Group (Hong Kong), Michael Kors, Nautica, Oakley, Patagonia, PVH and VF, among others. 7thonline is headquartered in New York, NY and has global offices in mainland China. To learn more, visit http://www.7thonline.com, and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/7thonlineInc. Working with emerging technologies is now part of marketing research. It is important to embrace the future in order to be a part of it. The most comprehensive survey in the market research industry, the GRIT report is designed to help industry professionals and clients strategize by understanding research buyer and supplier trends and thus guides research business leaders toward engaging with traditional and innovative approaches to gathering research that facilities decision making for their organizations. Civicom was represented by Global Vice President of Marketing Research Services Rebecca West who weighed in on various questions presented by the GRIT Report in her role as a GRIT panel expert. Perception of Techniques and Approaches Among one of the topics the webinar discussed from the GRIT survey was the perception of various techniques and approaches. The report conveyed that mobile surveys, online communities, as well as social media and text analytics are the techniques currently in greatest use. The data reflected a more limited interest in experimental methodologies such as neuromarketing, biometric response, facial analysis, telemetry data and virtual reality. The expert panel agreed however that as technology continues to evolve, so shall the experimentation and adoption of these new tools and techniques. Another possibility, according to Civicom, is that research is indeed being conducted on some of these newer methodologies, but researchers are utilizing more traditional methodologies to get to the data in other words, traditional methodologies are being used to evaluate the adoption of newer methodologies. Quality of Data and User Experience The webinar emphasized that important issues to both clients and suppliers evolve around trust and quality of data, starting with the integrity of research participant panels. Panelists agreed with survey participants that the company that owns or manages the database is the entity most responsible for ensuring the quality of the sample source. Integrity of the Sample Source Civicom shared that from a solutions provider standpoint dealing mostly with qualitative, ensuring the quality of the sample source is very critical, as misrecruits can significantly compromise the integrity of a study. In addition, identifying truly qualified respondents for a study becomes a challenge when there are many factors and prerequisites respondents must meet. The other experts weighed in by saying that respondent quality is a shared responsibility between the company that owns the database and the research designer. Market Research Game Changers Civicom agreed that Big Data is one of the potential game-changers in the research industry. The experts agreed that to be able to stay relevant alongside Big Data, it is important for market researchers to have the capability to leverage and efficiently utilize integrated data sets. They agreed that Big Data will continue to flourish, along with the possibility of integration with other trends such as artificial intelligence, automation, and attribution analytics, and that the ultimate game changer could be a combination of all of them, as adoption of these technologies continues to rise. Looking Ahead As a takeaway, Rebecca West, Global VP of Civicom Marketing Research Services, concluded that marketing research is changing rapidly, and utilizing technology has definitely become a significant know-how for a marketing researcher. The focus is going to be on many of the things that were presented in the GRIT report: automation, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, big data, and analytics. This is the future and it's important to embrace that future in order to be a part of it, according to Civicom. Part 1 of the GreenBook GRIT Webinar was held on December 13th. Part 2 of the webinar, Findings from the Q3-Q4 2016 GreenBook Research Industry Trends Report, is scheduled for Thursday, January 5, 2017, at 1 PM ET. Webinar attendees of Part 2 of the GreenBook GRIT webinar will get to dive into more about Big Data, traditional quant, trends impacting corporate researchers, supplier satisfaction, and more. Interested parties may click here to register. About GreenBook The GreenBook Worldwide Directories is a project of the New York AMA (American Marketing Association) Communication Services, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the New York American Marketing Association. GreenBook provides a listing of market research suppliers in two volumes. Volume One features companies that offer online advertising, brand and media research, and specialized research for major industries like financial, healthcare, retail, technology and telecommunications. The second volume features companies that offer focus group moderation, and qualitative research services such as recruiting, moderating, videoconferencing, internet broadcasting, usability testing, etc. The GreenBook onine directory can be found at https://www.greenbook.org/ About Civicom Marketing Research Services Civicom Marketing Research Services offers many options to enhance the research process for marketing research professionals. Civicom is the global leader in facilitating telephone and web-enabled IDIs and Focus Groups using Civicom CyberFacility. Civicom also offers Civicom Chatterbox, an asynchronous research platform for online communities and bulletin boards, plus Civicom InSitu Mobile Research, a qualitative tool for shopper insights, audio diaries and patient journeys. Recently Civicom introduced the Civicom ThoughtLight Mobile Insights App, a qualitative mobile app for collecting richer in-the-moment insights that works with both iOS and Android. ThoughtLight includes GPS and GEO, plus off line accessibility for places where there is no data connection. Civicom operates in over 96 countries and offers extensive translation services for marketing researchers, as well as transcription services through TranscriptionWing, and respondent recruiting through CiviSelect. All of these services are available in Spanish, as well as English, and multiple other languages. Civicom Marketing Research chooses to be as dynamic as it is innovative; always listening to and acting on clients ideas and requests as they see fit. This kind of relationship has paved the way for the development and rollout of new services. To learn more, email Civicom at inquire(at)civi(dot)com or call +1-203-413-2423. In Janina Opdyke Smiths new book Thirst - Confessions of a Desert Wanderer ($19.49, paperback, 9781498479370; e-book, $9.99, 9781498479387) readers will meet a modern day woman "Jenny" who is like all of us--she desires to find purpose and value in her life. She looks to relationships and men to complete her life and provide what she desperately wants; to be deeply loved and fulfilled. Her choices, motivated by various reasons, only serve to deliver an avalanche of emptiness and pain, as each failed marriage leaves her more dry and empty. Stripped of any self-value and worth, she begins to retreat into a life of isolation and regret until only an empty bitter shell remains. However, the reader can see how God pursues us, even when we feel worthless and valueless. This story amplifies the understanding that no one is too lost, too low or not important enough to receive restoration, redemption and the refreshment of what a relationship with Christ can bring. Smith says, In a world full of confusion, where lines are blurry at best; women can easily get caught up in the never- ending cycle that "something better" is just around the corner. We look for purpose and value in our relationships, careers, and friendships. We fill the emptiness in our lives with materialism, fitness, social media, food, drugs and a long list of other things. Women today are overwhelmed with the pressure to "be everything" and "Do it all" and our lives are spent on a never-ending hunt for contentment and fulfillment. Janina Opdyke Smith resides in Washington State with her husband Gary. She is the mother of two sons, a grandmother of three awesome grandkids, and a surrogate mother to a dozen or more incredible young people. Janina is an active public speaker who travels throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Xulon Press, a division of Salem Media Group, is the worlds largest Christian self-publisher, with more than 12,000 titles published to date. Retailers may order Thirst - Confessions of a Desert Wanderer through Ingram Book Company and/or Spring Arbor Book Distributors. The book is available online through xulonpress.com/bookstore, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com. Media Contact: Janina Opdyke Smith Email: hillsidegirl(at)gmail(dot)com AEMS Service Company AEMS Service Company (AEMS), a leading HVAC and plumbing services provider located in Central New Jersey, announced that it has acquired the business of RAM Services, Inc. dba ServicePlus, a BPI Goldstar Contractor based in Burlington, New Jersey (ServicePlus). Each company shall continue operating under its current brands. In conjunction with the acquisition, AEMS announced its accreditation as a BPI Goldstar Contractor. ServicePlus has provided HVAC installation and repair services to homeowners and businesses in the Southern New Jersey area since 1992. The company was founded by Mr. Joe Landis, who will transition from day-to-day operations to a more strategic advisory role. The rest of the current team will remain intact and continue in their respective roles. AEMS was acquired in May, 2016 by Asteroid Operating Company, Inc, an investment vehicle established by Mr. Sudeep Das, a Princeton, NJ-based private investor, to acquire U.S. based and founder-owned mechanical contracting businesses. The acquisition of ServicePlus brings to AEMS a much needed base in South Jersey. Additionally, ServicePluss track record as a BPI Goldstar Contractor principally serving the home energy efficiency market is a perfect complement to AEMSs strengths as an energy management and HVAC services provider to commercial establishments and property management companies. We are actively seeking and evaluating several other acquisitions and remain very focused on our broader strategic plan, which is to build a diversified commercial and residential energy services business that has the ability to be a one-stop shop for our customers, said Mr. Das. Mr. Michael Ruberto, General Manager at AEMS, said, Our customers principally care about quality of work and responsiveness, and the acquisition of ServicePlus allows us to build on the AEMS platform on both those measures. We welcome the ServicePlus team to ours and look forward to a successful integration and partnership. AEMSs plan of keeping the brand intact, retaining all key employees, maintaining the office location, while at the same time investing in sales and marketing and automation to accelerate growth and efficiency is exactly what my company needs at the current time. I am excited for the future of the business I have built, very happy for my employees, and look forward to partnering with the AEMS team as we together seek to grow the combined businesses and continually strive to provide an unsurpassed level of service to our customers, said Mr. Landis. AEMS shall continue operations at 395 Main Street in Tennent, New Jersey. ServicePlus shall continue operations at 529 Lincoln Avenue in Burlington, New Jersey. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. About AEMS Service Company. AEMS is an HVAC and Plumbing services provider located in Central New Jersey. Founded in 1979, AEMS has a long history of designing and providing effective energy management solutions to businesses and homeowners in the State of New Jersey and surrounding areas. For more information, go to AEMSServiceCo.com. About RAM Services, Inc. dba ServicePlus. ServicePlus is a BPI-accredited HVAC services provider located in Burlington, New Jersey. Founded in 1992, ServicePlus specializes in installing high efficiency HVAC systems for residential customers in accordance with the standards of the Building Performance Institute. For more information, go to RAMServiceInc.com. Queens Divorce and Family Law Attorney Bruce Feinstein, Esq. Holding grudges hurts you as much as it does your ex-spouse, so forgiveness is a therapeutic step. It doesnt mean forgetting past wrongs. It means remembering it, forgiving it, and moving on. And what better time to start this process than the New Year? All families wish for health, happiness, and success in the New Year. The way these goals are accomplished, however, is different for everyone, and it may take an unexpected path to get there. For couples going through the divorce process in New York, the holidays can be especially difficult. To help individuals and families going through divorce at this time, Bruce Feinstein, Esq., released his third annual list of top resolutions to bring prosperity into the New Year. Mr. Feinsteins first resolution is for couples to complete their divorce this year. Many spouses extend the pre-divorce process by hoping for a magical reconciliation or putting off the subject. Divorce can be a tough process, but prolonging the buildup can cause even more emotional damage. Having open communication about a desire for divorce will make the process easier for both parties. And on the other end, avoiding a spouses calls for divorce will only drag it out and cause more resentment. Complete divorce paperwork, find an experienced divorce attorney, and start the New Year with a new stage in life. Another resolution is for divorced couples to update their wills and estate plans. Mr. Feinstein touched on maintaining financial health in his 2016 resolutions for a healthy marriage, and the same goes for divorced couples. Divorce is a big change in your life, and you not only have to update your current finances, but also address your end-of-life financial wishes, explains Mr. Feinstein. Now is the time to make a new will, update beneficiary designations, and review your powers of attorney for medical and financial needs. You may need to work with your divorce attorney or a financial planner if your divorce agreement calls for an ex-spouse to remain a beneficiary on certain plans like pensions. Mr. Feinsteins third resolution is for divorced parents now is the time to be a good co-parent. Custody and visitation are often the hardest changes to adjust to after a divorce, but leaving the emotional baggage at the door is key to establishing a new, healthy way of life for children. Mr. Feinstein says, If an ex-spouse makes reasonable requests to temporarily change a visitation schedule, do it. Dont bring emotional baggage into time spent with children. And make it a point to have both parents present during major life events like weddings and births when applicable. These milestone events are not about parents past issues; they are about celebration. The next resolution is also an emotional one that can be difficult for spouses to follow, but is imperative for a healthy divorce. Mr. Feinstein advocates leaving emotional baggage at the door before entering a divorce process. The court is not the same place as a therapists office and a divorce lawyer is not a doctor, so trying to settle emotional issues there will be both harmful and expensive. Maintain the knowledge that the divorce process is for settling the separation of assets, and make time to settle emotional issues with a therapist or close friend. Mr. Feinsteins final resolution for the New Year is forgiveness. This is a long-term resolution; not all divorced couples will be able to meet this goal in one year. An important thing for divorced couples to understand is that forgiveness is as much about the person who gives it as the person who receives it, says Mr. Feinstein. Holding onto grudges hurts you as much as it does your ex-spouse, so this is a therapeutic step. And forgiveness doesnt mean forgetting past wrongs. It simply means remembering it, forgiving it, and moving on. And what better time to start this process than the New Year? The Law Offices of Bruce Feinstein has nearly two decades of experience in divorce and family law, helping clients and families resolve their issues and move forward with their lives. If you are thinking of getting married or divorced and want more information visit feinsteindivorcelaw.com or call (718) 475-6039 to reach the New York office. ### K4Connect "...Both are fully committed to the mission of our company to serve the underserved. We are extremely fortunate to have both as part of our team," said Moody K4Connect, a mission-centered technology company that creates solutions that serve and empower older adults and individuals living with disabilities, today announced the expansion of the Companys Board of Directors with the addition of Ben Yu, Ph.D., Managing Director at Sierra Ventures and Stephen Morton, a veteran senior care executive and Founder of Ravn Senior Solutions. Mr. Morton and Dr. Yu have joined K4Connect as a result of the Companys recent $8 million Series A funding, which was led by Intel Capital. Both new board members also participated in K4Connects $2 million Series Seed funding in 2015 and have long-term connections with K4Connects co-founder and CEO, Scott Moody. Mr. Morton was involved early in K4Connects history in guiding the development of its first product, K4Community, which is specifically tailored for the residents and operators of senior living communities. Dr. Yu was an investor and a board member of Mr. Moodys prior startup, AuthenTec (acquired by Apple in 2012, now the Touch ID). "I am personally delighted that both Steve and Ben are joining the K4Connect Board. They both bring significant industry and startup experience to our team, said Moody. Steves expertise within the senior living sector will provide unparalleled insight into creating products that truly benefit older adults and senior living community operators. Ben adds a tremendous depth of experience in building groundbreaking technologies and can help K4Connect become a successful market leader. More importantly, both are fully committed to the mission of our company to serve the underserved. We are extremely fortunate to have both as part of our team, he added. Mr. Morton joins K4Connect as an accomplished senior living executive with more than thirty years of experience building, leading, and managing successful senior living and care companies, which have included independent living, assisted living, Alzheimer care, and skilled nursing facilities. A passionate advocate for better senior health and a noted leader in the field of care management, Mr. Morton is currently a board member, and angel investor in a range of companies in the senior living, senior care technology and services, real estate, and hospitality industries. Previously, Mr. Morton was the President and CEO of Bell Senior Living, where he was brought in to improve a portfolio of thirty-two underperforming communities. While there, he improved occupancy, operating margins, and the overall value of the portfolio ahead of a sale to Five Star Senior Living for more than $300 million. Prior to that, Mr. Morton was the Co-Founder, President, and COO of Southern Assisted Living Inc., where he oversaw 41 communities in the Southeast, before it was acquired by Brookdale in 2006. Mr. Morton received his B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Irvine. I am excited to be working with Scott on his newest venture with K4Connect, said Morton. Ive worked in the senior living industry for many years, and the product (K4Community) the Company has built it truly a game changer. It will not only allow older adults live a more connected life, but it will also provide adult children a more meaningful daily interaction with their loved ones, while offering operators insightful information as to how they can better serve their residents on an individual basis. Dr. Yu is currently a Managing Director at Sierra Ventures, a highly respected Silicon Valley venture fund that has raised over $1.2 billion for investments in early stage startups. His investment focus is within the IoT, IT & Cloud Computing, and Mobile Communications industries, to name a few. Dr. Yu is fascinated by disruptive technologies and, as an investor, is passionate about helping entrepreneurs turn technologies into successful products that the world has not seen before, creating new categories. Prior to Sierra Ventures, Dr. Yu was a Senior Systems Architect and Project Manager at 3Com. Dr. Yu holds both a Ph.D. and Masters of Arts from Princeton and a Bachelor of Engineering with first class honors from the University of Western Australia. Ive seen many tech companies throughout my career and K4Connect has truly developed something unique, said Dr. Yu. The product brings the whole idea of the Internet of Everything (IoE) to life and uses it in a meaningful way. I am proud to be a part of such a pioneering company. To learn more about K4Connect, visit http://www.k4connect.com. About K4Connect K4Connect creates solutions that serve and empower older adults and individuals living with disabilities, enhancing lives through an integrated whole-life software that brings together the best in home automation products, health and wellness technologies, and communication and social functionality. The Companys products enable simpler, smarter living environments and healthier lives, while fostering family and community engagement. For more information, please visit http://www.k4connect.com. Introduction of ESP Dashboard, a customized, user-friendly task management tool, highlights GlobeTaxs commitment to innovation with a focus on the client experience. GlobeTax announces the launch of ESP Dashboard, an integrated tax-relief event monitoring tool. The dashboard is a cutting-edge upgrade to ESP, the standard platform for beneficial owner disclosure and applications for withholding tax relief. The platform will create a custom work flow for each DTCC Participant, providing the ability to initiate a claim with just one click. Presently, ESP contains data for all DTCC Participants on tax relief events for ADRs and other non-U.S. companies, including Irish companies listed in the U.S. and Spanish companies that issue U.S. listed debt. ESP Dashboard will provide a tailored display of each Participants record date positions with events reaching a deadline over the next thirty business days. This will help users ensure that they make timely relief at source, quick refund and/or long-form submissions. Frequent or daily users will find that ESP Dashboard provides them with a roadmap for prioritizing claims and helps reduce the risk of missing a deadline. Brett Lewis, GlobeTaxs Executive Director of Product Development, stated, Introduction of ESP Dashboard, a customized, user-friendly task management tool, highlights GlobeTaxs commitment to innovation with a focus on the client experience. The ESP Dashboard technology further advances the automation of tax relief processes and provides an efficient way for ESP users to interact with GlobeTax. The dashboard is now the DTCC Participants comprehensive one-stop source for ADR dividend event and DTCC Important Notice information. GlobeTax will be hosting a series of educational webinars to demonstrate ESP Dashboard. Please click on a link below to register for a webinar at the specified date and time: Tuesday, January 3 2:00 PM 2:30 PM EST Wednesday, January 4 10:00 10:30 AM EST Thursday, January 5 2:00 PM 2:30 PM EST Tuesday, January 10 2:00 PM 2:30 PM EST Thursday, January 12 2:00 PM 2:30 PM EST DTCC Participants may register for ESP by visiting https://ESP.GlobeTax.com/ About GlobeTax GlobeTax is the global leader in cross-border tax relief, recovery and reporting services for the investment community. GlobeTaxs ESP system has become the standard platform for beneficial owner disclosure and applications for withholding tax relief, handling over six million submissions in 2016. The ESP platform supports the GlobeTaxs position as the market infrastructure for claims on all American Depositary Receipts (ADRs). GlobeTax researches tax treaties in over 240 jurisdictions to provide tax recovery for clients resident in over 40 countries. Clients include all types of beneficial owners, custodians, prime brokers, depositories, depositaries and withholding agents. For more information, contact: MediaRoom(at)GlobeTax(dot)com They reflect the diverse experience and range of legal practice that we offer our clients Holland & Hart LLP today announced that seven attorneys have been elected into the firms partnership, effective Jan. 1. The new partners represent several practice areas and work from six of the firms 15 offices across the Mountain West and in Washington, D.C. We are pleased to welcome these seven attorneys to our firms partnership. They have each demonstrated a level of professional and personal excellence of which they can be justifiably proud, said Liz Sharrer, chair of the firm. They reflect the diverse experience and range of legal practice that we offer our clients, and we know they will be exceptionally strong members of our partnership and an important part of the future of Holland & Hart. The new partners are as follows: Gian Brown Las Vegas, Corporate: Gian Brown has over 20 years of experience several outside of a law firm environment counseling business clients of different sizes and maturity across a diversity of industries. His activity spans the entire business lifecycle, including startup formation and early- and growth-stage financing, commercial contracts (as well as structuring strategic relationships), acquisitions and divestitures. For exit events, Gian regularly advises clients on advanced preparation, negotiation of deal points, due diligence, and integration/disentanglement considerations. Steven T. Collis Denver Tech Center, Labor & Employment: Steven T. Collis advises and assists clients nationwide in matters involving labor and employment, religious institutions rights, and complex commercial litigation. Tech startups, Fortune 500 companies, major presidential campaigns, worldwide faith-based charities and ministries, ski companies, ski industry nonprofits, First Amendment scholars, and individuals have all sought Stevens counsel and representation. An adjunct professor of law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, he teaches and publishes regularly on employment law issues and the intersection of law and religion. Jason Crow Denver, Commercial Litigation: Jason Crow assists companies and individuals nationwide in conducting corporate internal investigations, responding to emergency events, and handling state and federal government inquiries and enforcement actions. He has developed a reputation for judgment and discretion while navigating clients through their most sensitive matters, including criminal and regulatory investigations by the DOJ, SEC, FBI, EPA, and other federal and state enforcement agencies. He also advises clients on political issues and regulatory compliance matters involving executive agencies. A former Army infantry officer, Jason led combat units during three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He regularly advises state and federal elected and government officials on national security, military, and veterans issues. Jasons community involvement includes service on several non-profit boards, philanthropic fundraising, and mentoring young attorneys. Matt Kim-Miller Jackson Hole, Real Estate and Development: Matt Kim-Miller assists clients in implementing real estate transactions in residential, hospitality, office, medical, retail, mixed-use, renewable energy, and industrial sectors. He has an extensive land use and zoning practice that includes public planning processes, private development covenants and master planning, administrative appeals, and related litigation. Matt also has significant corporate transactional experience that includes asset and equity deals, entity and partnership governance, and workouts. He frequently works with and for public assessment districts. Matt Micheli Cheyenne, Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources: Matt Micheli has experience working with clients dealing with issues regarding mineral development on public lands. He helps clients work with the Bureau of Land Management, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Interior on a variety of environmental matters. Matt also works with state regulatory agencies to help clients navigate the regulatory process to obtain and defend permits. Aaron Murdock Salt Lake City, Corporate: Aaron Murdock represents technology and emerging growth companies, mature enterprises, and venture capital and private equity funds in a variety of corporate and securities laws matters, including corporate governance and structuring, mergers and acquisitions, equity investment transactions, and debt financings. Aaron also advises fund managers with respect to the formation and operation of private investment funds. Emily Schilling Salt Lake City, Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources: Emily Schilling has more than a decade of environmental law experience focused on air quality. She represents clients in air quality permitting, compliance, and enforcement matters before state agencies and the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Emily also has extensive experience assisting clients with strategies to prepare and submit comments in state rulemakings and federal rulemakings under the Clean Air Act, and represents clients in challenges to federal rulemakings in the U.S. Courts of Appeal, including the D.C. Circuit. ### About Holland & Hart Established in 1947, Holland & Hart is a full service, national law firm that today has more than 500 lawyers in 15 offices across the Mountain West and in Washington, D.C. delivering integrated legal solutions to regional, national, and international clients of all sizes. Holland & Harts attorneys have consistently been recognized by leading national and international peer and industry review organizations for innovation and dedication to the practice of law. The firm was ranked No. 16 nationally among 300-plus law firms on BTI Consulting Groups BTI Client Service 30 2016 and for the sixth consecutive year was named to BTI Consulting Group's BTI Most Recommended Law Firms 2016 by corporate counsel. For more information, visit http://www.hollandhart.com. On 13 September 2016, international healthcare technology leader, Lincor Solutions Inc., announced its proposed merger with Hills Health Solutions, a division of Hills Limited of Australia. As of December 31, 2016, the merger agreement between the parties expired due to Hills Limited and Lincor Solutions being unable to agree upon various funding proposals put before them. While we are disappointed an agreement with Hills Limited could not be reached, we are excited the market validated Lincors value as a patient engagement technology leader in todays growing healthcare IT sector. The expiration of this agreement does not impact our market leading commercial relationship with Hills Health Solutions in Australia. stated Chris Cashwell, CEO of Lincor. Lincor will continue its growth strategy by focusing on technology solutions for patients and clinicians in key markets around the globe as recently demonstrated in December with over 1,200 new beds won in the United Kingdom, Texas, and Canada. Mr. Cashwell said, We have great momentum going into 2017 and focusing our resources to deliver the maximum value for hospitals and our shareholders is our number one priority." Lincor Solutions is the global leader in patient engagement solutions and the only provider that brings together improved patient satisfaction with clinical and operations workflow improvements. Lincors technology is helping hospitals and patients around the world from the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi to Cancer Treatment Centers of America and continues to expand its client base in markets around the world. We are excited to align our efforts with those of such a worthy organization, which gives valuable resources to those in the South Jersey region who are fighting this courageous battle. - Michael J. Hennessy, Jr. Cure Media Group, the nations leading digital and print media enterprise focused on cancer patients, cancer centers and advocacy groups, continues its advocacy partnership program by joining with Gildas Club South Jersey (GCSJ), which gives free psychosocial resources to anyone touched by cancer, announced Cure Media Group President Michael J. Hennessy, Jr. In making this announcement Michael J. Hennessy, Jr. said, We are excited to align our efforts with those of such a worthy organization, which gives valuable resources to those in the South Jersey region who are fighting this courageous battle. Gildas Club South Jersey is an affiliate of the Cancer Support Community, which was founded in memory of famed comedian and original Saturday Night Live cast member Gilda Radner. In addition, GCSJ, is the only support group in South Jersey that offers psychosocial services such as educational workshops and social activities for men, women, teens and children, at no cost. Their mission, is to provide every person affected by cancer the information, guidance, laughter and support, all under the supervision of trained mental health professionals. On average, more than 16,000 South Jersey residents are diagnosed with cancer annually, many whom will suffer with some form of mental health issue such as depression or anxiety. Those patients who receive the proper psychosocial support, have an 56% increased quality of life, and a reduced rate of depression, anxiety and feelings of isolation by nearly half, according to GCSJ. Their locations are in Linwood, Egg Harbor Township and Cape May. To learn more about Gildas Club South Jersey click here About CURE Media Group: CURE Media Group is the leading resource for cancer updates, research and education. It combines a full suite of media products, including its industry leading website, CUREtoday.com; innovative video programs, such as CURE Connections; a series of widely attended live events; and CURE magazine, which reaches over 1 million readers. CURE Media Group is part of the Plainsboro, N.J.-based Michael J. Hennessy Associates, Inc., family of businesses, which includes the acclaimed OncLive (http://www.onclive.com) platform of resources for the practicing oncologist. For more information, visit http://www.curetoday.com or http://www.mjhassoc.com. We are proud to have served the building automation industry for the past decade, said Dan McCarty, President and owner of QA Graphics. QA Graphics, a leader in the building automation system (BAS) graphic outsourcing industry, is proud to be celebrating its tenth year of business. Celebrating a decade of innovation and steady growth, the company has had the honor of working with some of the top players in their field. Built on the desire to provide the best graphic services possible for building automation systems, QA Graphics opened its doors ten years ago, in a small office space in Ankeny with just three employees. With more than seventeen staff now, the company remains a leader in the building automation industry. Over the past decade, QA Graphics has grown into a full-service design firm, while building on its strong foundation with building automation design solutions. Providing BAS graphic development services and the award-winning Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard used to educate building occupants and the public about an organizations sustainable initiatives. The companys 3D and UX design capabilities have also allowed it to expand into other markets, and now partner with marketing agencies to provide eye-catching and functional solutions. QA Graphics has received numerous awards over the past decade from various areas of the industry. BOM Magazine Top Product, ED+C Magazine Top Energy Conservation Product, numerous Marcom and ADDY awards, an AHR Expo Innovation award, to name a few, including being ranked NO. 3,472 on the 2013 Inc. 500|5000 by Inc. magazine as one of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The award also ranks QA Graphics as the 13th fastest growing private company in Iowa. We are proud to have served the building automation industry for the past decade, said Dan McCarty, President and owner of QA Graphics. Our dedicated staff and a commitment to continually improve on all our products and services is what drives this continued success. We look forward to enriching relationships with our loyal customer base, and are excited to see what ventures 2017 will bring. QA Graphics would like to thank all its employees, customers, and partners for this continued success. QA Graphics is dedicated to evolving and proactively seeking new solutions to stay on the cutting edge of design trends. In 2017 QA Graphics, will continue to provide comprehensive BAS graphic services including system graphic development, floor plan graphics, 3d design and animation, as well as multimedia, and other custom solutions to meet sales and marketing needs. About QA Graphics - QA Graphics is a leader in the building automation and green building industries. The company specializes in HVAC graphic development services, system graphics, floor plan graphics, and Energy Efficiency Education Dashboards (EEEDs). These dashboards help organizations teach occupants about building performance and sustainability. The company also provides marketing solutions such as interactive applications, 3D design and animation, UX design, videos, and more. Visit http://www.qagraphics.com to learn more. Crescent Harbor Lighting (http://www.crescentharbor.com), which is the online arm of The Lighthouse, is excited to announce that the company has completed six years of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) Business accreditation. Consumers trust is something we pride ourselves in, which is why we have the BBB to hold us accountable for every interaction we have, said Tim Fossett, spokesman for The Lighthouse, a family-owned lighting company founded in 1972. We invite everyone to review our track record as held by the BBB and were sure that our record and accreditation will speak for themselves. Since December 10, 2010, the BBB has determined that Lighthouse Distribution Corporation has an A+ rating and meets BBB accreditation standards, which include a commitment to make a good faith effort to resolve any consumer complaints. The BBB provides reviews on businesses that include background, licensing, consumer experience and other information such as governmental actions that is known to BBB. Fossett credited his companys high rating and six years of accreditation to its commitment to providing excellent customer service. Customer service, according to consumer studies, is the most important factor for trust. The Lighthouse has been in business for 35 years and is in the second generation of ownership. Fossett explained that the company opened Crescent Harbor as a way to share its unique Maine lighting tastes with the rest of the world. We are a family owned business committed to providing our customers with quality lighting at a reasonable price. In addition, we are truly dedicated to growing our business in order to offer quality careers to the good people of Southern Maine, Fossett said. We look forward to helping you light your home. Whether you're looking for an accent light for your living room, lighting a new addition or an entire home we can offer you the fixtures you need. From affordable lighting solutions that look like theyre high-end to handmade lighting fixtures that look like works of art, Crescent Harbor has the product selection you need to decorate your home just the way you want. For more information, please visit crescentharbor.com/about-us and blog.crescentharbor.com About Crescent Harbor Lighting Crescent Harbor Lighting is the online arm of The Lighthouse, a family-owned lighting company founded in 1972. The company specializes in a high-touch customer service approach to retailing lighting fixtures, ceiling fans and other related items. Contact Details: Tim Fossett President 88 York Street US Route One Kennebunk, Maine, 04043 Toll Free Phone: 1-888-355-9525 Local Phone: 1-207-985-3535 Fax: 1-207-985-4569 Source: Crescent Harbor Lighting Penn Community Banks first annual Feed-A-Neighbor Food Drive was a great success, raising substantial donations to provide to Bucks County food pantries. More than 1,000 non-perishable food items were collected during the food drive, which solicited donations at each of the banks 22 branches in Lower, Central and Upper Bucks. While Bucks County may be thought of as an affluent area, one in 10 county residents and 16 percent of all children in Bucks County are considered food insecure. That makes supporting the areas food pantries even more important. Many Bucks County families arent sure where their next meal is coming from, explained Todd Hurley, Chief Relationship Officer of Penn Community Bank. It was important to us to help these families, especially during the holiday season. Food was distributed to The Lords Pantry in Ottsville, the YWCA in Warminster, Bristol Borough Community Action Group in Bristol and Redeemer Lutheran Church in Penndel. Donating to food pantries in each part of the county demonstrates Penn Community Banks continued commitment to giving back to organizations throughout the entire Bucks County area. The Lords Pantry is a food collection organized through St. John the Baptist Parish. Learn more on its website. Part of the greater Bucks County network, the YWCA in Warminster serves women, girls and families in Bucks County by providing educational programming, meals, and more. Learn more on its website. The Bristol Borough Community Action group is a nonprofit organization that has served daily meals in the Bristol area in Lower Bucks County for 40 years. Learn more on its website. Redeemer Lutheran Church offers a food pantry to the local community and church members and provides a free meal to those in need once a month. Learn more on its website. About Penn Community Bank Penn Community Bank holds more than $1.8 billion in assets and employs more than 300 people at 22 bank branches and two administrative centers throughout Bucks County, Pennsylvania. As an independent, mutual financial institution, Penn Community Bank is not publicly traded and operates with its long-term mission in mind: to help businesses grow and prosper, to support individuals and families throughout their lifetimes, to strengthen the local economy, and to partner with local organizations to act as a catalyst for positive growth in every market it serves. # # # "Clinical research has demonstrated that whitening gel in typical trays is strongly active for about a half hour, but specially designed trays holding KoR Whitening gels seal both saliva and sulcular fluid out," said Dr. Erika Hallock, practice co-owner. Hallock Family Dental announces the addition of the KoR teeth whitening system to its range of dental services. Unlike other teeth whitening processes, KoR delivers highly predictable results from its proprietary hydremide peroxide gel formulation and delivery system. Quality teeth whitening has been disappointing for many because acceptable results can be difficult to achieve and maintain. Everything from conventional whitening gels to bleaching lights or lasers have been tried. Consistency remains a shortcoming. Some whitening systems work well on certain patients with less desirable results for others. The KoR system has been shown to offer highly predictable results that are exceptional and long lasting. "Clinical research has demonstrated that whitening gel in typical trays is strongly active for about a half hour," said Dr. Erika Hallock DDS, practice co-owner. "This is because most gels are quickly contaminated by saliva once applied to teeth. But specially designed trays holding KoR Whitening gels seal both saliva and sulcular fluid out," she said. The doctor added that KoR hydremide peroxide gel is continuously refrigerated from its sterile manufacturing site to the moment it's applied to teeth, letting it provide six to 10 hours of active whitening versus the usual 30 minutes. The result is a greater removal of debris between enamel rods than competitive processes, as well as enamel rejuvenation. Hallock Family Dental is owned by Drs. Erika and Michael Hallock, offering quality dentistry at reasonable pricing. An example is its $99 teeth exam, cleaning and X-ray service to uninsured patients requiring a thorough cleaning. Two locations are serving North Texas. One at 1608 E. Main St, Ste. 200, Allen, TX 75002, and the other located at 7210 Virginia Pkwy., Ste. 110, McKinney 75071. Phone the Allen office at (972) 390-7200 or McKinney at (972) 547-1775. Visit their website at http://www.hallockfamilydental.com Opened in 2010, Hallock Family Dental serves North Texas from two locations in Allen and McKinney. As local family practitioners, they accept all patients from young children through the elderly providing reasonably priced dental examinations and procedures including restorative fillings, root canal therapy, crowns and implants, veneers and teeth whitening. Emergency services are accommodated with special financing available to the uninsured. Most dental insurance is accepted. Free MotherToBaby App With the MotherToBaby app, providers will now have this information quite literally at their fingertips. What if you could find out the potential effects of a medication during pregnancy by asking a real-life expert instead of unreliable Dr. Google? Now you can. In fact, theres an app for that, according to MotherToBaby, a service of the international non-profit Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS). As Januarys Birth Defects Prevention Month kicks off, MotherToBaby has launched a free, one-of-a-kind app to bring the most accurate, evidence-based information to pregnant and breastfeeding women. Information and research about the risks of medications, vaccines, chemicals or diseases during a womans pregnancy are constantly changing and can be confusing, or misrepresented in regular internet searches, said Stephen Braddock, MD, MotherToBaby President who serves as the Director of Medical Genetics at Saint Louis University. Thats where our new app comes in to help. The MotherToBaby app is available on the Android and iOS markets and features the non-profits renowned up-to-date library of fact sheets on more than 100 exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Perhaps, its most unique feature is the apps ability to link the public directly through live chat, email, text and phone with a teratogen information expert (someone who specializes in providing personalized information about the risks of birth defects) so a user can get answers to questions in real-time without ever leaving the app. Jennifer Zellner, PhD, who is based at UC San Diego and directed the development of the app, hopes this innovative service will fit a need within the health care professional community too, especially when it becomes overloaded during emergency situations such as the Flint, Michigan water crisis and the Zika virus outbreak. We recognize that health care providers have limited time in a managed care setting to research the questions they or their patients may have about how a particular exposure may affect a pregnancy, or a breastfeeding infant, said Zellner. With the MotherToBaby app, providers will now have this information quite literally at their fingertips. The app also features a way for a pregnant woman to easily contribute information to the research by sharing her pregnancy. Including information about our MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies program in the app is one more way of reaching women and letting them know about this incredible opportunity to make a difference in the lives of future pregnant women by participating in research, explained Zellner. More About MotherToBaby MotherToBaby is a suggested resource by many agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) Office of Womens Health. More than 100,000 women and their health care providers seek information about birth defects prevention from MotherToBaby every year. MotherToBaby has been able to embark on new outreach efforts to reach underserved populations and launch new communication technologies through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, as well as through the generous donations made by the public. To learn more about MotherToBaby, the ways to contact its network of experts, or how to support its services, please visit http://www.MotherToBaby.org. # # # Media Contact: Nicole Chavez, 619-368-3259, nchavez(at)MotherToBaby(dot)org. Interviews in Spanish can also be arranged. World Patent Ratings Releases Details of Conference Call On Transparency and Intangible Asset Valuations in Biotech "Biotech companies just had their worst year in more than a decade," said Scott Cooper, CEO of the World Patent Family of Companies. "We don't expect the trend to reverse in 2017. Transparency is a huge concern in the reporting of intangible assets..." Past News Releases RSS World Patent Ratings Releases 2017... World Patent Ratings Warns of... World Patent Ratings Forecasts... World Patent Ratings, a specialized rating agency and expert network focused on intangible asset valuation, has issued the details of conference call focused on intangible asset valuations in biotech. World Patent Ratings has been a pioneer in calling attention to the irrational valuation of intangible assets held on corporate balance sheets around the world. Through the worlds largest repository of intangible asset data, the company has been able to bring standardization and objective measure to an outdated financial reporting system. The company's Board includes notable figures such as Ambassador Dell Dailey, Former Navy Vice Admiral Al Konetzni, former US Attorney Matthew Whitaker, General Nitzan Nuriel of the Israel Defense Forces, Dr. Aileen Marty, and Scott Cooper, CEO of the World Patent Family of Companies and Director of The Cooper Idea Foundation. World Patent Ratings Membership can be achieved through four different levels of affiliation including: Member, Premier Member, Trusted Partner and Accredited Partner Status. World Patent Ratings provides research reports, offers continuing professional education, and consulting services surrounding the financial reporting of intangible assets. The World Patent Rating online seal enhances marketplace trust and confidence in financial reporting. It displays a companys commitment to transparency and integrity in the valuation of intangible assets. "Biotech companies just had their worst year in more than a decade." said Scott Cooper, CEO of the World Patent Family of Companies, "We don't expect the trend to reverse in 2017. Transparency is a huge concern in the reporting of intangible assets in this volatile sector." World Patent Ratings utilizes the planets largest specialized repository of open source intangible asset and patent data. The company's team of data scientists has used code from over hundreds of worldwide open data sources, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Google, Yahoo, The New York Times, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Amazon, Facebook, the US Census Bureau, the European Union, Pew Research Center, and the National Climactic Data Center. World Patent Ratings has initiated coverage on 100 Biotech Companies listed below: Amgen Inc, Gilead Sciences Inc, AbbVie Inc, Celgene Corp, Biogen Inc, Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc, United Therapeutics Corp, Juno Therapeutics Inc, Fortress Biotech Inc, Xencor Inc, aTyr Pharma Inc, Audentes Therapeutics Inc, Genomic Health Inc, Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Inc, Corvus Pharmaceuticals Inc, Genocea Biosciences Inc, Bellicum Pharmaceuticals Inc, XBiotech Inc, Mirna Therapeutics Inc, Recro Pharma Inc, Cleveland Biolabs Inc, Cancer Genetics Inc, Ra Pharmaceuticals Inc, ADMA Biologics Inc, Bioptix Inc, Brainstorm Cell Therapuetics Inc, PharmAthene Inc, Cellular Biomedicine Group Inc, Vericel Corp, Cytori Therapeutics Inc, Viking Therapeutics Inc, Proteostasis Therapeutics Inc, Capricor Therapeutics Inc, Opexa Therapeutics Inc, OHR Pharmaceutical Inc, VBI Vaccines Inc, IsoRay Inc, Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc, Neuralstem Inc, Microbot Medical Inc, Protagonist Therapeutics Inc, Enzon Pharmaceuticals Inc, Heat Biologics Inc, Stellar Biotechnologies Inc, Neurotrope Inc, Signal Genetics Inc, Rxi Pharmaceuticals Corp, OncoCyte Corp, CohBar Inc, GlobeImmune Inc, Cellceutix Corp, ImmuCell Corp, AVAX Technologies Inc, Affymax Inc, Anterios Inc, Manhattan Scientifics Inc, Bioqual Inc, CASI Pharmaceuticals Inc, Oragenics Inc, Soligenix Inc, Eiger BioPharmaceuticals Inc, Interleukin Genetics Inc, Aptevo Therapeutics Inc, Immune Pharmaceuticals Inc, Poniard Pharmaceuticals Inc, Orgenesis Inc, MabVax Therapeutics Holdings Inc, Antriabio Inc, Cellectar Biosciences Inc, Unigene Laboratories Inc, Gemphire Therapeutics Inc, Enumeral Biomedical Holdings Inc, Epicore Bionetworks Inc, PhaseRx Inc, Matinas BioPharma Holdings Inc, CEL-SCI Corp, Vaccinogen Inc, Inspyr Therapeutics Inc, MaxCyte Inc, Oncobiologics Inc, Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc, PharmaCyte Biotech Inc, CTD Holdings Inc, Helix BioMedix Inc, Harbor Diversified Inc, AquaBounty Technologies Inc, Myrexis Inc, Islet Sciences Inc, Chemtrak Inc, Resolute Oncology Inc, Geovax Labs Inc, Capstone Therapeutics Corp, Longport Inc, Fennec Pharmaceuticals Inc, Sevion Therapeutics Inc, Marina Biotech Inc, OncBioMune Pharmaceuticals Inc, Accelerated Pharma Inc, AzurRx BioPharma Inc, AV Therapeutics Inc, and International Stem Cell Corp. World Patent Ratings is a specialized rating agency and expert network focused on the standardization and objective measure of intangible assets and the valuation of intellectual property. Our in-depth research of financial practices is intended to uncover truth and meaning in data. We aim to guide policymakers and opinion leaders working to modernize the valuation of corporate assets and bring back confidence and accountability to corporate asset valuation in the global marketplace. In addition, World Patent Ratings, through its expert network offers the following consulting services in the areas of: 1. Patent Valuation 2. Brand Valuation 3. Intellectual Property Litigation Assessment 4. Continuing Professional Education 5. Cyber Security Management 6. Risk Management Compliance 7. Accounting Fraud Prevention Services 8. Emerging Technolgies including Big Data Analytics, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Deep Learning. The company has repeatedly warned about the intangible asset bubble. The extreme volatility and the lack of consensus surrounding the accounting of patents and other intangible assets has created a cloud over the global economy. Our mission is to prevent the continued use of creative accounting and a distortion of reported asset values. We are pioneering an accounting revolution geared towards standardization and transparency. For more information about World Patent Ratings, please visit our website at https://worldpatentratings.com. Contact World Patent Ratings: World Patent Ratings 1680 Meridian Avenue, Suite 600 Miami Beach, Florida 33139 (305) 602-8363 Tel membership(at)worldpatentratings(dot)com World Patent Ratings Issues North American Intangible Asset Valuations On Communications Equipment Sector "The communications equipment manufacturing market is a $27 billion industry. Over the past five years, competition from low cost countries like China and other has been causing the industry to bleed." according to Scott Cooper, CEO of the World Patent. Past News Releases RSS World Patent Ratings Releases 2017... World Patent Ratings Warns of... World Patent Ratings Forecasts... World Patent Ratings, a specialized rating agency and expert network focused on intangible asset valuation, has issued its 2017 intangible asset valuation grades on the North American Communications Equipment sector. World Patent Ratings has been a pioneer in calling attention to the irrational valuation of intangible assets held on corporate balance sheets around the world. Through the worlds largest repository of intangible asset data, the company has been able to bring standardization and objective measure to an outdated financial reporting system. The company's Board includes notable figures such as Ambassador Dell Dailey, Former Navy Vice Admiral Al Konetzni, former US Attorney Matthew Whitaker, General Nitzan Nuriel of the Israel Defense Forces, Dr. Aileen Marty, and Scott Cooper, CEO of the World Patent Family of Companies and Director of The Cooper Idea Foundation. World Patent Ratings Membership can be achieved through four different levels of affiliation including: Member, Premier Member, Trusted Partner and Accredited Partner Status. World Patent Ratings provides research reports, offers continuing professional education, and consulting services surrounding the financial reporting of intangible assets. The World Patent Rating online seal enhances marketplace trust and confidence in financial reporting. It displays a companys commitment to transparency and integrity in the valuation of intangible assets. "The communications equipment manufacturing market is a $27 billion industry. Over the past five years, competition from low cost countries like China and others has been causing the industry to bleed." according to Scott Cooper, CEO of the World Patent Family of Companies, "Creative accounting for intangible asset valuation are at a record high." World Patent Ratings utilizes the planets largest specialized repository of open source intangible asset and patent data. The company's team of data scientists has used code from over hundreds of worldwide open data sources, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Google, Yahoo, The New York Times, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Amazon, Facebook, the US Census Bureau, the European Union, Pew Research Center, and the National Climactic Data Center. World Patent Ratings has initiated coverage on 100 North American Communications Equipment Companies listed below: Vishay Intertechnology Inc Ciena Corp Avnet Inc Viavi Solutions Inc AVX Corp InterDigital Inc Jabil Circuit Inc F5 Networks Inc Arris International PLC Keysight Technologies Inc Data I/O Corp PCM Inc ClearSign Combustion Corp Soyo Group Inc DASAN Zhone Solutions Inc Spectra Systems Corp Wireless Telecom Group Inc eMagin Corp iGO Inc Electro-Sensors Inc Perceptron Inc Badger Meter Inc PAR Technology Corp MicroVision Inc Uni-Pixel Inc RF Industries Ltd Superconductor Technologies Inc CUI Global Inc Research Frontiers Inc Surge Components Inc Interphase Corp Digital Ally Inc Sunrise Telecom Inc Speed Commerce Inc MOCON Inc Coda Octopus Group Inc Lantronix Inc Intellicheck Mobilisa Inc Proxim Wireless Corp Mesa Laboratories Inc Xplore Technologies Corp Andrea Electronics Corp LGL Group Inc Resonant Inc EACO Corp Airgain Inc Crossroads Systems Inc Waxess Holdings Inc Sierra Monitor Corp CLST Holdings Inc ID Systems Inc RELM Wireless Corp ADDvantage Technologies Group Inc Altigen Communications Inc Applied DNA Sciences Inc TransAct Technologies Inc Interlink Electronics Inc SigmaTron International Inc Sono-Tek Corp Qualstar Corp NAPCO Security Technologies Inc Zunicom Inc Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp Taitron Components Inc CPS Technologies Corp ITUS Corp Lifeloc Technologies Inc RMG Networks Holding Corp Hickok Inc Technical Communications Corp LightPath Technologies Inc Orbit/FR Inc Avistar Communications Corp Elxsi Corp Image Sensing Systems Inc InfoSonics Corp Dynasil Corporation of America Mace Security International Inc Wireless Xcessories Group Inc Vicon Industries Inc SED International Holdings Inc American Telecom Services Inc ParkerVision Inc ImageXpres Corp Optical Cable Corp Axesstel Inc Zoom Telephonics Inc Electronic Systems Technology Inc Track Group Inc IEH Corp Xtera Communications Inc India Globalization Capital Inc Hauppauge Digital Inc Fibercore Inc Implant Sciences Corp Giga-tronics Inc eRoomSystem Technologies Inc Clancy Systems International Inc XeTel Corp Key Tronic Corp Schmitt Industries Inc World Patent Ratings is a specialized rating agency and expert network focused on the standardization and objective measure of intangible assets and the valuation of intellectual property. Our in-depth research of financial practices is intended to uncover truth and meaning in data. We aim to guide policymakers and opinion leaders working to modernize the valuation of corporate assets and bring back confidence and accountability to corporate asset valuation in the global marketplace. In addition, World Patent Ratings, through its expert network offers the following consulting services in the areas of: 1. Patent Valuation 2. Brand Valuation 3. Intellectual Property Litigation Assessment 4. Continuing Professional Education 5. Cyber Security Management 6. Risk Management Compliance 7. Accounting Fraud Prevention Services 8. Emerging Technolgies including Big Data Analytics, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Deep Learning. The company has repeatedly warned about the intangible asset bubble. The extreme volatility and the lack of consensus surrounding the accounting of patents and other intangible assets has created a cloud over the global economy. Our mission is to prevent the continued use of creative accounting and a distortion of reported asset values. We are pioneering an accounting revolution geared towards standardization and transparency. For more information about World Patent Ratings, please visit our website at https://worldpatentratings.com. Contact World Patent Ratings: World Patent Ratings 1680 Meridian Avenue, Suite 600 Miami Beach, Florida 33139 (305) 602-8363 Tel membership(at)worldpatentratings(dot)com Blog Archive November (1) October (2) September (2) August (2) July (2) June (3) May (2) April (2) March (3) February (2) January (2) December (3) November (2) October (2) September (2) August (3) July (3) June (3) May (2) April (2) March (3) February (2) January (2) December (2) November (2) October (2) September (3) August (3) July (4) June (4) May (5) April (4) March (4) February (4) January (4) December (4) November (6) October (2) September (3) August (2) July (10) June (3) May (2) April (8) March (5) February (3) January (4) December (4) November (5) October (5) September (4) August (7) June (4) May (4) April (2) March (5) February (2) January (4) December (3) November (4) October (4) September (3) August (4) July (4) June (5) May (3) April (3) March (4) February (5) January (5) December (2) November (3) October (4) September (4) August (4) July (4) June (5) May (4) April (4) March (5) February (4) January (4) December (5) November (4) October (4) September (4) August (4) July (4) June (4) May (3) April (4) March (3) February (4) January (2) December (5) November (5) October (8) September (7) August (7) July (8) June (8) May (5) April (7) March (6) February (2) January (4) December (3) November (7) October (3) September (3) August (4) July (5) June (8) May (7) April (7) March (5) February (6) January (8) December (6) November (5) October (7) September (4) August (7) July (7) June (6) May (8) April (10) March (12) February (3) January (8) December (9) November (7) October (7) September (8) August (9) July (5) June (7) May (4) April (4) March (5) February (8) January (6) December (5) November (5) October (5) September (2) August (2) July (3) June (2) May (5) April (1) March (3) February (4) January (1) December (3) November (3) October (3) September (2) August (2) July (2) June (4) May (4) April (4) March (4) February (4) January (3) December (5) November (5) October (4) Cookies What are cookies ? 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You can delete all cookies that are already on your computer and you can set most browsers to prevent them from being placed.Most browsers allow you to:If you chose to delete cookies, you should be aware that any preferences will be lost. Also, if you block cookies completely many websites (including ours) will not work properly and webcasts will not work at all. For these reasons, we do not recommend turning cookies off when using our webcasting services. A new bookstore opens in North Carolina; a Connecticut bookstore expands with podcasts; one of the countrys smallest bookstores goes on the market; and more. Second Creative Mindz Book Lounge Opens in Farmville: After opening a bookstore cafe to promote self-published authors in Wilson, N.C., writer DuWanda Epps has opened a second store. I want our children to see that there is more to life than our phones, Epps told Reflector.com. Open a book and open your mind. RJ Julia Booksellers Launches Podcast: The Madison, Ct., bookstore, which recently announced that it will expand to Wesleyan and manage a new bookstore for Wesleyan University, launched the Just the Right Book! podcast, a weekly 30-45 minute podcast with CRNs Collisions podcast division. It is available on iTunes and on www.bookpodcast.com and will feature interviews with James Patterson, Jacques Pepin, Carly Simon, and other authors. Tatnuck Honored as #1 Local Bookstore: The Westborough, Mass., bookstore, gift shop, and cafe received two readers choice awards late last year. Both Wicked Local and Baystate Parent magazine commended the store for its extensive selection of discount books and its friendly staff. Mesa Bookstore for Sale: David Karys-Schiff and his wife, Lisa, put their tiny 205 sq. ft. bookstore, which specializes in used paperbacks, on the market for $39,500. If they dont get an offer for the bookstore, the couple will sell the three years remaining on their lease to a hookah shop owner, who has already expressed interest. Obituary: Blue Marble Founder Tina Moore (1941-2016): Pilar (Tina) Moore, who founded and co-owned the Ft. Thomas, Ky., bookstore with her husband, Peter Moore, passed away on December 28. A leading childrens literature expert, she was a founding member and served on the board of directors of the Association of Childrens Booksellers. She received a Silver Gertie Award (1989) for her contributions to literacy and was named one of the Women of the Year in Northern Kentucky (1995). The Moore family requests that donations be made to literacy organizations such as OKI Childrens Literature Conference (www.dearbornhighlandsarts.org) or to your local library. Last Chapter for NYCs Crawford Doyle Booksellers: In a Facebook post the bookstore announced that after 21 years, it is closing. A note in the window states, We are grateful for your loyalty and supportand for the opportunity to have served you in these interesting times. Novels and Novelties (Formerly Fountainhead Books) Closes: After seven years and a name change, Novels and Novelties closed its doors at the end of 2016. Owner Valerie Welbourn wanted to return to her original career and wasnt able to find a buyer for the Hendersonville, N.C., bookstore over the course of the past year. DETROIT Ford is investing $700 million to expand its Flat Rock, Mich., assembly plant and hire 700 new hourly workers to build self-driving and electric vehicles along with the Mustang and Lincoln Continental already produced at the site. The automaker also said it is canceling plans for a new $1.6 billion plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, but confirmed that the next-generation of its Focus compact will be produced at its Hermosillo, Mexico, factory. Ford CEO Mark Fields said the decision to cancel the plant in Mexico was based in part on changing market conditions with sales of small cars declining as well as the pro-business climate the automaker expects under President-elect Donald Trump. We look at all the factors, and our view is we see a more positive U.S. manufacturing business environment under President-elect Trump and the pro-growth policies and proposals that he is talking about, so this is a vote of confidence for President-elect Trump and some of the policies that they may be pursuing, Fields said. Ford was repeatedly under fire from Trump during last years presidential campaign for its decision to move production of small cars to Mexico even though virtually all other automakers are also expanding and building new plants there. Earlier Tuesday, Trump was critical of General Motors for its Mexico production of a version of the Chevrolet Cruze there. Now, Fields said Ford will produce a new, fully electric SUV with a 300-mile range that it will launch in 2020 and a fully autonomous vehicle at the Flat Rock plant. The plans for the two all-new vehicles are part of Fords plans to introduce seven of its 13 new global electrified vehicles in the next five years, including hybrid versions of the iconic F-150 pickup and Mustang in the U.S., a plug-in hybrid Transit Custom van in Europe and a fully electric SUV with an expected range of at least 300 miles for customers globally. We expect a big change in the next decade on not only the growing affordability but also the consumer acceptance of electrified vehicles, Fields said. Ford Vice Chairman Bill Ford called Trump Tuesday morning to inform the president-elect of the decision and Fields called incoming Vice President Mike Pence. They were very pleased that we are investing here in the United States, Fields said. The moves are part of a $4.5 billion investment in electrified vehicles by 2020, part of Fords expansion to be an auto and a mobility company. MISSOULA -- Cody Marble starts the new year as a free man. On Tuesday retired District Court Judge Ed McLean issued an order overturning Marble's conviction in a 2002 rape case involving a 13-year-old boy who was in juvenile detention with Marble in Missoula. Marble said his attorney, Colin Stephens, called him Tuesday morning, but he didnt pick up the phone. Then he heard Stephens on the line with his father Jerry, who has spent the years since Marbles conviction working to prove his son is innocent. I heard him telling my dad, 'Its over, we won,' Marble said. Im just speechless. I dont think Ive seen him that relieved in 15 years. In his order, McLean wrote that the testimony provided at a Dec. 12 evidence hearing "undermines the confidence the Court has in Mr. Marble's criminal conviction" and ordered it vacated, setting the stage for a new trial. Stephens, who for the last eight years has worked as Marble's attorney in his quest to have his conviction overturned, said he thinks it's unlikely the case will go to trial, given the county attorney's view of the allegations. Missoula County Attorney Kirsten Pabst "has always been on board with putting an end to this," Stephens said. Deputy County Attorney Matt Jennings confirmed Tuesday that prosecutors have filed a motion asking for the charge against Marble to be dismissed. They expect the request to be granted within the next few days, removing the need for another trial. Marble, now 32, has maintained his innocence since being charged. In August 2015 the Montana Supreme Court sent his case back to Missoula County District Court, asking it to re-examine a decision to deny Marble a new trial, instructing the lower court to use a broader interpretation of how new evidence that has come out since his conviction should be viewed. After the case was remanded, Pabst reviewed it and last spring filed a motion asking for the conviction to be dismissed, saying it "lacked integrity." The county attorney cited a recantation by Marble's since-deceased accuser, as well as testimony from others as casting doubt that the alleged rape ever occurred. Former county attorney Fred Van Valkenburg, who was in office during Marbles conviction, objected to Pabsts motion, and was eventually invited by McLean to act as an adviser to the court while the judge considered the matter. Marble has been living in Conrad since McLean released him from custody in April, pending the ruling in the case. He said Tuesday that after he and his dad celebrated the news, he left the house for a bit and took a drive. I went out and got some coffee. I just wanted to clear my head. Finally, after all this, its over, he said. Now free of any probation restrictions from the case, Marble said he wanted thank his attorney and the Montana Innocence Project, which has likewise championed his case, for years of fighting in court for him. Im hoping to be able to go back to school, stay away from drugs and make my life worth the work they put in on my behalf, he said. He also thanked Missoula County Attorney Pabst for conducting a thorough review of his case when it was sent back down by the high court. Im not sure this would be happening without her. Thank God for Kirsten, he said. Jennings, the deputy county attorney, acknowledged that while a push to overturn a conviction and exonerate someone was an interesting and unusual position for their office to take, it fell under their responsibility as prosecutors. Our obligation goes beyond fighting for convictions and putting people in custody but fighting for justice, and in this case justice demanded that Cody Marbles conviction be overturned, he said. Four people were arrested Wednesday in Davenport in connection with a heroin investigation. Amber Marie Hall, 33, of 1445 West 7th St., Davenport, is charged in Scott County District Court with two counts of controlled substance violation, both Class C felonies, according to court documents. Jessica Lynn Reeves, 30, of 221 Washington St., Davenport, is charged with one controlled substance violation, a Class C felony; conspiracy to commit a non-forcible felony, a Class D felony; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor. Amanda Kay Meier, 31, of 916 Ricker Hill Court, Davenport, is charged with conspiracy to commit a non-forcible felony, a Class D felony. Dennis James Cook, 39, of 4114 Santa Fe Trail, Davenport, is charged with conspiracy to commit a non-forcible felony, a Class D felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor. At 10:48 a.m., the Scott County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at Ms. Reeves' residence based on a heroin distribution investigation, according to a police affidavit. Ms. Reeves, Mr. Cook and Ms. Meier admitted the three drove to Ms. Hall's residence to purchase $80 worth of heroin then traveled to Ms. Reeves' residence and used heroin. A search of the residence yielded heroin paraphernalia, such as a used cotton filter and syringes, according to the affidavit. A search of Ms. Meier's phone showed "numerous" messages about heroin. Officers photographed needle marks on her arm. Ms. Reeves called herself a "middleman" and admitted to purchasing heroin from Ms. Hall "hundreds of times." At the time of the arrests, Mr. Cook had a valid arrest warrant for charges of first-degree theft and conspiracy earlier this month. Later that afternoon, officers executed a search warrant at Ms. Hall's residence. Prior to the search two males were seen exiting the residence separately. Ms. Hall was found with money and heroin hidden in her bra. She admitted to officers she had sold heroin to Ms. Reeves, Mr. Cook and Ms. Meier that morning and to the two males who left her residence, according to the affidavit. Ms. Hall said she was selling heroin to support her own heroin use. She is on probation with the Iowa Department of Corrections from a prior drug conviction. As of Friday afternoon, the four were being held in Scott County Jail awaiting preliminary hearings. As is often the case throughout history, Illinois was in a state of transition in the 1990s. Population and economic shifts redefined the population, though the surprisingly calm political scene did not foreshadow the struggles to come. As Illinois developed over the last two centuries, the geographical population center steadily moved northward. In 1830, the center, not unexpectedly, was near Vandalia, the former capital. A decade later, it was located east of Springfield. From there, the center slid northeasterly toward Chicago, settling in Grundy County from 1960 to 2000. The Chicago suburbs were among the fastest-growing residential areas of the state. Between 1980 and 2000, the percentage of Illinois population in the surrounding counties of the Windy City rose from 62 percent to 65 percent. The fast-growing suburbs included DuPage County, which saw a 37 percent jump in those two decades, and Lake County, which spiked 52 percent. Meanwhile, the population of Chicago itself stagnated. From 1945 to 1990, the city experienced a population drop of 800,000, dropping from the fourth-largest city on the globe to the thirty-seventh. In the 1980s, Los Angeles passed Chicago as the second-biggest city in the nation, though Chicago reversed course and added over 112,000 residents in the 1990s. That trend, however, was short-lived, as the population dropped by over 173,000 between 2000 and 2014. Statewide, the population became more diverse. From 1970 to 2000, the white population of Illinois dipped by over 1 million, while in the 1990s, the Latino population rose by 69 percent and the Asian population increased by 50 percent. The influx of immigrants stabilized the population decline in Chicago, but Latinos and Asians were not the only ethnic groups making a difference. Examples include the 150,000 Arabs in Chicagoland, the third-highest total in the nation, and the prevalence of people of Polish descent in Harwood Heights in western Cook County. Meanwhile, downstate Illinois suffered. The population of rural Illinois and its small towns dropped by 6 percent in the 1980s, with 70 of the 74 non-metro counties experiencing dips. Rural areas also were hammered by a decline in farm acreage, which fell by 100,000 acres annually in the 1970s and at an average rate of 4.4 acres an hour between 1981 and 1996. Manufacturing jobs with high-paying salaries also fell in the era, particularly in blue-collar cities like Decatur. Elsewhere, southern Illinois remained one of the economically poorest areas of the state. As municipalities scrambled to replace revenue sources, creative methods to make money sprang up. Some areas tied their future to tourism, focusing on historic sites, shopping and parks, while other cities, particularly those located on waterways, competed for riverboat casinos and other gambling venues. Still, the states economy surged on the whole as the 1990s progressed, aided by political stability. In 1990, former Secretary of State Jim Edgar was narrowly elected governor, and fiscal discipline became a hallmark of his tenure. Described by one writer as a moderate with a modest approach to governing, Edgar cut spending, emphasized smaller government and boosted funding for education. His resulting popularity helped him win re-election in 1994 by more than 914,000 votes, the second-largest margin in state history. Other Illinois political sectors celebrated groundbreaking achievements in the 1990s. Carol Moseley-Braun became the first African-American woman to win election to the U.S. Senate in 1992, while two years later, Judy Barr Topinka was the first woman to be elected state treasurer. Topinka, who served 12 years in that office, won election as comptroller in 2010, becoming the first female to hold two different statewide elected offices. Corrine Wood became the states first female lieutenant governor in 1999. That same year, Jesse White took office as the first African-American secretary of state in Illinois history. It was the first of five straight terms for White, the longest-serving secretary in state history. The optimism of the 1990s, however, could not prevent the unprecedented political and financial scandals after the millennium that rocked both the statewide and national reputation of Illinois. The Rockford Register Star reports that the Winnebago County Coroner's Office pronounced 34-year-old Joshua Jamerson dead at 5:35 a.m. Sunday at the side of the Cliffbreakers Riverside Hotel and Conference Center where he was found. Three others were shot and injured in the same incident. Police said one victim was critically wounded and two others suffered non-life threatening injuries. OK, so "dancing" may be a misnomer here, but it got your attention. So, youve been to a number of public events (hopefully) where you could look through club telescopes and see cool views of the moon, Saturn, Jupiter, double stars, star clusters, maybe a fuzzy galaxy or two, and that orange-red star that is actually Mars. Still, youre not quite ready to buy a telescope, and that is GREAT news. Why? There are a lot of great opportunities for you to see even more, and more importantly learn a bit about what it takes to do the type of astronomy that you want to do. Public events are fun and easy to get to, but youll notice that most of the amateur astronomers there are directing traffic, and not doing the majority of viewing. Hmmmm what do they know that Joe Public doesnt? Well, mainly, that the darker the skies, the better you can see objects not just a little better, but generally a lot better except for the moon, which astronomers, unless that is the object of study, tend to avoid. Darker skies allow for better viewing because multitudes of other objects become visible. So, youre thinking, lets have public nights during the new moon (when it cant be seen). Well, hold onto your scope Galileo, it takes a bit more than that. Light pollution from cities and smoke from factory chimney stacks are also a huge hindrance. So now what? Well, head west young man (or person to be more politically correct) almost literally as Ill get to later. In this case we can call west any place out of town. Maybe not just any place, but how about the astronomy clubs observatory? Ask members when they are going out to their site to do their viewing and astrophotography; theyll be more than happy to work something out with you, maybe even a private showing. I think youll get more out of it if there are a number of members at the site doing various things so that you can get a better idea as to what can be done and what you need to do it. Do you want to know why I said to go west? Well, the West gives us more stable skies and more stable weather, but Im talking pretty far west, like Texas, Oklahoma or Nebraska. Not crazy about the West? Well, Florida can do pretty well, too. OK, I had a reason for mentioning those states and ending in this manner. The next step in learning, and one most non-amateur astronomers dont take, is partaking in an official "star party." These events can have hundreds of amateurs in attendance with their gear, some valued in excess of $100,000. Also, vendors are generally in attendance at the larger events, and they offer show specials. But I digress ... the reason attending a star party is a good thing to do is that, for a marginal registration fee, you can see hundreds of different telescopes, view through them, talk to the owners about the pros and cons, and see incredible objects all in a vacation-like setting! So, the locations I mentioned? Google the Florida Winter Star Party (Feb. 20 through Feb. 26), the Texas Star Party (May 21 through May 28), the Nebraska Star Party (July 23 through 28), and/or the Okie-Tex Star Party ( Sept. 16 through Sept. 24). Visiting these sites, to name a few, will have you dancing with the stars! Visit the Popular Astronomys web site at PopularAstronomyClub.org for dates and times of club meetings held at Augustana College and public nights held at Niabi Zoo. The public is always welcome at all events. EAST MOLINE The main sticking points in the six-month-long contract negotiations between the East Moline school district and the East Moline Education Association appear to be raises in the salary schedule and length of the contract. In the absence of a contract, union employees have been working under the terms of the contract that expired June 30. There have been 10 bargaining sessions, including three with a federal mediator. Despite progress, school board members say they have already given raises to employees covered under the previous agreement based on longevity steps and lane advancement totaling $412,981 an average of 3.6 percent. According to the district's website, a longevity step reflects a teacher's additional year of experience, and "educational lanes" bring raises to teachers based on further education. The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board requires the school district to post the last best offers from both sides on its website, emsd37.org. Outlined below are proposals from both sides. Length of contract The district and EMEA originally discussed a four-year agreement, but the EMEA amended its proposal to cover just one year. Superintendent Kristin Humphries said a one-year agreement hampers the district's ability to plan ahead because they do not know how much general state aid they will receive from the state each year until August. Mr. Humphries said the district's four-year proposal offers double-step advancement in the fourth year of the agreement. "We can afford a bigger raise then," he said. "The fourth year would provide up to an 8 percent raise for all teachers on the salary schedule." If a one-year agreement is reached, both sides will have to begin negotiations again in April for the following school year. "We would like a four-year agreement, but we'll go to a one-year if we can get something done," Mr. Humphries said. "With a one-year agreement, the district cannot do any future planning and must look at cuts to protect the district in the absence of a long-term collective bargaining agreement." Salary schedule The district's offer states the EMEA bargained away its longevity step two contracts ago. The district is now offering a longevity step and lane advancement to all EMEA employees, as well as a 2 percent raise to teachers off the salary schedule. EMEA representatives are asking for step and lane advancement for all EMEA employees, a 2.5 percent increase to the base salary schedule, plus an additional 2.5 percent increase for those teachers off the salary schedule. The EMEA also is requesting a $2 an hour increase for hourly employees. Teacher Retirement System The school board is not offering any contribution toward TRS but would like employees with more than 25 years of service to notify the district when they wish to retire. Under this option, the district will award that employee a raise in their last year of service based on how many years in advance the employee notified the district of their plan to retire. The district wants to avoid paying penalties to the state on employees who retired after receiving a salary increase of 6 percent or more in their last four years of work. Health and life insurance The EMEA is asking for a salary protection plan of $25 per month for employees who choose not to participate in the present medical insurance plan. They also request $25,000 term-life coverage on all employees. The district has not offered anything at this time but states it is willing to discuss both options further with the EMEA. Tentative agreements The board of education and EMEA have tentatively agreed to two items; bereavement leave and attendance at meetings. Both parties agree each employee shall be entitled to a maximum of five days bereavement leave per occurrence for a death in the immediate family and two days per school year for a death outside the family. Attendance at meetings includes the agreement that licensed staff may be required to attend one open house or backpack night, and either one PTA activity or one school-sponsored activity per school year. No date has been set at this time for the next bargaining session. Secretary of State Kerrys Dec. 28 speech on Israeli settlements on the West Bank was late in coming but did lay out the unequivocal facts of the situation. Continued settlement activity has rendered the West Bank an apartheid state for the Palestinians. There is no chance of developing a viable state when Israel controls the flow of trade and the tax apparatus. The Palestinian areas are not contiguous, the Palestinians are subject to collective punishment, illegal land confiscation, continual harassment by the IDF/settlers, and strict limits on electricity and water reduces most of the Palestinian population to near subsistent levels. Benjamin Netanyahu has demonstrated his ideology in regards to the Palestinians since at least 1993 when he published his book A Place among the Nations: Israel and the World a Revisionist Zionism screed inspired by the philosophy of Zeev Jabotinsky. In this book Netanyahu rejects the idea of compromise with the Palestinians and brought this ideology into practice by suspending the Oslo Accords when he became prime minister in 1996. For an alternate view in opposition to the Israeli propaganda, Id suggest looking at the website IfAmericansKnew.org. While I agree that the U.S. cannot dictate the terms of a peace settlement, we should not aid and abet the ongoing illegal and immoral activities of the Israeli government by continuing to give Israel an aid package which is the largest of any nation in the world. Curt Morehead, Milan While many Illinois businesses continue to struggle, a recently released report shows the lawsuit industry is alive and well in Illinois. The annual Judicial Hellholes report from the American Tort Reform Foundation has named Cook, Madison and St. Clair Counties among the Top Ten Worst Judicial Hellholes in the country and named McLean County to the Judicial Hellholes Watch List. The report defines a judicial hellhole as a place where judges systematically apply laws and court procedures in an unfair and unbalanced manner. For far too long, Illinois has been exporting jobs and opportunities and importing lawsuits from all over the country. Lawsuit tourists have made Illinois a destination of choice as they come here hoping to strike it rich playing our states plaintiff-friendly lawsuit lottery. Greedy personal injury lawyers have turned the Land of Lincoln into the Land of Lawsuits, and that is hurting job creation efforts throughout Illinois. The answer to the problems in Illinois is lawsuit reform. Gov. Bruce Rauner has proposed meaningful lawsuit reform legislation but the legislative leaders continue to block these reform efforts. We need to create jobs in Illinois, not more lawsuits, and Gov. Rauners reasonable, common sense lawsuit reforms will create jobs and unclog our courts, which will speed the legal process for those with legitimate claims. By standing up to the personal injury lawyers and passing common sense lawsuit reforms, legislators will restore fairness to Illinois courts, stop lawsuit abuse, create jobs, and put money back in consumers pockets. Travis Akin, executive director, Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch Montana's fish and wildlife agency is appealing a ruling that it violated the state's ethics laws by allowing equipment it owns to be used to advocate against a ballot initiative. In November, Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl fined Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks $1,500 after finding the Montana Trappers Association used an FWP trailer and state-owned displays of furbearing animals to oppose the 2014 anti-trapping initiative. The measure never made it on the ballot, but was revived in 2016 and rejected by Montana voters. FWP appealed the ethics law decision to a state judge in a petition filed on Dec. 22. In it, agency attorney Zach Zipfel says Motl overstepped his authority and that the commissioner's ruling imposes requirements on public employees that don't exist in the state's ethics code. "It is not the role of the (commissioner) to impose additional duties on state agencies that the Legislature chose not to impose," Zipfel wrote. The agency is asking the judge to strike down Motl's ruling and to dismiss the original ethics complaint filed by Trap Free Montana Public Lands. FWP spokesman Ron Aasheim declined to comment on the petition. KC York of Trap Free Montana Public Lands said in a statement Tuesday that the advocacy organization is disappointed that FWP is devoting its time and resources to appealing Motl's decision instead of correcting its own actions. "As a state agency, it is required to adhere to laws enacted to curtail political corruption to ensure that the agency works in the interests of the public trust and that it does not improperly influence the democratic process," York said in the statement. Montana's ethics code says a public officer or employee may not use public time, facility, equipment, supplies, personnel or funds to solicit support for or against a candidate, political committee or ballot issue. Hearing officer Jamie McNaughton, who is a staff attorney for the commissioner of political practices, found FWP violated that code three times when the trappers association used the trailer and animal displays at three events in western Montana in May and June of 2014. At those events, the trappers' association had signs opposing Trap Free Montana Public Lands' ballot initiative to ban trapping on the state's public lands. McNaughton's proposed order, which Motl signed, says FWP staff knew or should have known the equipment could have been used for advocacy and that FWP should have taken steps to prevent that from happening. Zipfel said that conclusion goes beyond the language in the state's ethics laws, as does Motl and McNaughton's requirement that state agencies have contractual agreements with anybody who uses state equipment. The case is pending in Helena district court. TP Ferro, which is owned by construction firms ACS and Eiffage, entered into receivership in late 2015 after declaring a total debt of 560m with creditors, including several distressed securities funds, and after registering less than a third of the traffic projections calculated by the company in 2003, when the 50-year concession was awarded. A Girona court decided in September 2016 to liquidate TP Ferro, and in order to avoid a final failure of the undertaking and the interruption of cross-border traffic, both countries have now stepped in to continue daily operations on the corridor. The build-operate concessionaire was also denied any compensation by both governments. According to a new convention signed by governments in Paris and Madrid, the mixed traffic, high-speed line is now operated by Linea Figueras Perpignan, an SNCF Network-Adif joint venture formed last October under Spanish law. The company is based at the Spanish infrastructure manager's headquarters and is headed by Mr Miguel Miaja Fol, Adifs current general financial and corporate director. The new company is responsible for all operation and maintenance activities previously carried out by TP Ferro and has absorbed the concessionaires staff of nearly 90 people. As a result of this, high-speed and freight operations on the line were largely unaffected during the Christmas period. Mr Alain Vidalies, Frances transport secretary, says the concessionaire was repeatedly reminded that it was responsible for all risks relating to the project which were transferred to it by the concession contract, according to the French and Spanish law. It was up to the shareholders and creditors of TP Ferro to reach a restructuring agreement to allow the concessionaire to continue its activity, Vidalies says. The new contract will have an initial duration of four years and French and Spanish governments have allocated a total of 11.7m for the joint company, of which 1.7m will cover the transfer of operations, while the company will receive a maximum 2.5m annual appropriation. The 44.3km Figueres - Perpignan line is the only standard gauge link between France and Spain and was opened in December 2010 for cross-border rail freight traffic. Barcelona - Paris and Madrid - Marseille high-speed passenger services began in early 2013. The failed concessionaire is now expected to press ahead with efforts to secure compensation from France and Spain before an international arbitration court claiming that both governments failed to construct the necessary infrastructure to effectively develop a high-speed rail network connecting France and Spain. In addition to Hefei, which opened its first metro line on December 26, in Kunming operations began on a 4.7km extension of Line 1 from Chunrong Street to Kuning South Railway Station on the same day, while in Chongqing in western China, the city celebrated the opening of an extension of its Line 3 monorail from Bijin - Jurenba on December 28. Also on December 28, Wuhan began operations on a 19.7km extension of Line 2 from Jinyintan north to Tianhe International Airport, adding six new stations to the citys steadily expanding network. A further 15 stations were also added to Nanning Line 1 with a 20.9km western extension of the east-west line from previous terminus Nanhu to Shibu, which takes the total length of the line to 32.1km. In the south of the country, a 17.3km extension of Guangzhou Line 6 also opened on December 28, taking the total length of this line to 41.9km. A 6.7km extension of the Guangzhou-Foshan Gunagfo Line from Kuiqi Lu to Xinchengdong carried its first passengers on the same day. On December 31 Tianjin opened the second phase of Line 6, the Changhong Gongyuan - South Sunzhuang stretch, an extension of the initial Changhong Gongyuan - Nancuiping section which opened in August 2016. The line is now 26km long with 24 stations and is planned to eventually reach 50.1km with 38 stations, linking Xinwaihuandonglu in the northeast with Xianshuigu in the southeast. Finally, in Beijing, the first trains began operating on the new 19.6km Line 16 on December 31. Running from Beianhe to Xiyuan with nine stations, the latest addition to the worlds second largest metro network takes its total length to 552km. For detailed data on hundreds of new-build rail projects around the globe, subscribe to IRJ Pro. The line adds three stations to the New York City Transit Authority (MTA) metro network with revenue service beginning at 12.00 on January 1. Trains are operating at six minute intervals during peak hours and are running from 06.00 to 22.00 during the first week of operations with overnight services beginning on January 9. The line is expected to carry 200,000 passengers per day and ease congestion on the Lexington Avenue Line by 23,500 riders on an average week day. The inaugural train departed the new 96th Street station carrying dignitaries, including New York governor Mr Andrew Cuomo and MTA chairman and CEO Mr Thomas Prendergast, and workers from the project which began in 2007. The Second Avenue Subway is the most significant addition to our system in 50 years and will significantly reduce crowding on the Lexington Avenue line which currently serves more riders than the Chicago, Washington, DC, and Boston transit systems combined, Prendergast says. The $US 4.5bn project is the first phase in a four-phase development. It involved construction of a new tunnel from Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street to 96th Street and Second Avenue as well as new entrances to the existing Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street station and new stations along Second Avenue at 72nd, 86th and 96th streets. MTA is currently planning the second phase of the project, which will extend services to 125th Street in Harlem, although funding is yet to be secured for this project and further extensions to Hanover Square in Lower Manhattan. Following the opening of the line, Prendergast announced on January 2 that he will retire from MTA in the next few months. He has worked with the authority for the past 25 years and was appointed chairman and CEO by Cuomo in 2013. For detailed data on hundreds of new-build rail projects around the globe, subscribe to IRJ Pro. New Years Day, 2017: Nearly 88 years after the first bond issue was floated to finance construction of a subway under Second Avenue on New York Citys East Side, the first MTA New York City Transit Q Trains began rolling between 63rd and 96th Streets on the Second Avenue Subway. Thousands attended the inauguration of service. The nearly-two-mile, $4.4 billion Phase 1 segment adds new stations along Second Avenue at 96th, 86th and 72nd streets and a new connection to the Lexington Avenue Line (4-5-6 Trains) at 63rd Street. The Q Train now operates between Coney Island in Brooklyn and 96th Street. Phase 2, estimated to cost $1.5 billion, will extend the line up to 125th Street. The first revenue train left 96th Street Station at noon on Jan. 1 after a speech by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who pushed to meet a New Years Day deadline for the long-delayed project. I hope when you go down there you really feel how much hard work and time and patience its taken to get to this point, Cuomo said. Its incredible. This is not your grandfathers station. Cuomo and New York MTA Chairman and CEO Tom Prendergast had previously hosted several pre-public-opening press and VIP events, among them a ceremonial opening of the 96th Street Station on Dec. 23, 2016, and a ceremonial operation of a Q Train on Dec. 31, New Years Eve. For Tom Prendergast, inauguration of the Second Avenue Subway is a capstone in a distinguished transit career. Prendergast, Railway Ages 54th Railroader of the Year, has announced his retirement from the agency where he has spent much of his career. Opening the Second Avenue Subway this weekend was a crowning achievement for the MTA, and Im proud to have been a part of such a historic moment, he said. It has not only changed the daily commute for hundreds of thousands of customers, it has helped change the face of the MTAshowing the public we can meet the deadlines we set for ourselves. Im also proud of the work we have done to integrate new technology into all aspects of our system to keep up with the growing needs of our riding public and of the way we recovered and fortified our assets from the devastating damage left behind by Hurricane Sandy. Its never easy to leave an organization after 25 years of service, but I do so knowing that the MTA will continue to serve the public so well and that our governor will ensure New York continues to have the most robust transportation system in the country. Prendergast will retire in early 2017, according to Cuomo. Tom Prendergast has overseen the reimagining and modernization of the MTA and will be remembered for improving the commute, and the lives, of millions of New Yorkers who depend on our mass transit system, he said. Tom has been an incredibly effective chairman and CEO and among the finest public servants I have had the privilege of working with. I thank him for his hard work and dedication to the people of New York and wish him and his family the best. The on-time completion of the Second Avenue Subway would have been impossible without Toms leadership and relentless commitment to meeting the goal, and is an incredible way to end his long and successful career. Prendergast has been in his current role as chairman and CEO since June 2013, but his career with the MTA spans more than a quarter-century, having served as president of New York City Transit and the Long Island Rail Road. Among his noteworthy accomplishments: Prendergast expertly led New Yorks transit network through Superstorm Sandyby far the worst disaster to ever hit the MTA networkand created the plan that would serve as a blueprint for service restoration. Buses were up-and-running seven hours after the storm. Only nine hours after that, buses were running full-schedule. Commuter trains were running less than 24 hours after Sandy hit, and subways were back 36 hours after the storm. The New York Times hailed the rapid restoration of MTA services as a miracle. Following service restoration, he worked tirelessly to fix and fortify the system, overseeing more than $5 billion in repair and resiliency work, including a 40-foot sea wall to protect subway tracks in the Rockaways; rebuilding and fortifying the Montague and Greenpoint tunnels; and custom-designed covers and closures to seal up hundreds of water-access-points at Lower Manhattan subways. Prendergast secured the largest MTA Capital Program in history: $29.5 billion over five years. New York City added more than a billion dollars to its usual commitment, for a total of $2.5 billion. New York State contributed $8.3 billion, the largest-ever investment in MTA infrastructure. The remainder of the funds come from federal sources, MTA bonds, and the MTAs own efficiencies. Under Prendergasts leadership, the MTA has continued the most aggressive cost-cutting in its history, implementing savings programs that have reduced annual operating expenses by $1.3 billion in 2015. The MTA continues to push for cost savings, which is why by 2020, the organization expects to save almost $2 billion every year. Prendergast worked to ensure that safe operations are at the very foundation of every MTA agency. Among his many safety-related initiatives, he created a new executive-level position, Chief Safety Officer, and added a new Safety Committee to the Board to provide focused oversight on safety issues. The MTA will also spend more than $1 billion to fully install Positive Train Control throughout its entire railroad network by the end of 2018. Prendergast has lead the MTA during a period of record ridership, and has taken a number of steps to not only accommodate unprecedented growth, but to prepare for more. Through projects like the Second Avenue Subway, the No. 7 Train Extension, the Fulton Center, East Side Access, and second and third tracks for the Long Island Rail Road, he has overseen or is overseeing the first major expansion of New Yorks transportation network in more than 60 years. The MTA is installing safer, more modern, and higher-capacity signaling and train control systems throughout the subway, including CBTC. The MTA will acquire more than 700 open-gangway high-capacity subway cars. The MTA has been integrating new technology into the its 100-plus-year-old network. This year, the agency introduced MTA e-Tixa new, mobile ticketing app that allows Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North customers to buy train tickets anytime, anywhere. The MTA will install by 2018 a new contactless smartcard fare payment technology across tits entire network. Today, more than 200 A Division (numbered lines) subway stations have Countdown Clocks. This year, the MTA began installing clocks on the B Division (lettered lines), working under an accelerated rollout for the balance of stations. All 279 underground subway stations now have Wi-Fi connectivity, with cell phone service coming early in 2017. NYCT is also beginning work to re-envision, modernize and completely overhaul 31 New York City subway stations. This year, 200 new subway cars will be delivered with USB charging stations, digital video screens, Wi-Fi, outlets, and security cameras. In 2018 an additional 400 subway cars will have these amenities. Going forward, all new subway cars will have them. Prendergast also recruited three of the nations top passenger railroad managersVeronica Ronnie Hakim, Joseph Giulietti, and Patrick Nowakowskito run NYCT, Metro-North, and the LIRR, respectively. Tom Prendergast will receive the Railroader of the Year award at the traditional dinner of the Western Railway Club on March 14 at the Union League Club, Chicago. The MTAs video on the Second Avenue subway is available on YouTube at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAziJqwjjoU&feature=youtu.be News footage of the Second Avenue Subways opening is available at these links: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/01/01/2nd-avenue-subway-line-opens/ http://pix11.com/2017/01/01/new-subway-line-awaited-since-the-1920s-is-set-to-roll/ http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/2nd-ave-subway/2017/01/1/second-avenue-subway-officially-open-for-customers-manhattan-nyc.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiDQSRmM-wg&feature=youtu.be Russia's unprecedented interference in last November's U.S. presidential election is the latest sign of Moscow's determination to challenge the West and force acceptance of Russia as an indispensable great power. President Barack Obama on Thursday announced retaliatory steps that will impede some diplomatic and intelligence activities, but he stopped short of levying more economic sanctions. This was prudent; the West should not seek to contain Russia. Both sides have an interest in maintaining some cooperation, especially in the security realm. A series of limited steps rather than an attempt at a reset grand bargain is more likely to improve Western and Russian security. After the fall of the USSR in 1991, the West's goal was a Europe whole and free. This remains an aspiration, but Russia's military actions in Ukraine and Syria, threatening posture towards the Baltic countries, and violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty alarm the West. These activities are riskier at a time when policy-level U.S. contacts with Russian leaders are few except for the dialogue on Syria and Ukraine, now winding down, between Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. For its part, Russia rebukes the West over Ukraine-related sanctions, alleges that the West seeks regime change in Russia and charges that NATO's shift eastward of some forces threatens Russian security. The Kremlin has unleashed a propaganda war against the West, and employs political influence operations in Europe opposed to the EU and favoring populist, nationalist and anti-immigration positions. It is unclear whether Russian interventions influenced voting last June for Brexit and last month for Donald Trump, but the Kremlin accorded these efforts such priority that President Vladimir Putin personally may have been involved. Intelligence community findings of Russian efforts to interfere in the U.S. election have given rise to bipartisan calls in the U.S. Congress for an investigation. Such an investigation may clarify facts and, especially with public exposure, might lead to a stronger U.S. response. Other voices contend that a summit meeting soon between President-elect Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is the best way to close gaps with Moscow. Western differences with Russia are too numerous and deeply ingrained to be overcome in an early summit. Western differences with Russia, however, are too numerous and deeply ingrained to be overcome in an early summit, especially keeping in mind that Putin's domestic popularity has been solidified by his strident anti-Western policies. Successful summits must be well prepared and not rushed; expectations must be held in check; and any agreements must be carefully vetted. In the past, successful U.S summits with Russian leaders were often ones at which nuclear arms control treaties were signed. Ill-prepared meetings, such as the 1961 Kennedy-Khrushchev encounter in Vienna and the 1986 Gorbachev-Reagan session in Reykjavik, accomplished little. The Kremlin's current hostile policy toward the West, especially America, makes it harder to manage security risks. They are more likely to be reduced through a step-by-step process aimed at restoring dialogue, building confidence and strengthening cooperation. An important step would be to upgrade military-to-military contacts. This would not connote acceptance of Russian aggression, but could avoid misunderstandings and lessen risks of escalation from minor incidents. At the height of the Cold War, accords were reached on incidents at sea and on a hotline to facilitate national-level emergency communications. In October 2015, America and Russia agreed on safety protocols for aircraft and drone flights in Syria, and military liaisons now talk regularly. More collaboration would make sense on ways to counter violent extremism and terrorism. The Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan, and the feared return of Islamic State fighters homeward to the Russian North Caucasus and Central Asia, are quickening interest in Russia about finding ways to detect, intercept and de-radicalize them and prevent link-ups with domestic sleeper cells. De-radicalization is challenging and requires more subtle techniques than killing terrorists. In a third area, lessening risks of nuclear proliferation and terrorism, the West and Russia are cooperating, such as on implementation of the Iran nuclear deal and the removal of high-risk nuclear materials from third countries. Last September Poland became the 31st country to be free of highly enriched uranium. Russia and America are working in the Arctic Council to promote sustainable economic development and environmental protection, although broader geopolitical tensions could weaken cooperation. Transparency about military activities on both sides would benefit from resuming meetings of the Arctic Security Forces Round Table. Search and rescue cooperation should be enhanced as Arctic shipping increases and more scientific exploration takes place due to melting ice. Keeping the Arctic a zone of peace and cooperation ought to be a shared interest. Low-profile steps like these can add to security and help put a floor under Russia's relations with the West. At the same time, sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine, and NATO actions to reassure and protect allies, must continue. For some time, relations with Russia will remain difficult. Reducing security risks will require Western patience, fortitude and diplomatic skill. No quick fix is likely to work, and solidarity with friends and allies, such as on Ukraine, will remain crucial. Denis Corboy is a visiting senior research fellow at King's College London and was European Union ambassador to Armenia and Georgia. William Courtney is an adjunct senior fellow at the RAND Corporation and was U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan and Georgia. Kenneth Yalowitz is Director of the Conflict Resolution Program at Georgetown University and a Global Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson Center, and was U.S. ambassador to Belarus and Georgia. This commentary originally appeared on U.S. News & World Report on December 30, 2016. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis. The crystal ball may be unusually cloudy when it comes to predicting defense technology and acquisition trends for 2017, but the causes of this cloudiness are clear. The change in administration, coupled with the new management structure being imposed by Congress on the Department of Defense's (DoD) acquisition enterprise is creating a shifting and unpredictable landscape. Uncertainty is the main trend, or theme, of 2017. Rather than identify trends in a time of high uncertainty, we can identify a few overarching issues that will set the tone for 2017. These are the realignment of the Office of Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L), the as-yet undefined strategic requirements of the new administration, whether it will institute its own flavor of acquisition reform and whether current efforts aimed at enhancing U.S. technological or other advantages over its adversaries like the Third Offset initiative will continue. As laid out in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2017, Congress is requiring the executive branch to alter how it manages the DoD acquisition enterprise. Currently, a single executive leads the AT&L enterprise, but in the new structure, this will be split up into an under secretary for acquisition and sustainment and an under secretary for research and engineering. There was some churn before the final structure was settled on, but the link established between acquisition and sustainment ensures that sustainment considerations are incorporated during the acquisition process. The Pentagon has until February of 2018 to finalize the change, but planning will need to start well in advance. It may be that the current structure of the assistant secretary of defense for research and engineering is pulled out and stood up as a separate organization, which would be a reasonably simple change, at least as seen on an organizational chart. However, no matter how this is done, new seams will be created that will need to be managed, and the identification of authority over different stages of the acquisition process remains unclear. Congress has imposed different acquisition structures on DoD over the years it is an ever evolving organization and DoD will once again have to figure out how to operate in a new way. The acquisition enterprise has been reorganized many times over the decades, and DoD's culture allows it to evolve and change. During the transitional time, the churn it creates inside the Office of the Secretary of Defense as stakeholders figure out roles and missions could have an impact on organizations working with and supporting the Pentagon. This will likely settle over time, but the next two years are likely to be the most uncertain. That said, the acquisition enterprise has been reorganized many times over the decades, and DoD's culture allows it to evolve and change. As with every new administration, the next administration will need to set its own strategic priorities, which drive the requirements for new systems and in turn guide the acquisition system. It's too early to predict what the next administration's strategic priorities will be, but news reports and the President-elect's own words call for an increase in the size of the military, with public commentary focusing on big weapons systems. For example, during the campaign, the President-elect called for a 350 ship Navy. The Navy's own force structure assessment (released this December) asserted the need for a 355 ship fleet. Both of these numbers represent substantial increases over the current plan for 308, which would have a significant impact across the Navy shipbuilding design, production, and sustainment industrial base. Although an increase in production rate usually drives some efficiencies, the shipyards and the shipbuilding supply chain will need to be primed for a surge, with an increase in the number of trained workers and facilities. Another uncertainty is where the next administration will look for technological advantage, which historically has come from a variety of sources, including big defense contractors. Under Defense Secretary Ash Carter, the Obama administration has looked to nontraditional suppliers for new sources of innovation, including those that can be subsumed under the Third Offset rubric. We don't know whether the Trump administration will continue pursuing innovation from these sources, or even if the idea of a Third Offset will be supported. Under the NDAA, the new under secretary for research and engineering will take on the mission of sourcing innovation. Even if the Third Offset disappears as a concept and the Defense Innovation Unit-Experimental offices are closed, it is safe to assume that the elevation of this role will maintain or even increase focus on the search for the next big thing. Lastly, many newly elected presidents enter office with the message that defense acquisition is broken, as measured by cost growth, schedule slip, and requirements creep. Each administration vows to fix these problems by coming up with ways to improve management while capturing savings and other benefits. These vows often are met with a degree of skepticism among those directly managing acquisition and those engaged in the long-term analysis of acquisition performance. This is rooted in deep experience in how difficult it is to lower costs and increase the speed of acquisition modern weapons are incredibly complex and the acquisition culture is conservative. That said, fresh attempts at improvement are the responsibility of each new management team to ensure that the enterprise is focused on ensuring maximum value for invested resources, that taxpayer funds are spent as wisely as possible and that warfighters get the materiel they need. It is unclear how the next administration will pursue acquisition reform, but the crystal ball always calls for trying to improve. These trends, or challenges, mean that the acquisition community and the many contractors that support the DoD will likely encounter a high level of uncertainty over the next few years. Cynthia R. Cook is director of the Acquisition and Technology Policy Center, part of the RAND National Defense Research Institute, and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. This commentary originally appeared on The Cipher Brief on January 1, 2017. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis. MISSOULA -- Three ski areas in western Montana were unexpectedly forced to close Monday due to extreme cold and wind. Snowbowl outside of Missoula, Discovery Ski Area near Philipsburg and Blacktail Mountain near Lakeside all announced they were shut down for safety reasons, and all three will be closed today, as well. Helena area's Great Divide ski area was closed as well, and will likely not reopen until Friday. The National Weather Services monitoring station at Point 6 near Snowbowl was recording temperatures of around -10 degrees all morning Monday, with sustained winds in the 30 mph range. However, with gusts of up to 56 mph, that meant wind chills of -43 degrees. Its just too cold to be up on the mountain, said Snowbowl owner Brad Morris in a recorded message on the ski hotline. Arla Rosso at Blacktail Mountain said that the managers decided it was a safety issue. These cold temperatures are unsafe for skiers, she said. The frigid blast that hit Missoula on Monday is only expected to get worse today, although winds shouldnt be any higher. We have a forecast of -7 degrees for (early Tuesday morning) in Missoula, said NWS meteorologist Jeff Kitsmiller. We are still forecasting wind, with a windchill of somewhere around -20 degrees. The high on Tuesday should make it up all the way to about 1 degree. Its going to get colder but not necessarily windier. The lowest recorded high temperature for Jan. 3 in Missoula was 3 degrees set in 1959. That night, it got down to -8 degrees. Kitsmiller said the length of time this bone-chilling front is expected to last might be unprecedented for Missoula. The amount of time it will be cold will probably be close to a record, he said. It just hasnt happened in a little while. This time of year, its not uncommon to have highs below zero, but this will be one of the longer stretches of being cold that weve had in a while. Kitsmiller said there is a low-pressure trough of air that is centered over Seattle right now. Because of that low, there is high pressure over on the east side of the (continental) divide, he explained. And all this cold air is rushing through all the mountains and gaps, which is why were getting wind and cold. Kitsmiller said its possible that one of the days towards the end of the week will be even colder than Tuesday. We do see a warmer weather system for the weekend, and it does look like it would probably bring snow, he said. We are still uncertain on the very end of the week. There is still a lot of question about that. We have a few models showing it warming up. Not all ski areas were closed on Monday. Lost Trail Ski Area south of Darby, Lookout Ski Area west of Superior and Whitefish Mountain Resort were all open. After months of negotiations, Argentinas Government has sanctioned a roadmap to enable full convergent services from 1 January 2018. Through a decree published in the countrys official bulletin , the Macri administration has opened a window for Telefonica, Telecom Argentina and Claro to offer cable pay-TV from 2018, when Clarins Cablevision can enter the telecoms market to deliver mobile services. In addition, AT&T will be able to continue to commercialise Internet under the DirecTV brand as well as expanding the service.The decree establishes a legal framework for the market convergence, but the details will be ironed out by the telecom authority, Enacom, within the next 12 months.The regulations main goal is to implement the basic norms to reach a higher level of network and services convergence, drive the deployment of next generation networks and increase broadband Internet penetration throughout the country.Through converging services and networks, the Government intends to rapidly update one of the most lagging countries in Latin America in terms of digitalisation. In fact, most telecoms and pay-TV services are still delivered through old cable networks, and fibre-to-the-home (FTHH) is available to less than 2% of households.The decree also opens up a new scenario in which large telcos and pay-TV operators will be able to better adapt, due to larger investment. Since the start of the negotiations, local cablecos have asked for a five-year period in which to adapt to a convergent market, a request that seems to have been ignored. The US Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) have partnered with public media stations to provide early learning resources to underserved communities. The community engagement model encompasses Iowa Publich Television (IPTV) and other stations in Indiana, Missouri, Nevada and Oklahoma.IPTV, Nine Network (St Louis), Oklahoma Educational Television Association, VegasPBS (KLVX) and WFYI (Indianapolis), will join 11 public media stations that have been conducting similar work since December 2015.The stations will receive an initial Community Collaboratives for Early Learning and Media (CC-ELM) grant to give young children from low-income families a strong foundation in early science and literacy by identifying and working with community partners. Station partnerships will include schools, public libraries, science centres, health clinics and housing agencies that serve high-need populations.IPTV specifically will work with community partners Storm Lake Elementary School, Storm Lake Elementary Tornado Academy and the Storm Lake Public Library to implement new PBS KIDS science and literacy-based programming, mobile apps and digital games. Stations will leverage content from trusted PBS KIDS series Ready Jet Go! and The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, along with new media properties that are in development which will address scientific inquiry and informational text for young children.Local public media stations play an essential role pioneering a unique community partnership model that uses public medias high quality childrens educational content as a catalyst for school readiness, said Deb Sanchez, CPBs SVP, Education and Childrens Content. By working hand-in-glove with local organizations, public media can provide engaging learning opportunities - anytime and anywhere - for high-need children and families.Through their work on the ground in communities across America, PBS stations play an integral role in helping our nations most underserved kids succeed in school and in life, said Lesli Rotenberg, SVP and GM, Childrens Media and Education, PBS . PBS is thrilled to bring five more stations on board for this innovative project, which builds on years of research demonstrating that PBS KIDS content is effective in helping children learn critical math and literacy skills, with kids in low-income households making the greatest gains.This effort is part of a five-year grant awarded to CPB and PBS through the US Department of Educations Ready to Learn Initiative to advance new tools supporting personalised and adaptive content for children and parents, establish a network of community collaboratives and conduct efficacy research on the educational resources provided. Lahore High Court has requested Pakistans broadcast regulatory body to start the bidding process for direct-to-home (DTH) licences again, after it declared the recent auction null and void. The recent DTH licence auction, organised by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), barred broadcasters from bidding, due to what it believed would be a conflict of interest. However, the court said the restriction was based on a presumption that any vertical integration between broadcast media and distribution services would result in undue concentration of ownership.The DTH auction, which took place on 23 November 2016, saw three companies win DTH licences for 15 years for PKR4.898 billion each.With the new court order, Pakistans broadcasters such as GEO and ARY will now be able to bid to operate DTH satellite TV services in the country.PEMRA is entitled to challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. During my first visit to Richland Community College over 30 years ago, I made a point of meeting Larry Klugman. He was well-known as the lead professor on political science and an expert on Illinois politics. Over the years our friendship grew. Larry taught generations of students and candidates about the realities of our political system. Decatur, Richland Community College and this Senator will miss our professor at Richland Community College. Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale Buy real estate. Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale in US and Canada. Search Real Estate Property details: INVEST IN THE WEST! We are constantly adding to our inventory of quality, cheap vacant land in the Western U.S. We take pride in offering you properties priced well under the competition. We offer prompt, professional and friendly customer service, easy and flexible payment terms, and we never charge you any processing fees or interest. It's time to invest in the west! You're bidding on the down payment for 5 acres of land in Costilla County (Blanca), Colorado, nearby highway 160, County Road 11... Price: $ 1,025 Seller State of Residence: North Carolina Property Address: Salida Rd and Loveland Rd Type: Homesite, Lot Zoning: Residential Area Acreage (acres): 5 Location: 270**, Clemmons, North Carolina You will be redirected to eBay Nearby 5 , We're sorry, this article is not currently available URBANA A Mahomet woman was killed early Sunday in a head-on crash on Interstate 74 near Urbana. The other driver involved was ticketed for driving under the influence of alcohol. Illinois State Police said LaDonna J. Brady, 45, had been rushed to hospital after the 1:04 a.m accident but died from her injuries. The second vehicle involved was driven by Esteban J. Tomas, 33, of Champaign. He was also treated in a hospital for injuries before being charged with DUI and having no driver's license. Police say Tomas was westbound at the time of the crash but it's unclear what direction Brady had been driving in the moments before she found herself facing the other driver in the crash. At least eight people have been wounded in Chicago shootings since from Monday morning to early Tuesday, police said, including two people shot within hours of each other on the same West Side block. Most recently, about 12:25 a.m. Tuesday, a 15-year-old boy was shot on the North Austin block where a 24-year-old man had been shot Monday afternoon. The boy was in the 1700 block of North Lorel Avenue when someone fired shots from a white sedan. He went to Norwegian American Hospital with a gunshot wound to the left hand, and his condition was stabilized. Advertisement About nine hours earlier, at 3:15 p.m. Monday, a 24-year-old man was shot on the same block. He was shot in the back and his condition was stabilized at Mount Sinai Hospital. One person is being questioned in the attack. About 10:25 p.m. Monday, a 32-year-old man was shot while driving in Lawndale. He was in the 4400 block of West Ogden Avenue when he pulled up next to a dark sedan. Someone in the sedan opened fire on his car, and he was shot in the neck and forearm. He got himself to MacNeal Hospital, and his condition was stabilized. Advertisement Five minutes earlier, a 25-year-old man was shot in the Grand Crossing neighborhood. He was on a porch in the 7000 block of South Harper Avenue when someone fired several shots from a gray Chevrolet Camaro. The man on the porch was shot in the right foot and went to Jackson Park Hospital in godo condition. About 9:35 p.m., a 22-year-old man was shot and critically wounded in West Englewood. He was in the 2100 block of West 64th Street when someone shot him in the chest and back; the circumstances of the shooting were not immediately known. The man went in critical condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. A 16-year-old boy was in 3700 block of West 13th Street in the Lawndale neighborhood about 4:35 p.m. when he was shot in the right leg, police said. He was in good condition at Mount Sinai Hospital. The boy told police he was walking when he heard gunshots and felt pain in his leg. In the Austin neighborhood, a 21-year-old man was shot about 4 p.m. in the 5100 block of West Hirsch Street, according to police. The man was in good condition at Stroger Hospital following the shooting. No one has been arrested in the shooting, police said. Earlier, a man was wounded when someone accidentally shot him about 9:30 a.m. in the 300 block of South Homan Avenue in the Fifth City neighborhood, according to police. The man went to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he stabilized after treatment for a gunshot wound to the right hand. The man was accidentally shot by someone he knew, according to police. Police initially said that at 9:40 p.m. Monday, a 28-year-old woman was grazed by a bullet that came through the window of an Englewood apartment. But it later was determined that she had not been shot. She was on the second floor of the building in the 6100 block of South Stewart Avenue when a shot was fired through the window. She refused medical attention at the scene. After gunfire in Logan Square on Monday afternoon, a 39-year-old man was being questioned by police. A shot was fired in the 1800 block of North Spaulding Avenue about 1:35 p.m., according to police. The man was involved in a fight with a group of men or boys when the shot was fired, according to police. The Jet Airways of old is no more and the industry mourns its demise. Readers who were at the top of their careers in the 1990s, those who were born in the 1960s and 1970s and of course anyone in the aviation sector in India will remember -- with a certain wistfulness -- the heyday of Indias first credible private airline, Jet Airways. Jet Airways -- which took to the skies in 1993 (as an air taxi operator to begin with) -- was iconic in a way for the Indian public, used to only the tired service and feel offered by public sector airline Indian Airlines (prior to the merger with Air India). While Indian Airlines got the job done, it did little else to woo passengers. Jet came in with great service, several frequencies to many stations and a business class passengers vied for. It was professionally run, flights were on time, aircraft had a fresh and new feel, food on board was good and it ran a very successful loyalty programme. Almost for the first time in India, it gave fliers something to look forward to and till just a few years ago, Jet Airways was the countrys largest airline domestically. But the good days -- as we all know -- didnt last long. Low-fare airlines entered the Indian airspace and changed its construct forever. And unable to withstand real competition (Jet Airways promoter Naresh Goyal had managed to restrict competition through his ingenious ways over the years), Jet slowly lost its grip over the Indian market. It lost money and its much talked about service standards also took a hit. Stupid decisions like the buyout of Sahara helped accelerate the downward spiral. In 2013, the airline was sold in part to Etihad Airways and even since the deal, Jet Airways is no longer what it used to be. Personnel changes after such a deal are only to be expected -- almost none of the old-timers has survived -- but industry observers and Jet insiders say that the airline is today a different creature. Even those who remain say that the airline feels different -- no longer the Jet of the 1980s and 1990s. Also missing is the larger than life, unique presence of Goyal who seems to have distanced himself from the airline. A regular figure at Delhis Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan (he usually handled lobbying with the government himself), Goyal is rarely found in the capital now. If Goyal, image, left, is missing from the action in Delhi, Jet Airways is missing from the action in the Indian skies. Ever since Etihad took charge, the airline has systematically reduced its presence in the domestic space. Centre for Asia Pacific Aviations CEO Kapil Kaul provides the data. Over the period of FY07 to FY16, IndiGo has a CAGR of 48 per cent (in domestic passenger numbers in millions) while Jet has recorded 5.3 per cent. Both SpiceJet and GoAir have higher CAGRs at 17 per cent and 21 per cent. In contrast, growth in international passengers for Jet Airways for the same period had been 27.5 per cent -- most of which has come in the last four years. In fact, ever since the carrier entered the deal with Etihad, it has consistently reduced and rationalised many domestic routes. In 2014 alone, Jet withdrew four domestic flights from Kolkata to Chennai, Lucknow, Bengaluru and Delhi. But in the last two years, it has consistently withdrawn or reduced frequencies on many domestic sectors. The jury is out on whether Jets domestic withdrawal is the best way to go. One of the main advantages of going international in a country like India is if you have a strong domestic network which helps you bring traffic from smaller places to the bigger hubs to fly out. Former Jet employees who were closely involved in Jet developing this strong domestic network argue that it takes a long time to establish oneself on a route whereas it takes very little to withdraw from one. But others -- consultants and aviation industry experts -- argue that the Jet of today is more disciplined and a healthier creature. The Indian domestic market is overcrowded and for a full-service airline with a high cost structure, competing in this space is like committing suicide with your eyes wide open. The airline has seen significant productivity improvements in last 12-18 months, especially in domestic with the sharpest fall in costs. So, which is the bigger loss -- Jets focus away from the Indian skies, or Goyal moving away from the space? The jury is out on this one too. Image (above): A file photograph of Naresh Goyal. Photograph: Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty Images. Even in her 50s, the Amul Girl has far greater clout than any brand ambassador in India. And India's largest dairy organisation may soon cash in on that. Sohini Das reports. As the country's largest dairy organisation, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) plans to launch merchandise featuring its unique mascot, the Amul Girl, experts feel that it is likely to be a tight-rope-walk for the federation. This is because the world of merchandising is entirely different from publishing popular topical advertisements. Even at 50, the Amul Girl has far greater clout than any brand ambassador in India. Still wearing a polka-dotted frock, something which might be called a fashion disaster in today's world, the little moppet has stuck to her roots and at the same time remained relevant by commenting on current events. Speaking on the sidelines of launching the book Amul India 3.0 in Delhi recently, R S Sodhi, managing director of GCMMF, said the federation was working on a plan to launch merchandise like key rings, fridge magnets, polka dot frocks, cups across the 8,000 Amul milk parlours across the country featuring the Amul Girl. A senior official of the federation informed that there is no concrete business plan around this at the moment. Sodhi, however, has said that the Amul Girl campaign run for the last 50-years has huge credibility. Rahul daCunha, managing director and creative head, daCunha Communications, the agency which not only created the Amul Girl but also has been running the campaign for all these decades, sounds confident too. "It is a huge brand with high recall value; merchandising should have been done some time back," he added. But, as the Amul Girl moppet makes it beyond newspaper ads and hoardings into one's kitchen and living room, the task is likely to get uphill from here. Brand expert and founder of Harish Bijoor Consults, Harish Bijoor said that the Amul Girl property exists as a unique mascot with longstanding value. "However, with the new generation, it needs to be refreshed. The problem with mascots is that they age. While they retain their original value, consumers who associate with these mascots tend to think that these mascots are actually older than we are," he said. According to Bijoor, one way is that the Amul Girl merchandising has to be done in a traditional way, for a heritage set of items. "Essentially, it is a tough task, as you cannot leave the heritage behind, and at the same time you also need to remain relevant for the new generation," he said. But, does the fact that the Amul Girl topical ads are very contemporary, not work in the mascot's favour? Bijoor disagreed. The topics, even the language can be contemporary he felt, but the girl (mascot) is not contemporary. Another issue he identified with merchandising using the mascot is that it does not have any aspirational value attached to it. "Amul Parlours are not like Starbucks cafes selling Starbucks merchandise," he said. "With the Girl, there is a difference." 'Unfortunately, the judges chose not to address the issue of whether Hindutva is an appeal to religion.' 'From the moment the judgment is delivered, it is the law of the land.' Senior Supreme Court lawyer Indira Jaising. image, below, discusses the Supreme Court judgment banning the use of religion, caste, creed or language to seek votes during elections with Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore. How do you see the Supreme Court ruling banning the use of religion, caste, language and creed for seeking votes and deeming it illegal? For the first time, the Supreme Court has created a wall of separation between religion and politics; the Supreme Court has interpreted Section 123 of the Representation of People's Act to mean that NO person can appeal to a voter in the name of religion of the candidate or the religion of their opponent for the purpose of gaining votes in an election. The judgment reinforces the secular nature of the Constitution. How will this ruling impact India's political parties? I think it will have a deep impact on the politics of the country; all parties will have to be cautious in the manner in which they draft their manifestos and do election speeches. For example, I do not think any candidate will be allowed to ask for votes on the ground that he or his party will build a Ram temple if elected; let us wait and see what happens. The judges who voted in favour of the ruling said election is a secular exercise and political parties cannot seek votes in the name of religion. Will it have any bearing on the elections that are due to five state assemblies this year? Undoubtedly it will; from the moment the judgment is delivered it is the law of the land. The dissenting judges though said the decision amounted to 'judicial redrafting of the law.' How do you interpret this dissent and what could have been the nature of the ruling had one more judge dissented against it? All judgments are decided by what the majority says and that becomes the law of the land; the question of how to interpret a law, purposively or literally, is a longstanding issue and in my opinion there is a definite value judgement in taking that decision; it is not just a matter of language, it is about the values that inform that language. The majority chose to strengthen the values of secularism. BJP MP Subramanian Swamy has said the BJP will make use of Hindutva and not Hinduism during the UP elections. Can the BJP do so? Is there a loophole in this ruling, then? Unfortunately, the judges chose not to address the issue of whether Hindutva is an appeal to religion or to a way of life. The judgment of Justice (J S) Verma on this issue has been much criticised. As some authors point out, all religions prescribe a way of life, they don't therefore cease to be religion. This is a particularity. So is the case of Hindutva which has come to be associated with the idea of a theocratic State. Yes, it is an issue waiting to be answered by the court since Justice Verma's ruling is under challenge. What action can be taken against a person, political party or candidate if s/he is found violating this ruling? What kind of punishment can such a candidate face if it is proved that s/he has used religion, caste, creed or language to exploit sentiments of the people and win elections? Disqualification on the ground of having committed a 'corrupt practice'. IMAGE: A scene during the India Day parade in New York City. Photograph: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters Our administrative organs pose formidable obstacles to implementation. The pro-dialogue constituency has shrunk in the valley. 'Hatred will inevitably follow if the chief response to anger is suppression.' Academician and author Dr Radha Kumar was among the three interlocutors whom the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance-II government appointed on Kashmir in October 2010, after massive protests of the preceding summer saw more than 100 civilian deaths. The group travelled across the state and a year later submitted its report to the Union government, recommending several political and administrative measures for the lasting solution of the Kashmir issue. However, the report was neither tabled in Parliament nor discussed by the Union Cabinet. After yet another bloody summer of 2016, political observers have been saying that had the government acted on the interlocutors' report in 2010, Kashmir wouldnt have witnessed another bloody summer. In an interview with Pervez Majeed, Dr Radha Kumar, image, left, narrates her experiences and feelings about the dumped report, and says that successive state and central governments are responsible for the continued unrest in Kashmir. After five years, Kashmir in 2016 saw yet another summer of massive protests and subsequent civilian deaths. Why did it erupt again after a seemingly perpetual calm? I don't think there were five years of continuous peace. There was still sporadic violence when we started our mission in late 2010 and though the violence more or less ceased by end 2010, the situation remained very volatile when we completed the mission in late 2011. From 2013 on there were a series of inflammatory gestures from Delhi itself which made the situation ripe for violence to re-erupt. What inflammatory gestures? Afzal Guru's hanging; a sudden announcement from minister in the PMO Jitendra Singh that Article 370 would be rolled back, which was hastily retracted but the damage had been done; non-implementation of the (state ruling) coalition's agreed agenda of political dialogue; the beef ban controversy in which a man was beaten to death; rising Pakistan-India violence along the LoC and international border; Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's untimely demise and a several months' hiatus when the coalition's fate was uncertain. Once again Mehbooba Mufti pressed for the implementation of the agenda of alliance and once again little action was taken. We had warned in our report that there was a high probability of violence re-erupting, especially among the youth, if the state and central governments did not take immediate steps. What steps? Steps to curb human rights abuses, induct non-lethal methods of crowd control, begin to repair the dangerous communal divide between the Valley and Jammu and resume a political dialogue towards a lasting solution to the Kashmir conflict. So you mean Kashmir erupted because your recommendations were not implemented? It was one among many elements. Though some piecemeal measures were taken, the substantive steps we recommended were not taken. There is a feeling in Kashmir that after the government dumped your report which you had prepared after a year of extensive interactions across J&K, the pro-dialogue constituency has shrunk in Kashmir. Because they believe that taking recourse to dialogue amid popular outrage doesnt fetch anything. Because of the failures of previous initiatives over the past 20 years, the pro-dialogue constituency had already begun to shrink in the valley -- and in Jammu too, though for different reasons. And the feeling was reinforced by the then governments unceremonious dumping of our report. But a deeper problem, I believe, is that we seem to have forgotten that any political dialogue must be accompanied by concrete steps, as happened between 2004 and 2006. It is a great pity that no government thus far has sought to build on the peace process gains of previous governments, with the exception of a brief attempt during UPA-I, when Manmohan Singh tried to build on A B Vajpayee's initiatives. P Chidambaram in many of his articles during the last year or so, has been advocating to take certain steps vis-a-vis Kashmir which actually you had recommended to him as the home minister but he didnt do so. Do you think this is a paradox? Yes, indeed a tragic paradox. But to be fair to him, he did try though to what extent and with what results only he can tell you. His speech in Parliament showed he had understood the nature of the conflict in all its nuances. He had a 'quiet dialogue' with the Hurriyat leaders during 2009, which was abruptly ended when militants opposed to dialogue shot Hurriyat leader Fazal Haq. He tried again during our mission, but through another channel than us. My chief criticism is that there was little done to bring the various channels into coordination with each other, but unfortunately that is an endemic problem of our governments for the past 50 years. Do you think the UPA government cheated you, or let you down by mandating you to give recommendations and then didnt implement them? Personally I felt like a used and discarded rag! More importantly, though it is the people of Jammu and Kashmir they let down. We had visited every district of the state, met thousands of people and heard a wide cross-section of public opinion, including from among the young 'stone-pelters', as well as received hundreds of recommendations. We synthesised these into monthly reports we gave the home ministry as well as in the final report. By not discussing the report or tabling it in Parliament they gave credence to the view that our mission was seen by the government as merely to pacify agitating people. But let me tell you, there were also contributing factors to the governments response. The state government objected to our report and the state cabinet did not discuss it, though the home ministry requested them to. Moreover, it is a mistake to attribute the problem to the political leadership alone. Our administrative organs pose formidable obstacles to implementation, whether of concrete measures or broader policy. In fact, we did conduct an 'Action Taken' review on our recommendations. Interestingly, the most detailed report we got was from the ministry of external affairs; by contrast the report from the state government left most of the sections blank! There is a view that by ignoring your report on Kashmir, Delhi discredited the institution of public dialogue with reference to Kashmir? I am sorry to say that we were not the first set of interlocutors for J&K to face this. As I said, the institution had already been widely discredited before our mission. Yet it was also striking -- for me, at least -- that by the time we completed, the most frequent recommendation to us was that dialogue should not only continue but also be institutionalised. Given that more than 100 youth had died only a year ago, I thought it showed not only that there is deep commitment to substantive peacemaking in the state at the overall public level, but also a considerable generosity of spirit. Separatists and even non-political public circles didnt meet the home minister-led all party parliamentary delegation to Kashmir. What is your view on this? Several members of this parliamentary delegation had shown a consistent commitment to J&K over the years. Refusal to engage with them delayed the possibility of reopening dialogue and they (separatists) lost a valuable constituency in New Delhi. But the common refrain in Kashmir is that when the previous dialogues initiatives, including yours, couldnt even help minimise militarisation, release of political prisoners and probing the human rights violations like custodial disappearances and mass graves, there is no reason for separatists to engage into the talks process again? I think that is a slightly biased interpretation. The vast majority of 'separatists' did not engage with us, nor did they engage with prior interlocutors. One leader (Molvi Abbas Ansari) had a meeting with us, he was expelled from the Hurriyat. I have been told that even during the peace process years of 2004-06, when the Hurriyat had begun a dialogue with Manmohan Singh, they were hesitant to suggest a road map and that is why the dialogue faltered. I don't know whether this is true, but I do believe that there were and are powerful influences against a Delhi-Hurriyat dialogue, including threats to life. That said, steps such as probing and acting against human rights abuses would have been important confidence boosters for the resumption of dialogue and to that extent yes, the cynicism is justified. About demilitarisation, well, the irony is that security reforms had just begun when the protests erupted -- civilian policing had been withdrawn from the military and handed over to police forces. But the police had neither the training nor the equipment to handle crowd control non-lethally and tragedy ensued. Some political prisoners were released during our mission and so were many of the young 'stone pelters' who were arrested, but we had to literally push case by case for these releases though we had recommended a general amnesty. The Yashwant Sinha group has issued a report after meeting separatist leaders and various political and public circles. What you have to say on that report? The group has played a very important role in filling the vacuum and opening a dialogue. It would have been additionally useful if they had referred to previous initiatives and reports, both official and civil society, but this is not a common practice in our country, more is the pity. Sinha has said that the 2010 and 2016 mass agitations are different -- earlier it was an expression of anger and the latest one of hatred. As an academic I was rather surprised by Sinha's recent statement. Surely, hatred will inevitably follow if the chief response to anger is suppression! In fact, we encountered a great deal of hatred in 2010: not only was it evident across the social media but the Facebook page I opened for our mission was full of hate speech from every side. After years of disenchantment against the gun, local youth have been again getting attracted towards militancy. There is widespread anger against the nearly 100 killings and blinding of youth with pellet guns. Most political observers in and outside Kashmir opine that Kashmir is back to the brink as whatever political and security gains were made over the years, have been lost again. Your view? I am afraid I agree. Let me add that what happened this (2016) summer -- with hundreds being blinded -- should be regarded by all of us as an absolute and intolerable outrage. Once -- in 2010 -- was bad enough for a democratic country but twice is unforgivable and heads should roll. At the very least security reforms should start straightaway, as should a political dialogue. A S Dulat in an interview to rediff.com said when New Delhi doesnt talk to Kashmiris, Pakistan becomes more relevant. Do you agree? Yes, though Pakistan is in any case relevant, both because they control a large part of the former princely state and because of the cross-border terrorism they harbour, indeed even incite. When did you last talk to Dileep Padgoankar (another member of the panel who passed away recently)? And did you talk about Kashmir? Dileep rang me up in great distress when the first news of the re-eruption of conflict and pellet blindings came out. We spoke perhaps a dozen times during those two first months to see what we could do. He brought our recommendations to the notice of MHA ministers, and was effective to the extent that there were MHA statements that our report, along with previous reports such as those of the Joint Working Groups, were being reviewed for action. I don't know what follow-up took place but there doesn't seem to have been any. We also talked about going to Kashmir but felt it would be in bad taste for us to show up uninvited given that we had at one time been government-appointed. He was also trying to organise a J&K civil society meeting in Maharashtra when he was taken ill. Did anybody from the central government ever speak to you during the 2016 summer turmoil? No -- but nor did anyone from the state government! Trinamool Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Sudip Bandyopadhyay was on Tuesday arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Rose Valley chit fund scam, provoking a violent attack by his supporters on Bharatiya Janata Party's state headquarters in Kolkata which left several people injured and set off a fresh bout of recrimination between the two parties. IMAGE: TMC MP Sudip Bandopadhyay being taken by the CBI officers to Bhubaneswar for further inquiry after he was arrested in connection with Rose Valley chit fund scam in Kolkata. Photograph: PTI Photo Bandyopadhyay, the second TMC MP to be arrested in the scam within a week after actor-turned-politician Tapas Pal, was earlier subjected to questioning for more than four hours, CBI sources said. "Bandyopadhyay could not give proper answer regarding Rose Valley-sponsored foreign trips and he did not cooperate in the investigation," they said. Agitated over the arrest of Bandyopadhyay, a confidante of TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, hordes of party workers descended on the BJP office in central Kolkata, chanting anti-Narendra Modi slogans and hurling stones, leaving several workers of the saffron party injured and half-a-dozen cars parked outside damaged. BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha claimed 15 party workers were injured in the attack. As the protest continued, a CRPF contingent was rushed to secure BJP office and ensure safety of its workers. "We appealed to the Union home ministry to send in the CRPF to ensure our safety and security. A contingent of CRPF was sent to BJP office to ensure our safety," said Sinha. In his first reaction after being arrested, Bandopadhyay said it was a reflection of his party's good performance in Parliament against demonetisation. "It is the reflection of a good performance in the Parliament (by TMC in opposing demonetisation)," Bandopadhyay told reporters while being whisked away to the airport in Kolkata. Bandopadhyay was taken to the airport on way to Bhubaneswar for his production in a court there. Before that, a routine medical check up was conducted on the TMC leader. A CBI statement said he has been charged under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 408 (criminal breach of trust), 120b (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) and various sections of Prize, Chits and Money Circulation (Banning) Act of 1978. He would be interrogated afresh by the CBI in Bhubaneswar in the case which was lodged in the Odisha capital. Another TMC MP Tapas Pal, arrested in the same case on December 30, is under CBI custody in Bhubaneswar. IMAGE: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with party leaders speaks to media after Bandopadhyay's arrest. Photograph: PTI Photo Stung by Bandyopadhyay's arrest, a furious Mamata Banerjee accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using central agencies like the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax department against his political rivals who were raising their voice against demonetisation. Mamata alleged that Bandyopadhyay was arrested under "pressure from the PMO" and wondered "why should Narendra Modi and Amit Shah not be arrested?" "I just can't think that Sudip Bandyopadhyay, who is our party's leader in the Lok Sabha will be arrested. I also have information that Modi wants to arrest many other TMC leaders like Abhishek Banerjee, Sovan Chatterjee (city mayor) and Firhad Hakim (minister)," she told reporters immediately after his arrest. "I am shocked, but not scared. Let him arrest all of us. I openly challenge him to arrest me. Let me see his guts. He may silence others, but not me. He can't suppress our voice. He can't bulldoze people's voice," she said. "We will fight legal battle in every case. The party is behind Sudip. He has not done anything wrong. Even if he is in jail, the people of Bengal will keep him in their hearts," she said. TMC national spokesman Derek O'Brien said an emergency meeting of the party was held where it was decided that all its Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members will go to Delhi on Wednesday and protest against the "financial emergency" and other "emergency" in the country. Several TMC leaders, including MPs, MLAs and ministers rushed to CBI office to "express solidarity" with Bandyopadhyay. IMAGE: Security personnel standing guard in front of BJP office in Kolkata. Photograph: Ashok Bhaumik/PTI Photo The BJP reacted strongly to Mamata's allegation of "vendetta politics" with BJP national secretary and incharge of West Bengal Siddharth Nath Singh saying the "sins" of her rule were being exposed by the law now. "She should stop making these baseless allegations. The rule of law is the same for everybody. My question is why only TMC leaders are being found to be involved in all the chit fund scams across the state," he said. "We do not even want to answer such baseless allegations. She is scared after the arrest of Bandyopadhyay and that is why levelling these baseless allegations," Singh said. He said the CBI was working on the direction of the Supreme Court as 17 lakh poor people had been looted in West Bengal by the perpetrators of the chit fund scam. Singh said Mamata being a "constitutional authority" should cooperate with the probe. Mamata, on her part, said it was the duty of the Centre, the Sebi and the RBI to keep a check on ponzi schemes in which they have "failed completely". "I challenge Modi directly. You cannot do anything because Trinamool Congress is right and you are wrong. You cannot suppress the voice of the people. you have to withdraw restrictions (on withdrawal of cash)... Modi has no clue where this political vidictiveness will take him. We are not scared and will continue our demonstration against demonetisation," she said. IMAGE: TMC MPs, MLAs and other leaders gather at CBI office at Salt Lake Bandopadhyay was arrested. Photograph: PTI Photo BJP's state unit president Dilip Ghosh said, "People carrying flags of the TMC threw stones at our office because their leader has been arrested in a scam. Is this democracy? They should have thought about it before looting common people." Reacting to Bandyopadhyay's arrest, Union Coal and Power minister Piyush Goyal said if someone did any wrong he would get caught. "If someone has done any wrong, he will get caught. If someone tries to cover his or her own wrongdoing by baseless allegations..... We never interfered in investigative affairs," Goyal, who was in the city, said. The Enforcement Directorate had recently attached assets to the tune of Rs 1,250 crore, including eight hotels and a Rolls Royce luxury car, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Rose Valley chit fund scam case. The agency had registered an FIR against the firm, its Chairman Gautam Kundu and others in 2014 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Kundu was arrested last year and is currently in judicial custody. The group had allegedly floated a total of 27 companies for running the alleged chit fund operations out of which only half-a-dozen were active. It has been alleged that the firm had floated schemes promising inflated returns on investments between 8 and 27 per cent to gullible investors in various states. The ED has pegged the scam at Rs 15,000 crore. ST. LOUIS Angelica Thompson was working part time and earning her college degree in genetics when she got a serious boyfriend. Thompson sought care at the campus health clinic, where she chose a hormone implant under her skin that prevents pregnancy for up to thee years. Able to stay on her mothers insurance plan, she paid nothing for the implant, which can cost up to $800. Now 23 and saving money for nursing school while working at Starbucks, Thompson replaced the implant two months ahead of schedule because shes unsure what changes lie ahead for her health care after Donald Trump is inaugurated as president Jan. 20. Thompson said the new implant should last as long as Trumps term. The idea of well wait and see is disconcerting to a lot of women, she said. My partner and I, we are 23 years old. We are not ready to have a child. We have professional goals we want to accomplish. During his campaign, Trump promised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, referred to as Obamacare, which uses subsidies to help the poor get health insurance. The legislation mandates coverage for preventive health care such as cancer screenings, pap tests, mammograms and birth control with no out-of-pocket costs. Republican legislators have said repealing Obamacare will be among the first priorities after today, the first day of the new Congress. A loss in contraception coverage is on many womens radar, compounded by worry over Cabinet appointees who are unlikely to enforce the birth control coverage mandate in the meantime or support public funding programs for contraception. Intrauterine devices and hormonal implants under the skin are the most effective forms of reversible birth control, with just a 1 percent failure rate. But the devices along with the insertion procedures can cost as much as $1,000. The devices are long-acting IUDs can last up to 10 years and can be the best option for women who are done having children or not ready to start a family for several years. The high cost and uncertain future has prompted Thompson and other women to get the long-acting options now. At the eight Planned Parenthood clinics in the St. Louis and southwest Missouri region, calls jumped 60 percent in the last few weeks of November, compared with the weeks before the election, said affiliate president Mary Kogut. The clinics provide family planning and sexual health services to more than 34,000 patients a year. People right now are feeling a little anxious about whether there will be insurance coverage and what it will cover, so they are making appointments right now to get in, Kogut said. Similar increases in calls for women seeking long-acting contraception have been seen at Planned Parenthood clinics across the country, she said. The day after the election, clinics nationwide saw a 957 percent increase in appointments booked online to get long-acting contraception, compared to the average number of daily appointments for the previous month. The appointments have leveled off, but remain an average of 128 percent higher than the month before the election, Kogut said. Dr. Denise Willers, medical director for the Women and Infant Care Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, said she hears concerns. Providers are apprehensive and patients are apprehensive, she said, and I think we all are waiting to see what happens. Thompson said she doesnt want to wait. Birth control pills are not safe to take with her heart condition, and condoms are too risky. I like the fact that it is long term, and I dont have to worry about taking a pill. I found it convenient and effective, and Im not pregnant, she said. No one wants to be pregnant before they are ready. A study published in Health Affairs in July 2015 estimated that more than 55 million women were receiving birth control at no cost. Women saved an estimated $1.4 billion on the pill alone in the first year after the mandate went into effect in August 2012, researchers found. The pill is the most popular form of birth control, and its average cost dropped by half to about $20 for a three-month supply. Average spending on intrauterine devices declined by about 70 percent to $110, while spending on implants declined by about 72 percent to $91 per implant. Spending did not fall to zero because some plans phased in the requirement, others received an exemption for religious reasons and some failed to make coverage changes. Long-acting reversible contraception has become an increasingly popular choice. In 2012, about 12 percent of women using contraception relied on long-acting reversible methods, up from just 2 percent in 2002. Kogut attributes that to improved access, increased awareness about their safety and having more providers trained in how to implant them. When women are informed of different birth control choices and cost is removed as a barrier, they often choose long-acting methods, according to a large study by Washington University School of Medicine in 2011, before the birth control mandate. The study known as the Choice Project followed a diverse group of 9,256 women over four years. They were provided access to all birth control methods at no cost, and 75 percent chose the long-acting methods. The study showed the approach can make a difference in reducing the high number of unplanned pregnancies in the U.S., 45 percent of all pregnancies. Among study participants, the unplanned pregnancy rate was 35 per 1,000 women, compared to 52 per 1,000 nationwide. The abortion rate was six per 1,000, compared with 20 per 1,000 nationwide. A chargesheet has been filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation against social activist Teesta Setalvad, her husband Javed Anand and a company run by them for alleged violation of foreign funding rules. The chargesheet, which has listed the firm Sabrang Communications and Publishing Private Limited and a man named Sushma Raman, was filed on Saturday in a court in Mumbai, CBI spokesperson R K Gaur said on Tuesday. The probe agency had in July 2015 registered a case against Setalvad, who was at the forefront of campaign for 2002 Gujarat riot victims, and others for alleged violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act in receiving funds from abroad without taking prior permission from the home ministry. The chargesheet has been filed under Section 120 B of Indian Penal Code (criminal conspiracy) along with FCRA 2010 and FCRA 1976, the spokesperson said. CBI Spokesperson R K Gaur said that Special Court, Mumbai has taken cognizance of the offences and directed the accused persons for appearance before the Court on February 3, 2017. Gaur said it was alleged in the FIR that Mumbai-based Private Limited Company (Sabrang Communication and Publishing Limited) was engaged in publishing books, reports, pamphlets, journals, bulletin covering various aspects of Indian and the worlds socio-economics & political issues and creating social awareness. "The two then Directors were columnist and writing articles in newspapers. It was also alleged that being the columnist, they were not eligible to accept foreign contributions in accordance with Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. "But they allegedly received foreign contribution amounting to USD 2.90 lakh from USA based Foundation in the name of their company and thereby, violated the Sections of FCRAct," Gaur said. He said it was further alleged that the said private company was engaged in publication and thereby the said company and its representatives were not authorised to receive foreign contribution without prior permission of MHA. The spokesperson said on receipt of foreign contribution from USA based Foundation without prior permission, they allegedly violated the Sections of FCR Act. "The said company did not maintain exclusive bank account for receipt of foreign contribution," Gaur said in a statement. The agency said charge sheet was filed after sanction was obtained from ministry. China continues to flex its muscles in the South China Sea, with its first aircraft carrier conducting exercises in the disputed area with a flotilla of naval ships amid tensions with the United States following President-elect Donald Trumps telephone call to the Taiwanese president. A naval formation consisting of aircraft carrier Liaoning has conducted take-off and landing drills in the South China Sea on Monday, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted an official as saying. The formation, which is on a cross-sea area training exercise, involved J-15 fighter jets, as well as several ship-borne helicopters, the official said without mentioning specific numbers. Complex hydrological and meteorological conditions in the South China Sea as well as a cold front in area have posed some challenges, but the drill provided important experience in the build-up of combat capability of the aircraft carrier formation, he said. Chinese officials also say that the carrier is conducting a series of exercises to test its systems and to work out an appropriate formation of ships and submarines to move along with it. Liaoning, a refit of the Soviet era warship, has been pressed into exercises in the middle of last month during which it conducted maiden live fire drills on a massive scale along with a host of naval ships, aircraft and submarines, four years after it was commissioned. China is currently building its second aircraft carrier. Chinese navy said the drills conducted in the Bohai Sea involved dozens of ships and aircraft as well as several air-to-air, air-to-ship and ship-to-air missiles. Liaoning has been conducting exercises since then and even travelled close to Taiwan in a show of strength. The exercises followed as China struck a more aggressive postures over the disputed South China Sea issue amid Trumps rhetoric over One China policy. Trump made an unprecedented phone call to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, drawing strong diplomatic protests from Beijing. Subsequently, Chinese navy also seized an unmanned underwater vehicle of the US in the South China Sea and returned it about a week later, saying that it picked the unidentified drone to ensure safety of the navigation. China has become more assertive over the South China Sea after an international tribunal struck down its claim over almost all of the area. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have counter claims over the South China Sea. Representative image. The mortal remains of two Indians who were among the 39 people killed in a terror attack in an Istanbul nightclub, will be brought back to India on Wednesday. IMAGE: Flowers are placed outisde the Reina nightclub by the Bosphorus, which was attacked by a gunman, in Istanbul. Photograph: Huseyin Aldemir/Reuters External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the bodies of Abis Hasan Rizvi and Khushi Shah from Gujarat will be brought back by Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul on Tuesday night and reach Mumbai on Wednesday morning. The minister added that Indian envoy in Turkey Rahul Kulshreshth made all the necessary arrangements. Khushi's final status Khushi Shahs last WhatsApp status said: What if God asks you after you die So how was Heaven? The 27-year-old fashion designer, hailing from Vadodara, arrived in Turkey on December 28 to meet clients and was scheduled to return to Mumbai on January 2 after ringing in the New Year in Istanbul. I have just spoken to Mr Akhtar Hassan Rizvi and Akshay Shah in Turkey. Indian Ambassador Rahul Kulshreshth has made all arrangements for them. They are returning with mortal remains by Turkish airlines flight leaving Istanbul tomorrow night and reach Mumbai next morning, Swaraj said in a series of tweets. Akshay Shah is brother of Khushi Shah while Akhtar Hassan Rizvi, a former Rajya Sabha MP, is father of Abis Hasan Rizvi, a prominent builder and Bollywood producer. IMAGE: A former employee of the Reina nightclub reacts outside following an attack by a gunman in Istanbul. Photograph: Huseyin Aldemir/Reuters They were among the 15 foreigners who were killed when a gunman went on a rampage at the waterside Reina nightclub in Istanbul where revellers were celebrating the New Year. Earlier, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup has said that Indian envoy Kulshreshth was doing everything possible to send back the mortal remains at the earliest. Swarup said Rizvi and Shah had gone to Istanbul as tourists and they happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday advocated scientific social responsibility for leading scientific institutions on the lines of corporate social responsibility to promote scientific excellence in all stakeholders, including educational institutions. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the inauguration of 104th Indian Science Congress at Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Photographs: R Senthil Kumar/PTI Photo Modi also exhorted scientists to keep an eye on the rise of disruptive technologies and leverage them for the country's growth, as he pledged government's commitment to support different scientific streams with emphasis on innovations. Noting that the rapid rise of cyber physical systems has the potential to pose unprecedented challenges and stresses to India's demographic dividend, Modi emphasised on the need to develop an inter-ministerial mission in this area to secure the nation by creating basic R&D infrastructure, man power and skills. "On the lines of corporate social responsibility, the concept of scientific social responsibility needs to be inculcated to connect our leading institutions to all stakeholders, including schools and colleges. We must create an environment for sharing of ideas and resources," the prime minister said in his inaugural address at the 104th session of the Indian Science Congress in Tirupati. Noting that the brightest and best in every corner of India should have the opportunity to excel in science, Modi said that this will ensure our youth get high-end training exposure to the best of science and technology to make them job-ready in a competitive world. "To this end, I would exhort the national laboratories to connect with schools and colleges to develop appropriate training programmes. This will also help with the effective use and maintenance of our vast scientific and technological infrastructure. "Laboratories, research institutions and universities in each major city region, should be interlinked to function on a hub and spoke model. The hubs will share major infrastructure, drive our national science missions and be the engines that link discovery to application," he said. The prime minister said that college teachers with background in research can be connected to the neighbouring universities and R&D institutions. "Outreach activities from the institutions of eminence to schools, colleges and polytechnics will activate the latent science and technology manpower from the educational institutions in your neighbourhoods." "Seeding the power of ideas and innovation in school children will broaden the base of our innovation pyramid and secure the future of our nation. As a step in this direction, ministry of science and technology is initiating a programme focused on students of classes 6 to 10," Modi said, adding, "The programme will scout, mentor, reward and showcase 10 lakh top innovative ideas focused on local needs from 5 lakh schools." IMAGE: PM Modi being presented a memento as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu looks on during the function. Referring to the rise of disruptive technologies, Modi said there is equally a need for the scientists to keep an eye on them and be prepared to leverage them for growth. "One important area that needs to be addressed is the rapid global rise of cyber physical systems. This has the potential to pose unprecedented challenges and stresses to our demographic dividend. But we can turn it into a huge opportunity by research, training and skilling in (fields like) robotics, artificial intelligence, digital manufacturing, big data analysis, deep learning, quantum communication and Internet of Things." Modi emphasised on the need to develop and exploit these technologies in services and manufacturing sectors, in agriculture, water, energy, traffic management, health, environment, infrastructure and geo information systems; security; financial systems and in combating crime. Noting that tomorrow's experts will come from investments made today in our people and infrastructure, Modi said that his government is committed to support different streams of scientific knowledge; ranging from fundamental science to applied science with emphasis on innovations. "We are leveraging strategic international partnerships and collaborations based on the principles of mutuality, parity and reciprocity, to make Indian science globally competitive. We are also placing special emphasis on building strong relationships with our neighbouring countries and multilateral fora such as BRICS," he said. Modi said the Technology Vision 2035 document, released in last year's Science Congress, is now developing into a detailed roadmap for 12 key technology sectors and even the NITI Aayog is evolving a holistic science and technology vision for the country. The prime minister also emphasised on ease of doing science, and said India's ability to execute large transformational national missions required effective partnerships, which can only be ensured by getting out of deep rooted silos and adopting a collaborative approach. "Our ministries, our scientists, R&D institutions, industries, start-ups, universities and IITs, all should work together seamlessly. In particular, our infrastructure and socio-economic ministries must make appropriate use of science and technology. Another empowering factor for scientific delivery is the ease of doing science. If we want science to deliver, we must not constrain it," Modi said. Asserting that building a strong science and technology infrastructure accessible to academia, start-ups, industry and R&D labs tops is a priority of the government, Modi said it was important to address issues like the problems of ease of access, maintenance, redundancy and duplication of expensive equipment in scientific institutions. IMAGE: Prime Minister Modi releases a souvenir during the programme. Modi said establishing professionally managed large regional centers with high value scientific equipment in PPP mode should also be examined. He said Indian institutions could consider inviting outstanding scientists from abroad including NRIs for long term research associations and should also involve foreign and NRI PhD students in post-doctoral research in our projects. By 2030 India will be among the top three countries in science and technology and will be among the most attractive destinations for the best talent in the world. The wheels we set in motion today will achieve this goal, Modi said, adding that SCOPUS database indicates that India now ranks sixth in the world with respect to scientific publications, growing at a rate of about fourteen percent as against the world average growth rate of about four percent. Science must meet the rising aspirations of our people, he said, asserting that problems of urban-rural divide and work for inclusive development, economic growth and employment generation must be addressed through it. Seeking to make science and technology a strong tool of inclusive development and betterment of the weakest and poorest segments of our society, he said ministries, scientists, R&D institutions, industries, start-ups, universities and IITs, all should work together seamlessly. "In particular, our infrastructure and socio-economic ministries must make appropriate use of science and technology," he said. Moments that show it's an odd, odd world we live in. A couple pose for a wedding photo at Erhai lake in Dali, southwest China's Yunnan province. Photograph: Jason Lee/Reuters Swimmers run into the ocean during Coney Island Polar Bear Club's New Year's Day Plunge in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Photograph: Yana Paskova/Getty Images A woman takes a selfie in front of a sculpture of a rooster that local media say bears resemblance to United States President-elect Donald Trump, outside a shopping mall in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, China. Photograph: Jon Woo/Reuters A man demonstrates a toilet roll for wiping smartphones, installed by Japanese mobile phone company NTT Docomo, in a high-tech bathroom equipped with bidet and heated seat at Narita international airport in Narita, Japan. Photograph: Toru Hanai/Reuters A members of Israeli urban artist group, Prizma Ensemble wearing full solid-coloured bodysuits takes part in a festival for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah on the light train in Jerusalem. Photograph: Amir Cohen/Reuters People demonstrate a home-made "smog cannon" which fires cannonballs made of "water and tobacco tar" to remind people the importance of protecting environment, in Xiangyang, Hubei province in China. Photograph: Reuters People wearing Christmas hats bath in a pool of watermelon peel during a Christmas service at a hot spring in Luoyang, Henan province, China. Photograph: Reuters A lioness opens up Christmas presents in her enclosure in Hagenbeck's zoo in Hamburg, Germany. Photograph: Fabian Bimmer/Reuters People pose for a selfie ahead of New Year eve at the Puerta del Sol in central Madrid, Spain. Photograph: Andrea Comas/Reuters A winter swim lover throws hot water into cold air in Heihe, Heilongjiang province, China. Photograph: Reuters We are ready to sacrifice our life and continue with our dharna till we get a job. We have written to the PM, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, says Jagga Singh, the grand nephew of Udham Singh. IMAGE: Shaheed Udham Singh's great grand nephews sitting on a dharna demanding jobs in Punjab government at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Photograph: Vijay Verma/PTI Photo When nationalism and patriotism are dominating the national discourse, the great grandson of iconic revolutionary Udham Singh is struggling to secure the job of a peon in Punjab government which had been promised to him by former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh 10 years ago. The promise of Congress government did not materialise as the party was out of power for 10 years in the state. The repeated pleas of Jagga Singh, who is great grandson of Udham Singhs elder sister Aas Kaur, to the Shiromani Akali Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party government did not yield any result. In a daredevil act, Udham Singh had avenged the killing of hundreds of innocent people in Jallianwala Bagh on Baisakhi Day on April 13, 1919 by General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer. Singh, who was present on the spot at Jalianwala Bagh in Amritsar on the bloodiest day of Indian Independence struggle history, had avenged the massacre 21 years later by killing Michael ODwyer, who was the Governor of Punjab, in London when the massacre took place in Jallianwala Bagh. Charged with murder, he was hanged to death in one of the prisons in London. We are not begging the government to give us money. We are asking for a job, which is our right Singh is going through days of extreme poverty with a family of six to take care of which includes his 60-year old father Jeet Singh, a daily labourer. Singh, a class X pass out who works at a cloth merchant shop in Sangur on a monthly salary of Rs 2,500, is hoping to draw the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh through his letters. Braving the chill of foggy mornings, Singh has shifted his protests to Jantar Mantar hoping to get his voice heard in the power corridors of the national capital. But so far, neither the BJP, which is ruling the Centre, nor the Shiromani Akali Dal in the state have offered anything concrete to him. Speaking to PTI, an emotional Singh said he was promised a job in 2006 by the then Punjab CM Aamrinder Singh but after the government changed, he has been running from pillar to post to get the promise implemented. We met Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindhsa several times. After a number of meetings, he had told me that our representation was put before the chief minister, who said that he cannot help us as the letter of appointment was issued by the Congress-led Amarinder Singhs government and so the job cannot be given to us, Singh claimed. He said the then deputy collector whom his father had met after Amarinder Singh issued a letter could have given him any job even that of a peon but the present regime is not ready to offer even that. We even met Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann of Aam Aadmi Party. He asked us to write our problem and took our representation but his PA said that since his party is not in power he cant do anything. Later he also stopped picking up our phones. Who is Udham Singh? Udham Singh was an Indian revolutionary best known for assassinating Sir Michael ODwyer, the former Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab in British India, on March 13, 1940. The assassination was to avenge the killing of hundreds of innocent people in Jallianwala Bagh. Singh claimed to have met Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal five times, whenever he comes to pay tribute to martyr Udham Singh on his martyrdom day at their village. He also claims to have met Yoga Guru Ramdev, a prominent proponent of nationalism, but even his recommendation letter to the Punjab chief minister did not yield results. We have been sitting on dharna for the past four days in this biting cold. We are ready to sacrifice our life and continue with our dharna till we get a job. We have written to the PM, Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Today also we have given a memorandum to him, but we have not got any reply, let us see what action will they take, he said. Singh said his father was working with the Electricity Board but he could not continue due to his ill health, so he was dismissed from the service. We have given representation even to President Pranab Mukherjee, who had written to the Punjab chief minister to give us a job but the Punjab government did not pay heed to it, he claimed. We dont have land, though there was some but we had to sell it to meet our finances. We are not begging from the government to give us money, we are just asking for a job, which is our right and not a wrong demand, he said. In yet another controversy after insult to national anthem, National Conference MLC Shauqat Hussain Ganai described in the Legislative Council the slain Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani as a "martyr", triggering protests from the ruling People's Democratic Party and Bharatiya Janata Party. During a debate on Kashmir situation, Ganai said Burhan was a "martyr" and that he had "given up his life for the cause of Jammu and Kashmir". His remark drew protests from BJP and PDP members. PDP member Firdos Tak said such words should not be spoken on the floor of House. However, Ganai stood by his remarks and added, "Kashmir is political problem and youth have taken to guns." BJP MLC Surinder Ambardar also asked Ganai not to resort to such remarks on the floor of House. Burhan, commander of Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit, was killed in an encounter with the security forces in a village of Anantnag district in Kashmir on July 8 last year. Later, speaking to reporters outside the Council, Ganai said "Burhan Wani is a martyr. He claimed that there was no FIR or a case against Burhan till 2015 when BJP and PDP government came, and it is they who had said that there was no case of militancy registered against him. "I dont know how you can brand him as a terrorist. Jammu and Kashmir is an issue and if he has raised this issue and given sacrifice of his life, he is a martyr. It is my personal opinion, not that of the party," the NC MLC said. He went on to add, "Whatever the special rights we had in Jammu and Kashmir, central government always tried to bulldoze them and amend them. We had a prime minister and 'Sadr-e-Riyasat' (president) in Jammu and Kashmir and it was changed into the post of chief minister and governor. "Government of India slowly and steadily eroded the special position of Jammu and Kashmir. If some people fight for restoration of that special status and he loses his life in the fight, what can be he called, he is a martyr?" Reacting to NC MLC's remarks, Leader of the House and Education Minister Naeem Akhtar said, "It has become a fashion to say that those killed in Kashmir are our children. They are not our children. They (some politicians) do politics on them and nothing else. We did nothing to save them. They are further pushing them into it. They should be asked what they saying." Taking a dig at such people, Akhtar said, "We feel good to call our neighbour's son a martyr but God forbid, if our own children are involved, our sentiments are different. My (separatists') own son is well settled in a foreign country and my daughter is working somewhere else." Slamming the remarks, Ambardar said, "It is very unfortunate. NC is a very responsible party and their legislator talks of a separatist language". The BJP MLC recalled that Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, during his address to the United Nation General Assembly in September last, had also described Burhan as a "Kashmiri leader". "It was established in the entire world that Burhan Wani was a terrorist and a Pak agent. Now the NC, being out of power, is glorifying him with this term," Ambardar said. "Whenever the NC is out of power, it rakes up such issues. It is unfortunate that the honourable member of the NC speaks at the behest of separatists on the floor of the House," he said. Stressing that due procedures were 'perfectly followed' by the government in appointing the new Army Chief, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said if seniority were the only criterion, then a computer could have selected service chiefs based on date of birth. He added there would not have been need of any due process or Cabinet Committee for Appointment if seniority alone was the criterion. He was responding to a question on whether the government intends to go in for deep selection and setting aside seniority principle when it comes to selection of service chiefs. "First of all, I do not know where there is principle of seniority. There is a procedure set wherein all commanders are verified for their performance. I can assure you that those who were considered were all good. Too good and probably that is the reason why we could not take decision early," Parrikar said in a press conference in New Delhi. The government has last month selected General Bipin Rawat as the new army chief superseding two other officers -- Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi and Lieutenant General P M Hariz -- breaking away from the tradition of seniority principle since 1983. "They are all good, capable. Circumstances probably required this selection...if you go by seniority principle then there would be no requirement of any procedure. "There would be no requirement of any Raksha Mantri, there would no requirement of Cabinet Committee on Appointment because then it is a computer job. Date of birth decides who becomes General," he said. He questioned why the government needs to spend 4-5 months studying the profile of officers, taking Intelligence Bureau reports among others. "I can tell you this much that procedure has been perfectly followed as laid down. You can read the procedure. No procedural violation has taken place," Parrikar said. Photograph: Vijay Kumar Joshi/PTi Photo United States President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday complained that a prominent television channel used his worst picture ever as the cover art for a new book about the 2016 presidential election. CNN just released a book called Unprecedented which explore the 2016 race & victory. Hope it does well but used worst cover photo of me, he tweeted. The book Unprecedented, which was released in December, was written during the election and is a chronicle of the US President-elects surprising win. Written by a CNN writer, the news channel describes the book as a deeply reported account on the fight for the presidency between Trump -- a blustery billionaire and reality TV star with no military or government experience, no respect for the rules of politics and no fear of offending people -- and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, The Peoples magazine reported. There are actually two versions of the books cover -- an Inaugural edition featuring a stern-looking Trump and another version that contains a collage of different photos from the election, including a large picture of Trump speaking at a podium. Its unclear which cover photo the 70-year-old president-elect was referencing as being the worst. This isnt the first time the president-elect has criticised the media for using bad photos of him. In November, Politico reported that during an off-the-record meeting with members of the media, Trump complained to NBC News President Deborah Turness that the network wouldnt run a nice picture of him and instead chose one that made him look like he had a double-chin. Dwayne Dietert, left, Keva Boardman and her daughter Nanda Boardman check out the menu while visiting the beer hall at Krauses Cafe on Friday, Dec. 30, 2016. Austin, TX -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/03/2017 --Personal injury attorney, Lenore Shefman has been appointed as part of the Criminal and Civil Justice work group for Mayor Steve Adler's Task Force on Institutional Racism. The 49-member task force was revealed on November 16, 2016, and will be composed of top city leaders from five subgroups consisting of finance, real estate and housing, education, health, and criminal and civil justice. These community members will include Austin ISD Superintendent Paul Cruz and Huston-Tillotson University President Colette Pierce Burnette, both of whom co-chair, Chas Moore with the Austin Justice Coalition, and Shefman of Cyclistlaw. Several high-status incidents involving Austin police officers prompted Mayor Adler to address concerns of institutional racism and develop a task force to help serve and protect communities and neighborhoods of color throughout the city. According to Mayor Adler, institutional racism refers to "discrimination typically found in social groups, schools, banks, and the law. We have structures in place that create unjust and inequitable outcomes". (http://kxan.com/2016/11/16/austin-mayor-creates-taskforce-to-root-out-institutional-racism/) This new "Anti-Racist" task force comes on the heels of recent violent and highly controversial incidents that occurred in Austin. One incident involved the February 2016 shooting of a naked unarmed teen by former APD officer Geoffrey Freeman. Freeman stipulated that he feared for his life when 17 year-old David Joseph charged at him, so he shot him in self-defense. After an investigation, Freeman was relieved of his duties as a police officer. The second incident involved the vicious arrest of elementary school teacher Breaion King. A video of King's arrest shows APD officer Bryan Richter pulling her out of the car and slamming her to the ground. A grand jury decided not to file criminal charges against Richter; however King sued the city of Austin, which was later dismissed, as well as Richter for excessive use of force. Although the task force was met with some cynicism, skepticism, and defensiveness after its initial unveiling, it will keep the people within Austin's communities and organizations updated about what's going on. Its goal is to help to combat racial inequality throughout the city by advocating for changes in certain areas and in March 2017 will present a plan of action to City Council on how to eliminate racial inequality in Austin, after which the task force will be disbanded. About Lenore Shefman Local attorney, Lenore Shefman, was appointed to the Criminal and Civil Justice work group for Mayor Adler's task force. Since 2000 Shefman has been practicing law in California and Texas, advocating for those who are underrepresented in our society. During that time, she has never lost a jury trial. Most of her practice is centered on personal injury cases resulting from bicycle, motorcycle and pedestrian accidents due to others' negligence. In 1993, she graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Social Work and quickly began to create change in Austin by creating social and educational programs for urban youth and their families. In addition, she has volunteered her time and provided free legal help through the Homeless Advocacy Projects in Austin. Prior to her work within the Criminal and Civil Justice system, Shefman showcased her passion for helping others during her time as a search-and-rescue seaman and as a maritime law enforcement officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. Her honesty, integrity and hard work make Lenore Shefman a force to be reckoned with. Because of her distinguished history, Shefman has been honored to be included in many associations: Practice by the Supreme Court of Texas; The Supreme Court of California; The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; The United States District Court, Northern District; and The United States District Court for the Eastern District. She is a member of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, The Capital Area Trial Lawyers Association, the State Bars of California and Texas, and is also a member of Bike Austin, and received the honor of Million Dollar Advocate, a distinguished honor vetted by her peers. For more information about Attorney Lenore Shefman, please visit: http://www.shefmanlaw.net/ or http://www.cyclistlaw.com/ Center for Performance is finished, more to do at Hall of Fame Village Duch: The Making of a Mass Murderer On trial, he became the only defendant yet to come close to telling the truth about what happened. Duch confessing to mass murder after being confronted by photojournalist Nic Dunlop in Samlaut, Cambodia, in April 1999. Photo: Nic Dunlop/Panos Pictures Try to imagine the top student in your class. The most conscientious student you ever met, the guy who became a caring teacher. Then try to imagine that same person turning into a mass murderer. Thats the mind game that you play as you attempt to understand Kaing Guek Eav, widely known as Duch, the first Khmer Rouge official convicted for crimes against humanity. On July 26, Duch was sentenced to 35 years in jail, with 16 years off for time already served, for his role in overseeing thousands of deaths as a prison chief from 1975-1979. The secretive Khmer Rouge As a reporter in Cambodia during the war there from 1970-1975, I rarely saw the face of the Khmer Rouge. In 1970, I once came across a small group of Khmer Rouge defectors and on another occasion I took a photo of a single Khmer Rouge prisoner, arms tied behind his back. I heard Khmer Rouge rockets whistling overhead. I saw the damage that they caused, including the 1975 deaths of several children when a rocket smashed into a primary school in Phnom Penh. But none of us who witnessed the war, nor most Cambodians, ever knew who the secretive Khmer Rouge leaders were until after they came to power. Search for justice Though they now know those leaders names, many Cambodians would probably prefer not to relive that painful period. Under Khmer Rouge rule, up to 2 million people perished from starvation, overwork, torture, and execution. It was hoped that the much-delayed Khmer Rouge trial would bring a sense of justice to many of those who survived. And Duch, now 67, seemed the right choice to stand trial first. Though he was not one of the highest-ranking of the five Khmer Rouge officials charged with crimes against humanity, Duch ran the most notorious torture center, a former high school known as S-21. Duch took meticulous notes. He followed orders. Chief executioner Once on trial, Duch became the only defendant yet to come close to telling the truth about what happened. While the other four have denied any knowledge or responsibility for the killings that occurred throughout Cambodia, Duch has admitted that he had overseen torture and mass executions. How Duch transformed himself from diligent student and kindly teacher into chief executioner remains baffling, however. Duch was a very smart student, said Leam Sarun, 70, who befriended Duch in 1962 when Leam Sarun served as a monk in a pagoda in Phnom Penh. Leam Sarun considered Duch an idealist. He felt for poor people, Leam Sarun told RFA. He would tell others not to hurt the poor. But many of those who ended up in S-21 were very poor. They included both men and women who had fought for the Khmer Rouge but were then deemed to be traitors. Most seemed to have no idea why they had been imprisoned and tortured. Hundreds were children. Understanding Duch Thanks to two books published in recent yearsThe Gate by Francois Bizot and The Lost Executioner by Nic Dunlopwe can begin to understand Duchs metamorphosis. Bizot, a French expert on Cambodian Buddhism who was held prisoner by Duch during the war, began to see Duch himself as a prisoner inside a large machine from which he could no longer escape. And so he, like everyone from his fellow leaders to the humblest conscripts, was ruled by fear. wrote Bizot, who was one of only a small number of foreigners able to escape from Khmer Rouge captivity. It was Duch himself who finally decided to release Bizot after wrongly accusing him of working for the CIA. Bizot became the only foreigner to survive imprisonment under Duch. Several others were executed. Tracking down Duch Duch disappeared after the Khmer Rouge were driven from power in 1979, but photojournalist Nic Dunlop found Duch in early 1999. The former torture center commander was living in the provinces and working for a U.S. aid organization. He professed to have converted to Christianity. In his meeting with Dunlop, Duch confessed to mass murder. Dunlops discovery led ultimately to Duchs arrest and trial. Dunlops book examines Duchs life from childhood to respected teacher to murderous revolutionary. It ends with his admission of guilt for crimes that can only be described as atrocities. Security forces clash with Borei Keila evictees who attempted to reoccupy buildings in their former home, Jan. 3, 2017. More than two-dozen residents violently evicted from their homes in Borei Keila neighborhood in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh five years ago met the same fate on Tuesday when they attempted to reoccupy their old homes. Several of the former residents suffered minor injuries when authorities from Phnom Penhs 7 Makara district violently dispersed them from the old buildings left unlocked in the Borei Keila neighborhood. The local authorities were reinforced by about 30 armed soldiers, who were sent to the area to prevent the mostly female former residents from occupying the Borei Keila buildings. I think the authorities do not employ any law, Toeung Vichheka, one of the former residents, told RFAs Khmer Service. As a normal citizen, I dont understand the laws but if they are the authorities who understand the laws, why did they disperse us like this? District security chief Prak Hak blamed the former residents for the violence. My business is to protect this area, meaning that the [district] governor does not allow any of them to move in, he said. But they were persistent. Borei Keila is the scene of a notorious land grab by Cambodian authorities who violently evicted 384 families from the Phnom Penh neighborhood so the politically-connected firm Phanimex could build a commercial development. I would rather die here The seizure of land for developmentoften without due process or fair compensation for displaced residentshas been a major cause of unrest in Cambodia and other authoritarian Asian countries, including China and Myanmar. As part of a much ballyhooed slum upgrade program, Hun Sen granted the rights to develop Borei Keila to Phanimex in 2003 in exchange for building ten new apartment blocks to accommodate the 1,776 families who would be displaced. Phanimex constructed only eight of the buildings, and on Jan 3, 2012 the homes of the 384 Borei Keila families were razed and the people were sent to Tuol Sambo and Phnom Bat, settlements that lie nearly 40 kilometers (25 miles) outside of Phnom Penh. Each evicted family was given a 4 meter by 5 meter plot of land but little else, and a life that is never easy for the poor in Cambodia became almost unbearable. Khieu Lay, an evictee moved to the Phnom Bat community, told RFA that the evictees were sent to an area that lacks running water, markets, schools and hospitals. She told RFA that 13 evictees died of diseases or starvation and two more are gravely ill. Many of the remaining evictees are destitute, with some forced to beg for a living, she added. Khieu Lay said the Cambodian government can solve the issue by giving the evictees proper compensation so they can start a new life. She estimated that it would take $10,000 in cash and a proper land title to make a new start in Phnom Bat. Please help me! I have no choice! This is our last resort, she said. Even if I am being dispersed, fought or assaulted, or even being sent to jail, I would rather die here. Reported by Thai Tha for RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Sovannarith Keo. Written in English by Brooks Boliek. Authorities in the Chinese capital have cut off the utilities and destroyed the central heating system of a prominent non-governmen organization (NGO) set up to help migrant workers, as a new law came into effect placing foreign-funded NGOs effectively under police control. Officials from Beijing's Jinzhao township and Picun village led a 50-strong demolition team that included police and urban management officials to the headquarters of Migrant Workers Home on Dec. 29, the group's leader said. The team destroyed the only working central heating boiler at the premises, leaving employees and volunteers with no way to continue their work, the group's leader Wang Dezhi told RFA. "We don't know what this is about," Wang said, adding: "We are in communication with the village and township governments." He said the village government has previously tried to get the group to leave its existing premises. "That's right," Wang said. "They didn't say anything about that, but I can't really give you an interview right now." The owner of the premises, who gave only her surname Tian, said she has no quarrel with the Migrant Workers Home as a tenant, and hasn't asked them to leave. Electricity cut But she said the authorities unilaterally cut off the electricity supply to the Migrant Workers Home offices. "The electric has been cut off for more than two months already, and now they have smashed up their furnace," Tian said. "[They] have been really hard hit by this; are they trying to freeze them to death?" "We are pretty angry, just hearing about it, but they won't take any notice of us," she said. "They have already told us that our rental contract has been canceled, but there are laws governing contracts, and they shouldn't go breaking them." "A contract is a matter between two parties, and we [the landlords] aren't telling Wang and the others to leave. It's [the government] that is doing that." The attack on Migrant Workers Home came as the Overseas NGOs Domestic Activities Management Law, which enables police to engage in daily supervision and monitoring of foreign civil society and rights groups operating in China, went into effect. The law was passed by the National People's Congress last April, and was immediately criticized by rights activists as another attack on the country's embattled civil society. It went into effect on Sunday. The legislation hands full authority for the registration and supervision of foreign NGOs in China to the country's ministry of public security, and police agencies across the country. Draconian new rules Under the new law, Chinese police are now able to enter the premises of foreign NGOs and seize documents and other information, as well as examine groups' bank accounts and limit incoming funds. They will also have the power to cancel any activities, revoke an organization's registration, impose administrative detention on its workers, as well as taking part in the annual assessment of foreign NGOs, required for the renewal their operating permit. The new law will also allow police to blacklist NGOs deemed guilty of national security-related crimes like subversion or separatism. Critics say definitions of what constitutes such crimes remain vague and subject to arbitrary interpretation by the authorities. Henan-based AIDS activist Sun Ya, who has long worked with the Beijing-based Aizhixing health rights group, said the draconian new rules have forced a number of civil society groups to close in recent months. "Even if they are still able to receive funding and carry out their activities, it will become completely meaningless [because of th level of political control]," Sun said. "Whoever heard of an NGO that was set up to do something that has nothing to do with politics or anything else sensitive? Whoever heard of a leisure activities NGO?" An NGO worker surnamed Liu said the law also puts far more obstacles in the way of groups receiving overseas funding. "If a group wants to receive funds from overseas now, they have to go through a lot more red tape here in China, and basically they're not allowing NGOs to operate any more, because they won't be able to get their overseas funding," Liu said. Rights activist Guo Chunping agreed. "Many of the groups that realized they couldn't continue have already dissolved," Guo said. "Either that or they're keeping an extremely low profile so as to avoid any involvement with politics." Reported by Xin Lin and Ding Wenqi for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wong Lok-to for the Cantonese Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie. China entered 2017 with toxic smog still choking cities in the north and center of the country, in spite of anti-pollution measures that included punishments for offenders. China's environmental protection ministry announced it had punished more than 500 enterprises and construction sites and 10,000 vehicles for breaching air pollution alert restrictions. Yellow, orange, or red pollution alerts are currently in place in 72 cities in northern China, official media reported. Red alerts automatically trigger bans on heavily polluting vehicles, and trucks carrying construction waste are banned from roads, while some factories are required to cut production. But inspectors sent by the ministry found that several metallurgy, agricultural chemical, and steel plants in the region had failed to follow the alert-triggered bans, state news agency Xinhua reported. Meanwhile, the ministry also rapped the government of industry-heavy Tangshan city in Hebei province with a warning for failing to implement a truck ban during the smog alert. And an unlicensed quarry in the city continued in production even after one of its officers was detained for breaching anti-pollution bans, it said. An employee who answered the phone at the ministry declined to comment when contacted by RFA on Tuesday. "If you know of any companies that are in breach of the pollution bans linked to the smog warnings, you are welcome to report them," the official said. "You can do this via our environmental reporting center." Set to continue The smog looks set to continue through Jan. 7, according to China's meteorological bureau. Beijing resident Sun Baomei said people's lives are severely disrupted by the smog. "Beijing is no longer fit for human habitation," Sun said. "We are breathing in toxic stuff, and some days we don't even dare go out." "If we do go out, we wear a face-mask. We all have those poison-gas masks, and if we drive the car it's very difficult to see anything," she said. "It's easy to get in a traffic accident if you take your eye of the road for a second, so nobody wants to go out." The ruling Chinese Communist Party at the end of last year announced a five-year action plan on air pollution that aims to slash the country's reliance on coal and shutter polluting enterprises. Beijing also removed limits on the amounts polluters can be forced to pay in fines. However, campaigners say that China already has an exemplary set of environmental protection laws, but that close ties between business and officials mean that it is rarely enforced at a local level. Radical change needed Song Xinzhou, founder of the Beijing-based non-government group "Green Beijing," said emergency measures can have only a limited impact on reducing the smog that engulfs northern Chinese cities in winter. "We need to initiate radical change. Until we take into account the wider environment and start to get actual results from the anti-pollution measures, things aren't going to change," Song said. He said the cold weather had led to a lack of movement in the air over northern China. "That's making it hard for the pollutants to disperse," Song said. "There's a fairly stable layer of air here right now, which is a normal phenomenon caused by the weather." "But so many years of pollution mean that this natural phenomenon is now a very negative outcome." Online commentators hit out at the smog, taking aim at the government for failing to issue the highest alert levels. "Why don't they issue a red alert?" wrote one commentator. "Do they think it would put a dampener on the first day of the new year?" Another quipped: "They should give the smog a Beijing residency permit, because it's not going anywhere." Others pointed out that tourists attending the first flag-raising ceremony of 2017 on Beijing's Tiananmen Square were all wearing gas-masks, according to photos circulated on social media. Everyone affected A Beijing petitioner who gave only his surname Li said everyone he knows is affected by the pollution. "If we can avoid going anywhere, or meeting up with people, we do," Li said. "The smog is here, both the environmental kind and the political kind." "If we can't put up with this darkness, this pollution, then we shouldn't leave it for future generations to put up with as well," Li said. Thousands of Beijing residents have left the city to head to southern China in a bid to get away from the toxic cloud over their homes, local media reported. Some congregated on the summit of Sichuan's sacred Buddhist mountain, Emeishan, to witness the first ray of clear light they had seen all year. "The smog doesn't extend everywhere, but there is air pollution nearly everywhere now, and it keeps getting worse," a Beijing resident surnamed Hu told RFA. "This problem has been created by undisciplined actions on the part of the government," he said. "The only justice now is that nobody can escape." But he said: "If we don't all stand up and do something about this now, there won't be any survivors." Despite a strong push to improve air quality, China's citizens will suffer over 2 million premature deaths annually due to pollution for decades to come, according to a July report from the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA). Bad air has shortened the average life expectancy in China by over two years, it said. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that air pollution causes at least 6.5 million premature deaths a year worldwide. Reported by Xin Lin for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Lee Lai for the Cantonese Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie. President Xi Jinping has accused five disgraced ruling Chinese Communist Party leaders of involvement in "political conspiracies," suggesting that China's "core" leader is still waging high-level power struggles within party ranks, analysts told RFA. Jailed former high-ranking leaders Zhou Yongkang, Bo Xilai, Guo Boxiong, Xu Caihou, and Ling Jihua had "all engaged in political conspiracy activities," according to a copy of a speech made by Xi at a high-level political meeting last October and published by state-run news agency Xinhua. "[They were] politically ambitious, often being compliant in public but oppositional in secret, and forming cliques for personal interests and engaging in conspiracy activities," Xi said of the five while addressing party leaders at the sixth plenum of the Central Committee in Beijing last autumn, a top political meeting that is held behind closed doors. He told the meeting, which later described him as a "core leader," that the disgraced former leaders were also financially greedy and led corrupt lifestyles. Xi's ideological campaign intensified earlier this year with his tour of the country's leading state media outlets, and is intended to send out a strong message that "careerists and conspirators" and "cabals and cliques" won't be tolerated in party ranks. "There are careerists and conspirators existing in our party and undermining the party's governance," Xi had said last January, without naming any names. A veiled attack All five former leaders are currently serving jail terms for corruption and abuse of power. But Xi's speech, and his insistence on being made a "core" leader, also highlights the president's concerns that not everyone in the ruling party is behind his sweeping anti-corruption campaign, with many criticizing it as a veiled attack on the president's political rivals, analysts told RFA. Xia Ming, a political science professor at the College of Staten Island in New York, said Xi appears to be harking back to the era of late supreme leader Deng Xiaoping, who ruled from behind the scenes long after his retirement. "Deng Xiaoping was the de facto supreme leader, even though he didn't hold a high-ranking post," Xia said. "But he still used to discuss things with [other high-ranking leaders], and that's how they came up with the idea of a collective system of leadership." That collective system, in which power is shared between the members of the Politburo standing committee, continued under Deng's successor Jiang Zemin, he said. "Under [Jiang's successor] Hu Jintao we even had nine chiefs running the place, who were represented by nine seats on the Politburo standing committee, each of which was in charge of a different part of government," Xia said. The Communist Party's ideological journal Qiushi said in a recent commentary that "party members and officials in some departments and regions have been secretly opposing certain of the central government's policies in private, while appearing to support them in public." "Some even publicly express dissenting opinions regarding some of the most important political issues of the day, or on the ideological line taken by the party," it warned. According to Xia, each of the "five conspirators" represented an independent power base within the ruling party that Xi has seen as a threat to his authority. "Zhou Yongkang was at the head of the political and legal affairs [domestic security] interest group, while Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong represented the military," he said. "Ling Jihua represented [Hu Jintao's] Youth League faction, while Bo Xilai represented the princelings," he said, referring to second-generation Communist Party elite. 'The wrong direction' Xi needed to neutralize them to achieve his political aims, Xia argues. "He wants to rule alone and set himself up as a core leader, ending the system of collective leadership instituted under Deng Xiaoping," he said. "But this is a step in the wrong direction." "Xi Jinping wants an extreme form of dictatorship and authoritarian government, so he must have the loyalty of every single official," he said. Constitutional scholar Zhang Lifan said Xi may have added the "core" epithet to his name, but he has yet to earn the authority it implies. "He may have the core name, but he doesn't yet wield core power," Zhang said. "Either that, or he doesn't yet feel secure, and is constantly worrying that people are out to get him." "Perhaps there really are people out to get him, but I don't think we'd be seeing [these speeches from him] if he didn't feel insecure and lack confidence in his own authority," he said. Zhang said the fact that the Bo Xilai scandal blew up just as Xi was preparing to take over the leadership of the party was likely behind Xi's worries. "But I don't think that he is only referring to events in the past [in this speech]," he added. "He is using events in the past as a stick to beat people with in the present." Wang Zheng, who lectures at the Beijing Institute of Economic Management, said she is unhappy with the "conspiracy" label when applied to Bo Xilai. "He was just trying to use every means in his power to get ahead," Wang said. "I actually think that it will be very hard to replace someone like [Bo], from the point of view of the national interest." Ongoing campaign Since taking power in 2012, Chinese president Xi Jinping has launched an ongoing anti-corruption campaign targeting high-ranking "tigers" along with low-ranking "flies." But political commentators say the anti-corruption campaign is highly selective, while rights lawyers have slammed the party's internal investigation system for resorting to torture and other abuses to elicit forced confessions. According to Wang Xiangwei, former China editor of Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper, Xi has already amassed unprecedented levels of power, but is still meeting resistance when he tries to use it to implement nationwide economic reforms or investigate corruption. "Xi chaired a session of the Politburo Standing Committee just 10 days ago to discuss punishments for nearly 140 local bureaucrats and officials of two steel companies found guilty of colluding to circumvent one of Xis economic priorities," Wang wrote in a recent commentary for the paper. "Local officials have remained resistant to such directives, [and] numerous steel companies in Jiangsu and Hebei have openly flouted the central governments wishes," he wrote. "By making the latest meeting public, Xi clearly saw the blatant disregard of local officials as a direct challenge to central authority and intended to use the punishments as a stern warning to others." Reported by Gao Shan for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Ng Yik-tung and Sing Man for the Cantonese Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie. Military veterans from many provinces of China protest outside military headquarters demanding unpaid pensions and benefits, Oct. 11, 2016. Around 1,000 veterans from China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) converged on Beijing during the New Year holiday, clashing with police as a promised deadline for action to alleviate their poverty expired. After around 10,000 former PLA servicemen and women gathered outside the ruling Chinese Communist Party's Central Military Commission last October in protest over a lack of promised pension and healthcare benefits, some local authorities promised to reply to veterans' complaints by Jan. 1, 2017 at the latest. Protesters told RFA at the weekend that they had gathered once more in the capital after their local governments failed to keep their promises. Many veterans of China's brief 1979 border war with Vietnam and the Korean War (1950-1953), live in extreme hardship in old age, they have told RFA. A veteran from the eastern province of Shandong, who asked not to be named, said he had be detained as police swooped on peaceful protesters, rounding them up and forcing them to board buses heading to unofficial detention centers on the city's outskirts. "I was detained alongside my former comrade from the Vietnam war," the veteran said. "They said we were breaking the law, but they detained us in Sanpianzi Alley, which is a normal place to be when you're lodging a complaint." "My comrade was criminally detained, and he was told that this was arranged by higher-up," he said. "I told them that we are living in extreme hardship, and that I might as well go to prison, because at least I'd have something to sustain me in my old age," he said. "I said I'd like to stay in the police station, eating their food." But he added: "I'd say this protest wasn't a success." Subsistence payout The veteran was among large crowds of veterans who had been gathering near central government complaints departments since Dec. 28, sources told RFA. Photos of the scene shown to RFA showed long rows of elderly men in military uniform outside government buildings, with rows of police vehicles and buses nearby. A second protester, who also asked to remain anonymous, said the authorities had failed to deliver on promises made in October. "Back [in October], they promised the veterans that if we left Beijing, they would make a subsistence payout to us, but we haven't received it," he said. "There are many, many reasons why we are here." "People's circumstances vary; some of them are sick, but the army won't give them medical treatment, and just send them back home again," he said, adding that many veterans are falling between the cracks of China's household registration, or "hukou," system, which is the key to accessing social services. "But the local government won't do anything because they say that our household registration is still with the army, so effectively we have no hukou now," the second protester said. "But regardless of whether they have rural or military hukou, many veterans are having problems just getting by now," he said. The government ordered provincial-level officials to Beijing on Oct. 13 to begin escorting thousands of disgruntled military veterans back to their hometowns after a sudden mass protest sent shockwaves through the corridors of power. The veterans have been complaining and protesting for years, but last year's protests were among the largest organized demonstrations seen in the Chinese capital in years, and come from a group regarded as highly politically sensitive by the government. The veterans, most of whom are protesting local governments' failure to deliver on promises of jobs, pensions and healthcare after demobilization, wore camouflage uniforms, sang army songs and held banners from cities and regions across China. Crackdown on protests The Shandong veteran said the authorities appear to be stepping up their crackdown on such protests, however. "I think if anything they are cracking down more heavily, not less," he said. "They are really frightened of the pressure that we bring to bear; we in Shandong can see this very clearly." "They are terrified of collective petitions, so that's why we must support these petitioning actions, so make them more afraid," he said. He said a former Shandong petition organizer, Lin Jiuli, was jailed 18 months ago for his role in organizing a similar event. "They haven't let him out to this day, though they've had a lot of court hearings, but the prosecution hasn't enough evidence to convict him," he said. "Now they are in negotiation with the family to have him committed to a psychiatric hospital, but the family won't agree to locking him up in there." Thousands of veterans converged on Beijing from around a dozen cities and provinces in a concerted bid to air long-running grievances from a group that has been identified by the leadership as one of the most politically sensitive in China. Singing "In Unity is Our Strength" and other Chinese military choruses, the veterans sat outside the ruling party's military wing, the Central Military Commission (CMC), calling for basic pensions and healthcare in their old age. Among those who spoke to RFA were demobilized rank-and-file soldiers, lower-ranking officers, non-commissioned officers, as well as soldiers who participated in nuclear tests, and the Vietnam War. The Myanmar government on Tuesday said fabricated media stories and photos with incorrect captions about the treatment of minority Rohingya Muslims have caused global criticism of the Buddhist-majority country by the international community. The government blamed propagandists for posting phony stories and photos of abuse that occurred in other countries or during previous communal violence in Rakhine, after the Oct. 9 attacks on three border guard posts in the northern townships of Maungdaw and Rathedaung near the Bangladesh border. The Rohingya accuse the security forces that swept the area during a search for the attackers of committing atrocities against them and forcing them from their homes across the border. Human rights groups have published satellite photos showing burned villages and interviewed some of the tens of thousands of displaced refugees in next-door Bangladesh about raids. The government has denied the allegations. Propagandists posted fake news and described events that had happened in other places as ones that had occurred in Myanmar after the Oct. 9 attacks in Maungdaw, northern Rakhine State, said a press release issued on Monday by the State Counselors Office. Such intentionally fabricated news and photos were sent to international media, international human rights organizations, and governments in an attempt to cause misunderstandings about Myanmar, it said. Several videos and photos have emerged during the crackdown, purportedly showing security forces abusing Rohingya. One photo that claims to show the bodies of Muslims slain by Rakhine Buddhists is actually one of Buddhist monks preparing to incinerate the bodies of victims of an earthquake in Tibet in 2010, according to the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar. Another photo said to show rows of Muslim corpses burned by Rakhine Buddhists is actually dead bodies burned in a fuel tanker fire in the Congo in 2010, the newspaper said. Earlier last December, the Myanmar government said it would take legal action against a British tabloid that published a fabricated report and false images allegedly showing an army soldier torturing a naked Rohingya child with a stun gun in Rakhine state. Officers detained In a rare move on Monday, however, Myanmar said it would take action against four policemen for participating in a video shot by another officer that shows them beating Rohingya residents during security operations in early November in Kotankauk village. The video was posted on Facebook. "Those who [were] initially identified were detained," the State Counselors Office said in a statement. "Further investigations are being carried out to expose other police officers who beat villagers in the operation." Presidents Office spokesman Zaw Htay said the government intends to punish two policemen who took the video and who kicked a villager, and will release news about it. Some others were detained as well, he said. They have to perform their duty according to the law. The government has ordered every level of police not to violate human rights, he said. The government has time and again stressed the need to be careful with each and every action to make sure there is no violation of human rights and to act in line with the law, Zaw Htay said. Meanwhile, a fourth villager was found dead in Muslim-majority Maungdaw, the office said Tuesday, the latest local resident who appears to have been murdered in the last two weeks. Swedu Armi, 30, disappeared after he went fishing on Dec. 28. His family found his body on Monday with injuries to his throat. The other three Muslim men killed worked as local administrators in the area and suffered knife wounds. One was decapitated and found in a river. Local officials have speculated that they were killed by other Muslims for cooperating with security forces that have had the area under lockdown since the border guard state attacks. UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee (C) speaks at a press conference prior to her departure from Yangon, July 26, 2014. Credit: AFP UN rapporteurs visit In a related development, Yanghee Lee, the United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, is planning to arrive in Rakhine state around Jan. 8 for a three-day visit some of the villages affected by violence in Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships. Lee has been critical of the governments lack of improvement in its human rights treatment of Myanmars 1.1 million Rohingya, who are considered illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and denied the right to citizenship and access to social services. This visit is her [Lees] regular visit, said Aye Win, the U.N.s information official in Myanmar. She visits Myanmar two times a year. She will be in Myanmar for the report during the U.N. Human Rights Council conference that will be held in March, he said. Lee has completed four missions to Myanmar since she was appointed as U.N. envoy to the country in 2014. During her previous visit, she traveled to Rakhine, Shan, and Kachin states for two weeks in late last June and early July. She met with Muslim and Buddhist residents of religious and ethnically divided Rakhine in the capital Sittwe. Reported by Kyaw Thu for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Chinese police last week attacked and beat a group of villagers in Tibets Chamdo prefecture who arrived late for a lecture on public health, sending several to the hospital and detaining others in a county jail, Tibetan sources say. News of the incident was briefly delayed in reaching outside media contacts owing to communications clampdowns imposed by Chinese authorities in the area. The Dec. 28 police assault began after the head of Karma township in the prefectures Chamdo (in Chinese, Changdu) county arrived at Damdo village and summoned residents to a meeting, a local source told RFAs Tibetan Service. The township leader was accompanied by another official and by armed police, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. When some of the local Tibetans arrived late for the meeting, the officials and police savagely beat them and detained six of them, the source said. Many of them were rushed to hospital, and many others had to be carried to their homes, he said, adding, Some of the locals who tried to pacify the situation were also beaten up. The six detained Tibetans are now being held in Chamdo countys detention center, he said. Speaking separately, a second local source told RFA that the meeting had been called to discuss the prevention of HIV/AIDS, and that about 100 Tibetans had attended. About 20 could not arrive at the meeting on time, though, and they were severely beaten up, the source said, adding that several women in attendance tried to stop the police assault and were then attacked themselves. It was like a replay of the atrocities of [Chinas] Cultural Revolution, he said. Family homes raided Following the assault, police and local authorities raided and searched family homes, questioning those found at home, one source said. The officials and police of Karma township in Chamdo are uneducated and corrupt, and they misuse government funds for their own benefit, the source said. When higher-level officials come to the town to ask about government assistance programs, the local Tibetans are not allowed to speak freely, he said. Damdo village itself has never received any government assistance. Reached by phone for comment, an officer at the Karma township police station denied the attack had occurred, calling the report nonsense. Chinese campaigns to monitor the political views of Tibetan villagers have been particularly intrusive in Chamdo prefecture, with families forced to display photographs of Chinese national leaders, and monasteries and private homes ordered to fly the Chinese national flag from their roofs, sources told RFA in earlier reports. Reported by Kunsang Tenzin for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney. Vietnamese activists are expressing some hope that a new law allowing the U.S. to sanction foreign governments for human rights violations and corruption will make Hanoi think twice before it cracks down on dissent. Buried in the 2017 Defense Department spending bill approved by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on Dec. 23, the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act allows the administration to apply sanctions to individuals in any country in the world for human rights violations. I think individuals in the politburo will have to be very cautious from now on when they make a decision to arrest anyone or crack down on the democracy movement, former prisoner of conscience Nguyen Tien Trung told RFAs Vietnamese Service. The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act is based upon the 2012 the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 that applied only to Russia. Magnitsky was a Russian lawyer and auditor who was arrested after uncovering a tax scam linked to high-ranking government officials. He refused to recant his accusations, and he died in prison under mysterious circumstances. Under the expanded Magnitsky law, foreign individuals can be sanctioned if they engage in extrajudicial killings, torture or other human rights violations committed against people seeking to expose illegal government activity or defend human rights and freedoms. It also applies to government officials or senior associates of government officials engaged in significant corruption or people who provide material assistance to those involved in significant government corruption. Individuals found in violation of the law can have their U.S. visas revoked, can be prevented from entering the U.S.; face having their U.S. assets frozen and will be prevented from entering into transactions under U.S. jurisdiction. They deserve that While the Magnitsky law now applies to countries outside of Russia, and could become another tool that the U.S. could use to force other countries to respect human rights, its unclear if it will do any good in Vietnam. They deserve that for what they have done to the Vietnamese people including my family, Nguyen Thi Kim Lien, mother of prisoner of conscience Dinh Nguyen Kha, told RFA. Kha is serving a four-year prison term for conducting propaganda against the state over leaflets he distributed at a protest over territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea. He and University student Nguyen Phuong Uyen were sentenced in 2013 under Article 88 of the penal code, a provision rights groups say the government has used to muzzle dissent. Uyen was later released. According to their indictment, Uyen and Kha distributed leaflets signed by overseas opposition group the Patriotic Youth League which accused the communist party of allowing China to take over the country by occupying its islands and exploiting its natural resources. The Patriotic Youth Leaguea group of students, artists, and young professionals who promote social justice and human rights in Vietnam and which is banned in the countryhad in the leaflets urged people to take to the streets against the communists. While Nguyen sees the law as a positive development, she was unconvinced that it would make much difference to Hanoi. I think the government of Vietnam is unafraid of any act, she said. I only hope that they will change, but I dont believe that they will change. Reported by Cat Linh for RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Viet Ha. Written in English by Brooks Boliek. Zhang Shufeng, a former resident of Beijing's Shunyi district, has made a plea for help from Thailand after fleeing China with her daughter last January in a bid for political asylum. Zhang says she is currently being surrounded by Thai plainclothes police at her place of residence, and fears detention and repatriation to China. She spoke to RFA's Mandarin Service from the Thai capital, Bangkok: At about 8.30 p.m. on Dec. 1, 2016, a couple of Thai plainclothes police came to my home. There was a language problem, so I called my landlord, who is an overseas Chinese. After the landlord got here, the plainclothes police said that they were acting on a tip-off, and that they wanted to see my ID. The police insisted on seeing our passports, so I showed the passports and our proof of refugee status to the policemen. The landlord and the police spoke for a while, then finally the policeman said that my visa had expired, and that I must leave, as I had no right to live there any more. If they saw us again, they would detain us and send us back to China. More than 10 years ago, I and my daughter were beaten up, and my husband was beaten up so badly he was left disabled. We lost our home in a violent and forceful eviction and demolition, and we were homeless. I have been detained, tortured, mistreated. Our entire family has suffered so much. The people who beat us up have never been brought to justice, because one of them was the younger brother of Yan Zhigang, the deputy chief of police in the Shunyi district police department. These officials all look out for each other. The Chinese government protected this guy, and instead persecuted our whole family. We were forced into petitioning for many a long year, but that didn't resolve our grievance, because if you kick up a fuss about official injustice, they just detain you. After several attempts to lodge complaints, I was detained, arrested and so on, a number of times. I have done time in labor camp twice, been held under administrative detention nine times, and under criminal detention once. My husband Zhang Deli has been detained 26 times, twice under administrative detention. We never wanted to break our family up, but we really couldn't take it any more. We call on the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to formally approve our status as political refugees and protect my own and my daughter's safety. It's not just about being detained by the Thai police. I heard that Jiang Yefei and Dong Guangping also raised urgent concerns with the UNHCR, but they weren't taken seriously. My daughter and I would like the UNHCR to take us seriously, so that we can avoid the same fate as Jiang and Dong, who were detained in Thailand, sent back to China, and who are now serving heavy sentences in prison. Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie. Hundreds of Shi'ite Muslims have demonstrated in western Afghanistan against increasing attacks by radical Islamic groups. Chanting "Death to the enemies of Afghanistan!" and yelling slogans against Islamic State (IS) group militants, protesters marched to the governor's office in the city of Herat on January 3 carrying photos of Shi'ite friends and relatives killed in recent attacks. Herat, which borders predominantly Shi'ite Iran, recently witnessed a surge in attacks on Shi'ite mosques. A Muslim prayer leader was killed and five others were wounded in an attack on January 1. "This is a dangerous trend and we want the government to protect us," said one protester. IS militants were largely confined to the eastern province of Nangarhar, which borders Pakistan, one year ago, but the government said they have greatly expanded their presence since then. Najibullah Mani, head of the Interior Ministry's Counterterrorism Department, said in Herat on January 3 that IS militants are now active in "at least 11 [of Afghanistan's 34 provinces]." In July, IS militants targeted Kabul's Shi'ite community in a suicide bombing that killed more than 80 people and wounded 130. With reporting by AFP U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's spokesman has said that no evidence has emerged that shows Russian hacking influenced the outcome of the November election. "The way the mainstream media is playing it up is that [Russia] had an influence on the election. There is zero evidence that they actually influenced the election," Sean Spicer told Fox News on January 2. Spicer, who will become White House press secretary when Trump takes office on January 20, said that "hacking is wrong" and "people shouldnt be interfering." But he echoed Trump's warning over the weekend against being quick to blame Russia for the cyberattacks. President Barack Obama said the evidence of Russian meddling was so compelling that he expelled 35 Russian diplomats and imposed new sanctions on Russia last week. Lawmakers from both parties have endorsed his efforts. But Trump has repeatedly played down the hacking allegations. Over the weekend, Trump -- who currently receives the same intelligence as Obama -- said he knew "things that other people don't know" and would disclose some information on the issue on January 3 or 4. "He's going to talk about his conclusions and where he thinks things stand," Spicer told CNN on January 2. "He's not going to reveal anything that was privileged or shared with him classified." Based on reporting by Reuters, CNN, Fox News, and The Hill Russian gas giant Gazprom says it pumped a record volume of natural gas through the Nord Stream pipeline on New Year's Day. The 160.75 million cubic meters of gas that transited through the pipeline on January 1 exceeded the pipeline's design capacity, demonstrating that an additional pipeline is needed, the company said on January 2. "The northern route of Russian gas supplies is much-in-demand by the European market," Gazprom CEO Aleksei Miller said. "The fact proves once more that construction of the Nord Stream-2 is important and topical. Consumers are voting in favor of this route." Miller said the existing pipeline was loaded over 100 percent at the end of last year as a result of the European Commission's decision to allow Gazprom to use 90 percent of the Opal pipeline, which ships Nord Stream's gas to end-users. Previously, Gazprom could use only half of Opal's capacity. During 2015, the existing pipeline was loaded at 70 percent capacity. The Nord Stream-2 pipeline, which will stretch from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea, is scheduled for commissioning in 2019, but the project has run into opposition from Ukraine and European countries that question increasing reliance on Russian gas. Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax Russia launched more kamikaze drones on infrastructure and civilian targets in southeastern Ukraine, officials said on November 4, as extensive damage to the power grid left millions of Ukrainians without electricity, prompting President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to accuse Moscow of "energy terrorism." 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. Valentyn Reznichenko, the governor of the Dnipropetrovskov region, said the Ukrainian military destroyed eight Iranian Shahed-136 "kamikaze" drones in the region's southern Nikopol district. "Our air defense did a great job this night. Eight enemy Shaheds downed," Reznichenko wrote on Telegram. It was the second day in a row that Nikopol was targeted by Russian drones. Reznichenko said Russian troops also pounded four settlements in the same district -- Myrivska, Chervonogrigorivska, Marganetska, and Nikopolska -- with Grad rockets and artillery fire, damaging a gas pipeline and a power line and destroying residential buildings. Russian troops regularly bombard the Dnipropetrovsk region, one of Ukraine's steelmaking hubs, with various types of weapons. Moscow denies its attacks on civilians in Ukraine. Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address on November 3 that millions of Ukrainians were temporarily without power due to the Russian attacks. "Tonight, about 4.5 million consumers have been temporarily disconnected from energy consumption," Zelenskiy said. "The very fact that Russia is resorting to energy terrorism shows the weakness of our enemy. They cannot beat Ukraine on the battlefield, so they try to break our people this way." Russia has been targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure and other civilian buildings with missile, drone, and artillery attacks for several weeks amid a Ukrainian counteroffensive that has driven Russian troops out of the northeast and pushed them back in the east and southeast. Over the past days, however, despite heavy fighting, there has been no significant change on the ground on the eastern and southern Ukraine fronts, with preparations building for a fight over the southern city of Kherson. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry accused Moscow of forcibly deporting Ukrainian citizens from Kherson to Russia. "The Russian occupation administration has begun mass forced relocation of residents of the left bank [of the Dnieper River] of the Kherson regionto 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. Russia in September proclaimed to have seized the partially occupied Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Luhansk, and Donetsk following referendums condemned by Kyiv and the West as shams. Volodymyr Saldo, the Russia-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, the 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 to circulate about the alleged mining of the Nova Kakhovska hydroelectric power plant by Russian troops. Zelenskiy previously said that Ukraine suspects Russia has mined the dam and units of the power plant on the Dnieper River, and that 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. Russian forces also removed roadblocks in Kherson. The head of the Kherson regional military administration, Yaroslav Yanushevich, believes that they did this to create the illusion that Russian forces have left the city. WATCH: Near Bakhmut in Ukraine's Donetsk region, Ukrainian forces often rely on artillery from the 1970s and '80s. The front line there is one of the most hotly contested areas. The soldiers say that although the Soviet-era weaponry is old, it is still very effective. 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. The loss of Kherson, which Russian troops captured in March in the early days of the war, would signal a significant retreat. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, asked to comment on the battlefield situation in southern Ukraine, said he believes 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. With reporting by Reuters 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 An attack by suicide bombers on a police station in the northern Iraqi city of Samarra has killed three policemen. Officials said four gunmen wearing suicide vests assaulted the Mutawakil district police station in Samarra late on January 2, taking control of it. A shoot-out lasting several hours ended early on January 3 with all four attackers dead. Three police -- including a lieutenant colonel -- were killed and four others injured in the standoff. The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the attack on its Amaq news agency. Samarra, which is in Iraq's Salah al-Din Province, is about 110 kilometers north of Baghdad. The city hosts a major Iraqi security headquarters and is also home to an important Shi'ite shrine. IS militants consider Shi'a to be heretics. Based on reporting by AFP and Al-Arabiya 2017 has begun in much the same way 2016 ended: with the world in an uproar over yet another act of bloodshed claimed by the extremist group Islamic State. In the early hours of January 1, 2017, a gunman opened fire on crowds ringing in the New Year at a trendy Istanbul nightclub, killing 39 and injuring 69 more. Like the IS-claimed Christmas market attack in Berlin that left 12 dead and scores injured in December, the massacre has reaffirmed the extremist group's international reach. For Turkey, which has vowed to carry on with its military campaign against IS in Syria, it is an ominous sign of a long year to come. The target, popular with celebrities and foreign tourists, appeared to be carefully chosen. A high-profile nightspot where people gather to drink alcohol and dance, it is a symbol of the country's secular culture, which has come under threat from the increasingly autocratic and Islamist rule of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan was quick to blame terror groups that were "trying to create chaos" and "demoralize our people and destabilize our country." Even before Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, all evidence pointed to it being their work. It is unclear why IS waited more than 24 hours before taking credit, but as New York Times correspondent Rukmini Callimachi, an expert on jihadist groups, explained via a series of tweets, IS has been traditionally more reluctant to claim responsibility for mass atrocities than for targeted killings in Sunni-majority countries (likely for fear of alienating its supporters). Set against this, she continued, has been an upsurge in anti-Turkish IS rhetoric that has included calls for attacks against the country, including from the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Both the timing and nature of the attack bore the hallmarks of a classic IS attack. Since Turkish forces crossed the border into Syria in August, Ankara has made itself a target for a variety of forces engaged in the country's vicious civil war. Turkish troops are now battling not only IS but also Kurdish factions allied with U.S.-backed rebels fighting the Syrian government. By entering the war directly, Turkey de facto aligned itself with Russia, with which it recently worked to broker a fragile cease-fire, even though the two countries back different sides. Following the failed coup in July, Erdogan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin before bringing his troops across Syria's border. The relationship between the two has been unusually pleasant since. Even after Moscow's ambassador to Ankara was assassinated in late December, Putin and Erdogan appeared to move closer together, not further apart, arguing that the violence was intended to undermine their efforts to work together to fight terrorism. Russia is also -- ostensibly -- fighting IS. In reality, however, Moscow is more concerned with fighting other Syrian opposition groups to keep President Bashar al-Assad in power and has come to be loathed by the rebels. Moreover, like Russia, self-interest lies behind Turkey's intervention: Its stated objective of overthrowing Assad is not the priority. Rather, Ankara is more concerned with defeating Kurdish groups allied to the rebels, which, with their separatist designs, it considers an existential threat to Turkish sovereignty. All of this has some analysts believing that Erdogan and Putin may have made some sort of bargain for Syria, likely resulting in the partitioning of the country, with some areas under Turkish influence or control and the rest in the hands of Assad. "With [Turkey's] recent alliance with Russia, it has effectively placed itself at odds with the Syrian opposition, as well as more extreme elements," explains Rashad Ali, a senior fellow at the London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue, an organization dedicated to combating extremism. "The level of infiltration of [Al-Qaeda] and IS in Turkey, as well as its indigenous problems, already make managing the various security threats more and more complicated and difficult." This can only be tackled "with local intelligence and municipal-level cooperation with the state and global apparatus," Ali adds. "Whilst Turkey is generally commended for how it has dealt with the fallout of the [Assad government's] war against the Syrian people, its political stance of prioritizing the Kurdish question over its former stance of diplomatic and strategic support for the Syrian rebel factions means it has inadvertently placed itself on the opposite side of the Syrian people, not just the extremist factions." Ali also points out that -- as a moderate Islamist and increasingly authoritarian regime that is allying tactically with the West -- Turkey is seen by IS as being almost worse than the extremist group's sectarian enemy, the Shi'a. "IS may describe the Shi'a as rawafidh (those who reject) and majus (magicians), but the secularized sellout Islamists and the sellout Wahhabis are more culpable in their hypocrisy," Ali says. As ever, the apostate is despised more than the infidel. Shift To More Traditional Terrorism Critically, Turkey's entrance into the Syrian civil war also comes at a time when IS is suffering repeated losses on the ground. The so-called caliphate it once controlled -- and that was, at its peak in 2014, an area the size of Great Britain -- has shrunk drastically. The "victory" narrative that was once the foundation of IS propaganda has long receded. Turkish forces are now playing an integral role in the drive to push IS from Iraq's second city of Mosul. It was the city's capture in June 2014 that gave Baghdadi the confidence to declare the establishment of the caliphate that same month. As IS has suffered on the ground, it has been forced to switch its focus. Military defeats damage the group's "brand" and must be supplemented with successes elsewhere. These have consistently taken the form of terror attacks abroad, which allow the group to project power internationally and ensure it remains in global headlines. IS's November 2015 attack on the Bataclan theater in Paris and its surrounding areas, in which a combination of coordinated suicide bombings and shootings killed 130 people and injured almost 400 others, echoes the January 1 attack in Istanbul: A high-profile venue in which revelers drank and danced, activities considered haram (forbidden or proscribed by Islamic law), was targeted by gunmen who fired into the crowd. Outrage -- and its attendant publicity -- has brought IS directly into people's living rooms once more. "IS has decided to project its war elsewhere, away from the focus point from its loss of territory," Ali explains. "But also like all terrorism, it serves multiple purposes, including projecting power as well as diverting resources away and eyes and attention away from its losses. It has been preparing to return to its primary focus as a guerrilla-type and terrorist outfit, which we will see more of regionally and more attempts globally. A diffused IS means a diffused strategy of terrorism." In short, the bloodshed and killing is likely to continue for a long time to come -- with disastrous consequences for innocent civilians from the Middle East to the heart of Europe. The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL. Kazakhstan says it has lifted visa requirements for citizens of countries of the European Union (EU) and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), as well as a number of other states. The Foreign Ministry said that starting January 1, citizens of EU and OECD countries, as well as Malaysia, Monaco, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore could travel to Kazakhstan for up to 30 days without a visa. "The policy is designed to promote an even more favorable investment climate in Kazakhstan and develop the countrys tourism potential," a January 3 statement said. "The paperwork required by other citizens to obtain a visa for Kazakhstan will be reduced," it also said. The announcement comes as Central Asia's largest economy has been battered by low oil prices and financial distress in neighboring Russia. Last month, Uzbekistan introduced visa-free travel for citizens from 27 countries. With reporting by AFP Moldovan President Igor Dodon has said he will meet with the de facto head of the breakaway Transdniester region on January 4. Dodon wrote on Facebook that he will hold a working meeting with Vadim Krasnoselsky, the leader of the self-styled Transdniester Republic, in the separatist-controlled city of Bendery. Dodon said the meeting was "necessary for intensifying talks on a Transdniester settlement," adding that the issue of the breakaway territory would be a main topic during January 17 talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Krasnoselsky has said he favors independence for Transdniester and closer relations with Russia based on the results of an unrecognized poll taken in the region in 2006. Dodon, who was elected president on December 23, has pledged to resolve the Transdniester issue while in office. "We have a lot of issues that need to be addressed, and the situation where the talks have stalled for several years now is unacceptable," Dodon said. The breakaway territory has been self-ruling since 1992, when a brief war was fought between Moldova and Transdniester separatists. Bendery is technically in a buffer zone along the administrative line dividing Moldova proper from the Transdniester region but it is controlled by separatists. Krasnoselsky was voted Transdniester's leader in an election not recognized by Moldova or the international community. With reporting by TASS The Islamic State (IS) extremist group has launched multiple attacks in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities at the turn of the year that have killed scores of people. At least 35 people were killed and dozens more wounded by an explosion in a packed square in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on January 2. The blast from a car bomb occurred at an intersection in the northeastern Shi'ite neighborhood of Sadr City and reportedly struck a place where many day laborers wait for jobs. In another attack in Samarra, 100 kilometers north of Baghdad, officials said multiple gunmen wearing suicide vests took over two police stations late on January 2, killing at least seven policemen. Security forces said they regained control after killing six militants. IS, which has been locked in a bitter battle with government forces for control of the northern city of Mosul, claimed responsibility for both attacks via its Amaq news agency. Other IS attacks in Baghdad in recent days targeted predominantly Shi'a areas. Three bombs killed 29 people in the capital on December 31 and an attack by two suicide bombers at a checkpoint the following day in the southern city of Najaf -- a holy city for Shi'a -- killed at least eight people. Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP Kyrgyz officials say the man whose name and passport have been circulated in Turkish and Italian media, as well as widely on social media, as the possible perpetrator of the New Year's Day massacre at an Istanbul nightclub is not a suspect in the case. A spokesman for Kyrgyzstan's National Security Service told RFE/RL on January 3 that Iakhe Mashrapov is now in Kyrgyzstan and had been questioned by both the Kyrgyz and Turkish authorities. The spokesman, Rakhat Suleymanov, said that Mashrapov, a Kyrgyz businessman who lives in the town of Kara-Suu in Kyrgyzstan's southern Osh Province, flew to Bishkek from Istanbul on January 3 using his passport, which is genuine. Suleymanov said Mashrapov's flight from Istanbul was delayed one hour as Turkish police questioned him before clearing him to depart. Mashrapov told Kyrgyz Internet news agency Turmush later on January 3 that he had no idea how a picture of his passport was placed on social media. Turkish authorities are still searching for the gunman who burst into Istanbul's waterfront Reina nightclub with an automatic weapon and began shooting people celebrating New Year's early on January 1, killing at least 39 people and wounded 69 others. Turkish state news agency Anadolu said on January 3 that 14 people had so far been detained in connection with the investigation. The dead include the nationals of more than a dozen countries. Funerals were being held around the Middle East on January 3 for victims from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Turkey. Victims also included citizens of Belgium, Canada, Germany, India, and Russia. The militant group Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the massacre, calling the gunman a "hero soldier of the caliphate" and calling it an attack on an "apostate holiday" and revenge for Turkey's military involvement in Syria. Reuters quoted an unnamed security source as saying that "the assailant has experience in combat for sure... He could have been fighting in Syria for years." The same source reportedly said the perpetrator was likely to have been following instructions from Islamic State. The Kyrgyz passport photo posted on social media generated wide interest in part because it appeared to bear a resemblance to a selfie video of a man on Istanbul's central Taksim Square that was also posted on the Internet on January 3. Closed-captioned cameras also caught images of the gunman as he shot his way into the nightclub on the Bosphorus. IS and other militant groups frequently traffic in stolen passports, which they use for recruitment efforts and to allow their fighters to travel undetected. WATCH: Turkish media have released video purportedly showing the suspect in a New Year's nightclub shooting in Istanbul. The 45-second selfie clip shows the man as he walks near Taksim Square in central Istanbul. It was shown on Turkish TV on January 2 without sound. The time and date of the video's capture could not be immediately verified. The video matches a still photograph of a suspect which was given to media by Turkish police on January 1. (DHA via Reuters) It was initially unclear how the conclusions about the Kyrgyz man shown in the passport might affect the investigation. Turkish government spokesman Numan Kurtulmus said on January 2 that officials were close to identifying the gunman and had fingerprints they believed belong to the attacker. Turkish media has widely reported that the nightclub attacker is thought to be from Central Asia. However, the news reports are based on information from unidentified Turkish officials, or members of Turkish security bodies, and have not been publicly confirmed. Turkish media outlet Hurriyet columnist Abdulkadir Selvi has reported that the attacker had been identified, with investigators focusing on the idea he was from Central Asia. CNN Turk has said the suspect was believed by Turkish investigators to be of Kyrgyz origin. And the Dogan news agency reported on January 3 that a woman suspected of being the suspect's wife had been detained in overnight police raids in the Anatolian city of Konya but gave no further details. The attacker shot dead a police officer and a civilian at the entrance to the exclusive nightclub, then opened fire with an automatic rifle inside, reloading his weapon half a dozen times and reportedly shooting the wounded as they lay on the ground. The Turkish news outlet Haberturk quoted a barman at the club as saying the gunman had thrown explosive devices several times during the shooting spree, apparently in order to disorientate people and give himself time to reload. Several witnesses who spoke to Reuters also said there had been small explosions during the attack. Turkey has suffered dozens of deadly terror attacks in the past 12 months, including on its international airport in Istanbul, with some blamed on IS and others said to be the work of Kurdish militants. With reporting by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, Reuters, AFP, AP, and dpa Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. A Henrico County man who was reported missing late last month has been identified as the victim of a fatal shooting Sunday on Belt Boulevard in Richmond. Richmond police said Romoan J. Mitchell, 40, of the 400 block of Camero Court, was found dead from a gunshot wound about 10:30 a.m. New Year's Day by an officer working in the 3400 block of Belt Boulevard. The remains were located in a wooded area along what formerly was known as Platinum Road. Mitchell was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said the victim had been reported missing in late December. Richmond police are continuing to gather additional evidence and asked anyone with information to call Major Crimes Detective Anthony Coates at (804) 646-0729 or contact Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000 or www.7801000.com. Former Washington Redskins player Curtis Jordan will stand trial in Virginia Beach in March on accusations that he beat his girlfriend and left her for dead. The woman, a Virginia Beach doctor, filed a lawsuit in December seeking $31 million in damages for assault, infliction of emotional distress and other charges, according to The Virginian-Pilot. The 62-year-old Jordan, who played safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Redskins from 1976 to 1986, owns a home in Virginia Beach but lives full-time in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas. According to the lawsuit, he violently and maliciously attacked the woman and abandoned (her) to die without any medical attention. Neighbors discovered the woman the next morning and called for medical assistance. The criminal case will be heard on March 21 in Virginia Beach. Jordans attorney, Bob Jones, told The Virginian-Pilot that the lawsuit was without merit. "It's just intended to harass and embarrass Mr. Jordan," Jones said. The womans attorney, Stephen M. Smith, told the paper that Jordan beat her almost to death, and he has not shown one bit of remorse. A. Donald McEachin graduated from American University in 1982 with a degree in political science. Little did he know he would return to Washington 35 years later as a member of Congress. At noon Tuesday, McEachin, D-4th, will become the Richmond areas new member of the House of Representatives. McEachin and two other former General Assembly members newly elected Reps. Scott W. Taylor, R-2nd, and Thomas A. Garrett Jr., R-5th will join 49 other freshman representatives in taking the oath of office on the House floor. McEachin takes his long strides to new corridors of power at a time when Republicans will rule Washington from Speaker of the House Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin to incoming President Donald Trump. This is not the first time Ive been forced to deal with a legislature run by the other party, said McEachin, noting that he served in the state Senate when Republicans controlled the legislature and Republican Bob McDonnell served as governor. McEachin said one of the key lessons he learned in the General Assembly was the importance of building relationships, with Republicans as well as Democrats. All of these people have beating hearts and blood running through their veins, he said. As a member of the U.S. House in the minority party, McEachin will seek to work on issues of importance to his constituents such as rural broadband and the amount of dwell time service members get between deployments while speaking out when he thinks the new presidents rhetoric is inappropriate. One of the hard things about understanding this president-elect is trying to understand what he is going to do, McEachin said. For example, Trump has said he will build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. He also has said that it could include sections of fence where appropriate. McEachin said he particularly was troubled during Trumps campaign by the demonization of a whole group of people, either their ethnicity, or how they worship God. I think that needs to be spoken out against, he said. *** McEachin, 55, had served in the state Senate since 2008. He was a member of the House of Delegates from 1996 to 2002 and again from 2006 to 2008. In between, he lost the 2001 contest for attorney general to Republican Jerry W. Kilgore. The Henrico County-based lawmaker ran for Congress after a three-judge panel redrew the boundaries of the 4th District as part of its efforts to correct constitutional flaws with the 3rd District, represented by Rep. Robert C. Bobby Scott, a Democrat. The 4th District seat was open because Rep. J. Randy Forbes sought to jump from the newly Democratic-leaning 4th to the 2nd District, but he lost the GOP primary to Taylor. McEachin topped Henrico Sheriff Mike Wade in November to earn the right to represent the 4th District, which now includes Richmond and Petersburg as well as southern Chesterfield County and eastern Henrico. The district includes all or part of 16 cities and counties. It extends from Richmond south to the North Carolina line. From the districts southwest boundary in Greensville County, it stretches east to Chesapeake. Its incumbent on me as a congressman to represent all of the people in my district and to try to understand their concerns McEachin said. On the campaign trail, he said he consistently heard about the need for rural broadband and how it would help communities from business development, to education, to families so that young students would be able to stay at home and do their homework instead of going to a library. He is intrigued by efforts in some parts of the country in which electrical co-ops are helping to deliver rural broadband service. He is interested in looking into whether this could be part of the solution in Virginia. We cant afford to wait with rural broadband, he said. On another area of interest, McEachin said many people dont look at environmental issues in terms of job creation. I want to make sure that these new green-collar jobs are coming to Virginia, he said. On education, McEachin said he is concerned that students are required to take too many tests. He also wants to expand historic tax credits so they could be used toward refurbishment of schools. *** In Virginias congressional delegation, there is a long tradition of working together for the states benefit particularly on issues related to the military. Former Sen. John Warner, R-Va., long set the tone. McEachin notes that Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both Democrats, make a point of dining with senators on the other side of the aisle. McEachin will be one of four Democrats in the states U.S. House delegation, which will have seven Republicans. He said he wants to work with my colleagues on both sides in putting Virginia first. In the U.S. House, the Democratic and Republican caucuses set committee assignments. McEachin hopes to get one of the Democratic slots on the Armed Services Committee. McEachin, who during the campaign stressed his concerns about climate change, also hopes that one day he could serve on the Energy and Commerce panel. McEachin lives outside the newly drawn district, as did his GOP opponent. He plans to move within its boundaries. As for where he will reside, he is listening intently to a key constituent his wife, Colette, a Richmond prosecutor, with whom he has three children. My wife has sacrificed a great deal for my political career, McEachin said. During an October debate, McEachin had said he thinks his wife should be a judge, but his service in the legislature precluded that possibility. State lawmakers elect judges. He indicated on Monday that she will have a lot of say regarding their new residence, which might be in Richmond or eastern Henrico. For now, McEachin plans to stay in a hotel while in Washington, but the proximity will allow frequent visits to the district. As he learns the ways of Washington, McEachin might get some tips from an old hand. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., graduated from American a year ahead of McEachin and has served in the House since 1997. Catching up with his fellow AU Eagle is one of many items on the new congressmans to-do list. A decade from now historians will begin making an assessment of President Obamas foreign policies over eight years in office. A political scientist has more latitude to weigh data already available and offer a tentative assessment of the presidents efforts to advance the countrys national interests. Any assessment must start with the challenges Obama faced in January 2009. Crises in 2009. The dangerous shock to the economy that erupted in September 2008 had the potential to shatter the banking system and trigger a 1930s-style Depression. Draconian measures taken by the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve in late 2008 slowed the decline, but the stock market continued to plummet as Obama took office. He then persuaded a reluctant Congress to pass a massive economic stimulus to help stabilize the economy. The dangerous stock market decline was halted, but recovery from the Great Recession took nearly eight years. Obama inherited two festering wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that were started under George W. Bush. Bush sent U.S. forces into Afghanistan in 2001 to crush the Taliban regime that had sheltered Osama bin-Ladens al-Qaida. A new pro-Western regime was installed in Kabul, but the war continued as Taliban insurgents, aided by Pakistan, launched assaults that were only partially contained. The war in Iraq, launched by Bush in 2003 to oust Saddam Husseins dangerous regime, triggered insurgency and near civil war after the U.S. troop drawdown. Obama pledged during the 2008 election campaign to withdraw all the forces; but by 2010 Iraq faced political chaos without the presence of some U.S. forces to assist the Baghdad government in training a national army. At home, Obama faced a disillusioned public that wanted an end to war and a change in national priorities. 2016 assessment. As president, Barack Obama shifted his priorities from foreign to domestic affairs and vowed to avoid new commitments abroad, especially in the Middle East. He sought, without success, to improve relations with Russias Vladimir Putin. He shifted U.S. strategic priorities to East Asia where China challenges Americas supremacy in Southeast Asia. Obama also wanted to reopen diplomatic relations with Iran after 35 years of hostility resulting from the 1979 hostage crisis. In 2015 he achieved a five-power agreement to suspend Irans nuclear weapons program in return for lifting economic sanctions. In addition, Obama achieved in 2016 an international agreement dealing with climate change. Nevertheless, Obamas eight-year effort to extricate U.S. military power from the Middle East turned into a major blow to his foreign policy in 2016 and may do lasting damage to his legacy. Like many liberal-minded political leaders, Obama thought he could sustain U.S. influence abroad by emphasizing Americas democratic values and support of individual freedom. In May 2009, he delivered a major speech in Cairo, Egypt, a staunch ally, and encouraged freedom-seeking groups there and other Arab countries to press leaders to give them freedom of speech and assembly. Protest groups soon were protesting in the streets of Cairo, calling for President Hosni Mubarak to step down and permit elections. When Libya rebelled against a brutal dictator, Moammar Gadhafi, Obama blithely observed that it was time for him to go. Mubaraks resignation following massive protests resulted in free elections and the emergence of the anti-Western Muslim Brotherhood as the new government. It moved steadily against the freedoms that protesters had demanded earlier, and its government brought the economy to near ruin. In 2014, following protest demonstrations in Cairo, Egypts military took control of the country and imposed a new authoritarian government headed by Abdel el-Sisi. Tragedy in Syria. Obamas policy in Syria, highlighted by the destruction of Aleppo, will be viewed as a dark chapter in U.S. foreign policy. His reluctance to become involved militarily encouraged Russia to intervene with its forces in 2014 especially its air force. As a result, Moscow acquired naval and air bases in Syria and expanded its influence across the Middle East. Two weeks ago, Russia, Iran and Turkey held talks in Moscow to arrange for peace in Syria. Washington was not invited to attend. Although Obamas withdrawal from the Middle East is not as dramatic as the humiliating U.S. withdrawal from Southeast Asia in the 1970s, the effect on his legacy may be equally severe. However, his decision in December not to veto a unanimous U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israels expansion of Jewish settlements may in time be viewed as a courageous effort to restore some of Americas waning credibility in the Middle East. This screenshot is from an analysis comparing hypothetical nonpartisan congressional districts (left) and the gerrymandered congressional districts that Wisconsin will have through the 2020 election (right). A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Theres a reason you have a rearview mirror in your car. You have to see whats behind you. Its the same thing when it comes to your money, and thats why Ive looked back at what I consider some of the most important money stories that can impact peoples finances. Heres my countdown of the top 10 financial stories for 2016 and what we can learn from them. 10. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau structure ruled unconstitutional. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit objected to the agency being run by a single director who can be removed only for cause by the president. Under the ruling, the director can be removed at the presidents discretion. The lesson: This is an important agency. But a president too cozy with corporate American could pick a director who wont be as fierce a champion for consumer protection. 9. $1.6 billion Powerball. The year began with the biggest jackpot in U.S. lottery history. There were three winning tickets sold in California, Tennessee and Florida. The odds of winning that jackpot were 1 in 292 million. Lots of people played hoping to become instant millionaires after taxes. The lesson: You want financial security? Spend less and save more. Dont gamble your money away. 8. Fiduciary rule. The Department of Labor, the federal agency that oversees retirement plans, finalized a rule to require financial professionals advising people about their retirement accounts to act in their clients best interests. The lesson: We need to make sure investors are getting the best advice possible to manage their retirement savings. 7. Prince died. Prince Rogers Nelson once wrote slave on his face to protest a music deal that left him without ownership of his music. But the Purple Rain artist, an icon in the music business, who died at 57, didnt have a will. The lesson: Listen to Princes When Doves Cry. Then imagine your heirs crying and screaming over your stuff. Is that the financial legacy you want to leave? If not, get a will. 6. Stock market decline/stock market rise. The year began with the Dow crashing down. In January, the Dow dropped 392 points in one day. It dipped again by nearly 400 points in September. But by the end of the year, it was riding high. The lesson: This is the nature of investing. There will be lots of ups and downs. So invest for the long term. You cant time the market. 5. Overtime. A rule by the Labor Department that would have made overtime pay available to full-time salaried employees earning up to $47,476 a year, up from the current threshold of $23,660 a year, was halted by a Texas judge. The rule would have impacted 4 million workers. The lesson: They giveth and they taketh away. 4. IRS telephone scam. This was a big-time con in 2016. Scammers, claiming to be from the IRS, were threatening people with jail time if they didnt pay a tax bill they didnt owe. But by the end of the year, the number of new victims started to drop precipitously since federal enforcement actions took place in the U.S. and in India, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Police in India conducted a raid at nine call centers, helping to curb this con. The agency says theres been a decline from as high as 200 new victims a week last spring to 19 new victims in the last week. The lesson: This scam might pick up again as the tax season approaches. But please dont be fooled. The IRS will not call you demanding payment. 3. Pension insurance program running out of money. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., which insures private pensions, reported a $58.8 billion shortfall in covering multiemployer pension plans that are expected to fall short themselves within 10 years. The lesson: More evidence that you need to save. 2. Wells Fargo. The CFPB fined Wells Fargo $100 million for unbeknownst to its customers opening hundreds of thousands of unauthorized bank and credit-card accounts. The lesson: Calls to roll back regulation of major financial institutions are insane. Clearly theres need for increased consumer protection. 1. Andrew Puzder picked by Donald Trump for labor secretary. This selection should cause concern among workers. Puzder, who runs the parent company of Hardees and Carls Jr., has opposed rules that would expand overtime eligibility and has criticized efforts to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. The lesson: We need to double down on efforts to fight for a living wage for workers. Heres hoping 2017 will bring better personal finance news. Michelle Singletary is a personal finance columnist for The Washington Post. Her column runs on Sunday. Defying the wishes of their top leaders, House Republicans voted behind closed doors Monday night to rein the independent ethics office created eight years ago in the wake of a series of embarrassing congressional scandals. The 199-74 vote during a GOP conference meeting means that the House rules package expected to be adopted today, the first day of the 115th Congress, would rename the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) to the Office of Congressional Complaint Review and place it under the oversight of the House Ethics Committee. President-elect Donald Trump criticized the move on Twitter: "With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority," Trump asked over Twitter. "Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance!" he added. The OCE was created in 2008 to address concerns that the Ethics Committee had been too timid in pursuing allegations of wrongdoing by House members. Under the current House ethics regime, the OCE is empowered to release a public report of its findings even if the Ethics Committee chooses not to take further action against a member. The move to place the OCE under the Ethics Committee's aegis stands to please many lawmakers who have been wary of having their dirty laundry aired by the independent entity, but some Republicans feared that rolling back a high-profile ethical reform would send a negative message as the GOP assumes unified control in Washington. President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to "drain the swamp" and has proposed a series of his own ethics reforms. Both House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., opposed the amendment to the House rules package, speaking out against it in the Monday evening conference meeting, according to two people in the room. But the measure's sponsor, Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said in a statement that it "builds upon and strengthens" the current arrangement and that it improves the due process rights for the House members under investigation and witnesses interviewed in the course of OCE probes. "The OCE has a serious and important role in the House, and this amendment does nothing to impede their work," Goodlatte said. Goodlatte's amendment to the House rules "provides protections against any disclosures to the public or other government entities," according to a summary provided by his office, and also mandates that the Ethics Committee -- not the OCE itself -- make any referral of a potential criminal violation to law enforcement authorities. "Feedback from Members and staff having gone through review by the OCE has been that those under investigation need increased protection of their due process rights, greater access to basic evidentiary standards, and a process that does not discriminate against them for invoking those rights," the summary said. "The amendment seeks to strengthen each of these needs while maintaining the basic core of OCE's functions." The measure also prohibits the OCE from investigating anonymous complaints and limits its jurisdiction to the previous three Congresses, aligning its statute of limitations to the Ethics Committee's. An OCE spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment. Ethics watchdog groups warned Monday that the amendment could undermine public confidence in Congress. "Threatening its independence is a disservice to the American people who need a nonpartisan body to investigate the ethical failures of their representatives," said Jordan Libowitz, a spokesman for Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, a watchdog organization. "The fact that they do not want an Office with 'Congressional Ethics' in the name is a pretty good metaphor for how ethics scandals will be dealt with if this rule passes." Democrats, then in the House majority, established the OCE in 2008 in the aftermath of the lobbying scandal surrounding Jack Abramoff to conduct ethics investigations free from political influence. But in recent years, some members of Congress have sought to limit the office and its work. At the start of the last Congress, Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., pushed for a rule change to stress that people being investigated by the OCE could not be denied their constitutional rights and had a right to counsel. According to media reports, Pearce raised the objection because he felt a staffer in his office had been treated unfairly. The OCE's rules permit people under investigation to work through a lawyer. Last summer, Pearce repeated such complaints during comments on the House floor, when he proposed an amendment to limit the OCE's funding, arguing that it was justified by government-wide budget restrictions and the need "to give notice to the OCE that we're watching what you're doing." The pushback hasn't come only from Republicans. In 2011, Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C. -- who had been subject to an OCE probe -- drafted an amendment to slash funding from the OCE by 40 percent, calling the office "redundant and duplicative" of the House Ethics Committee. That amendment was rejected. Democrats pounced Monday on the Republicans' move. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement that the GOP "has acted to weaken ethics and silence would-be whistleblowers" and that the proposed arrangement "would functionally destroy" the OCE. "Republicans claim they want to drain the swamp, but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions," Pelosi said. "Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress." The House Ethics Committee is composed of sitting members of Congress, while the Office of Congressional Ethics is run by a six-member board with two alternates. There is currently one alternate position that is vacant. It does not have subpoena power, but its reports and investigations are often a first vetting in situations where members are alleged to have violated the rules of congressional conduct. Several of the cases reviewed by the OCE have been referred to the House Ethics Committee for further proceedings. In the Senate, there is no equivalent of the Office of Congressional Ethics. In the last six years, Beaver Dam Community Hospitals has been scouting and acquiring property all over Beaver Dam and not just near its South University Avenue campus. If we look at where we are now, we are landlocked, Kim Miller, president and CEO said in a recent interview. The BDCH campus has little to no additional space to utilize, Miller said. This is why the hospital has been purchasing property along Webster Street and South University Avenue. Looking beyond the campus, the hospital bought the former Lakeview Hospital site and plans to create a new business on North Spring Street by offering durable medical equipment for purchase. Map: Beaver Dam Community Hospital properties Below is a map plotting every property tied to Beaver Dam Community Hospital in Beaver Dam. In total, BDCH owns 26 properties in Beaver Dam under the names Beaver Dam Community Hospitals and Delman Development LLC. Some properties such as the hospital campus have been owned by BDCH for some time. Properties owned under the name Delman Development have been purchased within the last six years. Miller said it is part of a plan to maintain cost effective health care for the community. In order to achieve that, the hospital is stretching outside its main campus on South University. But Miller said they also want to keep the door open to possible growth at its main location. Lakeview property BDCH bought the former Lakeview Hospital property on Sept. 21 from the previous property owners, Eugene Kirschbaum and Mickale Carter. Miller did not comment on the sale price due to a nondisclosure agreement. At this moment, a site assessment of the property has concluded. Miller said the results of the site assessment will ultimately decide what BDCH does with the property. It is possible that the building will have to be torn down, which she said would be sad. In August, Beaver Dam Common Council went into an agreement with BDCH to conduct an environmental study of the former Lakeview Hospital. The building has been vacant for more than a decade. A $150,000 grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation was used to cover the study cost. The environmental site assessment is split into two phases. According to an email from Miller, phase one reviews site records and involves a site visit to determine if additional environmental investigation is needed. In phase two, investigators will collect soil, groundwater and building material samples to test for petroleum hydrocarbons, heavy metals, pesticides, solvents, asbestos and mold. The outcome of the assessment will eventually make its way to Beaver Dam Common Council in 2017. People have fond memories of being in that building, Miller said. She said the plan is to move ahead with the Lakeview project as quickly as possible. No concrete plans have been announced. We cant determine what the next steps are, Miller said. Residential properties There isnt a lot of wiggle room for BDCH at its South University Avenue campus. If the hospital needs to expand, it will need to acquire land along South University Avenue and Webster Streettwo streets adjacent to the campus. Since 2010, BDCH has bought eight of 17 properties in the 100 block of Webster Street and four properties on South University Avenue across the street from the BDCH campus. These properties cost a total of more than $800,000 over six years. Miller said she is looking at the long-term for future expansion for the organization. She said BDCH is not targeting properties, but instead informing residents along Webster Street that if they are interested in selling, BDCH wants first dibs. Pat Soldner, Webster Street resident said over the phone that about two years ago BDCH met with her and her husband about acquiring their property and they have been meeting twice a year about a potential deal. The Soldners havent sold their property. Another Webster Street resident, Douglas Tesch, told a similar story over the phone. He said BDCH didnt offer a particular price, but said that if he chooses to sell they would pay the assessed value. Bernice Petrusha Trust said over the phone she has no plans of moving off Webster Street. I think its ridiculous to take all of these houses, she said. The properties that are owned by BDCH have multiple uses. Miller said some of the houses are used as temporary housing for new physicians moving to Beaver Dam. Its for support for people moving to the community, she said. In addition, the fire and police departments in Beaver Dam have trained at some hospital-owned properties on South University Avenue and Webster Street. Miller said those properties were going to be torn down so BDCH allowed the police and fire departments to conduct training exercises before demolition. Miller didnt say what the hospital plans to do with Webster Street or South University Avenue properties because right now there isnt an immediate need. Nevertheless, when property becomes available, she said BDCH approaches the owners. North Spring Street property Beaver Dam residents may notice a blue banner hanging from the 1701 N. Spring St. property teasing NEW SERVICES Coming Soon! from BDCH. Miller said 6,000 square feet of the 40,000-square-foot building will become an outlet for durable medical equipment. Its a new service from BDCH that will allow people to purchase medical equipment for their home such as wheelchairs, crutches and hospital beds. Its something that is not offered in full context in Beaver Dam, Miller said. She said it has been a request from patients for a while. The excess space will be transformed into physician office space. Miller said that before this property was available, BDCH was pursuing some land in the Beaver Dam Business Park near the YMCA of Dodge County, 220 Corporate Drive. BDCH switched gears once the space on North Spring Street opened up. The durable medical equipment business is tentatively set to open next year. MADISON - Frank William Lutter, age 99, passed away on Friday, Dec. 23, 2016, in Madison. He was born on April 17, 1917, in Manhattan, New York City, to William and Caroline Lutter. Frank grew up in Czech neighborhoods, one of them adjacent to Central Park, with all his relatives nearby. His parents were Catholic, all the extended family played cut-throat pinochle and the old men flew homing pigeons from the apartment roofs, back when there were horse-drawn ice trucks on the streets. Unable to afford CCNY where he had won a scholarship, Frank traveled to California leaving a union job in a brewery to attend University California Berkeley starting in 1939. He got to ride the rails and worked at a friend's family lumber camp. Frank served four years in the U.S. Navy during World War II as an electrician and served as an instructor in Mississippi near the end of the war. Following completion of an engineering degree, he worked as a mining engineer with the Hardinge Company in York, Pa. (where he met his future wife) and in San Francisco, Calif. Frank married Wilburta Elizabeth Fink on March 29, 1952, in East Orange, N.J. He worked as a patent examiner with the Patent Office in Washington, D.C., from 1955 until he retired in 1986. There, Frank coordinated the Patent Academy for training and later helped in the drafting of patent appeal responses for one of the directors. Family friends say he turned down consideration for a presidential appointment as he could not manage the social obligations. Frank was devoted to taking care of his wife during a long illness and especially following a stroke in Bowie, Md., in 2008, and then following relocation at Oak Park Place in Madison, from the summer of 2009 until she passed in 2011. As a first son, Frank took care of his family, including his brother, a welder during the Bethlehem Steel strikes in the 1950s and 60s. He was always charming and cheerful, and worked through adversity. Frank is survived by his son, William J. (Susan J.) Lutter; and grandson, James W. Lutter. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Wilburta E. Lutter; and his brother, Walter Lutter. A family visitation will be held at OAK PARK PLACE, Grandview Hall, 718 Jupiter Drive, Madison, from 1:30 p.m. until 4 p.m., with a memorial service at 2:45 p.m., on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017, with Pastor Katie Van Der Linden of Glenwood Moravian Church officiating. A military burial at Milwaukee Union Cemetery will follow at a later date. The family would like to thank everyone at Oak Park Place, especially 2nd floor assisted living aides and the physical therapy staff. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com. A 15-year-old Madison boy who allegedly broke into a store early Tuesday morning was chased and arrested by police. The incident happened at about 2:40 a.m. at the AT&T store, 406 S. Gammon Road, Madison police said. Officers responded to the smash and grab burglary when an alarm came in to police of a burglary taking place at the store. "The suspect was spotted running from the store," said police spokesman Joel DeSpain. "He jumped a fence and crossed the Beltline before being taken into custody." Police found a knife in the boy's bag, a weapon the boy told police he uses for protection. "He gave a fake name to police, but he was taken to the Juvenile Reception Center on tentative charges of burglary and obstructing," DeSpain said. A man escaped injury in Downtown Madison Monday night, when a man allegedly fired a gun at him but missed, the suspect arrested a short time later. Trevor Gnatzig, 26, of Madison, was tentatively charged with first-degree reckless endangering safety, endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon and carrying a concealed weapon, Madison police said. The incident happened at about 7:50 p.m. Sunday in the 500 block of West Johnson Street. The victim was walking near State Street when Gnatzig approached and allegedly started to harass him. "After a brief disturbance, Gnatzig pulled out a small handgun, pointed it directly at the victim and fired one round at close range," said Sgt. Timothy Radke. The suspect fled, but the victim followed him and called police. A handgun was in Gnatzig's possession when he was arrested. Radke said anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Det. Grant Humerickhouse, 261-5547. The train will take 18 days to cover the 12,000 mile journey and is carrying a cargo of clothes, bags and other household items. Commercially, its cheaper than air freight and faster than sea transportation. So, London will become the 15th European city to join what the Chinese government calls the New Silk Route, which will pass through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany Belgium and France before arriving at Barking Rail Freight Terminal in East London, which is directly connected to the High Speed 1 rail line to the European mainland. The railway is a major strategic development to assist Xi Jinpings multi-billion dollar One Belt, One Road strategy. There are currently 39 routes linking 16 Chinese cities to 12 European cities. Due to a lack of city funding, a controversial mixed-use project offering affordable housing on the South Side will no longer include a much-needed neighborhood center. The change in plans has disappointed those who saw the project as the areas best opportunity to get a new neighborhood center amid scarce city resources. But others who opposed placing the center in an apartment building that would be located next to a bar say the city should now build a stand-alone center in a more appropriate place. Mirus Partners Inc. and nonprofit Movin Out Inc. intended to build 36 lower-cost units and a 14,000-square-foot neighborhood center on a long-vacant lot at 2230 W. Broadway. When that was done, the developers would have razed a worn apartment building on city-owned property at 1917 Lake Point Drive thats had a 5,200-square-foot neighborhood center on the first floor for two decades and built 12 townhouses there. The $12.4 million project had already received city land use approvals, and the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority had allocated $4.8 million in federal affordable housing tax credits. The city, which had convinced the developers to include the neighborhood center in the project, was preparing to deliver about $2 million in tax incremental financing (TIF) to cover the public space, but the city attorneys office determined the neighborhood center was not eligible for TIF support under state law. So Mirus and Movin Out revised the plans. The new, $11.1 million concept calls for 48 housing units, with at least 40 reserved for low-income renters, as well as 3,000 square feet of commercial space but no neighborhood center on the West Broadway site. The existing neighborhood center will remain at 1917 Lake Point Drive, and the 12 townhouses slated for that location wont be built there. The project still would get the $4.8 million in tax credits for the low-cost housing. Its a disappointment to everybody, including us, said Movin Out real estate developer Dave Porterfield. We worked hard with the city to try to incorporate the much-needed new space for the neighborhood center into this project. We were ready to move forward with the project, and were it not for the problem with being able to use TIF for the purpose of providing the community space we would probably be under construction now. We thought the stars had aligned, said city community development director Jim OKeefe, referring to the potential of affordable housing and an expanded, relocated neighborhood center. Now, were going back to the neighborhood. Dane County Sup. Sheila Stubbs, 23rd District, president of the Bridge-Lake Point Neighborhood Association, said the city did a poor job communicating about the Mirus-Movin Out project. The neighborhood center should never have been planned as part of that project, she said, and a stand-alone center should be built at the east end of Lake Point Drive or in a park on the west side of the area. We deserve it, she said. We have a neighborhood that has changed tremendously. In a memo on her city web page, Ald. Sheri Carter, 14th District, wrote: It is safe to say that this final decision regarding funding (for the neighborhood center) was unexpected. Therefore, I will be holding a neighborhood meeting in January 2017 to have an open discussion regarding options for the center in its current location, and West Broadway project. The revised housing project will be similar in scale to the former one on West Broadway, although the building will now step back to a partial fourth story to accommodate some two-story townhouses at the top of the structure, Porterfield said. We have assembled all the required resources to advance the project in its current form without the community center space and simply need to have our conditional use permit revised to do so, he said. We are confident that this project will move forward next year and look forward to engaging the neighborhood to ensure the project will be a good fit. A neighborhood meeting, or meetings, will be followed by review of the housing project by the Urban Design and Plan commissions. The city will explore the possibilities to improve the existing neighborhood center, although funding will be a challenge, OKeefe said. We want to do a better job of engaging neighborhood residents before we put a plan forward, he said. Linda Hoskins, the neighborhood association vice president and a longtime resident who helped improve what two decades ago was the citys most notorious place, said, The people who have been here for 20 years have been very loyal to the neighborhood. They should get a chance to get a stand-alone center that would serve the whole community. South Korea will on Wednesday release November figures for current account, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. In October, the current account surplus was $8.72 billion. Japan will see final December results for its manufacturing PMI; the previous reading was 51.9. Thailand will release December data for consumer and producer prices. In November, consumer prices were down 0.06 percent on month and up 0.6 percent on year, while core CPI added 0.03 percent on month and 0.72 percent on year. Producer prices fell 0.49 percent on month and 0.59 percent on year. Hong Kong will see November numbers for retail sales; in October, sales fell 2.7 percent on year. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Economic News What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more. Singapore's house prices continued to decline in the three months ended December, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said Tuesday. Residential property prices dropped 0.4 percent in the third quarter versus a 1.5 percent decrease in the third quarter. Moreover, prices declined for the 13th consecutive quarter, which was the longest streak of fall on record. Prices of non-landed private residential properties remained unchanged in Core Central Region, compared to the 1.9 percent decrease in the preceding quarter. Prices in the Rest of Central Region declined by 2.0 percent, after registering a fall of 1.0 percent in the September quarter. Prices in Outside Central Region edged down by 0.3 percent, following a 1.0 percent drop in the third quarter. For the whole year of 2016, prices in the Core Central Region slid by 1.3 percent. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Economic News What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more. Soft drinks maker Britvic plc (BVIC.L) announced Tuesday an agreement in principle to acquire Bela Ischia Alimentos Ltda, a concentrates and juice in Brazil, for a total cash consideration of R$218 million or about 54.5 million pounds. The company said the acquisition price will be funded from existing debt facilities. Britvic said the acquisition of Bela Ischia, which has a strong presence in the key areas of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, would strengthens its brand portfolio in Brazil. In September 2015, Britvic acquired Empresa Brasileira de Bebidas e Alimentos SA and the liquid concentrate brands Maguary and Dafruta in Brazil. In the last 12 months, Bela Ischia delivered double digit revenue growth, reaching approximately R$160 million resulting in EBITDA of approximately R$18.5 million. Whilst the transaction terms have been agreed in principle, reflecting the fact that Bela Ischia is a competitor, Britvic management has identified certain specific closing conditions, including final due diligence and a completion audit. It is anticipated, subject to satisfactory conclusion to these conditions, that completion will occur at the latest by the end of March 2017. The company added that the acquisition will be earnings per share accretive in first full year. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Admiralty Partners, Inc., an investment firm focused exclusively on acquisitions in the global aerospace and defense sectors, said that one of its affiliates has acquired diversified conglomerate General Electric Co.'s (GE) defense in Santa Ana, California. The Santa Ana business will continue to operate in its present Southern California location under the name Integral Aerospace, LLC. Integral Aerospace is a manufacturer of flight-critical products for military and commercial aircraft. These include landing gear components, carbon fiber filament-wound external fuel tanks for U.S. Navy aircraft, aircraft mounted fuel pumps, and a variety of complex machined structures and engine components. John Alves, Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Integral Aerospace said, "We look forward to being an independent supplier to aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturers, and we anticipate that Admiralty's stewardship will provide us resources and flexibility to be responsive to a wide range of customers and requirements." For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Burger giant McDonald's (MCD) has opened a burger joint just outside the Vatican City, within a short distance from St. Peter's Square, despite widespread protests from Roman Catholic cardinals and local residents. The restaurant, dubbed 'McVatican' by press, has been opened on a ground floor of a Vatican-owned building. Cardinal Elio Sgreccia, president emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life, described it as "abhorrent" and a "perversion of the neighborhood." The Vatican will receive a monthly rent of 30,000 euros ($31,158) from McDonald's. Some cardinals, who stay directly above the restaurant in the same building, say they were not consulted before McDonald's opened the restaurant. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News President-elect Donald Trump has now targeted General Motors Co. (GM), asking the automaker to stop importing cars into the U.S. from Mexico or pay a tax. In a tweet early Tuesday, Trump said, "General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A.or pay big border tax!" Trump has repeatedly criticized the North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA for accelerating the transfer of automotive production from the U.S. to Mexico. However, the U.S. auto industry has defended NAFTA, saying the deal was critical to its model. In response to Trump, GM said that while it manufacturers the Chevrolet Cruze sedan in Lordstown, Ohio, a small number of cars from Mexico are sold in the U.S. "All Chevrolet Cruze sedans sold in the U.S. are built in GM's assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio. GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global in Mexico, with a small number sold in the U.S.," the automaker stated. Earlier, Ford Motor Co. (F) too had endured scathing criticism from Trump over the company's investments in Mexico. Ford's plan to move a substantial portion of its passenger-car production to Mexico from a factory in Michigan was heavily criticized by Trump on his campaign trail. Ford is building more-profitable light trucks in the U.S. while investing in new capacity in Mexico to produce lower-margin small cars. While Ford has argued that no jobs will be lost because of the Mexico move and that lower costs there would boost profitability, Trump had proposed a 35 percent tariff as penalty for such a move. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Editors Pick Nestle USA Inc., affiliated to Swiss food and beverage giant Nestle SA, is recalling a limited quantity of Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough tubs from TOLL HOUSE citing the potential presence of soft plastic film, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. The recall involves three batches of Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough tubs from NESTLE TOLL HOUSE. Biotechnology company Moderna, Inc. reported a profit for the third quarter that plunged 69 percent from last year, reflecting a drop in COVID-19 vaccines sales and higher operating expenses. Both earnings per share and revenues for the quarter missed analysts' expectations. German luxury carmaker BMW AG reported Thursday higher profit and sales in its third quarter benefited by strong pricing, despite weak margin and slight drop in Automotive deliveries. Looking ahead, the company maintained fiscal 2022 forecast for significantly higher earnings, and slightly lower sales with weak deliveries. In Germany, BMW shares were losing around 4 percent in the morning trading. Deputy PM meets chairman of Yemeni Club to coordinate with BRICS SANA'A, Jan. 03 (Saba) Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Dr. Hussein Abdullah Maqboli met on Tuesday with chairman of the Yemeni Club to coordinate with BRICS Ali Ahmed Eshaq. Maqboli heard from Eshaq the idea of founding the club and the activities carried out by the BRICS project and a line of silk maritime and the benefits could help Yemen from this project. Maqboli talked about that speaking of joining to any bloc or economic project is depended on the start of essential ingredients of economic development to prepare Yemen to join. " We have to pay more attention to the development, navigational services and optimal investment of the available human and natural resources in the country, he said. Maqboli said that Yemen owns a competitive sidewalks regionally, like Ras Issa, Zuqr island in the red sea. He noted that a partnership with a private sector in several aspects of the natural and human ingredients as well as infrastructure development. The deputy minister also noted the importance of partnership with civil society organization to complete the attitudes of the national salvation government in order to achieve economic and social development for Yemen. Chairman of the Yemeni Club to coordinate with the BRICS explained the importance of speeding up the establishment of the National Committee to coordinate with the BRICS of the official sectors and the concerned ministries and the membership of the Yemeni private sector and the club as a representative of civil society organizations. He called on the Government of National Salvation to move towards to take benefits of the projects and economic blocs as well as restoring the Yemeni sovereignty over the entire sea route. The chairman talked about the importance of empowerment and partnership with various sectors and social parties in order to reconstruct Yemen and benefit from the international orientation of the BRICS countries in this aspect. HA Saba Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp Telegram Telegram Email Email Print Print [03/January/2017] Admitting to the cash crunch prevailing in rural areas, the RBI on Tuesday asked commercial banks to send at least 40 per cent of the currency meant for circulation to their rural branches. "The bank notes, being supplied to rural areas, at present, are not commensurate with the requirements of the rural population," the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a notification. With a view to ensure that at least 40 per cent bank notes were supplied to rural areas, the banks were advised to increase the issue of currency towards the main channels of distribution in these areas. "Banks should advise their currency chests to step up issuance of fresh notes to rural branches of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), District Central Cooperative Banks ' title=' District Central Cooperative Banks '>District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) and commercial banks, white label ATMs and post offices on priority basis which are considered main rural channels of distribution," it said. RBI asked the banks to issue notes in denominations of Rs 500 and below in rural areas with liberal issuance of existing stock of notes below Rs 100. It also asked the bank chests to obtain supply of coins on priority basis and if required even get it issued from the central bank. As the rural requirements could vary depending on variations in the rural and urban mix of each district, a certain percentage of allocation has been assigned to each district by RBI to facilitate a need based approach. "The indicated proportion may be maintained on weekly average basis at each chest level as it may be difficult to stick to the proportion on daily basis," RBI said. The government demonetised the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8 with a view to battle corruption, black money and terror funding. The move triggered an unprecedented cash crunch across the country. Google dedicated a Doodle on Tuesday to mark the 186th birth anniversary of India's 19th century social reformer Savitribai Jyotirao Phule, considered the first feminist of the country. Savitribai K. Patil was born on January 3, 1831, in a rich and influential farming family and at the age of nine was married off to the 13-year old Jyotirao Phule. She was taught to read and write by her husband and when she turned 17, the couple founded India's first school for girls and women in Bhidewada, Pune. It started with just nine girls from different castes enrolled as students - but it became a historic step when female education was considered taboo in the orthodox Indian society prevalent then. The Phule couple - who had no children of their own - launched a crusade against social discrimination based on caste and gender, and sparked the flame for women's equal rights during the British ruled India. At a time when women had no say in anything, Savitribai's campaign covered child marriages, child widows, rape victims becoming pregnant, the practice of 'Sati', educating women and fighting for equal rights for all women. The colourful Doodle shows a simple Savitribai spreading her sari 'pallu' wide to encompass women from all sections of society for education and empowerment. The simple 'Goodle' (Google Doodle) shows a group of demure women assembled outside what could be a school for education in a skyblue starry background which also doubles as her blouse. Over the next few years, the Phules set up 18 more schools across the state of which Savitribai became the teacher, headmistress and principal. Nearly 18 decades later, the Maharashtra government renamed the Pune University as 'Savitribai Phule University' as a tribute to the Phule's sheer courage and pioneering efforts in the field of education, women empowerment, social reform and gender equality. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday dubbed the arrest of Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay as "vendetta politics" by the Centre as her supporters attacked the BJP office here, leaving some 15 people injured. A furious Banerjee also announced nationwide protests against the Modi government's "vindictive attitude". Bandyopadhyay was earlier arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Rose Valley Chit Fund scam after being calle3d to the CBI office for interrogation. Banerjee demanded the arrest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah instead. "We strongly condemn the politically vindictive attitude of Modi and Amit Shah. They have arrested our Parliamentary Party leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay. He is a veteran politician and senior leader of our party. "It is all because of our fight against NoteBandi (note ban). We are and will be with the people. Nothing can stop us from being with the people and we will continue with our protest against NoteBandi," she added. "We condemn, condemn and condemn this," she said in a Facebook post. As news of the MP's arrest spread, hundreds of Trinamool activists took to the streets. A mob attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party office here with stones and vandalized cars parked outside. The BJP said 15 of its activists were injured. A few bled from the head as they spoke to the media. Banerjee vowed to launch pan-India protests against what she said was the Centre's vindictive attitude beginning on Wednesday. "We will hold a demonstration in front of Kolkata RBI on January 9 and there will be dharnas in 10 different states including Delhi, Assam, Odisha and Tripura on January 10 and 11," she said. "I also run a government and I also have the power to arrest certain people who are thieves, hooligans and extortionists. This arrest has been made under pressure from the PMO." "This is vendetta politics because the Trinamool is fighting against the Centre over demonetisation," she told the media. Banerjee urged people to hit the streets against the Centre. "I challenge the PM, he cannot do anything, can't suppress the voice of the people. He can't bulldoze people. Many political parties are scared, but are not able to speak out. "Emergency situation is going on. People should come out on roads against demonetisation, people will teach them a lesson," she said. Dismissing the allegations, BJP leader Piyush Goyal said the central government "never interferes" in any investigation process. "We never interfere in any investigation process," Goyal said here. Asked about opposition protests against demonetisation, Goyal said: "This is political opposition. People of India have supported the move." December or January is that time of the year when the police of every State has to meet the press to put across its achievements and its crime control records for public scrutiny. The Maharashtra Police seems to have got a feather in its cap this time to prove that it is one of the best in the country by successfully arresting two teenagers involved in the kidnapping of a 3 year old for ransom from a Chawl in Nagpada, South Mumbai, whose body was found stuffed in a bag. The two boys, students of a South Mumbai confessed to the police that they had kidnapped the child Tarannum Fatema on December 5 as they were under the impression that the parents of the girl who are scrap dealers, were very rich. Even though the child died the same day after they strangulated her with a mobile phone charger after she started bleeding due to excessive use of chloroform, the police managed to nab the culprits after 20 days,on December 25. However the city newspapers are full of news to make it appear like a great achievement of Mumbai police. And to reinforce this achievement the police is floating figures to prove that crimes by teenagers or juveniles is on the rise and the cases of kidnappings have gone up by 150 per cent from 11 in 2014 to 27 in 2015 as per records of the National Crime Records Research Bureau. The cases of murders by juveniles have gone up from 8 to 12 and attempt to murder from 12 to 14. But this kind of frenzied buildup is very dangerous and needs to be looked into carefully. In reality this is a cover up and diversionary tactics to hide the inefficiency of the police. The headlines read '150 per cent rise in kidnapping by minors' but does not say that the total crimes by juveniles has gone up from 856 to 873 that comes to just a 2 per cent rise which is hardly anything. It is like introducing note ban by a government that has been unable to cope with problems like unemployment, price rise and communal strife! On a serious note, this is a dangerous move as far as child rights are concerned, by quoting half truths to reduce the age of juveniles as was done in 2015 by Maneka Gandhi, to amend the Juvenile Justice Act when one of the juveniles involved in the Nirbhaya assault of 2012 was about to be released from the remand home. Even though a panel of the Standing Committee comprising members of both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha which discussed the issue of reducing the age of juveniles from 18 to 16 had unanimously given a 70 page report saying that the move was not needed as there were enough provisions in the existing law. The panel came to this conclusion after it saw presentations from Prayas and some other child friendly NGOs which had studied the proposals very deeply. However the hype created by the ill-informed media showing pictures of the parents of Nirbhaya or Jyoti Singh, demanding justice for their daughter flashed on TV sets round the clock forced even those MPs who held contrary views, to go with the amendments. Some of them admitted privately that they feared they would be lynched if they opposed the move for reducing the age of juveniles from 18 to 16. The new Juvenile Justice Act allows a juvenile between 16 and 18 to be tried like an adult if the crime involves rape and murder. Incidentally, the media does not mention the report of the NCRB when it mentions that there has not been a single case of rape by juveniles in Mumbai between 2014 to 2015. It is easy to understand the frenzy of the police to add more offences under the JJAct 2015 which allows trial in adult courts under adult laws. They are used to using their dirty third degree methods to extort confessions from hardened culprits and it will be so much tempting to try these on juveniles. It also suits the lawyers, always in cohorts with the police, that the trials in adult court linger on endlessly. They know that the shortage of judges, that has been highlighted in the recent face off between the Chief Justice of India T S Thakur and the law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will allow them to seek postponement and keep the under trials in custody indefinitely till they are sure that they will be able to seek conviction. The much-talked about trial of the convicts involved in the case proves that even if a case is being tried in fast track court the culprits are in safe custody even four years and 10 days of the incident. On the other hand, trials in the Juvenile Justice Board are not open to public hearing and they are monitored by child rights activists constantly as per the international rules and regulations. The best advice to get out of the present crisis and the build up to blame children (which is another word for juveniles) for the rise in crime comes from one of the toughest cops in the country Julius Ribeiro, who has been quoted as saying,"The government needs to tackle the issue on different fronts, which would include better community policing, more committed teachers in schools, a better teacher-students ratio, social welfare measures and counselling and encouraging NGOS that focus on children's issues." Nowhere does this statement blame the juveniles or talk about reducing their age as normal police officers suggest. This government is also very anti NGOs in general unless they are promoting a certain dogma. They are always looking for easier options which may harm the interests of children permanently, the most vulnerable section of society comprising over 50 percent of the population. Amid a battle over the party symbol 'cycle', Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav went into a huddle here on Tuesday afternoon. The development surprised many as the two factions of the Samajwadi Party appeared headed for a split after the dramatic happenings of the past few days. Mulayam Singh flew into the state capital and within an hour Akhilesh Yadav drove to his bungalow. They were closeted for more than three hours, said an informed source. Midway, Mulayam confidant Shivpal Yadav, who the Akhilesh camp dethroned as the state unit chief on Sunday, was also told to attend the meeting. No further details were immediately available but the source said a "formula acceptable to all" was being worked out. The source said the prospect of the party symbol being frozen by the Election Commission had brought the two warring factions to the drawing board again. With assembly elections imminent, a division in the party and a freeze on the party symbol could render a body blow to the Samajwadi Party. Earlier, a delegation of the Akhilesh camp - Ram Gopal Yadav, Kironmoy Nanda, Naresh Agarwal and state minister Abhishek Misra - met Election Commission officials in Delhi and staked claim over the 'cycle' symbol. The team of US President-elect Donald Trump ' title=' Donald Trump '>Donald Trump has said there was no evidence to suggest that Russian hacking had influenced the 2016 US election. "The way the mainstream media is playing this up is that they (Russia) had an influence in the election. There is zero evidence that they actually influenced the election," Xinhua news agency quoted Trump's spokesman Sean Spicer as saying. Spicer accused the Obama administration of "jumping to conclusions before we have a final report", calling the behaviour "irresponsible". The Obama administration last October officially blamed Russia for hacking US political institutions and persons to interfere with the November 8 poll process, an accusation Moscow immediately dismissed as "nonsense". The episode reached its climax last December when the US daily Washington Post uncovered a secret Central Intelligence Agency assessment report in which it claimed that Russia's meddling in the US election was aimed at helping Republican Trump win the White House. According to the CIA, Russians were believed to have hacked both Republican and Democratic organisations, though only damaging documents from Democrats were leaked to the public. Russia had for long repeatedly denied being behind the cyber attacks which led to the leaking of damaging material which dogged Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton till the election day. Three weeks before leaving office, President Barack Obama on Thursday struck back at Russia over alleged election hacking, with nine entities and individuals, including two intelligence services, being slapped with sanctions for their alleged interference. The US State Department on Thursday announced expulsion of 35 Russian government officials and diplomats, calling them "acting in a manner inconsistent with their diplomatic status". Two Russian government-owned compounds, one in Maryland and the other in New York, would also soon be shuttered, according to the State Department. Here we are once again. This week we embrace and welcome the start of a brand new year. Wherever you were during the weekend, no doubt we all had a chance to reflect and bid farewell to 2016 just before the stroke of midnight on Saturday when we greeted the arrival of 2017. And so here we are today extremely grateful for so many things especially the gift of life. We give thanks for the past, the present and we pray for the future because we simply dont know what is up ahead. In times like this, weve found that one of the most wonderful things about life is the opportunity to start afresh. And I guess this is the best part about a new year. Its the chance to start afresh, turn a new leaf and have another go. Today many of us are returning to work. Its hard, we know. But lets begin the year on a positive. Lets think and be inspired by hope. We need to because without hope in this day and age where there is sorrow and suffering everywhere, there is nothing to cling to. There is no doubt that 2016 was an eventful year. All you have to do is read through the achievements of people whose work were highlighted in your Sunday Samoan to know that it was a great year. But wherever there is good, there is always evil. Here in Samoa, the stench emanating from the government, the Church and villages failure to address some of the more pressing issues confronting this country is hard to accept. Were talking about rising social problems and inability to address incidents of corruption and abuse that are hurting the most vulnerable people in our community. When it comes to the government, another year has disappeared without a single thing being done to address incidents of corruption highlighted by the Controller and Chief Auditor as well as the Officers of Parliament Committee (O.P.C) reports to Parliament. Transparency? Accountability? Good governance? We think not. Inside the church, there is reason to believe that some shepherds are doing more harm to the flock, leaving them in sorrow and suffering. Love? Care? Tender mercies? I wonder. As for the villages, we believe the matai system can offer a lot more to help the government and the churches address the problems of today. It involves using the immense power they have to influence young people positively. It also involves them leading by example by doing what is right. It involves them leading with love and compassion and not just meting out cruel punishments for the sake of a few cans of mackerel. Weve said this before and we will say it again. The bottom line when we stop to reassess and refocus is that we will find everyone has a role to play. Yes the government has a responsibility. It must do its best to make sure that laws and systems put in place to ensure there is fairness all around are respected. These laws and systems are vital so that the less able among us are given their fair share in life. As for today, we are thankful, extremely grateful for the simple gifts of life. We remain forever thankful that we enjoy such a peaceful country despite all the challenges. We must never take peace and freedom for granted. We should treasure them; value them as if our lives depended on it. And as we look ahead, there is reason to be optimistic. Yes we see a glimmer of hope. Even if its just a small flicker, we believe that a little light is better than no light at all. So lets not give up. Lets continue to take things one step at a time and believe for the best. While at it, lets also not forget to pat ourselves on the back. While we are not exactly where we want to be, we are also not where we used to be. Indeed all the negative experiences have taught us a thing or two about getting better each time. Today, let us once again remind our leaders in government, churches and in the villages that they are occupying those positions for a reason. That reason is not to protect wrongdoing but to uncover the truth, bring about justice so that the blessings from God for Samoa are equally shared among all. And since many of them love claiming that they have been put in their positions by God, let them also be reminded that it is God who gives authority, he also removes authority. In his own time. And he is a God of justice. Have a great start to the working year Samoa, God bless! A video showing three young children who appear to be street vendors beating a man sleeping on the steps of the Bartley building has raised concerns about who exactly is responsible for these kids. The video was posted by Ruddy Bartley on youtube with the title, Samoa Street Kids 3am, 06 Dec 16 caught on CCTV. Mr. Bartley asked the question of who is responsible for these kids if their parents, family, villages and church have failed them. The children all boys range from 7 years old to 12 years old. They were captured on the CCTV camera walking barefoot between the Bartley building and the S.N.P.F. building. One of them who also looks like the youngest of them all had a small bag. At around 3.18am on 6th December 2016 the three kids came across a man sleeping on one of the steps at Bartley building. One of the trio stood infront of the man and tried to retrieve something from him that woke him up. Before the man could sit up one of the boys slapped him on the face and ran to the other side. It didnt stop there. The three kids then returned to the man who just sat there with his hands on his head and started kicking, punching and hitting him with the bag. One of the security guards, at S.N.P.F. Plaza, Faasalafa Masinlaupe Tini believes the victim is mentally ill. He said the man is very quiet and he usually sleeps in the area. Just like other mentally ill people roaming Apia, Faasalafa said the young vendors throw rocks at them and call them names. A lot of people feel sorry for the young vendors selling goods on the streets especially late at night. But dont be fooled by their young age. Workers of the S.N.P.F. Plaza described the young vendors as nuisances at their nightlife. Faasalafa said the young children roam the town area from night until morning. He stressed the need of addressing the problem before its too late to deal with them. They used to sleep in front of Coffee Bean and we would chase them away, he told the Samoa Observer. I was shocked when I saw them occasionally hanging around here with beer bottles and smoking. The youngest would be about 8 years old going up to their teenage years. I dont know where they buy their bottles from or if they scab it off drunks but its very dangerous and they are a problem at night that people dont see this ugly side of it. The security guard said the children are not only harassing people but also have foul mouths and disrespectful. He recalled that on most nights when they are asked to leave the area they would swear at him and tease him. Faasalafa blames parents for the problem. While he acknowledges that government is doing its best to solve the problem he believes that parents have allowed their children to roam the street late at night. I really believe that parents should be charged so they can discipline their children and prevent this problem, he said. Its either that or our laws are weak that it is not working. The security guard suggested that police should continue their patrol from late night to early morning hours. He pointed out that police stop their patrol after clubs close around 1am while the young vendors are still causing trouble up to early hours of the morning. Another security guard, Liki Ah Sam shared his view about the problem. He said the parents may say they are poor and the reason why their children are selling on the streets but he doesnt believe them. They say they are poor but if you hear what they say to people who do not buy from them and how they sound like young prisoners, said Mr. Ah Sam. I dont believe that they are out selling because they are poor. When someone is poor they have no food for months but what I see is they are using poverty as an excuse to harass people and steal from them. These parents are breeding and training their children to be young thieves and trouble makersin the next five years we wont be able to control this if we dont do something today. Mr. Ah Sam who is a security guard at the old N.P.F. building said the mothers of the children play poker infront of C.C.K. building. He explained that while they are enjoying their card games they send out their children to pester people. They dont care about their children and their behaviour towards the public, said Mr. Ah Sam. I have seen it with my own eyes. One day one of the kids got slapped by another man for being cheeky and that was when the mother came out and started swearing at the man and throwing things at him. But you cant blame people for slapping these kids because they are disrespectful. They are a disease. Mosooi Faatuuala also shared her experience with the young vendors. The mother who is a cleaner at the S.N.P.F. Plaza said everyday the vendors are always harassing people. She recalled a few weeks ago when a 10 year old was taken by police. That kid pissed in aplastic bag and threw it down where some adults were sitting here, said Mrs. Faatuuala. It was disgusting and if only I could catch him. The security officers chased him and when he was caught he was taken to police and saw him a few hours after. I dont believe that police taking them in do anythingthey just release them back to community without really disciplining them. Let us be seeds that grow on rocky soil. Thats the theme of the Zion Christian Church Ministries Conference this week. Held at Vaitele Zion Christian Church, President Ps. Matofai Mareko told the Samoa Observer the conference is all about seeking God at the beginning of the year. Based in New Zealand, the church was first established in 1985. Since then, it has grown from strength to strength with branches in Samoa, New Zealand, Australia and San Diego. Ps. Mareko said Gods hand has been amazing. The main reason of this conference is to discuss some of the issues we want to address as a church and to build Gods kingdom on this earth while we still have the time. We believe that standing together in prayers and fasting while we are having this conference makes us stronger in God. The conference ends on Sunday. We have programmes for youths, worship teams, children, pastors and other services from Monday to Saturday. The door is open to anyone who wants to come and join the conference and we also have speakers during this whole week. Were praying that after this conference well reap many souls for the Kingdom of God. Heres the scenario: youre enjoying your New Year holidays lackadaisically hanging out around the house, when overseas relatives decide come over unannounced and want to come spend the holiday at your house. You have absolutely nothing prepared. Youre rushing around frantically getting things in order, when it was just supposed to be a relaxing day. Lucky for you, the day is saved because the local grocery store is open which supplies all your catering needs. As those of us who are lucky enough to take a relaxing day off, many off us fail to notice the men and women who are hard at work carrying on with their duties despite it being a holiday yesterday. These are the unsung heroes in days like this. The people who give up their holidays so that the community can continue to function. In essence, society is carried on the backs of these men and women who work tirelessly for the greater good. For instance, the bakery attendee at the new Frankie Hypermarket in Vaitele was happy to attend to her post. As last minute shoppers strolled the isles, Mareta Aifaalau from Vaitele-Uta is content with working through the holidays. Today wasnt that busy, she said. Im fine with working during the holidays. If I wasnt here, Id probably just be at home doing nothing. So its better to be here at least Im getting paid. Many workers echoed Ms. Aifaalaus statement. However, it wasnt just shops that were opened yesterday. Restaurant workers, taxi drivers, police men and women, health workers and many others continued their work with pride. Take Faranisisi Ioane from Tafaigata who works at CBM Filling Station for example. I enjoy working during the holiday it gives me a chance to earn more money. Im very happy to work, Im serving my country by working here. Where would people get petrol if I wasnt working? Mr. Ioane had been working from the early morning when the Samoa Observer approached him and finished around 10pm. He was genuinely happy to be at his post serving the community. It was truly a magical night at Sheraton Samoa Aggie Greys Hotel on Saturday night where the countrys leaders reflected upon 2016 and welcomed the new year, 2017. The occasion to do this was the 2016 Opera Under the Stars, hosted by Sheraton Samoa and St. Therese Retreat & Accommodations. The Show is normally staged at Leauvaa but this time the classy ballroom of the Sheraton Samoa provided the perfect venue for an evening to remember. The Head of State, His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and whos who of Samoa were decked in their finest to be serenaded by the heavenly operatic voices on show. Among them was award winning, Marlena Ott Devoe. Other stars featured included Joel Amosa, Kalauni Pouvalu, Ipu Lagaaia, Anotinette Alena Tuipea, Paul Lavea and Kilika Leavasa. The night was hosted by Tuilagi Igelese Ete, a renowned award winning musical director who has worked in some of the movie industrys best films including the Moana movie. Here are some of the photos from the evening. RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) Brazilian authorities said Tuesday that the inmates responsible for the killings of 56 rivals at a prison in the Amazon will be transferred to high security federal institutions in addition to being prosecuted. Many of those slain were beheaded or dismembered in the worst bloodshed at a Brazilian prison since 1992. Amazonas state public security secretary Sergio Fontes said the transfers will begin as soon as investigations into the killings are finished. Three other prisons in the state of Amazonas also saw riots Sunday and Monday. In total, 60 inmates died and 184 escaped. Only 50 were recaptured until Tuesday afternoon, according to the local police. Fontes said he expected to have all back in prison by next weekend. Amazonas Gov. Jose Melo said the transfers to federal prisons are likely to focus on members of local Family of the North gang that attacked those of Sao Paulo-based First Command, Brazil's biggest criminal organization. The two are clashing over the control of prisons and drug routes in northern Brazil. "They are fighting for space outside the prisons, and this time it was inside the penitentiary," Melo said in a press conference after meeting federal authorities. "This is part of a national movement that happened in prisons of Roraima, Acre and Rondonia states. Now it is with us. What shocked us was the aggressive way it was done." Meanwhile Tuesday, dozens of people stood outside the coroner's office in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas, to find if their relatives were among the dead. Sara Santos, 36, said she was seeking news of her 23-year-old brother, who had been in prison for drug trafficking. "Nobody knows who is alive or dead," said Santos, expressing frustration that she and her mother had been waiting for news since Monday afternoon. Amazonas authorities said families will be paid a compensation for the killings of their relatives in prison. Public security secretary Fontes said the first bodies of the victims will be handed to their families starting Tuesday evening. Transfers of gang leaders to federal prisons often have been followed by more violence and Amazonas authorities said they are worried that the First Command may retaliate for the slayings in the coming days. The Anisio Jobim Penitentiary Complex in Manaus held 1,224 inmates when the riot began, although it is designed for only 592, the state public security office said. The prison is run by a private company that is paid according to the number of inmates. The governor also announced a public-private partnership to invest $30 million in a new penitentiary with capacity of 3,200 inmates to address the state's growing problem of crowded prisons an issue all over Brazil. Late Monday, Melo ordered that 130 prisoners linked to the First Command be transferred to a prison built in 1907 that had been deactivated in October due to poor conditions. Secretary Fontes said that the old prison "was the only solution available to the state to stop another massive killing". Robert Muggah of the Instituto Igarape, a Rio de Janeiro-based security and social issues think tank, believes that the transfer of prisoners "is an important measure, but it doesn't address the structural problems of Brazil's poorly managed prison system." "There still needs to be a better separation of dangerous and not as dangerous inmates. There are a lot of new problems when juveniles enter adult prisons," he said. "This is a long-running problem with no end in sight." Brazil's Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes said federal government is sending $17 million extra to Amazonas. Part will go to help forensic experts, who are having difficulties identifying the bodies due to the extreme brutality of the killings. The incident was the most deadly in a Brazilian prison since at least 111 inmates were killed by police forces during a 1992 riot at the Carandiru prison in Sao Paulo. When asked to describe his six years as a commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Mike Florio gave a one-word response. Tumultuous, he said. Not much debate there as the CPUC has experienced no shortage of scandals, controversies and calamities during Florios tenure. Advertisement Appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2011, Florio has decided to not seek another six-year stint at the agency that oversees energy, rail safety, telecommunications and water rates in the nations most populous state. His last day on the job was Dec. 31. Fellow commissioner Catherine J.K. Sandoval is also stepping down, meaning two of the five slots at the top of the CPUC will be replaced. Last week, Brown appointed two members of his staff Martha Guzman Aceves and Clifford Rechtschaffen to fill the vacant spots, pending confirmation by the state Senate. Theyre both really good people, Florio said. Especially with this uncertainty about where national policies are going, I think theyre exactly the kind of people the governor needs to keep California in the leadership role on critical issues. Florio came to the commission after three decades as a CPUC watchdog, working for The Utility Reform Network (TURN). But during his term in office, Florio himself became a target. After emails came to light showing a cozy relationship between Florio and top executives at Pacific Gas & Electric, the owners of a pipeline that exploded in 2010 killing eight, some consumer advocates called for Florios ouster. He resisted, although he apologized in public at a CPUC meeting. Its not that any of these emails influenced me to do anything nefarious, Florio said in a telephone interview. Thats not who I am and thats not what happened. But I think the perception that, oh my god, the commissioner and this guy from PG&E are on a first name basis, they must be up to something I thought, geez after 30 years of fighting these guys as a consumer advocate, nobody would ever think that I would be conspiring with them. But that was how it looked even though it was not reality. State Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, has introduced legislation in Sacramento aimed at implementing a slew of reforms at the CPUC. I think commissioner Florio had some missteps along the way that affected his credibility, Hill said. That was disappointing. I think his intentions have always been good, they were consumer-focused, but he got wrapped up in the Peevey moment and I think he fell victim to that. Michael Peevey. former CPUC president, has been at the center of a criminal investigation by the California Attorney Generals office that has stretched more than two years. Reports came out that Florio twice sat in on meetings in 2014 in which Peevey lobbied Southern California Edison executives over the shutdown of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The email situation that a lot of us got caught up in, it really wasnt the scandal that people played it out to be, Florio said. But I think it was a good reminder that the utilities had gotten a little too familiar and we needed a little more distance. In Florios six years, commissioners have had to deal with a series of crises, including: the aftermath of the PG&E pipeline tragedy in San Bruno the sudden shutdown of SONGS, which took the plants 2,200 megawatts of electricity off the states power mix in an instant the massive natural gas leak at the Aliso Canyon storage facility that forced thousands from their homes in the Porter Ranch neighborhood Its just kind of been one fire drill after another, Florio said. But overall, Im proud of how we handled all those situations. Florio pointed to the growth in renewable energy sources, energy efficiency measures and the CPUCs development of energy storage sources, ultimately aimed at smoothing gaps in the grid when solar and wind generation fall short. While critics of the CPUC say the regulator is ripe for a massive overhaul, Florio said reforms have already been underway. I think 10 years in the future people will look back and say it was a time of very positive change for the organization and I think were now in a much better position to maintain the leadership role California has had nationally and internationally to address the climate change problem, Florio said. Last summer, PG&E announced plans to shut down Diablo Canyon, the states last remaining nuclear power plant. Florio thinks the CPUCs commissioners will OK the closure. Im not sad to see it go, Florio said. To put something that potentially dangerous on top of an earthquake fault has always been problematic. It provided a lot of energy to the people of California but we dont need a big, inflexible resource like that anymore. But since the San Onofre shutdown, the states consumption of natural gas has gone up. Nuclear supporters say the state will become even more reliant on gas should Diablo close. Because SONGS went out unexpectedly there was an increase in gas generation but when we complete the replacement there will be far less natural gas being burned in Southern California, Florio said. By planning for Diablo to shut down almost 10 years in the future, we can make sure those clean resources are planned, sited and built before Diablo goes offline. So I dont think youll see the same kind of short term uptick in gas usage. Florio said the CPUCs biggest policy challenge will be electrifying the states transportation sector in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By 2025, the Air Resources Board wants to see more than 15 percent of new vehicle sales in the state going to zero-emissions cars. Thats five times more than current sales figures. All we can do is keep pushing and making it easier for people to afford those kinds of vehicles, Florio said. Just look at whats happened with hybrids. What will Florio, who turns 65 next month, do for a living now? Ive got several irons in the fire, he said. No retirement. I still have a kid in college. rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1251 Twitter: @robnikolewski Backers of Novembers failed Lilac Hills Ranch initiative, which sought voter approval to build a 1,746-home development east of Interstate 15 in Valley Center, have sued opponents for almost $90,000 in attorney fees. Measure B failed at the ballot box by a wide margin, putting the future of Lilac Hills into limbo. Before the vote, backers of the initiative led by Accretive Investments took opponents to court challenging virtually every sentence of a proposed ballot and rebuttal statement that was planned for the voters guide. A Superior Court judge agreed with some of the changes ordering 18 revisions that mostly toned down the rhetoric contained in the opposition statements. But other disputed elements were left intact. Both sides claimed victory following the hearing. But now Accretive is asking the court to force opponents to pay more than $88,000 in legal bills and other costs accrued in the ballot statement litigation. Advertisement In the lawsuit, Lilac Hills backers say the court action was necessary to prevent opponents from submitting a ballot statement full of false and misleading statements and since 18 changes were ordered they should be allowed to recoup the legal costs. Officials with Accretive could not be reached for comment. James Gordon, one of the leaders of the opposition, said the lawsuit appears to have been filed out of a sense of vengeance. The ramifications of what Accretive is doing is chilling to a fair political process and is a significant public policy issue that strikes at the heart of our political system, he said. Trying to intimidate and punish voters who share an opposing view is outrageous and is an attack on the foundation of our constitutional system. Among the changes ordered by Judge Eddie C. Sturgeon were wording alterations such as would force being changed to may require taxpayers to pay for some road improvements. Another wording change was that Measure B would exacerbate urban sprawl which is inconsistent with the county general plan, rather than the initial wording that it violates the plan. In the end, Measure B failed by a 63.5 to 36.5 margin, even though Accretive and the developments backers outspent opponents by millions of dollars. However, the Lilac Hills Ranch project is not dead. There is nothing preventing Accretive from going back to the county and asking for approval via the normal planning process. However many land-use experts think whatever plan they submit would have to be significantly different, and probably less dense then what was put before voters because its hard to see the supervisors approving something the voters have already rejected so decisively. Defendants in the attorney fee lawsuit include several people who were listed as the authors of the opposition ballot statement and the rebuttal to arguments in support of Measure B statement. They include former County Supervisor Pamela Slater-Price, former Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District Superintendent Lou Obermeyer, Victor Reed, Martha Cox, Jeanne Brown, Dianne Barlow Coombs and Pat Zaharopoulos. A hearing date has been scheduled for Feb. 24 before Judge Sturgeon in San Diego Superior Court. (This story was updated and slightly altered Jan. 4) jharry.jones@sduniontribune.com; 760/529-4931; Twitter: @jharryjones The award-winning January Series of Calvin College is coming to Crossroads Christian Reformed Church in San Marcos Jan. 4-24. The church will be one of 50 remote webcast locations worldwide to broadcast the series, which marks its 30th anniversary this year. Featured speakers include Doris Kearns Goodwin, a renowned presidential historian and Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist; Gary Haugen, CEO and founder of International Justice Mission; and Matthew Desmond, co-founder of the Justice and Poverty Project and recipient of a MacArthur Genius grant, among others. The presenters will give their perspectives on topics, ranging from global governance, human rights and race relations to health care reform and the gender gap in technology. Advertisement The series will be video streamed live 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, Jan. 4-24, at Crossroads Christian Reformed Church, 2406 N. Twin Oaks Valley Road. The lectures are free and open to the public. Email trena@boonstras.com or call (760) 744-4673. Visit calvin.edu/january-series/speakers For years Chula Vista firefighters have coped with insufficient staffing, dealt with failing equipment and faced the stigma of not meeting standard response times as identified by the citys Growth Management Oversight Commission. The Fire Department also continues to see a decline in living conditions for fire personnel, the severity of which became public last October after the city was forced to temporarily shut down fire station No. 9 when a sewage backup flooded living quarters. During the clean-up, asbestos and mold were also found. In the meantime, firefighters were housed directly behind station 9 at 266 E. Oneida St. While repairs were made to the building, firefighters responded to calls from trailers. They continue to use portable showers and toilets housed in the back of the building while the station restroom and locker area remain closed. The closure affected response times in the Sunbow and Woodlawn Park area. And three months later, the exposure to mold and asbestos continues to pose a health risk to firefighters. Advertisement From a firefighter perspective we want to make sure our members are safe, that the issues are being addressed and quickly, said Darrell Roberts, president of the International Association of Firefighters, Local 2180. With the passage of Proposition P, a 10-year, half-cent sales tax approved by a majority of voters in November, the Fire Department will receive millions of dollars over time for infrastructure, including buildings and equipment. Before November as the fire chief, I didnt know what we were going to do. I mean, how do you prioritize the priorities? said Chula Vista Fire Chief Jim Geering. This Prop. P money is really going to help out citywide. In the meantime Roberts said firefighters continue to deal with myriad issues, and funding from the measure cant come soon enough. At its Dec. 6 meeting, City Council members voted to allocate $100,000 of Prop. P funding for the design of two of its oldest and neediest fire stations, 5 and 9, which will ultimately be rebuilt. The desire to upgrade buildings and fire equipment, such as trucks and engines, has been a goal of Geerings since stepping in as chief in 2014. We have about 90,000 square feet of building that has to be maintained, and we deferred the maintenance during the financial crisis, Geering said. If you have a leak and put just a patch on it and you dont repair the roof then the wood starts to rot and it continues to deteriorate over the years. Thats the situation with stations 5 and 9. Theres definitely things that are uncomfortable, like when the termite guy came and said this is the worst building hes seen in 30 years of doing termite damage, said Fire Capt. Andy Wilson, who works out of station 5. You get concerned about the safety of the building if theres an earthquake. Station 5 also needs a new roof, since the one it has leaks when it rains. Despite these issues, Wilson said that day-to-day operations have not been hugely affected, but its rather disappointing that the city allows the building to be neglected. I think the thing thats most sad about this is its an insult to the people that live in this neighborhood, Wilson said. In addition, Roberts said the turnout room in station 5 where firefighters hang their protective gear, is just a few feet away from the fire engine, which dumps carcinogens into the 6x12 doorless area that leads to a gym on the other side. Deferring maintenance was a sacrifice made during the recession in order for the city to pays its bills. Public safety is the top priority but its not just fire, its also police and other things the community wants-libraries, good roads, parks... said City Manager Gary Halbert. We cut anything that wasnt absolutely essential so taking care of our infrastructure went out the window. He added that no fire personnel were laid off then. In addition the city also cleaned out a few million that had accrued via annual city contributions in the Fire Departments apparatus fund, set aside to buy engines, trucks and other vehicles. That was one of the things that we lost and were paying the price for it now, Halbert said. Thank God the citizens passed Prop. P...our budget is beginning to get some legs on it. Other departments had similar funds that were depleted and put toward other priorities. Geering said while the city and Fire Department are still recovering from those cuts, theyre in a better financial position today. Were on our way up but when the monies start coming back in whats going to be first? Is it graffiti, police officers, fire engines, the roof at the parkway gym libraries? allison.sampite-montecalvo@sduniontribune.com A sailor who romanced his niece has been found guilty for the second time by a Navy jury. Senior Chief Electricians Mate Jose D. Domingo was convicted of abusive sexual contact and adultery after being accused of repeatedly raping and groping the young woman over a 10-month span that ended in 2012, according to a general court martial decision signed on Dec. 15. The judge busted Domingo down to the lowest rank of sailor, slapped him with a dishonorable discharge and sentenced him to two years imprisonment, although he earned credit for time served following his first conviction on the same charges in 2014. Advertisement Domingo also must register as a sex offender. Jurors found him not guilty on one count of aggravated sexual assault. Domingo served aboard the San Diego-based amphibious warship Rushmore when the crimes occurred. His niece was a civilian then but she now serves as a Navy petty officer. The San Diego Union-Tribune does not identify victims of sexual abuse. Originally sentenced in 2014 to eight years in prison, on Dec. 29, 2015 the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals in Washington, D.C., vacated his charges and remanded what the justices called a shocking case back to San Diego military authorities for retrial. The appellate panel ruled that the military judge in Domingos initial trail failed to advise jurors that they should consider whether the sexual relationship at times was consensual. Early last year, the Navy reconvened Domingos court martial and his trial began 11 months later. Military Videos On Now D-Day paratrooper from Coronado jumps again in France at age 96 On Now Remembering war's fallen, one name at a time On Now In Ramona, an airplane and an aviator provide living lessons on World War II 1:43 On Now Video: Navy's newest vessel sails into San Diego and a new future in surface warfare On Now Video: U.S. Navy files homicide charges over warship collisions On Now Stopping Marine hazing On Now Video: U.S. Navy Air Crew Grounded After Creating Vulgar Sky Drawing On Now Navy says Asia Pacific ship collisions were avoidable On Now Hundreds of recruits get sick at Marine boot camp On Now Cutler Dawson Talks Navy Federal cprine@sduniontribune.com A thrill-seeking YouTube personality, known for diving off buildings and into water, is being investigated again for trespassing after he shattered his feet in a pool-jumping stunt at a Laguna Beach hotel, police said. Anthony Booth Armer, known as the masked daredevil 8Booth, bounded off the top of the Pacific Edge Hotel on South Coast Highway about 8:20 p.m. on Dec. 28 without hotel permission and dove into a pool, according to Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Tim Kleiser. When the 28-year-old Laguna Niguel resident landed, his feet struck the edge of the pool, and he was severely injured. Armer has not been arrested, he said, but detectives are investigating the stunt. Advertisement This is what our concern was that he would hurt himself or someone else, the sergeant said. Armer gained notoriety for his terrifying first-person videos showing him jumping feet first off tall cliffs and buildings and into pools of water and the ocean. His YouTube videos have attracted tens of thousands of views from the public and law enforcement. In October, Armer was arrested by police and charged with trespassing after he posted several videos showing him leaping off Newport Towers in Newport Beach; Surf and Sand Hotel in Laguna Beach; and a home into the Pacific Ocean. Interested in the stories shaping California? Sign up for the free Essential California newsletter >> Police have been monitoring his social media accounts and videos because of the risk he poses to himself and others, Kleiser said. Armers latest death-defying stunt was also captured on video. The YouTube video posted on Sunday shows the risk-taker diving into the pool. Moments before landing, Armer squeals. The video shows Armer dragging himself out of the water. The same video shows a graphic photograph of Armers feet and injuries as well as a photo of him lying in a hospital bed with pins in his feet. The day after the stunt, police visited the hotel and took a trespassing report, Kleiser said. Police have seen the YouTube video and a GoFundMe page created by Armer to raise funds for his medical expenses. Armers fundraising effort has drawn criticism by some, while others have donated to his medical care fund. When reached for comment by The Times on Tuesday, Armer asked for a $10 payment for each question, adding in his e-mail that he was super busy with business so my time is valuable. The Times does not pay for interviews. veronica.rocha@latimes.com For breaking news in California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter. ALSO Avalanche warnings as Sierra hit by major snowstorm; 4-5 feet expected this week Watch as SUV explodes in flames on 110 Freeway and videographer drags motorist to safety Man vandalizes nearly 30 vehicles in Koreatown neighborhood, police say For the second time since her double murder conviction, former San Diego socialite Elisabeth Betty Broderick will appear Wednesday before a parole board after spending decades in prison. Broderick, 69, was convicted of second-degree murder for the 1989 shooting deaths of her ex-husband, medical malpractice lawyer Daniel Broderick, 44, and his wife, Linda Kolkena Broderick, 28. It was a sensational case that drew national attention and deeply divided San Diego residents more than 20 years ago. The events were also turned into two television movies, including A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story, starring Meredith Baxter as Betty Broderick. Advertisement Broderick was sentenced in 1991 to 32 years to life and is now housed at the California Institution for Women in Corona. Her first parole hearing at the prison was in January 2010, when a two-person panel found her unsuitable for release. One commissioner from the Board of Prison Terms said Broderick showed no significant progress in evolving from where she was emotionally at the time of the killings. The victims were shot the morning of Nov. 5, 1989, as they slept in their home near Balboa Park. According to the District Attorneys Office, Broderick used a key she had taken from her daughter weeks earlier and sneaked up the stairs as the couple slept. She fired five shots from a revolver, three of which hit the victims as they tried to dive for cover. Daniel Broderick attempted to reach for the telephone to call for help. He was shot in his back and fell off the bed. Betty Broderick then pulled the phone from the wall and left it in the hallway, out of reach. She left the home and was arrested later that day. Although she never denied committing the shootings, Broderick contended at two trials (the first ended in a mistrial) that she was driven to do it after enduring a bitter divorce in which she claimed she was emotionally and psychologically abused. Prosecutors argued that Broderick was an angry and violent stalker who sought revenge against her ex-husband and the younger woman he had left her to marry. She left numerous obscene messages on Daniel Brodericks answering machine, prosecutors said, and once drove her vehicle through the front door of the couples home. The District Attorneys Office has said it will oppose Betty Brodericks request for release. Deputy District Attorney Richard Sachs is expected to argue at the Wednesday hearing that Broderick remains a danger to society. The board could find that she is suitable for parole and set a parole date, or deny parole for three, five, seven, 10 or 15 years. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misspelled Elisabeth Betty Brodericks first name. The story has been updated. dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @danalittlefield San Diego State University has received more than 83,000 applicants for the fall semester, a slight decrease from last year. CSU San Marcos announced Tuesday that it had received a record number of applications, with 16,352 students vying to attend the fall semester. SDSU school received 83,129 applications, including 59,920 first-time freshman. The number of freshman applications was about the same as last year, and the number of transfer applications was down 91. Advertisement While this was the first time in six years that applications have declined, the number of students vying to get into SDSU still was 2,049 more than just two years ago. The school had received 83,316 applications for the fall 2016 semester, a record high and the fifth consecutive year of growing applicants. SDSU President Elliot Hirshman credited the schools reputation for the high number of applicants. The excellence of our academic programs and the opportunities for personal and professional development provided on our campus continues to attract an exceptionally large number of qualified applicants, Hirshman said. The interest in SDSU is a credit to our hard working and talented faculty and staff, our growing national reputation and the many accomplishments of our alumni and students. At CSU San Marcos, applications included 16,352 from prospective first-time freshman, a 7.86 percent increase from fall 2016 and a 21.38 percent increase from fall 2015. CSUSM also received 8,604 fall 2017 transfer applications, 0.3 percent fewer than fall 2016 but an 8.4 percent increase from fall 2015. Its clear once again that CSUSM has distinguished itself as a first-choice institution, said CSUSM President Karen Haynes. Students from our region, California and beyond know that CSUSM is an academic community like no other that will prepare them for success while also offering opportunities for personal growth and leadership. Applicants can expect to receive acceptance notifications by March. UC San Diego announced last week that its applications had hit a record high at 88,451 students vying to enroll in fall 2017. The applications mark a five percent increase from last year. UC San Diego had the second highest number of applicants among all University of California campuses. gary.warth@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @GaryWarthUT 760-529-4939 The San Ysidro School District is keeping an eye on what students eat from their school lunch for research aimed at improving student health and reducing the amount of food that ends up in the trash at schools throughout the country. The plate waste study is being done through a partnership with the UCSD School of Medicine, and is funded with grant money awarded to the district last year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The UCSD teams results will help to refine federal nutrition regulations that require children who eat a school lunch to take certain foods regardless of whether they want them and reduce food waste. Advertisement School lunches are made up of five components: a meat or vegetarian protein alternative, a grain, a fruit, a vegetable and a milk. Fruit and vegetable portion sizes are a half-cup. To meet the requirements, the districts students have to take at least three of the five components for the meal to be reimbursable under the National School Lunch Program. In San Ysidro, one of the foods students take has to be a vegetable. By the time kids get to the end of the lunch line, their plates are full, said Pamela Lambert, the districts director of nutrition services. She said the issue isnt so much that students dont like the food, but theres just too much of it. Were putting too much on their plate, or theyre putting too much on their plate, she said. But when you look at a kindergartner with a little belly, where does the food go? Right in the trash. Because they cant eat all that food. Lambert said the district will made changes based on the studys outcomes, which could be used to develop a new school lunch model here and nationally. San Ysidro serves about 5,000 children in kindergarten through eighth grade at seven campuses. Lambert said the district is a good study sample for the state because of its mostly Latino student population and the number of students who qualify for free or reduced-cost lunch. The study is being conducted at two campuses Vista del Mar and Smythe elementary schools. After the district put changes in place based on the studys conclusions, Lambert said the UCSD team will return and survey the effectiveness. Follow me @HuardSDUT UPDATE: The arch shown above has since collapsed. See Sunset Cliffs collapse blamed on storm erosion As San Diego County spends tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to prevent coastal erosion, concerns have ramped up about how best to slow the potential loss of beaches, homes and highways. Long before people built along the California coast, ocean waves slowly chewed away at shorelines. As sea levels rise with climate change, powerful storms such as those driven by this years El Nino weather system threaten to speed up this erosion. While elected officials, scientists, environmentalists and property owners all agree that something needs to be done, they dont always agree on what. Amid the friction, some cities are searching for new fixes that will be more effective, long-lasting and widely supported. Advertisement Ive come to realize that we have to be more flexible, smarter, innovative and honest about rising seas and coastal storms if we are going to adequately manage our coastline, said Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina. His town and most beach cities in the region have been pummeled by storms this winter. Beaches have seen significant erosion, portions of cliffs and bluffs have collapsed, seaside homes have been flooded and at least two sections of Coast Highway 101 have needed storm-related repairs. El Nino systems in Southern California are predicted to double the strength of winter erosion during the next century, with stronger waves and more frequent storms, according to the United States Geological Survey. For decades, oceanfront residents have built seawalls or used large rocks, often called riprap, to protect homes and businesses from surging waves. This has created a tension between property owners and environmental groups, which argue that such structures accelerate erosion and result in submerged beaches. Enter dredge and fill, a technique that uses offshore sand to nourish coastlines. In the past decade, replenishment projects have been one of San Diego Countys top strategies for slowing erosion. Solana Beach and Encinitas recently moved toward a $165 million project to dump millions of cubic yards of sand along their coastlines every five to 10 years until about 2070. The project follows up on two similar efforts that the San Diego Association of Governments completed in 2001 and 2012, with a combined cost of roughly $44 million. In total, the SANDAG initiative poured 3.5 million cubic yards of sand on beaches mostly along the north coast. Not everyones convinced that dredge and fill will have a major impact on curtailing coastal erosion. Thats putting sand down a rat-hole as far as Im concerned, said Gary Griggs, a UC Santa Cruz professor specializing in oceanography and coastal erosion. For the most part, we put millions worth of sand on beaches and its not there after a short amount of time. Using aerial photography, Griggs studied beach nourishment programs, including those in San Diego. He concluded that significant amounts of sand were often washed away permanently not returning even during summer months, when waves typically bring back some offshore sand to beaches. Those two [SANDAG] projects should be critically looked at because thats a huge investment, Griggs said. What did they get out of it? Bob Guza, a professor at UC San Diegos Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla who also specializes in coastal erosion, questions those conclusions. Sand replenishment projects do work for a few years, Guza said. I think were going to be looking more in the future at beach nourishments because I dont know what the other options are. If tourists want a sandy beach, its not clear to me what the option is other than beach nourishments. You might say it washes away, but wait a minute, when you built the 5 Freeway, you knew it wasnt going to last forever, he added. It has to be maintained. Its infrastructure. Damming and channelizing rivers to accommodate urban development, as well as building seawalls along bluffs, have cut off the natural delivery of sediment that historically feeds beaches. While Guza contends that sand replenishment can offset those losses, hes cautious to add that the science isnt completely clear as to what extent such projects will offset erosion especially because one coastline can behave quite differently from another. The debate comes down to whether sand replenishment is worth its price tag, said Laura Engeman, executive director of the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative. Theres not a question of whether it works. It works, she said. Really, the bottom line for most cities is: Are there enough funds that they can keep doing that for the next hundred years. And some of them are saying yes. The Climate Collaborative is a nonprofit formed by agencies and businesses to help deal with the effects of climate change. Recently, the group has focused on coastal hazards associated with large storms. Its strategies center on rebuilding natural systems to buffer erosion and flooding, such as re-establishing offshore oyster reefs and naturally occurring dunes to slow down waves. These are the types of ideas being explored by Imperial Beach. After a 2012 sand replenishment program, the city and SANDAG were hit with a lawsuit alleging the deposited sand actually increased flooding of coastal homes. While mayor Dedina said the nourishment project likely helped protect his city from this years storms, hes not ready to dump more sand on the beach. What we have learned ... is that we are in era of rapidly changing ocean conditions and that many of our assumptions about solutions are wrong because our knowledge of how our coastal systems operate are insufficient, he said. Dedina has spent time surveying the citys beach with researchers Guza and Griggs, and the city recently hired a protege of Griggs David Revell as a consultant. Revell is working with cities up and down the state, including Carlsbad, to better understand the cost and benefits associated with various anti-erosion strategies. If were going to spend $5 million to clean up from an El Nino event, then [taxpayers are] going to want to start doing something different, he said. Instead of seawalls and sand replenishment, Revell advocates wetland restoration that allows more sediment to move downstream and be deposited onto beaches. Ultimately, he said, people need to come to terms with how to get out of the way gracefully. Lets be smart about it and not just rebuild in the same place that got us into trouble in the first place. Should your teenager get the relatively new meningitis B vaccine? With meningitis outbreaks at several universities that have proved deadly in recent years, including the 2014 death of a San Diego State University student, the answer might seem clear. But experts said the decision-making is complicated because a childs chance of suffering this bacterial infection is infinitesimal while the efficacy and safety track record for both approved versions of the vaccine is limited. Advertisement With students off from school for Thanksgiving and then again for the Christmas winter break, family doctors and pediatricians will likely see an increased load of patients seeking physicals, vaccinations and other preventive care. Experts said many of those patients may have seen or heard vaccine companies marketing messages about getting adolescents and teens vaccinated under new guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Mark Sawyer, an infectious disease specialist at Rady Childrens Hospital San Diego who has helped set national vaccination policy, said the meningitis decision is more nuanced than it is for more routine vaccinations that have been around for decades. Physicians are struggling with this because we do not have a precise guideline. I was just at a conference where there were over 500 pediatricians in attendance and we talked about this issue for more than a half-hour because this is a real gray area, Sawyer said. Indeed, the CDCs recommendation last month about the meningitis B vaccine pretty much lays the matter right in doctors laps. A bulletin from the agency said recently approved meningitis B vaccines may be administered to young adults ages 16 to 18. But the vaccine has not been added to the nations routine vaccination schedule, and parents are urged to consult their physicians when trying to determine whether to inoculate their children for meningitis. The discussions are taking place following highly publicized meningitis outbreaks that have put parents on edge. In 2013, outbreaks at Princeton University and UC Santa Barbara forced public health departments to import unlicensed strain B vaccine from Europe to immunize thousands of students. A year later, in October 2014, San Diego State vaccinated more than 1,000 students after freshman Sara Stelzer died from a meningitis B infection. Later that same month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration licensed Trumenba, the first group B vaccine in the nation. In January, the FDA approved a second vaccine, Bexsero, which also prevents meningitis B infection. Many parents especially those who have lost children to the disease, which causes inflammation of brain and spinal cord membranes have advocated for the vaccine to be added to the routine adolescent vaccination schedule. But the CDC did not make that move this summer even though a different vaccine, which prevents four other variants of meningitis, has been on the schedule since 2005. The CDC bulletin on meningitis B vaccination notes that infection is very rare. Among all 11- to 23-year-olds in the U.S., between 50 and 60 cases are reported annually, with five to 10 deaths. According to the CDC, there were seven outbreaks on college campuses from 2009 to 2013, with 41 cases and three deaths. Also, the risk is not spread evenly. Neisseria meningitidis, the bacteria that causes the potentially deadly swelling, spreads through respiratory and throat secretions. Close contact, often through kissing or sharing a cigarette or drink, are the most common ways for the bacteria to move from person to person. Transmission is more common among people who have close-quarters living arrangements, such as college dormitories. Meanwhile, Sawyer said newer vaccines on the market lack comprehensive evidence on safety and effectiveness, compared with vaccines that have been administered to tens of millions of people over decades. Some patients, especially those with a family history of immune-system diseases, can be at higher risk of suffering serious side effects that come with all vaccines including seizures, life-threatening allergic reactions and paralysis. All of these factors must be taken into account by a doctor when deciding whether to recommend vaccination for meningitis B. The best advice is for families to sit down and have a discussion about the risks and benefits, Sawyer said. There is simply no black-and-white answer in this case. Dr. Eric McDonald, medical director of the countys Epidemiology and Immunization Services Branch, agreed. In addition, he noted that while the meningitis B vaccine is new, the existing four-strain vaccine for non-B strains of the bacteria do have a long track record and should definitely be on the vaccination list for families. It is possible for doctors to arrive at differing conclusions about the meningitis B vaccine. McDonald, whose high school-age son is in a boarding school, was scheduled to get the vaccine this week. There is a little higher risk when theyre in a boarding situation, and that happens to be where we are at, McDonald said. But Sawyer said he did not recommend the vaccine for his 21-year-old daughter. I didnt feel that she was at an increased risk, so I didnt have her get the vaccine, Sawyer said. He stressed that parents should realize that there are many more pressing threats on the vaccination front. For example, the odds of becoming infected by human papillomavirus, which can cause a range of cancers in sexually active people, are much higher than they are for bacterial meningitis. That vaccine prevents at least 4,000 or 5,000 cases of cancer each year where the (meningitis) B vaccine prevents five or 10 deaths, Sawyer said. If youre going to worry about your childs vaccines, HPV is pretty important. paul.sisson@sduniontribune.com / (619) 293-1850 / Twitter: @paulsisson As a teenage mother of a baby son, Sharron Harville knew she would need help paying rent, so she applied for a voucher from the San Diego Housing Commission. That was 11 years ago. In November, after being interviewed to determine if she was eligible, her wait finally ended. I was very excited about it, said Harville, now 27 and the mother of two children with another on the way. I got the mail at my grandmas house and I said, Look, Im being interviewed for my voucher. Ill be able to move out of my tiny apartment soon. Advertisement Harville lives in Encanto and works at a restaurant in La Jolla. She would like to use her voucher to rent a place near work, but has given up on that neighborhood because she cant find anything affordable. . Its not as easy as I thought it would be, she said. Ive met with a couple of landlords, and they dont take the vouchers or the apartment complex is full. I look every day. She is among 140 people in San Diego now holding vouchers and trying to find a place to live. She checks an online list of approved units that take vouchers every day, but with a 2 percent vacancy rate in the city, shes runs into a few dead ends. Even with the subsidy, Harville still will have to pay a third of her income, or up to $580, for rent. She said she also was told to keep her selection to $1,300 monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment or facing having to pay the difference on top of the $580.. Among several eligibility requirements for vouchers, households must be facing severe economic hardships. Azucena Valladolid, senior vice president of rental assistance for the San Diego Housing Commission, said about 85 percent of their voucher families earn 50 percent or less than $75,000, the median income for a family of four. The average household income is about $13,000, she said. Section 8 housing vouchers the name comes from the Housing Act of 1937 -- are just one of San Diegos approaches to affordable housing. The Housing Act also has a Section 9, which provides funds for public housing for the poor, an approach largely abandoned in San Diego. Rick Gentry, CEO of the Housing Commission, said San Diego cut its number of public housing units from 1,366 to 178 in 2007, converting most to vouchers that can be applied to any units where a landlord accepts them. Replacing public housing with vouchers was seen as a way of giving poorer people the same opportunities as other people in selecting where they want to live, he said. They also come with a long waiting list and many rules and regulations. This can get confusing as hell, Gentry said as he began to explain the subsidies. It does for us, and Ive been doing this for 44 years. In fiscal year 2016, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development allocated $157 million to the San Diego Housing Commission for its rental assistance programs. Much of that pays for about 15,300 vouchers that can be used within San Diego city limits. About 77,000 people have applied for the vouchers, and the waiting list is about 10 years. Gentry said the wait is about the same throughout the country. The San Diego County Housing Authority also has a waiting list of about 10 years for its 12,000 vouchers, which are available for residents in cities from Escondido to Chula Vista that dont have their own housing authorities. Carlsbad, Encinitas, National City and Oceanside all have their own housing authorities that provide vouchers. In all, about 30,000 vouchers are available throughout the county, estimated Jeff Davis, executive vice president of the San Diego Housing Commission. In San Diego, some vouchers are attached to projects such as the Celedon and Connections, and some are attached to programs that provide specific services as well as housing. One hundred vouchers, for instance, are reserved for former foster youths at San Diego State University as part of the Guardian Scholars program. Most go to people like Harville, who are trying to make ends while raising a family on low wages. About 720 of the commissions vouchers become available every year as recipients die or become ineligible because their income has increased or other reasons. In hope of speeding up the turnover, the commission has created an incentive for people to find better-paying jobs. About 45 percent of voucher recipients are young and healthy enough to work, and those people have an opportunity to learn how to fill out resumes, search for jobs and be interviewed at the commissions Achievement Academy at its Broadway headquarters downtown. Recognizing that people with vouchers do not have an incentive to work because their extra income means theyll pay more in rent, Gentry said the commission created the Path to Success program in 2013. Under the program, people who get jobs do not have to pay any extra rent for up to two years, although their income is increasing during that time. On the other hand, people who are able to work but do not get a job face having to pay $200 in rent even if they have no income. Valladolid said the program has been successful, with about two-thirds of people finding jobs and work-able households increasing their income by an average of 13 percent. Increasing the turnover rate of vouchers will help reduce the wait time a little, but Gentry said HUD could quadruple its funding and still not meet the needs of the 77,000 already on the list. Gentry said he doesnt know what changes will come to HUD when a new administration takes over in January, but he does not expect funding to increase. Meanwhile, Harville has until the end of January to find a vacancy and use her voucher. If she doesnt, she said shell have to request an extension. She would like something closer to work, near good schools, with a yard and a playground for her children. One by one, however, shes beginning to cross things off her list as the deadline approaches. Beggars cant be choosers, she said. gary.warth@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @GaryWarthUT 760-529-4939 FLAT ROCK, MI - Ford is canceling plans to build a new manufacturing plant in Mexico and instead is investing $700 million in Michigan, the automaker announced on Tuesday. The companys CEO Mark Fields told CNN that the move is a "vote of confidence" in President-elect Donald Trumps pledge to create a pro-business environment. Fields emphasized, however, that he did not negotiate any special deal with Trump. "We didn't cut a deal with Trump, he said. We did it for our business. "We are today announcing that we are investing $700 M to transform Flat Rock into a new manufacturing & innovation center," Fields said in a press conference at the plant. More on The Hill The defeat of a November ballot measure and overly bullish economic forecasts are causing delays to the construction of new trolley lines and highway improvements, forcing a regional planning organization to seek new strategies to pay for its long list of transportation projects. A part of the San Diego Association of Governments new approach is due to the failure of Measure A, an ballot item that, had it passed, would have levied a half-cent sales tax that was expected to raise $18 billion over 40 years to pay for transportation and infrastructure projects. Additionally, past revenue projections for 2004s TransNet sales tax extension (which also funds transportation and infrastructure projects), were identified in a Voice of San Diego article as too optimistic, so SANDAG refined a variable in its forecasting model. Advertisement There were some aspects of demographic models that overestimated taxable retail sales, SANDAGs Chief Economist Ray Major said. They previously predicted a 4.4 percent increase in revenue from taxable retail sales per year, but now forecast a 3.9 percent growth, he said. For this plan of finance were taking a more conservative approach, he said. The failure of Measure A also means that additional revenue SANDAG had hoped to collect will not arrive, so it cant be used to leverage funds from the state and federal governments to help pay for road and mass transit projects across the county. But since Measure A received 58.4 percent of the vote, short of the two-thirds needed to pass, SANDAG is charging ahead with its plans for major projects, but on a slower schedule and with a different financial strategy. The decision by the electorate to shoot down the proposed sales tax is a setback for the agency. However, a strong majority of the countys voters showed they want transportation improvements and is willing to pay for them, said Kim Kawada, SANDAGs chief deputy executive director. There are definitely some challenges, she said. Measure A would have brought new revenue to the region. But even without that, if history proves itself, if the region is able to match what local dollars we have with outside sources on the same ratio weve seen in the past well be able to complete the major corridor programs in the transit ordinance. The difficult task, she said, is raising local money to leverage additional funds from the state and federal governments. If a new source of funds doesnt emerge in the short term, SANDAG will change financial approaches and will likely stop borrowing money from bonds backed by future revenues collected from 2004s TransNet sales tax extension, and start paying for projects upfront rather than taking on debt. As a result, the schedule for projects will be pushed back because SANDAG will have to raise money before work begins rather than borrow money upfront and then pay it back later. County Supervisor Ron Roberts, SANDAGs chairman, said the organization will review why Measure A failed, and determine what projects were popular and where they received support. They might introduce future ballot items to fund portions of Measure A in a piecemeal basis. There is going to have to be another ballot measure if we want to initiate some of the new projects or shorten the time frame for getting others online, he said. Well finish (State Route) 78 but it wont be finished in the next decade. But thats disturbing, thats our most congested road. SANDAGs Major Corridors Program, a project that includes the Mid-Coast Trolley, express lanes and interchange improvements on Interstate 5 in North County, and other initiatives, needs $27.3 billion to complete. So far $6.3 billion is expected from the TransNet sales tax and another $4 billion from grants, leaving $17.5 billion in new funds to find. SANDAG documents show that the planning organization anticipates receiving enough money from a series of existing state and federal programs, but did not detail how much will be obtained from each sources. It does predict, however, that the major corridors program will be fully-funded through a combination of local, state and federal dollars. SANDAG officials said they hope that President elect-Donald Trump and two bills in Sacramento will help pay for some of the regions projects. While campaigning Trump promised $1 trillion in infrastructure investments over a decade, but did not explain how the money would be allocated. He often complained about the quality of roads when speaking about this issue, but some of the money would likely also be allocated for water systems and upgrades to the electrical grid. Roberts said that while the details of Trumps campaign promise are not clear, it stands a good chance of being enacted, but California might not see a fair share of the funds. I think thats one of the policies hed follow through on, Roberts said. But saying that, California is probably not his favorite state, to say the least. Officials are also looking at bills in Sacramento to possibly provide revenue, including a measure introduced in the state Senate that raises transportation fuel taxes and registration fees, and weight fees for commercial vehicles. Kawada said there could be ballot measures similar to Proposition 1B in 2006, a proposal that authorized the state to sell $19.9 billion in general obligation bonds to fund state and local transportation projects. A gas explosion blew out windows and lifted the roof off an unoccupied building in National City Monday afternoon, fire officials said. Nearby residents called 911 about 4 p.m. after hearing a loud boom and seeing smoke coming from a two-story structure at Eighth Street and Harbison Avenue, said National City fire Battalion Chief Robert Hernandez. Arriving firefighters found a number of damaged windows and walls, but no fire. Advertisement Investigators determined a construction crew had turned off the gas earlier in the day to install water heaters. They turned the gas back on when the job was done, but failed to notice a valve was left open. The fumes ignited hours later. Its unclear what sparked the explosion. The building is part of a town home complex that was under development, Hernandez said. A fire did not start and there were no injuries, the battalion chief said. A San Diego Gas & Electric crew addressed the leak. Hernandez said city officials would assess the building. A damage estimate was not immediately available. Twitter: @LAWinkley (619) 293-1546 lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com As marijuana shops sprout in states that have legalized the drug, they face a crucial stumbling block lack of access to the kind of routine banking services other businesses take for granted. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, is leading an effort to make sure vendors working with legal marijuana businesses, from chemists who test marijuana for harmful substances to firms that provide security, dont have their banking services taken away. Its part of a wider effort by Warren and others to bring the burgeoning $7-billion marijuana industry in from a fiscal limbo she said forces many shops to rely solely on cash, making them tempting targets for criminals. Advertisement After voters in Warrens home state approved a November ballot question to legalize the recreational use of pot, she joined nine other senators in sending a letter to a key federal regulator, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, calling on it to issue additional guidance to help banks provide services to marijuana shop vendors. Twenty-eight states, including California, have legalized marijuana for medicinal or recreational use. Warren, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said there are benefits to letting marijuana-based businesses move away from a cash-only model. You make sure that people are really paying their taxes. You know that the money is not being diverted to some kind of criminal enterprise, Warren said recently. And its just a plain old safety issue. You dont want people walking in with guns and masks and saying, `Give me all your cash. A spokesman for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said the agency is reviewing the letter. There has been some movement to accommodate the banking needs of marijuana businesses. Two years ago, the U.S. Department of the Treasury gave banks permission to do business with legal marijuana entities under some conditions. Since then, the number of banks and credit unions willing to handle pot money rose from 51 in 2014 to 301 in 2016. Warren, however, said fewer than 3% of the nations 11,954 federally regulated banks and credit unions are serving the cannabis industry. Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Assn., a trade organization for 1,100 marijuana businesses nationwide, said access to banking remains a top concern. What the industry needs is a sustainable solution that services the entire industry instead of tinkering around the edges, Taylor said. You dont have to be fully in favor of legalized marijuana to know that it helps no one to force these businesses outside the banking system. Sam Kamin, a professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law who studies marijuana regulation, said theres only so much states can do on their own. The stumbling block over and over again is the federal illegality, he said. The federal government lumps marijuana into the same class of drugs as heroin, LSD and peyote. President Obamas administration has essentially turned a blind eye to state laws legalizing the drug, and supporters of legalizing marijuana hope President-elect Donald Trump will follow suit. Trump officials did not respond to a request for comment. During the presidential campaign, Trump said states should be allowed to legalize marijuana and has expressed support for medicinal use. But he also has sounded more skeptical about recreational use, and his pick for attorney general, Alabama U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, is a stern critic. Some people in the marijuana industry say the banking challenges are merely growing pains for an industry evolving from mom-and-pop outlets. Nicholas Vita, CEO of Columbia Care, one of the nations largest providers of medical marijuana products, said its up to marijuana businesses to make sure their financial house is in order. Its not just as simple as asking the banks to open their doors, Vita said. The industry also needs to develop a set of standards that are acceptable to the banks. The nuclear tweet from Donald Trump was not exactly the holiday season message we were hoping for. The president-elect said on Dec. 22, via twitter, The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes. But sadly no mention of strengthening our diplomacy to reduce the nuclear threat. You have to ask wheres the peace? The Trump administration should use a peace initiative started by Dwight Eisenhower, ending all nuclear weapons testing. The president-elect can encourage the Senate to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which bans all nuclear test explosions. Trump will find support of Democrats on this issue. Advertisement Eisenhower realized that ending nuclear testing was an essential step toward global disarmament. Nuclear tests cause international tension and spur on expensive arms races. This had to stop in Eisenhowers view. Ike told Walter Cronkite that not achieving disarmament, including a ban on nuclear testing, would have to be classed as the greatest disappointment of any administration of any decade of any time and of any party. Ikes efforts, along with his successor John F. Kennedy, produced a limited test ban treaty with the Soviet Union. But underground nuclear tests were allowed to continue. So although the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963 was a major achievement during the Cold War, the journey to end all testing and reduce nuclear weapons remained. Where we stand today is a world with 15,000 nuclear weapons, around 90 percent of them held by the United States and Russia. Even with treaties over several decades, including the 2010 START Treaty reducing deployed strategic warheads, there is still a long way to go. The U.S. and Russia have roughly 7,000 nuclear weapons each, according to the Arms Control Association. Great Britain, France and Israel have nuclear weapons. China, India and Pakistan are rivals in Asia which combined have hundreds of nukes. North Korea has tested nukes twice during 2016, while its citizens starve. All these nations experience the heavy costs of nukes, which drain valuable resources from society. Money spent on nuclear weapons is money taken away from feeding the hungry, fighting disease or developing the economy. All these nations are at risk of accidental launch or nuclear terrorism as long as these weapons exist. And you can never have a true peace with nuclear weapons aimed at each other. So taking steps to reduce the nuclear danger is imperative for our leadership. Ratifying the CTBT is described as low-hanging fruit by the treaty organizations director, Dr. Lassina Zerbo. Ending nuke testing can create a world atmosphere more suited for reducing nuclear arsenals to low levels. Currently there are eight nations as holdouts to the CTBT (United States, Israel, Egypt, Iran, China, India, Pakistan and North Korea). The United States has to show leadership in ratifying the treaty. China, for example, would likely follow our lead and this could be crucial for them getting their neighbor North Korea to do the same. The United States has not tested a nuclear weapon since 1992 and has no need to. The current stockpile is maintained by super computers and labs under the Stockpile Stewardship Program. The treaty also comes with an extensive global network of verification to ensure no nation cheats the agreement. This system of monitoring stations will only get stronger with the passage of the treaty. They have been developing the science of nuclear test detection since Eisenhowers day. Its a tested and highly advanced system. So lets get things off to a good start in the new administration by ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. As JFK said, ending nuclear testing is a step toward peace a step toward reason a step away from war. With the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty under our belt the nations of the world can more confidently advance toward reduction of these weapons of mass destruction. If we can keep going down that road to disarmament we might just get to zero weapons, and rid the world of the nuclear menace forever. Lambers is the author of several books, including The Road to Peace and Ending World Hunger. Sailor John Silverwood (left) and rigger Jason Hudson prepare for Silverwoods journey in an Ohlson 38 sailboat to Hawaii, while docked at Driscoll Boatyard in Mission Bay. Eduardo Contreras (Eduardo Contreras) John Silverwood considered himself a born sailor. Then he crashed. Now hes a reborn sailor. Six years after his familys grand sailing adventure ended in disaster on a coral reef west of Tahiti a crash that cost him his left leg Silverwood has another boat and is scheduled to leave sometime between Saturday and Tuesday for Hawaii. Its like you get knocked down and you gotta get back up, Silverwood said. If all goes well, the trip across the Pacific from San Diego will take about three weeks. His son Jack, 15, is expected to accompany him, then fly home. Silverwood will make the return sail alone in the 38-foot boat. Silverwood, whose gripping story of survival drew widespread media attention, sees the Hawaii trip partly as personal redemption. But its also a showcase for the San Diego-based Challenged Athletes Foundation, which helps disabled people around the world stay involved in sports. His boat will be decorated with decals and a flag carrying the foundations logo. We see Johns trip as a message to other amputees that even something as strenuous as a trans-Pacific voyage is not beyond their abilities, said Christie Buchanan, a foundation spokeswoman. Silverwood, a 59-year-old developer from Rancho Santa Fe, has been sailing since he was a teen. Its in my blood, he said. The ill-fated trip he took with his wife, Jean, and their four children was his idea, his dream. They climbed aboard a 55-foot luxury catamaran named the Emerald Jane in the summer of 2003. They sailed down the East Coast, then to Bermuda and the Virgin Islands, through the Panama Canal and on to French Polynesia. It was the trip of a lifetime scuba diving in Aruba, hiking in the Andes, horseback riding on the Galapagos. Then, in late June 2005, catastrophe. Sailing at night, on autopilot, they ran aground on Manuae, a partly submerged atoll. The mast fell and sliced through Silverwoods lower left leg. The next 14 hours were a desperate scramble for survival as the boat broke apart and the family huddled in a makeshift camp on the reef, hoping a signal from their emergency beacon would summon help. It did. Silverwood was in a Tahitian hospital for almost two weeks. His leg was amputated just above the knee. In the years since the accident, their story has been the subject of newspaper and magazine features and television docudramas. John and Jean wrote a book together, Black Wave, about the trip. The two oldest children, Ben, 22, and Amelia, 20, are in college now. Jack surfs and plays water polo. Camille, 11, does ballet. Silverwood has gone sailing with friends several times, including a weeklong trip out of New Zealand. But it wasnt the same. He wanted his own boat. I love sailing, he said. I find peace, a sense of the world, I dont find any place else. After searching ads on the Internet, he bought a 1982 Ohlson 38, a Swedish boat, in Key West for $19,000. He sailed it to Galveston, Texas, last month and had it trucked to San Diego. Named Sophie when he bought it, he re-christened the boat Espiritu Santo (Holy Spirit). Hes been fixing her up at a boatyard in Mission Bay, adding extra safety features such as radar. His main concerns will be the weather and other vessels, he said no reefs to worry about this time. The boat has made long trips before, including an Atlantic crossing from Greece to Baltimore, Silverwood said. And the Ohlson 38 in general is a proven sea boat. Its competed hard in open ocean races and it always comes home. As traumatic as the accident was, Silverwood is able to joke about it now. In an email to friends, announcing the upcoming trip, he pointed to the boats strong seafaring reputation and quipped, Even I have a chance of making Hawaii! We see this today as Obama unabashedly tries to set up as many policy and ideological road blocks as possible before Trump takes the Oath to Office in just a few short weeks. The transition has been so bad that President-elect Trump had to tweet the following, Thought it was going to be a smooth transition NOT! Obama has had the audacity to say his number one priority in his remaining days in office is to help the smooth transition of power to President-elect Donald J. Trump. However, as we have seen consistently over the last eight years, Obama says one thing and then goes on to do the exact opposite. One of the most recent attempts to tie the hands of the oncoming Trump Administration is the Obama retaliation against Russia for its efforts to influence the outcome of the presidential election, by sanctioning Russia and expelling 35 intelligence agents. This is a perfect example of the issue not being the issue. The issue is not the hacking of the email accounts, the issue for the Obama administration is identify a scapegoat for Hillarys loss and the rejection of his policies. Good leaders take the blame for when things go wrong and pass the credit when things go right. Obama has consistently done the opposite. In regards to the hacking, there is yet to be presented proof the Russians interfered with the elections. Additionally, the hacking of John Podestas emails exposed the real issue that the Democratic Primary election was rigged against Bernie Sanders in favor of Hillary Clinton and that Donna Brazile, a CNN contributor, was feeding debate questions to Hillary in preparation for the debates. In other words, the system was rigged for Hillary just as President-elect Trump announced and was then aggressively attacked by the media for saying so. The sharing of Podestas emails only confirmed what was already believed by most Americans. It may be convenient for Obama to try and blame the Russians for the Democratic loss but it ignores the ugly truth that Obama and his policies have obliterated the Democratic Party as it lost over 900 state legislative seats, 12 governors, 69 House seats and 13 Senate seats in just the past eight years. Other recent acts of Obamas audacity can be found when his administration abstained from a vote at the United Nations (UN), allowing other countries to pass a resolution condemning Israel. The Obama administration denied any responsibility for the resolution. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of the UN resolution that "we have no doubt that the Obama administration initiated it, stood behind it, coordinated on the wording and demanded that it be passed. With Obama, having destroyed his credibility years ago, the smart people will take the credible and honest word of Prime Minister Netanyahu everyday over Obamas. The audacity of Obama should not be a surprise to anyone, for he demonstrated his disdain for truth and transparency going back to the campaign trail when he said he would have the most transparent administration in history. Years later David E. Sanger, the veteran chief Washington correspondent of The New York Times said, This is the most closed, control freak administration Ive ever covered. Obama vowed to unite the country, yet he deliberately drove wedges in matters pertaining to race, gender, religion, and law and order. He also said he would promote the values that helped create this country, however, he has consistently and blatantly violated the limitations of our founding document. Mr. Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, and a certified liberal that voted for Mr. Obama, now argues that Obama has become the very danger the Constitution was designed to avoid, and warns his overreach could permanently alter the system that has for so long made Americans a free people. One cant help but think about Dr. Ben Carsons quote from 2013 when he discussed someone having the audacity to try and destroy America and said, Lets say somebody were [in the White House] and they wanted to destroy this nation. They would create division among the people, encourage a culture of ridicule for basic morality and the principles that made and sustained the country, undermine the financial stability of the nation, and weaken and destroy the military. It appears coincidentally that those are the very things that are happening right now. This is most accurate and relevant to the Obama Legacy. On New Years Day 2017, Obama had the audacity to take to tweets, following President-elect Trumps favorite form of communication, and addressed his legacy and the greatness of Obamacare. Truth be told, since Obama won't, is that the reason the Republicans picked up the majority in the House in 2010 and the Senate in 2014 was because of the failure of Obamacare. As the president made very clear on the campaign trail for Hillary, he would consider it a "personal insult" to his legacy if black voters didn't turn out for Hillary. They did not come out and it was because of Obamacare and a legacy that failed to make American lives better and more secure, while stripping hope away from Americans through the type of change he delivered. There are countless other audacious acts of Obama, one that must be mentioned is the one in which he said, All the progress weve made over these last eight years goes out the window if we dont win this election. Obama, you and your failed policies did not win the election. In honor of your infatuation with pop stars, it is now time to take direction from Rihannas lyrics in her song Take a Bow, You put on quite a show, You really had me goin', But now it's time to go, Curtain's finally closing,' That was quite a show, Very entertaining, But it's over now, Go on and take a bow. Say goodbye Obama, you have done enough damage, its now time to "Make America Great Again!" Editor's Note: "An American Patriot" asked Illinois Review to publish this post anonymously due to the author's confidential public service. Illinois Review has verified the writer's identification. Based on what we know so far, the level of involvement by Russian intelligence is also being exaggerated. This was not an high level, sophisticated attack like the one executed by the U.S. and Israel on Irans nuclear separation industry. Democrat e-mails were hacked by a low level attack called spear phishing. The press is being played like a "phish" by President Obama over the Russian hacking incident. First of all, it is a distraction from the real damage which Democrats inflicted on themselves by using dirty tactics against Hillarys opponents and disrespecting many of the groups on which they depend for support. If you cant defend the message, attack the messenger. Secondly, it is not an attack on democracy or the election process, it was an attack on Democrats. If there was an effect on the election, it was the content of these emails, not the fact that they were hacked. "Phishing" is a term used when a malicious email is delivered asking the receiver to open a document or website which contains malware or asks for personal information. Many times they bear the name of an acquaintance, whose email has been hacked or merely guessed. These are often marked by poor grammar or misspelled words or an unusual topic. Spear phishing is more sophisticated, but still low level. The email and subsequent websites are disguised to look official, complete with logos and layout like the real site. However they are bogus, and any information the user provides is directed to a spurious server which collects and uses or sells the collected personal information. Usually some sort of software will be planted on the user's computer that will continue to collect and transmit information to the criminal. A typical ruse is Your account has been hacked, and will be locked pending your response. Please re-enter your password and personal information." Hillarys campaign chairman, John Podesta, fell victim to a spear phishing attack, which was spread to other members of his contact list. These attacks preceded the November presidential election, specifically after Obama allegedly warned Putin to cease and desist. AND MEMBERS OF THE DNC KEPT FALLING FOR THE RUSE! This does not mean Russia had no involvement. In fact many criminal attacks of this sort originate in Russia or Eastern Europe. On the other hand, it does not mean the Russian government played an official role. We simply dont know without additional facts. Obamas evidence supporting the role of Russia and Putin is vague in its analysis of alleged Russian government-sponsored hacking groups that are blamed for breaching several different parts of the Democratic Party during the 2016 elections. The so-called FBI/DHS report issued on Thursday, December 29, 2016, meant for technology professionals, likewise contains self-contradictory statements. Of note is that not one of the 17 security agencies (out of three or four) have come forward. All of the information has come from Obama or staff working at his pleasure. If true, a factual report would reveal sources and methods, which are more valuable than any information derived by their use. Instead, the report was criticized by security experts who said it lacked depth and came too late. Security experts using Twitter criticized the government report as too basic. Jonathan Zdziarski, a highly regarded security researcher, compared the joint action report to a childs activity center. Tom Killalea, former vice-president of security at Amazon and a Capital One board member, wrote: Russian attack on DNC similar to so many other attacks in past 15yrs. Big question: Why such poor incident response? Meanwhile, on the same day the FBI/DHS report was released (Thursday, December 29, 2016) Barack Obama announced sanctions against Russia for interfering in the 2016 elections in retaliation for Russian efforts to interfere with the US presidential election. These sanctions included the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats from the US. Putin's reaction was to be the good guy for now. Rather than respond with similar sanctions against the US, Putin said Friday he would wait until Donald Trump becomes the US president next month before deciding his course of action "While we reserve the right to take reciprocal measures, we're not going to downgrade ourselves to the level of irresponsible 'kitchen' diplomacy," Putin said in his statement. (The phrase "kitchen diplomacy" in Russian refers to "quarrelsome" behavior, according to The New York Times.) With his statement, Putin indicated he plans to ignore Obama's final diplomatic moves and focus on working with the Trump administration going forward. That puts the US response to the hacking attacks squarely in the hands of the president-elect, who has maintained that there's no way to know that Russia orchestrated the hacks. Trump's statements run counter to the US intelligence community's publicly stated assessment that Russia was indeed behind the attacks. Wisely Donald Trump is not biting but instead is keeping a low profile regarding the hacking incident. Keeping silent is Trump's best option. Trump wants to move on but says he will meet with intelligence officials this week for an update. If Trump comes out in support of Obamas allegations without justification, he will alienate Putin and the Russians and future diplomatic relations. If he denies it, Obama may spring corroborating information, playing Trump as a politically ignorant and dogmatic. The only way to prove Russian government involvement and/or intent is by intercepting other means of communication. Obama now faces a dilemma. If he provides proof certain, he will divulge national secrets. If he doesnt provide this proof, and it is all politics, it will come out in subsequent Congressional investigations. With Trump silent, it is Obama twisting in the wind. On the other hand, John McCain and Lindsay Graham find the bait irresistible. This is not surprising in the least for those who follow the erratic behavior of both McCain and Graham, who many times promote issues that are not in keeping with what is best for the Republican Party. Popcorn anyone? By Peggy Kelly Santa Paula News The City Council will start the New Year off with a short but hefty agenda when they meet Tuesday, a session pushed back one day for the first holiday of 2017. There will be a closed session in the Administration Conference Room starting at 6 p.m. to discuss labor negotiations. The January 3 open session will start at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall Council Chambers, 970 E. Ventura St. Spectrum Cable Channel 10 will broadcast the meeting live and replay it according to schedule. The meeting will also be live-streamed on the citys website and archived for viewing on demand. There will be a public hearing to adopt the 2016 California Code of Regulations dealing with international building codes and wild land-urban interface code. According to the report by Fire Chief Rick Araiza, Under California law, local jurisdictions are permitted to make amendments to the Code if there are local conditions that make it reasonably necessary because of local climatic, geological or topographical conditions. Building & Safety Department and the Fire Department staff are proposing amendments to the California Building, and California Fire Code. The amendments will affect construction of new buildings and additions to existing buildings and are not retroactive to existing buildings. Staff, notes Araizas report, is recommending the amendments be adopted to protect the welfare of the citizens of Santa Paula and to ensure the economic viability of the community. The U.S. patent for the gas engine would for years have a chokehold on the emerging auto industry. Learn about the diligence of the man who determined to make a profit from his road engine. Weekly Newsletter The best of The Saturday Evening Post in your inbox! Join This article from the April 15, 1911 issue of the Saturday Evening Post was featured in the Posts Special Collectors Edition: Automobiles in America! Patent attorney George B. Seldens 1879 design for the gas-powered internal combustion engine would for a time command fees from the entire car business. Thats remarkable considering automobiles would not be built for sale until the late 1890s. In this article, published in 1911, just months after the patent was finally struck down, the Post describes the extraordinary lengths Selden took to make sure his patent would hold up once cars became a practical reality. George B. Selden was a patent attorney practicing in Rochester when, in 1876, he conceived the idea of a carriage propelled by a gasoline engine. He led an application for a patent on May 8, 1879, for a road engine. Had that patent been issued in the regular course of patent office events it would have expired about the year 1896, just when the first motor cars were seen in our streets, and Selden would have had absolutely nothing to show for whatever time, money, and thought he had spent on his invention. But Selden, being a patent lawyer, knew more than the ordinary inventor. He knew that he was ahead of the times, that he must file an application for a patent to forestall any subsequent inventor who also would devise a road engine, and yet he realized that no patent must issue to him before the world was ready to pay him royalties. Under the law that was in force up to 1897, an application for a patent could always be prosecuted within two years of the last official action. Subscribe and get unlimited access to our online magazine archive. Subscribe Today The record of the case in the patent office shows that the application was rejected on May 31, 1879, and that an amendment was not led until May 26, 1881, nearly two years later. A second rejection on June 17, 1881, was followed on May 15, 1883, by another amendment. An official letter sent to Selden on June 15, 1885, was not acted upon until June 13, 1887, only two days before the expiration of the two years of grace allowed by law. Another rejection on June 21, 1887, was answered by a letter dated April 13, 1889, and by an amendment filed on June 10, 1889. The original specification and claims were now such a tangled mass of corrections that the patent office demanded a smooth copy on June 14, 1889. Although the case was ready for issue, the demand was not complied with until June 6, 1891, nine days before the statutory limit. An official letter, which required the filing of a new oath, was not answered until June 28, 1892. The case was then transferred to another examiner, by whom some of the claims previously allowed were rejected on July 29, 1893. An amendment in reply was not led until April 1, 1895. Finally on November 5, 1895, the patent was definitely issued, but without a single one of the original 19 claims. Obtaining a patent is one thing; earning respect for it is another. Seldens patent was always looked upon askance by automobile makers and laughed at by patent lawyers. Its validity was ever in doubt. Yet it was made to earn a fortune despite the cloud that hovered over it. After passing into the control of a manufacturing company, it was eventually acquired by the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers. That association hit upon the ingenious expedient of charging such a small royalty for the right to manufacture under this patent of doubtful validity that most automobile makers decided to pay rather than to engage in litigation that would prove a thousand times more expensive and would probably drag along for a decade. The royalty paid by the licensees has uctuated from 1.25 percent to a fraction of 1 percent. Small as this tribute was, the sum total must have amounted to several million dollars. Revolutionists in invention are as little likely to die rich as are revolutionists in politics, and the guillotine of the business world is ever ready to cut short the career of the Robespierre of mechanics. The Business Side of Invention, The Saturday Evening Post, April 15, 1911 Salfords, England -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/03/2017 -- Address Lookup simplifies the process of finding postcodes and address in the United Kingdom. Before sending mails, users can easily verify addresses by simply typing the postcodes or partial address. This data base has 30 million addresses, 1.8 million post codes and over 40,000 newly added addresses. Quoting from the website, "We make the process of finding information about postcodes and addresses easy for the end users. Our free tool makes it easy for users to verify addresses and postcodes where they're sending mails to. One can search address of a residential building, apartment or any business based on partial address, postcode sector or simply building name. With over 30 million addresses in our database, we find the postcodes and addresses best matching your criteria. We cover Residential, Business and rural addresses in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man. Our database is regularly updated with new addresses and postcodes." All the information on this website is sourced from various government databases. The website gives result based on the input given by the user. To know more about Address Lookup, please log on to: https://address-data.co.uk/ About Address Lookup LLC This is one of the largest databases that provide business and residential addresses in UK. Addresses can be verified using postal services. Media Contact: Company: Address Lookup LLC Address: 46 Wade Lane SALFORDS RH1 8UH Phone: 077 1669 0980 Contact: Kyle Ford Email: contact@address-data.co.uk https://address-data.co.uk/ Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/03/2017 -- Aircraft ejection seat is a type of system designed to rescue the crew/pilot of an aircraft during emergency situation. In an aircraft ejection seat, the seat is boosted out of the aircraft by an explosive charge carrying the pilot with the seat. Once the seat is ejected out of the aircraft, it deploys a parachute so that the pilot lands safely on the ground. The main purpose of the ejection seat is safety and survival of the pilot and crew. Ejection seat is one of the most complicated pieces of equipment on an aircraft. Airplanes flying at low speed and low altitude use a dissimilar sequence from that of jets flying at high altitudes and high speed. Pilots do not need to freely fall at low altitude; hence, the main parachute opens immediately. The decisions are based on altitude, weight of passengers, speed are already made for the pilot before he vacates the aircraft. Download Sample Report Copy: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=17381 The aircraft ejection seats market is primarily driven by the innovation of the aircraft fleet. Aircrafts are now developing an improved layer of technologies and are reviewing new fuselage patterns. The new technologies help in customizing cabin components with integrative and lightweight design by using refined design solutions. Another major driver for this market is the increasing adoption and development of two-seater fighter jets. These jets are being developed and manufactured widely across the globe. This fuels the growth of the market for aircraft ejection seats. The market growth is restrained by injuries sustained at the time of ejection. At the time of ejection, there are possibilities that the seat ejection malfunctions, due to which injuries are caused to the pilot/crew. This factor is likely to have medium impact in the short term of the forecast period. One of the major opportunities in the aircraft ejection seats market is application of these seats in light commercial aircrafts and combat helicopters. Companies are now coming up with new developments in the design of aircraft ejection seats to improve the safety of pilots. Hastening the activation of the parachute after ejection and increasing trajectory height of the seat in a favorable direction would ensure the safety of the pilot and crew. Martin-Baker has developed an ejection seat with multi-tube rocket packs, which are designed to fit precisely in the small space between the lowermost part of the cockpit floor and the seat bucket. This design provides more thrust of the ejection catapult and expands the trajectory to provide more time for the parachute to open. On the basis of application, the aircraft ejection seats market has been segmented into combat aircraft ejection seats and training aircraft ejection seats. The combat aircraft ejection seats segment accounted for the maximum share, followed by the training aircraft ejection seats in the global aircraft seats market. Based on components, the market has been divided into seat actuators, foams & fittings, and others. On geographical basis, the market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. Increasing demand for military spending in countries such as the U.S., India, China, and Russia is likely to lead to development of fifth-generation fighter jets and aircraft components during the forecast period. Moreover, major Middle Eastern countries such as Kuwait, Iran, and Saudi Arabia have increased their investments in modern combat aircrafts, due to constant threats from the militant terrorists group. France and Russia would be a key contributing factor in the growth of the market for the development of new fighter jets with advanced ejection seats. Some of the major players operating in the global aircraft ejection seats market comprise Martin Baker, NPP Zvezda, SEMMB, UTC Aerospace Systems, Airborne Systems NA Inc., Survival Equipment Services Ltd., and Neomega Resin. New York City, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/02/2017 -- A diode or discrete diode is an electronic component which has ideally zero resistance to current in one direction as compared to ideally infinite resistance in the other. There are different types of discrete diodes which include zener diodes, schottky diodes, laser diodes, transient protection diodes, radio frequency and microwave diodes, and small signal diodes. A diode acts as a one-way valve which has different applications depending upon the property or type of diode used in the circuit. For instance, as a rectifier it is used to change alternate current (AC) to direct current (DC). In addition, light emitting diode ensures transfer of electric current between the electrodes in order to generate light. The most common type of diode in use today is a semiconductor diode that is equipped with "p-n junction" for connection between two terminals. The semiconductor diodes conduct electricity if the diode is in state of forward biased. Forward biased means the cut-in or threshold is in forward direction; thereby, allowing a less voltage drop as compared to the current flowing. This voltage drop across the diode (forward-biased) is used in temperature sensors. Request to view Sample Report @ http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4699 Diodes, which allow electric current to pass in one direction, are used as rectifier diodes. This behavior of an electronic component to allow the current flow in one direction and restrict the flow in opposite direction is known as rectification and hence the name for the diode.. This procedure is followed for conversion of altering current (AC) to direct current (DC). Moreover, diodes posses "non-liner current-voltage" characteristics which makes their functionality restricted to simple "on-off" action performance while mounted on an electronic circuit. Such diodes have profound applications for automotives, consumer electronics, communications, and other industries. Factors such as low-power consumption, miniaturization, compact packaging, and higher integration are ensuring development of components across automobile, communication, and electronic industries. This is expected to swell the demand for discrete diodes in future. However, cost effective production is identified as a key factor hindering the market growth. Discrete diode market is a competitive industry due to strong foothold of current players operating in this market, which has created high entry barrier for new players to invest in this market. Factors which are limiting the expansion of regional players in the global market include strong distribution networks, economies of scale, and well equipped manufacturing plants of the established companies. Thus to retain their competitive edge, companies across the globe are into either new product development or extension of existing product portfolio to meet increasing demand for improved devices across various sectors. For instance, Toshiba Corp. (Toshiba Electronics Europe) announced enhancement of its product line of schottky barrier diodes (SBDs). Request to view Table of content @ http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4699 This was done by introduction of "CxS15S30" device which resulted in improved "reverse current performance" and "forward voltage". Apart from Toshiba Corp., the prominent players of the market include Agilent Technologies, Diodes Inc., Vishay Intertechnology, Fairchild Semiconductor International, M/A-Com Technology Solutions, Infineon Technologies, Central Semiconductor Corp., Microsemi Corp., IXYS Corp., NXP Semiconductors, Hitachi Asia, Sanyo Semiconductor, Semtech Corp., Panasonic Corp., and Shindengen Electric Manufacturing, among others. About Persistence Market Research Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge. Each PMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With a wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports strive to serve clients and satisfy their overall research requirement. New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/03/2017 -- Getting to wake up every day just moments away from Times Square, the Empire State Building, and a host of other countless hallmarks of New York City is something not everyone can boast. Some have spent their entire lives in the Big Apple while others, such as tourists, simply pass through for a day. There are many others, however, who are simply looking for a temporary stay perhaps a month, perhaps two, or perhaps they just don't know exactly how long. Business, school, pleasure and other reasons may contribute to the uncertainty of the stay and its length, but one thing is for sure and that's the desire to have a place to call home. When it comes to those looking for a high standard of living in the great city of New York, MyNyHousing Real Estate Agency offers the perfect solution. Short term rental options in upscale apartments are their specialty and one of their current openings at West 39th Street and 9th Avenue is certainly no exception to this. Right in the heart of it all, this fantastic 2 bedroom 1 bath apartment offers a peaceful retreat in the middle of a bustling city that offers some of the finest nightlife in the world. Complete with an elevator and 24 hour doorman, gym, wifi, dining table and of course splendid city views, there is much to enjoy about the Midtown spot. Apartment Amenities: -Oversized windows -Rift cut white oak floors -Bosch washer and dryer Chef's Kitchen: -Whitewashed oak cabinetry -Natural calacatta backsplash -Caesarstone countertop -Bertazzoni range and microwave -Stainless steel refrigerator and dishwasher Baths: -Moss Lappato porcelain floors and shower wall -White Caesarstone vanity top -Rift cut white oak vanity with matching custom medicine cabinet -Soaking tub "Knowing our tenants can enjoy a taste of home life when they are travelling instead of feeling confined to a hotel for months on end brings us great joy," shared MyNyHousing Owner David Assouline. "Unfortunately, when people are looking for some kind of way to experience something more than a hotel, they are faced with the prospect of having to sign a lease and/or buy and move in furniture which can just be an incredible hassle. We are glad we can offer an alternative." To view photos and learn about the host of other high end amenities available in this wonderful living space, visit the listing on MyNyHousing's website here. About MyNyHousing MyNyHousing is a fully licensed, full service Real Estate Agency specializing in the rental of fully furnished apartments in New York City. They offer an inventory of over 400 listings, a professional website, and an international team of agents who will help apartment seekers to find housing based on your needs. Their clients include business travelers, relocating residents, tourists, students, and anyone looking for a great New York City apartment without having to sign a long term lease. Units are centrally located near multiple subway stops, parks, shopping, and other amenities. www.mynyhousing.com 646-667-8144 [ISLAMABAD] A severe infestation of the papaya mealybug (Paracoccus marginatus) nearly wiped out papaya orchards in Pakistan before this largely farming South Asian country decided to replace conventional chemical pesticides that were ineffective, with natural predators that proved to be successful. Developed by agro-biotechnologists and entomologists at the Pakistani centre of the UK-based Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), they introduced the use of Acerophagus papayae, a parasitoid (insects whose larvae parasite upon and eventually kill the host) wasp, to effectively control the mealybug infestation. Farmers are happy with this cost-effective, pesticide-free technique to deal with the mealybug and now see possibilities of recovering their papaya farms, says CABI research coordinator Abdul Rehman. He regrets though that by the time the biological method became available many farmers had already shifted to other crops. Papaya once covered some 921 hectares in the two coastal provinces of Sindh and Balochistan, according to the National Agriculture Research Council (NARC)in Islamabad. But, after the first mealybug attack on papaya was reported in 2008, the area under papaya had shrunk to 307 hectares by 2014. Rehman tells SciDev.Net that after the pest had gripped almost 80 per cent of the papaya orchards, CABI, US Development Agriculture and the US Agency for International Development initiated the biological control programme in close collaboration with NARC to stop the pests possible spread to other more important commercial crops. In 2014, under CABIs papaya pest management programme, A. papayae specimens were collected from the coastal areas near the port city of Karachi, reared in the laboratory and then released into papaya plantations after screening and environmental assessments. Field reservoirs of predators CABI researchers also set up a Natural Enemies Field Reservoir on the farmers fields to breed the A. papayae parasitoid as well as eight other natural predators of the papaya mealybug. Amjad Pervez, director-general at the NARCs Karachi-based regional office, says that the advantage of the biocontrol approach lies in its simplicity and in the fact that it is self-sustaining. Demonstration of the biocontrol technique and awareness building among farmers helped wide-scale adoption and resulted in over 80 per cent control of the papaya mealybug, Pervez says. Besides, the process was non-laborious, highly affordable and simple enough for farmers not to need support from government agencies. Rehmans team has hammered out a three-pronged plan to promote the field reservoirs through public-private partnerships. The plan shall be implemented to boost research and development to strengthen the biocontrol process to completely contain papaya mealybug. Sindh and Balochistan provinces farmers organisations and vegetable and fruit traders associations will also be engaged in this regard as key stakeholders, Pervez explains. Controlling the papaya mealybug has helped contain its potential spread to commercial crops like citrus, tomato, aubergine, peppers, mulberry, beans and peas, sweet potato, mango, cherry, and pomegranate. Annual losses, had these crops been affected, would have run into millions of dollars, says Pervez. Rehman says Pakistans experience in safely controlling the mealybug has been shared with CABI chapters in the Asia-Pacific, European, and African countries. Entomologists and fruit pest experts have already communicated possibilities for replication of the biocontrol approach, with some necessary modifications in countries like Congo, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand he says. Pesticide resistance Mealybugs have great resistance to most pesticides. For one thing they exude waxy secretions that can insulate them against chemicals and for another they have developed resistance to most commonly used chemical insecticides, according to a comprehensive Indian study published by Springer earlier this year. First detected in Mexico in 1955, the papaya mealybug had spread to the Caribbean and Latin America by the 1990s and to the Pacific and South Asian countries through the first decade of this century. Abdul Majeed Nizamani, president of the Sindh Abadgar Board, a farmers organisation, believes that papaya farming would have been completely wiped out in Pakistan if not for the biocontrol measures. The biocontrol approach has saved the papaya (farming) and also increased profits by reducing expenses on the pesticide sprays once used to fight the pest, Nizamani says. This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Asia & Pacific desk This article is part of a series on invasive species supported by CABI A bird flu case has been detected once again. It has been reported that a new case in Hong Kong and Shanghai has been found that a human got infected by the H7N9 strain of avian influenza. The Xinhua that is a state-owned agency reported that it has been confirmed in Hong Kong that an elderly man was the second to be infected with the bird flu virus. Shanghai's health authority said that the man is currently being treated in the hospital. Earlier in December, the 70-year-old man traveled to the neighboring cities of China such as Zhongshan and Shenzen. He was then tested and found positive for the H7N9 strain of the virus, the government of Hong Kong said in a statement, according to The Telegraph. It has been said that the man came in contact with mobile stalls that sell live poultry in Zhongshan. However, the authorities that are investigating the case said it is still under investigation on where exactly the source of the infection came from. The report said that the patient has been hospitalized and in a stable condition. The people who have been in contact with him will be put under medical surveillance. But no reports have appeared that any of them has been found with any symptoms. The statement of the government added that the bird flu cases were "expected to increase in winter based on its seasonal pattern." Let's not panic, rather follow the advice given by authorities to prevent spread of #BirdFlu. SandArt "StayAwayFromBirdFlu"at Puribeach pic.twitter.com/BsIvp7T2ms Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) December 29, 2016 The Terra Daily reported that an elderly man who purchased a chicken from a market in the Guangdong province, which is a neighboring province, was also infected. He passed away on Sunday, in less than a week after he was tested positive for H7N9. Thus, Hong Kong is on high alert on the spread of the virus. The world's highest bridge known as the Beipanjiang Bridge opened to traffic in China on Thursday. It soars 565 meters (1,854 feet) above a river and connects two mountainous provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou. The bridge could reduce the travel time by as much as three-quarters. It can cut travel times between Xuanwei in Yunnan to Shuicheng in Guizhou from more than four hours to around one. One commentator said that the said bridge was very convenient for people who want to travel between these two places. The worlds new highest bridge just opened in China and we cant stop marveling at ithttps://t.co/BRFg7PrEKU pic.twitter.com/3wzkPfSi93 Loreto Bello Gude (@loretobgude) January 1, 2017 Yahoo reports that the Beipanjiang Bridge has been constructed for three years. It costs more than $146.7 million to build. The construction of the bridge was completed on Sep. 10, 2017. On the other hand, it was just opened for vehicular traffic before the year 2016 ended. The Beipanjiang Bridge in China took 3 years to build, and cost $146.7 million. It's now the world's highest: https://t.co/1Z2qmQ985h MarketWatch (@MarketWatch) December 31, 2016 The bridge is about 4,396 feet long and has four-lane roadway. It sits at almost 2,000 feet over the Beipan River. It is also part of the 2,115 mile Hangrui Highway that connects Hangzhou to the China-Myanmar border crossing Ruili. The bridge bested the 1,837-foot-tall Sidu River Bridge, which is the world record title before. The Sidu River Bridge is in the central province of Hubei. Some of the world's highest bridges are situated in China. Meanwhile, the world's tallest bridge, gauged based in height and not in the distance to the ground, is the Millau viaduct in France at 343 meters, according to the Dawn. This bridge was also completed for three years and cost about 394 million or AU$415 million (US$484,698,800). Hubble telescope spotted a mysterious yet beautiful galaxy known as IRAS 16399-0937. It is a "megamaser," which is about 370 million lightyears away from planet Earth. A megamaser is an astrophysical maser with massive isotropic luminosity. It is about 100 million times brighter than masers in the Milky Way. NASA explained that this galaxy has a far more exciting and futuristic classification than most -- it hosts a megamaser. Megamasers are around 100 million times brighter than the masers found in galaxies like our own Milky Way! READ: https://t.co/U27Nuh4w4b pic.twitter.com/EYSyrAhmh8 Hubble (@NASA_Hubble) December 29, 2016 Engadget reports that the image was taken using two instruments, namely, the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). The researchers could see the galaxy with two separate cores during merging hiding behind thick cosmic gas and dust. They also found that the galaxy has a massive black hole, which is about 100 times the size of the Sun. .@NASA_Hubble Gazes at megamaser galaxy iIRAS 16399-0937, 370 million light-years from Earth | via #NASA https://t.co/Q0DNplgqet Gene J. Mikulka (@genejm29) December 29, 2016 The two separate galactic cores are different. The team named the northern one IRAS 16399N and the southern core as IRAS 16399S. The southern core seems to be a massive active starburst region with newly born stars at a huge rate. On the other hand, the northern core seems to be the opposite that has a huge field of weakly ionized neutral gas, according to Science Alert. The Hubble telescope remains to be in operation and its successor will be launched in 2018. Hubble was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990. It is one of the largest and most versatile research tools for astronomy. It could spot the farthest star and interesting galaxies in space. It is named after the astronomer Edwin Hubble. A convenience store in Mexico has been making waves for promoting his business using signs that threaten political violence. The Mayhill Convenience Store has been putting up signs with phrases like "Bullets Not Ballots" and "Kill Obama" with "care" in smaller letters underneath. The signs are said to have been put up for over a year now. But local station KOB drew new attention last Friday when a new sign was plastered, saying "Obama & other Muslims not welcome here." Marlon McWilliams, a former worker at the store, told the station that those who have called out the owner have been banned from the establishment. He shared, "If you go in there and you offend him, you can't go in there no more. He turns lots of people away." The Huffington Post reported that the Council on American-Islamic Relations released a statement regarding the signs, saying, "While everyone has the First Amendment right to free speech - even offensive speech - we urge the store's owner to remove the sign in the interest of common decency and of our nation's unity at a time of increasing divisions." Other contentious signs posted in the store include an "Obama Swing Set" that shows a picture of a noose and another that said "Obama The Anti-Christ." The store has recently drawn worldwide attention, thanks to KOB's report. But Sacramento Bee noted that there had been social media postings that implied the store has shocked its visitors in the past. Unfortunately, this did not deter the store's owner from producing the signs, and it is one of the few places in the community with groceries readily available. Mayville Convenience Store has already been hit with multiple negative reviews on Facebook and Google, with people calling the policies a violation of non-discrimination laws. Attempts for comment from the owner have so far fallen on deaf ears. During the 17th century, scientists used physical laws to explain the miracles recorded in the Bible. Sir Isaac Newton, the genius who theorized the law of gravity, was among the renowned physicists who believed that the universe is held together by a Divine force -- the greatest Genius behind all existence. National Geographic reported that Newton studied the trajectory of the Great Comet of 1680 -- a stunning astronomical phenomenon that left 17th Century people in awe. His equations inspired astronomer Edmund Halley's prediction of the comet's reoccurrence, as well as his friend, colleague and successor William Whiston's idea that the same comet may have caused the Great Flood during the Biblical time of Noah as recorded in the Book of Genesis. William Whiston, who revolutionized navigation through his Longitude Act in 1714, was a mathematician and theologian. He declared that the comet's strong gravitational force pulled the oceans beneath the Earth's crust, causing the catastrophic rain fall that brought the historical flood. "What set Whiston and Newton apart from modern scientists is their assumption that the Bible was literally true, and that God's 'book of nature' could be used to understand God's other book, the Bible," said James Force, retired professor from the University of Kentucky's philosophy department. "Today, we tend to keep science and religion in strictly segregated boxes. Not so Newton and Whiston." World Net Daily reported that aside from Isaac Newton and William Whiston, scientists Johannes Kepler, who proposed three laws of planetary motion, Sir Francis Bacon, the person most responsible for the advancement of the modern scientific method, and Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, who improved the use of the telescope and invented the geometric compass, thermometer and pendulum clock, were also among the geniuses that reconciled science to the Biblical faith. Galileo Galilei once said: "I am inclined to think that the authority of Holy Scripture is intended to convince men of those truths which are necessary for their salvation, which, being far above man's understanding, can not be made credible by any learning, or any other means than revelation by the Holy Spirit." While people enjoy daydreaming to escape reality once in a while, some people are seeking professional help to get themselves out of their overly imaginative minds. CNN reported that a severe psychological concept of daydreaming called maladaptive daydreaming (MD) has been turning people's fantasies into nightmares. These daydreamers said that they are often trapped in the pits of their unrealistic worlds that they could not be able to function normally in real life. "It makes me get attached to people in an unrealistic way. It's awkward when real people, who are also characters in my daydreams, treat me different than they do in my dream world," confessed Sarah Waite, 28. The former grocery clerk said her longest job only lasted for one year because she was always distracted, nervous or late due to her daydreams. A study conducted by an international team of researchers in 2016 led by Eli Somer of the University of Haifa in Israel, who first coined the condition, states that there is "a large and growing number of online international forums and websites on which individuals profess to have been secretly suffering from maladaptive daydreaming for years." The team seeks to include this under-reported condition to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) along with its diagnostic scale that includes yearning, kinesthesia (a sense of movement) and impairment. "We're only talking about significant impairment if daydreaming means staying in your room isolated, engaging in your fantasy life, and that is your life," Somer said. However, clinical psychologist Peter Kinderman from the University of Liverpool argued that MD does not have to be included to the DSM since "daydreaming is a pretty common phenomenon" that does not need a diagnosis. "The best way to tackle these problems is to talk with a professional such as a psychologist," Kinderman said. "They can help people deal with the intrusive thoughts. I would not create a new category of mental disorder for daydreams." While wandering minds affect some people negatively, Psychologies reported that daydreaming actually makes people creative, reveals a person's innermost hopes and desires, prepares people for future tasks and is essential to coping with life. The profitable Saint-Nazaire yard, an important cruise ship builder in its own right, has been for sale as part of the demise of South Korea's STX Offshore & Shipbuilding group. STX owns two-thirds of STX France. The remaining third is held by the French state, which intends to keep its minority share. The sale of the French yard, which last year delivered Harmony of the Seas, world's largest cruise ship, was expected to be concluded by year-end 2016. While news reports in November said four parties, including Fincantieri, France's DCNS Group, the Netherlands' Damen and an unnamed, non-Korean entity had expressed interest, last week Fincantieri emerged as the sole bidder. Fincantieri confirmed receiving notice from STX Europe adviser Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers that it is the preferred bidder for a 66.6% stake in the French facility. Terms have not been disclosed. Perspective from French officials is awaited. STX France is scheduled to complete MSC Meraviglia this year, and 2018 deliveries include Oasis 4 for Royal Caribbean International and the first Edge-class ship, Celebrity Edge, for Celebrity Cruises. MSC Bellissima and a Meraviglia-Plus ship are due in 2019, a second Celebrity Edge ship, Celebrity Beyond, and another Meraviglia-Plus vessel in 2020, Oasis 5 and Edge 3 in 2021, Edge 4 and a new-design World-class ship for MSC in 2022, plus a second MSC World-class vessel in 2024. Singapore politician Chan Chun Sing, Minister in Prime Ministers Office, posted on his Facebook page on New Years Day that with the sailing of the 8,749 teu Sofia Express on 31 December 2016 the terminal was closed. It was a poignant moment as some of our workers gave the cranes a final salute. Others shed tears and reflected over the years they spent at the yard, Chan, who is also secretary-general of Singapore National Trade Unions Congress, said in the post. However, industry sources told Seatrade Maritime News that while the Sofia Express could be the last containership to call the terminal, with container operations having been gradually transferred to newer, more efficient and deeper draught terminals, Tanjong Pagar Terminal remained operational. Recent times have seen car carriers call at the terminal and containers remain stacked in the yard, including many from bankrupt Hanjin Shipping. Tanjong Pagar Terminal is the oldest of PSAs container terminals in Singapore and welcomed the first containership Nihon to call the country in 1972. PSAs lease on Tanjong Pagar Terminal expires in 2027. After the lease expires the terminal is expected to be redeveloped into waterfront commercial and residential district. The leases on the neighbouring Keppel and Brani Terminals also expire in 2027. PSA meanwhile continues develop Pasir Panjang Terminal, and the first phase of a new megaport in Tuas is scheduled to start operations in 2020. Tanjong Pagar terminal comprises seven berths and is equipped with 27 quay cranes. Latest news reports said 194 have been rescued. There have been conflicting reports about the actual number of passengers onboard and whether overloading contributed to the accident. Local media reports said the police had found a difference between the number of passengers declared on the manifest and the actual number of passengers. According to maritime officials the ferry was licensed to carry 285 passengers and had been certified safe for operation as recently as last week. National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) marine accident investigation chief Aldrin Dalimunte said initial investigations indicated the fire was caused by a short circuit in the engine, which also generated power for the boats air conditioning system. Zahro was different from other vessels [serving the route] as it was equipped with an air-conditioning system, he said. Preliminary findings suggested the boat did not have a design that was conducive to a smooth evacuation in emergency situations. As the cabins were air-conditioned, the passenger cabins were sealed and had only one exit. There was only one way out, which was at the front of the vessel. And yet the door was very small and could only be passed through by one person at a time, he said. In the aftermath of the accident, it was reported that the police will question the vessel's master, who reportedly was one of the first to abandon ship. Three other crewmen were also being held for questioning. "The captain will be questioned. We will find out the cause and whether it was because of poor maintenance," National Police chief Tito Karnavian was quoted as saying. As part of the fallout from the tragedy, Deddy Junaedi, the harbourmaster of Muara Angke Port, has been removed from his post. Transportation Ministrys director general of sea transportation Tonny Budiono said Deddy was guilty of "administrative neglect" by failing to update Zahro Express passenger manifest. "The official manifest said the boat was carrying 100 people, but reports said there were more than 100 passengers on board the Zahro Express. A witness said there were 184 passengers and another one said there were 250," Tonny said. He added the harbourmaster also failed to appear at the Muara Angke Port after the boat caught fire on Sunday morning. KNKT said it will take three months to investigate the cause of the accident. Aldrin noted that investigations would focus on the pace of the fire, which may be linked to the cabins design and materials as well as other safety elements such as whether the engine room had a smoke detector and whether fire extinguishers had been effectively deployed. Singapore-listed Mermaid said the contract cancellation has been mutually agreed with CMIH, in view of the challenging global oil and gas market that has led to low demand for drilling rigs, depressed asset values and charter rates. The order was made by Mermaid in January 2014 at a contract price of $149m for each rig. During that same time, Mermaid also ordered a DP1 dive support and construction vessel from CMIH and the contract was aborted in December 2016. Mermaid said it has made pre-paid installment of $44m for the two drilling rigs and the sum has been forfeited and recorded as asset impairments in Mermaids 2015 financial statement. No further payments are due to CMIH. Subsequent to the termination of the construction contracts, Mermaid has been given a right of first refusal to purchase the rigs under the same terms and conditions from CMIH in the event that a new buyer is identified. As humans evolved to stand upright, so too did our skeleton. Over millennia, our knee, hip and shoulder joints changed shape to accommodate the redistribution of weight. But those past changes are the primary reason we experience joint pain today. And although orthopedic doctors have treatments and surgical procedures to address some of those problems, they haven't been able to anticipate how those joints will likely change in the future. Now, Paul Monk, an orthopedic doctor at Oxford University, and his team have built computer models to predict how those joints will change in the future. The models are being used to not only create a 3D visualization of the very joints surgeons are often called upon to repair but to print 3D models of them. The ability to glance into the future of the human skeleton is more than a theoretical exercise. It could advance orthopedic therapies and create new treatments or surgical procedures to address the adaptions. "These models provide valuable insights into what might change over the coming millennia," Monk told Seeker. "They will also help define surgical treatments and physiotherapy modalities." Monk and his colleagues developed the models by collecting CT scans of bones collected by the Natural History Museum in London and Oxford as well as those from the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. They analyzed not just bones from humans and early humans, but also from primates and dinosaurs. In all, they scanned 224 bone specimens, spanning 350 million years. RELATED: Most Complete Pre-Human Skeleton Found They built the computer models to map the evolution of the bones by incorporating fundamental principals of Darwinian theory as well as Wolff's law, which was developed by the German anatomist and surgeon Julius Wolff. The law states that bones will adapt in response to the load put on them. "Following evolutionary theory, we inherit an anatomical template from our ancestor and adjust it slightly," Monk said. Over time, thinner parts of these bones have thickened, leaving less room for ligaments and nerves to pass across joints. It is that crowding that often leads to pain. And, all things remaining the same, it is likely to continue and get worse. "The species that survive are those that are best adapted to their environment," Monk said. (deleted sentence) And anticipating those adaptions could just give our species the edge to survive another millennia. They found that the modern design of joint replacements won't work in the future. "We have performed virtual surgery on the models," Monk said. "And it is clear that certain urgent changes are required to make the designs reflect the anatomical design constraints which are evolving now and will be particularly important in the not too distant future." Examining the role of evolution on medical treatments also raises, for Monk, the reciprocal question. Does the medical treatment affect evolution? "The species that survive are those that are best adapted to their environment," Monk said. "So the current joint shapes are those that are best adapted." And anticipating those adaptions could just give our species the edge to survive another millennia. WATCH VIDEO: Is Human Evolution Still Occurring? For the first time, China moved ahead of Russia in the number of rocket launches in 2016 and ended the year by tying the United States with 22 orbital missions. The statistics, complied by Harvard University astrophysicist and long-time rocket watcher Jonathan McDowell, also show that Russia's 17 launches in 2016 fell far short of the country's 2015 and 2014 tallies, which were 26 and 32 launches, respectively. Russia has been the world's launch leader since 2004, eclipsing both China and the United States. "By my count the USA was ahead from 1958 to 1966," McDowell wrote in an email to Seeker. "Next Russia held the lead from 1967 to 1995 but then (as the fall of the USSR caught up with the space program) the U.S. took it back in 1996-1999, 2001, and 2003. "Since 2004 Russia has had the lead again, so this is the first time in 12 years they've lost it," McDowell said. "Meanwhile China continues its ascent to parity or more with the US and Russia." RELATED: China Announces Plans for Moon and Mars Missions The United States would have finished the year well ahead of China had it not been for the grounding of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket fleet following a Sept. 1 accident on the launch pad. The company, owned and operated by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, is aiming to return to flight on Sunday. As for the rest of the world, Europe's Arianespace finished the year with 11 launches, India had seven, Japan four, Israel one and newcomer North Korea launched one orbital rocket as well. While China's growing prowess in space is raising concerns in the defense community, space policy experts Joan Johnson-Freese, with the U.S. Naval War College in Rhode Island, and Theresa Hitchens with the University of Maryland's Center for International Security Studies, say that the threat of a war in space is dangerously overhyped. "My view is that the U.S. ought to put an equal amount of effort into diplomacy as it does to building 'stuff' - but diplomacy doesn't allow the Pentagon or Intel (intelligence) community to buy lots more 'stuff.' Let's not forget, the Pentagon is a big bureaucracy. My bottom line on all of this is what's good for the Pentagon as an organization isn't always good for the U.S. as a whole," Johnson-Freese said. RELATED: Two Chinese Astronauts Arrive at Orbiting Space Lab She sees a parallel between China's efforts to evolve its space program and what the United States accomplished during the 1960s and '70s, a period of time that included the Apollo missions to the moon and the initial exploration of the solar system by robotic probes. "I'm not sure that the number of launches on its own means anything special," Johnson-Freese said. "I see it largely as a continuation of past plans. China continues to place their space plans within the context of overall country development ... since most space technology is dual use." "China has worked hard to build a family of launchers and an array of satellite capabilities and now it is utilizing them to the fullest," she said. WATCH VIDEO: What Is China Doing in Space? In late 2016, former governor Sarah Palin accused president-elect Donald Trump of taking part in crony capitalism. The accusation came after a deal Trump made with an air conditioning company to keep a number of jobs in the United States. Many believe Trump used his new powers to sway the deal, which involved $7 million dollars in incentives to the company. A deal like this has the potential to become favoritism, which is the basis of crony capitalism. So, what exactly is crony capitalism? Watch today's Seeker Daily video to find out. Learn More: Politico: Sarah Palin: Trump's Carrier deal is 'crony capitalism' Forbes: Richest People in Europe The Economist: Comparing Crony Capitalism Around The World SpaceX has concluded its investigation into why one of its Falcon 9 rockets exploded on the launch pad four months ago and is ready to return to flight as early as Sunday. The company, owned and operated by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, is opting for a short-term solution to fix the problem, which was traced to super-cold liquid oxygen, known as LOX, getting trapped between layers of a canister holding helium. Three canisters of helium are inside the oxygen tank to maintain pressure. The extreme cold likely caused one of the canisters to burst, triggering a catastrophic explosion on Sept 1 as a rocket was being fueled for a routine prelaunch engine test at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The accident destroyed the rocket and a $200 million Israeli communications satellite that it was due to send into orbit two days later. RELATED: SpaceX Finds Rocket Explosion 'Smoking Gun' Engineers at SpaceX have begun designing a new helium canister, but in the meantime the company plans to change its fueling procedures and fill the canisters with warmer temperature helium to avoid what it calls "friction ignition." The helium canisters, known as composite overwrapped pressure vessels, or COPVs, consist of an aluminum inner liner with a carbon overwrap. "The recovered COPVs showed buckles in their liners. Although buckles were not shown to burst a COPV on their own, investigators concluded that super chilled LOX can pool in these buckles under the overwrap. When pressurized, oxygen pooled in this buckle can become trapped; in turn, breaking fibers or friction can ignite the oxygen in the overwrap, causing the COPV to fail," SpaceX said in a statement. Investigators also determined that the loading temperature of the helium was cold enough to create solid oxygen, SpaceX noted, exacerbating the possibility of oxygen becoming trapped, as well as the likelihood of friction ignition. The short-term solution to the problem is to change the COPV configuration to allow warmer temperature helium to be loaded and to load the helium at a slower pace, SpaceX said "In the long term, SpaceX will implement design changes to the COPVs to prevent buckles altogether, which will allow for faster loading operations," the company said. Neither change is expected to impact SpaceX's plans to return the rocket's first-stage after launch so it can be refurbished and flown again. RELATED: Dramatic Video Shows Moment of SpaceX Explosion SpaceX will implement the new protocols during an engine test firing and launch of a Falcon 9 rocket that is slated to fly Sunday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket will be carrying 10 satellites for Iridium Communications. The company has not said how much damage the Sept 1 accident caused to its primary launch site in Florida, nor when the repaired pad will be ready to support launches. In the meantime, SpaceX is working to finish its second launch site in Florida, located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, and plans to fly in the first quarter of 2017. The Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees commercial U.S. launches, said it had received SpaceX's accident report and was reviewing it. "The FAA has not yet issued a license to SpaceX for a launch in January," the agency said in an email to Seeker. WATCH VIDEO: Have We Been Doing Space Travel All Wrong? Press Release January 2, 2017 GORDON HOPES FOR BETTER PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE GOV'T AND THE PEOPLE IN THE FIGHT VS CRIMES With the start of the New Year, Senator Richard J. Gordon is hoping for a closer coordination and communication between the government and the people in order to increase ways to overcome the challenges and win the battle against crimes and illegal drugs. Gordon explained that with the participation of a united country and the Filipino, the campaign against crimes and illegal drugs will be even more successful. "With the New Year, we hope that the government will have closer partnership and communications with the population so together we can join forces in the battle against crimes, bring perpetrators to justice and show that the rule of law continues to prevail. We can better apprehend and obtain convictions against perpetrators of vigilante killings, including rogue policemen and any criminal through the continuous participation of the people," he said. The senator, chair of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, earlier pointed out that people must be part of the process of change. This was contained in the committee report that he submitted to the Senate on the investigation, in aid of legislation, that his committee conducted on recent and rampant killings. "To effectively put an end to the killings with impunity, people must be part of the process of change. People must organize village watch groups to guard against crimes, particularly the influx of drug dealers and pushers, in their respective areas. The people themselves should be empowered to help transform their respective areas into "drug-free" neighborhoods where their families may safely reside," he said in the report. Gordon, former Olongapo mayor, noted that his anti-illegal drugs campaign in Olongapo City was successful with the help of the Barangay Anti-Narcotics Group. "In the old days in Olongapo, I had the Barangay Anti-Narcotics Group who had kids in school and people in the community who helped me weed out drug pushers. We drove them away from Olongapo. It has been proven that when people participate, the effort will succeed," he said. Gordon stressed that it is time to replace the citizens' growing apathy with energized people participation as the government continues its fight against crimes and illegal drugs. "This is a golden opportunity to show the people that under our democracy, we are neither helpless nor hopeless. There is strength not just in numbers but also in consolidated efforts; the key is to maximize and harmonize these symbiotic endeavors to achieve optimum results. We must synergize and work together to solve the problem on the rampant killings in the country," he said. Press Release January 2, 2017 Hontiveros sees health and gender equality bills at the forefront of 2017 legislative agenda Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday vowed to prioritize the passage of several health and gender equality bills in 2017, saying that she and her fellow senators will build on the gains they made last year in the promotion of progressive laws. Longer maternity leave Hontiveros, who serves as Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, sees longer maternity leave for women this year. She filed Senate Bill No. 215 or the Extended Maternity Leave Act which seeks to extend the maternity leaves of working women from the current 60 days to 120 days and150 days for solo mothers. President Rodrigo Duterte recently threw his support for a longer maternity leave. Duterte said that mothers should have a longer rest period to give them more time to breastfeed their babies."I agree that you need a longer period of rest for maternity leave. Gusto ko nga isang taon eh (I even want it to last for a year)," he said. Hontiveros said that her committee is already in the process of preparing its committee report on the different versions of the bill. Anti-discrimination Hontiveros also vowed to push Senate Bill No. 935 or the Anti-Discrimination Bill which she filed to penalize discrimination against sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) in schools and workplaces, and offer equal protection to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The said bill already made its way to the plenary and is ready for second reading. LGBT advocates said that Hontiveros' proposed measure is the first anti-discrimination bill to reach the Senate plenary. Anti-hospital deposit As part of her campaign promise, Hontiveros seeks to stop the practice of hospitals asking for advance payment before admitting patients in emergency situation. Hontiveros, who also chairs the Senate Committee on Health, filed Senate Bill No. 216 or the Amendments to the Anti-Hospital Deposit Act that seek heavier penalties on hospitals that continue to violate the law while providing tax incentives to those that will admit indigent or poor patients in cases of emergency. "We will conduct another hearing on this issue, submit the bill to the technical working group and release a committee report as soon as possible," Hontiveros said. "The Anti-hospital deposit bill is part of my priority legislative bills this new year. We cannot allow the lives and health well-being of our people to be sacrificed any longer in the name of profit," Hontiveros added. Press Release January 3, 2017 Legarda Seeks Creation of Nat'l Space Agency Senator Loren Legarda supports the creation of the Philippine Space Agency (PSA) that will address all national issues and activities related to space science and technology applications. In filing Senate Bill No. 1259, Legarda proposed the creation of the PSA and a National Space Development and Utilization Policy (NSDUP), which will serve as the country's primary strategic roadmap for space development and will embody the country's goal of becoming a space-capable and space-faring nation within the next decade. The Senator noted that the Philippines is lagging behind its neighboring countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore, each having space agencies with satellites devoted to telecommunications or earth monitoring. "It is unfortunate that due to lack of local support to this field, many of our globally-competitive Filipino space scientists have instead opted to serve in space agencies abroad," said Legarda. She added that space programs and development are not limited to sending astronauts to space and engineering space crafts and technologies. "Space programs and development address basic needs in our daily lives such as the application of global navigation satellite systems which directly affects industries, transportation management, national security, health management, climate studies and disaster risk management, and the expansion of scientific engineering resources," said Legarda. The Philippine Space Policy will focus on space applications that can preserve and enhance the country's national security and promote development that is beneficial to all Filipinos, and on conducting research and development endeavors in vital areas of space science, technology and allied fields. Through the PSA, the country will develop and utilize space science and technology applications to enhance its hazard management and disaster mitigation strategy as well as ensure the nation's resiliency to climate change; create a robust and thriving space industry to support the country's space program through private sector involvement and cooperation; establish a sustainable pool of trained space scientists, engineers and communicators that will be critical for the country's future space program and increasing public awareness on its value and benefits; and for the Philippines to become a key player in the ASEAN and global space community by providing significant contributions and capabilities on space science and technology applications. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate In late December, the filtration tanks at a treatment plant in San Bruno were quietly filled with millions of gallons of raw water. At the same time, water was drained out of Mountain Tunnel, the century-old artery connecting the Bay Area to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, 175 miles away in Tuolumne County. From Tuesday through March 5, crews will traverse the 19-mile conduit making repairs and performing a rigorous inspection. Officials have known for years that the tunnel is at risk of catastrophic collapse. The shutdown will help them decide whether the tunnel can be saved or will need to be entirely replaced. During those 60 days of inspections, San Francisco and other Bay Area cities will be cut off from their main water supply in the craggy heights in Yosemite National Park. Instead, water will come from four local water reservoirs and three treatment plants that will pump more than 150 million gallons a day to residents and businesses during the long closure. As water was filling the Harry Tracy Water Treatment Plant in San Bruno, plants in Half Moon Bay and Sunol Valley were also being prepared for heavy-duty work. The pipeline normally closes for maintenance for 30 days each year, but the last time it closed for double that time was in 1980, also for a thorough inspection. Its more challenging than what we have normally done, said Steven Ritchie, assistant general manager of water enterprise at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. For starters, two of the treatment plants needed to be made ready, he said. Weve done a lot of work upping Harry Tracy and the Sunol Water Treatment Plants efficiencies, Ritchie said. There will still be plenty of water available, and we have contingency plans in place for the worst-case scenario if a disaster happens. One week before commission officials closed the tunnel, more water volume than usual was allowed to rush down a series of pipes from the Crystal Springs Reservoir to the San Andreas Reservoir and then into the Harry Tracy plant. Globs of sediment and algae skimmed across the surface of the rust-colored water as it flowed through a series of channels. The water would later be filtered and sanitized at the plant. The 17 million-gallon water storage drum at Harry Tracy usually empties and fills two times a day at most. But as a full-time water supply source for San Francisco and the Peninsula after the tunnel shutdown, it will be replenished eight times daily and thats with the lower seasonal demand for water. Weve been planning this shutdown for a decade, said Paul Gambon, the water supply and treatment system operations manager at the commission. This year is the big year because it will determine what the future looks like. There are a lot of unknowns. We are currently in the exploratory phase. Warning signs began showing 25 years ago, alerting officials that something was amiss in the tunnel built by miners nearly 100 years ago. Obstructions caused by the crumbling structure have decreased the volume of water pushing through Mountain Tunnel, data show, and concrete laid when the artery was built is disintegrating. A collapse in the system could take 270 days and cost more than $100 million to repair or $620 million to replace, according to the commission. Last fall, the agency spent $5 million to improve accessibility to the tunnel for workers, which is located at the bottom of a steep canyon in a remote stretch of Hetch Hetchy Valley. Crews increased the size of entry points and built wider gravel roads. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. This winters inspection will reveal whether the agency will need to repair the tunnel completely or build a new one. Renovating the conduit would mean shutting it down for two months every winter for up to 10 years. Its the pricier but more reliable option, Ritchie said. During the tests, the taste and purity of San Franciscos water wont change, Ritchie said. The water stored in local reservoirs was funneled down from Hetch Hetchy. But because of fish and critters that live around the reservoirs, it needed extra filtering, he said. Nor will residents likely see any changes in service during the two months, said agency spokesman Charles Sheehan. Water is essential and necessary, which is why there is so much planning around this shutdown, Sheehan said. You cant have interruptions in service the way you could with garbage pickup. People should have confidence that their water system wont fail on them. At the Harry Tracy plant, machines churned and hummed. Dirty water rushed in, and clean water left in its place. Lizzie Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LizzieJohnsonnn For the foreseeable future, the weather-page forecast shows raindrops around the Bay Area and snowflakes in the Sierra Nevada. And that makes skiers, snowboarders, sledders and state water officials really happy. Commuters? Not so much. The postholiday workweek will start off wet and get even wetter around 4 p.m. Tuesday, dropping about an inch of rain around the Bay Area and 2 inches in the higher elevations, said Bob Benjamin, a National Weather Service forecaster. It wont be world-ending, but definitely decent, he said. The rainy weather will continue off and on through the week, with another big storm expected over the weekend. Michael Short / Special to The Chronicle / / After the below-average temperatures over the weekend which left a dusting of snow on local peaks it will warm up, with highs and lows in the 50s, Benjamin said. Up in the Sierra Nevada, heavy snow was expected through early this week, with more on the way. There was nothing but snowflakes in the daily forecast through next weekend. We are ecstatic, said Marcie Bradley, spokeswoman for Northstar California Resort. Bradley, who was shaking off snow after making snow angels, said that for someone who looks at the Weather Channel 20 times a day, seeing those snowflakes rather than sun is exciting. We couldnt kick off the new year in a better way, she said. The Donner Pass area reported about 5 inches of new snow Monday, and with 4 feet of accumulation expected over the next few days, the National Weather Service issued a storm warning until 4 a.m. Thursday for the Sierra western slope, including Interstate 80 and highways 50, 36, 70 and 88. In the meantime, the California Highway Patrol reported a good start to the year, with no serious accidents across the region on what was expected to be a big travel day Monday. Drivers, however, had a long slog home from the Lake Tahoe area, with the low temperatures dropping the snow level and creating a long backup along highways down from the mountains. As snow continued to fall Monday, chain control stretched about 60 miles along I-80, from Colfax nearly to the Nevada border, adding at least 90 minutes to the ride back to the Bay Area for weary travelers. Bradley, however, was headed back outside for more snow angels. There were a lot of happy people on the mountain, she said of the holiday weekend. They should just stay a little bit longer. Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker Hold on now. Slow down. The Chronicles front page from Jan. 3, 1974, covers a presidential order meant to make motorists tap their brakes while saving gas during the oil crisis. President (Richard) Nixon yesterday signed legislation that is aimed at forcing states to reduce their speed limits to 55 miles an hour, the story read. He said the lower limit would save 200,000 barrels of fuel a day. Millions of drivers ignored the law, and so did some states. But many states complied, and cars slowed down on freeways across the U.S. The fuel savings, however, werent as substantial as the president had promised. Nixon, it seems, should have tapped the brakes a bit in his pronouncements. Sad story: The photo in the middle of the page shows the covered body of Anthony Cala, a Cala Foods grocery manager who was also a member of the family that owned the store. He had been shot dead in an attempted robbery. Top O the Top of the News No. 1: BART already is making plans for the big celebration that will be held when transbay service starts. Page 3. Rather than dancing, celebrants will just be forced to stand awkwardly close together as disabled elevator alerts are played over speakers. Top O the Top of the News No. 2: Flirting, dating, cruising, parking things have changed since American Graffiti days, say Bay Area teenagers. Page 20. Yeah, back in 1974, they were all hitting each other on their pagers. Top O the Top of the News No. 3: Foam rubber furniture that is to sitting what waterbeds are to sleeping is being produced by a San Francisco firm. Page 22. The waterbed of coffee tables was a highlight. 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 is a yearlong project 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 (Click to enlarge) Flint, Mich., is a place that has become synonymous with lead poisoning and governmental failure. Yet an unsettling new report from Reuters has found that thousands of communities around the nation are afflicted with even higher levels of poisoning than Flint and one of those places is Oakland. A test of 500 children in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland showed that 7.57 percent of them had elevated lead levels in their blood. Thats far higher than the nationwide average of 2.5 percent, and it also beats Flints atrocious levels of 5 percent during the height of its water crisis in 2014-15. The Centers for Disease Control recommends a public health response for any child who tests high and rightfully so. Even small amounts of lead poisoning can negatively impact entire communities, since small elevations of lead levels in childrens blood can reduce their IQs, stunt their development, and increase the risk of behavioral problems. Unlike Flints, Oaklands rate is probably the result of benign, rather than active, neglect. Many lower-income communities are plagued by legacy lead that persists in older homes from peeling paint or outdated plumbing, or in industrial waste thats been left behind by businesses. But Oakland still has a responsibility to help its residents. There are federal laws requiring homeowners of properties built before 1978 to disclose lead hazards to tenants or buyers, but when it comes to remediation, most residents are on their own. The regional housing crisis may exacerbate problems as more lower-income residents squeeze into housing units, more people may be exposed to lead. And tenants who are worried about losing their housing are less likely to complain to landlords about the need for remediation. One potential solution for Oaklands leadership would be to find ways to strengthen the Alameda County Healthy Homes Departments lead poisoning prevention programs. More funding and more partnerships would help this agency help Oaklands vulnerable citizens, leading to lower public health bills down the road. I will take my oath of office today and have the honor of representing Silicon Valley in the U.S. House of Representatives. My political campaign succeeded because of the help of hundreds of students. Their ambition and drive will allow them to flourish, but I am concerned about their well-being. These students were volunteering because of a genuine passion for giving back to the community. But a few also told me that the campaign work was a release, or as one student put it a respite from our reality. And while these young adults may not have used terms like anxiety and depression, I gradually got the sense that their reality was sometimes darker than their smiles would suggest. In the most recent California Healthy Kids Survey, 1 in 3 high school juniors reported feeling chronically sad. An astonishing 1 in 5 freshmen and juniors reported contemplating suicide. The causes of student distress vary, but 1 in 3 teens told the American Psychological Association that stress was a primary driver, and the single biggest cause teens named was school. A large study commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Kaiser Permanente confirms that children who experience more serious and lasting stress in their youth are more likely to suffer not only anxiety and depression, but also lung, liver and heart disease as adults. While that research examined severe traumas such as abuse or neglect, psychologists and pediatricians increasingly suspect that chronic, lower-intensity stress, like that caused by constant performance pressure, could cause similar biological strain. It has become clear that we need to do something. Vicki Abeles and Tarun Galagali have helped me put together a five-point plan: Collect data annually on student wellness: We need to know precisely what were dealing with at each school. Stuart Slavin, a St. Louis University pediatrics professor, pioneered such a survey at Fremonts Irvington High School, asking students research-backed questions on sleep, stress, anxiety and depression. The results helped guide Irvington administrators in crafting wellness programs. Data makes inaction a costly political decision for officials responsible to constituents. Create wellness centers: Every school should have a wellness center on site, providing counseling and other services that will help equip students with tools to cultivate good mental health, such as mindfulness. Southern Californias Burbank High School is a guiding example. Shift school start times to 8:30 a.m.: Sleep matters, especially for children and teens. Yet more than two-thirds of our countrys students get fewer hours than they need. Sleep deprivation is linked with a weaker immune system and higher levels of depression and suicide (not to mention poorer academic performance). Pushing school start times from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., as the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends, might be logistically challenging but sensible. Remake expectations about homework: Homework seems like a given a central and unquestioned part of a rigorous education. But in truth it is a reflex, borne out of tradition rather than research. Studies suggest that, if homework helps at all, it does so only when assigned in moderation. Todays runaway homework demands are doing more harm than good. Schools should cap the amount of time students can be required to work after the last bell, granting them the chance for rest and exercise, and returning to families the evening hours that are rightfully theirs. Defuse the college admissions arms race: Theres little that drives students to experience more stress than the ever-escalating contest to cram their college applications full of more advanced classes and activities than the next applicant. Yet its a contest that has little to do with real individual potential or learning. Schools at all levels have a responsibility to intervene. We call on public colleges and universities to cap the number of Advanced Placement classes and activities they will consider on applications. With the same fervor that we demand our candidates value Medicare and Social Security, we need to ask our public officials to tackle the mental health epidemic afflicting our nations children. It is an urgent task. Ro Khanna is the U.S. representative-elect of Californias 17th Congressional District. He wrote this commentary with Vicki Abeles, the producer/director of the film Race to Nowhere and author of Beyond Measure: Rescuing an Overscheuled, Overtested, Underestimated Generation (Simon & Schuster, 2015), and Tarun Galagali, an alumnus of Monta Vista High School in Cupertino. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Most new parents with jobs in San Francisco will be eligible for six weeks of fully paid leave starting this week, the result of the most comprehensive parental leave law offered anywhere in the country. The law, unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors in April, seeks to encourage bonding between parents and their new children, and applies to mothers and fathers who have a baby together by birth, adopt or become foster parents. It also extends to same-sex couples. California's family leave law provides workers with 55 percent of their wages for up to six weeks. Thats far more than most states offer. The San Francisco law, which took effect Sunday, further expands paid parental leave by requiring employers to pay the balance, or 45 percent, of the workers salary. Parents would see their wages rise from an average of $743 a week to $1,351, according to the city controller in a report analyzing the laws economic impact. The law, introduced by former Supervisor Scott Wiener before his election to the state Senate in November, applies to San Francisco businesses and nonprofits with 50 or more workers. It expands on July 1 to employers with 35 or more workers, and on Jan. 1, 2018, to those with 20 or more workers. New parents can benefit as long as they work in San Francisco, regardless of whether they live in the city. Too many middle- and lower-income parents forgo parental leave simply because they can't afford it, Wiener said Friday. This law will eliminate the terrible choice many families face between bonding with a new child and paying the bills. Roughly 5,000 parents every year are expected to benefit from the law, an estimate based on the number of San Francisco residents who filed baby bonding claims with the state in 2014, the most recent year included in the city controllers report. However, Wiener said that estimate may be low. The number of residents receiving paid parental leave in the state has steadily risen over the years, and San Franciscos law may encourage yet more parents to take time off. The inspiration for the law came from Wieners longtime staffer, Andres Power, who became a father for the first time last year. Power said one of the first things he did to prepare for his daughters birth was look into his parental leave benefits and was shocked to discover what little pay most parents received, even under the state law. He suggested the idea of extending parental leave to Wiener, who turned it into legislation that generated international media coverage. It's truly an honor that my own experience will now allow so many more families to spend essential time bonding with their new child, Power said. I hope this ordinance is only the beginning of a nationwide trend. Emily Green is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: egreen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @emilytgreen How S.F. parental policy works Who benefits? San Francisco employees who work for a business or nonprofit with 50 or more workers. The employee count includes full- and part-time workers, as well as employees not based in San Francisco. On July 1, the law will apply to employers with 35 or more workers, and on Jan. 1, 2018, it will extend to employers with 20 or more workers. Employees of organizations with fewer than 20 workers wont benefit. Can any employee take advantage of the law? The employee must work at the organization for at least 180 days. The employee can be full time, part time or temporary, but not an independent contractor. The employee has to work a minimum of 8 hours a week in San Francisco, with 40 percent of his or her total work hours in San Francisco. Does the six weeks paid leave have to be taken at once? No. The employee can opt to take the six weeks all at once or spread it out over 12 months. Is there a cap on how much money employees can receive? Yes. The total amount of money an employee can receive from the state plus the employer is $2,133 per week. That means people who make $110,916 or less a year will receive full paid leave during those six weeks, but those who earn more than that will receive less than full paid leave. How are the employees wages calculated? The state and the city calculate the wages somewhat differently. The city bases it on the employees average weekly wages in the 12 weeks before the worker goes on leave. The state bases it on the employees wages in the five to 18 months before they take leave. For answers to more questions, visit the citys website on the law: http://sfgov.org/olse/paid-parental-leave-ordinance. Readers can also email the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement: pplo@sfgov.org. Bottlenose dolphins are moving north from their warm-water haunts in the ocean waters off Southern California, and seaside observers are spotting more and more of them as far north as Mendocino. Some seem to be taking up temporary residence inside San Francisco Bay, while others appear to be commuters from distant waters, marine biologists say. Whether their movements mark another signal of a changing climate is still unknown, but the phenomenon is more than a curiosity, and the scientists are tracking the marine mammals closely. And while the aggressive animals dont normally attack their smaller harbor porpoise cousins, cases of aquatic murder that naturalists call porpicides are on the rise. Scientists studying the lives and movements of the dolphin species, called Tursiops truncatus, recalled the startling change in their range over the past decade or so during a recent research meeting at San Francisco State Universitys Romberg Center in Tiburon. Once seen only rarely north of Santa Barbara, more than 400 bottlenose dolphins have recently been spotted north of Pescadero Point in San Mateo County, and nearly 100 of them have been identified as regular residents in local waters, said marine biologist William Keener of Golden Gate Cetacean Research. Tracking individual dolphins as they move up and down the coast, the naturalists have identified many by the unique patterns bite-marked notches on their dorsal fins that come from playful fighting or attacks by hungry sharks. Keeners colleagues spotted the first dolphin in the bay more than 15 years ago, and now they come and go in small groups of six or 10 on an irregular schedule, he said. The researchers have now counted a total of 91 animals swimming in and around the bay from Ocean Beach to the Marin coast and are keeping detailed records on more than 70 of them to chart their still-mysterious migration patterns, he said. Those dolphins have been seen by professional and amateur observers as far away as Monterey Bay, Santa Monica and even Ensenada on the coast of Baja California, more than 600 miles away, Keener said. Dolphin researchers give each animal they spot a number for their records, and sometimes a name. A dolphin named Smootch, for example, is a regular in the bay but has been spotted by researchers at least 21 times traveling up and down the coast between San Francisco and Ensenada. Seven dolphins were spotted as far north as Point Arena in Mendocino County in April, and Keener said he saw one of them, a male named Vibe, swimming beneath the Golden Gate Bridge in February. Vibe swam back from Mendocino in June and was spotted again off Ocean Beach, where he participated in an attack on a couple of harbor porpoises, Keener said. One local dolphin who stays in town is Kaimi, a bottlenose who hangs out around a green harbor buoy off the former Alameda Naval Air Station, where members of the O Kalani Outrigger Canoe Center paddle out from nearby Encinal Boat Ramp to visit the dolphin frequently from a distance. You can hear Kaimi breathing regularly, and it makes a pretty sound over the water, said Jaz Zaitlin, a canoe club racer. Its often there, along with a big brown sea lion, and many of us can watch it when were on the water. The name means Seeker. But Keener, the biologist, is concerned: Dolphins are very social animals, and they move up and down the coast in groups, but Kaimis all alone, so now we want to keep an eye on her to make sure shes really healthy. Cases of porpicide, first detected in 2011, when six dolphins were identified, have been increasing steadily, according to Keener and Padraig Duigman, chief pathologist at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito. There have been 35 cases since then, Keener said. Its basically teenage males doing what they do best like bully others, or (they have) too much energy to burn off, and too much time on their hands, Duignan said. Its still too soon to tell whether the changing climate is influencing the northward movement of the dolphins, Keener said. Its likely that sea surface temperatures have been higher during the recent El Nino. If it becomes permanent, he said, then we might predict the dolphins could become more established farther north, as temperature and food allow. David Perlman is The San Francisco Chronicles science editor. Email: dperlman@sfchronicle.com Scroll through the slideshow above to see photos of cable car crashes from the past. Millions of visitors over the years have taken a ride on San Francisco's moving landmark: its beloved cable cars. Most San Franciscans no longer ride them to get around town, but I used to use them for my commute to Fisherman's Wharf in my early days here. Now it will cost you $7 a pop. Despite that, it's still a much-loved part of the fabric tied to the city's early history. I recently came across a folder in the Chronicle's basement archives, marked "Accidents and Disasters: Cable Cars." There were quite a few photos in the folder, which covered the 1950s to the 1990s. One cable car accident that occurred in 1967 was particularly disastrous, injuring 40 people when the car careened down very steep Hyde Street. You can read some passages from the Chronicle article here: A runaway cable car jammed with screaming passengers careened down the steep Hyde Street Hill into a station wagon last night, triggering a fiery explosion that injured 43, three critically. Flames enveloped the plummeting cable car after the crash, at the busy intersection of Bay and Hyde Streets. Spewing out its passengers into the rainy street, it raced on for another two blocks out of control. "There was a sheet of flame throughout the car," said passenger Harvey Epstein of New York, a vice president of Dreyfus Fund who was standing behind the grip man. "Everything was in flames. I got spilled out just after it happened. The guy who fell out over me was on fire." Neighborhood residents who ran outside after the crash rocked their homes about 6:30 p.m.saw rivers of flames sweeping down Hyde Street - and screaming passengers in flaming clothes. Three children - flames spurting from their clothing - were dragged to safety through the street. "All I can say is that it was a miracle nobody got killed," a military police sergeant said. "It looked like something out of Vietnam after a napalm strike." Flames from the ruptured gas tank of the sedan raced after the cable car is it rumbled two more blocks down the hill to Hyde and Jefferson Streets, where it finally stopped opposite the Buena Vista Cafe. A half dozen persons were pried from the mangled wreckage of the charred auto, including its driver, who was badly burned. ALSO When a beloved San Francisco cable car made its Hollywood debut Municipal Railway spokesmen were unable to immediately determine the cause of the crash. Epstein and some fellow passengers aboard the car said they heard gripman Arthur Coats yell he had "lost the rope" (the cable) as the cable car skidded down the slippery hill from Chestnut. "At first, I thought he was joking," said Epstein. "But then we started to go faster and faster ... there were screams, and then flames and children all over. God, the children." Martha Kincaid, a 23 year old pregnant housewife, who made the terrifying ride, said: "We were just tearing down the hill. All of a sudden there was this orange ball of flames and I was thrown to the floor. It was like a nightmare." Police said the exploding car was tossed like a toy down Hyde Street by the hurtling cable car into a sedan coming up the hill. The flaming sedan bounced into the curb and another car caroomed into a line of parked autos, setting off a chain reaction which left eight to ten cars damaged. Muni officials declined to comment on the cause of the crash. The crippled cable car's brakes were "full on" from the top of the Hyde Street hill to the bottom, investigators said. But, without the cable, they were apparently not strong enough to hold the car back on the steep, slippery grade. The cable car was built in 1893 and weighed over six tons. Despite having four sets of brakes, it couldn't stop. The "rope" or cable, at that time, normally moved at 9.5 mph. It was estimated to be moving at a rate of 35 to 40 mph as it descended down the hill, according to John J. Barry, superintendent of the Cable Car Division at that time. A veteran carman called it the worst cable car disaster in 50 years. The Chronicle reported that it was the sixth crash in as many years on that hill. J. William Conroy, director of the City Disaster Corps, blamed the accident on the traffic light at the bottom of the hill not turning red, which would have kept the intersection clear. But despite its victim toll, that's certainly not the most infamous cable car incident in the city's history. In a very "only in San Francisco" article dated March 31, 1970, and headlined "A Cable Car Named Desire," a woman who had been in a cable car accident in 1964 sued the city, claiming that the incident had turned her into a nymphomaniac. She was asking $500k in damages; she eventually settled for $50k. After the news broke about the story, Herb Caen reported, tongue-in-cheek, that the city had to employ an additional five cable cars. Its looking like a rough first day back to work after the holidays for North Bay commuters: The Golden Gate Bridge will be down a lane coming into San Francisco on Tuesday morning due to a broken barrier. Bridge workers realized the movable barrier one of dozens used to separate north- and south-bound traffic was damaged at about 1:30 p.m. when they tried to shift it to accommodate afternoon traffic patterns, said Priya David Clemens, a spokeswoman for the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Megyn Kelly, the Bethlehem High School graduate who went on to become one of the biggest stars on Fox News, is leaving the network for NBC News. Kelly will anchor a new one-hour daytime program at NBC that will run from Monday to Friday, NBC announced Tuesday. She'll also anchor a Sunday evening news magazine on the network. Both shows will be produced in conjunction with the staff at NBC News. Kelly will also provide coverage of breaking news and politics for NBC. "I have decided to end my time at FNC, incredibly enriched for the experiences I've had," Kelly wrote on her Facebook page "While I will greatly miss my colleagues at Fox, I am delighted to be joining the NBC News family and taking on a new challenge. I remain deeply grateful to Fox News, to Rupert, Lachlan and James Murdoch, and especially to all of the FNC viewers, who have taught me so much about what really matters." Andrew Lack, chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group, announced the multi-year deal Tuesday afternoon. NBC said they would offer greater details about the nature of the two shows in the coming months. "Megyn is an exceptional journalist and news anchor, who has had an extraordinary career," Lack said in a statement announcing the deal. "She's demonstrated tremendous skill and poise, and we're luck to have her." Kelly had been with Fox News for about 12 years and her evening news show, "Megyn Kelly," was among the highest rated on the network. Kelly's star rose dramatically in recent years but two controversies hit Kelly and Fox News as her contract with the network was nearing an end: criticism and praise over her questioning of Donald Trump at a presidential debate and the disclosure that she said she was sexually harassed by since toppled Fox News boss Roger Ailes. Kelly, who grew up in Delmar and graduated from Bethlehem High School and Albany Law School, was already famous with her own prime-time show "The Kelly File" on Fox News, but it was her question to Trump in the first Republican presidential debate that made her a household name. While questioning Trump, Kelly said, "You've called women you don't like 'fat pigs,' 'dogs,' 'slobs,' and 'disgusting animals.'" In the wake of the debate, Trump unleashed a wave of criticism of the anchor, at one point saying she had "blood coming out of her wherever." The New York Times reported: "The NBC News chairman, Andrew Lack, wooed Ms. Kelly away from Fox News by offering her a triple role in which she will host her own daytime news and discussion program, anchor an in-depth Sunday night news show and take regular part in the network's special political programming and other big-event coverage." Over the years, Kelly, a 1988 graduate of Bethlehem High, has made a number of appearances in the Capital Region. Last year, she was the keynote speaker at the Albany Law School graduation. "These days, adversity is undervalued. I'm here to tell you that adversity is an opportunity, and you shouldn't be afraid to encounter it, you should welcome it," Kelly, a 1995 Albany Law graduate told the 160 graduates in May. "As you leave this place, be bold, go out and take some risks, make decisions even bad ones. Fail." Kelly was a focal point in the abrupt exit of Ailes from Fox News, who left the station last year amid complaints that he had sexually harassed women at the network, including former newscaster Gretchen Carlson. Kelly described her own interaction with Ailes in a book published last year. She alleged in "Settle for More" that Ailes attempted to initiate a sexual relationship with her, then, after she rebuffed him, asked when her contract was up. Hooligan Sparrow: A documentary about a human rights activist in China who goes after an elementary school principal accused of abusing six girls. Julieta: A drama directed by Pedro Almodovar about a woman, Julieta, searching for her daughter, Antia. The two have grown apart after the death of Xoan, Julietas husband and Antias father. Sometimes grief doesnt bring families closer. WASHINGTON House Republicans voted Monday to eviscerate the Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent body created in 2008 to investigate allegations of misconduct by lawmakers after several bribery and corruption scandals sent members to prison. The ethics change, which prompted an outcry from Democrats and government watchdog groups, is part of a rules package that the full House will vote on Tuesday. The package also includes a means for Republican leaders to punish lawmakers if there is a repeat of the Democratic sit-in last summer over gun control. Under the ethics change pushed by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., the nonpartisan Office of Congressional Ethics would fall under the control of the House Ethics Committee, which is run by lawmakers. It would be known as the Office of Congressional Complaint Review, and the rule change would require that any matter that may involve a violation of criminal law must be referred to the Committee on Ethics for potential referral to law enforcement agencies after an affirmative vote by the members, according to Goodlattes office. Lawmakers would have the final say under the change. House Republicans voted 119-74 for the Goodlatte measure despite arguments from Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, against the change. They failed to sway rank-and-file Republicans, some of whom have felt unfairly targeted by the office. Democrats, led by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, reacted angrily. Republicans claim they want to drain the swamp, but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions, the San Francisco lawmaker said in a statement. Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress. Chris Carson, president of the League of Women Voters, said Ryan should be ashamed of himself and his leadership team. We all know the so-called House Ethics Committee is worthless for anything other than a whitewash sweeping corruption under the rug. Thats why the independent Office of Congressional Ethics has been so important, Carson said. Speaker Ryan is giving a green light to congressional corruption. Huston Smith, a renowned scholar of religion who pursued his own enlightenment in Methodist churches, Zen monasteries and even Timothy Learys living room, died Friday at his home in Berkeley. He was 97. His death was announced on his website. Dr. Smith was best known for The Religions of Man (1958), which has been a standard textbook in college-level comparative religion classes for half a century. In 1991, it was abridged and given the gender-neutral title The Worlds Religions. The two versions together have sold more than 3 million copies. The book examines the worlds major faiths as well as those of indigenous peoples, observing that all express the Absolute, which is indescribable, and concluding with a kind of golden rule for mutual understanding and coexistence: If, then, we are to be true to our own faith, we must attend to others when they speak, as deeply and as alertly as we hope they will attend to us. It is the most important book in comparative religious studies ever, said Stephen Prothero, a professor of religion at Boston University. Dr. Smith may have reached his widest audience in 1996, when Bill Moyers put him at the center of a five-part PBS series, The Wisdom of Faith With Huston Smith. (Each installment began with a quotation from Dr. Smith: If we take the worlds enduring religions at their best, we discover the distilled wisdom of the human race.) Richard Hecht, a professor of religious studies at UC Santa Barbara, called Dr. Smith one of the three greatest interpreters of religion for general readers in the second half of the 20th century, the others being Joseph Campbell and, in Britain, Roderick Ninian Smart. Dr. Smith, whose last teaching post was at UC Berkeley, had an interest in religion that transcended the academic. In his joyful pursuit of enlightenment to turn our flashes of insight into abiding light, as he put it he meditated with Tibetan Buddhist monks, practiced yoga with Hindu holy men, whirled with ecstatic Sufi Islamic dervishes, chewed peyote with Mexican Indians and celebrated the Jewish Sabbath with a daughter who had converted to Judaism. It was through psychedelic drugs in the early 1960s that Dr. Smith believed he came closest to experiencing God. Leary, a Harvard professor who championed mind-altering substances, recruited Dr. Smith to help in an investigation of psychedelic drugs. At the time, Dr. Smith was teaching philosophy nearby at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Leary thought that he had had a profound religious experience in Mexico in August 1960 when he first ingested psilocybin mushrooms, which can produce hallucinations. Accordingly, he wanted religious experts to be part of his Harvard Psilocybin Project for the study of mind-altering drugs. Richard Alpert, a colleague in Harvards psychology department, was a critical figure in the initiative. (He later took the name Ram Dass.) On New Years Day in 1961, Learys team ingested mushrooms in his living room. Such a sense of awe, Dr. Smith said afterward. It was exactly what I was looking for. A year later, the group gathered in a church basement as a Good Friday service was being held upstairs and tried an experiment involving 20 volunteers in which half were given the psilocybin mushrooms and the other half a placebo. Dr. Smith received the drug, which was legal at the time, and reported that he was certain he had had a personal experience with God. He thought that the voice of a soprano singing upstairs was surely that of an angel. From that moment on, he knew that life is a miracle, every moment of it, former San Francisco Chronicle reporter Don Lattin wrote in The Harvard Psychedelic Club, a 2010 account of the psychedelic research project, and that the only appropriate way to respond and be mindful of the gift of Gods love was to share it with the rest of the world. Dr. Smith later became disenchanted with Learys Tune in, turn on, drop out gospel, but he retained his belief that the briefest of insights from a psychedelic trip could be mind-expanding. Huston Cummings Smith was born to Methodist missionaries on May 31, 1919, in Suzhou, China. The family soon moved to the ancient walled city Zang Zok, a caldron of different faiths, he wrote in his 2009 memoir, Tales of Wonder: Adventures Chasing the Divine. He decided to be a missionary, and his parents sent him to Central Methodist University, a small Bible college in Fayette, Mo. He was ordained a Methodist minister but soon realized that he had no desire to Christianize the world, as he put it; he would rather teach than preach. Admitted to the University of Chicago Divinity School, he became intrigued by the scientific rationalism propounded by Henry Nelson Wieman, an influential liberal theologian there. He also became attracted to Wiemans daughter, Kendra, then an undergraduate. They married in 1943. She survives him, along with two daughters, Gael Rosewood and Kimberly Smith; three grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Dr. Smith was working on his doctorate at Berkeley and leading Sunday services at a Methodist church in 1944 when he encountered a book that changed his life: Pain, Sex and Time: A New Outlook on Evolution and the Future of Man (1939), by Gerald Heard. Heard advanced an expansive view of spirituality and came to be called the grandfather of the New Age movement. Dr. Smith read all two dozen of Heards books and tracked him down at now-defunct Trabuco College, which Heard had founded in Orange County. Heard told Dr. Smith how to get in touch with Aldous Huxley, the author of Brave New World, mystic and psychedelic pioneer, and in summer 1948, Dr. Smith took a bus to Huxleys cabin in the Mojave Desert. The two had a deep conversation about boundless desert sand and Old Testament prophets. Dr. Smith received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1945, and taught at the University of Denver and Washington University in St. Louis. In 1955, he turned his popular college lectures into a series of programs on world religions for the National Educational Television network, the precursor to PBS. He was hired by MIT in 1958, and two years later joined other professors in inviting Huxley to deliver seven lectures, which drew standing-room-only crowds. In the decade since their last meeting, Huxley had experimented with mescaline and written The Doors of Perception, which became a counterculture classic. Dr. Smith confessed to him that he had never had a full-blown mystical experience despite his studies of religious mysticism. Huxley said Leary could probably supply what he wanted, and gave Dr. Smith his phone number. Dr. Smith joined campaigns for civil rights in the 1960s and for a more tolerant understanding of Islam in the 2000s. He wrote more than a dozen books and held professorships at Syracuse University and Berkeley. He helped introduce the Dalai Lama to Americans. Courtesy, Sharon McNight When Sophie Tucker arrived in New York in 1906 at the age of 20, Jews had only recently been welcomed on mainstream stages, and even then, it was better to downplay your religion and ethnicity. But Tucker, a shtetl immigrant raised as an Orthodox Jew, had already overcome arguably more significant obstacles in deciding to enter show business, defying every norm of her family and society. She stayed that course in her career in radio, film, vaudeville and theater, where her booming voice, full figure and coarse humor distinguished her. She called herself The Last of the Red Hot Mamas. Kyle Chesser/Shelton Theater In Oleanna, David Mamet dramatizes twin fears: one age-old, the other one that, at the plays 1992 premiere, America was only just beginning to wrap its head around. First is the fear of being sexually harassed, violated or worse; second is the fear of being falsely accused of sexual harassment and punished, litigated against and discredited for it. Of course, weve made little progress in reckoning with either of those fears, which gives Mamets probing, uncomfortable drama enduring appeal. But the play, which the intimate Shelton Theater presents, is notable also as an exemplar of Mamets most distinctive skill, which is his crafting of naturalistic dialogue that mirrors the halting, fragmentary patterns of actual human speech. It wasnt supposed to air until next spring, but HBO moved the films broadcast up after its subjects died just a day apart. How do you not consider that context watching Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, now set for Saturday, Jan. 7? Of course, you cant, but the 94-minute documentary, directed by Alex Bloom and Fisher Stevens, never needed the heartbreaking loss of Reynolds and Fisher to be compelling. Fisher, 60, suffered a cardiac incident on a flight from London to Los Angeles on Dec. 23 and died at UCLA Medical Center four days later. Reynolds, 84, was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Dec. 28, and died that day. The mother-daughter bond, so monumentally tested at various times during their 60 years together, was so strong, it made a kind of sense that their lives would end in the same week. Although Bright Lights was filmed in 2015, it sometimes has an eerie valedictory quality not just about Reynolds, but even about Fisher. Reynolds at times appears frail, even disoriented. At one point, she gamely shows up for an auction of part of her formidable collection of Hollywood memorabilia with half her face purple with bruises because shes fallen in the bathroom earlier that day. She really was the title character she played in the film The Unsinkable Molly Brown. One sequence is especially telling: Reynolds is dressed in pink, smiling, of course, seated in her home as Stevens and Bloom are about to film her. Suddenly, an alarm goes off in another part of the house. We see Stevens and others scrambling to find the source of the blaring sound and disable it. Reynolds remains perfectly poised and smiling, the calm center of a momentary domestic storm. At first we think shes unaware of the sound, but then we realize shes completely aware but intends to keep calm and hold her pose. After all, thats what she was trained to do as a young ingenue at MGM, where she began working in 1948, and the training has served her well ever since. The film is surprisingly revealing, given the fact that its two subjects, in both similar and individual ways, are playing for the audience. One is an octogenarian with a fixed smile, twinkling eyes, and the voice and name of a much younger woman who held her own at age 19, dancing and singing with Gene Kelly and Donald OConnor in the film Singin in the Rain. The other woman underwent a noticeable personality change at 13 and only a few years later, wrestled with worldwide fame after she played Princess Leia in the first Star Wars film. Fisher battled drugs, alcoholism and mental illness all her life, but found her way out of the thicket through treatment and therapy, and by pulling few punches in her later drug- and alcohol-free life. You know what would be so cool? she asks rhetorically. To get to the end of my personality and, like, lay in the sun. She delivers the statement right after recalling the I should have been a pair of ragged claws lines from T.S. Eliots The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufock. Some of the things she says seem rehearsed at first, as if shes trying to convince us of something. But we soon realize that her way of accepting who she is is to avoid filtering herself. She says what she wants, what she feels. She readily admits she has two basic moods, and shes named them: Roy is her happy state, while Pam is the name for her other pole, depression. It is a performance, in a way, although not the kind of performance to which Reynolds defaulted: the perfect star, courtesy of MGM. Smile for the camera, even when your husband has dumped you for your best friend, Elizabeth Taylor, and youre besieged by the press everywhere you go, even when your next husband gambles away his money and yours. Performing is her life, Fisher says. It feeds her in a way family cannot. Thats why weve always been frustrating for Reynolds. That must have taken a toll on a young girl feeling her mothers job came first. If so, the grown woman has made her peace with reality. Everything in me demands that my mother be as she always was, Fisher says as she weighs the reality of her mothers increasing frailty. Even if thats irritating. Seeing how close they are in the film, even while bantering from time to time, its hard to imagine how they survived for the decade or so that Fisher refused to have any contact with her mother. We can only guess at what drove Fisher to shut her mother off, but we readily see why reconciliation was inevitable. Just do what your mother says. Its easier, Reynolds deadpans. Neither woman ever opted for easier. It may have made their relationship challenging, but it also made it unbreakable, right up to its Hollywood ending. David Wiegand is an assistant managing editor and the TV critic of The San Francisco Chronicle and co-host of The Do List every Friday morning at 6:22 and 8:22 on KQED FM, 88.5 FM in San Francisco, 89.3 FM in Sacramento. Follow him on Facebook. Email: dwiegand@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @WaitWhat_TV Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, documentary, 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, on HBO. 1 Deadly crash: A public transit van and a pickup collided and caught fire on a highway in eastern Thailand on Monday, killing 25 people, authorities said. The van lost control and crossed the median, colliding with the pickup truck going in the opposite direction. Only two people survived the crash, said police in Chonburi province. Thailand has one of the highest traffic fatality rates in the world. 2 Mexico violence: At least five people were killed over the New Years weekend in the resort city of Acapulco, including three men found decapitated, officials said. At least 35 people have been killed along Acapulcos touristy beach areas last year, something that rarely happened in the past, as drug gang violence plagues the city and the surrounding state of Guerrero. RIO DE JANEIRO A prison riot involving gangs vying for supremacy over the cocaine trade in the Brazilian Amazon left about 56 people dead, authorities in the city of Manaus said Monday. Riots at Brazils prisons are common, but the episode in Manaus, which included decapitated bodies thrown over the walls of the penitentiary, ranks among the bloodiest in recent decades. Officials expressed dismay over the scenes of slaughter in the Compaj prison, which held more than 1,200 inmates, about triple its official capacity. I never saw anything like this in my life, Judge Luis Carlos Valois, who helped negotiate an end to the riot, said in a Facebook post. He said dozens of people had been killed, but that it was challenging to arrive at a precise count: There were lots of bodies. Many of them were dismembered. The riot flared Sunday and lasted about 17 hours, raising fears of even greater violence on the streets of Manaus, the largest city in the Amazon basin with a population of about 2.1 million. Manaus has emerged as a brutal battleground between two prison gangs that are contesting control of the drug trade in the region. Authorities said one of the gangs, Familia do Norte (Family of the North), which operates from the Manaus prisons, was responsible for the vast majority of the killings during the riot. The targets were from First Capital Command, a much larger rival gang commonly known by its Portuguese initials, PCC, which has its roots in the prisons of Sao Paulo. The riot drew comparisons with the 1992 uprising at the Carandiru prison in Sao Paulo, when police forces stormed the building and 111 inmates were killed. An appeals court recently voided the convictions of 73 police officers for their participation in the killings, raising criticism from human rights groups. Since that episode, Brazilian authorities have vowed to alleviate overcrowding in the countrys prisons and combat prison gangs. But soaring numbers of convictions for relatively minor drug offenses have pushed prison populations upward and riots continue to erupt frequently all over the country. In the riot in Manaus, inmates took dozens of fellow prisoners hostage. They also seized 12 employees of the private contractor that operates the prison. Negotiators won the release of the hostages by assuring the inmates that they would not be harmed or transferred to other prisons. Keep It Hot Valles Caldera National Preserve would gain protections from nearby efforts to tap geothermal energy if the National Park Service carries out a new proposal. Keeping the steamy pockets underground could face opposition from others in New Mexico who want to encourage geothermal development, according to the AP. Carrie d Away Hearst Television and DirectTV in carriage negotiations, which means New Mexico subscribers to the cable service haven't been able to see KOAT Channel 7 since Jan. 1. Missing Boy Police say a father set fire to a home and abducted his 2-year-old son near Las Cruces on Monday afternoon, prompting an . The child was returned to a grandparent later in the evening. Cash Manager Throws in Towel The of the Navajo Nation resigned under threat of termination, reports the Farmington Daily Times . Now the governing council is scrambling to name a qualified controller. New Year, New Jobs Halliburton aims to hire hundreds of new workers for oil operations in the of southeast New Mexico and west Texas. Backers say the "pro-energy and pro-gas" incoming president helps the outlook for growth. Look at Los Alamos New exhibits and refreshed facilities await inside the Los Alamos History Museum, which after being closed since November 2015. Had enough of the bomb? Curators say the focus here is on the people. Rest in Peace Carrie Fisher and her mom, Debbie Reynolds, made waves as some of the final high-profile celebrity deaths in 2016. The Denver Post compiled a . Goodbye, Hello On the heels of a successful career as an independent journalist, has been named executive director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. We wish him the very best in this important endeavor. Morning Word isn't going away, though. Our staff will keep delivering the news to your inbox every weekday. 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The protest at Sessions' Mobile Senate office was among several demonstrations held statewide against Sessions' nomination. "As a matter of conscience, the NAACP has chosen not to remain silent on this critical matter," Birmingham NAACP head Hezekiah Johnson said outside Sessions' Senate office in Birmingham. "Our main concern is centered around the reality of voter suppression. We have found no evidence of his ability, past or present, to be impartial and unbiased as the chief law enforcement officer of the United States of America, especially in the areas of civil rights, voting rights and equal protection under the law." Johnson was referring to the voting fraud case against blacks in Perry County that resulted in acquittal. Black critics of Sessions accused the then-U.S. attorney of fiercely pursuing voter fraud cases against blacks while ignoring similar cases against whites. You can watch the live feed on the NAACP Facebook page. The NAACP's full case against Sessions is at the organization's webpage. An excerpt: Senator Sessions supported the re-authorization of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in 2006, but called the bill a piece of intrusive legislation just months earlier. Sessions has consistently voted in favor of strict voter ID laws that place extra burdens on the poor and residents of color, and drive voter suppression across the country. When the Supreme Court struck down federal protections in 2012 that prevented thousands of discriminatory state laws from taking effect since 1965, Sessions declared it was a good thing for the South. As a prosecutor in 1985, Sessions maliciously prosecuted a former aide to Martin Luther King for helping senior citizens file absentee ballots in Alabama. Rather than enforcing voting rights protections, Senator Sessions has instead made a career of seeking to dismantle them. When Shelby County v. Holder gutted the protections of the VRA, Senator Sessions cheered. For decades, he has pursued the rare and mystical unicorn of voter fraud, while turning a blind eye to the ever-growing issue of voter suppression. While Senator Sessions historical record on civil rights remains one of dismay, it is his unrepentant stance against the vote that remains our issue. The threat of voter suppression is not a historical but current challenge. At least 10 times in the past 10 months, the NAACP defended voting rights against coordinated campaigns by legislators targeting African-American voters in Texas, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and many other states. This is absolutely vital work. With an enemy to voting rights like Jeff Sessions in the AG's seat, we can only expect voter suppression to become wore--much worse--as the Republicans go full-on with their white supremacist fascism. They are trying to establish one-party rule, and they know full well that Americans of color will overwhelmingly vote against them. The only way they can stay in power is through more and more of the same suppression techniques they have been imposing since the gutting of the VRA. The brave members of the NAACP who are putting their bodies on the line for their rights, and the rights of all Americans, deserve respect and assistance. It is no exaggeration to say that they are defending American democracy itself. If you are able to donate or join (one does not have to be African-American to be a member)now would be a great time to do so. Please don't let this story die, and if you can, challenge our media to cover it fully and fairly. NEW DELHI: Google's India-born CEO Sundar Pichai is all set to address a domestic technology market with a focus on small and medium businesses in the country on Wednesday. Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will also join Pichai and other senior Google leaders during the event here, the company said in a statement. "At Google, we are excited about partnering the businesses to help them unlock exponential growth through the power of digital," the statement said. Seven Indian startups recently joined the third batch of Google "Launchpad Accelerator" -- a platform which brings together mentors and experts from Google and outside to help the startups see success -- along with startups from other countries. Over the last one year, 13 Indian startups have participated in the programme and some of them have successfully raised funding. Pichai, who has a BTech degree from IIT - Kharagpur, will also visit his alma mater on Thursday, according to sources. "Sundar Pichai, CEO Google and distinguished alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, has expressed his desire to visit the campus in the first week of January 2017," Director P.P. Chakrabarti said last week. Pichai passed out from IIT - Kharagpur in 1993 with a BTech in metallurgical and materials engineering. Read Also: Now Add Money On Paytm Using 'United Payments Interface' Masimo Unveils Two Medical Devices In Bengaluru nws burglary Police are searching for three individuals in connection to two burglaries that happened in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn and New Dorp in October. (Courtesy: NYPD) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police are asking for the public's help identifying and locating three individuals sought for questioning in connection to two separate October burglaries. The first, which occurred in Sunset Park, Brooklyn on Oct. 8 at 3:40 a.m., happened when two individuals gained access to a Fifth Avenue children's clothing store, and attempted to remove a safe, but were unsuccessful, according to a written statement from the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Public Information. The second break-in happened a day later at Fortune Jewelers in New Dorp at approximately 3:48 a.m., police said. Two men gained entry into the jewelry store at 310 New Dorp Lane by breaking a hole through an adjoining wall that they had gained access to through a rear door at 308 New Dorp Lane. The two men fled the scene in a gold-colored Oldsmobile Bravada that was driven by a third individual. The gold-colored Oldsmobile used by the burglars that police are searching for. (Courtesy: NYPD) The three men are described as black males, last seen wearing dark colored clothes, according to police. No further description was given. A photo of the third individual was not provided. Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential. By clicking Agree, you consent to Slates Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and the use of technologies such as cookies by Slate and our partners to deliver relevant advertising on our iOS app to personalize content and perform site analytics. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information about our use of data, your rights, and how to withdraw consent. Agree The couple, who are now divorced, bought the historic movie house in 1995 with the idea of transforming it into a live-performance space. The next year, they encouraged friends Rusty Wilson and Denise Simone to relocate their theater company to Idaho to perform on the Liberty's thrust stage. ACT Health's spending on consultants and contractors has more than tripled in the past four years, rising from $5.5 million in 2012-13 to $18 million in 2015-16. The directorate's latest annual report showed a significant $8 million rise in expenditure on "consultants and contractors" last fiscal year to $18 million, up from $10 million in 2014-15. PwC is being accused of coming up with a new revenue recognition scheme to inflate Vocation's revenue by millions of dollars. Credit:Ryan Stuart It said that increase was mainly due to the wide-ranging $11.9 million "System Innovation Program", which aims to save money and increase efficiencies to re-direct the savings found to other areas of the health system. That innovation program was signed off by Chief Minister and Treasurer Andrew Barr last year, with a single $11.9 million "capital injection" to health's coffers to fund it. Elizabeth Kikkert doesn't drink coffee. Which seems odd for a woman who has five children, wakes up at 3am most days and has just been elected to public office. But the new Liberal Member for Ginninderra said after years of sleep deprivation, that quiet hour of the morning is the only time she can get anything done. 'If you were to ask me about five years ago if I wanted to become a politician my answer would be quickly no': Elizabeth Kikkert. Credit:Jay Cronan "3am is just a magical time for me," Kikkert said. "I think about things and to ponder about my day ahead and the day before and use that time to really meditate on what has happened and how I can improve things." Australia's employment of people with disability, already among the lowest in the developed world, is worsening. It is time to overcome our squeamishness about quotas to address this embarrassing gap in our human rights. Perhaps we need to learn from Chinese policy, which combines employment quotas and a levy on employers who do not comply. All private and public employers in China who employ more than 20 staff must meet a quota of at least 1.5 per cent of employees with disability (quotas average 5 per cent in Europe). Employers who do not meet the quota must pay a levy, while those who exceed it attract concessions such as tax breaks and priority for state contracts, and lower costs such as concessional rent of government land. The real game changer is the levy on employers who choose not to employ people with disability. Rather than adding to general taxation revenue, this levy is paid to the Disabled Persons' Employment Security Fund, which is controlled by the Disabled Persons' Federation. The levy has generated a huge fund for disability policy intervention, such as training, employment support and assistance. All private and public employers in China who employ more than 20 staff must meet a quota of at least 1.5 per cent of employees with disability (quotas average 5 per cent in Europe). Credit:Izabela Habur Imagine the possibilities if similar organisations in Australia controlled this type of fund. Their choice of priorities for investment and expenditure would likely be radically different from that of current governments. They would probably include contemporary approaches to innovation, e-commerce and start-ups controlled by people with disability, reaching into new markets not thought of by people without their life experiences. Similarly, what innovation might arise in response to quotas for employment? Australian companies might be spurred on to employ people with disability in creative positions to generate new products and market opportunities. New ideas are stimulated by unexpected connections and by necessity disability is one area where this happens. For example, technologies that respond to disability differences have potential for society-wide impact, such as smart home technology. Employees who experience these differences are the ones who know what the market needs. In China, people with disability form businesses that take economic advantage of the additional concessions. Even in poor areas in China, I have met people who pitched their low-cost business idea to the local Disabled Persons' Federation and gained sufficient financial support to launch their business. Three young men in Qianmen, a squalid part of central Beijing before it was redeveloped, managed a business making and selling traditional products to tourists. The profitable business not only created employment, it contributed to local community culture. More recently, people with disability in rural China are generating e-commerce businesses through WeChat and Taobao, with the global reach that Australian businesses are only just beginning to understand. In Australia, the National Disability Insurance Scheme funds social support, not employment. Yet the NDIS financial model is premised on enabling people with disability to enter the paid workforce. Social support is only a means to ends to enable people to engage in meaningful activity, including paid work. Research conducted recently by the Social Policy Research Centre at UNSW found that employees with intellectual disability who work in a regular job prefer it for the better pay and community connections. The National Disability Employment Framework, expected to be released in 2017, could well learn from the Chinese experiences to incentivise Australian employers. Because there are so many noisy and televisual critics waiting to pounce from ACOSS to the Labor Party to One Nation it's close-to-inconceivable that Turnbull and Morrison will have the stomach for serious savings in the next budget. The only budget repair with a chance of passing the Senate will involve higher taxes on the Liberal Party's traditional supporters and that will create even more dissension on the conservative side of politics and more pressure on Turnbull's leadership. Yet even the no-part-pensions-for-millionaires change that Scott Morrison negotiated with the Greens as part of the 2015 budget is under attack now that older people are about to notice it in their bank accounts. The reality is that the Morrison measure targeted the aspirational citizens who are the Liberals' heartland. It's reinforcing the rage among the Liberal base triggered by Morrison's tougher-than-Labor superannuation changes in the 2016 budget. As prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull knows he's in trouble. Why else would he have said that polls don't matter, when losing 30 polls in a row was his justification for knifing Tony Abbott? With the regicide genie well and truly out of the bottle, and with no polls won since the all-but-lost federal election, his colleagues won't need another 24 bad polls to conclude that leadership change is needed. To counter the disillusionment of the progressives, and to give himself a legacy, Turnbull could be tempted to support a private member's bill for same sex marriage. If Liberals had a free vote, it's highly likely that gay marriage would have the numbers. But that would involve breaking the pledge that Turnbull took to the election: that the only way to have gay marriage in this Parliament is via a people's vote. Within the Coalition, Turnbull's fight wouldn't just be with the supporters of traditional marriage but with all those who say that election commitments must be kept. With budget repair in the too-hard basket and the industrial legislation passed at the end of the year, what the government really needs is a credible centre-right agenda for the rest of this term of Parliament. In this, Turnbull's chief difficulty is that the things he instinctively believes in are different from the instinctive beliefs of most members of his party. This is why the issue is most likely not "if" but "when" Turnbull is replaced. What became obvious back in 2009 and what is obvious now is that you can't have a centre-left politician successfully leading a centre-right party. So who could hold the conservative side of politics together, devise policies that differ from Labor's, and stay on message consistently enough to give the Libs a fighting chance of winning the next election? It's not Julie Bishop who was swiftly found wanting when she was briefly put under pressure as shadow treasurer. It's not Scott Morrison who has lost his lustre and whose bombastic style is alienating him from ordinary voters. It's not Peter Dutton, the most conservative member of the cabinet but who lacks the depth to be PM. And it's probably neither the talented Josh Frydenberg nor Christian Porter who need another few years before they're ready for the big time. The most obvious candidate to do the job again is the person who's done it before. But to replace Turnbull with Abbott, the Libs would have to admit that they got it wrong once before. Yet to replace Turnbull with anyone else would be admitting that they got it wrong twice. That's why, however unlikely it might seem to many pundits, we could see an Abbott restoration by the middle of the year. The comments have been seen as opportunistic by some, but Mr Abbott maintains as a former leader he is entitled to speak on a range of issues at the time of his choosing. That's Barnaby Joyce's blunt view on whether former prime minister Tony Abbott is being helpful in speaking out on a range of issues during the summer period. Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce with Tony Abbott Credit:Rob Gunstone Mr Joyce told ABC radio on Wednesday he thought Mr Abbott's latest interventions were not helpful, and denied outspoken Queensland Nationals MP George Christensen was preparing to join a new conservative party. "I think it is important that people clearly understand that the alternative, in the end, will not be between different people within the Liberal Party," the Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister said. "It will be between the Coalition and the Labor Party and I genuinely believe in the agriculture sector; if we got the Labor Party back it would be an absolute disaster. "George has said quite clearly that he supports the National Party and he supports me as leader. That's my section of the Coalition and we'll continue to work as hard as we possibly can." The resettlement deal was announced on November 12, with Immigration Minister Peter Dutton saying the initial focus would be on the most vulnerable refugees, particularly women, children and family groups on Nauru. On Tuesday, those in the detention centre were informed they should go to the Lorengau centre if they wanted to express interest in being part of the US deal. Refugees who spoke to Fairfax Media said they were sceptical, as there was plenty of space for applications to be made in the detention centre. The latest arrests follow a violent confrontation between two asylum seekers and PNG immigration officials and police on New Year's Eve that left the pair with serious facial and other injuries. The two, identified as Mehdi, 26, and Mohammad, 28, were still being treated at the detention centre's medical clinic on Tuesday after being released on bail, having spent more than 36 hours in the East Lorengau lock-up. They have each been charged with one count of being drunk and disorderly and one count of resisting arrest and are expected to appear in court on Wednesday. The three who were arrested on Monday night are due to appear in court on Friday on the same charges. Little Anna dances around her room, stealing hearts with playful pouts that break into cheeky grins. A lively almost two-year-old, it's hard to fathom she is expected to die before the age of 37. Anna has cystic fibrosis, a disease that claims half of sufferers by their mid-20s. But what is just as difficult for her parents, Penny France and Paul McMullen, is knowing there is a drug available overseas that is meant to improve these statistics, yet is not government-subsidised in Australia for children Anna's age. Penny Taylor and her husband James have seen plenty of businesses like theirs shut down recently. "Since 2014, small to medium firms in Port Hedland and Western Australia have just gone out of business. In the space we work in we're one of the few left." Penny and James Taylor have kept a small outfit alive despite a downturn by being conservative and looking after staff. The space they work in? That's mining, specifically providing engineering services to mining companies including resources giant BHP. "The mining industry we all know has had a downturn, but actually what it has been is falling off a cliff," she said. A group linked to international hacking network Anonymous has taken down the Victorian Human Rights Commission's website and replaced it with a grammatically poor message claiming to be its manifesto. Social network AnonPlus hacked the site at 11.25am on Tuesday, before the commission took the message down and put up a notification saying they were working to fix it. It is not known why Anonymous would hack the Victorian Human Rights Commission Credit:AP A Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission spokeswoman said it was unknown why the group targeted the website. "The reason behind today's activity is unknown," she said. "No demands have been made to the Commission." There's good news for Melbourne's beach swimmers the water's clean enough to swim in again, and is expected to be cleaner still later in the week, as the city slides back into summer after a cool, grey interlude. Storm and floods on Thursday pushed storm water into Port Phillip Bay, bringing with it animal and human faeces. St Kilda beach was closed on Friday following thunderstorms the night before. Credit:Justin McManus The floods gave rise to Environment Protection Authority warnings that beaches from Frankston to Werribee South posed an unacceptable health risk to swimmers with the potential to make them sick. The EPA's Tuesday forecast shows that water quality from Frankston to Werribee is now "fair". Trams and cars came to a standstill around Federation Square for more than half an hour on Tuesday evening, when protesters spilled onto St Kilda Road. Brian Lenette from the VicRoads Traffic Management Centre said a large contingent of police was diverting traffic back along St Kilda Road and onto Collins Street from around 7.30pm. The vigil for Faysal Ishak Ahmed takes to the street as protesters block traffic both ways on St Kilda Road. Credit:Josh Robenstone Trams and a horse-drawn carriage were blocked by the group, who were taking part in a vigil for a young Sudanese asylum seeker, Faysal Ishak Ahmed, who died last month from injuries suffered at the Manus Regional Processing Centre. The protest cleared just before 8.30pm. Flights from the Skippers Aviation terminal at Perth Airport have been grounded after a baggage handler was run over by a fuel truck near the airport tarmac on Tuesday morning. The incident occurred around 6am with one passenger telling WAtoday all flights had been cancelled, although Skippers Aviation is yet to confirm this. Flights from the Skippers Aviation terminal at Perth Airport have been impacted by an incident on the tarmac. Credit:Erin Jonasson The Australian Federal Police and Worksafe are investigating. St John Ambulance rushed the man to Royal Perth Hospital where he remained in a critical condition at 11am. Police are investigating an incident involving former One Nation senator Rod Culleton on Tuesday, after he was "ambushed" outside the Perth Magistrates Court and injured his wrist. Senator Culleton was leaving a hearing involving former associates Frank Bertola and Bruce Bell earlier in the day, when WA One Nation candidate Anthony Fels reportedly attempted to serve legal papers and chased the outspoken politician up the street. The 52-year-old senator was declared bankrupt in the Federal Court last month and faces expulsion from the Senate as part of a High Court challenge to his eligibility, brought by the Turnbull government last year. Justice Michael Barker granted a 21-day stay in the bankruptcy proceedings and Senator Culleton quit Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party on the same day in December. Jakarta: A rival of the embattled Jakarta governor in next month's gubernatorial elections has met a hardline Islamic group notorious for attacks on minority groups, raising critics' fears that he will give greater legitimacy to political extremists in Indonesia. Analysts say Anies Baswedan's reputation as a moderate Muslim has been tarnished after he gave a speech on Sunday to the Islam Defenders Front (FPI). Anies Baswedan, when Indonesian education minister, in Jakarta in March 2016. Credit:Irwin Fedriansyah The hardline group, once considered a bunch of fringe radicals known for raids on bars during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, has sprung to national prominence after spearheading three mass rallies calling for the city's governor - a Christian - to be jailed for blasphemy. Anies' visit comes as the governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, universally known as Ahok, returned to court on Tuesday. He is facing blasphemy charges for complaining his political foes took a Koranic verse out of context. Bangkok: A "human trafficking syndicate" has been hiring Filipino women to travel to Cambodia to carry surrogacy babies for foreigners, including Australians, Philippine authorities say. Four women were detained at Manila's international airport on New Year's Day while about to depart for Phnom Penh, indicating that surrogacy clinics are still operating in the city despite a crackdown on commercial surrogacy there. Philippine authorities have also been put on alert for another group of surrogates who have been hired to travel to Phnom Penh on an undisclosed date, officials said. During questioning the detained women said they were promised about US$10,000 ($13,800) to be impregnated with the sperm of intending fathers from Australia, Germany, China and Nigeria, officials said. Seoul: South Korea's Constitutional Court formally opened President Park Geun-hye's impeachment trial on Tuesday, despite the absence of Park, whose lawyers said she was unlikely to attend any of the proceedings. The nine-member court has until June to decide whether Park, whose powers have been suspended since the National Assembly voted on December 9 to put her on trial her over a corruption scandal, will be reinstated or removed from office. The court, which had held three preliminary hearings on Park's impeachment, convened in full for the first time on Tuesday, with the intent of inviting her to respond to the National Assembly's charges and answer questions. But she did not appear, and the hearing was adjourned after nine minutes. A lawyer for the president, Lee Joong-hwan, said after the hearing that Park would make her case through her attorneys. "She won't appear in court unless there is an exceptionally special reason to do so," Lee said. PHILIPSBURG:--- The SXM Reads platform invites the community of Dutch Quarter to participate in a motivational reading and book giveaway on Saturday 7th January 2017 from 4.30 pm to 7.00 pm at the Plantz property next to Mac Donalds. All ages are welcome to come out and listen under the tent to stories, poems, music by Mr. Roberto C. Arrindell, Papa Umpo, Shers Puppet Theater, Junior Lion and more. It will be an evening of fun activities. While everyone will be taking home a book to read for their leisure and pleasure. Dutch Quarter this if for you! Everyone is welcome to enjoy and make Dutch Quarter a more literate community in 2017! Remember the date and time, this Saturday 7th of January 2017 at the Plantz Property look out for the reading tent from 4.30 to 7 pm. SXM Reads aims to create awareness about and support for persons with low literacy skills in our society. Apart from the Philipsburg Jubilee Library, UNESCO, Rotary St Martin Sunrise and Come Centre are represented in SXM Reads. And to all the Philipsburg Jubilee Library wishes one and all a blessed Reading New Year for 2017. PHILIPSBURG:--- On the 10th and 11th of March 2017, the DOET initiatives will take place once again. This initiative of Oranje Fonds started in the Netherlands with NLdoet. In partnership with local organizations on all the islands, BON DOET, ARUBA DOET, CURA DOET, SXM DOET and STATIA DOET have also been successfully organized in these past years. Volunteers are the beating hearts of many social initiatives. Oranje Fonds wants to show with the DOET campaign how important active citizens are for the community. For foundations and associations, it is also a wonderful opportunity to complete projects and engage new volunteers with their organisation. And of course it underscores how much fun volunteering can be! Hundreds of projects are implemented during two days at foundations, health institutions and associations in the Netherlands and on the 5 Caribbean islands. Everyone is invited to participate! In 2016, there were more than 500 projects registered and more than 6000 people volunteered. The organizations hope that in 2017, there will be even more projects and volunteers than in previous years. Foundations and associations still have the time to register a project; from painting the community centre and fixing the playground to organizing a fun day out for the elderly, everything is possible! Visit the websites of the different islands to confirm registration deadlines and all other information. Everyone who wants to be part of the biggest volunteer initiative in the Kingdom and is willing to lend a hand for (part) of a day at a foundation, health institution or association can register to volunteer. By participating you get introduced to volunteer work in a fun and exciting way and you help an organisation to get projects done. Volunteers can sign up for a project starting January 2017. With the slogan many hands make light work, the DOET initiative encourages people to also join forces together and sign up to volunteer together with family members, colleagues, classmates or members of a sport club. Every year there are hundreds of organisations and volunteers who speak highly of the initiative of het Oranje Fonds. Volunteers who participated with BON DOET stated that it was an effective way to help and a lot of fun and that families can also make it a fun family day out. The volunteers and organisations that participated with CURA DOET also were very positive about their experience: Our activity was great. Much more fun than we expected, it was so nice to see our clients and colleagues working together in the same uniform and the seniors of Seri Otrobanda were so happy with their excursion to Banda Abou, many of them had not visited in a while. Supported by Nationale Postcode Lotterij, Nederlandse lotterij, and gifts from donors and companies, Oranje Fonds spends about 30 million annually in direct financial contributions to 9000 social initiatives in the Netherlands and in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. Atlantas Best Computer Repair Company Offers New Amazon Installation Service Customers looking for the latest Amazon Installation Service will soon be able to get involved with TTT Enterprises, LLC. Today Tim Walker, Owner at TTT Enterprises, LLC releases details of the new Amazon Installation Services development. The [Amazon Installation Service](http://www.ttt-enterprises-llc.com/ttt-computer-store) is designed to appeal specifically to Amazon Shoppers and includes: Software Installation This feature was included because it will ensure that the software is installed properly and is compatible with the customers computer. This is great news for the consumer as It will give them peace of mind knowing a professional is taking care of them. Professional Recommendations This was made part of the service, since it will improve the customers ability to purchase products that will solve their issues. Customers who invest in the service should enjoy this feature because It will save the customer time and money while trying to get their technical issues resolved.. Laptop Screen Installation TTT Enterprises, LLC made sure to make this part of the Amazon Installation Services development to extend the life of the consumers laptop. Customers of the Amazon Installation Service will likely appreciate this because it will save the customer money and keep them from losing any information not backed up on their current laptop.. Tim Walker, when asked about the Amazon Installation Service Service said: Now people can save money, extend the life of their personal computers and laptops, and feel comfortable knowing a professional is there to help with the process. This is the latest offering from TTT Enterprises, LLC and Tim Walker is particularly excited about this launch because TTT Enterprises has been servicing the Atlanta area for 8 years and through those years they have been constantly asked to help with installations. Now, their partnership with Amazon, allows them to help more customers than ever before.. Those interested in learning more about TTT Enterprises, LLC and their Amazon Installation Service Service scan do so on the website at http://www.ttt-enterprises-llc.com CNET Callum is a film school graduate who is now making a name for himself as a journalist and content writer. His vices include flat whites and 90s hip-hop. Follow him @Songbird_Callum Contact us on Twitter , on Facebook , or leave your comments below. To find out about social media training or management why not take a look at our website for more info: TheSMFGroup.com A man reacts in front of an electronic board displaying stock prices at the Karachi Stock Exchange. [Photo/Agencies] Consortium to buy 40 percent stake in Karachi stock exchange A Chinese-led consortium has successfully bid to buy a 40 percent strategic stake in Karachi-based Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), according to an announcement of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE). This is the first time for a Chinese bourse to acquire shares of a foreign stock exchange. The announcement, dated Dec 30, 2016, said the consortium includes three Chinese boursesShanghai-based China Financial Futures Exchange, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Together, they will take a 30 percent share. Two Pakistani financial institutions in the consortium, Pak-China Investment Company Limited and Habib Bank Limited, will take 5 percent each. The consortium will invest $85 million, a source with close knowledge about the deal told China Daily. Deng Ge, spokesman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said earlier that CSRC supports the acquisition and hopes the deal is completed smoothly, with the prerequisite that the risks are controllable. "This investment will help broadening economic and financial collaboration between China and Pakistan and will help implement the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor," said the announcement of SSE. PSX expects that the investment will bring experience, technological assistance and new products, according to a report by Dawn, a Pakistani news outlet quoting a PSX official. For example, options trading and futures trading may be activated. The PSX was formed in January 2016 when the Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad stock exchanges consolidated into one bourse. PSX was included in the emerging market index of the Morgan Stanley Capital International in June last year. "Pakistan's market reform has been accelerating in recent years and the country has received backing from global institutions and overseas capital, making PSX more appealing to global investors than before," said Bao Kaijun, an analyst with Shanghai-based Kunyuan Investment Advising Services. China's financial market has been opening up and getting increasingly connected to global markets. The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock connect and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock connect are key to this opening. Zhang Wenlang, analyst with Everbright Securities, said that as China's financial market continues to open up, it is likely that there will be more collaborations between Chinese financial institutions and overseas ones, including the Shanghai-London stock connect, which is under discussion. Former Warren City Council at-large candidate Gary Boike said he has been planning since the Nov. 2019 election to request appointment to Council President Patrick Greens seat once it becomes vacant. Water shutoffs in South Bend resume in December. Money is available. Shutoffs and late fees for water service were paused in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic but will resume in December. Welcome to SwanseaOnline - your home for the best news, sports and what's on coverage of the city. Never miss a Swansea story with our daily newsletter Sign up to comment on our stories here Follow us on Facebook and Twitter | Swansea City news | Ospreys news | InYourArea SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket exploded during a routine prelaunch test on Sept. 1, 2016. A Falcon 9 should return to flight in early January 2017 if all goes according to plan, SpaceX representatives said. WASHINGTON SpaceX plans to resume Falcon 9 launches on Jan. 8 after completing the investigation into the pad explosion that destroyed another Falcon 9 four months ago. In a statement posted on the SpaceX website Jan. 2, the company said the explosion was caused by the failure of one of three helium tanks, known as composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs), inside the liquid oxygen tank in the rockets second stage. The company had previously indicated that a COPV failure was a leading cause of the accident. Each COPV is made of an aluminum liner surrounded by a carbon composite overwrap. Other COPVs recovered from the Falcon 9 showed buckling of their liners, although what caused the buckling isn't stated. [Dramatic Video of SpaceX's Rocket Explosion] SpaceX said that the buckling, in and of itself, did not cause the tanks to fail. Instead, the company believes the buckles created voids between the liner and composite overwrap where liquid oxygen could pool. "When pressurized, oxygen pooled in this buckle can become trapped; in turn, breaking fibers or friction can ignite the oxygen in the overwrap, causing the COPV to fail," the company said. The temperature of the helium in the COPV is also cold enough to freeze some of the oxygen, exacerbating the problem. In its statement, SpaceX said that investigators did not find a single, most likely cause of the failure, but all the potential causes were similar. "The investigation team identified several credible causes for the COPV failure, all of which involve accumulation of super chilled [liquid oxygen] or [solid oxygen] in buckles under the overwrap," the company stated. SpaceX's return-to-flight plans call for changes in procedures for fueling the rocket rather than design changes to the COPVs. According to the company, it will use warmer helium in the COPVs and also change the process for loading helium into those tanks "to a prior flight proven configuration based on operations used in over 700 successful COPV loads." The company didn't state what effect these changes would have on launch preparations or vehicle performance. The current version of the Falcon 9 uses so-called "super-cooled" propellants, where liquid oxygen is chilled to near the freezing point to increase its density and improve the vehicles performance. Those propellants are loaded into the Falcon 9 shortly before launch. Those procedural changes are intended only to be short-term solutions. "In the long term, SpaceX will implement design changes to the COPVs to prevent buckles altogether, which will allow for faster loading operations," the company stated, but did not give a schedule for making those design changes. The short-term fixes, though, should allow the Falcon 9 to resume launches that were put on hold after the Sept. 1 pad explosion. That includes the first of seven launches of Iridium Next satellites, which is now scheduled for no earlier than Jan. 8 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. "Iridium is pleased with SpaceXs announcement on the results of the Sept. 1 anomaly as identified by their accident investigation team, and their plans to target a return to flight on Jan. 8 with the first Iridium Next launch," Iridium said in a Jan. 2 statement. That schedule is pending the issuance of a launch license from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA has not granted that license yet, but sources say the FAA has received and is reviewing SpaceX's report on the pad accident. In its statement, SpaceX noted that the FAA "provided oversight and coordination for the investigation" as part of the investigation team. Should SpaceX successfully return to flight with the Iridium mission, its next launch is expected to be of the EchoStar-23 communications satellite later in January. That launch will be the first SpaceX mission from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a former space shuttle pad that SpaceX is leasing primarily for Falcon 9 launches of its Crew Dragon spacecraft and launches of its Falcon Heavy rocket. SpaceX will be using the pad for other Falcon 9 launches because of damage sustained at Space Launch Complex 40 in the September pad explosion. This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry. 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Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service. Bir-Lehlu (liberated territories), Jan 2, 2017 (SPS) - The President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO, Brahim Ghali, sent a message of congratulations his Cuban counterpart, Raul Castro Ruz, on the 58th anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban revolution. "I am pleased to express, on my own behalf, on behalf of the Saharawi Government and people, to Your Excellency and the brotherly people and the Cuban government, my congratulations on the occasion of the 58th anniversary of the Cuban revolution," wrote the President of the Republic in his letter. The President of the Republic paid a resounding tribute to late Fidel Castro, stressing that his departure was a great loss for the oppressed peoples and all humanity in spite of "his legacy full of achievements, contributions, ideas and thoughts in favor of the oppressed and of all mankind ". The President of the Republic reiterated the commitment and determination of the SADR government to further strengthen the bonds of friendship and cooperation between the Saharawi Republic and the Republic of Cuba. (SPS) 062/090/TRA Instagram has become the place to find the trendiest everythingfrom fashion to travel, celebrities and food. That last one is what USA Today asked Instagram to do a little research on. With help from the social media site, USA Today rounded up the most geo-tagged restaurant in each state. In Connecticut, it may not come as a big surprise that the most Instagrammed restaurant is Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven famous for its unique white clam pizza. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate STAMFORD The state appeals court has upheld the conviction of former White House lawyer John Michael Farren for trying to beat his wife to death in their New Canaan mansion. In a 44-page decision released Friday, the court unanimously ruled that Farren, 64, will continue serving his 15-year jail sentence at the Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown for trying to bludgeon to death his wife, Mary Margaret Farren, with a metal flashlight in January 2010. Im happy that the court affirmed the conviction and happy for the family, said Stamford States Attorney Richard Colangelo, who along with former Stamford States Attorney David Cohen obtained the conviction against Farren after presenting the case to a Stamford jury in July 2014. I felt all along that Judge (Richard) Comerford did everything he could to protect this defendants rights while making sure both sides had a fair trial, Colangelo said. Farrens attorney, Eugene Riccio, called the case certainly a very, very unfortunate case from many perspectives. According to the decision, the assault took place Jan. 6, 2010, two days after Farren was served with divorce papers. While discussing the dissolution of their 13-year marriage in the bedroom of their Wahackme Road home, Farren picked his wife up by the throat, threw her across the room and struck her head and face as many as 10 times with a heavy metal flashlight, according to Mary Farrens testimony. His hands were around her neck squeezing more than once during the attack, causing her to lose consciousness. She lost a significant amount of blood, suffered a broken jaw and cheek bone as well as deep cuts to her head that left her skull visible, a doctor said on the stand. Tufts of hair had been wrenched off her scalp. After the assault, Mary Farren escaped with her two daughters to a neighbors home, where police were called. Farrens legal strategy up to his trial appeared to be unusual for someone so steeped in the intricacies of the law. Just a few months before his trial, Farren, who was a lawyer in both Bush administrations and out on bond living at his sisters home near Hartford, unexpectedly announced that, after three years being represented by Riccio and defense attorney Timothy Moynahan, he would take over his own defense. While claiming he wanted to present a mental disease or defect defense, Farren at first withheld the reports of his own experts then refused to sign the authorization forms required by a psychiatrist hired by Colangelo and Cohen to examine him. Comerford ruled that Farrens refusal to sign the consent form was a delaying tactic and barred him from presenting his defense because he would not allow the psychiatric exam to proceed. Unable to get the Stamford courthouses lead public defender to take his case because his income was beyond office guidelines, Comerford appointed Riccio and Moynahan as standby counsel. Unwilling to agree with Comerfords decisions regarding his representation and his defense and citing his emotional instability, Farren refused to attend his own trial, which was then conducted by Riccio. Farren appealed his conviction on several grounds that included Comerford not allowing him to raise the insanity defense, and improperly allowing Farren to represent himself at the trial he refused to attend. Farren said that his decision to not attend his own trial or help Riccio with his defense showed that he was not competent to stand trial and should have been given a competency evaluation. The Appellate Court ruled that Farren was required to furnish Colangelo and Cohen with the reports generated by his psychiatric experts and submit to an examination by a doctor of the states choosing. His refusal to sign the psychiatrists consent form, the court said, was, part of the defendants campaign to manipulate the system and delay the trial in this matter. Accordingly, the court did not abuse its discretion in precluding the defendant from asserting a defense of mental disease or defect. As for the allegation that Comerford wrongly concluded that Farren invoked his right to represent himself at trial, the court said the transcripts showed Farren saying that a hostile relationship had developed between he and his attorneys and he wanted a public defender. Even after the public defender option was taken off the table, the court found that Farren unequivocally invoked his right to serve as his own attorney, which was rightly recognized by Comerford. The Appellate Court also found that there was no evidence or serious suggestion that Farren did not understand the charges against him or was unable to assist in his own defense. The court (Comerford) also ascertained that the defendant fully understood what the court was telling him and he had a full appreciation for what he was doing, the decision states. jnickerson@scni.com STAMFORD Police are not releasing the name of the Stamford teenager who was killed after losing control of his car on a curve New Years Day morning. Sgt. Andrew Gallagher, the head of the police departments Collision and Analysis and Reconstruction Squad, would only say that the victim was a Stamford resident. Because of state regulations that restrict information regarding minors, the department is unable to release anything about the youths identity because the victim of the crash is under the age of 18, he said. The department will not be identifying this child, Gallagher said. Gallagher said the youth lost control of the 2016 Hyundai Sonata while traveling too fast on Stillwater Avenue at 4:55 a.m. Sunday. He said the car veered out of its lane into the long turn and into the eastbound lane before striking at tree at the northeast corner of Progress Drive. Gallager said the vehicle was traveling at extremely high speed along the curve that is posted at 25 mph. We are continuing on with the investigation and checking on its factors in order to find as many answers for the family as we can, Gallagher said. Anyone with information on the crash is asked to call investigators at 203-977-4712. JNICKERSON@SCNI.COM; STAMFORD As the school district prepares to present its 2017-18 spending plan to the city this winter, it now faces a six-digit cut to its current budget. Superintendent of Schools Earl Kim said hes working with Mayor David Martin to decide how the $250,000 the state slashed from Stamford Public Schools last week will affect the district. The two officials, as well as several local education advocates, say the mid-year cut underscores the need for towns and cities to find new ways to keep up with the states ongoing budget crisis. I fear that this is a new reality and it is going to take fiscal responsibility at all levels of government to ensure that there arent large tax increases that put undue burden on our residents, Martin said in a statement. We are certainly disappointed by this round of municipal funding cuts but are not completely surprised, he added. There is a risk that there will be less municipal funding as the state deals with an unprecedented deficit. Kim acknowledged the states efforts to balance the many demands for service against unfortunate fiscal realities. He said Stamford will manage the latest cut in the most sustainable and least harmful manner. The state Office of Policy and Management announced last week that it was reducing about $20 million in state education aid for all municipalities in the state. Cash-strapped districts like Stamford, Bridgeport and Danbury are each losing $250,000. In Greenwich, the cut will amount to $1.3 million, about 90 percent of state funding to education in that town. The cut comes amid increased criticism of Connecticuts education cost-sharing formula. A Superior Court judge ruled late last year that the states distribution of funds was unconstitutional. The decision is being reviewed by the state Supreme Court. Before the latest reduction, Stamford was supposed to get $18 million in state grants about 6 percent of its $292.7 million operat ing budget in 2016-17. Comparable school districts get up to 28 percent of their budget from the state. Martin said hes confident the city can absorb half of the cut so that the burden is not entirely felt by our children. I am more concerned with future cutbacks to capital fun ding, the mayor said. Going forward, we have several necessary large projects underway or about to begin. Our capital budget is already strained and it will be difficult if the state is unable to provide essential capital support. City Rep. Matthew Quinones, a member of the Board of Representatives education committee, hopes there are no further cuts this fiscal year because public schools already have to deal with limited resources. In Stamford, about 12 percent of children under 18 live in poverty and more than half of public school students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, district data show . As a city and as a schools system, we have to find ways to make necessary cuts because we dont want this to affect taxpayers who already pay their share, said Quinones, whos also the CEO of the Stamford Public Education Foundation. Kim Morgan, CEO of United Way of Western Connecticut, said the latest cuts show the need for community organizations to partner together. Reduction in education funding is always a last resort, she said. During these lean times, communities need to band together to find solutions to complex problems. United Way is leading a new initiative, dubbed Stamford Cradle to Career, created to align programs and resources for children and youth in the city. Board of Education President Geoff Alswanger said absorbing the cuts will be challenging because of so many costs fixed and under contract at this point during the year. I hope the funding cuts spur our state leaders to mobilize so that local school systems are given the tools to help save money in the form of providing mandate relief and other efficiency mechanisms, he said in an email. This is one way that learning in the classroom can be better preserved as we look to future budget challenges. Lori Johnston, co-president of the Parent-Teacher Council of Stamford, called the reduction shortsighted. Once again, she said, it will be up to the Stamford community to come together to make the best with the funds we have. noliveira@hearstmediact.com, 203-964-2265, @olivnelson When it comes to the environment, 2016 brought a steady stream of grim news. The year will almost certainly hold the prize for the hottest in recorded history, eclipsing the records set in 2015 and 2014. Researchers tracked how Antarctic ice sheets continue to melt and how the Arctic continues to warm. Coral reefs are dying. Air and water problems keep surfacing around the globe. Some scientists are predicting that sea levels will rise even more than expected in coming decades, while others are linking extreme weather events to the changing climate and detailing how environmental and climatic factors are fueling the spread of Zika and other devastating diseases. So, yeah, pretty dismal. At the same time, it's not all bad news out there. The year saw some clear signs of environmental progress, too. Rare though they were, these five environmental stories were true bright spots: 1) Global carbon emissions appear to have stopped increasing. A picture is beginning to emerge of a world where the increase in emissions of carbon dioxide seems to be flattening, despite countries' continuing use of fossil fuels. In the United States, emissions are actually going down. Data from the Global Carbon Project suggests that global emissions have not changed for three years straight. Moreover, the cause has not been a global recession - growth has continued. What appears to be happening is a "decoupling" of economic growth from carbon emissions, thanks to more clean energy and other lower-emitting sources of energy like natural gas. From the perspective of the climate system, it isn't enough for emissions to flatten; they actually have to go down (and down and down). But this plateau is a very good start. 2) Worldwide, wind and solar are booming. The U.S. solar industry has experienced a blockbuster year. According to one recent report, the industry added a record 4,143 megawatts (or million watts) of solar-generating capacity in the third quarter of 2016 alone, with similar growth projected in coming months. Wind energy also had a record year, with thousands of turbines popping up from the U.S. heartland to Europe to China. This nation's first offshore wind farm also became a reality off the coast of Rhode Island. That growth shows few signs of slowing. A report this fall from the International Energy Agency said renewable energy products surpassed all other sources of new electricity in 2015, with wind and solar leading the way. Renewables still account for only about 23 percent of the electricity produced worldwide, according to the report. But the agency predicted that will increase to 28 percent by 2021, as the costs of building wind and solar farms continue to decline. 3) World leaders seem determined to combat global warming (well, most world leaders). In late 2015, leaders from nearly 200 countries joined a landmark climate accord negotiated in Paris. Each country pledged to help slash greenhouse-gas emissions, with the goal of avoiding the most drastic effects of global warming in the decades ahead. In 2016, countries began the first steps of backing up those promises. In October, the accord officially entered into force when more than 55 countries, representing more than 55 percent of global emissions, ratified the deal. The following month in Morocco, representatives took initial steps toward implementing the deal's ambitious goals. That said, the fate of the Paris accord is uncertain. The United States pledged to cut its emissions 26 percent to 28 percent below their 2005 level in the coming decade, but whether the country can meet that mark remains unclear. Other countries face similar obstacles. And even if countries meet their initial pledges, experts say the world must scale up its ambition over time. In addition, President-elect Donald Trump promised during his campaign to "cancel" U.S. participation in the deal, raising questions about whether other countries would stick to it if the United States abandons its leadership role. 4) Technology is providing a glimmer of hope. Iceland is home to magnificent landscapes, geothermal spas and spectacular views of the northern lights. But it also touted a potentially major advance in the growing effort to store carbon dioxide rather than allowing it to escape into the atmosphere, where it can fuel global warming. Officials at Reykjavik Energy took carbon emissions from a geothermal plant (along with emissions of hydrogen sulfide, a dangerous gas) and stowed them away in the rocky ground 400 to 800 meters (1,300 to 2,600 feet) deep. Once injected into basalt rock, the carbon dioxide rapidly was mineralized, or turned into rock. The Carbfix project, as it was known, is a big deal because it means the gas cannot escape back into the atmosphere. American researchers are working to take the science even further, in hopes that such storage of large amounts of carbon dioxide - that either come from industrial processes or are sucked from the atmosphere - may be a key piece of the solution to climate change. "We'd seen these things in the lab, but the field is often a case where your best-laid plans and ideas from lab experiments fall apart and just don't work out," one researcher said. In this case, the experiment might just work in the real world, too. 5) The oceans are finally getting the attention they deserve. A decade ago, only a fraction of the world's oceans were protected from overfishing and other environmental threats. Slowly but surely, that has begun to change. In 2006, President George W. Bush designated an island chain spanning nearly 1,400 miles of the Pacific northwest of Hawaii as a national monument. This summer, President Barack Obama expanded the Papahanaumokuakea (pronounced "Papa-HA-now-moh-koo-AH-kay-ah") Marine National Monument to 582,578 square miles of land and sea, creating the largest ecologically protected area on the planet. In September, the State Department hosted the third annual Our Ocean conference, a global gathering of government leaders, scientists and environmental activists aimed at hastening protections. Roughly 3 percent of the oceans are now safeguarded - far from the 30 percent to 40 percent that many scientists claim is necessary for the seas' sustainability over the long term, but a vast improvement in only a few years. "I'm thrilled with the progress we've made," Secretary of State John Kerry told The Washington Post in an interview, even as he said much more work lies ahead. Entrepreneur is on the ground at this year's Consumer Electronics Show. Check back for highlights from the event as well as insights from thought leaders and innovators. Robots are increasingly taking their place at work and at home. While many people are concerned about the loss of jobs with increasing automation, there's no denying that this trend will only continue into the future. In fact, Mark Cuban argues that the U.S. needs to further invest in the field to stay competitive in the future. To get a pulse on the field of robotics, its biggest trends and what to expect, we reached out to Steve Carlin, general manager and vice president of SoftBank Robotics America, maker of robot assistant Pepper, and Chris Jones, vice president of technology at iRobot Corporation, creator of the Roomba. Jones and a colleague of Carlin will discuss the field during a panel at CES on Jan. 5. Image credit: Steve Carlin | Chris Jones Their responses have been edited for length and clarity. What's surprised you in the past year in the robotics field? Carlin: Its been fascinating to watch robotics expanding its reach beyond manufacturing, warehouse and military applications into entirely new arenas. Robotics is now being explored to solve problems beyond efficiency, to address business needs, companionship and even healthcare. Related: Is a Robot the 'New Entrepreneur'? Jones: It has been exciting to see the successful release of practical new products for the smart home and the continued maturation of the broader smart home ecosystem. In the increasing convergence of the home robots and smart home products and markets, I believe there is a great opportunity to realize compelling new smart home solutions where robots play an increasingly valuable and central role in the smart home. This will make for an exciting 2017. What were the biggest trends? What do you anticipate for the next year? Carlin: The biggest trend we see, with relation to technology, is the increasing comfort with and desire to speak to your technology. Devices like your smartphone, Apple TV, Echo or Google home are all making it increasingly easy to interact with the devices we use every day. We think this trend ultimately helps robotics and the potential adoption of robots in both a business and home setting. Jones: What interests us the most in the area of home robotics is connectivity and home mapping. At the end of 2015, iRobot launched its first connected Roomba vacuum cleaner capable of mapping and navigating an entire level of a home. Imagine a map as simply a two dimensional blueprint of the home. This is a major milestone for not only home robotics, but the larger smart home industry. Home maps and the unique spatial context of the home that these maps provide will be critical to unlocking the full potential of the broader smart home ecosystem and the myriad Internet of Things (IoT) devices within it. What challenges will the industry face? Carlin: Technological hurdles aside, one interesting challenge the personal robotics field faces is managing the expectation of the mass market as to what a robot can do. While on one hand, pop culture is showcasing what "could be" with robotics, it is also setting unrealistic expectations of what robotic technology can do today. We find people trying to have an actual back and forth conversation with our robots, which is just not possible with any technology available today. We will get there, but for now, the challenge is aligning those expectations with reality so as not to disappoint. Related: These Professionals Are Excited About the Rise of Workplace Robots Jones: Despite the excitement and demand for connected devices, the current state of consumer IoT is a failed promise. With so many devices, sensors and systems acting independently, complexity and usability challenges presented to the consumer make it difficult for them to achieve the integrated smart home experience they desire. There is a gap between what todays smart home is technically capable of and the powerful, yet easy to use, smart home experience the consumer has in mind. How will it meet those challenges? Carlin: The advancement of computer intelligence, voice recognition, AI, deep learning and the like will be able to conquer most of the interaction issues we have now between human and robot. The advancements in general artificial intelligence through things like deep learning, improvements in neural networks and even sentiment analysis, all converge to address the simple notion of talking to our robots and receiving back a meaningful, relevant response. What is great for our industry is the focus on this kind of technology from the likes of Google, Microsoft, Oracle, even Uber, creates a pace of advancement that will benefit all of us. Jones: It is unreasonable to expect consumers to effectively manage and use hundreds of connected devices in an integrated fashion. The ideal smart home will be able to intelligently and responsively manage and orchestrate itself. This will be made possible through a combination of mobile home robots and supportive cloud services that provide spatial understanding of the home, including the locations of the connected devices throughout the home. Consequently, building a map is not a one and done activity. It is a regular chore that has to be persistently performed and maintained to build a responsive smart home ecosystem, which is what makes robots perfect for the job. Related: I Had a Conversation With a Robot, and It Taught Me Something About Humanity How do you convince people more advanced robots is a good thing? Carlin: Its interesting, because it really isnt that much different than the growth of any other technology. We recognize that some of this hardware and software represents change, and change is always surrounded by sentiment, opinions, even conjecture. The key for us is to show how the technology adds value to the world, to the business or to the person. When we can clearly do that, adoption follows, as it always does with technology improvements. In many ways, the value proposition for home robotics has already been established. To date, iRobot has sold more than 15 million cleaning robots worldwide. Youre also seeing large consumer electronics companies and traditional vacuum brands trying to break into home robotics. As robots become more advance, itll be imperative to effectively balance cost, comfort, security and efficiency with privacy and usability concerns, while keeping the consumer value proposition a central motivation. Related: Robots Will Play a Bigger Role in the Coming Years, But Not as Big as You Think What 4 Experts Expect From This Year's CES Plan to Get the Most Out of CES Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved I write this in gratitude. I hadnt been to an Academy screening since I landed in London nearly three years ago, so the invite to see Lion here was a welcome one. For once, my athlete fiance didnt have an early morning practice the next day, so we buttoned up our coats and headed to the cinema. Wintertime bliss! I tear up over greeting cards, but my partners skin is thick, so halfway through the film I worried the sniffing sound beside me meant he was coming down with a cold just before our families were due to arrive for Christmas. Concerned, I turned my head just enough to bring him into my periphery, and I saw it: a tear streak down his cheek. Soon, audible emotion filled the cinema, but these werent solely the sounds of sorrow, they were tears of joy and hope, because in its specificity this film struck a universal chord -- and without preaching, it had crafted an effective, global rebuttal to 2016s deafening voices of fear and division. Lion - trailer Lions true story is a simple one: a young boy named Saroo (Sunny Pawar) from a small town in India is separated from the family he loves. He struggles to survive on the streets before being placed in an overcrowded home for lost children. Hes eventually put on a plane to Australia where he meets his new adoptive parents (Nicole Kidman & David Wenham), and over the next twenty-five years we watch the damage that is done as a grown up Saroo (Dev Patel) struggles with which pieces of his identity he feels he must cut away in order to blend in to his new surroundings, and eventually, which parts of his being he simply cannot live without. Simple? Yes. But a deeper look into this films DNA reveals two key elements artists and activists alike must utilise as we endeavor to stop the pendulum of progress from swinging too far back in these regressive times. One: a more global world isnt about losing ones identity; it is about recognising the value of difference. Two: emotion is our sword. I know well that when a creative team adapts a true story into film, tough choices must be made where they will shine their light. These filmmakers aimed their cameras with precision for this moment in our worlds history. When Saroo lands in Australia, and struggles with the culture he finds in this new home, the filmmakers focus on all that is lost when Saroo begins discarding his roots in order to assimilate. By triangulating Saroos relationships with his loving new Australian family and the family he is eventually drawn to find again in India, the filmmakers break down the false notion that in order for a man to call a new land his home, he must give up who he has been. This film demonstrates with clarity that such a conformist falsehood not only harms Saroo, but injures every relationship around him as well as his loving new Australian family. It is only once Saroo embraces his roots, his difference, and brings his homes together in mutual admiration that he and both of his families become whole. And thanks to the filmmakers wisdom, we not only see this moment dramatised, they render their conclusion unassailable by sharing documentary footage of this moment of reunion, recognition and mutual respect between these different families. At this point in the screening, my partners hand was trembling, and I was a snotty mess. That brings me to my second point: the sword of our time is emotion. Dustin Lance Black (left) and his fiance Tom Daley (Picture: Dave Benett) / Dave Benett Over the past decade Ive split my time between film, political work, and public speaking. When friends ask how I manage this juggling act I tell them its all one and the same to me. When they lift a brow, I remind them I grew up in a Texan, Mormon, military home. By eight years old I knew I could preach until my sweat went cold about poll numbers, science, or law, and I wouldnt change a single mind. My hometown taught me that if you want to change minds, youd best start with hearts. So whether its a cinema, a lecture hall, a dinner table or a courtroom, the quickest path to the heart is an emotional story. By focusing on emotion over facts, law, or science, Lion drew tears from the steeliest among us. That tear on my fiances cheek was a roaring reminder that if you can change a heart, you can change a mind, and if we can change minds with films like this, we have a shot at rescuing this world from its current collective antisocial personality disorder. Last but not least, part of what makes a film impactful is how it collides with history. In ways, Milk's collision with anti-gay legislation sweeping the United States helped make it a guide for some activists at the time. If Lion had come to life six years ago, it may have been lost, but today its lessons of love and acceptance on a global scale make it indispensable. Lion tells us that in becoming global, our goal is not to become the same, but to hold onto the magnificence of our differences, and that in this brave endeavor, we might find family, love, and perhaps even become truly whole no matter our place of birth, the color of our skin, or the God we pray to. It is true that this film alone wont be enough to turn the tides, but it is also true that what this film gets right makes it a lion for our times and for that I am grateful. Dustin Lance Black is an Oscar-winning screenwriter and a film and television producer. This op-ed was originally published on deadline.com. I n most areas the announcement of a public consultation can be interpreted as an indication that a matter of public importance is about to be kicked into the long grass. It is the equivalent of the cry of the late lamented Caroline Aherne as Mrs Merton: Lets have a heated debate! cue mass public torpor. The latest public consultation is, however, one that you may have heard about because almost every newspaper has made its opinion felt. Its the one that finishes a week today, January 10, about Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013. And like Section 28, the one notorious in the Thatcher era, it has acquired a life all of its own. If it were approved by the Culture Secretary Karen Bradley, it would mean that if a newspaper refuses to register with the state-approved regulatory body Impress, it will be compelled to pay the costs of anyone bringing a libel action against it, whether or not it is at fault. Its part of the attempt to persuade papers to take up membership of Impress, which no big one has done. The manifest injustice of this provision can be seen a mile off, and would be even more obvious if it were applicable to any other offence fraud, say. I dont need to make the point which distinguished investigative reporters a vanishingly rare breed these days such as Tom Bower have already made: that the existence of the threat is enough to discourage any paper from publishing investigations which may embarrass the powerful. As for the motivation of Max Mosley in bankrolling Impress a man whose sado-masochistic orgy with women in uniforms was reported by the News of the World I leave it to you. Actually, even without Mosleys enthusiasm for Impress the support of people such as Hugh Grant or the ex MP Evan Harris would do it for me. We can, I think, take the egregious injustice of Section 40 as read, together with its complete and utter irrelevance to the real threat to substantive reporting, viz, unreliable online reporting, and the internet news sites which rob journalists of the worth of any exclusive stories they publish within minutes of them appearing. I think, rather, we should be looking at the behaviour of parliamentarians in all this. In an amendment to the then Investigatory Powers Bill by Lady Hollins, the Lords effectively approved applying the provisions of Section 40 in respect of hacking. That was, astoundingly, passed in the Lords but rejected by the Commons. The other day, Lord Best, chair of the Lords Communications Committee, declared: I ask the Government, once again, the question we posed in our earlier report: will the current situation, whereby the majority of the press refuses to submit to the royal charter, be allowed to pertain indefinitely? The answer he invites is no. So these preposterous, unelected individuals, are taking it on themselves to pile on the pressure? Meanwhile, in the Commons the wounds of the expenses scandal are still fresh: Labour and Lib-Dem MPs such as shadow culture secretary Tom Watson, who are effectively parliamentary representatives for Hacked Off, the Mosley-backed lobby group, are gearing up to attack the Culture Secretary for submitting to press pressure if she kills off this amendment. Helpfully, Hacked Off has an online petition form for its supporters to weigh in effortlessly. Bradley was not the most obvious candidate for her job, other than her support for Manchester City. But she shouldnt need a public consultation to mimic democracy for her to see off this malign campaign against the press. Why consult on the obvious? You can have your say in the consultation via the links below Eternal message for the faithful Martin Scorseses film Silence has got a pasting from some critics for being beastly to the Japanese and for not being scary enough on their persecution of Jesuit missionaries. Seventeenth-century history plainly isnt their thing. Theyve got a point, admittedly, in identifying the lead, Andrew Garfield, as the weakest point of the film he is effortlessly outclassed by the fabulous Japanese grand inquisitor, Issey Ogata, who bashes his wretched sidekick with a fan when he has the nerve to try to help him to his feet. But the substance of the film, like that of the 1966 novel on which it is based, Shusaku Endos Silence, is still pertinent at a time of Islamic State religious persecution. Its about what faith is for, about the psychology of persecution The paradox in the film that you can undermine faith by intransigence in sticking to it is as telling now as it ever was. Rail chaos has become a New Year tradition The revelation that rail fares in Britain are six times higher than in many parts of Europe will strike with especial force those of us who limped back to London yesterday. As ever, the end of the Christmas holiday took rail operators unawares. On the Virgin service from Holyhead to Euston yesterday the one that met the Irish ferry, as it usually does there werent enough carriages. Half the Irish boat passengers, not to mention the unfortunates joining the train later, spent the journey across Wales and England sitting on the floor. The wretched guard, who admitted he shouldnt actually have allowed the train to travel at all, implored passengers to make their feelings known to Virgin in the hope that next time theyd run more than one train or a long enough one. So, a note to Virgin: next year, after the holidays there will be lots of people travelling by rail. Perhaps it could start planning now. * Can you cope with the reinvention that comes with the New year new you advice that infallibly comes at this time of year? I have been brooding over the advice from one Sunday supplement on Where to go, who to know and what to wear in 2017 only sadly to conclude that I fall short on almost all the injunctions: ayurvedic eating and watermelon water among them. My only resolution has been to drink more whisky sours: which got off to a promising start over Christmas. But then, Im still in holiday mode. Christmas goes on for 12 days, you know, until the Three Kings come to Baby Jesus on Friday. For some of us the party season is still going strong. Dry January? Not at my place. The Government is consulting on Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 and Part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry. The consultation closes at 5pm on January 10, 2017 You can either respond online; Email presspolicy@culture.gov.uk; or R ail passengers across the South-East commuter belt have been abandoned to a winter of chaos and misery by the Government with strikes, poor services, cancellations and delays. But as if this werent bad enough, millions of commuters are coming back to work today after a Christmas break to find that fares have shot up yet again. Under this Government ministers have allowed rail fares to rise year on year. In the past six years alone, regulated rail fares have gone up by 25 per cent, while average weekly earnings have grown by only 12 per cent, making commuting to work increasingly unaffordable for many. A season ticket from Wood Street in Walthamstow to Liverpool Street is now 1,276 up by 276 since 2010. A season ticket from Stoke Newington to London Zones 1 to 2 is now 1,320 up by 288 since 2010. And a season ticket from Battersea Park to Victoria is now 728 up by 156 since 2010. Under Boris Johnson as mayor, TfL fares rose by more than 42 per cent, making them the most expensive in Europe. In contrast to this expensive and failing approach, Ive scrapped a planned further 17 per cent fare increase on all Transport for London services and have frozen all TfL fares until 2020 instead. This is something I promised to do and its now already saving money for millions of passengers across London every single day. Passengers using travelcards will, however, see increases. This is because of fare rises brought in by the train-operating companies, which the Government has failed to clamp down on. It is nothing to do with TfL the TfL part of the travelcard is frozen, like all its fares. Many rail commuters using Government-controlled services will understandably be feeling that enough is enough this increase in rip-off fares is just the latest example of how they are being let down by the current system. In the short term, I am calling on ministers to give commuters some relief by using the Budget in the spring to match my fares freeze on services they control. Meanwhile, theres only one viable long-term solution and thats for TfL to be given control of commuter rail routes in London, including Southern, Southeastern and South West. For services taken over before 2020, this would mean that passengers could take advantage of my four-year freeze on TfL fares. In addition, they would also benefit from an increase in the capacity, frequency and reliability of their service. The truth is that TfL is simply better at running commuter lines than the Department for Transport something it has proved time and again. Look at the London Overground service, which runs inside and out of London. It has gone from being one of the worst-performing services in the country to one of the best since TfL took control. This is not pie-in-the-sky thinking. A detailed plan has already been put together by TfL, which shows all the improvements that could be made for passengers, including greater reliability, all-day staffing at stations, integrated fares, Oyster card access at all stations and reduced fare-evasion. TfL would also provide extra trains, deep cleaning and improvements at stations, as well as more and better ticket machines. Crucially, TfL taking control would lead to fewer strikes. Southern commuters, in particular, have faced terrible disruption recently, and yet more unnecessary strikes are planned for next week. This is unacceptable and shows a failure by all sides the unions, the rail operator and the Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling. If TfL were to take control, the evidence shows that we would see fewer industrial problems as a result of dealing with the issues in a mature, pragmatic way. We dont always agree with each other but since Ive become Mayor the number of days lost to strikes on the Underground has fallen by 92 per cent an improvement rail-users deserve too. Rail fare rises: protest at King's Cross station With all these clear advantages for passengers, whats the hold-up in getting rail devolution in London? My plan is supported by politicians from all parties, inside and outside London. It is supported by the Conservative leaders of Kent, Surrey and Hertfordshire councils, who know their residents would receive a better service under TfL. It is also supported by business leaders and across party lines by MPs, council leaders and assembly members in London and it was promised by the Conservatives in their manifesto for the mayoral election last year. Until just a few weeks ago, even the Government agreed, and thats why last year an agreement was signed between the then Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin and Mayor Boris Johnson to give TfL control of suburban rail services as the franchises come up for renewal. It was a breakthrough for commuters. But just before the Autumn Statement, Chris Grayling ripped up that promise and it subsequently emerged that he opposed rail devolution because he wanted to keep commuter rail services out of the clutches of a future Labour Mayor. In a YouGov poll last week, 52 per cent thought the Transport Secretary had made the wrong decision. Just 14 per cent backed his plan to keep commuter lines in the hands of the train-operating companies while 58 per cent said TfL should have more control. This is the sad reality of the situation. We have a clear plan that would undoubtedly lead to cheaper and improved services for millions of passengers and would allow the Government to spend more time improving other services but it is being thwarted for purely political reasons. This is deeply frustrating, and I fully share the anger felt by passengers. But the Government still has time to do the right thing so Im not going to stop fighting for a change that would improve the lives of so many Londoners. I urge Londoners to join me in putting pressure on the Government to act. TfL stands ready to step in. And if the Government delivers on its promise to give TfL control, I pledge today that well deliver frozen fares, fewer delays, fewer strikes, more trains and safer stations. Rail commuters travelling to and from London shouldnt have to face any more winters of chaos and misery. 1. Lounge class You know that dressing gown you turned your nose up at on Christmas Day? Prepare to embrace it because the robe, as seen at Lacoste and Burberry, is the cuddliest way to stay warm this spring. Not mild enough yet? Layer it under your favourite overcoat for a look thats as progressive as they come. lacoste.com 2. The dress is back Simplify your 2017 by stocking up on dresses early. An antidote to the complicated separates which dominated 2016, a well-chosen one-piece or 20 is indicative of our renewed affection for dressing up. For spring, the hottest around are lightweight. To avoid looking like a girlie girl team with trainers. 52, urbanoutiftters.com 3. Think pink While the good people at Pantone might disagree (its colour of the year is Greenery), candy pink is this years hottest hue. Last year sweet incarnations of the shade made it big in the world of interiors - see Farrow & Balls Nancys Blushes - and now its back in our wardrobes. The bravest will wear it from head to toe a la Bella Freuds vision. Sweater, 390, jacket, 680, Bella Freud, 49 Chiltern Street, W1 4. Time to mullet over For those wondering what to do with last years tired-looking bob, the gods of hairdressing have the solution. The anti-bob, as pioneered by Hershesons, is the answer. This cut looks effortless and requires minimal styling but oozes with a sense of rebellion. It also works for most ages. hershesons.com 5. International superstars A ready-to-wear, ready-to-buy fashion revolution took hold last year, meaning superbrands such as Burberry and Tommy Hilfiger disrupted the fashion calendar with collections which were made available immediately after they were showcased on the catwalk. This year the revolution moves on a step further still, notably with Hilfiger, which is shunning the New York Fashion Week schedule to show in Los Angeles. The rules are there to be broken. Tommy Hilfiger x Gigi Hadid - in pictures 1 /20 Tommy Hilfiger x Gigi Hadid - in pictures Tommy x Gigi Gigi models the collection that lands online on September 1st and in store on the 10th Tommy x Gigi Gigi models the collection that lands online on September 1st and in store on the 10th Tommy x Gigi Gigi models the collection that lands online on September 1st and in store on the 10th Tommy x Gigi Gigi models the collection that lands online on September 1st and in store on the 10th Tommy x Gigi Gigi models the collection that lands online on September 1st and in store on the 10th Tommy x Gigi Gigi models the collection that lands online on September 1st and in store on the 10th Tommy x Gigi Gigi models the collection that lands online on September 1st and in store on the 10th Tommy x Gigi Gigi models the collection that lands online on September 1st and in store on the 10th Tommy x Gigi Gigi models the collection that lands online on September 1st and in store on the 10th Tommy x Gigi Gigi models the collection that lands online on September 1st and in store on the 10th Tommy x Gigi Gigi models the collection that lands online on September 1st and in store on the 10th Tommy x Gigi Gigi models the collection that lands online on September 1st and in store on the 10th Tommy x Gigi Gigi models the collection that lands online on September 1st and in store on the 10th Tommy x Gigi Gigi models the collection that lands online on September 1st and in store on the 10th Tommy x Gigi Gigi models the collection that lands online on September 1st and in store on the 10th 6. Attack of the cling-ons Of Demna Gvasalias many style legacies, this years affection for Lycra bodystockings - as debuted in his second collection for Balenciaga - could be his most terrifying yet. But that wont deter the high street from going out on a limb to include the stretchy stuff on their rails. Wear it a la Balenciaga with supersized shoulder pads. balenciaga.com Catwalking.com 7. Split personality A surge in bell-sleeved tops and dresses meant that 2016 was a difficult year for fans of soup (blame the so-called Vetements effect for your increased dry cleaning bills) but 2017 brings with it a solution. The split-sleeve top is a slightly more manageable solution. This version by achingly chic label Rejina Pyo is pure class. 350, net-a-porter.com 8. The miseducation of Selah Marley Her mother is Lauryn Hill, aka the voice of a generation, while her father is Bob Marleys son Rohan = its little wonder, then, that 18-year-old model Selah is destined for superstardom. The NYU student made her catwalk debut at Kanyes Yeezy show in September before taking a turn for Chanel last month. WWD/Rex 9. Woman of the year If 2016 was a busy one for Alexa Chung, 2017 promises to be major. In May the TV presenter-turned-model-turned-style superstar will launch her debut collection. While Chung remains tight-lipped about the details, she is said to have assembled a crack team of industry insiders to help her add businesswoman to her CV. We are expecting great things. Dave Benett 10. Jackie O Those mourning Michelle Obamas departure from the White House will have momentary relief in February when Natalie Portmans portrayal of Washingtons most famous First Lady places her back in the forefront of our minds. Set to inspire a new generation of dark sunglasses-wielding, boxy skirt suit-wearers, Jackies renaissance will put ladylike sass = and even more pink = back on our agenda. 11. Birds of a feather Miuccia Prada took it back to the boudoir for her recent spring/summer show, swapping her signature furs for airy light feathers. Some trimmed the cuffs and collars of pantsuits while others roosted on tunics. This is 2017s answer to the ruffle = expect to see it all over the high street. prada.com Catwalking.com 12. Brand new The brainchild of BFFs Henrietta Rix and Orlagh McCloskey, London- based womenswear label Rixo offers a bohemian look to 21st-century fashion fans. Expect to see their patchwork chiffon dresses and blouson-sleeve blouses tearing up the Park Field at this years Glastonbury. From 295, net-a-porter; rixo.co.uk 13. Wolves of wall street The pinstripe is back and this time it means business. On poplin shirts and lightweight summer dresses the pattern looks set to give the City a new air of cool. It began on the catwalk, with edgy labels Jacquemus and Off-White unveiling shirts emblazoned with City boy stripes. Fix up, look sharp. Shirt, 235, theory.com 14. Wrist action A bag which dangles from your wrist is to 2017 what the tiny bag was to 2016. A favourite with Roksanda and Chloe, which rely on the wristlet as an alternative to the clutch, this style is a dream for those who prefer to go hands-free. 98, jigsaw-online.com 15. Money bags Selfridges continues the expansion of its accessories hall this year with the second phase of its overhaul. Destined to become the biggest bag hall in the world, the department will cost 300 million to transform and is due for completion in 2018 when it hits 60,000 square feet. The hall includes 10 flagship boutiques including Loewe and Mulberry. 675, mulberry.com 16. The IT crowd The adornment for our favourite life accessory gets an upgrade in 2017 thanks to iPhone case label Chaos, which offers personalised cases, charms, stickers and patches for those who like to splash the cash on their tech. The brainchild of superstar stylist Charlotte Stockdale, Chaos is set to wreak havoc this year. 175, chaos.club 17. Its political Now that Theresa Mays leopard-print courts are firmly under the table at No 10 and with Samantha Camerons new clothing brand Cefinn poised to make its debut, theres no doubt that political fashion is about more than pantsuits. Theresa May's finest footwear - in pictures 1 /40 Theresa May's finest footwear - in pictures November 4, 2014 Wearing leopard print kitten-heel courts as she leaves Downing Street after attending cabinet Peter Macdiarmid/Getty October 5, 2009 Wearing red and black snakeskin courts on the stage as they address delegates at the Conservative Party Conference Christopher Furlong/Getty October 5, 2004 Wearing powder blue and black floral patterned ballet pumps as she arrives at the Bournemouth International Conference Center Jim Watson/AFP/Getty December 9, 2010 Wearing knee-high red suede boot as she leaves a cabinet meeting in Downing Street Matthew Lloyd/Getty November 5, 2013 Wearing over-the-knee patent boots as she arrives on Horse Guards in central London during the visit of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye Sean Dempsey/AFP/Getty June 27, 2016 Wearing pointed leopard print courts to a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street Leon Neal/AFP/Getty May 3, 2011 Wearing patent powder blue court shoes as she arrives in Downing Street to attend a Cabinet meeting Oli Scarff/Getty October 9, 2012 Wearing pointed leopard print courts with a burgundy print insert to deliver her speech to delegates during the third day of the annual Conservative Party Conference Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty October 16, 2012 Wearing pointed leopard print courts as she arrives at Number 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly Cabinet meeting Oli Scarff/Getty February 5, 2013 Wearing over-the-knee patent boots as she walks into Downing Street to attend a security meeting with US Vice President Joe Biden Peter Macdiarmid/Getty March 17, 2014 Wearing black lace up patent brogues with diamond studs as she launches HMC Protector Peter Macdiarmid/Getty June 5, 2013 Wearing pointed black patent sling backs as she attends the preview party for The Royal Academy Of Arts Summer Exhibition Tim P. Whitby/Getty June 23, 2013 Wearing Union Jack emblazoned trainers as she presents medals during the third day of the 2013 Samsung World Rowing Cup II at Eton Dorney September 30, 2013 Wearing black lace up patent brogues with diamond studs as she delivers her speech in the main hall on the second day of the Conservative Party Conference Oli Scarff/Getty June 10, 2014 Wearing snakeskin kitten-heel courts as she arrives for a cabinet meeting in Downing Street Carl Court/AFP/Getty June 11, 2014 Wearing patent red flats with pink bow detailing as she leaves the Royal United Services Institute Peter Macdiarmid/Getty September 30, 2014 Wearing navy suede courts with a chunky heel as she addresses the Conservative Party Conference Matt Cardy/Getty March 3, 2015 Wearing over-the-knee patent boots as she arrives for a Ceremonial Welcome for the President of Mexico Leon Neal/AFP/Getty May 21, 2015 Wearing gold studded black flats as she and David Cameron are accompanied by immigration enforcement officers into a home in Southall in London following an early morning raid on the property that yielded three arrests of illegal immigrants Richard Pohle - WPA Pool/Getty July 8, 2015 Wearing black pointed flats with a red and pink kiss print as she leaves 10 Downing Street Peter Macdiarmid/Getty October 6, 2015 Wearing black suede courts with a chunky heel on the third day of the annual Conservative party conference Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty October 7, 2015 Wearing red, yellow and turquoise printed courts as she arrives for the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference Christopher Furlong/Getty March 22, 2016 Wearing black suede shoe boots with a leopard print insert as she leaves 10 Downing Street Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty July 12, 2016 Wearing leopard print pointed flats as she leaves after attending a Cabinet meeting at Downing Street Carl Court/Getty December 15, 2004 Wearing calf-length suede boots in plum as she arrives at the 'Woman's Own Children Of Courage Award' at Westminster Abbey MJ Kim/Getty September 30, 2007 Wearing yellow and black patterned wellies during the 124th annual Conservative Party Conference at the Winter Gardens Christopher Furlong/Getty November 8, 2007 Wearing black pointed courts with silver ankle strap as she arrives at the Woman Of The Future Awards Jo Hale/Getty April 26, 2009 Wearing open-toe leopard print flats to speak at the Conservative Party Spring Forum Matt Cardy/Getty June 15, 2010 Wearing a patent red wedge as she arrives for the weekly cabinet meeting in Downing Street Peter Macdiarmid/Getty July 6, 2010 Wearing rainbow striped pointed pumps as she arrives in Downing Street Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Designed to cater to a gap in the market for affordable clothes which appeal to professional women, Camerons brand includes smart shifts. Only time with tell if May will give it her blessing. cefinn.com S ome of Londons most senior MPs were at the centre of a new Battle of Brexit on Tuesday as an Evening Standard analysis showed they were out of step with their constituents in the EU referendum. Seven of the capitals 72 MPs backed the Leave campaign last June even though they represent constituencies that mostly voted Remain. Another nine MPs supported Remain in seats where a majority of local people voted to quit the EU. The findings were seized on by the Lib Dems and Ukip, who vowed to target MPs who went against local opinion. Ukips new deputy leader Peter Whittle told the Standard: Without question Ukip in London will be standing up for those voters who solidly supported Brexit but whose MPs backed Remain, and continue to do so despite the outcome of the referendum. 'Let's get even': Nigel Farage says there will be riots if Brexit is blocked "In many of these constituencies our support has been growing, we have some of our best local organisations, and there is everything to play for. The Lib Dems said they aimed to repeat the Brexit effect that toppled Zac Goldsmith in the dramatic Richmond Park by-election. His majority of 23,000 was obliterated after a campaign highlighting his support for Brexit in a seat where 70 per cent of local people voted Remain. 18 months for Brexit deal, says EU's chief negotiator Lib Dem chief whip Tom Brake, MP for Carshalton & Wallington, said: Many Leave-supporting MPs should be quaking in their boots. Among MPs in Ukips sights are Labours Jon Cruddas, who voted Remain but whose Dagenham & Rainham constituents voted 70 per cent Leave. He has a majority of 4,980, or 12 per cent, to defend if an election is held next year, before a boundaries shake-up. On the opposite side of the divide, Tory MP Victoria Borwick voted Leave even though locals in her Kensington seat divided 69-31 for Remain. She has a majority of 7,361 or 21 per cent. The London MP most out of line with local voters was Labours Kate Hoey, a leading Brexit backer. Around 78 per cent of her Vauxhall constituents disagreed with her. But with a majority of 12,708 Ms Hoey would be hard to shift. A more vulnerable Brexiteer might be Tory MP David Burrowes, whose Enfield Southgate seat divided 63-37 for Remain. He has a majority of 4,753 in a seat that has gone to Labour in the past. Chris Hanretty, Reader in Politics at the University of East Anglia, who calculated the way constituencies divided, said Richmond Park had shown a lifeline for Lib Dem ex-MPs such as Sir Edward Davey and Paul Burstow. Theyre the party with the clearest anti-Brexit position, and thats a good position to have in London, he said. Seats they lost in 2015 like Twickenham, Kingston and Surbiton, Sutton and Cheam dont need much of a Brexit effect to win them back. Seven MPs who voted Leave whose constituencies voted Remain MP Constituency % who backed Leave % MPs majority Bob Stewart Beckenham 47 38 Matthew Offord Hendon 42 7 Theresa Villiers Chipping Barnet 41 14 David Burrowes Enfield Southgate 37 10 John Cryer Leyton & Wanstead 35 37 Victoria Borwick Kensington 31 21 Kate Hoey Vauxhall 22 26 Nine MPs who voted Remain whose constituencies voted Leave T he team behind the Worlds Best Bar, The Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog in New York, are heading to London for a three day residency at the Bloomsbury Hotel. Rabbit made number one in the Worlds 50 Best Bars list, narrowly beating The Savoys American Bar, which was titled the best bar in Europe. Jesse Vida and Harrison Ginsberg, veterans of acclaimed New York spot, will take over the Bloomsbury Club Bar underneath the Dalloway Terrace from February 9 for three nights. They will be showcasing their new venue, BlackTail, which opened less than a mile from The Dead Rabbit in August 2016. Inspired by the cocktail joints of 1920s Havana, BlackTail has already proven a hit with New Yorkers. Vida and Ginsberg will be bringing four of its signature serves to London and will also mix up a twist on four drinks from the Bloomsbury Club Bar's menu. The three night stand comes as part of the bars Club Residencies Project, which has so far hosted The Clumsies from Athens and is expected to continue throughout the year. More details can be found at thebloomsburyclub.com. The best bars in London 1 /64 The best bars in London Scarfes Bar at Rosewood London 252 High Holborn, WC1V 7EN, rosewoodhotels.com/london The Rosewood is doubly wonderful for drinkers, as theyve two fine spots. In the modern Dining Room, sit at the gin bar, which outstocks anywhere else in London, with more than 400 gins and 27 tonics. Trying to choose is impossible, but what a lovely impossibility to have. The bar staff clearly had one hell of a tasting session as they know the list perfectly. Across the way is Scarfes Bar, a brilliant, brilliant bar gladly shaken free from all the stuffiness usually found in hotel bars. The drinks are stunning, theyve often live music, it gets wonderfully busy and crackles with laughter. Go a little later and its busier, people drink more, everything is better. Bar Americain 20 Sherwood St, W1F 7ED, brasseriezedel.com As the name suggests, this is a classic American bar, and done near perfectly. One can become very fond of Bar Americain and very quickly: passing through Piccadilly Circus, it acts as a magnet a quick negroni becomes a temptation impossible to resist. Its a very beautiful place, calling to mind grand Parisian hotels of the 20s and 30s, bottles winking from the bar, staff floating through with their finery and litres of charm. Youre here to drink the classics: theyve a killer Clover Club and a straight-down-the-line Manhattan. But ask: the bartenders know their stuff and bring their A-game to any challenge tell them what you like, and theyll bring you something new. They often have specials on, as well. Top marks for the attentive staff, bringing plenty of water and bowl after bowl of popcorn both essential after a few here. Oriole Smithfield Markets, E Poultry Ave, EC1A 9LH, oriolebar.com The team behind Nightjar took their winning formula, gave it a bit of a shake up and created Oriole. Theyve live music throughout the week from Wednesday to Saturday, theres a charge per person, so watch out for that which gives any night here a bit of zip. This is a strictly seated spot, so be sure to book: once inside, its a whirlwind tour of the world, with fine details from across the globe, both in the styling and the drinks and so much cheaper than booking a holiday. Drinks are excellent, whether youre into New Orleans style classics or something from the depths of Asia: explore the menu (split into Old World, New World and The Orient) and expect something unusual and faintly brilliant, with a touch of the Tiki. Put it this way: Oriole is ideal whether you prefer drinking from a crystal tumbler, a teacup or, er, a silver crocodile. Piano Works 113-117 Farringdon Road, Farringdon EC1R 3BX, pianoworks.bar Full credit to this fun Farringdon spot: theyve worked hard to make the place better and better since opening, which is pretty good going for what was already a decent spot to begin with. The Piano Works sounds like a quiet jazz bar but instead is a hell-raising house of sound, splendidly raucous, where a house band take requests and belt out your favourite songs. The more you get involved, the more fun it is, and the place heats up the later it gets. Wine starts at 16, house cocktails are 8, but they've tons of terrific deals during the week including cocktails for a fiver (!!) Drink lots, dance lots and leave in the early hours with someone you shouldnt do. Thats what we did. Hawksmoor, Spitalfields 157A Commercial St, E1 6BJ, thehawksmoor.com Its hardly surprising the bar snacks are a highlight here have the oxcheek nuggets with a side of chips, then call the waiter over to order them over again given how good the steak upstairs is. The drinks and setting, though, match them pound for pound. The old tube tiles on the walls, the beautiful parquet floor, the copper tops and silvery black ceiling make the large space a place to settle in for the night no matter your seat, while the cocktails come with oodles of thought in each one: the new menu has homemade bitters, shrubs and syrups, and its bloody obvious everyone behind the bar is more than a little nerdy about building drinks. Shaky Petes Ginger Brew is the classic, so have it, but follow up with the Shadow Boxer, a mix of scotch, sherry and Fernet-Branca. Odd, oddly delicious. Its also a cracking place to sit for a bottle of wine. Andrew Edmunds 46 Lexington St, W1F 0LP, andrewedmunds.com Perhaps better than its ever been, Andrew Edmunds recently won The Good Drinking prize in our Restaurant Awards, and for good reason. Its a small spot, cramped to the point that coming here on a first date feels like youre being very forward indeed , with the best tables upstairs and not much to look at just settle for being distracted by someone beautiful. The food, French-ish/English-ish, is fine, but its the wine that's extraordinary. And youre here for wine: forget cocktails, they have. What a list, and so quietly marked up that youre getting a steal with almost every bottle indeed, the more expensive the better the deal. Having been going 30 years, those who knew old Soho say its one of the last bastion of such things. Drink too much gorgeous wine and come back often. The Connaught Bar Connaught, Carlos Place, W1K 2AL, the-connaught.co.uk A bar for the impossibly beautiful, a bar of high heels and glimmering lights, of perfume and leather. Aside from oddly thumping music, the Connaught is wonderfully detached from the world a place of its own, cosy and winter warm when it needs to be, light and summer when desired. The drinks, naturally pricey, are well put together and while classic in tone, come with crackles of theatre: washes in perfume bottles, branches as garnishes, smoke, the lot. Still, the martini trolley is what theyre famed for, so its only right to indulge. Afterward, head to the Champagne Room: sadly the law stops it being the cigar haven it once was, but it's still gorgeous: romantic and charming with its fireplace, dramatic with its glass ceiling and sculpture swan diving. Treat yourself to the Ruinart blanc de blanc. Damned good olives, too. Milk & Honey 61 Poland St, W1F 7NU, mlkhny.com You know a bar is good when local bartenders love it, and Milk & Honey has long been a Soho favourite for those in the know. Hidden in plain sight this terrific bar has been doing its thing for just shy of 15 years. The talent hasnt diminished, and neither has the care put into the drinks. Cocktails are strong and proper and happily, they're updating the list soon to freshen things up. At around 10 a drink, M&H is also a bargain for central London, and the quality outstrips the price. It functions as a members bar, but non-members can book up until 11pm though going earlier in the week means youre more likely to score a table. Milk & Honey is civilised, without the crushing formality. Next door is the Blind Pig, another top 'hidden' spot. Mark's Bar HIX Soho, 66- 70 Brewer St, W1F 9UP, hixrestaurants.co.uk The bad: you might not get in. If its busy, they dont squeeze people into this basement, so either be there early, or bamboozle them with charm, or dazzle them with your brilliant wit. Were kidding: just take someone hot. The good: pretty much everything else. Naturally, the bar snacks are distractingly tasty, but the drinks list is excellent, and unusual too, with a few historical recipes brought back to life. Attention to detail is everything here, so if youre not sharing one of the big old Chesterfields, head to the bar and sit and watch theres something about it thats like seeing a cardmaster turn tricks. And have a Hix Fix, just to say you have. The Beaufort bar and the American Bar at The Savoy The Savoy, Strand, WC2R 0EU, fairmont.com Glitz, glamour and lots of gold: both Savoy bars are wonderfully opulent. The world-famous American bar, recently revamped, is still up there as one of the best bars on our humble planet. The bartenders bible, Harry Craddocks The Savoy Cocktail Book, was written here, and the cocktails served today remain as finely tuned as they ever were. Whereas as other bars try to recreate the glamour of such places, The Savoy neednt pretend: everything is genuine. The palatial Beaufort is absurdly romantic, and drinks are extravagantly presented: it works for the most special of special occasions, and theres something undeniably grand about sipping away in the same place Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel and Ernest Hemingway all did. If youre planning a few drinks, either be rich or take someone rich seriously. Artesian 1C Portland Pl, W1B 1JA, artesian-bar.co.uk Artesian won its accolades for its team, Alex Kratena and Simone Caporale, who ran the place for eight years and earned its reputation as the best bar in the world. Theyve sadly departed, but have left the place in capable hands, and the feel is much the same as it ever was, which is chic, glamorous, and not taking itself too seriously. While the beautiful and the rich rub shoulders, the bartenders are mixing up excellent but often slightly silly drinks but its their mischievousness that makes them so winning. Seriously impressive. Les Compagnie Des Vins Surnaturels 8-10 Neal's Yard, WC2H 9DP, cvssevendials.com Call it CVS and your night becomes considerably easier to pronounce. Sat in Neils Yard, it is one of Londons finest wine bars. Thoroughly French, of course: New World wines barely get a sideways glance, while even Italys finest is only begrudgingly given a little space on the considerable menu. This doesn't mean there is a lack of choice to the contrary, it is almost overwhelming, though they have a short by-the-glass list, and the charming staff are both well informed and passionate about what to have. In the summer, sit outdoors, in the winter, cosy up by the bar. Wherever you are, try the mystery wine; if you guess it, youll win a bottle. Have food small plates made to share, and terrifically good and drink plenty, so the bill doesnt hit as hard. The Shrub & Shutter 336 Coldharbour Ln, SW9 8QH, theshrubandshutter.com This Brixton bar felt new in the area, taking a little of east London and bringing it down south. Theyve a pleasingly patchwork approach to decor: there are jars and bottles and shakers everywhere, which gives the place a kitchen feel. The cocktails, lovely to drink on their own, are made better with the food, which is designed to match what youre drinking. The pairings initially sound a little gimmicky crayfish with vodka, venison on the side of The Deerhunter (an old fashioned, basically) but they work, so drop that sceptical streak for a moment. It gets busy, so book up, get in early, and stay late. Theyve a license until 3am, so itd be rude not to. Sky Pod at the Sky Garden 1 Sky Garden Walk, EC3M 8AF, skygarden.london The truth of it is, you come for the view, but good God it's a great view, and 360-degrees at that. Up 35 floors, if you can think of a London icon, you can probably see it. When the weather's good, get outside for some fresh air. With completely free entry and minimal security fuss, its worth making a reservation, though if youre ok to queue, theyll have you in. Cocktails arent torturously expensive, at around 11.50, and are very enjoyable the cognac-chocolate-caramel-port mix that is Black and Gold is particularly good so it doesn't feel like they're relying on the sights. Theres a sense of special occasion, and all the more so with live music on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays. Theyre hoping for jazz on Wednesdays, too. If youre tempted to eat, Fenchurch and the Darwin Brasserie are well worth trying Fenchurch is particularly good for veggies. The Gilbert Scott St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, Euston Rd, NW1 2AR, thegilbertscott.co.uk Given the golden hue here, where luxury hangs in the air like perfume, its remarkable that wine starts at as little as 5 a glass. Wine is its strong point, and likeable head sommelier Joris Beijn is a man worth knowing: he is passionate about his list, knowledgeable and accommodating. The bar is flexible, in that it is by turns ideal for a date, or a catch up with old friends, or a pre/post dinner drinks. The room is a stunner: high painted ceilings, dramatic red walls, great big bells as art, marble bar top and crystal glasses catching the light. Cocktails come in at around 14, and err on the light side: lots of gin and floral concoctions. The restaurant, next door, isnt to be missed, either, just be prepared to get an Uber home: invariably, youll stretch and tease out the evening to stay just a little longer. Gerry's Club 52 Dean Street, W1D 5BJ, gerrysclub.com A word of warning: this is technically a member's club, but you'll probably be fine if you flirt enough and don't ask for Gerry, he's long since passed. Michael looks after this place now. We've only been once very late, very drunk and with very good friends. Most old-school Soho drinking dens are dead, but this hub of actors and writers is what remains of 'Old Soho'. If you're boring, steer clear: it is a place to drink wine and beer and tell stories, to laugh uproariously and to give yourself a monumental hangover in a faintly discreet way. 68 and Boston 4-5 Greek St, Soho, W1D 4DD, 68andboston.com Boston, the bar upstairs, looks like glamorous train carriage from the golden age of cocktails but plays it a little bit safe. Wine bar 68, downstairs, is the real gem, with a wonderful way of pricing: every bottle on the list is 20, so choose what you like, not what you can afford. Better yet, if you don't fancy a bottle, they're served by the carafe (14) or glass (5.50). Wines are well picked and Denise Medrano, wine blogger and lover found behind the bar, is always working to update the list so go back to try something new. Youll probably end up getting drunk here: the pull of another bottle at just 20 is monumentally hard to resist, but hey, thats what Soho is for. If you fancy drinking something more upscale, ask theyve a few hidden wines kept hidden away for those in the know. Thats you, now. The Pink Chihuahua at El Camion 25-27 Brewer St, W1F 0RR, elcamion.co.uk Forget house infusions and drinks that take half an hour to make: sometimes a good night needs tequila and dancing. The Pink Chihuahua is built for it: theyre providing the tequila more than 300 different types of it, in fact youre there to drink it down and dance it up. Theyve all sorts of twists on Margaritas and Daiquiris, and, given youre downstairs from Mexican restaurant El Camion, plenty of bar food to indulge in too. Lots of fun, and if youre feeling more in the mood just to sit back and sip something slowly, ask about their choice of Mezcal. There's real talent here, but fun too. The Gibson 44 Old St, EC1V 9AQ, thegibsonbar.london Given the dearth of decent cocktails in Farringdon, the tiny Gibson is a God-send. Its a parlour pitched somewhere between Edwardian and Art Deco, and drinks arent simply poured here, theyre tended to, built, thought about, adored. All unsurprising, really, given the team learnt their trade at the likes of Nightjar and The Connaught. This place is doing more creatively to push bartending forward than any bar that's opened up in a while, so ask the team for recommendations and youll be presented with something magic. Youll need to ask, actually, as the menu is a novel and theres the risk of wasting the evening reading instead of drinking, and that simply wouldnt do at all. Peg+Patriot Patriot Square, E2 9NF, talentedmrfox.com The Talented Mr Fox, Matt Whiley, offers is a nice blend of things here: while the menu takes a sophisticated trip around London, with each cocktail a column of flavour, some managing chameleonic taste all within the space of a sip, the actual bar is surprisingly spare and understated. The effect is such that while drinks are upmarket, one doesnt feel obliged to sit demurely to enjoy them. Relax, have a few you might want to, as the serves arent huge. It should be said that these cocktails are among Londons most interesting, rather than Londons best: they are talking points, oddities, they put flavours together in a way that isnt available elsewhere. If youre big on trying new things, different experiences, seeing what a cocktail can do, come, its a must. If its just something reliably delicious you fancy, elsewhere may be better. Worship Street Whistling Shop 63 Worship St, EC2A 2DU, whistlingshop.com One presumes the staff here have night vision, otherwise its a complete and utter mystery how they see customers, let alone their ingredients. Still, they must do, for the output is pretty much excellent through and through at this dark spot. Its Victorian-inspired, which sounds tired and not a little tacky, but the gang from Purl have done it properly. Drinks are busy lots of fusions, blends, gasses and pressure and all sorts so its appropriate they come out of a lab. Still, all this engineering seems to be worth it, as the drinks slip down easily, the alcohol often hidden away. Make sure to take a seat in the Dram Shop, and pop in to the Gin Closet too, which operates as an honesty bar. Kansas Smitty's 63-65 Broadway Market, E8 4PH, kansassmittys.com Below bar Off Broadway a long way off, its Mexican sits this glorious den of jazz and juleps. It is a speakeasy for 2016: that is to say, it has none of the contrived mannerisms of bars which proclaim to be speakeasies, it just happens to actually be one: youll need to knock to get in, the music raves loud and hot, and the place is so crowded strangers become family after a drink or two. The house band, for which the place is named, have envy-inducing talent, and the bar has fairly recently overhauled its drinks list, and the results are good. Youll be absorbed by the music, and stay afterwards to ride the buzz of the crowd. GONG 52, Shangri-La Hotel, the Shard, SE1 9QU, .gong-shangri-la.com Gong is in the Shard, so youre there for the view alone. View it certainly does: at 52 floors up, its by far Londons highest spot to drink: consequently, sipping on a martini, one feels a little like a Bond villain pondering all thats below. Its not a huge bar, but that somewhat adds to the sense of exclusivity. Prices are, naturally, sky high: expect to pay at least 18. The drinks have plenty about them to compete with the view: presentation is everything. Theyve not skipped on the spirits making the mix, either: expect the likes of Zacapa 23 rum (heavenly stuff), Talisker scotch and Tanqueray 10 for the gin. All top drawer stuff. If this all sounds a bit intimidating, bear in mind they operate a no reservations policy, so youve as good a chance of getting in as anyone else. Mr Fogg's Salon 58 St Martin's Lane, Theatreland, WC2N 4EA, mr-foggs.com Downstairs is a pretty decent pub, busy from theatreland. Upstairs, the salon is quieter, but only a little. The walls are a glittering ballgown of 19th century curiosities, unsubtle nonsense winking away. Head to a chaise longues with a couple of friends or a date and take in something from each one of the five acts which split the menu. Drinks seem to smell especially good here, rich, relying heavily on the likes of rum, cognac and sherry. Gin lovers need not despair: theyve a room with 300 different types next door. Come elegantly dressed. Bar Termini 7 Old Compton St, W1D 5JE, bar-termini.com Do Bar Termini right and youll love it: do it wrong, and you may be underwhelmed. Tony Conigliaro, cocktail chap par excellence, and coffee maestro Marco Arrigo have built a revolving-door of a place: dont come here to linger. Expect a night of cocktails and youll leave disappointed: instead, love it in the day for the 1 espressos, and swing by in the evening for a negroni (6). Theyre small, but some of the best in the capital. One swishes in and out here, and that way, it adds a touch of Italian glamour to any evening. Trisha's (New Evaristo Club) 57 Greek St, Soho, W1D 3DX Drinks dont make a bar, and thank goodness, as the stuff served at Trishas named for its owner is uniformly pretty awful: red and white wine youd consider an insult if a friend served it at supper, prosecco wildly overpriced, terrible spirits ecetera ecetera. At more than 70, the club is Sohos oldest, and while nobody who goes there can ever remember anything changing its often quite hard to recall much about Trishas in crystal detail, as it happens nothing needs to. The bad wine and expensive mixers and paint stripper spirits are all part of the point: its a glorious drinking den, and marvellous, marvellous fun. There are characters here: the last time we were in, we sat being scared witless by an old East End gangster who said hes known the Krays. Tremendous. Long may this place live. The Fumoir Claridge's, 49 Brook St, W1K 4HR, claridges.co.uk The Fumoir will confuse you, as youll be torn between shouting about it and keeping it all to yourself. This plush purple and leather spot, deco decadence with a touch of welcome pomp, is hidden away behind a secret door at Claridges. Tiny and glitzy enough to feel like a Hollywood dressing room from the Golden Age, its little surprise the likes of Christina Hendricks adore it. For such a small place, they squeeze an awful lot in: plenty of wines, classic cocktails given a stern shake up, buckets of gin, a lovely choice of armagnac and a magnificent scotch list, gleaming with rarities. 69 Colebrooke Row 69 Colebrooke Row, N1 8AA, 69colebrookerow.com Once known as the bar with no name, henceforth they shall be called the bar with Bernards watch, as there is no other explanation for the speed with which their finely mixed cocktails arrive. Another bar from Tony Conigliaro, its earned its reputation for turning out hit after hit: the drinks list is endlessly tempting. The piano is a nice touch; that is gets played a much nicer one, and make sure to order the Prairie Oyster fun to drink, and one even for those who cant eat seafood. Bear in mind its a small spot, so youre close to your neighbours, and if you dont like strong drinks where the booze kicks, this wont be for you. Happiness Forgets 8-9 Hoxton Square, N1 6NU, happinessforgets.com Dont expect frills and fuss or the rest of it here: Happiness Forgets is cocktail bar distilled down to its very essence, and done very well their tag High End Cocktails/Low End Rent sums it up best. The bartenders are all top drawer, and their creations impeccable. Unsurprisingly, this Hoxton space has its regulars, so the crowd is always good. Tables can be booked, but half are always kept for walk-ins: try your luck, its worth it. Dry Martini by Javier de las Muelas Melia White House Hotel, Albany Street, NW1 3UP, melia.com Come to this one to brag: Dry Martini is known as Barcelonas best cocktail bar, and has been rated the fifth best bar in the world by the Worlds 50 Best Bars panel. Renowned bartender Javier de las Muelas has bought over his concept to us lucky Londoners, and with it, finely mixed and classic cocktails. No prizes for guessing that the Dry Martini is the house special if you dont think you like them, heres a place to change your mind. With more than 80 gins on the list, you could easily lose a week here. Gordon's 47 Villiers St, WC2N 6NE, gordonswinebar.com Gordons seems to get more and more crowded with each passing day, but perhaps rightly so: the beloved Embankment institution is made for knocking back bottles of wine in. Eat a few cold bites and chat into a long, unwinding evening. The wine list is good enough, but youre really here for the atmosphere: in summer, the terrace, buzzing, in winter, the caves indoors, crammed with noise, spilt wine, and joy. Social bar at City Social 25 Old Broad St, EC2N 1HQ, citysociallondon.com Youd think youre at City Social, up 24 stories of Tower 42, to eat, but if you stop in the bar, theres a good chance you wont make it to your table. The drinks come as something of a surprise: theyre so much better than one expects from a restaurant bar, inventive, put together carefully but not staidly, retaining a sense of fun. And, crucially, damned tasty. Its a dark room, and full of city types, but perfect for a few late night cocktails soaking up the view, which is really quite wonderful. Bloody pricey, but thats part of it. Ladies and Gentlemen 2 Highgate Rd, NW5 1NR, twitter.com William Borrells bolthole transcends its gimmick (which, if you hadnt guessed, is that its a converted public loo), with the help of some very handy bartenders, and its house-brewed gin, Highwayman, of which twelve bottles a day get distilled. Ladies & Gents manages well as a place for a quiet drink, or better yet, a place to quietly get roaringly drunk. Convenient indeed. The drinks are strong, very interesting, and theres plenty of odd sods on the wall to keep your conversation up. It maintains a veneer of being somewhere faintly upmarket, but youll probably end up reading from one of the books scattered around or trying to dance to the live music. Perfect for a date that gets out of hand. Bull In A China Shop 196 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6LG, bullinachinashop.london Truth it, youll need to catch this place on a good night, as weve been in often enough to know it has its good nights and its meh nights. But when the place is on, its really cooking, and easily one of the best bars in town. The cocktail list is short, but thought through, and care is taken in even the small things: they even make sure the water glasses are chilled. The chamomile and charcoal Old-Fashioned is a must, and any whisky lovers should get chatting to the bar staff, as theyve bottles which arent available anywhere else in the capital. Sager + Wilde Arch, 250 Paradise Row, E2 9LE, sagerandwilde.com Wine lovers rejoice, wine bores look elsewhere. Sager + Wilde admirably keep things unpretentious: the exposed brickwork sets the tone: theyre keeping things low key. The specials list changes regularly, and always with interesting choices introduced. Some of the wines are exclusive to this place, so youre all but guaranteed to try something new. Have a SHE + T (sherry with tonic, delicious), and absolutely do not leave without having the grilled cheese sandwich. 7 Tales at Sosharu 64 Turnmill St, EC1M 5RR, sosharulondon.com Underneath Jason Athertons Sosharu is this sexy, seedy Japanese drinking den, where youll find the hazy, debauched glamour of Tokyo after dark. Unlike so many bars underneath restaurants, 7 Tales doesnt feel like a holding pen, and drinks are precision made, with flavours leaning beyond the usual think rice-washed gin, sake, infusions of sesame, snacks like tempura. Bar snacks are an irresistible must. Callooh Callay 65 Rivington St, EC2A 3AY, calloohcallaybar.com Eccentric doesnt seem to quite cover it: enter the surreal world of Callooh Callay through an old Victorian wardrobe, catch sight of a throne and order punch out of a gramophone from a menu thats more of a sticker book. It sounds a bit ridiculous, but the bartenders really know their stuff, so for all the quirks, drinks are fundamentally pretty excellent. On the weekends, its a party bar, and DJs spin music to match: youre here for a good time. Any detectives in your gang will find there are two extra rooms in Callooh Callay to explore theyre hidden away, too, naturally. If youre good, you might even get an invite upstairs to the Jub Jub Room, where the 10-long cocktail list changes every three weeks. Fans should also head to their new offering in Angel, Little Bat. Dukes Bar Dukes Hotel, 35 St James's Pl, SW1A 1NY, dukeshotel.com Dukes is known for one reason: martinis. The St Jamess hotel was a favourite haunt of James Bond author and (very) keen drinker, Ian Fleming, who supposedly came up with the shaken, not stirred line here. Their martinis are exceptionally strong, and very large: theres a reason they wont serve you more than two. But look, break the mould: theyre a classic hotel bar, they serve a fine range of classic cocktails. Theres also a cognac and cigar garden, if youre so inclined. NOLA 1st Floor, 68 Rivington Street, EC2A 3AY, nola-london.com It would be too easy to miss this place, so do your homework and saunter in: its must more attractive than sweatily asking anyone if theyve seen the place. Drawing inspiration from the home of proper cocktails, New Orleans, the bar loves traditional drinks, builds them properly and serves them in a den of music and laughter. Unlike some places specialising in old school serves, NOLA is a place for fun: sure, it seems to say, you could have a quiet drink but why would you want to? Theres a cracking cigar terrace too, small enough that everyone talks before heading back in for one hell of a Vieux Carre. Call Me Mr Lucky 11 Southwark St, SE1 1RQ, twitter.com All the hidden bars at the Breakfast Clubs around the capital are popular, with perhaps The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town being the best known. Call Me Mr Lucky, on Southwark Street, happens to be our favourite. Once youve flirted with the staff ask to get lucky youre taken through the restaurants kitchens to a lively bar decorated like some twisted take on a kids party. Have a go on the wheel of fortune, where youll really want to get lucky, and win a free shot, and then work your way through the cocktail list. Like any good-time bar worth its salt, this place is big on tequila, and the drinks are light-hearted fun, but here we go getting lucky again along with the quirks comes quality. By the of the evening, before youre porured back onto the street, youll swear tequila is your new favourite drink, and youll be singing the party hits they play all the way home. K Bar at The Kensington 109 - 113 Queen's Gate, SW7 5LP, townhousekensington.com K bar feels majestic and there is no other word for it because drinking here is a little like being in the captains quarters of the Titanic, albeit without the sinking feeling. There is glamour here: a kind of place to be seduced in. Cocktails wise, bar manager Ben Manchester is the man to ask for, but theres a fine list to choose from. It avoids stuffiness, and just needs to be packed out to really get cooking. Nightjar 129 City Rd, EC1V 1JB, barnightjar.com Nightjar has fame which means writing about it is redundant: people think it marvellously good, and theyve live music most of the week. Its seating only and worth booking: just be sure not to cancel, or theyll charge a steep 10 per person. They do the speakeasy theme, but well enough that it isnt too tired yet, and have plenty of old school style on the list. Pick up a pack of cards from the bar on your way out. Reverend J W Simpson 32 Goodge St, W1T 2QJ, revjwsimpson.com Bourne and Hollingsworth run this rather lovely little bar, downstairs from a small doorway on Goodge St. Service is friendly and speedy, it's comfortable, and drinks more than hold their own there's both obscure traditional mixes and modern serves made with fresh, seasonal ingredients. Luckily, with good drinks come good people, and it's a loud, happy place. Albertine 1 Wood Ln, W12 7DP, albertinewinebar.co.uk Albertine hasnt changed much since the day East Enders was commissioned there. A wine bar through and through, youll struggle to get anything else (though there are a couple of ales on the menu.) Its a place with spirit, which draws a regular, devoted crowd. They sell everything they serve, and its well worth splashing out: the mark-up gets less and less as the bottles get more expensive, meaning you can get an absolute bargain at the top end of the list. Its also the kind of wine bar you go to to overindulge. First Aid Box 119 Dulwich Rd, SE24 0NG, firstaidbox2015.com This place really is worth travelling to Herne Hill to, which must be saying something. The team behind Shrub & Shutter have thickly laid on the pharmacy theme here, with cure-all drinks. Its not an idea which sounds like it should work, and yet, how much better life would be if they were one of the emergency services. Expect saline drips, syringes, and the likes of plastic lungs their take on thirst aid but rest assured, flavours arent medicinal in the slightest. At 8 - 10 a drink, its reasonable for London, and wonderful to see a bar really trying something new. Bravo. Media Wisdom Photography - Giles Christopher Nam Long Le Shaker 159 Old Brompton Rd, SW5 0LJ, namlong.co.uk It gained fame for its celebrity fans, which include Mick Jagger and Prince Harry, but Nam Long has held on longer than most A-list haunts: its been going 30 years, and recently was given an overhaul. Its quite possibly the most Chelsea place imaginable there are literally MIC cast members floating about and its a go-to spot to drink far too much and party. The upstairs area is bright, airy, and well looked after by the excellent bartenders, while downstairs "the Opium Den" is as it sounds (though there was no opium available when we asked... ) The drinks upstairs were made with more care, but downstairs is more intimate, opulent, and better for a small groups. Some of those Chelsea types who go really are the very worst, and the drinks are outrageously expensive, but hey, its a laugh. The Vault at Milroy's 3 Greek St, Soho, W1D 4NX, shop.milroys.co.uk A bar through a bookcase: were sold. Better yet, its underneath one of Sohos finest whisky shops with stiff competition from The Vintage House so if youre taken with something downstairs, buy it on your way out. Its a simple little bar and the service is decidedly so-so, but its usually pretty busy, they play good music and have an excellent range of spirits. The menu is changed regularly, but its a good place to cram into with friends or on a date. You mightnt spend the entire night here, but for a couple of drinks on the way somewhere, or on the way back, it fits the bill perfectly. Bounce 241 Old St, EC1V 9EY, bouncepingpong.com There are two Bounce bars, one on Old Street and one on Holborn. The Old Street spot is a little more fun, graffiti adorning the walls,the Holborn spot somewhat more upmarket. Still, they both deserve a mention, and for the simple reason theyre damned good fun. Drinks here are good, with a decent spirit selection at both (and a huge number of gins in Farringdon) and a respectable selection of beers. Food is fine, simple. Still, you come to play ping pong. Theyve tables everywhere. Theres little to fault with Bounce: its a laugh, and sometimes thats all somewhere needs to be. Follow David Ellis on Twitter @dvh_ellis Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESGoingOut P opular bagels and salt beef stand Montys is to bring a real Jewish deli back to the East End. After four years beside foodie destination Maltby Street market, owners and bakers Mark Ogus, 37, and Owen Barratt, 30, are heading for Hoxton. They saw queues for their salt beef sandwiches quadruple in length after Michelin-starred TV chef Tom Kerridge described them as the best-value lunch in London on BBC2. Montys stand under a Bermondsey railway arch, which vanished in mid-December in preparation for the move, has served up giant portions of Jewish soul food to hundreds each week, with many of the diverse range of customers unaware their city was the worlds original bagel capital before New York. Jewish soul food: a Reuben sandwich from Montys Deli The two owners have found their dream bagel-baking site in Hoxton, streets from where Mr Oguss grandfather Monty grew up in a large eastern European family in the Twenties. Mr Ogus, a former musician and sous chef, said: When I was at college in 2000 and 2001, I lived just off Commercial Road. My grandparents dropped me off one day with some shopping and my grandpa was just dismayed. At the time, even then, the area was nowhere near like it is now. He couldnt understand why I would want to live here, when he had worked so hard to move to a nicer neighbourhood in north London. When I was a kid he had a barber shop on the Kilburn High Road and it was him who introduced me to all this Jewish food and humour. So when I was setting up the business, naming it after him felt like a fitting tribute. Montys will offer bottomless coffee, brunch at the weekends including a giant potato latke and fried egg hang-over buster and Seinfeld-inspired big salads. Mr Ogus said: In London there isnt really an amazing Jewish deli like Katzs in New York. We want to open one where it all started. We want the new Montys, even though it will have booths and menus, to be as it exists now an informal casual place you can come at any time of day. We will even have traditional Jewish deli wifi. The pair invested their own cash and raised more from family and friends to purchase the 65-seater space in Hoxton Street and used a Kickstarter campaign to put together 50,000 for kitchen equipment. Mr Ogus said: We are so grateful to all our Kickstarter donators many of them customers and they feel like family. One anonymous donor bought a black card, which means he gets free bagels and salt beef sandwiches for life. We cant wait to open and down our first lchaim (a toast meaning to life) shot with all our friends. The deli will open in April. montys-deli.com London's best markets 1 /16 London's best markets Covent Garden Visit for an eclectic selection of gifts, jewellery, clothes, art and crafts. As well as the main piazza, check out the Jubilee Market which has more stalls and is less touristy. Education Images/UIG via Getty Images Portobello This Notting Hill institution specialises in antiques, and is a good bet for either rare collectibles or unusual bargains. You'll also find clothes, jewellery, art, street food and more. Marco Secchi/Getty Images Borough Market Borough Market is all about the food from street food and high-quality grab-and-go delicacies to some of the finest hams, cheeses, oils, vinegars and confectionery that the world has to offer. Go early to avoid the crowds. flickr Editorial/Getty Images Columbia Road Flowers, flowers everywhere that's what you'll get at this Hackney market not far from Shoreditch. In recent years some street food has also been added to the lineup, so there's no need to go hungry. Moment Editorial/Getty Images Camden Market Not so much one market as many, Camden offers an array of weird and wonderful good, from antiques and paintings to jewellery, prints, exotic ornaments and everything Gothic. Camden Lock Market also does a decent line in food and drink, which is far superior to the offerings in the Stables Market. Oli Scarff/Getty Images Brick Lane It's often said that you can find anything on Brick Lane Market, and it's true. Whether its books, beatboxes or beat-up old suitcases you're after, you'll likely find something to suit your needs. Indian and Bangladeshi food abounds in the area, and more recently a host of other street food options have also risen up. Jean-Marc Zaorski/Getty Images Broadway Market, Hackney Artisan food, high-quality produce and hipster coffee dominates this busy Hackney market. It's slightly less busy than Borough, but not by much. If you need a break from the bustle, the area is flanked with pubs, as well some picturesque canal-side seating. Rex Southbank A food market runs at weekends around the back of the Southbank Centre, selling food-to-go, beers and wines and artisan baked goods. Up front, by the river, you'll find stalls selling books and prints as well as more food. Gaztronome Brixton Village Along with sister-site Brixton Market, the Village is home to a host of restaurants as well as some shops and stalls, mainly selling African and Caribbean produce. As for the restaurants, pretty much every cuisine is covered from burgers and fried to chicken to Colombian, Indian and Japanese. It's easy to see why people talk about gentrification in the area. Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images Maltby Street This vibrant and relatively recent addition to London's market scene is a sort-of sibling to Borough Market, which is just a short walk away. It came about when a few traders at Borough felt squeezed out by rising rents and decided to set up their own foodie hub. It has gone from strength-to-strength and become a destination in its own right, where bars and restaurants rub shoulders with produce-sellers, deli stalls, street food and even a gin distillery. Graham Jepson New Covent Garden Flower Market This flower market near Vauxhall is primarily for trade, and mainly serves florists and other businesses, but you can still pay it a visit. You'll just have to be early its primary operating hours are from 4am-10am. If you do visit you'll find the largest selection of flowers, plants and foliage anywhere in the UK. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Greenwich Set within a World Heritage site, and just a stone's throw from the historic maritime attractions of the area, Greenwich Market is a rightly popular destination for both London locals and tourists. It specialises in independent and boutique shops, with all manner of arts, crafts, jewellery, homewares and clothes being sold by the people who make them. Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESGoingOut A n activist has been fined 250 for storming a wedding and throwing eggs into the crowd during an anti-gentrification protest. Freelance journalist Sapphire McIntosh, 27, admitted she got "carried away" at the demonstration outside Brixton Town Hall in April 2015. She was sentenced at the Old Bailey alongside restaurant worker Joshua Virasami, 26, who also pleaded guilty to a public order offence at an earlier hearing. Judge John Bevan QC questioned why the pair, neither of whom live in Brixton, were even at the local community event that wrecked a wedding being held in the town hall at the time. Members of the south London community had held a "Reclaim Brixton" parade and demonstration on the afternoon of April 25, 2015. He said the main purpose was to "highlight the effects of gentrification, the impact that it was having on communities of people who lived in the Brixton area for many years and their ability to continue to live in that area and be able to afford properties in that area". Mr Gregory said discussions with police in advance of the peaceful event had led officers to adopt a "low profile", particularly in light of the long history of community relations problems in the past. At about 3.15pm, a group of "more organised people" began a series of more active demonstrations, gathering outside Brixton Town Hall where a wedding was taking place, he said. The court was shown CCTV footage of McIntosh throwing two eggs in the crowd and Virasami entering the hall then pushing "at least one police officer" on his way out again as they tried to close the gates. The protest was said to have ruined the wedding taking place in the Town Hall / Photoshot In mitigation for McIntosh, Jacob Bindman said his client went along to the protest in "good spirits and good intentions but did get carried away". She was given the eggs by somebody else and they did not hit anyone "so no real damage was done", he said. He added: "By her plea, she accepts that she went over the top. She is someone who has been involved in activism before but is not a violent person." Nerida Harford-Bell, for Virasami, described him as a "thoughtful and intelligent young man" who was politically motivated but realised his behaviour on that day was "unacceptable". Judge Bevan said: "He lives in Hounslow. What is he doing interfering in a peaceful demonstration about the gentrification of Brixton?" Ms Harford-Bell replied: "It's the housing situation and the situation of the homeless that particularly concerns him. He was politically motivated and has high ideals." The judge remarked: "I suppose the fact there was a wedding going on is irrelevant?" Turning to McIntosh, he went on: "I don't think you live in Brixton either." He said that while she may have gone along "in good spirits", the police had been caught in the middle and ended up being "the fall guys in this situation". The pair were entitled to their political motivations but the protest had ruined someone's wedding, he said, a fact that he surmised would "not have mattered at all" to them. He said Virasami should be "ashamed" of himself having watched the CCTV footage, adding: "I am told you are thoughtful and intelligent. I dare say you are, but you were not on this afternoon." McIntosh, of Whitechapel, was fined 250 and ordered to pay 135 in prosecution costs. Virasami, of Hounslow, was ordered to do 75 hours of unpaid work and pay the same amount in costs. T he family of a loved and cherished young man who was stabbed to death in south-east London have issued an emotional tribute. Ernest Kalawa, 24, was knifed several times and died at the scene in Haymerle Road, Peckham, on Friday afternoon. His grieving family described the death as a massive loss. In a statement, they added: Everyone is in shock and struggling to come to terms with the loss of our son, brother, cousin, and friend. At the moment the pain is still very fresh. "Our family only really want time and space to grieve in private, and ask that the press amd media respect our wishes. Ernest was loved and cherished and we all miss him deeply." Tributes: Flowers at the scene of the stabbing in Peckham / Nigel Howard It comes as detectives renewed their appeal for information that could help solve the murder. A 23-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder on December 31 and has been bailed to a date in early April. Detective Chief Inspector Lee Watling from the Homicide and Major Crime said: "Did you see anything suspicious around 17:30hrs last Friday afternoon near Haymerle Road or Frensham Street, Peckham? "I am extremely keen to hear from anyone who was in the area of this tragic incident as they may hold vital information that will assist our investigation. I would urge anyone who witnessed the assault or the moments leading up to it to call police and tell us what they know. Our incident room is ready to take your call on 020 8721 4205 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111." A homeless man stabbed to death near Trafalgar Square was an inspirational street preacher who campaigned for the safety of others on the streets. Gus Brown, 32, is believed to have travelled to the capital from Birmingham to spend the Christmas period in London. He was knifed in Adelaide Street, yards from pubs, shops and restaurants, at 7.30am on December 27. Mr Brown was known for recording video sermons on the streets advising younger homeless people how to cope with city life. Shanice Brown, 18, spent a night following Mr Brown as he met other homeless people to hand out advice, help write signs and share donations. 'Inspirational': Stab victim Gus Brown She told the Standard: He was just an amazing person, such an inspiration and he absolutely did not deserve to be killed. My one time meeting him honestly changed my life for ever. He would preach for the homeless. He would encourage people to save up for sleeping bags during winter because he didnt want people to freeze to death. People on the streets are not only vulnerable but fighting for their lives. He was like the key to helping all of them and for him to be gone is just devastating. Mr Brown had lived with his grandmother in Birmingham until her death. His friend Lesley Kells, 29, told the Standard: Gus was devastated. She was so good to him but when she passed away he ended up going on a bad path that ended up on the streets of Birmingham town centre. I hated seeing him on the streets but he still had time to care for others and that part of him never changed. Chris Glancy and Connor Adam Mulligan, both 19 and of no fixed address, were due at Westminster magistrates court today charged with murder. P olice are hunting a modern day Goldilocks after a shocked couple found the stranger sleeping in their bed. The couple returned to their house in Melbourne, Australia, to find a man had dragged their bed into the lounge and was having a nap, police say. They woke the man, aged in his 20s, who then pulled out knife and threatened them before fleeing, it is claimed. Police have now released images of a man which appears to show him tucked up in a white duvet. Police appeal: Officers have released images of a man they would like to speak with / Victoria Police They are appealing for anyone who may know the man to come forward. Police dubbed him a modern day Goldilocks and senior constable Brendan Keane described the incident as very bizarre behaviour". "It doesn't appear he has actually stolen anything or there was any motive to steal anything," he told 9News. A police statement said: Detectives are investigating a burglary at a home in Donvale last week. No one was physically injured in the incident and nothing was stolen from the address. Investigators have released footage and images of a man they believe may be able to assist with their enquiries. "The man is described as being aged in his early 20s, perceived to be of Middle Eastern appearance, thin dark eyebrows, unshaven with a script tattoo on the left side of his chest. A sugar daddy pensioner was branded with a hot iron and beaten up by a younger woman after his proposal went wrong, a court heard. Gordon Bland, 79, from south east London, allegedly offered money to Samantha Butler, 40, to help her out a bit after meeting her in a local pub. But when the pair got back to his flat in Crystal Palace, Mr Bland claims Butler hit him over the back of his head and vowed to kill him. Butler, of St Aubyns Road, Upper Norwood, south London, denies attempted murder and is currently on trial. Giving evidence at the Old Bailey, Mr Bland said he met Butler for the first time at the Royal Albert pub. Mr Bland discussed with her "a sort of Sugar Daddy arrangement", he told the court. When they arrived at his home, he claims he was hit on the back of the head and attacked by Butler with items including an iron. The attack, which went on for about an hour, caused a series of injuries to his head, shoulders, torso, legs and arms, which included various burn marks and bruising, jurors were told. He remembered them being inflicted by a hot iron. Jurors were shown a photo of a bloodstained iron which Mr Bland said had been switched off and was resting on his ironing board before the attack. Andrew Mooney, defending, suggested that Butler would tell a different story, saying she had sat on the sofa with him and he had produced some whisky when they got to his home. Mr Mooney said: "Her case is she fell asleep fully clothed and you were fully clothed at the time. It's obvious when police attended, you were naked. How is it you became naked?" The witness replied: "The only thing missing was my trousers." He denied taking off any of her clothes. The trial continues. T he descendants of First World War soldiers have welcomed the Governments plan to release 4000 free tickets for commemoration events this summer. Thousands of men lost their lives during the Third Battle of Ypres, commonly known as Passchendaele, in July 1917. Today Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said the centenary will be marked at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium and at the village of Ypres rebuilt Market Square with tickets for British families available through a ballot. Retired Met policeman Colin Poulter, from Woodford, said the commemorations will be a fitting tribute to all those who died and to his familys relative, James Prior, who was known as Jim. The young soldier from Canning Town was in the 2/3rd Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) and died in October 2017 aged 20. His descendants still have a number of letters he wrote to his sister Isabella from the front, as well as a postcard he sent twelve days before his death. Remembered: James Prior, known as Jim Mr Poulter, 64, said: We believe it is very important to remember those who gave their lives for us without glorifying war. In many ways 100 years ago doesnt seem that far away in history particularly if you read Jims letters or look at the often young faces of the WW1 soldiers going to war which so easily could be replaced by the faces of our youngsters today. Passchendaele was one of the bloodiest battles of World War One and records recently unearthed by the family have revealed the grim detail that many in Mr Priors battalion are likely to have drowned in battlefield mud. Descendants wanting to honour their relatives where they fought and died can apply to attend the ceremony at Market Square Ypres on July 30 which includes live performances and music. They can also apply for tickets to the commemoration at CWGC Tyne Cot on July 31 and enter a sub-ballot for a very limited number of places at the CWGC Menin Gate. Visit passchendaele100.org before February 24 for more information. C hildren should be stopped from using playgrounds when Londons toxic air reaches dangerously high levels, a peer suggested today. Former Labour Party chair Baroness Jones wants all schools and playgrounds to be fitted with air monitors so teachers can decide when it is safe for pupils to play outside. The drastic move is vital to make sure their health is protected as poor lung development can lead to a range of issues in later life, she said. Baroness Jones, who was the House of Lords spokesperson for the London 2012 Olympics, said: If a reading is high the obvious thing is to introduce some controls in terms of parking near the school and for people dropping children off. If there are days when there are extra-high levels of air quality they could keep the children indoors. It would also help to raise awareness of the health threat to their children and the need for urgent government action to address this public health crisis. Loading.... Councils are responsible for local air quality monitoring but Baroness Jones wants the Government to make checks compulsory in schools as cash-strapped councils will struggle to meet the cost. So far 10 London schools have been fitted with free carbon monoxide monitors by CleanSpace, which is attempting to create the largest digital mapping of air quality in London. Air pollution in London poses a major threat to children's safety, it is claimed / EPA Company founder and biotech engineer Lord Drayson said: Air quality is something that can be tackled. Weve got a situation where modern technology can give us the street-by-street pollution information which can arm people and politicians with the information to take action. Among the steps Londoners can take to avoid dirty air is to walk to school using back routes, avoiding main roads. Walking on the inside of a pavement is also healthier, and avoiding exercise where there is bad pollution also cuts down on exposure to diesel fumes. Air pollution inside the home is another problem families face, he said. Environment minister Lord Gardiner said the Government would not be making air quality monitors compulsory in schools and local authorities should continue to decide how best to measure pollution in their area. CES 2017: Interview with inventor of pollution busting scarf He said: Their local knowledge and interaction with the communities that they serve mean that they know the issues on the ground in detail and the solutions that are best suited to local circumstances. Following a High Court judgment that the Governments air quality plan was illegal, a revised one for London will be set out this year. N ew figures highlighting the extent of soaring winter pressures on the NHS in London emerged on Tuesday. More than 6,000 patients a week are being left in the back of ambulances because A&E departments are too busy to admit them, the Standard can reveal. This causes knock-on problems for London ambulance crews as they cannot respond to the next emergency at a time when the service is receiving the greatest number of 999 calls in its history. Today hospitals across the capital were braced for what is traditionally their busiest period of the year, when people finally seek medical help for illnesses contracted during the festive season. Health chiefs appealed to patients not suffering serious illness to seek help elsewhere. Some hospitals were forced to declare major incidents overnight, according to junior doctors on social media. One London medic tweeted on Tuesday: No space in dept for even sickest [patients]. The extraordinary extent of the pressures began emerging today when Northwick Park, one of Londons busiest hospitals, revealed that more than 700 people sought emergency help yesterday. A further 382 sought help at Ealing, its sister hospital. Dr Charles Cayley, Medical Director at London North West Healthcare NHS Trust, said: Our Emergency Departments and Urgent Care Centres at Northwick Park, Ealing and Central Middlesex hospitals are extremely busy. Yesterday at Northwick Park Hospital alone more than 700 people attended our Emergency Department or Urgent Care Centre and we experienced high numbers of ambulance arrivals, exceeding 100. We are asking the public to help our staff and visit ED for serious and life-threatening injuries and conditions only. NHS Englands London office said that demand on services continues to be high and urged patients not to attend casualty with minor ailments. A&Es should be used for life-threatening conditions, a spokeswoman added. In one week last month, ambulance crews were stuck outside Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow for a total of 278.8 hours. There were also major problems at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich where crews were delayed by 141 hours and at Princess Royal in Farnborough, where the figure was 133.8 hours. In total, across London, 6,073 of London Ambulance Services 9,242 patient handovers for non-blue-light emergencies took longer than the 15 minutes allowed. Delays totalled 1,727 hours. Today Barts Health, the UKs biggest NHS trust, said its A&Es at the Royal London, Newham and Whipps Cross hospitals were slightly busier than usual. A new system was being used to assess and treat patients to make sure they see a senior doctor as quickly as possible. A Barts spokeswoman said: To ensure safety our teams will always prioritise the treatment of those most urgently in need, and we therefore urge people before coming to A&E to consider instead visiting their GP, local pharmacy or walk-in centre where they may receive appropriate care sooner. NHS England (London) said: Like elsewhere in the country, winter is a very busy time for Londons NHS and we want to thank all staff who worked to provide safe, world-class care to patients over the festive period. London Ambulance Service is receiving about 1,000 more emergency calls a week than expected, with December 9 to 11 being the three busiest days in its history for category A calls. As a result, it reached just 58.8 per cent within eight minutes the target is 75 per cent. The service suffered another computer failure for almost five hours early on New Years Day, forcing call handlers to rely on paper and pencil. Managers said staff coped commendably while having to deal with abuse from callers. Stephen Hines, an LAS clincial support manager, tweeted: I wonder how many of the drunks who abused #ambulance or #control staff over the new year now have the balls to apologise? The most recent LAS figures on delayed handovers cover the week to December 11 suggesting even more patients will have been stuck in ambulances for longer than 15 minutes as pressures intensified over Christmas and New Year. LAS said four hospitals Kings College in Denmark Hill, the Royal Free in Hampstead, University College in Bloomsbury and The Whittington in Archway accounted for almost a quarter of all delays in the preceding 10 weeks. B ritains ambassador to the EU has quits months before he was expected to take a key role in Brexit negotiations. Sir Ivan Rogers, the UKs top diplomat in Brussels, told staff on Tuesday afternoon he would be stepping down from his post early. One of Britains most experienced EU negotiators, he had been expected to play a crucial role in formal Brexit negotiations after the Article 50 process of withdrawal begins. The Financial Times reported that Sir Ivan did not explain the reasons for the move, but that he played down the decision, saying he was leaving just a few months earlier than his original departure date of November. The Foreign Office said it will not give reasons for his departure at this time. Sir Ivan angered pro-Brexit campaigners last year when he told the Government a post-Brexit UK-EU trade deal might take 10 years to finalise and still fail. He was appointed to the role of permanent representative by David Cameron in 2013. His warnings relating to the potential timeframe for a Brexit trade deal are believed to have caused relations to strain with some members of the Government. Meanwhile, his advice prompted some pro-Leave Tory MPs to label him a "gloomy pessimist". Labour former shadow foreign secretary and chairman of the Commons Brexit Committee Hilary Benn told the BBC the resignation was "not a good thing". "I think that it means that the Government will have to get its skates on to make sure there is a replacement in place so he or she can work with Sir Ivan in the transition, the handover," he said. "But the hard work is going to start very soon, because if Article 50 is triggered, as the Government says it wishes to, by the end of March, then negotiations will probably begin shortly thereafter. "And having a handover in the middle of that, depending on when exactly he goes, is not ideal." L eading dentists are calling for workplace "cake culture" to end, saying it is making people fat and contributing to the nation's dental problems. The Faculty of Dental Surgery (FDS) said the consumption of biscuits and cake in the office should be cut and replaced with healthier, low sugar alternatives. They added that people should avoid snacking, perhaps saving any sugar for a lunchtime treat, and sweet treats should hidden away to avoid temptation. A "sugar schedule" to limit sugar intake has also been recommmended. Professor Nigel Hunt, dean of the FDS at the Royal College of Surgeons, said a culture change was needed, and that employers should be encouraging healthier eating. He said: "Managers want to reward staff for their efforts, colleagues want to celebrate special occasions and workers want to bring back a gift from their holidays. "While these sweet treats might be well meaning, they are also contributing to the current obesity epidemic and poor oral health. "We need a culture change in offices and other workplaces that encourages healthy eating and helps workers avoid caving in to sweet temptations such as cakes, sweets and biscuits. "With this in mind, the faculty has developed simple tips for workers and employers to help them cut back on sugar in the workplace. T ributes have been paid to a "superb soldier" and "first class leader" who died in Iraq on Monday. Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington, 22, of 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, died following a "tragic incident" at Camp Taji, north of Baghdad. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is investigating the circumstances of the death of the father-of-one, from Middleton, Greater Manchester. Although it was previously confirmed that his death was not as a result of enemy activity. Lieutenant Colonel Rob Singleton, Commanding Officer, 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, said: "Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington was a superb soldier and a first class leader. Utterly professional and talented, he was full of character, fun and his enthusiasm was infectious. British troops on a training exercise in Iraq (file photo) / Corbis via Getty Images "The Battalion has lost a huge talent and a real character. He will be missed dearly and we will never forget him. Our hearts go out to his parents, his siblings, his girlfriend and his young daughter. They are in all of our thoughts." Lance Corporal Lynch, Force Protection Platoon, Blenheim Company, 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, added: "Snowball was a top bloke. You could always count on him to have a laugh, and he always had an answer for everything. He was such a big character. He will be greatly missed by the whole Battalion." The British Army is in Iraq as part of Britain's effort to combat Islamic State (IS) terrorists. In December, 150 soldiers from the deceased soldier's battalion were being deployed to Iraq for six months. They formed part of the 500-strong British Army force which was being sent to the country to train Iraqi and Kurdish security forces. As part of the UK's role in the 68-member Global Coalition committed to defeating IS, the 2 LANCS soldiers were being sent to Iraq to provide protection to other British troops training the local security forces in infantry skills, weapons maintenance, medical, engineering and counter IED measures. Major General Rupert Jones, Deputy Coalition Commander, said: "The entire international coalition mourns the loss of Lance Corporal Hetherington. "He died helping support our Iraqi partners to defeat Daesh (another term for IS) and so protect the United Kingdom. His family and loved ones are in all our hearts and thoughts." Minister of state for the armed forces Mike Penning said: "Our thoughts are with the soldier's family, friends and colleagues, and I would ask that their privacy is respected at this difficult time. An investigation has started into the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident." A British man who travelled to Syria to fight alongside anti-Islamic State forces has been killed. Ryan Lock, 20, is believed to have joined Kurdish militia after telling his family he was going on holiday to Turkey in August. The former chef, who had no military experience, is said to have died during an offensive by anti-IS forces to retake the northern city of Raqqa. According to the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish military force, Mr Lock, from West Sussex, died along with four other fighters on December 21. The Guardian reported that the YPG wrote to Mr Lock's family saying: "Ryan joined actively in our offensive against the terror threat that Isis caused upon Rojava, Kurdistan. Here, in the dark hours of December 21, 2016, we lost our brave companion Ryan and four other fighters in Jaeber village. Ryan was not only a fighter providing additional force to our struggle. In fact, with his experience and knowledge he has been an example for younger fighters. "While he has reached a vast amount of achievement up in our front lines, Ryan has served the purpose of a very important bridge between us, the Kurds of Rojava. He crossed continents for the destiny of our people and humanity. Kurdish militia: The former chef is pictured on Facebook in what appears to be military clothing / Facebook Mr Lock's father, Jon, told the Guardian that his son was a "very caring and loving boy who would do anything to help anyone" and "had a heart of gold". Images posted on Facebook in October and November appear to show Mr Lock holding an AK-47 and wearing military gear. Mark Campbell, who was with a group of Kurdish activists who visited Mr Lock's family, told the BBC their main concern was that Mr Lock's remains are returned to the UK. "We hope the UK Government will also use all their diplomatic powers to give practical assistance to the family to help bring Ryan's remains home for burial," he said. A Foreign Office spokeswoman reiterated warnings against travelling to Syria, saying: "The UK has advised for some time against all travel to Syria. "As all UK consular services there are suspended, it is extremely difficult to confirm the status and whereabouts of British nationals in Syria. "Anyone who does travel to these areas, for whatever reason, is putting themselves in considerable danger." P olice in Australia are investigating the death of a British woman whose body is believed to have lain undiscovered in a strip club for up to 12 hours. Stacey Tierney, 29, was found dead in a bar in Melbourne on December 19 after she spent the night partying with a group of men. According to Australian press, Ms Tierney worked at the Dreams Gentlemen's Club as a lapdancer and was there with the group late at night after the bar had closed. Her body was found at 11.50 the following morning. British woman: Tierney moved to Australia from Manchester three years ago / Facebook Ms Tierney, who was also reportedly a fitness instructor, had moved to Australia from Manchester three years ago. The Herald Sun has reported that the men she was with fled the scene without calling for help. Victoria Police have not confirmed whether Ms Tierneys death is being treated as suspicious but a post mortem will be carried out. An online funding page set up to help return Ms Tierney's body to the UK described the Brit as beautiful. "Stacey was living her life to the full in Australia and she has made a huge impact on everyone who knew her, the page says. "On behalf of her mum Michelle and her sisters Stephanie, Kristie, and Kelly-Anne and the rest of her family we would like to thank everyone for their kind messages of condolence." Family members said they are shocked by articles written in local media about Ms Tierneys death and told The Times they have not been told anything by the authorities in Australia about this latest information. T he gunman who slaughtered 39 in Istanbul's Reina nightclub had clearly received some military training. He managed to shoot his way in and fire off about 180 rounds before vanishing with fleeing revellers. This would require reloading several times, a difficult manoeuvre. It suggests he may have seen combat with Islamic State or its allies in Afghanistan, Iraq or Syria. According to Turkish authorities, the man is said to have come from a central Asian republic though Kyrgyzstan has denied this and Uzbekistan is still checking. IS social media warned: The government of Turkey should know that the blood of Muslims ... will cause a fire in its home and by Gods will. Istanbul nightclub shooting 1 /12 Istanbul nightclub shooting People leave as medics and security officials work at the scene AP An ambulance arrives near at the nightclub REUTERS Young people leave the scene of the attack on the nightclub AP Armed: Police secure an area near an Istanbul nightclub, following a gun attack REUTERS Tributes: A man lays flowers outside the Reina nightclub REUTERS Grief: Mourners grieve for the victims of the nightclub massacre AP Photo Ambulances line up on a road leading up to the nightclub REUTERS An armoured police vehicle blocks a road leads to a nightclub where a gun attack took place during a New Year party in Istanbul REUTERS Gun massacre: Ambulance line the street at the scene of a mass shooting at a nightclub in Istanbul AP It points to a major shift of strategy by IS. It seems less keen on establishing a physical state in Syria and Iraq as its hold on centres like Raqqa and Mosul comes under pressure. Attempts to build a branch of the caliphate in Libya are teetering on the edge of failure. In Iraq and Syria, the terror group seems to be preparing for a long rural guerrilla war while attacking big cities with bombings, such as the string of atrocities this past week in Baghdad. The main action is terror attacks on cities in Turkey and its allies east and west. The new cause is the battle for Aleppo and its aftermath, in which Sunni Turkey is seen to side with the heretic Shias of Iran and Hezbollah, the Assad regime, and Russia. Aleppo is also a huge problem for Russia and Syrian president Bashar al-Assad whose military forces are exhausted. The battle for the region around the city is far from over and Russia is likely to have to put reinforcements in to secure Assads shaky kingdom in western Syria. Though much of Aleppo may now be a concrete desert, it is not at peace. For IS and radical Sunni Islamists it is a rallying cry. A photo of a Renaissance statue of Neptune that has been on display in Italy for almost five centuries has been blocked from Facebook after being deemed too sexually explicit for the site. Elisa Barbari, a local writer, uploaded a photograph of the sixteenth century statue, which is a symbol of the city of Bologna, to her Facebook page "Stories, curiosities and views of Bologna". But Facebook staff rejected the image of the 3.2 metre high bronze statue that stands in the Piazza del Nettuno, saying it violated the sites guidelines. "It contains an image with an explicitly sexual content that shows the body excessively or concentrates on parts of the body more than necessary," they wrote to Ms Barbari. Ms Barbari said she was left "indignant and irritated" by their decision. "I wanted to promote my page but it seems that for Facebook the statue is a sexually explicit image that shows off too much flesh. Really, Neptune? This is crazy!" Ms Barbari said, according to The Daily Telegraph. "Back in the 1950s, during celebrations for school children graduating, they used to cover up Neptune. Maybe Facebook would prefer the statue to be dressed again," she added. She subsequently posted on her Facebook page a message in large letters: "Yes to Neptune, no to censorship." The photograph of Neptune is the latest seemingly innocuous image to be blocked by the social networks censors. Last January, Danish MP Mette Gjerskov said she had been unable to upload a photo of Copenhagens Little Mermaid statue because it featured "too much bare skin or sexual undertones". In September, the site came under fire after it deleted the iconic "napalm girl" image from the Vietnam war after it was posted to a Norweigan newspapers Facebook page. And in November it was forced to apologise after it removed a photo of a Swedish firefighter with severe scars from burns. In a statement, a spokeswoman for Facebook said: "Our team processes millions of advertising images each week, and in some instances we incorrectly prohibit ads. This image does not violate our ad policies. We apologise for the error." The photo has not been reinstated. T urkish police have arrested the wife of the suspected Istanbul nightclub killer in a series of raids across the country, it was claimed today. The alleged gunmans wife was detained in Konya in central Turkey along with 11 other people, according to police sources. Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus vowed to bring the killer to justice as the net closed in on the suspected Islamic State militant who murdered 39 revellers at a New Years Eve party at the Reina nightclub. The man is said to be from Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan and may have been part of the same terror cell that carried out an attack on Ataturk airport last June in which 45 people were killed. Vow: Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus / AFP/Getty Images He is reported to have travelled to Konya in November with his wife and two children to avoid raising suspicions, according to local media. Turkish broadcasters aired a selfie video taken by the alleged nightclub killer in Istanbuls Taksim square. Police also issued an image of the unnamed suspect. IS claimed responsibility for the attack saying a soldier of the caliphate had carried out the mass shooting in response to Turkish military operations against the terror group in northern Syria. Mr Kurtulmus accepted it was a message against Turkeys offensive in Syria but said it would not affect the military campaign. Mourners after the attack in Istanbul / Emrah Gurel/AP Turkey launched an assault in August aimed at pushing back IS and Kurdish forces, with some of the most intensive recent fighting against IS around the northern town of al-Bab. Although IS has been linked to other attacks in Turkey, it has not claimed responsibility before. More details emerged of the victims as at least 69 remained in hospital with three in a serious condition. Istanbul nightclub shooting 1 /12 Istanbul nightclub shooting People leave as medics and security officials work at the scene AP An ambulance arrives near at the nightclub REUTERS Young people leave the scene of the attack on the nightclub AP Armed: Police secure an area near an Istanbul nightclub, following a gun attack REUTERS Tributes: A man lays flowers outside the Reina nightclub REUTERS Grief: Mourners grieve for the victims of the nightclub massacre AP Photo Ambulances line up on a road leading up to the nightclub REUTERS An armoured police vehicle blocks a road leads to a nightclub where a gun attack took place during a New Year party in Istanbul REUTERS Gun massacre: Ambulance line the street at the scene of a mass shooting at a nightclub in Istanbul AP The victims included citizens of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, France, Tunisia, India, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, Canada, Israel, Syria, Belgium, Germany and Russia. Among them were Indian fashion designer Khushi Shah, 27, Arab-Israeli tourist Leanne Nasser, 18, Bollywood producer Abis Rizvi, 49, Lebanese personal trainer Elias Wardini, 26, and his fiancee Rita Shami, 25, and Belgian restaurant manager Kerim Akyil, 23. More than 3,000 mourners yesterday (Mon) attended the funeral of security guard Hatice Kocun, 27, who leaves behind a three-year-old daughter. Her mother Dondu said: I wish I was dead instead of her, she was so young. The United Arab Emirates today warned its citizens not to travel to Turkey following the attack advising people to postpone plans to travel to Turkey until further notice. The Foriegn Office said that it is generally safe to travel to Turkey apart from the southeast of the country along the border with Syria and Iraq. A gunman is on the run in Switzerland after shooting two police officers. The attacker, who is believed to be in his 30s, reportedly shot the officers during a house search in the northern Swiss commune of Rehetobel shortly after 9am on Tuesday. The police officers were rushed to a nearby hospital but the extent of their injuries is currently unknown. A large-scale manhunt was launched in the area for the man who reportedly made off on foot. In a follow-up statement the police said they had located the gunman but did not say if they had yet arrested him. Police said they are not treating the incident as terror related. This page is being updated A young woman has been caught trying to smuggle an African refugee into Spain inside her suitcase. The 22-year-old Moroccan woman was stopped by Spanish border control in Ceuta, a Spanish city in north Africa. She could face up to seven years in prison for human trafficking if found guilty Police said they grew suspicious when the woman looked unnecessarily nervous after passing through a third control point to enter the city, one of Europes two land borders with Africa. On stopping the woman, border guards found a 19-year-old man from Gabon curled up inside her case. He was conscious and unharmed but was taken to hospital for a routine check. It is not the first time police have found migrants hiding in the luggage of travellers entering Spanish territory from north Africa. In May 2015 police found an eight-year-old boy hiding in the suitcase of a different Moroccan woman. His father, who was suspected of having paid the woman to smuggle his son into the country, was later arrested on the Spanish border. Many migrants desperate to make it to Europe from north Africa are being increasingly inventive with the way in which they try and reach European territory, where they can claim asylum. On New Year's Day more than 1,000 sub-Saharan Africans reportedly tried to jump Ceutas heavily-guarded border fence. Human rights groups said it was one of the largest mass attempts to cross the fence on record. R ogue One has become the UKs highest-grossing film on 2016 despite being released just two weeks before the end of the year. The brand new Star Wars film, directed by Gareth Edwards, shot to the top spot with just hours to spare on New Years Eve, beating Fantastic Beats and Where to Find Them. Starring Felicity Jones and Riz Ahemd, the Disney-produced film made an impressive 52.7 million during the last 17 days of 2016, according to comScore. The Star Wars prequel is the second highest-grossing film of the year over in the US and has taken 500 million from audiences globally. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story director denies Disney pressure to change film tone Finding Dory, which has made a staggering 840 million globally, pipped Edwards film to the post in North America. Disney well and truly reigned supreme in 2016, owning six of the top ten highest-grossing films of the year. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - In pictures 1 /9 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - In pictures Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Captain America: Civil War made 920 million worldwide, while the live action remake of Jungle Book came in fifth place on the list. Other films including Zootopia and Star Wars: The Force Awakens also made it into the top ten. Warner Bros also had a good year, with both Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman performing well on the international stage. At the end of 2016, Disney became the first studio to make $7 billion in profits in just one year. Thanks to Rogue One, the studio surpassed the 6.9 billion record set by Universal in 2015. T hey always say that TV quiz shows are much more difficult in person than when youre sat on the sofa at home and two Pointless contestants learned that the hard way. Student Mariam was left decidedly unimpressed after her friend Sarah cracked under the pressure and delivered a terrible and incorrect answer in the very first round. The players were asked to name any country that ends in two consonants England, Egypt, or Denmark to name but a few. Sarah, a history student and geek society member at York University, struggled with the topic. BBC I did Geography A-Level, but thats about as far as it goes, she told presenter Alexander Armstrong, before shrugging and giving the answer: Paris. Mariam gasped at the answer and rolled her eyes, as Sarah panicked: I dont know, I cant think of anything. Im having a blank. Armstrong attempted to calm the situation, saying: Dont worry. Really, dont worry. A, I wouldnt be at all surprised if there arent several 100 scorers in this round, and B, its always tough going on that first podium, so sorry to put you under that pressure Sarah. Richard Osman added: Always the worst place to be, that first podium, is the truth. They are not going to like that in geek society. Thats all Ill say. However, Paris wasnt the only incorrect answer in the round, with another set of contestants answering Lapland a region of Finland. The BBC quiz series tasks contestants with delivering the least popular answer to a given question, with the aim of discovering a 'pointless' answer one that a sample of 100 people did not name. Contact: Liberty Counsel, 407-875-1776, Media@LC.org; Press Kit MONTGOMERY, Ala., Jan. 3, 2017 /Standard Newswire/ -- The Alabama Supreme Court unanimously ruled Friday in defense of unborn life in a wrongful death lawsuit against an OB/GYN accused of contributing to the death of a woman's unborn child. The court found that the trial court erred in dismissing Alabama resident Kimberly Stinett's claim alleging the wrongful death of her unborn baby and granting summary judgment in favor of Karla Kennedy, M.D., on lack-of-proof-causation grounds. The Alabama Supreme Court declared that Stinnett v. Kennedy may proceed, stating that unborn children are human beings and are entitled to legal protection. The court largely based its decision on an amendment in Alabama's Homicide Act, which "changed the definition of a 'person' who could be a victim of homicide to include 'an unborn child in utero at any stage of development, regardless of viability.'" Alabama Supreme Court Justice Thomas Parker also wrote a concurring opinion, noting that the "viability" standard in Roe v. Wade is faulty. Justice Parker wrote, "Unborn children, whether they have reached the ability to survive outside their mother's womb or not, are human beings and thus persons entitled to the protections of the lawboth civil and criminal. Members of the judicial branch of Alabama should do all within their power to dutifully ensure that the laws of Alabama are applied equally to protect the most vulnerable members of our society, both born and unborn," Parker said. Dr. Kennedy, who was standing in for Stinett's regular physician, performed a dilation and curettage procedure to help determine whether her pregnancy was intrauterine or ectopic. Suspecting an ectopic situation, Kennedy administered methotrexate, which the court noted is "intended to cause the end of the pregnancy." However, when Stinnett's regular physician, William Huggins, returned, he determined that she had an intrauterine pregnancy after all, which was failing, possibly as the result of the methotrexate. Stinnett later miscarried and then sued Kennedy, who asserted in court documents that the pregnancy was already failing and she was simply following protocol. "Liberty Counsel applauds the Alabama Supreme Court and Justice Tom Parker for defending the legal rights of the unborn as clearly stated in Alabama law," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. "We strongly urge other judges to do likewise as the value of human life is not a negotiable matter. The womb should be the safest place for a child and it must be legally protected. It's time to turn the tables on Roe v. Wade," said Staver. Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics. Blog Archive Apr 2010 (22) May 2010 (25) Jun 2010 (8) Jul 2010 (12) Aug 2010 (18) Sep 2010 (19) Oct 2010 (29) Nov 2010 (30) Dec 2010 (18) Jan 2011 (13) Feb 2011 (21) Mar 2011 (23) Apr 2011 (19) May 2011 (31) Jun 2011 (36) Jul 2011 (46) Aug 2011 (26) Sep 2011 (12) Oct 2011 (15) Nov 2011 (17) Dec 2011 (7) Jan 2012 (18) Feb 2012 (4) Mar 2012 (12) Apr 2012 (18) May 2012 (10) Jun 2012 (21) Jul 2012 (8) Aug 2012 (15) Sep 2012 (7) Oct 2012 (17) Nov 2012 (20) Dec 2012 (10) Jan 2013 (58) Feb 2013 (59) Mar 2013 (60) Apr 2013 (98) May 2013 (134) Jun 2013 (204) Jul 2013 (293) Aug 2013 (351) Sep 2013 (363) Oct 2013 (347) Nov 2013 (374) Dec 2013 (440) Jan 2014 (544) Feb 2014 (475) Mar 2014 (525) Apr 2014 (527) May 2014 (470) Jun 2014 (408) Jul 2014 (472) Aug 2014 (522) Sep 2014 (441) Oct 2014 (471) Nov 2014 (496) Dec 2014 (535) Jan 2015 (535) Feb 2015 (520) Mar 2015 (579) Apr 2015 (657) May 2015 (679) Jun 2015 (673) Jul 2015 (728) Aug 2015 (803) Sep 2015 (923) Oct 2015 (921) Nov 2015 (801) Dec 2015 (791) Jan 2016 (782) Feb 2016 (835) Mar 2016 (929) Apr 2016 (864) May 2016 (946) Jun 2016 (1044) Jul 2016 (882) Aug 2016 (1035) Sep 2016 (966) Oct 2016 (918) Nov 2016 (854) Dec 2016 (885) Jan 2017 (879) Feb 2017 (777) Mar 2017 (896) Apr 2017 (872) May 2017 (850) Jun 2017 (851) Jul 2017 (971) Aug 2017 (1040) Sep 2017 (998) Oct 2017 (1144) Nov 2017 (1046) Dec 2017 (838) Jan 2018 (873) Feb 2018 (769) Mar 2018 (885) Apr 2018 (808) May 2018 (827) Jun 2018 (820) Jul 2018 (840) Aug 2018 (854) Sep 2018 (844) Oct 2018 (851) Nov 2018 (870) Dec 2018 (912) Jan 2019 (919) Feb 2019 (827) Mar 2019 (957) Apr 2019 (913) May 2019 (1007) Jun 2019 (934) Jul 2019 (949) Aug 2019 (936) Sep 2019 (910) Oct 2019 (920) Nov 2019 (874) Dec 2019 (908) Jan 2020 (941) Feb 2020 (848) Mar 2020 (898) Apr 2020 (848) May 2020 (822) Jun 2020 (787) Jul 2020 (819) Aug 2020 (858) Sep 2020 (841) Oct 2020 (873) Nov 2020 (811) Dec 2020 (780) Jan 2021 (765) Feb 2021 (716) Mar 2021 (819) Apr 2021 (805) May 2021 (815) Jun 2021 (824) Jul 2021 (830) Aug 2021 (832) Sep 2021 (791) Oct 2021 (754) Nov 2021 (683) Dec 2021 (693) Jan 2022 (694) Feb 2022 (654) Mar 2022 (740) Apr 2022 (745) May 2022 (748) Jun 2022 (701) Jul 2022 (704) Aug 2022 (702) Sep 2022 (699) Oct 2022 (737) Nov 2022 (72) Former deputy Sebastian Ghita, who went missing two weeks ago, did not report on Tuesday to the Prahova Police County Inspectorate to sign the papers required by the supervised bail ordered against him; this is the second time when he skips this obligation. Police sources said that according to the supervision schedule Ghita was supposed to report to the Police at 10:30 A.M., but failed to make it to the police premises. The High Court of Cassation and Justice will discuss on January 5 the request of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) to issue an arrest warrant for former deputy Sebastian Ghita. This is the second time that the prosecutors request in court the replacement of the supervised bail with the pre-trial arrest, after the former MP broke the terms of the court supervision ordered in the case where he has been indicted alongside several police and prosecution heads. A Supreme Court panel rejected on December 27 an initial DNA request to arrest Sebastian Ghita for contempt, but kept in place the ban on his leaving Romania. Subsequently, the Prahova Police County Inspectorate on Thursday sent the Supreme Court the documents informing that Sebastian Ghita had broken the terms of the court supervision by failing to report to the police premises as per schedule, on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Police sought him at his home in Ploiesti, but he was missing, thus breaking again the supervision requirements. Consequently, the Ploiesti anti-corruption prosecutors asked the judges to order the replacement of the supervision with the pre-trial arrest. Sebastian Ghita was the last time at the seat of the Prahova Police County Inspectorate on December 19, to sign the supervised bail papers. He was next summoned to report on December 21 to the Ploiesti DNA headquarters in the Ponta-Blair case, but only his lawyers made it there. The authorities sought Ghita at his home and at several locations he used to go to, but he was nowhere to be found. An all-points bulletin was issued for Sebastian Ghita, who is being sought on the entire territory of Romania. agerpres. By Press Trust of India: Maharajganj (UP), Jan 3 (PTI) A minor Dalit girl was allegedly raped by her 25-year-old neighbour in Thothibari area in the district, police said today. The incident is alleged to have taken place last night when Surendra Prajapati forcibly entered the 14-year-olds house while she was alone there and committed the misdeed, they said. advertisement Following the incident, Prajapati was arrested and the girl sent for a medical examination. PTI CORR ABN ASV --- ENDS --- WASHINGTON On her first day as a U.S. senator, Illinois Democrat and wounded war veteran Tammy Duckworth said that while she believed Donald Trumps Department of Defense nominee James Mattis was eminently qualified for the job, she may oppose him over concerns of a revolving door between civilians and military. Mattis is a retired Marine general, but he has not been out of the military for the seven years necessary for transition back to government. Republicans put in a process to easily waive that requirement into the spending bill that passed last month. Duckworth told reporters Tuesday that while she believed Mattis was qualified for the job and that she respected him, she was worried about what his appointment would mean in separating career military from civilian overseers. She said she objected to the way the waiver passed, arguing that it would have been better for Congress to debate the Mattis waiver separately. The way the waiver passed threatens to undermine his legitimacy as secretary of defense, Duckworth said. She did not say that her qualms were enough for a no vote on Mattiss confirmation. Duckworth, who defeated incumbent Republican Mark Kirk in November, said she also had questions about Trumps nominations of Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., as secretary of Health and Human Services; and Betsy DeVos as secretary of education. Duckworth echoed Democratic concerns that Price wants to radically change Medicare and Social Security and that DeVos has not been a strong supporter of public education. Republicans have defended Price as a key point person in their efforts to repeal and replace President Obamas health care reform, commonly called Obamacare. Trump described DeVos, a leading Republican political donor, as a brilliant and passionate education advocate. I am going to do my due diligence on these and other Trump nominees, Duckworth said shortly after being sworn into office. Duckworth was the first Asian-American congresswoman from Illinois and was the first disabled female veteran in the House. She was wounded and lost both legs and the full use of her right arm when the helicopter she was piloting was shot down in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004. Duckworth noted Tuesday that she served under Mattis while in Iraq. ST. LOUIS Khaled Salamehs tax records list his $1 million house in Wildwood as his home address. So does a deed to another piece of property Salameh just acquired in December. On Facebook, there are multiple posts with a map pinpointing his 6,100-square-foot residence built in 2010 on eight acres in west St. Louis County the one with four bedrooms and 3 baths. The captions read: Home. But when Salameh votes, he casts his ballot more than 30 miles east in St. Louis citys 5th Ward, where some of his businesses are situated. City voting records say Salameh resides at a car lot on North 14th Street north of downtown a peculiarity uncovered during the Post-Dispatchs continuing investigation into voting irregularities. A few months ago, two city elections were overturned because of questions raised about how absentee ballots were handled, largely in the 5th Ward. The records also show that Salameh, a politically connected St. Louis businessman whose family runs grocery stores, gas stations and other businesses throughout some of the citys poorest neighborhoods, registered to vote in the city in 2008. He most recently voted in the city in the November election. Salamehs seemingly strategic use of suffrage might appear improper. But it turns out the question of where one lives can be complicated. At least in Missouri. Lots of states have very clear definitions of residency, Boone County Clerk Wendy Noren said. We dont. Authorities partly rely on another provision of state law that may make things even murkier: Place of residence means the place where the family of any person permanently resides in this state, and the place where any person having no family generally lodges. If thats not ambiguous enough, heres the key sentence from the only Missouri Supreme Court decision on the issue: It has been said that residence is largely a matter of intention, to be determined not only from the utterances of the person whose residence is in issue but also from his acts and in the light of all the facts and circumstances of the case. City elections under scrutiny Last year, the enigmatic nature of Missouris voting statutes came under scrutiny as two St. Louis elections were overturned because of irregularities involving absentee ballots. Some election authorities had to spend thousands of dollars to change practices that did not comply with the fine print in state law. It started in July when lawyer David Roland told the St. Louis Election Board he had reviewed voting records over 15 election cycles and found a massive, systematic violation of the states absentee ballot statutes. Many of those alleged violations took place during elections involving members of the Hubbard family a north St. Louis political family with close ties to Salameh. Roland was concerned that his client, challenger Bruce Franks Jr., might lose the Aug. 2 Democratic primary for the 78th District State House seat to incumbent Rep. Penny Hubbard because of the improper use of absentee ballots. Franks ended up losing that election by 90 votes. Roland sued to have it overturned. His argument centered on a technicality. The St. Louis Election Board had not required all absentee ballots to be placed in envelopes as state law stipulates. Meanwhile, a Post-Dispatch investigation published in late August found numerous irregularities in the Aug. 2 primary. Some voters said applications for absentee ballots were filled out in their names without their permission. Others said they were signed up to vote absentee under false pretenses. And still others said that people representing themselves as Hubbard campaign workers filled out their ballots for them. Franks was granted a do-over election in September. He won 76 percent of the votes and defeated Penny Hubbard. In another court-ordered do-over election in November, activist Rasheen Aldridge Jr. defeated Rodney Hubbard Sr., Penny Hubbards husband, in the race to be 5th Ward Democratic committeeman. Meanwhile, a grand jury began an investigation into the primary election. On Dec. 20, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce announced that important evidence discovered during the citys criminal investigation into potential voter fraud had been turned over to the U.S. Attorneys Office, which has now taken over an expanded inquiry. Joyces statement did not elaborate on the nature of the evidence. Sleeping at the car lot The fact that Salamehs voter registration listed a car lot as his address is among a handful of curiosities uncovered by the Post-Dispatch during its investigation. Salameh and his family own gas stations and convenience stores in north St. Louis. He often has contributed to the Hubbards campaigns. In 2010, Rodney Hubbard Jr., the son of Penny and Rodney Hubbard, was fined $322,000 by the Missouri Ethics Commission for violations stemming from his failed state senate campaign two years earlier. Those violations included seven purchases totaling $8,539 from Salama Markets for T-shirt/Security in one instance or supplies in others, according to an Ethics Commission order. Last month, Salameh, 52, sat behind the check-cashing counter at his gas station about a block away from the car lot. He said he voted in the city because he slept in a house around the corner. He said he used the car-lot address when he registered to vote because it has an apartment that he slept in. Although the building does have a two-room suite on the second floor, it does not have a residential occupancy permit. His family stays in the house in Wildwood, he said. State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed has known Salameh for decades. Everyone knows Khaled, Nasheed said. Everyone knows the family. The car lot was once a store. Nasheed said she believed members of the Salameh family often slept there over the years. Kenneth Warren, a professor of political science at St. Louis University, said that where a person sleeps usually determines where they reside. But how many nights a person must spend in a place for it to qualify as a residence is a question a judge must decide, he said. I have actually stayed up so late at SLU that I have a sleeping bag that I brought there in case I just dont want to go home, Warren said. I couldnt claim I lived in the city. However, prosecutors are often reluctant to pursue voter residency cases because they can be difficult to prove. Its not a big risk because they are not prosecuted, Warren said. A lot of people think of it as a game, not a crime. From Pamela Bosley to Kit Bond The last major prosecution Warren recalled happened in 1990. St. Louis prosecutors charged Pamela Bosley, a member of a prominent political family in the city, with felony vote fraud for casting a ballot in the citys 3rd Ward when she lived in the city of Northwoods in St. Louis County. Bosley, the daughter of St. Louis Alderman Freeman Bosley Sr. and sister of former Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr., claimed she had always intended to return to the 3rd Ward and considered it her permanent home. She was convicted and given three years of probation. A Post-Dispatch headline at the time read: Bosley Trial Showed Residence Law is Hazy. The argument Pamela Bosley invoked was the same one used by Christopher Kit Bond, a Republican, 18 years earlier. Bond had more success. Bonds case centered on whether his name should stay on the ballot in the 1972 Republican primary election for governor. Under the Missouri constitution, gubernatorial candidates must have resided in the state for 10 years. Bond had spent the years leading up to the election in Virginia, New York, Atlanta and Washington. Bond had paid income taxes in other states. He had registered cars in other states. He had been admitted to the legal bar and obtained a marriage license in other states. But Bond also had paid his annual bar fees to maintain his law license in Missouri. He remained a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Mexico. Dental records showed he continued making regular visits to his dentist in St. Louis. And friends testified that Bond made multiple statements about returning to the state to be active in Missouri Republican politics. The case went to the state Supreme Court, which decided 4-2 in favor of keeping Bonds name on the ballot. He was elected to his first term as governor that November and later would become a U.S. Senator. The ruling included a sentence that said residency was largely a matter of intention. Finding home not always easy Noren, the Boone County Clerk, said she occasionally received a complaint that someone was voting in one jurisdiction but resided in another. She looks at a variety of factors including information on tax bills and drivers licenses. If she believes someone is voting in the wrong place, she will send a notice that she is transferring the registration. Most of the time I dont hear a peep out of them when I get one of these, Noren said. They kind of know they are doing wrong. Erwin O. Switzer, chairman of the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners, said the board primarily relied on information provided by voters to verify their residency. The St. Louis board will check the address to make sure it is not in a commercial zone. However, that does not catch businesses situated within residential areas. Such is the case with Salamehs car lot. Switzer said the board would examine its practices to see if there were ways to improve. He would not discuss any action the board might take in regards to Salameh. Salameh, who insists he never sleeps at the Wildwood home, declined to discuss any information that would seem to indicate he doesnt live in the city. That includes a Dec. 12 deed he executed on a new piece of city property in which the Wildwood house was listed as his residence address, and, of course, his Facebook posts with the map showing the Wildwood residence with the description of home. Facebook is not a legal document, Salameh said. Ask me something different. two absconding accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case were dead, but had been falsely shown as "alive" by investigation agencies. By Mustafa Shaikh: The family members of Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra Kalsangra, two of the absconding accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, have demanded a fair probe into the incident and justice for people who were tortured by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad during investigation. The families will meet Chief Minister Fadnavis and appeal for an investigation into the matter. advertisement Kalsangra's brother, wife, son along with the other accused, who were picked up and tortured by the Maharashtra ATS in 2008, addressed a press conference in Mumbai after Mehmood Mujawar, a senior inspector of the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad, told a court in Solapur in August last year that the two absconding accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case were dead, but had been falsely shown as "alive" by investigation agencies. THE STORY SO FAR "My mom has not slept since the incident came to light," said Devrat, 22, son of Ramchandra Kalsangra. "We have been waiting for my father for the last 8 years. I was just 14 when he left. At that time, we didn't even know what ATS means. If my father is indeed dead, the perpetrators of this incident should get death punishment." A bomb strapped to a motorcycle exploded in Malegaon on September 29, 2008, killing 7 people and injuring more than 100 others. Mujawar is under suspension since a case under the Arms Act and Criminal Intimidation was filed against him in the Solapur court. During a hearing of these cases, Mujawar filed an application in August before a magistrate's court in Solapur, saying that Dange and Kalsangra, accused in Malegaon blasts case, were "no more". He has also claimed that he had written a letter to the then DG, which he mentioned in his application submitted before the magistrate's court. Mujawar said that Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra Kalsangra were dead, but were being shown absconding by senior police officials. "The families want a transparent probe into the incident and want the Maharashtra government to come out with the truth in the next one month," said Advocate Prashant Maggu. Ramchandra's brother Shivnarayan is also an accused in the case, although he has been discharged by the NIA in the supplementary chargesheet. Shivnarayan and his business partner Shyam Sahu, who were in police custody since October 2008, were granted bail by the Bombay High Court on August 3, 2011. They narrated how investigation agencies framed and tortured them just to get information about Kalsangra and others. "ATS officials have misused their power and interrogated us. I last saw my brother on the day of Dussehra in 2008. We were kept in illegal custody. We were told to mug up bike number used in the blast to project us as witnesses." Also read | Malegaon blast: Ex-cop claims 'missing' accused killed by ATS 8 years ago --- ENDS --- For nearly 20 years, I practiced nursing and served eight years in the Missouri House of Representatives. As a practitioner and policymaker, I was tasked with helping people. Likewise, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, created with bipartisan support during the Richard Nixon administration, is tasked with helping people by protecting our public health and our air, land and water. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to downsize or eliminate the EPA. His nominee to head the EPA, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, is a longtime ally of energy companies and at odds with the agencys mission. Look at the nominees record as Oklahoma attorney general. Pruitt filed or joined 13 lawsuits against the EPA to block clean air and water protections and limits on smog and power plant pollution. Eight lawsuits are still pending. Since 2002, he has received over $300,000 in campaign donations from fossil fuel companies. On Aug. 29, 2013, Oklahoma Oil & Electric hosted a fundraiser for Pruitt, in which its employees raised $17,825 for his re-election campaign. Four days later, he filed an appeal in the companys case against the EPA. When Devon Energy lobbyists drafted and circulated a lengthy letter to the EPA for signatures, Pruitt changed only 37 words of the industrys wish list and sent it off on his state letterhead. In 2014, Pruitt spoke with The New York Times about the importance of Oklahomas energy industry to its economy and of protecting Oklahomas economy from the perilous effects of federal overreach by agencies such as the EPA. In a November radio interview, and miles apart from the EPA mission, Pruitt said, The greatest opportunity that we have heading into this new administration ... is to provide certainty to business industries. ... Theres going to be regulatory rollback. Now is not the time to backtrack. Pollution and climate change affect health. The American Lung Association reported that asthma resulted in an estimated 14.4 million lost school days in children and 14.2 million lost work days in adults in 2008. Asthma costs the U.S. $56 billion in health care costs annually. St. Louis asthma rates rank second out of the 100 most populated U.S. cities, and the Missouri counties of Dent, Iron, Jackson, Jefferson, Reynolds, St. Charles, St. Louis and St. Louis city continue to be non-attainment areas in terms of air pollution. Health and economic strength go hand-in-hand. Clean air measures help decrease absenteeism in the workplace and schools, premature deaths, heart attacks and damage to crops and timber, and spur economic growth through new energy technology. Ignoring the wisdom of 97 percent of climate scientists, Pruitt says the climate-change debate is far from settled and should be continued in Congress, classrooms and in the public realm. Time and again, American lives were wasted by taking the denial approach with the tobacco industry. Sure, its easier to ignore the experts and kick the can down the road. But our children and grandchildren deserve better. The EPA administrator must be guided by science, uphold environmental laws and understand that protecting public health and economic growth are not mutually exclusive. President-elect Trump campaigned on draining the swamp. Many agreed and voted for change. But selecting Scott Pruitt to lead the EPA isnt draining the swamp; its turning over the keys of a vital public health agency to the fossil-fuel industry. Its doubtful thats what Missourians voted for in November. Thats why I call on Missouris senators, Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt, to oppose Scott Pruitts confirmation. Jeanne Kirkton is the Missouri state representative for the 91st District in St. Louis County and is a retired nurse. By Reuters: At least 56 people were killed after rival drug gangs clashed in a prison in Brazil, with decapitated bodies being thrown over prison walls, officials said on Monday. Pedro Florencio, the prison secretary of Amazonas state, where the incident occurred, said that the violence was a "revenge killing" that came in feud running between criminal gangs in Brazil. The violence began late Sunday and the situation was brought under control early Monday morning, local time. Just as a riot began in a unit of the Anisio Jobim prison complex, prisoners from another unit began a mass escape, which authorities said was a coordinated effort to distract guards. Prisoners at an adjoining detention center also began a riot and attempted to escape. The situation there was quickly brought under control, authorities said. advertisement A total of 184 inmates managed to escape, with 40 being apprehended by Monday afternoon. Brazil's Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes said that prisoners who spearheaded the riot will be transferred to federal facilities. A BROKEN PEACE The incident was the latest clash between inmates aligned with the Sao Paulo-based First Capital Command (PCC), Brazil's most powerful drug gang, and a Manaus criminal group that goes by the moniker North Family. It is believed that North Family has been attacking PCC inmates at the behest of the Red Command (CV) gang, which is Brazil's second largest. Most of those killed in the latest riot belonged to the PCC. According to security analysts, a truce that was in place for years between the PCC and CV was broken last year. This has been followed by months of deadly prison clashes. "This is part of a nationwide movement. It has happened in Roraima, in Acre, in Porto Velho, in parts of northeast Brazil and now it has happened here," Amazonas Governor Jos Melo de Oliveira said, referring to other clashes between rival criminal factions. OVERCROWDING AN EPIDEMIC Brazil's prison system is notoriously overcrowded. The Anisio Jobim complex, for example, currently houses 2,230 prisoners while having a capacity of only 590. Rights groups have sharply criticized what they call the medieval conditions where food is scarce and prisoners don't have space to lie down. "These massacres occur almost daily in Brazil," said Father Valdir Silveira, director of Pastoral Carceraria, a Catholic center that monitors prison conditions in Brazil. "Our prisons were built to annihilate, torture and kill." Maria Canineu, director of Human Rights Watch for Brazil, said the most recent violence was the result of "no government in 20 years giving much attention to the penitentiary system." Canineu added that it has been difficult for years for states to receive any funding help from the federal government for prisons. President Michel Temer had announced last week that the federal government would provide states with 1.2 billion reais ($366 million), mostly to improve infrastructure and security in existing prisons and to build new ones. ALSO READ:Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff ousted from office by Senate ALSO READ:Michel Temer sworn in as Brazil's new president after Dilma ousted by Senate --- ENDS --- advertisement IDEX CORPORATION (NYSE: IEX) announced today that William K. Grogan has been appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company. Mr. Grogan has been at IDEX for five years and has served as Vice President of Finance, Operations since 2015. Prior to that, he was Chief Financial Officer for the Companys Health and Science Technologies and Fire, Safety and Diversified Technologies segments from 2012 to 2015. Before joining IDEX Corporation, Mr. Grogan most recently served as Director of Finance, Store Operations at Walgreen Company from 2011 to 2012. Mr. Grogan holds an MBA from Northwestern Universitys Kellogg School of Management and an Undergraduate degree in Finance from Merrimack College. IDEX Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andy Silvernail stated, I am delighted with Bills promotion to Chief Financial Officer. Over the past several months we have done a thorough evaluation of internal and external candidates in order to ensure that we have a world class finance leader. Bills track record of success within IDEX, his proven ability to grow talent and build an organization make him uniquely qualified. We are fortunate to have someone of Bills caliber as our next CFO. Michael J. Yates, who has served as the Companys Interim Chief Financial Officer since September 2016, will resume his position as Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer. Mr. Silvernail thanked Mr. Yates, saying Mike did a terrific job as interim Chief Financial Officer over the past few months. Under his leadership we sustained our high level of performance which enabled us to conduct an in depth CFO search. I am very appreciative of Mikes longstanding contributions to IDEX, especially in this time of transition." SM Energy Company (NYSE: SM) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with a subsidiary of Venado Oil and Gas, LLC, an affiliate of KKR, for the sale of the Company's third party operated assets in the Eagle Ford, including its ownership interest in related midstream assets, for a purchase price of $800 million (subject to customary adjustments). President and Chief Executive Officer Jay Ottoson comments: "We are pleased to announce the signing of this agreement as we kick off 2017. This sale supports SM's strategy to be a premier operator of top tier assets. Our 2017 capital program will focus on our top tier oil position in the Midland Basin, consisting of approximately 87,600 net acres, and our top tier operated natural gas and NGL position in the Eagle Ford, consisting of approximately 161,500 net acres. The proceeds from this sale will provide us with additional flexibility to pursue aggressive growth from our Midland Basin assets, with related capital expenditures in excess of cash flow over the next few years, while at the same time improving our debt metrics and maintaining strong liquidity." The assets expected to be sold include approximately 37,500 net acres in the Maverick Basin/Eagle Ford area of south Texas and a 12.5% interest in the Springfield Gathering System. As of year-end 2015, net proved reserves associated with these assets were 65 MMBoe (38% oil, 31% natural gas and 31% NGLs). In the third quarter of 2016, these assets produced approximately 27,260 net Boe per day (33% oil, 33% natural gas and 34% NGLs.) The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, with an effective date of November 1, 2016, and the purchase price will be subject to certain closing price adjustments. The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, and there can be no assurance that the transaction will close on time or at all. Scotia Waterous served as the Company's financial advisor in this transaction. Team, Inc. (NYSE: TISI) today announced that Gary G. Yesavage, 64, has been appointed to the Team, Inc. Board of Directors. Mr. Yesavage most recently served as Chevrons President of Manufacturing for its Downstream and Chemicals Operations from 2009 until his retirement in June 2016. From 1999 to 2009, Mr. Yesavage served as the General Manager for the Chevrons Refinery in El Segundo, California. Mr. Yesavage will stand for re-election at Team's upcoming Annual Meeting of Shareholders in May 2017. Team's Chairman, Phil Hawk, said: "Team is pleased to welcome Gary Yesavage to our Board. Gary has an extensive background in the refinery space and the energy industry. We will benefit greatly from his perspectives and counsel as Team continues to grow." Ted Owen, Teams President and CEO, said: We are delighted to add Gary to our Board. His insights on service, safety and quality from a customer perspective are invaluable. - Solidifies Lydall as a global leader in industrial filtration markets - Further diversifies Lydall into complementary geographies and attractive adjacent markets with a leading brand - Combination creates further scale and unlocks operational synergies MANCHESTER, Conn., Jan. 03, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lydall, Inc. (Lydall or the Company) (NYSE: LDL), today announced that it completed the previously announced purchase of MGF Gutsche GmbH & Co. KG (Gutsche) on December 30, 2016 for $58 million in cash. The Company used $32 million of borrowings from its existing revolving credit facility and the remainder was paid from cash on hand. The transaction positions Lydall as a global leader in needle punch nonwoven filtration solutions and strengthens the Companys position as a premier provider of engineered technical materials. The acquisition expands the Companys filtration and engineered materials product offerings into attractive adjacencies and diversifies the Company's geographic revenue base. Gutsche is a leading producer of nonwoven needle punch materials serving the industrial filtration and high performance nonwoven segments. The business consists of operations in Germany and China. The Gutsche businesses will be integrated into Lydalls Technical Nonwovens segment. The Company plans to maintain manufacturing presence in the UK, Europe, and China and, through restructuring initiatives, to increase efficiencies and unlock operational synergies. The acquisition will be dilutive to Lydalls earnings in 2017 on an all-in basis, which includes the effect of purchase accounting, restructuring and other non-recurring expenses. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Lydalls earnings by mid-2018. Dale G. Barnhart, Lydalls President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, I am very excited to have completed the acquisition of Gutsche as it combines two complementary companies in the industrial filtration and technical materials markets. With the addition of Gutsche, we gain an experienced management team and an attractive footprint to serve Europe as well as secure a strong filtration position in the fast growing waste-to-energy incineration market. In addition, we are able to complement our China-based sales with a focus on the greater Asia-Pacific export markets. Gutsche is a well-known leading brand in the industry with an excellent reputation for high quality products and a proven culture of innovation. About Lydall Lydall, Inc. (NYSE: LDL) is a New York Stock Exchange listed company, headquartered in Manchester, Connecticut with global manufacturing operations producing specialty engineered products for the thermal/acoustical and filtration/separation markets. For more information, please visit http://www.lydall.com. Lydall is a registered trademark of Lydall, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Cautionary Note Concerning Factors That May Affect Future Results This press release contains forward-looking statements within the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact, including statements related to the expected timetable for integrating the acquisition, expected benefits of the acquisition, estimated annual cost savings, expectations of the acquisitions impact on Lydalls earnings in 2017 and 2018, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements are intended to provide managements current expectations for the future operating and financial performance of the Company based on current expectations and assumptions relating to the Companys business, the economy and other future conditions. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified through the use of words such as believes, anticipates, may, should, will, plans, projects, expects, expectations, estimates, forecasts, predicts, targets, prospects, strategy, signs, and other words of similar meaning in connection with the discussion of future operating or financial performance. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Such risks and uncertainties which include, among others, worldwide economic cycles that affect the markets that each of the Companys and Gutsches businesses serve which could have an effect on demand for their products and impact their profitability, challenges encountered by the Company in the integration of the Gutsche acquisition, disruptions in the global credit and financial markets, including diminished liquidity and credit availability, foreign currency volatility, swings in consumer confidence and spending, unstable economic growth, raw material pricing and supply issues, fluctuations in unemployment rates, retention of key employees, increases in fuel prices, and outcomes of legal proceedings, claims and investigations, that could have a negative impact on either companys results of operations and financial condition. Accordingly, the Companys actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements. Investors, therefore, are cautioned against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. They are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future performance. Additional information regarding factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in Lydalls filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks and uncertainties identified in Part II, Item 1A - Risk Factors of Lydalls Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 and Part I, Item 1A - Risk Factors of Lydalls Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and Lydall does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement made in this press release or that may from time to time be made by or on behalf of the Company. For further information: David D. Glenn Vice President, Corporate Development and Investor Relations Telephone 860-646-1233 [email protected] www.lydall.com Source: Lydall, Inc. Turku, Finland (PRWEB UK) 3 January 2017 The Monaco Cup, a disposable coffee cup featuring a unique and dynamic code hidden in a heat-sensitive label, is now for sale all over Finland at Shell service stations. Magic Add generated the dynamic codes and manages them with its data and content management platform. Magic Add applied its technology to disposable cups from a packaging manufacturer partner for St1 Oy, which owns Shell service stations, restaurants and cafes in Finland. This project marks the first time ever that high volumes of disposable coffee cups have been turned into smart packages, and the first large-scale commercial use of heat-sensitive labels as a safety feature. Thermosensitivity keeps the code invisible until usage, safeguarding content for customers. When a hot drink is poured into the Monaco Cup, the heat activates the thermochromic label, revealing a unique and dynamic code. By either scanning the code with a mobile device or entering it into a website, customers are eligible to win prizes ranging from free coffee to the grand prize, a trip for four to Monte Carlo to see the Monaco Grand Prix. Magic Add's smart software makes sure that each code can only be used once and dynamically changes the content after usage. Magic Add worked with Finnish creative agency Mediakolmio to develop the Monaco cup campaign and design. The cups arrived in stores just before the New Year and the campaign will continue for about three months. About Magic Add Ltd. Magic Add is creating the Internet of Packaging. Magic Add uses unique identifiers and a cloud-based platform to make cost-efficient, high-volume smart packaging for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). Based in Finland, Magic Add partners with leading packaging manufacturers and global consumer brands. With applications in marketing, manufacturing, and logistics, Magic Add's technology can be used to combat a diverse range of issues such as counterfeit goods and waste. Find out more about Magic Add and the Internet of Packaging at http://www.magicadd.com/. About St1 St1 is a Nordic energy group whose vision is to be the leading producer and seller of CO2-aware energy. The company researches and develops economically viable, environmentally sustainable energy solutions. St1 consists of two sister groups: St1 Nordic focuses on fuels marketing activities in Finland, Sweden and Norway and on renewable energy solutions such as waste-based advanced ethanol fuels and industrial wind power. Company has 1450 St1 and Shell branded retail stations in Finland, Sweden and Norway. The sister group St1 Group focuses on oil refining. Headquartered in Helsinki, the company employs currently 700 people in Finland, Sweden and Norway. http://www.st1.eu. About Mediakolmio Mediakolmio is a Finnish creative agency focused in marketing management in the changing digital environment. Company has over 40 employees located both in Helsinki and Lappeenranta.http://www.mediakolmio.fi. Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/01/prweb13953528.htm OKLAHOMA CITY (PRWEB) January 03, 2017 Based on true stories and actual experiences, "Sex, Intimacy, Love, and Romance in Elderly and Alzheimer's Patients" (published by Archway Publishing) explores intimate relationships and experiences of elderly people, particularly those dealing with dementia. This story follows Annie and Sherry, both in their 60s, who meet by chance through their parents at Lakewood Nursing Home in Wichita, Kansas and develop a close friendship. Together they share knowledge and experiences regarding the elderly and nursing home residents with dementia. They compile a series of fascinating stories about love, intimacy, romance and sexual activity among seniors and Alzheimer's patients. Annie and Sherry have begun to deal with several serious problems and hurdles often faced by the elderly themselves, further complicating their consideration of aging. Although sex among seniors is generally not discussed openly, elderly couples affected by dementia frequently maintain physical intimacy, love and romance. Dr. Sandy Sanbar and Judy Rector share an enlightening narrative of two women whose parents are experiencing dementia. "Sex, Intimacy, Love, and Romance in Elderly and Alzheimer's Patients" By Dr. Sandy Sanbar and Judy Rector Softcover | 5 x 8in | 300 pages | ISBN 9781480838116 E-Book | 302 pages | ISBN 9781480838123 Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble About the Author Dr. Sandy Sanbar, MD, PhD, JD, is a physician, biochemist, attorney and adjunct professor. He served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1968 to 1970. A strong advocate for the elderly in a variety of issues, he is the author of more than two 200 articles and several books. Judy Rector, born in Oklahoma City, is also an advocate for personal behavioral issues of elderly people. She retired from a highly successful career as a business owner and chief executive manager and presently works as a KHM travel agent. She also designs jewelry and currently lives in Oklahoma City. Simon & Schuster, a company with nearly ninety years of publishing experience, has teamed up with Author Solutions, LLC, the leading self-publishing company worldwide, to create Archway Publishing. With unique resources to support books of all kind, Archway Publishing offers a specialized approach to help every author reach his or her desired audience. For more information, visit archwaypublishing.com or call 888-242-5904. ### Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/DrSandySanbarJudyRector/prweb13942205.htm Encounter breaks out between security forces and terrorists in Haritar Tarzoo area in Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir. By India Today Web Desk: An encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists today in Haritar Tarzoo area in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir. One terrorist is believed to be killed in the encounter. HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW According to initial reports, one terrorist is holed up in the area. Forces have recovered heavy ammunition and are currently engaged in a search operation. This comes just a day after similar firing took place in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir. advertisement Watch the video here --- ENDS --- WILMINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rudolph Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: RTEC), a leading provider of process characterization equipment, lithography equipment and software for wafer fabs and advanced packaging facilities, announced today that Michael P. Plisinski, chief executive officer, and Steven R. Roth, chief financial officer, will be participating in the 19th Annual Needham Growth Conference to be held at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel in New York, NY from January 10-12, 2017. Rudolph is scheduled to present on Tuesday, January 10, 2017 at 8:00 AM EST. Management will be available to meet with investors throughout the day. Portfolio managers and analysts who wish to request a meeting with management should contact their Needham & Co. representative. The presentation materials utilized during the conference, along with a live audio webcast and archived recording of the presentation, will be available on the investor page of Rudolph Technologies website at www.rudolphtech.com. About Rudolph TechnologiesRudolph Technologies, Inc. is a leader in the design, development, manufacture and support of defect inspection, lithography, process control metrology, and process control software used by semiconductor and advanced packaging device manufacturers worldwide. Rudolph delivers comprehensive solutions throughout the fab with its families of proprietary products that provide critical yield-enhancing information, enabling microelectronic device manufacturers to drive down costs and time to market of their devices. Headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts, Rudolph supports its customers with a worldwide sales and service organization. Additional information can be found on the Companys website at www.rudolphtech.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170103005195/en/ Rudolph Technologies, Inc. Investors: Steven R. Roth, 973-448-4302 Senior Vice President & CFO [email protected] or Guerrant Associates Laura Guerrant-Oiye, 808-960-2642 Principal [email protected] Source: Rudolph Technologies, Inc. Digital process transformation and automation at the bank supports aggressive growth LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Provenir, provider of real-time, risk decisioning solutions, today announced that TBI Bank, which serves consumers and businesses in Bulgaria and Romania, has chosen The Provenir Cloud for rapid risk decision-making and streamlined processing of customer applications. Provider of consumer financing solutions, credit cards and small business lending, TBI Bank is one of the fastest growing banks in its market. Through its 65 offices and online banking services it serves over one million customers. The Bank is part of the 4Finance Group, one of Europes largest and fastest growing online and consumer mobile lending groups known for deploying data-driven analysis in its businesses. The Provenir Cloud will provide TBI Bank with an efficient risk analytics and decisioning solution for faster, consistent credit and loan decisions. Provenirs ability to integrate easily with any structured and unstructured data sources in minutes will help TBI Bank make risk decisions in seconds. TBI Bank has ambitious growth plans and at the same time will support 4Finance in a number of markets over the next 12 to 18 months. It will use The Provenir Cloud and the scalability, cost-efficiency and real-time updates it offers, as a key enabler for this growth. We pride ourselves on delivering a high-quality service to our customers with swift credit decisions and efficient loan application processing. The Provenir solution will help us make decisions in seconds, improve our customer experience and grow our business, said Petr Baron, CEO of TBI. In the competitive market we operate in we embrace the role data-driven analytics plays in rapid credit decision-making. The technology we deploy helps us evolve our products and services and our customers experience. The Provenir solution will provide efficient integration to our data sources, facilitating excellent loan processing capabilities. Of particular importance to us is ease of integration and Provenir excels in this area. With a history of innovative product development, TBI Bank has an ongoing program of automation and digitization supporting its impressive growth. The scalable Provenir Cloud will help deliver this strategy. Were delighted TBI Bank chose Provenir as they continue delivering their transformation objectives in support of their customer-centric strategy, said Paul Thomas, Managing Director, Provenir. Accuracy, compliance and the real-time deployment of analytics into the decisioning process all contribute to delivering a great experience for the consumer. TBI Bank recognizes the role technology plays in achieving this and we look forward to helping them achieve their goals. About Provenir Provenir makes risk analytics faster and simpler for financial institutions. Our Provenir risk analytics and decisioning platform is a powerful orchestration hub that can listen to any channel, integrate with any data service and operationalize any analytic model. We help clients process more applications with greater efficiency and increase sales conversions with instant, real-time risk decisioning, serving clients across a broad range of financial verticals including consumer, commercial, cards, payments, ecommerce and auto financing. Provenir is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey with UK operations in London and Leeds. For more information please visit www.provenir.com. About TBI Bank TBI Bank is a fully licensed Bulgarian bank operating in the Bulgarian and Romanian markets as part of the 4Finance Group. The bank is specialised in Retail and SME Banking. TBI Bank is one of the most effective, well-managed and fastest growing banks in the market. The bank is in the top 10 of profit and number one in return on assets and return on equity. TBI Bank is proud of the trust of over one million served customers. TBI Bank has 65 offices. The employees of TBI are over 1,400 people. 4finance is one of the largest and fastest growing groups in online and mobile lending for individuals. The company operates in Argentina, Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Denmark, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland, Romania, the USA, Finland, Czech Republic, Sweden, Dominican Republic, and Slovakia. The group was formed in 2008 with a vision to be a global leader offering fast and easy access to credit. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170103005027/en/ Finn Partners Hem Raheja T: +44 20 3217 7060 E: [email protected] Source: Provenir SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. (PRWEB) January 03, 2017 For many years Chuck Kimball has been entertained by enjoyable action and fiction thrillers. The state of Yucatan, where he spent time, is a region that evokes mystery, an element of suspense. Although rich in action involving violence, "The Yucatan Connection" (published by AuthorHouse) offers a soft side that even the most avid action lovers will appreciate. This thriller fiction book depicts the ingenious innovations in the field of drug and arms smuggling into the United States, and the difficulties these inventive methods bring to the agents who are fighting the illegal traffic. "The Yucatan Connection" follows the story of two Black Ops hired by the government to help in the eradication of drug smuggling into the United States. This monumental endeavor takes the two agents to Mexico and South America where they become entangled in a series of dangerous, suspenseful, and occasionally hilarious situations while chasing drug lords. Kimball pens a thriller fiction with a sense of humor, featuring the same deep black ops private operators who have dedicated their lives to helping the President of the United States, often by working outside the law and by avoiding bureaucratic handicaps. An excerpt from this book: Lyle looked into Yitro's eyes; they were beginning to gloss over. He took his left hand to pry open Yitro's mouth to pull out his gold teeth. Lacking the proper tools, he ended up digging out the two gold teeth with a knife and a screwdriver. Except for the two front teeth, rescuing the gold from his mouth took a while. Yitro by then, with great pain, had bled out and died. "The Yucatan Connection" By Chuck Kimball Hardcover | 6 x 9in | 350 pages | ISBN 9781524626914 Softcover | 6 x 9in | 350 pages | ISBN 9781524626938 E-Book | 350 pages | ISBN 9781524626921 Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble About the Author Chuck Kimball was born in a small town in Northern California. In the early years of his career, he was employed by the California Department of Forestry which later became Cal Fire. During his 11 years with the department, he worked his way up to fire captain. While furthering his education by seeking a second master's degree, he met a wonderful woman from France who became his wife of over 42 years. Later, he designed a Fire Technology program for Solano College in the Fairfield/Suisun City area in California. This program featured live fire training utilizing gasoline and propane for fire props. Kimball and his wife traveled to many parts of the world; the places are depicted in his writing such as Russia, India, Egypt, South America, France, Italy, Greece and the Yucatan. He retired in 1998. The author presently lives in Spokane Valley. AuthorHouse, an Author Solutions, Inc. self-publishing imprint, is a leading provider of book publishing, marketing, and bookselling services for authors around the globe and offers the industry's only suite of Hollywood book-to-film services. Committed to providing the highest level of customer service, AuthorHouse assigns each author personal publishing and marketing consultants who provide guidance throughout the process. Headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana, AuthorHouse celebrated 15 years of service to authors in Sept. 2011.For more information or to publish a book visit authorhouse.com or call 1-888-519-5121. For the latest, follow @authorhouse on Twitter. Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/TheYucatanConnection/ChuckKimball/prweb13942202.htm OTTAWA (Reuters) - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reached out in a video address to the new U.S. Congress on Tuesday to stress how tightly linked the economies of Canada and the United States are, amid fears of a protectionist Trump administration. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has promised to either renegotiate or scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), has said overhauling trade policy will be a top priority after he takes office on Jan. 20. Canada sends 75 percent of its exports to the United States and could suffer from changes to NAFTA, which also includes Mexico. Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) on Tuesday scrapped a planned Mexican car factory and added 700 jobs in Michigan following criticism by Trump, who turned his attention toward General Motors Co (NYSE: GM) with the threat of a "big border tax" over compact cars made in Mexico. In the video address, Trudeau and David MacNaughton, the Canadian ambassador to Washington, stressed the closeness of ties between the neighbors. "We've built an economic relationship that supports jobs in every Congressional district. We are the largest international customer for goods and services made in the USA," said Trudeau, who was filmed in his office in front of the U.S. and Canadian flags. MacNaughton said Canada was ready to work with Congress to make the lives of citizens in both nations better and more prosperous. Christine Constantin, a spokeswoman for the Canadian embassy in Washington, said ambassadors had sent video greetings to the two previous opening sessions of Congress. Trudeau, who has made ties with the United States a priority, was asked by the embassy to appear in the video, she said. Trudeau spokesman Cameron Ahmad declined to elaborate on the video, saying the prime minister's message spoke for itself. In the run-up to the 2016 U.S election, Canadian diplomats fanned out across the country to stress that Canada is the top export destination for 35 U.S. states and that nine million U.S. jobs depend on trade with Canada. (Reporting by David Ljunggren and Grant McCool) Afonso Dhlakama, head of Mozambique's opposition party Renamo, addresses an election rally in Matola, near Maputo, file. REUTERS/Grant Lee Neuenburg By Manuel Mucari MAPUTO (Reuters) - Mozambique's Renamo opposition party said on Tuesday it had extended a ceasefire by two months to allow talks with President Filipe Nyusi's government, raising hopes for a nascent peace process. Both sides have clashed sporadically since Renamo challenged the results of the southern African nation's 2014 elections. Analysts say competition over natural resources could also be exacerbating unrest - Mozambique is on the verge of developing huge offshore gas reserves which could transform one of the world's poorest countries into a middle-income state. Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama announced a seven-day truce a week ago after what he described as a long and constructive telephone conversation with Nyusi. The ceasefire extension followed another call between the two rivals. "It is reassuring that both sides (agreed to ceasefire) so things can go well and provide peace for Mozambicans," Dhlakama, who is in hiding, told reporters in a teleconference. "I am the head of the family. I am Mozambican and we are really doing this to reduce the deaths in Mozambique." Members of the current government and Renamo fought on opposing sides in a civil war from 1976 to 1992 that killed an estimated 1 million people. Dhlakama and Nyusi have not met face-to-face since February 2015 and distrust between the two has led to several ceasefires collapsing since Nyusi won the disputed 2014 vote. Since the poll, Renamo has demanded it rule in the six provinces where it won the most votes, while the government has called for the opposition to disarm before opening discussions. Fighting between the two sides usually takes place in the remote interior, making it difficult to assess the extent of the conflict. Early last year, tens of thousands of Mozambicans fled across the border into Malawi to escape violence and alleged human rights abuses. (Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Andrew Heavens) Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed the desire to take existing bilateral relationship with Pakistan to new heights. He expressed the desire in a message to President Mamnoon Hussain on his birthday. In reply, President thanked his Chinese counterpart for extending good wishes. He said role of President Xi Jinping in bringing Pakistan and China relationship more close is very important. He said Pakistan and China are not only reliable friends but also strategic partners. The President said Pakistan values its friendship with China. CPEC in Detail The ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor also known as CPEC and North-South economic corridor) is an economic corridor comprising a collection of projects currently under construction at a cost of $54 billion. CPEC aims to facilitate trade along an overland route that connects Kashgar and Gwadar, through the construction of a network of highways, railways, optical fiber and pipelines. See more: Chinese company keen to invest in Pakistan auto sector The corridor is intended to rapidly expand and upgrade Pakistani infrastructure, as well as deepen and broaden economic links between Pakistan and the People's Republic of China.[4] It is considered to be an extension of China's ambitious One Belt, One Road initiative, and the importance of CPEC to China is reflected by its inclusion as part of China's 13th five-year development plan. Pakistani officials predict that the project will result in the creation of upwards of 700,000 direct jobs between 20152030, and add 2 to 2.5 percentage points to the country's annual economic growth. Were all the planned projects to be implemented, the value of those projects would be equal to all foreign direct investment in Pakistan since 1970, and would be equivalent to 17% of Pakistan's 2015 gross domestic product. Infrastructure projects under the aegis of CPEC will span the length and breadth of Pakistan, and will eventually link the city of Gwadar in southwestern Pakistan to China's northwestern autonomous region of Xinjiang via a vast network of highways and railways. Proposed infrastructure projects are worth approximately $11 billion, and will be financed by heavily-subsidized concessionary loans that will be dispersed to the Government of Pakistan by the Exim Bank of China, China Development Bank, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Read more: CPEC project to be completed by 2030: Ahsan As part of the broad package of infrastructure projects under CPEC, a 1,100 kilometre long motorway will be constructed between the cities of Karachi and Lahore, while the Karakoram Highway between Rawalpindi and the Chinese border will be completely reconstructed and overhauled. The KarachiPeshawar main railway line will also be upgraded to allow for train travel at up to 160 kilometres per hour by December 2019. Pakistan's railway network will also be extended to eventually connect to China's Southern Xinjiang Railway in Kashgar. A network of pipelines to transport liquefied natural gas and oil will also be laid as part of the project, including a $2.5 billion pipeline between Gwadar and Nawabshah to eventually transport gas from Iran. Over $33 billion worth of energy infrastructure are to be constructed by private consortia to help alleviate Pakistan's chronic energy shortages, which regularly amount to over 4,500MW, and have shed an estimated 22.5% off Pakistan's annual gross domestic product. Over 10,400MW of energy generating capacity is to be developed between 2018 and 2020 as part of the corridor's fast-tracked "Early Harvest" projects in conjunction with four projects under construction prior to the announcement of CPEC. Electricity from these projects will primarily be generated by coal, though wind projects are included under CPEC, as is the construction of one of the world's largest solar energy plants. See more: ECC exempts CPEC machinery and equipment from taxes On 13 November 2016 the first trade activity took place through CPEC. Cargo from China was trucked down via the corridor and loaded on to ships at Gwadar port, headed to markets in West Asia and Africa. In November 2016, China announced an additional $8.5 billion investment in Pakistan with $4.5 billion allocated to upgrade Pakistan's main railway line from Karachi to Peshawar including tracks, speed and signalling. And $4 billion toward an LNG terminal and transmission lines to help alleviate energy shortages, taking the total level of investment to $55 billion. China stands to gain an alternative route for trade rather than the South China sea, with shorter distance saving transport costs (distance will be reduced by 9000 km) and less uncertainty and risk (Pakistan is allied with China) whereas in South-east Asia China is in dispute with its neighbours. Pakistan stands to gain due to upgrade of infrastructure on the Lahore-Karachi railway helping to make exports more competitive in terms of travel time and transport costs and the development of the Pakistan's road, air and port infrastructure to transport goods and will remove the energy shortages which will lead to complete industrialistion of Pakistan's economy from the current semi-industrialised economy, around 8000 Megawatts of energy will be generated. Read more: Russia dismisses reports of joining CPEC Pakistan Navy and Chinese Navy ships are to jointly guard the safety and security of the trade corridor, as Pakistan seeks to expand the role of its maritime forces.[28] From December 2016, Pakistan's Navy established a special taskforce "TF-88" to ensure there is maritime security for trade. Chairman Parliamentary Committee on CPEC confirmed that Sindh will deploy 2000 police officers and Punjab will deploy 5000 police officers and the army will deploy 12,000 troops to protect CPEC land route. As part of CPEC, Pakistan has boosted its international engagement in terms of foreign policy with China, Iran, USA, Turkey and Malaysia are to be engaged for the maritime economy related to CPEC. Iranian President Rouhani revealed his intentions to Pakistan to join CPEC in a meeting at the UN Russia has also expressed support for CPEC. Media reports on Monday revealed that some four or five Pakistani nationals had been allegedly kidnapped for ransom by suspected Kurd miscreants near Turkey's border. The victims, hailing from Gujranwala and Wazirabad, were travelling to Europe, when they were intercepted and abducted by suspected Kurd miscreants. Armed kidnappers reportedly subjected the captives to inhuman torture and sent the footage of torture to the relatives of these people. The captors demanded a sum of Rs2 million each for the release of the abducted Pakistani citizens. The affected families have demanded of the government to recover their relatives from captivity. They expressed their inability to pay huge ransom amount. The foreign office, while reacting to the news, said that the government was well aware of the media reports regarding kidnapping of Pakistani young men for ransom in Turkey. The diplomatic missions of Pakistan in Ankara and Istanbul have taken necessary measures to apprise the Turkish authorities, who are extending cooperation, the foreign office said in its statement. The foreign office further said that it was are in touch with concerned quarters in Pakistan to gather further details in the matter with the view to address the issue. Around 2,000 Muslims in western Afghanistan organised a protest on Tuesday against growing sectarian attacks by the militant Daesh, as the government warned that IS had expanded its foothold into 11 provinces. Shouting slogans such as "Death to the enemies of Afghanistan!" and "Death to Daesh!", the protesters in the city of Herat marched to the governor's office, carrying pictures of Muslims killed in recent attacks. "Daesh attacks on our mosques are increasing everyday. They want to create a rift between Muslims," Qurban Ali, a 40-year-old demonstrator, told AFP. "This is a dangerous trend and we want the government to protect us." The rise of Daesh has raised the spectre of sectarian discord in Afghanistan, something that the country has largely been spared despite decades of war. Until a few months ago, where it is notorious for brutality, including carrying out beheading despite a US-backed offensive against the militant group. But the government this week said the group was steadily expanding into other provinces. "Our initial information shows Daesh is behind the recent attacks in Herat. They are expanding and are always looking for new geographical areas," Najeebullah Mani, head of counter-terrorism at the interior ministry, told reporters in Herat. "They are present in at least 11 (of Afghanistan's 34 provinces). Their main goal is to create sectarian divisions between the locals." Herat, which borders Iran, has recently witnessed a surge in attacks on the minority group's mosques. A prayer leader was killed and five others wounded in one such attack on Sunday. The group did not officially claim responsibility for the assault. "We will not allow Daesh to make Afghanistan another Syria," said 30-year-old Jawad, another protester. "The government must come up with a plan to protect Muslims." Last year Afghanistan witnessed a wave of attacks on the Muslims claimed by Daesh. At least 14 Muslims were killed in October 2016 in a powerful blast at a mosque in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, hours after gunmen targeted worshippers in a shrine in Kabul and killed 18 people. In July 2016, the IS militants targeted members of Kabul's Muslims in a suicide bombing that killed more than 80 people and wounded 130. The incident happened at Salkhani village falling under Vibhutipur block in Samastipur. According to police sources, the journalist, Brij Kishor Kumar was at the brick kiln owned by him when unidentified criminals on motorbikes came and pumped 7 bullets into his body. The criminals had fired indiscriminately as a result of which Brij Kishore Kumar died on the spot. Soon after executing the killing the criminals fled the spot. Body of Brij Kishor Kumar has been sent to hospital for post-mortem while police have started investigations. It may be noted that Brij Kishor Kumar's killing comes in the backdrop of killing of another journalist of a national Hindi daily in Siwan, Rajdev Ranjan, who was also gunned down in a similar fashion in May, last year. It has been alleged that former RJD MP and mafia don turned politician Mohammad Shahabuddin masterminded the killing of Rajdev Ranjan. "We have done one surgical strike in PoK. But if we have to do something again, we will do it in a different manner and different style," Gen Rawat said. By Manjeet Negi: Three months after its dauntless surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the army on Monday didn't rule out another swoop to wipe out anti- India terror infrastructure across the border. But any such future measure would have a different shape and form, the new army chief, Gen Bipin Rawat, told India Today TV in an exclusive interview. NEXT SURGICAL STRIKE AGAINST PAK WILL BE OF DIFFERENT KIND advertisement "We have done one surgical strike in PoK. But if we have to do something again, we will do it in a different manner and different style," Gen Rawat said. "We'll surprise the enemy." The Indian army, he explained, is closely watching terrorist movements in the restive Kashmir valley. Anti-India militants, noted Gen Rawat, have rapidly changed their strategy since the September surgical strikes. The operation against terrorists who were planning to infiltrate into the country from PoK came in response to an attack on an army base in J&K's Uri sector that left 19 personnel dead. ALSO READ: Inside story of Indian Army's daring surgical strikes against Pakistan "Terrorists have changed or are changing their strategy," the Gen Rawat said. "We have to adapt our strategy accordingly and we are working on it," he added. The army chief described the Special Forces' operation in PoK as a powerful deterrence against major attacks. However, he cautioned the security forces against dropping their guard. "Terrorists found weaknesses," he said, referring to last year's terrorist attacks targeting the military in Pathankot, Uri andNagrota. "Security forces must neutralise (the terrorists) at the earliest (during such operations)," he observed. "We have to prevent terrorists from taking action. They can infiltrate; they have Pakistan support. They have weapons as well as money." TERRORISTS LOOKING FOR SOFT TARGETS Gen Rawat warned that militants might choose targets other than military bases in the future. Asked about China, he said "cooperation" summarised the Indian army's current policy towards Beijing. "Wherever there is tension along the border with China, we deal with it through mutual dialogue," he said. India's army, he said, is supportive of peace. Violence, he noted, affects civilians the most in border areas. Asked about the supersession issue surrounding his appointment, he said the army would continue to get full "support and cooperation" from the two most senior officers, Lt-Gen Praveen Bakshi and Lt-Gen PM Hariz. "Their commitment towards the army is unflinching." He also spoke about the need to modernise the army's infrastructure and hardware. "With changing times, we need to change our logistics. We are getting full support from the government in this regard. We need to modernise our warfare, arms, ammunition, and tanks," he said. advertisement ALSO READ: Our army seeks peace along the border but that doesn't mean we are weak: General Bipin Rawat How Ghatak platoons from units attacked in Uri helped commandos in surgical strike --- ENDS --- A unique lottery was organised in Assam on the the occasion of New Year celebrations where the top prices were livestock and animals. By Manogya Loiwal : While people all over the country celebrated the arrival of a new year in a lot of different ways, this bizarre new year celebration in Assam will leave you bedazzled for sure. In the Barpeta district of Assam, the locals organised a lottery in which the prizes to be won are not cars, bikes and appliances but livestock and animals! Photo: India Today advertisement In a bizarre list of prizes, the organisers handed out a cow, a goat, a duck as the first, second and third prize, and a number of hens and fishes as consolation prizes. Photo: India Today Interestingly, even after the announcement of the list of prizes, people queued up in huge numbers to buy the lottery tickets. For the locals of Assam, lotteries like this are a common occurrence and happen in almost all the villages of the state. Photo: India Today Although this lottery was organised on a very small scale, it was surprising to see the enthusiasm of the villagers who found happiness in their own bizarre way of welcoming the New Year. Inputs: Manogya Loiwal in Kolkata and Vikash Sharma in Bongaigaon. --- ENDS --- P Appa Rao along with eight other scientists were felicitated By Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their contribution in Science and Technology at Indian Science Congress at Tirupati today. By Ashish Pandey: It's the same month in which last year, Rohith Vemula, a Dalit research scholar of Hyderabad Central University had committed suicide inside the university hostel. After his suicide, FIR under SC/ST atrocity act was booked against the university Vice Chancellor P Appa Rao and others. A wide spread protest had forced him go on a long leave but after few months the Vice Chancellor joined back. advertisement Now, the same Vice Chancellor was felicitated by the Prime Minister and it has again triggered a controversy. HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED P Appa Rao along with eight other scientists were felicitated By Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their contribution in Science and Technology at Indian Science Congress at Tirupati today. Reacting harshly on the "felicitations", Ambedkar Student Association said "Post-Rohith Vemula's sucide on January 17, 2016 and subsequent Dalit-Bahujan uprising across the country, gave birth to many stooges who helped in suppressing the movement." "This was done by the government clearly to suppress Dalit Student Assertions on the campus." added Dontha Prashanth, Deshi Chrmudugunta and Vijay Pedapudi who along with Rohith were suspended from the campus. The Dalit student activists of Ambedkar Student Association (ASA) further alleged that the Modi government is appointing people out of turn. "Appa Rao Podile is one such stooge who is now being rewarded for the services to his masters in BJP. It has been seen in the out of turn appointment of the Army Chief, appointment of Chairman, FTII, and so on" added ASA in a release. The Dalit student wing even turned the award to University Vice Chancellor as a "tight slap" on the face of brilliant minds who wish to further science and progress in the nation. The Dalit student wing further made it clear that their struggle against Hyderabad University Vice Chancellor P Apparao seeking his removal as Vice-Chancellor and his arrest under Prevention of Atrocities would continue till justice is rendered and they will again start their protest. --- ENDS --- Police are no longer physically searching for a father and daughter who were last seen leaving Kawhia Harbour in a catamaran on Saturday, December 17. While police are no longer physically search for Alan Langdon, 49, and his daughter Que Langdon, 6, the case remains a missing persons inquiry. We have searched all the areas we can physically search with the resources available. This has included searching the entire west coast from Wellington to Cape Reinga, and down the east coast to the Bay of Islands, says Sergeant Vincent Ranger. Were still appealing to members of the public for any information or sightings. Theres nothing to suggest anything near criminal has happened. Vincent says the polices interest and focus is on locating Alan and his daughter to ensure their safety. Interpol has been advised, and this was done early on. That they may be headed overseas is just one of many possible scenarios, and were keeping an open mind. Our job is made more difficult by the fact that Mr Langdon didnt lodge an official trip report. As such, at this stage our focus has been on searching NZ waters. We cant discount anything at this point. Its a possible scenario that Alans headed for Australia, but Vincent says theyre keeping an open mind. Resources have included an Airforce P3 Orion, the Philips Search and Rescue Trusts fixed wing and helicopter, Northland Coastguard air patrol, Coastguard boats from Houhora and Hokianga, and commercial aircraft have search the southern coast of the North Island. Theres also the police resources on the ground involved in following up various lines of inquiry. Police continue to call for any sightings of the boat or Mr Langdon and his daughter. We have been searching and making inquiries regarding the most obvious possible scenarios, but without having more information as to where they may have been headed, were calling on the public to help us if they can. People can pass on any information to the nearest police station. Alternatively, information can also be left anonymously via the Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 line. Eyewitness accounts and cellphone videos on Sunday showed a number of women molested, groped and lewd remarks passed on them by men late on December 31 night in a posh Bengaluru neighbourhood despite the presence of nearly 1500 police personnel. By India Today Web Desk: The National Commission for Women (NCW) today sent summons to Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara and Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi for their outrageous remarks over the mass molestation at a New Year party in Bengaluru. "We have sent summons to both of them over their statements," NCW chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam told news agency ANI. "Few men across political parties have made disgusting statements. If men at this level say such things, where is the nation heading?," she asked. advertisement Also read | Women like sugar, invite ants: 10 Abu Azmi shockers on Bengaluru mass molestation Eyewitness accounts and cellphone videos on Sunday showed a number of women molested, groped and lewd remarks passed on them by men late on December 31 night in a posh Bengaluru neighbourhood despite the presence of nearly 1500 police personnel. LEADERS BLAME WOMEN The Karnataka minister on Monday blamed the women's "western ways" for the incident, while Azmi today made a series of mysogynist statements, blaming the victims for "inviting" men like that with their dresses. "Unfortunately, what is happening is - as I said - in days like new year, Bengaluru's Brigade Road, Commercial Street, MG Road, a large number of youngsters gather. Youngsters who are almost like westerners, they try to copy the westerners not only in the mindset, but even the dressing," Parameshwara said. Also read | Bengaluru molestation happened because nudity in fashion: SP's Abu Azmi Azmi, on the other hand, was more direct in blaming the women for the incident. "In this modern age, the more naked a woman is, the more fashionable she is considered," he said. "If there is petrol somewhere, there is bound to be fire. If there is sugar, ants are bound to come," the Samajwadi Party leader said. WATCH VIDEO --- ENDS --- Increasing numbers of trailer boats are being stolen from yards and driveways as summer kicks off, warns the Insurance Council of New Zealand. New Zealand Police are seeing on average 24 boats per month being stolen throughout New Zealand, says Insurance Council chief executive Tim Grafton. Unfortunately, the recovery rate is only around 20 per cent. This is partly due to the non-recording of both serial numbers and identifying features of boats, trailers and outboard motors by their owners. Thieves will often disguise a stolen boat by repainting and renaming it and swapping trailers and motors, so hidden unique identifiers are important, for example a splash of paint under the seats. A significant number of trailered boats are stolen from residential front yards and driveways. The Insurance Council and New Zealand Maritime Police are recommending boats on trailers are stored out of view from the road and driveway. Chain and lock boat trailers to an immoveable object such as house foundations or a concrete-set steel ring. Use boat trailer wheel clamps. Use purpose-security locks for the outboard motor. Outboard motors, particularly the newer models are frequently stolen regardless of how heavy they are. Remove auxiliary motors and all gear from the boat if it is stored out in the open. Record serial numbers and any identifying features including motors and trailers. Unique identifying features that will not be obvious to thieves should be recorded. Keep digital photographs and cell phone images. The New Zealand Police website has recently been updated with a new section focused on sexual assault. Information on the process of reporting a sexual assault, the investigations process and how police work with victims is now more easily available. The wellbeing and safety of victims is paramount to police and we are continually seeking ways to improve the process of reporting a sexual assault and the ongoing investigation, says national crime manager Detective Superintendent Tim Anderson. An Adult Sexual Assault Victims Survey has been launched for complainants to provide feedback on all stages of the investigation. The survey asks respondents brief questions on specific areas of the investigation, from how they were treated when they first spoke to police, through to the ongoing investigation and the final result. Police are also seeking feedback on the support and communication provided. Sexual assault is a serious crime and maintaining the privacy and dignity of victims is of utmost importance to Police, says Tim. The survey may be completed anonymously. The survey will be used to improve the quality of service Police provide now and in the future. The website also includes safety advice for those out socialising, including being out at night or using online dating profiles. References for support services available and your rights when dealing with an assault are provided. Police encourage anyone who has been subject to any unwanted sexual behaviour to speak to Police. The contact details for your local Police station may be found here. www.police.govt.nz/contact-us/stations Sexual Assault: what you need to know can be found here. www.police.govt.nz/advice/sexual-assault The Australian-first Aerostructures Innovation Research Hub (AIR Hub) will bring together the best of Victorias aerospace research, design and manufacturing leaders to work with industry on the next generation of air mobility. By Press Trust of India: Mumbai, Jan 3 (PTI) Superstar Aamir Khan has condemned the New Year Eve molestation incident in Bengaluru, terming it as extremely shameful and saddening. New Year revelry turned into a nightmare for several women who were allegedly molested despite huge police presence at a large gathering on December 31 at Bengalurus downtown region, sparking widespread outrage. advertisement "What happened in Bangalore was very sad. We all are saddened and feel ashamed when something like this happens in our country. Every state government should take a step for this," Aamir told reporters here. The 51-year-old actor feels it is high time the law and order "becomes strong and works rapidly" to set an example. "You see in America, if an incident like this happens, within two-three months the guilty person is punished and the case is closed. When this happens, I feel there will be a big change." Aamir says it is important to punish the culprits so that a strong message is sent across. "In todays age, people who misbehave with girls think nothing will happen to us. When such examples come in front of us, that whoever did this is behind bars within 2-3 months, and continuously if we see this, situation will change. There will be fear among people, which is a very important thing." The actor was speaking at the launch of "Satyamev Jayate Water Cup" second edition. PTI JUR RSY SHD --- ENDS --- jamar brown.jpg Jamar Brown (Syracuse police) Syracuse, NY -- A Syracuse man with a history of mental illness has been found incompetent to stand trial in the murder of of his mother at a University Hill apartment complex, his lawyer confirmed today. Jamar Brown, 22, is no longer being held at the downtown jail for the August murder inside the McCarthy Manor complex on South Crouse Avenue. But his case is far from over. He has been moved to an undisclosed mental health facility, where he will remain until he's ready for trial. Brown's case remains open in Onondaga County Court and he still faces murder and weapons charges in the death of his 60-year-old mother, Sarah Brantley, said defense lawyer Nicholas DeMartino. A mental health exam ordered by City Court Judge Kate Rosenthal found Brown unable to understand the charges against him and assist in his defense. Syracuse police are investigating a homicide at McCarthy Manor, a 176-unit apartment complex for seniors at 501 S Crouse Ave. on Syracuse's University Hill. That means Brown must be treated in a secure mental hospital until he's deemed by doctors to be competent to stand trial. If he refuses to take medication, a confidential proceeding can be held to force him to comply. Eventually, Brown will be returned to local court to face the charges. Incompetency is not the same as a so-called insanity plea, which sends the defendant to a mental hospital indefinitely. In this case, Brown is still presumed innocent. But he won't be going anywhere until he's mentally ready to stand trial. Brown's uncle said that Brown's mother had expressed concern about his mental state before the murder. The alleged motive remains unknown. Brown had spent time in a mental hospital before, his family said. By Cara Luddy, Communications Assistant at Central Library. Chris Bohjalian, author of 'The Double Bind,' which was chosen for CNY Reads One Book 2017. Since 2001, CNY Reads has worked to sponsor the largest community reading program in New York State. Every year from January to March, the group picks a different book for CNY Reads One Book. This program brings together the community to discuss and share their attitudes on the chosen book at a variety of events. For 2017 the book is "The Double Bind" by Chris Bohjalian. The novel explores the connection between mental health and trauma and how both of these things affect a community. Below is a list of the events for the 2017 season, starting with the kick-off on Jan. 12 at Barnes and Noble. Visit the CNY Reads website to learn more about this year's selection and the group's history and mission. 2017 CNY Reads Events Jan. 12, 7 p.m. at Barnes and Noble (3454 Erie Blvd E, Syracuse). The CNY Reads kick-off event, featuring readings from The Double Bind and drawings by artist J.P. Crangle. Jan. 4 - 31 at ArtRage Gallery (505 Hawley Ave, Syracuse). The Central Library Teen Photography Club will display work inspired by The Double Bind. March 6, 2 p.m. at Oasis (6333 Route 298, East Syracuse). A screening of the film, The Soloist with a discussion after. March 14, 3 p.m. at Oasis (6333 Route 298, East Syracuse). A Q&A with author Chris Bohjalian. March 14, 7:30 p.m. at the Civic Center (800 S State St, Syracuse). A lecture with Chris Bohjalian, tickets are $35, call 315-435-2121 to purchase. March 23, 7 p.m. at Liverpool Public Library (310 Tulip St, Liverpool). A panel discussion of the healing power of art. April 8, 1:30 p.m. at Syracuse Stage (820 E Genesee St, Syracuse). Poetry and discussion followed by a performance of How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel. Email CNYReadsonebook@gmail.com for ticket pricing and information. 2017 Book Discussions Feb. 1, 7 p.m. at Onondaga Free Library (4840 W. Turnpike, Syracuse). Feb. 2, 7 p.m. at Liverpool Public Library (310 Tulip St, Liverpool). Feb. 14, 2 p.m. at Manlius Library (1 Arkie Albanese Ave, Manlius). This group will discuss The Great Gatsby and how it relates to The Double Bind. Feb. 16, 6:30 p.m. at Marcellus Free Library (32 Maple St, Marcellus). Feb. 21, 1 p.m. at Oasis (6333 Route 298, East Syracuse). Feb. 22, 6:30 p.m. at NOPL, North Syracuse (100 Trolley Barn Lane, North Syracuse). Feb. 23, 2 p.m. at Manlius Library (1 Arkie Albanese Ave, Manlius). Feb. 28, 6:30 p.m. at NOPL, Brewerton (5440 Bennett St, Brewerton). This group will discuss The Great Gatsby and how it relates to The Double Bind. March 14, 5:15 p.m. at Central Library (447 S Salina St, Syracuse). March 28, 6:30 p.m. at NOPL, Brewerton (5440 Bennett St, Brewerton). SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Onondaga County district attorney said ridesharing in Upstate New York could help prevent drunken driving if only Downstate legislators would ignore "special interests" preventing its passage. He even would like to see the government subsidize ridesharing apps like Uber to encourage more and more potential drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel, he said in an email Tuesday. He said he's made no formal proposals to make that happen apart from a conversation with the Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney. "Naturally, this would need fine tuning and input from public officials in addition to me," Fitzpatrick said in an email. "But it could have a dramatic impact on reducing drunk driving and the fatalities attendant to the problem." Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said Tuesday he thinks ridesharing apps like Uber would reduce DWIs. Fitzpatrick, who headed the National District Attorney Association last year, said drunk drivers tend to justify getting behind the wheel because it's convenient and they're overconfident in their ability to drive. A service like Uber, if it's offered at a "reasonable cost and convenience," would prevent that, he said. "Long waits and high costs and lousy service won't cut it," he said. About 10 minutes before 1 a.m. on New Year's Day, taxi dispatchers from three Syracuse companies told a reporter that wait times ranged between one and two hours for a ride from the Westcott neighborhood to downtown Syracuse. One company didn't answer the phone at all. Also, costs ranged from $12 to $20 for the approximately two-mile drive. In New York City, the lowest-cost Uber ride is a minimum of $8, though costs sometimes surge as demand increases. The New York City base Uber fare is $2.55 plus 35 cents a minute and $1.75 a mile, according to Uber's website. Uber is legal in New York City out of an arrangement struck with the New York City's Taxi & Limousine Commission that allows Uber drivers to operate in that jurisdiction as for-hire cars. Fitzpatrick said his proposal to further reduce those costs would impose a "reasonable" charge on places that serve alcohol, and ridesharing apps like Uber would get breaks on taxes or administrative costs to get customers and their vehicles home at peak DWI hours. For that to happen, however, lawmakers will have to vote to allow ridesharing in Upstate. A bill that would allow it died over concerns about insurance costs, disability access and impact on taxi competition, but it is still being discussed as lawmakers meet for a new special session this week. Fitzpatrick thinks it's likely Uber will come to Upstate. His proposal could also include taxi drivers, he said, but Uber could improve convenience and cost and stave off drunk driving. "Obviously Uber and (fellow ridesharing app) Lyft will eventually come to Upstate NY after the State Assembly stops pretending that its members suddenly care about public safety," Fitzpatrick wrote, adding that he's not talking about local Assembly representatives. "The NYC delegation will cater to various special interests... before allowing these services to be provided as they are in 47 other states." Blog_NYSYR-20170103-121935-area_code.JPG Ten-digit dialing is coming to the 315 area code in February 2017. (Marie Morelli | mmorelli@syracus) To the Editor: Have you received your notice on required 10-digit local phone dialing starting in February? As I wrote in July 2015 ("Need for new area code doesn't add up"), we are not running out of phone numbers within the 315 area code. There are approximately 1.5 million residents in the calling area. There are roughly 650,000 households and businesses, fewer with landline phones. Let's suppose a generous 80 percent of the population, or 1.2 million residents, have a cellphone. So, the total number of 315 phone numbers in use is under 2 million. Each area code has 10 million possible numbers, of which 7.92 million are for general use. So there are 6 million numbers (75 percent) still unused! What's going on? NANPA, the agency that allocates the numbers, is officially running low (roughly 360,000 in possession), but that's because incumbent phone companies are over-allocated and are hoarding numbers. The sensible solution is for NANPA to claw back the excess allocations. The phone companies may cry inconvenience, but it is of their own making. Considering the absurd profits they make off of us, place the inconvenience on them and avoid burdening the other 1.5 million of us. It strikes me as a dereliction of duty if our local elected officials cannot summon the energy to stop such a demonstrably unnecessary action. Oh, and to the Public Service Commission, thanks for nothing. Carlo Moneti Syracuse Obama In this Dec. 16, 2016, file photo, President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. Obama is entering the closing stretch of his presidency, an eleventh-hour push to tie up loose ends and put finishing touches on his legacy before handing the reins to President-elect Donald Trump. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP) To the Editor: It appears that President Obama is attempting to burn everything down around him as he leaves office. He is showing his true colors. Now that he no longer has to face the electorate or worry about getting Hillary Clinton elected, all bets are off. His unprecedented land and ocean grabs, with no Congressional consultation, are cheating the Eskimos in Alaska and Midwestern ranchers. This is his chance to get back at the red-staters who resoundingly rejected his progressive agenda in the past election. Now after eight years of letting the Russians walk all over him, he is finally reacting, trying to poison the well for the new Trump administration. Even Rolling Stone magazine, which fell for the University of Virginia rape hoax, is skeptical. We are asked to buy into the assessment of Russian hacking with no proof presented. It's another case of trust us, just like the weapons of mass destruction justification for the Iraq War. His worst action, though, is when he stuck a butcher knife in Israel's back by refusing to veto the United Nations resolution critical of Israel, which received resounding bi-partisan condemnation. Secretary of State John Kerry then twisted the knife with his hour-long screed condemning Israel. It was so bad the prime ministers of the United Kingdom and Australia publicly came out against Kerry's speech. I wonder how the United States would react if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested that all settlements in Southwestern United States are illegitimate and that we should return to pre-1848 borders. President Obama can't leave office too soon. My biggest concern is how much more damage he can do in the next 18 days. James Johnson Baldwinsville APTOPIX Mideast Iraq An Iraqi doctor gives a polio vaccine to a child in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, May 14, 2014. According to statistical measures, child mortality has dropped by nearly half over the span of 20 years, while literacy, vaccinations and the number of people living in democracy have increased. (Khalid Mohammed / AP) Annie Duflo and Jeffrey Mosenkis are the executive director and senior policy communications associate, respectively, at Innovations for Poverty Action, a nonprofit that researches and promotes solutions to global poverty problems. By Annie Duflo and Jeffrey Mosenkis | Special to The Washington Post By conventional wisdom, 2016 has been a horrible year. Only someone living in a cave could have missed the flood of disheartening headlines. However, if 2016 continues the global trends of previous years, it may turn out to have been one of the best years for humanity as a whole. Those of us who live in the world of poverty research and rigorous measurement have watched many global indicators improve consistently for the past few decades. Between 1990 and 2013 (the last year for which there is good data), the number of people living in extreme poverty dropped by more than half, from 1.85 billion to 770 million. As the University of Oxford's Max Roser recently put it, the top headline every day for the past two decades should have been: "Number of people in extreme poverty fell by 130,000 since yesterday." At the same time, child mortality has dropped by nearly half, while literacy, vaccinations and the number of people living in democracy have all increased. Emergencies and bad news tend to command our attention, so it's easy to miss humanity's remarkable ability to improve its own lot. At the research and policy nonprofit Innovations for Poverty Action, we work with academics and field researchers to test which programs help the poor. Here are four things we've learned in 2016: 1. Give the poor cash. Studies in Kenya and elsewhere show that the simplest way to help is also quite effective. We also know that if we give cash, the poor won't smoke or drink it away. In fact, a recent look at 19 studies across three continents shows that when the poor are given money, they are less likely to spend it on "temptation goods" such as alcohol and tobacco. More and more research shows that when the poor come into a windfall, they spend it on productive things -- sending their children to school, fixing the roof that's letting in the harsh weather or investing in a business. Based on this evidence, a "cash revolution" is taking hold in the humanitarian world. Even refugees in places such as Lebanon and Turkey increasingly carry ATM cards provided by aid organizations, which are periodically loaded with cash to spend on whatever they need -- including shoes, food and rent. 2. Innovative health-care delivery can dramatically improve outcomes. Despite the recent drops in child mortality, an estimated 5.9 million children younger than 5 died in 2015, often due to conditions that would be easily treatable elsewhere, such as diarrhea. The nongovernmental organizations Living Goods and BRAC Uganda have been training women in Uganda to make a living by going door-to-door selling over-the-counter medications and health products. They function as franchisees in an "Avon lady"-style business. But these small-business owners also perform basic health checks for children to look for symptoms that warrant getting the child to a clinic. One randomized evaluation concluded that taking this health care to people's homes reduced child mortality (for those younger than 5) by an astounding 27 percent and infant mortality (less than a year old) by 33 percent. 3. Access to mobile money may lift people out of poverty in large numbers. In many parts of the world, cellphone signals are reaching remote areas, and with that new forms of electronic services. In Kenya, the M-Pesa mobile money system, introduced in 2007, allows anybody with a mobile phone to transfer money through a text message. Research shows that as M-Pesa became more available in a local area, households became less poor -- particularly households run by women. The study estimates that 185,000 women changed professions from subsistence agriculture to business and retail and that 194,000 households were lifted out of extreme poverty. 4. Mobile phone technologies are leapfrogging the reach of traditional telecom infrastructure, and text message reminders are proving to be effective at helping people follow through on things they want to do. One study found that they helped the poor save money. Another in Ghana aimed at combating drug resistance found that such reminders helped people to finish all of their antimalarial drugs. Researchers in Ghana also found that text message quizzes improved girls' understanding of reproductive health, resulting in fewer reported pregnancies. In Kenya, another interactive text message system offering support for teachers helped reduce student dropouts by 50 percent. This is not to say that poverty research is a continuous parade of celebratory findings. Many programs don't work, but knowing what does work allows governments, investors and aid organizations to move toward the more effective programs. Here's to a 2017 that's even better for humanity than 2016. In a CCTV video, Karwar MP Ananthkumar Hegde is seen thrashing doctors alleging that they were not taking proper care of his mother admitted in the hospital. No case has been registered so far in the matter. By India Today Web Desk: A Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Karnataka was caught on camera assaulting staff of a private hospital in Karwar in Uttar Kannada district. In a CCTV video, Karwar MP Ananthkumar Hegde is seen thrashing doctors alleging that they were not taking proper care of his mother admitted in the hospital. No case has been registered so far in the matter. advertisement Dr Madhukeshwara Jeevi, Dr Balachandra and Dr Rahul Marshakar were reportedly thrashed by the BJP MP. This is not for the first time that Hegde has been in news for a wrong reason. CHEQUERED PAST In March 2016, the police registered a criminal case against him suo motu for his remarks linking Islam to terrorism. The five-time MP from Uttara Kannada had allegedly made the remarks at a press conference at Sirsi, drawing a link between Islam and terrorism, triggering protests from Muslim organisations. Muslim organisations in the communally sensitive Bhatkal town in the district had held protests against Hegde. WATCH: BJP MP Ananthkumar Hedge assaults doctors for not 'taking care' of his mother ALSO READ: VVIP goondagiri? YSR Congress MP slaps Air India manager --- ENDS --- The resignation is the second by a senior British EU official in the wake of the referendum. Jonathan Hill quit as Britain's European commissioner in June. By Reuters: Britain's ambassador to the European Union has abruptly resigned just three months before Prime Minister Theresa May starts formal Brexit negotiations. Ivan Rogers, Britain's permanent representative to the EU, told staff on Tuesday afternoon that he would be stepping down from his post early, said a news website, which was the first to report the resignation on Tuesday. Rogers did not explain the reasons for resigning, according to people who have seen his note to diplomatic staff, the website said. Two sources who asked for anonymity later confirmed the report that Rogers had resigned. advertisement RESIGNATION A SETBACK FOR MAY "This weakens May's ability to get a good EU deal," said Charles Grant, Director of the Centre for European Reform think tank. "Ivan Rogers was one of the very few people at the top of the British government who understand the EU." The resignation is the second by a senior British EU official in the wake of the referendum. Jonathan Hill quit as Britain's European commissioner in June. May has said she will trigger formal Brexit talks - likely to be among the most complicated negotiations in post-World War Two European history - by the end of March. Also read | Britain's Brexit plan? There is no plan, says leaked memo Britons' vote to leave the bloc has opened a huge number of questions, including whether exporters will keep tariff-free access to the single European market and British-based banks will still be able to serve continental clients, not to mention immigration and the future rights of the many EU citizens already living in the United Kingdom. Allies, company bosses and investors are trying to work out what Brexit might mean for the European Union, Britain and for London, the only global financial centre to rival New York. ROGERS MADE BRITAIN'S ENVOY IN 2013 Rogers, appointed by former Prime Minister David Cameron as Britain's envoy to Brussels in November 2013, is one of Britain's most experienced diplomats on EU affairs. He formerly worked in Downing Street, the British Treasury, the European Commission and at Citigroup and Barclays Capital. But after Cameron lost the June 23 Brexit vote, Rogers drew criticism for lacking ambition in Cameron's 2015 attempt to redefine Britain's relationship with the bloc. Also read | India must seek assurance from Britain against adverse impact of Brexit on bilateral trade: Assocham The failure of Cameron's so-called EU "renegotiation" was cast by some supporters as one of the reasons why Cameron lost the June vote. Rogers warned May's ministers that the European consensus, which was a trade deal with the EU, might not happen until the early to mid-2020s and that national parliaments could ultimately reject it, the BBC reported last month. CHANGE NOT GOOD: PARLIAMENT's BREXIT COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN Hilary Benn, chairman of parliament's Brexit committee, said a change in such a significant position was "not a good thing". advertisement "This is a time for continuity and experience because this is going to be a very complex, a very challenging and a very difficult negotiation," Benn told BBC radio. "It's absolutely vital to both convey the British government's view to the other 27 members states and honestly report back what he was picking up about the attitude of the other 27 towards the forthcoming negotiations." --- ENDS --- The first baby of 2017 in Britain, who came into the world at 12:01 am, is an Indian-origin baby girl named as Ellina Kumari who has now become popular because of her 'special' birth timing. By Press Trust of India: Britain's first baby of 2017 is an Indian-origin girl, who came into the world at 12.01 am, just a minute into the New Year. 35-year-old Bharti Devi, gave birth to the 6 pounds, 8 ounce baby girl Ellina Kumari at City Hospital in Birmingham, just seconds after Big Ben stopped chiming. Speaking from her hospital bed, Bharti, a housewife, told the Sun , "She is doing well and is healthy. I was five days overdue so we expected her to be born in 2016 but the longer the labour went on I thought it might go into 2017." advertisement Bharti also has a two-year-old son Ariv Kumar with sales assistant husband Ashwani Kumar. "We did not really get the chance to celebrate the New Year at midnight because I was just about to give birth. It is really exciting to think she is the first baby born in Britain in 2017, it is definitely something special to tell her when she is grown up," she added. The new father said he is an "extremely proud dad". "Bharti and Ellina both being healthy is the main thing. But it is incredible to think she is the first baby of the whole year. New Year will be extra special from now on," he said. The new mother and baby were looked after by midwife Zulekha Samsodien, who described the birth as "special". "It is special that she is the first baby of 2017 anywhere in the country, it is something to be proud of. Weve had a couple of deliveries since as well which is really nice," she said. --- ENDS --- Welcome, DISH customer! Please note that we cannot save your viewing history due to an arrangement with DISH. Watchlist and resume progress features have been disabled. ACCEPT Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Microsoft's Surface Pro 2-in-1 tablet has long been in need of a refresh. The last generation Surface Pro 4 was released back in October 2015 and much has changed since then. A report from DigiTimes citing China's Economic Daily News tells us that Microsoft is planning to launch the new Surface Pro 5 in the first quarter of 2017. The leak stems from loose lipped manufacturers and nothing has been confirmed by Microsoft, but the information seems credible. The report highlights manufacturers involved with producing the Pro 5. Microsoft has chosen Pegatron Technology to build the device; the same company in charge of producing the Surface Studio line of PCs. The Surface Pro 5 will likely feature a 4K Ultra HD display, USB type C, and Thunderbolt 3. In the processor department, it's not clear if Microsoft will go with Intel's Kaby Lake line of processors or perhaps a Qualcomm one. Also mentioned are new plans for the magnetic stylus that would recharge automatically when docked to the side of the Surface, instead of using a removable AAAA battery. All in all, Surface hardware has proven to be a very successful venture for Microsoft. The Surface Book recently got a refresh receiving a faster Intel Core i7 processor and GTX 965M GPU. With the addition of the Surface Studio desktop, it looks like Microsoft is heavily focused on content creators and others who would have traditionally gone with an Apple device. Emergency workers in Massachusetts had to revive a 10-month-old baby girl twice on Saturday, Dec. 31, after she was exposed to a powerful opioid known as fentanyl, local authorities said. The Methuen Police Department received a call on Saturday afternoon about a baby not being able to breathe. First responders found the victim and rushed her to the Lawrence General Hospital. The child had to be revived twice after she had already stopped breathing upon arriving at the hospital. She was later transferred to the Tufts Medical Center in Boston by helicopter so she could receive further treatment. She is now in stable condition. Michael Quinn, the lawyer of the famly, told reporters that the baby is doing fine and that she could be discharged from the hospital today. The state's Department of Children and Families is monitoring the child's condition. Fentanyl Overdose Hospital tests revealed that the 10-month-old baby had traces of the fentanyl in her system. Public health officials believe the synthetic drug is the culprit behind a series of opioid overdoses in Massachusetts and other nearby states. "This is an extremely unfortunate situation in which a dangerous drug has ended up in the wrong hands and placed a baby's life in danger," Joseph E. Solomon, chief of the Methuen Police, said. "Our main goal now is to find out how this substance ended up in the child's system." Officers searched the child's home and found several items of interest. However, they did not reveal whether they found illegal drugs. There have been no arrests made related to the incident. Methuen Mayor Stephen Zanni warned the public that the opioid epidemic has no boundaries. He urged the people to keep children from having access to dangerous substances, and to do everything they can in order to fight drug addiction. On Monday, Methuen Police were able to seize close to 31 pounds of a fentanyl variant known as "China White" in a different part of the city. The amount of the drug is valued at about $1.2 million. Opioid Epidemic In The United States The rise in opioid overdose cases in the United States over the past few years has forced the Drug Enforcement Administration to issue a nationwide advisory on the dangers of drugs such as fentanyl. Fentanyl is typically prescribed to people who suffer from severe pain. It is considered to be a more potent alternative to morphine. The drug is administered through pill, patch, or injection. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that the number of deaths related to fentanyl and other opioid overdoses has increased by as much as 80 percent from 2013 to 2014. In 2014 alone, as many as 5,500 people lost their lives after overdosing on these drugs. In November, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported that 1,005 people in the state have died because of opioid overdose in just the first nine months of 2016. This mirrors the nearly 1,200 confirmed overdose deaths that happened in the state in just the first nine months of 2015. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Budget 2017 likely to be presented on February 1. By Indo-Asian News Service: The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) today recommended starting the budget session of Parliament from January 31, official sources said. The CCPA met today morning and decided that the first half of the budget session should be held from January 31 to February 9. The recommendation will now be sent to President Pranab Mukherjee for his consent. advertisement The sources said the general budget is likely to be presented on February 1. ALSO READ:5 major likely changes in Arun Jaitley's 2017 Budget --- ENDS --- According to a recent research, hearing loss in people may be associated with iron deficiency anemia (IDA), which is a combination of deficiency of red blood cells and iron in the human body. Link Between Hearing Loss And IDA A study was conducted in adults in the United States aged between 21 and 90 years to identify the relationship between IDA and hearing loss. It was inferred that people suffering from IDA are twice likely to suffer from hearing loss than people that don't have the blood disorder. The link between IDA and hearing loss was found to be predominantly sturdy for two kinds of hearing loss sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and conductive hearing loss (CHL). According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, SNHL happens when the inner ear or the nerve leading from the inner ear to the brain is destroyed. On the other hand, CHL happens when sounds are not conducted properly from the outer ear to the middle ear or the eardrum. Combined hearing loss is the combination of the duo. SNHL is usually considered to be a permanent kind of hearing loss. Iron Deficiency Can Damage Inner Ear Hair Cells According to Dr. David Haynes, a professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, many earlier researches including the current study suggest that iron deficiency could be one of the factors that could be causing hearing loss. "Overall, 1.6 percent of the general population had hearing loss, while 3.4 percent of individuals with iron deficiency anemia had hearing loss," said the study's author, Kathleen Schieffer, as reported in WebMD. Peter Steyger, ENT specialist at Oregon Hearing Research Center, said that low iron levels can interrupt the workings of the cells, or even slay them. If this occurs in the ear, i.e. damaging the hair cells of the inner ear may lead to hearing loss. Unlike other body organs, if the hair cells present in the inner ear are killed, they can't be reinstated to re-establish the auditory function. Correcting IDA Might Improve Hearing The researchers suggest that if IDA takes part in causing hearing loss, it might be possible to improve hearing by correcting the iron deficiency condition. According to Schieffer, the finding only depicts a probable association between IDA and hearing loss and currently there is no clear evidence to confirm that treating IDA will retain hearing abilities. Further studies are required to know whether screening and treatment of IDA could have an impact in people suffering from hearing loss. The paper is published in the JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery journal. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A pair of twins in Arizona were born only a minute apart but they ended up being born in different years. Born One Minute And One Year Apart Everett Shay and his brother Sawyer were born just a minute apart at the Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale, Arizona but the time difference is significant enough because the two boys ended up being born on different days, in different years. The boys' parents arrived at the hospital on Saturday, Dec. 31, already aware that there was a chance the twins will have an unusual entrance to the world - and they did. The older of the twins was born in 2016 and the younger was born in 2017. Sawyer was the last baby to be delivered in 2016 at the hospital while younger brother Everett was the first baby to be born there in 2017. "I have been at Banner for 25 years and I don't recall this happening in our history, to have a New Year's baby while their twin was born in the year previous," said Banner Health public relations spokesperson Jennifer Ruble. Younger Twin A True New Year's Baby Ruble said that the boys' mother Holly Shay did not have a C-section, was not induced and was at full term, which means that Everett, who was born at 12:01 in the morning, is a true New Year's baby. The twins' dad, Brandon Shay, said that Everett was a little bit more stubborn so he was not born until a minute past midnight. "Everett might disagree but that's because he's just stubborn," said Brandon Shay. "He was hanging on until after midnight." The boys were born at 37 weeks. Sawyer was the larger one at 5 pounds and 5 ounces, while Everett weighed 4 pounds and 8 ounces. Fraternal Twins Because the boys were born on separate days and years, they won't share a birthday. They are neither identical. Although Everett weighs less than his older brother, he is actually an inch taller. He was also more energetic while in the womb. The boys are what is known as fraternal twins. Unlike identical twins that originate from the same combination of cells, fraternal twins, also known as dizygotic twins, are two individuals from the same pregnancy who were formed from two separate eggs that were fertilized by two separate sperms. Fraternal twins may or may not look or act alike. The twins have two older sisters aged 13 and 4. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Southwestern city of Quetta in Pakistan has started a special five-day immunization campaign last Monday for children under age 5 after a rare strain of the virus has been detected in sewage samples. According to local officials, they had recruited Muslim clerics to promote the immunizations covering 400,000 kids, amid past programs being met with resistance even violence by extremists. Pakistan is one of three countries in the world, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, to have endemic polio, a once-prevalent childhood virus that can lead to paralysis or even death. Syed Faisal Ahmed, coordinator of the local Emergency Operation Center, said in a Reuters report that religious leaders in mosques located in Baluchistan province, whose capital is Quetta, were requesting people in their sermons to administer anti-polio drops to their children. Rare Polio Strain Spotted "We have achieved major goals in combating polio disease, but still we have to strive more to declare Pakistan a polio-free country," said Ahmed, citing that the country revealed a record low of 19 polio cases in 2016, only one of which was logged in the said rural area. According to the official, this new campaign comes on the heels of the appearance of the rare Type 2 strain of the disease in sewage samples that the World Health Organization (WHO) took in November. The WHO disclosed the findings last week. A human case of the Type 2 polio virus is yet to be reported in more than 10 years, but it has already been incorporated in the vaccine as a precautionary measure. Type 1 remains the more common type of the condition. Islamist Militants In the past, immunization efforts were impeded by Islamist militants. Back in January, 15 people perished outside a vaccination center in Quetta after a suicide bombing attack claimed by the Taliban group as well as the Jundullah, another militant faction. Pakistani militants have accused the immunization campaigns as a cover for Western-orchestrated spying. In the case of the late al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, considered the chief architect of the 2001 U.S. attacks, a doctor is believed to have helped the CIA track him down through the use of a fake immunization drive that collects DNA samples. Bin Laden died in the Pakistani Abbottabad town in a covert operation of the U.S. special forces back in 2011. A year after, a Pakistani court sentenced Dr. Shakil Afridi, an alleged U.S. facilitator, to 33 years of jailtime due to charges of being a member of the militant group Lashkar-e-Islam. While the sentence was eventually overturned, the doctor remains in jail on charges of murder tied to a patients death. In August last year, Nigeria a nation ravaged by polio just two years before saw the comeback of the virus with reports of two children left paralyzed after contracting the wild poliovirus in the northeastern Borno state. The development nixed hopes of soon declaring Africa polio-free. "The overriding priority now is to rapidly immunize all children around the affected area and ensure that no other children succumb to this terrible disease," said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for the continent. Photo: CDC Global | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Sony Xperia X is the first smartphone, excluding Google's Pixel and Nexus devices, to receive an upgrade to Android 7.1.1 Nougat. However, not all Xperia X units will be getting the mobile operating system update, as the Android 7.1.1 Nougat upgrade is only available through the Concept Android build of Sony. Sony's Concept For Android Software Program In November, Sony brought Android 7.0 Nougat to the Xperia X through the Concept for Android program. The builds that are released under the program are experimental, and are meant to provide users with a method for testing new software closer to the stock version of Android compared to the stable releases of the operating system that Sony rolls out for its devices. The Xperia X Concept firmware has since received a couple of updates, but the latest one that was rolled out under the program is found to be based not on Android 7.0 Nougat, but rather on Android 7.1.1 Nougat. The Android 7.1.1 Nougat MR1 update carries the build number 38.3.A.0.41, and adds features related to the operating system update to the Xperia X. Technically, this makes Sony the second mobile device manufacturer after Google rolls out the latest version of the Android operating system, despite the very limited release of the update. Android 7.1.1 Nougat New Features The Android 7.1.1 Nougat upgrade adds a restart option in the power button menu of the Xperia X, a feature that is said to be a highly requested one from users, while also improving the speed of the camera's start-up. The update also adds PlayStation 4 Remote Play support, though there is no DualShock 4 controller support for now. In addition to the new features that were introduced, the Android 7.1.1 Nougat MR1 update also includes Google Security patches until Dec. 1. How To Get Android 7.1.1 Nougat On Sony Xperia X For users who are looking forward to getting Android 7.1.1 Nougat on their Sony Xperia X, you will have to wait a bit longer. The Android 7.1.1 Nougat update is only currently available to users who have signed up for the Concept for Android program and have chosen the Experimental update track. The operating system upgrade will likely be pushed forward to the Stable update track of the program in a few weeks, but there is no information on how long the wait will be from that point until Sony launches the wide rollout of Android 7.1.1 Nougat to all Xperia X owners. Android Nougat On Sony Smartphones Last month, it was reported that Sony started pushing out Android 7.0 Nougat updates to more Xperia smartphones, extending the availability of the latest major version of Google's mobile operating system to more of the company's smartphones. Also in December, Sony indicated that it wanted to be the first company to roll out Android 7.1.1 Nougat to its smartphones, with the operating system update said to be the top priority for the company's development team. Sony can be said to have achieved the goal, but it would be much better if Sony can release Android 7.1.1 Nougat to a wider batch of customers. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Cases of a newly recognized illness related to marijuana use have been increasing in hospital emergency rooms, particularly in states that legalized use of cannabis. Illness Shows Up In Increasing Frequency Experts believe that the illness known as cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, or CHS, is associated with heavy and long-term use of marijuana. One study has shown that cases of the illness nearly doubled in the emergency rooms of two hospitals in Colorado after medical marijuana became legally accessible in the state. Despite the increasing frequency of CHS cases in emergency rooms, experts said that it remains unclear how many people suffer from the illness because not everyone who suffers from it get medical help from the hospital. A Relatively Unknown Illness Many marijuana users and even some doctors are not even aware of the illness because it has only been recognized a few years ago. The syndrome was first documented in 2004 but the symptoms have not always been recognized. As a result of the illness not being relatively known, doctors in states that have not yet legalized cannabis often fail to give CHS sufferers the right diagnosis. "The biggest problem we've seen with this disease is that until now, it's been unrecognized and therefore, these people are suffering longer than they need to," said Kennon Heard, from the University of Colorado Hospital, who also studies the effects of CHS. Symptoms Of CHS The illness is characterized by severe abdominal pain and violent vomiting, which can be mistaken for something else, making it difficult for physicians to give the right diagnosis when patients, especially those living in states that have not yet legalized cannabis, deny using marijuana. The illness though has a bizarre characteristic. Many doctors are initially stumped when they encounter people who have the problem because for some reason, the vomiting and nausea can be relieved when patients take hot showers or baths. This odd way on how people relieve the symptoms provides doctors a hint that CHS is to blame for the severe nausea and abdominal pain. Patients Advised To Seek Medical Help Immediately CHS can be severe and may last for months. Doctors advise those who think they are experiencing symptoms of the illness to visit a doctor immediately because CHS in its severe form can cause dehydration and kidney problems if it is left unchecked. Most Effective Treatment For CHS Heard explained that patients are typically given IV fluids and medication to resolve the vomiting and relieve the pain, but the most effective treatment is to stop the use of weed or cut back severely. Peter Williams who have been sent to hospital numerous times because of CHS said that the symptoms stopped when he stopped using marijuana. The symptoms returned when he started using weed again. What Causes CHS It is not yet clear how marijuana use can trigger symptoms of CHS but experts said it is possible that people who use marijuana frequently and in high doses experience changes in the body's receptors, which somehow became dysregulated and start causing pain. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. OnePlus has been accused of being slow with its software updates especially for its old devices but it seems that the company is now getting its groove in this area. During the last week of December, it released the OxygenOS 3.5.5 update for the OnePlus 2 but some users complained that it is causing network problems. Specifically, it involves mobile data connections while Wi-Fi works quite fine. OnePlus Hotfix The patch was promptly halted and a few days later, OnePlus is already deploying the 3.5.6 build, which is said to contain the fix for the issue. Users are now able to install it via an OTA update. To be fair, the firmware is not the latest Android 7.0 Nougat as it is still based on Android Marshmallow. But the immediate action to the complaints is a good indication of what relationship OnePlus is gunning for with its customers. Compare that to the case of the Nexus 6P owners who have been bugging Google to fix the device's early shutdown issue. The complaints have already surfaced since October and a Google representative was only able to reply to a Reddit post discussing the problem sometime in December. The answer was not even helpful if the sentiments of affected users are any indication. Staggered OxygenOS OTA Release Going back to the OnePlus 2 update, if your device is not yet showing notification for the OTA, chances are your location might have something to do with it. According to OnePlus, the update rollout is incremental so users will only have to wait because the OTA update will surely be heading their way in the next few days. OnePlus could be prioritizing India since a large swath of complaints is coming from that country. Unfortunately, OnePlus has noted that the OxygenOS 3.5.6 Hotfix will not yet fix the IMEI loss problem that consumers have reported. The company states that its team is still trying to find a workaround. On OxygenOS 4.0 There is still no word about the Android 7.0 Nougat update for the OnePlus 2. However, its newer siblings the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T had already received the OxygenOS 4.0 last Dec. 31. Hopefully, this version would also heat to the OnePlus 2 soon. Oxygen 4.0 is highly anticipated because of the sheer number of changes implemented. OnePlus has already stated that its Nougat interpretation will ship with new designs for Notification, Settings Menu and Shelf Customization. Some are also excited how the Multi-Window View feature will get implemented with the OnePlus devices' large screens. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Volkswagen Group of America Mercedes-Benz Google Delphi Automotive Tesla Motors Bosch Nissan GM Cruise BMW Honda Ford Zoox Drive.ai Faraday Future Baidu USA Wheego Electric Cars Valeo North America NextEV USA Telenav Nvidia Source: California DMV 2016 the San Francisco Chronicle. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. When it comes to the fledgling world of self-driving cars, most of the country exists in a legal gray area that is unlikely to change in 2017.Nine states and the District of Columbia have laws on the books that address the cars, some of which lay out clear ground rules for permits and where the cars may be operated. That leaves the majority of states with no legal framework on how to address the ambitious technology that is quickly turning into reality.No federal laws cover self-driving cars, leading to a confusing patchwork of regulations that vary from state to state. And if a state doesnt have any laws, then its all pretty much left up to interpretation, said Kara Macek, spokeswoman for the Governors Highway Safety Association.It is such new territory that it is accepted that (self-driving cars) can operate legally in most states without specific authorizing legislation, Macek said. The model legislation doesnt exist yet, theres nothing were holding up (as) a gold standard.As companies race to develop autonomous vehicles, states are either rushing to keep up or relaxing regulations to attract development.While only a handful of states have laws on the books, at least 10 host a variety of autonomous testing activities. Four Washington, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas have active testing programs, but no legislation.For now, the way these laws are interpreted is largely left up to agencies such as state departments of motor vehicles and lighter regulation is often more attractive to companies testing nascent technology. For example, Uber resolved its recent clash with California regulators by loading its cars on a self-driving truck and sending them to Arizona, where self-driving vehicles have been made legal by executive order.Ubers move to Arizona came the day after the California DMV revoked the registrations of Ubers self-driving cars because the ride-hailing company refused to get the appropriate permits.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 business, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said in a statement following Ubers move to his state.Twenty companies have permits to test their vehicles in California. They include big players such as Tesla Motors, Google and Ford, and quieter companies in the self-driving sphere, such as automakers Volkswagen and Honda and startup Zoox.Alphabet has also capitalized on states with lighter regulations, with the exception of California, for the self-driving car unit it spun out of Google, Waymo. According to its website, it also has operations in legislation-free states like Arizona, Texas and Washington.California has among the most stringent regulations for self-driving cars. A company must prove it has $5 million in insurance and that all test drivers are trained, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Companies must also submit detailed reports on traffic accidents and violations.Florida, on the other hand, amended its laws this year to treat autonomous vehicles much like it would any other car with no additional permits, licenses or approval from state or local governments required even if there is no driver.Michigan also loosened its regulations this year, allowing the cars to operate under certain conditions on public roadways without a person inside.Pennsylvania a state that has been testing autonomous vehicles for over 30 years with Carnegie Mellon University, and the first state to host Ubers self-driving car pilot program is looking at regulations related to the testing and operation of these vehicles.Just like any other place, they want to balance tech growth with innovation and safety, said Timothy McNulty, director of communications for the mayor of Pittsburgh.Since 2012, at least 34 states and the District of Columbia have considered legislation related to autonomous vehicles, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Nevada was the first to do so. In 2016, more than a dozen states introduced bills on the topic many of which failed or are still pending.In an attempt to build a consistent framework of laws to govern self-driving cars, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have published a set of suggested model regulations, which include a 15-point safety assessment that addresses the development, testing and use of automated vehicles.Our task at the U.S. Department of Transportation is not only to keep pace, but to ensure public safety while establishing a strong foundation such that the rules of the road can be known, understood and responded to by industry and the public, Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx said in a statement.However, scrambling to regulate the emerging industry at the federal or state level may not be the answer, said Bryant Walker Smith, an assistant professor at Stanford Law School who specializes in autonomous driving.Regulators have somehow focused on the wrong questions by putting attention on superficial laws, Smith said.Smith said governments should instead be looking at broader issues, including the economic consequences of eliminating commercial driving jobs and how self-driving cars will share the road with non-autonomous vehicles.But, he said, much of that is contingent on what companies develop: Its hard to legislate a specific technology that doesnt fully exist, he said.As of Dec. 8, Californias DMV had issued Autonomous Vehicle Testing Permits to these businesses: Statewide Master Data Management project unites data to deliver better services. From Medicare to child welfare, food stamps to behavioral health, U.S. citizens in every state rely on critical services from the public sector. For the Louisiana Department of Health, delivering these services in a cohesive way involves uniting a diverse base of people, processes, systems, and agencies to maintain consistent citizen records, and to ensure that all information systems share accurate data. IT leaders commonly refer to these initiatives as master data management (MDM) projects since they involve creating a unified repository of golden records that many different systems can access. By Press Trust of India: Parva Patna, Jan 3 (PTI) Punjab Congress President and former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh today offered prayer at Takht Harmandir Sahib here during the ongoing Prakash Parvand praised Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for taking personal interest in making elaborate arrangements for it. With Assembly elections in Punjab round the corner, Singh accompanied by party in-charge for Punjab Asha Kumari, Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan and state minister Ashok Choudhary, reached Takht Harmandir Sahib connected with the 10th Guru Govind Singh and paid obeisance. advertisement He later arrived at the tent city at Gandhi Maidan and mingled with devotees who have thronged the place from across the world. He also served food to devotees at the langer there. Talking to reporters, Singh praised Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the arrangements for celebration of the 350th Prakash Parva on the birth anniversary of Guru Govind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru. "Such congregations are organised in Punjab also by the Akalis, but I have never seen a wonderful and elaborate arrangement like in Patna," he told reporters. The Punjab Congress chief later visited the residence of Nitish Kumar and complimented him for taking personal interest in making elaborate arrangements for the Parva. PTI SNS DKB KJ PS --- ENDS --- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro assured on Thursday that the time has come for his country to return to the Andean Community of Nations with all the productive and commercial capacities... | Read More CBI had filed chargesheet against the two and their registered organisation in the court on December 29. By Vidya : Social activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand have to be present in court on February 3 as the court has issued summons to them. CBI had filed chargesheet against the two and their registered organisation in the court on December 29. There are two investigations that were being carried out against Teesta and her husband Javed. One was by Gujarat Police which is probing the alleged embezzlement of funds for a museum at Ahmedabad's Gulbarg Society that was devastated in 2002 riots. The other was by CBI which is investigating the purported violations of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) in connection with the utilisation of funds received from Ford Foundation by Sabrang Communications and Publishing Pvt Ltd, run by the two. advertisement Also read: Controversial NGOs licenses, including Teesta Setalvad's, not cleared by us: MHA alleges system hack CBI had been alleging during the investigation that Teesta and Javed were not cooperating in the investigation. The two had applied for anticipatory bail which was rejected by sessions court but granted by Bombay High Court and upheld by Supreme Court. However, all courts ordered the two to be present before the CBI and to help in the investigation with all relevant papers. It was alleged that the Mumbai based Private Limited Company was engaged in publishing books, reports, pamphlets, journals, bulletin covering various aspects of India and the world. The two directors of the company, Teesta and Javed were columnist and writing articles in newspapers. It was alleged that being the columnist, they were not eligible to accept foreign contributions in accordance with Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. But they allegedly received foreign contribution from USA based foundation in the name of their company and thereby, violated the Sections of FCR Act. Also read: Centre renews FCRA licence of Teesta Setalvad's NGO --- ENDS --- "Leather jackets don't look good," said no one, ever. Here's how to do justice to this stylish piece of winter wear. Sanjay Dutt always gets the look right. Photo: Yogen Shah By Indo-Asian News Service: Leather jackets emphasise your personality and if chosen correctly, they are capable of refreshing your image. Don't shy away from experimenting with colours of your jacket but also avoid dressing in one colour from head to toe, says an expert. Harkirat Singh, managing director at Woodland Worldwide, has rolled out a few tips on styling your leather jacket: To soften the look of the sturdy looking leather jackets, pair them with light coloured cotton shirts. Team them up with a grey trouser and tan shoes for a smart formal look. Don't shy away from experimenting with colours of your jacket. As long as you get the right colour and cut, feel free to experiment with different masculine hues such as tan or grey. If you want to go for a brighter shade, make sure that you carry it confidently. For a weekend lunch with friends, wear a black leather biker jacket with a grey T-shirt and black jeans to look cool and casual. * If your style preference is a little more on the preppy side, reach out for a plain jacket with leather sleeves. It will add an edge to your look. Add some slim blue jeans and fingerless gloves to complete the look. Try teaming a black leather jacket with distressed grey jeans for a polished yet off-duty look. Uplift this ensemble with brown leather brogues. To get a laid-back yet stylish look, reach out for a leather bomber with camel jeans. Dressing in just one colour from head to toe does not appear very flattering. Break the monotony by pairing blue jeans with a black leather jacket. A white T-shirt peeking out from beneath the shirt and a thick woollen scarf will ramp up the sophistication. --- ENDS --- advertisement HENDERSON Officials in Henderson are showing some support, with reservations, for the controversial Bayou Bridge Pipeline, a $670 million project that would cross 11 parishes and cut across the Atchafalaya Basin. Henderson Mayor Sherbin Collette and mayor pro-tem Jody Meche, who is also an Atchafalaya Basinkeeper board member, say as long as the pipeline is built to code, they'll welcome the progress. For years, pipeline companies and communities in the Atchafalaya Basin have had a choppy relationship. "They left elevated spoil banks behind, which are like dams crisscrossing the whole Atchafalaya Basin in an east-to-west direction and it dams all of the water flow in the Atchafalaya Basin," said Meche. "We're not against pipelines, but they should be put in legally," said Collette. "The way I'm saying that, dredge whatever you've got to dredge and lay the pipeline, but cover it. Put the land back flat to its normal state." According to code, pipelines must be dug at least 6 feet below the basin's swamp floor. However, if the dirt isn't put back where it came from, damaging barriers called spoil banks form and disrupt water flow, plant and animal life. That's exactly what Collette and Meche want to avoid with the Bayou Bridge Pipeline. +9 Louisiana environmentalists mounting fight against proposed pipeline through Atchafalaya Basin Environmental groups in Louisiana are gearing up to fight a proposed 162-mile oil pipeline t "From what I'm understanding about this pipeline, they want to come in and they want to put it in one of the elevated spoil banks on an existing pipeline right of way which crosses the Atchafalaya Basin. We have a problem with that. We're not opposed to a pipeline crossing the Atchafalaya Basin. We're in favor of progress, but we want to make sure that they do it right," said Meche. "I think I've seen the basin pretty much at its best," said Collette. "And now, we're seeing it at its worst." The permit application for the pipeline does conform to federal safety standards; that's if the project is built exactly by the book. "They shouldn't look for the cheapest, inexpensive way, quickest way to do it," Meche said. "They should do whatever it takes to do it the right way, to make sure that we keep our environment productive and healthy. No cutting corners." A public hearing on the pipeline proposal is scheduled Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. in the Oliver Pollock Room of the Galvez Building in Baton Rouge. See the KATC-TV story here. 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. On her first day in office, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome told the Baton Rouge business community she wants to make sure local businesses receive a fair share of flood recovery contracts for rebuilding. Broome spoke Tuesday afternoon at a luncheon hosted by the Baton Rouge Area Chamber at the Lod Cook Conference Center at LSU. She said flood recovery is synonymous with economic recovery and that she has been impressed by businesses bouncing back from the tragic August floods. In addition, she said she wants an audit of state recovery contracts to ensure that Baton Rouge businesses are playing a role in the rebuilding effort. "We must boost our reliance on Baton Rouge businesses to really lead the way in terms of how many services we need to rebuild, from a sheet rocker in Central to an electrician in St. George, from small businesses in north Baton Rouge to medium sized firms downtown," Broome told the group of around 230 attendees. "I want to rely on each and every one of you in this room to work with me to lead a participatory and robust recovery." The mayor-president said she would cut red tape in the permitting process that often slows down building. She also said housing recovery would be a key to economic recovery, and said she will need home builders, the apartment association, the mortgage bankers association and other partners at the table to rebuild both rental housing and owner occupied homes. Broome's speech to the business community Tuesday was different in many ways than her speech at her Monday evening inauguration. In the inaugural address, Broome pledged to open opportunities to small and minority owned businesses often overlooked by city-parish government. She focused more on the business community as a whole in her BRAC speech, and did not mention a pledge she made Monday night to ensure that small, minority owned and disadvantaged businesses are given a chance to compete for government contracts. But in an interview after her Tuesday speech, Broome said helping those businesses is still a priority for her. Another major difference between Broome's inaugural speech and her speech to the chamber was the mayor-president's tone on public safety. She was fiery on Monday as she spoke of the need for a new era of policing in Baton Rouge and the distrust between police officers and the community. +5 BR mayor-elect Sharon Weston Broome launches search to replace police chief, CAO Mayor-President-Elect Sharon Weston Broome said Thursday that she has started searching for replacements for two longtime fixtures of outgoing Mayor-President Kip Holden's administration. But her focus on Tuesday was more about public safety as a whole, as she said it threatens the quality of life for those who live in Baton Rouge. "It is essential that we remake not just our regional and national image, but our local practices as well," Broome said, making a quick mention to her national search to replace Baton Rouge Police Department Chief Carl Dabadie. Broome referenced traffic in both her inaugural speech and her address to BRAC, as the chamber has been a driver of recommendations to cure Baton Rouge's traffic ills. The mayor-president reminded attendees that her transition team includes a committee on infrastructure and mobility. Walkable neighborhoods, bike paths, public transportation and better commuter options all should be possibilities for Baton Rouge, Broome said. She specifically touted the idea of a commuter rail between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, which recently received federal funding for planning. Baton Rouge man accused of throwing girlfriend down flight of stairs and later imprisoning her in their apartment Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commission Congress convened for its 115th session on Tuesday, with three new Louisiana Republicans taking the oath of office for the first time. U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-Mandeville, and U.S. Reps. Mike Johnson, R-Bossier City, and Clay Higgins, R-Port Barre, were elected in December runoff races to serve as the newest members of the Louisiana delegation. Kennedy took part in the ceremonial swearing-in administered by Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, while Higgins and Johnson were administered the oath, along with the rest of the lower chamber, by House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin. Republicans control both chambers and will also hold the White House when President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in later this month. "We have a lot of work to do on behalf of the American people and I'm ready to get started. I will not let the people in Louisiana down," Kennedy said. On Tuesday it was revealed that Kennedy has been tapped to serve on the powerful Appropriations Committee, as well as the Budget, Banking, Judiciary and Small Business Committees. "My committee assignments will allow me to work on the issues that matter most to our state," he said. Kennedy, who handily won the December runoff against Democratic rival Foster Campbell, has spent the past 16 years as state treasurer. Trump campaigned for Kennedy during a rally in Baton Rouge last month. Higgins, a former St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office captain, beat Republican Scott Angelle to take the seat vacated by former U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette. Johnson, who has spent the past two years in the state House, succeeds U.S. Rep. John Fleming, R-Minden, after beating Democrat Marshall Jones last month. Kennedy replaces Republican David Vitter, who opted not to seek re-election to the U.S. Senate after losing the 2015 race for governor. Newly anointed as the state's senior senator after just two years in the upper chamber, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, has been added to the Senate Finance Committee. He will also continue to serve on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; Energy and Natural Resources Committee; Veterans Affairs Committee; and Joint Economic Committee. The people of Louisiana want continued, conservative leadership in Washington. Together, we will put the voices of Louisiana front and center," Cassidy said. Ryan was not scheduled to unveil committee assignments for the House until after organizational steps, including his re-election to the chamber's top leadership post, were taken Tuesday. As expected, Ryan and the rest of the GOP's top leadership slate remain unchanged. U.S. Majority Whip Steve Scalise, a Jefferson Republican and Louisiana's ranking member in the chamber, held onto his No. 3 post in the leadership ranks. U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, a New Orleans Democrat who is Louisiana's lone member of the minority party in Washington, was sworn in as the chairman of the influential Congressional Black Caucus. Devils Walking' -- Visiting at a reception and book signing Oct. 4 at the Old State Capitol honoring author Stanley Nelson, center, editor of the Concordia Sentinel, are Mary Durusau, OSC director, and Linda Lightfoot, retired executive editor of The Advocate. Nelson, a 2011 Pulitzer Prize finalist in local reporting, participated in a question-and-answer session conducted by Durusau on the background for his new book, Devils Walking: Klan Murders Along the Mississippi in the 1960s, published by the LSU Press. By Press Trust of India: From K J M Varma Beijing, Jan 3 (PTI) China continued to flex its muscles in the South China Sea, with its first aircraft carrier conducting exercises in the disputed area with a flotilla of naval ships amid tensions with the US following President- elect Donald Trumps telephone call to the Taiwanese president. A naval formation consisting of aircraft carrier Liaoning has conducted take-off and landing drills in the South China Sea yesterday, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted an official as saying. advertisement The formation, which is on a "cross-sea area" training exercise, involved J-15 fighter jets, as well as several ship-borne helicopters, the official said without mentioning specific numbers. Complex hydrological and meteorological conditions in the South China Sea as well as a cold front in area have posed some challenges, but the drill provided important experience in the build-up of combat capability of the aircraft carrier formation, he said. Chinese officials also say that the carrier is conducting a a series of exercises to test its systems and to work out an appropriate formation of ships and submarines to move along with it. Liaoning, a refit of the Soviet era warship, has been pressed into exercises in the middle of last month during which it conducted maiden live fire drills on a massive scale along with a host of naval ships, aircraft and submarines, four years after it was commissioned. China is currently building its second aircraft carrier. Chinese navy said the drills conducted in the Bohai Sea involved dozens of ships and aircraft as well as several air-to-air, air-to-ship and ship-to-air missiles. Liaoning has been conducting exercises since then and even travelled close to Taiwan in a show of strength. The exercises followed as China struck a more aggressive postures over the disputed South China Sea issue amid Trumps rhetoric over One China policy. Trump made an unprecedented phone call to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, drawing strong diplomatic protests from Beijing. Subsequently, Chinese navy also seized an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) of the US in the South China Sea and returned it about a week later, saying that it picked the unidentified drone to ensure safety of the navigation. China has become more assertive over the South China Sea after an international tribunal struck down its claim over almost all of the area. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have counter claims over the South China Sea. PTI KJV NSA --- ENDS --- Report: Letters, packages spilled in I-10 mail truck accident headed to New Orleans to dry out The International School of Louisiana board of trustees has voted to not recharter its Jefferson Parish campus, leaving hundreds of parents un Joan Berenson, right, a member of the Jewish Community Day School board, is seen with her husband, Dr. Gerald Berenson. Peter Pan the Musical. Book, music and lyrics by Piers Chater-Robinson. Adapted from the play by J.M. Barrie. Directed by Anita Davenport. Musical director: Susan Davenport. Choreographer: Jodi Hammond. Belconnen Theatre, January 6-21. Ickle Pickle Productions. Tickets $30/$25. Bookings: canberraticketing.com.au or 6275 2700. Fairydust Package: premium seating, show program, and photos after the show. $40 per person, limited availability. Website: icklepickle.com.au. One of the classic children's stories comes to life this summer when Ickle Pickle Productions brings Peter Pan the Musical to Belconnen Theatre. And there will be some respectful changes along with the traditional elements that have made the story beloved for more than a century. Greg Sollis, left, as Hook and Josh Kirk as Peter Pan clash in Ickle Pickle's Peter Pan the Musical. Credit:Jenny Watson It's a 1985 British adaptation of J.M. Barrie's 1904 play about the boy who refused to grow up. Peter Pan (played by Josh Kirk) brings the Darling children Wendy (Emily Pogson), John (Jack Morton) and Michael (Joss Kent) to his home on the island of Neverland. He's head of the Lost Boys and has an ongoing battle with the pirate leader Captain Hook (Greg Sollis), who's been out to get Peter since the boy cut off his hand in a duel and a crocodile ate it. Anita Davenport is making her directorial debut with the production but is bringing a wealth of theatrical experience both on and off stage she's acted, designed sets, and been a production manager, among other roles to the task as well as some ideas to make this Peter Pan fresh as well as traditional. Cheerleaders will not return to perform for Canberra Raiders fans in 2017, with the club to invite local dance schools onto the field instead. The decision makes the club only the second in rugby league to drop its cheerleading squad, after the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2007. The Emeralds perform at a Raiders game in 2014. Credit:Melissa Adams "This is not about the cheerleaders ... it's about a point of difference," Raiders' commercial and marketing manager Jason Mathie said. Driving the change, he said, was the club wanting to create more opportunities for women, and men and children, to get involved. Canberra's demand for advice in cases of elder abuse is outstripping Legal Aid ACT's expectations, its annual report has revealed. Elder abuse can include forcing a parent into aged care to sell the house, threatening to withdraw care and banning contact with family if they refuse. It can also include physical abuse and neglect. Elder abuse is a growing demand on the resources of Legal Aid ACT. For Legal Aid, a public funding service for socially or economically disadvantaged Canberrans, "the matters coming to us are usually urgent, often involving guardianship applications," its report says. The demand on Legal Aid ACT mirrors national trends, and there is an expectation that elder abuse will only become more prevalent as Australia's population ages. ANZ Bank has sold its 20 per cent stake in Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank for $1.8 billion. The sale, to China COSCO Shipping Corporation and Shanghai Sino-Poland Enterprise, comes as the bank moves to simplify its business and scale back its presence in Asia. The sale would increase ANZ's capital ratio by 40 basis points, the bank said. "The sale reflects our strategy to simplify our business and improve capital efficiency," ANZ deputy chief executive Graham Hodges said. By Press Trust of India: From K J M Varma Beijing, Jan 3 (PTI) A Chinese court today commuted the death sentence of a businesswoman, who was found guilty of fraudulent fundraising, to life imprisonment. Su Yenyu, 45, was sentenced to death by the Erdos Intermediate Peoples Court and the higher peoples court in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in 2013 for cheating investors out of 1.23 billion yuan (USD 177 million). advertisement However, the Supreme Peoples Court remanded the case in March 2015, upon consideration that Su had surrendered herself to the police. Erdos Intermediate Peoples Court retried the case publicly in July 2016 and commuted the sentence to life in prison today. She was also deprived of political rights for life, and all her personal property was confiscated. Su began illegally raising money in 2006 and cheated investors out of 1.23 billion yuan, luring them with promises of high returns, and personally misappropriated 552 million yuan. She used the funds to invest in restaurants, health clubs, coal mines and farms, as well as to buy property, cars, lottery tickets and jewelry for herself, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. She burned all documents related to her business between 2006 and October 2009 out of fear her illegal acts would be exposed. She surrendered to police on September 20, 2011. Ren Wenxiang, who supported Sus endeavours, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison and fined 500,000 yuan. PTI KJV PMS --- ENDS --- As investors in fund manager Hunter Hall International were left nursing heavy losses on their holdings on Tuesday, the company which snapped up the bulk of founder Peter Hall's shareholding in their company was sitting pretty with a sizeable profit. Last Friday, well-known investor Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co paid Mr Hall $1 a share for a 19.9 per cent stake in Hunter Hall, shares that are now worth $2.50 each. "One dollar [a share] was the price agreed with Peter Hall," said Tom Barlow, Soul Pattinson's chief executive. "He was keen to find the right buyer. He had other considerations rather than the price. Our position is to provide stability and to ensure there is a smooth transition." Soul Pattinson is to extend the $1 a share offer to other shareholders in Hunter Hall, although Mr Hall himself has said they would be crazy to accept the takeover offer. Two years before Fisher was born, Rubin had completed her PhD at Georgetown University, in which she found that galaxies were not scattered randomly throughout the universe, but clustered together in bright splats of light. (She had gone to Cornell to study her masters, as women were not allowed to do so at Princeton.) As she peered into a new world, she saw it was "more mysterious and more complex than we had imagined". We barely blink when women in the sciences achieve (who remembers that Professor Elizabeth Blackburn won a Nobel prize in 2009?), so it is hardly surprising we are often caught napping when they die. And yet it is important to remember, in a year when science has often been miscast as partisan, with consensus dismissed as conspiracy and gut instinct elevated above data, and when women's enduring status as sexual playthings of the powerful has been constantly dissected, and we are mourning the deaths of a host of celebrated stars, that quiet, plodding empirical work by devoted, curious, imaginative women into things that most of us cannot see and can barely comprehend, is what spins the cogs of medical and scientific advance, year by year. Which is why Scientific American annually honours some of those women we lost in the past 12 months; we should too. We should remember, for example, Ann Caracristi, who earned her reputation as a top code-breaker in World War II and became the first female deputy director of the US National Security Agency in 1980, the year before George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley formed Wham! (She died in January, aged 94). Suzanne Corkin was a neuroscientist who discovered that consolidation of long-term memory occurs in the brain's hippocampus. Yvette Fay Francis-McBarnette, who enrolled in Yale Medical School in 1946, and was the second African-American woman to do so, developed a treatment for sickle-cell disease that saved thousands of lives. (March, age 89) The Australian Medical Association has weighed in to the heated politics of Australia's gun laws, saying ownership restrictions should be tightened and a real-time national firearms register established. A new position statement issued by the health lobby group on Tuesday its first ever on the issue of gun ownership calls for a tightening of existing restrictions to avoid adapted guns or new models being allowed into Australia and for any efforts to wind back mandatory cooling off periods to be opposed. "Gun possession in the broader community is a risk to public health": AMA president Michael Gannon. Credit:Bohdan Warchomij Citing a patchwork approach to firearm regulation among the states and territories after the landmark Howard government gun laws were introduced following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, the AMA said access to dangerous weapons remained a serious public health concern. But pro-gun libertarian and NSW Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm said the organisation was not qualified to debate gun ownership, accusing the doctors of including errors and poor research in the position paper. Maria Venuti has welcomed the new year with family, enjoying a day's rest from her rehabilitation after suffering a stroke following an alleged stalking incident in November. The Sydney entertainer attended her daughter Bianca Venuti-Hughes' 37th birthday celebrations on New Year's Day. Pictures from the party posted to Venuti-Hughes' Facebook account show Venuti, 75, in a wheelchair wearing a mixed-print Camilla kaftan and smiling while surrounded by family and friends. Venuti-Hughes told the Daily Telegraph her mother had received the kaftan for Christmas, explaining that she was "so excited" she was able to leave the facility for the special day. A man who was injured in a stabbing in Sydney's north staggered up the street shouting for help before seeking refuge in a car dealership, witnesses said. Police were called to the Pacific Highway at Artarmon around 10am on Tuesday, after reports of an "altercation" between two men. A man, alleged to be the attacker, was shown on CCTV carrying an axe shortly before the stabbing. Credit:Nine News It's alleged a 34-year-old man, from New Zealand, stabbed a 32-year-old French national in the chest with a knife. Police believe the men were known to each other. Witness Ian Jobsz said he saw the injured man running and clutching his chest shortly afterwards. The accident has been cleared but traffic remains heavy on the M1 southbound after a truck jackknifed near the Logan Hyperdome on Tuesday. The Australian Traffic Network's Adam Smith said there were still traffic delays southbound back to Springwood. A truck jack-knifed on the M1 Motorway, with several cars damaged and traffic building. Credit:Facebook / Tom Hunwicks A police spokesman said there was also a diesel clean-up following the incident. EARLIER Police have found a gun in a car that evaded a police blockade before being stopped with tyre spikes on a Queensland highway. Two men and a woman are facing weapon and other charges after they ignored police efforts to intercept their vehicle at Haigslea, west of Ipswich, on Monday. Police eventually used tyre spikes to stop the car on the Brisbane Valley Highway at Ironbark but not before it travelled 1.5km on its rims. All three will front the Ipswich Magistrates Court on Tuesday. AAP The Sunshine Coast has launched a social media campaign asking the Prime Minister to reinstate the full 50 training places to its $1.87 billion Sunshine Coast University Hospital opening at Easter. Recently the community was told only 35 training places for medical graduates would be offered at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital when it opened at Kawana in April 2017. It had been promised 50 training places. Sunshine Coast mayor Mark Jamieson is worried there is still no university to operate the medical school at the soon-to-open Sunshine Coast University Hospital. Credit:Sunshine Coast Council The Sunshine Coast would be the only place in Australia with a state-of-the-art 450-bed teaching hospital with no university to run its medical school. The argument means putting a case to shift doctors' places from Australia's capital cities to faster-growing regions. A US family is suing Apple after a man using the FaceTime app on his iPhone while driving collided with their car, killing their five-year-old daughter. On Christmas eve, 2014, James and Bethany Modisette were driving on the highway in Texas with their two daughters when they were forced to stop their Camry ahead of a blockage caused by police activity. The family allege the driver at fault was using FaceTime on his iPhone 6 Plus at the time of the crash. Driving behind them, Garrett Wilhelm failed to stop and his SUV slammed into the car at 105km/h, tearing it apart and riding up over the top. Bethany and the older daughter, Isabella, were injured but managed to escape the car, while James and the younger daughter, Moriah, had to be extracted by rescue workers. Moriah Modisette, who was strapped into a booster seat at the time of the crash, was flown to a nearby hospital but died. There is an "obvious risk" children might assault and even rape one another if they were removed from an adult prison and returned to shared custodial cells at Parkville Youth Justice Centre, Children's Minister Jenny Mikakos has said. Ms Mikakos made the claim during a New Year's Day social media spat with lawyer Ruth Barson. Ms Barson is the Human Rights Law Centre's director of legal advocacy and one of the lawyers behind three recent legal challenges against the government. The Court of Appeal last week upheld a Victorian Supreme Court ruling that Ms Mikakos had unlawfully failed to consider the inmates' legal rights when she declared Barwon Prison's secure Grevillea unit a youth justice and remand centre in November. By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jan 2 (PTI) Reflecting challenges faced by automobile industry in the wake of demonetisation, auto majors Hyundai Motor India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Ford India today reported decline in their domestic sales in December. Other firms such as Tata Motors, Renault, Nissan and Volkswagen, however, reported increase in their Indian sales in December. advertisement Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) said its domestic sales in December were at 40,057 units as against 41,861 units in the same month previous years, down 4.3 per cent. HMIL Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Rakesh Srivastava had stated that demonetisation impacted consumer sentiment creating a challenge and walk-ins at showrooms were down by around 40 per cent while overall retail sales were down by 24-25 per cent immediately after the note ban. Retail sales had, however, picked up in December by 5 per cent as compared with the same month previous year, he said while adding it might take a quarter to normalise. Mahindra & Mahindras sales in the domestic market were down 1.5 per cent to 34,310 units last month as compared to 34,839 in the year-ago period. "The auto industry continues to go through challenging times, grappling with the short-term effects of demonetisation as well as reduced and postponed purchase decisions. However, we believe there will be a gradual pick-up in demand starting next few months," M&M Chief Executive (auto division) Pravin Shah said in a statement. Likewise, Ford India also saw its domestic sales dip by 6.04 per cent to 5,566 units last month as against 5,924 units in the same month a year ago. "As we move in 2017, the industry does face some short-term headwinds given the uncertainty regarding the impact of demonetisation and GST, while the medium to long term outlook continues to be positive," Ford India Executive Director (Marketing, Sales & Service) Anurag Mehrotra said. Hinduja Group flagship company Ashok Leyland reported a 12 per cent decline in total sales at 10,731 units in December 2016. The company had sold 12,154 units in December 2015. Yesterday, the countrys largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India had posted December domestic sales at 1,06,414 units, down 4.4 per cent from 1,11,333 units in December 2015. Some companies, however, managed to increase their sales in December. Tata Motors reported 35 per cent increase in its domestic passenger vehicles sales at 10,827 units last month as compared to 8,069 units sold in December 2015, Tata Motors said. advertisement "We continued our growth momentum in December on the back of robust sales, led by positive response for the Tata Tiago. This has resulted in planned stock reduction in the network," Tata Motors President, Passenger Vehicle Business, Mayank Pareek said. MORE PTI MSS RKL MKJ --- ENDS --- A man charged with attacking a pregnant woman and her boyfriend with a samurai sword earlier threatened to "cut up" the woman's unborn child, a court has heard. Police say the couple are very lucky not to have suffered more serious injuries than a cut to the hand and a gash to the ankle after Johnny Le raised the one-metre sword above his head with both hands in Brunswick on Sunday night. Melbourne Magistrates Court heard Mr Le and the woman met online and that he sold her marijuana, but by last week the relationship had soured and he began sending her abusive and threatening text messages, along with photographs of his penis. On Sunday night, he called the woman "a dumb f---" in a text, said he would drive to her home to fight and also threatened to "cut up her child", Constable Sam Gales told the court on Tuesday. Mr Le arrived in Brunswick about 10.45pm armed and with an associate, Constable Gales said, and raised the sword at the couple. A glance from a police officer investigating a suspected car theft has seen police seize more than $60,000 worth of heroin, knives, casino chips and cash outside a hotel in Melbourne's south-east. Police from the operations response unit had a report from the public that two men appeared to be attempting to steal a car from a hotel carpark on the Princes Highway at Hallam around midnight on Tuesday. The police made the find at a hotel carpark on the Princes Highway Credit:Channel 9 When police arrived they spoke with a Cremorne man, aged 39, "who was acting suspiciously" although the car belonged to him. One of the officers then glanced in the back of the car to discover a large chunk of tar-like substance, believed to be heroin, on the floor of the car. Victoria's road toll has been revised down to zero on day three of 2017 after an elderly woman who was involved in a collision died from a medical condition. A Victoria Police spokesman said the woman, aged in her 80s, was removed from the road toll after the incident on Monday. Victoria's road toll stands at zero after a woman involved in this crash died of a medical condition. Credit:Bass Coast Police "The collision was the result of a medical condition," he said. The woman died on the Bass Highway in Wonthaggi. Her car had crossed to the opposite side of the highway when it collided with another car. CHICAGO, Jan. 3, 2017 -- Cars.com has announced nominees for its 2017 Best Of awards, the annual awards show the company hosts in Detroit during the North American International Auto Show. This year's categories include Best of 2017, Best Pickup Truck of 2017, Eco-Friendly Car of the Year, Family Car of the Year, Luxury Car of the Year and Play Car of the Year. Each car represented on the list excels in three key criteria; quality, innovation and value. Pickup trucks are judged on power, capability and value. All vehicles are 2017 models, and Best of 2017 nominees must be all-new or fully redesigned. "Each year Cars.com experts test hundreds of new cars with the goal of empowering car shoppers with the information they need to make better decisions," said Patrick Olsen, Cars.com editor-in-chief. "At the end of the year we narrow those choices down to recognize the best of the best. Our awards are designed to help consumers across a wide array of car segments and budgets. In addition to naming the best new car and truck of the year, we award cars for different types of shoppers including families, fuel-conscious drivers, luxury shoppers and more." Nominees for Best of 2017: 2017 Chrysler Pacifica 2017 Kia Sportage 2017 Genesis G90 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV 2017 Fiat 124 Spider 2017 GMC Acadia Nominees of Best Pickup Truck of 2017: 2017 Ford Super Duty 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor 2017 Nissan Titan 2017 Honda Ridgeline 2017 Ram 2500 Power Wagon 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro Nominees for Eco-Friendly Car of the Year: 2017 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid 2017 Honda Fit 2017 Toyota Prius Nominees for Family Car of the Year: 2017 Nissan Rogue 2017 Honda Odyssey 2017 Subaru Outback Nominees for Luxury Car of the Year: 2017 Audi A7 2017 BMW 7 Series 2017 BMW X1 Nominees for Play Car of the Year: 2017 Land Rover Range Rover 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata 2017 Volkswagen Golf GTI All award winners will be announced January 10, 2017. For more details about nominees and all of Cars.com's awards, visit www.cars.com/awards. ABOUT CARS.COM Cars.com is a leading online destination that helps car shoppers and owners navigate every turn of car ownership. A pioneer in automotive classifieds, the company has evolved into one of the largest digital automotive platforms, connecting consumers with local dealers across the country anytime, anywhere. Through trusted expert content, on-the-lot mobile app features, millions of new and used vehicle listings, a comprehensive set of research tools and the largest database of consumer reviews in the industry, Cars.com helps shoppers buy, sell and service their vehicles. Cars.com companies include DealerRater, Auto.com, PickupTrucks.com and NewCars.com. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Chicago. It is owned by TEGNA, Inc. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 02/01/2017 (2132 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. No, he didnt arrive on Christmas Day but the tiny new gift that arrived on the first day of this new year is a small blessing his family intends to use as a means to glorify God. You could have searched high and low for the New Years baby at Bethesda Hospital or Ste Anne Hospital. You wouldnt have found him. Thats because Caleb George Bergmann was already resting comfortably at home in the caring hands of his parents, Jonny and Monika Bergmann, along with three big sisters (Silvia, Jennifer and Bianca) and a pair of big brothers (Nathan and Timothy) too. GRANT BURR | THE CARILLON Parents Monika and Jonny Bergmann welcomed the New Year's baby, Caleb George Bergmann, into their home at 6:38 p.m. on New Year's Day, where he joins siblings Timothy, Bianca, Jennifer, Silvia, and Nathan. The little guy arrived a little later than expected, his due date was December 27, but his arrival at 6:38 p.m. yesterday at the familys Marchand-area home makes him the first baby born in the Southeast in 2017. As Calebs due date approached, Jonny Bergmann pondered the possibility of the birth of his next child on Christmas Day. Others had different ideas. He laughs as he recalls one of his Barkman Concrete co-workers suggesting maybe there was a New Years baby headed their way. Christmas Day passed, the due date passed, then finally, on Jan. 1, it was time. In the care of two midwives, Monika gave birth to the couples sixth child at home. Caleb weighed in at 7 lbs, 15 ounces and measured 21 inches in length. The Bergmanns have embraced the midwifery program after learning about it following the birth of their second child. The couple chose the name Caleb for its Biblical significance and George to honour a family friend who Jonny likened to an adoptive grandparent, as extended family arent all close by. Both Jonny and Monika came to Canada from Germany in 2002, met in a church youth group and were later married in 2006. Not that there arent some watchful eyes and listening ears back in Germany too. Jonny noted that Caleb is his great-grandmothers 47th great-grandchild. The name Caleb, which means to be faithful, carries strong significance as the Christian family considers Jesus Christ and his second coming. Their new sons name will be a regular reminder of that faith and Christs return. Were so close. He is so close in coming and thats kind of why, said Jonny, explaining that as the Bibles Caleb motivated the Israelites as they headed towards the land of Canaan, so too do they hope their sons name is seen as a motivation for Gods people. Thats our prayer and our wish and our hope. To encourage people we are surrounded by and bring honour to the Lord, he said. By Manogya Loiwal : Demonetisation woes refused to end for many who reached the Reserve Bank of India office in Kolkata but were told that the deadline for exchanging old currency notes had ended on December 30. Several people who queued up outside the RBI office to exchange demonetised notes were shown a new notice that stated that only those who were abroad during November 9-December 30 could avail of the currency exchange facility up to March 31, 2017. advertisement For non-resident Indians, the deadline for currency exchange is June 30, 2017. The new RBI circular was released on December 31. ALSO READ: To dream is not a crime, but to be in touch with reality is also important: TMC's Mukul Roy on demonetisation WORRIED CITIZENS SPEAK: Many dejected citizens cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's November 8 announcement, wherein he had said that people will be given time after December 30 to deposit their old notes. "There may be some who, for some reason, are not able to deposit their old Rs 500 or Rs 1000 notes by December 30, 2016. They can go to specified offices of the Reserve Bank of India up to March 31, 2017 and deposit the notes after submitting a declaration form," the Prime Minister had said while demonetisating Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes. "My father died in a train accident last year. Following that incident, my mother has been keeping ill. Recently, she searched her wardrobe and found a Rs 500 note. We came to the RBI to get the note exchanged," said Ranjana Das, who travelled from Barrackpore to Kolkata. Another person standing in the queue outside the RBI office said he was in Vellore for medical treatment and therefore could not exchange the old notes. "I don't even have a bank account. I don't know how I will exchange my Rs 4000 in old currency," he said. "Modi had said that notes will be exchanged at RBI offices till March, but when I came here I was told only Rs 10 and Rs 100 notes will be exchanged. Who do we listen to? Modi or RBI," asked Kaif Ansari waiting outside the RBI office today. People claimed that the RBI office in Kolkata had earlier assured them that they could come later for currency exchange. Many of them were elderly or were not keeping well. The new RBI order has now left many in the lurch. ALSO READ: Demonetisation effect: Book fair in West Bengal takes a hit ALSO READ: PM Modi's New Year resolution: Make banking system normal amid demonetisation ALSO WATCH --- ENDS --- Ten days before the New Year's attack on an Istanbul night club for which the so-called Islamic State now claims responsibility, it posted a grisly video on social media showing its forces burning two Turkish soldiers aliveand coupled it with a warning of worse atrocities to come. Turkey has become the land for Jihad, a Turkish ISIS fighter calling himself Abu Hasan declared in the immolation video. He urged the groups sympathizers in Turkey to burn it, blow it up and destroy it. It may well have been a signal to proceed with the attack early Sunday, which killed at least 39 and wounded 65. A hero soldier of the caliphate attacked one of the most famous nightclubs, where Christians celebrated their pagan holiday and transformed their celebration into mourning, the group said in a message posted on an Internet app early Monday. The message, a rare example of ISIS taking responsibility for an attack in Turkey, went on to condemn the Turkish intervention in northern Syria, where its forces along with Syrian rebels now encircle the ISIS-held town of Al Bab. The government of Turkey should know that the blood of Muslims, which it is targeting with its planes and its guns, will cause a fire in its home by Gods will, it said. The Turkish government, which has clamped down severely on news reporting on the assault, responded defiantly, vowing to continue the cross-border operation. Those who cannot digest our success on the ground are the ones shaping this terror act, said Numan Kurtulmus, the deputy prime minister, following a meeting of Turkeys top security officials. Wherever it goes, we will continue our cross-border operations, he said, naming the border town of Jarablus, which Turkish forces entered in August, Al Bab, which they hope to capture soon, and Manbij, a town where Turkey intends to oust the U.S.-allied Kurdish militia that has controlled it since August. But Kurtulmus coupled a pledge to continue Turkeys ground assault on ISIS with a veiled attack on powers that he said are supporting the terror groups. He did not name any country. If those behind the terrorist organizations would not support them for at least a week, they would all collapse, he said. He referred to ISIS, which since mid-2013 has freely moved about Syria and taken control of whole sectors of the country without opposition from the Syrian government. And he referred to the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK, whose Syrian branch is allied with the Syrian government, supported by Iran, and is currently collaborating with the United States in fighting ISIS. Meanwhile, PKK is conducting an armed uprising in southern Turkey and has taken credit through an affiliate for terror attacks elsewhere in the country. Kurtulmus revealed little about the attack itself, however, a well-planned assault by a lone gunman said in the Turkish media to be from Kyrgyzstan in central Asia. The gunman arrived by taxi close to the posh nightclub, retrieved his semi-automatic weapon from a satchel in the trunk and then approached the club, which is located on the European side of the Bosphorus strait separating Europe from Asia. Killing a policeman and at least one bodyguard outside the club, he entered the club and for seven minutes fired on patrons close both near the entrance and on its second floor, returning to the ground floor to continue the shooting Police said he used up six cartridges and fired 180 rounds at the night club patrons. He then changed his clothes. Fleeing the scene, he hailed a taxi and got out in Kurucesme, a nearby neighborhood claiming he had no funds. That he could carry out and escape after such an attack in a city which had put tens of thousands of police on patrol baffled many Turks and has added to a sense of crisis in a country which is fighting a war on multiple fronts, recovering from an attempted coup blamed on a former ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and is still investigating other acts of violence like the assassination of the Russian ambassador by an off-duty policeman on Dec. 19. Turkey has been in a state of emergency since July, after the failed coup, and now that is likely to be extended, government officials said. A measure of the tension was the gag order imposed on Turkish media about any details of the night club attack, coupled with threats against anyone posting supposed support for terror actions on the social media. Prime Minister Binali Yldrm warned of consequences for those who violate the order. It must be known that actions praising terror are crimes and have penal sanctions, Yldrm said on his official Twitter account. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag also warned that making the propaganda of terror and terrorist organizations constituted a crime. Also under threat are foreign news media reporting from Turkey. Dion Nissenbaum, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was detained and held for two and a half days in solitary confinement apparently after he tweeted a link to images of ISIS burning the two Turkish soldiers alive. The Turkish Foreign Ministry and Erdogans office did not respond to requests to explain the detention and the treatment meted out to the veteran Middle East correspondent. Also silent was the U.S. government, which has made no statement about the detention, an extraordinary development in Turkey. Although Turkey is actively fighting ISIS today, that wasnt always the case. ISIS captured two key border towns on the Turkish border at the beginning of 2014, Jarablus, which Turkey seized four months ago, and Tel Abyad, which the PKKs Syrian affiliate, the Peoples Protection Units or YPG, captured with the help of U.S. airpower in June 2015. But in the period ISIS was in control, ISIS operatives often transited the border between Turkey and Syria. Hayat Boumeddienne, the wife of the gunman who killed four people in Paris at a kosher supermarket the week of the Charlie Hebdo shootings in January 2015, escaped through the Turkish border town of Akcakale to Tel Abyad when it was under ISIS control. But there have been repeated terror assaults attributed to ISIS, the most spectacular of them an attack on Istanbuls Ataturk airport June 28, which killed 41. Turkeys problem today was summed up by Murat Yetkin, a columnist in Hurriyet, one of the few more or less independent newspapers. As Turkey toughened it policy on ISIS, he wrote Monday, military groups active in the Syria theater may be showing their reaction by awakening the sleepers they recruited in Turkey back when they could move around more freely inside the country. with additional reporting by Duygu Guvenc Trump supporters favorite pillow brand is going flat. MyPillow, a pillow and mattress-topper company best known for its infomercials and outlandish medical claims, came out swinging for Donald Trump during the presidential election. Im here to give all my credibility to Mr. Donald Trump, the companys founder and spokesperson Mike Lindell told Fox News during an interview at the final presidential debate, where he had scored seats to support Trump. But Lindell might be the rare businessman with less credibility than Trump. The Better Business Bureau yanked MyPillows accreditation this week and slapped the company with an F rating, over what customers described as a misleading ad campaign. MyPillow has racked up years of customer complaints, from allegations of the pillows trumped-up health claims, to a recent complaint that reads I want to murder Mike Lindell 15 times and accuses the company of selling overpriced wares. The BBB also took issue with MyPillows price scheme, albeit in less violent language. The consumer rights organization cited MyPillows ongoing buy one, get one free offers, which advertises two pillowsusually $49.99 eachfor half price at $99.97. The total savings were one cent. In October, MyPillow customers filed a class-action suit claiming to have been duped by the offer. Continuous BOGO offers, which can then be construed as an items regular, everyday price, violate not only BBBs Code of Advertisingwhich all BBB Accredited Businesses agree to abide bybut also other state and national organizations rules, Dana Badgerow, president of the BBBs Minnesota and North Dakota branches, told KARE of the Minnesota-based company on Monday. In a statement shared with The Daily Beast, Lindell disputed the BBBs decision. MyPillow was built on our dedication to our customers satisfaction, Lindell said. We run sales and specials for our customers, so that we can give as many people as possible the chance to have a great nights sleep. Naturally, I am terribly disappointed by the BBBs decision. The BBB isnt the only one complaining. In November, MyPillow shelled out nearly $1 million in settlement money after it was accused of promoting impossible medical claims. The companys website had advertised its pillows as a cure for a wide range of ailments, including migraines, allergies & asthma, and restless leg syndrome. In fine print, the website justified the claims by explaining that sleep often terminates migraine headaches and that the foam pillow did not contain mold or featherswhich are major triggers for allergies and asthma. MyPillow quietly deleted the claims before its settlement. In October, the company settled a different class-action, in which it agreed to stop referring to Lindell as sleep expert in infomercials, as he had never received any formal training. In 2013, Salesforce sued MyPillow for $550,000, accusing the company of breaching contract and stiffing them on a $125,000 credit card bill. Earlier that year, two of Lindells early backers accused him of cutting them out of their rightful share in the company, which they said was a combined 42 percent. But not even the litany of lawsuits could top the furor MyPillow faced over Lindells politics. As the election wore on, the companys Twitter account turned puzzlingly partisan, retweeting pro-Trump messages from users with screen names like Deplorable Sadie. Lindell tweeted at Trump, promising the then-candidate a free pillow, and advertised appearances at pro-Trump rallies and the Republican National Convention. Some would-be pillow buyers tweeted their dissatisfaction at Lindell. I was considering buying your pillow but I sure wont now, one Twitter user promised after Lindell gave an interview in support of Trump at the final presidential debate. Get stuffed! But some pillow partisans saw MyPillows Trump support as a selling point. In December, the brand retweeted a buyer who, in a conversation with the Twitter user @Bitch2U2, praised Lindell for meeting with Trump and declared America first! (I see the commercials all the time, You R a Trump supporter now I will def buy one! user @Bitch2U2 tweeted at Lindell.) MyPillow is not in bed with Trump, a spokesperson told The Daily Beast in November. The views espoused on the pillows social media are Mr. Lindells personal opinion, spokesperson Michelle Lawless said. But MyPillow has spent years partnering with the conservative voices who later became Trumps biggest cheerleaders. Fox host Sean Hannity was a longtime spokesperson for the brand, after Lindell boasted of personally fitting him for a pillow. Conservative radio host Joe Walsh, who threatened protest in the street with a musket if Hillary Clinton won the presidency, was also a paid spokesperson, appearing in a MyPillow infomercial. For the first time in my life I am sleeping thru the night thanks to My Pillow, Walsh tweeted in 2014, urging followers to use his promotional code on the website. He later posted an updated tweet to clarify that freedom never sleeps, even on his sponsored pillow. Walsh confirmed to The Daily Beast that the promotional code was still active. Recently, Islamabad claimed that Trump called Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and showered praise on the leader. While Sharif's office released a read-out of his conversation with Trump, the US president-elect's team issued bare minimum information. By India Today Web Desk: US President-elect Donald Trump won't tolerate double standard towards India by its immediate neighbours Pakistan and China. A top member of Trump's transition team said that the incoming president was not going to tolerate dual role from India's neighbours. Shalabh Kumar, an Indian-origin member of Donald Trump's advisory council who is considered close to the incoming president, said that Trump has made it clear his policy of not tolerating any dual role from New Delhi's neighbours. advertisement Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC) India Ambassador and Trump supporter Manasvi Mamgai said that Trump is going to be the best US President for India. "I think he is going to be the best president of US for India so far," she Manasvi said. "He has shown the support for us. In New Jersey event, he came back on the stage and said I love Hindu I love India, he is very vocal about it," Manasvi told ANI. WHEN TRUMP SHOWERED PRAISE ON NAWAZ SHARIF Recently, Islamabad claimed that Trump called Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and showered praise on the leader. While Sharif's office released a read-out of his conversation with Trump, the US president-elect's team issued bare minimum information. Also, Trump's lavish praise for Sharif and his offer to play a role in addressing Pakistan's problems found no mention in the readout of the conversation between the two leaders issued by Trump's transition team. "President-elect Trump and the Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Nawaz Sharif spoke today and had a productive conversation about how the United States and Pakistan will have a strong working relationship in the future," the transition team said. TRUMP DISMISSES NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR THREAT Meanwhile, Trump has junked nuclear threat from North Korea leader Kim Jung-un. Responding to Jung-un's New Year speech, in which he announced that Pyongyang is finalising preparations to launch another intercontinental ballistic missile, Trump said, "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the United States. It won't happen!" Trump also hit out at China for benefiting from trade with the US while not helping to rein in Pyongyang. "China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the US in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice!" he said in a series of tweets. ALSO READ: Donald Trump dismisses North Korea nuclear threat, says it won't happen Donald Trump wishes Happy New Year to all, including his 'many enemies' Cashless economy? Donald Trump believes no computer is safe --- ENDS --- advertisement No computer is safe, Donald Trump told us over the weekend. And nobody knows that better than the worlds terrorists. But at the end of the day, just like the rest of us, they still stay onlineand in many cases, fortunately, that costs them. As ISIS overtook much of Iraq and Syria in 2014, the terrorist organization ran a parallel campaign on the internet from Facebook and Twitter to Telegram and WhatsApp. Social media offered the militants an opportunity to recruit jihadi followers and spread radical interpretations of Islam. Articles in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post foretold the dangers of the caliphates rule over internet messaging platforms and social networking services popular with teenagers. The news media neglected to mention what the militants had risked in their ambitious online venture. In theory, every computer and phone that ISIS used intelligence, law-enforcement, and security agencies could track, passing the information to warplanes stalking the skies of the Middle East. It emerged last year that the U.S. Air Force was relying on social media to locate and target ISIS command hierarchies. In one incident, a fighter posted a picture of himself in an ISIS operations room with a geotag. American airstrikes hit the military base 22 hours later. Insurgents across Africa and Asia have struggled to balance the importance of public relations in the Information Age with the dangers of the internet, a cesspool of hackers, informants, and spies. Surveillance has had a role in the liquidation and murder of a large number of insurgents, said Nasser Abu Sharif, an official of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Our military policy is not to carry cellphones, but there are unfortunately some fighters who do not abide by these axiomatic rules. The militants who must use cellphones and computers, such as propagandists and spokespeople, find themselves most at risk. The social media spokespeople of terrorist organizations are often high on the targets list for drone strikes by the U.S. and others, noted Dan Gettinger, co-director of the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College. People like Junaid Hussein, Reyad Khan, and even Anwar al-Awlaki all demonstrated their ability at using the internet and social media to spread their message and encourage attacks against their U.K. and U.S. homelands and were all killed in drone strikes. The Intercept reported that the CIA and the NSA have cooperated to monitor terrorists SIM cards through mass surveillance and metadata. One target was al-Awlaki, the YemeniAmerican ideologue of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula killed in a 2011 American airstrike. The leadership of the Taliban has tried to confuse Western intelligence agencies, distributing SIM cards to random fighters and reshuffling them at impromptu meetings. We take a range of measures, such as not communicating classified information over the phone, Zabihullah Mujahid, the Talibans primary spokesman, told The Daily Beast over WhatsApp. Senior leaders dont talk on the phone to avoid the tracking of their location. The Taliban only allows Mujahid and secondary spokesman Qari Muhammad Yousuf Ahmadi to talk to the news media to minimize the risk of airstrikes. Well-established terrorist organizations are generally quite conscious of the risks of electronic surveillance and interception and take security measures in response, such as frequent swapping of phones or SIM cards, said Paul R. Pillar, a former executive assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence. Such measures do not preclude them from use of social media and the internet for propaganda and recruitment; cut-outs can be used in posting material so that it is difficult to trace key individuals involved. But the Talibans commitment to cybersecurity has limits. American intelligence agencies last May assassinated Mullah Akhtar Mansour, the insurgents previous leader, by intercepting his mobile devices. Mansours predecessor, Mullah Muhammad Omar, had avoided a similar fate by living in secrecy; the Taliban even managed to hide news of his 2013 death for two years. Osama bin Laden, Omars ally and friend, evaded detection for years by foregoing cellphones (though his aides owned them). Any time an individual interacts with information networks, that does present an opportunity for law enforcement or the intelligence community to attempt to identify someone, determine a location, or otherwise gather available electronic information, observed Susan Hennessey, a former attorney with the NSA. Taliban spokespeople have lapsed in the past. In 2012, Ahmadi CCd subscribers to a Taliban email list instead of BCCing them, revealing the email addresses of over 400 recipients. In 2014, Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted his location in Pakistan by accident. The spread of easy-to-use encryption and other countersurveillance tools allow these groups to develop complex communications networks and reduces the number of mistakes which might be exploited for collection, Hennessey told The Daily Beast. Terrorist organizations prefer application software secured by end-to-end encryption. The putschists in Turkeys failed coup detat plotted over WhatsApp. Telegram, an internet messaging platform developed by Russian dissident entrepreneurs, remains a favorite of ISIS. But both apps come with their own hazards. Participants in the Talibans WhatsApp chatrooms can view the cellphone numbers of all the other members, allowing even the laziest intelligence officer to see with ease who is controlling and following the Talibans instant messaging. Gizmodo has also questioned the privacy afforded by Telegram, ranking iMessage as more secure. As rebels grapple with the pros and cons of media manipulation over the internet, even states without access to the Western worlds high technology are enjoying the benefits of mass surveillance in their bloody counterinsurgencies. Leaders in the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) alleged that the Sudanese government launched an airstrike in 2011 on Khalil Ibrahim, the most prominent of Darfurs rebels, after tracking his cellphone. The death of Dr. Khalil resulted from the Global Positioning System, Adam Eissa Abakar, a JEM leader, told The Daily Beast. When an individual speaks on the telephone, there will be an airstrike within half an hour. The government in Khartoum controls the telecommunications market in Sudan and brought sophisticated surveillance equipment to monitor all calls and messages within the country, claimed Muhammad Abdulrahman al-Nair, an SLM/A spokesman. He asserted that Sudanese intelligence officers had studied computer and network surveillance in China, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, and South Korea. According to him, the Sudanese government relied on Emirati support to locate Ibrahim. Elsewhere in Africa, failed states depend on Western intelligence sharing to target well-armed insurgents. We know that our Libyan enemies are watching our phones, but they couldnt know this technique without Western help, asserted Muhammad Idris Taher, a press secretary for the Derna Mujahideen Shura Council, a Libyan militia with alleged links to al Qaeda. The Middle East Eye confirmed the Wests relationship with Khalifa Haftar, a renegade Libyan warlord and self-proclaimed secularist enemy of jihadis, after obtaining recordings of air traffic controllers with American, British, and French accents directing airstrikes. Human rights defenders accuse Haftar of war crimes in Benghazi and Derna, strongholds of Libyas Islamist militias. Vastly outgunned and out-spent by Western militaries and intelligence services, terrorist organizations have embraced high- and low-tech methods of evasion and subversion. ISIS fooled Europe intelligence agencies into believing that Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who masterminded suicide attacks in Belgium and France, was still in Syria by using his WhatsApp account there after he left. The militants have embraced bitcoin, a cryptocurrency, and the dark web, a system of overlay networks requiring custom software to access. PIJ has managed to hack Israeli drones, stoking fears of cyberterrorism against Western governments. For now, however, most terrorists must confront more mundane challenges. The Ghost Security Group, a hacker organization tied to Anonymous, keeps harassing the Talibans websites. It will take some time before insurgents have the capabilities and technologies to respond in kind. Intelligence agencies, meanwhile, also rely on more traditional methods of espionage. Keeping track of recruitment trends and the substance of messaging is the most useful purpose for intelligence and security services of monitoring social media, Pillar, the former CIA official, told The Daily Beast. It is not a matter of pros and cons of doing this versus collecting human intelligence, he notes. Human intelligence is necessary to learn of any operational plans. The collection of defectors, double agents, and informants, has played a critical role in operations such as the assassination of Osama bin Laden. It can explain the interpersonal relationships that signals intelligence might overlook. Still, human intelligence comes with its own risks. A triple agent posing as an informant killed seven Khost-based CIA operatives in a 2009 suicide attack. And there have always been tensions between proponents of human intelligence and signals intelligence: HUMINT vs. SIGINT. Successful operations often involve multiple agencies using a variety of specialized methods, said Hennessey, the former NSA official. For example, a signals intelligence interception might generate a lead which is then investigated and verified through non-SIGINT methods. Or human intelligence sourcing about a terrorists identity and approximate location or use of a particular phone or number might be supplemented with more SIGINT metadata information to determine an exact location. Insurgents will always need to prepare countermeasures to protect themselves from the informants living among them and the spies watching their cell phones. Then, Western intelligence, law-enforcement, and security agencies reap the benefits of the terrorists strategic errors online. When I was in graduate school, I was looking for a scenic, quiet place to live. My university was on Long Island, 50 miles east of New York City, and I decided to explore communities that were farther out on the eastern tip. It wasnt the fashionable part, with the Hamptons and Montauk Point, but the North Fork, made up of mostly agricultural communities and small towns. By early in the winter Id found a wonderful old farmhouse tucked away along a bluff. From there, I could make my way through blackberry thickets and down the 70 steps leading to the beach. The realtor had been hesitant to even show me the property. Though structurally sound, it obviously hadnt been used in ages. The bathroom still worked, but there was no shower, and during the entire year I was there, the water ran brown from decades of rusting pipes. Exiting the bathtub was like emerging from a tanning salon. It was beyond rustic; I might have called it uninhabitable if it werent for my imagination and daily access to the breathtaking, endless beach. I wasnt bothered by the fact that it had no refrigerator because I figured it would surely be cold enough most of the year to store things on the windowsill. Sure enough, when I aired out the place, I actually found a stick of margarine on the windowsill. At first glance, I thought it might have dropped off the assembly line recently, but after reading the label, I realized, to my amazement, that it dated back to the beginning of World War IIthe last time the house had been occupied. I had more surprises in the spring. My house was sitting on acres of deep purplepurple cauliflower, which I had never seen before. Long Island was rich in food production in those days, and this land was leased to a local farmer. Small farmers thrived by growing a diversity of foods that have since virtually disappeared from our mainstream food system. Purple cauliflower, a centuries-old heirloom from South Africa, flourished in this nutrient-rich soil and bathed in moist sea air. To my delight, this hardy companion was a healthy food. I would cut it fresh and saute it whenever I prepared a mealfrom farm to table before it came into fashionin perhaps half an hour. It had a delicious, delicate flavorand it didnt require margarine. So, I had the two extremes at my homethe dream of purple cauliflower and the nightmare of 30 year-old, still perfect margarine. As someone who loves to cook and entertain, I enjoyed watching friends reactions to these two marvels. The margarine inevitably produced shock and dismay, taking away peoples appetites. The cauliflower, on the other hand, had a way of perking up a dish and lifting moods, owing greatly to its vibrant color. The full purple effect started in the fields. Seeing my home tucked in the rolling violet blankets, friends would wonder about its taste and texture as they approached, wanting to know the story behind it, where it came from, how it got here. *** Food is an everyday expression of our culture, and every cultural identity is partly tied to a unique way of preparing it. Since our survival requires consumption of food, our culinary traditions have reflected our history, both in terms of the land where our ancestors lived and what that land produced. Human ingenuity and community traditions added these basic materials, still reflecting a local ecosystem and its resources. As food cultures have been passed down through the generations, families and communities inherited their knowledge and rituals, which have had an enduring personal and shared significance. So how, then, did the modern U.S. food system move toward the bionic margarine? From cultivation and processing to marketing and transportation, modern-day food consumption patterns have been re-shaped by corporate food production. In a relatively short time span, with developments in technology, aided by agricultural policies, industry changed its emphasis from the marketing of whole foods to manufacturing highly processed food products. Initial innovations, like frozen fruits and vegetables or tomato sauce had significant benefits, but the drive for profit has led to much greater and more extensive changes, including reduced standards for what constitutes food. Consumers welcomed the food industrys innovations, in part, because they lowered prices, reduced risks from spoilage, and extended availability beyond the growing seasons. Meals could be prepared more quickly, so women (in traditional roles) were able to spend less time in the kitchen. And for women who continued to work, there was still the expectation that they prepare meals, so convenience was perhaps even more important. Snappy marketing campaigns capitalized on consumer interest in ease and thrift. Over time, industry and retailers altered the types of available foods and shifted national eating habits, concocting handy foods that were fun, fast, cheap, and tasty. But behind the alluring novelties and happy marketing is a reductionist science that breaks down food into nutrients infused with addictive additives and treats our food like a jigsaw puzzlewith the hubris to assume industry can out-do nature and put all the pieces back together again. Subsidized additivesby-products of corn and soyhave allowed manufacturers to modify recipes for greater profit. Instead of nature, health, and culture guiding food decisions, business interests became the driver. These changes have caused a radical shift in norms and a host of food-related health impacts. Nutrient-dense, whole foodslike fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, and legumesthat have sustained people for generations have been replaced by the three additives selected to make us buy and consume more: sugar, salt, and fat. Michael Jacobson, head of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and author of terms like liquid candy, coined the term junk food. Dr. Wendel Brunner, the public health director I worked for in Contra Costa County, goes even further by calling this food toxic waste. I wasnt surprised when the National Cancer Institute announced recently that nearly 40 percent of the calories U.S. youth consume are empty ones, coming from things like soda, pizza, and desserts . In fact, few U.S. youth eat the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables. The predictable results of these trends have included epidemics of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, all of which have roots in unhealthy eating and inactivity and have seen their onset of illness occurring increasingly in children and adolescents. In a U.S. health care model in which disease is treated rather than prevented, the costs associated with these trends have, of course, been astronomical. As the former chief CDC medical coroner Dr. Beverly Coleman Miller once told me, even the organs of children and adolescents are changing: in examining the bodies of inner-city youth who died earlytoo often from violenceshe was shocked to find that their internal organs were damaged to an extent she had previously only seen with older adults. Reprinted with the permission of Oxford University Press, Prevention Diaries: The Practice and Pursuit of Health for All (copyright 2017). Larry Cohen is founder and Executive Director of the Prevention Institute; a leading authority in developing practical prevention strategies for communities. Cohens accomplishments include catalyzing the nations first multi-city no-smoking laws; helping define violence as a preventable health issue; advancing chronic disease prevention through physical activity and healthy eating; and promoting better understanding of the underlying causes of illness, injury, and health inequities. He lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area. The only late-night host on the air Monday night, Jimmy Kimmel had the distinction of delivering the first monologue of 2017. And while he spent most of his first show back after a holiday break on The Bachelors season premiere, he also set aside a couple of minutes to weigh in on whatever Mariah Carey was doing on New Years Eve. Mariah Carey ended 2016 on a rough note, Kimmel said, before playing a few clips of the wreckage that was her disastrous performance on ABCs Dick Clarks New Years Rockin Eve With Ryan Seacrest broadcast Saturday night. She lipped, she just forgot to sync, Kimmel said, laughing at Careys lackluster outing. If you think about it, that was the perfect ending to 2016. As Kimmel explained, Carey, through her representatives, has claimed that she was sabotaged by producersa charge that ABC (which also runs Kimmels show) has vehemently denied. She said she believes someone at Dick Clark Productions did this on purpose to boost ratings, he said. For real, she thinks they deliberately messed with her earpiece so she would screw up, which is such a crazy theory some people think she might be positioning herself to run for president of the United States. And just like that, we were back to Donald Trump jokes. TBILISI, Georgia On Sunday afternoon in the village of Khurvaleti, a jetlagged but gritty-as-ever John McCain walked up a snow-covered hill to meet an aged Georgian man, Dato Vanishvili, who waited on the other side of a 52.5-kilometer razor-wire barrier. Sen. McCain leaned into the fence, reached over and shook Vanishvilis hand. In doing so, the senators gnarled grip passed through the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) into Russian-controlled South Ossetia. This small gesture was the most geopolitically provocative move that McCain made during his weeklong tour of countries on Russias frontier. With McCain, the Republican from Arizona, were Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, on an excursion over the holidays that looked like a pregame lap before they face off with President-Elect Donald Trump and his buddy Russian President Vladimir Putin on Capitol Hill, where it really counts. The trio traveled from the Baltics to Ukraine to Georgiathe near abroad, the Kremlin calls it, but its rapidly becoming the fear abroad as Trump appears to be signaling none of these countries can rely on American protection anymore. The senators made both their rhetoric and their actions more pointed as they passed from country to country, laying the groundwork for their hearings into Russian hacking later this week. McCains handshake moment seemed like some kind of peak in that escalationhe was literally crossing the line. But there is only one thing that John McCain can do for Dato Vanishvili: Stop Trump from lifting sanctions on the same guys that put a fence through Datos yard. Dato went to bed one night in Georgia in 2009 and woke up in South Ossetia. The fence was originally erected (passing behind his property) after the war in August of 2008 to mark the newly recognized (by Moscow) South Ossetia. But the Russian security service, the FSB, has a penchant for sporadically moving the fence further into Georgian territory in the middle of the nighta process referred to as borderization. Thats how Dato woke up in Russian controlled territory. The 85-year-old farmer told The Daily Beast in an interview last spring that he was detained by the FSB for crossing into Georgia to collect his pension in October 2012, three years after discovered he was living in occupied territory. Georgian police helped me pass over the fence onto their side. But the FSB waited for me, and as soon as I crossed back over, I was detained. They put my cap in my mouth and took a knife and threatened me with it. Dato claims, They have threatened my grandson, who lives in South Ossetia, and say they will take me to Moscow if I talk again. But, clearly a stubborn man of the land, he still does talk, and even shakes hands through the fence with senators. McCain and Co., attempting to reassure American allies of their support, know full well that the U.S. president who will be inaugurated on Jan. 20 does not share their views about Russia and could care less about people like Dato Vanishvili. Meanwhile the FSB is watching all of this. There are state-of-the-art FSB telecommunications outposts all along the administrative border. From where the senators stood they could see one of the many FSB bases that pepper the area. This base in particular is so close that you see the Russian soldiers hanging their laundry out the windows to dry in warm months. The front side faces Georgia, and looks like a brand new hotel, giving the impression of a Potemkin-esque military base. Indeed, the Russians are doing everything they can to create an impression of permanenceand menacing proximity. In local terms, according to the Jamestown Foundation, Russian forces stationed along the current occupation line could capture and block that section of the East-West highway within 15 minutes. Needless to say, were Tbilisi to lose control over the highway, it would split Georgia into two parts, causing a major political as well as humanitarian catastrophe in the country. But in a broader sense, it is the creeping process of invasion, intimidation, borderization, and the menacing facades of power that McCain, Graham, and Klobuchar found wherever they went. * * * Giga Bokeria, an opposition leader and former secretary of the Georgian National Security Council who met with the senators, said, The visit is a very important signal at this point in time. There is a very risky international environment for everyone and particularly for Georgia. There is a new administration in the U.S. and their policies are not clear yet. So the visit of our friends is a very important signal. The operative term here is signal. If this congressional delegation (a CODEL in diplospeak) teaches us anything new, it is how quickly the language of foreign policy has changedand how little diplomacy relies on actual conversation. President-Elect Trumps use of tweets to state his position on nuclear weapons or to praise Putins decisions reflects this new reality. In a world where countries are hacked each day or pinged (in constant displays of the ability to hack demonstrated by both enemies and allies) and where senators reach across fences and visit front lines, the new language of diplomacy is one of dramatic actions and visible, social-media-shareable signals. The guy at the fence, Dato Vanishvili, has probably done his routine 100 times. In his own way McCain has, too. The roles are not unlike that of theater. McCain and Graham are weathered old Cold Warriors who have been performing for decades now. But suddenly their routine is back in vogue. Their signals are in demand. Or so they hope. No one is getting any younger, however, and at times it seems both sides of this new Cold War are going through the motions. Fortunately, they have Sen. Klobuchar, the spry 56-year-old second-term Minnesota Democrat, with fresh energy and perspective. On tour, she was an especially sharp new voice and also a subtle reminder that this isnt some partisan hawk-fest of old white dudes saying Mr. Putin, tear down this fence. We just left Ukraine, where weve seen firsthand what happens when Russia crosses over into a countrys independence, Klobuchar told reporters succinctly outside the Tbilisi airport. And we saw it in our own elections with the attempt to influence our elections. * * * As the senators moved from the Baltics to Ukraine to Georgia, edging ever closer to the front lines of conflict, their rhetoric about the hacking scandal escalated dramatically. Russian interference in Americas elections was an act of war, as McCain put it. In Estonia, they were some 130 miles from the Russian border when McCain called for U.S. troops to be permanently stationed in the little Baltic nation. And few venues could so clearly represent the coming together of threats to sovereign soil and to cyberspace. In 2007 Estonia was crippled by a series of Russian cyberattacks. A decade later, all the Baltic states need genuine reassurance of the American commitment to NATO, after Trump freaked them out during the election campaign by saying that before he would come to the aid of any NATO country, he would first consider that countrys financial contributions to the alliance. Trumps statement controverts Article V, the mutual-defense clause without which the North Atlantic Alliance becomes meaningless. As NATO puts it, The principle of collective defense is at the very heart of NATOs founding treaty. Vladimir Putin is a thug and a bully and a murderer... He understands strength, and thats all that he understands, McCain told Fox News. * * * On Thursday, while the senators were in the Baltic States, and after weeks of Oval Office handwringing over Russias attempt to influence the U.S. presidential election using Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities, (thats Treasury Department language), the Obama administration finally struck back. The president expelled 35 intelligence operatives, sanctioning the FSB and the GRU, Russias military-intelligence agency, along with nine other entities and individuals. The Obama administration also sealed off two lavish waterfront compounds, which apparently were well known but tolerated Russian spy haunts. (The two mansionsone formerly owned by a 19th-century oil magnate and the other by the builder of the Empire State Buildinglook like ghostly Cold War versions of Jay Gatsbys demesne.) Tellingly, Putin announced he would wait until Donald Trump is inaugurated to retaliate against Obamas retaliationor not. The subtext, of course, is that Putin seems to think Trump will lift the sanctions by executive order once he is president. Speaking from Kiev, McCain called any deal between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin a Faustian bargain. In an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty the senators were adamant that the very notion that Trump might lift sanctions would interfere with and undermine the freedom and democracies that exist today, as McCain put it. Meanwhile Trump has suggested recognizing Crimea and lifting sanctions. When asked by German reporter Mareike Aden last July, whether a President Trump would recognize Crimea as Russian and lift sanctions imposed on Moscow for annexing the Ukrainian territory, Trump replied, Yes. We would be looking at that. On Friday in Ukraine, not far from Maidan Square, the birthplace of the pro-Western Euromaidan Revolution in 2014, the senators told RFE/RL that within the United States Congress there is strong support for providing Ukraine with lethal defensive weapons in its war with Russian-backed separatists. This, too, was a refutation of the incoming presidents approach. Trumps campaignever mindful of Putins feelingsspecifically removed the exact same language calling for lethal defensive weapons for Ukraine from the Republican platform last summer. On Saturday in the port city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov between the Russian frontier and Russian-annexed Crimea, the senators were 15 miles from an active front line where mortar fire thumps back and forth between Ukrainian nationalist troops and the Russian-backed insurgents. With Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and a group of Ukrainian Marines, the senators spent New Years Eve in Shyrokyne, on the forward defense line protecting Mariupol from the rebels. On New Years Eve, Poroshenko announced that 211 Ukrainian servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces had been killed in 2016, and McCain was quoted by Poroshenkos press service saying, I send the message from the American people: We are with you, your fight is our fight and we will win together. Meanwhile President-Elect Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate told fellow vacationers they should forget about Russian hacking and we all should get on with our lives. Once again he blurred any lines of confrontation with Russia over the issue: The whole age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what is going on, Trump said. * * * With statements like that coming from the new leader of what used to be called the Free World (as opposed to the Russian/Soviet dominated one) there often seemed to be a kind of sad irony in the senators trip through Putins back yard. Many in the region saw the hawkish senators as the last vestige of American policy against Russian authoritarian expansion, and even as their rhetoric and actions grew bolder, the senators promises couldnt help but seem empty on an anachronistic magical mystery tour. They could be right about everything, and powerless to stop anything. We have entered this new world of post-truth, post-diplomacy, post-ethics with a new American president who seems utterly unable or unwilling to acknowledge Putins borderizing ambitions whether on land, at sea, or in cyberspace. All the way from Palm Beach, Trump was the huge orange elephant in the room in Kiev and Tbilisi. Somehow even there he was stealing the show. More than 15 years into Americas war in Afghanistan, the Russian government is openly advocating on behalf of the Taliban. Last week, Moscow hosted Chinese and Pakistani emissaries to discuss the war. Tellingly, no Afghan officials were invited. However, the trio of nations urged the world to be flexible in dealing with the Taliban, which remains the Afghan governments most dangerous foe. Russia even argued that the Taliban is a necessary bulwark in the war against the so-called Islamic State. For its part, the American military sees Moscows embrace of the Taliban as yet another move intended to undermine NATO, which fights the Taliban, al Qaeda, and the Islamic State every day. After Moscows conference, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova spoke with reporters and noted that the three countries expressed particular concern about the rising activity in the country of extremist groups, including the Afghan branch of IS [the Islamic State, or ISIS]. According to Reuters, Zakharova added that China, Pakistan, and Russia agreed upon a flexible approach to remove certain [Taliban] figures from [United Nations] sanctions lists as part of efforts to foster a peaceful dialogue between Kabul and the Taliban movement. The Taliban, which refers to itself as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, quickly praised the Moscow tripartite in a statement posted online on Dec. 29. It is joyous to see that the regional countries have also understood that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is a political and military force, Muhammad Sohail Shaheen, a spokesman for the groups political office, said in the statement. The proposal forwarded in the Moscow tripartite of delisting members of the Islamic Emirate is a positive step forward in bringing peace and security to Afghanistan. Of course, the Taliban isnt interested in peace and security. The jihadist group wants to win the Afghan war and it is using negotiations with regional and international powers to improve its standing. The Taliban has long manipulated peace negotiations with the U.S. and Western powers as a pretext for undoing international sanctions that limit the ability of its senior figures to travel abroad for lucrative fundraising and other purposes, even while offering no serious gestures toward peace. The Obama administration has repeatedly tried, and failed, to open the door to peace. In May 2014, the U.S. transferred five senior Taliban figures from Guantanamo to Qatar. Ostensibly, the Taliban Five were traded for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, an American who reportedly deserted his fellow soldiers and was then held by the Taliban and its jihadist allies. But the Obama administration also hoped that the exchange would be a so-called confidence-building measure and lead to more substantive negotiations. The Talibans leaders never agreed to any such discussions. They simply wanted their comrades, at least two of whom are suspected of committing war crimes, freed from Guantanamo. Regardless, Russia is now enabling the Talibans disingenuous diplomacy by pretending that ISIS is the more worrisome threat. Its a game the Russians have been playing for more than a year. In December 2015, Zamir Kabulov, who serves as Vladimir Putin's special representative for Afghanistan, went so far as to claim that the Taliban interest objectively coincides with ours when it comes to fighting ISIS head Abu Bakr al Baghdadis loyalists. Kabulov even conceded that Russia and the Taliban have channels for exchanging information, according to The Washington Post. The American commanders leading the fight in Afghanistan dont buy Russias argumentat all. During a press briefing on Dec. 2, General John W. Nicholson Jr., the commander of NATOs Resolute Support and U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, discussed the malign influence of external actors and particularly Pakistan, Russia, and Iran. Gen. Nicholson said the U.S. and its allies are concerned about the external enablement of the insurgent or terrorist groups inside Afghanistan, in particular where they enjoy sanctuary or support from outside governments. Russia, in particular, has overtly lent legitimacy to the Taliban. According to Nicholson, the Russian narrative is that the Taliban are the ones fighting the Islamic State, not the Afghan government. While the Taliban does fight its jihadist rivals in the Islamic State, this is plainly false. The Afghan government and the U.S. counterterrorism effort are the ones achieving the greatest effect against Islamic State, Nicholson said. He went on to list the U.S.-led coalitions accomplishments over the past year: 500 ISIS fighters (comprising an estimated 25 to 30 percent of the groups overall force structure) were killed or wounded, the organizations top 12 leaders (including its emir, Hafiz Saeed Khan) were killed, and the groups sanctuary has been reduced from nine Afghan districts to just three. So, this public legitimacy that Russia lends to the Taliban is not based on fact, but it is used as a way to essentially undermine the Afghan government and the NATO effort and bolster the belligerents, Nicholson concluded. While Nicholson was careful not read too much into Russias motivation for backing the Taliban, he noted certainly there's a competition with NATO. Theres no doubt that ISISs operations in Afghanistan grew significantly in the wake of Baghdadis caliphate declaration in 2014. However, as Nicholson correctly pointed out, Baghdadis men are not adding to the territory they control at the moment. Their turf is shrinking. The same cannot be said for the Taliban, which remains the most significant threat to Afghanistans future. At any given time, the Taliban threatens several provincial capitals. The Taliban also controls dozens of Afghan districts and contests many more. Simply put, the Taliban is a far greater menace inside Afghanistan than Baghdadis men. Regardless, the Russians continue to press their case. Their argument hinges on the idea that ISIS is a global force to be reckoned with, while the Taliban is just a local nuisance. Kabulov, Putins special envoy to Afghanistan, made this very same claim in a newly-published interview with Anadolu Agency. Kabulov contends that the bulk, main leadership, current leadership, and the majority of Taliban are now a local force as a result of all these historical lessons they got in Afghanistan. They gave up the global jihadism idea, Kabulov adds. They are upset and regret that they followed Osama bin Laden. Someone should tell the Talibans media department this. Earlier this month, the Taliban released a major documentary video, Bond of Nation with the Mujahideen. The video included clips of the Talibans most senior leaders rejecting peace talks and vowing to wage jihad until the end. It also openly advertised the Talibans undying alliance with al Qaeda. At one point, an image of Osama bin Laden next to Taliban founder Mullah Omar is displayed on screen. Photos of other al Qaeda and Taliban figures are mixed together in the same shot. An audio message from Sheikh Khalid Batarfi, an al Qaeda veteran stationed in Yemen, is also played during the video. Batarfi praised the Taliban for protecting bin Laden even after the Sept. 11, 2001 hijackings. Groups of Afghan Mujahideen have emerged from the land of Afghans that will destroy the biggest idol and head of kufr of our time, America, Batarfi threatened. A narrator added that the mujahideen in Afghanistan are the hope of Muslims for reviving back the honor of the Muslim Ummah [worldwide community of Muslims]! The Afghan jihadists are a hope for taking back the Islamic lands! and a hope for not repeating defeats and tragedies of the last century! The Talibans message is, therefore, unmistakable: The war in Afghanistan is part of the global jihadist conflict. All of this, and more, is in one of the Talibans most important media productions of 2016. There is no hint that the Taliban regrets allying with al Qaeda, or has given up the global jihadism idea, as Kabulov claims. The exact opposite is true. There is much more to the Taliban-al Qaeda nexus. In August 2015, al Qaeda honcho Ayman al Zawahiri swore allegiance to Mullah Mansour, who was named as Mullah Omars successor as the Talibans emir. Mansour publicly accepted Zawahiris fealty and Zawahiris oath was prominently featured on the Talibans website. After Mansour was killed earlier this year, Zawahiri pledged his allegiance to Mansours replacement, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada. Zawahiri and other al Qaeda leaders regularly call upon Muslims to support the Taliban and reject the Islamic States Afghan branch. In his interview with Anadolu Agency, Kabulov concedes that not all of the Taliban has given up the global jihadist ideas. He admits that within the Taliban you can find very influential groups like the Haqqani network whose ideology is more radical, closer to Daesh [or ISIS]. Kabulov is right that the Haqqanis are committed jihadi ideologues, but he misses the obvious contradiction in his arguments. Siraj Haqqani, who leads the Haqqani network, is also one of the Talibans top two deputy leaders. He is the Talibans military warlord. Not only is Siraj Haqqani a radical ideologue, as Kabulov mentions in passing, he is also one of al Qaedas most committed allies. Documents recovered in Osama bin Ladens compound show that al Qaedas men closely cooperate with Siraj Haqqani on the Afghan battlefields. Kabulov claims that ISIS operates much more smartly than al Qaeda and has learned from all the mistakes of al Qaeda. He says Baghdadis enterprise has brought more advanced and sophisticated people to design, plan, and [execute] policy. Once again, the exact opposite is true. Al Qaeda has long known the pitfalls of ISISs in-your-face strategy, and has smartly decided to hide the extent of its influence and operations. Zawahiri and his lieutenants have also used ISISs over-the-top brutality to market themselves as a more reasonable jihadi alternative. And both the Taliban and al Qaeda are attempting to build more popular support for their cause as much of the world remains focused on the so-called caliphates horror show. Al Qaedas plan has worked so well that the Russians would have us believe that the Taliban, al Qaedas longtime ally, should be viewed as a prospective partner. Kabulov says that Russia is waiting to see how the new president, [Donald] Trump, describe[s] his Afghan policy before determining what course should be pursued next. Heres one thing the Trump administration should do right away: Make it clear that the Taliban and al Qaeda remain our enemies in Afghanistan. Thomas Joscelyn is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and senior editor of FDDs Long War Journal. Carter Shoop returned from a walk in the Indiana woods two days before Christmas and announced to his family that he had chanced to see a mysterious package up in a tree. His wife, Emily, figured he was just making up a story for the kids. Her opinion was shared by their 8-year-old daughter, Sadie; 6-year-old daughter, Lucy; and 5-year-old nephew, Gavin Mayhill. None of us believed him, Emily would recall. Carter persisted with the tale the next day and called for them to join him in finding it again. He said, Were going to go look for the mysterious package, Emily would remember. They all set off from Emilys mothers house, where they were visiting for Christmas from their own home in California. They came to where Carter reckoned he had been when he saw the package the day before. He said, OK, this is about the spot, everyone look around, Emily would recall. As the disbelievers might have expected, Carter was unable to locate the package again. Then one of the kids spotted what looked to be something wrapped in plastic hanging in a tree, just like Carter had said. The number of purple streamers dangling from it suggested it had been borne there by a number of balloons. We figured it was from a kids birthday party, Emily would later report. Their discovery remained out of reach even after Carter hoisted Sadie on his shoulders. But they found the tree was slender enough to bend, and brought the package down enough for them do the job with the help of a long stick. It took us a while, Emily would report. We werent going to give up. On closer examination, they beheld a plastic bag containing two folded letters written in a neat hand on lined paper. One was a single page: Happy 1st Birthday Ava!! Ava, Today is your first birthday, November 20, 2013. Youre spending your birthday in Heaven. We wish so bad that you couldve spent it here with us. Momma & Daddy love and miss you more than words could ever explain. The 27 days that God gave us with you were the BEST 27 days of our lives. We cant wait to come to Heaven to see and hold you once again! We Love You & Miss You Always, [a drawn heart] Momma & Daddy The other letter was three pages. Sadie read it aloud: To whomever may find this Hello, our names are Cayla & Cliff Lawson and Ava was our first child! This is her story I, Cayla, was 36 and weeks pregnant with our precious girl Ava when we went for what we thought would be our last ultrasound. Boy, were we wrong! At that ultrasound, they discovered that Ava had a very serious heart defect. We were sent to specialists in Indianapolis to find out what our next step would be. They told us that Ava had HRHS & TAPVR, two very serious heart defects. I would have to be induced so that there were no surprises at delivery. I went in on November 19, 2012 and on November 20, 2012 at 4:41 p.m. we welcomed our 6 pound 14 ounce and 20 inches long beautiful girl into the world. Later that night, we finally got to hold her, right before they took her to the children's hospital right next to the hospital that I delivered in. Ava would need 3 surgeries to correct her conditions, at the least. The first [was the] next morning at 14 hrs old and [Ava] did fantastic! But afterward, she got bad. They had to do three more procedures on her within the following two weeks. Ava then got very sick with fungal meningitis, which her tiny body was unable to fight off. One December 17, 2012, the Lord decided that it was time to call Ava home. We were blessed with the absolute hardest, yet most beautiful 27 days with our little miracle. We wanted to send this letter up to Heaven with her balloons in hopes that someone, somewhere would find this and get to read a very short version of Avas story. If anyone does happen to find this, please feel free to send us a text or give us a call! Wed love to know where this letter ended up! Thank you for taking time to read our story of our brave little girl. Always, Cayla & Cliff Lawson Below that were cellphone numbers for Cayla and Cliff. Carter Shoop noted that the package must have been hanging in the tree for three years and he reasoned that they might just be reviving the hurt on Christmas Eve if they texted the couple. Emily felt that the couple would not have included the phone numbers if they did not want to be informed of the find. Her mother, Sally Mayhill, concurred with her daughter, having first expressed her surprise when they returned with the package. I said, You mean it was real? Sally would recall. Emily texted Cayla and Cliff simultaneously at 5:04 p.m. on Christmas Eve: Dear Cliff and Cayla, Today we were exploring my parents property on Marion Countys far northwest border and found the note you sent up into the sky over three years ago. It was stuck up in a tree in the woods. We were very touched by your letter and Sweet Baby Ava and its clear she was blessed with wonderful, loving parents. Thank you for sharing her story with us. She is forever in our hearts, too. God bless and Merry Christmas! Emily, Carter, Sadie and Lucy Shoop from Piedmont, CA and my nephew Gavin Mayhill, who lives in Indianapolis At that moment, 27-year-old Cliff Lawson happened to be checking the cellphone he was charging in his living room some 70 miles away in Terre Haute. He saw a text from an unfamiliar number. He read the accompanying message. I didnt know what to think, he later told The Daily Beast. It took me a second to kind of comprehend what I was reading. Somebody had found the letter we sent out over three years ago. He took the phone into the kitchen, where 28-year-old Cayla Lawson was preparing Christmas Eve dinner for a big group of relatives who would be joining them in the house they had bought and settled into just a short time before. Read this, he told her. Four years before, the couple had gone for what was supposed to be just a routine final ultrasound test before the birth of their first child. Check size and fluid levels, Cliff later said. Make sure everything is on track. The due date had been a week away and they had already packed their bags and stashed them in the car in case the big moment came a little early. They had decided on the name Ava. Nothing symbolic about the name or anything like that, Cliff would recall. It seemed like we bounced back and forth on several hundred names and that was the one we both agreed on. We really liked it. An earlier ultrasound had found nothing amiss, and had they returned to the facility where it had been administrated, the technician likely would have just checked the last-minute variables their doctor had requested. But that place was closed when they got off workCliff as a welder, Cayla at a clinicand they went to another facility that was open later. As a new patient, Cayla got a full, comprehensive test, as if she had not had one before. The technician became puzzled. She told us not to be alarmed, but she was getting some funny measurements, Cliff would remember. The tech went to get a more senior colleague, who said she too was getting some unexpected results. The second tech went to get a radiologist. Pretty much, what he told us was, I dont know whats wrong with your baby, but theres something wrong with her heart and you have to go see a specialist, Cliff would report. Only this was on a Friday evening and they needed a referral to see a specialist, and their doctor had gone home. They passed a weekend of what could have only been harrowing uncertainty. We didnt know what was going to happen, Cliff remembered. We were sitting in the parking lot at the doctors office building Monday morning when it opened. The doctor went over the scans and referred them to St. Vincent Womens Hospital in Indianapolis. The couple made the 90-minute drive that day. More tests by more sophisticated equipment determined that the baby had two congenital cardiac defects that are more commonly detected at the 20-week ultrasound. Hypoplastic right heart syndrome (HRHS) is when structures on the right side of the heart are underdeveloped. Total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR) is when oxygenated blood is not delivered properly from the lungs to the upper left chamber of the heart. The doctors told the couple they could just let nature take its course. They pretty much said we had the option to deliver her and not do any treatment, Cliff said. The other option was to induce birth and perform open-heart surgery on the baby when she was just 12 hours old. We said we were going to do anything we could to treat what was wrong, Cliff remembered. The doctors told them to go home until they were called. They just said, Well be in touch with you, Cliff recalled. They really didnt say anything more than that. The summons came toward the end of the week, late in the afternoon. The hospital called: Can you guys be up there tonight to be induced? Cliff remembered. They climbed into the car and arrived early that evening. Cayla was induced and baby Ava was born at 5:41 p.m. the following day. We didnt get to do any of the symbolic stuff: cut the umbilical cord or hold her or touch her, Cliff recalled. As soon as she was born, they took her. They were in there giving her medicine and doing scans directly on her. After about two hours, they were finally allowed to hold her. She was then placed in an incubator and transported by ambulance to Peyton Manning Childrens Hospital a block away. Cliff spent several hours with Ava that night, but his wife was still in Womens Hospital and he went to check on her. I wanted to make sure Cayla was fine, too, he later said. The baby was scheduled for surgery early the next morning. They told us the surgery was open-heart surgery like on anybody else; it was extremely high-risk surgery, especially with her being just a couple hours old, Cliff would later report. Cayla checked herself out of Womens Hospital against medical advice. Eleven hours after giving birth, Cliff would note. We called a shuttle bus and went to the Peyton Manning Hospital. We wanted to go over there to be with her before they took her down for the surgery. The surgery went reasonably well, although Ava had some difficulties during recovery. She stabilized after a few hours. She was doing pretty well, Cliff would recall. More surgeries followed, a total of four in 21 days, three of them open-heart, the other via a blood vessel in her right leg. Ava proved to be a fighter, a world-class champion weighing in at just under seven pounds. The doctors allowed themselves to be optimistic and she seemed to have made it through the worst of her ordeal. As she aged, she would have to have two more surgeries, which were routine for this issue that she had, Cliff recalled the doctors telling them. Other than that, she seemed to be on her way to being fine. She then had a final scan. One last scan to check everything, and they end up finding that she had a blood infection, Cliff would remember. A fungal infection had invaded her via an IV line and spread to her brain. The doctors showed the parents a series of scans that presented cross-sections of her brain, saying that the infection appears as white spots and that they customarily see a few scattered in each layer. Cliff and Cayla immediately recognized the severity of the situation. There were just countless spots, Cliff later said. Three specialists in the room with us, they all agreed it was probably the worst case of fungal meningitis they had ever seen. The prognosis was extremely poor even for a fighter such as Ava. They didnt think there would be really any possibility of survival and any treatment that we tried for the spinal meningitis would affect her heart surgeries and do damage to the heart that was just repaired, Cliff recalled. They told us that if she did survive, she would have no quality of life. Ava would be permanently bedridden, with a feeding tube and a respirator. For her whole life, Cliff would note. That was on a Friday evening. The couple summoned their kin and their preacher to the hospital over the weekend. Ava was transferred to a hospice facility that Monday, Dec. 17. We had everybody out of the room and we took her off life support, Cliff would report. A graveside funeral for Ava Marie Claire Lawson was held on Dec. 22 at the New Harmony Cemetery in Terre Haute. Christmas 2012 came three days later. That one was very rough, Cliff would recall. On what would have been Avas first birthday, Cliff and Cayla stood at her grave with a sealed baggie containing two letters, one addressed to Ava in heaven, the other to whomever might chance to find it. They attached it to a half-dozen balloons. We wanted it to go as high and as far as it could, Cayla later said. They released it and followed it with their eyes as the balloons carried the notes heavenward. We stood there and watched them until we really couldnt see them much more, Cliff later said. After several months, they had heard not a word about the package and all but forgot about it. We just figured it got stuck in a tree or landed in some river or out in the middle of some field where nobody was going to see it, Cliff said. The couple went on to have two other children, both healthy, Rhett, now 2 1/2, and Knoxx, now 15 months. But that did not erase the loss of Ava. They continued to visit her grave on special days. We try every holiday and then some birthdays, Cliff said. Just take flowers and balloons out there and that kind of stuff. Then, this Christmas Eve, Cliff saw the text from Emily saying her family had found the letter, at the far edge of Indianapolis, the city where Ava was born. The fact that somebody took the time and effort to do something like that and then to actually contact us about it, Cliff later said. Cliff went into the kitchen, where Cayla was cooking. We had about 23 people coming over, she recalled. He showed her the text. I started to read it, my jaw hit the floor, she would recall. It was very touching. We were very emotional, to say the least. She texted back. Thank you so much! I cant believe it made it so far. Would you mind sending me a picture of the letter? You are an angel for actually reaching out to us and letting us know. Emily received it and texted the photos. Cayla texted again and marveled at the distance the letter had traveled. 65 miles!... That is amazing! My heart is so happy. The holidays are always rough without her here and this just made the holidays a bit brighter. Emily replied:We are so happy to make your Christmas brighter. Merry Christmas to you and yours! Lots of love from the Shoops and Mayhills. Cayla sent another text as Christmas Eve became Christmas Day. Yes, Merry Christmas to you all, too. We are forever grateful for all the effort you put into ensuring we knew what happened to her letter. She included a photo of Ava. This was our sweet Ava. I know it is late. I just cannot stop thinking about your message. It made my heart so full. I cant possibly express to you all how much it meant to us to hear that someone had found her letter, and on Christmas Eve. Its just been such a beautiful gift. Thank you again. God bless and Merry Christmas. Emily replied: Wow, what a sweet picture of a beautiful little girl. We still cant believe he found your message on Christmas Eve. My mom walks those woods all the time and never spotted it! My husband was the one who spotted it. Its a gift for us, toothank you for sharing her story with us, it makes our hearts full as well. Were all thinking about you and hoping youre having a wonderful Christmas morning. And now we go from the holidays into the uncertainties of the year stretching ahead with a tale that steadies the spirit, a gift for all of us that Sally Mayhill so rightly described. A very sweet Christmas miracle. My colleagues in the commentariat have already lowered the expectations for the Trump administration to a degree such that any achievement, no matter how trite, will appear miraculous in 2017. The chosen tool for this disrespect is off-the-shelf ad hominem enhanced by the trendiness of the politically correct. For example, it is presumed disqualifying to be associated with religious worship, hydrocarbon economics, Wall Street prosperity, or smaller government. It is received wisdom in significant newsrooms that such plain-spoken Republicanism will always be shameful in the eyes of the well-informed. The bottom of the disregard came on Christmas Eve, when The Washington Post reported President-elect and Mrs. Trump attended services in the chapel where they were married, Bethesda-by-the Sea Episcopal Church in Palm Beach, Florida. Illustrating this small anecdote was a file photograph from 2005 of the now chastised TV personality Billy Bush taping a Today show segment outside of the chapel in anticipation of the Trump wedding. Only a pointed rudeness and the swarming, back-slapping fraternity of journalism can explain this juxtaposition. Was there no gentleman in The Washington Post room to remind the pranksters, But this is Christmas? Comparable disregard for the president-elects choices reads like a warrant for four years of primetime snickering. Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, nominated to become the EPA administrator, is presented as an anti-science villain who will deny climate change while ignoring the poisoning of the nation with mercury, arsenic, and other toxins. Evidence of this condemnation is that Pruitt is one of two dozen Republican state attorneys general arguing before the D.C. Appeals Court that the Obama administrations EPA has overreached with its Clean Power Plan to delimit and even punish hydrocarbon-based economiessuch as those on six of the seven continents. The education secretary nominee, Betsy DeVos, is defamed as a plutocrat who aims to dismantle Americas public school system while permitting ignorance, poverty, segregation, and superstitious cant to flourish in charter schools. Proof of this denunciation is that DeVos and her husband, Rick DeVos, are well-to-do Calvinist-Christian philanthropists who support charter schools in Michiganand that DeVos once remarked that it is critically important that we have believers involved in public life. The nominee for the Department of Energy, Rick Perry, three times governor of Texas, is portrayed as a brain-frozen jackanape who, during a 2012 presidential debate, forgot on stage that energy was one of the cabinet posts he proposed to demote as president. The governors current sin is that he will soon be in a position to execute his promised ambition. Some of the derision is directed at my longtime colleagues. Larry Kudlow, said to be under consideration for the chairmanship of Council of Economic Advisors, is dismissed as not an academic. John Bolton, mentioned as possibly in State Department leadership, is painted as a war-monger. Peter Navarro, named to the new National Council on Industrial Policy, is tossed aside as impolitic. Monica Crowley, named as deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications, is mocked as a conspiracy fan. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, whom I have met socially, is penciled in as intemperate. Even my trusted correspondent Michael Ledeen, who co-authored a bestseller with Michael Flynn, Field of Fight, is suddenly branded as a radical. The drum roll of derogations continues with a confident formula. A name is advanced. A search is launched for anything that can be presented as scandalous in a trendy headline. The item is illustrated with a file photograph over a contentious caption. A summary is flogged on social media. The verdict is guilty. The sentence is banishment from civil society. What may not be immediately obvious is that the reason this formula is so reliable is that the names under review are most often self-confessed Republicans. It is not hyperbole to observe that the commentariat has now reached the fixed idea that to be a diligent Republican in the 21st century is to be criminally suspect. For one to hope for a lighter tax burden, or for stronger GDP growth, or for a faith-based leadership, or for a foreign policy that rewards allies and costs adversaries, is to stand denounced as a shirking, plundering, witch-hunting merchant of death. Rather than elaborate on how American debate has reached this strange turn that criminalizes a political partyan oft-told taleit is amiably worthwhile, here at the start of a new presidency, to declare some certainties, such as that Republicanism is a success. The Republican Party has achieved its status with an adherence over five generations to the sweetly simple idea of liberty, as in, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. The Republican Party is a congregation of modest Americans, the great balance of whom are polite, respectful, pleasant, and grateful. And finally, the Republican Party would be regarded more routinely as commonsensical if there were a Republican or so included in the editorial meetings of the momenta modest proposal. Ryan K. Ramnarace got out of a Wisconsin prison last fall after serving 14 years for a cocaine conspiracy charge. Upon his release, he immediately enrolled in college at the University of Wisconsin to study criminology of all things. It was through a sociology professor who taught classes at Federal Correctional Facility, Oxford that Ramnarace was introduced to the work of Dr. Stephen Richards and Jeffrey Ian Ross, authors of Convict Criminology. The book and their field of study that goes by the same name challenges the way that crime and correctional problems are traditionally approached and discussed by policymakers, politicians, and researchers in the field of criminology. I read it three times and it really inspired me, Ramnarace told The Daily Beast. The idea is that an ex-convict who is more familiar with the system, because hes done time at the juvenile, state, or federal level, understands the machinery of the criminal justice system better than people whove never done time. Ramnarace said he wants to become a professor and not only teach criminology, but use his Ph.D. to conduct studies to reform the criminal justice system. Convict criminology grew out of the fact that meaningful input from convicts and ex-convicts was ignored in the policies, practices, and research on corrections and criminal justice. Richards and Ross felt that educated convicts and ex-convicts had a lot to contribute, namely how crime is defined, how prisons arent preparing returning citizens for the world, and how the lack of meaningful programs in prison contribute to recidivism. We started convict criminologywe being important because it was a group of usout of frustration with the academic understanding of crime and its control, Richards, who served almost a decade in the federal system for a marijuana conspiracy in the 1980s and is now a criminology professor at the University of Wisconsin, told The Daily Beast. Most of the academic criminologists had very little true understanding of what happened to people when they are arrested and processed through the criminal justice system. Richards said when he went to graduate school after his release from prison, he was forced to read journal articles from textbooks that were naively written by people who had Ph.D.s, but who really didnt understand what they were writing about. After serving nine years in federal prison and being imprisoned on eight different compounds from maximum security to minimum security, Richards had a fairly good idea of what prison was like, and what he was reading in the academic journals just wasnt correlating with what hed experienced. When I came out of prison and I went to grad school I would be reading some academic article about prison and I just had to laugh at how silly it was, he said. Convict criminology to me is all about making it real. The only people that can make it real are prisoners or former prisoners that know what it is to do prison time. You cant leave it up to reporters and academics who really have no clue to what its like to be locked up doing years at a time. To be sure though, its not enough to go to prison to become an expert. Simply spending time behind bars, nor being in possession of a high school diploma and/or a bachelors degree is not sufficient to be considered a convict criminologist, Ross, who teaches at the University of Baltimore, said. One of the criteria is possession of a Ph.D. and preferably in criminology/criminal justice or a related field. This advanced training should give the person the tools to critically analyze corrections and the criminal justice system. The main difference between convict criminology and the regular field is how much they rely on statistics. Disproportionately from the 1960s to about 2000 the majority of academic research on prisons was quantitative, Ross said. This approach minimizes the subtle but important information that firsthand and qualitative research can produce. After completing my doctorate, I met individuals who had both done time and had a doctorate. I found that many of them had a more realistic understanding of jails, prisons, and correctional facilities, than some of the scholarship I had read, and recognized that they could make a major contribution to the literature. Ross thinks it would be extremely appropriate for the incoming administration to listen to voices like convicts. Although most convicts and ex-convicts have complaints about jails, prisons, and correctional facilities, not all of them have the benefit of a masters and doctorate, he said. A doctorate provides an individual with the tools to critically analyze subject matter. Not just that, but statistics show that when prisoners have access to higher education, take college classes, and earn degrees they are less likely to recidivate and return to prison. For me it was an opportunity to actually embrace who I was, Ramnarace said. Not hide from my past or hide from the fact that Ive been in prison. I could legitimate myself through my education and I could work for criminal justice reform that way. For me this was like a perfect opportunity. If you want to be successful in school you have to have a plan. Coming from a background of being in prison for so long I was already very regimented and very structured. I just moved from one institution (correctional) to another institution (educational). Currently we have a system that is set up to arrest, convict and incarcerate people for non-violent drug offenses. As an uncertain future on the criminal justice front looms, the convict criminologists stick to what they know: what its like to be in prison and whats needed to keep people out. Donald Trump is all set to become the 45th President of the United States on the January 20th, 2017. By AP: The official portion of inaugural events will begin Thursday, January 19th, with President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence laying a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery, followed by a welcome celebration concert at the Lincoln Memorial. Trump will be sworn in at the Capitol on Friday, January 20th, at 1700 GMT, participate in the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue - which leads to the White House - and attend inaugural balls in the evening. advertisement The official schedule will conclude on Saturday, January 21, with a national prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral. The official events will be available live to all AP Television international clients outside of the US from the US network pool. These will be on AP Direct, and also on AP Live Choice. These will carry live restrictions on online use, which will mean it cannot be seen in the US. Edits will be fine to use. Full restrictions will be advised in January. For domestic (US) broadcast and online clients not wishing to geo-block the network pool coverage, AP video will provide a live signal of the official events via Live Choice. This will include the swearing-in, parade and ball coverage. We also plan to have cameras at the wreath-laying ceremony and welcome celebration concert on Thursday. In addition to the live coverage, we will provide quick turnaround on all video edits including the swear-in, the parade route, potential protests and evening ball coverage. We will also have video journalists gathering reaction around the country on inauguration day. Organisers have not disclosed specifics in terms of timings and duration of the official programme, but we expect those to be made available to the media in January. --- ENDS --- Reacting to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's new year speech, Trump in a tweet said that his claims of a nuclear weapon capable of reaching US were bogus. During the election campaign, Trump called Kim a "maniac", but later said that the North Korean leader had to be given credit. By Indo-Asian News Service: United States President-elect Donald Trump on Monday responded on Twitter to North Korea's threats, stating that Pyongyang would not develop a nuclear weapon that could endanger US security. Trump was responding to the New Year's speech given on Sunday by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who announced that Pyongyang is finalising preparations to launch another intercontinental ballistic missile, underscoring once again the regime's commitment to its nuclear and missile programmes, EFE news reported. advertisement In a tweet, Trump said, "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the United States. It won't happen!" A few minutes later, Trump hit out at China for benefiting from trade with the US while not helping to rein in Pyongyang. Also read: US store displays racist window signs about Obama, Muslims KIM IS A MANIAC: TRUMP He said, "China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the US in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice!" During the election campaign, Trump called Kim a "maniac", but later said that the North Korean leader had to be given credit. North Korea has launched six intercontinental ballistic missiles on six occasions, claiming that the launches were to orbit observation satellites. However, the North Korean tests failed to achieve accuracy. Also read: Cashless economy? Donald Trump believes no computer is safe Also read: Trump wishes Happy New Year to all, including his 'many enemies' If its goal is reached, North Korea would have atomic weapons that could reach US territory and be used as a deterrent to ensure the survival of the regime. For decades, Pyongyang has been irked by joint military exercises conducted annually by South Korea and the United States, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice never replaced by a definitive peace treaty. --- ENDS --- Babco Europe revives the Vin Mariani Vin Mariani has returned 153 years after its creation and 102 years after being banned. Babco Europe has released the first small batch production of Vin Mariani, a vin tonique made from an exceptional Bordeaux wine fortified with Peruvian Coca leaf, in Amsterdam, Seoul, Sydney, London and Dublin. Vin Mariani was created by Angelo Mariani in Paris in 1863. The original recipe died along with Angelo Mariani in 1914 and as the result of legal restrictions placed on the Coca leaf. However, after several years of research, Angelos secrets have been revealed by experts using documents from the late 1800s and advanced modern pharmacopeia techniques. CEO of Babco Europe, Mark Wilson, describes Vin Mariani as rich dark ruby red in colour, with deep lush honeyed fruit flavours, racy acidity and an earthy aroma that has an elegant, powerful and smooth finish. It is 22% ABV and available in 500ml bottles. A small number of cases have been released to distributors this month in several markets and the brand will be available for general delivery at the end of the month (January 2017). Vin Mariani should be enjoyed neat, chilled, with ice or mixed with cola. It is amazing that the release of the brand after 153 years is on trend again as a vital ingredient to create super premium wine cocktail recipes both vintage and contemporary, he adds. The history of the brand is extraordinary. Since 1863 Vin Mariani has been collecting international awards, Papal medals, celebrity endorsements and iconic advertising. Angelo Mariani is heralded as the father of modern advertising for his pioneering endorsement campaigns that showcased genuine support from luminaries such as: Pope Leo Xlll, Jules Verne, Queen Victoria, HG Wells, Empress of Russia, Sarah Bernhardt, Ulysses S. Grant and Thomas Edison. There were many attempts to copy Vin Mariani, notably in the US by JS Pemberton who was ultimately forced in 1886 by local county prohibition to produce a non-alcoholic version, which he launched under the brand name Coca Cola. In 1975 Vin Mariani was identified as the secret ingredient in the original San Franciso Pisco Punch served in the citys Bank Exchange saloon to patrons such as Mark Twain, his fireman friend Tom Sawyer and Rudyard Kipling who described the ruby wine secret ingredient in the recipe as compounded of the shavings of cherubs wings. 3 January 2017 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor-in-chief By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jan 3 (PTI) The latest Google Doodle paid tribute to social reformer Savitribai Phule on the occasion of her 186th birth anniversary today. The doodle that showcases Savitribai embracing her surroundings, indicative of the social work she undertook during her lifetime. Clicking on the doodle further displays some of the important events in the life of Savitribai, created by Muscat/Mumbai-based illustrator and graphic designer Malvika Asher. advertisement Having many firsts to her credit- Savitribai along with her husband Jyotirao Phule played an important role in improving womens rights during the British rule. A pioneer in Marathi poetry, the reformer was a trailblazer in providing education for girls and for ostracised portions of society. Savitribai became the first woman teacher in India and taught in the school which she and her husband, Jyotirao Phule, started in 1848 with just nine students on the rolls. The couple were felicitated by the colonial government of Bombay Presidency in 1850s for providing education to girls and untouchables during those days. Often referred to as the mother of Indian feminism, she went on to establish a shelter in 1864 for destitute women and played a crucial role in grooming her husbands pioneering institution, Satyashodhak Samaj, that fought for equality of all classes. She also penned many poems against discrimination and encouraged people to get educated. Her books Kavya Phule (1934) and Bavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar (1982) were published posthumously. PTI RJS TRS BK --- ENDS --- Here we are, on the first day of a new year -- and for many Americans it couldn't come too soon. Last year was long and often ugly. Tensions around the world were high, with terror attacks in numerous places, a humanitarian crisis in Syria, the never-ending strife between the Israelis and the Palestinians, heightened strain between Russia and the United States. At home we witnessed questionable police shootings of black Americans and retaliatory murders of law enforcement officers, including five in Dallas. We recoiled with horror at the massacre of some 50 people in an Orlando gay nightclub. We witnessed a rising tide of killings in Chicago. Then there was the presidential election, full of ugliness all around. There was more than enough nastiness to last several lifetimes. And when the election ended in a surprise, the nastiness continued unabated. As we start this new year, many Americans refuse to accept the legitimacy of the election, refuse to acknowledge Donald Trump as our 45th president. He lost the popular vote, they note, as if that matters. He is going to destroy America -- the world -- they worry, and Trump certainly has played into their fears with his embrace of Vladimir Putin, his cabinet appointments and his threat of a renewed nuclear arms race. But this is a new year, one we should enter with hope not fear. No one knows what 2017 will bring, but we should give it a chance. In less than three weeks, we will have a new president -- our 45th -- and a new direction for our nation. There are concerns, to be sure, but President Trump should be given a chance to be, well, president. It is to be hoped that the mantle of the presidency will soften Trump's strident side, will mellow his more outrageous traits. This isn't to say that the president shouldn't be challenged when he does something with which we disagree, but he must be given the chance to lead. He just might surprise us. Those of us who proclaim Donald Trump is not my president should remember how they felt when others said Barack Obama was not their's. Thanks to the beauty of our Constitution, Trump will become our president on Jan. 20, just as Obama became our president on Jan. 20, 2008. That's how it works, and it works so well. The fact is we are one nation, one people striving for a better life, a more equitable society. Our political parties often try to divert us from that goal and we must not let them. We should reject the partisanship that gridlocks Washington and reach out to people of different philosophies, different faiths, different colors, different orientations and relearn how to work together for the good of all of us. Reject the politics of division and embrace the reconciliation of unity. Look not to the past, but to the future, a future that should be bright for each and every one of us. And together, we will make an even greater America. Happy new year! Best wishes for a wonderful and peaceful 2017. The technical advances in batteries and electric vehicles also became ever clearer in December. "Diesel faces global crash as electric cars shine", the Financial Times announced. According to a UBS report, this whole category of oil use will be gone from the global market within ten years. The positives of EVs synergise with the negatives of air pollution to create a perfect storm for diesel. At the C40 cities summit, Paris, Mexico City, Madrid and Athens all vowed to ban diesel vehicles by 2025. In China, the worst air pollution this year put 24 cities on red alert, with schools shut and flights grounded. Half a billion people were affected by this 'airpocalypse'. In Chengdu, protestors took to the streets, putting smog masks on statues in the city centre. A heavy handed response by the police suggested that the government is super-sensitive to this issue. Which is not to say that the Chinese authorities aren't trying to abate the problem at source. I have summarised their rapid advances in renewables in earlier monthly reports. This month, a presentation in London by Zhang Gang, Counsellor of the State Council of China, revealed that China's efforts to use electricity more efficiently, cutting the need for coal, now involve 317 million smart meters in operation across 100% of urban areas and 70% of rural areas. These are hooked up in smart co-ordination, spanning all aspects of grids, at all scales, in a vast project involving 230 million users. Part of this co-ordination involves China's first expressway fast-charging EV network, stretching for 1,262 km between Beijing and Shanghai. No other country comes remotely close to this kind of smart-grid deployment. On 12th December, the International Energy Agency issued a report concluding that China's coal fired power plants "make no economic sense". Small wonder. India is on a similar rapid transition path. On 12th December the Central Electricity Authority announced that India does not need more coal-based capacity addition until 2022. The Authority now plans for non-hydro renewables to meet 43% of electricity as soon as 2027. Such an ambition would have been inconceivable until recently. On the 20th, Bloomberg analysed the widening gap between projected and actual demand in the world's third largest emitter, and put their conclusion in an encouraging headline: "India's energy forecasts are falling short and climate could win." Pass the fossil-fuel parcel? What are investors to make of all this? Well, it is rare for a report to hold the potential to change the world. But one published on 14th December did. The Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) aim to give investors, lenders and insurers visibility of how climate-change risk will affect individual businesses, and a roadmap for reacting to it. The report presents the results of a year of deliberations by 32 representatives of companies with market capitalisation of $1.5 trillion and financial institutions responsible for assets of $20 trillion. Their intention is for the capital markets to behave consistently with the aims of the Paris Agreement on climate change, which is to say progressively retreat from fossil fuels, and increasingly favour clean-energy investments, not least renewables. A reminder of the background. The target of the Paris Agreement, agreed by every independent nation on the planet in December 2015, is to keep global warming at less than 2C. If society is to do that, most reserves of fossil fuel will have to stay underground, unburnt. Since companies view all reserves as having financial value, this means a risk - should governments do what they promised to do in Paris, or some it - of what investors call 'stranded assets': having money invested in a resource that you then can't realise. Investing any more money to add to this stock of potentially unburnable reserves creates what can be thought of as a 'carbon bubble'. The risk of stranded assets is growing with every decision made by fossil-fuel companies to invest in yet more unnecessary fossil fuel projects: new coal mines, new oil and gas fields, new fracking, new fossil fuel power plants, and so on and so on. The Bank of England awoke to this issue as a systemic risk in September 2015. After listening to arguments by Carbon Tracker, a financial think tank I chair, and other worried financial experts, they came to fear that fossil-fuel asset-stranding would risk wasting a lot of investment capital, and might even threaten global financial stability. The effort to stop this threat soon went international. The G20's Financial Stability Board set up a taskforce in December 2015 with a brief to specify the information investors need to be provided with in order for them to avoid stranded-asset risk. It is chaired by no less a figure than Michael Bloomberg. As soon as his Task Force's report came out out, more than 30 organisations - including Aviva, Axa, BHP Billiton, JPMorgan and Daimler - announced their support for its conclusions. Many more will surely follow, because the starting point in the TCFD's proposed roadmap is that companies should include climate-related financial disclosures in their public financial filings. Not to do so would be to ignore material risks to organisations, the Task Force professes. Those disclosures should span the core elements of how organisations operate: governance, strategy, risk management and the setting of metrics and targets. Crucially, the TCFD advocates, companies should align business models with a 2C future. Remuneration of chief executives and boards should be linked to the extent to which their companies are hitting targets aimed at a sub-2C world. $5 trillion disinvested from fossil fuels Even before the Paris Agreement was adopted last year climate risk was high on the agenda of the world's largest institutional investors and asset managers. Resolutions asking oil and gas companies to stress test their business models against a 2C-consistent climate outcome were generally opposed by boards, but received record-high support levels from shareholders. Now there will be no hiding place. The TCFD report provides a template for best practices and a road map for better disclosure. Neither fossil fuel companies nor asset managers investing in them will easily be able to ignore it. Some investors have not waited for the G20 Task Force's advice. By the time of the December 2015 Paris climate summit, investment funds with collective assets of $3.4 trillion had either divested from all or some fossil fuels, or announced their intention to. This movement has continued to grow in 2016. On 12th December the value of funds divested passed $5 trillion. 80% of the funds involved, spanning 688 institutions, are managed by commercial investment and pension funds. This shows that the campaign is now mainstream in the capital markets. Capital is fleeing fossil fuels just as the fossil fuel industries manoeuvre their capos into the White House for the first time. What damage can a Trump administration do to this analysis? According to a PWC report this month, the impact they can have on global greenhouse emissions will be "pretty small", if others hold course. With the trends I have chronicled each month in 2016, and the declaration by all governments in Marrakech in November that the Paris process is "irreversible", a holding of course seems a more than a reasonable assumption. Trying to derail Paris, and revive coal, Trump will have to somehow suppress the progressive American states. His problem is that 33 states and the District of Columbia have cut carbon emissions while expanding their economies since 2000, including some Republican states. How do you persuade officialdom in those states to revert to a failed economic model that seeks essentially to recouple economic growth and fossil fuel use? Fifteen of the states, led by California, New York, Virginia, Vermont and New Mexico, have already told Trump that if he tries to kill US climate plans, they will see him in court. How has Big Energy coped on the transition frontier as 2016 came to a close? Two snapshots. The utility industry continues to be split into companies seeking to defend the fast shrinking status quo, and those now rushing to be part of the new world. One of the latter, Engie (formerly GdF Suez) announced that it sees the oil price falling to $10 as a result of current trends in energy markets, and the wave of clean-energy investments it and other major corporates are making. That would be interesting, should it transpire. For example, on 1st December BP gave the green light to a $9bn investment in a deepwater oilfield, rather appropriately named Mad Dog 2, due onstream (cue laughter, based on the industry's record of delivering major projects on time) in 2021. Good luck to them in recouping their investment if Engie's view of the world comes to pass. My conclusion, as the new year begins, is that the global energy transition is progressing faster than many people think, and is probably irreversible. Trump's prospects of resurrecting coal, and giving the oil and gas industry the expansionist dream ticket most of it wants, are very low. There is a caveat, of course: that he doesn't manage to blunder into a world war. All bets would be off then. In 2017, I will consider this wider security question in my summaries, plus the issues of cybersecurity and fast-emerging artificial intelligence and robotics. For they have all now become clearly relevant to the ultimate outcome of the great global drama in the energy-climate-data nexus. Dr Jeremy Leggett is a British green-energy entrepreneur, author and advocate who is founding director of Solarcentury, one of the most respected international solar companies; founder and Chairman of SolarAid, a charity set up with 5% of Solarcentury's annual profits; and Chairman of CarbonTracker, a financial-sector think-tank warning of carbon-fuel asset-stranding risk to the capital markets. This article was originally published on Jeremy Leggett's website. Drug-controlling department has received many complaints regarding the misuse of drugs by doctors. The department now wants to make sure it's not easy for doctors to misuse the medicines given to the patients. By Priyanka Sharma: Now, it won't be easy for doctors to misuse the medicines given to them for their inward patients. With the drug-controlling department receiving a sea of complaints regarding the misuse of drugs by doctors, the department is going to review the exemption given to them in order to curb the misuse. Doctors are provided with exemption under Schedule K from taking sale licence by the Registered Medical Practitioners for supplying medicines, including vaccines to their patients. "We have received a slew of complaints against doctors who own nursing homes or a small hospital set up for stocking the medicines and not providing to their inward patients. Instead, they are making additional profit by running a chemist shop," Delhi's Drug Controlling officer Atul Nasa told MAIL TODAY. advertisement These complaints are at pan-India level which patients have made against the doctors, said Nasa, adding, on an average, Delhi's drug department witnesses at least five to six complaints per month. The issue was taken up in the 50th meeting of Drugs Consultative Committee which was held recently, a copy of minutes is with the MAIL TODAY. "The sub-committee has been set up to review the exemptions provided under Schedule K within and recommend the safeguards/amendments in the rules that may be needed to curb the misuse of the exemption," said Dr Mrinalini Darswal, commissioner, Drugs Control Administration. "The committee would review the activities of clinics/nursing homes/regularly to monitor and verify the compliance with the conditions of the exemptions provided. The clinics/nursing homes - having more than one doctor - should be insisted to take sale licence for stocking the medicines in their premises." Also, a proposal relating to the guidelines issued for taking an action on samples of drugs declared spurious or not-of-standard quality in the light of enhanced penalties. An inter-state level committee has been formed to review the matter. Drug controller officers from states, such as Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are into the action. As of now, for selling misleading and misbranding drugs, the department cancels the licences for chemists' shops, but now, the drug department is considering some stringent action to create deterrence among drug manufacturers. Earlier, MAIL TODAY has reported about the supply of spurious Shecal medicine in Delhi's Bhagirath Palace market. These fake medicines were sold with zero per cent vitamin D content. This medicine is prescribed by doctors for calcium and vitamin D. In the meeting, the strengthening of drugs testing capacities in various states has also been discussed. "State laboratories, where strengthening/update with latest equipment is not happening, these laboratories could be adopted by the Centre in line with the RDTL, Guwahati model, which was handed over by the state to the central government. Till such time, the laboratories are strengthened, the licensing authorities can avail the testing facilities available with the Central Drug Testing Laboratories," it read. --- ENDS --- As Americans went to the polls on November 8th, 2016 scientists delivered a report that indicated a clear and consistent warming trend. The report was presented on the same day that the Russians and the FBI duped Americans into electing Donald Trump. The President-Elect is a climate denier who loves fossil fuels and has no interest in science. He is the least qualified president in US history. The November report was delivered by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) at COP22 in Morocco. The report showed that the past five years were the hottest on record. The irony that such a report was presented on the same day as Trump was elected president is more terrifying than it is laughable. It is not hyperbole to say that the data, along with the election of Trump, points to the end of civilization as we know it. The WMO report indicates we are already getting dangerously close to the upper threshold temperature limit (1.5 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial norms). We are currently averaging 1.2 Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The report indicated that the period between 2011-2015 was the hottest five-year period on record. 2016 In 2016 heat records were set in locations all around the world around. Here are some of those records: . 42.7C was recorded in Pretoria, South Africa, Mae Hong Son in Thailand saw 44.6C, Phalodi, India reached 51.0C, the temperature in Baghdad, Iraq reached 47.7C and Mitribah, Kuwait recorded a temperature of 54C and Mitribah in Kuwait recorded 54.0C. Parts of the United Arab Emirates and Iran experienced a heat index of 60C and Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, recorded an all-time high temperature of nearly 52.2. These are some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the Eastern Hemisphere. Heat records were set for the warmest fall ever in four of Australias seven states and territories. Last year we also saw the death of massive swaths of the Great Barrier Reef. Globally July and August 2016 were tied as the warmest months ever recorded. The heat is so bad that some studies are predicting that there are parts of the earth that will soon become unlivable. This record-setting heat is corroborated by data which makes it all but certain that 2016 will eclipse 2015 as the hottest year on record. The 2016 data represents a new record high for the third consecutive year. Last year will go down in history as the hottest year in a string of record-breaking years. As reported by Accuweather, NASAs Goddard Institute for Space Studies, (research which the Trump has vowed to kill) the September 2016 global surface temperature data has set another record high. Taken in a wider context the data from 2016 is especially troubling. Eleven of the past twelve consecutive months going back to October 2015 have set new monthly high temperature records in the NASA GISS database. Other scientific sources report that temperature records have been broken over the past 18 consecutive months. The trend is unmistakable with 16 of the 17 hottest years having occurred this century. Good news In 2016 nations all around the world ratified the Paris Climate Agreement including the worlds two largest polluters China and the US. Both nations as well as many others have provided strong evidence for the decoupling of growth and emissions. Professor Corinne Le Quere, at University of East Anglia in the UK, who led the analysis, said: This third year of almost no growth in emissions is unprecedented at a time of strong economic growth. This is a great help for tackling climate change but it is not enough. Global emissions now need to decrease rapidly, not just stop growing. Although greenhouse gas emissions are slowing global temperatures keep rising. Now that Trump is destined to be the President of the United States US emissions are expected to rise significantly, this will mean even more warming. So even the good news is tempered by some pretty awful news. United States For those who see climate through the myopic lens of the US, 2016 is expected to be the hottest or the second hottest year since the dawn of modern record keeping. According to Climate Centrals Brian Kahn, the US was remarkably hot last year. US weather stations are reporting far more record breaking highs than lows. One in ten 10 weather stations across the US reported their hottest year on record. Cooling? As reported by Chris Mooney in a Washington Post article, the scientific evidence is being countered by fake news from Breitbart (owned by Steve Bannon Trumps chief strategic advisor) and others that erroneously suggests we are experiencing global cooling. Fake news cherry picks information with the goal of casting aspersions on legitimate science and sewing doubt. They did the same thing with the so called global warming hiatus starting in 2012. Not man-made Another way that deniers discredit the climate reality is by inferring that these warming temperatures are not caused by human activity. However, those who actually study climate say the relationship between warming and human activity is irrefutable. Although there may be some monthly variability, [T]he long-term increase in temperatures [is] due to human activities, said Ed Hawkins, a climate researcher at the University of Reading in the UK. Despite the contentions of the purveyors of fake news we are seeing multi-decadal warming attributable to human activities (primarily the burning of fossil fuels). As one scientist explained, the fact that the Earth is warming appears virtually incontrovertible. Its going to get far worse There is no reprieve from anthropogenic warming. Not only is there is no cooling the rate at which the planet is warming appears to be accelerating. The speeding up of global warming was predicted by a March 2015 study titled, Near-term acceleration in the rate of temperature change. While the situation is already bad, it is going to get far worse. To help us understand just how hot it is going to get Maddie Stone reports on warming predictions from Climate Explorer which draws on two of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes models. Related Decades of Hot Data: The Harbingers of an Impending Climate Catastrophe In the Face of Record Setting Heat & Rain the GOP Doubles Down on Fossil Fuels Extreme Heat in the Western World Marks the Start of Summer 2015 Consistent Ongoing Heat is Rewriting the Record Books (April Temperature Update) The Warmest Winter Ever and the Coming Climate Catastrophe 2015 was the Hottest Year on Record and 2016 will be Hotter GHGs are Warming the Planet and Contributing to Disasters 2015 The Hottest Summer in the Hottest Year on Record Global Temperature Data Underscores the Urgency of Climate Action Extreme Heat in the Western World Marks the Start of Summer 2015 At Least 30 Years of Above Average Temperatures Heat Records Tell the Story of Climate Change Indias Heat Wave Offers a Glimpse into the Future 2014 is the Hottest Year in Recorded History How Much Heat is Required to Spur Global Action? Record Breaking Heat Suggests Accelerated Warming By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jan 3 (PTI) To improve road connectivity, an expert panel of the Union Environment Ministry has cleared the terms of reference (ToR) for the Rs 224 crore state highway upgradation project from Kollegal in Karnatakas Chamarajanagar district to Tamil Nadu border. State-run implementing agency Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project (KSHIP) has proposed improvement of 95 km length of state highway-79 from Hanur to Tamil Nadu border, including connectivity from Palar to Hoganakkal falls. advertisement The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Union Environment Ministry recently examined the Karnataka governments proposal. "The Committee, after detailed deliberations, recommended the proposal for grant of ToRs for the said road project and for preparation of EIA/EMP reports after public consultation," a senior government official said. ToRs are guidelines for conducting environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies of projects, based on which EAC recommends or rejects environment clearances to the project. After EACs recommendation, the Environment Ministry grants or rejects green clearance to a project. As per the proposal, the KSHIP has reduced total length of the project road from 119 km to 95 km. Out of it, 81.78 km of road stretch passes via two wildlife sanctuaries--Malai Mahadeshwara and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. The cost of the proposed road project is estimated to be Rs 224 crore. The state government has informed the EAC that it wants to first develop existing road from Kollegal to Hannur covering a length of 24 km on a priority basis because of public pressure for development of this stretch which is located outside the forest and wildlife sanctuary area. PTI LUX AAR --- ENDS --- 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. By Dev Ankur Wadhawan: Hardik Patel, the firebrand young leader turned crusader for Patel reservation, has said that the BJP could get him killed if he returns to his home state of Gujarat. Patel claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi or his man Friday Amit Shah will do anything to win the upcoming Gujarat election and this includes getting him killed or jailed. advertisement The 22-year-old Patel was ordered by the Gujarat High Court to leave the state for six months. The exile will come to an end on January 14 but Patel intends to leave from Udaipur, Rajasthan, where he is currently staying put, three days later. His supporters have planned a massive reception for his entry into Gujarat, and intend to greet him with a convoy of over 1,500 cars near the Shamlaji check post, which is close to the Rajasthan-Gujarat border. Patel expects around 2 lakh people to welcome him and plans to address a large gathering of Patidars in Himmatnagar on his return. The Patel agitation caught the imagination of a sizeable number of Patel community members before and during a rally held in Gujarat in 2015. State police had to resort to lathicharge to disperse the crowd, which had allegedly turned raucous. The situation soon took a violent turn and spiraled out of control. The following days saw large scale arson, several deaths and huge damage to public property. Patel was then booked for sedition and was granted bail, under the conditions of which he sent on exile. PATEL TARGETS MODI, GUJARAT CM Patel recently scoffed at PM Modi's claims that the demonetisation drive has been successful and questioned why the PM didn't mention how much black money was brought back into the economy. Patel has previously called Modi's Gujarat model, which is touted by the PM's supporters, fake. According to him, Patidars have been ruined during the BJP's 20 years of 'misrule' in Gujarat. He has said that while people outside Gujarat consider Patidars to be affluent, in reality they have been left in tatters. Patel also criticized the current Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, calling him a Modi man who has no interest in fulfilling the Patidars' demands and who is out to finish the Patels socially, politically and regionally. BJP's ACHIELLES' HEEL? The Hardik Patel-led Pattidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) has the potential of becoming the Achilles' heel of Amit Shah's BJP. The party fears that it may suffer reverses if the Patel agitation takes off once again with Gujarat set to go to the polls before the end of this year. Shah recently got a taste of the resentment amidst the Patels during a large gathering in Surat that included several senior BJP leaders. Many protestors shouted, 'General Dyer go back', comparing the BJP president to the notorious British officer responsible for the Jalianwala Bagh massacre. advertisement READ MORE:Hardik plans his Gujarat comeback with "Kisan Mahasabha" along with Nitish Kumar --- ENDS --- NORWALK A Norwalk man turned himself in to police Tuesday on a warrant charging him with forging 15 prescriptions over a five-month period in 2016. Derek Morales, 21, of Murray Street, was charged with third-degree identity theft, second-degree forgery, and attempt to obtain a controlled substance. According to police, the forgeries occurred between May 21 and Oct. 17, 2016. Police said that they received a complaint on Oct. 26 from the pharmacy at Norwalk Hospital in which it was reported that Morales had altered and filled 15 prescriptions for controlled substances. According to police, the names were altered by Morales on the prescriptions. The prescriptions were filled for a variety of controlled substances, subject to Connecticut controlled substance scheduling regulations. Schedule I and Schedule II controlled substances include opiates or opium derivatives. According to state statutes, it is a violation of the law to alter a prescription or any written order by the use of a false name or the giving of a false address. Detectives investigated the Oct. 26 complaint from the pharmacy, and a warrant was completed for Morales arrest. Upon learning of the outstanding arrest warrant, Morales turned himself in at Norwalk police headquarters at 5 a.m. Tuesday. His bond was set at $50,000. Morales was arraigned at Norwalk Superior Court on Tuesday and court staff confirmed that his bond had been lowered and he was released on a promise to appear. NORWALK Alexandra Zerzan felt unsafe. Unsafe outside, unsafe in her home, in her bed. Unsafe in her own head. But if she talked about that feeling, she feared it might open up a wound too deep to repair. That feeling of wanting it to end, wanting the pain to go away and disappear, wanting to disappear myself, I felt like if I started to talk about it this hole would rip open and everything would fall out and I wouldnt know how to put it back together again, Zerzan said. Zerzan, a former patient and current transitional living liaison at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, discusses her battle with mental illness and the stigma surrounding it in a new PBS documentary on the topic. Silver Hill Hospital and several of its current and former patients are featured in the PBS series Visionaries, set to air Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. and Jan 8 at 11 a.m. on Connecticut Public Television. I felt safe behind those doors, Zerzan said of Silver Hill. When I walked into the acute care unit, that was at the point that I surrendered a little bit and I started to feel like I wasnt bad. I was just in a lot of pain, and I needed that pain to be shared by other people because I couldnt carry it by myself anymore. The hospital was contacted about filming the episode, titled Only in the Darkness Can You See the Stars in April 2015. Visionaries, a documentary series profiling nonprofit organizations, found Silver Hill Hospital in their research and wanted to profile the institution. What they were interested in is seeing what we do, the kind of people we treat, how we treat them and be able to interview some patients who have been here in the past and listen to their descriptions of their experiences, said Dr. Sigurd Ackerman, president and medical director of Silver Hill. More Information To find out where and when Silver Hill Hospital's "Visionaries" documentary is airing, click here. See More Collapse Removing the stigma The shows host Sam Waterston opens the episode by introducing Silver Hill and praising the New Canaan-based nonprofit for its commitment to treating not only mental illness, but the stigma surrounding it. The stigma of mental illness often can be as debilitating as the illness itself. It can extinguish the one thing that can motivate someone to get help: hope, Waterston says. The mission of Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Conn., is to shatter that stigma. They treat people with mental illnesses like people. Ackerman said people often dont seek treatment because they feel ashamed, they believe theres no point in treatment or they believe treatments wont be effective. When people have a mental illness that is significant enough to be in the hospital, people view themselves as having failed in some way, Ackerman said. Though Silver Hills efforts to combat the stigma are significant, Ackerman said it is just a small part of a nationwide effort to combat the negative connotations for mental illness. He said celebrities and other prominent people becoming more outspoken about their own struggles have helped to normalize the issues and encouraged many to seek help. He cited the late Carrie Fisher, best known for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise, and her openness about struggling with bipolar disorder. Public figures have been willing to talk openly about illness and recovery, and thats certainly happening more, Ackerman said, adding the forthrightness of public figures often encourages others to seek help for their own mental illnesses and addictions. Ackerman said there is shame associated with every type of mental illness from depression to addiction to psychotic disorders, which not only discourages people from seeking help, but convinces them they cannot be helped. With the help of documentaries like Visionaires and work to make resources and treatment as available and as normal as possible, he said great strides can be made in changing the discussion around mental illness. They were interested in showing patients who got better, they were interested in showing that you can get better from addiction and from mental illness, Ackerman said. Thats a good message to share, and I hope it helps. Silver Hill on the silver screen The episode gives viewers a look at the Silver Hill campus, as well as a chance to hear the stories of some of the patients treated there. Ackerman said the film crew was helpful in guiding the staff and patients through the interviews, many of whom had never been questioned on camera before. They were good, he said. They were very helpful and competent. There were several of us interviewed and they babied us through the thing. Ackerman also said hes happy with the way the episode turned out, especially the way it highlights the hospitals former patients and its welcoming environment. I think the thing that really stands out is their interviews with former patients, he said. They were interested in people whove been well, but they did some very excellent interviews of people who have a story to tell ... These are people who came across as really needing help, getting good help and doing well as a result. Ackerman said this is the first time the hospital has done something like this, and hes hoping the show will bring a better understanding of mental illness and what good treatment looks like. I think it is helpful in the sense that if people dont know what being in a good hospital is like, it helps them to understand, he said. I think its important for people to know that contrary to a lot of misinformation people have about mental illness and its treatments these days, treatments can be very effective. People can do well and resume their lives and continue from there. KKrasselt@scni.com; 203-354-1021; @kaitlynkrasselt This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BROOKFIELD - Several cars from a freight train heading north to Massachusetts derailed near Silvermine Road Tuesday afternoon. The cars went off the tracks around noon directly behind the U.S. Post Office on Pocono Road near its intersection with Silvermine. No injuries were reported. Matt Whitney, an attorney with the Housatonic Railroad, said crews were working to assess the damage and to determine its cause. Police said they were notified of the derailment but no emergency services were required. The train, which appeared to be carrying construction debris, was headed for Pittsfield, Mass., Whitney said. There was nothing hazardous on the train, and there were no spills as a result of the derailment, he said. About three cars back from the derailed cars were two tanker cars containing isopropanol, according to the chemical code on the car. The flammable liquid is more commonly known as isopropyl alcohol. The tanker cars werent affected by the derailment,. Whitney said mud near the tracks after Tuesdays rain will make it more difficult to put the cars back on the rails. There was no estimate Tuesday as to how long that could take. The train is the second operated by the Housatonic Railroad to derail during the past year. Seven cars were involved in a derailment in the Gaylordsville section of New Milford in June. That derailment, which occurred at a private crossing, was found to have resulted from a broken rail at the crossing, local officials said at the time. Nobody was injured in that accident and the train was back in service later that afternoon. dperrefort@newstimes.com A 33-year-old man from Hyderabad turned his three bedroom apartment into a marijuana field. He was arrested by Task Force Sleuth yesterday with 8.6 kg of marijuana he cultivated there. By Ashish Pandey: Former American President Richard M Nixon once said, "Federal and state laws (should) be changed to no longer make it a crime to possess marijuana for private use." And we saw how a prankster altered the famous 'Hollywood' sign to Hollyweed to "honour marijuana" a couple of days ago. It is legal to possess and trade cannabis in many states in the US. advertisement But in India, it is not. A Hyderabadi youth, who seemed to have taken Nixon's words quite seriously, started cultivating the "herb" inside his 3 BHK apartment. Also read: Hello, 'high' are you? 12 places that allow you to use cannabis Syed Hussain, 33, was arrested by Task Force Sleuth on Monday and recovered dozens of saplings of ganja or cannabis from his flat. The accused allegedly started cultivating it inside his apartment to avoid troubles of transporting marijuana from agency areas of Visakhapatnam-Odisha border and other places. Three months ago, Syed sought the help of his American friend Garith Christopher to cultivate ganja at home. Thanks to YouTube tutorial videos, he learnt the "in-house" cultivation technique of marijuana. Also read: For this Himachal village, banned cannabis is its source of livelihood Syed arranged LED lights to substitute sun light and used air conditioners to maintain suitable temperature condition for the plant. "As ganja plants emanate smell at the last stage of their growth, Syed also used different methods to kill the foul smell. We found flower pots with ganja saplings in various stages of growth from the flat," said Additional DCP Task Force N Koti Reddy. Police seized 8.6 kg of ganja, 40 pots containing ganja plants and a two-wheeler besides Rs 32,200 from the accused. --- ENDS --- With more than 51 years in the banking industry, and more than 40 years at TheBANK of Edwardsville, Bill Alexander retired from his position as Executive Vice President on December 30, 2016. Alexander will remain on TheBANKs Board of Directors, as well as a director of its holding company, THE BANC ED CORP. Its been a wonderful journey being a banker in my hometown bank, Alexander said. Ive been so fortunate to be able to make life-long relationships with so many quality people both fellow employees and customers and to be a part of TheBANK growing from a small community bank into such a well-respected institution throughout the St. Louis metro area. I have truly relished the opportunity to serve people, and most importantly, to help people. By Press Trust of India: Mumbai, Jan 3 (PTI) Akshay Kumar is set to come up with four films this year, but the actor says doing so many projects does not make him a superhero. The 49-year-old "Rustom" star said his only aim is to be a good hero and work as much as possible. "I am trying to be a hero and not a superhero. There are lot of superheroes in the industry but I am just trying to be a hero. I am only trying to work," Akshay said at an event here when asked if he feels like a superhero as he is able deliver so many successful films in one year. advertisement "Its up to you to tell me. I cant say whether I am for all seasons or not. I bring releases every season," he added. Akshay is the new brand ambassador of Tata Motors and the company launched its first product of the year Tata Xenon Yodha today. The "Airlift" star revealed that the first car he bought was for Rs 28,000 and he drove to Shirdi in Maharashtra. PTI KKP NRB SHD --- ENDS --- Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Dimas Muhamad (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 To many, 2016 has not been a delightful year for reminiscing. Simon Tisdall at The Guardian even went as far as saying that: 2016 was the end of the world as we know it. There are plenty of reasons behind such doldrums, the carnage in the Middle East, along with its farreaching repercussions, would certainly be among the top of the list. Amid the doom and gloom, the international community eventually stepped up to the plate. First, the UN Security Council (UNSC ) managed to adopt Resolution 2334 on Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian territories. Second, Russia and Turkey managed to broker a nationwide cease-fire in Syria, the epicenter of the regional conflagration. Witnessing the humanitarian tragedy in the Middle East is gutwrenching in itself, but what is far worse is that it has unleashed the terror kraken all around the globe such as in Nice, Florida, Berlin, Ankara, and even in Jakarta. The mayhem in the Middle East has exacerbated the risk of terror attacks in Indonesia. This year alone, Indonesian law enforcement agencies have laudably thwarted 15 attacks and made 150 arrests. It is not only in the interest of the people in the Middle East but also the people of the whole world for the hostilities in that region to cease. It is tempting for us to fall into cynicism. The UNSC resolution as well as the cease-fire agreement seem to be yet another futile addition to the long litany of failed initiatives to bring peace to the Middle East. While the skepticism is understandable, we cannot downplay the significance of the progress. UNSC Resolution 2334 practically calls for all countries to cut ties with the Israeli Settlements which jeopardizes the viability of the two states solution. It would certainly exert more pressure on Israel to halt the settlements unabated expansion. While the cease-fire agreement in Syria matters because it is backed by Russia and Turkey who wield formidable influence on the ground in Syria and can effectively sway the opposing camps in Syria to lay down their arms. Furthermore the truce engages virtually all factions in Syria including the government and 7 major opposition groups (excluding IS). They also clinched the deal that paves the way for political negotiation to take place. Above all, the progress marks a rare unity among the worlds key players. This is pivotal since the big powers interference have played a decisive role in perpetuating the conflict in the Middle East. The conflicts in the region stand much greater chance to end if the international community are on the same page and act in unison. It seems that the world is going in that direction. The United States reaffirmed the international consensus on Israels settlements, as Secretary John Kerry recently said that no one thinking seriously about peace can ignore the reality of the threat settlements pose to peace. The US will soon undergo transfer of power, but the record shows that American presidents from both sides of the aisle have consistently opposed Israels settlements, in fact president George W. Bush from the Republican Party in 1991 threatened to withold loan guarantee to Israel over the issue of settlements. On the Syrian cease-fire agreement, President Vladimir Putin said that Now, we must do all possible to ensure that these agreements take effect and that they work. In short, while the odds are against us, it looks like the stars are aligned for meaningful progress of the Middle East peace process. As the world rallies together, Indonesia is fully committed to support the peaceful settlement of the conflicts in the region. Indonesia for decades has been at the forefront of the global endeavor for Palestinian independence, among others by hosting the aforementioned OIC Extraordinary Summit and consolidating the international support for Palestine through the Asian African Commemorative Summit in 2015. As of last year, Indonesia had provided capacity building assistance for over 1300 Palestinians [Antara, 2015, accessed on Dec. 27th 2016]. Indonesias prominent role is further cemented by the invitation the country receives to join the French International Peace Conference on Israel-Palestine conflict. On Syria, Indonesia took part in the 2014 Geneva Conference and has consistently underlined that there can be no military solution to put an end to the conflict. In numerous meetings with key regional players, Indonesia has always conveyed the need for all parties to play constructive role to terminate the belligerence. It is clear that although situated thousands of miles away, Indonesia has a stake in a peaceful Middle East and as such is determined to contribute to the peaceful settlement of the conflicts. If we were to gamble, it might seem to be a lot safer for us to bet that in 2017 the Middle East will be as bleak as 2016 was if not more. Nevertheless, with the growing resolve of the international community to quell the conflagration the wind of change might be coming at last. Instead of just sitting back and crossing our fingers we can adjust the sail to ensure that the wind will take us to a more peaceful Middle East. Then, 2016 would not be the year when the world ends, instead it will be the beginning of a turning point for a more stable and secure world for all. --------------- We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com. For more information click here. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 The legal team of Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama criticized the background of Gus Joy Setiawan, a witness presented by prosecutors in Tuesday's session of the governors blasphemy trial on Tuesday, saying he was a supporter of Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono. This might affect his objectivity in giving testimony as a witness in the case, the defense team said. The legal team led by Trimoelja D. Soerjadi revealed in a statement on Tuesday that Gus Joy had declared his support for Agus and his running mate, Sylviana Murni. This could be seen in a video entitled Gus Joys Speech to Support Mas Agus and Mpok Sylviana that was uploaded on YouTube on Sept.30, the defense said. In the video, he said: Lets end the leadership of Ahok, who is arrogant, doesnt hesitate to evict poor people, tends to defend rich people and loves to talk harshly," one lawyer said. The witness has declared his support for one of the gubernatorial candidates on Sept. 30 before he reported Basuki Tjahaja Purnama to the police on Oct. 7. This thing showed his special agenda against Ahok, the team said. (Read also: Trial witness urges judges to detain Ahok) In the session, which ran until Tuesday evening, prosecutors presented four witnesses who had filed a report with the police against Ahok, alleging he committed blasphemy. They are the secretary-general of the Jakarta chapter of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), Novel Bamukmin, Sharia Advocate chairman Gus Joy Setiawan, FPI Jakarta head Muchsin and Antiblasphemy Forum head Syamsu Hilal. They all reported Ahok to the police after watching a video of one of the governor's speech, in which he cited a Quranic verse, during a visit to the Thousand Islands. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 The third hearing of Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnamas blasphemy case, which will present witnesses testimonies, is set to proceed without being aired live on television. The next hearing would be the first session to be conducted in its new location since being moved by the Supreme Court to the Agriculture Ministry complex in South Jakarta. The trial has been moved from the courts temporary venue, located at the former Central Jakarta District Court building on Jl. Gajah Mada in Central Jakarta, due to security reasons. The new location was chosen to accommodate more visitors in an area away from the heart of the citys economic center. Supreme Court spokesman Suhadi confirmed that media recording of the hearing could only occur with the permission of the authorized panel of judges. Documenting the trial can only be done with permission from the panel of judges overseeing the trial, Suhadi told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Monday. Suhadi reasoned protecting the integrity of the witnesses could be one of the considerations behind the judges decision. Witnesses are not allowed to interact with one another in order to avoid copying each others statements, he continued, adding that TV could influence witnesses stances. Ahok, who is currently running for reelection, could be set to stand trial throughout the voting period on Feb. 15. When asked whether the trial could extend past the voting period of the regional elections, Suhadi explained that the maximum amount of time for a trial concerning criminal charges is six months. He said that the number of witnesses would influence the length. However, if it goes for more than six months, it must be reported to the High Court or the Supreme Court to explain why the trial exceeded six months, Suhadi said. As stated by presiding judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto in the hearing on Dec. 13, the section following the judges interlocutory decision, where the evidence would be presented, would not air live on TV. The trial is open to the public and permitted to be aired on TV as long as its not the section of evidence presentation, which is still open to the public but cannot be aired live, Dwiarso said. Ahoks campaign team spokesman, Bestari Barus, had expressed disappointment should the judges proceed with the decision not to air the hearing on TV. Ahok had earlier stated that he wished for the trial to be accessible for the public. We will leave it up to the judges as we cannot intervene or impose our will, Bestari told the Post. The public had flooded to the trial location during previous hearings, where both groups of supporters and those against Ahok had conducted demonstrations outside the doors of the court room. National Movement to Save the Indonesian Ulema Councils Fatwa (GNPF-MUI) advocacy head Novel Bamukmin said almost 2,000 people are set to gather on Tuesday to continue to demand Ahok be imprisoned. Meanwhile, Ahok supporters have also affirmed a commitment to gather at the trial complex in show of support for the gubernatorial candidate. The demonstrations head coordinator Soelianto Rusli has claimed that approximately 800 people would join the rally at the court. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 State air navigation firm AirNav plans to allocate Rp 2.2 trillion (US$163.74 million) for investments next year, including to improve air safety in Papua, following a number of accidents this year. We have work to do in Papua, with so many accidents having taken place. In 2017, we will advance navigation facilities there. AirNav will do it, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said earlier this month. AirNav operation director Wisnu Darjono said air travel was the main mode of transportation in Papua and air communication and navigation were the two utmost crucial factors to improve in the area. Papua has seen several plane accidents this year, triggering calls for advancement of air navigation and safety facilities. A Cessna Caravan cargo plane skidded off the runway at the Aminggaru Airport in Puncak regency on Nov. 23, forcing authorities to temporarily close the airport to allow for the removal of the aircraft. It was the third accident at the airport in the past two months. In June, a small Cessna 208B plane crashed at Yakuhimo in the morning, ripping through several houses in a neighborhood near Nobgoliat Yakuhimo Airport. Wisnu said next years investment amount was similar to this years, which so far had been allocated for communications and support tools at Rp 602.1 billion and Rp 682.8 billion, respectively. He declined to go into detail on the exact amount of investment to be disbursed for Papua, saying that the funds would be used to build towers and facilities in the area, as well as for the required human resources. AirNav will build an automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADSB), which is surveillance technology to help aircraft determine and broadcast its position through satellite navigation. Air surveillance service will cover most of Papua, Wisnu said. AirNavs planned investments in Papua aim to support the distribution of goods for Papuans as well. The Transportation Ministry previously stated its intention to launch the air highway next year, a huband-spoke system to reduce price disparity of goods sold in the western and eastern parts of Indonesia. Goods delivered through the sea under the maritime highway program will then be distributed to towns in Papua by air. The air cargo centers will be located in Timika, Wamena and Dekai. In addition to Papua, AirNavs investments next year will also go toward the improvement of facilities at the Jakarta Air Traffic Service Center (JATSC) to back up the governments plan to take over the monitoring task of Upper Natuna from neighbor Singapore. Upper Natuna is the area located along the borders of Singapore and Malaysia that goes through the Malacca Strait and partially through the southern part of Kalimantan. At present, flight information region (FIR) in the area is still managed by Singapore. President Joko Jokowi Widodo has announced his administrations plan to take over the FIR by 2019. We have prepare from now, Wisnu said, even though he added that the plans realization would also depend on both countries diplomatic efforts. AirNav has also revealed its plan to provide air navigation services for five airport enclaves starting Jan. 1, with a rising number of civil flights. The airports are located in Malang in East Java, Ranai in Riau Islands, Morotai in North Maluku, Sabang in Aceh, and Tasikmalaya in West Java. Malang is already recording 10 flight movements per day, while Morotai is designed to be a tourist destination, Wisnu said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Viriya P. Singgih (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency that uses cryptography to make transactions anonymous, has penetrated deeper into the Indonesian market even though there is currently no legal umbrella for the currencys use in the country. Bitcoin Indonesia currently has 250,000 members, up from 80,000 at the end of 2015, with a daily transaction value of Rp 20 billion (US$1.48 million). Bitcoin Indonesia business development manager Suasti Atmastuti Astaman said it was natural to see such a positive trend as Bitcoin had successfully gained global trust, especially following the recent Russian governments decision to legitimize Bitcoin as an official currency at the end of November 2016. Bitcoins value completely depends on supply and demand in the market. At present, as more and more countries have relaxed their stances on digital currency, including the United States, China and Russia, more and more people are putting their trust in it. Thats why Bitcoins value has been rapidly surging, Suasti said. However, Suasti also said the Indonesian government might need more time to learn the know-how of Bitcoin, while waiting for its real impact in other countries that had legitimized the digital currency. So, if someone asks when will Indonesia make Bitcoin an official currency, only God knows, she said. As of Monday, Bitcoin was priced at $1,018 with a market capitalization of $16.36 billion, seeing an annual increase of 151.7 percent, according to CoinMarketCap. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Farida Susanti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 Chinese nationals accounted for the most foreign tourists arrivals in Indonesia between January and November last year, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in its latest report issued on Tuesday. BPS chairman Kecuk Suhariyanto said in November alone, China accounted for 13 percent of total foreign tourist arrivals, a leading monthly position China had held since January. Kecuk said trailing behind China was Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Japan. "Indonesia has nowadays relied more on China to drive its tourism businesses," said Kecuk. More than 1.8 million Chinese tourists flocked to Indonesia between January and November last year, far smaller than those recorded by Thailand and Malaysia. The government has set a higher target for tourist arrivals from China this year, despite political and immigration issues that may hinder such plans. The Tourism Ministry says it hopes to attract 2.4 million Chinese tourists from Greater China, which includes Taiwan and Hong Kong, in 2017, higher than the 2.1 million expected for last year. Since August 2015, Indonesia has waived visa requirements for Chinese tourists. (ren) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Mas Achmad Santosa and Januar Dwi Putra (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3 2017 Deforestation is occurring at a rapid rate in Indonesia, and it is affecting the countrys commitment to curb carbon emissions by 29 percent by 2030. Per a report published by GermanWatch in 2016, our countrys climate change performance index (CCPI) fell three places from 19 to 22 due to inadequate forest protection policy. The government needs an agenda to push forward forest and peatland reform to stop deforestation. Indonesia is known as a megadiversity ecosystem country. Our forests are home to millions of forest-dependent communities and a variety of species of flora and fauna. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Corry Elyda, Agnes Anya and Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 The fatal Zahro Express ferry accident in the Jakarta Bay has forced the government to revisit safety standards of sea transportation as preliminary indications have suggested that the ill-fated boat had design flaws even though it had passed safety tests. Carrying 184 passengers, the Zahro caught fire on its way from Muara Angke in North Jakarta to Tidung Island in Thousand Islands regency, only hours into the new year. As many as 23 passengers were killed, almost all of them reportedly burned to death in the fire. As of Monday evening, 31 injured passengers were still being treated in hospitals while at least 17 others remained missing. Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said on Monday that his ministry would examine all safety check mechanisms on vessels, especially those operating in the Jakarta Bay. Budi said the ministry would revoke the permit of any vessel that failed to meet safety requirements. Meanwhile, National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) marine accident investigation chief Aldrin Dalimunte suggested that the boat had received safety certification. He also brushed off speculation that overloading had contributed to the accident. According to official documents, he added, the boat could carry up to 285 passengers. Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Mochamad Iriawan said the number of passengers on board at the time of the accident was 195, regardless of the manifest showing that only 100 passengers had registered for the trip. However, preliminary findings suggested the boat did not have a design that was conducive to a smooth evacuation in emergency situations. Aldrin said the initial investigation indicated the fire was caused by a short circuit in the engine, which also generated power for the boats air conditioning system. Zahro was different from other vessels [serving the route] as it was equipped with an air-conditioning system, he said. He added that as the cabins were air-conditioned, the passenger cabins were sealed. There was only one way out, which was at the front of the vessel. And yet the door was very small and could only be passed through by one person at a time, he said. When the fire came from the back [of the boat] and people panicked, the evacuation might have become chaotic, he added. Aldrin said the condition worsened as crew members did not provide any information or guidance for passengers about how to deal with an emergency situation, either before or during the incident. Our interviews with passengers show that they were left on their own to figure out how to escape the danger and stay alive, he said. The chief said the KNKT would investigate the accident further, especially regarding the pace of the fire, which may be linked to the cabins design and materials. He added that his team would visit the factory that produced the vessel on Tidung Island. He further said investigators would also closely examine if there had been efforts to extinguish the fire. According to the documents, the vessel was equipped with fire extinguishers but we need to check on the boat, he said. It was also not known yet if the engine room had a smoke detector. Minister Budi said that in order to improve the service and safety standards, he had asked state-owned ship operators PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Pelni) and ASDP Indonesia Ferry to serve passengers in Thousand Islands. The vessels will be ready in three days, he said. The Jakarta Transportation Agency recorded that 44 private vessels were registered to serve Thousand Islands with around 6,000 to 7,000 passengers during weekends. Many of the boats were owned by private companies. In the wake of the accident, Budi said the ministry had fired the Muara Angke port master who was responsible for supervising vessels that entered and exited the port. The ministry and the Jakarta administration have also announced that all victims would receive compensation. Fires are the most common incidents on water transportation. KNKT data shows that the number of accidents on the sea has increased over recent years. There have been 54 accidents in the last seven years with a total 337 casualties. Most of them were fires, with 19 incidents, followed by drowning with 13 cases. The Jakarta Police, meanwhile, are holding four of the boats crew members, including the helmsman, for questioning, but as of Monday none had been named as suspects. We have also questioned two staffers from the ministry as well as three passengers, Jakarta water police unit head Sr. Comr. Hero Hendriarto said. Lawmaker Fary Djemi Francis said House of Representatives Commission V would summon the minister. We want to know whether there have been procedural violations, poor monitoring or other individual errors, he said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 The National Polices Health and Medical Center (Pusdokkes) at Raden Said Soekanto Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, identified five more victims of the Zahro Express ferry explosion, bringing the total number of identified victims to eight out of the 23 bodies recovered from the incident. The five newly identified victims are M. Nurdin, Muhammad Bunyamin, Nazwa Sarla, Otih Sugiarti and Yeti Herawati, said the hospital in a statement released on Tuesday afternoon, as quoted by kompas.com. The three bodies previously identified were Alia, Jaksen Wilhemus and Masudi. The bodies of the five people were handed over to their families for burial on Tuesday afternoon. (Read also: Psychologists provided to support families of Zahro Express victims) Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said on Monday that all families of victims who either were killed or suffered injuries in the incident would receive compensation. Families could claim the compensation as soon as the bodies of their family members were identified, he said. Departing from Muara Angke Port in North Jakarta on Sunday morning, the ill-fated Zahro Express caught fire on its way to Tidung Island in Thousand Islands regency. The ferry was carrying 184 passengers who wanted to celebrate the New Year on the island. Of the total passengers on board, 130 people survived while 17 others reportedly remain missing. (saf/ebf) The Goods and Services Tax roll-out becomes uncertain post demonetisation. States believe that there needs to be at least 70 per cent increase in the current compensation corpus to Rs 90,000 crore to ensure growth. By Devina Gupta: Hailed as the landmark reform which saw a rare consensus in the monsoon session of the parliament, now Goods & Services Tax roll-out remains uncertain. Read: What is the GST bill? Here's all you need to know about India's biggest tax reform As the states gathered to deliberate on the 8th GST council meet in the capital, demonetisation driving a wedge in the talks. advertisement Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Telangana, and Delhi are among the 11 states who have changed tact post demonetisation. Claiming potential financial losses, they are now demanding provision for a higher compensation to meet their set growth target. "Before demonetisation, the compensation formula was discussed, and a corpus of Rs 55,000 crore was estimated for the states which will face loss in revenues. But now, post demonetisation, there has been a 30 per cent decline in tax collection," said Amit Mitra, West Bengal Finance Minister. For the Centre, it is walking two step backwards. In October GST council had agreed on a compensation formula for revenue loss by states for five years. It was decided to take 2015-16 as a base year for calculating revenue, assuming a long term growth rate of 14 per cent. But states believe that there needs to be at least 70 per cent increase in the current compensation corpus to Rs 90,000 crore to ensure growth. "States believe that revenues will decline due to demonetisation, while the Centre says it's just a blip. But if higher compensation is required then there could be higher cess too or funds can be drawn from multilateral agencies," said K Pandia Rajan, Education Minister of Tamil Nadu who attended the GST meet. Infact as the deliberations continue for the second day on Wednesday, the other contentious issue will be of the state autonomy. States are pitching on complete control to assess businesses with turnover of upto Rs 1.5 crore, but Centre is so far refusing to blink. "Interestingly even BJP's own ally, TDP government in Andhra Pradesh is with the states still fighting for greater autonomy. They have made it clear that the state interest comes first", said an official on the condition of anonymity. For centre a consensus on time is of essence. Already the budget session has been pre-poned, and the GST amendments have to be introduced in this session. GST council has a small window to to arrive at a consensus on Wednesday, if it wants to meet April 1st deadline. advertisement "April 1st rollout looks difficult, if it all we can aim for June to August window to pass GST" , said Thomas Isaac, Kerala Finance Minister. Interestingly, it is mandatory for government to implement the GST by September 16th this year, or there would be no tax law post that since the validity of GST constitutional amendment passed during monsoon session lapses. But given the signals from the council, there could be another twist. "Post April, industry will find it difficult to have two tax systems in a year, so the practical approach will be to make constitutional amendments to introduce GST in April 2018 now",said K Pandia Rajan , Education Minister, Tamil Nadu. --- ENDS --- Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ruslan Sangadji (The Jakarta Post) Palu Tue, January 3 2017 The National Polices counterterrorism squad Densus 88 arrested a suspected terrorist in the terrorism hotspot of Palu, Central Sulawesi, on Saturday. He was allegedly plotting to carry out bomb attacks on churches and Shia communities in Palu on New Years Eve. The man identified as Irwanto, aka Abu Muhammad, is currently being detained at Central Sulawesi Police headquarters, Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Rudy Sufahriadi said on Monday. Police say Irwanto had prepared homemade explosives to use in the attacks. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 The Transportation Ministry has fired Muara Angke port master Deddy Junaedi after the Zahro Express boat that was leaving the port for Thousand Islands on Sunday exploded, killing 23 passengers. The port master was dismissed from his job for his negligence in monitoring safety on the boat, the ministrys sea transportation directorate general Tonny Budiono said in a statement on Monday. The transportation minister has instructed that the Muara Angke port [master] be dismissed, Tonny said, adding that Deddy was officially removed from the job on Tuesday. (Read also: Ministry to standardize Thousand Islands service after Zahro Express incident) Authorities are investigating as to how the boat caught fire before exploding after traveling roughly 1.6 kilometers away from the port in North Jakarta. They are also probing allegations that the boat had ignored some safety procedures including that it was allegedly overcapacity. Besides dismissing the port master, Tonny said the ministry had also sent a warning letter to the owner of the ill-fated boat. Following the incident, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi instructed that all boats serving passengers in Muara Angke Port be examined and said those found not fulfilling safety and service standards will not be allowed to operate. Budi has also instructed some ships of state-owned ship operators PT Pelni and ASDP Indonesia Ferry to serve the Muara Angke-Thousand Islands route to avoid similar incidents from taking place. Zahro Express exploded on Sunday morning with hundreds of passengers on board. Of the passengers, 130 survived and 23 died. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ivany Atina Arbi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3 2017 Thousands of Jakartans were seen packing the capitals main roads, Jl. MH Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman, in Central Jakarta on Saturday evening to celebrate New Years Eve, although hours before, the plan to hold a car-free night and music concerts there had been called off. The city administration had initially planned to ban vehicles from entering the streets and set up five stages for bands and other performances to entertain people, with the police planning to reroute traffic. Acting Jakarta governor Sumarsono, however, canceled the plan in hopes that Jakartans would opt to celebrate closer to their homes, while also arguing that the crowds might disrupt ongoing MRT construction in the area. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Agnes Anya and Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta and Medan Tue, January 3, 2017 With all suspects caught, one of whom was shot dead for resisting arrest, the Jakarta Police have confirmed that a robbery was the only motive behind the fatal incarceration of 11 people in an upscale Jakarta residential area. The police have put to rest any speculation of premeditated murder, as previously suspected by the public. Based on questioning, the evidence and profiling of the suspects, we have come to the conclusion that the motive was to carry out a robbery, said Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Raden Prabowo Argo Yuwono on Monday. The conclusion was made after the police arrested Ridwan Sitorus alias Ius Pane alias Marihot Sitorus, at a bus station in Medan, North Sumatra, on Sunday morning. Ridwan, a repeat offender in armed robbery cases, was released from prison in November 2015 after serving four-and-a-half years. Ridwan and his alleged accomplices, Erwin Situmorang, Ramlan Butar Butar and Alfins Bernius Sinaga entered a house in the Pulo Mas neighborhood in East Jakarta on Dec. 26 and locked 11 people inside a 1.5 by 1.5 meter bathroom. They then left with a Rolex watch and foreign currency amounting to more than Rp 60 million (US$4,433), while leaving the victims in the small bathroom for 15 hours. Six people died due to suffocation; Dodi Triono, 59, the owner of the house; Diona Andika Andra Putri, 16, Dodis eldest daughter from his second marriage; Dianita Gemma Dzalfayla, 9, Dodis youngest daughter from his second marriage; Amalia Calista, 9, Dianitas friend staying the night at the house; and Dodis drivers, Tasrok and Yanto. Two days after the robbery, the police arrested Ramlan and Erwin in Bojong, Rawalumbu, Bekasi, West Java. Ramlan, the suspected robbery mastermind, was shot dead while Erwin was shot in his thigh for resisting arrest. Alfins was apprehended at a house in Villa Mas Indah, also in Bekasi. Following the incident, there was widespread speculation among the public that the crime might have been premeditated murder given that Dodi was an architect and a developer involved in one of Jakartas strategic development projects. The case is pure robbery. Within just a week, Ridwan and his team robbed two other houses in different locations before they went to Pulo Mas, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Mochamad Iriawan said. Iriawan said the gang was suspected of being involved in a robbery in Purwakarta and Bogor, both in West Java. Despite their ruthlessness, the gang has no record of killing their victims, according to the police. Erwin reportedly begged the police to shoot him on account of guilt after learning the victims had died. Despite the fact that Erwin had carried out robberies several times before, he felt guilty as he had never killed anyone, said Argo, adding that the gang had a habit of gathering victims in one room. Argo said the suspects chipped in a total of Rp 4 million ($296) to fund their activities. With Ridwan being the last suspect apprehended, the police will soon conduct a crime reconstruction, which is required to build a strong case for further prosecution, Argo says. Ridwan and his accomplices will be charged with robbery resulting in death, which carries a maximum sentence of the death penalty or life imprisonment. Prior to his arrest, Ridwan took a bus to Medan on Friday from Bogor, West Java. The bus driver, Marwan Nasution, said he was surprised to learn that Ridwan, a friendly passenger, was apparently a fugitive. I didnt know that he was a fugitive as we chatted along the trip from Bogor to Medan, Marwan said. Marwan said Ridwan had asked to get off the bus in the middle of the trip. However, Marwan refused to grant his request because it was company policy to drop all passengers off at the destination station for security reasons. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 The countrys oil and gas production and lifting, the colloquial term for ready-to-sell production, in 2016 has exceeded the governments targets set in last years revised state budget. Data from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry show that oil production reached an average of 831,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and gas production reached 1.42 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) throughout 2016, or 14 percent more than the original target. Meanwhile, oil lifting reached an average of 820,300 bopd and gas lifting reached 1.2 million boepd in 2016. . In the revised state budget, we targeted lifting to reach 820,000 bopd for oil and 1.15 million boepd for gas. I appreciate all the hard work done by every stakeholder, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan said in a press release obtained by The Jakarta Post. By the end of the year, the Indonesian Crude Price (ICP) averaged around US$39.50 per barrel, slightly lower than the 2016 revised state budget assumptions of $40 per barrel. This is the first time in over a decade that oil and gas lifting has exceeded expectations as the countrys oil and gas reserves continue to be depleted due to a lack of new discoveries. However, the government is currently working on offering more incentives for upstream oil and gas players to encourage increased exploration activities. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 The police have limited the number of visitors allowed to enter the Ministry of Agriculture's auditorium on Jl. RM Harsono, Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, the place where Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama faces trial on allegations of blasphemy. The police only let in dozens of visitors, which consist of Ahok supporters and opposition from several Muslim organizations, who wore special ID cards as a requirement to enter the trial area, which can accommodate 100 visitors. The police also prohibited television, newspaper and online reporters from entering the venue to broadcast and live report in real time the ongoing trial. (Read also: Women's group demands fair trial for Ahok) Spokesman of the North Jakarta District Court Didik Wuryanto said that according to the law, the hearing of witnesses testimonies could not be aired. "The hearing of witnesses testimonies can not be aired to prevent them from listening to each other's information. Therefore, they will only convey what they know before the judges, not opinion," Didik said. Meanwhile, Ahok came to the auditorium at around 8 a.m. without giving a statement to the media. Presiding judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto started the trial at 9 a.m. (jun) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ati Nurbaiti (The Jakarta Post) Tue, January 3 2017 The Convention of the Rights of the Child, which Indonesia has ratified, states A child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and, as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents. Yet constraints are abound in many countries, while the Sustainable Development Goals include universal birth registration by 2030. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 The Jakarta Police have provided psychologists from Raden Said Soekanto Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, to support and counsel families grieving loved ones who died in the Zahro Express ferry incident. Jakarta Police psychology division head Adj. Sr. Comr. Hary Prasetya said on Tuesday at least 10 psychologists had been deployed to the hospital where 22 out of 23 bodies of dead passengers were being kept for forensic identification. We are here to accompany families who have come to check the unidentified bodies that might be a family member, Hary said, adding that the psychologists were ready to deal with victims family members becoming traumatized. A sudden incident like this normally creates deep trauma [to families of the victims]. We want to help them as much as possible to get back to normal life, Hary said. (Read also: Those responsible for Zahro Express incident should be charged: Civil society group) The Zahro Express experienced a fatal accident on Sunday morning when it was traveling from Muara Angke Port in North Jakarta to Tidung Island in Thousand Islands. Reportedly, the vessels engine room caught fire before it exploded, killing 23 passengers onboard. The Transportation Ministry said on Monday 130 passengers survived. Authorities are probing the cause of the incident. Initial findings showed that the Zahro Express had been traveling with more passengers than that recorded on its passenger list, creating suspicion the vessel was overcapacity. The Jakarta Police have named the boats captain, Mohammad Nali, a suspect in the case. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Moses Ompusunggu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3 2017 A string of reforms in the education sector implemented over the past two years ended abruptly mid-last year, leaving schools in limbo over what educational direction to take in the New Year. President Joko Jokowi Widodo decided to replace Anies Baswedan, an intellectual and former rector of Jakarta-based Paramadina University with former East Java-based Malang Muhammadiyah University rector Muhadjir Effendy in a reshuffle last July. Anies, praised early on for revoking the national exam as the determinant for high school graduation, was dismissed even though many considered him at the time one of the most competent ministers in the Cabinet. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Winda A. Charmila (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 Despite Indonesias efforts to climb up the value chain, the countrys exports will remain dependent on primary commodities in the long term, a trade report says. Until 2020, the countrys overseas shipments will be largely dominated by agricultural produce, mineral fuels and raw materials, according to the HSBC Trade Report published last Friday. These types of items will also make up nearly 60 percent of overseas shipments from Southeast Asias largest economy in the later period from 2021 to 2030. Although higher value-added sectors like chemical, industrial, machinery and wood manufactured [commodities] show relatively strong growth over the long term, the top five export goods will continue to reflect Indonesias traditional strength in the primary sector, the report said. In a change from the current situation, India and China are set to become Indonesias top export destinations by 2030, replacing the United States and Japan, it said. At present, China and India are the third and fifth biggest markets for the countrys shipments, which mostly comprise coal and palm oil. The report particularly underlined that India may need mining and primary commodities to support its economic expansion in the next five years. Indonesia has struggled to rebuild its manufacturing industry since the 1997-1998 financial crisis, before which the sector had always expanded robustly and mostly outpaced the countrys economic growth. Poor infrastructure, expensive energy costs and red tape have been among the major stumbling blocks that have prevented Indonesia from reaching its potential. A commodity boom in the past decade provided leeway to boost exports despite a still weak manufacturing industry. Indonesias manufacturing industry expanded only by 4.25 percent last year, which was lower than the economic growth of 4.79 percent, according to the Industry Ministry. It contributed 20.84 percent to gross domestic product (GDP), of which 18.8 percent was generated by the non-oil and gas industry. In the short term, as commodity prices start to head upward and global demand is on its way to recovery, there will be stronger interest for Indonesias exports in the next few years, the report said. Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) Indonesia director Mo- Dependence on primary commodity exports will continue until 2030 India and China set to become Indonesias top destinations by 2030, replacing the US and Japan hammad Faisal said that the export of manufactured goods may remain stagnant in the future, hampered particularly by expensive energy and high logistics costs. Therefore, agricultural products might still become the driver of overseas shipments. The downstream agriculture industry must be strengthened because manufactured goods have higher value, Faisal told The Jakarta Post. Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) economist Latif Adam shared a similar view, saying that agricultural produce would likely dominate exports in the next few years because of its strong presence domestically. However, we need to enhance the downstream agriculture industry. It is hoped that we not only export crude palm oil [CPO], for example, but its derivatives, such as margarine or cosmetics, Latif told the Post. Processed goods, he said, have lower volatility compared to commodities, the prices of which fluctuate according to movement in the international markets. Separately, the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) said that it aimed to make Indonesias manufacturing industry a key part of the global supply chain in the future, although it realized that would take a long time. By becoming part of the global supply chain, we can reduce our dependence on commodities vulnerable to global price movements, National Development Planning Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said Saturday as quoted by Antara news agency. The potential industrial sectors that could be fostered include those that are natural-resource, labor-intensive, consumer goods and automotive based, he said. The HSBC report also noted that similar to the export pattern, Indonesias import profile would also remain relatively unchanged in the designated time frame. In total, about three-quarters of all growth in the importation of goods from 2021 until 2030 will be driven by the purchase of chemicals, transportation equipment and machinery. Furthermore, Indonesia will continue to import large quantities of petroleum products, despite attempts to encourage local producers to invest in processing plants in Indonesia, the report said. India Today's special investigation team has busted what primarily is the underground arsenal of the nation's online robbers. By Nitin Jain, Arvind Ojha, Jugal R Purohit: Do you get calls inquiring about the passwords of your bank accounts, insurance, credit cards and so forth? If you do, there's a great chance they may be originating from the jungles of Jamtara, a sleepy district in Jharkhand, where the perpetrators of the country's massive hacking scams live, operate and lead a lavish life. advertisement India Today's special investigation team has busted what primarily is the underground arsenal of the nation's online robbers. Operating out of Jamtara, some 225 km of the state capital of Ranchi, these impostors have been found using a variety of traps to access usernames, passwords and OTPs from their targets. And once their victims share their secret codes with these complete strangers, poof - it's gone. Their bank accounts empty out in the blink of an eye. Spread over 1,800 sq km, Jamtara is home to around eight lakh people, most of them rural. But traffic on the cellphone towers and the lifestyle of many of the district's residents belie its thin population and official statistics on poverty. "If you see their homes, you will find LED TVs, sofas, beds and most modern equipments," said Surendra Prasad, an inspector at Jamtara's Narayanpur police station. WHAT THE INVESTIGATION REVEALED An independent investigation by India Today revealed how a number of Jamtara's young men were building their exploits from digital theft. The probe found that this Jharkhand district has in fact turned into the country's hub of phishing calls - a widespread criminal practice of stealing private and financial information from the vulnerable in order to swindle them out of their money, digitally. Top sources in the Intelligence Bureau and the NIA are also alarmed. Most of cyber crimes, they say, are now being traced to Jamtara. MODUS OPERANDI India Today's undercover reporters dredged up an entire racket of call scammers working from the forests of this district. This breed of young frauds would use various tricks to dupe their victims across the country, the investigation revealed. "You use an ATM card. Did you get a message two days ago that it had been blocked?" said Asghar, giving a dry run of how his band of crooks would strike a conversation with their potential targets on the phone. "You didn't have its renewal verified as per the order of the Modi government," he continued, sitting on his motorbike underneath a cluster of bamboo trees. Their modus centres around manipulating the psychology of fear. advertisement They would intimidate their victims about a possible loss or even arrest so much so that many of them would irrationally share their tightly-guarded financial and computer codes, Asghar explained. Every day, scammers like Asghar make innumerable calls from the forests of Jamtara, impersonating as representatives of reputed companies to insidiously seek out information they require for their digital robbery. Asghar told India Today's special team that they, at times, would make off with as high Rs 1 lakh in a matter of hours. Also read: Inside India's cyber crime hub - Why Jamtara in Jharkhand is your 'SBI main branch' Jamtara's ring of phishing callers is extraordinarily trained, India Today's probe found. They would use basic techniques to obtain even 3D-secure PINs from their targets after preying skilfully on their fears. Cyber crimes have risen alarmingly in the country - more than 20 per cent in a year alone. According to the latest NCRB data, India recorded 11,592 cases in 2015 over 9,622 the year before. A majority of them - almost 66 per cent - involved in online cheating in 2015. Jamtara has become a hunting ground for cyber police from all over India, investigating online crimes because many cases of digital fraud are traced to this back-of-beyond district. advertisement "You need to generate a new password," Ashgar said, giving a training session to India Today's undercover team on accessing passcodes in cold calls. "For that, you are being given a secret number, 1025, to add up to your old password. Let us know what you get after adding and we will deactivate your old password with that code," he continued. If their victim shared the result, Asghar and his accomplices would quickly subtract 1025 from it to access the original password. And that's how they strike their target's account. Probed how they maintained a data-base of their victims, Asghar revealed his gang would ring up as many people as possible in different states randomly. "Every region has its own separate phone codes and series - Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, etc. Just use those codes and series for each state and keep adding the numbers chronologically, say from 40 to 100. It (calls) will be executed randomly," he said. DEMONETISATION EFFECT When ordinary citizens queued up outside banks and ATMs for their ration of cash, post demonetisation, phishing scammers were making a killing from their online loot, India Today's special investigation discovered. advertisement As more and more people fell into their calling traps, driven largely by fears of non-compliance to government rules, the e-wallets and bank cards of these digital swindlers puffed up with the booty. "We got a lot of money these days. We had from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh dropping in two cards alone," admitted Asghar. "We bought a (Honda) CR-V in one day by swiping two of our cards." They, said Asghar, would also rent out their cards to potential customers for hefty commissions. He also offered one to India Today's undercover reporter. "The percentage is between 70 and 75. Get this card swiped at a store known to you, where they don't demand Aadhar. There you can buy as much as you want," he said. By the their own admission, local police say nearly 80 per cent of all cyber crimes in the country have their roots in Jamtara. As India Today reporters drove deeper into the district, they found that the entire system here had been subverted to enable parallel economy feed voraciously on the bank savings of tax payers. The unqualified digital loot in Jamtara was found to be also encouraging unscrupulous elements in neighbouring districts to extract their pound of flesh. Intriguingly, police in Jamtara appeared to be well aware of the scammers' tactics. "What they do is basically tell you that they are bank managers and that your ATM card was being locked. If you do not want your card locked, then they seek your 16-digit number and CVV number and they will transfer it online to an e-wallet," said inspector Prasad from the Narayanpur police station. "They will carry out purchases, transfer money and to ensure they get their goods delivered here, these criminals got someone to sit in Delhi where all the goods would be delivered. Once there, someone from here would go and pick it all up and get it here," he added. Around 100 suspected digital frauds have been arrested from Prasad's jurisdiction alone. He told India Today's undercover reporters that the scammers acquired multi-language skills by visiting various states, such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Watch the video --- ENDS --- Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution has expressed support of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawatis decision to terminate the government's cooperation with JPMorgan Chase Bank as a perception bank. Darmin said on Tuesday that the research institution, a subsidiary of the United States-based investment bank JP Morgan Chase, had conducted analysis, the results of which outline the conditions of the Indonesian economy. I have not read [the JP Morgan report]. But the fact that the Finance Minister has made a decision is good, said Darmin in Jakarta, adding that the results of the research were not credible as reported by tribunnews.com. Sri Mulyani terminated a partnership with JPMargan Chase Bank after the firm came up with a report that created negative sentiment toward Indonesia. The Finance Ministrys decision is stated in a letter to the company on Dec. 9. The letter said the termination of the cooperation would be effective starting Jan. 1. Darmin said he did not know the standard used by the company in analyzing the Indonesian economy. I do not know, but so far, our condition is good based on the assessment of analysts, he added. In its report, JP Morgans emerging market equity strategist downgraded Indonesia by two notches from overweight to underweight, while downgrading Turkey from Neutral to Underweight and Brazil from overweight to neutral. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Tue, January 3 2017 Children of minority faiths are among an estimated 50 million Indonesian children lacking birth certificates, including those in East Nusa Tenggara. Many feel forced to convert to one of the six state-sanctioned religions while waiting to receive equal rights once their faiths are registered. Save the Childrens partner organization Yayasan Sayangi Tunas Cilik (Care for Seeds foundation), which is supporting the West Sumba administration to improve childrens rights, invited media, including The Jakarta Post, to the regency. The following is a report by Ati Nurbaiti. Sumba in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) is among Indonesias paradise islands offering plenty of amazing sights. Tourism authorities of West Sumba promote tourism villages home to followers of the indigenous belief Marapu, a faith centered on honoring ancestors and reading signs from nature. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Grace D. Amianti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 In contrast with President Joko Jokowi Widodos announcement last year that joining the tax amnesty was not obligatory, taxpayers received a rude shock at the end of last year, with the tax office informing them of their supposed undeclared assets and warning them of consequences for noncompliance. As the clock ticks toward the end of the tax amnesty on March 31, the Finance Ministrys Directorate General of Taxation has been sending warnings of penalties via email and text message to more than 204,000 individual taxpayers who were identified as having undeclared assets. Based on its own data, the tax office claimed to have information about 212,000 undeclared taxpayer assets, mostly in the form of houses, land and vehicles. However, after receiving data from institutions such as the police, Home Ministry, and National Land Agency (BPN), it claimed to be aware of more than 2 million undeclared assets. However, the warnings have led to accusations that the data is far from accurate. Dessy Rosalina, a private employee in Jakarta, was surprised when she received an email from the countrys tax authority in December last year, requesting that she apply for the tax amnesty, as she apparently had an undeclared asset. The tax authority notified her in the email, entitled call to apply for the tax amnesty, that she had a mortgage that was not declared in her annual tax form (SPT) and warned her with an infographic citing the potential penalty if she failed to declare the asset as stipulated by the Tax Amnesty Law. I will appeal this with the tax authority, because this is just too much. I was only late in filing my annual tax form, she said recently, saying that she had declared the asset in 2014, but admitted to having been late in filing her annual tax form a year later. She insisted on her right to not participate in the tax amnesty as she had not deliberately hidden any assets. She has opted to challenge the inaccurate tax data and take a chance with an annual tax form correction either in February or March. Eka Chandra, another private employee in Jakarta, also received the email claiming that she had not declared her six vehicles, even though most of them were bought by her father for his business, while the rest had been sold and the transfer of title had already been completed. Personally, I think this burdens people who own businesses. It somehow implies that were not good taxpayers if we dont apply for the tax amnesty, she said. Another taxpayer, Mia Argianti, a private employee in Jakarta, received a similar email on Dec. 21 notifying her that she owned an undeclared car bought under her husbands name. However, she claimed that it had been sold in 2014 and the transfer of title had also already been completed. Dessy, Eka, and Mia are only three of many taxpayers who never thought they would be petitioned to apply for the tax amnesty and confronted with questionable data. However, tax office spokesperson Hestu Yoga Saksama said the tax authority would continue investigating more taxpayers aside from the 204,000 on its list and remind them to join the program rather than be charged under Article 18 of the Tax Amnesty Law. Article 18 of the Tax Amnesty Law stipulates that any undeclared asset owned between Jan. 1, 1985, and Dec. 31, 2015, will be considered as additional income, and subject to a costly penalty, even three years after the tax amnesty has finished. When asked whether the tax authority was aware of any data discrepancies, it insisted that it had carried out the appropriate measures to inform taxpayers that they were being given a chance to put their undeclared assets on the books or prove the data was incorrect. There is no problem. Taxpayers can sit together with the tax office to clarify their assets and we will present our data. We wont continue [asking them to join the program] if were wrong, otherwise we believe they have to declare [the assets] because they wont have another chance after March, said tax offices director of investigation and collection Angin Prayitno Aji. The government is struggling to push more taxpayers to join the scheme, as the latest data shows the programs target remains far from reach, although the amnestys second phase ended on Dec. 31 and there are only three months left until the end of the third and final phase. Total declared assets had reached Rp 4.29 quadrillion (US$317.6 billion) as of Jan. 2, but penalty payments stood at only Rp 103 trillion, still below the targeted Rp 165 trillion. Meanwhile, repatriated funds had only reached Rp 141 trillion, far below the governments target of Rp 1 quadrillion by the end of the program in March this year. Danny Darussalam Tax Center (DDTC) managing partner Darussalam said the tax office had shown that it was able to access all taxpayers data, not only that of the big fish. The tax amnesty program, he further said, should not only be aimed at the big fish, but all taxpayers as the law made no distinction based on the wealth of different taxpayers. We used to hear public claims that the directorate general of taxation had no data on taxpayers tax liabilities. Their latest summons, urging tax payers to declare their assets, proves the opposite, he said. If the taxpayers believed the data to be inaccurate, he further said, they could challenge it and prove that the assets were undeclared due to the offices inaccurate data or could simply revise their tax forms. He recommended that the government push the dissemination of information about the legal consequences of tax avoidance in the third phase of the tax amnesty, before enforcing the law with harsh punishments. Tax office claims to have discovered more than 2 million undeclared assets Penalty payments in tax amnesty program reach Rp 103t, far below final target of Rp 165t Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Dylan Amirio (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 Major telecommunication companies have reported an increased usage of data during the New Year festive period, particularly data usage for social media. Indosat Ooredoo reported data traffic peaked at 2.08 terabytes in the period from Dec. 31, 2016 to Jan. 1, 2017, increasing their traffic ratio by 11.26 percent from typical figures. But voice traffic showed a decrease of 4.97 percent from normal periods, with the largest decrease of voice services in Bali, Greater Jakarta and Banten. The decrease of the voice services indicated a shift in mobile usage to increased dependency on data than on traditional voice calls. The company increased its data capacity to 6,890 terabytes per day for the New Year period, said Indosats head of corporate communications Deva Rachman in a statement on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Indosats business rival Telkomsel also started the year with a substantial increase to its data usage, with a payload traffic of 4.25 petabytes per day during the New Year transition, which is a 24.25 percent increase from Telkomsels average payload in 2016. Its voice usage also rose but only by 0.1 percent compared to its daily average. Telkomsels vice president for corporate communications Adira Irawati noted that the increase in data usage was caused by Telkomsel customers using more data for video and music streaming, as well as online gaming. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 Despite the government's ambitious target in tourism, foreign tourist arrivals as of November decreased compared to last years figure. It also missed the monthly target. Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) show foreign tourist arrivals as of November standing at 1 million, a slight decrease from 1.04 million in October. It also missed the Tourism Ministry's target of 1.3 million tourists in November. "The peak season is in December. We hope that in December 2016, the number of tourists would have increased again," BPS head Suharyanto said on Tuesday. The government is set to tally 12 million tourists in 2016, compared to nearly 10 million visits in 2015. So far, the figure stands at 10.4 million visits. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani and Ina Parlina (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3 2017 Amid the simmering tension of the Jakarta election, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the leader of the governments coalition, has signaled an impending Cabinet shake-up to strengthen the alliance. [President Joko Jokowi Widodo] is unhappy with several ministries because their performances have yet to meet his expectations. There should be an evaluation, PDI-P lawmaker Darmadi Durianto said. If a third Cabinet reshuffle takes place, the PDI-P suggests that the State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Ministry, Agriculture Ministry and Culture and Education Ministry undergo evaluation. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 The secretary-general of the Jakarta chapter of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), Novel Bamukmin, said he had given the panel of North Jakarta District Court judges trying Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama on blasphemy charges a letter demanding they detain the defendant. "I submitted the letter to the judges because Ahok has repeatedly committed his blasphemous act. If we look at our previous jurisprudence, Ahok is the only blasphemy suspect who remains free," Novel said on Tuesday, after he testified as a witness during the fourth session of the governors trial in the auditorium of the Agriculture Ministry on Jl. RM Harsono, Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta. Novel is the head of advocacy of the National Movement to Safeguard the Indonesian Ulema Council's Fatwa (GNPF-MUI), the organization that instigated the Dec. 2 mass rally at the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta to demand the arrest of Ahok. (Read also: Ahok defamed Islam repeatedly: FPI leader) Novel said he had reported Ahok for blasphemy to the police nine times. He said he had even reported the refutation Ahok made during a previous hearing on Dec. 13 to National Police Criminal Investigation Department. Novel claimed that in his refutation, Ahok had insulted the Quran, especially Surah Al Maidah 51. Novel claims he convinced the judicial panel led by Dwiarso Budi Santiarto that his decision to report Ahok for blasphemy was not politically motivated. I don't understand politics. I have no political party background and I'm not a supporter of any political party, he said. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Winda A. Charmila (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 The police have named the captain of the Zahro Express boat a suspect on Tuesday following the explosion of the boat, which resulted in the deaths of 23 passengers, on Sunday. He is charged with article 302 of the Shipping Law, Jakarta water police director Sr. Comr. Hero Hendrianto said Tuesday, adding that paragraph 3 of the article stipulates a maximum of 10 years' imprisonment if convicted. He said the captain, M. Nali, 51, allowed the boat to sail even though he knew it was overcapacity. (Read also: Ministry to standardize Thousand Islands service after Zahro Express incident) Based on police data, the total number of the passengers was 191 people, while the captain told the police that there were less than 100 passengers, Hero added. The Zahro Express ferry caught fire during its journey from Muara Angke Port, North Jakarta, to Pulau Tidung, Thousand Islands regency, on Sunday. The explosion killed 23 people while 17 others were reported missing. (jun) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, January 3, 2017 Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has assured the bereaved families of the dead passengers and those who suffered injuries in the fatal Zahro Express boat incident that they will receive compensation from the Jakarta administration and state-owned insurance company PT Jasa Raharja. There is an assurance [of compensation], Budi said in a statement on Monday. Budi said PT Jasa Raharja would provide compensation to both the families of the deceased and the passengers who were injured while the city administration would provide compensation only to families of the deceased. The minister has yet to detail how much each of the victims will receive. (Read also:Zahro Express captain named suspect for fatal boat accident) Zahro Express exploded on Sunday morning after traveling roughly 1.6 kilometers off North Jakartas coast. Of hundreds of passengers on board, 130 people survived and 23 died. Authorities are investigating the incident, trying to determine what caused the fire on the boat, which was carrying passengers to Tidung Island, Thousand Islands, for the New Year's Eve holiday. The Jakarta Police have named boat captain Mohammad Nali a suspect for allegedly recklessly sailing the boat that was otherwise not ready to be sailed. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani and Ina Parlina (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, January 4, 2017 Rumors of a possible Cabinet reshuffle intensified on Tuesday after the Gerindra Party, the largest opposition party, claimed to have been offered Cabinet posts by President Joko Jokowi Widodo. The State Palace has denied a Cabinet shake-up is imminent, but several political parties said they had received credible information that the President would dismiss some of his ministers for their meager performances and also consolidate power following two large rallies in Jakarta. Yes, [Jokowi] offered four posts. [I know] from someone in Jokowis inner circle. Now all decisions lie in Pak Prabowos hands, Gerindra deputy chairman Arief Poyuono told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday, referring to party chairman Prabowo Subianto, Jokowis only rival in the 2014 presidential election. The four posts are the presidential chief of staff, agriculture minister, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) minister and manpower minister. [The reshuffle] could take place around Jan. 14 to 17, but this may change, Arief said. Gerindras claim has added weight to rumors that Jokowi may replace those currently leading the office and the three ministries. It is unclear why Presidential Chief of Staff Teten Masduki is on the list of Cabinet members to be sacked. Teten, a noted antigraft activist, was part of Jokowis inner circle during his presidential campaign, but it took nearly a year before he was granted a seat in the Cabinet. SOEs Minister Rini Soemarno, another close confidant of Jokowi during the presidential campaign, is again standing on a shaky ground, with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) increasing pressure on Jokowi to fire her amid strained relations with party matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri. The party has long considered Rini as responsible for Jokowis refusal to toe the party line. The PDI-P said Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman should also be evaluated for he had no clear vision on how to boost agricultural productivity. Manpower Minister Hanif Dhakiri, a National Awakening Party (PKB) politician, meanwhile, is in the spotlight for his failure to stem the tide of illegal foreign workers in the country. President Jokowi may also reduce the number of Cabinet seats for the PKB for its alleged involvement in the large rallies against Jokowis ally, Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purama. The President has insinuated the rallies were aimed at destabilizing the government. Speculation is also rife that Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, a United Development Party (PPP) member, will also be sacked for failing to handle the anti-Ahok rallies. Meanwhile, the PDI-P has also reportedly asked Jokowi to kick out Culture and Education Minister Muhadjir Effendy for his controversial policies, including his latest proposal to suspend the national exams. Muhadjir is a member of Muhammadiyah, an influential Islamic organization that has been critical of Jokowis administration. Muhammadiyah made an attempt to challenge Jokowis tax amnesty at the Constitutional Court. The organizations youth wing was among the groups that reported Ahok to the police for alleged blasphemy. Since taking office in 2014, Jokowi has reshuffled his Cabinet twice, with the latest carried out in July 2016 when he added new ministers from the Golkar Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN), two parties that were previously outside the government alongside Gerindra. When asked about the Cabinet reshuffle, PDI-P executive Hendrawan Supratikno said, Politics is full of surprises. All parties [can] propose names, but that doesnt mean they can push [the President] for a reshuffle, he added. The State Palace has played down the reshuffle rumors. There is no reshuffle [yet] as revealed by the President while he was having lunch with chief editors of some media outlets, said presidential spokesman Johan Budi, who accompanied Jokowi in the closed-door lunch meeting at the State Palace on Tuesday. Justice Thakur would be remembered for a lot of things. But the BCCI judgement sacking the top brass and his open attacks on the Centre will stand out. By Anusha Soni: Known for his Urdu couplets, sentimental demeanour and kindness, Chief Justice of India TS Thakur heard his last case in the court number 1 at the Supreme Court today. He retires today after his tenure of over one year. Members from the Bar Council, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and many other lawyers bid him an emotional adieu. Though in public discourse he has been known for his tough statements attacking the government on judicial appointments but lawyers, litigants and journalists attending his court everyday would vouch that his human approach and empathy would often be visible in his discreet smile. The visuals of him shedding tears during a public function for lack of judges and empty courtrooms would continue to daunt his legacy. advertisement A JUSTICE WHO WANTED THINGS TO BE CLEAN It's only once during his tenure since December, 2015 that he seemed to have lost his temper. During one of the mentioning seeking extension of parole for Subrata Roy Sahara, CJI Thakur had a verbal spat with senior counsel Rajeev Dhawan and he impulsively cancelled Roy's parole. A visibly sick Kapil Sibbal had to rush at 2 pm for the court to give Roy more time to surrender. The parole was later extended. MUST READ: From the India Today magazine - What makes him cry 'Clean up' seems to be the favourite word for Justice Thakur. Whether it was the Delhi air pollution case or the BCCI. He never shied away from a bold order. After taking over as the CJI in December, 2015 he banned the registration of 2000cc diesel cars. Exactly a year later, he directed the Centre to notify a Common Minimum Programme to deal with pollution menace in the national capital. JUSTICE THAKUR AND THE BCCI CASE Justice Thakur would be remembered for a lot of things. But the BCCI judgement sacking the top brass and his open attacks on the Centre will stand out. He created an atmosphere in the last one year where the old conventional reluctance of judges speaking to the media was given a go-by. He responded to Finance Minister Arun Jaitely's allegation of 'Judicial overreach' and reminded the government that the executive must discharge it's duties properly. While many within the judiciary criticised his approach, stalwarts like Fali Nariman stood supporting Justice Thakur. WHEN JUSTICE THAKUR WARNED MODI GOVT Justice Thakur's defiant stand on the formulation of Memorandum of Procedure on judicial appointments has never been a secret. He did not budge from the position where no interference from executive was permissible. He warned the government in an open court that if the appointments were not processed, the court will summon the secretary to the PMO. He also witnessed rebellion from his own. For the first time in history, during his tenure as a CJI, one of the judges of the Collegium refused to be a part of the process of appointments under the old system. Justice Chelameswar expressed his concerns over the lack of transparency in the Collegium system. Justice Chelameswar continues to be absent from Collegium meetings. advertisement Justice Thakur hands over the baton to Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, who is known for the NJAC verdict. Khehar would once again have to deal with the stand off on judicial appointments. ALSO READ: CJI TS Thakur breaks down in front of PM Modi, calls for increasing judge strength Centre, Chief Justice TS Thakur lock horns on Constitution Day over appointment of judges --- ENDS --- Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post) Wed, January 4 2017 For 36-year-old Abu Mohammed and his wife, dreams of personal enrichment and wellbeing no longer hold sway. Their top priority now is to provide their four children with the opportunity to lead better lives beyond the endless rows of numbered houses, wire fences, rock and sand the de facto face of the Syrian refugee crisis. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sabina Puspita (The Jakarta Post) Evanston, Illinois Wed, January 4 2017 Lailatul Fitriyahs Dec. 15 article in The Jakarta Post that questioned the absence of women in the narratives related to the Dec. 2, or 212, protest raised several important issues pertaining to womens political activism and liberation from discrimination. She criticizes the narratives that dominate our society as having discounted the presence of women, who did contribute to the protest. Furthermore, she defines these narratives as patriarchal politico-religious. Within this kind of narrative, she further explains that the protest had systematically excluded the female participants. An example that she provides is the inequality of the Friday prayer space, most of which was prioritized for men, such that many women were asked to give up their space to men. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Heres whats new on the Lower East Side restaurant/food scene as we kick off 2017: The Pickle Guys made the move across Essex St. just before the holiday. The prime corner spot at 357 Grand St. is fairly bare bones at the moment. Theres not much in the space other than those big pickle barrels you were used to seeing at 49 Essex St. A grand opening celebration will come later and a small restaurant is in-the-works. The restaurant will be a counter service operation featured fried pickles. According to Eater: Burgers, chicken sliders, and beef sliders will also likely be on the menu. There will be some limited seating. An April opening is anticipated. The Lucky Bee has been open for almost a year on Broome Street. The Southeast Asian restaurant is celebrating the new year with weekend brunch service beginning this coming Saturday. Chef Matty Bennett says the brunch menu will be all about serving perfect hangover food. There will be a chicken burger with Sriracha mayo, daikon and cabbage slaw; steamed pork and sesame dumplings; and Son-in-law Eggs, made with avocado, fried chili, sweet fish sauce, Thai basil and fried shallot. Brunch will be served from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. At Eastwood , theyre getting ready for the fourth annual Burns supper Jan. 25. Theres a three-course meal plus live music and poetry. $50. Community Board 3 will meet Jan. 9 to review new liquor permit applications. Among the proposals that caught our eye: A new team looks to open a place called Bowery Craft House, at 293 East Houston St. (thats where Ariels Latin Bistro is currently located). See the full agenda here. The New Yorker checks out Rabbit House, an exquisite wisp of a sake bar on Forysth Street. Just in time to snap us out of our January doldrums, the annual No Pants Subway Ride returns for its 16th year. What started as a small prank among a few friends has grown into a global phenomenon; this year over thirty cities are participating nationally and internationally. People of all ages are invited to participate this Sunday, Jan. 8th. Riders board specified subway lines dressed in appropriate winter gear, minus their pants, and act like everything is normal throughout their complete ride. After a snafu during the 2006 No Pants Subway Ride, which was shut down by a police officer (8 people were arrested in their underwear), it was determined it is perfectly legal to ride the subway in your underwear in New York City. The event is organized by the comedy collective, Improv Everywhere, which aims to surprise and delight random strangers through positive pranks, or missions. Over the years, theyve pulled off hundred of different pranks, involving tens of thousands of undercover performers, but the No Pants Suway Ride has remained the most acclaimed event. First letter declared Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's SP convention unconstitutional and, second letter addressed to party vice president Kiranmoy Nanda, sacking him from the party. By India Today Web Desk: Samajwadi Party vice-president Kiranmay Nanda, who was sacked for attending National Executive meet, has alleged that Mulayam Singh Yadav's signature may have been forged on two different orders which were issued on January 1. First letter declared Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's SP convention unconstitutional and, second letter addressed to party vice president Kiranmoy Nanda, sacking him from the party. Dekh lijiye chithi jismein likha hai adhiveshan asamvaidanik hai usmein sign alag hain&Netaji ka nahi hai-Kiranmoy Nanda,Suspended SP leader pic.twitter.com/DzBEwQlxCi ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 advertisement Nanda claims that both the signs were different. While, one signature had full name of Mulayam Singh Yadav, second signature was incomplete, claims Nanda. Earlier, Akhilesh Yadav had also hinted that Mulayam's name was being misused and the letters were actually being issued by his estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav. BITTER TUSSLE The tussle between two factions - led by Mulayam Singh Yadav and son Akhilesh - to gain control of the ruling Samajwadi Party in the poll-bound Uttar Pradesh became bitter on Monday over the claim for its election symbol, cycle. Before leaving from here for Delhi, Mulayam Singh told the media that the party belonged to him as he enjoyed the support of the people of India's most populous state. In Delhi, the party sources said Akhilesh will show the poll panel video recordings, papers and resolutions signed by at least 40 per cent of party workers - the number required to call an emergency convention as per Samajwadi party constitution. Also Read:Samajwadi coup: Akhilesh Yadav, Ram Gopal unseat party supremo Mulayam Singh with 4 proposals Also Read:Samajwadi feud: Mulayam watches as Akhilesh Yadav wins, Shivpal bruised again Also Read:Akhilesh or Mulayam: Who will keep Samajwadi Party's election symbol, another dangal begins --- ENDS --- David Beckham shared a snap of him and Victoria Beckham seeing in 2017 with sun and sand at their resort beach party in the Maldives. Jealous? Happy new year everyone x A photo posted by David Beckham (@davidbeckham) on Dec 31, 2016 at 10:43pm PST Bella Thorne celebrated new years on vacation with her family and shared a cheeky kiss with her friend Kyra Santoro on the stroke of midnight. And after Everyone needs a friendly newyears kiss #happynewyear #bonfire #2017 A photo posted by BELLA (@bellathorne) on Jan 1, 2017 at 6:57am PST Bella Hadid went all out with the dress at her NYE house party and was more than happy to share a few sultry snaps with her Instagram followers. IU HNY!!!!! A photo posted by Bella Hadid (@bellahadid) on Jan 1, 2017 at 10:52pm PST Lottie Moss set the dancefloor sparkling in her gorgeous pink sequin dress. NYE A photo posted by Lottie Moss (@lottiemossxo) on Jan 1, 2017 at 11:46am PST Karlie Kloss swapped the cocktail dress for a black bikini as she watched the sun rise on 2017. 1/365 A photo posted by Karlie Kloss (@karliekloss) on Jan 1, 2017 at 7:37pm PST Martha Hunt stayed classy in Montana, seeing in the new year with her man of the moment and an enviable guest list, including the likes of fellow Victorias Secret Angel, Lily Aldridge. Happy new year partnaz! @j_mcd A photo posted by Martha Hunt (@marthahunt) on Dec 31, 2016 at 9:53pm PST Sisterhood speaks out, Hailey Baldwin and Kendall Jenner celebrated a successful year with a close group of friends in downtown Los Angeles. 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By India Today Web Desk: Kareena Kapoor Khan and Saif Ali Khan may not have been present at the annual Kapoor family Christmas luncheon at Shashi Kapoor's house this year, but the couple visited him to convey their New Year wishes. ALSO READ | Awww-dorable: Sara and Ibrahim cannot get enough of li'l Taimur? PHOTOS | Saif-Kareena out on a lunch date while baby Taimur continues to make headlines advertisement Saif and Kareena were spotted at the veteran actor's house yesterday sans li'l Taimur. While new mom Kareena looked radiant even without make-up, Saif looked dapper in a blue tee. Photo: Yogen Shah Photo: Yogen Shah Saif's fondness of Shashi goes back much longer than his relationship with Kareena. His mother Sharmila had recalled in a book that during the shooting of Paap Aur Punya, a two-year-old Saif had grown so attached to "Shashi uncle" that he even bit a villain's leg to 'save' him. --- ENDS --- Horror highway crash, blast kills 25 CHONBURI: Twenty-five people were killed and just two survived a horror collision and fire yesterday (Jan 2) on a highway in Chonburis Ban Bung district, police said. accidentsdeathpolicetransport By Bangkok Post Tuesday 3 January 2017, 08:59AM A passenger van and a pickup truck crashed, exploded and burned on Highway 344 in Chonburis Ban Bung district. Photos: Sawang Ban Bung Rescue Foundation The crash claimed the most lives in one single accident over the New Year holidays, and is a blow to the governments so-called road safety campaign launched on Dec 29. The death toll this New Year holidays is outpacing that of last years record deaths and injuries in highway crashes during the seven dangerous days of the New Years holidays, said the government. The deadly collision took place in the early afternoon on Highway 344 in tambon Nong Irun when a passenger van swerved out of its lane and crashed into an oncoming pickup truck. Immediately after the crash, the passenger van caught fire and exploded. Gas cylinders on board the van are likely to have fuelled the blaze. The two injured were the only survivors. The passenger van was heading from Chanthaburi to Bangkok with 15 people including the driver while the pickup truck was travelling to Rayong, carrying 12 people including the driver. According to police, 14 people, five men and nine women, were found dead in the charred wreckage of the van. Eleven people, five men and six women, in the pickup truck were killed. Police said the van driver may have lost control of the vehicle, which crossed a ditch dividing the road and hit the pickup. Two survivors were identified as Thongchai Tangwongpithikul, 20, a passenger in the van, and Pranee Boontone, 20, who was travelling in the pickup truck. Both sustained minor injuries. Mr Thongchai, who sat at the back of the van, said he was dozing off when he felt the van lose control. He saw a fire, then smelled a gas leak. He spotted a broken glass window and kicked it open to escape. I dont know about the other passengers. They must have been sleeping when the accident happened. I had cuts on my knees and arms when I escaped from the van and my hair got burned a bit, he said. Ms Pranee said she survived because she was thrown from the pickup truck when it was hit by the van. She said she did not sustain any serious injuries. According to Ms Pranee, the van caught fire and the blaze spread to the pickup truck. Ms Pranee was on the way to her husbands home in Chanthaburi with her family and relatives when the crash took place. There were two children in the pickup truck. Sarawut Pimpa, a rescue worker from Silatham Rescue Foundation, said the vans engine was on fire when the rescue workers arrived, but they could not reach those who were trapped inside. He said the van was equipped with gas cylinders that most likely exploded. Bancha Pannam, a witness, said he saw the van swerve out of its lane and crash into the pickup coming in the opposite direction and the vehicles caught fire. Reacting to the crash, Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said all public transport vehicles are required to have GPS tracking systems installed before the Songkran holidays in April this year. He said the device, which is used to monitor and track driver behaviour, aims to encourage drivers to drive responsibly to reduce the chances of accidents. Speaking about the New Year death toll, Mr Arkhom said this years was likely to be higher than last years. He said the figure was higher as there were more people travelling to the provinces this year. According to the Road Safety Directing Centre, the death toll from road accidents in the first four days of the New Years holidays [Dec 29-Jan 1] was 280 with 2,877 injures. The Interior Ministry holds campaigns to promote road safety during the long holidays every year. Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda said on New Years Eve that the road safety campaign during the holiday period would focus on drink driving and speeding, the major causes of road accidents in Thailand. Read original story here. Nitty, gritty investing fun PHUKET: In previous articles in this series on the basic introductory steps of investing in the Thai Stock Exchange, I covered most of the basics about trading in the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), including some valuation and timing indicators, reasons why one should consider employing a Thai broker over an international one, the function of Non-Voting Depository Receipt (NVDR) stocks for foreign traders, and the official portals for researching Thai companies. economics By Steven Layne Tuesday 3 January 2017, 11:00AM Investors look at share prices at the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) in Bangkok. Photo: AFP In this fourth and final installment of the series, I will try to shed some more light on the entangled web of public companies and the Thai economy As alluded to in my previous articles, getting a grasp on the SET may seem overwhelming at first, considering that there are hundreds of companies listed under dozens of sectors and indices on the SET, in addition to the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI). For each listed company, there is a continuously-updated stream of financial data and research available from the latest quarterly reports and news releases directly from the companies themselves to third-party news, financial fundamental analysis and insider tip-offs. Knowledge is power, and the companies with higher market capitalisation (the product of all the shares and the share value) will tend to have more transparent and dependable shareholder relations and communications. A good starting point is to to study the big players the large market-cap companies in the SET 50 or SET 100 which tend to set the trends and reflect the health for the rest of the economy. Happenings with Airports of Thailand (AoT), for example, will certainly impact business of all the other SET-listed aviation transport company, be it Thai Airways (THAI), Bangkok Airways (BA) or Air Asia (AAV), to name a few. And despite the notion that the Thai economy is all about agriculture, electronics and tourism, truth be told energy and petrochemicals are much more significant drivers. By far, the largest SET-listed company, measured by revenue and market-cap, is PTT, a state-owned (the Ministry of Finance holds 1 51% stake) petrochemical conglomerate with over a market-cap of more than B1 trillion. Trading for about B365 per share at the time of press (late December), PTT is the only Thai company in the Fortune Global 500, and it should also be noted that its parent PTT Group owns a number of other profitable SET-50 subsidiaries (PTTEP, PTTGC, TOP and IRPC). Another key corporate cat in the Thai economy is agrofood giant Charoen Pokphand (CP), a powerful, private Chinese-Thai conglomerate that provides exposure to investors through a number of SET-listed subsidiaries, namely CP All (CPALL), CP Foods (CPF) and True Corporation (TRUE). With a market-cap of more than B550 billion, CPALL owns the franchise rights for 7-Eleven stores in Thailand and is also a major shareholder in Siam Makro with an 18% stake; CPF, with a market cap of about B255bn, is a major player in the farm, feed and poultry business, in Thailand and globally. Though not an agrofood firm, TRUE (market cap: B275mn) is CPs telecommunications arm, which is constantly in heated competition with the likes of Advanced Info Service (ADVANC), Total Access Communication (DTAC) and others. Competition is one of many factors to keep in mind when comparing stocks. Some companies and sectors enjoy little to no competition in their respective sector or industry. Padaeng Industry (PDI), a smelting and zinc specialty company is the only listed company in the SETs Mining index, for example. Sugar market share, in contrast, is contested by four companies (KTIS, BRR, KSL and KBS), who all produce the same products: table sugar, fertiliser and ethanol from sugarcane. Some brands or products have multiple associations within a network of companies. For example, if you were looking to invest in Mama, the Thai instant noodle market leader, there are at least three listed companies with a stake in this brand, namely, Thai President Foods (TF), President Rice Products (PR) and Saha Pathanapibul (SPC). As you can imagine, keeping abreast with world, regional, national and local industry and market trends is an essential skill. Luckily, all the brokers have trained economists analysts on the payroll who study the various factors at play and will provide their views, predictions and recommendations for free. Some of the tips I have read are logical and have proved to be fruitful, while others tend to appoint too much weight on long-term forecasts, overlooking immediate factors or threats at play think politics and the weather. In the end, its up to you to find your own unique preferences, style and strategy in the SET, and theres only one real way to learn to get out there and start trading! Even if only on paper to start with, it can be rewarding and addicting hobby, if not a supplemental income source. See also: SET to succeed: A crash course in the Thai stock market (Click here.) Where the SET is just the start (Click here.) Starting at the SET: Getting down to business (Click here.) Disclaimer: This article should not substitute qualified investment advice. The author does not represent any bank, fiduciary, broker or consultancy of any kind and is merely one individual whose aim is to learn more about investing in the Thai stock market, and share his direct experiences with others, and thus assumes no responsibility or credit for any action or inaction by readers, whether resulting in gain or loss. Serious investors are advised to consult with a qualified financial adviser or fiduciary. By India Today Web Desk: Kumkum Bhagya actress Leena Jumani, popularly known by her screen name Tanu, is having the time of her life with her crew in Thailand. The lovely lady even posted pictures of the grand bash she had with the show's cast on new year. But what has caught our attention particularly is her new beach avatar. Needless to add that the talented actress looks super-hot. advertisement Also read: Divyanka Tripathi, Hina Khan, Leena Jumani: It's party time for TV's favourite bahus, vamps and Naagins when you don't think about anything else and you do what you love??? A photo posted by Leena Jumani (@leena_real) on Jan 2, 2017 at 3:11am PST She posted the picture on her Instagram recently, and captioned the picture as "when you don't think about anything else and you do what you love." Looks like Leena is a water baby. Dressed in a red bikini, the actress is seen smiling at the camera in the picture. Best New Year Ever?????? A photo posted by Leena Jumani (@leena_real) on Jan 1, 2017 at 4:01am PST She even posted a few pictures with the cast of Kumkum Bhagya. And we have to say that they are setting major friendship goals for the rest of us. Keep slaying, Leena. Day2 koh tao #Readytoparty#nofilterneeded ?????? A photo posted by Leena Jumani (@leena_real) on Dec 30, 2016 at 11:08pm PST --- ENDS --- After 20 years as the Codington County auditor, Cindy Brugman retires Codington County Auditor Cindy Brugman will see through one more election night ballot count before passing her title down to Brenda Hanten. By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jan 3 (PTI) Left parties today hailed Supreme Courts verdict that outlawed seeking votes in the name of religion and also urged the Election Commission to suggest necessary amendments for implementing the "landmark" judgement. CPI(M) though underscored the need to clarify the difference between an appeal made based on these factors to ensure electoral gains and raising issues of social injustice and discrimination, contending the latter as essential elements of any electoral discourse for attaining justice. advertisement "CPI(M) Politburo welcomes the majority verdict of the seven-member Constitution bench of the Supreme Court which held that the electoral process is a secular activity and religion can have no place in such an activity," it said in a statement. Quoting both the majority and dissenting views expressed by the seven-member Constitution bench of the apex court while hearing the case yesterday, the Politburo said there is a "thin line" that differentiates an appeal made to electorate on these considerations and raising issues of injustices. "The clarity on this is essential for strengthening the secular democratic foundations of the Constitution and the electoral process," it said. Terming the judgement as "landmark", CPI General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said that the verdict should put to an end "the long litigation" used by some vested interests on the issue. Reddy said the judgement clearly stated that misuse of religion, caste or language comes under the clause of corruption. It has "rightly" described the religious belief as a personal issue between the persona and his/her God, the ex-Parliamentarian said. "The judgement will strengthen the core values of the Indian Constitution, secularism and democracy. CPI welcomes the judgement and urges upon the EC to suggest necessary amendments for proper implementation of it and disqualification of candidates and parties misusing the religion/caste/language," he urged. Without naming any party, Reddy alleged that parties which do not have socio, economic and political policies allegedly try to misuse the religion and caste for electoral benefits. "...after coming to power, carry on pro-corporate, anti-people policies. People should be vigilant and utilise the Supreme Court judgement as a weapon to fight against such elements," he suggested. In a majority verdict, the Supreme Court had yesterday held that any appeal for votes on the ground of "religion, race, caste, community or language" amounted to "corrupt practice" under the election law provision. Referring to the term his religion used in section 123(3) of the Representation of The Peoples (RP) Act, which deals with corrupt practice, Chief Justice T S Thakur and three others in the 4:3 verdict said it meant the religion and caste of all including voters, candidates and their agents etc. advertisement In its verdict passed in a case involving election of a Shiv Sena leader in mid-90s, the Supreme Court had in 1995 stated that Hindutva is a "way of life and not religion". PTI ENM AAR --- ENDS --- Stung by the arrest of TMC MP Sudip Bandopadhyay, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using CBI, ED and Income Tax department against those who raised voice against demonetisation and dared him to arrest her and all TMC MPs. She asserted that their protest against note ban would continue. "I just can't think that Sudip Bandopadhyay, who is our party's leader in the Lok Sabha will be arrested. I also have information that Modi wants to arrest many other TMC leaders like Abhishek Banerjee, Sovan Chatterjee (city mayor) and Firhad Hakim (minister)," she told reporters immediately after Sudip's arrest by the CBI in connection with the alleged Rose Valley chit fund scam. "I am shocked, but not scared. Let him arrest all of us. I openly challenge him to arrest me. Let me see his guts. He may silence others, but not me. He can't suppress our voice. He can't bulldoze people's voice," she said. "We will fight legal battle in every case," she said. Earlier, at a meeting in Medinipur she charged Modi with using CBI, ED and IT against persons who protested against demonetisation. The TMC supremo also convened an emergency meeting on Sudip's arrest to chalk out the party's action plan. TMC would launch dharnas to protest against Sudip's arrest from on Wednesday, she said, adding "politics cannot be done by resorting to vendetta". She alleged that Bandopadhyay was arrested due to "pressure from the PMO" and asked "why should Narendra Modi and Amit Shah not be arrested? "The party is behind Sudip. He has not done anything wrong. Even if he is in jail, the people of Bengal will keep him in their heart," she said. The TMC chief also said that it was the duty of the Centre, the Sebi and the RBI to keep a check on ponzi schemes in which they have "failed completely". "I challenge Modi directly. You cannot do anything because Trinamool Congress is right and you are wrong. You cannot suppress the voice of the people. you have to withdraw restrictions (on withdrawal of cash) Modi has no clue where this political vidictiveness will take him. We are not scared and will continue our demonstration against demonetisation," she said. Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who is gearing up for the release of "Raees", will be seen promoting the action crime thriller film on popular reality show "Bigg Boss 10", which is hosted by Salman Khan. Shah Rukh and Salman recreated the "Karan Arjun" moment when they appeared together on an episode in the ninth season of "Bigg Boss", when Shah Rukh promoted "Dilwale". They will shoot together again for the semi-finale episode of "Bigg Boss 10" on January 20 on the show's set here, read a statement from channel Colors. They will be seen having a lot of fun over interesting tasks and games. Shah Rukh and Salman's onscreen chemistry was loved by all in the recently aired 23rd annual Star Screen Awards 2016, which they co-hosted. Set against the backdrop of the prohibition in Gujarat, "Raees" touches upon the way alcohol industry crumbled and several illegal activities followed. In the film, Shah Rukh essays the title role of Raees, a bootlegger. Directed by Rahul Dholakia, "Raees" also stars Nawazzuddin Siddiqui and Pakistani actress Mahira Khan. It is slated to release on January 25, 2017. By Manogya Loiwal : Amid the ongoing economic blockade in Manipur, United Naga Council (UNC) has intensified its protests across the state. Here is what you need to know: UNC tried to gherao the district administration office at Senapati district in Manipur which resulted in lathi charge also. The protests turned violent and escalated into a commotion with the police charging lathi. Seven people were injured in the entire process as police was attempting to control the protests. A group of people under the leadership of UNC today marched towards the administration office with the motive of encircling the place until their demands are met. Reportedly the police warned them but the mob turned a deaf ear to them. The security personnel also tried stopping the protesters when they tried breaking the stoppage gate set up to stop the movement of crowd any further. However, after being unable to stop them, the police fired tear gas shells along with lathi charges to disperse the crowd. Among the injured there were four women and three men who were rushed to the nearby hospital for treatment. Currently the situation is volatile. advertisement With inputs from Jit Ningomba in Manipur Also read: Manipur: Journalists protest after hand grenade found at evening daily's office --- ENDS --- Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned those who indulged in malpractices during the 50-day demonetisation drive, the Finance Ministry has asked public sector banks to submit a report on the involvement of officials illegally changing currency notes. Banks will give details of officials those who violated law or government and RBI direction during the demonetisation period, sources in the the Finance Ministry said. Although vigilance proceeding against directors are carried out by the Finance Ministry, the department proceedings or criminal proceedings against officials are carried out by bank itself. Some of the officials tried to subvert the system during the demonetisation. For example, CBI registered case against a Bank of Baroda official in Kolkata for converting old currency in violation of rules. Some officials of State Bank of India, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur and State Bank of Mysore along with other banks was also mentioned in one of the FIRs filed by investigative agency during the demonetisation period. The Prime Minister in his address to the nation on the New Year eve had said, "Amid this herculean effort, some grave crimes by some officers in some banks have come to light. Some government officers have also committed serious offences, and tried to take advantage of the situation. They will not be spared." Meanwhile, senior bankers also feel that there could be RBI inspection also to check whether there were any lapses at branches on banks' side. During the demonetisation period, the Enforcement Directorate had done random check of select branches to check the money laundering activity. The Railways will make 3,000 special bogies for "divyangs" (persons with disabilities) by 2018 to make their travel comfortable and hassle-free, an official said today. These bogies will have various facilities to ensure the differently abled passengers or "divyangs" have smooth train travel, said Kamlesh Pandey, Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) in Union Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. Addressing a press conference here, he said the special bogies will be interlinked, will have more seats, space and signage to locate them. Pandey is here for a review meeting of welfare schemes launched for "divyangs" in Nagpur district. This initiative has been taken to make rail travel more convenient for divyangs, he added. Pandey informed that around 180 Government buildings in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Nagpur will be made accessible to divyangs with various facilities like ramps, lifts and disable -friendly sound system. The project has been sent to the Central Government for approval, he said. "Earlier, there were seven categories of persons with disabilities in the Disability Act, 1995. Now 21 more categories have been included in the Act. These include mental illness, thalassemia, dwarfness and acid burn," Pandey said. "Similarly, reservation in these categories have been increased from 3 per cent to 4 per cent," he added. In what could come as a good news for taxpayers in the new year, the Income Tax department has asked its officials to resolve their grievances within 30 days time. The department's new wing called the 'Directorate of Tax Payer Services' has asked all the regional heads of the I-T to ensure that "there are no grievances aged more than 30 days pending at any level" pertaining to complaints of refunds, PAN issues and other Income Tax-related subjects. In a communication, the Directorate has also underlined the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his review meetings in this regard has "stressed upon adhering to the timeline of 30 days for the redressal of a particular grievance". "One of the major reasons for delay in the grievance redressal is failure to identify competent officer to redress the grievance and lack of knowledge of recent circulars or instructions," the communication said, adding if the person (tax official) dealing with the grievance identifies the competent I-T authority, "a lot of time can be saved". The Directorate has also directed the taxman that in case the grievance does not pertain to the authority directed by the CBDT, it "should be transferred back in not more than five days time." The Directorate, nodal wing for all taxpayer grievances pan-India, has suggested that the official handling the grievance should give "due attention to the grievance at hand" and ensure that the required action is undertaken without any delay. The communication added that any action like referring the matter to the Bengaluru-based Central Processing Centre (CPC) of the I-T department (where I-T Returns are e-filed) or a similar centre for Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) processes in Ghaziabad near here, should be intimated in case the issue requires their intervention. "Sometimes the Assessing Authority fails to understand the processes and sends back the grievance to a wrong person. All these issues can be addressed if the assessing officer or the concerned authority gives due attention to the grievance at hand," it said. It noted that regular monitoring of grievances via the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) by the field formations of the department has resulted in "better performance" by the department and the number of such issues pending between 181-365 days has "substantially gone down." The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the policy- making body for the tax department, had last year created a new setup in the I-T establishment to put focus on taxpayers' grievances and hence the new Directorate came up. The PM had underlined that his government desires to ensure better taxpayer services as he said he wants to remove the fear of the taxman hounding the people by ushering in accountability and answerability in his Independence Day speech last year from the ramparts of the Red Fort. The controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has been extended for another six months in Nagaland, an official said on Tuesday. "The Union Home Ministry in a notification on December 30, extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958, in the entire area of Nagaland for another six months, a Nagaland home department official said. The notification issued by the Home Ministry's Joint Secretary Satyendra Garg said that the Centre was of the opinion that the area comprising the entire state of Nagaland was in such a "disturbed and dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary". Rights groups, various civil societies and political parties, specially the tribal-based parties in Northeastern states described the law as "draconian" and have been demanding its withdrawal as the act gave huge powers to the Army and para-military forces to conduct operations anywhere in the disturb areas without any prior notice. Besides Nagaland, the AFSPA is also in force in Manipur (excluding the Imphal Municipal Council area), some parts of Assam and in several districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Manipur's Irom Sharmila Chanu was on hunger strike since 2000 demanding the repeal of the Act. She however, withdrew the strike in August 2016. The Left-ruled Tripura in May 2015 had withdrawn the AFSPA which gave sweeping powers and judicial immunity to security forces in conflict-hit areas. The law was enforced in the state 19 years ago to curb terrorism. The central government, various political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress hailed the Tripura government's decision. The Centre and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) had entered into a ceasefire agreement in August 1997. Around 60 rounds of talks were held to end the insurgency that was said to have claimed 25,000 lives since 1947. The central government had also appointed interlocutor R.N. Ravi to continue the peace process with the NSCN (IM). The NSCN (IM) has been fighting for an independent Nagaland for over six decades. But since the peace talks began, it has scaled down the demand to a "Greater Nagaland", including parts of three neighbouring states to unite areas inhabited by around 1.5 million Nagas. Three Northeastern states Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh have opposed the demand. The Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday had an informal luncheon meeting with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and congratulated him on the excellent arrangements made by his government for the historic 350th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Gobind Singh. Capt was in Patna to participate in the historic 350th birth anniversary celebrations of 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh. He, along with AICC in-charge of Congress affairs Asha Kumari, met Nitish after offering prayers at the holy Takht Shri Harmindar Ji at Patna Sahib. Capt and Asha Kumari used the opportunity to formally invite the Bihar chief minister to come to Punjab and campaign for the Congress in the coming assembly elections. We just had an informal chat over lunch, said Capt, adding that there was no political agenda for the meeting and the Bihar Chief Minister had merely extended to him the courtesy of inviting him for lunch. Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and the state Congress legislators reached Delhi on Tuesday to meet President Pranab Mukherjee over the ongoing tensions, caused due to the economic blockade by Naga groups. The blockade started soon after creation of seven new districts in the state. "The Chief Minister and all the Congress MLAs have reached Delhi. They have sought an appointment to meet the President tomorrow (Wednesday)," said a senior officer at Delhi's Manipur Bhawan. The Manipur legislative assembly has 49 Congress members in the house of 60. Informed sources told IANS: "The CM may talk against the imposition of President's Rule demanded by the United Naga Council and also about postponement of upcoming elections in the state." The Imphal Valley is simmering after violent protests broke out following the creation of seven new districts Jiribam, Kangpokpi, Tengoupal, Pharzol, Kakching, Noney and Kamjongin. A blockade was called by Naga groups to oppose the state's decision to create Sadar Hills and Jiribam as full-fledged districts. The United Naga Council the representative group of all the Nagas in Manipur said creation of new districts would bifurcate the ancestral lands of the Nagas living in Manipur. Although Jiribam was made a district, the same could not be done with Sadar Hills due to strong opposition from the Nagas. In his first public appearance since the humiliating defeat of the CPI-M in Assembly polls last year, senior party leader and former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Tuesday said the Trinamool Congress has no moral right to speak against black money when its MPs were arrested in Rose Valley Chit fund scam. Bhattacharjee alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government was full of "anti-social elements" and the entire Trinamool Congress was "corrupt". "The Mamata Banerjee government is full of anti-social elements and one of them was arrested today," he said referring to the arrest of Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandopadhyay by CBI in the Rose Valley ponzi scam case. "From top to bottom, the entire party is corrupt. This government does not have the moral right to speak against black money. Instead of searching elsewhere, they should search their own houses for black money," Bhattacharjee said. He was speaking on the occasion of 50 years of CPI-M's mouthpiece 'Ganashakti'. CPI-M state secretary Surjyakanta Mishra asked the CBI to arrest the "big fishes" allegedly involved in the scam. "We all know that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was present in the meeting with Rose Valley chairman Gautam Kundu in Delo bungalow in Kalimpong. There is no need to raise a hue and cry over the arrest of two MPs. The CBI needs to arrest the big fishes instead of arresting the small fries," Mishra said. He also dared Banerjee to arrest CPI-M leaders who she named earlier in the day claiming to be involved in the Rose Valley scam if she found concrete evidence against them. "She has named a few of our leaders today. However, there was no need to take names as none of our leaders are involved in the scam and they are not in the list of probables who are likely to be questioned," he said. The CPI-M's Kolkata District Committee has organised a rally on Wednesday to demand the arrest of "big fishes" in the Rose Valley scam. Amid a battle over the party symbol 'cycle', Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav went into a huddle here on Tuesday afternoon. The development surprised many as the two factions of the Samajwadi Party appeared headed for a split after the dramatic happenings of the past few days. Mulayam Singh flew into the state capital and within an hour Akhilesh Yadav drove to his bungalow. They were closeted for more than three hours, said an informed source. Midway, Mulayam confidant Shivpal Yadav, who the Akhilesh camp dethroned as the state unit chief on Sunday, was also told to attend the meeting. No further details were immediately available but the source said a "formula acceptable to all" was being worked out. The source said the prospect of the party symbol being frozen by the Election Commission had brought the two warring factions to the drawing board again. With assembly elections imminent, a division in the party and a freeze on the party symbol could render a body blow to the Samajwadi Party. Earlier, a delegation of the Akhilesh camp Ram Gopal Yadav, Kironmoy Nanda, Naresh Agarwal and state minister Abhishek Misra met Election Commission officials in Delhi and staked claim over the 'cycle' symbol. Setting a foreign degree has always fascinated Indian students and their parents, who are committed to offer the best possible education to their children. Admission at an international university not just provides an opportunity to be trained at a globally-recognised university/college but also provides an opportunity to learn about new people and their culture. A degree opens up innumerable opportunities too, helping fulfil dollar dreams of many Indians. As they say no knowledge is better than knowing less about any subject, the same can be said about studying abroad which comes with its fair share of myths. From choosing the right institute to selecting the city, even the thought of getting enrolled in a foreign university may seem like a mammoth task for many, till these myths are busted. It costs a lot: General belief in India is that a foreign degree comes at an exorbitant cost. This is a generic view, which is contrary to the actual cost that varies depending on the type, duration, and location of the programme. A detailed analysis would show that foreign education could be within the reach of many Indians. To top it up, scholarships, financial aid and educational loans are some ways, which can ease the burden on students and their parents, respectively. Since the curriculum abroad allows flexibility in choosing a course of your interest, narrowing it down to the most suitable gets easy and helps save time and money. Dearth of scholarships: A very common myth amongst students is that foreign universities do not provide enough financial help through scholarships. As a matter of fact, there are numerous scholarships that you can take advantage of either through merit or for financial need. Make sure, you do your research before-hand and make use of all the opportunities you have at hand to minimise your financial burden. Most colleges have a straight forward and clear scholarship application process be sure to hand in all the materials before the due date. It delays graduation: Many students who study abroad graduate in four years. With proper guidance or consulting with academic advisors students can study overseas for an academic year without affecting their graduation date. In fact, some students study abroad two or three times and still graduate on time. Like others this is also one of the most prevalent misconceptions in students. In depth search about a university and when the courses begin and end is needed before taking admission. Being in touch with the administrative staff and academic counselor from the beginning also helps. A degree from a good university gives students the opportunity to gain exposure in a world that requires international experience to succeed. Students learn a new language, see how business is conducted over international boundaries, and develop lifelong relationships around the world. It is for non-serious students: A perception that students, who take admission overseas, are on a vacation is not based on facts. Fact is that the courses abroad are not based more on theories and less on practical courses but it gives equal importance to practical and theory. In fact, adjusting to a new kind of education system, away from their home country, would require a student to put in much more emphasis to education than other activities. Not everyone gets accepted: Due to lack of knowledge, a large number of Indian students are not able to plan their studies abroad. The truth, however, is that most of them who meet the minimum qualification and successfully complete the application process, get accepted at foreign universities. A lot of universities counsel students to increase the number from countries beyond their own country. These universities work closely to find a programme that meets their needs and qualifications. The writer is Associate Vice-President for International Programmes, Missouri State University. For a country as vast as India, it is a matter of immense concern that despite the whole expansion of education in universities it is able to satisfy only 17 per cent of the employers while leaving the 83 per cent dissatisfied. According to a study by the Confederation of Indian Industry, out of five million graduates every year only 34 per cent of them are employable. Setback is the employers notions about the perfect candidate. They generally consider and focus on the hard skills while recruiting and the soft skills remain ignored. Communication, cognitive abilities and analytical thinking are not as easy to teach or develop as they are thought to be. And that is why the recruited candidates with underdeveloped skills, fail to work in real time situations. However, the scenario now is taking a slow but positive turn. There is a paramount and momentous need to look for an answer to the question that What actually is being fuelled into the graduate market that is giving house to this vicious cycle? The vital components that form this economy are globalisation, change and the war for talent that have apparently become the norm. While giving a reality check, there is more graduate talent to choose from but not all of them are going to fit in your business. The workplace dynamics are hugely impacted by the changing demographics. Companies are being flooded with Gen-Y and millennial workforce, forcing them to re-think about their strategies to attract and develop the talent sub-set and also to manage and engage a multi-generational workforce effectively. Shortages in talent and shifts in employer presence in geographies, such as China, are already proving challenging in achieving MNCs' aspirations for growth. A major factor in graduate recruitment is emigration for better educational and job opportunities, therefore giving more scope of growth and attracting graduates to move abroad. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has conducted surveys that show the number has doubled for students enrolling in educational programmes outside their own country. Now one-in-five graduates are looking to get employment in the country of study like the USA, Australia and UK being the most popular destinations. The dynamics and landscape of the market are changing and are evolving and will continue to do so. These arent the only factors that are responsible in increasing the global skills shortage but definitely they highlight the significant role of the graduates in the business environment and accentuate the urgency of searching graduates that are work-ready. Current recruitment practice is the second challenge. Both, the companies and the graduate talent are finding it difficult to get the right person. Many graduates apply for jobs that are not mapped to their education or their skills. It's been researched that at least one- in-five graduates (21 per cent) apply for jobs that do not complement their interests. The third challenge is to foster the leaders of the future who will take the organisational objectives and business success way ahead. According to a research by the Ceb, approximately one-in-10 graduates penetrating the workforce will have the prospect to be an effective leader in the future. The skills that the graduates have and the skills that the businesses need, do not match each other. These skills need to be defined by the organisations and they must ensure a consistent, accurate and scalable approach to calculate against certain criteria. Generally, job applicants seek for companies which have a strong employee value proposition. Firms shouldn't presume that graduates are enticed by salary and material reward. Today, the graduates are actually motivated by the scope of growth and opportunities that the organisation provides them. These days, most graduates spend reasonable amount of time researching employers, before applying. This leaves the organisations with a tight window to communicate. Almost all graduates check their prospective employer online before approaching them for jobs. Various social media websites have become the key to research on the employer. Employability should be framed in a simple model that provides a clear picture that helps organisations know the talent they employ. This model could consist of key behaviours that promote effective job performance in the short-term and provide broader potential for the future. Framing this model with intelligence could really motivate graduates and could be a powerful tool to accelerate the investment done in recruitment. Further, this intelligence goes in increasing the probability that graduates make an au courant choice when they apply to an employer, that they commit to and persist through an organizations recruitment process, and also stay with the business once they are hired. for the workforce is probably the highest priority business leaders globally. This reflects the mushrooming importance of using data to forecast the needs for future staffing. Short-term and long-term business outcomes depend on how well the connectors, in the form of big data or talent intelligence, are working with people planning, investment and decisions. The new world of work requires recruitment done on the basis of talent intelligence. This is certainly going to help organisations stay way ahead of competition. The writer is a Student Welfare and Development Department Head, Institute of Management Studies, Noida. Narendra Modi will inaugurate Indian Science Congress in Tirupati on January 3. He will later visit Lord Venkateswara and here are some interesting things you should know about the temple. By Manogya Loiwal : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Indian Science Congress in Tirupati on January 3. The inauguration of the five-day annual event is at the Sri Venkateswara University and later in the afternoon, Modi would also offer worship at the famous Lord Venkateswara shrine atop Tirumala hills. As Prime Minister visits the Lord Venkateswara Temple, it will mark Narendra Modi's first trip to south India this year. HERE ARE SOME FACTS ABOUT ONE OF THE RICHEST TEMPLES IN THE WORLD: The temple sees around one lakh pilgrims visiting in a day which may reach to more than two lakh on days like New Year or Hindu calendar festivals. Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam is amongst the top three donation receivers in the world. There are around 18,000 people working as staff at Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam who maintain cleanliness and movement of traffic in the area. Tirupati has a Sanskrit Vidyapeeth where hymns and Vedic knowledge are taught to maintain the tradition and ensure the correct chanting of mantras. The Hundi, an open vessel or pot that receives donation in the name of Lord Venkateswara, receives almost everything under the sun like wedding cards, letters, cash, diamond or gold jewellery, etc. A cheque put in Hundi, even an 'account payee cheque' of any amount with any name of god like Om, Lord Venkateswara, Govinda written, is accepted and is encashed too without any hassle or questioning. Tirupati is the cleanest temple city in the world. The road uphill from Tirupati to Tirumala remains closed every night from 12 midnight to 3 am. No vehicles are allowed to travel uphill or downhill during this time. There is a dense forest in Tirumala and you can spot animals like deer and elephants. Tirupati has a Vedic University for keeping the scriptures intact for helping the future generations learn from it. The entire process of prayers and offerings in the main temple is replicated in another make shift temple and broadcast from this replicated temple on the TTD live streaming channel throughout the year. advertisement Narendra Modi's demonitisation drive also had no impact on the revenue or donations. In fact, the cash donations in Hundi increased in the last month of the year. --- ENDS --- Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said a new line of production for single engine fighter jets will be started in India under the Strategic Partnership model. The minister told the media that the discussions on Strategic Partnership were in the final stage and are likely to be concluded by the end of January. Speaking on the second line of the single engine fighter aircraft, Parrikar said: "The second line of single engine (fighter plane) is also required for which we are looking at the strategic partner route and very soon once the strategic partner chapter is finalised we should start moving in that direction. During the current year the decision.. should be tentatively over. May be few of them will come in ready made status but the rest will be made in India." Referring to the ongoing production of the indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft 'Tejas', he said: "Tejas has already been inducted and one line (production) or eight aircraft manufacturing per year is already operational in HAL." The minister on being asked about the Strategic Partnership said: "It is in final stage. There are few issues that need to properly recorded. We have done a good job and the strategic partner is likely to be done by the end of this month." Parrikar meanwhile dismissed reports of India thinking of buying more Rafale fighter jets apart from the 36 fighter aircraft that India bought from France under a government to government deal. This comes shortly after former Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha said the 36 Rafale jets bought by India were not enough and more aircraft were needed in the medium weight category. Raha also said that India needs at least 200 more fighter aircraft in the next ten years. Talking about the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Parrikar said "In fact HAL is gearing up to increase it to 12. Recently, we have taken up a final stage approval for enhancing production capacity to 16 is also in final stage." On One Rank One Pension, Parrikar said: "So far we have already paid the benefits to more than 19,70,000 pensioners. Around 68,000 pension cases were in scrutiny in the month of December. The targeted time schedule was end of December. 13,000 cases are sent to pension dispersing authority." "With that I think almost 99 per cent of the eligible cases will be settled probably by January. One per cent is not being able to trace them, probably dead," the Minister said. OROP for retired Armed forces personnel was announced on September 5, 2015. The scheme took 2013 as the base year to calculate pensions and the date of implementation was July i, 2014. The period for review was kept at five years. In fresh roadblocks to GST rollout, states on Tuesday demanded taxation rights for sales in high seas and also increasing the number of items on which cess is to be levied to compensate the states to deal with revenue loss estimated at Rs.90,000 crore post demonetisation. Initially, a Rs.55,000 crore GST compensation fund was proposed to be created by levying cess on demerit or sin goods and luxury items, but post demonetisation the compensation amount is expected to go up to Rs.90,000 crore as most states have seen revenue decline of up to 40 per cent, non-BJP ruled states claimed. Also, coastal states pressed for rights to levy GST on trade of goods within 12 nautical miles offshore, holding up finalising of the draft law for levy of Integrated-GST (IGST) on inter-state trade. At the eighth meeting of the all-powerful GST Council, TMC-ruled West Bengal, CPM-led Kerala and Congress-ruled Karnataka pressed for including area up to 12 nautical miles in the definition of states within IGST law, a standoff that led to chairman and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley agreeing to seek legal opinion on its Constitutional validity. "We couldn't reach a consensus on a very important issue that relates to defining of a state. This is 12 nautical miles from the state. Can states charge GST from them or not? Right now states like Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Odisha are charging VAT or sales tax within 12 nautical miles. For eg when a ship is loaded with oil or products, the tax on that is charged by the states. "All the coastal states, irrespective of parties, combined in saying that we must have 12 nautical miles within the state jurisdiction. Whereas the draft IGST law was looking at having taxation rights with the Centre," West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra told reporters. The Day 1 of the panel meeting did not take up the contentious issue of control of assesses which had been till now holding up roll out of Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. The issue would be discussed on Wednesday. While representatives of opposition-ruled states were unanimous in saying April 1 target date for rollout of the new regime is not possible, even BJP-ruled Gujarat said GST could become a reality from September. A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officer was shot and wounded by militants on Tuesday in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. Police said the militants fired at an Assistant Sub-Inspector in Muran Chowk, about 40 km from here. "It was apparently a hit-and-run attack. The trooper has been shifted to the Army's Base Hospital in Srinagar where his condition is said to be stable," a police official said. Taking on the Centre against the backdrop of assumption of charge by General Bipin Rawat as the new Army chief, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday asked the government if there is a political will to teach Pakistan a lesson. "Our soldiers have the courage along with a 56-inch chest and are ready to face the enemy while taking bullets upon themselves. But the moot question remains if there is a political will in Delhi to teach Pakistan a lesson," an editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said. General Rawat had said his force is prepared for a two-front war involving Pakistan and China simultaneously while emphasising the need to look at cooperation and not confrontation with Beijing. The country has lost most of its jawans in the Kashmir Valley in the last two-and-a-half years, the NDA constituent pointed out, and asked if there is a need to remain silent when Pakistan refuses to end bloodshed. "For how many years do we keep bearing the sword of insecurity hanging over our heads? Pakistan has indulged in ceasefire violations hundreds of times in the last two years and attacked Army check posts," the Sena said. Sometime back, India conducted surgical strikes across the LoC to show its strength to the neighbouring nation. But, contrary to claims that Pakistan would learn a lesson, more than 70 soldiers were martyred due to terror-related activities," it said. "Soldiers are sacrificing their lives without going into war. If the new Army chief uses his tenure to stop deaths of soldiers and give them respect, the nation will be more thankful to him," the Sena said. Care should be taken that the Army chief's statement of flexing muscles should not become a joke in future, it added. Outgoing Chief Justice TS Thakur on Tuesday said it was incumbent on the legal fraternity to uphold the independence of judiciary as he pointed to pendency of three crore cases, poor judge-population ratio and problems of infrastructure. Chief Justice Thakur, who had a long battle with the Modi government on the appointment of judges, said: "This country can't progress unless judiciary prepares itself to handle challenges it would face in cases relating to cyber laws and medico legal cases." Supreme Court Bar Association Vice President Ajit Sinha assured the outgoing Chief Justice: "We will not allow any unjustified entry into judiciary. We as a bar will take a first blow." Addressing an overwhelming gathering of lawyers, sitting and retired judges, the Chief Justice, who had his last working day in the top court on Tuesday, said: "I will continue to work for upholding the prestige of the sanctum santorum of the Supreme Court." Chief Justice Thakur, who appeared emotional, said that in his retirement he would be a "spectator, observer and contributor to pay back what the institution has given to him". Thanking God, his parents, teachers, colleagues and everybody in what he could become in his life, Chief Justice Thakur urged the lawyers to desist from being in the race to be a judge or designated as senior lawyer. Telling the legal eagles to let these recognitions becoming a judge or designated as senior counsel "come uninvited", he said every case was a new challenge for the lawyers and they had to live up to the expectations of their clients. "Why should a lawyer want to be a judge when he is saturated with work?" he asked. "You have to raise yourself to a level where destiny itself beacons you." He told young lawyers that by taking every case as a challenge and preparing it well would earn them the respect of the bench (judges) and even their opponents. The farewell organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association saw everyone Chief Justice Thakur, Chief Justice designate Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, SCBA president R.S. Suri, its Vice President Ajit Sinha and Secretary Gaurav Bhati reciting couplets from Urdu poets. However, it were legendry Urdu poets Allama Iqbal and Mirza Ghalib that dominated the proceedings, with everyone reciting a couplet in praise of the outgoing Chief Justice. Immediate, severe and sustained was the impact of the bludgeon the Prime Minister wielded on the economy on 8 November last year. The hardships persisted even after the expiry of the grace-period he had sought. It will take some time before the goodies he sought to offer on New Years Eve will trickle down to the common man, so opinion must remain divided on whether those concessions/incentives suffice to atone for what resulted from the botched-up demonetisation exercise. For all the contrived hype and expectation, Narendra Modis address to the nation brought little relief to the situation which saw people in long queues at ATMs by way of welcoming 2017. The previous days announcement that the withdrawal limit at an ATM had been raised from Rs 2,500 to Rs 4,500 had generated only little enthusiasm most ATMs run out of cash rather quickly. And with the ceiling on weekly withdrawals from a bank account yet to be increased, the Prime Ministers promise of easier money did not translate into ground reality. The statistics about increased use of non-cash transactions also appeared hollow to those seeking to buy their daily requirements at the grocers or vegetable stall. Those claims, in fact, hurt the common folk for they suggest that those in authority political, bureaucratic or banking have opted to live in a state of denial: and no remedy is possible until there is an acceptance of things having gone wrong. A Hitlerian streak was evident in a senior ministers comment that the people had accepted demonetisation because there was no violence at banks. Is that an invitation to trouble? Recall that even the most severe famine has not eliminated an entire population. The BJP should hang its head in shame over such heartless observations from its stalwarts. The Prime Minister tried to praise the peoples response by reviving memories of the nation standing firm and united during war. Was that not a version of emotional blackmail? The entire cash management apparatus needs overhaul, and if required currency notes should be imported to meet a crisis situation. The common folk cannot continue to be exploited by economy-managers who keep shifting goalposts. People have toiled for their money can they legitimately be denied access to it? The Prime Minister will regain credibility only when people are able to utilise their money in accordance with their desires. A fraud will be perpetrated on the Indian people if the verdict in upcoming polls is to be the meter by which the 8 November effort will be assessed. Alas, for all their shouting, the disunity and in-fighting indicates that Opposition parties are surrendering even before the EVMs are swiped. The most truthful thing about the modern post-truth world is that the liberal order is crumbling. What G. John Ikenberry refers to as the liberal leviathan is in throes of a protectionist demagogue who promises to deliver the American working class from the afflictions of neo-liberal capitalism and make America great again. Ironically, promises of emancipation are coming from a businessman, soon to assume office as the President of the United States, whose destiny had been tied to the unimpeded freedom of market forces and speculative finance which were the cornerstone of US economic policies, both under the Democrats and Republicans. The victory of Donald Trump reflected the fact that citizens cannot always be treated as customers, a fact which has played out in the three decade long history of neo-liberalism. Although, it is sure that the President elect will have to renege on many of the promises which had been made by him, ostensibly because of the structural constraints imposed by neo-liberalism, the failing however would lead to a fresh search for culprits within. The Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims and others who constitute the peripheral tapestry would be implicated for all that is bad and stops America from being great again. None of it would slake the demands of the workers of the rust belt who overwhelmingly voted not for Trump but against the neo-liberal policies of Barack Obama. They would remain where they are until a progressive political mobilisation would allow them to see the elephant in the room, neo-liberal capitalism, under whose weight the liberals have recently crumbled. The veracity of liberalism as a coherent political philosophy is contestable as it had meant different things in different epochs. For the English it meant curbing the power of the monarchy in the face of rising bourgeoisie culminating in the Glorious Revolution of 1688; for the French it meant the end of the exploitative Bourbons who directed the starving populace to eat cakes in the unavailability of bread; for the Americans it served as a philosophy to reject the authority of the British monarch and Parliament. the political moorings, liberalism has one thing in common which cuts across all epochs, property. Right to acquire property and its perpetuation has been the cornerstone of liberal creed. In other words, it has tried to sober the acquisitive nature of humans under the euphemism of wealth of nations, absolving the process of accumulation of its vices. This subterfuge had its egregious intertwining with politics resulting in modern liberal democracies operating under the exploitative hood of capitalism. The citizens of such systems enjoyed the fruit of a tree over which the snake hung. Barring the low hanging fruits, any attempt to fetch the juiciest fruit, which lay atop, was met with a poisonous sting. Erstwhile liberals had their worst nightmares in the inter-war years which saw the rise of fascism as a force to reckon with in Europe. Contra the dominant view that the rise of fascism was fomented by the policy of appeasement followed by Britain, it was the conscious policy of the liberal capitalists in Britain to establish London as the finance capital of the world which led them to stay away from the dirt and muck of European politics. It was the same dirt in which the blood of the British youth flowed unabated for a period of five years. The post-war world order saw an even more rejuvenated liberal creed whose battered torso was supported by Keynesianism and permanent political hostility vis-a-vis the communist bloc. Generous funding by America of the western European states, perennial hostility of anything red and institution-building with special onus on structural adjustment norms characterised the liberal order on the other side of the iron curtain. All was good on the western front as the post-war economy accentuated massive growth in the liberal democracies, especially America and Britain until the economic policies of Keynes started losing their vigour by the 1970s. Former American judge Lewis Powell indicted state welfarism and circulated a secret memo to the US Chamber of Commerce calling for a new collective project which capital needed. He wrote, We in America already have moved very far indeed towards some aspects of state socialism, as the needs and complexities of a vast urban society requires types of regulations and control that were quite unnecessary in earlier times. In some areas, such regulation and control already have seriously impaired the freedom of both business and labour, and indeed of the public generally. The memo was received with great aplomb by both corporates and politicians. Initiated by the outgoing governments of Jimmy Carter in the US and Jim Callaghan in Britain the memo saw its full fruition under Reaganite America and Thatcherite Britain. The new beast came to be christened as neo-liberalism which was marked by massive privatisation of public services, tax cuts for the super-rich and pulverisation of trade unions. David Harvey points out that the American Supreme Court allowed reforms that treated financial emoluments on the part of corporates towards electoral campaigns as a form of free speech. The new ideology remained anonymous yet omnipresent as the liberals did not care much about both the wreckage it was causing and the semantic quibble around it. They went with the saccharine approval of the new creed under the name of freedom, democracy and human rights. This happened in blithe disregard of indigenous labour, whose jobs were jeopardised by the mobility of capital and its flight to low-wage countries which would fetch maximum profits. The system saturated in 2008 when the global economic system came to a standstill, courtesy speculative finance capital and credit bubble formed because of this. The bailout came from the state, not by printing more currencies, an erroneous policy practiced by governments under immense pressure, but from the state exchequer. The hard earned money of the people of America was used to finance bankrupt private banks and speculative institutions. Again the liberals had a cake walk by calling the crisis a tragic repeat of history and absolved themselves of any responsibility. backlash to this was political in nature. The workers, the middle class, small entrepreneurs and petty merchants organized, in not so progressive a manner, to select the most conservative from the menagerie which included Trump, May and more are to come. Failing to get returns of their hard-work and seeing their hard earned money go down the liberal gutter of bailouts and war, they elected people who promised good days no matter how racist, sexist and obnoxious their public personalities were. The failure to break away from the EU and the calls for a soft Brexit has showcased the systemic compulsions faced by Theresa May. However, the failure of the protectionist demagogues to deliver on their promises should not be a welcome call for the liberal agenda to fill the gap; rather a more progressive pro-labour agenda should be in the offing. If the majority of the society is allowed to bleed at the altar of liberalism which, in the words of George Monbiot, has meant freedom for the pike, not for the minnows, the disgruntled of the society would throw up many surprises not all of which would go down well with the liberals. The writer is Research Scholar, Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social Sciences, South Asian University, New Delhi. The New Year brings with it an unusual amount of questioning and uncertainty. The festive season is marked not so much by the customary sense of renewal as by the feeling that the times are unpredictable and full of challenge. Globally, the predominant consideration must be the impact of the impending change of incumbency in the US White House. Over the years, Obama became a valued interlocutor for India and developed relations of mutual respect and confidence with his successive counterparts in New Delhi, irrespective of party allegiance. The striking turnaround in Indian politics with Mr.Modi's electoral triumph had a strong impact within the nation but did not greatly affect the country's relations with the world, and the ties between India and the USA continued to develop and remain productive. Now, with the imminent advent of Mr. Trump, the balance has to be renewed and reshaped. It had seemed at one stage during the prolonged US election campaign that India-US relations could be affected by the populist rhetoric associated with Mr. Trump, especially his anti-immigrant attitudes, but adjustments of approach have already begun to take shape. Mr. Trump has begun to sound more like a mainstream US leader as he readies to move into the White House and his appointments of top officials in his Administration give much the same picture. It can thus be expected that the advances in India-US relations of the Obama era will essentially be maintained, and there is little present apprehension of any reduction of the important links developed in the days of the Obama Administration, including expanded ties in defence matters. Elsewhere, however, continuity may be interrupted and New Delhi may need to do some repair work. In recent months its very important relationship with Russia, on which India has always relied, has been under discussion as a result of some new Russian regional initiatives in South Asia. The hitherto limited relations between Russia and Pakistan have been significantly upgraded as a result of these two countries, along with China, entering into political consultations on the subject of Afghanistan. This is a consultation from which Afghanistan itself was excluded, to its considerable displeasure, and India too, among others of the contiguous countries, was not among those that took part. Another new development with substantial regional impact was the Russian decision to sell a certain amount of military equipment to Pakistan, something that has often been in the air but is now brought to implementation. The implications of these developments need careful assessment in the context of the long established structure of India-Russia relations. In this recent phase, India-China ties have also displayed some unwelcome features from India's point of view. Notwithstanding the considerable international dismay at the ambiguities of Pakistan's policy towards identified individuals and groups responsible for terrorist activities, of which India is the main target, China has not abated its support for men like the Jaish chief, Masood Azhar, and has successfully blocked action against him at the UN. China has also not agreed to the entry of India into the NSG (Nuclear Suppliers Group), which is an important Indian goal, and has insisted on linking Indian entry with that of Pakistan. Despite these setbacks, trade and economic relations between India and China have continued to prosper but their divergences on important global and regional matters need to be addressed. To be noted, too, is that the more active Chinese policy in Asia has brought it into closer proximity with regions where Indian interests are paramount, including its land and its maritime frontiers. These are matters that will need continued attention in the coming year and on into the future, as they have in the past. As ever, some of the most demanding issues for India lie in its immediate neighbourhood and must figure in any forward view for the coming year. Neighbouring Nepal has done much to come to terms with its internal problems but it remains divided and fractious, and its internal divisions encourage the kind of external initiatives that can create complications in its regional dealings. The basic understanding for India-Nepal bilateral relations is the 1950 treaty that confers important reciprocal benefits to the two countries, and provides the necessary assurance of security on the Himalayan frontier. On the other side of the mountain barrier is the rapidly advancing capacity of China whose plans and projects for closer linkages with the Himalayan states have economic and strategic implications that India has always found uncomfortable. Maintaining the security provided by the mountain ramparts requires constant updating of the close understanding that has always existed between India and Nepal, especially now when fresh challenges have taken shape. How to handle relations with Pakistan is the abiding issue for policy makers in New Delhi and the new year comes at a time of particular stress in this always strained relationship. Repeated terror attacks on India from across the border have triggered demands for an active response, which can have dangerous consequences. Throughout the previous year, the border has been unquiet and there is nothing to suggest any significant change in the coming year ~ if anything, the rhetorical exchanges have become more strident and less compromising. Yet even in the midst of the high decibel exchanges there are moments of easing up and abated hostility ~ one such was provided by PM Modi when just a few days ago he sent a word of birthday greetings to his counterpart Mr. Nawaz Sharif. Though neither side has made much of this gesture, it is nevertheless a reminder of what could become possible if proper conditions existed. This year, as in every previous year, ameliorating this bilateral relationship cannot but be near the forefront of the foreign policy challenges before the country. There are many other issues to be faced, familiar ones in the main that continue to demand attention. What is to be noted is that matters are in a flux and some of the normal assumptions that have guided foreign policy for so long may require readjustment. Major global players are shifting ground, established partnerships have come under question, and new leaders have emerged who may put a different stamp on events. In these circumstances the MEA establishment will need to hone its professional skills and come up with innovative answers to keep abreast of the new situation. MEA has been in some sort of eclipse in recent times, overshadowed as it is by a flamboyant top leadership. But in the coming months what is needed is the re-emergence of a weighty MEA to provide the solid professional advice needed to face the mounting challenges ahead. The writer is Indias former Foreign Secretary. Film: Assassin's Creed Director: Justin Kurzel Cast: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Charlotte Rampling, Michael K. Williams, Ariane Labed, Callum Turner, Brendan Gleeson, Essie Davis, Denis Menochet With a tired, tried and over abused premise of finding peace among humanity, "Assassin's Creed" is an original story that expands the series' mythology. Oscillating between the Spanish Inquisition circa 1492 and the present, it is an action-adventure film based on the video game franchise of the same name. The tale follows a convicted criminal, Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender), who is executed and brought back to life, by a group of people who are the modern day incarnation of the Templar Order. From them, he learns that he is a descendant of a secret order of the Assassins, who are protecting the Apple of Eden, which implanted the first sin, in order to subjugate the human race. The Assassins and the Templars have been at war for centuries and they have captured Callum in order to find the whereabouts of the Apple. They do this by connecting Callum to a machine that allows him to go back in time and revive his memories. The plot smoothly oscillates between the past and the present, giving the film a spectacular blend of a period epic and a modern day sci-fi film. It is a cool film that is moderately engaging but offers nothing exceptional. In fact, during the first two acts, the narrative propels with force, but during the last act it loses momentum and simply seems to disintegrate, leaving you unsatisfied. As for the performances of the ace cast, one does not invest in them, simply because this is an action oriented film. And, the film does offer adrenaline packed action sequences, which over a period of time tend to be mechanical. Nevertheless, the film is Michael Fassbender's canvas and he shines as Callum Lynch and the moody sullen warrior Aguilar de Nerha. Visually the film is stylishly designed and aesthetically shot. Production Designer Andy Nicholson and Costume Designer Sammy Sheldon Differ eloquently reproduce the two distinct settings, which are efficiently captured by Cinematographer Adam Arkapaw's lens. His frames especially the aerial shots are worth a mention. Also his live action shots seamlessly merge with the computer generated images. The background score by composer Jed Kurzel elevates the viewing experience, especially during the action sequences the roof top chases, when Callum escapes the Templars. The bells chiming in the background add that extra chutzpah to the traditionally orchestrated score. The editing by Christopher Tellefen is razor sharp and seamless. The transitions back and forth between the two eras are exquisite. Overall, the film is visually impressive but fails to excite even the fans of the video games. China has tightened border rules in Tibet, extending the already stringent rules to ports, trade zones and scenic spots, citing growing incidence of "separatist and terrorist activities" amid efforts to make the remote Himalayan region South Asia's trade hub. The designated border areas under Sunday's new regulation now include land ports, trade zones and scenic spots, expanding the scope of the old regulation that has been in effect since 2000, state-run Global Times reported late on Monday. As Tibet further opens up with fast economic development, border areas have witnessed more disputes and diverse criminal activities, including those involving separatism, illegal migration and terrorism, the report quoted Badro, deputy head of the Tibet border police, as saying. It also quoted Wang Chunhuan, deputy director of the Theoretical Marxism Institute of the Tibet Academy of Social Sciences (TASS) who backed the amendment, explaining what the update in rules meant. "The update of border regulation provides a legal foundation to combat potential terrorist activities in the future brought by the further opening-up of Tibet as the Belt and Road initiative has positioned Tibet as a gateway to South Asia, even though the border areas do not face severe terrorist challenges at present in general," Wang said. The new regulations came as China is trying to make Tibet a hub for trade and transport to South Asia through Nepal with road and rail connectivity. While the previous pro-China Nepalese Prime Minister, K P Sharma Oli, had signed a transit trade deal with Beijing in March last year to counter Nepal's dependence on India, his successor Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda is under pressure to implement the deals. China also agreed his request to build a strategic railway link between the two countries from Gyirong, the last Tibetan county which shares border with Nepal. China plans to extend the railway later to India and other South Asian countries to promote trade. Last month, China formally launched a rail and road cargo service linking Tibet and Nepal with dozens of trucks carrying USD 2.8 million worth of goods. Tibetan refugees have been alleging that Nepal is cracking down hard on the Tibetans leaving the Himalayan region to visit the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala. Official reports say that Tibet economy is booming. Tibet reported a total trade volume of more than 5.66 billion yuan (USD 815 million) in 2015, engaging in bilateral trade with 77 countries and regions including with India through the border point in Sikkim, the Global Times report said. It also received more than 23 million tourists last year, a 15 per cent year on year increase, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today. By Mayuresh Ganapatye: Congress has up its ante against Shiv Sena for BMC election 2017. Uddhav Thackery led Shiv Sena is ruling BMC since last one decade. For this election now every party is trying their hard reach out to maximum voters and woo their traditional voters. But this time Congress will try to snatch Shiv Sena's Traditional voters from Konkan. advertisement Konkani voters are considere as backbone of Shiv Sena. Except for Shiv Sena no other party has tap them so-far. Thus, Congress MLA from Konkan Nitesh Rane has come up with a plan to divert these votes to Congress this time. He submitted his Proposal to Mumbai Congress Chief who has given him a green Singal for this. "There are more than 100 wards where Kokani Community plays direct or indirect role in win, though they are traditional Shiv Sena vote bank but we would try to convince them and show them How Congress has worked for their relatives in Konkan region." Said Nitesh Rane, Congress MLA from Sindhudurg. Mumbai Congress has identified few important wards where the Konkani community voters are in large scale. Nitesh Rane will be conducting mohalla meetings in these areas. Also, Nitesh will carry out big convention of Konkani community where local body leaders from Sindhudurg will come to Mumbai and convince Konkani Community voters of Mumbai for BMC elections. "I have given immediate approval for plan of Nitesh Rane to tap Konkani Community for BMC election. Congress is everyone's party. We all are working on this front." Said Sanjay Nirupam, Mumbai Congress Chief. --- ENDS --- An Indian chief executive of a forex trading company in Dubai who promised to double investors' money was arrested for suspected fraud, authorities said. Sydney Lemos, 36, from Goa was the owner of Exential, a forex trading company here and was behind the failed Dh50 million ($13.6 million) foreign exchange scheme, the National daily reported. His company was closed by the Department for Economic Development in July last year. The daily said his clients lost money after his firm failed to pay out after promising 100 per cent returns on a Dh91,800 ($25,000) investment. Legal experts issued new warnings to potential investors after Lemos circulated an email encouraging new investment in an "advisory service", trading under the Exential banner. Lemos was arrested on December 21, said a spokesman for Carlton Huxley, British fraud investigation specialists who were working with a law firm to recover funds. "We are working with various authorities both inside and outside Dubai, and looking at the alleged laundering of more than Dh50 million by one individual," the daily quoted a Carlton Huxley spokesman as saying. Exential has earlier claimed that delays in processing investors' funds were due to anti-money laundering and compliance investigations in Australia, according to the report. John Rynne, a Carlton Huxley director and former senior officer with the Metropolitan Police in London, warned people about investing in schemes they know little about. Israeli police have questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for nearly three hours on suspicion of graft after the Attorney General said that the police had gathered enough evidence against him as a "possible criminal suspect". The police investigating team questioned 67-year-old Netanyahu last evening over suspicion that he and his family members received illicit gifts and other favours from businessmen running into hundreds of thousands of dollars. Netanyahu has strongly denied all allegations against him. The prime minister also tried to play down the development telling his critics, "don't celebrate yet", hours before he was to be questioned. "Nothing will come (of this investigation) and you will continue to spew out hot air," Netanyahu had said mockingly. A statement issued by Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit said that police found enough evidence to support the questioning of the premier as a possible criminal suspect. The decision to question Netanyahu was made in light of evidence collected in the past month, Mendelblit said. The new development "changed the evidentiary situation," the Attorney General said adding that it warranted a full-blown investigation, as opposed to a preliminary inquiry, on the prime minister. The statement chronicled the inquiry but did not provide details as of the nature suspicions in the graft case. The police has been examining "a long list of claims" against the PM since July, the Attorney General said. "The inquiry developed and branched out in directions different from the ones that initially launched it," he said. The statement also detailed suspicions that were raised against Netanyahu but had been since dropped. Additional information would be released to the public pending the development of the investigation, the AG added. Israel police has interrogated witnesses abroad as well as in Israel about the graft case against Netanyahu and his family. One witness whose deposition, as per media reports, led to a breakthrough was Jewish American businessman Ron Lauder, a longtime friend of Netanyahu's. Lauder confirmed to police that he had given Netanyahu various gifts, including a suit, and that he had also financed a trip abroad for the prime minister's son, Yair. The police believe the value of the gifts Lauder gave Netanyahu is greater than what he admitted to and that they were not given in friendship, but in hopes of gaining some benefit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said there was a need to develop the concept of "scientific social responsibility" to connect leading institutions to all stake holders. Speaking at the inauguration of the Indian Science Congress, the Prime Minister also said that research needed to be strenghtneded in line with international standards. "On the lines of Corporate Social Responsibility, concept of Scientific Social Responsibility needs to be inculcated to connect our leading institutions to all stake holders, including schools and colleges," Modi said. "Our best science and technology institutions should further strengthen their basic research in line with leading global standards Translating this basic knowledge into innovations, start-ups and industry will help us achieve inclusive and sustainable growth," he said. The Prime Minister said that by 2030, India would be among the top three countries in science and technology. "Science must meet the rising aspirations of the people." The new UN secretary-general says he's "no miracle maker" but Antonio Guterres has big ambitions: He wants to shake up the global body and get all 193 member nations to come together to solve the "terrible problems" the world is facing. Speaking on his first day at UN headquarters after taking the organization's reins from Ban Ki-moon, Guterres said on Tuesday that conflicts are multiplying and interlinked and have triggered "global terrorism." He said there are also massive human rights violations and growing inequalities that spark revolt, anger and instability. The former Portuguese prime minister and UN refugee chief said "only global solutions can address global problems, and the UN is the cornerstone of that multilateral approach." But Guterres said this belief isn't shared by many people around the world. President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday greeted the people and the government of Myanmar on the eve of the country's Independence Day. Extending warm greetings and felicitation to the people of Myanmar and President U Htin Kyaw, Mukherjee in a message said: "India and Myanmar cherish our long standing close and friendly relations." "I warmly recall your visit to India in August 2016 when we reviewed our bilateral relationship and jointly identified the areas of shared interest where we would like to strengthen our cooperation to our mutual benefit." The President said he was confident that their "efforts will meet with success and contribute to the realisation of our respective developmental goals". Myanmar attained freedom from the British colonial rule on January 4, 1948 and became an independent republic. A wheelchair-bound Algerian "militant" with alleged links to Al Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden on Tuesday won a 21-year legal battle to stay in Britain, the media reported. A judge ruled that the threat of deportation had been bad for the mental health of the man, known only as 'G', The Telegraph said. The government had repeatedly tried to expel G', accusing him of helping to send young British Muslims abroad to train as jihadists. The man had lost two previous appeals against deportation but human rights laws prevented his deportation to Algeria. However, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission has now found that the man no longer poses a risk to national security in Britain. The ruling was another blow for Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who lost a series of court cases involving the deportation of suspected terrorists last year. A Home Office spokesperson told the Telegraph that the government was now considering other options. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. National Restaurant Association of India recently issued a statement saying that the restaurants will provide policies giving the consumer to choose whether to go for services or not. By Ashutosh Mishra: The inclusion of service charge in a restaurant bill was a common and accepted practice, and was recognised by various concerned Central/State Government departments in various communications and public announcements. To calculate the total invoice value on which taxes are to be levied, service charge was a mandate. There were even judicial pronouncements to support that 'service charge' can be charged by hotels and restaurants. advertisement The same has been upheld by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, in Nitin Mittal vs. Pind Baluchi, (2012) NCDRC 444; by Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Commission, New Delhi (MRTP) in 2001; and Judgments passed by Hon'ble Supreme Court in the cases of Wenger & Company and others Vs. Their Workmen (1963) and Ram Bagh Palace Hotel, Jaipur Vs. The Rajasthan Hotel Workers Union, Jaipur (1976). NRAI issues a statement saying, "It is a matter of policy for a restaurant to decide if service charge is to be levied or not. Information regarding amount of service charge must be clearly mentioned/displayed by restaurants on their menu cards, so that customers are well aware of the charge before availing the services and can use their discretion of not using the facility offered by the restaurant." --- ENDS --- 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 ... By PTI: Islamabad, Dec 31 (PTI) Pakistan would hand over a dossier on alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav and evidence of attempted violation of maritime boundary by an Indian submarine to incoming UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday, his first working day after assuming office. Pakistans Permanent UN representative Maleeha Lodhi will officially pass on the dossier to Guterres at the UN headquarters in New York, Dawn reported, citing officials. advertisement "Soon after assuming office incoming UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will get a feel of Pak-India rivalry as Islamabad is set to raise the issue of Indian interference with him," the paper said. Pakistan claims that Jadhav, an Indian navy officer and an alleged operative of Indias intelligence agency RAW, was caught by its security forces earlier this year. His capture was announced in March and was flaunted by military as "proof of Indian interference and state-sponsored terrorism". The government, which had pledged to expose alleged Indian hand in terrorism in Pakistan, domestically faced a lot of criticism for the delay in presenting to the international community evidence of Jadhav?s alleged involvement in subversive activities. Responding to criticism in the Senate, Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz had on December 7 said that "insufficient material" had been delaying the finalisation of the dossier. "It is not that material has been provided and it?s lacking in English and we are overcoming it. The (provided) material, in our view, was insufficient," Aziz had told a meeting of the Senate Committee of the Whole House. "The required additional information" has now been made available and the dossier has been completed, the paper said, citing the officials. The officials did not share the specifics, but said it would contain proofs that India was allegedly patronising terrorism in Pakistan. The new UN chief would also be informed about the attempt by an Indian submarine to "intrude into Pakistani waters before it was spotted and forced to abandon the mission", the paper said. The submarine incident, which happened last month, coincided with the fourth Pak-China joint naval exercise for promoting maritime security and stability in the region and the start of shipping activity under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor from Gwadar. Lodhi had in October 2015 presented three dossiers to the then secretary general Ban Ki-moon, which were said to be containing proofs of alleged Indian interference in Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Karachi. But, the move did not get much traction. When the attention of the officials was invited to the "credibility deficit" that Pakistan internationally faces, they expressed the hope that the UN would look into the fresh evidence that would be placed before it. PTI SH ZH --- ENDS --- advertisement Seeing the Northern Lights in all of their rainbow glory in Norway is a true wonder. With new adventure travel app Envago we are offering you the chance to win a visit for two people to see the lights, known as Aurora after the Roman goddess of dawn. You will visit the Dankarvagvatn Nature Reserve, visit a traditional Sami village as you join in with a Sami folk song known as a Joik and taste Bidos, a traditional stew in the cosy surroundings of a Lavvu tent. Then, travel by Sami reindeer sled to see the fabled lights. This is one adventure experience not to be missed! Accommodation in Norway, and flights to Norway are not included. Read full Terms & Conditions here. To enter, simply fill in the form below: This competition has now ended. To be informed of future competitions and prize draws, sign up to our Newsletter. For adventures across the globe, from paragliding in Nepal to trekking in the jungle in Venezuela, white water rafting in Croatia or seeing the endangered mountain gorillas of Uganda, follow Envago on Facebook on Twitter and on Instagram, and dont forget to download Envago app for free! Job Title: Field Associate Organisation: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Position No.: 10026807 Vacancy Notice: 33/2016 Reports to: Protection Officer ProtectionOfficer Duty Station: Uganda Post Grade: GL6 About UNHCR: The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. UNHCRs mandate under the Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is to lead and co-ordinate action for international protection to refugees; seek permanent solutions for the problems of refugees and safeguard refugee rights and well-being. UNHCR has an additional mandate concerning issues of statelessness, as it is given a designated role under Article 11 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Job Summary: The Field Associate will be responsible for supporting all activities related to registration, which will also include functions related to reception, filing and data management. The incumbent will provide counselling to, and responds to queries from, asylum seekers and refugees regarding UNHCRs registration procedures and their rights and entitlements. S/he will liaise closely with protection staff and partners to ensure timely identification and referral of persons of concern for protection follow up. The Field Associate will assist in compiling and analyzing information related to registration activities in the operation. The Field Associate will provide interpretation and/or translation services in cases for which s/he has the required language competencies. Responsibilities: Key Duties andResponsibilities: Offer support in the implementation of registration strategies and methodologies for populations of concern. Carry out registration interviews when required in accordance with registration standards and guidance. Provide counselling to, and responds to queries from, asylum seekers and refugees regarding UNHCRs registration procedures and their rights and entitlements. Maintain accurate and up-to date records and data related to all individual registration cases. Identify persons with specific needs and ensure timely referral to protection follow-up as required. Collaborate with protection staff and/or partners in the delivery of assistance and programming, including provision of identity and entitlement documentation. Draft correspondence and reports relating to registration activities in the operation, when required Provide statistics and draft reports related to registration data, as requested. Act as interpreter and translator when needed. Perform other related duties as required. Key Performance Indicators: UNHCRs Registration Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are implemented in accordance with relevant UNHCR standards and policies. Persons of concern have fair and transparent access to registration procedures. Experience: Qualifications, Skills andExperience: The ideal candidate for the United Nations UNHCR Field Associate job placement should have secondary education with post-secondary training/certificate in Social science, Statistics, Mathematics, Information Technology, or related fields. At least five years of related job experience. Good computer skills, particularly in data management. Excellent knowledge of English and local language. How to Apply: All interested Ugandan nationals who wish to join the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the aforementioned capacity are encouraged to click on the link below and follow the application instructions after reviewing the job details. th January, 2017 Deadline: 8January, 2017 Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi along with former PM Manmohan Singh will also be visiting Patna for the celebrations on January 4. By Rohit Kumar Singh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Patna on January 5 to participate in the 350th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Gobind Singhji or Prakash Utsav. The PM's visit comes amid a heightened threat from Khalistani terror groups. The 15-member team of Special Protection Group (SPG) - the elite security force has already reached Patna and carrying out security drill for the high profile visit. advertisement SERIAL BOMB BLASTS WELCOMED MODI AT GANDHI MAIDAN IN 2013 The prime minister will be spending three hours in the state capital during which he will be visiting the Gandhi Maidan where the holy book of the Sikhs, Guru Granth Sahib, has been kept. The last time Modi visited Gandhi Maidain on October 27, 2013, for Lok Sabha poll campaign, there where series of bomb explosions triggered by Indian Mujahideen terrorists. Five people were killed and over 80 injured in the blasts. MASSIVE SECURITY DEPLOYMENT FOR MODI'S VISIT According to details, massive security deployment has been planned with all 40 high-rise building around Gandhi Maidan having being scanned. Approximately, 1500 police personnel will be providing an elaborate security cover to the PM when he will be in Patna. Sniffer dogs and bomb disposal squads have already been deployed at Gandhi Maidan. In fact, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has also reviewed the arrangements at the sprawling venue. Meanwhile, 23 police personnel have been suspended for remaining absent from duty during Prakash Utsav. They were from different districts of the state and were called in Patna for providing security during Prakash Utsav. HEIGHTENED TERROR THREAT What makes PM's visit even more important from security point of view is that five Khalistani terrorists had escaped from Nabha jail in Punjab last month. Out of these five men only Khalistani Liberation Front chief Harminder Singh Mintoo has been arrested so far. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi along with former PM Manmohan Singh will also be visiting Patna for the celebrations on January 4. ALSO READ: --- ENDS --- The Narendra Modi-led government will present the Union budget 2017-18 on February 1, with the budget session of parliament beginning on January 31. Though the prime minister had announced sops for farmers and traders on the eve of New Year, more relief packages are likely in the budget as it comes ahead of the assembly elections in five states, including Uttar Pradesh. There are indications that this session would also have its share of fireworks as the Opposition will demand explanation from the government on demonetisation and the corruption charges raised by Rahul Gandhi against the prime minister. The arrest of two Trinamool MPs is also likely to set off another round of slugfest between the treasury and the opposition benches. As preparations for elections will be in full swing, the first part of the session will run only till February 9. The session will reconvene after the elections are over. The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs led by Home Minister Rajnath Singh met here on Tuesday. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also attended the meeting. The committee recommended holding of the budget session from January 31 when the government is likely to table the Economy Survey, followed by the Union Budget on February 1. The recommendations were sent to President Pranab Mukherjee. What will make this session unique is that there will be no separate railway budget. Allocations for the railways will be made like any other infrastructure ministry. This will be Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's fourth annual budget and corridors of power are abuzz with talk of more income tax rebates and greater sops for the farmers and the poor. Actress Deepika Padukone on Tuesday confirmed that her "xXx: Return of the Xander Cage" co-star Vin Diesel will visit India on January 12. The 30-year-old star, who will mark her Hollywood debut with "xXx: Return of the Xander Cage", shared the news on Twitter, by posting a special message to Diesel in Hindi. "Vin, India is eagerly waiting for you. See you soon on January 12 and 13. Lots of love," she wrote alongside the poster of the film. Directed by D.J. Caruso, the action-thriller will hit Indian theatres on January 14. Deepika is in the role of a huntress, Serena Unger in the film, that also stars Donnie Yen, Nina Dobrev, Ruby Rose and Samuel L Jackson. The actress earlier said she was proud to represent her country in the Hollywood franchise. "I am very excited. This is my Hollywood debut. I am very, very nervous, but also excited. Today is the beginning of that journey. I feel very proud that I get to represent my country especially in this kind of an action franchise film." CBI, on Tuesday, arrested Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay in Rose Valley chit fund scam, which rocked West Bengal in 2014. A furious Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal, declared that she would launch a major agitation against the vindictive policies of Narendra Modi. She called all her MPs to a meeting to decide on future course of action. Post the incident, violence broke out across Bengal TMC members entered BJP party office and threw stones at the activists. BJP workers retaliated with lathis. "Arrest Narendra Modi and Amit Shah," Mamata said, after the arrest. "Who paid for his Rs 10 crore suit?" she said. CBI claimed that they had enough evidence to prove that Bandyopadhyay, a former minister of UPA government, took money from Rose Valley group, another big defunct chit fund company like Saradha group. They had, last year, arrested Gautam Kundu, the emperor of Rose Valley group, which had businesses scattered across the West Bengal, Tripura, Bihar, Odisha and Kerala. Bandyopadhyay, reportedly, was very close to Kundu and took money from him on many occasions. A furious Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal, declared that she would launch a major agitation against the vindictive policies of Narendra Modi. She called all her MPs to a meeting to decide on future course of action. Bandyopadhyas arrests come days after the arrest of another MP, Tapas Paul, a former screen star of Bengali movie. All you need to Ram Gopal Yadav, the senior Samajwadi Party leader who was sacked thrice and was accused of indulging in anti-party activities. By India Today Web Desk: In the ongoing feud between UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Gopal Yadav is backing the former and has been sacked from the party, accusing him of indulging in anti-party activities. Ram Gopal Yadav, has said to have met the Election Commission to claim the Samajwadi Party's 'Cycle Symbol'. advertisement Here's all you need to know about the senior SP leader, now dubbed the 'architect of the Samajwadi Party coup'. A Rajya Sabha member, representing the Samajwadi Party, 71-year-old Ram Gopal Yadav was born in Uttar Pradesh's district of Itawah. One of the main leaders of the Samajwadi Party, Ram Gopal Yadav is Mulayam Singh Yadav's cousin and one of the key decision makers. Yadav studied physics and political sciences, and did his PhD from Agra. He worked as a lecturer in a college from 1969 to 1994 and then became the headmaster of Chaudhary Charan degree college in Itawah. POLITICAL CAREER Yadav began his career by getting elected in the Rajya Sabha election in 1992 and became a member of Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests. Also read: Ram Gopal Yadav may be sacrificed at altar of SP's family feud After winning in 2008 Rajya Sabha election, he became a member of the Human Resource Development, the Official Languages Committee, the Science and Technology Committee, and the Rural Development Committee. PLACE IN SAMAJWADI PARTY Ram Gopal Yadav is one of key decision makers of the party and makes important organisational appointments, picks tickets probables and recently disallowed the party's entry into the Bihar Mahagathbandhan. His unquestionable loyalty to UP CM Akhilesh Yadav recently got him sacked from the party. Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav decided to expel his son Akhilesh Yadav and his cousin Ram Gopal Yadav for six years after Ram Gopal called an "emergency national convention" of the party on January 1. The convention was called after a rift in the party over the list of candidates finalised by Mulayam Singh for assembly polls. Also read: Ram Gopal Yadav says Expulsion is totally unconstitutional Akhilesh Yadav was also anointed the Samajwadi Party's national president at the convention. In fact, Shivpal Yadav was 'sacked' as UP's Samajwadi Party Chief and Amar Singh was 'expelled' from the party. Ramgopal Yadav, in his speech, said that Shivpal Yadav had been misleading Mulayam while making wrong decisions. advertisement During the convention, several decisions were announced but Mulayam Singh termed these "unconstitutional" and dismissed Akhilesh and Ram Gopal from the party for six years. SACKED THRICE Till now, Yadav has been expelled thrice from the party. In October 2016, state president of Samajwadi Party Shivpal Singh Yadav had sacked him. Shivpal Singh Yadav, Mulayam's brother, also accused Ram Gopal for working in collusion with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to weaken the party. Mulayam Singh himself accused Ram Gopal of indulging in anti-party activities. --- ENDS --- Furious over his party leader's arrest, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanded jail for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for Gujarat riots. By Indrajit Kundu: Dozens of Trinamool Congress workers attacked BJP office in Kolkata today moments after party MP Sudip Bandopadhyay was arrested by the CBI in connection to the multicrore Rose Valley chit fund scam. Bandopadhyay was grilled for over four hours in Kolkata before his arrest by the central investigation agency. Furious over his party leader's arrest, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanded jail for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for Gujarat riots. advertisement "We strongly condemn the political vindictive attitude of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. For no reasons arrests have been made. Only reason is note bandi. We will be with the people. This is not only financial emergency. This is full-fledged emergency," Mamata said in a series of tweets. She also met top party leaders after Bandopadhyay's arrest. Trinamool is said to be planning to launch protests against the MPs arrest. HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED He appeared before the CBI today in Kolkata for questioning in connection to the multi-crore Rose Valley chit fund scam. Bandopadhyay had been sent three notices by the central agency following which the MP finally decided to face questioning this week. Sudip Bandopadhyay's questioning comes just a week after another TMC MP Tapas Pal was arrested by CBI for questioning in the same case. TMC has termed the sudden CBI action as political vendetta due to the party's vehement opposition to the Modi government's demonetisation drive. Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has stated that she already has a "list" of those who the central agency will be targeting next. The CBI is probing the multicrore chit fund after the Supreme Court's direction. Earlier, TMC MP's Kunal Ghosh and Srinjoy Bose alongwith heavyweight minister Madan Mitra have been arrested in connection to the chit fund scam in West Bengal. Watch: Arrest PM Modi, Amit Shah for Gujarat riots: Mamata after TMC leader held in chit fund scam Also read: Chit-fund scam: TMC MP Sudip Bandopadhyay being questioned by CBI Tapas Pal pleads innocence, says Babul Supriyo involved in Rose Valley Chit fund scam --- ENDS --- The verdict is scheduled to be announced on Wednesday 6 Teves in the manslaughter trial of IDF soldier Sgt. Elor Azariya, who shot a wounded Arab terrorist dead in Hebron on Purim. The prosecution is weighing options. If convicted, it will likely request immediate imprisonment and not permit him to wait until sentencing next month. The verdict will not be announced in the Jaffa Military Court where the case was tried but in a Tel Aviv court located in the Kirya, the Defense Ministry. It is explained this is simply to permit accommodating more people than the Jaffa court can accommodate. At present the soldier is under house arrest in a Petach Tikvah base and the prosecution may ask to have him returned to jail prior to the sentencing on Wednesday. Elors attorneys this week called on Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman to order a probe in the handling of the case, including leaks to the media by military officials. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Bayit Yehudi party leader Minister Naftali Bennet is confident the nation needs to move forward and annex Maale Adumim, a move that he is certain will prevent the establishment of the State of Palestine. Bennet on Sunday night the eve of four Teves spoke of the cabinets new plan for the return of the bodies of Lt. Hadar Goldin HYD and Sgt. Shaul Oren HYD, whose bodies were snatched in Gaza during fighting in the summer of 2014. He explained Israel will not return the bodies of slain Hamas terrorists but they will be buried in Israels cemetery for terrorists until such time Hamas releases the bodies. When asked about his statement, he stated the cabinet accepted this policy unanimously, but he would not reveal additional information. When asked about his calls to annex Maale Adumim, he explained this is a window of opportunity, perhaps the last opportunity to prevent the establishment of Palestine. This begins with annexing Maale Adumim. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) The Psychotrauma Unit of United Hatzalah, which provides stabilization care for people who have undergone a traumatic experience or who were at the scene of a traumatic experience, is setting the stage to incorporate between 150 to 175 new psychological caregivers in the coming year. Having opened a new course last week, 30 additional psychologists and social workers will be joining the Unit upon graduation. The leadership of the Unit, headed by Director Miriam Ballin, and team leaders Rickie Rabinowitz, and Avi Steinhartz, is gearing up to increase the total number of caregivers by a factor of 5 in the next twelve months. What once started out as a dream, has now become the cutting edge of emergency psychological response, said Raphael Poch, the International Spokesperson of United Hatzalah. Last night, 8 members of the Unit provided on-scene treatment at the house fire in Jerusalem, which claimed the lives of a mother and her four children. http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/505978/the-family-from-the-jerusalem-fire-moved-to-israel-from-france-.html Volunteer responders, all of whom are trained psychologists or social workers, provided psychological stabilization for the father of the children, as well as both sets of grandparents, concerned and traumatized neighbors, and friends of the family. Our team was on scene for hours after the emergency medical and fire and rescue teams had departed. When the social workers of the city of Jerusalem arrived sometime after the event, our team was still on site and working with those affected by the tragic event. Also responding to the incident last night was Dr. Gary Quinn, a Psychiatrist and the Director of the Jerusalem EMDR Institute, and one of the founders and instructors of the Psychotrauma Unit. Dr. Quinn specializes in Crisis Intervention, the treatment of Anxiety and Depressive Disorders, and the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Upon Dr. Quinns arrival, responders as well as city social workers deferred to his expertise and proceeded to work together to provide as much relief and stabilization as they could for those who needed it. Following the incident, the psychotrauma team also provided emotional and psychological debriefs for the EMTs, paramedics, and doctors who responded to the call and had to pronounce the death of the mother and her children. We arrange for proper debriefs for all first responders after traumatic calls like this one, said Ballin. United Hatzalahs Psychotrauma Unit was officially inaugurated at the end of May 2016, and it has become one of the innovative units in emergency medicine. In addition to the brand new course, the Psychotrauma Unit will be opening a course for 100 EMTs who are already active within the organization. By undertaking a specialized psychotrauma enrichment course, these EMTs will be allowed to operate under the auspices of the unit when they treat patients at traumatic scenes. These EMTs and professionals will join the already existing unit of some 30 volunteers in providing psychological stabilization and treatment in the field at any scene that requires their presence, which can include incidents of crib death, suicide, the sudden death of a family member, severe car accidents and even terror attacks. People need help in coping with the trauma of especially stressful situations, said Ballin, that is where we come in. We help the people on-site and we stabilize them so that they can deal with the situation on hand all while receiving support by specially trained psychological caregivers. In addition to initiating the project and creating an educational curriculum for future volunteers, Ballin recently submitted a list of official protocols in compliance with their mandates to Israels Health Ministry in order to have the Unit officially recognized as Emergency Psychological Services (EPS), which will operate in tandem with EMS agencies already in place in Israel. We work hand-in-hand with the emergency services that arrive at the scene, Ballin explained. Police, Fire and Rescue services, and EMS services all look to us to handle people on scene that go into psychological shock, as well as bystanders who have difficulty dealing with the trauma at hand. We have been called many times to a variety of scenes including large scale terror attacks and teenage suicides. Our main challenge now is being able to send volunteers to cities that are far away from our main area of operations, which is Jerusalem and the central region of Israel. To deal with that challenge, the organization opened a new course that caters to psychologists from around the country. We have people from all over, some even from as far north as Safed come to Jerusalem or Tel Aviv to take the course, Ballin said. Between the new course graduates and the 100 EMTs, the Unit hopes to expand to 175 caregivers in the next calendar year from its current total of 30. We want to make a big impact and treat as many people as we can, no matter how far away they are. So, we are training local people in their area, added Ballin, who works as a family therapist and has stopped accepting new clients so that she could dedicate more time to the development of the Unit. Another challenge that the unit faces is the re-education of the psychologists and social workers to avoid their regular professional practices of finding a long-term solution to problems in favor of an immediate here-and-now treatment. Ballin feels confident that this adjustment will happen during the course. We are moving our professional practitioners away from the long-term approach and engaging them to use their experience to make quick decisions regarding the proper stabilization of psychological trauma patients in a heartbeat. A perfect example of this is the use of comforting touches. In the professional sphere, practitioners are not allowed to touch their clients. In the emergency sphere, however, this possibility needs to be explored under the correct procedures and circumstances in order to both ground and comfort the patient, as words often are not enough to stabilize someone who has just experienced a high-stress or severely traumatic incident. Having responded to dozens of calls per month, Ballin hopes to use that experience to better educate and prepare the next wave of volunteers in the unit. We have a wealth of new knowledge that comes from hands-on experience. One of the things that we are looking to do is to create a two-tiered system of care, similar to what exists in the EMS world with advanced lifesaving (ALS), provided by doctors and paramedics, whereas basic lifesaving procedures (BLS) are provided by EMTs. The new additions to the Psychotrauma Unit will enable the unit to work using the same model. EMTs who are undergoing the training will be providing the lower tier of treatment, the psychological BLS, while the professional practitioners who are undertaking the full training course will be providing the psychological ALS. Ballin explained that one of the differences between the two levels will be the ability to conduct a mass debrief for first responders who have returned from treating patients at a particularly traumatic medical incident, such as the one that occurred last night. That type of debriefing will be conducted by the Psychotrauma ALS team. Ballin said that it is important to have an in-house address for any first responder to turn to following a traumatic call. It is something that we have built up within our own organization, and it is open to any first responder from other organizations as well should they feel the need for immediate help following a traumatic call. Ballin also said that the Unit has put a strong emphasis on the idea of self-care for the volunteers who participate in the Unit. There is a lot of hard work ahead of us to really build this unit the way it should be built, but neither the leadership nor the volunteers in our unit have ever shied away from that before. That is, after all, what brings us here. The need to help people despite the difficult and daunting circumstances, Ballin concluded. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: United Hatzalah) Recent polls measuring the nations trust in state agencies have shown the IDF remains high on the list of agencies which are still respected and held in high regard. The Knesset on the other hand ranks low and continues to drop in the eyes of Israelis. This case may be yet another reason why Israelis are far from trusting when it comes to the Knesset. The Knesset Ethics Committee addressed the case of MK Basel Ghattas, who agreed to have his parliamentary immunity lifted, leading to his arrest for his role in smuggling cellular phones and SIM cards to imprisoned terrorists in Israels Ketziot Prison. As a result of the ongoing police investigation against him, he has been banned from Knesset plenum sessions for a half year but he will continue receiving his salary as an elected official. Ghattas was imprisoned for a number of days and then released to house arrest for six weeks. He was compelled to post NIS 50,000 bail and he is barred from leaving the country for 180 days. He is however permitted to continue participating in votes in Knesset while under house arrest and being investigated for smuggling cellular phones to imprisoned terrorists as per the Knesset Ethics Committee. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Former Jerusalem Mayor Rav Uri Lupoliansky is once again free to travel following a multi-year travel ban. The former mayor received his passport back from authorities which was confiscated in 2010 during the Holyland real estate trial. Lupoliansky used his new travel freedom to attend two New York City functions and was a honored speaker at an Agudas Yisrael function as well as the ceremony in which an honorary doctorate was bestowed upon Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. Since the Holyland case exploded the travel ban was in effect, prohibiting him and others from leaving the country. His passport was returned about a month ago after he completed six years of community service, his sentence in the case in which he was convicted of accepting bribes, a donation to enhance the shul in the Yad Sarah Building. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) The Histadrut national labor federation announced on Monday afternoon 4 Teves that on Wednesday, 6 Teves, Jerusalem bus service will halt beginning at 5:00AM for a one day warning strike. The labor union blames Egged management and the state for being irresponsible towards drivers. Histadrut leader Avi Nissankoren warns Egged is near collapse and it is sad that instead of strengthening the drivers who carry out their work dutifully, the opposite occurs. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) When Daniel Oritz moved to Israel from Venezuela recently, his first meal was a bowl of chicken soup. He took one spoonful and began to cry. For him, the soup signified an escape from the poverty and depravation he has experienced for more than two years. We were very hungry, he said. There was no meat, no sugar, no pasta. Venezuelas economic crisis is so severe that citizens must wait in lines for hours at grocery stores to buy basic staples, or pay exorbitant prices on the black market. Some have even died of basic illnesses because of a shortage of medical supplies. Tens of thousands have left the country, including a growing number of Venezuelan Jews who have relocated to Israel. The process is not easy because Israel and Venezuela do not have diplomatic ties. In 2009, following Israels war with Hamas in Gaza, then-President Hugo Chavez expelled the Israeli ambassador and his staff from Caracas. He aligned himself with the Palestinians, recognizing their right to statehood later that year, and developed relations with Iran, Israels nemesis. Official Israeli government figures show that 111 Venezuelan Jews made aliyah in 2015, more than double the number who arrived in 2012. And although final figures for 2016 are not in, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, a charity that works to bring Jews from distressed places to Israel, said it had helped about 90 people immigrate. Between 6,000 and 9,000 Jews remain in the country of 30 million. Organizations working to help Jews leave Venezuela, including the Jewish Agency for Israel, said they prefer not to talk about the process because it could endanger those who remain. We work outside of the Jewish community and under the radar, gathering information by word-of-mouth about Jews who are interested in moving to Israel, said an employee of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, speaking on the condition of anonymity because she shuttles between Israel and Venezuela on a regular basis. She said that in the past, Venezuelan Jews opted to move to the United States or Panama but that those places are too expensive because the economic crisis has devalued their property and other assets. Israel is really the only option for them, she said. Jews moving to Israel are entitled to a basket of benefits offered by the state, including greatly subsidized health care, free schooling, and discounts on apartment rentals and other goods. Anti-Semitism was widespread under Chavez and has continued since his death in 2013. Jewish groups estimate that about 20 percent of the 22,000 Jews who lived in the country when Chavez came to power have left. Last year, the U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League condemned a magazine for using anti-Semitic imagery on its cover that suggested the countrys economic problems were brought on by wealthy people of Israelite origin. For several years we have seen anti-Semitic accusations and themes appear in Venezuelan public discourse, said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, chief executive of the ADL, responding to the magazines cover this past August. This shockingly graphic manifestation of anti-Semitic imagery on full display on Venezuelan newsstands is unacceptable and repulsive. Oritz, who grew up and emigrated from the city of San Cristobal, not far from the border with Colombia, said his family was victimized in a violent robbery just over a year ago. A band of armed men broke into his home, tied up the family and threatened to kill them if they fought back. They proceeded to take everything his family owned, including their car. Nothing was retrieved, and no one has been arrested for the crime. It was a harrowing experience, he said, one that he thinks brought on his mothers death a few months later. The attack pushed him to find a way out of the country and make his way to Israel. Oritz had been to Israel he immigrated in 2006 only to discover that his mother was sick, forcing him to return home. Over the years, he said, he yearned to move back. Now, the situation in Venezuela is so bad that he had no choice, he said. Once he is set up, he will bring his father, sister and their 5-year-old daughter. For Reisy Abramof, who also is Jewish and arrived in Israel on the same flight as Oritz, the political situation in Venezuela is surprising and alarming. It is very sad to see people queuing up for food and others dying in hospitals because there is no medicine, said Abramof, who is from Venezuelas third-largest city, Valencia. Her family could afford to buy goods on the black market at inflated prices. But Abramof, 29, who spent five years at college in the United States, said there is no future for young people in Venezuela. I feel hopeful in Israel; its a country filled with social innovation and opportunities, she said. I have already had a few job interviews, and now I need to learn the language. (c) 2017, The Washington Post Ruth Eglash A forward thinking yeshiva in Connecticut is hoping that an onsite helipad currently under construction will provide students with a wealth of opportunities that will allow them to maximize their potential during their high school years. Having recently moved from Waterbury, Connecticut to nearby Durham, the mesivta division of Yeshiva Ateres Shmuel has begun its first year on a sprawling campus that will provide students with numerous unique possibilities aimed at fostering growth both inside and outside a classroom setting. The helipad, which will bridge the 90 mile gap between the schools campus and New York City, is just one of many innovative ideas at Yeshiva Ateres Shmuel which has an unparalleled track record of inspiring students. Both prominent rabbonim and successful businessmen who are heavily involved in Jewish communal affairs will be flown out to Durham to address the student body and encourage talmidim in their personal growth as bnei Torah. Hosting guests of the highest caliber is expected to bring tremendous benefits to Ateres Shmuel students, boosting their self esteem while encouraging them to aim high during their crucial formative years. So many roshei yeshiva and askanim have already told me of their interest to come and spend the day at our new campus, said Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Ahron Kaufman. It shows the tremendous commitment that the community has to every boy in klal yisroel. In recent years 90 percent of the yeshivas graduates have gone on to spend at least one year learning in yeshiva in Eretz Yisroel. While many have continued on to kollel, others have returned home and embarked on productive careers. Having the ability to bring esteemed rabbonim and well known entrepreneurs who are dedicated to the Jewish community to the yeshiva is expected to give students an extra push to aim high as they prepare for their collective futures with a lifetime commitment to a solid Torah lifestyle. Many yeshivas today rely on the Waterbury Mesivtas innovative ways to inspire todays boys to become tomorrows leaders, said board member Mr. Yisroel Rabinowitz. We need to do all we can to keep our leadership in constant communication with these future leaders and future Bnei Torah, just one of the things we intend to do at the new Durham campus. Its all about keeping our talmidim connected. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) After the arrest of TMC MP Sudip Bandhopadhyay several details have emerged about the long-standing ties between TMC leaders and Rose Valley investments firm. Mamata Banerjee addressing media after the arrest of TMC MP Sudip Bandhopadhyay By Manogya Loiwal : A brand that became name to reckon with the TMC political party leaders has now got them behind the bars for the same. The company began to noticed since Trinamool Congress came to power in 2011 in its first ever win in the Assembly elections. Even though it existed for more than 18 years it became synonymous with everyone from top to the local leaders of the ruling party of the state. advertisement Here's what you need to know: The brand started with ponzi schemes promising huge returns for the investments that the people would make in the schemes. Gautam Kundu was the person who made it an ambitiously growing project after the demise of Kajal Kundu, his brother who founded it in 1997. Kajal Kundu, the elder brother of Gautam Kundu was instrumental in creating the Rose Valley empire in the span of 18 years. Kajal started with Rose Valley Hotels & Entertainment and alongside, he also set up Rose Valley Real Estate & Construction. Kajal Kundu also started Rose Valley Chain Marketing, the company later in 2002 became a corporate agent of the LIC. Kajal Kundu along with his wife and son were killed in an accident in 2003 and the baton of the company passed over to Gautam Kundu. Lured by the promise of high returns, unsuspecting people kept pouring in money, often their lives savings, into such schemes. SEBI had prohibited the sale of real estate by Rose Valley in January 2011 and the state government had followed suit. Rose Valley was having a smooth run until 2012, when IRDAI raised objections on the way company was being operated. In addition, all the 2,600 bank accounts of the company, which together hold cash balances of Rs 800-1,000 crore, have been frozen by the government. Rose Valley, as per the ED estimates reportedly collected more than Rs. 15,000 crore from depositors across India, especially West Bengal, Assam and Bihar. In March 2015, the ED arrested group's chairman Gautam Kundu after interrogation at his salt lake office in Kolkata. Jan 2016 CBI was handed over the case and investigation of the Rose valley Chit ponzi scam. Since then Mamata has been crying foul and finally TMC MP Tapas Pal was arrested on 30th Dec 2016. The second arrest is of TMC MP Sudip Bandhopadhyay on 3rd January 2017. Also read: Furious over MP's arrest, Mamata demands jail for PM Modi, Amit Shah for Gujarat riots Chit-fund scam: TMC MP Sudip Bandopadhyay being questioned by CBI Rose Valley Chit Fund: TMC MP Tapas Pal pleads innocence, says court proceedings will prove things --- ENDS --- President Barack Obama will deliver a farewell address to Americans on Jan. 10 in Chicago, the White House announced Monday, allowing him to define his record before a national audience once more before Donald Trump takes office. Not every U.S. president has delivered a farewell speech, but several leaders George Washington and Dwight Eisenhower, among them have used the forum to issue cautionary warnings even as successors with somewhat different visions were preparing to assume the presidency. In an email to supporters, Obama wrote, Im just beginning to write my remarks. But Im thinking about them as a chance to say thank you for this amazing journey, to celebrate the ways youve changed this country for the better these past eight years, and to offer some thoughts on where we all go from here. Obama has devoted considerable time and attention to crafting the signature speeches of his presidency, including ones that have explored the role of race in American society, the parameters of U.S. military intervention overseas and how to respond to a wave of gun violence that has affected citizens and police officers alike. The president held an extensive news conference last month before leaving for vacation in Hawaii, and he may yet hold another question-and-answer session with journalists before Inauguration Day. But the Chicago speech, which will probably be carried live by several media outlets, gives him an opportunity to sketch out his legacy on his own terms. On Monday, the president suggested that he would highlight some of the economic and social progress the nation has made under his watch, saying, Since 2009, weve faced our fair share of challenges, and come through them stronger. Thats because we have never let go of a belief that has guided us ever since our founding our conviction that, together, we can change this country for the better, he wrote, adding that he hoped Americans would watch online if they couldnt attend his speech in person. Because, for me, its always been about you, Obama concluded. (c) 2017, The Washington Post Juliet Eilperin What was supposed to be a one-day local government strike came to an early abrupt end as the courts ordered strikers to work. However, the court then learned that the nations labor union has ideas of its own. The Tel Aviv Labor Court on Tuesday morning 5 Teves ordered schools to open no later than 9:00AM and teachers back to their classrooms without delay to avoid disrupting studies. The representative of the Histadrut national labor union refused and both sides were summoned to the judges chambers for additional discussion. As a result, kindergartens, elementary and junior high schools were shut till 11:00AM. Schools in regional councils were open but were shutting at 3:00PM, earlier than usual. Representatives of teachers said the Education Ministry should be embarrassed as many teachers are not receiving their full wages. A union official explains this pertains to reimbursement for travel expenses, which have not been updated for over a year. He said they do receive something but not what they are entitled to. The treasury and Education Ministry announced they are quite disturbed by the words and actions of Yafeh Ben-David, head of the teachers union, to call the strike, which they referred to as an arbitrary reckless decision to use force. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) The questioning of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that was to have taken place in the Prime Ministers home on Monday morning 4 Teves was postponed until the evening hours. Mr. Netanyahu was questioned by police for three hours regarding allegations he accepted gifts in the form of receiving a bribe that is to say the gifts were understood as payment for services that would receive from the Prime Minister. After reviewing the evidence in the case which began as a media investigation, which alleges the Prime Minister accepted hundreds of thousands of shekels in gifts, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit ordered the police investigation. Mr. Netanyahu was questioned under warning which generally signals there is sufficient evidence in the case and a criminal indictment is likely. In recent statements, Mandelblit announced Mr. Netanyahu was cleared in another investigation which alleged he accepted illegal election funds pertaining to the 2009 elections. According to media report, statements given police by longtime Netanyahu friend, businessman Ron Lauder were instrumental in Mandelblits decision to order a police investigation. He told police that he personally gave gifts to the Prime Minister, including a trip which he financed for Yair, a son of the prime minister. Mandelblit however suspects there is more and the giving was not done in the capacity of a good friend, which he is, but in anticipation of receiving something in return. In a brief statement made to his Likud faction in Knesset which was aired on national TV, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu advised his adversaries to calm down, citing just as in the past they were already writing his eulogies, the same is here when in fact, the nation will see there is nothing illegal here and this case too will be closed. There is nothing and this will amount to nothing PM Netanyahu explained. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Two border police officers were injured in what appears to be terrorist vehicular ramming attack involving motocrycles at the Jalame Checkpoint in the Afula/Gilboa regions. A female officer was said to be in light-to-moderate condition, while a male officer suffered light injuries. Both were in their early twenties. They were treated by MDA and a chopper transported the female officer to the Rambam Medical Center. According to initial reports, 4 motorcycles arrived at the checkpoint refusing to stop. One or two of the motorcycles struck the officers. The drivers were both injured and were taken into custody. The extent of their injuries were unknown. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) The following is via the Washington Free Beacon: A delegation of Republican senators is moving forward with an effort to freeze some funding to the State Department until the U.S. embassy in Israel is formally moved to Jerusalem, according to new legislation. The effort is being spearheaded by Sens. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), and Dean Heller (R., Nev.), all of whom support efforts by the incoming Trump administration to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem after years of debate. Jerusalem is the eternal and undivided capital of Israel, Cruz said in a statement. Unfortunately, the Obama administrations vendetta against the Jewish state has been so vicious that to even utter this simple truthlet alone the reality that Jerusalem is the appropriate venue for the American embassy in Israelis shocking in some circles. But it is finally time to cut through the double-speak and broken promises and do what Congress said we should do in 1995: formally move our embassy to the capital of our great ally Israel, Cruz said. READ MORE: WASHINGTON FREE BEACON In the deal reached today, Akhilesh has decided to step down as Samajwadi Party president. He will be replaced by his 78-year-old father. By India Today Web Desk: In a truce deal with his father and Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has agreed to step down as the president of the party, while Shivpal Yadav will remain the incharge of the party's national affairs, except Uttar Pradesh. The truce was reportedly reached after the two senior leaders went into a huddle at Mulayam's residence in Lucknow amid a bitter contest over the party's symbol, the cycle. advertisement The prospect of the party symbol being frozen by the Election Commission brought the two warring factions to the drawing board, a development that surprised many as the two factions of the Samajwadi Party appeared headed for a split. Mulayam Singh flew into the state capital and within an hour Akhilesh Yadav drove to his bungalow. They were closeted for more than three hours, said an informed source. Midway, Mulayam confidant Shivpal Yadav, who the Akhilesh camp dethroned as the state unit chief on Sunday, was also told to attend the meeting. No further details were immediately available but the source said a "formula acceptable to all" was being worked out. THE TRUCE FORMULA In a coup on January 1, Akhilesh had announced taking over the Samajwadi Party as its president. He has also announced the expulsion of Mulayam's close associate Amar Singh - considered by Akhilesh as the mastermind of the current tussle - from the party. In the deal reached today, Akhilesh has decided to step down as Samajwadi Party president. He will be replaced by his 78-year-old father. Also read: Akhilesh meets father Mulayam amid fight for cycle symbol In return, Mulayam has agreed to now make Amar Singh the incharge of the party's international affairs, while Shivpal Yadav will look into the national affairs, except poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, where Akhilesh has virtually been given the freedom to decide candidates. Also read: Akhilesh or Mulayam: Who will keep Samajwadi Party's election symbol, another dangal begins Senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan has brokered the deal between the warring father and son ahead of the crucial Uttar Pradesh election, in which the ruling party is hoping for a return to power. The truce comes after almost a week of ugly and open war between the Akhilesh camp and Mulayam camp over the control of the party and the right over its election symbol, the cycle. With Assembly elections imminent, a division in the party and a freeze on the party symbol could render a body blow to the Samajwadi Party. Also read: How Akhilesh Yadav's faction may remain unaffected by Election Commission's ruling on SP's cycle symbol advertisement Watch the video --- ENDS --- After a year when hard-working citizens rose up against the inequalities and neglect of globalisation, there is one person who perfectly personifies the privileged Establishment and she remains firmly entrenched in office. She is the French head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde. In December she was convicted by a high-level court in France of being negligent in public office by authorising a multi-million-euro government payment to a controversial tycoon. Not guilty: Christine Lagarde has always denied wrongdoing But not only did the court not hand down any punishment but the IMF board - representatives of the most powerful finance ministries around the world said it retained full confidence in her leadership. Thus Lagarde has been left to serve out the rest of her five-year term as head of the worlds economic and financial enforcer. The sad fact is that the way Lagarde escaped any penalty speaks volumes about how behemoths such as the IMF, other global organisations, governments and a host of unelected elites operate under different rules to the rest of us. The case centred on her time as Frances finance minister when she approved 340m of public funds being spent on an out-of-court deal in favour of businessman Bernard Tapie following the botched sale of sportswear maker Adidas. The money given prompted widespread indignation in France. Lagardes independence as the IMFs managing director has been under scrutiny for some time. In 2016 she predicted economic disaster if the UK pulled out of the EU. Spreading fear: Lagarde intervened in the Brexit referendum debate She also has been accused of being too close to fellow European leaders in efforts to prop up the European single currency. Madame Lagarde is in many ways the epitome of the European elite who the British people saw through and voted to escape from their clutches. Her intervention in the referendum campaign and willingness to become a Project Fear prop for the Cameron government was not the first time that she had damaged the IMFs reputation for independence. Earlier in her tenure as boss of the IMF, she became embroiled in the Greek and eurozone crisis even though as a former French finance minister there were grave conflicts of interests and she ought to have stepped aside and left the negotiations to her American deputy. The fact that she has now escaped punishment from the French courts and been exonerated by the IMF board is symptomatic of the way France has, for years, put pressure on institutions to bend the rules to protect its own. At risk at the IMF is the credibility of an institution largely designed by the great British economist John Maynard Keynes to foster global prosperity and financial good practice after the shattering shocks of the Second World War. The manner in which the political establishment quickly moved to close ranks and keep Lagarde in her post reinforces the view of people across the world that the elites have lost touch with ordinary people. Already weve seen the frustrations of the economically disenfranchised boil over in Britains referendum, followed by the wave of unrest in America which propelled Donald Trump to the White House. This year we are likely to see unprecedented support for anti-Establishment and far-Right parties in elections in the coming months in France, Holland and Germany. Lagarde owed her job at the IMF in the first place to the fact she was parachuted in thanks to the strong arm tactics of the French government. At the time, the then IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn had been forced to quit after being charged (and then acquitted) with a sexual assault on a chambermaid in a New York hotel. Yet the French government insisted that the remainder of his term must be served by another French person. In spite of the cloud over Lagardes integrity, leading finance directors ignored common-sense and conspired to keep her in office when her contract came up for renewal in the spring of 2016. Our then Chancellor, George Osborne, was the first to propose her reappointment. Supportive: Former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne endorsed Christine Lagarde Following Osbornes support, she was criticised for saying the IMF would publish a report in the weeks just before the UKs referendum which would say Britain would face plummeting house prices, a stock market crash and a new recession if voters decide to leave the EU. To her supporters, as the first woman managing director of the IMF, Lagarde was widely respected and her celebrity has led her to be risibly described as the rock star head of the IMF. Yet some attitudes towards her have been insufferably fawning. For example, at one recent press conference in Washington, a questioner from China congratulated her on the elegance of her outfit in an exchange which lasted for several excruciating minutes. Not all former IMF insiders have been unforgiving about her behaviour. In an excoriating blog, economist Peter Doyle said the public would see another politician with power over them [who] has played by a different set of rules. hopes the move will help get regulatory approval for its German takeover The London Stock Exchange has agreed to sell its French clearing business to Euronext for 434million, in a bid to win regulatory approval for its controversial German takeover. The European Commission has expressed anti-trust concerns about the 215-year-old exchange's 21billion mega-merger with the Frankfurt-headquartered Deutsche Boerse and the impact on the clearing of derivatives contracts in particular. The acquisition has also been blasted by British politicians who fear it would damage national interest, letting yet another British institution fall into the hands of a 'foreign predator'. The City could see a major shake-up if the London Stock Exchange wins regulatory approval for its controversial German merger Sources told Reuters that the EC has not made it clear if the newly-announced sale of the LSE's French clearing business, LCH Clearnet SA, would be enough to dispel its concerns. One person directly involved in the merger process said he did not believe the sale alone would address the Commission's worries. 'I have doubts that this is enough,' he told Reuters. He suggested that LSE might also opt to sell Borsa Italiana, operator of the Milan stock exchange, to help address anti-trust concerns, although a second source familiar with the process said that a sale of Borsa Italiana was not being discussed at the moment. An LSE spokeswoman said the company could not comment beyond its statement on the sale on Tuesday. Deutsche Boerse representatives declined to comment. The LSE Group could be run by Deutsche Boerses German boss Carsten Kengeter (above) LSE Group and LCH Group Limited said in a joint statement that they had agreed on the terms of Euronext's all-cash offer, after announcing last month that they were in exclusive talks with Euronext on a sale. LSE and Deutsche Boerse plan to formally submit the Clearnet SA sale as a remedy to the European Commission's concerns in the next few days, sources told Reuters. A major hurdle to LSE's merger with Deutsche Boerse is how regulators define the derivatives market. Deutsche Boerse is hoping that the European Commission will treat over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives contracts and on-exchange traded derivatives as two separate markets, sticking to a market definition the Commission confirmed back in 2012. Deutsche Boerse's Eurex is mainly active in exchange-traded derivatives, while the LSE's LCH Clearnet is active in the OTC business. But Deutsche Boerse has acknowledged that the European Commission may change its mind, prompting the merger partners to make concessions such as selling LCH Clearnet SA to avoid the LSE-Deutsche Boerse combination being regarded as a dominant player. 'It seems the market definition is changing,' Deutsche Boerse Chief Financial Officer Gregor Pottmeyer said about the European Commission's deliberations in November. And Deutsche boss Carsten Kengeter previously said he was optimistic that the deal would go ahead despite the drawn-out considerations. He added: We feel very confident with what weve done so far. The takeover will see Xavier Rolet, the LSEs French boss, step down with Deutsche boss Kengeter taking charge. This will mean the German sides shareholders will get a controlling stake in the merged business. Bosses have promised their corporate headquarters would be in London, but sources have said this pledge could be abandoned after the merger is completed if the Germans demand it. A takeover would trigger a bumper payday for lawyers, spin doctors and investment bankers, with the cost of fees estimated at 235million. Deutsche Borses consultants will rake in as much as 98.5million, with 46.2million earmarked for financial advisers alone. Changes ahead: Bosses have promised their corporate headquarters would be in London, but sources have said this pledge could be abandoned (above, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange) Another 30.9million is expected to be pocketed by the German giants lawyers, some 4million by it its accountants and a further 2.8million by public-relations advisers. The LSE is preparing to hand over 135.6million, with bankers taking up to 85.6million, the lawyers 37.5million and the accountants 3.2million. In addition, the LSE is paying PR consultants 1.7million to promote the deal in the Press. For pan-European exchange operator Euronext, buying Clearnet will give it control of a platform for which it provides much of the revenue and will make it less reliant on a competitor's clearing services. Lucrative business Clearing is becoming a much more lucrative business as global reforms introduced after the 2007-09 financial crisis mean banks must clear the bulk of their derivatives trades to make them safer and more transparent. 'If the DB-LSE-merger is completed, then Euronext will be strengthened at the core of the eurozone capital market with this transaction,' Euronext CEO Stephane Boujnah told CNBC, adding that Euronext is also considering other takeovers. 'The reason why we are confident we can capture those opportunities is because we have significant firing power in our balance sheet, in particular because of our extremely low level of debt,' Boujnah said. Euronext said it expected the deal to add to its earnings in double digits from the first full year, before costs pegged at 33.8million. It forecast cost savings of 11million before taxes. Euronext shares were up 2.6 per cent at 1006 GMT at 40 euros on Tuesday, while LSE Group and Deutsche Boerse shares were virtually flat at 2,901 pence and 79.41 euros respectively. The Commission is due to decide on the merger on March 13, after extending its review deadline for the second time. Telecoms giant O2 is poised to return to the London stock market in a deal that would value the company at 10.3bn. The mobile phone operator, which is owned by Spanish firm Telefonica, had been expected to float towards the end of 2016 but it pulled out as several large businesses abandoned plans to list. But O2 is now understood to be reviving its plans in the next few months in what would be the first major listing of 2017. Investors are in a confident mood after the stock market soared to a new record high on the final day of trading of 2016. The FTSE 100 index closed the year at 7,142.83 up 14.4 per cent on where it started in a rally that added 227.5bn to the value of Britains leading companies. Guy Peddy, head of telecoms research at Macquarie, said: Telefonica will look at a return to an IPO should the market allow in the first quarter of the year. The advantage is O2 is a good brand and a really good company, it just needs a bit more investment capital to roll out its network. Experts said there could be a wave of flotations from technology and life sciences firms this year. People are just cracking on with deals, said Sam Smith, chief executive of City broker FinnCap. O2 owner Telefonica recently sought to sell the mobile phone company for 10.3bn to CK Hutchison, the owner of rival Three, but the deal was blocked by EU regulators. Planning ahead: The float will see investors offered a minority stake, in a bid by owner Telefonica to reduce its heavy debt burden Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority also claimed the merger would have harmed competition and consumer choice. But Telefonica is lumbered with a heavy debt burden, and wanted to offload a portion of the business through selling shares to millions of ordinary investors. Markets were poised for an announcement in the autumn, but in October O2 chief executive Mark Evans revealed it would not go ahead in 2016. He said: What you have seen over the last six to eight weeks is the markets going into flux. He added preparations would continue, but made no commitment to a timeline, and said a float was just one of a series of options being considered. It came after a string of companies either pulled out or slashed their offer bids ahead of an initial public offering or sale of shares to investors. Waste management firm Biffa cut the price of its share offering and fitness chain Pure Gym blamed market volatility after it scrapped its IPO in October. Software firm Misys pulled the plug on its flotation on similar grounds. However, FinnCaps Smith said confidence is returning following the abandoned floats of last year. Samir Thapar, MD of JCT Ltd, and others were arrested with liquor and arms from inside the forest where they were celebrating New Year without the required permission of authorities. Samir Thapar, MD of JCT Ltd. was arrested along with 15 others by Uttarakhand Police. By India Today Web Desk: A top Delhi-based industrialist along with 15 other influential people were arrested by Uttarakhand police on New Year's Eve in Kolhuchaur area of Lansdowne on charges of trespassing forest land. A local court has sent them to 14-day remand. According to reports, Samir Thapar, MD of JCT Ltd, and others were arrested with liquor and arms from inside the forest where they were celebrating New Year party without the required permission of authorities. Animal flesh was also recovered from the picnic site. advertisement "It's difficult to say about the type of animal flesh recovered from the site as it has been sent for examination. We can comment only after receiving the test report," IG Garhwal, Pushpak Jyoti said. HUGE AMOUNT OF LIQUOR RECOVERED SSP Pauri, Mukhtar Mohsin said that one of the men, Mohinder Singh has also been booked under Excise Act while another person Arif Hussein and others were booked under Arms Act for possessing a .300 bore German rifle and 38 live cartridges. Police said about 171 liquor bottles were recovered from Singh's possession. ALSO READ: Who is Samir Thapar? WATCH: BJP Karwar MP Ananthkumar Hegde thrashes doctors inside hospital Watch the video here --- ENDS --- MBABANE National Commissioner of Police Isaac Mmemo Magagula has announced the promotion of 99 police officers. The list of the promoted officers had been dispatched to all police branches, police stations, police posts and in all the places where the officers had been stationed. Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer Assistant Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the promotions. She said over 30 female police officers were promoted. This means over 30 per cent of female officers were part of the staff the commissioner announced were promoted. Some of the notable officers who have been promoted are Richard Mngomezulu, who is Director Operations and Territorial Policing. He has been promoted from senior assistant commissioner to assistant national commissioner. Christopher Shongwe, the SADC Police Component Botswana has been elevated from Assistant Commissioner to Senior Assistant Commissioner and Paul Zishwili, Officer In-Charge of Prime Minister (PM)s Escorts And Security Detail, was promoted from Senior Superintendent to Assistant Commissioner. Patrick Mavimbela, Deputy Commandant Police College and Wendy Hleta, Regional Commissioner in Shiselweni, have also been promoted from Senior Superintendent to Assistant Commissioners. According to the national commissioner, the promotions are aimed at enabling the Royal Swaziland Police (RSP) service to continue discharging its mandate to the Swazi nation with the expected degree of efficiency and professionalism. The promotions are with effect from January 3, 2017, which is today. For other ranks, five officers were promoted from being superintendents to senior superintendents while another five were promoted from assistant superintendents to superintendents. Seven police officers were elevated from the rank of inspector to assistant superintendent and 10 officers were promoted from the rank of sergeant to inspector. There were a total of 16 police officers who were promoted from being sergeants to assistant inspectors. Following the arrest of Bandopadhyay, Trinamool workers resorted to stone-pelting at BJP headquarters in central Kolkata. By Manogya Loiwal : Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay was arrested by the CBI in the Rose Valley Chit Fund scam today. He was summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and was arrested at the agency's regional office in Kolkata after questioning. The arrest triggered clashes between TMC and BJP workers in various parts of West Bengal following Bandopadhyay's arrest. The BJP headquarter in central Kolkata was pelted with stones, leaving 15 injured. advertisement A furious West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, demanding their arrest for the 2002 Gujarat riots. Mamata has dubbed the arrest "vendetta politics" by the Centre. She has announced nationwide protests against the Modi government and has dared the Prime Minister to arrest her. WHAT ALL UNFOLDED Following the arrest of Bandopadhyay, Trinamool workers resorted to stone-pelting at the BJP headquarters in central Kolkata. Twelve people have been injured while 2, including the in-charge of Jorasanko police station, are critical in clashes that broke out before the BJP headquarters in Kolkata. The situation continues to be tense with supporters of both parties blocking arterial roads and protests spreading across other districts of the state. TMC workers and supporters burnt the PM's effigy to protest against the arrest. The Trinamool Congress chief claimed that her party was being targeted for opposing the Centre's demonetisation decision, alleging that Bandopadhyay's arrest was sheer political vendetta. Several district leaders of TMC took part in the protest. Among them were Bankura Zilla Parishad Sabhadipaty Arup Chakroborty and Bankura district's Trinamool President Arup Khan. He further added that the protest will continue and will spread throughout the country until Narendra Modi stops targeting their party leaders. CRPF was deployed at the BJP office to bring the situation under control after the state security allegedly failed to control clashes between the two factions. After Bandopadhyay was taken into custody, an incensed Mamata held an urgent meeting with her MPs at the party headquarters in Kolkata. Bandopadhyay is the second Trinamool Congress MP to be arrested after Tapas Pal for their alleged involvement in the Rose Valley scam. Crying hoarse, Mamata Banerjee said, "Chit fund companies like Pearl Company, Rose valley and Sahara have a strong bond with BJP and CPI-M leaders. Founder members of Saradha as well as Rose Valley are CPI(M) leaders. In West Bengal, after the Trinamool Congress came to power in 2011, we never allowed any chit fund company to operate. Our government is strictly against chit funds. We never gave protection to the chit fund companies." The chief minister of West Bengal further alleged that many CPI(M) and BJP leaders having close ties with chit fund companies were roaming free. "But since Trinamool Congress has vociferously raised its voice against the note ban, the Modi government is targeting our party members", Mamata added. She also alleged foul play on the part of the CBI. Mamata Banerjee claimed, "Under the pretext of the demonetisation policy, the Modi government is actually earning crores of money illegally. Since Trinamool Congress is fighting against the government over this issue, PM Modi is taking these steps. Just because he is in power doesn't mean he can do whatever he likes. I feel Narendra Modi and Amit Shah should be arrested first. They are ruining the nation." Before Bandopadhyay's arrest today, Mamata attended an inaugural event at Jangalmahal in Mednipore. She echoed the same sentiment there, urging people to fight against the inhuman policies of the Modi government. Speaking on the current economic crisis, Mamata said, "The current government is selling the entire nation to foreigners. In the name of curbing the circulation of black money, the government now is taking away the legally-earned money from the common man. The demonetisation policy has not only created economic unrest, but also challenged the democracy of the country." Meanwhile, reacting on Bandopadhyay's arrest, CPI-M leader Fuad Halim said, "For the past four-and-a-half years, this investigation has been going on and we have seen a string of Trinamool leaders being arrested starting from TMC's Rajya Sabha MPs Kunal Ghosh and Srinjoy Bose, cabinet rank minister Madan Ghosh and later Madan Mitra. Bandopadhyay's arrest following Tapas Pal's begs the question as to how much money from the chit fund was siphoned off to all Trinamool party leaders. If there is no closure soon in the case, this blow-hot-blow-cold approach of the CBI will make people start questioning the efficiency of the investigating agency." WATCH VIDEO --- ENDS --- DWALILE The saying that the past always comes back to haunt you rings true for Dwalile Primary School. This is because an incident of malpractice during the Grade VII examination which took place in 2014 seems to have been one of the contributing factors to the schools dismal performance in this years results, where it recorded 41 failures. After the malpractice incident in 2014, the pupils were made to repeat the same class the following year (2015) where most of them failed again. They then had to repeat again last year (2016), where the 41 failures were recorded. According to the Deputy Head teacher, Ernest Dlamini, the fact that the class of 2016 still had some of the pupils who were involved in the malpractice in 2014 contributed immensely to the performance last year. Dlamini is currently leading the school after the retirement of the head teacher in October last year. We still had the pupils and they still have the mentality of malpractice and I guess this time they discovered that things were tight so they couldnt pass. Imagine having one and the same pupils repeating the same class, it would be difficult, the disappointed deputy said. Dlamini mentioned that the results showed that English Language and Home Economics were the subjects that the pupils failed. According to him, Home Economics was let down by the fact that the subject teacher went for maternity leave when the third term began and had to get another one to stand in. The fact that she was away for the whole term affected the pupils as they had to then deal with someone who they did not start the year with. The pupils first have to get to know a teacher so it means it was too late, Dlamini said. Asked on what would happen in the new academic year Dlamini said he was going to meet with all the stakeholders of the school to map a way forward. He said he was hoping that the strategies that will be put in place will include workshops which he said the school desperately needed. I feel sad because in the nine years that I had worked here, the school used to perform better. The 41 failures is just too much, Dlamini said. Meanwhile, Charles Mkhonta, outgoing Chairman of the school committee, whose term is coming to an end, also said the results were disappointing but highlighted that there was a need to work hard and find a solution on how things can be improved. He said in the three years that he had spent at a school, he had noted that there were things that were out of his control. He admitted that the past incidents had let down his hard work during his term of office. The sadness is there because it is never nice when you try to work hard, then there are incidents of malpractice and poor results. However, there is no way you can stop a teacher from making pupils copy, so at times it is beyond your control, he said. MBABANE Public sector associations (PSAs) have started to jab government as they demand a salary increment of not less than 70 per cent this year. This is despite that the civil servants received an increment of not less than 17 per cent last year dubbed dvuladvula. This pay rise turned out to be a far cry from what the PSAs had anticipated. Instead, politicians were the ones who received a windfall that saw their salaries increase by 32 per cent. The decision to remunerate politicians better than civil servants, despite that they were not party to the negotiations, has coerced the public sector unions to resolve to accept nothing less than their demand. Aubrey Sibiya, President of the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU), said the time had come for government to take the welfare of civil servants seriously. We demand 70 per cent considering that what was meant to be our pay hike ended up in the wrong hands. The demand, he said, would be achieved by hook or crook. Sibiya noted that unionists were ready and prepared to leave their workstations and fill up the streets in demand of what they believe is theirs. He further said civil servants remuneration in the country was pathetic as compared to other countries in the region. If civil servants are not better remunerated, Vision 2022 would be nothing but a fallacy as the poor will live miserably while the rich do the opposite, Sibiya said. He emphasised that the pricing of necessities had shot up beyond what an ordinary civil servant can afford. This, Sibiya said, coerced union leaders to demand the 70 per cent. His sentiments were echoed by Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Secretary General Zwelithini Mndzebele. He said as teachers, they were anticipating a better increment this year. He said they were hoping that no teacher would earn less than E10 000. The salaries should be increased as what transpired last year ended up being stipends for all civil servants save for those in executive positions. We want the low pay to be a thing of the past. MBABANE A woman has accused Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Services (SBIS) Deputy Director Gcinangaye Tsabedze of stealing her husband. The husband is a surbodinate to Tsabedze at SBIS. This is an allegation made by Thobile Gamedze, who was recently reported to have gone berserk and damaged windows at Tsabedzes flat. While vandalising the SBISs Deputy Directors place of abode, Thobile was accusing Tsabedze of harbouring her husband, Director Gamedze. She alleged that the duo was in a sexual relationship due to groans and moans she once heard, insinuating that the two were having sexual intercourse. The husband is a technician at SBIS. Thobile is not only accusing Tsabedze of harbouring her husband but further alleging that the duo is in an intimate relationship. This was disclosed during a peace-binding process between her and Tsabedze, which is being conducted by Mbabane Magistrate Sifiso Vilakati. The peace- binding comes after Tsabedze opened a case against Thobile and her son at the Mbabane Police Station, whom she alleged were harassing her. In her recorded statement, Thobile said her husband was no longer spending time with his family due to the alleged extra -marital affair with Tsabedze. She further claimed that due to the current situation, Gamedze was unable to fulfil his obligations as a husband. She said Gamedze was hardly present at the compound situated along the STBC road in Mbabane. These are allegations contained in Thobiles statements, in the peace-binding process. In one instance, she alleged that her husband had to sign an affidavit so that their children could travel to South Africa; however, this became impossible as Tsabedze had allegedly harboured Gamedze. In her statement to Magistrate Vilakati, Thobile alleged that she had evidence in the form of pictures, to substantiate the allegations against the SBIS deputy director and her husband. Supreme Court seeks responses from CBI and ED over claims that journalists were paid off to write in favour of the multi-crore VVIP chopper deal. By India Today Web Desk: After politicians and bureaucrats, even journalists have come under the scanner of the Supreme Court in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland deal. On Tuesday, the apex court agreed to hear a plea seeking an SIT probe against some journalists for allegedly writing in favour of the deal. The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) on a PIL alleging that journalists were paid Rs 50 crore for writing in favour of the AgustaWestland deal. advertisement Former Indian Air Force chief SP Tyagi and two others were arrested by the CBI on December 9 for alleged corruption in the VVIP chopper deal case. Tyagi was the first chief of any wing of the armed forces to be arrested in India. Tyagi, his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and a Delhi-based lawyer Gautam Khaitan were allegedly involved in irregularities in the procurement of 12 AW-101 VVIP helicopters from the Britain-based AgustaWestland. However, Tyagi, who retired in 2007, was granted bail on December 26 by Delhi's Patiala House court. On January 1, 2014, India had scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of the company paying kickbacks of Rs 423 crore for securing the deal. ALSO READ:Fresh evidence surfaces in AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam ALSO READ:How Agusta kickbacks were channelled from Mauritius into India --- ENDS --- Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams By Bill Parry A cheering crowd at LaGuardia Community College welcomed Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to their Long Island City campus Tuesday where Cuomo announced his plan to give free college tuition to eligible New York students. The Excelsior Scholarship program would offer free tuition at SUNY and CUNY schools for students from nearly a million families making less than $125,000 a year. A college education is not a luxury it is an absolute necessity for any chance at economic mobility, and with these first-in-the-nation Excelsior Scholarships, were providing the opportunity for New Yorkers to succeed, no matter what zip code they come from and without the anchor of student debt weighing them down, Cuomo said. New York is making a major investment in our greatest asset our people and supporting the dreams and ambitions of those who want a better life and are willing to work hard for it. Sanders, an independent, called the program revolutionary and urged state legislators to approve the plan and make it a model for the rest of the nation. Sanders pushed for free tuition nationwide during his unsuccessful bid for the presidentcy. If the United States is to succeed in a highly competitive global economy, we need the best educated workforce in the world, Sanders said. We must make public colleges and universities tuition free for the middle and working families of our country. In 2015, the average student loan debt in New York was $29,320. If approved, the Excelsior Scholarship program will be a supplement to the Tuition Assistance Program, which provides nearly $1 billion in grants students statewide, and federal aid. College is a mandatory step if you really want to be a success, Cuomo said. And this society should say were going to pay for college because you need college to be successful. Other countries have done it. Its time this country catches up. By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jan 3 (PTI) Former St Stephens principal Valson Thampu, who was at loggerheads with the institutions alumni during his tenure, has kicked a fresh controversy by blaming the colleges poor ranking on "mediocre teachers". A group of alumni have hit back, saying Thampu should claim responsibility if any "damage" has been done to the college affecting the recently-released National and Accreditation and Assessment (NAAC) ranking. advertisement Despite being among the most sought after colleges in the country, the NAAC ranking of St Stephens college has fallen below that of Zakir Hussain college and Acharya Narendra Dev college. "Over the years, St Stephens has allowed its native strengths to weaken. The faculty, barring a handful, are really mediocre. In saying this, I keep in mind my professional knowledge of the college over four decades. "I have to say, many of the initiatives during my tenure were smothered by the faculty, who are so stuck in the birdlime of professional insecurity that they do not want to be exposed to academic challenges," Thampu said in a Facebook post. The Association of Old Stephanians, an alumni group, condemned Thampus statement as "dishonest" and "misleading". "Thampu was principal for 8 years. How can he wash his hands off responsibility? His statement is dishonest and misleading. It is preposterous that a former principal blames former colleagues -- not just seniors and his contemporaries, but also younger ones he recruited," a statement issued by the alumni group said. The alumni association has also urged the colleges Supreme Council to take immediate action in this regard. Thampu demitted office last year marking end to an eight-year-long tenure which was marred by controversies and series of confrontations with the alumni. PTI GJS KIS --- ENDS --- Syria\s army advanced Monday as it battles to capture a rebel region that is key to the capital\s water supply, launching strikes and artillery fire threatening a fragile nationwide truce. Brokered by regime ally Russia and opposition supporter Turkey, the ceasefire is now in its fourth day despite sporadic violence and continued fighting in the Wadi Barada area near Damascus. "Regime forces and fighters from Lebanon\s Hezbollah group are advancing in the region and are now on the outskirts of Ain al-Fijeh, the primary water source in the area," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor. He said government troops and allied fighters were engaged in fierce clashes with rebels, including former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front, a claim denied by opposition fighters. The monitor said government forces were carrying out air strikes and artillery fire on the area, northwest of the capital, and that two civilians were shot dead by snipers. Two other civilians were killed in regime bombardment of the town of Rastan in central Homs province, it added. Government forces have surrounded Wadi Barada since mid-2015, but the siege was tightened in December as the army piled on the pressure. The Syrian government says rebels have targeted key water infrastructure, causing leaking fuel to poison water supplies and then cutting it off altogether. The United Nations says at least four million people in Damascus have been without water since December 22. The Observatory said around 1,000 women and children fled the area over the weekend. The violence threatens the delicate truce that came into force last week and is intended to pave the way for new peace talks in Kazakhstan later this month. In a statement, rebels fighting under the Free Syrian Army banner in Wadi Barada warned that the truce was in danger. "We call on the sponsors of the ceasefire agreement to assume their responsibility and pressure the regime and its allied militias to stop their clear violation of the agreement," the statement said. Otherwise, they warned, "we will call on all the free military factions operating inside Syria to overturn the agreement and ignite the fronts in defence of the people of Wadi Barada". The statement said that Wadi Barada was included in the deal brokered by Moscow and Ankara and accused the regime of violating the agreement. The ceasefire deal, and the plan for new talks, received the unanimous backing of the UN Security Council on Saturday, despite offering a competing track to UN-sponsored negotiations. Turkey and Russia are organising the talks in Astana along with regime ally Iran, and say they are intended to supplement, not replace, UN-backed negotiations scheduled to resume in February. Despite backing opposite sides in Syria\s conflict, Ankara and Moscow have worked closely in recent months on the war, brokering a deal to evacuate civilians and surrendering rebels from Aleppo last month before the regime recaptured the northern city in full. Both countries are also waging their own military interventions in Syria, with Russian forces fighting to bolster President Bashar al-Assad\s government since September 2015. Turkey launched a military campaign in northern Syria in August 2016, targeting the Islamic State group but also Kurdish militants. The Syrian conflict has also spilled over into Turkey, with several attacks blamed on Kurdish or IS. On Monday, IS claimed responsibility for a New Year\s Eve attack on an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus warned that Ankara was determined to press on with its military operation in Syria "until these terror organisations no longer remain a threat to Turkey". A string of efforts to find a political solution to Syria\s war have failed since it began with anti-government protests in March 2011. The conflict has killed more than 310,000 people, and displaced over half the population, including millions who have fled abroad, becoming refugees. SOURCE: AFP Ballston Spa Five people in Ballston Spa were assisted by local American Red Cross volunteers after a fire Monday, according to the Northeastern New York Chapter of the Red Cross. The initial call reportedly came in before noon Monday for a chimney fire on Randall Road, which became a working fire, according to the Capital District Fire Buffs Facebook page. It was unclear the extent of the damage Monday night. Volunteers assisted five adults providing financial assistance for things like shelter, food and clothing. afries@timesunion.com 518-454-5353 @mandy_fries Bethlehem A Florida solar development firm is planning an 8-megawatt solar farm in Selkirk that would likely become the largest built such facility so far in the Capital Region. Plans for the solar farm, which would be built near the Selkirk rail yard, have been submitted to town of Bethlehem officials, who must approve the project. The town planning board will first review the plans Tuesday night. The developer is NextEra Energy, a Florida solar energy developer that has done other large solar farms in town. Back in March of 2016, NextEra completed a 3.7-megawatt solar farm at a former clay mine in Selkirk. The largest solar farms locally are smaller than 4-megawatts, although much larger projects are in the pipeline locally, including a 98-megawatt solar farm being planned for St. Johnsville in Montgomery County, according to records at the New York Independent System Operator. NextEra Energy has already built two large solar farms in Bethlehem. A company spokesperson could not immediately be reached Monday to talk about the Selkirk project and how much it would cost. The Selkirk project would be located at 93 Bridge St. on land owned by the Frick family. The project would cover 43 acres, or 1.89 million square feet of space. An 8-megawatt solar farm can produce enough electricity to power about 1,300 homes. Typically companies like NextEra sign long-term power contracts with a company or a government agency when it develops a solar farm, although the power typically is sent directly out onto the electric grid through the local utility such as National Grid. New York state has financial incentives that make such projects profitable. The solar farm that NextEra completed last year in Selkirk was financed with a 20-year power purchase agreement with the town of Bethlehem, which will use money generated from the sale of the power to National Grid to offset the town's overall electric costs. It is unclear who the potential customer is for the 8-megawatt solar farm. A large solar farm can generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue for both the developer and entity that buys the power. NextEra Energy owns Florida Power & Light, the third-largest utility in the United States. lrulison@timesunion.com 518-454-5504 @larryrulison In power at the Centre since 2014, the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh are tipped to be a key test of Modi's popularity, especially in the wake of the Centre's demonetisation move. By Reema Parashar: Under attack from Opposition parties for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation measure, the BJP has made dramatic changes in its Uttar Pradesh campaign in an apparent bid to shift public attention from last November's controversial note ban. Top BJP sources have revealed to India Today that they have redrawn their strategy for elections due this year in the country's most populous state in the light of the fierce assault that the Samajwadi Party, Congress and BSP have mounted on Modi for abruptly invalidating 86 per cent of currency two months ago. advertisement HERE IS HOW BJP PLANS TO WOO VOTERS IN UP The BJP's campaign will now instead focus on local issues, ranging from condition of the economy to law and order, senior party officials said. In power at the Centre since 2014, the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh are tipped to be a key test of Modi's popularity, especially in the wake of demonetisation that the BJP has hailed as a decisive war on parallel economy but which its critics have called reckless. The saffron party's new approach is reflected sharply in a series of fresh posters and hoardings that will be put up across the state ahead of the start of voting. Written mostly in Hindi for the target audience, the BJP's latest campaign material seeks to turn people's attention to issues of migrant workers, joblessness, extortion, kidnappings and crimes against women in Uttar Pradesh. The posters depict sharp two-liners underlining pictures and problems of casual labourers, street vendors, senior citizens, young and middle-aged women. "Kab tak palayan ko majboor rahenge; ab aur nahin sahenge," (For how long will we be forced to migrate, this we will no longer tolerate) reads a poll banner on work-related migration stemming from unemployment. The poster carries the picture of a poor worker, sitting out in the cold. Another banner shows the image of an elderly, stern-eyed tea-seller. Almost all posters have "parivartan", or change, as the buzzword highlighting the BJP's campaign. Insiders also told India Today that the party would project no one as its candidate for the chief minister's post till the results were announced. Prime Minister Modi will remain the face of the party's entire election campaign. "We'll counter our critics on local issues. No local or national leader, other than PM Modi, will feature prominently in our campaign material," said a senior BJP functionary. Winning elections in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP has been out of power for 14 years now, has become a prestige issue for the party, he admitted. The results, the official said, would have strong sentimental effect on Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, where elections are due later this year. PM Modi's Dec 31 address, said another senior BJP leader, would serve as a blueprint for party speeches, with a spotlight on issues surrounding farmers, women, small traders and the elderly. WATCH VIDEO --- ENDS --- Bea Grause, president of the Healthcare Association of New York State, started her career as a nurse and worked for many years in the emergency room of a county hospital, the safety net for people who didn't have health insurance. It motivated her to go to law school because she was passionate about health care coverage how to make it better and how to make it affordable. More than 20 years later, it is still the unifying thread of Grause's work. Grause was hired as president of HANYS in July after 14 years as president and CEO of the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems. HANYS' job is to lobby on behalf of the provider community. The group represents 500 nonprofit and public hospitals, nursing homes, home care agencies, and other health care organizations. "Our health care system would be better if providers had more control over where they practice and how patients are making decisions. No matter if we're talking about finance, health care technology or regulations, if we're not focused on patients' ability to make better choices for their care, we are rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic," Grause said. To call health care complex is a vast understatement. More Information Not a member of Women@Work? Sign up at TUWomenatwork.com -- and tell a friend. See More Collapse "It's a highly regulated service requiring federal and state standards, all used to assess the individual lying in front of you," Grause said. "Changing how health care is organized and delivered is not an overnight fix. The Affordable Care Act is working, but not on the timeline people think it should be happening. There is no magical solution." The election of Donald Trump added a challenge because it's unclear what he's going to do. "The effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act has long been a GOP and Trump campaign battle cry. There are many interrelated pieces of this complex law and the legislative process to address it will be more like pick-and-shovel work than a blackboard eraser," Grause said. Some changes Congress can make immediately because of the GOP majority; others require a super majority of 60 votes to pass. "The question is, do they want to pass a bill as one party or as a bipartisan effort, marginal as that may be?" Grause said. "Given the polarized electorate, some effort toward unity would, in my humble opinion, be a wise consideration." In the meantime, Grause is sitting with officials around the state from the Department of Health to talk about regulatory barriers to how medicine is paid for and delivered. She and her family are also settling into a new home in Glenmont and sorting out how their active lifestyle will play out in a new place. "I want to be as active as I can possibly be so I can continue to do the things I love to do," Grause said about her health care routine. She is a lifelong swimmer, mountain bike rider, skier and hiker. Grause and her husband have two children, a son who is 16 and daughter, 12. "In a busy work life, it's good to squeeze things in, in the past I found friends in health care, too, and we worked in a bike ride or a walk while we talked about the things we needed to talk about." After many years in public accounting, Joan Regan Hayner realized she hadn't yet found her passion. Then it found her. An accounting client who was a physician became involved with founding CapitalCare Medical Group. They were looking for a financial person, and he urged her to consider. It was outside of what she considered her wheelhouse, but he said she had all the necessary skills. She was hired as controller at CapitalCare in 1997. She was quickly promoted to chief financial officer, then to chief administrative officer in 2000. On Jan. 1, 2004, Hayner was named chief executive officer. You've said before that losing a brother to AIDS, gave you a desire to bring quality health care to those who need it. After leaving the financial world, was there a point in which you said to yourself, 'This is where I'm supposed to be.'? You have a tendency when you're young to drive toward something that you think you can be good at. I won't tell you that I went into accounting because I had a passion for it. I went into accounting because I was good at math. ... While I was working as a CPA, I did lose a brother to AIDS in the early 1990s, and I started second-guessing my own career and purpose and wasn't completely satisfied with what I was doing professionally but didn't really know what to do. It didn't happen immediately, but in 1997, I got a call because this CapitalCare Medical Group was forming, and they needed a financial person. More Information Not a member of Women@Work? Sign up at TUWomenatwork.com - and tell a friend. See More Collapse I don't want to say I was stagnant, but I wasn't really progressing in my career because I wasn't really thrilled with it, and I thought, 'You know what? I'm going to do something different.' Harkening back when my brother went through what he went through, I saw some really positive aspects of health care and some really negative aspects. And I took a leap, and found I love it. I had a really rare opportunity professionally in that I was kind of given a blank slate and told create processes, create systems, put together at that time, the financial aspects of the organization. And while it was somewhat daunting, I quickly realized, 'Wow. What an opportunity that is, and particularly for someone in a (finance) career that was prescriptive .. and suddenly to have a blank slate and be asked to create what you think will be a winning solution was really a great professional opportunity. It just all kind of clicked for me. I loved it all, and I loved learning. So health care, wow, talk about an industry from a business standpoint it's turning every business principle on its head, totally foreign to everything I learned. It sounds like you had to be open and aware that something big even if it was unfamiliar was presenting itself to you. What happened to me was you just always have to have your eye open to possibilities. When I was in my last position in accounting, I just happened to get a client who was a doctor and he was my client for many years. And we just kind of hit it off, and I got kind of a kick out of all the entrepreneurial things he did on top of his position. He was one of the founding physicians in CapitalCare, and he saw something in me ... I was like, 'I do your taxes, and I do your tax planning, and I don't do that stuff.' And he saw that in me. I did business planing for him in these small entrepreneurial endeavors he had, and he said, 'You've helped me in your businesses, and I think you would do really well in this.' What I tell people now, and young women in particular, is always be open to the possibility that you don't think is out there and put yourself in a position where you can be seen. Seek out a mentor. Reach out to people who you respect and admire and ask them for advice, take them out to coffee. Try things you think you maybe wouldn't normally do to get exposure in other areas if you need help in trying to drive toward that passion. l'd start with things that really excite you and find people who are excelling in those areas. Women, in particular, can do really well if they adopt that attitude in thinking about themselves that the skills that they have are really transferable. There are certain skills that women excel in more than men that make it more easy to adapt to other situations. We excel in our emotional intelligence and in our ability to be creative in our thinking and think out of the box. We're nurturers, and we want everybody to do well. Those natural tendencies that women have can really help them progress from one field to another field even more easily than men do. You're in a top job in health care. Can you describe what some of the challenges may be for women trying to get to those corporate executive senior jobs? I moved here in 1989, and in 1989, in my field, which was public accounting, there was only one women in the region, one female partner in all of the accounting fields in 1989, so it wasn't just health care. Women are the backbone of health care. ... People in the trenches absolutely know what's going on, and if people in the leadership roles don't tune in to people in the trenches, they're missing the boat. But it is tough, and I think women, they need to be willing to continually learn and learn things outside of what they've traditionally been doing. There's tons of opportunity right now in health care data science and health care analytics, I think that area is an area where people in particular nurses and people who have been the lead nurses could also transition into clinical data analytics and critical data science. And that is such a new field, but I think if we have any shot (of achieving a) triple aim: improving patient experience, outcomes and improving cost, it's going to be driven in data. And people who are going to be the most successful at that, it's not going to be just computer geeks, you have to have that clinical knowledge. I think women, to a certain degree, almost have to prove themselves more. You have to be able to prove yourself as trying to do it all and you have to seek out the roles that you want. And you have to support other women, and you have to speak up, and when you have a good idea you have to not be afraid to say it. And that's not just specific to health care, that's everywhere. I don't know that there's a glass ceiling that's at a lower level in health care than anywhere else. It may seem so apparent in health care because so much of the backbone is women. If more women move into top roles, do you think it would impact the health care industry? We cannot achieve better outcomes and reducing costs without being creative. We cannot have an attitude of doing the same old thing. Women don't so much have a my-way-or-the-highway kind of approach to their thinking, and how they approach leadership. So I think our best chance of achieving what we want to achieve in this industry and really for the country, is to really see more women contributing and leading. The women in nursing and who have been in the trenches in health care, they need to be informing the policymakers. ... I got so frustrated with regulations and decisions that were being made without taking into account the operational aspect of the decision, so I just started calling legislators, and I started inviting them to come in. If you're considering legislation, come into my office and take a look at what the impact is going to be. And then I got invited to sit on this committee. And I think policymakers need to hear from people in the trenches about the impact their decisions are going to have. What advice do you have for women who work in health care and are looking to advance their careers? Don't be afraid to speak up. That's a big one. If you have a good idea or you think you have a good idea, if you don't want to speak up in a big group, go to your mentor or go find somebody who you can bounce an idea off of. Look for mentor and be a mentor. The holiday spirit got a little out of hand for some people in Nenagh, Roscrea and Borrisokane, with gardai in all three towns reporting arrests for suspected breaches of public order. Two males were arrested within five minutes of each other at Main Street, Borrisokane, in the early hours of Wednesday last, one at 1.45am and the other at 1.50am. A woman who was allegedly blocking traffic was arrested at Main Street, Roscrea, at 7.45pm on Thursday after gardai suspected she posed "a danger to herself and others". In Nenagh in the early hours of New Year's Day a 21-year-old male was arrested for a suspected breach of public order in Pearse Street. He was conveyed to the local garda station at around 2.20am, after suspected of being drunk. Just fifty minutes later another male was arrested on the same street for an alleged breach of public order. Meanwhile, gardai in Roscrea are investigating criminal damage to a door at the Damer Lounge in Castle Street in the early hours of Monday. The incident occurred when Sivakumar was on his way to Niravi to inspect a wedding hall construction. He was Puducherry Assembly Speaker when he was with DMK before joining AIADMK in April, 2016. By Pramod Madhav: VMC Sivakumar, AIADMK minister and former Speaker of Puducherry Assembly, was killed in cold blood today morning when a group of miscreants hurled countrymade bombs at him near Karaikal. Sivakumar was Puducherry Assembly Speaker when he was with the DMK. He had joined AIADMK last year in April. The incident occurred when Sivakumar was on his way to Niravi to inspect a wedding hall construction. advertisement Also read | Puducherry announces 3-day statewide mourning after Jayalalithaa's demise In a case filed earlier, a woman had accused him of cheating her husband and threatened to kill him if he didn't give her money. The law and order situation has deteriorated in this tourist destination of late with a spurt in the number of bomb attacks. Recently, even a police station was under attack as assailants threw crude bombs at Mudhaliyarpettai Police station. --- ENDS --- [January 03, 2017] 4D Printing Market Size, Analysis To 2020: Grand View Research, Inc. 4D printing consists of biomimetic composites that adapt and reprogram their properties, functionality or shape on demand based upon external stimuli. Researchers are combining different types of plastics and fibers to create smart materials that self-assemble or change shape when they come into contact with stimuli such as heat or water or are confronted with a change in its environment. Skylar Tibbits, the director of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Self-Assembly Lab and researchers from the firms Stratasys and Autodesk Inc. have developed a process that turns a code into such smart objects. 4D printing technology is expected to allow users to print objects by taking smart materials from a 3-D printer that reshape themselves or self-assemble over time take. View summary of this report @ http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/4d-printing-market It is called 4D because it adds time (fourth dimension), to the printing process. Specific geometrical training needs to be imparted to such a printer in order to bring precision to the process of transformation of an object into various shapes formed at specific angles. A geometric code based on the object's own angles and dimensions is fed to the printer along with measurements that dictate its behavior when confronted with external stimuli. This code sets the direction, the number of times and the angles at which a material can bend and curl. Increased demand for technological innovation in the fields of military, manufacturing, construction, fashion and aerospace among others is expected to bolster the research work in order to practically realize the concept of 4D printing. Complex coding techniques, high cost of developing smart materials are some of the restraints for the research and development work. Browse more reports of this category by Grand View Research: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry/emerging-and-next-generation-technologies Potential application areas include military & defense, automotive, manufacturing, medicine, construction, infrastructure, clothing, aerospace and numerous other fields. In military and defense, concepts such as alteration of camouflage of a soldiers uniform, protection against shrapnel upon contact and protection against poisonous gas upon exposure are proposed and can be put into practical use with technological advancement. Additionally, guns could transform into other weapons, aerial drones could transform into land-roaming machines, and submarines could hide based on the water they travel through. In the automotive field, the concept of developing an automobile coating that changes its structure with environmental changes in order to protect it from corrosion can be made possible with the advent of 4D printing. In the field of manufacturing, the concept of self-assembling machines and processes where a pile of parts can be taken without human intervention in order to transform them into various products can be realized. In the field of medicine, DNA nanorobots that track down and selectively kill cancerous cells can be developed using this technology. In the construction field, self-assembling materials can be converted into fully completed structures in extreme environments or disaster areas where conventional construction is too expensive or not feasible. In the infrastructure field, 4D printing can be used to develop bridges or roads made from self-expanding materials to heal damage and cracks. In the field of clothing and fashion, 4D printing can develop clothes that transform by themselves as per the shape and size of the person wearing them. In the field of aerospace, airplanes could be made to change themselves based on what they carry and where they fly. For sample request of this report - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/4d-printing-market/request About Grand View Research Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, the company offers market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries including technology, chemicals, materials, healthcare and energy. Contact: Sherry James Corporate Sales Specialist, U.S.A. Grand View Research, Inc. United States Phone: 1-415-349-0058 Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/ As a community-building service, TMCnet allows user submitted content which is not always proofed by TMCnet editors. If you feel this entry is of inferior quality or wish to report it for some reason, please forward the URL to "webedit [AT] tmcnet [DOT] com" with your comments. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 03, 2017] Sonic Healthcare and Contextual Genomics Broaden Access to Leading Edge Cancer Genomic Testing Contextual Genomics Inc. ("Contextual"), developers of molecular-based cancer tests, and Sonic Healthcare Limited ("Sonic") (SHL.AX), a global leader in medical diagnostic services, announced they have signed an agreement enabling Sonic to provide quality-assured Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)-based genetic testing to cancer patients in Australia and other parts of the world. Under the terms of the distribution, license and services agreement, Sonic will offer Find-ItTM, a molecular test for solid tumor cancers, at its laboratories to patients diagnosed with cancer. The Find-ItTM hotspot assay screens for known gene mutations found in solid tumor cancers, most of which are treatable with current therapies or Phase 3 investigational treatments. The Find-ItTM assay helps to identify optimal therapeutic treatments for patients, recognize acquired drug-resistant mutations, as well as determine prognostic and diagnostic implications for patient care. Under the agreement, Sonic will have access to Contextual's proprietary bioinformatics molecular analysis technology and quality control systems (QA Nexus suite) and Contextual will have access to Sonic's federated structure of medically-led practices. Dr. David Huntsman, Contextual Genomics' Chief Medical Officer said, "Knowledge gained from molecular analysis allows patients and their oncologists to make informed, timely treatment decisions. There are a growing number of new mutation-targeted cancer treatments only accessible through DNA-based testing, which has not been widely available. Sonic's global presence wll broaden access to quality DNA-based diagnostics. This timely access to DNA diagnostics can lead to better outcomes for patients diagnosed with cancer." "We are pleased to expand our services to include quality DNA-based diagnostics to serve our physicians and their patients. What attracted Sonic to Contextual was our shared view on quality and how this should be deployed in cancer genomics. We believe this approach will change the way cancer is managed", stated Dr. Graeme Suthers, Director of Genetics for Sonic Healthcare. The Find-It cancer panel is a multiplex, next-generation sequencing genomic assay designed for rapid deployment into labs around the world. Find-It evaluates the mutation status of tumor DNA at more than 100 well-characterized positions, identifying the somatic mutations that have the greatest potential to impact treatment decisions. QA Nexus is a quality control system embedded into all Find-It assays and into Contextual's bioinformatic pipeline. About Sonic Healthcare: Sonic Healthcare (www.sonichealthcare.com.au) is an international medical diagnostics company, offering extensive laboratory medicine/pathology and radiology services to the medical community. With 31,000 employees around the world, Sonic Healthcare is recognised for quality and service excellence, innovative technology, commitment to staff and continuing financial strength. Sonic Healthcare is represented in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Ireland and the USA. The global head office of Sonic Healthcare is in Sydney, Australia. About Contextual Genomics: Contextual Genomics (www.contextualgenomics.com) has developed cost-effective and clinically actionable molecular tests that guide diagnosis and treatment of cancer. These customized tests are offered by our partner laboratories around the world with Contextual conducting bioinformatics services via a SaaS (News - Alert) model. The collection of data via this robust network of partners and the use of machine-learning tools allows Contextual Genomics to improve patient care through improved clinical trial enrollment and new treatment algorithms. Contextual is managed by global leaders in cancer research and bioinformatics, who have unparalleled expertise in cancer genomics and the clonal evolution of cancer. This release contains forward-looking statements that are not based on historical fact. These forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, events or developments to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170103005247/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 03, 2017] Renewal and Expansion of Telia's Co-operation With NextGenTel OSLO, Norway, Jan 03, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Telia Company has renewed and expanded the cooperation with NextGenTel for providing tele and data communication services to Telia Company's Nordic corporate customers located in Norway. The duration of the contract is until the end of 2019 with an option to prolong. Today, Telia has approximately 2,500 sites with tele and data communication services delivered by NextGenTel in Norway. The contract includes among others the following services; Business Internet, DataNet and DataNet 4G (L3VPN), and DataNet Service Center Connection to Telia Entry (Managed Voice) and represents an annual revenue of 75 MNOKfor NextGenTel. "NextGenTel is proud and humble about the renewal and expansion of the contract to deliver tele and data communication services to Telia Company's Nordic corporate customers located in Norway," says Eirik Lunde, CEO in NextGenTel. "The contract confirms our position as one of Norway's largest providers of broadband and broadband services. At the end of September 2016, NextGenTel had 144,700 broadband lines in operation, of which 17,900 in the business segment. Based on our national presence and own network structure it is possible for our company to customize services, delivery volumes and terms to customers' various needs and requirements to the delivery of broadband." CONTACT: This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/nextgentel-holding-asa/r/renewal-and-expansion-of-telia-s-cooperation-with-nextgentel,c2159610 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 03, 2017] China Telecom Accredited with "Platinum Award" and "Best CEO" by The Asset HONG KONG, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- China Telecom Corporation Limited ("China Telecom" or the "Company"; HKEx: 00728; NYSE: CHA) is pleased to announce that the Company was accredited with "Platinum Award - Excellence in Governance, CSR & Investor Relations Benchmarking" in the poll of "Corporate Awards 2016" by The Asset. In addition, Mr. Yang Jie, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of China Telecom, was honored with "Best CEO in Telecommunications" award. Organized by The Asset, a reputable financial magazine in Asia, "Corporate Awards 2016" is now in its 16th year, the longest running ESG awards in Asia. "Platinum Award" recognizes companies' attainment in all categories of corporate endeavors: financial performance, management acumen, corporate governance, social responsibility, environmental responsibility and investor relations based on a ranking of listed companies in Asia by leading investment professionals and research analysts. "Best CEO" rewards a range of leadership qualities and attributes including inspirational leadership, strategic thinking, team- and relationship-building, effective communication and change management. Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20170103/8521608432 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 03, 2017] VFW Post 1093 & VetToCEO Announce EBSCO Info Svcs Sponsorship of Veterans Entrepreneurship Training IPSWITCH, Mass., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- VFW Post 1093 and VetToCEO.org announced today that EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) will be the lead sponsor for the upcoming Vetrepreneurship Training Program. EBSCO's sponsorship will fund the start-up cash awards which will be awarded to the top three business plans. EBSCO, based in Ipswich, provides quality research content, powerful search technologies and intuitive delivery platforms to institutions around the world. EBSCO is a division of EBSCO Industries, Inc. and is well-known on the North Shore as an anchor member of the community and a rapidly growing employer that has created its own MBTA "reverse commute" of tech workers who live in Boston and commute to the North Shore. EBSCO Industries President and CEO Tim Collins commented, "EBSCO Information Services is an entrepreneurial company t heart. It started with a handful of employees and is now a global organization with more than 3,500 employees in more than 30 countries. One of the keys to our growth has been our ability to attract top talent from the greater Boston area and nationally. We offer employees a creative environment in which to thrive so it is a great fit for us to support an Ipswich initiative and the more than 45,000 veterans on the North Shore. This vetrepreneurship training program is in keeping with the spirit of entrepreneurship on which the company was founded and which continues to drive our success." Ed Marsh, Commander of Post 1093 said, "This sponsorship is especially important because it will allow us to offer amazing quick start grants to the top three business plans from our spring session. Vetrepreneurs have the skills, we're providing the business training, and through the EBSCO awards we'll provide seed money to help these vetrepreneurs launch businesses that will create jobs in the community." Learn more at www.VetBizLeaders.com About EBSCO Information Systems: EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) is the leading provider of electronic journals and books for libraries, with subscription management for more than 360,000 serials, including more than 57,000 e-journals, as well as online access to more than 900,000 e-books. For more information, visit the EBSCO website at: www.ebsco.com. EBSCO Information Services is a division of EBSCO Industries Inc., a family owned company since 1944. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vfw-post-1093--vettoceo-announce-ebsco-info-svcs-sponsorship-of-veterans-entrepreneurship-training-300384371.html SOURCE VFW Post 1093 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 03, 2017] Inventiva Announces Initiation of Phase IIb Clinical Trial of IVA337 for Treatment of Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) Therapeutic candidate IVA337 is a next generation PanPPAR agonist addressing all the relevant clinical and regulatory features of NASH NATIVE clinical study plans to enroll 225 patients in 12 European countries Headline results are expected mid-2018 DAIX, France, Jan. 03, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inventiva, an emerging biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies notably to treat especially fibrosis, today announces the beginning of patient enrollment for its Phase IIb clinical trial (NATIVE - NASH Trial to Validate IVA337 Efficacy) evaluating the Companys lead compound, IVA337, for the treatment of Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH). Unlike other drugs targeting NASH, IVA337, a next generation PanPPAR agonist, addresses all the relevant clinical and regulatory features of this condition: steatosis, inflammation, ballooning and fibrosis, said Pierre Broqua, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Inventiva. NASH is a severe and chronic form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease that has become a leading cause to the need for liver transplantation. NASH affects over 30 million people in the United States1, increases 5 to 10 fold the risk of liver related mortality and is expected to become the leading cause of liver transplantation by 2020. There are no pharmaceutical treatments currently approved and treatment options are limited to lifestyle changes, weight loss and/or medical procedures, such as bariatric surgery. NATIVE is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center, Phase IIb clinical trial in NASH patients. The study will investigate the safety and efficacy of two doses of IVA337 (800 and 1200 mg/day) over a 24-week period and will enroll up to 225 patients in 12 European countries. The primary endpoint will be based on histologically assessed improvement of the activity component of the SAF2 score combining inflammation and ballooning, without worsening of fibrosis. NASH is a highly prevalent condition with a significant unmet medical need, said Prof. Sven Francque of the Antwerp University Hospital, and one of the trials Principal Investigators. The medical community is in search of a treatment that resolves NASH without worsening fibrosis. Based on the data generated in pre-clinical models, IVA337 has the potential to meet this objective. Therefore, we are excited to further evaluate IVA337 in this Phase IIb clinical trial. We are very pleased with the progress so far and the positive feed-back received from regulatory agencies as well as from the clinicians involved in the study: we look forward to the full enrollment of this study in the second half of 2017, said Dr. Jean-Louis Abitbol, Inventivas CMO. < align="justify">IVA337, which has demonstrated anti-fibrotic properties in several tissues alongside good clinical tolerance, is currently in a Phase IIb trial for the treatment of systemic sclerosis, another fibrotic disease with very high unmet medical needs. IVA337 has undergone a successful Phase IIa study in diabetic patients with improvements in markers of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and dyslipidemia (increase in circulating HDL cholesterol and decrease of circulating triglycerides). These clinical findings are extremely valuable as the physiopathology of NASH is intimately linked to obesity, IR and T2DM. Furthermore data generated in multiple relevant pre-clinical models demonstrated that IVA337 also positively impacts all hepatic lesions associated with NASH. In these pre-clinical studies, IVA337 significantly reduced steatosis, ballooning and inflammation, and reversed established liver fibrosis. This is a very important study in identifying a new treatment for NASH, a condition associated with increased mortality, with excess cardiovascular-, liver- and cancer-related deaths, added Pierre Broqua. Importantly, by measuring the efficacy of IVA337 on histological scores for ballooning and inflammation, the NATIVE study will evaluate the effects of IVA337 on the two components defining NASH resolution, a regulatory approved endpoint. The initiation of this study represents a critical milestone for our company as we continue to advance our diversified pipeline. Contacts Inventiva Frederic Cren Chief Executive Officer [email protected] +33 (0)3 80 44 75 00 NewCap Julien Perez / Mathilde Bohin Investor Relations [email protected] +33 (0)1 44 71 98 52 NewCap Nicolas Merigeau / Arthur Rouille Media Relations [email protected] +33 (0)1 44 71 94 98 LifeSci Advisors Chris Maggos Investor Relations [email protected] +41 79 367 6254 About Inventiva: www.inventivapharma.com Inventiva is a biopharmaceutical company specialized in the development of drugs interacting with nuclear receptors, transcription factors and epigenetic modulators. Inventivas research engine opens up novel breakthrough therapies against fibrotic diseases, cancers and orphan diseases with substantial unmet medical needs. IVA337, currently in Phase IIb clinical testing for treatment of NASH and systemic sclerosis, is an anti-fibrotic treatment with a unique mechanism of action going through the activation of all three alpha, gamma and delta PPARs (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors), which play key roles in controlling the fibrotic process. Its anti-fibrotic action targets two initial indications with substantial unmet medical need: NASH, a severe and increasingly prevalent liver disease already affecting over 30 million people in the United States, and systemic sclerosis, a disease with a very high mortality rate and for which there is no approved treatment to date. Inventiva is also developing a second clinical program with IVA336, a drug candidate for the treatment of three different forms of mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS I or Hurler-Sheie syndrome, MPS II or Sly syndrome and MPS VI also known as Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome), as well as a portfolio of projects in oncology. Inventiva has signed separate strategic drug discovery partnerships with AbbVie and Boehringer Ingelheim, under which Inventiva is eligible for preclinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments and royalties on products resulting from these partnerships. Inventiva also is leveraging its drug discovery platform to advance multiple proprietary preclinical programs and benefits from partnerships with world-leading research entities, such as the Institut Curie. Acquired from the international pharmaceutical group Abbott (now Abbvie), Inventivas highly qualified staff and state-of-the-art R&D facilities, include a proprietary library of over 240,000 molecules as well as integrated biology, chemistry, ADME and pharmacology platforms. 1 Angulo et al. Hepatology 1999; 30(6):1356-62.; Minervini et al. J Hepatology 2009; 50:501510 2 SAF is a scoring system to measure liver lesions that dissociates grade of steatosis, grade of activity, and stage of fibrosis thus enabling an easy comparison between biopsies and changes observed in paired biopsies during clinical trials. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 03, 2017] Whirlpool Brand Introduces Kitchen and Laundry Innovation Inspired by Care at CES 2017 LAS VEGAS, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Whirlpool brand is bringing its Every day, care campaign to this year's CES to continue championing the importance of seemingly small acts of cooking, washing and cleaning in shaping the people we love and the world we live in. The brand is warming the sea of cold technology with smart appliances designed to fill real human needs and the Care Counts program, which tracks the connection between a student's access to clean clothes and their school attendance. Also on display at the show will be innovations from WLabs, Whirlpool Corporation's innovation incubator. Experience the interactive Multimedia News Release here: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7942551-whirlpool-ces-2017 "We use technology as a medium to help families care for each other and the larger community," said Ryan Morand, senior brand manager, Whirlpool brand. "From creating appliances with remote capabilities so you can care for your family from anywhere, to studying how clean clothes can help a child's education, we believe in the power of small acts of care." Located in the Smart Home section at the Sands Expo center, the Whirlpool Every day, care experience will take place in booth #41730, where attendees can experience award-winning product innovations: The Whirlpool booth will showcase the latest in Whirlpool Smart Appliances, which harmonize Whirlpool features and appliances to provide families control from anywhere: The Fingerprint-Resistant Smart Kitchen Suite helps families organize, schedule, cook and clean whether at home or on the go through remote controls and notifications. The four-piece collection refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave and stove provides personalized care by learning what a family cooks, how they cook it, and automatically recommending customized presets so family favorites are just a click away[1]. In addition, some of these smart appliances learn how families are using the features, making them easier and quicker to use over time. To make cooking even more convenient, anticipated industry-first Scan-to-Cook technology sends the right cooking instuctions and settings straight to the appliance every time, recognizing food when its UPC barcode is scanned with a mobile phone [1]. The Whirlpool booth will also offer visitors a chance to explore breakthrough new products from WLabs, Whirlpool Corporation's innovation incubator. Debuting at the show is the revolutionary Zera Food Recycler , the third innovation from WLabs. Built to convert household food waste into homemade fertilizer, the Zera Food Recycler can break down a week's worth of the average family's food waste within 24 hours[2] and 95 percent of a typical family's food waste overall. Visitors will also have the opportunity to interact with Zera through the Whirlpool mobile app[1] and sign up for pre-orders of the product through Indiegogo starting January 6 . Also on display from WLabs will be the Vessi Beer Fermentor and Dispenser system . Launched earlier in 2016, the Vessi system ferments, carbonates and dispenses home-brewed beer in as little as seven days[3]. , the third innovation from WLabs. Built to convert household food waste into homemade fertilizer, the Zera Food Recycler can break down a week's worth of the average family's food waste within 24 hours[2] and 95 percent of a typical family's food waste overall. Visitors will also have the opportunity to interact with Zera through the Whirlpool mobile app[1] and sign up for pre-orders of the product through Indiegogo starting . Also on display from WLabs will be the . Launched earlier in 2016, the Vessi system ferments, carbonates and dispenses home-brewed beer in as little as seven days[3]. Through the groundbreaking Care Counts program, Whirlpool provides students with access to clean clothes and studies the connection between clean clothes, attendance rates and chronic absenteeism. Visitors to the booth will be able to see how Whirlpool is using technology to track the impact of clean clothes on a student's education. Whirlpool Corporation and Whirlpool brand also are bringing home six International Consumer Technology Association (CTA) 2017 CES Innovation Awards for new and innovative kitchen and laundry products, including the Zera Food Recycler by WLabs of Whirlpool Corporation, Whirlpool 2-in-1 Over the Range Microwave Convection Oven, Whirlpool French Door-within-Door Refrigerator and the Whirlpool Smart All-in-One Care Washer and Dryer Combo. For more information on the company's care-centric products and to join the conversation, visit ces.whirlpool.com and follow #EveryDayCare. [1] Requires WiFi and account creation. App features and functionality subject to change. Subject to Terms of Service available at: www.whirlpool.com/connect. Data rates may apply. [2] Based on estimated 3.5 kg weekly household food waste for average U.S. family. [3] Brew times will vary. Based on a light blonde ale beer at 3.3% ABV and use of clarification agent. About Whirlpool Brand For more than one hundred years, Whirlpool brand has been inspired by how people care for their families. Whirlpool brand is designing home appliances that are focused on improving how families give and get the care they need with the latest technologies and innovations that make their experience effortless, intuitive, and easy whether that means most flexible refrigerator storage for all types of family needs, induction technology for efficient cooking and easier cleaning, or laundry pairs that sense and adapt to clothes with the latest in connected technologies. Whirlpool brand is part of Whirlpool Corporation, the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances. Whirlpool Corporation is also one of Habitat for Humanity's largest corporate partners for over 15 dedicated years, donating a refrigerator and range to every new Habitat for Humanity home built in North America. For more information on Whirlpool, please visit whirlpool.com/everydaycare or find us on Facebook at facebook.com/whirlpoolusa or Twitter at @WhirlpoolUSA. Additional information about the company can be found at whirlpoolcorp.com. About Whirlpool Corporation Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is the number one major appliance manufacturer in the world, with approximately $21 billion in annual sales, 97,000 employees and 70 manufacturing and technology research centers throughout the world in 2015. The company markets Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Consul, Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht, Jenn-Air, Indesit and other major brand names in nearly every country throughout the world. Additional information about the company can be found at WhirlpoolCorp.com, or find us on Twitter at @WhirlpoolCorp. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/whirlpool-brand-introduces-kitchen-and-laundry-innovation-inspired-by-care-at-ces-2017-300384369.html SOURCE Whirlpool Brand [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 03, 2017] Dashlane and Intel Collaborate to Create Unrivaled Password Protection NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dashlane, the leader in online identity management, announces a collaboration with Intel to deploy Intel Software Guard Extension (SGX) technology with Dashlane's award-winning password manager. Dashlane's industry-leading and patented security software combined with Intel SGX will provide an unrivaled layer of online protection. Unrivaled Software + Hardware Security Combination Massive security breaches dominated the headlines in 2016. As such, consumers and businesses are more concerned than ever about cybersecurity risks. That's why Dashlane is proud to announce support for Intel Software Guard Extensions, a powerful security technology built into the latest Intel Core processors. Dashlane is the only password manager with a USPTO patented security architecture. A user's data is safeguarded by their master password- the key that unlocks all of their data locally on their device. This password, which Dashlane requires to be a mix of at least eight characters, is not stored on any Dashlane servers and no Dashlane employee ever has access to it. Dashlane also encrypts all data with AES-256 and hosts it on Amazon's AWS, the most respected and secure hosting solution on the market. This proprietary backend technology provides Dashlane users with a world-class level of security and the addition of Intel SGX will provide an extra layer of hardware-based protection. When combined with Dashlane, Intel SGX can be used to protect the ser's data and seal them to the device, even if a hacker did export data to another machine. When merged with Dashlane's industry-leading software, Intel SGX will provide users with an unparalleled layer of password protection. Cutting Edge Innovation "Dashlane is committed to staying on the cutting edge of security," states Emmanuel Schalit, CEO, Dashlane. "The new Intel Core processors provide a powerful new way to protect your passwords. Dashlane is taking full advantage of Intel's built-in hardware security to make our users' passwords safer than ever." "The collaboration to bring Intel hardware-based security with Dashlane's easy to use password manager is a remarkable step in protecting users against the most current password related breaches." says Rick Echevarria, Vice President, Software and Solutions Group, and General Manager, Platform Security Division. Get the powerful Dashlane + Intel SGX security combination at: http://www.dashlane.com/lp/intelsgx About Dashlane Dashlane makes identity and checkouts simple with its password manager and secure digital wallet app. Dashlane allows its users to securely manage passwords, credit cards, IDs, and other important information via advanced encryption and local storage. Dashlane has helped over 6 million users in 150 countries manage and secure their digital identity. The app is available on PC, Mac, Android, and iOS, and has won critical acclaim from top publications, including: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. Dashlane is free to use on one device, and Dashlane Premium costs $39.99/year to sync between an unlimited number of devices. Dashlane was founded by Bernard Liautaud and co-founders Alexis Fogel, Guillaume Maron, and Jean Guillou. The company has offices in New York City and Paris and has received $52.5 million in funding from Rho Ventures, FirstMark Capital, and Bessemer Venture Partners. Learn more at Dashlane.com Intel and Intel Core are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dashlane-and-intel-collaborate-to-create-unrivaled-password-protection-300383711.html SOURCE Dashlane [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 03, 2017] LIFX + Named As CES 2017 Innovation Awards Honoree REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- LIFX today announced that it has been named a CES 2017 Innovation Awards Honoree for the LIFX + : Wi-Fi-enabled Smart Bulb with Infrared. Products entered in this prestigious program are judged by a preeminent panel of independent industrial designers, independent engineers and members of the trade media to honor outstanding design and engineering in cutting edge consumer electronics products across 28 product categories. The LIFX + is a Wi-Fi-enabled smart lightbulb, capable of 16 million colors, thousands of shades of white and infrared illumination, invisible to the naked eye, but easily seen by night vision cameras to dramatically improve their visible range. "We're thrilled to have our LIFX + Smart Bulb with patent-pending Infrared Technology be recognized by the Consumer Technology Association. It's truly an honor and a testament to all the hard work that went into creating something so groundbreaking," said Marc Alexander, Chief Executive Officer of LIFX. The prestigious CES Innovation Awards are sponsored by the Consumer Tchnology Association (CTA), the producer of CES 2017, the global gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies, and have been recognizing achievements in product design and engineering since 1976. LIFX's LIFX + : Wi-Fi-enabled Smart Bulb with Infrared will be displayed at CES 2017, which runs January 5-8, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada. A selection of Honorees will also be displayed at CES Unveiled New York, which features dozens of exhibitors and networking opportunities and runs 3:00-7:30 PM November 10 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York. Entries are evaluated on their engineering, aesthetic and design qualities, intended use/function and user value, unique/novel features present and how the design and innovation of the product directly compares to other products in the marketplace. Products chosen as CES Innovation Honorees reflect innovative design and engineering in some of the most cutting edge tech products and services coming to market. CES 2017 Innovation Honoree products are featured on CES.tech/Innovation, which lists product categories, as well as each product name, manufacturer information, description, photo and URL. About LIFX: LIFX is a privately held company with offices in Redwood City, California, Melbourne, Australia, and Shenzhen, China. LIFX bulbs are available online and in retail stores across the USA, Europe, Asia, and Australia. For more information visit LIFX.com. Media Kit available here. For inquiries, email [email protected]. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lifx--named-as-ces-2017-innovation-awards-honoree-300384659.html SOURCE LIFX [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 03, 2017] Among 16 Promotions, Valeska Pederson Hintz, Reynold Lambert, and Edward Nadel Elected to Lowenstein Sandler Partnership Lowenstein Sandler LLP announced today that three attorneys have been elected to the partnership. In addition to the promotions of Valeska Pederson Hintz, Reynold Lambert, and Edward Nadel to partner, 13 associates have been elevated to counsel, all of which became effective January 1, 2017. "We are delighted to welcome Valeska, Rey, and Ed to the partnership," said Chairman and Managing Partner Gary M. Wingens. "We are confident that these skilled attorneys will continue to expand Lowenstein's reach, not only in their specific practices - investment management, technology, venture capital, and litigation - but also in the services the firm provides across the diverse industries and sectors where our clients need us." New Partners Valeska Pederson Hintz is a member of The Tech Group. Her practice focuses on initial public offerings, venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and risk management. A driving force behind the firm's presence in the emerging Austin technology space, Valeska led Lowenstein's involvement in the Austin 2016 Startup Week. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from Fordham University School of Law and her B.B.A, cum laude, from The University of Texas at Austin. Reynold Lambert is a member of Lowenstein Sandler's Litigation department. Rey's practice focuses on business disputes, class actions, and international arbitrations. He also serves as an Officer of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey and was the first Lowenstein attorney to participate in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity's Fellows program. Rey earned his J.D. from Rutgers Law School and his B.A. from Rutgers University. Edward Nadel is a member of the firm's Investment Management practice. Ed's principal areas of focus include the structuring, formation, and operation of private investment funds. He earned his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law and his B.S., summa cum laude, from New York University's Sten School of Business. New Counsel Lesley Adamo is in the firm's Tax group. Lesley earned her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and her B.A. from Amherst College. She also has an LL.M. degree in Taxation from New York University School of Law. Naomi Barrowclough is in Lowenstein Sandler's Litigation department. Naomi earned her J.D. from Rutgers Law School and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Duke University. Sean Collier is in the firm's Environmental Law & Litigation practice. Sean earned his J.D. from Boston College Law School and his B.A., cum laude, from Boston College. Annie Nazarian Davydov is part of Lowenstein Sandler's Transactions & Advisory Group. She received her J.D. from New York University School of Law and earned her B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles. Joseph Fischetti is in Lowenstein Sandler's Litigation department. He earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Seton Hall University School of Law and his B.A., cum laude, from George Washington University. Jonathan Goodman is part of Lowenstein Sandler's Transactions & Advisory Group. Jonathan earned his J.D., cum laude, from New York Law School and his B.S. from the University of Maryland. Carl Hessler is in the firm's Tech Group. He earned his J.D. and M.B.A. from Santa Clara University and his B.A. from Princeton University. Matthew Hintz is in The Tech Group's Intellectual Property practice. He earned his J.D. from the University of New Hampshire School of Law and his B.A. from Rutgers University. Colin Kirby is part of The Tech Group. Colin earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame Law School and his B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He also has an LL.M. degree in Entrepreneurship from Duke University School of Law. Brent Morowitz is part of the Investment Management practice. Brent earned his J.D. from New York University School of Law. He received his M.S. as well as his B.S., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University. Rahul Shekher is in The Tech Group's Intellectual Property practice. He earned his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of Law, his M.S. from Boston University College of Engineering, and his B.E. from Vanderbilt University. Jewel Watson is part of the firm's Litigation department. She earned her J.D. from Rutgers Law School and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Syracuse University. Nikki Adame Winningham is part of Lowenstein Sandler's Environmental Law & Litigation practice. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from Tulane University Law School and her M.E. and B.S. from Cornell University. About Lowenstein Sandler Lowenstein Sandler is a national law firm with more than 300 lawyers working from six offices in New York, Palo Alto (News - Alert), Roseland, Utah, and Washington, D.C, representing clients in virtually every sector of the global economy with particular strength in the areas of investment funds, life sciences, and technology. Recognized for the breadth and depth of its practice, its extraordinary client service, and its entrepreneurial spirit, the firm provides seasoned, value-added legal advice and strategic solutions for its clients. Lowenstein Sandler prides itself on being a different kind of law firm - one committed to and deeply rooted in the interests of its clients, colleagues, and communities. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170103005923/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 03, 2017] Structured Finance and Securitization Partner Joins Norton Rose Fulbright in New York Norton Rose Fulbright today announced that Patrick D. Dolan, an experienced structured finance and securitization lawyer, has joined the global law firm's New York office as a partner. He comes to Norton Rose Fulbright from Dechert LLP. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170103006125/en/ Patrick Dolan, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright (Photo: Business Wire) Dolan focuses his practice on asset-backed and mortgage-backed securitizations, which often involve innovative structures. He represents warehouse lenders, issuers, underwriters, investors and multi-seller commercial paper conduits. Dolan has worked on financings and securitizations of various asset types, including PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy (News - Alert)) bonds, tax liens, structured settlements, peer-to-peer/marketplace loans, trade receivables, aircraft leases, subprime auto loans, life insurance and credit tenant leases. Daryl Lansdale, Norton Rose Fulbright's US Managing Partner, said: "Patrick is a seasoned structured finance lawyer with more than 25 yeas of extensive experience working on complex securitization deals. His arrival further strengthens our finance practice, which has seen coast-to-coast growth this past year." Gene Lewis, Norton Rose Fulbright's US Head of Business Practice, commented: "Patrick's reputation for working on innovative structures and newer asset types in the securitization area makes him a perfect addition. His deep finance knowledge enables him to successfully handle the most sophisticated transactions." Dolan, who chairs the Structured Finance Committee of the New York City Bar Association, said: "I am thrilled to join Norton Rose Fulbright's highly respected finance practice. I look forward to working with the talented lawyers in the finance group and across other practices as well as having access to Norton Rose Fulbright's global platform." Licensed to practice in New York, Dolan received his JD from the University of Chicago Law School and his BA from Swarthmore College. Notes for editors: Norton Rose Fulbright Norton Rose Fulbright is a global law firm. We provide the world's preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. We have 3800 lawyers and other legal staff based in more than 50 cities across Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. Recognized for our industry focus, we are strong across all the key industry sectors: financial institutions; energy; infrastructure, mining and commodities; transport; technology and innovation; and life sciences and healthcare. Wherever we are, we operate in accordance with our global business principles of quality, unity and integrity. We aim to provide the highest possible standard of legal service in each of our offices and to maintain that level of quality at every point of contact. For more information about Norton Rose Fulbright, see nortonrosefulbright.com/legal-notices. Law around the world nortonrosefulbright.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170103006125/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 03, 2017] Rahlat.com releases the 1st Arabic flight & hotel comparison engine Discover the free and independent Arabic travel metasearch engine STOCKHOLM, Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rahlat.com is the first and only Arabic travel search website that is done by Arabs for Arabs! The company has launched its free and independent travel metasearch engine allowing Arab travelers to find the best flight and hotel prices with the click of a mouse. The Arabic search engine enables Arabic users to compare prices from hundreds of travel and airline websites, and almost one million hotels located across the globe. Saving time and money is a mission that Rahlat.com is working on achieving in an attempt to enrich the Middle East and Gulf travelers with an exclusive search experience in their own local language, Arabic. The search engine combines technology, usability and a user-friendly interface to facilitate the search, making it a true breakthrough in serving Arab travelers everywhere Rahlat.com search engine website attracts more than a hundred thousand visitors from various countries in the Middle East and Gulf regions; such as Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait. The search engine enables Arab travelers as well as expats living in the Arab world to use the service in Arabic and English languages, and introduces all possible currencies for a smooth payment process. Company CEO, Elie Messo described the idea behind the release of the Arabic travel metasearch engine saying ''We saw that travelers in the Middle East still bought their tickets from small offline agencies around the corner. Prices they paid were mostly 50% higher compared to what is paid online via travel search engines in Europe. We decided to solve this problem in the Middle East by launching Rahlat.com in Arabic with the vision of providing the same low prices as elsewhere in the world." Furthermore, airline companies and travel agencies want customers to believe they offer you the best prices. In most cases, that is difficult to achieve; as to get the best deals, you simply need to compare all available prices in the market. Having to search many travel websites separately chasing the best prices is definitely time consuming. Rahlat.com does this work for their Arabic speaking customers just in seconds. Start comparing hotel and flight prices in both Arabic and English right now, just click on Rahlat.com homepage address www.Rahlat.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 03, 2017] Segal Rogerscasey Officially Acquires Marco Consulting Group Segal Rogerscasey, the SEC (News - Alert) registered investment consulting business of The Segal Group, finalized their acquisition of Marco Consulting Group (MCG) today. The combined firm will be known as Segal Marco Advisors (www.segalmarco.com). "Today we are pleased to have one of our most respected and formidable competitors become part of The Segal Group," said Joseph A. LoCicero, The Segal Group's Chairman. John DeMairo retains the title of President and CEO of the new firm, which will have a staff of more than 150 investment, consulting and research professionals serving more than 400 clients with advisory assets exceeding $500 billion. "Segal Marco Advisors is now one of largest independent providers of traditional and discretionary investment cosulting and corporate governance services," commented Mr. DeMairo. "By any metric, Segal Marco Advisors is now the leading firm in the Taft-Hartley market and also a top tier provider to public sector, corporate and non-profit organizations." David Blumenstein, President and CEO of The Segal Group, added, "We are excited by what the combination means for the clients of Segal Marco Advisors. The new firm will possess expanded research capabilities, offer governance support and proxy voting services, and bring an integrated asset liability perspective through leveraging the actuarial expertise of Segal Consulting. These enhancements mean Segal Marco Advisors will provide clients a more comprehensive view of their investment programs and access to better tools for decision making." Segal Marco Advisors is headquartered in New York and will have a significant presence in Chicago, operating out of the former MCG office. It will also have offices in Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Darien (CT), Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle, Toronto and Dublin, Ireland. The Segal Group (www.segalgroup.net) is a private, employee-owned consulting firm headquartered in New York and with more than 1,000 employees throughout the U.S. and Canada. Members of The Segal Group include: Segal Consulting, Sibson Consulting, Segal Select Insurance Services, Inc. and Segal Marco Advisors. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170103006330/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 03, 2017] Vivint Smart Home Partners with Citizens Bank to Offer Vivint Flex Pay Vivint Smart Home, a leading smart home services provider in North America, and Citizens Bank today announced an innovative payment plan that will significantly change the way consumers purchase smart home products and services. With Vivint Flex Pay, customers will pay separately for products and services when creating a customized smart home, with qualifying customers able to access zero-percent (0% APR) interest financing through Citizens Bank. "By separating the purchase of products and services, we're introducing a model similar to the one used in the cell phone industry to provide greater flexibility for consumers as their needs evolve," said Alex Dunn, president at Vivint Smart Home. "This new payment plan will also make it easier for Vivint customers to continue to add the latest innovations to their smart homes." When building their system, customers can choose from a variety of smart home and security products, including smart door locks, thermostats, indoor and outdoor cameras, doorbell camera, voice control through Amazon Echo and a variety of smart sensors. A separate service agreement provides customers complete control from anywhere via the Vivint Smart Home app, in-home service, 24/7 customer support, award-winning monitoring and an equipment warranty. "We are excited to partner with Vivint to bring this unique payment option to consumers," said MK Fiorille, head of unsecured lending, Citizens Bank. "This partnership marks the next chapter of Citizens' strategy to create innovative financing solutions that offer customers simplicity, flexibility and help them manage their finances." Vivint Flex Pay will provide customers with two options for purchasing a customized Vivint smart home system: Zero-percent interest financing - Qualifying customers can purchase a customized smart home package, including installation, with a zero-percent (0% APR) interest installment loan from Citizens Bank, one of the nation's largest retail banks, and a preferred financing partner for several Fortune 500 companies. Along with the loan, customers enter into a service agreement with simple pricing of $39.99 per month for smart security or $49.99 per month for smart home. After paying off their zero-percent (0% APR) interest loan, customers pay only their monthly service agreement. Qualifying customers can purchase a customized smart home package, including installation, with a zero-percent (0% APR) interest installment loan from Citizens Bank, one of the nation's largest retail banks, and a preferred financing partner for several Fortune 500 companies. Along with the loan, customers enter into a service agreement with simple pricing of $39.99 per month for smart security or $49.99 per month for smart home. After paying off their zero-percent (0% APR) interest loan, customers pay only their monthly service agreement. No contract option - Customers can pay for a customized smart home package up front and sign up for a monthly service subscription for $39.99 for smart security or $49.99 for smart home. Vivint Smart Home plans to roll out Vivint Flex Pay to customers during the first quarter of 2017. In addition to partnering with Vivint Smart Home on this innovative financing plan, Citizens Bank is one of the leading lenders to companies in the security service and smart home industry with a dedicated team of Security Finance Group bankers. About Vivint Smart Home Vivint Smart Home is a leading provider of smart home products and services in North America. Vivint delivers its integrated smart home products and services with in-home consultation, professional installation and support delivered by its Smart Home Pros, as well as 24/7 customer care and monitoring. Dedicated to redefining the home experience with intelligent products and services, Vivint serves more than one million customers throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information, visit www.vivint.com. About Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation's oldest and largest financial institutions, with $147.0 billion in assets as of September 30, 2016. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens helps its retail customers "bank better" with mobile and online banking, a 24/7 customer contact center, and the convenience of approximately 3,200 ATMs and approximately 1,200 Citizens Bank branches in 11 states in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. Citizens also provides wealth management, mortgage lending, auto lending, student lending and commercial banking services in select markets nationwide. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers corporate, institutional and not-for-profit clients a full range of wholesale banking products and services, including lending and deposits, capital markets, treasury services, foreign exchange and interest hedging, leasing and asset finance, specialty finance and trade finance. Citizens operates through its subsidiaries Citizens Bank, N.A. and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania as Citizens Bank, Citizens Commercial Banking and Citizens One. Additional information about Citizens and its full line of products and services can be found at www.citizensbank.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "outlook," "believes," "expects," "potential," "continues," "may," "will," "should," "could," "seeks," "projects," "predicts," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates" or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including, among others, risks inherent in the security and smart home industry, competition for security and smart home customers, litigation, complaints or adverse publicity, macroeconomic factors beyond Vivint Smart Home's control, adverse publicity and product liability claims, increases and/or decreases in utility and other energy costs, increased costs related to utility or governmental requirements, cost increases or shortages in security and smart home technology products or components and the impact to Vivint Smart Home's business, results of operations, financial condition and customer experience of the Vivint Flex Pay plan. In addition, the origination and retention of new subscribers will depend on various factors, including, but not limited to, market availability, subscriber interest, the availability of suitable components, the negotiation of acceptable contract terms with subscribers, local permitting, licensing and regulatory compliance, and Vivint Smart Home's ability to manage anticipated expansion and to hire, train and retain personnel, the financial viability of subscribers and general economic conditions. Additional factors that could cause Vivint Smart Home's results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the "Risk Factors" section of the Annual Report on Form 10-K of APX Group Holdings, Inc., Vivint Smart Home's indirect parent, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, filed with the SEC (News - Alert), as such factors may be updated from time to time in APX Group Holdings, Inc.'s periodic filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this release and in APX Group Holdings, Inc.'s filings with the SEC. Vivint Smart Home undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170103006352/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Petition seeks to 'Keep Abby and Libby arrest evidence sealed' A petition on Change.org urges the prosecutor to keep the probable cause affidavit sealed in Richard Allen's arrest in the Delphi double homicide. You have reached a premium content area of Transitions. To read this entire article please login if you are already a Transitions subscriber. Not a subscriber? Subscribe today for access to: Full access to the website, including premium articles videos, country reports and searchable archives (containing over 25,000 articles). A man has died after consuming an unknown drug at a rave party at Mount Lindesay, near the Queensland/New South Wales border. Two others who are also believed to have taken the drug are currently fighting for their lives in a Gold Coast hospital. The YewbuNYE party attracted close to 500 revellers over the weekend. Emergency services treated five people who were described as behaving erratically two of them fled into the bush before receiving adequate treatment. DJ Zee Nagual, who performed at the event, told ABC he saw drug-takers who appeared to be demonically possessed. From my camp site, I was observing bunch of about four young people looking like if theyre demonically possessed, he said. There were four of them in a group together, but they were just erratically going around waving their hands and gibbering and yelling. The man who died is believed to have been in his 20s. Queensland Police told the media that testing of the drug is underway, and has been expedited. Huff Post: Why Hanukkah Avoids Mass Commercialization Hanukkah ended last night but he lights on the Plaza endure until January . ..Hopefully, more for the morning update . . . Cowtown International Sound Global Climate Change Chill Tragedy Report From Metro Student Doubling Up On Kansas City Biz Winning Kansas City Playoff Spirit Because our blog community is exceptionally diplomaticis our favorite Russian hottie and right now she inspires this quick blast of afternoon news links . . .And this is thefor right now . . . This guy has allegedly beenacross the metro causing fear and loathing among a great many middle-class ladies who don't admire the illicit and unsanctioned male form. Now, MSM updates. Take a peek: KC police release man's picture after lewd acts reported is a hard concept for locals indoctrinated by mainstream media and pandering politicos to understand . . . However, we're a couple of days into Missouri's great gun rights experiment without calamity and that's a good thing. Here's a far more scary roundup as fearful people try to convince locals that facing criminals unarmed is an effective strategy. Checkit: New Missouri law allows concealed firearms without permit "Citizens For Responsible Government is a group made up of taxpaying voters in Kansas City, MO. We would like to request a copy of the Term Sheet referred to by the City Manager and the developers this past week and the identity of the lender. Since the project is over 50% funded with taxpayers dollars, we feel we are entitled to all pertinent paperwork associated with the project. The fact that the developers failed to disclose who is lending the money, makes everybody very suspicious. The City has a track record with this developer and many are curious if we will not be bilked again..." So far a developer scheme worth hundreds of millions of dollars is moving forward with "" funding sources and local tax fighters are once again asking for accountability from 12th & Oak.Here's an important money quote from an e-mail now circulating and so far unanswered from KCMO elected officials . . .Developing . . . Serb Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic stated that Serbia shouldnt had recognized FYROM as Macedonia. To him Serbia made a mistake recognizing the country with its constitutional name, given that Skopje recognized Kosovo as independent later on. The Serb politician made these statements in an interview on Beta news agency. All of Europe and the world uses the name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia FYROM while we gave a slap to our Greek brothers and now we expect from them not to recognize Kosovo as independent. We recognized Macedonia insulting the Greeks and now the Skopje vote everywhere in favor of Kosovo. I must say that we were foolish, to use a diplomatic term, he explained. In the same interview Dacic said that Belgrade will continue to use the constitutional name for its bilateral relations with FYROM but in the EU, the UN etc. they will use the internationally official name, FYROM. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Greece is not discussing non-existent issues with Turkey and Albania and does not recognize grey zones in its territory Greece is not discussing non-existent issues with Turkey and Albania and does not recognize grey zones in its territory, Alternate Defence Minister Dimitris Vitsas in an interview with magazine Greek Defence & Technology published on Tuesday, commenting on recent statements by the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. We are not discussing non-existent issues and for Greece there are no grey zones; there are only sovereign rights, Vitsas was quoted as saying. As far as the statements of Turkish officials are concerned, I think they mostly express their insecurities, he added. Commenting on the ongoing talks over Cyprus, the minister said time doesnt always work in favour of the faits accomplis of the Turkish invasion and occupation. It is very important that after 42 years, we are keeping the issue active in international fora that is, that the Cyprus issue is first and foremost an issue of invasion and occupation. All this, along with the instability in Turkey and its region create a framework, which could lead to a jointly accepted and viable solution, without armies and foreign guarantees, he said. Asked about the possible instrumentalization of refugees and refugee flows by Turkey to pressure Europe and Greece, he said: We want to be clear: Such action would constitute a hostile act. Id like to believe we will not face such a situation. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Two foreign nationals have been detained by Turkish police at Istanbuls Ataturk airport, following their suspected connection to the attack on a night club on New Years Eve Two foreign nationals have been detained by Turkish police at Istanbuls Ataturk airport, following their suspected connection to the attack on a night club on New Years Eve, reports said on Tuesday. The recently reported arrests bring the total number of apprehended suspects to fourteen. Earlier on Tuesday, the Turkish media reported that twelve people had been detained as part of the ongoing manhunt. Hurriyet Daily News has reported that new details on the attacker say he entered Turkey through Syria. The date when he arrived in Turkey is unknown, but he was in the Central Anatolian province of Konya on November 22, 2016, before heading to Istanbul to carry out the attack on the Reina night club, which claimed the lives of 39 people. According to the investigation, the attacker arrived in Konya with his wife and two children and hired a house there. His family members, whose identities remain hidden, have been detained by police. I learned about the attack from the TV. I didnt know that my husband was an ISIL militant, let alone a sympathizer, his wife reportedly said in her testimony to authorities. Meanwhile, new details continue to emerge regarding the attack, with daily Haberturk releasing new footage of how the attacker arrived at the scene. In the footage he can be seen with his backpack and a cigarette getting into a taxi at 11:58pm from the Zeytinburnu district of Istanbul to head to Reina. The so called Islamic state has said that it was behind the attack in Istanbul. Source: RT 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 Oman Orix Leasing Company, one of the leading non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) in Oman, said it has successfully raised $25 million bilateral term facilities from regional banks, to fund its leasing finance business. The term facilities were provided by Bahraini lender BBK and the National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah (Rakbank), while Alpen Capital Oman acted as the sole financial advisor to the transaction. Prasenjit Mandal, the department head (Institutional Banking) at BBK signed the deal with Oman Orix CEO Shahin Mohammed Ahmed Al Balushi along with other senior executives from both organisations and Alpen Capital. A similar ceremony was held at the Capital Club in DIFC where Sunil Pherwani, the general manager at, Oman Orix, signed the deal with Rakbank CEO Peter England in the presence of Rohit Walia, the executive chairman, Alpen Capital along with other senior company officials. On the key agreements, Al Balushi said: "We would like to use this opportunity to extend our gratitude to all parties involved in making this transaction a success and supporting us in our growth objectives. We have made it a priority to diversify our funding sources and I am glad that we were able to establish new banking relationships in the region through this transaction." "We are proud to be associated with this transaction and happy to support Oman Orix with its growth strategy," remarked Siraj Bhavnagarwalla, the managing director at Alpen Capital, Oman. "Their strong track record and reputation have played an important role in helping us execute this transaction seamlessly and place it successfully with regional banks," he stated. England said as a leading Emirati lender Rakbank was pleased to provide fund to Oman Orix for its leasing finance business. "With a focus on financial institutions business, this medium-term financing will help us progress into NBFCs within the GCC region and will assist in diversifying our asset book," he added.-TradeArabia News Service A water park with a five-star hotel, a mall and five wedding and conference halls will be built in Salalah, Oman, officials were quoted as saying. Sayyid Mohammed bin Sultan Al Busaidi, Minister of State and Governor of Dhofar, has signed an agreement for the project in the Ittin area with Al Wasl Group for Development and Investment, said a Times of Oman report, quoting a tweet from Dhofar Municipality. The site of the project is where the Salalah Festival is held annually, it said. The ageement also includes the execution of the second phase of the Salalah Water Park and maintenance and operations of the project for 25 years. The first phase of the water park is currently under construction. The project will include six types of water rides, a restaurant, a coffee shop, an administration building, parking lot and green areas. The contract also consists of a 50,000-sq-m project which will also open next to the park. This will have a five-star hotel with 148 rooms, meeting rooms, restaurants and coffee shops, a shopping mall with 218 retail stores, five halls for weddings and conferences, among other amenities. Amlak, the real estate investment unit of Bahrain-based Social Insurance Organization (SIO), is set to launch several key projects this year including its residential development 'The Sixty Six' in Umm Al Hassam area of the kingdom. Announcing the projects, Amlak chairman Abdulrahman Yusuf bin Yusuf Fakhro, said the company has taken steady steps towards prosperity by developing its growing portfolio. "We are excited to announce our upcoming projects which will include a residential project and a number of multi-purpose projects, in addition to rebuilding all existing local markets under our portfolio," noted Yusuf Fakhro. "Our strategy stems on developing the real estate portfolio of the SIO by improving its performance in order to increase the revenue and create sustainable wealth. Our aim is to bridge real estate and market needs by investing in profitable development projects," said the top official. "All projects undertaken by Amlak will undergo feasibility studies in order to maintain a higher rate of return," he added. Yusuf Fakhro said Amlak has been implementing an acquisition strategy based on diversifying the company's real estate portfolio in order to boost its revenue. The Bahraini firm acquired two buildings in 2016 that has successfully yielded nine per cent annually. Meanwhile, the companys acquisition plan has directly supported its financial performance which has witnessed a steady growth during the past year amounting to 70. "Amlak's goal in the coming period is based on a two-fold approach - to maintain the value of its projects and search for new investment opportunities in the field of development, housing and services across strategic areas in the kingdom," remarked Yusuf Fakhro. Commenting on future projects, CEO Mohammed Abdulelah Alkooheji, said: "The Sixty Six is a six-storey residential building located in Umm Al Hassam which includes fully-furnished apartments along with a well-equipped recreational floor." Amlak has already signed up a Bahrain-based contractor to construct the project. We are currently studying the possibility of developing a project in Janabiya called "Mirage Palms". It will consist of a residential compound that includes 30 housing units divided into three groups of luxury villas, as well as a private pool and multi-use recreational area, he added. Alkooheji said the other projects currently under discussion are a residential property for mid-income families. "This project will be developed with strategic partners. Also, we are looking at developing a residential project in the Seef District that comprises 190 apartments spread across 41 floors," he added. Amlak also unveiled plans to transform the existing markets under its portfolio into a modern mixed-used facility catering to the demand of the neighbourhood. "Amlak owns 13 markets and has put together a strategic plan to either re-develop or maintain the markets in order to accommodate more tenants and add further services for the residents," said Alkooheji. Souq Al Buhair is the first market to be redeveloped by Amlak. Strategically located in East Riffa, Souq Al Buhair is of close proximity to a number of commercial and residential areas along with educational and medical businesses. The renovated souq will include 30 retail units and will be ready by mid-2017.-TradeArabia News Service Iran's petrochemical exports will rise up to 20 million tonnes by the end of this year on March 20, said the director of the Planning and Development Department in National Petrochemical Company (NPC) on Monday. Elimination of sanctions has facilitated development of the petrochemical industry and the exports to the extent that statistics show growth in the production and exports in recent months, Farnaz Alawi was quoted as saying by Irna. Though due to oil price fall, value of petrochemical exports has been dropped, the volume of exports has increased and new markets have been opened for the petrochemical exports. Alawi said the installed petrochemical capacity will reach 64 million tonnes by end of this year. She said last year, the petrochemical output stood at about 46.5 million tonnes and in the first seven months (March 20-October 20) of this year (started on March 20) , the production was 29 million tonnes and it is to stand between 50 to 51 million tonnes by end of this year (to end on March 20). Alawi put the value of petrochemical exports at $9.6 billion in 2015-16 and said by October 20, $4.8 billion exports were registered and it is expected to reach about $9 billion by end of this year. Iran's petrochemical production capacity will reach 130 million tonnes/year by next nine years. It would take an investment of $50 billion to $70 billion in the industry to reach the target, she said. Turkey's exports to Iran from January to November 2016 increased by more than 40 per cent compared to the figure for the same period previous year, according to recent data published by the Turkish Statistical Institute. The total value of Turkey's exports to Iran in the first 11 months of 2016 reached $4.635 billion, indicating a growth of 41 percent compared to the amount for the same period in 2015, added the Iran Daily News report, citing Tasnim News Agency Trade between the two countries from January to November 2016 however fell by 1.6 per cent against the figure for the year earlier. Bilateral trade in the 11-month period amounted to $8.798 billion, while the figure in 2015 was $8.948 billion, according to the data. Iran ranked ninth among importers of Turkish goods and tenth among those meeting the country's import demands during the first 11 months of 2016, added the report. A Gulf-wide roadshow to promote Shop Bahrain, the kingdoms largest shopping festival, has concluded successfully following visits to Riyadh, Doha and Kuwait. The roadshow included press conferences that were attended by a large number of media members. There was also a promotional stand located in Marina Mall Kuwait. The GCC roadshow aimed to announce the calendar of events and activities organised as part of the third edition of Shop Bahrain. We are keen on hosting a fun-filled festival of family oriented programmes and events for Bahrainis, residents and tourists to enjoy, said chief executive of the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, Shaikh Khaled bin Humood Al Khalifa. The press conferences were successfully attended by the media across all target markets. We also hosted an in-mall activation in Kuwait that attracted huge crowds and was a great success. In addition we launched an online competition giving participants the opportunity to win an all-expense paid trip to Bahrain during the festival, he added. Shop Bahrain, the largest nationwide festival in the kingdom, will take place from January 19 to February 18. The festival is expected to reinforce the position of the kingdom as a tourist destination with close proximity for visitors from neighboring Gulf countries. The Shop Bahrain Festival is organised as a collaboration between the BTEA and Tamkeen, in cooperation with its strategic partners Batelco, Yusuf Bin Khalil Almoayyed & Sons and Gulf Air. - TradeArabia News Service The sci-fi web television series, "Sense8" Season 2 will be heading to small screen on May 5, 2017 as previously confirmed by its network. There are news leaked online that Toby Onwumere is the new face of Capheus. Meanwhile, it was speculated that Sun could possibly escape from jail and may take revenge against his brother. After a couple of months of "Sense8" being on hiatus, Netflix's drama series has been finished filming for its second installment in the Island of Malta. Storylines of its upcoming season would be more intense. On the other hand, it was previously reported that Toby Onwumere would take the role of Capheus Onyango Capheus Onyango is a young man living in Nairobi, Kenya. He is the owner and driver of a Matatu and desperately trying to earn enough money to buy good quality medicine for his mother, who is living with AIDS. Capheus is one of the major characters in "Sense8" Season 2. However, fans were in dismay that Capaheus' character will be recast. As the news released by International Business Times, it was reported that the British actor Aml Ameen who formerly played the role of Capehus Onyango would be replaced by Toby Onwumere, a recent UC San Diego MFA acting graduate. Based on the report from Deadline, it was stated therein that there has been a conflict between Ameen and "Sense8" executive producer and director Lana Wachowski. In addition, it was also stated that the conflict between the two worsened the filming progress in India. On the other hand, it was speculated that Sun Bak might be out from jail. In a discussion from Reddit, it was posted by littlelady330 that the Sun's lawyer even said that the court went easy on her for the fact the Sun cooperated well. Besides, it was stated that Sun's lawyer said that she could get out from the jail in a week. If Sun could be out from the jail, she might take revenge against his corrupt and cowardly philander brother, Joong-Ki Bak on "Sense8" Season 2. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Are you planning to work in Australia while at the same time you enjoy your stay? From January 1, the country will tax 15 percent for every dollar you earned up to $37,000 and with foreign resident tax rates applying from $37,001. Also, one must register with the Australia government until Jan. 31 for them to withhold your working holiday maker tax rate. Failure to record yourself will have the government withhold your earnings at the foreign resident tax rate of 32.5%. Australia's new tax rules receive backlash not only from the tourism industry, but its outlandish law will affect the operations of agriculture sector as well. Growers rely on backpackers to pick or care for their farm on a span of six months. In a report by Deutsche Welle, the Australian National Farmers' Federation lamented the case of the new tax system. Charlie Armstrong, head of the Federation, said, "The agriculture industry relies on backpackers to fill severe labor shortages, which are often seasonal and temporary - for example when crops are being harvested, or milk production is at its peak." He continued to say, "Each year, backpackers contribute around A$3.5 billion to the Australian economy, and around 40,000 find employment on Australian farms." He commented that a waning number of working tourists would only worsen their arrivals to Australia each year. Meanwhile, if you are finished with your employer and will be leaving Australia back to your home country, a new tax arrangement for working tourists' superannuation will take effect on July 1. Tourists will be taxed 65 percent if they claim their superannuation beyond the said date, but will only be taxed at 38 percent if they claim their fee before July. According to the Australian government, a visa for the working tourists allows cultural exchange and closer ties between Australia and eligible countries. However, the new changes in tax rates seem to have discouraged backpackers to continue working in the country during their holiday stay. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Just imagine flying in a luxurious private jet with special rooms turned into suites and a personal assistant to wait on your every need. This is how the aristocrats, the super-rich, and the well-privileged fly. However, it could be within everybody's reach with 'The Residence by Etihad'. Dubbed as the world's most expensive flight, Daily Mail reports that the cost for a one-way flight from New York to Mumbai is a whopping 38,000 US Dollars. So appealing are its services that people are lining up to get the exclusive, top-of-the-line luxury treatment from the airline. This special place offers more than just a spacious legroom. The Residence by Etihad is an especially made VIP suite which is located on top of the decks of the airline's new A380 planes. It is a special three-room suite that comes with a living room, a bathroom, and a bedroom. It also comes complete with a butler and a chef that prepares gourmet meals. The best way to travel with luxury, style, and elegance, the Residence by Etihad is the most cutting edge, first-class means of traveling. It does not end there. All upper decks of the top deck of A380s from the Etihad Airways are named First Apartments because it seems like a special hotel made for those who loves flying with luxury. The entire top deck comes with special private suites that have reclining lounge seats and full-length beds. It also comes with a minibar, a wardrobe, and a personal vanity, pretty much like having a private room in a very expensive looking hotel. Bloomberg reports that this idea has been in the works for the past six years. Etihad Airways have been developing the logistics intricately and has worked with top-of-the-line contractors to specially develop the top decks of their jets. In spite of the fact that the cost of the flight is expensive, many of those who have had a first-hand experience of the flight have said that it is worth every penny. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Tibet, one of the most secluded and private places in the world, has an image of tradition and simplicity. However, it is a considerable surprise to find out that it is one of the only places in the world that has gone cashless and is now in their fourth successful year. Known as the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, the region has been given rights to their type of governance, flag, religion and even currency. However back in 2012 with the hype of technology and communication, establishments all over the region have started to offer up means to pay online. Although their currency and bank notes are still accepted anywhere in the region, almost all major establishments have provided means of paying online. When establishments have seen the benefits from a few stores, more and more businessmen has started to accept online payments. This is to provide convenience for tourists who wish to visit the area. Travelers could pre-pay online to receive services in hotels, restaurants, and even movie theaters. It is also a perk that the locals have adapted and enjoyed pretty well. Reports have indicated that it is because of an e-payment platform known as Alipay that this kind of trend has become popular in the region. A platform introduced by Alibaba Group in 2004, it has provided its services to hundreds of millions of Chinese users throughout the entire country. As explained by China Daily, an estimated 1.6 Million internet users have been registered in the Tibet Autonomous Region alone. This impressive number shows that locals do enjoy the efficiency and convenience of e-payment platforms. A report from the New Indian Express has explained that about 83.3 percent of payments in Tibet were done electronically through mobile phones just last year. This has shown a significant change in the payment habits of residents in the region. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Angelina Jolie divorced with Brad Pitt last September 2016, and it was a shocking story for the Brangelina fans. However, both sides might have been misunderstood by most people but still they are doing the best they can for their kids. According to US Weekly, Angelina Jolie spent her New Year's Eve with her kids in Colorado. Angelina Jolie and her daughter Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt was seen shopping at a toy store on Friday last week on the 30th of December according to their report. The famed "Maleficent" actress arrived earlier after Christmas, with her children, Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt (15), Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt (13), Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt (11), Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt (10), and twins Knox Leon Jolie-Pitt and Vivienne Marcheline Jolie Pitt (8) they received the information from a source. The tragic divorce has crumbled the relationship of both Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt towards their kids, and it has been quite a hard time for Brad Pitt based on reports. On the other hand, last Christmas Brad Pitt was lucky enough to have been allowed to give his children their Christmas presents however, he was under strict supervision. The time he spent with his children was also limited and has ended within just a few minutes. According to Daily Mail, Brad Pitt has been through a lot of emotional stress. The time he has had with his children before Christmas was so short and Brad Pitt told to one of his closest friends that he considered it the worst holiday season of his life. Whilst he gazes upon his children heading back to their mother in Hollywood, the Hollywood actor Brad Pitt got emotional and shed tears. Both Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are having a hard time spending their holidays after the divorce, and it was never easy for them to see each other. Angelina Jolie's sudden decision to divorce with Brad Pitt was a total shocker for everyone, but still it could be just the right thing to do due to the traumatic experience Brad Pitt has given their children. This might be the worst holiday season for both Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt after getting divorced however; Angelina Jolie appears to be lucky for having to spend the two holidays with her beloved kids. Watch the video below for a couple of interviews taken by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and subscribe for more updates! See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Pollution is now one of the world's most rampant problems. Not only it endangers the cleanliness of our environment, nowadays pollution has mutated into levels that can be really harmful to our health. Sadly, this problem has also now affected some beloved tourist destinations around the world, making some of them not ideal for travel anymore. And if governments and local communities don't do something to alleviate this problem, these travel destinations may close up for good. Here are some of them: Acclaimed as the most romantic destination of the world, Paris, France is becoming more toxic for travelers because of the rising level of air pollution. Test done last December 13 has shown that it's now difficult to get a clear sight of the Eiffel Tower due to the blockage of smoke, and that Parisians are now breathing in up to 6 million fine particles of air, equivalent to the amount of smoke 8 smokers inside a room can produce. Because of this, the mayor of Paris has decreed restricted access of cars with high levels of CO2 emissions starting 2015. The Great Barrier Reef, Australia is home to multitudes of species of fish and other marine life, and now human pollution has done great damage to some parts of this natural attraction. Because of its delicate environment, the mass of tourists it encounters every year is not ideal for its survival. It's only a matter of time before this largest reef in the world gets destroyed if we don't take it up to ourselves to solve this problem. India's national treasure, the Taj Mahal, is now under a serious threat from pollution. The onslaught of tourists who visit Taj Mahal every year is becoming a grave danger to this magnificent palace. Once a magnificent royal structure, this white castle is slowly turning yellow due to the amount of trash, smoke, and other debris tourists leave when they travel. Local authorities now ban vehicles from within 500 meters of the monument. China is now currently being affected by smog, an air condition where fog consists of smoke and other air pollutants permeate a certain place. In Beijing, the smog problem is particularly high, and its influence has now affected the Great Wall of China. Aside from that, it seems that the two-thirds of the Great Wall are now destroyed due to natural erosion, tourist onslaught, and vandalism. A highly disturbing report, and one that we should prioritize solving otherwise the Great Wall may lose its greatness forever. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Every city in the Philippines has a motto, and Davao confidently boasts that 'life is here.' For better or worse, the southeastern commercial and tourist hub in the Philippines has earned its reputation by doing things quite uniquely. Here are the top 5 reasons to visit Davao City. Gold Standard Security No commercial establishment in Davao City has ever experienced an armed robbery for more than a decade. What is even ironic is the fact that Davao is located in the island of Mindanao - a region mainstream news crassly described as a terrorist haven. This level of security, however, is not without a strong cooperation by its citizens. Case in point: liquor-ban at 2:00 AM and curfew for children at 10:00 PM. Potable Tap Water The Philippines is nowhere in the top 10 list of the world's most potable water (not by the long shot!). However, Davao City Water District dispenses potable water in every house or building within the entire metropolitan area. In fact, the quality of local tap water only ranks second place after Switzerland by comparison, but residents only pay no more than $4 a month for it. Eco-tourism Mecca Upon listing the top 5 destinations in Davao City among the 68 categorized in Trip Advisor, the 4 out of 5 are all 'geared for the green movement.' In fact, the tallest mountain peak in the Philippines, Mount Apo, is located in Davao City. Free 911 Emergency Service For a city that has a relatively economical cost of living, it has one huge bonus that is still not available in other parts of the Philippines. Davao City has a free 911 emergency service. That's right! Nobody pays for immediate first aid and a fast ride to the city's hospitals. President's Hometown The current (albeit controversial) Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, was raised in Davao City where he eventually served as mayor for over 22 years. Residents often attribute the positive gradual change of social norms (e.g. discipline) in a single generation due in large part to the influence of the tough no-nonsense celebrity public officer. His appointment to the highest political position is believed to be driven by the collective desire of Filipinos to live in the same kind of environment enjoyed in Davao City. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Today's skyscrapers are more than just the regular, rectangular box that has adorned the world's skyline for decades. Innovative engineering techniques have paved the way for daring architecture to step up and revitalize the once boring skyline of Asia. What are we expecting for Asia's crazy skyline for 2017? Asia has been home to many architectural wonders through the years Backpacking Asia reports that Among the most impressive skyscrapers in its skyline would be the 7,650 skyscrapers in Hong Kong of which, four of the tallest buildings in the world could be found. Taipei 101 from Taiwan that has been built to resist typhoons and earthquakes certainly wowed the world. The Tokyo Tower from Japan has been a historical landmark since it has been built, a tower visited by tourists all over the globe. Another very impressive building would be the gravity-defying CCTV building in Beijing which has ben designed to look like two perpendicular axes attached to each other's blades. Known locally as the "Big Pants", it took a total of 10 years to complete. The Interlace Singapore has been awarded the World Building of 2015 with its impressive and daring architecture. Dubbed by CNN as an ambitious residential development, it consists of rectangular blocks which are stacked on top of each other in the most unusual ways. CNN reports that there are a number of crazy skyscrapers to look out for in the future. One would be the MahaNakhon of Bangkok, the tallest building in Bangkok, which has been designed by the German architect Ole Scheeren. Another building to expect in the future of Asia's skyline would be the KL118 in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, which is an 118-meter 'megatall' structure. Although it is not expected to be completed until 2019, the initial works of the KL118 have already commenced. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 There's always danger involved when you travel but there are just some places that you might not want to consider going to in the first place. However, some dangerous places also have amazing tourist attractions that are worth visiting so if you would risk it, it's better to know these places first so you can take extra precaution. Here are the top 5 most dangerous cities tourists should be aware of. Caracas, Venezuela Caracas is the capital city of Venezuela and although most countries face drug-related problems, the severity of the problem in this city poses a danger for tourists. According to Escape Here, crimes like theft and mugging are pretty common which makes the city unsafe for walking tourists. The city is also number one in murder cases which are mostly caused by notorious gangs. San Pedro Sula, Honduras Just like Caracas, the city of San Pedro Sula also experiences the same conditions. According to World Atlas, the place is full of notorious gangs and drug dealers which make the city unsafe for wandering tourists. Poverty is also one reason that causes crimes like theft. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico Ciudad Juarez is also well-known for its drug problems which include it in the top 5 most dangerous cities tourists should be aware of. Some local police officers are often paid by drug dealers which leave most crimes unpunished. It is actually one of the most violent cities in Mexico. Cape Town, South Africa Cape Town is actually a beautiful place to visit because of its many amazing attractions but due to poverty, it can be a dangerous place. However, the city can be safe too if you don't wander off alone especially at night. Baghdad, Iraq Bombings and gunfire are still common in the city which includes it in the top 5 most dangerous cities tourists should be aware of. There are still many terrorist groups in the city that makes it unsafe for travelers. When you plan your next travels, you might want to cross these top 5 most dangerous cities out in your itinerary. However, if you still prefer traveling to these cities, you might want to be extra careful. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 With the entire city being designated as a UNESCO World Heritage, Evora is a treasure trove of Portugal's very own ancient monuments. This city is a perfect destination for tourists who are very much into history and culture. But wait! Here's more to Evora than what meets the mainstream perspective... City Profile Measuring a total land area of 1,307 square kilometers, Evora is ranked second nationwide in terms of the quality of life according to the annual publication of the Lisbon-based newspaper "Expresso." A 2006 study conducted by Minho University placed Evora as the most competitive of all 18 Portuguese district capitals in terms of overall economic performance. Since 2012, Evora is designated to be Portugal's center for the national aerospace program. All upscale investments are geared towards developing a solid aeronautics industry. Evora pretty much reflects the country's low-key reputation as a European tourist destination since travelers often flock to Lisbon, Porto or Madeira. Evora is a highly recommended off-beat cultural experience. 94 Sights and Landmarks As featured by Trip Advisor, it is practically impossible to visit all of the city's sights and landmarks within a very short one-week vacation timeframe. In order to fully enjoy the touring experience, it would be wise to allocate other points of interest for the next visit. Evora is worth another vacation. Top 3 Guided Tours The most popular guided tour in the city, the "Ebora Megalithica," is hosted by a local archaeologist exploring the city's prehistoric wonders. Another competing travel organizer is the "Evora Cultural Experience," known to punctuate the short half-day tour with a sumptuous lunch break. Anyone looking for fast-paced bicycle tour should avail the services of "Turaventur Day Tours." Evora's Best Accommodations Finding a temporary home in Evora is as important (and as challenging) as choosing the day tour destinations. One of the most recommended luxury hotels is the M'Ar De Ar Aqueduto ($166 per night). The cheapest three-star hotel is the Evora Inn Chiado Design ($35 per night). See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 International tourists and travelers fearing terrorist attacks and radical violence during the holidays has crowded Ireland's shores, improving the country's travel economy according to an Irish tourism group. The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC) Chairman said the terrorist attacks in Europe "has driven business to Northern Europe" because people feel more secure. According to the Irish Times, ITIC Chairman Paul Gallagher said one of the current upsides of terrorism in Southern Europe is that it is driving business upwards to northern Europe. He said that he would not sell the idea of terrorism as a great factor for Ireland but he "can't deny that it is not playing into Ireland's performance at the moment." Gallagher acknowledges the hospitality industry faces a lack of quality accommodations due to a great number of tourists in the country but he also said it is unlikely that Airbnb is likely to fill the void. He said the ITIC would convene with Revenue and Failte Ireland regarding the regulation of AirBnB in the country. Currently, accommodations in Dublin are few and some are poor. Gallagher said plans for 5,000 more Dublin bedrooms are on its way but urged the construction and development to begin as early as 2017. The ITIC also believes that the country's tourism could still grow by 3 to 5 percent with better accommodations and create a further 7,000 jobs in the services and tourism industry -- that is, if it resolves its accommodations issues. The Irish tourism industry has set a record earning a 9% increase in revenue compared to 2015. According to the Irish Examiner, Gallagher also acknowledged the possible effects of the Brexit on Irish tourism and the weakening pound sterling. ITIC Chief Executive Eoghan O'Mara Walsh said Britain -- representing Ireland -- should make it a point to reflect Ireland's tourism needs when negotiating with the EU. Walsh said that the country needs assurance it would retain the Common Travel Area and air access rights vital for Irish tourism. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 River cruising is one of the hottest rising travel trends of 2017; it's another one-of-a-kind way of sightseeing. Last year, the feat had been a breakthrough and it's slowly gaining more interest from vacationers. Definitely, it's for everyone! Families, friends, and even solo travelers should give a closer look at what this brand new wanderlust can provide. These days, many new kinds of traveling are sprouting, and river cruising is one of them! The list of 2017 travel trends ranks it high. A lot of travel guides and agencies offer now varieties of packages, and the industry is getting bigger. Remarkably, actual water travel is another best thing about river cruising. Without the noisy vehicle bustle, everyone can enjoy hopping from one place to another. Additionally, the cruise's relaxing ambiance, sumptuous food, and dependable service can really recharge anyone's spirit. Young and old, this newest river cruising travel trend offers a wide berth of good things than bigger cruise and land vacations. It's getting popular with everyone because of its flexibility to entertain almost anybody. More so, there's no shortage of fun in here. Companies make sure to fit a theme for every travel they make; they make explosive voyage programs and thrilling interactive itineraries. What's more about it? According to Cruiseable CEO JD Lasica, "River cruises are all about destination immersion." He adds, "The attraction centers on the activities along with your route." For example, family-oriented Uniworld's 2017 Jewish heritage themed Rhine-Main Discovery & Munich Trip is for vacationers who want to enjoy medieval museums and underground tours while streaming Germany's waters. Here's for an adventurous group of friends, AmaWaterways' 13-night Taste of Bordeaux. It offers a round-trip cruise to in Paris, Normandy, Danube, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Rhine. In all, anyone aspiring for a brand new travel experience must get a closer look with "Travel Trends 2017: River Cruising." For more travel tips and news, keep following Travelers Today. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 If the goal is to visit the most beautiful places in the world, then Hong Kong should definitely be a part of a traveler's travel bucket list. There are so many beautiful sights and places in Hong Kong that are definitely worth every penny. Hong Kong, known as shopper's paradise because it offers products from all over the world, from luxurious goodies to local buys with decent prices. There are also these so-called "sale seasons" which happens twice every year, where the prices become lower and shoppers flood the streets of Hong Kong. However, Hong Kong is made up of 236 islands, islets, and rocky outcrops. Surely, the city can offer much more than the just awesome shopping experience. For hikers, the best place to be is the Dragon's Back, one of Hong Kong's best urban hiking trails. The trail looks a lot like the spine of a dragon resting on the grounds of Shek O Country Park. Sky 100 is a 360-degree viewing deck on the one-hundredth floor of Hong Kong's tallest skyscraper, the International Commerce Center tower. This is for those who would like to experience and take a look at the breathtaking view over Victoria Harbor. Tie up them boots and get ready to take 268 steps up to the Big Buddha. This is definitely worth a try as the view of the mountains and the seas from the majestic statue of Buddha Shakyamuni is one to remember. Other than shopping and perfectly worthy places to visit, Hong Kong also offers international cuisine. The city is not called the culinary capital of Asia for nothing. The most mouth-watering and heart melting cuisine can be found in the city, from regional Cantonese food to authentic Asian and Western Cuisine. The nightlife in Hong Kong is perfect as well for those who like going out and having a drink or just to simply chill. Bars and pubs are mostly around Tsim Sha Tsui, Lan Kwai Fong, and Wan Chai, where the places are filled with pretty lights and mesmerizing views. Tune in on Travelers Today for more travel tips and news. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Luang Prabang, a city in the north-central Lao, is a must-travel destination this year that you should put on your travel bucket list. It's a city made up of 58 adjacent villages, and 33 of those belong to the UNESCO Town Of Luang Prabang World Heritage Site. A uniquely beautiful city, travelers will experience culture like you've never seen before. Here are the top things to do in Luang Prabang: Visit The Wat Xieng Thong Temple. Considered the finest of all temples in Luang Prabang, Wat Xieng Thong is revered among the locals who inhabit the city. From Mekong, you will see a grand staircase to take you up to the tip of the peninsula, where the temple is elegantly located. It's as if the whole history and culture of Laos is represented in this historic temple, so make sure you observe proper etiquette when visiting. Visit The Kwang Si Waterfall & Bear Rescue Centre. Experience the natural waters of Laos by visiting Kwang Si Waterfalls. This is a popular tourist destination, so local tourist agencies can take you there without fuss. There are only designated spots for swimming, also, modest swimming outfits are enforced. After you've done wading in their turquoise pools, pay a visit to the Bear Rescue Center halfway between the park entrance and the waterfalls, home to the local bears and other animals rescued from illegal animal traffickers. Visit The Pak Ou Caves. Do you want to see caves full of Buddha idols? A long time ago, pilgrims who complete the difficult journey to Pak Ou Caves pay their respects by leaving a Buddha idol, and now, thousands of them fill up the caves. There are two caves, the upper one is called "Tham Theung", and the lower one is "Tham Ting." Plan your visit here however, because during the high season you cannot appreciate the serenity of the caves as much due to overcrowded tourists. Visit the Ban Phanom Village. Textiles and silk are the main attractions in this village. You can get to see local women actually weaving beautiful patterns of scarves and other silk textiles which you can take home to your family. Prices are a bit steep though, so you need good bargaining skills to avail their products. The place is tourist-friendly, and you can get here by riding a bicycle or renting a tuk-tuk, their local public vehicle. Shop at Luang Prabang's Night Market. Assorted little trinkets and other local handicrafts are found in Luang Prabang's Night Market. If you want to buy your souvenirs then this is the place to be. Considered as one of the best night markets in Southeast Asia, you can buy stuff here you wouldn't get anywhere else in the world. One of the sought-after products here is the custom-made elephant slippers, a pretty and comfortable piece of footwear that'll make you remember Laos. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Iceland currently receives high praises for its dramatic landscapes, its beauty transcends to its volcanoes, geysers, and hot springs. Last year, many tourists opt to explore its unspoiled elegance. Hence, 2017 seems to be another great year to see what the country can offer. Here is everything to expect when vacationing in the world's newest tourist destination. Definitely, Iceland is on the high list of must-travel locations this year. According to The Telegraph, there are five reasons that this may be the hottest rising travel star for 2017. To begin with, Iceland geography is on the top list of reasons to see the country.The place is in the middle of the mountains and valleys.There are about 200 volcanoes and 600 hot springs around the area. Most honeymooners pick these sceneries for a romantic getaway, also the setting is best for family trips. Another Viking's attraction is diving in-between continents. Every traveler eyeing this should pack their scuba gears ready for a dip of the Silfra fissure where North America and Eurasia meets. Furthermore, Icelanders' have great campsites and hotels around their place. One of the common places is Husafell Hotel for families, it's nearby almost all the key attractions around the area.They aren't the only lucky one to spend time in Iceland. Actually, there are a lot of bars to hop at night, they produce local Brevinnin which younger and solo vacationers can revel in. Supposedly, there are 10 more amazing drinks to try, the Nordic Island is a home for original beer making. The final reason for anyone to make Iceland their top travel plan is the northern Lights, clearly it's the must-experience of all what the Viking country can offer. The best time to see them is from September to April. If a traveler will only go on a trip for it, it's available 8 months every year in Iceland. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 For 2017, expect many changes and trends in the travel industry. There has been an explosion in experiential travel. People no longer just like to go to a beach, but would like to experience other activities as well offered in their destinations. One of the trends is many airlines are reducing their fares, but are changing their back-end system so that they can charge you more for other things (add-ons). Also, there is an explosion in non-traditional lodgings like Airbnb. Whereby before lodgings were run by retirees, now they are run by business. For example, there is Room Mate, a hotel company. They have started a company called Be Mate, where you stay in an apartment near the hotel, and you get all the services that the hotel offers. The "mighty" dollar has gotten mightier, so you can travel pretty much anywhere in the world. Travel to Paris is down 30%, so now is a good time to go there with the low rates. Also, it is Canada's 50th anniversary, so there will be a lot of special events there. Experiential travel will still be in vogue. One type you can try is to go on a safari trip. If you have not been you are missing what is truly the world's bucket list trip. Go to a place (like Botswana!) or go to see different animals like tigers in India, polar bears in Manitoba, or see gorillas in Rwanda. To really make a safari special, whether it is in Southern or Eastern Africa or even tiger viewing in India, check out the world's best and most awarded safari specialists. Try out a hiking/biking/walking/multisport trip. Not only do you burn some calories and get exercise while indulging in all the usual vacation decadence like great food, but it's often just a better way to see the destination in more detail and immersion and at a better pace. As they say, "slow down to see the world." This is one of the hottest segments of the travel industry and deservedly so. While recent attention has been heaped on some just-launched mega cruise liners, it's the smallest part of the industry that is exploding with worldwide growth. River cruising is much different from ocean cursing, especially in one key respect - no waves, no seasickness. Smaller ships provide much more personal service and the ability to visit many inland European cities to the natural wonders of the Amazon. River cruising is about seeing the destinations, and ties in with the current experiential travel trend. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 If you really want to get to know the city you're traveling, then make sure you try their street food. Inherently cheap but so satisfying, there's no better way to get close to a place by experiencing its local delicacies. Food traveling is awesome, and your taste buds would rejoice at some cities' choices of street food. Here are the top cities in the world with the best street food you'll ever come across: Singapore. Singapore is not only the home of the perfect blend of culture of the Western and Asian civilization, their street food is also to die for. Added plus? They are regarded as one of the safest cities in the world for street food, so there's only a slim chance that you'll end up gasping for stomach pain in your hotel room after you've wolfed down several dishes. Try going to the Maxwell Food Center or Hong Lim Food Centre for an array of food choices you can try. Istanbul, Turkey. Turkey is full of local markets, so make sure you track down their best street food stalls. The Egyptian Spice Bazaar is perhaps the best place to try, where heaping piles of fresh cheese, grilled meat, fresh spices and other local Turkish delights are located here. Try asking the locals for other underrated food spots, and your stomach would thank you. Bangkok, Thailand. You'll never get your fill in Bangkok if you don't try their street food. Considered as one of the best street food destinations in Southeast Asia, over 12,000 vendors are lined up in the city. Be careful though, some food stalls may look delectable, but only approach those that have a sticker smiling plate, which means that local health officials have approved their food safety. Try eating their famous pad see ew (stir-fried rice noodles with Chinese broccoli), and gorge on their delicious boat noodles at the boat noodle alley in Victory Monument. Barcelona, Spain. Europeans also know how to whip up street food that will make you crave for more, and in Barcelona, you will be met with several choices of delectable Spanish street food. Food markets are one of the main attractions in Barcelona, so if you're looking for the best, try visiting La Boqueria and Santa Caterina Market, where freshly made bocadillos and other local pastries are waiting for you. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Traveling for fun is a common activity, but would you ever travel to have the best scare of your life? Some cities feature their local scary attractions for travelers to discover, but only some have the guts to brave the haunted halls of an old castle or take a selfie in a ghost-filled cemetery. Are you one of them? Then here are some places in the world you should check out if you want to experience a terrifying vacation: Capela dos Ossos, Evora, Portugal. The Portuguese town of Evora may look magical with its beautiful meadows and local scenery, but inside their town lay the Chapel of Bones or Capela dos Ossos, located inside the Royal Church of St. Francis. The crypt is literally named, because thousands of bones, some dating back to the 16th century, are laid there. 16th-century monks moved some of their dead inside the chapel when they had a shortage of burial sites, hence the place was created. Now, tourists visit the chapel for an exotic bone-filled experience, only fit for the most adventurous types. Leap Castle, Ireland. Considered as one of the most haunted places in the world, Leap Castle will fulfill all your horror fantasies. It was built in the 1500s when medieval human torture was at its high. Since then, the castle performed many historical atrocities, making it the home of some violent spirits. If you're brave enough, pay a visit to Leap Castle and have the fright of your life. Port Arthur Historic Sites, Tasmania. In the 19th century, this penal colony housed Australia's most violent criminals, subjecting them to insane torture methods. At least 2,000 deaths are reported here, so expect a very eerie and disturbing vibe. Make sure you bring a buddy when you visit this place, as some locals report that ghost sightings of a crying woman and child often frequent their halls. Island of the Dolls, Mexico. 50 years ago, a little girl died on this island's coast, and after that, several eerie-looking dolls began washing ashore. Nobody knows why this happens, and at the time, only one resident was living in the island. He started collecting the dolls and hangs them in the trees, so now the island's forest is full of them. Some local boatmen reported that it's as if the dolls were beckoning them to come ashore, and if you decide to pay a visit, the scenery looks like a very scary horror movie. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 The "KanColle: The Movie" was quite a big hit and was released in Japan by Kadokawa Pictures on the of Nov. 26, 2016, which has run for 95 minutes. This February the film will be available for a special 4DX/MX-4D screening to give more excitement for the viewers. According to Crunchyroll, the Japanese audiences of the film will be experiencing a more detailed version of the film through 4D viewing. "KanColle: The Movie" will be featured in 4DX viewing. However, it is limited to selected theaters in Japan this coming February 11, 2017. 4DX is mostly used in theme park attractions and is now becoming a good feature for making films. The seats are relatively going to move in accordance with the action that is happening onscreen. The seats and selected theaters will also contain fixtures that let the moviegoer experience a wide variety of natural elements and even some scents. On the other hand, MX-4D is almost the same with the 4DX, but has some significant sensation effects difference with the other one. According to Anime News Network, "Kancolle: The Movie" has reprised its original voice cast similar to the TV series version such as Sumire Uesaka, Saki Fuijita, Yuka Iguchi, Ayane Sakura, Ayana Taketatsu, Nao Toyama, Iori Nomizu, Rina Hidaka, Yumi Tanibe, Yuka Otsubo, Megumi Nakajima, Aya Suzaki, Sarah Emi Bridcutt, Yui Horie, and Ayako Kawasumi. Shinichiro Inoue has also retained the role of chief production supervisor for the film, and Keizou Kusakawa has also returned from the TV series to direct the film. Furthermore, Jukki Hanada has written the script of the film together with Kensuke Tanaka, Mayuko Matsumoto and Naomi Ide also returned for the character designs, and Tsutomu Miyazama and Kota Moroishi returned as the films mechanical designers. The selected theaters are in prefectures as per the official website of Kadokawa Pictures such as Hokkaido, Miyagi, Yamagata, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Niigata, Ishikawa, Aichi-ken, Gifu, Mie, Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Nara, Okayama, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Saga, Kumamoto, and Nagasaki. The upcoming special 4DX/MX-4D screening of the "KanColle: The Movie" film is expected to become a big hit, and might even give another opportunity for the adaptation to have a sequel. Watch the official trailer of the film below, and subscribe for more updates! See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Mark Baumer, a local environmentalist in the US, has decided to protest about climate change in his own way: by walking across the US in his bare feet. He does this to raise money for a local environmentalist group, called the FANG collective. This local group aims to increase awareness of their resistance against the natural gas industry in Rhode Island. Mark has been walking for 2 months now, and according to him, he's doing fine. This is the 2nd time he walked for an environmental cause-but the first time he did it he was wearing his shoes. Although walking along the interstates-barefoot or not-is illegal, Mark can't be stopped. He doesn't move aside for cars, only for trucks. He also said that so many people have offered to give him shoes, but he declined. 2010 was the first time he did a cross-country walk, and at the time he raised a total of $3000 which he donated to local causes. He finished the walk in 3 months. When asked why he decided to walk across America barefoot, he said: "I wanted to do this walk for a cause and use the attention to generate money for something good. Every time another news report comes out about the dangers of climate change, I feel like I need to do something, I need to act." "I always hear that this is the most important crisis of our time-but you look around, and people aren't freaking out. If this was a war, people would be rationing. Look at World War II: People were mobilized almost immediately." Mark constantly uploads his foot selfies on Instagram to document his journey, generating mixed feedbacks from viewers. Some said he's deranged, some applaud him for his dedication, but throughout all the attention, Mark isn't fazed. He just wants to save the environment. Check out his blog here. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Early conservation efforts failed to save the wild aurochs, a massive horned bovine that once roamed across Europe and Asia. The last aurochs died reportedly in 1627 in spite of protection by order of the Polish royal family, which offered incentives to citizens who helped the remaining herd survive harsh winters. Only fossils, stories, and primitive cave paintings remained as reminders of the noble beasts' grand reign. For some years now, a group of ecologists and scientists have been working to bring the aurochs back. The effort stems from observations that smaller modern cattle breeds are poorly adapted for rewilding, or returning areas set aside for the purpose to their native state. The agriculturally adapted breeds cannot graze as effectively in areas of heavy brush, and have few defenses against natural predators such as European wolves. The group hit on the idea of reversing the selective breeding that resulted in modern agricultural stock. Many of the genes of the aurochs remain hidden in the DNA of modern animals, especially in the more primitive 'heritage' breeds preserved in various parts of Europe. Project TaurOs was born. The goal: to recreate an animal as similar as possible to the aurochs by bringing out these hidden genes, without the use of genetic engineering. Since the project was first introduced to the public, the team has continued to cross-breed primitive cattle species most closely resembling aurochs, in order to select for more aurochs-type characteristics in a new strain of cattle. A calf born of a Hungarian Grey cow and a Sayaguesa bull just before Christmas establishes the start of another breeding plan seeking the mythical beast of Europe's past. Experts are trying to expedite the program by constraining the size of the breeding herds, but they estimate it will take at least ten years to get to a genetic profile akin to the aurochs. They are assisted by scientific studies, examining the genetic similarity between aurochs DNA and existing cows as well as on the flow of genetic material from wild aurochs by interbreeding with early domesticated cattle. This new scientific insight was made possible by the sequencing of the full aurochs genome from a fossil in 2015. This project sparks disparate opinions. On the one hand, how do we know bringing an old cow into a new world will work out for the cow or the ecosystem we are trying to restore, much less what could happen if the breed escapes the boundaries of rewilded parks set aside for their welfare? On the other hand, the thought of undoing the damage mankind has done to the balance or the original ecosystem entices visionaries to attempt this scheme. Europe has achieved documented success in rewilding efforts and the ongoing re-introduction of the nearly extinct European bison, recovered from populations remaining in zoos, offers a precedent for the more ambitious hope that the magnificent aurochs can return from extinction to once again roam the Eurasian continent, even if only in areas reserved for it. Plastic bag bans are about a lot more than just banning plastic bags; A few years ago, Adam Sternbergh wrote a great article for New York Magazine, The Fight Over Plastic Bags Is About a Lot More Than How to Get Groceries Home, discussing bans on bans in Arizona: Others see the skirmish as part of a larger war: The unending fight to combat government tyranny and protect the American Way. Now the war has come to Michigan, where the state government has passed a law that bans bans on bags, prohibiting local governments from banning, regulating or imposing fees on the use of plastic bags and other containers. More specifically, it is: A bill to preempt local ordinances regulating the use, disposition, or sale of, prohibiting or restricting, or imposing any fee, charge, or tax on certain containers... which include not just plastic bags, but any: (a) "Auxiliary container" means a bag, cup, bottle, or other packaging, whether reusable or single-use, that meets both of the following requirements: (i) Is made of cloth, paper, plastic, cardboard, corrugated material, aluminum, glass, postconsumer recycled material, or similar material or substrates, including coated, laminated, or multilayer substrates. (ii) Is designed for transporting, consuming, or protecting merchandise, food, or beverages from or at a food service or retail facility. Lake Scientist/via This is not just silly, taking away local control, but it is fundamentally stupid for a state that depends a great deal on tourism to pristine beaches. According to Lake Scientist, Visit the majority of beaches on the Great Lakes and youll find plastic debris, and not just on public beaches in large cities. Even Lake Superior has visible plastic debris on remote and otherwise pristine beaches and shorelines. This plastic is a potential hazard to the health of animals and their ecosystems, and its unsightliness damages the tourism industry that so many people enjoy and depend on for their livelihoods. But hey, the restaurant industry wanted this. In their press release they note: Currently, there are a number of local units of government across the state that have taken action to implement additional taxes and fees on businesses that not only use plastic bags, and auxiliary containers such as Styrofoam cups and cardboard boxes. With many of our members owning and operating locations across the state, preventing a patchwork approach of additional regulations is imperative to avoid added complexities as it related to day-to-day business operations said Robert OMeara, Vice President of Government Affairs at [The Michigan Restaurant Association] MRA. The Washington Post and local papers are concentrating on the bag ban, but the implications of the law are far bigger than that. Styrofoam cups, plastic bottles, you name it; takeout joints can do it right from the beachfront takeout joint and there is nothing the local communities can do about it. International joint commission/Screen capture It is also interesting that the International Joint Commission, set up under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909, covers water pollution: In the Boundary Waters Treaty, Canada and the United States agreed that neither country will pollute boundary waters, or waters that flow across the boundary, to an extent that would cause injury to health or property in the other country. When asked by governments, the IJC investigates, monitors and recommends actions regarding the quality of water in lakes and rivers along the Canada-United States border. The IJC just released recommendations regarding microplastics: It is critical to properly manage plastic materials so they do not enter the environment. Prevention of plastic debris in the Great Lakes could be accomplished through a combination of approaches and tools. The IJC recommends that the Parties develop a binational plan to prevent microplastics entering the Great Lakes. Yet Michigan, perhaps the most important state in America when it comes to protecting the Great Lakes, has decided to make it impossible for anyone to do anything to prevent plastic debris from entering the lakes. They are not only stepping on the rights of local authorities, they are possibly snubbing international law. But hey, thats the American Way. A forester and best-selling author makes the case for trees and their extraordinary abilities. There are reasons why we anthropomorphize trees; they stand tall like people, they sway, for torsos they have trunks and for arms, branches. But are there more similarities between trees and people than those that meet the eye? Peter Wohlleben is one of a number of experts who believes this to be the case. Wohlleben is a German forester and the best-selling author of The Hidden Life of Trees. He has spent decades working with our arboreal cohabitants and getting to know their secrets. It may come as little surprise that we've written about the tree-whispering Wohlleben before. First there was Trees in the forest are social beings, followed by Trees can form bonds like an old couple and look after each and thus it appears that whenever I read another interview with Wohlleben, I cant help but to write again. The following comes from an exchange with Richard Schiffman at Yale e360. The whole interview is poetry (hey, poetree!) but I especially love when he talks about trees and memory. Trees and Memory We had a heavy drought here. In subsequent years, the trees that had suffered through the drought consumed less water in the spring so that they had more available for the summer months. Trees make decisions. They can decide things. We can also say that a tree can learn, and it can remember a drought its whole life and act on that memory by being more cautious of its water usage. Wohlleben has been taken to task by other scientists complaining about his tendency to anthropomorphize, but he does so very intentionally. When scientists remove the emotion from writing, it loses its impact. Humans are emotional animals," he says. We feel things, we dont just know the world intellectually. So I use words of emotion to connect with peoples experience. Science often takes these words out, but then you have a language people cant relate to, that they cant understand. Some Trees Form Friendships And certainly speaking of trees as having special friendships will raise an eyebrow for some; but why does the definition of friendship have to be exclusive to humans? We may have created the language to describe friendship as it pertains to people, but we should also be intellectually expansive enough to broaden our horizons. I have known trees that I am certain were friends, even if they don't go out for coffee with each other. Wohlleben agrees: In about one in 50 cases, we see these special friendships between trees. Trees distinguish between one individual and another. They do not treat all other trees the same. Just today, I saw two old beeches standing next to each other. Each one was growing its branches turned away from the other rather than toward each other, as is more usually the case. In this way and others, tree friends take care of each other. This kind of partnership is well known to foresters. They know that if you see such a couple, they are really like a human couple; you have to chop down both if you chop one down, because the other will die anyway. We May Not Fully Understand Trees Now of course it would be easy to ascribe all of this to pure biological mechanics but how egregiously species-centric that would be. Just because we dont speak their language doesnt mean trees dont communicate even if they do so with chemical and electrical signals, as Wohlleben explains, also noting that trees are badly misunderstood: We just see them as oxygen producers, as timber producers, as creators of shade. We have this essentially arbitrary caste system for living beings. We say plants are the lowest caste, the pariahs because they dont have brains, they dont move, they dont have big brown eyes. Flies and insects have eyes, so they are a bit higher, but not so high as monkeys and apes and so on. I want to remove trees from this caste system. This hierarchical ranking of living beings is totally unscientific. Plants process information just as animals do, but for the most part they do this much more slowly. Is life in the slow lane worth less than life on the fast track? Perhaps we create these artificial barriers between humans and animals, between animals and plants, so that we can use them indiscriminately and without care, without considering the suffering that we are subjecting them to. You can read more from this wonderful interview at Yale e360 ... and in the meantime, don't forget to hug a tree. It may even remember that you are a friend. Via Boing Boing Charu Chhibber Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 2 Its 6.15 pm. Grain Market, Sector 26, is in the middle of its rush hour. But the buzz today is not about the usual work. A short drive up the crammed full, dusty path inside the market and it becomes evident there the food van of the UT Administration has caught the fancy of people around who have turned out in large numbers to buy food for just Rs 10. Cartons of sabzi and chapati send wafts across the otherwise stinking labyrinth opposite the liquor vend inside the market. This is one the five locations where a mobile food van under the Annapurna Akshaypatra Yojana is rolling out packets of affordable, hygienic and nutritious food consisting of a vegetable, six chapatis and pickle to anyone who wants to buy at Rs 10 only. Within minutes, the food is sold out, leaving dozens high and dry. Similar reports are flowing in from the other four locations where food vans are stationed, informs Naveen Sharma, Assistant Labour Commissioner, who is overlooking the distribution process in the city. The Annapurna Akshaypatra Yojana opened to an overwhelming response from city residents, informs Sharma. A visit to the areas where food vans are stationed by a Chandigarh Tribune team confirmed the same. While the food is lapped up within minutes, residents, eager to buy the same, lurked around the van long after the supply had run out, clearly hinting at the massive response from the crowds, says Sharma, adding that on the first day today, a total of 665 packets were sent out, 133 each in the five vans. We will increase the supply from tomorrow, he said, adding that eventually, rice and dal will be added to the meal once the target of feeding 10,000 needy is achieved. Meanwhile, onlookers and buyers who have queued up near the van point out that it is the first-of-its-kind and never-seen-before initiative. The target buyers seemed to be happy to get a meal for just Rs 10. Most buyers expressed satisfaction with the food quality and taste, and even said they would like to buy the packet everyday as it was much cheaper than the same quantity of food prepared at home. Many even appeared eager to take the food for families back home. On the other hand, there were some who felt the quantity was not sufficient for those who perform intense physical labour. Six chapatis are too less for me. I normally eat 12. This food is no good for me, remarked a porter who works at the grain market in Sector 26. The vegetable (sabzi) had to be rolled inside the chapatti today as the volunteers involved in packing the food were unaware about the availability of containers. However, from tomorrow, the sabzi will be packed in proper containers, informed Sharma. Rs 2 per packet loss The rough cost of each food packet, being sold for Rs 10, is estimated to be Rs 12 each. The loss of Rs 2 per packet will be borne through donations, says Naveen Sharma, AssistanLabour Commissioner. Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 2 Guest houses and hotels will not be allowed in villages as the UT Administration has finalised common building bylaws for all villages falling under the limits of the Municipal Corporation and the Administration. Sources said a presentation regarding the proposed bylaws would be made before Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore on Tuesday. The Administration would seek objections and suggestions from the public before notifying the bylaws. The indecision and delay by the Administration in finalising the bylaws over the years has led to haphazard construction in most villages. While stringent bylaws govern every bit of construction in the sectors of the city, there is no check on construction in villages. Shops and residential areas share space with guest houses and factories preparing sweets and other items. The sources said the new bylaws were being prepared in consonance with the national building code. One of the officers of the Administration said while the proposed bylaws would ensure proper development of the villages, they would also check unauthorised construction and commercial activities. Only those commercial activities will be allowed which cater to the needs of the villagers. Under the proposed bylaws, all buildings will have to follows the norms relating to structure stability, light and ventilation. No industrial activities will be allowed in the villages except those permitted by the Chandigarh Administration. While the villages falling under the Municipal Corporation are at present governed by building bylaws, there are no such bylaws for the remaining 13 villages falling under the Administration. Recently, the Centre had asked the Chandigarh Administration to adopt the model building bylaws framed by the Urban Development Ministry. Sandeep Rana Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 2 Touts had a field day at the District Courts today as a large number of people reached the court in connection with drunken driving challans. A few touts charged more than thrice the challan amount for hassle-free release of vehicles. A motorist caught for drunken driving was charged Rs 5,000 by a tout and had to pay Rs 1,000 as fine in the court. I was told by a man that the court is strict against drunken driving and has earlier sent people behind bars or asked them to stand till the rising of the court. He told me that if I go through him, he can get my vehicle released easily, said a local resident. Another man, who came from Ludhiana to celebrate New Years Eve in Chandigarh, said on condition of anonymity, Since I am not from the city, I do not know much about the system in the court here. A tout approached me near the court gate and told me that if I pay him Rs 5,000, he will get my vehicle released and save me from trouble. People who came to the court in connection with their challans alleged that touts were impersonating as court officials and fleecing offenders. Earlier, the police had rounded up three touts from the court, but they returned. Recently, District and Sessions Judge Balbir Singh had asked the police to look into the matter. Licences of two suspended Over 200 persons, who were caught for drunken driving on New Years Eve, were fined by a local court while licences of two were suspended for three months for a second violation. The two, Dalip, a resident of Sector 38, and Gulsum, a resident of Kharar, were also fined Rs 3,000 by the court. The others were fined between Rs 500 and Rs 2,000, on the basis of the alcohol content. The UT traffic police in-charge has written to the Chief Judicial Magistrate requesting him to suspend the driving licences of traffic violators in line with the Supreme Court directives. Afroz Alam THE politics of Uttar Pradesh is undergoing an unprecedented excitement and flux as the Samajwadi Party (SP) continues to demonstrate an uncanny flair for dynastic dissensions. An entire week of animated activity was marked by first the expulsion and then the revocation of expulsion of Akhilesh Yadav from the Samajwadi Party. It finally culminated in his coronation as the national president of the SP in a convention whose legality is now pending before the Election Commission of India. Fractured party The spectre of the Akhiklesh Yadav versus Mulayam Singh Yadav race is shallow, unprincipled and belligerent. It has the potential of leaving the party unusually fractured in the forthcoming Assembly elections in 2017. What we now see emerging is the chaotic disorientation of party leaders who are not ready to set themselves up as being the leader above politics and political partisanship. They have become "too political" to gracefully delegate power to those who can optimally deliver for the party. At one level, while valuing Mulayam Singh Yadav's record of being a proven political wizard and master strategist, we were taking the dynastic dissension as merely his strategic design to avoid strong anti-incumbency against the Samajwadi Party government in the state as well as to cleverly project Akhilesh Yadav as the person in command of the party. It also cultivates an image of him as Vikas Purush, determined to radically break from the past style of politicians and bad politics. The powerful articulations of Akhilesh Yadav and his forging ahead with developmental policies and initiatives was certainly neutralising anti-incumbency and helping the party to consolidate its Muslim-Yadava vote-banks. But if Akhilesh Yadav was doing well, then why did dynastic strife become more pronounced now and that too at a moment when he was being acclaimed as the "only game" of the party in Uttar Pradesh? At another level, however, the visible dynastic strife gelled perfectly well with the possible split of the party, with counterproductive outcomes. The rising frequency of conflict within the family, often with widespread media coverage, had shaken the robust foundation of the party laid by Mulayam Singh Yadav. The greatest loss is to Mulayam Singh Yadav. He is no longer seen to enjoy the unwavering faith of the family members, party workers and, most importantly, his social base which was unimaginable 10 years back. Indeed, the symbolism of being Netaji is at stake as he appeared more a "helpless father" and "surrendered brother". Outcome of spat Be that as it may, how do we square these developments? The recent family drama has a puzzling outcome for both the party and state politics. First, there will be organisational collapse as the party workers get highly divided at the booth level. There is an unprecedented demoralisation among the party cadres and loyalists on the current state of inflated egos of their party leaders. Second, both Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav will try to prove their mettle while staking claim on the same old party. Third, the recent family tussle has the potential of neutralising the side-effects of demonetisation which may have given a shock to the BJP in the forthcoming Assembly elections due to the rising discontent among farmers and rural voters. The biggest impact of this recent intra-dynastic strife will be seen in the final desertion of Muslim voters from the SP to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The recent conflict comes at a time when the party was already at the risk of becoming irrelevant for Muslims due to their growing disenchantment with the party owing to the poor performance of the SP on multiple measures like providing physical security to Muslims during the recurrent communal riots, maintaining law and order and bringing the much-promised economic and financial dividends to the community. Shifting loyalties The drift among Pasmanda Muslims has already been conspicuously pronounced because of their realisation that the SP while representing only Ashraf Muslims deliberately ignored their proportional strengths and subjected them to extreme suffering. A similar logic could be appropriated with regard to OBC voters, particularly the Yadavas. It is obvious that they do not appear in the mood to preserve the dynasty with recurring conflicts. This scenario is advantage BJP, as most of the OBCs and the Yadavas will finally shift their allegiance with ease in favour of the BJP. This trend we have already witnessed in the 2014 Lok Sabha election in the urban areas of Uttar Pradesh. The shifting allegiance of these social groupings in favour of the BJP is largely conditioned with three reasons. First, in the absence of political viability of SP, they are bound to go with the BJP as it is the only party which is appealing directly to their interests. Second, the BJP has carefully cultivated its presence amongst the overarching categories of voters due to its unidirectional investment in arousing hyper-nationalist passion. Third, the strategy of the BJP to enter into an alliance at interest groups level of different low-caste categories will pay high dividends to the party in attracting those who are de-aligning from SP. The possible shift of both Muslims and Yadavas is due to the failings of the Samajwadi Party. The writer is Head, Department of Political Science, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad. NDRI inducts international faculty Karnal, January 3 The National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) has started a programme to induct food and dairy scientists working in various international institutes as adjunct faculty. Under the programme, Professor Harjinder Singh, a distinguished professor and Director at the Massey Institute of Food Science and Technology, New Zealand, today gave a talk on designing food protein nanostructure with enhanced functionality. Dr AK Srivastava, Director, NDRI, said Singhs lecture was the first in a series of lectures it plans to organise. Dr RRB Singh, Joint Director (Academic), said that such interactions would increase collaboration and exchange among students, adding, a project was in progress between the NDRI and the Massey Institute. TNS Bhanu P Lohumi Tribune News service Shimla, January 2 Giving relief to students pursuing two-year BEd courses in private colleges affiliated to Himachal Pradesh University, the state government has reduced the annual fee and other charges by about Rs 15,000 per annum. The revised fee and other charges, including the monthly charges and annual charges for the two-year course for 2016-18, have been fixed at Rs 62,870. The admission fee is Rs 1,080 in the first year and the annual charges for 2016-17 and 2017-18 are Rs 31,950 and Rs 30,920. The charges for 2015-16 are Rs 46,750. The annual tuition fee has been reduced from Rs 35,750 to Rs 25,000 per annum while the building fund which is Rs 1,080 per annum has been scrapped. The other annual charges amounting to Rs 3,640 and monthly charges of Rs 6,360, including computer fee (Rs 2,640) for 2015-16, have also been reduced to Rs 1,060 and Rs 4,860, respectively. The computer fee has also been reduced from Rs 220 per month to Rs 180 per month. The annual charges for the repair and replacement of furniture have also been reduced from Rs 540 to Rs 275 and the total cost of the two-year course has come down from Rs 91,750 to Rs 62,780. There are 74 private BEd colleges in the state with over 8,000 sanctioned seats, but over 50 per seats remained vacant this year while more than 55 seats were not filled last year. The situation was so dismal that the government made a mockery of the entrance test to help the private colleges and first waived the minimum 35 per cent marks in the entrance exam and when the seats were not filled, it even allowed the colleges to admit students who did not take the test. The high fee structure and increase in duration of course from one year to two years reduced the number of admission seekers and colleges suffered losses, but despite this the government did not reduce the seats. The NCTE had imposed several conditions, including minimum 16 teachers for one unit of 50 students and additional rooms and other infrastructures as per the number of units. Thus, the requirement of the staff has increased two-fold while the number of students has reduced. In some colleges, even 30 per cent seats were nor filled. Our Correspondent Kangra, January 2 Transport Minister GS Bali today demanded that the state government should appoint a Public Grievances Commissioner. At a press conference today, he said the Congress had promised to appoint the commissioner during the elections. He said unemployment allowance of Rs 1,000 per month should be given to Class XII and graduate unemployed youths. Bali said he had written a letter to the Chief Minister in this regard. He announced Rajiv Gandhi Technical Education Scholarship programme saying five top students belonging to IRDP families would be funded by the HP Technical University for doing graduation in engineering in the government colleges. He said he had fulfilled his poll promises. The minister said Rajiv Gandhi Thali Yojana and Rajiv Gandhi Anna Yojana had been implemented besides smart digital ration cards would be used from next month to curb black marketing. Bali said under the Kaushal Vikas Yojana, Rs 100 crore was spent on the skill development of 1.5 lakh people. There are 3,100 HRTC buses, 18 Volvo buses will be added to the HRTC fleet tomorrow and these will ply on different routes within a week, he said. Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service Shimla, January 2 Terming the Congress election manifesto promise of providing unemployment allowance to the jobless youth as a utopian concept which was impractical, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today made it amply clear that it was not possible for him or any other regime or even the Centre to fulfill this commitment. Even as the demand to fulfill the promise of Unemployment Allowance made by Congress in its election manifesto gains momentum, Virbhadra said his government was not committed to fulfill the promise as it would prove to be counter-productive and lead to youth remaining idle. It is not just the BJP but Virbhadras own ministerial colleague GS Bali has demanded that this was the main promise made by the Congress in the 2012 Assembly polls which must be honoured. Those who were part of the Congress Election Manifesto Committee had no experience of the government and had I been consulted, I would have advised against it. Since I was busy travelling, I did not get the time to be involved in the making of the manifesto, he said. He admitted that considering the financial scenario that any state government in the country or the Centre is faced with, it is simply out of question to provide unemployment allowance. It was former Union Minister Anand Sharma and Transport Minister GS Bali who were associated with the preparation of the Congress election manifesto before the 2012 Assembly polls. It was these two leaders who Virbhadra hinted at obliquely, without naming them. Bali even held a press conference here last week in which he demanded that the government must provide unemployment allowance to the youth as promised in the manifesto. Providing an unemployment allowance is not the right approach and the better way is to upgrade the skills of the educated jobless youth to make them employable, for which we have provided an annual budget of Rs 100 crore annually and also launched a Rs 600 Asian Development Bank funded scheme said Virbhadra. The Chief Minister said funds had never been a constraint in providing social security pensions to the aged and other vulnerable sections of society including widows and those living below poverty line (BPL) by his government. MC Thakur Manali, January 2 The five-day National Winter Carnival Manali-2017 kicked off on a colourful note with much fanfare and gaiety at Manu Rangshala, popularly known as Rambagh, here, today. Folk artistes, drawn from different parts of the country and dressed in traditional costumes, paid their obeisance to goddess Hidimba Devi at Dungri. A special pooja was performed at the Hidimba Devi temple. Later, a procession was taken out from the temple to Manu Rangshala. The procession featured fascinating tableaux displaying culture, tradition and art of Kullu valley and other parts of the country. Standing on either side of the road from Circuit House to Mall Road, people enjoyed the culturally-rich procession. Tourists thronged the carnival venue to have a glimpse of the blend of culture, tradition and ancient lifestyle of the Kullu valley. Many of them made use of the opportunity by capturing the rare moments through their lens. Tourists clicked photos with locals and other artistes dressed in traditional attire. Town and Country Planning and Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma, who inaugurated the carnival, said the possibility of running a mono rail in Manali would be looked into, considering traffic being a major problem in the hill station. Sharma also released funds to strengthen the parking infrastructure in Manali town. He sanctioned a fire sub-station at Patlikuhal on the Manali-Kullu highway. He further said a Rs 3-crore project had been prepared to link houses to sewage facility. The minister directed officials to prepare a detailed project report for garbage management in the town. Kullu Deputy Commissioner Yunus, who is chairman of the winter carnival committee, said that 77 mahila mandals and 39 other teams are participating in the carnival. Hundreds of activists of local Mahila and Yuvak Mandals and NGOs from the adjoining areas of Manali are performing a proactive role in the carnival. Manali Sub-Divisional Magistrate HR Bairwa, who is vice-chairman of the committee, thanked all departments and institutions that played their role in successful execution of the carnival. Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service Jammu, January 3 As many as 2,690 stone-throwing cases have been registered in the Valley in the past five months. In a written reply in the Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, who holds the Home portfolio, said 2,690 cases had been registered in connection with the stone-throwing incidents in Kashmir and 16 cases had been lodged for snatching weapons till the end of 2016. Militants under the garb of rioters have snatched 57 guns, including assault rifles, from security personnel in the past five months. Of these, only four have been recovered by the authorities so far. As many as 463 people were also detained under the Public Safety Act. Of them, 145 were released, 318 were still under detention as on December 29. The cases are under investigation, the CM said, adding that 76 people, besides two policemen, had lost their lives during the unrest in the Valley. The killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani triggered violent protests in various parts of the Valley. The highest number of stone-throwing cases, 492, were registered in Sopore -the home town of separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani - followed by 339 cases in Srinagar. According to the government, 48 rifles and a huge quantity of arms and ammunition were looted by rioters in 16 cases of weapon looting during the unrest. While the weapons were looted from the security personnel deployed for the security of VIPs persons or vital installations, unruly mobs also ransacked the DH Pora police station in the Valley and looted a huge quantity of arms and ammunition. According to a case registered by the police, an unruly mob and unknown militants looted five INSAS rifles, 11 AK-47, seven self-loading rifles, one Taser gun, six pistols, one Pika gun and a huge quantity of arms and ammunition. Of the looted weapons, only one INSAS rifle and three AK-47 rifles have been recovered so far. The Chief Minister, in another written reply, said that the last year had seen 216 militancy-related incidents in which 150 militants were killed and 81 security personnel had lost their lives. Till December 21, 2016, 216 militancy-related incidents were recorded. 143 such incidents were reported in 2015 and 151 in 2014, the Chief Minister said. Tribune News Service Jammu, January 2 Director General of Police (DGP) SP Vaid was given a warm welcome by senior police officers and other staff members at Police Headquarters here today. An impressive guard of honour was given to him by the contingents of armed police. Later, Vaid convened a meeting of officers from different wings of the organisation and discussed functioning at different levels. He stressed the officers present in the meeting to focus on the priorities and ensure coordinated efforts from all ranks to bring improvements in the functioning of their wings. Better public service and maintenance of peace and order is our prime duty. The force, in coordination with other agencies, has to strengthen the mechanism, he added. We have to make strenuous efforts and curb the activities of the criminals, who pose a great challenge for the force. Peoples cooperation is mandatory to get the desired results in our fight against crime. Since people repose faith in the force, we have to live up to their expectations, said the DGP. The state police chief said, For better policing and deliverance, we have to keep the cops abreast with knowledge and make them tech-savvy. Standards of discipline and interaction with the subordinate ranks are must to keep the morale of jawans high. He said the J&K Police by the dint of its dedication had faced various challenges and inscribed a history of successes. Our cops are working in different corners of the state in hostile situation created by the anti-social elements and weather also. Their welfare is our concern and we are committed to enhance working and living conditions of police personnel. He asked the officers to come up with their suggestions to make the welfare schemes more employee-friendly. Tribune News Service Srinagar, January 3 A Pakistani militant was killed in a gunfight in north Kashmir in the wee hours today. The first gunfight of 2017 broke out at Haritar Tarzoo in Sopore, nearly 50 km from Srinagar, when the police and the Army challenged two militants passing through the area. There was an input about the militant movement and an ambush was laid in the area by forces. Around 2 am, forces noticed suspicious movement and challenged two persons who opened fire. The fire was retaliated and in the gunfight, one militant was killed while other managed to escape, said Superintendent of Police (SP), Sopore, Harmeet Singh. The searchers are looking for the other militant, the SP said. Security forces also recovered one AK-47, one grenade, three magazines and other ammunition from the slain militant. The SP identified the slain militant as Abu Umar Khatab, a Pakistani national, who was associated with the Lashkar-e-Toiba. Police sources said Khatab was the commander of his group which was active in the Sopore belt and neighbouring Bandipora district for the last three or four years. He was categorised as A plus militant and carried a cash award of Rs 7.5 lakh. A police spokesman said the militant took active part in the 2016 unrest and remained the part of protests during which he resorted to firing at many occasions. Meanwhile, a CRPF officer was critically injured in a militant attack in south Kashmirs Pulwama district this afternoon. Police sources said an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of the CRPF, BN Thakur, was shot at in Murran, Pulwama, from a point-blank range. The wounded ASI was shifted to District Hospital, Pulwama, in a critical condition, they said. The CRPF officer was later shifted to the Armys 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar. Jammu, January 3 The opposition parties on Tuesday disrupted the proceedings in the Jammu and Kashmir legislature seeking a discussion on unrest in the Valley and demonetisation. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) As assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta called for carrying out the scheduled business, opposition MLAs from the National Conference and the Congress stood on their seats and sought an adjournment to discuss the valley unrest and the issue of demonetisation. Similar scenes were seen in the legislative council, the Upper House of state's bicameral legislature, where chairman Haji Anayat Ali's repeated requests to allow business in the house failed to quieten the opposition legislators. IANS Dinesh Manhotra and Sumit Hakhoo Tribune News Service Jammu, January 2 The Budget session of the J&K legislature began on a stormy note as the Opposition created ruckus, forcing Governor NN Vohra to cut short his address during a joint sitting of both Houses. Some unruly opposition members even threwplacards towards the podium from where the Governor was addressing the joint session. As soon as the Governor entered the Central Hall of the Assembly at 11 am, legislators belonging to the Congress and the National Conference began raising slogans against killings in the Valley, arrest of youth under the Public Safety Act and failure of the government to start a political dialogue during the five-month-long unrest. The protesting legislators continued to create an unproar even when the national anthem was being played to mark the beginning of the joint session. Some opposition members were carrying placards displaying anti-government slogans. Amid the sloganeering, the Governor started his address at 11 am but after 10 minutes had to discontinue it due to pandemonium in the Central Hall. When the Governor resumed his address, the Opposition again took to protesting. Amid the chaos, some unruly members threw placards towards the podium. Chairman of the J&K Legislative Council Inayat Ali and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Kavinder Gupta were sitting on the podium too. National Conference Legislature Party leader Omar Abdullah was not present at the joint session. Carrying placards with slogans revoke PSA, stop killings in Kashmir, where is political dialogue, National Conference member Kamal Arora, Congress MLC Ghulam Nabi Monga stood on chairs to disrupt the Governors address. They were joined in by Congress MLA Asgar Karbalai, MLC Jugal Kishore Sharma and MLA Nawang Rigzin Jora. The situation took an ugly turn when opposition members tried to move towards the podium but were prevented by marshals. At 11:14 am as the unruly protest continued, the Governor delivered the concluding part of his speech and left the Central Hall. Independent MLA Engineer Rashid, CPM member Yosuf Tarigami and Peoples Democratic Front (PDF) legislator Hakeem Yasin were also part of the protest. Later, Minister for Education Naeem Akhtar said it was sad the Governor had to leave the House without the customary address. It is very unfortunate that opposition parties dont believe in a democratic dialogue and used this platform to disrupt the session. We hope that they will play a role of a constructive Opposition. Kolkata, January 3 TMC students wing on Tuesday allegedly attacked the BJP office in Kolkata after the TMC MP Sudip Bandopadhyay was arrested in connection with a chit fund scam, even as West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee dared PM Narendra Modi to arrest her. Bandopadhyay Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader in the Lok Sabha is the second Parliamentarian from the party to be arrested in the Rose Valley Chit Fund Scam in a week. The arrest sparked an angry reaction from party chief Mamata Banrejee, the chief minister of West Bengal, who claimed Bandopadhyays arrest was Prime Minister Narendra Modis attempt at quelling dissent against the central governments measure to invalidate old high-value banknotes. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Prime Minister Narendra Modi uses the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax department to scare those who raise their voices against demonetisation, Banejree said, as she challenged the Prime Minister to have her arrested. #WATCH TMC workers protest outside BJP's Kolkata office after TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay's arrest pic.twitter.com/WttBqJxz0H ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2017 If they think that after the arrest (of TMC MP Sudip Bandhopadhyay) we wont protest, they are wrong, Banerjee said. I challenge the PM. He cannot do anything: he can't suppress the voice of the people. We will protest outside RBI Kolkata on January 9, 10 and 11 in Delhi. The agency arrested TMC Parliamentarian Tapas Pal on December 30 after questioning him. Pal is now in CBIs custody in Bhubaneshwar. The ponzi scam is among the several the agency is investigating and is believed to be bigger than Saradha scam, which is estimated to have involved more than Rs 2,000 crore. The company is believed to have swindled investors in West Bengal and Odisha promising exaggerated returns. CBI had booked the firm and its chairman Gautam Kundu, among others, under Prevention of Money Laundering Act in 2014. Shortly after Bandopadhyay's arrest, suspected activists of the TMC's student wing hurled stones at the BJP's state headquarters here. The Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) has, however, denied involvement in the incident. Hundreds of TMCP activists shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP and threw stones outside the BJP state headquarters in the city, official sources said. The police quickly cordoned off the area and chased the protestors away. "Some people threw stones at the BJP office. Later, we used force and dispersed the crowd," a Kolkata police official said. Reacting to the incident, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said, "People carrying flags of the TMC threw stones at our office because their leader has been arrested in a scam. Is this democracy? They should have thought about it before looting common people." On being asked about the incident, TMCP state president Jaya Dutta said she was not aware of any such thing. "One can clearly understand how unsafe we are under Mamata Raj," BJP MP Rupa Ganguly said, adding "a few minutes back Mamata Banerjee addressed the press and said people will be on streets. That's what happened." "Everybody is scared in Bengal today. Police doesn't listen to the common people. They just stand by. Today it has happened in the heart of the city so it has been noticed," she said. Agencies New Delhi, January 2 The Supreme Court today held that any appeal for votes on the ground of religion, race, caste, community or language amounted to corrupt practice under the election law provision. Referring to the term his religion used in Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, which deals with corrupt practice, Chief Justice of India TS Thakur and three others in the 4:3 verdict said it meant the religion and caste of all, including voters, candidates, their agents, etc. However, the minority view of three Judges UU Lalit, AK Goel and DY Chandrachud held that the term his religion means religion of candidate only. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The majority view, also shared by Justices MB Lokur, SA Bobde and LN Rao, said secularism has to be considered while dealing with such issues. Section 123(3) of the RP Act reads: The appeal by a candidate or his agent or by any other person with the consent of a candidate or his continued on page 7 New Delhi, January 3 The Central Bureau of Investigation said on Tuesday that it had formally filed charges against activist Teesta Seetalvad for suspected breach of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. The others named in the chargesheet are her husband, Javed Ahmad, and Sabrang Communications and Publishing Private Limited a company they are associated with and one other person, named Sushma Raman. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The CBI had booked Setalvad and the others for suspected breach of the law for having received donations without the Home Ministrys sanction last year. All suspects have been charged with criminal conspiracy as well as sections of the FCRA. The development comes six months after the central government cancelled licence of Sarang Trust, an NGO that Setalvad a vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi a move the activist says is vindictive. Setalvad was in the forefront of a campaign for justice for victims of the Gujarat riots of 2002. She had campaigned for Modi then chief minister of Gujarat to be tried for complicity in the riots that killed more than 1,000 people mostly Muslims. Agencies Hyderabad, January 3 Police have arrested a 33-year-old man for allegedly growing marijuana in his house in Hyderabad. Police said the man grew marijuana in small pots in his three-bedroom apartment and then sold it to customers. Police said that he also had all the equipment required to grow marijuana in his house. Police have confiscated 40 pots containing marijuana plants from the house. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Police said Syed Shahed Hussain, who was a marijuana addict later started procuring it from Tandur area at Rs 3,500 per kg. He was selling the same to the needy customers in Hyderabad at Rs 16,000 per kg, and getting illegal profits. However, later, he started growing it in his house. Acting on a tip-off, the sleuths of Commissioner's Task Force, South Zone Team apprehended Syed Shahed Hussain from Golconda while he was "selling" ganja to the needy customers and earning easy money illegally. Police seized 8.6 kg of ganja, 40 pots containing ganja plants, one two-wheeler, besides Rs 32,200 from his possession, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police N Koti Reddy said. Subsequently, about three months back, Hussain thought of growing cannabis indoors, and contacted one of his friend Garith Christopher, who is native a of the US and as advised by him he went through some videos and learnt the art of cultivating ganja indoors, Reddy said. "Then he locally purchased all the requirements and started cultivating of ganja in his house on trail basis. We seized 40 pots containing ganja plants and other material from his house," added the senior police officer. Agencies Jamshedpur, January 3 A Maoist commander was killed in a gunfight with security forces at the Ramtandi forest under Gorabandha police station in Ghatsila sub-division in East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, police on Tuesday. Tudu was killed in an anti-Naxal operation that had been launched following a tip-off that some Maoists had assembled in the forest, police said. The insurgents fired at security personnel, leading to a gun battle, Senior Superintendent of Police Anoop T Mathew, who lead the team, said. SP (Rural) Shailendra Kumar Burnwal said Supais wife, Simi Hembram, who was also among those assembled, was arrested. Supai has been accused of having been involved in killing some local CPI (M) leaders and two policemen in Dharampur during the Lalgarh movement. Police claim Supai's wife, Sonali alias Simi Hembram, a resident of Lalgarh, was also involved in the murders. A key Maoist leader who was a bodyguard to slain Maoist leader Kishenji, Supai Tudu had played a major role in the Lalgarh movement in West Midnapore district of West Bengal and carried a reward of Rs 15 lakh. He was involved in over 25 Naxal-related cases in East Singhbhum district, including murder and ransom, in West Bengal and Odisha, Mathew said. A self-styled zonal commander and the second-in-command of the Maoist outfit in East Singhbhum, Supai had sneaked into the district after Kishenji was killed and was operating under the armed squad of Kanu Munda. Mathew claimed that Supai was the key suspect in the gunning down of Dhanai Kisku, the general secretary of Nagarik Suraksha Samiti, an anti-Maoist group of villagers, at Musaboni in Ghatsila sub-division a few years ago. PTI New Delhi, January 2 NRIs and Indian nationals abroad can deposit up to Rs 25,000 of the demonetised currency during the three-six month grace period, but only if they show the junked notes to Customs officials at the airport and get a declaration form stamped. The declaration will have to be submitted at specified branches of the Reserve Bank while depositing the junked currency, a finance ministry notification stated. While the 50-day window for such deposits at banks or post offices ended on December 30, the government has offered a grace period for those who were abroad. The window for Indian nationals who were travelling abroad is till March 31 and for NRIs, it is June 30, 2017. This facility, however, is subject to the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2015. As per these regulations, bringing back such currency into the country is restricted to Rs 25,000 per person. Those returning from Nepal and Bhutan are not permitted to carry specified bank notes of old Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes. Since the form to be filled in by the passenger bearing the Customs stamp will be crucial in subsequently facilitating the deposit of notes at the specified issue offices of RBI, the finance ministry has asked the Customs formations to keep a copy of it. PTI The template for foreign investment had been a controversial issue among the Iranian establishment since the conclusion of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany. Older models had prevented foreign companies or individuals from holding equity stakes in Iranian firms, and had otherwise limited the extent to which foreign entities could profit off of Iranian assets. Hardline organizations like the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps had been keen to retain these restrictions, both for the sake of preserving an image of anti-Western defiance and out of fear of partially losing their own hold on the Iranian economy. Opponents of the Iranian regime, such as the National Council of Resistance of Iran, have estimated that the IRGC controls the vast majority of the Iranian GDP, either directly or through a series of minority holdings and affiliates in the Iranian business sector. On the other hand, more pragmatic Iranian officials including President Hassan Rouhani have been defending the prospect of revising the pre-nuclear agreement contract model, in the interest of attracting much needed foreign investment, to buttress the fledgling Iranian economy. This pragmatic point of view has largely prevailed, as Reuters now reports that the old buy-back system is coming to an end. However, the new contract model is certainly being restrained in its application, considering that it is currently limited to the list of 29 pre-approved companies. But the restrictions are not only evident on the Iranian side; Western opposition also appears to be helping to limit the prospects for foreign investment. The list of companies was originally expected to include UK-based BP, but the petroleum giant opted out of further investment talks, citing fears of a changing geo-political situation as the world waits for US President-elect Donald Trump to assume power. Trump has struck a noticeably hardline on Iran, especially compared to outgoing President Barack Obama, whom critics including the NCRI have accused of appeasement for the sake of a legacy-defining nuclear deal. Those accusations stem partly from the agreement itself, which allowed Iran to retain some of its nuclear enrichment capabilities, in contrast to the expectations of some Western figures who had been pushing for the complete halt of the Iranian nuclear program. Also of concern is the arguably anemic response to continued Iranian provocations in the wake of the nuclear agreement. The IRGC has overseen the testing of several ballistic missiles since nuclear talks concluded, and has also made aggressive maneuvers and verbal threats toward US Navy vessels and aircraft. Critics of the outgoing US presidents policies tend to view these gestures as being particularly scandalous in light of the large-scale relief from economic sanctions that the world has granted to Iran under the nuclear deal. This relief was quantified and discussed on Friday in a report by the Wall Street Journal, which emphasized that roughly 10 billion dollars in unfrozen assets have been delivered to Iran in highly liquid forms of capital, as foreign currency or gold bullion. This has only intensified concerns that the persistently belligerent IRGC and its handlers in Tehran would channel much of this difficult-to-trace capital into the hands of terrorist groups like those operating in Syria and Yemen under IRGC command. Those terrorist entities, including Lebanons Hezbollah and various other Shiite paramilitaries, are apparently owed a substantial amount of the credit for the recent victory of pro-Assad forces in a major offensive against the former Syrian rebel stronghold of Aleppo. Iran has clearly sought to derive a great deal of propaganda value from this victory, possibly even using it to compensate for perceived damage to Irans reputation as a bulwark against Western interests in the region. Last week, EA WorldView reported that IRGC Brigadier General Hossein Salami had declared that the conquest of Aleppo forestalled Western plans aimed at destabilizing that country and then moving into Iraq and ultimately taking aim at the Iranian regime. Such statements seem to suggest that Iran is confronting the West militarily even as it cooperates with it in the economic sphere. But the US and its close allies have taken remarkably little action in Syria, apart from limited logistical support for pro-democratic rebel groups like the Free Syrian Army. But Salamis statements are not even among the boldest claims of military courage by the Islamic Republic. On Wednesday, the Associated Press reported that Iranian General Abbas Farajpour had claimed that the countrys military successfully warned off 12 aircraft of trans-regional countries during three days of drills. Iranian state media added the assertion that some of these aircraft belonged to the United States. Farajpours vague statements, however, were surely meant to imply a tense military situation with other adversaries, as well. Chief among the likely targets of Iranian accusations and belligerence is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Saudis severed diplomatic ties with Iran last year following a mob attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran, which took place against the backdrop of sectarian conflict between the two countries. Iranian interventions in Yemen are in many respects a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and the Saudis also tacitly support anti-Assad factions in Syria. This being the case, developments in those conflicts threaten to solidify the dividing lines between two spheres of influence, and this is something that Iranian officials appear to be keenly aware of. On Monday, Al Arabiya News reported that Ali Akbar Velayati, a leading advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, had once again lauded the conquest of Aleppo as a victory of victories, and had added that he hoped it would lead to a situation in which Syrians viewed Iran as a second home. Meanwhile, many analysts have warned that Irans imperialist activities in Syria and Iraq threaten to soften the boundaries among those countries and leave the Assad regime consistently dependent on Tehran and its militant proxies. However, there are still various entities that could constrain or prevent this outcome. In the immediate aftermath of Aleppo, the major players in the future of Syria appear to be Iran, Russia, and Turkey. According to World Bulletin, these are the only three countries that are expected to be at talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana later this month, ostensibly to build on the progress that began with a ceasefire established jointly by Russia and Turkey. Whereas Russia and Iran are both backing the Assad regime and have even been credited with saving it from an early defeat by the rebels, Turkey has contrary interests and has even gone so far as to insist that foreign forces withdraw as part of a political solution. Not only has Iran refused this condition, it has also acted in opposition to Russias efforts to establish and enforce ceasefires after key points in the conflict. This was evident in the aftermath of Aleppo, at which point civilians evacuating the area for rebel held areas to the West were stopped at an Iranian checkpoint despite having received assurances of safe passage after passing a Russian one. This serves to reinforce the notion that Russian and Iranian interests could be made to work against each other in Syria. But for this to happen, other foreign powers would presumably have to work to restrain or counterbalance Irans role in this and other regional conflicts. The incoming Trump administration is certainly one power that could play this role, but so too are Irans regional adversaries and even some of its regional partners. It remains to be seen whether other powers in the Middle East will be able to counterbalance the united front that Iran is trying to establish with the subjects of its influence, including the Assad regime. But as the Gulf Arab states continue to respond to the perception of Iranian overreach, an effective counterbalance seems increasingly likely. This made more evident by the fact that some aspects of that response chip away at Irans existing influence. Bloomberg reported on Monday that Saudi Arabias neighbor Oman had expressed willingness to join the Saudi-led alliance that is fighting against Iran-backed militants in Yemen. This is a clear deviation from Omans friendly relations with Iran, which had prevented the Arab nation from joining many of its neighbors and partners in following suit when the Saudis severed diplomatic relations with Iran. The apparent change in Omani policy is indicative of the danger that the Iran regime faces if it is seen as being needlessly or excessively aggressive in the region. It is perhaps for this reason that Iran has sought to portray itself as open to reconciliation with Saudi Arabia, while also portraying the Saudis as belligerent. In the latest example of this, Agence-France Presse reported that Iran had flatly denied Saudi claims about having invited Iran to talks aimed at resolving differences over the management of the hajj pilgrimage. Such instances of reputation management put Tehran in the difficult position of having to appear reasonable in its own geopolitical neighborhood while openly intervening in foreign conflicts, undermining ceasefire agreements, and actively seeking to provoke powerful foreign players like the United States. Similar difficulties are evident in the countrys economic policies, wherein the Iranians are having an increasingly difficult time of attracting foreign investment while both withholding contracts from various companies and giving the US reasons to warn off potential investors. New Delhi, January 2 The Supreme Court today questioned the Centre as to why judges and chief justices of high courts are not being transfered despite the recommendations of the collegium and asked it to file a status report on such pending transfers with detailed reasons in two weeks. The apex court said it gives rise to speculation and misgivings due to continuance of such judges in the same high court and instead of sitting over the recommendation, the Centre should return back to the collegium for reconsideration. Continuance of judges in the same high courts despite being transferred is giving rise to speculation and misgivings. If you (the Centre) have any problem with the recommendations then send it back to us. We will look into it. There is no point sitting over it, a bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur told Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi. Justice Thakur, who is demitting office tomorrow as the Chief Justice of India, has been regularly questioning the government over the appointment of judges for higher judiciary and both (the Centre and the judiciary) are at loggerheads with each other over the issue. The AG said the collegium has sent back 37 names of judges to the government which is looking at them. What about the transfers of judges which has been recommended by the collegium? You are sitting over them for over 10 months, a bench also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said. PTI New Delhi, January 3 The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a list of corporate entities that had debts of more than Rs 500 crore, as the government machinery struggles to cope with rising bad debts. A Bench of out outgoing Chief Justice of India TS Thakur and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud wanted the RBI to provide a list of companies that had its loans restructured under corporate debt restructuring schemes. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The Supreme Court also asked for details of cases pending in debt recovery tribunals and appellate bodies for the past 10 years. It wanted to know if existing infrastructure at the tribunals including its current staff strength could cope with changes made to the law that dealt with debt recovery and what steps the government could take to help strengthen their infrastructure. A recent amendment to the law says that all cases must be dealt with in 180 days from filing them. "Legislative changes to provide for expeditious disposal of proceedings before the debt recovery tribunals may not by themselves achieve the intended object so long as the infrastructure provided to the tribunals is not commensurate with the burden of the work and nature of judicial duties," the court said. The central government recently told the court that more than 70,000 cases that involved an estimated Rs 5 lakh crore were pending at debt recovery tribunals for more than 10 years. The development comes at a time when the judiciary and the executive have been involved in an intense debate about vacancies in the latter and the mounting pile of cases as a result. The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation first filed in 2003 that had originally raised questions about loans advanced to some companies by state-owned Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO). The petitioner, the Centre of Public Interest Litigation, claimed recently that about Rs 40,000 crore of corporate debt was written off in 2015. A media report revealed in February last year that public sector banks in the country were struggling under a great economic strain, with bad debts at an estimated Rs 1.14 lakh crore. PTI Mumbai, January 3 The RBI on Tuesday said the supply of currency notes in rural areas was not adequate and asked banks to send at least 40 per cent of the supply to their rural branches. "The bank notes, being supplied to rural areas, at present, are not commensurate with the requirements of the rural population," the Reserve Bank of India said in a notification. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) With a view to ensure that at least 40 per cent bank notes were supplied to rural areas, the banks were advised to increase the issue of currency towards the main channels of distribution in these areas. "Banks should advise their currency chests to step up issuance of fresh notes to rural branches of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) and commercial banks, white label ATMs and post offices on priority basis which are considered main rural channels of distribution," it said. RBI asked the banks to issue notes in denominations of Rs 500 and below in rural areas with liberal issuance of existing stock of notes below Rs 100. It also asked the bank chests to obtain supply of coins on priority basis and if required even get it issued from the central bank. As the rural requirements could vary depending on variations in the rural and urban mix of each district, a certain percentage of allocation has been assigned to each district by RBI to facilitate a need based approach. "The indicated proportion may be maintained on weekly average basis at each chest level as it may be difficult to stick to the proportion on daily basis," RBI said. IANS Bengaluru, January 3 New Year revelry turned into a nightmare for several women who were allegedly molested despite huge police presence at a large gathering in city's downtown region, drawing widespread outrage even as the state Home minister stoked a controversy by blaming the youngsters' "western ways" for the incidents. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) National Commission for Women chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam came down heavily on the police and slammed home minister G Parameshwara's remarks, demanding that he should resign. The NCW as well as the Karnataka State Commission for Women also sought separate reports from administration and police over the incidents. Police said they were looking for the culprits involved in the alleged incidents on Saturday night in and around the junction of Brigade Road and M G Road, where thousands had gathered to herald the New Year. Eyewitness accounts suggest that women were molested and groped and lewd remarks were also passed by miscreants late night on December 31 in the posh area even as it was claimed that 1,500 police personnel had been deployed to control the crowds. While women without any male companions had to seek protection from women police personnel, who were very few in number on the spot, men who had come with female friends had a tough time protecting them, according to eyewitnesses. Speaking to reporters, Home Minister G Parameshwara said "It is not good. Definitely we will look into it and see that it is not repeated." "There was need to look into how such events can be organised and regulated... We cannot have 10,000 police men," he said. Speaking to a TV news channel, he said: "Unfortunately, what is happening is as I said days like New Year Brigade Road, Commercial Street, M G Road, large number of youngsters gather. Youngsters who are almost like westerners, they try to copy the westerners not only in the mindset, but even the dressing." The minister's remarks drew an angry response from the NCW chairperson who demanded the Home Minister should resign and apologise to the women of the country for making such remarks. PTI Gurdeep Singh Mann Tribune News Service Dulowal (Mansa), January 2 Senior Akali Dal leader and Rajya Sabha MP Balwinder Singh Bhunders supporters today allegedly beat up two workers engaged by the Forest Department following an argument over non-payment of their dues. It all started around 3 pm when Bhunder reached the villages Government Senior Secondary School for distribution of cheques for various grants. Addressing a gathering, he eulogised the developmental works carried out by the SAD government. Objecting to his claims, the workers, Raja Singh and Jalandhar Singh approached the MP claiming their wages had been siphoned off by some officials. One among Raja and Jalandhar is learnt to have held the SAD leader by his hand reportedly to put forth his view. Fearing their leader could be manhandled, Bhunders men allegedly attacked the two and dragged them to some distance till they were taken into custody by the police. When contacted, Bhunder claimed the villagers were not beaten up, and only heated arguments took place. They were under the influence of some intoxicant, he said. Kotdharmu SHO Gurmel Singh corroborated Bhunders claim: The two men were attacked. They were either drunk or were high on drugs and started arguing with the MP. CPM district secretary Kulwinder Uddat, however, said, Bhunders bogus claim of development did not go down well with the workers, who have been seeking the arrest of the officials who usurped Rs 78 lakh, which was to be paid to them as wages. Questioning by workers upset Bhunder during an election programme. He signalled his men to teach them a lesson. The two men were mercilessly beaten up and then dragged in full public view, said Uddat. Congress MLA from Sardulgarh Ajitinder Singh Moffar came out in support of the villagers: This is an unfortunate incident. The voters will teach them a lesson. The villagers later gheraoed the police station seeking the release of the two workers. Their protest was on till the filing of this report. Jitendra K Shrivastava Tribune News Service Patna, January 3 Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday paid obeisance at Takht Sri Harmandir Ji, Patna Saheb, before reaching the Gandhi Maidan tent city. Singh also paid obeisance at Darbar Hall at Gandhi Maidan. He was accompanied by Bihar Congress state chief and state education minister Ashok Chaudhary. Singh, who reached here on Monday to attend the 350th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Gobind Singh, praised the Nitish Kumar government. Singh said: A congregation of Sikh devotees from different corners has gathered here to attend the celebrations. They are happy with the arrangements made by the state government in which the Congress is an ally. We have not seen such arrangements made by any government. We are happy as we came here solely to offer prayers to the guru. We are not here to do any politics. After offering prayers, Singh served langar to devotees. Subendra Singh, a sevadar, said: We serve meals to thousands of devotees. We see great enthusiasm among locals, who also support us in running the free kitchen here. Chandigarh: Former deputy speaker of the Vidhan Sabha Bir Devinder Singh on Monday urged the Election Commission to direct the state government not to dispatch 400 buses of Punjab Roadways and the PRTC to ferry pilgrims to Patna Sahib. Stating that the commission could enforce the model code of conduct anytime now, Bir Devinder said the use of government transport for any such purpose which had religio-political connotation would come under the scanner of the EC. He said, There is every possibility that after enforcement of the code of conduct, such buses will not be able to carry the pilgrims back home on January 6. tns Amarinder to pay homage today Chandigarh: Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh along with Punjab affairs incharge Asha Kumari and Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Capt Karan Pal Sekhon on Monday reached Takht Sri Patna Sahib Gurdwara to participate in the 350th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Gobind Singh. The PPCC chief will pay homage at the shrine on Tuesday morning. tns Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 2 Nearly 800 liquor vends located along the highways in Punjab will be shut down only after March 31 this year, which also marks the end of the term of the excise policy for the ongoing fiscal. The Supreme Court verdict on December 15, which banned the sale of liquor along the highways, had allowed for these vends to remain operational till March 31. Officials say the state government would have suffered a huge revenue loss if the vends were to be shut down immediately. Such a move would also have been legally untenable and thus the apex court allowed for vends to operate till March 31 this year. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) It has asked the state government not to renew the licence of existing liquor vends in the coming financial year. In Punjab, a total of 6,340 liquor vends were allotted this fiscal. Since the past two years, the liquor vends are allowed along the state and national highways only in areas that fall within the municipal limits, and around 800 such vends have been identified. Ananya Panda Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 3 Punjab Medical Council (PMC) former president Dr GR Grewal, in a letter written to the PM, has accused Punjab Medical Education Minister Anil Joshi of allowing corruption in the form of ghost faculty in private medical colleges, commissions from diagnostic centres to doctors for referrals and prescribing unnecessary tests. The PM has been requested to order a time-bound probe into the allegations. In the open letter dated January 2, Dr Grewal has accused Joshi, a BJP leader, of sabotaging the efforts of the PMC, a statutory body, in rooting out medical corruption in the state and called for an inquiry into his assets before and after becoming the minister. All charges against the minister are documented. What is his interest in ghost faculty? Our investigation identified 126 absentee faculty, who are present only during inspections in private colleges by the Medical Council of India, Dr Grewal told The Tribune. During Dr Grewals two-and-a-half-year tenure as PMC president that ended on December 21 last year, a PMC drive found several doctors guilty of either one or all three criminal malpractices. Joshi protected such erring doctors, he alleged. Despite conclusive evidence and irrefutable proof against such doctors, he did not allow the PMC to take action against them, Dr Grewal wrote in the letter. When the PMC took the initiative, the minister sabotaged it, he claimed. I am making these charges against him with full responsibility. The state Medical Councils across the country are supposed to enforce medical ethics and ensure that people get proper health care and are not exploited, he said. I request to institute a time-bound inquiry into what he has been doing. Since he belongs to the BJP, it becomes all the more important to inquire into the charges I am levelling, to set an example, wrote the former PMC president. Medical corruption is one of the major corruptions plaguing the country and I had flagged the issue in a letter to the PM in June 2015. I had received a reply from the PMO and was asked to send suggestions to tackle the problem. This time, I have requested for a personal appointment with the PM to brief him about the corruption in Punjab health care, Dr Grewal said. GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 2 Amid campaigning for the Assembly elections, the vacant Amritsar Lok Sabha seat has evoked a mild interest from parties. Having been vacated following the resignation by Capt Amarinder Singh, the bypoll for the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat is likely to be held along with the Assembly elections. However, none of the major political parties have declared their candidates. A former Congress minister said the partys earlier Lok Sabha contestant OP Soni and MLA Sukhbinder Singh Sukhsarkaria had declined to contest the Lok Sabha bypoll, as both preferred to contest the Assembly seat. AAP too is silent over its plans for the Lok Sabha seat. The partys Majha spokesperson, Gurbhej Singh, said, We are yet to spare a thought on fielding candidates for the bypoll as our priority is to finalise candidates for Amritsars East, North and Central constituencies, he said. There are also reports that newly inducted Sikh face Jaswinder Singh Advocate might be asked to contest the seat. Insiders say that AAPs candidate for Majitha Himmat Singh Shergill too could be asked to contest the Amritsar Lok Sabha bypoll, along with the Assembly seat. From the BJP, prominent leaders could be Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina, Kamal Sharma and Tarun Chugh. Chhina who is a popular local face and an arch rival of Sidhu has been making trips to Delhi. Chhina confirmed that he had met some senior leaders of the party and added that he was ready for the fight. He is also a confidant of Arun Jaitley who will have the final say in deciding the ticket. Richard Ratcliffe went public with the story of his wifes arrest sometime after it occurred on April 3 as she was preparing to leave Iran after having taken her two-year-old daughter Gabriella on a visit to her family. The childs passport was confiscated at the time of her mothers arrest, and she is now in the care of her Iranian grandparents, unable to return to her father in the UK. Ratcliffe initially remained silent, but grew frustrated with the lack of progress on the case in Iran and the lack of response from the British government, which has still not publicly called for Zaghari-Ratcliffes release. The Telegraph report notes that Ratcliffe believes his wife is being held as a bargaining chip in diplomatic disputes between Iran and the UK. And The Guardian clarifies that he has cited an outstanding 500 million pound debt over a cancelled arms sale as the likely focus of that dispute. It is easy to imagine how he came to this conclusion, considering that a similar debt was bound up with the release of four imprisoned Americans last January, at the time of the implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Critics in the US Congress have accused the Obama administration of paying a 1.7 billion dollar ransom for that release, ostensibly in the form of the settlement of an arms sale debt dating back to before the Islamic revolution. The imprisoned Americans were reportedly held on the runway in Iran until it was confirmed that another plane containing more than half the money in cash was in the air. Many critics have alleged that this would encourage the Iranians to treat more Western nationals as hostages, and Richard Ratcliffe appears to have adopted this line of thinking. However, the recognized pattern of Iranian hostage-taking is only one aspect of the circumstances surrounding the Zaghari-Ratcliffe arrest. Another is the ideological attack on supposed Western influences and persons with dual nationality. Zaghari-Ratcliffes case is expected to be heard by an appeals court on Wednesday, and her advocates are hopeful that a more explicit account of the charges against her will be provided at that time. But up until now, those charges have been kept secret, and the Iranian judiciary has only stated that they believe she sought the soft overthrow of the Islamic Republic. In all likelihood, there is no evidence for this conclusion other than Zaghari-Ratcliffes British nationality. And as The Telegraph notes, she is one of at least four Britons currently being held in Iranian prisons. Multiple Americans are also serving sentences on vague national security charges. They include the Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi, his elderly father Baquer, and a prospective graduate student, Robin Shahini, who had been residing for many years in San Diego before being arrested on a trip to visit family in Iran, much like Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Various human rights groups and political organizations such as the National Council of Resistance of Iran have alleged that the arrests of dual nationals and persons with connections in the West are accelerating. But Zaghari-Ratcliffes plight is familiar to large numbers of dual nationals who have come under scrutiny or received severe punishment in Iran for things that seem perfectly natural in those peoples alternative cultural circumstances. This phenomenon was discussed on Monday in an article at the Daily Beast which profiled the American-Iranian fashion designer Tala Raassi, whose family returned with her in Iran as a young child after she had been born in the US. Though not obviously targeted for her American citizenship, Raassi did face trouble in 1998 stemming from her affinity for American culture and her association with young Iranians who held progressive social views. Her arrest came in the context of a raid on a mixed-gender party where American music was being played. Comingling of unmarried and unrelated men and women is illegal in Iran and there were numerous large-scale raids resulting in the flogging of arrestees in 2016 alone. The Daily Beast notes that flogging was the punishment for Raassi, as well, along with five days in jail during which time she heard people being tortured and women being raped. Iranian approaches to criminal justice have not become more moderate in the ensuing 20 years. Political prisoners like the various dual nationals being held captive today continue to report routine beatings and psychological torture. The country also performs punitive amputations and carries out death sentences irrespective of the international standards for the most serious crimes. In 2015 alone, nearly 1,000 Iranians were put to death, mostly for nonviolent drug offenses. And the figures for 2016 are expected to let Iran retain its rank as the country with the highest per capita rate of executions in the world. These trends can reasonably be connected to the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in the sense that her prosecution also appears to be an instance of the clerical government enforcing certain hardline attitudes about Western culture, Islam, women, and so on. Indeed, the sense of escalating enforcement is corroborated by the fact that some prominent Iranian officials are explicitly calling for more rigorous punishments or more drastic solutions to perceived social problems. On Monday, Agence-France Presse reported that Tehran Deputy Provincial Governor Siavash Shahrivar had called for the sterilization of homeless drug addicts and women who work in the sex trade. Previously, Vice President for Womens Affairs Shahindokht Molaverdi had apparently made the same recommendations, suggesting that specific plans for sterilization of homeless women should be proposed and reviewed by the Health Ministry. Shahrivars remarks were particularly shocking to progressive-minded Iranians in light of their proximity to the widespread dissemination of photographs of homeless men and women sleeping in open graves. The revelation of this problem prompted widespread outrage and a public response from supposedly moderate President Hassan Rouhani. But the National Council of Resistance of Iran was quick to report that instead of addressing the problem, security agencies raided the homeless encampments and forced the residents into less visible locations. This is apparently typical of government responses to actual and potential sources of public outcry. In the case of the homeless grave-sleepers, the regime has attempted to diminish the visibility of the situation after the fact, while in the case of Zaghari-Ratcliffes and others arbitrary arrests, state media has minimized reporting from the beginning in order to promote unsubstantiated claims about vague security threats. But not all cases of political imprisonment are able to maintain such a veil of secrecy, and some result in activism among the Iranian public. A notable example of this emerged on Monday when Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty was among the outlets to report that hundreds of people had assembled outside of Evin Prison to protest the continued detention of Arash Sadeghi, an activist who has been on a hunger strike for more than 70 days, since his wife was arrested on the basis of an unpublished fictional short story that was found when her residence was raided. Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 2 Miffed at the failure of 41 Congress MLAs and an Independent legislator to appear before him despite being summoned twice, Vidhan Sabha Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal has said that a new date will be given to them only when they submit a written request in person. The MLAs had been summoned by the Speaker on December 20-22 and January 3 so as to confirm that they had tendered their resignation voluntarily. They had quit the Vidhan Sabha on the SYL canal issue on November 11. However, prior to the dates assigned to the MLAs, they pleaded that they could not come to meet the Speaker as they were busy in New Delhi. The letters, requesting adjournment, were sent by the Leader of the Opposition, Charanjit Singh Channi, through the secretary of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP). In a letter received from CLP secretary AC Kaushik today, the MLAs sought 10 more days for the purpose, said an official release from the Vidhan Sabha. The meeting scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed. Tribune News Service Dehradun, January 2 BJP spokesperson Munna Singh Chauhan today said Chief Minister Harish Rawat should observe fast to repent for failing to prepare zonal plans for protecting the interest of stakeholders of the Bhagirathi Valley. We welcome his decision on fast but he should undertake it in order to repent for the sins he has committed by failing to rise to the occasion and prepare zonal plans for the stakeholders, said Munna Singh at a press conference. Chauhans reaction comes in the backdrop of the Ministry of Environment and Forest delineating eco-sensitive zone in the Bhagirathi catchment area and Chief Minister Harish Rawat asserting that as a a mark of protest, he will fast at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on January 5. Chauhan also sought to remind the Chief Minister that it was the National Green Tribunal that was hauling up the state for its lapses. Due to its observations, the state was forced to act and submit plans. So the Chief Minister should not blame the Centre and should be very clear against whom he was planning to fast, added Chauhan. Questioning Harish Rawats role when he was a Cabinet Minister under the UPA I and UPA II rule at the Centre, Chauhan said he did not raise a murmur of protest when the proposals for the eco-sensitive zones were being worked out. The Chief Minister has been exposed. He neither did anything in the past nor in the present. During the inter-ministerial meeting of the Department of Forest and Water Resources, the zonal plans submitted by the state government for carrying out restricted development were found to be inconsistent and trashed by the Centre, said Chauhan. He said that the zonal plans were prepared in an ad-hoc manner, without taking views of the stateholders. No public hearing was held, though the state was given two years to make plans, he said. I am sure he does not have a single plan that he can claim was brought solely due to his efforts for Uttarakhand, when he was a Union Minister, Chauhan added. Tribune News Service Haridwar, January 2 The 30th Gyan Deeksha function, which is held in the first week of January annually, began at Dev Sanskriti University here today. Arya Mandir founder Swami Parmatmanand Saraswati was the chief guest at the function in which students from more than seven states took part. Addressing students, Swami Parmatmanand Saraswati stressed the need for moral-based modern education, which was practised at Dev Sanskriti University. Urging the younger generation to work hard, the seer said only hard work is the key to success, which needs concentration, practice, confidence and time. Swami Parmatmanand, who is also the head of Hindu Dharam Maha Sabha and disciple of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, referring verses of the Bhagwad Gita and the Ramayana, said youths had immense energy but it needed to be channellised in the right direction for its beneficial use. Presiding over the function, Dev Sanskriti University spiritual ideologue Dr Pranav Pandya said students were taught the art of right living, which made them knowledgeable, successful, confident and mentally, physically and spiritually stronger. Dr Pandya advocated the need for such curriculum in higher education, which made students self-reliant, when they passed out of the colleges. Positivity should be always in while negativity needs to be out both from our thinking and words. Nature has positivity everywhere, we just dont realise it or either we are too much indulged in physical-materialistic things, said he. Vice-Chancellor Sharad Paridhi and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Dr Chinmay Pandya also guided the students during the Gyan Deeksha rituals. Special badges were distributed to students by them. Registrar Sandeep Kumar said students from Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Odissa also took part in the function. Tribune News Service Haridwar, January 2 Haridwar Citizens Forum general secretary Dr Sunil Kumar Batra told mediapersons here today that though one month had elapsed, the district administration had failed to implement the directives issued by the Nainital High Court to save the Ganga from pollution. The Nainital High Court on December 2 directed the district administration to ensure that no untreated sewage was flown into the Ganga, ban polythene materials at Har-ki-Pauri and stop open defecation and urination within a radius of 500 m on both sides of the river. Forum representatives urged District Magistrate Harbans Singh Chugh and Senior Superintendent of Police, Haridwar, Rajeev Swarup to take stern action in this regard. Its quite disheartening that the local administration has not given any weightage or importance to the courts directives, which are for the betterment of the city and linked with local residents, pilgrims and tourists who throng the city in thousands on an annual basis, said Dr Batra. Legal expert Lalit Miglani of the Bharatiya Jagrookta Samiti said if the local administration failed to implement the courts directives within the next five months, he would file a writ petition as non-compliance of the courts directives amounted to contempt of court. He said they had submitted a memorandum to the district magistrate office in this regard, asking them to ensure proper implementation of the courts directives. Social activist Bindiya Goswami said the sale of polythene bags and related material should be totally prohibited at Har-ki-Pauri adjacent to the Ganga ghats and urged traders to cooperate in this regard to rid the city of polythene/plastic. Traders representative Dr Vishal Garg said the Ganga was being polluted through sewage being directly put into it by ashrams, dharamshalas, hotels, commercial buildings and even residential buildings, which the district administration should look into on a priority basis. Seer Acharya Karunesh Mishra said under the Haridwar Jagrookta Samiti they would generate a mass awareness in this regard as well as bringing to the notice of the district administration and the Municipal Corporation as its the duty and responsibility of all to ensure that the holy Ganga did not get polluted in any way. Our Correspondent Pithoragarh, January 2 The absence of an orthopaedic surgeon at Lohaghat hospital and the closed trauma centre in Champawat district were blamed for the death of six persons who were among the injured in a road mishap in the district yesterday. Some of the critically injured were taken to the hospital but they died due to the lack of doctors. The accident had happened due to alleged overloading of a jeep at Madlak near the Indo-Nepal border in Champawat district. The injured admitted to the hospital needed immediate treatment but had to be referred to Haldwani as the hospital has no orthopaedic doctor for the past few years, said Rita Gehtori, a social worker in Lohaghat. The jeep that was going to Madlak village in Lohaghat subdivision, some 25 km from the town, had fallen into a deep gorge due to overloading, killing six passengers and injuring 11 others. The seriously injured passengers, who were admitted to the Lohaghat hospital, had to be referred to Haldwani as the hospital did not have trauma facilities. More than 80 persons have lost their lives in road accidents in the last six years as the trauma centre, constructed by spending over Rs 2 crore, has been lying in disuse as no staff has yet been sanctioned for it, said Gehtori. According to sources in Champawat district hospital, the lone orthopaedic surgeon, deputed at the Tanakpur hospital of the district, has now been transferred to Bageshwar and the entire district has been without an orthopedic surgeon for the past few months. Only two doctors available in the hospital have to take care of accident victims in the hospital as no specialists are available in the hospital, said Dr Manjit Singh, CMS, Lohaghat hospital. People in Lohaghat have also regretted the absence of proper medical facilities/services in the hospital even after the hospital was taken back by DG (Health) recently after an agitation by local residents against the PPP mode under which it was given to a private operator some years ago. Dehradun: Uttarakhand Congress president Kishore Upadhyay on Monday said the partys state unit would back Chief Minister Harish Rawats proposed dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on January 5. Addressing mediapersons, he said rejection of the state governments proposal on Bhagarathi eco-sensitive zone was uncalled for. Earlier, the Union Government declared Bhagrathi zone as eco-sensitive without taking the state government in confidence. The Centre has been diluting the federal structure of the Constitution by ignoring the grievances of the Congress-ruled states. State Congress workers will join Rawats dharna in Delhi, he added. TNS Brasilia, January 2 Around 60 persons have been killed in a prison riot sparked by a war between rival drug gangs in the Amazon jungle city of Manaus, officials said on Monday, in some of the worst violence in years in Brazils overcrowded penitentiary system. The head of security for Amazonas state, Sergio Fontes, told a news conference that the death toll could rise as authorities get a clearer idea of the scale of the rebellion sparked by a fight between rival drug gangs. Manaus' Em Tempo newspaper reported that several of the dead had their decapitated bodies thrown over the prison wall. The riot began late Sunday and was brought under control by around 7 am on Monday, Fontes said. Authorities were still counting the prisoners to determine how many had escaped, he added. International watchdog groups criticise Brazil for its prison system, where overcrowding is the norm and deadly riots routinely break out. Reuters Seoul, January 3 South Korean President Park Geun-hye refused to testify today in the impeachment trial that will decide her future, prompting the prosecutors to question why she has publicly denied the charges of corruption but will not do so before the court. After Park's refusal, the Constitutional Court delayed the start of oral arguments and asked her to testify on Thursday, when some of her current and former aides are also scheduled to testify. The court cannot force her to appear but can proceed without her if she refuses twice to appear at the hearings. Lawmaker Kweon Seong Dong, the chief prosecutor in the trial, questioned why Park cannot defend herself in court when just two days ago she vehemently rejected the accusations of corruption in a hastily arranged meeting with reporters at Seoul's presidential Blue House. Lee Joong-hwan, Park's lawyer, said she does not plan to appear Thursday and will probably not testify during the impeachment trial. The trial in the Constitutional Court must decide within six months of her December 9 impeachment whether Park should permanently step down or should be reinstated to office. If the court formally removes Park from office, a presidential election will be held within 60 days. Park has been accused of colluding with a close confidante to extort money and favors from companies and allowing the friend to manipulate government affairs. Her friend, Choi Soon-sil, Choi's niece, and several former government and presidential officials have been indicted, and a special prosecution team has been investigating bribery suspicions between Park and business giant Samsung. The investigators want to bring home Choi's daughter, Yoora Chung, who was arrested in Denmark, as they look into the suspicions that Samsung sponsored Choi in exchange for government favors. Cho June-hyuck, Seoul's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the ministry was preparing for the extradition of Chung, and that her passport would be invalidated if she didnt hand it in by next Monday. Speaking to reporters in Denmark, Chung said she's willing to return to South Korea if she could continue to be with her 19-month-old son. She also said Samsung took back a horse and car it had provided her. AP Washington, January 2 Donald Trump plans to repeal a number of President Barack Obamas executive actions in his first day in the White House that he feels have hampered both economic growth and job creation, the US President-elects close aide has said. Sean Spicer, Trumps incoming White House press secretary, said on ABCs This Week that Trump will immediately repeal a lot of the regulations and actions that have been taken by this administration over the last eight years that have hampered both economic growth and job creation. It was one of two moves Spicer said Trump will make immediately after he takes the oath of office on January 20. He did not specify which executive actions Trump will repeal. However, the 70-year-old real estate billionaire-turned-politician has long been critical of Obamas moves on immigration, energy regulation and foreign policy, and could look for ways to undo those and other actions. Spicer also said Trump will begin reforms intended to bring a new brand to Washington with a restriction on members of his administration becoming lobbyists for a period of five years after they leave Trumps government. Its very forward-thinking, Spicer said. What weve had in the past is people who have looked in the rearview mirror. This time, were thinking forward. If you want to serve in a Trump administration, youre going to serve this country, not yourself. When asked whether Trump would continue his unusual and deeply controversial approach of making major policy statements over Twitter, Spicer replied, Sure, why not. Spicer added: Business as usual is over... Theres a new sheriff in town. When pressed repeatedly on whether Trump might reverse President Obamas steps, including the expulsion of 35 Russian agents, aimed at punishing Moscow for interfering in the US election, Spicer just said Trump would delay any decision until he receives an intelligence briefing on the matter. PTI New York, January 2 Popular social media application WhatsApp has stopped working in older iPhones and Android handsets to ensure that it could continue to introduce new features and stay secure, which relies on the app being used on newer operating systems. Anyone using Android 2.1 or 2.2, an iPhone 3GS or iOS 6 will find the app has stopped working. The same will happen to anyone on Windows Phone 7, the Independent reported yesterday. The company has advised that anyone with one of those older handsets who wants to keep chatting with friends simply has to buy a newer phone. WhatsApp had initially said that all BlackBerry models and some Nokia handsets would also find themselves unable to get onto the chat app. But it went back late last year, apparently in response to complaints. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) We are extending support for BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10, Nokia S40 and Nokia Symbian S60 until June 30, 2017, the company wrote in an update to its blog. The changes are thought to be in large part to allow WhatsApp to more deeply integrate encryption and other privacy services. Such technology stops messages from being read, and has led to WhatsApp facing criticism from governments who believe that WhatsApp conversations should be made public, the report said. Its also likely to allow for more rapid introduction of new features. PTI In a statement, prosecutors said the man began spying on the former head of a group that promotes German-Israeli relations by July 2015 at the latest. He is alleged to have received money in return for passing on information obtained about the ex-head of the German-Israeli Society, the report said. The suspect faces up to five years imprisonment if convicted of espionage. On 29th and 30th June the Assad army and the IRGC (and militias) tried to get the war going again by continuing attacks northwest of Damascus in Wadi Barada. The IRGC said that armed opposition forces are in that area. The IRGC also falsely said that this was not included in the ceasefire accord. Assads army and the IRGC are attempting to change the population structure in the area by displacing residents. Speaking about the consequences of the ceasefire for the Iranian regime, Syrian military analyst Gen. Ahmad Rahal confirmed that they were the main losers of the ceasefire that was imposed on them. He said: I had previously said that Turkey and Russia are capable of determining this issue. President Erdogans remarks made it clear that only Daesh (ISIS) is excluded from the agreement. The Iranian regime claims about Ahrar al-Sham and Jaish al-Islam being excluded from the agreement were not fulfilled. We are facing a reality. The Iranian regime and Assad regime are the main losers of the agreement. Gen. Rahal also remarked that if a political resolution is found, all militias need to be evicted from Syria. He added: Therefore, the Iranian regime surrendered to the pressure by Russia. I dont say the regime in Iran agrees with or accepts the agreement but understands very well that it cannot thwart Russias political and military efforts, and especially because we are also facing the Trump administration in the future, something that would make the Iranian regime busy. From now on, the Iranian regime is facing a powerful lever that includes not only Russia and Turkey but also the U.S. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has repeatedly condemned the IRGCs presence in Syria, and has said that peace and tranquillity will not come to the region as long as the IRGC and its militias remain in Syria trying to rekindle the war. When the chips are down, I have Israels back. President Barack Obama, AIPAC conference, March 4, 2012 WASHINGTON The audience overwhelmingly Jewish, passionately pro-Israel and supremely gullible applauded wildly. Four years later his last election behind him, with a month to go in office and with no need to fool Jew or gentile again Obama took the measure of Israels back and slid a knife into it. People dont quite understand the damage done to Israel by the U.S. abstention that permitted passage of a Security Council resolution condemning Israel over settlements. The administration pretends this is nothing but a restatement of long-standing U.S. opposition to settlements. Nonsense. For the last 35 years, every administration, including a re-election-seeking Obama himself in 2011, has protected Israel with the U.S. veto because such a Security Council resolution gives immense legal ammunition to every boycotter, anti-Semite and zealous European prosecutor to penalize and punish Israelis. An ordinary Israeli who lives or works in the Old City of Jerusalem becomes an international pariah, a potential outlaw. To say nothing of the soldiers of Israels citizen army. Every pilot and every officer and every soldier, said a confidant of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, we are waiting for him at The Hague. I.e., the International Criminal Court. Moreover, the resolution undermines the very foundation of a half-century of American Middle East policy. What becomes of land for peace if the territories Israel was to have traded for peace are, in advance, declared to be Palestinian land to which Israel has no claim? The peace parameters enunciated so ostentatiously by Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday are nearly identical to the Clinton parameters that Yasser Arafat was offered and rejected in 2000 and that Abbas was offered by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in 2008. Abbas, too, walked away. Kerry mentioned none of this because it undermines his blame-Israel narrative. Yet Palestinian rejectionism works. The Security Council just declared the territories legally Palestinian without the Palestinians having to concede anything, let alone peace. The administration claims a kind of passive innocence on the text of the resolution, as if it had come upon it at the last moment. We are to believe that the ostensible sponsors New Zealand, Senegal, Malaysia and a Venezuela that cannot provide its own people with toilet paper, let alone food had for months been sweating the details of Jewish housing in East Jerusalem. Nothing new here, protests deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes: When we see the facts on the ground, again deep into the West Bank, beyond the separation barrier, we feel compelled to speak up against those actions. This is a deception. Everyone knows that remote outposts are not the issue. Under any peace, they will be swept away. Even the right-wing Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who lives in one of these West Bank settlements, has stated publicly that I even agree to vacate my settlement if there really will be a two-state solution. Wheres the obstacle to peace? A second category of settlement is the close-in blocs that border 1967 Israel. Here, too, we know in advance how these will be disposed of: Theyll become Israeli territory and, in exchange, Israel will swap over some of its land to a Palestinian state. Wheres the obstacle to peace here? Its the third category of settlement that is the most contentious and that Security Council resolution 2334 explicitly condemns: East Jerusalem. This is not just scandalous; its absurd. America acquiesces to a declaration that, as a matter of international law, the Jewish state has no claim on the Western Wall, the Temple Mount, indeed the entire Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem. They belong to Palestine. The Temple Mount is the most sacred site in all of Judaism. That it should be declared foreign to the Jewish people is as if the Security Council declared Mecca and Medina to be territory to which Islam has no claim. Such is the Orwellian universe Israel inhabits. At the very least, Obama should have insisted that any reference to East Jerusalem be dropped from the resolution or face a U.S. veto. Why did he not? Its incomprehensible except as a parting shot of personal revenge on Benjamin Netanyahu. Or perhaps as a revelation of a deep-seated antipathy to Israel that simply awaited a safe political interval for public expression. Another legacy moment for Barack Obama. And his most shameful. A Princes Town homeowner says he believes a water leak is to blame for a landslip affecting their home. He tells our reporter Cindy Raghubar-Teekersingh that his investigations reveal that it' a WASA leak, and although he's made numerous reports to the authority, they continue to ignore his complaints. Julia Zemiros Home Delivery returns to ABC in February for its fifth season. Interview subjects this season include Sam Neill, Cathy Freeman, Kasey Chambers, Colin Hay, Lee Lin Chin, Annabel Crabb, Derryn Hinch, Susan Carland, Tim Ferguson and Ronny Chieng. Julia Zemiros Home Delivery is a documentary series in which the ever playful and always entertaining Julia Zemiro walks outstanding and notable people down memory lane. Every Home Delivery episode begins with Julia and her companion driving back to their old stomping ground. They travel through time back to their childhood home, schools and old haunts all the while talking about lifes big questions as well as the past, present and future. In this the fifth series we feature revealing and surprising interviews with actor Sam Neill, Olympian Cathy Freeman, musicians Kasey Chambers and Colin Hay, media heavyweights Lee Lin Chin and Annabel Crabb, former journo and current senator Derryn Hinch, academic Susan Carland and comedians Tim Ferguson and Ronny Chieng. Julia travels from the deserts of South Australia to Far North Queensland, from the forests behind Dunedin to the metropolis of Singapore. Julia is an interviewer of great charm, wit and depth. She puts her guests at ease with her genuine curiosity and warmth, and they respond by opening up and sharing parts of their lives not usually revealed to interviewers. She is an astute and sensitive listener, willing to probe and ask the difficult questions. Each trip back in time is as different as the guests are themselves. Some cant wait to walk through the door of a place that will always feel like home, some want to run away, and for others the family home is where Mum and Dad still live now but visiting with Julia and her crew puts it in a different perspective. Walking the corridors of former school brings up happy memories for many while others step with trepidation through hallways that are full of ghosts. For all of them, returning to the scenes of their formative years is a powerful experience, sometimes overwhelmingly joyous, sometimes bittersweet. All guests set off on their day of Delivery willing to go deep. They reveal personal stories from their childhoods to the present day. They open up about their Mums and Dads, brothers, sisters and best friends. They spill their guts, share their stories both happy and sad and give the viewer real insight into the person they are. 8:00pm Wednesday February 1st on ABC. The current position of the Obamas administration, which has not yet approved deliveries of lethal weapons to Ukraine, may be revised by the team of the next president. Ukrainian Ambassador to USA Valery Chaly said this in an exclusive interview with Ukrinform, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "Defensive equipment now comes to Ukraine and gives the opportunity to save the lives of our soldiers, as well as to record the ceasefire violations, for example, with the help of counter battery radars," the diplomat noted. However, he continued, it is no secret that the position of [current] U.S. President is in the way of provision of lethal weapon to Ukraine. "Therefore, accordingly, the changes in the White House give an opportunity for a fresh look at this issue," Chaly said. He also reminded that the US defense budget for 2017 fiscal year increased the military aid to Ukraine and "includes the possibility of provision of lethal defense weapons" at the legislative level. ol The Cabinet of Ministers recommends the Verkhovna Rada to bring Ukrainian customs declarations in line with the EU standards. The corresponding bill, No.5627, has been already registered in Parliament. This bill envisages bringing transit procedures in line with the EU Common Transit Convention and the EU Convention concerning the simplification of formalities in trade in goods. Also, the bill foresees the process of adjusting the Single automated information system of income and fee agencies of Ukraine to the New computerized transit system, which is used by the Convention parties. iy In 2016, gross natural gas consumption in Ukraine totaled 30.3 billion cubic meters, which is only by 4% less compared with the previous year, the state-run gas transport company Ukrtransgaz reports. In January-December of the previous year, natural gas for the needs of Ukrainian consumers was imported only from the territory of Europe: 9.1 billion cubic meters from Slovakia, 1.0 billion cubic meters from Hungary, 1.0 billion cubic meters from Poland, reads a report. At the same time, Ukraines own natural gas production totaled 20.2 billion cubic meters, which is by 15% more compared with the previous year. iy In 2016, Ukraine's wheat and millet production output decreased, but the country's gross grain yield was 4 million tonnes higher in contrast to the previous year's record. The Ukrainian Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry has stated this in a briefing note on Ukraine's gross grain yield, which is available to Ukrinform. According to the data from regions, the production output of grain, grain and legume crops in standard weight is expected to be 4.0 million tonnes higher than that recorded in 2015 with an average yield of 44.8 quintals per hectare (3.7 quintals per hectare higher than that recorded in 2015). In particular, Ukraine produced 26.1 million tonnes of wheat (435 thousand tonnes less in contrast to last year), 189.1 thousand tonnes of millet (24.2 thousand tonnes less), 26.1 million tonnes of corn (2.8 million tonnes more), 9.5 million tonnes of barley (1.2 million tonnes more), 395 thousand tonnes of rye (4 thousand tonnes more), 510.1 thousand tonnes of oats (21.6 thousand tonnes more), 183.3 thousand tonnes of buckwheat (55.2 thousand tonnes more), 68.9 thousand tonnes of rice (6.4 thousand tonnes more) in 2016. mk Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Austria's Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz will make a working visit to Donetsk region on January 3-4. This is reported by the Government portal. As noted, the newly appointed OSCE Chairperson-in-Office is going to get acquainted with the progress of implementation of the Minsk agreements, the social and economic situation in the region, predetermined by the military aggression of Russia against Ukraine, as well as the progress of implementation of the charitable projects with the participation of the Austrian humanitarian organizations. Klimkin and Kurtz will discuss the efforts of the Austrian OSCE chairmanship in 2017 aimed at resolving the conflict in and around Ukraine, including deployment of the OSCE armed police mission in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and strengthening the capacity of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine for effective monitoring and verification of the Minsk agreements implementation. ol Refugee Regina Maniro plays with her nine-month-old son Jima Loday at the stabilization center in the Kakuma Refugee Camp Hospital, Kenya, in 2016. They fled their home in South Sudan after poor rains led to failed harvests and food shortages. UNHCR/Will Swanson GENEVA For those fortunate to live in comfort and safety, the psychological impact of being driven from your home by war, persecution or disaster is difficult to imagine. The word trauma is often loosely used to describe the harrowing effects of flight and its aftermath on the forcibly displaced, although the reality is more complex. Mental health studies show that the large majority respond with normal distress to displacement. A smaller proportion no more than one in five present mild or moderate forms of mental problems, including moderate Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Some three to four per cent suffer serious disorders, such as bipolar disorder or psychosis. UNHCRs Senior Mental Health Officer, Pieter Ventevogel, sat down with global website editor Tim Gaynor in Geneva to talk about the realities of mental distress in displacement. According to the World Health Organization, the vast majority of the millions of forcibly displaced people respond to leaving their homes, their jobs, sometimes even their families, in ways described as 'normal distress.' What is a normal reaction to losing everything? People who are forcibly displaced or are in other kinds of humanitarian emergencies have often faced horrible events, theres no doubt about that, and that makes people unhappy. What else would you expect if your house is destroyed, you have to escape, your whole social world has collapsed? What we see is that many people for example in new refugee crises are upset, they are distressed, they cant sleep well, they feel angry, they feel sad. I think that is all quite understandable and not abnormal in itself, because people continue to go on with their lives, they try to make something of their lives. It is an understandable, predictable reaction that will subside or go away when things get better. Are you surprised by how resilient refugees prove to be? Very much so. I often think when Im visiting refugee settings, 'What would I do in that situation? Would I be able to cope with all the poverty and lack of prospects, or the lack of services?' So, yes, Im surprised by the resilience of people, the way people are able to continue and to thrive in the context of adversity. People are often able to still make something of their lives and that is amazing. The thing is, we need to foster that. Just sitting and waiting until food is distributed to you, until your house is given to you, is not good for people. It makes people dependent, it makes people lose their vitality. Now we talk about involving refugees in the aid response, and for me, that it is perhaps one of the most important mental health interventions that you can do. While many people prove to be remarkably robust, forced displacement can cause psychological damage. At the milder end of the spectrum, what kind of disorders are most common, and how prevalent are they? We dont have very accurate data because the contexts are so different. The situation of Darfuri refugees in Chad is very different from the situation of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. What in general we can say is that around 15-20 per cent of displaced people have mental health problems, and most of them on the mild part of the spectrum. I think the single most important mental health problems among refugees have to do with loss and grief, which sometimes may lead to depression. People have lost a lot of things of course dear ones, but also material things, and also status, immaterial things, being someone. Refugees have had so many experiences of loss. That to me is actually the central issue in refugee-specific mental health problems. Pieter Ventevogel talks about mental health and displacement. The word trauma is often used by the media to describe the psychological state of those uprooted by war and persecution. How helpful is the term? There is a difference between having experienced horrible events and being traumatized. Being traumatized means to me, in a clinical sense, something very specific. The central emotion in PTSD is well, the word says it stress. People are stressed in a situation where actually the stress factor is not there anymore. It leads to vivid recollections of what happened. So people dream about it, people think about it all the time. It comes back to them what they dont want. Its is a very distinct syndrome, and I think it is not so helpful to use that terminology to label a whole population. What you do is that you label a whole population as mentally ill. Implicitly you say there is something wrong with those people, and they need help. We can use other words instead of trauma. We can say that people have experienced bad things, they have lost a lot that is much less pathologizing. In any context, some people will experience severe mental disorders like psychosis, severe depression or bipolar disorder. How does the additional stress of displacement impact them? A person with that vulnerability may remain without symptoms when the situation around him is good. So, imagine a person in a village or town, with his family, the situation is stable, he knows the people around him, the people know him. Its all going quite well. Imagine now that that person has to flee because everything around him is destroyed, people are killed, and that person finds himself in a large refugee camp, with unknown people. All the elements of security that the person had around him are gone. That may then lead to that person getting the symptoms of a severe mental disorder. In every society you have people with severe mental disorders, around two or three per cent, and we see that in refugee settings it goes up to three or four per cent. Its still not very many people, but it goes up. That is important, because it is a protection issue. People who have a psychosis of bipolar disorder are really very vulnerable to human rights abuses and often cannot easily fend for themselves. What can be done to identify and meet their needs? It is important for people with severe mental disorders to have access to good medical care. They need to be seen by a psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse a mental health professional. The problem is that in many of the places that we work, those professionals are not easily available. So what needs to be done in my opinion is to train non-specialists. We call that task shifting. It means that in every health centre, one doctor or one nurse needs to be trained in identifying and managing people with mental health problems. That doesnt have to take five or six years as it took me to become a psychiatrist. You can do brief, very focused training, so that non-specialists can do a lot. The other thing is to motivate people to seek treatment. People with severe mental disorders may not always do that by themselves. So you need to work closely with community leaders, with religious leaders sometimes, with womens groups, with youth groups, to identify the people in their community who suffer from severe mental health problems and help them access treatment and help families to assist them and motivate them for treatment. I strongly believe that some of the most powerful mental health interventions are not medical, but are related to empowering people and strengthening support within refugee communities. We shouldnt forget that refugee communities are to some extent artificial communities. They are brought there by chance, by accident. So they need support to recreate social connections. That should be the first thing. It has been a long way for me as a medical doctor, that it is actually not just healing what is inside the mind, important as it is, but its also helping the relations between people to flourish. Within UNHCR this is one of the central elements of what we call Community Based Protection. You can find more information about mental health and psychosocial support for refugees and other persons of concern here. When Thuy Nguyen first greeted the anxious Syrian family at Toronto airport in January 2016, their meeting triggered a wave of memories. It was very emotional, says Thuy, 53. I could empathize with what they were feeling. I could feel their sense of loss. But I could also feel their sense excitement for a new beginning. Forty-one years ago, Thuy was also resettled in Canada as a refugee at the tender age of 12, after fleeing war-torn Vietnam in 1975 with seven of her brothers and sisters. Leaving behind their parents, the group had boarded a ship to South Korea, beginning a journey at sea that would last 18 days. Once they reached land, they lived in a South Korean refugee camp for two months. You know vaguely that your life is falling apart, says Thuy. But you have the optimism of a young person aware of all the wonderful things that you are going to do and that is what we focused on. Thuy (right) and her partner have committed to becoming a safety net for the Nouman family. Among the nervous family members at the airport, Thuy spotted Narjes Nouman, the eldest of seven children. When I looked at Narjes I could see how I was when I first came at the age of 13 and all the different experiences that she will go through. The Nouman family is among the 13,000 refugees resettled in Canada over the past year, through the countrys private sponsorship program. Originally developed to assist Vietnamese refugees like Thuy Nguyen in the late 1970s, the system allows residents to pool their money and resources together to provide financial and social support for one year. Two years after their own arrival in Canada, Thuy and her siblings were able to sponsor their parents, reuniting the family. "I could feel their sense of loss. But I could also feel their sense excitement for a new beginning. [My parents] instilled in us a sense of social responsibility, says Thuy. That, one day, we can also give back to others who were in our position. That day finally came in 2016, when she and husband Michael pored over a list of Syrian refugee families approved for sponsorship. When she saw a family of nine, she jumped at the opportunity. I told Michael, Im from a big family. I can handle this, says Thuy, herself one of 15 children. Thuy Nguyen and Narjes Nouman spend time at a beach in downtown Toronto. Nguyen arrived as a refugee more than 40 years ago and now serves as a mentor to newly arrived Narjes. UNHCR/Annie Sakkab Canadians who are sponsoring the Nouman family organize activities like this picnic for the recently-arrived Syrian family. UNHCR/Annie Sakkab Thuy Nguyen and Narjes Nouman enjoy a sunny day at a park on the Toronto Islands. UNHCR/Annie Sakkab Having fun with the Nouman children is just one way Michael Adams and Thuy Nguyen help the family adjust to life in Canada. UNHCR/Annie Sakkab Sponsor Michael Adams (right) visits the Nouman family at their home in Toronto. The Nouman family is among the 13,000 refugees resettled in Canada over the past year. UNHCR/Annie Sakkab Rawan Nouman and her brother Diaa at their home in northern Toronto. She and her brothers and sisters are back in school, learning English and adjusting to life in their new home. UNHCR/Annie Sakkab Mohamed Nouman worked as a welder back in Syria, but now finds the language a challenge. UNHCR/Annie Sakkab For the Nouman family, the news they would be moving to Canada could not have come soon enough. At one point in the war, as bombs pummeled the familys hometown of Homs, Syria, they became trapped inside their house and huddled together in the bathroom for more than a week. During rare moments of stillness, they would sneak outside in search of food. Suddenly, the bucolic summer vacations spent at the sea and in the countryside with relatives were no more. I didnt want my kids to see death, says the father, Mohamed, explaining their decision to flee. The family fled from Syria to Lebanon and then to Jordan for safety. But the two years in Amman provided neither work nor stability. All members of the family slept in the same single room of a cramped apartment. On the day that we first heard that we are going to come to Canada, dad came and told us and I said to him, Wow! remembers Narjes. I started singing and dancing because we were going to Canada! It was such a wonderful feeling. On their first night in Toronto, worried they would freeze from the cold, the family all slept in their new winter clothes, only to find the buildings heating quickly left them sweating. Trained as a welder back in Syria, Mohamed says he wants nothing more than to work again, providing for both his family and the community. I love my profession and you must benefit the country with things that you know, he says. However, his struggles with English make both working and expressing himself difficult. They took us in and I cant ever repay them." When Thuy, Michael and other sponsors come to visit, he feels helpless. I cant say more than welcome. Sometimes, I just want to sit and chat with them. I want to tell them about my life and what is in my heart, but I cant. For Thuy, her aim is to give the family what she never fully had a safety net. She remembers only too well how the anxiety of a new culture and language overwhelmed her when she first came to Canada. The sponsors and I have promised to stay in touch with each other for the rest of our lives, says Mohamed. They took us in and I cant ever repay them. But if ever one of them gets sick or needs me, I want them to call. I will help. From Far and Wide is a series of stories profiling the Canadians who have welcomed Syrian refugees with compassion and support. All across the country, strangers, friends, families and communities are creating powerful bonds of friendship that transcend language and culture, when they are needed the most. 'Palestinians' threaten violence if US moves embassy to Jerusalem The Trump team has said that the US president-elect considers moving the embassy a "very big priority." Throughout his campaign for the presidency, Trump repeatedly said he would move the US Embassy if elected a political promise past US presidents have frequently made, yet has never been held. Longstanding US policy is to treat the status of Jerusalem as an issue to be settled in final-status negotiations with the Palestinians. One of the first things Donald Trump did after he was elected President was to promise to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem . Now that they realize that Trump is serious (and has named my college classmate Dave Friedman his ambassador to prove it), the 'Palestinians' are responding in the only way they know how. They are threatening violence.Let's go to the videotape.JPost reports that Trump is not backing down Longstanding US policy has also been to veto all anti-Israel resolutions in the Security Council, and not to let them pass, let alone orchestrate their passage . This is the best response of all to Obama's and Kerry's betrayal of Israel.And if the 'Palestinians' kill each other in response, . Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, David Friedman, Donald Trump, intifadeh, Jerusalem Embassy Act, John Kerry, Palestinians, US embassy in Tel Aviv [January 02, 2017] Technological Advances in the Electronics Industry to Boost the Global Embedded Software Market Through 2021, Reports Technavio Technavio market research analysts forecast the global embedded software market to grow at a CAGR of more than 9% during the forecast period, according to their latest report. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170102005068/en/ Technavio has published a new report on the global embedded software market from 2017-2021. The study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global embedded software market for 2017-2021. The report presents the vendor landscape and a corresponding analysis of the major vendors in the market. It also outlines the challenges faced by vendors and the market, as well as the key trends that will contribute to the growth of the market. According to Ishmeet Kaur, a lead analyst at Technavio for product lifecycle management research, "The technological advances in the electronics industry have increased the need for advanced embedded software technology, accelerating the growth of the market. The telecom, automotive, and manufacturing are the other end-user segments that will drive the growth of the market during the forecast period." Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=55391 Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Technavio ICT analysts highlight the following three drivers that are contributing to the growth of the global embedded software market: High adoption of embedded software in semiconductor industry Growing popularity of IoT and M2M technologies High adoption of smart home and smart grid technology High adoption of embedded software in semiconductor industry In the semiconductor industry, embedded software is used to design IC, a device interconnecting different electronic components like capacitors, transistors, amplifiers, oscillators, computer memory, and timers. Telecom and communication industry has been dominating the semiconductor market due to the increasing demand for smartphones. Smartphone shipments have increased globally from 174 million unit of shipments in 2009 to 1.5 billion unit of shipments in 2016. Smartphone and tablet providers are using new and innovative embedded software technologies to integrate hardware and software to develop advanced devices. Thus, heightened demand for ICs, which form the core of smartphones, is a driving factor for the embedded software market. Growing popularity of IoT and M2M technologies The IoT technology uses the Internet to connect and control devices such as smartphones, household appliances, and wearable devices. It is the core of modern concepts such as smart homes, shopping, transportation, and healthcare services. M2M is a closed system used in automation, instrumentation, and securely move data in real-time. M2M technology is mainly used to gather a large amount of machine and people-based data, while IoT integrates machines, people, and other systems and information sources and analyzes the data generated. M2M is used primarily in the energy and transportation industries, and IoT is popular in sectors like manufacturing, automotive, smart city, healthcare, education, and retail. The increased usage of IoT and M2M technologies has accelerated the need for embedded software as the IoT devices such as smartphones, refrigerators, washing machines, and home security are designed using embedded systems. High adoption of smart home and smart grid technology Home appliances and other electronic systems, especially in-house security infrastructure such as automated door locks, are designed to communicate and interact with users via the Internet. Almost all the modern electronic systems require ICs with embedded software to control the hardware functions. Some examples of smart home applications are Google (News - Alert) Home, Amazon Echo, and Apple HomeKit. Smart grid is another technology where ICs are used. It uses automation to integrate the actions of the user and deliver sustainable and secure electricity in the most efficient way, by connecting to the electric infrastructure of the user. It also helps reduce electricity wastage. Primarily, smart grid uses information and communications technology. "The potential of this segment to drive the embedded software growth in the forecast period is huge since ICs play a crucial role in smart grid and security solutions," says Ishmeet. Browse Related Reports: Global Industrial Embedded Systems Market 2016-2020 Global In-memory Computing Market 2016-2020 Global eDiscovery Software Market 2016-2020 Become a Technavio Insights member and access all three of these reports for a fraction of their original cost. As a Technavio Insights member, you will have immediate access to new reports as they're published in addition to all 6,000+ existing reports covering segments like IT hardware, IT professional services, and IT security. This subscription nets you thousands in savings, while staying connected to Technavio's constant transforming research library, helping you make informed business decisions more efficiently. About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies. Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170102005068/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] CNN journalist Anderson Cooper is known for his popular news gig. He is also a known TV personality. Considerably, he is one of the most well known journalists in the world. His work has already earned him multiple awards and honors. This includes his coverage during Princess Diana's funeral as well as reporting on Hurricane Katrina. He has earned an Emmy for the former and a Peabody Award for the latter. He also covered the Haiti earthquake. That earned him a National Order of Honor and Merit award. And because of his multiple success in the field of reporting, he now has an estimated net worth of $100 million, as reported by Celebrity Net Worth. But before he earned these critical successes and earning an annual $11 million working for CNN, he has to start from somewhere. When he was little, he was told that he was not going to get his family's inheritance. He grew up in a privileged household and was able to afford college. He did not have to carry student loans. But Anderson Cooper learned afterwards that he had to make a living. As a young boy, Anderson Cooper actually started with modeling first. He modeled with Ford Models for brands like Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Macy's. Afterwards, he graduated from the Dalton School and decided to take a holiday. Some call it a gap year. He traveled around Africa before he attended Yale University. At Yale, he studied political science, as reported by Heavy. He even interned for the CIA when he was a college student. Anderson Cooper explained that he experienced the mundane work of the CIA. He realized that he was not interested in getting a career inside the agency. He also worked as a waiter and took on other summer jobs and internships. He even worked as a fact checker for Channel One. Journalists and reporters like him had to start from somewhere. Watch this CNN video of Anderson Cooper getting some advice from Wolf Blitzer: The legendary sci-fi story has made its fans edgy and excited yet again as another chapter of this well-loved story will be coming their way later this year. Talking about an upcoming blockbuster, "Star Wars Episode VIII" has no title yet except the one mentioned but it surely made the buzz about possible storylines and new characters to be introduced in the film. It will be a long wait for Star Wars fans since the film is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on Dec. 15, 2017, although Czech Republic, Poland, and Russia can apparently catch it a day earlier on Dec. 14, Games Radar reported. Although writer and director Rian Johnson is tightlipped about "Star Wars VIII" as a whole, according to the source legendary Star Wars screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan promised Johnson that Episode 8 will be weird. Reports confirmed that "Star Wars Episode VIII" will begin immediately after the end of "The Force Awakens," bringing us back to the frozen moment shared between Rey and Luke Skywalker, Cinema Blend reported. Important plot threads from Episode VII will surely be expected to be established, such as Luke perhaps teaching Rey in the ways of becoming a Jedi, Luke's shattered emotions after the events with Ben Solo also known as Kylo Ren, or perhaps Leia's reaction in the aftermath of her son killing his own father. The source also reported that with Rey in the picture, she could be the daughter of Luke Skywalker since in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," she not only proves herself as an adept fighter and pilot but also is revealed to be Force sensitive and on the path towards becoming a Jedi. Aside from abandoned in Jakku at a young age, the identity of her parents is still a mystery. This early, "Star Wars VIII" indeed has perked up fans' excitement all the more that reports circulating that everyone who is not dead is coming back including Gwedoline Christie's Captain Phasma, Benicio Del Toro, who will be playing as a villain, Warwick Davis, and above all Han Solo. [January 03, 2017] 28% Revenue Increase At SproutLoud Caps Off Amazing Year Of Transformation SUNRISE, Fla., Jan. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- South Florida-based marketing technology innovator SproutLoud announced today they have wrapped 2016 with a 28 percent revenue increase, a stunning way to cap a year of transformation throughout the company. CEO Jared Shusterman stated, "2016 was a year of evolution for us. We made notable additions to our leadership team, bringing in world-class talent from across the country. We implemented new employee programs that increased performance, created new pathways to advancement, and encouraged collaboration. We set aggressive financial goals, which I'm proud to say we've met." The 28 percent revenue increase wasn't the only marker of SproutLoud's explosive success. Employee ranks at SproutLoud grew 35 percent and 4 times more digital marketing tactics were deployed by users of their marketing automation platform. SproutLoud's growth is even more notale when you consider the amount of consolidation the industry has undergone. They began the year with exceptional additions to the leadership team, including CFO David Spinola, formerly a private-equity investor focused on high-growth businesses; Marketing VP Sean Wisdom, formerly Global Marketing Director for Dell Software; and VP of People and Culture Samantha Downie, formerly HR Director at Northwestern Mutual. The company's leaders developed a dynamic plan to breathe new energy and innovation into HR, sales, finance, marketing and client services. SproutLoud is poised for continued growth in 2017, with expansions planned in Fort Lauderdale and Medellin, Colombia. "Hard work and dedication has paid off," said Shusterman. "We are delighted to end 2016 on a high note and excited for another incredibly successful year." ABOUT SPROUTLOUD SproutLoud, a recognized industry leader in Channel Marketing, gives Brands the intelligence to simplify campaign execution, amplify the power of their spend and accelerate local Channel Sales. The marketing technology company's innovative SaaS Platform: Delivers expert production and cloud-based distribution of assets Centralizes campaign planning and local marketing automation Drives more participation from Channel Partners Empowers Brands to invest only in what works, with real-time performance analytics In the last 10 years, SproutLoud has grown into a major disruptive force in the Through-Channel Marketing Automation landscape. The company's comprehensive distributed marketing software, services and support give Brands every element they need to excel at marketing through Local Partners. Media contact: Cynthia Srednicki, CEO of Dreamweaver Brand Communications [email protected] | 786-531-7842 For more information about SproutLoud, contact: [email protected] | 954-476-6211 x 3 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/28-revenue-increase-at-sproutloud-caps-off-amazing-year-of-transformation-300384428.html SOURCE SproutLoud [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] One of the most exciting fields of science is looking for another habitable planet and, along with that, the quest for extraterrestrial life. Experts believe that 2017 could be the year that we confirm that we are not alone in the universe. Express reported that experts are hopeful for the new year as it could bring the discovery of life on other planets. Last year, scientists got excited when they were able to detect signals from deep space. Doctor Simon Foster, a physicist from Imperial College London, told the publication that a breakthrough could be just around the corner. There have been probes sent to orbit Jupiter and Saturn collecting valuable data about the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Dr. Foster added that Cassini, the probe sent to study Saturn and its moons, may be able to get great results. It was previously reported that the Cassini-Huygens mission will begin its "Grand Finale" in April. It will make a series of close passes between Saturn and its rings. It is scheduled to make a kamikaze dive on Sep. 15, 2017. Meanwhile, Juno, NASA's spacecraft, is also expected to bring in more news and images from Jupiter. In February, the ESA will launch the CHEOPS, which has been tasked to look for exoplanets around bright stars. It was noted that Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons, is icy. This makes it possible to have been able to sustain life. Dr. Foster did admit, though, that it could be microbial life that may be discovered in the coming months. Nonetheless, it is an exciting prospect since it will definitely change the way we see the universe. Signs of extraterrestrial life will also pave the way for in-depth studies especially since several space companies have expressed their interest to have humans colonize another habitable planet. SpaceX, Boeing and now China are developing their own strategies for the race to Mars. Before Donald Trump won the elections as the next president of the United States, many Americans were already thinking of moving out of the country. It started as a joke at first. After Trump won, American citizens teased said they are going to move to Canada if Trump wins. What started as a joke is now turning into a serious conversation. Back in November 9, 2016, Canada's immigration and citizenship website crashed. It appeared that millions of Americans are already planning to make a life in Canada, as reported by Fortune. The immigration process may take years and is considerably expensive but that does not stop American teens from applying to Canadian colleges and universities just to escape the inevitable. President-elect Donald Trump will soon take his seat in the White House and the Oval office. And not caring if it takes a huge amount of resources and time, American students are looking to escape the United States for at least four academic years. Colleges and universities such as the University of Toronto have received applications from American citizens, as reported by Heat Street. These applications are up as much as 70 percent and these schools' systems had to adjust to the volume of requests. Although the University of Toronto did hold a panel last year to attract more American students, they most likely did not anticipate a huge jump in admissions. The escape from Donald Trump is most likely not based on fear but on principle. According to one student from California, she wants to stay in a campus that is safe for women, citing that Trump may most likely ease laws against sexual assault. On the other end of the spectrum, it looks like American colleges and universities are seeing a dip in foreign admissions. According to reports, Donald Trump's impending presidency is most likely the same reason as American students' intent of applying overseas. Watch the video below where Stephen Colbert jokes about moving to Canada: This Account has been suspended. The decree will make sure less buyers get their fingers burnt Among the big projects to be launched is An Khanh New City Developments sale of its first phase this quarter. The mega $2 billion project is developed by South Koreas Posco E&C and Vietnams Vinaconex, located in Hanois Hoai Duc district, along the Thang Long Boulevard. Scheduled for completion in 2013, the city is expected to supply 6,440 apartments, equivalent to 392,319 square metres of accommodation, enough for 30,000 people. Even though Hoa Phat Group, the investor in a more than 1,000 apartment Mandarin Garden in Cau Giay districts Tran Duy Hung road, refused to release its launching time, real estate experts predicted the project would be soon launched. At the beginning of this month the CT7D, located in Le Van Luong street and invested by Nam Cuong Group and the FLC Landmark Tower of FLC Group will also be launched, with a total of 200 units and prices ranging from VND23 million ($1,200) to VND28 million ($1,470) per square metre. In Gia Lam district, over the Red River, the second lot of Rung Co Residentials belonging to the Eco Park is also being launched, with around 1,500 apartment units. In addition, Victoria Van Phu, Star City, Diamond Tower and Song Da City View will also add apartments to the mix. Real estate consultant CBRE Vietnam expected that there would be 3,000 units in Hanoi launched this quarter, compared to 1,950 units in the third quarter. There were more than 4,600 units launched in the second quarter. This decline, according to CBRE Vietnam, could be due to the Decree 71, effective on August 8, 2010 providing guidance on the Housing Law, which caps the proportion of units sold via capital contribution contracts at 20 per cent with the remaining 80 per cent sold on transaction floors. This decree, CBRE Vietnam said, had put a pressure on developers with low financial capabilities and enhanced market transparency. However, CBRE Vietnam executive director Richard Leech said new project launches would continue trending towards more affordable options. With the opening and improvement of major infrastructure routes, the capitals western and southern districts are attracting new residents with easier access for commuting into the core urban districts, Leech said. He said that the Decree 71 was expected to benefit the market by enhancing transparency, placing pressures on developers with low financial capabilities, lessening the threat of price bubbles and limiting speculative forces. Tran Nhu Trung, Savills Vietnam associate director, said the Decree 71 had showed off its advantages to clearly regulate five types of mobilising capital investment. However, Trung said the procedures to implement Decree 71 were still complicated and wasted customers time and energy. The more simple it [decree] regulates, the more it is practical in the real life, Trung said. Choi Soon-sil (C), jailed confidante of South Korean President Park Geun-hye - her daughter Chung Yoo-ra has been arrested in Denmark. (AFP/AHN Young-joon) Chung Yoo-ra, the 20-year-old daughter of the woman dubbed South Korea's "Rasputin", is one of the figures in the influence-peddling scandal that sparked massive street protests demanding the removal of President Park Geun-hye. After a tip-off from a South Korean journalist, Chung was arrested Sunday night in the northern Danish town of Aalborg for overstaying her visa, Danish police said in a statement. The Aalborg district court ruled that Chung would be detained for four weeks while it was decided whether she would be extradited to South Korea. During the court hearing she denied any wrongdoing and said that her mother on three different occasions had simply shown her "some documents" that she had signed, according to Danish news agency Ritzau. Chung had "tearfully" asked the court not to detain her, saying she was worried about her 19-month-old son who was staying with a nanny, it said. The equestrian, who has reportedly bought horses and trained in Denmark in the past, told police that she was in the country due to her involvement in the sport. She was aware that South Korean authorities wanted to talk to her, they said. Police later transferred the case to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, which handles extradition requests from other countries. "We are already in dialogue with the South Korean Ministry of Justice, and we have asked them to send a formal extradition request, which will then be assessed," deputy director Mohammad Ahsan said in a statement. UNIVERSITY SCANDAL Choi, a secret confidante of Park, is accused of using her ties with the president to force top firms including Samsung to "donate" nearly US$70 million (67 million) to non-profit foundations which Choi then used as her personal ATMs. She is also accused of using her influence to secure her daughter's admission to an elite Seoul university, with a state probe revealing the school had admitted Chung at the expense of other candidates with better qualifications. The revelation touched a raw nerve in education-obsessed South Korea and prosecutors sought to question Chung over her admission to Ewha Women's University in 2014. Park stands accused of colluding with Choi to extract money from the firms and also of letting her meddle in state affairs including nominating top officials. The president denies all charges against her. Parliament voted on December 9 to impeach Park over the scandal and her executive powers have been handed to an acting president, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn. The impeachment case is being considered by the Constitutional Court, which has up to six months to reach a ruling. Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans have joined weekly protests calling for Park's immediate departure from office. If the impeachment is confirmed, a presidential election will have to be held within 60 days. Choi, daughter of a controversial religious figure who was close to Park until his death in 1994, is awaiting trial on charges including coercion and abuse of power. Several professors at Ewha Women's University, including a former school president, have been investigated for giving Chung preferential treatment. One professor was arrested over the weekend for allegedly giving Chung a good grade for a class she never attended and for forcing his teaching assistants to forge exam records for her. Top Samsung managers were also investigated as part of the scandal, following accusations the firm indirectly bankrolled Chung's equestrian training in Germany in a bid to curry favour. North America accounted for 43 per cent of the total scheduled domestic flights in 2016, up 4.3 per cent from the previous year. (AFP/RINGO CHIU) A total of 3.7 billion passengers were transported by the world's airlines last year, a six per cent increase from 2015. That was just under the previous year's 7.1 per cent rise, the United Nations agency said. Growth was most pronounced in the Middle East (11.2 per cent), Asia (8 per cent), Latin America (6.5 per cent) and Africa (5.7 per cent), while it was slower in Europe (4.3 per cent) and North America (3.5 per cent). "Over half of the world's tourists who travel across international borders each year were transported by air," the Montreal-based agency noted in a statement. Low-cost carriers accounted for 28 per cent of all passenger air traffic. Passing a milestone, they transported more than one billion passengers for the first time. In Europe, low-cost carriers transported nearly a third of all passengers, slightly more than the 31 percent in Asia or North America's 25 per cent. "The increasing presence of low-cost carriers notably in emerging economies contributed to the overall growth of passenger traffic," the ICAO said. As for scheduled domestic flights, North America accounted for 43 per cent of the total, up 4.3 per cent from the previous year, while domestic traffic in Asia was up 10 per cent, largely due to growth in India and China. Increased traffic and significantly lower fuel costs helped boost airlines' operating profits, which the ICAO put at US$60 billion for last year, some US$2 billion more than in 2015. "More than a third of the profits are expected to come from the carriers of North America, whose domestic market represents 66 per cent of their total operations," the agency reported. A small plane of Hanh tinh Xanh Technology Solution Corporation. In a message sent to the Ministry of Transport, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam asked the ministry to propose that the prime minister grant an aviation business licence to Tan Cang JSC, which is qualified to enter this market. Tan Cang JSC was established in HCM City in March 2016. If it receives the licence, it can begin operating two helicopters for tourism purposes in the central-southern region in 2018. The firms long-term plan is to provide an aviation service for tourists, conduct geological survey, take map photos and provide emergency medical care. The four licensed aviation firms currently operating in Viet Nam are Hai Au Aviation, Globaltransair, Hanh tinh Xanh Technology Solution Corporation and Vietnam Helicopter Corporation. They all have five small planes and 31 helicopters. In the last year or 2 content unlimited has been losing it's strength. Having been able to find songs that I didn't have and mainly in a tight spot. The end of last year I was able to find alot more songs then what currently comes up. I have a solid foundation of songs but there is always going to be songs that were popular that I don't have and wish there was a better way to guarantee I have these songs. I added 2 websites to my DJ laptop to purchase in a real pinch but that kills time. I'm very surprised there is so little results with popular artists. How about rihanna only a couple dozen show up and a few are dupes. Though I look for her it's usually not the more popular tracks or if I'm at home rather than on the road with my pro unit which is in a storage unit and has the full collection. When I'm at home playing sometimes I want some songs I haven't yet transferred to my home pc. I really appreciate virtualdj having something like this but can't there be a better way. They even seemed to remove netsearch which I can deal with less quality songs in a pinch. Don't know wish there was a solution, and it's been going on so much lately I have to consider maybe finally getting rid of the service which I would hate to do... :( The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. President-elect Trumps Twitter feed weighed in on North Koreas missile program. Russias navy arrived in the Philippines. Plus, Japan looks to strengthen ties with Taiwan. VOAs Steve Miller has your Asia news, in a minute. The popularity of King Norodom Sihamoni will be on the rise in 2017 as young Cambodians seek to protect their identity, a leading analyst has said. Ou Virak, founding president of the Future Forum, a think tank, said a desire among young Cambodians to have national pride would be augmented by the rise of Facebook use. He told the Hello VOA radio program on Monday that this would lead to the popularity of the king being much higher than in any other year. In the run up to elections this year, Virak added that parties will show their support to the king and this will boost the popularity of the monarchy. Cambodia is due to hold commune elections on June 4. Ahead of a general election in 2017, Virak said that political tensions would increase. At the 2017 election, everyone is keeping an eye on the results, which will be a crucial indication for the national elections in 2018, which is the most important one, he said. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump refuted Kim Jong Uns implied message that his military may soon test an intercontinental ballistic Missile (ICBM) capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, that the North Korean leader made during his New Years Day address. On Monday Trump sent out a Tweet saying, It wont happen! The president-elect also repeated on Twitter criticisms he made in the past against China for failing to stop its economically dependent ally in Pyongyang from developing its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs. South Korea praised Trumps tweets for exhibiting a clear understanding about the graveness and urgency of North Korea's nuclear threat. It can be read as a clear warning against Kim Jong Un's ICBM comments in his New Year's address hinting about the possibility of provocation, said South Korean Foreign Ministry Spokesman Cho June-hyuck. Mobile missiles However preventing North Korea from testing an ICBM is easier said than done. If future President Trump (or) when hes president then President Trump blows up the space launch center at Sohae, unless all the missiles happen to be there, that really doesnt solve your problem, said Jeffrey Lewis, the director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California. Until recently American defense analysts maintained that North Korea was only capable of reaching the U.S. mainland with a Taepodong-2 missile that has in the past been fired from a fixed site at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station. In 2016 and 2012 North Korea launched Taepodongs as rockets that Pyongyang claims were part of a peaceful space program to deliver Earth observation satellites into orbit. However, the Norths space program has been widely denounced as a pretense to advance nuclear and ballistic missiles technologies that are banned by United Nations resolutions. But in the last year, in addition to conducting two increasingly powerful nuclear tests and numerous missile tests from road mobile and submarine launch platforms, North Korea tested a new more powerful engine for two mobile ICBMs, the KN08 and the KN14, that could increase their range enough to reach anywhere in the U.S. When we looked at the nozzles on the back of the missiles, they look like a much more sophisticated engine, said Lewis. North Koreas long-range mobile missile launchers can be kept hidden underground or in shelters at different locations throughout the country, making them difficult for the U.S. military to target in advance of a test launch. Negotiation gambit It should be noted that the North Korean leader did not overtly threaten to test fire an ICBM during his address to the nation on the first day of the New Year. Instead Kim was recapping his countrys nuclear advancements in the last year that included the testing of the ICBM engine. The next logical phase, analysts say, would be a test launch of this new capability. Kim also said his country will continue to build up its nuclear capabilities as long as the United States and its allies threaten the Norths security and specifically objected to the American/South Korean joint military exercises conducted every year. Analyst Yang Moo-jin, with the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul says Kim New Years message was an attempt to project strength in advance of possible negotiations with the Trump administration. "We can see North Korea's attitude to approach carefully, and its strategic intention to control the response level according to the policy towards North Korea, which will be established by Trump administration," said Yang. However, North Korean defector and analyst Ahn Chan-il, with the World Institute for North Korean Studies, says if Kim wanted to pressure Trump to negotiate with the threat of an ICBM launch, his gambit may have failed. It is worrisome that Kim Jong Un mentioned the ICBM that may accelerate or stimulate his opponents in the U.S., said Ahn. During the presidential campaign Trump called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a maniac but gave the young leader credit for ruthlessly seizing power. At the same time he emphasized that the U.S. must be tough in dealing with any provocations, saying, This guy doesnt play games. And we cant play games with him. China's sole aircraft carrier conducted drills in the South China Sea, the navy said, days after neighboring Taiwan said the carrier and accompanying ships had passed 90 nautical miles south of the island amid renewed tension between the two sides. The Soviet-built Liaoning aircraft carrier and accompanying warships sailed round the east coast of Taiwan in what China called a routine exercise complying with international law. The carrier's J-15 fighters conducted flight exercises in complex sea conditions on Monday, the People's Liberation Army Navy said on its official microblog late the same day. The carrier group also ran helicopter exercises, it said but did not give details on the exact location. China claims most of the South China Sea through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Neighbors Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims. The drills also come at a time of heightened strain with self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, following U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's telephone call with the island's president that upset Beijing. Last month, China conducted its first-ever live-fire drills using an aircraft carrier close to Korea and announced on December 25 that the Liaoning and its accompanying fleet would carry out what it called routine exercises in the Western Pacific. Taiwan's Defense Ministry said on December 26 that the Liaoning and five accompanying ships had entered the top half of the South China Sea after passing south of Taiwan, and later docked at a base on China's Hainan island. The flotilla raised alarm in Japan when it steamed between the Japanese islands of Miyako and Okinawa. Japan said one of its Maritime Self Defense Force ships and a P3C patrol aircraft had spotted six Chinese naval vessels including the Liaoning traveling through the passage, and they also scrambled jets after a helicopter that took off from a Chinese frigate flew near Miyako Island. China has been angered recently by U.S. naval patrols near islands that China claims in the South China Sea. This month, a Chinese navy ship seized a U.S. underwater drone in the South China Sea. China later returned it. China's air force conducted long-range drills this month above the East and South China Seas that rattled Japan and Taiwan. China said those exercises were also routine. China imposed new border restrictions in Tibetan border regions Sunday, citing risks from terrorism, but the new measures also come as Tibetan's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, begins a popular Buddhist teaching event in India. The Chinese state-run Global Times newspaper reported Monday that the new measure is aimed at combating the risk of terrorism and separatism in the region. Critics say authorities frequently invoke such fears when imposing new security restrictions on Tibetans, and Tibetan exile news media say there are signs the measures are aimed more at preventing Tibetans from traveling than improving security. The new regulation was first announced in December by Tibet Daily, an official Tibetan language news outlet, which said it would take effect on January 1, 2017; however, the Tibetan language articles did not use the word terrorism as reason to make the restriction. On December 15, Tibet Daily quoted Bagdro, the deputy head of Tibet border police force, as saying the renewed regulation focuses on restricting movements in border areas and stabilizing the region through economic and social development. According to Tibet Post, a Dharamsala-based newspaper, the Chinese officials have confiscated passports of many Tibetans in Tibet in recent weeks. The Dalai Lama is beginning teachings known as the Kalachakra in Bodh Gaya, India on Tuesday. It is the spiritual leader's most popular Buddhist teaching and is held at a holy site thats believed to be where Buddha attained his enlightenment. China has been showing particularly sensitivity to Tibetans from Tibet attending Kalachakra teachings in India by the Dalai Lama. According to Tibetan exile media reports, hundreds of Tibetans recently traveled to India, but the Chinese officials summoned them back to Tibet before the teaching began. In 2012, thousands of Tibetans were believed to have been detained upon returning from the Kalachakra teaching. Chinese officials did not reveal the number of detainees, but according to International Campaign for Tibet, about 8,000 people from Tibet had attended the teaching in that year. Tightening controls in Tibetan border areas has long been backed by Chinese President Xi Jinping. In 2012, at the 18th Party Conference, Xi said, To govern the nation, one must govern the borders; to govern the borders, we must first stabilize Tibet. This statement has since been seen as the foundation of Xis Tibet policy. Migrants barricaded staff inside a reception center in northern Italy in a protest over living conditions there after the death of a young woman, officials said. The 25-year-old woman from the Ivory Coast apparently died of natural causes on Monday afternoon at the center in Cona, near Venice, the town's mayor told La Repubblica TV. Fellow migrants reacted angrily, cutting off the electricity supply to the center, starting fires and blocking the exit, leaving 25 staff members barricaded inside, local media said. Mayor Alberto Panfilio said calm had been restored at the center, where up to 1,500 people have been placed in a facility originally meant for 15 migrants. Many were housed in tents. Police had persuaded the protesters to open the gates shortly after midnight on Monday, let the staff leave, and re-connect electricity, local police chief Angelo Sanna told la Nuova di Venezia e Mestre newspaper. Early reports said the protest had been caused by a delay between the young woman being taken ill and an ambulance arriving to treat her. However, Panfilio said the ambulance had arrived promptly. This death is not directly linked to the high concentration (of people) but I hope it can be useful to change a situation that is no longer sustainable, he said. The mayor told local media that the center had opened in 2015. Numbers had ballooned dramatically last year. Cona itself has just some 190 residents. The center is one of many temporary migrant reception centers in Italy that are housing more than 136,000 people. In the past three years, roughly half a million migrants have arrived in Italy by boat. The U.S. Congress taking office on Tuesday remains almost as overwhelmingly Christian as it was in the 1960s even while the share of American adults who call themselves Christians has dropped, according to Pew Research Center analysis. A report from the nonpartisan group said that 91 percent of lawmakers in the Republican-dominated 115th Congress described themselves as Christians, down slightly from 95 percent in the 87th Congress in 1961 and 1962, the earliest years for comparable data. By contrast, the portion of American adults who call themselves Christian fell to 71 percent in 2014, the Pew report said. While Pew did not have numbers for the early 1960s, a Gallup survey from that time found that 93 percent of Americans described themselves as Christian. "The most interesting thing is how little Congress has changed over the past several decades, especially in comparison with the general public," Aleksandra Sandstrom, the report's lead author, said in a telephone interview. The biggest gap between Congress and other Americans was among those who said they have no religion. Only one lawmaker, Democratic Representative Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, called herself religiously unaffiliated. The Pew survey found that 23 percent of Americans described themselves the same way. The percentage of Americans who have no religion has grown, but the portion of voters who said in exit polls that they have no religion is lower than the share of the general public, said Greg Smith, a Pew expert on the U.S. religious landscape. "The political power of that group might lag their growth in the overall population," he said. Among the 293 Republicans elected to the new Congress, all but two identify as Christians. The two Jewish Republicans Lee Zeldin of New York and David Kustoff of Tennessee serve in the House. The 242 Democrats in Congress are 80 percent Christian, but that side of the aisle includes 28 Jews, three Buddhists, three Hindus, two Muslims and one Unitarian Universalist. The share of Protestants in Congress has dropped to 56 percent today from 75 percent in 1961, while the portion of Catholics in Congress has risen to 31 percent from 19 percent. The U.S. population in 2014 was 46.5 percent Protestant and 21 percent Catholic, the Pew survey showed. The survey was based on data gathered by CQ Roll Call through questionnaires and phone calls to members of congress and candidates' offices. The cease-fire in Syria appears fragile as government forces escalated their attacks near the capital of Damascus and a coalition of rebel groups said they would suspend their participation in preliminary peace talks set for later this month. The negotiations are scheduled to be in the capital of Kazakhstan but the rebels said they are withdrawing due to what they said is the Syrian government's violation of the cease-fire agreement, which was reached on December 30. "As these violations are continuing, the rebel factions announce ... the freezing of all discussion linked to the Astana negotiations," the rebels said Monday in a joint statement. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian army, supported by air strikes and artillery fire, advanced Monday in an attempt to capture the water-rich areas around the village of Wadi Barada and Barada Valley, located northwest of Damascus. Rami Abdel, a spokesman for the human rights monitoring group, said Syrian troops and allied forces were engaged in intense battles with the opposition, including al-Sham Front, a former affiliate of Al-Qaida. Rebel fighters, however, deny the militant group is in the area. At stake is water. The government has said rebels have damaged key water infrastructure, causing water supplies to be cut. The U.N. says at least 4 million people in Damascus have been without water since December 22 and about 1,000 women and children fled the area last weekend. The peace talks are being organized by Russia, Iran and Turkey, which also played key roles in negotiating the current cease-fire. The countries have yet to comment on the rebels decision to suspend preliminary talks. The cease-fire excludes extremist targets in the war-ravaged country, including rebel-held territory on the outskirts of Damascus. But the cease-fire has managed to remain in effect, despite the ongoing violence. An airstrike Sunday near the Turkish border killed at least three extremist leaders. The observatory said eight people were killed in the attack in northern Idlib province, on a road leading from the town of Sarmada toward the border. It was not immediately clear who launched the attack, but an observatory report said it was most likely carried out by the U.S.-led coalition battling Islamic State extremists in the region. U.S.-led coalition warplanes and drones have killed some of the region's most senior jihadist commanders, since Islamic State extremists declared a caliphate in northern Syria in 2014, after pushing through northern Syria and large swaths of Iraq. The observatory said the dead in Sunday's strike included al-Qaida commander Khattab al-Qahtani and Abu Omar Turkistani, whose Islamist Uighur force joined with Syrian extremists in a push to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad. On Monday, Turkey's military said its warplanes killed at least 22 militants near its border with northern Syria, and said Russian aircraft destroyed IS targets near the extremist controlled northern town of al-Bab. Turkey launched its so-called "Euphrates Shield" offensive on August 24, just hours after an Islamic State (IS) terror strike on a wedding party in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep killed more than 50 people and wounded scores of others. The operation's stated goal is to clear the Syria-Turkey frontier of IS fighters and Kurdish forces by backing the so-called Free Syrian Army with warplanes and artillery. For Zurab Japaridze, libertarian and once a member of parliament, legalizing marijuana in his home country of Georgia is a New Year's resolution. Surrounded by his fellow pro-weed activists, the 41-year-old founder of the New Political Center-Girchi party planted marijuana seeds on New Year's Eve in a televised event. Tbilisi-based Girchi's office has been turned into a greenhouse for 77 pots hosting cannabis breeds from all parts of the country. This action is part of a campaign calling for marijuana legalization and decriminalization of all sorts of drugs. Japaridze, who considers the cultivation of cannabis as a civil defiance and a political act against Georgia's tough narco-politics, also realizes his cameo might turn into a courtroom drama for himself and a couple dozen of his supporters, who voluntarily and demonstratively violate Georgia's criminal code. Repressive narco-politics Frankly, I don't know what happens next. Government can either ignore us, punish us or react with legislative amendments that we have been calling for, Japaridze said. But he is at odds with Georgian legislation. For Japaridze and his followers across different social groups, smoking marijuana is a human rights issue, meaning you are entitled to make decisions about your own body and health. For Georgian law, it is a crime, also carrying the burden of a stigmatization deeply rooted in stereotypes. The former Soviet republic, a country of fewer than 4 million with proclaimed Euro-Atlantic aspirations, has what many civil activists call repressive narco-politics, jailing drug users for up to 14 years. According to the White Noise Movement, a civilian group confronting Georgia's narco-politics, an average of 112 people are drug screened every day, as the government has tested close to 300,000 people and spent $6.3 million over the last seven years. Drug traces were found in 35 percent of those who were forcibly tested. Court rules sentence too harsh Compulsory urine drug screening is one of the main issues for the National Narcopolitics Platform an umbrella for 40 civil society, human rights and drug expert entities that is calling for more humane narco-politics. Three main amendments we regard of crucial importance, and are proposing, are to decriminalize use of nonsignificant amounts of drugs, to define dosage calculations by law and to eliminate police malpractice of forced urine testing, said Guram Imnadze, a member of the platform and a human rights lawyer. Imnadze presented 27-year-old Beka Tsikarishvili, who was arrested in 2013 for possessing 65 grams of cannabis and who faced imprisonment for 7-14 years. In the case, Beka Tsikarishvili v. Parliament of Georgia, the Constitutional Court ruled that applying imprisonment as a punishment for purchasing and possessing up to 70 grams of marijuana for personal use is unconstitutional, saying the punishment amounts to inhuman and cruel treatment that infringes upon human dignity. Anyone facing similar charges of possessing marijuana in an amount of up to 70 grams for personal use will no longer be imprisoned, said Imnadze. However, it does not apply to cases of selling marijuana. Neither does it apply to cultivation of cannabis, an action punishable by up to 12 years of imprisonment. Drug sentences a moneymaker Drug laws were stiffened in 2006 under the previous government's zero-sum tolerance policy, which turned into an additional source of moneymaking for the government. According to the Britain-based research center, Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Program, the following year drug-related fines generated $11.3 million for the state budget. Given Georgia's geographic location, where drug users including those who use weed for recreational purposes are targets of witch hunts, Japaridze says marijuana legalization can be a game-changer. We did a comparative analysis, comparing [the U.S. state of] Colorado and Georgia. Having calculated the economic impact of legalization, we anticipate it can create approximately a $4 billion economy, with 7 to 8 percent of annual growth, he said. Meanwhile, Georgia's ministry of internal affairs says it has launched an investigation on the illegal planting of cannabis. No officer has paid a visit to Girchi's office, no activist has been interrogated yet, but Japaridze says he is ready to face sentencing. German investigators identified the Tunisian man who killed 12 people in Berlin before Christmas as a threat in February last year but decided it was unlikely he would carry out an attack, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported. Anis Amri, 24, plowed a truck through a Berlin Christmas market on December 19. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, calling the assailant a soldier of the militant group. The German authorities had determined Amri posed a threat after receiving intelligence showing that in early February he had been in contact with suspected members of Islamic State and offered himself as a suicide bomber, the Sueddeutsche reported. Officials at the German Interior Ministry were not immediately available for comment. Amri, whom Italian police shot dead in Milan on December 23, had wanted to acquire weapons for an attack in Germany and sought accomplices, the Sueddeutsche said in a joint report with German broadcasters NDR and WDR, citing security documents. However, German officials who subsequently met to decide whether to deport Amri, determined he posed no acute threat that could be presented in court. Amri's attack in Berlin has prompted German lawmakers to call for tougher security measures. In a New Year's address to the nation, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Islamist terrorism is the biggest test facing Germany. An Israeli advocacy group on Tuesday criticized what it called an "exceptionally low" prosecution rate by the Israeli military in cases of violence committed by soldiers against Palestinians. The report by Yesh Din, a human rights group that is often critical of the Israeli military, came a day before a military court's verdict is to be delivered in a high-profile manslaughter case against a soldier. In its annual report, Yesh Din said the army opened 186 criminal investigations into suspected offenses against Palestinians in 2015, but just four of those investigations yielded indictments. The group said the 2015 figures, based on official army data, were the most recent available. In the fall of 2015, a wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence erupted, characterized by Palestinian stabbing and car-ramming attacks on Israelis. The report said that of 76 Palestinians killed in clashes with soldiers in the West Bank in 2015, only 21 deaths resulted in investigations. "The fact that in 55 incidents no criminal investigation was considered necessary raises doubts about the implementation of Israel's declared policy on investigating civilian fatalities," the report said. It said the data signaled an "inability and unwillingness" to address unlawful conduct. The Israeli military did not respond to requests for comment. On Wednesday, a military court is to deliver its verdict in the manslaughter case of a soldier who was caught on video last March fatally shooting an incapacitated Palestinian attacker in the West Bank. The case of Sergeant Elor Azaria, who has argued that the attacker still posed a threat, has deeply divided Israel. Yesh Din spokesman Gilad Grossman said the manslaughter charge against a soldier was "very rare," but that the public uproar sparked by the video made it impossible to ignore. "There was no way to look aside and not investigate," he said. Haitian businessman Jovenel Moise was declared the official winner of November presidential elections in the impoverished Caribbean nation on Tuesday, after an electoral tribunal ruled out allegations of massive fraud at the polls. Moise, who ran for former President Michel Martelly's Bald Heads Party (PHTK), won with 55.6 percent of votes cast in the Nov. 20 election, with closest rival Jude Celestin second at 19.5 percent, said electoral tribunal spokeswoman Nicole Simeon. Supporters of ex-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Fanmi Lavalas Party had also claimed victory for their candidate, Maryse Narcisse, while backers of leftist candidate Moise Jean-Charles also protested after preliminary results were released. However, the electoral tribunal said the outcome stood. "There was no massive fraud in the election. There were irregularities which did not affect the electoral process," the tribunal said ahead of Moise's confirmation as president. Heavy gunfire was heard in parts of the capital on Monday. Opponents of Moise have repeatedly said they would never accept the victory of the candidate of Martelly's PHTK party. Haiti is still recovering after Category-4 Hurricane Matthew tore through the nation, killing up to 1,000 people and leaving 1.4 million in need of humanitarian assistance. Moise, 48, won an October 2015 first-round election that was later scrapped over fraud allegations. He is expected to take office by the constitutional deadline of Feb. 7, 2017. A successful banana exporter, Moise would take the reins from interim president Jocelerme Privert, who took power after Martelly left without an elected successor in February, 2016. As president, Moise would face the daunting task of reviving Haiti's economy and rebuilding a country that was still recovering from a 2010 earthquake when the hurricane hit. An Indian minister has received widespread criticism for suggesting that "western clothes" were responsible for a slew of sexual assaults which took place in the city of Bangalore on New Year's Eve. "A large number of youngsters gathered - youngsters who are almost like westerners," Karnataka's Home Minister G Parameshwara told The Times Now television network. "They try to copy westerners not only in mindset, but even the dressing, so some disturbance, some girls are harassed, these kind of things do happen." Abu Azmi, leader of the Indian regional Samajwadi Party echoed these comments Tuesday, blaming women's "short dresses" for the incident and callingwestern influence a "blot on the Indian culture". Fellow politician Kiren Rijiju, the central government's junior home minister, called the comments "irresponsible" and stressed the importance of women's safety on his official Twitter account. Lalitha Kumaramangalam, head of India's National Commission for women, said Parameshwara should resign over the comments. "When will the Indian men learn to respect women? The minister should apologise to the women of the country and resign," Kumaramangalam told the Press Trust of India news agency. Local media reports say hundreds of women fled the streets and hid behind police officers as a mob descended on them on New Year's eve. Police have not yet charged anyone but are said to be looking through CCTV footage which captured the event to attempt to identify attackers. Police investigators with Israels National Fraud Squad drove up to the heavily-guarded residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, launching a criminal probe Tuesday into allegations of financial misconduct. Netanyahu was interrogated for three hours on suspicion that he improperly accepted gifts from wealthy supporters in Israel and abroad. Pointing to the gravity of the case, police say the prime minister was questioned under caution, meaning anything he says could be used as evidence against him. Netanyahu, the longtime conservative leader of the right-wing Likud party, describes the allegations as baseless. He even took a swipe at the Israeli media, accusing them of conducting a witch hunt. Weve been paying attention to reports in the media, we are hearing the celebratory mood and the atmosphere in the television studios and the corridors of the opposition, and I would like to tell them, stop with the celebrations, dont rush, the prime minister told a meeting of Likud lawmakers. Nothing will happen [with this case] because there is nothing. Details of the allegations are sketchy. The nature of the investigation precludes us at this stage from giving details of the ongoing investigation, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit said in a statement. But we will consider releasing more information from time to time according to developments. He said that new and significant information gave impetus to the investigation which began three months ago, turning it into a criminal probe. Pieces of a puzzle Israeli media are putting together some pieces of the puzzle. According to reports, Netanyahu allegedly accepted gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars from at least two businessmen. A second investigation involves family members. For instance, Netanyahus oldest son, Yair, reportedly accepted gifts including free trips from Australian billionaire James Packer. It has also been confirmed that another billionaire, American-Jewish cosmetics mogul Ron Lauder, was questioned by police in connection with the matter. Netanyahu and his wife Sara are no strangers to negative publicity regarding an extravagant lifestyle that seems out of touch with ordinary Israelis struggling with a soaring cost of living. In 2013 there was a fierce public backlash after the prime minister spent $127,000 in public funds for a special sleeping cabin on a flight to London for the funeral of the late British leader Margaret Thatcher. Other lavish expenses include $1,600 for a hair stylist and $1,750 for a makeup artist during a visit to New York, and an annual $2,000 contract with a Jerusalem ice cream parlor to keep him supplied with his favorite flavor - pistachio. Never before charged However, Netanyahu has never been charged with a crime. If he is, and that remains to be seen, it could cost him his job. His predecessor, former prime minister Ehud Olmert, was forced to resign in 2008 as he was about to be indicted on corruption charges. Olmert was convicted and is now serving an 18-month prison sentence after being convicted of bribery and breach of trust. He is the first Israeli prime minister to spend time behind bars. Olmerts departure had significant political repercussions as he was making progress in peace talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the creation of a Palestinian state. Netanyahu, who opposed the generous territorial concessions Olmert had offered, was elected a few months later and the peace process was frozen. Netanyahu, 67, is now in his fourth term as prime minister, serving on and off since 1996. The length of his time in office is second only to Israels legendary first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion. Legally, Netanyahu can remain in his post during a police investigation and is not required to step down unless there is an indictment. That could take months or even years, and such probes often do not wind up with criminal charges. The prime minister says he plans to serve out his term, which ends in 2019. He has told his political opponents that if they want to topple him from power, the best place to try is where they have failed time and again before: at the ballot box. Kenyan parents and teachers are in shock after the education minister released results of the 2016 university entrance exam. Just 15 percent of the more than half-million candidates qualified. The results represent a significant drop from last year, after officials cracked down on cheating in the exam. The number of students who attained an "A" grade in the 2016 exams dropped by 95 percent compared to the previous year. In 2015, in a single school with 202 students, all the candidates scored grade A, but the next year only 141 students across the country got a similar mark. The overall poor performance follows new strict rules designed to curb cheating. The 2016 exam results were released two months earlier than expected. Kenyan media reports say examination officials released the results early, after some school principals pressured them to award their students high marks. Some principals are accused of bribing examiners between $100 to $160 to give their students good grades. Tough questions John Mugo is director of data at Twaweza East Africa, a non-profit working to improve education and government responsiveness in the region. He says education officials will face a lot of tough questions. "Questions are being raised whether those heads or the management should be brought to account to the public. What happened? If they were involved in massive irregularities, then I think we should not keep quiet. They should be made to account. But then the other question Kenyans have is quality. Are students really learning? Or have [teachers] been drilling them to pass the test, such that when the test changes slightly then they all fail, Mugo said. Another challenge Education expert Tomkin Baraza says credibility has been restored to the education sector, but another challenge awaits. "Now we look at many students who were affected, where are we going to have them? The ministry should come [up] with a way to ensure that at least a majority of the students go somewhere, not where education is only meant for few students who pass exams, Baraza said. Kenya National Examinations Council chairman Professor George Magoha argues students do not need to get good grades to be successful. Baraza echoes that view. They always equalize passing exams with excellence. Let us say if someone says, 'he gets D plus or an E,' you are seen as a failure. They do not emphasize most cases on talent, where somebody is talented. So most of those candidates who scored low grades are very much demoralized and maybe they think their future has been twisted, Baraza said. Nevertheless, the ministry of education said it will look at where the problem lies after the latest exam results. Twenty-seven years ago on January 3, Panamas General Manuel Antonio Noriega surrendered to the United States military to face charges of drug trafficking. The Panamanian military dictator finally gave up after hiding for 10 days at the Vatican embassy in Panama City where he fled after a U.S. military invasion. Crowds lined the streets of the capital the next day when Noriega was flown to Miami. In 1992, the former dictator was convicted of drug trafficking, money laundering and racketeering in Miami, Florida, and sentenced to 40 years in prison. He made history again by becoming the first foreign head of state to be convicted in a U.S. court. Noriega was employed by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency as an intelligence source from the 1950s, and remained on the CIA payroll until the late 1980's. He was instrumental in transporting weapons, military equipment and cash to the U.S.-supported "contras" - a guerrilla force fighting against Nicaragua's leftist Sandinista government. He also was a high-end seller of cocaine, though his U.S. handlers reportedly knew about this activity but looked the other way because of his value to their secret military operations. Noriega emerged as general of Panamas military forces and the de facto leader of the country after the death of former leader General Omar Torrijos, who seized power in a 1968 coup. Noriegas rule was marked by corruption and violence. He also became a double agent, selling American intelligence secrets to Cuba and Eastern European governments. In 1987, when Panamanians organized protests against Noriega and demanded his ouster, he declared a national emergency, shut down radio stations and newspapers, and forced his political enemies into exile. That year the United States cut off aid to Panama and tried to get Noriega to resign; in 1988, the U.S. began considering the use of military action to put an end to his drug trafficking. Noriega voided the May 1989 presidential election, which included a U.S.-backed candidate. In December, he declared a state of war with the United States. After an American marine was killed by Panamanian soldiers, then President George H.W. Bush authorized Operation Just Cause. On December 20, 1989, 13,000 U.S. troops were sent to occupy Panama City, along with the 12,000 already stationed there in the Panama Canal Zone, and seize Noriega. During the invasion, 23 U.S. troops were killed in action and more than 300 were wounded. Noriega was sentenced to 40 years in prison, later reduced to 30 years, by a Miami court after being tried on eight counts of drug trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering. In 2010, Noriega was extradited to France to face charges there and then, a year later, he was sent to Panama where he is now in prison for the crimes committed during his rule. A rare opportunity for one party to pull all the levers of power in Washington, commenced Tuesday, with the swearing in of the Republican controlled 115th Congress, a little more than two weeks before Republican Donald Trump takes the presidential oath of office. Republican leaders promise a busy first 100 days as they try to institute sweeping changes in the role government plays in the lives of the American people. Still, the ambitious Republican plans to transform health care, reform taxes and cut spending are not assured. For the new president, success might be defined by priorities that do not necessarily align with those of Republican lawmakers. What Donald Trump is going to want is his big tax cut, combined with his promise of a big increase in defense (spending), combined with as much as he can do with an infrastructure plan and to be able to declare victory on sweeping things by the end of his first 100 days, Norm Ornstein, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told VOA. For voters who put a unified government in power, success will mean congressional action on Trumps popular campaign trail message on immigration and a push to improve the economy and create jobs, considered the top issue in the 2016 campaign. Congress is expected to vote even before Trump takes office to dismantle President Obamas health care plan. With only a slim majority over Democrats in the Senate, Republicans and Trump might be forced to acquiesce to popular aspects of the so-called Obamacare, which made it possible for 20 million people to buy health insurance. Therell be enough Senate Democrats to ball up the process if they choose to to what end though? Mitch McConnell told reporters about anticipated budget battles at a year-end Senate news conference. New Republican Congress By The Numbers New Republican Congress By The Numbers: There will be 21 women, of whom 16 are Democrats and 5, Republicans; 3 African Americans, including California's new Democratic senator Kamala Harris, and four Hispanics, including Nevada's new Democratic senator Catherine Cortez Masto. The GOP will hold a hefty 241-194 majority in the House, including 52 freshmen 27 Republicans, including Wyoming's Liz Cheney, daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney, and 25 Democrats. Source: AP On the Senate side, confirmation hearings of Trumps cabinet appointees will be the first order of business, when both parties are expected to ask tough questions: from Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillersons ties to Vladimir Putin to Ben Carsons lack of government experience as he seeks to head Housing and Urban Development and Rick Perrys appointment to lead the Department of Energy, an agency he once said should be abolished. Trump is expected to act quickly in filling a long vacant Supreme Court seat, a move that would complete conservative control of all three branches of government and also would require Senate confirmation. House Republican plans In his first post election news conference, House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters the election delivered a mandate for unified Republican government. The blueprint for that unified government will be Ryans own A Better Way agenda, a long planned policy strategy that rolls back government regulations and transforms the federal government's approach to poverty and the social safety net. Democrats pledge to fight Paul Ryans long held plans to cut key entitlement programs, such as medical care for the elderly and the poor. Democrats in Congress and millions of Americans across the country are going to make it very, very clear hands off Medicare, House Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters at her year-end news conference, speaking of government's delivery of health care to seniors. And Ryan could clash with Trump if he decides to push forward on those cuts while Trump could be at odds with Republicans concerned about his proposals to renegotiate international trade deals and rebuild infrastructure like roads and bridges -- both of which bear more resemblance to Democratic Party policies.It will be interesting to see how this is put together, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters at a news briefing in mid-December. I hope we avoid a trillion dollar stimulus. In a move that could signal a break on party orthodoxy on tariffs, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters at an end of year briefing, I dont want to get into some kind of trade war. The working relationship between Trump and Ryan will be a key element in Republican legislative success on the Hill. After a contentious campaign season, Trump and Ryan set aside their differences in the name of Republican unity. He is like a fine wine, Trump said of House Speaker Paul Ryan at a victory rally in Wisconsin in mid-December. Every day goes by, I get to appreciate his genius more and more. Trump said some of the amazing things he and Ryan would work on together would include taxes, Obamacare and building a border wall between the United States and Mexico. But he went on to warn, Now, if he ever goes against me, Im not going to say that. We know that many of the things Trump has promised are not things that Republicans in Congress particularly want, said Ornstein. The question becomes how much will Trump frustrated by Congress not doing what he wants - act on his own executive action. The answer to that question could determine if Republicans stay unified well past the first 100 days of a Trump presidency. Russia is eyeing naval exercises with the Philippines and deployed two navy ships for a goodwill visit to Manila on Tuesday as Moscow moves to expand defense ties with a Filipino president known for being hostile to the U.S. Rear Adm. Eduard Mikhailov, deputy commander of Russia's Pacific Fleet, led the five-day visit of vessels including an anti-submarine ship and showcased what his country can offer to a Southeast Asian nation that's long been a staunch American treaty ally. You can choose ... to cooperate with United States of America or to cooperate with Russia, Mikhailov told reporters through an interpreter at the Manila harbor after a welcoming ceremony. But from our side we can help you in every way that you need. We are sure that in the future we'll have exercises with you. Maybe, just maneuvering or maybe use of combat systems and so on, he said. The anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs and sea tanker Boris Butoma have a wide range of combat features. Filipinos will be allowed to tour the huge ships and Russian marines will demonstrate their combat capability during the high-profile visit, according to the Philippine navy. With an underfunded and underequipped military, the Philippines has struggled to deal with attacks by ransom-seeking Abu Sayyaf militants and allied gunmen, who have kidnapped crewmen of tugboats and ships from neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia in the Sulu Sea and outlying waters. Russia can help through future combat drills, Mikhailov said. We have an experience in fighting these [threats], he said. We will share with you our knowledge on these problems, how to solve piracy and terrorism. After Russian and Philippine officials met in Manila in August, the two countries began drafting a proposed defense cooperation accord that could be signed during a planned visit by President Rodrigo Duterte to Russia in April. The visit by the Russian navy ships is the third to the Philippines and the first under Duterte, who took office in June. Duterte has lashed out at outgoing President Barack Obama and his administration for criticizing Duterte's deadly crackdown on illegal drugs which is feared to have left more than 6,000 suspected drug users and dealers dead. Contrastingly, Duterte has reached out to China and Russia - whose leaders he has met recently - in a dramatic shift in Philippine foreign policy that has put Washington in a dilemma. The Philippines has depended heavily on the U.S., its treaty ally, for weapons, ships and aircraft for years, although it has turned to other countries for defense equipment. After visiting Moscow last month, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Philippine military was considering purchasing sniper rifles from Russia. Duterte has repeatedly threatened to scale back U.S. troop presence and joint exercises with the Americans in the Philippines. Syrian rebels say they are suspending negotiations to join peace talks in Kazakhstan later this month because of what they say are repeated cease-fire violations by Syrian government forces. A coalition of mostly moderate rebel groups, the Free Syrian Army, put out a statement Monday saying, "they respected the cease-fire across the whole of Syria ... but the regime and its allies have not stopped shooting and have launched major and frequent violations." The rebels say any advance by the Syrian army violates the cease-fire and that they will consider the truce to be "null and void." Russia and Turkey, which are organizing the peace talks in Astana, have not yet commented on the rebel statement. The cease-fire took effect late last week. But the rebels say Syrian fighters and their Hezbollah allies are still striving to recapture a rebel-held area near Damascus in which the city's water supply is located. Russia, which backs the Assad government, and Turkey, which supports the rebels, have organized the talks and also worked out the current cease-fire. Turkey is warning that violations of the cease-fire in Syria could jeopardize peace talks planned for later this month. Russia and Turkey, which support opposing sides in the conflict, brokered the nationwide halt in fighting last week, building on their efforts to arrange the peace negotiations to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan. "If we cannot stop the increasing violations, the Astana process could fail," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the state-run Anadolu news agency Wednesday. He blamed pro-government fighters, including the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group, for violating the cease-fire. Cavusoglu also said Russian officials were due to visit Turkey next week to discuss the framework for the peace talks. Syria's main rebel groups have cited government violations of the truce in their decision to suspend participation in the peace talks process. Along with a government-led assault on Wadi Barada, a rebel-held area near the Syrian capital, insurgents also are complaining about major airstrikes in the provinces of Hama and Idlib, and a regime push on the Eastern Ghouta suburb of Damascus. "As these violations are continuing, the rebel factions announce... the freezing of all discussion linked to the Astana negotiations," wrote 10 factions in a joint statement. The suspension amounts to a significant setback to a Moscow-led negotiation process that has sidelined the West as it includes two of the largest armed factions - the Free Syrian Army and the powerful Islamist alliance Jaish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest). "The regime and its allies have not stopped shooting and have launched major and frequent violations, notably in the regions of Wadi Barada and Eastern Ghouta. Any [advance] on the ground goes against the [cease-fire] agreement and if things don't return to how they were before, the accord will be considered null and void," the factions warned. Ongoing offensive Monitoring groups confirmed there has been no let-up in a two-week-long regime offensive on villages in the Barada valley, 15 kilometers from Damascus, where Syrian and Russian warplanes have mounted daily bombing raids, including the dropping of barrel bombs. Wadi Barada, which has been besieged by the regime since mid-2015, is the main source of drinking water for Damascus 4 million inhabitants and supplies have been seriously disrupted in recent weeks with both sides blaming the other for the interruption. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group that relies on a network of activists in Syria for its information, reported that about 1,000 civilians, mostly women and children, fled Wadi Barada in recent days. Much as with other besieged rebel-held areas, the regime has pursued a starve-or-surrender strategy, say analysts, hoping to pressure rebels into withdrawing. According to the Syrian Observatory, two civilians were killed Monday by snipers in a village in Wadi Barada. Fierce ground clashes have continued for days between regime forces with militiamen from the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah in the vanguard and rebel fighters, including al-Qaida-linked rebels. The nationwide cease-fire organized by Russia and Turkey excludes the Islamic State terror group and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, an al-Qaida faction formerly known as al-Nusra Front. A dozen civilian casualties have been documented elsewhere in Syria. Monitors say two civilians were killed on the third day of the cease-fire, which began on Friday, during a regime bombardment in Homs province and a sniper killed a civilian on the outskirts of Douma city. Two children from one family were killed in artillery shelling in the western countryside of Aleppo. Numerous breaches The Russian-Turkish-brokered truce is the third cease-fire in Syria in the past year. On Saturday, the United Nations Security Council approved the cease-fire deal. The Syrian Network for Human Rights recorded no fewer than 77 regime breaches in the first 72 hours. In a report, the group stated, 72 breaches were by the Syrian regime forces, mostly in Homs and the Damascus suburbs. Five breaches were by Russian forces including four in Aleppo whereas the fifth breach was recorded in Hama, the group said in its report. The Syrian Network urged Moscow, as a primary sponsor of the agreement, to apply pressure on the Assad regime to commit to the agreements provisions, otherwise, the cease-fire will ultimately fail. It added, Russian forces have to adhere to the agreement, and cease bombing civilians because any other breaches by the Russian forces, who should supposedly oversee the implementation of the agreement, will demolish the credibility of any future Russian sponsorship. Syrian military officials say they have not been violating the truce as they have been targeting jihadist groups excluded from the cease-fire agreement from the outset. Members of the High Negotiations Committee, a political opposition body that has been representing the rebels and anti-Assad activists at the now stalled U.N.-brokered Geneva peace process, say they have so far not received invitations to attend the Astana talks. Rebel leaders say they suspect Moscow wants to try to exclude the HNC and to talk only with the armed factions and approved opposition groups that are based in Damascus. Meanwhile, it emerged Tuesday that a 20-year-old Briton, a one-time chef from southern England, was killed on December 21 while fighting the Islamic State group just north of Raqqa. Ryan Lock, who had no previous military experience, joined the Kurdish militia, the People's Protection Units (YPG), last August, telling his family that he was going on vacation to Turkey. The YPG told his family he was killed along with four other YPG militiamen. The United Nations said Monday that terrorism and other acts of violence in Iraq killed at least 6,878 civilians and wounded another 12,388 last year. But the casualty figures may actually be higher because they do not include civilians who were killed or injured in Iraq's western Anbar province during the months of May, July, August and December. The numbers "have to be considered as the absolute minimum," according to the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). The U.N. said civilian casualty figures for December are lower compared to previous months, despite noticing an increase in terrorist bombings toward the end of the month that targeted civilians. "There is, no doubt, an attempt by Daesh (an Arabic acronym for Islamic State) to divert attention from their losses in (the Iraqi city) of Mosul and, unfortunately, it is the innocent civilians who are paying the price," said Jan Kubis, Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary General for Iraq. UNAMI reported that 7,512 civilians were killed in Iraq in 2015. The 115th Congress being sworn in Tuesday will be the United States' most racially diverse congress in history. Most of the minority politicians in the 115th Congress are Democrats. Of the record 49 African American lawmakers (up from 46), just three are Republicans. Hispanics and Asian-Americans are also represented in record highs this Congress. Thirty-eight Hispanic lawmakers will serve across both chambers. Fifteen Asian-Americans will serve, up from 11 in the 114th Congress. Representative Ami Bera, a California Democrat, an Indian-American, will be joined by three house members as well as Senator Kamala Harris, whose father is from Jamaica and mother from India. She is the first woman of South Asian descent to serve in the Senate, and the second black woman. The number of women of color in the Senate quadrupled this year as Harris, Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada) join incumbent Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), who was only the second minority woman to ever serve in the Senate. Cortez Masto is the first Latina Senator in the United States. A record number of 21 women will serve in the Senate. But the number of women overall in the 115th Congress remains unchanged from the previous one - a total of 104 members, or 19 percent, quite in contrast to the American population in general, which is 50 percent female. The number of LGBTQ and non-Christian lawmakers also remains unchanged this year. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday criticized General Motors, the country's biggest automaker, for sending its Mexican-made Chevrolet Cruze compact models back to U.S. car dealers tax free and threatened to impose a hefty tariff on the company. "Make in U.S.A. or pay big border tax!" Trump declared in a Twitter message. GM said it already makes the majority of its compact Cruze models in the United States, at its Lordstown, Ohio, manufacturing plant in the country's industrial heartland. GM said it imports only the hatchback version of the Cruze from Mexico, a small percentage of the 172,000 Cruzes the automaker sold through the first 11 months of last year. In addition to Mexico, GM makes the $21,000 car in China. The automaker said last June that consumer demand for the Cruze was such that the Lordstown plant couldn't produce enough of them, leading the company to ramp up production at its existing manufacturing facility in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. General Motors has sold more than 3 million of the vehicles since it started the line of Cruze models in 2009, with nearly half of the sales in China, followed by purchases in the U.S., Russia and Brazil. Like other U.S. manufacturers, General Motors employs cheaper labor in Mexico, paying workers an average of about $10 an hour, substantially less than the $33 average for autoworkers in the U.S. and benefits from Mexico's free trade agreements with 40 countries, including the United States. Blasting current trade deals The Republican Trump, during his lengthy presidential campaign, assailed U.S. trade deals, including the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada, contending the pacts lead to the elimination of jobs for U.S. workers. He has vowed to renegotiate NAFTA and pull the U.S. out of a proposed deal among 12 Pacific Rim nations, but Trump faces opposition in Washington from Republican lawmakers who often favor the free trade agreements. Trump has vowed to impose a 35 percent tax on U.S. companies that make their products in other countries if they try to send them back across the border for sale in the U.S. Trump, however, would need congressional approval to impose such a tax and risks initiating a trade war with other countries and forcing U.S. consumers to pay higher prices on foreign-made goods. The president-elect's broadside against GM, the world's third biggest automaker behind industry leading Toyota Motor of Japan and Volkswagen of Germany, is his latest attack on an array of individual American companies as he gets set to assume power at his January 20 inauguration. He previously assailed carmaker Ford, aircraft maker Boeing, giant internet sales company Amazon and the Macy's department store. Ford on Tuesday canceled its plan to build a $1.6-billion manufacturing plant in Mexico. Instead, the No. 2 U.S. automaker said it would add 700 jobs in the U.S. and invest $700 million at an existing assembly plant in Michigan to build self-driving and electric vehicles. Trump's criticism of GM came as he named attorney Robert Lighthizer, an experienced trade official who has questioned conservatives' support for free trade, to be the U.S. trade representative. "Ambassador Lighthizer is going to do an outstanding job representing the United States as we fight for good trade deals that put the American worker first,'' Trump said. "He will do an amazing job helping turn around the failed trade policies which have robbed so many Americans of prosperity." Venezuelan teams are searching in the Amazon rain forest for a military helicopter that went missing with as many as 13 people on board. Communications Minister Ernesto Villegas says the Russian-built aircraft was supposed to have landed in the tiny settlement of La Esmeralda on Friday. He didn't say how many people were on board, but local media reported the army helicopter was carrying 13 people, including five civilians. Villegas said eight military airplanes were in the area and would continue their search until the aircraft was located. Officials in Malawi say they are on high alert for a possible invasion of armyworms which have attacked crops in neighboring Zambia. The country is spraying pesticides in an effort to halt the spread. Armyworms are caterpillars that feed on green pastures and cereal crops like maize, a staple food in Zambia and Malawi. The worms invaded Zambian maize crops last month in four provinces: Copperbelt, Central, Eastern and Lusaka. Figures from the Zambian Disaster and Management Mitigation Unit released Monday show that nearly 90,000 hectares of maize fields have been affected across the country. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Julius Shawa told local radio Monday efforts to control the spread are under way. We are very much on top of things. The measures that have been taken are procurement of chemicals, which are being distributed to various districts where the armyworm outbreak is throughout the country, he said. Shawa said the government has dispatched 15,000 liters of pesticides to help contain the worms. But observers are concerned any delay in controlling the outbreak may hurt the crop yield for 2017. A journalist based in Lusaka, Zambia, Derrick Sinjela, says the armyworms invasion does not pose a serious threat to the countrys future harvests. The food security is assured in the sense that armyworms are not widespread and the fact that the government has put these [control] measures [in place] shows that the harvest [is] still going to be achieved, Sinjela said. But farmers in neighboring Malawi are worried. Nearly half the population of Malawi is dealing with food shortages, caused largely by the El Nino weather pattern, which caused floods and drought in the past two years. Phillip Kapwenga is a farmer in the Mchinji district which borders Zambia. Whenever the armyworms invade the neighboring district we are sometimes affected and it means our maize production will be low; as a result we will face another food shortage situation, Kapwenga said. Malawis Minister of Agriculture George Chaponda told VOA the country is ready to deal with any caterpillars that may spread from Zambia. We think we can definitely manage [the possible armyworm spill over]. We have pesticides which we can deal with it. And we have been able to deal with such issues in the past, Chaponda said. A year ago, Malawi successfully contained an armyworm invasion that affected seven districts across the country. Doctors estimate one in four Zimbabweans battles depression or anxiety, but there are just 12 psychiatrists treating the entire population of 14 million. "We cannot possibly go the route of training psychiatrists and psychologists because it would take 15 years, said Dr. Victoria Simms of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. How are we going to provide treatment?" Local doctors have come up with a simple, but seemingly effective, answer. Wooden seats, or friendship benches, were installed on the grounds of several health clinics in Harare. Visitors were offered six one-on-one counseling sessions with lay health workers, known as grandmother health providers. Those women were trained "to offer problem-solving therapy, Simms said. And so the patient explains what all their problems are, and it is opening up the mind in the sense of allowing the patient to see that they can do something about their problems." The study involved more than 550 patients. After six months, 14 percent of the patients in the friendship bench group reported symptoms of depression, compared to 50 percent in a control group. They were also five times less likely to have suicidal thoughts. The range of benefits were far-reaching, according to the co-founder of the program, Dr. Dixon Chibanda of the University of Zimbabwe. "Not only a mental health sort of package, but a package that actually improved outcomes of things like hypertension, diabetes, and adherence to medication for people living with HIV," Chibanda told VOA via Skype. That success has led to friendship benches being rolled out at 60 clinics in Harare and two other cities. The Canadian government is helping fund the expansion through its Grand Challenges Canada aid program, making it one of the biggest programs in sub-Saharan Africa. Researchers say it could be a blueprint for mental health in low-income regions, and could even offer lessons for treatment in richer countries. Since January 2015, over 12,000 Zimbabwean youths have benefited from expanded economic opportunities through the second phase of the Zimbabwe:Works project. The Zimbabwe:Works project is supported through funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID), and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). In a statement, these organizations said the project, implemented by the International Youth Foundation, strengthens local non-governmental and private sector organizations to provide training services and products to increase employment opportunities for young Zimbabweans. This alliance, called Zimbabwe:Works, is in its second phase and seeks to assist 22,000 youth to acquire entrepreneurship skills, gain valuable job experience and build professional networks between January 2015 and December 2017. This partnership builds on the initial success of the first phase of the project, implemented from 2012 to 2014. The second phase of Zimbabwe:Works has provided 8,500 young people with entrepreneurship and business skills and trained 3,700 youth in financial literacy. About half of those trained in financial literacy subsequently accessed loans from microfinance institutions to start or expand their businesses, resulting in net profits of over $12 million. USAID/Zimbabwe Mission Director Stephanie Funk stated, "Zimbabwe:Works has achieved impressive results in a shrinking economy that is increasingly informal. The activity has made a notable difference in the lives of thousands of Zimbabwean youth the majority of them women." Annabel Gerry, Head of DFID Zimbabwe, said "I am proud of the UKs support to the young people of Zimbabwe, making sure that they have jobs and increased incomes in the future. Maria Selin, Head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden, noted, "Zimbabwe:Works has prepared thousands of Zimbabwean youth for productive careers. We believe that partnerships and investments that can bring young people and in particular young women into the productive sectors are incredibly important for the economic and social development of any society. The International Youth Foundation, in partnership with local Zimbabwean organizations, implements the Zimbabwe:Works program in eleven areas: Bulawayo, Gweru, Kwekwe, Harare (including Chitungwiza), Kadoma, Masvingo, Mutare, Goromonzi, Bubi, Umzingwane, and Lupane. For more than 30 years, the American people, through USAID, have contributed over $3 billion in assistance to Zimbabwe. Current projects include initiatives to increase food security, support economic resilience, improve health systems and services, and promote a more democratic system of governance. DFID Zimbabwe works to deliver a more democratic, stable and prosperous Zimbabwe, focusing on helping the countrys poorest people. Key priorities are: Providing infrastructure, assets, finance, skills and access to markets needed for people to earn enough money to meet their basic needs Improving access to health, water and sanitation, and education Helping to strengthen democracy and improve the way the economy and public finances are managed by the Government of Zimbabwe to support both economic development and poverty reduction. Swedens annual support to Zimbabwe amounts to $20-25 million. The support primarily aims to build institutional transparency, enhance human rights & gender equality and to improve economic opportunities for women and youths. Another substantial part of the support aims to enable vulnerable groups' and childrens access to social services. Turkey is a member of NATO, an ally of Saudi Arabia, a patron of international jihadism since the hospitalisation of prince Bandar ben Sultan in 2012, and godfather of the Muslim Brotherhood since the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi and the quarrel between Doha and Riyad in 2013-14. Besides this, it attacked Russia in November 2015, destroying a Sukhoi-24 and causing the interruption of diplomatic relations with Moscow. And yet this is the same Turkey which has just sponsored the cease-fire in Syria, imagined by Russia [1]. Why? Since 2013, Washington no longer considers Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a trusted partner. The CIA has therefore launched various operations, not against Turkey, but against Mr. Erdogan personally. In May-June 2013, it organised and supported the Taksim Gezi Park protest movement. During the general elections in June 2015, it financed and supervised the party of the minorities, the HDP, so as to limit the power of the President. It played the same tactic during the elections of November 2015, which the Power had rigged. The CIA then moved on from political influence to secret action. It organised four assassination attempts, the last of which, in July 2016, turned ugly, forcing the Kemalist officers to attempt a coup detat for which they were unprepared. Recep Tayyip Erdogan therefore finds himself in a position similar to that of the Italian Prime Minister of the 1970s, Aldo Moro both men heading a NATO member-state, and both having to face the hostility of the United States. NATO managed to eliminate the Italian by manipulating an extreme left-wing group [2], but has failed to kill the Turk. Moreover, in order to win the elections in November 2015, Erdogan flattered the Turko-Mongol supremacists by unilaterally expanding the conflict with the Kurdish minority. By doing so, he added the alleged nationalists of the MHP to his Islamist electoral base (AKP). In a few months, he caused the deaths of more than 3,000 ethnically-Kurd Turkish citizens, and destroyed several villages, even certain neighbourhoods of major cities. Finally, by transmitting arms to al-Qaida and Daesh which were sent by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and NATO, he wove close relations with the jihadist organisations. He did not hesitate to use the war against Syria to make money for himself. First of all by dismantling and pillaging the factories of Aleppo, then by trafficking the oil and antiques stolen by the jihadists. Progressively, his entire clan became linked with the jihadists. For example, his Prime Minister, mafia gangster Binali Yldrm, organised factories for the confection of counterfeit goods in the territories administrated by Daesh. However, the intervention of Hezbollah in the second war against Syria, from July 2012, then that of the Russian Federation, in September 2015, turned the fortunes of war. From this moment on, the gigantic coalition of the Friends of Syria lost a lot of the terrain they had occupied, and encountered increasing difficulty in recruiting new mercenaries. Thousands of jihadists deserted the battle-field and fled to Turkey. But in fact, most of these jihadists are incompatible with Turkish civilisation. Indeed, the jihadists had not been recruited to form a coherent army, but simply to swell the numbers. There were at least 250,000 of them, perhaps even many more. At first, these men were Arab delinquants supervised by the Muslim Brotherhood. Progressively, were added Naqshbandi Sufis from the Caucasus and Iraq, and even young Westerners in a quest for Revolution. This implausible mixture can not hold together if it is displaced to Turkey. First of all because now, what the jihadists want is a state of their own, and it seems impossible to proclaim another Caliphate in Turkey. And then for all sorts of cultural reasons. For example the Arab jihadists have adopted the Wahhabism of their Saudi benefactors. According to this desert ideology, History does not exist. They have therefore destroyed many antique vestiges, allegedly because the Quran forbids idolatry. While this has not caused problems in Ankara, there is no question of allowing them to touch the Turko-Mongol patrimony. Thus, today Recep Tayyip Erdogan has to face three simultaneous enemies not counting Syria ; The United States and their Turkish allies, the FETO (Fethullah Terrorist Movement) of the Islamist bourgeois Fethullah Gulen; The independentist Kurds, and more particularly, the PKK; The Sunni state ambitions of the jihadists, particularly Daesh. While the main interest of Turkey would be, as a priority, to dial down the interior conflicts with the PKK and the FETO, Erdogans personal interest would be to find a new ally. He was the ally of the United States when their influence was at its height, and presently hopes to become the ally of Russia, now the leading conventional military power in the world. This about-face would seem all the more difficult to navigate since his country is a member of the Atlantic Alliance, an organisation that no-one has ever been able to leave. Perhaps at first he could leave the integrated military command, as France did in 1966. At that time, President Charles De Gaulle had to weather an attempted coup detat and numerous assassination attempts by the OAS, an organisation which was financed by the CIA [3]. Even supposing that Turkey might manage to handle this evolution, it would still have to deal with two other major problems. First of all, although we do not know precisely the number of jihadists in Syria and Iraq, we may estimate that they are are now no more than between 50,000 and 200,000. Given that these mercenaries are massively irrecuperable, what is to be done with them? The cease-fire agreement, the text of which is deliberately imprecise, leaves open the possibility of an attack against them in Idleb. This governorate is occupied by a bevy of armed groups who have no links with one another, but are coordinated by NATO from LandCom in Izmir, via certain humanitarian NGOs. Contrary to Daesh, these jihadists have never learned how to organise themselves correctly, and remain dependent on aid from the Atlantic Alliance. This aid comes to them across the Turkish border, which may soon be closed. However, while it is easy to check trucks which travel on well-defined routes, it is not possible to control the passage of men crossing the fields. Thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands of jihadists could soon flood into Turkey and destabilise it. Turkey has already begun changing its rhetoric. President Erdogan accused the United States of continuing to support the jihadists in general and Daesh in particular, suggesting that if he had done the same in the past, it was under the evil influence of Washington. Ankara hopes to make money by handing over the reconstruction of Homs and Aleppo to his construction and public works company. However, it is difficult to imagine how Turkey can escape from its responsibilities, after having paid hundreds of thousands of Syrians to leave their country, after having pillaged the North of Syria, and after having supported the jihadists who have destroyed this country and killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians. Turkeys about-face, if it is to be confirmed in the months to come, will provoke a chain-reaction of consequences. Beginning with the fact that President Erdogan now presents himself not only as the ally of Russia, but also as the partner of Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran, in other words, the hero of the Chiite world. The end, therefore, of the mirage of Turkey as leader of the Sunni world, fighting the heretics with Saudi money. But the artificial inter-Muslim conflict launched by Washington will not end until Saudi Arabia also lets it go. The extraordinary shift by Turkey is probably difficult to understand for Westerners, according to whom politics are always public affairs. Leaving to one side the arrest of Turkish officers in a NATO bunker in East Aleppo, two weeks ago, it is easier to understand for those who remember the personal role of Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the first Chechen war, when he was director of Milli Gorus; a role which Moscow has never mentioned, but concerning which the Russian Intelligence services have conserved a quantity of archives. Vladimir Putin has preferred to transform an enemy into an ally, rather than taking him down and having to keep fighting his country. President Bachar el-Assad, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have gladly followed his lead. In the lead up to the transfer of power at the White House, 2017 kicks off with a terrorist massacre in Turkey, two weeks after the assassination of the Russian ambassador at Ankara, which took place the day before a meeting [was held] between Russia, Iran and Turkey at Moscow, for a political agreement on Syria. A meeting from which the United States was excluded. Resolved, in the final days of the Obama Administration to create the highest tension possible with Russia, which has even been accused of using malicious hackers and secret agents to subvert the outcome of the presidential elections which Hillary Clinton should have won. [Her victory] would have guaranteed the rolling-out of the neocon strategy, masterminded by Clinton during the Obama Administration. This is laid to rest, stamping the failure of the core strategic objectives: Russia, cornered by the new cold war triggered by the putsch in Ukraine and by ensuing sanctions, struck Washington by surprise, intervening with the use of force to support Damascus. This prevented the Syrian state from being taken apart, the fate [allotted to] the state of Libya. It has allowed government forces to free up vast areas that Isis, Al Nusra and other terrorist movements that are functional to the US/Nato strategy, have controlled for years. Re-equipped with arms, paid with billions of dollars from Saudi Arabia and the other monarchies through a CIA international network (reported by the New York Times in March 2013), it made its way to Syria via Turkey, the Nato outpost in the region. However now, faced with the clear failure of the operation, which has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands, Ankara shows its teeth, by commencing negotiations, with the aim of extracting the maximum advantage possible from it. To this end, it is patching up its relations with Moscow which had reached breaking point, and is [unpicking] the ties [it wove] with Washington. A slap in the face for President Obama. Yet before passing the baton of command to the newly elected Trump, he fires the final cartridges. Hidden in the folds of military expenditure for 2017, signed off by the President, is a law to contain foreign misinformation and propaganda, specifically targetting Russia and China. [This law] confers greater powers on the tentacled intelligence community, made up of 17 federal agencies. Thanks to an allocation of 19 billion dollars for cybersecurity, this may tune out any source of fake news, in the final judgement of a specific Centre assisted by analysts, journalists and experts recruited from abroad. Thus the Orwellian Truth Ministry that, Martin Schultz, the president of the European Parliament, forecasts that the EU should also institute, becomes a reality. The special forces too emerge empowered by the Obama administration. They have extended their covert operations from 75 countries (2010) to 135 (2015). As one of its final acts, on 15 December, the Obama Administration confirmed its support for Kiev, whose forces it arms and trains. This includes the Neo-nazi battalions, to fight the Russians of Ukraine. And on 20 December, in an anti-Russian gesture, the Pentagon resolved supplying Poland with long distance cruise missiles with anti-bunker penetrating capacity, that can also be armed with nuclear heads. From the Democrat, Barack Obama, the Nobel Prize Winner for Peace, his final message on the State of the Union will linger on for posterity: America is the strongest nation on the Earth. We spend more on our military than the next eight nations combined, and our troops are the finest fighting force in the history of the world. Each month, Abraham Riesman offers recommendations of comics, including book-length graphic novels, comics-format nonfiction, and ongoing series. With any luck, at least one of them will be a match for you. Action Comics by Dan Jurgens, Stephen Segovia, Art Thibert, and Arif Prianto (DC) To paraphrase countless nostalgia-milking listicles published in recent years: You know youre a 90s kid if Dan Jurgenss Superman stories changed your life. The venerable writer/artist was one of the Man of Steels leading creative minds for the massively selling Death of Superman arc, and Jurgens, working exclusively as the writer, has recaptured the energy of that era in his run on the recently relaunched Action Comics. The story has been deliciously mysterious and refreshingly earnest, following Supes as he tries to figure out why some non-superpowered guy who looks just like him is running around, and as he deals with the fact that a super-armored Lex Luthor has decided to become the new guardian of Metropolis. The art from Stephen Segovia, Art Thibert, and Arif Prianto is pulpy and dynamic, bringing electricity to corner offices and alien worlds alike. Its all too rare to see superhero comics this devoid of winks and snark, but we should expect no less from Jurgens. Thanos by Jeff Lemire, Mike Deodato Jr., and Frank Martin (Marvel) Villain-led series are a sticky wicket. Sure, bad guys always get the best lines in heroic narratives, but how do you keep a reader interested if a protagonist has no moral center driving them? The challenge is even greater if youre writing about space-faring Marvel Uber-villain Thanos, given that his whole agenda is a terrifyingly nihilistic campaign to wipe out life in order to impress the cosmic personification of death. And yet, Thanoss new solo title is off to a very promising start. That shouldnt be so surprising, given that the men at the helm are three of the best in the business: writer Jeff Lemire, artist Mike Deodato Jr., and colorist Frank Martin. Theyre weaving an appropriately operatic narrative that seeks to understand and illustrate the dignity and drive of a complete monster, which is a rarity in the current lineup of superhero tales. Batman by Tom King, Mitch Gerads, and Stephanie Hans (DC) Its been an astounding decade for the flagship Batman series. Three remarkable writers have helmed it (or spinoffs that assumed the role of flagship title): Grant Morrison, Scott Snyder, and now Tom King. King is easily the hottest writer in comics right now, having garnered tremendous acclaim for Vision, Sheriff of Babylon, and The Omega Men, and his Batman has been characteristically stellar. Hes taken the Dark Knight to some psychologically grim places, but the story has never felt overwrought or gloomy. The visuals have been magnificent (particularly in a recent issue done mostly in two-page spreads), but geeks have reason to be especially excited about the upcoming presence of artist Mitch Gerads, with whom King worked on Sheriff. The new story arc will focus a lot on Catwoman, a character King has been making solid insights about in previous issues, so its mouthwatering to think about what hell do with her archetype. Superhero fiction has its ups and downs, but Batman is forever. Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Image) One struggles to imagine the elevator pitch Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda gave for their magnificent Monstress. Steampunk manga set in a slave-labor-powered witch matriarchy? Bildungsroman about a shape-shifting refugee and her half-animal ward? Vision of a world where old gods loom, towering monsters do battle, and cats have multiple tails? Bah, forget the descriptors and just read the damn thing. Monstress is one of the most compelling pieces of young-adult fiction to reach the comics medium in recent years, trafficking in poetic sorrow, jaw-dropping action, and Takedas H.R.-Giger-meets-Yoshitaka-Amano imagery. The narrative follows a war-hardened girl who becomes a coveted object in a magic-infused world where peace hangs in the balance, and its riches have only grown more plentiful as its gone on. But although Monstress is a ripping adventure yarn, its grounded in the universal struggle to be taken seriously when youre young. Midnighter and Apollo by Steve Orlando, Fernando Blanco, and Romulo Fajardo Jr. (DC) Im going to say a sentence, and if it makes you gasp with delight, you and I share a set of predilections and obsessions: There is a comic on stands right now wherein Midnighter fights Neron, the Mawzir, and the Subway Pirates. That comic is called Midnighter and Apollo, and those of us whose formative superhero-comics-reading years occurred around the turn of the millennium will adore it. Writer Steve Orlando was, blissfully, granted another stab at writing the DC universes most charmingly admirable sadist, Midnighter, after wrapping up an acclaimed solo series about the guy, and the writer has let his millennial freak flag fly. Fernando Blanco and Romulo Fajardo explosively illustrate the antihero/leather-daddys journey into literal, actual Hell while trying to save his lover, Apollo. Some of this stuff only fully works if youre familiar with the past stories being referenced, but basically anyone can enjoy Midnighters growled one-liners, of which Orlando seems to have a limitless supply. Ether by Matt Kindt and David Rubin (Dark Horse) The writer/artist Matt Kindt has been one of the great, insufficiently appreciated heroes of the comics medium in recent years, churning out fantastic work in Mind MGMT, Rai, Dept. H, Ninjak, Unity, and his latest endeavor, Ether. Hes teamed up with artist David Rubin, a compositional wiz who manipulates time in comics with the best of them, and the resulting series is unlike anything else out there right now. Were only two issues in, and though its deliberately unclear what, exactly, were reading about, it seems that were experiencing the story of an intrepid scientist in the Reed Richards/Indiana Jones mold who regularly travels to an otherworldly plane known as the Ether. There, he finds strange, anthropomorphic creatures drawn in eerily cartoony styles and hears the legend of a crusading warrior woman known as the Blaze. Your confusion only adds to the experience of traversing this surreal landscape, and the alternating grim and psychedelic colors will make your head spin. Ultimates2 by Al Ewing, Travel Foreman, and Dan Brown (Marvel) When the first series to bear the name Ultimates debuted in 2002, it changed the superhero genre, in both print and film. It was chock-full of widescreen action and slick characterizations the likes of which comics had never seen. But after that initial run ran out, the various books named Ultimates were, for the most part, awful. Enter Al Ewing. One of the most playfully inventive writers of his generation, Ewing launched a new Ultimates last year and used it as a launching pad for some of the biggest ideas in superhero comics recent history. In the latest volume of his run, Ultimates2, he keeps that momentum going, offering up a nascent epic about the consequences of venturing outside the walls of existence, the mysterious appearance of snow in outer space, and the summary execution of an abstract concept by two other abstract concepts. Plus, the leader of the titular team is a queer Latina who can punch holes in reality. Travel Foremans blocky, often-outline-less pencils arent for everyone, but theyre admirably distinctive, and Dan Browns colors are as 2001: A Space Odyssey-ish as youd hope they would be for a story like this one. Justice League vs. Suicide Squad by Joshua Williamson, Jesus Merino, Andy Owens, and Alex Sinclair (DC) Ill be honest: When I first heard that DC Comics was putting out a series about the Justice League fighting the Suicide Squad, I groaned so hard that I woke my cats up from their naps. I mean, come on: Does the world really need another hyped-up comic about two super-teams fighting each other and inevitably reconciling to combat a greater evil? Well, maybe need is too strong a word, but boy, Justice League vs. Suicide Squad is giving me a lot of things I want. So far, writer Joshua Williamson has cooked up a tautly exciting, logically consistent setup wherein the DC universes noblest heroes find themselves pitted against its most morally compromised erstwhile bad guys. Of course, a bigger threat looms in the background, but even before the real baddies showed up, this series was firing on all cylinders with sparked dialogue, vivid characterization, and seductively odd character pairings (who knew how much better the world would be once we got to see Green Lantern make fun of Captain Boomerang?). Plus, the upcoming issues will feature the much-needed return of Lobo to a top-tier superhero title, and if thats not a good way to kick off what is sure to be a horrible year, I dont know what is. This week were looking to the year ahead by tracking down the most anticipated pieces of pop culture in 2017. Below, 25 books we cant wait to get our hands on. 4 3 2 1, by Paul Auster (Henry Holt, January 31) Compared to Auster at his most twistingly metafictional, his first novel in seven years is deceptively simple. Archibald Isaac Ferguson is born in 1947 (exactly a month after Auster), whereupon he splits into four different people with wildly divergent futures though all court the same woman, and all are locked in the prison of one mans DNA. Boris Kachka A Separation, by Katie Kitamura (Riverhead, February 7) When her soon-to-be-ex-husband goes missing from a Greek island resort, his estranged wife must go search for him. What follows in Katie Kitamuras third novel is more an existential mystery than an actual one, although the sheer deftness of her storytelling is nothing less than thrilling. Maris Kreizman The Age of Anger: A History of the Present, by Pankaj Mishra (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, February 7) The Indian essayists ambitious world history of anti-progress backlash would have been almost as urgent if Hillary Clinton were president-elect, but the victory of an idiot demagogue surfing a wave of isolationist rage strengthens Mishras far-flung connections: ISIS and Brexit, Putin and Trump, and dozens of smaller shocks of self-destructive paranoia against a system thats achieved so much, but never its promise of saving us from ourselves. BK Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders (Random House, February 14) The first novel by a master of short-story dystopias takes us not to some bizarre absurdist future, as in the linked stories of his Pastoralia, but to a quasi-Buddhist, tragicomic limbo in which souls are stranded and warped by their unfulfilled lives. Among those is the 10-year-old son of President Abraham Lincoln, who visits the boys entombed body during the bloodiest fighting of the Civil War. BK All Grown Up, by Jami Attenberg (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, March 7) Its 2017 and as a society were only just beginning to understand that not every love story needs to end with a wedding. Jami Attenbergs latest novel is as funny, sexy, cynical, and yet hopeful as its heroine: a single woman approaching her 40th birthday whose journey will be relatable for anyone whose idea of happily ever after breaks the traditional mold. MK Ill Will, by Dan Chaon (Ballantine, March 7) Dan Chaon was already a master of the short story well before he wrote his tense and delightfully twisted thriller, Await Your Reply. Ill Will finds Chaon back in thriller territory, with an even more propulsive narrative. Its one of those books that looks big and heavy, but with pacing so tight it will likely only take a couple of days to read. MK Exit West, by Mohsin Hamid (Riverhead, March 7) The author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist re-enters the global zeitgeist, using his own native Lahore, Pakistan, as the basis for an unnamed country whose descent into internecine violence sets off a couples refugee flight. The twist, which raises the stakes of an otherwise realistic story, is that the door to a safer country is a literal portal, a kind of wormhole into an uncertain future. BK The Idiot, by Elif Batuman (Penguin Press, March 14) Intellectually rigorous yet always funny and inviting, Elif Batumans writing tends to hit home whether its in The New Yorker, n+1, or on Twitter. Her latest novel is set at Harvard in the mid-1990s but has the tenor of an old Russian epic, but one with abundant humor and a seemingly clueless freshman who has a lot to learn about the ways of the world. MK Sorry to Disrupt the Peace, by Patty Yumi Cottrell (McSweeneys, March 14) An unconventional detective story told from the point of view of one of the years most manically unreliable narrators, Patty Yumi Cottrells debut is an unnerving character study of a woman who lacks both common sense and self-awareness in equal measure. When she gets word that her adopted brother has killed himself, she returns to her less than idyllic childhood home to figure out why, and its hard not to root for her as she searches for clues and interviews witnesses, even if the investigation feels fruitless. MK Marlena, by Julie Buntin (Henry Holt and Co., April 4) A novel thats as invigorating and devastating as an intense teenage crush, Marlena is about the people we encounter in life no matter how briefly who leave a permanent mark. Julie Buntins stellar debut has the emotional sophistication of only the very best coming-of-age novels, so its no wonder it comes with a glowing blurb from Who Will Run the Frog Hospital author Lorrie Moore. MK Too Much and Not in the Mood, by Durga Chew-Bose (FSG Originals, April 11) If you admire Maggie Nelsons ability to combine the personal and the academic into a thrilling new art form, Durga Chew-Bose will be your next favorite writer. Her remarkable debut essay collection touches on art and literature and pop culture, but also feels intensely intimate, filled with stunning insights both large in scale, and small. MK Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann (Doubleday, April 18) The true-crime genre takes a special touch to bring humanity to monstrous doings. The Last City of Z author and New Yorker staff writer David Grann has already written a thoroughly researched, spectacularly plotted narrative nonfiction tale that reads like a novel. So his latest effort, Killers of the Flower Moon, a book about a string of horrific murders of Osage Indians that took place in the 1920s, promises to follow in a masterfully similar vein. MK Startup, by Doree Shafrir (Little, Brown and Company, April 25) BuzzFeed writer Doree Shafrir has covered culture incisively for a variety of internet media companies, so who better to write a biting satire of life in the New York Citybased tech world? Part of the joy of reading Startup is deciphering which parts are based in fact and which are fiction, but even if you dont care about guessing whos who youll find the read a charming one. MK Borne: A Novel, by Jeff VanderMeer (MCD, April 25) The author of the best-selling Southern Reach Trilogy returns to wow us with a sci-fi stand-alone: Borne takes place in a near-future dystopia where scavengers comb the streets of a seemingly abandoned city, where love and distrust and other things can grow and evolve at alarming rates. MK Into the Water, by Paula Hawkins (Riverhead, May 2) Can Hawkins replicate the power and success of her breakthrough mystery, Girl on the Train? Many thousands will be eager to find out. As in her last novel, the big reveal will hinge on the ad hoc connections forged by tragedy, or in this case two tragedies: the discovery of the bodies of two different women, a teenager and a single mother, in the same river during the same summer. BK Priestdaddy, by Patricia Lockwood (Riverhead, May 2) Twitters most famous poet (and one of our best IRL) finally puts to paper the story of what shaped Rape Joke and other memoiristic poems a childhood as the daughter of a hippie Catholic priest. Setting this story in motion is a family crisis that leads Lockwood and her husband to move back in with Lockwoods parents older but no less eccentric for eight revelatory months. BK And Were Off, by Dana Schwartz (Razorbill, May 2) A joyous contemporary YA novel by journalist and Guy in Your MFA Twitter mastermind Dana Schwartz, And Were Off is a tale of travel, romance, and plenty of mother-daughter banter. That this will be the first book in a long line of delightful literature from wunderkind Schwartz seems inevitable and lovely. MK Woman No. 17, by Edan Lepucki (Hogarth, May 9) The fearless author of best-selling dystopian novel California is back with a new must-read set in the same state, yet in a whole different world. Woman No. 17 is set in the lush Hollywood Hills (as so many great noir stories are), but at its center it does what Lepucki does best explore the motivations and intricacies of complicated women. MK House of Names, by Colm Toibin (Scribner, May 17) Toibins reputation for exquisite writing is long established, but it only went mainstream with the adaptation of Brooklyn, one of his finest historical novels. Anyone who read his novella The Testament of Mary knows hes just as good at distant history as more familiar costume drama. This time his quarry is ancient myth, and the Greek theatrical cycle of death and vengeance that culminated in the crimes of Clytemnestra. BK We Are Never Meeting in Real Life, by Samantha Irby (Vintage, May 30) Meaty (Curbside Splendor, 2015) author and Bitches Gotta Eat blogger Samantha Irby has been making her fans cry with laughter (and occasional sadness) for years. Now, FX is optioning her debut essay collection for a 30-minute sitcom, and her major publisher debut appears in May. Get ready for Samantha Irby to become a household name, and your life being better for it. MK Theft by Finding: Diaries (19772002), by David Sedaris (Little, Brown and Company, May 30) The thrill of Sedariss nonfiction lies in the absurd details of his memories, burnished with enough polish and comic timing to wonder how true they are (after youve stopped laughing). Now well finally have access to the raw material fragments of the writers personal diaries that you might recognize from the banter in his prolific and hilarious live readings. BK Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body, by Roxane Gay (Harper, June 12) The novelist and essayist on race, feminism, and Sweet Valley High is at her creative peak, a solid perch from which to contemplate her own life. Hunger focuses on her size the way it shapes her world and the way the world has shaped her. Gay was open about her struggles to finish the book, leading to a year-long delay that only stoked her fans appetites and likely deepened the material, too. BK Blind Spot, by Teju Cole (Random House, June 27) Coles Open City, a New York novel of walks and ideas, did to the classic flaneur narrative what Gay did for the essay broadened the notion of what subjects and people count. His column On Photography in the Times magazine showcased his obsession with photography, and his second novel included a few of his own pictures. Pairing his own photos with impressionistic mega-captions, Blind Spot turns his photo obsession into a book-length photo essay. BK Sour Heart, by Jenny Zhang (Lenny, August 1) The first book on the list from Lena Dunham and Jenni Konners Lenny imprint, Sour Heart is a story collection that delves into a world not captured in Dunahms TV series Girls the immigrant experience of living in New York City. As Lennys first book author, Jenny Zhang is a coup her wonderful essays and poetry have made her one of the most exciting young writers around even without the Lenny buzz. MK Sing, Unburied, Sing, by Jesmyn Ward (Scribner, September 5) National Book Awardwinning novelist Jesmyn Ward edited a beautiful essay collection about race in 2016 called The Fire This Time more than half a century after James Baldwins groundbreaking book, but its not until the latter half of 2017 that we get to read her next novel. Set once again in the rural South that she knows and conveys so intimately, Sing, Unburied, Sing promises to delight and astound. MK Know this: Rita Ora stops for no holiday. The day after Christmas? Americas Next Top Model will be shilling out makeovers and making girls pose naked in a bunch of reused fake pearls. The second day of the new year? No time for resting, there are inspirational Snapchats to send! Also know this: When you put 12 young people in a house, make them share dresses, make them take their own photos, and tell them that they cant win this competition without getting 2 million Instagram followers while technically not being allowed to use anything but that rotary phone with the horn earpiece from The Flintstones, they will get into arguments with each other. Inevitably, they will misappropriate the term karma only to have it backfire in their face in the most truly karmic of fashions. The thing about this ANTM cycle is theyre really not taking advantage of the best thing they have going for them. (And I dont mean Ashley Graham, whose commentary and know-how isnt being utilized enough.) The new dominant kind of supermodel is both a high-fashion runway walker and a social-media obsessed teen. Shes famous on Instagram because shes a model, and shes a model because shes famous on Instagram (or because her mom is famous, whichever comes first). The two things go together because fashion and beauty brands see value in young women with huge follower counts not because they seem fun or take artsy pictures, but because they can advertise their brands products to millions of people more or less for free. Models first sell themselves in order to sell other things, and thats an important distinction. But before we get to why its an important distinction its time for DJ Khaled, who must have won his own ANTM-style VH1 contract, because hes really been making the rounds. The Snapchat star tells the ladies, Social media is a big deal because were in control of it. We dont need to get into the semantics of how much control a model has over her own social media, but sure, that could be some variety of true. The models are split into two teams to hit the streets and record videos with positive messages that show off their personalities while wearing Tezenis lingerie. Paige and Cody record cute, catchy messages while scootering around a crosswalk. Krislian struggles because the judges keep telling her to not to be a sexy social-media model, and then order her do social-media challenges in her underwear. Coryanne continues this new trend of hers where she says really unfortunate things like, In L.A. all you really need to be is cute to be invited to things. But [in New York] I have to, like, talk to people to make an impression on them and stuff! Then theres Courtney and Binta. Oh, Courtney and Binta. Apparently when Courtney gets frustrated, she shuts down. She also seems to forget how to use technology. Their plan seems to be showing off their beautiful diverse skin tones in the lingerie, but Courtney is so all over the place that it seems Binta stands by her side in Courtneys video, but not vice versa. Courtney also delivers her motivational tagline with all the energy and charisma of a Twitter egg. Yet, somehow, Courtney wins because, as DJ Khaled explains, You put a message out there and you made me not look at nothing else except your message. Im sure Tezenis, the brand of lingerie Courtney is supposed to be getting people to look at, will really appreciate this. You know who else doesnt appreciate Courtneys shocking win? Binta, who thinks that it her contrasting skin and support actually made the message. While fuming about this, Binta unknowingly explains the true spirit of branding yourself on social media: I feel like the message is not genuine based on what went on behind the scenes. Its fraud! Soon after, Binta loses her damn mind on Courtney in the bus. Now, listen: I understand that if this many people have gone off on Courtney and think that she plays the victim, it is likely true to some extent. But in the future, I would not recommend feeding into someone who likes to feel sorry for themselves by screaming, At the next photo shoot, its a fucking promise on my fucking mother, Im gonna kill you on that, bitch. Admittedly, topping it all off with, You dont fucking know me, but youll know me today is one hell of a line. When they get back to the house, Courtney gives a patented, Im sorry if I snapped at you during the challenge reality-TV apology, but Binta isnt buying it. Tash also really hasnt been buying what Courtneys selling specifically eyebrows and tells her, You know how youre going to look on TV, so good luck with that. Considering that Tash was screaming about not being able to flirt with boys and wear skirts in a bathroom stall last week, this is pretty rich. But then Courtney bites it down a flight of stairs, to which Tash of course responds, Karma is a bitch. Giah, on the other hand, becomes my favorite person when she simply says, I done fell down the stairs twice already and aint nobody helped me, while Courtney wails and makes everyone gently apply Ace bandages to her elbow. Finally, after all that karma is complete (or is it??), its time for the photo challenge. Guess what? The girls are taking their own photos! Honestly, what kind of shoestring budget did VH1 put this reboot on? First, the Zendaya prize was a selfie, now they have to take their own pictures to create a story on social media? Its too much. I love it. The goal is to attend Paper magazines Sexy Issue VIP party and capture three photos that create a story. Via RitAlert, the contestants meet Jasmine Sanders, a.k.a. Golden Barbie, a bona fide Instagram star who tells them to always find good lighting and never engage in negative comments: Once its on the internet, youre done. Finally, someone who actually seems to understand how social media works. All 12 women roam around the party in designer dresses, taking selfies and asking other people to take photos of them. You know, because theres nothing partygoers love more than a bunch of girls who roll in and spend the entire evening taking picture of themselves. But as the judges explain over and over again at panel: Building a brand isnt about making people like you; its about making people think theyd like you. After seeing Tatianas trio of photos, Law tells her that she always looks phenomenal and she just gets it. Looking at Tatianas one photo that shows off the Paper magazine cover they were supposed to be celebrating (and presumably promoting), Rita says, Im always a bit dodgy about not having myself in the photo, but thats just me, because if Rita Ora is three things, its 1) British, 2) just her, and 3) not exactly a model. Giah gets positive feedback for looking fun while laying across various men. Cody gets knocked a bit for her photos not focusing enough on her own image, while Bintas artsy snaps make her look inhuman, which the judges like. Rita isnt as keen on Marissas story, which I think is gorgeous and dynamic, as does Ashley, who deems it what a model would post. India also gets mixed reviews for her party-girl group shots that make her look fun, but dont give her enough individual emphasis, and the same goes for Kyle. Tash, who felt very confident in the story she built about dragging two male twins back home from the party (ew) is deemed basic (gasp). Courtney has one very successful photo, but it gets boring from there. Drew says Courtney always delivers exactly what he wants from her photos, but in person, shes a total complainer. Hes noticed that theres always something wrong with her, and even if those ailments are real, she needs to keep them to herself. Thats the modeling world, hunty. The judges have also realized that Coryanne who has been absurdly complaining all episode that shes missing out on doing stuff with her friends back home may not really be focused on this competition, or perhaps doesnt even want to be a model. The two ladies on top are Paige and finally! Krislian, which is nice, because amid all the tomfoolery, they both seem like kind people. Thats really a preferable brand to bus-screaming whiners. Paiges story is not only moody and edgy, but also incorporates the right lighting to make all the attention go to her, while Krislian has the judges clamoring to celebrate her improvement first. Rita says she would literally buy every single thing Krislian is selling in her three photos. Law tells her that theyve been giving her so much tough love about being overtly sexy because they knew she had more in her, and these glamorous editorial photos were exactly what they hoped for. So Krislian wins best photo, and in what I will leave up to your karmic discretion, Tash is sent packing. At least she goes out on a sweet note, saying how proud shell be if her sister wins the competition and, naturally, that shell be expecting half of that cash prize. Joely Fisher and Carrie Fisher Photo: Michael Caulfield/WireImage On the same day that Carrie Fishers daughter, Billie Lourd, spoke out publicly for the first time since her mothers and grandmothers deaths last week, Carries half-sister actress Joely Fisher has also penned a tribute in an exclusive for The Hollywood Reporter. In the touching yet fierce remembrance, Fisher eulogizes her late sibling, writing, You all lost Princess Leia and Carrie Fisher; I lost my hero, my mentor, my mirror. According to Joely, she and Carrie had been texting in the days before Carrie left London on that fateful flight, conversations in which Carrie congratulated her sister on the endurance of her marriage and in which they pledged to spend Christmas together. Its a promise we kept, although not in a way either of us had anticipated, Joely writes, detailing the vigil she kept at Carries bedside in the days that followed her heart attack. The letter also touches upon their somewhat shared upbringing, one in which Joely and her mother, actress Connie Stevens, moved into a Malibu house that happened to be next to Carrie and Debbie Reynolds (Joely is a decade younger than Carrie; she says her and Carries father, Eddie Fisher, visited them all just once). The letter also includes details about memorial services and burial plans; according to Joely, Debbie Reynolds and Carrie will be laid to rest together, though they will receive separate memorial services (this is in contrast to media speculation that there would be a joint service). Fisher also hints she is planning on writing a book, perhaps picking up the pen where her sister left it (so to speak), and indicates that her focus now is on her niece. My sister Tricia Leigh and I vow to be whatever our niece Billie needs us to be. We will pick up the saber, use the force whatever. Joely also paid tribute to Carries mother, Debbie Reynolds, or Mama Debs as she calls her, with whom she had a good relationship. I want them back, Joely writes, but since I know that is not possible, I will soldier on. Read the entire letter here. A team of researchers from the Florida State University has studied teeth structure of the fossilized embryos of two dinosaur species and found that their babies took from 3 to 6 months to hatch from the eggs, the Science Mag reports. The study dates back to the mid-1990s, when Gregory Erickson, then a masters student, began closely examining a Tyrannosaurus rex tooth. Erickson, now a paleontologist at Florida State University in Tallahassee, noticed more than 900 fine lines resembling tree rings on the tooth. Known as Von Ebners incremental growth lines, they were previously seen only in mammals. The lines provide a record of the tooths history: Each line represents the daily deposit of bony tissue called dentine within the tooths enamel shell. I speculated that they might exist in the embryos of dinosaurs as well, Erickson says. Dinosaurs go through several generations of teeththey even chewwhile still inside the egg. If those embryonic teeth had daily growth linesresearchers might use them to answer a longstanding puzzle, Erickson hypothesized: how long dinosaurs remained in the egg before they hatched. But finding samples isnt easy. Although fossilized dinosaur eggs are extremely common, fossilized dinosaur embryos are the rarest of the rare. So Erickson teamed up with researchers at other institutions to study some rare dino embryos. The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City has an impressive collection of dinosaur fossils collected in Mongolias Gobi Desert over the past century, including a fossilized clutch of 12 eggs belonging to a large horned dino called Protoceratops andrewsi. Each of those contains a tiny embryo skeleton. From one of the embryos, the researchers extracted a tiny jawline with several teeth. Meanwhile, the team obtained another tooth from an embryo of a duckbilled dino called Hypacrosaurus stebingeri from a colleague at the University of Calgary in Canada. The team sliced one of the tiny P. andrewsi teeth into sections and examined them in a microscope under polarized light. There were dozens of tiny growth lines, confirming Ericksons suspicions. I knew we were in business then, he says. The team also used computed tomography scanning, which recreates a virtual model of the teeth via x-ray images, to count the lines and determine growth rates from root to crown. Based on these data, incubation times for the dinosaurs ranged from about 3 to 6 months, the team reports today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The finding suggests that, at least in terms of hatch times, dinosaurs were more like modern reptiles than birds. Were getting used to thinking about dinosaurs as overgrown birds, says Stephen Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh who was not involved in the work. This discovery shows that the fast incubation of modern birds [might] have evolved much later, probably sometime around the origin of flight, or maybe even after flight evolved. The long incubation times of dino eggs have some interesting implications, Erickson says. Nesting is one of the most perilous times for egg-laying animals: Predators can steal eggs, floods or drought can destroy them, and the parents may suffer from hunger or exposure to predators as they guard the eggs. Longer incubation times can be a particular disadvantage in the wake of a cataclysmic event such as the asteroid that struck Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period 66 million years ago. When the asteroid hit, dinosaurs were basically caught holding bad cardsa dead mans hand, Erickson says. They were warm-blooded, large animals who already required a lot of food and expended a lot of energy. Add in long incubation times and a long lag time between successive generationsand any dinosaurs that survived the impact would have a hard time adapting to rapidly changing conditions and competing for resources against other survivors, such as amphibians, modern birds, and mammals. Now the scientists plan to study Von Ebners lines of other species of dinosaur, like Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor that are the closer cousins and ancestors of birds. What would be really interesting now is to see if small theropod dinosaurs like Velociraptor also incubated slowly, Brusatte says. If more modern-style birds are the only ones that incubate very quickly, it could be that this feat of biology gave them a better lotto ticket for surviving the asteroid impact that killed off all of the other dinosaurs. If there were to be a legal man of the year for 2016, it would have to be Antonin Scalia. The justice died in February and has cast a long shadow over the whole year. His seat remains unfilled. His jurisprudence seems likely to be the touchstone for Donald Trumps nominee. Indeed, if Trump gets two or more Supreme Court picks, Scalias judicial legacy stands a chance of being vindicated rather than forgotten which seemed almost unthinkable when he died. Scalias legacy is therefore poised to set the tone for future constitutional battles in a way not seen since the 1935 death of Oliver Wendell Holmes, another great dissenter. When Scalia died, many commentators, myself included, noted that his originalist constitutional legacy consisted mostly of dissents. (His textualist statutory interpretation legacy was another matter. There Scalia wrote plenty of majority opinions and significantly influenced even liberal justices.) At the time, Scalias passing also appeared to herald the end to originalism as a dominant constitutional doctrine. With nearly a year to go in the presidency of Barack Obama, it was assumed that Scalia would be replaced by a liberal or at least a moderate justice. The appointment would change the balance of the court to decisively liberal for the first time in more than a generation. And if Hillary Clinton had been elected, as polls suggested she probably would be, the liberal court could have been assured for a generation to come with the replacement of as many as three more justices, all of Scalias approximate age. What a difference 10 months can make. By blocking Judge Merrick Garland, the Republican Senate changed the rules of the confirmation game. The election of Trump means that Scalia will almost certainly be replaced by a justice who espouses some form of his originalism and probably cites him as a judicial model, in the way Trump has done and probably all the judges on Trumps list would. And if one or more of Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony Kennedy or Stephen Breyer steps down while Trump is president and Republicans control the Senate, the generational transition on the court may be toward greater conservatism, not liberalism or stasis. The consequences for Scalias legacy are enormous. Great judicial dissenters dont just write to make a historical record of their beliefs. They hope for their dissenting opinions to be redeemed by later judicial majorities, to use a term coined by the legal scholar Richard Primus in a seminal 1998 article. One of Primus examples of a redeemed dissent is that of Justice John Marshall Harlan (the first of two justices of the name) in the repulsive case of Plessy v. Ferguson, which held that the equal protection clause wasnt violated by the doctrine of separate but equal facilities for whites and blacks. Harlan wrote: In view of the Constitution, in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens. There is no caste here. Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. The other greatest redeemed dissenter in the U.S. constitutional tradition is Holmes. He saw his clear and present danger test for free speech vindicated, despite articulating it partly in dissent. And his dissent in Lochner v. New York, where he objected to the majoritys use of the liberty of contract to strike down a progressive law limiting bakers working hours, eventually became a basic principle of liberal jurisprudence. Several of Scalias dissents now stand a real chance of being redeemed. Scalia argued repeatedly over the years that there was no fundamental constitutional right to an abortion. His dissent in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, to take one example, asked rhetorically whether abortion was a liberty protected by the Constitution of the United States and answered bluntly that I am sure it is not. Scalia explained that he reached that conclusion because of two simple facts: (1) the Constitution says absolutely nothing about it and (2) the longstanding traditions of American society have permitted it to be legally proscribed. In the Casey dissent, Scalia also pointed to his concurrence in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, in which he wrote that Justice Sandra Day OConnors assertion that a fundamental rule of judicial restraint requires us to avoid reconsidering Roe, cannot be taken seriously. On affirmative action, Scalia used Harlans color-blindness ideal to argue that racial preferences would violate the Constitution. He wrote: To pursue the concept of racial entitlement even for the most admirable and benign of purposes is to reinforce and preserve for future mischief the way of thinking that produced race slavery, race privilege and race hatred. In the eyes of government, we are just one race here. It is American. Scalias most impassioned dissents came in connection with gay rights. It still seems unlikely that the courts landmark decisions on the rights to gay sex and gay marriage will be overturned, given the courts history of rights expansion. But it isnt entirely unthinkable on a court dominated by Trump appointees chosen in the mold of Scalia. Liberals lionized Holmes in his old age, and after his death they redeemed his opinions within a couple of decades. Scalias redemption may come faster. Whether it does will depend on Trumps appointments to the court. Regardless, the jurisprudential battles of the next decade are likely to continue to be fought on Scalias terms. That in itself is a surprising victory. Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg View columnist. He is a professor of constitutional and international law at Harvard University and was a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter. His books include Cool War: The Future of Global Competition and Divided by God: Americas Church-State Problem and What We Should Do About It. RAYMOND For Raymond Central FFA Alumni members, one event has marked the beginning of a new year for nearly two decades now. And, its that time again. Thousands of buyers and sellers from across the region will venture Jan. 8 to the northeast corner of 14th Street and Agnew Road for the annual Alumni Auction. This go-around marks the events 19th year, said Les Hornung, one of the auctions organizers. What started out as helping a neighbor with an auction turned out to be an annual thing, he said. Its a real good deal. In recent years, as many as 2,000 people have attended the auction, braving frigid temperatures in search of deals on farming equipment, tools, lumber, tractors and much more. Hornung expects at least that many people to show up this coming Sunday. Itll be about the same as recent years, Hornung said, adding that he estimated 1,500 to 2,000 people would attend. But it depends on the weather. It looks like next weeks to be cold. As of Thursday morning, Temperatures on Sunday were forecast be in the low 30s with a low of about 20 degrees. But, cold weather hasnt stopped auction-goers in the past. Weve got people coming from other states, Kansas, South Dakota, Hornung said. It draws quite a little crowd. Welton Auction of Malmo will be running auctions in three rings Jan. 8, continuing a long tradition. Its been Welton Auction since day one, Hornung said. A list of items for sale can be found at weltonauction.com. The alumni began accepting consignment drop-offs Dec. 31 and will continue accepting items until Jan. 7 at 5 p.m. Portions of all sales will go back to the FFA Alumni, which will then use the money to fund events for the Raymond Central FFA, Hornung said. The money helps pay to send students to conventions, along with funding scholarships. Most of it goes back to kids with scholarships, he said. This is our largest fundraiser. Hornung has been with the auction since day one, so hes seen it grow over the years. That first auction started when a neighbor needed help selling items brought in about $50,000. Recent auctions have seen buyers spend as much as $600,000 altogether. Community support plays an essential role in the auctions success. The local support is just unbelievable, Hornung said. Its just amazing, really. It takes about 60 volunteers to make it happen. The volunteers deserve a lot of credit, he added. Were doing it for the kids, Hornung said. Nobody gets a paycheck. Its a good opportunity for people to pitch in. Tractor Supply Co. is planning a big expansion to its distribution center in Waverly. The Waverly City Council last month approved plans for a large addition to the company's distribution center along U.S. 6 as well as a new retail store directly north of the distribution center. Tractor Supply declined to provide details on the plans, saying in a statement that it is "continuing to conduct due diligence on the project and is still in the initial planning stages." Tom Huston, a Lincoln attorney who represented Tractor Supply at the Waverly City Council meeting, said the company is planning to add anywhere from 170,000-200,000 square feet to its 420,000 distribution center, which is one of the company's smallest. The retail store would be about 30,000 square feet and would be similar to the company's store on north 27th Street near the Interstate 80 exit in Lincoln. It would be built along U.S. 6. The two projects combined would cost about $16 million, and the distribution center expansion will create 70 new jobs. Huston said the center currently employs about 200 people. He said the company wants to start construction on the warehouse expansion this spring and have it completed before the end of the year. The retail store would be built after that. Waverly has approved the use of about $1.8 million in tax-increment funding for the project. TIF is a funding incentive that allows the additional property taxes created by the increased value of the property to pay for aspects of the project that benefit the public. When Tractor Supply opened the center in December 2005, it supplied around 60 stores, with the company projecting it eventually would serve 140 stores. A company official told the Waverly City Council that the center now supplies 180 stores, and the expansion would allow it to supply about 50 more. Tractor Supply currently has about 1,600 stores, including two in Lincoln and a dozen overall in Nebraska, and plans to grow to 2,500. 2016 has been a banner year for warbirds, with many significant events and first flights taking place. We at WarbirdsNews have endeavored to keep our readers informed of as many developments as possible, with exclusive reports of major milestones in the warbird and aviation museum community. Although we couldnt cover everything it just isnt possible on our shoestring budget it has been a remarkable year of growth for us here too. We are always looking for new leads, as well as writers/photographers who are able to provide coverage. With your help we can have an even better 2017, and be sure not to miss any important first flight this year! So here is a small review of highlights from 2016 We hope you enjoy looking through them again, and want to thank all of our contributors from this year. Thanks to Matt Abrams, Phil Buckley, Stephen Chapis, Greg Morehead, Matthew McDaniel, Ramon Purcell, Luigino Caliaro, Matt Savage, Scott Plummer, Joe A. Kunzler, Kedar Karmarkar, Jay Beckman and Steve Jantz. Nothing would have been possible without their valiant efforts! January 2016 The world gained another airworthy Curtiss Kittyhawk when P-40N 42-105120 took to the skies on the morning of Monday, January 11th following a ten year restoration with Chris and Gail Kirchners C&G Air at the Leeward Air Ranch in Ocala, Florida. The aircraft is a veteran of the Aleutians campaign, although the restoration bares the famous skull motif of the 80th Fighter Groups Burma Banshees on the port side. Captain Ernest Hickox flew her along the Aleutian archipelago with the 343rd Fighter Group in Alaska. Hickox named his P-40 the Bonnie Kaye after his wife and daughter back home, repainting the starboard cowling in their honor. Sadly, both Hickox and Bonnie Kayes luck ran out on July 25th, 1945, when they crashed on Unalaska Island while escorting an amphibian on a search and rescue mission for another missing pilot. Hickox received a posthumous Soldiers Medal for his bravery and sacrifice in a non-combat endeavor. The wrecked Kittyhawk remained in-situ for the next five decades, before Ken Hake salvaged her remains in the early 1990s. Read more February 2016 For the past five years, a dedicated restoration team at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, Georgia has been working their magic on a North American F-100D Super Sabre. The aircraft, USAF serial 56-2995, was in terrible shape when it first arrived, having sat for decades atop a pole at Otis Air Force Base in the moist, salt-laden air of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Most museums would probably never have taken on the project, being that corrosion was so pervasive in the airframe, but this was no ordinary Super Sabre, this was a combat veteran of the Viet Nam War, with several hundred missions over enemy territory to her credit. Moreover, her pilot on a staggering 180 of those wartime sorties is one of the two men currently working on the aircraft today. Now a retired Major General in the US Air Force, Rick Goddard is also the reason why the aircraft came to Warner Robins in the first place. Read more March 2016 In the stifling, mid-day heat of Saturday, March 19th the hard-earned dreams of a year-long effort saw the first post-restoration flight of the Lockheed VC-121A Constellation known as Columbine II. As the graceful, silver bird rumbled into the sky, a huge cheer rose up from the small crowd gathered to watch at the Marana Air Park in Marana, Arizona. The Connie was in the air for roughly an hour on that first flight as the crew evaluated her performance. A Beech King Air from Dynamic Aviation (Columbine IIs owner) flew in chase nearby. Read more April 2016 The event was widely acclaimed as a roaring success, and we had our own Matthew McDaniel on the ground to report on the proceedings. We are also able to share some images from the event taken by the masterful photographer Greg Morehead and provided to WarbirdsNews compliments of the world-class Warbird Digest magazine. We greatly appreciate their support, and cant thank chief editor Greg Morehead enough for his generosity. Theres also a great video from AirshowStuff.com as well, and we must offer our thanks to their team for providing us with live coverage of the event on our Facebook feed as well. We hope you enjoy reading. Read more May 2016 On Sunday May 15th, at a little before 2pm local time, the worlds last known surviving PBJ-1J Mitchell took to the skies over Camarillo, California again, following a decades-long, down-to-the-last-rivet restoration with the Southern California (SoCal) Wing of the Commemorative Air Forces. As is typical on such test flights, a chase plane shadowed the Mitchell for much of the hour-long flight, sitting off her wingtip right up until the old bomber alit once more on terra firms. The flight seemed to go smoothly, and many supporters were on hand to see her soar again and cheer her home. A local tv news channel even covered the proceedings as well. Read more June 2016 Visitors from around the world were able once again walk in the footsteps of presidents, astronauts, test pilots and those brought out of captivity as the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force opened its fourth building on June 8.The new $40.8 million, 224,000 square foot fourth building, which was privately financed by the Air Force Museum Foundation, will house four galleries Presidential, Research and Development, Space and Global Reach, along with three science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Learning Nodes. Read more The Museum of Flight opened its new, 3-acre Aviation Pavilion in June. The 9-story high, roofed outdoor gallery doubled the Museums exhibit space with the biggest expansion in its 51-year history, establishing a new Seattle landmark and one of the worlds grand displays of historic aircraft. Read more July 2017 On July 17, 2016 the B-29 Super Fortress known as Doc made her first post-restoration flight in Wichita, Kansas. Following more than two decades of adventure and hard graft since Tony Mazzolini discovered her at the China Lake Proving Grounds in 1987, the world now has two flying B-29s! Under the guidance of her crew, the silvery Super Fortress taxied out to the 12,000 long runway at McConnell Air Force Base. The flight engineer ran her engines up to takeoff power, flexing her muscles to test their strength. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, but during the pre-flight checks, the crew discovered that the bomb bay doors would not seal properly, so they taxied her back to the start point to check on the problem. Read more August 2016 As many of you will have guessed from watching our Facebook page, most of us here at WarbirdsNews were at Oshkosh for AirVenture 2016. It was an extraordinary year, with some exceptional performances and rare attendees. We got to see the Martin Mars strut her stuff both on and off the water. WWII veterans like Doolittle Raider Col. Dick Cole, Tuskegee Airman Col. George Hardy and several former WASPs, including Dawn Seymour. The Commemorative Air Force brought their full Tora! Tora! Tora! display for a spectacular night show for the very first time. We saw a U-2 Dragon Lady make a flypast. The world famous Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds aerial demonstration team performed each day following their Wednesday arrival. And whats more, we had an F-4 Phantom II two-ship for probably the last time ever at a major public air show in the USA. We thought you might like a run-down of the numbers from EAA Chairman, Jack Pelton along with some photography highlights by our chief editor, Richard Mallory Allnutt. Read more September 2016 This past September, the story of The Flying Tigers came to life for a new generation in Atlanta, Georgia, courtesy of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) Dixie Wing.Prior to United States entry into the Second World War, 300 former American military pilots and ground crew personnel traveled to China to join the America Volunteer Group (AVG). Under the leadership of Claire Chennault, they amassed a remarkable combat record against Imperial Japan by destroying over 290 aircraft before the group was disbanded in April 1942. Read more October 2016 Following the momentous news over last weekend concerning the XP-82 Twin Mustangs first engine runs in Douglas, Georgia, we wanted to know a few more details. A lot of major developments have been occurring with this incredible project in recent weeks, what with the move to a new, much larger hangar, attaching the outer wing panels for the first time, and of course the engine runs. We contacted Tom Reilly to learn more about what his restoration team has been up to, and thought our readers would be as eager as we were to see his responses so here they are! Read more November 2016 In November Doug Matthews successfully flew his recently refurbished Douglas TA-4J Skyhawk for the first time! We have been following this exciting project for several months, and have posted a few earlier pieces on the project, and its history. The aircraft, Bu.156925, now wears the markings of VF-126, but had originally served in VT-86. Read more D ecember 2016 The US Military bid a final farewell to the mighty McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II on December 21st, 2016, as the last active examples were paid off in a ceremony and brief flying display under heavily overcast skies at Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo, New Mexico. While the Phantom II officially retired from US front line squadron use in 1996, more than 300 examples underwent conversion into QF-4 full-scale aerial target drones over the past 30 years. These aircraft performed an essential service, both in testing the effectiveness of munitions in realistic situations, as well as providing training for fighter pilots in the art of air-to-air combat against live targets. The last QF-4 conversion, formerly RF-4C 68-0599, rolled off the modifications line at AMARG in Tucson, Arizona during April, 2013. The QF-16 will take over where the QF-4 left off. Read more Most Popular Article in 2016 Forty years ago, on September 23rd, 1976, the famed TV-series Baa Baa Black Sheep first aired on television in the United States. It was a seminal moment for many of us who follow vintage military aviation today, especially if we were kids at the time. Here to tell a little of the story about the making of that show, and the aircraft involved is Stephen Chapis, revisiting an article he originally wrote some years ago for Warbird Digest. We at WarbirdsNews thank him, and all of the other contributors who made this piece possible! Read more In all the decades I have worked, I have never once used the "out-of-office" notification for my emails. I'm not sure whether that's because in my first career, as a full-time journalist, we were always encouraged to be available. But in France, as of January 1 this year, that is all about to change. Employees will be able to say no to out-of-office tech checks as French companies will be forced to guarantee their employees have a "right to disconnect" from technology. In retrospect, I don't think permanent connection to our jobs as journalists was just for the convenience of our bosses although I'm absolutely sure they loved calling me in the maternity hospital just hours after my first-born arrived. It was also because you never knew when those who had stories to tell might want to tell those stories. And it's true that many of those who have contacted me over the years have used a late-night email to unload. Could it have waited until the morning? Perhaps. But sometimes a late night chat is when you are most relaxed. When it comes to social media, Generation X can't look away. But as an academic, I have no excuse to keep looking at my emails (although I am often persuaded by the intensity of 18-year-olds for whom every feeling of inadequacy is both critical and crucial I have to explain that while they are sentient they will feel like this about everything). I answer emails at all hours of the day and night because I can't bear the pile on my return. I have, today, 241 unopened emails but most of those can wait. It's the 12 I opened on Christmas Eve eve, the last working day for lots of Australians, which made me wonder about what some people consider urgent. Believe me, telling me when the pay office is open is not urgent. Telling me who my human resources "partner" is during the break is not urgent (in fact, almost nothing HR ever does is urgent. HR is always code for representing the interests of the employer at all times and should be renamed BR in the interests of accuracy). But what would it do if we stopped checking our emails and our work social media accounts during our time off? The death of an English dancer at a Melbourne strip club is being investigated by police after her body was found up to 12 hours after she died. The body of Stacey Tierney, 29, was discovered in Dreams Gentlemen's Club at 11.50am on Monday, December 19. The fitness instructor from Manchester had been working at the Elizabeth Street club and had been partying with several men who fled after she died on Sunday. While the exact circumstances of the death remain unclear, it's understood Ms Tierney's body was left for up to 12 hours inside the strip club, which is closed to the public on Sundays. A tsunami threat to Fiji has been cancelled, shortly after a powerful earthquake struck off the South Pacific island nation, prompting many panicked coastal residents to evacuate to higher ground, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre says. The quake, which hit at 10.52am (8.52am AEST), was centred 280 km southwest of Fiji's capital, Suva, at a shallow depth of about 15 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said. It was originally recorded with a magnitude of 7.2 but was later downgraded to 6.9. There were no initial reports of widespread casualties or damage. S&P 500 3,719.89 DOW 32,001.25 QQQ 260.49 Harnessing Neuroplasticity Allows You to Actually Change the Way You Think. Here's How. New Battery "Could Eat Lithium's Lunch" (Ad) eBay or Etsy: Which Is The Better Buy? Paypal Shows Promise With Strong Buy Rating New Battery "Could Eat Lithium's Lunch" (Ad) Energy Transfer Raises Guidance, But Stock Lower On Revenue Miss Papa Johns Falls Flat On Earnings, Shares Set To Rise The 3-Stock Retirement Blueprint (Ad) Bank of England makes biggest interest rate hike in 30 years Mid-Caps CommScope, Dycom Outperform Broader Telecom Industry S&P 500 3,719.89 DOW 32,001.25 QQQ 260.49 Harnessing Neuroplasticity Allows You to Actually Change the Way You Think. Here's How. New Battery "Could Eat Lithium's Lunch" (Ad) eBay or Etsy: Which Is The Better Buy? Paypal Shows Promise With Strong Buy Rating New Battery "Could Eat Lithium's Lunch" (Ad) Energy Transfer Raises Guidance, But Stock Lower On Revenue Miss Papa Johns Falls Flat On Earnings, Shares Set To Rise The 3-Stock Retirement Blueprint (Ad) Bank of England makes biggest interest rate hike in 30 years Mid-Caps CommScope, Dycom Outperform Broader Telecom Industry S&P 500 3,719.89 DOW 32,001.25 QQQ 260.49 Harnessing Neuroplasticity Allows You to Actually Change the Way You Think. Here's How. New Battery "Could Eat Lithium's Lunch" (Ad) eBay or Etsy: Which Is The Better Buy? Paypal Shows Promise With Strong Buy Rating New Battery "Could Eat Lithium's Lunch" (Ad) Energy Transfer Raises Guidance, But Stock Lower On Revenue Miss Papa Johns Falls Flat On Earnings, Shares Set To Rise The 3-Stock Retirement Blueprint (Ad) Bank of England makes biggest interest rate hike in 30 years Mid-Caps CommScope, Dycom Outperform Broader Telecom Industry New York Community Bancorp, Inc. is the bank holding company for New York Community Bank. New York Community Bank is the nations 47th-largest financial institution and its largest thrift. As a thrift, the bank specializes in real estate and consumer accounts specifically real estate loans and savings accounts and has limited exposure to other forms of business banking. Among the benefits to consumers are interest-bearing checking and saving accounts that come with higher-than-average interest rates. New York Community Bank was founded in 1859 to serve Queens County, New York. It operated under that name, growing all the while, until 2000 when it changed its name to better reflect the business. The company IPOd in 1993 and has made multiple acquisitions in the time since. As of 6/30/2022, the bank had $63.1 billion in assets and $41.2 billion in deposits. New York Community Bank operates in greater New York City, New Jersey, Ohio, Florida, and Arizona. The company provides deposit products ranging from interest-bearing checking and money market accounts to savings accounts, IRAs, and CDs. Brands under the companys umbrella include AmTrust in Florida and Arizona, Ohio Savings Bank, Garden State Savings Bank, and Atlantic Bank. The bank offers a wide range of real-estate-related loans including but not limited to multi-family loans, commercial real estate loans, construction loans, and consumer loans and mortgages. Investment products include annuities, mutual funds, and life insurance. Customers include individuals, small businesses, and organizations and are served through a network of more than 230 branches, and 300 ATMs, online, mobile, and by phone. Many of the locations are open 24 hours and 6 days a week although those hours are not available at all branches. Clients can access their accounts digitally 24/7. New York Community Bancorp and its underlying business carry investment-grade credit ratings from all the major rating agencies. The credit outlook in the 4th quarter of 2022 was stable as it had been for some time. In New York, it is a leader in the multi-family market specializing in lower-cost housing in rent-controlled areas. As of June 30, 2022, the multi-family loan portfolio accounted for more than 75% of all investments. The company has a stock purchase and dividend reinvestment plan that help to sustain a high level of ownership. Don't call it a line in the sand, Ernie Chambers says. But any attempt to end the use of secret ballots when the Nebraska Legislature selects its internal leadership this year will serve as a flashpoint for another touchy subject in the Capitol: state Sen. Bill Kintner's cybersex scandal. Chambers, an Omaha senator, spelled out the link as lawmakers prepared for their 2017 session, which starts Wednesday. How the two issues play out and whether they surface on the session's pageantry-filled first day in front of lawmakers' families and children could set the tone for the year. Kintner didn't return a message left on his cellphone Monday, a state holiday, but has said he apologized to God and his wife, and later to his fellow senators and constituents for using his government-owned laptop to have cybersex with a stranger. Chambers wants him impeached or expelled from office, and plans to read from the transcript of Kintner's pornographic online exchanges at some point during the legislative session. However, Chambers said he plans to "observe and see when the appropriate time arises" for that discussion. Any Republican-led effort to change how lawmakers elect their leadership will serve as a trigger, he said Monday. "If that occurs, all bets are off temporarily on everything else," he said. "Were going to have some transparency on Kintner. A registered nonpartisan, Chambers is among those who support secret ballots on the grounds they protect the Legislature from outside, partisan influence. He believes that and Kintner's situation are related. The state Republican Party has long pushed for public leadership votes, a stance included in its party platform. The party also opposes pornography in its platform but has taken no action against Kintner. And attorney J.L. Spray, the state's Republican national committeeman, helped negotiate a $1,000 settlement for Kintner in the cybersex case. The state GOP is staying out of both debates during this year's legislative session, Spray said, calling them internal activities. "That's their business," he said. Spray said the party's platform reflects the state Constitution, which encourages openness and transparency by the Legislature. "That's not the party, that's the Constitution. We support the Constitution." The rules would need to be changed on Day 1 of the session to affect this year's leadership votes. It's a substantial debate that both sides agree would have a significant impact on the Nebraska's unique unicameral Legislature. When it comes to Kintner, some care more than others. Sen.-elect Tom Brewer of Gordon called the effort to oust the Papillion lawmaker an unnecessary battle driven by an "ugly quagmire of distrust." It will be "near impossible" for Kintner to win re-election in two years, said Brewer, a fellow Republican who has relied on Kintner for advice as he prepares to take office. "He realizes that he made a mistake and he's going to pay a price for it," Brewer said. However, "I get the feeling that certain senators, or a certain senator, wants blood out of this. ... It doesn't need to be that way." Chambers has written and circulated 37 memos he calls Kintner-grams, criticizing Kintner and others for their reactions to the situation. Brewer, who was elected in November, called the memos a "waste of paper, time, energy and postage." Chambers said one of his goals is to "educate and inform" the 17 incoming senators about an issue that unfolded publicly over the summer, before they were elected and when the Legislature wasn't in session. Kintner used the computer program Skype to communicate with the stranger and eventually agreed to exchange live video of himself masturbating during a trip to Massachusetts in July 2015. He reported the incident to the Nebraska State Patrol after the woman tried to extort money from him. A year later, Kintner was fined $1,000 by the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission for misusing his state computer. Gov. Pete Ricketts, Speaker of the Legislature Galen Hadley and many other senators urged Kintner to resign. He did not. Members of the Legislature's Executive Board considered punishing him but couldn't agree how to move forward when the full Legislature wasn't in session. Omaha Sens. Bob Krist and Burke Harr have also raised concerns about why the investigation into Kintner's computer use was limited to the single incident in Massachusetts. Attorney General Doug Peterson has said his office couldn't charge Kintner with a crime under state law because the incident took place outside Nebraska's jurisdiction. Krist, the Executive Board chairman, said Kintner "has to pay a price for what he's done." "The man should never be allowed to continue in office." By West Kentucky Star Staff Dec. 29, 2016 | 10:13 AM | PADUCAH, KY The Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce will hold their annual meeting on January 27, at 6 pm, at the Julian Carroll Convention Center.The 2016 chairperson Bruce Wilcox with Petter Supply will pass the gavel to the 2017 chair Tammy Zimmerman of PaymentPlus. Other new officers and board members will be recognized.Local businesses and citizens will be recognized with the Chambers annual awards including Business of the Year, Small Business of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year and Volunteer of the Year. New this year is the Non-Profit Award to be presented with a $1,000 cash award to a non-profit organization.Making a Difference is the theme for the evening and will be the message from guest speaker Steve Gilliland. Recognized as a master storyteller and comedian, four of his books, including Making a Difference, perennially making the publishers bestseller list and his being named Author of the Year. He was named one of the Top 10 Motivational Speakers in 2015 by espeakers.The emcees for the evening are Suzanne Farmer with Lourdes and local TV news anchor, Mike Mallory. The dinner will include strolling stations featuring a variety of food selections.The reservation deadline is January 18, by 5 pm. Tickets will not be sold at the door. Tickets are: $75/members; $125/non-members. Corporate sponsorships or reserved tables are available by contacting the Chamber.For more information or to make reservations, contact the Chamber at www.paducahchamber.org, (270) 443-1746 or e-mail info@paducahchamber.org. Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. By West Kentucky Star Staff Jan. 03, 2017 | 09:12 AM | CALLOWAY COUNTY, KY A shooting Monday in Calloway County left a Graves County man facing multiple charges. According to the Calloway County Sheriff's Office, 53-year-old Howard Kaler of Hickory is accused of firing a rifle at another person. The incident happened around 11 am Monday on Newsome Road, northwest of Kirksey. Deputies said the victim was traveling on Newsome Road when he met Kaler traveling in the opposite direction. Police said Kaler pointed a rifle out of the driver's window of his vehicle and fired at the victim. Police reported no injuries in the shooting. Kaler fled the area, but was found by Kentucky State Police in Graves County and arrested. He's charged with two counts of wanton endangerment, two counts of discharging a firearm across a public road and one count of menacing. He was lodged in the Calloway County Detention Center. Governor: Kentucky on course for record budget surplus again REGISTER NOW FOR WINTER/SPRING HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY CLASSES AT BRCC TAUGHT BY LOCAL HISTORIAN JENNIE JONES GILES Persons interested in the history and heritage of Henderson County are encouraged to register now for the winter/spring semester courses that begin Tuesday, Jan. 10, through the Continuing Education Department at Blue Ridge Community College. The classes are open to the public. Henderson County History and Heritage I, covering prehistory to 1860, is taught the first half of the semester from Jan. 10 to Feb. 28. Topics include geography and natural resources, Cherokee and Catawba history and culture, Revolutionary War and treaties with the Cherokee, early settlers and backgrounds, Appalachian culture, political and economic history, agriculture, transportation,religious history, education, early communities, black history, and noteworthy families and people in the early history of the county. A day class and an evening class are offered. The day class is from 1 to 2:30 p.m. and the evening class is from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Registration is $60. Henderson County History and Heritage II, covering 1860 to 1920, takes place the second half of the semester, from March 7 to May 2. Topics include the Civil War, Reconstruction, black history, Appalachian culture and stereotypes, political and economic history, industry, agriculture, transportation, religious history, education, tourism, communities, and World War I. A day class and an evening class are offered. The day class is from 1 to 2:30 p.m. and the evening class is from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Registration is $60. Henderson County History and Heritage III is also offered in the spring semester on Thursdays from March 2 to April 27. This class covers the history of Henderson County from 1920 through the 20th century. Topics include the Roaring 20s, Great Depression, World War II, Korean War, the post-war era, Vietnam War and other events to the end of the 20th century. Specifics addressed will include cultural changes, minorities, political and economic history, agriculture, transportation, education, industrialization, communities and current issues. This class is from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Registration is $60. It is strongly recommended that students take the first two courses as prerequisites before taking this class. The instructor is Jennie Jones Giles. To register online, visit http://www.blueridge.edu/ceregister Persons may also register from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the Continuing Education Building, Room 123, or call 694-1735. Meagan Schroeder drove to a north Lincoln apartment complex New Year's Eve to return license plates to her ex-wife, her mother said Monday, but they don't know what happened before the meeting ended in gunfire. Lincoln police said Brenda Schroeder, 40, fatally shot Meagan, 31, and then herself. LPD officials are expected to release a more detailed look into the killing Tuesday morning after pathologists performed autopsies on the women Monday. Meagan's boyfriend called 911 at 3:03 p.m. Saturday, saying she had texted him that Brenda had pulled a gun on her at her apartment complex near 14th Street shortly before 3 p.m., according to dispatch recordings. Dispatchers indicated the boyfriend implored her to call 911, but she didn't. "Officers immediately began searching for the person being threatened and the person responsible," Chief Jeff Bliemeister said in a news release. At 3:20 p.m., an officer spotted Meagan Schroeder's black Ford Explorer at Superior Place apartments at 15th and Superior streets and heard a single gunshot. They discovered Meagan Schroeder dead in the drivers seat and Brenda Schroeder in the passenger seat with a gunshot wound, police said. She was taken to the hospital and died of her injuries. The shooting, Meagan's mother Laurie Streeter said, comes as Meagan looked to remake her life in Lincoln after the failed marriage complicated her life in North Platte. "Meagan came out (to Lincoln) because she was trying to get away from it all, said Streeter, 50 of North Platte. Brenda Leeper and Meagan Schroeder married in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in March 24, 2014, and Brenda took Meagan's last name later that year. The two lived in North Platte with Meagan's three children from a previous relationship. In August 2015, Brenda Schroeder filed for divorce, but quickly withdrew the matter. "We have decided to try to work things out and try to make it work," she said, noting in her letter to the judge she would lose her filing fee. "Our family is more important." Less than two months later, Meagan filed for a harassment protection order against Brenda, saying she had threatened her and trashed her home among other things. A judge denied the request and said her allegations didn't meet the legal requirements of stalking and harassment. Brenda Schroeder filed for divorce again a week later, and that proceeding went forward. The divorce was finalized in August. When their marriage hit rocky points, Brenda became possessive and controlling of Meagan, Streeter said. Brenda made a good living working for Union Pacific Railroad and wielded that financial power over Meagan, her mother said. After the divorce, Brenda harassed Meagan and her new boyfriend, she said. Brenda's family couldn't be reached for comment Monday. Meagan, her three children and her boyfriend finally moved to Lincoln in April, her mother said. She worked as a payroll specialist with the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services and continued taking online classes in human resources through Bellevue University. Recently, she'd taken a new job and was set to receive her bachelor's degree from Bellevue Jan. 28, Streeter said. Though working full-time and going to school online, Meagan remained an active mom to her kids, a 12-year-old daughter and boys, 6 and 4, Streeter said. On New Year's Eve, they planned to stay in and play games, family time that was a weekly event in her house, her 12-year-old daughter said. Every week they'd have a family night and watch movies like "Finding Dory" together, she said. Her mother would take her to get her nails done, she said. Streeter said Meagan Schroeder's 12-year-old daughter wanted to tell a reporter about the "very hardworking and very loving" woman her mother was. "She always wanted to make sure me and my brothers had the best life. Meagan had a full plate and struggled to feel adequate until her boyfriend stepped in, her mother said. With encouragement, Meagan felt more in control of her life, her mother said. And in November, she posted a quote to her Facebook wall from F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" that her mother said defined her daughter: "For what its worth: Its never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life youre proud of, and if you find that youre not, I hope you have the strength to start over." Getting to that point hadn't been easy for Meagan, her mother said. "Im so proud of everything shes done, Streeter said through tears. "Im so proud of her." A funeral is planned for Saturday but arrangements are pending, Streeter said. Lincoln police have released surveillance images of the man they believe has set six fires in the Belmont area since October. Officials believe the images were captured after the man set fire to the Pet Care Center of Lincoln at 3220 N. 14th St. about 8:45 p.m. Sunday. The video does not show him setting the fire. Firefighters quickly put out a small fire that veterinarian Amy Walton said caused about $20,000 in damage, mostly to the contents of an office and break room. No staff members were on site at the time, and none of the 15 to 20 animals was injured, Walton said. Lincoln Police Sgt. Randy Clark said police and fire officials are investigating it as a suspected arson, and it could be linked to five other fires in the area. Two were set at Belmont Baptist Church on Oct. 3 within 18 hours of each other. An abandoned house at 3526 Portia St. was destroyed by fire Nov. 14 and set ablaze again Nov. 29, authorities said. On Dec. 5, two fires were set inside the Aspen Haus apartment complex, home to about 30 people 50 or older at 1500 Knox St. One fire began in a game room and the other on an upper floor. And Walton said the fire at the Pet Care Center is the second in less than four months. On Sept. 19, a fire caused more than $200,000 in damage. A fire inspector said it was caused by floodlights being too close to the soffit, but Walton said she suspects it may have been set. She said the pet center beefed up security after the first fire and plans to do so again. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 03/01/2017 (2131 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. LOS ANGELES One of the biggest tech hits of 2016 was a talking kitchen speaker from Amazon that could play music, tell you the time and weather, and buy things online for you. So should it be a surprise that the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that opens today will showcase many sons and daughters of Alexa? The twist? New robots on display at the worlds largest trade show in 2017 will have legs and virtual eyes, move around the house, and perhaps have even more smarts than Alexa, which sold out at Christmas. Robots are expected to be a huge trend at CES, which kicks off today with more than 25 exhibitors showcasing home personal assistants. (The trade show floor opens Thursday, but the action begins earlier.) Youre seeing a lot of companies taking advantage of the technologies that have been made cheaper by smartphones and video games, says Kaijen Hsiao, chief technology officer for Mayfield Robotics, which will debut a new home robot at CES. Society has come a long way from Rosie, the personal robot in the 1960s era sci-fi cartoon The Jetsons. We can now finally have the robots of our dreams, Hsiao says. What the companies look to improve upon Alexa is bringing personality to the robot, says Steve Crowe, managing editor for news site Robotics Trends. Part of the problem in-home robots have is that people dont get attached to them because theres no personal connection. Look for robots in all shapes and sizes at CES even tech giant LG will have one at CES. Companies come to the show to make a splash with investors, the press and other customers. Some make it, most wont, but perhaps a handful of these robots will show up sometime in 2017 at a store near you. Elsewhere at CES, look for innovations in: Cars: Many of the top auto manufacturers, including Nissan, Honda and Hyundai, will be at CES showing off new forms of intelligence and driverless technology along with products that make the cars smarter, says Tim Bajarin, president of market researcher Creative Strategies. The car is now the biggest connected device we own, he says. Manufacturers use CES to make a statement, to tech dealers, government and auto dealers, he adds. TVs: As with past CES shows, TVs will dominate in a big way. Theyre the largest product category on display and dominate many of the booths, especially ones named Sony, Samsung, LG and TCL. The past few years have given us higher-resolution 4K TVs, and CES 2016 showed one example of an 8K TV with even richer colours. This week, well see many more 8K models, says Bajarin, as the industry looks to move consumers to 8K by 2020 for the Tokyo Olympics. (As with the first 4K sets, expect to pay a hefty premium at first for the increased resolution.) Youll also see a rerun of many of the top product categories from last years CES, including consumer and industry drones, virtual-reality headsets and 360-degree cameras perhaps at lower prices and more user-friendly. The biggest products of 2016 iPhone 7, Microsoft Surface Book and Google Pixel, among others werent introduced at CES, but at separate events by Apple, Microsoft and Google. Still, CES matters, because its the one place you can go and see everything thats out there, says Jan Dawson, an analyst with Jackdaw Research. There are some exceptions, but its a great way to take the pulse of the industry. The coming CES will celebrate its 50th. CES started in 1967 as a showplace for new radios, TVs and phonograph players, attracting 17,000 people in 100,000 square feet of exhibit space. In 2017, Consumer Technology Association CEO Gary Shapiro expects around 175,000 people, in a monster show with 2.5 million square feet of space and 3,800 exhibitors. Weve really grown, he says. USA Today Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 02/01/2017 (2132 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Two dozen people lost their lives at the hands of others in Winnipeg in 2016. Even as the citys homicide rate has been on the decline and it no longer has the tragic title of murder capital of Canada, 24 people were violently slain marking an increase in annual homicide victims for the first time in the past five years. The Winnipeg Police Service laid charges in a majority of cases, which remain before the court. RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files Theodoros Belayne was shot and killed Nov. 26 at Stradbrook Avenue and Donald Street. A second person survived the shooting. Police have not yet arrested anyone. No charges have been laid and no suspects have been announced in three cases: the North Point Douglas rooming house fire that killed John McKinnon Bendon, 61, and Brenda Campbell, 51, in July; the 3 a.m. shooting of Edmonton resident Theodoros Belayneh, 32; and in the death of 41-year-old Marilyn Munroe. The mother of four and grandmother of one was found dead inside her Pritchard Avenue home on Feb. 22. Munroes death was declared a homicide, but despite renewed calls for help from anyone who may have been in contact with her in the three weeks leading up to her death, police havent made any arrests. Police are still on the lookout for suspects in two of the citys most recent homicide cases, where warrants have been issued for second-degree murder in the deaths of 39-year-old Benjamin Franklin Traverse and 25-year-old Clarence Ignace. Traverse was fatally shot in the 400 block of Pritchard Avenue and died in hospital Dec. 3. Ignace was stabbed to death in the 400 block of Kennedy Street Dec. 21. Winnipeg homicide victims were most likely to be indigenous men. Statistics Canada data show aboriginals male and female are more likely to be victims of homicide compared with non-aboriginals. This is especially true in Manitoba which still has the second-highest homicide rate of all provinces. Saskatchewans is higher. Indigenous Manitobans were nine times more likely to be victims of homicide than indigenous people in other provinces, according to Statistics Canada figures released in 2015. Five of Winnipegs homicide victims in 2016 were women, the majority of whom were indigenous and one of whom, 39-year-old Christina Stoyko, had a protection order against her former partner, who is accused of killing her. Winnipeg has the fourth-highest homicide rate among Canadian cities with more than 100,000 residents, according to 2015 data. Regina had the highest homicide rate, followed by Saskatoon and Edmonton. Before 2016, Winnipegs homicide rate had been steadily declining. There were 22 homicides in Winnipeg in 2015, 27 in 2014 and 2013, 34 in 2012 and 39 in 2011. The citys homicide rate was nearly triple the national average five years ago. As of 2015, it was at 2.72 homicide deaths per 100,000 people, compared with a national rate of 1.68. Number: 1 Date: Jan. 5 Victim: George Gabriel Flett, 57 Cause of death: Unreleased Location: 400 block of Westwood Drive Accused: Darcy Jerome Beardy, 29, is charged with second-degree murder. Victim-accused relationship: Unreleased Details: Police found Flett suffering from upper-body injuries in a hotel on Dec. 11, 2015. He died Jan. 5. Police upgraded the charge against a man to second-degree murder. He had been charged with aggravated assault. Number: 2 Date: Jan. 12 Victim: Cynthia Marie French, 35 Location: 500 block of William Avenue Cause of death: Stabbing Accused: Candice Nora Nepinak, 31, and Vanessa Louise Nepinak face second-degree murder charges. Victim-accused relationship: Acquaintances of victim Details: Cynthia French and her sister returned home to their rooming house in the 500 block of William Avenue to find an acquaintance in their room. The victims kicked her out. The acquaintance, police allege, then returned around 6 p.m. with her own sister and stabbed the victims. Number: 3 Date: Feb. 6 Victim: Mavis Ducharme, 39 Location: 50 block of Stella Avenue Cause of death: Unreleased Accused: Kashtin Flett, 23, and Nikina Houle, 23, face second-degree murder and manslaughter charges, respectively. Victim-accused relationship: Police said the attack was drug-related and the accused knew the victim. Details: Mavis Ducharme, 39, was assaulted around 5 a.m. at her home. Police believe two people forced their way in to her home and assaulted her and a man. Ducharme fled to a neighbours, but the attackers followed and its alleged they kept attacking her. Number: 4 Date: Feb. 20 Victim: Cooper Nemeth, 17 Geocodable location: First 100 block of Bayne Crescent Cause of death: Unreleased Accused: Nicholas Bell-Wright, 22, is charged with second-degree murder. Victim-accused relationship: Unknown Details: The body of Cooper Nemeth, 17, was found in a recycling bin behind a house in Valley Gardens on Feb. 20. The Grade 12 student at River East Collegiate had been missing for a week. His death is believed to be connected to a drug deal. Number: 5 Date: Feb. 22 Victim: Marilyn Rose Munroe, 41 Location: 200 block of Pritchard Avenue Cause of death: Not released Accused: None Details: Police responded to a report of someone in medical distress at a rental house in the North End around 10:40 a.m. and found Marilyn Munroe dead inside her home. Police have yet to lay charges or name any suspects, despite a renewed call for the publics help in September. BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Vigil for murdered man in front of the MTS Centre. Cyril Quentin Weenusk died after a violent altercation with a group of people at Portage Avenue and Donald Street. In this photo two of his sons grieve. One holds a photo of his murdered dad. The two men on left are not identified but are close friends or family members. July 6, 2016 Number: 6 Date: Feb. 27 Victim: Henry Joseph Kipling Buddy, 43 Location: 800 block of Main Street Cause of death: Beating Accused: Jenna Rose Traverse, 23, and Travis Chief, 23 face aggravated assault charges. Victim-accused relationship: The victim didnt know the accused. Details: Kipling had left the Northern Hotel around 3 a.m. Feb. 27 when he was assaulted twice by different people who didnt know him or each other, police said. The second attacker allegedly knocked Kipling to the ground and stole his case of beer, the hotel manager said. Number: 7 Date: March 8 Victim: Frederick Bird, 45 Location: First 100 block of Allenby Crescent Cause of death: Stabbing Accused: Bernadette Neepin, 37, is charged with second-degree murder. Victim-accused relationship: Unreleased Details: Bird was stabbed to death at a home in Transcona around 10:45 p.m. Police had one person in custody the next day and later laid a second-degree murder charge against Neepin. Number: 8 Date: April 23 Victim: Christina Stoyko, 39 Location: 500 block of Redwood Avenue Cause of death: Unreleased Accused: Kevin Grant Klassen, 37, is charged with second-degree murder and two counts of failing to comply with a protection order. Victim-accused relationship: Ex-partners. Stoyko had a protection order against Klassen. Details: Police laid charges after Stoyko was found dead in her home around 10 a.m. Number: 9 Date: April 25 Time of day: 12:30 p.m. Victim: David Mosquito, 40 Location: 100 block of Colony Street Cause of death: Unreleased Accused: Silvia Noreen McKay, 39; Kirby James Crow, 28; Rachel Lynn Little, 32; Dennis Ashley Baptiste, 30, are all charged with manslaughter. Victim-accused relationship: They knew each other. Details: David Mosquito, from Bearskin Lake First Nation, was found with serious upper-body injuries in the 100 block of Colony Street and was taken to hospital, where he died. Number: 10 Date: April 27 Time of day: 2:20 p.m. Victim: Gheorghe Uta, 52 Location:1800 block of Alexander Avenue Cause of death: Stabbing Accused: Richard George Paul, 19 is charged with manslaughter and several other offences. Victim-accused relationship: Unreleased Details: Uta was stabbed around 2:20 p.m. at what neighbours described as a crack house. Police arrested Paul a week later. Number: 11 Date: May 12 Victim: George Prieston, 29 Geocodable location: 600 block of Wellington Avenue Cause of death: Shooting Charges: First-degree murder, cruelty to animals Accused: Raymond Ducharme, 25; Shawn Poitra, 25; Pierre David Contois, 21, are charged with first-degree murder and cruelty to animals. Victim-accused relationship: Unreleased Details: In a homicide blamed on drugs, Prieston was gunned down on Wellington Avenue around 6:30 p.m. by men armed with what police described as a military-style assault rifle with a high-capacity magazine. His dog was also shot and killed. Handout Cooper Nemeth, 17, was missing for a week before being found in a recycling bin in the Valley Gardens area. Number: 12 Date: June 22 Victim: David Sanderson, 50 Location: 300 block of Aberdeen Avenue Cause of death: Fire Accused: Billy-Joe Linklater, 21 and Lorie Knott, 21, face second-degree murder and arson charges. Victim-accused relationship: Unreleased Details: David Sanderson was beaten in his home, which was then set on fire around 3:40 a.m. Police arrested two suspects who are charged with second-degree murder and arson. Number: 13 Date: June 23 Victim: James Edsel Tucker, a.k.a. Bill Harcus, 45 Location: 400 block of Furby Street Cause of death: Stabbing Accused: Joshua Evans, 24; Martin Archie Flett, 22, face several charges, including second-degree murder and robbery with a firearm. Victim-accused relationship: Unreleased Details: Police believe the suspects went to the Furby Street home to buy drugs and assaulted a 37-year-old man, which led to a confrontation with Tucker, who was stabbed to death around 3:05 a.m. Tucker was the former head of the hate-group KKK in Manitoba. The stabbing is believed to be unrelated to his earlier involvement with the KKK. Number: 14 Date: July 5 Victim: Cyril Quentin Weenusk, 26 Location: Portage Avenue and Donald Street Cause of death: Beating Accused: Geordie Douglas Wood, 22; Renelle McDougal, 20, are charged with second-degree murder. Victim-Accused relationship: Didnt know each other Details: Weenusk, a father of four, was visiting Winnipeg from Oxford House. He was attacked after what police described as a chance encounter with a group of people downtown around 3 a.m. Number: 15 & 16 Date: July 7 Victims name: John McKinnon Bendon, 61, and Brenda Campbell, 51 Location: 186 Austin Street North Cause of death: Fire Accused: None Details: Police are investigating this North Point Douglas rooming house fire as a homicide. Investigators believe the overnight blaze was deliberately set. Number: 17 Date: July 28 Victim: Kingston Paul, 20 Location: 100 block of Bannerman Avenue Cause of death: Shooting Accused: Erskine Ruggles, 61, is charged with manslaughter Victim-accused relationship: The victim and the suspect knew each other Details: Kingston Paul was shot inside a multi-family building around 11:30 a.m. Police said there may have been a drug connection as to why Paul was in the building at the time, but police dont believe the shooting was drug-related. Number: 18 Date: Aug. 10 Victim: Garnet Walter Williams, 43 Location: 600 block of Ellice Avenue Cause of death: Unreleased Accused: Jeremy Lee Allen, 27, Lyle Barrow, 30, and Miranda Leclaire, 32 are charged with first-degree murder. Jennifer Kelly Hall, 25 and Ernest Garbutt, 56 are charged with indignity to a human body. Victim-accused relationship: Unreleased Details: Police believe Garnet Walter Williams went to an apartment block with a group of people on July 31, where he was assaulted and confined. He later died. His body was dumped in a garbage bin outside the building, and was found Aug. 10. Number: 19 Date: Aug. 16 Time of day: 9:55 a.m. Handout Christina Stoyko was allegedly killed by her ex-boyfriend despite having a protection order against him. Victim: Eugene Allan Harris, 62 Location: 300 block of Bannerman Avenue Cause of death: Beating Accused: Vincent Morin, 31, is charged with manslaughter Victim-accused relationship: Unreleased Details: Police found Eugene Allan Harris dead inside a Bannerman Avenue home around 9:55 a.m. and determined he had been assaulted. Number: 20 Date: Oct. 6 Victim: Scott Tates, 23 Location: 300 block of Springfield Road Cause of death: Stabbing Accused: Christopher Blair McDougall, 28, is charged with second-degree murder Victim-accused relationship: Knew each other Details: Police believe the two men got into a fight that ended in Tates death around 3 a.m. Number: 21 Date: Nov. 26 Victim: Theodoros Belayneh, 32, of Edmonton Location: Donald Street and Stradbrook Avenue Cause of death: Shooting Accused: None Details: Police are searching for suspects after Theodoros Belayneh was killed and another man was injured in a 3 a.m. shooting downtown. Police believe Belayneh was at an Ace Hood hip-hop concert at Ultralounge nightclub before the shooting and asked that anyone who attended the concert and took photos or video contact investigators. Number: 22 Date: Nov. 28 Victim: Benjamin Franklin Traverse, 39 Location: 400 block of Pritchard Avenue Cause of death: Shooting Suspects: Michael Tylor Fless, 30, and James Andrew Jewels, 26, are wanted on several charges, including second-degree murder. Victim-suspects relationship: Unreleased Details: Traverse died in hospital Dec. 3 after he was shot Nov. 28. Number: 23 Date: Dec. 20 Victim: Edward Lee Dyck, 55 Location: 200 block of Belmont Avenue Cause of death: Beating Accused: Dale Gregory Hilderman, 51, is charged with second-degree murder. Victim-accused relationship: roommates Details: The suspect and the victim were tenants in the same West Kildonan home. Police believe they got into a fight that ended in Dycks death. Police found the victims body in the garage. Number: 24 Date: Dec. 21 Victim: Clarence Ignace, 25 Location: 400 block of Kennedy Street Cause of death: Stabbing Suspect: Tyron Custer Harper, 23, is wanted for second-degree murder. Victim-suspect relationship: Unreleased Details: Police have issued a warrant for Tyron Custer Harper on second-degree murder and other charges following the fatal stabbing of 25-year-old Clarence Ignace around 11 p.m. Few details have been released. katie.may@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @thatkatiemay Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 03/01/2017 (2131 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Manitoba Health has expanded the number of locations where opioid antidotes are being distributed free of charge. Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen said that in addition to three spots in Winnipeg, naloxone kits are now available in The Pas, Gillam, Thompson, Flin Flon, Selkirk and Pine Falls. Overdose is one of the leading causes of accidental death in Manitoba Goertzen said. Making naloxone kits available across the province wont stop the opioids crisis, but it will save lives and help prevent overdoses. WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Winnipeg Police Inspector Max Waddell with a opioid overdose response naloxone nasal spray kit, a medication used to reverse the effects of opioids and prevent potentially fatal overdoses. Naloxone is most efficient in preventing overdose deaths if administered within minutes of an overdose. Individuals who request a take-home naloxone kit will receive training on overdose recognition and how to use the kit. They will also be able to access information on addiction and harm-reduction services. Goertzen stressed that naloxone does not eliminate the risks associated with drug use. He noted this is especially the case when powerful opioids such as fentanyl and carfentanil are involved. The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority launched a naloxone distribution program through Street Connections last year. Between January and December, more than 245 kits were distributed and 31 overdoses were reversed as a direct result. Goertzen said prevention is key to fighting the opioid crisis here and across Canada. The government is focusing on increasing awareness about the dangers of opioids, such as fentanyl, to ensure Manitobans clearly understand their impact, he said. Recently, schools in the province received electronic information packages offering general information on fentanyl and a guide for parents on how to talk to their children about drug and alcohol use. An awareness campaign was also launched in November. As more sites offer the kits, contact information will be added to the Street Connections website. To find out where naloxone kits are available free to those at risk of overdose, visit: www.streetconnections.ca. More information and resources can be found here. Infrastructure investment in Nebraska had a landmark year in 2016. Concerned Nebraskans advocating on behalf of finishing the Nebraska Expressway System helped make it so. To honor that decades-old promise and position our state for new growth in this new year and beyond, the successes of 2016 should be viewed as a launching pad, not a finish line. In April, the Transportation Innovation Act, which directs $450 million (over 17 years) to the expressway system and other infrastructure projects, was passed on a vote of 48-0 in the Nebraska Legislature and signed by Governor Pete Ricketts. Over the summer, the Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) held a series of public input sessions on project prioritization. In September, NDOR announced eight new road construction priorities, including Hwy 275 (Norfolk to Omaha) and the Panhandles Heartland Expressway, and 12 new design project priorities, including Hwy 81 (York to Columbus), Hwy 77 (Wahoo to Fremont), and Hwy 75 (Nebraska City to Murray). Lincolns East Beltway and I-80 interchanges in Omaha and Sarpy County will also begin planning stages. While its encouraging that a new playbook for modernizing our states infrastructure is in place after decades of executive-level neglect, the timeline for completion is slow. Besides Hwy 275, which is projected to begin expansion in 2019, new construction priorities wont see work until 2024. For the sake of growing our state and our local economies, we must press further. Look at a map of Nebraska. The places growing are located on the Interstate or connected with four-lane roadways. The expressway system, created in 1988, was a promise to Nebraskans that their major communities would be connected to each other and to the Interstate System with safe, efficient four-lane highways by 2003. Nearly 15 years later, major projects remain on hold. The long stall hamstrings our entire states growth potential. While discussions of tax structure and incentive packages are important, they are irrelevant without adequate infrastructure. Without four-lane access or the promise of modern roadways, many companies wont consider an area for investment or expansion. For these reasons, 4 Lanes 4 Nebraska will continue its work as a statewide business and industry advocate for policy reform and modernized infrastructure systems. We will engage in new opportunities to improve project delivery, fight efforts to divert transportation funding, engage new lawmakers on the significance of infrastructure development, and explore options for new federal support for key Nebraska transportation corridors. We look forward to continuing work with the Ricketts administration and the Unicameral, who've taken a commendably open approach on creative policy solutions, to build 21st century infrastructure throughout the state. Infrastructure modernization is economic development. The longer we wait to connect our communities, the more growth opportunities pass us by. In 2016 we brought new attention to the economic and public safety need for infrastructure investment in our state. The collective voices of businesses, farmers, and concerned taxpayers from all corners of Nebraska yielded results and created new momentum. Lets keep building on it. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 02/01/2017 (2132 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Harry Paine, the man called Winnipegs elder statesman of social justice, gourmet food and folk music, has died at age 83. Friends of the community advocate confirmed Paine died late Friday at the Grace Hospital after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. Its an incredible loss and really the best we could do is celebrate his life by continuing the fight for social justice, said NDP MLA Rob Altemeyer, who described Paine as a friend, mentor and until recently, a staffer. Paines lengthy list of accomplishments earned him several accolades, including the Lieutenant-Governors Make a Difference Community Award, Altemeyer said. Paine will probably be best remembered as a co-founder of both the West End Cultural Centre and the Winnipeg Folk Festival with husband-and-wife team Mitch Podolak and Ava Kobrinsky. The trio worked together for decades and the couple is credited with persuading Paine to move to Winnipeg decades ago. Mitch was really sad. Hes known Harry since he was 15 over 50 years. He was quite the mentor to my husband, Kobrinsky said. Podolak is currently in the same hospital where Paine died, learning how to walk again after a spinal injury, Kobrinsky said. Just recently, we went to the Falafel Place on Corydon and theres Harry standing there. The two of them were saying they were going to have walker races because Harry was there with his walker and Mitch was, by then, on his walker, too, Kobrinsky said. PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Harry Paine, pictured here in his West End apartment, died of pancreatic cancer at age 83. Paine was a social justice advocate who also co-founded the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Born in England, Paine immigrated to Canada and worked in the United States, where he contributed to the civil rights movement. Kobrinsky said Paine was famous for his food and ran the Folk Festival kitchen for performers and volunteers for decades, proving the old adage that army runs on its stomach even when its an army of volunteers and entertainers. He made sure everybody ate and everyone was taken care of very well. You find the better the performers are taken care of, the happier the audience is, Kobrinsky said. You know the whole deal behind the folk festival was to have a place where everybody could be in the middle of nowhere, but where they had everything they needed. He was instrumental in making sure that happened. He did it with love. Altemeyer recognized his friend and mentor in a two-minute tribute before the Manitoba legislature this fall, recalling a time Paine happened to sit beside American civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. when Paine was among youth volunteers on both sides of the border who were helping organize Kings bus boycott In Montgomery, Ala. Id known him for a decade by the the time I heard that story. Harry was incredibly modest and hed never tell anything until it fit with what we were working on or talking about around the table as insight or words of wisdom, Altemeyer said. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Harry Paine takes a break from writing to be photographed in the kitchen of his apartment in a 2007. Paine was married more than once and had an ability to charm women right until the end. He had a very engaging way with women of all ages. He had lots of girlfriends, Kobrinsky said. Last spring he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. A longtime member of the Wolseley NDP executive, Paine kept working despite his diagnosis, helping out with the provincial election campaign and then on campaigns to improve bus transit and services for seniors and people with disabilities. The guy was everywhere, making a difference wherever he could, right up to the final weeks of his life, Altemeyer said. alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 03/01/2017 (2131 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister has stated unequivocally that raising the provinces minimum wage rate wont reduce poverty. The premier made his comments in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press, suggesting that in terms of the minimum wage: Its a mitigation tactic that is seen on the surface to be helping but really doesnt reduce poverty. For that, he is completely correct. It wont reduce poverty. Neither, it would seem, will the myriad of government-run programs put in place to fight poverty. Because, if they would, why is it that this province has the highest child poverty rate in Canada? While throwing money at the problem doesnt eradicate poverty, increasing minimum wage certainly makes living slightly easier. Giving people more money means they can manage to keep up at least a bit while facing the tsunami of annual increases, usually announced in the coldest and brokest month of the year January. WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Premier Brian Pallister For instance, bus passes went up on Jan. 1 by $1.95 to $90.50 a month. Electricity went up in August another $2.83 a month for the average user. According to Canadas food price report, households can expect food prices to climb between three and five per cent in 2017, largely due to Canadas falling dollar, making it more expensive to import fruit and vegetables. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the average rent in Winnipeg went up around 2.1 per cent in 2016. Mr. Pallister went further in his interview by saying: Economic growth and economic development is very critical to helping people find work. Were all about (a) hand up. Does that, by extension, make the minimum wage a handout? Thats the troubling part in this governments rhetoric. Minimum wage legislation originally put in place to prevent greedy bosses from underpaying staff, particularly during periods of high uemployment should be viewed as a way to ensure fairness. It is not a hand up or a handout, and it is certainly not welfare. Manitobas minimum wage is currently set at $11 per hour. The former NDP government routinely provided increases in October, something the Pallister government decided not to do, opting instead to raise the basic personal exemption to $9,292 in 2017, taking 2,770 low-income earners off the tax rolls. Among provinces, the lowest minimum wage rate is in New Brunswick, at $10.65, and the highest is N.W.T., at $12.50. Overall, the majority of workers do not rely on minimum wage in order to live. In a Statistics Canada study from 2014, the percentage of those paid the minimum amount has risen from 1997, when it was five per cent, to 6.7 per cent in 2013. The increased percentage is largely because employers did not raise the wage rates of those who were paid slightly more than minimum when rates increased. Whats interesting is the bulk of minimum-wage earners are not teenagers they are women, often immigrant women, working several jobs. Whats also interesting is the bulk of the minimum-wage jobs are found in multinational corporations companies that routinely make millions in profits, paying their CEOs handsomely. So Mr. Pallister is correct: increasing minimum wage wont stop poverty. But hes wrong to conclude that increasing wages will somehow inhibit economic recovery. It may just mean more money for the working poor to spend in order to maintain their status quo. Many of us have a traumatic childhood memory of losing our mothers hand in a grocery or department store and feeling, for a panicky moment, that we may never be found again. For Saroo Brierley, the separation was real and lasting a story so extraordinary and harrowing that it carries an excellent movie called Lion. No big cats were employed in making the film. Rather, at the age of 5, Saroo gets separated from his brother, boards an empty train, falls asleep and eventually ends up a thousand miles away in an unfamiliar part of India. He becomes a street child there are plenty of them in this sometimes merciless world vulnerable to sexual trafficking. Instead, he is placed in a Dickensian orphanage, plucked up by an international adoption, and finally lands in a loving Australian home. Not really finally. As an accomplished young man, Saroo begins to feel restless, rootless and homeless and starts an obsessive search (on Google Earth) for the small village he only recalls in flashing images. Every day, explains Saroo, my mother screams my name. I wont ruin the ending, but suffice it to say there is Kleenex involved. Nicole Kidman, the real-life mother of two adopted children, plays the role of Saroos Australian mum with particular charm and fierce affection. Full disclosure: One reason the story spoke to me is that my wife was plucked from a South Korean orphanage at the age of 6, placed on a jumbo jet and delivered to a loving American, Midwestern home. But Lion raises broader issues of identity ethnic and otherwise that are implicated in most human stories. If we feel homeless, not just in the world but in the universe, the search for home becomes a spiritual quest. Spiritual does not always mean religious. On the evidence of the movie, Saroos remarkable quest was not. But the questions raised by the film Who am I? Where do I belong? have nearly universal resonance. The most powerful summation of the Christian faith is the story of a lost child, this one choosing to leave home, squandering his inheritance and eventually wallowing in a sty with pigs. He suspects he can only return to his family as a servant, but his father, seeing him from afar, ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. Taken seriously (which does not mean literally), that parable represented a spiritual revolution. God as parent. A distant abstraction as Our father, and our mother as well. No one can damage themselves beyond hope. Even if we reach the shores of our own Australia a place of relative comfort, success and respect a sense of rootlessness can grow. Comfort can suddenly feel like complacency. Success can seem empty or horribly fragile. Respect can become a treadmill of expectations. If we take an hour for introspection, fully examining our flaws and failures, we generally decide never to do it again. It is uncomfortable to be naked and helpless, with our humanness showing. If we must prove our worth, it is possible to be worthless. If we earn love, it is conditional and fickle. That is the substance, in many cases, of depression. A relentless voice of self-judgment. My thoughts, said the poet and priest George Herbert, are all a case of knives/ Wounding my heart. It is possible, even as accomplished, sophisticated adults, to slip a parents hand and wonder if we will ever be found again. Some will scoff, because they have not yet reached this point in their lives. Others conclude that this sense of homelessness is rooted in human nature but corresponds to nothing real in the world. But many have found comfort in that ancient story of a missing child, promising a parents unconditional love: You are my beloved, on you my favor rests. It is not an easy thing maybe the work of a lifetime to live as if we are loved. To quiet the voices of self-condemnation. To live outside the tiny cosmos of our own desires. To extend the grace we have been shown. To act on a vision of humanity in which all are equally loved by God. A path determined by these resolutions may lead to unexpected places, maybe not to a sty, but perhaps to a stable and a star. To the end of the way of the wandering star, wrote G.K. Chesterton. To the things that cannot be and that are/ To the place where God was homeless/ And all men are at home. 25 years ago this week (1992) An 18-year-old Reedsburg man appeared in Sauk County Court Monday to face charges for the Dec. 30 break-in at Webb High School in Reedsburg and a break-in at Reedsburg Middle School last month. The 18 year-old and a 17-year-old, both former students, were arrested for the high school break-in Dec. 31. They are facing two felony counts for the robberies. Estimated damages at the high school range from $15,000 to $20,000. In response to changing conditions in the medical industry, St. Clare Hospital is restructuring its facility, according to hospital officials. A new section, currently about 75 percent complete, to the hospital will be entirely devoted to outpatient services, said Thomas R. Warwick, president of the hospital. The new addition will house the hospitals 14 various specialty clinics such as plastic surgery and psychiatry clinics. Also, all rehabilitation services will be centralized in the new addition. 50 years ago this week (1967) The legal snarl over conservation efforts to evict cottage occupants at Devils Lake State Park near Baraboo was aired before the Wisconsin Supreme Court Tuesday. The state asked the court to uphold a Baraboo judges decision that he could hear arguments seeking to eject the tenants. The Conservation Commission is seeking approval to press its efforts to evict occupants of 86 cottages on the northeast shore of Devils Lake to convert the area to more public use. It contends that the occupants leases on the cottages ran out at the end of 1964. The state lost one eviction battle in Sauk County Court and has another pending against 105 defendants in Sauk Circuit Court. The current battle was triggered when the Conservation Department tried to shut off the water to the cottages and build an iron gate across the only road leading into the area last summer. The Sauk County sheriffs patrol on duty this morning discovered and reported a barn fire at the Jack Harrison farm in the town of Fairfield, on Helm Road. The occupants were at home when the blaze was discovered about 5 a.m. but they were not aware of the fire until aroused by the officer. The barn burned to the ground despite efforts of Baraboo rural firemen and the loss includes two beef cows, 20 little pigs and four sows, and a yearling heifer. The granary and milk house were also destroyed. C.P Fox, director of the Circus World Museum here, has a jigsaw puzzle cluttering the floor of the old Ringling Bros. elephant barn. The puzzle consists of ancient wood carvings and other parts to circus wagons, which were loaded and shipped to the museum as a gift from Walt Disney Productions in Burbank, California, on the day Walt Disney died. In its early years, Disneyland featured a daily circus parade, including nine restored circus wagons. Then the amusement park discontinued the parade in favor of other attractions and work halted on restoring six other wagons acquired by Disney. Three years ago, the Disney Company donated the nine restored wagons to the Circus World Museum one of the museums largest single acquisitions. The shipment of the six unrestored wagons arrived last month in Baraboo on one huge truck trailer. 75 years ago this week (1942) Farmers in the Baraboo area whose land is wanted by the federal government for a proposed $65,000,000 powder plant are dissatisfied with the prices being offered for their property, according to Garth Premo, chairman of a landowners committee. Premo said government offers ranged from $100 to slightly more than $150 per acre, which he maintained was less than the assessed valuation of the land in most instances. A resolution asking protection of the beauty of the Devils Lake area during construction of the Merrimac powder plant has been sent to the war department by the Wisconsin Friends of Our Native Landscape. Franz A. Aust, secretary of the organization, said the committee had been assured by Major W. O. Hauck, construction quartermaster, that no trees would be removed except where buildings were to be erected and that recreation and scenic facilities would be guarded. 100 years ago this week (1917) Application has been approved for a new bank for Baraboo, to be called the Farmers & Merchants bank. The new bank is regarded as the outcome of the natural growth of the community and is another indication of the prosperity of Baraboo and vicinity. It is said the new institution has not been opposed by the existing local banking institutions. The Farmers & Merchants bank will probably occupy the rooms now occupied by Ruggles & Evenson law offices on the corner of Oak and Fourth Streets. Communications have been received in Baraboo from Burt Williams to the effect that all pool and billiard tables not in homes must pay a tax of $2.50 each. This includes those in clubs, church auxiliaries and similar organizations. Since two owners of tables in Baraboo have been in court, the law about billiard halls is being read with considerable interest. The above tax applies to bowling alleys. Frank C. Winnie was instantly killed on Tuesday afternoon near Reedsburg by the train which is due to arrive at Baraboo at 4:15 oclock. The engineer saw him walking on the opposite track as the train approached and reports that as the train neared, Mr. Winnnie stepped in front of the engine. His skull was fractured and death came at once. Mr. Winnie had been staying at the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Winnie, of Baraboo. Christopher Scott Mueller was what some people might call a hermit. He lived alone in a rundown trailer in the town of Bear Creek, about 30 miles southwest of Baraboo. His mobile home didnt have working heat or septic systems, and was situated in a field about 600 feet from a rural road. Although some describe him as well-educated, Mueller also was strange and troubled by many accounts. If you talked to him, he didnt have problems, said Joseph Bauer, a neighbor. The whole rest of the world had problems. Mueller was 64 years old on Oct. 26 when he was found dead on a mattress inside his trailer. His passing was barely acknowledged by a two-sentence death notice in the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram that got his age wrong. The same day his remains were discovered, the coroner ruled that Mueller died of natural causes. But documents raise questions about whether environmental factors played a role, and whether a government official should have intervened. Jean Berlin, a member of the Sauk County Board whose district includes the town of Bear Creek, said a county attorney failed Mueller by not removing him from a dangerous environment. I dont think that was acceptable, Berlin said. Why should someone live without heat? He didnt have indoor plumbing. He lived like an animal. Health nuisance Documents contained in a Sauk County zoning file show officials had declared Muellers property a danger to public health at least as early as December 2014, nearly two years before his death. And although a county attorney had a legal obligation to enforce Muellers removal, he never did. A zoning inspector who repeatedly visited the 40-acre property off Cummings Road noted in reports that Muellers septic tank was broken. He alleged Mueller was using his front porch as a bathroom, with buckets and bottles holding waste that he illegally dumped. Aside from the alleged dumping of human waste, there were bags of garbage, unlicensed vehicles, and piles of scrap metal strewn about. The inspector, Steve Sorenson, saw the property as an illegal junkyard. Sorenson also determined that a permit for Muellers trailer approved under a 1970s zoning ordinance that allowed mobile homes for farm workers had expired. He wrote about his findings in memos to the countys chief legal counsel. Memos show poor conditions In one October 2015 memo to Sauk County Corporation Counsel Todd Liebman, Sorenson wrote about a conversation he had with Mueller during a visit to the property. The memo said Mueller spoke non-stop for 45 minutes, expressing concerns for his health that included suicidal thoughts. But he never answered Sorensons questions about whether he intended to clean up the property. Sorenson wrote that Mueller believed staying in the house for another winter would kill him. His feet were swollen, and he thought he had cancer. Its unclear whether there was an effort to remove Mueller from the property for mental health reasons. Such records are protected by privacy laws, and a Sauk County Human Services Department employee who worked with Mueller declined a request for comment. But the effort to remove Mueller due to a public health hazard was a separate matter. It didnt require the county to prove anything about his mental state, only that his property was a health nuisance. In November 2015, Liebman had Mueller served with an abatement order under the countys environmental health ordinance. The document demanded Mueller vacate the trailer and correct any violations. In a letter that accompanied the order, Liebman promised to commence action in Sauk County Circuit Court if Mueller didnt comply within 30 days. Sauk County has sought voluntary compliance to no avail, Liebman wrote in the letter. At this time, Sauk County directs that you discontinue habitation of the mobile home, have it removed from the premises, and that you remove the junk from your property within thirty days. A private detective who delivered the abatement order swore in an affidavit that Mueller was dirty, with sores on his left foot, when he arrived. Mueller told the detective, Im sick and I cant do this. Documents show Sorenson, the zoning inspector, revisited the property in December 2015, after the 30-day notice expired, and found that Mueller hadnt complied with the order. He sent another memo to Liebman to inform him that the matter was unresolved. No legal action taken In an interview, Sorenson said he could not discuss Muellers zoning case directly because it still is active. However, Sorenson said he gives violators many opportunities to correct problems before he suggests legal action. After a case has reached the stage Muellers was in, Sorensons involvement is minimal. Its out of my hands at that point, he said. The countys environmental health ordinance says Liebman has the duty of prosecuting those who violate abatement orders, and shall take steps that he deems appropriate to enforce them. Violators can be fined up to $200 per day and jailed. In the case of improper sewage disposal, the ordinance says, the county can enter the property to remove the nuisance, or contract with a state agency to do so. Ten months passed from when Liebman was notified that Mueller had not met the abatement deadline and the day he was found dead. Liebman never took legal action to enforce his removal. Liebman: He wouldve died elsewhere In an interview, Liebman said he stands by his handling of the case. The county bent over backward to help a competent individual who made poor lifestyle choices, he said, and further legal action would not have prevented Muellers death. We try to seek voluntary compliance with every individual, Liebman said. The steps taken were appropriate under the circumstances. If we had filed (legal action) earlier, what theoretically would have been the result? If we had ejected him, where would he have gone? He would have died in his car, or he would have died in a hotel somewhere. Liebman said the county had additional contacts with Mueller after serving the abatement order in which officials tried to get him to voluntarily comply. Evidence of such contacts is not contained in the zoning case file, and Liebman couldnt provide specific examples. Memos removed The Baraboo News Republic reviewed a group of memos from Muellers public zoning file before it was scrubbed. The memo that detailed Muellers poor health, and the one that showed Liebman was notified of his failure to comply with the abatement order, no longer are in the file. In a records request response form, a zoning employee wrote that the Sauk County Corporation Counsels Office directed that any attorney-client communications be removed. Call for help The neighbor, Bauer, described Mueller as a bright man who was stubborn and often behaved erratically. The two men had a relationship that was sometimes turbulent. Court documents outline one conflict between the neighbors that occurred in 1999, when Bauer notified law enforcement that Mueller had spray-painted something about him in the road. Mueller told a deputy he meant no harm, and only did it because he could not communicate his point adequately to Bauer. The Sauk County District Attorneys Office charged Mueller with a misdemeanor graffiti offense, but later dismissed the case after Bauer said he no longer wanted to prosecute. Despite their conflicts, Bauer looked out for his unusual neighbor. Mueller would hang an orange jacket on his trailer when he needed something. And when Bauer saw it, he would stop by to offer help. On Oct. 26, Bauer said, he saw the jacket hanging. He knocked on the trailer door, but didnt get an answer. So he contacted a social worker who advised him to call law enforcement. Bauer dialed up the Sauk County Sheriffs Department and asked that someone check on his neighbor. Natural causes declared Documents show a deputy arrived on scene and discovered Muellers decomposed body on a mattress in the bedroom. There was only a single walking path through the cluttered trailer. A detective noted in his report that it appeared the corpse had been there for some time. The deputys report notes that the last time Bauer saw his neighbor was in September, when Mueller talked to him through the trailer about how the county was trying to steal his money and trying to kill him. The death investigation went like this: The detective noticed no obvious signs of distress, assault, battery or robbery at the trailer. Later at the morgue, three law enforcement officers assisted Sauk County Coroner Greg Hahn in examining the body for signs of violence. They found none. Hahn then consulted with a Dane County forensic pathologist by phone, and they determined there should be no autopsy. There was no evidence that his death was anything other than of a natural manner, the detective reported. In an interview, Hahn said he was aware the property had been deemed a health hazard. Although he ruled the death was due to natural causes, he could not say whether environmental factors such exposure to the cold, or an infection played a role. It would have been expensive to find out, he said. You can get into details, but that costs a lot of money to do the studies, Hahn said. What would it have accomplished? It was him himself. This was all his choices. The Dane County pathologist who Hahn consulted with said he does not recall being informed that Muellers property was a health nuisance. I dont remember having been told anything about that, Dr. Michael Stier said. Those who live in squalor can die from factors associated with their environment, Stier said. But when someone has been dead for as long as Mueller, it becomes difficult to determine the true cause of death. When someone decomposes, the yield for an autopsy goes way, way down, Stier said. Tissues literally go away. Stier said listing the cause of death as unknown is an option, but took no position on whether that was a more appropriate designation than natural causes in Muellers case. Supervisor: System failed Mueller Mueller left no will. And his two siblings one from the state of Oregon and another from Maryland have been named as the only interested parties in an estate worth at least $50,000. Neither returned phone calls. His death notice said the Cremation Society of Wisconsin, in Altoona, handled arrangements. Berlin, the county board supervisor, said she thinks the system failed Mueller on multiple levels. And she questioned why Liebman didnt take legal action for 10 months when he knew about the state of Muellers living conditions and poor health. I think hes avoiding his moral obligation as a public official, Berlin said. He should have acted upon it. I feel he had a responsibility. After all, it is a human life. Berlin said she has heard from constituents familiar with Mueller who asked why the county didnt do more to help him. Moving forward Liebman said the property still must be brought into compliance with county ordinances. For now, he said, he will wait to seek a disposition until ownership of the property has been resolved. Until then, Muellers mobile home remains in the field off Cummings Road. The orange jacket has been removed. The process for selecting the next leader of Sauk County's $84 million government operation may move faster than some expected. The agenda for Tuesday's meeting of a Sauk County Board committee includes a closed session to interview a candidate, or candidates, for the vacant administrative coordinator position. After that, the Executive and Legislative Committee is slated to reconvene in open session to recommend its final pick to the board. Those procedural steps go beyond what the five-person panel agreed upon during a meeting last week. On Thursday, the committee met to consider the process for replacing former Administrative Coordinator Renae Fry, who accepted a $135,000 buyout in December after a secret list of allegations against her emerged. About 30 people attended the discussion. At the end of the meeting, Sauk County Board Chair Marty Krueger of Reedsburg, who also chairs the committee, said there seemed to be a consensus to at least review the list of finalists from months ago. He was referring to a list generated during the countys most recent administrative coordinator search, which culminated in March with Frys appointment. Krueger then suggested a motion to include a review of potential candidates in closed session on Tuesday's meeting agenda. The agenda for Tuesday's meeting says it was prepared by the Sauk County Clerk's Office. But in an email, Sauk County Clerk Becky Evert said she only typed up the notice. It was Krueger and the county's lead attorney, Todd Liebman, who provided her with the verbiage for agenda items. During a brief phone interview Saturday, Krueger confirmed that he was the person who included interviews and a final recommendation on Tuesday's agenda. I believe so, Krueger said in response to a question about whether those agenda items reflected the motion approved Thursday. After the exact wording of the motion was read back to him, Krueger responded that I put it on the agenda, so it can be done. Supervisor Peter Vedro of Baraboo said the action items Krueger has included on Tuesday's agenda do not match the expectations created at last week's meeting. He said Krueger should not privately advance a process that was agreed to in public, regardless of his authority to do so. "What we have is a situation where a county chair, who is one of 31 (supervisors), believes he is a county executive reporting and responsible to no one but himself," said Vedro, who is not a member of the Executive and Legislative Committee. He has called for a neutral third-party inquiry into the county's hiring and separation from past administrators. Those who attended Thursday's discussion should note that Tuesday's meeting begins at 1:30 p.m., an hour and a half earlier than the start time Krueger mentioned during the committee's last meeting. Several supervisors have said Fry's employment simply didn't work out, and that her departure is not indicative of a systemic problem. They note that former Sauk County Administrative Coordinator Kathy Schauf served in that role for more than nine years. Others have said Krueger unfairly advanced Fry's separation agreement without allowing the board to hear her answers to the list of allegations. They say a failure to publicly address that unfairness could jeopardize the county's future ability to attract applicants for high-level positions. The list of allegations is in the possession of Liebman, the county's chief legal counsel. He shared it with the board verbally during closed session discussions, but won't release it to anyone, citing attorney-client and work-product privileges. Terms of Frys separation agreement prohibit her, Liebman, and Krueger, from speaking openly about the matter with the media or anyone else. The county paid an Appleton firm, Moffett and Associates LLC, nearly $24,000 to coordinate the previous administrative coordinator search. Fry was selected from a list of six finalists. Other finalists included then-Interim Sauk County Administrative Coordinator Brentt Michalek, city administrator Shawn Murphy, of Portage, recruitment firm associate Art Osten Jr., of Illinois, legislative auditor Daniel Elsass, of Illinois, and city manager David Nord, also of Illinois. Michalek filled in for nine months as the county sought a replacement for Schauf. He then signed a separation agreement with the county about three months after returning to his prior job as a department administrator. Michalek was paid nearly $25,000 to resign. His deal also prohibits him from speaking openly about his departure, the genesis of which has not been disclosed. Fry and Michalek are ineligible for reconsideration as administrative coordinator under terms of their buyouts. Also on Tuesday's agenda, Liebman is to lead a discussion about whether term limits can be imposed on the board's chair and vice chair. The agenda includes an opportunity for public comment. One of 2016s surprises in state politics was the sudden resignation of Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb near the end of the year. Or, as Madison Mayor Paul Soglin put it, Gottliebs forced resignation. Thats typically whats read into decisions to suddenly leave a high-profile government job, accompanied with the usual bromide, to spend more time with my family, as Gottlieb did Dec. 27. But clearly Gottlieb decided he wasnt going to take it anymore. His boss, Gov. Scott Walker, has become so politically transparent over his refusal to consider raising the gas tax or license fees that even Gottlieb, one of Walkers old Republicans pals, has had enough. Walker, after all, seldom considers the longtime health of the state when he decides to dig himself in. Hes convinced that his political future depends on preventing any tax increase on his watch no matter if bridges deteriorate even further or municipalities are forced to convert blacktop roads to gravel. The highway budget, albeit beset by increased gas mileage and fewer driver miles, resulting in less revenue, will have to do. And for projects that just cant wait, the governor will OK some more borrowing, kicking payments further down the road and letting some future governor figure it all out. The governor has famously said he would consider raising gas taxes if there were offsetting tax cuts somewhere else. In other words, take some money from school or municipal aids, health or social services, or conservation and environmental programs in the Department of Natural Resources to essentially pay for roads. Hes betting that kind of draconian decision-making wont hurt his future presidential ambitions among national Republicans. Its only the record of not raising taxes that counts. Gottlieb had been campaigning for budget help on transportation the past several years, but was slapped down by the governor. Finally, for this budget, he thew up his hands and supported the governors position, but was candid in letting everyone know that if help isnt on its way, 42 percent of the states highways will be in poor condition in just 10 years. Someone else, though, will need to carry the water for Scott Walker. Gottliebs seen enough. MADISON (AP) The Wisconsin Legislature begins the 2017-2018 session on Tuesday. Among the major issues its expected to address: DONALD TRUMP President-elect Donald Trumps victory in Wisconsin, albeit with lukewarm initial support from Gov. Scott Walker and other state Republicans, gives the GOP an opportunity to make major changes in policy it hasnt had in nearly 50 years. Walker and others have talked about seismic changes in funding affecting Medicaid, transportation and education, but with Trump as president other GOP initiatives that had been blocked in the state by President Barack Obamas administration like drug-testing of food stamp recipients could move ahead. And Walker is hoping Wisconsins hybrid approach to health care, which includes some elements of Obamas law, may serve as a model for what Trump and Congress does nationally. BUMPY ROAD AHEAD Road funding is the $1 billion elephant in the room. The Department of Transportation, at Walkers direction, proposes plugging a nearly $1 billion shortfall with a mix of more borrowing and delaying ongoing road expansion and improvement projects. But Assembly Republican leaders say other ideas, including tax and fee increases, should be in the mix. Walker, and other Republicans, say nuts to that. The issue has publicly divided Republicans and absent a solution that will make everyone happy, its likely to be one of the most contentious problems of the session. DIVIDE THE DNR? Just what the duties of the Department of Natural Resources will be, and how the agency that oversees air and water quality and wildlife management will be organized, is expected to be a major fight this session. The agency proposed its own reorganization, which Walker was expected to include in his budget. But a Republican lawmaker is also pushing for the DNR to be broken up, a move Walker said he is open to considering but that outdoor and recreational groups are fighting. UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN Walker is promising an increase in funding for UW after cutting it $250 million in the last budget. But he hasnt said whether it will be enough to pay for the salary increases UW is seeking. Walker says he wants to tie funding to performance, such as enrollment, students in high-demand areas, graduation rates and graduates gaining employment. There is also likely to be a struggle over what to do about tuition, with the university pushing for an increase after a four-year freeze. And then there are the Republican lawmakers who say they dont want to give UW any additional money as long as a course on racism titled The Problem of Whiteness is offered as planned this spring at the flagship Madison campus. K-12 SCHOOLS Walker is promising a sizeable increase in funding for K-12 public schools, raising the state-imposed limits on school district spending. Walker said he wants to make sure rural schools get more money, and public school advocates will be pushing back against any attempt to divert more spending to further expand the private school voucher or charter programs. Assembly Republicans also say one of their priorities is making sure every public school student has a laptop computer. PUBLIC ASSISTANCE SHAKEUP Walker has said his top priority will be putting more people to work. Part of that is likely to be focused on kicking people off public assistance sooner. Walker has talked about making public aid programs like food stamps a trampoline, not a hammock. For those who are physically and mentally capable of working, we have to find ways of transitioning them in to the workforce. PARK FEES Walker said he is likely to include some increases in state park entry and camping fees for a second budget in a row to help keep them self-sustaining. TAXES Walker is advocating for a $10 million sales tax holiday, where purchases on back-to-school supplies would not be subject to the sales tax. LINCOLN HILLS The FBI investigation into allegations of abuse at the Lincoln Hills juvenile prison is ongoing, with some calling for the facility located 30 miles north of Wausau to be closed. Walker has been cool to that idea. If criminal charges are filed this year it could force debate of the prisons future in the Legislature. ELECTIONS Some Republicans have talked about changing the states recount law to prevent candidates who have no chance from winning asking for a recount,as Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein did. Proposals to limit early voting times and locations, following a federal judges tossing of a state law that did just that, are also expected. BATHROOMS A proposal that failed last session barring transgender students from using the bathroom of the sex they identify with is expected to return. GUNS A bill allowing for the carrying of concealed weapons on school grounds was expected to return. REDISTRICTING A federal court in November threw out Republican-drawn legislative district boundaries, saying they amounted to unconstitutional gerrymandering that harmed Democrats. The question now is whether the Legislature will be forced to redraw the maps before the next round of elections in 2018. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide that. The League of Women Voters of Lincoln and Lancaster County is writing to express our opposition to the regulations proposed as the execution protocol for the state of Nebraska ("Testifiers say proposed execution protocol violates laws," Dec. 31). If the state is killing individuals in the name of the people of the state of Nebraska, the people of the state have the right to know what method and products will be used in their name. Omitting the names of the drugs to be used from the regulations and instead inserting the discretion of the Director of Corrections is excessive discretion and a lack of openness and accountability to the public. If the state is acting on behalf of the people, the people have a right to know what is being done, how it is being done and when it is being done. Twenty-four brave souls rang in the New Year by jumping into a seven-foot deep hole in Castle Rock Lake in New Lisbon for the Purple Plunge to raise money for the Juneau County Relay for Life Sunday afternoon. The event was hosted at the Dirty Turtle. Angela Locken, daughter of Turtle owners Jim and Shelia Marx, said the tradition originally known as the Turtle Dunk, started out 21 years ago as a dare. Four of us jumped the first year, and then the second year we decided we should make it a tradition and give it a purpose, Locken said. The tradition continued for 19 years, but two years ago Locken said they ran into some obstacles with insurance and couldnt continue with the event. Locken then suggested Juneau County Relay for Life, which raises money for the American Cancer Society, take over the event. Because of the transition, the event was held in March last year. But as 2017 approached, Locken wanted to keep with tradition having the event on New Years Day. This is when everyone knew it was, Locken said. People are out and about and this is a nice long weekend for people out of town. To keep with the New Years tradition, the event is held regardless of weather, but at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, Locken said it was a beautiful day to take the plunge. Weve had years its sleeting and we had one year where the ice wasnt frozen so we ran in, Locken said. Kevin Klinker of Mauston said there have been years when its below 0 and the ice sticks to your feet. But regardless, Klinker and his daughter Kayla do the event together every year as a part of their own father-daughter tradition to beat a disease that affects so many people. Everybody knows someone who has been affected by cancer, Klinker said who took the plunge for his brother Tim and wifes uncle Jimmy. I think its a great community event and its fun. Laura Braman and Lee Bushen of Tomah heard about the Purple Plunge on New Years Eve when they were at The Dirty Turtle and decided to participate. In their first time ever taking the plunge, Bushen said he was jumping for his grandmother and Braman said she was jumping for her mother, both who have passed away from cancer. The (American) Cancer Society is a great organization that helps people and families when their loved ones are going through cancer and treatments; (they) are a lot of support, Braman said. Those who didnt take the plunge could still participate by playing bingo, purchasing shirts and other merchandise, participating in the raffle, silent auction and chili cook off. As of Monday evening, the Purple Plunge raised $5,284, with First Weber Group Realtors matching the first $3,500 to equal a total of $8,784 to go towards the Juneau County Relay for Life. Wendy Staven, Community Manager for Juneau County Relay for Life, said the goal for 2017 is to raise $76,000 for the American Cancer Society. This gives us a nice foundation to start with, Staven said. According to the American Cancer Societys website, an estimated 1.6 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2016. Almost 33,000 of those cases are represented in the state of Wisconsin. With so many people affected every year, Locken said the Purple Plunge brings together everyone in the area, from local businesses to community members, to create a sense of community to fight for a cure. Every single person is affected by cancer whether they have it their family their friend, Locken said. We just want to find a cure, thats all we want. Wisconsin Assembly Republicans, with their largest majority since 1957, will focus on providing "honest, sustainable, long-term solutions" to problems in the upcoming legislative session, Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said Tuesday. The 64-member caucus hasn't decided which bill it will introduce first, but issues to tackle include transportation funding, tax reform, the school aid formula and workforce development, Vos told reporters before the Legislature held its inauguration ceremonies. Assembly Republicans need to do a better job this year of reaching out to constituents throughout the state to promote their legislative proposals and listen to ideas and concerns, Vos said. Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, said he hopes Vos will follow through with that commitment. The priorities named by Vos and Steineke include some areas that could earn bipartisan support, Barca said, but he added he "worries ... most" about things not being publicly proposed. "I think some of our best ideas for legislation come from our constituents," said Rep. Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit. "The more were out listening to them, the better for the state of Wisconsin." Vos said lawmakers need to do "everything we can" to fill the state's job openings, including helping prepare people who have been incarcerated, drug users or welfare recipients for employment. Another priority is revisiting the state's school aid formula currently based largely on per-pupil funding to adjust for declining enrollment in rural areas, Vos said. Coming to an agreement on how to fund the state's transportation projects continues to be a challenge, but Vos said he is "optimistic" Gov. Scott Walker will propose a transportation budget Assembly Republicans can support. However, if Walker doesn't make substantial changes to the initial proposal submitted by the Department of Transportation in September, "I think that's going to be a problem for our caucus," Vos said. "Its got to be a long-term sustainable funding formula," said Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna. Walker has vowed to veto any budget that includes increases to the state's gas tax or vehicle registration fees without a corresponding decrease elsewhere. "My hope is Gov. Walker stlil finds a way to reduce taxes and keep the pledge that he made," Vos said. "I think thats still possible." Vos and Steineke gave their takes on several other proposals likely to come up this session: Splitting the Department of Natural Resources in two: Rep. Adam Jarchow, R-Balsam Lake, has floated the idea of splitting the DNR into two agencies: one to handle hunting and fishing and another to oversee environmental regulatory issues. Vos said he hasn't seen a specific proposal, but he's generally open to it. "If the idea is to make sure that we have a more responsive agency in a way that does not harm the environment, I think its an idea thats worth looking at," he said. Campus carry: Rep. Jesse Kremer, R-Kewaskum, has said he plans to reintroduce legislation to allow concealed weapons to be carried on college campuses. University of Wisconsin-Madison students opposed to the idea have promised to protest it by carrying sex toys on campus. Vos said he's open to that proposal, too, but added he understands people have concerns about it. He said it's incumbent upon legislators to find support for any proposal from constituents throughout the state, not just from lawmakers in Madison. Kremer said he believes most people in Wisconsin would support the proposal, but that he could do more to explain to people what the legislation will contain. Medical marijuana: As more states vote to approve the use of medical marijuana, Vos said he'd like lawmakers to focus first on making sure CBD oil can be used for those who need it. Derived from marijuana plants, cannibidiol is used to treat children who suffer from seizures. The Legislature will likely also pass "right to try" legislation this year, giving terminally ill patients access to experimental treatments, Vos said. Vos said he doesn't "have a problem" with medicinal marijuana obtained through a prescription, but said he isn't open to making it available to anyone "willy nilly." Steineke said his fear in legalizing medicinal marijuana is that prescriptions could be written too broadly, veering into recreational use. Rep. Melissa Sargent, D-Madison, who has introduced proposals to legalize marijuana, said on Twitter the drug should be legalized and regulated. Raising admission and camping fees for state parks: The Department of Natural Resources has said this could be done to address a projected $1.4 million deficit. Vos said he has "no problem whatsoever" with a user-fee funded system, and feels the same way about paying for roads. Natural resources committee chairman Rep. Joel Kleefisch, R-Oconomowoc, is resistant to the idea. "The problem is not that there is not enough revenue, the problem is that there are not enough people enjoying Wisconsin's hunting and fishing heritage. If we help promote a climate that encourages new hunters and fishermen and women, the revenue shortfall goes away," Kleefisch said. That can be done by eliminating carcass tags, simplifying hunter safety education and introducing new hunters and fishers at a younger age, Kleefisch said. Wisconsin Senate Republicans will likely revisit a proposal to loosen regulations on high-capacity wells early in the upcoming legislative session, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said Tuesday. The bill died last session after the Senate and Assembly passed different versions of it. Fitzgerald said he expects the Legislature to pass the version approved by the Senate, he told reporters after the Legislature's inauguration ceremonies. The proposal from last session would have allowed high-capacity wells to be transferred, repaired or reconstructed without a new permit, under the conditions of its original permit. Current law requires prior approval from the state Department of Natural Resources to transfer or make changes to a high-capacity well. The Senate's version of the bill scrapped a provision that would allow someone harmed by another person's withdrawal of water to file a nuisance action against that person. That's one of several items of unfinished business Fitzgerald said will likely make their way back to the Senate calendar this session, including some economic development bills and a proposal that died in the Senate last year which would help parents access cannibidiol (CBD oil) for children who suffer seizures. Fitzgerald said he believes senators who disagreed over the CBD oil bill are on track to reach a compromise that would allow it to pass this session. Fitzgerald, who embraced President-elect Donald Trump's candidacy before many of his fellow Republicans in Wisconsin did, said he can't take the possibility of accepting a position in Trump's administration off the table. Nothing has been offered to him, he said, but he has had conversations with incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and is keeping the door open. The senator discussed several other issues likely to come before the Legislature in the coming session: Splitting the Department of Natural Resources in two: Rep. Adam Jarchow, R-Balsam Lake, has floated the idea of splitting the DNR into two agencies: one to handle hunting and fishing and another to oversee environmental regulatory issues. Fitzgerald said he has an "open ear" and is interested in hearing what Sens. Robert Cowles, R-Green Bay, and Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, think of the proposal. Federal Medicaid funding: After conversations with House Speaker Paul Ryan's office, Fitzgerald said he is "optimistic" there will be a shift in responsibility for Medicaid funding and implementation, regardless of whether that comes in the form of block grants to states. Transportation funding: It's worth "watching very closely" whether the federal government will send more money to states for infrastructure funding, a possibility floated by Trump, Fitzgerald said. In light of a new Department of Transportation study on the feasibility of tolling, Fitgzerald said the option shouldn't be taken off the table. However, he said, it would cost more than he had anticipated. Republican lawmakers and Gov. Scott Walker are at odds over how to fund the state's transportation projects. Walker has vowed to veto any budget that includes increases to the state's gas tax or vehicle registration fees without a corresponding decrease elsewhere, but Assembly Republicans say his administration's proposal is unsustainable. "That seems to be the model, that if youre going to have some increase in transportation, its got to be addressed in some other type of very specific tax cut," Fitzgerald said. Senate Republicans are looking at proposals that might fit into that category, but haven't had any specific discussions, he said. School aid formula: Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said Tuesday he'd like lawmakers to revisit the state's school aid formula currently based largely on per-pupil funding to adjust for declining enrollment in rural areas. But Fitzgerald said he's not sure that legislation could make it through both chambers of the Legislature, "unless ... there is a plan thats been crafted in a way you can garner enough support and work through a very difficult process of watching very closely the fallout from district to district." Medical marijuana: As more states vote to approve the use of medical marijuana, Vos said Tuesday he'd like lawmakers to focus first on making sure CBD oil can be used for those who need it. However, he said he is not personally opposed to medical marijuana obtained with a prescription. "He said that?" Fitzgerald responded when asked about Vos's comments. "No, Im not that far. I have no idea where the caucus would be. Im certainly not there personally," he said. Asked whether medical marijuana could be considered as a way to combat the state's opiate abuse epidemic, Fitzgerald said it's "just the opposite." "I think we need to continue to come up with tools that help law enforcement and to some extent maybe curtail the ability of medical professionals to prescribe (opiates)," he said. University of Wisconsin funding: Walker has said his budget will not cut UW funding, and has suggested the UW System could see an increase tied to performance-based metrics. Fitzgerald said each two-year budget cycle should be reviewed independently. "I dont buy into the idea that because there was a significant reduction in the amount of state aid that suddenly there needs to be a knee-jerk and lets bring that all back," he said. "Each time you must take that hard look." Campus carry: Rep. Jesse Kremer, R-Kewaskum, has said he plans to reintroduce legislation to allow concealed weapons to be carried on college campuses. University of Wisconsin-Madison students opposed to the idea have promised to protest it by carrying sex toys on campus. "That's a good example of a bill that probably, you may have to make changes to it to get the support, but certainly I think well take a look at that and probably tackle it earlier rather than later if we look at that," Fitzgerald said. The Affordable Care Act: If Republicans in Congress follow through in repealing the Affordable Care Act, Fitzgerald said Wisconsin will "wait and see" what happens as other state legislatures will. A primary concern, he said, is making sure people who are currently covered under the law continue to be taken care of and don't fall through the cracks. Donald Trump supporters didnt care when the fact checkers found he lied 60 percent (or more) of the time, so now that hes president-elect it will be interesting when they find out hes a con man. Trumps first appointment as the national security advisor is a retired general Colin Powell terms right-wing nutty. For attorney general, someone who was rejected for a judge because of his racist views and being anti-immigrants, and a Goldman Sachs media mogul as chief strategist who approves of white supremacists and anti-Jews (the Ku Klux Klan met and gave a Nazi salute, Heil, Trump). Betsy DeVos, as secretary of education, promotes private schools; and to head the CIA, Mike Pompeo, approves of waterboarding, falsely claiming it is constitutional. The man chosen for the Environmental Protection Agency denies climate change and would remove regulations on oil and coal. Trumps military advisors embrace a warfare state. His major assistants Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon call for corporate tax reductions and elimination of the estate tax only the rich pay. Barack Obama called back military equipment from domestic police, Trump plans to allow it. Trumps ego, his mentality and the personalities of those he selects will bring about fascism. Allegra Zick, North Freedom Wisconsins long-running flap over secretive John Doe proceedings got another chapter in December when Attorney General Brad Schimel announced he would convene a grand jury to investigate the leak of information from the John Doe to the Guardian U.S. newspaper. The leak detailed some of the dealings with businesses and conservative groups to coordinate political fundraising efforts, a practice that had been barred in the state for years until the Doe probe was ultimately dismissed by the state Supreme Court. Schimels grand jury announcement brought immediate criticism from state Democrats who asked why the attorney general was going after the Guardian leak, but ignoring the leak by Eric OKeefe, the director of the Wisconsin Club for Growth who was one of the targets of the John Doe probe. OKeefes leak on the investigation was made to the Wall Street Journal, which ran a piece attacking the probe on its editorial page. On the surface, it would seem that if the A.G. was going to investigate leaks of secret judicial proceedings, he would be bound to investigate them all. But Schimel said he was really puzzled by the criticism. Theres a very significant difference between the people were looking at (in the Guardian U.S. leak) and the individual who leaked to the Wall Street Journal, because thats a private citizen. The courts have no authority to order a private citizen to have a gag order on them, he said. Whether he is correct in that interpretation that a judge presiding over a John Doe proceeding can only direct investigators and the court to keep the results of the proceeding secret and not the targets remains to be seen. If that is the case, it would seem to us to negate much, if not all, of the purposes of the John Doe proceeding itself if witnesses called to testify or, in OKeefes case, who had records seized in raids were free to talk about it despite a court gag order. That would alert other potential targets of the investigation, potentially giving them a chance to flee or destroy evidence. But we have been highly critical of the use of John Doe proceedings in the state in the past and we are much in agreement with Schimels position when he told a Madison newspaper, How can you possibly tell a private citizen who feels theyve been wronged by government, that has invaded their home, taken their property and, more concerning, taken property that contains their thoughts and ideas, and they cant cry out and say, I was wronged? Thats incredible to me that anyone who has respect for our constitutional republic, and the First Amendment in particular, wouldnt get. Thats as bad as telling a reporter you cant report on something. You cant do that. Indeed, you cant. That would be a violation of the U.S. Constitution. We agree with Schimel wholeheartedly on that point. Were also in agreement with his sentiments on secret court proceedings and judicial gag orders. John Doe investigations are not new to the state in fact they date to the time when Wisconsin was a territory and not yet a state. What is remarkable is that they came about in order to protect citizens from arrest and imprisonment on frivolous and groundless suspicion, as the state Supreme Court noted in 1889. Up until then, it was common practice for a magistrate to issue a warrant for a citizen simply on the basis of suspicion even when there was no testimony against them. But what may have served the state in past, may not serve it so well today. Consider, too, that there is no requirement in state law that John Does be held in secret but, as a matter of course, that seems to be the case with most such proceedings these days. The John Doe probe involving Gov. Scott Walker ran on interminably for more than six years with, ultimately, little to show for it in terms of prosecutions. While the coordination between politicians and businesses and outside interests may have been illegal at one time, changing campaign finance laws made that murky and ultimately judged legal. Secrecy and gag orders in John Doe proceedings didnt serve the state well in the Walker probe and Wisconsin already has a grand jury system that is more than sufficient to fill the role. As we enter the year 2017, this might be a good time to end John Doe probes altogether. Police body cameras would restore public trust, proponents said. They would infuse transparency into the murky, complicated human interactions in which officers daily find themselves, they promised. They would be a hard defense against police abuse, they swore. So many promises. So little transparency to see it through. In the past two years, proponents of body cameras often police departments themselves made a lot of promises about the expensive, potentially invasive technology. But as last weeks denial of a Freedom of Information request by the city attorney in Bettendorf, Iowa proves, the promise of body cameras hinges on Iowa lawmakers commitment to presumed transparency. So far, theyve done nothing, opting instead to permit Iowas Freedom of Information Act to fall further out of date. The body camera problem is mounting throughout the country. Only six state legislatures have shown the grit to update FOIA to include the new technology. In almost all cases, state lawmakers often backed by the very same police unions that championed body cameras have gutted the promised transparency by all but fully exempting the footage from public view. In North Carolina, for instance, the move was in direct response to fervor over a police shooting of yet another young, black man ironic because its that very same issue that first propelled body cameras into the forefront of modern policing. Quashing public access superseded accountability. Iowa, on the other hand, has done nothing. In many respects, its no better than North Carolinas crackdown. Body cameras achieve their oft-stated purpose only if the public has access to questionable cases. Wisconsin also has taken no action to update its open records laws to address body camera footage. Make no mistake, theres very real privacy concerns surrounding the footage. Dash board footage is confined to a cruisers anterior view. Officers wearing body cameras catch significantly more intimate moments, often inside peoples homes, police regularly note. Clearly, any update to Iowas FOIA should include specific exemptions for these scenarios. It would have to exempt video integral to an active investigation. Thats all fair. But fostering a situation where body camera footage is, by default, shielded from public view is not. Illinois FOIA offers sweeping exemptions for body camera footage, which troubles many watchdogs. But, at the very least, it generally requires release following a police-involved shooting. Iowas FOIA should require the release of any video associated with a police-involved shooting. That requirement alone would compel Bettendorf to release last months shooting of a man wielding an airsoft-type toy weapon in Home Depot. It should require the release of any video related to founded allegations of an officers abuse of power. OMAHA Residents just south of Omaha are concerned that a highway project from Bellevue to Plattsmouth will create long-lasting issues. The Highway 75 construction involves bridge and pavement work to create a four-lane expressway and realign several roads to provide access to new interchanges. Residents in the Normandy Hills and Cedar View neighborhoods have had two entry points from the highway for years. But the intersections will be closed, and a single access road being built to the north will become the only way in and out of the area. Resident Sarah Hirz said she's worried about access to the neighborhoods, particularly for first responders and snow removal. "I understand the state has budget constraints," Hirz said. "But this is something I believe is going to impact property values, safety and health." Nebraska Department of Roads spokeswoman Vicki Kramer said the department and Sarpy County will provide emergency access through a locked gate. Kramer noted that local residents were consulted more than a decade ago, when the plans to close the roads went public. But residents said many of them did not live in the neighborhood a decade ago and that they weren't informed of the road closures when purchasing the homes. The construction project is expected to be completed in 2019. Sarpy County engineer Denny Wilson said the county will get a better idea of any necessary changes when the highway construction is complete, but until then it will be difficult to estimate safety issues in the area. Wilson said if it's decided that another entrance is needed, then it could take more than six years until resources make it possible. Hirz is convinced that another entrance to the neighborhood won't ever be built. "The thing that bothers me is that the human factor is missing in the equation," she said. RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. provides reinsurance and insurance products around the world. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Bermuda with offices in Ireland, Australia, Switzerland, Singapore, and the US. The company operates through two segments that include multiple underlying businesses and investment vehicles. The two main segments are Property and Casualty & Specialty. The company operates through intermediaries that include DaVinci Resinsurance Inc, Top Layer Reinsurance LTD, and RennaisanceRe Syndicate 1458 among others. Top Layer Re is the first major venture and was started in 1999. It is a joint venture with State Farm targeting high layers of the US reinsurance business. DaVinci Re was formed in the wake of 9/11 to assist with capacity and it was given added capacity in the wake of hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Medici was formed in 2009 and is an open-ended fund intended to spur investment in the catastrophe bond market. The Property segment writes catastrophic insurance policies to insure insurance and reinsurance companies against natural and man-made catastrophes. These include but are not limited to hurricanes, floods, freezes, and terrorism. The Casualty & Specialty segment provides a wide range of consumer products including business insurance, malpractice insurance, liability insurance, workers' compensation, mortgage insurance, and health insurance among others. Among RenaissanceRes Specialty businesses is capital management. The firm offers 6 investment vehicles and has more than $11 billion under management making it the #1 ILS or insurance-linked asset manager in the US. In regards to its credit ratings, the firm and all of its vehicles carry an A or better rating from every credit rating agency. MSCI Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides investment decision support tools for the clients to manage their investment processes worldwide. It operates through four segments: Index, Analytics, ESG and Climate, and All Other - Private Assets. The Index segment provides indexes for use in various areas of the investment process, including indexed product creation, such as ETFs, mutual funds, annuities, futures, options, structured products, over-the-counter derivatives; performance benchmarking; portfolio construction and rebalancing; and asset allocation, as well as licenses GICS and GICS Direct. The Analytics segment offers risk management, performance attribution and portfolio management content, application, and service that provides an integrated view of risk and return, and an analysis of market, credit, liquidity, and counterparty risk across asset classes; managed services, including consolidation of client portfolio data from various sources, review and reconciliation of input data and results, and customized reporting; and HedgePlatform to measure, evaluate, and monitor the risk of hedge fund investments. The ESG and Climate segment provides products and services that help institutional investors understand how ESG factors impact the long-term risk and return of their portfolio and individual security-level investments; and data, ratings, research, and tools to help investors navigate increasing regulation. The All Other - Private Assets segment includes real estate market and transaction data, benchmarks, return-analytics, climate assessments and market insights for funds, investors, and managers; business intelligence to real estate owners, managers, developers, and brokers; and offers investment decision support tools for private capital. It serves asset owners and managers, financial intermediaries, wealth managers, real estate professionals, and corporates. MSCI Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in New York, New York. Dear Doctor: We live near a freeway with a lot of traffic. Do I need to be worried about my kids developing asthma? Dear Reader: This is a valid question. Cars release a number of small particles into the air that can irritate the lungs. This particulate matter, in addition to nitric oxide and black carbon, has been associated with asthma. Children are more vulnerable to the effects of pollution because their lungs and immune system are still developing. An analysis of many studies, published in the journal Allergy, found a significant association between traffic-related air pollution and asthma. The association was seen as early as the age of 1 and increased as the child became older. The rise in asthma as kids get older seems to be related both to structural changes that pollution creates in the lungs and also to the extent of time that older children spend outside compared to younger children. One other important aspect of asthma is that it can be exacerbated by stress. Noise pollution and the danger of cars in close proximity may worsen asthma symptoms in children because they can create a more stressful environment. This is an important factor if your child already has asthma. A recent study in Minnesota evaluated the number of asthma cases in the emergency room, in the hospital and in a clinical setting. The researchers then looked at the proximity of people to a major source of traffic. After taking poverty out of the equation, which is in itself a risk factor for asthma, the researchers found that, as traffic density increased, so did the number of asthma exacerbations, or worsening of asthma symptoms. In this study, for every 10 percent increase in traffic density, there was a 15 percent increase in asthma-related visits to the emergency room, hospital or outpatient clinic. Clearly, if you have a child with asthma, moving him or her away from traffic would indeed reduce the chance of a severe asthma attack. I understand your concern. It is also a societal concern. Despite the evidence linking pollution to asthma, the levels of pollutants that are associated with an increased risk of asthma are well below the guidelines from the World Health Organization. This doesn't mean that if you live near a freeway, you have to move. The majority of children who live near a freeway do not get asthma. But if your child is already showing signs of asthma at a young age, then moving to an area with fewer pollutants is perhaps something you should consider, if it is at all possible. It took many years for our society to accept the ills of secondhand smoke from cigarettes. When it did, smoking was then banned from many public places, even casinos. It is more difficult to ban housing near freeways or heavily trafficked areas, especially when that housing already exists. RACINE Racine Lutheran High School has created the Racine Lutheran High School Veterans Project to honor the alumni who served in the U.S. Armed Forces. As a school community, we are proud to recognize and remember our graduates who gave selfless service to our country, said Dave Burgess, Racine Lutheran High School executive director. We are truly humbled that two special veterans have chosen to partner with us to honor our military alumni. According to Burgess, the project began many months ago at the class of 1965s 50th reunion. Classmates Bruce Canny and David Nass, both veterans, reconnected and briefly discussed how war had affected them. During the ensuing weeks, Canny shared a poem, Vietnam, They Ask, So What Was It Like? which he wrote about his tour of duty in the former Republic of Vietnam. The poem had already appeared nationwide, including as part of the Highground Veterans Memorial Park exhibit near Neillsville. The dynamics of the poem struck a chord with Nass, and he used his musical talents to transform the poem into a powerful piece titled Good-Bye, Good-Bye. The pair hopes to bring their journey full circle and honor other Racine Lutheran High School veterans who gave so unselfishly over the years. The Racine Lutheran High School Veterans Project plaque will be unveiled during a dedication ceremony on May 19. All are welcome to attend, and details will be released in the spring. The school is seeking assistance in gathering the names of former students who served for their enlistment term (or were shortened due to injuries) in peace or war, as well as those who were wounded, killed in action or died as a result of wounds sustained while serving our country. Information can be sent to Racine Lutheran High School, 251 Luedtke Ave., Racine, WI 53405, or emailed to klong@RacineLutheran.org. Include name of veteran and year of graduation, branch of service, duty station U.S. or other, years of service and WIA, KIA, POW, if applicable. Limited copies of the Good-Bye, Good-Bye CD are available through the school for $10. Proceeds benefit the Racine Lutheran High School Veterans Project, and donations are welcome. The poem and other information is available at www.RacineLutheran.org or by calling 262-637-6538. RACINE COUNTY Less than a year after completing a film about special-needs children, local filmmaker Joey Papa is hoping to use his skills to help another voiceless population: foster kids. Papa is calling the short documentary (un)wanted, and with it he is hoping to shine a light on the growing shortage of foster homes in southeastern Wisconsin. The shortage has meant that counties have had to ship some foster kids out of the county to ensure they have a place to live. A public speaker and self-described media maker, Papa, 37, first learned about the crisis from Heather Lojeski. Longtime foster parents Heather and Mark Lojeski created the nonprofit Faith, Hope & Love about four years ago. The organization helps kids in crisis, like foster children, by providing them with duffel bags filled with comfort items and personal care products. As Papa, a father of four, learned more about the situation, he realized something needed to be done to encourage more families to open their homes to foster children. I was getting upset that I didnt know this stuff, Papa said Friday. So, I was like, I have to do something about that all too often, we live with an individual mindset. For myself I always thought Oh, the foster system, theyre just taking care of it. But the foster system doesnt work without the community. Home matters The documentary will cast a wide net, taking a look at the crisis in counties across southeastern Wisconsin. Here in Racine County, Kerry Milkie, longtime manager for Racine County Human Services Youth and Family Division, is hoping the film will draw more local people to become foster parents. The past two years have been some of the most difficult for finding foster homes here. We have not seen this type of shortage in a long time. I cant recall a time where we have had a difficulty placing an infant. And I currently have difficulties placing infants. I have always had difficulty placing older children, but it has become almost impossible to place teenagers in foster care, Milkie said. In addition, because of the shortage, Milkies division has had to utilize foster homes outside the county. The kids placed outside the county included more than a dozen sibling groups. The kids had to be placed out of the county to make sure the siblings were kept together. The problem is that taking kids out of the county just creates more disruption, Milkie said. It is already traumatic to remove them from their homes, she said. If you add on that we have, in essence, eliminated their school and their school friends it becomes a very traumatic issue. For its part, the county has formed a task force to help develop a sustainable recruitment plan for foster parents. The film The documentary is being produced by Papa and is sponsored by Faith, Hope & Love, and the Canaan Foundation. This spring Papa finished In the Land of Canaan, a feature-length documentary chronicling the life of his daughter Canaan, who died in October 2015 at age 3 1/2, and the lives of other families with special-needs children. After the movie was finished, Papa created the Canaan Foundation as a way to advocate for other children who dont have a voice. Once (un)wanted is done he plans to make it available to anyone interested in advocating for the foster care system. Thats why the name of the documentary is (un)wanted, Papa said. Obviously the kids are wanted by someone out there, but the message we are sending them when there is no home for them to go to is youre unwanted. Papa plans to start pre-production later this month with hopes of a spring release. Those interested in donating to the project or learning more about it can find information on the films Kickstarter page: tiny.cc/unwantedthefilm. LAKE GENEVA A downtown Lake Geneva resort was evacuated early Tuesday morning after a fire was discovered on the resorts roof. The Lake Geneva Fire Department was dispatched to the parking lot of The Cove of Lake Geneva, 111 Center St., at 5:23 a.m. Tuesday for a strong odor of natural gas, according to a release issued by the Lake Geneva Fire Department. After completing a systematic and thorough investigation, firefighters discovered elevated levels of gas, but were unable to identify a source. The gas company was also dispatched, the release stated. While crews continued their investigation, the automatic fire alarm began to sound. The hotel was then evacuated while firefighters reported to the area of the fire alarm. A fire on the roof in a heating and air conditioning unit was discovered and was extinguished with dry chemical extinguishers. The damage was limited to the HVAC unit, the release stated. A high-occupancy building like the Cove always has life safety issues when there is a fire, Capt. Mark Moller-Gunderson, public information officer of the Lake Geneva Fire Department, said in a statement. The Cove is the largest resort in the city. It has five swimming pools and numerous rooms. We are fortunate that we had crews already on scene when the fire alarm sounded. With the help of maintenance staff from the Cove, we were able to quickly gain access to the roof, locate the fire, and extinguish it before the fire spread to the rest of the building. Were glad that no one was hurt and that the Cove could return to operation. The cause and origin are under investigation and no injuries were reported. Guests were back in their rooms at 8 a.m., the release stated. MADISON Legislators convene Tuesday in the state Capitol with the biggest Republican majorities in generations and no shortage of problems to solve. While the battle over roads funding has received the most attention, funding for schools, the future of long-term health care programs, the state Department of Natural Resources and a variety of other issues could also be determined in the coming months. Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget will be released in February and provide the first clues of the debates that will come in 2017. Before that, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos expects most of the action will be in committees, with hearings to gauge public perception on various ideas. Education funding a priority The Legislature comes back into session with Republicans once again in complete control, only with even bigger majorities than they had last time around. The GOP maintains a 64-35 advantage in the state Assembly after gaining one seat in the November election, the party's largest majority since 1957. Republicans control the state Senate 20-13 after knocking off one Democratic incumbent, and they occupy the governor's mansion for at least the next two years. What will they do with that power? For one, they say they will boost funding for education after cutting $250 million for the University of Wisconsin System in 2015 while keeping aid to K-12 schools flat. "Probably the highest priority for the Legislature will be increasing funding for education, from kindergarten to 12th grade and the university system," Vos, R-Rochester, said in an interview. At a Racine Area Manufacturers and Commerce breakfast last month, state Rep. Cory Mason said increased funding for higher education is crucial to developing good workers. "We simply cannot have a workforce we need if we don't increase some of the funding to places like Gateway Technical College and to the UW System, which has taken more than its fair share of cuts in the last few years," said Mason, D-Racine. Congress a factor One of the biggest battles of the last budget cycle was over the state's long-term health care programs, like Family Care and IRIS. A proposal to move away from nonprofit providers and to for-profit insurance companies was dropped in June after loud opposition. Vos said many decisions on long-term care will be influenced by how Congress handles the Affordable Care Act and "if they decide to send money back to the states for us to make our own decisions." Republicans, who now control all branches of the federal government, have promised to repeal Obamacare and replace it with something else, though details are sketchy. "I take them at their word that they're going to use the idea of federalism, which means more power devolves back to the states," Vos said. Meanwhile, the speaker was open but cautious about an idea floated in December to split up the DNR. According to media reports, the environmental and wildlife functions would be split into two separate departments, while other duties such as forestry and parks would go to other agencies. "If it makes the DNR more responsive to taxpayers and job creators while still protecting the environment, I would be open to doing it," said Vos, who added he is waiting for more details. "If it just creates two bureaucracies, well then, we'd have to take a look at it." DOT talks loom Roads funding still looms as the largest upcoming budget battle, with Vos and Assembly Republicans at odds with Walker and state Department of Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb set to resign. Walker has proposed borrowing $500 million and delaying major projects in the face of a nearly $1 billion transportation shortfall. Vos and others say the state should consider options to raise revenue, like raising the gas tax or registration fees ideas the governor has rejected. Racine County leaders also have denounced Walker's plan for including no money for local Interstate 94 construction. China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page Oscar Hancock, owner of American Beauty Signworks in Woonsocket, is busy in his shop on New Year's Eve day, preparing to deliver this Happy New Year sign for a politician's New Year's Eve party in North Kingstown. Happy New Year everybody and all the best in the New Year! Chinese coal miner to invest in UK's Hinkley project 03 January 2017 Share The shareholders of Chinese coal miner Wintime Energy have approved its proposed investment in Hinkley Point C - EDF and China General Nuclear's project to build two European Pressurised Water reactors (EPRs) in Somerset, England. Wintime Energy, known as Wing Tai Energy in Chinese, announced its plan to invest up to three billion yuan ($440 million) in HPC through a wholly owned subsidiary of New Energy, Huayuan New Energy, on 13 December. In a statement on 31 December, Shanxi-based Wintime said the agreement between China Guangdong Nuclear Power, China Nuclear Power, Yongtai Energy and Huayuan New Energy had been approved at an extraordinary shareholders meeting three days earlier by representatives of China Nuclear Power, Zhongtai Holding, Yongtai Energy, Huayuan New Energy and Yi Sheng Company. The agreement was published at the Shanghai Stock Exchange on 13 December, it added. In November, Wintime and China General Nuclear signed a framework agreement to form a partnership aimed at developing nuclear power and other clean energy projects worldwide. The two companies will initially develop two AP1000 units at Lufeng in China's Guangdong province. EDF plans to invest 12 billion in Hinkley Point C and its Chinese partner CGN committed at the end of 2015 to invest 6 billion. Under a Strategic Investment Agreement announced in October that year, EDF's share in the project will be 66.5% and CGN's will be 33.5%. EDF and CGN are also working together on EPR projects in China, with two units under construction at Taishan in Guangdong province via the Taishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture they established in 2008. First concrete was poured for the nuclear island of unit 1 in October 2009, the dome was placed on the reactor building to mark its completion two years after. The placing of the dome on the reactor building of unit 2 followed in September 2012. EDF Energy CEO Vincent de Rivaz said in November last year that the two EPRs under construction at Taishan in China were about to start their commissioning phase with hot functional tests. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics GE Hitachi to dismantle Oskarshamn units 03 January 2017 Share US-based GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) has been awarded a three-year contract to dismantle the reactor internals of units 1 and 2 at the Oskarshamn nuclear power plant in Sweden. Oskarshamn units 1 and 2 (Image: OKG) Under a contract signed with plant operator OKG AB on 19 December, Wilmington, North Carolina-based GEH will segment the reactor pressure vessel internals of both units. The work includes dismantling, cutting and packing the reactor internals for final disposal. Segmentation of the reactor internals of Oskarshamn 2 is scheduled to begin in January 2018, with that of unit 1 set for 2019. The segmentation project is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2020. Lance Hall, executive vice president of GEH's nuclear services business, said today: "This is a breakthrough project for us in the decommissioning space in Europe and we look forward to drawing upon the many resources of the 'GE Store', including the depth of the global supply chain of GE and the former Alstom power businesses to deliver superior safety and cost efficient performance for our customer." German utility EOn - the major shareholder in OKG - decided in October 2015 that Oskarshamn 1 and 2 will be shut down permanently. Unit 3 is unaffected by the decision. At that time it said unit 1 would close between 2017 and 2019, there would be no future investments at unit 2 and the reactor will not be restarted. Last February, OKG announced the decision to shut down Oskarshamn 1 in conjunction with a planned outage at the end of June 2017. Oskarshamn 1, a 473 MWe boiling water reactor (BWR), started up in 1972, while Oskarshamn 2 is a 638 MWe BWR which began operating in 1974. Oskarshamn 3 is a 1400 MWe BWR which began operating in 1985. "One condition required in order for Oskarshamn unit 3 to be able to produce climate-efficient electricity until the year 2045 is that we perform the decommissioning activities at units 1 and 2 in a safe and cost-efficient manner," said OKG managing director Johan Dasht. "One of the milestones of this work has now been reached with the signing of this contract." Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics Mozambique is a South African country located to the south of Tanzania. Mozambique has a good supply of rivers most of which are shared with the neighboring countries. These rivers are home to a variety of species amphibians and provide water for domestic and commercial purposes such as generation of hydro-electric power. The river systems and basins support some ecosystems which are vital to the existence of various plant and animal species. Human activities and climate change have hurt these rivers in the recent years. Major Rivers Of Mozambique Zambezi River The Zambezi River is the longest river covering a length of 1,599 miles. The Zambezi flows from the Miombo woodlands of Zambia through Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and finally flows through Mozambique before draining into the Indian Ocean. The river system provides a home to some animal species such as hippopotamus, elephants, monitor lizards, the pelican egret, heron, and the African eagle. It is also home to some endemic fish species such as cichlids, catfish, tigerfish, and yellow fish. The river is highly polluted threatening the species dependent upon the river system. Other problems include damming in Mozambique and Zambia section leading to reduced flow of water downstream and the release of untreated sewage which has resulted in eutrophication and spread of waterborne diseases. Limpopo River The Limpopo River is the second largest river in Mozambique with its source in South Africas Witwatersrand. The river has a length of 1087miles and flows through South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique before draining into the Indian Ocean. The river has a slow rate of flow due to siltation in the rivers bed. The main tributary of the Limpopo is river Oliphants. The upper course of the river flows through the Kalahari Desert. The lower course of the river has fertile soils that support agriculture and human settlement. The floodplains of the river are used for cashew nut and rice cultivation. Limpopos biodiversity includes bull shark, bi-coloured rock python, hippopotamus and the Rakwena crocodile. The Limpopo is on a gradual decrease in its flow due to dry conditions in its source, excessive evaporation and riparian consumption by the riparian vegetation. Ruvuma River The Ruvuma River is shared between Mozambique and Tanzania with a total length of 497miles with its source in the Matagoro Mountains of Tanzania and its mouth in the Indian Ocean. The main tributary for the Ruvuma is the Lugenda River. The people along the course of the Ruvuma rely on its waters for domestic and agricultural use. Clearing of trees along the course of the Ruvuma River has led to the slow drying up of the river. Water policies have been enacted to promote sustainable use of the water resource. Importance Of Rivers To Mozambique The people of Mozambique rely on rivers for food and water for domestic and agricultural purposes. Rivers flowing through Mozambique provide an important freshwater resource. Other economic uses of the river include generation of hydro-electric power and transport along the navigable sections. Other rivers within Mozambique include the Olifants, Komati, Shire, Pungwe, Mazowe, Save, and Ligunda. Due to the significant role of these rivers, measures, as well as international agreements with neighboring countries, have been established to protect these natural resources. RACINE COUNTY Because of a contract dispute between DIRECTV and Hearst Television, some Racine county residents discovered over the weekend that they had lost access to WISN-TV, southeastern Wisconsin's ABC affiliate. That affected their access to shows such as"Modern Family" and "The Bachelor." According to DIRECTV's website, Hearst is preventing the signal from reaching homes with DIRECTV "unless they receive a significant increase in fees." Hearst owns stations in 28 markets nationwide, including Milwaukee, Des Moines and Columbus. The blackout reportedly went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Sunday. Subscribers in the Milwaukee market, which includes all of Racine County and eight other counties, received an error message from DIRECTV explaining the situation when they switched to the channel. "The owner of this channel has removed it from the DIRECTV line-up despite our repeated requests to keep it available to you," the message reads. "Please visit DirectvPromise.com for the latest and most accurate information on this station's return." Last week, WISN posted an article on its website that said that DIRECTV and Hearst had "reached an impasse" in their contract renewal negotiations. The article claims that DIRECTV wants to broadcast WISN-12 and other stations at "below market rates" and refers to those demands as "neither fair nor reasonable." "We regret the inconvenience DirecTVs demands have caused its subscribers, and we will keep you fully informed of developments," the article stated. Caledonia DIRECTV subscriber Lori Johnson-Dorgay expressed her frustration at the impasse. "This crap just ticks me off," she said. "When will it be resolved? We pay dearly for this service." The WISN article clarifies that Hearst has not blacked out WISN, and that the station is still available "over the air." DIRECTV confirms this on its website. "Every Milwaukee station owner like Hearst Television is responsible for delivering a strong digital signal across the entire local community, so many customers should be able to receive it by simply using the internal tuner inside of their digital TV set," the website reads. "You may also be able to improve your reception with an inexpensive tabletop antenna available through most local electronics stores." As for when the dispute will be resolved and WISN returned to subscribers, Hearst didn't offer a timeline on WISN's website. DIRECTV claimed that the station will be returned within moments of Hearst granting them permission. "We believe business-to-business discussions are best conducted in a conference room and not in the public domain," DIRECTV's website reads. "We asked Hearst Television to allow our customers to keep watching WISN while we try to finalize this behind-the-scenes business agreement, but they refused." A young man wanted to make a point about racism in the United States, but his plan backfired when he was exposed for a liar by police. 20-year-old Khalil Cavil of Texas was working at the Saltgrass Steak House in Odessa when he claimed he was discriminated against because of his Muslim name. Cavil took Plans to Colocate Health & Criminal Justice Substance Misuse Services in One Building This article is old - Published: Tuesday, Jan 3rd, 2017 Plans have been put forward to combine two substance misuse services in one facility on the outskirts of the town centre. In an application submitted on behalf of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board it has been proposed that Health and Criminal Justice Substance Misuse Services (SMS) in Wrexham are housed in the same building. Currently Health SMS is provided at The Elms on Rhosddu Road with Hafod providing services for Criminal Justice 150m away on Grosvenor Road. If the plans go ahead both services would be housed at the Rhosddu Road facility. Details provided within the application documents state that the proposals to combine the two services at The Elms will create an integrated working partnership that best serves the interests and end goals of the clients in a single setting. The document continues onto say: The colocation of services to one setting will enhance the service user journey through services from treatment to recovery and allow closer collaborative working between the two services. This will reduce the number of visits required by service users, by appointments for each service will be synchronised or combined into one appointment, therefore reducing footfall in the immediate vicinity. To accomodate the colocation of services the application also proposes that ground floor extension is built at The Elms which would be occupied by current staff and service users that use The Elms and Hafod. The applications Design and Access Statement explains: It is not intended to increase numbers currently being supported between the two sites but to make it more attractive for people to engage with services and produce more positive outcomes. The collocated services will manage a combined caseload of approximately 500 to 600 service users, all of which are residents in Wrexham County Borough. Alternative locations such as a business park on the outskirts of town and the Wrexham Maelor Hospital were considered as two options for the services, however it was concluded moving such services away from the town would create a barrier to access. Concerns were also raised that the lack of access / moving away from the town centre would result in service users dropping out of treatment. The Design and Access Statement continues onto say: Wrexham is a vibrant town with a bright future. By combining these services into one location more effective support can be given to the clients with the end goal of increaing the numbers of cluents who return to a substance free life, reduicng the impact of substance misuse on the local community and making Wrexham a more attractive place by better tackling this major cause of antisocial behaviour. The application will be decided by Wrexhams planning committee at a later date. *Picture Google Maps After watching their parties install historically big majorities Tuesday, Republican leaders of the state Assembly and Senate pledged to pursue an ambitious conservative agenda while also diverging on key issues for the upcoming legislative session. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald outlined their priorities for the upcoming 2017-18 session, agreeing to consider toll roads to boost transportation funding and a breakup of the state Department of Natural Resources into smaller agencies. But the two also were notably apart on key issues like how to fund school districts and the University of Wisconsin System for the two years starting July 1 and the possibility of medical marijuana being legalized in Wisconsin. The GOP now controls the executive and legislative branches of state and federal government for the first time in nearly five decades, and Republicans now hold near-unprecedented majorities in the Capitol, with a 64-35 seat majority in the Assembly the largest since 1957 and 20-13 in the Senate the biggest since 1971. Assembly leaders and Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, on Tuesday were optimistic about the prospect of President-elect Donald Trump and a GOP-controlled Congress devolving government functions back to the states. Were obviously excited about the prospects of more power being distributed or devolved back to the states, said Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna. Thats something that we look forward to. Vos, R-Rochester, also said he plans to do a better job of ensuring broad public support exists for controversial proposals like allowing concealed carry permit holders to bring weapons to college campuses before the bills hit the floor. Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, said the pledge was welcome news but expressed skepticism all legislation would be passed with more public support given the way Republicans have pushed significant changes through in the past. I think it would be fantastic, said Barca. If they hold true to their commitment. Vos pledge comes as the GOP has kept its control of state government for six years, during which lawmakers have passed a number of sweeping changes notably Gov. Scott Walkers signature law known as Act 10, which all but eliminated collective bargaining for most public employees and enacting a right-to-work law. Barca said if history is any guide, Republican lawmakers are not talking about the biggest measures they will pass this session. Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, called for increased education funding and policies to strengthen the middle class. Campus carry Vos pledge for more transparency and to find broad public support for legislation came when asked by reporters on Tuesday whether he supports controversial legislation that would allow concealed carry permit holders to bring weapons to college campuses. I think its incumbent upon the legislators who have an idea to spread across the state, find people to support it, get groundswells of support to bring an idea here, not just convince a bunch of people in our caucus to pass a bill without making sure the public is where we are, said Vos on Tuesday. Fitzgerald said GOP senators would take a look at campus carry legislation but was noncommittal about its odds of passage. Vos said hes open to the idea, but that the caucus hasnt discussed it. Rep. Jesse Kremer, R-Kewaskum, introduced the bill last legislative session but it failed to get a hearing and drew significant opposition from college students and faculty. The Republican lawmaker has said in recent months he would like to bring the proposal back, prompting opposition on the UW-Madison campus. On Tuesday, Kremer said it was not his first priority. This bill itself campus carry isnt something Ive even been promoting the last few weeks, Kremer said. Its something UW has been doing a great job of promoting for me. Kremer said if the legislation comes forward this session he will make sure he has enough support, but that members of his caucus are already discussing other bills related to the Second Amendment. Kremer noted that the previous piece of legislation addressing concealed carry on college campuses went through the Speakers office. He said he had supporters ready to testify on the bill, but a hearing was not scheduled. School funding Also Tuesday, to reporters and in a speech to the Assembly, Vos said a top priority for the upcoming session is to revise the way the state funds school districts. But Fitzgerald said such an effort wouldnt be successful. The age-old discussion around here has been trying to change the school aid formula, said Fitzgerald. But because that doesnt seem like something that is going to happen the reality of getting that piece of legislation through either house, I think, would be very difficult. Vos said because more than half of school districts are experiencing losses in enrollment, the current way the state sends schools money on a per pupil basis isnt working. He said he plans to convene a committee to look at ways to change school funding but didnt commit to the change taking place this legislative session. We just need to step back and not rush into a quick solution, said Vos. State Superintendent Tony Evers has proposed several times to revise the states funding formula, also in part to address declining enrollment and school districts finances, but Republicans have rejected his proposal in the past. Evers said he looks forward to the work. Its very difficult to make changes fundamental changes in the funding system during a budget and having some time to think through some good ideas is appropriate and I agree with him, Evers said. Transportation funding Fitzgerald expressed skepticism at the odds of passing a gas-tax increase in the Senate an option Vos has stressed should be on the table to resolve the states transportation-funding short- fall. Gas tax, I just dont have a handle on that right now, whether or not thats palatable, Fitzgerald said. I certainly have an idea that the caucus is somewhat divided on that. Walker has said any tax increase would need to be offset by a tax cut of equal size elsewhere in the budget. Fitzgerald said Tuesday that seems to be the model for any plan to boost transportation fees and taxes in the upcoming session. He added that implementing toll roads the subject of a recent Department of Transportation study should be considered as a long-term option. Vos previously indicated he would consider that option as well. Medical marijuana Vos also said on Tuesday that he isnt personally opposed to legalizing medical marijuana, but that his caucus is instead focused on passing right-to-try legislation, which would allow people with terminal illnesses to gain access to experimental drugs and getting Senate approval for a bill that would allow parents to purchase CBD oil, a marijuana extract, to treat epileptic children with limited options for treatment. Fitzgerald said lawmakers in the Senate may have found compromise in passing a bill allowing use of CBD oil, but also said hes not eager to consider legalizing medical marijuana. I wouldnt support it right now, Fitzgerald said, adding that he has no idea where (GOP senators) would be on the issue. Breaking up the DNR Vos and Fitzgerald both said they are open to the idea of breaking up the DNR, spreading oversight of parks, forestry, environmental, hunting and fishing programs among three existing agencies and two new ones. If the idea is to make sure we have a more responsive agency in a way that does not harm the environment, I think its worth looking at, Vos said. Contact Molly Beck at 608-252-6135 or mbeck@madison.com and Mark Sommerhauser at 608-252-6122 or msommerhauser@madison.com. The 115th US Congress assembles in Washington today, with the ceremonial swearing in of new senators by outgoing Vice President Joe Biden, and the swearing in of the entire House of Representatives by House Speaker Paul Ryan. For the first time in a decade, the Republican Party will be in control of the House and Senate alongside a Republican president, Donald Trump, set to be inaugurated January 20. The new government being formed in the US capital is like nothing that has ever been seen in Washington. It carries the reactionary policies of the Obama administration and previous Congresses, whether under Democratic or Republican control, to new political depths. The incoming Congress, working with the Trump administration, is preparing an assault on whatever remains of social programs implemented under the New Deal and the Great Society. The true content of Trumps call to Make America Great Again is to roll back social conditions for the working class to those that existed at the end of the 19th century--the era of child labor, unlimited working hours and robber barons. Entire federal departments such as Education, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency have been turned over to right-wing ideologues committed to scrapping all restraints on business operations and ending all protections for workers, consumers and those who need social services. Trump set the tone for the week at a New Years Eve party at his luxury estate at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, where he toasted his well-heeled guests with the promise that the new Trump administration would lower your taxes, cut regulations and repeal Obamacare, to thunderous applause. The taxes to be lowered will be those of the super-rich. The regulations to be abolished are those that restrict in any way the operations of big business and the financial swindling of Wall Street, at the expense of working people. In calling for a repeal of Obamacare, Trump is demagogically appealing to broadly felt popular opposition to the program, which is seen as a boondoggle for health insurance companies, pharmaceutical conglomerates and giant hospital chains. But the actual content of his proposals will be to slash subsidies included in Obamacare as sweeteners while using revisions of the program to make substantial inroads into Medicare and Medicaid, the health insurance programs for the elderly, disabled and poor. Despite Trumps promises during the election campaign to replace Obamacares hated individual mandate and provisions that limit the choice of doctors and hospitals with something great, there is not the slightest effort in that direction. On the contrary, the Republican-controlled Congress will make the repeal of Obamacare the starting point for moves to privatize Medicaid, Medicare, the Childrens Health Insurance Program and other federal healthcare programs. According to press reports Monday, the congressional Republican leadership plans to make repeal of Obamacare the first legislative action of the new session of Congress, although the timing is still uncertain because of the complexities of the law, enacted in 2010. Obedient to the financial interests involved, the House and Senate Republican leaders aim to repeal Obamacare in a way that does not damage the profits that corporations have begun to reap from the program. This likely means that repeal of the individual mandate, which compels millions to buy private insurance or pay an increasingly stiff tax penalty, will be pushed back, lest it abruptly deprive the insurance companies of paying customers. The planned repeal of Obamacare will proceed in several stages, beginning with passage of a budget resolution that will include so-called reconciliation rules that require only a 51-vote majority in the Senate, rather than the 60 votes required to overcome the expected Democratic filibuster. Because the reconciliation process is limited to fiscal provisions that impact the budget, the actual dismantling of healthcare.gov and the federal exchange through which more than 10 million people have purchased insurance will require winning the support of at least eight Senate Democrats. The same procedure applies to rolling back the expansion of Medicaid, which extended the federal health insurance program for the poor to an additional 10 million lower-income working class families. Congressional Republicans have vowed to combine Obamacare repeal with far-reaching attacks on both Medicaid and Medicare. Vice President Mike Pence is a leading advocate of destroying Medicaid as an entitlement program--one for which people are automatically eligible based on their income--and transforming it into a block grant to the states. This would limit the program in each state to the amount of the block grant, regardless of the number of people who apply for aid, forcing states to set up increasingly restrictive systems to ration assistance. As for Medicare, Obamacare was actually financed in part by cuts in the programs reimbursements to hospitals and other providers, estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars. These funds, if recaptured through Obamacare repeal, will not be returned to Medicare, but will be made available instead for the real priorities of the Trump administration, increased military spending and a huge tax cut for the wealthy. Trumps appointment of Representative Tom Price to head the Department of Health and Human Services, which administers Medicare and Social Security, was a clear signal that he has discarded his campaign promise that there would be no cuts in either of these critical federal programs, which underwrite health care and retirement income for more than 70 million elderly and retired workers. Price and House Speaker Paul Ryan have long advocated privatization of Medicare, transforming it into a voucher system modeled on the Medical Savings Accounts used by corporate employers to put a lid on healthcare spending by their employees. The other major legislative initiativeand the one that has attracted the greatest attention from corporate lobbyists and Wall Streetis the gigantic tax-cutting package, likely to be the largest in history, exceeding even the windfalls for the wealthy enacted under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. Trump has promised to slash the corporate tax rate from the present (largely nominal) rate of 25 percent to only 10 percent, as well as cutting higher-end individual tax rates and abolishing the estate tax, paid only by a tiny fraction of extremely wealthy familiesthose like Trump himself, and his cabinet of billionaires and multimillionaires. A reactionary provision expected to be incorporated either into the Obamacare repeal or the budget and tax legislation is an outright ban on any federal funds going to Planned Parenthood, which provides health services, including cancer screening, contraception and abortion, to millions of working class women. The organization has been targeted by the Christian fundamentalist right because it is one of the few providers of abortion services in many states, and because it aggressively defends womens rights to the full range of family planning services. While the Trump administration and the congressional Republicans prepare an unprecedented onslaught against social programs for working people, the Democratic Party is engaged in cynical posturing to give itself a political cover for its inevitable capitulation to the demands of Wall Street and the financial oligarchy. The incoming leader of the Senate Democrats, Charles Schumer, declared that the Democrats would fight tooth and nail against the overhaul of Medicare, carefully avoiding any such pledge in relation to Medicaid, the more immediate target. Schumer, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and 2016 presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders sent a letter to congressional Democrats calling for a day of action on January 15 to vigorously oppose the Republican plan to end Medicare as we know it and throw our health care system into chaos. Again, the Democratic politicians are deliberately downplaying of the attack on Medicaid. Sanders has played a particularly rotten and demagogic role, issuing a series of appeals to Trump to keep your promise made during the campaign not to cut Medicare and Social Security. Donna Brazile, the interim chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, made her own appeal to Trump, saying that he had an enormous opportunity to obtain Democratic support, and urging him to show that hes eager to find common ground, to meet with Democrats. None of these Democratic leaders will state the obviousthat Trump cares nothing for his campaign promises and is carrying out the program of the financial aristocracy, which seeks to plunder the resources of the federal Treasury to enrich themselves while building up the police and the military to lay waste to enemies both foreign and domestic. That is because the Democrats serve that same financial aristocracy and in many cases are charter members of it. Genuine resistance to the program of Trump, the Republicans and Wall Street will come only from the working class, from the great majority of the American people, who were ignored, betrayed or misled in the course of the 2016 election campaign and now face an attack on their jobs, living standards, social benefits and democratic rights on a scale that has no parallel in history. With the strike of 700 workers against Momentive Performance Materials in Waterford, New York, north of Albany, entering its third month and the plant manned with scab labor, it is clear the company is determined to break the workers resistance to sweeping concessions. At the same time, the International Union of Electrical Workers/Communications Workers of America (IUE/CWA), Locals 81359 and 81380, have collaborated in the slow strangulation of the strike. The company is seeking major cuts in health care, pensions and other benefits. This follows two previous concessions-laden contracts within less than a decade, following a leveraged buyout that left the company with a huge debt burden, leading to bankruptcy. Developments over the past month highlight the forces arrayed against the Momentive strikers. It was recently revealed that a key advisor to president-elect Donald Trump, Blackstone Group founder and CEO Stephen Schwarzman, owns a stake in Momentive. The group that bought Momentive from General Electric (GE) a decade ago, Apollo Global Management, includes six billionaires, among them Schwarzman, who are listed by Forbes magazine among the 400 richest people in the US. Schwarzman alone has an estimated net worth of $11 billion, and is ranked number 45 on the Forbes list. Blackstone is the largest hedge fund in the world, currently holding assets valued at about $361 billion. Schwarzman, a long-time friend of the president-elect, has been named to head the Strategic and Policy Forum, which will advise Trump on economic and tax policy. This group, hand-picked by Schwarzman, will consist of more than a dozen corporate leaders, including former GE CEO Jack Welch. In a recent presentation to Goldman Sachs, Schwarzman predicted that the Trump administration would enact widespread government deregulation and corporate tax cuts. The utter bankruptcy of the unions was epitomized by Local 81359 President Dominick Patrignani, who appealed to Trump and Schwarzman for compassion. He told the Albany Times Union, I would pray to God that Donald Trump would reconsider what he is doing and have a talk with some of these people, especially Mr. Schwarzman, about what is going on here in Waterford. We are extremely concerned with the loss of jobs, and this guy is supposed to be the new czar of job creation and growth. Promoting the lie that Trump is a savior of the working class, Patrignani alluded to the sham saving of less than half of the Carrier workforce in Indiana, based on tax cuts and other giveaways to Carriers parent company United Technologies. Patrignani said, It is a new administration, and we have to have faith in the system and hope that he can help, in some way, shape or form. On the other side of the political establishment, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, issued a statement on the Momentive strike saying, I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the 700 members of IUE and CWA Locals 81359 and 81380 in your fight against corporate greed and for the economic security of your families. Sanders toothless statement is without substance. It comes from the candidate who, after winning 13 million votes in the primaries based on the illusory promise that he represented a progressive, even socialist alternative to the parties controlled by the super-rich, threw his support to Hillary Clinton, their bought-and-paid-for representative, who made no pretense of concern for the working class. This enabled Trump to present himself as the only anti-establishment candidate in the race. Mother Jones reported last summer that Bill Clinton received a quarter-million-dollar speaking fee for a presentation to the vulture fund Apollo Global Management, which owns Momentive, while his wife was running for president. The contents of the speech were not revealed. In 2013, Hillary Clinton also spoke to Apollo, receiving the slightly smaller payout of $225,000. Apollo Global Management was created following the 1990 collapse of Drexel Burnham Lambert, a major investment bank that dealt in junk bonds. Apollo has become highly successful at leveraged buyouts of corporations, which are burdened with substantial debts that are then serviced by asset stripping and attacks on the workforce. While the company is seeking to impose its third successive concessions contract on the workers, Momentives current CEO, Jack Boss, received $5.4 million in compensation in 2015. Patrignani praised Sanders statement, telling the Daily Gazette, We are absolutely thrilled that Senator Sanders has taken the time to read up, study the facts and show his support to 700 chemical workers trying to get a fair contract with a corporate bully. In the meantime, strikers have been left to man the picket lines under increasingly bitter winter conditions. The company has fired at least three strikers for alleged actions on the picket line. On Friday the driver of an 18-wheel truck who had just made a delivery to the scab operation inside the Waterford plant drove dangerously at the picket line and nearly hit one of the striking workers. The driver was arrested by police, but only received a token misdemeanor charge before being released. Local news reports indicate that the company is paying Saratoga County $7,560 per day in overtime costs for the sheriffs detail guarding the Waterford plant. A contingent of six deputies and one sergeant is stationed at the Momentive picket line, along with the sheriff departments Mobile Command Center. The large police presence is clearly intended to intimidate the workers and to ensure unimpeded access to the plant by the scab workforce. The Momentive workers must face the truth--they can expect nothing but lies and betrayal from the union and the Democratic Party, let alone the Republicans. The sellout by the Communications Workers of America of the Verizon strike last spring should be carefully studied. The union has already forced concession contracts on the Momentive workers, in 2010 and 2013, and the company is seeking even more cuts this time. The ascension of Donald Trump to the presidency will ensure that Schwarzman and his billionaire associates will be given free rein in their assault on the Momentive workforce. If they are not to be starved into submission, the workers must form an independent strike committee that will reach out for real support from other workers throughout the Albany region and beyond and mobilize the full strength of the working class against the strike-breaking operation. Above all, they must realize that this is a political struggle, not only against Momentives billionaire hedge-fund owners but against the Democratic and Republican parties that defend them. Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch American independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch (Coffee and Cigarettes, Down by Law) has a new film, Paterson, set in Paterson, New Jersey, some 30 miles west of New York City. It follows the daily routine of a bus driver with the same name as the city, who is also a poet. Jarmuschs film is divided into seven parts, for the different days of the week. Each day Paterson (Adam Driver) wakes up, chats with his girlfriend, Laura (Golshifteh Farahani), writes poetry before work and drives his bus. After work, he walks his dog and drinks a beer at the local bar, chatting with the bartender, Doc (Barry Shabaka Henley). Paterson is able to write captivating notes on everyday objects, their relationship to people and the emotional ties between people and things. In dealing with the film, one should probably distinguish between Jarmuschs intentions, which seem generally decent and intriguing in this case, and the results, which are ultimately weak. One of the principal influences on the making of the film is the remarkable American poet William Carlos Williams (1883-1963), who lived in the New Jersey city and wrote an epic poem, Paterson, published in five books, 1946 to 1958, in which the fate of Paterson is identified with the fate of an individual man. The poets aim was to mirror the resemblance between the mind of modern man and the city. Williams was originally inspired by James Joyces Ulysses and its treatment of Dublin. He was also responding negatively to T.S. Eliots The Wasteland. Williams poems, as well as those of Ron Padgett of the New York School of poetry, figure prominently in Jarmuschs film. Paterson is a city with a rich social and cultural history. It was a center of silk production and the site of a legendary mass strike in 1913, led by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), involving thousands of primarily immigrant workers (many of them Italian) and some important socialist figures, including Big Bill Haywood, Carlo Tresca, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn and John Reed. Jarmusch pays homage to aspects of the citys history in his own, idiosyncratic manner. We see photos of poet Allen Ginsberg (who grew up in Paterson), comedian Lou Costello (who was born there) and oral polio vaccine developer Albert Sabin (who attended high school in the city). In a cameo performance, Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman (from Wes Andersons Moonlight Kingdom) carry on a bus conversation about Gaetano Bresci, an Italian anarchist who lived in Paterson. Jarmuschs desire to inspire people to observe reality and to write is admirable. But it inevitably raises questions. Poet Frank OHaras conceptionset out in his mock-manifesto, Personism (1959)that one should never write to an audience, but as if one were writing a note or letter to a friend, lies at the heart of the movie. OHaras emphasis on intimacy and spontaneity had a certain value in its time, but even then it was a limited viewpoint. In any event, poets like Williams and OHara (also a member of the New York School and a curator at the Museum of Modern Art) were well-versed in the history of literature and art, they werent simply writing off the cuff. Jarmusch seems to want the viewer to believe that important poetry can be more or less effortlessly jotted down by virtually anyone, even a 10-year-old girl. If the process is so simple, why have Paterson recite other poets works and not Jarmuschs own? The undeniable strength of Paterson lies in its depiction of the city streets in a genuine portrait of unstaged reality. The contingency of everyday life is conveyed through focusing on details, such as passengers shoes and faces, accidental meetings, fragments of overheard conversation, the beauty of light falling on a womans skin when asleep. When Paterson (the driver) takes us on a ride, we get to know Paterson (the city) while passing by its shops and restaurants, its speeding cars and its ethnically diverse crowds. Unfortunately, the self-consciously mundane character of Paterson exhausts itself pretty quickly. The uneventfulness makes us yearn for something to happen. However, when the boredom is finally dispelled by an unexpected event, the occurrence is trivial (the bus breaking down). The frightened cries of the old ladies leaving the bus in the middle of town like traumatized victims of a major catastrophe, although amusing, create the impression that Jarmusch is making fun of people. The drama of a toy-gun shooting also turns into parody. There is a smug side to Jarmusch that he still finds hard to resist. His Paterson eventually reveals its fairy-tale nature. The real Paterson is severely depressed. A quarter of the citys single adults live below the federal governments derisory poverty level. A recent report notes, A shrinking manufacturing base within Passaic County, which employed many low-skilled workers, has caused disproportionately high unemployment numbers among adult residents in the area. The result is that many families have to rely on public entitlements to meet their basic needs. This harsh present-day reality, registered in fits and starts by Jarmusch, clashes with the imagery associated with mid-20th century poetry. The movie pays nostalgic tribute to the past glory of the American industrial centers in those few decades when it was possible for the average worker to dream of owning a house and living a more or less stable existence. Paterson does not possess a cellphone or computer, carries an old metal lunch box with him to work and writes with a pen. The innocence of his character seems identified with the rejection of modern technology. Likewise, the child-like naivete of the other characters is less than convincing, as though they are being viewed through a telescope by a New York hipster. The situations are not real. Paterson and his unemployed girlfriend can afford to live in a detached home on a bus drivers salary without much worry about their finances. The couple is happy for no obvious reasonthey never argue, their conversations are lukewarm and superficial. Paterson is a tolerant saint who writes wonderful poetry, but suffers from self-doubt. His charming yet ditzy girlfriend is bad at everything, but totally uncritical of herself, unable to read hints about her awful cooking, terrible singing and even more terrible decorating skills. Local gang members are friendly and the biggest problems workers face are broken hearts. This is condescending and not very helpful. To a certain extent, Jarmusch knows better. He told an interviewer recently, Im very anti-war and anti-American-policy and policies around the world that are war-like and murderous and just stupid. But Im not against someone being a soldier. I think its important to not be against people in the military. Its the people who tell them what to do that should be f------ held for war crimes. Where is that anger here? Jarmuschs overly intuitive approach to filmmaking is inadequate for the purpose of treating modern life. He ignores the important currentswhich his own images point to!and focuses instead, for example, on pairs and twins, on Cheerios that resemble the pattern in the curtains, on a black-and-white color scheme. Paterson ends up drowning in arbitrary details intended to form some sort of imagined, quasi-Buddhist harmony. The film has a comedic lightness at certain moments, but Jarmusch self-indulgently relies too heavily here (as he has in the past) on the charm of his characters and his mannered cinematic borrowings. Failing to build on its promising imagery and compose a genuinely poetic and insightful diary, which would require social and historical analysis, Paterson is ultimately unrealistic and unfulfilling. This is the second part of a two-part article. The first part was posted December 31. Reviving anti-working class Quebec independantiste nationalism Quebec Solidaires special function within Quebec and Canadian politics is to attempt to revive popular enthusiasm for the retrograde and increasingly explicitly chauvinist program of Quebec independence. This is inseparable from the support that Quebec Solidaire (QS) provides the trade union bureaucracy in isolating the Quebec working class and its struggles from those of its class brothers and sisters elsewhere in Canada and internationally. Ind e pendantiste nationalism first became a significant political current in Quebec in the 1960s and has been principally associated with the big business Parti Quebecois (PQ) since its formation in 1968 in a split-off from the Quebec Liberal Party. The call for Quebecs secession from the Canadian federal state, for the reshuffling of the nation-state system in North America to create a capitalist Republique du Quebec, articulates the class interests and aspirations of a faction of Quebecs ruling elite. This faction calculates that an independent Quebec would provide a better base for accumulating profits and otherwise asserting its interests, because it could pursue trade, tax and other socio-economic policies exclusively tailored to the needs of Quebec capital and strike its own deals with Washington and Wall Street. The PQ, for example, has for a quarter century expressly promoted independence on the basis that the reorganization of the state apparatus inevitably entailed would provide a choice mechanism for slashing state expenditure, that is, for pressing forward with the elimination of public and social services. Typically the most virulent proponents of Quebec independantiste nationalism have come from sections of the privileged middle classeslawyers, academics, entertainers and union bureaucrats. These layers, who form the social base of Quebec Solidaire, anticipate that the creation of a Republique du Quebec would provide opportunities for their personal advancement, by creating new positions in government administration, and that an independent Quebec would be freer to pursue exclusivist, affirmative action-type language policies. Quebec nationalism, including its independantiste variant, is an ideological pillar of capitalist rule in Quebec and Canada, serving to bind Quebec workers to the Quebec bourgeoisie and split them from the Canadian and international working class. The Quebec working class has had a bitter experience with the PQ. Canadas only majority French-speaking province was convulsed by militant working class struggles for almost a decade beginning in the late 1960s. This upsurge, which was part of a worldwide working class offensive, terrified the pro-capitalist trade union bureaucracy. With the assistance of the Stalinist Communist Party, the Pabloites and Maoists, the unions diverted the working class behind the PQ. While the unions and Stalinists openly promoted the PQ and its claim to have a favourable prejudice to the workers movement, the Pabloites hailed independantiste nationalism as a form of anti-imperialism and supported the call for chauvinist language laws. In their suppression of the working class upsurge, the Quebec unions were also assisted by the union bureaucracy and social-democratic politicians of the NDP in English Canada. All were determined to keep the militant struggles of the Quebec workers quarantined within la belle province. Once in power, the PQ, came headlong into conflict with the working class. In 1982-83, Rene Levesques second PQ government imposed wage cuts and other concessions on hundreds of thousands of public sector works by government decree. When teachers rebelled, it threatened them with mass firings. Every subsequent PQ government has pursued right-wing austerity measures. Between 1996 and 1998 the Bouchard PQ government carried out, in tandem with its federalist adversaries in the Chretien-Martin federal Liberal government, the greatest social spending cuts in Quebec history. Then, when their budgets were balanced, both governments implemented massive tax cuts for big business and the rich. Notwithstanding the unions steadfast support for the PQ, both it and its federal sister party, the Bloc Quebecois (BQ), have seen their working class support hemorrhage over the past decade and a half. Beginning with the 2003 provincial election, the PQ and BQ have suffered a series of electoral debacles that at several points have called into question their continued existence as major forces in Quebec electoral politics. The formation of Quebec Solidaire in 2006 was an attempt to preempt a conscious class break of the working class from the PQ and, above all, its Quebec independantiste program. Over the past decade, QS has striven to give a progressive and democratic gloss to the Quebec sovereignty or independence movement. While it criticizes the PQ for having accommodated to neo-liberalism and not being aggressive enough in pressing for independence, QS regularly makes overtures to the PQ and proudly declares itself a fellow pro-sovereignty party. This finds formal expression in Quebec Solidaires participation in the PQ-led coalition of pro-sovereignty organizations, OUI Quebec. While systematically covering up the class character of the PQ and apologizing for or minimizing the reactionary import of its actions, QS claims that the nation-state can be a lever for social progress and a bulwark against the excesses of capitalist globalization. This is a lie. The nation-state, like capitalism, with which it historically arose, has been transformed in the contemporary imperialist era into a barrier and menace. It serves as the platform from which the various rival national cliques of capitalists vie for markets, resources and strategic advantage, and do so increasingly through aggression and war. Only the overthrow of capitalism and the nation-state system by the revolutionary action of the world working class will enable the mighty forces of global economy, produced by the collective labour of generations of workers, to be used rationally in the fulfillment of human needs, thereby purging the world of war and want. The entire political activity of QS is directed against this: at combating the development of socialist internationalist consciousness within the working class; at urging workers to politically identify themselves as Quebecois who have more in common with French-speaking capitalists like Desmarais and Peladeau than workers in Ontario, o r the US; and at tying them to the faction of the Quebec bourgeoisie that is seeking to create a third imperialist state in North America. Significantly, all the leading forces that today comprise Quebec Solidaire were part of the so-called rainbow coalition PQ Premier Jacques Parizeau established in the run-up to the 1995 referendum on Quebec independence. Extending to the populist Action democratique du Quebec (ADQ) on the right and the Pabloite Gauche Socialiste on the left, this coalition endorsed a plan for an independent capitalist Quebec that was to be a partner of NATO, NORAD and NAFTA. Quebec Solidaires role in the suppression of the working class Quebec Solidaires incestuous ties to the PQ and the trade union bureaucracy and its hostility to a genuine working class challenge to austerity were exemplified during the 2012 Quebec student strike, which mobilized hundreds of thousands of students over a seven-month period in opposition to the Charest Liberal governments drastic university tuition fee hikes. The strike had the potential to become the spearhead of a cross-Canada offensive against austerity, especially in May 2012 when workers poured onto Quebecs streets to oppose legislation criminalizing the strike and dramatically curtailing the right to demonstrate over any issue. The unions, which had systematically isolated the striking students, recoiled in horror. They urged a turn from the streets to the ballot box and redoubled their efforts to isolate the students and harness the opposition to the Charest governments austerity agenda, behind the big business PQ. QS claimed to support the students, but voiced not a word of criticism of the unions. Instead it joined in their efforts to promote the PQ as a progressive force. In June 2012, it called on the PQ to join it in an electoral bloc. Then just days before the September 2012 election, QS pledged that if it won enough seats to hold the balance of power, it would provide unconditional support for a PQ minority government for at least one year. Its progressive credentials burnished by the unions and QS, the PQ did win enough seats to form a minority government for 18 months from September 2012 through 2014. However, to its chagrin, the QS did not hold the balance of power. During this period, QS repeatedly expressed its disappointment as the PQ, which, after making token concessions to end the political crisis provoked by the student strike, implemented austerity measures that surpassed even those of Charest. No less revealing was Quebec Solidaires response to the PQs turn to anti-immigrant chauvinism, as a means of deflecting attention away from it austerity policies and splitting the working class. Under its Charter of Quebec values, the PQ proposed to prohibit public sector employees from wearing ostentatious religious symbols (but not discrete crucifixes) at worka measure explicitly aimed at Muslim women wearing the hijab. QS supported the concept of the Charter, just as earlier it had legitimized the reactionary debate that the ADQ and right-wing tabloids had incited over the purported excessive accommodations made to Quebecs religious minorities. QS only complained that the PQ ban on religious symbols should be more selectively targeted. Since the return of the Liberals to power in Quebec City, QS has worked with the unions to suppress mounting working class opposition, first to cuts in municipal workers pensions and then sweeping cuts to public and social services. In 2015, QS pledged its full support to the unions as they separated opposition to the cuts from the contract struggle of more than a half- million public sector workers. When the public sector union Common Front signed a treacherous deal that imposed a cut in real wages and an increase in the retirement age, QS hailed the deal as having extracted valuable concessions from the Couillard government. A party moving ever further to the right While QS works systematically to prevent Quebec workers from fusing their struggles with those of workers elsewhere in Canada, it does on occasion ally with the unions, the social-democratic NDP and the pseudo-left in English Canada to politically contain and derail social opposition. In the fall of 2008, QS supported the abortive attempt of the Liberals, NDP and BQ to oust the Harper government and form a Liberal-led coalition government committed to fiscal responsibility, i.e., austerity, $50 billion in corporate tax cuts and waging war in Afghanistan until 2011. Similarly, QS supported the union-spearheaded Anybody but Harper campaign in the 2015 federal election and subsequently welcomed the coming to power of Justin Trudeaus Liberals. QS has been increasingly at pains to demonstrate to the Quebec elite that it has responsible and credible economic policies. In May 2014, while the newly elected Quebec Liberals were pressing ahead with a new round of draconian austerity policies, QS legislator Amir Khadir endorsed the governments zero-deficit goal, only criticizing the Liberals for insisting on a one-year timeframe. He subsequently held up the Wynne Ontario Liberal government, which has slashed social spending, imposed real wage cuts on provincial workers and criminalized teacher strikes, as a model for the Couillard Liberals to follow. Quebec Solidaires ostensible left wing is an integral part of its evermore explicit right-wing orientation. Benoit Renaud, a leading member of QS with a long association with the pseudo-left International Socialists (IS), published an article in December 2014 calling for the political and social left to oppose the top 1 percent by courting the support of the next 9 percentthat is the highly privileged layer that makes up the remainder of the wealthiest 10 percent of Quebecs population. Renaud enthused over the possibility that the mayor of a major city, a socially responsible businessman or a manager in the education sector might make the jump and wear the colors of Quebec Solidaire in the elections slated for 2018. The following year QS announced a regional tour, where it met with various Chambers of Commerce and owners and executives of small and medium sized business to sell itself as a credible and economically innovative party, i.e., a defender of the profit system. Renaud is representative of a whole layer of pseudo-revolutionary groups in Quebecincluding Gauche Socialiste, Alternative Socialiste and La Ripostethat have dissolved themselves into QS and attempt to provide a thin Marxist, and even Trotskyist, gloss to its reactionary nationalist politics. After ten years of existence, Quebec Solidaire stands exposed as a representative of the affluent middle classes, a nationalist, pro-capitalist and pro-imperialist party, and staunch ally of the trade union bureaucracy. As the class struggle intensifies, it will come into ever more open conflict with the working class. Were it to come to power in the coming period, whether alone or as a junior partner in a PQ-led coalition government, it would quickly reveal itself to be in deed as in word the sister party of Syrizaan enforcer of austerity and militarism. Concluded A report released last month by the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) calls for the incoming Trump administration to initiate a major escalation of the US confrontation with China over the South China Sea. It is written by Ross Babbage, a former top-level Australian defence and intelligence official. Entitled Countering Chinas Adventurism in the South China Sea, the report is highly critical of the failure of the Obama administration to counter Chinas territorial expansion in the South China Sea. It speaks on behalf of militarist layers of the American defence establishment who have already been pressing for tougher action against China. Babbage focusses on Chinese land reclamation and construction activities in the South China Sea declaring that during Obamas second term, Beijing militarized and established effective control over one of the worlds most important strategic waterways. This, he declares, poses a serious challenge to the power of the United States, its allies and partners, and, more fundamentally, to the rules-based global order. The report stands reality on its head. Over his two terms in office, Obama has transformed longstanding regional territorial disputes in the South China Sea into a dangerous international flashpointas part of his broader pivot to Asia to subordinate China to US interests. In 2010, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton proclaimed that the US had a national interest in freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and sought to exploit the territorial disputes to drive a wedge between China and its neighbours. Babbage goes to great lengths to paint China as an aggressive, rising power and presents Chinese land reclamation and construction over the past three years as a threat. He contrasts Beijings military build-up with the response of Washington and its allies characterized by distracted leaderships, a lack of focus, reactive behaviour, limited tactical steps, incremental management, and, above all, weak expressions of political will. The Chinese military, however, is far from the dominant force in the Asia Pacific including the South China Sea. As part of the pivot, the Pentagon is planning to deploy 60 percent of its air and naval assets, including its most advanced, to the region. It is restructuring its major military bases in South Korea, Japan and Guam, has established new basing agreements with Australia, the Philippines and Singapore, and strengthened military relations throughout Asia including with India and Vietnam. Obamas failure, as far as Babbage is concerned, is demonstrated by Chinas refusal to bow to the global rules based orderthat is a global order dominated by the United States, in which it sets the rules. Acutely sensitive to the US militarys growing presence in the South China Sea adjacent to the Chinese mainland and key naval bases, China is taking military steps to defend islands under its control. The CSBA report argues that one of the main reasons for the present timid and ineffectual response of the US and its allies to China has been a deep risk aversion to possible economic retaliation and military clashes and conflict. It advocates that the US take a far more aggressive approach to force China to back down even at the risk of war between nuclear-armed powers. Well aware of the dangers of full-scale war, Babbage insists that the US and its allies must confront China sooner rather than later. Failure to do so, he declares, has emboldened Beijing, creating a serious risk that the close Western allies may be confronted by a more dangerous challenge downstream. Such a crisis could arise over Taiwan, the Senkaku Islands and the Ryukyu Island chain in southern Japan, the Philippines, northern India, the South China Sea itself, or possibly elsewhere. This larger crisis may be unavoidable, occur in much more difficult circumstances, and impose far high human, military, and economic costs. The CSBA reports proposal is for a sharp escalation in the preparations for war with China, starting with a far more aggressive set of demands, accompanied by a comprehensive campaign of propaganda to vilify Beijing and undermine its influence and a military expansion throughout the region to ensure a dominant strategic position. Babbage calls on the US to dispense with the fiction that it is interested only in freedom of navigation and takes no position on the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Under Obama, Washington backed and assisted the legal case taken by the Philippines to the UN Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to challenge Chinas maritime claims. The report declares that the US must be far more explicit in demanding that China halt the expansion of its presence and activities not only in the South China Sea but also the East China Sea where tensions have escalated in a territorial dispute with Americas ally Japan. It must also insist that China abide by the one-sided Hague ruling in favour of the Philippines, even though Manila has backed away. Babbage highlights the recent scare campaign in the Australian media about Chinese agents and influence in order to justify a co-ordinated public information effort by the US and its allies to inflate the threat posed by China in the South China Sea. As in the preparation for war in Afghanistan and Iraq, he is calling for a new deluge of half-truths and lies from politicians, the media and think tanks in a bid to create the public climate for a new and even more devastating conflict. The report also suggests what amounts to a regime change operation. It would include exposing the corruption of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime, undermining its legitimacy, instituting slow burn economic sanctions to erode confidence in Chinas economic future and fostering internal dissent, especially amongst senior Chinese business, military and Communist Party personnel, and the successor young elites. Central to the strategy is a major military build-up in Asia, coordinated between the US and its allies, principally Australia and Japan, and the willingness of Washington to use military force to provoke, intimidate, undermine and if necessary, wage war against China. Babbage calls for the establishment of a Regional Security Partnership Program that would strengthen military ties throughout Asia as well as for the United States and its close allies to permanently station and operate much stronger military forces in the Western Pacific. The report is pitched as Strategy options for the Trump Administration under conditions where Trump has already signaled his determination to confront China. Not only has he promised during the election campaign to implement trade war measures against China, but Trump has threatened to abandon the One China policy that has been the linchpin of US-China relations for four decades. Significantly as he declared he would not be bound by the One China policy unless a deal could be struck with Beijing, Trump cited a list of complaints that would have to be addressed, including building a massive fortress in the middle of the South China Sea. In that context, the report is a chilling indication of the type of measures that the Trump administration could adopt. Such policies would greatly heighten the danger of clashes in the South China Sea that could precipitate all-out war between the US and China. At the close of 2016, Africa saw a dramatic surge in the number of US Special Operation forces deployed across the continent. Since 2006, the US military has increased its operations in Africa from just 1 percent of overall global Special Operations to more than 17 percent. The rate at which troops have been surged on to the continent far surpasses that of any other region in the world, including Washingtons substantial military operations in the Middle East. There were 700 Special Operation commandos deployed across Africa in 2014; by 2016, the number had more than doubled, to 1,700. According to a report in the Intercept, the US has deployed elite military forces in 33 nations across the African continent at any given moment, comprising 60 percent of the continents 54 countries. Since 2014, these commandos have carried out hundreds of operations in Africa. The Special Operations force is made up of the elite fighting personnel from all four US military branches, and includes Navy SEALs, Green Berets, and Rangers. These are the same elite forces that were responsible for the operation that led to the assassination of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011. These troops are party of the US Special Operations Command, or SOCOM, which largely carries out its dirty work in secret. Well aware that its wars are deeply unpopular with the American population, the Obama administration has utilized these groups of elite killers, as well as private contractors, to carry out its brutal operations away from the public eye. The SOCOM operations in Africa are themselves a component of the Pentagons US Africa Command (AFRICOM), the military command post overseeing the entire continent. It is part of a cooperative relationship between SOCOM, the State Department and the respective African nations government and military forces. Headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, AFRICOM, through a variety of organizations and military cooperatives, carries out training of African military forces, oversees weapons and military equipment sales, and provides military advisors to African governments. In others words, AFRICOM is the spearhead of Washingtons objective of hegemony over the continent. Africa contains vast economic resources that are coveted by wealthy Western corporate and banking interests. The decline of American capitalism is expressed by Washingtons turn to military force to meet the insatiable lust for profit by the American aristocracy. The exponential growth of SOCOM in Africa represents a new stage in Washingtons drive for global dominance. While the US government deploys the phony pretext of the War on Terror, the justification for every intervention across the globe since the attacks of September 11, 2001, the real target is China, and to a lesser extent Russia, and the two nations economic influence on the continent. In an interview conducted last September with US Special Operations Commander and Brigadier General Donald C. Bolduc in African Defense, a US military trade publication, Bolduc made clear that SOCOMs objective on the African continent is to ensure the continents vast economic and natural resources remain in the hands of Western capitalists. Were supporting African military professionalization and capability-building efforts, Bolduc said. The [Special Operations forces] network helps create specific tailored training for partner nations to empower military and law enforcement to conduct operations against our mutual threats. Further making clear that Washingtons aim is to neutralize threats posed by its economic rivals, Bolduc said, The triple threat facing Africapopulation growth, resource scarcity and continued instabilityis producing vulnerable populations primed for extremist recruiting while creating opportunities for exploitation from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. SOCOM is currently conducting offensives coordinated with national militaries in Libya, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, Central African Republic, Mali, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the case of Libya, SOCOM is attempting to secure the installation of Washingtons puppet government set up in the aftermath of the US and NATO-led assault in 2011, which culminated in the assassination of Muammar Qaddafi, killed tens of thousands and left the country in ruins. In Somalia, SOCOM is largely tasked with providing security to the Western puppet government in Mogadishu, which wields little influence outside the capital, where much of the country is ruled by tribal warlords and the Islamist terrorist militia Al-Shabbab. Somalias vast coast along the Gulf of Aden, which forms the waterway for much of the worlds oil traffic, makes it a prime target for Washington. Chinas economic influence on the African continent is widespread, and comprises significant mining enterprises, oil extraction, and infrastructure investments. Washingtons expanded African military operations are ultimately aimed at curbing this Chinese influence. SOCOMs cooperative offensive with the US-backed government of South Sudan is aimed at counteracting Chinas oil infrastructure investments in the country, which also include Sudan to the north. Washington has targeted Sudan and its president, Omar Bashir, for not cooperating with its agenda for the region and his friendly relations with China. The carving off of South Sudan in 2011 was done with the backing of the US and Europe with the aim of putting in place a pliant government subservient to Western interests and asserting control over a substantial portion of Sudans oil fields. The imperialist powers drive for control of Sudans oil extraction has led to the massacre of thousands. The crisis of American capitalism is fueling Washingtons drive to utilize its military power to reassert its dominance as the worlds sole economic power. The fact that the United States currently has military operations of one kind or another on every continent in the world underscores the desperation and recklessness with which Washington pursues its aim of global hegemony. SOCOMs expanded buildup in Africa, together with the provocative actions against Russia from the outgoing Obama administration, the threat of the incoming Trump administration to target China, and Washingtons extended military operations in the Middle East, threatens the worlds population with an even broader conflagration between nuclear-armed powers. 25 Years Ago | 50 Years Ago | 75 Years Ago | 100 Years Ago 25 years ago: Deposed Haitian President Aristide accepts US deal On January 5, 1992, deposed president of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, agreed to accept a US-dictated settlement which would restore him to the presidential palace as the figurehead for a regime run directly by the American Embassy and the Haitian military command. Then living in exile in the US, Aristide made known his agreement in advance to the foul arrangement. Under the deal, brokered by negotiators of the Organization of American States on January 8, Rene Theodore, the leader of the Haitian Communist Party, known as the PUCH, would be appointed prime minister in return for Aristides return to Haiti and the presidency. Theodore was described by the US media as a moderate communist. Much was made about the supposed irony of the head of the Communist Party being made the chief of a so-called government of national salvation with the full backing of both the US State Department and the blood-soaked Haitian generals. Together, Washington and the Haitian army it created carried out unspeakable atrocities against the people of Haiti in the name of fighting communism. Indeed, many rank-and-file members of the PUCH died terrible deaths in the torture chambers operated by the military during the rule of the hated Duvalier dynasty. Following Theodores return from exile in 1986, the PUCH acted consistently to create democratic illusions in the so-called National Council of Government, the regime of Duvalierism without Duvalier and repeatedly condemned mass strikes and protests of the Haitian workers as inappropriate. While Aristide accepted the agreement, and the US State Department issued a statement declaring its hope that the Haitian parliament would give prompt consideration to President Aristides nomination of Mr. Theodore, politicians in the military-controlled regime in Haiti indicated that they might not approve. In accepting such an arrangement, Aristide acted to legitimize the bloody military coup that overthrew him on September 30. His consent to the appointment of a prime minister approved by the military and Washington amounted to a declaration of surrender, although the deal would fall apart within days. The capitulation was the inevitable outcome of the policy pursued by Aristide and his petty-bourgeois nationalist supporters. While in office, they sought to defuse the revolutionary energy of the masses and sow illusions in imperialism and the military. [top] 50 years ago: Sit-down strike in Spain On January 2, 1967, workers at four Standard Electrica factories in Madrid staged a day-long sit-down strike, winning the release of six labor activists jailed by the Franco dictatorship. The six were arrested during a march earlier in the week by the electronics workers, who were demanding full-time employment and production bonuses. The fascist regime maintained a ban on all labor demonstrations and broke up the march using riot police. The jailed men had been on a hunger strike since their arrest. The strike was organized by members of the illegal workers commissions operating inside the official state-controlled unions Their emergence reflected the growing resistance by the working class to the effects of the economic crisis afflicting Spanish and world capitalism. Two weeks earlier, in Madrid, the official leadership of the metal workers union was forced to take the unprecedented step of supporting a call by the workers commissions for strike action against threatened layoffs at the Barreios Diesel auto company, a subsidiary of Chrysler. Only the hasty intervention of the Franco regime, which moved to halt the layoffs, temporarily averted the threatened strike. Meanwhile, in Barcelona, 12 leaders of the workers commissions were in jail awaiting trial on charges of planning an illegal meeting of labor militants. The SEAT plant in Barcelona was the scene of a recent work slowdown. Seven hundred steelworkers in Bilbao were in the second month of a strike for higher wages, while railway workers were threatening a strike against the state-run railroads. The strikes and protests represented the most significant stirrings of the Spanish working class since the crushing of the Spanish revolution by fascism in the 1930s. [top] 75 years ago: Imperial Japanese troops enter Manila On January 2, 1942 the imperialist war for control of the Pacific intensified further when Japanese troops entered the Philippine capital Manila on the island of Luzon. The Philippine archipelago of 7,000 islands had become a possession of the United States after the military defeat of the former colonial overlords of Spain in 1898. General MacArthur held back his troops in early December when Imperial Japan landed at the northern end of the biggest and most populous Filipino island. He decided that the small landings made by the Japanese were a diversionary tactic designed to divide American forces in two. The Japanese made further military landings two days later on the southeastern portion of Luzon. But the main Japanese attack upon Luzon did not occur until December 22, 1941, when some 43,000 troops of the 14th Army landed just 200 kilometers north of Manila. Their mission was to mount a pincer movement upon the Philippine capital. MacArthur was said to command a force in excess of 100,000 troops, but the majority of them were local reserve forces that melted back into the civilian population once the Japanese invaded. His effective fighting force consisted only of 31,000 reliable American and Philippine troops, and the Japanese invasion force, aided by an armored vanguard, were soon pushing on towards the Manila Bay. On December 24, MacArthur enacted contingency plan Orange, whereby the Filipino President Manuel Quezon and government together with MacArthurs troops, retreated to the Bataan Peninsula on the west side of the Manila Bay in order to hold out against the Japanese assault. The island of Corregidor, where MacArthur established his battle HQ, was positioned at the mouth of the great inlet. Its entrance was controlled with artillery batteries, which also covered the southeastern end of the 50-kilometer-long peninsula of Bataan. MacArthur, holed up in his concrete bunker on Corregidor was given the moniker Dugout Doug by his embittered troops on the mainland, who called themselves the battling bastards of Bataan. Suffering exhaustion and disease, these troops were forced into hellish conditions fighting in the thick jungle, swamps and ravines against superior Japanese forces. [top] 100 years ago: SPD theoretician Karl Kautsky promotes pacifist illusions On January 7, 1917, the centrist opposition in the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) issued a resolution appealing to the imperialist powers engaged in the bloodbath of World War I to accept a peace of reconciliation without violation of rights. The SPD, the largest and most authoritative socialist party in the world on the eve of the war, had betrayed the program of socialist internationalism at the outbreak of the conflict in August 1914, voting war credits in support of the predatory military operations of its own government. Karl Kautsky had played a central role in justifying this national-opportunist course. He headed a faction within the SPD which sought to subordinate the working class to the German ruling elite, while attempting to distinguish itself from the most brazen and unabashed national-chauvinists within the organization. Kautskys new resolution described the German chancellors December 12 note to Britain, France and Russia offering to open peace negotiations, as a symptom of a budding desire for peace in ruling circles. It declared that the social democratic parties should be champions of peace, and stated, We consider that in all belligerent countries the time has come for the Socialist parties to insistently demand that their governments make known the precise goals for which they are waging war. The Internationale Group, led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, was alone in consistently opposing the SPDs betrayal and exposing the pacifist rhetoric of figures such as Kautsky. It denounced the resolution, issuing a letter which said, They have not noticed that every reconciliation of the bourgeois governments is a conspiracy against the European proletariat The only concern of these people is that no national contingent of imperialism triumph decisively over any other. For them, the reconciliation of the imperialists over the body of international socialism and the return to prewar conditions is sufficient. They long for the political status quo of Europe of the past and do not understand that it was precisely the status quo that led to the unprecedented upsurge of imperialism and the outbreak of World War. Russian Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, exiled in Switzerland, noted that opportunists such as Kautsky were echoing the shift in imperialist politics. He wrote that the basis for the pacifist phrases of Kautsky and others lay in the turn in world politics from imperialist war ... towards an imperialist peace, which will bring the peoples the greatest deception in the form of pious phrases, semi-reforms, semi-concessions, etc. [top] The Washington Post has been compelled to correct an article which falsely claimed that Russia had hacked into the electrical grid of a Vermont electrical power company. It has since been revealed that the laptop that was allegedly penetrated by malware was not even connected to the electrical grid, according to a statement from Burlington Electric that read, We detected suspicious internet traffic in a single Burlington Electric Department computer not connected to our organizations grid systems. This did not prevent the newspaper from running the story without so much as checking with the company in question to see if it was true. The story had been read by countless readers on social media before it was retracted. By that time, readers around the world had only seen the headline: Russian operation hacked a Vermont utility, showing risk to U.S. electrical grid security, officials say. No evidence of foreign hacking was revealed by the article, other than the statements from anonymous US officials and authorities. On Friday, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin declared in a statement, Vermonters and all Americans should be both alarmed and outraged that one of the worlds leading thugs, Vladimir Putin, has been attempting to hack our electric grid, which we rely upon to support our quality-of-life, economy, health, and safety, adding, This episode should highlight the urgent need for our federal government to vigorously pursue and put an end to this sort of Russian meddling. Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy also chimed in, This is beyond hackers having electronic joy ridesthis is now about trying to access utilities to potentially manipulate the grid and shut it down in the middle of winter. That is a direct threat to Vermont and we do not take it lightly. Not to be outdone, Democratic Representative Peter Welch of Vermont said, They (Russia) will hack everywhere, even Vermont, in pursuit of opportunities to disrupt our country. We must remain vigilant, which is why I support President Obamas sanctions against Russia and its attacks on our country and what it stands for. The newspaper also quoted an anonymous government official who stated ominously, The question remains: Are they in other systems and what was the intent? This most recent propaganda piece is in line with the media campaign to demonize Russia and Vladimir Putin. It follows President Obamas deliberate ratcheting up of tensions with the nuclear-armed power, including new sanctions and the expulsion of Russian diplomats from the country. Eventually, the Post was forced to issue a correction, which read, An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that Russian hackers had penetrated the US electric grid. Authorities say there is no indication of that so far. The provocative headline accusing Russian hackers of breaching the power grid remained however. Remarkably, the Post published the story live on its website without bothering to fact check with the power company mentioned in the article. The Burlington Electric Department issued a statement an hour and a half after the story was published through the local paper, the Burlington Free Press. According to Kalev Leetaru of Forbes.com, the Post did not contact someone from the company until 10 minutes after publication, by which time the original article with its menacing headline had been viewed all over the world. The only evidence that the malware-infected laptop was hacked by Russia was the Posts claim that the malware was Russian made. Russian malware can in fact be purchased online anywhere by anyone. There is a savage irony in the fact that the Post decries the spread of fake news, i.e., news that is not censored by the government and corporate media. The Post recently promoted a neo-McCarthyite website called Prop or Not which accused Wikileaks, CounterPunch, and other critical and left-wing websites of being propaganda outfits of the Russian government. In the Vermont power plant hacking story, the Washington Post has once again revealed itself as an arm of the US military-intelligence apparatus. Latin America Mexican natural disaster workers continue strike to demand overdue wages Workers for Mexicos National Natural Disaster Fund (Fonden) have been on strike for more than three weeks. The workers downed their tools on December 12 to demand that the Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development Secretariat (Sedatu) pay them for over four months of overdue wages. On December 31, they blocked Huacapa River Boulevard in Chilpancingo, Guerrero, and marched and chanted in front of Sedatu headquarters. Some 60 workers in the program have not been paid, and they were forced to spend the holidays without funds. Due to the strike, since a little less than a month ago the workers havent supervised nor has there been reconstruction of works damaged by the storms Ingrid and Manuel, since they would have to pay their own expenses to continue working, reported suracapulco.com. One striking Fonden worker told reporters that they have not been informed about anything, most likely meaning that the federal authorities in Mexico City have not released the funds. Mexican sanitary workers strike for overdue pay Contract sanitary workers for the city of Xalapa, capital of the Mexican state of Veracruz, struck on December 28 to demand payment of up to two-and-a-half months wages. The workers are employed in Sanitary Jurisdiction 7 vector area. More than 50 workers have been owed wages from two weeks to two-and-a-half months. The workers unions representatives have notified the state government, which has yet to reply. Colombian health workers strike for 16 days for overdue pay, bonuses Health workers in seven municipalities in the Colombian department of Boyaca went on strike December 12 over unpaid salaries, bonuses and benefits for the last two months. The workers are employed by the Mi IPS Corporation, which contracts services for the National Health Superintendency, known as EPS Cafesalud. The workers had not been paid their wages, as well as bonuses and social security contributions, for November and December when they decided to walk out. On December 16, a Friday, delegates participated in a videoconference with Mi IPS President Carlos Correa, in which he told them that he would pay them 30 percent of their November wages the next week and 70 percent after December 26, but not the bonuses. Correa claimed that EPS Cafesalud had not paid Mi IPS. One striking doctor told El Tiempo, The big conclusion from Carlos Correas proposal is that there is no guarantee of pay, nor of supplies, nor of social security, much less the work-related future. The workers remained on strike. On December 28, delegates and Correa had reached an agreement, which one doctor called good terms on various points that we were soliciting with respect to salaries and benefits. Those include payment of the overdue wages by the end of December, and of the bonuses by the middle of January. The workers returned to their jobs. The fate of the social security payments, however, remains uncertain. Two-day strike by Bolivian public medical workers against appointment of director Workers for Bolivias National Health Fund (CNS) held a 48-hour strike on December 28 and 29 to protest the recent appointment of the agencys director general. The doctors, nurses, technicians and auxiliary staff object to the December 12 appointment of Juan Jordan, who is an engineer and has no experience with administration of health institutions. The CNS workers already struck for one day on December 20, but the health minister, Ariana Campero, has not only refused to rescind the appointment, but she requested and obtained a declaration from the Labor Ministry that the strike was illegal. She discounted the pay for that day and has declared that pay for the two-day action will also be deducted. Emergency services were not interrupted at hospitals, but surgeries, consultations and other services were postponed. In La Paz, Cochabamba, and other cities, striking workers held white apron marches and demonstrations against the appointment. The unions have declared that they will not be deterred by the docking of salaries and say that they will strike for 72 hours if their demand is not met. Chilean miners continue occupation of mine to protest liquidation Sixty-five mineworkers at the central Chilean Santa Maria copper mine remain underground in a protest they began December 5. The miners occupied a mine shaft 650 meters (2,133 feet) deep to protest the liquidation of the mine by its owners, Rodrigo Danus and Paul Fontaine, who abandoned it without paying their wages, and to demand that the government provide resources for the mineworkers to buy and operate the mine. Ten of the miners had been on a hunger strike, which they ended on December 28. Family members and supporters have held protests and roadblocks to bring attention to the miners and demand that the government act. The governments attitude was typified by the words of Subsecretary of the Interior Mahmud Aleuy: This has to do with a problem among private individuals, and thus the government has no business intervening. The United States Strike deadline in Dayton transit contract dispute The union for Dayton, Ohio, area transit workers has set a strike deadline of January 9. The contract for 466 workers, members of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), expired last April, but the union has kept workers on the job while management drags out negotiations. Management of the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) says it will shut down the transit system in the event of a walkout. Main issues in the contract dispute are the question of changes to workers health insurance as well as generally low pay and break time. The RTA says it presented a revised contract proposal to the ATU last week but has not yet received a formal response. Canada Ontario childrens aid workers locked out A total of 140 workers employed by the Childrens Aid Society (CAS) in the districts of Nipissing and Parry Sound in central Ontario were locked out on December 3 after they turned down the latest offer by the employer by an overwhelming 96 percent. The workers are represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which has been embattled through other strikes with CAS across the province of Ontario over the past year. The union says that quality of service and the safety of children are being jeopardized by financial constraints that have been imposed on the government-funded agency. The main issues for workers, according to their union, are workload and sick leave. Negotiations broke off before Christmas, and no new talks are currently scheduled. Newfoundland aerospace workers locked out Workers employed by D-J Composites, which is owned by US-based D-J Engineering Inc., were locked out just before Christmas after they voted unanimously in favor of strike action. The 40 locked-out workers, who are represented by union giant Unifor, have been working without a contract for 21 months and are fighting for gains in wages and job protections in a new contract. Many workers with over 10 years experience are paid less than C$15 an hour, and the company is reportedly seeking a five-year wage freeze. The company claims that orders have been declining and workloads have been reduced in recent months and that they were forced to lock workers out to protect company operations. THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WTXL) - Georgia troopers said that a Monticello woman has been killed after her car crashed into another. The Georgia State Patrol said that the crash happened around 1 p.m. on New Year's Day at Patton Street and West Jackson Street. Troopers said that both cars involved were on Jackson Street when the front of one hit the side door of the other. They said that Katrina Patterson, 53, was killed in the crash. They have not released the name of the other driver involved, but said that they were being treated for non-life threatening injuries. The investigation is ongoing and there is no word yet if there will be charges filed. Itas rare, in Portland, for a club to last five years. Jimmy Makas opened 15 years ago (just across the street from its much-larger current location) and remains a driving force behind this cityas jazz scene. Downbeat magazine has called the Pearl District club aone of the worldas top 100 places to hear jazz,a and a never-ending stream of musiciansafrom legendary drummer Mel Brown to standout local high-school and college studentsagrace one of Portlandas best stages every night. Youad be forgiven, though, for not knowing Jim Makarounis. Though the club owneras name is on the sign out front, Jimmy Mak is more likely to be helping out in the kitchen than introducing musicians onstage (many regulars mistake aJ.D.,a the bartender who often introduces bands, for the club owner). So we thought wead drag 48-year-old Portland native Makarounis out into the spotlight for once to ask him a few questions on the eve of Jimmy Makasa 15th birthday. WW: How did you come to own a jazz club? Jimmy Mak: I grew up in a family where my mom and dad had little neighborhood taverns and bars, so since I was 1 or 2 years old, my dad always had a bar. So I just had it in the back of my mind since before high school that I wanted to have my own place. I was a corporate guy for 11 years when I got out of college, but I was always just putting a few doughnuts away and looking for opportunities. What was this neighborhood like in 1996? There was no real nightlife here, but there were some businesses around. There had been nobody in [Jimmy Mak's old location] for like nine monthsright before we were there it was an Australian-themed gay bar...I don't know how much more of a niche you could have in Portland! And so the landlord just wanted somebody in there. We had an interesting clientele: We had a pimp, Diz, who was one of our regulars. So it was an interesting mix of blue-collar guys, neighborhood people and folks from the West Hills or wherever. So did it seem like a risky investment? Oh yeah. But I'm kind of Type A. I'm a very competitive person and I don't like to lose. And my wife is pretty competitive, too, so we were not going to look back at it in a year and say, "We wish we would have worked harder." It was just going to be all-in for a year and see what happens. And thank God, it worked. We were profitable within six months. Was it a scary transition when you bought this building five years ago? Oh yeah. We went in debt up to our eyeballs. I mortgaged my house, emptied my 401(k) plan. It was nerve-wracking, but the timing was perfect. The economy was going up. If we had tried to do this in 2008 or 2009, I don't know.... Your booking got bigger after the move. We're trying to get more of those bigger national names in the club. It's funny, we had purposefully not booked more national acts, especially on weekends, because we have always wanted to give those opportunities to local people. I have always felt so humbled and appreciated by guys like Mel [Brown] and Curtis [Salgado] who wanted to play our room even when we were nothingso I have never wanted to take those opportunities away from local guys. But what has made me more comfortable with national booking is that the scene is healthy. The Brassserie Montmartre is back, Wilf's is there and doing what they do, Tim [Gallineau] at the Blue Monk is booking more music again. The scene is expanding a little bit, so I feel like we can take X number of nights away from local players. Were you the only game in town for a while? Yeah, and those are nervous times. It's really the opposite of what you might thinkit really is an indication that the scene is dying, and who wants to be the last guy on that proverbial sinking ship? The only time I've ever seen you onstage here is when Martha Reeves pulled you up before singing the Vandellas' "Jimmy Mack." Yeah, that was great. The funny part was that I went to get her at the airport, and we were having some problems finding each other, and then we literally ran into each other at the door. And she says "Jimmy?" And I say, "Yeah." And she says, "Jimmy Mak, I've been looking for you for 30 years!a SEE IT: Jimmy Mak's hosts special 15th anniversary shows all this week. See music calendar or jimmymaks.com, for details. WWeek 2015 LONGSHORE STORY: Leal Sundet stands in front of the dispatch window at the ILWU Local 8 union hall in Northwest Portland. Leal Sundet says it's bad enough that the International Longshoreman and Warehouse Union is getting a raw deal at the Port of Portland. He thinks also it's getting a bum rap. For more than a month, a labor dispute has clogged cargo at the port. The ILWU Local 8 has been accused of intentionally slowing work at Terminal 6, the port's only international container-ship terminalall in a dispute over two jobs. The jobs involve plugging and unplugging refrigerated containers, called reefers. The jobs went to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which has a contract with the port. But the longshoremen say their contract with the company leasing the terminal, ICTSI of Oregon, gives them the right to those jobs. A U.S. district judge issued a restraining order July 3 against the union's slowdown. Meanwhile, ships have diverted cargo to other ports, costing the region millions. The port has set the media agenda, in part because the ILWU is notoriously press-averse. But the union has decided to tell its side. And it's chosen Sundeta burly Norwegian who worked the Portland docks from 1991 until elected a coast committeeman in 2006to tell its story. WW: Tell me why this isn't just about two jobs. Leal Sundet: I don't think there's any gained jobs for us or a loss of jobs for the IBEW. You have one rogue employer, is what it amounts to. One rogue employer that wants a special deal for itself. What are the jobs like? These reefers are big. They are the same size as a 40-foot truck. So this is skilled labor? The repairing of the reefer is highly skilled, and longshoremen repair all the reefers on the dock. It's like a big refrigerator, and typically it's high-valued cargo that's sensitive to temperature. Actually plugging the cord in doesn't take a lot of skill. It's no different than plugging a cord into a house socket. What's usually in the reefers? It could be frozen meat; it could be vegetables; in some cases it could be electronic parts that have to be kept at a certain temperature. Medications. If it goes bad and it spoils, it's very expensive to the customer, and then everybody points fingers. So these particular two jobs are not necessarily the most valued jobs in the world. It's the principle of the thing. It's the principle of whether or not one of our companies can pick or choose what part of the contract we have with them they are going to comply with. That's it. It's unfairly reported as this fight between two unions for two jobs. That's not what the issue is. So how are things on the terminal? It's got to be getting stressful out there at this point. Not a lot of work. Not too stressful. There's very little cargo, if any, on the docks. We don't have a problem with the electricians at all. That's being improperly reported, I think, in the paper. I think the electricians understand what our position is. Why are the ships going elsewhere? The carriers don't want to violate [our contract]. Remember: It's their equipment. From a carrier's perspective, ICTSI is their subcontractor. So if you tell your subcontractor, "I want you to do something with my stuff a certain way," and a subcontractor says no, what are you gonna do? Obviously, it impacts Portland financially. The people of Portland can't be very happy. Well, they might not be. So they should be upset with ICTSI. Not with you? There's nothing that we did. We got an agreement to assign the work, and they refused to assign it. They say they won't because of the lease with the portand the port has a contract with IBEW. Sounds like a lousy lease. The judge described it as selling the same rock to two different people. There's only one rock. And it's your rock? It's our rock. WWeek 2015 DRIVEN: Robel Berhan, who immigrated from Ethiopia nearly two decades ago, has been driving a cab in Portland since 2009. He says business is off since Uber and Lyft entered the city. Cars jam the Nines' loading zone on Southwest Morrison Street, so Berhan double parks his Prius. "What's up?" a doorman calls out as Berhan rolls down the window. "You have any customer?" Berhan asks. "No," the doorman says. He smacks his gum, impatient. "Uber and Lyft?" "Oh yeah," the doorman says. "Big time." He says eight people in the past few hours have jumped into Uber cars. "Eight taxi could have had a fare," Berhan says as he pulls away. "I bet they were all going to the airport." That's the fare every cab driver wantsabout $35, plus tip. Berhan, 41, came from Ethiopia nearly two decades ago and has driven a cab in Portland since 2009. For years he got by driving five days a week in 12-hour shifts. Now he's thinking he might have to work seven days a week if he's to have any hope of covering his costs. "I don't think I can rob people," Berhan says, "so I have to do something." The arrival of ride-hailing monolith Uber and its competitor Lyft have been met with celebration in Portland, as a triumph of new technology over an outdated taxi industry. The city's taxi companies report a drop in business since Uber and Lyft rolled in, and that's hit Portland's Ethiopian community like no other. Immigrants from Ethiopia make up about one-third of taxi drivers in the city, based on interviews with cab drivers and company managers. Ethiopians run two of the city's six major taxi companies, Green Transportation and Union Cab. At driver-owned Union Cab, four of every five drivers come from Ethiopia, and managers say revenues are off by as much as 30 percent. Berhan owns his taxi and likes being his own boss. Quitting would be a last resort. "I'm here to fight," Berhan says. "I'm here to stay. I don't care if I make a dollar a day, I'm not going to stop. This is my baby. This is my company." Berhan circles the block, and when he pulls up at the Nines again, he sees a place to park. Eventually, two businessmen from Ventura, Calif., hop in, headed for the Ringside Steakhouse. The two didn't know Uber was available in Portlandone of them, whose company sells shoes, says he would have hailed a taxi anyway. "It's downtown and it's local," he says. "It's the right thing to do." The fare is $7.10, and the businessmen give Berhan an extra $2generous as tips go. He heads to the Hilton, where a month earlier he could land a fare in 10 minutes. He waits an hour and half for his next customer. Before April, Berhan says he brought in $900 a week before expenses. He says he now brings in between $400 and $500 a week. It's barely enough to cover his $350 "kitty"the weekly charge to drive for Union Cab. That doesn't include gas and maintenance. Other Union Cab drivers say their wait for fares has gotten longeras much as three hourscompared to 20 minutes before Uber and Lyft arrived in April. The impact of Uber and Lyft across all taxi companies isn't yet knownand it's far too early to know the long-term effects. The city has a task force that is supposed to see how Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing services have affected the cab industry. The task force hasn't yet requested any financial data from taxi companies. "Fares, profits and incomesthose are sensitive pieces of information," says Bryan Hockaday, policy adviser to City Commissioner Steve Novick, who oversees the city's Transportation Bureau. "We're going to have to come up with a more creative way of understanding the working conditions of drivers." Radio Cab says dispatch calls are down only 3 percent overall, while Broadway Cab, the other big taxi company, says its calls are down by 12 percent. But calls are only part of the business that drivers get. Drivers and company managers tell WW thatafter taking into account hotel stops and airport rides, for examplefares and tips are down by 20 percent to 50 percent. Berhan thinks he may no longer be able to afford the $482-a-month car payment on his cab. Despite his determination to stay in the taxi business, he says: "I may have to stop helping my family until I make it again. Start life from square one, just like 17 years ago, when I arrived here in the U.S.A. Except I wouldn't do 7-Eleven again." He could also join Uber or Lyft, where many drivers have been able to earn a living. Berhan says drivers he knows who work for ride-hailing companies work longer and make less money than he doessomething he cannot risk. "At the end of the day," he says of his friends, "they're leaving with nothing." About 1,400 Ethiopian immigrants live in the Portland metro area, according to 2013 U.S. Census Bureau numbers, as reported by the Population Research Center at Portland State University. The Ethiopian community itself numbers 4,000 to 5,000, says Djimet Dogo, director of Africa House, a center in Southeast Portland that serves recent refugees. Dogo estimates Ethiopians make up the city's second-largest African-born population, after Somalis. Dogo says many immigrants, despite their professional backgrounds, gravitate here to jobs as home care workers, parking lot attendants and taxi drivers. "The [taxi] industry is very important to the community," Dogo says. "Even professionals here who get laid off and cannot work, they can always go back to cab driving." Berhan usually drinks his coffee at Starbucks, but he also meets other Ethiopian drivers at Enat Kitchen on North Killingsworth Street, known for its buna, Ethiopian coffee prepared in a ceremony, heavily sweetened and poured from a clay pot. The drivers have formed their own community, based on their nationality and shared profession. "Think about ityou know nobody," says Teddy Ayele, a Sassy's Cab Co. driver who immigrated in 2007. "You're new to the country, the culture, everything. That's just you. It's an ocean. You're in the middle of an ocean just by yourself. How would you feel?" Berhan first came to the U.S. from Ethiopia in 1996 to work temporarily as a translator. Four days after he returned home, Berhan was robbed and beaten at a club in Addis Ababa. Berhan says he's superstitious, and he took the attack as a sign he needed to leave. He immigrated to Seattle and worked not only at a 7-Eleven but also at Dunkin Donuts, as a mailman, and in a chicken processing plant where he loaded frozen birds on a production line. (Berhan says he earned $6.66 an hour and quit the job because his wage was "the devil's number.") He moved to Portland in 2008 to help out at his brother's restaurant and started driving for Broadway Cab. He liked the work but came to resent the $450 kitty. "They keep oppressing you," Berhan says. "That's why we started to create Union Cab." Berhan fell in behind Kedir Wako, another Broadway driver who sought to start his own cab company. Another Ethiopian immigrant, Tesfaye Aleme, had won approval for Green Transportation in 1998, but there had been no new permits issued since then. Wako spent four years trying to get City Hall to OK his new company. Radio and Broadway cabbies jammed the streets around City Hall in protest, but then-Mayor Sam Adams backed Union Cab, which had support from the Oregon AFL-CIO. The City Council approved Union Cab in 2012 and awarded it 50 taxi permits. Wako says he lost taxi-driver friends over Union Cab, and many blame him for the ease with which the city welcomed Uber and Lyft. "They think Uber comes because of me," he says. "Because I opened that door." Union Cab and Green Transportation are considering reducing the kitty they charge drivers. Radio Cab general manager Steve Entler says his company is considering limiting the number of drivers on the streets at one time so that those who are working earn a living wage. Broadway Cab is rethinking how it schedules its drivers. "We need some cabs that aren't full-time cabs, to be honest," says Raye Miles, Broadway Cab president. Wako says Union Cab has no plans to cut back on drivers. He wants to get Union Cab on Curb and Flywheel, apps for summoning traditional taxis. (Broadway and Radio are already on Curb.) Wako also wants to do more marketing of Union Cab and sign more contracts with hotels, hospitals and nursing homes to guarantee steady business. "Instead of fighting with Uber and the city, I just want to prepare myself for how to exist," he says. "I don't want to whine every day at the City Council. It doesn't help. It cost us too much already." Despite his determination to fight through the financial challenge Uber and Lyft have posed, Berhan says it's coming at an emotional cost for him. For years, Berhan supported his mother, his sister and her three children. He says he's been relying on a niecewho he helped put through collegefor help, which is difficult for him to accept. aI used to do all the support,a he says. aNow Iam needing support.a WWeek 2015 You are the owner of this article. In response to the United Nations Security Council resolution against the settlements, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Education Minister Naftali Bennett rushed to the Western Wall and, as usual, threw dust in the publics eyes. They slammed the UN resolution and declared that the Western Wall and the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem are not occupied territories. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Its actually quite clear to them, however, that it was neither the Western Wall nor Jerusalem nor the large settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria that led to the resolutions adoption. Its time for Bennett to stop talking about annexing West Bank lands and to actually start taking serious steps in that direction. Its time for Netanyahu to stop deceiving the public and to lead the annexation move (Photo: Reuters) The resolution was a response to Netanyahu and Bennetts regular targeted assassination of the two-state solution, and mainly the constant expansion of the settlements, which is clearly reflected in the Amona and Regulation Bill affairs and in the quiet massive growth in the past six years in the number of settlers living beyond the separation barrier: From 70,000 to 100,000. Above all, the fuel for the UN resolution was Netanyahus recent statement that there has never been a better government for the settlers like the current one, thereby admitting that his government is nothing but the settlers government. Netanyahu and Bennett know very well that there is a global consensus that Jewish Jerusalemincluding the Western Wall, the Jewish Quarter and the Jewish neighborhoods built beyond the Green Linewill remain under Israeli sovereignty in any peace agreement, and that the settlement blocswhich include about 75 percent of all settlers in the West Bankwill remain under Israeli sovereignty as part of a land swap agreement with the Palestinians. So Netanyahu and Bennett should have actually issued declarations about Amona and Yitzhar and other isolated settlements. Thats what theyre fighting for, not the Western Wall. Thats the real reason for their objection to the UN resolution. Netanyahu and Bennett believe in the Greater Land of Israel. They are not interested in giving up a single of inch of land in Judea and Samaria and are against the two-state solution. The desirable solution, as far as they are concerned, is leaving all the occupied territories under Israeli control forever. This is Bennetts consistent and declared stand. This is also Netanyahus consistent and deeply rooted stand, although its not always declared. In the past, he covered it up with false statements, such as his declaration in the 2009 Bar-Ilan speech that he supports the two-state solution, yet since then he has done everything in his power to thwart this solution, and in the past year he has declared repeatedly that he is unwilling to give up a single inch of land in the West Bank. Last September, the Russian deputy foreign minister announced that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was ready to meet with Netanyahu in Moscow without any preconditions, but Netanyahu failed to find any available time in his schedule to hold the meeting. The reason is clear, as he explained to a foreign figure he met with. He is afraid that Abbas will raise the two-state solution, which involves an Israeli withdrawal from areas in the West Bank. Thats why its time to take action. Its time for Bennett to stop talking about annexing West Bank lands and to actually start taking serious steps in that direction. Its time for Netanyahu to stop deceiving the public and to lead the annexation move. All it requires from them is to declare that Israeli sovereignty will apply to all Judea and Samaria lands. There is nothing stopping them. They have a right-wing dream government, in which most members share their political vision, and according to their statements, they dont care about the worlds protest against the settlements either. Netanyahu has been declaring in recent days that Israel is standing firmly against the world and will not surrender to the UN. He has promised the public that we have a bright future ahead of us despite the worlds attempts to terrorize us. If thats the case, we should say to him and Bennett: You want to continue the occupation? Youre yearning for a Greater Land of Israel? Then go all the way and start annexing immediately. Such a move will finally put your vision to the test and present the full picture to the public. And so, in the next elections, the public will have to decide between two camps: The annexation camp, led by Netanyahu and Bennett, that will turn Israel into a bi-national state in which the Palestinians will make up close to half of the population and will shortly become the majority; and the camp that will keep Israel as a Jewish state with a stable Jewish majority, alongside a separate Palestinian state. Let the people decide. A nine-month-old baby from the southern Bedouin community drowned in a tub on Monday. Efforts made to revive the baby by Maden David Adom medics and medical teams at the Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead several hours later. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Following the tragedy, Beterem, an organization aimed at promoting child health, released some alarming statistics on the number of children who have died after drowning. According to the organization, 19 children in Israel had drowned in 2016, and 15 had drowned that in 2015. 141 children have drowned since 2008. Magen David Adom ambulance (Photo: Herzl Yosef) About one third of the child drowning cases were infants, babies or children under the age of four. In 45% of these cases, the child had drowned while in their home environment. A possible explanation for this is that a young child's head is heavier than many other areas of their body, causing them to fall over when leaning above a body of water, at an age when they are still unable to get themselves out of the situation. Beterem CEO Orly Silvinger issued a statement following the event. "We have been promoting a child safety project in cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Bedouin diasphora to raise awareness among the community and parents, so that we may bring about a change in the safety culture and prevent tragedies such as this. It's extremely important to know that infants can drown in water as low as five cm, so they cannot be left alone near a bucket or tub. Rather, you must make sure to empty such a container completely." The Ministerial Committee for Legislation will discuss next Sunday an amendment to the law that would require the prime minister to appoint a temporary replacement to fill in for him when he is unable to fulfill his duty, Ynet has learned. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The proposal was submitted by MK Merav Michaeli (Zionist Union), who is seeking to alter the current situation in which the prime minister is allowed to appoint a replacement, but is not obligated to do so. The move comes in light of an ongoing investigation against Netanyahu, who was questioned under caution by Israel Police for three hours on Monday evening over suspicion of receiving gifts from businessmen in breach of his role as a public servant. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch) Currently, no one has been appointed to the position, raising concern that without a stand-in, the prime minister could become too preoccupied with the suspicions against him, thereby compromising his ability to lead the country. An explanation for the proposed legislation read: The current situation is that there is no replacement. The government grants authority to another minister to stand in for the prime minister while he is unable to carry out his duties. The current government is made up of many ministers who see themselves as immediate candidates for being prime minister. In the current situation, in the absence of an appointed stand-in, a prolonged period of time could pass during which the ministers would fight and campaign for the position and be distracted from their worksomething that can bring the country into chaos. MK Merav Michaeli (Photo: Ido Erez) The bill proposal went on to note that, The current law will remain as valid legislation and will be enacted only in the very rare case in which both the prime minister and his stand-in are unable to fill the position. In addition to the suggested change, the law also recommends that if it is approved, the prime minister be obligated to appoint a stand-in within seven days from the moment it comes into effect. The planned surprise strike at kindergartens, primary and middle schools in Israel was cut short on Tuesday morning after the Tel Aviv labor court ordered to start classes at 9am instead of 11am. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter However, because the decision was made after 8am, chaos ensued in the education system, with many parents in a bind after not knowing whether to send their children to school or stay at home with them. The Israel Teachers' Union announced the surprise strike on Monday over growing concerns that several teachers and education professionals have yet to be paid in full. Students arriving in school on Tuesday morning after the strike was shortened (Photo: Roee Idan) The Finance and Education ministries petitioned the labor court on Monday night, asking it to issue an injunction to the strike. The labor court held a hearing regarding the petition on Tuesday morning, which began after the beginning of the school day at 8am. Minutes into the hearing, Judge Irit Hermel suggested that an agreement is reached for the day so the strike can be avoided while the sides continue talks. "Let the children and teachers begin their school day and we'll keep discussing this here," Judge Hermel said. Benny Cohen, the attorney who represents the Teachers' Union, rejected the proposal. "We won't cancel (the strike) unless the court decides to cancel it. Educators are entitled to protest on the issue," Cohen said. The sides the held a closed discussion with the judge in an effort to reach understandings, but were unsuccessful, leading the judges to accept a proposal from a parents' union to end the strike at 9am. Teachers' Union head Yaffa Ben David and other representatives of the union met with Finance Ministry director-general Shai Babad, Education Ministry director-general Michal Cohen and other government officials on Sunday to discuss salary conditions. Specifically, Ben David demanded the cancellation of an expected retroactive cut made to teachers who were accidentally overpaid due to a conversion error. She also insisted that education professionals who had paid out of their own pocket for their transportation be reimbursed, in opposition to the planned cut in transportation reimbursement. Ben David stated that "The Israeli government should be ashamed of itself that education professionals are not paid their salary in full. Harming the salaries of education professionals in the amounts of thousands of shekels due to a supposed error is unacceptable." "The Education Ministry's accountants' claim of encountering a computing glitch is unacceptable. An education professional has just as much a right to receive their full salary and guarantee their dignified existence as any citizen who sends their children every day to school," added Ben David. The Teachers' Union issued a statement, as well. "Thousands of education professionals have been severely hurt by the Education Ministry's deficient implementation of salary conversion under the 'New Horizon' reform, as well as the deficient implementation of agreements between the Histadrut (general workers' unioned)," the statement read. It went on to say that the ministries "certainly should not reduce the education professionals' salaries or reimbursement for transportations expenses without first having a dialogue about this with the Teachers' Union." A 45-year-old man was pronounced dead in Haifa on Tuesday morning after being shot in his upper body. According to medics, they performed emergency treatment after he lost consciousness, had no pulse and was not breathing and were eventually forced to pronounce his death. The circumstances surrounding the shooting are being investigated. In a separate incident, a man was evacuated to Rambam Hospital in Haifa the same morning after being shot in his lower body. The suspect fled the scene as police opened an investigation. Police say there is a connection between the two incidents. A day before the military court is set to decide whether Sgt. Elor Azaria is guilty of manslaughter , IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot on Tuesday passed implied criticism against voices who call for leniency in his sentencing. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "An 18-year-old man who enlists in the IDF is a soldier, and not 'everyone's son,' and he must give his life to protect us," Eisenkot said. Speaking at an event in memory of former IDF chief Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, Eisenkot also expressed his full confidence in the court and stressed that he has no say in the judgement. Eizenkot and Azaria (Photos: Yair Sagi, Motti Kimchi) "There are courts and I have no influence on them," he said. "They seek to serve justice and set the norms and judicial rules and they are not affected by me." He said that in Israel, "there's great confusion over what is the role of each body." The Azaria family criticized Eisenkot's comments, saying in a statement: "On the eve of Elor's sentencing, the IDF chief finds it appropriate again to bluntly interfere. He is coming out against the notion that we are sending the ones most dear to us to the army under the belief that they are being entrusted to commanders who are worthy of it." Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman called on judges Col. Maya Heller and Col. Orly Markman on Monday to ignore background noises as they pass their judgement. Heller is the head of the panel that will sentence Azaria on Wednesday. Lieberman has previously stated he would support Sgt. Azaria even if he is convicted Azaria is facing manslaughter charges after shooting dead a seriously wounded terrorist lying on the ground. Meanwhile, Azaria's supporters continued their campaign on Tuesday morning by releasing a photo of Azaria from his first day in the IDF alongside a letter of support written by Azaria's sister. "Two years before the army, you started trainingcome rain or shine, early in the morning and late at nightso you could pass the tests for a combat position. The night before you couldn't sleep, but you made yourself because you had to give your all to what you wanted most in the worldto fight for the State of Israel," Azaria's sister Etti wrote. Azaria on the day he enlisted in the IDF (Photo: Etti Azaria) "And then came that cursed day, March 24, 2016, the day you did your duty and saved a life and shot a terrorist who started moving with a bloated black coat on a hot day. "Since, the world came down on us, everything changed by the disappointment and pain that you were abandoned. "You've been under arrest for 10 months, 10 months that your wings have been clipped and your freedom taken, 10 months in which you've been witnessing injustice." She called on the people of Israel to "pray to the Maker to give us back everyone's child." If Azaria is convicted on Wednesday of manslaughter, which carries with it a punishment of several years in prison, the Military Advocate General's Office is considering asking the court to send Azaria to military prison immediately rather than wait a month for the verdict. Immediately after the incident, Azaria was put in military prison. During the court hearings ahead of his indictment, he was moved to open detention at his army base near Rosh HaAyinthe military alternative to house arrest. He was granted leave to go home for some weekends and holidays. If Azaria is convicted, the court is expected to take into account the fact Azaria spent some 10 months in open detention, during which he served as a maintenance worker at the base. Hundreds of residents from the central Israeli town of Tira turned up to bid their final farewell Tuesday morning to Layan Nasser, who was killed in the shooting attack at the Reina nightclub Istanbul on New Year's Eve, as they laid her body to rest. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The devastation wrought on the family could be heard from the outset of the procession as members screamed in anguish and burst into tears as the coffin of the 19 year old was taken from the hearse. The great hero has arrived, they shouted as they wept. Family devastated as their lay their daughter to rest X Thousands more attended the funeral which began at 11:30am from the home of the Nasser family as they walked to the city cemetery. The Tira municipality declared the day as a day of mourning for the city, standing in solidarity with the victims family and as a protest against the massacre, for which responsibility was claimed by ISIS on Monday. Coffin of Layan Nasser brought to a cemetery in Tira People close to the family described their disbelief at the horrifying reality which has befallen them. It is still difficult to believe that Layan will not come back to life. She was the flower of the family. The mother is devastated, said a family friend. She always says, where is my precious daughter, how can I go on in life without her? Layan, wake up, even for a minute so that I can hug you and tell you that I love you so much. I want to hear your voice for just a few seconds which I miss. Why did they murder you? Layan Nasser The family also reflected on the difficulties which lie ahead in light of their tragic loss. It will be hard for us to forget this disaster. The pain and the suffering will accompany us for a long time, they said. Thousands show up for the funeral in Tira Ranna Matira, who knew Layan personally, described her as everyones friend. We all loved her. She would always say to us, I really love you, take care of yourselves and always stay in touch with me. Dont lose contact. It breaks my heart. The moment that I heard about her death I remembered her beautiful words, Matira said. Tira city Mayor Abed Al Hai Mamoun added his own words of condolence. Tira is hurting from the pain of the Nasser family and the families that were hurt. The entire community is full of great anger over this terror attack, which is why we have declared today a day in which we channel our anger into opposition against violent terror attacks anywhere in the world. Family sits in a mourning tent The situation is not easy and this is the first time that our city has had to cope with such a hard incident like this, he lamented. He also urged Israelis to refrain from visiting countries in which the risk of terror attacks remains high. I want to ask every resident and every citizen of the state to take seriously the warnings coming out of the Counter Terrorism Bureau and not go to dangerous countries Life is worth a lot more than anything else. Layan Nasser wanted to celebrate like all youngsters and unfortunately she paid a heavy price. Welfare and Labor Minister Haim Katz was questioned under caution for the second time by the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) two weeks ago, this time on the suspicion he received bribes. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Financial advisor Moti Ben-Aryeh, a close associate of Katz, was also questioned again on suspicion of bribing the minister. It is currently unclear what the nature of the bribes given is but Katz is alleged to have received inside information from Ben-Aryeh that enabled him to profit financially. Minister Haim Katz (Photo: George Ginsburg) Katz was allegedly told by Ben-Aryeh about an impending deal between two real estate companies he has been working for since 1999, Nitsba Holdings and Airport City. Before the deal was reported to the stock exchange, which would have led many investors to buy stocks and thus raise their value, Katz and Ben-Aryeh bought Nitsba stocks. In order to avoid raising suspicion and to avoid having the stock's value spike before the report to the stock exchange, Katz and Ben-Aryeh allegedly bought the stocks over the course of several days. Airport City then offered to buy Nitsba's shares from the public at 23 percent over the price it was being traded for at the time. As a result, Katz and Ben-Aryeh have allegedly made NIS 290,000 in profit when Airport City bought the stocks from them. The ISA defined Ben-Aryeh as someone with very close social and business ties to Katz. He is also considered a close associate of billionaire Kobi Maimon and advises companies controlled by Maimon. Maimon controls both Nitsba and Airport City and also has dealings in the natural gas business. He is also considered a close associate of Katz, as well as of Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon. Because of their ties to Maimon, both Kahlon and Katz opted out of voting on Knesset and government decisions relating to the natural gas plan. The ISA is an investigative body with enforcement authorities that has been using advanced systems recently to identify insider trading and fraud. It first questioned Katz, who cooperated with investigators, last May on the suspicion he used insider information to profit from trading securities. The questioning, which received the approval of the attorney general, was accompanied by the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Taxation and Economics Department. Ben-Aryeh was arrested and then released under restrictive conditions. He was barred from leaving the country and his bail was set at NIS 1 million. Both Katz and Ben-Aryeh have denied the allegations made against them. The minister said on Monday, "I regret the fact that half-truths and disinformation are being leaked to the press in an effort to hurt my good name. I'm certain that the clouds hanging over my head will disappear and I will not be accused of any wrongdoing. I said what I had to say to the investigators, fully cooperating, and have yet to see fit to hire a lawyer." The ISA declined comment on the report. More than two years have passed since the startling legal opinion was submitted to senior officials at the Population, Immigration and Border Authority (PIBA). Written by the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) unit that is responsible for handling asylum seekers in Israel, it holds that any Darfur refugee who does not belong to the Arab tribes is automatically entitled to political asylum in Israel. This likely applies to several thousands in Israelabout 6,000 people, according to one estimate. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The opinion clearly has far-reaching consequences for asylum seekers. But although it was written two years ago, throughout this entire period the PIBA has been implementing the governments orders and doing everything in its power to make Darfur refugees leave Israel. Moreover, in these past two years, PIBA officials have been telling the courts that a policy has yet to be determined regarding the Darfur residents. A Darfur refugee (Photo: EPA) The legal opinion, which was exposed by Yedioth Ahronoth, Ynet's sister publication, for the very first time on Monday, raises suspicions that PIBA officials may have concealed critical information from the courts. The opinion on this matter is comprehensive, including information and examples of similar asylum seekers appeals from around the world. The RSD employees who penned the opinion are tasked with providing recommendations to PIBA officials and to the government ministers who are supposed to make the final decision on this matter. Officially, PIBA sources argue that this is an internal document, rolling their eyes and explaining that these are only recommendations. Mainly, they cling to the fact that the interior portfolio passed through the hands of five different ministers since the opinion was written: Gideon Saar, Gilad Erdan, Silvan Shalom, Benjamin Netanyahu and Aryeh Deri. Behind the scenes, however, a senior source says that the PIBA director-general personally approved the report and that the delay is being caused by the higher ranks. This means that the courts would find it difficult to ignore the legal opinion if it were to be submitted together with Darfur refugees asylum requests. Alternatively, its quite possible that in the coming days the government will have no choice but to accept the opinion and allow the thousands of Darfur residents who have yet to be deported to officially stay here as refugees. One in 18,904 requests approved Although all decision makers in the PIBA are well aware of the legal opinion and although it has even been handed over to the advisory committee, which includes officials from the Justice and Foreign Ministries, the PIBA repeatedly declares in its responses to the courtincluding in two cases from the past few weeksthat a policy on the Darfur asylum seekers has yet to be determined. According to figures that the PIBA provided to Amnesty International Israel under the Freedom of Information Law, as of November 9, 2016, there were 18,904 asylum requests awaiting a decision. Deputy Attorney General Dina Zilber admitted last March that Israel was neglecting the asylum requests. How many of those requests have been accepted? Well, only one of the Sudaneses requests was handed over to the advisory committee: the one filed by Mutasim Ali, who was recognized as a refugee after a long legal battle. All the while, 1,825 Sudanese have already been interviewed, and a further 400 are still waiting for the interview stage. IDF soldiers with Darfur refugees, August 2016 (Photo: Meir Azoulay) Many Israeli officials have argued in recent years that the Sudanese who are returned to their country or to a third country do not face any danger. Four months ago, however, the Danish Immigration Service and the British Home Office issued a joint report indicating that asylum seekers who return from Israel to Sudan face persecution over their stay in Israel. According to several different sources on whom the report based its findings, these Sudanese returning from Israel are considered spies by the authorities. They are arrested upon arriving at the Khartoum airport and are physically abused and tortured. According to a report in the Sudanese press, the authorities have targeted more than 3,000 asylum seekers who were returned from Israel, issuing arrest warrants against them and restricting their freedom of movement. In several cases, Sudanese were reportedly murdered upon returning to their homeland. Thats apparently what happened to Muhammad Ahmed, who was taken in for questioning immediately after landing at the airport. Later that night, his friends in Israel received a phone call from his family informing them that he had been killed. Proof of ethnic cleansing According to figures released by the PIBA in October, there are in Israel today 29,367 asylum seekers from Eritrea and 8,066 asylum seekers from Sudan, mostly from the Darfur region, where genocide has been taking place for the past 13 years. The legal opinion includes a general review of the ethnic conflict in Darfur: a serious humanitarian disaster; more than 3 million displaced persons in Darfur and Khartoum; The International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of President Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. It also includes an updated state of affairs in the region: a regime of oppression and anarchy; political violence; a serious violation of human rights. According to the report, The tools used by the Sudan government in Darfur, which are similar to the ones used by the Serbs in Kosovoforcible uprooting, plunder, torching homes and entire villages, arrests, executions, rape and moreare clear tools of ethnic cleansing aimed at cleaning the region of African natives who are not Arabs and of those perceived as a threat to the government. The horrors in Darfur, Sudan (Photo: Amnesty International) The report then provides a global review of the way Darfur residents asylum requests are handled, which is primarily a review of court rulings around the world. The conclusion is that a failure to refute the asylum seekers claim regarding his identity as a Darfur resident who comes from a non-Arab tribe is enough to accept the claim of persecution by the Sudanese authorities based on race (ethnic group). In other words, the global consensus is that a person who has proved that he comes from Darfur need not prove persecution to be granted asylum. The fact that he is identified as a Darfur resident is enough to provide protection from racial-based persecution. In the United States, for example, more than 90 percent of Darfur residents who reached the country have been recognized as refugees. As for the asylum requests in Israel, the report states in section 35: The generic profile of a Darfur asylum seeker in Israel is of a person who has fled the Darfur region due to violent incidents in the area in recent years on the backdrop of the ethnic cleansing committed by the Sudanese government. And what are the conclusions of the legal opinion? The claims raised from these asylum requests are that there is a high probability that the asylum seekers may experience persecution upon returning to their homeland The government in Sudan and its branches, the armed militias, see anyone who does not actively support their actions, especially those who belong to the non-Arab ethnic groups, as a legitimate target. The opinion stresses that while in the past an asylum seeker had to prove that he had no internal residential alternative in Sudanin other words, that the authorities would stop persecuting him once he leaved that regionit is now enough for the asylum seeker to prove that he comes from one of the non-Arab tribes in Darfur in order to support the claim of racial-based persecution The discussed population has no international residential alternative in Sudan. The bottom line, according to the opinion, is that contrary to the claims made by Darfur asylum seekers who come from the non-Arab tribes (and are automatically entitled to be recognized as refugees), the claims of asylum seekers from the Darfur region who come from one of the Arab tribes should be examined individually in accordance with their history in their homeland. In other words, there is no need for an individual examination of asylum requests filed by Darfur residents who come from the non-Arab tribes. The shelved report This affair does not end with the Sudanese. Since 2013 to this day, nearly 1,400 asylum requests filed by Eritrean refugees have been rejected, based on an opinion issued by the PIBAs legal advisor, Daniel Salomon. Several weeks ago, Yedioth Ahronoth revealed that Salomons opinion was dubious, biased and appeared to have been pre-ordered, mainly as it ignored the fact that the absolute majority of Eritreans were recognized as refugees in almost every country in the world. Indeed, the opinion was invalidated by Jerusalem Appeals Court shortly afterwards. It has now been revealed that this was not the first opinion written in the PIBA regarding the Eritreans. According to a source in the Interior Ministry, a previous opinion which firmly asserted that people who have defected from the Eritrean army should be given political asylum had been shelved because it did not match the governments agenda that everyone must be deported indiscriminately. More than 6,000 Eritreans left Israel during the discussed period, most of them to third countriesUganda and Rwandawhich Israel has secret agreements with. In practice, these agreement fail to protect the refugees. In March 2015, then-Interior Minister Gilad Erdan announced that the state was planning to jail asylum seekers whose asylum requests were not pending for an unlimited period of time, unless they agreed to willingly leave to a third country. This policy is now being discussed by the Supreme Court, and a decision is likely expected in the coming month. The Population, Immigration and Border Authority offered the following response: Contrary to the claims, there is no RSD report with recommendations to grant asylum to former Darfur residents that has been handed over to the decision markers. Factual reviews of information are conducted by the unit routinely. These are internal reviews that are conducted for the purpose of handling individual cases and include information about the country of the person who filed the request. In any event, the RSD unit is not the body that issues legal opinions on policy matters, and any decision to grant a refugee status is made solely by the interior minister. Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper says a woman identified by Turkish media as the wife of the Istanbul nightclub massacre suspect has told police she did not know her husband was a member of the Islamic State group. IS has claimed responsibility for the New Year's Eve attack that killed 39 people at the Reina nightclub. Police are still searching for the gunman. The woman was detained in the central town of Konya as part of the investigation. Neither she nor her husband has been identified by name. Hurriyet said on its online edition Tuesday that the woman said she learned about the attack on television and told police she didn't know her husband harbored "sympathies toward" the Islamic State group. Media reports say the gunman flew to Istanbul from Kyrgyzstan with his wife and children on November 20. From there they drove to the Turkish capital, Ankara, by before arriving in Konya on November 22. The family rented a studio in Konya, paying three months of rent upfront. The gunman told the estate agent he had arrived in Konya in search of work, according to the report. Hurriyet said the gunman returned to Istanbul December 29. The Military Attorney Generals Office submitted an indictment Monday night to the military court in Samaria in the West Bank against a 17-year-old girl for attempting to stab an IDF soldier two weeks ago as he entered an Israel Border Police base in Qalqilya. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter According to the police, last month the girl, from Beit Amin in Qalqilya, approached the soldier at the entrance to the base brandishing a knife with intent to stab him. One of the drawings showing her desire to stab an Israeli (Photo: Israel Police Spokesperson's Unit) Reacting swiftly, the soldier implemented the rules of engagement, which involve several warnings to a potentially threatening individual to stop where they are, before ultimately managing to subdue her. An IDF soldier was her ideal target (Photo: Israel Police Spokesperson's Unit) Photo: Israel Police Spokesperson's Unit The girl was taken in for questioning shortly after the incident where she confessed to having planned to carry out a stabbing attack for a long time against a soldier and expressed regret that her attempt was not successful. During the investigation, the girl also presented drawings by her illustrating her strong desire and motivation to attack a member of Israels security forces. ASHGABAT- The energy-rich Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan said Tuesday that it has restricted natural gas deliveries to Iran over unpaid debts. Turkmenistan's foreign ministry said that its ability to maintain its gas transportation infrastructure has been compromised by Iran's failure to continue paying off old debts since 2013. Officials say gas deliveries were restricted on Jan. 1, but did not specify if they have been halted altogether. The Turkmen government has not specified the size of Iran's outstanding debts, although Iranian state media have put the figure demanded by Turkmenistan at around $2 billion. Turkmenistan says it pleaded with Iran for the past year to resolve the debt arrears but received no response. A gas pipeline was built between Turkmenistan and Iran in 1997. Another route was completed in 2010, bringing Turkmenistan's annual gas export potential to Iran to 12 billion cubic meters. PARIS- Fear of Islamist attacks kept foreign tourists away from Paris and the Riviera last year, costing French hoteliers an estimated 650 million euros ($675 million) in lost revenue, the head of hotel research firm MKG told Reuters on Tuesday. Activity picked up slightly in the last quarter as hotels, notably in Paris, slashed prices during the year-end festivities and a stronger dollar brought back U.S. tourists. Trade fairs such as Le Bourget air show, held every other year and next due in June, should help hotel room demand this year though a wait-and-see approach before the spring presidential elections could weigh on business. "2017 can only be better than 2016 though we are unlikely to return to 2014's levels," MKG's Georges Panayotis said by phone. CARACAS- Search parties hunted on Tuesday for a Venezuelan military helicopter that went missing five days ago in bad weather over the Amazon jungle with 13 people on board. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said local indigenous communities were helping army rescuers search the densely-forested area on foot and by boat, but poor weather conditions were preventing overflights. As well as the four-man crew, the Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter was carrying four local indigenous inhabitants, five military personnel who were to relieve colleagues at a post, and supplies, when it went off the radar on Dec. 30. "We have had information from indigenous inhabitants who saw the helicopter fly over," Padrino said. "But so far, by air it's been practically impossible to reach the area where we presume there was a forced landing ... We keep faith that they are OK." Foreign financial support to the Palestinian budget is running at about half the forecast level, the Palestinian prime minister told local media on Tuesday, meaning deep cuts will have to be made to the budget this year. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter At its cabinet meeting, the government said it expected to run a budget deficit of 4.12 billion shekels in 2017 ($1.06 billion), approaching 15 percent of gross domestic product. "We had expected to get $1.2 billion in (external) support and offers but we have only received $640 million so far," Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamdallah told Al-Quds newspaper. Mahmoud Abbas at a Fatah political meeting (Photo: AP) Saudi Arabia has in the past been a reliable supporter of the Palestinians, but it has cut back its contributions sharply in recent months. The United Arab Emirates and Turkey also provide large sums to the Palestinian Authority. Saudi Arabia normally pays about $20 million a month into the budget, but it stopped making regular contributions last April - in part to apply pressure on President Mahmoud Abbas to implement political changes. The European Union and the United States have also reduced direct budget support, preferring instead to fund development programs that target specific areas. The cabinet statement said the total shortfall in foreign funding was forecast to be $765 million in 2017, which will put pressure on government departments to cut costs. "Such a decline compels us to adopt an austerity policy in all fields," the statement said. More than half of all spending -- 55 percent -- goes on salaries and wages for the Palestinian Authority's 156,000 state employees, from teachers and doctors to police and public security staff, according to the finance ministry's 2016 budget. The Palestinian Authority also doles out stipends to terrorists who were arrested after trying to murder Israelis. While the economy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip grew by about 1.5 percent in 2015, the last full figures available, unemployment continued to rise, standing at 27.4 percent overall - 18.7 percent in the West Bank and 42.7 percent in Gaza, the ministry said. SANAA- Pro-government forces attacked al-Qaida militants in southern Yemen on Tuesday, killing 15 jihadis but losing 11 of their own troops, security officials said. The fighting began when troops backed by a Saudi-led coalition attacked an al-Qaida stronghold in the Marakasha mountains in Abyan province, east of the southern city of Aden. The area has long been a militant haven, attracting fighters in the 1990s returning from Afghanistan after fighting the Soviets. Al-Qaida later said in a statement circulated online that it had "ambushed" the troops and fought them off, the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group said. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to reporters, said more than 60 military vehicles were involved in the operation, firing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades before they were repulsed. LONDON- An investigation has been launched after British police fatally shot a man during an operation in which five other people were arrested. West Yorkshire police said the operation "related to information received about criminal possession of a firearm," and was not related to terrorism. The man who was killed was identified as 27-year-old Mohammed Yassar Yaqub of Huddersfield. His family issued a statement through a lawyer saying they are "in shock and distraught." Police shootings are rare in Britain and there is an automatic investigation when someone is killed. Police say they are cooperating with the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he hoped to stave off any possible moves at the U.N. Security Council against his government's policies following a Paris conference scheduled for later this month on Middle East peace. "There are signs that they will try to turn decisions made there into another decision in the Security Council," Netanyahu said during a meeting with Israeli ambassadors in Jerusalem. "Therefore our primary effort for now is to prevent another U.N. decision, another decision by the Security Council. And also to prevent a decision by the Quartet," he said, referring to the group of peace mediators that comprises the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union. "We are investing a great diplomatic effort in this," he said in broadcast remarks, without providing any details. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be questioned by the Israel Police again this week, apparently on Friday morning as part of their investigation into his having allegedly accepted illicit gifts from businessmen while a public servant. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The prime minister was already questioned on Monday for three hours under caution at his official residence. Then, he responded to the questions posed to him regarding his version of events. A knowledgeable source said, "He's not a regular person to be questioned. And he was very prepared for the investigation." Netanyahu (L) and the head of the Investigations Division (background) (Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch & Gil Yohanan) Following the questioning, both parties directly involved maintained complete silence. The first meeting took place on Tuesday amongst Investigations Department Deputy Commissioner Meni Yitzhaki; Lahav 443 Special Investigations Unit head, Deputy Commissioner Roni Rittman; and the investigating team in which they all reviewed the evidence gathered. In the next round of questioning, the investigators are likely to bring up further suspicions that they have gathered against Netanyahu. This is also the reason that the details of the crimes of which the prime minister is suspected have not yet been published in full. Monday night, a statement by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit detailed a list of claims that arose and did not present sufficient grounds to launch an investigation. Netanyahu released his first comment on Tuesday after the preceding day's questioning in which he communicated, "I repeat: There won't be anything because there isn't anything." Egyptian, Jordanian, Saudis, and Iraqi students gathered for a workshop in Amman last week to discuss what to many may seem like a surprising issue; the future of the Hebrew language in the Arab World. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The organizers of the workshop was the Center for Israel Studies in Amman. Founded just two years ago, the center is headed by Dr. Abdullah Swalha, who obtained his doctorate at Cairo University where he studied Jews and Israeli democracy. The workshop was funded in part by the DC- and Tel Aviv-based Israel Institute, which also took part in the event. A closing document states that there will be a push to develop Hebrew language studies in the Arab world, understand the content of Hebrew language classes taught at Arab universities, research to what degree understanding Hebrew would help in understanding the State of Israel and Israelis in general, and brainstorming about the challenges, opportunities, and potential risks of learning Hebrew. There was also a note made about the history of Hebrew studies in these various Arab countries. It said that various Hebrew studies courses began at Egyptian universities in the 1960s and that there are 13 universities with over 2,500 students who learn about Hebrew in Egypt every year. A similar program began in Iraq in 1969, in Saudi Arabia in 1994, and in Jordan in 2000 at the Yarmouk University. "If knowledge of (Israeli) society is necessary in times of war, it is even more necessary in times of peace," said an Egyptian professor who was at the workshop. There were also those who were against studying Hebrew due to political considerations. However, one Jordanian speaker responded to this, "Studying Hebrew should be done despite emotions, especially when it comes to the sciences." An Iraqi professor added that "learning Hebrew is now a very urgent matter for our people." The Jordanian speaker continued, "We have no idea about Hebrew culture, the language, and way of thinking. They know and understand us a lot better than we know and understand them." Meanwhile, a Saudi professor praised the Hebrew language, "While Hebrew is a dynamic, changing language, we have been using the same references since 1962." A dearth of students who want to study Hebrew "We have a problem in terms of the number of students who want to study Hebrew," Swalha said. "In Jordan for instance, the number of people studying Hebrew has dropped from 500 to about 100. Additionally, students who study Hebrew are unable to find jobs. We must analyze this problem and come up with a solution," Swalha continued. The workshop also touched upon the difficulties of learning Hebrew. On top of the logistical issues such as a lack of Hebrew learning material in Arab university libraries there is also a lack of direct contact between Arab lecturers and their Israeli counterparts, thereby making it difficult to get Hebrew language books, newspapers, and other materials. The materials need to be obtained via a third party, as contact with Israelis is illegal in many Arab countries. "Hostility due to the Arab-Israeli conflict has kept Arab students and professors from connecting with their Israeli counterparts," a Jordanian speaker said. Another barrier for Hebrew language studies in the Arab World is the social aspect how a student's friends and family may view them for studying Hebrew, and may take it as an act of "normalization." Those at the workshop agreed that Hebrew has a very negative connotation in their cultures. It is also due to this negative connotation that people are afraid that they will be seen as pushing Israeli and Jewish media and points of view in the Arab world. However, there are some governments who have discussed helping to fund Hebrew language professors and students to connect with their Israeli peers. However, several proposals were made at the workshop despite the difficulties. There was talk of establishing an international Arab society of Hebrew scholars, translation projects translating Hebrew material into Arabic with the support of various international institutions, and helping to provide more resources and jobs for graduates who graduate with a degree in Hebrew. There was even talk of providing scholarships to outstanding students to study in Israel, Germany, the US, and other Western countries. However, despite all of the good intentions, the elephant in the room remains are Arabs in the Arab world studying Hebrew to start a dialogue between the two nations, to "know thy neighbor?" Or, are they only learning Hebrew in an effort to collect intelligence, to "know thine enemy?" The answer was given very eloquently at the workshop: "(Hebrew) is very important to understand the 'other,' as it is only through language that we can understand the culture of the society and its way of thinking. The language can bring our nations closer." Israeli advocacy group Yesh Din criticized what it called an "exceptionally low" prosecution rate by the Israeli military in cases of violence committed by soldiers against Palestinians on Tuesday. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Yesh Din, a human rights group that is often critical of the Israeli military, issued the report a day before a military court's verdict is to be delivered in a high-profile manslaughter case against a soldier. In its annual report, Yesh Din said the army opened 186 criminal investigations into suspected offenses against Palestinians in 2015, but just four of those investigations yielded indictments. The group said the 2015 figures, based on official army data, were the most recent available. Elor Azaria sentenced on Wednesday (Photo: Motti Kimchi) In the fall of 2015, a wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence erupted, characterized by Palestinian stabbing and car-ramming attacks on Israelis. The report said that of 76 Palestinians killed in clashes with soldiers in the West Bank in 2015, only 21 deaths resulted in investigations. "The fact that in 55 incidents no criminal investigation was considered necessary raises doubts about the implementation of Israel's declared policy on investigating civilian fatalities," the report said. It said the data signaled an "inability and unwillingness" to address unlawful conduct. The Israeli military did not respond to requests for comment. On Wednesday, a military court is to deliver its verdict in the manslaughter case of a soldier who was caught on video last March fatally shooting an incapacitated Palestinian attacker in the West Bank. The case of Sgt. Elor Azaria, who has argued that attacker still posed a threat, has deeply divided Israel. Yesh Din spokesman Gilad Grossman said the manslaughter charge against a soldier was "very rare," but that the public uproar sparked by the video made it impossible to ignore. "There was no way to look aside and not investigate," he said. 3 arrested for bypassing calls The Central Investigation Bureau of the Nepal Police has arrested three persons on the charge of bypassing telephone calls from different places in a crackdown against the national and international racket. Health News Washington, DC - Consistent with Mayo Clinics historic commitment of service to our government, John Noseworthy, M.D., Mayo Clinic president and CEO, accepted the invitation from President-Elect Donald Trump to share his perspective on the future of health care delivery, research and excellence. Dr. Noseworthy is pleased for the opportunity to discuss the Mayo Model of Care and Mayo Model of Research as potential roadmaps to excellence in all of American health care and share Mayo Clinics views on critical success factors needed to solve our nations most pressing and complex health challenges. Better luck next year The year 2016 brought big hope as Madhesi forces mellowed and abandoned extreme measures of protest to champion their cause. Hello dearies! This is the Mistress of Spize, cooking up a lot of salt n sour, sweet n saucy stories and observations for you. Sniff! Can you smell, my preparation? Aroma is in the air and smoke is already rising from my hot pot.

Lets talk about eye-candy! The latest would be Hrithiks sword brandishing scene from Jodhaa Akbar. Man! how his muscles flexed as he challenged Aishwaryas defiance. That perfectly carved body language said it all without a word. It drew sighs from women across all ages. It was so amusing to hear a huddled group of aunty jis chatting about that perfectly chiselled body. And I was shocked to see the teeny-weeny teenagers just ogling. The sword-brandishing scene kind of bonded all females. And, let me tell you, it is that scene which will be remembered when all would be forgotten about Jodhaa Akbar.

For the male species, well, the latest eye-candy is the catty eyed Katrina Kaif and her sizzling item-numbers.

Dearies, I am sure you would be bursting with excitement to relate such stories and add on to the story-churning pot. Do interact and relate your rare observations through comments. Mistress of Spize is all ears!
Love ya!
Bringing the gods home Nepal needs to actively make repatriation claims of cultural properties trafficked abroad DoF condemns murder of forest guard The government has condemned the killing of Ganesh Bahadur Shahi, a forest security guard deployed at the District Forest Office in Taplejung. Elections impossible before amendment: Mahato Sadbhawana party chair Rajendra Mahato has opined for not holding any kinds of elections before the amendment of the constitution. Achyut Wagle holds PhD in economics and is currently a professor at the Kathmandu University School of Management. He is an econo-political analyst, writing for The Kathmandu Post for many years. Lumbini hosts over a million tourists in 2016 More than one million domestic tourists visited Lumbini in 2016, representing a 107.66 percent rise as compared to the 2015 figure. Mahottari locals join hands with Dhurmus and Suntali In a benevolent gesture, many people and organisations from Mahottari have rolled up their sleeves to help artist couple Sitaram Kattel and Kunjana Ghimire to build houses for the people of the marginalised Musahar community in the district. Ford is adding 700 US jobs and investing $700 million during the next four years to expand its Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan Ford scuttled a plan to build a new factory in Mexico Tuesday following criticism from Donald Trump, and just hours after the president-elect attacked General Motors for importing Mexican-made cars into the US. Following months of criticism from Trump for its investments in Mexico, Ford said it was spiking a plan to build a new $1.6 billion plant in San Luis Potosi, and would instead invest $700 million over the next four years to expand its Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan to build electric and self-driving vehicles. Ford chief executive Mark Fields said the second-biggest US automaker was hopeful Trump's policies will boost the US manufacturing environment. "It's literally a vote of confidence around some of the pro-growth policies that he has been outlining and that's why we're making this decision to invest here in the US and our plant here in Michigan," Fields told CNN. Earlier, GM became the latest multinational to end up in Trump's line of fire -- via Twitter as usual -- with the president-elect threatening to impose and tariff on GM's imports of a small number of Mexican-made Chevy Cruze cars to the US. Trump took to Twitter again to crow about the Ford reversal. He posted a Fox News story with Ford's logo touting the announcement. In a second Twitter message, Trump said: Instead of driving jobs and wealth away, AMERICA will become the world's great magnet for INNOVATION & JOB CREATION." Ford said Tuesday's moves would result in the additional of 700 new US jobs during the next four years. Ford said it would continue to develop its next generation Ford Focus at an existing plant in Hermosillo, Mexico. "This will make way for two new iconic products at Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, where Focus is manufactured today -- safeguarding approximately 3,500 US jobs," Ford said. The moves signal the president-elect, who has blamed international trade agreements for killing millions of US jobs, likely will loom large over next week's Detroit auto show, when the US industry's biggest executives gather to show off their new models. Story continues - Trade war coming? - Meanwhile, GM responded to Trump's Twitter attack with a statement emphasizing that the vast majority of its Cruze cars sold in the US are made in Ohio, with just a small percentage imported from a plant across the southern border. "All Chevrolet Cruze sedans sold in the US are built in GM's assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio," the auto giant said. "GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, with a small number sold in the US." Of 190,000 Cruze cars sold in the US, only 4,500 were hatchbacks made in Mexico, said a GM spokesman. What is clear is that automakers and other multinationals are leery of Trump's tough talk on trade and his willingness to single out individual companies by name if they fail to toe the line: Carrier, Boeing and Lockheed have all be the subject of Twitter attacks in recent weeks. Trump vowed on the campaign trail to impose a 35 percent import duty on cars produced in Mexico, and he has also pledged to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. Trump charged that NAFTA and other trade agreements were responsible for the loss of millions of American manufacturing jobs. NAFTA permits cars to be sold duty-free within the US, Canada and Mexico if they are at 65 percent made in the bloc. Earlier Tuesday Trump announced his nomination of protectionist lawyer Robert Lighthizer to serve as US trade representative, saying he "will do an amazing job helping turn around the failed trade policies which have robbed so many Americans of prosperity." Lighthizer served as deputy US trade representative when Ronald Reagan was president in the 1980s, when the focus was on attacking Japan for its huge exports into the US market. Lighthizer said in the statement: "I am fully committed to President-elect Trump's mission to level the playing field for American workers and forge better trade policies which will benefit all Americans." Leading business lobbies such as the Business Roundtable have cautioned other governments could retaliate against the US for tariffs, threatening key markets for US companies. "Any significant tariff increase within the North American region would impact the auto industry greatly and that just really makes the industry ... much less competitive," said Christopher Wilson, deputy director of Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center, a Washington think tank. Automakers are also worried about trade war with China. Shanghai authorities last month fined the Chinese unit of General Motors nearly $29 million over alleged monopolistic pricing behavior. The penalty comes in the midst of a war of words between 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. LOS ANGELESJustin Sayne Leather is celebrating its nomination for Best Fetish Manufacturer at the Oscars of Porn, the 2017 AVN Awards. His fine-leather fetish line of whips, floggers, cuffs, collars, and harnesses have distinguished him among BDSM craftsmen. Thanks to this accolade, the artist is starting 2017 off with a slap, tickle, and bang. Im thrilled to be nominated alongside some of the big-name producers, said Justin. All of my work is one-of-a-kind, made by hand, so I take a lot of pride in what I produce. Being recognized by my industry is deeply rewarding. Justin Sayne Leather products are hand-crafted from alligator hides known for their uniquely patterned texture, durability and contouring. Each hide is treated with vegetable and mineral dyes, resulting in a deep, shifting colors found in no commercial products. The hides are curated from an environmentally approved alligator farm in Sub-Saharan Africa, which also provides education and employment for more than 800 African families. Justin Sayne Leather is one of the few companies with the opportunity to purchase these hidesin the tradition of former customers Hermes, Yves St Laurent, Christian Dior, and Nina Ricci. The AVN Awards are set to take place on Saturday, January 21, 2017 at The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and will be hosted by Riley Reid and Aspen Rae. More information about the event can be found here. SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd said on Tuesday it will sell its 20 percent stake in Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank Co Ltd for A$1.8 billion ($1.3 billion), as part of its broader sell-down of Asian assets. "The sale reflects our strategy to simplify our business and improve capital efficiency," ANZ Deputy Chief Executive Graham Hodges said in a statement. China COSCO Shipping Corp and Shanghai Sino-Poland Enterprise Management Development Corp were named as the purchasers in the deal, representing a price-to-book ratio of about 1.1 times Shanghai Rural's net assets as of December 2015. The move is part of ANZ's move to reduce its Asian exposure, which includes the sale of wealth and retail businesses in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Indonesia to DBS Group . For banks, holding minority stakes in lenders like Shanghai Rural is proving to be expensive under new rules that require them to set aside equity capital against such investments. ANZ invested a total of A$568 million to acquire the stake in 2007, but has since come under investor pressure to exit minority stakes in Asia and to boost its Tier-I capital ratio, the core measure of a bank's financial strength. ANZ said the sale would boost its tier-I capital ratio by about 40 basis points. The bank said its ratio was 9.6 percent in its annual report in November. The sale, agreed on Saturday, is subject to conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed by mid-2017. ($1 = 1.3899 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Stephen Coates) The compensation of Canada's highest-paid CEOs jumped seven per cent between 2014 and 2015, to a record high average of $9.5 million, according to a new study. In a report published Tuesday, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, a left-leaning think-tank focused on economic and social policy, analyzed salary information from 249 TSX-listed companies and identified the top 100 earners. The 100 richest CEOs in Canada took in an average of $9.5 million in 2015, a figure that includes salaries, bonuses, share grants and stock options, the report said. That's well ahead of the $49,510 the group says the typical full-year, full-time worker earned in 2015. Based on 2015 earnings, Canada's 100 top CEOs will earn by 11:47 a.m. today what the average Canadian will make in a whole year. "Nobody's worth that much money. I mean, this is absurd," said Hugh Mackenzie, a research associate at the think-tank and author of the report. "Thirty years ago they managed to scrape by on 40 times what the average person is paid, and now, it's 193 times." Between 2008 and 2015, the country's 100 top-paid CEOs saw their compensation climb about 30 per cent, while the average wage for Canadians increased by just 17.5 per cent. The highest-paid CEOs, according to the study, in order were: - Valeant Pharmaceutical's Michael Pearson: $182.9 million in total compensation. - Donald Walker of Magna International: $26.5 million. - Hunter Harrison of Canadian Pacific Railway: $19.9 million. Other notable names include BlackBerry's John Chen. He was the highest-earning CEO in 2014, but dropped to 91st in 2015, earning $3.8 million. Eric La Fleche of Metro Inc. was the lowest-paid CEO on the list of 100, earning $3.6 million in 2015. Only two women made the list Linda Hasenfratz, of Linamar Corp., who was compensated a total of $14.2 million, and Dawn Farrell, of TransAlta Corp., who earned $4.5 million. What's in a name? Of the top 100 highest-paying CEOs on the list, five people are named Marc or Mark, five named Michael, four named Al, John, Paul and Steve, and three named Brian, Charles and Donald. Trophy_16-9 Early in December the Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY)(NYSE:RY) published its Canadian equity focus list for 2017. In the report, the capital markets arm of Canada?s largest bank recommended to its institutional clientele to overweight consumer discretionary, consumer staples, and industrials, while underweighting utilities, telecoms, technology, and healthcare (see below). And for those that are wondering why we should pay attention to these asset allocations, according to RBC, the focus list has returned, on average, 25% more than the TSX over the past five years. So while past results are not always indicative of future returns, I have summarized RBC?s top picks for your reference below. focus-list-sector-allocations RBC?s Focus List sector allocations (Source: RBC Capital Markets) focus-list-stock-picks RBC?s Focus list stocks. Note: cash was not included in the original report, but I?ve included it here as the weights only added to 95% (Source: RBC Capital Markets) At the top of the list was Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD)(NYSE:TD), compromising 7.5% of the portfolio. RBC?s rationale to overweight its competitor follows the consensus bullish theme around TD?s U.S. banking segment, which RBC estimated will grow at 12% year over year from 2016 to 2018; and TD?s best-in-class Canadian banking segment is expected to grow 3% over the same period. Along with TD, RBC has also recommended Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS)(NYSE:BNS) and Intact Financial Corporation (TSX:IFC) from the financial sector. According to RBC, BNS?s current valuation is attractive when compared to its peers and is discounting its strong international growth prospects. As for Intact, the insurer was recommended due to the potential of P/BV expansion, and its defensive positioning given the insurance industry?s lower correlation to underlying economic conditions. Aside from the financials, RBC focused on household names such as Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSX:CNQ)(NYSE:CNQ). RBC recommended CNQ for a few reasons. First is its attractive free cash flow profile, which the bank estimated will hit $3.2 billion in 2017 and $4.6 billion in 2018, leading to balance sheet deleveraging. Second, the bank praised CNQ?s superior execution despite the oil downturn, its dividend growth, and the company?s near-term growth catalysts, such as its Horizon Oil Sands project. Story continues While the aforementioned stocks are large-cap household names, RBC also recommended a few relatively less well-known mid-caps such as grocer Metro, Inc. (TSX:MRU) and industrial equipment and refrigeration supplier Toromont Industries Limited (TSX:TIH). While traditional food retailers have had their market share stifled due to increasing competition, according to RBC, Metro has thrived thanks to brand loyalty and a focus on delivering fresh products. Moreover, RBC noted the company?s record of dividend increases and buybacks, while maintaining its relentless cost-containment measures. Finally, the other mid-cap of the list, Toromont, was selected by RBC due to its historical earnings growth with a focus on efficiency, the potential to increase said earnings growth via acquisitions, and its consistent 20% return on equity despite a challenging environment in the dealership space. Furthermore, RBC also cited the company?s low level of debt as one of the catalysts that could drive acquisitions alongside its organic growth. The Exclusive Buy "Signal" You Can't Ignore Over the course of The Motley Fool U.S.'s 23 year history, this rare buy "signal" has generated massive wealth for those that have been smart enough to pay attention to it. It's so rare, that it's happened less than two dozen times... but when it does - it's made investors undoubtedly rich. If you're interested in knowing the stock behind this rare buy "signal" - and you're excited to take advantage of this golden opportunity, then you're going to want to read this. Click here to unlock all the details behind this new recommendation from Stock Advisor Canada. More reading Fool contributor Alexander John Tun has no position in any stocks mentioned. Intact Financial is a recommendation of Stock Advisor Canada. The Exclusive Buy "Signal" You Can't Ignore Over the course of The Motley Fool U.S.'s 23 year history, this rare buy "signal" has generated massive wealth for those that have been smart enough to pay attention to it. It's so rare, that it's happened less than two dozen times... but when it does - it's made investors undoubtedly rich. If you're interested in knowing the stock behind this rare buy "signal" - and you're excited to take advantage of this golden opportunity, then you're going to want to read this. Click here to unlock all the details behind this new recommendation from Stock Advisor Canada. Fool contributor Alexander John Tun has no position in any stocks mentioned. Intact Financial is a recommendation of Stock Advisor Canada. snc lavalin Snc-Lavalin Group Inc. (TSX:SNC) has made plenty of moves over the last month to bolster its brand as we enter the new year. I think 2017 could be quite profitable for the engineering and construction company as the end of 2016 included multiple decisions to streamline operations. One such move involved the sale of its activities in Monaco and France, which include maintenance and other business in 19 international airports. The operations in this part of Europe for Snc-Lavalin have 1,100 workers. This region is not profitable enough for the company, despite its attempt to restructure these assets in recent years. A week prior, Snc-Lavalin reached an agreement with Bagfas Bandirma Gubre Fabrikalari A.S. that would give the company an opportunity to revamp a calcium ammonium nitrate plant in Turkey. The move would include engineering work as well as procurement and supervision. The deal will help reach the plant?s performance goal of 2,000 metric tonnes per day (MTPD) for calcium ammonium nitrate as well as 1,550 MTPD for stabilized ammonium nitrate. The eight-and-a-half-month contract will net an estimated 660,000 tonnes of granular calcium ammonium nitrate per year. Snc-Lavalin will perform these duties from its Brussels, Belgium office. The company also reached a deal to work through subsidiary Kentz Canada Ltd. with ClearStream Energy Services Inc. to do engineering and procurement services in the Athabasca oil sands region in Alberta over five years. The move will help expand Snc-Lavalin?s presence in the Fort McMurray region, helping to increase efficiency in these areas. In a bid to streamline operations, Snc-Lavalin is shedding 405 jobs across Canada as a reaction to the slumping mining industry in the country. Jobs will be slashed: 186 jobs will be cut in Montreal as well as 195 in Ontario and 24 in Saskatoon. Approximately 70% of jobs will be cut in Snc-Lavalin?s mining and metallurgy department. The move is expected to boost profits as the company has the goal of growing its operating income margin by 7% next year. The company is also planning to add 1,200 jobs if it wins certain major infrastructure projects as well as 300 positions in nuclear energy. The company will have about 39,000 employees after the job cuts are complete. Story continues Another large contract inked by Snc-Lavalin recently is a $100 million midstream oil and gas project in the U.S. The deal is for the engineering, procurement, construction, and operations of a number of gas compression and dehydration facilities in the Permian Basin of the country. The operations will amount to 100,000 horsepower of compression, inlet separation, and filtration on greenfield sites. SNC shares grew 40.5% in 2016. The company has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion. Out of 11 analysts covering the stock, nine have rated Snc-Lavalin a ?Buy,? giving the company an average rating of a ?Buy? along with a price target of $61.40. The company recently issued a quarterly dividend of 26 cents per share. A productive and profitable December has Snc-Lavalin set up for a healthy 2017, which could prove to be the company?s best year to date. While eliminating certain jobs and assets that were not profitable enough was necessary, the company is bolstering existing operations and adding new ones to its portfolio in a bid to streamline and improve operations. Looking for a few great dividend-paying stocks to buy today? If so, you're in luck! Because we just tapped one of our top analysts -- and experts in this field -- and asked him to put together a special report highlighting three of his favorite dividend-payers to buy right now. These three "Cash Kings" have an average yield of 4.0%... are poised to profit from three diverse (and highly crucial) sectors of the economy... and look like they have the ability to grow their dividend well into the future. For a limited time you can get a copy of this brand new special report free of charge by simply clicking here. More reading Fool contributor Karl Utermohlen has no position in any stocks mentioned. Looking for a few great dividend-paying stocks to buy today? If so, you're in luck! Because we just tapped one of our top analysts -- and experts in this field -- and asked him to put together a special report highlighting three of his favorite dividend-payers to buy right now. These three "Cash Kings" have an average yield of 4.0%... are poised to profit from three diverse (and highly crucial) sectors of the economy... and look like they have the ability to grow their dividend well into the future. For a limited time you can get a copy of this brand new special report free of charge by simply clicking here. Fool contributor Karl Utermohlen has no position in any stocks mentioned. Media Society takes serious exception to obstruction at media houses The Nepal Media Society, an umbrella organisation of private publications and television broadcasters, has taken a serious exception to an act of various interest groups in spreading rumours against some media houses halting their operations. By Alonso Soto BRASILIA (Reuters) - Drug gangs sparked a prison riot that killed 56 people, with decapitated bodies thrown over prison walls in the bloodiest violence in more than two decades in Brazil's overcrowded penitentiary system, officials said on Monday. Sergio Fontes, the security chief for Amazonas state, told reporters several decapitated bodies were thrown over the wall of the prison in the Amazon city of Manaus, with most of those killed coming from the Sao Paulo-based First Capital Command (PCC) drug gang. "This was another chapter in the silent and ruthless war of drug trafficking," he said. Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes traveled to Manaus on Monday to meet Amazonas Governor Jose Melo Oliveira and other federal security officials about the riot. Pedro Florencio, the Amazonas state prison secretary, said the massacre was a "revenge killing" in a feud between criminal gangs in Brazil. The violence began late Sunday and was brought under control by around 7 a.m. AMT (1100 GMT) on Monday, Fontes said. Just as the riot began in one unit of the Anisio Jobim prison complex, dozens of prisoners in the second unit started a mass escape in what authorities said was a coordinated effort to distract guards. Overcrowding is extremely common in Brazil's prisons, which suffer endemic violence and what rights groups call medieval conditions with food scarce and cells so packed that prisoners have no space to lie down. The Anisio Jobim prison complex currently houses 2,230 inmates despite having a capacity of only 590. Hours after the Anisio Jobim prison revolt ended, prisoners at an adjoining detention center began a riot and attempted to escape. Authorities said the situation was quickly brought under control. Watchdog groups sharply criticize Brazil for its prisons, where deadly riots routinely break out. "These massacres occur almost daily in Brazil," said Father Valdir Silveira, director of Pastoral Carceraria, a Catholic center that monitors prison conditions in Brazil. "Our prisons were built to annihilate, torture and kill." A total of 184 inmates escaped, with 40 recaptured by Monday afternoon. The violence was the latest clash between inmates aligned with PCC, Brazil's most powerful drug gang, and a Manaus criminal group known as the North Family. The Manaus-based gang is widely believed to be attacking PCC inmates at the behest of the Rio de Janeiro-based Red Command (CV) drug gang, Brazil's second largest. Four inmates were later found dead in another prison in the rural area of Manaus, but state representatives were unable to clarify if a riot had occurred. BROKEN TRUCE Security analysts have said that a truce that held for years between the PCC and CV was broken last year, resulting in months of deadly prison battles between the gangs and sparking fears that chaos would spread to other prisons. In the latest riot, a group of inmates exchanged gunfire with police and held 12 prison guards hostage late on Sunday in the largest prison in Manaus, an industrial city on the banks of the Amazon River, Globo TV reported. Fontes said 74 prisoners were taken hostage during the riot, with some executed and some released. A video posted on the website of the Manaus-based newspaper Em Tempo showed dozens of bloodied and mutilated bodies piled on the prison floor as other inmates milled about. Sunday's riot was the deadliest in years. A 1992 rebellion at the Carandiru prison in Sao Paulo state saw 111 inmates killed, nearly all of them by police retaking the jail. Maria Canineu, director of Human Rights Watch for Brazil, said the most recent violence was the result of "no government in 20 years giving much attention to the penitentiary system." Canineu said it has been difficult for years for states to receive any funding help from the federal government for prisons. President Michel Temer announced last week that the federal government would furnish states with 1.2 billion reais ($366 million), mostly to improve infrastructure and security in existing prisons and to build new ones. ($1 = 3.2744 reais) (Reporting by Alonso Soto and Pedro Fonseca in Rio de Janeiro; Writing by Brad Brooks and Bruno Federowski; Editing by Alan Crosby, David Gregorio and Paul Tait) Lecture Capture California State U Adopts Lecture Capture Platform Systemwide The California State University System (CSU) has teamed with Sonic Foundry to make lecture capture tools available to all 23 of its campuses. CSU, with nearly 475,000 students and approximately 49,000 faculty, decided to extend an existing relationship with the company, which was named the university's preferred video content management solution in April. Nine campuses within the system were already using Sonic Foundry's Mediasite lecture capture tools. "The success of our students is positively impacted with a seamless and easy-to-use lecture capturing solution that allows us to capture and share the educational content from inside our lecture halls," said Jean-Pierre Bayard, CSU director of systemwide learning technologies and program services, in a prepared statement. "After reviewing dozens of other solutions, we chose Sonic Foundry's Mediasite based on a range of quality, affordable and scalable tools for our academic video needs." With the automated lecture capture system, users will be able to incorporate disparate lecture materials, including slide shows, smartboard resources and outside links, and immediately publish for live or on-demand viewing. The company's My Mediasite app also allows users to create, manage, edit and share video content from desktops and mobile devices. "As the largest public university system in the United States, CSU is supporting the success of its students with empowering video-learning technologies," said Gary Weis, CEO at Sonic Foundry, in a prepared statement. Wearables Survey: Wearable Devices Not Useful Enough Wearable computing devices need to be more useful to drive adoption, according to a new survey from Gartner. Smartwatches and fitness trackers are abandoned at rates of 29 percent and 30 percent, respectively, because users do not find them useful, they get bored with them or the devices break, according to the company. "Dropout from device usage is a serious problem for the industry," said Angela McIntyre, research director at Gartner, in a news release. "The abandonment rate is quite high relative to the usage rate. To offer a compelling enough value proposition, the uses for wearable devices need to be distinct from what smartphones typically provide. Wearables makers need to engage users with incentives and gamification." According to the survey, which included 9,592 online responses from people in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, smartwatches are still in the early adopter stage, at 10 percent adoption, and fitness trackers are in the early mainstream stage, with 19 percent adoption. Only 8 percent of survey participants had ever used virtual reality glasses or headsets, excluding cardboard varieties. The U.S. had the highest smartwatch adoption rate at 12 percent, with the U.K. and Australia following at 9 and 7 percent, respectively. Those numbers are up from the previous year, in which a similar survey found rates in the U.S. of 8 percent and in the U.K. of 5 percent. Smartwatch use was higher among people younger than 45; most people (58 percent) who reported using them at all said they use them every day, with another 33 percent saying they use them several times a week. The U.S. also led with fitness tracker adoption, at a rate of 23 percent. Adoption in Australia followed at 19 percent and the U.K. came in third with 17 percent of those surveyed saying they used the devices. As with smartwatches, usage was up in the U.S. and U.K., where survey respondents reported respective adoption rates of 17 percent and 10 percent in 2015. Nearly a third of respondents, 29 percent, said that fitness trackers are unappealing and neither fashionable nor attractive. Smartwatches and fitness trackers tend to be purchased by their users, with only 26 percent of smartwatches and 34 percent of fitness trackers being purchased as gifts, according to Gartner. "Survey respondents indicated that wearable devices are priced too high, given their perceived usefulness," according to a news release. "Gartner believes that wearable providers that do not have a strong brand name will find it more difficult to grow market share, competing directly with popular brands. Instead, they should accept lower margins and provide an alternative that is priced significantly lower than top brands, but still has good quality for price-sensitive consumers." "Continued growth in the adoption of smartwatches and fitness trackers will now be from mainstream consumers instead of early technology adopters," added McIntyre. "The greatest hurdle for fitness tracker and smartwatch providers to overcome is the consumer perception that the devices do not offer a compelling enough value proposition." MONDAY, Jan. 2, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- A new study suggests that people who abuse alcohol also boost their risk of three cardiac conditions: atrial fibrillation, heart attack and congestive heart failure. The possible added risk appears to be about the same as that linked to high blood pressure, smoking, obesity and diabetes, the researchers said. "We found that even if you have no underlying risk factors, abuse of alcohol still increases the risk of these heart conditions," lead researcher Dr. Gregory Marcus said in an American College of Cardiology news release. Marcus is director of clinical research at the University of California, San Francisco's division of cardiology. The study was based on a database of close to 15 million Californians aged 21 and older who had outpatient surgery, emergency room treatment or inpatient hospital care between 2005 and 2009. About 2 percent had been diagnosed with alcohol abuse. The researchers adjusted statistics so they wouldn't be thrown off by various other risk factors. They found that alcohol abusers were twice as likely to have atrial fibrillation; 1.4 times more likely to have a heart attack; and 2.3 times more likely to have congestive heart failure than other people. The study did not prove that alcohol abuse directly caused these risks to rise, however. Conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity are thought to boost the risk of these cardiac conditions by similar degrees, the researchers said. "We were somewhat surprised to find those diagnosed with some form of alcohol abuse were at significantly higher risk of a heart attack," Marcus said. "We hope this data will temper the enthusiasm for drinking in excess and will avoid any justification for excessive drinking because people think it will be good for their heart. These data pretty clearly prove the opposite," he added. He suggested the new research may be more reliable than previous findings. "The great majority of previous research relied exclusively on self-reports of alcohol abuse," Marcus said. "That can be an unreliable measure, especially in those who drink heavily. In our study, alcohol abuse was documented in patients' medical records." It's not clear, though, how much the participants in this study drank. The findings were published Jan. 2 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. More information For more about alcohol and the heart, try the American Heart Association. HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwired - January 03, 2017) - PLS INC. 2016 tally of $69 billion in 385 deals compares to $32 billion in 285 deals in 2015 and $85 billion in 437 deals in 2014. Texas' Permian region is most active with $27 billion, split $9 billion in traditional Midland sub-basin and $18 billion in emerging Delaware sub-basin. Permian buyers snap up more than 18,500 net drilling locations with PLS allocated value of $19.7 billion implying a low cost to secure roughly 10.3 billion net barrels in future inventory at about $1.90 per barre. Range Resources' $4.4 billion corporate buy of Memorial Resource Development in North Louisiana's Cotton Valley gas play is largest deal of the year. After a slow 2015, the Marcellus gas play recovered but remained a distant second with $6.7 billion in deals. Though smaller in footprint than the Permian, Oklahoma's SCOOP/STACK play is also rapidly growing and ranks third at $5.1 billion. Texas' Eagle Ford, Colorado's Niobrara and North Dakota's Bakken plays lag at $2.9 billion, $1.9 billion and $2.1 billion, respectively, but are now recovering with higher pricing ahead. Gulf of Mexico particularly hard hit with just $2.4 billion in deals, substantially all attributed to Anadarko Petroleum's $2.0 billion buy of Freeport McMoRan's deepwater portfolio. Looking ahead, assets for sale remain at a high level, and equity capital via the public and private markets is readily available for strong buyers. PLS Inc. expects 2017 to be a strong year for continued M&A activity in the U.S. PLS Inc. ("PLS"), a leading Houston-based oil and gas research firm, announces that merger and acquisition activity for the upstream energy sector in the United States more than doubled in 2016 to $69 billion in 385 deals as the industry quickly adapted to securing Tier 1 drilling locations that are profitable in a $50 oil price environment and buying existing production. The 2016 deal value compares to $32 billion in 285 deals in 2015 and $85 billion in 437 deals during the much higher-priced 2014 environment. Oil price accounts for much of the deal market volatility as it began descending from July 2014 highs of $100-plus and accelerated in November 2014 when OPEC decided to open the taps to gain market share. This resulted in prices plummeting to a low of $27 per barrel in February 2016. Two years after OPEC's attack on oil prices began, both OPEC and non-OPEC countries agreed to cut production beginning January 1, 2017 -- a decision that is expected to boost oil prices this year. Story continues PLS Managing Director Brian Lidsky said, "During the downturn, the industry focused on a trifecta of decreasing costs, increasing recoveries and capital discipline. Corporate strategies ran the gamut from Chapter 11 restructurings and exits to bold moves to secure large proven land inventory in anticipation of oil price recovery in 2017. Certainly, the Delaware basin portion of the Texas Permian region ranks as 2016's M&A play of the year as fresh equity capital poured into the area to buy Tier 1 acreage and production in areas like Reeves, Pecos and Loving counties, Texas to the tune of $18.0 billion. The buying in the Delaware basin, perhaps best described as hand-to-hand combat, secured nearly 11,000 prime drilling locations with over six billion boe of net resource at a cost of about $2.15/boe, excluding Apache's Alpine High discovery. Those buyers fortunate to be on the winning side should be positioned very well in a rising oil price environment." Within the Permian region, PLS notes that buyers reported securing 18,500 drilling locations in multiple stacked pays including the Wolfcamp, Bone Springs, Spraberry and Cline benches. Using an average EUR of 800,000 boe and a 70% net revenue interest, this level of buying suggests that the industry purchased about 10.4 billion boe of future resources for about $1.90 per boe on average. This is remarkable and bodes well for the future production growth coming from the region. In addition, much of the bought acreage is held by production and allows for paced drilling that can be throttled under different oil price environments. The breakeven economics of the vast majority of this acreage is well below $40 per barrel. As a further testament to the potential of the Delaware basin portion of the Permian, Apache Corp. unveiled a virgin resource play deemed the Alpine High, which is a combo Woodford/Barnett play in southern Reeves County. Apache quietly leased 20% of the county, or 307,000 net contiguous acres, at $1,300 per acre ($400 million) and reports a 20-year drilling inventory with individual well EURs of up to 2.7 million boe. Apache estimates 75 Tcf of rich gas and 3 billion barrels of oil in place. These numbers assume 2,000-3,000 locations and only a single landing zone in each of the Woodford and Barnett benches. Additional resource is possible with multiple landing zones in each of these benches. Top 10 US Oil and Gas Deals in 2016 Date Buyer Seller Value ($B) Play 05/16/16 Range Resources Memorial Resource Development $4.4 Cotton Valley 09/26/16 Rice Energy Vantage Energy $2.7 Marcellus 09/06/16 EOG Yates Petroleum $2.5 Delaware Unconv. 12/14/16 Diamondback Brigham Resources $2.4 Delaware Unconv. 10/13/16 RSP Permian Silver Hill Energy Partners $2.4 Delaware Unconv. 09/12/16 Anadarko Freeport-McMoRan $2.0 Conventional 12/14/16 Gulfport Energy Vitruvian Exploration II $1.9 SCOOP/STACK 10/31/16 Occidental J Cleo Thompson et al $1.8 Delaware Unconv. 07/22/16 Riverstone; Silver Run Centennial Resource Dev. $1.7 Delaware Unconv. 08/15/16 Concho Resources Reliance Energy Partners $1.6 Midland Unconv. Source: PLS Inc. Global M&A Database. 2016 in Review In 2016, the oil and gas deal markets gained momentum throughout the year after oil prices set a clear bottom of $26.19/bbl on February 11. Deal value soared 117% to $69 billion versus $32 billion in 2015 but fell shy of 2014's $85 billion. Note, these deal values exclude large global deals like Shell/BG's $83 billion deal in 2015 and Repsol/Talisman's $13 billion deal in 2014. Deal counts also surged 35% in 2016 to 385 deals versus 285 in 2015 but also fell shy of 2014's 437 deals. Note, these deal counts include deals where values are undisclosed by the buyer and seller. Oil deals (those classified by PLS as > 70% oil) tallied $29 billion versus $10 billion in 2015 and $33 billion in 2014. Gas deals (classified as > 70% gas) lagged oil and totaled $18 billion versus $7 billion in 2015 and $30 billion in 2014. Deals with both oil and gas as a commodity mix reached $22 billion in 2016 versus $14 billion and $21 billion in 2015 and 2014, respectively. Deal Value ($ billion) and Counts by Commodity 2014 2015 2016 Value Count Value Count Value Count Oil $33.3 181 $10.4 131 $28.6 143 Oil + Gas $21.4 85 $14.3 53 $22.0 78 Gas $30.2 171 $7.0 101 $18.1 164 Total $84.9 437 $31.7 285 $68.6 385 Source: PLS Inc. Global M&A Database. Deal Counts include deals with undisclosed values. Activity in the Delaware basin portion of the Permian region far surpassed all other plays tracked by PLS in 2016. The phenomenal growth in this area was driven by the ability to buy into prime Tier 1 stacked pay acreage largely held by production. The rapid advances in increasing EURs and decreasing costs proven in the Midland basin translated to the Delaware basin. With Tier 1 Midland basin land largely locked up by long-term players (much of it in 2014), buyers with readily accessible equity capital snapped up acreage in the Delaware basin, setting off a land rush. When ranked by plays, the Delaware basin's $18.0 billion of deals in 2016 is second only to $19.2 billion in conventional deals sold in 2014 and surpasses the $14.8 billion in deals struck in the Midland basin when oil prices were much higher in 2014. Midland basin acreage continued to sell, but the $9.1 billion tally reached only 50% of that in the Delaware basin. The next two most active areas were the Marcellus ($6.7 billion), which recovered from a virtual stall in 2015, and the SCOOP/STACK play in Oklahoma ($5.1 billion), which has been doubling each year since 2014. A case study for the 2016 Delaware basin boom is best illustrated by RSP Permian's acquisition presentation issued on October 13, 2016. The $2.4 billion cash and equity acquisition of private-equity backed Silver Hill Energy Partners brought RSPP 41,000 net acres (250,000 net effective acres) and 15,000 boe/d (69% oil, 17% NGLs, 14% gas) of production primarily in Loving County, Texas. The presentation's cover slide alone vividly showcases the stacked pay and its thickness in the Delaware basin versus the Midland basin. PLS calculates that this deal sold for $48,000 per net acre (a high-water mark at the time) and $1.0 million per drilling location (1,950 net locations). This compares to the Midland basin high-water market of $59,000 per acre set in June 2016 when QEP Resources spent $600 million in an expansion buy in Martin County. QEP bought 9,400 net acres and 1,400 boe/d from RK Exploration and 74 other private sellers and boosted QEP's drilling inventory by 413 net locations in four separate benches. Deal Value ($ billion) by Play 2014 2015 2016 % of 2016 Delaware Unconventional $0.3 $3.3 $18.0 26% Conventional Onshore $19.2 $6.0 $9.2 13% Midland Unconventional $14.8 $4.2 $9.1 13% Marcellus $7.7 $0.7 $6.7 10% SCOOP/STACK $1.7 $2.6 $5.1 7% Cotton Valley & Other $0.7 $0.5 $4.4 6% Eagle Ford $7.9 $0.6 $2.9 4% Haynesville $1.2 $0.9 $2.8 4% Gulf of Mexico $6.0 $0.3 $2.4 4% Niobrara $1.6 $1.3 $2.1 3% Bakken $8.5 $1.3 $1.9 3% Mississippi Lime $0.2 $0.0 $1.7 2% Multiple Plays $9.4 $5.7 $1.0 2% Barnett $0.2 $0.0 $0.9 1% Utica $2.6 $1.5 $0.3 0% Midcon Unconventional $2.5 $1.7 $0.2 0% Coalbed Methane $0.5 $1.1 $0.0 0% Total $84.9 $31.7 $68.6 100% Source: PLS Inc. Global M&A Database As measured by deal value, the trends in deal types (corporate, asset or JVs) have remained relatively consistent over the past three years. For the three-year period of 2014-2016, property deals have averaged 62% of the market while corporate deals have averaged 30%. The remainder deal types all account for less than 5%. Deal Value ($ billion) by Type 2014 2015 2016 % of 2016 Property $55.8 $18.5 $41.1 60% Corporate $23.7 $8.8 $23.3 34% Acreage $3.9 $1.3 $2.2 3% Royalty $0.3 $0.1 $1.2 2% JV/Farm-out $1.4 $3.1 $0.8 1% Total $84.9 $31.7 $68.6 100% Source: PLS Inc. Global M&A Database. Looking Forward The oil and gas deal markets are well supplied with inventory, and capital is available for the right deal. Going into 2016, over $100 billion of dry powder private equity capital was available. Much of this remains available and was supplemented, particularly in the last half of 2016, by a receptive Wall Street who quickly supported overnight secondary equity raises to fund the largest deals. In addition, PLS anticipates additional capital to come to the forefront as the IPO markets open up. All eyes are on OPEC's anticipated production cuts beginning January 1, 2017, and their impact on oil prices. Pricing stability is a critical component to a healthy deal market while price shocks tend to keep players sidelined. That said, the industry has been through a significant deleveraging in the past two years via a combination of asset sales, Chapter 11 bankruptcies and a dramatic investment decrease. As prices recover, PLS expects the deal markets to continue to provide a significant growth platform for those buyers not able to capitalize on 2016's opportunities. As drilling and oil prices pick up in the US, PLS expects the increases in EURs via longer laterals and increased proppant loading to continue to improve. PLS forecasts the deal markets to expand beyond the white-hot Permian to other prime oil resource plays including the Eagle Ford and Bakken. On the gas side, as LNG exports from the U.S. continue to increase, we expect additional deal activity to occur closer to the Gulf Coast and re-awaken activity in large plays like the Haynesville, Barnett and gas window of the Eagle Ford. PLS will publish additional research in the coming days and weeks on the M&A and capital markets outlooks for 2017. PLS Inc. is a leading Houston-based oil and gas information and advisory firm that specializes in insightful real-time research for a global client base of both industry and investment professionals. Flagship products include the Global M&A Database, docFinder and Capitalize along with specialty industry reports. PLS Inc., through its PLS Energy Advisors Group, is also a leading transaction firm and in 2016 advised on over 35 oil and gas deals across the globe. For more information, contact Ali Rizvi at ali@plsx.com or call 713-600-0115. Money exchange owner robbed after being shot An unidentified group on Monday night shot at a money exchange owner at Biratnagar 21 and made off with Rs 500,000 in cash. English Finnish Espoo, Finland, 2017-01-03 11:00 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SRV GROUP PLC STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 3 JANUARY 2017, AT 12.00 SRV makes changes to its Corporate Executive Team SRV has made changes to its Corporate Executive Team to better fulfil the implementation of its strategy, which was updated in early 2016. The main changes made to the Corporate Executive Team relate to International Operations and Finance. The changes also aim to increase efficiency in Corporate Executive Team activities. As of 1 January 2017, Veli-Matti Kullas has been appointed to lead SRVs International Operations. His responsibilities in the new Corporate Executive Team will include both International Operations and related project development. SRVs international markets are centered on Russia and Estonia. The focus of operations in Russia is on developing and operating shopping centres, and in Estonia on developing existing land areas. Kullas was previously responsible for project development in Russia and was a member of the Corporate Executive Team. Ilkka Pitkanen continues as SRVs Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and as of 1 January 2017 will be solely responsible for financial matters in the Corporate Executive Team. Senior Vice President, Financial Administration Valtteri Palin will continue in his former role being in charge of Group finance, controller function and taxation, but in future will no longer be a member of the Corporate Executive Team. Outwardly, the changes do not appear to be big, but they reflect well the work we are doing in SRV and the direction in which we are heading. The core of all of our operations and strategy is developing urban centres and, as part of this, we are continually renewing our operating models to correspond better to the needs of our clients, stakeholders and investors. The implementation of our strategy, updated in early 2016, has advanced well and the work is continuing, says President & CEO Juha Pekka Ojala, describing the changes. In addition to the Corporate Executive Team, the organisations and operating models of Operations In Finland and International Operations have also been renewed to correspond better to both the strategy and daily operational needs. Further information: Juha Pekka Ojala, President & CEO, tel. +358 40 455 213, jp.ojala@srv.fi Paivi Kauhanen, Senior Vice President, Communications, tel. +358 50 598 9560, paivi.kauhanen@srv.fi www.srv.fi You can also find us in the social media: Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Instagram SRV - Building for life Combination creates a Permian focused company with refining, logistics, retail and marketing operations with a combined enterprise value of approximately $2.8 billion All-stock transaction at a fixed exchange ratio of 0.5040 Annual synergies of $85 to $105 million expected to be achieved in 2018 Expected to be highly accretive in 2018 on an EPS basis, the combined companys first full year of operation Creates ability to unlock significant logistics value through future potential drop downs to Delek Logistics Partners, LP Larger asphalt and renewables operations created through combination Combined company benefits from Delek US strong balance sheet Delek board approved $150 million share repurchase authorization BRENTWOOD, Tenn. and DALLAS, Jan. 03, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Delek US Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DK) (Delek US) and Alon USA Energy, Inc. (NYSE:ALJ) (Alon) today announced a definitive agreement under which Delek US will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Alon common stock which Delek US does not already own in an all-stock transaction. Based on a closing price of $24.07 per share for Delek US common stock on Friday, December 30, 2016, the implied price for Alon common stock is $12.13 per share, or $464 million in equity value for the remaining shares. The enterprise value of this transaction to acquire the remaining 53 percent of Alon shares of common stock not already owned by Delek US is approximately $675 million including the proportionate assumption of $152 million of net debt related to this transaction and $59 million of market value for the non-controlling interest in Alon USA Partners, LP (NYSE:ALDW). This transaction was unanimously approved by the Special Committee of Alons board of directors and by the board of directors of Delek US. Additionally, the board of directors of Alon approved the transaction, excluding Delek employed directors which abstained from voting on this matter. The combination will create a company with a strong financial position and significant access to the Permian Basin. Delek US currently owns approximately 33.7 million shares of common stock of Alon. Under terms of the agreement, the owners of the remaining outstanding shares in Alon that Delek US does not currently own will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 0.5040 Delek US shares for each share of Alon. This represents a 5.6 percent premium to the 20 trading day volume weighted average ratio through and including December 30, 2016, of 0.477. Upon closing, the combined company will be primarily led by Delek US management team. In conjunction with the Merger Agreement, the Special Committee of Alons board of directors will nominate one new director that will be appointed to the Delek US board, and one new director that will be added to the board of Delek Logistics Partners LPs (NYSE:DKL) (Delek Logistics) general partner. Concurrently with the execution of the Merger Agreement, Delek US entered into three separate voting agreements with Alon USA, David Wiessman and Jeff Morris, pursuant to which each of Delek US, Mr. Wiessman and Mr. Morris have agreed to, among other things, vote their shares of Alon in favor of this transaction. Uzi Yemin, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Delek US stated, We are excited to reach this agreement and believe this strategic combination will result in a larger, more diverse company that is well positioned to take advantage of opportunities in the market and better navigate the cyclical nature of our business. We expect to be able to achieve meaningful synergies across the organization and the combination will create a refining system that will be one of the largest buyers of crude from the Permian Basin among the independent refiners. Additionally, we expect the combined company will have the ability to unlock logistics value from Alons assets through future potential drop downs to Delek Logistics Partners and create a platform for future logistics projects to support a larger refining system. The combination of an all equity transaction, which will enable both Alons and Delek US shareholders to participate in future performance of the company, and Delek US strong financial position should provide the combined company financial flexibility as it moves forward with initiatives to invest in the business to create value for the shareholders. I would like to thank the employees of Delek US and Alon for their hard work on the transaction and the members of Alons Special Committee for their cooperation during this process. We are excited to be joining Delek US and believe this agreement represents an excellent opportunity for Alons shareholders, said David Wiessman, Chairman of Alons Special Committee. The economies of scale, financial strength, and synergies generated through this merger create the opportunity to drive long-term value for shareholders and the all-stock transaction allows all shareholders to participate in the future performance of the combined company. I would like to thank Alons employees for their efforts, and our customers, suppliers and banks that supported our company, as we worked together to create value for our shareholders. The combined company will have a broad platform consisting of refining, logistics, retail, wholesale marketing, as well as renewables and asphalt operations. The refining system will have approximately 300,000 barrels per day of crude throughput capacity consisting of four locations and an integrated retail platform that includes 307 locations serving central and west Texas and New Mexico. Logistics operations include Delek Logistics which can benefit from future drop downs and organic projects to support a larger refining system. This combination will create a larger marketing operation with 600,000 barrels per month of space on the Colonial Pipeline System and a wholesale business with over 1.2 billion gallons of sales volume annually in the southwest. Permian Focused Operations The combined company will have a larger presence in the Permian Basin. Its refining system will have access to approximately 207,000 barrels per day of Permian sourced crude out of an approximately 300,000 barrel per day crude throughput system, which equates to 69 percent of the crude slate. This will result in the combined company being one of the largest buyers of Permian sourced crude among the independent refiners, creating opportunities to benefit from economies of scale in both refining and logistics. There will be a larger marketing presence with approximately 307 retail locations and wholesale marketing operations in the region that is integrated with the Big Spring, Texas refinery and extends Delek US marketing beyond its current west Texas position. From a logistics standpoint, the system will have access to crude oil pipelines, trucking and gathering operations in the area, which is in addition to Delek Logistics RIO joint venture crude oil pipeline in west Texas. This larger system also enhances the opportunities for Delek Logistics to expand its current participation in the highly attractive Permian and Delaware basins by supporting a larger operation. Value Creating Initiatives Larger, more diverse company benefits all shareholders. This combination creates the ability to leverage a larger system from an operational and commercial standpoint with a stronger financial position. With a more diverse set of business platforms, it offers the ability to create value through synergies, flexibility to invest in growth opportunities and benefit from the relationship with Delek Logistics. Synergies on a combined base of an estimated $85 to $105 million expected to be achieved in 2018. Improved efficiencies and cost savings through a combination of commercial, operational, cost of capital and corporate initiatives are expected to drive additional shareholder value. The annual run rate is expected to be achieved in 2018, the first full year of operation following the closing of the transaction. Delek US previous experience in improving operations and managing costs can be applied to a broader set of assets to drive value and improvements on a combined basis. Ability to unlock logistics value with an estimated $70 to $85 million of logistics related annual EBITDA. By leveraging the relationship with Delek Logistics, additional value can be unlocked from Alons logistics assets through future potential drop downs. This potential EBITDA includes an estimated $30 to $34 million of annual logistics EBITDA at the Krotz Springs refinery. This should create value for the combined company and provide a more visible growth plan for Delek Logistics that can support its long term distribution growth and create significant cash flow to Delek US. Strong financial position supports ability to return value to the shareholders. Through an all equity transaction that enables all shareholders to participate in future value creation, we believe the combined companys financial position will be strong. This financial position should allow the combined company the ability to undertake initiatives to improve its operations and return cash to the shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. This transaction is expected to be highly accretive in 2018 on an earnings per share basis, the first full year of operation of the combined company, assuming a benefit from $95.0 million of synergies. By benefitting from Delek US strong financial position, a focus after closing will be to reduce the financing cost of the combined company. Delek US share repurchase program, which expired on December 31, 2016, has been replaced with a new $150 million repurchase authorization, which does not have an expiration date. Increased asphalt and renewable businesses. The combined company will have an integrated asphalt business consisting of Alons operations primarily in Texas and California/Washington and Delek US asphalt business primarily in Texas/Arkansas/Oklahoma that is approaching 1.0 million tons of sales on an annual basis. This operation is supported through a combination of production and supply/exchange volume with 15 asphalt terminals in the operation. The combined biodiesel/renewable diesel assets, with a total capacity of approximately 61.0 million gallons per year, include Delek US Cleburne, Texas and Crossett, Arkansas biodiesel plants and Alons renewable diesel and jet plant in California. Approvals and Timing The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2017 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval and approval by a majority of votes cast of Delek US shareholders and approval by the holders of a majority of the remaining 53 percent of Alon shares, which excludes the 47 percent of Alon shares owned by Delek US. Conference Call Information Delek US will hold a conference call to discuss this transaction on Tuesday, January 3, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. Central Time. The dial-in information for participants is (866) 354-3148 (Domestic) and (706) 643-0886 (International). The passcode for both numbers is 47082363. Investors will have the opportunity to listen to the conference call live and access the accompanying presentation slides by going to www.DelekUS.com and clicking on the Investor Relations tab. Participants are encouraged to register at least 15 minutes early to download and install any necessary software. For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, a telephonic replay will be available through Tuesday, January 17, 2017 by dialing (855) 859-2056, passcode 47082363. An archived version of the replay will also be available at www.DelekUS.com. Advisors Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. is serving as exclusive financial advisor on this transaction to Delek US. BofA Merrill Lynch and Barclays provided financial structuring advice to Delek US related to this transaction. Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP and Morris, Nichols Arsht & Tunnell LLP are serving as legal advisors for Delek US. J.P. Morgan is serving as exclusive financial advisor and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP is serving as legal advisor for the Special Committee of Alon USAs board of directors. Vinson & Elkins LLP is serving as legal advisor to Alon USA. About Delek US Holdings, Inc. Delek US Holdings, Inc. is a diversified downstream energy company with assets in petroleum refining and logistics. The refining segment consists of refineries operated in Tyler, Texas and El Dorado, Arkansas with a combined nameplate production capacity of 155,000 barrels per day. Delek US Holdings, Inc. and its affiliates also own approximately 62 percent (including the 2 percent general partner interest) of Delek Logistics Partners, LP. Delek Logistics Partners, LP (NYSE:DKL) is a growth-oriented master limited partnership focused on owning and operating midstream energy infrastructure assets. Delek US Holdings, Inc. currently owns approximately 47 percent of the outstanding common stock of Alon USA Energy, Inc. (NYSE:ALJ). About Alon USA Alon USA Energy, Inc., headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is an independent refiner and marketer of petroleum products, operating primarily in the South Central, Southwestern and Western regions of the United States. Alon owns 100% of the general partner and 81.6% of the limited partner interests in Alon USA Partners, LP (NYSE:ALDW), which owns a crude oil refinery in Big Spring, Texas, with a crude oil throughput capacity of 73,000 barrels per day and an integrated wholesale marketing business. In addition, Alon directly owns a crude oil refinery in Krotz Springs, Louisiana, with a crude oil throughput capacity of 74,000 barrels per day. Alon also owns crude oil refineries in California, which have not processed crude oil since 2012. Alon owns a majority interest in a renewable fuels project in California, with a throughput capacity of 2,500 barrels per day. Alon is a leading marketer of asphalt, which it distributes primarily through asphalt terminals located predominately in the Southwestern and Western United States. Alon is the largest 7-Eleven licensee in the United States and operates approximately 300 convenience stores which also market motor fuels in Central and West Texas and New Mexico. Safe Harbor Provisions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Statements concerning current estimates, expectations and projections about future results, performance, prospects, opportunities, plans, actions and events and other statements, concerns, or matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, as that term is defined under the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the proposed merger with Alon, integration and transition plans, synergies, opportunities, anticipated future performance and financial position, and other factors. Investors are cautioned that the following important factors, among others, may affect these forward-looking statements. These factors include but are not limited to: risks and uncertainties related to the expected timing and likelihood of completion of the proposed merger, including the timing, receipt and terms and conditions of any required governmental and regulatory approvals of the proposed merger that could reduce anticipated benefits or cause the parties to abandon the transaction, the ability to successfully integrate the businesses, the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement, the possibility that stockholders of Delek US may not approve the issuance of new shares of common stock in the merger or that stockholders of Alon may not approve the merger agreement, the risk that the parties may not be able to satisfy the conditions to the proposed transaction in a timely manner or at all, risks related to disruption of management time from ongoing business operations due to the proposed transaction, the risk that any announcements relating to the proposed transaction could have adverse effects on the market price of Delek US' common stock or Alon's common stock, the risk that the proposed transaction and its announcement could have an adverse effect on the ability of Delek US and Alon to retain customers and retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with their suppliers and customers and on their operating results and businesses generally, the risk that problems may arise in successfully integrating the businesses of the companies, which may result in the combined company not operating as effectively and efficiently as expected, the risk that the combined company may be unable to achieve cost-cutting synergies or it may take longer than expected to achieve those synergies, uncertainty related to timing and amount of future share repurchases and dividend payments, risks and uncertainties with respect to the quantities and costs of crude oil we are able to obtain and the price of the refined petroleum products we ultimately sell; gains and losses from derivative instruments; management's ability to execute its strategy of growth through acquisitions and the transactional risks associated with acquisitions and dispositions; acquired assets may suffer a diminishment in fair value as a result of which we may need to record a write-down or impairment in carrying value of the asset; changes in the scope, costs, and/or timing of capital and maintenance projects; operating hazards inherent in transporting, storing and processing crude oil and intermediate and finished petroleum products; our competitive position and the effects of competition; the projected growth of the industries in which we operate; general economic and business conditions affecting the southern United States; and other risks contained in Delek US and Alons filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not be accurate indications of the times at or by which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking information is based on information available at the time and/or management's good faith belief with respect to future events, and is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in the statements. Delek US undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law or regulation. No Offer or Solicitation This communication relates to a proposed business combination between Delek US and Alon. This announcement is for informational purposes only and is neither an offer to purchase, nor a solicitation of an offer to sell, any securities or the solicitation of any vote in any jurisdiction pursuant to the proposed transactions or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer or securities in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Additional Information and Where to Find It This communication may be deemed to be solicitation material in respect of the proposed transaction between Delek US and Alon. In connection with the proposed transaction, Delek US and/or Alon may file one or more proxy statements, registration statements, proxy statement/prospectuses or other documents with the SEC. This communication is not a substitute for the proxy statement, registration statement, proxy statement/prospectus or any other documents that Delek US or Alon may file with the SEC or send to stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction. STOCKHOLDERS OF DELEK US AND ALON ARE URGED TO READ ALL RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, INCLUDING THE PROXY STATEMENT(S), REGISTRATION STATEMENT(S) AND/OR PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. Any definitive proxy statement(s) (if and when available) will be mailed to stockholders of Delek US and/or Alon, as applicable. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain copies of these documents, including the proxy statement/prospectus, and other documents filed with the SEC (when available) free of charge at the SEC's website, http://www.sec.gov. Copies of documents filed with the SEC by Delek US will be made available free of charge on Delek US website at http://www.delekus.com or by contacting Delek US Investor Relations Department by phone at 615-435-1366. Copies of documents filed with the SEC by Alon will be made available free of charge on Alon's website at http://www.alonusa.com or by contacting Alon's Investor Relations Department by phone at 972-367-3808. Participants in the Solicitation Delek US and its directors and executive officers, and Alon and its directors and executive officers, may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the holders of Delek US common stock and Alon common stock in respect of the proposed transaction. Information about the directors and executive officers of Delek US is set forth in the proxy statement for Delek US 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 5, 2016, and in the other documents filed after the date thereof by Delek US with the SEC. Information about the directors and executive officers of Alon is set forth in the proxy statement for Alon's 2016 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 1, 2016, and in the other documents filed after the date thereof by Alon with the SEC. Investors may obtain additional information regarding the interests of such participants by reading the proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed transaction when it becomes available. You may obtain free copies of these documents as described in the preceding paragraph. ALMELO, Netherlands and SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 03, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sensata Technologies (NYSE:ST), a leading manufacturer of sensing and electrical protection solutions, and Quanergy Systems, Inc., the leading provider of solid state LiDAR sensors and smart sensing solutions, today announced that they will be showcasing their solid state LiDAR solution at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada from January 5 8, 2017. Sensata and Quanergy signed an exclusive agreement in March 2016 to provide component level solid state LiDAR sensors to the ground transportation market. Since finalizing the agreement, both companies have been working to develop solid state scanning LiDAR sensors (optical phased array, no moving parts) that will provide long-range, high-resolution scanning for next generation advanced safety and autonomous driving systems. Quanergy was recently awarded the CES 2017 Best of Innovation Award in the vehicle intelligence category for its S3 solid state LiDAR sensor. The S3 is the first and only compact, low-cost, automotive-grade solid state LiDAR sensor, with high reliability and superior capability. The sensor can be concealed into the body of any vehicle, ensuring uncompromised design aesthetics and aerodynamics. Its ability to perform real-time 3D mapping and object detection, tracking and classification, enables autonomous driving. Sensata and Quanergy will deliver samples to automotive customers for testing and evaluation later this year. As the established sensor supplier with 100 years of expertise behind its product innovations, Sensata is well-positioned to help drive the rapid commercialization of future advanced driver assistance systems including autonomous driving. The combination of Sensatas global scale and auto industry expertise with Quanergys capabilities in 3D mapping & object detection, tracking, and classification, put us in a strong position to help our customers meet their objectives for highly automated driving, said Steve Beringhause, Executive Vice President, Performance Sensing and Chief Technology Officer of Sensata. We are excited to share the progress we have made with our partners, customers and suppliers at the CES conference. The solid state LiDAR we are bringing to market with Sensata demonstrates that automotive-grade 3D sensing systems can be affordable and reliable, with uncompromised performance, said Dr. Louay Eldada, Chief Executive Officer of Quanergy. Our customers' roadmaps rely on the availability of 3D sensors that are more reasonably priced and more dependable than sensors that have been in the marketplace for the last decade. The S3 LiDAR is the only product that can satisfy this demand in a true solid state solution. We are in a unique position to enable broad deployment of next-generation driver assistance and self-driving systems for a reinvented driving experience that delivers significantly higher levels of safety, efficiency, productivity and comfort. Sensata and Quanergy will showcase the award-winning sensor and 3D smart sensing solutions January 5-8 at the 2017 CES trade show in Booth 4138, located in the north hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. About Sensata Technologies Sensata Technologies is one of the worlds leading suppliers of sensing, electrical protection, control and power management solutions with operations and business centers in thirteen countries. Sensatas products improve safety, efficiency and comfort for millions of people every day in automotive, appliance, aircraft, industrial, military, heavy vehicle, heating, air-conditioning, data, telecommunications, recreational vehicle and marine applications. For more information, please visit Sensatas web site at www.sensata.com. About Quanergy Systems, Inc. Quanergy Systems was founded in 2012 and builds on decades of experience of its team in the areas of optics, photonics, optoelectronics, robotics, artificial Intelligence, machine learning and controls. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley, Quanergy offers the worlds leading LiDAR sensors and software for the capture and processing of 3D spatial data, and object detection, tracking and classification. Its sensing systems improve safety, efficiency and costs in sectors ranging from transportation and security to industrial automation and 3D terrestrial and aerial mapping. In transportation, the data is utilized in real time to greatly improve the accuracy and reliability of on-board driver safety systems and enhance them with perception, scenario analysis, and decision making capability for cost-effective and robust advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicle (AV) solutions. Quanergys LiDARs lead in all key commercialization areas price, performance, reliability, size, weight, power efficiency while meeting the mass deployment requirements of durability and dependability using solid state technology. For more information, visit www.quanergy.com. Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements relate to analyses and other information, which are based on forecasts of future results and estimates of amounts not yet determinable, and the Companys future prospects, developments and business. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the Companys anticipated design, manufacturing, sale and market share position in LiDAR sensors. Such statements involve risks or uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause these differences include, but are not limited to, the ability to develop commercially viable LiDAR sensors, the market adoption of advanced driver assistance applications including LiDAR sensors, risks associated with: adverse developments in the industrial, aerospace or automotive industries; competitive pressures that could require the Company to lower prices or result in reduced demand for the Companys products; integration of acquired businesses, including CST and Schrader; risks associated with the Companys non-US operations; litigation and disputes involving the Company, including the extent of intellectual property, product liability, and warranty claims asserted against the Company; risks associated with the Companys historical and future tax positions; risks related to labor disruptions or costs; and risks associated with the Companys substantial indebtedness. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak to results only as of the date the statements were made; and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether to reflect any future events or circumstances or otherwise. For a discussion of potential risks and uncertainties, please refer to the risk factors listed in the Companys SEC filings. Copies of the Companys filings are available from its Investor Relations department or from the SEC website, www.sec.gov. SMITHFIELD, Va., Jan. 03, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Smithfield Foods, Inc. announced the completion of the acquisition of Clougherty Packing LLC, parent company of Farmer John and Saags Specialty Meats brands, and PFFJ LLC farm operations from Hormel Foods Corporation. The closing followed the approval of the sale by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. We are proud to officially welcome Farmer John to our growing Smithfield familya move that has already created new value for our combined operations and set the stage for a strong 2017, said Kenneth M. Sullivan, president and CEO of Smithfield Foods. With this one acquisition, weve created a more efficient supply chain coast-to-coast and expanded our operations, product portfolio as well as our customer and consumer base. Smithfield will welcome three farms located in Arizona, California and Wyoming into its hog production division. Kenneth J. Baptist, vice president of operations for Smithfields packaged meats division, will now lead Farmer John operations, which includes both the Farmer John and Saags Specialty Meats brands. Baptist has more than a decade of experience at Smithfield and more than 30 years of experience in the food industry. This news release may contain "forward-looking" information within the meaning of the federal securities laws. The forward-looking information may include statements concerning the company's outlook for the future, as well as other statements of beliefs, future plans and strategies or anticipated events, and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. The forward-looking information and statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These risks and uncertainties include availability and prices of livestock, raw materials and supplies, livestock costs, livestock disease, food safety, product pricing, the competitive environment and related market conditions, ability to make and successfully integrate acquisitions, operating efficiencies, access to capital, the cost of compliance with environmental and health standards, adverse results from ongoing litigation and actions of domestic and foreign governments. About Smithfield Foods Smithfield Foods is a $14 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan's Famous, Farmland, Armour, John Morrell, Cook's, Kretschmar, Gwaltney, Curly's, Margherita, Carando, Healthy Ones, Krakus, Morliny and Berlinki. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. Smithfield is a wholly owned subsidiary of WH Group Limited (HKEX:288), a publicly listed company on the Hong Kong Exchange with global shareholders around the world. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com. Money to burn Fears harboured by critics of CDP seem to be coming true As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ Morcha protests for constitution amendment The Madhes-based parties on Monday demonstrated in various places across the country, pressing the government to forward the constitution amendment bill without further delay. Electricity generation: NEA assures regular supply despite shortfall Hydroelectricity generation in the country has dipped by almost 50 percent, as water level in most of the river basins is falling due to the dry season. Parties stick to their guns Major parties failed once again on Monday to make headway for ending the prolonged impasse in Parliament, with the ruling coalition and the main opposition sticking to their guns. PM orders shot in the arm for national pride projects Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has directed the National Planning Commission (NPC) to prepare clear-cut criteria to standardise national pride project selection process and come up with a list of benefits that could be accorded to such schemes in the next two months. Microsoft has been promising for a few months that device makers would soon launch VR headsets that are compatible with Windows 10 Holographic for about $299 and up which is a lot cheaper than the $3,000 youd need to pay to get a Microsoft HoloLens development kit. Companies including Acer, Asus, Dell, and HP are all working on headsets. But it loos like Lenovo is the first to start showing one off. The folks at The Verge got an early look at a prototype of Lenovos upcoming headset. The good news is that the device has higher-resolution displays than most existing VR headsets, with two 1440 x 1440 pixel OLED panels, one for each eye. The bad news is that the prototype doesnt actually work yet, so Lenovo is just showing what itll look and feel like not how well it functions. That said, the system is said to weigh about 12 ounces, making it lighter than an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. It also includes built-in sensors to detect your movement through space, eliminating the need for external cameras or other hardware. There are also no hand controllers included with the headset. The Verge reports that Lenovo will support third-party controllers instead, as long as theyre designed to work with Microsofts Windows Holographic software. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani pointed out that Teheran and Rabat will win greatly by boosting their ties in the area of economy as well as science and culture. We should tap the existing capacities and potentials to expand and strengthen ties and cooperation between the two countries, Hassan Rouhani said Saturday while receiving Moroccos newly appointed ambassador to Tehran, Hassan Hami. The Moroccan diplomat on his part expressed Rabats satisfaction about Irans stance, which upholds dialogue and diplomacy in settling regional and international issues, Iranian Tasnim news agency reports. Hamis appointment came after seven years of diplomatic cut-off between the two countries. Rabat in 2009 recalled its envoy after it accused Teheran of interference into its religious affairs. The mission was re-opened last year. Wizz Air to launch new flights between Venice, Yerevan EU assesses Armenia, Azerbaijan border commissions meeting in Brussels as constructive Artsakh President convenes enlarged working consultation Envoy: China supports Armenians Azerbaijan MOD disseminates disinformation, Armenia army did not fire Newspaper: Armenia PM once again manipulates topic of negotiations, Karabakh conflict US wants to prevent Germany, other allies from working together with China Protests turn violent in Iran's Alborz Province 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 Ruling parties see opportunity to table amendment proposal Following the Supreme Courts refusal to issue a stay order against the constitution amendment bill, the ruling Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist Centre) have said they will table the bill in Parliament. Despite the bad weather, random passers-by eagerly show me the building where the Zohrabyans live. I reach the building, where I am welcomed by Andarniks father, Atom Zohrabyan. He smiles amiably but is apparently not happy. Zohrabyan immediately introduces me to Andraniks mother and his two sisters. The house is silent: everyone speaks in whisper. It is calm like in the photo hung on the wall. Andranik was a bright boy, I say, looking at the photo. His father immediately agrees: When asked to describe Andranik in one word, I say he was bright. The photo was taken on the day of Andraniks military recruitment: in it the 18-year-old boy seems to be 25-26 years old. The parents say he had had a serious look since his childhood, but a year after the military recruitmentin 2015he seemed to have become quite a different man. He had grown up and become more serious. Andarnik would never speak about the army and would always give laconic answers to his parents cross-examination. He would never tell anything, but since the very first day of the military recruitment I had fear in my heartIn July 2014 he went to serve, in August the escalation started and I was constantly frightened. He told me nothing but I felt everything connected with my Andranik, says his mother, Mrs Alla. Last time she talked to Andranik on March 29. The mother didnt like her sons voice, but the latter said nothing. Mrs Alla recalls that in the recent period her son gave seldom calls, and when asked why he wouldnt call frequently, Andranik would answer in short: Im preparing you, Mum.And then he would change the topic. Only now her mother starts understanding what he was preparing her for... In the morning of March 29, the family noticed that the clock had stopped at 6:15 am, but they didnt pay attention to this. On the night of March 31 to April 1, Mrs Alla saw a dream, and in the morning she went to work already feeling unwell and in bad spirits. My daughter had also seen Andranik in her dream. She wanted to tell me about that but I didnt allow her. I went to work but I felt very bad: I didnt know what was wrong with me. Our entire family woke up at six oclock in the morning of April 2. We were anxious but didnt know why. It turns out these were the last minutes of my Andranik, his mother recalls. Hours later Zohrabyans learn about the tense situation and military actions in Artsakh. The next morning while preparing to go to church to pray for Andranik, the spouses learn what had happened to Andranik, who went to the positions on April 1. The evil news was brought to the father of the family by one of Andraniks friends. Andranik is no longer alive, his fellow serviceman had told him. The family first didnt know under which circumstances Andranik had died. At that time Mrs Alla had felt strong pain in the left side of her body. When Andraniks body was exchanged on April 8, she asked her husband to look in which part her son had sustained injury. The same part where I felt pain, Mrs Alla says, continuing: It was in those days when we were looking forward to finding out where and how he was. Once I saw a dream: Andranik was walking with a boy; he was happy. Now I realize that he might have been with Robert Abajyan, since the Azeris wanted to take the bodies of both of them, but left them halfway in the neutral zone and went away. Now that the Zohrabyans know about the heroism their son and his fellow servicemen displayed, they think that what they had felt and dreamt might have hinted them about the imminent tragedy. Prejudice or fate? The spouses find it difficult to give it a name. They note that Andranik was named after his grandfather, who was awarded a Medal for Courage and Combat Cross of the Second Degree back in April 1941. My Andranik grew up listening to his grandfathers stories about the Great Patriotic War and Artsakh Liberation War. They say the little ones should excel the elders: Andranik excelled his grandfather, receiving Combat Cross of the First Degree, his father notes. Atom Zohrabyan wasnt surprised by his sons step. Andranik didnt like to lose since his childhood: he had always to be a winner. Although he never spoke about patriotism, his father was always confident of his patriotism, as if realizing that time will come when his son will prove it. And he did that on the night of April 1 to April 2. Andranikreserved, modest and responsiblefought till the last minute. He didnt run away from the battlefield. In his fathers words, Andranik was so responsible that if he was entrusted a weapons, he would fight till the end and defend the position, which his superiors had entrusted him. And he did exactly that way. Andranik had got wounded only after the bullets finished. Robert Abajyan was the one who took him from the embankment to the trench, where he died. Afterwards, Abajyan blew up himself and several Azeris with the last grenade. Atom Zohrabyan notes that although Abajyan, Sloyan and Zohrabyan served in the same military base, they were not close friends, being quite different by nature. However, on the night of April 1 to April 2, they united to defend the position. Everyone says that but for these four boys, everything would have taken a different course. The adversary aimed to advance exactly through their position all along Martakert. Andranik said Martakert was very much like his native town Vedi. He defended Martakert as he would defend Vedi or any other place in Armenia and Artsakh. Andranik defended his land, Zohrabyan says. Those serving in the positions dont stop talking about the heroism of Andranik and his friends. Months after the incident, the Armenian News NEWS.am team visited the position which was defended by Armenak Urfanyan and his soldiers. Although the position was completely re-equipped, nobody touched the embankment, where Andranik Zohrabyan fought. Now a big concrete cross is installed here, which his fellow-servicemen built in memory of their friend. One gets astonished listening with how much love and pride Andraniks friends talk about him. They describe in detail where and what actions Zohrabyan carried out during the four-day war. AQAP Claims Attacks on Popular Committees, Security Belt Forces in Abyan, and Houthis in al-Bayda Sterling Payment Technologies Named Best Channel Vendor for Ninth TAMPA, FLA (PRWEB) January 03, 2017 Sterling Payment Technologies, a leading provider of payment processing, announced it has been recognized by Business Solutions Magazine as one of the Best Channel Vendors for 2017, ranking Sterlings payment processing among the nations best. This year marks the ninth consecutive year that Sterling has received the honor in the category of payment processing. We are honored to be selected as Best Channel Vendor for nine years in a row, said Paul Hunter, president and CEO at Sterling Payment Technologies. Were truly grateful to be recognized again this year. But even after nine years, Sterling continues to raise the bar. We are committed to providing the most advanced payment solutions, best-in-class technology, and the service and support our customers need to build their businesses. Business Solutions Magazine partnered with Penn State University to conduct the survey and analyze the results to ensure statistical accuracy. More than 5,300 validated votes were cast, making this one of the largest surveys of its kind. As with past years, only the top 5 percent of vendors were recognized with Best Channel Vendor honors. In this years survey, Sterling received exceptional marks for service and support, channel friendliness, product features, product reliability, product innovation, and VAR margins. As a national payment processor, Sterling Payment Technologies is dedicated to providing fast, affordable and secure payment processing to merchants throughout the U.S. In addition to providing a complete range of credit, debit and gift programs, Sterling is an expert in easy payment integrations that include EMV solutions, P2P encryption, tokenization, out-of-scope solutions, mobile solutions, and cloud-based POS reporting platforms. The companys focus on technology and service allows Sterling to provide superior customer support and a broad range of advanced solutions to its customers. To learn more, contact Sterling Payment Technologies at (800) 383-0561 or visit http://www.sterlingpayment.com. About Sterling Payment Technologies: Founded in 2001, Sterling Payment Technologies is one of the most innovative, customer-focused payment processors in the industry. An 11-year integration partner with Datacap and a key partner with Ingenico for integrated payments, the company processes payment transactions for all major credit cards including Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. Sterling is committed to providing POS resellers, developers and merchants with the most advanced payment solutions in the marketplace, including a complete range of electronic payment processing services, such as credit, debit, PIN debit, EMV, fleet, gift card, and electronic benefits transfer (EBT). The company has been recognized by Business Solutions Magazine as Best Channel Vendor for nine consecutive years, ranking Sterlings payment processing among the nations best. Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, Sterling is represented in communities across the country by point-of-sale equipment dealers and software developers, independent sales offices, banks, and an internal sales team. Other Point of sale news: SC annuls its stay on Energy Ministry's decision to sack 3 NEA members The Supreme Court has quashed its own short-term interim order issued against the Energy Ministrys decision to sack three board members of the Nepal Electricity Authority. A total of N14.2bn has been paid by the government of the state of Osun to clear all salary arrears. This was revealed by the governor who confirmed the said amount was paid out by his government in less than two weeks before the end of December 2016. Osun Clears Salary Arrears With N14.2bn Aregbesola stated this when the State government opened the year with supplications as the Governor led Muslim and Christian faithful at an interdenominational thanksgiving session at the Government Secretariat, Osogbo. Aregbesola, who laced his speech with songs of praises to God in Islamic and Christian ways, said with what befell the state before the close of 2015, it was gratifying that the state bounced back in what can now be felt as relief from the hardship of last year. READ ALSO: Sokoto Govt to conduct proficiency tests for teachers, says Tambuwal He said the ability of his government to pay workers salaries from September, October, November and December in less than a record two week period was a huge relief. The governor said it was in September 2014 that he had to call on workers to decide whether they wanted a staff reduction or payment of salaries according to available resources when the impact of the economic hardship in the country began to biter harder. He said in July 2015, the new Federal Government which had been sworn in May, 2015, listened to some of the solutions proffered to the national revenue crisis. Aregbesola said when the state got N34.9bn bailout loan in 2015, there were controversies on how to disburse the funds when some people insisted that the whole funds should be spent all at once. But I knew that with the magnitude of the economic crisis facing Nigeria, it would have been suicidal to expend the whole bailout loan at once without saving a portion of it which eventually bailed us out till around February this year, Aregbesola said. The governor recalled that this was what made necessary, the constitution of the state's Revenue Apportionment Committee headed by labour veteran Comrade Hassan Sunmonu which he said made it possible for the state to pay salaries till February of 2016. He said the arrival of the Paris Club deductions refunds which made N11.7bn available to the state has brought some relief noting that the state would however need to intensify its efforts towards self-sustenance. We are grateful that our hardships are getting over giving us indications that the new year would be better. he added. The governor while expressing appreciation to workers who showed understanding, appealed to those who have not shown signs of understanding the trends. He added, LAUTECH lecturers have insisted they would not cooperate with the government despite their knowledge of the economic conditions we face. We appeal to them to accept our fate at the moment for the sake of the students future. He expressed optimism that by June this year, there are signs that the recession would come to an end. While appealing to all stakeholders to look inward, Aregbesola charged traditional rulers promote agriculture in their respective domain just as he appealed to them to engage in vigorous campaigns for payment of taxes. We want to engage massively in agriculture. We want to aggressively grow cassava, maize, plantain, rice, soya beans and the existing cocoa which our people are already growing. It is now clear that those who are looking for free things will wait forever. It's certain that oil price can no longer return to its old rates and free money won't come again. If we don't want to continue to suffer this lack, farming is the only venture we must embark o He assured that the government would give financial aides to those interested in farming. The governor also hinted that by 1st of February, this year, his government would enforce the use of the standard measures and scales for all commercial transactions as part of efforts to make commerce attractive in Osun. Whoever fails to use Osunwon Omoluabi will face the consequences. The Head of Service Mr. Sunday Owoeye, in his speech saluted the courage and commitment of the Osun workforce. Owoeye, who said revenue generation should be a major focus of the workers in the new year, said the workers have shown commitment. "I wish to acknowledge the sacrifice and endurance of Public Servants in the State in these trying times we are passing through. We have proved to the whole world our resilience in the face of unanticipated challenges such that when the going gets tough, the tough gets going! READ ALSO: Lagos 25 most inspiring personalities of 2016 "Whenever the history of the State will be written in future and the achievements of this sparkling Aregbesola Administration are enumerated, the indomitable and altruistic spirit with which the Public Servants weather the current storms shall definitely occupy a conspicuous space! "I wish to charge every public servant to continue to support this administration in its drive towards self-sufficiency by being more proactive in revenue generation. The largest room in the world is the room for improvement and the road to success is always under construction ad infinitum!" In his sermon, Dr. Isiaka Lawal of the College of Education Ilesa, advised civil servants to abide by the rules of their engagements noting that leakages of officially classified documents, no matter for what reason, contradicts civil service rules. Source: Legit.ng - Chief Chekwas Okorie has described President Buhari's administration as a failure - He said Buhari was not prepared for governance - He promised that his party will focus on restructuring in 2019 Chief Chekwas Okorie who is the chairman of the United Progressives Party (UPP) has criticised President Muhammadu Buhari for the handling of the countrys economy. Vanguard reports that Okorie spoke on Tuesday, January 3 when he received Ralph Uwazuruike who is the leader of the Biafra Independence Movement in Owerri, Imo state. READ ALSO: Fulani herdsmen and farmers clash gets worse as drought kicks in The UPP leader said Buhari apparently did not prepare for governance which was why he has been unable to manage the country well. UPP chairman berates Buhari over economy He said: It is a very sad commentary that Nigerians are passing through very harsh times and this is principally midwifed by the fact that President Buhari did not prepare for governance before stepping into office. From what we have seen so far, it appears that President Buharis primary motive was simply to win the presidential election. Okorie noted that so many government parastatals were underperforming and lamented that it took the president a long time to roll out his ministers. Another good example of the Presidents bad approach to governance is the issue of the Niger Delta upheaval. He didnt manage it well. He came on board with the jackboot mentality over the matter and of course, he failed He said his party will focus on restructuring in 2019. And lashed at Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo on how pensioners were being treated in the state. READ ALSO: Buhari's popularity has sunk to critical levels - Jared Jeffrey UPP will bring the recommendations of the recent National Conference to the front burner. Already, we have set up a committee to look at the document. UPP will make it an issue during the 2019 election campaign Governor Rochas Okorocha is a very big embarrassment to Ndigbo. He has messed up Imo State. He is worried about the deafening lamentation of the citizenry and it does not appear that he wants to change his obnoxious style. The way Chief Okorocha has been treating pensioners, to say the least, is most shocking. To Imo people, 2019 appears to be eternity. The worst thing that can happen is for any right thinking Imo citizen to vote for All Progressives Congress, APC, or any stooge Okorocha brings up. Source: Legit.ng 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 Read more This article was originally on GET.com at: 5 Most Fascinating Wildlife Destinations In The World Are you a wildlife fanatic whose appetite for observing and marvelling at glorious animals in the wild simply cannot be satisfied in Singapore? If this sounds like you, you would probably take any opportunity to travel around the world to some of the most enthralling wildlife destinations out there. Here, we at GET.com share with you our top 5 contenders of the world's most fascinating wildlife destinations. Ready to pack your bags and grab your cameras? 5 Most Fascinating Wildlife Destinations In The World 1. Galapagos Islands 'Intriguing' is such an understated description for the wildlife creatures that inhabit the Galapagos Islands, an archipelago of volcanic islands nestled on either side of the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, near Ecuador. Word has it that Charles Darwin came up with his theory of evolution at this very place. It isn't difficult to see why because the Galapagos Islands is an absolute gem known for its unique wildlife that isn't found anywhere else on earth. To name a few, we've got Galapagos fur seals, marine iguanas, flightless cormorants, Galapagos penguins, etc. 2. Amazon Rainforest When it comes to amazing wildlife, the Amazon Rainforest that is home to more than 30% of the entire world's wildlife is a quintessential wildlife haven that anyone who loves being out and about in the company of animals has to visit at least once in a lifetime. From vibrant macaws, river otters, giant anteaters and jaguars to pink dolphins, anacondas and glass frogs, the diverse array of animals that you will encounter there is sure to give you an unforgettable holiday experience. 3. Namibia Did you know that Namibia was the first country in the world to initiate and weave the protection of its environment into its constitution? Especially committed to protecting endangered species of animals like the black rhino and cheetah, its efforts to set aside more than 20 national parks and reserves back in the day have not been in vain as their numbers have since increased. Story continues Ecotourism is really popular amongst people who want to catch a glimpse of desert elephants, lions, zebras, springboks, cheetahs, black rhinos and other wildlife natives of Namibia without ruining the Namibian wildlife habitat. 4. Yellowstone National Park Whether you visit Yellowstone National Park in winter or summer, the fact remains that this place has the biggest concentration of observable wildlife in the lower 48 states in the United States. Some highly popular wildlife that visitors to the park are excited to see include grizzly bears, wolves, elk, badgers, bison, foxes, otters, and moose. There are deers and bighorn sheep there, too! 5. Antarctica And The North Pole The thought of global warming melting away the ice ever so rapidly at Antarctica and the North Pole breaks my heart. What will happen to our planet's pristine icy wilderness where the penguins, seals, whales, albatrosses, reindeers, polar bears, snowy owls, white hares, walruses, Arctic foxes and other animals live? For a truly wondrous wildlife observation experience in the bitter cold, be sure to make your way down south or up north while you still can. I'm saving money to get to these places, too. What do you think? Share your comments with us below! GET.com Singapore is Singapore's lifestyle and personal finance website. We help you GET more for your money - food, travel, home loans, credit cards, shopping - everything! Like GET.com on Facebook and sign up to get the HOTTEST stories delivered to your inbox! For serious stuff, you can compare home loans, personal loans and credit cards at GET.com. Our free GETdeals App helps you get the best credit card discounts near you for dining, shopping, lifestyle and more. Download it today! Singapores economic growth quickened to the fastest pace in more than three years last quarter as manufacturing and services rebounded. Key Points Gross domestic product (GDP) rose an annualised 9.1 percent in the three months to December from the previous quarter, when it declined a revised 1.9 percent, the trade ministry said in a statement on 3 January 2017. The median estimate of nine economists in a Bloomberg survey was for a 4 percent expansion GDP rose 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, compared with the 0.3 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey The economy expanded 1.8 percent in 2016, the slowest pace since 2009 Big Picture Singapore, among Asias most-export dependent nations, is seeking new growth engines to boost incomes as its population ages and trade falters. With global growth under pressure and the US threatening to turn more protectionist under Donald Trump, the outlook remains cloudy. That will be a consideration for the central bank in its April policy review after it signalled in October it will stick to its neutral currency policy for an extended period of time. Overall, we are not doing badly, considering the global economic uncertainties, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a New Year message on 31 December 2016. While the labour market has eased, unemployment remains low and we are still creating new jobs. Market Reaction The Singapore dollar erased an earlier decline after the GDP report, trading little changed at 1.4503 against its US counterpart. Economist Takeaways I still think Singapore is in a very challenging condition, said Edward Lee, regional head of research at Standard Chartered in Singapore, who expects 2017 growth to slow to 1.4 percent. External conditions remain extremely challenging and we certainly have to be watchful for materialisation of anti-globalisation and anti-trade sentiment. Any materialisation of that will further dampen the already very weak global trade conditions. Story continues For now, my forecast is that there will be no further easing in April, he said, referring to monetary policy. Prospects of a more protectionist trade policy would be negative for Singapore which is wedded to the old export model and this will have a knock-on impact on domestic incomes, said Weiwen Ng, an economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group in Singapore. Domestic demand weakness should continue to weigh on an already subdued labour market. Other Details AFP News Zhang Yao recalls the moment he realised something had gone deeply wrong at the Chinese mega-factory where he and hundreds of thousands of other workers assembled iPhones and other high-end electronics. In early October, supervisors suddenly warned him that 3,000 colleagues had been taken into quarantine after someone tested positive for Covid-19 at the factory. "They told us not to take our masks off," Zhang, speaking under a pseudonym for fear of retaliation, told AFP by telephone. What followed was a weeks-long ordeal including food shortages and the ever-present fear of infection, before he finally escaped on Tuesday. Zhang's employer, Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn, has said it faces a "protracted battle" against infections and imposed a "closed loop" bubble around its sprawling campus in central China's Zhengzhou city. Local authorities locked down the area surrounding the major Apple supplier's factory on Wednesday, but not before reports emerged of employees fleeing on foot and a lack of adequate medical care at the plant. China is the last major economy committed to a zero-Covid strategy, persisting with snap lockdowns, mass testing and lengthy quarantines in a bid to stamp out emerging outbreaks. But new variants have tested officials' ability to snuff out flare-ups and dragged down economic activity with the threat of sudden disruptions. - Desperation - Multiple workers have recounted scenes of chaos and increasing disorganisation at Foxconn's complex of workshops and dormitories, which form a city-within-a-city near Zhengzhou's airport. Zhang told AFP that "positive tests and double lines (on antigen tests) had become a common sight" in his workshop before he left. "Of course we were scared, it was so close to us." "People with fevers are not guaranteed to receive medicine," another Foxconn worker, a 30-year-old man who also asked to remain anonymous, told AFP. "We are drowning," he said. Those who decided to stop working were not offered meals at their dormitories, Zhang said, adding that some were able to survive on personal stockpiles of instant noodles. Kai, a worker at in the complex who gave an interview to state-owned Sanlian Lifeweek, told the magazine Foxconn's "closed loop" involved cordoning off paths between dormitory compounds and the factory, and complained he was left to his own devices after being thrown in quarantine. TikTok videos geolocated by AFP showed mounds of uncollected rubbish outside buildings in late October, while employees in N95 masks squeezed onto packed shuttle buses taking them from dormitories to their work stations. A 27-year-old woman working at Foxconn, who asked not to be named, told AFP a roommate who tested positive for Covid was sent back to her dormitory on Thursday morning, crying, after she decided to hand in her notice while in quarantine. "Now the three of us are living in the same room: one a confirmed case and two of us testing positive on the rapid test, still waiting for our nucleic acid test results," the worker told AFP. Many became so desperate by the end of last month that they attempted to walk back to their hometowns to get around Covid transport curbs. As videos of people dragging their suitcases down motorways and struggling up hills spread on Chinese social media, the authorities rushed in to do damage control. The Zhengzhou city government on Sunday said it had arranged for special buses to take employees back to their hometowns. Surrounding Henan province has officially reported a spike of more than 600 Covid cases since the start of this week. - Distrust - When Zhang finally attempted to leave the Foxconn campus on Tuesday, he found the company had set up obstacle after obstacle. "There were people with loudspeakers advertising the latest Foxconn policy, saying that each day there would be a 400 yuan ($55) bonus," Zhang told AFP. A crowd of employees gathered at a pick-up point in front of empty buses but were not let on. People in hazmat suits, known colloquially as "big whites" in China, claimed they had been sent by the city government. "They tried to persuade people to stay in Zhengzhou... and avoid going home," Zhang said. "But when we asked to see their work ID, they had nothing to show us, so we suspected they were actually from Foxconn." Foxconn pointed to the local government's lockdown orders from Wednesday when asked by AFP if it attempted to stop employees from leaving, without giving any further response. The company had on Sunday said it was "providing employees with complimentary three meals a day" and cooperating with the government to provide transport home. Eventually, the crowd of unhappy workers who had gathered decided to take matters into their own hands and walked over seven kilometres on foot to the nearest highway entry ramp. There, more people claiming to be government officials pleaded with the employees to wait for the bus. The crowd had no choice as the road was blocked. Buses eventually arrived at five in the afternoon -- nearly nine hours after Zhang had begun his attempt to secure transport. "They were trying to grind us down," he said. Back in his hometown, Zhang is now waiting out the home quarantine period required by the local government. "All I feel is, I've finally left Zhengzhou," he told AFP. bur-tjx/oho/je/mca/cwl Coworking is not just about working together in one physical location. Its also about exploring opportunities, building community and generating value The first coworking community in Indonesia, Hackerspace Bandung, was founded only six years ago in 2010. While the growth was not too fast in the first half of the decade, the number of coworking spaces has increased exponentially since 2014. Currently, there are at least 65 coworking spaces and creative hubs in the country, and it is predicted that Indonesia will have more than 100 such spaces by 2017. The coworking industry in Indonesia is on a rising trend, yet it is still fairly new. With it comes opportunities and, of course, challenges. 3 Opportunities Here are three main opportunities in Indonesias coworking industry: Opportunity #1: An increasingly important role in the creative and digital economy and ecosystem The cognitive process of innovation is in the DNA of coworking. Sharing ideas and interacting within a community with diverse and supportive members of different professions can give inputs and feedback from different perspectives. All of these are the essence of coworking communities, and these are the factors that can help the growth of each coworker, whether as an entrepreneur, freelancer, or startup member. Indonesia aspires to be the Digital Energy of South East Asia by 2020, and since we had the Coworking Indonesia conference and association in 2016, national-level and local government, as well as big corporations are starting to see the link between the coworking industry and economic development. We hope we can get more support, not only in partnerships and programs, but most importantly to have a big role in shaping public policies related to entrepreneurship and the creative and digital economy. Opportunity #2: A growing market Eighty per cent of the coworking spaces and creative hubs are currently established in Java. Along with the development of infrastructure in the eastern part of Indonesia e.g. Palapa Ring project it will open up the market, and the number of coworking spaces in Indonesia will definitely grow even faster. Currently, Indonesia has more than 100 million internet users, and it is forecast that we will have 160 million internet users by 2020. Story continues The push to grow entrepreneurship and startups, combined with exposure to technology, will result in growing numbers of location-independent workers. If Indonesias 260 million population has 2 per cent entrepreneurs and say only a quarter from that number is location-independent, that is 1.3 million people who that can be a market for coworking spaces, makerspace and creative hubs in Indonesia alone. Opportunity #3: A bridge to the community People often come to a coworking space wanting to pitch their business, research, cause, or access professional talents they might need, but not necessarily want to join the community itself. Coworking Commodity, which is our community, is an abstract concept that most people find difficult to understand. Well, sometimes I compare our business to a restaurant business. People out there are the raw ingredients you can buy in the market. The coworking space is like a kitchen that has the recipe and makes the food look and taste good. Asking to take whatever you need from the community in a coworking space without being part of it is the same like going to a restaurant and ask to eat the meal for free. Communities and the skill to identify and access it are highly valuable hence it is the number one capital of coworking spaces that we can leverage to create programmes, explore opportunities and connections, and to bring more value to our community. Information and access to certain communities in Indonesia are still not very clear and available. Before coworking spaces existed, big corporations, government and civil society organisations had to create their own links and networks, and they spent a lot of energy managing it. In the last one to two years, coworking spaces have proved that we can play a crucial part in linking them with relevant target audience and communities. 3 Challenges Apart from the opportunities, there are also three main challenges that Indonesias coworking space industry has to face: Challenge #1: Awareness and culture The concept of coworking mainly comes from the west, and most Indonesians do not know yet what coworking is, let alone know the options that they can have from working at a coworking space. The difference between coworking space and a simple working space is also still very blurry, even for some coworking operators. But even after they are introduced with the concept, conducted trials, and attended many events, many were still unsure, and the conversion rate for memberships has remained low. Another analogy I often use when explaining coworking spaces is to compare it with a gym 20 years ago. When the first gyms opened, people asked: Why dont you just do push ups at home? Or, why dont you run around your housing complex instead of on the treadmill? But how many people are disciplined enough to do that? People go to the gym because they will be more focused in exercising, they can use equipment that are normally too expensive for one person to have, and they can meet other people with similar values. Its a community. A coworking space is like a gym, but instead of exercising, you are working and networking. Coworking in the western world is (probably) a huge success, because in a world where privacy and self-driven motives are highly valued, it comes with the longing to be part of something: A cause, or a community. That is not necessarily the case for Indonesia. Indonesians are very communal, especially in smaller cities. In Bali, where we started Kumpul Coworking Space and where I live, social and religious obligations consume peoples time, energy and money. The family will decide what is best for you, and often older generation prefers to choose safer paths for their offsprings such as getting an employment at hotels, running the conventional family business, or being a civil servant. Hence the ecosystem that encourages innovation, starting a new venture, and trying a new way of working (e.g., coworking), is still very vulnerable. Challenge #2: Sustainability and business model Since the coworking market in Indonesia is not yet mature, many spaces still struggle with occupancy level. Income from memberships is hardly enough. Therefore, almost all spaces are pivoting to cater events for the public. These events are usually something that the space runs by itself, or we just help to organise somebody elses event in our space. Then one day someone I just knew asked me: So what is it that youre doing? Are you an EO (events organiser)? That caught me off-guard. I did not start a coworking space to run around and spend most of my energy taking care of peoples events. But somehow coworking spaces in Indonesia seem to think that it is completely normal to run public events and use their space as an event venue, since everybody else is doing that. Ideally, coworking space is all about your own community. So events such as workshops and skill-sharing sessions are used as tools to bring together members with the same interests and/or skills and done internally for the benefit of our members. Challenge #3: Operations People are often surprised when they find out the cost of running a coworking space in Indonesia. It is not that big a difference compared to running a coworking space in the US. The biggest costs for coworking spaces are, sadly, rent and internet, and not staff. Average cost for 1 Mbps DSL internet is around US$100. Moreover, for us who started this business in the last five years, there was no support from property owners nor the local government in the form of cheaper rent. Im happy to hear that there is now a higher awareness about the direct link between coworking businesses and economic development, and that government and corporates are starting to offer their under-utilised property or areas to coworking operators either for free or at cheaper rent. It is also a challenge to find staff for coworking spaces, since this is a very new industry and there are not many talents with coworking experiences. When you have more than one to two years experience in Indonesias coworking scene, you are already considered an expert. The difficulty in acquiring and maintaining staff is also due to the spaces being unsure of their management style and business model. Usually, the best selection process and training is when a potential staff hire had been a member of a coworking space before, so they already share the values and style. Summary The trend of coworking in Indonesia is rising, but it seems it does not go in parallel with market awareness. This was why some key players in the coworking industry got together and decided that we need to join forces to accommodate the needs and struggles of the spaces, so it becomes more sustainable and so we can focus our energy more on programmes and community building. Coworking Indonesia was launched in August 2016, and with the spirit of collaboration it will work with spaces across the country to increase awareness about coworking as new way of work. We also want to showcase that there is clear link between coworking communities with active citizenship and the growth of economic development in Indonesia. - Faye Alund is the President of Coworking Indonesia, a national association of coworking operators in Indonesia, as well as the co-founder of Kumpul Coworking Space in Bali. She had more than a decade experience working in the area of active citizenship and community development, and she is currently using her skills and passions to push forward the entrepreneurship and economic development growth through the coworking movement. The views expressed here are of the authors, and e27 may not necessarily subscribe to them. e27 invites members from Asias tech industry and startup community to share their honest opinions and expert knowledge with our readers. If you are interested in sharing your point of view, submit your post here. Featured Image Copyright: kantver / 123RF Stock Photo The post Co-working in Indonesia: Opportunities and challenges appeared first on e27. BEIRUT (AP) Lebanon on Tuesday buried its citizens who perished in the Istanbul nightclub massacre on New Year's Eve amid an outpouring of grief that has for days dominated local TV channels and discussions among the country's politicians. Lebanon a Mediterranean nation of 5 million people lost three nationals in the carnage in Turkey. The attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State group, killed 39. Another six Lebanese nationals were wounded, according to local media. Funerals were also held in Jordan and in Israel, which lost a citizen each in the assault. One of Lebanon's victims Rita Chami, 26, had lost her mother to cancer only last July. She had taken time out of her university studies to care for her. The other two Haykal Mousallem, 34, and Elias Wardini, 26 were both personal fitness trainers in Beirut. Wardini was engaged to be married; Mousallem got married four months ago. Both of their partners survived the attack. Lebanon, accustomed to tragedy in the aftermath of its civil war and occasional bouts of violence, has treated its Istanbul victims as national heroes, their coffins draped in the Lebanese flag as they were brought back home. In Beirut's Ashrafieh neighborhood, grieving relatives and friends set off fireworks on Tuesday morning as residents bid Wardini farewell. His funeral was attended by some of the country's leading Christian politicians. Mousallem was buried in his native Chouf district, outside the Lebanese capital. Chami will be buried on Thursday. Newly appointed Prime Minister Saad Hariri asked the Lebanese to stand still for five minutes in memory of the dead. But the local press went further than that. The country's top TV stations sent reporters on intrusive assignments on Sunday, broadcasting live from the homes of the bereaved as they learned of the fates of their loved ones. On Twitter, Hariri urged the outlets to leave the families in peace. The bodies were repatriated Monday night, sparking another media frenzy, first at the airport and then the hospital morgues where the remains were taken. Story continues Wardini's funeral was broadcast live on Tuesday on national TV, which called the victims "martyrs in every meaning of the word," and condemned Islamic State militants as "enemies of God." The New Year's attack on Istanbul's Reina club also touched others across the Middle East. The IS said it targeted Christian revelers in response to Turkish military operations against the militant group in northern Syria but most of the dead were foreign tourists from Muslim countries. Turkey's Anadolu Agency said nearly two-thirds of the victims in the upscale club, which is frequented by local celebrities, were foreigners. In Jordan, hundreds attended the funeral ceremony Tuesday for 44-year-old businessman Nawras Assaf who died in the Istanbul attack. Assaf's wife was among those wounded. In Israel, thousands attended the funeral Tuesday of 18-year-old Layan Nasser, an Arab Israeli killed in the Istanbul attack. She had gone to Istanbul to celebrate the New Year's with three friends. Mourners wept as they marched through the streets of Tira behind Nasser's wooden coffin. The city's mayor, Mamoun Abd El Hai, declared a day of mourning, with banks and municipal offices closed. "She had dreams to work, to progress, to study, to raise a family, but unfortunately the terror put an end to her dreams and ended her life," the mayor told The Associated Press. Another Israeli traveling with Nasser was wounded in the attack. Nasser's father told Israeli Channel 10 TV that he had a bad feeling about his daughter's trip to Istanbul. "I was very concerned about this trip," Zaher Nasser said. "I asked her not to travel in light of the bad security situation there, but she insisted to go with her friends." ___ Associated Press writer Tia Goldenberg in Jerusalem contributed to this report. Syrian conflict: Rebels threaten to boycott Astana talks Syrian rebel groups say they are suspending participation in the preparations for peace talks planned by Russia and Turkey for later this month. This undated photo provided by the Pennsylvania State Police shows Trooper Landon Weaver, who was killed responding to a domestic complaint Friday evening, Dec. 30, 2016, in a rural area in Huntingdon County, in central Pennsylvania. The suspect in the fatal shooting of Weaver was shot and killed after making threats to police who located him Saturday morning, authorities said. (Pennsylvania State Police via AP) MARTINSBURG, Pa. (AP) A state police trooper who was shot to death while responding to a domestic incident three days ago in rural central Pennsylvania was remembered Monday as a model officer. Gov. Tom Wolf and Col. Tyree Blocker, the state police commissioner, paid tribute to 23-year-old Landon Weaver after meeting with employees at the Huntingdon state police station where Weaver worked. Weaver was killed Friday evening while responding to a reported violation of a protection-from-abuse order in Huntingdon County. An overnight manhunt led police on Saturday to an unoccupied mobile home near Raystown Lake, where they found suspect Jason Robison. Authorities said the 32-year-old Robison refused orders and made threats, and police fatally shot him. "Landon Weaver was a young member of the Pennsylvania State Police, but one that exhibited all of the qualities, the professional qualities, that we look for in a member of the state police," Blocker told WJAC-TV . "He was compassionate, he was professional, he had a good sense of humor and he possessed exceptional interpersonal skills." Weaver graduated from Central High School in Martinsburg in 2012 and began training at the police academy in December. He was assigned to a patrol unit in Huntingdon in June. Wolf's office said the Democratic governor met with members of Weaver's family privately after spending time at the Huntingdon station. Weaver's visitation is Wednesday and the funeral is Thursday at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona, with burial at Fairview Cemetery in Martinsburg. Weaver was the 97th member of the Pennsylvania State Police to be killed in the line of duty. Survivors include his wife, Macy. Robison had been arrested more than a dozen times in the county, on charges that included making threats, assault, theft and driving on a revoked license. Robison last appeared in court on Dec. 16, when he was released on theft and driving charges after posting $10,000 bail. State police said no new information on the investigation was available Monday, but they expected to release additional details in the coming days. Messages left for the district attorney and coroner were not immediately returned. As Seas Rise, Miami Development Continues Unabated Posted on 3 January 2017 by greenman3610 Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone contributing editor, has a warning for south Florida residents: Miami, as we know it today, is not going to exist. Thats because the ocean is rising, and it will be hard to keep the water out. Some Miami neighborhoods already flood during high tides. And yet, the building here is going on at a record rate high-rises all along the beach. Basically, nothing has changed, Goodell says in this months This Is Not Cool video by independent videographer Peter Sinclair. Describing how extensive parts of South Florida are built on a big porous sponge, he says levees cannot mitigate the problem. Its just a big flat limestone pancake. The ice did not get the memo to stop melting in the year 2100, adds Retired Admiral David Titley, the former chief naval oceanographer now teaching at Penn State. He cautions of sea-level problems ahead even if global temperatures are somehow capped at the 2C threshold sought under the December 2015 Paris climate agreement. Goodell says the resort culture of the area means those problems often are overlooked and are not part of the culture here Its a place where you go to get away from problems, to have fun on the beach. Goodell points to ongoing ambitious new housing and other development activities in the face of continually rising sea level: Its the Miami sea-level rise story in a nutshell, he says. Nothing is changing. If youre not selling directly to a consumer, it can be tough to figure out how best to market your business. Thats why we asked 12 entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) the following question: What are some strategies a founder can implement to make their B2B company more approachable or human to prospective customers? How to Make Your B2B Business More Approachable Heres what YEC community members had to say: 1. Provide Hands-On Customer Support or Account Management The best B2B companies have dedicated account managers and customer service to help their customers. Since most B2B business relationships are designed to be long-term services, it makes sense to invest in a strong customer relationship management infrastructure to not only help onboard them but keep them as a long-term business partner. ~ Andy Karuza, FenSens 2. Abandon B2B I think altogether abandoning the concept of B2B, really trying to understand the individual human (the other side of an enterprise transaction) and being empathetic and putting the business speak aside will make any company more approachable. A shorter answer would be: if you want to humanize the transaction, be more human. ~ Christopher Kelly, Convene 3 . Focus on Your Company Vision, Values and Purpose In his seminal business books Good to Great and Built to Last, author Jim Collins stresses that the most successful business have clear vision, values and purpose. Clarity of your company direction and what you stand for will make your B2B business more human and result in admiration. ~ Kristopher Jones, LSEO.com 4. Produce Video Content Using a video to show your current and potential customers who you are as a brand is the best way to make your company more approachable. By showing them who you are instead of just telling them in a standard About Us section, your customers will really be able to emotionally connect with your brand. ~ Stanley Meytin, True Film Production 5. Avoid Overdoing It Most of the human touches to increase personal connections with potential customers seem robotic and end up driving them away. Phone calls, for instance, might seem like an attempt to put a voice to your company, but theyre just a time-sink if an email wouldve sufficed. I try to strategically limit the amount of outreach to potential customers, because theyre busy people too. ~ Elle Kaplan, LexION Capital 6. Create a Culture of Humanity Often in our business, we talk about how we are selling to people. No matter what company you are selling to, ultimately someone is making the decision whether or not to buy. Since every business transaction is ultimately a person-to-person transaction, treat it as such and remember to keep humanity in your everyday discussions and interactions with other companies. ~ Jay Johnson, Small Lot Wine 7. Put a Face to Your Business People like talking to people and not a logo. Establish a face of the business and have that person offer content, speak to media and offer value to prospects and clients on an ongoing basis. From blogging to writing a book to podcasting, company-owned media can be leveraged to build positive community engagement. ~ Kim Walsh-Phillips, Elite Digital Group 8. Personify Your Product Think of Edgar. Its a social media marketing tool. But when people say they love Edgar, their emotions are involved. If your brand is already set up, this may not be possible to do. But its one way to make your product more human. ~ Ismael Wrixen, FE International 9. Be Authentic People care about people a lot more than they care about (for example) web hosting. The best way to make customers care about your B2B business is by being authentic not trying to look like what you think a B2B business ought to look like. Ditch the stock photos of handshakes and publish your name and face instead. ~ Richard Kershaw, WhoIsHostingThis.com 10. Create Behind-the-Scenes Videos Videos can help humanize brands, making them more approachable. Creating videos of what happens behind the scenes allows prospective customers to see not only the business transactions but also the people behind the business: their culture, their hobbies, what theyre like as people. ~ Diego Orjuela, Cables & Sensors, LLC 11. Empathize Our brand isnt just about assisting customers. We advocate for empowering and encouraging our followers/customers to be the best version of themselves. We have this vision to share life and love to banish insecurity and negativity making the world a better place to live in. My example as the founder made it easy for my team to know what to do. ~ Daisy Jing, Banish 12. Exceed Expectations Great customer support is what separates a ho-hum software company from a great brand. ZipBooks is a B2B platform that benefited early from good word of mouth because of timely in-app chat support that went way beyond what you would expect from a free accounting software program. ~ Tim Chaves, ZipBooks A British soldier has died in Iraq following an "incident" that is being investigated, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed. The soldier had been serving with the 2nd Battalion the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, the MoD said in a statement. They added that the death followed "an incident" that is "currently under investigation, but we can confirm that it was not as a result of enemy activity". Sky News Defence Correspondent Alistair Bunkall said there were few details about the death, which occurred in the town of Taji, northwest of Baghdad. He added that the British military has had a training and advisory operation in the area "for about the past year or so". "From that we can surmise that this soldier was there in a training capacity, as opposed to fighting Islamic State further north in Mosul, for example." The soldier's family has been informed and they have requested a period of grace before further information is released, the MoD said. Meanwhile, gunmen wearing suicide vests attacked two police stations, killing at least seven police officers in the city of Samarra on Monday. Security sources said that clashes in the central Iraqi city were continuing. Earlier in the day, at least 36 people were killed in a Baghdad market in a suicide bombing claimed by Islamic State. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the bomber pretended to be a man wanting to hire day labourers but, once the workers had gathered around, he detonated the vehicle. There were 52 people injured in that attack. If you have opinions about the subject matter of posts on this blog please share them. Do you have a story about how the system affects you at work school or home, or just in general? This is a place to share it. The future of cash While crossing the Nepal-India border at Kakarvitta in Jhapa, my driver tells me how the demonetisation decision by India has impacted people in the bordering towns in Nepal. QUITO, Ecuador Wrapping up the Ecuador leg of his South American pilgrimage, Pope Francis was heading Wednesday to Bolivia, where church-state tensions over everything from the environment to the role of the church in society are high on the agenda. Before leaving Ecuadors capital Quito, Francis met with elderly residents of a nursing home and gave an off-the-cuff pep talk to local clergy, telling them to be humble and to never forget their roots. Then he was set to fly to La Paz and meet with Bolivian President Evo Morales, The stop in La Paz was being kept to four hours to spare the 78-year-old pope from the taxing 4,000-meter (13,120-foot) elevation; the rest of his Bolivian stay will be in Santa Cruz. Bolivian Communications Minister Marienala Paco said Morales decided to cut his speech before the pope to 5 minutes considering the popes health, state news agency ABI reported. Francis and Morales have met on several occasions, most recently in October when the president, a former coca farmer, participated in a Vatican summit of grassroots groups of indigenous and advocates for the poor who have been championed by Francis. Their shared views on caring for societys poorest, and the need for wealthy countries to drastically change course to address climate change have bumped up against Morales anti-clerical initiatives that have roiled relations with the local church. As soon as Morales took office in 2006, for example, the Bible and cross were removed from the presidential palace. A new constitution in 2009 made the overwhelmingly Catholic nation a secular state and Andean religious rituals replaced Catholic rites at official state ceremonies. There are some challenging issues in terms of Evo Morales taking on a quite combative role against the church, which he sees as a challenge to his authority, said Clare Dixon, Latin American regional director for CAFOD, the English Catholic aid agency. The church is also questioning some decisions made about development in the country. Morales, who expelled the U.S. ambassador and Drug Enforcement Administration, came to power championing Bolivias 36 indigenous groups and enshrined their rights in the constitution. But he has alienated lowlands natives by promoting a highway through a nature reserve and authorizing oil and natural gas exploration in wilderness areas. Cheered by environmentalists abroad for his demand that wealthy nations do more to combat climate change, Morales has been under fire at home from critics, including activists in the church, who say he puts extracting petroleum ahead of clean water and forests. Mario Gutierrez, an environmental specialist in Bolivia with the Catholic charity Caritas, said the Morales government is poisoning indigenous communities and deforesting habitats important to them. We are, as the church, truly concerned, he said. Francis was expected to raise environmental concerns during his Bolivian sojourn, just as he did in Ecuador. And hes likely to delicately insist on the Catholic Churchs right to have a voice in society, given its role in caring for the most marginal in South Americas poorest country. Other highlights of the trip include his visit to the notoriously violent Palmasola prison, where a battle among inmate gangs in 2013 left 30 people dead. As in many Latin American prisons, inmates largely control the inside of Palmasola, which teems with some 3,500 prisoners, more than four in five still awaiting trial. But perhaps the most intriguing element expected Wednesday was the delicate diplomatic dance between Francis and Morales over the tensions with the church. Morales considers the Catholic Church a powerful vestige of the colonial-era servitude from which the indigenous more than 60 percent of Bolivias population are still trying to recover. The government made it obligatory to teach other religions in schools alongside Catholicism, the faith of nearly four in five Bolivians. But it lost a major skirmish when it tried to prohibit obligatory Catholic religious education in the 15 percent of schools run by the church. In the heat of the dispute, Morales accused Cardinal Julio Terrazas, then head of the Bolivian bishops conference, of being aligned with the opposition and stripped him of his diplomatic passport. All official ceremonies in Bolivia are now preceded by rituals venerating the Andean earth goddess Pachamama. That doesnt square with the Bolivian church hierarchy, which in a 2012 pastoral letter called school texts that refer to Pachamama as a divinity erroneous and a deviation. Morales calls himself a Catholic and says he believes, as many Andean natives do, that theres plenty of room for both Christianity and traditional beliefs. I remain convinced that we Bolivians have a double religion, double faith, he said in January. We are Catholics, but at the same time we have rituals of our own. Morales is never one to hide his opinions: When he met in 2010 with Francis predecessor, Benedict XVI, he gave him a letter suggesting the church abolish celibacy and allow women to be priests. The church doesnt have to deny a fundamental part of our nature as human beings and should abolish celibacy. That way there will be fewer boys and girls whose fathers dont recognize them, he said at the time. Morales attitude toward the church changed radically when Francis became pope. He visited the pontiff twice and invited him to come to Bolivia. Inaugurating a school in the central Chapare region last week, Morales said, The truth is he and I coincide enormously in politics, the social and the economic. ___ Valdez reported from La Paz, Bolivia. Associated Press reporter Frank Bajak contributed to this report from La Paz. ___ Nicole Winfield on Twitter: www.twitter.com/nwinfield A toddler who was being loaded into his car seat in Kentucky was shot on New Years Eve, in an incident that his father connected to holiday revelers in a Facebook post, according to local media reports. Dwight Mitchell, a public information officer for the Louisville Metro Police Department, told The Washington Post on Monday that the shooting occurred about 10:45 p.m. Saturday as a woman was putting her son into a car seat. Thats when the toddler was struck by a projectile, Mitchell said. The boy was rushed to a hospital with injuries that werent considered life-threatening. Dustin Compton claimed in a Facebook post that his son, Cameron Eli, was the victim. He posted a picture of the 2-year-old and described what occurred Saturday night. Compton, who did not respond to a Facebook message from The Post seeking comment, wrote that as he was leaving a service call, Cameron Eli was being placed in a car seat by his mother. Thats when the toddler was hit in the shoulder with a bullet, according to the Facebook post. Thank God its not fatal. Pray for my son and pray even harder for the idiot that [did] this, Compton wrote. I hope if someone knows anything they will do the right thing. Although the incident occurred before midnight, Compton indicated in his Facebook post that he believed it was tied to New Year celebrations, writing: I want everyone to know that this is what happens when dumb people decide to shoot their guns off on new years. When asked whether police believed the toddler was hit by someone firing guns because of New Years Eve, Mitchell responded: We certainly havent ruled out that fact. He could not confirm that Comptons son was the victim, saying he hadnt seen local media reports. There are no suspects at this time, Mitchell said. Kelsyi Copley, who described the toddlers father as a family friend, told WLKY that she slept through the incident but that when she awoke, the boy was being taken for medical care. We had a family friend come over to fix our heat, Copley told the CBS affiliate. He was leaving with his son. His wife was putting his son in the car, in the van, and the bullet went in and hit the boy in his shoulder. Copley told WLKY that she had heard gunfire earlier in the night. Back to back to back to back. Loud. Big booms, she told the station. I mean, some of them sounded like they was right out front, but dont know how close they really was, but there was a lot of them. The boy has been released from the hospital, WAVE News reported. A dog in Florida turned on its owner, who was trying to dress it in a sweater, biting the woman and others who tried to help her, police told local media outlets. The dog, named Scarface, bit Brenda Guerrero on Friday afternoon in Tampa, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Police spokesman Stephen Hegarty told the newspaper that the woman was attacked after she attempted to dress the pit bull mix in a sweater. Also involved in the incident: Guerreros husband, Ismael, and a third adult, identified in the Times as Antoine Harris, 22. Ismael Guerrero and Harris tried to intervene after Scarface initially attacked, with Harris stabbing the dogs neck and head, according to reports. All three managed to get away from the animal, who was dealt with by authorities who responded to the scene. The Times reported that before Scarface was ultimately captured and subdued, he did slip from the homes back yard to inside the residence, where children were present. Eddy Durkin, of the Tampa police, told WFTS-TV that officers used a stun gun but that the dog was still pulling away and was able to release the devices prongs. According to the ABC affiliate which captured footage of the dog being led away, its coat stained with blood authorities also used a bean bag gun, a tool called a catch pole and a tranquilizer gun on the animal. Officers responding said the dog was pretty aggressive, Durkin told WFTS. A spokesperson for Tampa police did not respond to a telephone message left by The Washington Post on Monday. Brenda and Ismael Guerrero were taken to a hospital, according to local media outlets. Harris also was attacked, according to the Tampa Bay Times, although the newspaper did not report that he was hospitalized. Brenda Guerreros granddaughter, Tina Harris, told the New York Daily News that her grandmother was doing much better because she can finally move and talk. Tina Harris told the newspaper that Brenda Guerrero needed surgery after the incident, in which she was bitten in the arm. In the shadow of Four Hills, where the Mascarenas family made their home, the funeral procession for Ian, Olivia and Elijah Mascarenas leaves the Believers Center of Albuquerque following funeral services Monday. (Dean Hanson/Journal) Caskets holding Ian, Olivia and Elijah Mascarenas are carried from the Believers Center of Albuquerque following funeral services Monday afternoon. (Dean Hanson/Journal) Caskets are moved into the Believers Center where a funeral took place Monday for three children shot and killed last month. (Dean Hanson/Journal) Prev 1 of 3 Next Mourners bundled in dark winter jackets passed three white hearses as they streamed into a Four Hills church on a dreary Monday afternoon for a funeral memorializing three children who were shot and killed at their nearby home last month. Just after 1 p.m., dark wooden caskets carrying the bodies of Elijah, Olivia and Ian Mascarenas were arranged in a long line and moved into the Believers Center, where hundreds gathered for the siblings memorial service. The children, ages 5, 6 and 9, were killed and their mother critically wounded in the familys Four Hills home less than two miles from the church. The shooter, George Daniel Wechsler, who was the mothers ex-boyfriend, then killed himself. Mothers and fathers held their own childrens hands as they led them into the hourlong service. Cars packed the churchs parking lot and lined a nearby street. Afterward, two motorcycle police led a lengthy procession. Several drivers wiped their eyes as they drove slowly from the church to the Fairview Memorial Park for the burial. Media, asked by the family not to attend the public service, parked on the shoulder of Highway 333 to film and photograph the event from afar. An obituary for the Mascarenas trio described bright children who were loved tremendously by active, doting parents. Ian and his father were taking guitar lessons together. Olivia often helped her mother in the kitchen and loved to cook breakfast. Elijah was described as the best giver of hugs. Though their parents, Cheryl and Joshua Mascarenas, divorced in 2015, a statement they released shortly after the killings explained that they have always been a family and were raising their children together, and both stayed involved in their daily activities. Ian Mascarenas, 9, was an avid reader who loved baseball. He read multiple books at a time, but could always describe each ones story line. He and his father cheered on the Lobos. Olivia Mascarenas, 6, was creative and curious. Her obituary said she taught herself to craft and cook by watching videos on YouTube. She left behind drawings and paintings. Elijah Mascarenas, 5, was a baseball star in the making who had a hearty laugh and a love for cheesy jokes. He was growing his hair out to donate to Locks of Love. Photos show his reddish hair grown halfway to his shoulders. The three attended Manzano Mesa Elementary, where they were in fourth grade, first grade and kindergarten. According to police, Cheryl Mascarenas had recently ended her brief relationship with the 45-year-old Wechsler a man with a history of stalking, harassing and threatening women when he broke into her home on Stagecoach SE and waited for her to return with her children. He then shot all four, killing the three siblings and critically wounding their mother before fatally shooting himself. Police said Cheryl Mascarenas did everything she could to try to save her children. One died at the scene and the other two died either in the hospital or as they were being transported. Sergio Guadalupe Jacquez, 23 Ethan Jacquez, 2 Ethan Jacquez, 2 Sergio Guadalupe Jacquez and Ethan Jacquez Prev 1 of 4 Next An Amber Alert has been canceled after deputies say the 2-year-old boy who was abducted by his father in La Mesa Monday afternoon has been returned safe to his paternal grandmother, according to the Dona Ana County Sheriffs Office. Spokeswoman Kelly Jameson announced late Monday that the man, Sergio Guadalupe Jacquez, 23, was still at large and had crossed the border into Mexico. Jameson said around 1 p.m. Jacquez went to a mobile home on the 100 block of Powell in La Mesa, south of Las Cruces, where his sons grandparents live and demanded to take his son, who was inside sleeping. She said the grandfather refused to let 2-year-old Ethan Jacquez go so Jacquez struck the older man repeatedly, knocking him to the ground. Then, Jameson said, Jacquez forced his way inside the mobile home, doused it with gasoline and set it on fire, completely destroying it. When the smoke forced the woman and the boy outside, Jacquez reportedly shoved the woman to the ground and took his son, Jameson said. Jacquez fled with his son in the grandparents white Ford truck. Jameson said while deputies worked with the New Mexico State Police to issue an Amber Alert, Jacquez headed south to Mexico. Several hours later deputies confirmed that Ethan had been returned to his paternal grandmother in Anthony, NM. Jameson didnt say where Ethan had been found. He is reportedly in good health and unharmed, Jameson said. She said deputies are working with federal officials to find Jacquez. He is charged with arson, aggravated battery, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, abuse of a child and battery. His bond is set at $100,000 cash only. Vehicle: White 2001 Ford F-150 extended cab pickup truck bearing New Mexico plates, 134PJW SAN DIEGO California has gone rogue. More specifically, Democrats in the Golden State have turned renegade against the federal government. Like spoiled children upset that they didnt get their way, they insist they will not follow any order from Washington that they disagree with. As a Generation Xer who majored in American history in college, I always wanted to live in the 1960s. Now Im there. The New West has become the Old South. With a new president threatening to get tough on illegal immigration, California Democrats are blocking the jailhouse door. The day after the election, state Senate leader Kevin de Leon and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon vowed to fight Donald Trump at every turn. We are not going to allow one election to reverse generations of progress, they said in a joint statement. Yes, you must be careful with the unpleasantness of democracy. Other lawmakers have announced bills that would provide publicly funded attorneys to defend illegal immigrants, refuse to help the federal government compile a registry of Muslim immigrants, and prohibit cities and counties from contracting with private companies to detain immigrants. How do you like that? If Democrats from the Left Coast wanted to act like a president, they should have put in for the job. All they had to do was challenge Hillary Clinton for the partys nomination, and endure the underhanded dirty tricks that torpedoed Bernie Sanders. Still, there is a palpable fear in immigrant communities in California and around the country that the Trump administration will attack them, divide them, pick on them, turn them into scapegoats all because of politics. But where have these folks been? Those communities have been ravaged for the last eight years by President Obama who in order to please blue-collar workers who hate competing with immigrants for jobs broke his promise to deliver immigration reform, deported nearly 3 million people, and broke up hundreds of thousands of families. For an encore, Obama indefinitely locked up Central American refugees mostly women and children in detention facilities without access to legal counsel. As this horror was unfolding, most liberals said nothing. At least one of those refugee camps was in California, and I remember when a group of state legislators was given a tour. One Latina lawmaker told a reporter how disturbing it was. Yet given that Obama was essentially the landlord of those properties, she wasnt disturbed enough to publicly condemn the leader of her own party. But when Trump was elected president, everything changed. This being the home of Hollywood, Democrats are casting themselves as the saviors of immigrants and acting like they care about people theyve never cared about. California is ready for its close-up. It wants to be the un-Trump, the anti-Trump, the counterweight to anything that even hints of Trump. Take Trumps promise to build a big beautiful wall along the U.S.-Mexico border albeit one with what right-wingers will likely consider a construction defect, namely a door to allow legal entry to some of those who are deported, as well as some first-time crossers. Immigration restrictionists dont see the point in removing illegal immigrants only to bring them back with the proper paperwork. Thats no way to achieve the real goal: stopping the Latinization of America. The president-elect has also scaled down his vision for the barrier itself, acknowledging now that it wont cover the entire length of the border (nearly 2,000 miles) and that itll probably be a wall-fence hybrid. In other words, those Trump voters who are counting on concrete and barbed-wire to make America white again should brace themselves for what theyll probably get: Wall Lite. Even still, California Democrats arent about to let pass the opportunity to make political points of their own with Latinos, immigration reformers, liberals, Trump haters by drawing a line in the sand over the wall. So theyve proposed a bill that would prevent the federal government from building a wall along the California portion of the U.S.-Mexico border without the approval of California voters. The idea is loony and a little late. At that portion of the border, you already see triple-fencing and other barriers that were installed by Democratic presidents Obama and Bill Clinton with no objection from California Democrats. Thanks to the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, Americans know how this movie ends. When state officials tangle with the federal government, they tend to lose. For those of us who believe in federalism, thats a good thing. Copyright, The Washington Post Writers Group. While the study on the New Mexico First Born program relies on a statistically small sample just 138 newborns the results could turn the tide not only for New Mexico families and taxpayers, but for their counterparts across the country. Because not having 138 newborns spend much of their first year unnecessarily in emergency rooms and doctors offices improves the physical and financial health of families and the public. The New Mexico First Born program was founded in Silver City in 1997 and has since been replicated in 16 other New Mexico counties. Funded by various private grants, the cost-effective program provides home visits to first-born children and their parents for one year to promote healthy child development. It is a sad commentary that much of what First Born provides is the old-fashioned common sense and experience that grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles and others historically shared with first-time moms and dads. Yet it is essential to fill that void if New Mexico is going to break its ongoing cycle of non-parenting that expects government to provide nearly everyone cradle-to-grave social programs. The program does that at a cost of about $3,400 a year per child. In 2013, the Journal published a three-part series by investigative reporter Colleen Heild that found over 15 years the state has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into full-day kindergarten, prekindergarten, family nutrition initiatives, reading readiness programs, remedial classes for college, and increased salaries and training for teachers. Yet, New Mexico remains plagued by poor fourth-grade reading scores, high teen dropout rates, and disappointing numbers of college graduates each year. One key to breaking the cycle, the series reported, was home visits. The Pew Center on the States says national research shows home visiting increases school readiness, cognitive development, parental engagement, parent-child bonding, and produces better maternal and infant health outcomes. In 2013 the federal government poured $1.5 billion for such programs across the country and the New Mexico Legislature voted to quadruple the states investment, from $2 million to $8 million. Theres no question the state needs to get a handle on its public health-care spending. Fully 82 percent of babies in this state are born into Medicaid-eligible families, an unsustainable fiscal model that means the public pays for all those ER, urgent care and doctor visits, whether they are needed or not. Annual Medicaid spending in New Mexico is projected to exceed $6.1 billion next fiscal year, with the states share expected to increase about $80 million, to just over $1 billion. First Born employs more than 100 home-visit personnel who educate new parents on things like immunizations, breastfeeding, checkups and child safety. Its cost pales in comparison to the cost of regular, unneeded visits to the ER and urgent care. The study of 244 Santa Fe County families from 2011 to 2014 138 newborns in the program, 106 not found the infants in First Born were 33 percent less likely to visit a hospital emergency room and 41 percent less likely to make nine or more visits to a primary-care clinic than their non-enrolled counterparts. The results, published in the Dec. 15 online edition of the journal Pediatrics, demonstrate that it is possible to prevent costly health care use by using a staffing model that does not rely exclusively on nurses, which are in short supply in New Mexico and much of the country. While the study has a high margin of error because it is based on a small sample, it shows programs like First Born hold a promise for a healthier future. New Mexico and the nation should continue to evaluate such data-driven programs on a larger scale. 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. Copyright 2017 Albuquerque Journal Ann Berry suffered through years of incapacitating pain, weakness, and bowel and bladder dysfunction after undergoing an unorthodox bone-cement spine treatment in 2008 invented by an Alamogordo doctor who turned out to have bogus credentials. In 2009, the fiesty Berry endured a 10-hour operation in El Paso in which a different physician tried to remove the cement that had leaked into her spinal canal and damaged her nerve roots, her attorney said last week. But she didnt live long enough to see her medical malpractice lawsuit fully resolved against those she claimed were responsible for her debilitating injuries. Berry, 75, died of cancer in September in Kentucky. Meanwhile, the litigation filed on behalf of her and dozens of others who received the dangerous treatments has plodded through federal Bankruptcy Court for the past five years. And theres no end in sight. I am really very sad that the tremendous delay in this case caused her not to see its end, said Berrys attorney, Lisa Curtis of Albuquerque. While she has tremendous kids, I wanted her to feel some justice at the end of this. Just before Christmas, Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert H. Jacobvitz of New Mexico ruled that a national hospital management firm could have spared the unwitting patients from harm beginning in September 2007 a year before Berrys surgery by ordering an outside investigation into the German-born Dr. Christian Schlicht and his bone-cement procedure. Jacobvitz found that Tennessee-based Quorum Health Resources, which was hired by Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center for nonmedical services, was 16.5 percent at fault in the bone cement cases. The hospital, Schlicht and a hospital orthopedic surgeon shared the majority of the blame, he found. The ruling is an important legal victory for the former patients, whose negligence claims stalled after the hospital, which hired Schlicht, filed for bankruptcy in August 2011, citing the onslaught of lawsuits. The plaintiffs at one point numbered 101, including spouses. Since then, nine have died and two lengthy Bankruptcy Court trials determining liability have occurred without any actual damages being awarded. Quorum Health Resources is the sole remaining defendant in the bankruptcy case. An attorney for the company didnt respond to a Journal request for comment last week. In 2012, the plaintiffs entered a partial settlement of about $33 million with several parties, including the hospital, Schlicht and $11.5 million from Dr. Frank Bryant, the orthopedic surgeon and then-chief of staff at Gerald Champion who teamed up with Schlicht to perform some of the bone cement procedures. The New Mexico Medical Board in 2012 accused Bryant of gross negligence, citing the cement procedures and other botched surgeries on five patients from 2007 to 2011. He was formally reprimanded. Last year, the medical board cleared the way for Bryant to resume practicing medicine after he completed a competency assessment program for orthopedic surgeons. Bryant, who contends he was also duped by Schlicht, has relocated to Roswell. He told the Journal on Friday that he has undergone additional medical training, has had no complaints from current patients or negative peer reviews, and believes he is a better surgeon than before. I feel terrible about what happened to these patients, Bryant said. If you dont think I didnt spend sleepless nights for years. I had a lot of these patients. They trusted me. To see them go through that is like being stabbed in the heart. Dangerous risks Berrys lawsuit says that Bryant had performed a spine fusion on her in 2002. When she began to have increasing pain in 2008, Berry returned to see Bryant. He and Schlicht scheduled her for surgery to remove the old hardware and fill the empty disc space with a hot liquid plexiglass-like cement. Such experimental use of the of the cement for lower-back surgeries wasnt supported by medical literature and subjected patients to dangerous risks, Jacobvitz wrote in his Dec. 23 ruling. In Berrys case, an El Paso surgeon could remove only some of the cement, her lawsuit says. Jacobvitz, in his ruling, found that a CEO assigned to the hospital by Quorum was told in mid-2007 about concerns of an outside physician who evaluated Schlichts annual performance. That outside physician reported that Schlicht was not a spine specialist, was conducting experimental surgery and was practicing beyond his scope of expertise, the ruling says. Such an adverse report was very unusual, the judge wrote. But the CEO and hospital medical staff dismissed the physicians concerns as being motivated by a business deal with Dr. Schlicht that did not end well. Bryant and Schlicht convinced members of the medical staff that the procedure was safe, the judge wrote. No further investigation ensued. Because an assertion that a Hospital-employed physician is improperly performing experimental surgery is so explosive, and if true, could create serious problems for the Hospital, the CEO was obligated under (Quorums) policies to report the assertion to an off-site team, Jacobvitz wrote. That action ultimately could have stopped the procedures and led to Schlichts firing, the judge wrote. Instead, Schlicht, who had earned $450,000 in 2007, resigned in late 2008 in a pay dispute with the hospital. Before leaving New Mexico, Schlicht confessed to Bryant that an error in translation of German documents he submitted to Gerald Champion overstated his medical training. Jacobvitz found that Schlicht deliberately set out to mislead the Hospital and medical staff about this credentials. In one set of cases, patients were told they could alleviate their lower back pain by an injection of untested and unauthorized hot bone cement. In another set, patients agreed to unnecessary implants of pacemakers and other medical devices after being told their conditions were so serious they might die on their way home. The two sets of medical malpractice cases were the biggest in decades in New Mexico and involved so many alleged victims that lawyers had to turn potential clients away. Both cases were rooted in southern New Mexico. Both involved smaller hospitals that allegedly allowed rogue doctors to take advantage of unwitting patients. Both included major out-of-state corporations as defendants. While the lawsuits involving an Alamogordo pain specialist who performed unorthodox spine treatments that harmed dozens of patients continue to drag on in the courts, the other litigation against a Las Cruces cardiologist accused of implanting unnecessary pacemakers in patients drew to a close in 2016 with a series of secret settlements worth millions of dollars. The amount each of the 35 plaintiffs treated by osteopathic cardiologist Demosthenis Klonis received is confidential. But an Oct. 18 court filing suggests the team of plaintiffs attorneys received more than $10 million. Klonis no longer practices in New Mexico. The former patients sued Klonis, two Las Cruces hospitals and the American subsidiary of the German medical device manufacturing company Biotronik Inc., beginning in 2010. Klonis was accused of persuading patients to undergo implants of Biotronik devices, including pacemakers, partly by telling patients they would die if they didnt have an immediate surgical implantation of a pacemaker or defibrillator. Most patients went forward without getting a second opinion after Klonis told them they needed to first sign an acknowledgment that they might die on the way home, court records say. Other evidence showed that the documentation of patient pacemaker results, called interrogations, were destroyed by a Biotronik representative. The defendants denied any wrongdoing. The first and only pacemaker lawsuit to go to jury trial ended with a $67 million verdict in state District Court in favor of former patient Tommy Sowards in September 2014. The award was later reduced by the trial judge to $25 million. But Biotronik didnt appeal, and ultimately entered negotiations to settle the case, as did Klonis and the two hospitals where Klonis practiced Mountain View Hospital and Memorial Hospital, both in Las Cruces. The defendants all took that (original $67 million jury verdict) to heart, said plaintiffs attorney James Bromberg. And they decided to settle (the other 34 lawsuits) in the face of very strong violations of medical standards and ethical obligations toward their patients. About one-quarter of the former patients had their unnecessary devices removed, he said, but some had grown pacemaker-dependent. Others had the devices simply turned off. For some, removal of the equipment was considered potentially dangerous. HILTON HEAD, S.C. For two weeks now, Ive worn a two-inch bandage across my forehead to cover the gash where skin cancer had put down its ugly roots. Im 26, so the bandage and the cancer beneath it prompted a lot of awkward conversations with strangers who asked me what happened. Some of them expected to hear a drunken tale about how I wiped out at the bar. The conversation almost always ends there, because most people, especially those my age, dont want to talk about skin cancer or any of the bad things that could happen to them. But we need to talk about it because this didnt have to happen to me at such a young age, and it doesnt have to happen to other people. I didnt know how emotionally, financially and physically exhausting such a diagnosis is, even when it is a non-melanoma cancer. The moment my doctor told me I had it, my heart sank and my world spun. I had never felt fear like that before in my life, and I wouldnt wish it on anyone. And I was one of the lucky ones, in the grand scheme of things. I was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, the less serious form of skin cancer. That diagnosis came two years after my mom beat melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, and just a year after a rare melanoma claimed the life of my beautiful and brilliant friend Kelly. She was 25 and had more passion and grit than 99 percent of the human race she actually passed the bar exam while battling cancer. She deserved every minute of the next 75 years, but didnt get a second of it. Her death was shocking and devastating. I think of her all the time, but especially so over the past few weeks. Though her story is rare, its becoming more common. The number of young women getting skin cancer has increased eight-fold since the 1970s, according to a New York Times report. So youre really young; howd you get this? my dermatologist asked as he dug the cancer out of my forehead last Wednesday. He usually does this surgery on older people. Not someone my age. I wanted to scream. Why me? But I knew why. This was my fault. I was a stupid teenager who tanned a lot, I told him. I got skin cancer because I didnt think being a fair-skinned redhead was good enough. I wasnt confident in my natural skin, so I crawled into a tanning bed to cook my pale skin brown. I got skin cancer because I listened to the messages from advertising and womens magazines that told me I needed that healthy glow to be considered beautiful. I got skin cancer because in high school all the popular girls hit the tanning beds hard before every dance three times each school year in Kansas. And in college, most of the girls in my sorority tanned regularly, especially before date parties basically all of the time. Sure, not everyone tanned, but when youre young, just a few girls and a few media sources hold a great power to shape and distort any idea of normal. Im sure there were skin cancer warnings in the magazines I flipped through as a teenager, but the messages telling me I needed to be tan were so much louder. So it didnt click, and I continued tanning until I was in my early 20s and really started piling on the sunscreen. And by then it was too late. There is so much I didnt know then that, unfortunately, I know now. I cant change any of it, of course, but I can tell you things that might make young people think twice: Skin cancer is not an old persons disease. It can strike and kill someone in their 20s. Like it did with Kelly. Non-melanoma skin cancer is not something you have zapped off like a mole and it goes away. The process is painful. The wounds shocking. And none of it is pretty. Once you get skin cancer in your 20s, its likely youre going to get it again or some other kind of cancer. Skin cancer changes you. It means a lifetime in fear of and worry about the sun. It means expensive creams, dermatologist appointments and ugly scars. The sun that used to serve as a sparkling, steady source of endorphins, energy and delight is now something to constantly worry about and protect yourself against. All it takes is a scab. My skin cancer looked like a zit that wouldnt heal. Check every part of your body and demand a biopsy if you dont feel right about a mark (another doctor looked at my skin cancer a year ago and said it was nothing to worry about). More than 30 million Americans use indoor tanning beds each year, including 2.3 million teens, according to the Food and Drug Administration. A year ago, the FDA proposed a ban on the use of tanning beds by minors. It should have become law. The proposal has been dead in the water for a year now, but earlier this month, a study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found the ban would save thousands of lives and millions of dollars. As much as I want my story, Kellys story, and the stories of other young womens to be heard and shared used to scare teenagers out of tanning beds I dont think that will stop them. Teenagers are too young to process risks and rewards. And young girls will always be helplessly vulnerable to things that make them feel beautiful, even if theyre dangerous. I certainly was. And that will never change. But we can change the conversation. We dont have to live in total fear of the sun. But we need to see the light. Turkey nightclub attack: Manhunt for gunman intensifies Turkish police have launched raids in Istanbul and arrested 12 people, as the hunt for an attacker who killed 39 people in a nightclub intensifies. Copyright 2017 Albuquerque Journal The next Queen of QVC might just be a 19-year-old Albuquerque native. Alissa Chavez already has one framed patent on the wall for her first product, an innovative alarm system that uses a sensor and a smartphone app to alert parents if a child was left in the car. Hot Seat an idea Chavez conceived as a middle school science fair project is now for sale at www.babyhotseat.com for $79.99, thanks to a team of engineers and software developers hired with $20,000 from an online fundraiser. Its something Ive really wanted to happen, Chavez said. I hope that people will buy it and that we wont have to hear any more of these stories of kids dying in hot cars. Chavez demonstrated how Hot Seat works in her white Prius, slipping a small sensor under the padding of a car seat and walking away, leaving a plastic baby doll behind. Once Chavez got about 20 feet from the car, an alarm sounded on her smartphone through the Hot Seat app. The system took five prototypes to perfect over the course of two years. It feels like a lot of hard work paid off, Chavez said. Proud mom Anna Chavez quoted one of her daughters heroes, Shark Tank investor and Queen of QVC Lori Greiner, who holds over 120 patents: Entrepreneurs are the only people who will work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40 hours a week. Alissa is ambitious beyond her years this is a teenager, Anna Chavez said. She also always thinks of others before herself. She has a good heart. A natural inventor, Chavez started dreaming up her first products when she was about 11 years old. The Eldorado High School graduate often worked at her moms child care business and soon focused on helping young children. At 14, she started brainstorming ways to prevent kids from being left in hot cars an average of nearly 40 children die that way each summer, adding up to about 700 since 1998. Her solution, Hot Seat, took the top prize at the Albuquerque Christian School science fair and started Chavez on the path to entrepreneurship. She kept working, earning Mayor Richard Berrys Good Samaritan award at age 17, which was a life-changer, generating media attention from The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Fox News Latino, NBC, ABC and the Ryan Seacrest Radio Show. A 2014 crowdfunding campaign Chavez launched on Indiegogo.com eventually generated $20,148, more than four times her goal. Its been crazy I never thought I would be talking to Ryan Seacrest, said Chavez, who will be doing a second interview with the radio show next month. The success has taught her to dream big. Eventually, Chavez would like to offer a range of products for kids through her company, Assila Alissa spelled backward, just like Oprah Winfrey created Harpo Productions, with Oprah spelled backward. Shes keeping a list of ideas on her phone, adding to it regularly. Asked what advice she would give other teens, the young entrepreneur said to push yourself. Dont be afraid of what other people think, she added. Just go for it. We welcome suggestions for the daily Bright Spot. Send to newsroom@abqjournal.com. The University of New Mexico could soon be home to scores of Chinese students seeking business degrees through the Anderson School of Management. Two Chinese universities on the south-central coast of China signed agreements this year with the Anderson School to prepare undergraduate Chinese business students for graduate-level studies at UNM, said Anderson Dean Craig White. Within a few years, those agreements and others that UNM is pursuing could create a permanent Sino-New Mexico academic pipeline that helps populate Anderson classrooms with fresh foreign recruits. Its a real win for us, White said. There are huge numbers of students over there with potential interest in studying here. Realistically, we could end up with a lot of Chinese students at Anderson. The first class of 70 freshman Chinese students connected to the program started classes last September at the Beijing Institute of Technology in Zhuhai, a coastal city about 20 kilometers north of Macau. The University of Technology in the city of Dong Guan, located north of Hong Kong, is also recruiting its first freshman class. Both universities, located in the coastal province of Guangdong, signed agreements with Anderson to create an academic pathway that prepares undergraduate students to do their senior year in Albuquerque and pursue graduate studies here. Theyre working with us to mirror our undergraduate program to be compatible with what Anderson students learn, White said. The new cohort in Zhuhai is being groomed to come to Andersons graduate program. Theyre taking all their classes in English from their freshman year on. The Chinese schools have many international faculty, said Robert Luo, a Chinese national who now teaches management information systems at Anderson. Theyre using American textbooks with courses in English, he said. The Beijing Institute has nearly a dozen international faculty members teaching on campus. Many students will also take summer courses in Albuquerque, and Anderson professors will teach some classes in China. The agreements are advantageous for Chinese universities and students, Luo said. Today, many public and private universities in China want to develop international programs, he said. China is now the No. 2 economy in the world, and many wealthy families want to send their kids overseas for advanced education. Their No. 1 target is America. Guangdong province is particularly ripe for such partnerships, given that regions high-tech economy, said Sul Kassicieh, a distinguished professor at Anderson. Its kind of Chinas Silicon Valley where many high-tech companies are centered, Kassicieh said. Theres a lot of interest there in collaborating with the U.S., which still leads the world in moving technology from lab to market. The Chinese want to do more of that. UNM students can benefit from greater cultural diversity on campus. Our students will be exposed to other ideas, Kassicieh said. As the world becomes more globalized, its important for students to be more engaged with the world. The out-of-state tuition paid by Chinese students can also boost UNMs bottom line. This helps both Anderson and UNM, especially as budgets shrink, White said. We need to be more creative in how we bring in new revenue. WASHINGTON The new GOP era in Washington got off to a messy start Tuesday as House Republicans, under pressure from President-elect Donald Trump, abruptly dropped plans to gut an independent congressional ethics board. The dizzying about-face came as lawmakers convened for the first day of the 115th Congress, an occasion normally reserved for pomp and ceremony under the Capitol Dome. Instead, House Republicans found themselves under attack not only from Democrats but from their new president, over their secretive move Monday to neuter the independent Office of Congressional Ethics and place it under lawmakers control. GOP leaders scrambled to contain the damage, and within hours of Trump registering his criticism on Twitter, they called an emergency meeting where House Republicans voted without opposition to undo the change. The episode, coming even before the new Congress was convened and lawmakers were sworn in, was a powerful illustration of the sway Trump may hold over his party in a Washington that will be fully under Republican control for the first time in a decade. GOP lawmakers whove felt unfairly targeted by the ethics office had defied their own leaders with their initial vote to neuter the body, but once Trump weighed in they backpedaled immediately. With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority, Trump had asked over Twitter Tuesday morning, in an objection that appeared focused more on timing than on substance. Trump, who will take office in a little over two weeks, said the focus should be on tax reform and health care, and he included the hash-tag #DTS, for Drain the Swamp, his oft-repeated campaign promise to bring change to Washington. Democrats and even many Republicans were quick to point out that the lawmakers plans for their ethics watchdog flew in the face of that notion. The measure was part of a GOP-written rules package that looked like it could fail after Trump registered his objections amid a public outcry from good government activists. The stripped-down package was approved late Tuesday by the House, 234-193. We were elected on a promise to drain the swamp, and starting the session by relaxing ethics rules is a very bad start, said GOP Rep. Tom McClintock of California. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy mentioned Trumps opposition in the emergency meeting, and some lawmakers said it had a powerful effect. I do believe when President-elect Trump tweeted outmembers got calls, said Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa. Trump spoke by phone with House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday after the ethics change was dropped. The Office of Congressional Ethics was created in 2008 after several bribery and corruption cases in the House, but lawmakers of both parties have groused about the way it operates. Lawmakers were especially incensed by an investigation of members of Congress from both parties who went on a 2013 trip to Azerbaijan paid for by that countrys government. Lawmakers said after the investigation was made public in 2015 that they had no idea the trip was paid for by the government, and the House Ethics Committee ultimately cleared them. Once the ethics controversy was dispensed with, Congress returned to the ceremonial business. As set out in the Constitution, both chambers gaveled in at noon, and as storm clouds threatened outside, the halls of the Capitol filled with lawmakers children, friends and spouses on hand to witness the procedures. The day had a festive feel of the first day back at school, as new arrivals roamed the halls with old hands, exchanging greetings and taking in the day. In the Senate, seven new members joined those who won re-election, taking the oath of office administered by Vice President Joe Biden. The Senate will be controlled 52-48 by the GOP and includes two new Republicans and five new Democrats. They include Illinois Tammy Duckworth, a double-amputee Iraq war vet, who walked to the dais and stood for the oath. Biden remains president of the Senate until Trump becomes president Jan. 20; then Vice President-elect Mike Pence will take over. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York set battle lines, saying Democrats will hold Trump to his promises to create jobs, raise incomes and protect Americans but will fight him tooth and nail when he appeals to the baser instincts that diminish America and its greatness. Issues confronting America are complex, he said, and we cannot tweet them away. In the House, lawmakers easily re-elected Ryan, of Wisconsin, as their speaker. The House will number 241 Republicans and 194 Democrats; among the members are 52 freshmen. Behind the ceremony was a sense of anticipation, as Republicans prepare an ambitious agenda, beginning with dismantling President Barack Obamas health care law. The GOP directed Senate committees to produce repeal legislation by Jan. 27 while debate begins this week. But there was uncertainty, too, as Republicans confront an untested new president who has opposed fundamental elements of GOP orthodoxy and may exercise his influence in unpredictable ways, as illustrated with the ethics kerfuffle. The people have given us unified government, and it wasnt because they were feeling generous, its because they wanted results, Ryan said. How could we live with ourselves if we let them down? ___= Associated Press writers Matthew Daly, Mary Clare Jalonick, Richard Lardner, Andrew Taylor, Alan Fram and Kenneth Thomas contributed to this report. TUCSON, Ariz. An autopsy shows a Guatemalan detainee died of blood clots in her right lung at a hospital near the Eloy Detention Center. Officials with the Pima County Medical Examiners Office say the blood clots likely stemmed from a leg injury Raquel Calderon de Hildago suffered while crossing the border. Authorities say the 36-year-old woman had difficulty walking when she was apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol. She was taken to a hospital for evaluation and later was transferred to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Calderon was being held at one of the largest immigrant lockups in the country awaiting deportation to Guatemala when she experienced a series of seizures at the detention center about 60 miles south of Phoenix. She died on Nov. 27. FOUNTAIN, Colo. Police in Fountain say a man from Florida is in custody after allegedly stabbing his son in a New Years Eve fight at a KOA campground. The Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/2iWkFHd) that 52-year-old Ovidio Lopez Jr. was in El Paso County jail Sunday on $10,000 bond. Lopez is accused of first-degree assault in the late Saturday fight with his 27-year-old son, Ovidio Lopez III. Police Sgt. Scott Gilbertsen says the younger Lopez was taken to Memorial Hospital with life-threatening wounds. HELSINKI A childrens event at the National Opera kicked off a year of festivities in Finland to celebrate 100 years of independence from Russia. Celebrations will culminate Dec. 6, the day Finnish Parliament declared independence in 1917. Saturdays events included a concert paired with New Years Eve fireworks over Helsinki, the capital. Finlands Foreign Ministry lit up in the winter darkness by illuminating its facade in the Finnish flags blue and white colors. Throughout 2017 there will be hundreds of events in this Nordic nation of 5.5 million from films, dance parties and environment-related events to concerts and activities linked to Finlands renowned sauna tradition. The government has earmarked 19 million euros (USD20 million) for the celebrations, including a new national park the nations 40th that will be opened in June, highlighting Finns affinity to nature. Finland also claims it will become the first country in the world to have an official flag day for its environment on Aug. 26 also as part of the centennial festivities. Nordic royals and political leaders are expected to gather in Helsinki to celebrate the centenary in June. After 700 years of Swedish rule, the area known as Finland served as a battlefield for Russian-Swedish conflicts, and it fell into Russian hands in 1809. However, as an autonomous grand duchy of the Russian Empire, it was allowed to develop politically, eventually leading to independence in the turmoil surrounding the Russian Revolution in 1917. Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) border with Russia. President Vladimir Putin on Friday congratulated Finland for the countrys centenary in a phone conversation with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. Also the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump extended his wishes to Finns earlier December. FLAT ROCK, Mich. The auto industrys relationship with President-elect Donald Trump took a dramatic turn Tuesday as Ford Motor Co. decided to shift investment dollars targeted for Mexico to the U.S., while Trump threatened General Motors with a tax on some imported small cars. Ford is canceling plans to build a new $1.6 billion factory in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and will instead invest some of that money in a U.S. factory that will build new electric and autonomous vehicles. Ford said last spring it would move production of the Ford Focus small car to the new plant from Michigan. Trump repeatedly criticized the plan, and Ford was among the companies he threatened to hit with a 35 percent tariff on products made in Mexico and exported to the U.S. Trump added General Motors to that group Tuesday, saying in a tweet that the Cruze small cars GM makes in Mexico and sends to U.S. dealers could face a big border tax! Ford CEO Mark Fields said Tuesday that market forces dictated Fords decision not to build the San Luis Potosi plant. Low gas prices and low interest rates have been hammering small-car sales. U.S. sales of the Focus were down 17 percent through November; by contrast, sales of Fords biggest SUV, the Expedition, were up 46 percent. Ford will still move production of the Focus to Mexico, but it will go to an existing plant in Hermosillo that makes midsize cars. Ford will hire around 200 workers in Hermosillo to expand production there. The Wayne, Michigan, plant that currently makes the Focus will get two new products next year, preserving jobs at the facility. Fields said Ford will invest $700 million in the Flat Rock plant to make hybrid, electric and autonomous vehicles. It will also hire around 700 workers starting in 2018. In announcing the Michigan expansion, Fields noted Trumps promise to make the U.S. more competitive by lowering taxes and easing regulations. This is a vote of confidence for President-elect Trump and some of the policies he may be pursuing, Fields said at the companys plant in Flat Rock. Workers lined up on the factory floor cheered the news. United Auto Workers Vice President Jimmy Settles, the unions chief negotiator for Ford, told workers he cried when he heard about the investment. Flat Rock, which employs around 3,200 people, was threatened with closure during the recession. More recently, it has seen temporary layoffs because of slowing sales of one of its products, the Ford Mustang. The plant also makes the Lincoln Continental. Fields said Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford called Trump Tuesday morning to tell him the news. Fields called Vice President-elect Mike Pence. The company also contacted the Mexican government, which issued a statement regretting Fords decision. The jobs created in Mexico have contributed to maintaining manufacturing jobs in the United States which otherwise would have disappeared in the face of Asian competition, the Mexico Economy Department said. Fields said Ford will save around $500 million overall by canceling the San Luis Potosi plant. It expects to get some tax incentives from the state of Michigan. Rebecca Lindland, a senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book, said Fords decision stemmed from the convergence of politics and market realities. At the same time Trump was attacking Ford for shifting small-car production south of the border, U.S. demand for small cars plunged dramatically. If the business case is there to make this decision, and then it can make somebody like Donald Trump look better, OK, go with it, she said. Ford might not have changed its plans if Hillary Clinton had been elected, Lindland said. Unlike Trump, Clinton never threatened to tax imports from Mexico. Trump issued his threat to GM just hours before Fords announcement. GM countered that Cruze sedans sold in the U.S. are built in Ohio. Only a small number of Cruze hatchbacks are imported to the U.S. from Mexico. Fields said hes not worried about the possibility of tariffs. Im a strong believer that the right policies are going to prevail because we share the same aspirations that I think President-elect Trump does. We want a very strong U.S. economy, he said. Among the new vehicles the Flat Rock plant will make is a fully electric SUV that will go 300 miles on a charge. That is due to go on sale in 2020. The plant also will make a hybrid autonomous vehicle that is scheduled to be released in 2021. Ford also said Tuesday it will release a hybrid version of its best-seller, the F-150 pickup, and a hybrid version of the Mustang in 2020. Two new hybrid police vehicles also are coming over the next five years. Fields said the company is betting that electric and hybrid vehicle offerings will outnumber traditional gas-powered vehicles in 15 years. Trump may relax government fuel economy standards as part of his initiative to dilute some regulations. But Ford still needs to move headlong into electric and hybrid vehicles because it still has to meet California zero-emission vehicle requirements and comply with emissions standards worldwide, Lindland said. All these worlds are colliding to make an announcement like we saw today from Ford possible, she said. Ford shares rose nearly 4 percent to close at $12.59 Tuesday, while GM shares rose less than 1 percent to $35.15. The Mexican peso weakened against the U.S. dollar after the announcement. ___ AP Writer Peter Orsi contributed from Mexico City. . WASHINGTON Crystal tea sets and $10,000 rugs presented to U.S. lawmakers by the State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan are just some of the headline-making revelations by the Office of Congressional Ethics, which House Republicans voted to neuter Monday night. They backed off Tuesday, after President-elect Donald Trump questioned their priorities, but could renew the effort later in the year. Lawmakers might not miss a pesky, independent agency that monitors their finances, but the media would have lost a source of watchdog reporting if the GOP were to give members of Congress the authority to end OCE investigations, as they originally proposed Monday. Washington Post database editor Steven Rich noted on Twitter that a 2015 Post report on a lavish trip to Baku by 10 members of Congress that was funded by the Azerbaijani oil company was made possible by the work of the Office of Congressional Ethics. Here are three other notable news stories that have relied on probing by the OCE, which under the scuttled Republican plan would have lost the power to publicize its findings and make referrals to prosecutors. Jesse Jackson Jr., Rod Blagojevich and pay-to-play politics In 2009, the Office of Congressional Ethics opened an investigation into whether Jackson, then a Democratic congressman from Illinois, tried to win an appointment to Barack Obamas vacant Senate seat by bribing Blagojevich, the states governor at the time. Blagojevich was convicted on federal corruption charges in 2011 and sentenced to 14 years in prison. Jackson was not charged in that case, but OCEs probe began the unraveling of his political career. Heres what the Chicago Tribune wrote when Jackson resigned from Congress in 2012: Jacksons political star was on the rise until allegations surfaced in late 2008 that his supporters offered to raise as much as $6 million for Blagojevich in return for the governor appointing him to the Senate seat vacated by the president-elect. Though Jackson was never charged in that case, a House ethics panel investigation into his actions was ultimately eclipsed by a federal criminal probe based in Washington, D.C., into alleged misuse of campaign dollars. Alan Graysons blurred lines In a 986-page report published last April, the Office of Congressional Ethics concluded that there is substantial reason to believe that Rep. Grayson (R-Fla.) improperly allowed the use of his name by four entities connected to Rep. Graysons hedge fund and Grayson Consulting Inc. of Virginia, and received compensation through management fees from the Grayson Fund Management Company. Blurring the line between his private interest and public responsibility was just part of Graysons tumultuous and ultimately unsuccessful 2016 Senate campaign. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he hoped Grayson would lose and that was before Graysons ex-wife accused him of domestic violence. Spencer Bachus and the insider trading that wasnt In 2011, the Office of Congressional Ethics found probable cause to believe Bachus, then a Republican congressman from Alabama and the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, might have been guilty of insider trading. After investigating the matter, however, OCE concluded that no violations took place. The Washington Posts Scott Higham put the cases significance into perspective at the time: The case against Bachus was the first of its kind involving a member of Congress. It came at a time of intense public and media scrutiny of congressional ethics, with the House and Senate passing legislation this year to tighten rules against insider trading by lawmakers. President Obama has signed the measure into law. Bachus didnt appreciate the public nature of the process, decrying what he called a destructive and disruptive, media-generated assault on the day he was cleared of wrongdoing. But he also seemed to recognize OCEs value, saying that he wanted to thank the OCE staff for their professionalism and the OCE board for unanimously coming to the right conclusion. While their review and report should never have been necessary, I am pleased that they have helped clear my name. For dinosaurs, hatching eggs was a long-term commitment. A nest pinned the parents down to the spot where the eggs were laid. As long as they were incubating their eggs, they couldnt venture off in search of food or to flee predators. And their eggs incubated for a very long time. Thats according to Gregory Erickson, a paleobiologist at Florida State University and the lead author of a new study on dinosaur hatching times in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Close examination of embryos found fossilized inside their eggs suggests that dinosaurs took as many as six months to hatch far longer than their closest modern descendants, todays birds. This long period of development may have been what doomed them, Erickson said. After an asteroid crashed into the Earth 66 million years ago, triggering a mass extinction, it would have been harder for slowpoke reproducers like dinosaurs to recover. I think its an important piece for understanding why dinosaurs went extinct, he said. To understand why, we have to rewind a bit, to about 10 million years before the asteroid strike. Its the end of the Cretaceous Period. In what is now Mongolias Gobi Desert, a clutch of 12 eggs the rough size and shape of potatoes has just been laid by a Protoceratops andrewsi, a relative of the more famous Triceratops. Around the same time, near Alberta, Canada, a duck-billed Hypacrosaurus stebingeri laid a huge egg the size of a volleyball. (Ridiculous, Erickson said of the almost 10-pound Hypacrosaurus egg.) While the dinosaurs did whatever it is dinosaurs do while nesting (scientists think some species sat on their nests like birds, while others probably buried their eggs like reptiles), the embryos inside slowly develop. Just before the halfway point of their incubation period, they start to grow teeth. In humans and reptiles, teeth are formed from dentin, a liquid that gets laid down every day and then mineralizes, forming a hard layer. Over time, the layers build up like tree rings, one for each day the embryo developed. You can basically just count those up and figure out how long it took the dentition to form, Erickson said. He wondered if dinosaur embryos might exhibit the same phenomenon. So he talked with scientists at the American Museum of Natural History (which houses the Protoceratops eggs) and the University of Calgary (which has the Hypacrosaurus egg) into letting him sample a small amount of tooth from each fossil. As soon as he popped his slide under a microscope and saw the telltale dentin layers, I knew we were in business, Erickson said. The number of layers let him calculate a conservative estimate of the incubation times for the two species: about three months for the smaller Protoceratops hatchlings, six months for the larger Hypacrosaurus. Most birds eggs hatch in a fraction of that time (chickens take three weeks, canaries need just 13 days). Even emperor penguin dads, who famously huddle around their eggs for extended periods to protect them from the harsh Antarctic winter, incubate their young for two months at most. Its really surprising, Erickson said. I dont think that people would have entertained the idea that they would have incubated over the better part of the year. David Varricchio, a paleontologist at Montana State University not involved in the study, was less surprised by the long incubation times, noting that modern reptiles also take a long time to hatch. But the method of calculating incubation periods was a compelling one, he said, and it provides another line of evidence for understanding dinosaurs lives. Spending a long time caring for a clutch of eggs probably cramped dinosaur parents styles. It restricted their habitats to regions where the weather was right for incubating an egg, made migration more difficult, and exposed attending parents to predators, natural disasters and hunger all the rigors that go with trying to protect the nest for long periods of time, Erickson said. Basically, this could have been an extreme version of the lengthy parenting depicted in the film March of the Penguins. And that probably had consequences when the asteroid struck and wiped out most dinosaurs, along with 75 percent of all life on Earth. If a species was going to survive, it needed to be holding all the right cards when it came to physical and life history attributes. Successful creatures were small and adaptable animals that lived fast and died young. For the ancestors of birds, quick incubation times may have boosted their ability to repopulate and evolve to fill ecological niches left vacant after the disaster. But dinosaurs were large and probably endothermic (warm blooded), which made them profligate wasters of energy, Erickson said. They also took a long time to reach sexual maturity. On top of all this, a slow incubation might have been a black ace contributing to long generational times that made it harder for dinosaurs to bounce back. Dinosaurs found themselves holding basically a dead mans hand, Erickson said. AJO, Ariz. An organization that helps migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border says volunteers found five separate sets of skeletal remains deep in the Arizona desert within five days. The No More Deaths group said last week that the bodies were found from Dec. 16 through Dec. 20 in remote areas near Ajo, Arizona, by volunteers with the organization in Tucson and Phoenix, along with a group from Ajo. The findings highlight the ongoing plight of migrants who travel through the rugged Arizona desert with its wildly varying temperatures. The Sonoran desert is extremely rugged and has daytime temperatures that can soar above 100 degrees in the summer and drop to below freezing overnight in the winter. Its really sad and its really frustrating. Theyre deaths that are often ignored because its a population of people who are coming from very poor areas and they face a lot of discrimination from obviously officials and the public as well, said Genevieve Schroeder, a spokeswoman for No More Deaths. About 144 bodies of migrants were found in the Arizona desert in 2016, according to data gathered by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner, and Humane Borders, Inc., an advocacy group. That figure does not include remains found in December. The Border Patrol reported finding 68 bodies in Arizona in the 2015 fiscal year that ended Oct. 1 of that year, although advocates claim that was a serious undercount. The federal agency reported 240 deaths in the entire country that same year. During the first 11 months of the 2016 budget year that ended Sept. 30, 70 deaths were reported in the Border Patrols Tucson sector, which covers most of the state. The Border Patrol says its counts only includes bodies found by agents on patrol, and excludes remains found by volunteers or local law enforcement agencies. Deaths are significantly down in the Arizona desert since a surge of border crossings by migrants in the mid-2000s. According to the medical examiners 2015 annual report, remains recoveries peaked at 223 in 2010 and averaged 171 per year between 2002-2015. But advocates say thats only because migrants are coming through different areas and risking their lives in places like Texas, which has seen a large increase in border crossers. Its tragic and its really infuriating because these are deaths that are completely unnecessary and theyre deaths that are caused by U.S. border policy, Schroeder said. Schroeder said the Border Patrol intentionally funnels migrants into remote areas where their likelihood of survival is low. The Border Patrol in a statement did not directly address that claim but blamed many deaths on smugglers who knowingly victimize people wanting quick passage into the United States. Smugglers lie, telling their customers their passage will be safe, but in reality, the terrain is treacherous and the conditions are extreme, the statement said. Many are led to their deaths by smugglers more concerned about making money than they are about the lives of others. The Border Patrol also said it deploys resources to areas with the majority of deaths and has 36 rescue beacons placed across the regions mountains and deserts. We collaborate closely with foreign government officials, law enforcement partners, and community organizations to educate potential migrants about the true dangers of crossing the border illegally, the statement added. In past years migrants who came through Arizona were found closer to the central part of the desert. Now many are going through the more rugged area to the west near Ajo, Schroeder said. Most of the remains recovered in 2015 were men. The vast majority of those whose cause of death could be determined died of exposure. Schroeder said No More Deaths formed a coalition with a group called Ajo Samaritans who go out daily in the remote desert to search for migrants. Volunteering requires skill in hiking and organizations look for people with medical experience and who can speak Spanish. This month volunteers have gone out in groups of three to five on a daily basis, although that might slow down in the coming year, Schroeder said. When volunteers find bodies, they call local authorities and work to ensure they investigate. Identifying long-decayed remains of migrants is challenging because there are typically no U.S. records that could help identify them, such as dental X-rays or DNA samples. The Pima Countys medical examiner works with local nonprofits to help identify remains. The Border Patrol said it has partnered with local foreign consulates, the Pima and Maricopa county medical examiners and other law enforcement agencies as part of the Missing Migrant Program to try to rescue missing migrants or recover and identify the dead. UML urges govt to withdraw amendment bill Main opposition party CPN-UML has claimed the amendment bill registered at the parliament had lost its justification following Supreme Court's (SC) verdict and urged the government to withdraw it. President-elect Donald Trump reiterated Tuesday his threat to impose punitive new tariffs on imports, singling out General Motors for assembling some of its Chevrolet Cruze models in Mexico and selling them in the United States. General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border, Trump tweeted. Make in U. S. A.or pay big border tax! GM manufactures Cruze sedans at a factory in Lordstown, Ohio. But last year, the company introduced a hatchback model that is made in Mexico and is largely sold in international markets. GM spokesman Pat Morrissey said the company also made the hatchback available to U.S. dealers. GM sold about 190,000 Chevy Cruze models in the country in 2016, and about 4,500 were the Mexican model, he said. GM sold about 30,000 Cruze hatchbacks around the world last year. The hatchback is a very small volume vehicle, Morrissey said. Theres just not a lot of demand for it. Trump had previously slammed rival automaker Ford for manufacturing some of its vehicles south of the border. On Tuesday, Ford chief executive Mark Fields announced the company has canceled plans to invest $1.6 billion into a new plant in Mexico, instead pouring a little less than half of that amount into producing electric and self-driving vehicles at facilities in Michigan and Illinois. The move is expected to create 700 jobs in the United States, Fields said. But Ford still intends to expand its manufacturing in Mexico, announcing at the same time that the next-generation Ford Focus will be built at an existing facility there to save on costs. When its a close judgment call, maybe people are tilting more toward the side of U.S. production, not necessarily because they anticipate any specific policy change but because they dont know what the policy environment is going to be like and theyre afraid to find out, said Alan Cole, an economist at the Tax Foundation. The Cruze sedan manufactured in Lordstown has suffered from declining demand. In November, GM announced it would eliminate the factorys third shift, cutting 1,245 salaried and hourly workers in the process. The jobs will end this quarter. The plant currently employs about 4,500. We are not reducing a shift based on quality or performance, wrote Scott Brubaker, chairman of United Auto Workers Local 1714, one of the two that represent the factory, in a message to members posted on the union website. Unfortunately, the market dictates our livelihoods, and this is a business that changes based on consumer demand. To date, small cars as well as all passenger vehicle sales are slowing due to the strong market demand for SUVs and trucks. The auto industry is a cyclical business and hopefully, the tide will eventually turn in our favor. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, the United States does not impose tariffs on products imported from Mexico and Canada, but renegotiating the long-standing treaty was one of Trumps key campaign promises. Since his election, he has attempted to claim credit for saving or creating thousands of U.S. jobs, but the details of the deals are not so straightforward. Trump boasted that telecom giant Sprint was bringing back 5,000 American jobs. Instead, the company is working with third-party vendors that manage its call centers to move work to the United States. Trump claimed he had stopped Ford from moving a Kentucky plant to Mexico. The automaker said it had never planned to shut down the factory but had intended to replace production of the Lincoln MKC with more Ford Escapes. And after Trump announced that more than 1,000 jobs would remain at a Carrier factory in Indiana, workers at the plant found out the actual number was closer to 800. Trumps tweet Tuesday about GM does not make clear whether he is calling for a targeted tax to punish individual companies that shift production out of the United States or for a blanket tariff on imports. Trump has repeatedly said he would slap a 35 percent tariff on Mexican products, but there is no framework for a broad-based border tax in his proposal to overhaul the corporate tax code. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has put forth a plan that would fundamentally restructure the way the federal government taxes businesses both at home and abroad. That proposal would allow companies to deduct the cost of goods made in America and sold in other countries. However, businesses that import products for sale in the United States would not be able to deduct that cost. It remains unclear whether such measures would violate World Trade Organization rules. PHOENIX An Israeli man accused of picking up a 2-year-old girl in the Tempe home of a family he didnt know has pleaded not guilty in the case. Maricopa County Superior Court officials say Oren Cohen entered his plea Tuesday. His next scheduled court date is Feb. 15. The 34-year-old Cohen was indicted last month on charges of kidnapping, burglary and aggravated assault on a minor. After his arrest, Cohen told Tempe police that he was drinking at a friends place on Dec. 15 and accidentally went into the wrong apartment after going outside to smoke a cigarette. The girls father woke up after hearing the child whimpering and found Cohen holding the pajama-wearing toddler in the homes living room. He confronted Cohen, who ran away. The childs mother called 911. Designers of futuristic cityscapes envision airborne drones dropping off your packages and driverless cars taking you to work. But the robotic-delivery invasion already has begun in the form of machines that look like wheeled beer coolers scooting along the sidewalks. The robots developed by a company with a name straight out of science fiction, Starship Technologies will be showing up any day in Washington, D.C. and in Redwood City, Calif. They may soon be found in up to 10 U.S. cities, ferrying groceries and other packages from a neighborhood delivery hub to your front door for as little as $1 a trip. A second company, TeleRetail, plans to test its sidewalk robots in Washington and other cities in 2017. Like driverless cars, the delivery robots use cameras, GPS devices and radar to navigate the urban environment. The robots are the first of what the companies foresee as a wave of inexpensive, high-tech alternatives to shopping and delivery trips whose cars and trucks contribute to gridlock and pollution. Urban futurists see the vehicles as part of a digitally based smart city landscape although they come with privacy concerns. We think there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of robots on the ground eventually around the world, said Allan Martinson, chief operating officer of Starship Technologies, based in London and started by the co-founders of the Internet telephone company Skype. Torsten Scholl, founder of TeleRetail, based in Switzerland, said: Why have a vehicle as big as an autonomous car to deliver goods? We think of it as a self-driving trunk. Tech gadget website Tech Crunch has rated autonomous vehicles including drones, driverless cars and delivery robots among the Top Five Technologies that will define cities in the next decade. Starships robots work this way: Customers use a mobile app to order an item. A text appears You have a robot waiting for you outside when the robot draws near. A person must be present to receive the delivery because only the customer has a unique code to unlock the robots box. Were excited, said Catherine Ralston, economic development manager of Redwood City, where the robots were given a January start date. They did a video in our downtown of the robot going into the bakery, picking up baked goods, and at the moment it rolled into City Hall, it popped open and presented the cookies to City Council. Theyre thinking of using the robots for such city services as delivering library books. The D.C. Council opened the door to the machines by passing legislation recently that allows up to five robot companies to operate in the city, though not in the downtown business district. To be candid, Im not at all futuristic. Im a here-and-now kind of person, said Leif Dormsjo, head of the Districts Department of Transportation. But our approach to transportation innovation is that we want to be a catalyst for new and interesting technologies. Whether city dwellers will be as enthusiastic as their leaders is open to question. A year ago, a robot called HitchBOT traveled across Canada, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands before it was brought to the United States. The robot was a social experiment started by two Canadian professors. It looked like a cartoon human and was designed to be picked up on the side of the road voluntarily by drivers, like a hitchhiker. Poor HitchBOT! It posted photos of its adventures to its Twitter, Facebook and Instagram profiles, and it appeared to be well received. But after just two weeks in the United States, the HitchBOTs world trip ended when it was found dismembered in Philadelphias historic Old City neighborhood. Starship Technologies already has robots operating in 58 cities in 16 countries, Martinson said. More than 1.7 million people have encountered the robots on sidewalks or used their services without incident, he said. We took a video in London showing that 3,000 people passed by our robots without even noticing them, he said. Ralston said test units rolling around Redwood City havent caused any issues so far. People enjoy seeing the little robots. Or they completely ignore them, they dont even take a glance, she said. In Northwest Washington recently, a Starship robot drew some attention as it scooted around pedestrians and bicyclists on a busy sidewalk. Timothy Sanders stopped his bike to watch it weave in and out of human traffic, avoiding pedestrians and cyclists. Its amazing. Its very futuristic, he said. But Missy Cummings, director of the Humans and Autonomy Lab at Duke University, worries that new technologies such as drones and sidewalk robots are being developed without enough attention paid to how they will interact with people or to how people will react. Its a huge problem in robotics, which are developed by engineers who know little about human interaction, she said. Look at Google Glass, she said. The eyeglasses had tiny screens that allowed Internet access, and wearers could take photos and videos using voice commands. It wasnt weird to geeky engineers, she said. But real people didnt want to use or wear the glasses or have their photos taken by people wearing them, she said. The presence of high-definition video cameras in the robots is a potential privacy issue, too, said Jeramie Scott, director of the Domestic Surveillance Project of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Who controls the images they make, he asks, and how can they be used? You can imagine when we get to the place where we have these autonomous drones, on the ground or in the skies flying around, with a lot of surveillance equipment, he said. We need to understand what is collected and be transparent. We need some kind of oversight in place before the line gets pushed too far. This article was produced by Stateline, an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts. http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline A hotly anticipated season of The Bachelor commenced Monday night, but many of the shows Albuquerque fans did not see contestant Nick Vialls introduction to 30 potential brides. Some local TV viewers also missed the ball-drop climax of Dick Clarks New Years Rockin Eve broadcast and Floridas victory over Iowa in Mondays Outback Bowl. Thats because DIRECTV is not currently offering local ABC affiliate station KOAT-TV, since the satellite provider and KOATs parent company, Hearst Television, have not reached terms on a new carriage agreement. The stalemate meant DIRECTV subscribers lost access to KOAT on Saturday night. The parties said Tuesday that they continue to negotiate toward a new deal, with a KOAT-TV executive noting that its team has been available around the clock to resolve the situation. But each blame the other for the current situation. KOAT-TV General Manager Mary Lynn Roper said in a statement that DIRECTV is seeking the right to carry our stations at below market rates, which is neither fair nor reasonable given the significant investments we have made to deliver top-tier programming to our viewers. The satellite provider, meanwhile, fired back that Hearst is preventing its signal from reaching (DIRECTV customers) homes unless they receive a significant increase in fees just to allow the same families to keep watching shows that remain available for free over-the-air on channel 7 and that ABC typically streams for free at abc.com and to fans using the WatchABC app. The dispute between Hearst and DIRECTV affected stations across the country, from Baltimore to Sacramento. Hearst has local television and radio stations in 26 media markets, according to a news release, including some NBC and CBS affiliates. Such wrangling is not unprecedented. DISH Network temporarily dropped KOAT in 2014 over carriage agreement negotiations. DIRECTV would not say how many subscribers it has in Albuquerque, but social media revealed a litany of complaints from them. Some directed their frustration at the satellite provider, while others called out KOAT. No ABC @DIRECTV? Really? Why do I pay for tv if local channels are gonna be blocked out? Maybe I should cancel my contract! #WastingMyMoney wrote Twitter user @Vorrhex. I guess ABCs KOAT Channel 7 does not care about us any longer. It is not available through DirecTV. Goodbye ABC, hello CBS LOL! @tonytezak posted on Twitter. Dozens of viewers also chimed in with questions and gripes on KOATs Facebook page. Viewers can still access KOAT over the air for free, according to a news release from Hearst. The company is directing viewers to the website www.antennaweb.org for questions about what type of antenna is needed. House Republicans debacle in being forced to dump their plan to gut reform the Houses ethics office surely is the top news of the day. Much less visible but maybe more important in the long run is the news that Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio reelected in a landslide in November will join the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In a written announcement, Portman said: I have been a consistent voice in support of restoring Americas leadership role in the world, and Im pleased to have this opportunity to play a larger role in that effort. With this new role, I look forward to representing the interests of Ohioans on issues ranging from Russias continued aggression in Eastern Europe, standing up for our friend and ally Israel, and the troubling developments in the South China Sea. After eight years of failed foreign policy that has left America weaker, we now have the opportunity to restore Americas leadership role in the world and I will work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and with the Trump Administration to do just that. We think it is not incidental that he listed Russias continued aggression in Eastern Europe. It is on this issue and on the confirmation hearing for secretary-of- state nominee Rex Tillerson that Portman could play a critical role. Portman is a grown-up, a centrist Republican with substantial House, Senate and executive branch experience. He is not going to be intimidated by the White House or by Trumpkins attacks on social media. He has six years ahead of him, and will, we strongly suspect, use that period to exercise his independent, definitely hawkish judgment. In response to President Barack Obamas very limited sanctions against Russia for interference with our election, Portman said that the problem of Russian influence operations is far greater than just the election hacking and requires a stronger and more proactive U.S. strategy, something I have been calling for the past few years. He continued, Russia was waging an information war against the United States and its allies long before the Presidential election highlighted the danger these efforts pose to our democratic institutions and ideals. Last month Portman was one of 12 senators who sent a letter to Trump regarding support for Ukraine, which included this: Almost three years after Russias illegal annexation of Crimea and military aggression in eastern Ukraine, daily ceasefire violations along the line of contact make a mockery of the Minsk Agreement and demonstrate that this conflict in the heart of Europe is far from over. Russia has yet to withdraw its heavy weapons and continues its sabotage and subversion efforts. It has not halted its disinformation war against Ukraine and the West, nor stopped its economic and political pressure aimed at undermining the Ukrainian government. According to conservative estimates from the United Nations, approximately 10,000 people have been killed, over 20,000 wounded, and more than two million internally displaced since the conflict began. And, unfortunately, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) observers still do not have full, unimpeded access to the Ukrainian-Russian border while Russia continues to supply weapons, equipment, and personnel to the separatists. Quite simply, Russia has launched a military land-grab in Ukraine that is unprecedented in modern European history. These actions in Crimea and other areas of eastern Ukraine dangerously upend well-established diplomatic, legal, and security norms that the United States and its NATO allies painstakingly built over decades a historically bipartisan global security framework that has greatly served US security and economic interests. We believe it is in our vital national security interest to uphold these norms and values, and prevent Americas commitment to its allies and ideals from being called into question. The letter insisted that the United States increase political, economic, and military support for Ukraine. It made clear: This includes defensive lethal assistance as part of a broader effort to help Ukrainians better defend themselves, deter future aggression, and implement key structural reforms. Similarly, we believe that Russias illegal annexation of Crimea should never be accepted, nor should we lift sanctions imposed on Russia for its behavior in eastern Ukraine until key provisions of the Minsk Agreement are met. Accordingly, US leadership on maintaining such transatlantic sanctions should remain a priority. Portmans presence on the committee will please hawkish Republicans and offer reinforcement to Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Cory Gardner, R-Colo., who already have voiced concerns about Trumps Russia policy. The country will be well served by Portmans presence on the committee and Tillerson should be forewarned. If he tries regurgitating Trumps pro-Putin propaganda and continues to deny Russias role in hacking into Democrats computers and then strategically leaking the information to embarrass Hillary Clinton, hell face an onslaught of criticism and opposition to his confirmation. Rubin is a Washington Post columnist. WASHINGTON Over the growing groans of the Republican majority, many House Democrats including some freshmen used the mostly-symbolic vote to confirm Paul Ryans speakership to give short speeches of protest. Led by Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who guided Democrats through sit-down protests of gun legislation last year, dozens of minority party legislators said they would vote for Nancy Pelosi for speaker because the peoples house should be ethical, accountable and open to free debate. It was the latest tweak to a process thats gotten more flamboyant in the era of TV and instant video virality. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., mocked the Democrats who read their text from notecards. Without using a script, I vote for Paul Ryan, he said. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., was just as cheeky, rising to support Ryan, R-Wis., for speaker because the peoples House should be in order. (As a state legislator in Illinois Democratic-dominated House, Bost was famous for table-slamming and paper-tossing outbursts that made the news.) But as the vote dragged on, and it was clear that Democrats would keep registering futile protests to the Ryan win, Republicans calmed down. Richard B. Cheney, whose daughter Liz is being sworn in today as the only member of the House from Wyoming, looked on with a look of bemusement as the protests got more colorful and as some Republicans gave their own, sporting, un-protests. Because health care is a right, not a privilege, I vote for Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Al Green, D-Calif., said. Having been told Republican input was not wanted or needed in Obamacare, I vote for Paul Ryan, Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, said. Because climate change is not a Chinese hoax, Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., said. The wordplay marked what was actually the least contentious speaker vote since 2009, when Pelosi for the last time secured the vote of every Democratic member. In 2011, after the Democrats landslide midterm defeats, half a dozen Democrats defected from Pelosi to cast meaningless votes for someone else. In 2013 and 2015, a rump of conservative Republicans opposed John A. Boehner, leaving a little suspense about whether he could secure the votes. This years roll call saw only four House members protest-vote for someone besides their party leaders. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., who habitually votes against Pelosi, cast his vote for Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, who came up short in a December challenge to Pelosis leadership. Rep. Ron Kind, R-Wis., a budget hawk whose rural Wisconsin district swung dramatically toward Donald Trump last year, voted for Cooper. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., whose suburban Phoenix district swung just as dramatically toward Clinton the Democrat carried it by 17 points cast a protest vote for Lewis. For a while, it seemed that Ryan might win the support of every member. Indeed, despite his conference shrinking by six members after the 2016 election, Ryan got more votes for speaker than Boehner had in 2013 and 2015. But the roll call came for the members of Congress whose last name began with M, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ken., got in one vote for a Florida congressman who briefly ran for the speakers gavel in 2015. To drain the swamp, Daniel Webster, Massie said. President-elect Donald Trump called Monday for the end of all detainee releases from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying in a tweet that those who remain are extremely dangerous people who should not be allowed back onto the battlefield. There should be no further releases from Gitmo, Trump said. The statement comes as the Obama administration prepares to release another 19 detainees from the facility before the president leaves office. Currently, there are 59 detainees at the prison, including four people who also have been cleared for release by an interagency review board but are not a part of the group of 19 and could remain detained there indefinitely. Their names have not been released. The remaining detainees include about 10 who have been charged in military commissions, including five accused of orchestrating the September 11, 2001, attacks. There also is a group of what are known as forever prisoners, who the U.S. government maintains must remain in custody because of the continuing threat they pose but who cannot be tried because of a lack of court-worthy evidence. Human rights advocates have criticized President Obama for not following through on a campaign promise to close the prison, but his administrations attempts to do so have been met by significant opposition in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill. Retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly, Trumps nominee to run the Department of Homeland Security, was among the chief opponents to closing the prison while overseeing it as chief of U.S. Southern Command from November 2012 until last January. U.S. officials have said that about 30 percent of released detainees are suspected to have returned to the battlefield, including at least 12 freed during the administration of President George W. Bush who went on to launch attacks that killed about a half-dozen Americans. The exact number remains classified. Obama administration officials have noted that recidivism among those once held at Guantanamo is lower than among federal offenders in the United States and the prison is used as a recruitment tool by jihadist groups, including al-Qaida and the Islamic State. Most of those suspected of returning to the battlefield are from Afghanistan, reflecting the large number of people from there who were detained after the 9/11 attacks. More than 200 Afghan detainees have been repatriated from the prison. The Obama administration has repatriated or resettled 179 prisoners, cutting the population from 242 when Bush left office. At its peak, the detention center housed more than 700 prisoners. In the most recent release, the Pentagon transferred a 35-year-old Yemeni, Shawqi Awad Balzuhair to the government of Cape Verde on Dec. 4. Defense officials said that continuing to hold him was not necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the United States. The detainee was captured by Pakistani security forces in 2002 in a raid on homes where al-Qaeda teams were planning attacks on hotels in Karachi, according to U.S. military documents. The largest release to date occurred in August, when the United States transferred 15 detainees to the United Arab Emirates. The Washington Posts Missy Ryan contributed to this report. Friends and colleagues of Jack Stahl, the former New Mexico lieutenant governor and Albuquerque residential real estate executive, said this week that he approached his business career and work as a public servant with dedication, common sense and enthusiasm. His passing is a huge loss to the state, said former Gov. Garrey Carruthers, now chancellor and president of New Mexico State University. Carruthers and Stahl, both former chairmen of the state Republican party, had philosophical differences, but they later forged a very good professional partnership when they were elected to the states top executive posts in 1986, serving for one term. Carruthers said Stahl, who died Dec. 29 at the age of 82, was a very collegial partner in governing New Mexico. Elected to the state Legislature in 1968, Stahl chose to make the lieutenant governors job a part-time post and run his real estate brokerage at the same time. He was able to do justice to both, said Carruthers, ably presiding over the state senate, attending cabinet meetings and standing in for the governor when necessary. The point is he thought it was more efficient to discharge his duties when he was absolutely needed, said Carruthers of the fiscally conservative Republican. Carruthers said the two worked hand-in glove when it came to breaking tie votes in the Senate, especially on measures involving tax hikes. His concern for New Mexicans was genuine, said Carruthers, who will be among those former colleagues and friends planning to attend his memorial service on Saturday, at Sandia Presbyterian Church. Stahl approached his work in the real estate industry with the highest level of professionalism and integrity, said Kent Cravens, executive vice president of the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors, who is also a former state legislator. Jack was a stalwart, both as a leader and an educator, he said of Stahls work as president and board member of the trade association that was the precursor to GAAR. He also was active with countless civic organizations, such as the Better Business Bureau, Boy Scouts of America and the Small Business Administration. Stahl also was one of the first real estate instructors in New Mexico, having taught at the University of New Mexico, the Realtors Institute and the University of Albuquerque. Cravens said Stahl was one of the co-founders of the Hooten-Stahl agency and The Jack Stahl Company, both pre-eminent brokerages in Albuquerque for decades. Longtime friend Doyle Pargin, a veteran real estate agent in Central New Mexico, said Stahl was recognized for his keen mind and dedication to his clients. He could also drive a hard bargain, said Pargin. Another thing about Jack was the love he had for his family. That was always of utmost importance to him, said Pargin. Im saddened to hear about the passing of former Lt. Governor Jack Stahl. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones in this difficult time, said Republican Party of New Mexico Chairman Ryan Cangiolosi. He was a dedicated and influential voice in the Republican Party of New Mexico through the years, and his decades of service to the community, the party and New Mexico will not be forgotten. WASHINGTON On the first day of the 115th Congress, members on Tuesday buzzed about the repeal of President Barack Obamas health care law, tax reform and whether to gut the ethics office. All Eleanor Holmes Norton wanted to discuss was a vote. And a symbolic one at that. For the fourth consecutive session, Norton, the non-voting representative of the District of Columbia, formally asked the Speaker of the House for the ability to vote on amendments and procedural issues. Again, she was thwarted. This time, she brought Washington Mayor Muriel Bower and a veterans advocate with her. Norton pushed for a vote in the House Committee of the Whole as a down payment on full voting rights for the more than 680,000 American citizens residing in the District of Columbia, who pay the highest federal income taxes per capita in the United States and have fought and died in every American war, yet have no vote on the floor of the House of Representatives, the peoples house, she said. When Democrats have controlled the House, Norton and the other non-voting delegates from Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands -were given the courtesy. In Nortons quarter century of service, thats happened in Congressional sessions starting in 1993, 2007 and 2009. The privilege was revoked each time Republicans took back control of the House. For Norton, the ability to cast a vote as part of the House Committee of the Whole is largely symbolic it would allow her to vote on amendments on the House floor but not on final legislation. And, in the past, if a vote by a delegate would determine the outcome of a particular measure, the House voted again without them. Still, Norton maintained that the vote is important as the District of Columbia braces for the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, coupled with a GOP-controlled House and Senate that can exert control over District laws. The only gifts this Congress has for the District are burdens we do not want, Norton said on Monday in a speech at the swearing-in ceremony of the D.C. Council. Yet on Tuesday, Norton said she remained optimistic about finding common ground with Republicans as she did in the 1990s with an unlikely partner: then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Asked to identify her current Republican allies in the House, Norton said she wouldnt name names, before adding, I search and I hope to find. Norton sent her request for a vote in writing to Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, but said she has yet to receive a response. A spokeswoman for Ryan did not return requests for comment. Nortons resolution to restore D.C.s vote was easily defeated on a party line vote by Republicans who unanimously voted to table the motion. Bowser maintained that a symbolic vote for Norton would represent a first step toward equal rights for District residents, whom she said pay $26.4 billion in federal income taxes more than contributed by residents of 22 states. Were not begging, said Bowser, who was accompanied by D.C. Office of Veterans Affairs Director Ely Ross. Were not asking for special treatment. Were asking for equal treatment and this is one way to do it. The news conference took place in a small meeting room in the bustling Rayburn House Office building, as passersby spoke loudly in the hallways and new members prepared to be sworn in. Bowser called it a bitter pill that on top of the tax burden, veterans living in the District have no representation in Congress. It should offend every American that in our nations capital 30,000 veterans who risked their lives and fought for our country, are denied the right to vote and they lack voting representation in Congress, Ross said. Happy New Year! I hope your new year is off to a good start wherever you are in the world. Ive been looking forward to fresh beginnings, and I want to share some New Years inspiration with you today. New Years Resolutions Ive mentioned before that Im not great at New Years resolutions, so this year Ive picked a couple of words to focus on instead. For work, my mantra is balance. Full-time blogging tends to take over my life, and I need to make sure I balance it with non-blogging activities so I dont burn out. For my personal life, its acceptance. Im not very good at accepting things as they are, but Im working on letting go of resistance. Are you making any resolutions or setting goals? New Years Inspiration If youre in need of some inspiration yourself, I have exciting events coming up in London and around the world. If youre a blogger (or an aspiring one), a marketer, or a PR, youll want to attend. My blogging eBook and blog coaching will also be useful if your New Years resolution is to start a blog, give yours a boost, or take your blog to a professional level. Travel in the New Year Where are you traveling this year? Im flying to Japan tomorrow and have trips to Central America and Rotterdam coming up in the next six months. If you have travel tips for me, I would love to hear them. Im also planning to travel to Italy for a weekend and the Scottish Hebrides for another sailing expedition in June. If you have recommendations for either, please share your tips. If youre planning a trip to anywhere Ive written about on the blog, I hope my tips or travel planning services can help you, too. Happy New Year Above all, I wish you a healthy, happy new year and I look forward to the adventures well all have! New here? Join thousands of others and subscribe to the A Lady in London blog via email or Bloglovin. Pin it! US, Korean authorities agree to test new radar The US Federal Aviation Administration and the Korea Office of Civil Aviation have agreed to help Nepal in conducting flight inspection of the newly installed radar system The Irish Independent has today reported that the Central Bank has begun laying the groundwork to accommodate a significant number of London-based financial services firms looking to move operations to Dublin in the wake of Brexit. London's financial firms are waiting to discover whether the UK can hold on to the passporting rights that allow them to trade freely across the EU. Last week, the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) said more than 100 companies, many based in the City, had inquired about relocating to the country after Brexit. According to the report, the Central Bank is bolstering staff numbers in its insurance supervision directorate by more than a quarter as it looks to welcome insurers from London. However, the bank has moved to deny reports that Ireland was discouraging firms wanting to move investment banking or trading operations to Dublin because of regulatory concerns. Furthermore, the Central Bank has moved to quash speculation that there was tension between it and the Government over firms planning to relocate to Dublin post-Brexit. The Central Bank's Director of Policy and Risk, Gerry Cross said IT was poised to help businesses "think constructively" about relocation and would take a practical approach as firms look to get their business models approved and their companies authorised. Mr Cross said the bank had seen "inquiries and interest" from a significant number of firms. Source: www.businessworld.ie About us Toyota has today been announced as the best-selling car brand in Ireland in 2016 with sales of 15,530 passenger vehicles and an overall market share of 10.6%. Toyotas best-selling passenger vehicles were the Corolla with sales of 3,751, followed closely by the Yaris with 3,727 sales, Auris with 2,854 sales, RAV4 with 2,349 sales and the Avensis with 1,663 sales. Chief Executive at Toyota Ireland, Steve Tormey said, "2016 was a great year for Toyota and we are proud to have once again regained the status of being the best-selling car brand in Ireland. Particularly pleasing was the continuing strong demand we experienced right across our range coupled with significantly increased consumer movement into hybrid vehicles. We believe this trend will continue with our newest model, the C-HR as well as other new model introductions later this year." Source: www.businessworld.ie Modified On Jun 19, 2017 09:12 PM By Tushar The brand sold over five lakh cars in India last year It looks like the relatively older crop of Hyundai models in India drove in the greatest numbers for the brand in 2016. Last year, Hyundai recorded domestic sales of over five lakh units, but while models like the Elantra and the Tucson upped the carmakers premium ante, the Grand i10, Elite i20 and Creta were the heroes on the sales charts. Prudent to note that all three hold the title of Indian Car Of The Year (ICOTY) from 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. 2016 wasnt a year that saw too many launches from Hyundai. However, the products it introduced i.e. the Elantra and Tucson, fell into premium price segments. This is in line with Hyundais plans to place itself as a more upmarket brand in India, so the role of number driver went to older products: Grand i10 Launched in 2013, the Grand i10 has been one of Hyundais most consistent success stories. With sales of around 12-14k units every month, the small car has shown no signs of slowing down, even though its due for a facelift this year. The hatchback did spawn the Xcent compact sedan as well, but the latter hasnt been nearly as successful. Elite i20 Premium quality, Euro-car styling and loaded with features. The Elite i20 is one of the best selling cars in its segment with around 10k units moved every month. Apart from being a great standalone package, its also available as a crossover i.e. the i20 Active, which, by itself, has found many takers who love the SUV-esque styling. Creta Its one achievement to manage 8-9k monthly sales, but another to do it while falling into the Rs 9-15 lakh price bracket. The Creta offers great features, SUV styling and a sedans ease of use a formula that continues to win over thousands of buyers month after month. This year, Hyundai crossed many milestones, including the celebration of its 20th year in India. It will be interesting to see what the brand has in store for in 2017. As for us, were waiting on the Tucson 4x4! Q: What is Zika? A: Zika virus disease is caused by the Zika virus, which is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected mosquito (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting up to a week, and many people do not have symptoms or will have only mild symptoms. However, Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause a serious birth defect called microcephaly and other severe brain defects. Q: How do people get infected with Zika? A: Zika is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus). A pregnant woman can pass Zika to her fetus during pregnancy or around the time of birth. Also, a person with Zika can pass it to his or her sex partners. We encourage people who have traveled to or live in places with risk of Zika to protect themselves by preventing mosquito bites and sexual transmission of Zika. Q: What health problems can result from getting Zika? A: Many people infected with Zika will have no symptoms or mild symptoms that last several days to a week. However, Zika infection during pregnancy can cause a serious birth defect called microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects. Current research suggests that Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), an uncommon sickness of the nervous system, is strongly associated with Zika; however, only a small proportion of people with recent Zika virus infection get GBS. Once someone has been infected with Zika, its very likely theyll be protected from future infections. There is no evidence that past Zika infection poses an increased risk of birth defects in future pregnancies. Q: Should pregnant women travel to areas with risk of Zika? A: Pregnant women should NOT travel to areas with Zika outbreaks (as indicated by red areas on Zika map). Before traveling to other areas with current or past spread of Zika (as indicated by purple areas on Zika map), pregnant women should discuss their travel plans with a doctor. Travelers who go to places with outbreaks or past or current spread (as indicated by red or purple areas on Zika map) can be infected with Zika. Zika infection during pregnancy can cause microcephaly and other severe brain defects. Q: If I am traveling to an area with risk of Zika, should I be concerned about Zika? A: Yes. Travelers who go to places with Zika outbreaks (as indicated by red areas on Zika map) or with current or past spread of Zika (as indicated by purple areas on Zika map) might be at risk of infection with Zika. Pregnant women and couples trying to become pregnant within 3 months of travel should work with their healthcare providers to carefully consider the risks and possible consequences of travel. Zika travel notices are posted when there is an outbreak. Because Zika can cause microcephaly and other severe birth defects, pregnant women should NOT travel to any area with a Zika outbreak (as indicated by red areas on Zika map). Women trying to get pregnant should talk to their healthcare providers to carefully consider the risks and possible consequences of Zika infection before traveling to areas reporting current or past spread of Zika (as indicated by purple areas on Zika map), but no current outbreak. Those traveling to areas with Zika outbreaks or with current or past spread of Zika should take steps during and after they travel to prevent mosquito bites and sexual transmission of Zika. Q: What can people do to prevent Zika? A: The best way to prevent Zika is to protect yourself and your family from mosquito bites: Use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellents external icon Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants Sleep under a mosquito bed net if air conditioned or screened rooms are not available or if sleeping outdoors. Zika can be spread by a person infected with Zika to his or her sex partners. Condoms can reduce the chance of getting Zika from sex. Condoms include male and female condoms. To be effective, condoms should be used from start to finish, every time during vaginal, anal, and oral sex and the sharing of sex toys. Not having sex eliminates the risk of getting Zika from sex. Pregnant couples with a partner who traveled to or lives in an area with risk of Zika should use condoms every time they have sex or not have sex during the pregnancy. Q: What are the symptoms of Zika virus disease? A: The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, headache, joint pain, red eyes, and muscle pain. Many people infected with Zika wont have symptoms or will have mild symptoms, which can last for several days to a week. Q: How is Zika diagnosed? A: To diagnose Zika, your doctor will ask you about recent travel and symptoms you may have, and collect blood or urine to test for Zika or similar viruses. Q: Can someone who returned from an area with risk of Zika get tested for the virus? A: Zika virus testing is performed at CDC and some state and territorial health departments. See your doctor if you have Zika symptoms and have recently been in an area with risk of Zika. Your doctor may order tests to look for Zika or similar viruses like dengue and chikungunya. Q: What should pregnant women who have recently traveled to an area with risk of Zika do? A: Pregnant women who have recently traveled to an area with risk of Zika should talk to their doctor about their travel, even if they dont feel sick. Pregnant women should see a doctor if they have any Zika symptoms during their trip or after traveling. All pregnant women can protect themselves by avoiding travel to an area with risk of Zika, preventing mosquito bites, and following recommended precautions against getting Zika through sex. Q: I am not pregnant, but will my future pregnancies be at risk if I am infected with Zika virus? A: Currently, there is no evidence that a woman who has recovered from Zika virus infection (the virus has cleared her body) will have Zika-related pregnancy complications in the future. Based on information about similar infections, once a person has been infected with Zika virus and has cleared the virus from his or her body, he or she is likely to be protected from future Zika infections. If youre thinking about having a baby in the near future and you or your partner live in or traveled to an area with risk of Zika, talk with your doctor or other healthcare provider. See Women & Their Partners Trying to Become Pregnant. Q: I was in a place with risk of Zika recently. How long do I need to wait after returning to get pregnant? A: Men who have traveled to areas with risk of Zika should wait at least 3 months after travel (or 3 months after symptoms started if they get sick) before trying to conceive with their partner. Women should wait at least 2 months after travel (or 2 months after symptoms started if they get sick) before trying to get pregnant. The waiting period is longer for men because Zika stays in semen longer than in other body fluids. Q: Which insect repellents work best to prevent infections caused by mosquito bites? A: To prevent Zika and other diseases spread by mosquitoes, use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellentsexternal icon on exposed skin. The insect repellent should include one of the following ingredients: DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, para-menthane-diol, or 2-undecanone. Higher percentages of active ingredient provide longer protection. Always follow the label instructions when using insect repellent. Q: How should insect repellents be used on children to prevent mosquito bites and the viruses that some mosquitoes can spread? A: When using insect repellent on your child always follow label instructions. Do not use products containing oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE) or para-menthane-diol (PMD) on children under 3 years old. Do not apply insect repellent to a childs hands, eyes, mouth, cuts, or irritated skin. Adults should spray insect repellent onto their hands and then apply to a childs face. Q: Is it safe for infants or children to travel to an area with risk of Zika? A: CDCs travel guidance for areas with risk of Zika applies to infants and children, as well as adults. CDC recommends that those who travel to areas with risk of Zika protect themselves from mosquito bites during travel and for 3 weeks after returning from travel. For safe and effective ways to protect your child from mosquito bites, please visit CDCs Zika prevention page. Most children infected with Zika virus have no symptoms or have a mild illness, similar to adults with Zika virus infection. Q: What should I do if I am sick, or a family member is sick, with Zika? A: Many people infected with Zika virus wont have symptoms or will only have mild symptoms lasting several days to a week. If you have symptoms of Zika (fever, rash, headache, joint pain, red eyes, or muscle pain) and you live in or recently traveled to an area with risk of Zika, you should see your doctor or healthcare provider and tell him or her about your symptoms and recent travel. There is no specific medicine for Zika, but you can treat the symptoms. If you are diagnosed with Zika, protect those around you by taking steps to prevent mosquito bites and to prevent sexual transmission of Zika. Because Zika can generally be found in blood during approximately the first week of infection and can be passed to another person through mosquito bites, help prevent others from getting sick by strictly following steps to prevent mosquito bites during the first week of illness. Q: Should we be concerned about Zika in the United States? A: Local mosquito-borne spread of Zika has been previously reported in the continental United States. In 2018 and 2019, no local mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission has been reported in the continental United States. Q: What is CDC doing about Zika? A: CDC is working around the clock to respond to the Zika virus outbreak. CDCs work includes developing laboratory tests to diagnose Zika, conducting studies to learn more about Zika, publishing reports about Zika, monitoring and reporting cases of Zika, providing guidance to travelers and Americans living in areas with outbreaks, providing on-the-ground support in countries and US territories with current Zika outbreaks, and more. You can find more information here. Top of Page 01/03/2017 Photo (c) aytuncoylum - Fotolia Putting an elderly loved one in a nursing home is a tough decision for many consumers, and it often comes down to unpleasant details like not being able to afford adequate home care. Unfortunately, not all nursing homes are equal, and some can be downright inhumane in how they treat their residents. That is allegedly the case in Maryland, where the state has filed a lawsuit against Neiswanger Management Services (NMS), which operates five in-state nursing homes. According to a report from Courthouse News, NMS has been charged with replacing over 1,000 elderly residents with others who would yield higher daily rates through Medicaid. To make matters worse, many of the displaced residents are often sent to homeless shelters or disreputable replacement facilities. In recent years, [NMS] has evicted from its nursing homes hundreds of frail, infirm, mentally ill and physically and intellectually disabled people. NMS often effectuates these involuntary discharges with brutal indifference to the health and safety of evictees, dumping the people it no longer wants in homeless shelters or handing them over to predatory operators of sham assisted living facilities, the complaint charges. Inhumane treatment The complaint details several cases where elderly residents were allegedly subjected to inhumane treatment by caregivers working for NMS. Vonda Wagner, who resided at NMS Hagerstown and suffered from late-stage cancer, was moved by staff member Sharon Isaacs in 2015 to a Baltimore City rowhouse after being threatened with arrest if she refused to go, according to the complaint. Wagner -- who lost 40% of her weight due to her illness, relied on a tracheostomy tube, could not speak, and had difficulty walking was subjected to horrible treatment at the rowhouse; she was stripped of her West Virginia state-issued debit card by Isaacs, forced into revealing her PIN, was not issued any of her prescribed medications, and was exclusively fed on instant ramen noodles for several weeks, the complaint states. Three weeks after Wagner came to the rowhouse, Isaacs found that the elderly woman had canceled the confiscated debit card. The complaint claims that Isaacs then physically abused Wagner, threw out her belongings, and dumped her in a Baltimore City homeless shelter. Luckily, the elderly woman was immediately taken from the shelter to the emergency room and treated for her injuries; however, she remains homeless. Repeated abuse Vonda Wagners case is only one of many cases of abuse that the state is attaching to NMS. Others, such as Andrew Edwards, were denied vital medical treatment, defrauded of thousands of dollars, and forced to reside in locations where they didnt know anyone. In each case, the state charges that NMS did not engage in any meaningful discharge planning of its patients and that it knowingly allowed them to be transferred to facilities, like Isaacs, that were not licensed by the state. Vonda Wagner [et. al] are only eight of dozens of frail, infirm, mentally ill and physically and intellectually disabled people whom NMS has discharged to sham assisted living facilities to homeless shelters, and to the streets, often fraudulently billing the Maryland Medicaid program thousands or tens of thousands of dollars for nursing facility services, including social work and discharge planning services, that it did not in fact provide to them, the complaint says. In a high proportion of these cases, within days or weeks of their eviction from NMS, these former NMS residents appear in the emergency rooms of Maryland hospitals, often requiring attention for medical problems caused or exacerbated by having been evicted from an NMS facility. . . Moreover, the people whom NMS has discharged. . . form only a particularly troubling subset of the hundreds of people whom NMS has illegally and unsafely evicted from its facilities. The suit seeks to impose civil penalties on the defendants, starting at $10,000 for each violation of the False Health Claims Act. Additionally, the state is seeking three times the damages and other relief to the state of Maryland for false submissions to the Medicaid program. Have fun in everything you do, even if it means you have to bring the fun. Thats the philosophy Bridget Moran puts into action in her position as assistant vice president of the call center at Ardent Credit Union in Philadelphia. She transformed a reactive call center into an enthusiastic, proactive group of universal agents known as member experience advocates, says Joseph Conners, chief financial officer at the $634 million asset institution. When Moran arrived at Ardent, she wasnt familiar with what a credit union was. But once she discovered the cooperative nature, she was hooked. I loved the idea of working for the greater good, empowering people, says Moran, who previously worked in a supervisory position in home health care. It really struck a chord; I felt at home. Professor Jack Cuzick from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) will be appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), as published today in the Queen's New Year 2017 Honours List Professor Jack Cuzick from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) will be appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), as published today in the Queen's New Year 2017 Honours List. The appointment, which has been recommended to the Queen by the Prime Minister, is in recognition of his achievements in cancer research, particularly the use of preventive medicine in cancer. Professor Jack Cuzick, Director of QMUL's Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine and Head of the Centre for Cancer Prevention, said: "It is a great honour to be recommended for such a prestigious appointment. This is particularly important for the recognition it provides of the need to develop preventive therapies to tackle cancer before it occurs, much as now is done for heart disease. "An enormous amount of research has been carried out which has provided clear evidence of the benefits of acting early to identify those at risk of cancer and prevent the onset of the disease with appropriate medication, rather than offering treatments when it may be too late." The CBE comes just months after Professor Cuzick's election as a Fellow of the Royal Society. Professor Cuzick was the first to show that the drug tamoxifen was highly effective in the prevention of breast cancer, and subsequently demonstrated the superior efficacy and safety of aromatase inhibitor drugs, which can reduce breast cancer incidence by over 50 per cent. He also developed a widely used model for assessing breast cancer risk. The discovery that the human papilloma virus (HPV) was the cause of cervical cancer prompted Professor Cuzick to use HPV DNA testing as an alternative to the conventional Pap smear test. HPV testing has now become the primary screening method in many places. In collaboration with others, he also showed that a type of HPV vaccine can virtually eliminate cervical cancer, and will lead to a much reduced need for screening. Professor Cuzick also developed a method to identify a larger group of prostate cancer patients that can be safely managed by active surveillance than was previously possible, thus avoiding the morbidity associated with surgery or radiation therapy. ### For more information, please contact: Joel Winston Public Relations Manager (School of Medicine and Dentistry) Queen Mary University of London j.winston@qmul.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)7970 096 188 Notes to the editor Profiles of Professor Jack Cuzick can be found at: About Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) is one of the UK's leading universities, and one of the largest institutions in the University of London, with 21,187 students from more than 155 countries. A member of the Russell Group, we work across the humanities and social sciences, medicine and dentistry, and science and engineering, with inspirational teaching directly informed by our research. In the most recent national assessment of the quality of research, we were placed ninth in the UK (REF 2014). As well as our main site at Mile End - which is home to one of the largest self-contained residential campuses in London - we have campuses at Whitechapel, Charterhouse Square, and West Smithfield dedicated to the study of medicine, and a base for legal studies at Lincoln's Inn Fields. We have a rich history in London with roots in Europe's first public hospital, St Barts; England's first medical school, The London; one of the first colleges to provide higher education to women, Westfield College; and the Victorian philanthropic project, the People's Palace at Mile End. Today, as well as retaining these close connections to our local community, we are known for our international collaborations in both teaching and research. QMUL has an annual turnover of 350m, a research income worth 125m (2014/15), and generates employment and output worth 700m to the UK economy each year. (Washington, January 3, 2017)--In a letter sent today to leaders in the Senate, the American College of Physicians (ACP) implored them to vote no on a budget resolution that would start the process of repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The College cautioned that this process could destabilize coverage, resulting in tens of millions of Americans losing coverage, benefits and protections established by current law. The letter expressed concern that the pathway established by the resolution, which will lead to a subsequent vote on a budget reconciliation bill to repeal major elements of the ACA, with the effective date of such repeal being delayed while Congress attempts to develop an acceptable replacement plan, is unworkable and disruptive. "Independent and non-partisan analyses show that enactment of such a "repeal, delay and replace" bill, especially without an alternative being offered now that could be thoroughly evaluated based on its impact on quality, access, and coverage, would create chaos in insurance markets, causing plans to pull out of the markets with more than 7 million losing coverage in 2017 alone," said Nitin S. Damle, MD, MS, MACP, president of ACP in the letter. "Full repeal could result in nearly 60 million people becoming uninsured." ACP noted that the College welcomed the opportunity to make improvements in the law. Specifically ACP welcomes discussion of ways to stabilize insurance markets by bringing more young people into them without disadvantaging older and sicker patients; to expand consumer choice of insurance products and of physician and hospitals; to ensure network adequacy; to support state innovation including in Medicaid provided that current eligibility, benefits, and protections for current and future enrollees are not undermined, to reduce administrative burdens on physicians and their patients, and to support the critical role played by primary care physicians in providing accessible, high quality and cost-effective care to all types of patients. "While we acknowledge that the ACA is not perfect (and no law is) and improvements to it can and should be made, our continued support for the ACA is grounded in the fact that it has reduced the uninsured rate to the lowest ever, a major stride toward providing affordable coverage to all Americans," said Dr. Damle. "We encourage Congress to first put forward ideas for improvements rather than committing to a process that would repeal the ACA's coverage and protections for many millions of people." ### The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States. ACP members include 148,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Reston, VA - New research reports that the number of articles within radiology journals designated as dealing with patient-centered care has increased substantially in recent years, although a very limited number of radiology journals have published multiple original research articles on the topic. The study, supported by research grants from the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute, is published online in the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR). The researchers searched PubMed for articles in radiology journals for which the article's record referenced patient-centered/patient-centric care. A total of 115 articles in radiology journals were identified, including 40 original research articles. The number of articles annually ranged from zero to four from 2000 through 2008, five to nine from 2010 through 2012, 14 to 15 from 2013 through 2014, and 25 in 2015. Only four radiology journals had published more than one of the original research articles. "We found that the most common themes of those 40 articles were optimization of patients' access to reports and images; patients' experience in undergoing the examination; image evaluation; and radiologists meeting with patients," noted Andrew Rosenkrantz, MD, MPA, lead study author and a Neiman Institute affiliate research fellow. "We also found some of the studies dealt with less clearly patient-centric topics such as examination interpretation." Rosenkrantz, an associate professor of radiology at NYU Langone Medical Center, added that one of the original research articles involved patients in educating trainees regarding patient-centered care. Otherwise, no original research article involved patients in system-level decisions regarding health care design and delivery. "Including patients and families in what we do as radiologists is just the right thing to do. It enables better care for our patients and a better experience for them and their families. It's about a very different bottom line-engaging patients in their own care," said James V. Rawson, MD, FACR, a member of the Neiman Institute's advisory board and chair of radiology at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. "Increased visibility of this important topic in our professional journals will help disseminate best practices." ### To obtain a copy of the JACR study or to arrange an interview with a Neiman Institute spokesperson, contact Nicole Racadag at (703) 716-7559 or nracadag@neimanhpi.org. About the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute The Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute is one of the nation's leading medical imaging socioeconomic research organizations. The Neiman Institute studies the role and value of radiology and radiologists in evolving health care delivery and payment systems and the impact of medical imaging on the cost, quality, safety and efficiency of health care. Visit us at http://www.neimanhpi.org and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. PARK Je-Geun, Associate Director at the Center for Correlated Electron Systems, within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), working in collaboration with CHEONG Hyeonsik at Sogang University and PARK Cheol-Hwan at Seoul National University demonstrated the magnetic behavior of a special class of 2D materials. This is the first experimental proof to a theory proposed more than 70 years ago. The paper, describing the experiment, is published in the journal Nano Letters. Recently, scientists all over the world are investigating the properties and applications of extremely thin 2D materials, just one-atom-thick, like graphene. Studying the properties of 2D materials in comparison with their 3D counterparts raises many thought-provoking questions; one of them concerns magnetic phase transitions. Some materials are magnetic because of the behavior of the spins of their electrons. In simple terms, spins (spin quantum numbers, or more precisely their associated magnetic moments), are just like tiny magnets, conventionally shown as arrows. At extremely low temperatures, these spins tend to align, lowering the electrons' total energy. However, above a specific temperature that varies from material to material, spins lose their alignment and become randomly oriented. Similar to how ice loses its internal order and becomes liquid above a certain temperature; 3D magnets also lose their magnetization above a critical temperature. This is called phase transition and is an ever-present process in 3D objects. However, what happens to 1D and 2D systems at low temperatures? Do they experience a phase transition? In other words, are we going to see a transition from solid to liquid in a chain of water molecules (1D) or in a one-atom thick sheet of water (2D)? About one century ago, the physicist Wilhelm Lenz asked his student Ernst Ising to solve this problem for 1D systems. Ising explained it in 1925 and concluded that 1D materials do not have phase transitions. Then, Ising tried to grapple with the same question for a particular type of 2D materials. The problem turned out to be much harder. The solution came in 1943 courtesy of Lars Onsager, who received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1968. Indeed, Onsager found that the materials, which follow the Ising spin model, have a phase transition. However, despite the huge importance this theory has in the following development of the whole physics of phase transitions, it has never been tested experimentally using a real magnetic material. "The physics of 2D systems is unique and exciting. The Onsager solution is taught on every advanced statistical mechanics course. That's where I learned this problem. However, when I discovered much later that it has not been tested experimentally with a magnetic material, I thought it was a shame for experimentalists like me, so it was natural for me to look for a real material to test it," explains PARK Je-Geun. In order to prove the Onsager model, the research team produced crystals of iron trithiohypophosphate (FePS3) with a technique called chemical vapour transport. The crystals are made of layers bound by weak interactions, known as Van der Waals interactions. Layers can be peeled off from the crystal by using scotch tape, in the same way tape can strip paint from a wall. The scientists peeled the layers until they were left with just one layer of FePS3 (2D). "We can call these materials magnetic Van der Waals materials or magnetic graphene: they are magnetic and they have easy-to-cleave Van der Waals bonds between layers. They are very rare, and their physics is still unexplored," says the professor. While there are several methods to measure the magnetic properties of bulk 3D materials, these techniques have no practical use to measure magnetic signals coming from monolayer materials. Therefore, the team used Raman spectroscopy, a technique normally used to measure vibrations inside the material. They used vibrations as an indirect measure of magnetism, the more vibrations, the less magnetization. Park's team and colleagues first used Raman spectroscopy on bulk 3D FePS3 material at different temperatures and then tested FePS3 2D monolayer. "The test with the bulk sample showed us that the Raman signals can be used as a kind of the fingerprint of phase transition at temperatures around 118 Kelvin, or minus 155 degrees Celsius. With this confirmation we then measured the monolayer sample and found the same patterns," points out Park. "We conclude that 3D and 2D FePS3 have the same signature of the phase transition visible in the Raman spectrum." Both in the bulk sample and the monolayer, FePS3' spins are ordered (antiferromagnetic) at very low temperatures, and become disordered (paramagnetic) above 118 degrees Kelvin. "Showing magnetic phase transition with this tour-de-force experiment is a beautiful test for the Onsager solution," concludes the physicist. In the future, the team would like to study other 2D transition metal materials, going beyond the 2D Ising spin model. ### The researchers studied the genetic overlap between the risk of having these psychiatric disorders and measures of social communicative competence - the ability to socially engage with other people successfully - during middle childhood to adolescence. They showed that genes influencing social communication problems during childhood overlap with genes conferring risk for autism, but that this relationship wanes during adolescence. In contrast, genes influencing risk for schizophrenia were most strongly interrelated with genes affecting social competence during later adolescence, in line with the natural history of the disorder. The findings were published in Molecular Psychiatry on 3 January 2017. Timing makes the difference "The findings suggest that the risk of developing these contrasting psychiatric conditions is strongly related to distinct sets of genes, both of which influence social communication skills, but which exert their maximum influence during different periods of development", explained Beate St Pourcain, senior investigator at the MPI and lead author of the study. People with autism and with schizophrenia both have problems interacting and communicating with other people, because they cannot easily initiate social interactions or give appropriate responses in return. On the other hand, the disorders of autism and schizophrenia develop in very different ways. The first signs of ASD typically occur during infancy or early childhood, whereas the symptoms of schizophrenia usually do not appear until early adulthood. Features of autism or schizophrenia are found in many of us People with autism have serious difficulties in engaging socially with others and understanding social cues, as well as being rigid, concrete thinkers with obsessive interests. In contrast, schizophrenia is characterised by hallucinations, delusions, and seriously disturbed thought processes. Yet recent research has shown that many of these characteristics and experiences can be found, to a mild degree, in typically developing children and adults. In other words, there is an underlying continuum between normal and abnormal behaviour. Recent advances in genome-wide analyses have helped drawing a more precise picture of the genetic architecture underlying psychiatric disorders and their related symptoms in unaffected people. A large proportion of risk to disorder, but also variation in milder symptoms, stems from combined small effects of many thousands of genetic differences across the genome, known as polygenic effects. For social communication behaviour, these genetic factors are not constant, but change during childhood and adolescence. This is because genes exert their effects consistent with their biological programming. Disentangling psychiatric disorders "A developmentally sensitive analysis of genetic relationships between traits and disorders may help to disentangle apparent behavioural overlap between psychiatric conditions", St Pourcain commented. George Davey Smith, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Bristol and senior author of the study, said, "The emergence of associations between genetic predictors for different psychiatric conditions and social communication differences, around the ages the particular conditions reveal themselves, provides a window into the specific causes of these conditions". David Skuse, Professor of Behavioural and Brain Sciences at University College London added, "This study has shown convincingly how the measurement of social communicative competence in childhood is a sensitive indicator of genetic risk. Our greatest challenge now is to identify how genetic variation influences the development of the social brain". ### The data on unaffected individuals for this study came from a general population cohort, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, hosted by the University of Bristol. ASD and schizophrenia collections included several large, international autism genetic studies: the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium Autism group, the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium Schizophrenia group and the iPSYCH autism project in Denmark. COLUMBUS, Ohio--The same researchers who pioneered the use of a quantum mechanical effect to convert heat into electricity have figured out how to make their technique work in a form more suitable to industry. In Nature Communications, engineers from The Ohio State University describe how they used magnetism on a composite of nickel and platinum to amplify the voltage output 10 times or more--not in a thin film, as they had done previously, but in a thicker piece of material that more closely resembles components for future electronic devices. Many electrical and mechanical devices, such as car engines, produce heat as a byproduct of their normal operation. It's called "waste heat," and its existence is required by the fundamental laws of thermodynamics, explained study co-author Stephen Boona. But a growing area of research called solid-state thermoelectrics aims to capture that waste heat inside specially designed materials to generate power and increase overall energy efficiency. "Over half of the energy we use is wasted and enters the atmosphere as heat," said Boona, a postdoctoral researcher at Ohio State. "Solid-state thermoelectrics can help us recover some of that energy. These devices have no moving parts, don't wear out, are robust and require no maintenance. Unfortunately, to date, they are also too expensive and not quite efficient enough to warrant widespread use. We're working to change that." In 2012, the same Ohio State research group, led by Joseph Heremans, demonstrated that magnetic fields could boost a quantum mechanical effect called the spin Seebeck effect, and in turn boost the voltage output of thin films made from exotic nano-structured materials from a few microvolts to a few millivolts. In this latest advance, they've increased the output for a composite of two very common metals, nickel with a sprinkling of platinum, from a few nanovolts to tens or hundreds of nanovolts--a smaller voltage, but in a much simpler device that requires no nanofabrication and can be readily scaled up for industry. Heremans, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and the Ohio Eminent Scholar in Nanotechnology, said that, to some extent, using the same technique in thicker pieces of material required that he and his team rethink the equations that govern thermodynamics and thermoelectricity, which were developed before scientists knew about quantum mechanics. And while quantum mechanics often concerns photons--waves and particles of light--Heremans' research concerns magnons--waves and particles of magnetism. "Basically, classical thermodynamics covers steam engines that use steam as a working fluid, or jet engines or car engines that use air as a working fluid. Thermoelectrics use electrons as the working fluid. And in this work, we're using quanta of magnetization, or 'magnons,' as a working fluid," Heremans said. Research in magnon-based thermodynamics was up to now always done in thin films--perhaps only a few atoms thick--and even the best-performing films produce very small voltages. In the 2012 paper, his team described hitting electrons with magnons to push them through thermoelectric materials. In the current Nature Communications paper, they've shown that the same technique can be used in bulk pieces of composite materials to further improve waste heat recovery. Instead of applying a thin film of platinum on top of a magnetic material as they might have done before, the researchers distributed a very small amount of platinum nanoparticles randomly throughout a magnetic material--in this case, nickel. The resulting composite produced enhanced voltage output due to the spin Seebeck effect. This means that for a given amount of heat, the composite material generated more electrical power than either material could on its own. Since the entire piece of composite is electrically conducting, other electrical components can draw the voltage from it with increased efficiency compared to a film. While the composite is not yet part of a real-world device, Heremans is confident the proof-of-principle established by this study will inspire further research that may lead to applications for common waste heat generators, including car and jet engines. The idea is very general, he added, and can be applied to a variety of material combinations, enabling entirely new approaches that don't require expensive metals like platinum or delicate processing procedures like thin-film growth. ### The research was funded by the National Science Foundation's Materials Research Science and Engineering Program and the U.S. Army's Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative. The nanocomposite materials were synthesized with the help of the study's co-author Koen Vandaele, a visiting scholar from Ghent University in Belgium. Also involved in the study were co-authors and microscopy experts Isabel Boona and Professor David McComb from Ohio State's Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis (CEMAS), who used CEMAS' state-of-the-art materials characterization equipment to validate the findings. Concrete isn't thought of as a plastic, but plasticity at small scales boosts concrete's utility as the world's most-used material by letting it constantly adjust to stress, decades and sometimes even centuries after hardening. Rice University researchers are a step closer to understanding why. The Rice lab of materials scientist Rouzbeh Shahsavari performed an atom-level computer analysis of tobermorite, a naturally occurring crystalline analog to the calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) that makes up cement, which in turn holds concrete together. By understanding the internal structure of tobermorite, they hope to make concrete stronger, tougher and better able to deform without cracking under stress. Their results appear this week in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. Tobermorite, a key element in the superior concrete Romans used in ancient times, forms in layers, like paper stacks that solidify into particles. These particles often have screw dislocations, shear defects that help relieve stress by allowing the layers to slide past each other. Alternately, they can allow the layers to slip only a little before the jagged defects lock them into place. The researchers built the first computer models of tobermorite "super cells" with dislocations either perpendicular to or in parallel with layers in the material, and then applied shear force. They found that defect-free tobermorite deformed easily as water molecules caught between layers helped them glide past each other. But in particles with screw defects, the layers only glided so far before being locked into place by the tooth-like core dislocations. That effectively passed the buck to the next layer, which glided until caught, and so on, relieving the stress without cracking. This "step-wise defect-induced gliding" around the particle's core makes it more ductile and able to adjust to stress, Shahsavari said, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and materials science and nanoengineering. "The insight we get from this study is that unlike the common intuition that defects are detrimental for materials, when it comes to complex layered crystalline systems such as tobermorite, this is not the case," said Shahsavari, "Rather, the defects can lead to dislocation jogs in certain orientations, which acts as a bottleneck for gliding, thus increasing the yield stress and toughness. "These latter properties are key to design concrete materials, which are concurrently strong and tough, two engineering features that are highly desired in several applications. Our study provides the first report on how to leverage seemingly weak attributes -- the defects -- in cement and turn them to highly desired properties, high strength and toughness." Shahsavari said he hopes the work will provide design guidelines for developing stronger, tougher concrete and other complex materials. ### Rice postdoctoral researcher Ning Zhang is lead author of the paper and Philippe Carrez, a professor at the Lille University of Science and Technology, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France, is a co-author. The National Science Foundation (NSF) supported the research. Computing resources were supplied by the National Institutes of Health and an IBM Shared University Research award in partnership with CISCO, Qlogic and Adaptive Computing, as well as Rice's NSF-supported DAVinCI supercomputer administered by Rice's Center for Research Computing and were procured in partnership with Rice's Ken Kennedy Institute for Information Technology. Read the abstract at http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsami.6b13107 This news release can be found online at http://news.rice.edu/2017/01/03/rice-probes-ways-to-turn-cements-weakness-to-strength/ Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews Related materials: Multiscale Materials Laboratory home page: http://rouzbeh.rice.edu/ George R. Brown School of Engineering: http://engineering.rice.edu Rice Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: http://www.ceve.rice.edu Rice Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering: https://msne.rice.edu Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,910 undergraduates and 2,809 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for happiest students and for lots of race/class interaction by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. To read "What they're saying about Rice," go to http://tinyurl.com/RiceUniversityoverview. Researchers in the College of Arts and Sciences are closer to understanding how the loss of glaciers in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru is affecting water resources in a region responding to global climate change Researchers in the College of Arts and Sciences are closer to understanding how the loss of glaciers in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru is affecting water resources in a region responding to global climate change. Laura Lautz G'05, associate professor of Earth sciences, is part of a multinational, interdisciplinary research team doing fieldwork in the northern Peruvian Andes. She and other researchers from A&S have been studying the groundwater hydrology of proglacial valleys--areas formed by glacier recession--in the ice-capped mountains, home to the world's highest density of tropical glaciers. Their findings are part of a major article in Hydrological Processes (John Wiley & Sons, 2016), co-authored by scientists and engineers from McGill University and Ecole de Technologie Superieur, both in Montreal; The Ohio State University (OSU); and the French Research Institute for Development in Marseille. "Tropical glaciers in the Andes are retreating at an alarming rate," Lautz says. "Meltwater from these glaciers is important because it sustains stream-flow during the driest months of the year. As glaciers retreat and disappear, so does the amount of meltwater. Therefore, groundwater stored in the alpine valleys of the Cordillera Blanca may become increasingly important to downstream areas." The Andes contain 99 percent of the world's tropical glaciers--slow-moving rivers of ice whose high elevations are virtually unaffected by balmy tropical temperatures. Such glaciers, however, are vulnerable to climate change. One study posits that, since the 1970s, Peruvian glaciers have lost nearly half of their surface area. Given the density of glaciers in the Cordillera Blanca, communities downstream rely on groundwater discharge and glacier meltwater for their water supply during the dry winter months (i.e., May-September). Runoff from proglacial streams also supports small-farm and commercial agriculture, hydroelectric power generation and transnational mining operations. "Because of the region's remoteness and difficult access, there are few field studies that have effectively identified the spatial distribution of groundwater discharge," Lautz says. "We're changing that." Whereas meltwater comes from the melting of ice and snow, groundwater is the result of precipitation that soaks into the Earth's surface; is transported underground and then returns to lakes, marshes and streams. Lautz estimates that approximately half the discharge in the Cordillera Blanca's proglacial streams comes from groundwater. What is not understood--and is the thrust of her research--is the spatial distribution of the groundwater discharge. Using a model called HFLUX, Lautz and her team, including postdoctoral research associate Ryan Gordon G'13, Earth scientist AnneMarie Glose G'13 and Ph.D. candidate Robin Glas G'18, have created an energy balance model of a stretch of river in Peru's Huascaran National Park. "We've incorporated stream temperature observations, meteorological measurements and time-lapse, ground-based infrared imagery," says Lautz, who has built a career on studying how hydrologic processes affect water quality and movement through watersheds. "This information has enabled us to determine gross and net groundwater inputs to a reach of the Quilcay River, originating in the Cordillera Blanca." Lautz's team found that 29 percent of the stream discharge at the reach outlet came from groundwater. Moreover, dye tracing revealed that 49 percent of the stream water exchanged with subsurface water. "These insights into pathways of groundwater-surface water interaction can help improve hydrological modeling of proglacial catchments throughout South America," Lautz says. Annual trips to the Cordillera Blanca are standard for Lautz's research group. Because of the high altitude (upwards of 13,000 feet) and lack of oxygen, she and her team travel lightly--mostly by foot and pack-animal--and work for a week at a time. Lautz marvels at the number of people, many of whom are alumni, involved with her projects. Recently, she, Glas and Ph.D. student Emily Baker G'18 conducted a seismic tomographic survey of part of the Cordillera Blanca, using equipment belonging to Assistant Professor Robert Moucha. They were assisted by Marty Briggs G'12, a research hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey; Jeff McKenzie G'00, G'05, associate professor of Earth and planetary sciences at McGill; and Bryan Mark G'01, professor of geography at OSU, where he also works in the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center. "It takes a village to pull off these projects," Lautz says. "Students and alumni are vital to our success, on campus and in the field." ### URBANA, Ill. - The future of the red-capped manakin and other tropical birds in Panama looks bleak. A University of Illinois research project spanning more than three decades and simulating another five decades analyzes how changes in rainfall will affect bird populations. The results show that for 19 of the 20 species included in the study, there may be significantly fewer birds if conditions become dryer. The study took place in Panama's Soberania National Park. It is approximately 100 square miles of protected rainforest in central Panama and home to well over 500 bird species. In the region, about 90 percent of the annual rainfall occurs in the wet season, typically from late April to early January. The key result of the study is that with longer dry seasons and more intense seasonal drought, there is an overall negative effect on bird populations. With climate change, there may be longer dry seasons. This is not good news for the birds. "We caught over 250 different species in mist nets, but only had enough data to model 20 of the most common," says Jeff Brawn, U of I ecologist and department head of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. "Capture-mark-recapture is the key. We let them go and then capture them again. How many we recapture is how we estimate survival rate and the changes in the size of the population." Only one of the 20 species in the study tended to increase with dryer conditions--the scaly-throated leaftosser. "That one seemed to have a favorable reaction to changes in seasonal drought. We don't know why. It just consistently seemed to do better," Brawn says. What makes this study unique is the duration. "You can't study the effect of changing environmental conditions and its relationship to bird populations without a long-term study and long-term data," Brawn says. It is also one of the longest and first studies to examine tropical bird populations and climate change. Data from1977 to 2011 became the basis of the simulation for the study. Brawn's team looked at the relationship between population growth rates and the length of the dry season during those 33 years, then simulated another 50 years with an average of a 10 percent change in the rainfall pattern in Panama's dry season. The full 10 percent change is only about 12 days longer, which isn't a big time difference. The simulation suggests that, in time, the bird community will be very different under dryer conditions. Seasonality in Panama is rain/no rain, says Brawn. "Because the tropics are relatively stable weather wise, tropical birds aren't able to handle environmental disturbances as easily, physiologically or behaviorally, as temperate-zone birds. Birds in the Midwest have below-zero winters and 100-degree summers--environmental stress that tropical birds never experience. Consequently, tropical ecosystems and animal populations may be more vulnerable to the effects of climate change." In 1993 and 1998, there were distinct El Nino events, which in that area of Panama means a longer dry season with less rain. Climatologists expect these events to become more common with climate change. Under these conditions, reduced populations of tropical birds may result in fewer birds to provide vital ecological services. Birds eat insects and prevent damage to the trees. They disperse seeds. They pollinate. Because of this, the ecological effect from bird species loss is potentially far reaching. "And keep in mind that this study looked at just a small slice of the bird community in this forest. There are hundreds of bird species who live in the upper canopy, high above the reach of our mist nets. They're harder to capture so we don't have data on those species or those that are rarer." The fact that this kind of negative affect on a large population of avian populations can happen in a national park draws even more concern, Brawn says. "We worked in a good forest--that is, relatively intact. The study shows that even in a protected park, the large, global effect of climate change could make a lot of habitat unsuitable for a lot of species. "Modeling out results into the future, the logical outcome of that is that there will be winners and losers," Brawn says. "Some species will do very poorly and some will do well but the bottom line is, the tropics will be very different than what we experience now. We're not saying it will be a silent forest but it will sound dramatically different 100 years from now with songs from only those species who persist." Interestingly, this research didn't begin as a study in climate change. James Karr began charting the demography of tropical birds as a U of I graduate student. Later, he became Deputy Director of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). Brawn had a post-doctorate position with Karr at STRI. In about 1991, Karr handed over the reins and Brawn continued the work in Panama. Decades later, tropical forest ecologists began reporting that some tree species are sensitive to more intense seasonal drought. Atmospheric modelers predicted the length of the dry season may dramatically change in the tropics, making it shorter in some places and longer in others. Brawn connected the dots, applying the annual changes in rainfall to bird populations. ### The study, "Impacts of Changing Rainfall Regime on the Demography of Tropical Birds," appears in Nature Climate Change and is available online. It was authored by Jeffrey D. Brawn and Thomas J. Benson from U of I, Maria Stager and Nicholas D. Sly from the University of Montana, and Corey E. Tarwater from the University of Wyoming. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation (IBN-0212587), the U.S Department of Defense Legacy Resource Program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Accession #875-370), the University of Illinois, and the Environmental Science Program from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Holidaymakers concerned about fresh volcanic eruptions causing flight-disrupting ash clouds across Northern Europe might be reassured by a study setting out the first reliable estimates of their frequency. While the University of Leeds-led research suggests that ash clouds are more common over northern Europe than previously thought, it puts the average gap between them at about 44 years. It also reveals that these types of ash clouds have about a 20 per cent chance of occurring in Northern Europe in any one decade. Lead author Dr Liz Watson, from the School of Geography at Leeds, said: "Reliable estimates of the frequency of volcanic ash events could help airlines, insurance companies and the travelling public mitigate the economic losses and disruption caused by ash clouds in the future." The work began soon after 2010's explosive eruption of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull, which caused more than 10 million air passengers to be stranded and cost the European economy an estimated 4 billion. A team of researchers, which included academics from the universities of St Andrews and South Florida, compared records of volcanic ash fallout (also known as tephra) during the last 1,000 years. Focusing on northern Europe - downwind of one of the world's most active volcanic regions, Iceland - they examined samples taken from peatlands and lake beds in mainland norther Europe, Great Britain, Ireland and the Faroe Islands, alongside previously existing samples taken from other sites across Northern Europe. The samples - cores up to seven metres long - were taken from peat and lake sediment where geological records are particularly well preserved. Using electron microscopy and chemical analysis, the team identified tiny shards of preserved volcanic ash, called cryptotephra - about the width of a human hair - which enabled them to pinpoint at what point volcanic ash clouds had spread across the continent. For many of the occurrences, the researchers were also able to match sample data to historical records or to existing geological data which charted specific eruptions. The work found evidence of 84 ash clouds during the last 7,000 years, most of which could be traced to eruptions from Icelandic volcanoes. More incidences of volcanic ash are recorded over the past 1,000 years, because evidence is better preserved and historical records are more complete, leading the team to estimate an average recurrence of 44 years. Co-author Dr Graeme Swindles is Associate Professor of Earth System Dynamics in the School of Earth and Environment at Leeds. He said: "In 2010, when Eyjafjallajokull erupted, people were really shocked - it seemed to come completely out of the blue, but the eruption of Grimsvotn, the following year, was an extraordinary coincidence. "Although it is possible that ash clouds can occur on an annual basis, the average return interval for the last 1,000 years is around 44 years. "The last time volcanic ash clouds affected Northern Europe before the recent event was in 1947, 69 years ago - but aviation was much less intense at that time and it simply didn't have the same sort of impact. "Our research shows that, over thousands of years, these sorts of incidents are not that rare - but people wondering how likely it is that the 2010 chaos will be repeated in the next few years can feel somewhat reassured." The researchers also looked at the intensity of the eruptions responsible for producing volcanic ash clouds. They found that volcanic activity likely to produce ashfall in Northern Europe would typically measure four or above on the internationally-recognised Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI). "Eruptions can't always be indexed rapidly," explained co-author Dr Ivan Savov, also of Leeds' School of Earth and Environment. "But in cases where that calculation can be made early on, it will give a good indication of the likelihood of volcanic ash causing a major problem." "The 2010 eruption cost billions in terms of lost revenues and there was an effect on the global economy, so the work we've been able to do to quantify the risk will be of interest to insurance companies trying to make sense of the potential for future air traffic disruptions." ### Further information The research paper, "Estimating the frequency of volcanic ash clouds over northern Europe", is published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters. The work was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and the National Science Foundation in the US. For interviews, please contact the University of Leeds press office via a.martinez@leeds.ac.uk or +44 (0)113 34 34196. Natural Environment Research Council NERC is the UK's main agency for funding and managing research, training and knowledge exchange in the environmental sciences. Our work covers the full range of atmospheric, Earth, biological, terrestrial and aquatic science, from the deep oceans to the upper atmosphere and from the poles to the equator. We co-ordinate some of the world's most exciting research projects, tackling major issues such as climate change, environmental influences on human health, the genetic make-up of life on Earth, and much more. NERC is a non-departmental public body. We receive around 330m of annual funding from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). http://www.nerc.ac.uk University of Leeds The University of Leeds is one of the largest higher education institutions in the UK, with more than 31,000 students from 147 different countries, and a member of the Russell Group research-intensive universities. We are a top 10 university for research and impact power in the UK, according to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, and positioned as one of the top 100 best universities in the world in the 2015 QS World University Rankings. We are The Times and The Sunday Times University of the Year 2017. http://www.leeds.ac.uk Feral cats cover over 99.8% of Australia's land area, including almost 80% of the area of our islands. These are just some of the findings of new research which looks at the number of feral cats in Australia. The research was undertaken by over 40 of Australia's top environmental scientists and brings together evidence from nearly 100 separate studies across the country. "Australia's total feral cat population fluctuates between 2.1 million when times are lean, up to 6.3 million when widespread rain results in plenty of available prey," said Dr Sarah Legge from The University of Queensland. The study also looked at what causes variation in cat densities. Cat densities are higher on islands, especially smaller islands. Inland areas with low rainfall and more open vegetation had higher cat densities than most coastal, wetter areas, but only after extensive rain. In a worrying finding for conservation managers, cat densities were found to be the same both inside and outside conservation reserves, such as National Parks, showing that declaring protected areas alone is not enough to safeguard our native wildlife. "Our study highlights the scale and impacts of feral cats and the urgent need to develop effective control methods, and to target our efforts in areas where that control will produce the biggest gains" says Dr Legge. "At the moment feral cats are undermining the efforts of conservation managers and threatened species recovery teams across Australia. "It is this difficulty which is pushing conservation managers into expensive, last resort conservation options like creating predator free fenced areas and establishing populations on predator-free islands. "These projects are essential for preventing extinctions, but they are not enough - they protect only a tiny fraction of Australia's land area, leaving feral cats to wreak havoc over the remaining 99.8% of the country." The research has been funded by the Australian Government's National Environmental Science Programme and will be important to developing effective strategies for controlling cats and their impacts. "This new science shows that the density of feral cats in Australia is lower than it is in North America and Europe, and yet feral cats have been devastating for our wildlife," said Mr Gregory Andrews, Australia's Threatened Species Commissioner. "Australia is the only continent on Earth other than Antarctica where the animals evolved without cats, which is a reason our wildlife is so vulnerable to them. This reinforces the need to cull feral cats humanely and effectively. "With feral cats having already driven at least 20 Australian mammals to extinction, I'm so glad the Threatened Species Strategy is investing in science like this. "This science reaffirms the importance of the ambitious targets to cull feral cats that I am implementing with the support of Minister Frydenberg under the Threatened Species Strategy," said Mr Andrews. According to Dr Legge, "As well as strategically targeting areas for cat control in bushland to maximise the conservation outcomes, we also need to address the issue of feral cats living in heavily urbanised areas, where their densities can be 30 times greater than in natural environments. "As well as preying on the threatened species that occur in and near urban areas, these urban feral cats may provide a source of feral cats to bushland areas." ### The research was funded by the Threatened Species Recovery Hub of the Australian Government's National Environmental Science Programme. It has been published in the research journal Biological Conservation. In light of the turmoil affecting infant formula company, Bellamys Austraila (which is in voluntary suspension until 13 January), the recently listed Murray River Organicshas tried to alleviate market concerns.Shares in Murray River Organics (which listed on 16 December), were issued at $1.30, but have since fallen to $1.18 at yesterdays close of trade.Murray River Organics Managing Director, Erling Sorensen, says his company is in a very different position to Bellamys in that it doesnt sell directly to customers in China.In fact, Sorensen says China is not a market that they are in any way reliant on, as its sales to China account for less than 2 percent of its total sales.Murray River Organics emphasised that it is focused on mature organic foods markets such as the US, Japan and South Korea, and that it has full control of its supply chain. The Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP from Dresden, together with partners, has succeeded for the first time in producing OLED electrodes from graphene. The electrodes have an area of 2 1 square centimeters. "This was a real breakthrough in research and integration of extremely demanding materials," says FEPs project leader Dr. Beatrice Beyer. The process was developed and optimized in the EU-funded project "Gladiator" (Graphene Layers: Production, Characterization and Integration) together with partners from industry and research. Graphene is considered a new miracle material. The advantages of the carbon compound are impressive: graphene is light, transparent and extremely hard and has more tensile strength than steel. Moreover, it is flexible and extremely conductive for heat or electricity. Graphene consists of a single layer of carbon atoms which are assembled in a kind of honeycomb pattern. It is only 0.3 nanometers thick, which is about one hundred thousandth of a human hair. Graphene has a variety of applications for example, as a touchscreen in smartphones. Chemical reaction of copper, methane and hydrogen The production of the OLED electrodes takes place in a vacuum. In a steel chamber, a wafer plate of high-purity copper is heated to about 800 degrees. The research team then supplies a mixture of methane and hydrogen and initiates a chemical reaction. The methane dissolves in the copper and forms carbon atoms, which spread on the surface. This process only takes a few minutes. After a cooling phase, a carrier polymer is placed on the graphene and the copper plate is etched away. Gladiator project was launched in November 2013. The Fraunhofer team is working on the next steps until the conclusion in April 2017. During the remainder of the project, impurities and defects which occur during the transfer of the wafer-thin graphene to another carrier material are to be minimized. The project is supported by the EU Commission with a total of 12.4 million euros. The Fraunhofer Institutes important industrial partners are the Spanish company Graphenea S.A., which is responsible for the production of the graphene electrodes, as well as the British Aixtron Ltd., which is responsible for the construction of the production CVD reactors. Applications from photovoltaics to medicine "The first products could already be launched in two to three years", says Beyer with confidence. Due to their flexibility, the graphene electrodes are ideal for touch screens. They do not break when the device drops to the ground. Instead of glass, one would use a transparent polymer film. Many other applications are also conceivable: in windows, the transparent graphene could regulate the light transmission or serve as an electrode in polarization filters. Graphene can also be used in photovoltaics, high-tech textiles and even in medicine. Our mobility is currently undergoing rapid change. Trends such as electromobility, autonomous driving, and car sharing are changing how we drive and opening up new markets for the future. Researchers from the New Drive Systems NAS project group at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT have designed a data logger that will make possible a new generation of cars that are tailored to individual drivers requirements and driving behavior. The data logger provides insights into how vehicles are used. Once installed in a car, it records all the relevant operational data from the journeys the car makes over a period of several weeks or months. This helps researchers evaluate in a usage-specific way how a car is used, including characteristics such as route profiles or driving style: when does the driver drive more cautiously, when more aggressively? Analysis allows the researchers to draw a variety of conclusions about how drivers handle their vehicles for instance whether they are using a car that is tailored to their needs. Collecting many such profiles allows us to bracket a large number of users into user groups, and to analyze driving data on a group-by-group basis, says Tobias Burgert, a scientist at Fraunhofer ICT. These profiles can produce typical driving cycles that can be used in the development of new cars, for instance as part of a virtual test drive during vehicle simulations. Numerous application scenarios What makes the data logger exceptional is that it is flexibly configurable; its use is not restricted to cars with a conventional combustion engine. Besides standard powertrain parameters such as engine speed or lambda value (heat conductivity), researchers are also able to collect data from an electric drive, for instance the level of the battery charge. This flexible configurability means the quality of the analyzed signals can be improved. By not recording non-relevant data, the prioritized parameters can be recorded at a higher scanning rate. At the same time, data from an external sensor such as a GPS module, an acceleration sensor or a gyro sensor can be recorded and analyzed in combination with pure vehicle data. The data loggers versatility makes it appealing to partners from industry. In the first collaboration, an international original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is using it at the design stage for hybrid vehicles. Another potential area of application is vehicle fleet management. Analyses allow operators to understand exactly how existing vehicles are deployed and enables them to always allocate the right vehicle to a particular driver. Moreover, use scenarios that include route profiles and their respective energy needs allow operators to judge whether future investment in their fleets should go towards the procurement of vehicles with a combustion engine, or purely electric vehicles, or hybrid vehicles. Affordable and easy to use The technology of the data logger is based on the Raspberry Pi single-board computer in which all the electronic components are housed on a single board, making purchase affordable for prospective customers. Installation and activation are straightforward, and can be done by users themselves. The device reads vehicle data via an OBD-II interface that is already built in to every vehicle. Bluetooth data transfer between the OBD-II interface and the data logger is accomplished by means of an adapter manufactured by PACE Telematics GmbH, a Karlsruhe-based start-up. Farm leaders are demanding stricter rules on the use of drones in the wake of booming Christmas sales and the launch of a government consultation. While on-farm use has many potential benefits and should be protected for professional purposes, the NFU explained farmers and their livestock are particularly vulnerable to the irresponsible use of drones by members of the public. Drone use on farm is multi-dimensional and we will communicate to government the advantages this can have for farmers, said NFU vice-president Guy Smith. See also: 9 tips for flying a drone safely on your farm There are exciting developments in the pipeline, such as crop applications, which could keep British farming at the cutting edge and internationally competitive. However, we are also very aware of instances of irresponsible use of drones by members of the public and have already seen the first instances of sheep worrying by drones. We are calling for government to address this and are hopeful that any legislation will introduce measures to protect farmers and landowners. The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has also called for tighter rules to address concerns over privacy while flying drones over residential properties and private land. The growth in the availability of drones with high-resolution cameras for leisure use, rather than industry, presents a significant risk to privacy and requires action, said CLA president Ross Murray. We need reassurance that drones being flown over private property or land are being done so legally, professionally and safely. We must also address the potential for damage to property and injury to livestock. Consultation The comments follow the launch of government plans to introduce strong safeguards to protect the public. Measures put out for consultation include: Mandatory registration of new drones and a theory test for users Tougher penalties for illegal flying near no-fly zones, such as airports and prisons Making drones electronically identifiable so owners details can be passed to police Aviation minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said: Drones have enormous economic potential and are already being used by emergency services to respond to incidents and save lives. While the vast majority of drone users are law-abiding and have good intentions, some operators are not aware of the rules, or choose to break them, putting public safety, privacy and security at risk. Know the law when it comes to drones Did you get a drone for Christmas? Lots of people did. Here is a quick guide to the current regulations. What are the rules? Within the UK, the use of radio apparatus including drones is regulated to ensure only equipment that is safe and does not cause harmful radio interference is placed on the market. Radio apparatus can only be used under the terms and conditions of an Ofcom licence, but most domestic drones dont need a licence so long as they are CE marked and meet certain requirements. What about first-person view (FPV)? If your drone has a video facility that transmits images from the drone back to the control unit for first-person view (FPV), it will probably use the licence-exempt 5.8GHz band. This allows for a maximum transmit power of 25 milliwatts. What if my drone uses more power or is on a different frequency? Using apparatus that does not meet the conditions of the licence exemption or is not specifically licensed is an offence. Some offences can attract fines of up to 5,000 and/or six months imprisonment. The courts can also confiscate anything used in connection with the offence. How can I tell if my drone is legal? It will have a clear and permanent CE mark, including on the packaging and accompanying documents such as instructions; All the required product/packaging/instructions marking and labelling, and other required information, will also be present and it will have a declaration of conformity (DoC). If you have any concerns about a product, check with the supplier or manufacturer before you fly. Haiti - Politics : My concerns about the future of the country are big dixit Privert Sunday in Gonaives, the de facto President Jocelerme Privert, accompanied by his wife Ginette Michaud Privert, Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles, members of his government, the Presidents of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, attended in the presence of representatives of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps to the traditional TeDeum, consecrating the celebration of the 213 years of the independence of Haiti to the cathedral Saint-Charles-Borromee of Gonaives. In his homily the chief celebrant Mgr. Yves Marie Pean, preached Peace and unity among the Haitians for the good of the country. He took the opportunity to convey his vows of happiness, prosperity and forgiveness to everyone. After the Eucharistic ceremony, the rendezvous has been given on the Place d'Armes of Gonaives where the commemorative celebrations of the 213th Independence Day and New Year's Day were held. In his address to the Nation, Jocelerme Privert, emphasized on the twofold historical significance of the 1 January date, namely the commemoration of the Independence Day and the celebration of the World Day of Peace. In his speech, he saluted the sacrifices made by our ancestors to bequeath this country to us. He preached forgiveness and unity between the daughters and sons of the Fatherland and felt abnormal that for more than two centuries the country has always faced a set of drifts hindering its socio-economic development. Calling everyone for reconciliation, peace and dialogue, Privert believes there is an urgent need for more stability and security in the country to find ways and means to resolve internal conflicts while proposing lasting responses to the problems faced by Haiti. Excerpt from Privert's speech : "[...] Haitian people, [...] Haiti has a historic place in the shared struggle for independence in the Western Hemisphere [...] in spite of the accidents of our history which brought us humiliations [...] the date of 1st January carries for us a particular density of emotions and feelings, through the asperities of the path traveled [...] January 1st find us each year to this pilgrimage to the heart of the spirit in the authentic time of Gonaives the pole of all the patriotic convergences where the ancestors for obvious reasons have chosen to lay the foundation stone of the national edifice [...] For 213 years our country has faced a series of challenges and conflicts which should no longer frighten the descendants [...] of 1804. We are still unable to feed our people, educate our children, provide care health care to our compatriots and to rebuild the infrastructure necessary for the economic development of our country. The night would be long and the day too short for a complete declination of our needs, we have already tried a wide range of forms of government and yet we have tumbled over the decades of the status of Pearl of the Antilles to the shameful label of the poorest country of the Americas. [...] Today I do not intend to give lessons to anyone, on how is the country, we are all responsible, we are obliged to agree, to do our mea culpa so that we move forward . We are all Haitian, we must accept with humility that every Haitian has his contribution to bring for the search for the solution. [...] we must create a better tomorrow for all our children [...] When I got out of prison, I realized that the best way for this country to move forward is to learn how to forgive, to sit with one another [...] today I ask the Haitian people to sit together. Let us analyze, agree on what is good for the country, because 2017 is the year when the country has to take a leadership. [...] For the crisis to end, for the instability to end, we have to be tolerant, we have the ability to listen to the other, to sit together, we can have different positions, but we can find good solutions for the country. [...] I know that it is difficult to forgive but we must remember that without forgiveness there would not have been the Archaie Congress leading to the proclamation of independence. [...] Today we are in a delicate situation, the Fathers of the Nation looks at us, they reproach us, they rebuke us because today, after 213 years of independence we have foreign soldiers on our territory, because the conflicts have reached us and we can not sit together to manage them. This year let's making an effort to put ourselves together to finish once and for all with the presence of foreign soldiers on our territory [...] On the eve of handing over power to an elected President my concerns about the future of the country are big out I know that coming out of the tunnel of poverty and instability is within the reach of citizens who cultivate in the highest degree the love of the common and immortal homeland." Listen the full speech of de facto President Privert : HL/ HaitiLibre Why Is Councilmember Kshama Sawant Siding With The Industrial Elite, ALEC, And The Chambers Of Commerce, In This WAR On INJURED WORKERS In AMERICA Today? WHY? Why Is She Not Shining A Light On This War On Injured Workers? Why Is Councilmember Kshama Sawant Siding With The Industrial Elite, ALEC, And The Chambers Of Commerce, In This WAR On INJURED WORKERS In AMERICA?Fighting for the Grand Bargain and the rights of injured workers.Fonzseau DarrenWhy Is Councilmember Kshama Sawant Siding With The Industrial Elite, ALEC, And The Chambers Of Commerce, In This WAR On INJURED WORKERS In AMERICA Today? WHY? Why Is She Not Shining A Light On This War On Injured Workers? Those who remain silent about this war being waged upon injured workers and our laborers grand bargain, aid in this war upon labor with their arrogant silence.Let me first say, that I love Kshama Sawant, and all she stands for, I just wish she would stand up for injured workers and report to the World and labor, about this war on injured workers. A War that we're having played out on us, across this country, and around the World today. I would like to hear her call for Minimum Federal Standards over our broken State workers compensation systems, so as to fix the inequality's that do exist for many injured workers across our Nation. Single payer health care will be nice one day, but until then, the injured workers need these disparities addressed now, on a Federal level.I would like to know why Councilmember Kshama Sawant and the Socialist Alternative folks are not telling us about this war on labor? They tell me it's because their a small organization, and have a lot of other issues. A WAR ON INJURED WORKERS, Across our Nation, IS NOT WORTH THEIR TIME? Why? It costs them or Kshama Sawant nothing to speak up and out about this war on injured workers. I have been pleading with her and this group for over 3 years now, to please report this war on labor to labor and the World, but they have some reason there not doing it? WHY. IF SHE IS TO BE THE VOICE OF LABOR? WHY IS SHE NOT TELLING LABOR about the WAR ON INJURED WORKERS? It only takes a few words, and a posting here and there. I really want to know why the VOICE OF Labor, chooses not to tell us about this WAR ON INJURED WORKERS IN AMERICA and around the World today?They tell me well she is just a city council women, she really cant address that issue. Yet she can fly to every major city in America, and speak on Democracy NOW, and other news outlets, about every other issue under the sun. Why can't she use her soap box as America's voice of labor, to tell labor and the World about this war on workers comp? That 10 US Senators including Senator Bernie Sanders, the US Labor Department, NPR, and many other main stream media news sources are telling us about.Why is not our VOICE OF LABOR? TELLING US ABOUT THIS? Do the Socialist not care about injured workers?See the WAR on Workers Comp here, that apparently our GREAT Labor leader does not want to talk about. WHY? The War On Workers'CompSee what NPR has to say about it here. The Demolition of Workers CompSee what The Ring Of Fire has to say about this war on injured workers here.Workers are being cheated out of the Grand Bargain that our forefathers fought and died for, Yet our Great Labor leader and the Socialist Alternatives of Seattle folks, don't want to tell labor what's going on. Why? Ought not the Voice Of Labor, be telling labor about the war it's having waged upon it? Should not she be telling the World about this war on injured workers for a few to profit? Workers are being cheated out of the Grand Bargain on the non catastrophic on the job injuries. Our Repetitive stress injuries are no longer being covered, and if they are were having to fight long legal battles to make that happen. In a no fault system where we traded our rights to sue away, so as neither we nor our employers would be put through these long legal battles.Here is a brief history of our GRAND BARGAIN that has been TAKE AWAY, that the GREAT VOICE OF LABOR seems to not want to tell us about. WHY? Is she really there for Labor, all of labor, even the injured workers? OR does she arrogantly ignore the war being waged upon us and our Grand Bargain?Injured workers are having this war declared upon us through our State workers comp systems and the private equity hedge funds, with their private IME Dr. mills, rendering biased and wrongful opinions in our care to deny care and services. Omitting the objective medical evidence and intently violating State wc laws, knowing that their victims will take years to get justice, and that the perpetrators themselves will never be held accountable, for the harm they are intently are doing to patients, for profit. Dr.s who have a duty to do no harm, harming intently for the bottom line of the State, and insurance carriers.Here is one of many claims that prove this. State by State this is happening to injured workers and why we need Federal oversight, where our State work comp and med tort laws have been bought out by industry. Why is our Voice of Labor not telling us about this abuse to patients and labor?Injured workers are being made worse by the industry's deny, delay, and defend, cost containment strategies. Then no one being held to account when more harm to the injured workers is done, by this strategy. We're being injured on the job, then having even more injuries add to our original injuries with this broken system. See one WA Corrections Officers story here. and know, that his story is not unique. Corrections officer faces recovery roadblocks after inmate attackWe have injured workers committing suicides from coast to coast and worse over this abuse in our care. Yet our Great Voice of Labor, remains silent about the abuse. Why?Our Great Labor leader say's she cares about the homeless, yet wont tell us how workers comp insures are creating a large part of the homelessness we have going on.Injured workers are being cheated out of the grand bargain right here in her own back yard, yet she does not say a word to labor about this abuse going on. WHY?Corporations forcing workers to work in unsafe working conditions, then not wanting to take care of us once were injured.Why is our labor leader not speaking up and out about this abuse, and for the need of Federal Intervention over State and Federal work comp systems?Injured workers are America's largest minority group, yet even our GREAT LABOR LEADER shuns us and our plight. WHY?All this harm being done to injured workers, for a few private equity hedge funds, and IME company's to profit off all the abuse. While small employers and injured workers are getting fleeced out of the goods n services paid for through premiums, and our grand bargain. See Private Equity Firms Profiting Off The Misery Of Injured WorkersWhy is our Great Labor Leader, not telling us about this war on injured workers? Does she think just like many of the Corporate Democrats do, that all this abuse needs to go on so all those good jobs will just trickle down to us? Is this why she ignores the WAR ON INJURED WORKERS? See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ7E4XicFaI Our great labor leader say's she fights against inequality. Yet even when our own US Labor Department is telling us workers comp is leading to inequality. She still remains silent about the war and the abuse being waged upon injured laborers for a few elites to profit. See Adding Inequality To Injury OHSAWorkers Comp lawyers across the country are telling us the workers comp systems are broken and one sided. YET our Labor Leader does not say a word. WHY?Workers Compensation Judges across the country are telling us its a class war being waged by the industrial elite unto labor. Yet NOT A WORD from our Great Labor Leader. WHY? See what the judges are saying here. Here Comes The Judge!Fire fighters, police, and nurse's, along with all the other professions, are being harmed by this abuse in our care and theft of our Grand Bargain. Yet our leader is saying and doing nothing about it. WHY? See No Back Up: Injured first responders say Workers Compensation failed themWhere is our Labor Leaders Voice, while she has the National spot light and a soap box to preach from? Why is she only able to preach about the need for a Federal Minimum Wage, but not about the need for Federal Minimum Standers into our broken workers comp systems? Injured workers have a petition out, where over 5000 injured workers across this country are begging for some Federal oversight, and for our Leaders to speak up and out about this abuse. Not for folks who claim to be for labor, for the sick, for the poor, to be turning their blind arrogant eyes away, as this WAR is WAGED UPON INJURED WORKERS and our GRAND BARGAIN.We can not have a conversation in this country about ineqaultiy and not talk about our broken State workers compensation systems. Why is she not telling us about this gender bias in our workers comp systems? It's not just in CA but every State.Why Is Councilmember Kshama Sawant Siding With The Industrial Elite, ALEC, And The Chambers Of Commerce, In This WAR On INJURED WORKERS In AMERICA Today? WHY? Why Is She Not Shining A Light On This War On Injured Workers?I really would like to know? Why she and many corporate Democrats, who claim to be for labor, and the poor, and infirm, are not all telling us about this war being waged upon injured workers? For a few industrial elites and their friends to profit off the abuse to patients and injured workers harmed on or by our jobs. Just asking. The survey showed that three-quarters of citizens believe that internet service providers such as Google and Facebook should not have the right to prevent access to their services if users refuse to store identifiers, such as cookies, on their equipment. There has been a wide practice of locating cookies which track computer users preferences and activities, without their consent or knowledge. Popular browsers like Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer placed them anonymously for years without alerting users. More recent practices, to put the onus on users to opt out, are equally invasive of privacy and data protection. However, three-quarters of industry, on the other hand, disagree. Online advertisers, in particular, say the proposals would upset the entire business model of the internet. The commission when it launched its Digital Single Market Strategy two years ago, which included the adoption of the general data protection regulation, was aware there was a danger the privacy of internet users could be abused. It led to an e-privacy directive review, which was aimed at reinforcing trust and security in digital services in the EU. The focus was on ensuring a high level of protection for citizens and a level playing field for all market players. Based on the consultation across EU states, the commission is now ready to issue a new legislative proposal on e-privacy. Without prejudice to the outcome of the evaluation, several policy issues have already emerged as key issues to be addressed in the review of the e-privacy directive. These include the need for new privacy rules on how internet platforms such as Google, Facebook and its WhatsApp subsidiary, and Microsoft and its Skype subsidiary track people online and then offer to target advertising to businesses. New rules are expected that will compel website and browser owners to gain the assent of users before bombarding them with advertising based on the profiles they have built up of these users. The commission is also probing the revenue that these internet platform owners derive from selling citizens profiles to companies who wish to sell goods and services, both online and in the high street. The commission is understood to be planning to introduce penalties for any breaches of the new e-privacy rules, including fines of 4% to 10% of the advertisers revenue. The move is considered by industry insiders as part of a wider attempt by Brussels to rein in big Silicon Valley corporations and their tax avoidance practices in Europe. It has already launched antitrust probes into Google and has, of course, ordered the Irish Government to collect 13bn in back taxes from Apple. In Googles case, any fine could cost up to 6bn on current market sales and 2bn for Facebook. It may mean heftier fines if the commission were to push for a multi-year settlement, as it has done in the Apple case. While Google still controls about a third of the roughly $187bn (177.6bn) worldwide digital advertising market, Facebooks market share has risen rapidly in recent years, to 12%, according to global research firm e-Marketer. More than half of Googles searches now come on mobile devices, and some analysts estimate more than half of its revenue comes from mobile. Advertisers spending on mobile search ads increased by over 50% in 2015, while overall search ad spending rose just 10%. Google also pays Apple to make Google the default search engine on iPhones, which gives it top billing on more than 1bn devices. The commissions anti-trust probe clearly has this cosy arrangement in its sights. Google said it is now reaping the rewards from the shift to mobile because companies are increasingly willing to advertise on smartphones. That is in part because Google is adding new mobile ad formats and is better measuring the efficacy of such ads, including tracking users locations to see if they visit a physical store after seeing an ad for the store on their phones. However, the drive to improve the privacy rights of citizens is not welcome news to the many businesses that have come to rely on internet advertising to drive customers to buy their products. The internet has become an essential component of international business facilitating communication across the globe between advertisers, sellers, and customers. More specifically, websites have become customers first port of call for seeking information and eventually purchasing goods or services, whether online or offline. Consequently, businesses are increasing their presence on the internet and improving their advertising practices so that current and prospective customers receive ads with content that is relevant and meaningful to them. Separately, the commissions statistics office Euro-stat release showed that most EU businesses have a website and one out of four used internet advertising in 2016. In Ireland and across the EU companies have been lobbying for continued ease of access and use of citizens data. As can be expected, companies who run their marketing campaigns on the internet use targeted advertisement methods that increase the likelihood of their promotional marketing messages reaching the right audience. They want to see continued and untethered use of internet advertising. Interestingly, the survey showed that internet advertising was not only used by companies that sell to consumers online. In fact, it is mostly used by companies selling offline. Businesses liked targeted internet advertising to use information from the content of the web pages viewed by internet users. Other than Airbnb, more than half of EU businesses providing accommodation services used internet ads. Contextual advertising was the most common form of internet advertising which was based on information about users past browsing activities recorded by cookies. The digital trace of users activities on the internet over time is an important source of information on interests, preferences, and shopping activities. Businesses use this information to determine whether an internet user belongs to a specific target audience, subsequently sending internet ads matching the users profile. Browsers providing geolocation services are pushing the envelope further, essentially attempting to locate users IP address, wifi, or network location. Internet users geographic location such as the country, region, city, and often zip code provide useful information for targeting suitable advertisements, for example about restaurants nearby. The use of geo-targeting advertising can be combined with using contextual advertising or behavioural targeting to further identify needs of a potential customer. Some three-quarters of EU businesses advertising on the internet used information from the content of internet surfers web pages or keywords from their queries to identify the audience accurately before sending relevant ads, according to the EU research. The Eurostat release also showed businesses in Ireland are top of the league in using (at two-thirds of all businesses) social media to reach customers. This is well above the EU average of 45%, and seems to indicate an early willingness to use social media to build their image and that of their products among the younger end of the consumer market. Ireland also features in the top echelon, with a third of companies using the internet for advertising of their products and services. Any attempts by the commission to rein in the expansion of US technology corporations is likely to further trouble the administration of president-elect Donald Trump. He had told executives from Silicon Valleys most prominent companies that he was here to help you folks do well. Opening his first meeting with the technology industry at Trump Tower in New York last month, Mr Trump told the heads of companies including Apple, Google, and Amazon he stood ready to do anything we can to help them, despite potential divisions with Silicon Valley over issues including encryption, imports, and immigration. He went on to say: We are going to make it a lot easier for you to trade across borders. There is no question that businesses in Europe and the US will agree with this sentiment. However, there is the question of the location where the super profits of the digital world should be declared. There is an urgent need to ensure that citizens privacy is protected in legislation. The digital field may be the first battleground for the trade wars Mr Trump had threatened during his election campaign. John Whelan is a leading consultant on Irish international trade in goods and services. The campaign, which is targeted at cities which have good access to the region, has been launched in conjunction with the five local authorities in the tourism area. It urges prospective visitors to embrace the Wild Atlantic Way of Life and runs across different mediums. This will include a combination of Out of Home advertising in prime commuter and shopping locations in key urban centres which have direct access into the region, said a Failte Ireland spokeswoman. This will be supported by a month-long radio partnership with the Bill Turnbull Show on Classic FM and a digital search engine optimisation campaign. Additionally, local taxis will be wrapped in high impact Wild Atlantic Way imagery in a number of the cities including Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Manchester. This campaign allows us to raise international awareness of the route as a must- see visitor experience in key strategic locations which offer ease of access and great potential for the short break market, said Fiona Monaghan, Failte Irelands head of the Wild Atlantic Way. The ease of access will be the key message and, in promoting the call of the Wild Atlantic Way in the Spring, we will be emphasising the short flight durations from the targeted cities to get our message across. Meanwhile, tourism chiefs are planning to cash in on an EastEnders spin-off that was filmed in Ireland. Redwater, which centres on Albert Square favourites Kat and Alfie Moon, was shot in Dunmore East in Co Waterford when the country was bathed in weeks of near unbroken sunshine last June. The agencys half a million social media followers over the Irish Sea will also be targeted as the six-part series shows the sunny southeast living up to its name. Its another great way to highlight the beautiful scenery of Ireland to millions of people across Britain, inspiring them to put Ireland on their holiday wish list for 2017, a spokeswoman for Tourism Ireland said. BBC Ones Redwater tells the story of Kat and Alfie, played by soap stars Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie, after they arrive in the tiny fictional seaside village in Ireland to search for Kats long lost son. It is due to air in the spring. While the producers have remained tight-lipped over the storyline, it is billed as a quest for truth that the locals would rather remained buried. Danish director Jesper Nielsen, whose credits include Borgen, is directing while the series was written by former EastEnders boss Dominic Treadwell-Collins. Redwater also stars homegrown stars such as Maria Doyle Kennedy, Fionnula Flanagan, Ian McElhinney, Angeline Ball, Peter Campion, and Stanley Townsend. And the producers are understood to be conscious not to portray Ireland as a backwater, after a mistake almost 20 years ago on one of the few occasions when EastEnders was taken out of Albert Square. Three episodes were based here in 1997 and led to hundreds of complaints and a near diplomatic fallout over images of wild animals on the streets and drunk and disorderly behaviour. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 3, 2017 /CNW/ -- Tahoe Resources Inc. ("Tahoe" or the "Company") (TSX: THO; NYSE: TAHO) is pleased to announce the appointment of Chuck Jeannes to the Company's Board of Directors effective January 1, 2017. Mr. Jeannes brings to Tahoe over 30 years of mining industry experience. Most recently, he served as President and CEO of Goldcorp Inc., leading the Company's development into one of the world's largest and most successful gold mining companies. Before assuming that role, he served as Goldcorp's Executive Vice-President, Corporate Development. Mr. Jeannes joined Goldcorp in November 2006 following the Company's merger with Glamis Gold Ltd., where he held a number of senior positions and played a key role in acquiring, financing and developing the Marlin, El Sauzal and Penasquito mines. Prior to joining Glamis, he served as Vice President of Placer Dome Inc. and also practiced law for 11 years, specializing in mining transactions. Mr. Jeannes holds a B.A. degree from the University of Nevada (1980) and graduated from the University of Arizona College of Law with honors in 1983. Kevin McArthur, Tahoe's Executive Chair, commented: "We are delighted to welcome Chuck Jeannes to Tahoe's Board. We have worked with Chuck extensively in the past and have the greatest respect for his abilities and experience in building successful, large-scale mining companies. He brings to our Board a tremendous combination of business expertise and technical knowledge. His contribution will prove very beneficial as Tahoe moves forward with its plans to significantly grow gold production in Canada and Peru, while continuing to operate one of the world's largest and lowest-cost silver mines in Guatemala." About Tahoe Resources Tahoe's strategy is to responsibly operate precious metals mines, to pay significant shareholder dividends and to grow by developing long-term, low-cost assets in the Americas. Tahoe is a member of the S&P/TSX Composite and TSX Global Mining indices and the GDX and Russell 3000 on the NYSE. The Company is listed on the TSX as THO and on the NYSE as TAHO. Source: Tahoe Resources VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - January 03, 2017) - Wolf Wiese, CEO of Golden Dawn Minerals Inc., (TSX VENTURE: GOM) (FRANKFURT: 3G8A) (the "Company" or "Golden Dawn") announces the execution of the Metal Purchase Agreement with RIVI CAPITAL LLC (RIVI) as published in a News Release dated September 28, 2016. The Company will receive US $ 4,000,000 or approximately CDN $ 5,200,000. US $ 3,000,000 has been paid into escrow with release to the Company upon transfer of security, consisting of the Greenwood Mill, Lexington Mine and Golden Crown Mine. The remaining CDN $ 1,300,000 will be paid no later than Feb. 21st. 2017. The Company is obligated to deliver 13.5% of the gold production limited to the Lexington and Golden Crown Mines for US $ 400 per ounce to a total of 15,000 oz. Post-delivery of 15,000 oz at US $ 400 per oz, the percentage of production from the Lexington and Golden Crown Mines to be delivered to RIVI will be reduced to 6.75%, and the price per oz. of gold paid by RIVI to the company will increase to US $ 650 per oz. The funds advanced by RIVI will be utilized to repay a bridge loan, working capital and complete the acquisition of New Nadina's subsidiary Kettle River Resources Ltd. The Company is evaluating an extensive library assembled by Kettle River dating back to the beginning of the Greenwood Mining District in the late 19th Century. This property consists of approximately 12,000 ha. of mostly contiguous land covering 70 showings including 30 historic mines. The Company is compiling a National Instrument 43-101 report on this package, based on a review of the invaluable data gleaned from the Kettle River library. This N.I. 43-101 report is expected to be completed by the 3rd. week of Jan. 2017. The Company will resume underground diamond drilling by Jan. 19th, 2017 at the 100% owned May-Mac Mine. Concurrently, a Notice of Work (Permit Application) has been submitted Nov. 19th, 2016, to extend the 7 Level drift to the northwest beyond its termination to access intercepts obtained from the recent surface and underground drilling on the Skomac multiple vein system. Upon permit receipt, a bulk sample of up to 10,000 tonnes will be extracted from the adit and mineralized zones above the #7 Adit. This bulk sample will be processed in the Company's Greenwood Mill, 15 km southeast of the May Mac Mine. In addition, a mining plan is being submitted upon completion to reopen the Lexington Mine. Following receipt of a Dewatering Permit and the dewatering process, the Company will commence production from the Lexington Mine based on the current Measured and Indicated Resource of 372,000 tonnes grading 6.47 g/t gold and 1.05 % Cu (8.05 g/t Au equivalent). A Notice of Work Application has been submitted for a substantial surface diamond drilling program on the Golden Crown Mine property to upgrade the current Indicated Resource of 163,000 tonnes grading 11.09 g/t gold, 0.56% Cu (11.93 g/t Au equivalent), and Inferred Resource of 42,000 tonnes grading 9.04 g/t Au and 0.43% Cu (9.68 g/t Au equivalent). Technical disclosure in this news release has been approved by Dr. Mathew Ball, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, and Chief Operating Officer of the Company. For more details, please see the National Instrument 43-101 Technical Reports on the Company's website at www.goldendawnminerals.com THUNDER BAY, ON, Jan. 3, 2017 /CNW/ - Wolfden Resources Corporation (WLF:TSX-V) ("Wolfden" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Orvan Brook property (the "Property"), containing the Orvan Brook Cu-Pb-Zn-Ag-Au massive sulphide deposit. The 100%-owned Property (12 claim units comprising 261 hectares) acquired by claim staking, is located in the prolific Bathurst Mining Camp, approximately 35 kilometres west of the City of Bathurst and 16 kilometres northeast of Trevali Mining Corporation's Caribou mine and milling facility. Orvan Brook Deposit At Orvan Brook, the massive sulphide horizon has been traced for more than 2.3 kilometres along strike and has been drilled to a maximum depth of 500 metres below surface. Parts of the deposit have only been drilled to maximum depths of less than 200 metres below surface. The massive sulphide body occurs as a single lens that ranges from 0.5 to 5.5 metres in thickness and is open to depth and along strike. The most recent drilling at Orvan Brook (Noranda Mining and Exploration Inc. in 1995), returned intercepts including 0.44% Cu, 2.31% Pb, 7.37% Zn & 89.20 g/t Ag over 5.62 metres and 0.28% Cu, 2.85% Pb, 8.16% Zn & 82.9 g/t Ag over 5.47 metres, indicating the presence of thicker sections of massive sulphide at depth (below 400 metres from surface). The deposit contains a historic resource of 2.69 MT grading 0.37% Cu, 1.73% Pb, 5.95% Zn, 72.0 gpt Ag & 0.9 gpt Au1. The Orvan Brook deposit is hosted in sedimentary rocks overlying felsic volcanic rocks, a stratigraphic position known to host some of the larger base-metal deposits in the Bathurst Mining Camp, including Trevali's Caribou deposit (Measured & Indicated Resource of 7.23 MT at 0.43% Cu, 2.93% Pb, 6.99% Zn, 84.4 gpt Ag & 0.89 gpt Au, Inferred Resource of 3.66 MT at 0.32% Cu, 2.81% Pb, 6.95% Zn, 87.3 gpt Ag & 1.23 gpt Au2). The Company is preparing updated longitudinal sections of the Orvan Brook deposit, in preparation for an initial diamond drilling program anticipated to commence in the winter of 2017. The addition of the Orvan Brook property to the Company's existing Tetagouche property package, bolsters Wolfden's dominant land position in the Bathurst Mining to over 24,000 hectares. About Wolfden Resources Wolfden is a mineral exploration company exploring the Rice Island and Nickel Island properties in Manitoba. Manitoba is ranked #6 in Canada and #19 in the world as the most favorable jurisdiction to conduct mining and exploration (Fraser Institute (2015-2016). The Company also holds a dominant, 24,000 hectare land position in the heart of the Bathurst Mining Camp in New Brunswick. Note 1: The Orvan Brook deposit is a historic estimate that is not compliant with National Instrument 43-101 and cannot be relied upon for valuation purposes. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the above historic estimate as current mineral resources and accordingly, the Company is not treating the historic estimate as current mineral resources Note 2: Resources figures obtained from the Trevali Mining Corporation website Source: Wolfeden Resources TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jan. 3, 2017) - Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. ("KL Gold" or the "Company") (TSX:KL), is pleased to announce following the completion of the merger with Newmarket Gold Inc, additions to the Company's management team that will enable KL Gold to optimize the performance of its portfolio of gold mines in Canada and Australia. The new management team brings a wealth of expertise that will be vital in positioning KL Gold as the preferred investment among mid-tier gold producers. The Kirkland Lake Gold Executive Management Team lead by Anthony Makuch, President and Chief Executive Officer is comprised of Darren Hall, Chief Operating Officer, Phil Yee, Chief Financial Officer and Alasdair Federico, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and CSR. In addition, the Company is pleased to announce the appointment of John Landmark, as Vice President, Exploration, Australia, Jason Gregg as Vice President, Human Resources, Ryan King as Vice President, Investor Relations and Galina Meleger as Director, Corporate Communications, to complement the existing management team of KL Gold. The complete list of the Company's management team can be found on our website at www.klgold.com. The new amalgamated company website is expected to be launched in January 2017. Tony Makuch, President and CEO of the Company stated: "I am confident that the recent appointments will broaden and strengthen our management team. The expertise of our combined team is committed to value creation for our shareholders through responsible profitable production, operational excellence and growth through exploration and development. The new management appointments bring a significant amount of intellectual capital and will be key members of the new Company as we grow our strong foundation of quality gold production. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to welcome each of them to the Management Team of KL Gold." New Executive Appointments Darren Hall has a proven track record of increasing production, reducing operating costs, improving capital effectiveness and promoting health, safety and business excellence while maintaining a strong team working environment. Darren has over 30 years of experience in the mining industry and has proven to be a successful and trusted leader through his operational accomplishments. As COO, Darren brings a strong reputation for managing large workforces and multiple underground and open pit gold mines in a variety of jurisdictions. Darren joined Newmarket Gold in 2015 and was responsible for maintaining a strong foundation of quality gold production, yielding record operational results. Prior to joining Newmarket Gold, Darren worked for Newmont Mining Corporation where he held roles of increasing responsibility throughout the organization for almost 30 years. Under his leadership as Group Executive Operations for Newmont Asia Pacific, Darren managed a team of 14,000 employees producing 1.8 million ounces of gold annually from six operating mines across three countries. He also worked with Newmont in Peru, Indonesia and the United States and in Australia as General Manager of the Boddington Gold Mine where he led a team of 1,800 employees producing 750,000 ounces of gold annually. Darren graduated with a Bachelor of Mining Engineering (Hons) from the Western Australia School of Mines in Kalgoorlie. Alasdair Federico is an experienced lawyer and business executive with over a decade of experience in corporate strategy and governance, including managing negotiations and relationships with investors, business partners, and other stakeholders. Prior to joining the Company, Alasdair was Vice-President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Lake Shore Gold Inc., from 2008 until its acquisition by Tahoe Resources in April 2016. Prior to joining Lake Shore Gold, Alasdair worked for a prominent Canadian law firm in Toronto. Alasdair holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Ontario. New Management Appointments John Landmark's international career spans a diverse range of executive leadership, technical and advisory roles in exploration, mining operations, human resources, and safety risk management. John brings over 30 years of international mineral exploration and mining industry experience. John joined Newmarket Gold in 2016 and led the company's exploration activities while being the Group functional head for Geology. Prior to joining Newmarket Gold, John was a Regional Head of Exploration for Anglo American plc, where he managed exploration programs for copper-gold, iron ore and coal in Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Mongolia. Prior to this role, John led Anglo American's exploration activities in Brazil. His exploration and mining geology career started out in South Africa and Namibia, and he then moved on to Australia. John holds a Master of Science in Exploration and Mining Geology from James Cook University in Australia and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Geology from Wits University in South Africa. Jason Gregg is an experienced senior human resources executive, renowned for the ability to connect top quartile people practices to the financial bottom line of the organization. Jason has over 20 years of experience as a human resource professional and successfully integrated Newmarket and Crocodile Gold into a single highly functioning organization as the VP of Human Resources & Environment. Before joining Newmarket Gold, Jason provided HR consulting services to various mining organizations as well as other industries including forestry and technology. Prior to developing his consulting practice, Jason worked as a Human Resources executive in the mining industry with Farallon Mining and Nyrstar. Jason has also held senior level human resource roles with HDI, International Forest Products, Canadian Forest Products, and Teck. Jason holds a Masters of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. Ryan King brings an established approach to investor relations, with specific and targeted applications for delivering shareholder value in the mining industry. Ryan has over 13 years of experience in increasingly senior capacities in capital markets in the resource sector and was responsible for leading the investor relations activities for Newmarket Gold, as the company attained significant growth and completed a transformational merger with Kirkland Lake Gold. Before joining Newmarket Gold, Ryan was involved in the acquisition of Terrane Metals in 2010 by Thompson Creek for $800 million. During his career, Ryan has assisted in raising $250 million for previous companies. Ryan holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Royal Roads University in British Columbia, Canada. Galina Meleger has worked in the resource sector as a communications professional for ten years and was previously responsible for leading corporate communications initiatives at Newmarket Gold. Prior to that, Galina worked for KGHM, a Polish based mining company, responsible for internal and external communications for the North & South American division of KGHM. In 2010, Galina worked for Copper Mountain Mining Corporation, a Canadian based mining company, as a Corporate Communications & Investor Relations Manager, supporting external communications, investor relations and media initiatives for the company. Galina studied at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), completing a Business Diploma in Financial Management. About Kirkland Lake Gold Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd., is a new mid-tier gold producer targeting +500,000 ounces in Tier 1 mining jurisdictions of Canada and Australia. The production profile of the company is anchored from three high grade, low-cost operations including the Macassa Mine Complex and the Taylor Mine located in northeastern Ontario and the Fosterville Gold Mine located in the state of Victoria, Australia. Kirkland's solid base of quality assets is complemented by development and district scale exploration projects, supported by a strong financial positon with extensive management and operational expertise. Source: Kirkland Lake Gold TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - January 03, 2017) - Continental Gold Inc. (TSX: CNL) (OTCQX: CGOOF) ("Continental" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. James (Jim) Gallagher to its Board of Directors. Mr. Gallagher, a Professional Mining Engineer, is President and Chief Executive Officer of North American Palladium Limited ("NAP"). He is a seasoned mining executive with over 30 years of progressive leadership experience in a series of roles spanning operations, projects, engineering, technology and consulting, including 24 years at Falconbridge Limited in a variety of operational and project management roles. Prior to joining NAP, Mr. Gallagher served as Global Director of Mining at Hatch Ltd., leading one of the largest mining EPCM teams in North America. Over his career, he has benchmarked mining and tunnelling operations on a global basis and has expertise in rapid development methodologies, mining methods, deep mining and the practical application of technology. Mr. Gallagher holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Laurentian University in Sudbury, Canada. Leon Teicher, Chairman of the Company, stated: "We are pleased to welcome Jim to the Continental Board of Directors. His extensive experience in operations, technical services and project development, and specific underground experience, will greatly add to our Board's capabilities as we work towards construction and operation of a large, competitive underground gold mine adhering to strict international standards at Buritica." "I am very pleased to be joining the Continental Board as the Company enters the next exciting phase of its growth, with the pending development and operation of the Buritica mine," commented James Gallagher. "I look forward to contributing my expertise and experience to help the management team execute a successful project." About Continental Gold Continental Gold Inc. is an advanced-stage exploration and development company with an extensive portfolio of 100%-owned gold projects in Colombia. Formed in April 2007, the Company-led by an international management team with a successful track record of discovering and developing large high-grade gold deposits in Latin America-is focused on advancing its high-grade Buritica gold project to production. Maputo (AFP) - Mozambican rebel leader Afonso Dhlakama announced Tuesday a two-month ceasefire in the rumbling conflict between Renamo and the government, extending a week-long truce that was welcomed by the president. Worsening clashes between the Frelimo government and Renamo, an armed insurgent group and also an elected opposition party, have revived the spectre of Mozambique's civil war that ended more than 20 years ago. "There have been some minor incidents, but the seven-day truce went well, so I announce the extension of the truce for 60 days, until March 4," Dhlakama said in a telephone press conference. "The truce is intended to build an atmosphere conducive to advancing talks in Maputo in peace and tranquility for both sides." Dhlakama, who lives in hiding in the Gorongosa mountains in central Mozambique, said Renamo forces would not attack government troops or positions. Last year saw a sharp escalation in violence, and more than 15,000 people have been forced to flee to government-run camps, relatives' homes or across the border to Malawi and Zimbabwe. The unexpected truce announcement came after tentative moves towards a peace process were suspended indefinitely last year due to setbacks including the killing of a Renamo negotiator. Authorities say 3,100 people now live in government camps after fleeing the conflict President Filipe Nyusi said on Monday the truce was "productive", according to local television reports. Trust "is being created," he said, adding that government forces did not launch offensive attacks on Renamo. Thousands displaced The fighting has often focused on Mozambique's main roads, with Renamo attacking government convoys and civilian vehicles, and soldiers accused of ruthlessly targeting suspected rebels in nearby villagers. Many displaced people say that government soldiers often treat local villagers in the central region as rebel sympathisers. The death toll is unknown but scores of people are reported to have been killed in 2016, with both the Frelimo and Renamo parties also suffering assassinations of local politicians. Despite the truce, one Renamo official was gunned down outside his house last week. The fighting has often focused on Mozambique's main roads, with Renamo attacking government convoys and civilian vehicles, and soldiers accused of ruthlessly targeting suspected rebels in nearby villagers Mozambique is still recovering from its bloody 1976-1992 civil war when one million people died during years of sporadic fighting between Frelimo and Renamo. But tensions have returned since 2013, and Renamo fighters again took up arms against Frelimo, accusing the ruling party of enriching itself at the expense of the southern African country. Authorities say 3,100 people now live in government camps after fleeing the conflict, and several thousand more people have escaped the conflict zone to stay with relatives elsewhere. The UN refugee agency says 8,600 people have been forced into neighbouring Malawi and Zimbabwe. Future peace talks could be held under international mediation coordinated by the European Union. Accra & Takoradi, 2nd January, 2017: Santa-Kobby Kids Charity Foundation, a non-profit making organisation in Ghana has fed and distributed goodies to over 2000 children in the Greater-Accra and Western Regions during the Christmas festivities. The gesture forms part of the Foundations annual programme with the aim of putting smiles on the faces of children especially the under privileged in society through the act of giving. This years event dubbed Dance with Santa 2016 Amplified brought together about 20 volunteers who participated in the fundraising, shopping, packaging of gifts etc. The event was an occasion for the children to have an encounter with Santa-Kobby through dancing, photo-shoot, eating from the same plate, face painting, karaoke amidst the distribution of the Santa- hats, toys and other Christmas paraphernalia. The communities visited were Oblogo in the Greater-Accra Region, Abura, Nsuaem and Egyaam Childrens Home in the Western Region. In all these communities, the Santa-Kobby team distributed biscuits, toffees, drinks, Santa-hats, toys and food items to the children. The children also participated in face-painting, musical chairs, bouncy castle games and many more. The Chief and people of these communities could not hide their excitement and commended the foundation for remembering them on this special occasion. At Egyaam Childrens Home, food items, used clothing, shoes, bags, teddy bears and toys were presented to the inmates of the home. Presenting the items to the Childrens Home, Mr. Kobina Kum, the Founder and Executive Director of Santa-Kobby Kids Charity Foundation who also doubles as Santa-Kobby said Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Christ and showing love to people. It is against this background that Santa-Kobby Kids Charity Foundation during Christmas visits rural communities to show love to children especially those in need, he said. He also thanked all friends, lovers, fans and well-wishers of Santa-Kobby Kids Charity Foundation for their immense contribution in cash and in kind towards the success of this years programme. On behalf of the Director, Staff and children of Egyaam Childrens Home, Ms. Victoria Segoe, the Officer In-Charge at the time of the visit in appreciation of the gesture asked for Gods blessings, protection and guidance for the team and like Oliver Twist, asked for more of such visits from time to time. Santa-Kobby Kids Charity Foundation was established in 2015 with the aim of touching the lives of children in need and putting smiles on their faces. Bawku (U/E), Jan. 2, GNA - Mr Albert Abongo, Regional Minister for the Upper East, commended the chiefs and people of Bawku for their peaceful conduct during the general elections. He said Bawku was noted for its business activities and urged the people to maintain the peace to ensure the development of the society. Mr Abongo said this when he addressed the chiefs and people of the Bawku Traditional Area during the 29th annual Samanpiid festival at Bawku. The event was held under the theme: 'Promoting peace building for unity and the development of Bawku'. Mr Abongo said the area was endowed with various tourist attractions including the Naa Gbewaa Shrine, the Kulungugu Bomb site (there was a bomb attempt on the life of the first President of Ghana, Dr Kwame Nkrumah), the Boko Crocodile Pond, and the Wiidi Ecotourism sites. He said even though he would be living office soon, he would continue to seek for support to help develop the Bawku area. Mr Mahama Ayariga, the outgoing Minister for Environment and Member of Parliament for the Bawku Central Constituency, called on the people to unite behind him to bring the needed development to the area. Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, the Paramount Chief of the Bawku Traditional Area, said there is the need for peaceful coexistence in the area as this would bring about unity for the development of the area. He said the existence of several political parties was not meant to divide and destroy the people, but was only to provide a platform for discernment and choices towards the development of the area. He reiterated his call on the government elect to fulfill its promise by continuing work on the Bawku-Bolgatanga road to boost agricultural activities. GNA By Jerry Azanduna, GNA Bolgatanga, Jan. 2, GNA - A Disaster Risk Management Project, initiated by the Water Resources Commission (WRC) and its partners in some disaster prone districts in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions are yielding positive results. The project, which was funded by the World Bank, was conducted by the WRC and partners including the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMET) to develop the flood risk maps for the beneficiary districts. Apart from developing flood risk maps, the project also documented the genesis of floods and made proposals to reduce the impact of floods in the flood prone areas in the three regions in northern Ghana. Sharing their respective testimonies about the impact of the project at the final workshop and Steering Committee Meetings on 'the Disaster Risk Management Project', held in Bolgatanga, the stakeholders including officials of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), district assemblies, and the WRC, said the development of the flood risk maps had contributed significantly to disaster management in their respective areas. Mr Alfred Sawuug, the Upper East Regional Coordinator of NADMO, said the intervention came at the right time and supported the efforts of the NADMO to team up with traditional rulers to organize durbars to sensitize communities that were living and farming close to water bodies on the need to move upstream. He said the development of the flood risk maps has not only helped them to undertake proper development planning, but has also helped them in educating landowners and developers on areas to develop to avoid disasters. Mr Ben Ampomah, the Executive Secretary of the WRC, urged the stakeholders to help sustain the project to mitigate the perennial floods which has led to the destruction of properties and the loss of human lives. He said one of the areas the project has helped to address was the weakness of disaster institutions in the management of disaster. Mr Ampomah said the purpose of the stakeholders' meeting was to share experiences about the project and to plan towards its sustainability. Captain Stephen Komla, the Director General of the GMET, who blamed most of the floods in the three regions in the north to the silting of rivers, streams and dams, called on the assemblies to begin working to address such problems. The eleven districts that received the maps include Talensi, Nabdam, Bawku West, and the Kassena-Nankana Municipal all in the Upper East Region, the Sesila East in the Upper West Region. The others are the Central Gonja, Kumbungu, Savelugu-Nantong, West Mamprusi, Mamprugu Maudori, also in the Northern Region. GNA By Samuel Akapule, GNA Tarkwa (W/R), Jan. 2, GNA - Sametro group of companies together with MTN, a telecommunication company, presented items valued at GH20,000.00 to 105 widows in Tarkwa Nsueam and Prestea Huni/Valley constituencies in the Western Region. The items presented to the beneficiaries in Tarkwa include MTN recharge cards, bags of rice and gallons of cooking oil. Mr John Armstrong Asabil Etroo, Chief Executive Officer of Sametro, said the annual event was aimed at demonstrating their love and giving gifts to the widows in the New Year. He pledged the company's continuous support to the widows, their children and the less privilege in society. Reverend Emmanuel Lord Quaicoe, in charge of the Assemblies of God Church Christian center at the University of Mines and Technology, asked Ghanaians to extend their benevolence to the poor and needy within their communities. Reverend Quaicoe commended Sametro and MTN for their constant support to people living within their operational area. Madam Diana Cudjoe, one of the beneficiaries, expressed appreciation to the donors for the gesture and asked for God's blessing for them. GNA By Erica Apeatua Addo, GNA The incoming New Patriotic Partys (NPP) representatives on the Transition team, have said 80 percent of their work has been completed ahead of Saturday's inauguration. President John Mahama will hand over power to President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on January 7, 2017, and the Transition team is set to hold a press conference later today [Tuesday], where it will provide details on protocol for the inauguration. Speaking to Citi News, the spokesperson for the incoming government on the Transition team, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, assured that all questions pertaining to the transition will be addressed during the press conference. We are done with about 80 percent of everything we need to do. We will brief the entire nation and we will be able to provide final details to every question that everybody may have and also provide channels through which, on a regular basis people can get information. Mr. Oppong Nkrumah indicated that, the inaugural committee of the transition team was putting final touches to preparations for the day of the inauguration. We are going to brief the entire country through the media step by step on dignitaries who are coming, the itinerary for the day, how to get to the venue, what to look out for and how to satisfy the public interest in what is going to happen, he added. The Transition team has been in place for the past four weeks, and it has consisted of sub-committees that have been ironing out the planning of the inauguration ceremony, handing over the machinery of the Civil Service among other mandates. By the provisions of the Presidential Transition Act 2012 (Act 845), the transition team is to make comprehensive arrangements to regulate the transfer of political power. By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana The New Patriotic Partys (NPP) representatives on the Transition team have said 80 percent of the work pertaining to Saturday's inauguration ceremony has been completed. President John Mahama will hand over power to President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on January 7, 2017, and the Transition team is set to hold a press conference later today [Tuesday], where it will provide details on the protocol for the inauguration. Speaking to Citi News, the spokesperson for the incoming government on the Transition team, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, assured that all questions pertaining to the transition will be addressed during the press conference. We are done with about 80 percent of everything we need to do. We will brief the entire nation and we will be able to provide final details to every question that everybody may have and also provide channels through which, on a regular basis people can get information. Mr. Oppong Nkrumah also indicated that the inaugural committee of the Transition team was putting final touches to preparations for the day of the inauguration. We are going to brief the entire country through the media step by step on dignitaries who are coming, the itinerary for the day, how to get to the venue, what to look out for and how to satisfy the public interest in what is going to happen, he added. The Transition team has been in place for the past four weeks, and it has consisted of sub-committees that have been ironing out the planning of the inauguration ceremony, handing over the machinery of the Civil Service among other mandates. By the provisions of the Presidential Transition Act 2012 (Act 845), the transition team is to make comprehensive arrangements to regulate the transfer of political power. By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana It is most assuredly true that it is during a difficult moment that you can tell the true character of a person. There is no disputing the fact that the NPP went through a turbulent period after the 2008 election. Those were moments when lives were lost primarily because the happenings in the NPP gave some supporters and sympathizers induced high blood pressure. Sadly, the second stolen verdict of the 2012 election did make matters worse. It was clear that there were malfeasances in the 2012 election (now we know why Ghanaians have to change the NDCs name to we are leading, we are in a comfortable lead, we are slightly ahead). All this was done with the intent to manipulate the computer figures, but the Heavenly Angels might have told the NDC; stop your stealing and concede defeat. So, back to 2012 episode when the Supreme Court regrettably gave the verdict against the NPP, anguish and sorrow were everywhere. The court decision was like a kid who knew very well that his legitimate ball had been taken away from him and wrongly given to another kid. Indeed, it was a moment when the NPP needed psychological assistance; a period when psychological strategists should have consoled the rank and file of the NPP family, it was a time when those claiming to be leaders in the NPP to have come on the side of the NPP foot soldiers to help soothe their cries. But, no it was a time when the likes of Arthur Kennedy, and his cohorts Paul Afoko, Nyaho Tamakloe, Nana Ohene Ntow, Baah Achamfour and others persistently and continuously launched an unprecedented salvo ostensibly causing disunity in the NPP. Tellingly, one individual who used his communication skills to cause despondency in the minds of all true NPPist is Dr. Arthur Kennedy. I have attended a few seminars with Dr. Arthur Kennedy during the 2008 campaign and was extremely impressed about his communication mastery. Indeed, he gave every impression of a Western educated person, who the youth need as a role model. But, in the difficult moment when Arthur K was needed to use his communication skills to project the NPP in a positive manner, he woefully failed. His actions after his book titled, Chasing The Elephant Into The Bush gave some of us a cause for concern. Regrettably, Arthur K and his cohorts forgot that effective leaders dont talk too much. So, when these personalities were all over the media viciously attacking H.E. Nana Addo, not only were they attacking then presidential candidate Nana Addo, but equally all those who overwhelmingly voted for Nana Addo at the NPP congress. Of course, I have no reason to believe that Dr. Arthur Kennedy was among those who were bribed by the NDC, but his actions were deeply worrying. Even, Alhaji Inusah, with all his defection pageantry from the NPP as a campaign manager to then presidential candidate John Kufuor, did not go media berserk. Alhaji Inusah was not academically astute as some of these personalities were, but he was intelligent enough not to say much apart from his famous saying, in the NPP everyone is an adult (Im sure I did understand his twi). There was no intention to write this article especially in this fresh start of the year, but for the media spin that suspended NPP National Chairman Paul Afoko was giving last week. He was almost everywhere; granting interviews and issuing press statements all with the subtle attempt to win his way back to the NPP. Sometimes, some of these personalities think we have a short memory, thus as adults we have kindergarten knowledge. If that is their thinking, they are wrong. Indeed, it is incomprehensible when people you expect to know better behave as if they were kids. If I were them, the best is to show public remorse and apologize to the rank and file of the NPP family. Of course, the president-elect Nana Addo, admonished members during the NPP recent Thanksgiving Service to forgive. Perhaps, if there is anyone who deserve forgiveness then its Kwebena Agyapong. As for Arthur Kennedy, Nyaho Tamakloe and others, the best place for them is to remain in the bush and maybe Nana Addos presidency will send light to them while they are there. In the future, a lesson will be leant; you may not like an individual as a partys flag bearer, but decency and common sense demand that you respect the choice of the majority of the NPP delegates. ~HAPPY NEW YEAR ARTHUR K & CO. ~ Martin Kwaning Former TESCON President USA, Texas kwan[email protected] 03.01.2017 LISTEN The Ivory Coast government has just thumbed its nose at the efforts by the U.S. to expand its role in assisting in the development of the Ivory Coast infrastructure. Over the last several years the U.S. has made sustained efforts to assist the Ivory Coast in health programs for the Ivory Coast people under the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR); it has set up aTransition Assistance Program to support the Government of Cote dIvoire through programs and diplomatic engagement during its post-crisis period as the country recovers and works to establish conditions that will once again make it a stable and prosperous nation. it has brought serious U.S. industries to invest in the expansion and growth of the Ivory Coasts electrical power generation industry through its Power Africa program; and has paid over forty percent of the UNOCI mission costs in the country since 2011 which has restored order to the country. In return for the U.S. attention and benevolence towards the Ivory Coast the Ouattara Government has initially accepted the assistance from the U.S. and then turned this assistance to benefit the French neo-colonial businesses that have preyed upon the Ivory Coast since colonial days. The Ouattara government has taken major international investment programs which were operating under IMF, World Bank and OPIC best practice rules of transparency and competition through tenders and awarded contracts to the French neo-colonial businesses without tenders, without regard to existing contractual obligations and in a thoroughly underhand and corrupt manner. Perhaps the best example of this perfidious behaviour can be seen in the systematic efforts of Ouattaras Government, and its Energy Minister Adama Toungara, to pervert the course of business in the Songon Project. It was supported by the U.S. through its Power Africa program designed to bring U.S. support for African power generation using U.S. financing, expertise and technology to the Ivory Coast. The Houston-based Endeavor announced on May 25, 2015 that it had entered into a joint venture agreement with local firm Starenergie2073 to develop the thermal power plant (TPP) Songon Project, which included an LNG import infrastructure and a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU). Endeavor had arranged the finance for the project through the energy-focused private equity firm Denham Capital, as well institutions such as the US Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC), the World Banks International Finance Corporation and the African Development Bank (AfDB). In the agreement, Richard Amon of Starenergie entrusted to Endeavor the exclusivity in the construction and all the services of the Songon Project. Several millions of dollars were invested in the preparatory work and Starenergie was given a series of benchmark actions that it would need to complete so that more Endeavor money could be invested in the development process, the tenders for specialist subcontractors, and the creation of the FSRU and the supply of the LNG fuel. Endeavor controlled 51% of the joint venture. Starenergie failed to complete any of the benchmark actions that would trigger the development processes. Despite the contracts in place with Endeavor, Amon and Starenergie announced they were searching for new partners for the Songon Project. Starenergie obviously did not have the money itself and was unable to complete the benchmark activities that would release further funds. The initial tender for the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) of Songon (that is an arrangement where the EPC Contractor is made responsible for all the activities from design, procurement, construction, to commissioning and handover of the project to the End-User or Owner) was announced and several companies prepared to bid to be the EPC contractor. Suddenly, on August 20, 2016 Starenergie, with the connivance and support of the Ivory Coast government, publicly disavowed its contract with Endeavor and travelled to Beijing where Starenergie unilaterally awarded the EPC contract to China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC) to build the power plant. Under the agreement, CEEC will raise 75 percent of the 500 million euro ($558 million) cost of the facility via China Construction Bank. a Chinese corporation. This was done without a tender even though one has been prepared and underway. Starenergie announced that this was all perfectly all right because it said it had informed Endeavor in January 2016 that the joint venture was dissolved. Endeavor has challenged this and the matter is in arbitration. Starenergie then dismembered the rest of the project with government approval and delivered the balance of the project, including the supply of natural gas, to the faithful neo-colonial stalwarts of Francafrique, Bouygues, Bollore, Vinci and Total without any tender or notice. How much of this raid on U.S. interests has been the work of the black Frenchmen who were installed in power by the French soldiers and UN peacekeepers after Gbagbo is not yet clear. Presumably the Ivorian leadership has been working hard to protect Frances commercial interests in the country as it always has. The commercial competition between the French and U.S. business has a long history. The military competition also still carries on. There was a recent incident when the U.S. military sent a delegation to the Ivory Coast in August 2016 to see if they could build an AFRICOM naval security base in the Ivory Coast. Four senior U.S. naval officers visited the country and the head of operations in Ivory Coasts navy, Amara Kone, visited the U.S. for several weeks. They suggested that they might use the Ivory Coast naval base as a logistical centre for the April 2017 multilateral training exercise. The French immediately objected to any U.S. presence. They sent two French warships, the Dixmude helicopter carrier and the Ducuing fast patrol ship to Ivory Coast and engaged the Ivoirian navy in urgent training exercises with the French Navy. This was followed by the sale by France to the Ivoirian Navy of the patrol boat Sekongo and the additional purchase of the warships LEmergence and Le Bouclier. The Ivory Coast is now doubtful if AFRICOM will be able to use Abidjan as a logistical base in 2017. After the disenfranchising of Endeavor by Starenergie, Toungara and Total felt that the lawsuit by Endeavor alleging a tortious interference in its contracts was inevitable after the ruling on the arbitration is settled, This led them to offer to Endeavor a 5% share in the LNG project which Total had purloined from the project. On October 4, 2016 Ivory Coast signed a partnership pact to create a consortium headed by France's Total to build a liquid natural gas (LNG) import terminal that could begin receiving gas shipments by mid-2018 for Songon. Total was supposed to be the main shareholder with 34% and it will be the project's operator. Other members invited into the consortium included Royal Dutch Shell, Houston-based Endeavor Energy, Ivory Coast state oil company Petroci, CI-Energies, Azerbaijan's SOCAR and Golar LNG. Most of the invitees have declined to proceed and only Petroci and CI_Energies are joining Total. It is very doubtful that this project will proceed further as no one other than Total has the funds to proceed. This description of the Ivory Coast refusal to behave properly in dealing with the rights and opportunities of U.S. business is an indicator that the countrys leadership does not read the newspapers. In a few weeks, the U.S. Government will be under the control of President Trump and his team, dedicated to protecting and advancing the interests of U.S. business and its military. The major cabinet posts are to be in the hands of former generals and much of U.S. policy will be shaped by U.S. security concerns. One of the most powerful agencies of change towards Africa will not be the State Department which has, under Obama and Secretary Clinton, looked with benign neglect on U.S. commercial and military interests in Africa. The budgets and planning of U.S. involvement with Africa will be focussed on fighting Islamic terrorists like AQIM and Boko Haram. One of the most important committees which will deal with Africa is the Senate Armed Services Committee which deals with the Pentagon budget and policies. Ivory Coast has very few friends in the U.S. military. Indeed, some of those with the deepest antipathy towards the Ivory Coast can be found on that committee. One of the most outspoken of these critics is Senator James Imhofe of Oklahoma, the Ranking Republican on the committee. He was one of the key men in the U.S. opposing Ouattara in his treasonous rebellion against the legitimate government of his country under Gbagbo. His comments on Ouattara in the Congressional Record are there for all to see; they are not tainted by diplo-speak. Just after the Massacre at Duekoue he reported to the Senate, You can identify them. They are in there killing people. We don't know how many tens of thousands of people have been murdered in cold blood. Amnesty International came out the other day and criticized the U.N. mission for ignoring pleas for help and failing to prevent the massacre in the town of Duekoue. That is the town of Duekoue. See the charred bodies. People are saying they had hogs eating the bodies. This is what Ouattara did in a little town called Duekoue. I have another picture of what is happening. It is really criminal. These are all Ouattara's people. These are the ones our State Department supported, and it is serious. Amnesty reports that a manhunt was launched against Gbagbo loyalists in Abidjan, and several senior officials close to him were beaten in the hours after his arrest. Those are the death squads of Ouattara. I have talked to close friends of mine who are in Abidjan now. Abidjan is where the bad things are happening. I hope anyone who questions the fact that it is Ouattara's forces that are creating the problems in Abidjan access my Web site and pull up the YouTube video that was taken of what happened on what I call ``Black Monday,'' Monday night, when they went out with helicopters and they mowed down thousands of people. We don't have a death count of how many people have been murdered in the last 5 days. If the Ivoirians think that they can continue to interfere with and frustrate the efforts of the U.S. corporations in their pursuit of African development and the U.S. military seeking the interdiction of terrorists operating in Africa by blindly following the demands of their French masters, they have a poor perception of the new realities in Washington. A major focus of the new administration is business. The new Secretary of State in the Trump administration is Rex Tillerson, the head of Exxon Mobil. He has had a long and bruising relationship with Total over the years. In addition to Exxons battles with Total in Kurdistan and over the Chad-Cameroon pipeline, Exxon just forced Total out of a $US 2.5 billion takeover of Papua New Guinea's InterOil in May 2016 when Total tried to muscle into an Exxon business there. Tillerson is very familiar with Totals efforts in Africa and seems an unlikely ally for further encroachment by the French of U.S. business interests; especially in oil and gas. France has never been the favourite partner of the U.S. military and has worked at cross purposes with the U.S. military for years. France withdrew from being a full member of NATO in 1966, and remained separated for decades. The reason for French withdrawal was that France believed that NATO was not militarily supportive enough. France's effort to develop its own non-NATO defence capability, including the development of its own nuclear arsenal in the 1960s, was to ensure that the French military could operate its own colonial and post-colonial conflicts more freely. Under de Gaulle, France had attempted to draw NATO into France's colonial conflicts (on France's side). De Gaulle claimed that Algeria was part of France and thus was part of NATO. Therefore, NATO must intervene to assist France in putting down Algerian independence movements. After the British and Americans refused to assist with French colonialism, de Gaulle expelled NATO troops from France and set up a more independent French military. Now that France is back in NATO it is making the same request of its partners as De Gaulle but it is still unwilling to pay its way. It wants U.S. subsidies for its neo-colonial occupation of francophone Africa but is unwilling to pay its fair share. This will not continue under the new administration. So, the times are changing for the Ivory Coast. The rise of the Far Right in French politics does not bode well for the francophone area. Still less does the parlous state of the Euro to which the CFA franc is pegged. It is time that Ouattaras Ivory Coast acts to support the interests of the country rather than the interests of the French and the Ivoirian elite. The most secure way is to treat foreign companies fairly, obey the rules of international commerce, and value the legitimacy of contracts. That would certainly be a good start. National Democratic Congress (NDC) founder and former President Jerry John Rawlings has been analyzing what he says are the causes of the humiliating defeat his party suffered at the hands of its main political opponents the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the recent general election. The NDC lost both the presidential and the parliamentary elections to the NPP, with the main opposition candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, elected president with 5,716,026 votes, representing 53.85%, to beat incumbent John Dramani Mahama, who garnered 4,713,277 votes (44.40%), with a difference of over 1.2 million votes. The wind of change also swept through parliament, with the NPP taking control of the legislature by winning 171 out of the 275 seats, while the governing NDC managed to get 104, leaving the NDC in a state of shock, as accusations and counter accusations are being traded over the defeat. Arrogance Even though the NDC has set up a 13-member committee to investigate the circumstances leading to the defeat, former President Rawlings claims that impunity, arrogance, disrespect, corruption and opulent display of ill-acquired wealth could not be overlooked as some of the causes for the NDC government's downfall. Mr Rawlings, who appears poised to take over the party, celebrated the 31st December 'revolution' with a few cadres in government, as the current appointees were conspicuously missing. Some of the few faces at the event were Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo, outgoing Greater Accra Regional Minister; Samuel Nuamah Donkor, former Health Minister; Goozie Tannoh, who is said to take over the NDC leadership as the next flagbearer; Hudu Yahaya, former NDC General Secretary and Larry Gbevlo-Lartey, former National Security Coordinator. Corruption Speaking at the Revolution Square in Accra as part of events to mark the 35 anniversary of the infamous 31st December uprising, Rawlings stated, I don't think I was the only one who saw the writing on the wall. Many people from our very own party I believe could see the writing on the wall that we were going to lose this past election. It was obvious a long time ago that we wouldn't make it. Our general negativity, impunity, disrespect and corruption were taking us further and further downhill. According to him, We lost the elections way before the 7th of December because we persistently and unrepentantly stayed on the slippery slope to the humiliating defeat, despite the several warning lights right in our faces. He stressed, About the time when most were living in the painful reality with stress and anger, that's when some of us chose to be more impervious to reality. We had lost so much goodwill. Promptings Even that, he said, I kept providing the warning whenever and wherever I could, and in public as well. But no, once again the uncouth and uncultured in our party and government chose to insult and disrespect some of us. He seemed pained by the fact that the genuine and true founders and elders (warriors and youthful fighters) of what has transformed into the NDC were being disregarded and disrespected way back from 2008 after victory was delivered on a silver platter. For him, The NDC's painful and massive rejection at the polls is indicative that we have lost the moral high ground that sets us apart from others, even though he said, Great lengths were taken to draw the attention of the party.. but none of it will be tolerated or accommodated. Empty Pride With the passage of time, the former president noted, A few selfish and greedy characters soon began to jump on board and there were some good people, very good people, but leadership and the command structure did not empower them to override those who were destroying the party and the government. I have worked with good people all my life. I have worked with bad people all my life. Some wicked, some with character defects, but-evil natured people must be kept away. Some of us, however, do not seem to have the cognitive intelligence to recognize their presence. Delusion The man could not fathom why and how leadership of his own party was feeling smug and comfortable because they thought the hidden division in the NPP's leadership was going to work in their favour. He exclaimed, How so wrong could we be? How could we have for one minute made the mistake of thinking that the disloyalty at the senior leadership level was going to percolate into the grassroots of the NPP? Stressing that God's given directions for leadership are the principles of integrity, probity and accountability, Rawlings noted, These principles are embedded in the collective conscience of the grassroots. There was a gaping disconnect between leadership and the masses as the latter were left disillusioned. To make matters worse, he revealed that The ordinary man felt even more insulted by the crass display of wealth by people who should have known better. If the masses knew about the detrimental effects of the greed and avarice perpetrated by some of our own people in leadership, they would never forgive us. Examples abound all around us. You need not stretch your imagination at all. If we all don't do some careful introspection and openly show remorse for the betrayal of the people's trust, we might not recover in time for the next election. Advice The oppressive machinery will not desert us voluntarily. We need not shrink from honestly facing the conditions in our party and country today. This is the time to pre-eminently speak the whole truth, frankly and courageously, he admonished. But rather than facing the obvious truth about why we lost, Rawlings once again has to be made the scapegoat of their failures. Conviction The former president was, however, of the conviction that This time around our people have seen through it and we would embark on the right steps to regain our moral high ground. That, he said, was because of the moral high ground that we have abandoned and on which the new leader is now standing, [referring to President-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo]. By Charles Takyi-Boadu Popular Ghanaian seer, Rev Isaac Owusu-Bempah, after correctly predicting the outcome of Ghana's 2016 general polls, has predicted some 17 extremely disturbing events he claims would occur mainly in Ghana this year unless intercessory prayers are said for the country. Rev Owusu-Bempah is the leader of the Glorious Word Power Ministry International and he made the predictions during the December 31 end-of-year watch night service at his church. The seer said God had told him that in the year 2017 the following things shall happen: Death of a former president Death of a former first lady Coup detat in Ghana Death of Nigerias president Terrorist attack in Ghana Death of several young men and women Important personalities in parliament will die Many people will be kidnapped Innocent blood will be shed in a particular political party Increase in occult practices Americans will go for war More Muslim/Christian clashes this year A great king will die Another plane crash in Ghana Fire outbreaks in important offices in Ghana More celebrities (actors, musicians and media practitioners) in Ghana to die National Democratic Congress (NDC) to stay in opposition for 16 years Rev Owusu-Bempah has also told Adom TV that President John Mahama can never be president of Ghana again. He made the comment in the wake of talks that John Mahama could possible contest the 2020 presidential elections and return to the Presidency on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress. President Mahama can never be president again on this earth, that is what the Almighty God has revealed to me and that is what it isI'm telling you the truth. If I talk people say I'm controversial and I talk too much, put down today's date as I make this emphatic statement. I'm not the one to tell the NDC what to do, but if they make the mistake of electing President Mahama to lead them in election 2020, the NDC will be heavily defeated and will record its greatest electoral defeat in history, Rev Owusu-Bempah revealed. He added, Long before the elections, I saw in a revelation that President Mahama had been chained. In the spiritual realm, I saw that Ghana's presidential seat had been turned upside down and it was empty. An angel told me that God had unseated the president, and I latter saw Nana Akufo-Addo mounting a white horse with wings signifying victory. That is why I was emphatic that Akufo-Addo will win the 2016 elections. Ghanaians have made history in the 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary elections. The results of the elections have clearly indicated that the One-Dollar President is not fit to be the leader of our community. If the outgoing Commander In Chief of our community had respected us and had not employed the divide and rule tactics, nepotism and cronyism to the chagrin of the majority of the members of our community; if the outgoing leader had not endorsed corruption everywhere in the Ghanaian Society; if the one-term leader had not abused the rights of Ghanaians everywhere and if the incompetent leader had not mismanaged the resources of our motherland in an unprecedented and gargantuan manner, perhaps the story would have been slightly different. Ghanaians have voted for real and positive change in their lives. Members of our community voted against our leader in the special voting. From the military perspective, our leader was disrespectful and arrogant in the manner that the One Dollar increase in the Earned Dollar of formed troops on peace support operations was announced. For an uncaring leader, one dollar per day for Ghanaian troops was a big deal. At a durbar with troops, expectations had been so high on what the leader could do to ameliorate the economic conditions and welfare of troops. The troops had experienced an exponential increase in their Earned Dollar from fourteen (14) to twenty-seven (27) under President Kufour. The troops had also witnessed the increase of their Earned Dollar from Twenty-Seven (27) to Thirty (30) dollars by the late Professor John Mills. Yet, the One Dollar President had the impudence, disrespect and arrogance to defend an increase of only One Dollar within four years. Without any compunction, the Director of Public Relations, Colonel Aggrey Quarshie was made to defend this insulting behavior of our leader on the airwaves everywhere thereby annoying the military members of our community all the more. The leader of our community exported corruption from the Civil Street to the barracks. The new military formation had been formed by the Commander In Chief himself and had been placed under the direct operational and administrative command and control of the Chief of Staff, Major General SK Adeti, who had been appointed as the Second In Command of the new cabal with direct access to the President on matters of corruption and election malpractices. For the sake of Major General SK Adeti, Major General Opoku Adusei had to be sacrificed at a time that the former was under investigations for various acts of corruption, impropriety and /or inappropriate actions. While Ghanaians were reeling under the foul-mouthed atmosphere of NDC communicators, the President imposed on them an extremely arrogant, disrespectful and stubborn chair-person of the Electoral Commission. For reasons best known to John Mahama, more experienced and competent persons were ignored and Madam Charlotte Osei was appointed the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana. All the steps of Madam Charlotte Osei were for the benefit of the President and the NDC and not mother Ghana. All attempts to guide her to the path of peace and stability were ignored by her. Right from day one, Madam Charlotte Osei did not hide her intentions to rig the elections in favour of the NDC. The time table, preparations for and the conduct of the 2016 elections were all done to favour the NDC and President Mahama. But because God is not like the parents of Charlotte Osei and Amadu Sulley, all their evil plans were nullified by the Lord. They had forgotten that the elected leader of our community had appropriately themed his struggle for power as the Battle is the Lords. The series of the electoral battles were left in the able hands of the Lord. By contrast, President Mahama and his NDC had placed their hopes in mortal human beings -Madam Charlotte Osei and Amadu Sulley. Madam Charlotte Osei found willing partners in our community to assist her to rig the elections in favour of our outgoing leader and the NDC. The Chief of Staff, Major General SK Adeti, the Director General Joint Operations, Brigadier General N. Kporku, Commander Support Services Brigade Group, Brigadier General Francis Ofori, General Officer Commanding Southern Command, Brigadier General Musah Whajah, Director General Defence Intelligence, Brigadier General AK Adu, Colonels Komlaga, Vander Pallen, Mantey and some commanding officers and officers commanding companies, squadrons and detachments were deeply involved in the Charlotte-Osei-NDC machinery to rig the elections for JM and the NDC. Already discussed and pre-arranged letters were written by the Chairperson of the EC to the Chief of Staff to facilitate the rigging of the 2016 elections. The tricks included proxy voting on behalf of troops, transfer of votes from certain locations to strongholds or weak areas to give advantage to the NDC, storage of electoral materials at military installations and facilities, conveying of electoral materials by the Chief of Staff, Director Generals and Commanding Officers,. The following are pertinent questions. 1. Why did Major General SK Adeti pick RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenades/Guns) from the Base Ammunition Depot? 2. What did Major General SK Adeti intend to do with them? Was he planning to kill the President-elect and his Vice? 3. Were Ghanaians at war to warrant the operational readiness of the Ghana Armed Forces as exhibited by Major General SK Adeti and Brigadier General N. Kporku? 4. Why did Brigadier General Francis Ofori turn his office and home into rigging machinery for the NDC? 5. Why did Brigadier General AK Adu go to the Ghana-Ivory Coast border to meet General PA Blay (Former Chief of Defence Staff and Ambassador to Ivory Coast)? 6. How many Ivoirians (or Ghanaians resident in Ivory Coast) did Brigadier General Adu facilitate their crossing into Ghana to vote? 7. Why did Lieutenant Colonel Awaribey (Co 3Bn) collaborate with the Brong Ahafo Regional Police Commander to facilitate the brutalities of Mr. Collins Dauda (Minister for Local Government and Rural Development) and Mr. Eric Opoku (Brong Ahafo Regional Minister) against innocent law-abiding citizens in the Ahafo Area of the Brong Ahafo Region? These and many other questions are begging for answers from the leader of our community, the Chief of Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces and the individual officers who played various inappropriate roles during the elections. The Chief of Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces did all those negative things against his background of corrupt practices. He wanted the victory of President Mahama and the NDC in order to escape any sanctions for his wrong doings. Right from the time of General Smith as Defence Minister with General Blay as Chief of Defence Staff, several malpractices and malfeasance have been uncovered. Most of the contracts signed to alienate the interests and rights in military and Public Lands to private developers have been fraught with corruption, greed and avarice to the detriment of the Armed Forces and members of our community. Under the guise of Private Public Participation or Partnership (PPP), military land/or public lands under the care of the military have been given to these private developers at incredible terms to the benefit of the Generals and Ministers. Lands at Takoradi belonging to the Airforce have been given out to friends of the Presidency and Military High Command. Lands around the Airforce Base and Airforce Mess are all gone under dubious terms inimical to the Armed Forces and the state. Most of those contracts, agreements or arrangements cannot be found. The lands around the Headquarters of the Southern Command of the Ghana Army at Teshie have also allegedly been given out under strange agreements/arrangements. Certainly, the fencing for land deal was not in the best interest of the Ghana Armed Forces. What about the land on which the two GOIL filling stations have been built one at Teshie near the Command Headquarters of the Southern Command of the Ghana Army and the second at the Labadi Villas Junction. Who owns those two filling stations? What were the terms of the Agreement or Arrangement? What about the Services Integrity Savings and Loans Financial Institution that has been formed under the auspices of General SK Adokpa who was all in all (Director Resettlement and Director General Defence Industries for over six (6) years). Where did General Adokpa keep the proceeds of the Provident Fund? What portfolio of investments did he engage in? Answer to all these questions may be sought at the appropriate times. What about the Army Mess Deal? What were the terms of the so-called PPP arrangement with that private developer? Did it make sense to give such a prime area to a private person for such pittance? Why would a private person be allowed to build a private hospital so close to the 37 Military Hospital? Is it to compete with the Public Health Services of the Military Hospital? Or is to cause the ruins of the military hospital? Did the Military High Command take into account the real living accommodation needs of Military and Civilian Officers? The type of accommodation being built by the private developer is not the best for modern circumstances. The officer corps is grappling with living accommodation problems and therefore the designs should have been for a quasi military marriage quarter of at least two bedrooms and a hall with kitchen, toilet and bath and not the old style single accommodation with a hall, bedroom, toilet and bath only. Most officers may live in the single accommodation for over or close to ten years after commission owing to the inadequacy of and deterioration in the living married accommodation. That was not the concern of our Military High Command. All their actions were motivated by selfish interests. The unpatriotic Generals were thinking of themselves only and their future while ignoring the primary interests of the majority of the members of our noble professions. What about the lands around the Air Force Mess and the Air Force Base in Accra? Who has bought them or who benefited from their alienation? There are all sorts of allegations that the former Chief of Defence Staff, General Blay, the former Defence Minister, General Smith and others are behind most of the PPP deals. General Adokpa is also allegedly figured in those deals. My sources indicate that General Adokpa is subtly and surreptitiously more involved in the various deals than his egotistical, bigheaded and self-important tribesman who wants to conquer everything that he surveys. There are also several questions about sole sourcing of the contracts at the Directorate of Engineer Services (DES). The allegations have it that Brigadier General Francis Ofori was the main architect and promoter of the sole sourcing at the DES. He is alleged to have accumulated so much as part of the ground design of the new military cabal. General Francis Ofori is alleged to have used some of the funds to support the NDC in the 2016 Presidential Elections. According to the scheme of events, if the Charlotte Osei EC had declared John Mahama winner using the electronic transmission of results against the real tallied results as per the Collation Sheets, Generals Adeti and Ofori were to fight any attempt to challenge that declaration. The work done at Northern Command along is enough proof. The assertion continued that if the Plan B had succeeded, General Adeti was to become the Chief of Army Staff (Army Commander) and General Ofori the Chief of Staff. General OB Akwa was to be retired by March 2017. But God has His own plans and does things His own way. Maj Gen OB Akwa 03.01.2017 LISTEN The man, who currently heads the Army, Maj Gen OB Akwa, would soon become the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) when President-Elect Nana Akufo-Addo takes over the mantle of leadership come January 7, 2017. His recommendation would however, depend on the acceptance of the yet-to-be-reconstituted Council of State a constitutional formality. The COAS, with his impeccable record of service, would scale through to attain the biggest crown in his military career. He would be taking over from Air Marshall Sampson Michael-Oje who would be retiring, having held the position of Chief of Air Staff before his elevation as CDS. Born in 1955, Maj Gen OB Akwa was enlisted into the Ghana Military Academy in 1975 where his outstanding performance had him chosen to proceed with .his military training at the prestigious Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, England. He was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in 1977. While a Lt Col and in command of the 2nd Battalion, he was appointed the Military Assistant to the Minister for Defence and thereafter became the Army Secretary at the Army Headquarters with the responsibility for the career management of all officers of the Ghana Army. Between 2005 and 2009, in the rank of Colonel, he served as the Aide-de-Camp to the then President of the Republic of Ghana/Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, John Agyekum, Kufuor. Maj Gen Akwa contributed to advancing national security interests through focused and sustained engagement with relevant stakeholders in support of shared security objectives. His special interest area was in deepening civil-military relation. Between 2009 and 2012, he was the Commander, Ghana Military Academy and thereafter as the Commander, Western Brigade of MONUSCO. His last appointment until his elevation to COAS, was the Commandant of the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Training Centre, Teshie, Accra. It is thought that a certain Brig RO Odoi, currently the Defence Attache in the Ghana Mission in the United States, could be the next COAS. He is a highly respected officer and does not brook indiscipline in whatever form. A certain Colonel who was serving in Rwanda is set to be the regular feature behind the president-elect when the latter is sworn in on 7th January. The Col is an Engineer Officer, his mother unit being the 48 Engineer Regiment. He has been carefully selected from among equally sterling officers. The current Chiefs of Air Staff and Navy Staff will definitely give way to the Commander-in-Chief's choice. The next Chief of Staff, General Headquarters, could be someone from the North. The current holder of the position is Maj Gen Sampson Adeti, who hails from the Volta Region. By A.R. Gomda Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin 03.01.2017 LISTEN President-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, after being sworn in as the President of the Republic of Ghana this weekend, will on Sunday be hosted by the Okyeman Traditional Council at Kyebi, his hometown. The move, initiated by the Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, is to thank the Almighty God for honouring Nana Akufo-Addo, an Akyem-Abuakwa royal, with the victory crown in the December 7 presidential poll. The first expected public durbar to be attended by Nana Akufo-Addo as president will take place at the forecourt of the Ofori Panin Fie at Kyebi, in the East Akim municipality of the Eastern Region, where the paramount chiefs of the Okyeman Traditional Council, natives in the Diaspora, the bigwigs of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and party supporters will welcome the new president. Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori, who made these known during the last 'Akwasidae' celebration to all his sub-chiefs, asked them to join the proposed ceremony in a grand style to render thanksgiving to God and offer prayers for Nana Akufo-Addo to serve the nation better in the next four years. The Electoral Commission (EC), on 9th December, 2016, declared the New Patriotic Party presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the winner of the 2016 election after a third attempt at the slot, beating incumbent President John Mahama with 53.85 percent of the valid votes cast as against Mahama's 44.40 percent. Background Of Presidential Bid In October 1998, Nana Akufo-Addo competed for the presidential candidacy of the NPP and lost to John Agyekum Kufuor, the man who eventually won the presidential election in December 2000 on the ticket of the NPP and assumed office as president on January 7, 2001. Akufo-Addo campaiged for candidate Kufuor in the 2000 and became the first Attorney General and Minister for Justice under Kufuor's administration. He later became the Foreign Affairs Minister. Nana Addo contested for the position of presidential candidate of his party the NPP the then ruling party of Ghana, for the 2008 election. Competing against 16 others, he won 48% of the votes in the first round of the party's primary, but was given a unanimous endorsement in the second round, making him the presidential candidate. In the 7 December 2008 presidential race, he received in the first round, more votes than John Atta Mills, but the latter became the eventual winner. In the first round, Akufo-Addo garnered 4,159,439 votes, representing 49.13%, placing him first, but not the constitutional 50% plus 1 needed for an outright victory. In the run-off, Mills received 4,521,032 votes, representing 50.23%. Akufo-Addo again contested in the 2012 national elections against the then NDC candidate, John Mahama, and lost. That election generated considerable controversy, and was finally decided by the Supreme Court in a narrow 5/4 decision in favour of John Mahama. In March 2014, Akufo-Addo announced his decision to seek his party's nomination for the third time ahead of the 2016 elections. He secured 94.35% of the votes in the party's presidential primary in October, 2014, in a contest of 7 competitors. FROM Daniel Bampoe, Kyebi [email protected] Roundabouts and trees in Kumasi decorated with red and black cloths to signify mourning For the first time in the history of Kumasi, there was no jam or concert in the city during the Christmas season owing to the ban placed on drumming and dancing by Manhyia Palace, the seat of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. Noise-making was banned after the death of the Asantehemaa, Nana Afia Kobi Serwah Ampem II. Residents in the city, especially drinking spot operators, quickly complied with the directive from Manhyia Palace. It was feared that the ban on drumming and dancing would be flouted by the residents during the yuletide, but the drinking spot operators and others complied fully with the directive. Even though the drinking spots were opened to the public, the volume of the music was reduced at most places. Event organizers, who also give respect to the Manhyia Palace, also did not organize any event in the city during the yuletide. Even though Christmas was a bit boring, people in the city were not worried about the ban. Some of the people told DAILY GUIDE that Asanteman belongs to Otumfuo so if the great King gives an order nobody can violate it. Otumfuo is our leader, and if he is mourning his mother, automatically the entire Asanteman is also in mourning, said Kofi Addai. According to him, even if Otumfuo places the ban on drumming and dancing in Asanteman for the next 100 years, we shall respectfully comply. Addai, who is popularly called 'Big Shark,' gave the assurance that the entire Asanteman would play its role in the burial of the late queen mother. He said it would not make sense for the people of Asanteman to make merry while the King mourns the death of his mother, saying we are not bothered by the ban. Virtually all the roundabouts, trees and electric poles in the city had been decorated with red and black clothes in Kumasi as part of preparations towards the burial of Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem, who died at the age of 111. From I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi The graduands in a group photograph with Philip Nii Boye Lartey (extreme right). Others are Emmanuel Torgbor Laryea (left) and two top members of the church Eight females and five males on Sunday, January 1, graduated from the Children's Service of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) at the Resurrection Power Preaching Point of the church, Afuaman, under the Amasaman District, Accra. Following the graduation ceremony, the children had been promoted to join the Junior Youth (JY) group. The graduands had been taken through some basic tenets of the Christian faith in relation to the Presbyterian Church, by Emmanuel Torgbor Laryea, Sandrah Bekulai Quartey and David Gorleku. The Catechist in-charge of the Afuaman Preaching Point, Philip Nii Boye Lartey, admonished the children to cling to God and always live by the lessons they had been taught. In a sermon, Mr Lartey charged Christians to make love their cardinal principle. Serving God should reflect in service to one's neighbour. If a person claims to love God and hates his or her neighbour that person is a liar. How can you hate or despise someone you see and claim that you love God? he wondered. Touching on the theme for the sermon Stewards of God's Blessing, Mr Lartey made it emphatically clear that whatever role one is given to play in the church as a Christian, one must not relent in shouldering that responsibility, adding that at the appointed time God will surely reward everybody according to their work. He stated that if Christians will resolve to obey God and walk in His ways, He will bless them as well as the country. By so doing, he pointed out, Ghana will develop on all fronts. Mr Boye Lartey deplored the attitude of some believers who go to church only on certain occasions, stressing that Church going is not like going to school where the shift system is operated. We don't run shifts in the church. Be closer to God all the time and He will bless you abundantly. He noted that most Ghanaians work very hard but earn a little. However, if God's hand is in the little that you earn, you can do a lot with it; and so place God first in your New Year resolutions or plans, he entreated. By Peter Atiemo Abdulai Naaba 03.01.2017 LISTEN Abdulai Naaba, younger brother of Collins Dauda, outgoing Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, has reportedly fled Ghana to neighbouring Burkina Faso. Controversial pastor and founder of the International Godsway Church, Bishop Daniel Obinim, who revealed this to his congregation during the 31st December watch night service, disclosed that the wife of the runaway Naaba is also a member of his church. He failed to state exactly when Naaba left Ghana; but said he had been weeping since he (Abdulai Naaba) left the shores of the country for fear that the incoming government may hunt him down for comments he purportedly made. Bishop Obinim also revealed that the wife of Naaba is heavily pregnant for which reason he was appealing to the president-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo and his vice to forgive Abdulai Naaba who is alleged to have made comments to the effect that he had killed people and could kill again. He is my church member; the wife who is pregnant, is currently at this programme. Please, I am on my knees. He was just bragging; he cannot even hurt a fly. Forgive him, please forgive him, the bishop pleaded in a very sober voice. It would be recalled that Abdulai Naaba on an Accra-based radio station, indicated that they will beat Kennedy Agyapong, New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, mercilessly should the MP come to Asutifi South where Naaba was describing Kennedy as a mad man who only rants unnecessarily. Who is Kennedy Agyapong to threaten me with death? he questioned, adding, We have been killing before he was born. I have killed human beings and I will finish anybody with bad intentions before his time. The Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GHIS) has saluted Ghanaians for what it describes as a deserved victory during the recent polls. In a statement, the surveyors indicated, We have as a people, once again proved to the whole world that we are a special nation with a magnificent destiny upon us. The greatness of our nation is unfolding gradually and systematically and there are great signs that we are marching steadily towards a glorious realization of the fullness of that destiny. We may have challenges in our efforts towards economic, social and political reconstruction, but these notwithstanding, the surveyors observed that every living thing or group has problems to grapple with. They greeted especially all organizations which played a role in the achievement of the December 7 orderly polls in the country. The institution congratulated Nana Akufo- Addo on emerging victorious in the polls and also President John Mahama for his gracious handling of the outcome of the polls. The GhIS mentioned the critical issues of unemployment, accommodation, among others, which according to it, must be addressed by the incoming government. On what they noted is the deteriorating language in the national discourse, the surveyors said that it has become necessary for the subject to be addressed. They called on President-Elect Nana Addo to employ decent persons to assist him to achieve his goals. It is the prayer of the GhIS) that our newly elected president will be guided by God to choose capable men and women who will form a strong team to continue the nation-building effort, the statement underscored. Contractors working on Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) projects, today (Tuesday), picketed at the Ministry of Finance to demand monies owed them by the government. The protesting contractors gathered at the GETFund head office and later made their way to the Ministry of Finance. The contractors say government owes them over GHc 300 million spanning a period of six months. Managers of the GETFund have however blamed the Ministry of Finance for its inability to pay contractors who the Fund says it owes close to GHc 300 million. Managers of the Fund have indicated that, until the Ministry of Finance releases money to them, they cannot pay the contractors. When the contractors made their way to the Finance Ministry, one of the protesters, Daniel Tanor, said they had heard from the deputy Finance Minister, Casiel Ato Forson and he said his ministry only owed the GETFund GHc 106, 000 and that they have released that money. Speaking to Citi News Philip Nii Lartey, Mr. Tanor, however expressed doubt in Mr. Forsons assertion saying it is never true that is what the Ministry of Finance is owing the GETFund We believe what Ato Forson is saying is really not the issue. He maintained that the protesters may finally march to the presidency as a last resort. The President is the last person and we are trying all within in our capacity to meet the relevant authorities, and if it fails then we will hit the President's premises, the FlagStaff House, Mr. Tanor said. Photos: Philip Nii Lartey By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana 03.01.2017 LISTEN The 2016 elections have ended and president elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has been giving us a gist of the calibre of competent people he'll surround himself with in his office. Many hailed his choice of Alan Kyeremateng, Frimpong Boateng and Dominic Ntiwul among others as members of his cabinet. However, the appointment of Samuel Abu Jinapor as a Deputy Chief of Staff has raised some serious eyebrows within the rank and file of the party. A lot of youth in the NPP seems to be against him and have expressed their displeasure on social media. I also hope to share my thoughts on this development. I don't know Samuel Abu Jinapor and it's only once I saw him, that's in September 2016 when he came to Tumu to campaign with Nana Addo. I've however heard him on radio many times especially in 2007/2008. Then I was in CPP but I use to admire his passion for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the NPP. In 2012, I didn't hear much about him especially after our brother, president Mahama, became the flagbearer of the NDC. After the defeat of the NPP in the 2012 elections, some of us heard a lot of negative things about Abu Jinapor and the role he played in ensuring that president Mahama becomes a president of Ghana. He wasn't the only one accused of betraying the cause of Nana Addo and the NPP but his seems more painful due to his privileged closeness to Nana Addo and the trust Nana Addo reposed in him. Till date, I can confidently say all those allegations against Abu Jinapor are still unsubstantiated rumours. Evidence have not been produced against him so one may classify those allegations as political lies. Samuel Abu Jinapor was somehow silent between 2013-15 but came back strongly in 2016 to rebuild confidence in the NPP and worked very hard for the victory of Nana Addo and the NPP. Now, we are told Abu Jinapor is likely to be our next Deputy Chief of Staff and the grassroot base of the party is shaken. The party especially our youth are perhaps not learning from the outgoing NDC government. For me, those against Abu Jinapor have a very serious case and must be listened to by the top hierarchy of the party but that doesn't mean Abu Jinapor shouldn't be given the appointment. Abu Jinapor should clear the air on his supposed disloyalty to Nana Addo in 2012 despite their closeness. He should also let us know whether he had the blessings of Nana Addo during his period of silence between 2012-2015. He should do this not only for his current appointment but for his future political ambitions especially in the NPP. If he doesn't take his time to address this issue, which I suspect are political lies, it will haunt him for a very long time especially if he is to go for any elected position in the party or on behalf of the party. Abu Jinapor can contact Bede Ziedeng of the NDC who lost the Lawra seat to Anthony Karbo for lessons. My difficulty with the position of the youth have to do with the timing of the protest and the unfortunate tribal twist the whole issue have turned into. Abu Jinapor wasn't appointed today and I honestly don't think we have a right to complain on this issue. Abu Jinapor was appointed the very day he joined the campaign for the 2016 elections. He was appointed when he got very close to Nana Addo and campaigned with him through the length and breath of Ghana. He was appointed when he jumped from one media house to the other, campaigning for and on behalf of Nana Addo and the NPP. That was when Abu Jinapor was appointed and that was when the youth should have registered our protest and displeasure. The youth should have protested against Abu Jinapor going to the media and campaigning for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the NPP. The youth should have complained seriously about his very close relationship with our leader, Nana Addo. The party been in opposition and working hard to get power would have listened to us. But We didn't do that then because we trusted him and trusted the wisdom of Nana Addo and trusted the competence and dedication of Abu Jinapor. Let's maintain that trust and pray for them to succeed. Unfortunately, some members have taken the whole issue of his appointment to the barbaric tribalistic level. They are claiming that it's because Abu Jinapor is a northerner that's why he's opposed by some of the youth of the party that much. They didn't see the many people of Northern descent so far mentioned as members of Nana Addo's cabinet. To them, Ambrose Dery, Hajia Alima Mahama, Dominic Ntiwul etc aren't northerners enough. The NPP and its leadership must note that the NDC is silently observing our drama and will pounce on us aggressively if care isn't taken. Those playing cards on the very unfortunate tribal tangent are not doing good to the party. They are giving unnecessary and unjustified ammunition to the NDC. I sincerely believe those youth opposed to Abu Jinapor are doing so based on his past actions and "questionable loyalty" and not based on his tribe or ethnicity. The party must learn from the defeat of the NDC. We should not use our power to sweep away all grievances without addressing them. We should not underestimate the power of social media. The NPP must listen to the complains of the youth against Abu Jinapor and address it. We must not take this social media complaints for granted We must remember that it's the social media soldiers of the NPP that converted the kalyppo propaganda against Nana Addo into a strong campaigning point and tool for him. It's the same social media soldiers that ran to share and market Nana Addo's Facebook page to overtake that of president Mahama after president Mahama was boasting of his one million followers when Nana Addo was far behind. They cut short president Mahama's comfortable lead on Facebook and destroyed his cruising to victory tactics. We must remember them and act on their grievances or else we will one day come back to beg them but they wouldn't listen to us. I shall, In sha Allah, be back... Fuseini Abdul-Fatawu The incoming government cannot blame the Mahama administration when the power crises known as Dumsor returns this year. This is according to a former Chief Executive of the Volta River Authority VRA Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby. Already, the African Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) has warned that Ghana may face power crisis due to a potential disruption in gas supply, a prediction the outgoing government has dismissed. But speaking to Joy News, the former VRA boss insists Ghanaians will not entertain any excuse if dumsor persists under the Akufo-Addo led administration. "There is so much expectation. When the baton has been passed over you can no longer say Mahama has caused dumsor. It becomes your responsibility. "You need to sustain the power supply. All the issues that we raised now become your issue. "I think one of the problems of the transition process is that too much time is being spent on trying to find the status report from the outgoing administration. "They will put their best foot forward but Reagan used to say, trust but verify. Do your own independent investigation," he advised. Ghana has suffered an acute power paralysis for the past four years which have crippled businesses, led to many fire outbreaks and deaths. The country at some point endured a 24-hour-off-12-hours-on load shedding management which was nuisance to many. Even though the situation improved dramatically in the election year, 2016, the situation has not been entirely resolved with some areas facing intermittent long hours of outages even in 2017. But the suspended NPP member believes his party will have no excuse if it fails to resolve the matter. Dr. Wereko Brobby also wants the incoming government to review the energy sector levies and taxes imposed in December 2015 insisting it has brought untold hardship on Ghanaians. "We must separate the recovery of the cost of production from loading a whole lot of taxes on top of the recovery cost. There are a whole lot of levies put on the cost of recovery that you need to ensure that there is a sustained power industry going on. Those levies and taxes need to be looked at again," he said. He added that power must not be used as a vehicle for raising revenue for government. Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com 03.01.2017 LISTEN I refer to a press release from the ministry of education dated 28th December 2016 to write this rejoinder about the subject of payment of feeding grant to colleges of education. It is unfortunate the content and information of the said subject matter are not trustworthy, deceptive,unreliable and a cover up. This Stern from the fact that: 1. The Vice president of the Republic of Ghana made same claim on 19th October 2016 and yet still it is no where to be found. 2.The press release doesn't answer the question of where about of the overall GH 50,000,000 released for the payment of the feeding grant arrears. 3. The release is only a cover up to divert public attention from the truth since after the release TTAG executives did our cross checks from the colleges the money was no where to hit the colleges account. Bellow is the breakdown of the the arrears owed the students in the colleges of education. a. Year 2 students..... 2nd semester 2015/2016 academic year.(Ghc 560.00 each) b. Year 3 students...... 1st and 2nd semesters 2015/2015 academic year. (Ghc 1,120.00 each) c. Newly Trained.....2nd semester 2015/2016 academic year(560.00 each) Finally we are calling on the government as a matter of urgency within its few days left to take the necessary steps to pay these monies to curtail a situation of trainees from been prevented from writing their end of semester examination. Thank you. ----signed------ ALHASSAN MOHAMMED (Ag. Secretary) 0249202123 APAM JONATHAN (Ag. President) 0540551028 ABBEY SHADRACH (National Coordinator) 0242705545 WIAFE ISAAC (Public Relations Manager) 0242009865 Cc: The President of the Republic of Ghana Ministry of education NCTE PRINCOF All teacher unions All media houses in Ghana Accra, Jan. 03, GNA - Bishop Samuel Vagalas Kanco, the General Overseer of the Lord's Vineyard Chapel, has said Christians must be committed to doing the work of God in this New Year in order to see God's blessings on their lives. Bishop Kanco, who was delivering the New Year Sermon titled: 'Total Commitment to God's Work', at the Church's Grace Temple, the headquarters, said Christians had to be fully but not partially committed was it was in most cases, to the work of God and to service. Basing his sermon on John 9:4, he said, it was important for the children of God to prioritise evangelism, while they had the ability and the time to do so. He explained that Christians were empowered and got God's anointing by praying in their closets, but that alone would not benefit others if they did not step out to work. 'After the empowerment, you must step out in the anointing you have received and work with it,' he stated, explaining that God's grace on people multiplied with its use for the common good. Bishop Kanco, citing John Wesley who excelled in evangelism, and those missionaries who brought Christianity to Africa, he noted that soul-winning, was the Christian's legacy in heaven as well as on earth, saying that successive generations benefited from the impact of evangelism more than any other legacy. Bishop Kanco buttressed his position with Jesus' command to his disciples to 'Pray ye the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest', as found in Matthew 9:35-38, and the story of Cornelius in Acts 10. He said although Cornelius was not a Jew, his service and alms to God moved God to send Peter to minister salvation to him and those that were with him. 'This year, we have to work for God. It is when we work that the blessings will come,' he stated. GNA By Belinda Ayamgha Accra, Jan. 3, GNA - On the last day of every year, most people reflect on what they were able to achieve and what they could not. So in the beginning of every New Year, no matter the loss or gains from the previous year, high-spirited people still set targets by preparing resolutions with the hope of keeping them. New Year resolutions are a tradition in Ghana, where people make pledges to improve on themselves or seek to achieve a stated goal. Some make their resolutions private whilst others do so publicly by bringing it up on conversations with close friends and family, or opt to tell the world about their aspirations through social media such as Facebook, Whats App and Twitter. Hal Borland, an American Author and Journalist say: 'Year-end is neither an end nor a beginning but an going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instil in us.' Also in the words of Oprah Winfrey, an American Media Proprietor says: 'Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.' Most Ghanaians interviewed by the Ghana News Agency were of the view that 2016 was a challenging year and were grateful to be ushered into 2017 with high hopes for a change in the New Year. Resolutions are necessary to facilitate the development of every nation, since a change of attitude by its citizens is expedient for progress. These are 10 resolutions worth considering by Ghanaians dubbed: '10 New Year Resolutions For Building A Better Ghana. Ghanaians have a relaxed attitude towards time control- The Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, report says African countries lose a minimum of five per cent of Gross Domestic Products because people's time are often wasted, however, economic empowerment could be realised if people were punctual. The end of cholera outbreaks- Every year people die from cholera as a result of poor sanitation with cities in filth. Local assemblies and waste management companies should adopt innovative measures to address the issue. End open defecation- Open defecation is a key sanitation challenge affecting the country with 21 percent of Ghanaians resorting to the practice. National statistics say five million Ghanaians do not have access to any toilet facilities and 20 million do not have access to basic improved sanitation. About one gram of human faeces dropped in an open place, contains about 10 million viruses and about one million bacteria whilst these pathogens as they are called, spread diseases of all kinds, which leads to either death of 3,600 children through diarrhoea every year says UNICEF. Open defecation is not best way to go and must stop. Government must expand the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach to the 10 regions, from the current seven. The CLTS is an approach to achieve sustained behaviour change in people by a process of "triggering" leading to spontaneous and long-term abandonment of open defecation practices. End the share of Sex Tapes- Delete and not share once it hits your phone. Graduates should be given opportunity- Graduates should be given employment opportunities instead employers asking for years of experience, which most of them do not have. Improve the living conditions of Ghanaians- Ghanaians complain of hardship. Government must put in place policy reforms to stabilise the economy to have a positive impact on the life of the ordinary citizen. Banish 'Dumsor' (load-shedding) - Dumsor has bedeviled the country resulting in the collapse of businesses and caused discomfort in homes. Government should find a long lasting solution to the militating problem. Stop the spread of 'false' death news - The fake news articles about the death of Ex-President John Agyekum-Kufuor and celebrities including Highlife Legend Amakye Dede, Kumahood Actor Wayoosi to mention but a few in 2016 and this has become a fixture on the social media for years. People should remain committed to their work - The Ghanaian unconcerned attitude towards work could be distasteful and should stop. Sometimes people do not work because they see it as a favour and not a duty. Politics should be devoid of malice and acrimony- We must focus on national agenda for development instead of spewing out vitriolic attacks and the political game should be played gently in order not to inflame passions. Uncle Ato, a renowned musician in his Patriotic Song 'Wonsuom' portrays the need for contributing our quota to the development of Ghana because we only have one Ghana. With great leadership from both officials at the top of governance and citizens, 2017 could be a good year for Ghana. Welcome 2017! Cheers!! Happy New Year. GNA A GNA feature by Kwamina Tandoh, GNA Ho, Jan. 3, GNA - Togbe Afede XIV, President of the National House of Chiefs has lauded President Elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's resolve to work with chiefs in the country. He said chiefs were agents of development and were ready to work with the government to promote good governance and accelerate development in their communities. Togbe Afede said this when delegations from Saviepe, Alavanyo, Sovie, Akrofu (SASADU) and Taviepe paid a courtesy call on him to congratulate him on his election as President of the National House of Chiefs. President-Elect, Nana Akufo-Addo is reported to have promised to work with chiefs and asked for their support. Togbe Afede noted that every town had a chief but not all towns have government appointees and described Nana Akufo-Addo's promise as 'far-sighted'. Togbe Afede, who is also the Agbogbomefia of Asogli reiterated his commitment to restore nobility and reverence to the chieftaincy institution and called for support from all. He said he was also focused on uniting chiefs in the country to ensure stability and progress in the institution. Senyo Aborta Ziga, Regent of Taviepe described Togbe Afede as having good leadership qualities and lauded him for his 'giant achievements'. Togbe Tsedze Atakora VII, Fiaga of Alavanyo who led the SASADU delegation said Togbe Afede's elevation to the highest office of the National House of Chiefs was good omen for the Volta Region. In a related development, Togbe Afede feted more than 600 aged persons in his residence to mark the New Year. GNA By A.B. Kafui Kanyi, GNA 03.01.2017 LISTEN By Sampson Adu-Poku, GNA Kwamang (Ash), Jan 03, GNA - The Kwamanman Rural Bank has been showing impressive performance with its total assets hitting GHE26,598,898.00 in year 2015. Compared with the 2014 figure of GH22,944,057.00, it represented an increase 15.93 per cent. Mr. John Brefo, the acting Board Chairman, who announced this said deposits also rose from GH18,105,077.00 to GH22,661,285.00 during the period. He was speaking at the 21st annual general meeting of the shareholders held at Kwamang in the Sekyere Central District. Mr. Brefo told owners of the bank that investment in treasury bills and other securities went up by 26.59 per cent - climbing to GHE5,332,032.00 from GH4,212,036.00. At the same time, it granted loans and advances, totaling GHE14,173,689.00 in support of the economic activities of the people in its operation area. The Board Chairman touched on the bank's stated capital and said it rose marginally to GHE516,704.00 from GHE516,168.00. He encouraged the people to buy more shares to meet the minimum capitalization of the Bank of Ghana. He spoke of the construction of a new head office building and refurbishment of its branch offices. Mr. George Annor, the Ashanti Regional Manager of the ARB Apex Bank, urged the directors to continue to strengthen internal controls to protect customers' money. He asked that the audit unit was adequately resourced to efficiently perform. GNA 03.01.2017 LISTEN Accra Jan. 3, GNA - Moses Osei, a mason who allegedly defiled an 11 year old girl at Adjeiman, near Amasaman has been put before an Accra Circuit Court, charged with defilement but he pleaded not guilty. The Court presided over by Mrs. Abena Oppong Adjin-Doku however remanded Osei aka Kofi into Police custody to reappear on January 17. Detective Inspector Kofi Atimbire narrating the fact said the complainant is a Sales Person living at Konogo in the Ashanti Region and a mother to the victim. According to the prosecutor, the victim is a pupil living with her grandmother at Adjeiman, near Amasaman, whiles the accused person is a mason residing in the same area with the victim. The accused is also a family friend to the complainant, the victim and her grandmother. During the month of November, the accused person went to the victim's house and called her to follow him to his house so he could give her money to braid her hair. Prosecution said the victim obliged and on reaching the house, Osei invited the victim into his room and told her that he could do something for her to let her mother and father come together again as a couple. Based on that, prosecution said accused then broke incense, put them in water and gave to the victim and asked her to remove her dress and smeared same on her body. The prosecutor said Osei then closed the door and asked the victim to lay on the mattress on the floor and open her legs. Osei then undressed and laid on the victim seven times and asked her to mention her father and mother's names seven times. Prosecution said Osei inserted his penis into Victim's vagina and she screamed. Osei then stopped and used some leaves to clean the victim's vagina and afterwards gave the said leaves to her. According to the prosecutor, Osei told the victim to go and put the leaves into her father's water to bath and used the water to wash her face seven times. On December 23, last year, the victim narrated her ordeal to the complainant who also reported the case to the Police who gave the complainant medical form to send the victim to the hospital for medical attention. Osei was nabbed by the Police, the prosecutor said. GNA By Joyce Danso, GNA Accra, Jan.3, GNA - The National Investment Bank (NIB) has launched its International Master Card in Accra to make transactions easy for customers. The cards- the service go card, standard debit card, and the prepaid card - were launched by Togbe Afede XIV, Board Chairman of NIB at a cocktail hosted by the Bank. The event held to climax the week-long customers appreciation period, was on the theme: "Reaffirming our Commitment to Excellent Customer Service Delivery," was also used to launch the bank's International Master card. The cards come in three types, namely the service go card, standard debit card, and the prepaid card. Present at the launch were key Management and Board Members of the Bank, including the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr John Asamoah, as well as the staff and customers. Togbe Afede said it was in recognition of the strategic importance of SMEs that NIB was strategising to support the district industrialisation project and the government's quest to provide incentives for agribusiness. According to the Board Chairman, NIB was focusing on expanding its branch network to grow its market share and maximise shareholder value. He said the Bank intended to re position its operations to take advantage of the SMEs sector. He noted that 'our bank is well positioned to take advantage and support the new government's job creation agenda, especially locating industries in our hinterlands. Our branch expansion programme is to take advantage of such initiatives'. He said the Bank was able to subdue fiscal pressures in the domestic economy over the past years to register modest gains. John Asamoah, CEO of NIB, said the Bank was working to establish 10 more branches at strategic locations across Ghana this year to add to the 45 existing branches. NIB is focusing on expanding its branch network as part of an aggressive strategic plan to increase its market share and maximise shareholder value. Mr Asamoah said the Bank was also re positioning its operations to take advantage of the growing small-scale and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector. He stated that it was the expectation of every government to see financial institutions play a critical role to enhance financial intermediation. He said NIB would focus on supporting young entrepreneurs with capital "in order to keep the wheels of production running". GNA Labour Analyst, Austin Gammey has described as fair, the new national daily minimum wage which takes effect this month. According to him, the figure will among other things enable employers meet their operational costs in case they are unable to pay higher. It is fair because minimum means minimum but if the employer thinks they can do a top up on the salaries of their workers then they should do so , otherwise you have a minimum threshold that you cannot go beyond it so it's just a minimum, Mr Gammey said. Government in September 2016 announced a 10 percent increase in the national daily minimum wage. The figure has since increased from 8 cedis to 8 cedis 80 pesewas. However commenting on the matter Austin Gammey told Citi Business News the amount is realistic. Therefore it is not compulsory for employees to pay only the minimum wage but if you are unable to pay anything at all because of your operational cost and labor cost then you can pay only the minimum that's why it's called minimum wage it's a national daily minimum wage,''Mr Gammey added. Meanwhile the Trades Union Congress (TUC) wants the inspectorate division of the employment ministry to be strict in enforcing compliance with the new national daily minimum wage. The General Secretary of the TUC, Dr. Yaw Baah in an interview with Citi Business News explained the impact will be more relevant if compliance is high. The most important thing is the compliance; even if it's not as high as we want it to be, that we get every employer to pay the minimum wage and pay it on time, it makes a huge difference, he said. The TUC General Secretary added, No matter how small, no matter how large, if the compliance rate is low then fewer people benefit. If it's not as high as we all would have liked it to be and the compliance rate is high, then many more people benefit. How are we going to get the inspectorate division to ensure that the compliance rate rises significantly, Dr Baah further queried. In 2015, government increased the national daily minimum wage from GH7 to GH8. At the time, it also announced a 10 percent increase in basic salary on the Single Spine Pay Policy of all public sector workers. By: Anita Arthur/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana Airtel Ghana, as part of its extensive programme to celebrate its Premier customers, has treated dozens of gold and diamond tier Premier customers to a bespoke dinner at the Movenpick Ambassador hotel in Accra to reward them for their loyalty and to build on the intimate relationship the company has with these customers. Customers were treated to the choicest meals and serenaded with music throughout the night as the leadership of the company spent time to interact take feedback from customers. The event climaxed a thoroughly engaging year Airtel Premier has had with its customers providing tailor-made voice and data services as well as lifestyle services from Airtels numerous benefit partners. Earlier in the month of December, thousands of Airtel Premier customers across the country were treated to special gifts in their homes, offices and in Airtel shops nationwide. Customers also benefitted from special discounts on airfares, shopping, meals at restaurants, rates at partner hotels among others with Airtel Ghanas benefit partners. The year saw amongst others, the monthly birthday celebrations of Premier customers, the much publicized Valentines Day promotion where several Premier customers and their partners in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale were treated to exclusive dinners, music performances and surprise gifts throughout the month of February. In addition these customers were treated to a special Classical Music Performance by Addaquay earlier in the year and hundreds of Premier customers were beneficiaries of free tickets, to Uncle Ebo Whytes Roverman Productions plays every quarter throughout the year in Accra and other regional capitals. Expressing Airtel Ghanas heartfelt gratitude to customers for staying with the Smartphone Network over the years, Rosy Fynn, Marketing Director at Airtel said we have stayed strong and grown competitive over the years because of the loyalty of our customers. Their loyalty and feedback gives us the motivation to always go a step further to meet their current and future needs. We cannot express enough how grateful we are for their patronage and partnership. Tonight, as we celebrate our Premier customers, it is our hope that they will continue to feel appreciated and closer than ever to their network. Airtel Premier is a sub-brand of Airtel Ghana which provides unparalleled telecom and lifestyle services for high value customers. Airtel Premier has been at the forefront of introducing bespoke services to delight customers including discounts on airfares, hotels, automobiles, restaurants, access to over 700 VIP airport lounges across the world via Priority Pass, spa treatments, birthday treats and access to Airtel sponsored events all year round. Airtel is the telecom industrys leader in data and digital innovation. About Bharti Airtel Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 3 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 359 million customers across its operations at the end of July 2016. To know more please visit, About Airtel in Africa Airtel is driven by the vision of providing affordable and innovative mobile services to all. Airtel has 17 operations in Africa: Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Airtel International is a Bharti Airtel company. For more information, please visit www.airtel.com, or like the Airtel Ghana Facebook page via www.facebook.com/airtelgh or follow us on Twitt For more information, please contact: President of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, will be the special guest of honour at the inauguration of president-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo's government on Saturday, January 7, 2017. According to the NPP, over 11 heads of states from other countries, as well as 13 other government representatives and multinationals, are also expected to grace the event which will be held at the Black Star Square in Accra. Addressing the press on preparations for the upcoming inauguration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, Co-chairperson of the inauguration subcommittee of the Transition Team, said preparations are far advanced for hosting the numerous dignitaries in the country. We will be receiving about 11 heads of states and governments, two vice presidents, 13 government representatives, five international representatives of multilateral organizations, and a number of ex-presidents from West Africa and other parts of the world. Let me add that this is not expected to be the final figure; we will have a final figure about 24 hours to the event, she noted. Guest of honour Ayorkor Botchway also disclosed that, presidents from other African countries including Nigeria, Liberia, Guinea, Togo, Benin, Gabon, Zambia have all confirmed their attendance at the event. Also, we will have prime ministers from Ethiopia and a couple of other countries, she noted. January 7 preparation about 80% complete President John Mahama's second term bid was halted by the New Patriotic Party's Nana Akufo-Addo following his defeat in the December 7 polls, and is expected to hand over power to the latter on January 7. According to the spokesperson of the NPP on the Transition Team, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, about 80 percent of the work pertaining to Saturday's inauguration ceremony has been completed. He earlier told Citi News that we are done with about 80 percent of everything we need to do. He also revealed at the news conference that about 5,000 security personnel are expected to be deployed for the event. By: Godwin A. Allotey & Sixtus Don Ullo/citifmonline.com/Ghana Follow @AlloteyGodwin About 5,000 security officers will be deployed for the Presidential inauguration ceremony on Saturday, January 7, 2017. The Presidential transition team revealed this at a press briefing today, on [Tuesday], to provide updates on its work ahead of the swearing-in ceremony. According to the Spokesperson of the New Patriotic Partys (NPP) side of the Transition team, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, access to the various areas of the Independent Square will be highly restricted to a few people with the required accreditation. He said the security will be on high-alert to avert any unfortunate incident. Our friends with National Security and the various security agencies are providing us with about 5,000 men and women drawn from the security agencies; military, police, national security etc. Access to the various circles will be strictly on accreditation basis and we ask people who are coming in to expect some form of screening in the light of the times that we find ourselves in, and to kindly cooperate with the security agencies during these exercises. He said some major streets will be blocked ahead of the start of the event, and parking restricted to some specific persons at designated areas including the Parliament House and the Efua Sutherland Children's Park. Media arrangements Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah said a media center will be provided at the Independence Square, venue for the inauguration ceremony, to accommodate all media houses. He noted that, a central audio and video outlet will be provided to enable the various media houses pick their feed and broadcast to the public. He said media photographers with the necessary accreditation will be granted access to the inner perimeter where they can take photos. Preparations underway ahead of official event Meanwhile, Citi News Philip Nii Lartey says preparations are underway at the Independence Square to set up the place for the event on Saturday. Some artisans were spotted at the venue mounting the stages and canopies, replacing worn-out property, and painting among other cleaning services. By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana Follow @jnyabor At least 11 heads of state are expected to be part of some 6,000 foreign dignitaries to witness the inauguration ceremony Nana Akufo-Addo as president on Saturday. The leaders include those from Togo, Gabon, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Zambia, a member of the inauguration committee has confirmed. The dignitaries will join Ghana witness yet another milestone as an incumbent government hands over power to an opposition party. President John Mahama of the governing National Democratic Congress will be handing over power to Nana Akufo-Addo Addo of the New Patriotic Party on January 7, 2017 after losing the December 7 general elections. Mahama's second term bid suffered severe battering at the polls with over one million votes difference. Over 5000 security persons are also expected to supervise activities at the Independence Square, Saturday during the handing over ceremony. The security officials are expected to thoroughly screen all persons who have direct and indirect roles to perform on the day of the handing over. This was disclosed by the Spokesperson of the Transition team of the incoming administration Kojo Oppong Nkrumah at a press conference Tuesday. The inauguration is expected to begin at 10:00 am on Saturday and will see over 6,000 visiting heads of state, diplomats from across the world. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said the outer perimeter which will sit members of the general public will also take 6,000 people. According to the media practitioner turned politician, vehicles will not be allowed at the venue of the inauguration except vehicles accredited. Members of Parliament and appointees from the outgoing administration are expected to park their cars at the State House and will be chauffeured to the venue of the inauguration. Other dignitaries are also expected to park at the Efua Sutherland Children's park to be chauffered to the place. This arrangement is to reduce traffic situation on the day of the inauguration. Dress rehearsals to ensure a perfect handing over ceremony will begin on Wednesday to Friday. Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com Last October Burundi, South Africa and the Gambia declared they were withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC), citing reasons that generally have to do with the widely held perception that the ICC is only targeting African leaders. All but one of the ICCs 10 investigations has been African-based. Taking place within only two weeks, these withdrawals, along with possible similar moves from a number of African countries, made the BBC referred to African queue to leave the ICC The international broadcaster may be right. Collective withdrawal by African member states of the ICC - 34 in total - has been on the agenda for quite some time. As recently as July 2016, the African heads of state and government in their AU Assembly at Kigali expanded the mandate of the AUs Open-ended Ministerial Committee on the ICC to include the urgent development of a comprehensive strategy including collective withdrawal from the ICC. Kenya, DR Congo, Chad, Central African Republic, Cote dIvoire and Namibia are said to be queuing up to leave the Hague-based tribunal shortly. Described by the ICC chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, as a setback, the withdrawal of the three African countries, therefore, may be just the prelude of a bigger showdown between the ICC and Africa. Significance of the withdrawals Each of these withdrawals is, however, significant in its own right. Burundi became not only the first African nation but also the first ever state-member of the ICC to quit it, a move that might have encouraged other members who were pondering about leaving it. South Africa, as the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon put it when he urged President Jacob Zuma to reconsider the decision to leave the ICC, played a key role in negotiations that led to adoption of the Rome Statute of the ICC and as one of its first signatories while noting the continual and unwavering commitment of South Africas government to justice and accountability. The BBCs Southern Africa correspondence described Pretorias decision as Africas Brexit, given that South Africa was one of the founding fathers of the worlds first permanent war crime court. The Gambia, on the other hand, is where Bensouda comes from and used to be Chief Legal Advisor to its President and Cabinet. The Gambian government thus seems to disown her top lawyer whom she seconded to the ICC. In addition, Banjul hosts the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights. In a sense, the withdrawal of the West African nation may, therefore, symbolize erosion of the African human rights systems confidence in the ICC. What went wrong in the relationship between Africa and the ICC? Why the zeal of African states to embrace the supposedly embodiment of universal criminal justice is diminishing quickly? Is the ICC is yet another false dawn in the humanity quest for justice and equality? ICC Structural Weaknesses In fact, the ICC has been marred with structural and serious weaknesses and deficiencies from the very beginning. For first, none of the superpowers, members of the nuclear club, has joined the international tribunal. For example the only country in history that has used nuclear weapons in war, killing 129 thousand people, the USA, is not only outside the ICC, but has signed agreements with a number of the member-states to exempt American soldiers, who are deployed in the four corners of the globe, from being subjected to the jurisdiction of the ICC if they are accused of any crimes fall under the Rome Statute of the court. Nevertheless, the US government finds it appropriate to preach the African countries to abide by orders of the ICC! As Thuli Madonsela, a leading South Africa Lawyer and the countrys former anti-corruption chief put it its like saying: Ill be the judge but me and my children will not be bound by it. It is needless to say this is against the enshrined principle of equality before court of law. The saying goes it is not enough to serve justice, but justice must be seen served . This happens when the most powerful are subjected to the rules of justice and law. Secondly, the ICC is subject to the authority of the UN Security Council, which has powers to refer any case anytime it pleases, as well as deferring any case before the court for one year that can be renewed annually indefinitely! Of course the Security Council is controlled by its 5 permanent members, 3 of whom are of not member to the ICC!! Thirdly, the world biggest countries in terms of population; China, India and USA, are equally not members of the court. This means that more than half of humanity is out of the reach of the ICC. Inborn Deficiencies These inborn disabilities of the ICC have been compounded by the way its supposed parents and step-fathers brought it up. The practices of both the ICCs senior officials and patrons, especially the UK, France, two permanent members of the UN Security Council and the EU, who were among the founders of the ICC and ostensibly strong advocates of universal criminal jurisdiction, have systematically undermined the moral authority of the ICC. The ICCs first prosecutor general launched his role with a number of cases which were all African-based. It was said then that these cases had been referred to the court by the respective African governments who subscribed to the Rome Statute, mostly against their armed opposition groups. Then the Security Council stepped in to refer two cases, also African-based. The first referral by the Security Council in 2005, the situation in Darfur, had revealed what kind of justice the ICC was going to deliver under the control of the Council. The Councils Resolution 1593 on the issue provided for exempting the US citizens from prosecution by the ICC in accordance with the resolution. In scantily veiled reference to those citizens the resolution states that: nationals, current or former officials or personnel from a contributing State outside Sudan which is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of that contributing State for all alleged acts or omissions arising out of or related to unless such exclusive jurisdiction has been expressly waived by that contributing State. In the meantime, the prosecutor general who has the power to initiate an investigation upon receiving enough information was very reluctant to do so in respect to any case outside the African continent, in spite of the several complaints he received from a number of NGOs supported by information and documents. For example he shows little interest in the Middle East conflict, which is the longest running international conflict, almost for 70years, with grave and tragic consequences on the international security, stability and the lives of millions of innocent people, with all sorts of war crimes and atrocities being committed. On the contrary since 2009 the ICCs persecutor general blocked all attempts by the Palestinian National Authority and civil society representatives to access the ICCs justice. The office of the ICC Prosecutor General has effectively obstructed the accession of Palestinian National Authority to the Rome Statute between 2009 - 2015, questioning the statehood of Palestine. To many lawyers that was beyond the scope of ICC Prosecutor Generals mandate. Western hypocrisy However, the most puzzling positions on Palestine accession to the ICC came from the otherwise enthusiastic advocates of the tribunal and universal criminal jurisdiction, namely Britain, Canada, France, and the European Union. All sorts of discouragements and outright threats were used by these powers to prevent Palestine from joining the ICC. For example William Hague, the former British Foreign Minister said in 2012 that the UKs recognition of Palestines statehood depended on its agreement NOT to join the ICC, though the published strategy of the British government on the ICC states that it strongly supports widening the courts membership and will press states that are not members to join. In case of Palestine, however, the pressure was in the other way around! His French counterpart, Laurent Fabias, was a bit more generous; while acknowledging the right of Palestine to join the ICC, but warned that it would be counterproductive! In July of this year the office of ICC Prosecutor General said it would examine the Chilcot Report on actions of British troops in Iraq during the American-British occupation of the country between 2003 - 2011, for evidence of abuse and torture by British soldiers, but had ruled out putting Tony Blair on trial for war crimes. In response, there has been public outcry in Britain with leading politicians, including the former defense minister Sir Gerald Howath, calling to withdrawal from the ICC, for the actions of both British troop and Mr. Blair should be judged by the British courts and were not matter for foreigners. The angry MP added the idea the ICC is viewing the conduct of British soldiers a decade ago when they were sent out there by the politicians to do their best, verges on the offensive. A similar arrogant position was displayed by the US Department of State in response to the preliminary examination by the ICC of the US military and the CIA potential war crimes in Afghanistan. The spokesperson of the State Department described the move as not warranted or appropriate. While stressing the fact that US is not a party to the Rome Statute, she nevertheless almost conceded that her country used the ICC as a tool of its foreign policy. The State Department had earlier on criticized the declarations by the three African countries they were quitting the ICC. Scandals and allegations of corruption: On the 3rd of July, 2016, London Evening Post an online newspaper published very serious allegations against the current President of the ICC of receiving into her personal bank account unexplained funds mounting to over US$17 million that was allegedly used to bribe witnesses that enabled the ICC to indict Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir. The alleged bribery of Judge Gurmendi overlaps her tenure at the office of Prosecutor General Luis Monero Ocampo. The ICC is yet to publicly respond to these allegations. In fact the office of the ICC Prosecutor General is no stranger to controversies. In September, 2008, the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organization in Geneva found that the ICC Prosecutor General had been responsible of breach of due process that was a serious infringement of a former media spokesman in the prosecutors office. The case involved allegations by the former media spokesperson put to an internal panel of judges that Mr. Moreno Ocampo himself was guilty of sexual misconduct. The alleged victim was a South African female journalist. The case was dismissed by the panel due to lack of evidence. The Prosecutor General sacked the media spokesperson and insisted on the dismissal in spite of recommendation by the courts disciplinary board to the opposite. This brought the court a ruling by the Geneva tribunal to the pay the sacked official 120,000 in moral and compensatory damages for breach of due process and serious infringement of his rights caused by the ICC prosecutor general. An article in the UK Daily Telegraph on 14th September 2008, regarded the findings enough reason to the resignation of the Prosecutor General A prosecutor who seeks to bring a President to justice must have judgment of the highest order on the strength of these findings, Mr. Moreno Ocampo does not, The Columnist wrote. The only conclusion that is drawn from the stances cited above is that the ICC, in the official thinking of London, Paris, Brussels and Washington, is meant only to deal with the African countries and, maybe, some other developing countries that are not strategic allies to any of the super powers. Conclusion: Africa has for too long been a scene of experimenting a wide range of all sorts of projects by western powers ostensibly aimed to civilize, modernize, organize or integrate Africans in the globalized world. Slavery, colonialism, arbitrary partitioning of Africa, plunder of the continents precious assets, including antiquities, and even apartheid and racial segregation in different parts of Africa, were all presented and justified as humane missions in Africa. The ICC is part and parcel of this enterprise. One cannot agree more with Kenyas President, Uhuru Kenyatta, in his assertion in 2013 that the ICC is race hunting on behalf of its benefactors and being used as a tool to oppress Africans. Kenyatta further notes that Africa is not a third-rate territory of second class people. We are not a project or experiment of outsiders. BY; Hajj Abdel Manan Abdel Rahman, Executive Director, Centre for Creative Leadership, Africa TucumAn (Argentina) (AFP) - Australian KTM motorbike rider and defending champion Toby Price won the second stage of the Dakar Rally on Tuesday to take the overall race lead. Price, 29, covered the 275km special in 2hr 37min 32sec ahead of Austrian Matthias Walkner and Spaniard Paulo Goncalves, who are now more than two-and-a-half minutes adrift of the leader in the overall standings. Price had finished the opening day in 17th position. The 800km second stage was raced between Resistencia to San Miguel de Tucuman in Argentina. With three days to the swearing-in of the seventh Parliament, tension is brewing in Zabzugu Constituency in the Northern Region over the claim that the Member of Parliament (MP)-elect holds dual citizenship. Alhaji Umar Alhassan is being pressurerised by some residents of his constituency to resign for allegedly being a citizen of the United States. A group calling itself In Defense of Zabzugu says documents available to it revealed the incoming MP has U.S Green card which contradicts the 1992 Constitution. Article 94 of the Constitution spells out the qualification and eligibility criteria for MPs. Nationality and age are two key qualifications for an MP. Individuals with dual citizenship cannot contest for an MP position. Article 94 (2) states: "A person shall not be qualified to be a Member of Parliament if he - (a) owes allegiance to a country other than Ghana." The group says it would be suing Alhaji Alhassan in court to have him deposed, adding it would also address a petition to the Electoral Commission (EC). But the MP-elect in an interview with Myjoyonline.com Tuesday dismissed the allegation, accusing defeated New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate for the constituency, Jabaah John Binnam for being behind this fictiotious allegation. He claimed the NPP candidate is using some surrogates to attack him on the issue when they know it is false. "What kind of allegation is this?" he asked. "I don't hold American citizenship. I am a Ghanaian," he told Myjoyonline. Asked what he believes might be the cause of the rumor, he said the defeat he handed Mr John Binnam in the December 7, 2016 polls is to blame. "I beat him at the election [because] I had my ideas," he said. In his response, the NPP candidate said he has heard of the issue in the community, adding those peddling the information have facts to support it. "I don't have any information but people said they have it and are ready to prove it," he said, adding the MP-elect has to handle the issue in a matured way. "If he is not aware he should go and ask he is a public figure and by that anybody at all can dig and find issues about you," he said. Mr John Binnam described as pitiful the MP-elect's claim that he has found it difficult to move past his election defeat. "Between you and myself he never defeated me and has never defeated me and in due course it would be shown to the entire public," he said. "His winning wasn't genuine [and] the case will soon come up." Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers | [email protected] The General Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU) has called for restructuring of the Ghana Cocoa Board(COCOBOD) to make it efficient rather than just moving it from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Agriculture. Shortly after the president elect, Nana Akufo-Addo hinted that the outgoing Member of Parliament for the Kwadaso constituency, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto will be the Agriculture Minister; discussions of a possible move of the COCOBOD to the Ministry of Agriculture became rife. But commenting on the issue, the General Secretary of GAWU, Mr. Edward Kareweh maintained that the poor performance of COCOBOD rather calls for a restructuring. On the dispensation that we find ourselves cocoa production has been declining all these years and that is not a good story. We have been hearing of farmers complaining here and there. We need to address that. The need to restructure is much more important than just putting it under the Ministry of Agriculture, he argued. Mr. Kareweh was of the view that the Ministry of Agriculture has its own challenges, hence can not automatically solve the problems of the COCOBOD. The Ministry of Agriculture has its own challenges and I am not sure that it has been able to address all those challenges well, so why do we think that when COCOBOD is put under the Ministry of Agriculture farmers would benefit from that and when we talk of farmers which type of farmers, he asked. For cocoa farmers to have the full benefit of their labour and their investment it does not matter whether the COCOBOD is under the Ministry of Agriculture or not, but we should also be careful that the bureaucracy and the type of attitude that bedevils the civil service is likely to affect COCOBOD if we take it to the Ministry of Agriculture, he added. Recounting some good performance in the past, Mr. Kareweh maintained that COCOBOD has delivered in the past going beyond its target, hence the feat can be reproduced. I think we need to restructure COCOBOD because it has delivered on its mandate in the past, but it appears that its current officials are not good enough to deliver, he stressed. By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana Kinshasa (AFP) - DR Congo's ruling coalition said contested President Joseph Kabila should have the right to approve Catholic mediation in the next stage of efforts to end the country's political crisis. The demand touches on a key phase for implementing a historic deal, forged on New Year's Eve, for hauling Democratic Republic of Congo out of a dangerous impasse. Mediated by the Roman Catholic Church, the accord sketches a timetable under which Kabila will stay in office before new elections are held. The coalition said the mediation mandate had to be renewed and approved by Kabila himself in exchange for the government to discuss transition arrangements. "The bishops must first present the report ... to the president, who must reconfirm, using his discretionary powers, the bishops' mandate," said coalition secretary general Aubin Minaku. "It's time to respect the prerogatives of the president of the Republic, and the constitution and institutions," he added. Leading opposition figure Moise Katumbi warned against any move that sought to gain time for Kabila or weaken the accord. "Any foot-dragging, tricks or blocking manoeuvres will not be tolerated," Katumbi, who lives abroad, said in a statement. The bishops have asked both sides to submit written proposals Wednesday on arrangements for issues including the naming a new prime minister and the size of the government. Under the country's constitution, Kabila should have left office on December 20 at the end of his second and final mandate, but he has shown no sign of wanting to step down. Scores of people died in clashes in the runup to the deadline, prompting the church, which wields considerable clout, to ramp up efforts for a political solution. Under the deal, 45-year-old Kabila will stay in power until elections are held "at the end of 2017." During the 12-month period, a transitional body will be set up, headed by the 84-year-old opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, and a prime minister will be named from opposition ranks. Christophe Lutundula, who signed the agreement for the opposition, said the next talks would be about "specific arrangements" for the transitional body, named the National Council for Overseeing the Electoral Agreement and Process (CNSAP). Issues include methods for appointing CNSAP's 28 members and "the composition of the (transitional) government," Lutundula told AFP. Kabila took office after his father Laurent was assassinated in 2001 at the height of the Second Congo War. He was confirmed as leader in 2006 during the first free elections since independence, and re-elected for a second term in 2011 in a vote marred by accusations of fraud. Endowed with natural resources but chronically poor, sapped by corruption and politically unstable, the Democratic Republic of Congo has never witnessed a peaceful transfer of power since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960. The former colonial ruler has joined others in the international community in piling pressure on the political factions to stick to the agreement. 03.01.2017 LISTEN Black people are the least successful people in the world. According to research, in USA white people are five times richer than black people. In the UK alone, half of young black males are unemployed. In Africa, poverty is the continents middle name. Yes, white people and racism can be blamed here and there for the suffering of the black people, but the truth is most of the suffering of the black race is self-inflicted. Black people refuse to think for themselves. One of the greatest gifts God gave to mankind is the ability to think critically but sadly, black people refuses to do this, always needing a man of God to think for them. Donald Trump is reported to have said black people are lazy, I think what he meant was that black people are cognitively lazy. Its not a racist statement, its brutal truth. Being the poorest people in the world, yet the most religious, believing that God should somehow miraculously bless them with wealth by going to church and yet they will always remain in poverty. Not long ago I was also part of the black circus of religion. Being in a black Pentecostal church made me completely retarded as I was no longer able to use my God-given mind to think for myself. I entered the church building with money and left it there thinking that would give me a breakthrough. Today I watch in sadness as millions of my black brothers and sisters abandon their minds in the name of Church/God. As we were entering into the New Year, black people flocked in churches on 31st December for All Night Services dubbed The Crossovers leaving churches at early hours of the morning on New Years Day. Most of these Crossover services have nothing to do with the salvation of soul or seeking the face of God but rather claiming financial breakthroughs and miracles. The Black Pastors, Spiritual Fathers and Prophets made the most of New Years Eve. For them, New Year is a time to make more millions as they tell their gullible followers to sow seeds so that they will be blessed in 2017. They tell single women that they will be getting married in 2017. People were promised big breakthroughs, cars, houses, businesses, promotions etc. Everyone will be so hyped up at these freaky Crossover services. Now the sad thing is these gullible followers were promised the very same thing the previous year. They were also told that 2016 was their year but at end of the year, they are exactly the same as they were the previous year, and the year after. No breakthroughs! No miracles! But they still went again to this New Years Eve for some fresh anointing. Is this not some mental illness? In the UK prosperity false prophet, Uebert Angel resorted to Porn Star Ray J as his guest of honor at his CrossOver all night service just to pull the crowds. Ray J is the Black American who made Kim Kardashian rich and famous (through a sex tape) whilst being the loser in the end. Now Uebert Angel thinks it was something worth bragging about that Ray J was the guest of honor at his Crossover night service. Zimbabwe probably has the highest population of prosperity prophets in Africa even though it is now the second poorest country in the world. The poverty stricken people of Zimbabwe are obsessed with false prophets and spiritual Fathers. Ghana's s Spiritual leader Bishop Dr. Obinim promised his millions of followers that "2017, work on the good prophecies and dreams to materialize"-Bishop Dr. Daniel Obinim says... False Prophet Walter Magaya also held his own Crossover Night where he promised his blind followers prosperity. Another Zimbabwean False Prophet Eugene Makore who is always bragging on Facebook about his flashy cars asked people to sow a seed (money) so that they receive their 2017 breakthroughs. The breakthroughs was in packages, gold, silver, bronze, and platinum. These packages are according to how much money you give off course. With the platinum package, you get a chance to speak to Eugene Makore directly on the phone, which is supposed to be a blessing. If you think Eugene Makore is barking mad, wait for this. Father of all false prophets in Africa Emmanuel Makandiwa did a massive New Year Cross Over service for 2017 where he promised even bigger financial miracles and breakthroughs. The gullible followers were told to pay as much as $7000 for bigger blessings. Emmanuel Makandiwa is the spiritual son of Ghana's Prophet Victor Boateng. If Ghanaians are able to make these Men of God millionaires, why then do they blame John Dramini Mahama for poverty. As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, white people are more successful financially than black people simply because they use their brains, its that simple. God doesnt grant you success because you have paid money in church or fasted. Mark Zuckerberg didnt pray and fast to become a billionaire, he simply used his intelligence and added hard work to it. No Papa had to lay his hands on him to invent Facebook. So for those single women who have been promised husbands by their prophets, forget what Papa has said and just get out more, and maybe stop putting too much makeup that you are barely recognisable, and surely you will meet someone. For those who want financial breakthroughs, work hard, be innovative and maybe use your God given talents to get to your destiny. You dont need special anointing oil from a Prophet to be successful. 2017 will just like any other year. You make it special by your own efforts. It isn't a year of breakthroughs or whatever stupid themes your prophets promise you. Until black people are able to think for themselves, work hard, identify opportunities, take a risk in entering into new areas, they will continue to be impoverished hence a nitch market for self-styled prophets to be richer. Stop this New Year Cross-Over madness. This Article first appeared on www.jeangasho.com Most people are yet to recover from the traumatic shock of the December 7th election results. But I will have to state that if we turn our backs to our history us a party, we cannot escape the responsibility for the result. I kept providing the warning whenever and wherever I could, and in public as well. But no, once again the uncouth and uncultured in our party and government chose to insult and disrespect some of us (Rawlings, 2016). Let us face it, though, some of us will remain in puzzled countenance if former president and the founder of the NDC Party J. J. Rawlings does not come out of his redundancy and rescues his beloved NDC Party from the people he inexorably describes as babies with hard teeth. However the alleged sour relations between the founder and some of the current national party executives, the indefatigable Rawlings unconditional love for his brainchild (NDC) has not tapered off, not by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, one does not have to look far for the evidence of his devoted attachment to the party he autographed with his blood. Yes, his recent speech to commemorate the 31st December 1981 revolution was a clear manifestation of his unbridled attachment to the party he founded in 1992. Need I remind you that the NDC was built on principles and values that emerged as a result of circumstances that led to our birth? The fallen heroes we honour today expect of us in the least, never to relapse into those same old days. But that has not been the case. In the wake of the revolution we made pronouncements that summed up the state of affairs that prevailed then. I admonished back then that; Ghana should be a land where it will be accepted practice and norm that those who earn the privilege to govern, should administer in humility, conscious that they are the servants of the people and are ready to submit themselves and their actions to public scrutiny and accountability (Rawlings, 2016). If we take a stroll down memory lane, on 15th May 1979, a group of disgruntled junior army officers led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings failed in their insurrection against General Fred Akuffos regime, which culminated in the arrest and trial of Rawlings. However, a group of army officers who happened to be Rawlingss apologists revolted on 4th June 1979; broke jail and released Rawlings and his cohorts. After successfully deposing General Akuffo and his Supreme Military Council (SMC) government, the mutinous officers went ahead and formed their own government, which they called as the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and appointed Flt. Rawlings as their chairman. Rawlings and his conspiratorial plotters vowed to lustrate the country of the rampant sleaze, corruption and social injustices which instigated their coup detat. So in their attempt to purge the country of the perceived injustices, they carried out what they termed house cleaning exercise,--they dealt with perceived offenders arbitrarily. The cabals proceeded with their intentions and callously murdered prominent people including General Fred Akuffo, General Kutu Acheampong, General Akwasi Afrifa and many others. After getting rid of those they saw as threat to their hidden agenda, they decided to conduct general elections for political parties in the same year-1979. Following the successful conduction of general elections, Dr Hilla Limann and his Peoples National Party (PNP) emerged victorious in 1979. Nevertheless, Rawlings and his cohorts did not give Dr Liman the opportunity to carry out his mandated responsibility. For Rawlings and his conspiratorial plotters unfairly kept criticising Dr Limanns administration for what they perceived as economic mismanagement, until he, Rawlings, decided to depose Dr Limann. To fulfil his lifetime ambition of becoming the head of state, J. J. Rawlings and some obstreperous army officers took arms and succeeded in overthrowing the constitutionally elected government of Dr Hilla Limann on 31st December 1981. Rawlings subsequently formed a government which he called the Provisional national Defence Council (PNDC) and appointed himself as the chairman. Although the PNDC government boasted some seasoned politicians, the vast majority of the military personnel who headed the core Ministries were novices in the political terrain. Unsurprisingly, therefore, the PNDC regime back then, adopted a seemingly disastrous Economic Recovery Programme (ERP), which was introduced under the auspices of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In a way, the apparent unfavourable Economic Recovery Programme culminated in a catalogue of hardships. And on top of the harsh policies which threatened the economic fundamentals, the population had to clutch itself for food shortages, a situation which the world press somehow ignored in favour of the concurrent Ethiopian famine that resulted in millions of deaths. But then again, perhaps, the 1983 famine was comparable to that of the Ethiopian famine back then. Nevertheless, Ghanas famine was not hyperbolised by the global media. In a way, both Ghana and Ethiopia back then, were ruled by uncompliant military dictatorships that looked on cluelessly and somehow unperturbed whilst the citizens endured widespread hunger. And, as food shortages escalated in Ghana, some traders started creating artificial shortages of goods by hoarding them so as to charge exorbitant prices at a later time. In his weird attempt to get rid of sleaze and corruption, many Ghanaians were unjustifiably murdered or tortured mercilessly for apparent infinitesimal offences. Regrettably, however, some market women were stripped naked in the public and whipped for either hauling their products or selling on high prices. While their male counterparts were shaved with broken bottles and whipped for offences that would not even warrant a Police caution in a civilized society. As if that was not enough, three eminent high court judges and a prominent army officer were barbarically murdered by PNDC apple-polishers on 30th June 1982 for carrying out their constitutionally mandated duties. The PNDC apologists savagely murdered the three eminent high court judges because their judgement did not go in their favour. Even though Rawlings supplanted power under the pretext of acting as a peripheral Panacea, he spent a little over eleven years before lifting the ban on political parties in 1992. As a matter of fact, Rawlings succumbed to the internal and external political pressures for him to step down and allow multi-party democracy. Subsequently, he lifted the ban on political parties in 1992 and resigned from the military simultaneously and put himself forward for election. Following his retirement from the military, Rawlings went ahead and formed a political party, which he named as the National Democratic Congress (NDC), a progeny of PNDC. J. J. Rawlings contested and won two elections and completed two terms in office-96 months (democratic rule) before retiring in January 2001. He soon became the former president and took a back seat as prescribed by the Ghanas 1992 Constitution. Thus, the stage was set for other qualified people to take over the presidency. It is also worth mentioning that former President J. J. Rawlingss 228 months (military, 132 months and democratic, 96 months) administrations only managed to destabilise Ghanas micro economic indicators. While on his retirement, former President Rawlings would now and then contribute to the national discourse. As a matter of fact, he has been keeping the successive governments on their toes. He has thus earned the accolade, Dr Boom, for his vociferous and no nonsense approach. To be quite honest, former President Rawlings has remained the chief critic of his own ruling government. Indeed, he does not shy away from pointing out his NDC governments incompetence and corrupt practices. Rawlings stresses: With the passage of time a few too many selfish and greedy characters soon began to jump on board. There were some good people; very good people but leadership and the command structure did not empower them to override those who were destroying the party and the government. Apparently, the ungrateful cabals in the NDC Party have been plotting evil against the very person whose brainchild (NDC Party) has made them somebodys. Former President Jerry John Rawlings is not happy with elements in the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) who are allegedly baying for his blood. He is surprised that recent attacks on him have been orchestrated by people within the NDC, the party he founded. The ex-President cited the recent petition presented by the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) leader, Henry Lartey to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) asking them to investigate circumstances under which he (Mr Rawlings) reportedly received an amount of $5 million from the late Nigerian Head of State, General Sani Abacha, as gift in 1998. Mr Rawlings says his own people in the NDC are behind the ploy to sully his hard-won reputation (See: $5m Abacha cash, NDC chasing me-says Rawlings; dailyguideafrica.com, 18/10/2016). In fact, am not least surprised that some elements in the NDC Party could go to an extreme extent of bringing the name of their party founder into disrepute. After all, hasnt the party General Secretary Asiedu Nketsia, once called Rawlings a barking dog? Besides, Havent the NDCs boisterous brats (the babies with sharp teeth) who are not privy to their partys history been upbraiding Rawlings all the time for expressing his grievances over the rot in his party? In so far as I am not a fun of Rawlings, I do not think the man deserves all those effusions from the members of the party he worked strenuously to bring to existence. It is against this background that Rawlings is relishing the opportunity to clean the party he cherishes so much. Former President Rawlings thus stresses: I have worked with good people all my life. I have worked with bad people all my life, some wicked, some with character defects but evil natured people must be kept away. K. Badu, UK. - Vice chairman of APC in Warri south LGA Mike Okumagba says Nigeria would have been worse if not for Buhari - He says President Muhammadu Buhari is God sent - The APC vice chairman says that Buhari's name is synonymous with discipline and accountability Mike Okumagba, vice chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Warri South local government area of Delta state, has said that Nigerias economy would have been worse if President Muhammadu Buhari was not voted into power in 2015. According to him, Buhari is God sent and his name is synonymous with discipline and accountability. Vice chairman of APC in Warri south LGA Mike Okumagba says Nigeria would have been worse if not for Buhari READ ALSO: Group lists allegations against Buhari administration officials, write Attorney general Okumagba made this known while addressing newsmen after a meeting of the APC. He expressed optimism that the Urhobos in particular and Delta state had a bright economic and political future under the administration of President Buhari, even as he called on the Urhobos and indeed Nigerians to support President Buhari and the APC. Assuring that the country would come out of the present economic recession stronger, he said: Nigeria would have been worse off if not for the emergence President Buhari. You would agree with me that the word Buhari is synonymous with discipline and accountability. We should be patient a little bit and in no distant time, we shall enjoy the benefits of the recession." READ ALSO: Nigeria is still held captive in Sambisa forest, Buhari will capture Shekau - Clerics speak On why he left Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for APC, Okumagba said: I just want to key into President Buharis philosophy of change which has been paying off. Joining the progressives will benefit me and the Urhobos of Warri politically. With the likes of the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun who is maternally from Warri Urhobo, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, Chief Great Ogboru and Olorogun OTega Emerhor it will be wise for the Urhobos to support President Buhari and APC in 2019." While urging the Urhobos of Warri to always be proud of Chief Oyegun as one of their own, he said there is no division in APC. We are waxing stronger hence they are peddling the unfounded rumor of disunity in APC. Meanwhile, the federal government has started disbursing the N5000 stipend which was promised to poor Nigerians by President Muhammadu Buhari. One million most vulnerable Nigerians will be rewarded with a N5,000 monthly stipend through the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) of its Social Investment Programmes (SIP). Source: Legit.ng With the capturing of Camp Zairo, , Boko Harams headquarters inside Sambisa forest, the Nigerian Defence Headquaters says the Boko Haram war is over. Chief of Army staff, LT Gen Buratai According to the acting director of information, Defence Headquarters, Brig.- Gen. Abubakar Rabe, the war against Boko Haram as history. The war on Boko Haram insurgency is over, I can assure you of that. We have won the war against the terrorists, but from this year, we will concentrate on post-conflict repairs in the Northeast; that is the next chapter in our history. READ ALSO: Southern Kaduna Killings: Police Boss, CAN disagree We will also intensify our mop-up operations against the remnants of the terrorists, we are focusing on eliminating them in their hideouts and we are warning members of the public, especially the communities in the Northeast and other parts, to be wary of fleeing Boko Haram terrorists and report them to security agencies. This is necessary because they are in disarray , Gen. Rabe told Nation newspaper. A leader of Chibok who spoke with the newspaper said; It is not good news for us because we all believed they were kept in that forest. Have they been moved away to other countries as threatened by the terrorist leader Shekau or where are they exactly? The best thing is that the army should try and occupy the whole of Sambisa so we know for sure that the girls are not there again. Then we can start looking elsewhere for them, A spokesman for IDPs said Boko Haram terrorists now harvest their crops and asked how they will survive. When our wives tried to get some food from the farms so that we wont starve, they were chased away by Boko Haram. The terrorists have harvested our guinea corn and they are right now as we speak harvesting our beans; how do we survive now? Sunday Garba, a spokesman for the IDPS said. READ ALSO: Heavily armed bandits kill 4, kidnap 30, steal 250 cattles in Niger state But Director Army Public Relations, Brig.- Gen. Sani Usman said the army will not rest until all the kidnapped citizens are rescued. We are not resting on our oars until all the girls and others who have been kidnapped are rescued. We are asking for the support of all Nigerians and we will not rest until they are reunited with their loved ones, he said. Source: Legit.ng - The Economic Financial Crimes Commission has found a fresh account traced to Patience Jonathans cousin - Esther Oba, the owner of the account is believed to be an alleged front for the former first lady - The account which EFCC believes belong to Patience Jonathan allegedly has Obas BVN but carries Patiences signatures The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has gathered fresh evidence against Esther Oba, an alleged cousin of Dame Patience Jonathan, the wife of former president, Goodluck Jonathan. EFCC discovers fresh evidence against Patience Jonathan's cousin Oba is being accused of being a front for some of Patience's accounts. EFCC recently commenced an investigation against Oba who was identified as one of the owners of the N9 billion account believed to actually belong to Mrs Jonathan. READ ALSO: Governor Wike in big trouble as Nigeria's unity is threatened Quoting an unnamed source, Punch reported that Oba has been on the EFCC watch-list for possessing two valid Nigerian passports which bear two different signatures. A source in the EFCC said: After we froze Patience Jonathans accounts a few months ago, we continued to investigate the former First Lady. We then stumbled on some accounts, which did not bear her name but had her signature. We realised that one Esther Oba, who we believe is Patiences cousin, had been operating some accounts for her. The accounts had Obas BVN but carried Patiences signature. So we began investigating Oba. We found out that Oba used two different passports in operating some of the accounts. The two passports are valid but carry different signatures. We immediately wrote a letter to the Nigeria Immigration Service to seek clarification. Immigration confirmed that the two passports are indeed valid. They bear the same name, picture and details but different signatures. So, they have also launched an investigation into the matter. Obviously, this is a case of fraud. Attempts by the EFCC to locate Oba have been futile so far. The source, however, said the commission has hired forensic experts to study the signatures. He said: Obas signature and that of Patience look exactly alike. But in order to build a solid case, we are hiring some forensic experts to study the signatures and give us a report which we would be able to present in court. He added that due to the existence of the Bank Verification Number, it had become difficult for politically-exposed persons to keep huge sums of money in their accounts. READ ALSO: Boko Haram war is over Defence Headquarters The detective explained that such people opened accounts with other peoples identities but used their own signatures on the accounts so that only the sponsors would have access to the accounts. Justice Mojisola Olatoregun-Ishola had recently granted an order freezing the bank accounts allegedly belonging to Patience with over N9bn lodged in them. Apart from the recently frozen accounts, the EFCC had, in July, frozen four company accounts traced to Mrs Jonathan with a balance of $15m. Patience Jonathan had informed a Federal High Court in Lagos that the money in the accounts belonged to her even though the accounts did not carry her name or BVN. Meanwhile, the anti-graft commission has refused an out-of-court settlement proposed by former Gombe governor, Danjuma Goje. Senator Danjuma Goje and four others were arraigned for N25 billion conspiracy and money laundering charges. Watch a video of a discussion on the ongoing battle between Patience Jonathan and EFCC below: Source: Legit.ng Editors note: Ojo Ayomide, the Legit.ng partner blogger, in this piece explains why MMM Nigeria will come back this month. Ayomide, an undergraduate of Obafemi Awolowo University is also a diploma student of a Computer Application and Desktop Management. He could also be reached through his e-mail midorich72@gmail.com or blogger.com More details in Legit.ngs step-by-step guide for guest bloggers. If you have your cash embedded in the sanctuary of MMM, then keep calm because your cash is surely coming back, this is the latest news coming from their main site. We all are part of the MMM worldwide Community. When someone needs financial help, he or she can ask for it and other participants will help him/her. At the same time, being a MMM member implies not only opportunities, but also a responsibility for the state and development of the MMM community. MMM is our home, and we are responsible to build and refine it. READ ALSO: MMM to unfreeze accounts on January 14 A lot of participants genuinely want to promote MMM, spread its ideology amongst people, though not always knowing what exactly has to be done. Therefore we have created a new PromoTasks section in the PO, which is added with various tasks: online and offline, easy and complicated, individual and team-oriented. A member who will perform these tasks will be benefited, because the tasks will allow him to attract new referrals, build his structure (and get bonuses for that), and it will be useful the whole Community, because more people will learn about MMM and its ideology. In a special section of the MMM Personal Office, each member will find a variety of online and offline tasks. Tasks come with a detailed guide which is understandable even for inexperienced PC users. You can select on your own which tasks you will be doing today you are free to choose any task and perform as many tasks as you want. Not everything may go the way it is supposed to when it is done for the first time. Give it a try and do the tasks regularly! There can be different mistakes, but fulfilling tasks you will learn to use social media, forums, messengers, and other online resources for recruiting people to MMM and for creation of positive awareness about our Community. For example, task may guide a member to join a facebook group and write a comment. to create some tweets on Twitter, like a YouTube video, share news on Google Plus, and make your web site. There are also offline tasks: conducting home sharing, cafe meetings, organizing MavroPicnics, MavroParties or MavroGames. Doing the tasks you contribute to the communitys progress. Thanks to you and other members doing the tasks, MMM gains more popularity in social media and gets more registrations and PHs. READ ALSO: MMM participant visits herbalist, threatens to kill whoever sends him fake teller MMM needs you and depends on your activity! Please accomplish as many tasks as you can and encourage others to do them regularly as well. It is obvious that the activity of MMM Nigeria members is growing. MMM is very proud of its members who are becoming kinder and more responsible. By our efforts, MMM Nigeria will overcome! Together we change the World! A site that has crashed won't be continuing some stuff like guider school and you wont be able to login into your PO talkless of getting the latest news from their Admin. MMM still rocks... The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily represent the editorial policy of Legit.ng. Legit.ng welcomes writers, bloggers, photographers and all sorts of noise makers to become a part of our Bloggers network. If you are a seasoned writer or a complete newbie apply and become Nigerias next star blogger. Send us some info about your career, interests and expertise and why youd like to contribute to the Blogger Network at blogger@corp.legit.ng Also, please send us the link to your blog and three examples of your work. More details in Legit.ngs step-by-step guide for guest bloggers. Source: Legit.ng - Governor Nyesom Wike says his administration will combine stomach infrastructure projects along other projects in Rivers state - Wike assures the leaders of Rivers state that his administration would continue to invest in the maintenance of security - The governor declares that the state would roll out the drums in 2017 to celebrate the state golden jubilee Governor Nyesom Wike has said Rivers state will celebrate the state golden jubilee in 2017. Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has assured the people of the state that his administration would embark on extensive empowerment programmes in 2017. According to This Day, Wike made the assurance recently at the 2017 state New Year banquet at the government house. READ ALSO: Nigeria's unity is paramount - Wike The governor said his administration will combine stomach infrastructure projects along other projects in the state. He said: This year will be a year of the empowerment of our people. While we are doing projects, we will be doing stomach infrastructure. Our stomach infrastructure this year will go round the people. We will transform the state in all ramifications. The governor said: We will increase the tempo of projects execution in January to the level that our people will be amazed. Work starts on January 3, 2017. We will release more funds for the execution of the Ogoni Andoni-Opobo-Nkoro Unity Road. Sakpenwa-Bori road, Buguma internal roads, and several road projects will be executed. Between this year and early 2018, we will deliver on all our road projects. Within this period, Rivers State will witness total transformation. Wike assured the leaders of Rivers state that his administration would continue to invest in the maintenance of security. READ ALSO: BREAKING: Rivers Assembly Speaker resigns The governor declared that the state would roll out the drums in 2017 to celebrate the state golden jubilee. In other news, Governor Nyesom Wike's defense for the unity of Nigeria, has met very strong opposition in the Niger Delta. On Monday, January 2, 3 civil society organizations in the Niger Delta, disagreed with the Rivers state governor, on his recent statement that the unity of the country was not negotiable. The groups claim that Wike's unconditional support for the unity and indivisibility of a defective federal structure, favours only a section of the country, a development which is totally unacceptable. Source: Legit.ng - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has secretly employed 20 members of staff - Most of them from Kano state and a few states in the North - The new workers were asked to report to work without any induction or training A report by The Authority indicates that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has secretly employed 20 members of staff. Mounir Gwarzo, SEC director-general According to the report, most of the new workers are from Kano state and a few states in the North, and they were asked to report to work without any induction or training The interview of the candidates was reportedly carried out on Friday, December 23, 2016 and they were hurriedly asked to report for work on Wednesday, December 27, 2016. The report stated that the workers were engaged when activities in SEC were almost shut down for the year. Critics of the exercise also alleged that the vacancies were not advertised while the management favoured candidates from northern states, especially Kano state, the home-state of SECs Director-General, Mounir Gwarzo. READ ALSO: Is the North feeding fat on the resources of the Niger Delta? Reacting to the report, SECs head of corporate communications, Naif Abdulssalam, said the positions were not advertised because they were for junior officers. He also said it obtained a waiver from the Federal Character Commission for the recruitment of 20 junior staff. Meanwhile, unnamed sources quoted in the report, stated that the candidates ought to come from the catchment states of Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) but the agency gave preferential treatment to Kano. A source at the commission said some senior workers were also employed. The source said: No training or induction was conducted. The whole thing was shrouded in secrecy and most members of staff in the commission were not even aware of what was going on. SEC has been in a running battle with the House of Representatives Committee on Federal Character over a similar employment last year. He said: No training or induction was conducted. The whole thing was shrouded in secrecy and most members of staff in the commission were not even aware of what was going on. On his part, the public relations officer of the Federal Character Commission, Abdullahi Idris, confirmed that a waiver was granted to SEC on advertisement to recruit junior employees. He explained that waivers are granted on such cases when the number of those to be recruited is minimal and for the exigency of time. READ ALSO: We don't regret voting Buhari - Northern leaders In a related development, the spokesperson of Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Professor Ango Abdullahi has accused President Buhari of short-changing the north. Abdullahi said the north is not properly represented in Buhari's government, adding that the president has not helped the region in terms of the distribution of capital projects via government annual spending. Source: Legit.ng - Customs spokesperson at Seme Command Selechang Taupyen says that the NCS had to go ahead with the presidents order banning importation of vehicles by land from January 1. - Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) chairman Bisiriyu Danu says there are vehicles trapped at border posts after the deadline elapsed ANLCA says there are vehicles stuck at borders as Customs kicked off land import ban Many vehicles that were not cleared to cross into Nigeria before Sunday, January 1, 2017 are currently stuck at land border posts across the country, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. READ ALSO: 40,000 seized bags of rice shared to IDP camps The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) kicked off the implementation of the banning of vehicle importation through land borders on January 1 and now the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Seme Chapter is reporting that many vehicles are trapped at the borders. Customs spokesperson at Seme Command Selechang Taupyen told NAN that the NCS had to go ahead with the presidents order banning the importation. The Federal Government has directed that importation of cars through the land borders should be banned and we are the agency that would enforce it so we have started with that. The border is close to the point of importation of cars and the command has placed its men and escorts at strategic places to ensure that there is no smuggling of cars through the border. We also have a good working relationship and synergy with other security agencies who assist us in enforcing this policy because we all work for the same government. READ ALSO: Hammed Ali, Lawal Daura clash over allegations of unprofessionalism We advise the public to abide by the government policy and if they must purchase a car then it should come through the sea port as any vehicle that tries to come through the land border would be seized and confiscated. Violators of the law would face the full wrath of the law, he said. Chairman of ANLCA Bisiriyu Danu said that as at Friday, December 30, 2016, the NCS authorities asked the agents to stop payment of Customs duty on vehicles by 5pm. Recall that the NCS had announced on December 5, 2016 that it had been directed by President Muhammadu Buhari to prevent the import of vehicles into Nigeria through land borders across the country. Source: Legit.ng - The constant clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria is already a major national crisis - Farmers have accused the herdsmen of trespassing on their farmland to graze their cattle, destroying their crops - The Fulani herdsmen have always ventured in search of land on which to feed their cattle A report by The Guardian UK indicates that farmers have taken to burning their land after theyve collected the harvest to deny passing Fulani herdsmen farmland to graze on. Fulani herdsmen and farmers clash gets worse as drought kicks in According to the report, the farmers have taken this extreme measure, despite the fact that it damages the soil. The combined effect of competition for land and droughts has made the search of Fulani herdsmen increasingly desperate. Coupled with the fact that their cattle are sometimes stolen by criminal groups and aggrieved communities. But the conflict has been deadly for farming communities, the report stated. Thousands of people in various regions in Nigeria have been killed by the rampaging herdsmen. READ ALSO: Christians on the verge of war with Muslims, FG reacts The perennial conflict, for years confined mainly to middle-belt states, has now spread around the country, with mass killings increasingly reported in southern states over the past year. In Plateau state, where such conflict has a long history, some locals feel the attacks are part of an effort to get farming communities to leave their land, allowing the herdsmen to settle without competition for resources. Thats why they attack villages they dont just attack because of quarrels with villagers, said a farmer who did not want to be named. They burn homes and farms so that we will have to start again somewhere else. But we cant, and will not leave because this is our land. According to John Reginald, a worker from Nigeria-based NGO Crudan, the attacks have met little resistance from police or the military. This crisis has been able to go on partly because there is very little security present in village communities, and attacks in rural fields are hard to police. So most times when the herdsmen attack, or when these issues take place, by the time people hear about it, its too late to stop John Reginald, an NGO worker said. According to the World Bank, 52% of Nigerians still live in rural areas, where people are most vulnerable to sporadic, sustained attacks. The federal governments response to the crisis has been widely criticised by Nigerians as inadequate. To make matters worse, the killings have been viewed as motivated along religious and ethnic lines. President Muhammadu Buharis ethnicity he is a Fulani Muslim has fed accusations that the government is reluctant to confront a group it has sympathies with. A plan by the federal government to allocate grazing reserves was rejected last year by the National Assembly. Some states such as Ekiti and Abia are passing legislation to allow them to limit the herdsmens activities, and prosecute those who graze on private land. In Kaduna, the state government has admitted to having paid compensation to aggrieved herdsmen to stop further killings. In some cases, farmers have taken to burning their land after theyve collected the harvest to deny passing herdsmen farmland to graze on despite the fact that it damages the soil. The effects of the conflict on communities, particularly across the north-east, has sharply decreased crop yields. The crisis has had a significant impact in Adamawa, a state with already stretched resources due to the huge influx of Internal Displaced Persons. READ ALSO: CAN leadership fears Buhari may be in support of killings in southern Kaduna following his silence The number of people reliant on land to farm for food is increasing just when climate change has made farming more difficult. As a result, the land disputes with the herdsmen are likely to increase. Despite the many deaths and federal government statements, there is little sign of the crisis coming to an end. A farmer said: All we can do is manage with what we can farm, it is a bad situation, but we are powerless to stop it because they are armed and we are not. Source: Legit.ng The comptroller-general of customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), has approved the redeployment of 46 senior officers of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) in a bid to strengthen operations and reposition the service to meet the challenges of the new year 2017. Hameed Ibrahim has reiterated the federal government ban on importation of Rice and Vehicles through the land borders. The NTA reports that the redeployment which takes immediate effect affects 8 assistant comptrollers-general and 238 deputy comptrollers of customs. Assistant Comptrollers-General affected are: 1. ACG Charles Edike from Zone A to Human Resource Development (HRD) 2. ACG Ahmed Mohammed from HRD to Zone B 3. ACG Aminu Dangaladima from Zone B to Enforcement 4. ACG Francis Dosumu from Enforcement to Zone D READ ALSO: EXCLUSIVE: N250bn crude oil funds went missing under Jonathan, NEITI alleges 5. ACG Augustine Chidi from Zone D to Excise, Free Trade Zone and Industrial Incentives (Ex, FTZ, & I I) 6. ACG Monday Abueh from Ex, FTZ, & I I to Zone A 7. ACG Umar Sanusi from HQ to Zone C 8. ACG Abdulkadir Azerema from Zone C to HQ The redeployment of deputy comptrollers of customs affected the service public relations Officer, DC Wale Adeniyi, who is now posted to Apapa customs area command, Lagos. READ ALSO: 40,000 seized bags of rice shared to IDP camps The comptroller-general has also reiterated the federal government ban on importation of Rice and Vehicles through the land borders. He charged all Officers and Men of the Service to ensure maximum collection of revenue and strict implementation of the fiscal policy of government. Meanwhile, many vehicles that were not cleared to cross into Nigeria before Sunday, January 1, 2017 are currently stuck at land border posts across the country, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) kicked off the implementation of the banning of vehicle importation through land borders on January 1 and now the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Seme Chapter is reporting that many vehicles are trapped at the borders. Customs spokesperson at Seme Command Selechang Taupyen told NAN that the NCS had to go ahead with the presidents order banning the importation. Source: Legit.ng - The interior minister has revealed that Muslims are not behind the southern Kaduna killings - Speaking on the killings Dambazau warned against giving the killings a religion - The minister called on all quit from fanning the flames of religious division in the country A destroyed house in Southern kaduna Abdulrahman Dambazau the interior minister has warned opinion and religious leaders against giving the crisis in Southern Kaduna a religious connotation. Speaking on Tuesday, January 3, 2017, to the press, Dambazau, who is a retired general said that the crisis is between herdsmen and farmers. He issued an official statement through Mr Ehisienmen Osaigbovo, his press secretary in which he urged Nigerians to refrain from making incendiary comments about the Kaduna crisis. READ ALSO: Fulani herdsmen and farmers clash gets worse as drought kicks in The retired general explained that due to their own personal gain and selfish interests, some people were always looking for ways to further create division along religious or ethnic lines. He said: Economic growth and development will remain a mirage for Nigeria, with over 500 ethnic groups and multiple religions, unless we resolve to live amicably as a people with common destiny. They aim at creating instability in the country." He emphasized that criminals and other wicked people who perpetrate violence against innocent, law-abiding citizens do not discriminate along religious and ethnic lines. He used examples of how communities in Zamfara, Katsina, Taraba, Enugu, Lagos and Niger were victimized by those violent criminals. He reiterated: A criminal should be treated as such, whether he is involved in armed robbery, drug trafficking, homicides or cattle rustling. People should avoid honouring criminals with religious or ethnic attachment." READ ALSO: Pressure! Christians on the verge of war with Muslims, FG reacts In conclusion, he advised opinion and religious leaders to focus on the real enemies of our society, and said that he had directed the Nigerian Police to ensure the sustenance of law and order, and to arrest and prosecute anyone involved in criminal activities in the area and across the country. Meanwhile, the Nigerian Senate has revealed that it will investigate the recent killings in Southern Kaduna by suspected Fulani herdsmen. Senate president Abubakar Bukola Saraki confirmed this in a statement by his special assistant on new media Bamikole Omisore in Abuja on Tuesday, January 3. Source: Legit.ng Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, the Chief of Army Staff, has said Nigeria would deploy 800 soldiers to the United Nations Mission (UNAMID) in Darfur. Army deploys 800 soldiers to Darfur for Peacekeeping Buratai revealed this on Tuesday, January 3, at the Nigerian Army Peace Keeping Centre during the graduation of 755 soldiers and 45 officers that participated in the pre-deployment training in Jaji, Kaduna state The army chief, who was represented by Adeniyi Oyebade, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 1 Division, said Nigeria would continue to deploy quality peacekeepers as part of its contribution to global peace and security. He tasked the personnel to discharge their duties in consonance with the UNAMID mandate at all times. READ ALSO: Boko Haram war is over Defence Headquarters Buratai said the rule of engagement in the UNAMID gives them the opportunity to exhibit utmost professionalism in the discharge of their responsibility. He noted that Nigeria and the United Nations have high respect for human rights and protection of civilians in armed conflicts. Meanwhile, the Nigerian troops have repelled an early morning attack by fleeing Boko Haram insurgent on Dar village in Madagali local government area of Adamawa state. The chairman of Madagali local government Yusuf Mohammed said the attack was contained by the prompt response of security operatives in the areas. Source: Legit.ng Officers of the Nigerian Army on Tuesday, January 3, have been barred from uploading pictures and videos of their operation on social media while on duty. Major-General Adeniyi Oyebade, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 1 Division Mechanized Army, gave the warning on behalf of Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai. Recall that in December 2016, a video clip went viral on social media of soldiers complaining bitterly about lack of food and water for troops after the capture of one of Boko Harams major stronghold, Alagarno. However military authorities refuted the claims that soldiers were being neglected at the battle fronts, explaining that the video was shot over six months ago by elements who were bent on tarnishing the image of the Nigerian military. Oyebade at the graduation ceremony of Men of Nigerian Battalion (NIBBAT) 46 held at the Nigerian Army Peace Keeping Centre (NAPKC), Jaji in Kaduna state said: it is prohibited to upload any picture with your uniforms while in operation. Specifically, I want to warn you on the use of social media. While you are on operation, you may want to take photo shot of some good moment but you should be very careful while doing that. READ ALSO: Nigerian soldier killed by Boko Haram in Borno state (photos) Avoid any picture or video that has to do with your colleague or operation. You are barred not to upload such information. It is prohibited to upload any picture with your uniforms while in operation, because it will become a pragmatic problem for the Nigerian Army. In a related development, 800 soldiers have been redeployed to the United Nations Mission (UNAMID) in Darfur by the army. The army chief, said Nigeria would continue to deploy quality peacekeepers as part of its contribution to global peace and security. Source: Legit.ng Adams Oshiomhole who is the former governor of Edo state has met President Muhammadu Buhari behind closed doors amid rumour of a cabinet shake-up. The Punch reports that the former governor met with the president on Tuesday, January 3 at the State House in Abuja for a one-hour meeting. Oshiomhole pays courtesy visit to President Buhari This visit is fuelling speculation in some quarters that there would be a cabinet shake-up in 2017 and Oshiomhole was being considered for a ministerial appointment. READ ALSO: New forces emerge to stop Buhari's planned reshuffling The governor however said he was just paying a courtesy visit to the president for coming to Edo state for the gubernatorial campaign. He declined to respond to questions about his alleged consideration for nomination in the presidents vabinet. Meanwhile, the much-anticipated cabinet reshuffle by President Buhari may have to wait till May 2017 when the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration would be two years in office, it was learnt. It was gathered that the initial reports had indicated this January for the removal and redeployment of some cabinet ministers as the case may be, but impeccable sources according to Leadership said that the president was no longer keen on the idea after pressures from within and outside the government. A source at the National Assembly who revealed this said the President Buhari was advised to wait till the second anniversary of his inauguration, in the hope that it will help him to fix round pegs in round holes this time around and avoid the mistakes of the past. Source: Legit.ng Norma Talmadge and Mark McDermott (man with whiskers) in last scene of New Moon. Filmed at Saranac Lake. Winter 1919. Donated by Lila Friel. Saranac Lake, NY. Winter brings a whole lot of dark and a whole lot of cold to the North Country. And so we try to "make the season bright" as best we can. A little celebration of light to carry us through to the... The Speaker of East African Legislative Assembly Daniel Kidega has condemned the continued assassination of government officials in Burundi. This is after 54 year old Emmanuel Niyonkuru, Burundis environment minister was shot dead while on his way home on New Years Eve. Early last year, Burundis East African Legislative Assembly Member Hafsa Mossi was also gunned down by unknown assailants. Now Kidega tells KFM that the ongoing reconciliation mechanism spearheaded by Ugandas president Yoweri Museveni must be expedited to provide a lasting solution to Burundis security crisis. He also challenges the Burundi government to do everything possible to stop such heinous killings. The United States will soon appoint an ambassador to Somalia for the first time since closing its embassy in Mogadishu 23 years ago, Wendy Sherman, under secretary of state for political affairs, said Tuesday at the United States Institute of Peace, a think tank in Washington. She said the move was a sign of our deepening relationship with the country and of our faith that better times are ahead. An American diplomat based in neighboring Kenya has been representing United States interests in Somalia. A State Department official said the new ambassador would not yet be based permanently in Mogadishu. At this point, most, if not all of us, have heard about the Zika virus, as well as the terrible birth defects it can cause. Yet, though we are informed about the terrors of the virus, few of us actually know why or how the epidemic so suddenly came about. Scientists are beginning to theorize that El Nino, an abnormal weather pattern that is caused by the warming of the Pacific Ocean near the equator, is the root of the problem. Take a look at the facts: the 2015-2016 El Nino is one of the strongest on record, causing heavy rainfall and warmer temperatures throughout South America and up through the southern United States. This warm weather and heavy rainfall provided the ideal breeding conditions for the mosquito. In order to test this theory, scientists conducted a study during which they recorded the effect of temperature on the Aedes aegypti (the yellow fever mosquito) and the Audes albopictus (the Asian tiger mosquito). These are the two main types of mosquitos known to carry the Zika virus, both of which are found in the tropics. The results of the study showed that rising temperatures can cause mosquitos to bite more frequentlyat least to a certain degree. All in all, the Zika virus most likely could have spread without the help of El Nino, but the conditions that accommodated the weather pattern only increased the diseases damage. Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior associate with the University of Pittsburghs UPMC Center for Health Security, claims that diseases like Zika, because of their reliance on mosquitoes for transmission, have an added element of environmental dependency derived from how mosquitoes are impacted. Photo: frankieleon, CC-BY Elizabeth Chambers is a health intern with Paste and a freelance writer based out of Athens, Georgia. There are plenty of ways to try new beers. You can go to a bar and sample whats on tap, or host a beer share with some friendsbut nothing will give you the sheer variety and volume of new beer like attending one of the many beer festivals in the U.S. Whether its in a convention center, city plaza, or a festival in the great outdoors, the experience of gathering with hundreds of other craft beer lovers, and some of the most decorated breweries and brewers in the country, is what keeps us coming back for more. While the number of festivals grows almost at the same rate as the number of breweries in this country, weve managed to narrow the field down to 12 essential festivals that you should have on your radar for 2017. California January In 2002, RateBeer Best was unintentionally created, using solely the reviews that had been compiled on the companys website. While Ratebeer had attempted to create festivals in the past, it wasnt until last year that Ratebeer decided to truly go big by combining their awards program with a beer festival in Santa Rosa, California. While RateBeer has always been a site for beer lovers around the world, the staff at RateBeer began to think, wouldnt it be amazing to pull together a few of these best brewers in the world for a week or weekend? Just like that, this cant miss festival was born. Dont believe me? Check out the list of brewers that have already confirmed to attend 2017s fest; you will not be disappointed. For those who thought RateBeer couldnt top last years event, they have added what they call the The Belgian Experience, which includes pours from breweries like Cantillon and 3 Fonteinen. See you there. Boston and Los Angeles February and December While many of you are probably familiar with the site Beer Advocate, some may be surprised to know they have been hosting Extreme Beer Fest in Boston since 2004. While the festival has certainly changed over the last decade, the goal has remained same: To celebrate unique brews that push the envelope as well as our palates. What makes this festival unique is that attendees are able to sip on beers, most of which are being poured for the very first time and have been created specifically for the festival. To change it up for 2017 and give some love to the west coast, Beer Advocate has added a second event which will be hosted in Los Angeles this December. Florida February Last year we learned that Cigar City wasnt the only brewery in Florida hosting a killer festival when J. Wakefield Brewing introduced us to their inaugural anniversary eventWakeFest. With a lineup that featured not only several incredible brews from John Wakefield himself, but some of the best beers from around the country, WakeFest got our attention. For the second installment this February, J. Wake is increasing the size by 10-fold, with close to 90 breweries scheduled to attend from both the U.S. and Europe. With breweries like Toppling Goliath, Trillium and Cantillon, WakeFest is poised to become one of the top tier festivals in 2017. If youre looking to grab tickets, this years general admission will give ticket holders a guaranteed bottle of J. Wakes Anniversary Imperial Stout, a commemorative glass and unlimited pours from beers in the general admission area. For those that are looking for a cheaper option, J. Wake is currently working on releasing general admission tickets that dont include the bottle package. If youre late to purchase tickets, proxies are allowed. Be sure to check out their Facebook for more details. Florida March Named after Cigar Citys renowned spiced stout (Hunahpu), this bucket-list beer festival has continued to grow since it began in 2010. For many of us in the craft beer world, we thought 2014 would be the death of this great event as it was plagued by counterfeit tickets. Videos went viral in the beer community of festival goers chanting Cigar City sucks as they watched the brewery run out of the Hunahpu bottles they had been waiting for. Cigar City made sure to make everything right with festival goers that missed out, and eventually declared Huna Day would be back in 2015. Since then Huna Day has been better than ever with a new system that allows attendees to purchase a number of designated bottles with their festival tickets. Last year attendees were able to sample over 400 beers from the 150 breweries that were invited to join the event from around the globe. Indiana May Since 2004, the last Saturday in April has been reserved for Dark Lord Day. This year, the festival has moved to May 13. Still, typical 3 Floyds hijinks will ensue. One of the most unique festivals out there, Dark Lord Day is a hybrid of metal, food and, most importantly, beer, celebrating the beer that the festival is named after. Last year Three Floyds instituted a big change in the festival format going from a la carte to all-inclusive. While tickets are obviously pricier, they include not only four bottles of their Dark Lord Stout and $40 for food and drinks, but a guaranteed Dark Lord variant. No longer did attendees need to hope they had the golden ticket to purchase a variant, now they just need to hope they purchased a ticket early enough to be able to be in one of the first groups to snag that Vanilla Bean before it runs out, or French Vanilla Militia in last years case. Lets hope we see the same for 2017! California June Now in its sixth year, the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest offers festival goers the opportunity to mingle not only with some of the most important brewers and leaders in the craft beer movement, but also drink some of the finest brew. As always with an invitational, you know youll be hard-pressed to find any beer youre not going to want to try, including a special tapping from the festivals hosts every hour. In reality, it can make it difficult to even keep up with all the rare beer being tappedits an embarrassment of riches that requires quite a bit of drinking constitution if youre hoping to try every one of the massive, barrel-aged beers or sours on site. If youre interested, make sure to act quickly. Last year, the fest sold out in less than 30 seconds. Vermont August In the summer of 2006, what would become the best day of the year at Hill Farmstead was born through the Backwoods Brewdown: a festival hosted by Shaun Hill and his friends in which brewers would come for a day of live music and barbecue. In 2011, one year after Hill Farmstead officially opened, the Backwoods Brewdown transformed into FoFA, the first festival geared towards celebrating Farmhouse Breweries. While the name changed, the mission did not. FoFA has continued to be an intimate event geared toward hosting friends within the beer industry and celebrating a weekend together. For those who want to be a part of this event, keep an eye out for the ticket lottery in the spring. Wisconsin August About 30 years ago, founding members of the Madison Homebrewers and Tasters Guild returned from the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) with a plan to replicate GABF but on a smaller scale in order to help small breweries get some much needed attention. The following year, the Great Taste of Wisconsin was born (changing the name the following year) with a mission to celebrate brewers. Today, the Great Taste is one of the harder tickets to find. Half of the tickets go on sale in Madison on the first Sunday of May, and the remaining tickets are sold via lottery through the mail (yes, we said mail, like with a stamp and everything). All mail orders must be postmarked on the first Monday of May. Too early or too late and theyll be rejected. Massachusetts September Most of you have probably heard of the notorious Copenhagen Beer Celebration hosted in Copenhagen by Mikkeller. Well, after several years, Mikkeller brought the CBC to the U.S. for the first time in 2016. For one weekend, Bostons City Plaza became home to brewers from around the world, there to celebrate live music and, more importantly, beer. After a successful event, we look forward to see what Mikkeller has in stock for Bostons CBC in 2017. While the details have not yet been released, be sure to keep an eye out for this unique event. Colorado October Since 1982, the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) has served as one of the original and premier craft beer festivals in the country. For those of you wondering what makes this festival so Great, try the 800 breweries bringing a whopping 3,500 different beers for attendees to sample within the Colorado Convention Center each fall. If that isnt enough, Denver transforms into festival-mode throughout the week leading up to the event. Throughout the city, breweries host their own events creating a craft-beer-town for beer lovers to be immersed in. TBD October Its been five years since Shelton Brothers, world-famous beer importers, hosted their annual event in Massachusetts. Despite the growth in popularity, The Festival has continued to keep both their mission and spirit intact as attendees are able to try beers from around the globe in a new location each year. For 2017, Shelton is looking for ways to improve The Festival while maintaining their mission. The feedback from this past year when they included a local cheese-monger was positive, so look for Shelton to add more pairing options that bridge a connection to local food and other producers. Illinois November Starting in 2003, FoBAB has been inviting brewers and beer fanatics to Chicago to take part in the largest celebration of barrel-aged beers this country has to offer. The festival has generated so much demand, it actually has switched to a two-day event, allowing visitors to sip on some of the most unique beers out there, some of which arent available commercially. It also serves as a competition with 12 different categories as well as a best in show award. Jason Stein is a New York-based beer nerd. You can find more of his writing on NYC Beer Society. More than 100 Turks and foreign nationals welcoming the start of the new year in Istanbul were victims of a shooting spree at a popular nightclub that left 39 dead and another 69 wounded. How did it happen? Media reports say the attacker is believed to have taken a taxi from the Istanbuls southern Zeytinburnu district to Reina nightclub, a popular nightclub among tourists and Turkish socialites. At the time of the incident, around 600 people were inside Reina. Upon arrival, the attacker shot dead a police officer and a civilian at the door, forcing his way into the club, where he then unleashed a fury of some 180 bullets, according to authorities, as well as throwing hand grenades. At first we thought some men were fighting with each other, said a Lebanese woman who gave her name as Hadeel and who was in the club with her husband and a friend. Then we heard the sound of the gunfire and ducked under the tables. We heard the guy screaming Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest), all three of us heard that We heard his footsteps crushing the broken glass, she told Reuters. We got out through the kitchen, there was blood everywhere and bodies. Some guests, like Hadeel, hid in the club and others reportedly jumped into the Bosphorus river. In total, 39 guests, from 14 different countries, perished with another 69 injured. The gunmen fled the scene and is still at large. Turkish police continue to distribute photographs of the alleged perpetrator. Authorities think he may be Central Asianfrom either Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstanwith links to ISIS, and possibly part of the same cell that responsible for Junes bombing at Istanbuls Ataturk Airport. ISIS claims responsibility for the nightclub attack. ISIS claimed responsibility for the New Years attack at Istanbuls Reina nightclub that left 39 dead and another 69 injured. In continuation of the blessed operations that Islamic State is conducting against the protector of the cross, Turkey, a heroic soldier of the caliphate struck one of the most famous nightclubs where the Christians celebrate their apostate holiday, the group said in a statement following the attacks. The latest attack has been one of a half-a-dozen to hit Turkey within the last year, though not all have been pinned on ISIS. Turkey still deals with unrest not only from ISIS but also the Kurdish militants (PKK) and alleged followers of Fethullah Gulen, who was blamed for the Julys attempted coup. What does this mean for Turkey? Hours after the attack, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the attacks, saying they aimed to create panic and destabilize the country. Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus echoed Erdogans remarks and made it clear the attacks are in response to Turkish military operations in Syria, adding that the Turkish offensive in Syria would continue until all terrorism threats to Turkey were removed, going on to say, that with all our national capacity, we will bring them to their knees. Just days after the attacks, Turkey has since bombed more than 100 ISIS cells in Syria, with much of the blitz occurring near the al-Bab stronghold. In cooperation with Turkish artillery, Russian forces also attacked ISIS targets in Dayr Kak, which lies five miles outside of al-Bab. Thus far, Turkish police have detained eight suspects in the search for the attacker. Tom is a travel writer, part-time hitchhiker, and hes currently trying to imitate Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? but with more sunscreen and jorts. The ceremony sounds like some fantastic vision induced by ayahuasca, the powerful Colombian hallucinogen. High in the Andes, a new cacique, or chieftain, of the Muisca people stepped onto a wooden raft at the weedy edge of an unusually round, green lake. Around him on the raft stood worthy warriors bearing tribal banners. Impossibly, the new leader glowed, a shining man covered from head to toe with gold dust. He also wore an elaborate headdress of feathers, a gold nose ring, and adornments for his ears. The raft pushed off into what the Spanish conquistadores would one day call Lago de Guatavita (Lake Guatavita). For the indigenous Muiscas, the lake was sacred. The immersion ceremony honored the life goddess of water, Chie. As the raft slowly moved toward the center of the circular lake (many Colombians believe its a flooded meteor crater), the chief spread his hands wide and scattered emeralds over the sparkling water. At the center of the lake, the raft came to a stop. The golden chief approached the rafts edge, paused, then plunged into the water. The gold dust washed off his body, an offering to the goddess, and the spiritual event bound him and his tribe to her blessings. A visitor to Colombia cant fully understand this nationor really the entire post-Columbus history of the Americaswithout understanding the legend that arose from this ceremony. The Spanish arrived in South America in the 16th century and soon grew fevered by tales of El Dorado, The Golden One. The more times the conquistadores told and retold the story, the bigger it grew. The golden king became a golden town. The golden town became a city of gold. The legend traveled by ship to the Old World, where it catalyzed exploration and settlement of the new one. Fired by lust for precious metals, soldiers with steel armor and gunpowder poured into Colombia and all the rest of the Americas. They took no prisoners. By some estimates, more than 80 percent of the native peoples, including the Muiscas, died within a generation of their first encounters with Europeans. Smallpox and Spanish weapons proved more powerful than the goodness of goddesses. The Spanish did find gold in Guatavita. Lots of it. Phillip II filled royal coffers with shiploads of loot, Muisca treasures melted into ingots and doubloons. The Spaniards tried more than once to drain the entire emerald lake, finally giving up when they realized it probably cost more than the gold and jewels they stood to recover. It proved easier to simply take treasure from the Muiscas. In their village near the lake, craftsmen worked precious metals with great skill. They created all manner of golden decorative objects and spiritual votives from gleaming gold nuggets they found lying in river beds or from gold ore glittering in veins that streaked exposed rock. Some of the Muiscas gilded piecesbreast plates, earrings, nose rings, penis sheathssimply served a function as ornaments. Other works had spiritual significance. These symbolically accompanied shamans as they took mystical journeys into the bodies of other life forms jaguars, bats, and birds. On the third floor of El Museo del Oro (The Gold Museum) in center-city Bogota, about an hour drive from Guatavita, stands a small golden sculpture under dramatic lighting. La Balsa Muisca, the Muisca raft, is one of hundreds of gilded patrimonial objects somehow salvaged from the predations of the Spanish and gathered in one remarkable collection for Colombians and international visitors to marvel over. Farmers near Pasca, in the Colombian state of Cundinamarca, found the golden raft in 1969 inside a ceramic vessel. More sculpture than totem, the Balsa depicts the El Dorado moment: the ascendant Muisca chief decked out in ceremonial finery, his attendant warriors vigilantly standing by his side, all the figures at full attention on the wooden raft. Everyone was finely wrought in Colombian gold. Historians believe native craftsmen cast and polished the Balsa Muisca sometime between 600 and 1600 A.D. The farmers who found the precious work presented it eventually to a local Catholic priest, who kept it under lock and key until Colombian authorities at the gold museum acquired it and made it the centerpiece of its astonishing collection. The original Guatavita, the El Dorado village, no longer exists. Like the emeralds and gold tithed to Chie, the native site today lies at the bottom of a lake: the Tomine Reservoir, a man-made body that supplies water to the 10 million people of thirsty Bogota. Colombia replaced the original Guatavita with a modern one built in the 1960s a safe distance above the water line. Its themed architecture makes it look curiously Mediterranean, like some of the gleaming white villages along the coast of southern Greece. Today, tourists brave twisting roads from the new Guatavita to reach the sacred lake a few kilometers on. Those able to breathe the thin mountain air can walk the half mile or so to the lago from a welcome station with eager tour guides. The visitors can buy coffee in a replica Muisca hut and mail postcards that picture the golden raft, and tell the legend of El Dorado, the place that launched a thousand ships. Does the El Dorado legend present a golden opportunity for politicians as they assume power? Think of it. The United States now prepares for a transition in presidential authority. The old chief passes responsibility to a new cacique. Might we consider copying how the Muisca peoples invested their new leader with his might? Imagine Donald Trump in a splendid Inaugural Day headdress, nose ring, earrings, and penis sheathand sporting a brilliant, gleaming coat of 24-karat gold dust. Following the oath of office, President Trump and a collection of stalwart billionaire cabinet members could push a small bark into The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. They might scatter emeralds and silver dollars into the still waters. The gilded Donald could take a dive. He could come out clean. God could bless America. Again. Now, will somebody please pass the ayahuasca? Image: Mark Rowland, CC-BY Charles McNair is Pastes Books Editor emeritus. He served the magazine as writer, critic and editor from 2005-2015. Police are investigating how a British exotic dancer was left dead for up to 12 hours inside a Melbourne strip club. Stacey Tierney, a 29-year-old woman from Manchester, was found dead in Dreams Gentlemens Club on Monday the before Christmas, around 11:50am. She had been partying in the venue the night before which is closed on Sundays and Mondays with several unidentified men. The Herald Sun reports that its believed the men fled after she died. Police are combing through CCTV footage of the venue, but unfortunately it doesnt cover private areas of the club. Tierney had moved to Australia three years ago, spending a couple years in Brisbane before moving to Melbourne last year. She had been working as a fitness instructor and planning to study nursing. One of Tierneys mates, a dancer called Ashley, told the Herald Sun that she was angry an ambulance had not been immediately called when her body had been found. I personally hope someone is charged for this, she said. Id like to see them punished. She also expressed fears about Dreams club, saying that shed told Tierney not to work there and that shed thought it was a bit dodgy. Tierneys family were only informed of her death on Monday, the Manchester Evening News reports, and have not yet been told what caused her death. Theyve launched a fundraising campaign to bring her body home, and have already raised over $19k, smashing the $17k target. She was such a free spirit and such a lovely soul, her cousin Colleen told the paper. People have been saying the nicest things about her and to raise so much money in just two days I was just blown away especially so close to Christmas. A Victoria Police spokesperson confirmed to the Herald Sun that the exact circumstances surrounding her death are yet to be determined, and a post-mortem will be conducted. Dreams have declined to comment. Photos: Facebook. The Soho Loft Conferences Supports Opal Group's Public Funds Summit to be held in Scottsdale, AZ, USA By: The Soho Loft Media Group Contact david@victoriaglobal.co 09175789069 09175789069 End -- Pension representatives (trustees, commissioners, administrators and staff), insurance companies, consultants, equity managers, Taft-Hartley representatives, accountants, funds of funds, hedge funds, real estate managers, private equity, public service administrative providers, venture capitalists, and benefit companies will converge at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, in Scottsdale, AZ for this exclusive summit on January 9-11, 2017.Chairman of LDJ Capital David Drake, says, "This summit presents a unique opportunity for the public sector to learn and share ideas about public pension funds. Consultants, money managers, and professionals will also share a lot of information that attendees can use to make informed investment decisions. It is an event that can change your perception and fortunes in public pension funds."Some of the topics to be discussed during the summit include: how investment managers can help public pension plans to ensure that their members' future is safe; how to evaluate and select investment managers; advantages and disadvantages of different investment strategies; declining pension funds returns and funding concerns; how to strike a balance between investment risks and rewards in meeting pension obligations;viable alternatives to address pension funds concerns; how surplus returns affect benefit plans of employees; legal issues that are facing pension plans; importance of politics; ethics regulations;the significance of continuing education for pension plan sponsors and their fiduciaries;public perception of pension plans; and role of pension officers and trustees in creating positive image for their pension plans.This conference will solely feature panel discussion driven by dialogues, led by public pension plans and consultants. To maintain educational value of such events, only standalone speakers can use PowerPoint presentations in their talks. Other speakers can submit their PowerPoint presentations to an Opal Associate, to be added to Opal Group's Mobile App. Speakers will also be prohibited from marketing particular products or services when making their presentations.Keynote speakers at the summit include:Austin Khan, Chief Investment Officer, Ethika Investments, LLCDon Stracke, Senior Consultant, NEPC, LLCGlenn Ezard, Senior Consultant, Segal RogerscaseyKen Miller, State Treasurer, State of OklahomaMustafa Saiyid, Senior Financial Sector Expert, IMFPatricia Humbert, Chief Investment Officer, Arizona State Treasurer's OfficePeter Boockvar, Managing Director and Chief Market Analyst, The Lindsey Group LLCRick Rodgers, Vice President, Director | MPPP Plan Administrator, Innovest Portfolio Solutions LLCShonda K. Warner, Managing Partner, Chess Ag Full Harvest Partners LLCThis event will start with a debate focusing on pension reform. The summit will also feature a cocktail reception, breakfast, refreshment breaks, lunch, and standalone presentations.The Lindsey Group and AGF are the executive sponsors of the event. Some of the general sponsors are RRA Companies, Kennedy Capital Management, Inc., DuPont Capital, and Brigade Capital Management. Brandes Investment Partners is the exhibitor sponsor.Media partners of this summit include CrowdReviews.com, FocusEconomics, IntegriDATA, and SmartMoneyMatch, Victoria Global, The Soho Loft Conferences, and The Soho Loft Media Group.This conference will focus on topics that are relevant to public pension funds and is open to people outside the public sector. Over 350 delegates are expected to attend the conference and it will be a great opportunity for people in the U.S. to understand the current environment and trends in the public pension funds sector. Attendees will also get unlimited networking opportunities.For more details, visit:MEDIA CONTACT:THE SOHO LOFT Media Group ( www.thesoholoft.com The Soho Loft Media Group is a global financial media company with 3 divisions:THE SOHO LOFT CONFERENCES organizes up to 200+ investor-focused global summits, talks and events annually.TIMES IMPACT PUBLICATIONS produces relevant content on investing and entrepreneurship that are published and syndicated in 100+ leading online publications and growing.VICTORIA GLOBAL Communications specializes in client Investor Relations, Public Relations, Branding and Social Media Marketing.The Soho Loft Media Group is your global partner for your investment and business strategies.For inquiries, contact info@thesoholoft.com or call 212.845.9652 State-wide organization features high-level programming for business owners By: Independent Business Association of Wisconsin Steve Kohlmann Contact Judi Murphy Murphy Associates ***@marketingwithmurphy.com Judi MurphyMurphy Associates End -- The Independent Business Association of Wisconsin (IBAW) continued to gain new members during 2016. New member growth rate is up 29% from 2015 membership levels.Steve Kohlmann, executive director of IBAW, said, "IBAW's growth is due in part to business owners hungry for high-level programming that's dedicated to them. We're known for this."New members since August include Menards, Eau Claire; Lemberg Electric, Brookfield; Kieckhefer Group, Brookfield/Madison;River Run Computers, Glendale; Andrew Pelnar/First Weber, Brookfield; Tevetron Optical Networks, New Berlin; VaxPro, LLC, Mequon; JSA/Metaline Corp., Mequon; JSD Professional Services, Waukesha/Verona;PNC Bank, Milwaukee; Office Furniture Warehouse, Pewaukee; CG Schmidt Construction, Milwaukee/Madison;Pappas DeLaney, Hales Corners; SE Wisconsin Dale Carnegie, Milwaukee; Top Floor, New Berlin; Milwaukee Truck Service, New Berlin; VX Group, Cedarburg/Charleston, SC; and Waukesha State Bank, Waukesha..Kohlmann continued, "IBAW is not only a business-to-business organization, but a business-to-legislators organization. Our programming keeps business owners informed and engaged with their elected representatives."The IBAW membership encompasses manufacturing, service, distribution, healthcare, technology, financial, consulting and others. A statewide, non-profit association, IBAW members and sponsors employ thousands of Wisconsin workers.Since 1973, the Independent Business Association of Wisconsin (IBAW) was formed for small business owners to engage in conversation relating to legislation which impacts the bottom-line costs of businesses throughout the state of Wisconsin. IBAW is a venue for high level CEOs, CFOs, COOs, other upper management and entrepreneurs to network, exchange business ideas and become educated and involved on issues which impact their business.The mission of the IBAW is to advance business prosperity through insightful programming, executive networking and member-driven public policy and advocacy.For additional information, contact Steve Kohlmann, IBAW Executive Director, via email at IBAWOffice@gmail.com or www.IBAW.COM High Velocity Enterprise Storage for Mission-critical Storage needs Contact Thecus ***@thecus.com Thecus End -- Thecus Technology Corp this week announced their new series of Enterprise-level Windows based NAS, the W12910SAS and W16910SAS. These 12-bay and 16-bay rackmount NAS with server-grade hardware design, in conjunction with the Windows operating system platform offer large-scale IT divisions and growing data-heavy medium business with a highly scalable, efficient, rapid storage solution for data heavy businesses."Thecus' latest Windows enterprise-class rackmounts, the W12910SAS and W16910SAS, provide big business ultra-fast performance, high-scalability and reliability. The Windows OS architecture is world renowned for aiding business success in big business " said Florence Shih, General Manager of Thecus Technology Corp.The rackmounts are powered by Intel Xeon E3-1245 v5 Skylake architecture 3.5GHz processor with 16GB of DDR4 ECC RAM (upgradable to 64 GB). These NASs offer the same user experience as other Thecus NAS that use the Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Standard OS, providing businesses with an easy learning curve and quick deployment of the system.The W12910SAS and W16910SAS offer robust, rapid and reliable Enterprise storage solutions which further deliver on Thecus' ethos of 'empowering professionals'.For more information on where to buy this product, go to: Georgia is one of the few cities in the United States where people are concerned about their credit scores. By: www.leafcreditrepair.com Contact 1640 Nixon Drive, Suite 143 Moorestown, NJ 08057 info@leafcreditsolutions.com 1.856.452.0347 1640 Nixon Drive, Suite 143Moorestown, NJ 080571.856.452.0347 End -- Anyone who has ever faced embarrassment as a result of poor credit score has probably wondered, "." To resolve credit scores and related matters, Leaf Credit Repair has become one of the most trusted names in Georgia.LEAF offers a helping hand to people who have been denied a home loan or are forced to pay a higher rate of interest due to their poor credit scores. "We have ventured into this mode of credit repair because I firmly believe that people deserve a better life. Just because of bad credit score, a person should not miss out on his dream job or his dream home," said Aazim Sharp, the founder of Leaf Credit Repair. With this thought in mind, he set out a mission to repair credit scores of hundreds of Americans within a short span of time.At present, LEAF handles disputes related to unlimited accounts with creditors, credit bureaus, and courts. "We take charge to complete your case and speed up the entire procedure," said a finance expert of Leaf Credit Repair. He further added, "We use several advanced dispute resolution tactics so that our clients can get better results. Our aim is to provide customized dispute resolution services by creating unique plans for respective clients." That answers your question, "In this time, when there are so many credit repair scams happening everywhere, LEAF stands tall as one of the finest companies to offer only legal credit repair services. Sharp was quoted saying, "We do not give false hope to clients. We do not make claims to wipe off their negative accounts completely. Rather, we promise to help our clients as much as possible. We do not offer timeline or limits, which we may not be able to live up to." So, that makes the idea quite simple and crystal clear.Founded by Aazim Sharp, Leaf Credit Repair is the most trusted credit repair company in Georgia today. With offices in Georgia, Atlanta, and New Jersey, LEAF aims to reach out to people in need of credit repair. The Uganda chief of defense forces Gen Katumba Wamala have asked Somali leaders to fast-track implementation of security sector reforms to enable them effectively take over the countrys security from African Union troops. Gen Katumba is in Somalia for a three days visit purposely to check on the work of Ugandan troops. While meeting senior official from Somalia in capital Mogadishu, Katumba said that while discussing National issues, security transformation must be top on the agenda The Somali security sector reforms is an its exit strategy aimed at building the capacity of Somali Forces to take over security, when AMISOM troops begin drawing down in 2018. Lt. Gen. Osman Noor Soubagleh, the AMISOM Force Commander told Gen Katumba that AMISOM troops continue to jointly conduct offensive and defensive operations aimed at improving the security situation in Somalia. Get the help of our language translator and increase your business productivity all over Europe By: Smartree Appointment Settings Media Contact Smartree Appointment Settings info@smartreesolutions.com +91 33 6455 4500 Smartree Appointment Settings+91 33 6455 4500 End -- Smartree Solutions is the evolving platform that bestows some innovative services to the clients that can help to increase the horizon of their business. Among all other services provided by the firm, the language translation has acquired great importance.This service is of great help as it helps the businessman to spread their products and services in every corner of the world. Through Smartree helps in English to German and German to Englishall over the UK, Australia, and India, it has given a host of opportunities to the business owners to enter the markets of Europe.The role of the professionals is to translate the language from English to German so that it becomes easy for the locals to understand about the products and services. Moreover, it becomes easy for the business owners to understand the business of Australia, India, and the UK and invest their money as per their requirement.Europe is one of the strongest nation in the world, offering huge economy to every business. To develop your company and boost the productivity, choose a market that can be beneficial to the services you offer. With the rapid development in the market, the business owners are looking for potential markets and audience who can purchase their products. Europe is a vast market and to grab the audience the companies should communicate with the local language. With the language translation, you get to know the priority of the market and display your services accordingly.- Smartree Solutions is a unique brand that helps its clients with the services of appointment settings, virtual assistance, proof reading and language translator in Australia, UK, and India. Apart from all the services, the language translator is the most talked about as it increases the chance of the enhancing the business in Europe as you get professional language translators to express the languages in Germany. If the locals get to know about the services expressed in the local terms, it garners more interest among the businessmen. They understand the services better and shows their interest in investment.If you are a businessman and looking for opportunities to expand your business in the European countries, try out the language translation service of Smartree and boost the size of your business worldwide.- 16, Wandarra close Karawara, 6152 WA (Aus); 2A, Stormont Road London N6 4NL (UK); Ecostation Business Tower, Block BP. Sec V, Salt Lake, Kolkata 91 (Ind)- +61 283 558 997 (Aus), +44 20 3630 0281 (UK), +91 33 6455 4500 (Ind) The first French Rail Awards took place following InnoTrans, an international trade show for the rail industry. Prizes were awarded prizes in three categories: Innovation, International Development, Customer / Supplier Relationships By: Business France Business France Contact Business France UK (The French Trade Commission) Catherine Ryall, Press Officer ***@businessfrance.fr Business France UK (The French Trade Commission)Catherine Ryall, Press Officer End -- Organised by Business France, BPI France and Fer de France, the French Rail Awards aim to promote and reward the skills and expertise of French companies in the railway sector. This year, the jury was made up of representatives from major companies in the industry such as SNCF, RATP, Alstom, Eurotunnel, British Steel France Rail as well as specialised organisations such as the Railway Industry Association and I-Trans. They awarded prizes in three categories:- Innovation- International Development- Customer / Supplier RelationshipsIn the rail rolling stock industry, many years of experience is the key for a better and safer business. The very highest degree of regulation for flame resistance, sound insulation, safety devices, for both local and regional transport as well as long distance travel to high-speed services with a worldwide reliability for our rubber sealing system is already a reality for RUSTIN.As a leading system supplier we have been active in designing and manufacturing rubber solutions in low-smoke fire-resistant compounds for and together with our customers for more than 80 years. The very highest degree of technical precision is the focus of our product development work. We provide customer-oriented solutions.RUSTIN's rubber compounds for fire resistant seal are a new dimension into safety, with a full compliance to the EN 45 545-2.We are all guilty of getting frustrated when traversing the huge underground network that connects the oldest subway capital city like London, Paris, and transports millions of people each day! While frustration and stress are sometimes called for, here's something that'll make your journey through the underground easier.Introducing new modern signaling systems, delays due to signal, security and door failures will be reduced, making life for passengers more fluid with a reliable service.On the platform, the passenger will know immediately the status of the current operation of the door. Each door will provide its own status by an individual signal. Green system is on and open, red flashing the door security system is on and the door will close, white, the system is locked. Easy and modern signaling will improve the walk through the carriage, helping to ease the access and extra demand at peak time.More information at: on Rustin's website ( http://www.rustin.com FLEXELEC is a 100 p. company located in France and UK, Germany, USA & Tunisia. Annual turnover is around 15 M, more than 65 % exported to 50 countries. FLEXELEC is a part of the OMERIN group, world leader in conductor cables for extreme conditions."The Customer-Supplier relationship French Rail Award received by FLEXELEC during the last INNOTRANS 2016 in Berlin is a fantastic achievement for our small company. It shows we choose a coherent strategy face to the very specific challenge of our markets.Specific because our expertise is manufacturing and conceiving tailor-made heating cables and heating mats for many different uses, from switchers ice melting in Stockholm to the complete floor heating of the new STADLER high speed train, or even the toilet equipment's temperature maintenance, so we have to be versatile and adapt to each project needs.Strategy then, because we chose to transform this difficulty into a singular and efficient weapon, going always beyond the project specifications, opening our doors to prospects and customers, in order to create confidence through this transparency. This way, we can really co-develop new solutions, both partners pushing its usual limits to achieve a better result.All of these factors contribute to 2016 being a year full of great successes, thanks to innovative solutions integrating the new fire and smoke EN45545 rules with the waterproof double insulation and preformed technologies, which were before unable to match with a very long lifetime when used outside the trains."Stephane Moret, General ManagerMore information on Flexelec's website ( http://www.flexelec.com ).Formed in 1975, CIM firstly forged its expertise in the supply of rolling stock and OEM parts. CIM has always known how to adapt to a constantly changing market. This is why each of its business lines has grown substantially in recent years and CIM has extended its operational spheres, achieving international success.CIM is focused on three main field of expertise:- Rail infrastructure projects and financing (CIM Projects)- Component manufacturing and supplying of parts, equipment and rolling stock (CIM Equipment)- Rolling stock maintenance (CIM Services)Since the beginning, CIM ambition's has been to export spare parts, services and expertise on an international scale. Today, CIM works in in over 90 countries with major rail, urban transport and mining networks. To assure the best reactivity to its customers and keep a presence in its markets, CIM has opened many offices and subsidiaries across the world, specifically in: Canada, Panama, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Singapore, Kazakhstan, Senegal, The Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Tanzania, Madagascar In 2016, more than 90 % of CIM's total turnover is from international projects.CIM is proud of this award which recognizes the excellence and expertise of its teams worldwide.Visit CIM's website (http://www.cimgroupe.com)for more information.Business France UK (The French Trade Commission)Catherine Ryall, Press OfficerEmail: catherine.ryall@businessfrance.frTel: + 44(0) 207 024 3613Website: www.youbuyfrance.com/uk/ Alternativa Tecnologica SAC implements Frotcom to locate support and technical teams and dispatch jobs efficiently. By: Frotcom Alternativa Tecnologica End -- Peru's foremost IT service support business, ATSAC was founded in 1998, and manages a staff of 300 mostly engineers and technicians including its critical field operations teams which support their customers, throughout the country. The company operates on a national scale, in a market that has seen continuous growth and investment in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).Today, ATSAC is providing service and support to its customers in 27 of the country's largest cities, and operates its own fleet of 12 support and logistics vehicles, to meet the needs of a growing and demanding client base.However, manual coordination of the fleet was complex and did not allow easy changes in priorities and/or cancellations, which in a worst case scenario, resulted in services being postponed to the next day's roster. ATSAC also lacked performance metrics for the fleet itself, which meant that basic information on vehicle and drivers servicing, insurances, fuel consumption and driver licenses were all handled manually and on-demand.Faced with growing demand and in an unforgiving business environment - where time management and deadlines are critical to meeting customer service level-agreement requirements - ATSAC was on the market for a complete fleet management solution, which allowed it to optimize the coverage of its field support teams on a national scale.Through a top business newspaper in Peru, ATSAC's management came into contact with Frotcom. The decision was straightforward, as Frotcom delivered the solution which best aligned with the company's needs: a flexible, agile tool capable of relaying information which helped ATSAC carry out day-to-day business operations with quicker decision-making. The fact that this was a cloud-based solution also cut down the implementation time considerably.Managing the fleet had, in fact, become so relevant to ATSAC's business that it even created its own Fleet Manager position, interacting with all areas of the business (from Accounts to Field Operations).Frotcom worked side by side with ATSAC delivering as many training sessions as needed at ATSAC's offices, upskilling employees to handle the new reality of a Frotcom-driven fleet, and teaching staff to take full advantage of the solution. The rollout of the hardware was organized in a way that would not impact the regular business operations. The outcome was a smooth transition for ATSAC, which has been well-received by its customers.ATSAC focused not only in improving its response time, by reducing driver idling times, but also minimizing operational mishaps by providing drivers information on speed limits (using Frotcom's alarms feature). This has led to an overall improvement in driving habits, which in turn lowered the company's response time in a time-critical business model, meaning the use of the fleet resources in the best possible way, maximizing productivity.Frotcom's route templates are providing key information to the company, giving the opportunity to the fleet manager to create and control routes, finding the best possible match between plan and execution, and the creation of places and zones, are also helping ATSAC running the fleet efficiently and lowering the operating costs.Mr. Javier Aida, Chief Operating Officer at ATSAC complimented this successful venture, "ATSAC and Frotcom were in complete sync during the solution implementation. We adopted a proactive attitude, seeking out new ways to improve on our fleet management processes, in a [successful]attempt at bringing a competitive advantage to our business, an advantage provided by Frotcom". TRUMP to Dominate - Predictions! EU - NATO - Middle East - China - NKorea. But Russia? Contact Stephen Lowe ***@yahoo.com Stephen Lowe End --Approach to EU will be mild lukewarm, since in Trump's opinion, the fragmentation of EU is no danger to USA and can be left to its own devices. In fact it is in the interests of USA to see a divided EU, and allow the Euro to crumble rapidly to maintain the dominance of the US $.As stated bluntly, USA will not act as the "feeding bottle" of NATO. Unless NATO membership "pulls-up-their-socks" Trump will simply concentrate on a self-defence of USA.Ex-USSR countries or parasites of NATO will be forced to contain their belligerent hogwash and get-on-with-life.Same applies to Crimea and Ukraine. Trump will ignore both.As President-elect, Trump has placed his hand on the largest can-of-worms in modern history by putting his American big foot into a quagmire. Trump bold decision to take a heavy step of agreeing to Israel dream of moving to (West) Jerusalem is Not-a-Gamble, but his next step will stun the world.As a big time Gambler, "Art of the Deal", Trump will make his next move of inviting the Palestinians to move their Capital to East Jerusalem!!This is the reason why the Palestinian leadership took a moderate attitude towards Trump announcement to favour Israel.Both Arab & Israeli mind-set works like a cork-screw, pulling the cork out, with a crooked drive!With one-stroke, Trump will have Israel & Palestine sharing Jerusalem as the Capital, a neighbourly Glass House, where neither side shall throw stones.There will also be an imminent strong statement of incursions into territories under dispute to please both neighbours.USA under Trump, shall balance & Control-the-Middle East, militarily in cooperation with Israel & Egypt.Oil & Gas rich Gulf States including Saudi Arabia will be mere players, since Oil pricing will be controlled by USATrump has already fired the first shot at China by opening a dialogue with Taiwan.There are several ways how USA may control the dominance of China, both strategically and economically, despite the American-China economic love affair.USA under Trump will remain as the global powerhouse in terms of military leadership, not necessarily as a global policeman, but as the Scriptwriter on etiquette.North KoreaKim Jong-un should contain his rhetoric, since Trump in a bad mood might trigger action not words against the little fat boy and make him into Kim Jong-gone! Any further threats from Kim Jong-un might be subjected to more than what North Korea may handle.Here Trump has met more than as the President of USA can dare to challenge.Putin as an ex-KGB political operator, with 30+ years hands-on experience, is highly skilled in many ways more than one.Under Putin, are a team of subordinates, who "jump-to-the-tune" of Putin music-sheet, with Putin in 100% control, as the composer-writer-conductor-stage manager-gate keeper.The largest global geographic land-mass is under Putin, with a reach on East & West USA, and the Arctic.Trump has already drawn Putin as the partner to fight global terror. By default, Trump, through Putin shall have Turkey, Israel as operational partnersNow with strong links with Turkey, China, Syria, Iran, naval access to Mediterranean, Putin covers the globe in a strange combination of politics and military.Putin reserved alliance with China may be used to govern several key African countries economically as well as politically.Trump has already taken the first step with a warm hand shake with Putin, and any wrong move will be a disastrous collapse of the Trump Game-of-Cards.During the first month of January 2017, fireworks of Trump Presidency shall illuminate the global media, with sparkles of daily headlines.Your comments, both positive & negative are most appreciated.-Ends- The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) is teaming up with GradLeaders, the market leader in student recruitment and career services technology to fuel job growth in Ohio. By: GradLeaders (formerly MBA Focus) Contact Ryan Pratt Marketing Director, GradLeaders ***@gradleaders.com Ryan PrattMarketing Director, GradLeaders End -- GradLeaders, the market leader in student recruitment and career services technology has announced a new partnership with The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC), a non-profit organization representing independent higher education to corporate Ohio. This collaboration will further assist 93,000 college students from the 34 OFIC member schools in Ohio to find their dream job by connecting them with more opportunities from a larger network of employers."We're excited to be working with OFIC to provide a mutually beneficial relationship for companies and students seeking careers in Ohio," said Jack Gainer, CEO of GradLeaders. "Not only are we matching students to full-time and internship opportunities that align with their interests, but we're also delivering a pool of right-fit candidates to our ever-growing network of companies seeking students. It's a win-win for job-seekers and employers in the state of Ohio."As part of this new partnership, GradLeaders will provide a new OFIC-branded job board, enabling companies to post jobs directly to students from their member schools. GradLeaders will also provide OFIC member institutions access to a tool to collect career-outcomes data on their graduating students. This simple data collection and reporting tool will provide these schools with standardized, real-time data on their students' careers."Working with GradLeaders will ultimately enhance the independent higher education experience for students at our member schools and provide our universities with the insights necessary to develop their students' skillsets for successful entry into the workforce," said OFIC President, Bill Spiker.OFIC and GradLeaders have similar goals and missions, to help students advance their career by providing the technology, expertise and resources to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to enter the national and international workforce."Our goal at GradLeaders is to provide easy-to-use technology that empowers users to make data-driven decisions," said Gainer. "We have been doing this for decades at a national level but this groundbreaking new partnership with OFIC should pave the way for a more focused and targeted regional approach that we can soon duplicate throughout the country and internationally."To kick off this new partnership, representatives from GradLeaders will be in attendance at OFIC's CareerFest on February 3,2017 at the Ohio Expo Center. CareerFest is one of Ohio's largest career fairs, and is open to students of all majors attending any of OFIC's 34 member colleges and universities. For more information, please visit www.ofic.org/ careerfest GradLeaders is the industry leader in student recruitment and career services technology, connecting leading employers year-round with students and alumni from top-ranked schools around the world. GradLeaders' exclusive partnerships, extensive student database, and industry-leading software solutions, make it the #1 choice of companies seeking high-quality, best-fit, and diverse students to join their team. To learn more, visit www.gradleaders.com ( http://ctt.marketwire.com/? release=1219224&id=7163242... ).OFIC solicits corporate and foundation support for 34 independent Ohio colleges and universities and operates one of the largest, most comprehensive and diverse scholarship programs in the state. OFIC member colleges collectively enroll 93,000 students and award one-third of all bachelor's degrees in the state. For over 65 years OFIC has worked to highlight the leadership, value and excellence of independent higher education and has provided unrestricted operating funds and scholarship commitments through funds raised in annual solicitations of businesses and foundations, thereby assuring continuation of excellence in private higher education. OFIC is governed by a Board of Trustees comprised of Ohio's corporate leaders, as well as presidents of the 34 member colleges. To learn more, visit www.ofic.org By: Day Pitney LLP Contact Jay Stapleton ***@quinnandhary.com Jay Stapleton End -- Day Pitney announced today that five attorneys have been elected as partners, effective January 1, 2017."We are very pleased these outstanding lawyers are joining the firm's partnership. Besides providing excellent legal representation and client service, they are actively involved in pro bono work, statewide diversity programs and are volunteering and taking on leadership roles within their communities,"said Day Pitney Managing Partner Stanley A. Twardy, Jr.is in Day Pitney's Transactional department in the Hartford office. She represents institutional investors such as insurance companies, private equity groups, pension funds, banks and commercial lenders in connection with the acquisition, disposition, joint venture, development and financing of various types of commercial real estate, including office buildings, hotels, retail and multifamily. Her financing experience includes numerous construction lending transactions in New York City and other urban markets. Prior to joining Day Pitney, Marie worked in a boutique real estate firm in New York City for four years and interned at the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. She received her B.S.B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Pittsburgh and her J.D., cum laude, from American University Washington College School of Law. She is admitted to practice in Connecticut and New York.is in the Litigation department in the Stamford office. Her practice is focused on Intellectual Property. She assists clients in all stages of the trademark registration process, from clearing proposed marks to representing clients before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Before joining the firm, Cathy served as law clerk to the Honorable Denny Chin, U.S. District Judge, Southern District of New York. She also spent time in-house at a major toy company, where she worked closely with global IP counsel and marketing personnel on licensing and promotion matters. Catherine received her B.S., cum laude, from The University of Connecticut and her J.D., summa cum laude, from the St. John's University School of Law. She is admitted to practice in Connecticut and New York.is in the Litigation department in the Parsippany office. Her practice is focused on Consumer Finance and Creditors' Rights. She represents lenders and financial institutions in disputes related to lending practices, loan origination, debt collection practices, loan servicing, and deceptive business practices. Christina received her B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Scranton, and her J.D., cum laude, from Seton Hall University School of Law. She is admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York.is in the Transactional department in the Boston Office. His practice is focused on Real Estate and Land Use. He represents lenders, purchasers, sellers and developers in connection with the financing, conveyance, development, permitting and leasing of commercial office space, industrial properties and multifamily buildings. Jared is also a member of the firm's Energy practice consulting with developers and land owners in the development of renewable and traditional energy projects and generation, as well as institutional lenders participating in project financing arrangements. In addition to private practice, Jared has worked in the general counsel's office of the Boston Redevelopment Authority and for the Urban Ecology Institute, both while attending law school. Jared received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Boston College and his J.D. from Suffolk University Law School. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Massachusetts.is in the firm's Litigation department in the Hartford office. His practice is primarily in the areas of Insurance and Reinsurance Disputes. Matthew represents insurers and reinsurers in arbitration on a variety of matters involving claims under general liability, property, automobile, life, workers' compensation, and health insurance policies, as well as treaty and facultative reinsurance contracts. Prior to rejoining Day Pitney, Matthew served as a law clerk to the Honorable Michael P. Shea, United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut. Shiroma received his B.A. from Swarthmore College and his J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. He is admitted to practice in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. PBFY offers faster services to East Coast and Midwestern Clients Contact Rachel Tuhro ***@pbfy.com Rachel Tuhro End -- PBFY announces significant capacity expansion to better serve East Coast and Midwest customers by opening up a new manufacturing and shipping site in Portland, Tennessee this January. Not only will they offer industry leading service to their current customer base, but now will grow to take on more customers, all while providing the highest quality in flexible packaging.Residents of Portland can expect the same high quality working environment that is currently offered in the Brea location. CEO and founder of PBFY, Lyndsey Tidwell, states that the company's goal is to "invest in the areaand offer full time employment to make the overall economy grow." The new Tennessee employees are not the only ones that will benefit. After careful review of feedback, PBFY listened to their East Coast customers that wanted lower costs and expedited shipping. By expanding into Tennessee, PBFY will be able to accomplish timely services, brand recognition, and product line growth. The brand new 60,000-square foot facility will expand on the Brea site; President Matt Bryant assures that the same level of customer follow-through and engagement will continue in the new facility, "our account executives are packaging experts that are engaged in the entire process, so our customers aren't constantly getting handed off to customer service and other departments."Quality and timeliness are the goals in this expansion. In it's founding, PBFY wanted to help businesses no matter how small or large to grow and expand in both their products and overall brand. As the company grows, with projections to go internationally in the next two to three years, customers can expect to see shorter shipping times, more high-quality products, and many new services. Chris Castro, PBFY's Tennessee General Manager, firmly agrees that the location will "help with speed and freight costs to Midwest and East Coast customers." PBFY's account executives offer an A to Z model, providing step-by-step customer support from discovery call to delivery, Offer shipments on 2-3 business day timelines, now to both coasts and Midwest clients, Continues to maintain excellent customer services, product quality and designs, all while growing to better meet the needs of their customers.###PBFY Flexible Packaging is an industry leader in manufacturing and distribution of flexible packaging products, coffee packaging bags, food packaging bags, pet food packaging, pouches, films, custom printed labels, hot stamp and other products and services. These services are offered on the customer's timeline for inventory stock and custom flexible packaging accounts. They serve a diverse collection of industries including: coffee, tea, specialty and natural foods, agricultural, pharmaceutical, pet food and more. http://pbfy.com/ about-us/ Contact Stange Law Firm, PC ***@stangelawfirm.com Stange Law Firm, PC End -- Stange Law Firm, PC is proud to announce that Founding Partners, Kirk and Paola Stange, have been named "The Lawyers of Distinction". The St. Louis Divorce Lawyers (http://www.stangelawfirm.com/Divorce-Separation/Divorce-FAQs/Clayton-Divorce-Lawyers.shtml)are happy to be recognized as two of the top 10% attorneys in the United States. To become a "Lawyer of Distinction", an individual must be nominated and go through a thorough step-by-step selection process.First and foremost, a potential candidate must be identified and researched. Potential candidates are identified either by nomination or by the Lawyers of Distinction organization itself. This is where the potential candidate may receive their invitation. The applications of the potential candidates are then researched and reviewed once more; going over backgrounds and making sure that the potential candidates meet LOD standards. The potential candidate attorney must have no ethical violations within the last five years, and their practice must be private. Lastly, their membership is screened and confirmed. To reach this point in the process, all attorneys must receive a high degree of personal recognition and professional competence, placing these individual attorneys in the top 10% of all the attorneys in the United States.Kirk Stange has been recognized by many additional accolades due to his hard work and dedication to being a family lawer in St. Louis ( http://www.stangelawfirm.com/ Family-Law-Matters/ Family-La... ) and in the surrounding areas. In 2015 and 2016, Kirk was recognized and added to the "Super Lawyers" list by Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers Magazine. Kirk has also spoken for numerous CLE's through the Missouri Bar, National Business Institute, and other educational programs. Additionally, to show for his hard-work and total devotion to family law, Kirk has Kirk authored a chapter in a book through Thomson Reuters (Aspatore Publishing) in 2012 titled:. Kirk published a full-length book through Thomson Reuters (Aspatore Publishing) in 2014 titled:. Further, in 2015, Kirk authored another chapter in a book through Thomson Reuters (Aspatore Published) titled:Paola Stange is also a recipient of many other awards due to her continuous dedication to family law. Paola was named to the list of "Rising Stars" by Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers Magazine, consecutively from the years 2013 to 2016. Paola stays continuously active in the education realm, where she has commentated at the Missouri Bar for multiple CLE's. Paola enjoys staying involved, and is on the Board of Directors of the YMCA Mid-County division.Stange Law Firm, PC is a divorce and family law firm ( http://www.stangelawfirm.com/ ) with locations throughout the Midwest. The firm has offices in St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia, Springfield and beyond in Missouri, Illinois and Kansas. Stange Law Firm, PC offers the resource and legal staff to assist clients during their emotional family law matter. The attorneys are able to assist in: divorce, family law, child support and custody, paternity, collaborative family law, mediation and other related matters. Stange Law Firm, PC is here to help clients rebuild their life. Contact Red Energy Public Relations, Advertising & Events ***@redenergypr.com Red Energy Public Relations, Advertising & Events End -- Red Energy Public Relations, Advertising & Events, has recently been awarded 10 Colorado-based public relations contracts with: Bestway Disposal, Pro River Tech, Colorado Dermatology Institute, Motif Jazz Cafe, Dog Haus, Ent Credit Union, Cedarwood Development's Melody Living, GTL Development's Meridian Ranch, Nor'wood Development Group and Cacao Chemistry."While we work with clients all over the U.S., we truly love being able to support those right here in our state," said President of Red Energy Public Relations, Amy Sufak. "We know this market well and feel honored to be able to be trusted with some of Colorado's most notable organizations and business leaders as we help them reach their goals of further connecting with their target demographic."Bestway Disposal has retained Red Energy to support their digital marketing efforts through strategic social media management and earned news media outreach.Red Energy was contracted to support Pro River Tech with local, regional and national news media outreach to include their recent acquisition of L&G Computer Services.Nationally recognized, Colorado Dermatology Institute, has retained Red Energy for a third consecutive contract for a comprehensive public relations campaign to include earned media, advertising management, graphic design, digital marketing, event management and community outreach.Motif Jazz Cafe, Dog Haus, Ent Credit Union and Cacao Chemistry have contracted Red Energy to support their new location openings in 2017 to include earned media outreach support.Red Energy has been retained to support Melody Living, a national Cedarwood Development assisted living project premiering in Colorado Springs.GTL Development's Meridian Ranch has contracted Red Energy for news media outreach support.Nor'wood Development Group has retained Red Energy to support Wolf Ranch's community outreach efforts through strategic event management."Our passion is to help our clients by telling their story," said Sufak. "It's our strategic and results-driven approach that helps us connect their unique story and vision with the greater community."For more information, visit RedEnergyPR.com ( http://www.redenergypr.com/ ) or call 719.465.3565.# # #Red Energy is an award winning United States Air Force veteran, minority, woman-owned, small business headquartered in Colorado with locations in Los Angeles and Boston. The boutique agency, with 20 + years of experience, is an international provider of events, news media interview training, crisis communication management, marketing and creative communication services. Founded in 2008, Red Energy was established on the principles of delivering excellence to every client to include non-profits, corporations and governmental entities across the nation. The Red Energy team offers an integrated approach between public relations, advertising and events that builds awareness and visibility for organizations. Red Energy's founder and president, Amy Sufak, is a 2016 Woman of Influence through the Colorado Springs Business Journal and also has been featured as a Colorado Public Relations Person of the Year. Cushman & Wakefield has signed an exclusive arrangement with DTZ Finland Oy as its affiliate in Finland. The formal affiliate appointment follows the 2015 global merger of Cushman & Wakefield and DTZ. DTZ Finland Oy, which is rebranding as Cushman & Wakefield from this month (January 2017), had been DTZs [] The Highcourt in Kampala has ordered authorities in Luzira prison to produce Matthew Kanyamunyu and his 2 co-accused on the 10th/January 2017 for hearing of their bail application before Justice Elizabeth Kabanda. Kanyamunyu, his girl friend Cynthia Munwangari and his eleder brother Joseph Kanyamunyu jointly applied to be released on bail on grounds that they are responsible members of soeciety who will not abscond once granted bail. They all face grave charges of murder in which the prosecution says they killed Kenneth Akena on the 12th/November 2016 along Jinja Highway in Kampala. The Deputy registrar in charge of criminal matters Mary Khainza signed the production warrants ordering prison authorities from Murchision bay and Womens wing at Luzira to produce the accused on that day. Today the trio has appeared before Nakawa court grade one magistrate Noah Sajjabi and prosecution reported that inquiries are still on-going. They were sent back on remand until the 17th/January 2017. Josef Mehkri has been recruited as a senior client manager at Catellas fund management unit. He joins Catella from Bank of America Merrill Lynch in London, where he was a Director in Equities. The sales team at Catellas fund management unit is also boosted with the internal recruitment of Carl [] Tata Motors launched the much awaited Xenon facelift today. Called Xenon Yodha, Tata Motors launched the new commercial vehicle in the presence of companys new brand ambassador, Akshay Kumar. Tata Xenon Yodha is basically Xenon facelift which comes with revised headlight cluster, front grille, front bumper, new taillights, new rear bumper, etc. Overall, the facelift is more attractive and has a larger road presence. Highlights High levels of performance and lowest operating cost Available in single cab & double cab, with a competitive price starting at Rs.6.05 lakhs (Single Cab BSIII) & Rs 6.19 (Single Cab BSIV) Available in 44 and 42 option, with a rated payload of up to 1,250 kg, for a wide range of commercial applications Best-in-class engine & drivelines, best-in-load body, with maximum loading area, with high quality paint and thickness Contemporary tall SUV styled work horse, with well-appointed comfortable interiors Enhanced stability with bigger 16-inch radial tyres, best suited for all loading & terrain requirements First-in-segment Customized Free AMC package of 3 years/ 1 lakh km Best-in-industry Warranty of 3 years or 3,00,000 km (whichever is earlier) Tata Xenon Yodha Engine The Tata Xenon is powered by a 3.0 liter diesel engine offering 53.7 kW (72 HP) in BSIII & 63.4 kW (85 HP) in BS IV, the engine delivers high torque of 223Nm in BS III & 250 Nm in BS IV. Tata Xenon pickup is the most versatile pick-up on Indian roads, claims the company. It is a combination of sturdiness and comfort, performance and looks and is an ideal choice for many small and medium business ventures for their transport operations. For better mileage, the smart pick-up has a reliable and rugged gear box, for a flat curve at 1600-2200 r/min. This aids in in better pick up in loaded condition, also ensuring lesser gear shifts. Only available in manual transmission option. Automatic Transmission Xenon is not on offer in India. Dimensions & Features Ground clearance of 210 mm 16 inch tyres 4 mm chassis frame Power Steering Adjustable steering column High intensity cabin lights Carpet flooring on the inside High load body with internal length of 2550 mm and width of 1750 mm News Release Countries & Areas Search for country or area A Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan B Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi C Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Cote dIvoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia D Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic E Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia F Fiji Finland France G Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana H Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary I Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy J Jamaica Japan Jordan K Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan L Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg M Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique N Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Norway O Oman P Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Q Qatar R Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda S Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria T Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu U Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan V Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Y Yemen Z Zambia Zimbabwe Damali Mukhaye Kampala lord mayor Erias Lukwago has ordered the closure of a Chinese Company for two days following a strike by the workers over poor working conditions. Over 400 workers of China Railway Seventh Group Co Ltd located along Gayaza road at Kyebando this morning laid down the tools accusing their employers of sexual harassment, poor pay, giving them unpaid leave and not proving safety gear among other allegations. They also accuse their supervisors of only paying those who give in to intimate relationships while those who decline are dismissed, claims that could not be independently verified as management remains tight-lipped. However, after a closed door meeting between management and Kampala Capital City Authority leaders led by Lukwago, it has been resolved that the said grievances be addressed with urgency or the company license will be revoked. The latest Type 818 cutter (ocean going armed patrol ship) built for the Chinese Coast Guard has been confirmed to be a modified version of the Type 54 frigate used by the Chinese Navy and that the Type 818 was designed to be quickly converted to a warship in war time. As a Type 818 cutter the Type 54 is armed with a 76mm cannon, two 30mm autocannon and four high-pressure water cannon (for non-lethal enforcement) plus a Z-9 helicopter. The cutter has the same fire control system as the Type 54A frigate and there is empty space on the cutter where the Type 54A VLS (Vertical Launch System) tubes can be quickly installed and be used to hold anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles. There is also provision for quickly adding all the additional combat electronics of the Type 54A. The Type 54 frigate, which first appeared in 2005, was notable because the design was based on Western, not Russian, practices. The first two built were less capable than the later Type 54A model. After the second Type 54 appeared in 2006, the weapons and electronics of the design were greatly upgraded and became the Type 54A. Thus the final shape of the Type 54A was a 4,000 ton a 134.2 meter (440 foot) long ship with a top speed of 49 kilometers an hour and a range of 14,400 kilometers. The crew of 165 operates a 76mm cannon, two 30mm multi-barrel anti-missile autocannon, eight C-803 anti-ship missiles, six anti-submarine torpedoes, 12 240mm anti-submarine rockets, 72 tubes carrying decoy rockets, 32 VLS cells containing anti-aircraft or anti-submarine missiles. There is also space for a helicopter. The radars, sonar, and electronics are all Chinese made. So far 30 Type 54s have been built or are under construction. These have been exported to Russia, Malaysia and Thailand. Coast guard cutters have long been expected to perform as warships in wartime. That often addition of some electronics and weapons and additional crew. But with the Type 818 cutter being based on a contemporary warship hull China expects to get more out of its cutters in wartime and also justify the construction of more of these cutters in peacetime. Damali Mukhaye The minister for Kampala Betty Kamya has said that the lord mayor of Kampala Erias Lukwago will not be paid his emoluments or any other related benefits until he gets clearance for the Court of Appeal. Lukwago had earlier issued a December 2016 ultimatum to Kampala Capital City Authority Executive Director Jenifer Musisi to pay his salary arrears and other emoluments that accumulated between December 2013 and May 2016, a position that was also communicated to the minister for Kampala. However, in a letter addressed to the city boss, dated 2nd January, Kamya says Lukwago will not be paid his emoluments until the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court determine whether or not he was lawfully removed from office. In his response, Lukwago has attacked Kamya, advising her to go slow because she is not an expert on the issues of Kampala EDINBURGHIts not just the pagoda roof turret that gives the Annandale Distillery in Scotland an Asian feel. On the stone buildings, pointing the way to everything from the copper stills producing Scotch whisky to the toilets and gift store, signs are in three languages: English, Scottish Gaelic and Mandarin. Its got to work in Shanghai, said Annandale co-owner David Thomson, 62, reflecting on markets that have taken on new significance for exporters since Britain voted to leave the European Union. Scotch whisky makers like Thomson opposed Brexit, though youd think the industry would be exactly the kind that might relish the opportunities described by the U.K. government from custom-fit trade agreements. Ninety per cent of the spirit gets sent abroad, worth 3.9 billion ($5.5 billion) in 2015, and tariff-free sales are already protected throughout Europe by the World Trade Organization. But distillers whose livelihoods depend on making sure people around the world know what to expect when they open a bottle really hate change. They have to plan far in advance: true Scotch is required to be aged for a minimum of three years in barrels in Scotland. I cant think of a single member who thought wed be better off out, said Julie Hesketh-Laird, acting chief of the Scotch Whisky Association. Were now looking to see where the opportunities are and minimize the risks. The referendum took place during a blitz of investment and expansion in the Scotch industry in recent years. Annandale is one of at least 40 distilleries in some stage of adding their names to the whisky world, the most potential arrivals for at least half a century. Thomson and his wife, Teresa Church, spotted the dormant Annandale way back in 2006. They spent about 12 million getting the place ready to make whisky for the first time in nearly 100 years. Annandale started producing the result of mixing water with milled malted barley weeks after another referendum in the U.K., when Scots narrowly voted against independence in September 2014. Now, some calculations have changed. Sterling has fallen more than 15 per cent against the U.S. dollar, meaning that certain expenses have gone up. Annandale brings in empty bottles and some of its yeast from France. There are bourbon casks from Kentucky and Spanish sherry barrels, or butts, imported to be reused for aging Scotch. Whats for sure is that they cant make the same drink anywhere else. If its not made in Scotland, a whisky cant be called Scotch. That means the majority of Annandales expenses are in sterling, including malted barley, water, power and salaries. A major challenge will be breaking through in a crowded market and standing out to Chinese consumers. Thomson, a professor who also runs a marketing company with his wife, is gearing up to do just that. He offered the eighth cask for 888,000, playing off the lucky number in China. (It hasnt sold, the distillery said this week.) The single-malt market, dominated by drinks companies Diageo Plc and Pernod Ricard SA, is where new distillers want to be. Its more of an artisan product, and its lucrative, making up about a quarter of all whisky exports by value yet less than a 10th of the volume. Annandale is producing two types of whisky, a smoky one with peat and one without. Some will be ready as early as this time next year. The world is a big place and we are a tiny distillery, Thomson said. It will all depend on finding competent and reliable distributors. At the moment, India is the fastest growing market, even with its 150-per-cent import tariff. Sales have boomed as the swelling ranks of the urban middle classes view Scotch as a luxury product. Chinese sales are also growing, albeit more slowly, and mainly through the distribution hub of Singapore. One way to keep the money coming in before the bottles are ready to go out is to pre-sell whisky casks for as much as 5,900 apiece. This month, a group of Swiss enthusiasts visited the distillery to pour their own supervised, of course, by Thomson. Im not saying were bomb-proof here, said Thomson, as the Swiss men toasted their trip and tried on purple Annandale-logoed tops. Unless the whole economy collapses. And even then, it would make it so incredibly cheap for foreigners to come here. Read more about: SHARE: In a move that John Tory says will help alleviate Torontos gridlock problem, the mayor is asking the province to grant TTC enforcement officers the power to direct traffic during transit disruptions. In a letter to Premier Kathleen Wynne dated Jan. 2 and obtained by the Star, Mayor Tory said that the enhanced authorities for TTC transit enforcement officers would help the city keep transit and traffic as a whole moving and ensure that TTC riders get more reliable service. Granting TTC enforcement officers the ability to direct traffic during events like subway closures was among the recommendations made in a transit staff report that was approved by the TTCs board last month. The proposed change wouldnt require amendments to provincial legislation, but would have to be approved by the Toronto Police Services Board and the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services. The target date for the changes to take effect is in the third quarter of 2017. In a statement to the Star, Tory said he wrote to Wynne to ensure that any changes that need to be made at the provincial level are completed quickly this year. The mayor said he also supports a recommendation, also made in the December TTC report, that would give TTC officers the power to tag and tow cars that obstruct transit service. That measure would require a change to Torontos Municipal Code. Tory said that plans to enhance TTC officers powers are aimed at keeping our roads and transit routes moving without further burdening police resources. Im committed to making sure transit riders daily commutes are reliable and as free from disruption as possible. Over the last two years, Ive made it clear that we have to embrace ways to move traffic that allow highly-trained police officers to focus on other priorities, he said. Tory has identified tackling gridlock as a priority of his administration, and has previously supported initiatives like downtown towing blitzes, better coordination of road closures, and strategically deploying police officers to prevent pedestrians and drivers from blocking busy intersections. Although the mayor has claimed that such initiatives are effective, so far he hasnt produced hard data that show the measures are working. The TTC scheduled 41 closures on the subway and Scarborough Rapid Transit systems last year to perform track, signal and other work. The agency faced many more unplanned shutdowns as a result of issues like equipment failures and suicides at track level. A position paper attached the report that went to the TTC board in December made the case for allowing transit officers to control traffic during such closures. Planned or unplanned subway service disruptions have the potential to create severe traffic and transit gridlock as the TTC has to resort to shuttle buses to replace the affected portion of the subway, it said. TTC buses regularly have difficulty moving in and out of the affected subway stations due to traffic congestion on the adjacent roadways. At last months board meeting Mark Cousins, head of the TTCs transit enforcement unit, said that Torontos police force can only supply about half of the necessary paid-duty officers to direct traffic during subway closures, and using TTC constables to fill the jobs would put our fate back in our own hands. He said that transit enforcement officers could also be enlisted to manage traffic during other circumstances, such as when drivers impede the flow of streetcars. If the proposed changes are approved, during service disruptions on the subway or other parts of the transit network, TTC enforcement officers would have limited police powers under sections of the provincial Highway Traffic Act. They include the ability to direct traffic, close roads, and remove vehicles and other debris from the roadway. The proposed amendment to the MunicipaCcode would extend the power to tag and tow vehicles to transit enforcement officers. Currently, only TTC route supervisors have towing authority. According to the mayors letter, the TTC has a complement of about 50 transit enforcement officers. Read more about: SHARE: For every phone call that gets answered, Yaseen Poonah cant help but think about the thousands that dont. Poonah, founder and president of Naseeha, a GTA-based volunteer helpline for Muslim youth, started the service nearly a decade ago with the aim of giving teens across North America a free and confidential place to call for support. Staffed with counsellors for only three hours on weekday evenings, the service has long struggled to meet the demand of teens calling from as far away as Hawaii, New Mexico and California to talk and seek spiritual guidance, on issues common to all teens. But then came the U.S. election campaign. Over the past year, Naseeha (which means advice in Arabic) saw its call volume increase by more than 300 per cent over 2015, according to Poonah. Now its a different ball game, he said. In 2015, Naseeha received more than 4,000 calls. But between January and December of 2016, the service received more than 16,000 calls many of which went unanswered simply because of a lack of staff, he said. The concerns of Muslim youth are largely the same as those of all youth, Poonah added: Depression, mental health, bullying, suicide, LGBT and questioning gender identity are the big ones. But there are some culturally specific ones: intergenerational cultural clashes, marital problems and, more often these days, discrimination. Youth are struggling with the sentiment that they dont belong and that is manifesting itself in unhealthy behaviours, he said. Most of the calls Naseeha gets come from the U.S. We had a number of mainstream organizations in the U.S. asking us if we had enough resources available in light of a Trump presidency, Poonah said. Admittedly, we are a little concerned about what will happen after Inauguration Day. The service has been receiving calls not only from youth, but also from their parents about how to deal with the effect of Donald Trumps presidency, he said. Its getting a little bit out of our scope. Poonah believes the boost in call numbers could also be due to word of mouth and Google searches. The non-profit, which recently received charitable status, is also listed as a crisis resource by the Toronto District School Board and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health; it most recently collaborated with Kids Help Phone. There are times when the organization has been approached by authorities, including the RCMP, Poonah said. In the case of so-called honour killings, local authorities will sometimes ask us if we got calls from the victims, he said. And when it comes down to radicalization, its the same. We would report it if it came up. On its website, Naseeha states that all calls are confidential, unless there is concern about harm to oneself or someone else, if there is suspected child abuse, or if information is subpoenaed by a court. Dr. Gursharan Virdee, a researcher at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health who has done work with Muslim and Sikh youth, says that the discreet nature of Naseeha which operates chat and email services in addition to a phone line takes away many of the barriers that traditionally exist for these communities to get support. She said that in her work with youth, many have said they wanted faith and spirituality to be a part of their counselling something that has been missing when they access mainstream services. If there is a lot of distance between the therapist and the client, there are some schools of thought that say that therapy might not be as effective as it could be, she said. So Naseeha fills a large void. She said it is possible that the recent spike in calls is due to general adolescent difficulties being compounded by heightened incidence of racism and Islamophobia. All of this can affect ones sense of self, identity and mental health, she said. Its also why a youth may call Naseeha, because they expect there will already be some understanding of this environment on the other side. The service accepts calls from anyone, but for youth who identify as Muslim, the religious advice provided by the counsellors is meant to be supportive and comforting, never preachy or proselytizing, Poonah said. One of the reasons the youth call us, as opposed to a different phone line, is that they are looking for someone who understands their faith, their religion or cultural context, he said. We never talk about heaven or hell, or sin. We want to be the first line of contact, without really giving any Islamic message, but we understand that they are calling us to hear that kind of advice gradually, he said. In one call log Naseeha shared with the Star (where all identifying information was removed), a female caller talks about relationship problems with her boyfriend, and his abusive behaviour toward her. In another call, a female discusses her confusion about her gender and desire to be a male. There is limited discussion about religion from the counsellors, unless the youth themselves bring it up. These complex discussions can sometimes go as long as an hour, said Poonah. Out of the 16,000 phone calls, we are only answering less than 20 per cent of those phone calls, because of hours of operation or our lines are occupied, he said, adding that the average call is now 54 minutes, up from 27 minutes the year before. Currently, the service has about 25 counsellors from around the GTA, between the ages of 18 and 35. The phone lines and live chat are open Monday to Friday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., with two counsellors on duty. In addition to calls, the service gets emails and messages on social media, and senders are then encouraged to call in. Advice is never given over email. Poonah has big plans for the organization, including increasing its hours of operation, doubling the number of counsellors to 50 and establishing a centralized hub or call centre. Broader plans include counselling in different languages, call centres in different countries and a round-the-clock answering service. But expansion dreams require money. Poonah estimates $8,000 a month could help make some of the items on the wish list become reality. We always need money, but its never been our focus, he said, noting that for the past few years the organization has grown with a budget of just a few hundred dollars a month. But now, the demand is unsustainable. We need to grow. SHARE: What exactly does a publication ban cover? Its a question journalists have to ask far too frequently. Most publication bans imposed are mandatory upon request and prevent, for example, publishing or broadcasting the identity of a sexual assault complainant or the evidence at a bail hearing. In certain circumstances, a judge can decide to put a publication ban on the identity of a victim or witness, or on a piece of information but first must consider whether there is a compelling reason, and notify the media so submissions can be made on behalf of the public interest. When imposed correctly, publication bans protect the identities of vulnerable individuals and prevent the dissemination of prejudicial information that could jeopardize the fair trial rights of accused persons. But discretionary publication bans are often wrongly and hastily imposed, with no explanation and no notice to the media. The lack of clarity, even when publication bans are correctly used, means that finding out exactly what publication bans cover can be a challenge. One recently discovered example involves a harrowing sexual assault case where an 11-year-old girl was raped. Her identity is covered by a publication ban for sexual assault complainants that is mandatory upon request. The Crown was particularly concerned that the name and exact location of the Toronto park where the girl first met her attacker not be published, and the judge agreed, according to a transcript of the sentencing hearing. That detail is nowhere to be found on the court documents that include a section to note which publication bans are in place on a case. All that is listed is the section of the Criminal Code that permits the publication ban: 486.4. Publication ban orders like this usually arent written down, says media lawyer Iris Fischer, who has represented the Toronto Star. As a result, figuring out who is covered by a publication ban, or what exactly it covers, can be a bit of a guessing game, she says. And it shouldnt be . . . it undermines the function and utility of a publication ban if no one knows what is banned. The solution is simple, she says. Have a written order setting out what the publication ban covers and put it in the court file. That way journalists and members of the public are not relying on the confusing, wrong or conflicting information from court staff or lawyers involved in the case. A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Attorney General said whether or not there is a written publication ban order is at the discretion of the presiding judge or justice of the peace. The Ministry continues to work with justice partners, including the judiciary, towards modernizing our justice system and to consider suggestions about making our system more transparent, accessible and user-friendly as we move forward, Maryshaa Bastiampillai said in an email. If a special publication ban is placed on the identity of a victim or witness, the media should be able to find out who it is and why the publication ban was imposed, Fischer says. From an open courts perspective, it is a problem because media may then err on the side of caution. No one wants to breach a publication ban, she says. And more information may be held back from the public than needs to be. That is what happened in early December, at the first court appearance of Mohammed Shamji, charged with murdering his wife, family doctor Elana Fric-Shamji. A publication ban order under the section of the Criminal Code that applies to victims and witnesses was made by the presiding justice of the peace, leading to confusion around whether a publication ban had been imposed on Fric-Shamjis identity, or on the identities of two potential witnesses. Some outlets reported Fric-Shamjis name, some did not. A reporter trying to seek clarification over whether the publication ban only applied to two witnesses was only referred to the sections of the Criminal Code. Veteran media lawyer Paul Schabas, who has also represented the Toronto Star, says the presumption of open courts has been repeatedly stated by the Supreme Court of Canada. There is an extraordinary disconnect between what the highest court in the country is saying and what happens in the trenches. SHARE: It took me a while to realize my neighbour was running an Airbnb across the hall in my rental building. Its a slow thing to notice. There are longer hellos and goodbyes at the door, suggestions to go to the ROM, and one morning three guys came out with an empty case of beer and suitcases. Theres only so much you can glean from overhearing the occasional interaction through a door and what the peephole reveals. Peep is such an accusatory word: its my innocent fish-eye look out into the public corridor. Further poking around on the Airbnb site revealed rentals that match my building. An Airbnb next door is not an imminent crisis by any means, but when I mentioned it to a friend, he said, Youve got to report that! Not only do unauthorized short-term rentals violate the lease agreement, they eat into Torontos precious rental stock. If my neighbour is renting her place out full time, it takes a relatively affordable unit off the market. A study published in September by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives called Nobodys Business: Airbnb in Toronto said Airbnb is constraining the citys supply of housing and even threatens the hotel business and character of neighbourhoods. Recently, Torontos municipal licensing and standards department charged owners of three homes on Bleecker St. with zoning violations for allegedly running short-term rental businesses at properties that arent their full-time homes. This last bit is the crux of the Airbnb problem: Is it a business or is it just a way to make extra cash? Cities have complicated economies and, unless comfortably wealthy, we all have strategies to make living in one possible. Friends who want to travel will sublet their apartments for months at a time, but eventually return home. Others at the more marginal end of the economic spectrum will couch-surf or stay with somebody theyre dating a few weekends a month and let out their apartment on Airbnb to help make rent. They still exist, but in the past, boarding houses run by a live-in owner were much more prevalent. When a great-aunt of mine arrived in Toronto from Nova Scotia after the Second World War, she found a room catering to young single women like her, venturing out on their own, at Eden Place near Queen and Bathurst Sts. Corinna Prior, a researcher at Ryerson University studying the ways digital technologies are altering the city, is using Airbnb as a case study. She told me the story is more complicated than often represented: Its definitely causing problems in terms of affordable housing, but its also a way for new immigrants to land in cities with a difficult rental market and begin to get established. That sounds like the way my aunt arrived in Toronto in the 1940s. Prior also said shes read reports of Airbnb hosts squatting in office buildings or sleeping in closets to make extra cash and cope with rising housing costs. When travelling, my own preference is stay in a hotel, the bigger the better; there is nothing like the anonymous sovereignty of your own room in another city where nobody oversees your comings and goings. However, Ive stayed at a handful of Airbnbs in the U.S. and farther afield when travelling with friends who have the inclination and knack to dig up good places. Its mostly been great and the apartments and houses were usually in vacation areas. Airbnb just made the rental process easier. Still, the loft on the Lower East Side of Manhattan that we rented from the family who lived next door wasnt how Airbnb should work ideally, and the apartment we rented from a nice-seeming fellow in Romes Trastevere neighbourhood, thinking it was his apartment, was really one of a number he rents. We never met him, just a woman he hired to give us the keys, his friendly avatar the front for a business. So, its complicated. My peephole hasnt revealed much more activity across the hall, and the rare time Ive bumped into my neighbour shes been friendly, even saying hi to my dog, so Im not going to be an Airbnb snitch any time soon. Maybe shes just trying to make it in this expensive city, too, but all of this is a reason to closely watch how cities like Toronto grapple with regulating this new technology. Shawn Micallef writes about where and how we live in the GTA. Wander the streets with him on Twitter @shawnmicallef SHARE: A year after Ottawa rolled out a new scheme to crack down on employers violating the rules of the temporary foreign worker program, only three businesses have been fined or banned for non-compliance. Advocates and critics said the changes introduced by the former Conservative government were ineffective, and were put in place merely to convince the public something was being done to prevent employers from abusing the program. As of the end of November, three employers had been found by the federal government to be non-compliant: Obeid Farms in Vanessa, Ont.; a Dairy Queen franchise in Prince Albert, Sask.; and the Regent Hotel in Revelstoke, B.C. While Obeid was given a two-year ban on bringing in migrant workers, the Dairy Queen was fined $1,250 and the hotel was fined $750. A lawyer for Obeid declined to comment, citing the farms ongoing litigation against the federal government in the matter. The Dairy Queen franchise did not respond to a request for comment about the allegations. The hotel declined to comment on the allegations. On Dec. 1, 2015, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, in collaboration with Employment and Social Development Canada, introduced a points system for assessing employer compliance based on the type of violation, history, severity, company size and whether the business co-operates with investigators. In addition to publicly naming employers alleged to have broken the law, the new regulations include a range of penalties, from a fine of between $500 and $100,000 per violation to a ban from the program from one to 10 years and the revocation of previously issued work permits. The Immigration Department said it has received more than 120 tips regarding non-compliance since the new regulations came into effect. To date, 926 investigations generally document-based but in some cases involving workplace visits were initiated, it said. Almost half have been completed, with 490 still in progress. The Employment Department also launched more than 2,300 investigations on its own. Immigration spokesperson Lindsay Wemp said there has been a significant jump in the number of inspections of employers since an information-sharing agreement was completed between the two federal departments in the autumn. The employer compliance process is not intended to be punitive, but rather to encourage employers to remain compliant with their responsibilities and obligations in employing temporary workers, Wemp said. Syed Hussan of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change said he was not surprised there have been just three offenders identified, as Ottawas jurisdiction is limited to enforcing employment contracts and immigration rules. Everything involving the protection of the workers, like their treatment and pay, falls into the jurisdiction of the provincial ministries of labour, he said. The so-called enforcement is a distraction because the fed doesnt have the power to enforce employment standards. What the federal government has jurisdiction in and should focus on is to allow migrant workers to obtain permanent residency upon arrival, he said. Calling the new regulations bravado from the former Tory government, Naveen Mehta, human rights director of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Canada, said the ramped-up enforcement is a first step toward deterring employers from abusing the migrant workers program. He said officials must scrutinize whether employers have a genuine need to bring in migrant workers while investing in training with Canadians. We need a robust foreign workers program that treats people with dignity and respect. Keeping these workers away from their families for years for our economic gain is just inhuman, said Mehta, adding that Ottawa should tie a migrant worker not to one employer but to a regional industry. Last month, Ottawa eliminated the 4-in-4-out rule that banned migrant workers from returning to Canada within four years after they had worked here for four years. Immigration Minister John McCallum said he will soon require low-wage employers to advertise openings first to under-represented groups in the workforce youth, people with disabilities, indigenous people and newcomers before they fill the positions with temporary migrant workers. SHARE: ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIAIn a half-lit basement on a side street in St. Petersburg, 18 men holding reproduction Makarov pistols were fumbling through an exercise, racking the slides, taking aim and firing. Click, click, click, click, click. Repeat. Denis Gariev, the instructor, called out to pause the training. He was not about to air his political views, an ethnic nationalism so raw that he is far to the right of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He was about to rail against a society that had gone soft. Nowadays everyone tells the boys starting in kindergarten, Dont act so aggressive, be smarter, he said in a mocking baby voice. And we turn into these unaggressive vegetables. Gariev aims to restore the aggression. By and large, we are learning how to kill, he told his charges, who had come to the Reserve military-patriotic club for a one-week paramilitary course called Partisan. We hope that it will never happen to us and well never harm a living creature. But if we have to, then we should be ready. The cadets listening to Gariev were largely white-collar and self-employed workers from cities across Russia, men motivated less by an ideology than by the siege mentality that has surged here since the wars in Ukraine and Syria and a conviction that the modern Russian man should be combat-ready. They signed up to train for 12 hours a day or more in a weeklong, military-style course that promises to raise ones chances of survival in case of a war or total collapse of modern society. The storm clouds are gathering, said Alexei, 38, a former Greco-Roman wrestler from the Volga River city of Samara, who, like several others in the course, did not give his last name. He said that he was motivated by feelings of instability because of the threat of terrorism and the conflict in Ukraine. If there is ever a mobilization, then I will be ready, not the kind of person to be given a rifle, yell Hurrah! and make it two or three steps before I am shot down, he said. Much of the training course takes place outside the city centre, in abandoned lots and buildings used for a game called airsoft, similar to paintball but played with guns that fire plastic BBs. To handle a gun you must be maximally aggressive, Gariev said. The men learn to fire a Kalashnikov rifle and Makarov pistol, apply a tourniquet and storm a room in tactical formation. They learn to rappel down abandoned buildings and hold their rifles steady, ready to fire, while charging across a swampy field. During short breaks they pose for selfies in balaclavas, keepsakes from their week away from the daily grind. Political discussion is purposefully left out of the courses, Gariev said. But he thinks that his cadets will be natural allies in a coming clash of civilizations. Thats why he refuses to train Muslims. Victory is about spirit. Its been like that since, hell knows, since Akhenaten, all the way up to Putin and (Barack) Obama. Nothing has changed, he told the men in the basement. Gariev, a graduate in history from St. Petersburg and a former soldier in the strategic missile troops, has been training Russians to fight for a long time. In 2009 he grew disenchanted with purely political activism and began urging Russian men to buy guns legally and start training to use them together. Soon, he was holding courses for civilians. When the war in Ukraine began in 2014, he started training Russian volunteers to fight alongside the Imperial Legion, the paramilitary arm of the Russian Imperial Movement, a right-wing political group united around reverence for the Russian Empire, the czar and Russian Orthodoxy. He also fought in east Ukraine. More than 300 men passed through the courses for volunteers, he said, some of them graduates of his civilian training. Gariev is a critic of Putin. He thinks that the Russian government is corrupt and does not do enough to protect the interests of ethnic Russians. In the past, that made the club a target for law enforcement raids. But the war in Ukraine, for a time, brought the interests of the Kremlin and Russian nationalists closer. Gariev said as he and his allies turned their attention away from domestic politics, raids by the police also subsided. We dont receive any support, but at the same time, we arent hampered by the authorities, Ruslan Starodubov, a member of the Imperial Legion, told a BBC film crew last year. Garievs views on Ukraine are far more aggressive, and much more extreme, than those voiced by the Kremlin. He called Ukraine a pseudo-nation invented by the Soviets, and blamed Russian television for fomenting a civil war around an ethnic distinction he says does not exist. We see Ukrainian-ness as rabies, he said. A person is sick. Either quarantine, liquidation, or hell infect everyone. He also blames the West. The goal of the West is to weaken us by making Russians kill one another, Gariev said. They are succeeding. Along with others in the Imperial Legion, he stopped travelling to Ukraine to fight in 2015, he said, because he believed the conflict has been co-opted by government and oligarchic interests from Russia, Ukraine and the West. At one time we saw a possibility to change history, he said. At the moment, it no longer exists. The Partisan courses for civilians have resumed in earnest. Attendance has tripled since the war in Ukraine began, Gariev said. Similar training courses, open to regular Russian men, are in vogue among nationalist groups, said Alexander Verkhovsky, the head of the Moscow-based SOVA Center, which monitors extremism. The military training is the only part of their activities that is still really active, Verkhovsky said. They are having a real political decline. But their energies are still focused on these training sessions. The club is hardly a secret; during the November training, a reporter for a St. Petersburg television station had embedded with the group for a gonzo-style report. Overall, Gariev said, theyve had more than 500 students since 2011. For the past three years, said Timofey Filkin, a baby-faced 30-year-old from the industrial city of Perm in the Ural Mountains, he had spent 30 to 40 minutes a day online gathering information and monitoring the conflict in Ukraine, with its scenario of societal breakdown that he thinks is possible in Russia as well. If I didnt have a family, I would seriously have thought about going to Donbass in May and June of 2014, though I dont know if I would have had the heart, Filkin said. (Donbass is one of the centresof the separatist fight in eastern Ukraine.) An academic at Perms Polytechnic University focusing on environmental protection, he said he had to make considerable promises to his wife and two children to travel to St. Petersburg for the training course. He said he did not know much about the Russian Imperial Movement and didnt consider himself a nationalist. Im an Orthodox man, but I think that our views on government are likely quite different, he said. I cant say Im a monarchist, or a Russian nationalist. Another cadet, Sergey Smirnov, an independent businessman and blogger from the Ural Mountains city of Chelyabinsk, expressed even less interest in politics. Im interested in military topics, masculine hobbies, hard, tough, extreme things, things that require you to overcome physical discomfort, he said. In February, hes planning to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. I dont feel any kind of danger, he said. I just think a man should always be ready. Read more about: SHARE: A baggage handler was locked inside an airplanes cargo area during a 1.5-hour flight from North Carolina to Northern Virginia on Sunday. A United Airlines spokeswoman said Monday that the airline was looking into how it had happened. The baggage handler, Reginald Gaskin, 45, was unharmed. Reached by The Washington Post on Monday night, Gaskin declined to discuss how he wound up inside the plane. He said he had been advised by an attorney not to discuss the matter. I thank God, Gaskin said. He was with me. United Express Flight 6060, operated by Mesa Airlines, took off from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport just before 3 p.m. Sunday and landed at Washington Dulles International Airport on schedule about 90 minutes later. The plane, a 50-seat Embraer 170, rose to 27,000 feet, according to flight records. A United spokeswoman could not say Monday whether the planes cargo hold was temperature controlled or pressurized. At some point, workers in Charlotte, North Carolina, realized there was a possibility that Gaskin was locked in the belly of the airplane and contacted the Federal Aviation Administration. They alerted officials at Dulles, according to airport officials there. Emergency responders at Dulles were waiting at the gate. Authorities in Charlotte termed the incident a public accident, and a representative for the FBI in Washington said the agency was notified but was not involved in the investigation into the incident. Gaskin is an employee of G2 Secure Staff, a United vendor based in Texas that supplies baggage handling services, airline officials said. A company representative did not respond to a message or email Monday evening. SHARE: RIO DE JANEIROBrazilian authorities said Tuesday that the inmates responsible for the killings of 60 rivals at two prisons in the Amazon region will be transferred to high security federal institutions in addition to being prosecuted. Many of those slain were beheaded or dismembered in the worst bloodshed at a prison of the South American country since 1992. Amazonas state public security secretary Sergio Fontes said the transfers will begin as soon as investigations into the incidents are finished. He said there was a link between the killing of 56 inmates in a penitentiary in Manaus, the state capital, and four deaths in a smaller prison. Four prisons in the state of Amazonas saw riots Sunday and Monday. A total of 184 inmates escaped, and only 54 had been recaptured as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the local police, who set up checkpoints to hunt for fugitives. Amazonas Gov. Jose Melo said the transfers to federal prisons are likely to focus on members of local Family of the North gang that attacked those of Sao Paulo-based First Command, Brazils biggest criminal organization. The two are clashing over the control of prisons and drug routes in northern Brazil. They are fighting for space outside the prisons, and this time it was inside the penitentiary, Melo said in a press conference after meeting federal authorities. This is part of a national movement that happened in prisons of Roraima, Acre and Rondonia states. Now it is with us. What shocked us was the aggressive way it was done. Melo also said security in the prisons will be beefed up, with police officers permanently inside the buildings and more-thorough searches. He also ordered policemen who have been off duty or on vacation to return to the streets. Meanwhile Tuesday, dozens of people stood outside the coroner's office in Manaus to find if their relatives were among the dead. Sara Santos, 36, said she was seeking news of her 23-year-old brother, who had been in prison for drug trafficking. "Nobody knows who is alive or dead," said Santos, expressing frustration that she and her mother had been waiting for news since Monday afternoon. Fontes said the first bodies of the victims would be handed to families on Tuesday. And state authorities said families will be paid compensation those who were killed. Transfers of gang leaders to federal prisons often have been followed by more violence and Amazonas authorities said they are worried that the First Command may retaliate for the slayings in the coming days. The Anisio Jobim Penitentiary Complex in Manaus held 1,224 inmates when the riot began, although it is designed for only 592, the state public security office said. The prison is run by a private company that is paid according to the number of inmates. The governor also announced a public-private partnership to invest $30 million in a new penitentiary with capacity of 3,200 inmates to address the states growing problem of crowded prisons an issue all over Brazil. Late Monday, Melo ordered that 130 prisoners linked to the First Command be transferred to a prison built in 1907 that had been deactivated in October due to poor conditions. Secretary Fontes said that the old prison "was the only solution available to the state to stop another massive killing". Robert Muggah of the Instituto Igarape, a Rio de Janeiro-based security and social issues think tank, said the transfer of prisoners "is an important measure, but it doesn't address the structural problems of Brazil's poorly managed prison system." "There still needs to be a better separation of dangerous and not as dangerous inmates. There are a lot of new problems when juveniles enter adult prisons," he said. "This is a long-running problem with no end in sight." The federal government said it would sending $17 million extra to Amazonas, part of it to help forensic experts, who are having difficulties identifying the bodies due to the extreme brutality of the killings. The incident was the most deadly in a Brazilian prison since at least 111 inmates were killed by police forces during a 1992 riot at the Carandiru prison in Sao Paulo. Read more about: SHARE: BEIRUTSyrian government forces pressed their offensive in a water-rich valley northwest of Damascus on Tuesday as 10 rebel groups announced they are suspending talks about planned peace negotiations because of what they described as government violations of a ceasefire deal. The truce, brokered by Russia and Turkey, is meant to be followed by talks later this month in the Kazakh capital of Astana between mainstream rebel factions and government representatives. The UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously adopted a resolution supporting efforts by Russia and Turkey, which back opposing sides in Syrias civil war, to end the nearly six-year conflict and jump-start peace negotiations. But the nationwide four-day-old ceasefire is looking increasingly shaky, with opposition factions angered in particular about the ongoing military offensive in the strategically-important Barada Valley. The government and the opposition disagree about whether the region is part of the ceasefire agreement, which excludes extremist factions such as the Daesh group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and Al Qaedas affiliate, known as the Fatah al-Sham Front. The text of the document was never released to the public. The Syrian government says the mountainous region is not part of the ceasefire because of the presence of the Fatah al-Sham Front. Local activists deny any militant presence in the area. Opposition activists, including the Barada Valley Media Center, on Tuesday reported heavy bombardment of villages there. The oppositions Civil Defence first responders reported at least nine government airstrikes since Sunday, as well as acute shortages of medical supplies. Six people have been killed and 73 have been wounded, it said. In a statement posted late Monday, 10 rebel factions said they were freezing all discussions regarding the Astana negotiations or any other consultations regarding the ceasefire agreement until it is fully implemented. They include the powerful Army of Islam group, which operates mainly outside the Syrian capital. It said the violations in the Barada Valley are continuing and threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. The statement also said that the opposition will consider any military changes made on the ground to be a serious violation of the ceasefire agreement that renders it null. The Barada Valley, which is controlled by rebels and is surrounded by pro-government forces, including the Lebanese Iran-backed Hezbollah group, is the primary source of water for Damascus and surrounding areas. The fighting has cut off the capitals main sources of water, resulting in severe shortages since Dec. 22. Images from the valleys Media Center indicate its Ain al-Fijeh spring and water processing facility have been destroyed, apparently by airstrikes. The government says rebels spoiled the water source with diesel fuel, forcing it to cut supplies to the capital. The ceasefire agreement, which went into effect early Friday, is supposed to pave the way for the government and the opposition to meet for talks for the first time in nearly a year in the second half of January. Those talks will be mediated by Russia, Turkey and Iran, though Russian officials have said other key players, including the United States, are welcome to participate. In the northern province of Idlib, Al Qaedas affiliate, the Fatah al-Sham Front, said more than 20 people were killed as a result of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes that targeted one of its command centres. The statement released on the groups Telegram channel did not give further details, but opposition activists said dozens of people were killed and wounded in the airstrikes that struck the groups position near the village of Sarmada in the Idlib countryside. Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said he was unaware of the incident. The attack follows an air raid late Sunday that struck several cars travelling on a road leading from Sarmada to the Bab al-Hawa area near the border with Turkey, killing at least eight people, including Al Qaeda-linked fighters and a senior commander with the Chinese Islamic militant faction, according to opposition groups and a local jihadi commander. The U.S. has killed some of Al Qaedas most senior commanders in Syria over the past two years in airstrikes. Those targeted include members of the so-called Khorasan group, which Washington describes as an internal branch of Al Qaeda that plans attacks against Western interests. It was not immediately clear who was behind the Sunday and Tuesday attacks. SHARE: President-elect Donald Trump has picked lawyer Robert Lighthizer to head the U.S. Trade Representative office, his transition team said Tuesday in a further sign the incoming administration will take a tougher line on China. He has extensive experience striking agreements that protect some of the most important sectors of our economy, and has repeatedly fought in the private sector to prevent bad deals from hurting Americans, Trump said in an e-mailed statement. He will do an amazing job helping turn around the failed trade policies which have robbed so many Americans of prosperity. Lighthizer, 69, who was deputy trade representative during the Reagan administration, would replace Michael Froman, the Obama administrations representative who led negotiations on a Pacific trade pact that would have covered nearly 40 per cent of the global economy and was seen as a counterpoint to Chinas rising clout. Trump, however, argues that deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership kill American jobs. He has vowed to make smarter deals and slap punitive tariffs on countries that violate trade rules, particularly Chinaa frequent target of his attacks. As a partner at the Washington offices of law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Lighthizer has focused on traditional trade litigation, policy advice and legislative initiatives for a roster of large U.S. corporations and coalitions, according to the firms website. Lighthizer has previously accused China of unfair trade practices, in line with views held by Peter Navarro, a China critic who Trump last month named to head a newly formed White House National Trade Council. In a 2011 article published in the Washington Times, Lighthizer said that using tariffs to promote American industry was a Republican tenet harking back to pro-business politicians who established the party. The icon of modern conservatism, Ronald Reagan, imposed quotas on imported steel, protected Harley-Davidson from Japanese competition, restrained import of semiconductors and automobiles, and took myriad similar steps to keep American industry strong, Lighthizer wrote. How does allowing China to constantly rig trade in its favour advance the core conservative goal of making markets more efficient? Markets do not run better when manufacturing shifts to China largely because of the actions of its government. The choice of Lighthizer would make sense because Trumps economic plan is Reagan-esque, said He Weiwen, deputy director of the Beijing-based Center for China and Globalization and a former business attache in Chinese consulates in New York and San Francisco. In the second term of Reagans administration, his trade team put a lot of pressure on Japan in bilateral negotiations, He said. If Lighthizer is picked, a hardline approach towards China can be expected. Trump has also linked geopolitical matters to Americas trade ties, suggesting his administration will consider the behavior of countries on defense and security in the framework of its economic relationships. Trump via Twitter on Monday warned that nuclear aggression from North Korea wont be tolerated, and castigated China for not taking a stronger stance. China is the major trading partner of Kim Jong Uns reclusive regime and a key source of its energy shipments. As such it has been seen in the past as holding some sway over Pyongyangs behavior. North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It wont happen! Trump tweeted. And later: China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade, but wont help with North Korea. Nice! The office of the U.S. Trade Representative is part of the Executive Office of the President, responsible for developing international trade and investment policy, overseeing trade negotiations and representing American interests at the World Trade Organization. Trump chose Lighthizer after considering several others, including Jovita Carranza, a former executive with United Parcel Service Inc. who served as deputy administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration under President George W. Bush. Dan DiMicco, former head of steel-maker Nucor Corp., was also considered. Lighthizer met Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Dec. 19. The president-elect is closing in on a full selection of cabinet nominees. Now that he has settled on his trade representative, top posts yet to be filled are agriculture secretary, veterans affairs secretary, and chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. Former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue is the front-runner for agriculture secretary, though the search continues, transition officials told Bloomberg on Monday. Trumps top choice for veterans affairs, Cleveland Clinic chief Toby Cosgrove, has withdrawn from consideration. Read more about: SHARE: BOGOTAUnited Nations observers are in hot water in Colombia after a video surfaced showing them dancing with leftist rebels while deployed to watch over them as part of a peace deal. The video was shot by Spanish news agency EFE from inside a jungle camp during a New Years Eve party. In the short video, two men wearing blue vests with UN insignia can be seen dancing hip-to-hip with female guerrillas. The images drew rebuke from opponents of the peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. The UN mission in a statement Monday called the behaviour inappropriate and said it would take corresponding measures. As part of a peace deal hundreds of UN-sponsored observers are being deployed across the country to receive weapons turned over by the rebels. SHARE: You know you are going to find it very difficult as an Indian Muslim, said the partner at a Bay Street law firm during job interviews. As a newly minted lawyer to be, I was shocked but expected it to be better within a profession promoting justice and equality. Yet, a year spent at a downtown firm quickly confirmed what he had said. The firm was wonderfully supportive, but they operated within an environment that was less than welcoming to minorities. In fact, too many times I was mistaken for a photo copy clerk by lawyers outside the firm. In typical Canadian fashion, the systemic marginalization continues away from the limelight until its called out, or controversy erupts. Last month the Law Society of Upper Canada approved the final report of Challenges Faced by Racialized Licensees Working Group. The 13 recommendations revolve around five action areas to address systemic racism faced by lawyers and paralegals: Accelerating a culture shift; measuring progress; educating for change; implementing supports; and leading by example. Virtually all of the 50 minority lawyers I polled (three of whom took part in the study) agreed the study was a good first step, but a significant number felt that much more was needed. In fact, many volunteered their own negative experiences. Some felt the study was overly focused on the employment context. Many offered that a more comprehensive approach involving the law society, the courts and prosecutions was crucial to bring about real improvements. There is a widely held belief that the societys disciplinary machinery focuses on smaller firms and sole practitioners. This results in disproportionate impact on minorities, even if unintended. A thorough review of all investigations and dispositions over a set period of time must be carried out to determine if this belief is factually grounded. Benchers and disciplinary counsel should also be trained to recognize racialized peoples sources of disadvantages and their own unconscious bias, both of which may help perpetuate systemic discrimination. They should consider a more restorative approach to disciplinary proceedings, especially involving racialized licensees that have suffered disadvantage in entering, and then proceeding through the profession, says senior defence lawyer Faisal Mirza. Too many judges and crown counsel have exhibited bias toward minorities, including counsel. Some of these are unintended and may appear innocuous on the surface but help perpetuate stereotypes. Last month the Star revealed that Ontario Justice Bernd Zabel apologized for wearing a pro-Trump hat in court the day after the U.S. election and declaring his support for the president-elect in court. Rightfully, many questioned whether those belonging to groups attacked by Trump, would be treated fairly if they appeared before him. Minority lawyers can vouch that Justice Zabel is not alone. When racialized licensees face such issues, they are usually on their own and are understandably reticent to speak out. They must have the support and backing of the Law Society in such cases. I was once asked by a judge who decides custody issues if they teach Muslim kids to hate Jews at Islamic schools in Toronto. I presume she was comfortable in asking me because I did not appear like a typical conservative Muslim. This was a judge whose own activist son was learning about Islam. I coincidently met the son later and he said he couldnt believe his mother was a judge with such biased views. The society must take a proactive role in vetting members of the bar put forth through the judicial advisory committee for appointments. A candidates experience with minorities in their workplace, with client representation or volunteer work should be considered as an essential qualification to properly administer justice in a diverse society, suggests Mirza. For a profession that teaches the perception of justice is as important as justice itself, it is ironic that senior members of the bar may be called to argue their case ahead of junior counsel, even if the junior counsel was in court first. Years ago, I remember sitting and waiting while senior (mostly non-racialized) lawyers walked in and were heard first, because racialized lawyers were more recent calls to the bar. This practice leaves the impression that white men (usually) have more respect and influence and helps perpetuate stereotypes. The report is a good first step, but a more comprehensive overhaul is required if there is to be any lasting impact. Faisal Kutty is counsel to KSM Law, an associate professor at Valparaiso University Law School in Indiana and an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School. @faisalkutty. SHARE: Social-media company Twitter (TWTR) is beginning the New Year on a down note, as yet another executive has jumped ship. Investors should begin to batten down the hatches, as this year promises rough seas ahead. On Saturday, Kathy Chen, Twitter's managing director for greater China, said via tweet that she will be moving on to "more international business opportunities." She previously worked for Microsoft, and when she joined Twitter just eight months ago, her appointment caused major ripples at the company. The Chinese government officially blocks Twitter in that country, but the social-media site is a popular tool for Chinese advertisers that want to market to the rest of the world. During the past two years, Twitter's greater China advertising base grew by almost 400%, according to Chen's series of farewell tweets. Twitter has recently restructured this segment of its global operations, moving Chinese ad sales and support departments from Hong Kong to its Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore, prompting her departure. However, one can't help but assume that there is another big reason for why Chen is leaving the company. Her resignation is just the latest in a string of departures from the troubled social-media company. In the waning months last year, Twitter lost its chief operating officer, its chief technology officer and its vice president of product, along with a number of other employees in management positions. It looks like they know something that investors are starting to figure out. All told, Twitter's stock lost about 30% of its value last year. A big reason for this big decline is the fact that, despite its popular service and consistent user base, Twitter just can't seem to build either its product or its profits. Twitter has about 320 million monthly active users, but that number is dishearteningly close to the approximately 302 million monthly active users that it had at the start of 2015. Although the number isn't dropping, it shows that Twitter is unable to bring more users aboard. And that means that Twitter still struggles when it comes to monetizing itself, which isn't promising for investors who are looking for profits. When founder Jack Dorsey took back the reins in October 2015, analysts and investors hoped that he would deliver on his promise to revitalize the company, which was struggling with the same issues back then as well. However, his initiatives have largely fallen flat. Optimism returned to the stock a few months ago, when it was rumored that Twitter was being eyed for a purchase by a larger technology or media company. Although the names Salesforce,Walt Disney and even Microsoft were bandied about, no deal ever materialized. Clearly, 2017 is going to be Twitter's sink or swim year. The company certainly has a roster of new executives who may be able to resuscitate it, but investors shouldn't hold their breath. Continue to avoid Twitter's stock until it finds calmer waters, if that ever happens. --- Twitter's still a dangerous stock. But it's not the only risky investment out there. A blistering financial storm is about to hit our shores. When it hits, weak companies and their investors will be washed away. You need to put yourself on solid ground. And that doesn't just mean changing your investment allocations or loading up on cash. I'll show you how to protect yourself and prosper when you click here. The author is an independent contributor who at the time of publication owned none of the stocks mentioned. Deutsche Bank (DB) investors just got a sneak preview of what a modern European bank bailout looks like. The Italian government would pay 6.6 billion euros ($6.9 billion) under a proposed bailout of the lender Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, or three-quarters of the total $9.2 billion cost, the Bank of Italy said last week. The cash injection aims to close Monte dei Paschi's capital shortfall under European banking rules. Additional capital will come from converting some of its lowest-ranking bonds into new shares. While the lifeline should help the ailing Italian bank to survive even as many customers have rushed to withdraw funds in the past month, existing stockholders will be mostly wiped out. Monte dei Paschi shares have plunged 23% in the past month, leaving them down 88% this year. The Italian example provides a reason why investors should avoid shares of Deutsche Bank, the largest European lender, according to David Hendler, a longtime bank analyst who now runs consultancy Viola Risk Advisors in Montebello, New York. While Deutsche Bank hasn't sought a bailout, the German lender's financial condition is fragile enough that a liquidity crisis is a real risk, and the result could be a bailout on terms similar to those of Monte de Paschi's, Hendler says. "They're such a huge bank and balance sheet that if they have liquidity pressures similar to Monte dei Paschi's, there's going to have to be a much more forceful supervisory or government intervention," Hendler said in an interview. "Intervention means the equity gets diluted." Ever since the financial crisis of 2008, when governments including the United States, Germany, U.K. and the Netherlands all scrambled to prop up banks, regulators have pushed to eliminate the likelihood that taxpayers would again have to foot the bill for costly bank failures. Monte dei Paschi's bailout shows that the too-big-to-fail problem is far from solved. By global standards, the Italian lender Monte dei Paschi is tiny, with just under $170 billion of total assets. Yet it's now been shown to be too big to fail -- with a balance sheet less than a tenth the size of Deutsche Bank's. For the German lender's stockholders, 2016 was volatile. The shares plunged in September as Deutsche Bank confirmed the U.S. Department of Justice was seeking as much as $14 billion over sales of toxic mortgage bonds in the years before the 2008 crisis. Late in the year, the stock rallied as executives agreed to a figure of $7.2 billion in penalties and consumer relief. Deutsche Bank ended 2016 with its stock down 25%, extending a three-year losing streak that has cost investors a cumulative 60%. By contrast, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) , Deutsche Bank's biggest U.S. rival in the global businesses of corporate lending, trading and investment banking, has rallied 47% over the past three years. A person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that Deutsche Bank doesn't plan to sell fresh shares to pay for the settlement. Hendler's contention is that, if the Frankfurt-based bank end up needing new capital, few investors would want to sign up. Through the first nine months of 2016, Deutsche Bank's net profit margin was just 2.3%. At JPMorgan, the ratio was 25%. Indeed, Monte dei Paschi tried earlier in December to raise 5 billion euros of new capital from private shareholders, before failing and turning to the government. "They didn't have a strong business-value proposition, and had negligible economic earnings," Hendler said. If Deutsche Bank sees a faster erosion of its funding -- deposits dwindled to $541 billion as of Sept. 30 from $560 billion at the start of the year -- then a bailout would become inevitable, Hendler reasons. The lender could need as much as $90 billion of fresh capital to palliate nervous clients, the analyst estimates, citing calculations from New York University's Volatility Institute. Such an amount would be nearly impossible to meet with private capital alone. And regulators would be reluctant to allow a massive stock-for-bonds conversion that might trigger panic across Europe and possibly the world, Hendler says. Of course, the term bailout isn't being used -- at least not officially. Monte dei Paschi's rescue is being described as a "precautionary recapitalization." Such verbal gymnastics would likely accompany a Deutsche Bank bailout, according to Kurt Dew, a former JPMorgan banker and Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco economist who's now a visiting professor of finance at the Mexican university Tecnologico de Monterrey. "Since European Union regulators have resolved not to bail out Eurozone commercial banks, major machinations are necessary," Dew wrote on SeekingAlpha on Dec. 27. To wit, those would entail "bailing out a too-big-to-fail bank but finding a way to call this bailout something else." Britvic (BTVCY) , the FTSE 250 maker of soft drinks, stock gained on Tuesday, after it announced further expansion into Brazil. Stock was up 1.50% to 575.5 pence at 8.30 am GMT following an announcement on Tuesday that it had reached a deal to acquire a Brazilian concentrates and juice business. Brazil is the leading liquid concentrates market. The Hemel Hempstead, England-based company has seen shares fall 21.31% in the last 52 weeks. Britvic bottles and distributes PepsiCo (PEP) brands including Mountain Dew, Pepsi Max and 7 Up in Britain. The board of Britvic announced on Tuesday it had reached an agreement in principle to acquire Bela Ischia Alimentos for R$ 218 million ($66.3 million). The acquisition is in line with its strategy to expand internationally to realize opportunities in the kids, family and adult categories, the company said. This is the latest in a series of Brazilian acquisitions for the British company. It bought Ebba and other concentrate brands in September 2015. "Ebba has been integrated successfully into the Britvic group, and has delivered excellent results in its first year against challenging macro conditions," the company said. In the last 12 months, Bela Ischia delivered double digit revenue growth, reaching approximately R$160 million resulting in Ebitda of approximately R$18.5 million, reflecting strong volume and price growth. By way of comparison, ebba revenues in Britvic FY2016 were R$471 million. "Our due diligence to date has identified significant cost synergies and potential further revenue benefits arising from a broader brand portfolio and geographical presence. As a result, we are confident that this complementary acquisition should create a fantastic platform to consolidate our strategic position in Brazil and generate additional shareholder value over the coming years," Britvic CEO Simon Litherland said in a statement. Oil begun the new year in festive mood, adding about $1.30 a barrel to hit its highest mark since March last year, as reports filtered through that oil producing nations are delivering on an OPEC-brokered deal to cut outputs from Jan. 1. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures for delivery in February climbed to $54.99 a barrel, up 2.36% or $1.27, in mid-morning European trading. Brent Crude futures for delivery in March climbed 2.31% or $1.31 per barrel to $58.13. Prices were handed a boost by news out of Kuwait and Oman, that seemed to confirm that the countries would stick to their commitments to cut output as part of an OPEC plan to reduce global supply by 1.8 million barrels a day for at least six months. Kuwait has cut 130,000 barrels per day from its production, reducing it to about 2.75 million barrels, Kuwait Oil Co. CEO Jamal Abdulaziz Jaafer told Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anba. Oman, which is not a member of OPEC but agreed to participate in the production cap, will remove 45,000 barrels per day from its production schedule, reducing output to 1 million barrels, its Oil Ministry's director of marketing Ali Al-Riyami told Oman TV. Analysts and traders remain skeptical of the extent to which OPEC and non-OPEC producers will honor their agreed cuts, noting that past deals have typically undershot promised reductions by about 30% to 40%. Tuesday's increase added further momentum to oil price rises since OPEC announced its plan to cut oil output in September to expedite a rebalancing of the market, which has been swamped with excess oil since mid-2014. That oversupply cut the price of oil from over $110 per barrel to below $30 a barrel in January last year. Oil posted its first yearly gain in three years in 2016, adding just under 50% to the price of a barrel, and breaching the key $50 per barrel mark at which many major western suppliers earn enough cash to cover costs and their dividends. Those gains were reflected in the performance of major oil company shares including Exxon Mobil (XOM) , which climbed 16% in 2016, Chevron (CVX) , up 31%, and Europe's biggest oil company Royal Dutch Shellundefined , up 53%. Analysts, including Goldman Sachs, have warned that any rally beyond $55 per barrel may prove hard to sustain as U.S. shale gas producers are likely to return to the market. Evidence of a reawakening of the shale gas sector was already evident at the end of 2016, when energy services group Baker Hughes reported that the U.S. rig count had risen to 525 in the last week of the year, the highest level since January 2016. On Dec. 29 the U.S.'s Energy Information Administration reported that weekly finished gasoline exports from the U.S. hit 1.15 million barrels per day, well above the 5-year average of 460,000 barrels. Twitter Incs announced that is controversial chief for its operations in China departed the company after just eight months. This is the latest executive that has left the micro-blogging company amidst its reorganization across the globe. A number of Twitter executives have left the business since October when it announced layoffs amidst continued red numbers. Profitability has been a constant challenge for the social network and its growth in revenue has now slowed. Get Warning: Undefined variable $CompanyName in /home/accttr/public_html/wp-content/themes/responsalambre/single.php on line 65 alerts: In a group of tweets December 31, Kathy Chen the Managing Director in China for Twitter announced she was departing the company but said that Twitter would keep its office in Hong Kong open. Now that the APAC Twitter team, which is Asia Pacific, is working directly with advertisers in China, it makes for the right time to leave the company, wrote Ms. Chen in her tweet. Since 2009, China has blocked Twitter, but Chen was hired as a way to help bring in more advertising clients from China. Her hiring sparked much controversy due to her employment links previously with the military in China Chens critics on social media said the tweets she wrote appeared to have a willingness to work with the state-controlled media in China. The critics added that it did not appear that Chen had renewed efforts to bring the social network back into the country. Chen wrote Twitter remained committed to the market in China and the companys focus in China remained serving its advertisers in China that wanted to reach markets outside the country. Twitters base of advertisers in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong has increased by 400% over the last two years wrote Chen. Chens departure was confirmed on Monday by a spokesperson from Twitter. In October, Twitter said it would cut 9% of its entire workforce or roughly 350 people largely across its sales, marketing and partnership organizations. It added at the time more focus would be placed on profitability following a $100 million quarterly loss. A number of other executives at Twitter in Asia left recently including its head of India, Middle East, Southeast Asia and North Africa Parminder Singh. Chen, a former executive with Cisco and Microsoft, had worried some when hired, due to working for entities that were related to the China government. During the early part of her career, she was a research institute engineer for entities that held a relationship with the government of China. Klemm Fellows go abroad to see the world, and they lend a hand Support us - Help us upgrade our services! Maintaining our website and our free apps does require, however, considerable time and resources. We're aiming to achieve uninterrupted service wherever an earthquake or volcano eruption unfolds, and your donations can make it happen! Every donation will be highly appreciated. Improved multilanguage support Tsunami alerts Faster responsiveness Design upgrade Detailed quake stats Additional seismic data sources Download and Upgrade the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online: Android | IOS to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online: We truly love working to bring you the latest volcano and earthquake data from around the world.We need financing to increase hard- and software capacity as well as support our editor team.If you find the information useful and would like to support our team in integrating further features, write great content, and in upgrading our soft- and hardware, please PayPal or Online credit card payment )., these features have been added recently: Background Langila volcano, whose activity record goes back to the 19th century only, is one of the most active volcanoes of New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Langila's frequent activity consists typically of mild-to-moderate explosive eruptions, that are sometimes accompanied by lava flows. The volcano consists of four small overlapping cones on the lower eastern flank of the extinct Talawe volcano,- the highest volcano in NW New Britain. The rectangular, 2.5-km-long crater of Talawe has a large gap to the SE; the younger Langila volcano formed NE of Talawe's breached crater. Extensive lava flows have reached the sea from the N and NE flanks of the volcano. Since observations have begun, 3 summit craters have been active. The youngest and smallest of these, with a diameter of 150 m, was formed in 1960. Deputy Food Editor Bonnie S. Benwick will be slurping most of her calories via Soupergirls Souper Cleanse. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post) Editors note: With better eating in mind for the new year, five Washington Post staffers each embark on a month-long effort to change their daily habits. Watch for weekly updates at washingtonpost.com/food. As mysteries go, this wasnt a tough nut to crack. When I began assessing my eating habits, it became clear that my vegetable intake had dwindled. Heres what I found in my crisper drawer: walnuts, raw almonds, blanched almonds, toasted hazelnut meal, pine nuts and a jar of kimchi. And when I say dwindled, Im referring to levels ingested by my sons in their early teens. [The WaPo 5 Diets project: Nutritionist Ellie Krieger assesses the field] In truth, I tolerate a number of vegetables that arent especially nutrient-dense, crave none of them that are and flee from the smell of any brassicas exposed to heat. Bok choy and zucchini, no problem. Mashed cauliflower and roasted Brussels sprouts, I could gag if it werent for polite company. The situation could handicap a recipe editor, I realize, but before you fire off a finger wag on social media, know that I have established successful workarounds. When Soupergirls Sara Polon told me about her plans for a Souper Cleanse delivery system of her companys plant-based, kosher soups five days a week, it sounded like the reset I needed. Lest I miss the crunch factor, I have been promised supplemental snacks like avocado on whole-grain toast, and Im already composing noisy menus for the non-soup off days. That the soups are packaged in single servings will charge both positive and negative neurons in my culinary battery. Upside: I like to cook, and whatever monitor I had that signals full has become nonfunctional once I finally sit down with a hot bowl, or two, of something at home often too late in the evening. So, portion control will be imposed. Downside: I cook at work, and now lay in fewer fresh ingredients in my singleton household. So this will encourage me to stock up on, and savor, healthful fresh foods allowed on the plan. You might be wondering how Ill manage, jobwise. A spit bucket has been suggested. The Dinner in Minutes column might feature more than its share of healthful recipes, starting with this weeks: a meatless soup, no less! The timing of this month-long exercise could not be better for me, coming off a fall season of enthusiastic cookie testing (read: sampling) and underachievement in the physical activity department. Its a killer combination for weight gain the result, but certainly not the goal. Do I expect to lose lbs. in January? Absolutely. Do I have what it takes for them to stay lost in February and beyond? I suspect this public confession will help. It started, as so many things do these days, with a tweet. The New York Times political reporter Maggie Haberman, covering Donald Trumps New Years Eve festivities, observed Saturday night that Joe Scarborough and his MSNBC co-host Mika Brzezinski were among the president-elects Mar-a-Lago revelers. Indeed, they were there. Haberman wasnt making a judgment, just reporting. The former CBS reporter Sopan Deb (soon to join the Times) took it further, describing them as partying with Trump. Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, wasnt having any of it. He shot back at Deb, charging fake news. Under Debs questioning, Scarborough explained that his and Brzezinskis purpose was professional, not social. The morning-talk duo was just trying to line up an interview with Trump. They were not partying, and, Scarborough later stressed, they were dramatically underdressed, and he was headed home soon to a quiet night with his kids. A few accusations and counter-accusations later, Scarborough delivered a scathing piece to The Washington Posts online opinion section, PostPartisan. It may not prove much about why he and Brzezinski were there on New Years Eve. He says that Brzezinski was unable to attend Scarboroughs prior dinner with the president-elect so Trump asked that she come by the next night for a few minutes before his annual New Years Eve party. Since when does an interview request require this much discussion? But then again, they talk a lot. Scarborough told Politico last month that he speaks to Trump several times a week, conversations in which he makes the same observations as he does on the air. The Post piece proves a couple of other points. One, that Scarborough is almost as thin-skinned as Trump himself. Scarboroughs opinion piece he writes regularly for The Post may have been headlined The medias hypocrisy and hyperventilating in the age of Trump, but it was in part a convoluted defense of his interactions with the man, complete with language like this: This past week, I met twice with President-elect Donald Trump attempting to secure an interview for inauguration week. Second, he has an extraordinarily high opinion of himself and his place in the political firmament. Pointing to past relationships between American politicians and journalists, he invoked some of the greats, indirectly comparing himself to Edward R. Murrow, Ben Bradlee and Walter Lippmann. He sarcastically advised those who criticize him not to bother yourself with boring details of history that show how Washington Post legend Ben Bradlee was extraordinarily close with JFK . . . . And forget the fact that Walter Lippmann constantly offered LBJ advice. (All the references were from decades ago, and they involve contact now considered inappropriate and unwise. They also happened at a time when such elbow-rubbing made few blink but nowadays would be considered well over the line of ethical acceptability.) Despite all the silliness thats piling up here and it is getting almost as tall as Trump Tower there is a serious principle at hand. Its this: There should be some distance between journalists and elected officials. If that doesnt exist, independence and impartiality are sure to be questioned. And rightly so. In a phone interview, Scarborough told me that friendships between politicians and journalists are the norm in Washington that has been the Washington way for a very long time. He suggested that it was naive to think there is anything wrong with it, and that it is possible to do two things at once. He can be friends with Trump, he said, and be plenty tough on him, as he was at times during the campaign, when he vowed he would not vote for him. As for the meetings with Trump, scoring a major interview requires a comfort level on the part of the elected official, and thats what he and Brzezinski were striving for. In other words: Nothing to see here. Move along. Whats more, Scarborough said, he doesnt really view himself as a journalist he prefers the label news analyst. (In the piece, though, he does call himself a Republican reporter. When I asked him about that, he scoffed at those who hide behind a veneer of objectivity.) I see it differently. Granted: News people dont constantly have to be dukes-up adversarial with the elected officials they cover. And the old he said/she said style of objectivity is increasingly useless. But if newspeople intend to serve the public interest, they do need to maintain professional distance. Call it independence or impartiality. And there are plenty yes, in Washington, and many other places who maintain those standards, who would never see it as their job to advise politicians or befriend them. Maybe thats not what Scarborough calls the Washington way. But its the right way. An earlier version of this story misquoted the reference to Walter Lippmann. For more by Margaret Sullivan, visit wapo.st/sullivan Dear Miss Manners: Do you have a suitable answer to those who say to me, an older woman, You must have been attractive when you were young or, after looking at an earlier photo, Is that you? And you must have been charming. I seem to recall that it was. Dear Miss Manners: Some contractors came to my home to do work in my backyard. They were there for just one day. About halfway through the day, I thought to bring them out some water, as that seemed only decent, especially on a warm day. Is the water enough? Should I have offered the water right away when they arrived? Should I have brought them something else or a bit of light food? I thought of giving them some muffins, but I had made the baked goods several days prior and was afraid they would be stale. Should contractors who are not working indoors be automatically given leave to use the restrooms of the home? I was at home alone with a young baby, so I admit I was wary about letting unfamiliar men inside the house. My grandfather was a contractor before he retired, and he told us that often such workers are treated poorly, or like they dont exist. I want to be better than that, and I should think offering a bit of water is the bare minimum of common courtesy. Please let me know if there is anything else I am missing. While not absolutely denying that there may be rare situations in which a homeowner would be unable to provide on-site bathroom access, Miss Manners nevertheless considers it unkind, if not rude as well as highly impractical. She would understand if the resulting lost productivity due to workers having to leave the site and return was included in the bill. Water on a warm day is an equally basic requirement. However, she is ambivalent about more extensive food service. The contractor and his cohorts are employees. This relieves you of any technical etiquette requirement to provide food as if they were guests. But you may wish to consider whether doing the bare minimum required is a behavior you wish to model for people working on your home. Dear Miss Manners: When you write a sympathy card to someone relating that you were sad to learn that they lost their Mother, is it proper to capitalize Mother? Even though it is not a grammar requirement, I have always thought to do this. We are wondering about this at my work. Given the context, Miss Manners infers that you believe capitalizing increases the deference, importance or respect being accorded to the deceased. The problem is that she, like the addressee, can only guess at your intention. To be intelligible, conventions must be generally understood. They do change: In an email-driven world, everyone now understands that full capitalization means a raised voice, usually in anger. But if you and your co-workers cannot decide the difference between mother and Mother, it is unlikely that the bereaved will understand. New Miss Manners columns are posted Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays on washingtonpost.com/advice. You can send questions to Miss Manners at her website, missmanners.com. When pollsters interrupt peoples dinners to ask about their New Years resolutions, very often the top three responses are get in shape, lose weight and save money. Find a deal on a gym membership, and you can do all three. Heres how. Basic strategies: Time it right: The end of the year is a great time to join a gym at a discount, as people spend more time lifting a glass than lifting weights. Another timing tip, according to Consumer Reports, is to sign up late in the month any month when health club sales teams are trying to meet their monthly quotas. Look for daily deals: Never, ever join a gym without quickly searching daily-deal sites such as Groupon and Living Social. Gym memberships and other exercise classes are one of their most common offers. There were 534 exercise deals on Groupon when I checked. Ask work about your workout: Many employers have negotiated discounts with nearby gyms. If yours hasnt, why not band together with co-workers and do it yourself? Negotiate a custom deal: Speaking of negotiating, it pays to play hard ball. Make sure the gym you want to join knows that youre talking to other gyms, too, and ask for a price match. Then, see if it will waive the initiation fee. Planning to use just one location in a chain? Request a discount for that. Dont need included services like child care? Ditto. If you cant get the gym to give you a lower price for less stuff, try to get more stuff for the quoted price, such as free personal training or massages. Pay as you go: Better yet, dont join at all. Sometimes it makes more economic sense to get an exercise class card or pay daily rates as you go, especially if youre unsure how committed you are. Paying daily or month to month may cost more, but it will save you money if you decide to bail out. Im not a fan of long-term future services contracts that you can get out of only if you can document that you moved away or got injured. Advanced strategies: Head to the hospital: You know that failing to exercise can land you in the hospital, but did you know that you can exercise at the hospital? Thats right, many hospitals have fully equipped fitness facilities that welcome the public. Best of all, most do not require ironclad long-term contracts. For example, Sibley Memorial Hospital in Northwest Washington offers memberships for $80 a month. And Providence Hospital in Northeast runs all sorts of fitness series, from aqua aerobics to Zumba, for about $8.50 a class. Go to college: Colleges and universities are another often-overlooked resource. Most now have elaborate exercise facilities to attract students, and many offer memberships to the community. In the D.C. area, one example is Trinity Washington University, which charges Brookland neighbors $520 a year to join its Trinity Center gym. Compare that with the roughly $600 to $1,200 a year some of the big D.C. gym chains charge, according to Consumers Checkbook. Exercise your health insurance: Insurance companies have caught on that keeping people healthy saves them money, so many now include some sort of gym benefit as part of their plans. For example, Aetna says it offers discounted rates at more than 10,000 gyms. And United Healthcare will reimburse you $20 each month that you visit one of its participating fitness centers at least 12 times. Additionally, if you are exercising to overcome an illness or injury, gyms such as Medical Fitness Pros in Texas will work with you to submit claims to your insurance company. [Companies may be willing to pay for data from Fitbits, other wearable sensors] Try apps that pay for wellness: Mobile apps such as Pact and Wellcoin will actually pay you to exercise. Pact rewards you with cash paid by other members who didnt meet their goals. When you use Wellcoin, you earn points you can use to buy products on the site, including gym classes. The payments arent huge, but theres an intangible motivational value that some consider priceless. Ask for fitness financial aid: Not sure you can afford a commercial gym? The YMCA offers financial assistance and says it never turns away members who cant pay. There are 2,700 YMCAs in the United States and 15 in the D.C. area. Elisabeth Leamy is a 13-time Emmy winner and 25-year consumer advocate for programs such as Good Morning America and The Dr. Oz Show. Connect with her at leamy.com and @ElisabethLeamy. THE DISTRICT Truck carrying ATMs abandoned in SE D.C. police are investigating an abandoned U-Haul truck that was found Monday in Southeast Washington with multiple ATMs inside, a police spokesman said. Police received an anonymous tip about the truck that was found in the 2000 block of 38th Street SE. It was unclear how many machines were in the truck or whether any money was in them, a police spokesman said. Keith L. Alexander VIRGINIA Judge is found dead in Prince George office A Virginia judge was found dead Sunday night in his courthouse office, authorities said. Police responding to a call about an unresponsive man found Circuit Court Judge Nathan Curtis Lee, 60, dead in his office at Prince George County Courthouse. County police are investigating but do not suspect foul play, according to a statement on the countys Facebook page. Lee, of Hopewell, practiced law for more than 30 years. Shawn Boburg Baggage handler locked in cargo hold A baggage handler was locked inside an airplanes cargo area during a 1 -hour flight from North Carolina to Northern Virginia on Sunday. A United Airlines spokeswoman said Monday that the airline was looking into how it had happened. The baggage handler, Reginald Gaskin, 45, was unharmed. Reached Monday night, Gaskin said he had been advised by an attorney not to discuss the incident. I thank God, Gaskin said. He was with me. United Express Flight 6060 took off from Charlotte Douglas International Airport about 3 p.m. Sunday and landed at Dulles International Airport about 90 minutes later. The 50-seat plane rose to 27,000 feet, according to flight records. Workers in Charlotte realized there was a possibility someone was locked in the planes belly and contacted the Federal Aviation Administration. Gaskin is an employee of G2 Secure Staff, a United vendor based in Texas, airline officials said. A company representative did not respond Monday night to requests for comment. Shawn Boburg and Aaron C. Davis A baggage handler was locked inside an airplanes cargo area during a 1.5-hour flight from North Carolina to Northern Virginia on Sunday. A United Airlines spokeswoman said Monday that the airline was looking into how it had happened. The baggage handler, Reginald Gaskin, 45, was unharmed. Reached by The Washington Post on Monday night, Gaskin declined to discuss how he wound up inside the plane. He said he had been advised by an attorney not to discuss the matter. Gaskin only said: I thank God. He was with me. United Express Flight 6060, operated by Mesa Airlines, took off from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport just before 3 p.m. Sunday and landed at Washington Dulles International Airport on schedule about 90 minutes later. The plane, a 50-seat Embraer 170, rose to 27,000 feet, according to flight records. A United spokeswoman could not say Monday whether the planes cargo hold was temperature controlled or pressurized. At some point, workers in Charlotte realized there was a possibility that Gaskin was locked in the belly of the airplane and contacted the Federal Aviation Administration. They alerted officials at Dulles, according to airport officials there. Emergency responders at Dulles were waiting at the gate. Authorities in Charlotte termed the incident a public accident, and a representative for the FBI in Washington said the agency was notified but was not involved in the investigation into the incident. Gaskin is an employee of G2 Secure Staff, a United vendor based in Texas that supplies baggage handling services, airline officials said. A company representative did not respond to a message or email Monday evening. A bed bug is shown at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History. (Carolyn Kaster/AP) Baltimore and Washington ranked as the top two cities for bedbugs in a list put out by one of the leading pest control companies in the country. Orkin ranked major cities based on data of where the company performed the most bedbug treatments from December 2015 to Nov. 30, 2016. The ranking includes commercial and residential properties, the company said in a statement. The list came out Tuesday. The top five cities were Baltimore, Washington, Chicago, New York and Columbus, Ohio. Portland, Ore., ranked 50th. On Orkins list last year, Chicago ranked No. 1 for the fourth year in a row and Washington ranked third. Baltimore ranked 10th. A full list of this years bedbug rankings by Orkin can be found on the companys website. In 2015, another pest-fighting firm Terminix ranked Detroit and Philadelphia as leading the list of most infested bedbug cities. In that list, Washington did not rank in the top 15. [Where the bedbugs bite: The most infested cities in 2015] Known sometimes as hitchhikers by pest control experts, bedbugs can be carried easily in purses, luggage and other items. They can be found in homes, hotels, subway trains, libraries, offices and movie theaters. Their favorite food: blood. Anyone can get bedbugs in their home, Orkin entomologist Ron Harrison said. Often people worry that having them is a sign of an unclean home, but bug experts say that is not the case. Bedbugs only need blood to survive, Harrison said, noting that his company has treated bedbugs in million-dollar homes. What makes catching bedbugs hard is that they are small typically about the size of an apple seed when fully grown and can live for up to a year without feeding, experts said. [Howd the bedbug get its bite? Scientists look into its genome for clues.] Bedbugs are also good at hiding, including in cracks and crevices of headboards, on beds and in mattress seams. They can be as far as a five feet from a bed, according to Orkin, and they multiply fast. The National Pest Management Association said in 2015 that nearly 99.6 percent of its professionals across the country have treated bed bugs in the past year, up from five, 10 and 15 years ago, the Orkin statement said. In a statement, Harrison said bedbugs are a growing problem, noting that 10 years ago it was a virtually unheard-of issue. We have more people affected by bedbugs in the United States now than ever before, he said. Orkin noted that four cities that had not been on its list in previous years were on it for the first time Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem in North Carolina; Salt Lake City; Portland and Las Vegas. Orkin experts said the first signs of bedbugs are often seeing the critters or the small dark stains that they leave. The company recommends checking frequently for them and not having piles of clutter around the house. When traveling, Orkin recommends keeping luggage away from beds and walls. The safest place for stuff, they said, is the bathroom. And once a traveler has returned home, checking all items is recommended. Putting clothes into a dryer for at least 15 minutes on a high setting also helps. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan outlined his legislative agenda for the environment on Tuesday, announcing a plan to spend just under $65 million on programs and initiatives to promote job growth in green industries, encourage the use of electric vehicles and reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. The package includes a $3 million investment in the states Employment Advancement Right Now (EARN) program, which would train about 1,500 workers for jobs in solar, wind, hydroelectric and other green industries; a $7.5 million partnership with the University of Maryland Energy Research Center to create the Green Energy Institute, which would develop and attract private investment in clean-energy initiatives; and an increase in the states electric vehicle tax credit. It would need to be approved by the Democratic-majority General Assembly. The proposals in our package are innovative, forward-thinking solutions to ensure that Maryland continues to lead the way to safeguard our environment, Hogan (R) said. We owe it to the next generation to continue to find cost-effective ways to protect Marylands environment and stimulate economic growth. Reaction from environmental advocates was mixed. Karla Raettig, executive director of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, said she was cautiously optimistic about the proposals and pleased that the governor was showing an interest in environmental protections. But Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said Hogans plan would do relatively little to advance clean energy and does not make up for the governors 2016 veto of a bill that would have required the state to obtain 25 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. Hes late to the party, Tidwell said. The real gains have been happening despite his opposition. The 2016 bill, which passed with a veto-proof majority, would have expanded the use of solar and wind power and created thousands of jobs, environmental advocates say. Hogan said he vetoed the legislation because it would have imposed a tax increase of between $49 million and $196 million by 2020 to fund the programs goals. The legislatures Democratic majority is expected to try to overturn the veto during the session that begins next week. Tidwell also criticized the governor for what he described as a reduction in the number of employees at the Maryland Energy Administration, a small government agency charged with advising the governor and General Assembly on energy policy and promoting clean energy. That agency was key in advising consumers, key in advising the General Assembly, and testifying on bills, Tidwell said. [Hogan] has downsized it to irrelevance. Its a shell of its former self. Hogan officials referred questions about staffing to the agency, which has seen considerable turnover since the governor took office nearly two years ago. MEA spokesman John Fiastro said the agency has gone from 34 full-time-equivalent positions in fiscal 2015 to 28 in the current fiscal year, and has one full-time and four contractual vacancies. Were undertaking everything we need to undertake, he said. Under the Clean Cars Act of 2017, Hogan said Monday, the state would increase its investment in the tax credit program by about 30 percent, a move designed to encourage more residents to buy electric vehicles. Hogan said the Clean Water Commerce Act would allow the state to spend up to $10 million of the Bay Restoration Fund to purchase nutrient-reduction credits, which would help meet the states 2025 goal under the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Improvement Plan. Department of Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles said the initiatives proposed by Hogan will make generational progress in improving the environment. Josh Hicks contributed to this report. By Nam Hyun-woo Kim Sung-woo Kim Sung-woo has become the first Korean to be nominated for membership to the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), audit service provider Samjong KPMG said Tuesday. According to the firm, IETA CEO Dirk Forrister named Kim as one of two new board members during the association's Annual General Meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco, last November. Kim is Samjong KPMG's department head of Climate Change & Sustainability. "Kim's appointment is an important signal for the South Korean carbon market," Forrister said in a statement. "He has been an active member of our South Korean Working Group and is also active with the Green Climate Fund (GCF)." Kim has served for 23 years in carbon pricing and climate change investments. IETA's appointment of Kim is reportedly an acknowledgement of the importance of the Asia region and his experience consulting for the World Bank and the GCF. Kim will begin his two-year term this month. Korea was among 194 countries to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change after its adoption on Dec. 12, 2015, aimed at spreading carbon pricing worldwide by 2018. Along with the World Bank and the United Nations, IETA has been consulting various parties over designing a carbon pricing scheme and directing corporate investment. "When the Paris Agreement comes into full effect, investments for low-carbon emission infrastructure will reach 2,500 trillion won ($2.07 trillion) globally, while the domestic use of global certified emission reduction (CER) will be granted in 2018," Kim said. "This is the time for domestic firms to use global carbon pricing schemes and exit the long tunnel of low growth. Also they can secure cheap CERs at the same time." Correction: Correction: Earlier versions of this story misstated the number of watersheds in Western Maryland where drilling would be banned under the states proposed fracking guidelines. The correct number is four watersheds. A Maryland legislative panel has placed a temporary hold on the states proposed fracking regulations amid sharp disagreements over whether the controversial gas-extraction method should be allowed at all. The rare action by the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review prevents the state Department of the Environment from implementing the guidelines until Feb. 27, giving the General Assembly time to consider prohibiting the drilling practice, technically known as hydraulic fracturing. Sen. Roger Manno (D-Montgomery) and Del. Samuel I. Rosenberg (D-Baltimore), who chair the panel, informed Environment Secretary Benjamin H. Grumbles of the hold in a Dec. 29 letter. They said the committee wishes to ensure that concerns raised by stakeholders about the regulations are addressed. Fracking is shaping up to be one of the most hotly debated topics of the coming legislative session, with several lawmakers promising bills this year to ban the practice outright. Other members of the legislature have discussed introducing measures to either extend a moratorium that is set to expire in October or establish stricter rules than those proposed by state environmental officials. Advocates say hydraulic fracturing which involves injecting water, sand and chemicals deep into the ground to break up rock and release oil or natural gas could provide economic benefits for Western Maryland. That is the part of the state where the practice is most likely to occur, with the aim of producing natural gas. Opponents have raised concerns about groundwater contamination, air pollution and earthquakes, saying no safeguards can adequately protect the public and the environment. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has said he supports fracking with strict safeguards in place. The environmental department, which proposed the regulations in November at the direction of the General Assembly, defended its draft rules but also promised to provide any additional information requested by the committee. Agency spokesman Jay Apperson said the proposed regulations are the most protective and comprehensive in the country. The guidelines would ban drilling in four watersheds in Western Maryland and require four layers of steel casing and cement around fracking wells to prevent water, gas and other fluids from migrating to other areas. But they would also allow fracking closer to homes and private wells than what the previous governor, Martin OMalley (D), had proposed. Manno said the joint committee wanted to give lawmakers time to weigh in on the rules before allowing them to move forward. There was absolutely no consensus that these regulations were ready for prime time, he said. Charles J. Colgan, an aviator and businessman who became the longest-serving member of the Virginia Senate, where he was known for his advocacy of the development of Prince William County and for his steady-handed stewardship of state finances, died Jan. 3 at a hospice center in Aldie, Va. He was 90. The cause was a vascular ailment, said a daughter, Mary C. Finnigan. Chuck was a champion in the Virginia Senate for the people of Prince William County and the entire Commonwealth, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) said in a statement. His passionate and bipartisan approach to getting things done should serve as an example for all of us as we continue the work he and so many undertook and passed forward to us. Mr. Colgan, a Democrat, was elected to the Virginia Senate in 1975 and represented fast-growing areas including Manassas and Manassas Park, in addition to parts of Prince William County. As the founder of Colgan Air, a regional commuter airline based in Manassas, he jokingly claimed the distinction of being the general assemblys sole licensed airplane mechanic. Until his retirement in 2015 at age 89, he held his seat throughout population shifts and redistricting, drawing the support of Republican voters as well as Democrats with his moderate and, at times, maverick voting record. In Richmond, where he served as Senate president pro tempore and in the influential role of budget conferee, he was widely known for his collegiality and pragmatism. He was really a landmark figure, not just in Prince William County, but in the entire commonwealth, said Stephen J. Farnsworth, a political-science professor at the University of Mary Washington. Hes a reminder of a more gentle and centrist era of Virginia politics, when Richmond was proud of the fact that it did not have Washington-style gridlock. It never bothered us that we represented different parties, if we were working for the same goals, said John C. Watkins of Powhatan, a Republican who also retired in 2015 after decades in the Virginia legislature. Thats the way he saw fit to make it work. Mr. Colgan co-chaired the Senate Finance Committee and counted among his achievements the sound financial management of Virginia, Farnsworth said. He took particular interest in the economic and educational development of Prince William County and the surrounding area. He was credited with bringing Northern Virginia Community College campuses to Manassas and Woodbridge as well as helping lead the establishment of George Mason Universitys location in Manassas. He was one of the people who put George Mason on the map, said Senate Minority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax). That whole community, Prince William County, is where it is today because of Chuck Colgan. Outside of education, Mr. Colgan devoted much of his legislative efforts to transportation, an issue of extreme concern to residents of his region who commute to and from Washington. He sought funding for the Virginia Railway Express and was credited with prevailing on state officials to widen a segment of I-66 west of Manassas, among other projects. As a legislator, he was low-key and soft-spoken, which may be one of the reasons he was so well-liked and successful, said Larry J. Sabato, the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. He wasnt wont to call press conferences or get up on the soapbox. When he spoke, people really did listen. He was considered a reliable Democratic vote, but, as a Catholic, he opposed abortion rights and voted with Republicans on that issue. To avoid a government shutdown, he supported Republicans in a highly fraught budget debate in 2012, voting for an $85 billion budget package despite its exclusion of a $300 million appropriation for the expansion of Metrorail to Dulles Airport. We cant just be concerned about Dulles, he told The Washington Post at the time. You cant worry about this project and not the rest of the budget. As for Democrats angered by his vote, he quipped, Theyve been mad at me before. Charles Joseph Colgan was born in Frostburg, Md., on Sept. 25, 1926. When he was 5, his mother died of complications from a miscarriage. Shortly thereafter, his father died of pneumonia. Mr. Colgan spent the rest of his upbringing with his maternal grandparents on a farm in Grantsville, Md. Mr. Colgan joined the Army Air Forces at the end of World War II, serving in Italy as an airplane mechanic. He later became a pilot and settled in Virginia. In 1965, he joined other investors in founding a flight school and vendor of aircraft and fuel. The company, which he sold and reformed, grew into Colgan Air, a multimillion-dollar family business that provided commuter flights for airlines including Continental and US Airways. The outfit included dozens of planes by the time it was sold in 2007 to Pinnacle Airlines. Mr. Colgan launched his political career when he joined the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in 1972, representing Gainesville. He served as board chairman before moving to the Virginia Senate. A high school named in his honor opened in the Manassas area of Prince William County in 2016. Mr. Colgans wife of 52 years, the former Agnes Footen, died in 2001. Survivors include his wife of eight years, Carmen Alicia Bernal, of Gainesville; eight children from his first marriage, Charles J. Colgan Jr. of Nokesville, Va., Ruth C. Willis of Brewerton, N.Y., Michael J. Colgan and Dot Chaplin, both of Gainesville, Raymond T. Colgan, Mary C. Finnigan and Patrick S. Colgan, all of Manassas, and Timothy C. Colgan of Warrenton, Va.; a brother, Robert Colgan, of Manassas; 24 grandchildren; and 22 great-grandchildren. Amid the 2012 budget standoff, Mr. Colgan called on his colleagues to restore the cooperative spirit that he had known as a new senator, and that many observers considered increasingly rare in an era of ever more divisive politics. Ladies and gentlemen, it is not like it used to be, he said in remarks reported by the Washington Times. Never . . . have I ever seen so much animosity or heard so much criticism. He paraphrased the aphorism about politicians, who are concerned about the next election, and statesmen, who look ahead: We should be concerned about the next generation, he said. An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the location of a high school named in Mr. Colgans honor. Charles J. Colgan Sr. High School is located in the Manassas area of Prince William County, not in Gainesville, Va. Jenna Portnoy and Laura Vozzella contributed to this report. A Howard County detective at the home in Ellicott City, Md., where Charlotte Zaremba, 16, was fatally shot in her home Jan. 1. (Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun) With the new year still in its early hours, a Maryland mother and father went to pick up their 16-year-old daughter from a party and then came back to the family house in Ellicott City, halfway between Baltimore and the District. Within minutes of returning Sunday, the mother heard sounds of a scuffle in her daughters bedroom and went in to find the girl struggling with a masked intruder, police said. The intruder fired. One shot hit the mother in the leg. The next shot killed the 16-year-old girl, police said. And in a final move, the intruder age 15 shot himself in an act that would eventually claim his life Tuesday. We absolutely do not know the suspects motive in this case, Sherry Llewellyn, spokeswoman for Howard County police, said in a news conference Tuesday. We cant ask him. An unidentified neighbor, center, and others console each other next door to crime scene on New Years Day. (Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun) Charlotte Zaremba died, her 52-year-old mother, Susan, was injured and the shooter, Sean Crizer, also of Ellicott City, died Tuesday. Whether Charlotte Zaremba might have recognized the suspect in the house is not known, and police said they did not know whether Crizer was targeting Charlotte Zaremba or her home. At the time of the shooting, at 1:30 a.m., Zarembas father was in another room on another floor of the house, Llewellyn said, and was not able to intervene. The gun in the shooting had been reported stolen in one of two recent burglaries in the same neighborhood that police now say they suspect were committed by Crizer. After Crizer shot the Zarembas, police said, they searched Crizers home and found stolen items. There was no sign of forced entry at the Zarembas house, and police said they are not aware of anything being taken from the home. The teens lived in the same neighborhood, and both were students at Howard High School. The police investigation is ongoing, but authorities said they have not found any indication of a relationship between the two. Llewellyn said authorities are working with Crizers family and the Zarembas to figure out what happened. The incident unfolded early New Years Day in the Zaremba home. Charlotte Zaremba was pronounced dead Sunday at Howard County General Hospital. Her mother was treated for a leg wound and released Sunday from the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. Crizer died Tuesday at the trauma center, where he had been taken in critical condition Sunday as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Beth James Goode, a friend of Suzanne Zarembas from nursing school, said Zaremba still worked as a nurse. Goode, who set up a crowdfunding page to help defray funeral expenses, said, They are a wonderful family, and it saddens all of us beyond words. Call it a case of purloined puppies. Police in Manassas, Va., said someone apparently stole six puppies valued at nearly $6,000. The incident was reported about 6:20 p.m. on New Years Day at DC Pups, in the 9000 block of Center Street. Manassas police responded to calls about a burglary and found a broken window, suggesting that the thief had entered the business between 12:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. that day. Gone were six puppies: two Maltese, one Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, two Maltipoos and one Cavachon. The dogs are valued at $5,885, authorities said. On Facebook, DC Pups called the theft really sad and a tragedy. Messages left at the pet shop Tuesday were not returned. Adrienne Helms, a spokeswoman with Manassas City Police, said Tuesday that the poor little things were still missing. She said police had no description of a possible suspect. Were following up on all leads, but nothing has panned out so far, Helms said, noting that Animal Control authorities were also helping to investigate the thefts. Helms asked residents to look for any suspicious activity. If you see Cruella de Vil, Helms said, referring to the character in the movie One Hundred and One Dalmatians and the novel who kidnaps puppies for their fur, let us know. A reward is being offered, and anyone with information is asked to call police at 703-257-8000. It isnt the first time dogs have been stolen from a local pet store. In 2013, a woman allegedly stole a Maltese puppy worth $1,000 from a Rockville pet store. If new DNA evidence turns up after trial, some convicted felons can ask a court to review it and declare them innocent. But not all; those who pleaded guilty are barred from later petitioning for a writ of actual innocence. On Tuesday, Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) proposed a bill that would make any felon eligible to petition the court based on new DNA evidence, regardless of how he or she originally pleaded. The measure is an acknowledgment that some plead guilty to crimes they did not commit, said McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy. If you pleaded guilty [falsely], which happens at times, state law says even if new evidence arises, you are barred [from seeking a writ of actual innocence], Coy said. A judge would not consider it. Its kind of an arbitrary prohibition. McAuliffe announced the bill as part of a package of criminal justice reforms proposed for the General Assembly session that begins Jan. 11. Another bill would raise the felony larceny threshold to $500 up from the current $200, set in 1980, which McAuliffe said was the lowest in the country. Two others are aimed at ending the practice of suspending drivers licenses because of a drivers inability to pay outstanding court fees something that is the subject of a pending class-action lawsuit. [Virginia suspends drivers licenses in unconstitutional scheme, class action says] Throughout my administration, I have worked with Virginias public safety officials, the legislature, and the courts to assure that we have a criminal justice system that is fair and seeks true justice, McAuliffe said in a written statement. The changes we are proposing today seek to hold offenders responsible for their crimes in a way that maintains opportunities for rehabilitation and future productivity. McAuliffe will have to win over a Republican-controlled General Assembly. House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) was noncommittal on Tuesday. We will begin carefully reviewing all of Governor McAuliffes legislative proposals relating to criminal justice reform this coming session, Howell said in a statement. Steven D. Benjamin, a prominent Virginia defense attorney, said McAuliffes proposal is a needed change to the writ-of-actual-innocence law. It makes obvious sense, Benjamin said. It is well known that people plead guilty even when they are innocent. They plead guilty to get a favorable plea deal, to avoid the risk of trial. Sometimes, they cant afford an adequate defense. Society has no interest keeping an innocent person in prison. Shawn Ambrust, executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, said the change would not result in a flood of innocence petitions, but it was an important symbolic step. Nationally, about 10 percent of people who have been exonerated by DNA evidence had pleaded guilty, she said. Before 2001, Virginia barred introduction of new evidence in a case three weeks after sentencing. But after some high-profile exonerations, that changed. The state legislature created a procedure that allows those convicted of crimes to petition the Virginia Supreme Court to overturn their convictions if newly discovered DNA evidence demonstrates their innocence. Except in certain instances, the relief is available only to those who pleaded not guilty at trial . In 2004, the legislature created a second writ that allows convicts to petition the courts on the basis of non-DNA evidence such as fingerprints or testimony that shows their innocence. McAuliffes proposal related to drivers license suspensions drew a cautious response from Howell, whose statement got into specifics only on that issue. I am very sympathetic toward individuals who get trapped in a vicious cycle of having their license revoked, not being able to travel to work, losing their job, and not being able to pay off court costs, Howell said. However, the General Assembly must be very careful as this issue is currently being litigated in court. In a class-action lawsuit filed in federal court in July, the Legal Aid Justice Center is challenging the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles practice of suspending licenses of those who cannot pay fines and court costs. The suit claims the DMV is unconstitutionally punishing the poor for their poverty. In November, the U.S. Justice Department filed a brief in the case, siding with plaintiffs. Nearly 650,000 Virginians have suspended drivers licenses because they cannot afford to pay their legal fees and court costs, according to McAuliffes office. We should never cease to hold offenders accountable for their crimes, but those punishments must be levied in a way that promotes restoration, said Brian Moran, a former prosecutor and McAuliffes secretary of public safety and homeland security. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) participates in a roundtable discussion Dec. 6 with members of the House Transportation subcommittee on highways and transit. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News) On the first day of the 115th Congress, members buzzed Tuesday about the repeal of President Obamas health-care law, tax reform and whether to gut the ethics office. All Eleanor Holmes Norton wanted to discuss was a vote. And a symbolic one at that. For the fourth consecutive session, Norton (D), the nonvoting D.C. representative, formally asked the speaker of the House for the ability to vote on amendments and procedural issues. Again, she was thwarted. This time, she brought D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and a veterans advocate with her. Norton pushed for a vote in the Committee of the Whole as a down payment on full voting rights for the more than 680,000 American citizens residing in the District of Columbia, who pay the highest federal income taxes per capita in the United States and have fought and died in every American war, yet have no vote on the floor of the House of Representatives, the peoples house, she said. When Democrats have controlled the House, Norton, the other nonvoting delegates from American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands and Puerto Ricos resident commissioner were given the courtesy. In Nortons quarter-century of service, that has happened in congressional sessions starting in 1993, 2007 and 2009. The privilege was revoked each time Republicans took back control of the House. For Norton, the ability to cast a vote as part of the Committee of the Whole is largely symbolic it would allow her to vote on amendments on the House floor but not on final legislation. And, in the past, if a vote by a delegate would determine the outcome of a particular measure, the House voted again without them. Still, Norton maintained that the vote is important as the District braces for the Trump administration, coupled with the GOP-led House and Senate that can exert control over D.C. laws. The only gifts this Congress has for the District are burdens we do not want, Norton said Monday in a speech at the swearing-in ceremony of the D.C. Council. Yet on Tuesday, Norton said she remained optimistic about finding common ground with Republicans as she did in the 1990s with an unlikely partner: then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Asked to identify her current Republican allies in the House, Norton said she wouldnt name names, before adding, I search and I hope to find. [Eleanor Holmes Norton on her life before Congress] Norton sent her request for a vote in writing to Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) but said she has yet to receive a response. A spokeswoman for Ryan did not return requests for comment. Nortons resolution to restore the Districts vote was easily defeated on a party-line vote by Republicans who unanimously voted to table the motion. Bowser maintained that a symbolic vote for Norton would represent a first step toward equal rights for District residents, who she said pay $26.4 billion in federal income taxes more than contributed by residents of 22 states. Were not begging, said Bowser, who was accompanied by D.C. Office of Veterans Affairs Director Ely S. Ross. Were not asking for special treatment. Were asking for equal treatment, and this is one way to do it. The news conference took place in a small meeting room in the bustling Rayburn House Office Building, as passersby spoke loudly in the hallways and new members prepared to be sworn in. Bowser called it a bitter pill that on top of the tax burden, veterans living in the District have no representation in Congress. Ross added, It should offend every American that in our nations capital 30,000 veterans, who risked their lives and fought for our country, are denied the right to vote and they lack voting representation in Congress. Janaye Ingram, center, with Ianta Summers and Ted Jackson at 3rd Street and Independence Avenue SW, where the march will begin. Ingram has been the local point person for getting the logistics issues smoothed out. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post) Teresa Shook never considered herself much of an activist, or someone particularly versed in feminist theory. But when the results of the presidential election became clear, the retired attorney in Hawaii turned to Facebook and asked: What if women marched on Washington around Inauguration Day en masse? She asked her online friends how to create an event page, and then started one for the march she was hoping would happen. By the time she went to bed, 40 women responded that they were in. When she woke up, that number had exploded to 10,000. Now, more than 100,000 people have registered their plans to attend the Womens March on Washington in what is expected to be the largest demonstration linked to Donald Trumps inauguration and a focal point for activists on the left who have been energized in opposing his agenda. (Elyse Samuels/The Washington Post) [Womens March on Washington officially has a permit for Jan. 21] Planning for the Jan. 21 march got off to a rocky start. Controversy initially flared over the name of the march, and whether it was inclusive enough of minorities, particularly African Americans, who have felt excluded from many mainstream feminist movements. Organizers say plans are on track, after securing a permit from D.C. police to gather 200,000 people near the Capitol at Independence Avenue and Third Street SW on the morning after Inauguration Day. Exactly how big the march will be has yet to be determined, with organizers scrambling to pull together the rest of the necessary permits and raise the $1 million to $2 million necessary to pull off a march triggered by Shooks Facebook venting. The march has become a catch-all for a host of liberal causes, from immigrant rights to police killings of African Americans. But at its heart is the demand for equal rights for women after an election that saw the defeat of Democrat Hillary Clinton, the first female presidential nominee of a major party. We plan to make a bold and clear statement to this country on the national and local level that we will not be silent and we will not let anyone roll back the rights we have fought and struggled to get, said Tamika Mallory, a veteran organizer and gun-control advocate who is one of the marchs main organizers. More than 150,000 women and men have responded on the marchs Facebook page that they plan on attending. At least 1,000 buses are headed to Washington for the march through Rally, a website that organizes buses to protests. Dozens of groups, including Planned Parenthood and the antiwar CodePink, have signed on as partners. Organizers insist the march is not anti-Trump, even as many of the groups that have latched on to it fiercely oppose his agenda. 1 of 74 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Heres what President-elect Donald Trump has been doing since the election View Photos He has been holding interviews and meetings as he prepares to transition into the White House. Caption He has been holding interviews and meetings as he prepares to enter the White House. Jan. 19, 2017 President-elect Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, visit the Lincoln Memorial before the Make America Great Again concert. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. Donald Trumps election has triggered a lot of women to be more involved than they ordinarily would have been, which is ironic, because a lot of us thought a Hillary presidency would motivate women, said Dana Brown, executive director of the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics at Chatham University in Pittsburgh. A lot of women seem to be saying, This is my time. Im not going to be silent anymore. [Military leaders say inauguration will be steeped in tradition] Trump Inaugural Committee spokesman Boris Epshteyn defended the president-elects popularity among women in an interview on CNN. While Trump did not receive the majority of womens votes, he got an overwhelming number of them, Epshteyn said. Were here to hear their concerns, he said. We welcome them to our side as well. That all this could grow out of a dashed-off post from her perch nearly 5,000 miles from Washington is amazing to Shook, who has booked her ticket and plans to be in the capital on Jan. 21. I guess in my heart of hearts I wanted it to happen, but I didnt really think it wouldve ever gone viral, said Shook, who is in her 60s. I dont even know how to go viral. Unsure of how to proceed in those initial few days, she said she enlisted the help of the first few women who messaged her to volunteer, some of whom independently also had an idea for a march. But as the march grew in prominence, it got caught up in a broader conversation in liberal circles about race and leadership, with activists and others criticizing that initial planning group for its racial makeup: Shook and all the women she tapped to help in the marchs nascent stages are white, she said. Some also took issue with the name Shook had proposed, the Million Woman March, which was the name of a 1997 gathering of hundreds of thousands of black women in Philadelphia. The racial concerns set off a heated conversation on the groups main Facebook page, with some African American women especially taking umbrage. For her part, Shook said her aim was not to co-opt any other movement. It was just an idea that took hold after the victory of a president-elect caught on tape boasting of grabbing womens private parts and the defeat of a woman who seemed to her much more qualified for the job. She said she had no idea of the race of the women she first contacted; in fact, she said, most had an image of Clinton as their Facebook profile photo. Complicating matters, it became apparent that the march probably could not start at the Lincoln Memorial as Shook had proposed, since the inaugural committee has dibs on that space. Overwhelmed and under pressure, the original organizers eventually handed the reins to a diverse group of veteran female activists from New York: Mallory, the gun-control activist; Linda Sarsour, executive director of the Arab American Association of New York; Carmen Perez, head of the Gathering for Justice, a criminal-justice-reform group; and Bob Bland, a fashion entrepreneur. Together, they settled on a new name: The Womens March on Washington, a nod to the 1963 demonstration that was a cornerstone of the civil rights movement. They even received the blessing of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.s youngest daughter, Bernice King. In the District, Janaye Ingram, the former executive director of Al Sharptons National Action Network, has been working to secure permits and hash out logistics for the march, including ensuring there is a proper sound equipment and sufficient portable toilets. People traveling to attend the march seem less concerned with behind-the-scenes politics than the chance to call for more family-friendly government policies, equal pay for women or reproductive rights. Some say they simply want to stand against the crass way Trump has spoken about women. Lindsey Shriver, a 27-year-old former pastry chef who is an at-home mom in Ohio, said she was offended this election cycle by Trumps rhetoric, which she characterized as hateful and misogynistic. She also wants to highlight the need for paid family leave and affordable child care. I realized that being a feminist in my own personal life wasnt going to be enough for my daughters, Shriver said. Caroline Rule, 57, a lawyer living in Manhattan, says she will attend with her 15-year-old daughter. While she agrees with the pro-women message behind the march, she said she would probably participate in any march that pushed against Trumps messages. I absolutely despise Donald Trump and everything he stands for, she said. Feminist icon Gloria Steinem has recently signed on as a march co-sponsor, and celebrities including Amy Schumer, Samantha Bee and Jessica Chastain say they plan to attend. Feminist scholars say the march reflects an emerging view of feminism: one that is less defined by reproductive issues, such as birth control and abortion, and more by how the challenges faced by women intersect with those encountered by African Americans, the LGBT community and immigrants. [None of the inauguration protests have their proper permits yet. Heres why.] Still, reproductive rights will be a large part of the march, with Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America as key partners. Hahrie Han, a political science professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara specializing in political organizations and political engagement, said its not all that surprising that individual women instead of an established organization founded this march. Established organizations all come with at least some political baggage. The challenge with having one organization brand it as its own is that each organization has its own image that draws some people and pushes others back away, she said. Correction: An earlier version of this Associated Press article incorrectly reported that Bishop Dupre was defrocked by the Vatican in 2006. The Diocese of Springfield says Bishop Dupre was not defrocked. Thomas Dupre, the first Roman Catholic bishop in the United States to be indicted on a sexual abuse claim during the flood of abuse accusations against church officials, died Dec. 30. He was 83. The Diocese of Springfield, Mass., confirmed the death. He died outside the diocese, but the location and the cause of death werent disclosed. Bishop Dupre, who became bishop of Springfield in the mid-1990s, cited health reasons for his sudden retirement in 2004. Months later, he was indicted on charges he raped two boys in the 1970s, but the case was dropped because prosecutors determined the statute of limitations had expired. Before Bishop Dupre became bishop, he had been an aide of Bishop Joseph Maguire, who led the diocese from 1977 to 1991 and faced allegations following retirement that clergy sex abuse and a coverup of that abuse had happened on his watch. In 2009, a man alleged in a lawsuit a known pedophile priest molested him at St. Patricks Parish in Williamstown, Mass., in the early 1980s, when he was a boy. He said Maguire and Bishop Dupre knew the priest had abused other boys but assigned him to the church anyway. Bishop Dupre testified for a deposition in the mans lawsuit but repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Bishop Dupres lawyer tried unsuccessfully to have the judge impound a videotape of the deposition, saying the accuser merely wanted to use it to embarrass Bishop Dupre and the church. In 2012, a $500,000 settlement was reached. Maguire apologized for the mans suffering, saying, I only wish that in 1976, as a new bishop, I could have foreseen the true nature of one who violated our trust with such devastating harm to his victims. Maguire died in 2014 at age 95. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, which covers western Massachusetts and has more than 200,000 members, has paid more than $12 million to sex abuse victims since 2004. It said in 2008 it had paid $4.5 million to 59 victims in a settlement that included a personal donation from Bishop Dupre. Three people who said they were abused by Bishop Dupre were included in the settlement, and the prelate gave his own money to fund a portion of payments to two victims, diocese spokesman Mark Dupont said. Associated Press VATICAN CITY Zero tolerance for child abuse, pope says Pope Francis has exhorted Catholic bishops worldwide to do what is needed to ensure children are protected from sexual abuse by clergy. On Monday, the Vatican released the text of a letter that Francis sent last week to bishops about injustices to children. In it, he decried the sufferings, the experiences and pain of minors who were abused sexually by priests. It is a sin that shames us, the pope wrote. The churchs reputation has been stained in the past few decades as people worldwide have come forward to say that parish priests or other Catholic clergy raped or molested them as minors. The allegations showed that local bishops sometimes knew about and covered up child sex abuse involving problem priests. Begging forgiveness, Francis also asked bishops for complete commitment to ensuring that these atrocities will no longer take place in our midst and called for zero tolerance. But he has received mixed reviews on how the Vatican handles sex abuse. Francis has laid out procedures to oust bishops for negligence if they mishandle investigations into alleged abuse. But he prompted dismay when he appointed a Chilean bishop accused of covering up for a notorious pedophile. Associated Press SOUTH KOREA Denmark arrests kinof key figure in scandal South Korean prosecutors said Monday that the daughter of the confidante of impeached President Park Geun-hye has been arrested in Denmark and that authorities were working to get her returned home in connection with a corruption scandal. Park was impeached last month by lawmakers amid public fury over allegations that she conspired to allow a longtime friend, Choi Soon-sil, to extort companies and control the government. Police in Denmark arrested Chois daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, over the weekend on charges of staying there illegally. South Korea had asked Interpol to search for Chung because she did not return home to answer questions about the scandal. South Koreas Yonhap News Agency reported that Chung allegedly took advantage of her mothers relationship with Park to get favors. Associated Press BURMA Video of police abuse spurs pledge of action Burmas government has vowed to take action against police officers shown beating villagers in a video that has circulated online. A front-page report on Monday in the state-owned Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper about the Nov. 5 incident was a rare official acknowledgment of abuses taking place in the western state of Rakhine. The authorities have been conducting counterinsurgency operations there since an attack in October killed nine border guards. Burma is also known as Myanmar. Human rights groups accuse security forces of abuses against the Muslim Rohingya minority in Rakhine. The news report said the video clip was recorded by a police constable. It said the clearance operation in the area of Maungdaw township leading to the incident began after attackers shot at 11 police officers on Nov. 3, killing one and wounding another. The account said police, acting on a tip, then raided a village looking for the attackers. It did not say how many villagers were detained or charged. Associated Press 25 killed as van, truck collide in Thailand: A van and a pickup truck collided and caught fire on a highway in eastern Thailand, killing 25 people, authorities said. The public transit van lost control and crossed the median, colliding with the pickup, according to Thai Road Accident Data Center for Road Safety Culture. Police said two people survived. Member of Libyan presidential council resigns: A key member of the presidential council of Libyas U.N.-backed government in Tripoli has resigned, a major blow to the fledgling body trying to assert authority over the fractured North African nation. Musa al-Konis announcement was the first resignation by one of the nine members of the council, formed in early 2016. Koni attributed his decision to the inability of the government to rule the country. Suicide blast outside Mogadishu airport kills 3: A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a security checkpoint near Mogadishus international airport, killing at least three people, a Somali police officer said. He said the bomb detonated as security forces were searching cars at the checkpoint, a few hundred yards from the main base of the African Union peacekeeping mission. The al-Shabab extremist group asserted responsibility for the attack. From news services Correction: An earlier version of this editorial incorrectly reported the number of homicides in the District in 1991.The correct number is 489, according to the Metropolitan Police Department, or 482, according to the FBIs Uniform Crime Reporting statistics. This version has been updated. AMONG THE rituals that mark the end of the year, none is grimmer than the annual tally of homicides across the country. Even when the toll decreases year over year, as it did in the District in 2016, the loss of life is hard to bear: An actress and yoga teacher killed on her way to Christmas dinner. A 17-year-old girl fatally stabbed in a squabble over a cellphone. A Democratic National Committee staffer, age 27, shot during an apparent robbery. That so much of the violence is so senseless underscores the difficulties facing police and society at large. Nowhere were the challenges starker than in Chicago, where the rates of murders and shootings skyrocketed. Seven hundred sixty-two people were victims of homicide in 2016, a 57 percent increase over 2015, the most since 1997, more murders than Los Angeles and New York City combined. There were more than 3,500 shootings. Behind the numbers are heartbreaking stories of children killed in crossfire and young men living lives of hopelessness that ended in bloodshed. In the nations 30 largest cities, the 2016 murder rate was 14 percent higher than in the previous year, according to year-end projections by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. (Chicago accounts for more than 40 percent of the increase.) Experts variously blame poverty, gang warfare, availability of guns and a demoralized police force. It is important to remember, as the Brennan Center experts point out, that crime rates across the country remain near all-time lows, significantly below what the country experienced in the 1990s. Chicago, for example, had at least 800 homicide victims each year between 1990 and 1995. In New York City, there were 2,262 murders in 1990, compared with 334 in 2016. The Districts many homicides (489 according to the Metropolitan Police Department, 482 according to the FBIs Uniform Crime Reporting statistics) in 1991 made it the murder capital of the United States; in 2016, there were 135, down from an alarming spike in 2015, even as the citys population grows. Interim D.C. police chief Peter Newsham attributed part of the citys success in bringing down this years numbers to a concerted effort to target illegal guns. New York officials say that enacting stricter penalties for repeat gun violence offenders something Chicago police are pushing for has helped. When police chiefs gathered in Washington in 2015 to discuss how to deal with the violence, they noted that more and more they were seeing shooting scenes with multiple firearms and an increased number of shell casings. They recommended harsher sentences for gun crimes and for the use of high-capacity magazines. The proliferation of weapons of war on the streets of American cities should be addressed. So too should the underlying social and economic issues that, as a Chicago clergyman told the New York Times, result in desperation, decadence, depression and rage. No family should have to lose a loved one to violence. HAVING PROMISED to close the Guantanamo Bay prison during his first year in office, President Obama will leave about 40 prisoners there when he completes his second term. Its a failure that has something to do with Mr. Obamas reluctance to press his legal authority and something to do with the sluggishness of his appointees at the Pentagon; but its mostly the result of obstructionism by Congress, which foolishly blocked the transfer of detainees to prisons in the United States and placed onerous conditions on their release to other countries. Given the difficulties he faced, Mr. Obama has done the country a service by greatly reducing the blight that Guantanamo placed on the countrys international reputation. Now he must hope that Donald Trump does not give it a new life. As President George W. Bush seemed to recognize by the end of his tenure, the warehousing of hundreds of foreign terrorism suspects on the U.S. base in Cuba was a tragic mistake that did far more harm than good to the cause of counterterrorism. The mistreatment of some detainees alienated even close U.S. allies and served as a recruitment tool for al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, which invariably parade their Western detainees in orange jumpsuits like those Guantanamo made famous. Mr. Bush whittled the detainee population from more than 700 to 242 before leaving office and established systems for reviewing the prisoners cases and trying those accused of war crimes before military commissions. Mr. Obamas contribution has been to find new homes for all but three or four of those cleared for release some of whom have remained in Guantanamo years after they were judged to be eligible for transfer. Those who remain include 10 who were convicted or are being tried by the commissions, and two dozen who cannot be tried and are considered too dangerous to release. As importantly, Mr. Obama demonstrated that it is possible to wage war against international terrorist groups without resorting to Guantanamo; on his watch, suspects have been interrogated on ships or in other extraterritorial locations, but none have been sent to Guantanamo. U.S. prosecutors have demonstrated also that it is possible to efficiently try, convict and imprison those accused of terrorist acts in the federal court system. Meanwhile, the flawed military commissions in Guantanamo have grossly delayed justice, especially for the ringleaders of the 9/11 attacks; as The Posts Missy Ryan and Julie Tate have reported, their trials may not get underway until 2020. For al-Qaeda chieftains, run-of-the-mill militants and even swept-up innocents, Guantanamo has a one-way door. Once theyre inside, it becomes extraordinarily difficult to try the guilty or release those who are no longer a threat. Having loosely promised during his campaign to load [Guantanamo] up with some bad dudes, Mr. Trump ought to carefully consider this history. If his desire is to try and convict captured terrorists, U.S. courts have proved to be the best venue, and federal supermax prisons have had no trouble holding those convicted. If he wishes to avoid handing easy propaganda victories to enemies of the United States, Mr. Trump will not send new prisoners to Guantanamo, but instead finish Mr. Obamas work and shut it down. In recent days, we have stopped to remember those who left us in 2016 whose lives profoundly changed the world around them people such as John Glenn, Nancy Reagan, Muhammad Ali and Elie Wiesel. Allow me to add a name to that distinguished list that you probably never heard before: Ted Harada. Because Ted did something that no one else in recorded medical history ever did: He beat ALS. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrigs disease, is a cruel illness that causes the motor neurons inside your spinal cord to die. Over time, your muscles degenerate and you become a prisoner in your own body progressively losing the ability to move, speak, swallow and, eventually, breathe. There is no cure. No one has ever gotten better after a diagnosis of ALS. No one, that is, except Ted. When Ted was diagnosed in 2010 by Jonathan Glass, a doctor at the Emory ALS Center, he was deteriorating quickly. He could walk only short distances with the help of a cane. Simple tasks, such as getting the mail or walking up the stairs to put his kids to bed, had become impossible for him. But two years later, on Oct. 20, 2012, Ted completed Atlantas two-and-a-half-mile Walk to Defeat ALS with no difficulty. In fact, Ted completed the ALS walk four years in a row. He ditched his cane and was able once again to play with his kids in the pool and walk up the stairs to tuck them in for bed. What saved Ted was an experimental ALS treatment pioneered by doctors at the Emory ALS Center, in which doctors opened his spinal cord and injected neural stem cells directly into diseased areas, where the pools of motor neurons affected by ALS are found. The hope was that the surgically implanted cells would fix or replace the damaged ones and that this would slow or stop the degeneration of the motor neurons. Before surgery, Ted was told the treatment would not help him. He was part of a Phase I safety trial, whose sole purpose was to prove the procedure would not kill him. But to his doctors surprise, not only did the procedure not kill him, it also reversed his ALS symptoms. The results were so shocking, so unprecedented, that Glass actually went back to reconfirm that Ted even had ALS. He did. Ted recalled for me the moment when Glass sat him down and said: Youre the first ALS patient I ever told this to, but right now you are not dying from ALS; you are living with it. And live he did. He used the time he had been given to the fullest not only to enjoy his beautiful wife, Michelle, and their children, but also to fight for others facing terminal illnesses. Ted became a champion of the Right to Try movement a campaign led by the Goldwater Institute to pass laws in state legislatures across the country to allow patients with terminal illnesses such as Ted to get access to investigational drugs and treatments that completed basic safety testing and are showing great promise in clinical trials but are still not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. I got to know Ted while working with Goldwater president Darcy Olsen on a book about the Right to Try, and we remained close. He explained to me why he was fighting for the Right to Try. I am one of just 32 Americans who have been allowed to try this experimental therapy, he said. But since my clinical trial began, 24,000 people in the United States have died from ALS. So why should only 32 Americans with ALS have a chance to try to save their lives while all the others are doomed to die? And what about the millions of Americans with other terminal illnesses? Good questions. Millions of Americans are dying of terminal illnesses, while treatments for many of those illnesses exist and are being safely used in clinical trials. But most patients cannot get them because the FDA has not yet determined them to be effective and approved them for general use. And bureaucratic obstacles limit the number who can get access on a compassionate use basis. While there is no guarantee such experimental treatments will work, most dying Americans are not looking for a guarantee they just want a chance. (Dakota Fine/The Washington Post) In 2014, Ted wrote an op-ed for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution sharing his story and making the case for the Georgia General Assembly to pass legislation giving terminal patients like him the right to try to save their lives. His piece caught the eye of state Rep. Mike Dudgeon, who contacted Ted and offered to sponsor a bill. For two years, they lobbied state legislators relentlessly, and in May 2016 those efforts paid off when Gov. Nathan Deal signed the Georgia Right to Try Act into law making Georgia the 28th state to enact Right to Try legislation. But Teds victory came in the shadow of tragic news. A few months before the bill was signed, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. This time there would be no miracle cure. He passed away on Oct. 17, 2016. We will never know how long Teds ALS symptoms would have remained in remission, but we know this much for certain: Ted did not die from ALS. I dont know why I was picked or why I was chosen, he once told me, but if Ive been given this gift, how selfish [would it be] to keep that gift to myself and not do something good with it? Ted Harada did something good with his gift. He made medical history and brought hope to others who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Rest in peace, my friend. Read more from Marc Thiessens archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. In response to widespread European and worldwide concern over the state of democracy in Poland, the ruling right-wing partys newly appointed Polish ambassador to the United States, Piotr Wilczek, attempted to defend his partys reforms in a Dec. 27 letter, An exaggerated portrait of Poland. Proposals to limit rights of free assembly, attempts to pass legislation banning abortion under almost any circumstances, limiting press access while disallowing video and sound recording on the premises of the Parliament, and defiantly replacing judges on Polands Constitutional Tribunal, thus de facto dismantling it, are among the actions that the ambassador claims serve the Polish people, not the elites. Members of Polands Committee for the Defense of Democracy firmly disagree with Mr. Wilczeks assertion that protests are on par with those that American cities see on a regular basis. Because the ruling party (Law and Justice) instituted its unscrupulous and unremorseful way of governing, the peoples natural reflex was to take to the streets: organizing, forging alliances and coming together. These arent your typical protests but are our young democracys natural response to an urgent existential threat. It falls on us, as citizens of Poland wherever we live, to protest the steps undermining our democracy and to do everything we can to prevent further damage. Pawel Dlugosz, San Francisco The writer is a representative on the Committee for the Defense of Democracy (KOD) USA West. As the new year begins, any honest progressive knows the political outlook is bleak. But if were going to limit the damage that President-elect Donald Trump inflicts on the country, then despair is not an option. The real question, as Democracy Alliance President Gara LaMarche recently said, is how you fight intelligently and strategically when every house is burning down. Indeed, with Trump and Republicans in Congress aggressively pushing a right-wing agenda, progressives will need to invest their resources and attention where they can do the most good both now and over the next four years. With that in mind, here are three steps to take to resist and rebuild as the Trump administration gets underway. First, while strong national leadership is certainly important, progressives must recognize that the most significant resistance to Trump wont take place in Washington. Its going to happen in the streets led by grass-roots activists, and in communities, city halls and statehouses nationwide. There is real potential for cities and states to act as a bulwark against Trumps agenda. On immigration, for example, a coalition of mayors from across the country including New York and Los Angeles but also cities throughout the Rust Belt and the South are already coordinating to fight Trumps deportation plans. Local Progress, a national network of city and county officials, is working to protect civil rights and advance economic and social justice. And while the Trump administration may ravage the environment, cities and states can also continue the fight against global warming; in particular, California has the potential to become a global leader on the issue, and Gov. Jerry Brown (D) has defiantly pledged to move forward with plans to slash carbon emissions in the state regardless of Trumps policies. Cities and states also give progressives an opportunity to play offense by advancing policies that truly improve peoples lives, while providing a concrete and actionable blueprint for the rest of the country. Take the Fight for $15. Last year, 25 states, cities and counties approved minimum-wage increases that will result in raises for millions of workers nationwide. And despite Trumps hostility to workers, there are campaigns to increase the minimum wage planned in at least 13 states and other localities over the next two years, representing a real chance to build on that progress. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post) Second, as New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman writes, We need a broad commitment from activists and donors to take back state governments. Even if Democrats do well in the midterm elections, they are unlikely to regain control of Congress until after the next round of redistricting, in 2020. Yet there will be 87 state legislative chambers and 36 gubernatorial seats up for grabs in 2018. Progressives would be wise to adopt a laserlike focus on winning these races. A strong performance at the state level in 2018 would do more than improve progressives ability to combat Trumps policies. It would also help create a stronger pipeline of leaders who could eventually run for higher office, following in the steps of incoming House members Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.). Crucially, it would also give progressive Democrats more influence over congressional redistricting in 2020, boosting the partys prospects at the national level. For that reason, its noteworthy that President Obama is planning to get involved in state legislative elections and redistricting after he leaves office, though grass-roots efforts will remain paramount. And third, it will be critical for progressive leaders in Washington to amplify local progress to drive a national message. In the absence of a single party leader especially one whose success depends on compromising with congressional Republicans there is more room for strong, populist progressive voices to emerge in opposition to Trump. Already, Sens. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and Jeff Merkley (Ore.) are stepping up,and they will be joined in the House by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, whose members will play a key role in recruiting and running progressive candidates, connecting with grass-roots movements and driving local issues into the national sphere. Working alongside activist groups, progressive Democrats can present a clear alternative vision for the nation. To that end, the race for Democratic National Committee chair presents a significant opportunity to shift the partys direction. Regardless of who prevails, progressives would be wise to insist on a return to the 50-state strategy that former chairman Howard Dean championed and that all of the current candidates say they support. Ultimately, the partys fortunes will depend on recruiting a new generation of progressive leaders, especially women and people of color, who can harness the power of social movements and drive it into electoral politics everywhere in the country, at every level of government. Read more from Katrina vanden Heuvels archive or follow her on Twitter. Doesnt anybody here know how to work this thing? For 10 years, Republicans have waited for their chance to govern, and finally the voters handed them the car keys: unified GOP control of Congress and the White House. But the moment the starters flag dropped Tuesday, the opening day of the 115th Congress, the eager majority seized the wheel of power, hit the gas and immediately lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a guardrail. It was the simplest of tasks for the new Congress: The House was to approve a new rules package for the 2017-2018 term, normally a routine matter. But a group of House GOP lawmakers, ambushing their leaders, persuaded the Republican caucus to tack on a plan that would gut ethics enforcement. [If Republicans play winner-takes-all, everyone will lose] (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post) Thus did Republicans, after the drain the swamp campaign of 2016, propose in their first act of 2017 to overflow the swamp with a new pipeline of sleaze. The headlines were murderous, and Donald Trump tweeted criticism of his fellow Republicans on Tuesday morning: Do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog . . . their number one act and priority? By midday, Republicans called an emergency caucus meeting to undo the proposed changes, but not before House leaders were emasculated. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.), though he opposed the rules change, had just issued a statement defending it. And House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), in a painful welcome-back Q&A with reporters Tuesday morning, explained how he had been thwarted by his own backbenchers. Fox Newss Chad Pergram asked McCarthy about Trumps tweet. Those are the same arguments I made last night in conference, replied the majority leader, who admitted he hadnt heard from Trump before seeing his tweet. I was one of the first to the mics. Did the critical coverage suggest his party made a mistake? I made this argument last night, McCarthy repeated. Why were you not able to stop it? asked Erica Werner of the Associated Press. Doesnt that suggest that youre very weak leaders of the conference? 1 of 17 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Congress convenes for opening session of 2017 View Photos The 115th Congress was gaveled into session. The House convened at noon Tuesday, with 241 Republicans and 194 Democrats. Among the members are 52 freshmen. Caption The 115th Congress was gaveled into session. The House convened at noon Tuesday, with 241 Republicans and 194 Democrats. Among the members are 52 freshmen. Jan. 3, 2017 Newly reelected House speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) gavels in the opening session of Congress. Matt McClain/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. McCarthy, at the end of a long conference table, looked stunned. Man! Welcome back! he replied. He likened managing the House GOP to his domestic life in California. At my house, I got my wife and my two kids, and I usually dont win what we watch on TV, he reasoned. The difference is that here in Washington, McCarthy and Ryan have 239 children. And if this fractious bunch cant agree without a brouhaha on the routine matter of a rules package, wait until they get to tough stuff, such as replacing Obamacare and funding the government. Those worried that President Trump and congressional Republicans are about to enact a sweeping agenda may have an unexpected ally: legislative incompetence. As Carl Hulse points out in the New York Times, nearly two-thirds of House Republicans have never served with a GOP president. McCarthy, elected in 2006, has never experienced unified Republican control. Now Republicans have to switch from reflexive opposition to passing their own laws and being held responsible for the consequences. Turns out they havent developed those muscles. Take Obamacare. For six years, Republicans have talked of replacing it, and dozens of times they voted to repeal it. But now theyre in no hurry. At Tuesdays session, McCarthy said repeatedly that Republicans hadnt yet decided what to do about Obamacare. Were being sworn in today, he pleaded. What are some possible alternatives? No decision has been made yet. Theres nothing right out there. Would the GOP alternative cover as many as Obamacare? Theres a lot of areas that you want to look at. When will repeal happen? I only do week by week. How would they avoid upsetting insurance markets? Nothing has been decided yet. [The House ethics office needs changes, but not the ones Republicans proposed] McCarthy was equally unprepared to talk about another longtime GOP priority: the repeal of regulations. Were just being sworn in, he demurred, again, when asked. First they had to solve a problem of their own creation: the plan to defang the independent Office of Congressional Ethics and put it underneath the deadlocked House Ethics Committee. McCarthy offered a halfhearted defense of the proposed changes, even while making clear that he opposed them. He kept misstating the proposal and, when corrected by reporters, said he would need to sit down after and walk through it or get a legal opinion on how the wording goes. Excuses accumulated: Thats part of the whips job . . . wasnt here . . . I was in the district . . . Im late for a meeting. You cant even explain it clearly and youre expecting the House to vote on it? a reporter asked. McCarthy was philosophical. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, he said. And sometimes you spin out on the first lap. Twitter: @Milbank Read more from Dana Milbanks archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. No Yes, a light case Yes, two or more light cases One serious case Two or more serious bouts Vote View Results He has been holding interviews and meetings as he prepares to transition into the White House. He has been holding interviews and meetings as he prepares to transition into the White House. Humility is a virtue, but fake humility is a sin, or ought to be. So let me begin the new year with full-throated praise of some people and institutions that supposedly got their comeuppance in November: the mainstream media, coastal elites, share-the-wealth liberals, pointy-headed intellectuals and others said to be hopelessly out of touch with the real America. In what too quickly became the consensus view, all of the above were put in their place by Donald Trumps narrow electoral victory. We unreal Americans were demonstrated to be clueless, the conventional wisdom has ruled, and now are obliged to slink away and repent. All of this is pure rubbish. Its time to stop all the self-flagellation and raise our voices to insist that things such as knowledge, experience, qualifications and respect for objective facts still matter now, perhaps, more than ever. [Real America is its own bubble] Let me start with a much-maligned sector that is near and dear to my heart: the news media. We have been accused of causing the whole Trump phenomenon, failing to notice said phenomenon was happening, or both. (The Washington Post) We did neither. Trumps campaign was initially covered as nothing more than a publicity stunt, for good reason: He had a long history of publicity stunts. His outrageous and inflammatory statements were reported because they were newsworthy. His raucous and unscripted rallies were, lets face it, a lot more interesting to watch than Jeb Bushs and Marco Rubios. The fact that Trump got a lot of exposure did not compel a single voter to support him; many, in fact, were motivated in the other direction, to oppose him any way they could. Did we fail to recognize and understand the grievances of white, working-class Trump voters? Not for lack of trying. We interviewed Trump supporters at the rallies, sent reporters to bereft Rust Belt cities, profiled individual voters to try to understand their personal travails. The one thing that definitely would have made media coverage better is more October polling in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Do urban, coast-dwelling elites really have such haughty disdain for the heartland? Thats an odd way to look at a country in which, according to the Census Bureau, more than 70 percent of the population lives in urbanized areas and more than half lives in coastal watershed counties, generally within 50 miles of one of the oceans or the Great Lakes. Americans have been moving from rural areas and small towns into cities for decades because thats where they find economic opportunity and because, well, big cities are interesting places to live, full of diversity and cultural attractions and good restaurants. Yes, this is still a nation of purple mountain majesties and fruited plains. But thats not where most Americans live. Should liberals be hanging their heads in shame? No way, as the conservative majorities in the House and Senate will soon find out. Trump promised during the campaign to improve and even expand the social safety net, not rip it to shreds. He also pledged to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure projects and cut everyones taxes. [Trump and Conways transition of contradictions] To read Trumps win as some kind of sweeping victory for conservatism would be absurd. Progressive voices, loud ones, will be needed to hold him accountable. One thing we learned during the campaign is that Trumps voters unlike many congressional Republicans do not necessarily see big government as oppressive. They rely on its help. And another thing: Despite Trumps general lack of knowledge about how the government works, and despite the lack of relevant experience of some of his Cabinet picks, knowledge and expertise really do matter. Scientists who have spent their entire careers studying the Earths atmosphere and oceans know more about climate change than politicians who base policy positions on the fact that it gets cold in the winter. Remember that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote. I point that out not to delegitimize Trumps election but to refute the notion that Trumps America is somehow more real than mine or yours or anyone elses. The America that supports progressive policies, rejects racism and sexism in all their forms, and believes that what critics call political correctness is actually just common courtesy that America is real, too, and needs to make itself heard. Lets begin the new year with the realization that an election was lost, but not the country and not our rights as full participants in the American experiment. Donald Trump is our newly hired employee. Lets not hesitate to tell him what to do. Read more from Eugene Robinsons archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. You can also join him Tuesdays at 1 p.m. for a live Q&A. MANY OF the nations biggest cities have tried to require ride-booking services such as Uber and Lyft to establish fingerprint background checks for their drivers, in the interest of public safety, only to discover that the companies, which hate the idea, have them over a barrel. The pressure on local leaders can be intense: Dont they want their town to remain in (or join) the 21st century? And what about the thousands of people who make ends meet as part-time drivers in the gig economy dont they deserve the extra income? In the face of threats by Uber and Lyft to leave or stay out of a city, a county or even an entire state, many public officials have buckled, much as Marylands Public Service Commission did last month in dropping its effort to force fingerprint background checks. (It did beef up rules for biographic background checks.) The fact is that fingerprinting is widely required for bus, taxi and limousine drivers; it is generally regarded by law enforcement as the gold standard of background checks. Given reports nationally that some gig drivers have assaulted passengers, fingerprinting makes sense as an added measure to protect the public. Uber and Lyft complain that fingerprinting is unfair, onerous, racially tilted and unreliable. Those arguments are largely specious. For one thing, both firms submit to the requirement in New York City, and Uber also does so in Houston. In other words, if the city (and profit potential) is big enough, the firms suck it up and bear the burden. And if the city isnt big enough, the firms have shown themselves willing to walk, as they did when voters in Austin passed a ballot measure requiring fingerprint background checks this past spring. The firms say they worry fingerprinting is a hassle that may discourage the flow of new drivers about a half-million have already signed up across the country. In fact, the burden is minimal: In Houston, prospective Uber drivers pay about $40 to be fingerprinted, a process that takes about 10 minutes. (WUSA9) As for the argument that fingerprinting disadvantages black prospective drivers because they are disproportionately and sometimes erroneously represented in criminal databases well, yes. Yet few dispute that fingerprinting provides the public with added protection when it comes to hiring bus drivers, teachers, security guards, mortgage brokers, real estate agents, nurses, government employees and many other prospective employees in sensitive occupations that involve interacting with the public. The firms real reason for opposing fingerprinting may be that it (slightly) strengthens the argument that their drivers are employees and not, as Uber and Lyft insist, private contractors. As employees, they would be eligible to press for a range of benefits that would upend the firms labor costs and business models. Uber and Lyft say their own biographic background checks, performed by private contractors, are just as efficient in weeding out applicants with criminal backgrounds. Not many law enforcement agencies buy that. Fingerprinting isnt a foolproof tool for background checks, but neither are the biographic databases used by the ride-booking services now. The best way to protect the public is to insist on both. It was amazing to read Eugene Robinsons Dec. 30 op-ed, Status quo and its consequences to Israel, opposite the editorial Right back where Mr. Obama started. If Mr. Robinson is to render an opinion, it should be informed by history. The history of Israel since at least 1929 is well developed. The editorial board pointed out that 80 percent of Israeli settlement growth is in areas Israel would keep under any agreement. Where does Mr. Robinson note the Palestinians rejections of deals from past Israeli prime ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert and the continued claim of Hamas to the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River? The purpose of the press is to inform and educate, not mislead with incomplete information presented as facts. R. Marshall Ackerman, Potomac The recent editorials concerning Israel are heavily loaded with comments supporting Palestinians. Why does The Post not discuss the basic issues that must be addressed by the Palestinians, such as school textbooks exhorting Palestinian children to kill Jews, television programs teaching children that Jews are evil and should be killed, the Palestinian government paying money to families of terrorists in Israeli jails, the Palestinian government naming streets in memory of Palestinian terrorists who kill Israelis, and the Palestinian government encouraging celebrations in their territories when Jews are killed? Would any nation in its right mind support the positions of a neighboring entity calling for the nations destruction? When U.S. and European politicians acknowledge the behavior of the Palestinians and restrict the Palestinian governments acquisition of funds, maybe the Palestinians will be ready to enter negotiations with Israel. Michael S. Miller, Columbia The Dec. 30 editorial Right back where Mr. Obama started continued to deny evidence that Israels settlements in the West Bank are the main (on Israels side) obstacle to an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Just look at the map; settlements speckle the area like a rash, with many emplaced in such a way to make territorial continuity an impossibility for a Palestinian state. So are those not in areas that are agreed upon (between an earlier Israeli government and the George W. Bush administration , but not by the Palestinian leadership) to be removed? Lets not joke over such a serious matter. Just look at the contortions Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government is going through to move a few dozen settlers off only one of them. And why does the government of Israel call the area Judea and Samaria? Settlements are, of course, not the only obstacle, but they are without question today the main one. David A. Korn, Washington In Charles Krauthammers highly critical Dec. 30 op-ed, Obamas final, most shameful, legacy moment, concerning the U.S abstention on the recent U.N. resolution, he asked, What incentive do the Palestinians have to negotiate when they can get the terms and territory they seek handed to them for free if they hold out long enough? The answer, of course, is that the U.N. resolution changes nothing on the ground, nor does it materially change the bargaining power of either side. Israel has long maintained its course despite legal and political objections to its actions in the West Bank, and this resolution is not likely to induce any major changes in its policy. The Palestinians can get new terms or territory only by negotiating with the Israelis. As in any negotiation that achieves an agreement, both sides will need to make commitments and concessions. Richard B. Herzog, Washington Many of us have a traumatic childhood memory of losing our mothers hand in a grocery or department store and feeling, for a panicky moment, that we may never be found again. For Saroo Brierley , that separation was real and lasting a story so extraordinary and harrowing that it carries an excellent movie called Lion. No big cats were employed in making the film. Rather, at the age of 5, Saroo gets separated from his brother at a train station in India, boards an empty train, falls asleep and eventually ends up a thousand miles away in an unfamiliar part of the country. He becomes a street child there are plenty of them in this sometimes merciless world vulnerable to sex trafficking. Instead, he is placed in a Dickensian orphanage and plucked up by an international adoption , finally landing in a loving Australian home. Not really finally. As an accomplished young man, Saroo begins to feel restless, rootless and homeless and starts an obsessive search (on Google Earth) for the small village he recalls only in flashing images. Every day, Saroo says, my mother screams my name. I wont ruin the ending, but suffice it to say there is Kleenex involved. Nicole Kidman, the real-life mother of two adopted children, plays the role of Saroos Australian mum with particular charm and fierce affection. Full disclosure: One reason the story spoke to me is that my wife was plucked from a South Korean orphanage at the age of 6, placed on a jumbo jet and delivered to a loving Midwestern American home. But Lion raises broader issues of identity ethnic and otherwise that are implicated in most human stories. If we feel homeless, not just in the world but in the universe, the search for home becomes a spiritual quest. Spiritual does not always mean religious. On the evidence of the movie, Saroos remarkable quest was not. But the questions raised by the film Who am I? Where do I belong? have nearly universal resonance. The most powerful summation of the Christian faith is the story of a lost child, this one choosing to leave home, squandering his inheritance and eventually wallowing in a sty with pigs. He suspects he can return to his family only as a servant, but his father, seeing him from afar, ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. Taken seriously (which does not mean literally), that parable represents a spiritual revolution. God as parent. A distant abstraction as our father, and our mother as well. No one can damage themselves beyond hope. Even if we reach the shores of our own Australia a place of relative comfort, success and respect a sense of rootlessness can grow. Comfort can suddenly feel like complacency. Success can seem empty or horribly fragile. Respect can become a treadmill of expectations. If we take an hour for introspection, fully examining our flaws and failures, we generally decide never to do it again. It is uncomfortable to be naked and helpless, with our humanness showing. If we must prove our worth, it is possible to be worthless. If we earn love, it is conditional and fickle. That is the substance, in many cases, of depression. A relentless voice of self-judgment. My thoughts, said the poet and priest George Herbert, are all a case of knives / Wounding my heart. It is possible, even as accomplished, sophisticated adults, to slip from a parents hand and wonder whether we will ever be found again. Some will scoff, because they have not yet reached this point in their lives. Others conclude that this sense of homelessness is rooted in human nature but corresponds to nothing real in the world. But many have found comfort in that ancient story of a missing child, promising a parents unconditional love: You are my beloved, on you my favor rests. It is not an easy thing maybe the work of a lifetime to live as if we are loved. To quiet the voices of self-condemnation. To live outside the tiny cosmos of our own desires. To extend the grace we have been shown. To act on a vision of humanity in which all are equally loved by God. A path determined by these resolutions may lead to unexpected places, maybe not to a sty, but perhaps to a stable and a star. To the end of the way of the wandering star, wrote G.K. Chesterton. To the things that cannot be and that are / To the place where God was homeless / And all men are at home. Read more from Michael Gersons archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook . The Dec. 30 front-page article U.S. takes action against Russia in hacking case quoted a Russian politician, Leonid Slutsky, who has multiple sanctions against him by various countries, including ours. He said, None of this will change the results of the election of the American president, and in January, the rightful owner of the White House will be Donald Trump. Really? So Russia has now bequeathed ownership of the White House to Trump? And all along, I thought it belonged to the American people. Hannette Allen, Silver Spring Kari Hong is a professor at Boston College Law School and an immigration lawyer. President-elect Donald Trump has tried to soften his approach to immigration by saying he will focus on deporting those with criminal records. This strategy may sound sensible, but based on my experience representing noncitizens with criminal convictions, I can report that it wont work. Instead, such an approach would be inefficient, cumbersome, expensive, unnecessary and, above all, inhumane. First, current law fails to sort dangerous noncitizens from those who are harmless. Criminal records alone are neither an efficient nor an effective way to determine this. One of my clients a man who had been in the United States on a green card for 40 years and whose wife and children are citizens was deported for stealing a $2 can of beer. Another green-card holder with a citizen wife and children is fighting a deportation order issued because, two decades ago, he was convicted of petty theft, an infraction thats less serious than a misdemeanor. And this problem cannot be cured by focusing on those convicted of violent crime. In theory, that sounds right. But in practice, the definition of violent confounds federal judges and sweeps up many people whose crimes would not ordinarily be viewed that way. For seven years, until the Supreme Court finally stepped in, numerous noncitizens were deported because courts wrongfully concluded that state convictions for driving under the influence were crimes of violence. And a Virginia court in 2013 upheld an assault and battery conviction as violent even though it was committed by a teenager who spat at a police officer during his arrest. Second, the immigration courts are already overburdened and cannot cope with a large influx of cases. No matter how many noncitizens are rounded up, each one is entitled to a hearing. This is not a mere technicality: Five in 10 of those in immigration proceedings win their cases. Meanwhile, there is an average three-year wait before a hearing is completed. Any promise to start rounding up criminal aliens or undocumented people, without money, without judges and without courthouses, is illusory. The current backlog is about 500,000 cases; just imagine what would happen if that number increased by just 1 million, let alone 3 million. Third, as a fiscal matter, it is expensive to lock people up while they wait for these immigration hearings. Currently, more than 30,000 people are detained daily at an annual cost of more than $2 billion an expense that is difficult to justify given that half of them may be entitled to remain. Fourth, stepping up deportation in the way Trump envisions is unnecessary. The southern border is the most secure it has ever been. Despite the rhetoric that hordes of immigrants are sneaking across the border from Mexico with nefarious plans to bring crime, violence and drugs into the United States, the fact is that noncitizens commit fewer crimes than citizens. In addition, the deportation process works, as evidenced by the Obama administration having deported more than 2.5 million people over eight years more than the combined presidential administrations of the 20th century. (Jayne W. Orenstein and Osman Malik/The Washington Post) Fifth, there are not 3 million undocumented people with criminal convictions; the Migration Policy Institute places the number at 820,000. The call to deport criminal aliens portends a crackdown on noncitizens with green cards that allow them to live and work here legally, but who have run afoul of the law for reasons ranging from serious felonies to minor crimes, including drug possession and misdemeanors. Such people often have served in our military, have children and spouses who are citizens, have lengthy employment histories, pay taxes and are good neighbors. We as Americans have a stake in keeping those immigrants here. Kicking them out and disrupting their families over minor offenses would be harsh and absurd. If Trump truly wants to focus on drug dealers, terrorists, murderers and rapists, he should call on Congress to restore immigration laws focus on those whom prosecutors and criminal judges determined were dangerous in the first place people who were sentenced to five years or more in prison. Thats what the law used to be, before it was changed in 1996 to cover many more crimes. Instead of penalizing immigrants for minor crimes, immigration law needs to separate contributing immigrants from their non-contributing peers. Those who pay taxes, have children born in the United States, serve in the military, work in jobs American citizens will not take or help those around them need a path to legalization. Those who cause more harm than good should be deported. Restoring proportionality and common sense to immigration law would certainly help make America great again. Apple chief executive Tim Cook, right, and PayPal founder Peter Thiel, center, listen as President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting at Trump Tower in New York on Dec. 14. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press) This column has been updated since it was first published. Donald Trump likes his technology like he likes his decor: stuck in the 80s. For all the praise he receives for embracing 21st-century social media, the president-elect seems to understand little about modern technology. And he exhibits even less interest in learning about it. I think that computers have complicated lives very greatly, he babbled last week. The whole, you know, age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly whats going on. We have speed, we have a lot of other things, but Im not sure you have the kind of security that you need. Ah, yes, that fabled Age of Computer. I believe it dawned when the moon was in the seventh house and Jupiter aligned with Mars. Three days later, at his New Years Eve party, the president-elect doubled down on Luddism while professing to know a lot about hacking. Asked about the role cybersecurity policy will play in his administration, he steered Americans toward bike messengers. If you have something really important, write it out and have it delivered by courier, the old-fashioned way, because Ill tell you what, no computer is safe. I dont care what they say, no computer is safe, he said. I have a boy whos 10 years old, he can do anything with a computer. You want something to really go without detection, write it out and have it sent by courier. Again, this was in response to a question not about how he keeps his tax returns confidential, but about national cybersecurity policy. This is hardly the first time Trump has expressed distrust of newfangled technological gizmos. I dont do the email thing, Trump said in a 2007 deposition. Im not an email person myself, Trump echoed during that infamous July news conference in which he invited Russia to hack Hillary Clintons email. I dont believe in it because I think it can be hacked, for one thing. 1 of 35 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Heres a look at Trumps administration so far View Photos The men and women the president-elect has selected for his Cabinet and White House team. Caption The men and women the president-elect has selected for his Cabinet and White House team. Scott Gottlieb, nominee for commissioner of FDA President Trump is set to nominate Scott Gottlieb, a conservative physician and businessman with deep ties to the pharmaceutical industry, to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, a White House official said. Courtesy of American Enterprise Institute/via Reuters Wait 1 second to continue. And at a February rally: I go to court and they say, Produce your emails. I say I dont have any. His email abstention is not merely about information security or limiting his legal liability, however. He sends snail-mail messages even when he expects them to be widely disseminated, as any journalist whos received one of his gold-Sharpied nastygrams can attest. Perhaps, unlike most Americans including my email-proficient nonagenarian grandfather and a majority of Trumps fellow senior citizens he simply hasnt bothered to learn how to use the interwebs. Avoiding computers may indeed be a relatively reliable, if productivity-limiting, strategy for guarding sensitive material. Other successful chief executives have also famously eschewed digital communications, though its hard to imagine any entrepreneur becoming successful today without at least a passing familiarity with post-1993 modes of interaction. However Trump has run things at the Trump Organization, though, communicating exclusively via courier hardly seems like a scalable strategy for combating international cyberwarfare. Couriers may be useful if you and your intended recipient are in the same city. But what if you need to quickly transmit a sensitive message across, say, the coasts? Or the hemispheres? Does Trump hope to Make Carrier Pigeons Great Again? More important and I cant believe this requires spelling out cybersecurity is not merely about person-to-person communications (i.e., services for which couriers might plausibly substitute). Its also about all kinds of other data, code and digitized operations. Health records, for example. Or trade secrets, and valuable inside information about mergers or drug trials. Or financial markets, or banking transactions. Or voting machines. Or maybe even the code running a public utility, which hackers have targeted before. Astonishingly, Trumps imagination for what computers can do and therefore what technical vulnerabilities todays companies, consumers and governments might face appears limited by the observed skill set of his 10-year-old son. Trump has twice now mentioned Barron as his touchstone for technical savvy when answering questions about cyberattacks. And, hey, maybe the kid is unusually good at navigating the series of tubes. But Russian and Chinese hackers are probably better. Trumps recent comments bode ill for federal investments in cyberdefense. They do help explain his economic worldview, however. His technical incuriosity helps us understand why, for example, he (wrongly) believes that manufacturing jobs are primarily disappearing due to insufficient tariffs, rather than automation. And it illuminates why hes so keen on rebooting obsolete jobs in the first place, rather than investing in forward-looking sectors such as clean energy, biotech or cybersecurity. If Trump gets his way, maybe the Age of Computer will be shorter than we think. President-elect Donald Trump at the Capitol with wife Melania after meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, right, on Nov. 10. (Bill OLeary/The Washington Post) Almost every new president has hit Washington with a sense of swagger and talk of barnstorming the town in the first 100 days. Then they met the United States Senate. Now, its President-elect Donald Trumps turn to acquaint himself with a place of strange rules and rituals, amazing ego and ambition, where friends become enemies in a matter of hours and where many previous administrations have perished. As the 115th Congress prepared to be sworn into office Tuesday, talk of fundamentally transforming Washington filled the air. The emerging policy agendas of Trump and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) a pair whose on-again, off-again relationship was much scrutinized in 2016 seem to be meshing on key items such as overhauling the Affordable Care Act and revoking President Obamas executive orders on business regulation. But the new presidents early months in office are likely to rise or fall in Majority Leader Mitch McConnells Senate, where a narrow Republican majority guarantees the confirmation of most nominees and an ability to set the agenda but little else. (The Washington Post) The minority Democrats are afforded enough rights to turn confirmation hearings for Trumps Cabinet picks into a referendum on the president-elects policy views and qualifications to lead. By demanding scrutiny of nominees personal finances, they can revive questions about Trumps holdings. The Senates 60-vote threshold for clearing a filibuster on most legislation means that Trump will have to reckon with Democrats often. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) drove home this point in his maiden speech as the new minority leader. The Senate has a rich, bipartisan tradition of being a constitutional check on presidents of both parties, Schumer said Tuesday. Many in this body have long observed that in America, we are a nation of laws, not men. That sacred constitutional duty of holding the president accountable to the law must continue. The last time one party controlled the Oval Office and all of Capitol Hill, Obama and Democrats pushed a mostly partisan agenda that Republicans resisted and then used against them in subsequent elections. McConnell (R-Ky.) maintained a good relationship with Trump throughout the campaign. Unlike Ryan, he kept his doubts about Trumps campaign style mostly to himself, and he has forged an early bond with Vice President-elect Mike Pence. Yet, less than 24 hours after Trumps stunning presidential victory, McConnell tried to set expectations on his own terms. His early signals have been about bringing along Democrats rather than changing Senate rules in a unilateral power play. Weve been given a temporary lease on power, if you will. And I think we need to use it responsibly, McConnell told reporters Nov. 9. I think what the American people are looking for is results. And to get results in the Senate, as all of you know, it requires some Democratic participation and cooperation. Democrats are only one piece of Trumps Senate problem. If past is prologue and it almost always is in the Senate Republicans will betray him at key moments and cause big headaches early in his presidency. 1 of 74 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Heres what President-elect Donald Trump has been doing since the election View Photos He has been holding interviews and meetings as he prepares to transition into the White House. Caption He has been holding interviews and meetings as he prepares to enter the White House. Jan. 19, 2017 President-elect Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, visit the Lincoln Memorial before the Make America Great Again concert. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. Senators have their own egos and their own agendas, and many of them see a president every time they look in the mirror. This has already been on display in early statements from Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in joining Schumer to call for aggressive investigations of Russian meddling in the 2016 elections. McCain was sworn in Tuesday to a seventh term after winning reelection in November by a wider margin in Arizona than Trump received over Hillary Clinton. That gives McCain already a self-proclaimed maverick extra political freedom because he wasnt swept into office on the new presidents coattails. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) all won reelection by bigger margins than Trump did in their states. Rubio has already rattled the Trump transition by expressing doubt about Rex Tillerson, the ExxonMobil CEO with close ties to Russia who is Trumps pick for secretary of state. The transition responded with a concerted effort to court Rubio, knowing that just one Republican defection at the committee level could imperil the nomination. [At the center of the pitch for Tillerson: Richard Cheney and Marco Rubio] Such maneuvers are likely to be regularly necessary for Trump, who, as a novice politician, is not steeped in the quirks or pretensions of the Senate. His closest ally in the chamber has been Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), now his nominee for attorney general. Sessions is generally well liked on both sides of the aisle but has always been considered an ideological outlier, more successful at blocking something than orchestrating its passage. Recent history is replete with examples of new presidents running into the brick wall that is the Senate. In 1993, Bill Clintons administration watched as several Cabinet picks withdrew in disgrace despite a large Democratic majority in the Senate. The rocky relationship hit an even lower point the following year in an open feud with Democrats over his bid to reshape health-care laws. In 2001, George W. Bushs administration watched his proposed tax cut shrink by hundreds of billions of dollars to meet demands of moderate Senate Republicans and watched Republicans lose the majority when Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont angrily switched caucuses and handed Democrats a 51-to-49 majority. In 2009, Obama, a former senator, seemed poised to dominate the body, taking from its ranks his vice president, Joe Biden, secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, and interior secretary, Ken Salazar. But for him, too, things fell apart quickly. Nominees withdrew amid leaks from Democratic-controlled committees. The economic stimulus package shrank by hundreds of billions of dollars because moderate Senate Democrats fought big spending. And the Affordable Care Acts final negotiations all centered around meeting demands of moderates to clear a Senate filibuster. McConnell hopes to avoid such mistakes, but its unclear whether conservative activists will appreciate his restraint at a time when Republicans control all the keys to power in Washington. Its always a mistake to misread your mandate. And frequently new majorities think its going to be forever, McConnell said a day after Trumps victory. Nothing is forever in this country. We have an election every two years right on schedule. We have had since 1788. And so I dont think we should act as if were going to be in the majority forever. Paul Kane is The Washington Posts senior congressional correspondent and columnist. His column about the 115th Congress, @PKCapitol, appears throughout the week and on Sundays. Read more from Paul Kanes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. House Republicans scrapped plans to weaken an independent ethics watchdog on the first day of the 115th Congress after a backlash from President-elect Donald Trump and others, as a new period of Republican-led governance started taking shape on a tumultuous note. In a complete reversal, the House GOP moved to withdraw proposed changes they approved the day before to official rules that would rein in the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). Instead, the House will study changes to the office with an August deadline. The about-face came hours after Trump took to Twitter to slam House Republicans for voting behind closed doors Monday night in favor of immediately weakening the independent ethics office. The vote defied House GOP leaders and complicated Trumps drain the swamp campaign mantra. With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it . . . may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, health care and so many other things of far greater importance! Trump wrote on Twitter on Tuesday morning, hours before the new Congress convened. He added the hashtag DTS shorthand for drain the swamp. [House Republicans vote to rein in independent ethics office] Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), a recent chairman of the House Ethics Committee, said that members of House GOP leadership mentioned Trumps opposition to the OCE changes at the brief, closed-door meeting in the Capitol basement, giving weight to reversing Monday nights decision. That should be a consideration, Dent said, explaining how leaders framed the thinking. Democrats and other watchdog groups were also critical of the Monday night vote. A coalition of more than a dozen organizations and activists expressed their frustration in a Tuesday morning letter to House Democratic and Republican leadership. Members also faced a barrage of angry phone calls from constituents. I can tell you the calls weve gotten in my district office and here in Washington surprised me, meaning the numbers of calls. People are just sick and tired, Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.) said of the simmering outrage over the proposed change. People are just losing confidence in the lack of ethics and honesty in Washington. In a statement, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said, Republicans should remember the strength of public outrage they faced in the space of 12 hours as they scheme to do lasting damage to the health and economic security of millions and millions of hard-working families. [Here are the eight Trump Cabinet picks Democrats plan to target] The House passed a rules package Tuesday that did not include the proposed changes to the OCE. It did contain a controversial provision that will impose fines on members using electronic devices to take photographs, record audio or video or conduct live-streams on the House floor. The provision came in response to House Democrats staging a sit-in last summer aimed at forcing votes on gun control legislation. The OCE was created in 2008 to address concerns that the Ethics Committee had been too timid in pursuing allegations of wrongdoing by House members. GOP leaders are eager to wield their House and Senate majorities to rapidly advance an ambitious conservative agenda, as Trump prepares to take office in under three weeks. But the fresh signs of discord threatened to slow their march. Adding to the confusion Tuesday, Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway appeared to partially defend House Republicans move Monday to make key changes to the ethics office. I dont want your viewers to be left with the impression that theres no mechanism to investigate ethics complaints, Conway said on MSNBC. Particularly ethics complaints that come from constituents, which the former office has been entertaining. Conway, who will be a counselor to the president in Trumps White House, said she had not discussed the matter with the president-elect. [Donald Trump, meet your toughest hurdle: the U.S. Senate] Both House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) opposed changing the OCE when rank-and-file Republicans decided to defy them with a vote Monday. By Tuesday morning, both leaders seemed resigned to accepting it. The office is still expected to take in complaints of wrongdoing from the public. It will still investigate them thoroughly and independently, Ryan said in a statement. Were a collective group of individuals. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, McCarthy told reporters. But by early Tuesday afternoon, things had changed. According to several people in the private meeting Tuesday, McCarthy convened the gathering and laid out options for proceeding: Either Republicans could decide among themselves to change course on the ethics changes, or the matter would be hashed out on the House floor, where members would have their views publicly recorded. With that, he asked if there was any objection. While some members maintained that the House should act immediately to rein in the OCE, the vast majority agreed to eliminate the proposal and move on. Essentially it was, we can handle it here, or we can handle it on the floor, said one person present who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Later, Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.), the incoming House Ethics Committee chairman, told lawmakers that her panel would review bipartisan changes to the OCEs mission in the coming months, culminating in a proposal to be delivered before the Houses August recess. Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) pushed for the weakening of the OCE on Monday. His office said it would have provided protections against any disclosures to the public or other government entities. A government official familiar with the internal operations of the OCE disputed Goodlattes assertion that the amendment would strengthen the office. Representative Goodlattes statement that this is an effort to strengthen ethics is a baldfaced lie, said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. This will do nothing but weaken the office and weaken ethics in Congress. The official said the office was blindsided by the amendment, but noted that members of Congress have been trying to eviscerate the office since the day it was created in 2008 following the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. The official said members of Congress were particularly incensed by the offices investigation into an expense-paid trip that 10 lawmakers took to Azerbaijan in 2013. Republicans are under intense pressure to unify behind common goals in the era of Trump, after being plagued for years by infighting in Congress and on the campaign trail. They have identified a list of legislative priorities beginning with the repeal of the Affordable Care Act that they hope will energize most of the GOP. But they could face significant speed bumps. Tuesday proceeded as a day of ceremonial rituals and consequential business on Capitol Hill. Members of the new House and Senate were sworn in during the afternoon. Republicans will hold a 52-48 advantage over Democrats in the Senate; their edge in the House will be 241-194. House lawmakers reelected Ryan as House speaker Tuesday afternoon. Ryan won the support of all but one Republican, facing far fewer GOP defectors than when he first won the speakership in 2015. The vast majority of Democrats voted for Pelosi, who was reelected as party leader last year despite an abortive effort among some colleagues to oust her after Novembers disappointing election results. After a tumultuous campaign in which Ryan and Trump sometimes clashed, relations between them appeared to have smoothed over in recent weeks. The uproar over the OCE, however, could hurt the fragile relationship. Part of the reason for the improvement in the alliance between Trump and Ryan has to do with Vice President-elect Mike Pence, a former member of Congress who enjoys a good relationship with both men. Sean Spicer, a spokesman for Trumps transition team, said Tuesday that Pence equally shares the concern Trump expressed in his Tuesday morning tweets. Pence plans to meet with House Republicans on Wednesday to talk about the way forward on repealing the federal health-care law, according to an aide. In the Senate, the first bill introduced Tuesday was budget legislation that contains instructions for committees in both chambers to begin dismantling the Affordable Care Act. The bare-bones spending outline gives members of four committees until Jan. 27 to produce bills that each save $1 billion over a decade by slashing elements of President Obamass signature health-care law. Senate GOP leaders must also allow Democrats to offer a nearly unlimited number of amendments before a final budget vote. Democrats plan to use the process, known as a vote-a-rama, to offer a long string of potentially toxic amendments that could make it difficult for Republicans to vote for the final legislation, Democratic leadership aides said. Further complicating matters: Republicans have yet to unite around a replacement plan for the law, known as Obamacare, or on when such a plan should take effect. Health care is one of many issues Republicans plan to address during the next two years. Pence said in a December speech that Trump has a mandate for leading, and he identified a long list of priorities for the new administration and Congress. Among them: nominating a conservative Supreme Court justice and reworking the nations tax laws. Tackling such issues has proven to be a contentious process in the past. Republicans must also focus in the coming weeks on getting Trumps Cabinet nominees confirmed by the Senate. Democrats plan to resist some of Trumps picks. In the Senate, Democratic leaders say they stand ready to work with Trump on issues where they can find common ground, such as infrastructure investments and trade. But they warn that they will not hesitate to fight him on issues where they disagree. It is not our job to be a rubber stamp. It is our job to do whats best for the American people, the middle class and those struggling to get there, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday in his first floor speech as the leader of the Senate Democrats. Schumer also challenged Trump to rely on more than Twitter in his communications as he prepares to become the 45th president. The president-elect is known for firing off tweets at all hours of the day. Often, the messages are blunt attacks against his critics. Making America Great Again requires more than 140 characters per issue, Schumer said. Schumer spoke to a mostly empty chamber save for several dozen of his Democratic colleagues. The New York senators wife and grown daughters were in attendance, as were his elderly parents, who traveled from Brooklyn to watch their son become the first Jewish Senate leader. During most of Schumers remarks, Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) huddled on the Republican side of the room whispering to each other and ignoring Schumer. Tuesday also marked a farewell of sorts for Vice President Biden, who in his role as president of the Senate greeted senators elected or reelected in 2016 at a ceremonial swearing-in. Biden, who served in the Senate for decades before joining the Obama administration, talked about his future a bit with reporters afterward. He told them that a couple universities will soon announce they are going to provide him with an awful lot of staff and that he plans to continue working on domestic and foreign policy ideas. The vice president said House Republicans exercised wise judgment in deciding not to make dramatic changes to the OCE. It would be a very, very bad thing to do, he said. Biden was his usual chatty self as he snapped photos with senators and their families. Hey, man! he said, cheerfully greeting Sen. Todd C. Young (R-Ind.). After snapping a photo with the family of Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Biden quipped to Lankfords daughters that they should be patient with their dad, because fathers are hard to raise. Paul Kane, Ed OKeefe, David Weigel, Robert Costa, Kelsey Snell, Scott Higham and Karoun Demirjian contributed to this report. Read more at PowerPost 1 of 15 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Buying New | 1721 P in Northwest Washington View Photos The two condos are priced at $899,000 and $1.3 million. Caption The two condos are priced at $899,000 and $1.3 million. The five-level historic house at 1721 P St. NW near the Districts Dupont Circle has been remodeled to accommodate condominium units. Benjamin C. Tankersley/For The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. Jukka Strand looked for a two-bedroom condo for almost a year. When a sign went up in front of 1721 P St. NW, two blocks east of Dupont Circle, in late spring-early summer last year, his interest was piqued. I eyed the house for awhile and saw several other places, but once I walked inside this one ticked all the boxes, he said. The five-level historic house is built of smooth-textured red brick with a striking circular bay tower that rises from ground level to the greenish-blue slate roof. The towers roof is cone-shaped like a witches hat. The entry hallway has the original mosaic floor, which you can see through the double glass front door. C. Adam Stifel, owner of Hook Properties, who bought the house from a neighborhood resident, said his vision was to keep historic elements and meld them with contemporary design. It was separated into four units at that time and he retained them. He gutted the inside except for the historical features. [Customizable homes in Aldie, Va., make multigenerational living easy] The house had a lot of history trim, detailed plaster molding, historic windows and we did our best to maintain the historic framework and create stylistic and contemporary units within it, he said. This mix of historic and modern is precisely what appealed to Strand. I like the fact that the historic was preserved. The building has an old-fashioned townhouse feel and look on the outside, but once you get in its very modern with high-end appliances, finishes and scale, Strand said. C. Adam Stifel, the developer, said his vision was to keep historic elements and meld them with contemporary design. (Benjamin C Tankersley/For The Washington Post) Strand was the first to move in. I run into him every Sunday during my open house, said Kurt Rieschick, vice president with McWilliams Ballard, the company handling promotion and sales. Hes always very friendly and obviously very happy. Private covered deck: The two-floor unit is also sold and is being readied for move-in. On a cold, rainy December morning, a couple workers were painting and adding final touches. Two units are for sale, residences A and C. Residence A on the terrace level is below ground but has windows and a narrow stone patio alongside the house with room for a grill, tiny table and chairs. Theres plenty of living space at 1,565 square feet, several closets and the same finishes, appliances, cabinets, shelving, side-by-side washer/dryer, as the upstairs units. We didnt downgrade, Stifel said. Residence C on the third level is 1,350 square feet. The kitchen has a large window and gray cabinets. Everything seems so white these days, I wanted a little bit of a different look, Stifel said. The water heater is closeted, and pantry shelves can be put up inside. Each of the four units is distinct, especially in the kitchens. Mine is all white. It has a sleek Scandinavian look with a more contemporary design than the other units, and this appealed to me, Strand said. A gas fireplace with an open flame conveys a historic feel to the living room. When it is on for a little while, the black coal briquettes glow orange-red and give off heat, obvious on a cold day. The surround is Carrara marble. [One of Montgomery Countys hottest-selling communities has a hometown feel] A round dining table is stage-set in the circular bay front facing the street and offers good morning light to read the paper over a cup of coffee. Elfa shelving, which can be continually added and adjusted, is installed in closets. A roughly 200-square-foot covered deck is up three steps and out the back bedroom. It was here when we bought the building, and we rebuilt it, Stifel said. It is den-like with low sidewalls that offer privacy yet light. You can come out here in your boxers in the summertime and wont feel like everyone in the neighborhood is looking at you, he said. Whats nearby: Dupont Circle is a popular destination for locals and tourists seeking restaurants, bars and shops and for walking jaunts along wide sidewalks. The circular park itself, with its towering fountain, is a gathering place akin to Washington Square Park in New Yorks Greenwich Village. In the master bedroom of Residence C, steps lead to the deck. (Benjamin C Tankersley/For The Washington Post) Residential architecture is a mix of historic and contemporary. Embassies and think tanks such as the Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, American Enterprise Institute and academic outposts such as the Carey Business School of Johns Hopkins University and Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, line Massachusetts Avenue and are also grand buildings. The Phillips Collection and a string of galleries are across Massachusetts Avenue. Whole Foods on P Street is walkable with a knapsack or shopping cart. Schools: Ross Elementary, Shaw Middle @ Garnet-Patterson, Cardozo Education Campus. Transit: The beauty of living in this area is being able to walk to just about anything you desire, Rieschick said. A car is not necessary for day-to-day living. You can rent one for a weekend trip, and you walk everywhere else. For me personally, location is very important, said Strand, who walked to work from his previous home in Logan Circle and now walks from 1721 P St. It is one block to Dupont Circle Metro station on the Red Line. Theres permitted resident parking on some streets and two-hour parking on others. A roughly 200-square-foot covered deck was rebuilt into a den-like space with low sidewalls that offer privacy yet light. (Benjamin C Tankersley/For The Washington Post) German riot police officers take their positions near the Hauptbahnhof before New Year celebrations in Cologne, Germany, on Dec. 31, 2016. (Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters) Police in the German city of Cologne were overwhelmed last year by a wave of sexual assaults on New Years Eve. This holiday, they deployed teams for preemptive sweeps. The result set off the latest political clash at the intersection of Germanys struggles over migration and security as authorities questioned hundreds of North African men. They took nearly 100 people into custody. But was it a security operation or an exercise in mass racial profiling? After the deadly Dec. 19 truck attack on a Berlin Christmas market by a suspected Tunisian man, Germany is more polarized than ever over how to deal with the hundreds of thousands of recently arrived asylum seekers, including many from the Middle East and North Africa. The New Years sweeps in Cologne, about 300 miles southwest of Berlin, became the latest flash point, with police being both hailed and criticized for deploying newly aggressive tactics. The divide illustrates the intensifying debate in Germany and across Europe about how to balance cherished values of privacy and civil liberties against a new era of risk. German authorities said Monday that they had made yet another terrorism-linked arrest, taking into custody a Syrian migrant suspected of seeking funds from the Islamic State to stage a truck bomb attack. [Opinion: 2017 not looking so bright for Germany] Over the weekend, police deployed thousands of officers in Cologne. Videos showed a large group of men, apparently North Africans, corralled for questioning. Critics blasted the police, in part for using a term for North Africans that some consider an ethnic slur. Hundreds of Nafris screened at main railway station, the Cologne police tweeted on New Years Eve. On Twitter, the popular German comedian Jan Bohmermann retorted, What is the difference between Nafri and the [n-word]? Police say the term is simply a shorthand they use internally to refer to North Africans and is not derogatory. Amnesty International denounced the police operation as blatant racial profiling. Questions over the legality and proportionality arise when nearly 1,000 people are checked and partially stopped only because of their appearance, senior Green Party politician Simone Peter told the Rheinische Post. Yet far more voices appeared to push back against the critics, crediting the police with taking measures to prevent a repeat of last years violent New Years Eve when more than 1,200 women were sexually assaulted in various German cities, including more than 600 in Cologne and about 400 in Hamburg. More than 2,000 men were allegedly involved. At least 120 suspects about half of them foreign nationals who had recently arrived in Germany have since been identified. The government of Chancellor Angela Merkel under fire over her former open-door policy toward refugees backed the Cologne crackdown. The government is very relieved that the public New Year's Eve festivities proceeded mostly peacefully and, above all, without such dreadful incidents like last year, government spokesman Georg Streiter said Tuesday. [Merkel: Germany stronger than terrorist] Sigmar Gabriel, chairman of the Social Democratic Party and Germanys vice chancellor, told the Funke newspaper group that criticism directed at the police operation was unjustified. It has nothing to do with racism but with smart public safety, he said Monday. Gabriel also defended use of the term Nafris. What else should the police do apart from stopping exactly that group of North Africans and preventing them from accessing Colognes inner city? he asked. Even Peter, the Green Party official, softened her tone as party colleagues appeared to distance themselves from her earlier remarks against the police operation. That the people of Cologne were able to celebrate more peacefully this year and that the assaults which happened last year did not repeat is thanks to the well-prepared police, she wrote. Colognes police president, Jurgen Mathies, claimed Monday that suspects were screened based on aggressive behavior rather than appearance. He said a large number of men had suddenly turned up at Colognes central train station on New Years Eve, leading authorities to send in reinforcements. Ultimately, police detained 92 people including 16 Germans and 10 Syrians on Saturday night in Cologne. I feared that the [situation] could suddenly sour, Mathies said. Nevertheless, he said he regretted the use of the word Nafris in a police tweet. This term is not supposed to be used for public relations, he said. He added that the term had been in use internally since 2013 to describe young North African men who have distinguished themselves for years with a particular willingness to use violence. On Tuesday, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, in a piece for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, called for new steps on deportations. They included the creation of federal departure centers, in which rejected asylum seekers could be kept before their deportations to prevent them from slipping away or going into hiding. Noack reported from London. Read more Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Monsignor Hilarion Capucci, center, participates in a ceremony at the grave site of Saint Francis in Assisi, Italy, in 2003. (Domenico Stinellis/AP) Monsignor Hilarion Capucci, who was a Melkite Greek Catholic archbishop in Jerusalem when Israel convicted him in 1974 of using his diplomatic status to smuggle arms to Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank, has died. He was 94. The Vatican and the Melkite Greek Catholic patriarchate on Jan. 2 confirmed reports that Archbishop Capucci had died in Rome, but they did not disclose the date of death or other details. Archbishop Capucci, a native of Aleppo, Syria, had a history of activism linked to the Palestinian and other Middle Eastern conflicts. He served two years of a 12-year sentence in an Israeli prison for his conviction, then was released through Vatican intervention and deported. In a statement on the Wafa news agencys website, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas offered his condolences and described Archbishop Capucci as a great freedom fighter who was known for defending the rights of the Palestinian people. The prelate went to Iraq to help secure freedom for 68 Italians in 1990. The Italians were among hundreds of Westerners whom Saddam Husseins government had prevented from leaving Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait that year. But the regime allowed politicians, prominent public figures and peace groups to escort some Westerners out of the country. Some people, including more than 100 Americans, had been held as human shields at strategic military and industrial sites in Iraq. Archbishop Capuccis activism continued well into his later years. He was 86 in 2009 when he was a passenger on an aid ship bound for the Gaza Strip that Israel intercepted. The ship had tried to enter Gaza in defiance of Israels blockade of militant-held territory. The Israeli military cited concerns about smuggled weapons. Those aboard said the ship was carrying medicine, food and toys. In 2000, Archbishop Capucci led an anti-sanctions delegation to Iraq. The archbishop, leading a group of clerics and intellectuals based in Italy, flew to Baghdad from Syria on a humanitarian flight authorized by the U.N. sanctions committee. He told reporters at the time that two nations were suffering in the Middle East, the Iraqis because of sanctions and the Palestinian people, who are fighting for their dignity. While in Iraq, he visited a shelter that was struck by a U.S. missile during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. The U.S. military thought the building was an intelligence-gathering facility. More than 400 civilians were killed, and Archbishop Capucci called the bombing victims Iraqi martyrs. Associated Press Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Likud party meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem on Jan. 2. (Ronen Zvulun/Reuters) Israeli police investigators questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for three hours Monday night as part of a criminal probe into whether he received bribes from wealthy businessmen. Although no charges have been filed, the questioning at the prime ministers official residence marked an escalation in a long-running graft investigation. Afterward, the Israeli police released a short statement confirming that they had questioned Netanyahu over the allegations, but they provided no further details. The Israeli media, however, reported that the investigation centered on evidence that the prime minister had been given valuable gifts with the apparent expectation of political favors in return. Netanyahu has vehemently denied wrongdoing, and did so again Monday. I have told you and I repeat: There will be nothing because there is nothing, the prime minister told his ruling, right-wing Likud party. 1 of 14 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad See Jewish settlements in the West Bank View Photos The U.N. Security Council recently passed a resolution demanding that Israel cease settlement activity on Palestinian territory. Caption The U.N. Security Council recently passed a resolution demanding that Israel cease settlement activity on Palestinian territory. Jan. 1, 2017 A view of the West Bank settlement of Eli as seen from the Ancient Shiloh archaeological park, south of Nablus. David Vaaknin/For The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. Addressing the opposition, he said, You will continue to inflate hot air balloons, and we will continue to lead the state of Israel. Opposition leaders said they were not celebrating the prime ministers legal struggles. This isnt a happy day. This is a hard day for the state of Israel, center-left leader Isaac Herzog said, according to Israeli media accounts. Netanyahus predecessor, Ehud Olmert, stepped down in 2009 over corruption allegations. He is serving a 19-month prison sentence for bribery and obstruction of justice. Allegations have long swirled around Netanyahu, who has been in office for eight years during his second stint as prime minister. But nothing has ever stuck. Police recommended in 2000 that charges be filed against Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, based on evidence that they had kept official gifts that should have been returned to the Israeli state. But the case was dropped because of insufficient evidence. Large black screens were mounted around the prime ministers residence in an upscale area of Jerusalem on Monday night in an apparent bid to shield from view the arrival and departure of investigators. Several Israeli media outlets reported that Netanyahu is the subject of two police investigations. The questioning Monday night was apparently related to the less serious of the two, which concerns gifts from businessmen, according to the media reports. Little is known about the other inquiry. Police have reportedly interviewed dozens of witnesses, including a prominent American backer of Netanyahus, businessman Ronald Lauder. Netanyahu has had a stormy relationship with President Obama, culminating in recent weeks with angry exchanges over a U.N. resolution condemning Israels settlement expansion. But the prime minister appears to be on much better terms with President-elect Donald Trump, with the two men sharing warm words for one another on Twitter. Ruth Eglash contributed to this report. In todays global marketplace, any person with internet access is a potential buyer or seller of goods and services. Randy Reeg sees it that way. The city administrator for the city of Thorp, population of about 1,600 located about 45 minutes east of Eau Claire, made bringing broadband or high-speed internet access a priority the past two years and its paid off. Charter Communications is investing about $800,000 in Thorp to bring its services, including broadband, to the city. Charter, which serves several communities surrounding Thorp, began infrastructure work to connect the community in November. Reeg is optimistic Charter will roll out its services very soon. We identified that access to fast, reliable and affordable broadband isnt less important for a rural community, its actually more important because if we want people to invest here, move here and open a business here, (broadband service) is something we have to be able to provide, Reeg said. Its also about bringing opportunities to Thorp. Twenty-five years ago, people in Thorp probably wouldnt be customers to people in Madison or Green Bay or Milwaukee unless they were traveling there, Reeg said. Were all interconnected now, so when everyone is connected through fast, reliable broadband, it opens up markets and opportunities in both directions. This sentiment is shared by state officials and business leaders who agree that more communities with broadband access strengthens Wisconsins position as it competes with neighboring states for new business and on the global stage to buy and sell goods and services. The broader interest here is that for Wisconsin to move ahead as a whole as a state, (broadband) is a really important service that needs to be in place throughout the state, including the rural areas, said Tom Still, president of the Madison-based Wisconsin Technology Council. Still said Wisconsins economic health isnt just driven by its metropolitan centers including Madison and Milwaukee. All our urban, suburban and rural areas also have to be doing well, he said. For this state to move ahead, there has to be some ubiquitous infrastructure that helps the (state) economy in its entirety. More aid possible Gov. Scott Walker in December proposed increasing funding for broadband expansion and technology educational programs by $35.5 million. This would be in addition to the $16.5 million already earmarked for this effort if approved by state lawmakers. These dollars would help to encourage private investment and maximize the $570 million in federal Connect America Fund II dollars that are dedicated to bringing high-speed internet access to an estimated 230,000 homes and small businesses, mostly in rural areas of the state, that do not have broadband access, over a six-year period. Educating the public about the importance of broadband access also is part of the process. Angie Dickison, the states broadband director, whose office is part of the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, is leading the states efforts to help the rural communities streamline their processes to encourage more private investment from broadband service providers. Dickisons office recently launched the Broadband Forward Certified program, designed to standardize the steps required for a provider to bring its service into a community. The town of Clam Falls and Thorp have the designation, and other communities are examining the process. It really is a way for communities to put out the welcome mat, she said. Rural areas targeted The CAF dollars, managed by the Federal Communications Commission, are whats making it possible to deliver broadband access to the states rural areas. AT&T, CenturyLink and Frontier are the primary businesses utilizing the CAF funds and are tasked with bringing broadband service to Wisconsins unserved or underserved markets. Of the 230,000 targeted households and businesses, AT&T was provided $54 million to bring service to 24,513 new customers; CenturyLink was given $330 million to get service to 129,203 new customers and $186 million went to Frontier Communications to bring service to 76,735 new customers. Benchmarks in place show that 40 percent of eligible customers must have access by the end of 2017. The number increases by 20 percent increments in the following years, ending with between 95 and 100 percent deployment by 2020. Through this program, companies must at a minimum deliver download speeds in excess of 10 megabits per second and upload speeds of 1 megabit per second. The FCC considers this the minimum broadband speed, which should be more than adequate for basic tasks such as internet browsing, online commerce and video streaming. Companies that have accepted the CAF funds must report progress to the FCC. Reeg said Thorp already was served by CenturyLink, but city leaders wanted other options for broadband. Charter coming into our community provided competition and alternatives for residents, he said. A free market works well when there is competition. As more broadband infrastructure is placed, it opens doors for providers to connect to other nearby communities that may not have service. Certainly if (Charter) is more fully invested in a series of towns along Route 29, they are better poised to (expand) down the road, Reeg said. Wireless access With a stringent timetable in place, AT&T is looking at wireless technology as a strategy to deliver broadband access to the states rural areas. Its fixed wireless service is capable of delivering the CAF programs required speed, said Scott VanderSanden, president of AT&T Wisconsin. The company will introduce this service to Wisconsin in 2017. With the CAF funds, were investing more in our rural footprint in Wisconsin, he said. The federal dollars are working in conjunction with AT&Ts own investment to its communications infrastructure in Wisconsin. Between 2013 and 2015, AT&T estimates it has invested about $835 million in the state. For those receiving AT&Ts fixed wireless service, they will have a box installed on the exterior of their home or business, the size of a 12-inch pizza box, VanderSanden said. The box will receive a dedicated and secure wireless broadband signal. Broadband speeds available in urban areas today are considerably greater than 10 megabits per second, but for some areas just having access is welcome. There are many homes and businesses that have no alternative, so coming from that perspective, they will be pleased by (the speed), VanderSanden said. Faster speeds tested As providers are working to reach the most remote customers, efforts are ongoing to deliver even faster connections. Unrelated to its rural broadband initiatives, AT&T is testing 5G wireless service, which is projected to deliver speeds of between 10 and 100 times faster than 4G LTE, which is considered premium today, delivering download speeds of between 4 and 12 megabits per second. Millions of smartphone users whose growing use of video and other data-hungry applications are driving the need for faster service. VanderSanden said AT&T is not trialing 5G in Wisconsin. Rolling out this service will require the company to upgrade its existing wireless towers and install new ones to ensure coverage. It wont come to Wisconsin in 2017, its still a few years down the road, he said. Eventually it will be the new standard but it will take time for the industry to create the devices that can take advantage of that speed. German militant Harry Sarfo in an undated Islamic State propaganda video. He has been charged in Germany with murder and war crimes. An Islamic State defector who claimed in news interviews to have refused to commit violence for the group has been charged by German authorities with murder and war crimes for his role in a mass execution in Syria in 2015. Harry Sarfo, a 28-year-old German citizen, appeared in front-page articles and television broadcasts last year in which he offered a sanitized version of his involvement with the Islamic State and condemned the groups tactics. But his account began to unravel after The Washington Post obtained and published a video that showed Sarfo helping to move prisoners into position for a public execution in the ancient city of Palmyra, and apparently firing his own weapon as the men fell in a barrage of machine-gun fire. [ISIS defector said he was an innocent bystander. A new video questions his story.] Sarfos case highlighted the challenge facing European security services as they evaluate hundreds of returning fighters, many of whom have sought to obscure their ties to the Islamic State and involvement in violence. (Souad Mekhennet, Greg Miller, Jason Aldag/The Washington Post) The German federal prosecutors office in Karlsruhe issued a statement announcing the new charges against Sarfo, who appeared before a federal judge in Germany on Tuesday. The accused, who was armed with a pistol, personally took one of the detainees to the execution spot and prevented the others from escaping, the statement from German officials said, according to a report by Reuters. Sarfo, who is of Ghanaian descent, had been serving a three-year sentence at a prison in Bremen after being convicted on lesser charges of belonging to a terrorist organization and violating German weapons laws. But German authorities opened a new investigation after the release of the video, which was captured by Islamic State propaganda teams and provided to The Post by an individual with ties to the group. Sarfo had repeatedly denounced the Islamic State in interviews from prison that were approved by German authorities. He told German investigators that he had said no to the killings in Palmyra and made more categorical claims to news organizations. I refused. I did not raise my hand, Sarfo told the German broadcaster ZDF last year. ZDF worked with The Post on follow-up reporting about Sarfos account after the new video surfaced. Read more: The app of choice for jihadists: ISIS seizes on Internet tool to promote terror A snapshot of U.S. operations against the Islamic State ISIS is making its own ammunition almost as fast as it can fire it, report finds A group of more than 1,100 law school professors from across the country is sending a letter to Congress on Tuesday urging the Senate to reject the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) for attorney general. The letter, signed by professors from 170 law schools in 48 states, is also scheduled to run as a full-page newspaper ad aimed at members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will be holding confirmation hearings for Sessions on Jan. 10-11. We are convinced that Jeff Sessions will not fairly enforce our nations laws and promote justice and equality in the United States, states the letter, signed by prominent legal scholars including Laurence H. Tribe of Harvard Law School, Geoffrey R. Stone of the University of Chicago Law School, Pamela S. Karlan of Stanford Law School and Erwin Chemerinsky of the University of California at Irvine School of Law. [Trumps pick for attorney general is shadowed by race and history] The professors from every state except North Dakota and Alaska, which has no law school highlight the rejection of Sessionss nomination to a federal judgeship more than 30 years ago. Robin Walker Sterling of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, one of the organizers of the letter, said that 1,000 professors signed on within 72 hours. Clearly, there are many, many law professors who are very uneasy with the prospect of Attorney General Sessions, and they are willing to take a public stand in opposition to his nomination, she said. (Dalton Bennett/The Washington Post) The law professors wrote that some of them have concerns about Sessionss prosecution of three civil rights activists for voter fraud in Alabama in 1985, his support for building a wall along the nations southern border and his repeated opposition to legislative efforts to promote the rights of women and members of the LGBTQ community. [These are all of the law schools represented in the letter sent opposing Sen. Sessions] Nothing in Senator Sessions public life since 1986, the letter states, has convinced us that he is a different man than the 39-year-old attorney who was deemed too racially insensitive to be a federal district court judge. Sessionss former chief counsel William Smith, who is African American, has said that people who call Sessions racially insensitive are just lying. And they should stop the smear campaign. The people making these allegations against Senator Sessions dont know him, Smith said in an interview. In the last 30 years, they probably havent spent 10 hours with him. I spent 10 years working with him . . . as his top legal adviser. There are not statements that he made that are inappropriate. Allegations of racial insensitivity were made against Sessions at a 1986 Senate hearing when he was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to be a federal judge. His nomination was defeated after being opposed by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, People for the American Way and the NAACP, which is now protesting his nomination for attorney general, calling it despicable and unacceptable. Supporters of Sessions note that his nomination has been endorsed by Gerald A. Reynolds, a former chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. In a letter to the Judiciary Committees highest-ranking Republican and Democrat, Reynolds, who is African American, said, Sessions is a man of great character and integrity with a commitment to fairness and equal justice under the law. 1 of 35 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Heres a look at Trumps administration so far View Photos The men and women the president-elect has selected for his Cabinet and White House team. Caption The men and women the president-elect has selected for his Cabinet and White House team. Scott Gottlieb, nominee for commissioner of FDA President Trump is set to nominate Scott Gottlieb, a conservative physician and businessman with deep ties to the pharmaceutical industry, to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, a White House official said. Courtesy of American Enterprise Institute/via Reuters Wait 1 second to continue. More than 100 former U.S. attorneys who served under Democratic and Republican presidents have written to the Senate in support of his confirmation. Sarah Flores, a spokeswoman for Sessions, said Friday in response to the NAACP statement that Sessions has dedicated his career to upholding the rule of law, ensuring public safety and prosecuting government corruption. Many African-American leaders whove known him for decades attest to this and have welcomed his nomination to be the next Attorney General, Floress statement said. These false portrayals of Senator Sessions will fail as tired, recycled, hyperbolic charges that have been thoroughly rebuked and discredited. From the Fraternal Order of Police and the National Sheriffs Association to civil rights leaders and African-American elected officials, to victims rights organizations, Senator Sessions has inspired confidence from people across the country that he will return the Department of Justice to an agency the American people can be proud of once again. Read more: The civil rights case that haunts Donald Trumps pick for attorney general Jeff Sessions is expected to bring sweeping changes to the Justice Department President Trumps Justice Dept. could see less scrutiny of police, more surveillance of Muslims The investigation by officials began Friday, when the Vermont utility reported its alert to federal authorities, some of whom told The Washington Post that code associated with the Russian hackers had been discovered within the system of an unnamed Vermont utility. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images) As federal officials investigate suspicious Internet activity found last week on a Vermont utility computer, they are finding evidence that the incident is not linked to any Russian government effort to target or hack the utility, according to experts and officials close to the investigation. An employee at Burlington Electric Department was checking his Yahoo email account Friday and triggered an alert indicating that his computer had connected to a suspicious IP address associated by authorities with the Russian hacking operation that infiltrated the Democratic Party. Officials told the company that traffic with this particular address is found elsewhere in the country and is not unique to Burlington Electric, suggesting the company wasnt being targeted by the Russians. Indeed, officials say it is possible that the traffic is benign, since this particular IP address is not always connected to malicious activity. [U.S. intelligence officials say Russian hacks prioritized Democrats] The investigation by officials began Friday, when the Vermont utility reported its alert to federal authorities, some of whom told The Washington Post that code associated with the Russian hackers had been discovered within the system of an unnamed Vermont utility. On Friday evening, The Post published its report, and Burlington Electric released a statement identifying itself as the utility in question and saying the firm had detected the malware in a single laptop. The company said in its statement that the laptop was not connected to its grid systems. The Post initially reported incorrectly that the countrys electric grid had been penetrated through a Vermont utility. After Burlington Electric released its statement saying that the potentially compromised laptop had not been connected to the grid, The Post immediately corrected its article and later added an editors note explaining the change. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post) U.S. officials are continuing to investigate the laptop. In the course of their investigation, though, they have found on the device a package of software tools commonly used by online criminals to deliver malware. The package, known as Neutrino, does not appear to be connected with Grizzly Steppe, which U.S. officials have identified as the Russian hacking operation. The FBI, which declined to comment, is continuing to investigate how the malware got onto the laptop. Initially, company officials publicly said they had detected code that had been linked by the Department of Homeland Security to Grizzly Steppe. Over the weekend, the company issued a statement, saying only that it had detected suspicious Internet traffic on the computer in question. [Cybersecurity firm finds evidence that Russian military unit was behind DNC hack] The murkiness of the information underlines the difficulties faced by officials as they try to root out Grizzly Steppe and share with the public their findings on how the operation works. Experts say the situation was made worse by a recent government report, which they described as a genuine effort to share information with the industry but criticized as rushed and prone to causing confusion. Authorities also were leaking information about the utility without having all the facts and before law enforcement officials were able to investigate further. The incident comes as President-elect Donald Trump has cast doubt on the findings of intelligence officials that the Russians conducted a hacking operation designed to help him win the White House. Experts also said that because Yahoos mail servers are visited by millions of people each day, the fact that a Burlington Electric employee checking email touched off an alert is not an indication that the Russian government was targeting the utility. 1 of 74 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Heres what President-elect Donald Trump has been doing since the election View Photos He has been holding interviews and meetings as he prepares to transition into the White House. Caption He has been holding interviews and meetings as he prepares to enter the White House. Jan. 19, 2017 President-elect Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, visit the Lincoln Memorial before the Make America Great Again concert. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. Its not descriptive of anything in particular, said Robert M. Lee, chief executive of Dragos, a cybersecurity firm. The company said it was told much the same thing by authorities. Federal officials have indicated that the specific type of Internet traffic, related to recent malicious cyber activity that was reported by us [on Friday], also has been observed elsewhere in the country and is not unique to Burlington Electric, company spokesman Mike Kanarick said in a statement. The FBI and DHS released a report last week intended to prompt companies to search their systems for any evidence of a Russian hacking operation that they concluded had infiltrated Democratic Party servers. The document was intended to help companies mitigate Russian hacking and report any suspicious activity to the government. That report itself contained a caution regarding the suspicious IP addresses it listed: Upon reviewing the traffic from these IPs, some traffic may correspond to malicious activity, and some may correspond to legitimate activity. [Kremlin calls talk of Russian interference in U.S. elections absolute nonsense ] The discovery of the laptop issue has prompted criticism that the government provided overly broad information to companies that was not effective in isolating Russian government hacking. That report offered no technical value for defenders, Lee said. It was very much high level and nothing in there was specifically descriptive of Russian activity. Some in the administration are concerned that this episode with the Vermont utility will cause industry officials to avoid sharing information with the government, for fear that it will be leaked. The company in this case, the U.S. official said, did what it was supposed to do. Experts also expressed concerns regarding the report released by DHS and the FBI on the Russian hacking operation. The report said it was providing technical details regarding the tools and infrastructure used by the Russian civilian and military intelligence services to compromise and exploit political, government and private computer networks. The government released the document on the same day it announced a series of measures taken to punish the Russian government for its interference in the 2016 presidential election, including the DNC hacks. But a range of cybersecurity experts say that although the intention of the report was good, it lacked specific details that would enable firms to detect Russian government hackers. At least 30 percent of the IP addresses listed were commonly used sites such as public proxy servers used to mask a users location, and servers run by Amazon.com and Yahoo. (Amazons founder and chief executive, Jeffrey P. Bezos, owns The Washington Post.) The IP address information alone is not useful, experts noted. Moreover, a server that is used by Russian spies one year might be used by grannys bake shop the next, Lee said. No one should be making any attribution conclusions purely from the indicators in the [government] report, tweeted Dmitri Alperovitch, chief technology officer of CrowdStrike, which investigated the DNC hack and attributed it to the Russian government. It was all a jumbled mess. A senior DHS official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive security matter, defended the report. We know the Russians are a highly capable adversary who conduct technical operations in a manner intended to blend into legitimate traffic, the official said. The indicators of compromise contained in the report, he said, are indicative of that. Thats why its so important for net defenders to leverage the recommended mitigations contained in the [report], implement best practices, and analyze their logs for traffic emanating from those IPs, because the Russians are going to try and hide evidence of their intrusion and presence in the network. The official said the information shared was precisely the type of information DHS should be sharing, particularly since we know that cybersecurity capabilities differ among companies and organizations. The nations electrical grid is not a physical entity, but rather a series of networks that generate, transmit and distribute electricity. There are three primary networks--the Eastern Interconnect, Western Interconnect and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas--and smaller grids within those three groups. Each amounts to an industrial control system that dispatches electricity from where it is generated to the consumers who use it. While these systems include redundancies to prevent any disruptions in service, and human operators oversee them, the functioning of the countrys grid is also highly automated. Experts say that this results in the system being more vulnerable to hacking attacks. Utilities connected to the grid are routinely subjected to penetration efforts, but the U.S. electrical grid has never lost its transmission capacity because of such attempts. This is an example of the system working, and us getting bad things off our system as soon as theyre known, said Nathan Mitchell Sr., who directs electric reliability standards and security at the American Public Power Association. He added that while federal authorities inform utilities on a daily basis about potential threats to the grid, when it came to Thursdays joint report, A presidential directive and a high-profile release on this brought it to the forefront. Adam Entous contributed to this report. Read more: Heres what you need to know about Russias election hacking Obama administration announces measures to punish Russia for 2016 election interference Putin to Democratic Party: You lost, get over it A rebel fighter carries his weapon up a staircase on the fourth day of the truce in the rebel-held area Eastern Ghouta outside the Syrian capital. (Bassam Khabieh/Reuters) A Syrian cease-fire backed by Russia and Turkey is crumbling five days after it began, with government forces pushing offensives around Damascus and rebels threatening to suspend participation in new peace talks. The truce was to have been followed by a meeting between government representatives and mainstream rebel factions in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. But while fighting has largely ebbed in Syrias north, where Turkey wields influence over most rebel groups, troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have continued strategic offensives in the Damascus suburbs. In a statement published Monday, 10 rebel factions said they were suspending discussions regarding the Astana conference or the cease-fire until it is fully implemented. The groups cited major and frequent violations in the rebel-held areas of Wadi Barada and Eastern Ghouta outside the Syrian capital. [Cease-fire begins across Syria] Government advances there are aimed at consolidating control of the Damascus suburbs, weeks after the army pushed rebels from the northern city of Aleppo. In Wadi Barada, a river valley, an estimated 100,000 people have lived under siege since July, when Syrian and Lebanese Hezbollah troops cut access routes to a spring that provides 70 percent of Damascus residents with fresh water. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, said pro-government forces escalated attacks there Tuesday, using barrel bombs and deploying troops near the areas most important water source, the Ain al-Fijeh spring. Speaking from the valley, resident Ahmed Hassan said his town was on the brink of disaster. He declined to identify the town for security reasons. Our water is running out, as is the medicine and the food, he said. Fuel supplies are dwindling, he added, forcing families to huddle around fires as temperatures dip toward freezing. [Russia, Turkey announce intent to halt Syrian war] Fighting also continues in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta. After its victory in Aleppo, recapturing the enclave would give the army and its Russian and Iran-backed allies virtually secure control over Syrias two largest cities in less than a month, freeing up manpower for a final assault on what remains of the armed uprising in the northwest. Although Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed Syrias latest truce as a historic opportunity, experts and diplomats said its terms created pitfalls from the start. Most notably, the Syrian army said terrorist organizations would be excluded, implying that Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, an al- Qaeda affiliate and an influential component of Syrias armed opposition, would continue to be targeted. And on Monday, it was. The Syrian Observatory said airstrikes by unidentified aircraft hit a building used by the group, killing at least 25 people and wounding dozens more. But Western officials said privately that they feared the groups exclusion from the cease-fire would be used as an excuse for pro-government forces to pursue strategic objectives elsewhere, as in Damascus this week. [Syrias refugee crisis is altering the Middle East] The deals shaky progress also underscored the fact that no single player can fully deliver the government or the rebel side. While Russia has burnished its reputation as a mediator during talks with Turkey, it now appears unable to bring the Syrian government in line with the cease-fire. Turkey has also struggled to bring the most important rebel factions on board. While two of the highest-profile Islamist groups, Ahrar al-Sham and Nour al-Din al-Zinki, have agreed to uphold the cease-fire, they have not signed any agreement to attend peace talks. The U.N. Security Council offered tepid support for the Turkish and Russian initiative on Saturday, unanimously endorsing a resolution that encouraged a new cease-fire but stopping short of endorsing the official text put forward by Ankara and Moscow. Habib reported from Stockholm. Read more: Shaky start for new cease-fire launched in Syria without the U.S. Cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey begins across Syria Endgame in Aleppo, the most decisive battle yet in Syrias war Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Prominent congressional Democrats and Republicans are calling for new sanctions against Russia as part of the ongoing campaign for an intensification of Washingtons economic and military confrontation with Moscow. No evidence has been presented to the public substantiating the drumbeat of charges that the Russian government, under the direct supervision of President Vladimir Putin, organized the hacking of Democratic Party email accounts and release of information damaging to the presidential campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. This has not prevented the Democratic Party, a section of the Republican Party and most of the corporate-controlled media, spearheaded by the New York Times and the Washington Post, from treating the allegations as fact and agitating for more severe reprisals against Moscow than those announced last week by President Barack Obama. The anti-Russian campaign has echoes of the lies fabricated by the Bush administration and US intelligence agencies and promoted by the media about supposed weapons of mass destruction that preceded the 2003 invasion of Iraq. This time, however, the target is the second largest nuclear power in the world. The hysterical and McCarthyite character of the propaganda offensive is a reflection of a bitter conflict within the state and the foreign policy and military/intelligence establishment over policy issues. President-elect Donald Trump and a section of the Republican Party are questioning the supposed intelligence linking the Kremlin to the election campaign hacks and pledging to seek improved relations with Moscow after Trump is inaugurated on January 20. This faction considers the focus on Russia for possible military attack a distraction from the more pressing target: China. Lined up on the other side are virtually the entire Democratic Party and prominent Republicans, led by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain. In remarks delivered while heading up a bipartisan congressional delegation visiting the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), Ukraine and Georgia, McCain declared that the United States must stand up to Putin. McCain called for tougher sanctions on top of Obamas expulsion of 35 diplomats and closure of Russian facilities in the US. Joining McCain in the tour of flash points in the US/NATO military buildup in Eastern Europe were South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar. The trip was designed to demonstrate American support for the right-wing, anti-Russian regimes in these countries. In an interview on Ukrainian television, McCain called the alleged Russian hacking of Democratic National Committee email servers an act of war, and added, We have to make sure that there is a price to pay. In an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the US government-funded propaganda outlet, McCain and his colleagues rejected any Faustian bargain that might be negotiated between Trump and Putin aimed at easing tensions. Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called for the provision of lethal defensive weapons to the Ukrainian government, declaring, Were going to do two things: Were going after Putin harder with tougher sanctions and were going to be more helpful to our friends, like here in Ukraine. Graham ruled out congressional support for any deal by Trump to recognize Russias annexation of the Crimean Peninsula following a 2014 referendum in the former Ukrainian territory. In Ukraine, McCain spent New Years Eve with his fellow senators posing for photo ops with Ukrainian troops involved in the counterinsurgency war against pro-Russian separatists in the countrys east. The Democrats have played the leading role in promoting the allegations that Russia was behind the DNC email hacks. Representative Adam Schiff of Southern California, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, vowed in an interview Sunday on ABC News This Week program that Congress would work to prevent Trump from reversing the Obama administrations aggressive policy against Moscow. He said: The direction is going to be even more vigorous, Im convinced, in favor of stronger sanctions against Russia. Youre going to see Democrats and Republicans like McCain and Graham and others come together with a strong sanction package. Schiff attacked Trump for questioning the US spy apparatus. If hes going to have any credibility as president, he needs to stop talking this way, Schiff declared. He needs to stop denigrating the intelligence community Hes going to have to rely on them. McCain has scheduled a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing for Thursday on the alleged Russian hacking. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency (NSA), have been called to testify. Clapper has already perjured himself at least once before Congress, lying point-blank in 2013 when asked if the NSA spies on the American population. In a television interview Sunday morning, Sean Spicer, Donald Trumps transition spokesman and incoming press secretary, reiterated Trumps skepticism toward the claims of Russian hacking in the US election campaign. Significantly, however, he sought to redirect the furor over alleged cyber warfare by pointing the finger at China. In 2015, China took over a million records, sensitive data on people like me who had worked in the government at any time, Spicer said, referring to a similarly unsubstantiated media campaign against China in the aftermath of the hacking of the federal governments Office of Personnel Management database. A White House statement wasnt even issued. No action publicly was taken So there is a question about whether theres a political retribution here versus a diplomatic response, he said. The Australian governments illegal border protection regime, involving the overseas detention of all asylum seekers who arrive by boat, has claimed yet another victim. On December 20, Faysal Ishak Ahmed, a 27-year-old asylum seeker from Sudan, suffered a seizure and collapsed in the Australian-controlled detention centre on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea (PNG). He remained in the camp until the afternoon of December 23, when he was finally transferred to a properly equipped hospital, the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital in Queensland. Doctors were unable to save his life, however, and Ahmed was pronounced dead on Christmas Eve. The refugees death was met with bitter protests on Manus Island, with several refugees reportedly taking part in a disturbance in which they took control of two compounds. Reports have emerged alleging that Ahmeds health problems were ignored by detention centre staff. Detainees on Manus Island have told ABC News and Fairfax Media that Ahmed was repeatedly turned away by medical staff at the detention centres clinic run by the International Health and Medical Service (IHMS), despite his repeated complaints over a six-month period of chest pains, fevers, stomach pains and high blood pressure. Fairfax Media released a photograph of a complaint letter written by Ahmed to IHMS nine days before he died. In the letter Ahmed asked why he has had more than 20 visits to the clinic but was still provided with no diagnosis. He wrote that he had chest, heart, high pressure and also nose block [sic]. He also described a problem at the back of my head. He was supported by 60 asylum seekers, who signed a letter addressed to IHMS demanding better treatment. A week after writing the complaint letter, Ahmed returned to the clinic one last time. He told his friends once he returned to the compound that the doctor had told him there was nothing wrong with him. Three days later he died. Abdul Aziz Adam, 24, a friend of Ahmeds also imprisoned on the island, told reporters that Ahmed said to him prior to his death, I dont get to see the doctor, I always see the nurse and then the nurse tells me you dont have anything, but I feel I have a problem. Adam added that this system is designed to kill us one by one. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection released a brief statement on Ahmeds death declaring that the Department is not aware of any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and the death will be reported to the Queensland Coroner. Ahmed is the fourth asylum seeker to die on Manus Island. The others were Kamil Hussain, who drowned in August 2016; Reza Barati, murdered during a disturbance on Manus Island that was orchestrated by Australian authorities in February 2014; and Hamid Kehazaei, an Iranian refugee who died in September 2014 from a treatable blood-borne virus. Just weeks before Ahmeds death, a coronial inquest revealed that Kehazaeis death was a consequence of the Australian immigration departments actions in preventing Kehazaeis transfer, coupled with the appalling conditions and sub-standard medical equipment on Manus Island. For much of Ahmeds life he had been living in refugee camps. His family was displaced from his hometown in the Darfur region in Sudan in 2004, and afterwards moved into the Kasab refugee camp in north Darfur. The conditions in this camp are brutal. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that in Ahmeds application for asylum in Australia, he described how in the Kasab camp he had refused to be recruited by the same militias that had tortured him, killed several members of his family and raped his sister. He fled in July 2013, leaving his nine-month old son and wife behind, in a desperate attempt to reach safety in Australia and secure a better life for his family. He managed to travel to Indonesia, where he lived for two months in extreme poverty. By September 2013 he managed to get on a boat to Australia, which was then intercepted by the Australian navy. He and everyone on board was forcibly imprisoned on the Manus Island detention centre. For three years he languished in the camp. Among the many cruelties he suffered was having to hide under his bed only metres from where Reza Barati was murdered, when local security guards rampaged through the camp in February 2014. Australian Greens Senator Di Natale declared that Ahmeds death was completely preventable and that it is the latest symbol of cruelty, inhumanity and heartlessness of these camps. Di Natale called for yet another Senate inquiry into the Australian-run camps, and was backed by Labors immigration spokeswomen Shayne Neumann. This is a cynical attempt by the Greens and Labor to cover up their responsibility for the latest atrocity on Manus Island. The 2010-2013 Greens-backed minority Labor government revived and extended the former Howard governments notorious Pacific Solution, which involved reopening the Manus detention camp. Responsibility for Ahmeds death, as with the deaths of numerous other refugees both inside and outside Australias detention centres, rests with the reactionary border protection regime and the entire political establishment that supports it. Teen Boy Allegedly Kills 16-Year-Old Maryland Girl and Wounds Her Mother Before Turning Gun on Himself A 16-year-old Maryland girl is dead, her mother injured and their alleged 15-year-old attacker is in critical condition from an apparent suicide attempt following an early New Years Day shooting in the girls Maryland home, PEOPLE confirms. Mom Suzanne Zaremba, 52, of Ellicott City, heard a scuffle in her daughters bedroom around 2 a.m. Jan. 1 and went to investigate, according to a Howard County police statement. As she entered the room, the male suspect allegedly fired a shot at her, and then at Zarembas daughter Charlotte, 16, before using the gun to shoot himself in the head, police said. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. The suspect, who was not identified by police because of his age, was taken from the girls bedroom to the University of Maryland Medical Centers Shock Trauma Center, where he remains in critical condition, police said. It is unclear if he had any connection to the victims, according to the statement. Police did not release a motive. Suzanne Zaremba was treated for a non-life threatening injury and released. Nick Novak, principal at Howard High School, identified Charlotte as a 10th grader at the school and said in a letter to the schools families that Charlottes classmates were alerted to the sad news in first-period classrooms today, reports Ellicott City Patch. During guided discussions as needed, our teachers will help students talk about their feelings and reactions and identifying coping resources at school and in the community, Novak wrote. Pick up PEOPLEs special edition True Crime Stories: Cases That Shocked America, on sale now, for the latest on Casey Anthony, JonBenet Ramsey and more. She was just really sweet, and a good friend, Isabella Kushner, a friend of the victim, told WJZ. Kushner added, The entire community of Howard County is just trying to support everybody, and her family. Family friend Elisa Kamens, who told Fox45 that she saw Charlotte over the Christmas holiday, said, Its just horrific. Texas Children Who Died From Pesticide Poisoning Remembered by Community: There Was a Lot of Love in That Family Dozens in a Texas community gathered for a vigil to remember four children who died after breathing in a toxic gas that was accidentally released into their Northeast Amarillo home. The Balderas children, ranging in age from 7 to 17, died on Monday and their parents and four siblings have been hospitalized since the incident. At least 100 people gathered near the familys home to mourn the deaths. There was a lot of love in that family and still is, Nichole Wells told KFDA on Monday. Theyll wave, theyre polite, theyre respectful. They were just such a great family, and they really know what it was to be a family. Thats for sure. The deceased are: Felipe, 7; Josue, 11; Johnnie, 9 and 17-year-old Yasmeen Balderas, Justice of the Peace Gary L. Jackson tells PEOPLE. Officials said someone sprayed a pesticide to kill mice under the home and later tried to wash it away with water. This combination caused a dangerous chemical reaction that created the deadly phosphine gas that the children lived with for an unknown number of days, according to a statement from the Amarillo Fire Department obtained by PEOPLE. Authorities responded to a call related to carbon monoxide poisoning at around 5 a.m. They arrived to find Felipe unresponsive and unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate the child, KVII reports. He died at the scene. The other three children died later at the hospital, according to KVII. Their mother, Martha, was taken to Lubbocks University Medical Center where she was listed in critical condition, Amarillo Globe-News reports. Their father, Peter, along with their four siblings were in stable condition on Monday. Theyre a good family, neighbor James Compton told the publication. They were very family oriented and took care of their family. The whole family is friendly. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help cover funeral costs for the family. Illinois Mom to Adopt Terminally Ill Best Friends Four Kids: Were Family Now The kids are taking it as well as they can, an update on the fundraiser reads. One of them isnt allowed to eat yet due to lingering effects but the younger two are eating and responding well. An update posted early on Tuesday noted that Martha was not awake, but responded to questions last night by hand squeezing. Colorado authorities say they've found a child's body in an icy pound near where a 6-year-old boy vanished outside his own home New Year's Eve. In the days since David Puckett disappeared, the FBI and other agencies went door-to-door searching for the boy within 2.5 miles of his Aurora home and enlisted the help of bloodhounds as his terrified family was clinging to hope. Read: Young Mom Dies in Front of Her 1-Year-Old Son While Recording Facebook Live Video Three days into the search for David, the Aurora Police Department announced they had discovered the body of a child beneath the ice of a frozen pond in an area park. The announcement came after 1 p.m. Eastern Monday and while police have not initially identified the body as that of David Puckett, authorities said they informed the boy's family of their find. "UPDATE: Body of child found deceased in pond # FindingDavid # AMBERAlert" the department tweeted. On Monday night, the reward for information leading to finding David increased to $10,000. David's mother said he was last seen at his home in the Olympic Park area at about 5:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve. "David, he is a good kid," Stephanie Puckett told reporters Monday. "I am worried, with how cold it is, that something really bad might have happened to him." Temperatures in the area dipped to about 20 degrees Fahrenheit in the days since David vanished. Read: 4 Children Killed After 'Restricted-Use' Pesticide Likely Formed Toxic Gas When Mixed With Water "The coat he is wearing, it is not a very thick coat," the tearful mother said. "If you guys can, please help me find him." Story continues According to CBS Denver, police said David has a history of wandering away from home. Watch: Man Missing from NYC Party Found Stabbed to Death Inside Suitcase in Shallow Grave: Report Related Articles: Serious cineastes started to watch Jenkins as far back as 2008, when the Florida State U. grad made a black-and-white feature called Medicine for Melancholy on a budget of about $15,000. That bittersweet debut premiered at SXSW, landing him an agent at CAA and a deal with Focus Features. But it wasnt until Jenkins resurfaced eight years later with Moonlight that the rest of the world suddenly took note of his talent. After the frustration of working on a couple movies that never got made, Jenkins who got by doing shorts and branded content in the interim decided to scale back and tackle a more personal project, adapting an unproduced play by fellow Miami native Tarell Alvin McCraney. We grew up in the same neighborhood and went to some of the same schools, says Jenkins, whose eureka moment was inspired by the Hou Hsiao-Hsien film Three Times, deciding to divide the structure into three chapters played by separate actors. Though Jenkins first two features both center on contemporary black protagonists, Medicine is a talky, eloquent first-date movie set over the course of a single day, while Moonlight is more visually driven, its meaning conveyed through action and atmosphere, as events span nearly a decade in a young mans life. Indeed, Jenkins is drawn to many different genres. Ultimately, I like making movies about people, and I think those people often dictate the aesthetic of a film. The movie I worked on before this was a memoir called Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man, and it could not be more different: There were hardly any black people in that movie, and yet I cared about it as much as I care about this one, says Jenkins, who admires directors such as David Fincher who create a massive space in which to tell compelling narratives, insisting, Theres no reason a story like Moonlight shouldnt be as big as Captain America. Age: 37 Influences: Wong Kar Wai, Steven Soderbergh, David Fincher Story continues Agents: Jay Baker and Alex Mehbed at CAA Manager: Jewerl Ross at Silent R Lawyer: James Felman at Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman Related stories 10 Directors to Watch: Geremy Jasper Finds Fresh Beat in Sundance-Bound 'Patti Cake$' 10 Directors to Watch: The Malloy Brothers' Surf Background a Perfect Fit for 'The Tribes of Palos Verdes' 10 Directors to Watch: Julia Ducournau Reveals 'Raw' Side of French Cinema The death of a loved one can be devastating. The feelings of sadness, loss and anger are deep and painful. We may even wonder, Am I going crazy? However, these are all normal grief responses. Sharing our experiences and feelings with other people who have experienced similar losses is the first step in overcoming the heavy burden of grief. The La Crescent Community Bereavement Program, both educational and supportive, is a place to learn how to manage your pain and discover how to avoid unnecessary pain. This program will provide a framework for moving through the steps of grieving. Through acknowledging and engaging the grief responses, you gain a sense of hope. By actively mourning the death and setting your intention to heal, you can create peace within yourself. Crucifixion Catholic Church, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, and La Crescent United Methodist Church are collaborating to offer a grief support group. The group will be facilitated by nurses and counselors and assisted by clergy. This program is free and is open to anyone. The program will be offered the second and fourth Thursdays of the month from 1:30-3 p.m. starting Feb. 9 at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. Each meeting will include an educational portion and time for sharing personal experiences. For more information and/or to register, call Jane Welch at 507-894-4521 by Jan. 22. In Pastor Greg Nelsons service with grieving parishioners, he comments, I find that when we try to go through the process of adjusting to significant loss by ourselves, we often get stuck in a bad place for a long time. Healing is possible. With good support, learning some useful principles for recovery and seeing that others are going through the same things, we can move forward and find true healing. There is no magic fix, but there is genuine healing. Nelson is pastor at La Crescent Methodist Church. The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College, The Short List: Grad School and The Short List: Online Programs to find data that matter to you in your college or graduate school search. Not everyone enters college straight out of high school. In some cases, the college experience doesn't happen until later in life. A student might transition immediately from high school into the workforce, for example, or enlist in the military, deciding years down the road that a bachelor's degree can boost his or her job prospects. Among the 11 U.S. News-ranked schools with the highest percentage of students 25 and older in fall 2015, the average was 66 percent. The Metropolitan College of New York topped the list, where 82 percent of its 779 undergraduates fell into that category. [Discover how to stand out as a nontraditional college applicant.] But among all 1,116 ranked schools that submitted these data to U.S. News in an annual survey, the average percentage of older students was significantly lower, at just 13.7 percent. Seven of the schools on the list are designated as Rank Not Published, or RNP, meaning that they rank in the bottom one-fourth of their ranking category. In those cases, U.S. News calculates a rank for the school but has decided not to publish it. Liberty University in Virginia and Cardinal Stitch University in Wisconsin are the only National Universities on the list; these schools offer programs at the undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels. The remainder are either Regional Universities -- which have a range of undergraduate programs and some master's but few doctoral programs -- or Regional Colleges, which focus on undergraduate education but grant fewer than half their degrees in the liberal arts. Story continues [Get the full college experience as a nontraditional student.] Liberty University and the for-profit DeVry University also have significantly higher enrollment than the other schools on the list. That's because the two universities are designed with working adult students in mind; both have high online student enrollment, for example, and DeVry has satellite campuses across the U.S. Other schools on the list offer special programs for older students. Jacksonville University in Florida, for instance, has its Accelerated Degree Program, designed for working adults pursuing a bachelor's degree. Below are the 11 colleges that had the highest percentages of students 25 and older in fall 2015, including ties. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report. Don't see your school on this list? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find enrollment data, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights. U.S. News surveyed more than 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2016 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News' data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News' rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools or Best Online Programs. The enrollment data above are correct as of Jan. 3, 2017. Jordan Friedman is an online education editor at U.S. News. You can follow him on Twitter or email him at jfriedman@usnews.com. MANILA, Philippines (AP) In a story Jan. 3 about a visit by the Russian navy to the Philippines, The Associated Press erroneously quoted Rear Adm. Eduard Mikhailov, deputy commander of Russia's Pacific Fleet, as saying, "You can choose ... to cooperate with United States of America or to cooperate with Russia." Mikhailov's translator said, "And of course everybody have the choice, and you can choice, you can choose how to cooperate for example with United States of America and how to cooperate with the Russian (unintelligible)." A corrected version of the story is below: Russia eyes naval drills with Philippines as 2 ships visit Russia is eyeing naval exercises with the Philippines and deployed two navy ships for a goodwill visit to Manila as Moscow moves to expand defense ties with a Filipino president known for being hostile to the United States MANILA, Philippines (AP) Russia is eyeing naval exercises with the Philippines and deployed two navy ships for a goodwill visit to Manila on Tuesday as Moscow moves to expand defense ties with a Filipino president known for being hostile to the U.S. Rear Adm. Eduard Mikhailov, deputy commander of Russia's Pacific Fleet, led the five-day visit of vessels including an anti-submarine ship and showcased what his country can offer to a Southeast Asian nation that's long been a staunch American treaty ally. "And of course everybody have the choice, and you can choice, you can choose how to cooperate for example with United States of America and how to cooperate with the Russian (unintelligible)," Mikhailov told reporters through an interpreter at the Manila harbor after a welcoming ceremony. "But from our side we can help you in every way that you need." "We are sure that in the future we'll have exercises with you. Maybe, just maneuvering or maybe use of combat systems and so on," he said. The anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs and sea tanker Boris Butoma have a wide range of combat features. Filipinos will be allowed to tour the huge ships and Russian marines will demonstrate their combat capability during the high-profile visit, according to the Philippine navy. Story continues With an underfunded and underequipped military, the Philippines has struggled to deal with attacks by ransom-seeking Abu Sayyaf militants and allied gunmen, who have kidnapped crewmen of tugboats and ships from neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia in the Sulu Sea and outlying waters. Russia can help through future combat drills, Mikhailov said. "We have an experience in fighting these (threats)," he said. "We will share to you our knowledge on these problems, how to solve piracy and terrorism." After Russian and Philippine officials met in Manila in August, the two countries began drafting a proposed defense cooperation accord that could be signed during a planned visit by President Rodrigo Duterte to Russia in April. The visit by the Russian navy ships is the third to the Philippines and the first under Duterte, who took office in June. Duterte has lashed out at outgoing President Barack Obama and his administration for criticizing Duterte's deadly crackdown on illegal drugs which is feared to have left more than 6,000 suspected drug users and dealers. Contrastingly, Duterte has reached out to China and Russia whose leaders he has met recently in a dramatic shift in Philippine foreign policy that has put Washington in a dilemma. The Philippines has depended heavily on the U.S., its treaty ally, for weapons, ships and aircraft for years, although it has turned to other countries for defense equipment. After visiting Moscow last month, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Philippine military was considering purchasing sniper rifles from Russia. Duterte has repeatedly threatened to scale back U.S. troop presence and joint exercises with the Americans in the Philippines. What do Elizabeth Holmes, John Stumpf, D.J. Koh and Hillary Clinton all have in common? A really bad year theyd just as soon forget. Theyre not alone in that respect; wed like to forget it too. Holmes and Theranos are being sued by investors, customers and Walgreens who say they were defrauded by the charismatic entrepreneur and her flawed blood testing technology. And Stumpf lost his cushy CEO job and gave up at least $41 million in stock because he pushed Wells Fargo employees too hard to meet overzealous sales goals. Meanwhile, Koh may have cut some corners on quality and reliability testing in an effort to rush Samsungs Galaxy Note 7 out the door. Now he has a botched recall of 2.5 million phones that may spontaneously catch fire at any time on his hands. Lucky for him, 2.8 million recalled Samsung washing machines are not his department. And had Clinton chosen not to use a private email server for U.S. State Department business and spend months hemming and hawing about it, she might very well be heading to the White House in a few weeks. Besides a bad year, all four leaders have something else in common. Underlying their troubles is a growing cultural phenomenon that makes it more and more acceptable for leaders to play by their own rules, integrity be damned. What that amounts to is ethics and quality taking a backseat to wealth and power. It was bad enough when leaders used the ends justify the means excuse, employing questionable means to achieve noble ends. Never mind that. Now its the ends we have to worry about. Of course, theyre still shrouded in noble-sounding rhetoric, but the goals of a growing swath of todays leaders are anything but virtuous. Tech startups used to be about creating great products, achieving sustainable growth and profitability, maybe an IPO and a company built to last. Everyone wins. Today, its all about growth for growths sake. Popular memes like fake it til you make it and move fast and break things have become euphemistic licenses for entrepreneurs to break the rules. Story continues We now have dozens of wildly overvalued unicorns, many of which are addicted to a cycle of making over-the-top investor pitches with overstated claims and fudged revenue projections to raise more capital at higher valuations. The result is the corruption of a once virtuous process and a private equity bubble that benefits no one. How else can we explain the way Holmes became one of the most celebrated entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, raising more than $750 million at a most recent valuation of $9 billion, based on claims of a technology breakthrough that had never actually been vetted by anyone? Sure, she had a vision of bringing real-time diagnostics to the masses at affordable prices from a few drops of blood. But anyone can dream up and sell a far-fetched idea. Without the talent and ability to bring it to fruition, the means can become a slippery slope of deception to justify ends that are little more than fantasy. Parker Conrad, the hard-charging founder and CEO of HR benefits startup Zenefits, was forced to step down in February when it was discovered that he was helping unlicensed salespeople circumvent state regulations and illegally sell health insurance to businesses to accelerate growth. The company ended up taking a $2.5 billion hit to its valuation. Bloomberg BusinessWeek has accused Hampton Creek founder and CEO Josh Tetrick of sending out hundreds of overzealous Creekers to buy up millions of dollars of inventory of the companys flagship product, Just Mayo, in an effort to overinflate revenues and raise capital at a higher valuation. And Jessica Albas Honest Company got nailed by the Wall Street Journal for making products with a chemical it deemed toxic when its labels expressly said they were made without it. That led to lawsuits, layoffs and talks of a sale to Unilever at far less than its once lofty $1.7 billion valuation. Never mind the irony of the companys name. The phenomenon is hardly limited to the startup world. Despite discovering that thousands of employees were creating millions of fake accounts to meet his eight is great sales goal (eight Wells Fargo products per customer), Stumpf foolishly stuck by his mission. Why? Thats what hed pitched investors. That was apparently more important than defrauding customers. In the movie Grosse Pointe Blank, John Cusacks character sites moral flexibility as the attribute that landed him a job as an assassin with the CIA. Not exactly the kind of characteristic you want to have in someone running a big bank, diagnosing diseases, making incendiary products you take everywhere, or commanding the most powerful nation on Earth. And yet, here we are. Lets hope morals get a little backbone in 2017. Related Articles House Republicans on Tuesday reversed course on a vote to gut the Office of Congressional Ethicsan independent watchdog created to investigate allegations of corruption and misconduct by lawmakers. The controversial vote was swiftly criticized by Democrats and government watchdog organizations. And Republicans accepted a motion to restore current Office of Congressional Ethics rulesafter President-elect Donald Trump criticized their priorities. The office investigates lawmakers but cannot punish them and does not officially determine guilt. Here are three key Office of Congressional Ethics investigations: Azerbaijan-funded conference In 2013, Azerbaijans state-owned oil company secretly funded a trip to a conference in Baku for 10 members of Congress, some of their spouses and 32 staff members, the Washington Post reported in 2015, citing a confidential ethics report. The report accused the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic of funneling $750,000 through U.S. nonprofit corporations, which falsely told Congress they were sponsoring the conference. The report found that the legislators and their staff members had received hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel expenses, silk scarves and Azerbaijani rugs. But it determined there was no evidence the lawmakers had known the conference was funded by a foreign government, the Post reported. Outgoing Florida Rep. Alan Grayson An Office of Congressional Ethics investigation last year found that outgoing Florida Rep. Alan Grayson, a Democrat, might have used his office and staff for personal financial matters as well as for his U.S. Senate bid, the New York Times reported. The report said Grayson might have allowed one of his House staff members to use official resources for work on his family-run hedge fun. But Grayson denied the accusation and said the staffer was paid separately to work on financial matters outside of the office one day per week. Story continues Grayson denied any wrongdoing, and the House Ethics Committee did not launch a further investigation into the accusations, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan An OCE report released in May 2012 found substantial reason to believe that Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan had violated federal law and Congressional rules by attempting to influence the testimony of a former business partner, who was a witness in a federal inquiry about campaign finance violations. Before agreeing to pay his ex-business partner a $2.9 million settlement from a business dispute, Buchanan tried to get him to sign a legal affidavit that he knew to be false, the New York Times reported, citing the investigation. Buchanan denied the charges, and a House Ethics Committee cleared Buchanan last year, citing insufficient evidence and concluding a four-year investigation that followed the recommendation of the Office of Congressional Ethics. Though the academic prerequisites for applying to medical school remain generally standard from year to year, it is important to look beyond these when crafting an application. Each year, many more qualified individuals apply to U.S. medical schools than are admitted. While this may be frightening, a nuanced understanding of programs' desires and current admissions trends may give you the edge you need to secure coveted interviews and acceptances. Arm yourself with knowledge to put your best foot forward during the 2017-2018 admissions cycle. Here are three medical school admissions trends to consider. [Follow a medical school application timeline.] 1. Increased competition: Medical school admissions is difficult -- that is a given. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, 53,042 prospective students applied to medical school in the 2016-2017 cycle, and a mere 21,030 students matriculated into U.S. programs. That is roughly 40 percent. The average MCAT score for applicants was 501.8, while the average score for matriculating students raised the bar even higher, to 508.7. What is perhaps most daunting is that these data suggest that medical schools are consistently becoming more competitive. In October 2015, the AAMC reported 52,550 total applicants -- an increase of 6.2 percent from the previous year. Students applying during the 2017-2018 admissions cycle will likely see more of the same. As you prepare your application, it is important to keep this sense of "upping the ante" in mind. You may have a fantastic MCAT score and a strong GPA, but so do thousands of other prospective doctors. You might therefore consider applying to several more programs than were originally on your short list. If your list contains only M.D. schools, you might research D.O. programs, as well. With the ongoing merge of accreditation systems, both M.D. and D.O. schools are great options for future physicians. [Explore how medical school education is changing.] 2. Greater attention to social media: No patient wishes to Google his or her doctor and find an unflattering picture of said physician from a long-ago spring break. Greater selectivity in the medical school admissions process means that programs may filter applicants based on their online presences. Story continues Medical schools expect their incoming class to already carry the professional image expected of a doctor -- in other words, programs seek mature applicants who have exhibited behavior consistent with respect for self, others and the environment. Before you apply to medical school, search for yourself online. Are there any inappropriate comments or photographs that you would not want a future employer to see? We are now entering an era in which many medical school applicants will have grown up online in a semipublic eye, perhaps never considering how their social media posts might harm their future ambitions. Take down those pictures, make your accounts truly private and begin to build your professional online presence. [Get medical school application tips from the experts.] 3. Increased reliance on holistic methods of evaluation: Your MCAT results and transcript are extremely important. They are proof that you can handle the academic rigors of medical school, and they are among the factors that can positively influence an admissions committee. But programs are increasingly examining not only your academic strengths but also your personal strengths. Are you a leader? Have you exhibited compassion? Are you resilient? Medical schools try to answer these questions, among others, as they evaluate you as a candidate. As you complete your application, take the time to think about qualities that you wish to highlight for admissions committees -- and then pair them with competitive academic data. Cassie Kosarek is a professional tutor with Varsity Tutors, a live learning platform that connects students with personalized instruction to accelerate academic achievement. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Bryn Mawr College and is a member of the Class of 2020 at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College. Many investors like to look for value in stocks, but this can be very tough to define. There is great debate regarding which metrics are the best to focus on in this regard, and which are not really quality indicators of future performance. Fortunately, with our new style score system we have identified the key statistics to pay close attention to and thus which stocks might be the best for value investors in the near term. This method discovered several great candidates for value-oriented investors, but today lets focus on Hitachi, Ltd. HTHIY as this stock is looking especially impressive right now. And while there are numerous reasons why this is the case, we have highlighted three of the most vital reasons for HTHIYs status as a solid value stock below: Forward PE for Hitachi Easily one of the most popular readings for value investors, the forward PE ratio shows us the current price of a stock divided by the full year earnings. Generally speaking, value investors like to see this ratio below 20, though it can vary by industry. Right now, HTHIY has a forward PE of just 13.33, which means that investors are paying $13.33 for each dollar in expected Hitachi earnings this year. Compared to the industry at large this is pretty favorable as the overall space has an average PE of 17.55 in comparison. HITACHI PE Ratio (TTM) HITACHI PE Ratio (TTM) | HITACHI Quote PEG Ratio for HTHIY While earnings are definitely important, it is vital to know how much you are paying for the growth of earnings as well. One can easily do that with the PEG ratio as this metric looks to show investors how much they are paying for each unit of earnings growth. HTHIY manages to impress on this front as well, as the companys PEG is just 1.03, suggesting that Hitachi is trading as a relative bargain right now. This is particularly the case when you compare this PEG to the industry, as the broader segment has an average PEG of 1.95 in comparison. Story continues HTHIY Earnings Estimate Revisions Moving in the Right Direction The solid value ratios outlined in the preceding paragraphs might be enough for some investors, but we should also note that the earnings estimate revisions have been trending in a positive direction as well. Analysts who follow HTHIY stock have been raising their estimates for the company lately, meaning that the EPS picture is looking a bit more favorably for Hitachi now. Over the past 60 days, 1 earnings estimates have gone higher compared to none lower for the full year, while we are also seeing that 1 estimate has move upwards with no downward revision for the next year time frame too. These revisions have helped to boost the consensus estimate as 60 days ago HTHIY was expected to post earnings of $4.01 per share for the full year though today it looks to have EPS of $4.05 for the full year. Bottom Line For the reasons detailed above, investors shouldnt be surprised to read that we have HTHIY as a stock with a Value Score of A and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. So if you are a value investor, definitely keep HTHIY on your short list as this looks to be a stock that is very well-positioned for gains in the near term. Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017 In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest tickers for the entirety of 2017? Who wouldn't? These 10 are painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. They are our primary picks to buy and hold. Be among the very first to see them >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report HITACHI (HTHIY): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research As many students are aware, a comprehensive redesign of the SAT was introduced in March 2016. As part of this revision, the essay section is now optional. The essay focus has also changed and become more rigorous. As a result, some older SAT preparatory resources may have little relevance beyond the basics of planning and style that apply to any timed piece of writing. Fortunately, the prompts for the revised SAT essay are uniform in structure and objective, regardless of when you sit for the exam. Your goal will always be to produce a detailed, well-structured analysis of the given passage. Follow these three steps to accomplish this. [Learn how to hone analysis skills for success on the new SAT essay.] Step 1. Develop a concise thesis statement: If you choose to take the new SAT essay, you will be asked to build a response to this simplified question: How does the author build his or her argument? Your thesis statement should answer this question in the fewest words possible without sacrificing clarity. Remember that a strong thesis is critical not only to earning a high score but also for organizing your response. The College Board suggests that you consider the following items: evidence- and logic-based arguments and persuasive or stylistic elements. A solid grounding in rhetoric can help immensely in this endeavor. Consider this sample prompt. You may well be struck by Paul Bogard's expressive language and the way he organizes facts in "Let There Be Dark." Your resulting thesis statement might be, "Paul Bogard uses an emotional appeal supported by facts from credible sources." This thesis statement may not be beautiful, but it clearly conveys that you understand the author's approach to persuasion. Note that this statement does not touch on whether you agree with the sample essay or on your own feelings about darkness. Unlike pre-2016 SAT essay sections, there is no place in the new essay for your opinion about anything other than analysis and rhetorical technique. Story continues [Learn how to develop rhetorical skills for success on the ACT reading section.] Step 2. Build a trail of evidence: Your thesis statement should guide the body of your essay. For an essay on the sample passage, simply providing examples of "evocative language" and "facts from credible sources" would not be sufficient -- you must also analyze how your examples support the author's overall objective. In the opening paragraph of "Let There Be Dark," Bogard recalls his childhood in Minnesota with skies so dark that "meteors left smoky trails across sugary spreads of stars." This phrase is a prime example of evocative language. The paragraph is effective because of the emotional appeal to childhood that establishes a shared bond with the reader. The imagery he uses is vivid, and it helps the reader imagine the beauty of a world with less light pollution. You might also note that the word "sugary" reinforces the imagery of a childhood wonderland. Again, don't simply list examples -- instead, build a secondary thesis statement that is clear and concise. For example: "The author uses powerful imagery that calls readers to imagine a vanishing world of childlike awe rooted in the beauty and mystery of the night sky." Repeat a pattern of calling out what the author says, how he said it, what it means and how that relates to the piece on the whole. [Prepare for the new SAT with updated test-day techniques.] The facts used in the prompt are perhaps the easiest elements to recognize. Your secondary thesis statement should focus on which facts the author chooses to support his point. Your analysis is the common thread that connects them. In this case, that thread is forked: Certain facts establish that the night sky is growing brighter and that lack of darkness has a negative impact on health. Finally, discuss why the author selected these themes. Why health instead of aesthetics? Given his opening, Bogard could have just as easily argued that the real loss was the beauty of the night sky. But can there be facts with aesthetics? Is his essay stronger or weaker for combining evidence with emotion? Step 3. Craft a strong conclusion: Ensure you set aside time to write a strong closing argument that draws your themes together. Too often, students simply summarize their claims. A summary paragraph is better than allowing your essay to trail off to nothing, but you miss a true opportunity by not making the conclusion an integral part of your essay. Think of your conclusion as the closing argument of a trial in a courtroom drama: "Bogard's essay called on powerful imagery of a magical childhood under assault from a flood of wasteful and unnecessary light. The mix of cold, hard facts with emotionally intense language builds to a whole that is stronger than the sum of its parts." Your last impression is just as powerful as your first -- so make it count. Brian Witte is a professional SAT tutor with Varsity Tutors. He earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Washington and holds a Ph.D. from Ohio State University. Markets are near all-time highs as we enter 2017. The Trump rally, as many are calling it, helped push the markets to these highs but it still has to be seen if this rally is fundamentally sound. Perhaps the best litmus test for these fundamentals is looking at earnings. 24/7 Wall St. has put together a list of few companies that are reporting this week. We have included the consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters as well as a recent trading history and consensus price target. Looking ahead at a different set of fundamentals, a few other biotech and pharma companies are expecting decisions from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in both January and February. These have the potential to push these stocks massively. ALSO READ: Investors Take the Coke-Pepsi Taste Test for 2017 Return Prospects Sonic Corp. (SONC) is scheduled to release its fiscal first-quarter financial results after the markets close on Wednesday. The consensus estimates call for $0.21 in earnings per share (EPS) and $130.7 million in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had $0.24 in EPS and $145.8 million in revenue. Shares of Sonic traded down 2% to $25.95 on Tuesday, with a consensus analyst price target of $27.21 and a 52-week range of $21.12 to $36.34. Constellation Brands Inc. (STZ) is set to report its fiscal third-quarter earnings before the markets open on Thursday. Thomson Reuters is calling for $1.71 in EPS and $1.8 billion in revenue. In the third-quarter of last year, it posted EPS of $1.42 and $1.64 billion in revenue. Shares were trading at $153.98, in a 52-week range of $130.23 to $173.55. The stock has a consensus price target of $180.06. Monsanto Co. (MON) releases its fiscal first-quarter earnings report before the markets open on Thursday. Consensus estimates are $0.01 in EPS on revenue of $2.28 billion. The same period from last year had a net loss of $0.11 per share and $2.22 billion in revenue. Monsanto traded at $104.92 a share on Tuesday, within a 52-week range of $83.73 to $114.26. The consensus price target is $119.50. Story continues Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA) is expected to announce its fiscal first-quarter earnings report early Thursday as well. The consensus estimates are $1.09 in EPS and $29.24 billion in revenue, compared with last year's EPS of $1.03 and revenue of $29.03 billion. Shares traded at $82.68. The consensus price target is $93.15, and a 52-week range is $71.50 to $88.00. Related Articles Freshmen sometimes struggle to transition to high school. "Some kids come here and they know a lot of kids, and some other kids come here and they don't know anybody," says Kevin Marcoux, director of school counseling at Killingly High School in Connecticut, where freshmen come from about 10 different middle schools. Some freshmen are taken aback by some academic requirements and shifts in priorities high school requires, says Natalie Husen, a school counselor at Graham High School in Texas. It can be a shock for freshmen to realize that because of state attendance laws, they could lose credits for classes they are getting good grades in if they are not going to class, she says. Midway through the school year, parents can use the following strategies to help their freshmen get on track -- academically and socially. 1. Understand high school culture: It's important for parents to be aware of grading procedures and the resources available in each school, like tutoring, so families can understand how that might fit within their schedules, says Erinn Murphy, a school counselor at Carbondale Community High School in Illinois. Many parents don't understand the shift in academic rigor in high school, says Husen. "Some parents will come to me and they feel like an 88 is a bad grade, and we have to explain to them that we are making a big academic leap when you move to the high school curriculum," she says. "Focus on what they are learning, not that grade percentage." [Lay the groundwork for college from freshman year of high school.] 2. Make sure freshmen aren't overloaded: Murphy sees a lot students struggle to balance wellness with the new academic pressures high school can bring. Students should make sure they are getting enough sleep, managing their time and treating themselves well, she says. Parents should check in with their student -- even if their teen doesn't want them to -- to see how they are doing, she says. But parents should let teens take the reins on their progress at school. Story continues Parents may need to help some students advocate and wind back their schedule if they are struggling, she says. "Do they need to be in three or four honors classes? Or would two be OK?" 3. Work with freshmen on their communication and organization skills: Parents can help teens develop the communication skills they need to advocate for themselves -- something freshmen may struggle with -- by role-playing, Husen says. Parents could take on the role of the teacher and ask their student to tell them who they are and what they are trying to say. Then, the parents and student can work together to figure out a better way to communicate the information, she says. Freshmen also often have trouble with organization, says Marcoux, the Connecticut counselor. Informing teens of strategies to keep track of assignments, like a calendar, can help, he says. 4. Help freshmen get involved with people and programs that interest them: Students who lack motivation or direction in school may benefit from finding courses that interest them, says Marcoux. His school offers several different pathways students can pursue, like early childhood education. Once students find a pathway they are interested in, their mindset changes and they are more excited at school, he says. Parents should ask students about what their interests are and help them find -- perhaps with the help of a school counselor -- likeminded people and activities for them to take part in if they are struggling to make friends, says Murphy. [Find out three questions freshmen should ask their high school counselor.] Parents of teens who are struggling socially shouldn't be afraid to contact school officials who may be able to help, says Marcoux. Murphy says parents should try to take a breathe and realize that this is their child's journey through high school. Have something of interest to share? Send your news to us at highschoolnotes@usnews.com. Alexandra Pannoni is an education digital producer at U.S. News. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at apannoni@usnews.com. We hope that 2017 brings us one year closer to a more compelling and forward-looking vision for aging. During 2016, as societies continued to get older, we saw a profound shift in the understanding of public health when 194 governments unanimously passed the World Health Organizations Strategy on Health and Aging. The global plan calls for evidence-based action to improve the lives of older citizens, culminating in a Decade of Healthy Aging from 2020 to 2030. However, there are still many persistent myths about older adults, longevity and demographic change that need to be debunked: Myth: Older workers are eager to retire. Fact: While retirement was an integral part of the 20th century life course, its no longer desirable or viable for most older adults. Just consider President-elect Trump, who at 70 is embarking on a new and very public career. He joins 72 percent of pre-retirees in the U.S. who loudly proclaim they are expecting to work in some capacity during their retirement, and the 69 percent of employees globally who are highly interested in flexible retirement and re-designed work arrangements. The real news is that in 2016, these older workers say they want to work! To meet this demand, pioneers in the financial services industry including Aego , Bank of America Merrill Lynch, S&P Global and BlackRock are busily re-thinking, re-imagining and re-framing the very idea of retirement. They know what their customers want. Related: 15 Great Jobs for Retirees Myth: China will become the worlds primary engine for economic growth. Fact: China is emerging as an economic superpower on a scale rivaled only by the U.S., but sustaining this rise will require a multifaceted strategy for its aging society. Today, China is home to more than 250 million people over the age of 60, and that number will climb to about 500 million -- roughly the entire European population -- in the next few decades. Even more challenging, the 80+ population is exploding faster than any other, and will grow to include over 100 million individuals by midcentury. To continue its economic growth trajectory, China must have an aging strategy to manage its economic, regulatory, health and labor policies. This is a big deal. Its not only about taking care of frail seniors, but treating the 60+ demographic as a critical consumer market, opening markets to new technologies, and embracing their capability and desire to continue working past the traditional retirement age. In the long run, demography could determine whether China will truly join the USA as the engine for global economic growth and prosperity. Story continues Myth: Clinical trials for Solanezumab, an experimental treatment for Alzheimers, were a failure. Fact: Though the results of the Solanezumab clinical trial will not produce the Alzheimers treatment we all hoped for, the medical innovation process is such that these failures are the essential steps to new medicines. Lillys Solanezumab was actually a huge success, as it will be seen as one of the central pillars of knowledge in better understanding Alzheimers and will guide future therapeutic development. In fact, the medicine did slow cognitive decline, just not to the extent necessary to achieve the studys primary endpoint, thereby validating the underlying scientific hypothesis of attacking amyloid plaques, which is no small achievement. I can assure you that the families of the millions of existing and future Alzheimers patients will be grateful for Lillys failure. Myth: Older adults dislike and dont use new technology. Fact: Despite outdated stereotypes about their fear of technology, more older adults than ever are using a range of digital technologies. Tech companies that want to grow rapidly and drive strong earnings must create products that appeal to the 60+ consumer base, who control 70 percent of discretionary income in the U.S. Think about our 70-year-old President Trump, who is certainly no stranger to the technology that drives social media! Related: 15 Things That Will Cost Less in 2017 And while the potential profits of this silver economy are immense, so too is the potential for technology to help older adults remain active, healthy and engaged with their communities. Smart devices can enable telehealth solutions that connect older adults, doctors and caregivers in a robust, technologically enhanced system of care that is cheaper than repeated physician visits and hospitalization. Further, widely popular apps like Uber can be repurposed to help improve older adults mobility and social engagement. In this burgeoning field, organizations like the OECD are leading the way with innovative research and reports. Myth: There are too many people on the planet. Fact: In fact, the rate of global population growth has slowed to one of the lowest in modern history. This is largely due to stunningly low birth rates across the planet. Everywhere, birth rates are dropping to unprecedented levels, which is helping create super-aging societies like those in Japan and Germany. Across Europe, Asia and now throughout Latin America, low birth rates are resulting in 21st century de-population. The received wisdom of too many people on the planet dies hard, but its a myth we continue to press at our peril. As we ring in 2017, the megatrend of aging will be a positive lever for economic growth and social cohesion as long as we work to separate fact from fiction. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: If you think December is the best time to find deals, think again. January is actually the perfect month to score deep discounts on the things you really want. As we ring in the New Year, people spend big on their resolutions, retailers need to make space for spring inventory and airlines struggle to woo travelers during the off-season. All of this makes January the ideal time to cash in on deep discounts. Christmas decorations What do CVS, Walmart and Target have in common? Theyre all basically giving away Christmas decorations. After December, many retailers find themselves with a surplus of holiday supplies. It might feel weird to buy Christmas stuff right after the holiday, but it makes perfect financial sense to stock up on wrapping paper, lights, ornaments and even artificial trees now. If its something that was on your list and you didnt want to pay full price, now is a great time to shop, said consumer savings expert Andrea Woroch. Walmart has this Pre-Lit Fiber Optic 7-inch tree for just $74.95, marked down from $224. Target also has discounted trees, like this Phillips 7.5-foot pre-lit tree for $180 (originally $360). Looking to beat the neighbors lawn decorations next year? Stock up on outdoor inflatable decorations from Walmart, including this hoverboard Santa, marked down to $24.50 from $49. CVS is also offering some major savings, selling all their Christmas decorations and accessories for 75% off. Airfare According to AAA, nearly six million travelers flew between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2. Now the airline industry typically experiences a dead zone as people ditch travel to settle back into their work routines. In fact, Farecompare, a travel data site, confirms that January to March is the cheapest time of year to buy a plane ticket and several airlines are cutting prices to entice consumers. If you book a flight by Jan. 26, Southwest has deals from the US, Mexico and Caribbean starting at $59 for one-way flights (although most deals range between $109 and $160 for one-way flights). Similarly, Virgin America has discounted flights to and from their West Coast hubs of Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco. Act now and you can score a one-way ticket from New York to San Francisco for just $159. Customers must book by Jan. 9 and travel between Jan. 24 and March 11. Story continues Gym memberships/fitness gear Every new year brings a renewed interest in health and fitness. While the idea of joining a gym in January seems a tad cliche, its also a great time to get a discounted membership at places like Planet Fitness, which allow new members to sign up for just $1 down and pay $10 a month. If you cant commit to the gym, January is also a good time to stock up on fitness gear to use at home. Amazon is a treasure trove for discounted workout equipment, including this five-piece resistance band set for $21.91 (originally $39.97). The massive retailer also has a wide assortment of kettlebells discounted $9 to $39 depending on weight and color. Coats Youre not the only one looking forward to spring. Retailers are starting to stock up for warmer weather, which means deep discounts on winter apparel. If youre in the market for a new coat, now is the time to make a purchase. Macys is currently selling coats for 40%-60% off. JCPenney is advertising a $30 sale on select mens and womens outerwear, and Dillards has also permanently reduced the price on dozens of coats. The Gap had markdowns of up to 70% off, Woroch told Yahoo Finance. I bought a winter coat for my daughter for 20 bucks, and it was originally $70. Tax software Taxes dont have to be filed until April 18 this year, but its never too soon to get the process started. If you plan on preparing your own taxes, now would be a good time to consider buying tax software. Target has discounts on H&R Block supplies, including $10 off software for small-business owners, homeowners, investors and rental property owners. Even more, customers will also receive a $5 gift card with H&R Block when they buy their software at Target. Customers can also enjoy $10 off of most TurboTax software. National Park admission In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, entrance fees to all national parks will be waived on Jan. 16. Admission to some of the 409 national parks starts at $3 per person, with popular parks like Yosemite and Grand Canyon charging $25 per car. Fees for add-ons like camping and tours are not included unless otherwise stated. 5 financial New Years resolutions for people under 30 4 best browser extensions to save when money shopping online What the Alaska Air/Virgin America merger means for consumers - By Alberto Abaterusso Abbott Labs (ABT) communicated through the PRNewswire on Dec. 30 that the closure of the purchase of St. Jude Medical (STJ) for $25 billion is expected on Wednesday. Due to antitrust rules the Federal Trade Commission and the Chinese Commerce Ministry required Abbott to sell off two cardiovascular devices, St. Jude Medical's Angio-Seal and Femoseal, vascular closure products and Abbott's Vado Steerable Sheath, a heart catheter. Last October the two U.S. companies agreed to sell two cardiovascular devices to Terumo Corp. (TSE:4543) for approximately $1.12 billion. The Abbott Labs-St. Jude Medical business combination will make available to health care operators a larger portfolio of innovative devices and therapies for better patient care. Becoming a leader in the cardiovascular market, the new business entity will also favorably affect shareholders creating "significant and sustainable value," which is the company's strategy "for long-term success," Miles D. White, Abbott's chairman and CEO, said. Annually the new entity will sell cardiovascular and neuromodulation products for $8.7 billion. Abbott Labs says that "the acquisition of St. Jude Medical is expected to be accretive to Abbott's adjusted earnings per share in the first full year and increasing thereafter (21 cents of accretion in 2017 and an estimated 29 cents in 2018)" and "to result in annual pretax synergies of $500 million by 2020." As of today, analysts forecast that Abbott Labs will generate EPS of $2.21 on average in 2016, a 2.8% increase on a year-over-year basis and EPS of $2.42 on average in 2017, a 9.5% increase on a year-over-year basis: Source: Yahoo Finance Concerning revenue, analysts expect a 2.50% increase in 2016 from $20.41 billion to $20.92 billion and a 4.80% increase in 2017 from $20.92 billion to $21.91 billion. Story continues Source: Yahoo Finance Abbott closed at $38.41 per share Dec. 30, up 10 cents, or 0.26%, from the previous trading day, with 10,445,631 shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) versus an average volume of 7.12 million over the last 10 trading days and an average volume of 8.7 million shares over the last three months. The number of shares available for trading is 1.47 billion. The price-earnings (P/E) ratio (TTM) is 25.48, the EPS (TTM) is $1.51 per share, and the dividend yield is 2.76%. As of today, analysts recommend buying shares of Abbott, and the average target price is $46.85 per share. During the third quarter, First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio), George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) and Richard Pzena (Trades, Portfolio) reduced their positions in Abbott Labs by 57.24%, 21.26% and 5.81% while Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) sold out his position. Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) and Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) increased their positions by 0.39% and 0.07%. Abbott is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index. St. Jude Medical closed at $80.19 per share Dec. 30, up 36 cents or plus 0.45%, with a volume of 3,893,045 shares traded on the NYSE versus an average volume of 2.31 million traded over the last 10 trading days and an average volume of 2.42 million shares over the last three months. During the third quarter, John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio), David Dreman (Trades, Portfolio), Greenblatt and Gabelli reduced their positions in St. Jude Medical by 90.15%, 99.70%, 86.91% and 10.08%. Leucadia National (Trades, Portfolio) and John Paulson (Trades, Portfolio) increased their positions by 166.0% and 107.69%. Soros, Fisher and Keeley Asset Management Corp (Trades, Portfolio) sold out their positions while First Eagle Investment opened a position in St. Jude Medical and bought 545,389 shares of the company. Disclosure: I have no positions in any stock mentioned in this article. Start a free seven-day trial of Premium Membership to GuruFocus. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Getty Image Bengals defensive back Adam Jones, once known as Pacman, began his career with a series of arrests, some for assault. Reborn as a useful player for years on the Cincinnati Bengals, Jones has managed to stay out of trouble with the law for a little while now (though hes had his fair share of on-field issues.) Those days have come to an end, however, as Jones was arrested again early Tuesday morning. In the Cincinnati suburbs, Jones was booked for assault, disorderly conduct and obstructing official business for allegedly pushing a man and poking him in the eye, before violently resisting being put in a squad car by allegedly headbutting an officer. Those were all misdemeanors, but Jones was also charged with a felony for spitting in the eye of a nurse at the jail in which he was being held later on. He was due back in court on Tuesday morning, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Jones signed a three-year contract before this season, but hes 33 and the Bengals are now a year removed from team success with this defensive core, so the additional issue of Jones new arrest may spell the end of Jones career in black and orange, and perhaps in the NFL. (Via Cincinnati Enquirer) An Afghan refugee stabbed a woman in northern Austria when he heard her reading the Bible at an asylum center, according to reports. Last Thursday, police said the incident took place in the Timelkam municipality in Upper Austria state. The 22-year-old refugee allegedly attacked the woman in her 50s after she and her husband were invited to read the Bible by some Christian residents at the asylum center. He reportedly stabbed her when he heard her reading the Bible. However, the woman did not sustain serious injuries as her thick winter coat protected her from the stabbing. But she reportedly hurt her ear when she fell backwards. Police detained the attacker who has not been identified and took him to a jail in the city of Wels, nearly 35 miles from Timelkam. He told officials that he stabbed the woman because he was dealing with personal problems. He also said that he had never seen the woman before. This comes at a time when Europe is facing a massive refugee crisis with some Europeans expressing concerns over security after asylum-seekers from the Middle East and Africa settle in the continent. In November, the Austrian Interior Ministry reportedly said the country witnessed a steep rise in the number of crimes involving asylum-seekers over the past few years. In December 2015, an Iraqi refugee raped a 10-year-old boy at a swimming pool in Vienna. The culprit told police that committed the act because he had a sexual emergency. Last June, he was sentenced to six years in prison for sexual abuse and the rape of a minor. Related Articles JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's ruling ANC party rebuked the opposition mayor of Pretoria for visiting Taiwan last month in what it called a violation of its foreign policy that recognises only the People's Republic of China. The ANC said any officials making trips at odds with South Africa's foreign relationships should be stripped of their passports. China is South Africa's biggest trading partner. Africa's part in the long-running global diplomatic row over Taiwan's disputed independence from China drew new attention last month after the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe reversed its position and recognised only Beijing. Relations between Africa and Beijing are important in part because China is a major investor in many African economies. The mayor of Pretoria, Solly Msimanga, travelled to Taipei last month to woo investors, the country's main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party, which governs the South African capital, said late on Monday. The South African government, which was an ally of Taiwan during the era of white minority rule but which has recognised only Beijing since 1997, described the Msimanga's visit as "highly regrettable". "(We were) made aware of the visit and advised Mayor Msimanga not to undertake it as it would constitute a breach of our One China Policy," the foreign ministry said in a statement issued late on Monday. The ANC called on the Foreign Ministry to "confiscate all official and diplomatic passports from officials who are found to be wilfully undermining our foreign policy". The ANC also urged the ministry to issue a strong protest over Msimanga's Taipei invitation to Taiwan's liaison office in South Africa. But the Democratic Alliance rejected pressure not to have contacts with Taiwan. A DA statement said that "neither the ANC nor the national government it runs can dictate who DA mayors meet with in order to obtain job-creating investment". The ANC suffered its worst election results since the 1994 end of apartheid in an August vote that swept DA candidates including Msimanga to power as mayors in three major cities. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump put in question the "one-China" policy followed for decades by Washington and Beijing when he accepted a congratulatory phone call from Taiwan's leader shortly after his Nov. 8 victory. (Reporting by TJ Strydom; editing by Mark Heinrich) After an intense backlash, House Republicans on Tuesday reversed their move gutting Congress independent ethics watchdog group. The GOP vote to back down from reining in the Office of Congressional Ethics was unanimous, Jake Sherman of Politico reported. Earlier in the day, President-elect Donald Trump, who campaigned on a promise to drain the swamp, criticized House Republicans for making their first move one that rolled back ethics safeguards. He said the Office of Congressional Ethics had been unfair, but Congress has bigger priorities they should attend to now. With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 ..may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia proposed the original controversial amendment Monday night in a surprise closed-door meeting of Republicans. The move changed the name of the group from Office of Congressional Ethics to Office of Congressional Complaint Review, stripped it of its independence, blocked it from investigating any wrongdoing that occurred prior to 2011, and prevented it from releasing its findings to the public without the authorization of the House Committee on Ethics. The rules change also would have prevented the panel from alerting law enforcement to criminal activity without the approval of the House committee. Rep. Bob Dold, R-Ill., gavels closed the 114th Congress. (Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst) Watchdog groups on the left and the right harshly criticized the move, and at least one congressman said his office had been inundated with calls from angry constituents. YouTube Ah, 2017. A new year, and a chance to hear some new stories and leave the drama of 2016 far, far behind us. Now lets just see what th aw, hamburgers. Alberto Del Rio damn did it again. When we last left our intrepid explorer, he was beating the stuffing out of a wrestling ninja turtle. Now hes ringing in 2017 by [checks notes] beating up his brother! Austrian news outlet Kronen Zeitung reported on Monday that following a match in front of a crowd of 1,000 fans in Leoben, Austria on Friday, Del Rio and his brother, El Hijo de Dos Caras, were involved in a nightclub fight that sent a man to the hospital. After Del Rio and Dos Caras were arrested, they then got in a fight at the police station after Del Rio broke out of the zip ties that were restraining his hands. Del Rio reportedly knocked out El Hijo de Dos Caras, sending his brother to the hospital as well, and then had to be shackled, because the handcuffs the police had were too small for him. Related Links: The club brawl reportedly ended with blood on the walls and inventory destroyed, although Del Rio was released at some point over the weekend and returned to the United States, as he was spotted in Tampa with his fiancee Paige prior to Mondays episode of Raw. At present, there is no indication whether Del Rio will face further charges in Austria, or what the status is of his brother or the other man who was sent to the hospital. Well keep you updated if we hear more. President-elect Donald Trump made plain in an Instagram post last week that his administration would follow two rules: buy American and hire American. After winning the White House behind the promise to Make America Great Again, Trumps most public actions since becoming the president-elect have centered on keeping or creating jobs in America. And the sparring with corporate America began just days after Trumps election win. But theres an easy way for companies to avoid getting caught in the crosshairs of a late-night or early-morning tweet from the PEOTUS: announce any existing or potential plans to invest in the US right now. My Administration will follow two simple rules: BUY AMERICAN and HIRE AMERICAN! #USA A photo posted by Donald J. Trump (@realdonaldtrump) on Dec 29, 2016 at 6:52am PST In mid-November, Trump took credit for keeping production of the Lincoln MKC SUV in Kentucky instead of moving this work to Mexico. Ford (F), which owns Lincoln, noted that it did not, however, have any plans close US plants as a result of this previously-announced production move. Remember, the Trump administration wants to buy American and hire American, and under this framework it has become clear that investing abroad, retaining in America is not going to cut it. And at least so far, it seems Trump is getting results. Ford had announced plans to increase its investment in Mexico and move all of its small-car production south of the border. The company said no US jobs would be lost because of the move, according to Reuters. But these roundabout assurances that no US jobs would be lost as a result of production moving to Mexico are not the kind of win that Donald Trumps nascent political career has been built around. On Tuesday, Ford announced that it would scuttle plans to invest $1.6 billion in Mexico and instead invest $700 million to expand a plant in Michigan. The company said this expansion would create 700 new jobs. Ford Motor Co. president and CEO Mark Fields announces a $700 million investment in the US during a news conference at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, U.S. January 3, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook Ford said in a statement that this move was part of the companys $4.5 billion investment in electrified vehicles by 2020, offering customers greater fuel efficiency, capability and power across Fords global vehicle lineup. Story continues Certainly, however, this decision is not simply about Fords strategic direction. In its statement, Ford also said that canceling its Mexico investment would see the next generation of its Focus car built at an existing plant in Mexico, thereby safeguarding 3,500 US jobs. And while safeguarding is not the kind of word you mightve expected a company to use with regard to US-based jobs a few years ago, in Trumps America it is clear that companies think anything no matter how incremental to keep jobs in the US will likely win favor from the government. And this strategy is not limited just to US-based companies. Sprint (S), which is 82% owned by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank (SFTBF), said last month it would create 5,000 jobs by the end of its fiscal year ending March 2018. OneWeb, a US satellite company that SoftBank also hold a stake in, said it would create 3,000 jobs at the company and its suppliers, according to Reuters. This news came after Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank, said following a meeting with Trump in December that he would invest $50 billion in the US and create 50,000 jobs. President-elect Donald Trump, left, accompanied by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, speaks to members of the media at Trump Tower in New York. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) And so not only does Ford get to invest fewer total dollars though with $900 million in announced capex now off the table, one imagines a future investment announcement could follow but it almost certainly puts the company on better footing with the incoming administration. So heres a bit of advice to executives across the US: If your company is even thinking about creating additional jobs in America, announce those plans now. And if youve already announced plans to create jobs or invest in the US, you should re-announce those plans now. And make sure sure to tag Trump in the tweet. Myles Udland is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @MylesUdland Read more from Myles: Spring will bring a new era for the area around Interstate 90s intersection with Hwys. 53 and 35. Were kind of changing the whole character of the road versus what it used to be when it was originally built, Wisconsin Department of Transportation project development chief engineer Jim Rohe said. It really was kind of a rural highway. Onalaska was not fully developed at that point. Really were kind of transitioning it to a true urban feel. After 15 public information meetings, five years of work and a presentation to the La Crosse Common Council, WisDOT has finalized design plans for the area where West George and Rose streets meet. Gone will be the loop of the cloverleaf of interstate exit 3, its merging ramps onto Hwy. 53 designed to keep fast-moving traffic flowing. They will be replaced by diamond configurations and controlled intersections, the goal being to slow traffic and make it safer for large numbers of cars. The stretch of road will include three new traffic signals: one at the corner of George and West George streets, which will provide access to Bridgeview Plaza to the south and several area businesses, including Walgreens, Americas Best Value Inn, Kwik Trip and SSE Music to the north, and one each at the two intersections of Exit 3 with Highway 53. There wont be a ramp going up and around to feed interstate traffic onto West George Street, but that intersection will keep its stoplight. That main change to the character of the area will come with raised medians on both Rose and West George streets that block left turns, requiring traffic to move along and enter businesses from the back through a pair of access roads the DOT will build. The design will add greenery, additional access to the Black River and encourage pedestrian traffic to make it feel more like a city and less like a rural area. Now the road is reflecting whats around it, Rohe said. The Exit 3 project began five years ago as part of a larger five-part Interstate 90 project that stretched from Dresbach, Minn., to Exit 5 in Onalaska. The total cost of the project is $75 million. The final leg, which project manager Anthony VanderWielen described as the toughest, has an estimated price tag of $16.5 million. This will tie it all together, VanderWielen said. Construction will begin in the early spring the exact date will depend on the weather and the new exit and roads are scheduled to be completed Nov. 17. Finally, people will get some rest from the constant road construction over there, VanderWielen said. There will be some finishing touches finished in 2018, primarily landscaping intended to beautify the area, such as the planting of different colors and textures of grasses and a variety of trees. The main purpose of the design is to control access, slow down traffic and increase safety, both to people entering the interstate at Exit 3, which sees quite a few cars sliding on the loops, and those people looking to get to businesses. Its not the safest situation right now, civil engineer Joe Gregas said. When were done with this, everyone is going to be coming up to a signalized intersection where they make turns under the guidance of traffic signals, which is much safer to do. The intersection of Rose and West George streets will have double-left and double-right turn lanes to increase the traffic capacity of the corridor. Right now, people are backing up all the way to (Palace Street). If you can get two cars turning at the same time, the amount of time that the light is red is shorter, VanderWielen said. That does require the installation of an additional lane; however, that wont make the road much wider than it is now. With narrowed medians and the addition of curb and gutter, the total width of the road will go to 114 from 108 feet, with most of the additional space going toward a 10-foot-wide walking and bicycle path. One of the things we heard from our stakeholders was that we need to make this area more pedestrian-friendly, Gregas said. That was one of our big objectives in this project, not just in the city of La Crosse but also take it toward the city of Onalaska. For most of Rose Street, there will be a sidewalk on one side and a path on the other, but the plans divert pedestrian traffic to the west side of the road at the exit, asking people to cross at a signalled intersection. Right now, paths for pedestrians on (the east) side are leading them to nowhere and we dont want them walking on the bridge. Wed rather have them cross over and get onto this path that takes them all the way to Onalaska, VanderWielen said. The path will connect to the sidewalk by Oak Forest Drive, which leads up to the entrance to Onalaskas new Great River Landing. The sidewalks were a popular addition, with La Crosse Common Council member Andrea Richmond describing the access as awesome. Youre going to have the controlled access so people can cross Rose Street. Youre going to have sidewalks where youve never had sidewalks before, Richmond said. Its going to have a huge effect on what does happen to this exit on the north side. While La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat was pleased to see the pedestrian access, he was most eager to see the inclusion of an eagle-viewing area requested by the city. Itll be exciting to have a safe pull-out area for people to view eagles and local wildlife, Kabat said. The city will cover the $475,000 cost and be in charge of maintain the facility. Its also working on moving the Welcome to La Crosse sign featuring a replica of Elmer Petersens steel The Lacrosse Players sculpture located further down Rose Street to the area. The city wasnt originally enthusiastic about the design, with Kabat joining others in voicing concerns about whether a design with fewer driveways would encourage high speeds and discourage people from visiting businesses in the area after they have fewer access points, particularly with a median preventing left turns on West George Street. For drivers going to the Rose Street Walgreens, there will no longer be an option to turn across traffic to enter on West George. Rather, drivers will need to go down to the intersection at George and West George and take a left and the light, then take another left down the new access road. Theyll have to come around to the back. To me, if youre a local business you want to have traffic going through there thats slower and youll want to have more opportunities for people to turn into there, Kabat said. However, the DOT believes the addition of three more lights along with lowering the speed limit to 40 miles per hour will solve both of those problems. What that does is make traffic more efficiently, Gregas said. Its a safer situation when you dont have to worry about people pulling out of driveways and its all signal-controlled access points. They pushed back against the idea that fewer driveways meant the stores would see less business. Businesses were originally concerned down here because they feel access is not as good, said Rohe. But its actually more reliable to get to their businesses and more predictable. He compared the design to similar designs near Highways 16 and 157, where businesses like Best Buy and Festival Foods dont have direct access to the highway, but are still flourishing. If people feel safe and comfortable getting to your business, your business will be fine, Rohe said. The city hopes to see additional redevelopment in the area, and Kabat expects the better access to the river and connections to the neighborhood will help. While Rohe stopped short of saying the new road design would foster economic development, he believes the potential of the area is preserved by the design. Thats not to say some businesses wont be immediately affected. The George Street McDonalds owned by Courtesy Corporation will be effected by the redesign; however, details of how the Onalaska-based company will address the changes have yet to be finalized. The business most affected will be a thrift store on the corner of Rose Street. The elimination of a driveway of West George Street forced the relocation of Good Steward Resale Shop after it removed the only public access to its property. Because the committee that owns the shop also owns the property, rather than leasing it from Bridgeview Plaza, its single driveway was the only legal access to its lot, according to Pastor Roger Sachs of First Evangelical Lutheran Church, who serves on the nonprofit corporation which manages the business. While initially reluctant to move, the availability of the former Edwardos Restaurant property just down the road gave them an opportunity to change locations without sacrificing the benefits of their current lot. We didnt think we could ever find a place as good as that, but after we studied the issue further it just wasnt feasible to stay there, and part of it is because wed lose a huge amount of parking, Sachs said. Ultimately, they agreed to sell their property to the DOT for $650,000 and move. We have a very positive, hopeful outlook with the new property and new place, he said. The new building, which will be quite a bit larger, will be finished in May. After the shop moves, the DOT will tear down its current building. Exactly what will happen to the property after that is not yet settled. No other businesses will need to move based on the redesign. Apple Inc.s AAPL Taiwanese supplier, Wistron has sought permission from the Indian government to expand its manufacturing facility in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru, per media reports. Citing a government official, media reports add that Wistron indeed has requested that its application be fast-tracked. Why Apple is So Focused on India? Since the last year, Apple has been increasing its focus on India to claim a greater share of the vast smartphone market, of which it reportedly holds only 2% as of now. Apple faces slowing iPhone demand in most of the regions, either because of competition or regulatory hurdles (China) or market saturation (the U.S). Therefore, it makes sense for the company to solidify its position in India, which is projected to become the second largest smartphone market in the world. In fiscal 2016, Apple sales in India grew approximately 50% over the prior fiscal. Apple, of course, is not the only tech player eyeing India for growth. Given the potential of this market, Silicon Valleys interest is well understood. From Microsoft Corp. MSFT to Alphabet GOOGL to Facebook Inc. FB all remain laser focused on the Indian market. Furthermore, a younger (and skilled) population and increasing investment in broadband network by the government also make India an attractive growth opportunity for Apple over the long run. In fact, the Indian government under PM Narendra Modi is eager to bring foreign capital and boost manufacturing facilities in India. The recently outlined FDI policy also bodes well for the company as it eliminates the requirement to locally source products for at least a three-year period. This will enable Apple to open its solely-owned retails stores in India. Thereafter, the company will have to comply with the rule. The company also has partnered with telecom company Reliance, which is providing its Jio (a unique all-IP network) service for free with the new iPhones. Story continues Last year, Tim Cook was on a charm offensive in India. Besides meeting Modi, he also announced the opening of an iOS App Design and Development Accelerator in Bengaluru and a map development office in another southern Indian city, Hyderabad in collaboration with regional firm RMSI. He was also seen hobnobbing with industrialists and movie stars during his maiden visit to the country. APPLE INC Price APPLE INC Price | APPLE INC Quote However, the market is cost sensitive and Apple will have to fight it out vigorously with dominant players like Samsung, which sells handsets running on Alphabets Android system. Reportedly, Apple has chalked out a strategy to manufacture handsets in India for only local sale. Last week, citing sources familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal had reported that the incentives sought by Apple to set up manufacturing facilities in India are likely to be reviewed by the Indian government soon. Will Setting up Manufacturing Facilities Aid Apples Cause? Per analysts, the lions share of Apples revenues in the country come from devices, which are a couple of generations old. Newer models have relatively low demand given the hefty price tag. Per reports, the Apple team in India is trying to increase revenues to $3 billion by 2017-18 and by local assembling operations, the company can start to operate its own retail outlets and avail a 10% tax benefit. This should lower prices. However, a Forbes analyst observes that even if Apple starts to produce locally, the prices might not come down as much. This is because, at present, only assembling operations can be done in India as the country lacks a robust supply chain like China. Plus, the analyst argues that though labor is cheap compared with China, productivity is relatively better in China. Simple assembling may not drastically bring down prices. However, if India can spark a creation of local supply chain like China, then it will be a big positive. Moreover, another analyst observes that Apples lack of focus on regional customers demand is a concern. India is categorized by handsets that work on dual SIMs. Apparently, Apple is not keen on making dual SIM handsets. This could be a very big impediment to growth in the country. Apple is already late to the party. Its rival Samsung has long been in the market and with reportedly 23% share, it is a leading player in the country. Despite the pros and cons, Apple is expected to continue its India drive. It will be taking up a lot more initiatives this year. However, whether those initiatives yield desirable results remains a watch and see story. At present, Apple has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Over the past one year, shares of Apple have registered growth of 9.94% compared with the Zacks Computer Mini industrys gain of 11.03%. Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017 In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest tickers for the entirety of 2017? Who wouldn't? These 10 are painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. They are our primary picks to buy and hold.Be among the very first to see them >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report APPLE INC (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report MICROSOFT CORP (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report FACEBOOK INC-A (FB): Free Stock Analysis Report ALPHABET INC-A (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Archbishop Hilarion Capucci, who was convicted of smuggling arms for Palestinian militants died Sunday in Rome aged 94. The Vatican confirmed his death Monday, but the cause of his death remains unclear. Capucci was the head of the Greek Catholic Church in Jerusalem. He was arrested in 1974 and charged with using his Mercedes sedan to smuggle arms to Palestinian militants, following which he served two years of a 12-year sentence in Israel. He was later freed in 1977 following a personal appeal by Pope Paul VI. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority, praised Capucci for defending the rights of the Palestinian people. Capucci was born on March 2, 1922, in Aleppo, Syria, which was then under French control. He was ordained a priest of the Basilian Alepian Order of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in 1947 and was appointed Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem and Archbishop of Caesarea in 1965. Capucci remained in the headlines following his release in Israel, attempting to mediate in the Iran hostage crisis. He visited Americans held captive at the U.S. Embassy in Iran in 1979, and also accompanied the bodies of eight U.S. service members who were killed in an unsuccessful mission to free the hostages. He later traveled to Saddam Hussein's Iraq in 1990 to help secure freedom for 68 Italians prevented from leaving following the invasion of Kuwait. Capucci reportedly boarded the Mavi Marmara, the Turkish-owned ship bound for Gaza that was seized by Israeli forces when it attempted to violate Israels naval blockade. In a 2010 interview with Al Jazeera, he reportedly said he had taken part in the Gaza aid effort to meet the tortured, persecuted and wronged kinfolk in the strip to assure them that we are with them morally and spiritually, adding that his goal was to establish a free, sovereign, independent state, with Jerusalem as its capital. Related Articles Getty Image Fox News anchor Sean Hannitys new interview with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, which was conducted in Londons Ecuadorian embassy on Monday, wont air until Tuesday evening. Yet that didnt stop the Fox News Channel from distributing choice excerpts from the pairs conversation late Monday night. After all, the two antagonists turned besties spent a good chunk of it discussing President-elect Donald Trumps favorite subject to forget Russias alleged hacking of the election he won. According to The Hill, Assange charged President Barack Obama and his outgoing staff with trying to delegitimize the Trump administration as it goes into the White House. While reiterating the claim that the Obama administration wants Americans to think President-elect Trump is not a legitimate president, Assange went on the defensive when Hannity asked whether or not Russia was the source of Wikileaks hacked documents. Our source is not a state party, he argued, so the answer for our interactions is no: Our publications had wide uptake by the American people, theyre all true, Assange continued. But thats not the allegation thats being presented by the Obama White House. Aside from the focus on Russia and whether or not Trumps election victory was legitimate, Assange and Hannity also discussed the prevalence of Wikileaks involvement in the 2016 presidential race. The former was especially amused when the Fox News personality asked whether or not he thought his organization had affected the outcome of the election. Who knows, its impossible to tell, said Assange, adding: But if it did, the accusation is that the true statements of Hillary Clinton and her campaign manager, John Podesta, and the DNC head Debbie Wasserman Schultz, their true statements is what changed the election. The new interview will air during a special edition of Hannity at 10 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel. (Via The Hill) WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claimed in a new interview that he is completely confident that the Russian government was not the source of the hacked emails that his organization released leading up to the U.S. presidential election. He also shrugged off the question of whether the politically damaging emails affected the outcome of the race. The publisher of classified and private information released embarrassing emails from Hillary Clintons campaign chairman, John Podesta, and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, Fox News political pundit Sean Hannity asked Assange to address the allegation that WikiLeaks was a tool employed by Moscow to interfere with the U.S. election. Can you say to the American people, unequivocally, that you did not get this information about the DNC, John Podestas emails, can you tell the American people 1,000 percent that you did not get it from Russia or anybody associated with Russia? Hannity inquired. We can say, we have said repeatedly that over the last two months, that our source is not the Russian government and it is not a state party, Assange responded. Democrats have argued that the WikiLeaks email dumps were conducted as part of an orchestrated plot to tilt the election in favor of Donald Trump, who frequently showers praise on Russia and its leaders. Despite Assanges claims, the U.S. intelligence community has said it is certain that Russia was behind the cyberattacks that led to the WikiLeaks disclosures. Experts have also linked Guccifer 2, the hacker who claims to have leaked the DNC emails, to the Kremlin. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks from the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he continues to seek asylum, in London, England. (Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images) On Dec. 29, President Obama announced a slew of retaliatory measures against the Russian government for its alleged interference. This included the eviction of 35 suspected Russian intelligence operatives and sanctions against nine different Russian individuals and institutions, including two of the GRU and FSB Russian intelligence services. Story continues Assange said he believes the Obama administration is trying to delegitimize Trump before his predecessor enters the White House. They are trying to say that President-elect Trump is not a legitimate president, he said. According to Democrats, the leak of thousands of Podestas emails were particularly damaging to Hillary Clintons campaign. An earlier hack this summer led to the resignation of DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and renewed distrust of the Democratic establishment among supporters of Bernie Sanders primary campaign. When asked if the emails WikiLeaks published changed the outcome of the election, Assange said, Who knows? He also argued that if they had, the responsibility lies not with WikiLeaks but the people who penned the emails in the first place. Who knows, its impossible to tell. But if it did, the accusation is that the true statements of Hillary Clinton and her campaign manager, John Podesta, and the DNC head Debbie Wasserman Schultz, their true statements is what changed the election, he said. The full interview is scheduled to air Tuesday night on Fox News. DailyFX.com - Talking Points The Aussie Dollar rose after Chinas Caixin PMI whacked forecasts It came after a modest disappointment in the official number Chinas manufacturing sector heads into 2017 in reasonable form The Australian Dollar posted gains on Tuesday after a key snapshot of Chinese manufacturing performance came in well above forecasts. Decembers Caixin Purchasing Managers Index rose to 51.9, handily topping market expectations and Novembers figure, both of which were 50.9. In the logic of PMIs any reading above 50 indicates an expansion in activity. This index has been gaining steadily thanks to construction and lending booms, which have seen it rise for six months straight. Output rose at a pace not seen since January 2013, with new orders up significantly. The only dark spot was in employment, with firms still cutting staff levels. These latest data came after the official manufacturing PMI for December disappointed last Saturday, if not by much. That series measures output at the huge, state-owned manufacturers and came in at 51.4. That was just below the 51.7 level that markets had been looking for. By contrast, the Caixin version looks at the smaller, private or semi-private enterprises. Taken together with the most recent service sector surveys, it seems that Chinas economy enters 2017 on a reasonable footing. However, there are still plenty of clouds. Doubts hover over global demand. Then, theres the Yuans persistent weakness against the US Dollar and a US President-elect much more openly critical of China than his predecessor in the Oval Office. The Australian Dollar often acts as the markets favoured liquid proxy bet on China, which is hardly surprising given its home countrys vast raw material exports to the worlds second-largest economy. It certainly seemed to be doing so on Tuesday. AUD/USD rose to 0.72145 after the PMI release, from 0.72029 just before it. However, it is likely that thin markets have magnified this move. Many desks will remain thinly staffed until after this weekend and Japanese markets are closed for a holiday. Story continues China Proxy: AUD/USD climbs Australian Dollar Perks Up On Bouyant Caixin China PMI Chart compiled using TradingView Out with the old forecasts, in with the new. Check out DailyFX analysts first-quarter calls here. --- Written by David Cottle, DailyFX Research original source DailyFX provides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets. Learn forex trading with a free practice account and trading charts from IG. "It's a sneaky kind of movie," says the actor Michael Keaton of his latest, the Ray Kroc biopic The Founder, as we sit down at his office in Santa Monica to record an episode of The Hollywood Reporter's 'Awards Chatter' podcast. "You think you're just gonna see a biopic, and then you realize there are layers to this movie." Indeed, Kroc, as played by the 65-year-old veteran, becomes, unlike most movie protagonists, less and less sympathetic and likable as the Weinstein Co. release goes along. This is particularly jarring for audiences because, for decades, they have known and loved Keaton - in blockbusters like Beetlejuice and Batman (both made in collaboration with Tim Burton) and in art house darlings like Birdman and Spotlight (the last two best picture Oscar winners). But, once they acclimate to The Founder, they may just conclude that the film contains his best performance yet. (Click above to listen to this episode or here to access all of our 100+ episodes via iTunes. Past guests include Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep, Eddie Murphy, Lady Gaga, Robert De Niro, Amy Schumer, Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez, Louis C.K., Kristen Stewart, Harvey Weinstein, Sally Field, Jerry Seinfeld, Jane Fonda, Tyler Perry, Kate Winslet, Michael Moore, Helen Mirren, J.J. Abrams, Taraji P. Henson, Warren Beatty, Kate Beckinsale, Michael Eisner, Brie Larson, Sting, Natalie Portman, RuPaul, Sheila Nevins, Justin Timberlake and Nicole Kidman.) Keaton, who was born Michael Douglas (he later adopted a different professional name, for obvious reasons), was the youngest of seven kids who grew up "fighting for attention" from their blue-collar parents in a community near Pittsburgh. He ultimately went off to Ohio's Kent State University to pursue a career in journalism, but he began dabbling in the performing arts while there and continued to pursue them even after he dropped out. He returned to Pittsburgh and went to work at the local PBS station (one of his jobs involved working for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood), first behind the scenes and later on camera, too. He later left for an extended stay at a Navajo reservation but at the end of it recommitted himself to the arts, and flew out to Los Angeles with $270 to his name. Among his many odd jobs was stand-up comedy, and at one gig he landed an agent who helped him to break into television, as well. Despite scoring time on several major series, his dream was to be on the big screen, and that opportunity came about for the first time, in a significant way, when a writer of one TV series on which Keaton appeared, Working Stiffs, recommended him to Ron Howard, the director of a film that was being made from another of that writer's scripts, Night Shift. Keaton's scene-stealing work in that 1982 film put him on the map to stay. Story continues Keaton established his leading man bona fides with 1983's Mr. Mom, a comedy written by John Hughes, and, after a bit of a dry spell, surprised many by showing that he could do drama every bit as effectively as comedy in 1988's Clean and Sober. That same year, he embarked on a collaboration with Tim Burton, whom he came to regard as "an artist and a visionary," that resulted in 1988's Beetlejuice, a crazy comedy that he initially turned down and in which he appears for just 19 minutes but steals the show, as well as 1989's Batman and 1992's Batman Returns, which spawned a massive wave of dark comic book adaptations but that was far from a sure bet at the time ("If it went down, we were going down in a big way"). Despite the success of those two films, Keaton declined to return for a third installment, namely 1995's Batman Forever, after Burton stepped aside and was replaced by Joel Schumacher, who wanted to take the franchise in a very different direction. "It sucked," Keaton says of the script he was shown. "I knew it was in trouble when he [Schumacher] said, 'Why does everything have to be so dark?' " Keaton's star faded somewhat over the ensuing years, during which he took on some acting challenges that interested him - such as doing Shakespeare in Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing (1993), playing clones in Harold Ramis's Multiplicity (1996) and playing the same character in multiple movies for different directors in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown (1997) and Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight (1998). But he generally worked less (he recalls "getting tired of hearing my own voice, feeling like I was kinda pulling out tricks, probably being lazy, probably being not particularly interested") and spent more time away from Los Angeles (often at his ranch in Montana). "I had a life," he says, noting that he wanted to be present for his son's childhood. "And also not a whole lot of folks knocking on my door," he says, insisting "I never really took it personally" before adding, "Maybe sometimes my feelings were hurt." (One part that he was offered, but declined, was a variation of the one eventually played by Matthew Fox in J.J. Abrams' 2004-10 TV series Lost - originally, he says, the character was to be shockingly killed off in the pilot, but then the offer changed, and he wasn't interested in committing to an open-ended run.) Shortly before he landed a hilarious cameo in the Adam McKay comedy The Other Guys (2010), Keaton says, "Things weren't looking great." He recounts meeting with one of his reps and guaranteeing that he was about to turn things around. "I started getting really, really locked in and narrowing the focus and narrowing the energy and narrowing the vision and honing it and really thinking about what I wanted to do," he says. Not long after, rather out of the blue, he received an overture from the Mexican filmmaker Alejandro G. Inarritu, who pitched him on a script about a former star of superhero movies whose career had faded but who was mounting a comeback to prove that he still had it. "The safe bet would've been, 'Don't go near this thing,' " Keaton acknowledges, since many would assume that he was sending up his own story. But Inarritu insisted that the actor would be portraying the filmmaker's alter-ego, and so Keaton gave it a shot. Filmed in challengingly long takes to fuel the perception that the whole film was one continuous shot, Birdman wound up bagging Keaton a best actor Oscar nom and winning best picture, among other awards. Remarkably, so, too, did Keaton's next film, Spotlight, in which he plays a Boston Globe investigative reporter who helps to unveil the sex crimes of the Boston Catholic Church. Keaton was born and raised Catholic - an altar boy, in fact - and his mother remains devout to this day, but he says none of that deterred him from signing on to Tom McCarthy's film. "The subject matter not only didn't scare me," he says, "it attracted me." He was robbed of a best supporting actor Oscar nom but was delighted - even more so than with Birdman - when the film won best picture. This season, The Founder - which was directed by The Blind Side's John Lee Hancock, and which Keaton describes as "the quintessential movie about the free-enterprise system and capitalism and America and American culture and the changes in American culture" - has slipped under the radar of most awards voters. But it arrived late to the party, with a Dec. 16 release in only a handful of L.A. and New York theaters, and and as audiences and awards voters catch up with it, that could change. Keaton says he loves receiving recognition for his work, but after having spent years out in the cold, he's not getting greedy. "I'm really enjoying it now," he says of being an actor. "I just wanna be good." Jimmy Kimmel proved he's here for the right reasons when he hosted his first-ever Bachelor-themed special Monday night. Following the premiere of the 21st season of the ABC reality competition, the host and series superfan welcomed new Bachelor Nick Viall and his two famous exes, former Bachelorettes Andi Dorfman and Kaitlyn Bristowe, onto the 10 p.m. special, Jimmy Kimmel Live: Here for the Right Reasons. (The name is a nod to one of the long-running franchise's most popular phrases used to debate contestants' motives.) Viall is making his fourth appearance on the franchise, as the two-time Bachelorette runner-up also appeared on the latest cycle of the franchise's summer spinoff, Bachelor in Paradise. "Who did you kiss on New Year's Eve?" Kimmel asked Viall when he first took a seat on his couch. When the 36-year-old entrepreneur said he kissed no one, Kimmel replied, "Oh, you've ruined the show. We know what happens now!" Read more: 'The Bachelor' Power Rankings: Nick's Contestants Ranked After Night One Though Viall couldn't confirm or deny if he was in a relationship, Kimmel, who is nicknamed "Rosetradamus" due to his tradition of correctly guessing the finalists for each season, then quizzed Viall on some of the more questionable moments from the premiere - including his thoughts on 24-year-old Corinne having a nanny and another contestant, Liz, appearing on the show after having a one-night stand with the Bachelor months ago and refusing to give him her number. But it was when his exes Dorfman and Bristowe appeared that Viall ended up taking the most heat. After introducing the pair as "former Bachelorettes who asked Nick not to put a ring on it," Viall smoothed the moment over by thanking them both for not picking him. "This is so awkward," joked Dorfman as Viall stumbled over his answer when asked by Kimmel how often they speak. "We're friendly," Viall coughed up. Story continues Read more: 'The Bachelor's' Nick Viall Promises Unconventional Season 21 in Fourth Trip to Franchise Nick placed second on Dorfman's season in 2014, and one year later, he returned to have his heart broken again on national television as runner-up with Bristowe. Dorfman picked Josh Murray, though the pair ultimately split, and Murray and Viall went head-to-head over Amanda Stanton on Bachelor in Paradise, with Murray again winning out. Bristowe picked Shawn Booth, and the pair are still engaged. Here for the Right Reasons also welcomed guest Joel McHale, who took shots at the series and weighed in on the Bachelor premiere's biggest controversy: whether or not the contestant in costume was dressed as a dolphin or a shark. "It's a f - ing shark costume," he said, pointing out the gills on the costume. After saying Kim Kardashian got him fired and ended his 12-year run on E!'s The Soup, the former host recalled how he used to refer to The Bachelor as "the parade of unstable sluts trying to get a date." The special even came with a Chris Harrison intro, where the franchise host promised a dramatic episode that would be "so explosive you will die" and poked fun at the thrice-jilted Bachelor with a sketch titled "The Bachelor Home Alone." Read more: Former 'Bachelorette' Andi Dorfman: The Fantasy Suite Double Standard Needs to Stop (Guest Column) Finally, Kimmel revealed his picks for Viall's final four, once again reminding viewers that he is always right: Rachel, the attorney who received the first-impression rose; Danielle L., the 27-year-old Los Angeles native who "showed a lot of cleavage"; Corinne, the aforementioned 24-year-old with a nanny and an early villain; and Kimmel's pick for the winner, Vanessa, the likable special-needs teacher from Montreal. Viall only grinned in response, assuring anyone looking for spoilers, "I always smile." Head here for THR's premiere-episode recap and the debut of this season's Bachelor Power Rankings. Jimmy has a lot of questions for #TheBachelor @ViallNicholas28 on our primetime special TONIGHT! 10|9c #ABC #BachelorNation @BachelorABC pic.twitter.com/2JN4pckOp9 - Jimmy Kimmel Live (@JimmyKimmelLive) January 3, 2017 Nick Viall has officially made his Bachelor debut! The 36-year-old two-time Bachelorette reject (who also had a stint on Bachelor in Paradise this summer) finally begun his own search for love, bringing 30 women, 15 red dresses, quite a few sex jokes, and one aquatic animal with him. WATCH: 'The Bachelor' Premiere: Everything We Know About Season 21 With Nick Viall (Sans Spoilers)! While the jury's still out on whether fourth time's the charm for Viall, he definitely has a wide variety of individuals to choose from. See the night's most memorable limo exits, ranked from shocking to sweet below: Dolphinately a Shark We suspect there might be a reason while Alexis' job title is "Aspiring Dolphin Trainer" -- the girl apparently can't tell the difference between a dolphin and a shark! The 24-year-old New Jersey native boldly decided to embrace her aquatic side by showing up in none other than a shark costume, which she kept insisting was a dolphin. "I just want to let you know that I'm so excited to meet you, and I dolphinately can't wait to talk to you more inside," she said to Nick, before "swimming" back into the mansion. Came For a Good Hump "Hi. I hear you like a good hump, and so do I," Lacey said, before gracefully (Thanks, Nick!) dismounting off a camel, in a move equally as impressive as it was outrageous. You go, girl. EXCLUSIVE: Bachelor Nick Viall on Why He's Afraid to Say 'I Love You' and His Hardest Heartbreak Runner-Up ABC "I thought you might appreciate another runner-up, so I had to run up you," Sarah said after sprinting down the mansion's driveway in a beautiful purple gown and white Nikes. "Clever," Nick said, before the 26-year-old school teacher delivered her sharp but sweet line: "You are by no means a runner-up to me." Wiener in My Book Audiences got a sneak peek at Josephine's um eccentric personality earlier in the show, but no one could've predicted her totally cringeworthy introduction. "I know you haven't always had successful relationships in your past, and you haven't always come out first and whatnot, but I just wanted to let you know that you're a wiener in my book," she said, before forcing Nick to uncomfortably "Lady and the Tramp" a hotdog with her. Story continues Neil Lane ABC Jasmine G. knows exactly what she wants -- and while it may not be Nick, it most definitely is shiny and expensive. The dancer showed up to the mansion with some serious backup, in the form of Neil Lane -- yes, that Neil Lane -- to make sure Nick knew exactly which ring she wanted before they even went on their first date. Nick's Biggest Fan "How crazy do you think I am right now?" Christen asked after stepping out of the limo fluttering a yellow fan, which she later passionately flung down the wet driveway (Answer: pretty crazy, Christen.) After she ditched the accessory, the 25-year-old wedding videographer revealed the real fan, explaining that she felt like she was meeting a celebrity. EXCLUSIVE: 'Bachelor' Nick Viall on Whether He'll Hook Up With Women Before Fantasy Suites TMI "Do you know what a girl wearing underwear says?" Hailey asked after exiting the limo, deciding an X-rated introduction was probably best. "I don't," a clearly flustered Nick replied after repeating the question. "Neither do I," the 23-year-old teased, in a moment that had us screaming "TMI!" My Friends Don't Like You ABC She may be a mental health counselor, but Taylor didn't seem too concerned about protecting Nick's ego. "I'm Taylor. I'm so excited to be here. Before coming, all my girlfriends were like 'No, he's a complete piece of sh*t!'" she said to Nick, whose only response was "OK." "But I don't believe that, or anyone else who thinks that, otherwise I wouldn't be here," she followed up, trying to recover from the totally awkward opening. The damage, however, was clearly already done. Sticky and Sweet The show's introduction to Danielle M. showed a neonatal nurse with a heart of gold, but failed to demonstrate her sassy side. The 31-year-old Nashville native seemed to hit it off with Nick right from the start as they bonded over French toast, before she gave the Bachelor a taste of her dad's maple syrup -- right off her finger. "If things get sticky with the other girls, you can come find me," she teased. Fantasy Pick "I just wanted to let you know that before I got here, I finished setting up my fantasy team, and the only plays I want to make this season is for your heart," Rachel said, a simple line that not only seemed to play well with Nick, but also had us placing the 31-year-old attorney at the top of our Bachelor fantasy picks. EXCLUSIVE: 'Bachelor' Nick Viall on Whether He'll Hook Up With Women Before Fantasy Suites Parlez-Vous Francais? A greeting we've seen countless times, but one that never fails to impress: Vanessa's French introduction was cool, collected, and totally classy. "My name is Vanessa. I'm very happy to be here with you," she spoke in French. "You're going to have to come find me inside to get the translation to that." No Gimmicks No jokes, no gimmicks: The first out of the limo, Danielle L. charmed our Bachelor with a simple and sincere introduction. "I can't wait to get to know you inside," the Los Angeles native said, starting the night off right. The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. See more highlights of the show's premiere in the video below. Related Articles Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f334277%2ffe12bb0f-7110-48a8-b9e6-f3f66977b929 It is a familiar narrative for India. And that is the most unfortunate part. Women party-goers on New Year's Eve were harassed and molested en masse in the city of Bangalore, India's Silicon Valley. SEE ALSO: India will dance to its Prime Minister's tunes on New Year's Eve What is most stunning, not in a good way though, is that drunken molesters could not be contained by even 1,500-plus policemen deployed in the area to ensure an "incident-free" New Year. The attackers came in large numbers and wreaked havoc in the middle of the night across two prominent streets in the heart of the city. Bengalurus night of shame | Bengaluru doesnt know diddly-squat about celebrating it only knows hooliganism. https://t.co/aO3XZsdxgV pic.twitter.com/iYLMig5si3 Bangalore Mirror (@Bangaloremirror) January 2, 2017 Local newspaper Bangalore Mirror's photographers stood eyewitnesses. One of them reportedly revealed, People were acting like they were helping the women, but actually they were molesting them, insulting them, just provoking them." Some of the assaulted women took to social media to express their shock. What added insult to injury, quite literally, is a local leader's the state of Karnataka's Home Minister no less brazen reaction to the incident. He has claimed that "these kinds of things do happen" on New Year's Eve. And has conveniently blamed it on women aping "western culture" a retort that is rather common, and lacking common sense, in this part of the world. It has rightly angered citizens, especially women who are struggling to break out of a conservative society that has no respect for them as individuals. Story continues Bangalore incident proved what I have always maintained. No city is safe for women in this country. Indian Men, this is on you.#bangalore Lola Kuttiamma (@Priya_Menon) January 2, 2017 Why cant we agree that Bangalore mass molestation is a serious issue, women are not very safe, #NotAllMen are perverts, but its a problem Overtly Covert (@bwoyblunder) January 3, 2017 The Bangalore incident is an indication of how low we prioritize women safety and security in India. Bhak Sala (@bhak_sala) January 3, 2017 Bangalore's Night Of SHAME!! Mass Molestation Of Women On New Year's Eve No FIRs Yet,Imagine The Outrage Had It Happened In BJP Ruled State pic.twitter.com/jAg7oar9F8 Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadeja) January 2, 2017 Shame on Karnataka Home Min who blames 'western culture, dress' for #Bangalore #NewYear mass molestation! https://t.co/jZI68jh7lR Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) January 2, 2017 Mass molestation? Seriously? What a shameful act in such developed city like Bangalore. India should take more measures fr safety of women. Kartik Jhanwar (@KartikJhanwar) January 3, 2017 @narendramodi @SushmaSwaraj I am from Bangalore. How can you help when the minister here says "such things happen" over mass molestation Vidushii (@hungertalks) January 3, 2017 Some people are actually defending this mass sexual abuse and molestation. Exactly how much does this society hate women ... #Bangalore commander cupcake (@Being_Siddhu) January 3, 2017 "mass molestation" in bangalore. Disgusts me that such a thing could even happen nishtha madan (@nishthamadan) January 3, 2017 themselves is the same. this one's being reported with a lot of noise; but it happens everywhere that's public and crowded. Sandhya Menon (@TheRestlessQuil) January 2, 2017 Police must be held accountable for molestation in #Bangalore but not as failed protectors but as failed state functionaries.#WhyLoiter Why Loiter? (@whyloiter) January 2, 2017 Sexual assault and molestation are among the most under-reported crimes in India, and even in this case, the Bangalore Police has revealed that they have not received any official complaints yet. Now, it is to be seen whether any concrete action is taken against the molesters or the incident is brushed under the rug. BONUS: Asian cities celebrate New Year's Two Florida women have been arrested and charged with robbing two convenience stores while wielding knives and wearing Batman masks. Police believe 33-year-old Wateka Thomason and 31-year-old Cassandra Raffa are connected to two December incidents that took place at a 7-Eleven and a Kangaroo Express gas station in which the robbers appeared to wear superhero masks in surveillance video released to the public. Watch: Store Clerk Completely Ignores Armed Robber to Help Customers Officers said they found the women sleeping in a black Honda Civic in a Walmart parking lot this week after an investigation by Volusia County and Ormond Beach authorities that had just grainy footage and social media to go on. According to a release from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, Ormond Beach police detectives had surveillance images of a masked suspect and suspect vehicle, but neither was clearly identifiable. Nonetheless, officials said they were able to identify the vehicle. "From there, they determined that two women... had been contacted recently in a vehicle that matched perfectly," police said in the release. "Investigating further, Crime Center analysts found images on social media of Thomason and Raffa each wearing Batman clothing," the release said. Police tracked down the women to the Walmart, where they were arrested Sunday. Thomasons charges include armed robbery, petit theft and trespassing. Raffas include principal to armed robbery, principal to petit theft, trespassing and obstruction by a disguised person. A judge ruled Monday that the women will remain jailed without bond. Read: Waffle House Waitress Loses Job After Firing Her Gun During Robbery Authorities credited interagency teamwork and new technology with the arrests. "This is just the New Years first example of what our Crime Center can do to help deputies and police officers put criminals behind bars in Volusia County," Sheriff Mike Chitwood said. "When you combine our intelligence work with the kind of diligence Ormond Beach PD put into this case, these are the results youre going to see over and over again." Story continues Watch: 21-Year-Old Man Gets Sentenced for $1.00 Armed Robbery Related Articles: La Crosse Fire Chief Gregg Cleveland has announced plans to retire after more than a decade with the city of La Crosse. Cleveland, who has logged more than three decades as a firefighter and chief, will step down in June, according to a statement released Tuesday by Mayor Tim Kabat. Kabat praised Cleveland for his work in getting national accreditation for the fire department, overseeing the merger of building inspections and code enforcement into the department, and helping the department become one of the first in the state to carry an opioid overdose antidote. He also noted Clevelands leadership during difficult times, including a tornado that swept through the citys South Side in 2011. With the rapid growth of trains carrying North Dakota crude oil through the region, Cleveland was an outspoken advocate for disaster response preparation. During his tenure, Cleveland also oversaw a contentious plan for the city to provide ambulance service, which was scrapped in 2009, and clashed with former Mayor Matt Harter over staffing levels and overtime restrictions. Cleveland said Wednesday he hopes in his final six months to put together a plan for maintenance of the citys four fire stations and at least identify a site for a fifth on the far south side. I think the community needs it, he said. We have done nothing in the last 50 years with our stations. Its almost embarrassing. He said hes proud of the behind-the-scenes work that made for smooth responses to events such as the tornado and the 2014 explosion of a North Side asphalt storage tank. Its not a flashy organization, Cleveland said. Its walk matches its talk. Cleveland, 57, took over the La Crosse Fire Department in 2006 after 15 years as chief in Marshfield, Wis. He previously served as a firefighter and chief in Menasha, Wis. He holds a masters degree in public administration and has served as the president of the Wisconsin State Fire Chiefs Association and secretary for the National Fire Protection Association/Fire Service Executive Board. Cleveland said hes looking forward to traveling, reading and learning to play the guitar, while taking a break from his highly structured work schedule. Thats what Im looking forward to doing, he said. Whatever we want to do whenever we do it. It will be up to the citys Police and Fire Commission to select a new chief. Kabat said he expects a nationwide search to begin as soon as possible in order to hire a replacement before Clevelands departure. Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f32264%2f96ae5f82-1bd0-433f-ba16-b5037afa22b9 What happens when the beloved daughter of a famous father gets married? Well, the father gets up on stage and croons a classic Beatles track. What's more, he the state's chief minister is joined by his political rivals in the performance. All this and more happened in the Indian city of Shillong, also known as the rock capital, when Mukul Sangma, the chief minister, sang The Beatles' 'All My Loving' and joining him in chorus were the state's leader of opposition, Dr. Donkupar Roy, and a rival party's working president, Paul Lyngdoh. Sangma reportedly was a part of a music band during his college days. And Lyngdoh continues to write and make music for his own band. In a country fiercely divided along party lines, it is more than refreshing to see that music can resolve differences and bring people together. It is no surprise that the nearly two-minute-long video uploaded by a local user on Facebook has been shared more than 2,500 times. Baby Rhino discovers snow, pure joy A 4-year-old adorably explains the problem with New Year's resolutions Don't be afraid of Arthur rapping Eminem This woman is building a better volcano robot Photo credit: Michelle Herrera From Cosmopolitan Abre Conner grew up in a small town in Central Florida, where she was accustomed to racism both covert and blatant. These experiences shaped her desire to work on behalf of others. She has worked on Capitol Hill and for the NAACP Defense Fund, and is now a staff attorney with the ACLU of Northern California, focusing on environmental justice, and social and civil rights - causes she has no plans to stop fighting for. The first time I was called the N-word was by a classmate. I told my teacher about it and nothing was done. [When I was older, a] report was returned to me with a low grade. The teacher said, Theres no way you could have written this with this level of analysis. It was the first piece of work [the teacher] had ever seen from me. All [the teacher] knew about me was that I was a young black woman. When my American history class in high school decided to leave out the civil rights era and only teach it as an extra-credit lesson, I spoke up. Excluding the civil rights struggle from an understanding of American history shapes how people think about others in very real ways. I questioned my teacher and talked about it with other students. My parents, who had always encouraged me to speak up for myself and be an advocate, were called in. Eventually the principal decided that the issue wasnt something they should pursue. No one apologized [to me], and I wasnt in a position of power to change the mind-sets of adults who had always felt this way. College was a time when I started to learn more about civil rights work and especially how it benefits young people. I was studying business marketing and political science at the University of Florida, taking African-American studies courses, and I was very active in campus organizations like the Black Student Union. My freshman year in 2005, the campus newspaper published a cartoon of Kanye West in a joker suit and Condoleezza Rice standing behind him with a thought bubble that said, N-word, please. Story continues The Black Student Union marched down to the newspaper in a symbolic protest. The school decided to remove all of the newsstands until [the paper] issued an apology. That opened my eyes to a totally different way of looking at how people can evoke change. I understood why in the 1960s and '70s, students were at the forefront of the civil rights movement, using demonstrations in that way. It made me want to delve more deeply into advocacy work. I did two different policy-based internships with Congress members while in college. In the House of Representatives internship, I learned how constituents influenced the workflow for Congress members. In the Senate internship, I worked in the Tallahassee office, where I learned the importance of how district offices interact with the Washington, D.C., Senate office. Some of the feedback I got on my journey to becoming an attorney from black people was, We dont see any people that look like us representing us. I wanted to help change both perceptions and outcomes. I decided to apply to law school, but I had no idea what I was doing. I [would be] the first in my family to go to law school, which seemed great on paper, but the whole process was very overwhelming. I found a program at Florida State University Law School that helped me understand the [application] process. When I got back to UF for my senior year, I started a mentoring program to help young people of color with the process of applying to law school. I mirrored the program at FSU, which gave me a grant, and partnered with local attorneys, law students, and judges to give mentees the guidance they needed to navigate the complicated process. I was motivated by the idea that if we really want to change how the [legal] profession looked, its important that everyone have access to the tools to help them succeed. In 2009, I moved to Washington, D.C., to attend Washington College of Law at American University. It was a very big shock for me moving from Florida to D.C. I had to live an hour and a half away [from school] just to find something I could afford. The loans I was taking out paid for school and rent. I took a part-time job phone-banking for the university alumni organization to pay for everything else. Bar review prep started the day after graduation. I was celebrating with my family, and they were all so excited. But I could only hang out for a few hours before shutting myself in my room to start studying. You spend three years in law school thinking youre preparing for the bar, but the exam includes subjects law school may have never covered. I felt so much pressure. After passing the bar in the fall of 2012, I started a fellowship with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. I took a critical race theory class with a professor who had worked at the fund. Having a connection with that professor and doing really well in her class was helpful because she gave me insight into what to expect and what to keep in mind when applying. During the fellowship, I assisted in federal civil rights legislation coordination as well as a variety of civil rights cases, including Shelby County v. Holder [the landmark Supreme Court case that deemed sections of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional] and our clients in Fisher v. Texas [in which a white student sued the university for racial discrimination in admissions.] I learned so much about how government works with organizations that affect social change. After a year, I realized I wanted to work more closely with communities. I had mentors in D.C. who told me about an opening for a staff attorney at the Center on Poverty, Race, and the Environment, which works closely with Kettleman City and other areas in Californias Central Valley, communities I studied in my environmental justice coursework. It was a big transition for me to move out to California. In 2013, I passed the bar again in California. No matter where you take the bar, its always hard work. I didnt know anyone at all. I learned that I needed to be OK stepping outside my comfort zone and trusting my decisions. I threw myself into my work and got involved in the community where I lived, which was Bakersfield, then Fresno. I joined the ACLU in the spring of 2015 to work on environmental justice, civil rights, and social justice. Ive been advocating for better protections against growers spraying pesticides near schools and daycare centers. Gaps in protections continue to disproportionately expose thousands of Latino students in the most vulnerable districts to pesticides. A case that stands out to me was working with the Clovis Unified School District. They had a dress code policy that made a lot of students feel uncomfortable. For example, boys had to cut their hair short and couldnt wear earrings, and girls had to dress a certain way that wasnt distracting. The district had waivers for students who objected to the dress code for religious or cultural reasons, but the school had a lot of discretion on who could get those. We had a black biracial student who was told that he had to cut his hair. When he applied for a waiver, he was told that black people dont have a culture [exception]. There were other students who were transgender or LGBQ who felt like the dress code was very restricting for them. We spent four months petitioning the district to change the code. We decided to work with the students to help them tell their stories at school board meetings and feel empowered in their voices. Then we filed a Public Records Act Request, which would give us access to their documents, and prove who was being suspended or reprimanded the most. It forced them to explain [the discrimination]. Within a week, the school board decided to put the dress code issue back up for a vote. In April, they finally removed the gendered language in the dress code, and moved to protect young peoples right to be their authentic selves at school. Those months of advocacy, and talking to the community, students, and the school, led to a place where all sides could better understand one another. The work definitely takes an emotional toll. There are a lot of people counting on civil rights and liberties organizations to make sure there are some checks in place. But one organization cant do it all. An important part of being an advocate is sometimes disconnecting from work. It can be just going to the movies, or sitting at home bingeing TV, or going to the gym. Or Ill take a weekend trip with friends to remove myself from thinking about the issues that are constantly on my mind. Just being a black woman in this country does influence my everyday experience. [In March 2016,] three [colleagues] went to a bar to sing karaoke. Two of us - two black women who are also ACLU lawyers - werent drinking. Suddenly, a bartender demanded we buy more drinks. We looked around and realized several other patrons didnt have any drinks. There were no signs about drink minimums. The bar was only applying this mandatory drink minimum to us. Then, the bartender, almost a foot taller than me, tried to physically remove me from the bar. After I asked him not to touch me, he stormed off and called the police. When the police arrived, one of the officers asked if we thought it was a "racial thing" and after looking around the bar, noted the rule seemed "made up." And still, the police forced us to leave. My takeaway is that even talking about race and racism is uncomfortable for many people. Weve got to keep acknowledging and working to end both overt and implicit racism. Im proud to be a part of an ACLU thats swinging into high gear, ready to stop any unconstitutional laws and policies locally and on Capitol Hill. Were especially concerned about what the next four years will mean for racial justice; immigrants rights; mass surveillance, particularly of Muslim communities; and reproductive justice. Ultimately, were here to build bridges, not walls, no matter whos in the White House. As long theres a need for civil rights attorneys in California, I wont feel like my work is done. I want my career to continue to help elevate voices of individuals, groups, and communities who do not have a platform. Get That Life is a weekly series that reveals how successful, talented, creative women got to where they are now. Check back each Monday for the latest interview. Follow Heather on Twitter. You Might Also Like MUMBAI (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel Ltd, India's top wireless carrier, said on Tuesday it would offer free data to woo new and existing 4G customers, intensifying a price war in the sector and sending share prices tumbling. The package is Bharti's latest response to the entry last year of new operator Reliance Jio, backed by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, which shook India's telecom sector by offering free data services until March 31. Bharti said it would offer three gigabytes of free 4G data per month until the end of the year for customers who switch to some of its plans from other carriers and to existing customers who upgrade to 4G by Feb. 28. Prepaid users would have to sign up for a package worth at least 345 rupees ($5.05) to get the free data, while other customers would have to sign up for at least a 549 rupees ($8.04) monthly plan. The new package sparked concerns that intensifying competition will hit profits and margins in the sector and sent shares of Bharti and smaller rival Idea Cellular both down 2.1 percent. Bharti had previously slashed prepaid tariffs and unveiled cheaper data plans to compete against Jio, and other rivals have also had to offer incentives. But analysts warn that will extract a cost, with Vodafone forced into a $5 billion writedown of its India business last year because of competition in the country. The outlook for India's telecoms sector, the world's fastest growing internet services market by users, has further darkened after the country's recent move to ban higher value banknotes sparked a cash shortage that is hurting consumer demand. "A combination of negatives in the form of demonetization and Jio's free services is likely to result in fairly dismal 3Q FY17 earnings prints for Bharti and Idea," Kotak Securities said in a Jan. 2 research note. ($1 = 68.2879 rupees) (Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by Susan Fenton) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) A state lawmaker wants to make Utah's DUI threshold the strictest in the nation by lowering the blood-alcohol content limit to 0.05 percent. Though state numbers show alcohol-related driving deaths and DUI arrests are down in Utah, Rep. Norman Thurston said there's more to be done. The Provo Republican plans to introduce legislation lowering the BAC limit from 0.08 to 0.05 when Utah's lawmakers return for their annual session later this month. The BAC limit for most drivers is 0.08 in all states, but limits vary among states for commercial drivers or drivers who have had a past DUI conviction. If Thurston's bill passes this year, it would give the state the strictest BAC limit in the nation, but a tough stance on alcohol is hardly new for the majority Mormon state. An estimated 60 percent of the state's residents and most of the state Legislature are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which instructs church members to avoid drinking alcohol. Thurston said he has received some early feedback from his colleagues and is hopeful his proposal will pass this year and other states will follow suit. A decade ago, another Utah lawmaker proposed lowering the BAC to 0.06, but the proposal never got much traction. At a BAC of 0.05 percent, a driver may have trouble steering and have a harder time coordinating, tracking moving objects and responding to emergencies, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That comes from consuming two to three beers in an hour for a 160-pound man, though a number of factors, including gender, weight and how much food in someone's stomach all affect how much a drink will raise someone's BAC. For several years, the National Transportation Safety Board has encouraged states to drop their BAC levels to 0.05 or even lower, though local officials have not adopted the standards. It took years for all states to lower their BAC to 0.08, amid criticisms from the hospitality industry that the stricter limits punish responsible drinkers. Story continues Groups such Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) have declined to endorse proposals to lower the BAC to 0.05. MADD has said that lowering the threshold could cut deaths, but that would be years in the future and pursuing it would distract from their efforts to change other DUI laws. Thurston, who runs the health care statistics office in the Utah Health Department, notes that 0.05 BAC limits are common in Europe and in the U.S. the limit for commercial drivers is generally 0.04 percent. Most importantly, Thurston said, the law would send the following message: "This is a state where we take this seriously and you just don't drink and drive here." In recent years, sciences good name has been dragged through the mud, but Bill Nye -- formerly the Science Guy, now Science Man -- is here to rescue us all. His new series Bill Nye Saves the World comes to Netflix in Spring 2017, and according to a press release, each episode will tackle a topic from a scientific point of view, dispelling myths, and refuting anti-scientific claims that may be espoused by politicians, religious leaders or titans of industry. In recent years, sciences good name has been dragged through the mud, but Bill Nye formerly the Science Guy, now Science Man is here to rescue us all. His new series Bill Nye Saves the World comes to Netflix in Spring 2017, and according to a press release, each episode will tackle a topic from a scientific point of view, dispelling myths, and refuting anti-scientific claims that may be espoused by politicians, religious leaders or titans of industry. Politicians making anti-scientific claims, you say? Such as President Elect Donald Trumps pick to run the EPA, Scott Pruitt, claiming, Scientists continue to disagree about the degree and extent of global warming and its connection to the actions of mankind. Bill Nye, an advocate for climate science, agrees with the 97% of the worlds scientists who avow that climate change is very real and likely caused by mankinds actions. Or, for example, the President-Elects tweet on the subject: The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2012 We can only imagine what the Science Mans response will be to Trump. Nye says he and his correspondents from the worlds of comedy, academia, fashion and YouTube will also take on controversial topics like vaccinations and genetically modified foods, continuing his mission to change the world by getting people everywhere excited about the fundamental ideas in science. Now You Can Download These Netflix Shows and Movies Tell us what you think! Will you watch Bill Nyes new Netflix series? And whats your take on the Science Mans climate change facts? Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Khail Anonymous, on Twitter. Billie Lourd has broken her silence on the deaths of mother Carrie Fisher and grandmother Debbie Reynolds. In an Instagram tribute posted Monday, the Scream Queens actress shared an old family photo and thanked friends and fans for giving her "strength" during a difficult time. "Receiving all of your prayers and kind words over the past week has given me strength during a time I thought strength could not exist," Lourd wrote. "There are no words to express how much I will miss my Abadaba and my one and only Momby. Your love and support means the world to me." Read more: Joely Fisher Pays Tribute to Sister Carrie: "You Lost Princess Leia, I Lost My Hero" (Guest Column) Fisher died at age 60 on Dec. 27 after suffering a heart attack days prior. Just one day later, Reynolds was rushed to the hospital after suffering a stroke and passed away that night. She was 84. Star Wars creator George Lucas, Harrison Ford and Scream Queens co-star Ariana Grande were among those who sent their condolences to Lourd shortly following the news of Fisher's death. On ABC's 20/20, Reynolds' son Todd Fisher revealed he and Lourd are planning a joint funeral for the mother and daughter pair, which will be held privately at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles. The two will be buried next to each other. Lourd is the daughter of Fisher and talent agent Bryan Lourd. Receiving all of your prayers and kind words over the past week has given me strength during a time I thought strength could not exist. There are no words to express how much I will miss my Abadaba and my one and only Momby. Your love and support means the world to me. A photo posted by Billie Lourd (@praisethelourd) on Jan 2, 2017 at 10:09am PST Billionaire Richard Branson's definition of success has nothing to do with money . "In my opinion, true success should be measured by how happy you are," the entrepreneur writes on LinkedIn. Happiness isn't just a metric to measure his level of success it's also the key to it, according to Branson: "Most people would assume my business success, and the wealth that comes with it, have brought me happiness. But I know I am successful, wealthy and connected because I am happy." The Virgin Group founder asked a handful of his employees to share their "happiness mantras," which he then highlighted on his blog. Here are the five that Branson plans on adopting in 2017, plus his own personal mantra for happiness. 1. "Throw kindness around like confetti." 2. "Happiness has a true sense of simplicity. Its root is not from what you own, but from what drives your soul and inspires your sense of belonging." 3. "One can always find a way to adapt to whatever life throws at you: Just enjoy the moment." 4. "We will make it work." 5. "The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts." And the billionaire chose this one: "The way I see it, there's a reason we're called human beings and not human doings." "As human beings we have the ability to think, move and communicate in a heightened way. We can cooperate, understand, reconcile and love. ... So in 2017, don't forget the to-do list, but remember to write a to-be list too." Don't miss: Richard Branson shares the 5 best leadership books he read in 2016 More From CNBC John Oliver may well care about gay people, but it turns out gay people dont care a huge amount about John Oliver. The British comedian and host of Last Week Tonight joined up with Billy Eichner for a segment of Billy on the Street to find out what gay people think of him. Eichner scours the streets of New York for gay people to sample, while Oliver stands awkwardly by his side. At first the pairs struggle seems to be to find someone whos even heard of him. Whos John Oliver? one man asks. However, when Eichner then asks each gay person their opinion of fellow TV host Wendy Williams, the answers are far more positive. At one point, Eichner asks one man on his phone what he thinks of Oliver, to which he replies, I dont even know who that is, before answering the same question, but with a Wendy Williams spin with, of course I do. Oliver tries his best to sell his show in a couple of awkward little pleas, but all of them seem to be more interested in Wendy Williams and Taraji P. Hensons character Cookie Lyon from Empire. However, towards the end of the segment, one man throws Oliver a bone, saying, He talks about all the people that are involved in non-traditional relationships, so he does a good job of helping everyone start to think about it a little bit better. Watch the video below: Related stories Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert Nearly Left Comedy Central in 2012, New Book Reveals John Oliver Blames Himself for Donald Trump's Presidential Run John Oliver Offers Donald Trump His Emmy to Accept Election Results Bindi Irwin reunited with her long-distance boyfriend for the holidays, and the photos are melting our hearts Ready for some romance? Dancing With the Stars champion Bindi Irwin reunited with her long-distance boyfriend over the holidays, and based on the pictures, the two of them are crazy in love. The daughter of the late Steve Irwin started dating boyfriend Chandler Powell back in mid-to-late 2015, and it seems obvious that these two have staying power. In early December, the two decided to give long distance a shot. Irwin stayed in Australia to work at her familys zoo, and Powell went back to the United States. Of course, the decision wasnt an easy one. Thank you for everything, you always make me smile, no matter how far apart we may be, Irwin wrote in an Instagram caption right before he left. Have fun while youre away, go find lots of manatees in Florida for me! I miss you so much already. You really do mean the world to me. The two lovebirds reunited for the new year, with a fun trip to Tasmania. I missed you Wonderful to be back @AustraliaZoo after celebrating New Years in gorgeous Tasmania together. Ready for lots of fun these Australian School Holidays doing shows at #AustraliaZoo A photo posted by Bindi Irwin (@bindisueirwin) on Jan 1, 2017 at 10:45pm PST They look so happy to be back together! Prior to the new year starting, Irwin shared a photo of the two enjoying some breakfast pie together. Reasons why I love Australia - A pie & tomato sauce is perfectly acceptable for breakfast. Also hugs to this wonderful human for sharing my love of pies for breakfast #Flashback #VeggiePie A photo posted by Bindi Irwin (@bindisueirwin) on Dec 26, 2016 at 3:36pm PST They also share a mutual love of animals an interest that her father would surely be so proud of. A visit to our conservation property a few weeks ago was incredible. Hiking and looking for wildlife is always wonderful especially when you find an adorable wild koala. Our property was set aside to protect our gorgeous icon species and all the native wildlife in the spectacular bushland near the Great Dividing Range. It is a true blessing to find a little koala curled up in the trees and a great reminder that we have to protect them forever. This photo captured by @RobertIrwinPhotography is so special as this was the first time Chandler has ever seen a wild koala! And what a sweetheart she is. Such an amazing moment. A photo posted by Bindi Irwin (@bindisueirwin) on Dec 13, 2016 at 1:52am PST Powell, whos 20, is a professional wakeboarder. According to Irwin, she met him back when he was only 16. While they havent been dating for an incredibly long time, they still have a history that cant be beat. 2016 will be one I remember for the rest of my life. Thank you for making it so incredible. I can't wait to make 2017 even more memorable with you @bindisueirwin : @robertirwinphotography A photo posted by Chandler Powell (@chandlerpowell) on Dec 31, 2016 at 3:51am PST These two are so vocal over their love, that we truly wouldnt be surprised if he decides to pop the question anytime soon. Or at least gift her with a promise ring, proving that even distance wont be able to tear them apart. They might be incredibly young, but hey sometimes when you know, you just know. Weve had a lot of excellent employees at our dairy over the years, but weve also had several that wouldnt be accurately described by that adjective. Some made great progress in thinking about the consequences of their decisions. Others never did. My father taught me common sense will get you further in life than a Ph.D. Unfortunately he never had that discussion with a few of our employees. These are the most memorable employee poor decision moments I can recall. 10. It was spring. The snow had all melted. Everything, including the concrete, was muddy. A trainee from South America decided to take a shortcut through the grass with a skidsteer. After going about 30 feet, he buried the skidsteer. Before asking for help he had three skidsteers stuck in a scene that looked very much like a mud bog. Fifty feet of cable initially would have saved a lot of time. 9. For some time, we milked three times a day. We milked four pens of cows and the hospital pen. We had started a new employee in the barns. He was doing his first shift solo. He brought each pen of cows to the parlor to be milked and then cleaned the pen with a skidsteer while the cows were being milked. He had brought the second pen of cows to the parlor to be milked. The milker was initially concerned the cows had very little milk in their udders, but then realized this was the same group of cows he had just finished milking 5 minutes ago. 8. We had just finished our new manure storage facility. In the past we had hauled manure daily, usually two or three loads. Nobody noticed. Now we had storage, so manure hauling was more of an event. Over a hundred loads a day for several days. The neighbors would notice, so I was trying to do everything as correctly as I could. We had started hauling manure that morning. I noticed one of the manure haulers and another car had stopped out in front of the dairy on the highway. There was initially some shouting between the two, which progressed to a fistfight on the double stripe. Apparently the two had gotten into an argument the night before at a tavern, and when the manure hauler met the other party's car on the highway, they both stopped and the altercation progressed. I had to break up the fight. I had never read anything about brawls in my 590 Nutrient Management Plan. 7. We had a farm pickup we used to carry milk bottles to the calves. An employee burned out the clutch getting stuck in sand without locking it into four-wheel drive. OK, the truck had more than 100,000 miles. I could live with replacing the clutch. Two days later the same employee told me the truck smelled burnt again. He had burnt out the new clutch in two days. 6. A good employee with mechanical experience was assigned to changing the motor oil and filter on a tractor. He thought the used oil looked awful dirty, so he decided on his own to rinse the crankcase out with diesel fuel. He turned over the engine until the engine seized up. We had to replace the engine. 5. A new employee without any training was given a fill job for an hour cleaning rain gutters on the barns until Julie could start training him to feed calves. I explained how to set up the ladder and use a square spatula to clean out the gutter. I told him to move the ladder as needed. Julie came in the office and told me I better check on the fellow cleaning gutters, he was on the roof. I went out to check, and there he was on a wet steel roof, 12 feet in the air, bending over and cleaning out the gutters 6 inches below his feet. I got him before he fell. 4. This is very common when its bitterly cold. The gate pin blew up when I drove by with the skidsteer. This should not be confused with hitting the gate with the skidsteer and breaking the gate bolt. In 20-plus years I think Ive heard this excuse four times. 3. It was Super Bowl Sunday and minus-10 was the afternoon high. An employee was to spread a load of manure. He broke a shear bolt on the spreader when he was spreading the load. The next morning after a minus-25 night we found a totally frozen manure spreader full of manure. It took five days in a neighbor's heated shop to thaw it out. 2. A calf feeder had been directed to give a scouring calf electrolytes midday. Julie asked the employee how the calf drank. Oh, she wouldnt drink, so gave it to the calf next to her. 1. We had just poured 10 yards of concrete and I had just finished with the bull float. An employee came along in a skidsteer to pickup something in the feed shed. He drove the skidsteer right through the wet concrete leaving big ruts. I was so amazed at his ineptitude that I didnt even say anything. When he drove back through going the other direction, I lost it. My mother would not have been proud of what I said to this young man. I can laugh about most of these situations now. At the time, I doubt joking about it was my first response. Several of these employee moments could have been prevented if the boss -- me -- had done a more thorough job explaining the job at hand. Some of it could not have been prevented. My dad was right, even though he had a Ph.D. -- common sense trumps everything on a farm. WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESSWIRE / January 3, 2017 / CEO of RedPeg Marketing, Brad Nierenberg, an acclaimed executive and business strategist with strong acumen, notes the positive corporate culture is imperative in companies striving to build greater employee loyalty and maximize the organizations' bottom line. As the founder of an experiential ad agency, Nierenberg has realized that the individual experiences of employees have a much more significant impact on morale than the typical business-offered "morale boosters." The creative marketing expert recently shed light on the three most important aspects of creating a meaningful, productive, and thought provoking work environment. A 2012 study, which examined the effects a company's atmosphere has on its turnover rates, concluded that employees were 45% more likely to leave a job with poor culture than one that provided positive experiences. The results also showed that employers who cultivate a rich work setting often enjoy retention rates as high as 77%. The first step, Brad Nierenberg states, is to welcome creativity. At RedPeg, Nierenberg takes the open door policy a step further. To his managers he asks, "Is your door really open? Are you truly encouraging fresh thinking?" If ideas are immediately rejected or disregarded by superiors, employees feel their professional growth is being stunted, and the business in turn suffers when they refrain from contributing again. In order to achieve company-wide growth, the creative process demands that new concepts and solutions be embraced and encouraged, not discouraged. Industry powerhouses like Google and 3M are a direct result of innovation from within. Google actually encourages staff to dedicate one day a week to creating new concepts. 3M's most successful product, the Sticky Note, was completely designed by employees. Managers must be able to accurately identify a person's strengths and weaknesses, and create tasks that allow them to maximize the impact of their talents. A recent poll by Gallup showed that putting these techniques into practice will result in employees being 7.8% more productive and six times more likely to be engaged in their job. When a team is compiled to successfully take advantage of its strengths, its work output is increased by 12.5%. In other words, more is being accomplished and those completing the jobs are also receiving immense satisfaction doing the work. Story continues http://bradnierenbergnews.com Finally, and most importantly says Nierenberg, officemates must feel like they are surrounded by a second family. To accomplish this, he curates experiences that build deeper bonds between his employees. Each week he sends three employees from different departments out to lunch. Called the Three Amigos, this helps team members get to know each other in ways that may not happen in the office. Nierenberg has also rented a beach house during the summer and sent different sets of employees there. The resulting bonds are stronger than what could be achieved in the day to day work back at the office. Inevitably, conflicts will occur, but those moments of uncertainty should be used as a chance to work towards something greater, together. High levels of respect, trust, and comfort will make the countless hours of working closely together a rewarding experience. Treating employees as valued contributors helps employers to continually improve and adapt the workplace to best optimize culture and productivity. Brad Nierenberg is an entrepreneur and the President & CEO of RedPeg Marketing. With over 20 years of industry experience, Nierenberg has won several awards for his contributions to the field of Experiential Marketing. Besides being a nationally sought after speaker, his written works have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine, along with many other prestigious business publications. Brad Nierenberg - President & CEO of RedPeg Marketing: http://bradnierenbergnews.com Brad Nierenberg (@bradnierenberg) - Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradnierenberg Brad Nierenberg - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brad.nierenberg Contact Information: BradNierenbergNews.com www.BradNierenbergNews.com brad@bradnierenbergnews.com SOURCE: Brad Nierenberg Manaus (Brazil) (AFP) - Brazilian police staged a massive manhunt Tuesday for scores of convicts who escaped during a prison riot that ended with 56 inmates killed by their rivals, many of them beheaded. In all, 184 inmates escaped from two prisons in Amazonas state as a local drug gang took gruesome revenge on members of a rival gang, authorities said. Of those, 130 remain at large and 54 have been recaptured, according to the latest count. Police set up roadblocks in the area and deployed teams to track down the remaining convicts. "We hope to have caught nearly all the prisoners by the end of the week," the state security minister Sergio Fontes told reporters. - Escape tunnels - The initial riot at the Anisio Jobim Penitentiary Complex in the state capital, Manaus, was followed by uprisings at two other prisons. Authorities swiftly brought them under control in a crack-down -- but not before 72 had escaped from the nearby Antonio Trindade Penal Institute. They joined the 112 who had already escaped through a network of tunnels discovered at the Anisio Jobim prison. Besides the 56 inmates killed at Anisio Jobim, four were killed in fighting between prisoners at the Puraquequara Penitentiary Unit, also in Amazonas state. - Desperate relatives - Prisoners' desperate relatives gathered outside a forensic building where experts were working to identify the bodies on Tuesday. "I want news of my son, whether he is alive or dead. They are not telling me anything," one of them, Ana Regina, 47, told AFP. "I don't know where he is or whether he fled." Fontes said the authorities would probably start handing over the bodies of the dead to their relatives on Tuesday. - 'Watch out single ladies' - Despite the massive manhunt, one alleged escapee appeared to mock the authorities on Facebook. The man, Brayan Bremer, posted pictures of himself and other purported escapees giving the thumbs-up sign and feasting on fruit against a backdrop of thick vegetation. Story continues "I'm coming, watch out single ladies," said one post. Officials have not confirmed the account belongs to an escaped prisoner. But it went viral in Brazil, getting 14,000 "likes" on Facebook and inspiring instant memes of the prisoner's face plastered on posters for famous jailbreak movies like "The Shawshank Redemption" and TV series "Prison Break." - 'My son was cut to pieces' - The riot was no laughing matter, though. Authorities described a horrifying scene of decapitated and brutalized bodies strewn around the prison when they regained control Monday morning after a riot that raged through the night. Bloodied and burned bodies were stacked in a concrete prison yard and piled in carts, said an AFP photographer at the scene. "My son and others were cut into pieces. They ended up without heads," said one of the weeping relatives outside the forensic building, Raimundo Castro Leal. "I want them to identify him quickly and release him." The prisoners took 12 guards hostage, who were later freed. Prison authorities said they had transferred 130 gang members from various jails to a different facility after they received death threats. The federal government said it was releasing funds to create 20,000 new places in Brazil's overcrowded jails. - Gangland revenge - Authorities blamed the riot on fighting between the Family of the North (FDN), a powerful local gang, and rivals from the First Capital Command (PCC), one of Brazil's largest gangs. The riot was the deadliest in more than a decade in Brazil's underfunded and overcrowded jails. In October, prison riots triggered by fighting between rival gangs killed 33 people. And in 1992, a riot in Sao Paulo's Carandiru prison left 111 people dead. Brazil's justice ministry said in a 2014 report that the country's prisons need 50 percent more capacity to handle the current number of inmates: 622,000. That is the world's fourth-largest prison population after the US, China and Russia, according to the report. London (AFP) - Influential British art critic and prize-winning author John Berger, a self-declared revolutionary who controversially backed the far-left Black Panthers, has died aged 90, his son told AFP Tuesday. Berger was best known for his art criticism essay "Ways Of Seeing", written to accompany a BBC television series, which is credited with changing the way people viewed art. He also won the 1972 Booker Prize for Fiction for his experimental novel "G.", set in pre-World War I Europe. Berger died on Monday in the Paris suburb of Antony, his son Jacob said. "He died peacefully at home, surrounded by his family," he said. He had lived in France since the 1970s. Berger was born in London in 1926. After serving in the British army, he enrolled in the Chelsea School of Art, becoming a painter. He then taught drawing from 1948 to 1955, becoming a noted art critic from 1952 onwards, according to his French publishers, Les Editions de l'Olivier. He wrote about artists including Pablo Picasso, Titian, Paul Cezanne and Gustave Courbet. "Ways of Seeing", a highly influential criticism of Western cultural aesthetics, originally aired in 1972 as a four-part BBC television series and was subsequently published as a book. "Art and the wider world seemed to make more sense after watching Berger on the BBC, with his piercing blue eyes, steady delivery and groovy seventies shirt, eloquently explain perspective or the idealisation of the nude," wrote Mark Brown, arts correspondent for Britain's Guardian newspaper. - Black Panther donation - But besides art criticism, Berger also wrote novels, plays and poetry. "G." won the Booker Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in English-language literature. A Marxist humanist who called himself a revolutionary, he donated half of his A5,000 prize money to the UK branch of the Black Panthers, the far-left black nationalist organisation. Story continues "There is not a single book of his that is not impregnated with politics," Jacob Berger said. "He was a friend of Subcomandante Marcos (former leader of Mexico's Zapatista rebels), a friend of the Palestinian people... who had an extremely strong political position without being a dogmatic communist." Berger moved to France to escape the "extremely anti-communist" Britain, his son said. In France, "there was a balance which tended much more towards support of, if not the Soviet Union, then of Marxist and communist ideals". - 'A great storyteller' - Tributes came from the worlds of art, literature and politics. "With John Berger's passing we have lost one of the great storytellers of our times," said publishers Penguin Books. Jeremy Corbyn, the veteran leftist leader of Britain's main opposition Labour Party, said: "John Berger changed the way we see the world and each other. "He was an advocate for socialism -- and a more kind and generous life for all." Influential British art critic and prize-winning author John Berger, a self-declared revolutionary who controversially backed the far-left Black Panthers, has died aged 90, his son told AFP Tuesday. Berger was best known for his art criticism essay "Ways Of Seeing", written to accompany a BBC television series, which is credited with changing the way people viewed art. He also won the 1972 Booker Prize for Fiction for his experimental novel "G.", set in pre-World War I Europe. Berger died on Monday in the Paris suburb of Antony, his son Jacob said. "He died peacefully at home, surrounded by his family," he said. He had lived in France since the 1970s. Berger was born in London in 1926. After serving in the British army, he enrolled in the Chelsea School of Art, becoming a painter. He then taught drawing from 1948 to 1955, becoming a noted art critic from 1952 onwards, according to his French publishers, Les Editions de l'Olivier. He wrote about artists including Pablo Picasso, Titian, Paul Cezanne and Gustave Courbet. "Ways of Seeing", a highly influential criticism of Western cultural aesthetics, originally aired in 1972 as a four-part BBC television series and was subsequently published as a book. "Art and the wider world seemed to make more sense after watching Berger on the BBC, with his piercing blue eyes, steady delivery and groovy seventies shirt, eloquently explain perspective or the idealisation of the nude," wrote The Guardian newspaper's arts correspondent Mark Brown. - Black Panther donation - But besides art criticism, Berger also wrote novels, plays and poetry. "G." won the Booker Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in English language literature. A Marxist humanist who called himself a revolutionary, he donated half of his 5,000 prize money to the UK branch of the Black Panthers, the far-left black nationalist organisation. "There is not a single book of his that is not impregnated with politics," Jacob Berger said. Story continues "He was a friend of Subcomandante Marcos, a friend of the Palestinian people... who had an extremely strong political position without being a dogmatic communist." Berger moved to France to escape the "extremely anti-communist" Britain, his son said. In France, "there was a balance which tended much more towards support of, if not the Soviet Union, then of Marxist and communist ideals". Tributes came from the worlds of art, literature and politics. "With John Berger's passing we have lost one of the great storytellers of our times," said publishers Penguin Books. Jeremy Corbyn, the veteran leftist leader of Britain's main opposition Labour Party, said: "John Berger changed the way we see the world and each other. "He was an advocate for socialism -- and a more kind and generous life for all." A British soldier was killed in Iraq under questionable circumstances, according to a news report published Monday afternoon. Details were scarce, but the "incident" was under investigation after it was determined the death "was not as a result of enemy activity," the British Ministry of Defence said in a statement, Sky News reported. The soldier, who was not immediately identified, died in the town of Taji, which is located about 100 miles northwest of Baghdad. He served in the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Lancasters Regiment. It was not immediately clear when exactly the soldier died. "From that we can surmise that this soldier was there in a training capacity, as opposed to fighting Islamic State further north in Mosul, for example," a Sky News reporter indicated. However, nothing was immediately confirmed and the soldier's death was "under investigation." The Minister of Defence released a full, brief statement following the soldier's death. The soldier may have indeed been participating in or even leading training exercises, as a group of British military specialist soldiers joined about 500 others in Iraq last month for that sole purpose. The British soldiers were in Iraq to train rebels to fight the Islamic State group, Sputnik News reported. Some of the training exercises being led by British soldiers include infantry skills, combat first aid and other battlefield tactics. Together with the U.S. military, the British armed forces have killed more than 50,000 ISIS soldiers in both Iraq and Syria in the last two years alone. The British military has lost nearly 2000 service members since the War in Iraq began in 2003, according to a running tabulation compiled by the BBC. Most of those deaths have been attributed to causes such as friendly fire, strikes, suicide or natural causes. Related Articles Will the next Bruce Springsteen album include songs about President elect Donald Trump? Not exactly, says the Boss in a new interview on Marc Maron's WTF podcast. "I haven't written about it. It takes a while to digest all those thing," he told Maron. "I don't know if I will, 'cause, I don't go, "Okay, I need a Trump album. That's what's got to come next.'" Springsteen said he writes from "inside out," and if he is inspired by something internally, "I can make a record based on what I can write about at a given moment." "Sometimes it ends up being topical. Sometimes it doesn't," he said. "But we've got a good arsenal of material right now, that we can go out and sort of put in service." Private citizen Springsteen said he does have his concerns about the next four years and if Trump is competent enough to lead. "I've felt disgust before, but never the kind of fear that you feel now," he said. "It's as simple as the fear of is someone simply competent enough to do this particular job? Forget about where they are ideologically. Do they simply have the pure competence to be put in the position of such responsibility?" Springsteen is also concerned that the "worst aspects that he appealed to comes to fruition." "When you let that genie out of the bottle -- bigotry, racism, intolerance -- they don't go back in the bottle that easily if they go back in at all," Springsteen said. "Whether it's a rise in hate crimes, people feeling they have license to speak and behave in ways that previously were considered un-American and are un-American. That's what he's appealing to. My fears are that those things find a place in ordinary, civil society and the country changes in a way that is unrecognizable, and we become estranged. You say, 'Hey, well, wait a minute, you voted for Trump? I thought I knew who you were ' You feel very estranged from your country." Story continues He is also critical of Trump's choices for his incoming Cabinet, adding "that doesn't speak very well for what's coming up." Springsteen still has faith, however, that "America is still America." "I still believe in its ideals, and I'm going to do my best to play my very, very small part in maintaining those things," he said. Listen to the podcast at wtfpod.com. Today is @springsteen day on https://t.co/KBRiPQLutw! I returned to Jersey to talk to the Boss! Great guy. Great talk! Do it up! pic.twitter.com/gLTxPsJK06 - WTF with Marc Maron (@WTFpod) January 2, 2017 ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) Katrina Phifer remembers asking herself, "What have we gotten ourselves into?" when The Salvation Army's SMART Kids program launched in May. An elementary-aged girl threw a "toddler tantrum" after being simply told "no." The stress from being homeless had affected how the girl reacted to things. Six months later, that same girl is more independent. Phifer, an aide for the SMART Kids program, recently saw the girl comforting a peer who was frightened because she had recently been in a car accident. "From her first day here when she couldn't even handle a 'no, that's not what we're going to do' without falling apart to now she's leading, she's being a good friend that's just a cool transition to see," Phifer said. This transition is just one of many seen at the SMART Kids program, which provides after-school programming for children experiencing homelessness. The program provides dinner and snacks, homework help, access to games and materials for projects and, most importantly, positive experiences with adults other than their parents who care about them. Before the program started, many kids needed to go along with their parents to required meetings with case workers. SMART Kids offers children an escape from that stress, said Chad Johnson, program coordinator. "(The parents are) experiencing a lot of trauma, a lot of crisis, so when the kids are always there with them, they're experiencing that right alongside them," Johnson said. The program targets children at The Salvation Army shelter, but also is open to children living at other area shelters or motels, or couch-surfing at someone else's house. "There (had) never been any established programs for the kids in the shelter, especially since there's been such a rise in children experiencing homelessness in the area," Johnson said, noting there's been a 50 percent increase in families experiencing homelessness since 2012. A $100,000 grant from the Bremer Foundation allowed Johnson to create the SMART Kids program. He was able to hire Phifer and part-time staff. A number of volunteers also spend time with the children. Both Johnson and Phifer have children of their own. Johnson said he had experience with kids' programming before this job. Phifer grew up in a home that offered foster care. "I'm familiar with kids that come from difficult places," she said. For both Johnson and Phifer, the goal for the program is to help the kids in whatever way they can. "We want to prevent (homelessness) from happening in the future. These kids are surrounded by it. It's the only life that they know," Johnson said. "I want more for them, and if there's not people out there to care to invest their time and show these kids that we care, then who else will?" Despite some of the behavioral problems, the kids are working really hard, Phifer said. "When you think about what they're overcoming, ... I think they're stronger than most of us think," she said. "You forget just how hard they're working to keep it together and to grow despite what they've been given." For many of the kids involved, SMART Kids just feels like a fun place where they get to play games and get snacks. Sarah, a 7-year-old participating in the program, lives with her family in a blue house. She said she likes the program because it's fun. "We get to play on the Wii," she said. "Sometimes we go to other places, like all the places in the world." Johnson clarified that the SMART Kids participants sometimes get to go on field trips. In December, the group went rollerskating. "I tripped like 100 times," Sarah said with a laugh. During a journaling activity with volunteers from the St. Cloud Times, Sarah colored pictures about herself and her life. She drew a picture of a police badge because she wants to be a police officer when she grows up, and she wrote that she is "smart and funy." When asked to draw what she cannot live without, Sarah drew a picture of money. "I want a hundred dollars," she said. And what would she spend the money on? "A car and a house and my own toys," she said. Nay'llah, a 6-year-old SMART Kids participant, lives with her family in the same blue house as Sarah. One of her favorite SMART Kids memories is winning second-place in a paper airplane contest with St. Cloud Times reporters. In her journal, Nay'llah said she wishes for a "unicorness," which is a unicorn with a horn and wings. Isaiah Juster, 8, is another SMART Kids participant. His favorite thing to do at home and at The Salvation Army is to play video games. He said he likes SMART Kids and school. His favorite subject? "I just cannot pick any one. I like all of them," he said. Juster was living in The Salvation Army shelter when SMART Kids started. Now, his family has moved to a mobile home. Because The Salvation Army shelter looks like a hotel it's actually in a former hotel building many kids don't seem to be stigmatized about living in a shelter, Johnson said. "I've never heard any of our kids self-identify as homeless," Phifer said. "I think for most of them, this is just where we live right now." The constant change can be draining for both the children and staff. "I think my most challenging part is No. 1, the constant transitions. We'll just be forming a relationship with some of the students and then they're gone," Phifer said. Another difficulty is not being able to help every child. If a kid could be dangerous and hurt themselves or someone else, SMART Kids isn't for them, Johnson said. "I just want to make sure the kids, when they're here, they feel safe, they feel secure," he said. "Because if they don't feel safe, they're not going to be able to grow at all." Johnson and Phifer said they sometimes hear complaints about the childrens' parents, who might be making poor choices. For Salvation Army staff, that's not a good reason to abandon the children. "It's a cliched saying, but the cycle of poverty is true. It really is a cycle," Phifer said. "Their parents that are making the bad decisions, at one point were kids that, odds are, didn't get what they needed from parents. "If you're a 5-year-old that doesn't get what you need, and you're growing up in chaos, you're chances ... of being able to make good decisions as an adult just aren't there," Phifer continued. "Somebody needs to stop the cycle, and the cycle stops when the kids get the help they need. "If we abandon them, the cycle will continue." Domestic energy explorer Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. COG has been issued the final Environmental Impact Statement by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for Williams Partners' WPZ Atlantic Sunrise project. This, in turn has paved the way for an early 2017 final decision. Post the necessary approvals, Williams Partners expect the construction to begin in mid-2017. The project is likely to begin its services by mid-2018. Along with agreements linked to Cabot's 850,000 MMBtu transport capacity on Atlantic Sunrise, Cabot Oil & Gas has agreed to sell an additional 150,000 MMBtu of natural gas to an undisclosed company over a term of 3 years. Cabot Oil and Gas, based in Houston, TX, is an independent oil and gas exploration company with producing properties mainly in the continental U.S. Over the past one year, the Zacks categorized U.S. Oil and Gas Exploration and Production industry has registered an impressive growth of 41%. However, the Cabot Oil & Gas stock has underperformed the industry by registering growth of only 32.8%. Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.'s portfolio is spread between low-risk/long reserve-life properties and large-volume/rapid-payout assets, with further variety from large prospect inventories that have a broad mix of production and payout profiles. Also, Cabot's exposure to the high quality Marcellus and Eagle Ford assets help it to achieve industry leading rates of return. However, with gas prices still just above $3, Cabot has been able to extract less value for its products. This has pressured the profit margins. Moreover, being a relatively small player, Cabot lacks the financial resources of larger industry giants. As such, during the current prolonged credit crunch, the company is forced to spend within its internal cash generation. This may prove detrimental to its growth plans. As a result, the company carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which implies that the stock will perform in line with the broader U.S. equity market over the next one to three months. Story continues Some better-ranked players from the broader energy sector include Braskem S.A. BAK and CONE Midstream Partners LP CNNX. Both these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. In the last four quarters, Braskem posted an average positive earnings surprise of 105.5%. In the last four quarters, CONE Midstream Partners posted an average positive earnings surprise of 14.68%. Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017 In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest tickers for the entirety of 2017? Who wouldn't? These 10 are painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. They are our primary picks to buy and hold. Be among the very first to see them >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report WILLIAMS PTR LP (WPZ): Free Stock Analysis Report CONE MIDSTREAM (CNNX): Free Stock Analysis Report BRASKEM SA (BAK): Free Stock Analysis Report CABOT OIL & GAS (COG): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. California kidnap victim Denise Huskins is speaking out after accusations by strangers that she faked her high-profile abduction almost two years ago. All I did was survive, and I was criminalized for it, Huskins wrote on Facebook Sunday. In March of 2015, Huskins was held at gunpoint, drugged and kidnapped from her home in Vallejo, California. She was released after two days near her mothers home in Huntington Beach, California. Her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, was also held at gunpoint, drugged and forced into a closet. Huskins case became erroneously known as the Gone Girl kidnapping, referencing the popular book and movie about a phony kidnapping, after Vallejo police initially publicly cast doubt on her story. But four months later, Matthew Muller, a former Marine and a Harvard-educated lawyer, was arrested after he became a suspect in a similar home invasion attack in Dublin, California. Muller pleaded guilty last September to kidnapping in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, California. He is scheduled to be sentenced March 16. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Despite Mullers plea, Huskins wrote she continues to be harassed online. Included with her Facebook post was the screenshot of a message she purportedly received from a Peoria, Illinois man. In the message, the man wrote: Are you that horrible lying woman who faked her own kidnapping??? Oh wow you are such a horrible person, he added. You are going to hell for the u have done. Id like to slap you a few times. And just so u known, ur not as pretty as u think. Id put u at being 5 outta 10. Pick up PEOPLEs special edition True Crime Stories: Cases That Shocked America, on sale now, for the latest on Casey Anthony, JonBenet Ramsey and more. Unfortunately this is just one example of countless messages like this that I have received, Huskins wrote. And like the ones before this, unfortunately this guy won. Story continues Huskins wrote the online attacks have taken an emotional toll on her. After reading this I went into one of my many PTSD episodes of terror, she wrote. My jaw and back are sore from the deep powerful shaking and reflexive tension that my whole body goes into. My eyes are sore and red from uncontrollable tears. I am thoroughly exhausted, every inch of my body is tired from the fit of terror it was battling. She continued, Congratulations, person I have never met, never heard of who hates me so much that he went out of his way to message me this disgusting, demeaning, dehumanizing outrage. Its almost been two years, a year and a half since it was made public that this was real, that Aaron and I were telling the truth the whole time, Huskins wrote. But here we are, starting our new year hoping for a more positive future, but confronted with hate and ignorance. Quinn wrote his own post on Facebook supporting Huskins and called her his hero. I post this because I cannot believe the amount of unwarranted hatred Denise Huskins has received from law enforcements flat out lie, he said. This message was sent yesterday, more than a year and a half after one of the kidnappers was caught. Denise endured unimaginable horrors and should have been treated like a hero when she got home but instead she continues to endure vile messages such as this one. Nevertheless she conducts herself with love and grace. Shes my favorite person and unquestionably my hero. Lawsuit Against Police In March of 2016, Huskins and Quinn filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Vallejo and its police department, accusing the department of defamation, false arrest and false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. (Quinn has claimed he was initially held for an 18-hour interrogation after reporting Huskins missing, during which police accused him of killing her.) For the rest of their lives these two individuals have essentially a tattoo on their forehead, which labels them as hoaxers, their attorney, Kevin Clune, previously told PEOPLE. Vallejo police said they were initially skeptical of Huskins abduction because they didnt believe Quinns version of events, including that he had been drugged by intruders, according to an earlier court filing. Police also were skeptical because Huskins allegedly did not meet with her parents in the days after her reappearance, according to the filing. The city has argued that its officers public statements after the abduction were constitutionally protected speech, claiming the officers are protected under the states absolute immunity. * Canadian dollar at C$1.3444, or 74.38 U.S. cents * Bond prices lower across the yield curve TORONTO, Jan 3 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar edged lower against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday as broader gains for the greenback offset higher oil prices. Oil, one of Canada's major exports, reached 18-month highs, buoyed by hopes that a deal between OPEC and other big oil exporters to cut production will drain a global supply glut. U.S. crude prices were up 2.42 percent at $55.02 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index pushed to a fresh 14-year high after stronger-then-expected U.S. manufacturing data. Gains for the greenback came as upbeat Chinese data helped boost global stock markets. At 10:05 a.m. ET (1505 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading at C$1.3444 to the greenback, or 74.38 U.S. cents, slightly weaker than Monday's close of C$1.3438, or 74.42 U.S. cents, according to Reuters data. The currency's strongest level of the session was C$1.3405, while its weakest was C$1.3461. The Bank of Canada's official close on Friday, the last trading day of 2016, was C$1.3427, or 74.48 U.S. cents. The loonie rose 3 percent in 2016, its first annual gain since 2012. Speculators slashed bearish bets on the Canadian dollar for the second straight week, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data and Reuters calculations. Net short Canadian dollar positions fell to 1,598 contracts as of Dec. 27 from 11,754 a week earlier. Canadian government bond prices were lower across the yield curve, with the two-year price down 5.5 Canadian cents to yield 0.777 percent and the benchmark 10-year falling 50 Canadian cents to yield 1.772 percent. In mid-December, the 10-year yield touched its highest in 17 months at 1.859 percent. Canada's trade report for November and employment report for December are due on Friday. (Reporting by Fergal Smith) After Carrie Fishers unexpected death on Dec. 27, her books saw an uptick in sales, becoming Amazon best-sellers overnight and selling out at various booksellers. Now, her publisher Simon & Schuster has confirmed to EW that they are working to reprint her literary work and meet sales demands. We are responding to the outpouring of interest in Carrie Fishers work and are quickly reprinting her books, Jonathan Karp, President and Publisher of Simon & Schuster Publishing Group, tells EW by email. All of them have remained in print, but our supply was wiped out by demand. Well have more books this week. According to the publishing house, they have sold approximately 500,000 copies of Fishers work in the course of her career. Simon & Schuster tells EW they have ordered more than 50,000 additional copies of Fishers titles, including 20,000 copies of the 2008 memoir Wishful Drinking, 20,000 copies of the 1987 novel Postcards From The Edge, 10,000 copies of 2011s memoir Shockaholic, and 2,500 copies of the 2004 novel The Best Awful. Most famous for her acting roles in Star Wars, Hannah and Her Sisters, and When Harry Met Sally, Fisher was also a prolific author, earning many accolades for her wit and prose. Her latest work, The Princess Diarist, chronicles her time on the Star Wars sets and debuted earlier this year. Just after her death, the memoir topped Amazons best-sellers list, which also included Wishful Drinking and Postcards From the Edge in its top 10. Fisher was lauded for writing candidly about her bipolar disorder, drug use, and sometimes strained relationship with her mother, Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds, who died one day after Fisher. Carrie Fisher's half-sisters Joely and Tricia Lee Fisher spoke about losing their sibling in an interview with Good Morning America that aired on Tuesday's show. Joely elaborated on comments she made in her guest column for The Hollywood Reporter, where she said Debbie Reynolds told her she was praying for more time with her daughter. Reynolds died a day after Carrie Fisher did. "I knew that if Carrie wasn't going to survive this, that Debbie would not. You knew it," said Joely. Tricia Fisher added, You could feel it." "You could see it in her face," said Joely, crying as she spoke. Reynolds "would not last without her on the planet. She wouldn't, and she didn't." Tricia said they found out their half-sister had been hospitalized for cardiac arrest from the media. TMZ called Joely, who was on the phone with Tricia at the time. When they arrived at the hospital, Tricia said Carrie's daughter Billie Lourd was "rattled" but "handling everything." Tricia said she remembers Carrie as "the coolest big sister in the world" and said she was "secretly soft." She said the three sisters "grew up without a father," since their dad, Eddie Fisher, would only come around once in a while. Both sisters were emotional as they spoke about Carrie. Joely talked about Carrie reading diaries she kept from Star Wars to Joely 10 years ago and said she will miss getting to have one-on-one time with her. Watch their interview with ABC News' Chris Connelly below. Read more: Joely Fisher Pays Tribute to Sister Carrie: "You Lost Princess Leia, I Lost My Hero" (Guest Column) The New Celebrity Apprentice is back with Arnold Schwarzenegger as its host and contestant Carson Kressley competing in the board room. This season, Kressley will be blogging exclusively about each and every week for PEOPLE check back weekly and follow him on Twitter at @CarsonKressley! Okay kids, The New Celebrity Apprentice is finally here! Sheesh it seems like this show was forever in the making because we finished filming it in March. We are starting fresh with our fearless new leader, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who prefers to be called Governor (Did you see the way he shut down Jon Lovitz like a bad carnival ride in the first boardroom???). Now a few words about Arnold and why he is such a great choice as the new leader of the show. He is a self-made man who came to his beloved Colly-fornia in the 1960s (I wasnt born yet yay me!) with just a few dollars in his pocket. He worked hard, became Mr. Olympia and leveraged his winnings into a real estate and construction empire. He told us Apprentices that before he ever swung that Conan sword, wearing those cute little deerskin bikini bottoms I might add, that he had made $1 million. I might also add that Arnold (I just cant seem to bring myself to call him Governor) is supposed to be tough and scary, but I found him totes adorbs. Cuddly even. Im pretty sure he had strong feelings for me as well. Anyway, I digress, but what I want to say is that the shows all-new California locations are partly due to Arnolds love of his state and also a great way to give the show a fresh new start. There will be lots of iconic California locations in the show that I think viewers will really enjoy. Postcards from the former Governor, if you will! So the first challenge is presented by guest mentor Tyra Banks. We have to create a beauty experience to sell her new line of cosmetics. Then we are divided into teams: boys vs. girls. A tad old fashioned, dont you think? I was just glad it wasnt shirts vs. skins! Story continues So, a beauty challenge. Of course the women have an advantage: they know more about makeup than we do! But wait we have a secret weapon. Oh Boy George, I think youve got it! Heres a bit of Celebrity Apprentice folklore. Before I did the show, I asked friends who had competed in the past for some kernels of wisdom. Everyone said the same thing: Do not be the project manager on the first task! So although everyone thought I should be the team leader, I think I smartly pivoted and noted that Boy George is an end user and really understood makeups power of transformation. I really believed this was the best choice and I didnt want to get fired right off the bat. Gotta look out for number one! And try and make some coin for my charity. I didnt have my Ritalin smoothie this a.m., so indulge me and let me talk about my charity for a bit. Celebrity Apprentice deserves kudos for raising something like $15 million for charity since its inception. My charity, The True Colors Fund, was actually born on Celebrity Apprentice. When my dear friend Cyndi Lauper appeared on the show years ago, she needed a charity. So she started The True Colors Fund. Ive been on the board since the start. We work to eliminate homelessness among LGBT youth. While they make up a relatively small portion of the population, they are nearly 40 percent of homeless youth. Its an astounding statistic that sadly proves that our LGBT youth are still very much at risk. Now back to the beauty challenge Some genius (oh wait thats moi) had the great idea to have Tyra do a beauty demo of her product on little old me. Heck, if they could make me pretty, anything is possible! (Side note: now I have been known to dabble in drag, but I always end up looking like a homely version of Juliette Lewis!). Matt Iseman (who happens to have been educated as an MD!) rallied the team and made sure each of the boys knew their beauty product intimately. I created a beautiful room, signature cocktails and even had hot male models giving back and shoulder rubs (they ended up on the cutting room floor unspeakable!). We honed in on the fact that the product is easy to use and effective with great ingredients. We nailed it. We came, we saw, we contoured!!! We didnt get to see the womens presentation until it aired on TV. I was impressed. Kyle created a beautiful room that was super on brand. The information was clear and the event was high energy and fun. A tad tent revival in feeling for my taste, but very good nonetheless. Had I seen that before our first board room, I would have been very nervous. Speaking of the board room, I have to say this is the hardest part of the show. Although we are all successes in our own world (our team has Emmy winners, Olympians and Heisman trophy winners!) I think we were all a little intimidated. The questions are real and tough. Feelings arent spared and yes, there is under the bus-throwing galore. Fortunately, we were the winners and could head back to the war room to have some champers! I just wanted to get back there to cuddle with Jerry Bruckheimer III (Jon Lovitzs adorable pup). Things were about to get real for Porsha, my BFF Snooki and Carrie Keagan. Tears became contagious and I started to worry that my dear Snooks would be sent home. No, I said to myself. We havent even been to a gay bar yet. But, she was spared and Carrie was sent to the chopper. But I think that was the right call from Arnold. I have to agree with him that the risk-takers and those who go above and beyond should be spared over those who play it safe. Great minds think alike The New Celebrity Apprentice airs Mondays (8 p.m. ET) on NBC. The post-Donald Trump era of NBCs Celebrity Apprentice arrived Monday, and with it the debut of new host Arnold Schwarzeneggers catchphrase for firing contestants in the climactic boardroom showdown segment. SPOILER ALERT: Stop reading if you have not seen the New Celebrity Apprentice premiere. NBCs Apprentice franchise has taken on heightened significance in pop culture because it proved to be the vehicle that president-elect Trump used to establish himself as a household name, paving the way for his convention-busting political career. Trump bowed out of hosting Celebrity Apprentice in early 2015 as he laid the groundwork for his presidential campaign. Trump defied all mainstream political projections to win the Republican nomination and ultimately defeat Democratic rival Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8. Trump remains a credited executive producer of Schwarzeneggers New Celebrity Apprentice, a role that sparked much debate about whether it was appropriate for a soon-to-be sitting president. Schwarzenegger, the Austrian bodybuilder who became a movie star and served as Republican governor of California from 2003 to 2010, was named the new host of the show in September 2015. NBC made the most of the curiosity about what Schwarzenegger would say when eliminating contestants from the show. Trumps delivery of the line Youre fired became a signature element of the show when it premiered as The Apprentice (with everyday people as contestants) in January 2004. Schwarzenegger reportedly filmed as many as eight versions of the catchphrase, and the host maintained even he didnt know which one would make the cut before Mondays premiere. The first to go on The New Celebrity Apprentice was YouTube personality Carrie Keagan, following a challenge for the two teams to develop a five-minute customer presentation for a line of makeup products from Celebrity Apprentice advisor Tyra Banks. The shows 16 celebrities were divided into teams along gender lines. Porsha Williams, of Bravos Real Housewives of Atlanta fame, was selected project manager for the women. The male team, headed by Boy George, won the challenge. The contenders for elimination after the first hour of Sundays two-hour premiere were Williams, Keagan and former Jersey Shore star Nicole Snooki Polizzi. Story continues Youre terminated, Schwarzenegger intoned as he sent Keagan off to the helicopter. After she left, Schwarzenegger leaned back in his chair and lit a cigar. Schwarzenegger, of course, starred in the Terminator action-movie franchise. In the second hour, when Carnie Wilson got the ax, Schwarzenegger delivered the news with Youre terminated, and then he added the famous line from 1991s Terminator 2: Judgment Day: Hasta la vista, baby. Schwarzeneggers back story as a self-made star and entrepreneur was highlighted in the opening of the show. In the first extended boardroom scene, he put contestant Jon Lovitz, a friend from showbiz circles, in his place by telling him In here you call me Governor. Schwarzeneggers right-hand aide on the show is his nephew, entertainment attorney Patrick M. Knapp Schwarzenegger, which was in keeping with the role first daughter Ivanka Trump played for her father on the previous incarnation of the show. At one point, Schwarzenegger spoke briefly in German to his nephew to make a critical comment about Williams while she tried to defend her teams performance. Subtitles popped up to keep viewers in the know. Schwarzenegger made no mention of Trump during the two-hour premiere. At one point he cajoled the contestants to speak up during boardroom scenes. While keeping quiet had helped people avoid elimination in the past, Schwarzenegger said, thats not the way I handle things. Related stories Our Staff Picks: TV Shows to Watch the Week of Jan. 2, 2017 'Celebrity Apprentice' Press Conference: Schwarzenegger Defends Trump's Producer Role, Mark Burnett Ducks Questions 'The New Celebrity Apprentice' Adds Rocco DiSpirito, Leeza Gibbons, iJustine as Boardroom Advisors STEWARTVILLE, Minn. Barbara Fischer of Stewartville is a single mother to 14 children. Ten of them are adopted children with significant disabilities. Yet it was her youngest daughter and probably her last adopted child, Arianna, who asked the most wondrous questions. Soon after bringing her home, the then-7-year-old child scanned the night sky and asked, Whats that? It was the moon. She had never seen it before. Arianna had never seen a can of pop before. Never been exposed to food except what she had seen on television. Arriving at their Stewartville home for the first time, Fischer opened the garage door to park the van. Arianna wanted to know if the garage was their home. Arianna had spent the past five years of her young life in a San Diego hospital ward, largely shut off and isolated from most childhood experiences. Her birth mom had given her up, unable to care for a child with such intensive medical needs. Arianna suffers from a neuromuscular disease similar to childhood Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrigs disease. She is fed through a feeding tube and uses a ventilator much of the day to help her breathe. And no family wanted to adopt her, until Barbara Fischer came along. Ariannas life was about to open up. Fischer wasnt bringing Arianna to an empty home. She was bringing her to meet her new brother, Alexander James, AJ for short. AJ is nine and the ninth of Fischers adopted children. Like Arianna, he suffers from a terminal disorder. AJ has Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa, a disease that prevents his skin from properly anchoring to his body. Angry red welts, some of them incurred since birth, cover AJs body. Its hard to imagine how one mother could care for one such medically-involved child, much less two. But Fischer had this idea. She believed adopting Arianna and pairing her with AJ would not only lessen the isolation of both these physically fragile children. She believed they could gain strength from each other, socially and psychologically. It worked out better than she could have imagined. Medically vulnerable children such as Arianna and AJ are often forced to live lives of social isolation and separation from their peers. Fischer wanted AJ and Arianna not only to be brother and sister to each other but to connect. To be friends. To help them realize that they were not alone in dealing with their life-threatening conditions. You cant know when you add a child to your home, whos going to click, Fischer said. But its been the best match of all my kids. When you ask Fischer what its like to raise two children with such intensive medical needs, the answer she gives surprises. Its kind of the icing on the cake, she said. But then you have to consider it from Fischers perspective. When Fischer was a kid, her dream was to have her own orphanage. And for much of her adult life, Fischer has taken in children that nobody else wanted. Before AJ and Arianna, many of Fischers adopted children were kids whose lives had been scarred by pre-natal substance abuse, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders and other mental health issues. They were kids who repeatedly cycled through the foster care system. Some had been rejected by earlier adoptive parents because raising them, they discovered, was too hard. One daughter had been placed in nearly 10 foster homes before being adopted by Fischer. I have been called a saint many times, Fischer added. And I tell people in reality Im a little bit insane to do what Ive done. It is my passion. Thats all I can say. Yet raising such children taught Fischer some hard lessons. A loving parent and stable home is no guarantee of breaking the chains of dysfunction that can run through generations of families. Once Fischer had entertained visions of Christmas gatherings when her children, all grown into adulthood, would settle around the dinner table, one big happy family. But that never really happened. Many of her grown adopted children, now off on their own, continue to struggle with mental illness and homelessness, living on societys margins. It doesnt fix it. It does not fix it, Fischer said. Does it help? I sure hope so, because otherwise I wasted a lot of years. They at least know that they have somebody in their lives and theyre not alone. And in comparison to raising an emotionally troubled child, Ari and AJ have been a piece of cake, Fischer said. They have been a joy. The support system built by Fischer for AJ and Arianna also includes her daughter, Joy Bartelt, and her husband, who are paid by the state to help care for them. Growing up, Bartelt recalls the times her mom would sit her down and explain that they were adopting another child. Yet, whatever resistance she might feel towards the idea would melt away when she was told what these children had been through. They went through the background story, and then my heart just kind of softened toward them, Bartelt said. It made me think, I want to take this kid, and I want to keep them safe. Fischer begins her day tending to the extensive medical needs of Arianna and AJ. A three-ringed notebook contains page after page of tasks that Fischer does each morning to get Arianna ready for the day. Because Arianna has trouble breathing and coughing on her own, Fischer uses a suction device to clean her lungs of phlegm, sending a catheter through a tracheostomy tube in her wind passage. When she is done with Arianna and settles her in her wheelchair with the help of a mechanical arm, its AJs turn. She wraps the 9-year-old in vaseline-covered bandages from foot to neck almost like a mummy. Lacking the roots to hold his layers of skin together, AJ is at risk of his skin sloughing off from a hard bump. The wrapping helps protect him. Hes always dealing with wounds and always at risk of getting hurt, Fischer said. Yet the childrens personalities shine through these grim tasks. Arianna, frankly, is hilarious. She talks about the Nutcracker, her favorite ballet. She constantly teases her mom, saying a 1-to-10 pain scale doesnt capture how annoying she can be. When Fischer teases back, saying, Im going to fly you out the window, Arianna jousts back from her bed, You want a knuckle sandwich? Momma, Momma, let me tell my stories, Arianna says as Fischer performs her morning routine of tasks around her bed. As she had hoped, Fischers two youngest children jell. They are 9-year-olds who connect through their knowledge of lifes fragility. They understand each other in ways no one else could. When one goes into the operating room for a procedure, the other joins them, holding hands. They play Princess together. AJ will put a dress over Ariannas clothing and adorn her in jewelry. He asks about her medical care at times, so he can help care for her. These two are the closest of all my kids, Fischer said. But they also live with a reality that underscores the precariousness of life. A blood infection could end AJs life. Arianna will continue to lose muscle strength. A cold or pneumonia could be life-threatening. But Fischer doesnt spend her time focusing on that reality. She focuses on living. Ari wants to be a ballerina, Fischer said. So we talk about how shell get that opportunity some day. Not right now, but it will be later. And we joke around that then Ill dance with her. She just think thats absolutely hilarious. Paris (AFP) - Charlie Hebdo has marked the second anniversary of the jihadist massacre that almost wiped out its staff with a piece of typically defiant graveyard humour. A special issue of the French satirical magazine which appears Wednesday has a laughing man peering down the barrel of jihadist's AK47 rifle with the caption: "2017, at last, the light at the end of the tunnel." Twelve people died including several of France's most popular cartoonists in the attack on Charlie Hebdo's Paris office on January 7, 2015. The anniversary issue cover was drawn by Foolz, one of a new generation of cartoonists who have stepped into the shoes of slain legends such as Cabu, Charb and Wolinski. The magazine marking the first anniversary of the attack had a bearded God carrying a Kalashnikov rifle with the caption, "One year on, the killer is still at large." The issue sold more than one million copies. Brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi, who carried out the attack in the name of Al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen, were themselves killed in a shootout with police after a siege northeast of Paris. If you were wondering whether all the Chicago Cubs hoopla of 2016 would spill into 2017, well, thats a silly thing to wonder. Of course it will. And it most certainly will in Chicago, where theyre going to celebrate that World Series win until someone wins the next one. For proof, look no further than the area hospitals. The Chicago Tribune, while doing the typical first-baby-born-in-the-new-year story, showed us just how much the Cubs hoopla is still raging. Nobody named their kid The first baby born in Chicago in 2017? She was named Wrigley. Wrigley Rose wasnt supposed to arrive for another few weeks, but she came into this world with two distinctions: a World Series-worthy name and the (unofficial) honor of being the first baby born in a Chicago-area hospital on New Years Day. After a short labor, Ellen Dalbey delivered Wrigley at 12:12 a.m. at AMITA Health Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village. She weighs just under 6 pounds and has a bit of blondish hair, her dad, Aaron Dalbey, said. She will go home in a Cubs-colored car seat to a pink nursery. Meet baby #Wrigley Rose Dalbey, the first 2017 baby in the #Chicago region Yes, her parents are huge @Cubs fans pic.twitter.com/16IlJi1rdk Jazmin Beltran (@JazminBeltran) January 2, 2017 Lets all say it together: Awwww. This was no isolated incident. Another Jan. 1 baby in Chicago was named Addyson. Her parents, Jennifer and Chuck Barham of Elgin, are big fans who honored their baby girl with a bit of Cubby blue and named her Addyson, a nod (though with a twist on the spelling) to both the street bordering Wrigley Field and shortstop Addison Russell. Also an early arrival, Addyson weighs 4 pounds, 15 ounces. Story continues She already has a Cubs outfit, and its a really cute outfit, said Chuck Barham, who said the couple ended up with a butterfly-themed nursery even though he liked the idea of a Cubs theme. We cant wait to take Addyson to her first Cubs game. Nobody named their kid Zobrist, huh? Seems like a missed opportunity. Baby Zo has a nice ring to it. More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports: Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - George Karavetsos, director of the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI), will depart the agency to join a private law firm, according to an internal announcement seen by Reuters. Karavetsos in January 2015 became director of the 280-unit operation, which conducts criminal probes involving food, drugs, devices, cosmetics and tobacco. His last day will be Jan. 20, the day Donald Trump is sworn in as president. His departure was announced Tuesday by the FDA's associate commissioner for regulatory affairs, Melinda Plaisier, and Howard Sklamberg, the deputy commissioner for global regulatory operations and policy. The FDA confirmed the departure, but a spokeswoman declined to comment beyond the announcement. Karavetsos "has delivered an exceptional body of work, leading noteworthy and important change in OCI," Plaisier and Sklamberg wrote. The OCI has been under scrutiny in recent months, after Reuters published a series of articles about the office's approach to criminal investigations and controversies surrounding its spending, personnel matters and use of resources. The U.S. House Energy and Commerce in September launched an examination of the office, asking questions about OCI's case statistics as well as "possible morale concerns with the field offices." Earlier in September, Reuters reported on concerns by some FDA agents who said OCI managers have forced them to pursue toothless cases involving mislabeled foreign-imported injectable drugs such as Botox, at the expense of cases with more potential to protect the public health. Reuters also reported that FDA managers in Miami pulled 11 staffers from their usual duties to provide security escorts with emergency lighting for Plaisier and Karavetsos during a March visit to the field office there. Shortly after the March trip, the FDA approved letting Karavetsos return to his home in Miami where he has run the Maryland-based operation from the agency's Miami field office. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Leslie Adler) By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Four children aged 7 to 17 died after a toxic gas leak from a pest control product at their home in Amarillo, Texas, fire officials said on Tuesday. Six others survived the incident, with Martha Balderas, the mother of the children, in critical condition at a hospital in the nearby Texas Panhandle city of Lubbock, hospital officials said. "It has really shocked our community," Amarillo Fire Department Captain Larry Davis said in a telephone interview. Those killed were Balderas siblings Yasmeen, 17; Josue, 11; Johnnie, 9, and Felipe, 7, the department said. The Amarillo Fire Department reported the deaths on Monday but did not identify the victims. A GoFundMe.com page seeking to raise $25,000 has been set up to help the family pay for the funerals. "We are so sorry for your loss. Family is everything," contributor Nancy Spring-Epley wrote on the page. The gas leak was caused when water was added on Sunday to the restricted fumigant, which contained aluminum phosphide. That created toxic phosphine gas, the fire department said, adding it was viewing the gas leak as an accident. The department was called in on Monday to find the sickened family. The home has been cordoned off and local and state officials are working on a strategy to make the scene safe, Davis said. "The site of the incident is secured and does not pose any known health hazards to the surrounding community," the city of Amarillo said in a statement. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Peter Cooney) French authorities have issued a warrant for the arrest of a Chilean man suspected of murdering a Japanese student who went missing in the town of Besancon last month, authorities said on Tuesday. Narumi Kurosaki, 21, was studying French at the university of Besancon in the country's east before she went missing on the night of December 4. Her body has yet to be found but her Chilean ex-boyfriend, who is believed to have fled to his home country, is suspected of her murder. "The investigation has shown he was in France, in Besancon, at the time of her disappearance," prosecutor Edwige Roux-Morizot told a press conference. The prosecutor ruled out suicide, describing Kurosaki as a "young girl full of life" who was happy in a new relationship. "There is sufficient evidence to launch a murder investigation," she told a press conference. "Several students living on the same floor (of her student residence) heard a loud cry on the night of December 4-5. From that moment on, there was no trace of Narumi." Anne-Laure Saillet, a 20-year-old student, told AFP she heard "bangs on the doors and furniture and afterwards I heard a very shrill cry, very sharp and loud. It was a woman's cry. "At first I thought it was a horror film but when it continued I became worried." Roux-Morizot said tests were being carried out on reddish traces found on the steps of the building to determine whether they were bloodstains. She described the Chilean teaching assistant, whom Kurosaki met in Japan but from whom she later split, as having an "intrusive, disturbing personality". SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's insurance regulator launched new rules on Tuesday to curb the risks associated with property insurance products, it said in a notice on its official website. The move is the latest in a slew of measures introduced by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), which has been taking steps against overbearing shareholders, funding term mismatches and risky acquisitions, among others. Insurers cannot issue products to cover an investment risk that can make a profit as well as a loss, an event that leads to no real loss or where the event insured against will definitely occur, the guidelines said. The premiums paid for a product must be determined in line with the calculation of the actual risk and insurance liability, the guidelines added. "There is a lack of historical data for many products, so the pricing process is unscientific," the regulator said in a question and answer with journalists. The aim is to ensure reasonableness, so that insurers do not earn overly high premiums for insured risks, it added. Last week, the regulator said it might slash the upper limit of a single shareholder's stake in an insurance company to one-third, from 51 percent now, to prevent any improper transfer of benefits. ($1=6.4659 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Engen Tham in Shanghai and Beijing monitoring desk; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) BEIJING (Reuters) - China has tightened security regulations in Tibet's border region to battle the risks of terrorism and 'separatism', the state-owned Global Times said. The move follows a call by China early in December for southwestern neighbor India to avoid complicating a simmering dispute over a visit by a senior exiled Tibetan religious leader to a border region. The two countries fought a brief border war in 1962. Beijing views exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist. The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who says he simply wants genuine autonomy for his homeland, fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against the Chinese. Sunday's change "provides a legal foundation to combat potential terrorist activities brought by the further opening-up of Tibet," the paper quoted Wang Chunhuan, a scholar of the Tibetan Academy of Social Science, who worked on the new law, as saying. The measure brings land ports and trade zones within the scope of the previous law, and charges low-level government with the responsibility of tipping off police to help regulate the border, according to the article, published late on Monday. "The need to combat separatism, infiltration, illegal migration and terrorism is growing more severe by the day," as Tibet's economy opens to the world, Ba Zhu, deputy head of the region's border defense police, said in a Dec. 14 announcement, the official Tibet Legal Newspaper reported at the time. Rights groups say China tramples on Tibet's religious and cultural traditions, charges denied by Beijing, which says its troops peacefully liberated Tibet in 1950. Army troops in Tibet had built a "steel Great Wall" to defend the border, the Himalayan region's Communist Party chief, Wu Yingjie, said in a December speech published on the official China Tibetan News Agency website on Tuesday. Wu also quoted President Xi Jinping as saying, "To govern the nation, we must govern our borders; to govern our borders, we must first stabilize Tibet." Military capability in the region must be stiffened so as to "absolutely not allow any person, at any time, in any way, to separate out any part of Tibet," Wu urged. (Reporting by Christian Shepherd; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) By Luciano Costa SAO PAULO, Jan 3 (Reuters) - State Grid Corp of China has asked the Brazilian government and regulators to speed up environmental licensing of a planned power line connecting to the Belo Monte dam in the Amazon forest, according to official documents and a source with direct knowledge of the matter. State Grid, the world's biggest utility, fears it could have to delay construction of the line, possibly forcing the third-largest hydroelectric power dam to begin operating in 2019 below full capacity. Belo Monte, a dam built on the Xingu River in the Amazon forest, will have a total installed capacity of 11,233 megawatts, exceeded only by China's Three Gorges and Brazil's Itaipu dams. The Chinese firm, together with two units of the Centrais Eletricas do Brasil SA state-controlled utility, has begun work in the first of two transmission lines linking Belo Monte to cities throughout Brazil. The source said State Grid had expected to receive a preliminary license from Brazil's Ibama environmental agency for a second 2,500 kilometers-long transmission line by October 2016 and authorization to begin construction by February 2017. Ibama has not issued either of the licenses for the second transmission line, which will carry power to the southeast, Brazil's biggest energy consumer, and other states. The source said that while the delay did not affect the construction schedule, the preliminary authorization needs to be issued in January, followed by the building authorization in March. Ibama said its analysis was still underway and it had no estimate of when it would be completed. Last week, Brazil's power regulator Aneel contacted the Energy and Mining Ministry to ask for support in speeding up the licensing process, an Aneel document seen by Reuters showed. Construction of the power line, which State Grid estimates will cost 7 billion reais ($2.15 billion), needs to be complete by December 2019 if Belo Monte is to operate in full capacity. Story continues A State Grid document seen by Reuters said that delays in the licensing process would also force it to disburse additional money as it could miss deadlines for receiving funds from state development bank BNDES. In an emailed statement, a State Grid representative said the company is confident that the licensing will occur normally and that it will take all efforts to compensate potential delays. ($1 = 3.2500 reais) (Reporting by Luciano Costa; Writing by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Grant McCool) Toulouse (France) (AFP) - Clermont's Argentinian fly-half Patricio Fernandez will be out of action for up to 10 weeks after picking up a thigh injury, the Top 14 leaders said Tuesday. Fernandez was injured in Saturday's 26-20 defeat by Toulouse, and will "not resume competition before March", Clermont said. The 22-year-old has enjoyed a lot of game time with Clermont this season, starting seven games in the Top 14 and three in the European Champions Cup. Washington (AFP) - Defeated presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will attend Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20, as will former president George W. Bush, aides to the politicians said Tuesday. In all, at least three former presidents will be at the US Capitol in Washington for the historic ceremony that kicks off Trump's term as the nation's 45th commander in chief: Bush, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Aides to both Clintons told AFP that the Democratic former rival to Trump in last year's contentious presidential race, as well as her husband Bill who served in the White House from 1993 to 2001, will attend. George W. Bush will attend with his wife, the former first lady Laura Bush, his office said. "They are pleased to be able to witness the peaceful transfer of power -- a hallmark of American democracy -- and swearing-in of President Trump and Vice President Pence," the Bush spokesman said in a statement. Democrat Carter, 92, confirmed in December that he would be there for Republican Trump's inauguration. The only other surviving ex-president, George H.W. Bush, is in frail health at age 92 and is not expected to attend. TOWN OF CHIMNEY ROCK Two people were killed, another two left in serious condition, and three others injured after a head-on crash involving three vehicles Sunday afternoon in Trempealeau County. A white Chrysler 300 was southbound on state Hwy. 93 shortly before 12:20 p.m. in the town of Chimney Rock when it crossed the centerline and struck a gray Honda Accord, and then continued in the northbound lane and struck a Ford Edge, according to the Trempealeau County Sheriffs Department. There were four occupants in the Chrysler 300, according to the department. Lizabeth Gonzales, 19, and Leslie Flores, 18, both of Independence, were both pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, Josue Cruz Escobar, 30, of Arcadia, and an additional passenger, Jonathan Ochoa, were transported by helicopter to Mayo in Rochester, the department said. The driver of the Accord, Eric Davidson, of Holmen, suffered minor injuries and was transported from the scene by ambulance, the department said. The driver of the Ford Edge, Joregette Pronschinske, and her passenger, John Pronschinske, were both transported, Joregette by ambulance and John by helicopter, to Mayo in Eau Claire with injuries that were believed to be serious but not life-threatening. The crash remains under investigation, the department said. Next time he's vacationing in Hawaii, President Barack Obama might just bump into his new namesake: a pink, yellow and blue coral-reef fish that researchers have named in the president's honor. Researchers discovered the previously unknown fish species, now dubbed Tosanoides obama, during a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) expedition to Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in June 2016. "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," the study's lead author, Richard Pyle, a scientist at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, said in a statement. "This expansion adds a layer of protection to one of the last great wilderness areas on Earth." [In Photos: Spooky Deep-Sea Creatures] Obama expanded the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument on Aug. 26 after Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), along with conservationists and marine scientists, urged the president to protect the region's waters and marine life. The monument is now 582,578 square miles (1.5 million square kilometers), an area more than twice the size of Texas, that holds the title for largest permanent protected marine area on the planet. (The 598,000-squaremile, or 1.55 million square km, marine reserve in Antarctica's Ross Sea is larger, but that area is protected for only a 35-year period, Live Science reported in October.) During a September trip to Midway Atoll, an island within the monument, Obama met with legendary scientist, conservationist and deep-ocean explorer Sylvia Earle, who gave the president a photograph of T. obama. The footage of the visit will be shown on the National Geographic global broadcast special, "Sea Of Hope," which will air Jan. 15, 2017. Fishy find T. obama is small, just 2.4 inches (6.1 centimeters) long, and it lives deep underwater, about 300 feet (90 meters) under the surface. Deep coral reefs grow at this depth, but despite the diversity of animals that live there, this so-called "twilight zone" isn't well-explored by marine biologists, the researchers said. Story continues The closest known relative to the new species is Tosanoides flavofasciatus, a fish that lives in the Palau islands. Richard L. Pyle Bishop Museum When scientists first spotted the small pink fish, they thought it was a Pseudanthias thompsoni (another tropical fish species), but a prominent red spot on the end of the animal's dorsal fin indicated that the fish was a previously unidentified species, the researchers wrote in the study. A later analysis found that the fish belongs to the basslet group, which includes colorful reef fishes often seen in the aquarium fish trade. The fish's distinctive spot, seen on males, is blue around the edge (although it looks purple in the photo) with red and 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 two other species in the genus Tosanoides live in the tropical northwestern Pacific Ocean, far away from the monument. [StarStruck: Species Named After Celebrities] "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]," said study co-author Randall Kosaki, a NOAA scientist and chief scientist of the research cruise. "Our research has documented the highest rate of fish endemism in the world 100 percent living on the deep reefs where we found this new species." 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 first documented Tosanoides obama on record, alive in a holding tank aboard the NOAA ship Hiialakai. Richard L. Pyle Bishop Museum T. obama is the second new fish species discovered in Papahanaumokuakea this year. In August, Pyle and Kosaki published a study in the journal ZooKeys describing a new species of butterflyfish (Prognathodes basabei). T. obama is also the latest of a long line of new species named for the 44th president of the United States. For instance, there's a new species of lichen named after him (Caloplaca obamae) and a trapdoor spider (Aptostichus barackobamai). But Obama isn't the only politician to be honored in this way. In 2005, researchers named newfound species of slime-mold beetles after President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (Agathidium bushi, A. cheneyi and A. rumsfeldi), and an extinct giant sloth (Megalonyx jeffersonii) is named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, the third U.S. president. The study was published online today (Dec. 21) in the journal ZooKeys. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations Malaysia's and the world's top funnyman, Harith Iskander has been awarded a trophy as well as a cash reward of RM100,000 by the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (KKMM) for his win at Laugh Factory's Funniest Person in the World competition. Presented by the Minister of Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak, the trophy and cash reward are tokens of appreciation for Harith whose victory has brought Malaysia to an international level. "In lieu of my Laugh Factory's Funniest Person in the World win, the Communications and Multimedia Ministry threw a little 'appreciation night' for me at Afdlin's Comedy Planet," Harith posted on his Facebook. "The Minister of Communication, DS Salleh Said Keruak honoured us with his presence which was apt because he had been a big supporter of my participation in the competition from the beginning. Thank you, we are blessed." With over 80 competitors from more 50 countries around the world, Harith emerged as champion at the competition in Finland held on 10 December 2016, beating five other comedians in the finals. The 50-year-old comedian took home a cash prize of USD100,000 (RM444,845) as well as the festival's trophy. Are we there yet? It's not just kids stuck in a car on a long road trip who feel left in the lurch by life sometimes. For millennia, people have reported struggling with the same unpleasant state that may -- in a more modern context -- creep up on a person during the post-holiday season lull or a travel layover: boredom. Dating back to the first couple centuries A.D., monks who had trouble engaging in religious practices described a lack of care, says Andreas Elpidorou, an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Louisville, who does some teaching on the history of boredom. "In a religious context, if we go back, boredom becomes ... kind of a sin: You exhibit lack of care for God or your religious duties." Idle hands are said to do the devil's work. [See: 11 Simple, Proven Ways to Optimize Your Mental Health.] Bored and Agitated While today boredom isn't typically described in such a religiously charged way, it's still not viewed as a good thing. "I think about boredom as being, by definition, an aversive state -- so it's an unpleasant feeling that's associated with wanting to be engaged in satisfying and meaningful activities," says John Eastwood, an associate professor of psychology at York University in Toronto, who has researched boredom; that includes working to more clearly define boredom for the purposes of further study. "A bored person experiences time passing slowly. They will have difficulty engaging or focusing their attention, and they may experience both low arousal and negative emotions like lethargy ... then high-arousal negative emotions like agitation or restlessness," Eastwood says. "So you can think about it as this state of being disengaged from the world." Experts note that boredom is both a result of internal -- including personality-related -- factors as well as external factors, like that long wait at the doctor's office with only old magazines to read. Being prone to boredom is associated with a host of emotional and mental health problems, and we'll do almost anything to escape it. "People who get easily bored are more likely to be depressed, anxious and violent. They eat less healthy, are more likely to drop out of school and may engage in dangerous behavior, such as joy riding or pathological gambling," Wijnand van Tilburg, a lecturer in psychology at King's College London in the UK who has done research on boredom, writes in an email. Story continues Experts are careful to point out that research doesn't prove boredom causes these issues, but that there is a correlation. "The relationship between boredom and mental disorder is extremely complex," Dr. Neel Burton, a psychiatrist, philosopher, writer and fellow of the Green-Templeton College in Oxford, England, writes in an email. Burton is author of "Heaven and Hell: The Psychology of the Emotions," which devotes a chapter to boredom. He notes that boredom, aside from being intrinsically stressful, is associated with a perceived lack of direction or meaning -- a risk factor for mental health issues. "Mental disorders such as depression are associated with a lack of energy and motivation, which can in turn promote boredom," he says. People prone to boredom often prefer pain or even inflicting pain on others -- like hurting another person emotionally -- to experiencing boredom. For those prone to boredom, it's not just a matter of choosing between pain and boredom, but that boredom is its own brand of discomfort. So it's a choice between experiencing one kind of pain over another, Burton says. [See: Am I Just Sad -- or Actually Depressed?] Harnessing the Power of the Lull In our modern, 24-7-connected, on-the-go world, we could stand to unplug and risk being idle. Though Eastwood doesn't advocate that people actively court boredom, he says we can learn from it. "If we don't ever slow down to allow ourselves the possibility of being bored, we'll never have the opportunity to kind of clarify our own desires and our own abilities and our own unique way of expressing ourselves and engaging with the world," Eastwood says. A lull may provide the perfect occasion to collect your thoughts regarding a complex problem you've been mulling over in your mind -- and devise a unique solution. "There's a smattering of research that suggests when you're bored you might engage in more creative activity," Eastwood says. That said, the research overall on whether experiencing boredom boosts a person's boosts creativity is mixed; and, as with other boredom research, he notes, it's still fairly thin. A study he was involved in published in the journal Thinking Skills and Creativity in August found boredom as a personality trait -- or being prone to being bored -- is not a predictive of creativity. Researchers noted, however, that past studies found boredom as a state triggers creativity. For better or worse, boredom does seem to motivate people to act -- if for no other reason than to vanquish the unpleasant state. "Experimental research that we conducted shows that people who feel bored say that they are more willing to help a charity, provided that they see this charity support as something really meaningful," van Tilburg says. He notes that other experiments show people who are bored tend to become nostalgic. "They recall memories of pleasant, important social occasions, such as holidays or graduations, which makes them feel that life is meaningful. Even though this nostalgic reverie can come with some sense of loss, the memories are nonetheless heartwarming and make people feel that life is meaningful." But just as being bored might spur someone to engage in risk-taking behavior as well, not every action it sparks exactly improves the human condition. "At least from a handful of studies, it seems that boredom can increase political polarization, making people more strongly committed to strong ideological views," van Tilburg says, as well as increase hostility toward outsiders, such as people of a different nationality. "One of the reasons why boredom can have these consequences is that people feel they can find a sense of purpose by committing to strong political views or by favoring their own group over groups that they do not belong to." Of course, no Gallup poll has yet to determine if societal boredom contributed to the sharp political divides in modern America. [See: How to Stop Emotional Eating.] Take Heart -- It's Not Apathy After All -- and Move Forward Unlike apathy, boredom involves a strong motivational component, van Tilburg points out. "Bored people are actively looking to do something about the situation they are in," he says. So if you're frequently bored, it may be a signal that something substantial in your life needs to change, whether you tackle a new project, look for a new job or make other major moves. To make the most of it, don't just flee from boredom, but be more mindful in your approach to it. "Don't panic, slow down and rather than focusing on making the feeling go away, focus on trying to find what will bring you a sense of meaning and a sense of purpose and a sense of satisfying engagement with the world," Eastwood says. "And the byproduct of that will be an absence of boredom." Michael Schroeder is a health editor at U.S. News. He covers a wide array of topics ranging from cancer to depression and prevention to overtreatment. He's been reporting on health since 2005. You can follow him on Twitter or email him at mschroeder@usnews.com. LONDON (Reuters) - Credit Suisse and AstraZeneca are among Bank of America-Merrill Lynch's top picks for the first quarter of 2017, as the market is overly pessimistic on both stocks, according to analysts at the bank. BofA-ML picked out six key "buy" calls and 4 "underperforms" as their top ideas in EMEA for the first quarter. The analysts highlighted Swiss bank Credit Suisse as a candidate to outperform, saying that the markets division was set to beat expectations and lead to positive surprises. "After years of watching the gradual erosion of Markets revenue forecasts, we now believe consensus estimates are far too bearish for 2017," analysts at BofA-ML said in a note. The bank said its 2018 pre-tax profit forecasts for Credit Suisse were 10 percent above consensus, but still 10 percent below company targets. AstraZeneca is favored as the firm has an "under-appreciated pipeline which offers potential for premium growth" compared to sector peers, the analysts say. The company has five drugs with a combined potential $18 billion in peak sales due to see final stage results in the U.S. over the next 12-18 months, BofA-ML analysts note. The other "buys" are British American Tobacco , Telecom Italia , payments processor Worldpay and media group ProSieben . Among stocks expected to underperform are Italian luxury stock Luxottica and Airbus . The bank says that greater competition and waning brand momentum make it harder for Luxottica to justify a 30 percent premium valuation, while Airbus also looks expensive given its own headwinds, including slowing order momentum. Dutch coatings and paints maker Akzo Nobel and Sweden's Sandvik are highlighted as the other two key "underperform" ideas. (Reporting by Alistair Smout, Editing by Vikram Subhedar) A weapon that viruses use in their neverending war with bacteria could be used to turn off the worlds most powerful gene-editing tool. That, in turn, could reduce the risk that the bacterial cut-and-paste system, called CRISPR-Cas9, snips the wrong genes and introduces runaway genetic changes into humans or other species in the wild. In a new study, scientists discovered that a tiny protein shuts off the system, and at least in a petri dish, the protein works in human cells, the researchers said. "It's just basically a single protein that we can make in the cell or deliver to the cell that will turn off Cas9, [and] stop it from binding and cutting DNA," said study author Joseph Bondy-Denomy, a microbiologist at the University of California, San Francisco. [Video: How Does CRISPR-Cas 9 Gene Editing Work?] Genetic find and replace The CRISPR-Cas9 complex is a powerful tool in the bacterial immune defense against invading viruses. When a virus infiltrates a bacterial cell, the bacteria mobilize a sequence of DNA, called CRISPR, or "clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats." The DNA consists of short blocks of repeating base pairs separated by spacer DNA. The bacteria copy and insert the viral DNA sequence into the CRISPR region and produce two strands of RNA. This RNA then associates with an enzyme called Cas9, which acts as a pair of guided scissors, homing in to the target viral DNA and snipping it out. Finally, the cell repairs the DNA, replacing the deleted DNA snippet with another replacement piece (supplied by scientists). Essentially, the CRISPR/Cas9 system can be used as a genetic "find and replace." The CRISPR system's ease of use means it could be used for almost any gene-editing technique. For instance, doctors could one day edit human immune cells in the lab to recognize cancer cells, and then inject those cells back into a person as a targeted cancer treatment, Bondy-Denomy said. Recently, researchers in China used CRISPR to edit human embryos with serious genetic defects, though they did not allow the embryos to mature. Story continues Off-target effects However, the gene-editing system has a problem: It still sometimes cuts the wrong DNA sequences. Cas9 also sticks around too long; it takes about 24 hours for half of the Cas9 to be degraded by a cell, giving it plenty of time to make off-target cuts to DNA, Bondy-Denomy told Live Science. Therefore, if Cas9 has an "off" switch, it would make the possibility of human genetic engineering safer, Bondy-Denomy said. He and his colleagues reasoned that viruses must have some way of switching off CRISPR/Cas9. To replicate, viruses often insert their own DNA into the bacteria's genome, coopting the cells genetic machinery to make many copies of viral DNA. By that logic, then, viruses must have a way to deactivate CRISPR/Cas9, or else sometimes the bacteria's immune system would identify the target viral DNA in its own genome, cut it and cause itself to self-destruct, Bondy-Denomy and his colleagues said. "Cas9 should make an RNA that will then cleave the virus that happens to be in its own genome it's not smart enough to know it's in its own genome, Bondy-Denomy told Live Science. The team reasoned that if the bacterial cell is stable and it's not self-destructing, "then perhaps this virus is making an inhibitor protein." Then, the team looked at 300 strains of Listeria bacteria, which cause food-borne illness, for signs that viral DNA had infiltrated the bacterial genome. Yet the bacteria were not self-destructing. From there, they looked for proteins that inactivated Listeria's version of Cas9, which is very similar to the one used in most labs around the world, called SpyCas9. The team found four anti-CRISPR proteins, two of which worked against the commonly used SpyCas9, the researchers reported today (Dec. 29) in the journal Cell. In a petri dish, these two anti-CRISPR proteins also worked in human cells to deactivate the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Safer engineering The team still has to prove that using the anti-Cas9 proteins reduces the off-target cutting potential of Cas9, and they don't know how long the protein lingers in cells. However, if they can show the protein works in vivo, the new discovery would have the potential to make gene editing safer by eliminating Cas9 quickly. "You don't rely on its passive degradation; you actually ensure it gets turned off," Bondy-Denomy said. The technique could also be used for other applications. For instance, people have discussed using Cas9 to introduce a mutant gene into an entire population of mosquitoes to eradicate them or prevent the spread of certain diseases. "This is essentially unleashing bioterror on an organism," which could have good, bad or completely unpredictable consequences, Bondy-Denomy said. So these anti-CRISPR proteins could be a handy off switch or control mechanism to use in case such species-wide engineering needs to be reined in, Bondy-Denomy said. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations In May 2017, the Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye will receive the Knight Bachelor award from Queen Elizabeth II, and will henceforth be referred to as Sir David Adjaye. The year after celebrating his 50th birthday, David Adjaye will receive a knighthood for his services to architecture in the Diplomatic Service and Overseas New Year 2017 Honours List. Born in Tanzania to Ghanaian parents, Adjaye moved to England aged 9, where he would remain and qualify with a Masters from the Royal College of Art in 1993. After six years of working in a firm with William Russell, in 2000 Adjaye set up his own studio. Major commissions Adjaye is most known for his lead role on the National Museum of African American History on Washington DC's National Mall, which opened to the public in September 2016. Previous commissions which put Adjaye in the spotlight include Dirty House, a converted timber factory in London, and the Stephen Lawrence Centre, an educational facility dedicated to help improve opportunities for young black people in south London. Other projects In November 2016, it was announced the Adjaye's firm had been shortlisted to design the UK's National Holocaust Memorial. Adjaye Associates were also selected for Latvia's first Museum of Contemporary Art, and will be the master plan architects for the major San Francisco Shipyard redevelopment, one of the largest architectural projects on the West Coast of the USA. The Queen's biannual honours programme Adjaye sees the honor as "a celebration of the vast potential-and responsibility-for architecture to effect positive social change, that we as architects have to bring something positive to the world." The Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood described Adjaye as "one of the leading architects of his generation and a global cultural ambassador for the UK." Other recipients of the title include Dr Jeffrey Tate, Chief Conductor of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Anna Wintour, Editor-in-chief, American Vogue, and Professor Jane Francis, Director of the British Antarctic Survey. The comic universe created by artist Rob Liefeld is headed to the big screen. Producer Graham King, Chinese outfit Fundamental Films and writer-producer Akiva Goldsman are partnering to create a film franchise out of the comic creations. King and Fundamental have secured the film rights to Liefeld's Extreme Universe, which King and Goldsman will develop. The duo plan to set up a writers' room to brainstorm, which Goldsman, who has shepherded similar processes for the Transformers and Hasbro film universes, will oversee. Liefeld was the superstar artist who co-created X-Men characters Deadpool and Cable before co-founding Image Comics in the early 1990s. Over the course of the decade and various imprints, Leifeld put out comics that featured heroes, antiheroes and villains and superteams named Youngblood, Bloodstrike, Bloodwulf, Re-Gex and Kaboom. Youngblood is not part of the Extreme deal but many of the other characters and comics are. King and Goldsman will produce the titles alongside Liefeld and Brooklyn Weaver. Weed Road's president of production Greg Lessans and GK Films' Denis O'Sullivan will executive produce. "Over the past nearly 25 years, since launching Image Comics, I've been lucky enough to see the power of these stories and characters as they've resonated with several generations of comic book fans," Liefeld said Tuesday in a statement. "To now be able to work with Akiva Goldsman and Graham King, who are powerhouses in their own right, to bring these compelling characters and conflicts to life on the big screen is nothing short of a dream come true!" Fundamental is a rising Shanghai-based media company that has a 28 percent share in Luc Besson's EuropaCorp and will distribute in its territories EuropaCorp's Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. King is coming off of producing Allies, the World War II romantic drama that starred Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard. He also is producing the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot as well as Bohemian Rhapsody, the Freddie Mercury biopic that will star Rami Malek. CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) -- The dean of Harvard Law School says she will step down to focus on teaching, scholarship and public engagement. Martha Minow announced Tuesday that she will leave her post at the end of the academic year but remain on the school's faculty. She has been dean since 2009. In a statement, Minow said she initially intended to serve only five years. She said it's a good time to turn over the reins after a strong year for admissions and fundraising. Harvard President Drew Faust praised Minow, saying she worked to make the law school stronger and more inclusive. But Minow has also faced criticism from some students pushing for greater racial equality at the school. Among other demands, students have called on Minow to increase diversity among students and faculty. Danish authorities said Tuesday they had yet to receive a formal request by South Korea for the extradition of the daughter of Choi Soon-Sil, the woman at the heart of a scandal that led to the impeachment of South Korea's president. The public prosecutor's office said it was still awaiting information from the South Korean authorities about the offence of which 20-year-old Chung Yoo-Ra is accused, and the possible sentence she faces. "How long it takes us to reach a decision in the extradition case is partly dependent on when we receive the necessary documents from South Korea," Deputy Director Mohammad Ahsan said in a statement. Once the documents are received, Ahsan said, prosecutors would make a decision about Chung's extradition "within a few weeks." Chung was arrested on Sunday night in the northern Danish town of Aalborg for overstaying her visa. The local district court on Monday ruled that Chung, who denies any wrongdoing, would be detained for four weeks pending the decision on her extradition. Chung, who has a 19-month-old boy, later appealed to a local high court but the decision to remand her was upheld. She has the right to appeal against an extradition ruling, and this could prolong the legal process. Her mother Choi has been dubbed South Korea's "Rasputin." She is a key figure in an influence-peddling scandal that sparked street protests demanding the removal of President Park Geun-Hye. Choi, a confidante of Park, is accused of using her influence to secure her daughter's admission to an elite Seoul university, with a state probe revealing the school had admitted Chung at the expense of other candidates with better qualifications. The revelation touched a raw nerve in education-obsessed South Korea. Several professors at Ewha Women's University, including a former school president, have been investigated for allegedly giving Chung preferential treatment. Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds and her daughter, Star Wars icon Carrie Fisher, had an indelible bond in lifeand in death. Living together as next-door neighbors in Beverly Hills, the women were a constant presence in each others daily lives. At the one end of the family compound lived Debbie Reynolds, star of Singin in the Rain, with Dorothys red slippers from The Wizard of Oz on the mantelpiece, said Fisher Stevens and Alexis Bloom, who directed the new HBO documentary Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds and shared written memories exclusively with People for this weeks cover story. Adjacent was Princess Leia, in a house where Bette Davis once lived. You dont get more Hollywood royalty than that. Storytelling magic lived around them. For much more about Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fishers lives, loves and unique bond, pick up this weeks issue of People, on newsstands Friday. When Reynolds died on Dec. 28 at age 84 from an apparent stroke, the day after Fisher passed away at age 60 following a massive heart attack on an 11-hour flight from London to L.A., the world assumed immeasurable grief had surely played a part. Stevens and Bloom, who spent more than a year filming the women in 2014 and 2015, saw a relationship that was both codependent and fiercely protective. They also deferred to each other sometimes with tenderness, and sometimes with a distinctly raised eyebrow, the directors said. Each was acutely aware of the others vulnerabilities. My mother doesnt like going to the hospital, Carrie told us. The lighting is awful. Well Carrie, its time to go to bed! Debbie would say, when her daughter was tired. Even though it was four oclock in the afternoon, shed remonstrate: Say good-night to everyone!' Watch the full episode of People Cover Story: Debbie Reynolds & Carrie Fisher starting Wednesday on the People/Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN). Go to PEOPLE.com/PEN, or download the app for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xumo, Chromecast, Xfinity, iOS and Android devices. Though their relationship was complicatedthe two were estranged at one point for a decadetheir support and love for each other was never more obvious than when they collaborated. Fisher co-wrote the 2001 TV movie, These Old Broads as this kind of celebration, a love letter to her mother, says director Matthew Diamond. Costarring Elizabeth Taylor, who infamously married Eddie Fisher after he left Reynolds for her, the project was kind of Carries way of being both affectionate and funny and loving, adds Diamond, noting that Reynolds and Taylor had mended their friendship by then. And a littlein that way that Carrie couldboth loving and piercing all at the same time. Reynolds and Fisher were deeply enmeshed in some of the best and funniest ways, says These Old Broads executive producer Ilene Amy Berg. Yet when something would go on with Carrie, shed say, Dont tell my mother. And then something would happen with Debbie and she said, Whatever you do, dont tell Carrie. They loved each other. They had a complicated, funny relationship. Reynolds and Fisher shared everything toward the end of their lives and became each others biggest confidant and source of support. Their whimsically decorated compound even included Christmas trees year round because the women loved the lights and all things sparkly. My mothers like Christmas, Carrie confided. Shes something special,' recalled Stevens and Bloom, whose documentary premieres Jan. 7 on HBO. Carries singing moved Debbie to tears. Do you hear that voice?' shed say. Wish I had it!' A joint funeral is being planned for the women and Reynolds and Fisher will be buried side by side, as they lived in life. Carrie said, The umbilical cord was never cut. They had what Carrie called rampant empathy for each other. And it was contagious, added Stevens and Bloom. We started out making a film about Hollywood royalty, and we ended up making a film about love. carrie fisher Disney could get financial compensation for the death of Carrie Fisher. The company behind "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and all new movies in the franchise put in place an insurance policy on Fisher before she signed a three-picture deal to reprise her role as Princess Leia from the original trilogy in the event that she could not fulfill her contract, according to The Insurance Insider. Because Fisher died on December 27 after suffering a heart attack on a flight four days earlier Disney could receive $50 million, according to The Insurance Insider. Fisher starred in "The Force Awakens" and she will also be in the next "Star Wars" film, "Episode VIII," which has completed filming. However, production on "Episode IX" hasn't started yet. There's no word on if Disney has similar policies for "Star Wars" actors Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford. It is also unclear how the franchise will address Leia in "Episode IX." In the first standalone "Star Wars" movie, "Rogue One," digital effects brought Peter Cushing, who died in 1994, back to the screen to reprise his role as Grand Moff Tarkin from the original 1977 "Star Wars" movie. But Industrial Light and Magic, which created the computer-generated Tarkin and a younger version of Fisher as Leia in the movie has said it doesn't plan to do that sort of effect often. "We're not planning on doing this digital re-creation extensively from now on," John Knoll, chief creative officer of ILM and visual effects supervisor on "Rogue One," told The New York Times. "It just made sense for this particular movie." "Star Wars: Episode VIII" opens in theaters in December 2017. Fisher's representatives and Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. NOW WATCH: Watch the mysterious trailer for the new Transformers movie that could change everything you know about Optimus Prime More From Business Insider Dita Von Teese looked ultra-glam in her gold lame gown and cape and we want to wear glitter and gold now While some of us were in sweats kissing a pint of Ben & Jerrys on NYE, Dita Von Teese was busy being her glamorous self in a gold lame gown and matching cape. Dita knows how to throw a holiday party and we totally back her if she wants to release a book or show based on them. From outfits to food and drinks, Dita infuses each occasion with style and we are so enamored. We are definitely resolving to be more glam this year, especially with all the Dita outfit inspiration. The NYE dress was a Pre- Fall 2016 Galaham gown and Alexandra cape from Roland Mouret. She paired it with a starry headpiece and diamonds, naturally. You can take the girl out of the burlesque show, but shes guaranteed to still command any stage (or party)! Dita Von Teese wearing the Pre-Fall 2016 Galaham gown and Alexandra cape while attending the Forty Five Ten cocktail party in Dallas, Texas #rolandmouret @ditavonteese A video posted by Roland Mouret (@roland_mouret) on Dec 12, 2016 at 8:06am PST Dita hosted a dinner, a magic show, and a dance party at No Vacancy with a few friends, including the amazingly talented artist and musician Jessicka Addams. Ring in NYE 2017 celebrate with us @novacancyla #ditavonteese A photo posted by Mark Houston (@houstonhospitality) on Dec 29, 2016 at 12:44am PST The 1940s inspired gown leaves us all feeling a little underdressed, but its never too late to add golden sparkles to your life! Here are a few ways to wear gold glitter anywhere if youre feeling inspired by Ditas dress of choice! 16194902 We are SO looking forward to a gold and glam filled 2017! Its no big secret that Benedict Cumberbatchs Doctor Strange will appear in the next Marvel movie, Thor: Ragnarok, which will star Chris Hemsworth as the titular character. But what will his role be? According to Slash Film, Doctor Strange will be teaming up with Thor and the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) as they face off against intergalactic villains both familiar and new. In the Doctor Strange end-credits scene, Thor was seen talking to Strange in the Sanctum Sanctorum. Strange promised to help Thor locate Loki (Tom Hiddleston) so they can finally return to Asgard. Director Taika Waititi earlier revealed that the film will take place in Sakaar, the titular Planet Hulk. Sakaar was just an insane, far-off, futuristic place which was the biggest shift for the film and these characters, he said, according to Collider. I was really excited when Kevin [Feige] and the rest of Marvel jumped on board with the idea to use [Jack] Kirby as a big influence in the design of the film. Whats really hard is staying authentic. In Sakaar, the Hulk is turned into a gladiator in the Imperial Arena run by the Red King, a corrupt ruler of a fearsome empire. Thor will somehow find himself in Sakaar and rescue his fellow Avenger with the help of a new heroine named Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson). It was even reported earlier that Valkyrie will become Thors new love interest, but the rumor was dismissed by Screen Geek. Although there will be a spark between the two characters, they wont become a couple and will simply remain friends. It seems like Marvel is going to maintain Natalie Portmans Jane Foster as Thors main love interest, even though she wont make an appearance in the third film. In fact, her name wont even be mentioned at all in the upcoming film. Thor: Ragnarok will be released on Nov. 3, 2017. Benedict Cumberbatch Photo: Getty Images/Matthias Nareyek Related Articles (WASHINGTON)President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate lawyer Robert Lighthizer as U.S. Trade Representative, a transition official said Monday night, filling in one of the final pieces in the new administrations senior team. Lighthizer, who served as deputy USTR under President Ronald Reagan, would play a key role in Trumps trade agenda. The President-elect has vigorously opposed the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership pact, but has said he would ink one-on-one trade deals with individual countries. Trump has also signaled a tough stance on trade with China, including levying a hefty tariff on Chinese imports. The transition official was not authorized to publicly confirm Trumps expected decision and insisted on anonymity. Trump returned to New York Monday after spending the holidays at his private club in South Florida. With less than three weeks until his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump is expected to fill out a handful of remaining Cabinet-level posts in the coming days. In addition to the USTR, Trump is also weighing picks to lead the departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, as well as a Director of National Intelligence. In addition, Trump is still filling out some top White House positions. Trump has already signaled that he plans to spread work on his trade policies beyond USTR. His transition team has said billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, Trumps nominee to head the Commerce Department, will play a lead role on trade. The president-elect has also named economist Peter Navarro to a newly created White House National Trade Council. Outside of government, Lighthizer has worked on trade issues as a lawyer, representing manufacturing, agricultural and high-tech companies, according to his law firm biography. Lighthizers bio also states that he focused on market-opening trade actions on behalf of U.S. companies seeking access to foreign markets. Donald Trumps Indonesian business partner Hary Tanoesoedibjo said he is considering a bid for president in 2019--a move that could raise more questions about how the Trump Organizations foreign business deals could pose conflicts of interest for the President-elect. If there is no one I can believe who can fix the problems of the country, I may try to run for president, Hary Tanoesoedibjo recently told the Australian Broadcasting Channel. We need a leader with integrity who can bring a solution for the country, he said in the interview. Tanoesoedibjo--a billionaire who is the local partner on two new Trump Organization resorts in Indonesia--ran for vice president of the country in 2014 and has been organizing his own political party for a possible run in 2019, the New York Times reports. His possible political future has sparked concerns about potential conflicts of interest if his business relationship with Trump becomes a diplomatic one as well. Trump has said he will step back from his businesses while serving as president, but he has delayed a scheduled announcement about how he plans to do that. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com Kinshasa (AFP) - DR Congo's ruling coalition said contested President Joseph Kabila should have the right to approve Catholic mediation in the next stage of efforts to end the country's political crisis. The demand touches on a key phase for implementing a historic deal, forged on New Year's Eve, for hauling Democratic Republic of Congo out of a dangerous impasse. Mediated by the Roman Catholic Church, the accord sketches a timetable under which Kabila will stay in office before new elections are held. The coalition said the mediation mandate had to be renewed and approved by Kabila himself in exchange for the government to discuss transition arrangements. "The bishops must first present the report ... to the president, who must reconfirm, using his discretionary powers, the bishops' mandate," said coalition secretary general Aubin Minaku. "It's time to respect the prerogatives of the president of the Republic, and the constitution and institutions," he added. Leading opposition figure Moise Katumbi warned against any move that sought to gain time for Kabila or weaken the accord. "Any foot-dragging, tricks or blocking manoeuvres will not be tolerated," Katumbi, who lives abroad, said in a statement. The bishops have asked both sides to submit written proposals Wednesday on arrangements for issues including the naming a new prime minister and the size of the government. Under the country's constitution, Kabila should have left office on December 20 at the end of his second and final mandate, but he has shown no sign of wanting to step down. Scores of people died in clashes in the runup to the deadline, prompting the church, which wields considerable clout, to ramp up efforts for a political solution. Under the deal, 45-year-old Kabila will stay in power until elections are held "at the end of 2017." During the 12-month period, a transitional body will be set up, headed by the 84-year-old opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, and a prime minister will be named from opposition ranks. Story continues Christophe Lutundula, who signed the agreement for the opposition, said the next talks would be about "specific arrangements" for the transitional body, named the National Council for Overseeing the Electoral Agreement and Process (CNSAP). Issues include methods for appointing CNSAP's 28 members and "the composition of the (transitional) government," Lutundula told AFP. Kabila took office after his father Laurent was assassinated in 2001 at the height of the Second Congo War. He was confirmed as leader in 2006 during the first free elections since independence, and re-elected for a second term in 2011 in a vote marred by accusations of fraud. Endowed with natural resources but chronically poor, sapped by corruption and politically unstable, the Democratic Republic of Congo has never witnessed a peaceful transfer of power since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960. The former colonial ruler has joined others in the international community in piling pressure on the political factions to stick to the agreement. CINCINNATI (AP) Right-hander Drew Storen dressed for Halloween as his favorite Reds player when he was growing up. He gets a chance to wear a Cincinnati uniform of his own next season, trying to improve their historically bad bullpen. The Reds agreed to a $3 million, one-year contract with Storen, the first move to improve Cincinnati's bullpen. The 29-year-old reliever can make an additional $1.5 million in performance bonuses under the deal announced Tuesday. He would get $500,000 if traded. Part of Storen's attraction to the Reds was a chance to play for the team he followed as a youth in Indianapolis. He attended numerous Reds games at Riverfront Stadium and Great American Ball Park. "It's going to be pretty cool," Storen said during a conference call. "For Halloween, I was Chris Sabo multiple times. It's nice to have your name on a jersey." Storen went 4-3 with a 5.23 ERA in 57 appearances last season for Toronto and Seattle, which primarily used him in roles other than closer. He had three saves in four chances. General manager Dick Williams said signing Storen could be the club's most significant move in upgrading the bullpen, which gave up a major league record 103 homers last season and led the league in walks. Overall, the Reds allowed 258 homers, shattering the previous league mark. Storen will be one of several players competing for the closer job in spring training. The Reds had only 28 saves in 53 chances. "One of the primary targets for us in terms of addressing our bullpen was getting a guy that did have experience at the back end," Williams said. "Also, we had trouble throwing strikes last year. Drew has been a consistent performer." Storen would earn an additional $50,000 each for appearing in 15, 20 and 25 games, and $100,000 each for 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 and 55 games. He would get $150,000 each for finishing 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 games. His best seasons were with Washington, where he is remembered for blowing a save chance against St. Louis in the final game of the 2012 NL Division Series. He went 2-1 with a 1.12 ERA and 11 saves in 2014, and followed it with 2-2, a 3.44 ERA and 29 saves in 2015. He's aiming to win the closer's job with the Reds. Story continues "If you're in the bullpen and you don't want to close, you have no business being down there," Storen said. Another enticement: Storen will be pitching to Tucker Barnhart, who was his catcher at Brownsburg High School for two years. "When Drew was trying to make a decision, he reached out to me and we talked for probably half an hour about the Reds and the current situation in Cincinnati," Barnhart said. "It appears some of my information helped him out a little bit." ___ Follow Joe Kay on Twitter: http://twitter.com/apjoekay GASTONIA, N.C. (AP) The North Carolina Highway Patrol says a school bus driver is facing charges after the bus slid off a road and into a ditch before overturning with four students inside. Gaston County Schools spokesman Todd Hagans told local media outlets that none of the students was hurt after the bus overturned around 6:45 a.m. Tuesday near Belmont in Gaston County. The students ranged in age from 8 to 10 years old. The driver and the students escaped the bus through the rear door. Investigating troopers say Milagros Pena of Charlotte is charged with careless and reckless driving and going too fast for road conditions. Light rain was falling at the time in the area. It wasn't immediately known if Pena had a lawyer. Egypts Oil Minister has inked three offshore oil and gas exploration and production deals worth about $220 million, per a news report. The agreements are signed with supermajor BP plc BP, Frances Total SA TOT and a subsidiary of Italys Eni SpA E for exploration blocks in the Egyptian Mediterranean Sea. The agreements also include a signing bonus of $9 million and are the result of a tender called by Egyptian state gas board (EGAS). Per the ministry, the deal is for six new wells to be drilled for offshore areas of North El Hammad, North El Tabya, and North Ras El Esh. Yesterday, Eni confirmed two deals for blocks North El Hammad and North Ras El Esh but did not reveal their value. Per Eni, the block North El Hammad spans across an acreage of 1,927 square kilometers and is located to the west of the Abu Madi West and Baltim-Baltim South development areas, where Eni recently made the major discoveries of Nooros and Baltim South West. The Nooros well was brought online in Aug 2015. Eni, the operator of the North El Hammad block has equity of 37.5%. Other partners in the block are BP and Total, holding 37.5% and 25%, respectively. The deal is estimated to be worth about $80 million. The block North Ras El Esh spans across an acreage of 1,389 square kilometers and is located southwest of the development areas of Temsah and Port Fouad. Eni has a stake of 50% in the block, while the remaining is held by BP, the operator of the block. The deal is estimated to be worth about $75 million. The third agreement is for North El Tabya with BP, wherein the company would make investments of $65 million. Currently, Egypt has become a net importer as domestic output has failed to keep pace with rising demand from being an exporter of energy earlier. Last month, Saudi Arabia informed Egypt that consignments of oil products anticipated under a $23 billion aid deal has been stopped indefinitely. The government is pursuing options to help the country cope with energy deficit. Egypt wanted to import crude oil directly from Iraq and the ministry wished to finalize the deal by the first quarter of 2017. The oil sector in Egypt has inked 73 oil and gas exploration deals with international oil companies in the past three years, worth about $15 billion so far, and signing bonuses of over $1 billion for the drilling of 306 wells. Last week, an EGAS official informed Reuters that the board has decided that Egypt required about 100 shipments of liquefied natural gas worth $2.2 billion in 2017 and has already secured 60 shipments. Eni currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017 In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest tickers for the entirety of 2017? Who wouldn't? These 10 are painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. They are our primary picks to buy and hold. Be among the very first to see them >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SUNCOR ENERGY (SU): Free Stock Analysis Report BP PLC (BP): Free Stock Analysis Report TOTAL FINA SA (TOT): Free Stock Analysis Report ENI SPA-ADR (E): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research (Adds more data, quote) By Dion Rabouin Jan 3 (Reuters) - Emerging market portfolios recorded their lowest total inflows since 2008 as investors responded to global shocks last year by buying fewer developing country assets, a report showed on Tuesday. Nonresident investors cut inflows to emerging market assets to $28 billion in 2016, with debt portfolios recording substantial outflows, the Institute for International Finance said. In December, portfolio outflows totaled $3.4 billion, predominately in debt, to give 2016 the weakest inflows for emerging markets since the global financial crisis. The $28 billion of inflows for the year was also 90 percent below the average from 2010 to 2014, IIF said. Emerging markets have been particularly hard hit since the election in November of Donald Trump as U.S. president. "No single factor stands out as the cause of the retrenchment in portfolio flows to emerging markets," IIF said in a statement. "Rising U.S. yields - partly as a result of the reflationary 'Trump trade' but also attributable to a more hawkish Fed - have been the main contributor to the weakness. However, idiosyncratic events in a number of EM countries, including Turkey and India, have weighed on domestic prospects, exacerbating portfolio outflows." IIF reported earlier this year that Trump's victory had triggered a substantial reversal in fund flows, sparking the longest continuous "reversal alert" since the organization began issuing the report in 2005. Win Thin, Brown Brothers Harriman's global head of emerging market currency strategy, noted uncertainty over terrorism and an attempted coup in Turkey, political instability in South Africa, nuclear threats from North Korea, and austerity and political risks in Brazil were also causes for concern. "There's a lot of country specific risk and that's on top of a negative macro backdrop," Thin said. "That's why I'm pretty negative on EM for the first half of this year." Emerging market debt portfolios had $33.8 billion of outflows, while equity funds drew in $61.4 billion. Story continues Net capital flows from China were the primary driver of outflows with an estimated $96 billion during the year, rising from $70 billion in October. Turkey had the largest net capital inflows, at $37 billion, followed by India at $33 billion and Mexico at $30 billion. However, year-to-date net capital inflows to Brazil and India were almost less than half their 2015 levels. The IIF tracks portfolio flows to eight countries - Indonesia, India, Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, South Africa, Brazil and Hungary. (Editing by Dan Grebler and Jeffrey Benkoe) The official numbers are in. As we touched on last week, flows into ETFs were at record levels in 2016, according to FactSet data. For the year as a whole, $287.5 billion came into U.S.-listed ETFs, the most ever. The month of December alone saw inflows of $61.5 billion, also a record. Total U.S.-listed ETF assets now stand at $2.56 trillion. Incidentally, the ETF records weren't just limited to the U.S. According to BlackRock, global ETF inflows totaled $375 billion in 2016, surpassing 2015's $348 billion. Every Segment But Currency ETFs Had Inflows Of 2016's record inflows, the majority went into U.S. equity ETFs, but a few other segments saw notable inflows as well. Total creations for U.S. equity ETFs were $162.5 billion. That was followed by $81.7 billion for U.S. fixed-income ETFs; $15.8 billion for international equity ETFs; $10.9 billion for international fixed-income ETFs; and $10.4 billion for commodity ETFs. The only segment to see outflows was currency ETFs, with redemptions of $492 million for the year. Broad Market ETFs Dominate Broad market ETFs dominated the top 10 list when it came to flows for individual funds. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) saw a whopping $25.4 billion worth of inflows in 2016 as investors embraced the world's largest ETF for U.S. equity exposure. Two other ETFs tracking the same venerable index also made the top three: the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and the Vanguard S&P 500 Index Fund (VOO), with inflows of $13.2 billion and $11.6 billion, respectively. In terms of performance, the three S&P 500 ETFs ended the year up by about 12% each. Meanwhile, the iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) and the iShares TIPS Bond ETF (TIP) were the only two fixed-income ETFs to make the top 10, with creations of $11.3 billion and $6.8 billion, respectively. AGG had a total return of 2.4% for the year, while TIP returned 4.7%. Four international equity-focused ETFs also made the cut: the Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA), with inflows of $11 billion; the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG), with inflows of $7.4 billion; the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO), with inflows of $6.8 billion; and the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) , with inflows of $6.2 billion. Story continues The only commodity ETF on the list was the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), which ended the year with net creations of $7.3 billion. The ETF, which lost nearly half its inflows in the last few months of the year, ended 2016 with a total return of 8%. Europe & Japan ETFs Out Of Favor On the outflows side, the WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund (HEDJ) was the biggest loser of 2016. Its $7.8 billion of outflows contrasts with the $13.9 billion of inflows that the fund saw in 2015. Other Europe ETFs also fell out of favor in 2016, including the iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU), with outflows of $6.7 billion; and the Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (VGK), with outflows of $3.5 billion. Another country to fall out of investors' favor was Japan. The WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ) and the iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ) saw outflows of $5.6 billion and $4.3 billion, respectively. The tech-heavy PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQ), with outflows of $2.5 billion and the iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI), with outflows of $2.3 billion, were two other funds of note to make the top outflows list. For a full list of this year's biggest winners and losers, see the tables below: Top Gainers (2016) Biggest Losers (2016) Asset Classes (2016) Net Flows ($, mm) AUM ($, mm) % of AUM U.S. Equity 162,504.13 1,486,269.82 10.93% International Equity 15,751.21 508,306.20 3.10% U.S. Fixed Income 81,778.93 408,898.16 20.00% International Fixed Income 10,941.28 39,891.91 27.43% Commodities 10,428.07 59,890.67 17.41% Currency -491.65 3,154.81 -15.58% Leveraged 522.06 24,281.93 2.15% Inverse 3,190.84 17,178.00 18.58% Asset Allocation 431.98 6,767.45 6.38% Alternatives 2,449.14 3,941.54 62.14% Total: 287,505.98 2,558,580.50 11.24% December 2016 League Table Issuer Net Flows ($,M) AUM ($,M) % of AUM YTD 2016 Net Flows($,M) BlackRock 20,572.77 983,453.11 2.09% 105,596.95 Vanguard 13,698.70 611,692.19 2.24% 94,809.99 State Street Global Advisors 18,149.53 503,066.07 3.61% 52,220.62 Invesco PowerShares 1,792.31 110,693.44 1.62% 7,688.63 Charles Schwab 2,479.52 59,801.55 4.15% 16,202.61 First Trust 535.99 41,187.67 1.30% -2,809.91 WisdomTree 686.98 39,937.06 1.72% -12,686.94 Guggenheim 1,274.50 31,504.80 4.05% 2,855.84 Van Eck 819.21 30,117.40 2.72% 7,976.05 ProShares -473.87 26,152.95 -1.81% 4,662.29 Deutsche Bank -59.03 13,395.26 -0.44% -7,109.65 ALPS 374.94 13,064.01 2.87% 2,338.61 PIMCO 397.17 12,597.37 3.15% 1,460.54 Northern Trust 399.44 11,771.67 3.39% 3,149.19 Direxion 589.76 10,725.93 5.50% 1,504.36 Barclays Capital 17.03 6,760.66 0.25% 1,257.29 UBS 52.40 6,518.29 0.80% 1,200.62 Fidelity 321.51 5,192.14 6.19% 1,015.14 JPMorgan 153.84 4,865.49 3.16% 623.74 US Commodity Funds -981.13 4,647.94 -21.11% -603.38 Global X 55.83 3,791.54 1.47% 529.01 Credit Suisse 28.65 3,145.88 0.91% 402.12 Goldman Sachs 219.11 2,711.87 8.08% 1,651.75 IndexIQ -32.80 2,225.64 -1.47% 651.11 Exchange Traded Concepts 42.88 2,156.35 1.99% 250.46 ETF Securities -34.24 2,139.42 -1.60% 260.78 OppenheimerFunds 166.78 1,597.98 10.44% 403.34 AdvisorShares -42.40 1,072.23 -3.95% 25.70 Millington Securities Inc -29.44 1,039.22 -2.83% -455.82 Columbia 1.65 922.81 0.18% -34.73 Victory Capital Management 71.82 908.68 7.90% 474.77 ETF Managers Group 5.39 893.33 0.60% -133.86 Pacer Financial 14.75 737.68 2.01% 179.84 John Hancock 26.18 657.69 3.98% 480.89 Virtus 38.35 596.94 6.42% 176.40 The Principal Financial Group 2.01 546.40 0.37% 472.13 Franklin ETF Trust 8.86 525.52 1.69% 232.84 Highland Capital Management 98.69 479.25 20.59% 172.46 CitiGroup 140.38 466.25 30.11% 140.38 FQF Trust 39.72 435.82 9.11% 354.89 Swedish Export Credit -12.71 393.99 -3.23% -34.04 Cambria 6.20 328.78 1.89% -18.26 KraneShares -1.23 246.25 -0.50% 45.38 Teucrium -5.59 154.75 -3.61% 74.58 Janus 24.84 138.52 17.93% 34.81 Alpha Architect -6.23 135.28 -4.60% 42.07 Legg Mason 4.36 132.26 3.29% 105.21 Elkhorn 18.46 120.23 15.35% 93.73 Merk -36.49 112.07 -32.56% 34.35 Lattice Strategies 5.11 104.03 4.92% 22.90 Nuveen 23.66 86.86 27.24% 23.66 Recon Capital 4.44 78.23 5.68% 16.34 Arrow Investment Advisors -1.55 74.31 -2.08% -48.83 US Global Investors 9.93 65.99 15.05% 9.24 ARK 1.14 65.68 1.73% 18.23 Montage Managers 10.59 54.49 19.44% 28.59 Morgan Stanley 0.00 50.29 0.00% -12.04 Reality Shares 3.74 46.23 8.09% -2.13 Academy Funds 0.00 36.53 0.00% -25.63 Aptus Capital Advisors 3.90 26.08 14.96% 22.89 AlphaMark Advisors 0.00 24.57 0.00% -6.84 Validea Capital Management 0.00 22.44 0.00% -2.35 Diamond Hill 0.00 16.86 0.00% -0.24 Renaissance Capital 0.00 14.27 0.00% -6.42 Natixis 0.00 13.45 0.00% 0.00 Royal Bank of Canada -0.62 12.24 -5.02% -5.56 ACSI Funds 4.02 12.20 32.94% 11.71 Amplify 0.00 10.62 0.00% 5.26 CSOP 0.00 8.51 0.00% -15.28 LocalShares -1.36 8.06 -16.88% -2.72 TrimTabs Asset Management 1.38 6.10 22.66% 5.75 USCF Advisers 0.00 5.62 0.00% -1.53 Premise Capital 2.59 5.13 50.53% 2.59 AlphaClone 0.00 2.86 0.00% 0.89 BMO 0.00 0.00 0.00% 0.00 OSI ETF Trust 0.00 0.00 0.00% 0.00 Strategy Shares 0.00 0.00 0.00% -1.74 Disclaimer: All data as of 6 a.m. Eastern time the date the article is published. Data is believed to be accurate; however, transient market data is often subject to subsequent revision and correction by the exchanges. Recommended Stories Permalink | Copyright 2017 ETF.com. All rights reserved (Adds U.S. industry figures) By Trevor Hunnicutt NEW YORK, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Investors funneled $375 billion into exchange-traded funds in 2016, investment manager BlackRock Inc said on Tuesday, a global record that came as investors looked to cut costs. The total, which is preliminary, compares with $348 billion in 2015 and includes a record $286 billion haul in the United States, home to the funds' biggest market. ETFs are a basket of stocks or other assets traded by individual investors and institutions. Fund managers from BlackRock to Vanguard and Schwab offer index ETFs that try to track, not beat, the market. They have sliced management fees on some funds to as little as $3 annually for every $10,000 managed. All three companies announced price cuts last year. Those low fees along with other cost savings and conveniences have helped the more than $3 trillion ETF business take assets from rival financial products, including actively managed funds that attempt to beat the market but may fall short of that goal. U.S.-based active stock funds recorded $288 billion in withdrawals in 2016, the largest on record, according to preliminary Thomson Reuters Lipper data through November. ETF issuers were also able to draw investors into "smart beta" products that often attempt to beat the markets but do so based on a set of rules governing how they invest, rather than a portfolio manager making those calls. The products can be pricier for investors than traditional index funds while still undercutting active managers. "The fact that we're at new-record inflows with such a slow start is a pretty strong reversal," said David Perlman, an ETF researcher at UBS. Markets started 2016 in bad shape, after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised rates and as oil prices cratered. Stocks managed to rebound from a February low, but events including the U.S. presidential race and the British vote to exit the European Union kept investors skittish. Money moved to the perceived safety of the fixed-income market, and BlackRock's early data showed bond ETFs taking in a record $115 billion in 2016. Story continues BlackRock, with $1.3 trillion in global ETF assets, is the largest provider of such funds. Its iShares ETF brand attracted $140 billion globally during the year, BlackRock said, describing that figure as a record. In the U.S., BlackRock attracted $105 billion into ETFs during the year, followed by Vanguard's $94 billion, State Street's $52 billion and Schwab's $16 billion, according to separate estimates by FactSet Research Systems Inc. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Tom Brown and Alan Crosby) Maybe Republicans in Congress will listen to Paul Ryan in the future. Thats the most optimistic way of looking at Tuesdays ethics office mess. Its the only potential silver lining on a day when the legislative branch as an institution started a new and very important year on a bad foot. Congress and its Republican leaders will need every ounce of political capital they have in the coming months and years during a Trump presidency. President-elect Donald Trump doesnt acknowledge constitutional restraints on the presidency when discussing his broad agenda. House Speaker Ryan held off on endorsing him for this very reason. And Ryan, for all his effort during the late stages of the presidential campaign to heal his relationship with Trump, knows its quite possible Congress will have to act as a check on Trump if the next president tries to overextend the powers of the executive branch. But what Trump understands better than many traditional politicians is that public perception creates political power. Congress is already regarded with contempt by most Americans: Polls show that only one out of every five Americans approves of the legislative body. And Trump won the presidency by promising to wring establishment Washington by the neck. So when House Republicans voted Monday night to make changes to an independent ethics committee that was interpreted as gutting its power, they handed Trump a club with which to beat them over the head. Two House leadership sources told Yahoo News that Ryan opposed the changes. House Speaker Paul Ryan delivers remarks upon being reelected speaker. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) Trump, never one to let a public outcry go unharnessed, promptly tweeted his disapproval of the move a calculated criticism of the GOPs timing more than the actual substance and by Tuesday at lunchtime, the House Republicans had scrapped their plan. For Congress, it was an unfortunate way to start the year. They rolled over at the first sign of displeasure from the president-elect, even if outraged phone calls to their offices were as much a motivator as anything else. Story continues But for Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican now in his second year as speaker, the red flags were more substantial. He took a hit to his own public perception, and weaknesses in his leadership style were exposed. He opposed the vote but was unable to persuade them not to do it. Then on Tuesday morning, Ryan put out a statement defending what Republicans had voted on, trying to tamp down the idea that the GOP had gutted or destroyed the ethics office or its independence. Hours later, he held a private meeting with other leaders and with members including Rep. Bob Goodlatte, the Virginia Republican who had led the effort to change the Office of Congressional Ethics, and they agreed to withdraw the proposal from a vote in the full House. President-elect Donald Trump meets with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan on Capitol Hill in November. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters) Ryan looked bad at every stage. He looked weak for not stopping his members from supporting it. His integrity will take a hit with those who perceive him as trying to help Congress evade ethics oversight. And finally, Trumps critics will view House Republicans as the president-elects errand boys for backing down so quickly. Perhaps most significant, this episode exposed a vulnerability in Ryans leadership style. Ryan cant stomach the idea of being a strong-arm leader, like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, or the two Democrats who have led their parties in the Senate and House for the past several years: retiring Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California. Its partly generational and partly a personality thing. Ryan prefers to make his case and to remain on good terms with all members of his Republican conference. He doesnt want to be the bad guy. His own advisers and allies admit as much. It may be that episodes like the ethics office flap will work out in the long run. Perhaps Goodlatte and others have learned a lesson, that they should heed the warnings of Ryan and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy in the future. Maybe Ryans nice guy approach will work. But more likely, it wont. Ryan tried to respect and protect his own members at every turn. He deferred to their wishes for autonomy in voting for the changes. He tried to help them by explaining the move. And he was trying to minimize damage to Congress by getting Goodlatte to back off pushing for the measure. Ryan is leery of raw power, of being rough with allies and fellow party members, of forcing them to get in line. Its a sentiment shared by other younger members of Congress, including younger senators. But if Ryan wants the House to solve problems through legislation and to present a unified, co-equal branch of government that can stand up to the executive branch, he may need to get comfortable with being feared rather than loved. Maybe telling a young man to stop dabbing in a photo Tuesday afternoon was a good start. BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union antitrust regulators have extended the deadline for a decision on ChemChina's proposed buy of Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta by 10 working days to April 12. Syngenta said in a statement the two companies had asked for the extension to allow "sufficient time for the discussion of remedy proposals". The European Commission opened an in-depth investigation into state-owned ChemChina's $43 billion bid in October, saying the companies had not allayed concerns over the deal. The Commission's website showed the deadline had been extended by 10 days on Tuesday. "ChemChina and Syngenta remain fully committed to the transaction and are confident of its closure," the Swiss company said. (Reporting by Julia Fioretti and Joshua Franklin in Zurich; editing by Susan Thomas) james woolsey James Woolsey, the former CIA chief during Bill Clinton's administration who is now a top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, speculated Tuesday that Russia was perhaps one of many foreign state actors that most likely meddled in the US election. Outlets like The New York Times reported last month that intelligence agencies had concluded that Russia hacked and leaked internal emails from the Democratic National Committee and the private email account of Hillary Clinton's campaign chair to sow discord in the presidential election. In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, the Trump adviser reiterated his belief that Russia was one of multiple states responsible for the hacks. "This is not an organized operation that is hacking into a target," Woolsey said. "It's not like taking a number at a bakery and standing in line to politely get your dozen cookies you want to buy. It's more like a bunch of jackals at a carcass of an antelope. Is it Russian? Probably some. Is it some Chinese and Iranian, maybe who knows?" He added: "It shouldn't be portrayed as one guilty party. It's way more complicated than that." During Tuesday's interview, CNN host Chris Cuomo pointed out that Woolsey's claim was different from reports by intelligence agencies, which have determined that Russia was involved, and the incoming Trump administration, which has thus far denied evidence that Russia was responsible for the hacks. Woolsey argued that Trump "could have people talking to him from within the system" who believe that other state actors were involved in hacking. "When something like this drags on for a significant amount of time, people in the system sometimes will call you and say, 'Here's what I know,'" Woolsey said. "I think the possibility that there's more than one country involved is really there. I don't think people ought to say that there's only one. I don't think they'll be proven correct." WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said in an interview with Fox News scheduled to air Tuesday night that WikiLeaks did not obtain its the leaked emails from Russia. Story continues Since leaving Clinton administration, Woolsey has occasionally espoused beliefs at odds with both Democratic Party orthodoxy and public stances from the intelligence community. In 2001, he speculated in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks that the Iraqi government may have been involved in the planning, though no evidence has ever supported that claim. Watch the clip below, via CNN: Former CIA director James Woolsey: Possibility that more than one country is involved in hacking is there. https://t.co/cxZqeyNvOI New Day (@NewDay) January 3, 2017 NOW WATCH: Here are some incredible things you didnt know about Putin's life More From Business Insider The following editorial appeared in the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday, Dec. 27: A new rule from the Department of Health and Human Services makes it clear that state agencies should not be determining how to distribute millions of dollars of federal Title X family planning funds based on anything other than a health clinics ability to provide those services. This is a provocative but smart move that aims to restore federal funding for health care centers serving lower-income populations that have been disqualified by some states simply because they also provide abortions. This regulation does not suddenly fund abortions. By statute, no federal funds can be used to pay for such services. Instead, it bars recipients of federal family planning dollars usually state health departments from refusing to pass that money along to health care providers for reasons unrelated to their ability to deliver Title X services. According to HHS, more than 4 million people get these services, which include contraception, pregnancy testing, preconception health services, screening and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, basic infertility services, and screenings for cervical and breast cancer. Planned Parenthood officials estimate that about a third of the people getting Title X services are getting them at their clinics. However, a dozen states set irrelevant criteria for eligibility, effectively cutting off funding for private clinics that also offer abortions. Those restrictive laws have eroded services, especially for low-income women. As a result, HHS says, the number of people receiving Title X services has decreased in those areas. Often, the clinics that are best able to reach a large swath of lower-income people end up hamstrung by state regulations. For example, after Kansas passed a law prohibiting private family planning clinics from getting Title X funds, HHS reported, the number of clients served under Title X dropped more than 37 percent from 2011 to 2015. The rule wont take effect until Jan. 18, and it could be blocked by a GOP Congress primed to reverse regulations adopted in the waning months of the Obama administration. Or states could decide to forgo federal family planning dollars, to the detriment of the clinics that millions of lower-income people have come to rely on for basic health care. Some congressional Republicans are even talking about killing the entire Title X program. But lawmakers shouldnt hold womens health services hostage to their crusade against abortion, which women have a legal right to seek. The HHS rule will help more lower-income women get the reproductive-health and screening services they need. Thats a goal both parties should embrace. Beirut (AFP) - An air strike in Syria on Tuesday killed at least 25 members of former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front including senior figures, a monitor said. Unidentified aircraft hit one of the group's most important bases in Syria, in the northwestern province of Idlib, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. Among the dead were leading members of the group, formerly known as Al-Nusra Front, who were holding a meeting there, he said, without identifying them. Fateh al-Sham used its Telegram account to accuse the US-led coalition of carrying out the raid. "More than 20 martyrs after the Crusader coalition targeted a central base in the north Idlib countryside," it said. An AFP correspondent said several strikes had hit the town including one on a Fateh al-Sham checkpoint. He saw ambulances rushing to the area. The strike came four days into a fragile ceasefire between Syria's regime and major rebel groups brokered by Russia and Turkey. Moscow and Damascus say the truce does not cover Fateh al-Sham or the Islamic State group, labelled by the UN Security Council as "terrorist" organisations. Rebel groups say that Idlib is covered by the agreement. In November the Pentagon said a US drone strike killed a senior Al-Qaeda leader in the same area. Regis Philbin is heading back to daytime! The Hollywood legend will be joining Home & Family on Hallmark Channel for a full week of shows from Jan. 9 to Jan. 13, as a special guest star -- his first hosting stint on national television since leaving Live with Regis and Kelly in 2011. Philbin has appeared alongside former co-host Kathie Lee Gifford on Today several times since leaving Live! EXCLUSIVE: Kathie Lee Gifford Wants Regis Philbin to Replace Billy Bush on The 'Today' Show According to the network, Philbin can be expected to participate in "all aspects of the show, from cooking in the kitchen, to playing games and DIYs." Woody Fraser, executive producer of Home & Family, tells ET," Regis and I have been friends forever. What an honor to have him guest star on Home & Family for a whole week." "I'm very excited to be joining Home & Family for a full week of shows," Philbin adds. "I think we're going to have a lot of fun. You should definitely tune in!" Home & Family airs on the Hallmark channel daily at 10 a.m. ET/PT. WATCH: Regis Philbin: I Haven't Spoken to Kelly Ripa Since I Left the Show While he's stayed away from daytime, earlier this year, Philbin opened up about Ripa's co-host drama after Michael Strahan announced he was leaving Live! With Kelly and Michael. See what the longtime TV host had to say in the video below. Related Articles Shortly after the shocking killings of Shanna Vandewege and her infant son Diederik, Shannas father urged people not to rush to judgement in pointing the finger at Shannas husband, Craig. Mark Riddle defended Craig Vandewege in the comments sections of various news articles about the killings, in which Shanna, 36, and 3-month-old Diederik were found at home with their throats slit. I believe in him and so do all of the other family members and friends gathered, Riddle wrote on the Fort Worth Star-Telegrams website. Until you have had to deal with the mixed emotions that weve been experiencing since this episode, do not be judgmental lest you be judged. But now, in the wake of Vandeweges Dec. 21 arrest on murder charges, Riddle tells PEOPLE he has had a change of heart. Ive seen the police report, and I am very confused, Riddle explains, talking to PEOPLE just one week after his daughters funeral. I cant believe, after reading what Ive read, that hes innocent, but I pray that he is. I dont know. I guess I have to leave this up to God and the law. Vandewege, 35, was apprehended by police in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, a week after the bodies of his wife and son were found inside a Fort Worth, Texas, home. According to his arrest affidavit, before he was detained, Vandewege allegedly told a man he met inside a 7-Eleven that he was bound for Las Vegas where he said he planned to meet with President-elect Donald Trump to talk about the killings. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Forth Worth police allege Vandewege told the unidentified man at the gas station that he was on the run and that the government was trying to conspire against him by saying he had killed his family. He also allegedly said he was getting together with Trump to work it out with him. Vandewege allegedly showed no emotion as he explained to the arresting officers it had been a long week and his wife and kid were murdered in Fort Worth, Texas, the affidavit states. Story continues Before taking him into custody in Colorado, local police searched Vandewege and allegedly found a loaded pistol in his waistband, another gun in an ankle holster, and a number of condoms in his pockets, according to the affidavit. He was in possession of his wedding ring, but it was not on his finger. Inside his vehicle, officers allegedly recovered camouflage, clothing, numerous bottles of medication and an AR-style rifle. Vandewege is still awaiting extradition to Texas, but authorities have not provided a timeline for when he may be returned from Colorado. He has yet to enter a plea to the charges against him and his attorney, Leslie Barrows, did not immediately respond for comment. Allegations of Disturbing Dreams Riddle tells PEOPLE his daughter moved to Texas in May five months after Vandewege relocated to Fort Worth to find a house for them to live in. She was just gonna come up here for Christmas, Riddle tells PEOPLE, fighting back tears. I guess we had her home for Christmas just not in the fashion we wanted. Riddle says he has been in touch with Vandeweges family since the murders. Vandeweges relatives attended Shannas funeral on Dec. 27 and Riddle says they have been very supportive since the double-homicide. Riddle says he will attend all of Vandeweges upcoming court appearances and acknowledges hes still having a hard time wrapping his head around what happened. Its a nightmare, he says. Pick up PEOPLEs special edition True Crime Stories: Cases That Shocked America, on sale now, for the latest on Casey Anthony, JonBenet Ramsey and more. Since the killings, Fort Worth detectives have interviewed several of Vandeweges co-workers and learned that Vandewege allegedly often complained about his wife and her appearance and made statements about harming her, according to the arrest affidavit. Days before the slayings, Vandewege allegedly told a co-worker hed had a dream in which he sliced the heads of his wife and father like bologna.' Soon after learning Shanna was pregnant, he allegedly told the same co-worker he wished he could push her down the stairs and kill her that way. Vandewege also told co-workers he was taking prescriptions that made him hear voices that tell him to kill people, police allege in the affidavit. His wife could not do anything right and she dressed and wore her hair poorly and the only way he could tolerate his wife was by drinking, Vandewege allegedly said at work. The affidavit characterizes his interactions with investigators as overly calm and notes that trace amounts of blood were detected on the rims of two sinks in the Vandewege home, possibly suggesting someone attempted to clean the crime scene. Investigators further allege someone took steps to stage a robbery of the familys home. A South Korean court handling the bankruptcy of STX Offshore and Shipbuilding Co. said Tuesday that Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri had been named preferred bidder for STX's profitable French unit. "The court reached the decision this afternoon," Judge Choi Ung-Young, who acts as a spokesman for the Seoul Central District Insolvency Court, told AFP. He said Fincantieri would now conduct field research on the shipyard and agree a price with the South Korean firm before signing a deal for a 66.6-percent stake. Fincantieri, Netherlands-based Damen Shipyards Group and French state-controlled naval shipbuilder DCNS had initially expressed interest in acquiring STX France. But the Italian shipbuilding giant was the sole bidder to submit a binding proposal last month. Fincantieri later issued a brief statement confirming it had "been selected as the exclusive buyer" of a two-thirds stake in STX France. STX in 2008 bought a two-thirds stake in the huge shipyard in the western French port of Saint-Nazaire, later renamed STX France. It is currently the company's only profitable unit. The French state holds the remaining stake and is extremely concerned about the future of the shipyard, a major local employer with a healthy order book for cruise liners and also military ships. Fincantieri competes in the same sector of shipbuilding, and French trade unions on Tuesday expressed concern about any move to "eliminate duplicate positions" in the companies' workforces. STX Offshore's creditors last month narrowly approved a debt restructuring plan, avoiding the imminent liquidation of what was once South Korea's fourth largest shipbuilder. In an effort to understand how to combat unemployment, poverty and social inequality, Finland and Scotland are embarking on bold and ambitious economic experiments that will have their governments pilot a Universal Basic Income (UBI) for every citizen, regardless of their employment status, albeit with a few caveats. The program has already begun in Finland and is restricted to 2,000 participants who were selected at random out of a pool of people who were receiving some sort of unemployment benefits or income subsidy. The selected participants will receive 560 euros ($587) a month for a period of two years from the Finnish federal social security institution Kela, and the money they will receive will be tax-free. In Scotland, the plan is being considered for the councils in Fife and Glasgow, however, no figure has been computed as of yet. The source of funding is also under contention. It could be funding from particular trusts, it could be individual philanthropic funding, or it could be a redirection of the existing welfare state spend, said Jamie Cooke, head of the think tank Royal Society of Arts in Scotland, according to the Independent. However, in both countries, those receiving the UBI will not be eligible to simultaneously also claim other welfare schemes such as unemployment benefits. UBI is being explored to see its effect in reducing poverty in Scotland and in Finland it is expected to see if it may improve the country's cumbersome and expensive welfare system and its unemployment rate that stood at 8.1 percent in November. Is UBI everyones future? Apart from several countries exploring the feasibility of pilot UBI projects such as the Netherlands, Canada, Kenya, Switzerland, Iceland, Uganda and Brazil, it seems that the Silicon Valley is also paying rapt attention. Reports about the disruptive impact of technology and automation are also spurring action on the UBI front. Elon Musk has already addressed the question in an interview and he feels we simply won't have any choice. "There is a pretty good chance we end up with a universal basic income, or something like that, due to automationYeah, I am not sure what else one would do. I think that is what would happen," Musk told CNBC. Story continues And on Dec. 8, the Economic Security Project, a research alliance of technologists and activists such as Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, Sam Altman, president of the startup accelerator Y Combinator and more than 100 other organizers announced a $10 million fund to study UBI over the next two years. An even more recent report released by the White House on Dec. 20 predicts a staggering 47 percent of U.S. jobs being at risk from the advent of artificial intelligence and increase in computerization. Although this sort of disruption may take decades, interestingly the skills most sought after by industry according to LinkedIn, Upwork and Opportunity are to do with computer programming. Here are the 10 most sought after skills for 2016-17: 1. Cloud and Distributed Computing 2. Statistical Analysis and Data Mining 3. Web Architecture and Development Framework 4. Middleware and Integration Software 5. User Interface Design 6. Network and Information Security 7. Mobile Development 8. Data Presentation 9. SEO/SEM Marketing 10. Storage Systems and Management Related Articles ABIDJAN (Reuters) - A fire that broke out on Monday at Ivory Coast's only oil refinery was put out by the evening and production was unaffected, the refinery said in a statement. The state-run Societe Ivoirienne de Rafinage (SIR) refinery said a hydrogen leak caused a fire in one of the hydrocracking units. Workers were assessing the damage and it was not clear how long repairs would take. "The other refining units have remained in operation and make it possible to cover the petroleum products needs of the Ivory Coast and the countries of the sub-region," SIR said. SIR, which produces 3.4 million tonnes each year, provides Ivory Coast with nearly all of its petroleum products and also supplies neighbouring countries. Nigeria is its primary supplier of crude and its main buyer of refined exports. The refinery has amassed debts worth hundreds of billions of CFA francs (hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars) since 2008, forcing the government to organise debt relief last year. Ivory Coast's economy has expanded rapidly since a decade of political turmoil ended in 2011. The government says putting the energy sector on a firm footing is key to future growth. (Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; writing by Edward McAllister; editing by Jason Neely) Beijing (AFP) - US president-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly called out China for doing too little to help stop North Korea's nuclear programme, and on Monday he took to Twitter again to blast Beijing. "China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the US in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea," he tweeted. "Nice!" His comments come a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un appeared to try to put pressure on Trump by announcing his country is in the "final stages" of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US," Trump also tweeted. "It won't happen!" But what leverage does the incoming American president really have over the hermetic nation? And what could Beijing do to stop it? Here are five questions on the China-North Korea relationship. - Why is the North obsessed with nuclear weapons? Pyongyang is still technically at war with the US after the Korean War of 1950-53 ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty. The North Korean leadership has built its claim to domestic legitimacy on military might and says a credible nuclear deterrent is critical to the nation's survival, arguing it is under constant threat from an aggressive United States. Although it has regularly threatened neighbouring South Korea, its main priority is developing an effective strike threat against the US mainland. - How does China fit in? China is North Korea's only ally, its main diplomatic protector, and its economic lifeline. The two countries' Communist parties are linked by ideology, sympathy, and decades of history, with Chinese forces' intervention decisive in saving the North from being overrun during the Korean War. Beijing sent vast numbers of soldiers to the peninsula, with Western historians estimating 400,000 died, and Chinese sources settling on a figure of about 180,000. Story continues Mao Zedong described the neighbours as being as close as "lips and teeth". Beijing's nightmare scenario is that if the Pyongyang regime collapses, millions of hungry North Koreans might flood over its border -- and the US-allied South would take over, meaning American troops could be stationed right on the Chinese border. - Are Beijing-Pyongyang ties weakening? Beijing regularly says it "firmly opposes" the North's nuclear tests and calls for denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. Following Trump's remarks, on Tuesday a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman again declared it would "stay committed to denuclearisation" on the peninsula. "We hope that relevant parties would refrain from words and deeds that will lead to the escalation of tension," Geng Shuang told reporters. China sees Kim Jong-un's energetic pursuit of a nuclear programme as a source of instability, and consistently calls for the revival of six-party talks to find a solution. But it has resisted targeting the country's fragile economy for fear of provoking an implosion. Even so its patience with Kim is running thin and he has not visited China since taking power -- a possible sign of the Chinese Communist Party rulers' displeasure with the young leader. - Could Beijing stop Pyongyang? It is not clear whether China could rein in the North even if it wanted to. Beijing has ensured that past UN Security Council resolutions on sanctions against Pyongyang have included humanitarian exemptions, and has continued to purchase huge amounts of North Korean coal -- $101 million worth in October alone -- a crucial source of foreign exchange for Pyongyang. But the latest resolution, passed in December, had no such clause and Beijing announced it would suspend purchases of coal from the North -- for three weeks to December 31. - What leverage does the US have? Not much -- it has been unable to influence China's North Korea policy for years. Washington has long pursued a policy of "strategic patience" -- essentially a refusal to engage in any significant dialogue unless Pyongyang made some tangible commitment to denuclearisation. And impeachment of South Korea's President Park Geun-Hye -- a hardliner on Pyongyang -- could result in a more pro-engagement leader taking office, undermining Washington's efforts to pressure the North. Trump has suggested that the US' longstanding One-China policy could be upended if Beijing does not do more to pressure Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons programme. Ford Motor (F), which had been bashed by Donald Trump for shipping jobs outside the U.S., announced Tuesday that it will cancel production of a $1.6 billion plant in Mexico, and will instead invest $700 million in Flat Rock, Michigan. The U.S. auto giant said it will add 700 direct new jobs in Flat Rock to produce high-tech electrified and autonomous vehicles, plus the Ford Mustang and Lincoln Continental. Ford had originally planned to build its Ford Focus in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The company said it will continue to build its Focus at an existing plant in Hermosillo, Mexico, to improve company profitability. Ford Chairman Bill Ford Jr. said he spoke with President-elect Trump on Tuesday morning to tell him of the decision to invest in the U.S. and cancel the Mexico plant, according to Reuters. "We're also encouraged by the pro-growth policies that President-elect Trump and the new Congress have indicated that they will pursue," Ford President and CEO Mark Fields said in a statement. A source told Reuters there were no negotiations between Trump and the company. In Twitter posts, Trump claimed credit for Ford's announcement. During the final weeks of the presidential campaign, Trump slammed what he called Ford's "horrible" plans to move all small car production to Mexico within three years. "It used to be cars were made in Flint and you couldn't drink the water in Mexico," he said in a September speech in Flint, Michigan. "Now the cars are made in Mexico, and you can't drink the water in Flint. That's not good." He was referring to the lead water crisis in the the Michigan city. Story continues Trump also claimed that he helped stop Ford from moving an entire factory from Kentucky to Mexico. It is not clear how many jobs would have been impacted if the low-selling MKC had moved to Mexico. Earlier Tuesday, Trump attacked General Motors (GM) on Twitter, saying the auto giant is making a Chevy Cruze model in Mexico and then sending them to U.S. dealers tax free. Trump had previously bragged about a deal with United Technologies unit Carrier to keep some jobs in Indiana. Ford's changes are a part its plan to become an auto and mobility company. The company said it will invest $4.5 billion in electrified vehicles by 2020. "As more and more consumers around the world become interested in electrified vehicles, Ford is committed to being a leader in providing consumers with a broad range of electrified vehicles, services and solutions that make people's lives better," Fields said in the company's announcement. The electrified vehicles announced on Tuesday include, fully electric small SUV, coming by 2020 and a hybrid version of its best-selling F-150 pickup. Shares of Ford Motor Company F jumped more than 2.5% in morning trading Tuesday following the automakers announcement that it is cancelling plans to build a new manufacturing plant in Mexico and instead will invest $700 million in its home state of Michigan. New Plans The $700 million investment will go to Fords existing plant in Flat Rock, Michigan with a focus on creating more self-driving and electric vehicles. Ford is expected to create 700 new U.S.-based jobs with the move. In an interview with CNN, Ford CEO Mark Fields said the decision was a vote of confidence in President-elect Donald Trumps proposed pro-business environment. However, Fields stressed that Ford did not cut any specific deals with Trump. The Trump Effect President-elect Trump has already been maneuvering with several businesses ahead of his inauguration on January 20. Last month, he worked out an incentive-based deal with Carrier, a United Technologies UTX subsidiary, which will see the company retain some of the jobs at its Indianapolis unit (Also read: Carrier Gets Tax Incentive to Retain Some Indiana Jobs). Trump also joined SoftBank SFTBY CEO Masayoshi Son to announce a $50 billion investment that will supposedly create 50,000 new jobs in the United States (Also read: SoftBank and Sprint Soaring on Trump-backed Investment Plan). The SoftBank deal was quickly criticized as a possible front to help push through a merger between SoftBanks Sprint S subsidiary and T-Mobile T, and Trump also clashed with a union rep from Carrier over the details of that deal. Bottom Line Nevertheless, Ford has given the nod to Trump and solidified its confidence in the U.S. economy. Interestingly enough, Ford was a target of Trumps rhetoric on the campaign trail, as he repeatedly slammed the company for its plans to move production of the Ford Focus to a new plant in Mexico. Trump promised to impose a 35% tariff on Ford vehicles imported from Mexico. Story continues Ford pushed back at Trumps claims and argued that the company never planned to cut U.S. jobs. Now those plans have changed, and not only will Ford not be cutting jobs, it will be creating new ones. Production of the Focus will now move to an existing plant in Hermosillo, Mexico and the Flat Rock plant will be expanded. Ford plans on rolling out seven new electric vehicles over the next five years, so its encouraging to see the company double down on that bet with even further investments in the U.S. Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017 In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest tickers for the entirety of 2017? Who wouldn't? These 10 are painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. They are our primary picks to buy and hold. Be among the very first to see them >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AT&T INC (T): Free Stock Analysis Report SPRINT CORP (S): Free Stock Analysis Report FORD MOTOR CO (F): Free Stock Analysis Report UTD TECHS CORP (UTX): Free Stock Analysis Report SOFTBANK CP (SFTBY): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Ford Motor Co. (F) plans to move production of its Focus subcompact from Michigan to Mexico in 2018. That was the plan that drew attacks from Donald Trump when he was campaigning for president last year. Its still Fords plan. Ford earned some goodwill from Trump for a new initiative to invest $700 million in Michigan and create 700 new jobs there. Trump signaled his approval by tweeting a news story that said Trumps policies were to thank for the move. But production of the Focus is still moving to Mexico. Ford announced several things at once, leaving the impression that its capitulating to Trump and ditching its operations in Mexico, where assembly-line workers earn about one-fifth what their US counterparts do. But thats not what Ford is doing. Well continue to do the right thing for our business, and the right thing for our customers, Ford CEO Mark Fields tells Yahoo Finance in the video above. The right thing for a business is usually to minimize costs and maximize profits. The right thing for customers is to offer the best possible product at the lowest price. Mexicos low labor costs allow Ford to do that, which is why the automaker is determined to shift the production of its small cars, which usually have the lowest profit margins, south of the border. Heres what did change: Ford is canceling the construction of a new $1.6 billion factory in Mexico, which would have been its third in the country, and moving production of the Focus to another factory in Mexico where output has fallen recently. We simply didnt need the new capacity, Fields says. We can use existing capacity. The new investment in Michigan is essentially unrelated to the Focus or the Mexico news. Ford will spend $700 million in Michigan on new efforts to develop self-driving and electric cars, which, it says, will help create 700 new jobs. In a clever PR move, Ford announced all of this at once, with the the news of 700 additional jobs in Michigan overshadowing the fact that it is still moving the Focus production to Mexicojust to a different location. Like Trump, Ford shareholders seem to approve. The companys shares rose roughly 3% on a day the broader markets were flat. Investors may like the fact that Ford is reducing capacity in Mexico, which means lower costs, while possibly getting on the next presidents better side. But Focus production is still moving to Mexico. Rick Newman is the author of four books, including Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman. SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) Fire driven by strong winds swept over forest land in the hills outside the Chilean port of Valparaiso on Monday, destroying dozens of homes, injuring at least 19 people and sending a pall of heavy smoke down onto the city. Authorities said the blaze started Monday afternoon in the Laguna Verde area and spread to Playa Ancha hill, where many wooden houses are located. About 400 people were ordered to evacuate as a precaution, officials said. Interior Undersecretary Mahmud Aleuy said about 100 homes had been damaged, and regional Gov. Gabriel Aldoney said 500 more houses were "at risk." Aleuy said 16 of those injured had respiratory problems. Fire brigades, soldiers and forest workers were in the hills combating the fire, which was fueled by winds up to 25 miles per hour (30 kph), low humidity and high temperatures. The fight was complicated because the area is crisscrossed by many ravines, the roads are narrow and water mains are scarce. People in Valparaiso wore masks if they ventured into the streets trying to protect themselves against the smoke and fumes. In 2014, a forest fire destroyed 2,500 homes and killed 15 people in the hills that surround Valparaiso. The colonial-era city known for colorfully painted cliff-top houses was designated a U.N. World Heritage Site in 2003. PARIS, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Four Chelsea fans were given suspended jail sentences and fined by a Paris court on Tuesday for committing racist violence when they stopped a black Frenchman boarding a metro underground train in the French capital in February 2015. Video footage had shown the four, who were there to watch the London club play Paris St Germain in a Champions League match, chanting: "We're racist and that's the way we like it" as they blocked Souleymane Sylla from getting on the train. Richard Barklie and William Simpson, who were not in court, were given 12-month suspended sentences on charges of committing racist violence and making chants of a racist nature. Josh Parsons and James Fairbairn, both of whom appeared in court on Tuesday, were handed suspended sentences of eight months and six months respectively on similar charges. The four were ordered to pay 10,000 euros (8,500 pounds) to Sylla. (1 British pound = 1.1766 euros) (Reporting by Miranda Alexander-Webber; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Richard Balmforth) PARIS (Reuters) - Four Chelsea fans were given suspended jail sentences and fined by a Paris court on Tuesday for committing racist violence when they stopped a black Frenchman boarding a metro underground train in the French capital in February 2015. Video footage had shown the four, who were there to watch the London club play Paris St Germain in a Champions League match, chanting: "We're racist and that's the way we like it" as they blocked Souleymane Sylla from getting on the train. Richard Barklie and William Simpson, who were not in court, were given 12-month suspended sentences on charges of committing racist violence and making chants of a racist nature. Josh Parsons and James Fairbairn, both of whom appeared in court on Tuesday, were handed suspended sentences of eight months and six months respectively on similar charges. The four were ordered to pay 8,500 pounds to Sylla. (Reporting by Miranda Alexander-Webber; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Richard Balmforth) French companies with more than 50 workers have been required to guarantee employees a right to disconnect from their emails outside office hours, to reduce stress and improve their work-life balance in a new law that came into effect on Jan. 1. Discussing the need for the law last year, Myriam El Khomri, the countrys minister of labor, noted the boundary between professional and personal life has become tenuous. Few workers today will disagree. But France isnt the only country where local or national authorities are attempting to do something about it: Japan Tokyos governor has ordered municipal employees to finish work by 8pm and anyone still at their desks will be subjected to strict monitoring by overtime prevention teams. The move follows the suicide in Dec. 2015 of a 25-year-old woman who worked 105 overtime hours over the course of a month. The employee was working at Dentsu, Japans biggest advertising agency, which has since barred workers from logging more than 65 hours of overtime a month (down from 70). Dentsus President and Chief Executive Officer, Tadashi Ishii, has stepped down, taking responsibility for the tragic incident. Germany Managers are forbidden by law from contacting staff while they are on vacation and several major companies, including Volkswagen and BMW, have restricted out-of-hours emailing as a result. In 2014, car and truck maker Daimler introduced software which allows employees to set their email software to automatically delete incoming emails while they are on vacation, a move that has affected around 100,000 employees. When an email is sent, the program, which is called Mail on Holiday, issues a reply to the sender that the person is out of the office and that the email will be deleted, while also offering the contact information of another employee for pressing matters. Spain The government is considering moving the countrys clocks back by one hour to bring Spains working day, which can typically run from 9am until 8pm, into line with the rest of Europe. Few Spaniards now enjoy a siesta which once punctuated the long working day as many live too far away from where they work to go home in the afternoon. Last month, Spains employment minister Fatima Banez announced a push to let Spaniards knock off at 6pm, rather than 8pm. We want our workdays to finish at six oclock and to achieve this we will work towards striking a deal with representatives from both companies and trade unions, she told parliament, The Guardian reports. South Korea South Koreans work some of the most gruelling hours in the developed world, but now the government is fighting to help staff switch off. A work-life balance campaign launched last year aims to encourage employers to stop asking their staff why they want to take annual leave and requesting it in writing, as well as stopping them from calling or emailing their workers after office hours have ended, the BBC reports. Back in 2010, officials at the Ministry of Health introduced a monthly Family Day, where the office lights were switched off at 7pm to encourage staff to either spend more time with their families or procreate, in a bid to tackle the countrys low birth rate. By Brian Love and Jean-Baptiste Vey PARIS (Reuters) - Former prime minister Manuel Valls promised to avoid draconian public spending cuts in a pitch for traditional leftwing voters as he laid out his bid on Tuesday to become the ruling Socialist Party's candidate in France's presidential election. Valls, who resigned last month as head of the government to free his hands to run for the Socialist nomination, also proposed an overhaul of the welfare system that would provide substantial handouts to many jobless people without requiring them to prove they are actively seeking work. Valls, 54, told voters they faced a "vast purge" in public services and employment if the presidential election favorite, conservative Francois Fillon, wins power in May. While pollsters say Valls is likely to secure the Socialist ticket in a primary vote this month, the left is in disarray and any Socialist candidate will face a struggle to make it beyond the first round of the two-stage ballot in April and May. Pollsters see Fillon and far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen meeting in a head-to-head second round with the 62-year-old Fillon emerging the victor. The National Front has won increasing support among traditional socialist voters with its protectionist economic policies, and many feel betrayed by Valls who spearheaded pro-business reforms during Francois Hollande's presidency. On Tuesday, Valls sought to lure back such voters while casting Fillon as a politician who would sow deep divisions. "The right's program will punish the French people. It is an unbeatable recipe of division worse than this country has ever seen in recent decades," he told a new conference. Fillon, for his part, defended his program of slashing public spending and cutting half a million public sector jobs - policies which he says are needed give corporate France a shot in the arm and boost economic growth. "I think 500,000 (jobs) is an achievable figure, particularly if we negotiate an increase in working hours," he told TF1 television, referring to plans to scrap the 35-hour working week. He rejected repeated charges that his proposals for welfare and public health service reform were brutal. "I am a Gaullist and I am a Christian: that means I would never take a decision that is contrary to the respect for human dignity and the human being ...," he said. PACKED FIELD Valls said he would continue to hire 1,000 more police per year to bolster security in a country under threat of further deadly attacks by Islamist militants. The defense budget would be increased too, he said. He also proposes that adults be given the right to a monthly welfare handout at a time of 10 percent unemployment. He has spoken in the past of a figure of 850 euros ($887) a month, saying such handouts would be means-tested and necessary for all to be able to get a good start in life. One of his rivals in the Socialist primary is proposing a more far-reaching version. Benoit Hamon, a former education minister, wants all French citizens to be given such a payment. Valls launched his campaign after the unpopular Hollande announced he would not run for a second term, becoming the first president in France's Fifth Republic not to seek re-election. Some polls have shown his support in low single digits. If Valls wins the party ticket, he will not only have to tackle the threat from Le Pen, but also deal with his former economy minister, ex investment banker Emmanuel Macron who is running as an independent, and Jean-Luc Melenchon on the far left who is performing well in polls. (Additional reporting by Sophie Louet; Writing by Brian Love; editing by Richard Balmforth and Richard Lough) Freeport-McMoRan Inc. FCX saw its share price almost double in 2016, being the third highest gainer in S&P 500 during the year. The company has outperformed the S&P 500 index by a significant margin, with the companys shares gaining 94.8% compared to the indexs 9% growth. Moreover, Freeport has also outperformed the Zacks categorized Mining-Non Ferrous industry in the same time frame. In the past year, the gain recorded by the industry was 19.5%. The company gained from its strategic actions including aggressive cost management and debt reductions. Freeport is committed to reducing its costs even in a challenging operating environment. The company reported lower consolidated production and delivery costs in the first 9 months of 2016 as compared to 2015, as a result of the reduction initiatives. The consolidated net unit cash costs of copper during this time frame decreased 20.5%. The companys copper cost guidance for 2016 reflects a considerable year-over-year decline in consolidated unit net cash costs. In its oil and gas business, the company also reduced production cost to $15 a barrel from around $19 a barrel in the last reported quarter. Freeport also remains focused on reducing debt and enhancing shareholder value through divestitures. The company concluded the sale of the assets of its Deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) in Dec 2016 to Anadarko Petroleum Corporation APC for $2 billion in cash. The sale is expected to help the company to cut debt and allocate resources to its core copper business. In late Dec 2016, the company also completed the sale of assets of its onshore California oil and gas properties to Sentinel Peak Resources California LLC for $592 million cash and contingent consideration of up to $150 million. Freeport continues to assess its portfolio for potential future actions and aims to maintain a strong financial position. The company had announced $6.6 billion in asset sale transactions in 2016 till the end of the third quarter and expects to receive $5.2 billion in gross proceeds during fourth-quarter 2016. The company also plans to use the proceeds from its recently completed $1.5 billion equity offering to retire outstanding debt. Proceeds from the stake sale in Morenci have also allowed the company to deleverage its balance sheet. Story continues Per the International Copper Association, the demand for copper is expected to increase significantly primarily due to higher demand in China. Rise in the governments investment in areas such as transportation, building infrastructure and energy are expected to boost copper consumption as these sectors use the metal extensively. Moreover, the country is also one of the biggest buyers of electric vehicles, which are more dependent on copper as compared to gas-powered vehicles. Freeport would be able to take advantage of this surge in demand through its focus on conducting exploration activities near its existing mines. Also the company remains focused on finding opportunities to expand reserves for future production capacity in the large minerals districts where it currently operates. A number of the companys projects are aimed at increasing annual copper production. As a further probable advantage to the company, the World Bank has indicated an expected rise in the price of copper. Per the report, the price of copper has been forecast at $4,866 per metric ton in 2017. The price is expected to continue increasing through 2025. Overall, the stock is expected to continue performing well in 2017 as well. The company is also expected to be supported by an overall growth in the industry. Further, the companys own initiatives are expected to boost this growth for higher returns. Zacks Rank & Key Picks Freeport carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other equally well ranked companies in the same space include Denison Mines Corp. DNN and Vale S.A. VALE, both holding a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Denison Mines posted a positive earnings surprise of 100% in the last reported quarter. (Looking for the Best Stocks for 2017? Be among the first to see our Top Ten Stocks for 2017 portfolio here.) Vale has a long-term expected growth rate of 22.4%. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report VALE SA (VALE): Free Stock Analysis Report DENISON MINES (DNN): Free Stock Analysis Report FREEPT MC COP-B (FCX): Free Stock Analysis Report ANADARKO PETROL (APC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Polls havent been kind to the French Socialist party of late. Approval ratings for Francois Hollande, Frances Socialist president, dipped to a measly 4 percent in November. More recent opinion polls for the upcoming presidential election, due to begin April 23, suggest a Socialist candidate might be relegated to fourth or fifth place in the first round of voting. But never mind the gloomy outlook. Seven Socialist candidates are making a go of it in the second-ever French Socialist party primary, scheduled for Jan. 22 and 29. On Tuesday, front-runner Manuel Valls and former education minister (one of two in the race) Vincent Peillon unveiled their respective presidential platforms. Apparently refreshed from the holidays, Valls and Peillon each promised new economic programs that would still retain the social benefits the French hold so dear. Valls suggested a decent income to replace disparate French welfare benefits. Peillon promised to rework the labor law, without removing it, and to introduce a tax shield for the most modest. Both supporters of the European Union, each still made obligatory noises of dissatisfaction, calling to reframe Frances relationship with Brussels. Valls promised to keep the national deficit below the EU-mandated 3 percent, but not to try to push it to zero, and said EU fiscal policy should be applied smartly (a dig at austerity policies that impose budget cuts). Peillon said he wants to pause EU enlargement, institute a European border guard, and revive a new European deal. Not to be outdone, another main candidate, Arnaud Montebourg, planned a press conference for Wednesday to clarify his own positions. Montebourg, who resigned as economy minister in protest of Hollandes pro-business stance in 2014, favors protectionist and anti-globalization policies. Other less-likely contenders include former education minister Benoit Hamon and former housing minister Sylvia Pinel. Story continues The Socialist primary is the next step in a campaign that will likely pit a mainstream candidate against Frances far-right National Front party leader Marine Le Pen after a first round of voting culls the field. Few expect the eventual Socialist candidate to make it through the first round after Hollande failed to deliver on his campaign promises and declined to run for a second term. Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, director of the Paris office of the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the Socialist candidates are playing a long-term game in the primary. Their direct interest is not to win the election; its rather to run to be the leading figure for what is going to happen after the election, he told Foreign Policy on Tuesday. Lafont Rapnouil said the Socialist party isnt just hobbled in 2017 by low approval ratings. Its also fragmented by threats from both sides of the political spectrum: On the center-left, Emmanuel Macron, Hollandes erstwhile economy minister, has launched an independent bid for president under the banner En Marche! Young and tech-savvy, Macron promises a centrist political policy with common-sense liberal market reforms aimed at helping the young. On the other side, Jean-Luc Melenchon, the founder of the Left Party, may draw away voters with more extreme leftist tendencies. But Andrea Montanino, director of the Global Business and Economics Program at the Atlantic Council, doesnt exclude the possibility of a Socialist candidate making it to the second round of elections, once his or her positions are clarified. After all, he said, center-right candidate Francois Fillon was once seen as a long shot in the Republican primary, but then he won the runoff with 66 percent of the vote. And though Fillon has been set up as the main challenger to an eventual runoff with Le Pen, Montanino said the Socialists might actually have more luck siphoning off National Front voters if they can hit the right message and burnish their leftist credentials, instead of pushing for the liberal-market policies Valls has favored in the past. While Le Pens platform focuses on identity politics, like border control and tamping down immigration from Muslim countries, shes careful to protect Frances entrenched welfare benefits, preferring not to confront her voters with pension or retirement reforms. In contrast, Fillon promises budget cuts, clipping unemployment benefits, and raising the retirement age all potential problems for working class voters. Many who vote for Le Pen in France in a way would like to have a very leftist platform, Montanino said, pointing to policies like a minimum income, or big public investments that flout EU financial rules. I do not think that Fillons policies can really attract a lot of people. People are angry in France, the unemployment rate is still very high, and of course there are terrorism issues, he said. The challenge for the Socialists, he said, is to rework populist and strongly-leftist rhetoric into their platform, instead of an approach that favors deregulation. But is the current front-runner Valls, a very-recently resigned prime minister from the Hollande government, up to the challenge? He may have only the slimmest of chances, but Montanino suggested watching Valls messaging in the coming weeks. Do not expect to interpret the future looking at the past, he said. And as weve seen with the American election, it matters how you talk more than what you say. Photo credit: ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/Getty Images Paris (AFP) - French Socialist presidential candidate Manuel Valls sought to re-energise the beleaguered Left on Tuesday, as he set out his programme to clinch his party's presidential nomination for elections this year. The former premier is one of seven contenders for the Socialist nomination in this year's two-round presidential election in April and May. The winner will be picked in a two-round primary on January 22 and 29. But polls suggest whoever wins the Socialist ticket will not make it into the presidential run-off, expected to pit conservative Francois Fillon against far-right Front National leader Marine Le Pen. On Tuesday Valls and rival Vincent Peillon, a former education minister, offered contrasting visions of France's place in Europe, with the ex-premier vowing to defend hard-up voters who feel "robbed of their destiny". Valls, 54, threw his hat in the ring for president after Francois Hollande announced he would not seek a second term after a turbulent four years marked by terror attacks, labour protests and a deep economic malaise. Hollande's tenure was also marred by severe infighting within the Socialist Party (PS), between the centre-left leadership and die-hard leftists. "This time the PS is fighting for its survival," Le Parisien daily wrote in a front-page headline Tuesday. "The question is not whether the left can win. The left must win," said Valls, calling himself the candidate of a "strong Republic and a just France." - Valls record a millstone - But his record in government risks being a millstone. His rivals have made much of his failure to significantly dent unemployment and use of decrees to ride roughshod over Socialist opposition to contested reforms. Two of his primary opponents -- former economy minister Arnaud Montebourg and former education minister Benoit Hamon -- quit his government in protest over what they saw as its betrayal of leftist ideals. Story continues "I take full responsibility for what we put in place," Valls said of his stint under Hollande. But he also attempted to put some distance between himself and the most unpopular president in France's post-war history. If elected, he said, he would push for a conference among like-minded EU leaders to discuss the bloc's "reorganization". He also vowed to defend French sovereignty and called for Turkish membership of the EU to be definitively taken off the cards. - 'European New Deal' - Peillon, a 56-year-old Hollande loyalist, came out in defence of Brussels. Calling for a "European New Deal" led by France and Germany he said "Europe was built by the transfer of sovereignty" from member states and that the process should not be unravelled. The Socialist primary risks paling in comparison to November's rightwing nominating contest. Over four million people voted in that contest, which Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative former prime minister Francois Fillon won by a landslide. The Socialists say they are expecting only half as many to turn out to pick their nominee. Polls show the winner crashing out in the first round of the election in April, lagging far behind Fillon and far-right leader Le Pen. Reform-minded, ex-economy minister Emmanuel Macron and Communist-backed firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon, two candidates running outside the primary system, provide further competition on the centre and left. - Le Pen funding gap - Fillon and Le Pen are tipped to make it through to the presidential run-off in May, with Fillon ultimately emerging victorious. But no-one is ruling out Le Pen, whose anti-immigrant, anti-establishment message has found fertile ground among voters disillusioned with mainstream politics. On Tuesday, she accused French banks of trying to thwart her campaign, saying she was having difficulty securing loans towards her presidential bid. "I'm 6 million euros short," she told BFM-TV news channel, saying she suspected a "political" decision on behalf of the lenders. Fillon, a self-avowed admirer of Margaret Thatcher, meanwhile rejected criticism that his programme of steep spending cuts would worsen the lot of the poor. "The main cause of poverty is unemployment and that's the reason I have a radical economic programme," he said. By Kit Rees and Atul Prakash LONDON (Reuters) - Strength in financials and commodity-related stocks continued to underpin European equity markets on Tuesday, with Britain's blue-chip index starting the new year at a record high and other major indexes hitting fresh peaks. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) closed 0.7 percent higher after hitting its highest level since December 2015. Britain's FTSE 100 (.FTSE), shut on Monday for a holiday, closed 0.5 percent higher at 7,177.89 points, a record closing high, after a fresh all-time peak of 7,205.45 earlier in the day. "We've been particularly bullish on the FTSE whilst a lot of people were going short," said John Moore, trader at Berkeley Capital. "It's just good news all round - gold's up, we've had a bit of a bounce-back in oil as well ... propping up the European market, so we've been buying into this in the last week or so. We expect the trend to continue." Europe's basic resources sector (.SXPP) and oil & gas (.SXEP) were up 1.3 percent and 0.9 percent respectively, buoyed by stronger commodity prices. [O/R] [MET/L] Financials were stand-out winners, with the STOXX Europe 600 Banks index (.STOXX) finishing 2.8 percent higher after hitting a one-year high. Banks were in demand as concerns of a tighter regulatory environment were pushed back. Global banking regulators postponed the approval of long-awaited rules designed to avert a repeat of the financial crisis after failing to agree on the minimum amount of capital banks must hold. Italian banks were once again among top risers, with newly merged Banco BPM (BAMI.MI) gaining 7.2 percent on its second day of trading, building on a strong rise in the previous session. The Italian banking index , which slumped more than 38 percent in 2016 on worries about bad loans, closed 2.1 percent higher after hitting its highest level since May 2016. Fellow banks Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) and Bank of Ireland (BKIR.I) were also among top STOXX gainers, with their shares rising 6.4 percent and 6.8 percent respectively. Story continues Among other sharp movers, Euronext (ENX.PA) surged nearly 7 percent after London Stock Exchange Group (LSE.L) agreed to sell its French clearing business to Euronext for 510 million euros ($534 million) in its bid to win regulatory approval for a merger with Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE). InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG.L) hit a record high then closed up 1.3 percent, boosted by an upgrade to "overweight" from "equal-weight" from Barclays. Barclays analysts said that they expected IHG's results in February to be a positive catalyst for the stock, and saw a benefit from the firm's exposure to the United States. However, a downgrade weighed on British retailer Next (NXT.L), which fell 4.3 percent. Deutsche Bank cut its rating on the stock to "hold" from "buy", citing a more challenging year for European general retailers in 2017, especially in the UK, where they expect inflation to lead to a softening in demand. (Additional reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Vikram Subhedar and Dominic Evans) General Motors Company (ticker: GM) is pushing back after President-elect Donald Trump early-morning Twitter attack, in which the incoming president took aim at GM for making its Chevrolet Cruze in Mexico and shipping them tax-free to the U.S. for sale. That's not the full story, says GM. General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A.or pay big border tax! -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 "General Motors manufacturers the Chevrolet Cruze sedan in Lordstown, Ohio," a General Motos spokesman told U.S. News & World Report in a statement Tuesday. "All Chevrolet Cruze sedans sold in the U.S. are built in GM's assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio." GM says it also builds the Cruze hatchback in Mexico to sell in global markets, and only a "small number" of those are sold in the U.S. It did not clarify the number. The hatchback model went on sale in the U.S. for the first time this fall. USA Today notes that Trump has attacked the North American Free Trade Agreement before, criticizing the swift production shift of U.S. vehicles from the U.S. to Mexico. The auto industry is in favor of NAFTA, though the United Auto Workers union agrees with Trump. He also suggested a 35 percent tariff on Mexican-made U.S. imports. "I'm prepared to sit down and talk to him about trade. NAFTA is a problem," UAW President Dennis Williams told reporters following the election. "I think his position on trade is right on." Trump previously had been targeting Ford Motor Co. ( F) for Mexican-made vehicles. GM's CEO Mary Barra recently agreed to be a part of a CEO economic policy advisory panel to Trump, reports USA Today. General Motors stock is up nearly 2 percent in early trading. 7 Things That Happened When Donald Trump Met With Tech Leaders 11 Stocks That Donald Trump Loves More From US News & World Report George Kosana, who portrayed Sheriff McClelland in the George A. Romero zombie classic Night of the Living Dead, has died. He was 81. John A. Russo, who co-wrote the 1968 film with writer-director Romero, said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that Kosana was found dead in his home in Clairton, Pa., on Friday. He had battled various illnesses for years. In Night of the Living Dead, Kosana appeared with an ammunition belt draped over one shoulder and memorably improvised the line, "They're dead. They're all messed up." The actor also worked on the crew and served as production manager on the project, which was filmed in nearby Pittsburgh, not far from Clairton. Russo, who was friends with Kosana since their days growing up in Clairton, noted that Kosana was among a small group of second-round investors who put in $600 to help fund the movie, which wound up with a budget of $114,000. Kosana thus shared a small percentage of the profits, which were marginal because Night of the Living Dead was not copyrighted thanks to a monumental blunder by its distributor. "[Every other zombie movie] that's out there today in my opinion is either a spinoff or influenced by our film," Kosana said in a 2011 interview. "When we made it, we had hoped it would give us enough money to do another one. It took off with a life of its own, and we're grateful for that." Kosana later played Sheriff McClelland in Living Dead (2012) and My Uncle John Is a Zombie! The latter film, written and co-directed by Russo, is in postproduction. Kosana also appeared in Romero's There's Always Vanilla (1971), the filmmaker's follow-up to Night of the Living Dead, and in Russo's The Booby Hatch (1976). SAN FRANCISCO (AP) George Lucas is no stranger to epic struggles on the big screen, but he didn't expect one off-camera when it came to his art collection. For nearly a decade, the filmmaker has tried to build a museum to house an extensive personal collection that includes 40,000 paintings, illustrations and film-related items. But legal entanglements and other complications have thwarted his efforts. After several false starts, Lucas and his art team say they will decide later this month whether to put the museum in San Francisco or Los Angeles, a strategy that has stirred a California rivalry. The prize is big, and both cities want it badly. "This is the largest civic gift in American history," LA Mayor Eric Garcetti told The Associated Press. "I think Los Angeles is the natural home for it" a notion that San Francisco officials enthusiastically contest. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, as it will be called, promises hundreds of jobs and a high-profile attraction and it's essentially free. The "Star Wars" creator is financing the project himself. He plans to spend more than $1 billion to build the museum, endow it and provide a trove of initial artworks valued at over $400 million. Together with Chinese architect Ma Yansong, Lucas has proposed a sleek, futuristic design looks like a cross between the Guggenheim and a galactic starfighter. The museum's bold design and concept make clear that the 72-year-old filmmaker sees it as part of his legacy, and he is increasingly impatient to break ground. "It's not just an enormous philanthropic gift to a city and to the world, but it is a unique museum in the way it is envisioned," said Don Bacigalupi, an art historian and respected museum director Lucas hired as its founding president. "Certainly, we'll be looking forward to the day we can move the art into a museum." The museum will not, as many assume, be a repository for "Star Wars" memorabilia. Story continues It will, however, show how Lucas spent some of his filmmaking fortune and that his interest in art extends beyond movies. An avid collector for more than 40 years, Lucas is giving the museum some 10,000 paintings and illustrations that include dozens of Norman Rockwells and works from French impressionist Edgar Degas to American contemporary artist Keith Haring. There are illustrations for classic children's books by Beatrix Potter of "Peter Rabbit" fame and Jean de Brunhoff, who created "Babar." The museum gets its pick from some 30,000 film-related pieces including storyboards and costumes from "The Wizard of Oz," ''Casablanca," and, naturally, "Star Wars." There's art from comic books, graphic novels and other popular works that Lucas hopes will attract people who don't typically visit museums. In 2010, Lucas first pitched his project to San Francisco and considered a site in the Presidio, but the trust that oversaw the park ultimately rebuffed him. He then took his project to Chicago, his wife's hometown, but preservationists sued to keep it off the lakefront. Lengthy delays prompted Lucas to abandon that bid in June and change strategy. In October, Lucas unveiled similar but competing designs for Los Angeles and San Francisco sites, turning the project into a public competition. It seems to have worked. Government leaders in both cities have unanimously approved it. And officials are quick to stress that this time there is no apparent opposition, and construction could begin quickly ahead of a projected 2020 finish date. Later this month, Lucas is convening the museum's board to decide between two distinct locations. In San Francisco, his project would virtually have an island unto itself. The city offered Lucas a 4-acre waterfront plot on Treasure Island, a man-made creation in the middle of the bay with cinematic views of the city skyline. The island was built for the 1939 World's Fair, then used as a World War II naval base. These days it's populated mainly by seagulls, boarded-up barracks, some art studios and old warehouses, but officials hope the museum triggers its transformation. A massive $6 billion redevelopment project includes apartments, hotels and a ferry terminal. "It's a risk they would be taking, but it's a bet on the future," said Adam Van De Water, project manager for the museum at San Francisco City Hall. "We think his heart is here in the Bay Area." Lucas has spent most of his life in the San Francisco area, and Lucasfilm was based in the city before he sold it in 2012 to Disney Co. "Put yourself in his shoes. You could be on Treasure Island, where you're visible throughout downtown San Francisco," said Van De Water, pausing to take a swipe at Los Angeles. "Or you could be a museum in a park with other museums." Los Angeles has offered Lucas a 7-acre spot in Exposition Park, a sprawling cultural compound that holds three other museums and the Coliseum, home to the LA Rams. It has its own light rail station and is near the main campus of the University of Southern California, where Lucas went to film school. "A museum should not be cloistered away from the people," LA Mayor Garcetti said. "We don't live life on islands." Exposition Park also is near eight public high schools and could help expose young people to Lucas' collection, Garcetti says. If Lucas has a favorite, Bacigalupi won't say. But Bacigalupi calls Treasure Island "sort of magical." Not only does it offer stunning views, but the island would give the museum an iconic location on the water's edge, which he compares to the Sydney Opera House. And, he says, Lucas is deeply devoted to the Bay Area. Los Angeles is exciting for different reasons, he said. Its proximity to schools and being part of a community of museums "is certainly attractive," he said. And, like San Francisco, Los Angeles is part of Lucas' history. "These are two spectacular places. Two great cities," Bacigalupi says. "It's a tough decision. But for all the right reasons." BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's chief prosecutor has charged a 28-year-old German citizen with murder, belonging to a terrorist group and committing war crimes for his role in the execution of six detainees by Islamic State militants in Syria in 2015. The man, identified as Harry S. in court documents, has been in custody since returning to Germany in July 2015, shortly after prosecutors said he took part in the executions in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. A spokeswoman for the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe said on Tuesday the man had traveled to Syria in early April 2015 to join Islamic State. "In mid-June 2015 members of Islamic State publicly shot dead six detainees at the market place in the Syrian city of Palmyra," the statement said. "The accused, who was armed with a pistol, personally took one of the detainees to the execution spot and prevented the others from escaping." Last year the man was sentenced to three years in jail after being found guilty by a regional court of belonging to a foreign terrorist organization and breaching laws on weapons of war. An estimated 820 people have left Germany to fight alongside militants in Syria and other war zones in the Middle East. (Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Gareth Jones) BERLIN (Reuters) - German investigators searched a refugee center and a flat in Berlin on Tuesday which they believe were homes to associates of the Tunisian man who killed 12 people in an attack in the capital before Christmas, the federal prosecutor's office said. Anis Amri, 24, plowed a truck through a Berlin Christmas market on Dec. 19. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, calling the assailant a "soldier" of the militant group. In the refugee home, investigators searched the accommodation of a 26-year-old Tunisian who they believe knew Amri since at least late 2015 and who was in contact with him close to the date of the attack. "Therefore, there is the suspicion that the suspect knew of the attack plans and possibly helped Anis Amri," the prosecutor's office said in a statement. Investigators believe the Berlin apartment they raided was home to a former flatmate of Amri's, who they suspect was also in contact with him shortly before the attack. The search was aimed at gleaning more information about Amri's behavior before and after the attack, the prosecutor's office said. The office added it would give an update on the investigation during Wednesday afternoon. Separately, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that German investigators identified Amri as a threat in February last year but decided it was unlikely he would carry out an attack. The German authorities had determined Amri posed a threat after receiving intelligence showing that in early February he had been in contact with suspected members of Islamic State and offered himself as a suicide bomber, the Sueddeutsche reported. Officials at the German Interior Ministry were not immediately available to comment on the report. Amri, whom Italian police shot dead in Milan on Dec. 23, had wanted to acquire weapons for an attack in Germany and sought accomplices, the Sueddeutsche said in a joint report with German broadcasters NDR and WDR, citing security documents. However, German officials who subsequently met to decide whether to deport Amri, determined he posed no acute threat that could be presented in court. Amri's attack in Berlin has prompted German lawmakers to call for tougher security measures. In a New Year's address to the nation, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Islamist terrorism is the biggest test facing Germany. (Writing by Paul Carrel; editing by Richard Lough) Berlin (AFP) - Germany's interior minister on Tuesday outlined plans for a security services overhaul, seeking greater federal powers on domestic intelligence and quicker expulsions of illegal migrants following the Berlin truck attack. Thomas de Maiziere also wants federal police to be given wider oversight across the country's 16 states, and for a new national crisis management centre to be set up. "We don't have federal jurisdiction to deal with national catastrophes. The jurisdiction for the fight against international terrorism is fragmented," he wrote in a guest column for the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. "The federal police's scope of action is restricted to railway stations, airports and border controls," he wrote, stressing that "it is time" to re-examine Germany's security set-up. Policing and domestic intelligence services in Germany are currently decentralised, with responsibilities split between the federal and state governments. "We need expertise on the ground in the regional states, but also more control exercised by a strong (federal) state," de Maiziere told public broadcaster ZDF. The plans for sweeping reform come after a series of embarrassing security failures, with the December 19 attack training a spotlight on the gaps. After Tunisian suspect Anis Amri allegedly rammed a truck into a crowded Christmas market, killing 12, it swiftly emerged that the asylum seeker had slipped through the net of security services. - Deportation centres - Amri, 24, who was days later shot dead by Italian police, had been under surveillance since March, but German police dropped their watch in September thinking he was a small-time drug dealer. The failed asylum seeker should also have been deported months ago but Tunisia did not provide the necessary paperwork until after the attack. German anti-terror prosecutors announced Tuesday that authorities had carried out searches in Berlin targeting two acquaintances of Amri. Story continues A 26-year-old Tunisian whom prosecutors called a "suspect" was the subject of one of the raids, however they did not report any possible arrests or seizures. De Maiziere also said federal detention centres should be set up to hold rejected asylum seekers in the period leading up to their expulsion. In order to close security gaps, federal police must be given wider powers, the minister said. "The current remit of the federal police is too limited," he said. "We need a set of common rules and better coordination, for instance in checking dangerous individuals." The federal government should also take charge of domestic intelligence services, he said, noting that troublemakers do not seek to disrupt only one state but the country as a whole. But de Maiziere's suggestions were met with criticism and scepticism, including from within his own CDU party and its Bavarian allies the CSU. "Simply shifting competencies around would be wrong," CSU general secretary Andreas Scheuer told news channel NTV. Several state interior ministers, including Ralf Jaeger of Germany's most populous state North Rhine-Westphalia, were up in arms over possibly losing control of the domestic intelligence services to the federal government. Hesse interior minister Peter Beuth, who is from de Maiziere's party, called the reforms "nonsense" and warned that such instant solutions only served to "undermine confidence in the state". The Islamophobic and right-wing populist party AfD meanwhile claimed credit for the planned measures, saying it had been seeking such reforms for months. - Security failings - De Maiziere is a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is running for a fourth term in a general election expected in September. Her government came under fire in the wake of the December 19 attack for its liberal border policy, which has allowed in more than one million asylum seekers since 2015, and for allowing Amri to slip through the net despite documented security concerns. The December attack was only one of several cases last year that exposed security failings in Germany. In October, police botched an attempt to arrest a Syrian bomb plot suspect. The man was finally caught after a nationwide manhunt, thanks to Syrian asylum seekers who detained him but was later found hanged in his cell. And in November, Germany's domestic spy service unmasked a Spanish-born agent in its own ranks as a suspected Islamist. Media reports said he was also a former gay porn actor. Glashutte Originals latest movement adds a touch of Swiss technology. Before the Berlin wall fell in 1989, the watch factory that would become Glashutte Original was a manufacture frozen in time. Lacking access to computers and CNC machines, employees designed movements on drawing boards and made them on lathes. The watchesat that time made in large numbers for the Eastern Blocwere sturdy, reliable, and highly traditional, built on three-quarter plates according to Saxon custom. After reunification, the reorganized Glashutte Original retained many of those traditional values, especially its penchant for self-reliance, even after its acquisition by the Swatch Group at the turn of the millennium. So cognoscenti were stunned to hear earlier this year that the newest Glashutte Original caliber would feature intensive collaboration with other Swatch Group companies, including a silicon hairspring made by the groups Nivarox division. Yann Gamard thinks the cognoscenti are overreacting. I am convinced that if Abraham Louis Breguet had known this material [silicon] had existed 200 years ago, he would have used it, says the Glashutte CEO. He would never forego the advantages of isochronism and antimagnetism. By Gamards reckoning, the new Calibre 36 is the epitome of horological tradition. Recently deployed in the Senator Excellence, the three-hand automatic movement has been four years in the makinga year more than planned. The Glashutte way is to build a movement that is as strong and reliable as possible, not only as a stand-alone watch but also as a base for complications. In Switzerland you see a lot of movements that are flatter than ours, but were not afraid to make a movement thats a little thicker, Gamard explains. When you start to add four or five or six hands, it becomes a burden, and our objective is to create a robust movement that we can completely exploit. The robustness of the Calibre 36 begins with the mainspring. Working with Nivarox, the company developed a new high-flexibility alloy called Elinflex and also a smaller barrel arbor that leaves more room for the spring to be wound, resulting in a power reserve of 100 hours. Gamard explains that the main advantage of all that stored power is not convenience so much as stability. Working in tandem with the new silicon hairspring and an optimized gear train, the Elinflex mainspring delivers almost no performance loss over the full hundred-hour timespan. (Every watch comes with a lab report showing the results of 24 days of rigorous testing, as well as a guarantee of chronometer-level performance.) Beyond the materials and engineering, Gamard attributes the movements stability to the assembly process, which was streamlined to eliminate unnecessary handling. One notable innovation is a bayonet mount that secures the movement in the case in the way that a lens mounts to a camera. As a result of that simplification and many other refinements, the watches take less time than usual to put together. From a cost standpoint, weve got more time on our hands to add more finishing, says Gamard. Screws are blued, plates are angled, and every wheel is decorated, all according to Saxon tradition. Our challenge in Germany is to match the quality of the Swiss, Gamard confides. By his reckoning, Swatch Group partners are not only facilitating that ambition, but also validating it. When our partners come here from Switzerland, they dont think lets go see those jokers there in Germany, he jests. Theres mutual respect. With the Calibre 36, we have proved that once more. Glashutte Original, 866.203.8699, (glashuette-original.com) More From Robbreport.com This Is the Sixthand SleekestWatch Ever from Bovet Fleurier and Pininfarina Architectures Great Minds Have Bathed This Thermal-Springs Resort in High Style Philippe Briand Unveils Plans for His New 100-Foot Yacht Concept Driving the Mercedes-AMG E63 S in Faro, Portugal Sneak Peek: Phukets Renovated Trisara Resort Is a Picturesque Piece of Paradise Top Watchmakers Are Rethinking the Moon-Phase Display to Astronomical Effect Things are not off to the most auspicious start for the 115th Congress, which was gaveled into session late Tuesday morning. Facing massive public blowback, including criticism from their own partys incoming President, Republicans in the House of Representatives have backed down from their plan to eliminate an independent ethics watchdog in one of their first acts of the new Congress. The original plan, to strip the Office of Congressional Ethics of much of its independence and of its ability to make its findings public, was passed in a secret vote Monday night, against the wishes of senior leaders in the Republican conference, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. It was to be part of a new package of rules for the operation of the House during the new session. Related: House GOP Votes to Strengthen Ethics Watchdog...by Gutting It The very public retreat from the proposal can be seen one of two waysor both. It could serve as confirmation that in the 115th Congress, GOP leaders will continue to have trouble controlling their members, who in recent years have eagerly undermined what they view as the establishment in Congress. It could also serve as a corrective to any sense on the part of Republicans looking forward to their partys total control of the executive and legislative branches, that anything goes in the Washington of 2017. The move generated an immediate outcry on social media after it began to be widely reported on Monday night. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), who introduced the proposal, was widely mocked on social media for his insistence that the plan, which he sponsored, actually builds upon and strengthens ethics oversight in the new Congress. Related: The Insiders Already Cashing In on the Trump Presidency Good government advocates blasted the move as a grave mistake. If the 115th Congress begins with rules amendments undermining OCE, it is setting itself up to be dogged by scandals and ethics issues for years and is returning the House to dark days when ethics Story continues violations were rampant and far too often tolerated, the leaders of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said in a statement. Democrats were also scathingly critical. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said in a statement, Republicans claim they want to drain the swamp, but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions. Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress. Pelosi was Speaker of the House when the OCE was established. Related: Senate Dems Plan to Slam the Brakes on Trumps Cabinet Nominees By mid-morning, individual members of the Republican House majority were distancing themselves from the plan, releasing statements saying they would vote against the new rules package unless it was repealed. President-elect Donald Trump got into the act as well, tweeting out criticism that suggested he was upset more with the timing of the decision than with its substance: With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! When time came to swear in the newly-elected members of the House of Representatives late Tuesday morning, many Republican members were notably absent from the chamber, instead attending an emergency caucus meeting to address the fallout from the rule change. Shortly after noon, members leaving the meeting told reporters that the Goodlatte amendment to the rules was to be stripped out of the rules package, though some indicated that it might reappear at a less politically fraught time. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Just one day after GOP lawmakers met in a secretive, closed-door meeting to weaken the nonpartisan ethics office that investigates lawmakers and staff accused of misconduct, House Republicans abruptly reversed course. Following public outcry from the likes of President-elect Donald Trump, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy offered a motion to restore the current rules for the Office of Congressional Ethics, Politico and other outlets report. The move comes less than two hours after Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday to express disapproval of House Republicans move to gut the independent ethics watchdog charged with investigating their behavior. With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS, Trump wrote in two tweets Tuesday morning. The hashtag is seemingly a reference to his campaign promise to drain the swamp. With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js ..may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js The president-elects comments come as the 115th Congress will be sworn in on Tuesday, and less than 24 hours after GOP lawmakers initially voted to reduce the OCEs power in an under-the-radar meeting. House Speaker Paul Ryan objected to Mondays vote, The New York Times reports. Story continues RELATED VIDEO: Natasha Stoynoff Breaks Silence, Accuses Donald Trump of Sexual Assault Charging that the Office of Congressional Ethics has grown too intrusive since it was created in 2008 in the aftermath of several corruption scandals, House Republicans initially voted to place the watchdog under the oversight of the House Ethics Committee. Trumps disapproving tweets comes amid concerns over his own potential ethics violations, including lingering questions about how his tangle of international business interests could conflict with his presidency. Hackers are targeting unsuspecting users with a new type of mobile virus that spreads through legitimate-looking word documents sent via WhatsApp, which could then steal sensitive information from users, including online banking credentials and other data. Don't Miss: Heres what a Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus looks like after 3 months without a case The WhatsApp con almost certainly targets Android users. IBTimes doesnt mention the operating system explicitly in its report, but malware like this typically only works on Googles operating system and not the iPhone. Furthermore, these WhatsApp viruses have only been discovered in India so far, a market where low-end Android smartphones running older versions of Android are very popular. Hackers are taking advantage of two big organizations in the region to convince users to click on the message attachment. The malicious WhatsApp messages contain names of major organizations in India including NDA (National Defense Academy) and NIA (National Investigation Agency). The documents that circulate via messages are typically in Excel format, although Word and PDF files have been reported as well. The documents are able to access personal data on the phone, including banking credentials and PIN codes. Central security services in India have issued a notification to defense and security establishments in the region. Its believed the attack targets people in uniform. As these two organizations are very popular and known within the country and abroad and there is a curiosity about them, it is possible that it may affect the mobile phones of people interested in these subjects, officials told the Economic Times. However, it has been analyzed that the men and women in defense, paramilitary and police forces could be the target groups. Its unclear at this time what else this virus does on a phone or tablet, or whether WhatsApp is taking any action to prevent the scam. A recent report profiled what must be one of the scariest examples of Android malware at work. Russian intelligence targeted Ukrainian army with an Android virus that turned the devices the military used for targeting their artillery pieces into tracking devices that could transmit the troops exact position. Story continues As always, the best way to protect your data is to avoid clicking on dubious links, no matter how you receive them, and limit app use to applications downloaded from official app stores. Trending right now: See the original version of this article on BGR.com PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (Reuters) - Hollywood stars Tom Hanks and Nicole Kidman were among the actors honored at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on Monday night as the 2017 awards season began. Oscar winner Hanks received the "Icon Award" for his portrayal in drama "Sully" of pilot Captain Chesley Sullenberger, who in 2009 carried out a successful emergency plane landing in the Hudson River. Kidman took the "International Star Award" for "Lion", in which she plays an Australian woman who adopts an Indian child. Also honored at the festival's Film Awards Gala were Andrew Garfield with the "Spotlight Award" for his role in Mel Gibson's war drama "Hacksaw Ridge" and Natalie Portman who received the "Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress" for her portrayal of Jacqueline Kennedy in "Jackie". "Manchester by the Sea" actor Casey Affleck took the "Desert Palm Achievement Award". "Arrival" actress Amy Adams was given the "Chairman's Award", Annette Bening was honored with the "Career Achievement Award" and "Moonlight" actor Mahershala Ali took the honors in the "Breakthrough Performance" category. Picking up the "Vanguard Award" which went to musical "La La Land", actor Ryan Gosling paid tribute to the late Debbie Reynolds. The 84-year-old "Singin' in the Rain" star died last week, a day after the death of her "Star Wars" actress daughter Carrie Fisher. "We watched 'Singin' in the Rain' every day for inspiration and (she was) truly an unparalleled talent, so thank you to her for all that inspiration," Gosling said. (Reporting by Reuters Television; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian, editing by Ed Osmond) Heather Locklear is looking towards a fresh start in 2017. In response to rumors that she had entered rehab for the fifth time, the 55-year-old actress gave a statement to ET, saying, "I am feeling great and am taking steps to enrich and better my life. Currently I am working on tying up some loose ends regarding certain issues so I can hit 2017 full steam ahead." WATCH: Tyler Perry Praises Heather Locklear's New 'Bad Girl' Role as She Makes Stunning Red Carpet Appearance Locklear's drug-addled past includes a hospitalization in 2012 when a 911 call was placed from her home. At the time, a source told ET the Spin City star was "out of control." "Heather became a different person on drugs," the source said. Locklear had been in and out of rehab for years, but lately has been finding steady work and avoiding negative headlines. Her next project is season two of Too Close to Home, which premieres Wednesday on TLC. WATCH: Heather Locklear Slaps the President in 'Too Close to Home' Season 2 Premiere On the show, Locklear plays First Lady Katelyn Christian, who takes control after catching her husband, President Christian (Matt Battaglia), having sex with Anna (Danielle Savre), a White House staffer. Get caught up on Tyler Perry's soapy drama in the video below. Related Articles President-elect Donald Trump will have to refashion the North American Free Trade Agreement if he wants businesses to halt production in Mexico, CNBC's Jim Cramer said on Tuesday. Earlier on Tuesday, Trump slammed General Motors (NYSE: GM) in a tweet, claiming the auto giant is making a Cruze model in Mexico and then sending them to U.S. dealers tax free. GM responded, "All Chevrolet Cruze sedans sold in the U.S. are built in GM's assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio. GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, with a small number sold in the U.S." If Trump wants to prevent U.S. companies from operating in Mexico and other low-cost areas, Cramer said the president-elect would have to remove incentives by renegotiating NAFTA, a three-country accord negotiated by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. "This is very different from going to a Ford (NYSE: F) plant which actually wasn't about to move and saying, 'Listen, we're going to keep these jobs here.' To bring those jobs back, you have to make it so it is punitive to make anything in Mexico. That means you either have to change the terms of NAFTA or scrap NAFTA." Cramer said on " Squawk on the Street ." Cramer said, however, that the trade agreement is unlikely to change under a Trump administration, considering NAFTA was a bipartisan initiative. "It's not like Republicans are necessarily now going to turn on NAFTA," He said. "Trump will lose it. He will not be able to change NAFTA overnight." Hillary Clinton will attend Donald Trumps swearing in ceremony on Jan. 20 along with her husband, former president Bill Clinton, aides to the Clintons confirmed to Variety. The Clintons will be joined by former president George W. Bush and his wife Laura, as well as former president Jimmy Carter. Its customary for former occupants of the Oval Office to be invited along with their spouses. Representatives for the Clintons did not immediately return requests for comment. In 2009, Hillary Clinton, along with her husband, attended the inauguration of Barack Obama, who defeated her in the primary. Clinton was then Obamas choice as secretary of state. According to New York magazine, which first reported that they would attend, Hillary Clinton discussed with trusted advisers and friends whether or not she should attend the inaugural. She and President Clinton, the sources said, decided to do so out of a sense of duty and respect for the American democratic process. On election night, a spokesman for Bush told reporters that he did not vote for Trump or Clinton. Former president George H. W. Bush will not attend due to his health. Related stories Omarosa to Join Trump White House in Public Engagement Role (Report) A New Celebrity Video Urges Congress to Obstruct Donald Trump Rebecca Ferguson Says She'll Perform at Donald Trump's Inauguration on One Condition Who hauled tarps up the Santa Monica Mountains to change an iconic sign to "Hollyweed" hours before Los Angeles woke up on Sunday? It's a mystery for now. But the Hollywood Sign Trust, the non-profit organization that oversees maintenance for the landmark, is looking to improve its security in the wake of this rare high-profile prank. "The Hollywood Sign surveillance system is constantly evolving but an incident like the one that occurred early Sunday morning shows us where there are opportunities to make improvements," Chris Baumgart, chairman of the Hollywood Sign Trust, said Monday in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "The new year's prank was no exception and we will be deploying additional technology to tighten up surveillance and thus deter unwanted visitors in the future," said Baumgart. "This is more than preventing pranks or trespassing at the sign. Our concern is the safety of the neighborhood and the trespassers that put themselves at risk because it is extremely unsafe to be on the sign, let alone traversing the treacherous hillside that is home to those 9 famous letters." Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images On Sunday, as the industry was ringing in 2017, a prankster or vandal or activist (or all three?) managed to hang white and black tarps over the latter two "O" letters on the landmark. The individual or individuals responsible committed a trespassing violation, Los Angeles police officer Mike Lopez told THR. But there has been no arrest made or suspect publicly identified. A peace sign was etched in white on one of the black tarps, along with the words "A tribute to..." The other tarp had a heart shape on it and some writing. It's unclear if there was a message to the sign aside from the reference to California opting to vote for marijuana legalization in the November election. The sign was said to be restored to normal conditions mid-morning on New Year's Day, with no noticeable enduring damage. Multiple workers could be seen in photos using a ladder to remove the tarps. By Monday, from a distance, it looked as it usually does on a cloudy day. Story continues The sign is currently watched over by a security camera system that is monitored by the Los Angeles Police Department. It was first installed in 1994 and updated several times since. The icon has occasionally been used to promote political messaging. In 2010, the sign was covered with red and black lettering with the words "Save the Peak" in an attempt to raise awareness about development. Courtesy of Daniel Finegood Famously, in 1976, the sign was turned into "Hollyweed" by a then-student named Daniel Finegood and three others for an art project for Cal-State Northridge over the course of several hours. When his son, Matthew Finegood, saw images of the new "Hollyweed" prank he immediately thought it was a throwback to the work of his father. "He spent about $50 on giant, four sheets - two black, two white - tied them to some stones, climbed on the sign a little bit to throw the stones and the rope over that was tied to the sheets," Finegood told THR. "So there was a lot of planning." Added Finegood, "He was adamant that it really wasn't a prank. He was doing something that didn't harm the sign. He felt it was art and he was trying to tell the world something he believed in and that people were supportive of." Daniel Finegood, who wasn't arrested for the 1976 "Hollyweed" prank and passed away in 2007, would ultimately alter the Hollywood sign four times during his lifetime: to "Holywood" (also in 1976), "Ollywood" (in 1987) and "Oil War" (taken down before the end of a night in 1990). He also aspired to do an April Fools' Day joke to make the entire sign disappear into the backdrop of the hillside, but the plan never came to fruition, his son said. For now, the identity of the new "Hollyweed" prankster is obscure. "I think it was great execution that it was done in that way," said the pseudonymous artist known as Plastic Jesus, when contacted by THR. "You want the message to be the focus of the work and not the artist." Plastic Jesus, who said he had no involvement in the new prank but has made headlines for his provocative Oscar-themed art in recent years, says he recently spoke with Los Angeles-based street artists who didn't know who would have been behind the new altered sign. Jackass star Steve-O - himself arrested in 2015 for a Hollywood crane protest that included a sign saying "Seaworld Sucks" - pointed out as much when he took a selfie in front of the "weed" prank on Sunday. He wrote: "I don't know who did this to the Hollywood Sign, but I'm quite impressed they got away with it." After more than a day with no word about a suspect, the incident is developing into a bit of a Hollywood mystery. Asked why the new prankster hasn't yet come forward, Finegood joked: "Maybe he's still on his plane to Amsterdam or Ecuador." Read more: War Over Hollywood Sign Pits Wealthy Residents Against Urinating Tourists: "One of These Days Someone Will Get Shot" Major airports across the U.S. saw long lines, packed waiting areas and grumbling passengers on Monday, as a nationwide system crash at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) caused extended delays right as the holiday season was drawing to a close. The Associated Press reports that a processing system outage was to blame for the delay. NBC News reports that the technological disruption started at 5 p.m. ET, and continued for about four hours, according to the CBP, before systems were restored at around 9 p.m. The CBP tweeted around 10:30 p.m. that all airports were back online. During the disruption, people stuck at affected airports took photos and videos of clogged hallways and dismayed fellow travelers, and posted them on social media. @wsvn immigration @ M.I.A. Hundreds waiting, system has been down for hours pic.twitter.com/kuyR9u7boO Reza (@EGerami) January 3, 2017 After a 12,5h flight from #FRA to #SFO on our way to #HICSS50 the U.S. Border Control System ist down. In the #BayArea Seriously?!???! pic.twitter.com/tfUvFH1zWn Frederik Kramer (@OSevangelist) January 3, 2017 Customs line at Atlanta airport snaking around multiple wings of building. Supposedly homeland security system down pic.twitter.com/EtSMhWHQgV Jordana Merran (@JordanaMerran) January 3, 2017 The extended wait was also causing physical discomfort among those waiting in line. There were reports of people passing out at Miami airport, according to NBC News. Story continues Vomit on the floor and passports being turned into fans as temperatures and tempers rise at marathon Miami @CustomsBorder line. pic.twitter.com/zyb48nSVhr Peter Gartrell (@runptg11) January 3, 2017 The issue appeared to have hit multiple airports around the country at the same time. Atlantas airport was hit by the outage for about an hour during Monday afternoon and early evening, reports the AP. According to NBC News, other major hubs like New York Citys JFK, Boston and Los Angeles all saw disruptions and huge queues at customs checkpoints. 36 unusable passport express kiosks, 20 unused global entry, 1000 people. 8 agents. 1 hour wait. Welcome to Dulles airport pic.twitter.com/WWmsuZs125 Richard G. Walker (@RichardGWalker) January 3, 2017 Letting children and elderly through. Getting HOT. Many people haven't slept. Customs system shutdown. pic.twitter.com/WjpUaFH0RU John M. Phillips (@JohnPhillips) January 3, 2017 Update from pilot.because customs computers are downwe are the 20th plane in line for a gate. Kristin Klingshirn (@KrisKling) January 3, 2017 Affected airports across the nation took to Twitter to inform the public of the CBP system outage late Monday, asking for their patience as prolonged waits continued. Please be advised, @CustomsBorder outage is nationwide. They are working to restore. Thanks for your patience. Miami Int'l Airport (@iflymia) January 2, 2017 Customs and Border Protection has nationwide outage. Expect delays in passenger processing until the system is restored. Ft. Laude-Hlwd Int'l (@FLLFlyer) January 3, 2017 Certain airports resorted to manual processing while the CBPs system was being fixed. .@CustomsBorder at LAX reports nationwide outage of I-94 processing system. Arrivals to be processed manually as CBP works to restore it. LAX Airport (@flyLAXairport) January 3, 2017 The border agency said that there was no indication of malice involved in the system crash. It was Donald Trumps mantra in the final weeks of his insurgent campaign for the presidency. At every rally, in stops all over the country, the New York billionaire repeatedly vowed to drain the swamp if elected, presenting himself as an anti-establishment outsider and the only person in the race who could truly change business as usual in Washington. It was a phrase that seemed to apply to everything voters despised about the nations capital, including corruption in Congress and the overarching influence of lobbyists and special interests. And voters embraced it casting their ballots for someone they viewed as a change agent who was not beholden to anyone. I am not a politician, Trump repeatedly insisted, to wild applause. My only special interest is you, the American people. When Newt Gingrich, a close adviser, suggested late last month that Trump wouldnt be using the drain the swamp slogan any longer amid criticism that he was packing his new administration with the very establishment insiders he had railed against the president-elect pointedly denied the claim on Twitter. Someone incorrectly stated that the phrase DRAIN THE SWAMP was no longer being used by me. Actually, we will always be trying to DTS, Trump tweeted. But the way Trump reacted to House Republicans attempt late Monday to gut a key congressional ethics office renewed doubts about his commitment to the reforms he promoted so loudly during the campaign. In a secret session, House Republicans voted to dismantle the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent panel established after a series of embarrassing scandals involving House lawmakers, including a few who went to jail. The move, opposed by House Speaker Paul Ryan, was reversed Tuesday after a storm of bipartisan criticism, including from Trump. But it was how Trump criticized the maneuver that was notable. In a series of Twitter messages on Tuesday morning, the president-elect didnt implicitly dispute the idea of dismantling the OCE but rather criticized the timing. Describing the congressional ethics office as unfair, the president-elect suggested that the move to strip it of its power was a case of misplaced priorities. Story continues Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance, Trump tweeted, adding the hashtag DTS for drain the swamp. Trumps declaration could have been a sign that he is picking his battles with Republican lawmakers, including Ryan, whom he will need to pass his agenda. But it also called attention to Trumps dilemma in trying to deliver on the ethics reforms he sold so enthusiastically to voters reforms he has rarely mentioned in the weeks since he won the White House. While he has continued to bang the drum for his pledge to drain the swamp, Trump has barely mentioned the policy proposals he passionately touted in the final weeks of the campaign. Among other things, he backed stronger ethics reforms, including a five-year ban that would prevent members of Congress, their staffs and other government officials from jumping into lobbyist positions. And, in a move that earned rare praise from good-government groups, Trump urged the closing of loopholes that would allow former government officials to skirt the ban by labeling themselves as consultants, advisers, all these different things. We all know that really what they are is lobbyists, right? Make a lot of money, Trump told supporters at an Oct. 18 rally in Colorado Springs. Therell be a lot of pushback on that one, but Im going to get it through. Trump used the same speech to announce that he would push for a constitutional amendment on congressional term limits, an idea that had been bandied about and rejected for decades by members of Congress. He called for House members to be limited to serving just three two-year terms and senators to two six-year terms. Though he acknowledged it would be an uphill battle, he pledged to pursue the policy, describing term limits as the only way to revive a government wrecked by paralyzing political gridlock and corruption. We have to break the cycle of corruption, and we have to give new voices to change, Trump declared at the time, so that we can have a government that works again and can function properly, Trumps proposal was widely rejected by lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who told reporters the day after Election Day that the Senate would not consider any term limits policy. We have term limits now, McConnell said. Theyre called elections. Trump has rarely mentioned the proposal since. And its unclear whether he remains committed to it and to other ethics reforms. A transition spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment. But on the daily press call with transition officials, Sean Spicer, the incoming White House press secretary, dodged the question when he was asked whether Trump believes the House should strengthen the independent ethics office a policy that would seem to reflect the tough-on-ethics line that Trump the candidate touted during his campaign. Its not a question of strengthening or weakening. I think its a question of priorities, and the presidents belief is that, with all that this country wants and needs to have happen, this really shouldnt be the priority, Spicer said. House Republicans late Monday, without notice or debate, took a preliminary vote on a measure that will effectively eliminate an independent board set up to investigate violations of Congressional ethics standards. In doing so, the author of the measure declared that the move actually builds upon and strengthens the role of the ethics watchdog. Welcome to Washington in 2017, an Orwellian place where words, apparently, mean whatever politicians want them to mean. Related: Senate Dems Plan to Slam the Brakes on Trumps Cabinet Nominees This should come as no surprise. The nation is preparing to swear in a President-elect who campaigned on a promise to drain the swamp of Washington while simultaneously refusing to provide the public with his tax returns and who has still not provided any explanation of how he plans to avoid the conflicts of interest between his duties as president and his ownership of a multinational business. Without facing serious objection, he has installed his own children, who will be running his business, on the transition team in charge of selecting the regulators who those businesses will have to answer to. If thats what draining the swamp looks like, can anyone blame House Republicans for wanting to get in on the act? The announcement Monday night of an amendment to the House Rules came from the office of Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), who authored the amendment gutting the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent watchdog panel established in 2008 in response to a lobbying scandal that sent several members of Congress to prison for influence peddling. Related: The Insiders Already Cashing In on the Trump Presidency The OCE was given the authority to initiate investigations into potential violations of ethics rules by members of the House. If it found sufficient evidence of wrongdoing, the OCE board could vote to submit a recommendation to the House Ethics Committee to begin formal proceedings. Story continues Even if the Committee declined to pursue a case recommended by the OCE, the details of the recommendation were later made public, a measure meant to deter members from quashing valid allegations of corruption or malfeasance. The new rules, set to be finalized today, strip the OCE of both independence and transparency. A copy obtained by The New York Times can be found here. Operating under a new name, the Office of Congressional Complaint Review, the body will require the de facto permission of the Committee on Ethics to conduct an investigation. That's because the Ethics Committee, under the new rules, can shut down any investigation it wants to: Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, upon receipt of a written request from the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct that the board cease its review of any matter and refer such matter to the Committee, the board shall refer such matter immediately to the Committee and cease its preliminary or second-phase review, as applicable, of that matter, and so notify any individual who is the subject of the review." Related: Trump's Pick for Treasury Sends Fannie and Freddie Shares Soaring Whats more, the OCCR will be explicitly barred from making any information public -- to the point of being barred from hiring any person for a position involving communications with the public, including a communications director or press spokesperson. In a statement issued Monday, Goodlatte said, The amendment builds upon and strengthens the existing Office of Congressional Ethics by maintaining its primary area of focus of accepting and reviewing complaints from the public and referring them, if appropriate, to the Committee on Ethics. It also improves upon due process rights for individuals under investigation, as well as witnesses called to testify. The OCE has a serious and important role in the House and this amendment does nothing to impede their work. But Democrats and outside ethics watchdogs felt very differently. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who was Speaker of the House when the OCE was created, said in a statement, Republicans claim they want to drain the swamp, but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions. Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress. Related: Why Trumps Conflicts of Interest Will Come Back to Bite Him And Us Norman Eisen, former top ethics attorney for the Obama administration, and Richard Painter, who served in the same role under George W. Bush, issued a joint statement as Chair and Vice Chair of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. It said, in part, Undermining the independence of the Houses Office of Congressional Ethics would create a serious risk to members of Congress, who rely on OCE for fair, nonpartisan investigations, and to the American people, who expect their representatives to meet their legal and ethical obligations. They added, If the 115th Congress begins with rules amendments undermining OCE, it is setting itself up to be dogged by scandals and ethics issues for years and is returning the House to dark days when ethics violations were rampant and far too often tolerated. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., House Judiciary Committee chairman. (Photo: Reuters/Yuri Gripas) In a closed-door meeting Monday night, House Republicans unexpectedly voted to all but destroy an independent ethics group that investigates them for wrongdoing. The move immediately drew intense criticism from Democrats and watchdog organizations, which portrayed the vote as a betrayal of the incoming Republican presidents campaign vow to drain the swamp. Tuesday morning, House Republicans reversed course and voted down the controversial amendment. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., offered the surprise amendment to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics. The full Congress will vote on the entire rules package Tuesday, the first day of its new term. Goodlattes move would change the name of the group from Office of Congressional Ethics to Office of Congressional Complaint Review, strip it of its independence, block it from investigating any wrongdoing that occurred prior to 2011, and prevent it from releasing its findings to the public, without the authorization of the House Committee on Ethics. The rules change would also prevent the panel from alerting law enforcement to criminal activity without the approval of the House committee. On Tuesday morning, Donald Trump criticized the timing of the ethics vote, but called the group itself unfair. The president-elect took to Twitter to argue that House members should be focused on other legislative priorities. Earlier, his top adviser and former campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said on Good Morning America that Republicans had a mandate to gut the ethics office. With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 ..may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2017 Republicans claim they want to drain the swamp, but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic minority leader, said in a statement. Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress. Story continues Poor way to begin draining the swamp, tweeted Tom Fitton, the president of the conservative legal group Judicial Watch, which had launched lawsuits over Hillary Clintons private email server. House GOP guts ethics panel. Swamp wins with help of @SpeakerRyan, @RepGoodlatte https://t.co/JFATNP1i8f Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) January 3, 2017 The top ethics lawyers under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama said in a joint statement that Congress was setting itself up to be dogged by scandals and ethics issues for years and was returning the House to dark days. The Office of Congressional Ethics is an independent entity run by five board members appointed by the House majority leader and five members appointed by the House minority leader. (Currently, however, the board has only seven members.) The members are not allowed to run for public office. The group, which publicly releases its reports, investigates tips from the public and elsewhere about potential rule-breaking by lawmakers. This year, the watchdog group asked the House Committee on Ethics to investigate Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., for paying for a personal family vacation with campaign funds, and Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., for potential conflicts of interest with his hedge fund. Goodlatte claimed that the changes strengthens the mission of the ethics watchdog group while protecting the due process rights of House members and staffers. Former Speaker John Boehner was a supporter of the Office of Congressional Ethics, but current Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., initially kept silent about it. On Tuesday, Ryan issued a statement defending the changes. Ryan Statement on the Office of Congressional Ethics https://t.co/EQwU0E1bwn Brendan Buck (@BrendanBuck) January 3, 2017 The group was created in 2008 amid concerns that the House Committee on Ethics was not being aggressive enough in its investigations of its own members. The ethics committee investigates ethics violations only if another member of Congress suggests it, unlike the Office of Congressional Ethics, which takes tips from all sources. In fact, in her 2008 floor speech before voting for the bill to create the office, Pelosi said its intention was to drain the swamp. Trump recently said that will always be the motto of his administration. Someone incorrectly stated that the phrase "DRAIN THE SWAMP" was no longer being used by me. Actually, we will always be trying to DTS. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2016 Updated 10:11 a.m. ET to include Trumps criticism. Hugh Jackman has previously gone on record as saying that Logan will mark his last movie playing the gruff antihero Wolverine, but he may not be ready to retire the claws just yet. In a new Variety profile of fellow superhero actor Ryan Reynolds, Jackman hinted that he might be willing to join the Deadpool star in a movie pairing their signature characters. Im hesitating, Jackman said when asked about a potential Wolverine-Deadpool movie, because I could totally see how thats the perfect fit. But the Australian actor cautioned that the timing may be wrong. Reynolds has made no secret of his desire to do a Wolverine-Deadpool movie with Jackman (which would technically reunite the duo after 2009s much maligned X-Men Origins: Wolverine). Last month, Reynolds told EW, I want Deadpool and Wolverine in a movie together. What were gonna have to do is convince Hugh. He added that he thinks the two would light the screen on fire. The notion of Wolverine and Deadpool sharing the screen re-emerged last week when The Wrap reported that Reynolds recently shot a scene to would appear in Logan, likely as a post-credits sequence. But Reynolds, Jackman, and Logan director James Mangold quickly denied the report, and Reynolds later tweeted that Deadpools wisecracking would be tonally out of place in that particular film. The northern English city of Hull intends to make the most out of its "City of Culture 2017" crown with hundreds of artistic and cultural events, which began with a show-stopping fireworks display on Sunday, January 1. The city of Hull has released the program for the first three months as the UK's City of Culture for 2017. Here's a selection of some of the most anticipated events. January The city marks its entrance into 2017 with "Made in Hull," a city-wide celebration of Hull's history held from January 1 through 7. The Bafta-nominated documentary filmmaker Sean McAllister has brought onboard local and international artists for large-scale projections, soundscapes, site-specific art, installations, animations, archive material and interactive live performances. One of the most anticipated events is the reopening of the Ferens art gallery on January 13 after a 4.5 million (over 5.5 million USD) investment. Its most prized piece, Pietro Lorenzetti's "Christ Between Saints Paul and Peter" (c.1320), will also finally be on display, having undergone extensive restoration at the National Gallery in London. On January 22, a retrospective of work by the late Oscar-winning director and former University of Hull alumni Anthony Minghella, will include film screenings and an exhibition. February February 2 will welcome the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra who will perform a special concert featuring the music of American composer John Williams, including works from "Star Wars," "Indiana Jones," "Harry Potter," "Superman," "Jaws," "Schindler's List," "Fiddler on the Roof" and more. Also for film fanatics, the Cyber Film Festival "Digital Dystopias" (February 10-14) will explore what it means to be human in the digital age. March Hull's program for March features a wealth of classic performances such as "Bach, Beethoven and Virtuosity", a celebration of chamber music performed by Ensemble DeNOTE on March 2, and Puccini's "La Boheme" (March 21.) The National Portrait Gallery will also be exhibiting its BP Portrait Award Commissions from March 5 to June 5. Economic transformation Since the announcement that Hull had been named the City of Culture 2017, more than 1 billion of investment has been invested in the city, as part of Hull's desire to shed its negative reputation and become a leader in the arts. The inaugural winner of the quadrennial title was Derry-Londonderry in 2013. ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- Billionaire investor Carl Icahn says his shuttered Trump Taj Mahal casino is not for sale, and he appears content to sit on it for a while. Icahn told The Associated Press Tuesday night he does not want to sell the casino, which he closed on Oct. 10 after a bitter strike with Atlantic City's main casino workers' union. But he plans to surrender its casino license, and wants to make sure that anyone who might buy it in the future can't use it as a casino unless they pay his company an unspecified fee. Icahn's company filed a deed restriction preventing a future purchaser from using the Taj Mahal as a casino. He also said he's not sure whether he'll try to reopen it. "We are not looking to sell it, not at today's prices," Icahn said. "I made my fortune buying things cheap." His comments came on the same day that New Jersey gambling regulators revealed that Icahn has applied for permission to surrender the Taj Mahal's casino license. He petitioned the state Division of Gaming Enforcement on Dec. 22 for permission to turn in the license. Icahn did so as New Jersey moved to punish him for closing the Taj Mahal. The state Legislature last month passed a bill that would strip the casino license for five years from any owner who shut down an Atlantic City casino after January 2016, meaning it would only apply to Icahn at this point. Republican Gov. Chris Christie has not indicated whether he will sign or veto the measure. The bill was written by state Senate President Steve Sweeney, himself a union official. Icahn, who also owns Atlantic City's Tropicana casino, blasted Sweeney on Tuesday, saying the appearance that the Legislature "is at war with business" will discourage investment in New Jersey. "When a guy like Sweeney goes after someone who saved the Tropicana and 3,000 jobs when no one else would, who would invest in New Jersey?" he asked. "The worst thing about New Jersey is they have Sweeney as head of the Senate. The best thing about New Jersey is they didn't make him governor." Story continues Sweeney spokesman Rich McGrath said the legislation was needed to address "the callous actions of a multi-billionaire who has a history of putting his own selfish quest for personal profits ahead of the rights of working people." The moves seem to undercut a suspicion among former Taj Mahal workers that Icahn plans to reopen the casino in the spring, with or without a union contract. It closed in October following a 3 1/2-month strike by Local 54 of the Unite-HERE casino workers union, which wanted health insurance and pension benefits that were terminated in bankruptcy court restored. The future of the Taj Mahal, which President-elect Donald Trump opened in 1990 but lost control of in a casino bankruptcy, has been a hotly debated topic in Atlantic City, particularly as the seven surviving casinos are slowly seeing their businesses stabilize with less local competition. ___ Follow Wayne Parry at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC Keypoint Solutions has Sold Over 60 Houses this Year Throughout Indiana INDIANAPOLIS, IN / ACCESSWIRE / January 3, 2017 / The founders of Keypoint Solutions, a company that is made up of a group of Indiana house buyers, are pleased to announce that 2016 has been a banner year. In the last 12 months, the Indiana real estate investors from Keypoint Solutions have sold over 60 houses. To learn more about Keypoint Solutions and the "sell my house" services that they provide to residents of Indiana, please visit http://fairindycashoffer.com. As a company spokesperson noted, for people who are thinking "I need to sell my house fast," the friendly and experienced team from Keypoint Solutions is ready and willing to help. The house buyers in Indiana buy homes quickly, and do not require homeowners to make costly repairs prior to closing the sale. "If you need to sell your house in Indiana, we will provide you a fast and fair cash offer for your home," noted the spokesperson adding that at Keypoint Solutions, the location or condition of the home do not matter, and unlike private buyers, they will not back out of the deal. "We work with people in every situation. When you sell us your house, you can expect to see the money in your account faster than working through a realtor or private buyer." Selling a home through Keypoint Solutions will also eliminate the many stresses that are common to a traditional home sale. As the spokesperson noted, once people decide "I want Keypoint Solutions to buy my house," they simply need to call the company directly or fill out a short form on the website. Someone from Keypoint Solutions will then call the homeowner, usually within about 24 hours, and determine a convenient time for them to meet and see the home. During the meeting, the real estate investor from Keypoint Solutions will discuss the value of the house with the homeowner and make a fair and no-obligation offer. Once both parties agree on the price, the company will close quickly with cash. Story continues About Keypoint Solutions: Keypoint Solutions is one of the largest house buyers in Indiana. They buy houses using their own money which allows them to close on a house within 48 hours. They buy houses in any condition often help those near foreclosure. For more information, please visit http://fairindycashoffer.com. Keypoint Solutions 1075 Broad Ripple Ave., Suite 159 Indianapolis, IN 46220 Contact: Laura LaFond laura@keypointsolutions.com (317) 333-7011 SOURCE: Keypoint Solutions IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 3, 2017 / 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 Baghdad (AFP) - Iraqi journalist Afrah Shawqi was released Tuesday, a week after being abducted from her Baghdad home by gunmen, her sister and security officials said. "It's true," her sister Nibras Shawqi told AFP in a text message when asked about reports of her sibling's release. Iraq's Joint Operations Command in Baghdad also confirmed she was free. Afrah Shawqi, 43, is employed by Asharq al-Awsat, a London-based pan-Arab newspaper, as well as a number of news websites including Aklaam. Last week, she published a stinging article on the website in which she hit out at the armed groups which "act with impunity" in Iraq. During a press conference before news of her release on Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had said that the motives of the kidnapping were both political and criminal. Iraq is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, along with Syria, Afghanistan and Mexico. Seven journalists were killed in the country in 2016, according to press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders, whose 2016 World Press Freedom index ranks Iraq 158th out of 180 countries. By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - Companies considering quitting Britain due to its departure from the EU are likely to start making investment decisions from the second quarter, the head of the agency competing to win foreign business for Ireland said on Tuesday. Industrial Development Agency Ireland has already fielded Brexit-related enquiries from more than 100 firms, a lot of which have progressed to site visits, its chief executive Martin Shannahan also said at a news conference. Given the countries' close trading links, Ireland is widely considered the European Union economy most at risk from Britain's decision to quit the bloc. But it is also well placed to draw business away from its neighbour, particularly in financial services. Shannahan said some companies had already narrowed down their options. "My expectation is that by Q2 of 2017 we will start to see companies make decisions," he said, announcing that the number of employees of multinationals in Ireland hit a high in 2016. British Prime Minister Theresa has said she plans to begin the two years of exit negotiations with the EU by the end of March. "It is not likely that companies will await the outcome of (those) negotiations," Shannahan said. "..I think the political timeline and the commercial timeline are entirely incompatible. That is particularly true in the financial services sector." Inquiries to the IDA were also likely to rise in the technology and pharmaceutical sectors, he added. He said North American companies would make Brexit-related decisions first, followed by Asian and lastly by British and European ones, which might be willing to wait longer to see how the negotiations play out. Ireland, whose economy is the fastest-growing in the EU, is already a major hub for big employers including Apple (AAPL.O), Pfizer (PFE.N) and Citibank (C.N). Multinational companies added a net 12,000 jobs there last year, bringing their rosters in Ireland to 200,000, or close to one in 10 of the overall workforce. Some U.S. companies might also put off investment decisions until they saw details of President-elect Donald Trump's taxation policies, Shannahan added. (editing by John Stonestreet) Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel's premier Tuesday denounced the international Middle East conference in Paris on January 15 as "futile", saying he feared decisions taken there could spark a new UN resolution against Israel. The Paris-organised conference to be attended by some 70 countries -- but not by Israeli or Palestinian representatives -- is being held to reiterate international support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "This is a futile conference, but there are signs that there will be attempts to use decisions that are taken to vote a new UN resolution against Israel," Benjamin Netanyahu said. The prime minister, who also holds the foreign affairs portfolio, was speaking to an annual meeting of Israeli ambassadors to European countries. "That's why the main political effort we are currently working on is to avoid a vote for a new resolution at the UN Security Council," he said in televised remarks. On December 23, the Security Council for the first time since 1979 condemned Israeli settlement of occupied Palestinian territory when the United States did not use its veto and abstained in the vote. Netanyahu rejected the resolution at the time as a "shameful blow against Israel". He also claimed that outgoing US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry were behind it. More than 400,000 Israelis live in the West Bank in settlements that the international community considers to be illegal and a major obstacle to peace. JERUSALEM (AP) Israel's prime minister is denying wrongdoing a day after he was questioned by police for more than three hours over corruption allegations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on Twitter Tuesday that "there won't be anything because there is nothing," and decried "years of daily persecution against me and my family." Police investigators grilled Netanyahu on Monday evening at his official residence over suspicions that he improperly accepted gifts from wealthy supporters. Israel's Channel 2 TV has said that Netanyahu accepted "favors" from businessmen in Israel and abroad and that he is the central suspect in a second investigation that also involves family members. Netanyahu has portrayed the investigation as a witch hunt by a hostile media. Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish authorities on Tuesday intensified efforts to identify a suspected jihadist from Central Asia behind the massacre of 39 people at an Istanbul nightclub who had reportedly fought in Syria for the Islamic State group. Police released pictures of the suspect who went on the rampage at the plush Reina nightclub on New Year's night, spraying about 120 bullets at terrified partygoers before slipping away into the night. So far, 16 people are being held over the attack, including two foreigners detained by Turkish police at Istanbul's main airport. But the killer remains on the run. There was frenzied speculation surrounding a 28-year-old Kyrgyz man with a strong facial resemblance to the attacker but he was allowed to fly back home by the Turkish authorities and later released after questioning in Kyrgyzstan. Of the 39 dead, 27 were foreigners, mainly from Arab countries, and emotional funerals were held for some of the victims on Tuesday. - 'Wandering dangerously' - The Islamic State (IS) group on Monday claimed the massacre, the first time it has clearly stated being behind a major attack in Turkey. The suspect -- who has not been named but reportedly may be from Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan -- was staying in a rented flat in Konya before moving to Istanbul to carry out the attack, press reports said. The Dogan news agency said those detained included a woman suspected of being his wife with whom he had stayed in Konya along with two children. It quoted his wife as saying in a statement to police she only found out about the attack from the news. Reports said police have made progress in the investigation after speaking to the taxi driver who drove the attacker to the club and tracing calls he had made on the driver's mobile phone. The Hurriyet daily said the attacker showed signs of being well trained in the use of arms and had fought in Syria for IS jihadists. Hurriyet's well-connected columnist Abdulkadir Selvi said the suspect had been trained in street fighting in residential areas in Syria and used these techniques in the attack, shooting from the hip rather than as a sniper. Story continues Just 28 bullets failed to hit a target and the gunman disoriented revellers at the club by using stun grenades when he changed a magazine. "This specially-trained terrorist has still not been detained and is still wandering dangerously amongst us," Selvi wrote. He said an IS strike was also planned in Ankara on New Year's eve but that it had been prevented after eight IS suspects were arrested in the capital. Together with a unexpected jump in inflation, anxiety over the attack pushed the Turkish lira to a new historic low of 3.6 to the US dollar. - 'Hard to understand' - Near the entrance to the nightclub on the shores of the Bosphorus, an impromptu shrine was set up with pictures of the dead where well-wishers have been piling up flowers. "The attacker arrived at the door and opened fire towards me," club manager Ali Unal told AFP. "My foot slipped and I fell down, the gunshots didn't stop." Police meanwhile released the first clear images of the attacker, including one taken by security cameras on the night of the attack. And a chilling video of the suspect taken near Taksim Square in central Istanbul was also released, showing him recording himself with a selfie stick and smiling faintly into the camera. It was not immediately clear how the footage had been obtained. In a statement circulated on social media, IS said one of its "soldiers" had carried out the carnage, accusing Turkey -- a majority-Muslim country -- of being a servant of Christians and saying the shooting was a response to Ankara's military action against jihadists in Syria. The shooting took place just 75 minutes into 2017 after a bloody year in Turkey in which hundreds of people were killed in violence blamed on both IS jihadists and Kurdish militants. The foreigners who died -- most of them from Arab countries and including Muslims -- had come to the club to celebrate a special night in style. They included three Lebanese nationals, two Jordanians and three Iraqis, as well as several Saudis. "Terrorism has no religion, it targets us all, it targets people who love life," Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said at Beirut airport as he received the bodies. Arab Israeli Lian Nasser, who was laid to rest on Tuesday, was the youngest victim at 18 and on her first trip away from her family. "She was kind, loveable and clever," her uncle Rani told AFP at the funeral in her small predominantly Muslim hometown of Tira north of Tel Aviv. "It's so hard to understand." The attacker involved in the deadly shooting at a popular nightclub in Istanbul early Sunday is a highly professional assassin, security experts claimed Tuesday. The gunman who killed 39 people and injured nearly 70 others fled the scene after firing at over 600 people, and is still at large. The way the attacker carried out the attack shows that "he is absolutely a killer and he probably shot at humans before," English-language Daily News quoted anti-terror expert Abdullah Agar as saying. "The attacker is determined, faithful, practical, coldblooded expert and knows how to get results ... he probably fired bullets in real clash zones." The attacker, who is believed to be in his 20s stormed the Reina club after killing a policeman and a civilian. The Islamic State group on Monday claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that a "soldier of the caliphate" had carried out the shooting in response to Turkish military operations against ISIS in northern Syria. While a massive manhunt is underway for the gunman, who has not been identified, Turkish media on Tuesday ran a "selfie video" of a man they say is the attacker. The clip, which was later released by the Associated Press, shows the alleged gunman filming himself with a cellphone at Istanbul's Taksim square. It is unclear if the video was filmed before or after the New Year's massacre, the AP reported. On Tuesday, Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu said that 14 people have so far been detained and are being questioned in connection with the attack. It reportedly said police were receiving numerous reports of sightings and tips from citizens, following the release of photos and videos of the alleged gunman. istanbul Photo: REUTERS/Reuters TV/Handout Story continues So far, there have been several conflicting reports about the identity of the gunman. On Monday, local media reported that the attacker was believed to be from a Central Asian nation and may have been part of the same cell that targeted Istanbul's Ataturk Airport in June 2016. On Tuesday, Haber Turk newspaper reported, citing sources, that the attacker is believed to be a member of China's Muslim Uighur minority. Turkey's crucial tourism industry has suffered a great deal over the recent attacks in the country. On Tuesday, Turkey's prime minister slammed the Obama administration for backing Syrian Kurdish forces, which Turkey considers to be terrorists. Binali Yildirim also urged President-elect Donald Trump to put an end to "this shame." Related Articles The brutal slaughter of elephants for their ivory and the threat to their extinctionweve surely heard about this before, but Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidsons Netflix film The Ivory Game is truly a breed apart from other coverage on this issue. Their nail-biting detective work exposes the illegal ivory trade from the inside, using hidden cameras and giving us a close-up on the work of both incredibly brave Chinese journalists and Kenyan rangers to save these tragically-threatened creatures. The film is a devastating look at how poverty feeds the starting point of the trade while greed and a lack of respect for a dying species prevents a genuine ban. AwardsLine spoke to film makers Ladkani and Davidson about effectively tackling a topic that spans the globe. How did you get started on this project? Richard Ladkani: Well, it started about three and-a-half years ago. I read an article in The New York Times about the extinction of elephants. The headline was, Ten Years to Extinction and I couldnt believe it. We had been looking for a new project together for over ten years. We did The Devils Miner together in 2004. We thought it was incredible that nobody knew about the elephants that we asked. Were like, this is a war going on. Its undercover, its like mafia. Chinese traffickers are involved and you have this iconic species. This is a film that needs to be made so we can let the world know about this and dig in. But it took a little while for us to get started because of all the dangers involved in making such a film. It wasnt easy. How did you track down the two Chinese journalists who got your hidden camera footage? Kief Davidson: As you can imagine, the first conversations we started to have were like, how do we tackle such an enormous project? Because there are really so many layers to it. Its very global. Its an international problem. Its not just one area or one bad guy or one person that you could really just point the finger at. So it really took a good year of research and development before we were able to really start honing in on who some of our characters could be. Where should we film this? Is this going to be a film just of Africa or is it going to go into Asia as well? It was a daunting task. Story continues I think what was very interesting to both of us early on was the idea of finding people that were working undercover, people that were working in the shadows that were unsung heroes that no one may know about. We had access initially to a couple of people. There was one person we read about in an article and we started talking to him. Jane Goodall, who has actually been a champion for the film, introduced us to other people as well. Slowly, as you start with one person, other doors start opening up. It was really the undercover access that was fascinating to us and I think not only from just a pure storytelling point of view but also stylistically. How could we get in there and do something very different from anything thats been made? Through the course of this, we felt like we were in the middle of a thriller. That ultimately lent itself to how the films style would ultimately be. Richard Ladkani: None of these people had ever been on camera before and they didnt want to be filmed. It was a huge hurdle to overcome to convince these people that it would be a good thing to film them and be with them and show the world whats going on. So we said, If we cant be with you, we cant bring change for the elephants. We cant help you save the elephants. Kief Davidson: But we also really had to make a deal with them too. When youre following people like that into dangerous situations, we cant be the ones to expose them or get them into trouble. We really needed to be the flies on the wall and let them lead it. Under no circumstances would we ever slow them down, would we ever expose them. Thats actually a very big responsibility as a filmmaking team to have, not to expose their subjects when you have cameras. Very, very difficult. When one of your undercover journalists has her hidden camera discovered, how terrifying that was for you? How did you handle it? Richard Ladkani: When that camera got discovered, when she finally got out and called us, the first thing she said is, You have to leave tonight. Re-book your tickets and get out of the country now because they will figure out that there is a larger team behind this and it will not take them more than a day to find you and then were all in trouble. We had to re-book our tickets and basically flee China. Before that, we distributed all our footage. One put it in his socks and the other one put it with his toothbrushes and we put it on USB so we were hoping someone would get it out. We got out safe but it was tense until we were actually on the plane and taking off. It was crazy. What was the most harrowing and difficult part of making this film? Kief Davidson: I think overall, at least for me, whats very difficult is ultimately responsibility that we sort of put on ourselves to portray this issue to the world as massively as possible. We were given the distinct honor from characters and people that are risking their lives every single day. Theyre the ones really putting their lives on the line all the time. We wanted to ultimately make a film that would really convey that, that would really get people to care. That means spending a lot of time working, a lot of time shooting, a lot of time in post-production, to really do justice to these people that have really dedicated their lives to this cause. I think theres always been that sort of feeling like, what is our part in this? What could we do beyond just actually making a film, but delivering a film thats going to have impact, thats going to be seen by a massive audience. Richard Ladkani: The thing that we told people, and Kief said it very rightly, that we told people that, If you let us into your world, we will help you save elephants because we will bring this to millions and millions of people. That was actually the one thing, the one argument that, after they checked us out and they Googled us and they watched some films that we did, they figured that, Okay, these guys are professionals and they know what theyre doing so lets give it a shot. Then they kept testing us in the field, took us on the most crazy helicopter, plane flights into the Somali border area, camping, eating raw meat with the Masai and all these crazy things. Really testing if we can do this. We did well enough. It was this responsibility. We saw so many dead elephants. Not even half of them are in the film because we couldnt put more. I mean, we tried to put enough in that people get it. There is a real problem. You had to show death but we saw so much more of it. The more we went on, going back and forth between Hong Kong and Vietnam and Tanzania and Zambia and these countries, the more we understood the trade and the more were like, God, this is going to be a huge challenge to stop this. Its so massive. Its so sophisticated. The only way were going to stop the killing is if China bans the trade. That became clear. Its the only way. As long as China doesnt end the trade, the elephants will go extinct. We realized that so our responsibility became even bigger every month that we continued. Leonardo DiCaprio came on as EP. Can you talk about his involvement and how that happened? Kief Davidson: We started talking very early on about who the champions for this film should be. This stems not only from the celebrity standpoint, but just in general, the producers that were working with, everyone that ideally takes part in this film are going to be people who are super passionate and are going to use their voice to step up and do their part. We started showing Leo footage fairly early on. We were getting toward the tail end of shooting but we were just putting scenes together and he very much loved what he saw right away and said, Hey, how can I come aboard? How could I help? Again, I think its really about being with people that could also extend the reach of this and thats something that Leo could do. When he talks, people tend to listen. The footage that (journalists) Andrea Crosta (of the Elephant Action League) and (Chinese journalist) wound up using during the film, was presented to the Hong Kong government and that ultimately, I think, played a part in Hong Kong deciding to ban ivory. But they said that theyre going to ban ivory in five years. In five years from now, 50 percent of the elephants may be gone. So we need all the champions that we have behind us and everyones going to keep fighting until this is brought to an end. Related stories Reality Check: A Look At This Year's Documentary Hopefuls 'The Ivory Game' Trailer: First Look At Netflix's Latest Leonardo DiCaprio-Produced Docu Rainforest Charity Says Leonardo DiCaprio Should Step Down From UN NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 3, 2017 / Acclaimed property and private equity investor, Jacob Frydman has remained an avid supporter and contributing member of New York's Chabad of Dutchess County and The Rhinebeck Jewish Center for many years. Through his participatory involvement both as financial support and time spent volunteering for good causes, he has always demonstrated his loyalty and commitment to both organizations. Following a life-long career in real estate development and acquisition, a passion which began in high school when he made his first real estate investment, Frydman has been recently giving more of his energy to supporting local charitable establishments, following his retirement as CEO of a public Real Estate Investment Trust. Through the compassionate and proactive philosophy of the Rhinebeck Jewish Center , Frydman finds a powerful way to help those in need and to uplift the community spirit. The Rhinebeck Jewish Center, located in the village of Rhinebeck, NY, was founded in 2007 with the purpose of strengthening the awareness and observance of Judaism, and acting as a spiritual and educational support system for the Jewish community. The center offers faith-based programs including adult education classes, pastoral care, and youth activities, as well as provides a home away from home for Jewish college students. One project that Frydman has been consistently involved with at the Center is the Toys for Hospitalized Children initiative. This program distributes toys and gifts every year to hospitals, seniors residences, and special needs facilities. More than 25,000 are distributed annually in the tri-state area. The center's founders, Rabbi Hanoch and Tzivie Hecht, have expressed their gratitude for Jacob Frydman's unwavering support, which has allowed their initiative to reach out to more children. Rabbi Hecht, who personally met Frydman seven years ago, speaks very highly of the property investment expert, "When you meet him, he gives off a very strong New York businessman feel, but any word he has ever given he has kept 100 percent. I truly appreciate Jacob's friendship." The center also encourages giving to underprivileged families at the time of Passover and support for the Orphan, Poor and Sick Fund, another longstanding program started by the National Committee for Furtherance of Jewish Education (NCFJE). The fund assists struggling families from across the metropolitan New York area with grocery and clothing vouchers, and help with paying utility bills. Avid supporter of the center's numerous giving programs, Frydman has also participated in co-hosting of a gala in October 2014 given by the Hudson Valley Community Center in Poughkeepsie for the Jewish Community Center of Dutchess County Board. Story continues A native New Yorker, Jacob Frydman received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Boston University and his Juris Doctor degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. During his 30-year career in the real estate industry, he acquired over five million square feet of property on the east coast of the United States and took part in procurement and development transactions valued at over $2 billion. His notable real estate projects include Two Dag Hammarskjold Plaza in midtown Manhattan, which he re-developed, together with his long-time partner, Mitch Rutter, into a commercial condominium solely for foreign governments as their missions to the UN. They also redeveloped the Aetna Building in lower Manhattan, and the DHL center in midtown Manhattan. In 1998 Frydman purchased the NBC New York television studios from General Electric, and from 1998 through 2010 he produced the log-running TV soap opera, "As The World Turns", together with Proctor & Gamble. Having retired from his role as the CEO of a public Real Estate Investment Trust, Jacob Frydman continues to share his expertise in a consultancy service to developers and other businessmen within the industry, where he advises on highly complex special situations where he can enhance a property's value, undertaking it alone or at times with partners. A long-standing philanthropist, Frydman is also a firm supporter of the Washington DC's Brem Foundation, helping women in struggling communities at risk of developing breast cancer, and has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Bardavon Opera House, home of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. Jacob Frydman - Blog - JacobFrydmanNews.com: http://JacobFrydmanNews.com Jacob Frydman -- Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/jacob-frydman Jacob Frydman On the Development of New High Performance Office Space: http://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/Jacob+Frydman+--+On+the+Development+of+New+High+Performance+Office+Space/11911116.html Contact Information: JacobFrydmanNews.com contact@jacobfrydmannews.com www.JacobFrydmanNews.com SOURCE: Jacob Frydman Jakarta's Christian governor Tuesday shouted at an Islamic hardliner testifying against him in dramatic scenes at his blasphemy trial, seen as a test of religious tolerance in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation. Hundreds of supporters and opponents of governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama rowdily traded insults as they rallied outside the hearing in the Indonesian capital, with thousands of police deployed to prevent clashes. The first Christian to govern the capital in more than 50 years, Purnama is on trial accused of blasphemy over remarks he made about the Koran while campaigning ahead of February elections for the Jakarta governorship. Hundreds of thousands of conservative Muslims have protested against the leader, known by his nickname Ahok, in recent months in the largest demonstrations in Indonesia in years, but he denies insulting Islam and his supporters say the case is politically motivated. Purnama, who faces up to five years in jail if found guilty, went on trial last month for blasphemy and at the latest hearing Tuesday members of hardline group the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) -- which has spearheaded the protest movement -- testified against him. "I reported the suspect (to the police) because he insulted the Koran," Muhsin Alattas, head of the FPI's Jakarta branch, told the hearing. But as the witness was questioned, Purnama -- known for his short temper -- began to shout at him. "Who has given FPI the authority to speak on behalf of all Muslims?... many Muslims don't like FPI," he said. "Just ask the FPI," the witness responded during the hearing, which was taking place in an auditorium at the agriculture ministry after being moved from a Jakarta court for security reasons. In his comments in September, Purnama accused his opponents of using a Koranic verse, which suggests Muslims should not choose non-Muslims as leaders, in order to trick people into voting against him. The case, which is expected to take several more weeks, has sparked concerns about growing intolerance in Indonesia where a reputation for pluralism has been eroded by a surge in attacks on minorities. The Japanese stock market rallied sharply with U.S. equities after the presidential election, but traders apparently believe that it may continue its recent pullback. The WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund, which tracks the Nikkei index while adjusting for fluctuations in the yen, has been falling since hitting a 52-week high of $51.82 on Dec. 15. Our monitoring program found three strikes with large bearish trades in less than 2 minutes on Friday: A 4,327 February 46 puts were bought at the same second for $0.40-$0.41 against open interest of 123 contracts, 5,252 February 47 puts were purchased at the same second for $0.57 below open interest of 6,001 contracts, 2,391 January 48.50 puts bought at the same second for $0.39 against open interest of 2 contracts. Long puts lock in the price where a stock can be sold, so they make money if shares decline. Investors use them to hedge long positions or to speculate on a drop. (See our Education section) DXJ rose 0.24 percent to $49.54 on Friday and is up 16 percent in the last three months. Overall option volume in the fund was about average, but puts outnumbered calls by a bearish 6-to-1 ratio. More From optionMONSTER Five films into an increasingly acclaimed career, Jeff Nichols, Varietys Creative Impact in Directing honoree, keeps hitting firsts. His directorial debut, 2007s Shotgun Stories, was not only his first film, but had its world premiere at the Berlin fest, marking Nichols introduction to the international fest circuit. Follow-up Take Shelter bowed at Sundance and screened at Cannes, his first time at each fest; Mud, Nichols first Cannes premiere, was also his first time working with A-list talent (Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon); and Midnight Special, released in early 2016, was his first film for a major studio (Warner Bros.). But its Nichols latest film, Loving, that could draw another first: Oscar nominations. Tipped as a best picture contender since it was unveiled at Cannes in May, the film, inspired by the powerful true story of Richard and Mildred Loving, is also a strong nomination possibility in adapted screenplay, directing, and acting bids for its Golden Globe-nominated leads Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga. The Lovings were at the center of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Loving v. Virginia, which struck down laws prohibiting interracial marriage in the U.S. And Few filmmakers could tell their story with the level of authenticity and respect the Arkansas-born Nichols brings. He has established himself as an auteur poet of the American South. He makes films about people often overlooked in Hollywood, and makes them without a drop of either condescension or self-importance. The quiet, understated Loving takes its cues from the characters unassuming personalities and tranquil rural environment, to tell a groundbreaking, and frequently infuriating, piece of history in a modest and thoughtful fashion. The approach unexpectedly heightens the emotional impact, by placing the tender and pure relationship between Richard and Mildred above any of the traditional courtroom theatrics or racially charged melodrama one might expect from a typical social issue movie. Story continues Still, the connection between the events of the film, which take place over a decade beginning in 1958, and the political strife of today could not be more evident. Loving invites a conversation about Americas tortured history of civil rights and racial and gender discrimination, while echoing the more recent victories in the battle for marriage equality. Thats something the Lovings themselves never couldve anticipated, they simply wanted the right to be together, but contemporary audiences cant miss. As Nichols told Varietys Kris Tapley on the Playback podcast, Their story hasnt changed but the social dynamic has changed. We are having, and need to be having, complex conversations about race in this country, and about equality in general, and the Lovings remain this constant example of humanity. Related stories Viggo Mortensen, Jeff Nichols, Pharrell Williams to Receive Variety Creative Impact Awards 'Hacksaw Ridge,' 'Star Trek,' 'Deadpool' Lead Makeup Oscar Contenders 'Loving' to Receive Producers Guild's Stanley Kramer Award Sally Field, Keegan-Michael Key, Westworlds Jeffrey Wright, and more stars appear in a new PSA challenging Congress to obstruct any of President-elect Donald Trumps potentially racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, anti-union, and anti-environmental policies. The video, which was created by the social media campaign Humanity for Progress, features a slew of celebrities, who first identify the problems in society that have arisen since Trumps election, including the rise in hate crimes and violence against women and people of color. They then address Congress directly, urging them to vigorously oppose . We demand that you block nominees who threaten the rights of women, the LGBT community, people of color, immigrants, and the poor. The celebrities, which also include Steve Buscemi, Rosie Perez, and Zoe Kazan, go on to promise to back Congress in the defense of civil liberties, and work harder to mobilize their votes, and ends with a plea to viewers to sign and share a MoveOn.org petition. The video was directed by Academy Award-nominated director Liz Garbus, and also features an appearance by New York City developer Bruce Ratner. Watch it above. The deaths of Star Wars star Carrie Fisher and her famous mother Debbie Reynolds within the span of two days last week was a devastating double blow for the actresses many fans but even more so for their family. On Tuesday, Fishers half-sisters Joely and Trisha Fisher appeared on Good Morning America to discuss how theyre dealing with the aftermath. Ive been having an out-of-body experience, Joely told interviewer Chris Connelly. The world lost Carrie and Debbie, of course, and Princess Leia. But we lost our hero. We lost our mirror. We had the coolest big sister in the world, Trisha added. She was a badass, gun-toting princess. I mean, who has that? The two sisters also added that Reynolds death so shortly after Carries did not come as a huge surprise to them after spending time in the hospital. I sat with Debbie, and she said to me that she was praying for more time, Joely said. She kept saying that she wanted more time, and I knew that if Carrie wasnt going to survive this, then Debbie would not. You knew it. You could feel it in her tiny little beautiful body, you could see it her face. She would not last without her on the planet. She wouldnt. And she didnt. Watch the clips below. WATCH: "The world lost Carrie, Princess Leia we lost our hero." Carrie Fisher's sisters on her passing: https://t.co/0khz1HGt0M pic.twitter.com/5wMxLclhBM Good Morning America (@GMA) January 3, 2017 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js WATCH: "I knew that if Carrie wasn't going to survive then Debbie wouldn't" Carrie Fisher's sister: https://t.co/0khz1HoS9e pic.twitter.com/tkeJwq637G Good Morning America (@GMA) January 3, 2017 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Fisher died last week at age 60; Reynolds died the following day at 84. A joint funeral will be held for the pair, according to Todd Fisher. If youre still in a holidaze and having difficulty focusing at your desk right now, prepare for a shock that will pull you right out of your funk John Malkovich (yes, that Being John Malkovich, John Malkovich) just announced that hes decided to become a full-time clothing designer. (If you just automatically mouthed What? we did too.) Yep, the beloved and critically-acclaimed actor is switching gears at 63 years old to pursue a career in fashion design and he recently launched the site JohnMalkovich.com to prove it. His website has the lookbooks (and shoppable links) to his latest collections, which all feature traditional pieces (suits, sweaters, T-shirts and lots and lots of scarves) accentuated with a unique design or whimsical print that is sure to be the stars signature aesthetic. On the website it states that Malkovich is focused on making sincere designs because he believes fashion is all about self-expression. Fashion is about putting something together, and defining and transporting yourself, the website reads. Its about being bold and discreet at the same time. Above all, its about focusing on what you want and not worrying about what others expect you to be. If you think this has come out of left field for the actor, he says hes been interested in design since he was a kid. Hes done costume design for theater productions (and studied it in college) and even dipped his toes in high-fashion collaborations in the past. He walked the Comme des Garcons runway in the 80s and posed for Prada, Antonio Miro and Armani campaigns. And hes recently worked on design collaborations by creating a print for Liberty of London and collaborating with Bailey Hats, Pirelli and the watch brand, Richard Mille. RELATED PHOTOS: Star Designers You Must Know Still skeptical? Well, the actor actually merged his two careers into one for a short film called Journey which explains, in depth, the lengths he went to create this new path for himself. Story continues The film follows his journey from his beginning sketches to the fashion show debut of his line and acknowledges the setbacks hes faced along the way. When one friend asks him, Quite a gamble, isnt it? Malkovich responds, Yeah, but everything I ever did was a gamble. Were cheering this particular gamble and hoping for a womenswear line next (if only for the fact that we can say were Wearing John Malkovich). Are you surprised by his new fashion line? JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) An Indonesian court ruled Tuesday that witness testimony will be closed to the media in the blasphemy trial of the capital's minority Christian governor. Jakarta Gov. Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama is charged with insulting Islam and desecrating the Quran by using one of its verses to boost his chances of winning re-election. Ahok, 50, is seeking a second term as governor in elections due in February. The blasphemy controversy erupted when a video circulated online in which Ahok lightheartedly said people were being deceived if they believed his detractors who asserted that the Quran prohibits Muslims from having a non-Muslim leader. A five-judge panel ruled that journalists will not be allowed to cover witness testimony during the trial and that spectators can't bring cellphones inside the courtroom. Testimony began shortly after the decision was announced Tuesday. Presiding Judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto ordered journalists to leave the packed courtroom at the North Jakarta District Court shortly after he opened the hearing. One of Ahok's lawyers, Trimoelja Soerjadi, said the ruling was aimed at protecting the witnesses given the huge amount of attention the trial has received in the world's most populous Muslim nation. He said that none of the four people who reported Ahok to police and testified Tuesday directly heard what Ahok said when he visited a fishing village in northern Jakarta. Muchsin Alatas, one of the witnesses, told reporters after testifying that Ahok was using the Quran for his political interests. "He was insulting Quran, that's why I reported him to the police ... justice must be done," he said. Protests against Ahok, led by conservative Muslims and which drew hundreds of thousands of people, have kept Jakarta on edge for weeks. A Nov. 4 protest there turned violent, with one death and dozens of police and protesters injured. The trial could take two to three months. Kanye West continues to recover following his recent hospitalization for exhaustion by spending time with family. The 39-year-old rapper flew to Oklahoma City on Sunday with wife Kim Kardashian West, 36, and their two children North, 3, and Saint, 1 to visit his mothers grave, PEOPLE confirms. Kanye still doesnt have closure about his mother, and I dont know that he ever will, a source close to West tells PEOPLE. was unexpected, and he had no time to prepare for it. When the anniversary comes along, its like the wound is reopened. Some years, he does okay in managing it. Other years, not as much. This was a year where things went off the rails. A source tells PEOPLE that after spending New Years Eve together, the family departed on a private jet from Van Nuys airport on Sunday morning and returned to their Bel Air house together Monday evening. Kim and Kanye spent New Years Eve together with the kids. Kanye is doing much better. He has worked out every day and is taking care of himself. Kanye seems much better mentally. He is sleeping better and seems much healthier, says the insider. The source continued, He and Kim are getting along better. Things are looking better for the new year. A different source previously told PEOPLE that the couples marriage has been under strain since Wests health crisis hit less than two months after his wifes terrifying robbery at gunpoint in Paris. However, the family attended Kris Jenners star-studded Christmas Eve party, even posting a photo of the four in front of an enormous Christmas tree from the bash. They were focused on making it a fun Christmas for the kids, said the source. They hang out with the kids, but are not really getting along otherwise. RELATED VIDEO: The Truth About Kanye Wests Spiral Things Havent Been Right Since Halloween, Says Source Despite the marital frustrations, the couple have continued to step out together here and there, including for date night in Santa Monica on Dec. 18 and most recently to catch the Los Angeles Ballets The Nutcracker with daughter North. West has been spotting several times heading to the movies. The rapper was spotted leaving a movie theater the day after Christmas rocking army pants, a shearling jacket and a new dash of pink in his recently dyed blond hair. Nanterre (France) (AFP) - The trial of six media representatives over the publication of topless photos of Prince William's wife Catherine in France that caused a scandal in Britain was on Tuesday delayed until May. The lawyer for two agency photographers, who only recently took over the case, obtained the four-month delay in order to prepare the defence. The case relates to risque grainy snaps of the former Kate Middleton wearing nothing but a black and white bikini bottom while on holiday in September 2012 in the south of France with her husband, the second in line to the British throne. They triggered a furious reaction from the British royal family and a furore in Britain where several newspapers had rejected an offer to buy the pictures. After appearing in the French version of celebrity magazine Closer, the photos were reproduced in several other European publications such as Chi in Italy, Ireland's Daily Star and sister magazines in Sweden and Denmark. The editor of Closer in France, the head of the Mondadori group which owns the magazine, regional newspaper La Provence's manager and one of its photographers, and two Paris-based agency photographers were due to go on trial on Tuesday charged with invasion of privacy and complicity. Closer's editor Laurence Pieau defended her publication's actions at the time of the initial scandal, saying the pictures were not in the "least shocking". The magazine has always refused to divulge the identity of the photographer who took the topless pictures. Earlier in September 2012, the Marseille-based La Provence had printed pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge in her swimsuit at a chateau owned by Viscount Linley, the son of Princess Margaret, the late sister of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. The royal couple launched legal proceedings to try to identify the photographer but La Provence denied its employee, who took the other pictures a week earlier, was the author of the topless snaps. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's lawyer had argued that the photos were particularly distressing for the couple as it brought back painful memories of William's late mother Princess Diana's death in a road crash in Paris in 1997 while being hounded by paparazzi. French authorities sided with the royal couple by banning any further reproduction of the pictures before launching a probe into how the snaps were obtained. Kendall Jenner and her dog make one fashionable pair! The 21-year-old model went shopping with BFF Hailey Baldwin and a few other friends on Monday, bringing her pup along for the trip to Maxfield in West Hollywood, California. WATCH: Kylie Jenner Shares NSFW Snap of Kendall's Nipple Ring Jenner kept the tiny Italian greyhound very close, tucking it inside her gold belted Acne Studios jacket -- which must have been extra cozy thanks to that black shearling lining. The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star paired the fabulous, bold topper with a hooded velvet sweater and Re/Done boyfriend jeans, which added to the cozy yet fashion-forward look. AKM-GSI The adorable furry friend debuted on Jenner's Snapchat last week, rocking a collar that read "MEW." Jenner's younger sister, Kylie, has three Italian greyhounds of her own: Norman and Bambi, who recently gave birth to a litter of pups, and Sophia. But that's not the only dog who's made an appearance on the social media app recently -- the brunette beauty also cozied up to Kylie's precious Husky puppy while using Snapchat's popular reindeer filter in mid-December. Snapchat PHOTOS: Stars and Their Adorable Pets It really is a dog's life for the Kardashian-Jenner family! Click through the gallery below to see how else stars are kicking off the new year. Related Articles Khloe Kardashian recognizes that 2016 was a hectic year for the KarJenners, but she has high hopes for 2017 and is sharing her resolutions for each family member! On Tuesday, the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star shared her New Years Resolutions for the Fam in a post on her app. Its been an incredible year for growth but a really hectic year for my family, Khloe, 32, wrote. Overall, I want everyone in my family to have a happy and healthy year. I break down what Im wishing for each of them for 2017, she continued before writing out individual resolutions for each member of the family: siblings Kourtney, Kim and Rob Kardashian, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, and mom Kris Jenner (no mention of Caitlyn Jenner or Blac Chyna). For older sister Kim Kardashian, who made her return to social media on Tuesday for the first time since her Oct. 3 Paris robbery, Khloe hopes shell continue dedicating time to the family. I think with everything that has happened in Kims life this year, she really had to redefine her priorities. Time does heal and I think shes in a much better place now, said Khloe about Kim, 36. So I just want her to focus on her family and her own happiness this year. Following in her own footsteps, Khloe, who launched her Good American jean collection in 2016, has hopes that big sis Kourtney, 37, will launch her own project. I love the state that Kourt is in right now. Sometimes women can lose their sense of identity because life tends to be all about the kids. But I love that Kourt finds time for herself too, she said of the mom of three, and added, I would also love for Kourt to take on a project thats all her own. Shes so talented, so I think it would be great for her to do something related to interior design or another one of her hobbies. Looking to the KUWTK matriarch, Khloe recognizes that the momager does a lot, and said of the family matriarch, My mom does so much for everybody else. I would go f crazy if it was me! The amount of kids she has and the fact that we are the most chaotic, crazy peopleI dont know how she does it, she said of Kris. I mean, I would change my phone number and not give it to us for a month. She needs to have time thats just for her. Thats why Im so grateful for Corey. He keeps her so balanced. She just really needs more f Kris time! Story continues As for older brother Rob, 29, who got engaged in 2016 and welcomed his first child daughter Dream Kardashian with fiancee Blac Chyna, younger sister Khloe is hopeful that the new dad dedicates his time to fatherhood: I hope for Rob to put his energy into being a good dad. I want him to be able to block out the extra noise and focus on himself and what truly matters in life. Lastly, for younger sisters Kendall, 21, and Kylie, 19, Khloe hopes they will continue with their successes. Keep doing your thang, baby girl! I want her to enjoy that hot model life. Its a good one! she dedicated to professional Kendall, and added for Kylie, Kylies doing pretty well right now. F keep it up, girl! Social media queen Kim Kardashian has returned to Instagram to reclaim her title. The reality star, who had not posted a photo since Oct. 2 - the day she was robbed at gunpoint in her hotel room during Paris Fashion Week - posted her first photo since the attack on Tuesday morning. The blurry image shows Kardashian, Kanye West and their tots, North and Saint, all dressed in matching black-and-white ensembles. (We all know how the Kardashian crew loves to match for the holidays.) Read more: Lauren Conrad Is Pregnant With Her First Child A photo posted by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Jan 3, 2017 at 10:56am PST The return was without much fanfare; the 36-year-old simply captioned the photo "family." The portrait, uncharacteristically fuzzy, appears to be by the same photographer that captured the family holiday photo posted by West on Twitter last week. Happy Holidays pic.twitter.com/fxLFQQWJG7 - KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) December 27, 2016 The last photo Kardashian posted to Instagram was one of a series of three images showing off a trench coat and thigh-high boots ensemble, which she wore to the Balenciaga spring 2017 show paired with a completely makeup-free face. A photo posted by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Oct 2, 2016 at 10:27am PDT Though the family portrait is the first photo posted to Kardashian's personal account since October, the starlet has popped up in the feeds of family members and close friends. She also starred in her own Love magazine Advent-calendar video (presumably shot before the robbery) and posted several photos to her Kimoji app account of Kimoji merchandise. Kim Kardashian has returned to social media. (Photo: Getty Images) Kim Kardashian is baaaaaack. The reality TV star ended her social media hiatus on Tuesday by sharing a photo on Instagram and Twitter. While it isnt earth-shattering (like the nude bathroom selfie or her #BreaktheInternet pics), the post announces her return to the Web and, at the same time, attempts to shoot down rumors her marriage is in trouble, because its a sweet family snap with Kanye West, daughter North, and son Saint, who is now walking. family A photo posted by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Jan 3, 2017 at 10:56am PST Kim, of course, has been on a social media break since she was held up at gunpoint in Paris in October and robbed of $11 million of jewelry. Her pals and old throwbacks have kept her app going, she made some cameos on her sisters feeds (including at her moms holiday party), and she popped up on a few friends accounts (like when she gave pal Joyce Bonellis twin sons their first kiss). However, this marks the first time she has posted something herself. The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star, 36, also took to her app yesterday to share a new video filled with family moments. Kim and Kanye are seen kissing and dancing together. They are also featured with their kids. The sweet vid is set to Jeremihs Paradise and its all pretty adorable and happy. There have been rumors that Kim and Kanyes relationship was in trouble since the summer. However, they really blew up around the time he had his breakdown and was hospitalized in November. The family of four was photographed arriving back in L.A. on Monday night after a trip to Oklahoma City, where they visited the gravesite of Kanyes mother, Donda West. According to TMZ, it was the first time the whole family had been to the plot. (The couple previously took daughter North to see The Nutcracker around the holidays.) Sounds like they are moving ahead as a family in 2017, and she wants the world to be well aware of that. Donald Trump Welcome to Finance Insider, Business Insider's summary of the top stories of the past 24 hours. Happy New Year! Wall Street is back to work after a quiet holiday season, and there's no shortage of news. President-elect Donald Trump sent out a tweet Tuesday morning threatening to tax General Motors for manufacturing abroad. Trump's tweet is wide of the mark, according to Matt DeBord. Ford has spiked plans for a $1.6 billion Mexico plant and says it'll undertake a massive electric-car expansion instead. That news sent the Mexican peso sliding. In related news, Larry Summers lambasted a policy paper from top Trump advisers, describing it as the "economic equivalent of creationism." And markets are ignoring the risk of a devastating trade war under Trump, according to Pedro da Costa of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. In hedge fund news, Ray Dalio slammed a Wall Street Journal story on Bridgewater, linking it to the "fake and distorted news epidemic." A 27-year old raised $10 million from venture capitalists for an unusual hedge fund. And this is what it's like to be something other than white and male in the hedge fund business. In deal news, a startup trying to get the human body to fight cancer just filed for an IPO. These tech startups are IPO candidates to watch in 2017. And here's why the Nasdaq is the best stock exchange to list on, according to Benoist Grossmann at Idinvest Partners. In trading, the Fed has given Trump cover to unwind a key Wall Street rule. And these are the top trends in trading to watch in 2017, according to Kevin McPartland at Greenwich Associates. Sears is borrowing more money from CEO Eddie Lampert's hedge fund to stay afloat. It turns out Warren Buffett predicted the fall of Eddie Lampert and Sears over 10 years ago. Lastly, here are our biggest men's style predictions for 2017 Here are the top Wall Street headlines from the past week Short-seller Andrew Left has a new target Citron Research has a new target for the new year: Nvidia Corporation. Story continues It hasn't been this hard to buy a house in America since the financial crisis Housing affordability in the US is at an eight-year low, according to Attom Data Solutions. A core part of the American dream has changed, and it helps explain why Trump won President-elect Trump's election victory shocked the world, as he defied the odds (and the polls) to come out on top. Climate change is going to be very bad for the global economy Extreme heat, it turns out, is very bad for the economy. Crops fail. People work less, and are less productive when they do work. Tesla faces 3 major tests in 2017 and it has to pass them all The title of this story is a bit misleading Tesla faces far more than just three major tests in 2017. But some major tests are more major than others. The 2 big investing tips for 2017 from a JPMorgan strategy chief The chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management has given clients two key tips on how to invest in 2017 and they are pretty simple. The ECB admits people in Europe are getting poorer Europe became poorer and more unequal in the last few years, according to a massive household survey conducted by the European Central Bank. THE $10 BILLION CLUB: Meet the 8 most valuable startups in the US Over the past several years, we've seen a rise in private companies valued at over a billion dollars the "unicorns." More From Business Insider (Corrects impeachment vote timing to late last year, not early last year; adds missing word in penultimate paragraph) SEOUL, Jan 3 (Reuters) - South Korean authorities said on Tuesday they will proceed with steps to extradite Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of a central figure in a South Korean political scandal that has led to a parliament vote to impeach President Park Geun-hye. Chung is being held in Denmark after police there arrested her on Sunday in the northern city of Aalborg. Denmark's public prosecutor said on Monday that Chung will remain in custody for four weeks after having been charged with committing economic crime in South Korea. Chung is the 20-year-old daughter of Choi Soon-sil, a friend of Park accused of colluding with the president to pressure businesses to contribute to non-profit organisations. Both have denied any wrongdoing. "Chung has said she is willing to return to South Korea in three days if she is set free upon entry, which the government has declined to accept," South Korea's special prosecutor's office said in a statement. It added there is a chance Chung, an equestrian competitor who trained in Germany, may choose to return to South Korea voluntarily. The scandal has drawn hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets of Seoul for weekly demonstrations and could result in Park, 64, becoming the first democratically elected South Korean leader to leave office early. Park was impeached by parliament late last year, a decision that must be upheld or rejected by the Constitutional Court. Arguments were set to begin on Tuesday in a court process that could take several months. Meanwhile, South Korea's ambassador to Denmark delivered a letter of intent to Chung to cancel her passport, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed diplomatic sources. As a result, Chung's passport will no longer be valid after Jan. 10, Yonhap said. Chung's lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment. (Reporting by Christine Kim; Editing by Michael Perry) ROME (AP) The Latest on the influx of migrants in Europe (all times local): 7:45 p.m. The German state of Brandenburg will stop deporting failed asylum-seekers if they are victims of far-right violence. The eastern state, which encircles Berlin, has seen numerous neo-Nazi attacks against migrants and refugee homes in recent years. The Potsdamer Neuesten Nachrichten daily reported Tuesday that a decree instructs civil servants to use the leeway available to them to let victims of far-right attacks remain in the country. Asylum-seekers who share responsibility for a violent incident or who have themselves committed a crime are exempt from the stay of deportation. German police recorded 857 far-right crimes against refugee homes across the country in 2016, down from 923 the previous year. The figures jumped sharply in 2015 amid an unprecedented influx of asylum-seekers to Germany. In 2014, there had been 177 far-right attacks. ___ 3:50 p.m. Police in northern Greece say an Afghan migrant has died of hypothermia after crossing a river that forms the country's border with Turkey. The body of the man believed to be 20 years old was found in a field early Tuesday near the Greek border town of Didimoteicho after police were alerted by another Afghan man who said he had traveled with him across the Evros River. Overnight temperatures in the area plunged to -14 Celsius (7 F). Greek authorities are battling a spike in river crossings as migrants try to avoid being detained on the Greek islands, where a deportation agreement between the European Union and Turkey remains in effect and facilities are overcrowded. ___ 1:15 p.m. Spanish authorities say border guards have recently detained two Moroccans for attempting to smuggle migrants concealed in a suitcase and in a car as they crossed the border into Ceuta, Spain's enclave in North Africa. The Guardia Civil says that custom officials found a 19-year-old migrant from Gabon hidden in a suitcase pushed by a woman who tried to enter from Morocco on Friday. Story continues The 22-year-old Moroccan woman tried to avoid the security checks, which raised the suspicions of the agents. When officials requested she open the luggage, they found the man curled into the poorly-oxygenated hard suitcase. According to police, the man received immediate medical attention. In a separate case on Monday, police also arrested a 30-year-old Moroccan man for hiding two migrants in a car. ___ 10:25 a.m. Italian police say they have quelled a violent protest by occupants of a migrant center near Venice that left fearful workers barricaded inside offices. Carabinieri paramilitary police in Chioggia, near the Cona migrant center, said the protest ended in the early hours of Tuesday. Italian state RAI radio said migrants were protesting the alleged delay in medical assistance for a 25-year-old woman from Ivory Coast. The ill asylum-seeker died after an ambulance arrived. The radio said 25 frightened workers locked themselves inside offices when migrants set fires outside the center. No one was reported injured, and the protest ended after police mediated the dispute. Il Sole-24 Ore radio said that before the protest, the center's management was being investigated after allegations of fraud and maltreatment. ISTANBUL (AP) The latest on the manhunt for the Istanbul nightclub attacker and the aftermath of the massacre (all times local): 3:35 a.m. The White House says President Barack Obama has offered his condolences to Turkey's leader over a pair of deadly attacks, including at a nightclub on New Year's Eve. Obama and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also agreed during their telephone conversation Tuesday that their countries must "stand united" to defeat terrorism. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the Dec. 31 shooting at Istanbul's Reina nightclub that killed 39 revelers. Obama also expressed sorrow over a Dec. 17 attack on off-duty Turkish soldiers in the central province of Kayseri that killed 13 troops. A wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party has said it was responsible. The White House said Obama also welcomed Turkey's efforts to help implement a nationwide cease-fire in Syria as well as the resumption of political talks between the Syrian government and the opposition. ___ 6:50 p.m. Lebanon is bidding farewell to three victims of the New Years' Eve attack in an Istanbul nightclub. Hundreds attended emotional funerals held Tuesday for two of the victims, Haykal Mousallem and Elias Wardini. A third victim, Rita Shami, will be laid to rest Thursday. The bodies of the three arrived Monday night in Beirut, wrapped in red, white and green Lebanese flags. On Tuesday, relatives and friends of Wardini, a 26-year-old fitness instructor who was engaged to be married, set off fireworks as his white coffin arrived at a church in the district of Ashrafieh. Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced one hour of national mourning for the victims. Four Lebanese were also wounded in the Istanbul attack. ___ 5:45 p.m. Hundreds of people have attended the funeral of a Jordanian businessman who was among the 39 people killed in the shooting at Istanbul's Reina nightclub. The funeral for 44-year-old Nauras Assaf, a Christian, was held Tuesday in the town of Fuheis in central Jordan. Assaf's wife was wounded in the attack and is recovering in a hospital in Turkey. Story continues Jordan's ambassador to Turkey, Amjad al-Adayleh, was among those attending the funeral. Al-Adayleh says, "This attack is condemned by all religions, not only by Islam and Christianity." ___ 4:40 p.m. Turkey's interior minister says authorities have thwarted a total of 339 possible attacks in 2016, most of them by Kurdish militants. Suleyman Soylu told parliament Tuesday that the foiled attacks include 313 planned attempts by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and 22 by the Islamic State group. The minister said authorities seized 247 explosive devices, 23 car bombs and detained 23 would-be suicide bombers last year. Speaking a day after the IS claimed responsibility for the deadly attack at a popular Istanbul nightclub, Soylu said some 80 of the attacks were thwarted in the past three months. More than 3,506 IS suspects were detained in 2016, including 1,531 foreign nationals, the minister said. Soylu said authorities had stepped up security on public transportation such as trams and buses as well as airports and at train and bus terminals. ___ 4 p.m. Thousands of people have attended the funeral of an Arab Israeli teen who was killed in the Istanbul nightclub attack. Layan Nasser, 18, was among those killed in the attack. Mourners wept and wailed as they marched behind her wooden coffin through the streets of the Israeli city of Tira Tuesday. Tira Mayor Mamoun Abd El Hai said the city had declared a day of mourning in memory of Nasser, meaning banks and municipal offices were closed. "She had dreams to work, to progress, to study, to raise a family, but unfortunately the terror put an end to her dreams," Abd El Hai said. Nasser, a dental assistant, traveled to Istanbul to celebrate the New Year with three friends. ___ 3:30 p.m. Turkey's state-run news agency says police have detained two foreign nationals at Istanbul's main airport on suspicion of links to the deadly nightclub attack. Anadolu Agency said the two were taken into custody on Tuesday at the international flights terminal at Ataturk Airport. No information on their nationalities was available. It said police checked the pair's cellphones and luggage before they were taken away to Istanbul's main police headquarters. Meanwhile the private Dogan news agency said airports and border crossings were put on high alert and that anyone resembling the wanted gunman was being stopped and questioned by police. ___ 2:40 p.m. Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper says a woman identified by Turkish media as the wife of the Istanbul nightclub massacre suspect has told police she did not know her husband was a member of the Islamic State group. IS has claimed responsibility for the New Year's Eve attack that killed 39 people at the Reina nightclub. Police are still searching for the gunman. The woman was detained in the central town of Konya as part of the investigation. Neither she nor her husband has been identified by name. Hurriyet said on its online edition Tuesday that the woman said she learned about the attack on television and told police she didn't know her husband harbored "sympathies toward" the Islamic State group. Media reports say the gunman flew to Istanbul from Kyrgyzstan with his wife and children on Nov. 20. From there they drove to the Turkish capital, Ankara, by before arriving in Konya on Nov. 22. The family rented a studio in Konya, paying three months of rent upfront. The gunman told the estate agent he had arrived in Konya in search of work, according to the report. Hurriyet said the gunman returned to Istanbul Dec. 29. ___ 1:50 p.m. Turkey's state-run news agency says six more people have been detained in connection with the deadly Istanbul nightclub attack, raising the number of suspects held to 14. Anadolu Agency said Tuesday all 14 were being questioned at Istanbul's main police headquarters. It did not provide details on the suspects or say where they were taken into custody. Anadolu said police were receiving numerous reports of sightings or tips from citizens, following the release of photos and videos of the alleged gunman, who has not been publicly identified. ___ 12:50 p.m. Turkey's prime minister has slammed the Obama administration for backing Syrian Kurdish forces which Turkey considers to be terrorists, and urged President-elect Donald Trump to put an end to "this shame." Binali Yildirim said that Turkey's military had killed more than 1,200 Islamic State militants since the start of its military incursion into northern Syria in August, insisting that Turkey was the country leading the most effective fight against the extremist group. Yildirim was addressing members of the ruling party in parliament a day after IS claimed responsibility for the Istanbul nightclub attack, which killed 39 New Year's revelers. Yildirim said: "They are pretending to fight Daesh. Turkey is the only country that is leading a fight. The United States isn't doing anything." ___ 12:10 p.m. Turkish tourism industry professionals have marched to the nightclub where 39 New Year's revelers were killed, in a show of solidarity and to protest a spate of attacks that has crippled the sector. About 200 people, including restaurateurs, hotel owners and gastronomy students, took part in the protest, marching behind a large banner that read: "We won't be daunted! For our tomorrows." Turkey's crucial tourism industry has suffered enormously after a series of recent attacks in the country. The nightclub assailant, armed with a long-barreled weapon, killed a policeman and a civilian early Sunday outside the Reina club before entering and firing at some of the estimated 600 people inside. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the nightclub attack. ___ 11:45 a.m. Turkish media are quoting security experts as saying that the man who killed 39 and wounded nearly 70 people in a New Year's nightclub attack in Istanbul before fleeing the scene is a highly professional assassin. The English-language Daily News quoted anti-terror expert Abdullah Agar as saying the way the attacker operated shows that "he is absolutely a killer and he probably shot at humans before." Agar is quoted as saying that "the attacker is determined, faithful, practical, coldblooded expert and knows how to get results ... he probably fired bullets in real clash zones." The nightclub assailant, armed with a long-barreled weapon, killed a policeman and a civilian early Sunday outside the Reina club before entering and firing at some of the estimated 600 people inside. ___ 10:50 a.m. The United Arab Emirates has warned its citizens not to travel to Turkey following the attack on an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people. The UAE's Foreign Ministry has issued a terse statement in Arabic to "postpone plans to travel to Turkey until further notice." While no Emirati was killed in the attack, one Kuwaiti and seven Saudis were killed in the New Year's assault. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack at the Reina nightclub. ___ 10:40 a.m. Turkish media have run a "selfie video" of a man they say is the gunman who killed 39 people at an Istanbul nightclub. The video broadcast on Turkish television Tuesday shows the alleged gunman filming himself at Taksim square. It wasn't immediately clear if it was filmed before or after the New Year's massacre at the Reina nightclub. The Islamic State group claimed the attack. The gunman, who is still at large, hasn't been identified. Several media reports said the man was believed to be from a Central Asian nation. Haber Turk newspaper said the man is thought to be a member of China's Muslim Uighur minority. It said he arrived in the Turkish city of Konya with his wife and two children. His family was detained, it said. Fragments of a carpet that had been buried at the bottom of the sea for nearly 400 years are now on display in the Netherlands. The carpet, which is made from silk and wool, is decorated with flowers and animals, including lions. Based on the patterns, colors and weaving techniques, art historians concluded that the fabric was likely manufactured in Lahore, in present-day Pakistan, during the second quarter of the 17th century, according to the Kaap Skil museum on Texel Island, which started exhibiting the rare textile this week. During the Dutch Golden Age, ships traveling to and from Amsterdam would stop around Texel Island in the Wadden Sea. Because it was such a heavily trafficked area, the waters around the island are now littered with ships that sank during rough storms. [See Photos of the Carpet & Opulent Royal Booty Unearthed from the 17th-Century Shipwreck] That's where a group of local divers recently found the Lahore carpet among other textiles in a shipwreck. Delicate fabrics typically don't survive for very long at the bottom of the sea, but the so-called Palmwood Wreck was covered in sand, resulting in unusually good preservation, the researchers said. "It'salmost like having the fragments of an original Rembrandt in front of you," textile researchers Ebeltje Hartkamp-Jonxis and Hillie Smit, who examined the carpet, said in an emailed statement from the museum. Earlier this year, the Kaap Skil museum started displaying a complete silk gown that was also recovered from the wreck. The dress had been preserved in a clothing box that was packed with many other items, including a cloak, stockings and bodices adorned with gold and silver thread. A preserved silk dress and fragments of a 17th-century carpet, both found on the Palmwood shipwreck, are on display as part of the exhibition called "Diving into Details" at the Kaap Skil museum in the Netherlands until mid-February. Kaap Skil museum The sunken ship has also yielded crates that likely once contained incense or myrrh. Also within that shipwreck, divers have found a lice comb, Italian pottery, a beaded handbag and an intricately decorated "scent ball," which would have been worn around a person's neck to diffuse the smell of herbs or flowers. Story continues Leather covers of books (the pages had disintegrated) were salvaged from the wreck, too. They bear the coat of arms of the English King Charles I, suggesting that perhaps the cargo onboard the ship belonged to the royal Stuart family. The lavish wardrobe, which seems to have belonged to a "fairly hefty" woman, has been linked to Scottish lady-in-waiting Jean Kerr, Countess of Roxburghe, the confidante of the Queen Consort of England, Henrietta Maria, according to researchers working with the museum. The carpet fragments will be on display in an exhibition called "Diving into Details" until mid-February. Then, the textile pieces will be sent to the Archaeological Center of the Province Noord-Holland (North Holland) for further research, according to a statement from the museum. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations Magazines are more than happy to keep up the illusion that stars actresses in particular are flawless when it comes to their appearance. But Lena Dunham prefers to keep it real. On the cover of the February issue of Glamour, the Girls creator and star stands beside co-stars Allison Williams, Zosia Mamet, and Jemima Kirke in a pair of supershort shorts, her cellulite in full view. Gasp! The photo is different from others on womens magazines thats for sure but its not unlike what most women (and many men, for that matter) see in the mirror every single day. Its worth noting that Kerry Washington, Kate Winslet, and other leading ladies have publicly complained in the past about being excessively Photoshopped to remove any sign of imperfection. On Tuesday, Dunham took to Instagram to explain her choice to bare her unairbrushed body on the cover of a magazine. Okay, here goes: throughout my teens I was told, in no uncertain terms, that I was f***ing funny looking. Potbelly, rabbit teeth, knock knees- I could never seem to get it right and it haunted my every move, she captioned a photo that showed her brushing her teeth. I posed as the sassy confident one, secretly horrified and hurt by careless comments and hostility. Lets get something straight: I didnt hate what I looked like- I hated the culture that was telling me to hate it. When my career started, some people celebrated my look but always through the lens of isnt she brave? Isnt it such a bold move to show THAT body on TV? Then there were the legions of trolls who made high school teasing look like a damned joke with the violent threats they heaped on, the sickening insults that made me ache for teen girls like me who might be reading my comments. Related: Video: 6 Male Celebrities Who Surprisingly Struggle With Body Image Issues Well, she continued, today this body is on the cover of a magazine that millions of women will read, without photoshop, my thigh on full imperfect display. Whether you agree with my politics, like my show or connect to what I do, it doesnt matter- my body isnt fair game. No ones is, no matter their size, color, gender identity, and theres a place for us all in popular culture to be recognized as beautiful. Haters are gonna have to get more intellectual and creative with their disses in 2017 because none of us are going to be scared into muumuus by faceless basement dwellers, or cruel blogs, or even our partners and friends. Thank you to the women in Hollywood (and on Instagram!) leading the way, inspiring and normalizing the female form in EVERY form, and thank you to @glamourmag for letting my cellulite do the damn thing on news stands everywhere today. Love you all. Story continues Related: Chrissy Teigen Proudle Shows Off Her Stretch Marks The petite Dunham has long been the target of body shamers, and shes been outspoken in fighting back against them. In 2015, she said that she had changed her social media habits because the hate had become so intense. For example, she stopped looking at Twitter, and she once removed a photo of herself wearing boyfriend Jack Antonoffs boxers from Instagram. It wasnt a graphic picture I was wearing mens boxers, she said. And it turned into the most rabid, disgusting debate about womens bodies, and my Instagram page was somehow the hub for misogynists for the afternoon. There are always going to be haters, but it sounds like Dunham isnt listening anymore. Rome (AFP) - Russia will seek to end an arms embargo against Libya and could supply weapons to Khalifa Haftar, whose forces support a rival administration to the UN-backed unity government, the military strongman said Tuesday. Asked whether he was promised arms during a recent visit to Russia, Haftar said Moscow had told him weapons "can arrive only once the (UN) embargo ends". But he was assured that "Putin will undertake to revoke it," he said in the interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera. The Government of National Accord (GNA), based in Tripoli, is recognised by the international community. But Haftar, the controversial head of the so-called Libyan National Army, supports a parallel authority, based in eastern Libya near the border with Egypt, that controls much of the country's oil production. The bitter divisions in the country are matched by those among the powers pushing for democracy in the conflict-torn country. Western supporters of the GNA have prioritised the fight against Islamic State jihadists and controlling migration flows from Libya towards Europe. But another group including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia see Haftar's forces as the nucleus of a future military, and are suspicious of the Islamist clout in Tripoli. - Dialogue possible, but not yet - US Secretary of State John Kerry said last month there had been a "significant shift" in efforts to bring the field marshal to the table. Haftar said he was open to dialogue with GNA head Fayez Serraj in principle, but it was impossible to talk politics just now. "We are at war, security issues take precedence. It's not an opportune time for politics. We need to fight to save the country from Islamic extremists," he said. "I began talks with Serraj two and half years ago. Without any concrete results. Once the extremists have been beaten we can start talking about democracy and elections again. But not now," he added. Story continues Haftar denied media reports of an upcoming meeting with Serraj, saying the last time they had spoken directly was in January 2016. But he admitted: "I have nothing personally against Serraj. He is not the problem, it's those around him. "If he really wants to fight to make peace in the country, he should take up arms and join our ranks. He is always welcome." Libya has been mired in chaos since the fall of former dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with a constellation of militias vying for control of the country. Haftar complained of countries providing support to the GNA but not the rival Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HOR), saying "we expect help from everyone to fight Isis (IS). "We would be happy to cooperate with Great Britain, France or Germany. Italy too," he said. That had to hurt. A 25-year-old Wisconsin man was arrested after police say he took a flying leap and belly-flopped onto a cruiser, leading to his arrest. Read: 2 Police Officers Fired in Connection with Death of 3-Year-Old Left in Police Cruiser Menasha Police Department officers responded to a call of an inebriated man who was jumping on cars in the wee hours of the New Year, authorities said. As the officers sat parked in their patrol car, dashcam video appears to show a man running toward them and launching himself onto the windshield, resulting in a spider web of cracks. The officers can be heard screaming at the man to get off the vehicle. Read: Man Steals Cop Car and Records Joyride on Facebook Live During Chase The policemen suffered minor injuries while handcuffing the suspect, according to a department statement. The man, who was not identified, faces multiple charges, authorities said. He was examined at a local hospital and booked into the Winnebago County Jail, officers said. Watch: Student Smashes Into Police Cruiser While Trying to Take Topless Selfie: Cops Related Articles: London (AFP) - The London Stock Exchange said Tuesday it has agreed to offload the French arm of clearing house LCH to European rival Euronext as it seeks a merger with Deutsche Boerse. LSE Group said a cash deal worth 510 million euros ($534 million) had been struck with Euronext, adding in a statement that the proposed sale "would be subject to review and approval by the European Commission in connection with the recommended merger of LSEG and Deutsche Boerse". LSE, which operates also the Milan stock exchange, had proposed the sale of the French division as an attempt to address EU competitions over a tie-up with the Frankfurt stock exchange. Deep concerns over competition helped scupper two earlier attempts by the companies to merge, in 2000 and 2005. Clearing houses are meanwhile an increasingly vital part of financial markets, insuring buyers and sellers against their counterparts pulling out of a deal in exchange for cash guarantees. London hosts roughly 1.3 trillion euros of euro clearing transactions every year, a status that is now in danger with the British vote to leave the EU. The LSE and Deutsche Boerse merger would create a financial markets behemoth competing with the likes of the Chicago exchange and ICE in the United States, as well as the Hong Kong stock exchange in Asia. The planned merger, which has hit turbulence after last year's shock decision by Britain to quit the European Union, would ring up one of the globe's biggest groups for stock listings and market data, tying the Frankfurt-dominated eurozone to a post-Brexit London. The proposed deal has drawn sharp rebukes from France, Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands, fearful for their own stock exchanges, owned by Euronext. Deutsche Boerse operates the Frankfurt exchange, as well as the Luxembourg-based clearing house Clearstream and the derivatives platform Eurex. * Euronext to buy LCH Clearnet SA for 510 mln euros * EU decision on LSE/Deutsche Boerse merger due in March * Unclear if sale will ease EU antitrust concerns (Adds source comments, background, details, shares) By Andreas Kroner Jan 3 (Reuters) - London Stock Exchange Group has agreed to sell its French clearing business to Euronext for 510 million euros ($534 million), as it seeks to win regulatory approval for its proposed merger with Deutsche Boerse . The European Commission has expressed antitrust concerns about the $28 billion merger and the impact on the clearing of derivatives contracts in particular. The Commission, in a document on the issue, has not made clear if the sale of the French clearing business, LCH Clearnet SA, would be enough to dispel its concerns, two sources told Reuters. One person directly involved in the merger process said he did not believe the sale alone would address the Commission's concerns. "I have doubts that this is enough," he said. He suggested that LSE might also opt to sell Borsa Italiana, operator of the Milan stock exchange, to help address antitrust concerns, although a second source familiar with the process said that a sale of Borsa Italiana was not being discussed at the moment. An LSE spokeswoman said the company could not comment beyond its statement on the sale on Tuesday. Deutsche Boerse representatives declined to comment. LSE Group and LCH Group Limited said in a joint statement that they had agreed on the terms of Euronext's all-cash offer, after announcing last month that they were in exclusive talks with Euronext on a sale. LSE and Deutsche Boerse plan to formally submit the Clearnet SA sale as a remedy to the European Commission's concerns in the next few days sources told Reuters. A major hurdle to LSE's merger with Deutsche Boerse is how antitrust regulators define the derivatives market. Deutsche Boerse is hoping that the European Commission will treat over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives contracts and on-exchange traded derivatives as two separate markets, sticking to a market definition the Commission confirmed back in 2012. Story continues Deutsche Boerse's Eurex is mainly active in exchange-traded derivatives, while the LSE's LCH.Clearnet is active in the OTC business. But Deutsche Boerse has acknowledged that the European Commission may change its mind, prompting the merger partners to make concessions such as selling LCH Clearnet SA to avoid the LSE-Deutsche Boerse combination being regarded as a dominant player. "It seems the market definition is changing," Deutsche Boerse Chief Financial Officer Gregor Pottmeyer said about the European Commission's antittrust deliberations in November. For pan-European exchange operator Euronext, buying Clearnet will give it control of a platform for which it provides much of the revenue and will make it less reliant on a competitor's clearing services. LUCRATIVE BUSINESS Clearing is becoming a much more lucrative business as global reforms introduced after the 2007-09 financial crisis mean banks must clear the bulk of their derivatives trades to make them safer and more transparent. "If the DB-LSE-merger is completed, then Euronext will be strengthened at the core of the euro zone capital market with this transaction," Euronext CEO Stephane Boujnah told CNBC, adding that Euronext is also considering other takeovers. "The reason why we are confident we can capture those opportunities is because we have significant firing power in our balance sheet, in particular because of our extremely low level of debt.", Boujnah said. Euronext said it expected the deal to add to its earnings in double digits from the first full year, before costs pegged at 40 million euros. It forecast cost savings of 13 million euros before taxes. Euronext shares were up 2.6 percent at 1006 GMT at 40 euros on Tuesday, while LSE Group and Deutsche Boerse shares were virtually flat at 2,901 pence and 79.41 euros respectively. The Commission is due to decide on the merger on March 13, after extending its review deadline for the second time. It stated its objections to the merger in December, but outlined fewer concerns than in its first letter sent to both exchange operators in September. ($1 = 0.9552 euros) (Additional reporting by Vidya L Nathan in Bengaluru, editing by Susan Fenton) WWE Network On the eve of New Japans Wrestle Kingdom 11, its perhaps fitting that we pay a bit of attention to the Bullet Club originals who have jumped to WWE. Finn Balor is on the shelf with a shoulder injury (although hes expected back by WrestleMania), and Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows have been oh, lets say less than effective since splitting from AJ Styles in the WWE draft. (Styles, while not an original member of the Bullet Club, was once the leader of the faction, and yeah; hes done pretty well for himself.) Before Christmas, The Club stopped by the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast to talk about how their stop-and-startsky WWE run hasnt entirely been living up to their expectations, but Gallows and Anderson are hoping that might turn around when Balor finally returns from his injury. Theyre anxious to get Balor back in action, and theyre praying he isnt kayfabing them about his recovery timetable. When he gets back, though, theyre dying to get the original Bullet Club going again stateside, and be the real force they were always hoping to be. As Anderson explained: I cant wait to get him back. I was just texting with him today and Im always afraid hes kayfabing me or lying to me about showing up because, Im telling you, I named my second son after him, his middle name. If he shows up and I dont know about it, Im going to be hot, man. Thered be heat. Thered be a little heatsky. Hed better fill a brother in. Hed better not show up. I dont have any date. Im like, where are you? Hes like, Im in Iceland. Im like, man, youre not in Iceland. Are you lying to me? Yeah, if you just show up, Im really going to question our friendship, man. Youve got to shoot me a little warning text. Let him come back. Let us reform the original Bullet Club. Well just tear everything apart. Thats one of those pitches weve thrown. Well see if it sticks or not. Thats certainly what fans have been wanting to see, and aligning themselves with the first Universal Champion (the guy whose body is host to king of the demons) would be a brilliantly simple way to instantly rehabilitate The Club and turn them into a serious threat. Well continue to light prayer candles at our shrine for the Balor Club until it finally happens. * Tsunami threat issued issued, then cancelled, after Fiji quake * Residents in the capital, Suva, head for higher ground * "The earthquake caused a fair bit of panic" - Oxfam (Recasts with tsunami warning cancelled, adds quotes, details throughout) By Tom Westbrook and Colin Packham SYDNEY, Jan 4 (Reuters) - A tsunami threat to Fiji has been cancelled, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said on Wednesday, shortly after a powerful earthquake struck off the South Pacific island nation, prompting many panicked coastal residents to evacuate to higher ground. The quake, which hit at 10.52 a.m.(2152 GMT Tuesday), was centred 280 km (175 miles) southwest of Fiji's capital, Suva, at a shallow depth of about 15 km (9 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was originally recorded with a magnitude of 7.2 but was later downgraded to 6.9. There were no initial reports of widespread casualties or damage. Fiji's national disaster office issued a nationwide tsunami warning after the powerful underwater quake, leading to widespread evacuations and traffic jams. "The earthquake caused a fair bit of panic, there are cars lined up trying to get to higher ground," Jovesa Saladoka, the Fiji director of Oxfam, told Reuters by telephone from Suva. Corrine Ambler, a Red Cross worker in Suva, said on Twitter all Red Cross staff and most of the capital was "headed to higher ground". At least two aftershocks with magnitudes of more than 5 rattled Fiji soon after the quake. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cancelled the tsunami threat to Fiji just over an hour after the first tremor. There was no threat to nearby Pacific island nations Vanuatu and New Caledonia, authorities said. (Reporting by Tom Westbrook and Colin Packham in SYDNEY. Additional reporting by Jamie Freed; Writing by Jonathan Barrett; Editing by Sandra Maler and Paul Tait) From ELLE When Regina Merson was dreaming up Reina Rebelde, the makeup line that she launched just a few months ago, she demanded two things: One, that it celebrated Latinas' unapologetically bold beauty style, and two, that it united women from all Latin cultures: Mexican, Cuban, Dominican, to name just a fewacknowledging the nuances within the Latin umbrella. Photo credit: courtesy of Reina Rebelde Reina Rebelde, or (rebellious queen), is as Latina as they come. For instance, the illustration of the chica on the packaging is more than a pretty face with whimsical tattoos on her back. (More on that later.) Then there are the shade names, encompassing both iconic cultural touchstones (Malinche, Azteca) and signature Latina traits (Exagerada, Atrevida). And perhaps most importantly, the brand is inviting conversation on its site and Instagram. "There's definitely a deeper purpose here for me," says Merson, an Ivy Leagueeducated, corporate lawyer who was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and raised in Dallas, Texas. "Because as integrated as we are, we always come back to our roots. I want these real women to tell us how they're being Reina Rebeldes in their own lives. And beauty is just the beginning of that conversation." Let's start with the name: Reina Rebelde. What inspired it? The rebelde manifested in my life in that I was a lawyer who gave that up to start a makeup line. I also wanted the word reina as a celebration of Latina women. My mom calls me reina. That's how I address my friends and cousins. It shows the respect we have for women in the Latino community. Are you, like most Latinas, beauty-obsessed? Yes, and it started at a young age for me. I was five years old, living in Mexico, and I'd watch my mom get ready to go out with friends. She looked so beautiful! And it's not only about the end result. We love the ritual of beauty, from finding the ideal shade to perfecting the technique that you learned from your mother or aunt. It's carried down through generations. I've seen this with all of the Latinas in my life. Story continues We do love to look good! Why do you think that is? We're vain! From a very young age we're about looking as good as we possibly can. That's culturally rooted for us. Other women might feel that they need an excuse to put that much focus on beauty, but for us, it's about more than just makeup. It's a sign of self-respect. And yet, we're not shallow people. We feel everything so intensely. We wouldn't be the #1 beauty consumer in this country otherwise! You're an Ivy Leagueeducated former lawyer. How did beauty play into your success? In college, I'd be made up so my fellow students would ask if I was going on job interviews. As a lawyer, we'd spend long hours in business attire, and everyone's makeup would go out the window. I always disagreed with that. Don't lose who you are or the presentation of yourself. That's the integrity behind the Latina culture. There's also a duality in Latinas' existence, no? There's a duality all through life, especially in this country. Latino culture is perceived to be very male-dominated but in reality, the women run the show. Latinas are fierce and know how to maneuver a patriarchal society. You can be a badass in life and be beautiful. We're getting our hands dirty. We're speaking English. We're speaking Spanish. Some of us are the first in our family to attend school. We have one foot here and one foot there and we're owning that duality. That's a blessing and my biggest strength. Tell us about the Reina Rebelde chica. The chica is meant to be you! I wanted a very beautiful, vintage-style illustration, so I had a tattoo artist in Los Angeles tattoo milagros on her back. Those same milagros show up in the packaging. I wanted a way to show that these great intentions are rooted within us. And to have a sense of wherever you go, there's a community of women who came before you and love you. Finally, what are your favorite products. I wear these quite frequently: 1) Bold Lip Color Stick in Brava, $16: I know what it means to wear an amazing red lipstick. We worked on this for a long time. 2) 4 Play Wet Dry Eye Color in Salvaje, $20: This was inspired by a crazy trip I took to Mexico, where the people spoke in ancient Mayan dialects. Also, wearing green eye shadow makes me happy. 3) Rebel Eye Paint for Brows + Eyes in Frida, $16: I'm just obsessed. You Might Also Like Police have arrested an alleged fugitive after his Pennsylvania neighbor was found dead in her home on New Years Eve of what authorities described as a chop wound to her head and a stab wound to her neck, PEOPLE confirms. After allegedly being on the run for several days, Justin Bartlett, 25, was taken into custody on Monday in Fairmont, West Virginia, after a brief foot chase, according to Allegheny County Police. He was wanted for questioning in the slaying of his next-door neighbor, 63-year-old Linda McGinnis, of Brackenridge, whose death was ruled a homicide, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiners Office. McGinnis was last seen at home Friday morning and was later reported missing after she failed to contact her mother, with whom she usually spoke multiple times a day, authorities say. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. During their investigation, authorities determined Bartlett had allegedly stolen McGinnis car and fled to Mannington, West Virginia, police say. Police encountered Bartlett on Saturday in Mannington. He allegedly fled on foot into a wooded area, say police. They located him on Monday in Fairmont, where he was arrested. Bartlett has an active arrest warrant on an unspecified unrelated case, police say. In 2014, Bartlett was sentenced to up to two years in prison after being convicted of breaking into another mans home and setting his cat on fire. Pick up PEOPLEs special edition True Crime Stories: Cases That Shocked America, on sale now, for the latest on Casey Anthony, JonBenet Ramsey and more. McGinnis lived alone with her dog, according to CBS affiliate KDKA. She was a little sweetheart, neighbor Lorraine Gross told KDKA. She was very much to herself and didnt associate a lot with the people around. She added: This is such a tragedy for the whole family. Such a tragedy. LONDON (AP) An investigation has been launched after British police fatally shot a man during an operation in which five other people were arrested. West Yorkshire police said the operation "related to information received about criminal possession of a firearm," and was not related to terrorism. The man who was killed was identified as 27-year-old Mohammed Yassar Yaqub of Huddersfield. His family issued a statement through a lawyer saying they are "in shock and distraught." Police shootings are rare in Britain and there is an automatic investigation when someone is killed. Police say they are cooperating with the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The commission said in a statement that a firearm was found in the car Yaqub was traveling in and is being examined. The statement said it did not appear to be a police weapon. The man was shot Monday evening on a highway near Huddersfield, 190 miles (305 kilometers) north of London. The arrests were made at two locations. At the scene, a silver Audi with bullet holes in its windshield was surrounded by other vehicles Tuesday morning as police and forensic teams continued their investigation. If youre like me, youre looking forward to renewed market and economic economy activity to kick off this new year. All thats been speculated upon, especially since November 8ths election, will finally find its place somewhere in reality. And econ reports get busy right away this week, capping off with the big Friday Jobs Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Aside from ISM Manufacturing results being released this morning at 10am ET (ISM Services will come out on Thursday), we also see Congress getting back to work this morning. The Republican-heavy House and Senate look to make corporate tax form and deregulation top initiatives for this body of lawmakers. The ACA, aka Obamacare, may also find itself voted down after 40+ failed attempts by Congress during President Obamas leadership, but its unclear what might replace the wide-reaching healthcare policy. President-elect Trump has also hit the ground running in 2017, or should we say tweeting the latest company within his Twitter TWTR crosshairs is General Motors GM, in which he threatens a big border tax for the major automaker due to Chevy Cruze plant the company has in Mexico. GM has responded that the majority of Cruzes sold in the U.S. are made at the companys plant in Ohio. This is an ongoing public debate 3+ weeks before Trump officially takes office. Market futures are up big this morning largely due to the OPEC agreement set to take effect in cutting global production. WTI prices have jumped over 2% to its highest level in a year and a half, nearing $55 per barrel. Should the cutback occur as planned, a notable amount of the global supply glut should be worked off, near term. Whether countries will all play fairly with the agreement remains to be seen. We will also see private-sector jobs numbers from ADP ADP this week, although due to the New Year holiday, this report will come out Thursday morning instead of Friday. Analysts expect 166K private-sector jobs, and 185K from the BLS survey the following day. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research By Madeline Kennedy More than 10 million U.S. children dont live near a pediatric anesthesiologist, a doctor who specializes in sedating children during surgery, according to a recent study. Pediatric anesthesiologists give children the medications needed to sedate them or put them completely to sleep during surgery and other procedures. They also monitor childrens heart rate and other health measures while surgery is going on. Small children needing more serious medical care should be treated by pediatric anesthesiologists, who have a special certification to work with children, rather than doctors without this training, according to new guidelines from the American College of Surgeons. However, many young children with medical needs, particularly in rural areas, live more than 50 miles away from a pediatric anesthesiologist, the researchers write in the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia. Families are faced with the choice of traveling long distances to centers where experts practice, or to utilize the services of anesthesiologists in their locality who may care for children on an occasional basis only, lead author Dr. Matthew Muffly told Reuters Health by email. In addition to surgery, very young children may need anesthesia to stay still during procedures like body scans, and their risks of complications from sedative medications are much higher than those of older children, said Muffly of Stanford University Medical Center in California. Using four medical registries and databases, Muffly and colleagues identified just over 4,000 pediatric anesthesiologists practicing in the U.S. in 2015. They compared this information with 2010 census data on children under the age of 18 and created a map of driving distances of families to the nearest pediatric anesthesiologist. The results showed that 90 percent of child anesthesiologists work in urban areas, which the researchers defined as counties with more than 50,000 young children. The majority of children, 71 percent, live within a 25-mile drive of a pediatric anesthesiologist. But more than 10 million children, or nearly 15 percent, live more than 50 miles from the nearest pediatric anesthesiologist, particularly in the western region of the country. This includes more than 2.7 million children under age 5 the group that needs these specialists the most, according to the American College of Surgeons. Muffly told Reuters Health that six states had ten or fewer pediatric anesthesiologists: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Younger children have physical and emotional needs that obviously differ from adults. Their anatomy and physiology, particularly under anesthesia, change in ways that are unlike anesthetized adult patients, Dr. Alison Ross, chief of the pediatric anesthesia division at Duke University Medical Center, said by email. Ross stressed the importance of specialized training but noted that in areas without trained pediatric anesthesiologists, medical facilities are likely to have staff with a lot of experience treating children. It is important to realize that it is often more important in an emergency to be taken to the nearest facility for care rather than to delay care due to a desire to be in a pediatric facility, depending on the nature of the event or the medical condition of the child, said Ross, who was not involved in the study. Muffly said that for families living far from pediatric anesthesiologists, older children may fare perfectly well. But for young children, he added, particularly younger than 2 years old, and for older children with complex medical conditions, they may need to travel to an institution that routinely cares for these vulnerable patients.